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ceive to be, in their deceived minds,
a common "enemy"-the returning
Jesus Christ! Jesus, in Jerusalem,
will proclaim
his
dominion over the
world!
How will the assembled forces at
Megiddo react?
"And the nations were
an–
gry
.. . , "
declares Revelation
11:18. Men will not want to submit
to God's rule! Instead, they will
seek to destroy Jesus Christ–
whom they will regard, falsely, as
the Antichrist-and bis angelic
armies from heaven who accompa–
ny bim to Jerusalem.
Instead of fighting each other,
the beast and the kings of the east
will join forces- to "make war with
the Lamb" (Rev. 17:14).
From the staging ground or mus–
tering area of Armageddon the
world's armies will move to con–
front Jesus Christ himself.
Where will that climactic battle
be fought? The prophet Joel pro–
vides tbe. answer. Read it in Joel
3:1-2, 9-14.
HumanLife
(Continued from page 32)
take the long view do matters begin
to make sense.
Paul to the Rescue
The apostle Paul did sorne tall
thinking about David's age-old
insight into God's great purpose for
man. To this he added bis own
God-given understanding. It's re–
corded for us in the New Testa–
ment book of Hebrews.
In speaking of our incredible
human potential, Paul wrote: "For
it was not to angels that God sub–
jected the world to come, of which
we are speaking" (Heb. 2:5). The
topic addressed here is the wonder–
ful world tomorrow we announce in
the pages of
The Plain Truth.
Who is to rule? What are the
plans? What is God's purpose?
Here Paul paraphrases David:
"It
has been testified somewhere,
'What is man that thou art mindful
of him ... ? Thou didst make him
for a little while lower than the
angels [or for a little while lower
than God], thou hast crowned him
with glory and honor, putting
everything in subjection under bis
feet' " (verses 6-8, excerpts).
36
The battle, involving "all na–
tions," will take place in the
va/ley
of Jehoshaphat!
This deep valley
or ravine borders J erusalem on the
east, between the city and the
Mount of Olives (see pboto).
Today it is more commonly known
as the Kidron Valley.
Jehoshaphat
means "judgment
of the Eternal." The rebellious and
unrepentant nations of this world
will be
judged
there by God for
their disobedience!
The world's armies will converge
on Jerusalem to fight Jesus Christ.
He will not go north to Armaged–
don to fight them; they will march
south to engage him!
The ensuing confrontation is
called in the Bible "the battle
óf
that
great day of God Almighty" (Rev.
16: 14).
It
is not the "battle of Arma–
geddon" simply because it will not
take place at Armageddon!
Zechariah 14:12-13 graphically
describes this supernatural con–
frontation at Jerusalem with the
world's armies. They will turn
Having completed David's ac–
count, Paul then adds fresh insight
to the subject: "Now in putting
everything in subjection to him, he
left nothing outside bis control. As
it is, we do not yet see everything in
subjection to him."
Do you grasp what this means?
Man is ultirilately to rule over the
whole universe
when
God crowns
him with glory and honor. In the
coming age the human inborn
quest for understanding the uní–
verse shall finally be satisfied.
But back to the present. We have
to live in today's world. We have to
learn to cope with this present time.
It is not always easy. Fortunately the
apostle Paul was not unaware of our
plight. He continues: "But we see
Jesus, who for a little while was
made lower than the angels, crowned
with glory and honor because of the
suffering of death, so that by the
grace of God he might taste death
for every one" (verse 9). Jesus is our
forerunner-the "firstborn of many
brethren"-the "author and finisher
of our salvation."
How are filthy humans- and we
speak spiritually- to be cleaned up?
How do they become fit to rule in the
world tomorrow? Who cleans them
up--and helps them on the way?
against each other in mistrust and
fear as their very fiesh decomposes
and their eyes cease to see!
Read Revelation 19:11-21 for a
further description of the climactic
events to occur on that day.
The rebellious armies of this
world will be utterly vanquished!
Then, Good News!
Jesus Christ, now returned in
power and glory as KING OF KINGS
AND LORD OF LORDS (Rev. 19:16),
will intervene mightily to save a
God-rejecting world from self–
destruction. He will destroy those
who would have destroyed the
earth through nuclear war.
These climactic times líe just
ahead!
But beyond the chaos and war at
the close of this age is good news!
And it will happen in this genera–
tion. Having decisively put down
rebellion, Jesus Christ will estab–
lish bis kingdom on this earth- a
millennial kingdom of peace and
prosperity for all peoples! o
Why, Jesus Christ of course!
We human beings tend to see
things in bits and pieces. That's our
trouble. We often lack the total pic–
ture. We don' t possess an overall
view.
But all these concepts do finally
fit together into a perfect picture.
Man's present plight- his sénse of
lack of self-worth- God's plan to
clean him up--his rulership in the
world tomorrow. Each aspect is
essential to a grand master plan.
How Precious ls Human Life!
When British Prime Minister Mar–
garet Thatcher narrowly escaped
serious injury, and even death, her
view of life changed. Jus t being alive
was more precious than before.
Temporary discomforts suddenly
became unimportant. Life now had
deeper meaning. She resolved to live
more fully-more dynamically–
more gratefully. Life- in a word–
became
priceless!
What about you? Are you living
up to your human potential? Have
you grasped why God had you born?
Do you realize your
~ltimate
worth?
If
you think your life was just an
accident, you need to request our
free booklet titled
Why Were You
Born?
It
will open your eyes! o
The PLAIN TRUTH