The Watchtower — October 15, 1975

One World, One Government, Under God’s Sovereignty

1. What is sovereignty defined as being, and how has it affected our earth?

FOR CENTURIES it has been argued that the sovereignty of a government has its basic source in the people governed.a In the realm of political science sovereignty is said to be “the supreme power in a State by which the government is administered.”b In recent times more and more lands have gone over to the idea that sovereignty resides with the people.c However, in some lands it is still recognized that the supreme power in the State is possessed by the sovereign, such as the king or the emperor. Whatever be the case, there is today no one man or one national group of people that exercises sovereignty over all the earth. Rather, our earth is the location of many sovereignties. This is a major cause for strife and conflict. The earth has no rest, no global peace.

2. Why are all of us affected by the national sovereignties around the earth, and what patriotic stand do some take toward their national government?

² All of us are affected by the sovereignties that are exercised around the earth. Relatively few of us individuals are what may be called “a man without a country.” The most of us are members of some nation, citizens of some country. As such, we are expected to have a national pride. We are made very sensitive of our nationality, so that we resent and take offense at any slur that is made against the nation that we represent. During international disputes many devotees of a national government take the patriotic position expressed in the words, “My country​—right or wrong!”

3. What internal sovereignty and what external sovereignty do the nations today exercise?

³ Today more nations than ever before in human history command the loyalty of their citizens. In that world body known as the United Nations there are at present one hundred and thirty-eight member nations of diverse political complexions. There are yet other nations that are still outside the United Nations organization. Each of these nations, whether inside or outside the United Nations, is jealous of its internal sovereignty and of its external sovereignty. Each nation claims and safeguards those governmental powers that a political State possesses internally over its own citizens and even over foreigners dwelling within the national borders and over private ships of its citizens on the high seas. In the exercise of external sovereignty, each nation insists and acts upon its right to enter into relations with any foreign political state, either by making a peaceful treaty or by declaring war. From the present-day human standpoint, all of this seems right and natural. Patriotic!

4. During this century, what political movement became epidemic, and what question is raised as to brotherhood between nations and individuals?

⁴ The facts of modern history show that nationalism has come to the fore in this twentieth century, since the first war that was fought on a global scale. According to the winning side, it was fought to make the world safe for democracy. The striving of the peoples everywhere for national sovereignties by the creation of new political states became epidemic. Nationalism became a plague to all mankind. Instead of pacifying world conditions by the satisfying of local peoples wanting nationhood, it led to the multiplying of problems national and international. After nineteen years of operation by the now dead League of Nations and, then, thirty years of operation by the United Nations, there is today no brotherhood of the nations, just as there is no “brotherhood of man.” And yet, are not all men brothers “under the skin”? Are not all nations brother nations, made up of citizens who are brothers “under the skin”? Why, then, this absence world wide of brotherhood that should make all men everywhere act like loving brothers of one big human family?

5. Do we have on earth “one world” under “one government,” and to whom would this be a desirable thing?

⁵ We are obliged to confess that mankind today is not “one world” and that, despite the existence of the United Nations, it is not under “one government.” Would we like to have all living mankind to be “one world” and under “one government”? In the face of human experience for the past six thousand years, that would be a most desirable thing for all those of us who desire harmony, peace, justice, security, human fellowship and the joy of living.

6, 7. (a) Why were the peoples of earth never before so close together, so interdependent? (b) How many would be affected by another world war, and why?

⁶ All of us people, regardless of where we live on this planet, are held captive to this earth. It is true that six space flights have landed men on the moon, but these men, in order to survive, have had to return to this earth. They have been glad to get back to this earth. Here is where they were meant to live, and here only is where human creatures, as human beings, can live forever. Men, wherever they may live on this planet, are neighbors of one another, for they are all inhabitants of the one earth. They are, in general, subject to the same necessities of life. And now the means of rapid communication by telephone, telegraph, radio and television, and the various means for travel on land, on sea and in the skies, have brought all peoples closer together than ever before. Never before were the peoples of the earth so interdependent.

⁷ Like in one big human body, every other part of human society is affected by what happens to one particular part of the human family. In the face of the advances in the science of modern warfare, another world war, a war employing nuclear weapons with intercontinental ballistic missiles, would have disastrous effects upon all creatures, human and animal, upon our earth.

8, 9. (a) What danger is common to all mankind, and what is needed on the part of all nations to prevent the worst? (b) What warning of doom came from the Far East last January, calling for cooperation by whom?

⁸ Danger of extinction is now common to all mankind. It is now recognized that one common human effort globally is needed to ward off such a world calamity. An outright self-interest on the part of the people demands such a thing. But where among the self-seeking people of the day is there the feeling of a dire need to cooperate together to prevent the worst? A call for it comes from the Far East:

⁹ Under the headlines “Miki: Mankind Is Doomed Without Co-operation,” the Times of Singapore, Asia, under date of January 26, 1975, reports: “TOKYO, Sat.​—Prime minister Takeo Miki warned yesterday that the world is doomed if individual national interests are carried out ‘in a narrow, short-term sense.’ Mr. Miki said in a keynote speech delivered at the Diet (parliament): ‘The world is becoming smaller and smaller and the whole of mankind shares the same fate aboard the same ship.’ He stressed the need for international co-operation and interdependence among nations. . . . ‘To our regret, however, the world has not yet reached a stage where this interdependence is fully realized. If this situation persists, it is clear that in the not-too-distant future we will be doomed. In this age, no single nation or individual can get along successfully by themselves any longer. The ultimate objective of diplomatic endeavor for any country is, of course, to ensure its national interests. This expression, however, should not be construed in a narrow, short-term sense.’”

WHAT IS MISSING ABOUT INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION

10. What would impair the unifying strength to the international cooperation that was recommended?

¹⁰ This was indeed a solemn warning for the Japanese premier to make. He remains strongly convinced that mankind must now choose between full international cooperation and doom! In his view, however, the national sovereignty of each political state is not to be sacrificed, even while this cooperation obtains. Accordingly, the “ultimate objective of diplomatic endeavor” is to be that of ensuring the national interests of each country. In this way the national groups everywhere would be holding on to their national sovereignty. This would allow for national pride with all its divisive effects to remain. So this would work against true inner unity between national groups. It would be a weakness impairing the strength of international cooperation. Never would the result be “one government”! Neither “one people”!

11. What is the highly important thing that would be missing from such international cooperation?

¹¹ So, then, is it merely the cooperation between sovereign political states that is needed to save the world of mankind from doom? Evidently something more is needed, something highly important. The now defunct League of Nations did not supply that need. The now functioning United Nations does not supply it either. Political scientists of the world might ask, What is the thing needed, that is missing from such organizations for international cooperation? We answer, It is unselfish cooperation with the One whom many nations claim to worship. Who that One is we can determine from the song that used to be treated as a national anthem in a North American country. It is entitled “My Country, ’Tis of Thee,” or, simply, “America.” The last verse of this song, at the playing of which the audience would rise to its feet, reads as follows:

“Our fathers’ God, to Thee,

Author of liberty, to Thee we sing.

Long may our land be bright with freedom’s holy light.

Protect us by Thy might,

Great God our King.”

12. (a) How does a certain nation claim that God is its heavenly Sovereign? (b) How does such a singing nation prove whether God is its Sovereign or not?

¹² Furthermore, this anthem was sung to the tune of the British national anthem, entitled “God Save Our Gracious King (Queen).” In agreement with that last verse of “America,” the Supreme Court of the nation has ruled that the United States is a Christian nation. Also, in England there is still a union of Church and State, the Church of England being the established State Church. The God of the Holy Bible is the deity here meant. All the nations of Christendom profess to worship this God of the Holy Scriptures. By singing to him the words “Great God our King,” the Americans who can join in that patriotic song are tunefully acknowledging God, “our fathers’ God,” as the sovereign, higher than the chief executive of the United States of America. But do the singers of the anthem say more than they mean? Do they really let him be the Sovereign of their own nation as well as the rest of the universe? The singers prove whether He is their real Sovereign by submissively cooperating with him or failing to do so.

13. (a) Whom does the King James Authorized Version Bible show to be the Sovereign of the Universe? (b) So, how only can “one world” under “one government” come about?

¹³ The translation of the Holy Bible into English that was authorized by King James I of Great Britain in 1611 to be read in the churches of the country points to the sovereignty of this God. In Psalm 83:18 it reads: “That men may know that thou, whose name alone is JEHOVAH, art the most high over all the earth.” In fulfillment of the prayer contained in that Psalm, all men, all human inhabitants of the earth, will yet know that the God whose name is Jehovah is the Highest Sovereign of all and, hence, the Sovereign over our earth also. Today the larger number of the political nations do not worship Jehovah as their God, as the nations of Christendom claim to do. But, whereas the so-called “Christian” nations profess to worship the God whose name the Bible says is Jehovah, they do not in fact cooperate with Him. So, in actuality, not one of the nations that are members of the United Nations organization is cooperating with the Most High God, Jehovah. Only when all living mankind obediently cooperates with this Universal Sovereign can there come about “one world” under “one government.”

FOR WHOSE SOVEREIGNTY SHALL WE DECIDE?

14. Why is it now necessary for each one of us to make a personal decision on the issue that must be settled for all the earth?

¹⁴ Is such a thing what we want with all our hearts? Since the political states do not want such a thing in God’s way and since they refuse to cooperate with Him, then it is left to each one of us to make his own personal decision on the issue that must shortly be settled for all the earth. Shall we each one pay due respects to Jehovah’s universal sovereignty and live in harmony with it? Only by doing so shall we be privileged to enjoy the “one world, one government, under God’s sovereignty.”

