THEY have been called the most famous opening words ever written. “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” (Genesis 1:1) With that simple, majestic sentence, the Bible introduces us to the Person who is the central figure throughout the Holy Scriptures​—the almighty God, Jehovah. The Bible’s first verse reveals that God is the Creator of the vast physical universe, including the planet we live on. The verses that follow explain that in a series of long periods, figuratively called days, God went on to prepare our earthly home, bringing into existence all the wonders of our natural world.

The greatest of God’s earthly creations was man. Here was a creature made in the image of God​—able to reflect Jehovah’s own personal qualities, such as his love and wisdom. God made man out of the dust of the earth. God named him Adam, then placed him in a paradise​—the garden of Eden. God himself planted that garden, filling it with beautiful, fruitful trees.

God saw the need for man to have a mate. Using one of Adam’s ribs, God made a woman and brought her to the man as his wife, later named Eve. Elated, Adam burst into poetry, saying: “This is at last bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh.” God explained: “That is why a man will leave his father and his mother and he must stick to his wife and they must become one flesh.”​—Genesis 2:22-24; 3:20.

God gave Adam and Eve two commands. First, he directed them to cultivate and care for their earthly home and eventually fill it with their offspring. Second, he told them not to eat the fruit of just one tree in all that vast garden, “the tree of the knowledge of good and bad.” (Genesis 2:17) If they disobeyed, they would die. With those commands, God gave the man and the woman a way to show that they accepted him as their Ruler. Their obedience would also show their love and gratitude. They had every reason to accept his kindly rule. There was no flaw in those perfect humans. The Bible tells us: “God saw everything he had made and, look! it was very good.”​—Genesis 1:31.

​—Based on Genesis chapters 1 and 2.

LONG before creating humans, God created many invisible spirit creatures​—angels. In Eden, a rebellious angel, who came to be known as Satan the Devil, slyly endeavored to tempt Eve into eating the fruit of the one tree that God had ruled out.

Using a serpent, or snake, as a mouthpiece, Satan implied that God was withholding something desirable from the woman and her husband. The angel told Eve that she and her husband would not die if they ate the forbidden fruit. Satan thus accused God of lying to His human children. The Deceiver presented disobedience to God as an appealing course that would lead to enlightenment and freedom. But this was all a lie​—in fact, the first lie ever spoken on earth. The real point at issue involved God’s sovereignty, or supreme rulership​—whether God has the right to rule and whether he exercises it in a righteous way and in the best interests of his subjects.

Eve believed Satan’s lie. She began to desire the fruit, and then she actually ate some of it. Later she gave some to her husband, and he also ate it. Thus they became sinners. That seemingly simple act was actually an expression of rebellion. By deliberately choosing to disobey God’s command, Adam and Eve rejected the rule of the Creator who had given them everything, including perfect life.

God called the rebels to account for their actions. He foretold the coming of the promised Seed, or Deliverer, who would destroy Satan, the one represented by the serpent. God deferred the execution of the death sentence upon Adam and Eve for a time, thereby showing mercy to their unborn offspring. Those children would have a basis for hope because the One whom God would send would undo the tragic consequences set in motion by the rebellion in Eden. Just how God’s purpose concerning this future Savior would be fulfilled​—and who the sent-forth One would be—​was gradually revealed as Bible writing progressed.

God drove Adam and Eve out of Paradise. Sweat and toil would be required to eke out a living from the soil outside the garden of Eden. Eve then became pregnant and gave birth to Cain, the first child of Adam and Eve. The couple had other sons and daughters, including Abel and Seth, the forefather of Noah.

​—Based on Genesis chapters 3 to 5; Revelation 12:9.

AS MANKIND multiplied, sin and wickedness spread rapidly in the earth. A lone prophet named Enoch warned that God would one day destroy the ungodly. Still, evil prevailed and even worsened. Some angels rebelled against Jehovah by leaving their assigned places in heaven, assuming human form on earth, and greedily taking women as wives. Those unnatural unions produced hybrid offspring​—giant bullies called Nephilim who intensified the world’s violence and bloodshed. God was deeply hurt to see his earthly creation being ruined.

