Holy Spirit in Action

“Upon us the spirit is poured out from on high.”​—Isa. 32:15.

1. Why is there now urgent need for holy spirit to be in action for lovers of righteousness?

THERE is now urgent need for holy spirit to be in action. This spirit has its source in Jehovah, the Most Holy God. It is the invisible active force that he puts in operation according to his holy will. But why is activity of holy spirit needed especially today in behalf of lovers of what is righteous, good and holy? It is because of what now confronts them.

2. What fear-inspiring trio dominates the earthly scene today, and what questions can we ask about the effect of this on us?

² Today an extraordinary “wild beast,” a “false prophet” and a “dragon” dominate the earthly scene. The influence of this fear-inspiring trio reaches high up, even to the world’s political rulers, “the kings of the entire inhabited earth.” (Rev. 16:13, 14) This creates a grave danger for us common people, for the way in which our governmental rulers go affects us little people to a large degree. Yet, in spite of what our political rulers do, can we individually take a personal stand regarding the “wild beast,” the “false prophet” and the “dragon”? To what extent shall we let ourselves be influenced by these​—only to our injury? What is our defense?

3. How does Revelation, chapter thirteen, describe this “wild beast,” and what question do its admirers raise about it?

³ The “wild beast” is on the loose world wide! This vicious creature is supported by the fiery-red “dragon.” It is not a mere wild animal that has emerged from the dense forest of Brazil or from the jungle of some central African land. It is a kind of creature that has power, authority and even a throne. So it exercises rulership, not in the animal kingdom, but rulership in the political field. In this behalf, it has an intelligence like that of seven heads. It has a formidable power of aggression and of defense, like that of ten horns upon seven heads. That is why, in the prophetic book of Revelation or Apocalypse, it is described as a wild beast with seven heads and ten horns. It has won the admiration of patriotic people everywhere. They think that this symbolic wild beast of seven heads and ten horns is unconquerable. These admiring worshipers raise the challenging question: “Who is like the wild beast, and who can do battle with it?”​—Rev. 13:1-4.

4. How much longer will this “wild beast” be with us?

⁴ All along, we common people have seen this “wild beast” in action, but, before now, have any of us identified it? Have any of us figured out why it is pictured the way in which it is in the book of Revelation? This “wild beast” is with us today, and frightened people wonder for how much longer it will be with us. The inspired Bible answers that it will be with mankind down to the last, until it meets the one that can “do battle with it” and destroy it. Then it will be idolized no more.

5. What does that “wild beast” with seven heads symbolize, and by what of a superhuman kind is it controlled?

⁵ This “wild beast” is a symbolic one, like the four wild beasts pictured in the prophecy of Daniel, chapter seven. Those four symbolized certain human governments, empires, political world powers, such as the Babylonian Empire, the Medo-Persian Empire, the Grecian Empire, and the Roman Empire, with something added to picture the modern-day Anglo-American dual world power. But what does the “wild beast” of Revelation, chapters thirteen through nineteen, symbolize? Human political rule as a whole, on a global scale. Although controlling the whole world, it is not a federation of all national governments with a central world capital. It is made up of many political parts, which have been dominated throughout millenniums of time by a succession of seven world powers. On top of that, it has been dominated by the superhuman fiery-red “dragon.”

6. (a) In what does earthly government of today have its source? (b) To what rulership does such government subject itself?

⁶ Earthly government of all mankind today is of human source. Hence, Revelation 13:1 pictures it as “ascending out of the sea.” It has ascended out of the vast “sea” of humanity, which is just as restless as the literal sea, and dissatisfied, because it refuses to be subject to the rulership of the Creator of heaven and earth. (Isa. 57:20, 21) The rulership to which it subjects itself is that of the superhuman fiery-red “dragon.” This explains why Revelation 13:2 informs us that “the dragon gave to the [wild] beast its power and its throne and great authority.” There is no mystery as to whom the “dragon” symbolizes. Revelation, chapter twelve, verse nine, plainly says that the “dragon” is the “original serpent, the one called Devil and Satan, who is misleading the entire inhabited earth.” Satan the “dragon” is not alone in ruling all the political governments of the earth. He has legions of angels, superhuman spirits like himself, and these demons fight on the ‘dragon’s’ side over the issue of universal sovereignty.

7. Like a god, the “dragon” has what as a mouthpiece on earth?

⁷ The Christian apostle Paul calls Satan “the god of this system of things.” (2 Cor. 4:4) Like a god, this “dragon” has a prophet on the earth. What kind of prophet? A “false prophet,” for he acts as the mouthpiece of the “dragon” that is “misleading the entire inhabited earth.” (Rev. 12:9) Logically, then, his prophesying must be misleading and, consequently, “false.” Are we today being misled by him?

