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00:00:01 All of us recognize 00:00:03 the last days are going “from bad to worse.” 00:00:05 Jehovah told us that it 00:00:06 was going to be the case. 00:00:08 And so, wickedness is just 00:00:12 so prevalent now. 00:00:14 I’m one who has always liked to keep up 00:00:15 with the news. 00:00:18 I like to find out how things are 00:00:20 with our brothers in certain parts of the world 00:00:23 —for instance, Hurricane Florence. 00:00:26 But it’s filled with all this other garbage. 00:00:30 In fact, last night I started (for about three minutes) 00:00:33 watching the 6:30 p.m. news and I said, “Forget it.” 00:00:36 It’s just filled with it. 00:00:39 So the subject that we’re going to have a discussion about this morning, 00:00:44 while sobering (I hope you find it encouraging) 00:00:48 —I thought we’d discuss the final end of God’s enemies. 00:00:53 So it can be very encouraging, albeit sobering. 00:00:58 And to help us with it, there’s a beautiful expression 00:01:01 here in the 37th Psalm 00:01:04 —so find that 37th Psalm. 00:01:08 And how encouraging 00:01:11 to meditate on this beautiful verse 00:01:14 —verse 20: 00:01:17 “But the wicked will perish; 00:01:19 “the enemies of Jehovah will vanish like glorious pastures; 00:01:24 they will vanish like smoke.” 00:01:28 So since they’re Jehovah’s enemies 00:01:31 and Jehovah is our best Friend, 00:01:34 that means they’re our enemies. 00:01:37 How we look forward to 00:01:39 these enemies of Jehovah, our enemies, 00:01:43 ‘vanishing like smoke’! 00:01:46 Now, in 1919, 00:01:48 Jehovah brought “the Israel of God” into his favored position, 00:01:53 and then, as we know, historically in the 1930’s, 00:01:56 the emphasis went toward the “great crowd” of “other sheep.” 00:02:01 They’ve been flocking to his side, 00:02:03 and there are millions and millions that are on Jehovah’s side. 00:02:07 And it just emphasizes the righteousness of his sovereignty. 00:02:12 However, all of this growth 00:02:15 and the advances in this organization 00:02:17 —the earthly part that we’re discussing— 00:02:20 it infuriates Satan the Devil, 00:02:23 just infuriates him. 00:02:25 And hence, how we look forward to 00:02:28 the end of Jehovah’s chief enemy 00:02:31 as well as all the other enemies that are under his influence! 00:02:35 Now, it’s interesting that the Isaiah’s Prophecy book 00:02:39 had some sobering comments. 00:02:41 And find, if you would, please, 00:02:44 the very last chapter of Isaiah 00:02:46 and the very last verse in Isaiah 00:02:52 —Isaiah 66— 00:02:55 and we’re going to read verse 24: 00:03:00 “And they will go out and look on the carcasses of the men 00:03:04 “who rebelled against me; 00:03:06 “for the worms on them will not die, 00:03:10 “and their fire will not be extinguished, 00:03:13 and they will become something repulsive to all people.” 00:03:17 So it’s making reference to all of these 00:03:19 who rebel against Jehovah God —his enemies. 00:03:24 Now, what makes this even more of an impact 00:03:28 is the fact that Christ Jesus likely had this verse in mind 00:03:33 when he said these well-known words 00:03:35 —well-known to Jehovah’s Witnesses anyway— 00:03:38 in Mark chapter 9. 00:03:41 Find Mark chapter 9, 00:03:46 and this is a very clear warning 00:03:51 for all who would want to stay friends of Jehovah God. 00:03:56 Notice verses 47 and 48: 00:04:00 “And if your eye makes you stumble, throw it away. 00:04:03 “It is better for you to enter one-eyed into the Kingdom of God 00:04:07 “than to be thrown with two eyes into Gehenna, 00:04:10 “where the maggot does not die 00:04:13 and the fire is not put out.” 00:04:17 Of course, Christendom will twist 00:04:19 these inspired thoughts of our Master, Christ Jesus, 00:04:23 but it’s very clear. 00:04:25 And you’ll notice that the cross-reference scripture 00:04:28 at the end of verse 48 is Isaiah 66:24. 