15. What explains why the projects of the nations have failed despite international cooperation?

¹⁵ When all of us cooperate and act as a united body, we can generally get things done. When we work together with the Sovereign Lord God Jehovah, we can be sure of working for success. This fact helps us to understand why the nations have failed to have success in their international projects. It is true that the nations, in their desperate plight today, are seeking to unify the world under one single world arrangement. Why, there is even talk of handing over world sovereignty to the United Nations organization. However, as regards the “one world” of mankind under “one government” that the nations would like to bring about for the sake of world peace and security, is it the “one world” under “one government” that the Sovereign Lord God has in mind? Is it what He has foretold in his infallible written Word, the Holy Bible?

16, 17. (a) How did nations cooperate together in a bad way nineteen centuries ago at Jerusalem? (b) How did those who prayed and mentioned this evil cooperation address God, and what did they ask Him to do?

¹⁶ We know that human creatures and nations can cooperate in a bad work as well as in a good work. It was not quite two thousand years ago that nations got together in a bad work. They cooperated together, but not in cooperation with the Most High God of heaven. This was called attention to in a very solemn way in the city of Jerusalem, after a couple of men had been arrested for preaching in the city temple, had been tried in the Supreme Court and had been released under threats. Concerning the clash of sovereignties that was then and there involved, the historic account tells us, in the following words, according to The New English Bible:

¹⁷ “As soon as they were discharged they went back to their friends and told them everything that the chief priests and elders had said. When they heard it, they raised their voices as one man and called upon God: ‘Sovereign Lord, maker of heaven and earth and sea and of everything in them, who by the Holy Spirit, through the mouth of David thy servant, didst say, “Why did the Gentiles rage and the peoples lay their plots in vain? The kings of the earth took their stand and the rulers made common cause against the Lord and against his Messiah.” They did indeed make common cause in this very city against thy holy servant Jesus whom thou didst anoint as Messiah. Herod and Pontius Pilate conspired with the Gentiles and peoples of Israel to do all the things which, under thy hand and by thy decree, were foreordained. And now, O Lord, mark their threats, and enable thy servants to speak thy word with all boldness.’”​—Acts 4:23-29; also The New American Bible; Revised Standard Version; Moffatt; NW.

18. What did those praying Christians ask God to help them to do, and what was the result of the answer to their prayer?

¹⁸ Those disciples of Jesus the Messiah made their individual decisions and took their stand on the side of the universal sovereignty of the Creator of heaven and earth. That is why they prayed to Him to help them to ignore the ruling and threats of the national Supreme Court and go right ahead with the forbidden preaching of God’s message about his anointed Servant, Jesus the Messiah. They exposed the political conspiracy of King Herod Antipas, who represented the national group of the Idumeans, and Governor Pontius Pilate, who represented the Roman Empire and Tiberius Caesar, and the unchristianized Jews. Their prayer was answered, and the preaching of the good news by these upholders of the sovereignty of the Lord God Jehovah went on, both among the Jews and, later, among the Gentile nations. As a result, thousands of believers took their stand upon the side of the Sovereign Lord Jehovah, to cooperate with him in his Messianic purpose.

19. In contrast with the situation nineteen centuries ago, we today have reached what fulfillment of David’s words in Psalm Two, and why should we be careful about the decision we make?

¹⁹ Today we have reached the climax in this divinely guided course of events that leads to “one world” under “one government” over which God is the Universal Sovereign. The prophetic words of David that were included in the prayer offered by the disciples of the Messiah nineteen centuries ago in Jerusalem had only an initial or a miniature fulfillment. It had involved King Herod and Governor Pontius Pilate and the Jewish people and the Roman soldiers whom these used in nailing Jesus the Messiah to a torture stake. In our twentieth century, the world events since the outbreak of World War I in the year 1914 furnish the proof that we have reached the final and full-scale fulfillment of those words of David found in Psalm Two. Now, more than at any time in the past, the issue of divine sovereignty is up for settlement. Our personal decision on the issue will be most serious in consequences to each one of us.

20, 21. (a) For guidance in making the right decision, to whom can we go with success? (b) According to Psalm 73:24, 25, 28, to whom did the psalmist turn for counsel?

²⁰ In order to aid us to make the decision that will lead to our enjoyment of “one world, one government,” under divine sovereignty, we need guidance. Can we go to the worldly nations for guidance in this respect? No, for they are bewildered, sinking deeper and deeper into the quagmire of perplexity because of not knowing the way out of their mounting difficulties. We cannot with success turn to the religious institutions of the nations, for the religious counsel that these have given to the political rulers has led the nations to the present international impasse. For the needed up-to-date, realistic, practical counsel that guides us in the right way, we must go to the written Word provided for us by the very One who long ago foretold this world distress. This was the wise course taken by the inspired psalmist of ancient times. Addressing himself to the divine Author of that prophetic Word, the psalmist said:

²¹ “With your counsel you will lead me, and afterward you will take me even to glory. Whom do I have in the heavens? And besides you I do have no other delight on the earth. But as for me, the drawing near to God is good for me. In the Sovereign Lord Jehovah I have placed my refuge, to declare all your works.”​—Ps. 73:24, 25, 28.

22. So, of what can we be certain, according to the psalmist’s words?

²² By now choosing the Sovereign of all the universe to be our refuge, we, too, can be certain that he will lead us with his counsel and afterward bring us to unfading glory.

[Footnotes]

[Blurb on page 612]

‘Why is there the absence world wide of brotherhood that should make all men everywhere act like loving brothers of one big human family?’

[Blurb on page 613]

‘What is missing is unselfish cooperation with the God of the Holy Bible, Jehovah, the Universal Sovereign.’

[Blurb on page 615]

‘Now, more than at any time in the past, the issue of divine sovereignty is up for settlement. You must make a personal decision on the issue.’

[Picture on page 611]

“Then the Lord shall become king over all the earth.”​—Zech. 14:9, The New English Bible.

The One Government for One World Under God’s Sovereignty

1. To what conclusion about government of mankind are world counselors being forced?

COUNSELORS and advisers on world affairs are continually being frustrated. Whether they like the thought or not, they are being forced to the conclusion that the human family, although now six thousand years old, is unable to govern itself. It has not of itself brought forth the type of government that has made or can make all mankind one world.

2. According to the start that God gave to mankind, why is he not to blame because mankind is not “one world” today?

² Who is to blame? Not the Creator of the human family and hence not their heavenly Father. All mankind started from the one original man whom the Sovereign Lord God, Jehovah, brought into existence on earth. Afterward, from part of this man’s perfect body that the Creator used as a base, he made the first, original woman, that all mankind might be one flesh, the descendants of this original human pair. This fact was plainly stated to the philosophers of the Grecian High Court of the Areopagus in Athens, Greece, nineteen hundred years ago. To these eminent judges, the Christian apostle Paul said: “He [God] made out of one man every nation of men, to dwell upon the entire surface of the earth, and he decreed the appointed times and the set limits of the dwelling of men, for them to seek God.”​—Acts 17:22-27; Gen. 2:7-25; 1:26-31.

3, 4. (a) From the start, what was God’s purpose for mankind? (b) How was it shown to Adam that submission to God’s sovereignty was a way of life with eternity in view?

³ God meant for the human family to be “one world” of mankind, one human society all of the same bone, flesh and blood. This united human society was to dwell over all the surface of the earth, this being converted to a parklike garden or paradise as their home forever. Mankind was to have in subjection the fish, the birds and the land animals, but mankind itself was to be in subjection to the sovereignty of the Universal Ruler and Creator, the Most High, “whose name alone is JEHOVAH.” (Ps. 83:18, AV) As man’s Sovereign, Jehovah God stated to the first man the divine law, by obedience to which the perfect man could live on earth forever.

⁴ This law commanded perfect obedience to the Universal Sovereign, for God said to the man, Adam: “From every tree of the garden you may eat to satisfaction. But as for the tree of the knowledge of good and bad you must not eat from it, for in the day you eat from it you will positively die.” (Gen. 2:16, 17) For a time the man, Adam, and his wife, Eve, kept that divine command of loyal obedience. The human family was off to a perfect start. Submission to the Universal Sovereign, Jehovah God, was the way of life with eternity in view. The principle there set forth applies to us today. Shall we follow it?

5. The lack of oneness in the world of mankind today indicates that what took place, and when, and under what inducement?

⁵ Everybody will have to agree that the human family is not “one world” today, not an undivided human society, in spite of being of one flesh and blood. There are many self-assertive human sovereignties on earth at present, and these are dividing the loyalties of men. It is undeniable that in the distant past, before a son was born to Adam and Eve, there must have been a breakaway from the universal sovereignty of the Most High God, the Creator. What induced this breakaway? Only the Holy Bible, God’s written Word, gives the valid answer. The wrong inducement came from the realm of the unseen, from the spirit world. There one of the spirit subjects of Jehovah’s sovereignty saw an opportunity of setting up an independent sovereignty of his own.

6. The designations given to that spirit rebel harmonize with what course that he took to lead human revolt against God’s sovereignty?

⁶ Satan became a fitting name for this rebel, for the name means “Resister,” that is to say, to Jehovah God. Devil became a fitting designation for him, for the word means “Slanderer,” and Satan used slander against his Sovereign Lord in order to deceive and mislead. So to the woman Eve the Devil presented her heavenly Father as being a selfish liar to whom strict obedience was not due. Believing this lie, Eve ate from the forbidden fruit and broke her submission to the sovereignty of her heavenly Father. In line with the Devil’s scheme, she went farther than this: she prevailed upon her husband Adam to join her in a revolt against submission to the rightful sovereignty of his God and Father. It has turned out just as Satan the Devil figured it would: To this day the world of mankind has been born in sin against God, in nonsubmission to the sovereignty of the Most High God Jehovah.​—Gen. 3:1 through 4:16; Rom. 5:12.

7, 8. (a) How has mankind since been divided on the matter of submission to a sovereignty? (b) How did God exercise foreign sovereignty in his relations with the rebel sovereign?

