Prophecies We Need to
Understand
. . . and those we don’t.
“And do not forget the
things I have done throughout history. For I am God--I alone! I am God, and
there is no one else like me. Only I can tell you what is going to happen even
before it happens. Everything I plan will come to pass, for I do whatever I
wish."
―Isaiah
46:9,10 (New
Living Translation)
To know what the future holds can be of great
value. We listen to the weather forecast and often plan our activities
accordingly. Many lives are saved when people act on advance warnings that are
broadcast concerning a coming storm. But despite today's modern technology,
which allows for the earth to be observed from space, not all weather
predictions come true. Often unforeseen variable factors enter the picture that
renders the seemingly best forecasts inaccurate.
Jehovah God distinguishes himself from other so-called gods by his ability to
accurately foretell future events, in spite of, what may appear to us,
unforeseeable factors. He has the power to influence and shape events, to
overcome variables, in order to carry out all his intentions. He has made known
his future activities by having them recorded in his word, the Bible. (2 Peter
1:21)
There are really two types of prophecies that Jehovah has given and they serve
two different purposes. Let us consider these and see how we are affected by
them today.
Prophecies We Need to Act Upon
The first requires us to take action,
usually in order to escape the
calamity of divine judgment. These prophecies are directed at us. They are
like the weather warning of an approaching storm. They are therefore clearly
stated. There is no ambiguity about understanding them. They are given
for the listeners to take decisive action and make necessary changes to either
avoid the foretold execution of God's judgment, or to survive it. These warnings
are usually accompanied with specific instructions as to what God requires of
the people. When his nation Israel forsook Jehovah and took up the worship of
idols, Jehovah sent his prophets to them with clear messages. The Bible tells
us:
[Zedekiah] continued to do what was bad in the eyes of Jehovah his God. He
did not humble himself on account of Jeremiah the prophet at the order of
Jehovah. Even all the chiefs of the priests and the people themselves committed
unfaithfulness on a large scale, according to all the detestable things of the
nations, so that they defiled the house of Jehovah which he had sanctified in
Jerusalem.
And Jehovah the God of their forefathers kept sending against them by means of
his messengers, sending again and again, because he felt compassion for his
people and for his dwelling. But they were continually making jest at the
messengers of the [true] God and despising his words and mocking at his
prophets, until the rage of Jehovah came up against his people, until there was
no healing. ―2 Chronicles 36:11,12, 14-16
Zedekiah and the people understood the message. That was not the problem. The
problem was that they rejected it and refused to act upon it. They made fun of
God's prophets and despised his words. God's foretold judgment was sure to come
upon them. And it did when the Babylonians came and killed the inhabitants
indiscriminately, destroyed their city including the temple, their place of
worship, and took any survivors into captivity far from their homeland, exactly
as the prophets had forewarned. (2
Chronicles 36:17-21)
Let us consider another example of how Jehovah sent his prophet with a clearly
stated message and see how the people understood the prophecy and acted upon it,
with different results:
And the word of Jehovah began to occur to Jonah the son of Amittai, saying:
"Get up, go to Nineveh the great city, and proclaim against her that their
badness has come up before me.”
4 Finally Jo´nah started to enter into the city the walking distance of one day,
and he kept proclaiming and saying: “Only forty days more, and Nin´e·veh will
be overthrown.” 5 And the men of Nin´e·veh began to put faith in God, and
they proceeded to proclaim a fast and to put on sackcloth, from the greatest one
of them even to the least one of them. 6 When the word reached the king of
Nin´e·veh, then he rose up from his throne and put off his official garment from
himself and covered himself with sackcloth and sat down in the ashes.
7 Furthermore, he had the cry made, and he had it said in Nin´e·veh, by the
decree of the king and his great ones, saying:
“No man and no domestic animal, no herd and no flock, should taste anything at
all. None should take food. Even water they should not drink. 8 And let them
cover themselves with sackcloth, man and domestic animal; and let them call out
to God with strength and come back, each one from his bad way and from the
violence that was in their hands. 9 Who is there knowing whether the [true] God
may turn back and actually feel regret and turn back from his burning anger, so
that we may not perish?”10 And the [true] God got to see their works, that
they had turned back from their bad way; and so the [true] God felt regret
over the calamity that he had spoken of causing to them; and he did not cause
[it]. ― Jonah 1:1,2; 3:4-10
The message that Jonah preached to the inhabitants of Nineveh was clear.
