THE ATTEMPT OF THE ANTI-RELIGIOUS “AX”

22. The nations will then begin fighting for whom and against whom, and what question of the eighth century B.C.E. will Jehovah again properly raise?

²² Here we need to remember that it is the Dragon, Satan the Devil, who gave “power” and “throne” and “great authority” to the symbolic “wild beast,” to which a political “image” has been made since 1919 C.E. So the time of Sennacherib’s threat to Jerusalem pictures the time when the nations that make up the “image” of the wild beast begin to battle for Satan the Devil and against the “Lamb of God,” the Lord of lords and King of kings. (Rev. 17:14; 19:19-21) It is the dawn of the “great day of God the Almighty” upon the world situation called Har–Magedon. (Rev. 16:14-16) What does that betoken? It betokens that world developments have gone so far that Jehovah can once again properly raise the question first raised in the eighth century B.C.E.: “Will the ax enhance itself over the one chopping with it, or the saw magnify itself over the one moving it back and forth, as though the staff moved back and forth the ones raising it on high, as though the rod raised on high the one who is not wood?”​—Isa. 10:15.

23. Why will Jehovah’s Christian witnesses not cooperate with the modern-day counterpart of “the Assyrian” against Babylon the Great, and why neither the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania?

²³ By then Jehovah God the Almighty will drop the symbolic “ax” as being of no further use to Him. He now finds added reason for destroying it. (Isa. 10:16-19) It was never a part of His organization, and His temporary use of it as a symbolic “ax” does not make it a part of his theocratic organization. For that powerful reason Jehovah’s Christian witnesses will never cooperate with the violent hordes of the modern-day “Assyrian” in destructive work against the world empire of false religion during the coming “great tribulation.” Neither will the religious corporation that has long been associated with Jehovah’s witnesses, namely, the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania, do so. This Society will not do so, even though since its incorporation in December of 1884 it has uncompromisingly exposed Babylon the Great and has pointed forward to its destruction at God’s hand.

24. (a) How has Jehovah used the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania as his instrument in a manner unlike the way in which he uses the modern-day “Assyrian” as an “ax”? (b) Has this Society ever in its history tried to imitate the ancient “Assyrian” in self-enhancement, or will it do so in the “great tribulation”?

²⁴ In a way far different from how He uses the modern-day Assyrian “ax,” Jehovah has used as his instrument the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania. Jehovah has used it as his agency in laying bare Scripturally the falsity of the religion of Babylon the Great, including Christendom. Jehovah has used this Society in warning all peoples (especially professed Christian people) to get out of that world empire of false religion before He executes judgment upon it. The publications of the Watch Tower Society have gone out to the whole world in the hundreds of millions of copies, in now more than 160 languages. Never in all its operations for now more than ninety years has this instrument in Jehovah’s hand tried to imitate the ancient “Assyrian” and “enhance itself over” the One using it, namely, the unreachably High One, the Sovereign Lord Jehovah.c (Isa. 10:15) At the outbreak of the “great tribulation” the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania and its Branches around the earth will refuse to join the United Nations “wild beast” in its violent anti-religious actions against Babylon the Great.

25. (a) The refusal to unite with the modern “Assyrian” ax in self-enhancement will result in what ? (b) What will anti-religious political authorities be able to dissolve, and what not?

²⁵ Should the Society survive that violent destruction of Babylon the Great (including Christendom), the Society will absolutely refuse to unite itself with the modern-day Assyrian “ax” in enhancing itself or magnifying itself over the One chopping with that “ax.” Such a refusal would certainly move the Assyrian “ax” of today to take drastic action against the Society and the Christian witnesses of Jehovah whom the Society represents and serves. Such international action against these announcers of Jehovah’s kingdom by Christ would be the way in which the United Nations “wild beast” fights against the “Lamb,” the Lord of lords and King of kings. (Rev. 17:14) It would be the form in which the modern-day Assyrian “ax” tries to enhance itself over the One who will have done some chopping with it. The anti-religious political authorities of the earth will be able to dissolve religious corporations that were legalized by the former law of the land, but never will they be able to dissolve the worldwide brotherhood, “the whole association of brothers,” Jehovah’s Christian witnesses, who are not incorporated as a religious body by worldly law.​—1 Pet. 2:17; 5:9, NW; Authorized Version.

28. When the situation looked blackest back in 732 B.C.E., what did King Hezekiah do, and what was Sennacherib put on notice to expect?

