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‘The Kingdom Is at Hand’—When?The Watchtower—1966 | January 15
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After Jesus’ ascension to heaven the King was no longer at hand and therefore the kingdom of the heavens was no longer at hand. In fact, Jesus was not now exercising kingly authority except over those who were members of the Christian congregation. For this reason Jesus’ disciples did not announce “the kingdom of heaven is at hand” after his death. Jesus had told them that he would go away and he would come back in glorious kingdom power and he gave the disciples parables to this effect while he was on earth. (John 14:3; Matt. 25:31; Luke 19:11-27) The King would not again appear in the flesh in earthly Zion. The Kingdom was now something in the future. It was to administer the affairs of the entire earth from heaven, heavenly Zion, in due time. There was now no king upon “Jehovah’s throne” and there would not be until the seven “times of the Gentiles” had expired, which time would come in 1914 C.E. (Dan. 4:25; Ps. 2:6, 8; 110:2; Rev. 12:5, 10) That the Kingdom was not ruling and that Jesus’ disciples could not consider themselves kings even though they were in line for the heavenly kingdom to rule ultimately as kings was definitely shown by the apostle Paul when he reprimanded the Corinthian Christians, saying: “You men already have your fill, do you? You are rich already, are you? You have begun ruling as kings without us, have you? And I wish indeed that you had begun ruling as kings, that we also might rule with you as kings.”—1 Cor. 4:8; 2:2.
‘KINGDOM AT HAND’ NOW
However, all evidences now show that the King has taken his power in heaven and has begun his reign and therefore we again hear proclaimed world wide the message, “The kingdom of the heavens has drawn near.” Just as with the preaching of Jesus when the kingdom of heaven was at hand in the days of earthly Zion or Jerusalem, so in these days the proclamation “the kingdom of heaven is at hand” is accompanied by the declaration of judgment on the Babylonish religious leaders. Particularly does it expose those who claim to believe in God’s kingdom and to preach it, but who do not want its rule and who try to block the news of the ‘Kingdom established’ from reaching the people, thereby hindering others from recognizing the Kingdom.—Isa. 61:2.
Just as Jesus did many miraculous works of healing and other powerful works of cleansing the temple and saving the people when he was at hand then, so in a complete and earth-wide sense he will do so during his Kingdom reign. Before this healing can come, however, those who have opposed the Kingdom must be cleared out; first of all, Babylon the Great, the world empire of false religion, after which the proclamation can be made, “Praise Jah, you people, because Jehovah our God, the Almighty, has begun to rule as king.” (Rev. 19:6) Yes, he will rule in an even wider way than at present, for then there will be no religious rival to true worship. Next, he will reign in the fullest extent when even the political governments of the world which now oppose his kingdom will be wiped out and the glorious thousand-year reign of Christ begins, in which those 144,000 whom he has chosen will reign with him and will be able to administer to all families of the earth the blessings promised by the Abrahamic covenant.—Gen. 22:18; Gal. 3:29.
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You Who Preach “Do Not Steal,” Do You Steal?The Watchtower—1966 | January 15
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You Who Preach “Do Not Steal,” Do You Steal?
How effective do you think a sermon on the wrongness of stealing would be if, on the very next day, the church sanctioned the stealing of property and goods in order to sell them again to their owners in an effort to obtain “unwilling contributions”? This is the method one Catholic church in a suburb of Managua, Nicaragua, has contrived in order to force all the people in its neighborhood, regardless of what religion they may profess, to contribute to the church during “Holy Week.” Anything that the “holy thieves” can lay their hands on is carried off to the church to be redeemed only after a contribution is given for it. This, of course, has given opportunity to many “not so holy thieves” to carry off personal belongings too.
No wonder the Catholic Church has not proved to be a force against thievery, for, as the apostle Paul said, “The name of God is being blasphemed on account of you people among the nations.”—Rom. 2:21-24.
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