In view of the nearness of God’s day of anger, of particular interest to the meek ones is his promise: “Seek ye Jehovah, all ye meek of the earth, that have kept his ordinances; seek righteousness, seek meekness: it may be ye will be hid in the day of Jehovah’s anger.” That day of his anger is elsewhere described as “the war of the great day of God the Almighty,” Armageddon.—Zeph. 2:3, AS; Rev. 16:14, 16.

After Armageddon wipes this earth clean of its violence and wickedness, even as did the flood of Noah’s day, there will begin a new system of things, ‘a new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness is to dwell.’ Then the whole earth will be made a paradise, even as was the garden of Eden, in line with Jehovah’s original purpose for this earth, as indicated by his command to our first parents: “Be fruitful and become many and fill the earth and subdue it.” That new world will be one of love, peace and happiness. Persons who refuse to become meek will not be allowed to continue in it, for they would interfere with the happiness of others as well as be miserable themselves.—2 Pet. 3:13; Gen. 1:28.

Will that mark the fulfillment of Jesus’ promise: “Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth”? No, at least not primarily. Those words, first uttered by the psalmist David, apply first of all to the pre-eminently meek One, Jesus Christ, to whom his Father, Jehovah God, said: “Ask of me, that I may give nations as your inheritance and the ends of the earth as your own possession.” Inheriting the earth is part of his reward for his meek and faithful course while a man.—Matt. 5:5, AS; Ps. 2:8.

Sharing this inheritance with Jesus Christ will be his “bride,” those footstep followers of his, limited to 144,000, who will receive a heavenly reward. (Rev. 14:1, 3) Thus the apostle Paul tells them: “If, then, we are children, we are also heirs: heirs indeed of God, but joint heirs with Christ.” Jesus refers to these specially favored followers of his as a “little flock.” However, the principle enunciated at Matthew 5:5 applies also to Jesus’ other sheep who, as meek ones, will receive everlasting life on earth. How so? In that they will hold the earth in trust for Christ and his bride, permanent tenants, as it were.—Rom. 8:17; Luke 12:32; John 10:16.

So let all who would enjoy the blessings of Jehovah God in his new world show their faith in him and their love for him and their fellow man by pursuing “righteousness, godly devotion, faith, love, endurance, mildness of temper.”—1 Tim. 6:11.

A Hindu’s Solution

In a quotation appearing in Treasury of the Christian Faith, S. J. Corey says of the Hindu nationalist leader Mahatma Gandhi: “He was in Ceylon in the fall of 1927 and spoke at the Y.M.C.A. in Colombo in these words, ‘If I had to face only the Sermon on the Mount and my own interpretation of it, I should not hesitate to say, “O, yes, I am a Christian.’” He then added: ‘You of the West take Jesus apologetically at this point, while I take him seriously and literally.’” Again referring to Gandhi, the same volume says, in a statement by Frank E. Eden: “Gandhi and Lord Irwin, former Viceroy to India, were friends. On their return from the Round Table Conference at London, Lord Irwin paid a visit to the Mahatma in his ashram. During the conversation Lord Irwin put this question to his host: ‘Mahatma, as man to man, tell me what you consider to be the solution to the problems of your country and mine.’ Taking up a little book from the nearby lampstand, Gandhi opened it to the fifth chapter of Matthew and replied, ‘When your country and mine shall get together on the teachings laid down by Christ in this Sermon on the Mount, we shall have solved the problems not only of our countries but those of the whole world.’ That from a Hindu!”