8. Why has the “false prophet” been allowed to speak as the representative for the whole “wild beast”?

⁸ Let us not make the mistake of thinking that this “false prophet” is an individual man. He is, in fact, a composite figure, a political system that stands out from all other governments. So much has this been the case that the “wild beast” has recognized the “false prophet” to be the dominant political entity of the day. And why not? Because it became the greatest world power of all human history according to Bible prophecy. So it has been allowed to speak as the representative for the whole “wild beast.”

9. With what authority has the “false prophet” spoken till now, and in what way have its prophesyings been misleading?

⁹ Particularly for the past two centuries this Anglo-American “prophet” has let its voice be heard with an authority that has not yet been overthrown. As the seventh world power referred to in Bible prophecy, this British-American dual world power has performed “signs” with which to impress all the peoples and to mislead them away from subjection to the Creator of heaven and earth. It has been the chief proponent and backer of the present-day United Nations organization for ensuring the peace and security of the world. (Rev. 19:20) The British-American political combination ranks among the first nuclear-powered military forces on earth. Trusting in its own strength, it does not prophesy in favor of rulership of all the earth by the Creator, Jehovah God.

“THREE FOUL SPIRITS LIKE FROGS”

10, 11. (a) Because of what threat to all mankind do we need to be warned regarding that now dominant trio of “dragon,” “wild beast” and “false prophet”? (b) What warning does Revelation 16:13-16 give us?

¹⁰ In the face of the foregoing facts, can we truthfully say that this twentieth-century world scene is dominated by the symbolic “wild beast,” “false prophet” and “dragon”? Yes! Hence, we all need to be warned about that God-defying trio, for it is bent on bringing about destruction of all mankind. How? Not by a nuclear third world war, but by a universal war at what the Bible calls Har–Magedon. The Bible’s last book, Revelation, gives all people such a warning. Even though this book uses picture language, it is very clear and understandable as to the disastrous outcome of such a universal war for all mankind. As we read Revelation 16:13-16, we can see at what the warning, given in picture language, is driving. In The New English Bible the verses read:

¹¹ “Then I saw coming from the mouth of the dragon, the mouth of the beast, and the mouth of the false prophet, three foul spirits like frogs. These spirits were devils, with power to work miracles. They were sent out to muster all the kings of the world for the great day of battle of God the sovereign Lord. . . . So they assembled the kings at the place called in Hebrew Armageddon.”

12. (a) What really are those three froglike spirits that come out from the mouths of “dragon,” “wild beast” and “false prophet”? (b) To what are such “spirits” leading all mankind?

¹² The “foul spirits” that hop “like frogs” out of the mouths of the dragon, wild beast and false prophet are not literal spirit creatures such as devils or demons. Since they come out of three mouths, they picture propaganda, in this case propaganda as foul as frogs that puff themselves up and make a dismal croaking sound. The propaganda is forceful, with a driving or persuasive power. Accordingly, the New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures says: “They are, in fact, expressions inspired by demons.” They are “unclean inspired expressions” that come out of the mouths of the dragon, wild beast and false prophet. To what are those forceful expressions leading the rulers of the people? To no other eventuality but “the war of the great day of God the Almighty” at Har–Magedon. Yes, they are leading to war, not a war between man and man as in a nuclear third world war, but a war between man and God. Is this not something of the most serious kind? Indeed it is!

13. If we do not want to march along to Har–Magedon, we need the help of what, and why so?

¹³ The march to the battleground of Har–Magedon is on! Is the foul, unclean propaganda persuading us individually to march with the “kings of the entire inhabited earth”? Are we going to let ourselves be propagandized into fighting against God the Almighty? If we personally do not want to do this, then how can we successfully resist the driving force of the “unclean inspired expressions” that issue from the dragon, wild beast and false prophet? We can do so only by the help of the counteractive force of the Almighty God’s holy spirit. This is a far superior force, not foul, not unclean, but holy. In Revelation 4:5, its effectiveness is pictured as being sevenfold, like the seven lamps that symbolized “the seven spirits of God.” The spirit of God is his holy invisible active force. If we are enlightened and strengthened by it, we can overpower the driving force of the three unclean “spirits of demons,” or “expressions inspired by demons.”​—Rev. 16:14, American Standard Version; NW.

14, 15. (a) What would be more terrifying than our meeting, unarmed, a literal wild beast, dragon and false prophet, together? (b) In what way can a mountain of opposition be made like a level land?

