RESPECT FOR THEOCRATIC HEADSHIP

16, 17. (a) How do we know that the principle of headship will be in operation in God’s new order among earthly survivors? (b) What questions does this raise as to our readiness for life then?

¹⁶ Such faith will contribute greatly to our success in God’s new order. Among the things we do know about life then is that headship will be in operation. As King David recognized: “Yours is the kingdom, O Jehovah, the One also lifting yourself up as head over all.” (1 Chron. 29:11) In the rightful exercise of his sovereignty, Jehovah has made headship one of the basic principles of the divine arrangement. Whether it be headship exercised by individuals, as by the King Jesus Christ or by individual family heads, or headship exercised through a body of persons charged with giving direction or making decisions and judgments under God’s appointed King, will we respect such headship in the New Order? Do we respect it now?

¹⁷ During the thousand-year reign Christ Jesus will fully carry out his role as a “leader and commander” for all his subjects. (Isa. 55:4) His government will replace those of “Caesar” and will be an active government whose direction of earth’s affairs will be felt in many ways. Will we willingly respond to the King’s commands? Progress to perfection and even life itself will depend on this.

Tendencies toward selfish ambition, boastfulness, envy, gossiping, sheer laziness, or lack of submission to headship​—there are numerous things that could create problems for us if we do not learn how to get them under control. They could hinder or block our making progress to perfection during the thousand-year period in which Christ Jesus and his heavenly joint heirs will serve as priests for the healing of the earthly subjects of the Kingdom. (Gal. 5:19-21; Rev. 5:10; 22:1, 2) If any of us should fail to qualify for life by failing to live in harmony with the contents of God’s “scrolls” then, we will have no one to blame​—not the present wicked world, nor Satan and his demons—​but only ourselves.

²³ While from its start God’s new order should bring great joyfulness, nevertheless, imperfection will not disappear the first day, week, month, year or even the first decade after the “great tribulation” and the abyssing of Satan. If that were the case, why set aside a thousand years for complete restoration of perfection and full reconciliation of mankind with God? What, then, if some imperfection on the part of persons charged with responsibility as Kingdom government representatives were to affect one of us adversely, perhaps result in some act or arrangement that we feel is not just as it should be, causing us a measure of unpleasantness or dissatisfaction? Will we become impatient and get excited if matters are not immediately corrected? Will we be tempted to ‘take matters into our own hands’ to try to rectify what we believe needs correcting? How do we react now to similar circumstances as we prepare for life in God’s new order?