the evil that has been brought on through the sin of Adam and under which all mankind was subjected, not of its own will, will be absolutely removed so that it will not have brought permanent damage. (Rom. 8:20) In God’s judgment of mankind, each one will be judged, not according to the condemnation he received from Adam, but individually, according to his deeds. (Rev. 20:13) The ransom sacrifice of Christ and his priestly services prove stronger, therefore, than the sin of Adam. All have inherited sin and death from Adam and many have died, but in the final result it will be found that no one will be deprived of life because of what Adam did. If anyone does not live in God’s righteous new order, it will be because he does not want righteousness. Of his own choice he follows unrighteousness and comes to be in the annihilated, nonexistent condition of the “lake of fire and sulphur.”​—1 John 3:8.

Should we, then, look forward to seeing our dead loved ones? From the proper, Bible-based viewpoint we can gladly say, “Yes,” in every respect. Since such loving-kindness and mercy are extended by God to mankind, does this mean it makes no difference how we live today, because the above-described judgment is coming in the very near future? No, it does not. If we follow that reasoning we will find ourselves to be willful sinners against God and fighting against him at the time that he annihilates all his earthly enemies along with the “wild beast” and “false prophet” at Armageddon. Moreover, the greater the effort that we make now to conform our lives to God’s eternal principles and to make over our personalities to be in harmony with his Word of truth, the more rapid will be our progress in the righteous new order and the greater our opportunity to help others. This will include our loved ones who will come back and whom we can assist to make progress on the pathway to life. Let us, then, equip ourselves in full, helping as many as possible now to be of that “great crowd” who survive Armageddon and then having the indescribable joy of being part of God’s reception organization who will welcome back from the dead our loved ones and others. We will have a share in being educators, aiding them to walk upward on the road to everlasting life and also sharing in the beautifying of the earth as a paradise, to the praise of the eternal King, Jehovah God.

Preserving Our Possession of Christian Peace

TRULY pleasant is the very sound of the word “peace”! It suggests freedom from fear, calmness and tranquillity. There is very little peace in the world today, but, true to Jehovah’s promise, his people do have peace. “My people must dwell in a peaceful abiding place,” he foretold.​—Isa. 32:18.a

This is as it should be. Peace should pervade every Christian personality, every Christian home, every Christian congregation, for is not Jehovah the “God of peace,” and his Son the “Prince of Peace”? And are not Christ’s followers sent forth as peace messengers?​—Phil. 4:9; Isa. 9:6; Eph. 6:14, 15.

This peace that we as Jehovah’s Christian witnesses are to preserve as our possession is a unique peace. It is a peace “that excels all thought.” It is not dependent upon environment, nor is it peace at the price of compromise. It is always based on righteousness and can be acquired only by getting to be at peace with Jehovah God through dedication and baptism and then by living in harmony with God’s righteous principles, so as to have God’s goodwill.​—Phil. 4:7; Luke 2:14.