¹⁴ Here, likely, someone might exclaim in dismay: ‘Why, such a thing would mean my taking a stand against the whole world. That is frightening!’ Yes, to a person without the spirit of God, it would indeed be so. What if we were to face, unarmed, a literal wild beast and a fiery-red dragon along with a false prophet, all at one time? Would that not be terrifying? Yes! But what about our standing up against the larger things symbolized by the wild beast and fiery-red dragon and the false prophet? Certainly it ought to be far more terrifying to stand up against a beastlike worldwide system of political rule and a nuclear-powered “false prophet” and their superhuman controller, the great Dragon, Satan the Devil! Could a mere human do this without adequate protection? In our own strength we could never hold firm against the propaganda and pressure from such mighty sources and keep refusing to compromise so as never to be a sharer with them. That triple combination, involving heaven and earth, looms up like a lofty mountain in our pathway. How can we ever surmount it?

¹⁵ If we have God the Almighty with us, we can cope with the pressure and opposition of the whole world. Nineteen centuries ago the Christian apostle Paul met a martyr’s death at the claws of the political “wild beast,” and yet he fearlessly said: “If God is for us, who will be against us?” (Rom. 8:31) Hence, what may seem like an insurmountable mountain of opposition to us the Almighty God can make like a level piece of land. That is what He said to the governor of ancient Jerusalem, whom He commissioned to rebuild the temple in that city. To encourage the governor, Zerubbabel, to go ahead despite the mountainous opposition from worldly outsiders, God said to him: “‘Not by a military force, nor by power, but by my spirit,’ Jehovah of armies has said.”​—Zech. 4:6.

16. As in Governor Zerubbabel’s case, what are we obliged to put to the test if we want to be on the winning side at Har–Magedon?

¹⁶ In the sixth century before our Common Era, the governor of Jerusalem put the spirit of God to the test by acting according to his commission from God. For proving God to be true, he had the joy of seeing the temple completed in the year 515 B.C.E. and of inaugurating it. (Zech. 4:8-10) Likewise, today our faith in the spirit of God is being put to the test, for we face opposition from the triple alliance of the “wild beast,” the “false prophet,” and the “dragon.” We are obliged to put God’s spirit to the test, in order to keep on worshiping Jehovah as God at his spiritual temple and to stay separate and distinct from the world. If we do so, we are bound to be on the victorious side during the “war of the great day of God the Almighty” at Har–Magedon.

SPIRIT POURED OUT FROM ON HIGH

17, 18. (a) As respects the spirit, how did Jehovah not fail his people after their desolating experience in World War I? (b) How did Jehovah indicate this beforehand in Isaiah 32:12-16?

¹⁷ Jehovah, the Source of holy spirit, has not failed his worshipers in this critical “time of the end,” in which we have been since the World War year of 1914. Faithfully he has put holy spirit in action in behalf of his dedicated, baptized people. He foretold that he would do so. World War I of 1914-1918 C.E. was marked by worldwide hardship and a desolating persecution upon these conscientious students and proclaimers of God’s written Word, the Holy Bible. That God was wise and correct in letting such a disciplinary trial come upon them, we do not question for a moment. It was even foreshadowed by what befell the ancient kingdom of Judah with its capital at Jerusalem. In chapter thirty-two of Isaiah’s prophecy, Jehovah described the lamentable devastation that was to come upon his delinquent people and what would follow when they repented and turned back to Him. He said:

¹⁸ “Beat yourselves upon the breasts in lamentation over the desirable fields, over the fruit-bearing vine. [Why?] Upon the ground of my people merely thorns, spiny bushes come up, for they are upon all the houses of exultation, yes, the highly elated town [Jerusalem]. For the dwelling tower itself has been forsaken, the very hubbub of the city has been abandoned; [the eminence] Ophel and the watchtower themselves have become bare fields, for time indefinite the exultation of zebras, the pasture of droves; until upon us the spirit is poured out from on high, and the wilderness will have become an orchard, and the orchard itself is accounted as a real forest. And in the wilderness justice will certainly reside, and in the orchard righteousness itself will dwell.”​—Isa. 32:12-16.

19. What was the national calamity to which Isaiah was there referring?

¹⁹ Can we today identify the national calamity that the prophet Isaiah here described more than a century in advance? Ah, yes, it was the desolating of the land of the kingdom of Judah for seventy years, during which time the deported Israelites were kept as exiles in the pagan land of Babylon. They were the survivors of the shocking destruction of the holy city of Jerusalem and its temple by the Babylonians in 607 B.C.E. That must certainly have been a dispiriting experience for those survivors to go through. As they languished in an idolatrous country, Jehovah’s temple of worship lay in ruins, Jerusalem was a dead city without any hubbub, and their once productive land was a thornbush-infested wilderness, and a playground for wild zebras, without molestation by man.

20. (a) How did ancient Babylon misjudge her power as a prison keeper of Jehovah’s people? (b) In the strength of what did the repentant Israelites return, with what effect on their homeland?

