Do You Want Relief from Life’s Pressures?

DO YOU at times feel that the pressures of life are just too much? Do you long for relief from them?

More and more people feel that way. This is especially so today because pressures seem to be building up everywhere.

A father supporting a family finds job pressures increasing. National economies seem very unstable. His family’s safety concerns him. A mother feels pressure when she sees the prices of everything continually going up and wonders how she can make ends meet.

Young people see the ‘pressure-cooker’ atmosphere of modern society and are appalled. Observing economic competition, wars, nuclear weapons, pollution, corruption and race hatreds, they ask: ‘Is life worth living at all?’

This situation prompted scientists to write: “Society has reached a stage of development where the stresses and strain produced by its own speed of technological advance are not only overtaking man’s powers of adaptability​—both physical and mental—​but are endangering his very survival.”​—New York Times, June 20, 1971.

How upsetting are today’s pressures? An article in the Reader’s Digest points out this finding of doctors: “Emotional stress can produce real illness​—true changes in the body chemistry and structure of quite normal people. . . . specialists agreed that psychogenic (emotion-caused) disorders account for perhaps two of every three visits to the doctor.”

True, not all stress is bad. Even in thinking, working and playing there is some tension involved. In this connection Vienna-born Dr. Hans Selye says: “We are stressed by joy, by a game. . . . But difficulties arise when a particular stress, either mental or physical, is applied for too long.” So while some stress is normal, too much unrelenting pressure brings irritation, frustration, anxiety and fear. That can be very damaging.

Is there any hope that the world will change so that damaging pressures will be a thing of the past? Based on man’s experience so far, you may quickly answer, NO! Yet, there is every reason to believe that in our time, likely this very decade, permanent relief will be realized!

How is this possible? Well, let us see. But first, it would be good to take a closer look at the pressures assaulting people today.

LIVING COSTS

ECONOMIC EXPERTS SAY: “WORLDWIDE INFLATION NOW THREATENS TO GET OUT OF CONTROL.”

Country Cost of Living Total Taxes Paid

Increase in 1970 Out of Each Dollar

FRANCE 5.7% 36.9 ¢

NORWAY 9.5% 38.2 ¢

UNITED STATES 5.9% 29.9 ¢

UNEMPLOYMENT

BRITAIN reports the worst unemployment in over 30 years.

Of AFRICA’S unemployment one sociologist says: “There is really no solution”

Regarding LATIN AMERICA the Monthly Labor Review notes: “Unemployment and underemployment appear to have grown worse in recent years.”

And in the UNITED STATES one 1971 report says: “Job seekers all across the country find their days filled with frustrations.”

CRIME

EVERY 72 MINUTES IN THE UNITED STATES THERE ARE:

36 Robberies, 2 Murders and 5 Rapes

PEOPLE ARE NOT SAFE ON THE STREETS

“Fear stalks the streets. . . . People flee the streets at dark and, more and more, even in daylight.”​—United States Senator Mike Mansfield.

PEOPLE ARE NOT SAFE AT HOME

Growing numbers of homes are fortified with locks, alarms, guns and watchdogs. As the New York Sunday News observed: “A man’s home is his castle these days only if he has a moat and a drawbridge.”​—January 31, 1971.

WAR

WORLD WIDE, MILITARY COSTS ARE OVER $200 BILLION A YEAR, OR, $23 MILLION EVERY HOUR!

BETWEEN 1914 AND 1970 FOUR MAJOR WARS ALONE CAUSED OVER 71 MILLION DEATHS AND LEFT HUNDREDS OF MILLIONS OF PERSONS WOUNDED

SICKNESS

THERE ARE MORE DOCTORS, HOSPITALS, MENTAL INSTITUTIONS AND MEDICAL SCHOOLS​—YET MANKIND GROWS SICKER!

FATAL HEART CASES UP

MENTAL CASES FILL 1 OUT OF 2 HOSPITAL BEDS

CANCER​—WHERE DOCTORS FAIL

RISING MEDICAL COSTS BLEED JOHN DOE

V. D. RUNNING RAMPANT

A “PLAGUE YEAR” FOR KILLER DISEASES?

HEART ILLS STILL TOP U.S. KILLER

POLLUTION

AIR: ‘The last vestige of clean air in the United States disappeared six years ago.’​—The New Haven Register (1969).

WATER: “In the the past 20 years, life in our oceans has diminished 40 per cent.”​—French undersea explorer Jacques-Yves Cousteau.

LAND: ‘DDT spraying has created a poisonous veil covering the surface of the entire earth.’ (Stern magazine) ‘The German Republic is slowly suffocating in junk and garbage.’​—Schwarzwald Bote.

NOISE: “If noise levels increase in the next 30 years as they have in the past 30, it could be lethal.”​—Internationally known physicist Dr. V. O. Knudsen.

POVERTY

‘It is already too late to avoid famines that will kill millions, possibly by 1975 . . . Already half a billion people are slowly starving, another billion are malnourished.”​—Prof. Paul R. Ehrlich, February 1970.

‘The world in all likelihood is on the verge of the biggest famine in history . . . Such a famine will have massive proportions and affect hundreds of millions, possibly even billions.’​—Too Many, Georg Borgstrom (1969).

EVEN WEALTHY NATIONS HAVE POVERTY

“In the United States an estimated 10 to 12 million of our 202 million people are still acutely hungry.”​—The Fight Against Hunger, C. M. Wilson (1969).

“There are today at the very least 11 million substandard and overcrowded dwelling units in the United States. This is 16 percent of the total housing inventory.”​—Report of the National Commission on Urban Problems, pages 9, 10.

‘This may be the first tangible sign of the collapse of our civilization.’​—Boston’s mayor Kevin White viewing one New York slum area, April 1971.

DRUG ABUSE

IN EVERY NATION

The World Health Organization estimates that more than 200 million people world wide regularly use marijuana. Regarding drug control a Swedish expert says: “At best we have ten years in which to prevent a social catastrophe. . . It may already be too late.”

AT EVERY SOCIAL LEVEL

Soldiers, factory and office workers, even elementary school children are drug users. A former addict confessed: “I shot dope with millionaires in Miami, and I shot dope with bums on the bowery.”

And many doctors see nearly as grave a danger in the abuse of ‘legitimate drugs’​—including pep pills, sleeping pills and diet pills—​part of about 2 billion drug prescriptions filled in 1970 in the United States alone.

Are the Pressures Exaggerated?

ARE today’s pressures being exaggerated?

“Yes,” say some. They point out that there has always been a certain amount of crime, war, poverty and discontent over living conditions.

Furthermore, they ask: Is it not true that, even in big cities, the mathematical probabilities of any one person’s being murdered or raped amount to only one in several thousand? Do not drug addicts still represent only a minimal portion of the population? Can we deny that many countries today enjoy prosperity, with workers owning more material possessions than ever before?

Also, while war disrupts some areas, are not most nations at peace? And, despite all the dire warnings about pollution, is it not obvious that people are not by any means ‘dying off like flies’ but keep right on living? ‘Suppose we do have to give up eating mercury-contaminated swordfish,’ they say, ‘what of all the other things to eat?’

This is all very true.

Yet it overlooks some vital factors. What?

