True peace and security-From what source (1973)
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True Peace and Security—From What Source?
Source: jw.org
Contents
Title Page/Publishers’ Page
Contents
The Choice We All Face
Can Men Bring Lasting Peace and Security?
Are the World’s Religions Giving the Right Lead?
World Destruction First—Then World Peace
An Issue That Involves You
What Has God Been Doing?
When Will the Foretold World Destruction Come?
Who Will the Survivors Be?
Peace and Security Earth Wide—A Reliable Hope
Are You Willing to Face the Truth in Your Life?
Survivors Must Be “No Part of the World”
Respect for Authority Essential for Peaceful Living
Your View of Sex—What Difference Does It Make?
Respect for the Gift of Life
Why Care What Happens to Other People?
The Choice Assuring Life in True Peace and Security
References
Can You Prove That the Bible Is Really God’s Word?
Other Bible Teachings Made Clear
Title Page/Publishers’ Page
Title Page/Publishers’ Page
True Peace and Security—From What Source?
Is there a real solution to the problems that mankind now faces? This book is published with the conviction that there is. It is our sincere desire that by reading it you will gain a solid hope and a heartwarming assurance as to what the. future holds for all who truly love righteousness.
—The Publishers
Contents
Contents
PAGE CHAPTER
5 1 The Choice We All Face
9 2 Can Men Bring Lasting Peace and Security?
22 3 Are the World’s Religions Giving the Right Lead?
37 4 World Destruction First—Then World Peace
46 5 An Issue That Involves You
58 6 What Has God Been Doing?
72 7 When Will the Foretold World Destruction Come?
90 8 Who Will the Survivors Be?
98 9 Peace and Security Earth Wide—A Reliable Hope
111 10 Are You Willing to Face the Truth in Your Life?
120 11 Survivors Must Be “No Part of the World”
132 12 Respect for Authority Essential for Peaceful Living
145 13 Your View of Sex—What Difference Does It Make?
155 14 Respect for the Gift of Life
166 15 Why Care What Happens to Other People?
178 16 The Choice Assuring Life in True Peace and Security
The scriptures referred to in this book may be found in any translation of the Bible. However, unless otherwise indicated, direct quotations are from the modern-language New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures, 1971 edition. Listed below are the abbreviations of names of other Bible versions quoted:
Dy — Roman Catholic Douay Version, of 1610.
NE — The New English Bible, of 1970.
Ro — The Emphasised Bible, of 1897, Joseph B. Rotherham.
The Choice We All Face
Chapter 1
The Choice We All Face
1-4. (a) What conditions have you seen that make you realize how desirable it would be to have true peace and security? (b) On what basis are world leaders foretelling that they expect lasting peace? (c) If any arrangement for peace and security is to benefit your own life, what kind of problems must it solve?
SURELY you, like most persons today, want peace and security. People everywhere are weary of war, tension and turmoil. They long for relief. Would you not rejoice to see this earth become a pleasant, secure home for all of its inhabitants?
2 There is every reason to believe that the longed-for relief is now at hand! From what source?
3 World leaders today are confidently foretelling the entry of a ‘new era’ in world history. They say that the threat of global war and nuclear destruction is past. Why? Because, they declare, a dramatic change in relations between the world’s great powers is bringing in a time of peace and security such as the world has never seen. In January of 1973 a prominent statesman said: “We have made a breakthrough toward creating in the world what the world has not known before—a structure of peace that can last, not merely for our time, but for generations to come.”1
4 The question is: What is required in order to make the peace and security genuine? How can it make your life secure? To accomplish that, would it not have to reach into your neighborhood and your home and solve the problems that seriously affect you? Would it not also have to solve the problems of growing crime and drug addiction, rising food costs and heavy taxation, spreading pollution and the steady weakening of family ties? Surely, as long as any of these situations continue, they are a threat to your personal peace and security.
5-8. (a) On the basis of your own experience in life, do you believe that men are going to solve those problems? (b) Where else might we look for a solution? (c) How prominent a book is the Bible?
5 Men today offer the hope that they can overcome the major problems afflicting mankind. They say that, freed from the crushing burdens of war, they can direct wealth, research and manpower far more energetically toward finding remedies for such things as crime, disease, hunger, poverty and bad housing.
6 Do you believe this? Is there any solid evidence from the past or from the present to show that men are able to bring such solutions? What does human history show? What does your own experience in life tell you?
7 ‘But if men do not have the solution, what remains?’ you may ask. ‘What choice do we have?’ Well, what about God? There is the undeniable fact that the earth and the living things on it give evidence of intelligent design. (Hebrews 3:4) So, then, where does God enter the picture? Is he concerned? Will he take a hand in human affairs?
8 In view of what is at stake, is it not worth your while to examine what the Bible says on this matter? You may realize that the Bible is the most widely translateda and circulated book on earth. But did you know that it discusses the very matters that are of greatest concern to us in this twentieth century?
9. What does the Bible say about the future of mankind and of government?
9 Many people have heard that it foretells a coming world destruction, and this may disturb them. But few know what it says as to when that destruction will come or about its prophecies of life right here on earth afterward. (Matthew 24:21, 22; 2 Peter 3:11-13) They may have prayed for ‘God’s kingdom to come.’ But few realize that the Bible speaks of that kingdom as an actual government, one that will shortly replace all present political systems.—Daniel 2:44.
10. What are some of the differences between what the Bible says that God’s kingdom will do and what human leaders say that they will do?
10 There is a vast difference between the peace and security the Bible shows that God’s kingdom will bring and what human leaders of our day promise. Today men speak in terms of a reduction of arms by treaties and peace pacts. The Bible, by contrast, says that soon God will bring a complete end to all armaments and remove the root causes of war. The security that God promises is not just from war between nations. It is from enemies of any kind, anywhere, so that no one need be in fear, day or night. (Micah 4:3, 4) Men are now concerned with bringing crime under control, but God’s declared purpose is to wipe out even the sources of crime, rooting out the attitudes and conditions with which crime begins. (Psalm 37:8-11 [36:8-11, Catholic Douay Version]; Galatians 5:19-21) The nations speak of progress in medical research and improved care of the sick and aged. But the Bible explains how God’s government will bring about full and lasting health, yes, even overcoming the problems of aging and death. (Revelation 21:3, 4) Under the kind of rulership described in the Bible, a person’s work will mean more than just getting money or possessions—it will make life meaningful, filled with purpose, bringing real satisfaction. For, after all, no matter what you are paid, how happy can you be if your work is monotonous, if you feel frustrated and without a true sense of accomplishment in life?—Romans 8:19-21; Isaiah 65:21-23.
