10, 11. (a) What did the UN proclaim in 1986, and what was the response? (b) How many “religious families” assembled at Assisi, Italy, to pray for peace, and does God answer such prayers? Explain.

¹⁰ In an effort to bolster the hopes of mankind, the United Nations proclaimed 1986 to be an “International Year of Peace,” with the theme “To Safeguard Peace and the Future of Humanity.” Warring nations were called upon to lay down their weapons, at least for one year. What was their response? According to a report by the International Peace Research Institute, as many as five million people were killed as a result of wars during 1986 alone! Though some special coins and commemorative stamps were issued, most of the nations did little about pursuing the ideal of peace in that year. Nevertheless, the world’s religions​—always anxious for a fine rapport with the UN—​set about publicizing the year in various ways. On January 1, 1986, Pope John Paul II praised the work of the UN and dedicated the new year to peace. And on October 27, he assembled the leaders of many of the world’s religions at Assisi, Italy, to pray for peace.

¹¹ Does God answer such prayers for peace? Well, to which God were those religious leaders praying? If you asked them, each group would give a different answer. Is there a pantheon of millions of gods that can hear and grant petitions made in many different ways? Many of the participants worshipped Christendom’s Trinity.c Buddhists, Hindus, and others chanted prayers to gods without number. In all, 12 “religious families” assembled, being represented by such notables as the Anglican Archbishop of Canterbury, Buddhism’s Dalai Lama, a Russian Orthodox metropolitan, the president of Tokyo’s Shinto Shrine Association, African animists, and two American Indians decked out in plumed headdresses. It was a colorful group, to say the least, making for spectacular TV coverage. One group prayed unceasingly for 12 hours at one time. (Compare Luke 20:45-47.) But did any of those prayers reach beyond the rain clouds that hovered over the gathering? No, for the following reasons:

12. For what reasons did God not answer the prayers for peace of the world’s religious leaders?

¹² In contrast with those who “walk in the name of Jehovah,” not one of those religionists was praying to Jehovah, the living God, whose name appears some 7,000 times in the original text of the Bible. (Micah 4:5; Isaiah 42:8, 12)d As a group, they did not approach God in the name of Jesus, the majority of them not even believing in Jesus Christ. (John 14:13; 15:16) None of them are doing God’s will for our day, which is to proclaim worldwide God’s incoming Kingdom​—not the UN—​as the real hope for mankind. (Matthew 7:21-23; 24:14; Mark 13:10) For the most part, their religious organizations have been involved in the bloody wars of history, including the two world wars of the 20th century. To such, God says: “Even though you make many prayers, I am not listening; with bloodshed your very hands have become filled.”​—Isaiah 1:15; 59:1-3.

13. (a) Why is it significant that the world’s religious leaders should join hands with the UN in calling for peace? (b) The cries for peace will culminate in what divinely foretold climax?

¹³ Further, it is deeply significant that the world’s religious leaders should join hands with the United Nations in calling for peace at this time. They would like to influence the UN to their own advantage, especially in this modern age when so many of their people are abandoning religion. Like the unfaithful leaders in ancient Israel, they call out, “‘There is peace! There is peace!’ when there is no peace.” (Jeremiah 6:14) No doubt their cries for peace will continue, rising in support of the climax concerning which the apostle Paul prophesied: “Jehovah’s day is coming exactly as a thief in the night. Whenever it is that they are saying: ‘Peace and security!’ then sudden destruction is to be instantly upon them just as the pang of distress upon a pregnant woman; and they will by no means escape.”​—1 Thessalonians 5:2, 3.

14. What form could the cry of “Peace and security!” take, and how can one avoid being misled by it?

¹⁴ In recent years, politicians have used the phrase “peace and security” to describe various human schemes. Do such efforts by world leaders constitute the beginning of the fulfillment of 1 Thessalonians 5:3? Or was Paul referring only to a specific event of such dramatic proportions that it will claim world attention? Since Bible prophecies are often completely understood only after they are fulfilled or in the course of fulfillment, we will have to wait and see. Meanwhile, Christians know that whatever peace and security the nations may appear to have achieved, basically nothing will have changed. Selfishness, hatred, crime, family breakdown, immorality, sickness, sorrow, and death will still be here. That is why no cry of “peace and security” needs to mislead you, if you remain awake to the meaning of world events and heed the prophetic warnings in God’s Word.​—Mark 13:32-37; Luke 21:34-36.

1. How does the angel describe the scarlet-colored wild beast, and what kind of wisdom is needed to understand the symbols of Revelation?

