Jesus Christ​—Victorious King with Whom Nations Must Reckon

1. In Hebrews 1:8, 9, what did Paul write to the Christians in Jerusalem in order to prove God’s Son far superior to angels?

BEFORE Jerusalem was destroyed by the Romans in 70 C.E., the Christians in that city needed to have it proved to them from the inspired Hebrew Scriptures that Jesus Christ, the Son of God, was made higher than the heavenly angels. So, in writing to those first-century Christians, the apostle Paul called their attention to these prophetic words that applied to the glorified Jesus Christ: “God is your throne forever, and the scepter of your kingdom is the scepter of uprightness. You loved righteousness, and you hated lawlessness. That is why God, your God, anointed you with the oil of exultation more than your partners.”​—Heb. 1:8, 9.

2. Why did God become the “throne” of his Son, and in what way?

² The kingdom of such a lover of righteousness and hater of lawlessness would surely be most beneficial for all of us on earth. Hence, the scepter that he wields is “the scepter of uprightness.” No wonder that God serves as a “throne” for him, God being the only Source of his kingdom and the One upholding his kingship. All the nations of this world could no more overthrow his kingdom than they could overthrow God as Universal Sovereign and as “King of the nations.” With his enthroned Son all nations must now reckon.

3. From what did Paul quote the words of Hebrews 1:8, 9, and what does this prove?

³ The words that the writer to the Christianized Hebrews applied to the glorified Son of God were quoted from the Bible book of Psalms, or from Psalm 45:6, 7. This proves that the whole psalm was prophetic. By studying it we shall gain information as to what God’s anointed king will do for God’s glory and man’s lasting happiness.

4. The enthusiasm radiated by Psalm 45 is over what?

⁴ The sponsors of the psalm were official Levites who served in God’s temple at Jerusalem. The psalm fairly radiates enthusiasm. The enthusiasm is that felt over the coming in of a good government in the hands of an incorruptible righteous ruler. The occasion is something heartstirring, for the psalmist bursts forth with the words: “My heart has become astir with a goodly matter. I am saying: ‘My works are concerning a king.’ May my tongue be the stylus of a skilled copyist.”​—Ps. 45:1 and the Ps 45:superscription.

5. The “goodly matter” of Psalm 45 was the outstanding theme of whose preaching, and was worthy of what publicity?

⁵ The “goodly matter” that stirred the heart of the inspired psalmist has proved to be an outstanding feature of what Jesus Christ called “this good news of the kingdom.” So “goodly” was the Kingdom message that it deserved to “be preached in all the inhabited earth for a witness to all the nations,” in view of the fact that the “end” of these nations has to come. (Matt. 24:14) Today, are our hearts stirred with the “goodly” theme of God’s kingdom by Christ?

6. (a) Our “works” are principally in behalf of what? (b) How does our “tongue” become like the stylus of a skilled copyist?

⁶ Are we joining in with the psalmist and saying for everybody to hear: “My works are concerning a king”? We have no reason to be ashamed of this king, God’s own anointed one. So our principal “works” should be our speaking, teaching and preaching about this royal Messiah. We are working mainly in behalf of his Kingdom interests, not in behalf of any of the worldly kingdoms that are nearing their disastrous end. We are stirred to use our tongues in advertising God’s kingdom and his anointed King. What our tongues utter flows forth like the writing made by the pen or stylus of a scribe who is skilled in making manuscript copies of the Holy Scriptures. What flows forth from our tongues we also want to write down for others to read with joy. Better still, we are able today to put it in print, rolling it off high-speed printing presses by the millions of identical copies in scores of languages for distribution among the reading public world wide.

AN INSPIRED ADDRESS TO THE KING

7. What question arises about the description given in Psalm 45:2?

⁷ Is God’s anointed king according to our liking? He should be, if we like the description given of him as the psalmist addresses him and compares him with earlier kings in the royal line of descent from King David of Jerusalem, saying: “You are indeed more handsome than the sons of men. Charm has been poured out upon your lips. That is why God has blessed you to time indefinite.”​—Ps. 45:2.

