The Watchtower, July 15, 1981
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THE WATCHTOWER Announcing Jehovah's Kingdom
Rivalry Between World Powers
Did The Bible Foretell It?
3 Did the Bible Foretell the Present Power Struggle?
4 The Power Struggle—What Outcome?
OUR COVER: Did the Bible foretell today's rivalry between the major world powers? If it did, has it also foretold the outcome? Since world developments affect our
8 Was Jonah Really in Hell?
10 Insight on the News
11 The Judgment Day of the Gods
16 Worship of the One True God Already Being Exalted
21 "Peoples Must Stream" to Life-giving Worship
26 The Majority Favor "An Immoral Practice"
27 A Prisoner's Prayer Is Answered
30 Questions from Readers
32 Help in Coping with Problems
A WATCHTOWER provides a vantage point from which the watchman can observe and warn of approaching danger. This magazine, published by Jehovah's Witnesses since 1879, serves a similar purpose. It keeps watch on world events in these critical times and calls attention to God's warning of his vengeance soon to be executed on those ruining the earth. It comforts all peoples with the hope that God's kingdom by Jesus Christ is about to bring in a global paradise of peace. It encourages all to exercise faith in the ransoming power of Jesus' shed blood, and points to the joyous prospect of everlasting life on earth under the sovereignty of the true God, Jehovah. "The Watchtower Announcing Jehovah's Kingdom" is nonpolitical, and adheres to the Bible as authority.
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Did The Bible Foretell The Present Power Struggle?
POWER POLITICS has been on the world scene for thousands of years. It appeared to fade into the background during the late 1960's and the 1970's, when a seeming "new atmosphere" in international relations (called detente) led some to believe that the fundamental conflict between East and West was subsiding. However, recent events have shown that the power struggle is not a thing of the past.
American self-esteem was seriously hurt by the hostage affair in Iran, and this sparked a resurgence of patriotism in the United States. Then came the election of Ronald Reagan as the new U.S. president. One of the main planks of his platform has been the counterbalancing of the Soviet Union's rapid military buildup. Even before the U.S. presidential elections, Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev reacted, stating emphatically: "There is no doubt whatsoever that the United States will never attain military superiority."
No sooner had Mr. Reagan been elected president than he hit back hard, affirming that détente had been a "one-way street" used by the Soviet Union "to pursue its own aims." He expressed the opinion that the Soviet leaders are still out for "world revolution" and was reported as saying that "the only morality they recognize is what will further their cause, meaning they reserve unto themselves the right to
commit any crime, to lie, to cheat in order to obtain that." Moscow retorted by calling President Reagan's attack an "unworthy maneuver." Reporting on this verbal skirmish, France's Le Monde said the tone used was that of the "Cold War."
NO LETUP IN THE ARMS RACE
According to the International Institute for Strategic Studies, during the late 1970's the Soviet Union devoted between 11 and 14 percent of its gross national product to military spending, compared with 5 percent in the United States. Thus the U.S.S.R. now has an advantage over the U.S.A. in military equipment. It has more intercontinental ballistic missiles (but not more warheads), submarine-launched ballistic missiles, nuclear and diesel-powered submarines, major surface ships (but not aircraft carriers or helicopter carriers), warplanes and tanks. Additionally, as of December 1980 there were 3,658,000 men and women in the Soviet armed forces, compared with 2,050,000 in the U.S. forces.
Mr. Reagan's new administration intends to remedy this situation. In his first message to the American military, Defense Secretary Caspar Weinberger stated that his mission was to "rearm America." Whereas it has been estimated that the Soviet Union is currently spending 165 billion a year on its armed forces, the United States plans to boost its military budget to157.9 billion this year, with regular annual increases until it reaches $250 billion in 1984.
In view of Mr. Brezhnev's statement that "the United States will never attain military superiority," it seems obvious that the U.S.S.R. will also have to increase its military spending. Moreover, the allies of these two superpowers (such as the members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization [NATO] and of the Warsaw Pact) apparently will be expected to follow suit. Decidedly, then, the arms race is still on with a vengeance!
THE MARCH OF WORLD POWERS
Both sides in the current power struggle already possess sufficient arms to destroy the entire human race many times over, including the men and women who are dedicated to the Almighty God, Jehovah. So it is not surprising that God's Word, the Bible, speaks of the present situation.
And better still, it shows us the outcome.
The Bible book of Daniel (chapters 2 and 7) describes a succession of world powers symbolized by the various parts of a huge image, and also by four wild beasts. These represent the Babylonian, Medo-Persian, Greek and Roman World Powers, the latter extending on into the Anglo-American World Power.*
In chapter 11, the prophecy of Daniel depicts the struggle for world power between two symbolic "kings." They are "the king of the north" and "the king of the south," and this duel for world domination culminates at "the time of the end." (Vs. 40) Whom do these "kings" symbolize? What will be the outcome of their rivalry? We will consider these questions in the following article.
The Power Struggle -What Outcome?
"EAST IS EAST, and West is West, and never the twain shall meet, Till Earth and Sky stand presently at God's great Judgment Seat." Recent developments in the power struggle between the Eastern and the Western blocs make those poetic words of Rudyard Kipling sound strangely up-to-date.
Yet, on reflection, when a person speaks
of the East-West struggle, the term "East" does not literally mean east any more than "West" designates countries all located to the west of a certain point on the earth. The Communist bloc today includes not only the Soviet Union and the nations of eastern Europe but also some African countries as well as Cuba. None of these can be said to have an easterly location.
Similarly, the "Western" bloc takes in such countries as Canada, Denmark (including Greenland), Iceland, Norway, Australia, New Zealand and Japan. Some of these nations can hardly be said to be located in the west. So why do people speak of "the East-West struggle"? Because originally the "Cold War" was mainly between the two superpowers—the Soviet Union and the United States—one of which is largely located east of Europe, and the other to the west. Thus, as things have developed, "East" and "West" have taken on symbolic meanings.
