Kingdom News No. 16

Is Time Running Out for Mankind?

Do the big problems facing the human race have a deeper meaning than most people realize?

Does the Bible really foretell vast changes that will affect all mankind in the very near future?

 These Problems Threaten All Mankind

Massive Famine Hitting Millions

Earth’s “population explosion” means that every day there are 200,000 more mouths to feed—75,000,000 more each year.

“It is already too late to avoid famines that will kill millions, possibly by 1975. . . . Already half a billion people are slowly starving, another billion are malnourished.”—Biologist P. Ehrlich.

Even where there is not yet actual famine, soaring prices make it ever harder to feed one’s family.

Crime Spreads, Becomes More Violent

United Nations Secretary-General Waldheim says of the world crime situation: “Despite material progress, human life has never had a greater sense of insecurity than it is experiencing today. . . . There is widespread and mounting evidence of a crime crisis.”

How safe do you and your family feel—at home, on the streets, in school?

Sickness and Pollution—Growing Threats to Your Life

Air pollution nears the crisis level in city after city. Earth’s waters—oceans, lakes and rivers—are becoming increasingly contaminated.

Heart disease causes more than half the deaths each year in the United States. Cancer, mental illness, venereal diseases—all have reached epidemic proportions. Malaria, trachoma and snail fever now afflict 800,000,000 persons.

Can Men Solve Such Urgent Problems?

World leaders now predict an enduring peace. This, they say, will allow them to focus their efforts on these urgent problems. But to achieve their aim, basic changes must be made in the people themselves. Yet, what do you see?

Are people becoming more considerate, honest and unselfish? The facts show that the trend is in the other direction.

That is why it is vital for you to see the far deeper meaning in the big problems that face mankind. That deeper meaning shows the true urgency of our time.

 Why We Know That Time Is Running Out

Do you realize that these very conditions were foretold centuries ago? Where? In the Bible.

When the disciples of Jesus Christ asked him, “What will be the sign . . . of the conclusion of the system of things?” he answered by foretelling events that would identify the generation living at the time when God would wipe out this corrupt world. He said that the time just before that would be marked by international war, food shortages, disease epidemics, earthquakes, also increased lawlessness. The Bible also foretold that men would be “ruining the earth.” Read this for yourself in your own Bible at Matthew chapters 24 and 25, Luke 21 and Revelation 11:15-18.

But how do we know that we live in the generation of which Jesus spoke? Because people now living have seen the foretold events take place, all of them, and on a global scale.

Furthermore, Bible prophecy pinpoints the year 1914. as one of great significance. That is why, over thirty years before that date, Jehovah’s witnesses, careful students of the Bible, widely announced this.

What do historians now say? Recently, University Professor D. F. Fleming wrote: “More and more historians look back upon World War I [starting in 1914] as the turning point of modern history, the catastrophic collapse which opened the way for others, perhaps the final one.”

What does all this mean?

That 1914 was the start of what the Bible calls “the last days.”

The last days of what? Not of the earth, nor of the human race. But the last days of the present world system that is ruining the earth. When will this time period end and the foretold destruction come? As recorded at Matthew 24:34, Jesus answered:

“Truly I say to you that this generation will by no means pass away until all these things occur.”

The generation seeing the start of “the sign” in 1914 is now far along in years. Time is obviously running out!

But what about the great efforts under way by world leaders to bring peace and security world wide? Note carefully what 1 Thessalonians 5:3 says:

“Whenever it is that they are saying: ‘Peace and security!’ then sudden destruction is to be instantly upon them.”

What does this mean for you?

 You Can Be Happy That So Little Time Is Left

Does that sound strange? Yet the news that God will soon destroy this corrupt world should make honest-hearted persons everywhere rejoice!

It is the answer to the prayer of millions of persons who have longed for God’s kingdom to come and for His will to be done on earth as it is in heaven. (Matthew 6:9, 10) What changes will the rule of God’s kingdom by Christ bring to earth? The Bible says:

LASTING PEACE

“The princely rule will come to be upon his shoulder. And his name will be called . . . Prince of Peace. To the abundance of the princely rule and to peace there will be no end . . . Jehovah of armies will do this.”—Isaiah 9:6, 7.

NO MORE CRIME AND HUNGER

“They will actually sit, each one under his vine and under his fig tree, and there will be no one making them tremble.” Also, “There will come to be plenty of grain on the earth.”—Micah 4:4; Psalm 72:16.

ETERNAL LIFE IN REAL HEALTH

“The gift God gives is everlasting life.” “Death will be no more, neither will mourning nor outcry nor pain be anymore.”—Romans 6:23; Revelation 21:4.

THE EARTH A DELIGHTFUL HOME

“The meek ones themselves will possess the earth, and they will indeed find their exquisite delight in the abundance of peace . . . they will reside forever upon it.”—Psalm 37:11, 29; Matthew 5:5.

How can you be sure that God’s time is really at hand to do these things? Being convinced of this would give real meaning to your life even now. You can gain that conviction. How? There is only one way.

By getting a clear understanding of what is in the Bible. Jehovah’s witnesses will be happy to call at your home, free of charge, to discuss the grand prospects ahead and to answer your Bible questions. If you wish, more information will be sent by mall. Send In the coupon below; do it today. Or, get in touch with Jehovah’s witnesses locally.

[ ] Please arrange for a qualified person to visit me for a free home Bible discussion.

[ ] Please send me the 416-page hardbound book ”God’s Kingdom of a Thousand Years Has Approached.” I am enclosing 50 cents.

[Chart on page 3]

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1914

WORLD WARS

MASSIVE FAMINES

DISEASE EPIDEMICS

VIOLENT CRIMES

GLOBAL POLLUTION

End of This System

ALL IN ONE GENERATION