11. In deciding whether to put our trust in men or in what the Bible promises, what questions do we do well to ask ourselves?
11 Which would you prefer? Which do you believe offers true peace and security? By going along with what the world in general accepts, have you really found what you want in life? If you let yourself be carried along with what may currently be popular, may you find that you have trusted in a false peace, a fraudulent security that leaves you, not only disillusioned, but also in grave danger? On the other hand, can you rely on what the Bible promises as something believable, practical, realistic?
12. Why would it be beneficial for us to examine together the answers to these questions?
12 The choice we each face is not one of minor consequence. Our very lives are at stake. Surely, then, the answer to the questions raised deserves your thoughtful examination.
[Footnotes]
Now in 1,500 languages and dialects.
[Full-page picture on page 4]
Can Men Bring Lasting Peace and Security?
Chapter 2
Can Men Bring Lasting Peace and Security?
1. Why is it important that our hope for peace and security be based on reality and truth?
GENUINE hope is founded on reality and truth. False hopes only blind people to the true hope, deceiving them. In a time of crisis such as we now face, false hopes would even rob a person of his life.
2, 3. (a) What questions would it be beneficial to ask ourselves as to the problems involved in bringing peace and security? (b) What further question faces those who claim to have faith in God?
2 Therefore, we need to ask ourselves: Do we clearly appreciate just how big the problems are that must be solved to bring genuine peace and security? Do we realize how urgent the situation has become? What evidence do we actually have that men’s solutions would be equal to the immensity of the task?
3 Also, we face the question of whether we can put our trust in world leaders and in God at the same time. Some believe that they can. They believe that current human efforts toward bringing lasting peace have God’s backing. But do they? Since so much lies in the balance, we do well to examine the facts.
URGENCY AND FEAR MOVE MEN TO ACTION
4-6. To what realization have world leaders come as to the seriousness of the problems facing mankind?
4 For thousands of years men have sought lasting peace and security, without success. But now there is a new circumstance that many believe will cause men to come to grips with the problems and to succeed. What is this new circumstance?
5 It is that, for the first time, world leaders are acknowledging that they must decide between world peace and world suicide. They agree that an all-out nuclear war would be so deadly that there could be no winners, only losers. Not only this, but many, especially scientists, say that there is even greater danger from worldwide pollution, and also from the “population explosion,” with the widespread famine, disease and unrest that this threatens to bring. They say that time is running out for global action by all nations if worldwide disaster is to be avoided. As a report from Washington, D.C., states:
“Suddenly in any number of disparate countries—the United States, Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Sweden, Czechoslovakia, the Soviet Union, India, Japan—influential men have sensed an impending danger unlike any in human experience. Futurologists call it the crisis of crises, the culmination of man’s timeless errors.”—Washington Post.2
6 These men recognize that, even though mankind might survive these crises one at a time, they could not survive if all, or even several of them, hit at once. The question is, however, Will fear of disaster really turn mankind away from disunity and strife to a course bringing true peace and security?
A WARLESS WORLD BY MEN’S EFFORTS?
7-11. (a) As to man’s ability to put an end to war, what does history show? (b) Is fear of atomic warfare a sound foundation for peace? (c) Does the signing of disarmament pacts or peace treaties guarantee lasting peace?
7 What real reason does any of us have to believe that men can bring a complete end to war? What does history show?
8 True, there have been a few scattered years when this planet Earth was free from war. But very few. Military analyst Hanson W. Baldwin calculated that in some 3,457 years of recorded history, there have been more than 3,230 years of war and only 227 years of peace.3
9 But will not the mutual fear of atomic warfare change this? Remember, men learned to fear nuclear weapons over a quarter of a century ago, when atomic bombs wiped out two Japanese cities. But what has their fear moved them to do since then? Actually, it has led them to stockpile more and more such weapons and even to keep inventing others of vastly greater destructive power.
10 Do you not agree that, instead of ensuring true peace, fear produced by threat of attack in reality creates suspicion and tension? If you keep peace with your neighbor only because you know he is armed and threatens to use his weapons, is this real peace? Can you ever feel secure while that neighbor lives alongside you? Actually, such fear can easily lead to hasty, thoughtless, violent acts. Surely the “balance of terror” that world leaders have built up is no foundation for genuine peace.
11 Granted, the nations may sign disarmament pacts or peace treaties. But over the centuries literally thousands of these have been signed. Yet, whenever war sentiment became strong enough, those treaties proved worthless, mere scraps of paper. Is it realistic to think that world leaders today will keep their word if selfish nationalistic interests seem to dictate otherwise? More importantly, will you risk your hope of life in peace and security on their promise to keep peace?
12, 13. (a) How has what the Bible foretold about man’s failure to achieve lasting peace been consistent with what has occurred? (b) What does the Bible identify as the real source of war?
12 What, then, about the Bible? Does it urge us to put our hope and confidence in human efforts to bring peace, in the face of all the evidence showing man’s inability to achieve it? To the contrary, it foretold long ago that, by themselves, men would never bring lasting peace. It forewarned that, even during the period just before God’s kingdom would clean out of the earth all who do not have true love for righteousness, there would be “wars and disorders,” with ‘nation rising against nation and kingdom against kingdom’ in global warfare. (Luke 21:9, 10, 31; Revelation 6:1-4) The greatest, most destructive slaughter in human history has taken place in our generation in two world wars. And since the end of World War II there have been over three hundred wars or violent uprisings, an average of about one a month! What the Bible foretold is consistent with what has actually occurred. It gave us no false hope.
