CHAPTER IV
CAUSE OF POVERTY AND DEATH
JEHOVAH is all-powerful and is wholly unselfish. Why, then, has he permitted such great poverty and suffering amongst men? Why is there such a great amount of sickness, sorrow and wickedness among the human race? Why do men die? Is Jehovah God responsible for all the poverty, suffering and death? He is in no wise responsible for such. If you will get the Scriptural and therefore the truthful answers to the foregoing questions, you will appreciate the loving-kindness of Jehovah God and Christ Jesus.
Covetousness led to the commission of the greatest and most heinous crime of all time. The result was the defamation of Jehovah's great name, and poverty and death upon the human race. So many years have passed since the commission of that crime, and so completely has the arch criminal covered his slimy tracks, that in this day it is difficult for men to understand and appreciate the enormity of the crime. Only those persons of good will toward God, and who desire to know and to do what is right, will fully understand.
To covet means to have and indulge in an inordinate desire to possess that which belongs to another. Covetousness means a wrongful desire for gain, and the determination to get that desired thing by plun-
der or other unjust and wrongful means. It is the outgrowth of extreme selfishness. The creature that wrongfully desires to possess that which belongs to another or, in his efforts to satisfy his inordinate desire, resorts to fraud, plunder or other unjust methods thereby discloses a maliciously wicked heart, fatally bent on doing injury to others.
The facts disclosed by the Holy Scriptures, and which relate to the commission of the great crime, are these: In the exercise of his unlimited power, perfect wisdom, and boundless love, God had created the heavens, consisting of the Logos, cherubim, seraphim, angels, powers and principalities, all of which show forth his glory: "The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth his handywork. Day unto day uttereth speech, and night unto night sheweth knowledge." (Psalm 19:1,2) God had created the earth also. (Genesis 1:1) His due time had come to create man to inherit the earth; and that man might have a desirable place in which to reside God made a portion of the earth a veritable paradise, which he called Eden. Out of the earth elements God created a perfect creature called Adam, or man, and made him a living, moving thing endowed with intelligence. He placed man in the perfect Eden as his home and instructed the man concerning his law and the penalty that would result for the breaking of that law. (Genesis 2: 7, 15-17) He created and gave man a helpmate, a perfect woman, and clothed that perfect pair with the ability and power to bring children into existence. If the man would be faithfully obedient to God's law the earth was to be his home for ever and he would enjoy riches in abundance.
In the language of the psalmist, man is "fearfully and wonderfully made". God created man, and says the psalmist: "Marvellous are thy works." (Psalm 139:14) The perfect man was the crowning or highest part of God's earthly creation. In Jehovah's invisible or heavenly realm there was a spirit creature named Lucifer, and God made Lucifer the invisible overlord of man. Of Lucifer it is written in God's Word: "Thou art the anointed cherub that covereth; and I have set thee so: thou wast upon the holy mountain of God; thou hast walked up and down in the midst of the stones of fire." — Ezekiel 28:14.
The term "cherub" means one of God's anointed, to have charge over a certain part of his organization. The description of Lucifer, "the anointed cherub that covereth," clearly shows the high position he occupied. God had appointed him and made him to fill that high office in God's "mountain" (universal organization). That Lucifer had charge over Eden, the perfect man and the home of the perfect man, is shown by the words of the scripture: "Thou hast been in Eden the garden of God; every precious stone was thy covering, the sardius, topaz, and the diamond, the beryl, the onyx, and the jasper, the sapphire, the emerald, and the carbuncle, and gold: the workmanship of thy tabrets and of thy pipes was prepared in thee in the day that thou wast created." (Ezekiel 28:13) He was a beautiful creature and his appearance was glorious: "Thou wast perfect in thy ways from the day that thou wast created, till iniquity was found in thee." (Ezekiel 28:15) This shows that Lucifer was perfect and continued so until he
became lawless, that is, rebellious against God. — See Vindication, Book Two, page 91.