TWO RIVAL "KINGS"
Likewise, in the 11th chapter of Daniel, the Bible conveniently uses the expressions "king of the north" and "king of the south" to designate a succession of rival political powers. Originally these two "kings" were located north and south of the land of Daniel's people—actually also of Jehovah God's ancient people—in the Middle East.
The prophecy began its fulfillment after the death of Alexander the Great and the dividing up of the Macedonian Empire among his four successors. Two of these, Seleucus I and Ptolemy I, became respectively the first "king of the north" and "king of the south." One of these men founded the northern Seleucid Empire and the other became the first of the Ptolemaic Pharaohs of Egypt, to the south. For centuries, the land of those then Jehovah's people was a bone of contention between these two powers, as they fought for domination.
Naturally, with the passing of time, the powers symbolized by the "king of the north" and the "king of the south" continually changed. But the conflict for domination went on, down through the centuries. This prophecy also foretold that the struggle between the "two kings"
would continue right up until "the time of the end." (Dan. 11:27, 35, 40)* Today we see the struggle for world power going on as never before between the Communist and the non-Communist worlds. Is it possible to identify these two rival blocs with the "two kings"? Let us see.
"THE GOD OF FORTRESSES"
Immediately after having spoken of the "time of the end," the prophecy of Daniel continues:
"And the king [of the north] will actually do according to his own will, and he will exalt himself and magnify himself above every god; and against the God of gods he will speak marvelous things. . . . And to the god of his fathers he will give no consideration . . . But to the god of fortresses, in his position he will give glory; and to a god that his fathers did not know he will give glory by means of gold and by means of silver."—Dan. 11:36-38.
Which of the two superpowers has unabashedly spoken out against "the God of gods," Jehovah, calling religion "the opium of the people"? Which of them has for years organized its entire economy to give priority to producing guns rather than butter; tanks and warplanes instead of food, clothing and consumer goods, thus giving glory "to the god of fortresses"? Which "king" has worshiped "a god that his fathers did not know"—scientific militarism—honoring it "by means of gold and by means of silver," not hesitating to devote a large percentage of the gross national product to military technology and the armed forces? There can be no doubt that the modern-day "king of the north" is the Communist bloc, headed by the Soviet Union.
As far back as 1977, the U.S. Defense Intelligence Agency admitted that the Soviet army is "the most powerful in the world, with great firepower and mobility." This preparedness is backed up by military indoctrination in the schools. All 18-year-old males are conscripted for military service, spending two years in the army or the air force, or three years in the navy. They then remain reservists until 50 years of age, which means that at the present time tens of millions of Soviet citizens have received military training and could be mobilized quickly.
"PUSHING" BY THE "KING OF THE SOUTH"
Since the modern "king of the north" is the Communist bloc, led by the Soviet Union, the "king of the south" can be none other than the rival non-Communist bloc, under the leadership of the United States. Concerning these "kings," the prophecy of Daniel goes on to say: "And in the time of the end the king of the south will engage with him [the king of the north] in a pushing."—Dan. 11:40.
The postwar "pushing" by the "king of the south" had a relatively mild start, in 1947, with the "Truman Doctrine" of "containment." This was followed up, in 1949, by the creation of NATO and, later, other regional mutual defense organizations. The "pushing" became tougher at the time of the second Vietnam war. But this conflict and its negative outcome for the West seemed to back up the case of the "doves"—those in the U.S. and among its allies who favor a conciliatory attitude toward the Soviet bloc.
However, recent political events seem to indicate that the "doves" are at present being outflown by the "hawks"—those who favor a tougher attitude toward the Communist bloc. The "pushing" by the "king of the south" against the "king of the
north" seems to be intensifying. Interestingly, Anglo-American solidarity in this "pushing" was confirmed by the following news report: "Britain's Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, who shares Mr. Reagan's distrust of the Kremlin, was the only NATO alliance leader to underwrite his position publicly. She said Thursday night [January 29, 1981] that there was no sign of Soviet interest in genuine detente." (International Herald Tribune, January 31, 1981) Just how far the "king of the south" will go in his "pushing" is something that will be interesting to watch in the detes ahead.
Not unnaturally, the "king of the north," now represented by the Communist bloc, reacts to this "pushing." This also was foretold in the prophecy of Daniel, chapter 11. Let us read on:
"And against him [the king of the south] the king of the north will storm with chariots and with horsemen and with many ships; and he will certainly enter into the lands and flood over and pass through. . . And he will keep thrusting out his hand against the lands; . . . And he will actually rule over the hidden treasures of the gold and the silver."—Dan. 11:40-43.
HOW THE "KING OF THE NORTH" REACTS Soviet reactions to the tough line recently adopted by the "king of the south" show that the "king of the north" does not intend to be ridden over roughshod. Since World War II, the Soviet Union has been "thrusting out his hand" to grab control over various "lands" and "hidden treasures," including oil.
The challenge to the West has also been ideological, since many Third World post-colonial governments have adopted Marxist policies. Such developments have facilitated the penetration of Soviet influence into Asia, the Middle East, Africa and even the Americas. Additionally, the "king of the north" has had notable success in supporting Communist-led insurrections, enabling him to "enter into the lands" affected thereby with his ideology and military and technical aid.
With over four million persons under arms in the U.S.S.R. and eastern Europe, as well as 50,000 tanks, 5,775 warplanes, 289 major combat surface ships and at least 257 submarines, the "king of the north" certainly has the wherewithal to "storm with chariots and with horsemen and with many ships . . . and flood over and pass through."
According to reports, Soviet troops already are present in Afghanistan, Cuba, Ethiopia, Iraq, Libya, Mali, Mauritania, Vietnam, Syria and South Yemen, not to speak of military advisers in many other lands. Soviet warships are plying all the strategic oceans and seas, including the Mediterranean. The extent to which the Communist "king of the north" will unleash these forces and "enter" other "lands" is something the future alone will tell.