Everyone could understand it. There was nothing for someone else, such as
another prophet or any of their wise men, to have to interpret. It plainly
stated what God had purposed to do because of their wickedness, along with the
necessary action required to escape it. The people humbled themselves, even the
king, and Jehovah spared them.
Jesus' warning about the foretold destruction of Jerusalem and the required
action to be taken in order to survive was also clearly stated:
20 “Furthermore, when YOU see Jerusalem surrounded by encamped armies,
then know that the desolating of her has drawn near. 21 Then let those in
Ju·de´a begin fleeing to the mountains, and let those in the midst
of her withdraw, and let those in the country places not enter into her;
22 because these are days for meting out justice, that all the things written
may be fulfilled. ― Luke 21:20-22
The sign was clear and so were the instructions. Jesus told those hoping to
survive the desolation of the city to flee to the mountains, and not under any
circumstances to return and enter Jerusalem. History tells us that those who
failed to heed the clear warning paid the consequence. Over a million
unbelieving Jews perished.
Whenever action has been required on the part of the people to escape divine
judgment the prophecies have always been clearly stated and understood. There
was no ambiguity. There was no need for Jehovah to raise up someone to
interpret them. The only necessity was to obey. So too, for us today. We are
clearly warned:
4 And I heard another voice out of heaven say: “Get out of her, my people,
if YOU do not want to share with her in her sins, and if YOU do not want to
receive part of her plagues. 5 For her sins have massed together clear up to
heaven, and God has called her acts of injustice to mind. ―Revelation 18:4-5
To escape the fate that awaits Babylon the Great God is clearly telling his
people to get out of her. Of course, in order to "get out of her" we need to be
able to identify what she is and God has made that possible by the description
of her. (see
Box) How can a person, who wants to
worship God, get out of her? Is getting out of her enough? Jehovah gives us
specific instructions:
14 Do not become unevenly yoked with unbelievers. For what
fellowship do righteousness and lawlessness have? Or what sharing does light
have with darkness? 15 Further, what harmony is there between
Christ and Be´li·al? Or what portion does a faithful person have with an
unbeliever? 16 And what agreement does God’s temple have with
idols? For we are a temple of a living God; just as God said: "I shall reside
among them and walk among [them], and I shall be their God, and they will be my
people." 17 "‘Therefore get out from among them, and
separate yourselves,’ says Jehovah, ‘and quit touching the unclean thing’";
"‘and I will take YOU in.’" 18 "‘And I shall be a
father to YOU, and YOU will be sons and daughters to me,’ says Jehovah the
Almighty." ―
2 Corinthians 6:14-18
Jehovah is plainly telling his people, should any still be found within Babylon
the Great, to get out of her, to quit touching the unclean things, because those
who belong to Christ can have no sharing with Belial, another name for Satan (2
Corinthians 6:15). Only then could they be his sons and daughters and
He their father. Only then would they be his children and become members of his
household. (1
(Timothy
3:15) But Jehovah has also clearly foretold that, before he
executes judgment against Babylon the Great, he will first of all clean his own
household. (1
Peter 4:17,18) That has not yet happened. Many are the prophecies
telling of our sins and errors. But to our own harm we apply them all to
Christendom, not because Jehovah's warnings are ambiguous but rather because we
refuse to acknowledge our own errors. When Jehovah addresses "his people" do we
not get the point that he is talking to us? Or are we not his people?
Could it be any clearer? (Hosea
4:6-9;
Amos 4:12). Has it not become a
matter of despising God's words and mocking those who bring it to our attention
when we say that those condemnatory prophecies don't apply to us? (see
Jeremiah 5:12, 26-31)
Prophecies We Can Do Nothing About
There is a second type of prophecy
which does not require us to take any action. There is nothing that we can
do to influence the outcome. The purpose of which is mainly to prove that
Jehovah is the true God, that there is none like him, and that he can do
whatever he wants in order to carry out his purpose.