When Lucifer became perverse, lawless and wicked, God changed his name, and from that time onward he is designated in the Scriptures under four names, to wit: Serpent, which means Deceiver; Satan, which means Opposer; Dragon, meaning Devourer; and Devil, meaning Slanderer. While perfect, Lucifer was the god or mighty ruler over the world, and that office was not taken away from him immediately upon his becoming wicked. For centuries he has been the "god" or invisible ruler of the world which he has made wicked. — John 12:31; 14:30.
HIS CRIME
Having access to the courts of heaven, Lucifer saw the glory and splendor of Jehovah and observed that all creation worshiped God. Knowing himself to be the overlord of man as well as chief one over the host of angelic creatures, Lucifer desired to have the worship, praise and honor that belong to and which all righteous creatures give to Jehovah. Lucifer's desire was inordinate and excessive, and he therefore became covetous. He ceased to love God. He became iniquitous or a breaker of God's law. This is proved by these words of the scripture recorded after Lucifer had committed his great crime: "How art thou fallen [degraded and debased] from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations! For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation,
in the sides of the north: I will ascend above the heights of the clouds: I will be like the Most High. Yet thou shalt be brought down to hell [(Hebrew) sheol: the grave], to the sides of the pit." (Isaiah 14:12-15) It was covetousness that led to his great crime, and this is shown by the words which apply to Satan at the end of his career: "0 thou that dwellest upon many waters, abundant in treasures, thine end is come, and the measure of thy covetousness." — Jeremiah 51:13.
God required of the perfect man Adam full obedience. Note that God did not require a very great thing of man, such as moving a mountain, but he required of man that he should refrain from eating a certain fruit that grew in Eden. He informed man that disobedience would result in his death. "For in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die"; (margin) "dying thou shalt die." (Genesis 2:17) It would not have been difficult for Adam to respect the law of God and be obedient. The evil was not in the fruit, but his crime consisted in the disobedience to God's law.
Lucifer, being overlord of man, knew man's duty toward God, and it was the duty of Lucifer to safeguard the interests of man. His crime, like all others, began in his mind, when he coveted that which properly belonged to Jehovah. To carry out his covetous desire he would resort to fraud and deceit; therefore he is called "the Serpent", meaning Deceiver. (Revelation 20:1-3) 'Now the Serpent was more subtle than others.' (Genesis 3:1) That means that he was cunning, crafty, bad and deceitful. He reasoned that if God did not put man to death for the violation
of his law, such would prove God a liar and that would destroy the confidence of creatures in the Creator; and that if God did kill Adam because of his violation of God's law, that would prove that God could not put a perfect man on earth who would remain true and faithful to God, and likewise that course would destroy the confidence of creatures in the Creator and the result would be that the Devil would get adulation and the praise which properly belongs to Jehovah.
In carrying out his wicked scheme Satan the Serpent approached Eve: "Yea, hath God [(margin) Yea, because God hath] said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?" and for that reason are you not eating the good fruit? (Genesis 3:1) [Rotherham] To him Eve replied: "We may eat of the fruit . . . but of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die." (Genesis 3: 2, 3) Doubtless Satan laughed at Eve's simple faith. "And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die: for God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened; and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil." (Genesis 3:4,5) That statement of Satan was a willful and deliberate lie, and under the influence of that lie Eve violated God's law. Satan had deceived the woman and had accomplished through her what he desired, to turn her away from Jehovah. Adam then appeared and was told by Eve what had come to pass, and Adam "did eat" of the forbidden fruit also. That shows that Adam did not love God, because he willfully disobeyed him. (1 Timothy 2:14) Nor did he love Eve,
because if he had loved her he would have sought God's face, asking for her forgiveness, seeing that she had been deceived. Adam knew Eve would be separated from him if he should remain true to God, and he willfully desired to have her for his own pleasure.
