“All Israel” Saved to Bless All Mankind
1. Why should the Republic of Israel not expect that because of belonging to the United Nations it will be God’s means for blessing all mankind?
JEHOVAH promised Abraham that all the families and nations of the earth would experience blessing by means of that faithful patriarch’s seed. (Genesis 12:3; 22:17, 18) But those promises made in the 20th century before our Common Era do not mean that God will bless the United Nations, the successor of the defunct League of Nations. Because today’s Republic of Israel is a member of the UN, therefore, it should not expect to be used by ancient Israel’s God in the blessing of all mankind. The UN really stands in the way of God’s Kingdom by the “seed” of Abraham. Hence, it is the present-day “disgusting thing that causes desolation.” (Matthew 24:15) No, the UN is not a blessing, even though the religious clergy of Christendom and the rabbis of Jewry pray heaven’s blessing upon that organization. It is really “the image of the wild beast,” which “wild beast” is the visible, political organization of “the god of this system of things,” Satan the Devil. So the UN will soon be destroyed along with that beastly organization.—Revelation 13:1-18; 2 Corinthians 4:4.
2. In its course of action, how does the remnant of “all Israel” differ from the Republic of Israel?
2 Meanwhile, the Republic of Israel is fighting for its life against other members of the UN. But the remnant of “all Israel” does not imitate the Republic of Israel. (Romans 11:26) That remnant does not worship “the image of the wild beast.” Rather, the spiritual Israelites expose the UN for what it is according to God’s viewpoint of it—a counterfeit that induces people to lean on the UN instead of Jehovah’s Kingdom by Jesus Christ. For this reason the remnant of “all Israel” remains a part of Jehovah’s universal organization. Already the remnant of the spiritual ‘seed of Abraham’ is proving to be a blessing to all the nations and families of mankind. So Jehovah’s prophetic promises have proved to be true.
3, 4. Some 2,700 years before 1914, what did Jehovah inspire Isaiah to write about “all the nations”?
3 Over 2,700 years ago, Jehovah God pointed forward to the era when steel war tanks and airplanes would be used for the first time in martial combat, and when trench warfare would become specialized, soldiers would have to use gas masks, and long-range cannons such as the “Big Bertha” would be employed in total conflict. Yes, some 27 centuries before World War I, Jehovah God inspired the prophet Isaiah to describe something else that would be happening at that time, saying:
4 “The thing that Isaiah the son of Amoz visioned concerning Judah and Jerusalem: And it must occur in the final part of the days that the mountain of the house of Jehovah will become firmly established above the top of the mountains, and it will certainly be lifted up above the hills; and to it all the nations must stream. And many peoples will certainly go and say: ‘Come, you people, and let us go up to the mountain of Jehovah, to the house of the God of Jacob [Israel]; and he will instruct us about his ways, and we will walk in his paths.’ For out of Zion law will go forth, and the word of Jehovah out of Jerusalem. And he will certainly render judgment among the nations and set matters straight respecting many peoples. And they will have to beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning shears. Nation will not lift up sword against nation, neither will they learn war anymore. O men of the house of Jacob, come and let us walk in the light of Jehovah.”—Isaiah 2:1-5.
5. In the face of the Republic of Israel’s course of action, from what standpoint must Isaiah’s prophecy concerning “the house of Jehovah” be viewed?
5 Today we do not see this wonderful prophecy fulfilled in Middle Eastern Jerusalem, the capital of the Republic of Israel. On what used to be called Mount Zion, we see no temple of Jehovah but, rather, the Muhammadan Dome of the Rock and a mosque dedicated to Allah. Tourists from many nations visit this religious site, not for the purpose of worship, but merely to inspect this beautiful Islamic structure. Undeniably, then, now in “the final part of the days” of this mortally sick system of things, Isaiah’s prophecy is not being fulfilled at all in the case of the modern state of Israel. It is not meant to be the “all Israel” that is saved for the blessing of all mankind, in fulfillment of Jehovah’s promise to Abraham. Hence, the prophetic expression “the mountain of the house of Jehovah” has to be viewed from a spiritual standpoint with regard to “the Israel of God.”—Galatians 6:16.
6. (a) How did Peter show what kind of nation “the Israel of God” is? (b) During what world development did “all the nations” begin to stream up to “the house of Jehovah”?