8. What is it that contributes to the beauty or handsomeness of Jesus Christ?

⁸ Jesus Christ was a perfect man, as perfect as the first man Adam in the garden of Eden. The pictures that the artists of Christendom have painted of him doubtless fall far short of his real looks when he was on earth. The psalmist’s description of him differs altogether from that given in Isaiah, chapter 53, where he is pictured as God’s suffering servant. But when we view him in the light of what he really is and does, he takes on a beauty that does not depend on facial features but that still surpasses the handsomeness of all other men, even that of Adam.

9. What imparted charm to the lips of Jesus Christ, and what adds charm to our own lips?

⁹ The king’s lips were well-formed. But it was what poured forth through those lips that added charm to them, and this charm was from God. Evil-minded enemies accused his lips of speaking blasphemy against God. Yet, even police officers who were sent out to arrest him and bring him into court were obliged to say to critics: “Never has another man spoken like this.” (John 7:46) The message of God’s kingdom that he spoke imparted charm to his lips. We who recognize him as our Teacher are charmed by what he says. As his disciples we add charm to our lips by repeating what he said.

10. Why did God bestow upon Jesus Christ his indefinitely lasting blessing, and how was this blessing expressed?

¹⁰ This handsome, charming King has God’s indefinitely lasting blessing. The reason why is that he spoke what God taught him to speak. He preached and taught God’s truth about the theocratic government that is to bless all mankind. When Jesus Christ was standing trial for his life and the Roman governor Pontius Pilate asked him whether he was a king, he fearlessly answered: “You yourself are saying that I am a king. For this I have been born, and for this I have come into the world, that I should bear witness to the truth. Everyone that is on the side of the truth listens to my voice.” (John 18:37) For his faithfully telling the truth about the Kingdom, God blessed him with a resurrection from the dead. Moreover, God gave him a heavenly kingship, not only over the Israelite subjects of King David, but also over all mankind. God’s indefinitely lasting blessing upon him portends good for all of us.

THE APPOINTED ONE WITH WHOM NATIONS MUST RECKON

11. What did Jesus, shortly before his death, tell his disciples about world hatred, and why will the nations have to reckon with him in a violent war?

¹¹ When Jesus Christ was on earth as a perfect man, he had his enemies. It is not strange, then, that he still has enemies on earth after his enthronement as king in heaven since “the appointed times of the nations” ended in 1914. (Luke 21:24) Some hours before his martyr’s death he said to his disciples: “If the world hates you, you know that it has hated me before it hated you.” (John 15:18) Today the world has not turned to loving Jesus Christ. Not even Christendom has done so. Her persecution of the true Christlike disciples proves that. The worldly nations would like to block the enthroned Jesus Christ from ruling over mankind. They would like to limit his rulership to heaven and to keep rulership of the earth for themselves perpetually. So the cause of truth, humility and righteousness is implicated. Because the worldly nations have taken such an unyielding stand since the Gentile Times ended in 1914, they will have to reckon with Jesus Christ in a violent war.

12. Because of what would confront the newly enthroned King, what did Psalm 45:3-5 tell him to do?

¹² What would confront the newly enthroned Messianic king was foreseen by the psalmist under inspiration. Hence, he went on to write as with the “stylus of a skilled copyist”: “Gird your sword upon your thigh, O mighty one, with your dignity and your splendor. And in your splendor go on to success; ride in the cause of truth and humility and righteousness, and your right hand will instruct you in fear-inspiring things. Your arrows are sharp​—under you peoples keep falling—​in the heart of the enemies of the king.”​—Ps. 45:3-5.

13. How does the psalmist’s description help us to identify the one seen in vision in Revelation 6:1, 2, and who is the one identified?