Adam and Eve were sentenced to death and expelled from Eden, and justly so. (Genesis 3:19-24) That wicked lie and deceitful act of Satan brought death upon humankind. For that reason Jesus said of Satan the Devil that 'he was a murderer and a liar from the beginning'. (John 8:44) From then till now all persons who resort to lies to accomplish their wrongful purpose are instruments of the Devil, who is the father of lies.
In Eden the food was perfect and would have sustained human life forever to the obedient ones. Outside of Eden the food produced upon the earth contained poison. Adam and Eve were expelled from Eden, and death was gradually inflicted upon them until they were dead. During the lingering years that they existed their children were born, and, the parents being sinful, they could not bring into existence perfect children, and for that reason every person born into the world in the natural way has been born a sinner and in due time must die. (Romans 5:12; Psalm 51:5) All sickness and sorrow, all poverty and suffering, and all crime that has befallen the human race from the day of Eden till now, is chargeable to Satan the Devil. All persons who willfully or purposely indulge in a course of action that causes others to suffer sickness or to be impoverished and oppressed are the instruments of the Devil.
SATAN TO DIE
At the time God sentenced Adam to death he also entered the judgment of death against Satan. (Genesis 3:15; Isaiah 14:14-20; Ezekiel 28:18,19) Why, then, has God permitted the Devil to live all these centuries and cause so much suffering upon humankind? A brief answer is, that Satan boastfully declared his own ability to cause all men to turn away from God and curse him, and God has permitted Satan the opportunity to prove his boastful challenge and at the same time has offered man the opportunity to prove his integrity toward God.
Satan boastfully said to Jehovah that all men when put to the severe test would curse God. Had God immediately put Satan to death without the opportunity to prove his boastful challenge, there would have been for ever a doubt in the minds of some creatures as to whether or not Satan had stated the truth. A prophetic drama is recorded in the Scriptures in proof of these points, and it is concerning the good man Job and the Devil. Job, the chief player, was a righteous man. Satan declared he could cause Job to curse God. (Job 2:3-5) God accepted the challenge of Satan. The test would prove whether or not a man under the severe test would remain true to God. Necessarily that test involved the question of the supremacy of God. The test would afford an opportunity to all intelligent creatures to choose between God and the Devil; therefore the decree of Jehovah was that he would let Satan live for a certain period of time, during which time the test would be on, and that at the end of that time God would destroy Satan. Pharaoh of Egypt was an official representative of the Devil
on earth and was used to play a part foretelling God's purpose in permitting Satan to live for a time; as it is written: "But for this cause have I allowed thee to remain, in order to show thee my power; and in order that they may proclaim my name throughout all the earth." — Exodus 9:16, Leeser.
The test began with the first children of Adam and will continue and be completed at the battle of Armageddon. In the meantime God brings to the attention of man the truth in order to afford man the opportunity to choose whom he will serve, whether God or the Devil. Cain, the first son of Adam and Eve, chose to follow the Devil, and lost. Abel chose the better part and served Jehovah God and received God's approval. Satan caused Cain to murder Abel. — Hebrews 11:4-40.
All reasonable persons who hear the truth should readily see that Satan the Devil is God's great opposer and man's greatest enemy. All persons of good will toward God will take the course that Abel took, and live. The others will follow the course that Cain took, and die and remain dead forever. In times past almost all persons have died in ignorance or without a knowledge of the truth, but in due time those who died in ignorance will be raised out of death and be given an opportunity to know the truth, and if they will then serve God they will live, and not die. Now the day has arrived when those creatures on earth who hear the truth must choose whom they will serve. Those persons of good will toward God will choose to serve him and live.