²⁰ In defiance of Jehovah God, idol-worshiping Babylon held the Israelite exiles as in a prison. As the Third World Power on the ancient world stage, she felt strong enough to keep the desolated land of Judah from ever again being occupied by the worshipers of the rival God, Jehovah. She did not believe that Jehovah could raise up the Persian conqueror, Cyrus, whom he had named long before. At the time due, this conqueror appeared on the scene. Just as had been foretold, Cyrus broke the merciless prison keeper’s power and released the Israelite prisoners. Thus, in 539 B.C.E., the desolator of the earthly estate of Jehovah’s people was toppled from the high position of World Power. Then Jehovah’s spirit was poured out from on high upon the repentant Israelite exiles in 537 B.C.E. In the strength and under the guidance of that active force from the Most High God, the repentant Israelite remnant left Babylon and trekked back to their desolate homeland to rebuild Jerusalem and its holy temple. Their reoccupied land gradually lost its desolate appearance as they converted it into a most fruitful land, the beauty of which approached that of Paradise, the Garden of Eden.

21. How does that event back there figure as to the fulfillment of Isaiah’s prophecy, chapter thirty-two?

²¹ However, did that event of more than 2,500 years ago provide all the fulfillment that there was to be to that prophecy of Isaiah, chapter thirty-two? No! What there was of fulfillment back there was just a miniature fulfillment to illustrate a future full-scale fulfillment during our own twentieth century. This major and final fulfillment has now come upon those who are today the approved people of the same God, Jehovah.

22. During World War I, what kind of weapons were used in warring upon Jehovah’s Christian witnesses, and why were the nations wrathful against them?

²² Since the year 1931 C.E., these restored Christians have been known as Jehovah’s Witnesses. But years before that, there was that spiritual calamity that befell them during World War I. Simultaneously with that gory war with death-dealing weapons, a war was waged upon them by the symbolic “wild beast” that had received its power and throne and great authority from the “dragon,” Satan the Devil. However, this war was carried on without lethal weapons, for the attacked Christian Bible Students were a harmless, unarmed people. Instead, political and judicial weapons were put to use, even to the imprisonment of peaceable, innocent Christians. (Rev. 13:3-7) The war-inclined nations, who make up the symbolic “wild beast,” were moved to wrath because these Christian witnesses of Jehovah were proclaiming his kingdom by Christ to be the only rightful rule for all the earth now, forasmuch as the appointed “times of the Gentiles” had ended in early autumn of the year 1914 C.E.​—Luke 21:24, Authorized Version; Rev. 11:15-18.

23. By whom were the war-minded nations egged on, and by what mighty trio was the remnant of Kingdom proclaimers overpowered?

²³ The wrathful nations were egged on by the religious leaders who belonged to Babylon the Great, the world empire of false religion that has its roots in ancient Babylon. In that religious empire Christendom took the lead in stirring the nations to act and to persecute the small remnant of spiritual Israelites. Being a harmless, unarmed minority, the remnant was overpowered by the triple alliance of the “wild beast,” the “false prophet” and the “dragon.” This powerful trio combined forces in bringing the remnant of Kingdom proclaimers into bondage to Babylon the Great. What now followed and how Isaiah’s prophecy, chapter thirty-two, thus underwent its final fulfillment we shall find set out on the succeeding pages.

The Activity of the Spirit Poured Out from on High

1. Before World War I ended in 1918, the spiritual estate of the remnant of spiritual Israel had been reduced to what condition?

BEFORE World War I ended on November 11, 1918, the spiritual estate of the persecuted remnant of spiritual Israelites became desolate. Spiritually, it became like a wilderness, in which the ‘fruits of the kingdom’ were not being brought forth publicly through a bold preaching of “this good news of the kingdom” on the part of the anointed remnant. (Matt. 21:43; 24:14) Uncertainty and despondency settled down upon the internationally hated, oppressed remnant of Kingdom ambassadors.

2. What indicated whether the desolated condition of the remnant was to keep on indefinitely, and what was needed to alter the situation?

² Did Jehovah God approve of having this desolate condition of his dedicated people keep on forever? No. In pre-Christian times he decreed that Jerusalem and the land of Judah should lie desolate for a limited time, for no longer than seventy years. The Babylonian Empire was not to glory over its victims, Jerusalem and Judah, for all time. So, too, God did not purpose that the victims of Babylon the Great, namely, the remnant of spiritual Israel, should be left in a desolate state indefinitely. Well, then, what was now needed to alter the situation to the glory of their God, Jehovah? A special operation of holy spirit toward them!

