1985 - The Government That Will Bring Paradise - Brochure

7/30/2019 1985 - The Government That Will Bring Paradise - Brochure

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The GovernmentThat Will Bring

Paradise


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The GovernmentThat Will Bring

Paradise 1985WATCH TOWER BIBLE AND TRACT SOCIETY OF PENNSYLVANIAINTERNATIONAL BIBLE STUDENTS ASSOCIATIONAll rights reserved

PublishersWatchtower Bible and Tract Society of New York, Inc.International Bible Students AssociationBrooklyn, New York, U.S.A.

Scripture quotations in this brochure are from the modern-languageNew World Translation o f the Holy Scriptures, 1984 Edition.

If you would like additional information, write to the office of the Watch Tower Society nearest to you:

AM ERIC A, U.S., 25 Columbia Hts., Brooklyn, N.Y. 11201 NE W ZE AL AN D, P.O. Box 142, ManurewaAU STRA LIA, Box 280, Ingleburn, N.S.W . 2565 NIG ER IA, P.M.B. 1090, Benin City, Bendel StateCA NA DA , Box 4100, Georgetown, Ontario L7G 4Y4 PH ILIPPIN ES, P.O. Box 2044, 1099 ManilaEN GL AN D, The Ridgeway, London NW 7 1RN SO U TH AFR ICA, Private Bag 2067 , Krugersdotp, 1740

The Government That Will Bring Paradise English (bp-E ) M ade in the United States of America


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When Jesus was on earth,he told his followers to pray for Gods

Kingdom: Let your kingdom come. Let yourwill take place, as in heaven, also upon earth.

(Matthew 6:9, 10) He also spoke constantly about the goodnews of the kingdom. (Matthew 4:23) In fact, he spoke more

about the Kingdom than he did about anything else. Why? Because theKingdom is the instrument that God will use to solve the problems that

make life so difficult today. By means of the Kingdom, God will soon put anend to wars, hunger, disease, and crime, and he will bring about unity and peace.

Would you like to live in a world like that? If so, then you should read thisbrochure. In it, you will learn that the Kingdom is a

government, but it is better than any government that hasever ruled over mankind. You will also see the thrilling

way that God gradually explained to his servants hispurposes regarding the Kingdom. In addition, you willsee how the Kingdom can helpyou even today.

In fact, you canbecome a subject ofGods Kingdom rightnow. But before youchoose to do this, you willneed to know more about it. So

we encourage you to examine this

brochure. Everything it will tell youabout the Kingdom is taken from the Bible.

First of all, let us see why weneed Gods Kingdom so much.

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In the beginning of human history,God made man perfect and put him in a paradise.

At that time there was no need of the Kingdom.

However, Adam and Eve, our firstparents, listened to Satan, a rebelliousangel. He told them lies about Godand caused them also to rebel againstGod. Thus they deserved to die,because the wages sin pays isdeath.Romans 6:23.

An imperfect, sinful man cannothave perfect children. So all of

Adams children were born imperfect,sinful, dying.Romans 5:12.

From then on, humans needed Gods Kingdom to helpthem recover from the curse of sin and death.

The Kingdom will also clear Gods namefrom the lies Satan told against it.

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Jehovah God promised that a special seed (or offspring) would be born to rescuemankind from sin. (Genesis 3:15) This seed would be the King of Gods Kingdom.Whowouldthatbe?

About 2,000 years after Adam sinned, there lived a very faithful man

named Abraham. Jehovah told Abraham to leave his own cityand live in tents in the land of Palestine.

Abraham did all that Jehovahtold him to do, including onevery difficult thing. Jehovahtold him to sacrifice his son

Isaac on an altar.

Jehovah did not really wanta human sacrifice. But hewanted to know how muchAbraham loved him. Abraham

was at the point of killing Isaacwhen Jehov ah stopped him.

Because of Abrahams great faith,Jehovah promised to give the land ofPalestine to his offspring and said that thepromised Seed would be through his line, and thatof his son Isaac.Genesis 22:17, 18; 26:4, 5.

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Isaac had twin sons, Esau and Jacob.Jehovah said that the promisedSeed would come throughJacob.Genesis 28:13-15.