00:04:32 So Jesus likely had that particular thought from Isaiah in mind. 00:04:37 And here’s the warning —the final end of God’s enemies 00:04:42 and how he feels about them. 00:04:46 Now, what is this place called Gehenna? 00:04:50 Just to review it a little bit, 00:04:52 the Isaiah’s Prophecy book had some fine thoughts 00:04:56 to aid us with this. 00:04:59 They quote this Jewish scholar, who wrote (and quoting him): 00:05:03 “It is a place . . . adjoining Jerusalem, 00:05:06 “and it is a loathsome place, 00:05:09 “and they throw there unclean things and carcasses. 00:05:12 “Also there was a continual fire there 00:05:15 “to burn the unclean things and the bones of the carcasses. 00:05:19 “Hence, the judgment of the wicked ones 00:05:22 is called parabolically Gehinnom,” 00:05:25 ending his quote. 00:05:27 So the Isaiah’s Prophecy book mentions: 00:05:30 “If, as this Jewish scholar suggests, 00:05:34 “Gehenna was used for the disposal of refuse 00:05:38 “and carcasses of those deemed unworthy of burial, 00:05:41 “fire would be a suitable means of eliminating such refuse. 00:05:46 “[Now this is the point:] 00:05:48 What the fire did not consume, the maggots would.” 00:05:53 Now, I don’t know if you know much about maggots, 00:05:56 but if you see a whole bunch of them, 00:05:59 it’s just not a pleasant sight. 00:06:04 But what a fitting picture 00:06:06 of the final end of all of God’s enemies 00:06:10 —sobering, yet something we look forward to! 00:06:13 However, the apostates and the enemies of Jehovah would say: 00:06:17 “Well, that’s gruesome; that’s despicable. 00:06:20 You teach your people these things?” 00:06:22 No, God teaches his people these things. 00:06:26 This is what he’s foretelling. 00:06:28 And frankly, for friends of Jehovah God, how reassuring 00:06:32 that they’re finally going to be gone 00:06:34 —all these despicable enemies 00:06:37 who have just reproached Jehovah’s name— 00:06:40 destroyed, never ever to live again! 00:06:44 Now, it’s not that we rejoice in someone’s death, 00:06:48 but when it comes to God’s enemies, 00:06:51 finally they’re out of the way 00:06:53 —especially these despicable apostates, 00:06:55 who at one point had dedicated their life to God 00:06:58 and then they joined forces with Satan the Devil, 00:07:02 the chief apostate of all time. 00:07:06 So while we eagerly await 00:07:08 Jehovah bringing his enemies to their end, 00:07:12 here’s a very sobering point from James chapter 4 that you’ll remember. 00:07:16 Let’s find James 00:07:20 and what he writes here 00:07:23 —James chapter 4. 00:07:28 And James, of course, Jehovah used him and inspired him, 00:07:32 but he’s always nice and direct. 00:07:34 You don’t read James and go away saying, “I wonder what he meant by that?” 00:07:38 It’s very clear, verse 4: 00:07:43 “Adulteresses, do you not know 00:07:46 “that friendship with the world is enmity with God? 00:07:50 “Whoever, therefore, wants to be a friend of the world 00:07:54 is making himself an enemy of God.” 00:07:59 So, what a clear warning! 00:08:02 We don’t want to have any friendship 00:08:05 —whether socially or on social networks— 00:08:08 with Jehovah’s enemies. 00:08:11 We’re not friends of the world. We’re Jehovah’s friends. 00:08:14 We’re looking at him 00:08:17 as our closest and most precious Friend. 00:08:20 And we never would want Jehovah to view us 00:08:24 as an enemy. 00:08:26 So in conclusion, let’s go back to 00:08:29 that opening Psalm that we looked at here, 00:08:34 just to help this verse stay in your mind —we hope. 00:08:38 Verse 20, just to emphasize this: 00:08:43 “But the wicked will perish; the enemies of Jehovah 00:08:46 “will vanish like glorious pastures; 00:08:48 [particularly] they will vanish like smoke.” 00:08:53 So I just thought this would be a nice memory aid 00:08:58 so that this verse stays in your mind. 00:09:00 Here is what Jehovah is promising: 00:09:12 That was Jehovah’s enemies 00:09:15 —they’re going to “vanish like smoke”!
