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Title: The Bible’s Promise: THE END WILL COME!
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Published: Dec 17, 2009
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Post Date: 2009-12-17 14:15:22 by richard9151
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Be of good cheer, all you inhabitants of the 4um. This is the last post ever by me, here! If you wish to read this in a correctly formatted form, you can find it on the internet, or in Scribd.com. Perhaps the most interesting part of the paper is the end, or so I have been told. It involves a full discussion of Micah 4:1-7. The Bible’s Promise: THE END WILL COME! Matthew 24:14 And this good news of the kingdom will be preached in all the inhabited earth for a witness to all the nations; and then the end will come. You people must take care to do just as Jehovah your God has commanded you.—Deut. 5:32. A spirit of independence and disobedience permeates the world today. The apostle Paul explains why in his letter to Ephesian Christians: “You at one time walked according to the system of things of this world, according to the ruler of the authority of the air, the spirit that now operates in the sons of disobedience.” (Eph. 2:1, 2) Yes, Satan the Devil, “the ruler of the authority of the air,” has, you might say, infected the whole world with the spirit of disobedience. He was doing so in the first century, and he has been doing so even more intensely since being cast out of heaven about the time of World War I. (Rev. 12:9) As Christians, however, we know that Jehovah God deserves our heartfelt obedience because he is our Creator and the Sustainer of our life.—Acts 4:24; Rev. 4:11. What is this Bible promise, and why was it made? As stated above, so that we would know that the conditions that exist on this earth, and the reason why those conditions exist, would at a point in time, come to an end. This promise was made by Jesus Christ; THE END WILL COME. In reality, the entire story contained within the Bible revolves around this Truth contained in these four words; the end WILL come. This is a promise made to those who are faithful to Him, as is explained in Matthew 24:13; But he that has endured to the end is the one that will be saved. But before we get into this discussion, there should be a couple of questions noted that people have bee asking for several thousands of years. The first one is, why, IF God is real and is going to ‘return,’ has it taken so looooong!!! What is a long time? For those who have endured to the end, a long time may be a billion years, for that is the promise of eternal life made by Jehovah God to those who have faith in Him, and endure (Matthew 24:13). Certainly, in the history of the Universe, the 2,000 years from Jesus Christ to today, or the 6,000 plus years from the time of Adam and Eve in the Garden to today is a very short period of time, and, Almighty Jehovah God has made appropriate arrangements for those who once lived during that 6,000 years, for their return (Psalms 37:11). (A note; Matthew 22:23 On that day Sadducees, who say there is no resurrection, came up to him and asked him: --- Just as in the days when the Christ Jesus walked the earth, the world of today is filled with Sadducees.) To understand this period of waiting/time, one Scripture is necessary; Romans 5:13 For until the Law sin was in the world, but sin is not charged against anyone when there is no law. What does the above mean? Simply put, Jehovah God can not judge the world, i.e., the people who live on this planet, until all have had the opportunity to learn the Truth, about Him and about His World Government. Jehovah is a God of Perfect Justice, and nothing less will suffice. Therefore, we understand that there are conditions that must be met BEFORE He can send His Son back and clean up the problems that started in the Garden of Eden. We will go much more deeply into this shortly. The second question that so many have asked (of course there are others, but these two are the biggest and most often mentioned) is why does God permit so much suffering in the world that He Created and rules? There is a parable in the Bible that explains this, in Luke 15:11-32. To understand this parable, simply look at this from verse 32; because this your brother was dead and came to life, and he was lost and was found.’” That brother that was found is us, if we have faith and endure to the end and come back to life. (John 5:28 Do not marvel at this, because the hour is coming in which all those in the memorial tombs will hear his voice 29 and come out, those who did good things to a resurrection of life, those who practiced vile things to a resurrection of judgment.) The son that left his fathers house is Adam (and us), and the house that he left is the tent of Jehovah God in the Garden of Eden. The point that is made in the parable is simple; is the Father guilty because the son chose to leave His house, and then squandered his inheritance? Of course not, and at this time, Jehovah God is indeed preparing the welcoming feast for us that endure, because THE END WILL COME. However, to properly solve the problem created by the rebellion of a powerful spirit creature that became known as Satan (the Opposer, or the Resister) the Devil (the Slanderer), a very careful plan had to be completed that would solve the problem once for all time. This plan was given to us in the Bible, was very thoroughly explained (Daniel 12:10 …but the ones having insight will understand), and we are indeed, very, very close to the conclusion of this wicked system of things. This wicked system of things. Would you suppose that a God of Love (1 John 4:8, 16) would create and rule a wicked system of things? I would hope that you would not believe that, for it is certainly a lie if that is what you have been taught. This is very carefully explained in the Bible when Jesus was approached by Satan and offered all of the kingdoms of the earth to rule; Matthew 4:1 Then Jesus was led by the spirit up into the wilderness to be tempted by the Devil. – 8 Again the Devil took him along to an unusually high mountain, and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory, 9 and he said to him: “All these things I will give you if you fall down and do an act of worship to me.” Jesus understood, and we should also, that Satan the Devil can not offer something that he does not control/own. There is a lot of information in the Bible about Satan, and that information is there to help us to understand that Satan is real, and that it is actually Satan who truly rules this world today, and, the problems that arise when we reject the One with the Right to Rule. In Job, chapters 1 and 2, Satan is clearly shown to be a spirit person who appeared in God’s presence together with other spirit sons and who engaged God in conversation, challenging Him in regard to Job’s integrity. We also read of his accusing high priest Joshua in the days of Zechariah. Paul calls Satan “the god of this system of things,” who “has blinded the minds of the unbelievers.” Peter speaks of Satan as the one who “walks about like a roaring lion, seeking to devour someone.” And Jude, disciple and half brother of Jesus, tells us that Satan had an argument with Michael regarding the body of Moses. Surely no impersonal principle of evil, as many hold Satan to be, could be said to do such things!—2 Cor. 4:4; 1 Pet. 5:8; Jude 9. Especially does the Scriptural record regarding Jesus establish Satan’s personality. In the wilderness Satan offered Jesus all the kingdoms of the world if Jesus should “fall down and do an act of worship” to Satan. Could an abstract principle claim all the kingdoms of the world and offer them to Jesus? Could Jesus do an act of worship before it? Could we imagine the faithful, loving and obedient Son of God being tempted by disloyal thoughts originating in his own mind?—Matt. 4:9. Further, Jesus told his enemies that they were of their father the Devil, who “was a manslayer when he began” as Satan, and “a liar and the father of the lie.” When charged with casting out demons by the power of Satan, Jesus did not deny the existence of Satan but said: “If Satan expels Satan, he has become divided against himself.” Yes, all such references likewise leave no doubt as to the existence, the personality, of Satan.—Luke 10:18; John 8:44; Matt. 12:26. The above has now given us some insight into what was to be accomplished through the careful plan laid out in the Bible by Jehovah God to solve, once for all time, the rebellion started by one of His Perfect Sons in heaven. A perfect son with free will. The conditions? 1: Perfect Justice. 2: To break up the works of Satan the Devil; 1 John 3:8 He who carries on sin originates with the Devil, because the Devil has been sinning from [the] beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was made manifest, namely, to break up the works of the Devil. I think we are now ready to begin. I want to be honest about everything, so you need to understand that I used the New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures for the above quote; the end will come…. BUT, this message is the same in all Bibles. To show this, online, I checked the following translations just to be sure of what I was saying; New International Version, New American Standard Bible, The Message, Amplified Bible, New Living Translation, King James Version, English Standard Version, Contemporary English Version, New King James Version, New Century Version, 21st Century King James Version, American Standard Version, Young's Literal Translation, Darby Translation, Holman Christian Standard Bible, New International Reader's Version, Wycliffe New Testament, Worldwide English (New Testament), New International Version – UK, Today's New International Version. It really does not matter what Bible you use, the message is the same. Almighty God has promised His faithful that at some point in time, established from long ago by Almighty Jehovah God, the rebellion against His Rightful Rule will be ended, and this end will be brought about by Jehovah God. The entire message in the Bible revolves around this promise; the end will come. One important point before we get too far into this discussion, and just for clarification; why do I use the New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures? Simply put, the clarity of the language used in that Bible, the same language used by us in our everyday lives, is very beneficial in understanding the deeper things of the Bible. That being said, why do so many of the ‘churches’ of Christendom require/recommend that their people use something such as the King James Holy Bible? My opinion? That Bible, the King James Bible, is boring, and difficult to understand under the best of circumstances because of the age of the language. For that reason, it is difficult for people to discern the Truth from it, and they are more willing to listen to what they are taught by men, rather than listen to Him, Almighty Jehovah God, the Teacher of Truth (Isaiah 48:17). Again, so you understand, this is just my opinion, but for the purposes of this paper, we will use the New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures. I dealt with this in another paper written a short time ago, titled A Great Bible Story -- About the End of This (Wicked) System of Things. In that paper, every verse I used was quoted from both Bibles, the New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures AND the King James Holy Bible, one verse right after the other so everyone could see that there is no difference in the translations, EXCEPT, in the ability to understand what is being said. Being said by Jehovah God. And NOT by men. Why is that important? You explain it to me, and then answer this question as well; why are there so many lies told about the New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures? Constantly people tell me about how that translation has been changed. Why is this lie told, unless it is done to protect the lies that have been taught about the Holy Scriptures? Please, permit me to give you an example that shows what I mean; Daniel 12:4 “And as for you, O Daniel, make secret the words and seal up the book, until the time of [the] end. Many will rove about, and the [true] knowledge will become abundant.” The end will come, and, as explained above in the Book of Daniel, many of the secrets of the Bible will be secret until the time of the end. And, again, I have checked this verse in many Bibles, and the message is always the same; [true] knowledge will become abundant – at the time of the end. (There are two interpretations to this verse in Daniel Chapter 12, verse 4. Many roving about primarily refers to the – final -- establishment of Christianity throughout the world, which was accomplished some 190 years ago when Christian missionaries brought the Bible to the Cook Islands in the far Pacific. This is a far cry from the original circumstance where only the Israelites understood who the only True God was, and is a fulfillment of the command left to his disciples by Jesus Christ in Matthew 28:19 -- Go therefore and make disciples of people of all the nations…. This was one of the necessary steps for the fulfillment of Perfect Justice, and explains part of the time necessary for the plan of Jehovah God to be accomplished. The work of the disciples of Jesus the Christ had to be completed throughout the world. However, in the Book of Revelation, in Chapter 7, it is clearly seen that at the time of the end many will have cleansed themselves spiritually, so that they appear before the throne in white robes; i.e., as clean and pure. Take this into consideration when you read Matthew 7:13 – narrow gate – and when you consider what it said in Daniel 12:4; make secret the words and seal up the book, until the time of [the] end. Obviously, at the time of the end there will be many wonderful things occurring which will help people come to an accurate knowledge of the Truth, and thus gain everlasting life – John 17:3. We will be discussing more on these subjects as we go along in this paper.) Think this through, please. If true knowledge is to become abundant at the time of the end, then what has been taught PRIOR to the time of the end? Might this have something to do with the many lies told, not just about the New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures but also about those who use that translation? For your own piece of mind, that is something that you need to consider very seriously. Matthew 7:13 “Go in through the narrow gate; because broad and spacious is the road leading off into destruction, and many are the ones going in through it; 14 whereas narrow is the gate and cramped the road leading off into life, and few are the ones finding it. Yes, I think this message is in the Bible as a clear warning that the majority of the people of the world will believe, and live, or carry on, a lie. The above verse means that the majority of the people ‘of the world’ will never come to an accurate knowledge of Almighty God. Content with what they have been taught by men and ‘believe’ rather than engaging in a serious search of His Word for the Truth. 2 Timothy 3:1 But know this, that in the last days critical times hard to deal with will be here. 2 For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, self-assuming, haughty, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, disloyal, 3 having no natural affection, not open to any agreement, slanderers, without self-control, fierce, without love of goodness, 4 betrayers, headstrong, puffed up [with pride], lovers of pleasures rather than lovers of God, 5 having a form of godly devotion but proving false to its power; and from these turn away. 6 For from these arise those men who slyly work their way into households and lead as their captives weak women loaded down with sins, led by various desires, 7 always learning and yet never able to come to an accurate knowledge of truth. Revelation 22:12 “‘Look! I am coming quickly, and the reward I give is with me, to render to each one as his work is. 13 I am the Al82;pha and the O•me82;ga, the first and the last, the beginning and the end. 14 Happy are those who wash their robes, that the authority [to go] to the trees of life may be theirs and that they may gain entrance into the city by its gates. 15 Outside are the dogs and those who practice spiritism and the fornicators and the murderers and the idolaters and everyone liking and carrying on a lie.’ There are serious messages in the Bible for those with an ear to hear, and eyes to see; messages that are life changing. Messages that can save your life. Messages that we are REQUIRED to study and understand; John 17:3 This means everlasting life, their taking in knowledge of you, the only true God, and of the one whom you sent forth, Jesus Christ. As we develop this thought; the end will come, throughout this paper, I think you will see what I mean. (And just to be sure that some will understand, at the end of this paper, I will list the common beliefs of mankind that carry through nearly every religion of the earth. After you have finished this paper, and you read that list, think about what you believe, and about the narrow gate that leads off in life.) Now, how does this true knowledge become abundant? First off, secrets are revealed, which is not a part of the end to be discussed in this paper (see; A Great Bible Story -- About the End of This (Wicked) System of Things), but the clarity of the Word of God, as revealed in the translations of the Bible into the modern languages of today so that the average person can understand the deeper things of the Bible, is also a large part of this. And, this is very, very important; Many will rove about. Why is this important? Let’s go back to the Book of Matthew, verse 24; And this good news of the kingdom will be preached in all the inhabited earth for a witness to all the nations. (A careful reading of verses 3-12 of Matthew Chapter 24 will show clearly that the pangs of distress had to occur BEFORE this preaching work would be accomplished.) How is this to occur, and, WHY is this to occur? Let us deal with the ‘why’ first. Jehovah God – HOLD THE PRESSES! Yes, Almighty God has a personal name which He gave to us – see the Sermon on the Mount and the Lord’s Prayer; As Jesus taught it to his followers, it begins this way: “Our Father in the heavens, let your name be sanctified. Let your kingdom come. Let your will take place, as in heaven, also upon earth.”—Matthew 6:9, 10. How do you sanctify something that you do not know? That is impossible, correct? So let us address one of the worst lies told about the New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures, namely, that the translators ADDED the name Jehovah to the Scriptures thousands of times. If you will simply set a copy of your favorite Bible beside a copy of the New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures, and begin to compare verses where the name Jehovah occurs in the New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures, you will generally find in your copy of the Bible that there will be one of two words used in the place of the Holy Name of Almighty God, GOD, or, LORD, all in caps. Why is this done in those Bibles? Most, not all, but most, of the translators explain that they did this SUBSTITUTION for the Holy Name of Almighty God because of the traditions of men in not using the Holy Name of Almighty God in public/in error/in a worthless manner (or words to the same effect). Traditions of men, as opposed to the Word of God. Sound familiar? Who wrote the Bible? Did men write the Bible, or, did men simply copy down what they were told to write, just as a secretary copies down his/her bosses words? How is the Bible inspired of God (2 Timothy 3:16) if it is the work of man? How much faith do you have in Almighty God and His ability to protect His Inspired Word? How many of you are aware of the clear command written in His Word to not change the Inspired Word of God? Does removing His Holy Name, and substituting GOD or LORD constitute changing His Word? That is something for you to decide. Please decide wisely. And while you are deciding, you should check in the ‘Old Testament’ and see how many times people called on the ‘name’ of God and were saved. Very, very difficult to call on a name or to sanctify a name that you do not know, or, use. We are told, very plainly, in the Bible, that those who call on the ‘name’ of Almighty God in the time of the end will be saved; Joel 2:31 The sun itself will be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the coming of the great and fear-inspiring day of Jehovah. 32 And it must occur that everyone who calls on the name of Jehovah will get away safe; for in Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there will prove to be the escaped ones, just as Jehovah has said, and in among the survivors, whom Jehovah is calling.” You should seriously consider why Satan, the Opposser of Jehovah, has done everything in his power to hide the name of Almighty God, Jehovah, from the masses of the world. And while doing this, you should also seriously consider why Jehovah saw to it that His Holy Name Jehovah was used in the original manuscripts of the Bible more than 7,000 times. You should also consider the Psalms as well, where the Holy Name Jehovah is used constantly. And what were the Psalms? They were songs that were sung aloud by hundreds and thousands of people, using the Holy Name out loud in front of everyone else. We are told in the Bible that the use of His Holy Name pleases Jehovah God. ((Je•ho82;vah) [the causative form, the imperfect state, of the Heb. verb ha•wah82; (become); meaning “He Causes to Become”]. The personal name of God. (Isa 42:8; 54:5) Though Scripturally designated by such descriptive titles as “God,” “Sovereign Lord,” “Creator,” “Father,” “the Almighty,” and “the Most High,” his personality and attributes—who and what he is—are fully summed up and expressed only in this personal name.—Ps 83:18. Correct Pronunciation of the Divine Name. “Jehovah” is the best known English pronunciation of the divine name, although “Yahweh” is favored by most Hebrew scholars. The oldest Hebrew manuscripts present the name in the form of four consonants, commonly called the Tetragrammaton (from Greek te•tra-, meaning “four,” and gram82;ma, “letter”). These four letters (written from right to left) are •7;•2;•3;•2; and may be transliterated into English as YHWH (or, JHVH). The Hebrew consonants of the name are therefore known. The question is, Which vowels are to be combined with those consonants? Vowel points did not come into use in Hebrew until the second half of the first millennium C.E. (See HEBREW, II [Hebrew Alphabet and Script].) Furthermore, because of a religious superstition that had begun centuries earlier, the vowel pointing found in Hebrew manuscripts does not provide the key for determining which vowels should appear in the divine name. Superstition hides the name. At some point a superstitious idea arose among the Jews that it was wrong even to pronounce the divine name (represented by the Tetragrammaton). Just what basis was originally assigned for discontinuing the use of the name is not definitely known. Some hold that the name was viewed as being too sacred for imperfect lips to speak. Yet the Hebrew Scriptures themselves give no evidence that any of God’s true servants ever felt any hesitancy about pronouncing his name. Non-Biblical Hebrew documents, such as the so-called Lachish Letters, show the name was used in regular correspondence in Palestine during the latter part of the seventh century B.C.E. Another view is that the intent was to keep non-Jewish peoples from knowing the name and possibly misusing it. However, Jehovah himself said that he would ‘have his name declared in all the earth’ (Ex 9:16; compare 1Ch 16:23, 24; Ps 113:3; Mal 1:11, 14), to be known even by his adversaries. (Isa 64:2) The name was in fact known and used by pagan nations both in pre-Common Era times and in the early centuries of the Common Era. (The Jewish Encyclopedia, 1976, Vol. XII, p. 119) Another claim is that the purpose was to protect the name from use in magical rites. If so, this was poor reasoning, as it is obvious that the more mysterious the name became through disuse the more it would suit the purposes of practicers of magic.) Now, to return to the ‘WHY is this to occur?’ Because Jehovah God is Perfect in all respects. Included in this Perfection, is Perfect Justice, one of the (many) outstanding attributes of Almighty God. Jehovah God, by his words and acts, has, over the centuries, proved that he is a God of love and undeserved kindness, exercising perfect justice and judgment, and extending mercy to those seeking to serve him. (Ex 34:6, 7; Ps 89:14) Even to the ungrateful and wicked he has expressed kindness. (Mt 5:45; Lu 6:35; Ro 5:8) He delights in the fact that his sovereignty is administered in love.—Jeremiah 9:24; Jeremiah 9:24 “But let the one bragging about himself brag about himself because of this very thing, the having of insight and the having of knowledge of me, that I am Jehovah, the One exercising loving-kindness, justice and righteousness in the earth; for in these things I do take delight,” is the utterance of Jehovah. What does Perfect Justice require? That everyone have access to abundant knowledge, that this knowledge be True, and that it be preached throughout the world BEFORE the end of this wicked system of things, and before the destruction of the sons of the wicked one (Matthew 13:37), can come about. Exactly as detailed in Daniel 12:4 and Matthew 24:14. These prophecies MUST be fulfilled BEFORE the end can come. Daniel 12:4 “And as for you, O Daniel, make secret the words and seal up the book, until the time of [the] end. Many will rove about, and the [true] knowledge will become abundant.” Matthew 24:14 And this good news of the kingdom will be preached in all the inhabited earth for a witness to all the nations; and then the end will come. The end will come, but the conditions required by Perfect Justice requires the fulfillment of the prophecies recorded in the two verses quoted above, which is also why the prophecies were recorded in the first place. To make people aware, people with discernment, of what they should be on the lookout for. Simple, really. Now, how are these things to occur? First, we need to look at WHAT is to occur. If we do not understand the WHAT, how can we identify the HOW? To understand, we need to go back to the beginning, to the Book of Genesis. Genesis 1:1 In [the] beginning God created the heavens and the earth. That seems to be pretty clear, but why did He create two realms? For this answer, we need to check in another book of the Bible. Psalms 115:6 As regards the heavens, to Jehovah the heavens belong, But the earth he has given to the sons of men. This is confirmed for us by the Christ Jesus as well; John 3:13 Moreover, no man has ascended into heaven but he that descended from heaven, the Son of man. Up to the time of Jesus, no man had gone to heaven. Jehovah created the earth for us. Is this going to change? For this answer, we go to the Book of Malachi; Malachi 3:6 “For I am Jehovah; I have not changed. Jehovah God does not change, nor do His Purposes change. If He intended the earth to be for the sons of men, then the earth is for the sons of men to time indefinite, even forever. As we are told in Psalms 104:5, the earth is here to time indefinite, even forever. Psalms 104:5 He has founded the earth upon its established places; It will not be made to totter to time indefinite, or forever. The earth can not be destroyed, for Jehovah God will not permit it. Jehovah God is Perfect, so what He produces/creates is Perfect. This is revealed in the last verse of the first chapter of Genesis; Genesis 1:31 After that God saw everything he had made and, look! [it was] very good. It was very good. Genesis 2:1 Thus the heavens and the earth and all their army came to their completion. What is the army spoken of here? Nehemiah 9:6 “You are Jehovah alone; you yourself have made the heavens, [even] the heaven of the heavens, and all their army, the earth and all that is upon it, the seas and all that is in them; and you are preserving all of them alive; and the army of the heavens are bowing down to you. The heaven of the heavens and all their army. Army is singular, so we understand that there is only one army in heaven. This army plays a prominent role in the Book of Revelation. More on this a little later. What else do we learn early on in Genesis? Man is created, and, given a helpmate, and a paradise to live in; the Garden of Eden. Also, man is given a tree of life in that paradise, so we understand that the man (Adam) and his woman (Eve) were ‘good’ and were designed to live forever, just as all of the Sons of God were perfect and had eternal life. Genesis 2:8 Further, Jehovah God planted a garden in E82;den, toward the east, and there he put the man whom he had formed. 9 Thus Jehovah God made to grow out of the ground every tree desirable to one’s sight and good for food and also the tree of life in the middle of the garden and the tree of the knowledge of good and bad. Tree of life. Is this important? The tree of life occurs in the Book of Genesis, and it is used in Proverbs as well in symbolism. Other than that, it occurs only in the Book of Revelation, Revelation 2:7 Let the one who has an ear hear what the spirit says to the congregations: To him that conquers I will grant to eat of the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God.’ There is a lot of information in the above verse, including the knowledge that access to the tree of life is once again to be granted to mankind…. IN the paradise of God. Where was that paradise in the Book of Genesis? Correct, on this earth. Since Jehovah God does not change, we should well understand that the paradise of God mentioned above will also be on this earth, just as once again access to the tree of life will be on this earth for all those who have come to an accurate knowledge of the only true God (John 17:3). Therefore, the WHAT that is to occur is the restoration of the earth to its original purpose as a paradise home to time indefinite for man, with the promise of life eternal, to enjoy. Just as it was intended for Adam and Eve and their descendents to enjoy. Well, we ARE their descendents. Now, we need to look at HOW is this restoration of the earth to occur. And how was; this good news of the kingdom will be preached in all the inhabited earth for a witness to all the nations? And; THEN the end WILL COME. Are we to assume that Almighty God left something to chance, or did He carefully plan exactly how this was to be done? And, did He reveal this information to us in His Inspired Word, the Bible? Of course, the answer to both of these questions in a resounding yes! He very carefully planned every step of what was to occur, saw to it that the plan was carried out exactly as was needed, and, laid the entire plan out in the Bible. He could not do this in any other way, and fulfill His Perfection. His Righteous Requirement that people be given an opportunity to change/repent must be observed with full disclosure. It is also interesting to note that the existence of this careful plan within the Bible absolutely proves that the Bible comes directly from Almighty Jehovah God, because until recently no one had any idea as to the method/plan that would be used to fulfill the very first prophecy in the Bible; Genesis 3:15 And I shall put enmity between you and the woman and between your seed and her seed. He will bruise you in the head and you will bruise him in the heel.” Everyone knows this Scripture, but do you understand who the woman is? And no, it is not Eve. Let us look at verse 16: Genesis 3:16 To the woman he said: “I shall greatly increase the pain of your pregnancy; in birth pangs you will bring forth children, and your craving will be for your husband, and he will dominate you.” The birth pangs are the clue to understanding who this woman is. Song of Solomon 8:4 “I have put YOU under oath, O daughters of Jerusalem, that YOU try not to awaken or arouse love [in me] until it feels inclined.” 5 “Who is this woman coming up from the wilderness, leaning upon her dear one?” “Under the apple tree I aroused you. There your mother was in birth pangs with you. There she that was giving birth to you experienced birth pangs. What wilderness? Revelation 12:6 And the woman fled away into the wilderness, where she has a place prepared by God, that they should feed her there a thousand two hundred and sixty days. Isaiah 66:6 There is a sound of uproar out of the city, a sound out of the temple! It is the sound of Jehovah repaying what is deserved to his enemies. 7 Before she began to come into labor pains she gave birth. Before birth pangs could come to her, she even gave deliverance to a male child. 