vi 5-6 ACHIEVING VICTORY OVER DEATH 35 Do we wish to avail ourselves of these life rights? To do so, what must we do? We need to make grateful acknowledgment to both God and his only-begotten Son for their self-sacrificing love and undeserved kindness, as a great international crowd in our own 20th century are now doing. The Bible describes them: “After these things I saw, and, look! a great crowd, which no man was able to number, out of all nations and tribes and peoples and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, dressed in white robes; and there were palm branches in their hands. And they keep on crying with a loud voice, saying: ‘Salvation we owe to our God, who is seated on the throne, and to the Lamb [Jesus Christ].’” (Revelation 7:9, 10) The historical facts of our 20th century, particularly since the year 1935, prove that this grateful international crowd is now in existence on all continents of the earth. But how do we acknowledge this gratitude? 36 We need to identify the God of heaven and learn how to worship him. Some 1,500 years before Christ was born, the ancient prophet Moses unwisely asked to see God. What was the outcome? We read: “‘Cause me to see, please, your glory.’ But he said: ‘I myself shall cause all my goodness to pass before your face, and I will declare the name of Jehovah before you’ . . . And he added: ‘You are not able to see my face, because no man may see me and yet live.’” “And Jehovah proceeded to come down in the cloud and station himself with him there and declare the name of Jehovah. And Jehovah went passing by before his face and declaring: ‘Jehovah, Jehovah, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abundant in loving-kindness and truth, preserving loving-kindness for thousands, pardoning error and transgression and sin, but by no means will he give exemption from punishment.’”—Exodus 33:18-20; 34:5-7. 37 Is this beautiful description not what we would expect the invisible God to be like? Here is the kind of God we can admire and worship. But how should we worship Jehovah? God wants us to worship him with spirit and truth. The Bible says: “Nevertheless, the hour is coming, and it is now, when the true worshipers will worship the Father with spirit and truth, for, indeed, the Father is looking for suchlike ones to worship him. God is a Spirit, and those worshiping him must worship with spirit and truth.” (John 4:23, 24) To worship the Father with spirit means that the veneration of physical places, objects, buildings, and material representations of God are forbidden. It is truth that really matters. To worship the Father, Jehovah, with truth means that our religious practices, beliefs, and teachings must be in agreement with the actual state of things, the truthful reality of things, as revealed in God’s written Word. God’s chief Spokesman said in prayer to the Father: “Your word is truth.”—John 17:17; compare Acts 17:24, 25. 38 If then Jehovah is the true God, who is Jesus Christ? To the Jews, Christ was a cause of stumbling. To the non-Jews, Christ was foolishness. The Bible states: “But we preach Christ impaled, to the Jews a cause for stumbling but to the nations foolishness.” (1 Corinthians 1:23) The Jews rejected Christ as their Savior because his manner of life and death did not meet their nationalistic ambitions. To non-Jewish nations who seek to find God by human speculation, Christ’s manner of life and death was completely unintelligible. His death seemed a sheer waste—unnecessary. Jehovah God’s will and purpose as revealed and accomplished by Christ was foolishness because of the astonishing reversal of human suppositions and values. 39 Even today, millions of people stumble over Christ Jesus. In their estimation Christ is foolishness. Is that how you feel about Christ? Conversely, there are millions today who have satisfied themselves on the true worth of Christ Jesus. They recognize that Christ is not God Almighty, but is a Son of Jehovah. Christ was the firstborn of all of Jehovah’s creatures, and God made him the Word, or Spokesman to the rest of creation. So we read: “In the beginning the Word was, and the Word was with God, and the Word was a god. This one was in the beginning with God. All things came into existence through him, and apart from him not even one thing came into existence.” (John 1:1-3) Thus Jesus Christ in his prehuman existence filled the dual role of being God’s “master worker,” and the voice, or mouthpiece, of God.—Compare Proverbs 8:22, 30; Colossians 1:15, 16. 40 In superintending his own human sacrifice and its life-restoring benefits, Christ becomes humanity’s High Priest before the God of heaven, Jehovah. We read: “However, when Christ came as a high priest of the good things that have come to pass, through the greater and more perfect tent not made with hands, that is, not of this creation, he entered, no, not with the blood of goats and of young bulls, but with his own blood, once for all time into the holy place and obtained an everlasting deliverance for us.” Also he thereby becomes God’s Chief Agent of life. In his role of teacher, Jesus is the Guru of all worshipers of Jehovah God: “But you, do not you be called Rabbi, for one is your teacher, whereas all you are brothers.”—Hebrews 9:11, 12; Matthew 23:8; compare Acts 3:15. 