"Remember the first things of a long time ago, that I am the Divine One
and there is no other God, nor anyone like me; the One telling from the
beginning the finale, and from long ago the things that have not been done;
the One saying, ‘My own counsel will stand, and everything that is my delight I
shall do.’ ― Isaiah 46:9,10
These prophecies magnify Jehovah as the only true God and build faith in him.
They give hope to those looking to him for salvation. Since no action is
necessary on our part in this case, he has not clearly made known the
understanding of such prophecies in advance but rather kept the
interpretation secret until the time when the prophecies undergo fulfillment.
The first such prophecy was given back in the garden of Eden, in response to the
rebellion that had just occurred. In Genesis 3:15 God said,
"And I shall put enmity between you and the woman and between your seed and
her seed. He will bruise you in the head and you will bruise him in the heel."
Although Jehovah would add further information to this prophecy as time went by,
he kept the explanation of it a secret until the time of its fulfillment or even
after. He said much in few symbolic words. A detail he later added was that the
seed would come through Abraham. There was much speculation throughout the
centuries about the identify of this seed and what it would mean for mankind.
The promise of the seed was so well known that practically every nation had its
own version and interpretation of it. Jesus, of course, turned out to be that
seed. (Genesis
22:18;
Galatians 3:16) Yet, his own people,
the Jews, did not recognize him and accept him, and those who did did not
comprehend the part of the prophecy that he would be bruised in the heel,
meaning that he would have to die and be resurrected. That part was not
understood until after it was fulfilled. (John
1:11;
Matthew 16:21-23;
Luke 24:25-27)
Much of this "sacred secret" concerning the seed, the Christ, came to be
understood in the time of the apostles, especially at the outpouring of the Holy
Spirit at Pentecost, just as Jesus had promised. (John
14:26;
Colossians 1:26,27) The sacred secret
in connection with the Christ also has to do with the kingdom of the heavens
that he was preaching. Jehovah used his prophet Daniel to write about this
kingdom. He tells us how the kingdom would be established, who would be rulers
in that kingdom, how the world powers leading up to that time would exert an
influence over God's people, and how at God's due time this kingdom would
replace all other kingdoms on earth. (Daniel
2:44;
7:13,14, 18,21,22,27)
Since there is nothing that God's servants, or anyone else, can do to influence
the outcome of God's foretold purpose in connection with his kingdom he did not
need to provide detailed information, beyond what we need to understand in order
to preach it. We know that it constitutes "good news" as it means deliverance
from the tyranny of man's rule. (Matthew
24:14) Although the prophet Daniel received much detailed information
concerning the time leading up to the establishing of God's kingdom Jehovah
couched his prophecies in signs and symbols. Why? Because he saw good to keep
the information to himself until such time as his servants needed it. That is
why Daniel writes,
Now as for me, I heard, but I could not understand; so that I said: “O my
lord, what will be the final part of these things?” And he went on to say: “Go,
Daniel, because the words are made secret and sealed up until the time of
[the] end. ― Daniel 12:8,9
If the words that Daniel was told to write down "are made secret and sealed up
until the time of the end," can we expect anyone to correctly understand them
before Jehovah's appointed time? Jesus' disciples were eager to get to know
about these things, having been familiar with Daniel's prophecies, and yet Jesus
told them:
"It is not for you to become acquainted with and know what time brings [the
things and events of time and their definite periods] or fixed years and seasons
(their critical niche in time), which the Father has appointed (fixed and
reserved) by His own choice and authority and personal power." ― Acts 1:7,
Amplified Bible
Clearly, there are things concerning God's prophecies that we will not
understand before God's due time. It is not for us to become acquainted with
them ahead of that time. Or, as the New World Translation puts it,
"It does not belong to YOU to get knowledge of the times or seasons which the
Father has placed in his own jurisdiction."
