(1) There are presently several billions of people on this earth and more people are being
born each day. The Bible tells us that this world is to end with the great tribulation, part of
which is the "battle of the great day of God the Almighty" at Armageddon. What will this
mean for earth's billions of people, the vast majority of whom do not profess Christ in any
form whatsoever? Will billions be eternally destroyed, as many religious leaders would have
us believe? Will all mankind be destroyed at Armageddon, or will there be any survivors of
this destruction?
(2) First let us see what position the majority of these billions of people have before
Yahweh God. Less than one-fourth of the earth's population even profess to be Christian.
Of these professing Christians we feel safe in saying that the majority of them are not true
disciples of Christ who are giving of their lives in the witness and worship in spirit and
truth. (John 4:23,24) Most are merely nominal Christians, Christians in name only. This
becomes even more sad when we see the churches in the popular brands of Christianity
reveling in idolatry, worldly politics, etc. They seem to love this world and determined to
"make this [present evil] world a better place in which to live." However noble their efforts
may appear, the Bible tells us that all such efforts are doomed. (Ecclesiastes 6:11,12; 3:9,10;
See our study: Will Mankind's Ills Ever Cease?) Most people on the earth, then, are
still children of wrath, deserving destruction. - Matthew 7:13; Ephesians 2:3; Romans 1:32.
(3) The Bible is found in all the churches of popular Christianity. Yet they do not
understand or follow the Word which they profess. Many of our friends in the nominal
churches wink at many gross sins, such as persons making a practice of homosexualism,
fornication, adultery, drunkenness, lying, and idolatry. They will not try to remove the evil
ones from their midst, but instead go on speaking approvingly of them! (1 Corinthians
5:13) Of course, some feel that in doing so they will save the person from the supposed
eternal flames of hellfire! (See our studies: Hope of Life After Death and What Does the Bible Actually Say About Hell?)
(4) Others pride themselves in the idolatry of "organization" or church worship. Our
friends associated with such groups, when confronted with Bible truths concerning the
"ransom for all" or other matters, often begin preaching their organization or church rather
than Jesus. By this they indicate that they have placed their organization as a go-between to understanding the scriptures. So many of them are willing to accept whatever their leaders tell them - without
question!
(6) Yahweh speaks of that day through Zephaniah (1:2,3): "'I will utterly destroy all
things from the ground,' says Yahweh. 'I will destroy man and beast. I will destroy the
flying creatures of the sky, and the fishes of the sea, and the stumbling blocks with the
wicked; and I will cut off man from the earth,' says Yahweh." This sounds very bleak for
poor humanity, doesn't it? Is there no hope then for the survival of the human race?
(7) We must remember that no scripture should be taken in isolation from the rest of the
Bible. This scripture alone could lead us to the conclusion that the entire human race will
come to a complete end. But if we look at the wording of other scriptures we can get a
better picture of what this means.
(8) Did you know that everything was cut off the surface of the earth at one time many
years ago? Let us read about this: "So Yahweh saw that the badness of man was
abounding in the earth and every tendency of the thoughts of his heart was only bad all
day long. And Yahweh regretted that he had made men in the earth, and he was pained at
his heart. So Yahweh said 'I am going to wipe men whom I have created off the surface of
the ground, from man to beast, to the moving animal and to the flying creature of the skies,
because I regret that I have made them.'" (Genesis 6:5-8) Most of our readers will no doubt
recognize that this is what God said before he destroyed the world with a flood in days of
Noah. But not all humans were destroyed. The next verse says: "But Noah found favor in
the eyes of Yahweh."
(11) As we stated before, we are all guilty of sin, therefore we are all worthy of death.
Where can we go to find protection, to be saved in this day of his anger? Notice the words
of Zephaniah: "Seek Yahweh, all meek ones of the earth, who have practiced his justice.
Seek righteousness, seek meekness. Perhaps you will be hidden in the day of Yahweh's
anger." (2:3) But who is genuinely 'practicing Yahweh's justice' since there is "not one
righteous man, not even one"? (Romans 3:10) Evidently there is some special application to
the practice of Yahweh's own "justice" here. What is this justice we must practice in order
to that we might be considered one of the "meek of the earth"?
(12) A clue regarding the justice of Yahweh is given for us in Romans 3:19-26. "Now we
know that all the things the Law says it addresses to those under the Law, so that every
mouth may be stopped and all the world may become liable to God for punishment.
Therefore by works of law no flesh will be declared righteous before him, for by law is the
accurate knowledge of sin. But now apart from law God's righteousness [justice] has been
made manifest, as it is borne witness to by the Law and the Prophets; yes, God's
righteousness through the faith in Jesus Christ, for all those having faith. For there is no
distinction. For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and it is as a free gift that
they are being declared righteous [just] by his undeserved kindness through the release by
the ransom paid by Christ Jesus. God set him forth as an offering for propitiation through
faith in his blood. This was in order to exhibit his own righteousness, because he was
forgiving the sins that occurred in the past while God was exercising forbearance; so as to
exhibit his own righteousness in this present season, that he might be righteous [just] even
when declaring righteous [just] the man that has faith in Jesus." Then those who keep
Yahweh's justice are those who put their faith in Jesus. Through their faith they are
justified, or made righteous in God's eyes.
(13) How, though, does one practice this? Having faith in Jesus means more than just
believing that Jesus died for our sins. The apostle John writes: "And this is his
commandment, that we should believe in the name of His son, Jesus Christ, and love one
another, even as He gave command to us. For one who keeps His commandments remains
in union with him, and he in union with him. And by this we know that he remains in
union with us, by the spirit which he gave to us." (1 John 3:23,24) There must be a
continual day by day accordance with Jesus, contemplating his words and obeying his
commands. "You are my friends if you do what I command you." (John 15:14) It is a
mistake to believe that Jesus is a friend to everyone, no matter what that person may
believe. Only those who sincerely study his words and are making every possible effort to
obey him are his friends. Those who are truly demonstrating faith in Jesus just before the
culmination of God's anger are the same ones that are referred to in Zephaniah 2:3.
(14) So is there an ark that can safely carry us through the destruction of Satan's Empire?
Peter wrote of Noah's days that "an ark having been prepared in which a few, that is, eight
souls were saved through water, which figure now saves us, baptism; not a putting away of
the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God through the
resurrection of Jesus Christ; who is at the right hand of God, having gone into heaven." (1
Peter 3:20,21) Peter reminds his readers that all mankind perished in the flood save eight
souls, who were preserved from a watery grave by means of the ark which God provided
them. That ark, though submerged in water was their salvation. Peter declares that this is a
'like figure to baptism.'
(15) As the whole world in Noah's day perished in the flood, so the entire world faces
destruction in the day of Yahweh's anger. The true Christian, however, is no longer part of
this world. He is no longer reckoned as other men. (John 17:16) Therefore he is not
accounted with all mankind who will be cut off. That some flesh will be saved during that
time is indicated by Jesus' words recorded for us in Matthew 24:21,22: "For there will be
great tribulation, such as has not happened from the beginning of the world until now; no
nor ever will be. And except those days were cut short, no flesh would be saved, but on
account of the chosen, those days will be shortened." Indeed, unless God cuts short these
days man is now living in, man will completely destroy himself, including the true
Christians. But he says that God will cut short the days because of his chosen ones on the
earth at that time, thereby indicating that some flesh would be saved.
(16) Isaiah (24:6) also prophecies of that time: "For this the curse has devoured the earth;
and they who live in it are held guilty. Therefore the inhabitants of earth are burned and
few men are left." Jeremiah (25:33) speaks of that calamitous day, saying: "And those slain
by Yahweh will certainly come to be in that day from one end of the earth clear to the other
end of the earth." Therefore, we see that the vast majority of earth's billions will suffer
destruction during that time, so that only a "very few" men will remain.
(17) Further, we read in the book of Revelation (7:9-17) that John received a vision of a
"great multitude" who would come out of the great tribulation. Some Christians have
recognized this prophecy as applying to a class of true Christians who are living just before
the great tribulation. There are those, however, who have misapplied its meaning so as to
make the "great multitude" need another "ark" than Jesus. This false ark that they are
asked to put their trust and faith in is an organization headed by a small group of men here
on the earth.
(18) Traditionally Bible Students have believed that the great multitude is a secondary
heavenly class who failed to keep their position as one of the 144,000 who sit upon the
throne with the lamb. (Revelation 7:1-8; 14:1) But the context along with other scriptures
indicate that they are a class of Christians living now who will survive the "great
tribulation" and live right into the new order under God's Kingdom. Those who inherit
spirit bodies as Jesus will not need to be led to the waters of life, nor will they need to have
all tears wiped from their eyes. (Revelation 7:17) The water of life is offered to the nations
here on the earth, the curse is here on the earth, etc. (Revelation 22:1-3) True, they have
been reckoned alive by their faith in the blood of Jesus. (Revelation 7:14) But the great
multitude, like the 144,000 while upon this earth, are only reckonedly "made alive" but
do not receive the same reward as does the 144,000. Their flesh will still need to be actually
made alive and freed from the infirmities of sickness and suffering of today. Thus Jesus
leads them to the waters of life.
(19) As best as we can determine from the scriptures, when God expresses his anger upon the nations, the various individuals under the influence of Satan, who are still children of wrath, will undergo the punishment they have inherited from Adam - destruction. The "great multitude," however, are saved by their faith and obedience to Jesus. Having been reckonedly released through faith from the death sentence that remains upon the world, they do not need to suffer death under God's wrath during the great day of his anger. Therefore, they do not share the punishment that comes upon the rest of the world when Yahweh's destructive forces are at work. (John 17:16; 15:19) Yahweh's anger is no longer upon them and therefore they will not need to be destroyed along with the world. They have as their present-day ark, Christ, through their faith and baptism in him. Yet while Revelation describes them as a "great multitude", they will still only be a very few of these survivors when compared with earth's billions. How thankful we who live today in Christ should be! Let us carry out the commands of Jesus!
