The Watchtower — July 1, 1987

Anger​—What Is It?

“BY REPRESSING your God-given talent for anger, you’re killing yourself.” So warned an article quoted in the magazine Newsweek. For years, apparently, many psychologists have popularized the idea that unexpressed anger may cause such disorders as high blood pressure, heart disease, depression, anxiety, and alcoholism.

The Bible, on the other hand, has admonished for millenniums: “Let anger alone and leave rage.” (Psalm 37:8) The Bible’s diagnosis is to the point: “Be not hasty in thy spirit to be angry: for anger resteth in the bosom of fools.”​—Ecclesiastes 7:9, King James Version.

Who is right, the secular experts or the Bible? What really is anger? Is venting anger good for us?

Venting Anger

“Anger” is a general term describing a strong feeling or reaction of displeasure and antagonism. There are other words, too, that reveal the degree of anger or how it is expressed. Rage suggests a very intense anger. Fury can be destructive. Indignation may refer to anger for a righteous cause. And wrath often implies revenge or punishment.

Anger is usually specific: We are angry about something. But how we express anger or deal with it makes a big difference.

Interestingly, although some experts insist that the venting of anger is beneficial, recent psychological studies show that many people who allow themselves to express anger suffer from lower self-esteem, depression, guilt complex, escalated hostility, or anxiety. Moreover, “getting it off one’s chest,” or “blowing off steam,” perhaps accompanied by angry outbursts, screaming, crying, or even physical assault, usually creates more problems than it solves. The angry person gets angrier, and hurt feelings build up in others.​—Proverbs 30:33; Genesis 49:6, 7.

When we shout and yell in anger, we often do not get the results we hope for because the other person is usually provoked to strike back. For example, suppose that while you are driving your car, another driver does something to annoy you. In response, you shout and honk your horn. Your outburst could easily provoke the object of your rage to retaliate. At times, tragedy has resulted from such a situation. For example, a man in Brooklyn, New York, was killed while arguing over a parking space on a street. The Bible highlights the problem when it says: “A man given to anger stirs up contention, and anyone disposed to rage has many a transgression.” (Proverbs 29:22) How wise to follow the counsel: “Return evil for evil to no one. . . . If possible, as far as it depends upon you, be peaceable with all men”!​—Romans 12:17, 18.

Hence, venting our anger does not help us socially. But is it good for us physically? A number of physicians have concluded that it is not. Studies have shown that persons who are prone to express anger have the highest levels of blood pressure. Some reported that anger produced cardiac sensations, headaches, nosebleed, dizziness, or inability to vocalize. On the other hand, the Giver of our life explains: “A calm heart is the life of the fleshly organism.” (Proverbs 14:30) Jesus said: “Happy are the peaceable, since they will be called ‘sons of God.’”​—Matthew 5:9.

Causes of Anger

Some causes of anger are attacks on our self-esteem, personal criticism, insult, unfair treatment, and unjustified frustration. When people are angry, they are conveying an emphatic message: “You are threatening my happiness and security! You are hurting my pride! You are robbing me of my self-respect! You are taking advantage of me!”

Sometimes people use anger as a cover-up for something else. For example, a 14-year-old boy in New York City was constantly in an angry mood and always getting into fights. With the help of a doctor, the boy eventually admitted: “I would never say, okay, I need help, I want somebody to talk to . . . Your fear is that people are not going to like you.” So, what he really wanted was attention and affection.

A married couple in California engaged in angry outbursts every time the wife visited her girlfriend. The husband’s angry behavior triggered a similar reaction in the wife. At a counseling session, the husband eventually told her something he had never told anyone before. When his wife went away without him, even for a short while, deep inside he was afraid that she might leave him altogether because his father had abandoned him when he was young. When the wife understood the underlying reason for her husband’s anger​—a fear of abandonment—​it helped her to dispel her own anger at him and to reassure him of her love.

Thus, anger may be a symptom. In such cases, by identifying its underlying cause, we can learn to deal with it properly.

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A number of physicians have concluded that venting anger is unhealthy

Managing Anger​—Yours and Others’

WE ARE living in an anger-prone society. Traffic jams, conflicting and changing values, misunderstandings, injustices, or other frustrations of daily life cause a lot of stress. Stress is cumulative, and almost everyone has his boiling point. Therefore, we should learn to relax. We can enter each day with a positive attitude​—showing patience, tolerance, and good humor. Most of us have a family that loves us. Christians also have loyal fellow Christians in the congregation, and above all, they have the loving Shepherd, Jehovah God. Hence, there is no need to fear one common cause of anger: the feeling of being alone, abandoned.​—Psalm 23:1-6; Hebrews 13:5, 6.

If, however, we feel anger or have to confront another person’s anger, we should manage it properly so as to preserve our happiness and well-being. How? The Bible tells us: “He that is slow to anger is better than a mighty man, and he that is controlling his spirit than the one capturing a city.” (Proverbs 16:32) Instead of hastily deciding to express anger, we should consider the possible outcome of our actions. Counting to ten may prevent us from doing something that we may later regret.​—Proverbs 14:17.

In the case that we are angry and do not know why, we should humbly and honestly ask for help. To admit to others, especially those who love us, our fears or need for help is not weakness; it is a course of wisdom and courage. Then we can get to the root of the problem. The Bible says: “There is a frustrating of plans where there is no confidential talk, but in the multitude of counselors there is accomplishment.”​—Proverbs 15:22.

Trying to understand the reasons why others behave the way they do will help us to control our own emotional reactions. Furthermore, if we reply to an angry person, “I understand why you are angry,” he may quickly cool down. The Bible counsels: “The insight of a man certainly slows down his anger, and it is beauty on his part to pass over transgression.”​—Proverbs 19:11.

Should we unintentionally injure someone, we owe him an apology. For example, if someone steps on your toe, you may tend to become angry. But when he apologizes, your anger fades. Your toe may still hurt, but your dignity is respected. Similarly, good manners on our part, along with common courtesy and healthy humor, can melt resentment and maintain respect toward us in our relationship with our spouse, children, friends, and members of the Christian congregation.​—Proverbs 16:24; Colossians 4:6; 1 Peter 3:8.

In dealing with a situation that causes us to feel angry, it helps to know how to talk about our anger without attacking the other person. There is a marked distinction between verbal aggression (“You idiot!” or, “I’ll punch you on the nose!”) and reporting one’s anger (“I am very upset” or, “I feel hurt”). Verbal aggression usually fails because it provokes the other person to retaliate, whereas reporting how you feel is less of an attack, and the other person may be moved to make amends. As the Bible says: “An answer, when mild, turns away rage, but a word causing pain makes anger to come up. An enraged man stirs up contention, but one that is slow to anger quiets down quarreling.”​—Proverbs 15:1, 18.

Righteous Anger

For most of us it is natural to feel angry from time to time. The Bible reports that even Jehovah feels anger. (Zephaniah 2:2, 3; 3:8) So it is not surprising that man, made in His image, should experience a similar feeling. (Genesis 1:26) Hence, the feeling of anger is not in itself a sin.

However, when Jehovah is angry, it is always for a proper reason: Righteous principles have been violated. And his response is always exactly right and perfectly controlled. With imperfect humans it is different. We often feel angry because our pride has been hurt or because of some other human weakness. Hence the need for care in the way we handle our anger. As the apostle Paul warned: “Be wrathful, and yet do not sin; let the sun not set with you in a provoked state, neither allow place for the Devil.” (Ephesians 4:26, 27) Yes, Satan can take advantage of our uncontrolled anger. In fact, “fits of anger” are listed among “the works of the flesh” that keep a person from inheriting God’s Kingdom.​—Galatians 5:19-21.

That is why the disciple James counsels: “Know this, my beloved brothers. Every man must be . . . slow about wrath; for man’s wrath does not work out God’s righteousness.” (James 1:19, 20) Even if our anger is for a justifiable reason, imperfection may lead us to react in an uncontrolled, wrong way. Hence, we should always be guided by the principle: “Do not avenge yourselves, beloved, but yield place to the wrath; for it is written: ‘Vengeance is mine; I will repay, says Jehovah.’” (Romans 12:19) Remember, too, that as imperfect humans, we may be mistaken. It is, therefore, dangerous quickly to judge others in the name of righteous indignation.​—James 2:13; 4:11, 12; 5:9.

According to the Scriptures, we are living in the time of the end. In these last days, “the nations became wrathful” against God’s Kingdom, and the Devil has “great anger, knowing he has a short period of time.” (Revelation 11:17, 18; 12:10-12) Therefore, our living according to the Word of God is the only real safeguard for us. (Psalm 119:105) Soon God will render judgment among the nations, and the earth will be cleansed of all unrighteousness. (Isaiah 35:10; 65:23; Micah 4:3, 4) In the meantime, we need to be sure not to imitate the ways of this angry world. Properly controlling our anger will help preserve marital love, Christian unity, and personal peace and happiness. And most important, it will help us to continue enjoying Jehovah God’s favor and blessing.​—Psalm 119:165.