BOTH "KINGS" COME TO THEIR END
Whatever the extent of the "pushing" by the "king of the south" may be, and whether the "king of the north" literally 'floods over' by invading other lands or not, one thing is certain: According to Daniel's prophecy, neither "king" will achieve a decisive victory over the other. Concerning the "king of the north," the prophecy states: "He will have to come all the way to his end, and there will be no helper for him." (Dan. 11:45) Moreover, a parallel prophecy says of the Anglo-American World Power, also pictured by the "king of the south," that "it will be without hand that he will be broken." —Dan. 8:25.
How will these "kings" come to their end "without hand" and with "no helper"? Their end will not come about by human
means. Daniel's prophecy continues: "And during that time Michael will stand up, the great prince who is standing in behalf of the sons of your [Daniel's and therefore Jehovah's] people. And there will certainly occur a time of distress such as has not been made to occur since there came to be a nation until that time." (Dan. 12:1) Michael is none other than Jehovah's appointed King Jesus Christ. (Compare Revelation 12:7-10.) The "time of distress" is the "great tribulation" mentioned in Jesus' own prophecy about the "conclusion of the system of things" and his "presence" in his kingdom.—Matt. 24:3, 21; Luke chap. 21.
The present-day fulfillment of these prophecies shows that we are now living at the "time of the end." Soon Christ will bring to an end the Communist "king of the north" and the non-Communist "king of the south." Indeed, the enthroned King Jesus Christ will "strike" them and all other political nations with a "sharp long sword," and "he will shepherd them with a rod of iron." (Rev. 19:11-21) Yet another dramatic prophecy in the book of Daniel will thus complete its fulfillment, for we read: "And in the days of those kings [political powers] 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."—Dan. 2:34, 35, 44.
That kingdom will usher in lasting peace on earth in a righteous new order. (2 Pet. 3:13; Rev. 21:1-5) In it there will be no more oppressive political "kings." This is the very "kingdom" for which you have prayed if you have been saying the "Lord's Prayer." (Matt. 6:9, 10) It is mankind's only hope. Jehovah's Witnesses will be happy to help you to make this hope your own.
Was Jonah really in hell?
YOU are looking at an artist's conception of what the Bible writer Jonah calls "hell." Jonah, who is seen here, wrote: "I cried by reason of mine affliction unto the LORD, and he heard me; out of the belly of hell [margin, "the grave"] cried I, and thou heardest my voice."—Jonah 2:2, Authorized Version.
Where was Jonah? How did he come to be in this place? Was he able to get out?
God had told his prophet Jonah to go to Nineveh and proclaim that the city was to be destroyed because of its badness. But instead of obeying, Jonah went down to Joppa. As you can see, he pays his fare and boards a ship heading in the opposite direction. —Jonah 1:2, 3.
God is not pleased with Jonah for running away. So He causes a great storm, and it looks as though the ship will sink. Finally, Jonah tells the sailors that it is because of him that the storm is raging. So, at Jonah's instructions, they throw him overboard. Right away the storm stops, and the sea is calm again. (Jonah 1: 4-16) As Jonah sinks down into the sea, a big fish swallows him. Regarding
his experience inside the fish, Jonah reported: "I cried . . . unto the LORD . . . out of the belly of hell."
What did Jonah mean by "out of the belly of hell"? Well, that fish's belly was surely not a place of fiery torment. But it could have become Jonah's grave. In fact, Jesus Christ said regarding himself: "Just as Jonah was in the belly of the huge fish three days and three nights, so the Son of man will be in the heart of the earth three days and three nights."—Matt. 12:40.
Jesus was dead and in his grave for three days. But the Bible reports: "His soul was not left in hell . . . This Jesus hath God raised up." (Acts 2:31, 32, AV) Similarly, by God's direction, Jonah was raised from hell, that is, what would have been his grave. This occurred when the fish vomited him out onto dry land.—Jonah 2:10.
What, then, is the Bible hell? It is simply mankind's common grave. And the heartwarming promise is that hell is to be emptied of its dead, as the Bible explains: "Death and hell [margin, "the grave"] delivered up the dead which were in them." (Rev. 20:13, 14, AV) Certainly we have strong encouragement to learn more about God and his purposes for blessing mankind.
INSIGHT ON THE NEWS
"The biggest surprise following the evaluation of [a German survey on children and
A Father's Influence
religion] was the role of the father," reports "The German Tribune." "The survey showed that it is the positive attitude towards religion on the part of the
father which imparts religious knowledge to older children and promotes religious contact."
The "Tribune" notes that prior to the study by Gisela Pannen of the Teachers' Training College in Neuss, near Cologne, it had "been assumed that the mother had the greater influence on the child's religiousness due to her principal role in its upbringing."
No doubt, as Originator of the family, Jehovah knew where to place the responsibility when he inspired the apostle Paul to say: "You, fathers, . . . go on bringing [your children] up in the discipline and mental-regulating of Jehovah." (Eph. 6:4) Of course, mothers also have a major role in raising children, and circumstances may even require that they carry the entire responsibility. Thus the Bible often ties parental responsibilities together, as when stating: "Listen, my son, to the discipline of your father, and do not forsake the law of your mother." Timothy's mother, Eunice, certainly was a successful parent even without the aid of a believing husband.—Prov. 1:8; 2 Tim. 1:5; 3:14, 15.
In a ruling described by the Associated Press as "dramatically expanding on-the-job
Religious Freedom 'Expanded'
religious freedom," the U.S.
Supreme Court declared that a worker who quits his job because of religious beliefs remains eligible for unemployment payments. An Indiana steelworker, one of
Jehovah's Witnesses, had been transferred to a tank turret assembly line from his former job of producing sheet steel. When he quit because there were no nonmilitary jobs available with the company, he was denied state unemployment benefits. The denial was upheld by the Indiana Supreme Court because the court felt that his reasons for quitting did not meet the requirement of "good cause."
