Ukuhlangula Umhlaba Ekonakalisweni
NGASIHLANDLO sithile ngaphambili kwimbali yabantu, uThixo wawuhlangula umhlaba ekonakalisweni zizandla zabantu. Wakwenza oko esebenzisa umkhukula womhlaba wonke ngemihla kaNowa. Asinangxelo yokuba abantu babesonakalisa imeko-bume yomhlaba wokoqobo emva apho. Kodwa umhlaba wawusonakaliswa ngenye indlela ukusa kumkhamo wokuba uThixo wavakalelwa kukuba kukho imfuneko yokuthabatha inyathelo elilelona liqatha.
IBhayibhile inikela le ngxelo: “Ihlabathi lalonakele ebusweni bukaThixo; ihlabathi lalizele lugonyamelo. UThixo walikhangela ihlabathi, nalo, lonakele! Ngokuba yonke inyama ibiyonakalisile indlela yayo ehlabathini.” (Genisis 6:4, 11, 12) Ewe, ngomhla kaNowa uThixo wawujonga umhlaba njengowonakalisiweyo ngenxa yogonyamelo nobungendawo boluntu.
Ngokufanayo, xa uSirayeli wamandulo waqalisa ukulithabathela kuye iLizwe Ledinga, uThixo wamlumkisa wathi: “Ize ningalihlambeli ilizwe enikulo, kuba ligazi elihlambela ilizwe . . . Nize ningalenzi nqambi ke ilizwe.” (INumeri 35:33, 34) Ngenxa yoko, iKanan yayonakalisiwe ngenxa yokuba netyala legazi kwabemi bayo. Umzekelo owoyikisayo woku yayiluqheliselo lwabo lokubingelela ngabantwana koothixo babo.
Kwakhona amaKanan ayeziphethe kakubi ngokugqithiseleyo, ibe noku kwayichaphazela imbono kaThixo ngeli lizwe. Wawalumkisa amaSirayeli esithi: “Musani ukuzenza iinqambi ngezo nto zonke [uqheliselo lokuziphatha okubi]; kuba zenziwa iinqambi ngezo nto zonke iintlanga endizigxothayo ebusweni benu. Lenziwe inqambi nelizwe elo; . . . nelizwe liyabahlanza abemi balo.” (Levitikus 18:24, 25) Ukuziphatha okubi nophalazo-gazi lwayonakalisa iKanan ukusa kumlinganiselo wokuba uThixo azitshabalalise izizwe zakwaKanan.
Ukonakaliswa Komhlaba
Kuthekani namhlanje? Ngaba asiphili kwixesha logonyamelo, uphalazo-gazi nokuziphatha okubi okungalawulekiyo? Kungakhathaliseki oko umntu azama ukukwenza ukulungisa umonakalo awenzileyo kumhlaba wokoqobo, akanakuze abuyisele ebomini abo baqikelelwa kwikhulu lezigidi abaye bafa kwiimfazwe abesilwa kuzo ebudeni bale nkulungwane; engenakuze abuyisele izigidi zabo baye babulawa zizaphuli-mthetho okanye inani elingenakubalwa lamaxhoba alusizi abulawa linxele likaKhetsekile. Ngokuqinisekileyo, akanako ukubuyisela ebomini izigidi eziqikelelwa kuma-40 ukusa kuma-60 zabantwana abangekazalwa ababomi babo bupheliswa ngokuqhomfa nyaka ngamnye. Ngaba sinokuthandabuza ukuba umhlaba uyonakaliswa emehlweni kaThixo zizinto ezinjalo—singasathethi ngokuziphatha okubi okwesameleyo namhlanje?
Ukusebenzisa kwethu ingqiqo kuyasibonisa ukuba uThixo ufanele enze okuthile ngokukhawuleza ukuhlangula umhlaba kwizenzo zomntu ezonakalisayo, yaye isiprofeto seBhayibhile siyakungqina oku. Kodwa yintoni aya kuyenza? IBhayibhile ithi ‘uya konakalisa abo bawonakalisayo umhlaba.’ (ISityhilelo 11:18; thelekisa uMateyu 24:3-14.) Kanye njengokuba umnini-ndlu emkhupha umqeshi owonakalisayo, ngoko uThixo uya ‘kubakhupha’ abo bayonakalisayo indalo yakhe entle, umhlaba.
IBhayibhile ithi: “Banqunyulwe ezweni abangendawo, abanginizayo bancothulwe kulo.” (IMizekeliso 2:22) Eli nyathelo likaThixo lizayo iBhayibhile ilibiza ngokuba yiArmagedon. (ISityhilelo 16:16) UYesu wakwalibiza ngokuba ‘yimbandezelo enkulu, ekungazanga kubekho injalo kwasekuqalekeni kwehlabathi, kwada kwaba kalokunje, ekungasayi kubuye kubekho injalo.’ (Mateyu 24:21) Iya kude ibe nkudlwana kunoMkhukula.
