The Bible—A Book of Accurate Prophecy, Part 7
“The End Will Come”
This eight-part series in Awake! is examining an outstanding feature of the Bible—its prophecies, or predictions. The articles will help you to answer these questions: Are Bible prophecies merely the work of clever humans? Do they bear the hallmark of divine inspiration? We invite you to weigh the evidence.
DO YOU feel incensed when corrupt governments oppress and exploit their citizens? Does it offend your sense of justice when big business fattens the rich at the expense of the poor? Are you angered when religious leaders fleece their flocks or teach outright falsehoods? If so, you may be pleased to learn that the Bible too condemns these evils. This article will consider (1) Bible prophecies that foretell the end of all wickedness and wicked people and (2) the reason why these prophecies merit our full trust.
The End of Wickedness
The preceding article in this series considered the composite sign Jesus gave, which indicates the nearness of the end of the present world. That sign includes a global proclamation of the good news of God’s Kingdom—God’s government that will soon rule the entire earth. (Daniel 2:44; Matthew 24:3, 14) When that proclamation work is finished, “the end will come,” said Jesus. You may be surprised to learn that the first thing that God will remove will be false religion, which misrepresents him. In the Bible, false religion is symbolized by a harlot named “Babylon the Great.”—Revelation 17:1, 5.
Prophecy 1:
“[Babylon the Great’s] plagues will come, death and mourning and famine, and she will be completely burned with fire, because Jehovah God, who judged her, is strong.”—Revelation 18:2, 8.
Fulfillment: The Bible reveals that at his appointed time, God will move the world’s political powers to turn against Babylon the Great and destroy her. They will “make her devastated and naked” and “eat up her fleshy parts.” (Revelation 17:16) In other words, they will expose her shameful character and plunder her immense wealth. Her destruction will be quick and so complete that not a trace of her will remain.—Revelation 18:21.
The political rulers may think that their deed was of their own making. However, the fulfillment of this amazing prophecy will confirm that Babylon’s end was an act of God. He will have “put it into their hearts to carry out his thought.”—Revelation 17:17.
Prophecy 2:
“In the days of those kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom. . . . It will crush and put an end to all these [man-made] kingdoms, and it itself will stand to times indefinite.”—Daniel 2:44.
Fulfillment: Having disposed of false religion, God will turn his attention to other organizations—political and commercial—as well as to wicked people. (Proverbs 2:22; Revelation 19:17, 18) Like a landlord who evicts destructive tenants, God will “bring to ruin those ruining the earth.” He will destroy those who fill it with violence and sexually degrading practices.—Revelation 11:18; Romans 1:18, 26-29.
Who will survive? The Bible answers: “The meek ones themselves will possess the earth, and they will indeed find their exquisite delight in the abundance of peace.”—Psalm 37:11; 72:7.
Can we trust Bible prophecies? Can we be sure that God will terminate wickedness and suffering and preserve the righteous? Yes!
Bible Prophecies Are Trustworthy
God’s Kingdom will bring an end to all false religion, corrupt governments, and greedy commerce
Jehovah’s Witnesses believe that Jehovah God is the Author of the Bible and that everything he has promised he will do. (2 Timothy 3:16) Is this belief reasonable?
If you had a lifelong friend who truly loved you and never lied to you, would you believe him if he promised to do something good for you and if what he promised was within his means? Undoubtedly you would. God is even better than any human friend we may have. “God never tells a lie!”—Titus 1:2, Contemporary English Version.
God does not approve of blind faith, or credulity. Accordingly, he inspired the Bible writers to record many prophecies that only he, the Almighty, could fulfill. A number of those prophecies and their amazing fulfillment were discussed in the first six installments in this series of articles. We can be confident, then, that God will fulfill the predictions that involve our future, including those mentioned in this article.
Yes, the Creator will bring an end to false religion, oppressive rulership, and the greedy commercial world. Would you like to learn more about what will happen after those events occur? The next issue of Awake! will help you. It will contain the final article in this series.