the eye of faith that perceive the white horse, with the all-conquering “King of kings,” the crowned Bowman. How grateful we should be for this faith-strengthening vision! It should stimulate us to be very active in witnessing concerning these things. In this, we can be loyal to our commission from Jehovah after the example of Jesus, who came to be called “Faithful and True”​—“the faithful and true witness.”​—Rev. 3:14; 19:11.

DO NOT BE SIDETRACKED!

15. Why should we believe God’s Word ahead of man’s word?

¹⁵ The world does not believe that its end is at hand. It would like to dissuade us from believing that, too. But whom will you believe​—their word or God’s Word? It is God’s Word that makes it plain that we are in “the conclusion of the system of things.” Not even the nuclear armament of the “god of fortresses”​—glorified by the “king of the north”—​can stand against the all-conquering “King of kings.”​—Dan. 11:38, 45.

16. What fine counsel does Paul extend at Romans 13:11, 12, and how may we respond?

¹⁶ The apostle Paul extends fine counsel to any who may have become drowsy, saying:

“It is already the hour for you to awake from sleep, for now our salvation is nearer than at the time when we became believers. The night is well along; the day has drawn near. Let us therefore put off the works belonging to darkness and let us put on the weapons of the light.” (Rom. 13:11, 12)

The weapons of the light are well known to us, for it has been our grand privilege to use them in proclaiming “this good news of the kingdom” in all the earth as a witness.​—Matt. 24:14; Eph. 6:11-17.

17. How may we avoid “the works belonging to darkness”?

¹⁷ However, what of “the works belonging to darkness”? These are the worldly works, the things that materialistic people delight to do without thought of God and his way of light. So we should avoid them. “As in the daytime let us walk decently, not in revelries and drunken bouts, not in illicit intercourse and loose conduct, not in strife and jealousy.” (Rom. 13:13) These are the worldly things that would creep into our Christian lives and into the congregation if we permitted it. They are to be guarded against. In more prosperous lands, people generally attach great importance to leisure and material things. In many places, the working week becomes progressively shorter, the love of pleasures correspondingly greater, and pressure is exerted on God’s people to become like the world. Will we meet this challenge in the Christian spirit of self-sacrifice?

18. How will concentration on spiritual matters protect us?

¹⁸ If we are active in God’s service, keeping alert and awake for that service, then we will have no time to get tangled up with “revelries and drunken bouts,” with “illicit intercourse and loose conduct.” Our love for Jehovah and his service, and placing these first, will act as a protection. (Matt. 6:33) With our minds on spiritual matters, and on developing the fruitage of the spirit, we will be humble and understanding in our relations with our families and with our brothers. We will avoid “strife and jealousy.”

19, 20. (a) What fine example did Jesus leave for us? (b) How will our heeding Romans 13:14 benefit us?

¹⁹ The apostle Paul continues: “Put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and do not be planning ahead for the desires of the flesh.” (Rom. 13:14) What a fine example, indeed, we have in the Lord Jesus Christ! Throughout his ministry on earth he was wide awake to the grand privilege of doing Jehovah’s will. Never did he deviate one moment from his whole-souled service in making known to others his Father’s name. Even on the day that he must die, how selfless and self-sacrificing he was in packing into every available moment of his remaining hours worthwhile, needed instruction for his disciples! (John chaps. 13 to 17) When Jesus was nearing the end on the torture stake, he refused the drug that might have eased his agony. He wanted to preserve his senses fully, as an integrity-keeper to the end.​—Matt. 27:34.

²⁰ May all of us be counted along with those who “put on the Lord Jesus Christ,” following his steps closely. (1 Pet. 2:21; Matt. 16:24, 25) By planning ahead for spiritual things, not the fleshly, we can keep wide awake in Jehovah’s service as did Jesus. Let us keep on the watch, therefore, filling our lives with Kingdom service right up until the hour that the “Son of man” comes to execute judgment. Great will be our reward!

A Time for Patient Waiting

In the eighth century B.C.E. a deplorable situation existed among the Israelites. The prophet Micah declared: “Too bad for me, for I have become like the gatherings of summer fruit, like the gleaning of a grape gathering! There is no grape cluster to eat, no early fig, that my soul would desire! The loyal one has perished from the earth, and among mankind there is no upright one. All of them, for bloodshed they lie in wait. They hunt, everyone his own brother, with a dragnet. Their hands are upon what is bad, to do it well; the prince is asking for something, and the one who is judging does so for the reward, and the great one is speaking forth the craving of his soul, his very own; and they interweave it. Their best one is like a brier, their most upright one is worse than a thorn hedge.”​—Mic. 7:1-4.

Evidently Micah speaks of himself as if he were the nation personified. The nation resembled an orchard or a vineyard from which the fruit has been gathered. Not a cluster of grapes remains. There is not even one desirable early fig. This was a fitting comparison because loyal and upright people were hard to find. The majority were out for the blood of their fellowman. Fierce was the competition. There was no concern for the welfare of others. Love was totally lacking. To further their own ends, people schemed to entrap their fellows, hunting them as with a dragnet. Their hands were fully employed in doing bad. In this they proved very adept, they ‘did it well.’

The moral decay had reached the highest levels of society. The princes or leaders of the nation ‘asked for something,’ greedily looking for a gratuity. Judges accepted bribes and perverted justice. Wealthy and prominent men expressed their wishes, and the judges complied with their desires. In this way, princes, judges and other influential men cooperated together in wicked scheming, ‘interweaving it.’ Even the best among them was like a prickly brier or a thorn hedge. Both the brier and the thorn hedge can rip clothes and painfully snag the flesh of the one passing by. So, too, lawless men in the time of Micah were treacherous, prickly and hurtful. On account of such a deplorable situation, Micah could say to the Israelites: “The day of your watchmen, of your being given attention, must come. Now will occur the confounding of them.” (Mic. 7:4) The “watchmen” were the prophets. So, ‘the day of the watchmen’ may designate the time when Jehovah would take action against the wicked in fulfillment of what the prophets had proclaimed. The execution of Jehovah’s judgment would ‘confound’ or bewilder the lawless people.

The corruption was so great that not even family relationships united people in bonds of love. The prophet could, therefore, address fellow Israelites with the words: “Do not put your faith in a companion. Do not put your trust in a confidential friend. From her who is lying in your bosom guard the openings of your mouth [that is, watch what you say]. For a son is despising a father; a daughter is rising up against her mother; a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law; a man’s enemies are the men of his household.”​—Mic. 7:5, 6.

Think of it a man’s friends​—wife, father, mother and children could not be trusted. Within his own household, he would have enemies.

Such a state of affairs simply could not continue. It called for the God of justice, Jehovah, to act. Meanwhile patient waiting was in order. The prophecy states: “But as for me, it is for Jehovah that I shall keep on the lookout. I will show a waiting attitude for the God of my salvation. My God will hear me.”​—Mic. 7:7.

We today should likewise be willing to wait patiently for Jehovah God to act against all unrighteousness. His adverse judgment against the present system of things will be executed just as surely as was his judgment against lawless Israelites, and that right soon!