1964_Peace Among Men of Good Will or Armageddon-Which (Pokój ludziom dobrej woli czy Armagedon).docx

COPYRIGHT, 1964
by
WATCH TOWER BIBLE & TRACT SOCIETY
OF PENNSYLVANIA
 

Published by
WATCHTOWER BIBLE AND TRACT SOCIETY
OF NEW YORK, INC.
INTERNATIONAL BIBLE STUDENTS ASSOCIATION
Brooklyn, New York, U.S.A.
 

Unless otherwise indicated, Scripture quotations are
from the New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures,
1961 edition.

Made in the United States of America

"Peace Among Men
of Good Will"
or Armageddon—Which?

ARE you a man or woman of goodwill? If you are, then you are one of those about whom an army of heavenly angels spoke in unison, almost two thousand years ago. Why did those angels appear and speak? Because an event had occurred that will yet result in eternal peace to you right here on this earth that is now menaced with a third world war.

2 The event was the birth of a baby boy in the Middle East. What happened on that occasion is no fairy tale, fable or myth, but it was witnessed by a number of hardworking men in the hill country. It was proved to be true by a medical doctor who, in his "statement of the facts that are given full credence among us," says that he had "traced all things from the start with accuracy, to write them in logical order . . . , that you may know fully the certainty of the things that you have been taught orally." The writer was Doctor Luke. He wrote more than nineteen centuries ago and his statement has been preserved in thousands of

1. Why is it interesting now to identify oneself as among the "men of good will"?
2. What was this important event, and why can we take very seriously today what Doctor Luke wrote about it?

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handwritten copies in a number of ancient languages till the invention of printing in the fifteenth century. You can therefore take very seriously today what the angels said about you as a person of goodwill so long ago. — Luke, chapter one, verses one to four.

3 In medical history the birth of this baby boy is most important, for it is the only birth on record of a child from a virgin girl. The conception of the child in her was therefore from no man but was from a heavenly father. If this had not actually been the case, the angels of heaven would not have interested themselves in the child's birth. If it had been an illegitimate baby whose human father kept himself hidden in shame so as to shirk his responsibility, the holy angels would not have debased themselves to bear witness to its birth. There would be no reason to rejoice over the birth of such an unwanted boy, from whom no good could come to all mankind. In proof that the boy's birth was a miraculous, honorable, beneficial one from a clean virgin, the army of heavenly angels appeared to men and made known who the father of the newborn boy was. The angels gave glory to God, and thus they revealed the heavenly Father of the remarkable baby.

4 At that time the Roman Empire was holding down the peace in the Middle East. The Arabs had not yet become Mohammedans. In the Roman Province of Judea the boy had been born in the city of Bethlehem, and because of the crowded housing conditions in the city his mother Mary

3. Why was the birth of that boy important in medical history, and how was the fatherhood of that boy publicly witnessed to?
4. Where and under what local circumstances was the boy born, and what was the season of the year?

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had to lay him in a stable manger. The time was about the middle of the Jewish month of Tishri, or about October the first, a season of the year when people could turn out for tax registration and when shepherds could be out in the fields all night to look after their sheep. Doctor Luke collected interesting details of what then occurred. For the benefit of all "men of good will" he writes (Luke 2:8-20, New World Translation):

5 "There were also in that same country shepherds living out of doors and keeping watches in the night over their flocks. And suddenly Jehovah's angel stood by them, and Jehovah's glory gleamed around them, and they became very fearful. But the angel said to them: 'Have no fear, for, look! I am declaring to you good news of a great joy that all the people will have, because there was born to you today a Savior, who is Christ the Lord, in David's city. And this is a sign for you: you will find an infant bound in cloth bands and lying in a manger.' And suddenly there came to be with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host, praising God and saying: 'Glory in the heights above to God, and upon earth peace among men of good will.' So when the angels had departed from them into heaven, the shepherds began saying to one another: 'Let us by all means go clear to Bethlehem and see this thing that has taken place, which Jehovah has made known to us.' And they went with haste and found Mary as well as Joseph, and the infant lying in the manger.

6 "When they saw it, they made known the saying that had been spoken to them concerning this

5, 6. (a) What information did angels bring, and to whom? (b) How did these become eyewitnesses of the birth, with what effect on them?

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young child. And all that heard marveled over the things told them by the shepherds, but Mary began to preserve all these sayings, drawing conclusions in her heart. Then the shepherds went back, glorifying and praising God for all the things they heard and saw, just as these had been told them."

7 At that time, almost two thousand years ago, the angels gave glory in the heights above to God as the Most High or Supreme One. The faithful shepherds became eyewitnesses and also gave glory to God for what he was doing in behalf of mankind by sending the promised Messiah or Christ the Lord, the royal descendant of King David, for Mary was a descendant of David. So glory in the heights above to God was not lacking at that time.