After Enoch’s death, one man stood out in that wicked world. His name was Noah. He and his family tried to do what was right in God’s eyes. When God decided to destroy the wicked people of that world, he wanted to protect Noah and earth’s animal creation. So God told him to build an ark​—a huge rectangular vessel. In it, Noah and his family would be preserved alive, along with numerous animal species, through a coming global flood. Noah obeyed God. During the decades that Noah spent building that ark, he was also “a preacher of righteousness.” (2 Peter 2:5) He warned people about the coming Flood, but they ignored him. The time came for Noah and his family to enter the ark with the animals. God shut the door of the ark behind them. The rain fell.

The rain came down in torrents for 40 days and 40 nights until the whole earth was submerged. The wicked were gone. Months later, as the waters receded, the ark came to rest on a mountain. By the time the ark’s passengers could emerge safely, they had spent a full year aboard. In thanksgiving, Noah presented an offering to Jehovah. God responded by assuring Noah and his family that He would never again bring a flood to wipe out all life on the surface of the earth. Jehovah provided the rainbow as a visible guarantee, a reminder of this comforting promise.

After the Flood, God also gave mankind some new commands. He granted them permission to eat the meat of animals. However, he prohibited the eating of blood. He also commanded Noah’s descendants to spread abroad in the earth, but some of them disobeyed. People united under a leader named Nimrod and began to build a great tower in the city of Babel, later called Babylon. Their aim was to defy God’s command about spreading throughout the earth. But God thwarted the rebels by confusing their one language and causing them to speak in various tongues. Unable to communicate, they abandoned the project and scattered.

​—Based on Genesis chapters 6 to 11; Jude 14, 15.

SOME 350 years had passed since the Flood of Noah’s day. The patriarch Abraham was living in the flourishing city of Ur in what is today called Iraq. Abraham was a man of outstanding faith. But now his faith was put to the test.

Jehovah told Abraham to leave the country of his birth and move to a foreign land, which turned out to be Canaan. Abraham obeyed without hesitation. He took along his household, including his wife, Sarah, and his nephew Lot, and after the long trip became a tent dweller in Canaan. In a covenant that He made with Abraham, Jehovah promised that He would make a great nation out of him, that all the families of the earth would be blessed by means of him, and that his offspring would possess the land of Canaan.

Abraham and Lot prospered, accumulating huge flocks of sheep and herds of cattle. Unselfishly, Abraham let Lot select whatever territory he wished. Lot chose the fertile district of the Jordan River and settled near the city of Sodom. The men of Sodom, however, were immoral​—gross sinners against Jehovah.

Jehovah God later reassured Abraham that his offspring would become as numerous as the stars of heaven. Abraham put faith in that promise. Yet, Abraham’s beloved wife, Sarah, remained childless. Then, when Abraham was 99 years old and Sarah was approaching 90, God told Abraham that he and Sarah would have a son. True to God’s word, Sarah gave birth to Isaac. Abraham had other children, but it would be through Isaac that the Deliverer promised in Eden would come.

Meanwhile, Lot and his family were living in Sodom, but righteous Lot did not become like the city’s immoral inhabitants. When Jehovah determined to execute judgment upon Sodom, he sent angels ahead to warn Lot of the impending destruction. The angels urged Lot and his family to flee Sodom and not to look back. God then made it rain fire and sulfur on Sodom and the nearby wicked city Gomorrah, destroying all their inhabitants. Lot and his two daughters escaped. But Lot’s wife looked back, perhaps with longing for the things she had left behind. For this disobedience, she paid with her life.

​—Based on Genesis 11:10–19:38.

JEHOVAH knew that the One dearest to him would have to suffer and die someday. The prophecy recorded at Genesis 3:15 hinted at that truth. Could God convey to mankind just how dearly that death would cost him? The Bible supplies a living illustration. God asked Abraham to sacrifice his beloved son Isaac.

