The Critical Hour Nears!

1. (a) Why are the schemes of puny men doomed to failure? (b) What purpose of God must soon be carried out?

DESPITE clear warning and the colossal failure of human governments over centuries of time, imperfect, puny men are pushing ahead arrogantly with their schemes. But they will not do so for very much longer. Never for a moment should we doubt the ability of the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ to carry out the purpose he declared through his prophet: “And in the days of those kings [those ruling at ‘the time of the end’] 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.”​—Daniel 2:44; 12:9.

2. (a) How did Jesus illustrate the situation that now confronts mankind? (b) What warning was given, and with what result?

² Jesus gave us another indication of the nearness of that critical hour. He referred to the conditions on earth in the days of Noah and reminded his followers that people then were completely engrossed in their own little plans and in leading a normal life, as they might have called it. Jesus said: “Just as the days of Noah were, so the presence of the Son of man will be. For as they were in those days before the flood, eating and drinking, men marrying and women being given in marriage, until the day that Noah entered into the ark; and they took no note until the flood came and swept them all away, so the presence of the Son of man will be.” (Matthew 24:37-39) Those people were warned by the message that righteous Noah proclaimed decade after decade. (2 Peter 2:5) But how did the majority of the people regard that warning? Jesus said, “They took no note.” They were not interested in Noah and his message. And so it was that “only Noah and those who were with him in the ark kept on surviving,” eight souls in all.​—Genesis 7:23.

Will You Heed the Warning?

3. How do people respond to the warning today?

³ Can we honestly say that we have not been warned? We have before us the same appearance of things as in Noah’s generation. Note how the majority ignore, scoff at or ridicule the message borne by Jehovah’s Witnesses today. Many are absorbed in their own day-to-day living and long-range planning. God and his purposes with regard to humankind and this earth do not even enter their minds. Many persons claim to be Christians and belong to some religious denomination, but only for the convenience and the so-called respectable image it gives them in modern society. They simply ‘take no note’ of the warning and must therefore take the consequences. But what about you? Will you wisely heed the signs of the times?

4. How did Paul and Peter foretell the present-day situation?

⁴ You have observed, have you not, how empires and kingdoms are splintering into fragments, how religious and political movements are breaking down into left, center and right groups, how so many want to have their own way, right or wrong. Does not this point to the “last days” foretold by the apostle Paul? He wrote: “But know this, that in the last days critical times hard to deal with will be here. For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, self-assuming, haughty, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, disloyal, having no natural affection, not open to any agreement, slanderers, without self-control, fierce, without love of goodness, betrayers, headstrong, puffed up with pride, lovers of pleasures rather than lovers of God.” (2 Timothy 3:1-4) Surely, when we add the fulfillment of this prophecy to all the other things foretold by Jesus Christ, the signs of the times become very full of meaning. Truly, we are in those “last days,” and lack of discipline can be seen on all sides​—in schools, in business, in labor circles, in society in general.​—Compare 2 Peter 3:3-7.

5. (a) What questions should we now consider? (b) How does our expectation differ from that of worldly men?

⁵ Today, when ambitious men and leaders of nations likewise demonstrate lack of reasonableness and failure to reconcile all their conflicting claims and stubbornly forge ahead with their own schemes for world betterment, what will you do? What do the signs of the times definitely point to as the safe course for you? Will you be wiser and more reasonable than those prominent men? They do not consider the sacrificial death of Christ Jesus to be of any importance. They refuse to accept the fact that he died not only that we might all live but also to make possible his glorious kingdom by which he will destroy the power of the god of this world, Satan the Devil. (Hebrews 2:14) But you can exercise faith in the sure promises of the Creator. You can hope for the marvelous outcome that Jehovah assures to each one putting trust in him.​—Psalm 37:3, 4, 28, 29, 39, 40.

An Urgent Call to Meek Ones

6. What urgent call now sounds forth, and why?

⁶ To you and to all who read the signs of the times accurately the urgent call is sounded out by the prophet of Jehovah God: “Before there comes upon you people the burning anger of Jehovah, before there comes upon you the day of Jehovah’s anger, seek Jehovah, all you meek ones of the earth, who have practiced His own judicial decision. Seek righteousness, seek meekness. Probably you may be concealed in the day of Jehovah’s anger.” (Zephaniah 2:2, 3) Clearly, Jehovah would provide an opportunity for lovers of peace and righteousness to get saved from a doomed system of things.

