350 The Plan of the Ages.
Christ, is Scripturally termed " The Times of the Gentiles. ' ' And these "times" or years, during which the " king- doms of this world" are permitted to rule, are fixed and limited, and the time for the re-establishment of God's Kingdom under Messiah is equally fixed and marked in Scripture.
Evil as these Gentile governments have been, they were permitted or " ordained of God " for a wise purpose. (Rom. 13 : i.) Their imperfection and misrule form a part of the general lesson on the exceeding sinfulness of sin, and prove the inability of fallen man to govern himself, even to his own satisfaction. God permits them, in the main, to carry out their own purposes as they may be able, over- ruling them only when they would interfere with his plans. He designs that eventually ail shall work for good, and that finally even the " wrath of man shall praise him." The remainder, that would work no good, serve no purpose or teach no lesson, he restrains. Psa. 76 : 10.
Man's inability to establish a perfect government is at- tributable to his own weaknesses, in his fallen, depraved condition. These weaknesses, which of themselves would thwart human efforts to produce a perfect government, have also been taken advantage of by Satan, who first tempted man to disloyalty to the Supreme Ruler. Satan has con- tinually taken advantage of man's weaknesses, made good to appear evil, and evil to appear good ; and he has mis- represented God's character and plans and blinded men to the truth. Thus working in the hearts of the children of disobedience (Eph. 2 : 2), he has led them captive at his will and made himself what our Lord and the apostles call him the prince or ruler of this world. (John 14 130; 12:31.) He is not the prince of this world by right, but by usurpation; through fraud and deception and control of fallen men. It is because he is a usurper that ho will be
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