Let us obey him as our King and Savior. Thus we can safely trust him as the present-day
"ark" to carry those whom he has chosen safely through the "days of tribulation",
including the Battle of the Great Day of God. -- For more concerning the 144,000, the
twelve spiritual tribes and the great multitude, see: With What Body Will We Be Raised?
(20) But what about the rest of the world during this time? We are assured that God's
wrath remains upon those who do not have proper faith in Jesus. (John 3:36) Those who
remain children of wrath will suffer destruction during what is often called "the Battle of
Armageddon." Does this mean that the majority of earth's present billions will go down in
eternal destruction with no hope of recovery? Are the millions of children being born into
this world, blinded by Satan, many of whom are suffering beyond imagination, only to go
through all of this suffering and torment so that they may be eternally destroyed at the
battle of Armageddon, thus deriving no benefit from their experiences with sin, suffering
and death?
(21) There are those today that would like you to believe that all who do not join their
religious organization will be eternally destroyed at Armageddon. That there will be a
destructive work at Armageddon, there can be no denial. Here are some of the scriptures
that describe the destruction at that time:
(22) "A noise shall come even to the end of the earth, for Yahweh has a controversy with
the nations; he will enter into judgment with all flesh; as for the wicked, he will give them
to the sword. Thus says Yahweh: 'Look! Evil will go forth from nation to nation, and a
great tempest will be raised up from the uttermost parts of the earth. And the slain of
Yahweh will be at that day from one end of the earth even to the other end of the earth.
They will not be lamented, neither gathered, nor buried; they will be as dung upon the face
of the ground.' Howl, you shepherds, and cry; and wallow in ashes, you principal ones of
the flock; for the days of your slaughter and of your dispersions have fully come, and you
will fall like a goodly vessel. And the shepherds will not have any way to flee, nor will the
principals ones of the flock escape. A voice of the cry of the shepherds, and the howling of
the principal ones of the flock! For Yahweh is laying waste their pasture. And the
peaceable folds are brought to silence because of the fierce anger of Yahweh. He has left his
covert, as a lion; for their land is become an astonishment because of the fierceness of the
oppressing sword, and because of his fierce anger." - Jeremiah 25:31-38.
(23) "'Therefore wait for me,' says Yahweh, 'until the day that I rise up to the prey. For
my determination is to gather the nations, that I may assemble the kingdoms, to pour upon
them my indignation, even all my fierce anger; for all the earth will be devoured with the
fire of my jealousy.'" - Zephaniah 3:8.
(24) "And the kings of the earth, and the princes, and the chief captains, and the rich, and
the strong, and every bondman and freeman, hid themselves in the caves and in the rocks
of the mountains. And they say to the mountains and the rocks, 'Fall on us, and hide us
from the face of him that sits on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb, for the great
day of their wrath is come, and who is able to stand?" - Revelation 6:15-17.
(25) "For, look! Yahweh will come with fire, and his chariots will be like the whirlwind; to
render his anger with fierceness, and his rebuke with flames of fire. For by fire will Yahweh
execute judgment, and by his sword, upon all flesh - and the slain of Yahweh will be
many." - Isaiah 66:15,16.
(26) "Look! Yahweh is making the earth empty, and is making it waste, and is turning it
upside down, and is scattering abroad the inhabitants thereof. . . . The earth will be utterly
emptied, and utterly laid waste - for Yahweh has spoken this word. The earth is mourning
and fading away, the world is languishing and fading away, the lofty people of the earth do
languish. The earth also is polluted under the inhabitants thereof, because they have
transgressed the laws, violated the statues, broken the everlasting covenant. Therefore the
curse has devoured the earth, those who dwell therein are found guilty. Therefore the
inhabitants of the earth are burned, and few men left." - Isaiah 24:1,2-6.
(27) "The Lord [not Yahweh, but our Savior] at your [Yahweh's] right hand will strike
through kings in the day of his wrath. He will judge among the nations, he will fill the
places with dead bodies. He will strike through the head in many countries." - Ps. 110:5,6.
(28) "And the angel cast his sickle into the earth, and gathered the vintage of the earth,
and cast it into the winepress, the great winepress, of the wrath of God. And the winepress
was trodden without the city, and there came out blood from the winepress, even unto the
bridles of the horses, as far as a thousand and six hundred furlongs." - Revelation 14:19,20.
(29) "The great day of Yahweh is near, it is near and is hastening greatly, the voice of the
day of Yahweh, the mighty man cries there bitterly. That day is a day of wrath, a day of
trouble and distress, a day of darkness and gloominess, a day of clouds and thick darkness,
a day of the trumpet and the alarm, against the fortified cities, and against the high
battlements. And I will bring distress among men, that they will walk like blind men,
because they have sinned against Yahweh; and their blood will be poured out as dust, and
their flesh as dung. Neither their silver not their gold will be able to deliver them in the day
of Yahweh's wrath; but the whole land will be devoured by the fire of his jealousy. For he
will make and end, yes, a terrible end, of all them that dwell in the earth." - Zephaniah
1:14-18.
(30) True, much of what is said in these scriptures is symbolic. Fire is used to represent
the destructiveness of that day; clouds are used to picture the darkness of that day - and so
on. The wrath of God that is expressed at that time is the culmination of the wrath of God
which came upon mankind in the garden of Eden. There mankind was sentenced to
deaththrough the first man, Adam. This death would have been eternal were it not for the
ransom sacrifice of our Lord Jesus. "Therefore, as through one man sin entered into the
world, and death through sin; and so death passed to all men, for all sinned. So then as
through one trespass the judgment came unto all to condemnation; even so through one act
of righteousness the free gift came to all men to justification of life. For as through the one
man's disobedience the many were made sinners, even so through the obedience of the one
will the many be made righteous." (Romans 6:12,18,19) "Being therefore justified by faith,
we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Much more then, being now
justified by his blood, will we be saved from the wrath of God through him." (Romans 5:1,9)
All who do not receive this justification through Christ remain "vessels of wrath fit for
destruction." (Romans 9:22) What is the purpose of this wrath? Is it simply to get rid of
the wicked? Let us see.
(31) In Psalm 83:13-18 we read: "O my God, make them [the wicked] like the whirling
dust; as stubble before the wind. As the fire that burns the forest, and as the flame that sets
the mountains on fire. So pursue them with your tempest, and terrify them with your
storm. Fill their faces with confusion, that they may seek your name, O Yahweh. Let them
be put to shame and dismayed forever; yes, let them be confused and perish; that they may
know that you alone, whose name is Yahweh, are the Most High over all the earth." Here we
are given a key as to what purpose God's wrath serves, and especially his wrath as
expressed at Armageddon. It is so that the wicked ones may know Yahweh, that 'they may
seek his name'! But how will they come to know him or seek his name if they are eternally
destroyed? The answer, of course, would be that they cannot if they are to be eternally
destroyed.
(32) How thankful we can be that the scriptures show that Yahweh's wrath is expressed
upon the nations to discipline, not to eternally destroy them. It is so that they may learn a
lesson from his wrath. The benefits from this lesson will come by their resurrection from the
destruction that Yahweh brings upon them. Like the ones of Jerusalem, Sodom and
Samaria, Yahweh will bring forth the captives ones from death. (Our Jehovah's witnesses
friends and neighbors may want to see The Watchtower, March 1, 1965, pages 137-138)
Then, as he says to Jerusalem: "You will remember your ways, and be ashamed . . ., and
you will know that I am Yahweh, that you may remember, and be confounded, and never
open your mouth any more, because of your shame, when I have forgiven you all that you
have done." (Ezekiel 16:61,63) Yes, God's wrath is revealed upon the "vessels of wrath" so
that they might know that he is Yahweh, the only proper one to rule over mankind.
(33) Some say that to bring back earth's present billions of unjustified ones after
Armageddon would mean to make the new earth just as wicked as the present evil world.
However, we have the Bible's assurance that such is not the case. For one thing Satan, who
is presently deceiving the entire earth, will then be bound. (2 Corinthians 4:4; Revelation
12:9; 20:2,3) During the thousand years when Jesus and his church are teaching the world
to know Yahweh, Satan will not be around to blind their eyes to the truth. It was Satan
who blinded the minds of the Jewish and Roman rulers who had Jesus put to death.
Concerning this the apostle Paul states: "We speak God's wisdom in a secret, the wisdom
that has been hidden, which God foreordained before the ages for our glory; which none of
the rulers of this world has known, for had they known it, they would not have impaled the
Lord of glory." (1 Corinthians 2:7,8 - Concerning this secretiveness related to the Bible
message, see our publication: Understanding Kingdom Mysteries) For those really desiring
truth it should be plain to see that the rulers of this world would have acted differently had
they only understood. And, likewise, those who oppose truth today are just like those rulers
back in Jesus' day. They will still be blinded right on up to their destruction at
Armageddon.
(34) What, then, will be the benefit of bringing earth's present billions back to this earth
after Armageddon? They will then be taught righteousness without the blinding influence
of Satan. They are not brought back in the resurrection to life, but rather "the resurrection
of judgment (Greek, krisis)." (John 5:28,29) They are part of the "resurrection of the
unjust" (Acts 24:15), those who died without receiving the justification to life through faith
in the blood of Jesus. Of this the scriptures overwhelmingly testify. - See our publication:
(35) When God stated to Abraham: "In you all families of the earth will be blessed"
(Genesis 12:3), did he mean that only a few of earth's present families would be blessed?
Did he mean that by saving a few from each nation that "all families" would thus be
represented? NO! It is true that sometimes the word "all" can mean "all sorts" or "all
manner." But we notice that in 1 Corinthians 15:22 Paul tells us: "As in Adam all are
dying, so in Christ all will be made alive." Here the "all" who benefit from Christ's
sacrifice is laid in direct parallel with "all" who are dying in Adam. A similar statement is
made in Romans 5:18. We have no reason then to doubt that when it says "all families"
will be blessed through Abraham's seed, it means just that. Earth's present unjustified
billions now headed for destruction have not yet received this promised blessing. The only
way that they could be blessed is through the resurrection of the dead sometime after
Armageddon, during the time when Satan is bound.
