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How Jehovah God Has Started To Fulfill His Promises In Our Own Time Jehovah's people do not now form a literal nation, nor do they occupy a single, physical land. Rather, anointed Christians make up a spiritual nation, "the Israel of God." Galatians 6:6 As for all those who walk orderly by this rule of conduct, peace and mercy be upon them, yes, upon the Israel of God. Their companions of the "other sheep" join them in a spiritual "land," a realm of activity in which they worship Jehovah God unitedly. That worship is their way of life. John 10:16 “And I have other sheep, which are not of this fold; those too I must bring in, and they will listen to my voice, and they will become one flock, one shepherd. Isaiah 66:8 Who has ever heard of such a thing? Who has seen such things? Will a land be brought to birth in one day? Or will a nation be born all at once? Yet, as soon as Zion went into labor, she gave birth to her sons. What kind of land has Jehovah given us? It is a spiritual paradise. Here God's promises about Edenic conditions have seen a wonderful, spiritual fulfillment. Consider some examples. Security In the prophecy recorded in Isaiah, we find a delightful picture of harmony and peace - between wild animals on the one hand and humans with their domestic animals on the other. Isaiah 11:6-9 The wolf will reside for a while with the lamb, and with the young goat the leopard will lie down, and the calf and the lion and the fattened animal will all be together; and a little boy will lead them. The cow and the bear will feed together, and their young will lie down together. The lion will eat straw like the bull. The nursing will play over the lair of a cobra, and a weaned will put his hand over the den of a poisonous snake. They will not cause any harm or any ruin in all my holy mountain, because the earth will certainly be filled with the knowledge of Jehovah as the waters cover the sea. Does this picture find a spiritual fulfillment today? Yes! Does 'the Knowledge of Jehovah' change the behaviour of animals? No. It is people who are transformed by coming to know the Most High God and learning to imitate His peaceful ways. That is why in our spiritual paradise today, we can observe a heartwarming fulfillment of that prophecy. Under Kingdom rule, Christ's followers are learning to put off their fierce, animalistic qualities and live in peace and harmony with their spiritual brothers and sisters. Jesus proclaimed that his followers would be known by the love they have amoung themselves John 13:34+35 I am giving you a new commandment, that you love one another; just as I have loved you, you also love one another. By this all will know that you are my disciples—if you have love among yourselves Within the Congregation, Christ is patiently using his "faithful and discreet slave" to teach all true Christians to be peaceable, loving and gentle. Matthew 24:45-47 “Who really is the faithful and discreet slave whom his master appointed over his domestics, to give them their food at the proper time? Happy is that slave if his master on coming finds him doing so! Truly I say to you, he will appoint him over all his belongings. Abundance The world suffers from spiritual famine. The Bible warned: Amos 8:11 "Look! The days are coming,' declares the Sovereign Lord Jehovah, when I will send a famine into the land, not famine for bread or a thirst for water, but for hearing the words of Jehovah." Do the citizens of God's Kingdom suffer famine too? Jehovah foretold the following contrast between His people and His enemies: Isaiah 65:13 Therefore this is what the Sovereign Lord Jehovah says: “Look! My servants will eat, but you will go hungry. Look! My servants will drink, but you will go thirsty. Look! My servants will rejoice, but you will suffer shame. Spiritual provisions flow to us like an ever-broadening and ever-deepening river. Ezekiel 47:1-12 Then he brought me back to the entrance of the temple, and there I saw water flowing eastward from under the threshold of the temple, for the front of the temple was facing east. The water was flowing down from under the right side of the temple, south of the altar. He then led me out by way of the north gate and took me outside and around to the outer gate that is facing east, and I saw water trickling from the right side. When the man went out toward the east with a measuring line in his hand, he measured off 1,000 cubits and had me pass through the water; the water was ankle deep. Then he measured off another 1,000 and had me pass through the water, and it was up to the knees. he measured off another 1,000 and had me pass through, and the water was up to the hips. When he measured off another 1,000, it was a torrent that I was unable to walk across, for the water was so deep that one had to swim, a torrent of water that could not be crossed on foot. He asked me: “Have you seen this, of man?” Then he had me walk and return to the bank of the stream. When I returned, I saw that on the bank of the stream were very many trees on both sides. Then he said to me: “This water flows toward the eastern region and continues down through the Ar′abah and enters the sea. When it enters the sea, the water there will be healed. Swarms of living creatures will be able to live wherever the waters flow. There will be an abundance of fish, because this water will flow there. The seawater will be healed, and everything will live wherever the stream goes. “Fishermen will stand beside it from Engedi clear to Eneglaim, where there will be a drying yard for dragnets. There will be an abundance of many kinds of fish, like the fish of the Great Sea. “It will have swampy places and marshy places, and these will not be healed. They will be abandoned to salt. “All sorts of trees for food will grow on both banks of the stream. Their leaves will not wither; nor will their fruitage fail. Each month they will bear new fruit, because the water for them flows from the sanctuary. Their fruitage will serve as food and their leaves for healing.” Joel 3:18 In that day the mountains will drip with sweet wine, the hills will flow with milk, and the streams of Judah will all flow with water. Out of the house of Jehovah a spring will flow, and it will irrigate the Valley of the Acacia Trees. It is thrilling to see the fulfillment of Jehovah's promises of abundance in our daily life. It is wonderful to feed regularly at Jehovah God's table. Spiritual Health Spiritual blindness and deafness are pandemic today. 