3. According to Isaiah 32:15, 16, the desolated condition of Jehovah’s people was to continue until what occurred?

³ In Isaiah 32:15 Jehovah assured his people that their lamentable desolated condition would last only “until upon us the spirit is poured out from on high.” After that, what? “And,” as the prophecy goes on to say, “the wilderness will have become an orchard, and the orchard itself is accounted as a real forest. And in the wilderness justice will certainly reside, and in the orchard righteousness itself will dwell.”​—Isa. 32:15, 16.

4, 5. (a) So, what was to take place upon the remnant of spiritual Israelites? (b) How was this confirmed to the remnant in the vision given to Ezekiel showing a valley full of dead bones?

⁴ Ah, yes, for the remnant of spiritual Israelites there was to be an outpouring of spirit, along with release from Babylon the Great. This bright prospect was confirmed to them by the vision that Jehovah gave to his prophet Ezekiel, while this prophet was still an exile in ancient Babylon. In the vision he saw a low valley plain that was full of the disjointed bones of countless dead Israelites.

⁵ For those dead Israelites in the vision, the case looked hopeless. For the living Israelites exiled in ancient Babylon many hundreds of miles away from the desolate homeland, the case looked equally hopeless. Not hopeless, though, from Almighty God’s standpoint. He is the God who can even resurrect the dead. Centuries earlier he had used his prophets Elijah and Elisha to resurrect literally dead persons, by means of holy spirit. So, in the vision to Ezekiel he did re-create and reanimate all those dead Israelites. In explaining the meaning of the vision, Jehovah said: “You will have to know that I am Jehovah when I open your burial places and when I bring you up out of your burial places [in Babylon], O my people. And I will put my spirit in you, and you must come to life, and I will settle you upon your soil; and you will have to know that I myself, Jehovah, have spoken and I have done it.”​—Ezek. 37:13, 14.

6. How did a spiritual resurrection take place, and what did onlooking nations say in amazement at what they observed?

⁶ True to this prophecy, Babylon ceased to be the burial place of the Jewish nation. A spiritual resurrection took place. As by a miracle, in 537 B.C.E. a band of exiled Israelites and their attendants marched out of Babylon and settled in their homeland. They set themselves to rebuilding Jerusalem and its temple and making their long-desolate homeland like a paradise. No longer was there any reason for them to beat themselves upon the breasts in “lamentation over the desirable fields, over the fruit-bearing vine,” that had been left to desolation by the Babylonian conquerors in 607 B.C.E. What a manifestation there then was of holy spirit in action! The onlooking pagan nations were amazed! Psalm 126:2 reports that they said: “Jehovah has done a great thing in what he has done with them.”

7. In our twentieth century the worlds of Psalm 126:2 were said with regard to whom, and why?

⁷ The same thing has been said in our own twentieth century. With regard to whom? Not with regard to the natural Jews who settled in Palestine after World War I and later fought with “a military force” to establish the Republic of Israel, in 1948. No, but the prophetic words of Psalm 126:2 were said with regard to the internationally hated and persecuted Bible Students, who were liberated from bondage to Babylon the Great in the postwar year of 1919. Upon such restored Christians, who were spiritual Israelites, there came an outpouring of spirit from on high. It reminded Bible Students of the Pentecost of 33 C.E., although it was not accompanied by visible “tongues as if of fire” that sat upon the heads of the disciples miraculously enabling them to speak different, unlearned foreign languages.​—Acts 2:1-4; Joel 2:28, 29; Isa. 32:15.

8. For what postwar work had the remnant of spiritual Israel been preserved, and why could they rightfully take up the name “Jehovah’s Witnesses”?

⁸ As a result, these spiritually energized Christians became more lively in Jehovah’s active service than ever before. Witnessing, witnessing, witnessing to God’s established kingdom​—world wide! became their rousing cry. That was now their main purpose in living. According to the Bible, that was the reason why God preserved them alive through World War I and freed them from bondage to Babylon the Great. (Matt. 24:9-14) So they reassembled their scattered members and reorganized for carrying out the Kingdom witnessing world wide down to the end. Came the year 1931. By means of hundreds of millions of free tracts, by tens of millions of bound books, by a worldwide Bible-lecture campaign, by hundreds of radio stations, they had by then given an earth-wide witness to Jehovah’s name and to his Messianic kingdom. All of this they did free from the “spirit of cowardice.” (2 Tim. 1:7) So now, with the words of Isaiah 43:10 ringing in their ears, those anointed champions of Jehovah and of his kingdom by Christ took up the Bible-supported name “Jehovah’s Witnesses.”

9, 10. (a) Who have failed to rid the earth of that name? (b) Who besides the remnant of spiritual Israel are determined that the name shall stay alive, and so what have they done?

⁹ Down to this day all the religious forces of Babylon the Great and her political, judicial and military henchmen have tried but have proved unable to rid the earth of that name upon God’s Kingdom proclaimers. It lives on! And so do its bearers!

