Now Is the Time to "Obey the Good News"

All who want everlasting life must learn obedience, for the Bible clearly states that "those who do not know God and those who do  not obey the good news about our Lord Jesus" will not survive God's day of vengeance.  (2 Thessalonians 1:8) However, the present wicked environment and its spirit of rebellion against the Bible laws and principles make obedience to the good  a challenge.

The Bible describes this God-defying spirit as "the spirit of the world."  (1 Corinthians 2:12)  Explaining its effect on people, the apostle Paul wrote to the first-century Christians in Ephesus, saying:  "You at one time walked according to the system of things of this world, according to the ruler of the authority of the air, the spirit  that now operates in the sons of disobedience.  Yes, among them  we all at one time conducted ourselves in harmony with the desires of the flesh and the thoughts, and we were naturally children of wrath even as the rest." -Ephesians 2:2, 3.

Happily, the Ephesian Christians did not remain slaves of that spirit of disobedience.  Rather, they became obedient children to God by submitting to his spirit and reaping its abundant and wholesome fruitage.  (Galatians 5:22, 23)  Likewise today, God's spirit -the most powerful force in the universe -is helping millions to become obedient to Jehovah, with the result that they can have "the full assurance of the hope down to the end." -Hebrews 6:11; Zechariah 4:6.

Keeping in mind, too, that we have the powerful backing of Shiloh, who along with his Father will let no enemy-demon or human-test our obedience beyond what we can bear.  (1 Corinthians 10:13)  In fact, to aid us  in our spiritual warfare, Jesus described a number of specific  problems  that we would face during these last days.  He did so by way of seven letters,  which he gave in a vision to the apostle John.  (Revelation 1:10, 110  To be sure, they contained vital counsel for Christians back then, but their main application is to "the Lord's day,"  since 1914.  How fitting therefore, that we give attention to these messages!"

Next time: Avoid Apathy Immorality, Materialism

The Watchtower, 2002