Just as Jesus' disciples were eager to get knowledge of these things so too
countless others throughout the centuries since then, have tried to decipher the
secret and sealed words of God. Often they professed to have been granted
special insight by God to do so. Many succeeded in gathering large followings
after themselves, but eventually time exposed them as frauds. It is in
connection with prophecy that we are most vulnerable to fall victim to
deceivers. That is why Jesus warned us against false prophets, for he said:
"False messiahs and false prophets will come and work great miracles and
signs. They will even try to fool God's chosen ones. But I have warned you ahead
of time." ― Matthew 24:24-25 CEV
The apostle Peter adds further words of warning,
1But there were also lying prophets among the people then, just as
there will be lying religious teachers among you. They'll smuggle in destructive
divisions, pitting you against each other--biting the hand of the One who gave
them a chance to have their lives back! They've put themselves on a fast
downhill slide to destruction, 2but not before they recruit a crowd
of mixed-up followers who can't tell right from wrong.
They give the way of truth a bad name. 3They're only out for
themselves. They'll say anything, anything, that sounds good to exploit you.
They won't, of course, get by with it. They'll come to a bad end, for God has
never just stood by and let that kind of thing go on. ― 2 Peter 2:1-3,
The Message
Interesting way the Message Bible words it. Yes, there will be
lying prophets, lying religious leaders among us. It takes time to expose a
false prophet, for it takes time to prove that their false predictions were just
their imagination, as they failed to materialize. Many feel that it is a good
thing to try to unravel the secrets of the future as written in God's word.
Their need to know shows great spirituality. But for every hundred who interpret
the hidden things of God's word there are a hundred differing interpretations.
Jehovah has "made secret and sealed up" his words for a reason. As Jesus said,
"it does not belong to us" to understand the things God "has placed in his own
jurisdiction." Why has Jehovah seen fit to do it this way? Besides deciding to
keep some things to himself, as was the case with the identity of the seed, it
could also serve as a test for us. (see
Deuteronomy 13:1-3)
Will we put faith in those who present themselves as having special insight into
God's word, claiming to understand details that God has hidden from everyone
else? Will it blind us to the things God actually does tell us? Are we to be
dependant on any one person to understand God's word? Has Jehovah chosen anyone
special to whom he would reveal matters that he would keep secret from his other
servants? There have always been some who presumed to speak in Jehovah's name,
causing his people to wander because their message was not from him. (note
Jeremiah 23:30-32;
27:14)
The book of Revelation particularly attracts much attention among calculating
interpreters. It contains much in the way of symbolisms that many feel can be
unlocked if only one digs deep enough into it.
"A revelation by Jesus Christ, which God gave him, to show his slaves the
things that must shortly take place. And he sent forth his angel and presented
[it] in signs through him to his slave John. . .
Happy is he who reads aloud and those who hear the words of this prophecy, and
who observe the things written in it; for the appointed time is near." ―
Revelation 1:1,3
Since it says that those who read aloud and hear and observe the things written
in this prophecy are happy, are we to conclude that we must understand it? No,
for the revelation consists of the two types of prophecies I have been
considering. To observe the things written in it refers primarily to Jesus'
letters to the seven congregations. In them he mentions some serious problems
which needed addressing if his disciples were to receive the crown of life. (Revelation
2:1-3:22) When you read those letters you will see that they are not
written in signs but rather straight forward language that his followers could
understand. They had to be able to understand them for their everlasting reward
depended on acting on them. This is like the first type of prophecy mentioned
above. But for the most part the book of Revelation is about what God is going
to do in the future. There is nothing we can do to influence that outcome. And
there is nothing written in it that we need to understand in order to act that
has not already been recorded elsewhere in the Bible. For example, we do not
need to understand the identity of the beast with the number 666 in order to
avoid receiving its mark. (Revelation
13:17,18) James already clearly explained that the "the form of
worship that is clean and undefiled from the standpoint of our God and Father is
this: to look after orphans and widows in their tribulation, and to keep
oneself without spot from the world." ― James 1:27;
John 15:18,19
The book of Revelation is designed to give us hope. In it Jehovah brings all his
promises together, as an assurance that his word is faithful and reliable, and
he will do exactly as he has foretold. But the details of how he will go about
carrying out his word he has seen fit to keep secret, until the time of their
being fulfilled. As has already been mentioned earlier, the command to get out
of Babylon the Great is clear enough. The description of her helps us to
identify her. Therefore, it is disturbing to see so many different explanations
of what Babylon the Great, the mother of the harlots, is thought to be. Since we
are commanded to get out of her in order to avoid sharing in her fate, failing
to recognize and apply what God says about her identity could cost us our life,
for how can we obey if we are confused about her identity? Listening to false
interpretations can prove disastrous.