Kingdom Proclaimers Report

Chile Prospers With Increased Enlightenment

LIKE brilliant sunlight shining forth over the Andes mountains at dawn, the light of Bible truth first came to Chile in 1930. In that year, one of Jehovah’s dedicated servants came from Argentina with the good news. Today, the light of God’s Word has shone forth and reached the far corners of the land.

While the first branch office in Chile was established in 1945, a new, larger branch building was constructed in 1970, when the number of Kingdom proclaimers had reached 7,000. In the next ten years, increased enlightenment from God’s Word touched many responsive hearts. By the early 1980’s further expansion of the branch office was urgently needed. Thus, in September 1982 a 17.5-acre (7 ha) piece of land on the outskirts of Santiago was purchased. And after much preliminary work, excavation began by June 1984.

It was heartwarming to see how the Chilean brothers, young and old, supported the project by their generous contributions. Thousands of others donated their time and talents. Some with technical training helped with the engineering. Others worked in carpentry, welding, curtain making, and landscaping, or offered plain labor of love by pulling weeds, pushing wheelbarrows, and digging ditches. Indeed, the progressive light of God’s Word has touched the hearts of his people and moved them to offer themselves willingly.​—Psalm 110:3.

The unity and willingness did not escape the notice of outsiders. Many salesmen and even university students and professors came to the construction site to observe and to learn. One builder wanted to hire the entire concrete crew to help with a supermarket he was building. A salesman commented on how different the work crew was​—no swearing, no loitering. When being told that all were Jehovah’s Witnesses and were there as volunteers, he responded: “One would not see this in any other place. You people are of another world.”

Finally, in August 1986 the Chilean branch staff moved into the new building in Puente Alto. And on October 25, with A. D. Schroeder of the Governing Body of Jehovah’s Witnesses present, an enthusiastic crowd of 933 voiced their wholehearted support in dedicating the new buildings to Jehovah’s service. The next day, a special event was held at a nearby stadium, and 18,012 added their sí to the resolution.

Is this expansion really needed? Let the facts give the reply. When the property was purchased in 1982, there were 17,500 Kingdom publishers in Chile. Now there are over 29,000! And with almost 40,000 home Bible studies being conducted, there is no end in sight. So let the light from God’s Word shine forth still more brightly in this fertile territory in the foothills of the Andes, to the praise of Jehovah and the blessing of his people.​—Daniel 12:3.

Jesus’ Life and Ministry

Leaving Jairus’ Home and Revisiting Nazareth

THE day has been busy for Jesus​—a sea voyage from the Decapolis, healing the woman with the flow of blood, and resurrecting Jairus’ daughter. But the day is not over. Evidently as Jesus leaves the home of Jairus, two blind men follow behind, shouting: “Have mercy on us, Son of David.”

By addressing Jesus as “Son of David,” these men are hereby expressing belief that Jesus is heir to the throne of David, hence that he is the promised Messiah. Jesus, however, seemingly ignores their cries for help, perhaps to test their persistence. But the men do not give up. They follow Jesus to where he is staying, and when he enters the house, they follow him inside.

There Jesus asks: “Do you have faith that I can do this?”

“Yes, Lord,” they answer confidently.

So, touching their eyes, Jesus says: “According to your faith let it happen to you.” Suddenly they can see! Jesus then sternly charges them: “See that nobody gets to know it.” But filled with gladness, they ignore Jesus’ command and talk about him all over the countryside.

Just as these men leave, people bring in a demon-possessed man whom the demon has robbed of his speech. Jesus expels the demon, and instantly the man begins to talk. The crowds marvel at these miracles, saying: “Never was anything like this seen in Israel.”

Pharisees, too, are present. They cannot deny the miracles, but in their wicked unbelief they repeat their charge as to the source of Jesus’ powerful works, saying: “It is by the ruler of the demons that he expels the demons.”

Shortly after these events, Jesus returns to his hometown of Nazareth, this time accompanied by his disciples. About a year earlier, he had visited the synagogue and taught there. Although the people at first marveled at his pleasing words, they later took offense at his teaching and tried to kill him. Now, mercifully, Jesus makes another attempt to help his former neighbors.

While in other places people flock to Jesus, here they apparently do not. So, on the Sabbath, he goes to the synagogue to teach. Most of those hearing him are astounded. “Where did this man get this wisdom and these powerful works?” they ask. “Is this not the carpenter’s son? Is not his mother called Mary, and his brothers James and Joseph and Simon and Judas? And his sisters, are they not all with us? Where, then, did this man get all these things?”

‘Jesus is just a local man like us,’ they reason. ‘We saw him grow up, and we know his family. How can he be the Messiah?’ So despite all the evidence​—his great wisdom and miracles—​they reject him. Even his own relatives, because of their intimate familiarity, stumble at him, causing Jesus to conclude: “A prophet is not unhonored except in his home territory and among his relatives and in his own house.”

Indeed, Jesus wonders at their lack of faith. So he does not perform any miracles there apart from laying his hands on a few sick people and healing them. Matthew 9:27-34; 13:54-58; Mark 6:1-6; Isaiah 9:7.

◆ By addressing Jesus as “Son of David,” what do the blind men show they believe?

◆ What explanation for Jesus’ miracles have the Pharisees settled upon?

◆ Why is it merciful for Jesus to return to help those in Nazareth?

◆ What reception does Jesus receive in Nazareth, and why?

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‘No Peace for the Wicked Ones’

“‘There is no peace,’ my God has said, ‘for the wicked ones.’”​—ISAIAH 57:21.

1, 2. (a) How do many people feel about the future of mankind? (b) What is the result of human efforts to make peace?

“I AM constantly aware that at any second the world might blow up in my face.” This shocking statement, quoted in the magazine Psychology Today, was made by a North American high-school student. Sometime soon, the student feared, a nuclear war will likely destroy all mankind. A Russian schoolgirl describes the results of a nuclear war: “All living things will perish​—no grass, no trees, no greenery.” What a terrible prospect! Yet, people feel this could really happen. In a recent survey 40 percent of the adults interviewed felt that there was a “high chance” of nuclear war before the year 2000.​—See Luke 21:26.

² World leaders also sense the danger. After the last world war, they set up the United Nations organization to try to bring peace and security to mankind​—but in vain. Instead, the postwar years have seen the development of an intense rivalry between two nuclear-armed superpowers. From time to time, the leaders of these powers meet in an effort to defuse international tension but with few results. Despite the fact that religious leaders are praying for peace, the situation is much as Isaiah described: “Their very heroes have cried out in the street; the very messengers of peace will weep bitterly.”​—Isaiah 33:7.

3. Why is there no possibility that men will succeed in their peace-making efforts?

³ Informed Christians know why politicians will never bring lasting peace. They realize that as long as humans are full of selfishness, hatred, greed, pride, and ambition, there will be no peace. (Compare James 4:1.) Besides, human events are not fully controlled by humans. Rather, the Bible tells us: “The whole world is lying in the power of the wicked one.” (1 John 5:19; 2 Corinthians 4:4) The situation of mankind under this one’s control was well described by Isaiah: “The wicked are like the sea that is being tossed, when it is unable to calm down . . . ‘There is no peace,’ my God has said, ‘for the wicked ones.’”​—Isaiah 57:20, 21.

“The God Who Gives Peace”

4. Who alone has the power to bring peace to the earth?

⁴ This does not mean that the human race cannot escape destruction in a future nuclear war. It simply means that if we are to see peace, it will have to come from an external source. Happily, that Source exists in the person of Jehovah God, “the God who gives peace.” (Romans 16:20) He has the power to counter Satan’s influence and has purposed to “bless his people with peace.” (Psalm 29:11) Moreover, he has made the heartwarming promise: “The meek ones themselves will possess the earth, and they will indeed find their exquisite delight in the abundance of peace.”​—Psalm 37:11.

5. (a) How did Jehovah use Daniel to give us information about His purpose to bring peace? (b) Why should we be concerned with this prophecy recorded by Daniel?

⁵ Many years ago, Jehovah revealed the historical development of events that would lead up to his bringing peace to the earth. Through an angel, he spoke to his faithful prophet Daniel about “the final part of the days,” our own time. (Daniel 10:14) He foretold today’s superpower rivalry and showed that it will soon end in a way that neither power suspects. And he promised that this unexpected development would usher in real peace. For Christians this prophecy is of vital interest. It gives a clear view of where we stand in the stream of time and strengthens our determination to remain neutral to the international rivalry while waiting patiently for God to act on our behalf.​—Psalm 146:3, 5.

A Rivalry Begins

6. Outline the historical background of today’s superpower rivalry.

⁶ The truth is, today’s superpower rivalry is not a new thing on the world scene. It is, rather, a continuation of something that began a long time ago. After the collapse of Alexander the Great’s world empire toward the end of the fourth century B.C.E., two of his military leaders took power in Syria and Egypt. A lasting rivalry that ultimately led to the superpower rivalry of today sprang up between them and their successors​—spoken of as the king of the north and the king of the south because they were situated to the north and south of the land of God’s people. The historical development of this rivalry was revealed in advance to the prophet Daniel through an angel.

