will be realized by the bringing of all mankind back to speaking just one language again.

53. How else, besides uniformity of pronunciation, does Jehovah’s name prove to be “one,” due to its occurrence from one end of the Bible to the other?

⁵³ Besides worldwide uniformity of pronunciation, there is more to the oneness of that sacred name. That name, used so many thousands of times from its first appearance in Genesis 2:4 to its last appearance in the joyful exclamation “Hallelujah!” in Revelation 19:6, is sufficient in itself to be used in all the many connections where God is involved. That one name thus embraces within itself a host of associations that give us a thorough idea of what God is like. That one name needs no substitute; it needs no replacement. It is not true that at the time of the baptism of Jesus in the year 29 C.E. the name of this Son of God became a ‘substitute or a replacement for Jehovah’ and that Jesus is the same as Jehovah and hence the name Jehovah does not need to be used anymore. Or, also, that the nameless title “The LORD” or just “God” can be properly used as a substitute for the identifying name Jehovah. That is deceptive reasoning on the part of the religious clergy of Christendom and of Jewry. Their erroneous reasoning will perish with them. In Jehovah’s coming new theocratic system of things His name will be just one!

SCOURGE AND CONFUSION UPON THE ATTACKING ENEMIES

54, 55. Why does it make one shudder to think of what is prophesied to happen to the eyes and tongues of those attacking the heavenly Jerusalem?

⁵⁴ When the nations of earth make their coming final attack upon the “heavenly Jerusalem,” they will irreligiously scorn Jehovah’s Christian witnesses on earth and their tongues will doubtless abuse and blaspheme that most holy name. But not for long will their tongues wag in their mouths and their eyes look with disdain upon those who are proclaiming the kingdom of the “heavenly Jerusalem.” It makes us shudder to hear what will befall those attackers:

⁵⁵ “And this is what will prove to be the scourge with which Jehovah will scourge all the peoples that will actually do military service against Jerusalem: There will be a rotting away of one’s flesh, while one is standing upon one’s feet; and one’s very eyes will rot away in their sockets, and one’s very tongue will rot away in one’s mouth. And it must occur in that day that confusion from Jehovah will become widespread among them; and they will actually grab hold, each one of the hand of his companion, and his hand will actually come up against the hand of his companion. And Judah itself also will be warring at Jerusalem; and the wealth of all the nations round about will certainly be gathered, gold and silver and garments in excessive abundance. And this is how the scourge of the horse, the mule, the camel, and the male ass, and every sort of domestic animal that happens to be in those camps, will prove to be, like this scourge.”​—Zechariah 14:12-15.

56. Why could it not be with sincerity that the peoples of Christendom should express shock at the account of that scourge?

⁵⁶ Frightful? Gruesome? Sadistic? Ghoulish? Fiendish? Bible readers in Christendom may express shock at that inspired battle account! But would it not be hypocritical for them to do so? How can they sincerely be shocked, when the so-called “Christian” nations that they so patriotically support now stand prepared to fight the final war with the flaming napalm bombs dropped from airplanes, with liquid fire belched forth from guns, with corrosive chemical gases, with explosives that will blast away a person’s face so that the surviving victim needs to wear a mask and be fed intravenously, with nuclear bombs of such enormous power as to make tens of thousands of human creatures disappear into thin air? How can the supporters of such wartime viciousness find fault with Jehovah of armies? Let them rather be shocked, horrified, at themselves!

57. In reflecting on the severity of the scourge, what is the seriousness of the attack by the nations upon heavenly Jerusalem that we have to take into account?

⁵⁷ As we reflect upon the severity of the “scourge with which Jehovah will scourge all the peoples that will actually do military service against Jerusalem,” we need to bear in mind the seriousness of the action that the peoples and nations are taking. (Zechariah 14:12) In doing military service against the “city of the living God, heavenly Jerusalem,” they are striking at the capital organization of the Great Theocrat, the Sovereign of the universe. What brazen impudence could be greater? What defiance could be more extreme, reach to greater heights? What an insult to the highest and greatest Personage in all the realm of existence! Such impudent, defiant, insulting revolters against the universal sovereignty of the Great Theocrat need to learn to know with whom they are dealing. “For our God is also a consuming fire.” “It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.” (Hebrews 12:29; 10:31) It is into his hands that they are plunging when they hurl themselves in godless military service against what Jehovah says is like “my eyeball.”​—Zechariah 2:8.

58. In what way will the spiritual “Judah” be “warring at Jerusalem,” who will be warring alongside of them, and from what will they therefore be spared?

⁵⁸ The strike of the religiously disillusioned nations and peoples will be against that which visibly represents the “heavenly Jerusalem,” namely, the anointed remnant of spiritual Israelites “who have been enrolled in the heavens.” (Hebrews 12:22, 23) This is indicated when the prophecy says: “And Judah itself also will be warring at Jerusalem.” (Zechariah 14:14) With this anointed remnant who are warring spiritually for the interests of Jehovah’s theocratic capital city will be the “great crowd” of those individuals out of all nations, tribes and peoples who have taken their stand on the side of Jehovah’s theocratic government. (Revelation 7:9-17) Being warriors in defense of what the “heavenly Jerusalem” stands for, they will be spared from the “scourge with which Jehovah will scourge” all the attackers.