However, eight of the nine U.S. Supreme
Court justices disagreed. "It is not for us to say that the line he drew was an unreasonable one," wrote Chief Justice Warren E. Burger in the ruling. "Courts are not arbiters of scriptural interpretation." The court said that when a state denies an important benefit "because of conduct mandated by religious belief, thereby putting substantial pressure on an adherent to modify his behavior and to violate his beliefs, a burden upon religion exists" that is unconstitutional.
"Time" magazine's report on the ruling began with the Scripture quotation: "And they shall beat their swords into plowshares.—Isaiah 2:4." ("Authorized Version") Certainly it is up to the individual conscience, not the courts, as Chief Justice Burger stated, to be the 'arbiter of Scriptural interpretation' when it comes to applying such principles in one's life.
Brazil's "Drought of the Century," the worst since 1877, covers an area of the northeast part of the country that is greater than France and Italy together and has seriously affected the lives of 13 million of its inhabitants. During March,
Pillaging Not a Sin?
39 cities in four states were invaded by hundreds of hungry drought victims demanding food. In some cities where their demands were not met immediately, stores and warehouses were plundered.
Cardinal Aloisio Lorscheider of Fortaleza, capital of affected Ceara State, declared: "A person who finds himself in extreme necessity can lawfully take the quantity of material goods that others would be obliged to give him as a charitable duty."
Cardinal Lorscheider did not indicate the basis for his declaration that circumstances can make pillaging lawful. However, if he had based his counsel on that of "Saint" Peter, he would have said: "None of you should ever deserve to suffer for being a murderer, a thief, a criminal or an informer." And if this should result in suffering hunger until government relief comes, Christians will still "obey the governing authorities," as the Bible commands. —1 Pet. 4:15; Rom. 13:1; Catholic "Jerusalem Bible."
THE JUDGMENT DAY OF THE GODS
"Who is a God like you?"—Mic. 7:18.
TODAY more and more people are saying: 'There is no God!' Whatever may be their reason for saying this, the Bible says: "The senseless one has said in his heart: 'There is no Jehovah.'" (Ps.
14:1) Though many deny the existence of Jehovah, the majority of mankind do believe in gods without number. In India alone the Hindus believe in hundreds of millions of gods.
2 The Bible recognizes that there are many who are called gods or who try to make gods out of themselves. Psalm 82: 1, 6 says: "God is stationing himself in the assembly of the Divine One; in the middle of the gods he judges. 'I myself have said, 'You are gods, and all of you are sons of the Most High.''" Also, Psalm 97:1, 7 says: "Jehovah himself has become king!... Let all those serving any carved image be ashamed, those who are making their boast in valueless gods. Bow down to him, all you gods." The godship of all of these whom humans worship has now been called into question. Their judgment day has come. Jehovah judges.
3 In the eighth century before our Common Era, there was a prophet whose very
name was a challenge to all the gods of the world.
His name, Micah, means "Who is like Jah?" that is, like Jehovah.—Mic. 1:1; Jer. 26:18.
4 In contrasting himself with the people of the Gentile nations, the prophet Micah speaks for himself and for other faithful ones like himself when he says: "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." (Mic. 4:5) Very fittingly, till the end of his prophetic book Micah raised the challenging question, "Who is a God like you, one pardoning error and passing over transgression of the remnant of his inheritance?"—Mic. 7:18.
The question of godship is one of worldwide consideration, and Jehovah lays his case open for the general public, especially before those who claim to represent him on earth. This fact is very plain from the quotation of his words, at Micah 1:2-4: "Hear, O you peoples, all of you; pay attention, O earth and what fills you, and let the Sovereign Lord Jehovah serve against you as a witness, Jehovah from his holy temple. For, look! Jehovah is going forth from his place, and he will certainly come down and tread upon earth's high places. And the mountains must melt under him, and the low plains themselves will split apart, like wax because of the fire, like waters being poured down a steep place."
a In his further witnessing, Jehovah explains the meaning of those terrifying figures of speech by saying:
"What is bad has come down from Jehovah to the gates of Jerusalem." (Mic.
1:12) "Therefore this is what Jehovah has said, Here I am thinking up against this family a calamity from which you people will not remove your necks, so that you will not walk haughtily; because it is a time of calamity. In that day one will raise up concerning you people a proverbial saying and will certainly lament a lamentation, even a lamentation. One will have to say: "We have positively been despoiled! The very portion of my people he alters. How he removes it from me!"''" (Mic. 2:3, 4) "Be in severe pains and burst forth, O daughter of Zion, like a woman giving birth, for now . . . you will have to come as far as to Babylon."—Mic. 4:10.
7 As we review the grounds that Jehovah sets forth for taking such drastic action, let us have modern-day Christendom in mind, for she is the counterpart of the unfaithful Israel of Micah's day. As Jehovah goes on to bear public witness, he explains: "It is because of the revolt of Jacob that there is all this, even because of the sins of the house of Israel." Among those sins Jehovah mentions worship at "high places" instead of at the temple in Jerusalem, and their idolatrous worship of "graven images."—Mic. 1:5-7.
*Besides the foregoing, Jehovah mentions "those who are scheming what is harmful," and "those practicing what is bad, upon their beds." He adds: "By the light of the morning they proceed to do it, because it is in the power of their hand. And they have desired fields and have seized them; also houses, and have taken them; and they have defrauded an able-bodied man and his household, a man and his hereditary possession." (Mic. 2:1, 2) "Is it not your business to know justice?
You haters of what is good and lovers of badness, tearing off their skin from people and their organism from off their bones; you the ones who have also eaten the organism of my people, and have stripped their very skin from off them, and smashed to pieces their very bones, and crushed them to pieces like what is in a wide-mouthed pot and like flesh in the midst of a cooking pot."—Mic. 3:1-3.
9 With such words the Sovereign Lord Jehovah served "as a witness" against the ancient kingdom of Judah. His prophet Micah had to serve as His visible witness, and this took great courage on his part, yes, great spiritual strength. But Micah was equal to what this service called for. How so? He tells us in these words: "I myself have become full of power, with the spirit of Jehovah, and of justice and mightiness, in order to tell to Jacob his revolt and to Israel his sin."—Mic. 3:8.