7. (a) How do we know that there is an unseen, spirit dimension to human affairs? (b) Who, originally, were the king of the north and the king of the south, and how did their rivalry get started?

⁷ The angel first describes how he, supported by Michael, had been fighting against the spirit ‘princes’ of Persia and Greece. (Daniel 10:13, Dan 10:20–11:1) This glimpse into the spirit realm confirms that national conflicts involve more than mere humans. There are demonic forces, or “princes,” behind the visible human rulers. But from ancient times, God’s people have had a “prince,” Michael, to strengthen them against these demonic powers. (Ephesians 6:12) Then the angel focuses our attention on the rivalry between Syria and Egypt. He begins: “And the king of the south will become strong, even one of his princes.” (Daniel 11:5a) The king of the south here was Ptolemy I, ruler of Egypt, who captured Jerusalem about 312 B.C.E. The angel next refers to another king who “will prevail against him and will certainly rule with extensive dominion greater than that one’s ruling power.” (Daniel 11:5b) This is the king of the north in the person of Seleucus I Nicator, whose kingdom, Syria, became stronger than Egypt.

8. What does the remarkable accuracy of the first part of the angel’s prophecy about the king of the north and the king of the south mean for Christians today?

⁸ The angel goes on to prophesy many details of the continuing rivalry between successive rulers of Syria and Egypt. (Daniel 11:6-19) These prophecies were so accurate that some feel that the book of Daniel must have been written after the fact.a For Christians, though, the remarkable accuracy of these prophecies strengthens their faith in those parts of the prophecy yet to be fulfilled during “the final part of the days.”

The Prince of the Covenant

9. How did the action of the king of the north lead to Jesus’ being born in Bethlehem?

⁹ It is not to be expected that the angel would cover every individual ruler from Ptolemy down to “the final part of the days.” Rather, we understand that after Da 11 verse 19 the prophecy jumps to the years immediately preceding our Common Era, when we read: “And there must stand up in his [the king of the north’s] position one who is causing an exactor to pass through the splendid kingdom.” (Daniel 11:20) By now, Syria is a province of Rome, and the king of the north is represented by the Roman emperor Augustus. He is the one who ordered the census that resulted in Jesus’ being born in Bethlehem rather than in Nazareth.​—Luke 2:1-7; Micah 5:2.

10. What other connection between the king of the north and the Messiah did the angel draw to our attention?

¹⁰ After Augustus came Tiberius, a disgusting man described by the angel as “one who is to be despised.” (Daniel 11:21) During his reign, a dangerous mutiny on the northern frontier of the Roman Empire was controlled and the frontier itself pacified, fulfilling the words of the prophecy: “The arms of the flood, they will be flooded over on account of him, and they will be broken.” Furthermore, during his reign Jesus was killed by Roman soldiers in fulfillment of the angel’s prophecy that “the Leader of the covenant” would be broken.​—Daniel 11:22; 9:27.

At “the Time Appointed”

11. (a) In 1914, what was the identity of the king of the north and the king of the south? (b) What prophecy was fulfilled “at the time appointed”?

¹¹ Eventually, the prophecy brings us down to “the time appointed,” in 1914. (Daniel 11:27; Luke 21:24) By now, there has been a change in the identity of God’s people. Since fleshly Israel rejected the Messiah, Jehovah’s chosen people has become spiritual Israel, the congregation of anointed Christians. (1 Peter 2:9, 10) The identity of the two kings has also changed. Britain, with its political partner the United States of America, has evidently become the king of the south, while the king of the north is now Germany. World War I was foretold in these words: “At the time appointed [the king of the north] will go back, and he will actually come against the south; but it will not prove to be at the last the same as at the first.” (Daniel 11:29) The king of the south won that war. The situation was thus different from what was true “at the first,” that is, when all-conquering Rome was king of the north.

12. Describe features of world events since 1914 that were foretold in the angel’s prophetic words to Daniel.

¹² The angel goes on to tell of the competition between the two kings since 1914 and, particularly, of the way that both would oppose Jehovah’s people. He also prophesies the appearance of “the disgusting thing that is causing desolation,” which exists today as the United Nations organization. (Daniel 11:31) The setting up of the UN was a political effort in which both kings cooperated to bring peace. But it is doomed to fail because it is in opposition to God’s Kingdom.b (Matthew 24:15; Revelation 17:3, 8) Finally, the angel directs our attention to “the time of the end.”​—Daniel 11:40.

“The Time of the End”

13. (a) To what does the expression “the time of the end” refer in this part of the prophecy? (b) Who have fulfilled the roles of the king of the north and the king of the south since the end of the second world war?

¹³ What time is this? Sometimes the expression “time of the end” refers to the time of the end of this system of things, from 1914 to Armageddon. (Daniel 8:17, 19; 12:4) But events in the year 1914, “the time appointed,” were foretold back in Dan 11 verse 29, and the angel’s prophecy has brought us far beyond that.c Hence, “the time of the end” here in Dan 11 verse 40 must refer to the final stages of the 2,300-year-long struggle between the king of the north and the king of the south. We read on, then, with great interest, since we now learn of events to take place in the near future. By now, shifts in power on the world scene have led to further developments in the identity of the two kings. Since the collapse of the Nazi-Fascist powers at the end of World War II, we have witnessed rivalry between two superpowers, one represented as the king of the north, dominating a mostly socialistic bloc of nations, and the other represented as the king of the south, dominating a largely capitalistic bloc.

14. How does the angel describe the king of the north?

¹⁴ The disposition of the latest king of the north is well described in Dan 11 verses 37, 38: “And to the God of his fathers he will give no consideration . . . But to the god of fortresses, in his position he will give glory; and to a god that his fathers did not know he will give glory by means of gold and by means of silver and by means of precious stone and by means of desirable things.” Can anyone fail to recognize this description? Today’s king of the north officially promotes atheism, rejecting the religious gods of previous kings of the north. He prefers to trust in armaments, “the god of fortresses.” This has contributed to a frantic arms race for which the two kings must share responsibility. Yearly defense spending by the king of the north alone reached almost 300 billion dollars in 1985. What a huge sacrifice of ‘gold and silver and precious stone and desirable things’ to the insatiable god of armaments!

15, 16. (a) How will affairs develop between the king of the north and the king of the south? (b) What will this mean for God’s people?

¹⁵ So, what finally happens between these two kings? The angel says: “And in the time of the end [the end of the history of the two kings] the king of the south will engage with him in a pushing, and against him the king of the north will storm with chariots and with horsemen and with many ships.” (Daniel 11:40; Matthew 24:3) Clearly, summit conferences are no solution to the superpower rivalry. The tensions caused by the ‘pushing’ of the king of the south and the expansionism of the king of the north may go through more or less intense phases; but eventually, in some way, the king of the north will be provoked into the excessively violent action described by Daniel.d

¹⁶ These final days are especially difficult for God’s people, who during this century have been persecuted by both kings. The angel warned that the king of the north “will also actually enter into the land of the Decoration, and there will be many lands that will be made to stumble.” “The land of the Decoration” is symbolically the land of God’s people. The angel’s words must mean, then, that as well as conquering many nations, the king of the north attacks the spiritual estate of Jehovah’s people. (Daniel 8:9; 11:41-44; Ezekiel 20:6) In Dan 11 verse 45, the prophecy adds: “And he will plant his palatial tents between the grand sea and the holy mountain of Decoration.” In other words, he positions himself to make a final assault against their spiritual paradise.

“All the Way to His End”

17. What unexpected development will provoke the king of the north?

¹⁷ But by then something will already have happened that neither the king of the north nor the king of the south foresaw. The angel prophesies: “But there will be reports that will disturb [the king of the north], out of the sunrising and out of the north, and he will certainly go forth in a great rage in order to annihilate and to devote many to destruction.”​—Daniel 11:44.

18. (a) What is the source of the “reports” foretold by the angel? (b) What will be the final outcome for the king of the north?

¹⁸ What will these reports be? The angel does not specify, but he does reveal their source. They come “out of the sunrising,” and Jehovah God and Jesus Christ are alluded to as “the kings from the rising of the sun.” (Revelation 16:12) These reports also come “out of the north,” and the Bible speaks symbolically of Mount Zion, the town of the grand King Jehovah, as being “on the remote sides of the north.” (Psalm 48:2) Hence, it is “reports” from Jehovah God and Jesus Christ that send the king of the north on his last great campaign. But the results will be devastating to him. The end of Da 11 verse 45 tells us: “He will have to come all the way to his end, and there will be no helper for him.”

19. (a) What will be the different outcomes for this world and for “upright” ones? (b) What questions remain to be answered?