Jacob, whom Jehovah also named Israel, had 12 sons,had children. So the children of Abraham started tomultiply.Genesis 46:8-27.

all of whom eventually

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When there was a bad famine in the area, Jacob and hisfamily moved down to Egypt at the invitation of

Pharaoh, the ruler of Egypt.Genesis 45:16-20.

In Egypt it was revealed that the promisedSeed would be a descendant of Jaco bs

son Jud ah .Genesis 49:10.

Eventually Jacob died, and his

offspring grew in number untilthey were like a nation. Thenthe Egyptians became afraidof them and made themslaves.Exodus 1:7-14.


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Eventually Jehovah sentMoses, a very faithful man, to demand that thePharaoh of that time let the children of Israel go free.Exodus 6:10, 11.

Pharaoh refused, so Jehovah brought ten plagues on the Egyptians. As thelast plague, he sent the angel of death to kill all the firstborn sons ofEgypt.Exodus, chapters 7 to 12.

God told the Israelites thatif they would kill a lamb for

their evening meal and putsome of its blood on their

doorposts, the angel ofdeath would pass over their

houses. So the Israelitefirstborn were saved.

Exodus 12:1-35.

As a result, Pharaoh

ordered the Israelites out ofEgypt. But then he changed

his mind and chased afterthem to bring them back.

Jehovah opened a way for theIsraelites to escape through theRed Sea. And when Pharaoh

and his armies tried tofollow them, theywere drowned.Exodus 15:5-21.

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Jehovah led the sons of Israel to a mountain named Sinai in the desert. There, he gavethem his Law and said that if they would keep it, they would become a kingdom of

priests and a holy nation. Thus, in the course of time, the Israelites had theopportunity to be an important part of Gods Kingdom.Exodus 19:6; 24:3-8.

After the Israelites had been at Mount Sinai about a year, Jehovah led themtoward Palestine, the land that he had promised to Abraham their forefather.

In Palestine, God later allowed the Israelites to be ruled by kings. Then, Godhad a kingdom on earth.

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The second king of Israel was David, a descendant of Judah. Davidconquered all of Israels enemies, and he made Jerusalem thecapital city of the nation.

Eventsin Davids reign

show that when Jehovah supportsa king, no earthly ruler can conquer him.

Jehovah said that the promised Seedwould be one of Davids descendants.

1 Chronicles 17:7, 11, 14.

Solomon, Davids son, ruled afterhim. He was a wise king, andIsrael prospered under his reign.

Solomon also built a fine temple toJehovah in Jerusalem. Conditions inIsrael under Solomons reign show

us some of the blessings Godscoming Kingdom will bring to

mankind.1 Kings 4:24, 25.


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However, manywere very unfaithful.

ButwhileDavidsdescendants

were still ruling inJerusalem, Jehovah usedhis prophet Isaiah to tell of afuture Son of David who wouldrule the whole earth in faithfulness. This would be the promised Seed.Isaiah 9:6, 7.

The prophet Isaiah foretold His rule as being even more glorious than Solomons.Isaiah, chapters 11 and 65.

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Now, more than ever, Gods servantswondered who this Seed would be.


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Before theSeed came,

though, the kings

of Israel became sowicked that in607 B.C.E. Jehovah

allowed the nation to beconquered by the

Babylonians, and most of thepeople were exiled to Babylon. But God had notforgotten his promise. The Seed would still appear

in Davids line.Ezekiel 21:25-27.

What happened to Israel

showed that although a wise,faithful human king could

bring benefits, these benefitswere limited. Faithful men die

and their successors may not befaithful. What was the solution?

The promised Seed.

Eventually, after thousands ofyears, the Seed appeared. Who

was it?

David

JudahJacob

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Isaac

Abraham


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An angel from God gave the answer to an unmarriedIsraelite girl named Mary. He told her she was

to have a son whose name would be Jesus.Here is what the angel said:

This one will be great and willbe called Son of the Most

High; and Jehovah Godwill give him the throneof David his father,and he will rule asking.Luke1:32, 33.

So Jesus was to bethe promised Seed

and eventually the

King of GodsKingdom. But whywas Jesus different

from faithful menwho had lived before?

Jesus was born by amiracle. His mother was

a virgin, and he had nohuman father. Jesus had

lived previously in heaven and

Gods holy spirit, or active force,transferred Jesus life from heaven

into the womb of Mary. Hence, he didnot inherit Adams sin. All through his life,

Jesus did not sin.1 Peter 2:22.