(36) Thus the scriptures assure us that "as in Adam all die, so in Christ shall all be made
alive." (1 Corinthians 15:22) Very few of earth's present billions are now reckoned as
"made alive" through faith in Jesus. For the earth's present billions to suffer the second
death, for which there is no ransom, they would have to have been released first from the
death inherited from Adam, the first death. Are we to hope then, that the whole unjustified
world of mankind will accept Jesus before Armageddon, and then turn away so as to be
subject to the second death? Such is not reasonable nor scriptural. If the scripture is true,
then all the other billions will yet have to be "made alive" through a resurrection of the
dead. The ransom sacrifice of Jesus guarantees this. - 1 Timothy 2:5,6.
(37) The apostle Paul tells us that the whole creation has been "waiting for the
manifestation of the sons of God." (Romans 8:13-23) The revealing of the sons of God will
mean that the time of blessing for all families of the earth through Abraham's seed will
have come. This is what all mankind has been ignorantly waiting for. But is this just for
past generations, not having any application to the present generation simply because they
have had the misfortune to have been born under the present evil conditions at the end of
the age, as the Watchtower leaders claim? No! Plain reason would tell us that the present
evil generation is still part of the "whole creation" that is groaning and travailing in pain,
waiting for the revealing of the sons of God.
(39) The prophecy of Isaiah (25:6-7) informs us that in the next age Yahweh will "make
for all people a feast of fat things, a feast of wines on the lees, of fat things full of marrow, of
wines on the lees well refined. And he will destroy in this mountain the face of the covering
that covers all peoples, and the veil that is spread over all nations." The covering today still
rests upon the nations. They are still blinded by Satan. (2 Corinthians 4:4) Is this prophecy
to be fulfilled only toward past generations and not the present generation of evildoers?
Today wickedness has increased rapidly. There is more confusion about what is right and
what is wrong today than ever before in history. If any generation needed the blinding veil
of Satan's deceptions removed it would be this present generation.
(40) Let us compare the generation in Jesus' day with that of today. Those in Jesus' day
had the Son of God himself to instruct them. Especially the Jewish religious leaders had
much responsibility for they studied the scriptures extensively. To them Jesus said: "You
serpents, children of snakes! How will you escape the judgment of Gehenna?" (Matthew
23:33) In calling them "children of snakes" Jesus was pointing out that they were part of
the seed of the serpent, and had not as yet cleansed themselves so as to become part of the
seed of the woman, that is, children of God's promises. (Galatians 4:28) The wrath of God
remained upon them and they did not see the life Jesus was offering at that time. (John 3:
36) They did not receive Jesus, and yet Jesus did not condemn them to eternal destruction
but said: "I am coming as a light into the world, that whosoever believes in me should not
remain in darkness. And if any man hears my words, and does not believe, I do not judge
him. For I did not come to judge the world, but to save the world. He that rejects me, and
does not receive my words, has one that judges him - the words that I have spoken, the
same will judge him in the last day." - John 12:46-48.
(41) Does this mean that those wicked religious leaders will also return in "the last day"
since they are part of those that rejected Jesus? Very evidently this is what it means. But
Jesus did show them that if they continued in the course they were taking against the light
that was available to them they would not be able in the next age to escape Gehenna -
eternal destruction, the second death. They could not be condemned to the second death in
the present age, because they had not yet been 'made alive' from the first death. Their
judgment would have to be delayed until the day of judgment, the day of the resurrection,
after they had been released from the Adamic death.
(42) How do we know that their resurrection comes during the thousand years that Satan
is bound? Because as Jesus said, they receive their judgment during the "last day." The
book of Revelation shows that the judgment will be taking place during the thousand years
that Satan is bound. (Revelation 20:3,4 - Note: the phrase "the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished" in Revelation 20:5 does not appear in the
oldest Greek manuscripts, and is thus considered spurious.)
It is the same period of time in which Martha believed that Lazarus would be raised. (John
11:23,24) It is during this same "last day" that the unjust are to be raised for judgment. -
John 5:28,29.
(43) But someone may wonder, "Why should they be raised if they are only going to be
eternally destroyed?" However, this is not the purpose of their resurrection. Rather the
purpose of their resurrection is that God's name may be vindicated thoroughly. They will
come forth at a time when Satan will be bound! The knowledge of Yahweh will be covering
the earth. (Isaiah 11:9) They could, if they so desire, repent from their sinful course and
walk up the highway of Holiness that will then be established. Those who walk up that
highway, even though they may have been wayfaring men, will not err at that time. (Isaiah
35:8) As soon as they understand about God and his purposes, many will evidently outwardly obey him, but will
still not develop the right heart attitude. With some, as they see the goodness of God and
the happiness that righteousness brings, this feigned obedience will change to meekness and
heart obedience. But others will refuse to obey at heart. "Show favor to the wicked, yet he
will not learn righteousness, in the land of uprightness will he deal falsely." (Isaiah 26:10)
Some will thus show that they are wicked at heart. For such there will be no excuse. There
will then be no inherited weakness, and none will suffer for the sins of others; it will no
longer be said that "the fathers have eaten the sour grapes, and the children's teeth are set
on edge." - Jeremiah 31:27-30.
(44) It is in this manner that Yahweh vindicates or sanctifies his holy name before all
nations - by giving everyone a complete opportunity to come to him, without the hindrance
of Satan. Had Yahweh eternally destroyed them while still under the blinding influences of
Satan, there would always be those who would challenge the love as well as the justice of
God. God's justice has been satisfied through the sacrifice of Jesus. Does this mean that the
world is now on trial for eternal life or eternal destruction, based upon whether they listen
to some representatives of men who, in turn, claim they represent God's channel of
communication? Does a person's rejection of this organization mean he is rejecting Christ?
Does rejecting Christ by those blinded by Satan mean that these have committed the
unforgivable sin, and therefore must be eternally destroyed? If such were to be the case,
where is God's justice? Since his justice has been satisfied through the death of Jesus
regarding man's disobedience, would not his justice now require him to release all who
have come under the death sentence because of Adam's sin? That is exactly what the Bible
says is to happen, for we read: "As in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made
alive." (1 Corinthians 15:22) "Therefore as by the offense of one judgment came upon all
men to condemnation; even so by the righteousness of one the free gift came upon all men
unto justification of life." - Romans 5:18.
(45) Has now the whole world been made alive because of the sacrifice of our Lord Jesus?
No! Jesus plainly said: "He that believes on the Son has everlasting life, and he that
disobeys the Son will not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him." (John 3:36) By
saying that those who disobey will not see life, is Jesus saying that they will never see life?
No, for he is merely stating that as long as they remain in disobedience they will not see life.
If they repent and come to the obedience of Jesus, they also could have everlasting life. But
at the present time, as long as they remain in disobedience, the wrath of God remains upon them. They remain under the death
sentence of Adam. They are not "made alive" and then sentenced to the second death
simply because someone may give them an imperfect "witness."
"And it must occur in that day that Jehovah [Yahweh] will turn his attention upon the
army of the height in the height, and upon the kings of the ground upon the ground. And
they will certainly be gathered as of prisoners into the pit [Hebrew, bowr], and be shut up
in the dungeon; and after an abundance of days they will be given attention." -- Isaiah
24:21-22.
(47) The Bible tells of the great destruction that comes upon the earth at Armageddon.
(Isaiah 24:1-22) Notice, however, that it speaks of those who are destroyed as being shut up
in a "prison." Job refers to those in death as "prisoners" who "rest together". (Job 3:18)
The Bible tells of the gathering of "captive ones" from many nations in the latter days, the
days when God's kingdom will rule the whole earth. (Jeremiah 48:47; 49:6,34-39; Isaiah
2:2) Yahweh speaks of gathering the captive ones of Sodom and Samaria along with the
captive ones of Jerusalem. (Ezekiel 16:53) They are spoken of as returning to their 'former
state', that is, they return from the prison house of death to their former state upon the
earth. So with those who are thrown into this prison at Armageddon - after many days they
will be "visited." To be visited by Yahweh can mean to visited with his anger, or to be
visited with his blessings. (Isaiah 26:14; Psalm 65:9) Since Yahweh's anger had already
been expressed upon those shut up in prison at Armageddon, their being "visited" after
many days would have to signify that they would then be released from the prison and have
the opportunity to respond to the blessings that will then be upon the earth during the
thousand year reign of Christ. - Revelation 20:11-15;21:1-4.
(48) Will there be any, then, who will suffer eternal destruction at Armageddon? There
may be some, though we cannot say with a definite certainty on this. If there be any living
who have accepted of the favor of God though Jesus, and then willingly, totally reject that
which they accepted, such as these would have been released from the wrath upon man
through Adam, and but their willful and total rejection Jesus would condemn them to the
second death. Therefore, if any of these should be upon the earth at Armageddon, they
would die, but not the same kind of death that comes from the wrath of God because of
inherited sin. No, these must suffer eternal destruction for their own willful sinful
condition. They once knew God and the good news. They no longer know God and have
not obeyed the Good News. Having already been "made alive" once, and having given up that
new life up, they no longer can be made alive again, since there are no more sacrifice for
sins. Such living at the time of Armageddon we would expect to suffer eternal destruction.
But we do not believe that there are many, if any, living at the present time who are of this class.