¹⁹ Indeed, there will be “no peace . . . for the wicked ones.” (Isaiah 57:21) Rather, the history of the king of the north will be marked by warfare right up to the end. But for His faithful servants, Jehovah promises: “The upright are the ones that will reside in the earth, and the blameless are the ones that will be left over in it. As regards the wicked, they will be cut off from the very earth.” (Proverbs 2:21, 22) What, though, will happen to the king of the south when the king of the north ‘comes all the way to his end’? What will happen to Christians when the king of the north ‘plants his palatial tents’ in a menacing position against them? (Daniel 11:45) How will peace finally come to the earth? Jehovah, through his angel, has answered these questions, as we will see in the following articles.

[Footnotes]

Can You Explain?

◻ What spirit entities have been involved in human political affairs?

◻ Who were the king of the north and the king of the south in 1914?

◻ How does today’s king of the north worship the god of fortresses?

◻ What pressure will be brought on God’s people by the king of the north?

◻ What will finally happen to the king of the north?

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The Great Sea

Syria

Judea

Egypt

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U.S. National Archives

Michael the Great Prince Stands Up

“And during that time Michael will stand up, the great prince who is standing in behalf of the sons of your people.”​—DANIEL 12:1.

1. What future course of world events is foreseen in the Bible, and what question arises about God’s people because of this?

JEHOVAH has given fair warning: There will never be peace on earth as long as the rivalry between the king of the north and the king of the south continues. These two powers would always have conflicting interests. Moreover, at the climax of their enmity, the king of the north will threaten the spiritual estate of God’s people before he ‘comes all the way to his end.’ (Daniel 11:44, 45) Will God’s people survive the assault? And what happens to the king of the south when his great rival comes to his end?

2, 3. (a) What prophecy do we find in the book of Ezekiel that helps us to understand the prophecy about the king of the north and the king of the south? (b) According to Ezekiel’s prophecy, what will be the outcome of the great final attack on God’s people?

² A prophecy by Daniel’s contemporary Ezekiel helps us to answer these questions. Ezekiel, too, was inspired to speak about “the final part of the days,” and he warned of a coming attack of ‘Gog of Magog’ against the land of God’s people. (Ezekiel 38:2, 14-16; Daniel 10:14) In that prophecy, Gog pictured Satan, and his armies pictured all of Satan’s earthly agents who would make a last, desperate attempt to wipe out God’s people. Since this attack, like that of the king of the north, takes place in the final part of the days, it is reasonable to conclude that the king of the north’s ‘planting of his palatial tents between the grand sea and the holy mountain of Decoration’ is in support of Gog’s attack. (Daniel 11:40, 45) Will the attack succeed?

³ Ezekiel prophesied: “‘It must occur in that day, in the day when Gog comes in upon the soil of Israel,’ is the utterance of the Sovereign Lord Jehovah, ‘that my rage will come up into my nose. And I will bring myself into judgment with him, with pestilence and with blood; and a flooding downpour and hailstones, fire and sulphur I shall rain down upon him and upon his bands and upon the many peoples that will be with him.’” (Ezekiel 38:18, 22) No, the attack will not succeed. True Christians will be rescued, and Gog’s crowd will be destroyed.​—Ezekiel 39:11.

4. Will the king of the south survive the end of the king of the north? What other prophecies support this answer?

⁴ Evidently, then, the time of the end of the king of the north is the time of the end for Gog and all his crowd, including the king of the south. This harmonizes with other prophecies in the book of Daniel. For example, we read that after God’s Kingdom was established, it would “crush and put an end to all these kingdoms [including both the king of the north and the king of the south], and it itself will stand to times indefinite.” (Daniel 2:44) Also, in Daniel’s vision of the ram and the he-goat, the Anglo-American political power is represented by a little horn. This little horn, “in the final part of their kingdom,” is destroyed by a superhuman agency, not by the king of the north: “It will be without [human] hand that he will be broken.”​—Daniel 7:24-27; 8:3-10, 20-25.

Michael the Great Prince

5. Who will be Jehovah’s Chief Agent for the salvation of His people, and why is this fitting?

⁵ The angel next reveals the Agent that Jehovah will use to bring about the end of all these powers. He says: “And during that time Michael will stand up, the great prince who is standing in behalf of the sons of your people. And there will certainly occur a time of distress such as has not been made to occur since there came to be a nation until that time. And during that time your people will escape, every one who is found written down in the book.” (Daniel 12:1) At the beginning of the angel’s prophecy, Michael was reported as fighting for Israel against the princes of Persia and Greece. (Daniel 10:20, 21) Now, as the prophecy draws to a close, this same Michael is “standing” for Daniel’s people. Who is this champion of the people of God?

6, 7. (a) According to some scholars of Christendom, who is Michael? (b) What Biblical evidence helps us to make a proper identification of Michael?

⁶ Back in the early 1800’s, Bible scholar Joseph Benson stated that the description of Michael as found in the Bible “manifestly points out the Messiah.” Nineteenth-century Lutheran E. W. Hengstenberg agreed that “Michael is no other than Christ.” Similarly, theologian J. P. Lange, when commenting on Revelation 12:7, wrote: “We take it that Michael . . . is, from the outset, Christ in warlike array against Satan.” Does the Bible support this identification? Yes, it does.a

⁷ For example, according to the angel, Michael is to “stand up.” In the angel’s prophecy, “to stand” or “to stand up” (Hebrew, ‛a·madhʹ) can mean “to give support.” (Daniel 11:1) It can also variously imply “to prevail,” “to rebel,” “to oppose,” or “to withstand.” (Daniel 11:6, 11, 14, 15, 16a, 17, 25) But frequently, it refers to the action of a king, either taking up his royal power or acting effectively in his capacity as king. (Daniel 11:2-4, 7, 16b, 20, 21, 25) This is the meaning that fits best the angel’s words in Daniel 12:1. And it certainly supports the fact that Michael is Jesus Christ, since Jesus is Jehovah’s appointed King, commissioned to destroy all the nations at Armageddon. (Revelation 11:15; 16:14-16; 19:11-16) It also harmonizes with the other prophecies that point to the time when God’s Kingdom, under Jesus Christ, acts against this world’s nations.​—Daniel 2:44; 7:13, 14, 26, 27.

8, 9. (a) Who were ‘Daniel’s people’ originally, and who are they now? (b) How has Michael’s keen interest in ‘Daniel’s people’ been shown throughout the ages?

⁸ Michael has long been associated with ‘Daniel’s people,’ the Israelites. He was with them in the wilderness, and he supported them against the spirit “princes” of ancient empires. (Daniel 10:13, 21; Exodus 23:20, 21; Jude 9) And he was born on earth as the man Jesus to be the long-hoped-for Messiah, the “seed” promised to Daniel’s ancestor Abraham. (Genesis 22:16-18; Galatians 3:16; Acts 2:36) Sadly, natural Israel as a whole rejected Jesus; hence, Jehovah rejected them as his special nation. (Matthew 21:43; John 1:11) He determined to put his name on a new nation, a spiritual “Israel of God,” made up of both natural Jews and non-Jews who put faith in Jesus.​—Galatians 6:16; Acts 15:14; 1 Peter 2:9, 10.

⁹ This new nation, the anointed Christian congregation, began life in 33 C.E., and thereafter it served as the Israel of God. This would henceforth be ‘Daniel’s people.’ (Romans 2:28, 29) Before his resurrection to heaven in 33 C.E., Jesus promised continued support for ‘Daniel’s people’ when he told prospective members of that new Israel: “Look! I am with you all the days until the conclusion of the system of things.”​—Matthew 28:20; Ephesians 5:23, 25-27.

“Standing” for Daniel’s People

10. According to the angel’s words to Daniel, how is Michael going to act decisively, and what questions does this raise?

¹⁰ But now the angel says that Michael is going to act in a particular way. Using the word ‘stand’ twice, he says: “And during that time Michael will stand up, the great prince who is standing in behalf of the sons of your people.” (Daniel 12:1) What does it mean that Jesus ‘stands up’? And how can he “stand up” if he is already “standing in behalf of [Daniel’s] people”? Before we answer these questions, consider some background information.

11. In what way would it be proper to say that Jesus has been “standing” since 1914?

¹¹ After his resurrection in 33 C.E., Jesus told his followers: “All authority has been given me in heaven and on the earth.” (Matthew 28:18) Jesus has long exercised such authority over his anointed servants on earth. (Colossians 1:13) However, the time had not yet come for Jesus to exercise authority as King of God’s Kingdom. Rather, after his ascension he ‘sat at God’s right hand in heaven’ until the time for the establishment of that Kingdom. (Psalm 110:1, 2; Acts 2:34, 35) That time came in 1914, “the time appointed.” (Daniel 11:29) In that year, Jesus was enthroned as reigning King of God’s Kingdom and immediately, as Michael the archangel, he cast Satan out of heaven. (Revelation 11:15; 12:5-9) So since 1914 Jesus has been “standing” as King.​—Psalm 2:6.

12, 13. What outstanding blessings have God’s people enjoyed in the years since 1914, showing that Jesus has been ‘standing for Daniel’s people’?