10 The same spirit of Jehovah that empowered Micah to proclaim the strong message of judgment by word of mouth also moved him to write down this stern message from the true God. Micah had something that the false prophets, visionaries and diviners of that day did not have, and so he had Jehovah's "answer" to the national problems, namely, the "revolt" of Jacob and the "sin" of Israel. Personally, Micah had a sense of justice, so that he deeply appreciated that his own people were treating God unjustly, callously breaking God's law and violating their national covenant with him through the mediator Moses. As a fine example for the Christian witnesses of Jehovah of today, Micah was no religious weakling, but he was full of spiritual mightiness to identify sin as sin!
THE RESPONSIBILITY OF THE FALSE GODS FOR CONDITIONS
11 Jehovah of armies was not the one responsible for the bad conditions in the nation of Israel anciently. Neither is he responsible for the bad conditions morally and religiously inside Israel's present-day counterpart, Christendom. The responsible ones back in Micah's day, and likewise today, were and are "the god of this system of things," Satan the Devil, and all the demon gods associated with him. (Matt. 4:3, 4; 2 Cor. 4:4) In accord with this it is written: "All the peoples, for their part, will walk each one in the name of its god." (Mic. 4:5) "There are those who are called 'gods,' whether in heaven or on earth, just as there are many 'gods' and many 'lords.'" (1 Cor. 8:5) All these false gods have had their day, to do all the damage they could.
12 Now, though, the time has come for Jehovah the Almighty God to bring them all into judgment and to put a stop to all their forms of worship by means of temples, priests, idols or graven images and rituals and sacrifices. Jehovah's irreversible purpose to do this in the case of ancient typical Israel he set forth by his prophet Micah, saying: "I will cut off sorceries out of your hand, and no practicers of magic will you continue to have. And I will cut off your graven images and your pillars from the midst of you, and you will no more bow down to the work of your hands. And I will uproot your sacred poles from the midst of you and annihilate your cities. And in anger and in rage I will execute vengeance upon the nations that have not obeyed."—Mic. 5:12-15.
13 During the past 100 years there has been an exposing of the false gods of this world, even of Christendom.
This exposure is without equal in the history of the nations since the destruction of Jerusalem by the Babylonians in the year 607 B.C.E., or about 109 years after the prophet Micah finished writing his prophecy. This has included the exposure of Christendom's own god, the so-called Trinity, inexplainably made up of three gods in one and each of these deities being coexistent, coequal and coeternal. This triune deity is sometimes illustrated by a human body with three heads or a head with three faces. The use of man-made images in religious worship can plainly be observed in the temples, cathedrals and churches of Christendom.
14 During this time of judgment of all the false gods of this world, who are the ones that have carried on the work of exposure? The dedicated, baptized Christians who have been anointed with the spirit of Jehovah God through Jesus Christ. As a company, or class, these were prefigured by Jehovah's prophet Micah. Activities like those of Micah have been carried on modernly, particularly since the end of World War I in 1918 C.E. Then the Micah class resolutely stepped forward onto the postwar scene and outstandingly acted as the witness for the God of Micah against the idolatrous systems of Christendom and pagandom. On valid grounds this Micah class, when gathered together in international assembly at Columbus, Ohio, in 1931, adopted a resolution by which they confessed themselves to be "Jehovah's witnesses" and pledged themselves to carry out this obligation of being His witnesses. Following that example, congregations of dedicated Christians worldwide, who recognized themselves to be "the Israel of God," unitedly assented to that 1931 resolution and took upon themselves the Bible-based name "Jehovah's witnesses." (Isa. 43:10-12; Gal. 6:16) Though challenged by Christendom, the name has stuck!
15 Those bearers of this new name recognized that their Leader, Jesus Christ, was and is the greatest of the witnesses of Jehovah. In the last book of the Bible, the Revelation that Jehovah God used the glorified Jesus Christ to impart to the aged apostle John, the only-begotten Son of God says of himself: "These are the things that the Amen says, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation by God." (Rev. 3:14) Like his Father, Jehovah, the Lord Jesus bore witness against the deplorable conditions in the Israel of his day, similar to those that Micah described. Outstandingly, Jesus is the one whom Jehovah now uses in this judgment day for all the false gods. It is not strange, then, that Satan the Devil would, as "the god of this system of things," want to destroy the only-begotten Son of God during his residence on earth. The human birth of this Son of God was grabbed at as a fine opportunity to do this. There is no doubt that, from the prophecy of Micah 5:2, Satan the Devil knew where the birth was to take place.
19 Micah 5:2 reads: "And you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah, the one too little to get to be among the thousands of Judah, from you there will come out to me the one who is to become ruler in Israel, whose origin is from early times, from the days of time indefinite."
17 According to what the verses surrounding Micah 5:2 indicate, the prophecy was to be fulfilled after the return of the Jews from 70 years of exile in the land of Babylon.
(Note Micah 1:16; 4:10.) And it actually was 535 years after the liberated Jews resettled in the land of Judah, in which the little town of Bethlehem was reestablished. At the due time Jehovah sent his angel to the virgin Jewess of the family line of King David to say that she was to become the mother of the promised Messiah, the Christ. Then at the time due for the birth Mary found herself in her native town of Bethlehem, to be registered there according to the decree of Caesar Augustus. There, about the middle of the seventh Jewish month, Tishri, or about the start of October, Mary's first-born son was brought forth and was called Jesus, just as the angel had instructed. That Satan the Devil was interested in this portentous birth is indicated by the fact that his worshipers, namely, pagan astrologers, took an active interest in the matter. About this a historian, the apostle Matthew, writes:
18 "After Jesus had been born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, . . . King Herod was agitated, and all Jerusalem along with him; and on gathering together all the chief priests and scribes of the people he began to inquire of them where the Christ was to be born. They said to him: 'In Bethlehem of Judea, for this is how it has been written through the prophet, "And you, O Bethlehem of the land of Judah, are by no means the most insignificant city among the governors of Judah; for out of you will come forth a governing one, who will shepherd my people, Israel."''"—Matt. 2:1-6.
