The Last Days—Then What? - Time to Rejoice? ~ Yes! ~ SOME people shudder at the thought of “the last days.” (2 Timothy 3:1) All they envision are critical times. So why have so many throughout the ages looked forward to them? Because the last days also indicate that better times are to come. Sir Isaac Newton, for example, was convinced that the time of the end would result in a new era of global peace and prosperity under the Millennial Rule of God’s Kingdom. He stated that the prophecy of Micah 4:3, as well as that of Isaiah 2:4, would be fulfilled at that time: “They will have to beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning shears. They will not lift up sword, nation against nation, neither will they learn war anymore.” When Jesus spoke of the time of the end, he urged his followers to adopt a positive viewpoint. After telling of the hardship, anxiety, and fear that would prevail during the great tribulation, he said: “As these things start to occur, raise yourselves erect and lift your heads up, because your deliverance is getting near.” (Luke 21:28) Deliverance from what? What God Promises War, civil strife, crime, violence, and hunger are a few of the things that plague humanity today and cause millions to live in fear and dread. Have any of these affected you? Then note what God promises: “Just a little while longer, and the wicked one will be no more . . . The meek ones themselves will possess the earth, and they will indeed find their exquisite delight in the abundance of peace.”—Psalm 37:10, 11. “My people must dwell in a peaceful abiding place and in residences of full confidence and in undisturbed resting-places.”—Isaiah 32:18. “[Jehovah] is making wars to cease to the extremity of the earth. The bow he breaks apart and does cut the spear in pieces; the wagons he burns in the fire.”—Psalm 46:9. “They will actually sit, each one under his vine and under his fig tree, and there will be no one making them tremble.”—Micah 4:4. “There will come to be plenty of grain on the earth; on the top of the mountains there will be an overflow.”—Psalm 72:16. “As for the one listening to me, he will reside in security and be undisturbed from dread of calamity.”—Proverbs 1:33. Even if we are in a place where living conditions are relatively pleasant, we all face the prospect of sickness and death. These too will be gone in God’s new world. We can therefore look forward to seeing again our loved ones who have died. Note the following: “No resident will say: ‘I am sick.’”—Isaiah 33:24. “[God] will wipe out every tear from their eyes, and death will be no more, neither will mourning nor outcry nor pain be anymore. The former things have passed away.”—Revelation 21:4. “As the last enemy, death is to be brought to nothing.”—1 Corinthians 15:26. “The hour is coming in which all those in the memorial tombs will hear [Jesus’] voice and come out.”—John 5:28, 29. The apostle Peter summed up all of this nicely when he wrote: “There are new heavens and a new earth that we are awaiting according to his promise, and in these righteousness is to dwell.” (2 Peter 3:13) For righteousness to exist earth wide, the removal of anyone who would disrupt that condition would be required. The same is true of the nations today, which cause much strife and bloodshed by selfishly seeking their own interests. All earthly rulerships will be replaced by the rulership of God’s Kingdom under Christ. Concerning that rule, we are assured: “To the abundance of the princely rule and to peace there will be no end, upon the throne of David and upon his kingdom in order to establish it firmly and to sustain it by means of justice and by means of righteousness, from now on and to time indefinite. The very zeal of Jehovah of armies will do this.”—Isaiah 9:7. These prospects can be yours, for the Bible assures us: “[God’s] will is that all sorts of men should be saved and come to an accurate knowledge of truth.” (1 Timothy 2:4) Do not delay. Take in the knowledge that means everlasting life. (John 17:3) Start by contacting the publishers of this magazine and requesting a free home Bible study. Read the rest of this article at: wol.jw.org/en/wol/d/r1/lp-e/102008123?q=lift+your+heads+up&p=par — with Tanya Villanueva and 82 others at Bible Speaks.
Posted on: Tue, 25 Jun 2013 11:44:57 +0000
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