8 Who has heard of a thing like this? Who has seen things like these? Will a land be brought forth with labor pains in one day? Or will a nation be born at one time? For Zion has come into labor pains as well as given birth to her sons. 9 “As for me, shall I cause the breaking through and not cause the giving birth?” says Jehovah. “Or am I causing a giving birth and do I actually cause a shutting up?” your God has said. Pretty interesting. She gave birth to a male child BEFORE the birth pangs began, so this tells us that there is more to come. Also please note; Or will a nation be born at one time? So there is a clear message here that there is more than a male child to come. See also Isaiah 26:27, but please note this now, as a beginning point to understand the resurrection (the resurrection of all of mankind was the only salvation taught in the early Scriptures, and since Jehovah does not change, we need to keep this carefully in mind as this paper progresses) promised to all who have ever lived and never had the opportunity to learn the Truth about Almighty God; Isaiah 26:19 “Your dead ones will live. A corpse of mine—they will rise up. Awake and cry out joyfully, YOU residents in the dust! For your dew is as the dew of mallows, and the earth itself will let even those impotent in death drop [in birth]. To return to the woman; And: Isaiah 54:1 “Cry out joyfully, you barren woman that did not give birth! Become cheerful with a joyful outcry and cry shrilly, you that had no childbirth pains, for the sons of the desolated one are more numerous than the sons of the woman with a husbandly owner,” Jehovah has said. We need to step back and look at this for just one moment, and discuss the purpose of families in Jehovah God’s Perfect arrangements. In the beginning, the first man, Adam, was alone….. Genesis 2:20 So the man was calling the names of all the domestic animals and of the flying creatures of the heavens and of every wild beast of the field, but for man there was found no helper as a complement of him. And so the first woman was created as a helpmate, or complement, to Adam, and was -- eventually -- named Eve by Adam. To understand Creation, it is best to understand why Adam was given a helpmate. The only thing that we are told that God is…. is Love. This is explained in 1 John 4:8, 16. Because God has such qualities as love, we also have them; i.e., made in the image of. We have the ability to love because our Creator has that ability….. BUT, love can not be fulfilled if you are alone, nor can love find fulfillment if you are alone. Therefore, to fulfill the love that Almighty Jehovah God is filled with, creation had to occur, or His love could not find fulfillment. Take this a step further. What is love without free will? Do you have love if you MUST have love, or, is love a choice that must be made through your free will? Of course, love is a choice. Just as it was a choice for Jehovah God to begin Creation. Also, because Jehovah God IS love, we well understand that the most powerful force in the Universe is love. We need to keep that in mind. Now, carefully read these verses from 1 John and reflect on them as we continue with this paper; 1 John 4:6 We originate with God. He that gains the knowledge of God listens to us; he that does not originate with God does not listen to us. This is how we take note of the inspired expression of truth and the inspired expression of error. 7 Beloved ones, let us continue loving one another, because love is from God, and everyone who loves has been born from God and gains the knowledge of God. 8 He that does not love has not come to know God, because God is love. 9 By this the love of God was made manifest in our case, because God sent forth his only-begotten Son into the world that we might gain life through him. 10 The love is in this respect, not that we have loved God, but that he loved us and sent forth his Son as a propitiatory sacrifice for our sins. 11 Beloved ones, if this is how God loved us, then we are ourselves under obligation to love one another. 12 At no time has anyone beheld God. If we continue loving one another, God remains in us and his love is made perfect in us. 13 By this we gain the knowledge that we are remaining in union with him and he in union with us, because he has imparted his spirit to us. 14 In addition, we ourselves have beheld and are bearing witness that the Father has sent forth his Son as Savior of the world. 15 Whoever makes the confession that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, God remains in union with such one and he in union with God. 16 And we ourselves have come to know and have believed the love that God has in our case. God is love, and he that remains in love remains in union with God and God remains in union with him. 17 This is how love has been made perfect with us, that we may have freeness of speech in the day of judgment, because, just as that one is, so are we ourselves in this world. 18 There is no fear in love, but perfect love throws fear outside, because fear exercises a restraint. Indeed, he that is under fear has not been made perfect in love. 19 As for us, we love, because he first loved us. 20 If anyone makes the statement: “I love God,” and yet is hating his brother, he is a liar. For he who does not love his brother, whom he has seen, cannot be loving God, whom he has not seen. 21 And this commandment we have from him, that the one who loves God should be loving his brother also. We are given a window into the new world that Jehovah God has promised to us. I will open that window for you at the end of this paper. Now, to continue with the family discussion. We are given many instructions in the Bible as to how this arrangement, of a woman and a man, i.e., a family, is to be organized and viewed. The most important is this; Genesis 2:24 That is why a man will leave his father and his mother and he must stick to his wife and they must become one flesh. In Almighty Jehovah God’s Perfect Arrangements, this ‘marriage’ of two is permanent. It is not to be broken, and from this we can see that the original design was for Adam and Eve to be together forever. Would we have any reason to suspect that Jehovah would make one rule for us, and another for Himself, or for Heaven? Of course not. From this we can understand that family is an important and permanent part of the Creation, and it dates from long before Adam and Eve. How do we know this? Because Jehovah God has sons. Just as Jesus the Christ, or anointed one, is the only begotten Son of God, so also Adam was a son of God (Luke 3:38). Are there more sons of God? Of course; all of the angels in Heaven are called sons of God (Job 38:7). These collectively would constitute the immediate family of God. So who is this woman first mentioned in Genesis 3:16? She is the ‘wife’ of Jehovah God. Note that the word wife is used not in the sense of a physical wife, such as we of the earth know, but as a spiritual wife, or helpmate, who was to help Jehovah God fulfill His Purposes for the earth and mankind, and, help Him to settle once for all time, the issue of Universal Sovereignty, or, who has the right to rule. And, as a ‘wife,’ she was also to bring forth children, ‘adopted’ children, as we are told in the Book of Romans; Romans 8:14 For all who are led by God’s spirit, these are God’s sons. 15 For YOU did not receive a spirit of slavery causing fear again, but YOU received a spirit of adoption as sons, by which spirit we cry out: “Abba, Father!” 16 The spirit itself bears witness with our spirit that we are God’s children. 17 If, then, we are children, we are also heirs: heirs indeed of God, but joint heirs with Christ, provided we suffer together that we may also be glorified together. And; Romans 8:22 For we know that all creation keeps on groaning together and being in pain together until now. 23 Not only that, but we ourselves also who have the firstfruits, namely, the spirit, yes, we ourselves groan within ourselves, while we are earnestly waiting for adoption as sons, the release from our bodies by ransom. First off, I am well aware that Christendom teaches that all who receive baptism are adopted sons of God. While this is true, to an extent, we need to keep in mind that families are extensive, and include cousins, nephews, nieces and etc. So when we read the above, we need to note other clues to understand, such as; we are also heirs: heirs indeed of God, but joint heirs with Christ. To understand this, we need to read two verses in the Bible; Luke 12:32 “Have no fear, little flock, because YOUR Father has approved of giving YOU the kingdom. Reading the above, we carefully note the ‘little flock’ and ‘giving you the kingdom.’ Then; 1 Corinthians 6:3 Do YOU not know that we shall judge angels? Man can not see, let alone judge, angels, so we well understand that something very different is happening here. Revelation 21:5 And the One seated on the throne said: “Look! I am making all things new.” Also, he says: “Write, because these words are faithful and true.” All things new, as it must be, for we are also told that there will be a new heaven and a new earth. Revelation 21:1 And I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the former heaven and the former earth had passed away, and the sea is no more. What does this mean? Is the earth and the heaven to be destroyed and completely rebuilt/recreated? Not hardly. For instance, in Psalms; Pslasms 104:5 He has founded the earth upon its established places; It will not be made to totter to time indefinite, or forever. No, the earth is forever, which is why, in Revelation 11:18 we are told that He will bring to ruin those ruining the earth, so we know that the destruction of the earth will never be permitted. And how about the heavens? Revelation 12:7 And war broke out in heaven: Mi82;cha•el and his angels battled with the dragon, and the dragon and its angels battled 8 but it did not prevail, neither was a place found for them any longer in heaven. 9 So down the great dragon was hurled, the original serpent, the one called Devil and Satan, who is misleading the entire inhabited earth; he was hurled down to the earth, and his angels were hurled down with him. 10 And I heard a loud voice in heaven say: “Now have come to pass the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God and the authority of his Christ, because the accuser of our brothers has been hurled down, who accuses them day and night before our God! 11 And they conquered him because of the blood of the Lamb and because of the word of their witnessing, and they did not love their souls even in the face of death. 12 On this account be glad, YOU heavens and YOU who reside in them! Woe for the earth and for the sea, because the Devil has come down to YOU, having great anger, knowing he has a short period of time.” In reading the above, it is very clear that the heavens were/are to be cleansed, so for what reason would the heaven be destroyed if it is clean?! Is not the same true for the earth…. Or wait, look in the verse 12 above at this; Woe for the earth and for the sea. How does the Devil harm the earth and the sea? To understand the world/earth and how these words are most often used in the Bible, let us step back and look at the Great Flood of Noah’s day; Water Destroys a World—Will It Happen Again? HAVE you ever heard anyone talk about the end of the world?— Today many do talk about it. Some people think the world will end in a war in which men use nuclear bombs. Do you think God will let people destroy our beautiful earth and our lovely heavens and its shining stars?— As we have learned, the Bible tells about the end of the world. “The world is passing away,” the Bible says. (1 John 2:17) Do you think the end of the world will mean the end of the earth?— No, the Bible says that God made the earth “to be inhabited,” yes, for people to live on it and to enjoy it. (Isaiah 45:18) Psalm 37:29 says: “The righteous themselves will possess the earth, and they will reside forever upon it.” For this reason the Bible also says that the earth will last forever.—Psalm 104:5; Ecclesiastes 1:4. So if the end of the world does not mean the end of the earth, what does it mean?— We can find out if we look carefully at what happened in the days of Noah. The Bible explains: “The world of that time suffered destruction when it was deluged [or, flooded] with water.”—2 Peter 3:6. Did anybody live through the end of the world during that Deluge, or great Flood, in Noah’s day?— The Bible says that God “kept Noah, a preacher of righteousness, safe with seven others when he brought a deluge upon a world of ungodly people.”—2 Peter 2:5. So, then, what was the world that ended? Was it the earth, or was it the bad people?— The Bible says that it was the “world of ungodly people.” And notice, Noah is called “a preacher.” What do you think he was preaching about?— Noah was warning people about the end of “the world of that time.” When Jesus spoke about the great Flood, he told his disciples about what the people had been doing just before the end came. This is what he said to them: “In those days before the flood, [people were] eating and drinking, men marrying and women being given in marriage, until the day that Noah entered into the ark; and they took no note until the flood came and swept them all away.” Then Jesus said that people would be acting just like that before this world ends.—Matthew 24:37-39. Once we understand this differently, when we realize that when the Bible speaks of the earth and/or the world being consumed with fire, it is referring to the people (who inhabit the earth) being destroyed; those who never come to an accurate knowledge, and acceptance, of the Truth, it changes how we begin to understand the message of the Bible. This destruction by fire (Revelation 20:15) does not refer to the destruction of this planet, just the destruction of the sons of the wicked one (Matthew 13:38) who inhabit the planet. We should understand this easily, because that is what happened in the flood; all life was erased except for Noah and his family, the only righteous people Jehovah God found on the earth at that time. Jehovah God does not change; what was is and will be. We can see this as well in this verse; John 15:19 If YOU were part of the world, the world would be fond of what is its own. Now because YOU are no part of the world, but I have chosen YOU out of the world, on this account the world hates YOU. Now, you tell me which way this verse makes the most sense; If YOU were part of the planet, the planet would be fond of what is its own. Now because YOU are no part of the planet, but I have chosen YOU out of the planet, on this account the planet hates YOU. OR; If YOU were part of the people, the people would be fond of what is its own. Now because YOU are no part of the people, but I have chosen YOU out of the people, on this account the people hates YOU. Again, this is one of those cases that is covered in Chapter 12, verse 10 of the Book of Daniel; but the ones having insight will understand. Please, choose wisely as to which verse makes sense. And the sea? The sea (Revelation 20:1 … and the sea is no more) refers to the great mass of mankind who have no firm ‘rock’ on which to stand (morals), and are driven this way and that way by every new idea or thought that comes along, just as the sea is driven this way and that by the wind. We need now to return to the woman and see if there is more information about her in the Bible. Of course, there is a LOT more information! First, let us return to the wilderness, in the Book of Revelation. Revelation 12:13 Now when the dragon saw that it was hurled down to the earth, it persecuted the woman that gave birth to the male child. 14 But the two wings of the great eagle were given the woman, that she might fly into the wilderness to her place; there is where she is fed for a time and times and half a time away from the face of the serpent. 15 And the serpent disgorged water like a river from its mouth after the woman, to cause her to be drowned by the river. 16 But the earth came to the woman’s help, and the earth opened its mouth and swallowed up the river that the dragon disgorged from its mouth. 