2Corinthians 4:4 among whom the god of this system of things has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, so that the illumination of the glorious good news about the Christ, who is the image of God, might not shine through. Yet, Christ is curing infirmities and illnesses worldwide. When people come to accurate knowledge of the Truth of God's Word, letting go of religious lies that once made them blind and deaf to the Truth, the promise of God is being fulfilled. Isaiah 29:18 18 In that day the deaf will hear the words of the book, and out of the gloom and darkness the eyes of the blind will see Around the world, hundreds of thousands of people every year are finding such spiritual cures. Each person who leaves Babylon the Great behind and joins us to worship in our spiritual paradise is living proof that Jehovah's promises are coming true! Let Your Kingdom Come Jehovah's purpose has long been to make the earth a global paradise. He placed Adam and Eve in a paradise garden and He gave them the command to fill the earth with their offspring and to take care of all its creatures. Genesis 1:28 Further, God blessed them, and God said to them: “Be fruitful and become many, fill the earth and subdue it, and have in subjection the fish of the sea and the flying creatures of the heavens and every living creature that is moving on the earth. Instead, Adam and Eve followed satan into rebellion and plunged all their offspring into imperfection, sin and death. Yet, God's purpose never changed. Once spoken, His words always find complete fulfillment. Isaiah 55:10+11 For just as the rain and the snow pour down from heaven and do not return there until they saturate the earth, making it produce and sprout, giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater, so my word that goes out of my mouth will be. It will not return to me without results, but it will certainly accomplish whatever is my delight, and it will have sure success in what I send it to do. We may be sure, then, that the descendants of Adam and Eve will fill this earth and subdue it, taking loving care of Jehovah's creation in a global paradise. At this time, the prophecies originally given to the Jewish exiles about life in paradisaic conditions will reach their ultimate fulfillment! Consider the following examples. Security At long last, the heartwarming word picture painted in Isaiah will see a complete fulfillment even in a literal sense. Men, women and will be safe and secure wherever they go on earth. No creature, whether human or animal, will pose any threat. Imagine a time when you will see this entire planet as your home, where there will be divisions in the human family such as nations and tribes, where you can swim in rivers, lakes and seas: traverse the mountain ranges and roam the grasslands in complete safety and when night falls, you will not worry. The words of Ezekiel will come true, so that it will even be possible for God's peole to 'dwell securely in the wilderness and sleep in the forests". Isaiah:11:6-11 The wolf will reside for a while with the lamb, and with the young goat the leopard will lie down, and the calf and the lion and the fattened animal will all be together; and a little boy will lead them. The cow and the bear will feed together, and their young will lie down together. The lion will eat straw like the bull. The nursing will play over the lair of a cobra, and a weaned will put his hand over the den of a poisonous snake. They will not cause any harm or any ruin in all my holy mountain, because the earth will certainly be filled with the knowledge of Jehovah as the waters cover the sea. Ezekiel 34: 25 “‘“And I will make a covenant of peace with them, and I will rid the land of vicious wild beasts, so that they may dwell securely in the wilderness and sleep in the forests Abundance Picture a time when there will be no such thing as poverty, malnutrition, famine or a welfare system. The spiritual plenty that God's people enjoy today is a guarantee that the Messianic King will feed his subjects in every respect. When Jesus was on the earth, he demonstrated on a small scale that he can fulfill such promises, he fed thousands of hungry people with just a few loaves and fish. Matthew 14:17-21 They said to him: “We have nothing here except five loaves and two fish.” He said: “Bring them here to me.” And he instructed the crowds to recline on the grass. Then he took the five loaves and two fish, and looking up to heaven, he said a blessing, and after breaking the loaves, he gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the crowds. So they all ate and were satisfied, and they took up the leftover fragments, 12 baskets full. Now those eating were about 5,000 men, as well as women and young . When God's Kingdom is ruling over the whole earth there will be a literal fulfillment of this example. Isaiah 30:23 And he will give the rain for the seed you sow in the ground, and the bread that the ground produces will be abundant and rich. In that day your livestock will graze in spacious pastures Today many people can hardly imagine owning a comfortable home or having rewarding, satisfying work to do. Many feel that they work just ot make the rich men richer. Imagine what it will be like when this prophecy comes true worldwide. Isaiah 65:21-23 They will build houses and live in them, and they will plant vineyards and eat their fruitage. They will not build for someone else to inhabit, nor will they plant for others to eat. For the days of my people will be like the days of a tree, and the work of their hands my chosen ones will enjoy to the full. They will not toil for nothing, nor will they bear for distress, because they are the offspring made up of those blessed by Jehovah, and their descendants with them. What does it mean that our days will be "like the days of a tree"? When you stand at the base of a massive tree, do you feel a sense of awe sweeping