¹⁰ Throughout the earth a “great crowd” of God-fearing people are determined that the name shall stay alive and meaningful, even though they themselves are not spiritual Israelites. They have noticed what the God who bears the name Jehovah has done for his name people, the remnant of spiritual Israel. They have detected upon which people it is that God’s spirit has been poured out from on high. So those who make up the “great crowd” today are the ones “among the nations” who are saying: “Jehovah has done a great thing in what he has done with them.” (Ps. 126:2) The God who could do such a thing with so small a remnant of spiritual Israelites is the God whom the “great crowd” want to worship and serve. Fearless of international hatred and persecution, they have dedicated themselves to the same God through Christ and have aligned themselves with the anointed remnant of Jehovah’s Christian witnesses. They too have taken upon themselves the responsibility of being His Witnesses, unashamed.​—Rev. 7:9-17; Zech. 8:23.

DEFENSE AGAINST “EXPRESSIONS INSPIRED BY DEMONS”

11. What are the dragon, the wild beast and the false prophet croaking about, but, nevertheless, what are the remnant and the “great crowd” causing to be heard?

¹¹ Today the anointed remnant and the “great crowd” unitedly face the devilish “dragon,” the nuclear-powered “wild beast” and the political “false prophet.” Revelation 12:17 makes it plain that the “dragon,” Satan the Devil, has gone forth to wage war with the anointed remnant. In doing this he uses his political “wild beast” and the Anglo-American “false prophet” here on earth. So the demon-inspired froglike expressions out of their mouths go on, about worship of the State, about national sovereignty, about materialism, about world peace and security through the United Nations. Nevertheless, Jehovah’s Witnesses have caused the good news of God’s Messianic kingdom to be heard world wide. This Kingdom message has penetrated into more than two hundred lands and islands of the sea. Obviously the croaking dragon, the wild beast and the false prophet would like to drown out the Kingdom message. Religious Babylon the Great, especially Christendom, would like to do this, as Christendom claims that she alone speaks for God.

12. Thus the situation today is like what situation of King Ahab and his false prophets and Jehovah’s prophet Micaiah?

¹² The situation is like that of Jehovah’s prophet Micaiah and the false prophets of Ahab the king of Israel, about 920 B.C.E. The false prophets predicted military victory for King Ahab. But Micaiah predicted calamity for him. He pointed out that, by Jehovah’s permission, King Ahab was being fooled to his own ruin by a deceptive inspired expression in the mouths of his false prophets. A false prophet named Zedekiah objected to that. To quote 1 Kings 22:24, he “now approached and struck Micaiah upon the cheek and said: ‘In just which way did the spirit of Jehovah pass along from me to speak with you?’” Yet Jehovah had indeed spoken by Micaiah, for King Ahab never came back alive from the war.​—1 Ki. 22:20-38.

13. In what way did the anointed remnant of spiritual Israel prove to be like the prophet Micaiah?

¹³ There is a modern parallel of that incident, particularly since the year 1919, when the victorious military allies of World War I adopted the proposal for a League of Nations to safeguard world peace and security. The anointed remnant of spiritual Israelites have been like the prophet Micaiah. Holy spirit had been poured out upon them from on high, and, as foretold, the effect upon them was that they prophesied, declaring the prophecies of Jehovah’s inspired Bible. (Joel 2:28, 29) Fearlessly they foretold from Bible prophecies that the League of Nations would fail. Also, they declared a warning message against the kings or political rulers of Christendom, who correspond with King Ahab of apostate Israel.

14. What message concerning Christendom’s rulers have the clergy resented, and how have they acted like Queen Jezebel?

¹⁴ The remnant declared that in the coming “war of the great day of God the Almighty” at Har–Magedon those professed “Christian” rulers would suffer defeat and be destroyed by God’s execution of judgment against them. This will occur despite the fact that Christendom’s clergy, like Zedekiah and his band of false prophets, have blessed the governments and military forces of Christendom’s rulers. The clergy claim the exclusive right to speak for God and to have His spirit. Hence, they resent the calamitous message that the anointed remnant have proclaimed concerning the political rulers and armies upon whom they, the clergy, have prayed the divine blessing. They have tried to suppress the preaching done by the anointed remnant, as if this was not authorized by God and was not being done by means of Jehovah’s spirit. They have stirred up violent persecution against the anointed remnant, just as Ahab’s wife, Queen Jezebel, persecuted Elijah and one hundred other prophets of Jehovah.​—1 Ki. 18:13.

15. When will Christendom’s clergy have it made plain whether they ever had God’s spirit, and why will they not see victory gained by Christendom’s rulers?

