Foundation for a Righteous New World
HOW heart-cheering that the promised new world, like God’s prophetic Word, has been “made more sure”! More sure than when God stated his promise through Isaiah about his “creating new heavens and a new earth”! Yes, and more sure than when that promise was later restated by the apostle Peter, who added the assurance that “in these righteousness is to dwell.” (2 Pet. 1:19; Isa. 65:17; 2 Pet. 3:13) The new world is “more sure” in the sense that the Builder of it has already begun fulfilling his promise: He has provided a firm, enduring, righteous foundation so that the new world will endure forever in righteousness.
When did Jehovah God lay the foundation for a righteous new world? The laying of the new world’s foundation has gone on in a certain, progressive manner, beginning with a preparatory step that God took in the first century of the Christian Era. That was at the Jordan River, A.D. 29, when Almighty God begot his beloved Son Jesus Christ with holy spirit, anointing him to become King in the “new heavens” of the new world.
Shortly thereafter, A.D. 33, a major progressive development in laying the new world’s foundation took place. This was when God raised his Son from the dead on the third day to heavenly life. Forty days afterward, Jesus Christ ascended into the presence of his Father and presented the merit of his shed blood. Upon God’s acceptance of the value of Jesus’ perfect human life, the foundation for the new world was laid in a first-stage way; and the resurrected Jesus Christ rightly became called “the Lamb who was slaughtered from the founding of the world.”—Rev. 13:8.
But why could not the new world’s foundation be laid in a full-scale way back there A.D. 33? Because when Jesus ascended into God’s presence he sat down at his Father’s right hand: “But this man offered one sacrifice for sins perpetually and sat down at the right hand of God, from then on awaiting until his enemies should be placed as a stool for his feet.” (Heb. 10:12, 13) So the final, full-scale laying of the new world’s foundation would have to wait till the time for the “new heavens” to operate—when God’s kingdom in heaven would be established and the enemies of the King Jesus Christ would be made a footstool for his feet.
Why was the preliminary step of laying the new world’s foundation A.D. 33 so important? Because it was necessary that the foundation stone for the spiritual “new heavens” be a tried and tested foundation stone. Such a foundation must square with absolute righteousness. Jesus Christ was tested by his coming to the earth; this testing assured that the superstructure to be built upon the foundation would remain steadfast in righteousness, never turning to crookedness, never leading to disappointment.
The prophet Isaiah foretold that this foundation Stone would be tried and tested: “Here I am laying as a foundation in Zion a stone, a tried stone, the precious corner of a sure foundation.” (Isa. 28:16) The apostle Peter, at 1 Peter 2:6, 7, makes direct application of Isaiah 28:16 to Jesus Christ. How was Jesus “tried” when he was on the earth? He was tempted by the Devil to turn unfaithful, to give in to the lure of unrighteousness. But Jesus resisted every attempt to turn him away from God and his standard of absolute righteousness. Jesus practiced exactly what he preached to others: “Keep on, then, seeking first the kingdom and his righteousness.” (Matt. 6:33) By meeting the test successfully, Jesus proved his love for God’s kingdom and His righteousness and God could therefore trust him with any responsibility, even that of being the “sure foundation” of the righteous new world. Thus Hebrews 5:8, 9 says: “Although he was a Son, he learned obedience from the things he suffered; and after he had been made perfect he became responsible for everlasting salvation to all those obeying him.”
That statement by the inspired writer of the book of Hebrews reveals another reason why Jesus came to earth and why the aforementioned event of A.D. 33 was so important. By proving faithful to death as a man Jesus vindicated his Father, and at the same time he provided a basis for “everlasting salvation.” How so? Because “he offered one sacrifice for sins perpetually.” Thus he redeemed or bought back all that unfaithful Adam had lost for his descendants by sinning and losing the right to perfect human life in a righteous world. To redeem those perfect human privileges on a paradise earth for them, the Son of God became a perfect man. If Jesus had not provided a ransom for “all those obeying him,” no superstructure comprised of any of Adam’s descendants could ever be built upon this “sure foundation”; and none of us could have hope for a righteous new world.
And now in our day the new world is even more sure! Why? Because monumental developments have occurred concerning the “new heavens and a new earth” in our day! This journal has often explained, giving abundant Scriptural evidence, that the year A.D. 1914 marked the time when God enthroned his King Jesus Christ, in fulfillment of Psalm 2:6: “I, even I, have installed my king upon Zion, my holy mountain.” Did this mean that another major preliminary step to the full-scale laying of the new world’s foundation had taken place, even while Christ’s enemies are still active? Yes, indeed, for God’s command to his King was: “Go subduing in the midst of your enemies.”—Ps. 110:2.
Did you know that Abraham looked forward to that time when God’s kingdom by Christ would subdue all enemies of righteousness? The Bible declares: “He was awaiting the city having real foundations, the builder and creator of which city is God.” (Heb. 11:10) Do you, like Abraham, look to God and his King for a heavenly government to rule the world in righteousness? The Builder and Creator of the new world has laid as the basis of a stable and enduring government his tried Stone of a “sure foundation,” Jesus Christ the reigning King. Now is the time for men everywhere to realize that God’s foundation Stone is the only hope for everlasting life in an enduring new world of truth and righteousness.