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→Neverificat: Pagină nouă: 230 came to his temple in 1918 that his anointed pcople began to have a better understanding of the prophe- cies, because the temple in heaven was opened. (Rev. 11:19) Since Da...
(→Neverificat: Pagină nouă: 230 came to his temple in 1918 that his anointed pcople began to have a better understanding of the prophe- cies, because the temple in heaven was opened. (Rev. 11:19) Since Da...) |
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230
came to his temple in 1918 that his anointed pcople
began to have a better understanding of the prophe-
cies, because the temple in heaven was opened. (Rev.
11:19) Since Danicl says that the vision or prophecy
is to make known what is to come to pass in the ‘‘lat-
ter days’’, then it must be that God purposed that
his people, whom Daniel represented, would be given
an understanding of the image in the ‘‘latter days’’,
and not before.
21 (2) That the prophecy shows that the terrible
image would be broken in pieces all at one and the
same time and it follows that unless the entire image
is in existence at one and the same time this could not
take place. The world powers of Babylon, Medo-
Persia, Greece, and Pagan Rome, have ceased to exist
and the image hag not yet been broken in pieces. The
‘“‘holy Roman empire’’ does not now exist as a world
power.
22 (8) It could not be literally true that Nebuchad-
nezzar at the time he was king of Babylon was ruler
over all ‘‘the beasts of the field, and the fowls of the
heaven’’, as the prophecy states. There is no proof
that he had any more power or control over the wild
beasts and the birds than any other imperfect man
had.
23 (4) There is no evidence whatsoever that Medo-
Persia as a world power possessed anything peculiar
that could be symbolized by the precious metal silver,
or that the Grecian empire was in any particular way
marked so that it could be symbolized by the less
valuable metal brass or copper.
24 (5) It is not true that Rome was the first world
power to employ the iron military rule that ‘bruises
the peoples of the earth’. Egypt existed long before
the day of Rome, and Egypt was the first great mili-
tary power. The world power of Assyria was before
Babylon or Rome, and Assyria boasted that her armies
had conquered all the nations and none had been able
to stand before her military onslaughts. Only Je-
hovah by his angel could and did deliver the Isracl-
ites from the Assyrian iron or military hand. (Isa.
36: 17-20) Greece conquered and ruled the world by
military force, and it is said of her mighty warrior
general that ‘‘he wept because there were no more
worlds to conquer’’. In much carlier days than that,
even, the kings of Canaan had military equipment and
nine hundred chariots made of iron. (Judg. 4:3)
Other nations fought with military instruments of
jron long before Rome existed. (1 Ki, 22:11) Other
reasons appear why ‘the terrible image’ does not refer
to world powers, and these will be considered as we
progress,
25 The image about which Nebuchadnezzar dreamed
was a terrible one. What could it picture? In order
to enable the student to follow the argument here sct
forth it is now here briefly stated that the terrible
image represented Satan’s organization, both visible
te WATCH TOWER
Brooxtyn, N. Y,
and invisible. Before submitting the proof in support
of that conclusion consideration is first given to some
Scriptural evidence concerning the greater organiza-
tion.
JEHOVAH’S ORGANIZATION
26 Jehovah has a universal organization which is
often mentioned in the Seriptures under the symbol
of ‘‘mountain’’. ‘‘So he brought them into his own
holy bounds, the mountain-range which his right hand
acquired.’’ (Ps. 78:54, Rotherham) ‘‘Great and high-
ly to be praised in the city is our God, his holy moun-
tain is beautiful for elevation, the joy of all the earth.
Mount Zion on the northern ridge is the city of a
king.’’ (Ps. 48:1,2, Rotherham) (Sce also Isaiah
2:2;11:9; 56:7; Joel 3:17; Zechariah 8:3.)
7 Hzekiel was caused to write down his vision of
God’s organization. (Ezek. 1: 3-28) In that vision he
describes four living creatures having the likeness of
a man, and every one had four faces and four wings.
‘‘Their wings were joined one to another ; they tumed
not when they went; they went every one straight
forward. As for the likeness of their faces, they four
had the face of a man, and the face of a lion, on the
right side; and they four had the face of an ox on the
left side; they four also had the face of an eagle.
Thus were their faces: and their wings were stretched
upward; two wings of every one were joined one to
another, and two covered their bodies. And they went
every one straight forward: whither the spirit was to
go, they went; and they turned not when they went.
As for the likeness of the living creatures, their ap-
pearance was like burning coals of fire, and like the
appearance of lamps: it went up and down among the
living creatures; and the fire was bright, and out of
the fire went forth lightning.’’—Ezck. 1: 9-13.
28 There appeared in the vision also one wheel upon
the earth by each of the living ercatures which had
four faces. ‘‘And their appearanee and their work
was as it were a wheel in the middle of a wheel.”’
Further deseribing what he saw, Ezckiel said: ‘‘When
they went, they went upon their four sides; and they
turned not when they went. And when the living
creatures went, the wheels went by them; and when
the living creatures were lifted up from the earth,
the wheels were lifted up. Whithersoever the spirit
was to go, they went, thither was their spirit to go;
and the whecls were lifted up over against them:
for the spirit of the living ercature was in the
wheels.?’—Ezek. 1:17, 19, 20.
2° There appeared over the heads of the living erea-
tures a great expanse like terrible erystal to look
upon. Under the expanse were the wings of the living
ereatures cach having four wings, two on cach side
of the body. When these creatures went the sound
of the wings was like the sound of many waters.
“And when they went, I heard the noise of their
wings, like the noise of great waters, as the voice of