17 And the dragon grew wrathful at the woman, and went off to wage war with the remaining ones of her seed, who observe the commandments of God and have the work of bearing witness to Jesus. There is so much information in the above verses that it is hard to know what to discuss and what to skip. For instance, we all know who the male child is; Jesus the Christ. However, we should well understand that this woman is not Mary, the mother of the infant Jesus. It is the Celestial ‘wife’ of Jehovah God (more on this in a moment). We should also note that the earth swallowed up the river; again, this is the great mass of people who inhabit the earth, and, in God’s plan, they play a role in smothering the plans of Satan the Devil. And carefully note this, to wage war with the remaining ones of her seed. Back to Genesis; Genesis 2:15 And I shall put enmity between you and the woman and between your seed and her seed. He will bruise you in the head and you will bruise him in the heel.” We know, from this, that the Christ Jesus is not the sole seed, just as Satan is not the sole seed of evil in this world; there are more involved in this. Then; Genesis 2:16 To the woman he said: “I shall greatly increase the pain of your pregnancy; in birth pangs you will bring forth children, and your craving will be for your husband, and he will dominate you.” When you read the above, we are being told that it will take a long time for the seed to come forth completely; it will, indeed, be a very difficult birthing. We know that Jesus is the first seed, and he had to come forth before any of the others could be chosen, from the earth. We were told of this as well in Romans; Romans 8:18 For the eager expectation of the creation is waiting for the revealing of the sons of God. Romans 8:23 … while we are earnestly waiting for adoption as sons, the release from our bodies by ransom. In verse 23, we can see that while some are chosen, just as the apostles were chosen, that does not mean that their adoption is automatic. They must first be faithful until the end; until their death. Note this carefully; the release from our bodies by ransom. This is explained in the Bible; 1 Corinthians 6:19 What! Do YOU not know that the body of YOU people is [the] temple of the holy spirit within YOU, which YOU have from God? Also, YOU do not belong to yourselves, 20 for YOU were bought with a price Revelation 7:3 saying: “Do not harm the earth or the sea or the trees, until after we have sealed the slaves of our God in their foreheads.” Slaves are bought with a price, and that price paid was the ransom sacrifice paid by Jehovah God through His Son, Jesus, the Christ, and note that the earth, i.e., the people of the earth, are not to be harmed until all of the seed, or slaves, are sealed. And who are these slaves? Revelation 7:4 And I heard the number of those who were sealed, a hundred and forty-four thousand, sealed out of every tribe of the sons of Israel: Stop the presses! Who are the sons of Israel? Are they the present day Jews? Of course not! If you will go to the Book of Revelation, Chapter 7, and simply compare the tribes of Israel listed there with the original tribes of Israel, you will find that there are differences. This is so that no one is confused about the issue, because these sons of Israel are the spiritual sons, bought with a price by the Christ Jesus, who was rejected by the Jews. These spiritual sons of God are NOT the fleshly Jews. Did you note that part about spiritual? Spiritual wife; spiritual sons. Makes sense, does it not? Who are these 144,000 adopted sons of Jehovah God? They are the helpmates of Jesus Christ, who are to rule jointly with him, to time indefinite, even forever, as kings and priests. We will get into some details about this shortly. Right now, we need to go back and look at the woman some more, principally in the Book of Isaiah. Isaiah 54:1 “Cry out joyfully, you barren woman that did not give birth! … Who is being referred to here? Whom, then, did “the free woman” Sarah and her son, Isaac, represent? Paul indicated that Sarah, the “barren woman,” symbolized God’s wife, the heavenly part of his organization. This heavenly woman was barren in that before Jesus came she had no spirit-anointed “children” on the earth. (Galatians 4:27; Isaiah 54:1-6) However, at Pentecost 33 C.E., holy spirit was poured out on a group of men and women who were thus born again as children of this heavenly woman. The children produced by this organization were adopted as sons of God and became joint heirs with Jesus Christ under a new covenant relationship. (Romans 8:15-17) One of these children, the apostle Paul, could write: “The Jerusalem above is free, and she is our mother.”—Galatians 4:26. Children of the Women According to the Bible account, Ishmael persecuted Isaac. In like manner, during the first century C.E., the children of enslaved Jerusalem mocked and persecuted the children of the Jerusalem above. “Just as then the one born in the manner of flesh [Ishmael] began persecuting the one born in the manner of spirit [Isaac], so also now,” Paul explained. (Galatians 4:29) When Jesus Christ appeared on earth and began announcing the Kingdom, the Jewish religious leaders behaved just as Hagar’s son Ishmael had behaved toward Abraham’s true heir, Isaac. They mocked and persecuted Jesus Christ, evidently viewing themselves as Abraham’s legitimate heir and Jesus as the intruder. (You should carefully note that this has not changed in the religious leaders of the world of today.) Shortly before the rulers of natural Israel had him put to death, Jesus said: “Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the killer of the prophets and stoner of those sent forth to her,—how often I wanted to gather your children together, the way a hen gathers her chicks together under her wings! But you people did not want it. Look! Your house is abandoned to you.”—Matthew 23:37, 38. A little history is necessary here. To complete His Purpose in bringing forth the seed to ‘break up the works of the devil,’ Jehovah God entered into a covenant with Abraham, and created the nation of Israel. Thus was created the linage that would produce Jesus Christ. See the Book of Luke, Chapter 3, verses 23-34. The Israelites were to be a holy people, separate from all the people of the earth, and the intent was that the seed was to be brought forth through them. Deuteronomy 14:1 “Sons YOU are of Jehovah YOUR God. YOU must not make cuttings upon yourselves or impose baldness on YOUR foreheads for a dead person. 2 For you are a holy people to Jehovah your God, and Jehovah has chosen you to become his people, a special property, out of all the peoples who are on the surface of the ground. The words ‘a holy people’ occurs just four times in the Bible, and all four times the words are in the Book of Deuteronomy, and refer to the Israelites. The intent of Jehovah God is very clear, and continues throughout the early books of the Bible with numerous warnings being spoken to the Israelites by Jehovah’s prophets as to what would happen if they did not repent and return to and honor their covenant with Jehovah God. And the intent of Jehovah God was to bring forth All of the seed; not just the Christ Jesus. However, Israel kept breaking their covenant with Jehovah God, and for that, He divorced them. Jeremiah 3:6 And Jehovah proceeded to say to me in the days of Jo•si82;ah the king: “‘Have you seen what unfaithful Israel has done? She is going upon every high mountain and underneath every luxuriant tree, that she may commit prostitution there. 7 And after her doing all these things I kept saying that she should return even to me, but she did not return; and Judah kept looking at her own treacherous sister. 8 When I got to see that, for the very reason that unfaithful Israel had committed adultery, I sent her away and proceeded to give the certificate of her full divorce to her, yet treacherously dealing Judah her sister did not become afraid, but she herself also began to go and commit prostitution. 9 And her prostitution occurred because of [her] frivolous view, and she kept polluting the land and committing adultery with stones and with trees; 10 and even for all this her treacherous sister Judah did not return to me with all her heart, only falsely,’ is the utterance of Jehovah.” The legal case against the spiritual mother of Israel is finished in Hosea: Hosea 2:1 “SAY to YOUR brothers, ‘My people!’ and to YOUR sisters, ‘O woman shown mercy!’ 2 Carry on a legal case with YOUR mother; carry on a legal case, for she is not my wife and I am not her husband. Was Jehovah God responsible for this problem? Of course not, as was explained in the Book of Jeremiah; Jeremiah 50:1 This is what Jehovah has said: “Where, then, is the divorce certificate of the mother of YOU people, whom I sent away? Or which one of my creditors is it to whom I have sold YOU people? Look! Because of YOUR own errors YOU have been sold, and because of YOUR own transgressions YOUR mother has been sent away. We are told what happened then; Acts 15:14 Sym82;e•on has related thoroughly how God for the first time turned his attention to the nations to take out of them a people for his name. We have already looked at what this means, but we should review; Revelation 7:3 saying: “Do not harm the earth or the sea or the trees, until after we have sealed the slaves of our God in their foreheads.” 4 And I heard the number of those who were sealed, a hundred and forty-four thousand, sealed out of every tribe of the sons of Israel: Revelation 14:1 And I saw, and, look! the Lamb standing upon the Mount Zion, and with him a hundred and forty-four thousand having his name and the name of his Father written on their foreheads. This is the ‘little flock’ detailed at Luke 12:32, and the Bible is very clear on this subject. These are joint heirs and co-rulers with Jesus the Christ to time indefinite. They are, with Jesus the Christ as the principal head, or husband, the world government that will stand to time indefinite, even forever, as foretold in the Book of Daniel, Chapter 2, verse 44; Daniel 2:44 “And in the days of those kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that will never be brought to ruin. And the kingdom itself will not be passed on to any other people. It will crush and put an end to all these kingdoms, and it itself will stand to times indefinite; Once the world is cleansed (of evil people and evil influences), as is explained in the Book of Revelation, never again will a rebellion against the rightful rule of Jehovah God be permitted. Never again will the peace of the Universe be disturbed. As was said in 1 Corinthians 6:3, a system is to be put into place that will even judge angels. No … more … rebellion. I promised you a window into the future, and that window that we have to view the future of the earth, and of the Universe, is this; Matthew 33:36 “Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?” 37 He said to him: “‘You must love Jehovah your God with your whole heart and with your whole soul and with your whole mind.’ 38 This is the greatest and first commandment. 39 The second, like it, is this, ‘You must love your neighbor as yourself.’ 40 On these two commandments the whole Law hangs, and the Prophets.” John 13:34 I am giving YOU a new commandment, that YOU love one another; just as I have loved YOU, that YOU also love one another. 35 By this all will know that YOU are my disciples, if YOU have love among yourselves.” If you will but read and study the above three commandments, you will understand what the new world promised to us by Jehovah God is all about, and what it will be like to live in it. If you have any confusion on the subject, then carefully think about this chapter of the Book of 1 John in the Bible, most of which we looked at earlier; 1 John 4:1 Beloved ones, do not believe every inspired expression, but test the inspired expressions to see whether they originate with God, because many false prophets have gone forth into the world. 2 YOU gain the knowledge of the inspired expression from God by this: Every inspired expression that confesses Jesus Christ as having come in the flesh originates with God, 3 but every inspired expression that does not confess Jesus does not originate with God. Furthermore, this is the antichrist’s [inspired expression] which YOU have heard was coming, and now it is already in the world. 4 YOU originate with God, little children, and YOU have conquered those [persons], because he that is in union with YOU is greater than he that is in union with the world. 5 They originate with the world; that is why they speak [what proceeds] from the world and the world listens to them. 6 We originate with God. He that gains the knowledge of God listens to us; he that does not originate with God does not listen to us. This is how we take note of the inspired expression of truth and the inspired expression of error. 7 Beloved ones, let us continue loving one another, because love is from God, and everyone who loves has been born from God and gains the knowledge of God. 8 He that does not love has not come to know God, because God is love. 9 By this the love of God was made manifest in our case, because God sent forth his only-begotten Son into the world that we might gain life through him. 10 The love is in this respect, not that we have loved God, but that he loved us and sent forth his Son as a propitiatory sacrifice for our sins. 11 Beloved ones, if this is how God loved us, then we are ourselves under obligation to love one another. 12 At no time has anyone beheld God. If we continue loving one another, God remains in us and his love is made perfect in us. 13 By this we gain the knowledge that we are remaining in union with him and he in union with us, because he has imparted his spirit to us. 14 In addition, we ourselves have beheld and are bearing witness that the Father has sent forth his Son as Savior of the world. 15 Whoever makes the confession that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, God remains in union with such one and he in union with God. 16 And we ourselves have come to know and have believed the love that God has in our case. God is love, and he that remains in love remains in union with God and God remains in union with him. 17 This is how love has been made perfect with us, that we may have freeness of speech in the day of judgment, because, just as that one is, so are we ourselves in this world. 18 There is no fear in love, but perfect love throws fear outside, because fear exercises a restraint. Indeed, he that is under fear has not been made perfect in love. 19 As for us, we love, because he first loved us. 20 If anyone makes the statement: “I love God,” and yet is hating his brother, he is a liar. For he who does not love his brother, whom he has seen, cannot be loving God, whom he has not seen. 21 And this commandment we have from him, that the one who loves God should be loving his brother also. The above is the finest discussion of love, and of what it means and where it comes from, that has ever been written. Or that can ever be written, for it came from the original source of Love, Almighty Jehovah God. There is also in the Bible, a very fine discussion of faith, and you would do well if you were to study the above Chapter 4 from 1 John, and Chapter 11 of Hebrews together. Please remember, that the entire message of the Bible is one of Love, as expressed through the Creation of the Universe. And then consider this promise; the end WILL come. Now, we are going to look at three aspects of what has happened (to cause the current problems), what is to happen (God’s government), and, what is happening today as regards that government. Evil—Is It Out of Control? A curious little boy picks up an object in a field—a land mine—and is blinded and mutilated for life. A mother abandons her newborn baby, hiding it amid roadside trash. A discharged worker returns to his previous place of employment, shoots everyone in sight, and then kills himself. A respected citizen sexually abuses defenseless children. SADLY, reports of such evil acts have become all too common in our time. Sadder still, these reports are often eclipsed by accounts of ethnic cleansing, genocide, and terrorism. “At its worst, this has been Satan’s century,” said an editorial published in 1995. “In no previous age have people shown so great an aptitude, and appetite, for killing millions of other people for reasons of race, religion or class.” At the same time, humans are polluting the air, fouling the earth, depleting its resources, and driving countless species toward extinction. Can mankind overcome all these evils and make the world a better, safer place? Or would attempting to do so be like trying to sweep back the tide with a broom? Said a professor who has written extensively on the subject of evil: “I have had a very strong need to make a difference in the world, to improve the world. But the world is not visibly improving.” Perhaps you feel similarly. The way the world is heading can be likened to a ship that is sailing into seas that become more turbulent and perilous by the day. Though no one wants to go in that direction, all efforts to change course meet with failure. The vessel just moves headlong into the deadly tempest, unstoppable. To some extent, this ever-deteriorating situation can be attributed to human imperfection. (Romans 3:23) Still, the scale of evil, its ubiquity, and its relentlessness seem out of proportion to the malice that can be attributed to humans alone. Is it possible that mankind is being manipulated by an unseen but powerful and sinister force? If so, what is it, and how can we protect ourselves? The following article will address these questions. The Source of Evil Exposed! IN THE first century, many of the Jews were awaiting the arrival of the promised Messiah. (John 6:14) When Jesus came on the scene, he brought comfort and enlightenment. He healed the sick, fed the hungry, tamed the elements, even raised the dead. (Matthew 8:26; 14:14-21; 15:30, 31; Mark 5:38-43) He also spoke the sayings of Jehovah and held out the promise of everlasting life. (John 3:34) By what he said and did, Jesus fully demonstrated that he was the Messiah, the one to liberate mankind from sin and all its evil consequences. Logically, the Jewish religious leaders should have been the first to welcome Jesus, listen to him, and joyfully accept his direction. Yet, they did not. Instead, they hated him, persecuted him, and conspired to kill him!