⁷ Since that rebellion back there in the Garden of Eden, the descendants of Adam and Eve have been divided between submission to the universal sovereignty of Jehovah God and submission to the sovereignty of Satan the Devil, whom Jesus the Messiah called “the ruler of this world.” (John 12:31; 14:30; 16:11) Jehovah God did not enter into any treaty with this newly established inferior sovereignty. Exercising his power as Rightful Sovereign in control of his dealings with foreign governments, Jehovah God declared war upon the enemy sovereign. Showing supreme contempt for this Satanic sovereign, Jehovah God likened him to an earth-hugging serpent and said to him, as if speaking to the serpent whom the Devil had used to deceive Eve:

⁸ “I shall put enmity between you and the woman and between your seed and her seed. He will bruise you in the head [like treading on the head of a serpent to crush its brains] and you [like a serpent lying in wait] will bruise him in the heel.”​—Gen. 3:1-15.

9. Warfare of what length did God declare against the foreign sovereign, and how did Paul indicate this in Romans 16:20?

⁹ Perpetual warfare Jehovah God there declared against the rebel sovereign and all those adhering to the sovereignty of this crafty rebel, who from the start tried to hide his identity from human creatures. Jehovah God has not forgotten his “foreign policy” of warfare against the enemy of both Him and mankind. More than four millenniums after the Great Adversary set up the foreign sovereignty at Eden, Jehovah God inspired the Christian apostle Paul to write to the congregation located at the seat of the Roman Empire: “The God who gives peace will crush Satan under your feet shortly. May the undeserved kindness of our Lord Jesus be with you.”​—Rom. 16:20. Compare Exodus 17:14; Isaiah 45:7.

10. (a) Who will be used to crush the Great Serpent underfoot, and how soon? (b) How was the bruising of the “heel” of God’s promised Seed accomplished, and how was there a healing?

¹⁰ The time for the crushing of the Great Serpent Satan the Devil and his “seed” “shortly” should now be near, after the passing of over nineteen hundred years. The principal one of the promised “Seed” of God’s “woman,” Jesus Christ, is now clothed with adequate power to crush this Satanic author of all earthly sovereignties foreign to Jehovah God, the only Giver of peace. Back in the first century of our Common Era, this “Seed” of God’s “woman” was bruised in the heel. This took place as the outcome of that conspiracy between the “peoples of Israel” and King Herod Antipas and the Roman Governor Pontius Pilate. The “heel” wound inflicted by the Great Serpent did cause the death of Jesus Christ on Passover Day of 33 C.E., but only a physical death. And, at any rate, Jesus had to die a sacrificial death, according to God’s purpose. But the sacrificing course did not go unrewarded. On the third day of Jesus’ death, the Almighty God raised him from the dead to immortal spirit life in the heavens. God seated him at His own right hand, to await the time for the Great Serpent to be crushed in the head.​—Heb. 10:12, 13; 12:2.

11. What government did Jesus as a man publicly preach, and from when on?

¹¹ While Jesus the Messiah was still a perfect man on earth, he ceaselessly preached the Government that, under God’s sovereignty, will rule all mankind and make the obedient ones “one world.” He took up where his forerunner, John the Baptist, had left off, for the account tells us: “Now when he heard that John had been arrested, he withdrew into [the province of] Galilee. . . . From that time on Jesus commenced preaching and saying: ‘Repent, you people, for the kingdom of the heavens has drawn near.’”​—Matt. 4:12-17.

12. Because of what choice when he was under temptation by the Devil did Jesus prove worthy to preach that Kingdom message?

¹² Never would Jesus have been worthy to take up preaching that message if he had not made the right decision some months earlier. On that crucial occasion Jesus was out in the wilderness of Judea, where he had fasted in solitude for forty days. Then the invisible rebel sovereign approached him to tempt him away from his Messianic course. With respect to the third and last temptation the record tells us: “Again the Devil took him along to an unusually high mountain, and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory, and he said to him: ‘All these things I will give you if you fall down and do an act of worship to me.’” What the Devil here offered Jesus was not the “one government” that would make all obedient mankind “one world.” It was not a world government under God’s sovereignty, but was one under the Devil’s sovereignty. For whose sovereignty Jesus made his unequivocal decision, the account goes on to tell us, saying: “Then Jesus said to him: ‘Go away, Satan [Resister]! For it is written, “It is Jehovah your God you must worship, and it is to him alone you must render sacred service.”’”​—Matt. 4:1-10.

13, 14. After miraculously feeding the multitude, why did Jesus not let the people make him king, and yet why did he formally offer himself in fulfillment of Zechariah 9:9?

¹³ In deciding for the sovereignty of his God, Jehovah, Jesus was the perfect example for all of us today. But we must persist in our decision for God’s sovereignty, as Jesus did. On a later occasion, after he had fed an audience of five thousand men and their families in a miraculous way, many wanted to make this miracle-working provider of food their earthly king. But Jesus thwarted their efforts by getting away from them. He knew that the time had not yet come for him to offer himself in a formal way to the Jews as their Messianic king, in fulfillment of prophecy. (John 6:1-15) At God’s due time, on Sunday, Nisan 9, 33 C.E., Jesus rode, as foretold by Zechariah 9:9, into Jerusalem and went to its temple, where the nation’s high priest officiated. Jesus did not stop the great multitude that was accompanying him from loudly recommending him as king by shouting out:

¹⁴ “Save, we pray! Blessed is he that comes in Jehovah’s name! Blessed is the coming kingdom of our father David! Save, we pray, in the heights above!”​—Mark 11:1-11, NW; Diaglott.

15. When did “the peoples of Israel” plainly declare publicly their decision on sovereignty, and how did Pilate go along with their decision?

¹⁵ Then it was the time for “the peoples of Israel,” as represented by their religious leaders, to decide and show the sovereignty to which they adhered. Five days later they plainly declared publicly whose sovereignty they chose. When Passover celebrators under the coaching of their priests clamored for the Roman Governor Pontius Pilate to have the prisoner Jesus killed on a stake, Pilate asked them to reconsider the matter by saying: “Shall I impale your king?” The issue of sovereignty was now squarely before “the peoples of Israel.” Whose sovereignty would they choose? The Bible account indicates, when it says: “The chief priests answered: ‘We have no king but Caesar.’” Caesar’s representative, Pilate, went along with their decision, for the account says: “At that time, therefore, he handed him over to them to be impaled.”​—John 19:12-16.

16. By means of whom will the Great Serpent soon be crushed, and how does Psalm 2:8, 9 picture the crushing of the Serpent’s “seed” on earth?

¹⁶ That was the miniature fulfillment of the prophetic words of King David in Psalm 2:1, 2. (Acts 4:24-28) It set the pattern for the major fulfillment, which occurs in our day, when the paramount issue of world domination and universal sovereignty must be settled once and for all time. Satan the rebel sovereign has had his day in the bruising of the heel of the promised “Seed” of God’s “woman.” Now this Great Serpent, the heel bruiser, must have his own head bruised, and that affects all the “seed” of this Serpent at the same time. The same Second Psalm 2 indicates how the crushing of the visible “seed” of the Great Serpent would be done. In Ps 2 verses eight and nine, Jehovah addresses his Anointed Son, Jesus Christ, and says: “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.”

17. The book of Revelation pictures what as God’s agency for smashing the sovereign nations on earth, and what part is Jesus Christ pictured as having therein?

¹⁷ The last book of the Holy Bible (Rev. 12:5) speaks of God’s kingdom of his Messiah as the divine agency that will “shepherd all the nations with an iron rod.” The nineteenth chapter, which describes the coming war with the earthly nations at Har–Magedon, speaks of the Son of God, Jesus Christ, as the one who “will shepherd them with a rod of iron,” and adds that “he treads too the winepress of the anger of the wrath of God the Almighty.” (Rev. 19:15; 16:14, 16) This crushing of the nations with their claims to national sovereignty is vividly pictured for us in the prophecy of Daniel, chapter two.

18. How does Daniel’s interpretation of Nebuchadnezzar’s dream picture the violent end of the system of things that has featured world powers, and how do we know that the end of the system is near?

¹⁸ In that chapter 2 of Daniel interprets the prophetic dream that the God of the heavens sent to Nebuchadnezzar, emperor of the Babylonian World Power, in the second year after he had destroyed the city of Jerusalem and the temple built by David’s son, King Solomon. The succession of world powers that began with the Babylonian and ran down through the Medo-Persian, the Grecian, the Roman and the Anglo-American, was pictured as a large, unusually bright image of several materials, with feet of iron and of clay. Then a stone that was cut out of a distant mountain, without the aid of human hands, struck the image on those feet and finally ground the whole fallen image to powder, which a strong wind blew away. If nothing else, that crushing of the symbolic image to powder pictured the end of a system of things by some supernatural agency that is not produced by human hands under the direction of human brains. The fulfillment of the prophecy that Jesus Christ gave concerning the “conclusion of the system of things” shows that the smashing of the system is at hand!​—Matt. 24:3-22.

19. According to Daniel 2:44, what happens to the nations lined up with the United Nations, but what about the sovereignty of God’s Messianic kingdom?

¹⁹ Today, by being lined up with the unchristian organization of the United Nations, the worldly rulers display where they stand on the issue of sovereignty. So it is with regard to these political rulers, Communist and non-Communist, that the interpretative words of the prophet Daniel apply: “In the days of those kings the God of heaven [not human hands] will set up a kingdom which shall never be destroyed, nor shall its sovereignty be left to another people. It shall break in pieces all these kingdoms and bring them to an end, and it shall stand for ever.”​—Dan. 2:1-44, Revised Standard Version Bible.

20, 21. (a) Who will share with the Messiah in that heavenly kingdom? (b) Daniel 7:26, 27 pictures the sovereignty over the earth as being given to what people?