13 The Bible also identifies the real source of the problem. It shows that war is not caused by bullets or bombs or battleships but by people, by human selfishness. (James 4:1-3) If men are to achieve lasting peace, they must first bring about a worldwide change in people. But on the basis of man’s record over the centuries, would you say that such a thing is likely? What about the record of this generation? Does it indicate that such a change is impending—that people everywhere are abandoning their selfishness, their divisive nationalism, their racial hatred, their commercial greed? Certainly not! And the Bible truthfully states that, when men seek peace only so that they can continue their pursuit of selfishness, they will never succeed.—Isaiah 57:19-21; 59:7, 8.
CAN MEN KEEP THE “HUMAN BOMB” FROM EXPLODING?
14-17. (a) How rapidly is the earth’s population increasing, and what does this mean as to the problem of providing food? (b) As to whether scientists have the needed solution, what do they themselves say?
14 Earth’s population reached one billion (one thousand million) persons for the first time early in the nineteenth century. By 1930 it grew to two billion. There are now over 3.6 billion persons on earth, and estimates are that the figure will pass six billion in the next thirty years! What does this mean?
15 It means that every day there are some 200,000 more mouths to be fed. And most of these are in areas where poverty, hunger and disease already affect millions. As food science professor Georg Borgstrom, of Michigan State University, said:
“Anyone who thinks that the current world protein crisis is going to blow over and take care of itself should remember: the hungry of the world are multiplying twice as fast as the well fed.”4
16 But have not agricultural scientists developed new high-yield strains of rice, wheat and corn in what has been hailed as a “green revolution”? Yes, but will this answer the world’s hunger problem? More and more food experts now say, No. Many warn that the new varieties of grains may even contribute to famine. How? A 1971 Associated Press dispatch reported:
“The new hybrids are not as blight-resistant as the older types. There is the possibility that a country’s entire crop—perhaps a world crop—would be wiped out by a new plant disease. It almost happened last year with the corn crop in the United States.”5
17 It is, in fact, the scientists themselves who most frequently warn that they do not have the solution. As one prominent biologist expressed it:
“Some feel that the battle to feed the world population is now lost, and that it is a foregone conclusion that by 1985 we will have world-wide famines in which hundreds of millions of people will starve to death. I must admit that at this time I see no major crash program which would lead me to disagree with this conclusion.”6
18-21. (a) What did the Bible foretell about this situation? (b) Would cutting back the amount of military spending solve the problem? (c) Why has such a serious situation developed?
18 With all its agricultural science, modern society has not been able to avoid the very conditions of which the Bible forewarned. It accurately foretold the arrival of severe food shortages on a worldwide scale during the “conclusion of the system of things.”—Matthew 24:3, 7; Revelation 6:5-8.
19 Much of the problem lies, not with agricultural methods primarily, but with people and their attitudes that go contrary to Bible principles. For decades now, the nations have spent vast sums on armaments while millions earth wide face starvation. According to a United Nations report, in recent years the nations have been spending $200 billion a year on their armed forces. That is more than the total annual income of a third of the earth’s population!
20 Even if the enormous military buildup were abandoned, the world’s divided economic system works against any true relief for the problem. Even when food is available, desire for big profits often prevents its distribution to those in need. In some lands, governments pay farmers not to produce certain crops and, rather than let high production bring a decrease in price, crops are even destroyed.
21 How different all this is from the principles set forth in the Bible encouraging a loving attitude toward those in need. (Deuteronomy 24:19-21) Men have built up their economic systems on selfishness and, rather than bringing peace and security, a situation that threatens disastrous consequences has now developed. Sooner or later men ‘reap what they sow,’ even as the Bible points out.—Galatians 6:7.
CAN MEN MAKE PEACE WITH THE EARTH?
22-25. (a) How serious is the problem of pollution? (b) Though some persons look to human science to provide the solution, what do the scientists say?
22 For scores of years now, men have been making war with the very earth on which they live. How? By worldwide pollution. Pollution is poisonous waste that man has caused and that has backed up into his water supply, into the air he breathes and the food he eats, until he cannot push it away. Thus man has endangered the most basic elements he needs for life.
23 Those trusting in men to bring peace and security say that man will find a way to survive this crisis as he has survived past crises. They believe that human science will provide the solution.
24 But, once more, the ones expressing the gravest doubts today are the scientists themselves. Note the following:
“Dr. William D. McElroy, outgoing director of the National Science Foundation, said recently that a natural reaction to the threat posed by pollution is that man has survived other dangers before and can do it again. This, unfortunately, ‘is not at all in accord with the facts. The simple truth today is that man’s survival in an acceptable society is by no means assured . . . Self-destruction by environmental degradation is a real possibility.’”—Atlanta Journal.7
25 Men can invent and mass-produce machines, creating an industrialized society. But in using the machines, they are ruining their own environment. As Dr. René Dubos, a pollution authority, says:
“In my opinion, there is no chance of solving the problem of pollution—or the other threats to human life—if we accept the idea that technology is to rule our future.”8
26-28. (a) Did the Bible foretell that such a critical situation would develop in regard to the earth? (b) What really is the source of the pollution problem? (c) In coping with the problems of pollution, what vital knowledge do human scientists lack, but who has it?
26 Again, the Bible foretold man’s lack of wisdom in his use of earth’s bounties. The prophecy at Revelation 11:18 foretold the time when God would have to take action “to bring to ruin those ruining the earth.”
27 And, once more, it becomes evident that the Bible reliably focuses on the true source of mankind’s pollution problems. Is it industry and machines? Not primarily. Primarily it is people who cause pollution. They pollute because of selfish desire or ignorance or both. They have built up the present economic systems to fulfill their desires, but now they find these systems taking away the very things they need in order to enjoy life.
28 True, there is much said today about ecology and research into earth’s environment. But scientists still do not understand fully how earth’s “ecosystems” (the biological relationships on which life depends) work. Time magazine says of these ecosystems:
“Even the simplest is so complex that the largest computer cannot fully unravel it.”9
Men admittedly do not understand the complex ecology of earth. But God does, because he created it. Is it not wise and practical to look to the Creator of these things to provide the solution to the problems?
SECURITY BY THE REMOVAL OF CRIME
29-31. (a) How widespread is the problem of crime? (b) Why would not the passing of new laws eliminate crime? (c) What indicates that material prosperity would not solve the problem?
