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THE TYRANTS DEFINED. "Your eyes shall see the King in all His splendour, and gaze upon His broad domain; till, musing on the terror that has vanished, you ask, "Where are the tyrant's officers, who taxed us, charged us, took our tribute?" These insolent creatures you shall see no more, that folk with foreign tongue mysterious, who chattered in a jargon meaningless." (Isaiah 33:17-19 Moffatt). The "tyrant's officers" today are those to whom taxes are paid. But who are the tyrants that employ them, and how do we identify them? To answer these questions, ask yourselves: Who are they that rule over mankind and formulate laws to govern taxation and enforcement to ensure the tribute they demand is paid? They are the government ministers of each nation, implementing oppressive measures that deprive the poor of justice and defend the system they have devised for themselves, just as it is written: "Shame on you! You who make unjust laws and publish burdensome decrees, depriving the poor of justice, robbing the weakest of My people of their rights, despoiling the widow and plundering the orphan." (Isaiah 10:1,2 NEB).
These are the tyrants whom Jehovah
describes as "insolent creatures". They come to power by the will
of the people over whom they rule. Ministers of the State maintain the
oppressive rule of the "wild beast" by employing officers to
devise meaningless jargon to defend its interests In a spiritual sense, beloved people of God gaze upon the "broad domain" of the coming Kingdom of God. They eagerly await His Kingdom Rule, the overthrow of the tyrants, and the glorious Spirit of the "water of life" flowing from the throne of God. (Rev 22:1-3). For when "the terror" of the tyrants and their officers has vanished, they will be replaced by he who is "just in word and deed", who "scorns to profit by oppression", who "will not clutch at any bribe", who "listens to no plans of murder" and "will not look at crime". Such ones are provided for by Jehovah God, secure in the quality of their consecrated spirits. (Isaiah 33:15,16 Moffatt). Many men pursue their ambition to rule over others, and some have that ambition realized. But not one of them is righteously disposed. By contrast, citizens of the community of God live and work for the welfare of their brothers and sisters in the faith, and do so without the need for oppressive laws and their enforcement, or for any prompting to carry out the spiritual requirements of God. Under the coming Kingdom of God, they will no more be terrorized by the instituted laws of capitalistic oppression and excess taxation. Godly nations will be provided for by God. All tyrants shall be rooted out by Him, just as He has begun to do in Ethiopia and surrounding lands, Babylon/Iraq, and Lebanon, and just as He has prophesied to do in Egypt, Assyria and Israel. By the Spirit of the Lord's Judgement all tyrant nations shall be exposed and destroyed. As for Egypt, Assyria and Israel, they are ultimately to become "a blessing in the centre of the world." (Isaiah 19:24,25 NEB).
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