Jehovah Will "Carry It Out" (Isa. 46:11)

🔙 INDICE 🎬 VIDEO

All of us recognize the last days are going “from bad to worse.” Jehovah told us that it was going to be the case. And so, wickedness is just so prevalent now. I’m one who has always liked to keep up with the news. I like to find out how things are with our brothers in certain parts of the world —for instance, Hurricane Florence. But it’s filled with all this other garbage. In fact, last night I started (for about three minutes) watching the 6:30 p.m. news and I said, “Forget it.” It’s just filled with it. So the subject that we’re going to have a discussion about this morning, while sobering (I hope you find it encouraging) —I thought we’d discuss the final end of God’s enemies. So it can be very encouraging, albeit sobering. And to help us with it, there’s a beautiful expression here in the 37th Psalm —so find that 37th Psalm. And how encouraging to meditate on this beautiful verse —verse 20: “But the wicked will perish; “the enemies of Jehovah will vanish like glorious pastures; they will vanish like smoke.” So since they’re Jehovah’s enemies and Jehovah is our best Friend, that means they’re our enemies. How we look forward to these enemies of Jehovah, our enemies, ‘vanishing like smoke’! Now, in 1919, Jehovah brought “the Israel of God” into his favored position, and then, as we know, historically in the 1930’s, the emphasis went toward the “great crowd” of “other sheep.” They’ve been flocking to his side, and there are millions and millions that are on Jehovah’s side. And it just emphasizes the righteousness of his sovereignty. However, all of this growth and the advances in this organization —the earthly part that we’re discussing— it infuriates Satan the Devil, just infuriates him. And hence, how we look forward to the end of Jehovah’s chief enemy as well as all the other enemies that are under his influence! Now, it’s interesting that the <i>Isaiah’s Prophecy</i> book had some sobering comments. And find, if you would, please, the very last chapter of Isaiah and the very last verse in Isaiah —Isaiah 66— and we’re going to read verse 24: “And they will go out and look on the carcasses of the men “who rebelled against me; “for the worms on them will not die, “and their fire will not be extinguished, and they will become something repulsive to all people.” So it’s making reference to all of these who rebel against Jehovah God —his enemies. Now, what makes this even more of an impact is the fact that Christ Jesus likely had this verse in mind when he said these well-known words —well-known to Jehovah’s Witnesses anyway— in Mark chapter 9. Find Mark chapter 9, and this is a very clear warning for all who would want to stay friends of Jehovah God. Notice verses 47 and 48: “And if your eye makes you stumble, throw it away. “It is better for you to enter one-eyed into the Kingdom of God “than to be thrown with two eyes into Gehenna, “where the maggot does not die and the fire is not put out.” Of course, Christendom will twist these inspired thoughts of our Master, Christ Jesus, but it’s very clear. And you’ll notice that the cross-reference scripture at the end of verse 48 is Isaiah 66:24. So Jesus likely had that particular thought from Isaiah in mind. And here’s the warning —the final end of God’s enemies and how he feels about them. Now, what is this place called Gehenna? Just to review it a little bit, the <i>Isaiah’s Prophecy</i> book had some fine thoughts to aid us with this. They quote this Jewish scholar, who wrote (and quoting him): “It is a place . . . adjoining Jerusalem, “and it is a loathsome place, “and they throw there unclean things and carcasses. “Also there was a continual fire there “to burn the unclean things and the bones of the carcasses. “Hence, the judgment of the wicked ones is called parabolically Gehinnom,” ending his quote. So the <i>Isaiah’s Prophecy</i> book mentions: “If, as this Jewish scholar suggests, “Gehenna was used for the disposal of refuse “and carcasses of those deemed unworthy of burial, “fire would be a suitable means of eliminating such refuse. “[Now this is the point:] What the fire did not consume, the maggots would.” Now, I don’t know if you know much about maggots, but if you see a whole bunch of them, it’s just not a pleasant sight. But what a fitting picture of the final end of all of God’s enemies —sobering, yet something we look forward to! However, the apostates and the enemies of Jehovah would say: “Well, that’s gruesome; that’s despicable. You teach your people these things?” No, God teaches his people these things. This is what he’s foretelling. And frankly, for friends of Jehovah God, how reassuring that they’re finally going to be gone —all these despicable enemies who have just reproached Jehovah’s name— destroyed, never ever to live again! Now, it’s not that we rejoice in someone’s death, but when it comes to God’s enemies, finally they’re out of the way —especially these despicable apostates, who at one point had dedicated their life to God and then they joined forces with Satan the Devil, the chief apostate of all time. So while we eagerly await Jehovah bringing his enemies to their end, here’s a very sobering point from James chapter 4 that you’ll remember. Let’s find James and what he writes here —James chapter 4. And James, of course, Jehovah used him and inspired him, but he’s always nice and direct. You don’t read James and go away saying, “I wonder what he meant by that?” It’s very clear, verse 4: “Adulteresses, do you not know “that friendship with the world is enmity with God? “Whoever, therefore, wants to be a friend of the world is making himself an enemy of God.” So, what a clear warning! We don’t want to have any friendship —whether socially or on social networks— with Jehovah’s enemies. We’re not friends of the world. We’re Jehovah’s friends. We’re looking at him as our closest and most precious Friend. And we never would want Jehovah to view us as an enemy. So in conclusion, let’s go back to that opening Psalm that we looked at here, just to help this verse stay in your mind —we hope. Verse 20, just to emphasize this: “But the wicked will perish; the enemies of Jehovah “will vanish like glorious pastures; [particularly] they will <i>vanish like smoke</i>.” So I just thought this would be a nice memory aid so that this verse stays in your mind. Here is what Jehovah is promising: That was Jehovah’s enemies —they’re going to “vanish like smoke”!