29 Though pollution endangers the very essentials for human existence, it is the increase of crime that causes the greater number of people to be in fear. Crime steadily is robbing more and more persons of their personal security, not only in big cities, but in small towns and rural areas. Not just possessions but often one’s own body is in jeopardy. Can men bring you true security from these dangers?
30 Can they do it by new legislation? There are already hundreds, even thousands, of laws on the lawbooks of the world. Yet, these have not stopped the rise in crime. Also, deep-rooted corruption often develops right within the law-enforcement bodies themselves. Dishonesty in high places may nullify the efforts of law-enforcement officers who are honest. And the fact remains that righteousness cannot be injected into people’s hearts by laws.
31 Does the answer lie in new methods of detecting and thwarting crime? For every new method produced, criminals devise new ways to overcome it. Then, will increased prosperity in a man-made “era of peace” solve the problem? It would certainly be a mistake to conclude that crime is characteristic only of lower-income groups. For example, note this report:
“The number of crimes committed by business and professional men in Australia had risen to a startling degree in the past two or three years.”—The Australian.10
Also, the New York Times reports that theft in the Wall Street financial district is like a “free-for-all,” adding: “Everybody is stealing—the messengers, the clerks, even the supervisory personnel.”11 The facts show that the highest crime rates are found in the wealthier industrial nations. And not to be overlooked is the rising tide of drug addiction.
32. Has what the Bible foretold about this situation been fulfilled?
32 What is happening is as Bible-prophecies long ago foretold: “In the last days critical times hard to deal with will be here. For men will be lovers of themselves, . . . without self-control, fierce, without love of goodness, . . . lovers of pleasures rather than lovers of God.” (2 Timothy 3:1-4) Particularly noteworthy is that these conditions were prophesied to exist among persons claiming to have faith in God, but proving false to their claim. (2Ti 3 Verse 5) And do we not find that today the nations of Christendom are those hardest hit by crime and similar social ills? Jesus also foretold an “increasing of lawlessness” for the period just before God’s kingdom would destroy the wicked to make the earth a place to be ‘inherited by mild-tempered persons.’ That “increasing of lawlessness” is a fact of life in our day.—Matthew 24:12; 5:5.
THE GREATEST PROBLEMS OF ALL
33-38. (a) Even if men could solve all the problems discussed thus far, what greater enemies of peace and security would still remain? (b) What prospects do medical researchers see for conquering the major diseases that afflict mankind?
33 Suppose men could solve the problems of war, poverty, hunger, pollution, crime and drug addiction. Would this bring you full peace and security? No, something would still be lacking. Sickness and death would still remain as unconquered enemies of your security. Indeed, what would peace from all other problems mean or matter if one had to watch a loved member of his family sicken and die, or find his own body attacked by a fatal illness?
34 Impressive medical advances have been made in recent times. But what real security does this bring us? What do medical authorities themselves recognize?
35 A report in the Wall Street Journal,’12 under the headline “Science Loses Ground in War Against Disease in Impoverished Lands,” shows that three diseases (malaria, trachoma, schistosomiasis) now afflict 800 million people in such nations. And medical reports indicate that the number affected is growing steadily. So almost one fourth of the world’s population is plagued by just three of many diseases.
36 What of the more wealthy nations? Here heart disease is the number one killer. At a recent Conference on Hunger and Malnutrition, heart disease was called an “epidemic.” In Canada it afflicts one out of four adults. In the United States over 50 percent of the deaths each year are from heart disease, with many younger men now among the victims. Yet, according to a report in the New York Times, “Dr. Moses, the American Heart Association official, said that physicians recognize that they cannot ‘stamp out’ heart disease.”13
37 The number of victims from the dreaded disease of cancer also keeps growing. What hope of relief? Columbia University Professor of Surgeons Harry Grundfest states: “There are only vague clues as yet as to the nature of the cancer problem—let alone its solution.”14
38 Even the most enthusiastic men in medical science admit that in our lifetime it is unlikely that cures will be found for heart disease, cancer, malaria and the other most deadly diseases. Even if they did, they realize that this would still do little to lengthen the average life-span of most persons. People would still get old and die. So, then, what real hope of security from disease, aging and death can men offer?
39. Where can we learn the reason why human life is so short and filled with problems?
39 Though written thousands of years ago, how true the words in the Bible at Job 14:1, 2 continue to be today: “Man, born of woman, is short-lived and glutted with agitation. Like a blossom he has come forth and is cut off, and he runs away like the shadow and does not keep existing.” The Bible also shows the reason for this, and it identifies the primary, unseen cause of all man’s problems, as we shall see later.
IN WHAT WILL YOU HOPE?
40, 41. Which do you believe—that it is more realistic to look to men to solve the problems facing mankind, or that only God can do this? Why?
40 In all honesty, then, is it realistic to trust in world leaders or other men to solve the problems facing mankind? Or is it more realistic to put trust in the solution to which the Bible points, namely, action by God himself through a righteous heavenly government? Long ago the inspired psalmist wrote these words:
“Do not put your trust in nobles, nor in the son of earthling man, to whom no salvation belongs. His spirit goes out, he goes back to his ground; in that day his thoughts do perish. Happy is the one who has the God of Jacob for his help, whose hope is in Jehovah his God, the Maker of heaven and earth, of the sea, and of all that is in them.”—Psalm 146:3-6 [145:2-6, Dy].
41 Never forget that, no matter how sincere men may be or how influential and powerful they may be as world leaders, they are all dying creatures. Unable to save themselves, how can they save others?
Are the World’s Religions Giving the Right Lead?
Chapter 3
Are the World’s Religions Giving the Right Lead?
1-3. (a) What important questions regarding the world’s religions are here raised? (b) Why are these questions appropriate?
WHATEVER your attitude toward religion, you surely recognize the great influence it has had upon mankind. As the 1970 World Book Encyclopedia states: “Religion has been one of the most powerful forces in history.”15
2 With all their influence over hundreds of millions of persons, are the world’s religions a genuine force for peace and security? Or have they contributed to the turmoil on the earth? Could it be that they actually bear the greatest responsibility for bringing mankind face-to-face with world destruction?