²⁰ This is the heavenly Messianic kingdom that Jehovah’s Christian witnesses have been proclaiming world wide since the year of its birth in the heavens at the end of the Gentile Times in the year 1914. (Luke 21:24; Matt. 24:14) Footstep followers of the Messiah, anointed like him with God’s spirit, are to share with the Messiah in that heavenly kingdom. This was spoken of prophetically in a dream that was sent to Daniel himself. In this prophetic dream the series of Gentile world powers from the Babylonian onward was pictured by four wild beasts. Concerning the divine judgment that was executed by the Supreme Court of the universe upon that fourth symbolic beast, Daniel 7:26, 27 explains:

²¹ “Then the court shall sit, and he shall be deprived of his sovereignty, so that in the end it may be destroyed and abolished. The kingly power, sovereignty, and greatness of all the kingdoms under heaven shall be given to the people of the saints of the Most High. Their kingly power is an everlasting power and all sovereignties shall serve them and obey them.”​—NE; The Bible in Living English.

“ONE WORLD” UNDER IT

22. To whom will the sovereignty over the world of mankind be given in order that there may be “one government” over them?

²² The fulfillment of that prophecy is now about to take place. All the present-day national sovereignties on earth will shortly have to bow before the Messianic kingdom in the hands of the heavenly Son of God. (Dan. 7:1-12) That will make room for just the “one government” for all mankind. As Daniel 7:14 says: “On him [the Messianic Son of man] was conferred sovereignty, glory and kingship, and men of all peoples, nations and languages became his servants. His sovereignty is an eternal sovereignty which shall never pass away, nor will his empire ever be destroyed.”​—The Jerusalem Bible.

23. (a) What will fulfillment of that prophecy mean for this generation of mankind? (b) What favorable opportunity is held out to us?

²³ What will fulfillment of that prophecy mean for this generation of mankind? This: Present-time national sovereignties and the patriotic upholders of them will suffer extermination in the world’s greatest trouble that rapidly approaches, but the upholders of Jehovah’s universal sovereignty will be miraculously preserved and emerge alive from that “great tribulation.” (Matt. 24:21, 22; Mark 13:19, 20; Rev. 7:14, 15) Shall we be among these favored survivors of the “conclusion of the system of things”? The opportunity to be among such is held out to us by God’s written Word. What is now required of us is to take our stand immovably on the side of God’s sovereignty and of his Messianic kingdom and to stick to these in spite of all the future political, religious and social efforts to pull us away.

24. For how long now will the suffering upon us for sticking to Jehovah’s sovereignty last?

²⁴ This may result in some suffering for us for as long as our persecutors are permitted to remain. Under such affliction we can remember the cry of earlier witnesses of the Lord God Jehovah who suffered, even to the death: “How long, sovereign Lord, holy and true, must it be before thou wilt vindicate us and avenge our blood on the inhabitants of the earth?” They were assured that it would be only “a little while longer” before this would occur.​—Rev. 6:10, 11, NE; Moffatt; RS; NW.

25. When and how will Satan, the Great Serpent, be crushed under the feet of Christ’s disciples “shortly”?

²⁵ It will be only a little while longer before the faithful upholders of Jehovah’s universal sovereignty will be vindicated in their position by His decisive victory over all the national sovereignties represented inside and outside the United Nations. Immediately thereafter the original rebel against Jehovah’s universal sovereignty, namely, Satan the Devil, and all his demon angels, will be given deserved treatment. Isolation in chains in an abyss out of communication with this earth will be their portion. (Rev. 20:1-3) Thereby the Great Serpent will be bruised in the head, as it were; and the loyal “Seed” of God’s “woman” will be the one by whom God will thus crush the Great Serpent and his demon seed under the feet of the faithful joint heirs of Christ.​—Rom. 16:20.

26. How is it that God’s “new order” will start out with “one world” under “one government”?

²⁶ The human survivors of these momentous events will all be those adhering to the one Messianic kingdom of Jehovah’s victorious Son Jesus Christ. Consequently, at the very start of God’s righteous new order of things, there will be “one world” on earth, under “one government,” regardless of the tribes, peoples, races, nations and languages to which the “tribulation” survivors belonged. They will all be one human society on a cleansed earth, all of them worshiping the one living and true God, Jehovah, and all of them submitting to his Son, Jesus Christ, upon whose shoulder the princely rule will be laid. What a unifying force that will be!

27. That situation will be a force for what condition among mankind, under what one sovereignty?

²⁷ What a force, too, that will be for worldwide peace! No more interreligious wars! No more territorial boundary disputes! No more interracial and international wars! No more political rivalries and contests! Bible prophecy says: “Jehovah must become king over all the earth. In that day Jehovah will prove to be one, and his name one.” (Zech. 14:9) At the same time the “one government” under him, the Messianic kingdom of his enthroned Son Jesus Christ, will be an expression of His universal sovereignty.​—Isa. 9:6, 7.

28. In what good work will all mankind then cooperate, in fulfillment of what promise of Jesus to a dying wrongdoer?

²⁸ “Shoulder to shoulder” all living mankind will serve the Sovereign Lord God, Jehovah. (Zeph. 3:8, 9) As “one world” the new human society will cooperate together in a good work. They will cooperate in transforming the battered surface of this earthly globe to the state that its Creator originally purposed for it, that of a garden of Eden, a paradise of pleasure. (Gen. 1:27, 28; 2:7-15) Then there will be an answer to the request made by the sympathetic wrongdoer dying alongside Jesus Christ on a torture stake: “Jesus, remember me when you get into your kingdom.” Yes, then the reigning King will fulfill to him the promise: “Truly I tell you today, You will be with me in Paradise.”​—Luke 23:42, 43, NW; Rotherham.

29. (a) how may mankind become Christ’s eternal children? (b) How will he lead them as an example in submitting to God’s sovereignty?

²⁹ Not alone that kindly disposed criminal, but also all the rest of the human dead are involved, all for whom Jesus Christ died as a perfect human sacrifice. These also will come forth at his call to a resurrection from the dead. (Matt. 20:28; John 5:28, 29; 1 Tim. 2:5, 6; Acts 24:15) All the submissive ones will be incorporated into that “one world.” All will be brothers and sisters, for they will become the ransomed, adopted children of the one Eternal Father, Jesus Christ, who sacrificed his human life for them. (Isa. 9:6, 7; Heb. 2:9) By obedience to him they can become his eternal children. He himself will lead them in the way of submission to the universal sovereignty of his own heavenly Father, Jehovah God. After the accomplishment of his work of uplifting obedient mankind to human perfection in an earthly paradise, he himself will express his own subjection to the sovereignty of his God by turning over the kingdom to him. Why? “That God may be all things to everyone.”​—1 Cor. 15:24-28.

30. What exhortation is there for those who have become disillusioned by the disastrous division caused by national sovereignties?

³⁰ All these wonderful things being so, then take courage, all you who have become frustrated and disillusioned by the disastrous division of the world, by conflicting national sovereignties independent of divine sovereignty! Take firm hold, now, of the glorious hope of “one world, one government, under God’s sovereignty”! Live for it from now on till its blessed realization.

[Picture on page 621]

GOD’S KINGDOM WILL BE THE ONE GOVERNMENT FOR ALL MANKIND

THE KINGDOM OF GOD WILL DESTROY ALL NATIONAL SOVEREIGNTIES

“Divine Sovereignty” Assemblies​—Looking Forward to One World

The public talk “One World, One Government, Under God’s Sovereignty,” presented on the preceding pages, was the Sunday-afternoon feature at 98 assemblies held throughout the United States during June-August 1975. At these assemblies the unity of worship and service of the Christian witnesses of Jehovah of all races and walks of life provided a foretaste of the harmony and peacefulness that God’s Kingdom government will bring to mankind during the thousand-year rule of Jesus Christ

[Pictures on page 624, 625]

At Elmont, New York​—among young and old, no national or color barriers

At Oakland, California​—realistic ark scene in Bible drama about building with the Greater Noah

After 29 years, Cleveland Stadium was again available. The City said, Come again! 57,027 attended here; 990,256 at 98 assemblies

This six-year-old came to ‘listen and to learn.’​—Deut. 31:12

Elderly Witnesses are loved and cared for

At Corvallis, Oregon​—one of the 19,356 new brothers and sisters baptized at 98 assemblies

In Florida​—family helps to prepare meals. Thousands of volunteers took care of food preparation and other duties

“Divine Sovereignty” Assemblies Demonstrate Reality of Kingdom Rule

Never in all history have humans been able to establish a government that united all mankind and benefited everyone. This is more evident in our time than ever before. Repeatedly governments fail to solve national problems, and, as a result, they are overthrown. This has happened with increasing frequency in recent years.

But while human rule is obviously failing, God’s rule is not! His purpose is to rid the earth of all the present-day unsatisfactory governments and to replace them with his heavenly kingdom under Christ. (Dan. 2:44; Matt. 6:9, 10) Under the rule of that one government for mankind, all peoples will be united in an unbreakable bond of love, peace and security. And this purpose of God is moving ahead irresistibly right now!

What evidence is there that the existence of God’s heavenly government is a reality in our day? One evidence is the fact that more than two million people have become willing subjects of that ruling kingdom. They accept the sovereignty, the rulership of God over their lives. They obey the laws and principles of that heavenly government, and reap the benefits. Hence, already there is a united people world wide, having one government over them, submitting to God’s sovereignty.

The submission of these people to divine sovereignty and the reality of Kingdom rule are clearly shown by what they do with their lives. An example of this is the faith and conduct they demonstrate at their large annual assemblies. This year, too, all around the globe, hundreds of thousands of Jehovah’s witnesses gathered for “Divine Sovereignty” District Assemblies. In the United States alone, ninety-eight of these were held in various cities, with nearly one million attending.

At these assemblies there was visible evidence of the beneficial effect that submitting to divine sovereignty has in the lives of people. It gave substance to the promise of God’s Word that Kingdom rule would unite people of all different nationalities and cultures now, even before his new order completely replaces the old.​—Isa. 2:2-4.