²⁸ When the situation becomes blackest for Jehovah’s witnesses as the world’s “great tribulation” nears its climax, what is to be expected? Back in 732 B.C.E., Sennacherib went to the limit in ridiculing Jehovah, as if He were no more powerful than the false gods of the idol-worshiping nations. (2 Ki. 19:10-13) Then King Hezekiah took the matter to Jehovah in his temple at Jerusalem. Jehovah not only gave reassurance to Hezekiah through the prophet Isaiah but also sent a defiance to Sennacherib, who was then at Libnah, some miles distant from Jerusalem. (2 Ki. 19:8, 14-34) Thus the blasphemous Sennacherib was put on notice to expect disastrous defeat at the hands of the God whom he defied. Then action by Jehovah followed for vindication of Him as a real God!

29, 30. (a) How may Sennacherib have felt after receiving that rebuke from Jehovah through Isaiah? (b) What then happened?

²⁹ After such humiliating notification from Jehovah through the prophet Isaiah, how did Sennacherib sleep? Likely after such a rebuff, he determined that, next day, he would show this God, Jehovah, something! With his army of around 200,000 troops Sennacherib would see to that! But first some sleep for him! Suddenly a strange stillness occurred that could be felt. It settled down over the Assyrian troops who were spread out like weeds and thornbushes over the area. Their sleep was not normal! What had happened?

³⁰ “And it came about on that night that the angel of Jehovah proceeded to go out and strike down a hundred and eighty-five thousand in the camp of the Assyrians. When people rose up early in the morning, why, there all of them were dead carcasses. Therefore Sennacherib the king of Assyria pulled away and went and returned, and took up dwelling in Nineveh. And it came about that as he was bowing down at the house of Nisroch his god, Adrammelech and Sharezer, his sons, themselves struck him down with the sword, and they themselves escaped.”​—2 Ki. 19:35-37.

31. In fulfillment of that ancient drama, how will the modern Assyrian “ax” fail to enhance itself successfully against the One chopping with it?

³¹ Aha! The Assyrian “ax” had failed to enhance itself successfully over the One chopping with it! Like that it will be during the coming “great tribulation” when the modern counterpart of Sennacherib and his army tries to enhance itself over the same God by threatening to wipe out His witnesses from the earth. What will follow in fulfillment of the ancient prophetic drama The Watchtower under date of April 1, 1945, pages 108, 109, explains:

. . . Then Jehovah’s witnesses, sheltered within his Theocratic organization, will be under siege and will seem threatened with destruction by the overwhelming hosts of the antitypical Assyrian, Satan the Devil. Yet be not anxious of such a future: Jehovah will fight the battle for his remnant and their companions. He will perform his “strange act” at Armageddon, as he did thousands of years ago in the land of Judah, ‘for his own sake and for the sake of his beloved King.’ Doubtless by that same Son of God who served as the angel to slay 185,000 of Sennacherib’s hosts and send him reeling back to his own violent death, namely, by his reigning King-Son, Christ Jesus, will Jehovah God go forth to battle and will wreak destruction upon the wicked challenger’s world-organization. Like Sennacherib, Satan the Devil will see his visible organization on earth utterly laid low in death. Next he will see his invisible organization of demons dissolved in destruction, and will finally himself be wiped out violently. No demon power will be able to save him.

32. Why do we not need to be anxious ahead of time or fear when Jehovah begins wielding the symbolic “ax”?

³² So, then, one of these days in the near future, we faithful witnesses of Jehovah will see the anti-religious “ax” being wielded in the almighty hand of our God against Babylon the Great. Terrible will it be in its execution of destruction upon that world empire of false religion! Do we need to be anxious at that time when the world’s political element turns anti-religious and expresses hatred for the great international “harlot” with which it used to have immoral relations? No! The world already hates us, but Jehovah God and Jesus Christ do not. And when Jehovah starts swinging the anti-religious “ax,” it will not be against us his loyal witnesses. Great will be our privilege of beholding Babylon the Great chopped down and burned with fiery destruction! We know now that, after that destruction, the anti-religious “ax” will try to enhance itself over its User, Jehovah. This will pose a fear-inspiring threat to our existence. But we need not then succumb to fear of the men who hate our God. May Jehovah then be our fear!

33. What angel will Jehovah send forth to execute adverse judgment, and what will the outcome be for us witnesses and for Jehovah?

³³ At that awesome time the nations will have arrived in full force at Har–Magedon, the field for the final decisive battle between men and God. (Rev. 16:14-16) The time will have arrived for Jehovah’s greatest execution of adverse judgment. It will be upon that anti-religious “ax,” then discarded by Jehovah. Never will that anti-religious “ax” be able to move itself with effectiveness to hack us to pieces. Jehovah of armies will send forth his greatest Angel, the Archangel Jesus Christ, to strike down all the attack forces of the Greater Sennacherib, Satan the Devil, and will plunge them into a sleep from which they will never wake up! What a deliverance for us that will be from the anti-religious “ax” at the climax of the “great tribulation”! But, most importantly, what a glorious vindication that will be for “the true Lord, Jehovah of armies,” by means of his ever-faithful agent, Jesus Christ, the Greater Hezekiah!