¹³ Arrows require a bow for propulsion. Hence, the psalmist’s description helps us to identify who is pictured in Revelation 6:1, 2, where the Christian apostle John speaks of a vision and says: “I saw when the Lamb [Jesus Christ] opened one of the seven seals, and I heard one of the four living creatures say with a voice as of thunder: ‘Come!’ And I saw, and, look! a white horse; and the one seated upon it had a bow; and a crown was given him, and he went forth conquering and to complete his conquest.” That crowned bowman astride the white horse pictured the glorified Jesus Christ proceeding to war against his enemies. Victory to a completion is what he aims for. His conquest must be earth wide.

14. Why is the newly inaugurated King a “mighty one,” even as foretold in Isaiah 9:6?

¹⁴ In his dignity and splendor, as of an officially inaugurated king, Jesus Christ girds himself with the sword of war in order to lift it up against the opposing nations on earth. Being no longer a man of flesh and blood, but clothed with heavenly powers, he is now indeed a “mighty one.” The prophecy of Isaiah 9:6 says that one of his titles was to be “Mighty God.” The heavily armed nations of today must yet learn to know him as such a mighty one.

15. In contrast with his triumphal ride into Jerusalem, why will Jesus Christ ride a horse when reckoning with the nations?

¹⁵ Once, like King Solomon at his coronation, Jesus Christ rode a peaceful ass when he made his triumphal entry into Jerusalem, offering himself to her as the king of David’s line. (Matt. 21:1-14; Zech. 9:9) But when, shortly, he rides forth in the cause of truth, humility and righteousness, he will, figuratively speaking, ride a war steed. Properly so, for he has a reckoning to carry out with those who violate truth, humility and righteousness.

16. What truth have national governments trampled underfoot despite notification by Jehovah’s Witnesses?

¹⁶ A few days after Jesus rode the ass into Jerusalem, he told Governor Pilate that he had come into the world to bear witness to the truth. That was primarily the truth about God’s kingdom, about which he had just borne witness to Pilate. (1 Tim. 6:13) Today the governments of nations trample that truth underfoot, even though Jehovah by His witnesses has notified them that the Gentile Times of world domination by them ran out in 1914.

17. The cause of what class has Jesus Christ championed, and why must he fight for a new order of righteousness?

¹⁷ Worldly rulers show no humility before God. They do not yield peacefully to earth’s rightful King, Jesus Christ, who showed the greatest humility before God and who championed all the helpless humble ones on earth, especially his persecuted disciples. Now in these “last days” man’s unrighteousness has “gone to seed,” with more and more lawlessness spreading alarmingly. Mankind needs to be given a new start in righteousness. Hence, the Warrior King Jesus Christ must ride in the cause of righteousness and fight for the establishment of a new order over all the earth.​—Isa. 26:9.

18. What warning is given to the nations by the words to the King, “your right hand will instruct you in fear-inspiring things,” and how is the wholesale slaughter indicated in Psalm 45:5?

¹⁸ In modern times, warfare has gone far beyond the use of swords and arrows. Military superpowers now count on using nuclear and neutron bombs and intercontinental ballistic missiles. But they should not think that the glorified Jesus Christ cannot surprise them with scientific weapons of war even superior to theirs. Psalm 45:4 sounds the warning to the nations that Christ’s right hand will instruct him in “fear-inspiring things.” His superhuman missiles will not be less accurate than man-made missiles in striking their human targets. With deadly aim, they will hit “the heart of the enemies of the king.” The wholesale slaughter resulting is indicated by the wartime news release that under him “peoples keep falling” in his fight for truth, humility and righteousness.​—Ps. 45:5.

19. What should persons “shocked” by such a picture of Christ and his heavenly Father ask about their own nations, and how will the earth polluted with innocent blood be cleansed?