—Mark 14:1; 15:1-3, 10-15. Jesus rightly condemned those reprehensible men. (Matthew 23:33-35) However, he recognized that there was someone else who must share the blame for the evil in their hearts. He said to them: “You are from your father the Devil, and you wish to do the desires of your father. That one was a manslayer when he began, and he did not stand fast in the truth, because truth is not in him. When he speaks the lie, he speaks according to his own disposition, because he is a liar and the father of the lie.” (John 8:44) Though Jesus acknowledged that humans are capable of wicked acts, he pointed to the very source of evil—Satan the Devil. By saying that Satan “did not stand fast in the truth,” Jesus revealed that this spirit creature was once a faithful servant of God but deviated from that right course. Why did Satan rebel against Jehovah? Because he nurtured feelings of self-importance to the point that he coveted worship that belongs only to God.—Matthew 4:8, 9. Satan’s rebellion found expression in the garden of Eden when he deceived Eve into eating the forbidden fruit. By uttering the first lie ever spoken and by slandering Jehovah, Satan made himself “the father of the lie.” Furthermore, by luring Adam and Eve into disobedience, he caused sin to rule over them, leading ultimately to their death and the death of future generations. Thus, Satan also made himself “a manslayer”—indeed, the most monstrous murderer of all time!—Genesis 3:1-6; Romans 5:12. Satan’s evil influence even reached into the spirit realm, where he induced other angels to join him in rebellion. (2 Peter 2:4) Like Satan, these wicked spirits took an improper interest in humans. In their case, however, it was a perverted sexual interest, with disastrous, evil consequences. Evil Fills the Earth The Bible tells us: “When men started to grow in numbers . . . and daughters were born to them, then the sons of the true God began to notice the daughters of men, that they were good-looking; and they went taking wives for themselves, namely, all whom they chose.” (Genesis 6:1, 2) Who were those “sons of the true God”? They were spirit creatures, not humans. (Job 1:6; 2:1) How do we know? For one thing, marriage between humans had been taking place for some 1,500 years and warranted no special mention. So by drawing attention to the sexual union of “the sons of the true God” who materialized and took “the daughters of men,” the account clearly refers to something unprecedented, abnormal. This abnormality is confirmed by the kind of offspring that resulted from these unions. Called Nephilim, they were hybrids who grew up to be giants. They were also vicious bullies. In fact, “Nephilim” means “Fellers,” or “those who cause others to fall down.” These brutes are described as “the mighty ones who were of old, the men of fame.”—Genesis 6:4, footnote. The Nephilim and their fathers took wickedness to new lows. “The earth came to be ruined in the sight of the true God and . . . became filled with violence,” notes Genesis 6:11. Yes, humans adopted the violent, depraved ways of the newcomers in their midst. How did the Nephilim and their fathers exert such a powerful evil influence on humans? By appealing to mankind’s sinful inclination and desires. The result? “All flesh . . . ruined its way on the earth.” Finally, Jehovah destroyed that world in a global Deluge, sparing only righteous Noah and his family. (Genesis 6:5, 12-22) The materialized angels, however, returned to the spirit realm in disgrace. As debased demons, they continued to oppose God and his righteous family of loyal angels. It appears that from that time on, God forbade these wicked spirits to materialize. (Jude 6) Nevertheless, they have remained a potent force in human affairs. The Evil One Is Fully Exposed! The extent of Satan’s evil influence is revealed at 1 John 5:19, which states: “The whole world is lying in the power of the wicked one.” The Devil is maneuvering mankind into a tempest of increasing woes. In fact, he is more determined than ever to do harm. Why? Because he and the demons were evicted from heaven after God’s Kingdom was established in 1914. Regarding this eviction, the Bible foretold: “Woe for the earth . . . , because the Devil has come down to you, having great anger, knowing he has a short period of time.” (Revelation 12:7-12) How, then, does Satan wield his influence over mankind today? Satan does so primarily by promoting a spirit that governs the way that people think and act. Accordingly, Ephesians 2:2 calls the Devil “the ruler of the authority of the air, the spirit [or, dominant attitude] that now operates in the sons of disobedience.” Instead of encouraging godly fear and goodness, this demonic “air” breeds rebellion against God and his standards. Satan and his demons thus promote and aggravate the evil perpetrated by humans. “Safeguard Your Heart” One manifestation of this “air” is the plague of pornography, which inflames improper sexual desires and makes aberrant behavior appear to be appealing. (1 Thessalonians 4:3-5) Rape, sadism, gang rape, bestiality, and the sexual abuse of children are some of the subjects that pornography features as entertaining. Even in its less noxious forms, pornography can be highly addictive and harms those who view it or read it, turning them into habitual voyeurs. It is an evil that damages both human relations and one’s relationship with God. Pornography reflects the debased mentality of the demons who promote it—rebels whose improper sexual desires date back to the pre-Flood world of Noah’s day. For good reason, the wise man Solomon admonished: “More than all else that is to be guarded, safeguard your heart, for out of it are the sources of life.” (Proverbs 4:23) In practical terms, safeguarding your heart from the snare of pornography may mean changing TV channels or turning off the computer should salacious images appear, and it is important to act swiftly and decisively! Think of yourself as a soldier trying to ward off a missile aimed at your heart. Satan targets your figurative heart—your seat of motivation and desire—and seeks to corrupt it. You also need to shield your heart from the love of violence, for the Devil knows that “anyone loving violence [Jehovah] certainly hates.” (Psalm 11:5) Satan does not have to turn you into a bloodthirsty villain to make you an enemy of God; he simply needs to nurture within you a love of violence. It is no coincidence that violence, often with occult themes, saturates the popular media. The Nephilim are dead and gone, but their traits and behavior are very much alive! Does your choice of entertainment show that you resist Satan’s schemes?—2 Corinthians 2:11. How to Resist Satan’s Evil Influence The forces of evil can appear formidable. The Bible points out that those striving to please God “have a wrestling . . . against the wicked spirit forces,” in addition to a struggle with their own imperfect flesh. To win the struggle and to have God’s favor, we need to take advantage of the many provisions from God.—Ephesians 6:12; Romans 7:21-25. These provisions include God’s holy spirit, the most powerful force in the universe. The apostle Paul wrote to first-century Christians: “We received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is from God.” (1 Corinthians 2:12) Those led by God’s spirit grow to love what God loves and hate what he hates. (Amos 5:15) How can one receive holy spirit? Primarily through prayer, Bible study—the Bible itself being a product of holy spirit—and wholesome association with those who truly love God.—Luke 11:13; 2 Timothy 3:16; Hebrews 10:24, 25. By taking advantage of these divine provisions, you make a start in putting on “the complete suit of armor from God,” the only sure protection against “the machinations of the Devil.” (Ephesians 6:11-18) Making full use of these provisions is more urgent now than ever before. How so? Evil Has Had Its Day! “When the wicked ones sprout as the vegetation and all the practicers of what is hurtful blossom forth, it is that they may be annihilated forever,” says the psalmist. (Psalm 92:7) Yes, as in Noah’s day, the present proliferation of evil is evidence that God’s judgment is impending, not just against wicked humans but also against Satan and his demons, who will be hurled into an abyss of inactivity as a prelude to their eventual destruction. (2 Timothy 3:1-5; Revelation 20:1-3, 7-10) Who will execute that judgment? None other than Jesus Christ, about whom we read: “For this purpose the Son of God was made manifest, namely, to break up the works of the Devil.”—1 John 3:8. Do you yearn for an end to evil? If so, then you can take comfort in the promises contained in the Bible. No other book exposes the very author of evil, Satan, and no other book shows how he and all his wicked works will finally be eradicated. We urge you to take in accurate knowledge of the Bible so as to protect yourself against Satan’s evil influences now and to secure the hope of living in a world free from evil.—Psalm 37:9, 10. [Footnotes] The original name of the angel who became Satan is unknown. The terms “Satan” and “Devil” mean “Resister” and “Slanderer.” In some respects, Satan’s course parallels that of the ancient king of Tyre. (Ezekiel 28:12-19) Both started out faultless in their ways but became victims of their own haughtiness. Once you understand the message in the Bible, the information above becomes very important in understanding where we are in the time of the end. But to truly begin to understand the time of the end, and why the end WILL come, we need to know, exactly, what is God’s Kingdom? What Is God’s Kingdom? WHAT a terrible disaster struck mankind early in human history! An angel rebelled against the authority of the very One who had created him. This rebel enticed the first woman, Eve, to eat the forbidden fruit. Referring to her and her husband, Adam, the angel said: “You positively will not die. For God knows that in the very day of your eating from it your eyes are bound to be opened and you are bound to be like God, knowing good and bad.” (Genesis 2:16, 17; 3:1-5) The rebellious angel came to be called Devil and Satan.—Revelation 12:9. Did Eve pay attention to Satan’s words? The Bible tells us: “The woman saw that the tree was good for food and that it was something to be longed for to the eyes, yes, the tree was desirable to look upon. So she began taking of its fruit and eating it. Afterward she gave some also to her husband when with her and he began eating it.” (Genesis 3:6) Yes, the first couple, Adam and Eve, joined Satan in his rebellion. As a consequence, they lost Paradise for themselves and for their descendants. Children who were to be born perfect with eternal life ahead of them would instead inherit sin and death.—Romans 5:12. How did Jehovah God, the Sovereign Ruler of the universe, respond? He purposed to make provision for the forgiveness of sins. (Romans 5:8) Jehovah God has also established a governmental arrangement to manage the crisis. This arrangement is called “the kingdom of God.” (Luke 21:31) Set up as a subsidiary to God’s universal rulership, this Kingdom has a specific purpose. What is the purpose of God’s Kingdom? What are some of its aspects, and how do they compare with human rulership? When was the Kingdom to begin ruling? These questions will be discussed in the following article. God’s Kingdom—Superior in Every Way JESUS CHRIST taught his followers: “You must pray, then, this way: ‘Our Father in the heavens, let your name be sanctified. Let your kingdom come. Let your will take place, as in heaven, also upon earth.’” (Matthew 6:9, 10) This prayer, known to many as the Our Father, or the Lord’s Prayer, explains the purpose of God’s Kingdom. By means of the Kingdom, God’s name will be sanctified. It will be cleared of all the dishonor that has been heaped upon it as a result of the rebellion of Satan and man. This is vital. The happiness of all intelligent creatures depends on their holding God’s name sacred and willingly accepting his right to rule.—Revelation 4:11. In addition, the Kingdom is set up to “let [God’s] will take place, as in heaven, also upon earth.” And what is that will? It is to restore the relationship between God and humankind, which Adam lost. The Kingdom will also serve the purpose of the Universal Sovereign, Jehovah, to establish a paradise on earth where good people can enjoy life forever. Yes, God’s Kingdom will undo all the damage done by original sin and will make God’s loving purpose for the earth a reality. (1 John 3:8) This Kingdom and what it will accomplish is, in fact, the main message of the Bible. Superior in What Ways? God’s Kingdom is a real government having great power. The prophet Daniel gave us a glimpse of just how powerful it is. Long ago, he foretold: “The God of heaven will set up a kingdom that . . . will crush and put an end to all [human] kingdoms.” Moreover, in contrast with human governments, which come and go over the course of history, God’s Kingdom “will never be brought to ruin.” (Daniel 2:44) That is not all. In every respect, this Kingdom is far superior to any human government. God’s Kingdom has a superior King. Consider who that King is. In “a dream and visions” given to him, Daniel beheld the Ruler of God’s Kingdom as “someone like a son of man” brought before Almighty God and given lasting “rulership and dignity and kingdom.” (Daniel 7:1, 13, 14) That Son of man is none other than Jesus Christ—the Messiah. (Matthew 16:13-17) Jehovah God designated his own Son, Jesus, to be King of His Kingdom. When on earth, Jesus said to the wicked Pharisees: “The kingdom of God is in your midst,” meaning that he, the future King of that Kingdom, was among them.—Luke 17:21. Who from among mankind can match Jesus’ credentials as a Ruler? Jesus has already proved to be a thoroughly righteous, reliable, and compassionate Leader. The Gospels portray him as a man of action as well as one of tender warmth and deep feelings. (Matthew 4:23; Mark 1:40, 41; 6:31-34; Luke 7:11-17) Furthermore, the resurrected Jesus is not subject to death or other human limitations.—Isaiah 9:6, 7. Jesus and his associates rule from a superior position. In his dream-vision, Daniel also saw that “the kingdom and the rulership . . . were given to the people who are the holy ones.” (Daniel 7:27) Jesus does not rule alone. He has others with him who are to rule as kings and serve as priests. (Revelation 5:9, 10; 20:6) Concerning them, the apostle John wrote: “I saw, and, look! the Lamb standing upon the Mount Zion, and with him a hundred and forty-four thousand . . . who have been bought from the earth.”—Revelation 14:1-3. The Lamb is Jesus Christ in his Kingdom position. (John 1:29; Revelation 22:3) This Mount Zion refers to heaven. (Hebrews 12:22) Jesus and his 144,000 associates are ruling from heaven. What a lofty position from which to rule! Being in heaven, they have a broader perspective. Since heaven is its seat, “the kingdom of God” is also called “the kingdom of the heavens.” (Luke 8:10; Matthew 13:11) No weapons, not even nuclear attacks, can reach and topple that heavenly government. It is unconquerable and will fulfill Jehovah’s purpose for it.