3 These questions may sound startling. But we may remember that Christ Jesus said of religious leaders of his day: “Let them be. Blind guides is what they are. If, then, a blind man guides a blind man, both will fall into a pit.” (Matthew 15:14) Today, there are hundreds of religions claiming to be Christian and these boast of nearly a billion members. The nations of Christendom are among the most powerful in the world. Surely what the religions of Christendom have taught has had much to do with world conditions. So, then, do they live up to their claim to represent God and Christ Jesus and to follow the Bible as God’s Word? Or is it possible that they, as well as the world’s other religions, in reality are leading mankind into conflict with God, a conflict that can bring only disaster?
4, 5. In what way can the answers to these questions help us to find out how reliable the Bible is?
4 If you seek peaceful, secure living for yourself and your family, you should welcome a frank consideration of these questions. The answer to them will also reveal something else to you. It will enable you to know just how reliable the Bible is, the strength of its claim to being the Word of God. Why?
5 Because the Bible says there is both true religion and false. And it states that God approves and blesses only worship that is founded on truth, free from hypocrisy and deceit. (Matthew 15:7-9; John 4:23, 24; Titus 1:16) It declares that only true worship in full harmony with God’s Word can produce people who live in peace and unity, with genuine love for one another. (Isaiah 32:17, 18; John 13:35) If this is the case, then certainly religion that goes contrary to the Bible could never succeed in leading mankind to true peace and security. Has this been the case?
WHAT LEAD DOES WORLD RELIGION GIVE AS TO WAR?
6. Before there can be true peace, what must people do?
6 The Bible refers to God as the one “who gives peace.” (Romans 16:20) And his people are instructed to “seek peace and pursue it,” to “beat their swords into plowshares” and not to learn war anymore. (1 Peter 3:11; Isaiah 2:2-4) Such peace earth wide can come only if people first ‘love their neighbors as themselves.’—Matthew 22:39.
7-12. What do the facts show as to whether the world’s religions have taught the kind of love that Would promote international peace?
7 Have this world’s religions taught their followers such love? Have they taught them that this love should surmount national boundaries and racial or language differences? Have the churches of Christendom, Catholic and Protestant, proved true to their claim to follow Jesus Christ as “the Prince of Peace”? Though it may surprise many, history proves that the opposite is true.
8 As the New York Times observed: “In the past local Catholic hierarchies almost always supported the wars of their nations, blessing troops and offering prayers for victory, while another group of [Catholic] bishops on the other side publicly prayed for the opposite outcome.”16 Protestant religious leaders did the same.
9 Typical was World War I, which broke out in the heart of Christendom. The vast majority of men on both sides were of the same religions. The Belgian newspaper La Dernière Heure relates that during the war Roman Catholic Cardinal Amette of Paris said this to the French soldiers:
“My brothers, comrades of the French army and of their glorious allies, the Almighty God is on our side. . . . God is near to our brave soldiers in battle, he gives them strength and fortifies them against the enemy. . . . God will give us the victory.”17
10 At the same time, on the other side, the Catholic archbishop of Cologne, Germany, said to German soldiers:
“God is with us in this fight for righteousness . . . We command you in the name of God, to fight to the last drop of your blood for the honor and glory of the country. . . . God knows that we are on the side of righteousness and he will give us the victory.”17
11 Do the churches represent God when they give such contradictory, hate-filled leadership? After Italy invaded Ethiopia in 1935, the Pittsburgh Courier commented:
“The church follows the flag, even though the flag be drenched with the blood of innocent victims of war madness slaughtered in the name of civilization . . .
“And just as the Catholic Church has either approved or seldom disapproved of this international robbery, exploitation and murder, so have the Protestant churches. . . .
“In large part, the spiritual weakness of the Christian Church today is ascribable to its constant compromise with the evils it is supposed to combat.”18
12 During World War II and in wars since then, the churches followed the same pattern. What, then, of the religions outside Christendom? Is their record different? To the contrary, members of the same non-Christian religions have often killed one another in violent strife and warfare, as history abundantly testifies. Often their religious teachings uphold such violence and bloodshed.
13. Does the Bible agree with the actions of those clergymen who, in the name of peace, engage in violent protest against existing governments?
13 True, in times of peace religious leaders praise peace; then it is popular to do so. And you may at times hear or read of those who take a stand against war even when such a stand is not popular. Yet these same religious leaders frequently show they are not genuinely peaceful, for they engage in protest actions that are often violent. Some even advocate sabotage and revolt against existing governments. But the Bible condemns such a course.—Romans 12:17-19; 13:1, 2.
14. (a) In what symbolic language are the world’s religions described in the Bible? (b) What guilt is charged against “Babylon the Great”?
14 The influence of the world’s religions over the nations of earth has been so great that the Bible describes these religions collectively as an empire. They are spoken of under the name “Babylon the Great,” which is said to be “the great city that has a kingdom over the kings of the earth.” (Revelation 17:3-5, 15, 18) Because the world’s religions have undeniably ‘prostituted’ themselves for political and commercial and social gain, this religious empire, Babylon the Great, is pictured as a “harlot.” Of this harlotrous religious empire it is said: “In her was found the blood of . . . all those who have been slaughtered on the earth.” (Revelation 18:24) Does that sound shocking—that the world’s religions bear the principal guilt for all the slaughter of world history? Yet the influence they wield and the lead they have set in supporting war, as well as carrying on violent crusades and religious persecution, bring exactly that responsibility upon them.—Compare Matthew 23:33-36; 27:20-23, 25.
15. If persons who are church members really want peace, what questions must they be willing to face as to their own church?
15 The Bible’s teaching is “that we should have love for one another; not like Cain, who originated with the wicked one [Satan the Devil] and slaughtered his brother.” (1 John 3:10-12) Yet mankind continues in the course of Cain, and the world’s religions have blessed those pursuing that course. If you are a church member, ask yourself, ‘What about my own religion? If all persons belonged to my religion, would wars have stopped and this earth now be a place of genuine peace?’
DO THE WORLD’S RELIGIONS PROMOTE MORALITY?
16. (a) Why is the holding to true standards of morality an important factor in peace and security? (b) As taught in the Bible, what promotes such morality?
