the time of the destruction of Jerusalem and the desolation of its domain until the restoration. It says:

“He [Nebuchadnezzar] proceeded to burn the house of the true God and pull down the wall of Jerusalem; and all its dwelling towers they burned with fire and also all its desirable articles, so as to cause ruin. Furthermore, he carried off those remaining from the sword captive to Babylon, and they came to be servants to him and his sons until the royalty of Persia began to reign; to fulfill Jehovah’s word by the mouth of Jeremiah, until the land had paid off its sabbaths. All the days of lying desolated it kept sabbath, to fulfill seventy years.”

Counting back seventy years from the time the Israelites arrived back in their cities, that is, in 537 B.C.E., brings us to 607 B.C.E. It was in that year, therefore, that Jerusalem, the seat of God’s government in a representative sense, began to be trampled on by Gentile nations.

THE END OF THE “SEVEN TIMES”

Jesus Christ referred to this trampling on Jerusalem when he said to his disciples: “Jerusalem will be trampled on by the nations, until the appointed times of the nations are fulfilled.” (Luke 21:24) Those “appointed times” were to end 2,520 years after 607 B.C.E. This would be in the year 1914 C.E. Did the trampling on Jerusalem cease then?

True, the earthly city of Jerusalem did not witness the restoration of a king in the royal line of David in 1914 C.E. But such a thing was not to be expected. Why not? The earthly city of Jerusalem no longer had any holy significance from God’s viewpoint. While on earth, Jesus Christ stated: “Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the killer of the prophets and stoner of those sent forth to her​—how often I wanted to gather your children together in the manner that a hen gathers her brood of chicks under her wings, but you people did not want it! Look! Your house is abandoned to you.” (Luke 13:34, 35) Moreover, the kingdom in the hands of Jesus Christ is not an earthly government with Jerusalem or any other city as its capital. It is a heavenly kingdom.

Hence, it was in the invisible heavens that the year 1914 C.E. witnessed the fulfillment of Revelation 11:15: “The kingdom of the world did become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he will rule as king forever and ever.” What Jerusalem represented, that is, the Messianic government ruling with divine approval, was then no longer being trampled on. Once again there was a king of the Davidic dynasty who, by divine appointment, exercised rulership over the affairs of mankind. The visible events that have taken place here on earth in fulfillment of Bible prophecy since 1914 C.E. prove that this is the case.

One of these prophecies is found in the sixth chapter of the Bible book of Revelation 6. There the giving of royal authority to Jesus Christ and the events following it are described in symbolic terms.

Of Jesus’ receiving the kingship the account says: “Look! a white horse; and the one seated upon it had a bow; and a crown was given him, and he went forth conquering and to complete his conquest.” (Revelation 6:2) Later on, the book of Revelation unmistakably identifies the rider on that horse, saying: “Look! a white horse. And the one seated upon it is called Faithful and True, and he judges and carries on war in righteousness. . . . And upon his outer garment, even upon his thigh, he has a name written, King of kings and Lord of lords.”​—Revelation 19:11-16.

As to what would happen here on earth after Jesus’ receiving the “crown” of active kingship over the world of mankind, Revelation chapter 6 continues:

“Another came forth, a fiery-colored horse; and to the one seated upon it there was granted to take peace away from the earth so that they should slaughter one another; and a great sword was given him. And when he opened the third seal, I heard the third living creature say: ‘Come!’ And I saw, and, look! a black horse; and the one seated upon it had a pair of scales in his hand. . . . And when he opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth living creature say: ‘Come!’ And I saw, and, look! a pale horse; and the one seated upon it had the name Death. And Hades was closely following him. And authority was given them over the fourth part of the earth, to kill with a long sword and with food shortage and with deadly plague and by the wild beasts of the earth.”​—Re 6 Vss. 4-8.

Have not these words been fulfilled? Did not the sword of global warfare rage from 1914 onward? Indeed! World War I witnessed the slaughter of humans on a scale never known before. Over nine million combatants died from wounds, disease and other causes. Civilian deaths directly or indirectly resulting from the war also ran into the millions. The second world war snuffed out an even greater number of lives. It claimed an estimated fifty-five million civilians and combatants.

Did not food shortage, like a black horse, stalk through the earth? Yes, in many parts of Europe there was famine during and after the World War I period. In Russia millions died. After the second world war came what The World Book Encyclopedia (1973) describes as “the greatest world-wide shortage of food in history.” And today the grim fact is that one out of every three people on earth is slowly starving or suffering from malnutrition.

Deadly plague also took its toll. In a matter of months, during 1918-1919, the Spanish influenza epidemic alone killed about 20,000,000. No single disaster had ever before caused such a mammoth destruction of life among mankind.

Truly these things have been too big to escape notice. Says Joseph Carter, in his book 1918 Year of Crisis, Year of Change: “In that autumn [of 1918], horror was piled on horror, for three of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse​—war, famine, and pestilence—​were indeed abroad.” To this day the symbolic horsemen have not stopped their ride.