IN FURTHER describing the scarlet-colored wild beast of Revelation 17:3, the angel tells John: “Here is where the intelligence that has wisdom comes in: The seven heads mean seven mountains, where the woman sits on top. And there are seven kings: five have fallen, one is, the other has not yet arrived, but when he does arrive he must remain a short while.” (Revelation 17:9, 10) The angel is here conveying wisdom from above, the only wisdom that can give understanding of the symbols in Revelation. (James 3:17) This wisdom enlightens the John class and its companions as to the seriousness of the times in which we live. It builds in devoted hearts appreciation of Jehovah’s judgments, now about to be carried out, and inculcates a healthy fear of Jehovah. As Proverbs 9:10 states: “The fear of Jehovah is the start of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Most Holy One is what understanding is.” What does divine wisdom reveal to us about the wild beast?

2. What is the meaning of the seven heads of the scarlet-colored wild beast, and how is it that “five have fallen, one is”?

² The seven heads of that ferocious beast stand for seven “mountains,” or seven “kings.” Both terms are used Scripturally to refer to governmental powers. (Jeremiah 51:24, 25; Daniel 2:34, 35, 44, 45) In the Bible, six world powers are mentioned as having an impact on the affairs of God’s people: Egypt, Assyria, Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece, and Rome. Of these, five had already come and gone by the time John received Revelation, whereas Rome was still very much a world power. This corresponds well with the words, “five have fallen, one is.” But what of “the other” that was due to come?

3. (a) How did the Roman Empire come to be divided? (b) What developments took place in the West? (c) How is the Holy Roman Empire to be viewed?

³ The Roman Empire endured and even expanded for hundreds of years after John’s day. In 330 C.E., Emperor Constantine moved his capital from Rome to Byzantium, which he renamed Constantinople. In 395 C.E., the Roman Empire was split into Eastern and Western parts. In 410 C.E., Rome itself fell to Alaric, king of the Visigoths (a Germanic tribe that had converted to the Arian brand of “Christianity”). Germanic tribes (also “Christian”) conquered Spain and much of the territory of Rome in North Africa. There were centuries of upheaval, unrest, and readjustment in Europe. Notable emperors arose in the West, such as Charlemagne, who formed an alliance with Pope Leo III in the 9th century, and Frederick II, who reigned in the 13th century. But their domain, though named the Holy Roman Empire, was much smaller than that of the earlier Roman Empire at its zenith. It was more of a restoration or a continuation of this ancient power than a new empire.

4. What successes did the Eastern Empire have, but what happened to much of the former territory of ancient Rome in North Africa, Spain, and Syria?

⁴ Rome’s Eastern Empire, centered at Constantinople, endured in a somewhat uneasy relationship with the Western Empire. In the sixth century, Eastern emperor Justinian I was able to reconquer much of North Africa, and he also intervened in Spain and Italy. In the seventh century, Justinian II recovered for the Empire areas of Macedonia that had been conquered by Slavic tribesmen. By the eighth century, however, much of the former territory of ancient Rome in North Africa, Spain, and Syria had come under the new empire of Islam and thus passed from the control of both Constantinople and Rome.

5. Though the city of Rome fell in 410 C.E., how is it that it took many more centuries for all traces of the political Roman Empire to pass from the world scene?

⁵ The city of Constantinople itself endured somewhat longer. It survived frequent attacks from Persians, Arabs, Bulgars, and Russians until in 1203 it finally fell​—not to Muslims but to Crusaders from the West. In 1453, though, it came under the power of the Muslim Ottoman ruler Mehmed II and soon became capital of the Ottoman, or Turkish, Empire. Thus, although the city of Rome fell in 410 C.E., it took many more centuries for all traces of the political Roman Empire to pass from the world scene. And even then, its influence was still discernible in religious empires based on the papacy of Rome and the Eastern Orthodox churches.

6. What brand-new empires developed, and which one became the most successful?

⁶ By the 15th century, however, some countries were building brand-new empires. While some of these new imperial powers were found in the territory of former colonies of Rome, their empires were not mere continuations of the Roman Empire. Portugal, Spain, France, and Holland all became seats of far-flung domains. But the most successful was Britain, which came to preside over a huge empire on which ‘the sun never set.’ This empire spread at different times over much of North America, Africa, India, and Southeast Asia, as well as the expanse of the South Pacific.

7. How did a kind of dual world power come to exist, and how long did John say that the seventh ‘head,’ or world power, would continue?

⁷ By the 19th century, some of the colonies in North America had already broken away from Britain to form the independent United States of America. Politically, some conflict between the new nation and the former motherland continued. Nevertheless, the first world war forced both countries to recognize their common interests and cemented a special relationship between them. Thus, a kind of dual world power came to exist, made up of the United States of America, now the world’s wealthiest nation, and Great Britain, seat of the world’s largest empire. Here, then, is the seventh ‘head,’ or world power, that continues into the time of the end and in the territories of which the modern-day Witnesses of Jehovah first got established. Compared with the long reign of the sixth head, the seventh remains only “a short while,” until God’s Kingdom destroys all national entities.