Chapter Thirty-Four/An Awesome Mystery Solved - Continue

 What light did the talk "Peace-Can It Last? throw on the prophecy? Clearly identifying the scarlet-c0lored wild beast of Revelation 17:3 as the League of Nations, President Knorr went on to discuss its stormy career on the basis of the angel's following words to John: "The wild beast that you saw was, but is not, and yet is about to ascend out the abyss, and it is to go off into destruction." -REVELATION 17:8. 

The wild beast . . . was" Yes, it had existed as the League of Nations from January 10, 1920, onward, with 63 nations participating at one time or another. But, in turn, Japan, Germany, and Italy withdrew, and the Soviet Union was dropped from the League. In September 1939 the Nazi dictator of Germany launched World War II. Having failed to keep peace in the world, the League of Nations virtually plunged into an abyss of inactivity. By 1942 It had become a has-been. Neither before this nor at some later date-but right at that critical time-did Jehovah interpret to his people the full depth of meaning of the vision! At the New World Theocratic Assembly, President Knorr could declare, in line with the prophecy, that "the wild beast .  .  . is not." He then asked the question, "Will the League remain in the pit?" Quoting Revelation 17:8, he answered: "The association of worldly nations will rise again." That is just how it proved to be-in vindication of Jehovah's prophetic Word!

Next time: Chapter Thirty-Four/An Awesome Mystery Solved - Ascending Out of the Abyss

From the jw.org publications