7. To what questions may we answer Yes with benefit to ourselves?

⁷ Instead of being obstinate and opinionated in the face of all these signs (like so many worldly political and religious leaders), are you meek, teachable and ready to listen eagerly to God’s provision for your safety? Have you tried to live according to the Bible’s standards of righteousness, that is, Jehovah’s “judicial decision”? Are you heartsick at the things you see and hear going on in the earth, yes, even in your own neighborhood? Unlike self-satisfied ones who do not care what happens to others so long as they get what they want out of life, are you not deeply moved by the hardships, oppressions and near-famine conditions under which millions of your helpless fellow humans have to live? If your answer to these questions is Yes, then probably you may prove to be among those to whom Jehovah promises concealment in the day of his wrath.​—Isaiah 26:20, 21; Ezekiel 9:4-7.

8. How may we ‘seek meekness and righteousness’?

⁸ If you are a meek person, readily disposed to listen to divine teaching, how should you go about ‘seeking meekness and righteousness’? This may be a question on your mind. The meek and lowly One, Jesus, invites you to be truly his disciple. That would require that you study his example, his life’s work while he was on earth, and strive to do as he did. Note that he went about doing good, never doing evil even to his opposers. (Acts 10:38) God’s kingdom was often the theme of his teaching, of his illustrations, of his prayers. (Matthew 4:17; Luke 8:1) He had nothing in common with the political kingdoms of this world. (John 18:36) He demonstrated unshakable faith in God’s ability to fulfill all His promises toward His servants on earth. Jesus disapproved of those who claimed to be serving God while at the same time teaching doctrines unsupported by the written Word of God. (Mark 7:5-8) Are you prepared to imitate him in all these matters?

9. What fine example did Jesus set for us?

⁹ In no way did Jesus act independently of his heavenly Father. In fact, he declared: “The Son cannot do a single thing of his own initiative, but only what he beholds the Father doing. For whatever things that One does, these things the Son also does in like manner.” (John 5:19; 7:16-18) Again he said: “He that sent me is with me; he did not abandon me to myself, because I always do the things pleasing to him.” (John 8:29) He showed no inclination to live his life in his own way for the gratification of personal desires and ambitions. He flatly turned down the world rulership and prominence offered him by Satan the Devil. (Luke 4:5-8) Will you accept and follow Jesus’ example in order to gain the approval and blessing of Jehovah God?

Where to Look for Help

10. (a) What outstanding aid has God provided, and how may we avail ourselves of it? (b) What meaning do the words of John 17:3 have for us?

¹⁰ It is not possible for you to follow that course in your own strength, so subtle and deceptive are the methods of the archdeceiver. You need all the assistance that God has furnished to enable you to succeed. The outstanding aid that he has provided is the Holy Bible. (2 Timothy 3:16, 17) As you know, one cannot learn what is in the Bible simply by listening to a brief sermon each week and engaging in various rites and ceremonies. There is need for a course of Bible study, not for yourself alone but also for your family. Remember, this is the only Book that can make good its claim to having the Creator of heaven and earth as its Author. No other book or basis for study can offer its reverent students what Jesus indicated, namely: “This means everlasting life, their taking in knowledge of you, the only true God, and of the one whom you sent forth, Jesus Christ.” (John 17:3) There are men and women versed in Bible knowledge who are ready to assist you without charge or obligation. You have only to ask Jehovah’s Witnesses and you will receive the needed help to get started.

11, 12. (a) What promise does Jehovah hold forth to those meekly studying his Word? (b) How may we have our names written in God’s “book of remembrance”?

¹¹ What a wonderful promise God holds forth to those who think upon and discuss among themselves the practical benefits of studying what God and Christ have revealed about themselves! Note how it is expressed by one of Jehovah’s prophets of old: “At that time [when Jehovah settles accounts with his presumptuous enemies who thought they would get away with wickedness forever] those in fear of Jehovah spoke with one another, each one with his companion, and Jehovah kept paying attention and listening. And a book of remembrance began to be written up before him for those in fear of Jehovah and for those thinking upon his name.”​—Malachi 3:16.