Jehovah's prophets have always desired to understand the things they were
inspired to write about, making "a careful search" and "investigating what
particular season or what sort of season" God was indicating to them. Yet, all
that Jehovah would reveal to these prophets was that their prophecies did not involve
them, prophecies that even the angels desire to peer into.
(1
Peter 1:10-12 NWT) When
the time comes for God to act on his "secret and sealed up" prophecies,
and we come face to face with their fulfillment, then we will all be
able to understand. All of us. Even the angels have to wait until then,
and then there will be no need for Jehovah to raise up any individual
prophet to explain and interpret what is happening. The apostle Paul
looked forward to a future time when we would understand all things:
"For now we are looking in a mirror that gives only a dim (blurred)
reflection [of reality as in a riddle or enigma], but then [when perfection
comes] we shall see in reality and face to face! Now I know in part
(imperfectly), but then I shall know and understand fully and clearly, even in
the same manner as I have been fully and clearly known and understood [by God]."
― 1 Corinthians 13:12, Amplified Bible
It is hard to wait patiently, isn't it? We are inclined to look for anything
that might give us some glimpse into the future. Anything that might give us an
advantage. Perhaps we feel we would be better prepared for what lies ahead, or
we need the encouragement to know how much longer until the end as we are trying
to cope under severe living conditions. As the apostle Paul notes, "For we
know that all creation keeps on groaning together and being in pain together
until now." (Romans 8:22) But Jehovah has not revealed to any of us anything
beyond what we need to know, and those are the things we need to act upon. What
he is telling us is to exercise patience.
"Dear brothers and sisters, you must be patient as you wait for the Lord's
return. Consider the farmers who eagerly look for the rains in the fall and in
the spring. They patiently wait for the precious harvest to ripen. You, too,
must be patient. And take courage, for the coming of the Lord is near." ―
James 5:7,8; New Living
Translation
Also, The Watchtower of July 15, 1976, pp. 433-434, under the
heading "Keeping a Balanced View of Time" states,
"So, when Jehovah God makes known a certain time
for the outworking of some feature of his divine purpose, his faithful servants
can rely implicitly on the exactness of the published schedule. But when he has
not made such announcement, then it remains beyond their ability and power to
determine the time of the realization of that purpose. That is the case with the
timing of the outbreak of the “great tribulation” that God’s Son foretold, a
time of divine judgment that opens the way for the start of the thousand-year
Kingdom rule, which will bring untold blessings for this earth and its
inhabitants.—Matt. 24:21, 22; Rev. 7:14-17.
Should we think it strange that God would retain certain knowledge for himself
in this way? As far back as the time when the Israelites were approaching the
Promised Land, the prophet Moses recorded these inspired words at Deuteronomy
29:29: “The things concealed belong to Jehovah our God, but the things revealed
belong to us and to our sons to time indefinite, that we may carry out all the
words of this law.” Yes, all that we really need to know to serve Jehovah
God faithfully, and that we need in order to sustain us in our hope and
conviction, this, God reveals to us. But where it accomplishes his purpose
better, he can also conceal matters, with no hurt or lack to his servants."
Accordingly, none among Jehovah's
chosen, anointed ones today have any special insight into the detailed
outworking of his prophecies that have been made secret and sealed up, as if
such ones are specially blessed. God no longer uses prophets like he did in the
time of Israel, for now he uses his Son to speak to us, and his words are
recorded for us in the Bible. (Hebrews
1:1,2) To understand prophecy we can only be guided by what we see at
present. C.T. Russell did that from 1879 until his death in 1916. Rutherford
revised Russell's expectations in his time. The Society has continued to do the
same over the years, revising interpretations according to present
understandings based on present world situations, and revising again as these
change.