Abraham had great faith. Remember, God had promised him that the foretold Deliverer, or Seed, would descend from Isaac. Trusting that God would resurrect Isaac if need be, Abraham was obediently going to sacrifice his own son. But an angel from God stopped Abraham just in time. Praising Abraham for his willingness to offer up what was most precious to him, God repeated His promises to the faithful patriarch.

Later, Isaac had two sons, Esau and Jacob. Unlike Esau, Jacob appreciated spiritual things and was rewarded. God changed Jacob’s name to Israel, and Israel’s 12 sons became the heads of the tribes of Israel. But how did that family turn into a great nation?

A chain of events was set in motion when most of those sons got jealous of their younger brother Joseph. They sold him as a slave, and he was taken off to Egypt. But God blessed that faithful and brave young man. Despite terrible hardships, Joseph eventually was singled out by Pharaoh, the Egyptian ruler, and given great authority. That was timely, for a famine caused Jacob to send some of his sons to Egypt to buy foodstuffs​—and Joseph, it turned out, was in charge of all the food! After a dramatic reunion with his repentant brothers, Joseph forgave them and arranged for the whole family to move to Egypt. They were given prime land, where they could continue to grow and prosper. Joseph understood that God had arranged matters in that way in order to fulfill His promises.

Aged Jacob lived out his days in Egypt, surrounded by his growing family. On his deathbed, he foretold that the promised Seed, or Deliverer, would be a powerful Ruler who would be born in the family line of his son Judah. Before his own death years later, Joseph prophesied that one day God would take Jacob’s family out of Egypt.

​—Based on Genesis chapters 20 to 50; Hebrews 11:17-22.

WOULD any human remain faithful to God if tested to the limit and if obedience seemed to bring no material benefits? That question was raised​—and answered—​in connection with a man named Job.

While the Israelites were still in Egypt, Job, a relative of Abraham, was living in what is now Arabia. Meanwhile, the angels in heaven gathered before God, and rebellious Satan was among them. Before the heavenly assembly, Jehovah expressed his confidence in his loyal servant Job. In fact, Jehovah said that no other human had integrity like that of Job. But Satan asserted that Job served God only because God had blessed and protected him. Satan claimed that if Job were stripped of everything he had, he would curse God.

God permitted Satan to deprive Job first of his wealth and children and then of his health. Unaware of Satan’s role in all of this, Job could not understand why God allowed him to experience these trials. Still, Job never turned against God.

Three false friends came to Job. In a series of speeches that fill many pages of the book of Job, the men wrongly tried to convince Job that God was punishing him for hidden sins. They even claimed that God neither finds pleasure in his servants nor puts trust in them. Job rejected their faulty reasoning. With confidence, Job declared that he would maintain his integrity down to death!

But Job made the mistake of becoming overly concerned with justifying himself. A younger man named Elihu, who had been listening to the entire debate, spoke up. Elihu reproved Job for failing to appreciate that the vindication of Jehovah God’s sovereignty is far more important than the vindication of any human. Elihu also strongly rebuked Job’s false friends.

Jehovah God then spoke to Job, correcting his thinking. Pointing to many marvels of creation, Jehovah gave Job a lesson in man’s littleness compared to God’s greatness. Job humbly accepted the correction from God. Jehovah, being “very tender in affection and merciful,” restored Job’s health, gave him double his previous wealth, and blessed him with ten children. (James 5:11) By keeping integrity to Jehovah while under severe trial, Job successfully answered Satan’s challenge that humans will not remain faithful to God if put to the test.

​—Based on the book of Job.

FOR many years, the sons of Israel lived in Egypt, prospering and multiplying. However, a new Pharaoh rose up. This ruler did not know Joseph. A vicious tyrant who feared the Israelites’ growing numbers, he turned them into slaves and ordered that all their newborn males be drowned in the Nile River. But one brave mother protected her infant son, hiding him in a basket among the reeds. Pharaoh’s daughter discovered the baby, named him Moses, and raised him among Egyptian royalty.