¹⁹ People of Christendom today may say that such a prospect pictures Jesus Christ as a spiller of blood and his heavenly Father as a cruel, bloodthirsty God. Such persons may claim to be shocked at the presenting of God and Jesus Christ in such a way. But how do they feel about the nations of Christendom of which such persons are patriotic citizens? Are the hands of such nations clean from the stain of blood, shed, not in theocratic warfare, but in unchristian warfare? Let such bloodguilty nations recall that, after the deluge that wiped out all of earth’s population except Noah and his family inside the ark, God said to them: “Anyone shedding man’s blood, by man will his own blood be shed, for in God’s image he made man.” (Gen. 9:6) Christendom has led the nations in shedding blood by political wars, religious crusades and persecuting conscientious Christians who stuck to the Bible. In what way, then, will the ground polluted by human blood be cleansed? Only by the shedding of the blood of the bloodguilty to balance the scales of justice.

20. How does this harmonize with God’s law concerning cities of refuge for unintentional manslayers, and how will our earth be made fit for Paradise to be established upon it?

²⁰ This harmonizes with God’s law concerning the cities of refuge that he set up in Israel for unintentional manslayers. By means of the prophet Moses, he said: “You must not pollute the land in which you are; because it is blood that pollutes the land, and for the land there may be no atonement respecting the blood that has been spilled upon it except by the blood of the one spilling it. And you must not defile the land in which you are dwelling, in the midst of which I am residing; for I Jehovah am residing in the midst of the sons of Israel.” (Num. 35:33, 34) If ever our blood-polluted earth is to be made fit in order that Paradise may be established here for man’s everlasting home, it must be cleansed. The innocent blood spilled upon it must be atoned for by the blood of the nations who today threaten us with a third world war.

21. Why with respect to justice must God give Christ the victory, and what good will the nations’ combining forces in the United Nations do them?

²¹ For this just reason all the nations must shortly reckon with Jesus Christ. He must gain the victory over them. Otherwise the claims of justice would not be satisfied. Jehovah God will give him the victory over them. The combining of their forces in the United Nations organization will not spare them utter defeat. They will fight against the Kingdom interests of the once-sacrificed Lamb of God, and concerning this the last book of the Bible says: “These have one thought, and so they give their power and authority to the wild beast [the United Nations]. These will battle with the Lamb, but, because he is Lord of lords and King of kings, the Lamb will conquer them.” (Rev. 17:13, 14) About that fight we further read:

22, 23. (a) What does Revelation 19:11-16, 19 further tell us about that fight? (b) Where is the war fought, and how is the innocent blood shed on earth atoned for, in cleansing the earth?

²² “Look! a white horse. And the one seated upon it is called Faithful and True, and he judges and carries on war in righteousness. . . . Upon his head are many diadems. . . . He is arrayed with an outer garment sprinkled with blood, and the name he is called is The Word of God. Also, the armies that were in heaven were following him on white horses, and they were clothed in white, clean, fine linen. . . . And upon his outer garment, even upon his thigh, he has a name written, King of kings and Lord of lords.

²³ “And I saw the wild beast and the kings of the earth and their armies gathered together to wage the war with the one seated on the horse and with his army.” (Rev. 19:11-16, 19) Because the gathered nations insist on their national sovereignty and perpetual man-rule of all the earth, they force the fight that ensues. The world situation to which they bring matters to a climax is likened to the battlefield that, in Hebrew, is called Har–Magedon. (Rev. 16:14-16) There “the war of the great day of God the Almighty” is fought. There the blood of all the nations must atone for all the innocent blood with which they polluted the earth. Thus the whole earth will be cleansed for Paradise to be established here earth wide.

24. Will any of the nations survive that day of reckoning, and about what should we as individuals be concerned?

²⁴ What a day of reckoning that will be for all the nations of the earth, whether inside or outside Christendom! Will any of those nations survive that day? That was the vital question that we raised earlier in this discussion. And now the answer definitely is, No! Not one! That is why we, who are citizens of these doomed nations, should be seriously concerned. We should like to learn how we as individuals can survive guilt-free.

How the Day of Reckoning Is Worked Out for Our Good

1. Why will the nations not gain the victory at Har–Magedon, and how will their accounts on the day of reckoning be settled?