An important factor in unifying people under Jehovah’s Kingdom rule is the uniform instruction and counsel they receive at all times. This was evident at the assemblies because the program, with its talks, Bible dramas and demonstrations, was the same throughout the earth. Therefore, God’s servants all over the world receive the identical Bible instruction​—a tremendous force for unification.

ASSEMBLY THEME HIGHLIGHTED

On the first day of the assemblies, their theme was highlighted in the talk “Letting God Be the Sovereign of Our Lives.” The speakers showed that we have to make up our mind whom we will serve. And our choice means life or death, since it is Jehovah’s sovereignty that will prevail. All other rulerships will have to bow before him. Those that refuse will be crushed out of existence.

This theme of Jehovah’s sovereignty was featured throughout the assembly, and also made prominent on the final day in the public discourse “One World, One Government, Under God’s Sovereignty.” The speakers noted that nationalism has always divided mankind, and that no government of man has ever overcome it. As a result, the human family is near calamity.

What is missing from all the political attempts to unify the human family? The speakers noted that this was the “unselfish cooperation with the One whom many nations claim to worship,” Jehovah God. There can never be one world under one government without that cooperation. And since not one of the political nations cooperates with God, never could today’s competing national groups achieve one world under one government. The speakers emphasized that the time for God’s toleration of these conflicting political nations has come near to its end. Soon all of them will have to bow before the Sovereign Lord Jehovah.

The prospect of witnessing the end of this present wicked system and of surviving into a new order is truly a faith-sustaining hope amid this troubled world. This hope was reinforced by the information in the new 384-page book entitled “Man’s Salvation out of World Distress at Hand!” Released in English and Spanish on the third day of the assembly, it provides fresh insights into the prophetic book of Isaiah, the prophecies and parables of Jesus Christ, and the meaning of events that lie immediately ahead. It deepens appreciation for the grand spiritual paradise that God’s servants now enjoy, and strengthens their conviction that deliverance into God’s new order is near.

DRAMAS EMPHASIZE DOING DIVINE WILL

The need to keep awake to the urgency of the times and to do the divine will zealously was also emphasized throughout the assembly. This is so even if the exact date of the coming “great tribulation” is not known, since the evidence of fulfilled prophecy shows that it is very near. In this regard, one delegate to the Los Angeles assembly said: “The fact that we can’t pinpoint a date was balanced by the drama ‘“Keep Your Senses” and Go On Building with the Greater Noah.’” He added: “This drama showed the error of people who did not consider the matter urgent in Noah’s day, and who were destroyed in the Flood. We certainly do not want to be like those people who refused to get into the ark because they thought the matter was not urgent.”​—1 Pet. 5:8.

Another dramatic presentation was entitled “Do Not Become Unevenly Yoked with Unbelievers.” (2 Cor. 6:14) It vividly enacted the disaster that befell King Ahab of ancient Israel because of his being unevenly yoked in marriage with a pagan worshiper, Jezebel. Ahab compromised his faith in God by succumbing to the corrupting influence of his wife Jezebel. She too lost her life because of her contaminating influence in Israel and cruel treatment of Jehovah’s faithful servants. So today Christians who put themselves under a yoke with one who is not bound by dedication to God put their lives in danger. The principle is true: “Bad associations spoil useful habits.”​—1 Cor. 15:33.

Fine counsel to Christian women was given in the drama “That the Word of God May Not Be Spoken of Abusively.” (Titus 2:5) In an outstanding way it showed that the entire life of the Christian must be a demonstration of Christian qualities. Love must be shown to unbelieving mates and neighbors, as well as to those within the congregation. Outsiders often judge the faith of Christians by the kind of people they are, not just by what they preach. Christian women were shown how to deal with problems that newer believers, who may still reflect worldly ways, find it hard to handle. It was pointed out that mature Christian women do not need to leave such matters up to the elders in the congregation, but can give these newer ones very valuable assistance.

On the final day of the assembly the very touching drama “Pure and Upright Practices​—Necessary to a Child’s Life” portrayed the story of the prophet Samuel as a boy. Because his parents inculcated God’s laws and principles into his heart from childhood, young Samuel was able to counteract corrupting influences when serving at the temple in Shiloh. The drama highlighted the need for parents to sound the truths about Jehovah down into the hearts of their children by using good teaching methods.

Many were the expressions of appreciation for the assembly program. At one assembly a delegate said: “The well-executed dramas, the talks and demonstrations, all made up a rich spiritual meal. It enhanced our appreciation of Jehovah as our Divine Sovereign and also showed the need to help others to do the same.”

SHOWING SUBMISSION BY GOOD WORKS

Those now united under God’s sovereignty show it by their faith and their good works, worshiping and working unitedly with their fellow Witnesses. And many people who are not Jehovah’s witnesses note this harmony. For example, a bus driver transporting delegates to the Los Angeles assembly stated: “I think your assembly has been carried on beautifully. I only wish we could run our government the same way you people run your organization. The thing that impresses me so much is the way you people conduct yourselves.”

A person who attended an assembly for the first time, in Cicero, Illinois, remarked: “I have never seen anything like this before in all my life. I have never seen so much love between peoples of all nations together at one time.” At the Syracuse, New York, assembly, a newly baptized person who previously had been Roman Catholic and a member of a motorcycle gang said: “I wanted a brotherhood, but didn’t find it before. But in Jehovah’s organization I have found this brotherhood and love between peoples of all races and backgrounds.” This unity demonstrates the truth of Jesus’ words at John 13:35: “By this all will know that you are my disciples, if you have love among yourselves.”

God’s Word also shows that true Christians would have “good order,” that they would be “orderly.” (Col. 2:5; 1 Tim. 3:2) This too was often noted by observers. At the Sheffield, England, assembly a transportation official said: “I would prefer to have Jehovah’s witnesses every weekend and the football crowd once a year, rather than the other way around.” Why? He explained: “Jehovah’s witnesses are well behaved and wait patiently when queueing.”

At Cleveland, Ohio, 57,027 gathered for the assembly. Afterward, the Cleveland Press headlined an editorial “Welcome, Witnesses,” and commented: “Never has the city had such an orderly convention.” It added: “The Witnesses believe the end of the world is imminent. We’re glad they chose Cleveland while there was still time.” City officials were so impressed that in a letter to the assembly the mayor wrote: “We hope that the city was as good a host as you were guests. Yours was a most orderly session, and the delegates certainly brought a great deal of credit to themselves and their religion by the way they conducted themselves while they were here.” The officials were so cooperative that they even agreed to reroute airplanes that had been flying directly over Municipal Stadium where the convention was held so that the delegates would not be disturbed by their noise!

A police officer assigned to the Cleveland Stadium said: “We wish that all of the assemblies here were like the Witnesses when they are here. We haven’t had any problems with unruliness, and one of the things that everybody has commented on is the fact that everything is so clean and that the Witnesses have been very nice to us, very courteous. When you tell them to stop for traffic, they stop. You know, they are really a model group to take care of.” And at the Bozeman, Montana, assembly a motel manager stated: “If all people were like Jehovah’s witnesses, we wouldn’t need policemen!” Nor armies either!

Thus, when the Bible foretold that under God’s Kingdom rule his people would “not lift up sword, nation against nation, neither will they learn war anymore,” it also said that the evidence of this would be demonstrated by God’s servants now, in “the final part of the days.” In all nations today, Jehovah’s Christian witnesses are well known for their peacefulness and respect for law and order.​—Mic. 4:1-4.

“A FAMILY AFFAIR”

God’s Word instructs Christian parents to ‘go on bringing up their children in the discipline and mental-regulating of Jehovah.’ (Eph. 6:4) Observers at the assemblies noted that the worship of Jehovah’s witnesses is a “family affair.”

In an article entitled “Family Affair​—Witnesses Convening,” the Spokane Daily Chronicle said of the assembly at that city’s Coliseum: “It’s definitely a family affair. All ages are represented, from babies in arms or strollers to older folks in wheelchairs.” The article added: “Everywhere one looked there were family groups.” What a contrast this is to the world in general, where more and more the family unit is disintegrating, and where parents rarely, if ever, teach their children about God and his purposes!

Nor are these family members simply idle listeners. At the Allentown, Pennsylvania, assembly an overseer noted: “Swarms of young people helped to clean up the trash and junk remaining from an antique and junk show held the day before. Everywhere one could see young and old busily engaged in picking up trash and cleaning.” Such family cooperation prompted the operating manager of the Lakeland, Florida, Civic Center to say: “I wish all kids were as well trained as those who are Jehovah’s witnesses. I see them working, carrying mops and brooms.”

The training of young ones to be submissive to Jehovah’s laws bears fruitage. At Syracuse, New York, a lawyer whose office is across the street from where the assembly was being held commented to the auditorium’s manager on how surprised he was to see such orderly family groups. The next day the manager told the Witnesses: “How do you keep the children so quiet? Look, everyone is paying attention!” That day he went to a refreshment stand at the assembly to get some food. While he was doing so, he dropped a dime from his pocket, unknown to him, and walked back to his office. A young Witness boy saw the dime drop, picked it up, and followed the manager into his office to return the dime. Amazed and pleased, the manager stated: “I know that this is what he should do. But how many young boys today would do so?” The answer is: Those whose parents have trained them to submit to Jehovah as Sovereign, for God’s counsel is to ‘conduct yourselves honestly in all things.’​—Heb. 13:18.

PRODUCTIVE WORKERS

The Bible tells Christians: “If anyone does not want to work, neither let him eat.” (2 Thess. 3:10) It also says that God would have a people “zealous for fine works.” (Titus 2:14) This quality of working hard for God’s Kingdom interests is also displayed at Christian assemblies.