¹² Jesus’ “standing” has been a great blessing for ‘the sons of Daniel’s people.’ His taking up of royal power and casting Satan to the earth cleansed their future heavenly home. (John 14:2, 3) Thereafter, those who had already died faithful could be resurrected to their heavenly inheritance. (1 Thessalonians 4:16, 17) The remnant of them still on earth suffered considerable persecution during the first world war, which almost stopped their preaching work. But in 1919 they were resuscitated and brought forth on the world scene as a new nation.​—Isaiah 66:7, 8; Revelation 9:14; 11:11, 12.

¹³ After that, Jesus fulfilled his promise to “collect out from his kingdom all things that cause stumbling and persons who are doing lawlessness.” (Matthew 13:41) In this way, he has maintained a clean congregation of anointed Christians who have ‘known their God, prevailed, and acted effectively.’ They have preached the good news of the Kingdom around the earth, thus ‘imparting understanding to the many.’ (Daniel 11:32, 33; Matthew 24:14) Since 1935 Jehovah has joined to this congregation a growing number of “other sheep,” who entertain an earthly hope and who have faithfully shared in the work of preaching the good news of God’s Kingdom.​—John 10:16; Revelation 7:9, 14, 15.

14. What has been the result of Jesus’ ‘standing for Daniel’s people’ throughout the last days?

¹⁴ The very existence of this group of Christians today is remarkable. In a politically divided world, they have maintained strict neutrality as subjects of God’s Kingdom. (John 17:14) As a result, they have suffered persecution at the hands of both kings. False religion, too, has schemed and plotted to have them wiped out of existence. Instead of that happening, they have prospered and today are found in more than 200 lands and number well over three million faithful individuals. They enjoy a spiritual paradise under Christ’s rule that is in stark contrast to the darkness and despondency of this world. (Isaiah 65:13, 14) Thus, Jesus has been “standing in behalf of the sons of [Daniel’s] people” all throughout these last days.​—Daniel 12:1.

Michael ‘Stands Up’

15. In what way does Jesus “stand up,” and when does this occur?

¹⁵ So how is it that Jesus, who is already “standing,” ‘stands up’ at that time? (Daniel 12:1) In that his rulership enters a new phase, as it were. It is time for him to act in an outstanding way to save ‘Daniel’s people’ from annihilation at the hands of human governments. (Ezekiel 38:18, 19) The “time” referred to here is evidently “the time of the end” of the king of the north and the king of the south, when the king of the north threatens the spiritual estate of God’s people. (Daniel 11:40-45) Before this time, Jesus’ rulership has been taken seriously only by his faithful earthly subjects. (Psalm 2:2, 3) Now, though, it is time for “the revelation of the Lord Jesus,” when everyone will be forced to recognize his kingship. (2 Thessalonians 1:7, 8) This will involve the destruction of all opposing forces, followed by the Thousand Year Reign of Jesus and his corulers, when the Kingdom will be the only government over mankind.​—Revelation 19:19-21; 20:4.

16. What is the result of Jesus’ ‘standing up’ to the ungodly nations?

¹⁶ In agreement with this, the angel says that when Michael stands up, “there will certainly occur a time of distress such as has not been made to occur since there came to be a nation until that time.” (Daniel 12:1; compare Matthew 24:21.) It will be a time for the destruction of the wicked and salvation for the faithful. (Proverbs 2:21, 22) Listen to the terrified reaction of unfaithful mankind at that time: “They keep saying to the mountains and to the rock-masses: ‘Fall over us and hide us from the face of the One seated on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb, because the great day of their wrath has come, and who is able to stand?’”​—Revelation 6:16, 17.

17. What will then happen to Satan’s earthly forces, including the king of the north and the king of the south?

¹⁷ The result of this “time of distress” on Satan’s earthly forces is described in Ezekiel’s prophecy against Gog of Magog: “On the mountains of Israel you will fall, you and all your bands and the peoples that will be with you.” (Ezekiel 39:4) Jeremiah, speaking of the same time of distress, said: “Those slain by Jehovah will certainly come to be in that day from one end of the earth clear to the other end of the earth.” (Jeremiah 25:33) It will be a time of distress indeed. Jesus will end the long history of human warfare when he ‘stands up’ to remove the human powers that are responsible.​—Psalm 46:9; 1 Corinthians 15:25.

Survivors of “a Time of Distress”

18. (a) What will be the experience of true worshipers when Michael ‘stands up’? (b) What does it mean to be “written down in the book”?

¹⁸ While God’s people will feel the effects of enemy hostility, this will be “a time of distress” primarily for the wicked. (Psalm 37:20) The angel tells Daniel: “And during that time your people will escape, every one who is found written down in the book.” (Daniel 12:1) Many of ‘the sons of Daniel’s people’ will have died and received their heavenly reward by this time. These ones will undoubtedly share with Michael in this great military victory. (Revelation 2:26, 27; Psalm 2:8, 9) The ones remaining on earth will have no share in the fighting; but they will be integrity keepers, so they will be survivors. (Revelation 17:14; 19:7, 8) Their companions, the “great crowd,” too, will be survivors. (Revelation 7:9, 14) Both the anointed remnant and the “other sheep” will thus prove to be “found written down in the book,” that is, their names will be on record as being in line to receive the gift of eternal life, either in heaven or on earth.​—John 10:16; Exodus 32:32, 33; Malachi 3:16; Revelation 3:5.

19. (a) How will Michael’s ‘standing up’ bring peace to the earth? (b) What question remains to be answered?

¹⁹ These will be privileged to see the establishment of a genuine earth-wide peace. They will witness the fulfillment of Jehovah’s promise: “For evildoers themselves will be cut off, but those hoping in Jehovah are the ones that will possess the earth.” (Psalm 37:9) Because God’s Kingdom will then be the sole government over the earth, every human alive will be a servant of Jehovah. (Isaiah 11:9) Thus, at “the time of the end” of the two kings, Michael “will stand up” to bring peace to mankind. No superpower arms buildup or other maneuvers can stop this development. Does that mean, though, that we have to wait until then to enjoy peace? No, there is a peace that Christians can enjoy even now​—really, a better kind of peace than the mere absence of war. What is this peace? The angel’s prophecy to Daniel goes on to shed light on this.

[Footnotes]

Do You Remember?

◻ Who is Michael the Great Prince?

◻ Who are Daniel’s people today?

◻ How is Michael now standing for Daniel’s people?

◻ How will Michael soon stand up in an outstanding way?

◻ Who will survive the time of Michael’s standing up?

[Picture on page 16]

A last desperate attempt to wipe out God’s people will fail​—but how?

[Picture on page 18]

Salvation will come to God’s people when Michael ‘stands up’ to end the rivalry of the two kings

Divine Blessings for “the Ones Having Insight”

“The ones having insight will shine like the brightness of the expanse; and those who are bringing the many to righteousness, like the stars to time indefinite, even forever.”​—DANIEL 12:3.

1. After describing the time of distress on the warmongers, to what does the angel next turn his attention?

THE angel’s prophecy to Daniel has brought us all the way from the fourth century B.C.E. to Armageddon. It has shown that Michael will bring peace to the earth in the only possible way: by destroying the warmongers. Now, after such a remarkable survey of history in advance, the angel foretells some of the rich blessings enjoyed by God’s people “in the final part of the days.”​—Daniel 10:14.

A Time of Resurrections

2. How did some dead ones “wake up” during “the final part of the days”?

² The angel tells Daniel: “And there will be many of those asleep in the ground of dust who will wake up, these to indefinitely lasting life and those to reproaches and to indefinitely lasting abhorrence.” (Daniel 12:2) Evidently, “the final part of the days” is a time for resurrections, of raising those “asleep in the ground of dust.” One such awakening began soon after Jesus became King in 1914. (Matthew 24:3) Looking forward to that time, the apostle Paul wrote: “We the living who survive to the presence of the Lord shall in no way precede those who have fallen asleep in death . . . Those who are dead in union with Christ will rise first.” (1 Thessalonians 4:15, 16; Revelation 6:9-11) Evidently, then, soon after 1914 Jesus raised to spirit life in the heavens those of “the Israel of God” who had already died faithful. (Galatians 6:16) For them, the awakening was to “indefinitely lasting life.”

3, 4. How did a group of faithful servants of God come to be ‘dead’ in 1918?

³ But the angel’s words undoubtedly include another resurrection. For about 40 years preceding 1914, a small group of Christians had been warning that that year would mark the end of the Gentile Times as prophesied by Jesus. (Luke 21:24) These Christians had Zion’s Watch Tower Tract Society incorporated in 1884, and they published the results of their Bible research in a journal called Zion’s Watch Tower and Herald of Christ’s Presence.

⁴ In 1914 the truth of their message was dramatically confirmed when the first world war broke out, and the “pangs of distress” foretold by Jesus began. (Matthew 24:7, 8) Nevertheless, their religious enemies used the war hysteria to persecute them until finally, in 1918, their preaching work was virtually stopped, and principal servants of the Watch Tower Society were unjustly imprisoned. This caused great rejoicing in some quarters. It also fulfilled the prophecy recorded in the book of Revelation: “And when they have finished their witnessing, the wild beast that ascends out of the abyss will make war with them and conquer them and kill them.”​—Revelation 11:7.

