Deliverance! by Joseph Franklin Rutherford.
This book presents a message of hope, identifying humanity's greatest enemy and truest friend. It outlines the divine purpose, explaining the cause of human suffering and detailing God's progressive steps to overthrow wickedness, deliver the people, and establish a righteous government on earth. The central figures in this cosmic drama are Jehovah the Father, His loyal son the Logos, and His rebellious son Lucifer.
The Divine Order and its Disruption
The Creator and His Creatures
The world is filled with distress, war, selfishness, and oppression, leading many to question who is responsible and if deliverance is possible. The answers are not found in flawed human opinion but in the Bible, the authoritative Word of the Creator, Jehovah God. Jehovah is the immortal Creator of all things, the source of everlasting strength and every good gift.
His first and only direct creation was a mighty spirit being known as the Logos, who then served as Jehovah's active agent in creating all other things, including the angelic hosts of cherubim, seraphim, and other "sons of God." Among these was a brilliant and perfect anointed cherub named Lucifer, meaning "light-bearer." He and the Logos were called "the morning stars" and dwelled in peace and harmony, giving glory to God.
In time, God created the earth as a home for a new creation: man. This news brought great joy to the heavenly realm, with the morning stars singing together in praise. God then formed Adam from the dust, breathing into him the breath of life, and man became a living soul—not possessing a separate immortal soul. Created in God's image, Adam was endowed with the attributes of wisdom, justice, love, and power. He was given dominion over the earth and, with his perfect wife Eve, was placed in the beautiful paradise of Eden, with the potential for direct communication with the heavens.
The Great Rebellion
Every perfect creature is a free moral agent, given the liberty to choose good or evil so that their loyalty may be tested. The perfection and beauty of Eden provided the setting for this test. The tragedy that unfolded there is the source of all subsequent crime and suffering, a crime committed by one of the highest and most trusted beings in the universe.
To test man's loyalty, God gave a simple law: Adam was free to eat from every tree except for the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, with the penalty for disobedience being death. God appointed the brilliant Lucifer as man's overlord and protector in Eden, entrusting him with the sacred duty to shield man from wrongdoing. Lucifer was even given the power of death, making it his official duty to execute the penalty should man disobey.
However, Lucifer became impressed with his own beauty and power. Selfishness entered his heart, and he grew ambitious to control the human race and receive their worship. He devised a cunning rebellion, reasoning that he could cause man to sin and then refuse to execute the death penalty. He planned to lead man to the tree of life, allowing him to live forever and thus proving God to be a liar and establishing himself as man's true benefactor.
Proceeding with his plan, Lucifer used a serpent to approach Eve. He uttered the first lie—"Ye shall not surely die"—and accused God of deceitfully withholding knowledge. Deceived, Eve ate the forbidden fruit and then gave it to Adam, who also ate. Their eyes were opened to their sin, and they hid from God. When confronted, they confessed, and God pronounced judgment: for the woman, pain in childbirth and subjugation to her husband; for the man, a life of toil and an eventual return to the dust from which he was formed.
To prevent the now-sinful humans from eating from the tree of life and living forever in their fallen state, God acted immediately. He drove Adam and Eve from Eden and placed powerful cherubim to guard the way back. Though sentenced to death, Adam was allowed to live for 930 years to have children. However, as an imperfect man under a death sentence, he could only produce imperfect offspring. Thus, sin and death passed upon the entire human race.
Lucifer's name was changed to reflect his new character: Satan (adversary), Devil (slanderer), Serpent (deceiver), and Dragon (devourer). The rebellion spread further when other angels, seduced by Satan, left their proper spiritual place, cohabited with human women, and produced a wicked race of giants. This series of rebellions brought untold havoc, degrading perfect beings, corrupting humanity, and filling the earth with sickness, sorrow, and death.
A History of Conflict: God's Witnesses vs. Satan's World
Early Witnesses and the First World's Fall
From the beginning, a conflict existed between the "seed of the serpent" (those who support Satan's cause) and the "seed of the woman" (God's righteous organization and its supporters). God permitted Satan to continue his wicked course in order to fully test His creatures. In the days of Enos, hypocrisy first appeared when men began to call themselves by God's name while practicing wickedness—a scheme of Satan to reproach God and the origin of organized false religion.