An example of this is what happened in the Canadian city of Victoria, British Columbia. The night before the assembly, there was a lacrosse game in one part of the facilities to be used, and a bingo game of 500 people in another part. After these events the grounds were littered with rubbish. While the participants were still leaving, at 10:30 p.m., about 500 of Jehovah’s witnesses poured into the premises to take up preassigned tasks with clockwork precision. The sight of all these workers transforming the site into a clean, adequate assembly ground with such swiftness made the officials gasp in amazement. One said that he “couldn’t believe his eyes.” He added: “It’s phenomenal.” Within four hours the entire area was scrubbed clean, the huge carpeted platform was put into place, the sound system installed, and freezers, tables and cooking equipment were put into place for the beginning of the assembly a few hours later.

A coliseum official at the Little Rock, Arkansas, assembly declared: “When I look around this stadium and see Jehovah’s witnesses working, it reminds me of a beehive.” And at Corvallis, Oregon, the chief of security for Gill Coliseum, after watching the Witnesses erect assembly facilities, declared: “That beats anything I’ve ever seen. I’ve never seen a building go up so fast in my life. Everyone knows just what to do.” A Memphis, Tennessee, television station editor who observed the assembly there stated: “There’s something about you people that others simply don’t have. It’s the way you work together. I’ve never known any people like Jehovah’s witnesses.” And an official of the Lakeland, Florida, Civic Center remarked: “I would rather have a crew of Jehovah’s witnesses than professional workers. Jehovah’s witnesses get more done in twenty minutes than professionals do in four hours!”

Part of this hard work involves cleaning assembly sites before, during and after the assembly, free of charge. This too amazes others. A Memphis Coliseum staff member said: “I had always heard you were clean people, so I wanted to see for myself. I see that it’s true. When this place is in use it is usually a mess. I’ll tell you, I’ve never seen the Coliseum this clean.” A Columbia, South Carolina, Coliseum official declared: “The reason I love to see Jehovah’s witnesses come is that I know the building will be cleaner when you leave than when you came.”

Obvious reasons for cleanliness are comfort, health and appearance. But there is another. When a newspaper editor inquired as to why Jehovah’s witnesses go to such trouble, he was told that for the next four days the area was to become like a big Kingdom Hall, and so it should be cleaned like one. The Witness he talked to also said: “We’d like the Coliseum to be so clean that we wouldn’t be ashamed to ask Jehovah’s holy spirit to be here.”

Thus, by their works in harmony with their faith, Jehovah’s witnesses demonstrate that one world under one government, God’s heavenly kingdom, is already a reality among God’s people! As one observer commented: “Jehovah’s witnesses are the only people that live by Jehovah’s sovereignty and not just talk about it.” That is why the speakers could state during the final session: “Consequently, at the very start of God’s righteous new order of things, there will already be one world on earth under one government, regardless of the tribes, peoples, races and nations to which the tribulation survivors belonged.”

Insight on the News

New York’s Churches in Trouble

● Brooklyn was long known as the “city of churches.” Earlier this year, however, “representatives from 30 Brooklyn churches gathered for a conference on survival,” according to the New York “Times.” Survival strategies advanced were: First, church mergers within the same denomination; second, interdenominational mergers; and, as “the final resort,” closing the churches. Across the river in Manhattan, the Central Presbyterian Church, once a prosperous center of Protestantism, decided on the “final resort.” Membership had steadily dwindled to just 33 persons.

In New York’s black and Hispanic communities, churches fare somewhat better, but are not without their problems. The pastor of one of the largest black Protestant churches said: “We exist in a crisis community.” Though most black churches are Baptist, cooperation is admittedly not the best. As the “Times” article expresses it, the average black Protestant church is “fiercely independent, sometimes even competing with others in the area for members and status.” The pastor of Harlem’s “Church of the Master” points up a major weakness in New York’s churches, saying: “In the past, the church has . . . identified too much with the world. The church hasn’t demonstrated its importance to the city​—if all the churches disappeared, would anybody care?”

A “Buffer” Against Decay

● In contrast with the above, “The Search,” a paper published for lawyers by a U.S. insurance company, has some interesting comments on the purchase made by Jehovah‘s witnesses of the fifteen-story Towers Hotel in Brooklyn. The building was bought early this year to meet expanding needs resulting from worldwide growth of Jehovah’s witnesses. “The Search” first notes the gradual deterioration seen in the Brooklyn Heights area, with some hotels becoming havens for addicts and derelicts. The new ownership of the Towers Hotel has “infused a new quality,” it said. In keeping with their faith, “the premises have been . . . repaired and maintained by expert workmen, with cleanliness, order and dignity.”

The building’s new residents, Jehovah’s witnesses, have also “added a new dimension to the safety and well-being of the community,” the article continues. “The public press and other spokesmen have commented upon the presence of ‘these clean-cut, decent, moral, high value persons’ as a buffer to the negative changing conditions in the neighborhood. Elderly people, as well, have indicated a feeling of safe-being because of their presence.”

The K.K.K. Adds a New Element

● The Ku Klux Klan got its start in the southern United States after the Civil War and waged a secret war against politicians from the North and against freed slaves. In time the Klan practically disappeared but was reorganized after World War I. The leader then was Col. William J. Simmons, a preacher and promoter of fraternal orders. The Klan then professed devotion to the ‘protection of womanhood and the supremacy of white Protestants.’ To its hostility toward the black race, the new Klan added strong prejudice toward Catholics, Jews and foreigners.

Surprisingly, therefore, an article by Catholic professor John E. Fitzgerald presents evidence of considerable Catholic membership in the modern Klan. The claim is made, he writes, that “almost half the members in Louisiana are Roman Catholic.” Why this change? He suggests that worries over growing crime, combined with racial prejudice, motivate Catholic membership. Going deeper, however, he adds that some “fault might be found with our Catholic clergy’s failure to clarify the distinction between the Klan’s calloused and corrosive philosophy and Christianity’s compassionate teachings.” Any solution, he believes, must “begin with conscientious individuals determined to follow the original challenge of Christianity as a way of life.”

A good start would be to accept the Bible’s inspired statement that God “made out of one man every nation of men, to dwell upon the entire surface of the earth,” and the apostle Peter’s inspired words that “God is not partial, but in every nation the man that fears him and works righteousness is acceptable to him.”​—Acts 17:26; 10:34, 35.

How We Know God’s Government Will Take Control Soon

WOULD you say that there is a real need for a righteous government, one that can solve the problems causing so much world distress? Do you think that this need will ever be satisfied?

We have every reason to believe that it will be satisfied. Why can we be so confident?

REASON FOR CONFIDENCE

It is because the great Creator of humankind also recognizes the need for a righteous government, and it is his declared purpose to establish one. But should it be surprising that He will do this? If you had the power to do so, would you not want to set up a government that would bring blessings to all? Of course you would! Should we not, then, expect our Creator to do as much?

Jesus Christ knew God’s purpose, and so, when on earth, he taught his followers to pray for God’s government. You, too, perhaps have prayed for this, saying to God: “Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.” (Matt. 6:9, 10, Authorized Version) Do you realize how this Kingdom government will come?

This is explained to us in a Bible prophecy, which says: “The God of heaven will set up a kingdom that will never be brought to ruin. . . . It will crush and put an end to all these kingdoms, and it itself will stand to times indefinite.” (Dan. 2:44) Yes, God’s government will come with destructive force to wipe from the earth all present human governments. This will mean the end of this unrighteous world, thus making way for one world, one government​—God’s Kingdom government.​—2 Pet. 3:5-7; 1 John 2:17.

Do we have reason to believe that this will happen soon, within our lifetime? This brings up a vital prophecy given by Jesus Christ.

A VITAL PROPHECY

In the widely advertised Bible talk delivered thus far this year to audiences totaling over 1,700,000 people,a the statement is made: “The fulfillment of the prophecy that Jesus Christ gave concerning the ‘conclusion of the system of things’ shows that the smashing of the system is at hand!” That prophecy of Jesus is recorded in the Bible, principally in Matthew chapter 24, Mark 13 and Luke 21.

What did Jesus foretell there? Are these things really occurring in our day? It is vital that we know. Why so? Because Jesus said of the time when this prophecy would undergo fulfillment: “This generation will by no means pass away until all these things occur.” (Matt. 24:34) So, if Jesus’ prophecy is now being fulfilled, it means that we are living in the “generation” that will see God’s government smash to pieces all present-day human governments and take control of earth’s affairs. Is there a way to be sure that this will happen soon?

THE SIGN JESUS GAVE

Jesus gave his prophecy in answer to a request for a sign by four of his apostles. These men evidently were wondering about what Jesus had said regarding the destruction of Jerusalem and its temple. (Matt. 23:37–24:2) So they asked: “Tell us, When will these things be, and what will be the sign of your presence and of the conclusion of the system of things?”​—Matt. 24:3.

Although the apostles wanted to know when Jerusalem and her temple were to be destroyed, their question probed deeper. And Jesus’ answer, too, took in more than the destruction of Jerusalem and her temple. For he gave them a sign that would signify more than the end of the Jewish system of things back there in the first century C.E. The sign Jesus gave would also mark his “presence” in Kingdom power and the nearness of the end of this entire system of things. One reason that we know this is that Jesus said: “When you see these things occurring, know that the kingdom of God is near.”​—Luke 21:31.

Yes, this prophecy was provided so that people could know when God’s Kingdom government would take control. Let us turn to the Bible and examine it more closely.

MANY FEATURES OF “THE SIGN”

We note that Jesus did not single out just two or three things to serve as “the sign.” Rather, he mentioned many things that would be occurring during ‘his presence and the conclusion of the system of things.’ (Matt. 24:3) Consider, for example, some of the features of “the sign” that Jesus gave:

He said that there would be wars and reports of wars, and that nation would rise against nation and kingdom against kingdom. In the wake of this there would be pestilences and food shortages and earthquakes in many places. Further, he said that his followers would be hated by all nations, persecuted, and some would be killed. Lawlessness would increase, and the love of many would cool off. The good news of God’s kingdom would be preached earth wide. And during these happenings there would be “anguish of nations, not knowing the way out . . . while men become faint out of fear and expectation of the things coming upon the inhabited earth.”​—Luke 21:7-28; Matt. 24:3-14.