When Moses was 40 years old, he got into trouble defending an Israelite slave from an Egyptian taskmaster. Moses fled to a faraway land, where he lived in exile. When Moses was 80, Jehovah sent him back to Egypt to appear before Pharaoh and demand the release of God’s people.

Pharaoh flatly refused. So God struck Egypt with ten plagues. Each time that Moses appeared before Pharaoh to offer him an opportunity to avert the next plague, Pharaoh proved defiant, holding Moses and his God, Jehovah, in contempt. Finally, the tenth plague brought death to all the firstborn in the land​—except in families who obeyed Jehovah by marking their doorposts with the blood of a sacrificed lamb. God’s angel of destruction passed over those households. The Israelites thereafter commemorated this marvelous rescue by means of an annual celebration called the Passover.

Having lost his own firstborn son, Pharaoh ordered Moses and all the Israelites to leave Egypt. They immediately organized the Exodus. But Pharaoh changed his mind. He chased after them with many warriors and chariots. The Israelites appeared to be trapped at the shore of the Red Sea. Jehovah parted the Red Sea, allowing the Israelites to pass through on a dry seabed, between walls of water! When the Egyptians rushed in behind them, God let the waters come crashing down, drowning Pharaoh and his army.

Later, as the Israelites camped by Mount Sinai, Jehovah made a covenant with them. Using Moses as mediator, God gave Israel laws to provide guidance and protection in virtually every aspect of life. As long as Israel faithfully accepted God’s rule, Jehovah would be with them and would make that nation a blessing to others.

However, most of the Israelites showed a disappointing lack of faith in God. Jehovah therefore made that generation wander in the wilderness for 40 years. Then, Moses commissioned the upright man Joshua to succeed him. Finally, Israel was poised to enter the land that God had promised to Abraham.

​—Based on Exodus; Leviticus; Numbers; Deuteronomy; Psalm 136:10-15; Acts 7:17-36.

CENTURIES before Israel entered Canaan, Jehovah promised that land to Abraham’s descendants. Now under Joshua’s leadership, the Israelites were about to take possession of the Promised Land.

God had judged the Canaanites worthy of destruction. They had saturated the land with extremely degrading sexual practices as well as with wanton bloodshed. Therefore, the Canaanite cities conquered by the Israelites were to be completely destroyed.

Before entering the land, however, Joshua sent out two spies, who stayed in the city of Jericho with a woman named Rahab. She received the spies into her home and protected them even though she knew that they were Israelites. Rahab had faith in the God of the Israelites, having heard about Jehovah’s saving acts in behalf of his people. She made the spies swear to her that she and her household would be spared.

Later, when the Israelites entered Canaan and came against Jericho, Jehovah miraculously caused the collapse of Jericho’s walls. Joshua’s troops dashed in and destroyed the city, but they spared Rahab and her family. Then, in a swift six-year campaign, Joshua conquered large sections of the Promised Land. Afterward, the land was distributed to the tribes of Israel.

Near the end of his long career, Joshua called the people together. He reviewed with them Jehovah’s dealings with their forefathers and appealed to them to serve Jehovah. After Joshua and his close associates died, however, the Israelites left Jehovah to serve false gods. For some 300 years, the nation did not consistently obey Jehovah’s laws. During that time, Jehovah allowed Israel’s enemies, such as the Philistines, to oppress them. But when the Israelites called to Jehovah for aid, he raised up judges​—12 in all—​to save them.

The period of the Judges recounted in the book of Judges began with Othniel and ended with Samson, physically the strongest man who ever lived. The basic truth demonstrated over and over again in the thrilling account recorded in the Bible book of Judges is this: Obedience to Jehovah leads to blessings, disobedience to calamity.

​—Based on Joshua; Judges; Leviticus 18:24, 25.

AFTER the days of Samson, Samuel served as prophet and judge in Israel. The Israelites kept telling him that they wanted to be like other nations and have a human king over them. Although this request was an affront to Jehovah, he directed Samuel to comply. God selected a humble man named Saul to be king. In time, though, King Saul turned haughty and disobedient. Jehovah rejected him as king and told Samuel to appoint another​—a young man named David. It would be years, though, before David would become king.