6 This “Israel of God” is a spiritual nation, even as the apostle Peter indicated in writing: “You are ‘a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for special possession, that you should declare abroad the excellencies’ of the one that called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.” (1 Peter 2:9) The present-day remnant of this “holy nation” stands as a symbol of the “house of Jehovah” and makes up the nucleus of Jehovah’s Witnesses today. It was 21 years into “the final part of the days”—when Roman Catholic fascism and Hitlerian Nazism were raging in Europe—when “all the nations” started to stream toward the spiritual “house of Jehovah” that had been lifted up above the top of the mountains, as it were, by Jehovah’s Witnesses.
7. Why was it no insignificant affair when the nations started streaming up to “the house of Jehovah”?
7 This significant start was marked by a general convention in the late spring of 1935 at Washington, D.C., the capital city of the United States of America. During a very noteworthy talk at that convention, a member of “all Israel”—J. F. Rutherford, then president of the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society—corrected a misunderstanding that had obtained among the International Bible Students. He pointed out that the “great multitude,” or “great crowd,” to be gathered out of all sections of mankind and that was to worship God at His spiritual temple (inasmuch as the material temple in Jerusalem had been destroyed by the Romans in 70 C.E.) was to be an earthly class. (Revelation 7:9-17, Authorized Version) This class had the prospect of surviving Har–Magedon and entering the new system of things during the approaching Thousand Year Reign of Jesus Christ, who has been ruling in the heavens since 1914.
8. (a) What epoch-making event took place at the Washington, D.C., convention in 1935? (b) Why may it be said that “all the nations” are streaming up to “the house of Jehovah”?
8 The response to this revealed light was epoch making. At that dramatic assembly, 840 conventioners got baptized in symbol of their dedication to Jehovah God through Jesus Christ. How many nations were represented in that group was not ascertained, but they had in mind an earthly paradise hope. Today, more than 49 years later, Jehovah’s Witnesses number far in excess of “all Israel.” They are active in 205 lands around the globe. In broad terms, then, “all the nations” are streaming toward Jehovah’s exalted house of worship.
Jehovah’s Witnesses—People of What Sort?
9. Unlike the Republic of Israel, Jehovah’s Witnesses have taken what course in fulfillment of Isaiah 2:4?
9 Against the background of the Republic of Israel, what sort of people do we find that Jehovah’s Witnesses are today? Like that republic, are they armed to carry on carnal warfare against those who threaten their existence? No! Instead, they are exactly the kind of people foretold at Isaiah 2:4. Because they elevate the worship of Jehovah at the spiritual house of God, they have in a figurative way beaten swords into plowshares and spears into pruning shears. They trust in Jehovah God as their Protector as they imitate their Leader, Jesus Christ. Although they have come from practically all nations of the earth, they do not let nationalistic animosities control them; nor do they meddle in worldly politics. In a real sense, they have ceased to learn the art of carnal warfare. They maintain a neutral attitude toward worldly conflicts and politics. Indeed, they have ceased to use carnal weapons of defense and offense. They believe what Jesus Christ said—that his Kingdom is “no part of this world.” Otherwise, his disciples would fight for it with carnal weapons of the most advanced military type.—John 18:36.
10. (a) In what warfare alone are Jehovah’s Witnesses engaged? (b) What “new commandment” do the Witnesses obey, and how do they do so?
10 Instead, Jehovah’s Witnesses are engaged only in spiritual warfare. Their fight is against the wicked spirits in heavenly places. So their weapons are not carnal, blood spilling. (Ephesians 6:10-18) Their warfare is not against humankind, and they certainly do not fight with their spiritual brothers inside Jehovah’s organization. They obey Jesus Christ’s command to love their spiritual brothers, just as he loved us, even to the point of laying down his human life for his disciples. This conforms to the “new commandment” that Jesus gave to his followers, that they should love one another just as he loved them.—John 13:34.
11. The love displayed by Jehovah’s Witnesses fulfills what law?
11 Jehovah’s Witnesses are motivated by the kind of love that fulfills the Law given through the prophet Moses. Such love never does injury to anyone and is more than mere “charity,” according to the 20th-century sense of that term. In the Bible, the Hebrew and Greek words for “love” signify far more than mere “charity.”—See 1 Corinthians, chapter 13, King James Version; Catholic Douay Version.
For Blessing, Not for Cursing
12. Was it necessary for the full membership of “all Israel” to be in heaven before the blessing of “all nations” could start?
