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How God Satisfies Man’s NeedsAwake!—1972 | October 22
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It was God’s original purpose for humans to live in perfect health and happiness on a paradise earth, and he has never changed this purpose. Thus, immediately after Satan turned Adam and Eve away from God, God promised to raise up a deliverer or seed to annihilate Satan and establish a righteous new order of peace for the benefit of all of Adam and Eve’s offspring who would choose to be loyal to God. God explained in prophetic language how this Deliverer would destroy Satan, saying: “He [the seed] will bruise you [Satan] in the head.”—Gen. 3:15.
In time God revealed through which family line the “Seed” would come, telling his faithful servant Abraham: “By means of your seed all nations of the earth will certainly bless themselves.” (Gen. 22:18) Later, God promised regarding King David of Israel: “I shall certainly set up his seed forever and his throne as the days of heaven. His seed itself will prove to be even to time indefinite, and his throne as the sun in front of me.”—Ps. 89:29, 36.
Over the centuries God also indicated in his Word many of the blessings the righteous rule of this promised “seed” would bring to mankind. He foretold, for example, that all evildoers would be cut off, that only righteous ones would get to live forever on earth, and that humans would enjoy perfect health and peace in the restored earthly paradise. (Ps. 37:9-11, 29; Isa. 11:1-9; 25:6-8) So rather than forgetting man, God was for all those years making preparations for the eternal blessing of mankind.
However, a necessary step in the development of God’s purposes was the sending to the earth of his promised Deliverer and Ruler. Why?
The Promised One Arrives
When he arrived, this one was properly identified as the “‘seed,’ who is Christ.” (Gal. 3:16; 4:4) At his birth an announcement was made: “This one will be great and will be called Son of the Most High . . . and he will rule as king . . . and there will be no end of his kingdom.”—Luke 1:30-33.
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How God Satisfies Man’s NeedsAwake!—1972 | October 22
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Then Jesus was killed by opposers. But his death served a vital purpose, providing a means of deliverance from death for Adam’s offspring.
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How God Satisfies Man’s NeedsAwake!—1972 | October 22
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So, then, Jesus’ death was not something really unexpected. In fact, God’s prophecy had foretold that the “seed” would be bruised in the heel. (Gen. 3:15) Like a heel wound, Jesus’ death was painful but not permanently disabling. This is because God raised him to life again. Many eyewitnesses testified to his resurrection.—Matt. 28:1-10; Acts 1:8-11; 2:32.
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How God Satisfies Man’s NeedsAwake!—1972 | October 22
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But when? When will the promised “seed” crush Satan and bless obedient mankind? It has been nearly 6,000 years since Satan induced the first human pair to rebel against God. How do we know that God’s time for ending Satan’s wicked system is finally near?
For one reason, it is because the unusually troublous conditions now existing were foretold by Jesus to mark the ‘conclusion of the system of things.’ He said that there would be widespread food shortages, pestilences, wars, lawlessness and other conditions that are now clearly in evidence.—Matt. 24:3-14.
And for another reason, by now sufficient time has been allowed for settling all the issues raised by the rebellion. It has been shown clearly that Satan has been unable to turn all mankind away from God, as he evidently claimed he could. (Job chapters 1 and 2) The past 6,000 years of history have also shown that humans, independent of God, have been completely incapable of establishing a government to bring peace and happiness to its subjects.
Time to Satisfy Man’s Needs
Thus the time has arrived for God’s promised “seed” to deliver the fatal “head” blow to Satan, and clear out this corrupt system of things. (Gen. 3:15)
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