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He even raised the dead.John 11:38-44.

These miracles show what kind ofthings Jesus will do for mankindas King of Gods Kingdom.

When he was 30 years

old, Jesus was baptized.He told people about Gods

Kingdom and eventuallyintroduced himself as the King of

that Kingdom.Matthew 4:23; 21:4-11.

He also performedmany miracles.

He healed the sick.Matthew 9:35.

He miraculously fed the hungry.

Matthew 14:14-22.

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18:36) That is why the Kingdom iscalled heavenly Jeru salem .

Hebrews 12:22, 28.

Jesus outlined the laws that those whowould be subjects of the Kingdom would

have to obey. These laws are now in theBible. The most important laws werethat people should love God and love

one another.Matthew 22:37-39.

Do you remember how King David had madeJerusalem the capital city of his kingdom?

Jesus explained that Gods Kingdom wouldnot be on earth, but in heaven. (John

Jesus also revealed that he would notbe alone in ruling his Kingdom. There

would be humans chosen to go to heaven andrule there with him. (Luke 12:32; John 14:3) How

many would there be? Revelation 14:1 answers: 144,000.

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144,000


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If only 144,000 go to heaven to

rule with Jesus, what can therest of mankind hope for?

The Bible says: Therighteous themselves will possessthe earth, and they will resideforever upon it.Psalm 37:29.

Those who will live onearth forever are calledthe other sheep.John 10:16.

So there are two hopes. There are 144,000 invited by Jehovah God togo to heaven to rule with Jesus Christ. But millions of others have the surehope of living on earth forever as subjects of his Kingdom.Revelation 5:10.

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Remember, because of being descended from

Adam, we all sin and deserve to die.Romans 6:23.Remember, too, that because of the miraculous wayJesus was born, he was perfect and did not deserve to die.

However, God allowed Satan to bruise Jesus in the heel,to kill him. But God raised him to life again as an immortal

spirit. Since he still had the right to perfect human life, hecould now use this to ransom us humans from sin.

Genesis 3:15; Romans 5:12, 21; Matthew 20:28.

Satan hated Jesus and opposedhim. After Jesus had preached

for three and a half years,Satan had him arrested

and killed by beingnailed to a stake.

Why did Godallow this?

Adam

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Jesus


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To help us fully understand what Jesus sacrifice

This was a propheticpattern of the sacrificeof Jesus. It showed howJehovahs love for

mankind was so great thathe allowed his Son, Jesus, to die forus that we might have life.John 3:16.

Do you remember theway Jehovah rescued theIsraelites from Egypt andsaved their firstborn by havingthe angel of death pass over

them?Exodus 12:12, 13.This was a prophetic pattern. Just as the blood of the lamb meantlife for the firstborn of the Israelites, Jesus shed blood means life forthose who believe in him. And as the events of that night meant freedomfor the Israelites, the death of Jesus affords mankind freedom from sin and death.

That is why Jesus is called the Lamb of God that takes away the sin of the world.John 1:29.

means, the Bible speaksabout it by means ofprophetic patterns.

For example, doyou rememberhow Jehovahtold Abrahamto sacrifice hisson, as a test ofhis love?

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From Jesus day till ours, Jehovah has been gathering these ones who would reign inheaven with Jesus. There are still a few thousand of them alive on earth today.

We call them the anointed remnant.Revelation 12:17.

However, whileJesus was on earthhe also gathered disciplesand trained them to preachthe good news of the Kingdom,even after his death.Matthew 10:5; Luke 10:1.

These were the first humans chosen by God to rule with Jesus in his Kingdom.Luke12:32.Do you remember that God promised the Jews that if they would keep the Law, theywould be a kingdom of priests ? Now they had a chance to be part of Gods Kingdom

and serve as heavenly priests if they would accept Jesus.But most of them rejected Jesus.

So from that time on, the jiJews were no longerGods chosen nation;Palestine was nolonger the PromisedLand.Matthew21:43; 23:37, 38.

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Now, you are beginning to see what Gods Kingdomis. It is a government in heaven, its King isJesus Christ, and he is joined by144,000 people from the earth. It willrule over faithful mankind on

earth and will have the powerto bring peace to the earth.

