Questions From Readers

● How are we to understand that part of Micah 4:3 that reads: “He will certainly render judgment among many peoples, and set matters straight respecting mighty nations far away”?—L. S., United States.

This part of Micah’s prophecy must be understood in harmony with the context. At Micah 4:2 we read that “many nations” will be saying: “Come, you people, and let us go up to the mountain of Jehovah and to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will instruct us about his ways, and we will walk in his paths.” These many nations and people do not refer to the political nations and governments as such. Rather, these many nations and people are the individual believers out of all the political nations that come to Jehovah’s mountain, even as explicitly stated at Revelation 7:9.

Consequently, verse three of Micah chapter four, which says that Jehovah will certainly render judgment among “many peoples” and set things straight respecting “nations far away,” is not referring to interference by Jehovah in the affairs of the political nations. Rather, it must refer to his rendering judgments and setting matters straight in a spiritual way for those believers who have come out of the political nations and have taken their stand for Jehovah’s kingdom.

These conform to these judgments by doing what the rest of Mic 4 verse three states: “And 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 any more.”

True Christians are doing this in keeping with the Resolution they passed at their 1958 Divine Will Assembly, and which reads in part: “Figuratively speaking, we have beaten our swords into plowshares and our spears into pruning shears and, although of so many nationalities, we will not lift up sword against one another because we are Christian brothers and members of the one family of God, neither will we learn war against one another any more, but we will walk in God’s paths in peace, unity and brotherly love.”