8 But what about the 'peace on earth'? Certainly those shepherds were "men of good will," and so were Joseph and his wife Mary. Likewise, the old man Simeon and the old prophetess Anna, for they both saw the baby Jesus when Joseph and Mary brought him into the temple of Jerusalem on the fortieth day from his birth in Bethlehem. Both of those old persons thanked God for what he was doing. There was peace among all these persons as "men of good will." But the king of Jerusalem was no man of goodwill. He was, by Rome's appointment, Herod the Great, an Edomite. So he had no peace, but tried to destroy the young child Jesus when about two years old. Shortly afterward King Herod died of a loathsome disease, but Jesus escaped and grew up to be "Christ the Lord." — Luke 2:25-40; Matt. 2:1-23.

7. In harmony with what the angels said back there, what was not lacking at that time?
8. What individuals enjoyed the 'peace on earth' then, as shown by the happenings back there?

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A QUESTION FOR TODAY

9 "Upon earth peace among men of good will" ' — that has been a famous quotation for the past nineteen hundred years. But what has been its effect upon the world of mankind? As far as international affairs are concerned, the years of world peace have been few since angels first said those soothing words. In this respect the world situation was not changed by the birth of Jesus in Bethlehem. He himself stirred up the opposition of the religious leaders of his country, who finally had him put to death by the Roman Governor Pontius Pilate in the year 33 C.E. Centuries later many persons claimed to be his followers but they had great religious disputes with one another. Those who pretended to be Christians fought bloody wars with the Mohammedans, and also killed off thousands of Jews. These professed Christians even fought fanatical wars among themselves, not only over religious disagreements, but more often over politics of this world. These so-called Christians have been anything but peaceful; they have not been a real force for world peace.

10 Investigators of wars have made a survey of world peace and war during the long period from 1481 before our Common Era down to the end of World War II. In that year of 1481 B.C.E. the militarized nation of Egypt was the dominant world power. At that time the prophet Moses and his people were away out in the wilderness of the

9. During the centuries since then, did the quoting of the words "Upon earth peace among men of good will" make those who pretended to be Christians more peaceful, and what are the facts?
10. According to statistics presented by investigators, how have the years of world peace compared with those of war since in the time of the prophet Moses?

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Arabian peninsula, living according to the Ten Commandments that Moses had received from Jehovah God. During all the 3,426 years since then to the end of World War II in 1945 there have been only 268 years of world peace. Thus more than three thousand years were years of war, in which upward of 8,000 international peace treaties were broken. Thus there was one year of peace to twelve and eight-tenths years of war during all that time. But what now about world peace since the year 1945 and the establishment of the United Nations for international peace and security? World peace is in danger as never before!

11 For over a thousand years it has been very easy for Christendom to sing "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men of good will" at her Christmastime. But history shows that this has not promoted or established world peace. Since Christmas was introduced into her religion in the fourth century Christendom has miserably failed in making this a warless world. Today, after sixteen centuries of Christmas celebrations, responsible men of Christendom talk of the threat of Armageddon.

12 Under date of May 6, 1962, and mentioning well-known names, the editorial writer of the New York Times wrote: "Armed with a good cause and the shield of defensive military might made more potent by our nuclear tests, President Kennedy is

11. What theme has Christendom adopted at her Christmastime, and yet today, after sixteen centuries, what threat do men of Christendom talk about?
12-14. What references were made to Armageddon (a) by a New York Times editorial writer in 1962? (b) by ex-President Eisenhower in 1961? (c) by an editorial writer at the time of the Moscow Conference in 1960?

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now engaged in a new effort to find some sort of accommodation with Soviet Russia to avert an atomic Armageddon. In this effort he follows the course pursued by Presidents Roosevelt, Truman and Eisenhower."

13 Earlier, on September 16, 1961, ex-President Eisenhower spoke at a dinner in Chicago, Illinois. There he said that, because the destruction now threatening us was by nuclear warfare, it put Chicago "but thirty minutes from Armageddon."

14 Under the heading "Conference in Moscow" the New York Times of November 6, 1960, said in its editorial columns: "Perhaps the most fundamental difference in the attitude of the two capitals [of Russia and of China] is the fact that Moscow has made clear it understands fully the enormous havoc hydrogen bomb warfare would wreak on all humanity, while Peiping talks at times as though it did not fear even a nuclear Armageddon."

15 Because of now having at hand the terrible hydrogen bomb, the third world war is talked of as a "thermonuclear Armageddon."*

16 Concerning the continual "cold war" between the Eastern and Western military powers, an editorial writer says: "It is no philosophic campaign for a visionary future. It is against all the forces of evil in the world, a kind of Armageddon, the outcome of which will be victory or defeat not for

* New York Times as of October 26, 1961, under the editorial article "The Issue in Moscow."