As a climax, Jesus said: “Then there will be great tribulation such as has not occurred since the world’s beginning until now, no, nor will occur again.” (Matt. 24:21) A tribulation that devastating would be more destructive than even the flood in Noah’s day! In fact, Jesus compared it to that Flood, saying: “Just as the days of Noah were, so the presence of the Son of man will be. . . . they took no note until the flood came and swept them all away, so the presence of the Son of man will be.”​—Matt. 24:37-39.

Well, what do you think? Have we seen in evidence today the various features of “the sign” Jesus gave? If so, a “great tribulation,” yes, a world destruction is at hand. Surely, then, it is vital that we be alert to world events, checking closely whether they are fulfilling “the sign.” What does the evidence show?

“NATION . . . AGAINST NATION”

Military analyst H. W. Baldwin, in the book World War I, points out: “World War I ushered in the century of Total War, of​—in the first full sense of the term—​global war. . . . Never had the slaughter been so comprehensive and indiscriminate.” (1962, pp. 1, 2) According to one study, World War I was reportedly seven times greater than all the 901 major wars of the previous 2,400 years.​—Colliers, September 29, 1945.

But that war was just the beginning of what a modern history volume describes as the “Era of Violence.” Twenty-one years later, World War II proved greater in scope and destructiveness. “It has been estimated that civilian and military dead totaled 55 million.”​—The World Book Encyclopedia (1973), Vol. 21, p. 410.

And wars have continued. Former U.S. President Richard Nixon said that since World War II one hundred or more wars have been fought. And during this time, more than 10 million persons have been killed by weapons of war, according to a New York Times editorial of January 27, 1975. In Indochina alone, the United States dropped 7,733,518 tons of bombs, more than three times the 2,075,244 tons dropped in World War II! And in 1973 the nations reportedly spent nearly $250,000,000,000 on armaments, about $60 for every man, woman and child on earth.

Would you not say that there have been in our day “wars and reports of wars” and ‘nation rising against nation,’ thus fulfilling this feature of “the sign”?

“FOOD SHORTAGES”

The worst food shortages in human history followed on the heels of World War I. (The Nation, June 7, 1919) But the shortages were even worse after World War II. Look magazine then reported: “A fourth of the world is starving today. . . . Famine over most of the world now is more terrible than most of us can imagine.”​—June 11, 1946.

As the world population has skyrocketed, food shortages have increased even more. The New York Times of December 29, 1967, reported: “Every 8.6 seconds someone in an underdeveloped country dies as a result of illness caused by malnutrition. . . . 10,000 every day. Over 3,500,000 every year.”

Today an estimated half a billion people are hovering on the brink of starvation. Whole nations are staring hunger in the face; in fact, according to some scientists, mass starvation is inevitable. Surely “food shortages” are a feature of “the sign” that is being fulfilled in a frightening way!

“PESTILENCES”

Following World War I the Spanish influenza raged. The Saturday Evening Post of September 26, 1959, reported: “No recorded pestilence before or since has equaled the 1918-1919 death toll in total numbers. In those two years an estimated 21,000,000 died of influenza-pneumonia throughout the world, some 850,000 in the United States alone.”

Disease epidemics continue to rage. “We are in a new age of pandemics,” reports The New York Times Encyclopedic Almanac 1970, “since nearly half of the men of the Western countries (and an increasing proportion of the women) are dying of a single ailment . . . coronary catastrophe.” Even many young people are dropping dead from heart attacks; some 750,000 persons a year die from heart disease in the United States alone.

Cancer, too, is now epidemic, killing some 350,000 Americans annually. Venereal diseases also are raging. And when you consider how malaria, schistosomiasis and other diseases cut life short for millions, it becomes evident that this feature of “the sign” has also been undergoing fulfillment.

“GREAT EARTHQUAKES”

In 1920 a great earthquake killed 180,000 persons in China; one in Japan snuffed out 143,000 lives in 1923, and another one killed 60,000 in India in 1935. But in recent years earthquakes have increased in frequency.

Managua, Nicaragua, was devastated in 1972, and 12,000 died. A great quake that same year killed some 4,000 in Iran. In 1970, Peru shook so hard that 70,000 died in what is called “the worst natural disaster on record in the Western Hemisphere.” Less than two years before that, an Iranian quake killed up to 30,000 people. Well over 100,000 persons have died in “great earthquakes” just since 1968!​—Luke 21:11.

Would you not say that this feature of “the sign” is also in course of fulfillment?

OTHER FEATURES BEING FULFILLED?

Jesus also foretold an ‘increase of lawlessness.’ Is this feature of “the sign” being fulfilled? The New York Times of June 6, 1968, said: “A plague of lawlessness and violence . . . is now sweeping the globe.” And it is getting worse. U.S. President Ford said recently that violence and crime “obsesses America day and night.” “White-collar” crime and sexual immorality, too, have become common almost everywhere.

And has not this tremendous ‘increase of lawlessness’ had the effect that Jesus also foretold, namely, a ‘cooling off of the love of the greater number’? (Matt. 24:12) Have you not noted a growing spirit of selfishness, with people being less concerned about others?

What has been the effect on people of these conditions​—the terrifying wars and threats of nuclear wars, the food shortages, pestilences, lawlessness and selfishness? Has it not been “anguish of nations,” and people becoming “faint out of fear” because of the things they see coming? (Luke 21:25, 26) “The biggest single emotion which dominates our lives is fear,” wrote the late editor of U.S. News & World Report, David Lawrence.

In this worldwide climate of lawlessness and fear, Jesus’ followers have suffered much persecution, just as he also prophesied. Yet, despite this, these Christian witnesses have been active in 207 lands preaching the “good news of the kingdom,” thus fulfilling in a remarkable way another feature of Jesus’ prophecy.​—Matt. 24:9, 14.

Really, does not an honest examination of “the sign” show that it is, in fact, being fulfilled in our day? Never before 1914 C.E. have these things that Jesus foretold been experienced by mankind in every part of the earth during one generation.

APPRECIATE THE SIGN’S SIGNIFICANCE

What does all of this mean then? Jesus explained with an illustration, saying: “Note the fig tree and all the other trees: When they are already in the bud, by observing it you know for yourselves that now the summer is near. In this way you also, when you see these things occurring, know that the kingdom of God is near.”​—Luke 21:29-31.

Yes, the present fulfilling of “the sign” means that soon now God’s Kingdom government will bring an end to this unrighteous system of things, thus making way for the establishing of a righteous new order. (2 Pet. 3:7, 13) SOON means within this generation, for recall that Jesus said: “Truly I say to you, This generation will by no means pass away until all things occur.”​—Luke 21:32.

So how should we be affected? We should be happy, and yet sober and watchful, even as Jesus admonished: “As these things start to occur, raise yourselves erect and lift your heads up, because your deliverance is getting near. Keep awake, then, all the time making supplication that you may succeed in escaping all these things that are destined to occur, and in standing before the Son of man.”​—Luke 21:28, 36.

[Footnotes]

Jehovah a Refuge for Millions

IN THIS scientific age the nations have used fearful weapons against one another​—poison gas, napalm and nuclear bombs that can blot out human lives by the thousands. This has led to great fear that the most fiendish weapons may yet be used​—nerve gases, biological devices, H-bombs and perhaps even more terrifying implements. Military experts say that a war with such weapons would leave no victors​—it would mean defeat for all.

Yet some persons who advocate stockpiling the more destructive weapons feel that God is cruel when he speaks of destruction of the nations. The fact is that, in disregard of God’s principles, each nation continues to race to tip the balance of power in its own favor. The only solution to this is removal of the present man-made system, to be replaced, not by some other form of man rule, but by God’s own rulership.

The price of peace on earth must be the clearing away of wicked, selfish men who put profit or glory ahead of the people’s happiness. The Bible says: “The wicked is a ransom for the righteous one; and the one dealing treacherously takes the place of the upright ones.”​—Prov. 21:18.

BIBLE EXAMPLES

We have examples in the Bible showing that God acts to get wicked people out of the way in order to benefit righteous ones. There was the flood of Noah’s day. “The earth became filled with violence,” says the record, and “the earth . . . was ruined, because all flesh had ruined its way on the earth.” (Gen. 6:11, 12) However, Noah ‘walked with God’ and “found favor in the eyes of Jehovah.” When the world of that time was destroyed, Noah and his family were saved by Jehovah’s hand.​—Gen. 6:8, 9; 8:18.

Later, the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah became extremely immoral. Their corruption was shocking and detrimental to the peace of others, to the point that there was a general complaint. “Consequently Jehovah said: ‘The cry of complaint about Sodom and Gomorrah, yes, it is loud, and their sin, yes, it is very heavy.’” (Gen. 18:20) These cities were destroyed in order to rid the area of extreme wickedness, that those desiring right morals might have safety and peace.​—Gen. 19:1, 12, 13, 24, 25.

Jehovah’s destructive act is therefore not unfair. And it is unavoidable, because the nations in general are bent on going ahead in their destructive way, as were the people before the Flood. However, individual persons may escape destruction. There is still time for anyone who desires to learn about God to find his goodwill and a refuge from destruction.

THE FINAL WAR

Just how sure of protection and how confident can those persons be who take a stand on the side of Jehovah and the one world, one government, under His sovereignty? The Bible book of Zechariah 14, in its fourteenth chapter, prophetically tells us about the security that those on Jehovah’s side will enjoy during the complete end of this present system of things. This prophecy deals with events that occur after all false religion has been destroyed by the political powers. (The destruction of false religion, represented by a “harlot,” is depicted in Revelation 17:16.) Then the kings (rulers) of earth and their armies fight against the “Lamb,” Jesus Christ, and suffer defeat.