Likely when still in his teens, David visited his brothers who were serving in Saul’s army. The whole army was terrified of one enemy warrior, a giant named Goliath, who kept taunting them and their God. Indignant, David accepted the giant’s challenge to meet in combat. Armed with only a sling and a few stones, the young man went out to meet his opponent, who was over nine feet (almost 3 m) tall. When Goliath mocked him, David replied that he was better armed than the giant, for David fought in the name of Jehovah God! David felled Goliath with a single stone and then beheaded him with the giant’s own sword. The Philistine army fled in terror.

At first, Saul was impressed with David’s courage and placed the young man over his army. But David’s successes made Saul bitterly jealous. David had to flee for his life and live as a fugitive for years. Still, David remained loyal to the king who was trying to kill him, reasoning that King Saul had been appointed by Jehovah God. Finally, Saul died in battle. Before long, David became king, as Jehovah had promised.

As king, David dearly wished to build a temple to Jehovah. However, Jehovah told David that one of his descendants would do so. That turned out to be David’s son Solomon. God rewarded David, though, by making a thrilling covenant with him: His family line would produce a kingly dynasty unlike any other. Ultimately, it would produce the Deliverer, or Seed, promised in Eden. That one would be the Messiah, meaning “Anointed One,” appointed by God. Jehovah promised that the Messiah would be the Ruler of a government, or Kingdom, that would last forever.

Deeply grateful, David gathered vast quantities of building materials and precious metals for the temple project. He also composed many inspired psalms. Near the end of his life, David acknowledged: “The spirit of Jehovah it was that spoke by me, and his word was upon my tongue.”​—2 Samuel 23:2.

​—Based on 1 Samuel; 2 Samuel; 1 Chronicles; Isaiah 9:7; Matthew 21:9; Luke 1:32; John 7:42.

WHAT would life be like if an entire nation and its ruler followed Jehovah as their Sovereign and obeyed His laws? The answer was demonstrated during the 40-year-reign of King Solomon.

Before David died, he appointed his son Solomon as his successor. In a dream, God invited Solomon to make a request. Solomon asked for wisdom and knowledge to judge the people fairly and wisely. Jehovah was pleased and gave Solomon a wise and understanding heart. Jehovah also promised him riches, glory, and long life if he remained obedient.

Solomon became famous for his wise judgments. In one case, two women argued over a baby boy, each claiming to be the mother. Solomon ordered that the baby be cut in two and that half be given to each woman. The first woman agreed, but the real mother at once pleaded that the child be given to the other woman. Solomon now saw clearly that the compassionate woman was the mother and gave the boy to her. Soon all Israel heard about this judicial decision, and the people recognized that the wisdom of God was within Solomon.

One of Solomon’s grandest achievements was the construction of Jehovah’s temple​—a magnificent structure in Jerusalem that would serve as a center of worship in Israel. At the temple’s inauguration, Solomon prayed: “Look! The heavens, yes, the heaven of the heavens, themselves cannot contain you; how much less, then, this house that I have built!”​—1 Kings 8:27.

Solomon’s reputation spread to other lands, even as far as Sheba, in Arabia. The queen of Sheba traveled to see Solomon’s glory and riches and to test the depth of his wisdom. The queen was so impressed with Solomon’s wisdom and the prosperity of Israel that she praised Jehovah for putting such a wise king on the throne. Indeed, with Jehovah’s blessing, Solomon’s rule was the most prosperous and peaceful in the history of ancient Israel.

Sadly, Solomon failed to continue acting in harmony with Jehovah’s wisdom. Ignoring God’s command, he married hundreds of women, including many who worshipped foreign gods. Gradually his wives inclined his heart away from Jehovah to the worship of idols. Jehovah told Solomon that part of the kingdom would be ripped away from him. Only a portion would remain with his family, God said, for the sake of Solomon’s father, David. Despite Solomon’s defection, Jehovah remained loyal to his Kingdom covenant with David.

​—Based on 1 Kings chapters 1 to 11; 2 Chronicles chapters 1 to 9; Deuteronomy 17:17.