41 Hence, Christ Jesus is far more than a mere religious reformer. He knew, for the most part, that this wicked system of things is irreformable. For this reason Jesus preached, not world conversion, but “great tribulation.” He said: “For then there will be great tribulation such as has not occurred since the world’s beginning until now, no, nor will occur again. In fact, unless those days were cut short, no flesh would be saved; but on account of the chosen ones those days will be cut short.” (Matthew 24:21, 22) That “great tribulation” will destroy the wicked and will vindicate Jehovah’s righteousness before all creation. Jesus’ words imply, however, that some “flesh would be saved.” This is because Christ loves righthearted people. That is why he died for them. We get a glimpse of Jesus’ personality in these words: “And Jesus set out on a tour of all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues and preaching the good news of the kingdom and curing every sort of disease and every sort of infirmity. On seeing the crowds he felt pity for them, because they were skinned and thrown about like sheep without a shepherd.”—Matthew 9:35, 36. 42 In our own 20th century also, many people are “skinned and thrown about like sheep without a shepherd.” And we may be sure that Jesus feels the same pity for them. That is why God’s Kingdom by his self-sacrificing Son will soon extend its kindly rule over the faithful survivors of the “great tribulation.” God’s Word foretold: “Look! A king will reign for righteousness itself.”—Isaiah 32:1. 43 God’s Kingdom is made up of a body of tried and tested, faithful, integrity-keeping persons who form a government in heaven, headed by Christ Jesus. This is God’s heavenly raj that will exercise its sovereignty over the whole earth. (Revelation 5:10) Today, people look to their human governments for employment benefits, housing provisions, and health benefits. And several governments fix a series of five-year plans for the purpose of developing these benefits for their subjects. But they can offer no hope whatsoever for their dead. And the historical experiences of all former governments weigh heavily against their chances of full success in their plans for the living. 44 Nevertheless, God’s Kingdom, not by a series of 5-year plans, but by a 1,000-year program will “do more than superabundantly beyond all the things we ask or conceive.” Thus we read: “And I saw thrones, and there were those who sat down on them, and power of judging was given them. . . . And they came to life and ruled as kings with the Christ for a thousand years.” (Ephesians 3:20; Revelation 20:4) During that 1,000-year rule, God’s King-Priest will apply the benefits of his ransom sacrifice to earth’s happy people. Gradually sin and its damaging effects of sickness, imperfection, and old age will be removed from their fleshly bodies. Hence, God’s Kingdom is His means for humans to achieve victory over death. 45 Let us read together some of the guarantees that God himself gives for these promises: “Happy is the one whose revolt is pardoned, whose sin is covered. Happy is the man to whose account Jehovah does not put error, and in whose spirit there is no deceit.” “Bless Jehovah, O my soul, and do not forget all his doings, him who is forgiving all your error, who is healing all your maladies, who is reclaiming your life from the very pit, who is crowning you with loving-kindness and mercies, who is satisfying your lifetime with what is good; your youth keeps renewing itself just like that of an eagle.”—Psalm 32:1, 2; 103:2-5. 46 “‘Let his flesh become fresher than in youth; let him return to the days of his youthful vigor.’ He will make entreaty to God that he may take pleasure in him, and he will see his face with joyful shouting, and He will restore His righteousness to mortal man.” (Job 33:25, 26) What is more, all the evidence indicates that Christ’s Thousand Year Rule will begin within the lifetime of our present generation! 47 For the applying of Christ’s ransom to the world of mankind to take place, there must be a return to life of dead human souls from the memorial tombs. So God’s Kingdom by Christ will accomplish a resurrection of billions of dead humans just as God’s Word assures us: “And the sea gave up those dead in it, and death and Hades gave up those dead in them, and they were judged individually according to their deeds.” (Revelation 20:13) How can this be done? The Creator will simply re-create new human fleshly organisms from the earth’s dust and from his perfect memory will recall former life patterns, superimposing them upon the new brain circuits, and will infuse each organism with the life-force, or ātma. Then these re-created living souls, or jivaprāne, will live on earth once again. What a stupendous miracle! Only Jehovah can do this through the legal ransom arrangement. And this is also why the future life of dead loved ones depends, not on a fictitious immortal soul, but rather on the unfailing love and memory of Jehovah God. Indeed, “for he [Christ] must rule as king until God has put all enemies under his feet. As the last enemy, death is to be brought to nothing.” (1 Corinthians 15:25, 26) Never again will death be allowed to dominate God’s human creation. 48 What a magnificent hope! How gratifying! The very idea warms the hearts of humankind. Surely victory over death is possible for you! Will you choose it? God respects your free will just as he respected the free will of our first forefather. But we pray that you will make the wise choice. May you be among those future happy ones who will triumphantly cry in victory: “Death, where is your victory? Death, where is your sting?”—1 Corinthians 15:55.
Posted on: Tue, 13 Aug 2013 00:58:30 +0000
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