5, 6. How did this group’s experiences in 1919 provide a fulfillment of the prophecy that “many of those asleep in the ground of dust . . . will wake up”?

⁵ According to the prophecy, however, they were not to stay ‘dead.’ “And after the three and a half days spirit of life from God entered into them, and they stood upon their feet, and great fear fell upon those beholding them. . . . And they went up into heaven in the cloud, and their enemies beheld them.” (Revelation 11:11, 12; Ezekiel 37:1-14) Their resurrection was evidently a symbolical one, since a literal resurrection to spirit life in heaven would have been invisible to their enemies. Rather, they were resurrected from a deathlike state of inactivity to a vibrant state of zealous activity in full view of those who had schemed their end. In 1919 the representatives of the Watch Tower Society were released from prison, the preaching work was reorganized, and the world saw the beginning of the greatest Kingdom witnessing campaign in history.​—Matthew 24:14.

⁶ In this symbolical sense, ‘many of those asleep in the dust of the ground woke up.’ Then, starting in 1919, that small, awakened body of Bible Students began to seek out and gather the remaining ones of Jesus’ brothers so that the full number of the 144,000 could be sealed. (Matthew 24:31; Revelation 7:1-3) As individuals responded, they dedicated themselves to God through Christ and became members of Jehovah’s visible organization on earth. Receiving the free gift of holy spirit, they were declared righteous on the basis of their faith in Jesus’ ransom sacrifice and were adopted as sons of God in a spiritual way.​—Romans 8:16; Galatians 2:17; 3:8.

7. For many of these, how will this prove to be an awakening “to indefinitely lasting life”?

⁷ Those of them who remain faithful to the end of their earthly lives have the firm prospect of taking their place in heaven alongside Jesus Christ. (1 Corinthians 15:50-53) Thus, their spiritual awakening is to everlasting life. While still alive on earth, they experience peace among themselves even though living in a warring world. (Romans 14:19) But more importantly, they enjoy peace with Jehovah God himself, “the peace of God that excels all thought.”​—Philippians 4:7.

Awakening “to Reproaches”

8, 9. In what way could this spiritual awakening be “to reproaches and to indefinitely lasting abhorrence”?

⁸ Why, then, do some “wake up . . . to reproaches and to indefinitely lasting abhorrence”? The fact is, not all those who accept the invitation to be part of that Kingdom class stay faithful. Some let their faith weaken and they fail to endure. (Hebrews 2:1) A few even become apostate and have to be removed from the Christian congregation. (Matthew 13:41, 42) Such ones are described by Jesus as “that evil slave” whom the Master punishes “with the greatest severity,” assigning him with the hypocrites. “There is where his weeping and the gnashing of his teeth will be.”​—Matthew 24:48-51; Ephesians 4:18; 5:6-8.

⁹ What a tragedy, to accept the highest privilege ever offered to imperfect humans and then to turn against it! Of those who act in this way, the apostle Paul said: “It is impossible as regards those who have once for all been enlightened, and who have tasted the heavenly free gift, and who have become partakers of holy spirit, and who have tasted the fine word of God and powers of the coming system of things, but who have fallen away, to revive them again to repentance, because they impale the Son of God afresh for themselves and expose him to public shame.” (Hebrews 6:4-6) In this way, their awakening turns out to be “to reproaches and to indefinitely lasting abhorrence.” They have no further prospect of everlasting life.

“Shining as Illuminators”

10. Who are “the ones having insight,” and how do they ‘shine as illuminators’?

¹⁰ But for those who remain faithful, the prophecy says: “And the ones having insight will shine like the brightness of the expanse; and those who are bringing the many to righteousness, like the stars to time indefinite, even forever.” (Daniel 12:3) “The ones having insight” are clearly the faithful remaining members of the anointed Christian congregation, who are ‘filled with accurate knowledge of his will in all wisdom and spiritual comprehension.’ Strengthened by Jehovah, they ‘endure fully and are long-suffering with joy, thanking the Father who rendered them suitable for their participation in the inheritance of the holy ones in the light.’ (Colossians 1:9, 11, 12) Ever since 1919, though ‘darkness itself covers the earth, and thick gloom the national groups,’ they have been “shining as illuminators” among mankind. (Isaiah 60:2; Philippians 2:15; Matthew 5:14-16) They “shine as brightly as the sun in the kingdom of their Father.”​—Matthew 13:43.

11. In what way have “the ones having insight” proved to be “those who are bringing the many to righteousness”?

¹¹ How do they prove to be “those who are bringing the many to righteousness”? (Daniel 12:3) Thanks to their faithful witnessing, the final ones of spiritual Israel have been gathered in and declared righteous for life in the heavens. Additionally, a great crowd of “other sheep” has manifested itself, flocking to the light from Jehovah as reflected by ‘Daniel’s people.’ (John 10:16; Zechariah 8:23) These “other sheep” have willingly joined with the anointed in their work of preaching the “good news.” (Matthew 24:14; Isaiah 61:5, 6) They, too, exercise faith in the shed blood of Jesus Christ, so that they are declared righteous to enjoy friendship with God. (Revelation 7:9-15; compare James 2:23.) If they remain faithful to the end, their names will continue to be “found written down in the book.” Thus, they may expect to survive the most calamitous time of distress ever to strike the nations.​—Daniel 12:1; Matthew 24:13, 21, 22.

“They Will Shine . . . Forever”

12, 13. (a) How is it that “the ones having insight” are able to “shine . . . forever”? (b) How, in another way, will they prove to be “those who are bringing the many to righteousness”?

¹² The angel told Daniel: “The ones having insight will shine like the brightness of the expanse . . . , like the stars to time indefinite, even forever.” (Daniel 12:3) How can the anointed ones shine forever, since each one will eventually die? In that they will continue to “shine” even after death. Describing them in their heavenly position, Jesus tells us in the book of Revelation: “The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in the city, and his slaves will render him sacred service; and they will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads. Also, night will be no more, and they have no need of lamplight nor do they have sunlight, because Jehovah God will shed light upon them, and they will rule as kings forever and ever.”​—Revelation 22:3-5.

¹³ Yes, these resurrected ones will rule as kings like stars in the heavens, “forever and ever.” Their spiritual brilliance will bring great blessings to mankind. (Revelation 14:13) Describing them as the “New Jerusalem,” the book of Revelation reports: “And the city has no need of the sun nor of the moon to shine upon it, for the glory of God lighted it up, and its lamp was the Lamb. And the nations will walk by means of its light, and the kings of the earth will bring their glory into it.” (Revelation 21:2, 9, 23, 24) The resurrected ones will assist in applying the benefits of the ransom sacrifice “for the curing of the nations.” (Revelation 22:2) When, by the end of the Thousand Year Reign, Jesus and his 144,000 associate kings and priests have restored faithful humans to perfection, they will indeed have brought “many to righteousness.” After the final test at that time, restored mankind will form a perfect human society living on a paradise earth for eternity. (Revelation 20:7-10; Psalm 37:29) In this way, the visible results of the heavenly glory of ‘Daniel’s people’ will also last “to time indefinite, even forever.”

Another Resurrection

14. The prophecy that “many of those asleep in the ground of dust . . . will wake up” will come to include who else?

¹⁴ Thus, the angel’s words take us beyond the time of Michael’s ‘standing up’ and the unparalleled “time of distress” right into the new system of things. Moreover, the blessings channeled through these ones shining “like the stars” will not be limited to those who survive the “time of distress.” Jesus, while still a man on earth, said: “The hour is coming in which all those in the memorial tombs will hear his voice and come out, those who did good things to a resurrection of life, those who practiced vile things to a resurrection of judgment.” (John 5:28, 29) These words point to a literal resurrection of dead mankind, and doubtless this resurrection, too, is an extended fulfillment of the angel’s words: “Many of those asleep in the ground of dust . . . will wake up.”​—Daniel 12:2.

15. For those resurrected then, how can it prove to be an awakening “to indefinitely lasting life”?

¹⁵ Among those included in this particular awakening will be Daniel himself. He was told by the angel: “As for you yourself, go toward the end; and you will rest [fall asleep in death], but you will stand up for your lot at the end of the days.” (Daniel 12:13) Those like Daniel who are resurrected then and who respond to the ministry of Jesus and his brothers from heaven will be raised to human perfection. When they pass the final test, they will have their names permanently inscribed in the book of life. (Revelation 20:5) For them, too, the awakening will be “to indefinitely lasting life.”