¹² This means much more than just living a good, respectable life according to this world’s standards. It means obtaining accurate knowledge of God’s purposes toward man, learning what he expects of us, and then devoting our life to serving him and doing his will in every aspect of life. How else could we expect Jehovah to write our names in his “book of remembrance”? How could he remember us for good if we fail to show reverent fear of his Word and name, and fail to discuss them with our fellow humans at every possible opportunity?​—Romans 10:10.

13. (a) What counsel of Jesus and of Paul may we apply in our lives? (b) How may we show ourselves to be “wise persons”?

¹³ A businessman, a student in school, or a busy housewife may conclude that he or she is too busy to give time to such a study. But it is good to recall Jesus’ kindly words of warning about the uncertainties of plans, ambitions, even of life itself: “What benefit will it be to a man if he gains the whole world but forfeits his soul [or, life]?” (Matthew 16:26) Then also there are the apostle Paul’s words that apply so pointedly in these urgent times when we are surrounded by signs of the approaching end of a wicked system of things: “So keep strict watch that how you walk is not as unwise but as wise persons, buying out the opportune time for yourselves, because the days are wicked. On this account . . . go on perceiving what the will of Jehovah is.” (Ephesians 5:15-17) In view of the calamity that Jehovah is about to bring in upon this whole wicked world, it is good to heed his counsel given through his prophets: “Search for Jehovah, you people, while he may be found.” “This is what Jehovah has said . . . , ‘Search for me, and keep living.’”​—Isaiah 55:6; Amos 5:4.

14. (a) What mistake do many make today, and why? (b) In this regard, what sound advice is found at James 4:13-16?

¹⁴ There are those who enjoy good health and an abundance of energy, mental and physical, and for this reason may not feel so keenly their dependence on the Creator. So the tendency is for them to make great plans for their future and give little thought to God’s place in their lives. They set their sights upon wealth or honor among men or a comfortable and carefree old age. God is not in all their thoughts and plans. Wisely the inspired Bible writer warns: “Come, now, you who say: ‘Today or tomorrow we will journey to this city and will spend a year there, and we will engage in business and make profits,’ whereas you do not know what your life will be tomorrow. For you are a mist appearing for a little while and then disappearing [your life is so short at best]. Instead, you ought to say: ‘If Jehovah wills, we shall live and also do this or that.’ But now you take pride in your self-assuming brags. All such taking of pride is wicked.”​—James 4:13-16.

15. In view of the signs of the times, what urgent need should we recognize today?

¹⁵ So, then, whatever your present position in life, there is urgent reason for you to associate with the more than two million people throughout the earth, of many nations and languages, who are widely known as students of the Bible and proclaimers of its message, and particularly identified by their witnessing to Jehovah’s name and kingdom.​—Isaiah 43:10, 12; Matthew 24:14.

“I Am with You All the Days”

3. What hard fight must servants of God put up, yet with what assurance?

³ As the standards and practices of this present system go on deteriorating, those who love God and follow Christ will not descend to the depths of degradation that are going to merit divine punishment in the greatest trouble of all time. Unitedly, faithful witnesses of the true God will put up a hard fight for the faith, despite the efforts of God’s enemies to infiltrate their ranks and influence them wrongly. (Compare Jude 3, 4.) These servants of Jehovah have the promise of the now invisible King of God’s choice: “Look! I am with you all the days until the conclusion of the [present wicked] system of things.”​—Matthew 28:20.

4. What changed conditions may be expected after the “great tribulation”?

⁴ Being with them until that time means, too, that Christ Jesus will usher survivors of the “great tribulation” into a completely changed situation on earth, a situation in which Christ’s rule from heaven will ensure that “they will not do any harm or cause any ruin in all my holy mountain [kingdom]; because the earth will certainly be filled with the knowledge of Jehovah as the waters are covering the very sea.” (Isaiah 11:9; Revelation 7:14) Gone will be the ruiners of the earth with all their sophisticated nuclear weaponry! Gone will be oppressors and liars and murderers! During his reign of a 1,000 years, Christ Jesus will firmly but gently lead earth’s human inhabitants along the way to human perfection.​—Revelation 21:4.