Even though those directly affected or visibly hurt by any certain one of these many problems may be a minority, the fact remains that we are all being affected in one way or another.

And the likelihood of finding ourselves among those directly affected or hurt grows with each passing day.

Why the Pressures Are Being Felt

Danger does not have to be immediate or obvious for one to feel damaging pressure. Not everyone lives in a high-crime area. You perhaps can walk outside your home at night with little danger of being attacked. But just knowing that such attacks mount each year can make you uneasy about doing it.

Furthermore, the enormous cost of crime and the cost of fighting it ($60,000,000,000 a year in the United States) is inevitably passed on to the common citizen in the form of higher prices and increased taxes. Really, no one completely escapes, no matter who he is or where he lives.

Drug addiction is steadily reaching into more and more sectors of human society. But even though those on “hard drugs” may still be relatively few, the fact is that much of the world’s population is developing a “drug-oriented culture.” Men and women by the millions are turning to tranquilizers, sleeping pills, pep pills and other so-called “safe” drugs for relief or stimulus. The greater the pressures grow, the greater the temptation to use these to excess​—or to go to more powerful drugs.

“White-Collar” and “Blue-Collar” Worries

Your job may be a good one, with high pay. The company you work for may seem solid and unshakable. Yet more and more persons enjoying such positions today feel uncertain, anxious. Why?

Consider the case of skilled technicians and professional men. Today’s Health (published by the American Medical Association) recently carried an article titled “Dark Days for the White Collar.” It showed that, in the United States, the “rate of joblessness for professional and technical workers is up 27 percent from 1969. Some 1,213,000 white collar workers are caught up in the new unemployment figure,” many now being on welfare.

What of those who have not lost their jobs? They still feel the strain of uncertainty, realizing how unexpectedly even very large businesses can develop deep trouble or even go bankrupt.

Actually, having a high-salaried job, such as that of an executive, often brings its own problems. The trend toward hypertension (high blood pressure) is greater among this class. And medical science now finds that even mild hypertension may trigger heart attacks or strokes.

What about the other end of the labor scale? Is the picture brighter?

Under the title “The Blue-Collar Blues,” Newsweek magazine (May 17, 1971) says: “All in all, the American blue-collar worker of today, while earning more real money (in terms of purchasing power) for fewer hours than ever before, is just plain unhappy.” Why?

Reasons given include the “deadly monotony” of so many factory jobs, the modern plant being likened to a “gold-plated salt mine” where the worker suffers “loss of pride in his job and in his role as the father-provider.” Also there is the feeling that management is more interested in the machines than in the humans operating them.

According to industrial-relations expert William Karp, on the part of the average worker there exists “an unspoken uncertainty that he will be able to go on earning a living.” This uncertainty is largely due to increased automation, with machines steadily taking over men’s jobs.

The picture is similar in other prosperous lands. According to an Associated Press dispatch of June 13, 1971, the chief psychiatrist at a leading Tokyo hospital estimates that about one-third of Japanese salaried men are in the first stages of neurosis.

The situation is much the same in relation to war, pollution, city deterioration and other pressure-causing problems. Not the immediate danger but the fact that these things show so little sign of being solved or even improved​—this is what produces frustration, makes the future lose its appeal, look barren of any bright hope.

Since the pressures today are felt by rich and poor, by people in all neighborhoods, in all lands, where can we look for relief? To what sources are many turning today?

Is This the Way Out of the Pressures?

UNDER painful pressure people often act hastily. They may turn to something that soothes for the moment but does not really solve the problem. They may even try to convince themselves that the pressure-bringing problem does not exist.

Thousands today claim to have found the secret to relief from stress and tension. How? By philosophies, both Oriental and Western. Through intense meditation some claim they can ‘tune out’ today’s troubles and find inner peace. Others believe in strong optimism through the ‘power of positive thinking.’ “Be confident!” they say. “Believe in yourself and your own ability to succeed!”

Is this the answer to today’s pressures?

Obviously, such philosophy will not get you through a traffic jam if you are surrounded by long lines of cars. And though a person might try to ‘tune out’ the danger signals of a malignant tumor, would this stop the tumor from growing in his body?

Of course, confidence and optimism are fine. But they need a solid basis. To illustrate: The New York Times Magazine recently published an article on J. I. Rodale, a successful publisher and a leader in the field of organic farming and health foods. He was quoted as saying: “I’m going to live to be 100, unless I’m run down by a sugar-crazed taxi driver.” The day after the article appeared, he died of a heart attack at the age of seventy-two.

To live in a dream world and build air castles out of our own ambitions or imagined abilities may be soothing. But if the only foundation is our own imperfect ability and thinking, or the shifting philosophies of dying men, we are due for a rude awakening someday.

Turning to the Occult for Help

What could be more helpful than foreknowledge of the future to free us from anxious uncertainty?

Occult sciences attract many adherents in numerous countries. People in growing numbers seek insight into the future through astrology and spiritistic séances.

As far back as 1946, the Associate Curator of Education at the American Museum of Natural History in Washington, D.C., said that “10,000 customers weekly consult the capital’s astrologers.” Prominent legislators were mentioned as among those using the fortune-telling services, one congressman having “his horoscope cast weekly at his office.”

If you find yourself inclined to seek relief in this way, first ask yourself: What about those parts of the earth where such occult practices are the order of the day? What relief has resulted?

In some Southeast Asian lands practically entire populations rely on astrology to guide them in every affair of life. Spiritism and voodooism abound in many African and Latin-American countries. Would you say this has brought peace, stability and security to these regions? Or have these practices been just like an addictive drug, dulling the people’s minds to their true situation?

Relax by Putting Your Trust in Science?

In so-called “advanced” countries, large numbers pin their hopes on science and technology to come up with the solution for alleviating world tensions. This, they feel, is being “practical.”

Who can deny that many fields of human science have seen tremendous advancement in the past half century? We read of amazing surgical techniques, “wonder” drugs, astronauts walking on the moon, a space laboratory circling the earth. And then there is the “green revolution.” Agricultural scientists claim they have started this by their development of new high-yield types of wheat, corn and rice. These are to feed earth’s burgeoning population.

So, is it not practical to trust in scientists to bring us the relief from the pressure-causing problems by their technological “know-how”? No. Why not?

Because honest scientists admit ‘they don’t know how.’

Discussing the danger of worldwide poisoning of man’s environment, Pollution, a publication of the State University College (New York), says:

“Generally speaking, the layman refuses even to consider the possibility of disaster. His standard reply is, ‘Science and technology will resolve our problems, they always have.’ . . . increasingly more scientists do not share this view.”

In the field of human health, for example, Columbia University Professor of Surgeons Harry Grundfest said on May 15, 1971: “There are only vague clues as yet as to the nature of the cancer problem​—let alone its solution.” Despite all the medical research and effort, studies indicate that fully 25 percent of the people in the United States will contract cancer sometime in their life. Today surgeons perform the amazing feat of transplanting human hearts. Yet, according to the New York Times of July 16, 1971, heart disease continues to be the No. 1 killer in the United States. Other “killer” diseases similarly defy medical conquest.

While dramatically increasing grain production in some lands, the “green revolution” has also shown serious weaknesses. An Associated Press article said: “The new hybrids are not as blight-resistant as the older types. There is the possibility that a country’s entire crop​—perhaps a world crop—​could be wiped out by a new plant disease. It almost happened last year with the corn crop in the United States.”