¹⁵ Thus, in effect, Christendom’s clergy have struck the anointed remnant in the face and said: “In just which way did the spirit of Jehovah pass along from me to speak with you?” (1 Ki. 22:24) Not before very long now the clergy will have it made plain to them whether they ever had Jehovah’s spirit. They will never see victory gained by Christendom’s rulers and armies. In fact, neither will they live to see the destruction of their political and military friends in the “war of the great day of God the Almighty.” Why not? Because, before ever that war at Har–Magedon begins, those yet friendly political elements, who today are an active part of the United Nations organization, will turn to hating Christendom’s clergy and the other religious leaders of Babylon the Great and will annihilate them.​—Rev. 16:14, 16; 17:3-18.

16. What, though, will the Micaiah-like remnant see?

¹⁶ What, though, about the anointed remnant, upon whom Jehovah has poured out his spirit from on high? They have survived the blow that was inflicted on their cheek by Christendom’s clergy. They will see the message that God’s spirit imparted to them from the Bible come true. Yes, indeed, they will see the destruction of the world rulers who were led to Har–Magedon by the froglike propaganda belched forth by the dragon, the wild beast and the false prophet.

“THE SPIRIT OF GLORY, EVEN THE SPIRIT OF GOD”

17. Why, in this “conclusion of the system of things,” do the reproach and persecution upon remnant and “great crowd” not mean that they do not have God’s spirit?

¹⁷ Violent persecution has been heaped upon the anointed remnant and their fellow witnesses, the “great crowd” of Christ’s “other sheep” of today. (John 10:16) Does this signify that all these Christian witnesses of Jehovah do not have His spirit? No! It is, in fact, evidence to the contrary, for Christ foretold this to happen in the “conclusion of the system of things.” His true disciples were to be hated by all the nations and to be persecuted for bearing witness to his Messianic kingdom. (Matt. 24:3, 9-14) Hatred, reproach, persecution for holding fast to the name of Christ as the now reigning King are no real cause for our being ashamed as if we were doing the wrong thing.

18. According to 1 Peter 4:14, why are those who are reproached for Christ’s name really happy ones?

¹⁸ A first-century Christian martyr, the apostle Peter, wrote: “If you are being reproached for the name of Christ, you are happy, because the spirit of glory, even the spirit of God, is resting upon you.” (1 Pet. 4:14) Or, as The New English Bible words it: “If Christ’s name is flung in your teeth as an insult, count yourselves happy, because then that glorious Spirit which is the Spirit of God is resting upon you.”

19. With what object in view do people reproach us for Christ’s name, but what kind of spirit is it that God gives us?

¹⁹ The persons who reproach us for our obeying God’s commands through Christ want to make us feel ashamed to the point of our quitting God’s service and no more preaching “this good news of the kingdom” for a worldwide witness. But the spirit that God puts upon his Kingdom preachers is not one that induces a feeling of shame and of guiltiness as if it were for their having done wrong. It makes us feel honored, glorified, and it is associated with God’s resplendent glory. It is a spirit that moves us to “exult while in tribulations, since we know that tribulation produces endurance; endurance, in turn, an approved condition; the approved condition, in turn, hope, and the hope does not lead to disappointment; because the love of God has been poured out into our hearts through the holy spirit, which was given us.”​—Rom. 5:3-5.

20. In line with Psalm 69:9, is the reproach upon us limited to being reproached for Christ’s name?

²⁰ We who are Christian witnesses of Jehovah are privileged to be reproached for more than just “the name of Christ.” We are privileged to be reproached especially for the name of the One for whom Jesus Christ bore reproach. “Even [the] Christ did not please himself; but just as it is written: ‘The reproaches of those who were reproaching you have fallen upon me.’” (Rom. 15:3) The words there quoted from Psalm 69:9 identify the reproached One as being Jehovah, for whose house of worship Jesus Christ was so zealous.​—John 2:17.

21. What may be said about the spirit as resting upon us when we are reproached for the name of Jehovah?

²¹ It is a glorious honor to be reproached for Jesus Christ, the Son of God. It is a more magnificent honor to be reproached for Jehovah God, the Father of Jesus Christ, forasmuch as the Father is greater than the Son. (John 14:28) Since the “spirit of God” rests upon us who are reproached for Christ’s name, then it should rest in fuller measure upon us when we are enduring reproach for the name of his own Father and God, Jehovah. By keeping our integrity to God down till the reproachers of us are destroyed in the coming “great tribulation,” we shall never have God’s “spirit of glory” depart from us.​—Rev. 7:14-17; 1 Pet. 4:14.

“THE SPIRIT AND THE BRIDE”

22. Why does the froggy propaganda from the “dragon,” “wild beast” and “false prophet” not lead us along with world rulers, and against what spirit are we protected?