16 Can anyone enjoy true peace with his neighbors or real security if there is no holding to true standards of morality? Obviously not. Without this there will be lying, stealing, adultery, and similar practices. Genuine love of neighbor should promote morality. As the Bible expresses it:
“He that loves his fellowman has fulfilled the law. For the law code, ‘You must not commit adultery, You must not murder, You must not steal, You must not covet,’ and whatever other commandment there is, is summed up in this word, namely, ‘You must love your neighbor as yourself.’ Love does not work evil to one’s neighbor; therefore love is the law’s fulfillment.”—Romans 13:8-10.
17, 18. (a) Can we expect to enjoy peace with God if we do not hold to righteous moral standards? (b) Who sets those standards?
17 More important than this, however, do you believe that anyone can be at peace with God, having the assurance of His favor and protection, if he does not practice true morality? Could you respect and honor God if he did not require such morality from those whom he approves?
18 Surely for God to require righteousness he would have to make clear to his creatures what his moral standards are. To say that each person should make up his own standards and go by them would be no more reasonable than to say that each person should make up his own traffic laws and go by them. You know what the result would be. The Bible logically shows that there is only one way bringing God’s approval and that any other road leads only to destruction.—Matthew 7:13, 14.
19. If Christendom’s churches were setting a fine lead in morality, what would you expect to see in the lives of their members?
19 Well, do Christendom’s churches truthfully represent the Bible, upholding its standards of morality and so setting a lead for the rest of the world? What do the lives of those who belong to these churches show? The Bible says that the “fruitage of [God’s] spirit is love, joy, peace, long-suffering, kindness, goodness, faith, mildness, self-control.” (Galatians 5:22, 23) Is this the fruitage that the world’s religions produce? Or do you find instead a surprising amount of “rotten” fruit, “the works of the flesh . . . fornication, uncleanness, loose conduct, idolatry, practice of spiritism, enmities, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, contentions, divisions, sects, envies, drunken bouts, revelries”? (Galatians 5:19-21) Likening men to trees, the Bible says that every “tree” producing such fruit is due to be destroyed.—Matthew 7:17-19; 12:33.
20-22. (a) As to morality, what questions need to be asked about the members of one’s own church? (b) What does the Bible say should be done about a congregation member who becomes a practicer of immorality? (c) Is this done in the churches?
20 If you belong to some religion, ask yourself: ‘How confident and secure do I feel about the moral standards of its members? If all persons on earth lived like the members of my religion do, would that put an end to crime, dishonest business practices, strife and sexual immorality?’
21 There is obvious truth in the Bible’s warning that “a little leaven ferments the whole lump,” and that “bad associations spoil useful habits.” (Galatians 5:9; 1 Corinthians 15:33) That is why the inspired apostle wrote Christians: “Quit mixing in company with anyone called a brother that is a fornicator or a greedy person or an idolater or a reviler or a drunkard or an extortioner, not even eating with such a man. . . . ‘Remove the wicked man from among yourselves.’”—1 Corinthians 5:11-13.
22 True, a person may make a momentary misstep and then recover. But what of those of whom the apostle writes, those who practice such things, making them a part of their life? If such persons claim to be serving God, they are hypocrites. Surely you detest hypocrisy, and the Bible shows that God hates it and those who practice it. (Matthew 23:27, 28; Romans 12:9) What, then, of your religion? Do its religious leaders protect its members from spiritual danger by ‘reproving before all onlookers persons who practice sin’? (1 Timothy 5:20) Do they clean out those who persist in wrongdoing, showing no genuine repentance over it? Or do they allow such ones to remain as members in good standing, infecting others? Do they render mere ‘lip service’ to morality while actually condoning or ‘winking’ at wrongdoing?—Matthew 15:7, 8.
23. (a) What are many clergymen saying these days about such things as fornication, adultery and homosexuality? (b) What does the Bible say about such conduct?
23 Throughout the world, evidence mounts against the world’s religions, evidence that they have not been a genuine force for morality and the security and peace it brings. More and more religious leaders today are saying publicly that fornication, adultery and homosexuality are not necessarily wrong. You yourself may have read news items to that effect. These represent the trend in the world’s religions. But they do not represent the Bible, which says:
“Do not be misled. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men kept for unnatural purposes, nor men who lie with men, nor thieves, nor greedy persons, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit God’s kingdom.”—1 Corinthians 6:9, 10.
24. How can a person find out for sure what the minister in his church believes about such conduct?
24 You may feel that the leaders of your religion are firm for moral standards. But have you ever personally asked your minister what his views are on these matters? You deserve to know and need to know, for your very hope of life is involved.
FREEDOM FROM GREED AND SELFISHNESS
25. What effect does the “love of money” have on human relations?
25 Greed and selfishness are clearly at the root of so much of today’s strife and insecurity. The Bible says that the “love of money is a root of all sorts of injurious things.” (1 Timothy 6:10) Are the world’s religions, and particularly those of Christendom, free of this?
26, 27. How have the world’s religions shown their attitude toward money and the amassing of landholdings?
26 Is it not true that the regular practice of churches in Christendom is to assess dues, exact tithes, pass the collection plate, promote fund-raising drives and ask publicly for money in religious radio and television programs or by mail? When church members desire the service of religious leaders, do they not generally feel obligated to pay—for example, for baptism, marriage or burial services? And throughout the world people who may be in real poverty are asked and pressured to finance the construction of costly cathedrals and temples.
27 In many lands the world’s religions have made a record of amassing wealth and huge landholdings. In the nineteenth century, the Roman Catholic Church in Mexico owned not less than one half of all the real estate in that land.19 Likewise in many lands with non-Christian religions, the greatest collection of wealth very often is in the religious temples, generally in stark contrast to the poverty of much of the population surrounding them.
28. How does this practice stand in contrast to the teachings of Jesus Christ and his apostles?
28 Contrast this with the teaching of Jesus Christ, who told his disciples: “You received free, give free.” (Matthew 10:8) The Bible record shows that among the original Christians all giving was voluntary, without pressure. (Acts 11:29, 30; 2 Corinthians 9:7) Those taking the lead, apostles and others, were not a burden to their Christian brothers nor did they enrich themselves at their brothers’ expense. They worked with their own hands. (Acts 18:1-4; 20:33-35) Is this true of religious leaders you know?
29. What similarities do you see between the world’s religious leaders in our day and the ones who opposed Jesus in the first century C.E.?