THE largest book in the Bible is a compilation of sacred songs. The entire book was about 1,000 years in the making. The book of Psalms contains some of the most profound and moving expressions of faith ever put in writing. A wide array of human emotion is represented here, from joy, praise, and thanksgiving to grief, sorrow, and repentance. It is clear that the psalmists had a trusting, intimate relationship with God. Consider some of the themes developed in these lyrical works.

Jehovah is the rightful Sovereign, worthy of worship and praise. “You, whose name is Jehovah, you alone are the Most High over all the earth,” we read at Psalm 83:18. Several psalms praise Jehovah for his works of creation, such as the starry heavens, the wonders of life on earth, and the marvels of the human body. (Psalms 8, 19, 139, 148) Others glorify Jehovah as the God who acts to save and protect those loyal to him. (Psalms 18, 97, 138) Still others exalt him as the God of justice, who brings relief to the oppressed and punishment to the wicked.​—Psalms 11, 68, 146.

Jehovah brings help and comfort to those who love him. Perhaps the most famous psalm is the 23rd, in which David describes Jehovah as a loving Shepherd, who guides, protects, and cares for his sheep. Psalm 65:2 reminds God’s worshippers that Jehovah is the “Hearer of prayer.” Many who have fallen into serious wrongdoing have found great comfort in Psalms 39 and 51, where David puts his repentance over grave errors into heartfelt words and expresses his faith in Jehovah’s forgiveness. Psalm 55:22 contains an exhortation to trust in Jehovah and to put all personal burdens on Him.

Jehovah will change the world through the Kingdom of the Messiah. A number of passages in the Psalms clearly apply to the Messiah, the foretold King. Psalm 2 prophesies that this Ruler will destroy the wicked nations, who oppose him. Psalm 72 reveals that this King will end hunger, injustice, and oppression. According to Psalm 46:9, through the Messiah’s Kingdom, God will end warfare and even destroy all weapons of war. In Psalm 37, we read that the wicked will be done away with, whereas righteous people will live on earth forever, enjoying global peace and harmony.

​—Based on the book of Psalms.

IS Jehovah a wise Ruler? One decisive way to answer that question is to consider the counsel he gives. Does it work? Does applying it make life better and more meaningful? Wise King Solomon wrote hundreds of proverbs. These touch on virtually every aspect of life. Consider some examples.

Trusting in God. Trust is key to a good relationship with Jehovah. Solomon wrote: “Trust in Jehovah with all your heart and do not lean upon your own understanding. In all your ways take notice of him, and he himself will make your paths straight.” (Proverbs 3:5, 6) Trusting in God by seeking his guidance and obeying him brings profound meaning to life. Such a course enables a human to make God’s heart rejoice and gives Jehovah a reply to the issues raised by His adversary, Satan.​—Proverbs 27:11.

Dealing wisely with others. God’s counsel for husbands, wives, and children is more timely today than ever. “Rejoice with the wife of your youth,” God advises the husband, directing that he remain faithful to his wife. (Proverbs 5:18-20) Married women find in the book of Proverbs a glowing description of a capable wife who wins the admiration of her husband and children. (Proverbs, chapter 31) And children find direction to obey their parents. (Proverbs 6:20) This book also shows that friendships are vital, as isolation breeds selfishness. (Proverbs 18:1) Friends can influence us for good or for bad, so we need to choose them wisely.​—Proverbs 13:20; 17:17.

Dealing wisely with oneself. The book of Proverbs contains priceless counsel on avoiding alcohol abuse, cultivating healthful emotions and combating destructive ones, and being an industrious worker. (Proverbs 6:6; 14:30; 20:1) It warns that trusting in human judgment apart from the counsel of God leads to disaster. (Proverbs 14:12) It urges us to protect the inner self, the heart, against corrupting influences, reminding us that “out of [the heart] are the sources of life.”​—Proverbs 4:23.

Millions of people the world over have found that living by such counsel makes for a better life. As a result, they have ample reason to accept Jehovah as their Ruler.