For this and other reasons, William C. Paddock, food authority, last year expressed doubt that this is the way to offset the pressure of the world’s ‘exploding’ population. He said: “The revolution is green only because it is being viewed through green-colored glasses. Take off the glasses, and the revolution proves to be an illusion . . . it does not work.”

An added factor that he and others point out is this: Man continues to turn far more land into desert than he reclaims through irrigation. To cite one example: According to Lord Richie Calder, the population of the Indus Valley in West Pakistan has been growing at the rate of 10 more mouths to be fed every 5 minutes. Yet, “in that same 5 minutes in that same place, an acre of land is being lost through water-logging and salinity.”

Really, has not technological science thus far been the very source of so many of the things contributing to today’s pressures​—from traffic jams and LSD to worldwide pollution and the threat of nuclear warfare? It is easy to say that “since science created these problems it can also find the way out of them.” But because a man is strong enough to swim far out into a rough sea, does that necessarily mean he will be able to swim back without drowning?

Despite their claims, men of science are as subject to pressures of nationalistic ambition or of personal selfishness as are other men. Time and again they have ‘sold’ or ‘prostituted’ themselves to serve political aims or commercial greed. They can do wonders with mechanics, physics and chemistry. But solving difficulties where human relationships are involved is another thing. The sad truth is that the more “human” the problem the less science has to offer.

So, dazzling as their achievements may appear, in the final analysis the scientists’ near-magical feats give no more real promise of true relief-than does the bone-rattling, fetish-waving spectacle put on by a gyrating African witch doctor.

Will ‘Common Sense’ and ‘Human Decency’ Win Out?

Still others seek comfort in the conviction that mankind finally is waking up to the dangers and will do what is necessary to correct matters. They believe that governmental leaders are showing a growing awareness of the seriousness of today’s problems.

So, relief, they say, can be found by showing faith in “the essential decency of mankind.” They call for faith in the “desire and capacity of human beings to work out problems cooperatively.”

Are they right? Can we properly find relief in such conviction?

Many people live in peace. So others could. Some people remain honest, do not steal or cheat. Others could do the same. In some places people do not pollute the air, water and land with chemicals or machine exhaust. Others could imitate them, be willing to sacrifice some things, change their way of life, so that all could be protected from harm. Yes, they could do these things. The question is, will they? Have they in the past? Are they moving in that direction now?

Has man’s ‘essential decency’ kept wars from breaking out? History lists thousands of peace treaties and nonaggression pacts. But as the former president of France, Charles de Gaulle, put it: “Treaties are like roses and young-girls. They last while they last.”

Consider just one example: the historic Kellogg-Briand Pact of 1928. Hailed as a monumental achievement, the pact outlawed war “as an instrument of national policy.” Representatives for sixty-two nations solemnly affixed their signatures to it. But within about a dozen years most of these nations were enmeshed in the bloody slaughter of World War II.

Doubtless most people prefer peace. But when selfish interests are at stake, they show they are willing for peace to be sacrificed. Material wealth, power and national pride mean more to them than human lives. So, too, with other major problems creating stress and tension.

To speak of ‘faith in the essential decency of mankind’ sounds noble. But is this realistic?

Is it realistic, for example, to think that crime is confined to the muggers, the rapists, the racketeers? Or that criminals all come from poverty-stricken slum areas?

A Canadian detective agency in its investigations found that, as an average, “one out of every three employees is basically dishonest,” seeking ways to steal, while ‘another third will steal if the opportunity arises.’ The New York Times (June 10, 1971) quotes Assistant District Attorney Murray J. Gross as saying that theft in the Wall Street financial district is like a “free-for-all.” “Everybody is stealing​—the messengers, the clerks, even the supervisory personnel.”

Shockingly, crime researchers in the United States estimate that the total value of things stolen by outwardly “decent” employees (some $4,000,000,000 annually) is seventy times more than that stolen by outright criminals.

Then, too, the evidence mounts daily that, today as in the past, men in high governmental places are just as subject to the temptation to falsify the facts and engage in double-dealing as is the ordinary citizen​—perhaps more so. Surely we do ourselves no genuine good by pretending that the case is otherwise.

What then? Have we exhausted the hopes for finding relief? By no means.

Despite the inability of the remedies considered to bring true relief, there is a genuine source on which we may draw.

[Box on page 12]

Of modern science, Albert Einstein said: “In war it serves that we may poison and mutilate each other. In peace it has made our lives hurried and uncertain. Instead of freeing us in great measure from spiritually exhausting labor, it has made men into slaves of machinery who for the most part complete their monotonous long day’s work with disgust.”

[Picture on page 10]

Can the philosophy of believing in yourself get you through a traffic jam?

[Picture on page 11]

Millions of persons turn to occult practices for a way out of the pressures, but what real relief has resulted?

[Picture on page 12]

The feats of science give no more real promise of true relief from pressures than do the antics of a witch doctor

How Can the Remedies Be Found?

IT IS easy to list problems that pressure people today. But it is another matter to find remedies that bring relief. That, obviously, is not easy.

One reason for the difficulty is that usually the symptoms are treated, not the root causes. To find sure remedies for problems, the causes must be determined first. Once these are known, then treatment is more certain.

To illustrate: If a certain part of your body hurt due to infection, you could take a drug to deaden the pain. But would that solve the problem? No, for it would treat only the symptom, not the cause. When the drug wore off, the pain would return, since the infection would still be there. Instead, if the root cause was determined as being the infection, and it was properly treated, the pain would be eliminated.

Similarly, in looking for remedies for today’s pressures, we need to look beneath the surface. Superficial remedies clearly have not worked, because the pressures continue to grow. They will be relieved only when the basic causes are determined and the right remedies applied.

What, then, are the underlying causes of today’s fantastic pressures? One of several causes has to do with the individual himself. To an extent, people bring pressures on themselves. They may do this in various ways.

For example, persons who feel financial pressures often must shoulder much of the blame themselves. In many cases they want more things than they really need or can afford, and go into debt to buy them. Then they find that their income is not enough to make ends meet. If they would keep wants within their income and stop trying to ‘keep up with the Joneses,’ many financial pressures would be relieved.

Some who suffer from the pressures of poor health are themselves responsible. They may drink too much liquor, eat too much food or the wrong kind, smoke cigarettes, use drugs, work too hard, or not get enough rest and proper exercise. Wrong living is often the cause of poor health. Right living can often improve it.

Many who have troubles in the home stir up discontent by the way they deal with other family members. Their inconsiderate words and actions provoke others to anger. If they used more kindness and thoughtfulness they might avoid many family problems and the stress these bring.

So considerable relief may be had in some areas by learning to live as responsible persons. And yet, even those who do live responsibly still find themselves under various pressures. Why? Because many of today’s pressures are beyond what a person may be individually responsible for or able to control.

What, then, are the causes of the growing stress and tension among mankind? First, consider when these pressures began to expand, for this can help us to find their real source.

The Greatest Pressure of All Time Begins

THE human family has always had pressures, true. There have been wars, crime, hunger and other ills throughout history. However, there came a key turning point, a time when the pressures suddenly became much more pronounced.