over you as you contemplate how long that living thing has been there - perhaps since long before your great-grandparents were born? It might occur to you that if you were to remain in your present imperfect state, such a tree would likely outlive you, still stretching out its long, peaceful existence even after you had become a mere memory. How kind of Jehovah to assure us that in the Paradise to come, our own days will be long and peaceful. Psalm 37:11 + 29 But the meek will possess the earth, and they will find exquisite delight in the abundance of peace....The righteous will possess the earth, and they will live forever on it. The day will come when even long-lived trees will seem to us as transient as the grass, coming and going while we continue to live! Perfect Health Today sickness and death cast their grim shadows over every aspect of this world. In a sense, we are all sick - infected with a terminal illness called sin. The only cure is Christ's ransom sacrifice. Romans 3:23 For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, Romans 6:23 For the wages sin pays is death, but the gift God gives is everlasting life by Christ Jesus our Lord During the Millennium Reign, Jesus and his co-rulers will fully apply the benefits of that sacrifice, gradually eradicating all traces of sin from faithful humans. Isaiah 33:24 And no resident will say: “I am sick.” The people dwelling in the land will be pardoned for their error. Imagine a time when no one will be blind, deaf or crippled! Isaiah 33:5+6 At that time the eyes of the blind will be opened, and the ears of the deaf will be unstopped. At that time the lame will leap like the deer, and the tongue of the speechless will shout for joy. No illness will prove to be beyond Jesus' ability to heal - whether physical, mental, emotional or spiritual. Loyal Kingdom subjects will enjoy perfect health! What though of the common outcome of sickness, the inevitable result of sin - death? That is our "last enemy", the one foe against which all imperfect humans sooner or later prove powerless. 1Corinthians 15:26 And the last enemy, death, is to be brought to nothing. Is death such a daunting adversary to Jehovah? Notice what Isaiah foretold: Isaiah 25:8 He will swallow up death forever, and the Sovereign Lord Jehovah will wipe away the tears from all faces. The reproach of his people he will take away from all the earth, for Jehovah himself has spoken it. Can you picture that time? No more funerals, no more cemeteries, no more tears of grief! Quite the contrary - there will be tears of joy as Jehovah fulfills His thrilling promise to bring back the dead! Isaiah 26:19 “Your dead will live. My corpses will rise up. Awake and shout joyfully, you residents in the dust! For your dew is as the dew of the morning, and the earth will let those powerless in death come to life. At last, countless wounds inflicted by death will be healed. By the end of the Millennium, the Kingdom will have finished carrying out God's will on earth and Christ will hand the rulership over to his Father. 1Corinthians 15:25-28 For he must rule as king until God has put all enemies under his feet. And the last enemy, death, is to be brought to nothing. For God “subjected all things under his feet” but when he says that ‘all things have been subjected,’ it is evident that this does not include the One who subjected all things to him but when all things will have been subjected to him, then the himself will also subject himself to the One who subjected all things to him, that God may be all things to everyone. Humankind, perfected at last, will be ready to face a final test when satan is released from the abyss of inactivity. Thereafter, Christ will finally crush that vile serpent and all his supporters. Genesis 3:15 And I will put enmity between you and the woman and between your offspring and her offspring. He will crush your head, and you will strike him in the heel. Revelation 20:3, 7-10 With that I heard a loud voice from the throne say: “Look! The tent of God is with mankind, and he will reside with them, and they will be his people. And God himself will be with them....Now as soon as the 1,000 years have ended, Satan will be released from his prison, and he will go out to mislead those nations in the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together for the war. The number of these is as the sand of the sea, and they advanced over the whole earth and encircled the camp of the holy ones and the beloved city, but fire came down out of heaven and consumed them. The Devil who was misleading them was hurled into the lake of fire and sulfur, where both the wild beast and the false prophet already were; and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever. Happily, all who loyally love Jehovah will face a bright prospect. Perhaps no words could paint a better picture than the ones we find in an inspired phrase. Romans 8:21 that the creation itself will also be set free from enslavement to corruption and have the glorious freedom of the of God. Those promises are not based on mere hopes, wishes or dreams. Fulfillment of Jehovah's promises is a certainty! Why? Remember Jesus words. Matthew 6:9=10 “‘Our Father in the heavens, let your name be sanctified. Let your Kingdom come. Let your will take place, as in heaven, also on earth. God's Kingdom is not the product of someone's imagination. It is a reality! It rules in Heaven now! For a century it has fulfilled Jehovah's promises in ways that we can clearly see in the Christian Congregation. We can be sure, then, that all of Jehovah's promises will be fulfilled when God's Kingdom comes to exert its full power toward the earth! We know that God's Kingdom will come. We know that Jehovah's every word of promise will come true. Why? Because GOD'S KINGDOM RULES! The question is, 'Does the Kingdom rule me'? Let us do all we can to live as loyal subjects of that Kingdom now, so that we may benefit from its perfect, just rule, soon, and forever. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Such thrilling events to see and look forward to are happening now and coming soon. I hope you have benefited from this study. Love Katidid. |
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