IN THIS TIME when disarmament conferences and even summit meetings of the heads of political states are the order of the day for postponing or preventing war from which they fear no one may survive, this booklet is published, to point to the heavenly counsel that world leaders are overlooking but that leads to true security. It will be wisdom on your part to read and study this message, which is being given to large public audiences in a series of assemblies in big cities all around the globe. May this timely message aid you in finding the needed security, is the wish of
THE PUBLISHERS
Bible references herein are taken from the New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures for the most part.
Roth is the abbreviation for J. B. Rotherham's The Emphasised Bible;
AV is for the Authorized Version Bible of A.D. 1611.
The questions at the bottom of the pages of this booklet are for use in individual or group study.
1960
PUBLISHERSWATCHTOWER BIBLE AND TRACT SOCIETY OF NEW YORK, INC.INTERNATIONAL BIBLE STUDENTS ASSOCIATIONBrooklyn, New York, U.S.A.
Made in the United States of America
SECURITY DURING
"War of the Great Day ofGod the Almighty"
THAT will be a "great day" - the day of the war that will end all wars. Unselfish lovers of peace and brotherhood have looked forward to that day, which will lead to a world of enduring peace among men of good will. The war of that great day is an absolute necessity. Only by it will the war-minded and war-provoking disturbers of all human society be wiped out forever. Although even another world war would be terrible, men of good will do not need to shudder at the thought that there must yet be a war of universal proportions. They need not feel bad that it must be by such a war that wars large and small will be ended for all time. Security will be amply provided for men of good will, to survive that "war of the great day of God the Almighty."
2 Since security will be provided for some to survive, that must be a different kind of war. When men now speak about a third world war, they see no possibility of survival by anyone, for they know what such a conflict in this age of
1. Why is the "war of the great day" an absolute necessity, and why need men of good will not feel bad at the prospect of this war?2. As respects survival, why will that be a war different from a third world war?
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nuclear power and space missiles would mean. During the ten years of the 1950's the scientists and the militarists developed so many new death-dealing instruments of war that mankind has perfected what newspaper columnist C. L. Sulzberger calls "the knack of total demolition, previously attributed only to God."* Mankind already has enough of destructive materials to kill itself over and over again, if it had the power to resurrect itself and repeat the destructive action.
3 Today we are not just threatened with bombardment by missiles of the four nations that are already in the "nuclear club." We also stand in danger of horrible destruction by gas warfare. Today such things as poison gases, disease-spreading gases and nerve gases have been invented -yes, what they call psychochemical gases, gases that affect one's psy'che, soul, or mental and nervous control. Some of these gases can kill tens of thousands of people in not many minutes' time. Some gases can turn an entire city population crazy; others can paralyze but not kill populations, in order to pave the way to liberate cities from occupation by enemy armies.
4 Communist Russia has had a six-year start on the United States of America in developing a whole arsenal of various gases; it should have all the gases that the United States today has, and maybe more. So says Dr. Cecil M. Coggins, who used to be in the United States Army Chemical Warfare service. Some of the poison gases, he told
* The New York Times, as of December 26, 1959, on the editorial page, under "Foreign Affairs."
3,4. (a) Besides being threatened by space missiles, warfare by what other means endangers our lives? (b) To what extent has there been a production of gases for war uses, and what fear is increasing?
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the California Medical Association on February 23, 1960, "were more terrible than nuclear bombs." Some days earlier, or on February 5, it had been reported that the United States had ceased producing nerve gas, because the nation now had "enough." In the words of a certain Democratic congressman from the State of Colorado, "enough" means a big enough quantity "to kill every man, woman and child in the world." Of course, any man who would want to do such a thing would be considered mad. Yet great fear exists today, yes, the fear is increasing, that a third world war in which such devilish things of mass destruction would be let loose may be triggered by some madman or by mere accident or miscalculation.
5 Seemingly, within the critical next ten years, all mankind stands in danger of madly destroying itself by its own means. The proposals for "fallout shelters" and for nuclear-age cities with subsurface shelters will provide no real security for living on earth after nuclear and poison-gas warfare on a world scale. Man's only means of survival could come only from a source higher than man, from someone mightier than man. That one would properly be the Creator both of man and of the earth that man occupies.