THE “war of the great day of God the Almighty” at Har–Magedon is inexorably ahead for all earthly nations. Although heavily armed as never before for global warfare, they could never be expected to gain the victory over the Almighty God. As Commander in Chief of all the heavenly armies, he will give the victory to his grand Field Marshal, Jesus Christ, because this one is “King of kings and Lord of lords.” He will hold the final day of reckoning with all the opposed nations. Weighed in the scales of divine justice, they will be found wanting. Their accounts will be settled by their everlasting destruction.​—Rev. 19:11-21; 17:14.

2. Why were the words of Psalm 45:6, 7 addressed to the King after the fight, and what does his wielding of the scepter betoken for mankind?

² The victory at Har–Magedon will vindicate the universal sovereignty of God the Almighty. Because he successfully uses Jesus Christ to gain this victory, God will count him worthy to retain his heavenly throne. As long as God lasts, the throne of his anointed King Jesus Christ will last. This important fact is emphasized by the words of Psalm 45:6, 7, which the psalmist addresses to the King, saying: “God is your throne to time indefinite, even forever; the scepter of your kingship is a scepter of uprightness. You have loved righteousness and you hate wickedness. That is why God, your God, has anointed you with the oil of exultation more than your partners.” These words we recognize to be the ones quoted by the apostle Paul to prove Christ’s superiority over the angels. (Heb. 1:7-9) Because he loved righteousness and hated wickedness or lawlessness, Christ’s scepter was bound to be wielded in behalf of uprightness. This betokens good for mankind.

3. Who were the “partners” of Jesus Christ, and why was the “oil of exultation” with which he was anointed more than theirs?

³ As a man on earth, Jesus had kings as forefathers. The psalmist mentions that he would have earthly forefathers. Many of these, from King Jehoiachin back to King David, had been his “partners” in sharing the kingdom set up by God and in sitting on “Jehovah’s throne.” (1 Chron. 29:23; 2 Chron. 13:5, 8; Matt. 1:6-12) Those royal forefathers doubtless exulted in their kingship over God’s chosen people. But none of those royal “partners” could feel exultation to the extent that the glorified Jesus Christ feels it. His kingship is far superior to theirs, it being heavenly, yes, superangelic. Jehovah, the God of Jesus Christ, anointed him more abundantly with the “oil of exultation” because of his perfect, incorruptible devotion to God’s righteousness.

MARRIAGE AND CHILDREN

4, 5. What does the psalmist, in Psalm 45:8-14a, show the victorious King as doing next, and why might this be surprising to us?

⁴ After Jesus Christ has waged a victorious war against his enemies on earth, he can turn his attention to peaceful pursuits. The inspired psalmist pictures him as getting married and raising a family. This might seem surprising, because the Son of God did not become a man on earth in order to marry one of the daughters of men. He did not follow the course of certain angelic “sons of God” in the days of Noah. (Gen. 6:1-4) So a person might wonder how the further words of Psalm 45 could be true:

⁵ “All your garments are myrrh and aloeswood and cassia; out from the grand ivory palace stringed instruments themselves have made you rejoice. The daughters of kings are among your precious women. The queenly consort has taken her stand at your right hand in gold of Ophir. Listen, O daughter, and see, and incline your ear; and forget your people and your father’s house. And the king will long for your prettiness, for he is your lord, so bow down to him. The daughter of Tyre also with a gift​—the rich ones of the people will soften your own face. The king’s daughter is all glorious within the house; her clothing is with settings of gold. In woven apparel she will be brought to the king.”​—Ps. 45:8-14a.

6. Who is this “king’s daughter” that is brought to the King, and what did John the Baptizer have to do with her?

⁶ Who, now, is the “king’s daughter,” who is brought to the longing king for marriage as formal instrumental music gladdens the occasion? She is indeed the daughter of a King, namely, Jehovah God, the “King of eternity.” (Rev. 15:3) Thus she is a princess. She is the glorified Christian congregation of 144,000 members, these being viewed as a unit, as a composite body. John the Baptizer had the honorable privilege of introducing the first members of this bridal company to Jesus Christ on earth. John said: “He that has the bride is the bridegroom. However, the friend of the bridegroom, when he stands and hears him, has a great deal of joy on account of the voice of the bridegroom. Therefore this joy of mine has been made full.”​—John 3:29; 1:35-42; Rev. 14:1-5.