God's Word, the Scriptures, was written expressly for the guide and aid of the men who desire to do
what is right. (2 Timothy 3:16,17; Psalm 119:105) It is Satan the deceiver who has at all times blinded man to the truth and kept man in ignorance of Jehovah's gracious provision for mankind. (2 Corinthians 4:3,4) It is the truth alone that will lead one in the right way and enable him, through Christ Jesus, to be freed from the influence and power of Satan. Any man or company or organization of men that attempt to keep others in ignorance of God's Word are the agents or instruments of Satan the Devil, whether they realize that fact or not. Those who refuse instruction when that instruction is placed within their reach are certain to come to poverty, shame and lose everything. "Poverty and shame shall be to him that refuseth instruction: but he that regardeth reproof shall be honoured." (Proverbs 13:18) He who is indifferent toward the truth of God's Word can never enter into the riches of the Lord. — Proverbs 20:13; 23:21.
We are now in the day when God has put upon those who have agreed to do his will the obligation to tell others about God's provision for man and to warn men against the Devil and his organization. Such warning must be given both to the wicked and to those who are of good will. (Ezekiel 3:18-21) The present is the day when Jehovah is causing his witnesses to testify to others concerning his name and his kingdom; and when that witness work is done, then Jehovah will exhibit his supremacy by destroying Satan and all of his followers. (Isaiah 43:10-12; Matthew 24:14-21) Those of good will called "Jonadabs" must now inform themselves of the truth, and this can be done only by the study of the Scriptures
and the printed literature that helps to understand the prophecies now in course of fulfillment. Those who will be helpful to their fellow man in understanding the truth must be men who 'hate covetousness'. (Exodus 18:21) If you come in contact with men or organizations of men that are reaching out for gain, whether that gain be numbers in their organization, or property, money, power or influence, avoid such, because they cannot be the servants of God. You will better understand when you observe how Satan has builded up in the earth his powerful organization, which has at all times been in opposition to God.
SATAN'S ORGANIZATION
Satan's objective at all times is to defeat God in the great contest for supremacy. God has permitted Satan to go his full limit in wickedness and has not hindered him, but in due time God will prove to all creation that Satan is a liar and the very embodiment of wickedness, and that Jehovah is true and wholly righteous. Satan began building up his earthly organization at Shinar when the Devil induced men to say: "Let us build us a city, and a tower whose top may reach unto heaven; and let us make us a name, lest we be scattered abroad upon the face of the whole earth." — Genesis 11:4.
Nimrod was put forward as one greater than God, and the people were induced to follow him. (Genesis 10:8-10) That was the Devil's scheme of starting religion to induce creatures to give honor and glory to a man, that he might thereby turn men away from Jehovah. Ever thereafter the Devil has employed three
chief elements in his organization to carry on his wicked work, which elements are religion, which means a form of hypocritical worship; commerce, which means a selfish dealing to reap material gain; and politics, which means an exercise of the ruling power by a few over the people. Ancient Babylon, particularly, represented the Devil religion; ancient Egypt, commerce; and ancient Assyria, political control. — See Prophecy, chapter six, page 124.
From the time of ancient Babylon until the organization of the nation of Israel every nation on earth practiced the Devil religion. God took the descendants of Israel out of the land of Egypt, made with them a covenant and gave them his law, and taught them the true worship of Almighty God. (See Exodus 20:1-10.) That people was the only people that God dealt with in this manner. (Amos 3:2) In time the Devil overreached the Israelites and as a nation they turned away from God and practiced Baal or Devil religion, and for that reason the nation was destroyed. (Ezekiel 21:24-27) The Israelites were a typical people and what came to pass upon them and those used in connection with them prophetically foretold what should come to pass at the end of the world, where we now are. The nation of Israel particularly foreshadowed the nations that compose "Christendom", which nations claim to be Christian. Out of the nation of Israel came a few men who remained faithful and true to Jehovah, maintained their integrity toward God, and received his approval. Likewise out of "Christendom" and from among the professed Christians there have been a few men who maintained their integrity toward God, being faithful to him. The
leaders or clergy of Israel and the principal ones of their flocks became heady, self-important and austere, and sought the approval of men rather than the approval of God, and thus they fell away to the Devil. The leaders of "Christendom", that is, the clergy and the principal of their flocks, have builded up a powerful organization which they call "the church", and these have become heady, self-important, austere and scornful men who seek gain and the approval of men rather than the approval of God. The words of God by his prophet apply to both "Israel after the flesh" and modern Israel called "Christendom", as it is written: "For from the least of them even unto the greatest of them every one is given to covetousness; and from the prophet even unto the priest every one dealeth falsely." — Jeremiah 6:13.