00:00:01 All of us recognize 00:00:03 the last days are going “from bad to worse.” 00:00:05 Jehovah told us that it 00:00:06 was going to be the case. 00:00:08 And so, wickedness is just 00:00:12 so prevalent now. 00:00:14 I’m one who has always liked to keep up 00:00:15 with the news. 00:00:18 I like to find out how things are 00:00:20 with our brothers in certain parts of the world 00:00:23 —for instance, Hurricane Florence. 00:00:26 But it’s filled with all this other garbage. 00:00:30 In fact, last night I started (for about three minutes) 00:00:33 watching the 6:30 p.m. news and I said, “Forget it.” 00:00:36 It’s just filled with it. 00:00:39 So the subject that we’re going to have a discussion about this morning, 00:00:44 while sobering (I hope you find it encouraging) 00:00:48 —I thought we’d discuss the final end of God’s enemies. 00:00:53 So it can be very encouraging, albeit sobering. 00:00:58 And to help us with it, there’s a beautiful expression 00:01:01 here in the 37th Psalm 00:01:04 —so find that 37th Psalm. 00:01:08 And how encouraging 00:01:11 to meditate on this beautiful verse 00:01:14 —verse 20: 00:01:17 “But the wicked will perish; 00:01:19 “the enemies of Jehovah will vanish like glorious pastures; 00:01:24 they will vanish like smoke.” 00:01:28 So since they’re Jehovah’s enemies 00:01:31 and Jehovah is our best Friend, 00:01:34 that means they’re our enemies. 00:01:37 How we look forward to 00:01:39 these enemies of Jehovah, our enemies, 00:01:43 ‘vanishing like smoke’! 00:01:46 Now, in 1919, 00:01:48 Jehovah brought “the Israel of God” into his favored position, 00:01:53 and then, as we know, historically in the 1930’s, 00:01:56 the emphasis went toward the “great crowd” of “other sheep.” 00:02:01 They’ve been flocking to his side, 00:02:03 and there are millions and millions that are on Jehovah’s side. 00:02:07 And it just emphasizes the righteousness of his sovereignty. 00:02:12 However, all of this growth 00:02:15 and the advances in this organization 00:02:17 —the earthly part that we’re discussing— 00:02:20 it infuriates Satan the Devil, 00:02:23 just infuriates him. 00:02:25 And hence, how we look forward to 00:02:28 the end of Jehovah’s chief enemy 00:02:31 as well as all the other enemies that are under his influence! 00:02:35 Now, it’s interesting that the Isaiah’s Prophecy book 00:02:39 had some sobering comments. 00:02:41 And find, if you would, please, 00:02:44 the very last chapter of Isaiah 00:02:46 and the very last verse in Isaiah 00:02:52 —Isaiah 66— 00:02:55 and we’re going to read verse 24: 00:03:00 “And they will go out and look on the carcasses of the men 00:03:04 “who rebelled against me; 00:03:06 “for the worms on them will not die, 00:03:10 “and their fire will not be extinguished, 00:03:13 and they will become something repulsive to all people.” 00:03:17 So it’s making reference to all of these 00:03:19 who rebel against Jehovah God —his enemies. 00:03:24 Now, what makes this even more of an impact 00:03:28 is the fact that Christ Jesus likely had this verse in mind 00:03:33 when he said these well-known words 00:03:35 —well-known to Jehovah’s Witnesses anyway— 00:03:38 in Mark chapter 9. 00:03:41 Find Mark chapter 9, 00:03:46 and this is a very clear warning 00:03:51 for all who would want to stay friends of Jehovah God. 00:03:56 Notice verses 47 and 48: 00:04:00 “And if your eye makes you stumble, throw it away. 00:04:03 “It is better for you to enter one-eyed into the Kingdom of God 00:04:07 “than to be thrown with two eyes into Gehenna, 00:04:10 “where the maggot does not die 00:04:13 and the fire is not put out.” 00:04:17 Of course, Christendom will twist 00:04:19 these inspired thoughts of our Master, Christ Jesus, 00:04:23 but it’s very clear. 00:04:25 And you’ll notice that the cross-reference scripture 00:04:28 at the end of verse 48 is Isaiah 66:24. 