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The Name in Which All Nations Are Choosing to WalkThe Watchtower—1972 | December 15
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Said Micah under inspiration: “And in the future days the mountain of Jehovah’s house shall be set at the head of the mountains, lifted above hills, and peoples shall stream to it.” (Mic. 4:1, Byington’s translation) In order to bring about a primary or typical fulfillment of that challenging prophecy, Jehovah God used as an instrument King Cyrus the Great, a worshiper of the chief god of victorious Persia. Jehovah, in His superiority, made the worshiper of a false god work for Him toward restoring Jerusalem’s temple.
20. In fulfillment of what prophecy concerning the Persian conquerer did this take place, and when and how?
20 How so? Well, Jehovah spoke of himself as “the One saying of Cyrus, ‘He is my shepherd, and all that I delight in he will completely carry out’; even in my saying of Jerusalem, ‘She will be rebuilt,’ and of the temple, ‘You will have your foundation laid.’” (Isa. 44:27, 28) King Cyrus did completely carry out the thing in which Jehovah delighted, though this was contrary to what the national god of Persia delighted to have done. In the year 537 B.C.E., the seventieth year of the desolation of Jerusalem and its temple, Jehovah stirred up the spirit of Cyrus to decree that the temple should be rebuilt at Jerusalem. To that end Cyrus decreed that the exiles in Babylon who would volunteer for this temple work should be released from Babylon and go back to “the mountain of the house of Jehovah.” (2 Chron. 36:20-23; Ezra 1:1-4)
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The Name in Which All Nations Are Choosing to WalkThe Watchtower—1972 | December 15
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22. How was “the mountain of the house of Jehovah” “firmly established above the top of the mountains,” both as to the restored remnant and as to pagan nations and peoples?
22 In order to be used in doing this, the restored remnant had to elevate Jehovah’s worship above all other things in their lives, and put down the worship of the false gods that their forefathers had unfaithfully adopted. Jehovah’s worship, as represented by “the mountain of the house of Jehovah,” rose above the lofty elevation that pagan nations gave to their demon gods, these being worshiped in many cases on natural high places such as hilltops and mountaintops. In a figurative sense, the mountain of Jehovah’s house of worship was “firmly established above the top of the mountains” and was “lifted up above the hills.” Respect for Jehovah’s worship assumed the supreme position, not only among his chosen people but also among many individuals of pagan nations and peoples. Doubtless many of suchlike individuals came up to Jerusalem to worship the true God, just as those religious proselytes did in the days of the Christian apostles and just as that royal eunuch of Ethiopia did, whom the evangelizer Philip was delegated to convert to Christianity.—Acts 2:5-10; 8:26-39; John 12:20, 21.
23. (a) In whose name did those individuals from the nations and people begin walking? (b) What kind of fulfillment of the prophecy was that, and, since the Messiah’s coming, what question arises as to walking in the name?
23 Instead of walking in the name of their former gods, those individuals from all the various nations and peoples walked in the name of the God whose worship was most highly exalted, Jehovah. Truly that was a fulfillment of the prophecy of Micah. But only a partial fulfillment, a miniature or typical one. The full, complete fulfillment did not take place back there before Jehovah God sent his Messiah into the earth. The final, culminating fulfillment of Micah’s glorious prophecy was timed to come in our twentieth century.
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