29 Compare the world’s religious leaders today with the religious leaders who opposed Jesus in the first century C.E. Though doing certain charitable works, those men loved glory and prominence and cultivated the favor of political leaders. (Matthew 6:2; Mark 12:38-40; John 11:47, 48; 19:15) Jesus plainly told such “money lovers” that they were disgusting in God’s sight, because they were hypocrites. He likened them to “whitewashed graves, which outwardly indeed appear beautiful but inside are full of dead men’s bones and of every sort of uncleanness,” and then said to them: “In that way you also, outwardly indeed, appear righteous to men, but inside you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.”—Luke 16:14, 15; Matthew 23:27, 28.
IN WHAT HAS REJECTION OF THE BIBLE RESULTED?
30. As shown in Isaiah 48:17, 18, what is the result when people pay attention to Jehovah’s commandments?
30 To the people of Israel, a nation that claimed to worship him, Jehovah God is recorded as saying: “I, Jehovah, am your God, the One teaching you to benefit yourself . . . O if only you would actually pay attention to my commandments! Then your peace would become just like a river, and your righteousness like the waves of the sea.”—Isaiah 48:17, 18.
31-33. What is here shown as to the attitude of many clergymen toward the Word of God?
31 But the evidence considered shows that the world’s religions have not paid attention to God’s commandments. In Christendom, in fact, more and more clergymen are openly expressing their lack of faith in the Bible as the inspired Word of God. Science magazine of November 1972 describes a California board of education meeting in which a “Mormon bishop and the dean of San Francisco’s Grace Episcopal Cathedral” argued in favor of evolution as against the creation account in the Bible book of Genesis.20
32 The New Catholic Encyclopedia, while claiming to accept essentially the Bible as inspired, says: “It is nonetheless obvious that many Biblical statements are simply not true when judged according to modern knowledge of science and history.”21
33 A similar viewpoint is expressed in the Baptist Broadman Bible Commentary.22 At a 1972 convention of the Southern Baptists (the largest Protestant denomination in the United States), a resolution was presented to recall and rewrite this work because it did not uphold the Bible’s truthfulness. But the resolution was voted down by a ratio of about 4 to 1.—The Christian Century, August 2, 1972.
34, 35. (a) What have been the results of rejecting the teachings of the Bible? (b) So, can we reasonably look to the world’s religions to lead mankind to peace and security?
34 What have been the results of all this? Have the world’s religions been able to demonstrate that they can downgrade Bible teachings and still produce good morals, conducive to peace and security? To the contrary, conditions worsen earth wide, and Christendom has long been among the hardest hit as to crime, immorality, drug addiction, racial strife and war. The nations with non-Christian religions have also become increasingly the scene of unrest and division, political corruption and deteriorating morals. As the Bible puts it: “They have rejected the very word of Jehovah, and what wisdom do they have?”—Jeremiah 8:9.
35 The evidence world wide is undeniable. It proves that the world’s religions are not a true force for peace and security. What does this signify for us?
END OF WORLD’S RELIGIONS NEARS
36, 37. What does the Bible warn will come upon the world’s religions?
36 Jesus Christ stated: “Every plant that my heavenly Father did not plant will be uprooted.” (Matthew 15:13) Their bad fruitage proves that the world’s religions are not of God’s planting. Even as the Bible warned that such religions would never bring peaceful, righteous conditions, so too it warns of the coming destruction of all false systems of worship.
37 Speaking of it under the symbol of the harlotrous “Babylon the Great,” God says of such religious empire:
“Her sins have massed together clear up to heaven, and God has called her acts of injustice to mind. . . . in one day her plagues will come, death and mourning and famine, and she will be completely burned with fire, because Jehovah God, who judged her, is strong.”—Revelation 18:5-8.
38. How will such destruction come, and from what source?
38 Note that the destruction of the world empire of false religion is to come with surprising suddenness, as “in one day.” All the riches she has piled up will be devastated by the political nations, to the surprise and dismay of many persons.—Revelation 18:10-17, 21; 17:12, 16.
39. (a) At Revelation 18:4, what are persons who desire God’s approval urged to do? (b) What moves them to take such action?
39 Therefore the divine call is: “Get out of her, my people, if you do not want to share with her in her sins, and if you do not want to receive part of her plagues.” (Revelation 18:4) To take such action means for you to see this world empire of false religion as God sees it, and detest it for its rotten fruits, its hypocrisy and superstition. Disgust should be felt for the way “Babylon the Great” has misrepresented God before mankind and for the suffering, oppression and grinding down of the people to which this has contributed. (Romans 2:24; Jeremiah 23:21, 22) If you recognize this, you will withdraw all support from her, thus demonstrating your full support of God’s judgment on her.
40. (a) Additionally, what must a person find, if he is to enjoy a peaceful, secure life? (b) What kind of persons should one look for when seeking to find those who practice true worship?
40 It is not enough simply to withdraw, however, if you seek a peaceful, secure life for yourself and your family. You must search out and find now the true, unhypocritical worship that will bring you God’s peace and protection when the foretold destruction comes. Those engaging in such true worship must be persons who have already ‘beaten their swords into plowshares, not learning war anymore.’ (Isaiah 2:4) They must be persons who believe God’s Word and genuinely live it, letting it be the guiding force in their lives. (Psalm 119:105 [118:105, Dy]) They must show genuine, unhypocritical love for their fellowman. (John 13:35; Romans 13:8) There are such people today. And the peace and security they enjoy vindicate the truthfulness and power of God’s Word, the Bible.
41. What will you be able to observe firsthand by attending the meetings of Jehovah’s witnesses at their Kingdom Hall?
41 Those through whom you received this book, Jehovah’s Christian witnesses, are keenly concerned about the dangerous situation into which false religion has brought the people. They themselves are sincerely endeavoring to give God’s Word first place in their lives. You are invited to attend their meetings in their local Kingdom Hall and investigate for yourself the extent to which they show the fruitage of God’s spirit and enjoy the peace and security it brings. You will also see how they are learning and applying what God requires of every person who is to survive into His righteous new order.
[Picture on page 25]
Did you know that the churches were so deeply involved in war?
[Picture on page 30]
Is this the kind of guidance that you want for your family?