That time was the year 1914. In 1914 the world changed drastically. Events during that year triggered the onslaught of tremendous pressures that have continued to mount to our day.

To appreciate the difference in pressures since 1914, one needs to consider what the world was like before. Before that year the world lived in relative security. No major war had occurred for decades. Hopes were high, especially since many inventions were being introduced to lighten man’s burdens. Peace and prosperity were the order of the day.

In his book The Origins of World War I Joachim Remak says: “Too much was right with the World of 1914: the nations, on the whole, had learned to live with the differences that divided them. . . . Nowhere, even in the summer of 1914, was a calculated, advance decision made for global war.”

History Professor René Albrecht-Carrié of Barnard College puts it this way: “The nineteenth century is now often regarded as a century of peace, a view certainly warranted by the contrast between it and our own time of cataclysmic strife.” Then he states: “That era sharply came to an end in 1914. The pace of change thereafter, the magnitude and the intensity of struggle, have been characteristic of the twentieth century.”

Because of the long era of relative peace and rising expectations that went before it, World War I proved to be a frightful shock. None of the world’s leaders imagined such a horrible or prolonged conflict.

Because the world changed so drastically from 1914 onward, many historians now say that it was a highly significant time marker. Historian Oron Hale, in The Great Illusion, writes: “The First World War was a great divide, a watershed in world history.” Professor D. F. Fleming of Vanderbilt University says: “More and more historians look back upon World War I as the great turning point of modern history, the catastrophic collapse which opened the way for others, perhaps the final one.”

Age of Greatest Pressures

So in the autumn of 1914 one era ended, and another began. And what began was an era of unprecedented pressures. These huge pressures on people everywhere were brought about by global war, famine, disease, rebellion, race hatred, rising crime and economic troubles.

The opening part of this age of greatest pressure began with World War I. It had a deep, brutalizing effect on the minds of hundreds of millions of people. And what it led to provided further shocks, one after another. As the foreword of the book The First World War by French General Richard Thoumin states:

“Never before had so many countries and such large armies faced each other in such gigantic battles; never had such high proportions of combatants been killed or maimed; never had man gone to war with such powerful weapons. . . .

“The blood and tears of the First World War changed the face of the earth.

“The First World War was the first ‘total’ war, and as such made a profound impact upon the minds of all participants. . . . Many of them even believed that they were participating in ‘the last’ of all wars! . . . Their supreme disillusionment, however, came some twenty years later when the voices of hatred summoned the obedient masses to a new and still greater slaughter.”

World War II was even more frightful than World War I. Yet, the first global conflict was the one that opened the door to an era of unparalleled pressures. As the introduction to the English edition of the book Germany’s Aims in the First World War by professor Fritz Fischer of Hamburg notes: “Although the period since 1945 has been dominated by the problems left by the Second World War, more and more people, both among historians and the general public, have come to see the First World War as the crucial event in the first half of the twentieth century.”

Truly, after 1914 nothing was ever the same again. It was the opening year of a generation filled with horror.

Greater Significance

However, what has happened since 1914 is of far greater significance than most people realize. That year was long ago marked as the time when the pressures would be bound to come. Where was it “marked” in this way? In God’s Word, the Bible. Consider the evidence and see what the Bible says about our time.

When we examine carefully Bible prophecy, written under the direction of God’s powerful active force, we find that the year 1914 was indeed a “watershed” in history. It marked the start of a period the Bible calls the “last days.”​—2 Tim. 3:1.

The “last days”? What does that mean? Well, when you hear about the “last days of Pompeii” or the “last days of the Roman Empire,” what does it bring to your mind? You think of a system nearing its end, soon to be destroyed or replaced by another.

That is also what the Bible means by the phrase the “last days.” It signifies that mankind has entered a specific period of time that will end with the destruction of the entire present system of things. This includes the political, economic and religious elements that dominate the peoples of earth today. They will all be replaced by an entirely new system of God’s making.​—2 Pet. 3:13.

Jesus Christ, as well as his disciples, foretold many things that would take place as evidence that the “last days” had begun. Among the many things enumerated were war, famine, disease epidemics, rising lawlessness and declining faith in God. All of these things were to happen simultaneously, on an unprecedented scale. History confirms that they started with World War I in 1914.​—Matt. 24:3-12; 2 Tim. 3:1-5.

How long a period of time is covered by the “last days”? Jesus limited it at most to ‘one generation’ from beginning to end. (Matt. 24:34) This means that some persons who saw the beginning of the “last days” in 1914 would live to see the end. That end will come when God displays his almighty power to crush out of existence the prevailing wicked system of things.​—Dan. 2:44.

Pressures Mount

The pressures that began in 1914 were foretold to continue intensifying until the end of the “last days.”

When Jesus mentioned conflict, famine, pestilence, lawlessness and godlessness he warned: “All these things are a beginning of pangs of distress.” (Matt. 24:8) This may be compared to a woman experiencing the first of her labor pains before giving birth. She knows for a certainty that many other, more severe pains will follow.

So World War I was only the beginning of many painful events. Other world-shaking pressures would soon follow. They did, for although, as one source shows, about 9 million combatants and about 5 million civilians were killed in the war from 1914 to 1918, about 20 million were killed by the Spanish flu that followed. And later, World War II killed about 55 million combatants and civilians, according to one recent estimate. Since then, there has been a constant procession of pressure-causing events including wars​—large and small—​as well as racial, social, economic and religious troubles.

Now, after fifty-seven years of such huge pressures, what do we find? The New York Times reports: “In almost every corner of the earth a spirit of internal lawlessness is manifested by violent riots, murders, kidnappings, piracy and hijacking of airplanes. Everywhere and without respect to ideology or governmental forms we find steady deterioration of the accepted rules.”

Building Toward Climax

Authorities in every field generally agree that the pressures of today are building up to some sort of climax.

Not long ago scores of respected scientists, economists, historians and philosophers met in the United States to discuss mankind’s problems. There was much disagreement on various points. But on one thing they all agreed: “All insist that the human family is approaching an historic crisis which will require fundamental revisions in the organization of society.”​—The New York Times.

On another occasion, television commentator Walter Cronkite said: “The scientists themselves disagree on the schedule of disaster. Each specialist counts the time to his own special catastrophe. But we found not one scientist who disagreed that some disaster portends.”

Authorities were asked how long they thought it would take for the current problems to reach “crisis” proportions. And a problem was said to have reached that point when it caused the deaths of at least a million people a year, or severely affected their health, welfare or standard of living. A chart was drawn up based on their opinions. Some of the items listed were as follows:

Note that the problem of overpopulation was considered as already having reached crisis proportions. One reason for this is that about 10,000 people a day now die as a result of malnutrition, an estimated 3,500,000 a year. Also, instead of slowing down, the rate of population increase has actually risen in recent decades. The world’s population is now doubling every thirty-five years!

Any one of the problems in the chart could have catastrophic effects on all earthly life. And they do not even include the threat of nuclear war. Combine all of these and you can understand why experts are so pessimistic about the future. They see mankind moving swiftly and certainly to some sort of disastrous climax.