—Hebrews 12:28. God’s Kingdom has trustworthy representatives on earth. How do we know this? Psalm 45:16 states: “You will appoint . . . princes in all the earth.” “You” in this prophecy is the Son of God. (Psalm 45:6, 7; Hebrews 1:7, 8) Hence, Jesus Christ himself will appoint the princely representatives. We can be sure that they will be faithful in carrying out his direction. Even today, qualified men who serve as elders in the Christian congregation are taught, not to “lord it over” their fellow believers, but to protect, refresh, and comfort them.—Matthew 20:25-28; Isaiah 32:2. The Kingdom has righteous subjects. They are blameless and upright in God’s eyes. (Proverbs 2:21, 22) “The meek ones themselves will possess the earth,” says the Bible, “and they will indeed find their exquisite delight in the abundance of peace.” (Psalm 37:11) The subjects of the Kingdom are meek—teachable and humble, mild and gentle. Their primary interests are spiritual matters. (Matthew 5:3) They want to do what is right and are responsive to divine direction. God’s Kingdom is governed by superior laws. The laws and principles governing the Kingdom come from Jehovah God himself. Rather than unfairly restrict us, they benefit us. (Psalm 19:7-11) Many people are already benefiting from living by Jehovah’s righteous requirements. For example, heeding the Bible’s counsel to husbands, wives, and children improves our family life. (Ephesians 5:33–6:3) When we obey the command to ‘clothe ourselves with love,’ our relationship with others improves. (Colossians 3:13, 14) As we live by Scriptural principles, we also cultivate good work habits and a balanced view of money. (Proverbs 13:4; 1 Timothy 6:9, 10) Avoiding drunkenness, sexual immorality, tobacco, and addictive drugs helps us to safeguard our health.—Proverbs 7:21-23; 23:29, 30; 2 Corinthians 7:1. The Kingdom of God is a government ordained by God. Its King—the Messiah, Jesus Christ—and all his associate rulers are responsible to God to uphold His just laws and loving principles. The subjects of the Kingdom, including its earthly representatives, take delight in living by God’s laws. God is thus at the center of the lives of the rulers and the subjects of the Kingdom. Therefore, the Kingdom is a true theocracy—rule by God. It is bound to succeed in accomplishing the purpose for which it has been set up. But when does God’s Kingdom, also known as the Messianic Kingdom, begin its rule? Kingdom Rule Begins A key to understanding when Kingdom rule begins is found in the words of Jesus. “Jerusalem will be trampled on by the nations,” he said, “until the appointed times of the nations are fulfilled.” (Luke 21:24) Jerusalem was the only city in all the earth that was directly associated with God’s name. (1 Kings 11:36; Matthew 5:35) It was the capital of a God-approved earthly kingdom. That city was to be trampled on by the nations in that the rule by God over his people was to be interrupted by worldly governments. When would this begin? The last king to sit on Jehovah’s throne in Jerusalem was told: “Remove the turban, and lift off the crown. . . . It will certainly become no one’s until he comes who has the legal right, and I must give it to him.” (Ezekiel 21:25-27) The crown was to be lifted off the head of that king, and God’s rulership over His people was to be interrupted. This happened in 607 B.C.E. when the Babylonians destroyed Jerusalem. During “the appointed times” that were to follow, God would not have a government on the earth to represent his rulership. Only at the end of those times would Jehovah give the power to rule to the one “who has the legal right”—Jesus Christ. How long would that period be? A prophecy in the Bible book of Daniel states: “Chop the tree down, and ruin it. However, leave its rootstock itself in the earth, but with a banding of iron and of copper . . . until seven times themselves pass over it.” (Daniel 4:23) As we will see, the “seven times” mentioned here are equal in length to “the appointed times of the nations.” In the Bible, individuals, rulers, and kingdoms are at times represented by trees. (Psalm 1:3; Jeremiah 17:7, 8; Ezekiel, chapter 31) The symbolic tree “was visible to the extremity of the whole earth.” (Daniel 4:11) Thus, the rulership represented by the tree that was to be chopped down and banded extended “to the extremity of the earth,” involving the whole kingdom of mankind. (Daniel 4:17, 20, 22) The tree therefore represents the supreme rulership of God, particularly in its relationship to the earth. This rulership was expressed for a time through the kingdom that Jehovah set up over the nation of Israel. The symbolic tree was cut down, and bands of iron and copper were placed upon the stump in order to prevent its growth. This indicated that God’s representative rulership on earth was to cease its operation, as happened in 607 B.C.E.—but not indefinitely. The tree would remain banded until “seven times” had passed. At the end of that period, Jehovah would give rulership to the legal heir, Jesus Christ. Clearly, the “seven times” and “the appointed times of the nations” refer to the same time period. The Bible helps us to determine the length of the “seven times.” It equates 1,260 days with “a time [one time] and times [two times, plural] and half a time”—a total of three and a half “times.” (Revelation 12:6, 14) This means that twice that number, or seven times, is 2,520 days. When we count 2,520 literal days from 607 B.C.E., we come to 600 B.C.E. However, the seven times lasted much longer than that. They were still in progress when Jesus spoke of “the appointed times of the nations.” The seven times, therefore, are prophetic. Hence, we must apply the Scriptural rule: “A day for a year.” (Numbers 14:34; Ezekiel 4:6) In that case, the seven times of earth’s domination by worldly powers without divine interference amount to 2,520 years. Counting 2,520 years from 607 B.C.E. brings us to 1914 C.E. That is the year when “the appointed times of the nations,” or seven times, ended. This means that Jesus Christ began to rule as King of God’s Kingdom in 1914. “Let Your Kingdom Come” Since the Messianic Kingdom has already been established in heaven, should we continue to pray for it to come, as taught by Jesus in the model prayer? (Matthew 6:9, 10) Yes. That petition is proper and still full of meaning. God’s Kingdom will yet assert its full power toward this earth. What blessings faithful mankind will experience when that happens! “God himself will be with them,” says the Bible, “and he will wipe out every tear from their eyes, and death will be no more, neither will mourning nor outcry nor pain be anymore. The former things have passed away.” (Revelation 21:3, 4) At that time, “no resident will say: ‘I am sick.’” (Isaiah 33:24) Everlasting life will be enjoyed by those who please God. (John 17:3) As we await the fulfillment of these and other wonderful Bible prophecies, let us “keep on, then, seeking first the kingdom and [God’s] righteousness.”—Matthew 6:33. [Footnote] King David of ancient Israel wrested the stronghold of the earthly Mount Zion from the Jebusites and made it his capital. (2 Samuel 5:6, 7, 9) He also transferred the sacred Ark to that location. (2 Samuel 6:17) Since the Ark was associated with Jehovah’s presence, Zion was referred to as the place of God’s dwelling, making it a fitting symbol for heaven.—Exodus 25:22; Leviticus 16:2; Psalm 9:11; Revelation 11:19. Understanding the meaning of the end of the time of the gentiles, i.e., the “seven times” and “the appointed times of the nations,” as used in explaining the right of the people to rule themselves in place of rulership by Almighty God, is essential in understanding the time of the end. Why? Because to understand the time of the end we have to understand the provisions that Almighty Jehovah God would make for His People as the end draws near. We would be foolish indeed if we did not understand that a God of Love would NOT leave His People without guidance and without leadership as the end draws near. We are even given a notice of this in the Bible; Matthew 24:45 “Who really is the faithful and discreet slave whom his master appointed over his domestics, to give them their food at the proper time? The proper time is the time of the end. That is now, so we should well understand that there would be some recognizable organization that would exist, would be established by Jehovah God, and would have some characteristic that would make it recognizable by those having insight. I have already given you that characteristic, as related by Jesus Christ to us; John 13:34 I am giving YOU a new commandment, that YOU love one another; just as I have loved YOU, that YOU also love one another. 35 By this all will know that YOU are my disciples, if YOU have love among yourselves.” As is easily understood in the Bible, Jehovah God leaves nothing unplanned or to chance. Everything is very carefully arranged to fulfill His Divine Purposes. Therefore, let us search out that which was planned for the time of the end by Jehovah God. As we begin this search, let us keep in mind some of the notices we were given in the Bible. First; Luke 11:23 He that is not on my side is against me, and he that does not gather with me scatters. Would you like to understand why there are so many different sects of Christianity? Above is the answer. I have no wish to be against Almighty God. The result of this is clearly stated in the Book of James; James 4:4 Adulteresses, do YOU not know that the friendship with the world is enmity with God? Whoever, therefore, wants to be a friend of the world is constituting himself an enemy of God. To understand the above better, once again substitute the word people for the word world, and study the result…. Although to substitute ‘people of the world’ for the word world is still clearer. To be an enemy of God is to not be preparing for the kingdom of the heavens, for indeed, it does draw near. Matthew 4:17 From that time on Jesus commenced preaching and saying: “Repent, YOU people, for the kingdom of the heavens has drawn near.” Then we were told who was to lead that kingdom of the heavens; Luke 1:32 This one will be great and will be called Son of the Most High; and Jehovah God will give him the throne of David his father, 33 and he will rule as king over the house of Jacob forever, and there will be no end of his kingdom.” We were told something else about this Son of the Most High, in great detail; Colossians 1:15 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation; 16 because by means of him all [other] things were created in the heavens and upon the earth, the things visible and the things invisible, no matter whether they are thrones or lordships or governments or authorities. All [other] things have been created through him and for him. 17 Also, he is before all [other] things and by means of him all [other] things were made to exist, 18 and he is the head of the body, the congregation. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that he might become the one who is first in all things; 19 because [God] saw good for all fullness to dwell in him, 20 and through him to reconcile again to himself all [other] things by making peace through the blood [he shed] on the torture stake, no matter whether they are the things upon the earth or the things in the heavens. Note this carefully; All [other] things have been created through him and for him. As is stated in Malachi 3:6, Jehovah God does not change, and neither do His Purposes. From the very beginning, Jesus the Anointed One (the Christ) was created and carefully trained for a period covering billions of years to not only rule over all of creation, but because he was the Master Worker who did the actual work of creation, he was also carefully trained in how to repair all of the errors committed through free will. Once you begin to understand this information, you also begin to understand how silly is the belief in the Trinity, and how clever Satan truly is, because the Trinity belief has infected the earth (people) since the days of Babylon. This is a belief that is common throughout all the history of religion on this planet. Except, of course, for the Bible, where the word nor the concept exists. From whence the light shines forth, and there is no darkness; Romans 13:12 The night is well along; the day has drawn near. Let us therefore put off the works belonging to darkness and let us put on the weapons of the light. How is darkness referred to in the Bible, beside simply using the word darkness? 2 Peter 2:4 Certainly if God did not hold back from punishing the angels that sinned, but, by throwing them into Tar82;ta•rus, delivered them to pits of dense darkness to be reserved for judgment; Tartarus is a place of dense darkness, where those who are evil are denied Spiritual Truths and knowledge. We saw this in the Book of Daniel as well; Daniel 12:10 Many will cleanse themselves and whiten themselves and will be refined. And the wicked ones will certainly act wickedly, and no wicked ones at all will understand; but the ones having insight will understand. And no wicked ones at all will understand. They, also, are in a dense darkness. But that does not have to be, BUT, it is a free will choice; Acts 26:18 to open their eyes, to turn them from darkness to light and from the authority of Satan to God, in order for them to receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those sanctified by [their] faith in me.’ Revelation 11:15 And the seventh angel blew his trumpet. And loud voices occurred in heaven, saying: “The kingdom of the world did become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he will rule as king forever and ever.” This is the choice that every man and woman must make; is God real, and, are His Promises sure to come true? We are told in Titus 1:2 that God can not lie. So if you believe in His Truth, then Revelation 11:15, as well as ALL of the prophecies in the Bible, MUST come true. As we have seen in this paper, many of those prophecies relating to this, the end of this wicked system of things, are indeed being fulfilled. So, let us examine the last piece of the puzzle; the arrangements made by Jehovah God for His Faithful ones in the time of the end, for we well know that the end WILL come. The Search for Good Government “The growing interdependence of the world has given rise to a series of global problems that individual states can no longer resolve by themselves. Only through worldwide cooperation can we cope with the growing dangers and challenges that mankind faces.”—Ghulam Umar, Pakistani political analyst. TODAY’S world is full of paradoxes. In the midst of material abundance, many barely eke out a living. This electronic generation could well be the most educated and knowledgeable to date, yet more and more people have a hard time finding a stable job. Though humans seem to have more freedom than ever before, millions live in a climate of fear, insecurity, and uncertainty. We may be surrounded by alluring opportunities, but corruption and lawlessness in places high and low have resulted in hopelessness for many. The scope of the problems facing mankind is so overwhelming that it far exceeds what any one nation, or even group of nations, can handle. Thus, many observers have concluded that for world peace and security to become a reality, all nations must unite under a single government. Albert Einstein, for example, long advocated such an idea. In 1946, he asserted: “I firmly believe that the majority of peoples in the world would prefer to live in peace and security . . . Mankind’s desire for peace can be realized only by the creation of a world government.” After five decades, this vital need is yet to be satisfied. Listing the challenges of the 21st century, a commentary in the newspaper Le Monde of Paris, France, notes: “It is a matter of constructing the judicial, administrative, and constitutional bases of an international government capable of intervening immediately, everywhere in the world, in cases of ethnic massacre. It is a matter of accepting the idea that henceforth the Earth is one country.” Who or what has the power and ability to bring this about so as to ensure that humanity has a peaceful future? Is the United Nations the Answer? Many have put their hope for world peace in the United Nations organization. Is the UN a government that can bring true peace and security to the world? Without a doubt, there is no lack of political rhetoric that sounds inspiring and promising. For instance, in its “Millennium Declaration” of 2000, the United Nations General Assembly made this solemn resolve: “We will spare no effort to free our peoples from the scourge of war, whether within or between States, which has claimed more than 5 million lives in the past decade.” Such proclamations have won the UN praise and admiration from many quarters, as well as the 2001 Nobel Peace Prize. In thus honoring the UN, the Norwegian Nobel Committee stated that “the only negotiable route to global peace and cooperation goes by way of the United Nations.” Despite all of this, has the United Nations organization, established in 1945, proved to be a government that is able to bring genuine and lasting world peace? No, for self-interest and nationalistic aspirations of its member nations have frustrated many of its efforts. The public’s impression, in the words of one newspaper editor, is that the UN is no more than “a kind of barometer of global opinion” and that “its agenda is full of issues that have been debated for years with little if any progress towards solution.” The question remains: Will the nations of the world really be united someday? The Bible reveals that such unity will soon be realized. How will this take place? And what government will bring it about? For answers, please read the next article. God’s Kingdom Government—A Reality Today “How can so many countries, with such diverse cultures at such different stages of development, agree? It has been said that only an attack from another planet will unify the human race.”