(51) Will these come back in the resurrection day? Yes! The Greek word corresponding to
Sheol is Hades. The scriptures definitely tell us that all in Hades (Sheol-Bowr) will be raised
for individual judgment in the judgment day. "And the sea gave up the dead which were in
it; and death and hades delivered up the dead which were in them; and they were judged
every person according to their works."- Revelation 20:13
(52) Some have claimed that Isaiah 24:21-22 refers to the lineage of kings that was
destroyed when Jerusalem was destroyed by Nebucadnezzar. However, these verses could
not apply to the destruction of Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar: it speaks of the kings of the
ground [the earth]. It has never been fulfilled. No reference at all is made to Jerusalem until
the last verse of this chapter. There it shows that this is fulfilled at the time when Yahweh
reigns on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem. This can only refer to the end of this age when
Yahweh takes his rule through the Lord Jesus, as Jesus begins his rule in the midst of his
enemies. (Psalm 110:2; Revelation 11:15,17) It would take a lot of twisting of scripture to
try to apply this to the destruction of Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar.***
(53) Notice how Isaiah 24:21-22 corresponds to Revelation 19:17,18: I saw also an angel
standing in the sun, and he cried out with a loud voice and said to all the birds that fly in
midheaven: "Come here, be gathered together to the great evening meal of God, that you
may eat the fleshly parts of kings and the fleshly parts of military commanders and the
fleshly parts of strong mean and the fleshly parts of horses and of those seated upon them,
and fleshly parts of all, of freemen as well as slaves and of small ones and great."
(54) Revelation 20:12 shows that the 'small and great' return for the day of judgment. The
expression used here, "small and great", is similar to that used in Revelation 19:17,18,
indicating that the 'small ones and great' who die in Armageddon are brought back for
judgment during the resurrection day: And I saw the dead, the great and small, standing
before the throne, and scrolls were opened. (Isaiah 29:18;24) But another scroll was
opened; it is the scroll of life. And the dead were judged out of those things written in the
scrolls according to their deeds. - Revelation 20:12.
(55) The next scripture also corresponds: The nations have sunk down into the pit
[Hebrew, shachath, trap] that they have made; In the net they hid, their own foot has been
caught. Jehovah is known by the judgment he has executed. By the activity of his own
hands the wicked one has been ensnared. Wicked people will turn back [retreat - Strong] to
Sheol, even all the nations forgetting God. (Psalm 9:15-17) The wicked nations are still
around, so this has not yet been fulfilled. Those in Sheol/Hades will return for judgment in
the day of judgment: And the sea gave up those dead in them, and death and Hades gave
up those dead in them, and they were judged individually, according to their deeds. -
Revelation 20:13.
(56) And the scriptures also indicate that favorable conditions prevail when the nations are
judged. With my soul I have desired you in the night [the present night of darkness and
sin]; yes, with my spirit within me I keep looking for you; because, when there are
judgments from you for the earth, righteousness is what [what is right] the inhabitants of
the productive land [the earth - footnote] will certainly learn. Though the wicked one [those
who prove to be wicked in the day of judgment] be shown favor [even though he has been
given every opportunity in the day of judgment], he simply will not learn righteousness. In
the land of straightforwardness [when the vail of darkness covering the earth is lifted and
there will be no misleadings from Satan - Isaiah 25:6; Revelation 20:3] he will act unjustly
and will see the eminence of Jehovah." - Isaiah 26:9,10.
(57) The world of mankind, including its rulers, being deceived and blinded by Satan, are
not even permitted to see the truth at the present time. If they could understand, then most
would probably be different than they are. The apostle Paul agrees with this: We speak
God's wisdom in a sacred secret, the hidden wisdom, which God foreordained before the
systems of things for our glory. This wisdom not one of the rulers of this system of things
came to know, for if they had known it they would not have impaled the glorious Lord. - 1
Corinthians 2:7,8.
(58) The time for the world to understand the truth is not yet, for Satan has not yet been
bound. At the present time, no one comes to Jesus except that the Father calls him. The
kingdom message in this world is only to those who have ears to hear. (Matthew 13:10,11)
The true purpose of the Armageddon destruction upon the wicked is so that they may
know who Yahweh is. (Psalm 83:17-18) If they are gone forever they will never know who
he is. The only way that they could know is through the resurrection of the dead in the day
of Judgment. - John 5:28,29; Ezekiel 16:53-59: Matthew 11:24.
(59) What would it mean if Yahweh did eternally destroyed the billions of men, women
and children who are now blinded by Satan and unable to see the truth? Billions of
children would be eternally destroyed without ever having even a remote chance. And
millions would be eternally destroyed who are still blinded by Satan, or who have never
heard the truth. What a reproach such a teaching is to his name! And yet the claim made
by the leaders of the "Jehovah's witnesses" organization that they and those who follow
them are the only ones on earth truly honoring God's name! How well Isaiah speaks to his
people concerning such leaders: Hear the word of Jehovah, you men who are trembling at
his word: "Your brothers that are hating you by reason of my name, said, 'May Jehovah
be glorified!' He must also appear with rejoicing on your part, and they are the ones that
will be put to shame." - Isaiah 66:5.
(60) If you are with the Watchtower organization, do you really believe that the billions of
children, many of whom are starving and greatly suffering, will be eternally destroyed
along with their parents simply because they are blinded at present? This teaching in no
way honors God's name, but is rather a blasphemy against his name! It would be better to
be alone in this world and rejoice in the truth about Yahweh than trade this truth for
anything. (Proverbs 23:23; Matthew 10:24-27) The idea of an "organization" of millions of
people is comforting to the flesh, but does very little for the spirit of truth. (Romans
8:14-18,9) Let each decide! If you wish to continue being men-pleasers, so be it. (Galatians
1:10) But as for us, we are taking our stand for Yahweh and his Son Jesus. - Joshua
24:14,15.
(61) If the worldly people will not be eternally destroyed at Armageddon, how do we
explain 2 Thessalonians 1:7,8? First of all, we must look at any scripture in connection both
with its context and the Bible as a whole, and not as an isolated scripture. Earlier in this
publication, we present much evidence that the destruction at Armageddon will be the
culmination of God's wrath upon man inherited through Adam, and not the second death.
Therefore the destruction at Armageddon will not be the eternal destruction. With this
thought, let us look at the scripture from its contextual setting and we can see that it is not
referring to the eternal destruction of those who do not know God in the present age, but
rather of the next age.
(62) We will quote 2 Thessalonians 1:3-10 from Green's King James II Version, 4th edition,
in order to see if we can get a clearer picture of what the apostle was speaking of here as he
writes to the Christians at Thessalonica. "Brothers, we are bound to give thanks to God
always concerning you, even as it is right, because your faith grows exceedingly, and the
love of each one of you all multiplies toward one another, so as for us to boast ourselves in
you in the churches of God for your patience and faith in all your persecutions, and the
afflictions which you endure, a clear token of the just judgment of God, for you to be
counted worthy of the kingdom of God, for which you indeed suffer, since it is a just thing
with God to repay affliction to the ones afflicting you; and to you, those being afflicted, rest
with us at the revelation of the Lord Jesus from Heaven with angels of His power, in
flaming fire giving full vengeance to those not knowing God, and to those not obeying the
gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ, who will pay the penalty of eternal destruction from the
face of the Lord, and from the glory of His strength, when He comes to be glorified in His
saints, and to be admired in all those who believe in that Day, because our testimony to you
was believed."
(63) We believe, with others, that the parousia or coming of our Lord is invisible, and that
the parousia begins before the Millennial era. Those who use 2 Thessalonians 1:7,8 to prove
that certain ones who are blinded by Satan will suffer eternal destruction at Armageddon
presuppose that the expression "when he comes (Greek, erkomai)" (verse 10) and "at the
revelation (Greek, apokalupsis) of the Lord Jesus" (verse 7) as used in these verses are
limited to our pre-Millennial time, to Christ's pre-millennial parousia "presence."
However, the scriptures do not limit the term apokalupsis to the pre-Millennial era. The
time of the final revealing of the sons of God is also referred to as the period of His
revelation. In Romans 8:18-23 the revelation (apokalupsis) is very evidently referring to the
Millennial revelation and the post-millennial revelation when the creation, the world of
mankind who proves themselves faithful, will "be delivered from the bondage of corruption
into the glorious liberty of the children of God. - Revelation 21:7.
(64) But let us suppose for a moment that the period of time spoken of here is
pre-Millennial, that the persecutors of the Church would be dealt everlasting destruction
before the Millennial era begins. What would this mean? It would mean that those
persecutors of the Church spoken of in verse 6 would have to be brought back to life either
before or during the "great tribulation" so that they could be eternally destroyed at that
time. This is the only logical conclusion that we could possibly reach from the way the
scripture is written, if we view the eternal destruction to come upon those in opposition as
occurring before the Millennium. The scriptures tell us however, that God will reserve the
wicked under punishment [of death through Adam] until the day of judgment and
destruction of ungodly men. (2 Peter 2:9) The day of judgment, as we have shown
elsewhere, is the entire thousand year reign of Christ. It is during this period that the
persecutors of the Church are brought back to life to face judgment and possible eternal
destruction. The purpose of their reservation, we are told, is to give them all opportunity to
believe "in that day." (2 Thessalonians 2:10) Thus in the day of judgment many will repent
and believe, thus escaping the eternal destruction of the ungodly that comes after the day of
judgment.
(65) Accordingly verse 10 tells explicitly what time period is referred to - "in that day." It
also tells us that "in that day" many will believe. These believers are not those who come to
believe in this present evil world for the present-day believers are set in contrast to those
come to believe "in that day." Also the fact that it is in the time "when He [Jesus] comes to
be glorified in His saints, and to be admired in all those who believe in that day" shows
that this is the same time spoken of in Romans 8:19-21. This clearly identifies the
Millennial era as the time period for the fulfillment of this prophecy.
(66) Jesus showed that for those who opposed him the day of judgment will be a period of
tribulation. He told those who would not listen to him: "But I say to you, that it will be
more tolerable for the land of Sodom in the day of judgment than for you." (Matthew
11:24. See our publications: Hope of Life After Death and The Restoration of All Things;
also see: The Divine Plan of the Ages, pages 108-112 ) The Millennium, though it will a time
of blessing, will also be a time of purging. It will be easier for the people of Sodom to repent
than for those who saw and heard Jesus, yet opposed him. These will find it hard to repent
in the judgment day due to the hardness of their hearts.