The Scriptures speak of preachers or clergymen as "prophets". These men have builded up a great and powerful organization in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and claimed to preach the Word of God, while in fact they preach only the doctrines of men and keep the people in ignorance of what the Bible contains. Concerning such God says: "The prophets prophesy lies in my name; I sent them not, neither have I commanded them, neither spake unto them: they prophesy unto you a false vision and divination, and a thing of nought, and the deceit of their heart." (Jeremiah 14:14) All such are servants of the Devil, and not the servants of God. "Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness?" — Romans 6:16.
These things are said, not for the purpose of holding up men to ridicule, but because God has commanded that the truth shall be told in order that the people of good will toward him now on the earth may know the truth and walk in the right way. To follow the teachings of selfish men leads to certain death, To follow the teaching of God and Christ Jesus means life everlasting. (John 17:3) Each one must choose for himself whom he will follow and serve.
JEHOVAH'S ORGANIZATION
Jehovah's universal organization has existed from the beginning. With faithful Abraham God began the development of his capital organization, which he will use to destroy Satan and his organization, and by which he will administer blessings to the faithful humankind. To Abraham. God said: 'In thy seed shall all [obedient of the] families of the earth be blessed.' (Genesis 12:3; 22:18) "Even as Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness. Know ye therefore that they which are of faith, the same are the children of Abraham. And the scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the [nations] through faith, preached before the gospel unto Abraham, saying, In thee shall all nations be blessed." — Galatians 3:6-8.
The only son of Abraham and Sarah was Isaac, and at the Lord's command Abraham offered up Isaac in sacrifice. (Genesis 22:2-18) That offering up of Isaac was a prophetic picture. Abraham there pictured Jehovah the Father or Life-giver; Isaac pictured Jesus the Son, who was offered as a sacrifice for man; and it is through the antitypical Isaac, Christ
Jesus, that God the Father will administer blessings to all obedient ones of the earth. — Romans 9:7; Galatians 4:28.
Christ Jesus is the Redeemer and Savior of the world, and he is the Head over his organization, the body members, which is the true church. Organizations formed by men and called "churches" are not the church of God, but such organizations have been used by Satan to deceive men and to turn them away from the true God. Jehovah God raised up Christ Jesus from the dead, "and hath put all things under his feet, and gave him to be the head over all things to the church, which is his body, the fulness of him that filleth all in all." (Ephesians 1:19-23) "And he is the head of the body, the church; who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might have the pre-eminence." (Colossians 1:18) Since the day of Pentecost God through Christ Jesus has been selecting the true church, that is, the members of the body of Christ, the aggregate number of which is 144,000; and those who are selected must be witnesses to the name of Jehovah God.
TIME LIMIT
In the year 606 B.C. God cast away the nation of Israel, and then and there Satan became the invisible ruler or "god" over all the nations of the earth. God fixed a time limit wherein Satan would be permitted without interruption to prosecute his wicked ruler-ship. That time limit was 2,520 years and ended in A.D. 1914. At this latter date Satan's world ended, as Jesus foretold it would, and the evidence, as Jesus stated, marking that end would be the world war and
that which immediately followed. (Matthew 24: 3-15) It was in A.D. 1914 that the prophecy of Jehovah had fulfillment, to wit: "Yet have I set my king upon my holy hill of Zion." (Psalm 2: 6) "The LORD shall send the rod of thy strength out of Zion; rule thou in the midst of thine enemies." (Psalm 110:2) It was in 1914 that the following prophecy began to have its fulfillment, to wit: "We give thee thanks, 0 Lord God Almighty, which art, and wast, and art to come; because thou hast taken to thee thy great power, and hast reigned. And the nations were angry, and thy wrath is come, and the time of the dead, that they should be judged, and that thou shouldest give reward unto thy servants the prophets, and to the saints, and them that fear thy name, small and great; and shouldest destroy them which destroy the earth." — Revelation 11:17,18.