World Destruction First—Then World Peace
Chapter 4
World Destruction First—Then World Peace
1-3. (a) What is the world destruction that human leaders are warning about? (b) Why is that not what the Bible refers to us the world destruction that will pave the way for lasting peace and security on this earth?
ACCORDING to Bible prophecy, before mankind can ever enjoy enduring peace, a world destruction must first take place. Why should that be? From what source is the destruction foretold to come? And with what results for humans on this planet?
2 We should first recognize that the world destruction the Bible foretells is not the same as the global catastrophe that certain world leaders, scientists and others are warning about. The calamity they talk about would come in the form of widespread famine, pestilence, pollution or nuclear war or some combination of these. But such a catastrophe would never pave the way for lasting peace and security on this planet. Why not?
3 Because it would either ruin the planet entirely for all living creatures, as by radiation pollution through an all-out war, or it would leave as survivors persons who would be no better—if not possibly worse—than those who would die. Survival would be largely a matter of chance, though the poor would seem likely to be among the first to suffer. What sure hope would you have of being among the survivors of such a world catastrophe? Even if you were among those surviving, what hope could you have that life would not drift back into the same strife-ridden uncertainty that now prevails?
WHAT THE BIBLE FORETELLS GIVES HOPE
4. Who are to be destroyed in the world destruction of which the Bible speaks?
4 The world destruction the Bible foretells is to be selective, purposeful. It is not some calamity that comes just as “the culmination of man’s timeless errors.” Rather than bring death to just anyone indiscriminately, it will cleanse the earth of those who really deserve destruction, who bear responsibility for the bad conditions on earth. It will harmonize with the divine principle at Proverbs 2:21, 22:
“For the upright are the ones that will reside in the earth, and the blameless are the ones that will be left over in it. As regards the wicked, they will be cut off from the very earth; and as for the treacherous, they will be torn away from it.”
5, 6. (a) What will happen to the earth itself during that world destruction? (b) In this respect, how will it be “just as the days of Noah were”?
5 What, then, will be destroyed? Many think the Bible predicts the total burning up of the planet Earth and everything on it. But this is not the ease. Jesus Christ himself said: “Happy are the mild-tempered ones, since they will inherit the earth.” (Matthew 5:5) Surely that ‘inheritance’ is not to be a burned-up, lifeless cinder! The Bible also gives God’s definite assurance that the earth will remain forever as a place for people to live.—Psalm 104:5 [103:5, Dy]; Isaiah 45:18; Matthew 6:9, 10.
6 In harmony with this, the Bible speaks of the survivors who will remain on earth after that destruction has passed. (Revelation 7:9, 10, 13, 14) Jesus Christ said that “just as the days of Noah were, so the presence of the Son of man will be.” When global destruction took place in Noah’s time there were also survivors.—Matthew 24:37; 2 Peter 2:5, 9.
7. What is it that will come to its end at that time?
7 What is to be destroyed, then, is the worldwide system of things that men have built up on earth—along with all those who uphold it rather than looking to God and his promised rule for the earth. (Psalm 73:27, 28 [72:27, 28, Dy]) That is why, instead of the phrase “the end of the world,” found in some translations of the Bible, other translations more accurately render the original-language (Greek) expression as “the end of the age” (NE), “the conclusion of the age” (Ro), “the conclusion of the system of things” (NW).—Matthew 24:3.
8. (a) From what source will the destruction come? (b) This must occur before the present world system reaches what state?
8 The source of the coming world destruction will be—not men—but Jehovah God. The modern crises of pollution, famine and similar things that have resulted from human ignorance, error and corruption are not what will cause the destruction. Instead, these are proof of the selfishness and utter failure of the present world system. They provide just cause for Jehovah God to do away with that system completely. He promises to take such action before ever the present world system reaches a state of collapse or carries out its own self-destruction. (Revelation 11:17, 18) But is such drastic action really the only way?
WHY THIS WORLD SYSTEM MUST END FOR TRUE PEACE TO COME
9, 10. How does human history show that something more drastic is needed than just a reform of the present world system?
9 It might seem to some that God could simply make some changes in the present world system, rather than totally destroying it. But the Bible shows that God realistically recognizes that this world system of things is beyond reform.
10 Consider for yourself the hundreds of changes that have been made by humans down through the centuries. Think of all the different kinds of government that men have developed—city-states, monarchies, democracies, communistic and socialistic governments, even dictatorships. Remember how often the existing ruler, or the entire government, has been deposed and replaced with a new one—by election, by coup d’etat, by revolution—but with no lasting solution to the problems of mankind. Even well-meaning men who try to improve man’s lot find their efforts blocked by the world system into which they themselves are locked. As a wise ruler of ancient times discovered, by human efforts alone “that which is made crooked cannot be made straight.”—Ecclesiastes 1:14, 15.
11-13. (a) What prevents men from making changes in the present system for the good of all mankind? (b) So, how might the extent of the change needed be illustrated?
11 The world’s cities, for example, are plagued with problems, but men cannot dismantle them and start afresh. The same is true of the whole economic and industrial systems of the world. Self-interest and nationalism undermine and block any real change for the good of mankind as a whole.
12 The entire world system is thus like a house built on a bad foundation from poor plans and with defective materials. What good will it do to rearrange the furniture or to repair or remodel the house? As long as it stands, the problems will continue and the house will keep deteriorating. The only sensible thing to do is to tear it down and build another, on a good foundation.
13 Jesus Christ used a somewhat similar illustration in saying that people do not “put new wine into old wineskins.” The old wineskin would burst from the new wine. (Matthew 9:17) He therefore did not try to reform the Jewish system of things under which he lived, but preached God’s kingdom as the only hope for peace and security. (Luke 8:1; 11:2; 12:31) So, too, in our day Jehovah God will not simply dress up or adjust the present world’s system, because that could bring no lasting benefit.
14. Would the passing of new laws make people love righteousness?
14 God’s Word emphasizes the truth that it is impossible to legislate righteousness into people’s hearts. If they have no love for what is right, no amount of legislation will ever put it there. At Isaiah 26:10 we read: “Though the wicked one should be shown favor, he simply will not learn righteousness. In the land of straightforwardness he will act unjustly and will not see the eminence of Jehovah.”—Compare Proverbs 29:1.
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