In contrast, Enoch stood out as a man of faith who walked with God in a corrupt world. He prophesied a future judgment and, because of his faithfulness, God "translated" him, taking him from life peacefully without his having to experience a violent death. This served as an early sign of God's eventual plan to deliver the faithful from the enemy death.
By 1600 years after Eden, the world—the organized system of humanity under the invisible power of Satan and his fallen angels—had become completely corrupt and filled with violence. The only exception was Noah, a just man who found grace in God's eyes. God revealed His purpose to destroy that wicked world with a global deluge but to preserve Noah and his family. Noah became a preacher of righteousness, warning of the coming judgment, but the people scoffed. The flood came as promised, destroying the visible part of Satan's organization and demonstrating that Jehovah is the supreme God and that following Satan leads only to ruin. This event was a type, foreshadowing the greater destruction to come upon the present evil world.
Satan's Post-Flood Organization and God's Rebukes
After the flood, God commanded Noah's family to repopulate the earth. Satan, however, did not learn his lesson and soon began seducing mankind again, starting with the worship of the mighty hunter Nimrod. His next major attempt to organize humanity against God was the Tower of Babel. This project was designed to unite the people under a single government, make a name for themselves, and promote the idea that they did not need God—a scheme God thwarted by confusing their languages and scattering them across the earth.
From that time, Satan organized humanity into a series of world powers, all characterized by the three ruling elements of commercial greed, political power, and false religion. These oppressive empires are symbolized in Scripture as wild "beasts."
Satan's first great world power was Egypt. It was a mighty military and commercial empire where the people were led into idolatry. During this time, God's chosen people, the Israelites, were living in Egypt and became greatly oppressed by a Pharaoh who was a tool of Satan. Seeking to destroy the promised line of deliverance, Satan instigated the murder of all male Hebrew infants. It was at this time that Moses, a future type of the great Deliverer, was miraculously saved. When Moses, at God's command, demanded that Pharaoh let Israel go, the arrogant ruler defied Jehovah. In response, God brought ten devastating plagues upon Egypt to make His name known, culminating in the death of all of Egypt's firstborn and the destruction of their false gods. He then miraculously delivered the Israelites through the Red Sea while destroying Pharaoh's entire army, ending Satan's first world power.
God's rebukes continued throughout history. Centuries later, when the arrogant Assyrian king Sennacherib threatened Jerusalem and blasphemed Jehovah's name, the faithful King Hezekiah prayed for deliverance. In a single night, God's angel struck down 185,000 Assyrian soldiers, forcing Sennacherib to retreat in humiliation. These events served to demonstrate Jehovah's supreme power and to foreshadow the ultimate doom of Satan's entire world system.
The Typical Nation of Israel
After delivering the Israelites from Egypt, God organized them into a nation to serve as a "type," or living "shadow," of His greater purposes. Their history, laws, and experiences were prophetic pictures pointing forward to the real deliverance of mankind.
This typical organization began with Abraham, the father of the faithful, to whom God promised a "seed" through which all nations of the earth would be blessed. The command for Abraham to offer his beloved son Isaac served as a dramatic prophecy of God's own future sacrifice of His Son. The promise was passed down through Isaac and Jacob (whose name was changed to Israel). At Sinai, God gave Israel the Law Covenant through Moses. This Law, with its commandments and sacrificial systems like the Passover lamb and the Atonement Day rituals, served as a "schoolmaster" to lead the people to the Messiah, foreshadowing Christ and his redemptive work. The history of Israel, including its periods of faithfulness under kings like David and unfaithfulness under kings like Saul, provided further prophetic lessons. Ultimately, due to persistent unfaithfulness, God allowed the typical kingdom to be overthrown, marking the beginning of the "Gentile Times," but He preserved the promise that a ruler "whose right it is" would eventually come.
The Promised Deliverer: His Mission and Sacrifice
The Coming of the Messiah
For centuries, creation has groaned under the weight of sin and death, awaiting the promised Deliverer who would come from God's organization, Zion. This deliverance could not come from man-made schemes like evolution, which are deceptions of the Devil. God's plan is based on His perfect attributes of wisdom, justice, love, and power. Justice demanded the penalty of death for Adam's sin, but love provided a way for redemption through a corresponding price.