²² We may expect further reproach from the devilish “dragon” and the political “wild beast” and the Anglo-American “false prophet,” because we do not march along with the political rulers and their armies to the battlefield of Har–Magedon. Their froggy propaganda and their hostility to the witnesses of Jehovah will never make us worship anyone or anything else as God, or make us renounce his universal sovereignty or stop seeking first the precious things of his Messianic kingdom. We have “the spirit of glory, even the spirit of God,” to counteract all the demonic “inspired expressions” that are leading all the nations to the “war of the great day of God the Almighty” at Har–Magedon. (Rev. 16:13-16; 19:19-21) We, for our part, listen and give heed to the “inspired expressions” that issue from God’s holy Word, the Bible. We direct our course in life in harmony with those inspired expressions. So Jehovah’s spirit, which inspired the prophets to write the Bible, is what is in action in our lives. It protects us from getting infected with “the spirit of the world.”​—1 Cor. 2:12.

23. Respectfully, whose voice do we now let be heard everywhere, and for whom do the remnant keep themselves virgin pure?

²³ Respectfully, we let the voice of “the spirit and the bride” be heard throughout the earth. We recognize who this “bride” is. She is the congregation of spirit-begotten disciples who are promised in marriage to the heavenly Bridegroom, Jesus Christ. On earth today she is represented by the anointed remnant that will shortly be united to Christ in heaven. For this reason the remnant of the “bride” class does not take any part in the religious fornication that Babylon the Great now commits with the political rulers of the earth. Instead of meddling in politics and becoming friends with the world, those of the “bride” class keep virgin pure for their heavenly Bridegroom, Jesus Christ, whom they everywhere proclaim as the King reigning at God’s right hand in heaven.​—Rev. 17:5, 18; 21:2-14, 21-24; Jas. 4:4.

24. What is the “spirit” that is mentioned in Revelation 22:17?

²⁴ It is with reference to our very own day that Revelation 22:17 says: “And the spirit and the bride keep on saying: ‘Come!’ And let anyone hearing say: ‘Come!’ And let anyone thirsting come; let anyone that wishes take life’s water free.” Here, the “spirit” that is mentioned is Jehovah’s active force that voices itself through the inspired expressions found in the Bible prophecies. This spirit is in action within the remnant of the “bride” class.

25. Who have acted upon the invitation extended by “the spirit and the bride,” and to whom have they come for thirst-quenching “water”?

²⁵ Is anybody on earth today listening and responding to the invitation extended by “the spirit and the bride”? Yes, particularly since 1935 C.E., the year during which the identity of the “great crowd” of Revelation 7:9-17 was made clear to the remnant of the “bride” class. In response to the divine invitation, thousands who were thirsting for “life’s water” have come out of drought-stricken Babylon the Great. They have turned away from the broken-down worldly “cisterns” that can contain no real life-sustaining “water” for dying mankind. Through Jesus Christ, the heavenly Bridegroom, they have come to Jehovah God, “the source of living water,” “the source of life.”​—Jer. 2:13; Ps. 36:9.

26. What do those who become members of the “great crowd” join the remnant of the “bride” class in doing, and with what result?

²⁶ Being spiritually refreshed by drinking of “life’s water,” the members of the “great crowd” join the anointed remnant of the “bride” class in extending the invitation to still others. And thus the “great crowd” of drinkers grows larger. Jehovah has put his spirit upon the members of the “great crowd,” and they are not ashamed by being reproached for His name and that of his Christ. Thus, by the united remnant and “great crowd,” the good news continues to be preached more extensively, making known God’s provision for obedient men and women to gain everlasting life in a paradise home here on earth under God’s Messianic kingdom. This “good news” will continue to be preached world wide till the end comes upon this wicked system of things that is yet controlled by the “dragon,” the “wild beast” and the “false prophet.”

27. (a) How only can we account for the worldwide Kingdom preaching done till now? (b) With everlasting life in view, to what shall we henceforth sow?

²⁷ Till now the worldwide preaching of “this good news of the kingdom” has been simply miraculous. How shall we account for it? In no other way than that holy spirit has been and still is in action. God has put it in action in behalf of what he foretold, namely, the preaching of the good news of the kingdom in all the inhabited earth for a witness to all the nations before their end comes. Nothing done by men and demons has been able to counteract His spirit. In view of His inflexible rule that, “whatever a man is sowing, this he will also reap,” let us refrain from further sowing to our corrupt flesh and, instead, let us sow to God’s holy spirit. By henceforth sowing to it, we shall in due time reap from that divine spirit everlasting life in God’s new order. (Gal. 6:7, 8) All thanks be to Jehovah God through Jesus Christ that, in this time of urgent need on the part of all lovers of righteousness and peace, His spirit is mightily in action!