—The Age, Australian newspaper. AN ATTACK from another planet? Whether that would bring together all the nations of the earth or not, Bible prophecy does speak of an impending crisis that will cause the nations of the world to band together. And the crisis will, indeed, be brought about by extraterrestrial forces. King David of ancient Israel prophetically spoke of this world situation. Under divine inspiration he wrote: “The kings of earth take their stand and high officials themselves have massed together as one against Jehovah and against his anointed one, saying: ‘Let us tear their bands apart and cast their cords away from us!’” (Psalm 2:2, 3; Acts 4:25, 26) Note that the rulers of the world would mass together as one against Jehovah, the Creator of the universe, and his anointed one, or his appointed King, Jesus Christ. How would that take place? According to Bible chronology and fulfilled prophecies, in the year 1914, God’s Kingdom was established in the heavens with Jesus Christ as King. At that time the nations of the world had one thought in common. Rather than submitting to the sovereignty of God’s newborn Kingdom, they were embroiled in a contest of power—the Great War, or World War I. How does Jehovah God view such a reaction on the part of human rulers? “The very One sitting in the heavens will laugh; Jehovah himself will hold them in derision. At that time he will speak to them in his anger and in his hot displeasure he will disturb them.” Then, Jehovah will tell his Son, the anointed King of the Kingdom: “Ask of me, that I may give nations as your inheritance and the ends of the earth as your own possession. You will break them with an iron scepter, as though a potter’s vessel you will dash them to pieces.”—Psalm 2:4, 5, 8, 9. This final crushing of the opposing nations with an iron scepter will take place at Armageddon, or Har–Magedon. The last book of the Bible, Revelation, describes this climactic event as “the war of the great day of God the Almighty,” to which “the kings of the entire inhabited earth” are being gathered together. (Revelation 16:14, 16) Under demonic influence, the nations of the earth will finally be united with one objective—to war against God the Almighty. The time when humans will mass together to fight against God’s sovereignty is fast approaching. Ironically, their “unity” will bring them no personal benefits. Instead, their action will be a prelude to the long-awaited peace for all mankind. How so? In that final battle, God’s Kingdom “will crush and put an end to all these kingdoms [of the world], and it itself will stand to times indefinite.” (Daniel 2:44) God’s Kingdom, not any human organization, will be the government that will fulfill mankind’s desire for world peace. The Chief Administrator of the Kingdom Government That is the Kingdom for which many sincere people have prayed, saying: “Let your kingdom come. Let your will take place, as in heaven, also upon earth.” (Matthew 6:10) Rather than being an abstract condition of the heart, God’s Kingdom is a real government that has accomplished wonderful deeds since its inauguration in heaven in 1914. Let us consider some key factors that demonstrate that God’s Kingdom is a reality in full action today. First of all, it has a powerful and efficient executive branch headed by the enthroned King, Jesus Christ. In 33 C.E., Jehovah God made Jesus Christ the Head of the Christian congregation. (Ephesians 1:22) Since then, Jesus has been exercising his headship, thus demonstrating his administrative ability. For example, when a great famine struck Judea in the first century, the Christian congregation immediately took action to come to the aid of its members. A relief work was organized, and Barnabas and Saul were dispatched from Antioch with a relief ministration.—Acts 11:27-30. No less can be expected of Jesus Christ now that the Kingdom government is in operation. Whenever disasters—earthquakes, famines, floods, hurricanes, storms, or volcanic eruptions—strike, the Christian congregation of Jehovah’s Witnesses responds quickly to the needs of fellow believers and others in the affected areas. For instance, when devastating earthquakes hit El Salvador in January and February 2001, relief activities were organized in all parts of the country, and groups of Jehovah’s Witnesses from Canada, Guatemala, and the United States provided help. Three of their places of worship as well as over 500 homes were rebuilt in short order. Subjects of God’s Kingdom Government Ever since its establishment in 1914, God’s heavenly Kingdom has been gathering and organizing its subjects from peoples around the world. This is in fulfillment of a remarkable prophecy recorded by Isaiah: “It must occur in the final part of the days that the mountain of the house of Jehovah [his exalted true worship] will become firmly established above the top of the mountains, . . . and to it all the nations must stream.” The prophecy shows that “many peoples” would go up to that mountain and embrace Jehovah’s instructions and laws.—Isaiah 2:2, 3. This activity has resulted in the most significant movement of modern times—an international brotherhood of over 6,000,000 Christians in more than 230 lands of the earth. At international conventions of Jehovah’s Witnesses, observers are often astounded to see the love, peace, and unity among the vast crowds of people, transcending barriers of nationality, culture, and language. (Acts 10:34, 35) Would you not agree that for a government to be able to bring hundreds of ethnic groups together in peace and harmony, it must be effective and stable—and real? God’s Kingdom and Education Every government has standards that its citizens are expected to meet, and everyone who wants to live under that government must meet those standards. Similarly, God’s Kingdom has standards that all who would qualify as its subjects must measure up to. However, to enable so many people with vastly different backgrounds to accept and abide by the same standards is certainly a mammoth undertaking. Here, then, is another factor that testifies to the reality of God’s Kingdom—its effective program of education that reaches and transforms not only the mind but also the heart. How does the Kingdom government accomplish this challenging task? By the apostolic method of preaching “from house to house” and teaching God’s Word on an individual basis. (Acts 5:42; 20:20) How effective is this form of education? Jacques Johnson, a Catholic priest, wrote in a Canadian weekly about his efforts to dissuade a woman from studying with Jehovah’s Witnesses. “I was quite baffled and realized that I was involved in a losing battle,” he said. “I began to realize that over several months these JW women knitted meaningful relationships with this young shut-in mother. They connected with her by helping her, befriending her, establishing meaningful bonds of the heart. She soon became an active member in their religion and there was little I could do to prevent that from happening.” Just as the heart of this former Catholic was moved by the Bible message taught by Jehovah’s Witnesses and by their Christian conduct, so the hearts of millions worldwide are being touched. This form of education—Kingdom education—is centered on the Bible, upholding its values and its standards on morals. It teaches people to love and honor one another regardless of their background. (John 13:34, 35) It also helps people to respond to the admonition: “Quit being fashioned after this system of things, but be transformed by making your mind over, that you may prove to yourselves the good and acceptable and perfect will of God.” (Romans 12:2) Leaving behind their former way of life and happily conforming to the laws and principles of the Kingdom government, millions have found peace and happiness now and bright prospects for the future.—Colossians 3:9-11. An outstanding aid in achieving this worldwide unity is this magazine, The Watchtower. By means of coordinated translation methods and multilanguage publishing equipment, the principal articles in The Watchtower are published simultaneously in 135 languages, and over 95 percent of its readers worldwide can study the material in their own language at the same time. A Mormon writer cataloged the most exceptional missionary successes outside of his own church. He listed The Watchtower and Awake!, published by Jehovah’s Witnesses, as the best evangelizing magazines and said: “No one could ever accuse Watchtower or Awake! of fostering complacency—to the contrary, they generate a sense of awareness that I have rarely encountered in other religious publications. The Watchtower and Awake! are refreshing in their factual-based, well-researched, relevant real-world content.” Evidence is overwhelming that God’s Kingdom is a reality in full operation. Jehovah’s Witnesses happily and energetically share “this good news of the kingdom” with their neighbors, inviting them to become its subjects. (Matthew 24:14) Does such a prospect appeal to you? You can enjoy the blessings that come from associating with those who are being educated in and endeavoring to live by the standards of the Kingdom. Better still, you can come to enjoy the prospect of living under Kingdom rule in the promised new world in which “righteousness is to dwell.”—2 Peter 3:13. [Footnote] For a detailed discussion, see chapter 10, “God’s Kingdom Rules,” in the book Knowledge That Leads to Everlasting Life, published by Jehovah’s Witnesses, pages 90-7. Most of this paper is pretty clear, and should find no problem with most, but, that being said, can it be made clearer? Yes, it certainly can, for we are told in detail of things that are to occur at the time of the end in the Book of Micah; Micah 4:1 And it must occur in the final part of the days [that] the mountain of the house of Jehovah will become firmly established above the top of the mountains, and it will certainly be lifted up above the hills; and to it peoples must stream. 2 And many nations will certainly go and say: “Come, YOU people, and let us go up to the mountain of Jehovah and to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will instruct us about his ways, and we will walk in his paths.” For out of Zion law will go forth, and the word of Jehovah out of Jerusalem. 3 And he will certainly render judgment among many peoples, and set matters straight respecting mighty nations far away. And they will have to beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning shears. They will not lift up sword, nation against nation, neither will they learn war anymore. 4 And they will actually sit, each one under his vine and under his fig tree, and there will be no one making [them] tremble; for the very mouth of Jehovah of armies has spoken [it]. 5 For all the peoples, for their part, will walk each one in the name of its god; but we, for our part, shall walk in the name of Jehovah our God to time indefinite, even forever. 6 “In that day,” is the utterance of Jehovah, “I will gather her that was limping; and her that was dispersed I will collect together, even her whom I have treated badly. 7 And I shall certainly make her that was limping a remnant, and her that was removed far off a mighty nation; and Jehovah will actually rule as king over them in Mount Zion, from now on and into time indefinite. We are going to take a close look at some of the verses above, so that there can be no doubts. For instance; mountain of the house of Jehovah. Often, in the Bible, when a mountain is referred to it is as a government and since this mountain is established above the mountains, we know that it is the government of Jehovah that is to be firmly established over all the governments of the earth; … the government of the house of Jehovah will become firmly established above the top of the governments … Do we know when this happened? Yes, by what has happened in the world (nations and peoples) in the 20th Century. We are given a clue in the Book of Revelation; Revelation 12:13 Now when the dragon saw that it was hurled down to the earth, it persecuted the woman that gave birth to the male child. 14 But the two wings of the great eagle were given the woman, that she might fly into the wilderness to her place; there is where she is fed for a time and times and half a time away from the face of the serpent. 15 And the serpent disgorged water like a river from its mouth after the woman, to cause her to be drowned by the river. 16 But the earth came to the woman’s help, and the earth opened its mouth and swallowed up the river that the dragon disgorged from its mouth. 17 And the dragon grew wrathful at the woman, and went off to wage war with the remaining ones of her seed, who observe the commandments of God and have the work of bearing witness to Jesus. Prior to the 20th Century, when the religious leaders of the world demanded certain things, such as a denial of competition in religion, it would be granted to them by the leaders of the various nations. After all, many/most/all of them held their political/family posts because the world’s religious leaders supported them. However, this changed, and the new laws that were written in the 18th & 19th Century contained elements, in many nations, that guaranteed religious freedoms. This put an end to the ability of the religious leaders stopping the preaching of the good news of the Kingdom of God, directly from the Bible, and allowed the apostolic preaching work, or, door to door preaching work, to be started and finally, the fulfillment of the prophecy at Matthew 24:14. This was a necessary prelude to the end of the systems/governments of men because the Perfect Justice of Jehovah God demands that people have access to the Good News. Not that people accept it; just that they have access. This line; And the serpent disgorged water like a river from its mouth after the woman was the attempt by Satan to halt the apostolic work, and this was when the earth/people & nations stopped Satan’s plans; But the earth came to the woman’s help, and the earth opened its mouth and swallowed up the river. If you wish to understand how some of this came about, simply do an internet search for information about how the Jehovah’s Witnesses have won more than 40 Supreme Court cases on freedom of religion in the United States. There are similar records in other nations as well, and thus the earth swallowed up the river. And when were these things to occur? And it must occur in the final part of the days. So we can clearly see that this happens BEFORE the end of the present system of things. From this we understand that the government that is to last to time indefinite will exist before the cleansing of the earth by Jesus Christ and the army of heaven. We are told about this as well in the Book of Revelation – more on that in a moment. Frankly, once you begin to understand the time of the end this prophecy is so clear it is hard to misunderstand it. And many nations will certainly go and say: “Come, YOU people, and let us go up to the mountain of Jehovah and to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will instruct us about his ways, and