188 The WATCH TOWER BROOKLYN, N.Y.
ents, without understanding, covenant-breakers, without natural affection, implacable, unmerciful." What a terrible picture of the entire human family! And yet every one must acknowledge that it is a true one. Now the point to be noted is this: God is not to blame for these conditions. Mankind have no one to blame but themselves. The first blame is chargeable to Adam. He headed the race on its downward course, and each one of his posterity has only increased the downward momentum. Men are trying to stop this downward tendency in the race, but they are doing it in the wrong way. They are trying to do it in their own way and ignoring God's way. Man uses his wisdom and power selfishly. He strives to bring about righteousness by the use of force. He uses the strong arm of class legislation, military authority, and the power of propaganda to mold public opinion along false and selfish lines, and persuades himself that these will bring about a condition of righteousness in the earth. The attempt to force righteousness on people has always resulted in failure, and always will. In the face of six thousand years of failure, man is still confident of the success of his own schemes, is boastful of his own power and skill, optimistically predicts the success of his plans, and continues to make sumptuary laws and establish governments by dictatorship and bureaus and other methods of force. Seemingly he is not profiting by the lessons which Jehovah has given him along the lines of experience in the past.
But the Scriptures assure us that, just a little farther along, Jehovah God is going to interfere for the benefit of the race, and that he will destroy with a complete and everlasting destruction all the sumptuary laws, dictatorships, bureaucracies, and every other means of force, cruelty and oppression from tho earth. This destruction is called the "battle of the great day of God Almighty' '. It will be a victory of righteousness oyer unrighteousness, of love o'er selfishness, of justice oyer oppression, and of truth oyer falsehood.
That battle "'ill convince the majorit.r of mankind that their way is the wrong way, thcir plans arc the wrong plans, and that thcir yisdom is foolish. It will also convince them that there is a God, and that he is wise, just and powerful, and has been permitting man to follow his own devices only to teach him the futility of the same.
Now let me summarize some of the lessons whiCH Jehovah God, as a great schoolmaster has been giving the race throughout the six thousand ;rears of lmmall history. The fir.lf great lesson is the one already mentioned, namely, that in Eden God withdrew his power Oye1' amI eontrol of the race and let them follow their own devices in order to teach them the lesson that his
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oro' is true, that Yiolation of God's law is sin and will bring its own retribution, in the way of poverty, more sin, distrc'ss, crime, yar, suffering, doubt, fear, oppression, profiteering, murder, hatred, selfishness, et('. Clod desires all the race to leal'll this lesson, and so will continue the lesson until all of Adam's chilc!ren arc bam, that they may profit thereby. }I'lIlkind follo'ed his own way for the first 1,6:)5 ~'ears of earth's history, until the flood, and the result of man's 'isdom is stated in Cenesis 6: 5,7, in these yords: "And Cod saw that the "ickedness of man was great in the earth, and that e"ery imagination of the thoughts of his heart "as only evil continually. And the Lord said, I yill destroy man, whom I haw created." Accordingly God sent a flood and destroyed everybody except righteous ~oah and his family. Many people blame nod for this flood, and charg;l him with cruelty and yiekedness in connection with it. On the contrm'~', to destroy such wicked and earrupt people is a merciful act. Civilized nations mercifully end the liYCs of mmderers for their oyn good and the good of athol'S. But the great Jesson behind this exhibition of pow· er is oyerlool,ed by almost e"el'ybod~r. God, as a great schoolmaster, was teaching' the people the lesson that he could destro~' sin amI e"il and all sinners in a moment if he so "ishec1. lIe was also teaching another lesson, which is taught all through his Yord, name· ly, that he will llen~r !>c'rmit sinners to enjoy everlasting life, but "ill destroy them in second death. God was simply illust rating in the flood just what his Yord teaches, that he is all-powerful and will destroy sinners. In permitting' these conditions to exist for 1,656 years Ciod yas also illustrating the fact that he is longsufi'ering, patient, merciful and for· giving. In saying' 1oah and his family he was illustrating' the fa('t that only the righteous are to have life and the blessing's of Jehovah Gall. The time came in the di 'ine plan when Jehovah would give an illustration of the kind of faith whicil yould please him and entitle one to his favor and blessing. lIe used Abraham to make this illustration. lIe asked him to leaye his own people and his father's house and go into a strange land, and told him that after he arrived there he would make a coycnant "'ith him. ) ..braham went 1;)00 miles to this land, and there God eoycnanted, 01' agreed, to make him the fatllC'r of many nations, and to gi"e him the land of Pales· tine, a promise which will be fulfilled to Abraham 'hen he is raised from the dead. He also used Abraham's faith as a sample of the faith which his ]WOpIe must have to please God. Thns Abraham is called "the father of the faithful". It is written that 'Abraham believed God and his faith was counted for righteousness'. There are fel' people on earth toda~' yho have a faith like ~.bra ham·s.