(67) Many of these will be so hardened that they will refuse to repent, thus never coming to
know God, in the sense of heart agreement with God, while others will refuse to obey the
Good News, the books that will then be opened. Both classes bring upon themselves, not the
wrath of God as inherited from Adam, but rather the wrath of God that results in the
second death. Thus Jesus asks the religious Scribes and Pharisees who opposed him: "How
shall you escape the judgment of Gehenna?" - the second death. (Matthew 23:33) In asking
this, he was not saying that they were already under this condemnation and therefore could
not escape from it, as many have supposed. Rather, he is just stating the difficulty they will
have in the next age of overcoming their hypocrisy in the day of judgment. That some of
this class can repent is shown to us by the apostle Paul, who at one time was Saul, a zealous
Pharisee in opposing the early Christians. - Acts 8:1-3; 9:1-22; 22:3-17; 23:6.
(68) We conclude, then, that the eternal destruction of 2 Thessalonians applies to the
Millennial era and not to the present era.
Psalm 92:7
(69) Another scripture often used to try to teach eternal destruction at Armageddon is
Psalm 92:7. "Though the wicked spring up as the grass, And all the evil-doers flourish, They will be destroyed forever." Doesn't this definitely show that the wicked are eternally destroyed at
Armageddon?
(70) No, because the Hebrew word translated forever -- gad -- does not always mean forever or everlastingly. It all depends on which way the Hebrew word gad is used. Most translations
render this passage somewhat like the Jerusalem Bible: "The wicked may sprout as thick as
weeds and every evildoer flourish, but only to be everlastingly destroyed." Here the word
gad is translated "everlastingly," as an adverb modifying destroyed. Other translations,
including the New World Translation, translates gad as "forever" - 'be destroyed forever.'
From this it would make it appear that this scripture supports the claim of some that all
outside their organization will be eternally destroyed at Armageddon. But a closer
examination of the text will show that it does not support the claim.
(71) "Forever" is only one of the meanings that the Hebrew word has. According to Strong
gad means: "a (peremptory) terminus, i.e., (by impl.) duration, in the sense of advance or
perpetuity (substantially as a noun, either with or without a prep.)" The word "terminus"
means: "the final point or goal." (Funk & Wagnalls Standard Desk Dictionary, 1984
edition) Thus we find that gad is translated various ways, depending on the circumstances
and/or the translator's understanding of how it should be translated. For instance, in Job
20:4 the word gad is used, not in the sense of forever, but only to a certain point. "Knowest
thou not this of old [gad], since man was placed upon earth." Here the King James
Versiontranslates gad as "old," not "forever." The point to which the term reaches is
explained in the next phrase: "since man was placed upon earth." The New World
Translation renders this way: "Have you at all times [gad] known this very thing, since man
was put upon the earth." This gives it the sense of perpetuity.
(72) Another rendering of gad is found in Numbers 24:24, the latter part: "They will lay
waste Assyria; they will lay Eber waste; he too shall perish utterly [gad]." (New English
Bible) The New World Translation renders this sentence: "An they will certainly afflict
Assyria, and they will indeed afflict Eber. But he too will eventually [gad] perish."
(73) So we see that it depends upon the translator's understanding many times that will
influence how this word is translated. We would, therefore, want to translate it in accord
with the rest of the Bible and in harmony with Yahweh's attributes. Since Yahweh's justice
has been satisfied through the ransom of our Lord Jesus, then it would not be in harmony
with his justice to destroy the wicked without first bringing them out of their estranged
condition. Nor would it be in harmony with Yahweh's love. Or else it would deny his power
to do so.
(74) Our rendering, therefore, of Psalm 92:6,7 is as follows: "A brutish man does not
know, a fool does not understand this: the wicked flourish like grass; and all the evildoers
blossom. But eventually [gad] they will be destroyed." This agrees with Psalm 90:3 which
tells us that though Yahweh has turned man to destruction, he will also have mankind to
return from destruction. Additionally, it agrees with 1 Corinthians 15:22 which tells us that
"in Adam all are dying." All mankind has been on the broad road to destruction ever since
Adam disobeyed Yahweh. This destruction would have been eternal had it not been for the
ransom sacrifice of Jesus. Consequently, "as in Adam all are dying, so in Christ shall all be
made alive." Accordingly the scripture in Psalm 92:7 should not be rendered so as to make
it appear that the wicked who have been released from this condemnation will suffer
eternal destruction.
(75) Nevertheless, if one insists that gad here means eternal, the scripture can only be viewed as applying to the entire period of man's two judgments, beginning with the judgment in Adam and ending final destruction of the wicked at the end of the millennial age. (Revelation 20:7-10) Otherwise, if this scripture should be applied to the idea that the wicked are not raised in the last day, then there would be no resurrection of judgment, and there would be no resurrection of the just. (John 5:28,29; Acts 17:31) There would be no futher judgment of the unbeliever in the last day, as Jesus spoke of. (John 12:47,48) It would additionally mean that Jesus' sacrifice was for the saints only, and not for the world. (1 John 2:2) Indeed, it would mean that there has been no offsetting price for all who are dying in Adam at all, but rather that Jesus only died for a few who are dying in Adam. -- 1 Corinthians 15:21,22; Romans 5:12-19; 1 Timothy 2:5,6.
The Sheep and Goats
Matthew 25:31-46
(76) Christian people have held various views of the parable of the sheep and goats, some
claiming that the parable has been in process of fulfillment ever since Christ was on the
earth and that it will be finished at the second coming of Christ. This view is shown to be
erroneous by the first verse of the parable, which definitely locates the time of its
fulfillment. It begins during the time of the second advent of Christ, as is clearly intimated
by the words: "When the Son of man will come in his glory, and all his holy angels with
him, then he will sit down on his glorious throne; and all nations will be gathered before
him." These momentous events have not yet occurred, and consequently the parable still
belongs to the future.
(77) Another interpretation given to the parable by some is that at the second advent of
Christ, on the very day of his arrival, all the billions of the dead will come forth and,
together with the living, will all arrange themselves before Jesus, and that during that
24-hour day he, as the great King, will separate the sheep class from the goat class,
gathering all the sheep to the right hand and all the goats to the left hand.
(78) This interpretation is not very satisfactory to anybody because, first, it implies that
Jesus will not have already made any determination as respects those who are his and those
who are not. (John 10:14) If we fit this interpretation to the usual but erroneous teaching
that all the dead are either in heaven with God and the angels or in some nether world with
demons and flames, it would imply that they were dealt with before they were judged. It
further implies that some who had gone to heaven and been there for centuries should have
been in the other place, and other who had possibly gone to the other place by mistake
should have gone to heaven, and this parable shows the time and manner in which Jesus
will finally determine as to whether or not any serious mistakes had occurred and endeavor
to rectify them. Moreover this view supposes God to be fallible, or else supposes a gathering
of millions from heaven and hell to this earth again for no particular purpose, merely for a
spectacular display which could alter nothing. This view as a whole is farcical, for it would
be absurd to think of any kind of a judgment of the whole world or a separative gathering
into two companies all over the earth in a 24-hour day. True, this is the prevailing view,
but that proves nothing as respects its truthfulness or its reasonableness. It is to the
discredit of theologians in general that any could entertain such a thought for a moment, or
suppose that the Almighty and his glorified Son would participate in such a useless sham.
(79) A more recent view has been presented by some. In the latter 1800s and early 1900s, a
small group of Bible students under the leadership of Charles T. Russell taught very similar
to what we are here presenting. However, in the 1920s, after the death of Russell, "Judge"
Rutherford began to form a new organization. To induce others to submit to this
"organization," he brought forth a new teaching to cause fear in all in the "Bible
Students" fellowship. A great many of the "old-time" Bible students, wanting to hold on
the "ransom for all", found themselves "disfellowshiped" by Rutherford and his agents.
Basically, the new idea was that all who oppose Judge Rutherford's new teachings would be
of the "goat" class and all who agreed with his doctrine would be of the "sheep" class. All
then, who would not bow to his teachings, would be eternally destroyed in the Battle of
Armageddon. Thus he set up a "golden calf" (organization) for all under his influence to
worship.
(80) The Watchtower leaders little by little left the teaching that the sheep in this parable
are the Millennial sheep. In time the Watchtower began to teach that these sheep are the
"great multitude" who pass through Armageddon and that the goats are all others who are
destroyed at Armageddon. However, this interpretation cannot follow through. Why not?
Because, as we have shown, the individual judgment of the world is not yet. The time when
the nations (Gentiles - Hebrew gowy, Greek, ethnos) are gathered for individual judgment
is during the Millennial reign of Jesus. All who belong to Christ in this age come "out of"
the nations (Gentiles). Remember that Jesus said: "I am coming as a light into the world,
that whosoever believes in me should not remain in darkness. And if any man hears my
words, and does not believe, I do not judge him. For I did not come to judge the world, but
to save the world. He that rejects me, and does not receive my words, has one that judges
him - the words that I have spoken, the same will judge him in the last day." (John
12:46-48) To say that God is judging individuals of the nations - the nonbelievers - now for
eternal life or eternal death when he wasn't when Jesus was here on the earth is beyond
reason. Today the world is filled with more deceptions, more corruptions, and more
confusion than ever before. Of all generations, the present generation should be considered
the foremost generation in need of being liberated from its darkness and receiving the light
of truth. Yet the present stand of the Watchtower would deny this. In the Watchtower book,
You Can Live Forever in Paradise on Earth, we find this statement: "After Armageddon no
part of this wicked world will remain. Only persons who serve God will continue to live."
(page 155) While we could agree with this statement as it stands, the application of the
sheep and goats to the present age would mean that all who fail to understand, believe, or
obey the Watchtower teachings are going off into eternal destruction, which we deny. On
page 183 of the same Watchtower book we read:
(81) "Will you be there to enjoy the good things that Jehovah God has in store? This will
depend on whether you survive an earlier judgment day, namely the present 'day of
judgment and of destruction of the ungodly men.' - 2 Peter 3:7.
(82) "Yes, since Christ returned and sat down on his heavenly throne, all humankind has
been on judgment. This present 'day of judgment' comes before the 1,000-year Judgment
Day as 'goats' will be destroyed because they fail to help Christ's anointed 'brothers' in
their service to God. In time, these 'goats' show themselves to be unrepentant sinners,
wicked, hardened in their practice of unrighteousness. The 'sheep,' on the other hand, will
be blessed with life under the Kingdom rule because they support Christ's 'brothers' in
every way. - Matthew 25:31-46."