God’s Word, the Bible, foretold this time of unprecedented pressures. The events experienced since 1914 fulfill Bible prophecy with amazing accuracy. However, while bringing about huge pressures, those events, of themselves, are not the basic causes of the pressures. And unless these are eliminated, nothing can be done to relieve the heavy pressures on humankind today. What, then, are the basic causes?

[Graph on page 17]

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ESTIMATED MINIMUM DATE OF CRISIS

1970 1975 1980 1985

Overpopulation

Famine

Ecological Collapse

Urban Air Pollution

Waste Heat

Water & Land Pollution

Oxygen Deficiency

The Basic Causes of Today’s Pressures

WHERE does the fault lie? Today’s world enjoys modern inventions, conveniences, and increased leisure time. It has speed, power and efficiency. It has advanced forms of organization in government and social welfare. Yet today there is probably more discontent, irritation and frustration on earth than at any previous time. Why? Something is clearly wrong. But what?

The fault goes much deeper than man’s inventions or the governmental and social structures that he has built up.

Getting to the Root of the Problem

To illustrate, consider a construction company in a certain country that uses cement from the only cement plant in that country. Using that cement, the company puts up a large government building, then a factory, later an apartment house, a school, finally a bridge. But one by one each of these constructions develops structural weaknesses that lead to breakage or even collapse. The construction company tries again and again, rebuilding or putting up entirely new structures, using new plans, designs and methods. But the results are always the same.

Should the company keep on trying still other plans and methods to solve the problem? The problem lies with the basic structural material: the cement. It is deficient in strength, working fairly well in smaller structures but manifesting more clearly its deficiency when subject to the stress and strain of a larger structure. A chemical analysis may reveal its hidden weakness.

Only if the company finds a way to compensate for or counteract this weakness in the cement, perhaps by adding certain ingredients, can it attain a measure of success.

So, too, with mankind.

Men have tried to bring about a peaceful, prosperous, joyful world. They have formed political governments of all kinds and types, an unending succession that goes on till our day. They have developed many other systems​—social, economic, educational and others—​in wide variety, all designed to make life on earth pleasant, successful, rewarding. History, however, is filled with the evidence of the breakdown of one after the other of these governments and systems. Today we see them all showing clear signs of giving way under stress.

Should we expect that by some new plans, designs or methods, by shifting or juggling their political, economic and social leadership around, men can change matters and convert failure into success? No, because something is wrong with the basic material that forms all these governments and systems. What is that material?

Human creatures​—people.

They form the governments and other systems that control life on earth. They make the inventions and machines and factories and use them​—or misuse them.

This may sound simple. Yet the designers and builders of today’s world consistently fail to deal with this basic problem. There is clearly a defect, not just in certain rulers, leaders or parties, but in mankind as a whole that causes these failures. The Bible reveals what it is: sin. The Bible also supplies the needed “ingredients” for counteracting that defect in a measurable way now.

Do you object to that explanation? Some do. But where does that leave them? What other satisfying explanation can they give for mankind’s consistent failure to solve its problems?

The Real Change Needed

Actually, though they may shy away from using the term “sin,” men of this world are obliged to acknowledge that any bringing of real relief from today’s pressures must unavoidably be tied in with a change in people. But do they know how to bring this about? Listen:

Regarding crime, for instance, Congressman James H. Scheuer of New York says: “Crime is a social problem that is interwoven with almost every aspect of American life. . . . controlling it means changing the minds and hearts of men.”​—To Walk the Streets Safely, pp. 191, 192.

On city deterioration, noted authority Edward C. Banfield says: “Doubtless a ‘change in the heart and minds of men’ would solve a great many problems. But how is such a change to be brought about? Until the means are specified, this ‘solution’ must be dismissed as utopian.”​—The Unheavenly City, p. 240.

Of war and violence, former French president Charles de Gaulle wrote: “Hope though we may, what reason have we for thinking that passion and self-interest, the root cause of armed-conflict in men and in nations, will cease to operate; . . . in short, that human nature will ever become something other than it is?”​—The Edge of the Sword, pp. 8, 9.

Yes, the root cause of the pressures that weigh so heavily on us lies primarily with people and their “passion and self-interest.” Use whatever terms men may, the Bible truth remains that man is by nature sinful. Just what does “sin” mean?

Mankind ‘Misses the Mark’

In the languages in which the Bible was written (Hebrew and Greek) the words translated “sin” mean simply “to miss,” that is, in the sense of missing or not attaining a certain goal, way or mark.

What is the goal, way or mark that mankind is missing or failing to reach?

It is the goal of being in harmony with their Creator, Jehovah God, with his personality, standards and ways. The Bible states that God created man in his own image, in the likeness of God. Just as a son should resemble his father, man should resemble his Creator​—not in appearance, for God is spirit, but in His ways, qualities and standards.​—Gen. 1:26, 27; John 4:24; 1 Cor. 11:7.

However, the Bible reveals that the first human pair turned against their Creator under the influence of a traitorous spirit son of God. God allowed that first human pair to produce offspring and the earth has become populated with their descendants, among whom we are numbered. But just like the cement plant that produced defective cement, the rebellious human pair’s offspring have all been defective. They have been born imperfect and sinful by the process of heredity.

So, as the apostle Paul wrote, all men “have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” (Rom. 3:23) They miss the mark. Not only does their body reveal this because it eventually ages, breaks down and dies, but even more so do humans reveal their defect in their ways, their thinking, the things they strive for.

But how does this explain why our generation should see such a tremendous increase in stress and tension? People have been on earth for thousands of years. Why have things worsened so notably in our time?

To this the Bible also gives a straightforward answer. Its reply is summed up in this rule: “Whatever a man is sowing, this he will also reap.” (Gal. 6:7) You cannot sow weeds and reap wheat, nor sow poison ivy and harvest grapes. And it is just as true that a person cannot sow what is wrong and reap what is good.

What is true of an individual is just as true of nations or of the human race as a whole. For centuries men and nations have shoved aside God’s Word or rendered him only hypocritical lip service. They have not sought his guidance nor submitted to his will but have followed their own ambitions, their own ideas. Today they are reaping their crops on a worldwide scale. Harvesttime has arrived for all mankind. What have they produced? A paradise of peace, pleasantness and plenty? No, but a weed patch of delinquency, broken families, crime and violence, with sick cities, polluted streams, lakes and land. It could not be otherwise. For “God is not one to be mocked.”​—Gal. 6:7.

The Other Major Cause of Pressure

But have all these things been just the results of man’s own imperfection? Can this account for all the horrors inflicted upon mankind throughout history, and especially in our time? So often have terrible things happened to the human family that it seems they are drawn into tragic events like puppets on a string. Why? Why do entire nations rush into a course that borders on insanity, commit horrible atrocities, systematically torture and slaughter millions of people?

Is it possible that mankind has been and is being influenced by forces beyond human control? Are unseen powers manipulating the nations, pressuring them?

We are not suggesting pressures from some imaginary creatures living on other planets.

But there is this fact: throughout human history men and nations that have carried out almost unbelievable acts of violence and cruelty have expressed belief in powers superior to man.

