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The Modern Plague

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     How long are the remnant of the anointed Christian witnesses of Jehovah authorized to strike the religious clergy with this tormenting message? For the period of their life before God's war of Armageddon, as symbolized by the five months assigned to the locusts. Since Jehovah's anointed remnant are not authorized to act as his executioners of men who persecute them for preaching God's message, the religious clergy are left alive to suffer the tormenting pain from God's judgment message. Not that the clergy would not prefer to die rather than endure this judgment proclamation any longer; but as the apostle John says of them: "And in those days the men will seek death but will by no means find it, and they will desire to die but death keeps fleeing from them." God's execution of judgment, his infliction of death upon these hypocritical Christian clergy, is delayed till he begins his universal war of Armageddon.
     What do these symbolic locusts look like? John says: "And the likenesses of the locusts resembled horses prepared for battle; and upon their heads were what seemed to be crowns like gold, and their faces were as men's faces, but they had hair as women's hair. And their teeth were as those of lions; and they had breastplates like iron breastplates. And the sound of their wings was as the sound of chariots of many horses running into battle. Also, they have tails and stings like scorpions; and in their tails is their authority to hurt the men five months." From this description we note that the remnant of Jehovah's anointed witnesses were brought forth in 1919 for warfare, a spiritual warfare from that year till the actual outbreak of the "war of the great day of God the Almighty," commonly called Armageddon. (Rev. 16:14-16) Hence they looked like horses, which in Bible times were used for warfare. "The horse

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is something prepared for the day of battle," says Proverbs 21:31.
     The symbolic locusts are royal warriors, as denoted by the goldlike crowns upon the locusts' heads; for by being anointed with God's spirit they have been made "joint heirs with Christ" and have been assigned a crown and throne in Christ's kingdom of a thousand years. (Rom. 8:16, 17; Luke 22:28-30; Rev. 3:11, 21) During this time of spiritual warfare with Christendom these symbolic locusts are mere humans gifted with intelligence, as denoted by their "men's faces." Like Hebrew warriors in the field who did not have barbershop facilities, they let their head of hair grow to the length of women's hair, so that they had a hairy mane and looked like lions for fierceness. (1 Chron. 12:8) Appropriately, then, "their teeth were as those of lions," that could devour solid food, flesh, like the strong judgment message of God's vengeance against Christendom. (Heb. 5:12; 1 Cor. 3:1, 2) Their hearts, the organs of love for God and for his righteousness, hence hearts that know no fear but are courageous, are well protected as if by impenetrable breastplates of iron. So they never lose love and courage.
     Like a huge swarm of winged locusts that are capable of flying for a thousand miles or more, they unitedly make a noise that sounds like a squadron of war chariots rattling along to the beat of many horses' hoofs into the battle. It is a terrific sound. The symbolic locusts shout as from the house-tops and let God's judgment message be heard over a vast distance in the territory that they cover. Fear of the enemy does not soften down their message to a mere whisper. Jehovah's war declaration must be sounded loudly. He is responsible for the hurting of feelings that the message causes to the ones who are stung by it. For the brief time interval till Armageddon breaks out, "five months," as it were, the symbolic locusts must use their scorpion-like tails, God's Word, "the sword of the spirit," and must strike men against whom God's judgment is directed. It is not God's time to spare feelings. His enemies have to be exposed and notified of coming judgment.-Eph. 6:17.
     The symbolic locusts must follow their King, Jesus Christ. John says of them: "They have over them a king, the angel of the abyss. In Hebrew his name is Abad'don, but in Greek he has the name Apollyon." The resurrected heavenly Jesus Christ is the "angel of the abyss," for he holds the "keys of death and of Ha'des." In the finale of the universal war of Armageddon he will bind and pitch Satan the Devil and his spirit demons into the abyss of deathlike inactivity. (Rev. 20:1-3) When Jesus was on earth as a man, he was a Hebrew, and now in his capacity as Jehovah's royal Executioner he is called by the Hebrew name Abad'don, which means Destruction. (Job 26:6; 28:22; 31:12; 12:23; 14:19) In the Greek in which the inspired Christian Scriptures were written his similar title is Apollyon, which means Destroyer. This name clearly shows that he comes to the throne at God's right hand to rule first in the midst of his enemies and to destroy them in execution of Jehovah's righteous judgment, Jehovah's judicial decision against them.-Jas. 4:12.
     The symbolic locusts who must proclaim the judgment message before the judgment is executed in the "low plain of the decision" have Jesus Christ as their King, but he is invisible. They have no

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visible king any more than literal locusts have: "The locusts have no king, and yet they go forth all of them divided into groups." For the reason that they move forward in groups or swarms, they are "instinctively wise," although being among the "smallest" things on earth. (Prov. 30:24, 27) The symbolic locusts, the anointed witnesses of Jehovah, move forward united, grouped according to their local congregations. But this is not due to any locust instinct. It is due to the heavenly wisdom imparted by God's spirit. Also, their following their heavenly King Jesus Christ as the Leader whom God had enthroned is what keeps them united in their attack upon the men not sealed. (Rev. 7:2-8; 9:4) Willingly, obediently, they subject themselves to his command; and this is what may also be pictured by the fact that the symbolic locusts "had hair as women's hair," since a woman's long hair naturally is a sign of her subjection, a sign of having authority on her head.-1 Cor. 11:10, 15; Ps. 110:3.
 

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