Zechariah wrote: “This is what will prove to be the scourge with which Jehovah will scourge all the peoples that will actually do military service against Jerusalem: There will be a rotting away of one’s flesh, while one is standing upon one’s feet; and one’s very eyes will rot away in their sockets, and one’s very tongue will rot away in one’s mouth.”​—Zech. 14:12.

There is no record of the events described in this portion of Zechariah’s prophecy as being fulfilled in and around Jerusalem in the past. So the prophecy has its fulfillment later, but not upon the literal city of Jerusalem. It is no longer God’s “holy city.” “Heavenly Jerusalem” is the place to which Christians gather and they consider it holy. (Heb. 12:22) Of course, the nations cannot reach up to heaven and attack this city, but they can attack those on earth who represent it. The prophecy of Zechariah says that they will do so. In attacking its representatives they are in effect attacking the heavenly city.

CONFIDENCE AND SECURITY

Should those who hope eventually to be members of the heavenly city​—the spiritual brothers of the “Lamb,” Christ Jesus—​be afraid? Should their companions, who have joined them in proclaiming the good news of God’s kingdom, quake in fear at the prospects of the vicious attack that will come? No. They have made Jehovah their refuge, and he will not fail them. Recall the attack by superior military forces upon the kingdom of Judah in the days of King Jehoshaphat. God told Jehoshaphat: “Do not you be afraid or be terrified because of this large crowd; for the battle is not yours, but God’s. . . . You will not need to fight in this instance.” (2 Chron. 20:15-17) The outcome was that God brought confusion among the enemy forces so that they slaughtered one another. King Jehoshaphat and his people found all the enemies dead.​—2 Chron. 20:22-24.

Later, Assyrian king Sennacherib’s conquering army, sweeping everything before it, invaded the land of Judah. Before the walls of Jerusalem one of the generals, Rabshakeh, threatened and taunted King Hezekiah of Jerusalem and his God, Jehovah. But Jehovah comforted Hezekiah, saying: “[The king of Assyria] will not come into this city nor will he shoot an arrow there nor confront it with a shield nor cast up a siege rampart against it.” (2 Ki. 19:32) That night Jehovah sent an angel to destroy 185,000 of Sennacherib’s mighty men and their chiefs. What was left of the defeated army returned to Assyria without so much as touching the inhabitants of Jerusalem.​—2 Ki. 19:35; 2 Chron. 32:21.

Likewise with the attack of the nations against God’s people at the world situation called “Har–Magedon.” (Rev. 16:16) With reference back to Zechariah’s words above quoted, whether the “scourge” will be literal or not, the mouths of those opened to shout commands, war cries or threats will be silenced. Either their tongues will rot out, physically, or they will fail just as though they had no tongues. Powers of vision will suddenly go black! Muscles and sinews of highly trained, physically developed warriors will lose strength and movableness as they stand on their feet. Their arsenal of weapons, including computerized missile guidance systems, will go bad. The prophecy, using the military system of that day symbolically, says:

“And this is how the scourge of the horse, the mule, the camel, and the male ass, and every sort of domestic animal that happens to be in those camps, will prove to be, like this scourge.”​—Zech. 14:15.

This will certainly be terrifying to those who then fight against God. But adding to the terror will be the confusion that Almighty God will stir up among these attackers. Like the ancient enemies of Jehoshaphat, they will fight madly against one another. Zechariah’s prophecy says: “And it must occur in that day that confusion from Jehovah will become widespread among them; and they will actually grab hold, each one of the hand of his companion, and his hand will actually come up against the hand of his companion.”​—Zech. 14:13.

This widespread destruction of all of God’s enemies will occur in every part of the earth. The parallel vision in the book of Revelation shows the “wild beast,” which represents the governments of earth, fighting against Jesus Christ, the “King of kings and Lord of lords.” All their military forces are shown as joining the fight and as going down in humiliating defeat.​—Rev. 19:16, 19-21.

PROVISIONS FOR SURVIVORS

Will such destruction leave utter confusion on earth? Will those who have taken refuge in God be disorganized, uncertain as to what to do? Will they be destitute?

No, for the prophecy says about this: “And the wealth of all the nations round about will certainly be gathered, gold and silver and garments in excessive abundance.” (Zech. 14:14) There will certainly be enough to sustain all who have looked to Jehovah for protection, until they can put things in order and operate in the earth according to God’s revealed will for that time. Such information will come to them through the heavenly “New Jerusalem.”​—Rev. 21:1-4.

Having delivered his trusting people by wiping out the combined military forces of the earth, Jehovah’s hand will not be shortened as to providing for his people. We can be sure of that! An example of such provision is found in Jehovah’s words to Israel shortly before they entered the Promised Land. God said through Moses that He would go before them to help them to defeat the nations there and that, on their possessing the land, they would receive “great and good-looking cities that [they] did not build, and houses full of all good things and that [they] did not fill, and cisterns hewn out that [they] did not hew out, vineyards and olive trees that [they] did not plant.” They did receive these things and ‘ate and were satisfied.’​—Deut. 6:10, 11.

So material supplies will cause no worry to the happy survivors of God’s war. However, they will count it as more important that they will be able to carry on true worship without interference. It may be that millions will share in Jehovah’s deliverance, for already at the present time there are more than two million who have made Jehovah and his Messianic kingdom their refuge. These are proclaiming the good news of this kingdom in practically all parts of the earth, and hundreds of thousands are putting their trust in this kingdom and joining in its proclamation each year. Jehovah is indeed becoming a refuge for millions!

Questions From Readers

● How is Genesis 9:5 to be understood, where God said that he would ‘ask back the blood’ from an animal that killed a human?

Basically this means that if an animal killed a man, it must be slain. For taking a human life, it must lose its own life.

After the Flood, Jehovah God first allowed humans to kill animals for food, though blood was not to be eaten. (Gen. 9:3, 4) Then God pointed out the superiority of human life over animal life, man having been created in God’s image. Jehovah said:

“Your blood of your souls shall I ask back. From the hand of every living creature shall I ask it back; and from the hand of man, from the hand of each one who is his brother, shall I ask back the soul of man. Anyone shedding man’s blood, by man will his own blood be shed, for in God’s image he made man.”​—Gen. 9:5, 6.

So, even though animals could be killed for food, humans were not to be killed. If a man murdered another human, taking a life that he was not authorized to take and thus incurring bloodguilt, he was to forfeit his own life. And this pattern was to be applied even with man-killing animals. True, an animal would not know that in killing a human it had violated a divine law. But this requirement certainly would impress on humans how precious is a man’s life, for not even a dumb animal could take a human life with impunity.

In his Law to Israel Jehovah later provided a regulation pertaining to man-killing animals. According to Exodus 21:28-32, a bull that gored a man to death was to be killed by stoning. It is widely understood that this law was not limited to bulls; the case of a goring bull could well be appreciated in an agricultural society, and it illustrated what should be done with any animal that killed a human. If it took a human life, the killer creature must surrender its own life.

Such a consequence has proved to be true in many societies of people descending from Noah. For example, The International Wildlife Encyclopedia observed: “Once a tiger has turned man-eater or cattle-killer, for whatever reason, every man’s hand is against it. Whole villages will turn out and not rest until it is killed, even in areas where the tiger is protected by law.”

Some persons may view this simply as a self-protective measure. But the statement in Genesis 9:5, 6 should forcefully impress on us the preciousness of human life. It cannot be taken with impunity. Thus we should strive to be free of bloodguilt, and should use the precious human life we have to the honor of the provider of life, Jehovah God.​—Acts 20:26, 27; Ps. 36:7, 9.

● Does Matthew 27:52, 53 mean that at the time of Jesus’ death some persons in the grave were resurrected?

Many Bible commentators feel that this is what these verses mean. Yet scholars admit that the sense and proper translation of these verses is unusually difficult. Actually, there are reasons to believe that these verses mean that when Jesus died the accompanying earthquake broke open tombs near Jerusalem and thus exposed corpses to passersby.

Matthew 27:52, 53 says that “the tombs also were opened, and many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised, and coming out of the tombs after his resurrection they went into the holy city and appeared to many.”​—Common Bible.

But if a resurrection occurred when Jesus died, as this and other translations suggest, would the resurrected ones have waited until after Jesus’ own resurrection, on the third day after this, before leaving their tombs? Why would God resurrect such “saints” or “holy ones” at this time, since Jesus was to be “the firstborn from the dead”? (Col. 1:18; 1 Cor. 15:20) Also, it was during Christ’s future presence that anointed Christians or “holy ones” were to share in the first resurrection.​—1 Thess. 3:13; 4:14-17; Rev. 20:5, 6.

Observe that, strictly speaking, the account does not say that the “bodies” came to life. It merely says that they were raised up or thrown out of the tombs by the earthquake. A similar thing happened in the town of Sonson in Colombia in 1962. El Tiempo (July 31, 1962) reported: “Two hundred corpses in the cemetery of this town were thrown out of their tombs by the violent earth tremor.” Persons passing by or through that cemetery saw the corpses, and, as a result, many of the people in Sonson had to go out and rebury their dead relatives.

Without wresting the Greek grammar, a translator can render Matthew 27:52, 53 in a way that suggests that a similar exposing of corpses resulted from the earthquake occurring at Jesus’ death. Thus the translation by Johannes Greber (1937) renders these verses: “Tombs were laid open, and many bodies of those buried there were tossed upright. In this posture they projected from the graves and were seen by many who passed by the place on their way back to the city.”​—Compare the New World Translation.

Along with the rending of the temple curtain separating the Holy from the Most Holy, this violent earthquake, which exposed corpses that were soon seen by travelers who brought the news into Jerusalem, served as additional proof that Jesus was no mere criminal executed for wrongdoing. He was the Messiah and the one who would shortly be the firstborn from the dead destined for heavenly life.

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