​—Based on the book of Proverbs.

JUST as Jehovah had foretold, Israel was divided after Solomon defected from pure worship. His son and successor, Rehoboam, was harsh. In response, ten of Israel’s tribes revolted and formed the northern kingdom of Israel. Two tribes remained loyal to the king on David’s throne in Jerusalem, forming the southern kingdom of Judah.

Both kingdoms had a tumultuous history, largely on account of faithless and disobedient kings. Israel fared even worse than Judah, for its kings promoted false worship from the start. Despite the powerful works of such prophets as Elijah and Elisha​—both of whom even resurrected the dead—​Israel kept reverting to a wicked course. Finally, God allowed the northern kingdom to be destroyed by Assyria.

Judah lasted a little more than a century longer than Israel, but it too faced divine punishment. Only a few Judean kings responded to the warnings of God’s prophets and tried to lead the nation back to Jehovah. King Josiah, for example, began to cleanse Judah of false worship and restored Jehovah’s temple. When an original copy of God’s Law given through Moses was found, Josiah was deeply moved and therefore intensified his campaign of reform.

Sadly, though, Josiah’s successors did not follow that king’s good example. Jehovah thus allowed the nation of Babylon to conquer Judah, destroying Jerusalem and its temple. The survivors were taken into exile in Babylon. God foretold that the exile would last 70 years. Judah lay desolate for all that time​—until, as promised, the nation was allowed to return to its own soil.

However, no more kings in David’s line would rule until the reign of the promised Deliverer, the foretold Messiah. Most of the kings who had sat on David’s throne in Jerusalem proved that imperfect humans are not qualified to rule. Only the Messiah would be truly qualified. Jehovah thus said to the last of those Davidic kings: “Lift off the crown. . . . It will certainly become no one’s until he comes who has the legal right, and I must give it to him.”​—Ezekiel 21:26, 27.

​—Based on 1 Kings; 2 Kings; 2 Chronicles chapters 10 to 36; Jeremiah 25:8-11.

DURING the period of the kings of Israel and Judah, a special group of men came to the fore​—the prophets. These were men of extraordinary faith and courage who delivered God’s pronouncements. Consider four important themes developed by God’s prophets.

1. The destruction of Jerusalem. Long in advance, God’s prophets​—Isaiah and Jeremiah in particular—​began warning that Jerusalem would be destroyed and abandoned. In vivid terms, they revealed why the city had incurred God’s anger. Her claim to represent Jehovah was belied by false religious practices, corruption, and violence.​—2 Kings 21:10-15; Isaiah 3:1-8, 16-26; Jeremiah 2:1–3:13.

2. The restoration of pure worship. After 70 years in exile, God’s people would be freed from Babylon. They would return to their desolate homeland and rebuild the temple of Jehovah in Jerusalem. (Jeremiah 46:27; Amos 9:13-15) About 200 years in advance, Isaiah foretold the name of the conqueror​—Cyrus—​who would defeat Babylon and allow God’s people to restore pure worship. Isaiah even detailed Cyrus’ unique battle strategy.​—Isaiah 44:24–45:3.

3. The Messiah’s arrival and his experiences. The Messiah would be born in the town of Bethlehem. (Micah 5:2) He would be humble, presenting himself in Jerusalem, riding upon an ass. (Zechariah 9:9) Though gentle and kind, he would be unpopular, and many would reject him. (Isaiah 42:1-3; 53:1, 3) He would experience a cruel death. Would his life then be over for all time? No, for his sacrifice was to make possible the forgiveness of sins for many. (Isaiah 53:4, 5, 9-12) Only his resurrection could accomplish that.

4. The reign of the Messiah over the earth. Imperfect humans are really unable to govern themselves peacefully, but the Messianic King would be called Prince of Peace. (Isaiah 9:6, 7; Jeremiah 10:23) Under his rule, all humans would be at peace with one another and even with all the animal creation. (Isaiah 11:3-7) Sickness would vanish. (Isaiah 33:24) Even death would be swallowed up forever. (Isaiah 25:8) During the Messiah’s reign, people who had died would be resurrected to life on earth.​—Daniel 12:13.