12 From the foregoing we can see that for the blessing of all families and nations to start by means of the “seed” of the Greater Abraham, Jehovah God, there has been no need for the remnant of “all Israel” to enter heaven and be with the Principal One of that “seed,” Jesus Christ. For almost a half century now, members of families and nations of the earth have been receiving blessings from the promised “seed” of Abraham. Already more than two and a half million “other sheep” have been gathered together to form “one flock” with the remnant of the Fine Shepherd’s spirit-begotten sheeplike followers having the heavenly hope.—John 10:16.
13. Jesus came to the temple with what in view for the “other sheep,” and how will his attitude toward them shortly be climaxed?
13 The blessed “other sheep” have been favored with the hope of inheriting, right from its start, the Paradise restored to the earth during the Millennial Reign of Christ the King. So when Jesus Christ, as Jehovah’s “messenger of the covenant,” came to the spiritual temple for judgment proceedings, he came with the blessing, not the cursing, of the “other sheep” in view. (Malachi 3:1-3) This blessing will be climaxed by their being preserved through the approaching “war of the great day of God the Almighty” against his earthly enemies gathered at “Har–Magedon.” (Revelation 16:14, 16) In ancient times the city of Megiddo was the location of victories for Jehovah God. (Joshua 17:11; Zechariah 12:11) At the symbolic Har–Magedon God will crown himself with his greatest victory, to his everlasting glory. There his exalted Son, Jesus Christ, will be his Field Marshal.—Revelation 19:11-21.
14. (a) Over the salvation of whom do the “other sheep” have reason to be glad? (b) The “other sheep” already number how many?
14 The “other sheep” will be safeguarded through that most spectacular demonstration of divine power and magnificence. How glad all surviving spectators of that decisive conflict will be over the fact that the remnant of “all Israel” was “saved” during the period of peace between World War I and World War II! From the spring of 1935 onward there has been added to this saved Israel the “great multitude” without specified number. As “other sheep” of the Fine Shepherd, Jesus Christ, their number now is going on to three million. They have been coming out of “all nations and tribes and peoples and tongues” of humankind, in fulfillment of the promise that Jehovah God made to the one who prefigured him, namely, his “friend” Abraham. (Revelation 7:9-17; James 2:23) And the gathering of these “other sheep” is not yet over. How many they will finally number when the Fine Shepherd has finished gathering them before the destruction of Babylon the Great and God’s war against her political paramours at Armageddon we do not know.—Revelation 17:1–18:24.
15. The association of the “other sheep” with the remnant of “all Israel” is the start of what blessedness?
15 The association of the “other sheep” with the remnant of “all Israel” in “one flock” under the Fine Shepherd, Jesus Christ, the Principal One of Abraham’s “seed,” has proved to be the start of something. Of what? It has been the start of the full blessing that “all Israel” is still to bestow upon those “other sheep” during Jesus Christ’s Millennial Reign, into which they will survive under divine protection.
16. Why are the “other sheep” determined to continue serving Jehovah at the side of the remnant of “all Israel”?
16 In fulfillment of Revelation 7:14-17, the “other sheep” already have “washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.” That is why they are permitted to worship God “day and night in his temple,” spiritually speaking. Yes, already “the Lamb of God,” Jesus Christ, is feeding them with spiritual food so that they “hunger no more.” (John 1:29) Furthermore, their faithful Shepherd is guiding them to “fountains of waters of life,” that is, life on a Paradise earth. Grateful for all the blessings they already are receiving through the remnant of “all Israel,” the “great crowd” will continue to serve Jehovah at the side of this faithful remnant. These “other sheep” will do so in the “one flock” under the “one shepherd” in the interest of God’s Kingdom by Jesus Christ. This they are determined to do until all enemies of the Kingdom have been annihilated from the face of God’s “footstool,” the earth.—Isaiah 66:1; Matthew 5:34, 35; Acts 7:49.
How Would You Answer?
◻ Why is the Republic of Israel not Jehovah’s means for blessing all mankind?
◻ Why can it be said that “all the nations” are now streaming up to “the house of Jehovah”?
◻ How have Jehovah’s Witnesses been fulfilling Isaiah 2:4?
◻ What attitude does Jesus Christ have toward the “other sheep,” and how will it soon be climaxed?
◻ What blessedness has had its start in the association of the “other sheep” with the remnant of “all Israel”?
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“By means of your seed all nations of the earth will certainly bless themselves due to the fact that you have listened to my voice.”—GENESIS 22:18.
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Jehovah’s Witnesses have love among themselves and have ‘beaten their swords into plowshares’