59. Whether applied literally as described, or not, what will be the effect of the scourge upon the attack forces?

⁵⁹ Whether the “scourge” will be literally as described in the prophecy, or not, silenced will be the mouths that are opened to let out terrifying war cries and threats! Tongues have rotted away. Powers of vision will suddenly go black, so that the fierce-eyed attackers can only strike out blindly against the object of their attack. Eyes have rotted away! Muscles and sinews of highly trained, physically developed warriors will lose strength, resilience, moveableness, as they stand on their feet ready for do-or-die action, not while they are lying on the ground as dead corpses. Flesh that clothes their skeletal structure has rotted away! The scourge hits suddenly, also, at the horses, the mules, the camels, the male asses and any other sorts of domestic animals that are in their military camps. Mobile equipment for the attack is helplessly immobilized!​—Zechariah 14:12, 15.

60. What does the widespread confusion cause the attackers to do?

⁶⁰ Terrifying enough​—all this! But adding to the terror of this surprising development is the confusion that the Almighty God stirs up among the would-be attackers. Their unitedness of action against the “heavenly Jerusalem” and the warriors of “Judah” is broken up. Like gladiators with a blinding helmet over their heads in a Roman arena on spectacle before crowds of bloodthirsty circus attenders, they grab hands and strike at one another sightlessly. They have lost the vision of their common goal. Personal interests take the ascendancy. Their evolution theory of “the survival of the fittest” takes over and controls them. The death-dealing confusion becomes widespread, as they engage in mutual slaughter of themselves.​—Zechariah 14:13.

61. (a) What memories are now stirred up of Jehovah’s warring in the past, “in the day of fight”? (b) At whose side will He fight in the coming war?

⁶¹ This is the climax of “that day”! Jehovah has moved into action in order to “war against those nations as in the day of his warring, in the day of fight.” (Zechariah 14:3) Memories are stirred up of Jehovah’s fight against the horsemen and chariots of the haughty Pharaoh of Egypt at the Red Sea in the days of the prophet Moses! Of Jehovah’s discomfiture of the combined forces of Moab, Ammon and Mount Seir on the western shore of the Dead Sea in the days of King Jehoshaphat of Judah (936-911 B.C.E.). Of Jehovah by means of his angel striking dead in one night 185,000 Assyrian soldiers under King Sennacherib who threatened Jerusalem in the days of King Hezekiah of Judah! (Exodus 14:1 to 15:21; 2 Chronicles 20:1-26; 2 Kings 18:13 to 19:36) But impressive as were those fights of Jehovah in days of old, far grander in magnitude will be his fight for his universal sovereignty, “the war of the great day of God the Almighty” at the approaching world situation called Har–Magedon. (Revelation 16:13-16) There He fights at the right hand of his Messiah, his Son. (Psalm 110:4-6) The recorded preview of the fight says:

62, 63. (a) How does Revelation 17:12-14 describe the fight for victory by Jehovah’s Messiah? (b) What will be most precious and most appreciated as the spoils of victory?

⁶² “And the ten horns that you saw mean ten kings, who have not yet received a kingdom, but they do receive authority as kings one hour with the wild beast. These have one thought, and so they give their power and authority to the wild beast. These will battle with the Lamb, but, because he is Lord of lords and King of kings, the Lamb will conquer them. Also, those called and chosen and faithful with him will do so.”​—Revelation 17:12-14.

⁶³ Thus the political lords and kings of the earth, although giving their power and authority to the United Nations as an organization for maintaining human sovereignty of all the earth, will suffer defeat at the hands of the once-sacrificed Lamb, Jesus Christ the King, and will be destroyed. (Revelation 19:11-21) Thereby Jehovah’s sovereignty over all the universe, including this earth, will be eternally vindicated. This divine vindication will, in itself, be the most precious spoils of victory. The greatest issue of all times will have been decisively settled to the satisfaction of all who live in heaven and on earth. The interests of the pure, true worship of the one living and true God at his spiritual temple will have been preserved for all time. These priceless things the war survivors on earth will appreciate more than all the material spoils that the slain enemies will leave behind in abundance: “and the wealth of all the nations round about will certainly be gathered, gold and silver and garments in excessive abundance.”​—Zechariah 14:14.

Chapter 22

An International Festival in Paradise

1. How will Jehovah’s worshipers on earth be affected at beholding him gain the victory on “that day”?

GLORIOUS in the annals of universal history will be the day when Jehovah’s Theocracy triumphs over all the hostile nations of the earth. Tingling from head to foot with joyful excitement will be all the safeguarded worshipers of Jehovah as they behold this universal Theocrat gain the victory of victories in the “war of the great day of God the Almighty” at Har–Magedon.​—Revelation 16:13-16.

2. (a) To what use will the material goods left behind after that victorious war be put? (b) What dying promise concerning the earth did Jesus make when he was dying a sacrificial death on earth?

² All the material goods that the war survivors will gather after the destruction of their international enemies will be put to use in the service of the God-King Jehovah. No wrecked war equipment will be preserved as relics. (Isaiah 2:2-4) It will be a time for construction, not for destruction. The literal earth will doubtless have suffered from the “military service” of the enemies of Jehovah’s Messianic kingdom. The selfish ruiners of the earth will themselves have