we will walk in his paths. What is happening in the verse above? People are being taught, i.e., instructed by Jehovah Himself, and this will occur world wide (nations – plural); Matthew 24:14 And this good news of the kingdom will be preached in all the inhabited earth for a witness to all the nations; and then the end will come. The Bible can not contradict itself, and ALL prophecies must be fulfilled. The world wide teaching work, the apostolic method of preaching, that was prophesied to take place in Matthew 24:14, has been fulfilled, and we are simply awaiting the end. Who is doing this world wide teaching work, may I ask? And they will have to beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning shears. They will not lift up sword, nation against nation, neither will they learn war anymore. Among all of the religious organizations of the world, who do you know that no longer learns war? Who has refused to lift up sword? Members of what organization, world wide, refuse military service, and there are many, many members of that organization in prisons world wide because they refuse to serve. What, may I ask, is the name of that organization? but we, for our part, shall walk in the name of Jehovah our God to time indefinite, even forever Who do you know that walks in the name of Jehovah? Tell me, if you care to. Then, when you have read verse 5 at least 3 times, would you care to begin to see why the translators of the Bible removed the Sacred Name of Almighty God from the Bible? Micah 4:5 For all the peoples, for their part, will walk each one in the name of its god; but we, for our part, shall walk in the name of Jehovah our God to time indefinite, even forever. … For all the peoples, for their part, will walk each one in the name of its god … When the Bibles use only GOD or LORD in place of the personal name of Almighty God, it is very easy to be confused on issues such as is clearly stated in Verse 5 of Chapter 4 of Micah. Anything can be inserted as desired by men to serve their own purposes, instead of the Purposes of Jehovah God. “Come, YOU people, and let us go up to the mountain of Jehovah and to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will instruct us about his ways, and we will walk in his paths.” Who, today, in this wicked world, actually have been instructed in the ways of Jehovah God, and show love among themselves and for all of their neighbors? Who, do you know, that try their best to live according to His Holy Word? Tell me, if you will. John 13:34 I am giving YOU a new commandment, that YOU love one another; just as I have loved YOU, that YOU also love one another. 35 By this all will know that YOU are my disciples, if YOU have love among yourselves.” This new commandment is very specific, and very clear. I have asked members of various religious cults how they justify going to war against members of their own denomination, and killing their ‘spiritual’ brothers in service to the governments of this world, and usually they are just silent. On occasion, some will answer that it is their duty, and I leave well enough alone in that case. Others will admit that they do not understand why that happens, and we can then have a fruitful discussion. And they will actually sit, each one under his vine and under his fig tree, and there will be no one making [them] tremble; for the very mouth of Jehovah of armies has spoken [it]. Who do you know who preach door to door fearlessly, even in the face of anger and hatred? Who do you know who go to prison, but do not violate the Word of God? Who do you know that have no fear of the end of this wicked system of things, because they know the future as promised in the Bible by Jehovah God. Answer me, please, if you will. If you are confused about this, please, permit me to supply the only answer possible after you have studied Micah 4:1-7; the Jehovah’s Witnesses. Now that we have come to this point, let us examine a bit more of these 7 verses, and see what more we can discern when matching these prophecies with more information from the Bible. Pay attention now, this should be fun!! Micah 4:6 “In that day,” is the utterance of Jehovah, “I will gather her that was limping; and her that was dispersed I will collect together, What does it mean to be dispersed? Does it not mean to be scattered? Matthew 12:30 He that is not on my side is against me, and he that does not gather with me scatters. We were warned that those who do not closely follow the Word of Jehovah would be dispersed, or, scattered. How many sects are there in Christianity? Some estimates go as high as 37,000, which is pretty impressive. Why are they scattered? Because they did not teach the Bible. The same is true of the Mormons, Muslims and all other religions of the world; all of them are full of sects. Why? Because instead of teaching the Truths of Jehovah God, they taught the traditions of men. They were not on His side, so He scattered them, just as they were warned in Matthew 12:30. But this is now changing, as is detailed in Micah 4:1; and to it peoples must stream. Then; Micah 4:7 And I shall certainly make her that was limping a remnant What is a remnant? Those who are left after some event. What happened to the rest? Psalms 110:6 He will execute judgment among the nations; He will cause a fullness of dead bodies. He will certainly break to pieces the head one over a populous land. I think that is pretty clear, but if you wish to simply read the Book of Revelation, you can find a lot more information on this. Now, to speak of the remnant; Revelation 7:9 After these things I saw, and, look! a great crowd, which no man was able to number, out of all nations and tribes and peoples and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, dressed in white robes; A great crowd taken out of all nations and tribes and peoples and tongues. That would be a remnant, because it was taken out, so something had to be left behind after the fullness of dead bodies. Are we told anything else about this great crowd? Yes, as a matter of fact, we are; Revelation 7:14 … “These are the ones that come out of the great tribulation … Do we have another way to identify them with the great crowd? Yes, by their white robes as detailed in verse 9; dressed in white robes. In verse 14, these robes are identified; and they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. It is pretty hard to wash clothes in blood and have them turn white, so we know that what is being referred to here is that this great crowd had made themselves spiritually clean before Jehovah God and His Son. In other words, they had cleansed themselves of all of the pagan practices that have come into Christianity over the last 1,900 or so years. A further study of Revelation will reveal a white horse, white linen clothes, and a white throne. So you know that all of these items are being detailed as being spiritually clean. We are also given a glimpse of that government, as a city; New Jerusalem. Why is it ‘New’ Jerusalem? Because Jerusalem was the seat of the Kingdom of God on earth, until it was destroyed in 607 B.C.E. Jehovah God does not change, and His Government will once again be in Jerusalem, only it will be in heaven. But we are told that it will stretch from the earth to the heavens; Revelation 21:15 Now the one who was speaking with me was holding as a measure a golden reed, that he might measure the city and its gates and its wall. 16 And the city lies foursquare, and its length is as great as its breadth. And he measured the city with the reed, twelve thousand furlongs; its length and breadth and height are equal. What is a furlong? It is an eight of a mile (look it up). So we are told that this city is 1,500 miles wide and long and high. Pretty high for an ordinary city, but just right for something that stretches from the earth to the heavens. Then we are told about the many precious stones which will adorn this ‘city.’ Are these actual stones? Figurative Use. The apostle Paul, after identifying Jesus Christ as the foundation on which Christians should build (see the foundation of New Jerusalem in the Book of Revelation), mentioned building materials of various kinds in connection with the Christian ministry. He indicated that the choice materials would include figurative “precious stones” capable of withstanding the force of “fire.”—1Co 3:10-15. Then, in Chapter 22 of Revelation, we are told that the city will be open during the time of the end; Revelation 22:12 “‘Look! I am coming quickly, and the reward I give is with me, to render to each one as his work is. 13 I am the Al82;pha and the O•me82;ga, the first and the last, the beginning and the end. 14 Happy are those who wash their robes, that the authority [to go] to the trees of life may be theirs and that they may gain entrance into the city by its gates. 15 Outside are the dogs and those who practice spiritism and the fornicators and the murderers and the idolaters and everyone liking and carrying on a lie.’ Again, a lot of information in a small number of words! First off; and the reward I give is with me, to render to each one as his work is. This is confirmation of the Book of James, which so many ‘Christians’ hate. James 2:26 Indeed, as the body without spirit is dead, so also faith without works is dead. Then we see the robes again; Happy are those who wash their robes. It is very clear in the Bible, from the beginning to the end, that Jehovah God will not permit any pagan practices. NONE. The people who come through the Great Tribulation (Revelation 7:14) MUST be spiritually clean, or see Psalms 110:6. Then we are told, once again, about the tree of life; the authority [to go] to the trees of life may be theirs and that they may gain entrance into the city by its gates. Very strong message. If you do not wash your robes, and make yourself spiritually clean, you DO NOT get the authority to go to the tree of life, or, gain entrance into the city of New Jerusalem. Also, if you do not remain spiritually clean, if you understand the many strictures in the Bible about disassociating with those who change their spirituality while in the congregation, then you will be disfellowshipped. The congregation of Jesus the Christ and of His Father will be kept spiritually clean. Now, and to time indefinite, even forever. Then we have verse 15, which is very, very important. Revelation 22:15 Outside are the dogs and those who practice spiritism and the fornicators and the murderers and the idolaters and everyone liking and carrying on a lie.’ Why is this so important? Because this verse tells us very plainly that the Holy City of New Jerusalem will be open and waiting for those who desire to worship Jehovah God in truth and spirit during the time of the end. This city exists now, because if it only came to the earth AFTER Jesus Christ returns and cleans it (Revelation 19:11-21), then those practicing all of the vile things listed in this verse could not be alive to do so. This city is open that all of those who wish to stream to the mountain of Jehovah, that they may gain eternal life, can do so. It obviously would serve no purpose for it to come to the earth AFTER the Great Tribulation. John 4:23 Nevertheless, the hour is coming, and it is now, when the true worshipers will worship the Father with spirit and truth, for, indeed, the Father is looking for suchlike ones to worship him. 24 God is a Spirit, and those worshiping him must worship with spirit and truth.” I would continue, but this must end at some point. I assure you, there could be another 10 or 20 or 50 or more pages added on to this, but why? At some point, you have to make a choice to study the Bible, or not. I can not give you that which I have learned; it is impossible. I can only show you why it is necessary to do the work, in order to gain to eternal life. Galatians 6:5 For each one will carry his own load. Once you begin to learn that things change INSIDE of you when you study the Bible with spirit and truth, then you truly begin to perceive the Almighty, and you also learn why you must study the Bible to gain to eternal life. That is the choice that you have to make, and I assure you, I am eternally grateful that I did so, and did so with the only people in the world who could have helped me to learn what I have detailed in these pages. I studied the Bible with the Jehovah’s Witnesses. I faithfully attend the meetings in the Kingdom Hall, where as a congregation we study the Bible as a group, every week. I am now, and have been for about a year, a baptized publisher (preacher) with the Jehovah’s Witnesses, and I thank Jehovah God for the opportunity that He gave me to gain eternal life. John 17:3 This means everlasting life, their taking in knowledge of you, the only true God, and of the one whom you sent forth, Jesus Christ. The above is very, very clear. If you do not take in the knowledge, and change, you do not get the promise. Pretty simple, really, but then most of the Bible is when you simply understand how to study it, and permit Jehovah God to teach you how to benefit yourself. (Isaiah 48:17) If you sincerely care to understand more, I would suggest, because the time is indeed short today, that you contact the nearest Jehovah’s Witness that you can find and begin to learn the Truth about His Kingdom Government and the wonderful future that He has promised to us, His faithful subjects. May Jehovah God bless your studies. I promised you a list of the beliefs that are pretty much common throughout the religions of the earth. These beliefs date from the time of Babylon, are Satanic in origin, and have been used to control and gain from the masses of people who inhabit this earth. Just so you understand, these beliefs are not just common to the churches of Christendom, but are common to all pagan religions, the Mormons, the Muslim faith, and the many religions of the east. In some cases, one religion may not hold to one of the beliefs, but will to the others. And of course, within the various beliefs there are variations within the different religions adhered to. These beliefs are; Myth 1: The Soul is Immortal. Myth 2. The Wicked Suffer in Hell. Myth 3: All Good People Go to Heaven. Myth 4: God Is a Trinity. Myth 5: Mary Is the Mother of God – this one is common to Christendom, of course, rather to the various pagan and eastern religions, as well as the Mormon and Muslim faiths. Myth 6: God Approves of the Use of Images and Icons in Worship. As you think back on what you believe, and why, and once you understand how common these beliefs are throughout the religions of the earth, you need to take careful note of this warning in the Bible; Matthew 7:13 “Go in through the narrow gate; because broad and spacious is the road leading off into destruction, and many are the ones going in through it; 14 whereas narrow is the gate and cramped the road leading off into life, and few are the ones finding it. A final note; the paper that is a companion to this is; A Great Bible Story -- About the End of This (Wicked) System of Things
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#1. To: richard9151 (#0)
BS, we're in hell. Take a whiff, that's sulphur you smell.
Don't leave. Many here need your optimism and faith; it's difficult having to tolerate the death and suffering of so many innocent ones at the hands of so many evil ones....
"The 'uniter' has brought the entire world together - to despise and deride us." lodwick
I can ALWAYS count on your posts to be thought provoking and more often than not, worth reading. Thank you my friend for posting this.
Better to be hated for what you are, than loved for what you are not.
I've heard members of the Jehovah Witness cult called many things, but optimistic has never been one of them. This is especially true with the person who posted this thread, whose MO is to condemn those who are not members of his cult.
"The Central Intelligence Agency owns everyone of any significance in the major media." ~ William Colby, Director, CIA 1973–1976 The purpose of the legal system is to protect the elites from the wrath of those they plunder.- Elliott Jackalope "When plunder becomes a way of life for a group of men living together in society, they create for themselves in the course of time a legal system that authorizes it and a moral code that justifies it." - Frederic Bastiat
Personally, and selfishly, I will miss the information that you bring to the 4um.
THE END WILL COME!
#2. To: richard9151 (#0)
#3. To: richard9151 (#0)
#4. To: Bub (#2)
Many here need your optimism and faith
#5. To: richard9151 (#0)
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