19 So King Herod sent the astrologers to Bethlehem. But after these observers of dreams failed to report back and tell him where he could find the recently born Jesus, King Herod sent his soldiers to
Bethlehem and had all the baby boys of two years of age and younger killed off. But Mary and her husband, Joseph, had been forewarned and left Bethlehem and took refuge in Egypt so as to preserve the young child Jesus alive. There can be no doubt that jealous, power-hungry King Herod was instigated by his god, Satan the Devil, the symbolic Serpent whose head was to be crushed by the "seed" of God's "woman." (Gen. 3:15) Thus was foiled not only King Herod but also the invisible ruler of all the demon gods.—Matt. 2:7-18.
20 To balance matters, Satan the Devil and all his demon gods deserve to be judged by means of the one whom they sought to exterminate. This is already under development, since the end of "the appointed times of the nations" in 1914, of which nations Satan the Devil is the god. (Luke 21:24; 2 Cor. 4:4) In line with God's words at Genesis 3:15, the prophecy of Micah 5:1 foretold: "With the rod they will strike upon the cheek the judge of Israel," that is, Jesus Christ. But now that the judgment day of all the false gods of the nations has begun, the great archangel Michael, whose name means "Who is like God?", has battled with Satan the Devil and his demon angels and has ousted them from the heavens.
21 Coincidental with that war in the invisible heavens the first world war of human history was fought during 1914-1918. Since the chagrined Devil and all the other demon gods have been confined to the vicinity of our tiny earth, it has become indeed a special time of "woe for the earth and for the sea." (Rev. 12:7-12) This judgment day of all the false gods will continue on until "the war of the great day of God the Almighty" at Har-Magedon is over and Satan and all the other demon gods are abyssed for the 1,000 years of Christ's reign.
(Rev. 16:14-16; 20:1-3) Thus the glorified Governor out of Bethlehem, Jesus Christ, will govern all mankind without interference by all the false gods and will instruct all the families of the earth in the life-giving worship of the one living and true God.
WORSHIP OF THE ONE TRUE GOD ALREADY BEING EXALTED
WORLD War I was a time of darkness such as humanity had never before experienced. It was as if the powers of darkness had prevailed universally. It seemed as if "the ruler of the world" had triumphed. (John 14:30) As his world empire of false religion, including Christendom, patriotically went over to the support of the war-mad nations, tremendous pressure was applied to all religious people. Hence, even worship of the one true and living God fell to a low ebb. Upholders of it were persecuted and put under restrictions, even to imprisonment. Their condition became calamitous, like that described in Micah 3:12:
2 "Zion will be plowed up as a mere field, and Jerusalem herself will become mere heaps of ruins, and the mountain of the house [the temple] will be as the high places of a forest"—like an abandoned field covered with an overgrowth reaching to the height of trees because of the passing of so much time.
3It appeared as if the end had come—for the whole system of things on earth. Worshipers of the God of the Bible resigned themselves to that view of matters,
as they became "objects of hatred by all the nations." (Matt. 24:9) However, they had only entered "the conclusion of the system of things." There was yet much lifesaving work for them to do before they reached the terminal of that "conclusion of the system of things." As the great Governor out of Bethlehem had foretold, "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." (Matt. 24:3, 14) The prophecy of Micah was in agreement with that, even though Micah had written it down hundreds of years beforehand.
4 After Micah described the ruin to which the land of Judah and its capital city, Jerusalem (or, Zion), would be reduced by the Babylonians, he went on to say: "And it must occur in the final part of the days that the mountain of the house [temple] 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. 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.
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. 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."—Mic. 4:1-4.
5 In the course of World War I earthly Jerusalem was captured by British troops under General Allenby, and in recognition of this the League of Nations gave Great Britain the mandate over the territory, to continue until 1948. When the mandate ended, war followed between the Jews and the Arabs, and today the nation of Israel occupies even the walled city of Jerusalem. But does a temple for the worship of Jehovah crown the top of the mountain where the house for the worship of Jehovah stood down till 70 C.E.? No, but the Dome of the Rock for the worship of the Mohammedan deity, Allah, stands
there, and people of many nations visit it as a tourist attraction. Beyond all contradiction this has been no fulfillment of the prophecy of Micah 4:1-4.
Still, that prophecy has been undergoing fulfillment since the postwar year of 1919. How so? Well, because a higher Jerusalem is involved. Let us recall how, on Nisan 9, 33 C.E., Jesus Christ as the Governor out of Bethlehem made his triumphal ride into Jerusalem but was not accepted as King. Two days later, on Nisan 11, he was moved to bewail that earthly Jerusalem, saying: "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 [your temple] is abandoned to you [people]." (Matt. 23: 37, 38) Three days later, on Nisan 14, Jesus suffered martyrdom at Calvary outside Jerusalem. Then, for his part, Jehovah God abandoned that temple though it had been dedicated to him. No longer was it his place of approved worship. Its destruction in 70 C.E. dramatized that fact!
Forty days after Jesus' resurrection he ascended back to heaven and 10 days later, on the day of Pentecost, he poured out the holy spirit upon his disciples waiting in earthly Jerusalem. With that event a new Jerusalem, a heavenly Jerusalem, became their mother. As regards this, the Christian apostle Paul wrote in his letter to the congregations in Galatia: "The Jerusalem above is free, and she is our mother." (Gal. 4:26) Later on, when writing to Hebrew Christians in general, the same apostle wrote: "But you have approached a Mount Zion and a city of the living God, heavenly Jerusalem, and myriads of angels, in general assembly, and the congregation of the firstborn who have been enrolled in the heavens, and God the Judge of all." (Heb. 12:22, 23) It is with respect to this New Jerusalem, the spiritual Jerusalem, on a spiritual Mount Zion, that Micah 4:1-4 prophesies. Upon this spiritual Jerusalem Micah's prophecy is being fulfilled today!