6 With the possible exception of ungodly Communists, all the nations pray to their gods in time of war to help them win the war. In the case of Christendom, her nations pray to one and the same god, as if he were partial and nationalistic, and would favor one so-called Christian nation
5. From what source only can the means for man's survival come, and why?6. To whom do nations pray in time of war, and yet to whom may their victory not be ascribed?
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against another "Christian" nation. But no nation of Christendom that has gained a military victory can ascribe its victory to the God of heaven and explain the victory by the words found in God's Holy Bible, in Zechariah 4:6: " 'Not by a military force, nor by power, but by my spirit,' Jehovah of armies has said." Yet by their appeals for divine help for winning the war, they confess that God is mightier than all the nations. Moreover, war prayers have gone unanswered, and praying nations have suffered defeat at the hands of the enemy. So God must have been against such losing nations, according to their way of thinking.
7 What, then, will be the standing of the nations of Christendom and of all the rest of the world before the God of heaven in the "war of the great day of God the Almighty"? Whose war will that be? Will "God the Almighty" actually fight in that war? If so, then against whom, and why against them? These are practical questions of great seriousness for all the nations to ponder. Yes, they are questions that all of us should ponder, for we are all approaching that war of wars! We are in sore need of information.
8 The "war of the great day of God the Almighty" will not be a third world war with all the modern hideous means of warfare. We may not be sure of the coming of a third world war, but the "war of the great day" is authoritatively predicted to come. It will come without fail. We have
7. What practical questions are there for us to ponder regarding the "war of the great day of God the Almighty"?8, 9. (a) As contrasted with a third world war, why is the "war of the great day" certain to come? (b) Where is that war specifically mentioned, and what is it commonly called?
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the warning words of God the Almighty himself to assure us of that. In God's own written Word, in its last book known as The Revelation or Apocalypse, the inspired Christian apostle John tells of his prophetic vision in these words:
9 "The sixth [angel] poured out his bowl [of the anger of God] upon the great river Euphrates, and its water was dried up, that the way might be prepared for the kings from the rising of the sun. And I saw three unclean inspired expressions, that looked like frogs come out of the mouth of the dragon [Satan the Devil] and out of the mouth of the wild beast and out of the mouth of the false prophet. They are, in fact, expressions inspired by demons and perform signs, and they go forth to the kings of the entire inhabited earth, to gather them together to the war of the great day of God the Almighty. . . . And they gathered them together to the place that is called in Hebrew Har-Magedon [Armageddon]." (Revelation 16:12-16, marginal reading) The mention of the place of battle here is why the war is commonly called the battle of Armageddon, even by political, military and religious figures of our times.
10 Never before our own day have the armaments of the nations been so great, so terrible, so holocaustic. Despite the large national armaments, never have we felt more insecure. The prophetic vision of the apostle John shows that the nations thus armed are being gathered to the "war of the great day," not by the holy spirit of God the Almighty, but by certain propaganda, doctrine or teaching, "unclean inspired expressions," "expressions inspired by demons," demons who are the enemies of God the Almighty. This fact can mean nothing good for the nations. Only war with God!
10. (a) Despite what, do men feel more insecure? (b) To what are the nations being gathered, and by what means?
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THE "CASUS BELLI" OR ISSUE
11 Every war has some issue over which it is fought. What is the issue of this "war of the great day"? Since it takes place on the "day of God the Almighty," is the issue one of Christendom against heathendom, or of western democracy against godless communism? And why can the issue be settled only by war? Will the war result really in victory for neither side? Could the war mean disaster for all, and security for nobody? The answers to these vital questions come to the light when we consider the One during whose day the war is fought. Who is this "God the Almighty"? What is his concern or interest in the day? And must he resort to war? If we learn the answers, we can decide where to take our stand.
12 The phrase, "the war of the great day of God the Almighty," is taken from the last book of the Holy Bible. In the very first book of that sacred Volume, God the Almighty announces himself. The announcement is made to a man in whom He was keenly interested, and in whom we also should be interested, namely, Abram, a great-grandson of Shem the son of Noah. Abram was born 352 years after the great flood of Noah's day. For displaying unwavering faith in the unseen God of heaven, Abram came to be called "the Friend of God." (James 2: 23, AV) More than three thousand nine hundred years ago God called Abram out of the city of Ur near the lower end of the valley of Mesopotamia, to go to an unknown land that God promised to give to Abram's descendants in due time. Abram accepted the call; and after the death of his father he crossed the Euphrates River into the Promised Land, where the city of
11. What questions regarding the war arise, and how can we be enabled to decide where to take our stand?12. To whom did God first announce himself as the Almighty, and in what land?