16. For whom will the awakening in the new system of things prove to be “to indefinitely lasting abhorrence”?

¹⁶ Not all will so respond, however. Some will doubtless try to bring back the practices that have robbed man of peace for so long. Such ones have fair warning in the Bible: “As for the cowards and those without faith and those who are disgusting in their filth and murderers and fornicators and those practicing spiritism and idolaters and all the liars, their portion will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulphur. This means the second death.” (Revelation 21:8) This “second death” is a direct judgment from Jehovah from which there is no resurrection. It is eternal, unending oblivion. Those resurrected who prove to be unappreciative will suffer this second death; hence, their awakening will be “to reproaches and to indefinitely lasting abhorrence.”​—Daniel 12:2.

“True Knowledge Will Become Abundant”

17. How do we know that the prophecy about the king of the north and the king of the south was recorded mainly for our benefit today?

¹⁷ The angel then offers words of counsel to Daniel: “And as for you, O Daniel, make secret the words and seal up the book, until the time of the end. Many will rove about, and the true knowledge will become abundant.” (Daniel 12:4) These words arrest our attention. Although the angel’s prophecy concerning the two kings began to be fulfilled some 2,300 years ago, the understanding of it has been opened up primarily during “the time of the end,” particularly since 1919. In these days, “many . . . rove about” in the Bible, and true knowledge has indeed become abundant. Now is the time that Jehovah has given knowledge to understanding ones.

18. (a) What major parts of the prophecy are now being fulfilled or about to be fulfilled? (b) What balanced attitude does this give us?

¹⁸ The fact that several features of the prophecy were fulfilled many centuries ago serves to strengthen our faith in the parts of the prophecy that have yet to take place. (Joshua 23:14) The world today is engaged in a tug-of-war between the king of the north and the king of the south, just as the angel foretold. Moreover, the prophecy warns of even more dangerous times ahead. So we are helped to keep our balance and avoid being swayed by the propaganda of either king. This is the time to strengthen our trust in Jehovah. Never forget that “Michael . . . the great prince” is “standing” for God’s people. Our only sure salvation is in submitting to God’s Kingdom under Christ Jesus.​—Acts 4:12; Philippians 2:9-11.

19. What significance do the angel’s words to Daniel have for each one of us?

¹⁹ Stay close, then, to “the ones having insight,” who are ‘shining like the brightness of the expanse.’ Stay active in working for God’s Kingdom. (1 Corinthians 15:58; Romans 15:5, 6) Deepen your love of the truth of God’s Word, and treasure deeply the peace that exists even now in God’s organization. (Psalm 119:165; Ephesians 4:1-3; Philippians 2:1-5) Then, when Michael ‘stands up’ to crush Jehovah’s enemies, may you escape, along with all of God’s people whose names are “found written down in the book.”

Can You Answer?

◻ In what way has there been an awakening already of “many of those asleep in the ground”?

◻ How could this ‘waking up’ turn out to be “to reproaches”?

◻ How do “the ones having insight” shine as illuminators and bring many to righteousness?

◻ What future fulfillment will there be as to the waking up of ‘those asleep in the ground’?

◻ How is Daniel 12:4 fulfilled?

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Staying Close to Jehovah’s Organization

As told by John Barr

I WAS on the last leg of a visit home a year ago last June, flying from Glasgow to Aberdeen. As our plane climbed steeply over the green Scottish countryside and on over the lazily flowing river Clyde, my thoughts raced back to the year 1906 and that little village of Bishopton, nestled somewhere down there to the south of the river.

You see, that was the year and place when my grandmother, Emily Jewell, started to read Charles T. Russell’s book The Divine Plan of the Ages. Immediately her eyes were opened to the truth that the Bible does not teach the doctrine of hellfire. Soon her two grown daughters Bessie and Emily (the latter became my mother) also began to see the light of truth shining through the mists of false doctrine taught by the United Free Church of Scotland. In 1908 Granny was baptized in symbol of her dedication to do God’s will, and her daughters were baptized shortly afterward.

My father was the session clerk in the same United Free Church in Bishopton. He had always found it difficult to accept the doctrine of the Trinity, so the church minister offered to preach a special sermon for his benefit one Sunday. That did it! On hearing the attempted explanation, my father was now convinced that the Trinity doctrine was false. He resigned from the church and was baptized in 1912 in symbol of his dedication to Jehovah. Shortly afterward my parents moved north to Aberdeen with their two children, Louie and James, and I was born there in 1913.

My thoughts about those early years and about my parents’ efforts to bring us three children up “in the discipline and mental-regulating of Jehovah” stayed with me as the plane began its descent over the hills, rivers, and valleys that I had known from childhood. (Ephesians 6:4) On this beautiful sunny morning, how grateful I felt to Jehovah for that parental training! I knew that it had contributed toward my always remaining close to Jehovah’s organization.

Value of Early Training

Our family was always a happily united one. If ever Father and Mother had some difference of viewpoint, they tried never to show this in front of us children. This created for us not only respect for our parents but also an environment of real peace and security within our home.

Some of my fondest memories center around our family get-togethers in the evenings. We supplied our own entertainment, doing such things as singing to our own musical accompaniment and playing together board games such as Monopoly. Also, no matter how busy Father was, he never failed to spend some time with us practically every day, reading aloud from the Bible and the Watch Tower publications, as well as from other literature both of a light and of a more serious kind. All these things served to keep our family close together as we grew up.

We were the only “truth” family in that northern part of Scotland in those early years. As a result, our home became well known to many of the Watch Tower Society’s traveling representatives (pilgrims, as they were then called), such as Albert Lloyd, Herbert Senior, and Fred Scott. Some even came from the Society’s headquarters in Brooklyn, New York, including W. E. Van Amburgh and A. H. Macmillan. These visits were milestones in my early years.

To this day I feel thankful for the genuine spirit of hospitality shown by my parents. This enriched our family life, and although young I began to widen out in my appreciation for the whole association of brothers. Oh, how much parents can do toward cultivating a warm bond of love between their children and the worldwide association of their brothers!

Coping With a Personal Problem

As I entered my early teens, I became an increasingly shy and retiring boy. The older I grew, the more difficult I found it to meet people and make conversation with them. This shyness presented a big obstacle in many ways but especially so when it came to proving my faith by preaching the good news of the Kingdom.

Shortly after World War I, my grandmother and my mother became the first Witnesses in Aberdeen to take part in the house-to-house ministry. We children shared in distributing tracts, but now for me actually to talk to people at their homes​—why, that was something different! That was a real challenge. But I finally met it. I shall never forget that Sunday afternoon in November 1927 when I told my father that I was going to accompany him in the door-to-door ministry. It was the first time ever that I saw tears on my father’s cheeks​—tears of joy in this case!

Family Tragedy Affected Me

The peaceful tranquillity of our family life was shattered on the evening of June 25, 1929, when I was 16. After a day in the ministry, my mother and my sister were hurrying home to prepare Father’s supper. Suddenly, a speeding motorcycle hit Mother, dragging her along the street for about 40 yards (37 m). Her head injuries were so severe that she was not expected to live. But thanks to many months of loving care by my sister Louie, she survived. In time, Mother was able to lead a comparatively normal life until her death in 1952.

That traumatic experience did something very important for me​—it made me take a serious look at my life and what I was doing with it. That summer I started to study the Bible far more deeply than previously​—I made the truth my own. This was the big turning point for me, and I dedicated my life to Jehovah’s service. However, it was not until some years later that I had the opportunity of symbolizing my dedication by water baptism.

Entering the Full-Time Service

On leaving school in 1932, I embarked on a course of training in mechanical and electrical engineering. In Britain in those days, there was not the encouragement that there is today for young ones to enter the full-time preaching work as pioneers. Yet, as the years went on, I knew where I ought to be expending my energies​—in the full-time ministry.

I vividly recall something we studied early in 1938 that emphasized to me the benefits of staying close to Jehovah’s organization and personally applying its instructions. It was the Watchtower magazine issues regarding Jonah that explained the experiences he went through in running away from his assignment of service. I took this lesson very much to heart, making up my mind that I must never turn down any assignment that came to me through Jehovah’s organization. Little did I realize then how many theocratic assignments lay ahead to test my resolve.

I prayed for guidance, and the answer came by means of a surprise letter from the Society’s headquarters in London, asking me to consider becoming a member of the Bethel family. I eagerly grasped the opportunity to go through that large door leading to greater privileges of service. Thus, in April 1939 I found myself working alongside Harold King, who later served as a missionary in China and, because of his preaching activity, spent years in a communist prison. We worked on assembling transcription machines and also phonographs used for playing recorded sermons at the doors of people’s homes.

Harold and I would imagine all the different kinds of people who eventually would listen to the Kingdom message by means of the equipment we were making. In this way we never lost sight of the end result of our work. Since then, in all the different assignments I have received at Bethel, I have endeavored to keep this outlook. This has made my work a real joy and always meaningful in relation to the Kingdom-preaching work.

Privileges of Service

Shortly after arriving at London Bethel, I was appointed as company servant (now called presiding overseer) of a congregation with well over 200 publishers. Previously, I had been the overseer of a congregation of only ten publishers! Then I was put in charge of the Sound Department for a marvelous countrywide convention held in Leicester in 1941. Up to this time, I had had only limited experience in sound.