But when our interpretation of prophecy fails to materialize does that not hurt
our credibility and detract from the simple message we have been assigned by God
to preach? Is it not also a matter of adding to God's Word things that he has
not told us? Proverbs 30:6 warns: "Add nothing to his words, that he may not
reprove you, and that you may not have to be proved a liar." If what we foretell
about future events does not transpire the way we predicted, does that not make
us liars? The Watchtower, September 1, 2005, under the heading
"God's Word Safeguards the Congregation," on page 31, says,
after quoting Proverbs 30:6: "Yes, those
who tamper with the Bible are really spiritual liars—the most reprehensible
liars of all!" This does not apply only
to matters of doctrine but anything that is not taught by Jehovah in his Word.
There is no such thing as a harmless lie. There are always eventual
consequences. (John
8:44;
Romans 3:4)
If Jehovah has "made secret and sealed up" certain prophecies no one will be
able to unlock the interpretation of them before God's due time. (2
Peter 1:20,21) And why has Jehovah kept his prophecies secret from us
all? According to him:
3 I declared the past events long ago;
they came out of My mouth; I proclaimed them.
Suddenly I acted, and they occurred.
6 You have heard it. Observe it all.
Will you not acknowledge it?
From now on I will announce new things to you,
hidden things that you have not known.
7 They have been created now, and not long ago;
you have not heard of them before today,
so you could not claim, "I already knew them!" ―Isaiah
48:3,6,7; Holman
Christian Standard Bible
=====================================================
What is Babylon the Great?
When Jehovah tells his people to get out of
Babylon the Great, and hence action is needed in order not “to share with her in
her sins” and “receive part of her plagues” for “she will be completely burned
with fire,” we can be certain that Jehovah also helps us to identify what
Babylon the Great is. (Rev.
18:4) Otherwise, how could
we obey this command?
We are told about Babylon the Great that she “sits on many waters,” and
that these waters “mean peoples and crowds and nations and tongues.” (Rev.
17:1,15)
It also says that the kings of the earth committed fornication with her,
and “those who inhabit the earth were made drunk with the wine of her
fornication.” (Rev.
17:2)
"She has become a place where demons live. She has become a den for
every evil spirit." (Rev.
18:2)
We are told that the kings and traveling merchants weep and mourn because of
what they are now missing because of her destruction. (vs. 9-19) No longer will
the “sound of singers,” “musicians,” “craftsmen,” “no
light of a lamp” or a “bridegroom and bride” be found in her. Also,
by her “spiritistic practice all the nations were mislead.” (vs. 22-23)
Further, “in her was found the blood of prophets and of holy ones and of all
those who have been slaughtered on the earth.” (vs. 24)
According to Jehovah there are only two religions, not the thousands we have
today. Webster's Encyclopedic Dictionary of the English Language defines
"religion" as: man's expression of his
acknowledgment of the divine ║ a system of beliefs and practices
relating to the sacred and uniting its adherents in a community, e.g. Judaism,
Christianity.
God decreed at the time of the rebellion in the Garden of Eden, and as recorded
at Genesis 3:15, that there would be two "systems of beliefs and
practices" and that the two “communities of adherents” would be at enmity with
each other. There would be God's side and Satan's. One cannot worship Jehovah
and at the same time have any dealings with Satan and the demons.
“...the things which the nations sacrifice they sacrifice to demons, and not
to God; and I do not want YOU to become sharers with the demons.
21
YOU cannot be drinking the cup of Jehovah and the cup of demons; YOU cannot be
partaking of “the table of Jehovah” and the table of demons.”
– 1 Corinthians 10:20,21
The spiritistic practice that mislead all the nations has to do with worship,
sacrificing to the demons. To most people it does not matter what religion you
belong to for they believe that all religions are just a different way of
worshiping the same god. They have not realized that their worship is in fact
directed to the demons and the god of this world, Satan, who has blinded their
minds, as the Bible says. (2
Corinthians 4:4;
1 John 5:19)
If we want to be part of God’s household, and have Jehovah as our father, then
he is clearly telling us what action to take:
14
Do not be joined together with those who do not belong to Christ. How can that
which is good get along with that which is bad? How can light be in the same
place with darkness?