15-17. (a) Because of the hydrogen bomb, what is World War III referred to as going to be? (b) Editorially, how has the "cold war" been described as to its climax? (c) According to a writer on Foreign Affairs, to what is the drift of world affairs?

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a single nation or a single alliance but for the whole race of man."*

17 One columnist writer on Foreign Affairs warns us: "We cannot afford to drift toward Armageddon simply because nobody bothers to face the obvious problem. If the obvious problem is not swiftly studied, the future is bound to produce catastrophe."†

18 The fiftieth year from the outbreak of World War I started off with a big peace offensive by the leading politicians of the world. Even the Pontifex Maximus of Vatican City made a pilgrimage to places of religious interest in the Middle East, a trip that was said to be in the interest of peace and unity. On January 21, 1964, the Disarmament Committee of the United Nations reassembled and dragged on for months — but no disarmament. The two terrifying Red giants of Communism continued to show no increase in love for each other, whereas the noncommunist democratic world was assured that there would be no end of the cold war between Communism and capitalistic nations "in our time." So prayers continue to be offered in the religious churches of Christendom and Jewish synagogues in behalf of the United Nations in its role of peacemaker. There is good reason to fear a third global conflict.

19 In all their warnings about Armageddon the

* New York Times as of October 18, 1959, under the editorial "The Road to Disarmament."
† C.L. Sulzberger on the editorial page of the New York Times as of June 1, 1960.

18. Despite the promising beginning to the fiftieth year from World War I, why is there good reason to fear a third world conflict?
19. To be true, what meaning must be given to the word "Armageddon," and what is to be expected of the "men of good will" there?

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men of religion, politics, militarism and science continually overlook something. What is that? It is what Armageddon really will be. Those speakers and writers have borrowed the name from the Holy Bible, the same book that also tells us about how an army of angels appeared at the birth of Jesus in Bethlehem and brought the message of glory to God and peace among men of goodwill. Armageddon must therefore be given its Bible meaning, not the meaning put upon it by worldly-wise men. They like to picture it as a final battle by some unnamed forces of good against unnamed forces of evil, a real military fight between divisions of mankind. They like to think of themselves as being among the forces of good that will win. However, the Bible plainly points out the opposing forces that will be engaged in the battle of Armageddon. In that battle the "men of good will" are to have no part in the fighting, for their God will fight from heaven in behalf of what is right.

20 To keep this matter straight in our minds, let us read the prophetic Bible account of this coming war of Armageddon. Only once does this dynamic word "Armageddon" (or, Har-Magedon) occur in the Holy Bible, and that is in its last book, called Revelation or Apocalypse. This final book was given by inspiration to the Christian apostle John to show to faithful Christians "the things that must shortly take place." The prophetic preview of Armageddon is given in connection with the sixth of a series of seven plagues. These symbolic plagues are said to be "the last ones, because by means of them the anger of God is brought to a finish." (Rev. 1:1; 15:1; 16:12) When the sixth

20. How many times does the word "Armageddon" occur, where, and in what connection?

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plague is poured out, it reveals something that brings down the anger of God. Here is what the apostle John sees when the sixth plague is poured out:

21 "And I saw three unclean inspired expressions that looked like frogs come out of the mouth of the dragon and out of the mouth of the wild beast and out of the mouth of the false prophet. They are, in fact, expressions inspired by demons and perform signs, and they go forth to the kings of the entire inhabited earth, to gather them together to the war of the great day of God the Almighty. . . . And they gathered them together to the place that is called in Hebrew Har-Magedon." — Rev. 16:13-16.

22 Does that expression "the kings of the entire inhabited earth" leave out any of the political rulers of today? No; regardless of whether they are kingly, presidential, democratic, communistic or neutralist rulers of today. All of them are gathered to the place called Har-Magedon for war. But war over what issue? Not for war between themselves, with at least some of these political rulers and armies on the side of God the Almighty. Why not? Because the apostle John saw the "kings of the entire inhabited earth" gathered to this war by the enemies of God the Almighty. The kings are gathered by expressions inspired by demons, and demons are no friends of God the Almighty. In proof of this the Christian disciple James wrote to Christians who only pretended to believe: "You believe there is one God, do you? You are doing

21. In Revelation, chapter sixteen, what does John see in his vision concerning Har-Magedon?
22. Who are gathered to Armageddon, and why is it evident that not even some of them are on the side of God the Almighty?

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quite well. And yet the demons believe and shudder." — Jas. 2:19.
23 Under the unseen influence of such demons, who shudder at the thought of the Almighty God, the "kings of the entire inhabited earth" (including Christendom) permit themselves to be gathered to Armageddon, to fight for these demons, of course. That means also to fight for the invisible "ruler of the demons," that is to say, Satan the Devil. (Matt. 12:24) In the Revelation to John, Satan the Devil is pictured by the Dragon, out of whose mouth one of those froggish...