Later I was assigned to the traveling work as a servant to the brethren, now called circuit overseer. There were only six such servants in Britain when that work was started in January 1943. My assignment was to be only for a month, but it ended up with my visiting the congregations for more than three years. During those same difficult World War II years, I had the oversight of three large conventions​—something I had never done previously.

The traveling work in those days was quite different from what it is today. We were always on the move, and travel throughout Britain during those war years was sometimes very difficult. On more than one occasion, I had to resort to a bicycle for part of the journey between congregations. Instead of visiting one congregation a week, as traveling overseers do today, if congregations were small, we would visit as many as six of them in one week!

Here was a typical day’s schedule: Up at five-thirty; after breakfast, travel to the next congregation so as to start checking the congregation’s records by eight o’clock. The afternoon was usually spent in the field ministry, this being followed in the evening by a one-hour meeting with the servants of the congregation and then a talk to the congregation. I was seldom in bed before 11, or even later if I wrote up the day’s report on the congregation that same evening. Every Monday was set aside for completing the reports for the week, for personal study, and for any preparatory work for the following week.

‘A very busy week’s schedule,’ you say? Yes, it was, but, oh, how rewarding to feel that we were strengthening the brothers during those war years when there was not always the same close contact with the organization! In a very literal sense, we had the satisfaction of feeling that we were helping the congregations “to be made firm in the faith.”​—Acts 16:5.

Back to Bethel Service

I was asked to return to Bethel service in April 1946. I was happy to do so, but I felt that my life had been enriched spiritually as a result of those three and a half years in the traveling work. The organization meant more to me now, and I felt as if I had been doing what is described at Psalm 48:12, 13: “March around Zion, you people, and go about it, count its towers. . . . Inspect its dwelling towers.” Having moved about more among God’s people had caused my love to grow for “the whole association of brothers.”​—1 Peter 2:17.

Following my return to Bethel, I was privileged to care for much of the printing done at our London printery and later was involved in the plate-making work as well. Then, in September 1977 I had the unique privilege extended to me of becoming a member of the Governing Body of Jehovah’s Witnesses, located in Brooklyn, New York, U.S.A.

I must admit that at times I felt like ‘running away’ from some of the more difficult assignments given to me. But then I would recall Jonah and the mistake he made, and I would repeat to myself that wonderful promise found at Psalm 55:22: “Throw your burden upon Jehovah himself, and he himself will sustain you. Never will he allow the righteous one to totter.” How true I have found these words to be!

Jehovah never asks any one of us to do something that he knows we cannot handle. However, it is only in his strength that we are able to do what he asks. And another thing​—if you truly love your brothers working alongside you, they will support you and back you up, working with you “shoulder to shoulder” in order to help you carry your assigned work load.​—Zephaniah 3:9.

Precious Relationships

Of course, there are always some Christian brothers for whom you feel a special attachment. One of these was Alfred Pryce Hughes, who died in 1978. His life story appeared in the April 1, 1963, issue of The Watchtower. For many years he served as the branch servant, and later as a member of the Branch Committee. He was greatly loved by the brothers in the British field because of his great respect for Jehovah’s organization and his loyalty to it and his love for all the brothers. Another thing was his love for the field ministry. This never diminished throughout his life, no matter what responsibility he had to shoulder. Working alongside faithful brothers like Pryce has meant so much to me, strengthening my determination to stay close to Jehovah’s organization and remain active in the ministry.

On October 29, 1960, I entered an especially precious relationship with a longtime zealous pioneer and missionary of the 11th class of Gilead, who was at the time serving in Ireland. On that date Mildred Willett and I were married, and ever since she has been a faithful support to me in Bethel service.

Before Mildred’s mother died in 1965, she advised her daughter never to be “jealous of Jehovah.” Mildred has always remembered her mother’s words, and this has helped prevent her from becoming discontented when I have often had to work overtime. This has greatly helped me to care happily for any added work assignments that have come my way. We have both especially enjoyed sharing many rewarding experiences in the ministry.

One young couple we studied the Bible with, for example, made rapid progress to the point of dedication and baptism and regularly shared in the ministry. We were so delighted! Then, suddenly, for no apparent reason, they stopped associating. Mildred and I shared the disappointment, and we kept wondering where we had gone wrong in our training of them. We constantly prayed to Jehovah that he would still open their hearts to prove their love for the truth. Can you imagine our happiness when we received a letter from this couple about ten years later telling us that they were again actively associated and that their home was now a Book Study center?

Husband Will wrote: “I wish to thank you for all the help and loving consideration you provided for us . . . My falling away was my fault, my heart appreciation was not right . . . We have found great joy being back in Jehovah’s organization . . . It is with fond memories that I am writing you tonight, may Jehovah continue to bless you both in your service to him.”

In another letter, a mother wrote us regarding her boy Mike: “I am so glad the angels sat him next to you.” What did she mean? Well, Mike had come along to a convention with his mother and younger brother, but he was not really interested in the truth. Mildred noticed the lad sitting by himself and chatted with him. Then we both invited him and his brother to come to London Bethel and see the work we did.

Later, Mike came, and what he saw sparked his interest sufficiently to continue having a Bible study. The result? He’s now an elder in the congregation, and his wife and two boys are all active in the ministry. Some time ago Mike’s wife wrote: “[Mike] has often mentioned meeting you both . . . How impressed he was by your kindness and interest in him.”

When my wife and I receive expressions of appreciation from someone like Will or Mike that we have been privileged to help, our hearts simply overflow in gratefulness to Jehovah! What priceless rewards such living “letters of recommendation” are​—all part of the joy received from staying close to Jehovah’s organization.​—2 Corinthians 3:1-3.

Serving at World Headquarters

“A nation unto itself.” That is how the editor of a Brooklyn Heights newspaper described the big family of more than 3,500 Witnesses living at the world headquarters of Jehovah’s Witnesses in Brooklyn, New York, and at Watchtower Farms, located about a hundred miles (160 km) away in upstate New York. Truly, Jehovah’s anointed ones are a spiritual nation in Jehovah’s eyes! Today, multitudes from many worldly nations are coming forward and saying to those of this nation: “We will go with you people, for we have heard that God is with you people.”​—Zechariah 8:23; 1 Peter 2:9.

Can you appreciate, then, how thrilling it was for my wife and me to become a permanent part of this big Bethel family? I would say without any hesitation that the last eight years of my life have been by far the most outstanding in all my theocratic experience. Here you feel the pulse of Jehovah’s visible organization; here the spiritual food is prepared and then sent out to the four corners of the earth; here you see Jehovah’s spirit at work guiding and directing momentous decisions that have to be made; and here you sense more than anywhere else the cumulative evidence of Jehovah’s blessing upon the work of Kingdom preaching and disciple making. All these recent experiences and impressions have given me added incentive to stay ever closer to Jehovah’s people.

I have recounted only a very few of my life’s experiences. However, they may help you to understand why, as my plane finally touched down at Aberdeen Airport that sunny June morning, I felt so grateful to Jehovah that I was still a part of our loving worldwide association of brothers. I had spent the flight time reminiscing about my years in the truth, and this reminded me yet again how beneficial it is for us from time to time to recount our many blessings at Jehovah’s hand.​—Psalm 40:5.

My sister Louie was there to greet me​—still faithful, zealous, and loyal after more than 60 years of dedicated service to Jehovah. I thanked Jehovah for that added blessing, for did not the apostle Paul say that it is faithfulness that Jehovah looks for in all of his “stewards”? (1 Corinthians 4:2) What great encouragement one member of a family can give to another by remaining faithful!

Moses once prayed: “Show us just how to count our days in such a way that we may bring a heart of wisdom in.” (Psalm 90:12) As Mildred and I grow older, we appreciate the need always to lean on Jehovah’s wisdom so as to use our life in a way that demonstrates our love for him and our brothers. Jehovah lovingly shows us that way if we stay close to his organization.

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John Barr (front left) about the year 1930, with his sister, brother, and parents

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John Barr today, with his wife Mildred

“Copies for Personal Friends”

Because they have enjoyed the book Making Your Family Life Happy so much, many have shared copies with others. For example, a person from Indiana, U.S.A., writes:

“I would like to compliment you on the wonderful book I have just read, Making Your Family Life Happy. It is a well-written and easily understood book, and our young people as well as old would benefit from reading it.

“I would like extra copies for personal friends, and I would also like to use the book as bridal-shower gifts.

“I am of the Nazarene faith . . . and would not appreciate materials, other than the book, sent my way . . . If it would be possible for me to purchase ten copies of the book at a reasonable price, I would appreciate hearing from you.”

Perhaps you feel about the Family book much the way this person does. Do you know someone with whom you would like to share it? Why not send that person a gift copy? You can do so by simply filling in and mailing the accompanying coupon, enclosing just $1 with the coupon.

Please send, postpaid, the hardcover, 192-page book Making Your Family Life Happy as well as a letter explaining that it is a gift from ‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐

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