8 Since the war-wracked years of 1914-1918 the worship of the God whose worship used to be carried on at the "house," or temple, that stood atop one of the mountains of ancient Jerusalem, keeps being exalted. This worship of Jehovah has been "established above the top of the
mountains" on which temples to the false gods of this system stood or still stand. Thus the worship of the one living and true God has been "lifted up above the hills."
Particularly after the close of World War I in the autumn of 1918 the worship of Jehovah as the Most High God was elevated heaven high. How was that? Because, first in the postwar period of time, was restoration possible for the worshipers of Jehovah from the oppressed, dispersed, restricted state that was like the condition of the Jewish exiles in Babylon during 607-537 B.C.E. Micah's prophecy foretold the regathering of the spiritual Israelites and the breaking open of the way for them to escape from such a Babylonish servitude, saying: "I shall positively gather Jacob, all of you; I shall without fail collect the remaining ones of Israel together. In unity I shall set them, like a flock in the pen, like a drove in the midst of its pasture; they will be noisy with men.' The one making a breakthrough will certainly come up before them; they will actually break through. And they will pass through a gate, and they will go out by it. And their king will pass through before them, with Jehovah at the head of them."—Mic. 2:12, 13.
10 When, in 537 B.C.E., the Israelites left Babylon according to the decree of the Persian conqueror, Cyrus the Great, there was no human king of the royal house of David leading them out. Zedekiah, the last Davidic king to reign at old Jerusalem, was by then dead, buried at Babylon. Evidently, then, Micah's prophecy must have spiritual application. So who is the "king"? It is the King who was to be enthroned at God's right hand in the heavens at the end of the "times of the Gentiles" (or, "appointed times of the nations") in the fall of 1914 C.E.
(Luke 21:24, Authorized Version, New World Translation; Ps. 110:1, 2) This was a "king" greater than Cyrus the conqueror of Babylon. It was the newly installed "King," Jesus Christ. He was the one who made the "breakthrough" for the oppressed spiritual Israelites, the "remaining ones" of spiritual Israel, or Jacob. So it was that in the postwar year of 1919 the glorified Jesus Christ made the "breakthrough" for his dedicated, baptized disciples who had become the "objects of hatred by all the nations" on account of his name during World War I—Matt. 24:9.
11 Those liberated disciples were ready to follow him as their enthroned King at Jehovah's right hand. By the "gate" of escape that he had made he proceeded to "pass through before them." He led them into real Christian liberty. This was "with Jehovah at the head of them," because Jehovah was the Chief One responsible for their marching out to freedom. He was the One who issued the call to his worshipers held captive in religious Babylon, saying:
12 "Get out of her, my people, if you do not want to share with her in her sins, and if you do not want to receive part of her plagues."—Rev. 18:4; Jer. 50:8, 9; Isa. 48:20.
PERSONAL NAME OF THE ONE TRUE GOD TO THE FORE!
13 Jehovah was beginning by then to make a name for himself. Rightly his name began to come to the fore, it being higher than that of his glorified Son Jesus Christ. For instance, The Watch Tower and Herald of Christ's Presence, in its issue of November 15, 1919, published the first of a series of articles entitled "Isaiah's Rhapsody," and in Part I it went on to say:
In these first eleven verses of the fortieth chapter we have three pictures of Jehovah given to us: first, he is depicted as a Comforter after protracted suffering; second, he is represented as being the True One, whose word abides though all else fail; third, as the Shepherd who leads his people with paternal care.
The second cause for comfort lies in the words "that her iniquity is pardoned". God in his wisdom saw that the seventy years of national humiliation suffered by the Jewish people would be a sufficient off-set on the books of divine justice to atone for the tendency which they had manifested for many centuries to go into idolatry, or to worship other gods than Jehovah.
.. But we know that Jehovah would never inflict unjust punishment. He cannot deny himself. . .
. . . Suggestions [for a name of a paper published by the Society] brought out the fact that the Yiddish equivalent of "the voice" would be understood at once by all Jews to designate some special message from Jehovah.
Surely any class which is to be used by Jehovah for such an exalted purpose as joint-heirship with Christ is in need of extensive preparatory experiences before being made "meet for the inheritance of the saints in light."
... But as a double reassurance of the fulfillment of the things above promised Jehovah again affixes his name, or endorses his own check—"the word of our God shall stand forever," irrespective of the obstacles, real or imagined.—Page 343, paragraph 5; page 344, paragraphs 5-7; page 345, paragraph 4; page 346, paragraph 4.
14 Also, in the first bound book published by the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society after World War I, namely, The Harp of God, issued in 1921, the preface stated in paragraph 2: "Jehovah had a great plan before the foundation of the world; but no one knew about it. During the first four thousand years of man's history God's plan was kept a secret."
15 At the international convention held in Detroit, Michigan, July 30-August 6, 1928, the thousands in attendance unanimously adopted the resolution entitled "Declaration against Satan and for Jehovah," submitted by the then president of the Watch Tower Society.—See Watch Tower of September 15, 1928, pages 278, 279.
16 However, the climactic event occurred in 1931. This was on Sunday, July 26, when the thousands attending the international convention at Columbus, Ohio, adopted a resolution entitled "A New Name." By this resolution those dedicated, baptized worshipers of the Most High God took upon themselves a name that is based upon the Scriptures, that is, "Jehovah's witnesses."—Isa. 43:10, 12.
17 In that way those Christians brushed aside all the reproachful names with which they had been dubbed by Christendom and accepted the honorable designation that the Holy Bible showed to be proper for them. After the Columbus convention the resolution there adopted was submitted to all the congregations of the dedicated, baptized disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ all around the earth, in their various languages. All the congregations adopting the resolution reported so to the headquarters of the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society. All the individuals taking part in such action brought themselves under a heavy responsibility before Jehovah God. Failure to live up to the new name meant serious consequences for them. Honoring it would magnify God's name.—The Watch Tower issue of September 15, 1931, pages 278, 279.