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Salem was located that was later to become Jerusalem. (Genesis, chapters 12-14) For twenty-four years Abram wandered around in this Promised Land. Then God made an appearance to him and announced himself.
13 In the first book of the Holy Bible, chapter seventeen, verses one to five, we read: "Then Jehovah appeared to Abram and said to him: 'I am God Almighty. Walk before me and prove yourself faultless. ... As for me, look! my covenant is with you, and you will certainly become a father of a crowd of nations. And your name will not be called Abram any more, and your name must become Abraham, because a father of a crowd of nations I will grant you to be.' " This new name Abraham means "Father of a Multitude."
14 Did Jehovah prove himself to be God Almighty to his friend Abraham? Yes! How? In the year after this appearance and announcement Jehovah gave to Abraham a son by his wife Sarah. But why was this a proof of His almightiness? Because Jehovah proved he was able to fulfill his marvelous promise to Abraham in spite of the age of Abraham and his wife Sarah. At that time Abraham was ninety-nine years old, and his wife Sarah eighty-nine years old. They were both as good as dead as far as producing children was concerned. Yet even before the conception of their son Isaac occurred, Jehovah changed Abram's name and called him something that Abram was not, namely, "Father of a Multitude"; and Jehovah also changed his wife's name to Sarah, meaning Princess. The conceiving of their only son Isaac was as if God had raised Abraham and Sarah out
13. After announcing himself as almighty, what change of name did God give to his earthly friend?14. How did Jehovah prove himself to be God Almighty to Abraham at that time?
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of death and had restored them to their years of fertility.
15 Isaac's birth, therefore, was a miracle by Jehovah, who is God Almighty. It occurred because Abraham had faith in God as being Almighty, One for whom nothing is impossible. Commenting on this, the apostle Paul writes to Christians who have faith like that of Abraham: "(He is the father of us all, just as it is written: 'I [Jehovah] have appointed you a father of many nations.') This was in the sight of the One in whom he had faith, even God, who makes the dead alive and calls the things that are not as though they were. Although beyond hope, yet based on hope [Abraham] had faith, that he might become the father of many nations in accord with what had been said [by God], 'So your seed will be.' And, although he did not grow weak in faith, he considered his own body, now already deadened, as he was about one hundred years old, also the dead-ness of the womb of Sarah. But because of the promise of God he did not waver in a lack of faith, but became powerful by his faith, giving God glory and being fully convinced that what [God] had promised he was also able to do." -Romans 4:16-21.
16 This same Jehovah God is just as almighty today as he was a mere four thousand years ago, in Abraham's day. Just because God's Holy Bible as a whole is now nineteen hundred years old, he has not died off. He is immortal, fully alive today. Addressing him, the inspired prophet Habakkuk said these remarkable words: "Are you not from long ago, O Jehovah? O my God, my Holy One,
15. As shown in Paul's comment on this in Romans 4:16-21, because of Abraham's exercising what quality did this miracle occur?16. Why is Jehovah God just as almighty today, and what Biblical testimony to this do we have?
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you do not die." (Habakkuk 1:12; Roth) Seven hundred years after Habakkuk, the apostle John quotes God as saying: " 'I am the Alpha and the Omega,' says Jehovah* God, 'the One who is and who was and who is coming, the Almighty.' " John also quotes certain faithful living creatures as saying: "Holy, holy, holy is Jehovah* God, the Almighty, who was and who is and who is coming." (Revelation 1:8; 4:8) It is therefore a right conclusion, that the immortal "Jehovah God the Almighty," who was to come, is alive today in his all-powerfulness, and that he is alive to the international events on earth today, and that he will shortly come and have his "great day."
17 However, what has Abraham to do with determining what the issue is in the "war of the great day"? He has to do with it because a government in control of all the earth is involved with Almighty God. When he appeared to Abram and changed his name because God was to make him the forefather of a "crowd of nations," God said:
18 "I will multiply you very, very much and will grant you to become nations, and kings will come out of you. And I will bless [Sarah] and also give you a son from her, and I will bless her and she shall become nations; kings of peoples will come from her." (Genesis 17:6, 16) That line of kings that was to come from God's friend Abraham was to have special value and importance to all the families and nations of the earth. How so? Because God made another promise to Abraham concerning all other families and nations, and it will not fail. It is nothing impossible for Jehovah God. Abraham obeyed God's call to go to the Promised
* In agreement with the New World Translation, there are seven different published translations of The Revelation into Hebrew that read "Jehovah" here.