(83) Thus is laid the groundwork for obtaining the absolute obedience of unwary
newcomers to their organization. On page 193 of the same book it is claimed that their
organization is headed by a few of Christ's "brothers" who have been appointed as the
"faithful and discreet slave class." (Matthew 24:45-47)
(84) "On his return in Kingdom power in the year 1914, did Christ find a 'faithful and
discreet slave' class providing spiritual 'food,' or information? Yes, he found such a 'slave'
made up of the remaining ones on earth of his 144,000 'brothers.' (Revelation 12:10;
14:1,3) And since 1914 millions of persons have accepted the 'food' they provide, and have
begun practicing true religion with them. This organization of God's servants is known as
Jehovah's witnesses."
(85) Imagine now how those who know nothing, or very little, of the truth about the
ransom could easily become frightened into obedience to these religious leaders! But does
the Watchtower present the correct understanding of the parable of the "sheep and goats?"
No. The gathering of the nations (Gentiles) to be judged individually takes place by
restoring them to life so that they may be judged, not by their past works, but by their
works as related to the books that will then be opened. (Revelation 20:11-13). It is not the
gathering of nations that takes place at Armageddon for the executing of God's judgment
as begun upon man through Adam. "'Therefore wait for me,' says Yahweh, 'until the day I
rise up for plunder, my determination is to gather the nations, to my assembly of kingdoms,
to pour on them my indignation, all my fierce anger. All the earth will be devoured with the
fire of my jealousy." (Zephaniah 3:8) This is just before or at the beginning of the
1,000-year reign of Jesus, when God executes judgment upon all the ungodly. This same
period is when the day of Yahweh comes as a thief upon the world. The execution of
judgment at that time is to convince the ungodly of their sins, thus indicating that their
destruction is not eternal but rather for the purpose of disciplining. (Jude 1:15; 2 Peter
3:7,10) It is during this transition period that Satan's world is destroyed. It is not until
after the destruction of this present evil world that Yahweh 'turns to the peoples a pure
language.' (Zephaniah 3:9) The Watchtower leaders have to admit that the nations of the
world are still being blinded by Satan. (2 Corinthians 4:4) It is not until after Satan is
bound and the veil of blindness is removed that it can truly be said that the nations have
received a pure language. (Isaiah 25:6-7; Revelation 20:3) And the method of gathering the
nations at that time will be through the awakening of the dead, in the day when many will
be turned to righteousness. - Revelation 20:11-13; Daniel 12:2,3.
(86) And thus we have the proper setting for the judgment of the sheep and the goats. The
"sheep" of the parable are not the sheep of the present age, whom the Master knows and
who know the Master. (John 10:14) Rather these are the "other sheep" who are not of the
fold that recognize the Master in the present age. They are brought forth out of death.
These become the sheep of the next age. These do not inherit a place in the ruling house of
God, but do inherit the kingdom prepared from the founding of the world, the kingdom
that was prepared for Adam and which he lost. (Matthew 25:34; Genesis 1:28; Psalm
8:3-8; Hebrews 2:6-8) These inherit these promises, not after Armageddon, but after the
final eternal destruction of the wicked which takes place after the thousand-year reign of
Christ, the day which God has appointed "in which he will judge the world in
righteousness." - Revelation 20:7-9; Psalm 37:9-11; Acts 17:31.
(87) The work of individual judgment here described is upon those of the nations, that is,
those outside Yahweh's favor. Thus Jesus describes the work of the Millennial Age: "All
nations will be gathered before him." The "great multitude" of Revelation 7 cannot be
included in the parable of the sheep and goats. Why not? Because they come "out of"
(Greek ek) the nations (Gentiles) and become God's people during the present evil world.
They are part of God's "called-out" class, who become part of his church during the great
tribulation. The people of the nations who do not become part of the "great multitude"
simply remain under God's wrath as placed upon them through Adam. (John 3:36) After
Armageddon's destruction, the light will then shine upon all nations (Gentiles) as they are
gathered from the grave. (John 5:28,19) Then all the blind eyes will be opened, all the deaf
ears will be unstopped, and the knowledge of the glory of Yahweh will fill the whole earth. -
Isaiah 35; 11:9.
(88) We might be inclined to think that, with all the blessed favors, privileges,
opportunities and knowledge which the Millennial Age will bring to the world, the whole
human family would develop into sheep. But the parable teaches to the contrary. There will
be some who, even after their eyes and ears will have been opened to see and appreciate
something of Yahweh's goodness, will still fail to develop that measure of loving obedience
and accord with righteousness which would have his approval. They do not receive the
mark as sheep which would entitle them under the divine arrangement at the close of the
Millennial Age to be ushered into the everlasting Kingdom of God.
(89) It is our conclusion that the gathering to judgment will be a gradual one, not all at the
same moment, not all on the same day, not all in the same year. All nations will be
gathered, however, including the nations destroyed in Armageddon's battle. Gradually,
more and more they will be gathered from the tomb, until all the race will be assembled
excepting those who have been favored in advance during this Good News Age. All will see
the King in his beauty. All will discern that they are living under the reign of Immanuel.
All will realize that the clouds and darkness of this present time of evil, of sin, of Satan,
have rolled away and a new dispensation has been inaugurated. Then it will no longer be
necessary to suffer for righteousness' sake but only for evil doing. The work of separating
will be a gradual one, and will not be fully completed until the close of the Millennial Age.
Each member of Adam's race will have a full opportunity for not only receiving instruction
in righteousness, but for making his personal decision as respects the same. In other words,
each will have an opportunity for the development of personal attributes in God-likeness.
Those who refuse or neglect the opportunity for formation into God-likeness prove
themselves unworthy of everlasting life and will be amongst the goats, while all who will
develop true God-like attributes will be amongst the sheep.
(90) It will be the work of the entire Millennial Age to bring this about. Righteousness will
reign then, as sin reigns now. That is to say, it will be in control, in the ascendancy; and
whosoever would want to sin then will suffer promptly. Hence all the nations will be
avoiding sin. Then the world in general will be a grand place, where "nothing will hurt or
destroy"; where "the inhabitant will not say: 'I am sick'"; where the curse will be
gradually rolled away, and there will be no more crying, no more sighing, no more dying;
and where the blessing of God, bring perfection, will prevail. "Oh happy day!" we exclaim.
And surely it will be such; for all who live through those thousand years will have a great
blessing. - Psalm 72:7; Isaiah 11:9; 33:24; 65:25; Revelation 22:3; 21:4.
The Law of Retribution
(91) But, some inquire, what about the sins of the world? Will there be no chastisements,
no punishments, for these? We answer that it will be equally just for God to forgive the sins
of the world for Christ's sake as it has been just for him to forgive the sins of the disciples
of this age for Christ's sake. If the one is just, so will be the other. God is no respecter of
persons, and is equally as willing to forgive the sins of the world as the sins of the disciples
of Jesus, when the those of the world, repenting from sin, will turn from it, and accept
Christ as their Redeemer.
(92) This does not mean, however, that justice is to be ignored. In the case of the disciples
of Jesus today, note how the sins of youth may leave their scar and sting to the end of life.
The disciples of Jesus in this age may have to continue to fight against tendencies he has
acquired or inherited until the day he dies. And so we may reasonably assume that certain
stripes, or punishments, will be permitted to follow the world in just the same manner.
They will return with the same traits, tendencies, etc., with which they died. The liar will
still be prone to lie; the thief will still have a desire to steal; etc. It will be from these
weaknesses and frailties that they will be gradually raised up to perfection during these
blessed thousand years of Christ's kingdom, when Satan will be bound and not permitted
to deceive any during that period. - Isaiah 26:9; Revelation 20:3.
(93) But what about the heart condition? If conformity to the divine law in an outward
way will bring blessings to all, will there not still be a difference between the people - some
coming heartily into accord with the Father, and others merely outwardly into harmony,
because this outward harmony will be the way to restoration, perfection?
(94) Undoubtedly this is the correct reasoning. It is along this line that the parable before
us teaches; namely, that outwardly the "sheep" and the "goats" will have much the same
appearance and demeanor, except to the Judge, the King, who will read the heart and
ultimately will manifest to all that there has been a real heart difference between the two
classes, all of whom will have been on trial during the thousand years, receiving blessings
from the kingdom.
The Basis of Judgment
(95) All the while each individual will be more and more learning how to obey God's law,
some ingraining this law in their hearts while others only learn to refrain from sins of
violation toward others. Their true character will be fully appreciated by the great Judge,
and the individual will be rated as a "sheep" or as a "goat." All the sheeplike ones will thus
be received at the right hand of Jesus. All the goatlike ones will be rated as out of favor
with Yahweh, even though all the while they will be receiving the blessings of the Millennial
kingdom and outwardly rendering obedience to its laws.
(96) Not until the conclusion of the Millennium will the decision of the Judge be
manifested. To the "sheep" at his right hand he will say: "Come, you blessed of my Father,
inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world." (Matthew 25:34)
When God laid the foundation of the earth it was his design to have it inhabited with
perfect, happy humans. (Isaiah 45:12,18) This is not the same kingdom as the Messianic
kingdom. On the contrary, it is the kingdom which God gave to Adam, which Adam lost
through his disobedience and which Christ redeemed by the sacrifice of himself. (Genesis
1:26; Psalm 8:4-8; Hebrews 2:7-9) It will be given to those who will have developed
complete Godlikeness - those who have become the Lord's "other sheep" during the
Millennium. - John 10:16.