5. What timely admonition do we find at Luke 21:36 and; 2 Peter 3:10?

⁵ Swiftly, the radical change in the world scene will now be upon us, at a time when the majority do not expect it, for they have not paid attention to the Bible’s warning: “Keep awake, then, all the time making supplication that you may succeed in escaping all these things that are destined to occur, and in standing [favorably] before the Son of man.” (Luke 21:36) Tremendous convulsions will occur amid the visible and invisible rulerships of this wicked system of things. Peter, writing under inspiration, warned: “Yet Jehovah’s day will come as a thief, in which the heavens will pass away with a hissing noise, but the elements being intensely hot will be dissolved, and earth and the works in it will be discovered.” (2 Peter 3:10) Yes, Jehovah will thoroughly expose all the machinations of wicked men and demons as he brings an entire world system to its well-deserved end.​—Jeremiah 25:31-33.

Storm Warnings

6. (a) What do the signs of the times indicate for the immediate future? (b) How destructive will God’s act prove to be?

⁶ Just as the signs in the literal skies give advance warning of storms and widespread desolation, so the signs of the times speak of the final storm and desolations that loom on the world horizon. (Luke 12:54-56) How destructive will be the effects of that divine act on this iniquitous system of world rulership? Judge for yourself from these words of an inspired prophet of God: “Jehovah has indignation against all the nations, and rage against all their army. He must devote them to destruction; he must give them to the slaughter. And all those of the army of the heavens must rot away. And the heavens must be rolled up, just like a book scroll; and their army will all shrivel away, just as the leafage shrivels off the vine and like a shriveled fig off the fig tree.”​—Isaiah 34:2, 4.

7. (a) How does Isaiah 51:6 describe the end of the world system? (b) How are Jehovah’s salvation and righteousness involved?

⁷ Again prophesying about the end of an entire world system, with its lofty starlike rulers and those who support and back them, the prophet declares at Isaiah 51:6: “Raise your eyes to the heavens themselves, and look at the earth beneath. For the very heavens must be dispersed in fragments just like smoke, and like a garment the earth itself will wear out, and its inhabitants themselves will die like a mere gnat. But as for my salvation [says Jehovah], it will prove to be even to time indefinite, and my own righteousness will not be shattered.”

Executing Judgment

8. What are the features of the dire message recorded at Revelation 6:12-17?

⁸ Then, too, the glorified King, Christ Jesus, by his angel instructed the apostle John to write this dire message: “And I saw when he opened the sixth seal, and a great earthquake occurred; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the entire moon became as blood, and the stars of heaven fell to the earth, as when a fig tree shaken by a high wind casts its unripe figs. And the heaven departed as a scroll that is being rolled up, and every mountain and every island were removed from their places. And the kings of the earth and the top-ranking ones and the military commanders and the rich and the strong ones and every slave and every free person hid themselves in the caves and in the rock-masses of the mountains. And they keep saying to the mountains and to the rock-masses: ‘Fall over us and hide us from the face of the One seated on the throne [Jehovah] and from the wrath of the Lamb, because the great day of their wrath has come, and who is able to stand?’” (Revelation 6:12-17) No enemy of Jehovah and of Christ the King will survive!

9. (a) What various groups will be forced to acknowledge Jehovah’s judgment of them? (b) What do Psalm 83:17, 18 and Ezekiel 39:6, 7 tell us as to the reason for this judgment?

⁹ The Bible here shows that the mighty ones of the earth​—the rulers of the nations, the military leaders, the wealthy business magnates—​and all who support them, whether conscripted or volunteers, will have to meet up with Jehovah’s judgment. They will have no way to flee! Their selfish schemes and efforts to preserve this old wicked system will fail. They will be forced to see that heaven’s favor is not upon them. The prayer of Psalm 83:17, 18 will be answered, for these enemies of God will “become abashed and perish.” And why? “That people may know that you, whose name is Jehovah, you alone are the Most High over all the earth.” Yes, it will be Jehovah’s time to carry out his declaration repeated some 60 times through his prophet Ezekiel, that they “will have to know that I am Jehovah.”​—Ezekiel 39:6, 7.