After his death,Jesus was resurrectedand went to heaven.There, he waited for Godto say when it would betime for him to start ruling asKing of Gods Kingdom.(Psalm 110:1) When would that

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Sometimes Jehovah sent people dreams in order totell them things about his Kingdom.

In Daniels day, Jehovah sent such a dream toNebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon. It was ofa huge tree.Daniel 4:10-37. t

The tree was cut down and the trunk wasbanded for seven years. ^

The tree represented Nebuchadnezzar.Just as the trunk was banded forseven years, Nebuchadnezzarlost his sanity for sevenyears. Then his sanitywas restored.

All of this was a prophetic pattern. Nebuchadnezzarpictured Jehovahs worldwide rulership. At first, this

was exercised through descendants of King Davidin Jerusalem. When Babylon conquered

Jerusalem in 607 B.C.E., that line ofkings was interrupted. There would

BEK& never be another king in D avid s* t, i ' line until he comes who has the

legal right. (Ezekiel 21:27)That was Jesus Christ.

500 1 000 1,500

2,000

How long wouldit be from 607 B.C.E.until Jesus would begin toreign? Seven prophetic years. That is,2.520 years. (Revelation 12:6, 14) And2.520 years from 607 B.C.E. brings us to 1914 C.E

607 B.C.E.B.C.E. ,C.E.

1914 C.E.

2,520

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So Jesus began to rule in the heavens in 1914. W ha t did

that mean?

The Bible tells us by means of a vision seen by the

apostle John .

He saw a woman in heaven give birth to aman-child.Revelation 12:1-12.

The woman pictured Gods heavenly organization,made up of all the angelic servants of God

heaven. The man-child pictures Gods

Kingdom. This was

born in 1914.

What happened next? The first thing Jesus did as King was

to cast Satan, and those angels that rebelled with him, out

of heaven down to the earth.Revelation 12:9.

The Bible tells us the result: Be glad, you heavens and

you who reside in them! Woe for the earth and for the

sea, because the Devil has come down to you, having

great anger, knowing he has a short period of time.

Revelation 12:12.

So when Jesus began to reign in heaven,

his enemies became very active on

earth. As the Bible foretold, he

began to rule in the midst of

his enemies.Psalm 110:1, 2.

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What would this mean for mankind?

Jesus told us: wars, food shortages, diseases, andearthquakes.Matthew 24:7, 8; Luke 21:10, 11.

We have seen these things happen

since 1914, which is anotherreason why we know that theKingdom began to rule then.

The apostle Paul addedthat people would be loversof themselves, lovers of money, . . .disobedient to parents, . . . not open to anyagreement, slanderers, without self-control.2 Timothy 3:1-5.

Now you know why life is so hard today. Satan has been very active. But GodsKingdom has been active too.

There would also be anguishof nations, not knowing theway out . . . while menbecome faint out offear. (Luke 21:25, 26)

We have seen that,too, since 1914.

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| Soon after 1914,the remnant of those who hope

to rule in heaven with Jesus began telling thegood news that the Kingdom was established. This work has

now spread throughout the earth, as Jesus said it would.Matthew 24:14.

What is the purpose of this preaching work?

First, it is to tell people about Gods Kingdom.

Second, it is to help people decide whether they want to be subjects of the Kingdom

Jesus said thatin our days allmankind wouldbe divided intosheeplike andgoatlike people.Matthew 25:31-46.

The sheep would bethose who love him and

his brothers. The goatswould be those who do not.

The sheep would geteverlasting life and thegoats would not.

This dividing work is beingaccomplished by the preachingof the good news of the Kingdom

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Here is a prophecy by the prophet Isaiah.

And it must occur in the final part of the days that the mountain of the house ofJehovah will become firmly established above the top of the mountains, and it willcertainly be lifted up abovethe hills; and to it all thenations must stream.Isaiah 2:2. Mankind is now facing

the final part of the days.

Jehovahs house of worship islifted up above false religions.

And many peoples willcertainly go and say: Come,

you people, and let us go

up to the mountain ofJehovah, to the house ofthe God of Jacob; and hewill instruct us about hisways, and we will walk inhis paths. Isaiah 2:3.

So,manyfrom allnations come toworship Jehovah andinvite others to join them. Theylearn how to act in a way that Jehovah wants.