(97) Then the other class, the goats of the parable, will be sentenced: "Depart, you cursed
ones, into everlasting punishment." Granted all the privileges, blessings and experiences
during the thousand years of contact with righteousness, truth and the spirit of God, these,
though they had rendered an outward obedience in refraining from sins of violation, but at
heart they had not come into harmony with God. They will, therefore, not be recognized as
"sheep." Failing in developing pure Godlikeness they cannot be presented to the Father as
blameless and incorruptible. They will have to be destroyed. This punishment, however, the
final vengeance of God, is the second death, "everlasting destruction." (2 Thessalonians
1:8,9) Their penalty is an everlasting one because there will be no further provision made
for their redemption or for a resurrection from the second death. They will have failed
utterly to appreciate the goodness of God and to develop into his likeness. Eternal life is
only for those who have God's likeness and God's spirit. 'The Father is seeking such to
worship him in spirit and truth.' - John 4:23.
(98) Both classes, the "sheep" and the "goats," are told the basis of his judgment. To the
sheep he will say: "I was hungry, and you gave me food. I was thirsty, and you gave me
drink. I was a stranger, and you took me in; naked, and you clothed me. I was sick, and
you visited me. I was in prison, and you came to me." To the goat class he says: "I was
hungry, and you did not give me food. I was thirsty, and you did not give me drink. I was a
stranger, and you did not take me in; naked, and you did not clothe me; sick, and in
prison, and you did not visit me." - Matthew 25:35,36,42,43.
(99) Both the "sheep" and "goat" will claim that they had no knowledge of any such
experiences. Each asked: When did we do these things, or not do these things? Exactly how
this has a fulfillment we will have to wait and see. However, Jesus' reply will be: "Inasmuch
as you have done [or have not done] it to one of the least of these my brothers, you have
done [or not done] it unto me." - Matthew 25:40,45.
The "Brothers" Of Christ
(100) Who are these "brothers" respecting whom there will be a test upon the sheep class
and upon the goat class? Will there be people sick, hungry and in prison during the
Millennium? Does the Lord wish us to understand that there will be such things then? We
have, on the contrary, always assumed that sickness, poverty, hunger and prisons will then
be gone forever. What does it all mean?
(101) Let us explain. With the establishment of the kingdom all who come into harmony
with it will have the great privilege of doing something to help others. The world is blind
and starved now, for lack of spiritual food and the anointing eye-salve of truth. While the
Millennial blessings will be showered upon those who accept Yahweh's terms, there will be
others who will need assistance. Those who develop within themselves true love will be glad
to carry the heavenly message of reconciliation to all humanity, glad to apply the eye-salve
to the blind, glad to unstop the ears of the deaf, glad to help the sin-sick back into harmony
with God - helping them to cover their nakedness with the merit of Christ.
(102) All who will take pleasure in this work will thus be manifesting that they have God's
spirit and are co-laborers with him. All these will be the sheep. On the other hand, those
who will be careless in respect to their vow, and merely enjoy the Millennial blessings
themselves, will be of the goat class and will thus be marking themselves as a "goat."
Correspondingly they will be out of favor with the great King of kings, their Judge, the
Lord of glory.
(103) Those now sitting in darkness will then be invited to come out of the prison house of
darkness. (Isaiah 42:7) When the world is awakened, they will still be sitting in darkness.
They will need to be "visited" while yet in this prison so that they may be enlightened and
thus be released from that prison house. The "sheep" class will be happy to "visit" these
new ones coming forth from the graves in order to assist them. The "goat" class will not be
interested in helping others.
(104) But how are these ones coming out of the graves Christ's "brothers?" Are not the
144,000 the only brothers of Christ? It is true that in a special way the 144,000 become
"brothers" to Jesus. But we note also that the apostles Peter and Paul as well as Stephen
referred to the Jewish people of their day as their "brothers." (Acts 3:12,17; 7:2;
13:16,26,38; 22:1; 23:1,5,6; 28:17; Romans 9:3) Additionally, Paul included the men of
Athens as "offspring of God." (Acts 22:28,29) And since the whole creation is to share in
the glorious liberty of the children of God, Jesus shared in the same as the children, that is,
"man" referred to in Hebrews 2:6-8, to whom was subjected all things. Man was given
dominion over all things in the beginning, but it was lost to him through Adam's
disobedience. Thus Hebrews 2:8 tells us that now we do not see all things put under him,
that is, mankind. Verses 9 and 14 tell us that Jesus shared the same as the children - the
offspring of God - mankind. Thus he is not ashamed to call them his "brothers," (verse 11)
"because the creation itself will also be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the
glorious liberty of the children of God." (Romans 8:21) To be released from this bondage
would indicate they will be led by God's spirit, thus becoming sons of God. (Romans
8:14,15) Thus in a broad sense all mankind could be called his brothers, since he partook of
the same humanity.
The Rewarding of the Sheep
(105) The rewarding of the sheep and the punishing of the goats will come at the close of
the Millennial Age. True, great blessings will be upon all during the Millennial Age, upon
each in proportion to his obedience to the divine standards, but only at the close of the age
will the full reward be granted. The reward to be granted to those "other sheep" will be the
kingdom which God prepared from the foundation of the world, from the time of Adam's
creation. That kingdom was given to Adam originally; he was the first king of earth while
in the image of his Creator. As it is written of him: "You [Yahweh] have made him a little
lower than the gods and crowned him with glory and honor. You made him to have
dominion over the works of your hands, you have put all things under his feet." - Psalm
8:5,6.
(106) By disobedience father Adam lost the rulership and power in his kingdom, and the
entire kingdom of God's earthly creation has suffered as a consequence. The reign of Christ
during the Millennium will be for the purpose of lifting up as many of mankind as will then
desire to come back into full harmony with Yahweh, lifting them up out of the mire of sin
and out the miry clay and horrible pit of sin and death, lifting them up to all that Adam
was before he sinned - to the image and likeness of their Creator. This the apostle Paul
designates This as the times of "restoration" (Acts 3:20,21), which he tells us takes place
during Christ's return.
(107) But even the obedient of mankind will not be fit to be entrusted with the kingdom of
the world until absolute perfection will have been reached, and the perfection of the race
will not be attained, as we have seen, until the end of the thousand-year day appointed for
the purpose. Then the worthy will be granted the kingdom of earth, the dominion under
the whole heavens. With this transfer of the earthly control to the perfect man at that time,
Christ's Millennial Kingdom or mediatorial Kingdom will end. In delivering the Kingdom
up to the perfect and worthy members of the race he will be delivering it up to the Father,
in full harmony with the Father's original arrangement, interfered with by original sin.
What the glories of this earth will be when man, the king of the earth, will be restored to
the image of his Creator, and when the earth itself will be filled with the glory of God, we
cannot begin to completely comprehend in our present state. We can only wonder and
praise and adore the loving God, whose provision has been so bountiful for every creature,
every member of the fallen race.
The Punishment of the Goats
(108) After the day of Judgment Satan will be loosed from his bonds for a short period of
time. (Revelation 20:7) It appears that then those of the goat class will show their true
colors as they follow Satan at that time. (Revelation 20:8) It is at this time that both goats
and sheep will come face-to-face with Yahweh, for at that time Jesus turns the Kingdom
over to the Father. (Revelation 20:8; 1 Corinthians 15:24) It is at the end of this short
intermediate period that the goats receive their punishment of "everlasting destruction." In
Revelation 20:8 they are pictured as being destroyed by fire that comes down from God out
of heaven. Revelation 21:8 speaks of them as 'cowardly and unbelieving, having become
foul, murderers, fornicators, sorcerers, idolaters, liars,' etc. These have their portion in the
second death represented by the "lake of fire." We do not believe that during this short
period of time when Satan is released that the goat class will actually be permitted to enter
into murder. But our thought is that by their hatred for their fellow-man they show that
they have murder in their hearts. (1 John 3:15) Exactly how all this will be fulfilled toward
the goat class during the short period of time Satan is let loose we do not presently know.
All we can see is that somehow Satan gets the goat class to follow him against God.
(109) We should note that while any sins they commit during the time of Satan's release
are added to their guilt, it is not for these sins that they sentenced to eternal destruction.
Their sentence to eternal destruction evidently occurs just at the close of the 1,000 year
reign of Christ. It appears to be delayed for only a short time as they depart into the
everlasting fire made ready for the devil and his angels. The eternal fire is the fire of God's
jealousy or anger, which burns against and destroys everything antagonistic to his
righteousness. (Zephaniah 1:18; 3:8) It is, of course, merely a figurative expression
representing the destructiveness of God's eternal jealousy for righteousness. At the end of
the Millennium it is made ready or prepared to destroy all in opposition to God. But they
are allowed a short period of time to prove their opposition. Therefore they are sentenced
sometime before they receive their punishment. They receive the sentence of eternal
destruction because of failure to develop the spirit of love, for love is the fulfilling of the
law. None can meet the divine approval except those whose sentiments will attain to the
degree of loving Yahweh with all their hearts, minds, being and strength, and their
neighbors as themselves. (Matthew 23:37-40; Romans 13:8; Galatians 5:14; 6:2) The sheep
of the Millennial Age, we may be sure, will attain to this love which God's law marks as the
proper measure of God-likeness. The goats of the Millennial Age, we may be equally sure,
will be the ones who will not have this God-likeness.
"Into Everlasting Punishment"
(110) The Greek word rendered "everlasting" is not as strong as our English word which
represents it. However, on this point we raise no question; it is the same word that is used
in referring to everlasting life which will be granted the sheep. It may be well, however, to
notice that life, being Yahweh's gift to the sheep, implies that no life will be given to the
goats - it thus implies the kind of punishment which the Scriptures describe, namely, a
death punishment, an extinction of life; and this will continue forever, as we have seen.
Hence while the punishment is everlasting, the punishment occurs only once and is over
with - it is not a continuance of punishment after punishment after punishment on and on
throughout eternity. Such would be eternal punishing, not an everlasting punishment.
All Creation Praises Yahweh
(111) With Satan and his demons as well as all the goat class destroyed, what a joyous
time all creation will then have! This final victory results in the exaltation of Yahweh as
described in Psalm 145:10: "All your works will praise you, O Yahweh!" The whole
universe will then be cleansed, so one could diligently seek to find a wicked person, and
there would be none. (Psalm 37:10) For "the meek will inherit the earth and delight
themselves in the abundance of peace." (Psalm 37:11) "Let everything that has breath
praise Yahweh!" (Psalm 150:6) What a happy time that will be then!