Thus there exists visible evidence that in 1914 C.E. the restraining bands were removed from the symbolic tree stump of Nebuchadnezzar’s dream. Jehovah God began exercising authority through the kingdom of his Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. But why did this not improve conditions on earth? Why has the time of Christ’s being given ruling authority over mankind been associated with trouble?

This is because Satan the Devil is against God’s kingdom by Christ. He fought against it at the time of its being given authority over mankind. But he lost the battle and was ousted along with his demons from the holy heavens. Enraged, he and his demons are stirring up all the trouble they can among mankind to bring everyone and everything to ruin. That is why, after describing the war in heaven and its outcome, the Bible account continues: “Be glad, you heavens and you who reside in them! Woe for the earth and for the sea, because the Devil has come down to you, having great anger, knowing he has a short period of time.”​—Revelation 12:7-12.

How short is that period of time remaining to the Kingdom’s adversary? Jesus Christ revealed that the time of his coming in Kingdom glory and the removal of the ungodly system of things would fall within the lifetime of one generation of people. He said: “Truly I say to you that this generation will by no means pass away until all these things occur.”​—Matthew 24:3-42.

Hence, some of the generation alive in 1914 C.E. must be among the people to witness Jesus’ completing his conquest and taking full control of earth’s affairs. That also means that many now living have the opportunity never to die. How so?

WHY MANY NOW LIVING WILL NOT EXPERIENCE DEATH

In completing his conquest, Jesus Christ as king will take action only against those who refuse to submit to his rulership. When comforting fellow believers who were suffering persecution, the inspired apostle Paul wrote of this, saying: “It is righteous on God’s part to repay tribulation to those who make tribulation for you, but, to you who suffer tribulation, relief along with us at the revelation of the Lord Jesus from heaven with his powerful angels in a flaming fire, as he brings vengeance upon those who do not know God and those who do not obey the good news about our Lord Jesus. These very ones will undergo the judicial punishment of everlasting destruction from before the Lord and from the glory of his strength.”​—2 Thessalonians 1:6-9.

Certainly not all persons refuse to “know” or recognize God’s authority in their lives. Not all are disobedient to the ‘good news about Jesus Christ.’ Though few, when compared with the world’s population, there is a body of Christians who are striving hard to prove themselves to be devoted servants of God and loyal disciples of Jesus Christ. Those whom the day of divine execution finds exclusively devoted to Jehovah God can rest assured that they will not be swept away by that judgment. The Bible says:

“These are the ones that come out of the great tribulation, and they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. That is why they are before the throne of God; and they are rendering him sacred service day and night in his temple; and the One seated on the throne will spread his tent over them. They will hunger no more nor thirst anymore, neither will the sun beat down upon them nor any scorching heat, because the Lamb, who is in the midst of the throne, will shepherd them, and will guide them to fountains of waters of life. And God will wipe out every tear from their eyes.”​—Revelation 7:14-17.

The prospect before the great crowd of “tribulation” survivors is, not death, but life. The “Lamb,” that is, the Lord Jesus Christ, will be guiding them to “fountains of waters of life.” This is not life for merely seventy or eighty years, but forever. He will be applying to them the benefits of his sin-atoning sacrifice, liberating them from sin and its death-dealing effects. As they obediently respond to his help, they will attain to human perfection, with no need to die.

There will be no interference from Satan and his demonic horde to hinder their progress. After the “great tribulation” has brought an end to the earthly wicked system of things, Satan will be abyssed for a thousand years. The Bible’s symbolic description of this event reads: “I saw an angel coming down out of heaven with the key of the abyss and a great chain in his hand. And he seized the dragon, the original serpent, who is the Devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years. And he hurled him into the abyss and shut it and sealed it over him, that he might not mislead the nations.” (Revelation 20:1-3) Thus, as if dead, Satan and his demons will be in no position to cause trouble for humankind.

The Bible clearly pinpoints the generation alive in 1914 C.E. as the one that will yet witness the ushering in of Kingdom rule free from Satanic interference. Hence, many living today will have the opportunity never to die. They will survive the destruction of the present ungodly system and thereafter gradually be freed from sin and brought to human perfection. As sinless humans they will then be exempt from sin’s wages​—death.​—Romans 6:23.

This makes it urgent for you to place yourself on the side of the King Jesus Christ, if you have not already done so, and to live now as one of his loyal subjects. That is what Jehovah’s Christian witnesses are endeavoring to do, and they are eager to assist others to do the same.

Chapter 19

Billions Now Dead Will Soon Live Again

THE Kingdom administration in the hands of Jesus Christ and his 144,000 associate rulers will indeed bestow grand blessings upon the survivors of the “great tribulation.” At that time the damaging effects of Adam’s plunging himself and his unborn offspring into sin will not be recalled in such a way as to be mentally and emotionally painful. The inspired words of the prophet Isaiah promise: “The former things will not be called to mind, neither will they come up into the heart.”​—Isaiah 65:17.

For that to be the case, the pain and sorrow resulting from the death-dealing effects of sin must be completely undone. This would include raising to life billions of people now dead. Why?

Well, if you were to survive the “great tribulation,” would you be truly happy knowing that dear friends and relatives who had died in years