7. To whom did the apostles, by making disciples, espouse these, and in heaven what do these all together constitute?

⁷ Likewise, by making disciples of Christ, the apostle Paul and the other apostles espoused them like a “chaste virgin” to Jesus Christ as the “one husband.” (2 Cor. 11:2) Like an engaged girl who leaves her parents’ home to join her husband and live with him, the disciples who are promised in marriage to the heavenly Bridegroom must forget their own earthly people and earthly father’s house and set their affections on their heavenly Fiancé, Jesus Christ. After finishing their earthly course faithfully in virgin chastity, they must await their Bridegroom’s voice as he calls them forth in a resurrection from the dead. (1 Thess. 4:16, 17; John 6:54) In heaven, all the 144,000 together constitute the “daughter” of Jehovah the King, for by means of His spirit he begot them as their adoptive Father. Unitedly they form the New Jerusalem, which is called “the bride, the Lamb’s wife.” On that occasion she is “prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.”​—Rev. 21:2, 9.

8. Because of the nature of the event, who properly attend according to Psalm 45, and who are those who attend in fulfillment of the psalm?

⁸ It is a royal event, this marriage of a King’s son to a King’s daughter. This makes it fitting that royalty should attend, a “queenly consort” and princesses. All of God’s heavenly organization, like a queenly “wife” of this “King of eternity,” rejoices like a mother, the angelic members of that organization rejoicing together as if they were princesses. All these heavenly creatures bear in mind that Jehovah God made all of this possible, and so they say: “Let us rejoice and be overjoyed, and let us give him the glory, because the marriage of the Lamb has arrived and his wife has prepared herself.”​—Rev. 19:7.

9. Where does the rejoicing of the “virgins in her train as her companions” occur, and why there?

⁹ However, will anyone on earth rejoice with the holy heavens over this brilliant event of universal importance? Yes! Psalm 45:14b, 15 indicates this, as it goes on to say: “The virgins in her [the bride’s] train as her companions are being brought in to you [the King Bridegroom]. They will be brought with rejoicing and joyfulness; they will enter into the palace of the king.” Where, now, does the rejoicing of these virgin companions of the Bride take place? It is true that they are said to enter into the palace of the king, who is heavenly, but do they marry the king? No! Of course not, for they do not get as far as even being espoused to him. So they do not get begotten by God’s spirit to heavenly life.​—John 3:3, 5.

10. Whom do the “virgins in her train as her companions” picture today, and how is it that they are on earth when the marriage takes place in heaven?

¹⁰ The members of the “king’s daughter” class are espoused to Christ down here on earth, hence, while they are still human. Therefore, the bridesmaids who are merely “in her train” and are not in line for marriage to the Bridegroom King would be an earthly class. They make their appearance on earth when the heavenly marriage is about to be consummated. Those virgin companions therefore picture the “great crowd” who began appearing in this “time of the end” and who join themselves to the remnant of the bride class before these leave the earthly scene to join the Bridegroom Jesus Christ in heaven. Quite in keeping with this, the “great crowd,” as foretold in Revelation 7:9-17, began forming in 1935 and associating themselves with the last members of the spirit-begotten bride class. By being preserved through the coming “great tribulation,” they will be alive here on earth when the heavenly marriage takes place. At that event they will greatly rejoice.​—Ps. 45:15.

“PRINCES IN ALL THE EARTH”

11. Does Christ’s present and future glory depend on any fame of his earthly forefathers, and how does Psalm 45:16 show his marriage to the congregation in heaven to be fruitful?

¹¹ When on earth, Jesus Christ had illustrious forefathers. But his present and future glory does not depend upon any luster imparted by such forefathers. With him, the royal dynasty of King David remains fixed, for he is the Permanent Heir of King David and his kingdom will never be passed on to a successor. (Luke 1:31-33) However, Psalm 45:16 pictures his marriage to the congregation of 144,000 glorified disciples as being fruitful, just as marriage was meant to be. Hence, this verse, addressed to the Bridegroom King, says: “In place of your forefathers there will come to be your sons, whom you will appoint as princes in all the earth.”