18 Does secular history since World War I report any religious denomination of Christendom or of Jewry as taking any action similar to that of those witnesses of Jehovah? No! Hence, it has been by means of those Witnesses that Jehovah God has brought about the fulfillment of the prophecy set out in Micah 4:1-4. Thus, indeed, the worship of the one living and true God has been established, as it were, "above the top of the mountains," for it has been shown to be superior to every other form of worship. It is "firmly established" and so will never be toppled from its lofty position. It is being dignified by Jehovah's Witnesses, and so, figuratively speaking, it is being "lifted up above the hills."
19 This exalting of the worship of the one living and true God, thus making it visible from far away, was meant to be for the benefit of persons out of all nations and peoples. So, under divine guidance, on Sunday, February 24, 1918, amid World War I, the then president of the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society gave a well-advertised talk in Los Angeles, California, U.S.A. His subject was a startling one but was in line with the meaning of the momentous times as viewed from the Bible standpoint. The subject was "Millions Now Living May Never Die." This theme was based on the Bible's teaching that there would be human survivors of the "great tribulation" with which this doomed system of things would end. (Rev. 7:9, 14) Those favored survivors would be ushered into the Millennial Age under Christ's kingdom. By means of that government they could gain everlasting life on an earth made into a paradise.
20 Five years later another convention was held in the same city of Los Angeles, on August 18-26, 1923, and on Saturday, August 25, the Society's president discussed Jesus' parable of the symbolic sheep and goats. As this parable is a part of Jesus' prophecy on the "sign" marking the "conclusion of the system of things," the speaker applied it to "the final part of the days"; he gave it a premillennial application. Who, then, are pictured by the "sheep" that do good to the King's spiritual "brothers" according to their needs? Why, the so-called 'persons of goodwill' who are to be rewarded with surviving the destruction of the present system of things and being preserved into the Millennial system of things under Christ's kingdom! (See the Watch Tower issue of November 1, 1923, page 326; also that of October 15, 1923, page 307.) Such symbolic "sheep" of today are the "peoples" who stream up to the spiritual temple of Jehovah's worship, which is represented by the remnant of Christ's "brothers," spiritual Israelites.—Mic. 4:1; Matt. 24:3; 25:31-46.
"PEOPLES MUST STREAM" TO LIFE-GIVING WORSHIP
WHEN the last book of the Bible, Revelation, was written by the Jewish-Christian apostle John, about the year 96 C.E., the Jewish temple at Jerusalem had been destroyed by Roman soldiers under General Titus. Nevertheless, the apostle John describes, at Revelation 7:9-17, a numberless "crowd" drawn from all peoples, nations, races and languages, and these were seen rendering to God on his throne sacred service in the courtyard of his temple. Obviously, the spiritual temple of Jehovah God was there meant.
2Great was the joy of Jehovah's Witnesses in 1935 and of persons of goodwill when those of that numberless international "crowd" were identified as being the "sheep" described in Jesus' parable of the sheep and the goats. (Matt. 25:31-46) Yes, they were identified as being the
same as the "other sheep" mentioned in Jesus' parable of the Fine Shepherd. (John 10:16; see the book The Harp of God, published in 1921, page 338, paragraph 577; also, the Watch Tower issue of October 15, 1923, page 310, under the subheading "Two Classes.") The identification of those who compose the "great crowd" of Revelation 7:9-17 took place at the convention of May 10-June 3, 1935, at Washington, D.C., U.S.A., by means of an up-to-date explanation of Jesus' parable of the sheep and the goats. The day (Saturday) following that discussion there was a baptism of 840 of the conventioners guided by their new understanding of matters according to the explanation of Jesus' parable.
a The dedicated, baptized "other sheep" are taking part with the spiritual brothers of the King Jesus Christ in preaching "this good news of the kingdom" everywhere, "in all the inhabited earth for a witness to all the nations."
(Matt. 24:14) In this way Micah 4:2 began its fulfillment: "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." Not to earthly Jerusalem, which was then being occupied by British troops, but to the New Jerusalem on the heavenly Mount Zion is where the "other sheep" of the "great crowd" looked for "law" based on the Bible and for the "word of Jehovah" through his anointed witnesses, the spiritual Israelites.
4 Not among worldly nations that were building up armaments for World War II but among the sheeplike ones of the international "great crowd" began the fulfillment of the words of Micah 4:3, 4: "And he [Jehovah] 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. 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."
Fearlessly, without letting anyone of this world make them tremble, even after World War II was lighted on September 1, 1939, the Witnesses openly declared and published their neutrality toward all nations engaging in violent combat. (See
the Watchtower issue of November 1, 1939, containing the leading article entitled "Neutrality.") They have held to this neutral stand ever since. In many cases this has meant their being confined in concentration camps, or in prisons, or even their being killed as being unpatriotic. They refuse to become a part of this world, just as Jesus Christ refused to do so. Properly, then, the Witnesses should be expected to keep peace within their own congregations, dwelling together like brothers. (Ps. 133) Figuratively speaking, they sit, each one "under his own vine and under his own fig tree," in security, like the Israelites during the 40-year-long peaceful reign of King Solomon, son of David. (1 Ki. 4:25) During this "conclusion of the system of things," they peacefully preach "this good news of the kingdom . . . in all the inhabited earth."—Matt. 24:3, 14.
HAR-MAGEDON SURVIVORS
CARRY FORWARD TRUE WORSHIP
So among all peoples the Witnesses are a refreshing element. This is just as foretold in Micah 5:6-9: "And he [Jehovah] will certainly bring about deliverance from the Assyrian [the world power of Assyria], when he comes into our land and when he treads upon our territory. And the remaining ones of Jacob must become in the midst of many peoples like dew from Jehovah, like copious showers upon vegetation, that does not hope for man or wait for the sons of earthling man. And the remaining ones of Jacob must become among the nations, in the midst of many peoples, like a lion among the beasts of a forest, like a maned young lion among droves of sheep, which, when it actually passes through, certainly both tramples down and tears in pieces; and there is no deliverer.
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