Humiliation for God's Enemies

What if those who trust in Jehovah suffer tribulation? They need not fear. Jehovah allows such things for a time, but eventually he brings relief, and those causing the tribulation face his judgment.  ( 2 Thessalonians 1:4-7; 2 Timothy 1:8-10)  Consider the case of a certain "elevated town." Isaiah says: "[Jehovah] has laid low those inhabiting the height, the elevated town.  He abases it, he abases it to the earth; he brings it in touch with the dust.  The foot will trample it down, the feet of the afflicted one, the steps of the lowly ones."  (Isaiah 26:5, 6) The elevated town here mentioned may be Babylon.  That city certainly afflicted God's people.   But what happened to Babylon? In 539 B.C.E., it fell to the Medes and the Persians.  What an abasement!

In our day Isaiah's prophetic words well describe what happened to "Babylon the Great" since 1919.  That elevated town suffered a humiliating fall in that year when it was forced to release Jehovah's people from  spiritual captivity.  (Revelation 14:8)  What occurred next was even more humiliating. That small band of Christians turned  to 'trampling down' their captor.  In 1922 they began to announce the coming end of Christendom, publicizing the four angelic trumpet blasts of Revelation 8:7-12 and the three woes foretold at Revelation 9:1-11:15.

Next time: "The Path of the Righteous One Is Uprightness"

The Watchtower, 2001