You may be inclined to discard as pure superstition and imagination the possibility that anti-God spirit forces exist. But why is it that, despite abandoning hundreds of superstitions, despite changes in their religions and in the names of their gods, men have kept on looking to such invisible spirit forces for thousands and thousands of years right down to today? Why has such worship played such a major and persistent role in all periods of human history? Why do even educated men in modern times​—including many college and professional athletes, military men and men in a wide range of professions—​carry “lucky charms”?

A notable example of one who sought the aid of invisible forces was Hitler, known to have been extremely devoted to astrology as well as other occult practices. We all know the atrocities committed during his regime.

More recently, when a mass slaughter of an estimated 400,000 persons took place in Indonesia, one of Indonesia’s most distinguished writers commented: “There is a devil in us and when it gets loose, we can run amok en masse.”

The Bible alone gives a sound explanation for all this. It shows that man’s sinful course has indeed been made even worse by invisible spirit forces and that this is the second basic cause underlying today’s pressures.

For that reason, at Ephesians 6:11, 12, Christians are urged: “Put on the complete suit of armor from God that you may be able to stand firm against the machinations of the Devil; because we have a wrestling, not against blood and flesh, but against the governments, against the authorities, against the world rulers of this darkness, against the wicked spirit forces in the heavenly places.”

Here God’s Word shows the need to protect ourselves from wicked spirit forces in heavenly places, the “world rulers of this darkness.” The real fight is not against humans but against these invisible forces headed by Satan the Devil. Jesus spoke of him as “the ruler of the world.”​—John 14:30.

But how, in view of God’s almightiness, could such a condition exist? The Bible shows that it is because of the issues raised by Satan when he first rebelled against God. Especially did he contest the rightfulness of Jehovah’s rule. He then induced other spirit sons of God to join in his rebellion.

Bible prophecy in the book of Revelation further reveals that these invisible forces play a large part in the increase of pressures felt today. It shows that these spirit forces have been ousted from the heavens in our day and cast down to the vicinity of the earth. The evidence already presented points to the year 1914 as the time when this prophecy underwent fulfillment. After describing this casting down of demonic forces, the record says: “Woe for the earth and for the sea, because the Devil has come down to you, having great anger, knowing he has a short period of time.”​—Rev. 12:10, 12.

Like a cornered criminal, God’s adversary unleashes his fury in a last-ditch effort. He follows the policy of ‘rule or ruin.’ Even as do some human criminals, he is determined that, if he must perish, so shall all others. So he endeavors to contaminate and pollute not only the earth but especially all its inhabitants, thereby making them unacceptable to God, worthy of His destroying them.

Surely this could explain why the world of mankind has gone to such extremes in wrongdoing and has acted so insanely from the year 1914 onward.

Does that leave us with no way out of the pressures? No, the Book that pointed to this very time, and that shows the real causes of these unsurpassed pressures, also shows the only source of true and complete relief from all damaging stress and tension.

[Picture on page 19]

If there is serious weakness in the cement, a building may collapse. A defect in mankind is one reason for the breakdown of so many governments and systems

[Picture on page 21]

Hitler, who looked to occult practices for guidance, promoted the ghastly concentration camps

A Government Able to Bring Relief

WHAT a relief it would be to be free from the relentless pressures bearing down on mankind today! Would you not welcome a government able to bring that relief?

There is such a government. Where? Whose? It is a heaven-based government that will shortly take complete control of all earth’s affairs​—God’s kingdom by his Son, Christ Jesus.

“Come now, let’s be more realistic!” Is that what you incline to say?

Then read what follows. See what men of this world recognize is needed to bring genuine relief. Then note how the Bible foretold the way these very needs would be met by the government of God’s Son.

Relief Must Be Earth Wide

Even if men could do it, no lasting good would come from freeing just one nation or one part of the earth from today’s damaging pressures. As prominent scientist Isaac Asimov recently pointed out (Chemical and Engineering News, April 19, 1971):

“The problems that count today​—the steady population increase, . . . the damage to the environment, the decay of the cities, the declining quality of life​—are all interdependent and are all global in nature.”

Global problems call for global supervision and control. So, scientist Asimov voices the views of many when he says:

“The international cooperation must take the form of a world government sufficiently effective to make and enforce the necessary decisions, and against which the individual nations would have neither the right nor the power to take up arms.”

But have not men produced international organizations, such as the League of Nations and the United Nations Organization? Yes, but these have not been true world governments. Why not? Because the member nations held onto their own national sovereignty and refused to turn over the power that a world government must have.

Realistically, no global government can exist or bring relief as long as the earth is split up among disunited, rival national governments. This, too, informed men acknowledge. Under the heading “PEACE, INTERNATIONAL,” The Encyclopædia Britannica (1959 edition) says:

“The attempts to secure peace by an international government of sovereign nations have all been the victims of a contradiction inherent in these very attempts. . . . [That contradiction] can be eliminated only by a direct attack upon national sovereignty itself.” (Italics ours.)

The Barrier of Nationalism Removed

But the Bible long ago made this evident. In the prophecy of Daniel the divisive rule of the earth under rival governments and empires was described. Note, now, what it says God’s kingdom will do to such governments, as recorded at Daniel 2:44:

“And in the days of those kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that will never be brought to ruin. And the kingdom itself will not be passed on to any other people. It will crush and put an end to all these kingdoms, and it itself will stand to times indefinite.”

That crushing is elsewhere shown as due to take place in what is called the ‘war of Armageddon.’ (Rev. 16:13-16) It will not only end the confused, ineffective and often oppressive political rule of earth but bring in an entirely new order governing all earth’s affairs.

So, at Armageddon down will come all the divisive national frontiers! Planet Earth, with all its continents, isles and seas, will come under the rule of one government: God’s kingdom by his Son. Its laws and directives will prevail around the globe. And it will have the power to enforce them beyond all possibility of resistance.

More than Power and Laws

But power and laws alone will never bring relief from the pressures now plaguing mankind. For any government to bring real relief it must reach the source of so many of the pressures: men’s hearts and minds. Here again, men of this world see the need for this, as has been shown in the preceding article.

This is precisely why God’s government by his Son will succeed where all human governments have failed. Why? Because it will have the power to enforce righteousness in all the earth and to punish all wrongdoers? But not just that.

Primarily it will succeed because those gaining the privilege of living as earthly subjects of that Kingdom government will be persons who are not forced to observe righteousness. They will be those who want to do so, who prefer to do so.

All those surviving the end of the present oppressive world systems will be persons who already know and willingly live by the laws of God’s Kingdom government. Fundamental are these: “You must love Jehovah your God with your whole heart and with your whole soul and with your whole mind.” “You must love your neighbor as yourself.”​—Matt. 22:37-39.

Love cannot be forced. Neither can it be legislated into people’s hearts. But it can be cultivated and God’s government will do just that​—is even now doing it.

Righteous Ruling Body Brings Refreshment

When Jesus Christ was on earth, he said to the weary people: “Come to me, all you who are toiling and loaded down, and I will refresh you.”​—Matt. 11:28-30.

The Bible shows that Christ Jesus will have associate rulers with him in his heavenly government to the number of 144,000, all of them being taken from among his proved and tested disciples. (Rev. 5:10; 14:1) His government will also have visible representatives on earth. (Ps. 45:16; Isa. 32:1, 2) Since all of these must conform to the pattern Jesus Christ himself set, we can rest confident that they will serve humbly and helpfully, bringing refreshment to their fellowmen.