00:04:32 So Jesus likely had that particular thought from Isaiah in mind. 00:04:37 And here’s the warning —the final end of God’s enemies 00:04:42 and how he feels about them. 00:04:46 Now, what is this place called Gehenna? 00:04:50 Just to review it a little bit, 00:04:52 the Isaiah’s Prophecy book had some fine thoughts 00:04:56 to aid us with this. 00:04:59 They quote this Jewish scholar, who wrote (and quoting him): 00:05:03 “It is a place . . . adjoining Jerusalem, 00:05:06 “and it is a loathsome place, 00:05:09 “and they throw there unclean things and carcasses. 00:05:12 “Also there was a continual fire there 00:05:15 “to burn the unclean things and the bones of the carcasses. 00:05:19 “Hence, the judgment of the wicked ones 00:05:22 is called parabolically Gehinnom,” 00:05:25 ending his quote. 00:05:27 So the Isaiah’s Prophecy book mentions: 00:05:30 “If, as this Jewish scholar suggests, 00:05:34 “Gehenna was used for the disposal of refuse 00:05:38 “and carcasses of those deemed unworthy of burial, 00:05:41 “fire would be a suitable means of eliminating such refuse. 00:05:46 “[Now this is the point:] 00:05:48 What the fire did not consume, the maggots would.” 00:05:53 Now, I don’t know if you know much about maggots, 00:05:56 but if you see a whole bunch of them, 00:05:59 it’s just not a pleasant sight. 00:06:04 But what a fitting picture 00:06:06 of the final end of all of God’s enemies 00:06:10 —sobering, yet something we look forward to! 00:06:13 However, the apostates and the enemies of Jehovah would say: 00:06:17 “Well, that’s gruesome; that’s despicable. 00:06:20 You teach your people these things?” 00:06:22 No, God teaches his people these things. 00:06:26 This is what he’s foretelling. 00:06:28 And frankly, for friends of Jehovah God, how reassuring 00:06:32 that they’re finally going to be gone 00:06:34 —all these despicable enemies 00:06:37 who have just reproached Jehovah’s name— 00:06:40 destroyed, never ever to live again! 00:06:44 Now, it’s not that we rejoice in someone’s death, 00:06:48 but when it comes to God’s enemies, 00:06:51 finally they’re out of the way 00:06:53 —especially these despicable apostates, 00:06:55 who at one point had dedicated their life to God 00:06:58 and then they joined forces with Satan the Devil, 00:07:02 the chief apostate of all time. 00:07:06 So while we eagerly await 00:07:08 Jehovah bringing his enemies to their end, 00:07:12 here’s a very sobering point from James chapter 4 that you’ll remember. 00:07:16 Let’s find James 00:07:20 and what he writes here 00:07:23 —James chapter 4. 00:07:28 And James, of course, Jehovah used him and inspired him, 00:07:32 but he’s always nice and direct. 00:07:34 You don’t read James and go away saying, “I wonder what he meant by that?” 00:07:38 It’s very clear, verse 4: 00:07:43 “Adulteresses, do you not know 00:07:46 “that friendship with the world is enmity with God? 00:07:50 “Whoever, therefore, wants to be a friend of the world 00:07:54 is making himself an enemy of God.” 00:07:59 So, what a clear warning! 00:08:02 We don’t want to have any friendship 00:08:05 —whether socially or on social networks— 00:08:08 with Jehovah’s enemies. 00:08:11 We’re not friends of the world. We’re Jehovah’s friends. 00:08:14 We’re looking at him 00:08:17 as our closest and most precious Friend. 00:08:20 And we never would want Jehovah to view us 00:08:24 as an enemy. 00:08:26 So in conclusion, let’s go back to 00:08:29 that opening Psalm that we looked at here, 00:08:34 just to help this verse stay in your mind —we hope. 00:08:38 Verse 20, just to emphasize this: 00:08:43 “But the wicked will perish; the enemies of Jehovah 00:08:46 “will vanish like glorious pastures; 00:08:48 [particularly] they will vanish like smoke.” 00:08:53 So I just thought this would be a nice memory aid 00:08:58 so that this verse stays in your mind. 00:09:00 Here is what Jehovah is promising: 00:09:12 That was Jehovah’s enemies 00:09:15 —they’re going to “vanish like smoke”!