(112) Let us rejoice, then, in the Good News of God's Kingdom for the blessing of all
families of the earth, including the families now on the earth who are yet blinded by Satan.
If we want Yahweh's blessings now, we have to be obedient to Jesus and the Good News. If
we want Yahweh's favor during Armageddon, we have to actively believe upon Jesus. Jesus
has said: "Go, therefore, and make disciples from all nations, baptizing them in the name
of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things,
whatever I commanded you all the days until the completion of the age." Are you observing
this command to make disciples [students]? Jesus said: "This Good News of the kingdom
will be preached in all the world for a witness to all nations; and then the end will come."
(Matthew 24:14) Are you sharing in preaching the true good news of God's kingdom?
Who Will Preach the Good News
To All the World?
"The Good News of the Kingdom will be preached in all the earth,
for a witness to all nations; and then the end will come."
Matthew 24:14
(113) Notice the title of this section, Who Will Preach the Good News to All the World? It
indicates that this has not yet been done. True, Popular Christianity had distributed Bibles
in almost every nation and island of the world. The Bible does contain that Good News.
And they often take great pride in claiming conversions to Christ. But are they actually
preaching the Good News? While it is good and we believe providential that the Bible,
containing the Good News, has been widely distributed, most of these Bibles are being read
through the eyes of the traditions of the popular doctrines. The missionaries of the popular
type of Christianity have carried with them, not the true Good News of God's Kingdom
that will bless all the families of the earth, but a false imitation thereof. (See our
publications: Understanding Kingdom Mysteries and The Restoration of All Things).
(114) The Watchtower leaders claim that their "organization" is fulfilling this prophecy.
But in general are those associated with this organization really preaching the "good
news"? No! While there may be a few associated with the organization who might be trying
to preach the truth, most just echo what their leaders preach: which is to the effect that those who continue in rejection of their message will be eternally destroyed during the "great tribulation" or at the battle of Armageddon. This is not the Good News of the Kingdom! It is a false "good news" that dishonors Yahweh's name. It makes Yahweh appear to be unwilling to honor the satisfaction of justice that his Son died for, therefore making him seem to be not trustworthy. He is made to appear similar to the gods that have been worshiped in the past, and are still be worshiped (although not so outwardly). However, the true Good News, as we have already shown, declares the excellency of Yahweh's name and word.
(115) Indeed, the Watchtower adherents are greatly involved in preaching. They are very
zealous for their message, for they feel that it is up to them to "save" as many as possible
from eternal destruction at Armageddon. But this is not the true Good News of the
Kingdom. What they are proclaiming is actually a profanation of God's holy name.
(116) What, then, about our brothers in the Bible Student movement who are more or less holding to Brother Russell's teachings? We count ourselves as part of this movement. Aren't the Bible Students preaching the Good News of the Kingdom? To a limited degree, yes, but there is much room for improvement. The work of the Bible Students can be found in all continents. However, many countries have no Bible Students in them at all. Various classes could get together to send missionaries to other countries. Yahweh has evidently used the Bible Students to preserve various truths, especially the "ransom for all" teaching. While it is true that through various means of media, each individual should not only feel it a responsibility, but as a privilege to personally declare the Good News. In general, many of our brothers in the movement are hindered from actively preaching because of the belief that the work is over or almost over. According to the viewpoint of many, the general call is to joint-heirship, and thus they give little consideration to the actual general call to repentance toward God through faith in Jesus, which brings one to the reckoning of a new creature in Christ, but on the reckoned level of the earthly glory, not the heavenly glory. (See our studies: "With What Body Will We Be Raised?" and "The Manner of the Resurrection".) Since it reckoned that there are only 144,000 who are to receive the highest honor of joint-heirship, they believe that there is not much more that can be done. These need to be taught to see the need to organize and implement an effectual expansion program of witnessing, and follow-up teaching. "Where there is no vision, the people perish." (Proverbs 29:18) There needs to be a general encouragement for each one who is able to enter into some form of the house-to-house work. Bible Students also need to take more seriously their stewardship to Jesus as most are hindered by continuance in what at least appears to many to be idolatrous practices, such displaying the Tau (Cross), tree and "Santa" worship (Christmas), phallic worship (Valentine's Day, Easter), etc. Many of the Jehovah's Witnesses, Assemblies of Yahweh, etc., would probably be more inclined to associate with Bible Students' groups, but when they go into a group of Bible Students and see the cross and crown symbol, the cross being sung to in praise, etc., they are turned off and stumbled from seeking further truth. (1 Corinthians 8:9) Some of our brothers almost immediately start preaching Brother Russell in such a manner that new person is made to feel he has to bind himself with Brother Russell to associate with the groups, thus they do not return. Better to simply stay with preaching Jesus and the truths of the ransom. Our prayers are for our brothers, that Yahweh will give them a spirit to praise him, that they might be used to fulfill the prophecy of preaching the Kingdom to every nation. - See our publications: The True Meaning of the Cross, Idolatry Provokes Yahweh's Anger and
(117) Who, then, will preach this Good News? If you are a true Bible Student, a disciple of Jesus, you should be preaching this Good News. It is given to those who understand it to
proclaim it. We do not preach putting faith in an organization. We preach putting faith in
Jesus and Yahweh. We do not scare people into joining this or that group. Yahweh's spirit
will take care of those that belong to Jesus, wherever they may be, whether in the
Jehovah's Witnesses organization, the popular churches, or if they might be associating with the Bible Students.
Yahweh's organization today is being run by Jesus through the holy spirit just the same as
in the first century. It is up to each of us who belong to the Christ, to take up his banner
and seriously begin spreading the true message of the Kingdom.
(118) Are you a truly dedicated disciple of Jesus? If so, do you recognize yourself as a
minister of God, or do reserve this role to the elders or other elected ones in the congregation? If you do not recognize your personal ministry, maybe you should begin re-examining yourself, for all who are called to be sons of God are also called to be ministers of God. "For working together, we also call on you not to receive the grace of God in vain. For He says: `In an acceptable time I heard you, and in a day of salvation I helped you.' Look! Now is an acceptable time! Look! Now is a day of salvation! Let us not give a cause of stumbling in anything, that the ministry may not be blamed, but in everything commending ourselves as God's ministers, in much patience, in affliction, in emergencies, in difficulties, in stripes, in imprisonments, in instabilities, in labors, in watchings, in fastings, in pureness, in knowledge, in longsuffering, in kindness, in the Holy Spirit, in unfeigned love, in the power of God." (2 Corinthians 6:4) What does this mean? No matter where we are, no matter what circumstances we might be under, all who are called of God are called to be his ministers. This is truly a full-time 24-hour-a-day job. It entails everything we do, say, or think.
(119) While all are called to be ministers, not all receive the exact same ministry. However,
there is one ministry which is incumbent upon all of us. That is the command of Jesus to
make disciples or students from all nations. Additionally, we are told: "If you declare
[Greek, homologeo, meaning "to declare the same thing" -- Criswell) with your mouth the
Lord Jesus, and will believe in your heart that God has raised him from the dead, you will
be saved. For with the heart man believes unto righteousness; and with the mouth
declaration is made unto salvation." (Romans 10:9,10) Does this mean going to a church
meeting and giving a testimony? No, the context shows that this declaration is the actual
preaching of the good news of peace. (Romans 10:15) Part of our faith and trust in Jesus is
obeying his command to preach the good news. This cannot be left up to elders, or others in
the congregation, only you, if you are truly believing in the Lord Jesus Christ, can obey his
command to preach.
(120) If you are a consecrated child of God, hoping for the rewards of a place in the kingdom, but have not been in the business of doing this, then now is the time to start. Not next week, next year, etc.
(121) But someone says: `I don't know what to do. What should I say to people?' These are words of discouragement before you have even begun. How happy Satan must be if he can induce within us such an attitude. Jesus gave instructions to his students before sending them out. They also had been with him and learned of him. So we today should make sure that we have that "word" in our hearts with understanding. Many people have learned a few truths and have
gone forth preaching before they should have. Of course, we don't mean that you should
understand every detail of the Bible, nor that you should understand every aspect of truth,
but your understanding should be sufficient so that you can give to unbelievers a reason for
your beliefs. And remember, Yahweh's spirit will be with you.
(122) Why should such an endeavor be undertaken at this late date? Is there time left in
this old world to engage in a worldwide preaching activity? It is Jesus who has
commissioned us to preach the good news of the kingdom. In obedience to this commission
we must therefore preach it to the best of our ability and leave the time features up to
Yahweh. We have reason to believe that this preaching will go right on up until the time when the days are shortened (cut short -- by our Lord Jesus, to keep all flesh from being destroyed. (Matthew 24:22) Hosea's prophecy shows that Israel would abide many day's without a king and without a prince, and without a sacrifice, and without an image, and without an ephod, and without teraphim. Afterward the children of Israel return, and seek Yahweh their God, and David their king; and will reverence Yahweh and his goodness in the latter day. (Hosea 3:4,5) By seeking David their king would mean that they would seek Jesus, the proper heir to David's throne. Hosea 6:2 says that they would be revived after two days, on the third day. They were cast off at Jesus' death in 33 CE, when Jesus said to Jerusalem: "Look! Your house is left desolate for you. For I say to you: 'You will not see from now on, until you say: "Blessed is he who comes in Yahweh's name!'" (Matthew 23:38,39) If by these two days, two of Yahweh's 1,000-year days is meant, then two days would end in the year 2033 CE. However, the days are cut short so, assuming the above application is correct, Jesus would step in to cut short the days sometime before 2033. Regardless, as long as we have today, we can and should obey our Lord Jesus in proclaiming the Good News, in whatever manner we are able.
Last update of this study: June 4, 2005.
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All studies on this site may be freely reproduced and distributed for non-profit purposes. We encourage you to print out, or reproduce, as many copies as you wish for your Bible study group, or to distribute to others to whom you wish to give a witness.
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