True Justice and Enduring Peace

No wonder, then, that the prophecy at Isaiah 11:3, 4 foretold of God’s Son and his, Kingdom rule:

“There will be enjoyment by him in the fear of Jehovah. And he will not judge by any mere appearance to his eyes, nor reprove simply according to the thing heard by his ears. And with righteousness he must judge the lowly ones, and with uprightness he must give reproof in behalf of the meek ones of the earth. And he must strike the earth with the rod of his mouth; and with the spirit of his lips he will put the wicked one to death.”

There will be no “credibility gaps” under his rule, no irritation and frustration because of entangling “red tape,” political conniving and corruption in legal matters and judgment.

Able to read all men’s hearts, this king will do what men could never accomplish​—rid the earth of the wicked. Not just the muggers, rapists and murderers, but also those superficially “decent” persons who deliberately practice stealing and deadly oppression in more subtle ways. Under Kingdom rule, earth’s inhabitants will have no need to be on constant guard against being cheated, defrauded or swindled by dishonest businesses or individuals. The spiral in the cost of living will stop; wholesale pollution of earth’s land, water and air will end.

The arms race will be scrapped. No threat of all-out nuclear war will menace the people, nor even of so-called “limited” wars like those today killing and wounding hundreds of thousands in Asiatic and other lands. Why not? Because survival into the new order under this government requires that each person first have fulfilled these words at Isaiah 2:4:

“And they will have to beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning shears. Nation will not lift up sword against nation, neither will they learn war anymore.”

Gone will be the crushing burden of military costs that now mount up to over $200,000,000,000 a year. Think of the cost in human labor and material that enormous sum represents! And think of what good can be done when men’s efforts and earth’s materials are all directed to constructive, helpful activities.

Pleasurable Living and Working Conditions

The modern industrialized society has crowded people into mammoth concrete jungles called cities, subjecting them to dirt, noise and lack of privacy. The facts now show the damage to human well-being this has brought. Such focal points of crime, disease, pollution, poverty, racism and drug addiction are due to disappear. The Bible shows that God purposed that man should live under garden-like conditions, and his Kingdom government will make this a reality.​—Gen. 1:28; 2:15; Matt. 6:10.

As when ancient Israel enjoyed being restored to God’s favor after years of oppression in Babylon, so in the coming new order people will “build houses and have occupancy; and they will certainly plant vineyards and eat their fruitage. . . . and the work of their own hands [they] will use to the full. They will not toil for nothing.” Yes, they will “actually sit, each one under his vine. and under his fig tree, and there will be no one making them tremble.”​—Isa. 65:21-23; Mic. 4:4.

No persons will then face a “daily grind” as mere “cogs” in a chain-production machine, doing monotonous work that provides no challenge to their intelligence or ability, working for people they do not know and producing things in which they can take no real personal pride. They will have a real purpose in living​—doing things to bring praise to their Creator, to beautify the planet he provides as their home.

Health and Life

Many diseases today are termed “diseases of civilization,” including heart disease, stomach ulcers and cancer. Of itself the release from tension and stress in God’s new order will greatly aid mankind’s mental and physical health. But, more importantly, Christ Jesus, who gave his life as a ransom price for the redemption of mankind, will encourage and nourish the spiritual health of all his subjects. Progress in spiritual health will result in healing from inherited sin and imperfection. Eventually the divine promise given at Revelation 21:4 will see complete fulfillment:

“And he [God] will wipe out every tear from their eyes, and death will be no more, neither will mourning nor outcry nor pain be anymore. The former things have passed away.”

What a relief never to be in fear of hearing the dread diagnosis of cancer or some other killing or crippling disease! Yes, what an amazing hope to gain the privilege of unending life, to be free from the pressure of a short and uncertain life expectancy of some few score years.

This “hope does not lead to disappointment,” for it is based on God’s sure promises. (Rom. 5:5) But when will his government act to rid the earth of the stress-creating problems? How soon can we hope to enjoy full relief?

[Picture on page 23]

God’s kingdom will forever remove the barrier of nationalism; people of all races will live in peace under one government

[Picture on page 25]

God’s Word the Bible promises pleasurable living and working conditions on a Paradise earth under his Kingdom government

Time of Rest and Refreshment at Hand

OUR generation will see the end of the present pressure-ridden order. In fact, there is even good reason to hope that a new order of God’s making may begin within the present decade. Why is this?

From the year 1914 on, the pressures on mankind have grown dramatically, building up to a near-exploding point. As shown earlier in this issue, fulfilled Bible prophecy marks that year 1914 as the start of the foretold “time of the end” for the present stress-filled order. But at the same time it makes the generation then living a ‘marked’ generation. How so?

Jesus showed this in his great prophecy recorded at Matthew 24, Mark 13 and Luke 21. True, much of that prophecy had a fulfillment in the first century. It forecast the collapse of the Jewish order and the desolating of Jerusalem and its temple. But Jesus’ own words make very clear that this prophecy would have another fulfillment, a major fulfillment, at the time of his ‘second presence.’ That major fulfillment is taking place in this “time of the end” that began in 1914.​—Matt. 24:27, 30.

Jesus foretold the wars, famine, disease, earthquakes, increase in crime and other distress that have combined to bring such a tremendous strain on this generation since 1914. He spoke of “anguish of nations” because of their not knowing the way out of the existing dilemma, with men becoming “faint out of fear and expectation of the things coming upon the inhabited earth.” Those words fit the condition among mankind from 1914 on as they do in no other period of human history.

Happily, though, Jesus said to those putting their trust and hope in his Kingdom government: “But as these things start to occur, raise yourselves erect and lift your heads up, because your deliverance is getting near. . . . Truly I say to you, This generation will by no means pass away until all things occur.”​—Luke 21:25-32.

The Jewish generation that heard that prophecy in the first century saw the fulfillment of Jesus’ prophecy about Jerusalem come true less than four decades later, when Jerusalem was destroyed in the year 70 C.E. We can be certain that the major fulfillment of that prophecy in our own time will prove no less reliable.

The generation living in 1914 when ‘these things started to occur’ has now grown old. In the more than half a century that has passed, that generation’s numbers have considerably diminished. Yet the “all things” foretold by Jesus for our day must occur fully before ‘this generation passes completely away.’ That means that the due time for their full occurrence must be near at hand, very close.

All the other features of Jesus’ prophecy have now come true with startling accuracy. We need not doubt that he spoke inspired truth when he said that the generation seeing the start of this “time of the end” will also see its windup. That will mean the end of the present unsatisfying, selfish, oppressive old order and the introduction of God’s righteous, refreshing new order.

But why is there reason to hope that this changeover may take place even within the present decade?

The Bible shows that we are nearing the close of 6,000 years of human history. Bible chronology reveals that human life began with Adam’s creation some 4,058 years before the death of Jesus (in the spring of the year 33 C.E.). By adding to this the years from Jesus’ death till now, we find that the completion of 6,000 years of man’s existence will come near the middle of this decade of the 1970’s. This is significant. Why?

