sheep being effaced he will give no attention. The young one he will not seek, and the broken sheep he will not heal. The one stationing herself he will not supply with food, and the flesh of the fat one he will eat, and the hoofs of the sheep he will tear off. Woe to my valueless shepherd, who is leaving the flock! A sword will be upon his arm and upon his right eye. His own arm will without fail dry up, and his own right eye will without fail grow dim.’”​—Zechariah 11:15-17.

54. The conditions in the nations today prove that the people have what kind of “shepherds,” and why have such leaders been allowed to rise up?

⁵⁴ Are not the people today, even those of Christendom, not to speak of those of heathendom, like sheep effaced or lost out of the picture, broken and unhealed, hungry or threatened with world famine, fed upon by corrupt, graft-taking, parasitical valueless shepherds, who devour them even to their “hoofs” or who lead them over ways so rough as to tear their “hoofs”? The conditions in the nations, both so-called Christian and pagan, give eloquent answer to that question. How much longer can the “sheep” keep going? But this is the consequence of refusing Jehovah’s Messianic Shepherd. Since they have chosen it that way, he has let a useless, valueless, hurtful shepherd class rise up in the land even of Christendom.

55. Why did Zechariah, though taking for himself the implements of a useless shepherd, not suffer the woe that Jehovah pronounced against a valueless shepherd of that kind?

⁵⁵ The prophet Zechariah was told to illustrate the rising up of such a “useless shepherd” class in our time, as well as in the time of Jesus Christ and his apostles in the first century C.E. Zechariah did not himself become such a useless, foolish shepherd; he was merely told to take the implements or equipment of a shepherd and picture the presence and faulty conduct of such kind of shepherd. Consequently, Zechariah did not suffer the woe that Jehovah pronounced upon such a delinquent, valueless, heartless shepherd.

56. How has a “sword” been upon the “arm” and the “right eye” of such a “valueless shepherd” class?

⁵⁶ The whole world of mankind may expect no relief or deliverance from such governmental shepherds of human choice and appointment. Jehovah’s executional sword of authority is against such shepherd rulers, who themselves have long borne the “sword” of executional power. (Romans 13:4; Acts 12:1, 2) Because of not having Jehovah’s blessing in this their “time of the end,” their “arm” of power and ability is already withering up; their “right eye,” their best eye for discerning remedies and for governmental oversight, grows dimmer and dimmer. But in the world’s coming “great tribulation” Jehovah will destroy that “useless shepherd” class, eyes, arms and all.

Chapter 19

The Kingdom Withstands International Assault

1. By what force uncontrolled by scientists has the pronouncement from beyond outer space been communicated to us, being made available to most of us also by what means?

INTERNATIONAL communications​—by cablegram, by telegram, by telephone, by radio, by television—​have carried the pronouncements of shepherdlike rulers to the ends of the earth. The seeming importance of such pronouncements made them deserving of such widespread newscasting. But, by a force that the scientists of this twentieth century have been unable to harness, a pronouncement of the highest importance has been communicated from beyond outer space to our earth. That high rating of this pronouncement is not too high, for it is the pronouncement of the Creator of earth and heaven, and it has been communicated by means of his invisible active force, namely, his holy spirit. Also, by means of hundreds of millions of printed copies of