17,18. (a) What has Abraham to do with determining the war issue? (b) How did Jehovah indicate this in his promises to Abraham?
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Land, and this obedience bound Almighty God to keep this other promise to Abraham: "I will bless those who bless you, and him that calls down evil upon you I shall curse, and all the families of the ground will certainly bless themselves by means of you." Furthermore, when Abraham later showed willingness to sacrifice his miraculously given son Isaac, Jehovah's angel said: "By means of your seed all nations of the earth will certainly bless themselves due to the fact that you have listened to my voice." -Genesis 12:1-3; 22:15-18.
19 In fulfillment of this unbreakable promise Almighty God must produce a king descended from Abraham, and by means of this king all families and nations of the earth may yet bless themselves. There is therefore a kingdom at issue, for the good of all the people of good will toward God. This Kingdom issue must be settled.
THE KINGDOM ISSUE
20 None of the kingdoms of Christendom has proved to be the promised kingdom of blessing. None of Christendom's kings has been of Abraham's seed, not even in a spiritual sense; for not one of them has really had the faith of Abraham. Christendom, armed with nuclear weapons and poison gases, is no blessing to mankind today. As for the Jews both in Israel and all around the globe, they have no king. Jews only look back to when they had a line of kings ruling in Jerusalem, a line running from King David and sitting upon the throne till Jerusalem was destroyed for the first time in the year 607 before our Common Era. Jews support the United Nations organization of this world. In spite of this, the divine promise to
19. In view of this, what is the issue that must be settled?20. (a) Why have Christendom and the Jews of today failed to provide the kingdom of blessing? (b) Yet why is God's promise to Abraham no failure?
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Abraham of thirty-nine centuries ago is no failure. Today Jehovah God the Almighty does have his King and his kingdom. This government by his King he makes the issue in the war of his great day.
21 In working out his mighty purpose Jehovah God put David of the tribe of Judah upon the throne of Jerusalem, for David was a descendant of God's friend Abraham. To David Jehovah God promised to set up an everlasting kingdom, inasmuch as from King David there was to be a royal line that would not be broken until the Son worthy to be the everlasting king should come. Said the Lord Jehovah to King David: "Your house and your kingdom will certainly be steadfast forever before you; your very throne will become one firmly established forever." (2 Samuel 7:16) True, Jerusalem was destroyed in 607 B.C.E.; but that did not wipe out the royal line of King David which was to provide the King for blessing all the nations of the earth.
22 The line of descent to that all-important King of blessing is traced for us by two inspired historians, Matthew and Luke. In order to name the royal Heir and the correctness of his line of descent, the historian Matthew opens up his account with the words: "The book of the history of Jesus Christ, son of David, son of Abraham." (Matthew 1:1) Jesus could thus be the promised Seed of Abraham for blessing people of all the nations. His descent from Abraham was by means of a virgin who had been born in King David's birthplace, the town of Bethlehem in the tribal territory of Judah. Her name was Miriam or Mary. Matthew
21. In working out his Kingdom purpose, what promise did God make to King David, and why did Jerusalem's destruction not defeat it?22. Why is the line of descent of the King of blessing traced, and so who was his earthly mother, and who his father?
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(1:16) calls her "Mary, who was the mother of Jesus, who is called 'Christ'." However, Almighty God was the Father of Jesus Christ.
23 An angel named Gabriel was sent from heaven to announce to Mary the divine choice of her to be the mother of the Son of God. Gabriel said: "Have no fear, Mary, for you have found favor with God; and, look! you will conceive in your womb and give birth to a son, and you are to call his name Jesus. This one will be great and will be called Son of the Most High, and Jehovah* God will give him the throne of David his father, and he will be king over the house of Jacob forever, and there will be no end of his kingdom. . . . Holy spirit will come upon you, and power of the Most High will overshadow you. For that reason also what is born will be called holy, God's Son. . . . with God no declaration will be an impossibility." (Luke 1:26-37) This declaration of God's angel Gabriel proves that Jesus Christ was to be and is today the everlasting Heir to the royal throne of David, his earthly forefather. He is the grand climax in the line of kings that were to come from Abraham through Sarah; and by his royal rule all the families of the earth will procure everlasting blessing on a paradise earth.
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