Happy Those Who Survive

10. Where will men fail to find cover during the tribulation?

¹⁰ To preserve their lives through the greatest tribulation of all human history men will run for cover. But where? They will not be trusting in Jehovah, but in their own organizations. Hence, they will turn to human, political governments and commercial organizations, which dominate the earth like lofty mountains, as backbones of the present system of things. Thus it is that they will try to hide themselves, seeking to escape the wrath of Jehovah. Divine prophecy will inevitably be fulfilled. What is forecast in the signs of the times will have caught up with them as everlasting cutting off in destruction descends upon all opposers of the kingdom of God.

11. What will be some of the reasons for happiness among the survivors?

¹¹ But what a glorious day that will be for all the meek ones of the earth! It will be like awakening from a bad dream. Happy will be those survivors. Love of money, which is “a root of all sorts of injurious things” such as cheating and cutthroat competition, will have been eradicated. (1 Timothy 6:10) The inhabitants will labor under happy conditions and will rejoice in the fruits of their work, for the prophet of God declares: “And they will actually sit, each one under his vine and under his fig tree, and there will be no one making them tremble; for the very mouth of Jehovah of armies has spoken it.” (Micah 4:4) Imagine! All causes of tension and worry removed forever! Do we rejoice at such a prospect?

12. (a) To what healing does Malachi 4:2 point forward? (b) What disabilities will God himself remove from mankind?

¹² In place of the scorching sun of misrule and oppression by Satan, the mimic god, Jehovah of armies promises that ‘to those who are in fear of my name the sun of righteousness will certainly shine forth, with healing in its wings (or, rays).’ (Malachi 4:2) And not only the physical ailments will be healed, but also the mental and emotional ailments that have resulted from so much sorrow in the past. In what way? By the canceling out of death and its ravages among the human family. Of this we can be certain in view of God’s comforting message: “Look! The tent of God is with mankind, and he will reside with them, and they will be his peoples. And God himself will be with them. And he 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.”​—Revelation 21:3, 4.

13. (a) How does the Bible express the resurrection hope? (b) What “first” opportunities will many then have?

¹³ However, what of the billions that have died and who have been ‘sleeping in the dust of the earth’? (Daniel 12:2) Is there any hope for them? Yes, for in accord with the teaching of Christ Jesus, his faithful apostle Paul said: “I have hope toward God, . . . that there is going to be a resurrection of both the righteous and the unrighteous.” (Acts 24:15) The 1,000-year reign of Christ will furnish many of these returnees from the grave the first opportunity to have a clear understanding of God’s purposes, the first opportunity to bring their lives willingly into harmony with God’s will. What a glorious time of happy reunion that will be!

14. (a) At what vantage point do we now stand? (b) How should the signs of the times motivate us?

¹⁴ Surely we are privileged in standing here today at this vantage point of time! We now see all around us the signs that point to an imminent and sweeping change. We can understand that Jehovah has refrained from interfering with rule of the nations by selfish men and depraved demons for a reasonable time in order to show up their utter inability to bring about peace and prosperity for all. Now the signs of the times reveal to our discerning eyes that there is not a moment to lose. It is urgent for us to take steps that will merit God’s favor. The apostle Paul’s words to a crowd of listeners in ancient Athens should move us to act now. He said that God ‘is telling mankind that they should all everywhere repent.’ (Acts 17:30) By our doing so, on the basis of accurate knowledge, and then dedicating ourselves to God, we have the opportunity to demonstrate to the great Judge of all that we are in favor of his kingdom under Christ. But we must take the steps now, without delay, and while Satanic rule still holds sway over the earth. This will provide the acid test of our genuine love for God’s truth and righteousness.​—1 Peter 1:6, 7.

15. (a) What questions may you now answer, to your own benefit? (b) As shown in the 146th Psalm Ps 146, what action on your part will lead to true happiness?

¹⁵ Will you be among that happy throng of survivors? Will you have taken your stand against Satan and all unrighteousness and for God and his kingdom by Christ in complete loyalty to God? Will you have shared in warning your fellow creatures and given them the opportunity to save themselves from the doom of a wicked generation? May that be your blessed portion, and may your voice be forever joined in the chorus of thankful praise to Jehovah, the Maker of heaven and earth and sea and all that is in them.​—Psalm 146:1, 2, 5, 6.