15
How can Christ get along with the devil? How can one who has put his
trust in Christ get along with one who has not put his trust in Christ?
16
How can the house of God get along with false gods? We are the house of the
living God. God has said, 'I will live in them and will walk among them.
I will be their God and they will be My people.' (Leviticus 26:12)
17
The Lord has said, 'So come out from among them. Do not be joined to them.
Touch nothing that is sinful. (see
Rev. 18:5)
And I will receive you.
18
I will be a Father to you. You will be My sons and daughters, says the All God.'
―2
Corinthians 6:14-18 (New Life Version)
Is it not clear what Babylon the Great is, the one Jehovah is telling all,
who want to belong to him, to get out of? It is about "a system of beliefs and
practices" relating to the worship of demons and being a part of its community
of adherents. If we do not separate ourselves from among them, then we cannot be
“received” or "taken in" (NWT) by Jehovah into his household. We cannot
be “sons and daughters” to him as long as we are still in Babylon the Great, for
"how can the house of God get along with false gods."
The destruction of Babylon the Great will come suddenly, as if in "one hour." (Revelation
18:10) There will be no
advance warning as if we can discern the time of her demise by world events. The
scripture tells us that it is Jehovah who will "carry out his thought" when his
appointed time has arrived. (Rev.
17:16,17) The message that
he has proclaimed to his people is clear, it does not need interpretation, just
like in the first century before Jerusalem was destroyed. Any of the people who
might have wanted to worship the true God but failed to heed the warning to "get
out of her" will share in her sins and her fate, "death and mourning and famine,
and she will be completely burned with fire, because Jehovah God who judged her
is strong."
It is not only Babylon the Great that will be destroyed. The "great day of God
the Almighty" will mean destruction for all who failed to take refuge in
Jehovah. (Revelation
16:14,16) The prophet
Zephaniah tells us,
14 "The great day of Jehovah is near. It is near,
and there is a hurrying [of it] very much. The sound of the day of Jehovah is
bitter. There a mighty man is letting out a cry. 15 That day
is a day of fury, a day of distress and of anguish, a day of storm and of
desolation, a day of darkness and of gloominess, a day of clouds and of thick
gloom, 16 a day of horn and of alarm signal, against the
fortified cities and against the high corner towers. 17 And I
will cause distress to mankind, and they will certainly walk like blind men;
because it is against Jehovah that they have sinned. And their blood will
actually be poured out like dust, and their bowels like the dung. 18
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." ―Zephaniah 1:14-18 (NWT)
The warning is plainly sounded. Nothing secret and sealed up about it, because
it is imperative that we take action, as Zephaniah continues to clearly express,
2 "Before [the] statute gives birth to [anything],
[before the] day has passed by just like chaff, before there comes upon YOU
people the burning anger of Jehovah, before there comes upon YOU the day of
Jehovah’s anger, 3 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 2:2,3 (NWT)
Babylon the Great is the "place where demons live. . . a den for every evil
spirit." It is where the nations "sacrifice to the demons," of whom Satan is the
ruler. (Rev.
18:2;
Mark 3:22;
John 16:11)
The message of Revelation 18:4 is clear: any who want to worship Jehovah must
get out, separate themselves, from the "system of beliefs and practices"
relating to the worship of demons, and be no part of its community of
adherents. Her destruction is very near. Any who are still found in her when
God executes his judgment upon her will share in her fate. We might say that
Revelation 18:4 is a last call for any who want to worship Jehovah to "get out
of her." After Babylon the Great's destruction Jehovah and his Son will turn
their attention to all the nations and deal with them likewise. (Revelation
19:11,19-21)
God destroyed a wicked world of mankind once before and he will do so again. And
just as he provided a means of escape at that time he is doing likewise today. (2
Peter 2:5;
3:5-7;
1 Peter 3:20,21)
Our survival depends on our obedience in heeding the command, "Get out of her,
my people."