And they will have to beat their swords intoplowshares and their spears into pruning shears.Nation will not lift up sword against nation, neitherwill they learn war anymore.Isaiah 2:4.

Those who worship Jehovah are unitedand peaceable.

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The result of this activity by Gods Kingdom is that now there are almost three millionpeople worldwide who are subjects of the Kingdom.

They are gathered around the remnant, the remaining ones of those whose hope is togo to heaven and rule with Christ.

They receive spiritual food through Godsorganization.Matthew 24:45-47.

They are an international brotherhood of Christianswho truly love one another.John 13:35.

They enjoy peace of mind, a hope for the future.Philippians 4:7.


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Do you remember that faithful King David

conquered all the enemies of Gods people?Well, King Jesus will do the same.

King Nebuchadnezzar oncehad a dream of a huge imagethat symbolized all the worldempires from his day to ours.

Then he saw a stone carved outof a mountain, and it smashed

the image to pieces. The stonerepresented Gods Kingdom.

This means the destruction of thepresent wicked system of things.

Daniel 2:44.

Soon, the good news will have been preached. The sheep will have beengathered. Then what will the Kingdom do?

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Here are some things that the Kingdom will overturn

False religion willdisappear, like

a millstonethrowninto the sea.Revelation18:21.

That is why all lovers ofGod are encouraged to get out of falsereligion N O W .Revelation 18:4.

Next King Jesus will strike the nations . . .and he will shepherd them with a rod ofiron.Revelation 19:15.

Finally, Satan himself, thegreat dragon, is thrown intothe abyss.Revelation 20:2, 3.

Only the sheep, those who submitto Jesus as King, will survive thistribulation.Matthew 25:31-34, 41, 46.

Consequently, Jehovahs Witnesses,although they pay their taxes andobey the laws of the land, do notget involved in politics.

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the throne and before the Lamb

dressed in white robes; andthere were palm branchesin their hands.Revelation 7:9.

The great crowd is made upof all those who respond to thepreaching of the good news.

They come out of the

great tribulation.Revelation 7:14.

The palm branches showthat they welcome Jesusas their King.

Their wearing white robespictures that they havefaith in Jesus sacrifice.

The Lamb is Jesus Christ.

The apostle John saw a vision of the sheep who survive the tribulation.

I saw, and, look! a great crowd, which no man was ableto number, out of all nations and tribes andpeoples and tongues, standing before

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What blessings do they then enjoy? Do you remember the happinessin Israel when faithful King Solomon was reigning? This gave a

small picture of the happiness on earth under King Jesus.

There will be literal peace among mankind and

between men and the animals, just as Isaiah foretold... Psalm 46:9; Isaiah 11:6-9.

Just as Jesus healed the sick while he was on earthso he will remove sickness from all mankind.Isaiah 33:24

Just as he fed the multitudes,so he will abolish food shortages

from all mankind.Psalm 72:16.

Just as he raised the dead,so he will raise those dead ones who

did not have a full opportunity to submitthemselves to Gods Kingdom.John 5:28, 29.

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Gradually, he will bring mankindback to the perfection that Adam lost.


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Is that not a wonderful future? Would you like to see it? If so, work so that youcan submit yourself now to Gods Kingdom and become one of the sheep.

Study the Bible and getto know Jehovah God and

Jesus Christ.John 17:3.

Associate with others who are alsosubject to the Kingdom.Hebrews 10:25.

Learn the laws of the Kingdomand obey them.Isaiah 2:3, 4.

Dedicate your life to serve Jehovah, andbe baptized.Matthew 28:19, 20.

Avoid bad things, such as stealing, lying,immorality, and drunkenness, which displeaseJehovah God.1 Corinthians 6:9-11.

Share in the preaching of the good newsof the Kingdom.Matthew 24:14.

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Then with Gods help, you will see the Paradise that Adam lost for his descendants restored,and you will see this promise fulfilled: I heard a loud voice from the throne say: Look!

The tent of God is with mankind, and he will reside with them, and they will be hispeoples. And God himself will be with them. And he will wipe out every tear from

their eyes, and death will be no more, neither will mourning nor outcry nor painbe anymore. The former things have passed away. Revelation 21:3 , 4.

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1985 - The Government That Will Bring Paradise - Brochure