SIGNS IN HEAVEN
Because God's due time had come to make known certain truths those who are devoted to Jehovah from and after 1918, when "the temple of God was opened", were permitted to see and understand the meaning of the 'two great wonders or signs in heaven', described in Revelation 12:1-5. That prophecy describes a woman, "clothed with the sun," and "with child", which child she brought forth and who becomes the ruler of the nations of the earth. The woman there mentioned symbolically stands for God's universal organization. (Isaiah 54:1-12) The "man-child" is Christ Jesus, God's King, who is the world's Rightful Ruler. That was the first "great wonder" or "sign" (margin).
The second sign is pictured as 'a great red dragon
standing before the woman, ready to devour the man child'. That red dragon symbolically pictures Satan and his wicked organization now determined to destroy the kingdom of God under Christ. Immediately upon Christ Jesus' being sent forth to rule a war began in heaven between the forces of Satan and Christ and His angelic host: "And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels, and prevailed not; neither was their place found any more in heaven. And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world; he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him." — Revelation 12: 7-9.
Since 1914 sorrows and troubles upon earth have continued to increase, even as Jesus foretold (Matthew 24: 7, 8) The poverty, suffering, crime and death upon the earth continue to increase with severity. The clergy of the various organizations called "churches" continue to tell the people that all these present-day calamities upon the human race God has brought upon them because they are not faithfully supporting the church. Such statements from the clergy tend to turn honest people against God and to cause them to curse him. That is exactly what the Devil desires to accomplish; hence they are playing into the hands of the Devil. God is in no wise responsible for the sufferings of humankind, nor for any of the calamities that come upon mankind. What, then, is the reason for so much poverty, suffering, distress, woe and calamities upon the people? The answer is given in these words: "Woe to the inhabiters of the earth, and of the sea! for the devil is come down unto you, having great wrath,
because he knoweth that he hath but a short time." — Revelation 12:12.
This definitely fixes upon Satan the cause of this suffering and trouble. The day for the final settlement of the great controversy between God and the Devil is at hand. Soon the battle of Armageddon, the great battle of God Almighty, will be fought; and Satan knows that his time is short, and therefore he is determined to carry out his boastful challenge to turn men away from God and into destruction. He causes his earthly agents or representatives to induce the people to believe that God is responsible for all their suffering, whereas the Devil himself is the cause thereof.
Those who are witnesses now to the kingdom of Jehovah are commanded to go and tell the truth to the people. Such are the children of God's "woman", that is, his organization; and, being the last of those witnesses just before the great battle, these are called "the remnant of her seed", and it is these witnesses that the Devil, the old Dragon, and his agents, now attempt to destroy: "And the dragon was wroth with fee woman, and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ." — Revelation 12:17.
The Lord has commanded that his truth must be told to the people, that those of good will may hear and take the course of safety. (Matthew 24:14) If his witnesses fail or refuse to tell the truth, they will suffer destruction because of their disobedience. (Acts 3:22, 23) Jehovah's witnesses love him and his truth and they delight to obey his commandments, and for
that reason they continue to tell the truth in the face of great opposition. Every one who now loves the truth will be telling the truth to others. To be sure, the truth exposes lies by which Satan has deceived the people for many centuries, and for that reason the truth "shocks the religious susceptibilities" of those who have made much profit out of organized religion. You will find safety only in God's organization, and it is therefore of absolute necessity that you learn what are the lies by which the people have been deceived, that you may avoid those who teach lies, and that you learn what is the truth, that you may take the right way.