Ngaba esi sisicombululo esiqatha okanye esingekho sikweni? Akunjalo, uThixo, onguMdali womhlaba, unelungelo lokugqiba ukuba ngubani oya kuwuma. Kwakhona unelungelo lokumenza aphendule umntu ngezenzo zakhe. Ngaphezu koko, ukuba uThixo uyamvumela umntu aqhubeke nekhondo lakhe engathintelwa, umhlaba uya konakaliselwa wonke umntu, ibe ubomi abunakubakho. Kwelinye icala, ‘ngokonakalisa abo bawonakalisayo umhlaba,’ uThixo ulondoloza ilifa lethu elingumhlaba ukwenzela abo banoxabiso. IBhayibhile ithembisa oku: “Ngokuba abathe tye baya kulima ilizwe, basale kulo abagqibeleleyo.”—IMizekeliso 2:21.
Ngoncedo lukaThixo, izigidi ziye zafumana amandla okuba zizibonakalise zingabangenakubekwa tyala ngenxa yokuba zifuna ukusala ukuze zinandiphe indalo kaThixo. Kwakhona zilandela imilinganiselo kaThixo ephakamileyo yokuziphatha zize ziphephe ugonyamelo nokuba netyala legazi kwanangendlela engangqalanga. Ngenxa yoko, aziwonakalisi umhlaba ngale ngqiqo ibalulekileyo.
Umhlaba Ohlangulwe Ekonakalisweni
Abantu abanjalo ngoku banethemba elivuyisayo lokubona umhlaba uguqulwa kwimo okuyo yokonakaliswa ube yiparadisi enik’ impilo. Ewe, kwanemizimba yabo iya kuhlanjululwa, icocwe kwimiphumo eyonakalisayo yesono. Incwadi yokugqibela yeBhayibhile ichaza ilungiselelo likaThixo lokwenza konke oku kube nokwenzeka ‘njengomlambo wamanzi obomi’ wokomfuziselo. Ngapha nangapha kwalo mlambo, “ngumthi wobomi, ovelisa iintlobo zeziqhamo ezilishumi elinambini, unika iinyanga ngeenyanga zonke isiqhamo sawo; aye amagqabi omthi lowo engawokuphilisa iintlanga.”—ISityhilelo 22:1, 2.
Lo mbono uphefumlelweyo usisiqinisekiso sokuba uThixo uya kuwuhlangula umhlaba noluntu oluphezu kwawo ekonakalisweni. Ezinye iziprofeto zisibonisa kusengaphambili oko kubuyiselwa komhlaba. Ngokomzekelo, qwalasela umbono wakwangaphambili obumbongo kaIsaya: “Inemihlali intlango nomqwebedu; iyagcoba inkqantosi, iyadubula njengomfiyo. Iyatyatyamba, ithi rhoqo; iyagcoba, ewe, iyagcoba, imemelele.” (Isaya 35:1, 2) Ngelo xesha akuyi kubakho zilwandle zingcolisiweyo, mhlaba wonakalisiweyo, okanye umoya onetyhefu ojikeleza umhlaba.
Okubaluleke ngakumbi kukuba, umhlaba awuyi konakaliswa lugonyamelo, uphalazo-gazi, okanye ukuziphatha okubi. Ngabo bahlonela uThixo, imilinganiselo yakhe nendalo yakhe kuphela abaya kuba lapho. (ISityhilelo 21:7, 8) Ngoku khawubek’ indlebe kwimiphumo ezukileyo yazo zonke ezi zinto: “Azisule uThixo zonke iinyembezi emehlweni abo, kungabi sabakho kufa, kungabi sabakho nasijwili, nakukhala, nantlungu; ngokuba izinto zokuqala zigqithile. . . . Uyabona, izinto zonke ndizenza ntsha.”—ISityhilelo 21:4, 5.
Onjani wona ukuvuyisa umphumo! Hayi indlela esivuya ngayo kuba uThixo kungekudala eya ‘konakalisa abo bawonakalisayo umhlaba’! Ibe hayi indlela la madinga aphefumlelweyo asishukumisela ngayo ukuba sifune ukukhonza uThixo oya kuhlangula umhlaba ekonakalisweni aze awenze ube likhaya eliyiparadisi loluntu oluneentliziyo ezilungileyo!
[Amagama acatshulweyo akwiphepha 6]
IBhayibhile ithi uThixo uya ‘konakalisa abo bawonakalisayo umhlaba.’—ISityhilelo 11:18