The answer is found in the Law covenant God gave to ancient Israel through his mediator Moses. The Bible assures us that that Law had “a shadow of the good things to come.” (Heb. 10:1) Follow a shadow and you eventually come to the reality, the substantial thing of which the shadow is but an outline. The things foreshadowed by the Law covenant lead us to the reality of God’s kingdom in the hands of his Son, Christ Jesus.

Colossians 2:16, 17 shows that the sabbath arrangement is included among those ‘shadows of things to come.’ According to that sabbath arrangement every seventh day was a day of rest from all labor. Also, every seventh year was a year of rest for the land, with no plowing nor sowing being done. Thereby not only did the land have opportunity to renew its productive strength, but so did the people.​—Ex. 20:8-11; Lev. 25:1-8.

What “good things” did this foreshadow? That sabbath arrangement foreshadowed grand blessings and relief for all mankind by means of Christ’s kingdom. The book of Revelation shows that, with the end of the present unrighteous order, Christ’s kingdom will bring in a thousand-year rule of peace and divine blessings. This will result in a sabbathlike rest for the earth and all its inhabitants. It will see mankind receive the full benefits of Christ’s ransom, bringing them eventually to full freedom from sin. It will also see the abyssing of Satan and his demon forces, freeing mankind from their oppressive rule.​—Rev. 20:1-6; 21:1-4.

If we apply the Bible statement that to Jehovah God ‘a thousand years is as one day,’ this would mean that the six thousand years of man’s existence are like just six days in God’s sight. (Ps. 90:2; 2 Pet. 3:8) The coming thousand-year reign of his Son would then be a seventh “day” following those six. It would fit perfectly the prophetic pattern of a sabbath period of rest following six periods of toil and labor. So, as we draw close to the completion of six thousand years of human existence during this decade, there is the thrilling hope that a grand Sabbath of rest and relief is indeed at hand. Then frustrating, wearisome pressures will end. In their place will be refreshing freedom and enjoyment of good.

What must you do if you want to gain life in that refreshing new order under God’s government by his Son? Consider the information in the next article.

[Diagram on page 27]

(For fully formatted text, see publication)

1,000 2,000 3,000 4,000 5,000 6,000 7,000

MAN’S NOACHIAN DEATH OF 1914 MILLENNIAL

CREATION FLOOD JESUS CHRIST REIGN OF

33 C.E. CHRIST JESUS?

As we near the end of 6,000 years of human history in the mid-1970’s there is the thrilling hope of a grand relief

Will You Accept the True Source of Relief?

HUMANS can endure much where there is hope of something better soon to be realized. But the relief that hope brings is real only if the hope itself is real.

In what do you place your hope for relief from today’s pressures? Actually, your choice narrows down to two options.

You can put your hope in men​—or you can put it in God. Men say they can patch up the world’s failing systems, make them work and succeed. God through his Word says he is going to wipe the earth clean of those systems and establish a new order based on righteousness.

Is it “realistic” to hope in men but “unrealistic” to hope in God?

What Hope from Men?

How realistic is it to look to men to free us of the threat of war? Past human history is written mainly in human blood. Have men changed today? Why, then, do we see the greatest arms race of all time?

What hope do men give of early relief from rampant crime? Recently representatives from 100 countries attended a meeting in Brussels of Interpol, the international police organization. What did they hear? That law-enforcement agencies world wide are steadily losing ground against crime.

Do men have the remedy for the plague of drug addiction? Leading Swedish expert on drug addiction Dr. Nils Bejerot says of the Western world: “I believe that at best we have ten years in which to prevent a social catastrophe; at worst it may already be too late.”

Can we trust in men to cure the world’s sick cities? Of the annual Congress of Cities in 1970 we read: “Speculation on the future contained little that was hopeful. . . . There was little prospect that the urban crisis would abate during the ’70s or in the foreseeable future.”​—1971 Britannica Book of the Year.

What basis for confidence do men, scientists included, offer us as to the pressing problem of feeding the world’s exploding population or of turning the tide in the ruining of our environment? Dr. Paul Ehrlich says: “The battle to feed all of humanity is over. In the 1970’s the world will undergo famines​—hundreds of millions of people are going to starve to death in spite of any crash programs embarked upon now.”

No wonder, then, that a California newspaper reports that these problems have “prompted some scientists to circle a date on the calendar for an Armageddon sometime in the middle or latter years of this decade.” Their Armageddon would come in the form of global famine, pestilence and war.

These sources quoted are no mere calamity howlers. If you incline to think so, then ask yourself: What real solutions do you know of that men can offer for these problems? Really, it is time to stop dreaming and courageously face up to the facts as they are. It is a matter of life and death.

World’s Religions No Source of True Hope

But what does turning to God and putting our hope in him mean? Does it mean turning to Christendom’s religions for relief? By no means! Why not?

Because Christendom’s religions are as pressure-wracked as is the rest of human society. Pope Paul VI recently said: “The Church is experiencing a time of disquiet, self-criticism, one would even say of self-demolition.” And writing in a foremost Protestant magazine, The Christian Century, Dr. Walter D. Wagoner of the Boston Theological Institute says: “We Protestants are tired and confused.” These conditions are paralleled by growing disloyalty to the Bible and its principles among Christendom’s churches.

Why Investigate the Bible?

Nevertheless, the real relief is found within the pages of the Bible and among those who genuinely live what the Bible teaches. Human predictions have repeatedly failed, have brought only disappointment. But each passing day confirms the rightness of the Bible prophecies and principles.

The Bible foretold the very problems men of the world now warn about. It foretold this same time period as being critical in human affairs. It alone explains the truly basic causes of the pressures. But it shows that there is a solution and that it is from a Source higher than man. The planet Earth and the celestial bodies above give us ample evidence that that Source, our Creator, has all the power, wisdom, and the love needed to bring us full relief.

Till now you may have had little interest in the Bible. You may not have been inclined to take its message seriously. But surely the situation we face today gives sound reason for examining it and finding out what it has to offer. For it alone presents a positive hope of survival, with relief from the pressures of today’s world.

A People Who Have Found Relief

Jehovah’s witnesses believe what the Bible says. They have not followed the world’s religions in rejecting the Bible in favor of human philosophies, theories and schemes. The Bible has brought a great change in their lives even now as they look forward to a grand new order.

Why not find out for yourself what kind of people they are? See for yourself whether the influence of the Bible has really made their lives happier and brought them relief now from so many of the world’s problems. Their Kingdom Hall doors are open to all persons sincerely seeking to know what is right and true. Walk in and listen to them, hear the things they talk about, see if their meetings are not indeed refreshing, upbuilding, faith-strengthening.

Some persons, of course, prefer the present tension-filled way of life​—the fierce competition, the sharp practices, the cheating and immorality—​and they have no desire for a world free from these things. If you shared this preference, you would find no pleasure in associating with Jehovah’s witnesses. You would feel no urge to investigate the source of their happiness and confident outlook for the future.

But if you have a heartfelt longing for a complete change in world conditions, yes, a longing for full relief in a world where righteousness prevails, then you will surely put forth the needed effort to investigate and know.

Jehovah’s witnesses will gladly visit you, discuss with you the Bible’s answers to your questions, and even conduct a six-month, one-hour-a-week Bible study course with you, free of charge, if that is your desire.

You can receive such refreshing aid and knowledge simply by writing the publishers of this magazine. With sincere interest, we invite you to do so.