*** w82 4/1 p. 29 pars. 11-14 Survival or Destruction at the “Great Tribulation” *** prophecy continues: “‘And I will cause distress to mankind, . . . it is against Jehovah that they have sinned. . . . Neither their silver nor their gold will be able to deliver them in the day of Jehovah’s fury; but by the fire of his zeal the whole earth will be devoured, because he will make an extermination, indeed a terrible one, of all the inhabitants of the earth.’ . . . Before there comes upon you people the burning anger of Jehovah, before there comes upon you the day of Jehovah’s anger, seek Jehovah, all you meek ones of the earth, who have practiced His own judicial decision. Seek righteousness, seek meekness. Probably you may be concealed in the day of Jehovah’s anger.”—Zephaniah 1:15–2:3. 12 Even many of Christendom’s Bible researchers recognize that this prophecy did not apply just to Judah but foretold “a universal judgment upon the whole world” (Keil-Delitzsch), “the end of an age of sin” (French Ecumenical Bible), “the ‘day’ when universal judgment will be visited upon all wickedness and the wrath of God be poured out upon all who know not God and obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ.”—New Bible Commentary, Second Edition. 13 The apostle Paul associated the “day of Jehovah” with the “presence of our Lord Jesus Christ.” (2 Thessalonians 2:1, 2) After having spoken of the “apostasy” that eventually produced “the man of lawlessness,”—the apostate clergy class of Christendom’s churches—Paul adds: “Then, indeed, the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus will do away with by the spirit of his mouth and bring to nothing by the manifestation of his presence.” (2 Thessalonians 2:3, 8) The apostate clergy will be ‘done away with’ or ‘brought to nothing’ at the very beginning of the “great tribulation.” (Revelation 17:1-5, 16, 17) That class is also termed “the son of destruction [apoleia],” which means they are heading for “eternal destruction” in Gehenna, like their counterpart in Jesus’ day.—2 Thessalonians 2:3; Matthew 23:33. 14 But what about all the people who have followed the clergy and their “unrighteous deception”? The apostle Paul speaks of these as “perishing [literally: “destroying themselves”], as a retribution because they did not accept the love of the truth that they might be saved. So that is why God lets an operation of error go to them, that they may get to believing the lie, in order that they all may be judged because they did not believe the truth but took pleasure in unrighteousness.” (2 Thessalonians 2:10-12) Today, the world has become a sink of wickedness, immorality and corruption. The majority of mankind ‘take pleasure in unrighteousness’ and do “not accept the love of the truth that they might be saved.” (Compare Ezekiel 9:4-7.) Therefore, they will be “judged” and will perish “as a retribution.” At the coming “great
Posted on: Wed, 10 Jul 2013 03:57:39 +0000
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