12. What is the highest station to which these “sons” on earth can attain, and why will the King have enough of them for appointments “in all the earth”?

¹² None of these “sons” will become the successor to the heavenly King. A princely station on earth is the highest station to which any of these “sons” could attain. For the appointment of “princes in all the earth” there will have to be many of them. The King will have sufficient “sons” for this purpose, for, in addition to his title “Mighty God,” another of his titles will be “Eternal Father.” (Isa. 9:6) His perfect human sacrifice for all mankind enabled him to become such. By that ransom sacrifice he bought them all.

13. How will the King become the life-giving Father to all the ransomed dead, and how will the “great crowd” be able to furnish the King with his first “princes”?

¹³ Consequently the King can become the life-giver to the “great crowd” of bridesmaids who survive the “great tribulation” and come under his 1,000-year kingdom. He can also become the father to all the dead of mankind, including his earthly forefathers. How? By resurrecting them from the dead back to life here on earth. (John 5:28, 29) The worthy God-fearing males among all such earthly children he can make “princes in all the earth.” In this way he will exercise his rulership around the whole globe. Logically, the “great crowd” that survive the “great tribulation” and become the first earthly subjects of his kingdom will furnish the King with his first “princes” to serve as earthly representatives of him.

14. How will these “princes” from the “great crowd” be joined by others in official service on earth, and what will this governmental arrangement guarantee for all mankind?

¹⁴ What a grand privilege that will be! These “princes” from among the “great crowd” will be joined by others in official service, for the forefathers of Jesus Christ and other faithful men from Abel to John the Baptizer will be resurrected and be made his princely representatives. What a grand, incorruptible government such an arrangement will guarantee for all mankind! This is the greatly needed government that Jehovah God purposes to establish to replace today’s national governments that must shortly reckon with his victorious King, Jesus Christ.

15, 16. (a) Why, according to Psalm 45:17, did the psalmist want to live a long time? (b) Who knows the actual name of the King, and is it worthy of being mentioned and lauded for so long?

¹⁵ Like the heart of the inspired psalmist of old, are not our hearts stirred with such “goodly” prospects for the near future? Yes, and in gladsome response our tongues take up the closing words of the psalmist that he addressed to the charming King whose government is backed by God’s own throne: “I will make mention of your name throughout all generations to come. That is why peoples themselves will laud you to time indefinite, even forever.”​—Ps. 45:17.

¹⁶ The psalmist wanted to live long​—“throughout all generations to come”—​just to make mention of the king’s name. He did not say the king’s name. Really he did not, in fact, know the name of the king of whom he prophetically wrote under inspiration. But we today can identify the King of whom the psalmist prophetically wrote, and we know his name. It is Jesus Christ, the Son of Jehovah God. Is his name worthy of being mentioned “throughout all generations to come”? The psalmist foretold that there would be “peoples” who would think so and who would therefore “laud” the bearer of this name “to time indefinite, even forever.”

17. So now is the time favorable for our doing what, and our doing so will signify what for us?

¹⁷ Today there is set before us the opportunity of being preserved alive through the coming day of reckoning for all the nations and of entering into the blessings of God’s kingdom that will supplant them all. Even now by faith we can exult with His anointed King, for this King’s victory at Har–Magedon is certain and his reign over a cleansed earth for 1,000 years is sure. Ah, then, now​—today—​is the time favorable for us to put ourselves among those “peoples” who will laud the victorious King “to time indefinite, even forever.” This will redound to the glory of Jehovah God, his heavenly Father, who himself is the supreme “King of eternity” as well as the “King of the nations.” Our doing this will mean for us a life of lauding and of praising His anointed King “even forever.” This will impart real significance to life. It will set before us a lofty purpose for our living to all eternity.