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TREE OF HOPE

"And whereas they commanded to leave the stump of the tree roots; thy kingdom shall be sure unto thee, after that thou shalt have known that the heavens do rule."-Daniel 4:26.

¹ JEHOVAH'S name shall be vindicated. That is the all-important truth. He has made Christ Jesus his Vindicator and made him to be the ruler over his kingdom, and by and through his kingdom he will make known to all creation that he, Jehovah, is supreme and that besides him there is none. It is by and trough the King and kingdom that men shall be brought into harmony with Jehovah. Upon his beloved Son Jehovah has placed his name, and there is no other name given under heaven whereby men must be saved. (Acts 4:12) The kingdom is Jehovah's capital organization, and of that organization Christ Jesus is the Head. Jehovah has caused to be written in his Word that his purpose is to make Christ Jesus man's Redeemer and earth's rightful ruler and gather all obedient ones under him. Therefore it is written: "That in the dispensation of the fulness of times he might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth; even in him."-Eph. 1:10.

² In the dream of Nebuchadnezzar the leaving of the stump in the ground, which represents the human part of the original organization, would picture Jehovah's purpose of making provision for the redemption and final deliverance of the obedient ones of mankind and that these may grow up into another organization and live for ever. The language of Daniel 4:26 proves that the stump must have a close relationship to the kingdom of Christ. These Scriptural texts prove beyond all doubt that the "tree in the midst of the earth", which Nebuchadnezzar saw in his dream, pictures Satan's organization which must perish for ever and that then Jehovah would cause a new tree to grow up which is his capital and righteous organization and of which Christ Jesus is the Head and overlord; that the hope of man, who was a part of the original tree, is in the new tree or holy organization. Therefore Christ Jesus is the tree of hope, because the organization is his by the will of Jehovah God and only by and through Christ Jesus and the kingdom can the people have a hope for life, for the reason that such is the will of the Almighty God.

³ Since the expulsion from Eden man's portion has been "with the beasts in the grass of the earth", even as portrayed in the dream of Nebuchadnezzar. Rulers under Satan have been bestial, brutish, inhuman, cruel and oppressive, and the human race has been subjected to such cruel rule. These earthly rulers, being a part of Satan's organization, are likened to ferocious beasts. (Dan. 7:3-17) This is in harmony with the divine decree of Daniel 4:16: "Let his heart be changed from man's, and let a beast's heart be given unto him; and let seven times pass over him." Such beastly rulers have had no understanding or appreciation of Jehovah's ways. "O Lord, how great are thy works! and thy thoughts are very deep. A brutish man knoweth not; neither doth a fool understand this." (Ps. 92:5,6) As a part of the roots of the old stump in the earth these rulers have not reached out for the life-giving waters of truth, and hence have learned nothing. Concerning them it is written: "Surely I am more brutish than any man, and have not the understanding of a man. I neither learned wisdom, nor have the knowledge of the holy." (Prov. 30:2,3) As rulers and a part of Satan's organization they too shall perish.

"SEVEN TIMES"

⁴ The words of the prophetic dream, to wit, "seven times," should not be confused with the period of time elapsing from Eden to Armageddon, and there is a definite reason for this. The meaning of "time" is "a set or fixed time"; technically, "a year," which according to the Bible is 360 days. The miniature fulfilment was upon the man Nebuchadnezzar, and the complete fulfilment must be upon a far greater scale. These "seven times" must pass over the stump by reason of the decree of Jehovah God, not as times of punishment of mankind, but to mark a period of time during which Satan, who was pictured by Nebuchadnezzar, the head of the earthly government and who at that time exercised regal power as ruler of the world and as Satan's representative, has exercised the power as god of the whole earth. The "seven times", therefore, must be symbolic of and hence equal to the times of the Gentiles, to wit, 2,520 years. This whole