Chapter Thirty-Four/An Awesome Mystery Solved - Continue

 From September 18 to 20, 1942, at the height of World War II, Jehovah's Witnesses in the United States held their New World Theocratic Assembly. The key city, Cleveland, Ohio was tied in by the telephone with more than 50 other convention cities, for a peak attendance of 129,699. Where wartime conditions permitted, other conventions repeated the program around the world. At the time, many of Jehovah's people expected that the war would escalate into God's war of Armageddon, hence the title of the public talk, "Peace-Can It Last?," aroused much curiosity. How could the new president of the Watch Tower Society, N.H. Knorr, presume to talk about peace when the very opposite seemed to be in store for the nations? The reason was that the John class was paying "more than the usual attention" to God's prophetic Word. - HEBREWS 2:1; 2 PETER 1:19.

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Chapter Thirty-Four/An Awesome Mystery Solved - Continue

 The angel notices John's amazement.  "And so," John continues, "the angel said to me: 'Why is it you wondered? I will tell you the mystery of the woman and of the wild beast that is carrying her and that has the seven heads and the ten horns.' "(Revelation 17:7) Ah, the angel will now unravel the mystery! He explains to the wide-eyed John the various facets of the vision and dramatic events that are about unfold. Likewise, as it serves under angelic direction today, the watchful John class had had revealed it to the understanding of the prophecy.  "Do not interpretations belong to God?" Like faithful Joseph, we believe that they do. (Genesis 40:8; compare Daniel 2:29, 30.) God's people are placed, as it were, center stage as Jehovah interprets to them the meaning of the vision and its impact on their lives. (Psalm 25:14) Right on time, he has opened up to their understanding the mystery of the woman and of the wild beast. -Psalm 32:8.

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Chapter Thirty-Four/An Awesome Mystery Solved

 What is John's reaction at seeing the great harlot and her fearsome mount? He himself answers: "Well, on catching sight of her I wondered with great wonderment." (Revelation 17:6b) Mere human imagination could never conjure up such a sight. Yet, there it is-away out in a wilderness-a debauched prostitute perched on a gruesome, scarlet-colored wild beast! (Revelation 17:3) The John class today also wonders with great wonderment as events unfold in fulfillment of the prophetic vision. If people of the world could see it, they would exclaim, 'Incredible!'  and the world's rulers would echo, 'Unthinkable!' But the vision becomes a startling 20th century reality. God's people have already had a remarkable share in the vision's fulfillment, and this assures them that the prophecy will move right on to its astounding climax.

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Chapter Thirty-Three/Judging the Infamous Harlot -A Name, A Mystery - Conclusion

 Over the centuries, the world empire of false religion has shed oceans of blood. For example, in medieval Japan, temple in Kyoto were transformed into fortresses, and warrior-monks, invoking "the holy name of Buddha, battled one another until the streets ran red with blood. In this 20th century, the clergy of Christendom have marched with the armies of their respective countries, and these have slaughtered one another with the loss of a hundred million lives. In October 19 87 former U.S. president Nixon said: "The 20th century has been the bloodiest in history. More people have been killed in the wars of this century than in all the wars fought before the century began."  The religions of the world are judged adversely by God for their share in shedding innocent blood." (Proverbs6:16, 17) Earlier, John heard a cry from the altar: 'Until when, Sovereign Lord holy and true, are you refraining from judging and avenging our blood upon these who dwell on the earth?" (Revelation 6:10) Babylon the Great, the mother of the harlots and of the disgusting things of the earth will be deeply involved when the time comes to answer that question.

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Chapter Thirty-Three/Judging the Infamous Harlot -A Name, a Mystery - Continue

 Babylon the Great is dressed in "purple and scarlet," the colors of royalty, and is "adorned with gold and precious stone and pearls." How appropriate! Just reflect on all the magnificent buildings, rare statues and paintings, priceless icons and other religious paraphernalia, as well as astronomical amounts of property and cash, this this world's religions have accumulated. Whether at the Vatican, in the TV empire of evangelism centered in the United States, in the exotic wats and temples of the Orient, Babylon the Great has amassed-and at times lost-fabulous wealth.  

Look now at what the harlot has in her hand. John must have gasped a the sight of it-a golden cup "full of disgusting things and the unclean things of her fornication"! with which she has made all the nations drunk. (Revelation 14:8; 17:2) It looks rich on the outside. but its contents are disgusting, unclean. (Compare Matthew 23:25, 26) It contains all the filthy practices and lies that the great harlot has used to seduce the nations and bring them under her influence. Even more revolting, John sees that the harlot herself is inebriated, drunk with the blood of God's servants! In fact, we later read that "in her was found the blood of prophets and of holy ones and of all those who have slaughtered on the earth." (Revelation 18:24) What massive bloodguilt!