​—Based on the books of Isaiah, Jeremiah, Daniel, Amos, Micah, and Zechariah.

DANIEL, a youth of remarkable integrity, was taken into exile in Babylon before Jerusalem was destroyed. He and some other Jews​—exiles from the vanquished kingdom of Judah—​were granted a measure of freedom by their captors. During his long life in Babylon, Daniel was greatly blessed by God, even escaping death in a lions’ pit and receiving visions that allowed him to peer far into the future. Daniel’s most important prophecies focused on the Messiah and His rule.

Daniel learns when the Messiah would arrive. Daniel was told when God’s people could expect the arrival of “Messiah the Leader”​—69 weeks of years after the command to restore and rebuild the walls of Jerusalem. A normal week consists of seven days; a week of years consists of seven years. That command was issued long after Daniel’s time, that is, in 455 B.C.E. Starting then, the 69 “weeks” ran for 483 years, ending in the year 29 C.E. In the following part of this publication, we will see what happened in that year. Daniel also foresaw that the Messiah would be “cut off,” or executed, for the atonement of sin.​—Daniel 9:24-26.

The Messiah would become King in heaven. In a rare vision of heaven itself, Daniel saw the Messiah, referred to as “someone like a son of man,” approach the throne of Jehovah himself. Jehovah conferred upon him “rulership and dignity and kingdom.” That Kingdom would last forever. Daniel learned another thrilling detail about the Messianic Kingdom​—the King would share his rulership with others, a group referred to as “the holy ones of the Supreme One.”​—Daniel 7:13, 14, 27.

The Kingdom will destroy the governments of this world. God granted Daniel the ability to interpret a dream that baffled Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon. The king had seen a giant image with a head of gold, breasts and arms of silver, belly and thighs of copper, legs of iron, and feet of iron mixed with clay. A stone cut from a mountain struck the fragile feet and crushed the image to powder. Daniel explained that the parts of the image represented a long succession of world powers, starting with Babylon as the head of gold. Daniel foresaw that in the time of the final ruling power of this wicked world, God’s Kingdom would act. It would crush all the governments of this world. Then it would rule forever.​—Daniel, chapter 2.

As a very old man, Daniel lived to see the fall of Babylon. King Cyrus overthrew the city just as the prophets had foretold. Not long afterward, the Jews were at last freed from their exile​—right on time, after the foretold 70-year desolation of their homeland. Under the guidance of faithful governors, priests, and prophets, the Jews eventually rebuilt Jerusalem and restored the temple of Jehovah. What would happen, though, after the 483 years ran their course?

​—Based on the book of Daniel.

1. “In the beginning . . .”

2. 4026 B.C.E. Adam’s creation

3. 3096 B.C.E. Death of Adam

4. 2370 B.C.E. Floodwaters fall

5. 2018 B.C.E. Abraham born

6. 1943 B.C.E. Abrahamic covenant

7. 1750 B.C.E. Joseph sold as a slave

8. before 1613 B.C.E. Job’s trial

9. 1513 B.C.E. Exodus from Egypt

10. 1473 B.C.E. Israel enters Canaan under Joshua

11. 1467 B.C.E. Major conquest of Canaan completed

12. 1117 B.C.E. Saul anointed as king

13. 1070 B.C.E. God makes Kingdom promise to David

14. 1037 B.C.E. Solomon becomes king

15. 1027 B.C.E. Temple in Jerusalem completed

16. circa 1020 B.C.E. Song of Solomon completed

17. 997 B.C.E. Israel is divided into two kingdoms

18. circa 717 B.C.E. Compiling of Proverbs completed

19. 607 B.C.E. Jerusalem destroyed; exile in Babylon begins

20. 539 B.C.E. Babylon falls to the conqueror Cyrus

21. 537 B.C.E. Jewish exiles return to Jerusalem

22. 455 B.C.E. Jerusalem’s walls rebuilt; 69 weeks of years begin

23. After 443 B.C.E. Malachi completes his prophetic book