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Chapter Thirty-Three/Judging the Infamous Harlot - A Name, a Mystery

 As was the custom in ancient Rome, this prostitute is identified by the name on her forehead." It is a long name: "Babylon the Great, the mother of the harlots and of the disgusting things of the earth." That name "is mystery," something with a hidden meaning. But in God's due time, the mystery is to be explained. In fact, the angel gives John enough information to allow Jehovah's servants today to discern the full significance of this descriptive name. We recognize Babylon the Great as being all of false religion. She is "the mother of the harlots" because all the individual false religions in the world, including the many sects in Christendom, are like her daughters, imitating her in committing spiritual harlotry. She is also the mother of "disgusting things" in that she has given birth to such revolting offspring as idolatry, spiritism, fortune-telling, astrology, palmistry, human sacrifice, temple prostitution, drunkenness in honor of false gods, and other obscene practices. 

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Chapter Thirty-Three/Judging the Infamous Harlot - A Name, a Myystery

 The apostle John is soon to learn that the great harlot has chosen a dangerous beast to ride. First, though, his attention turns to Babylon the Great herself. She is richly adorned, but, oh, how repulsive she is! "And the woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet, and was adorned with gold and precious stone and pearls she had in her hand a golden cup that was full of disgusting things and the unclean things of her fornication. And upon her forehead was written a name, a mystery: 'Babylon the Great, the mother of the harlots and of the disgusting things of the earth.' And I saw that the woman was drunk with blood of the holy ones and with the blood of the witnesses of Jesus." - REVELATION 17:4-6a. 

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Chapter Thirty-Three/Judging the Infamous Harlot - The Harlot Rides a Beast - Conclusion

 What of the League's successor, the United Nations? From its inception, this body also had the great harlot riding on its back, visibly associated with it and trying to guide its destiny.  For example, on its 20th anniversary, in June 1965, representatives of the Roman Catholic Church and the Eastern Orthodox Church, together with Protestants, Jews, Hindus, Buddhists, and Muslims -said to represent two thousand million of earth's population-assembled in San Francisco to celebrate their support and admiration of the UN. On visiting the UN in October 1965, Pope Paul VI described it as "that greatest of all international organizations" and added: "The peoples of the earth turn to the United Nations as the last hope of concord and peace. " Another papal visitor, Pope John Paul II, addressing the UN in October 1979, said: "I hope the Unted Nations will ever remain the supreme forum of peace and justice" Significantly, the pope made no mention of Jesus Christ or of God's Kingdom in his speech. During his visit to the United States in September 1987, as reported by The New York Times," John Paul spoke at length about the positive role of the United Nations in promoting . . ."new worldwide solidarity.' " 

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Chapter Thirty-Three/Judging the Infamous Harlot - The Harlot Rides a Beast - Continue

 The dismal failure of the League of Nations should have signaled to the clergy that such man-made organs are no part of a Kingdom of God on earth. What blasphemy to make such a claim! It makes it seem as though God was a party to the colossal botch that the League turned out to be. As for God, "perfect is activity." Jehovah's heavenly Kingdom under Christ-and not a combine of squabbling politicians, many of them atheists-is the means by which he will bring in peace and have his will done on earth as in heaven. - DEUTERONOMY 32:4; MATTHEW 6:10. 

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Chapter Thirty-Three/Judging the Infamous Harlot - The Harlot Rides a Beast - Continue

 On January 2, 1919, the San Francisco Chronicle carried the front-page headline: "Pope Pleads for adoption of Wilson's League of Nations." on October 16, 1919, a petition signed by 14, 450 clergymen of leading denominations was presented to the U.S. Senate, urging that body "to ratify the Paris peace treaty embodying the league of nations covenant." Though the U.S. Senate failed to ratify the treaty, Christendom's clergy continued to campaign for the League. And how was the League inaugurated? A news dispatch from Switzerland, dated November 15, 1920, read: "Opening of the first assembly of the League of Nations was announced at eleven o'clock this morning by the ringing the church bells in Geneva." 

Did the John class, the one group on earth that eagerly accepted the incoming Messianic Kingdom, share with Christendom in paying homage to the scarlet-colored wild beast? Far from it! On Sunday, September 7, 1919, the convention of Jehovah's people in Cedar Point, Ohio, featured the public talk "The Hope for Distressed Humanity." On the following day, the Sandusky Star-Journal reported that J.F. Rutherford, president of the Watch Tower Society, in addressing nearly 7,000 persons, had "asserted that the Lord's displeasure is certain to be visited upon the League . . . because the clergy-Catholic and Protestant-claiming to be God's representatives, have abandoned his plan and endorsed the League of Nations, hailing it as a political expression of Christ's kingdom on earth." 

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