The long line of prophecies narrowed the focus of this hope. The "seed" promised to Abraham was identified as the Christ, or Messiah. He would be a Prophet greater than Moses, a King from the line of David, and a Ruler born in Bethlehem. Satan, knowing these prophecies, relentlessly tried to corrupt or destroy this promised lineage. His attempts to destroy the infant Jesus through Herod's decree failed, as God protected the child.
At the age of thirty, Jesus presented himself for baptism, consecrating himself to do his Father's will. Following this, Satan subjected him to three great temptations in the wilderness: to use his divine power for selfish gratification (turn stones to bread), to perform a spectacular but presumptuous act to gain followers (leap from the temple), and to compromise his loyalty by worshipping Satan in exchange for immediate rulership over the world. Jesus soundly rejected each temptation, relying on the authority of God's written Word.
Ministry, Persecution, and Sacrifice
Jesus began his ministry by preaching, "The kingdom of heaven is at hand," performing miracles, and teaching the common people, who heard him gladly. This drew the ire of the religious leaders of the day—the scribes, Pharisees, and priests. Filled with selfishness and jealousy, they became willing tools of Satan, who incited their hearts to murder. Jesus openly exposed their hypocrisy, identifying them not as children of God, but as children of their father, the Devil.
This persecution was permitted by God to test the faithfulness of His Son. Knowing it was his Father's will that he die to provide the ransom price, Jesus did not resist when he was betrayed by Judas and arrested. He was subjected to an illegal trial by the very clergy who claimed to represent God, and though the Roman governor Pilate found him innocent, he yielded to the mob's demands and condemned him to death. Satan's agents mocked and tortured Jesus before nailing him to the cross.
At the moment of Jesus' death, Jehovah demonstrated His power with a great earthquake and by miraculously tearing the massive temple curtain in two. Jesus, the perfect man, had willingly laid down his life. This act was not a defeat but a crucial step in God's plan. He had to die as a perfect human to provide the ransom price—a life corresponding exactly to the perfect life Adam had forfeited. While alive, his perfect life had potential; in death, its legal value, or merit, could be presented to divine justice to cancel the debt of sin inherited by all of Adam's offspring.
The Kingdom in Preparation: The True vs. The False
The Resurrection and the Foundation of the Empire
The resurrection of Jesus was essential, for a dead redeemer could not apply the value of his sacrifice. Satan and his agents tried to prevent this by sealing the tomb and setting a guard, but they were powerless against Jehovah. On the third day, God raised Jesus from the dead—not as a man, but as a mighty spirit creature. Over the next forty days, the resurrected Jesus appeared on multiple occasions to hundreds of his faithful followers, providing undeniable proof of his victory over death.
Having been raised and exalted to heaven, Christ Jesus became the "chief corner stone" of God's new government, or empire. At Pentecost, fifty days after his resurrection, the holy spirit was poured out upon his followers, marking the beginning of the selection of his associate rulers. These ones, chosen by God from among mankind on the basis of faith, would become "living stones" built upon the foundation of the apostles, with Christ as the head, to form a holy nation and a royal priesthood.
The Rise of the Antichrist
Seeing the foundation of the true kingdom being laid, Satan began building a counterfeit. He employed his ancient strategy of hypocrisy, working to corrupt Christianity from within. This "mystery of iniquity" slowly developed as ambitious men sought power, creating a distinction between clergy and laity. Pagan philosophies and doctrines—such as the Trinity, the inherent immortality of the soul, and eternal torment—were introduced, obscuring the simple truths of God's Word, especially the ransom.
This corruption culminated when the Roman Emperor Constantine allied the State with this apostate Christianity in the fourth century. The church became rich, worldly, and political, eventually developing into the Papal system with a pope claiming to be Christ's representative. This system, steeped in idolatry and worldly power, became a chief instrument of Antichrist. The Protestant Reformation broke away from Papal rule but soon formed its own worldly denominations, which also compromised with the political and commercial elements of Satan's world. This entire system, known as "Christendom," yielded to the same temptations Jesus had resisted, becoming a part of the Devil's organization while falsely parading under the name of Christ.
The End of the Old World and the Birth of the New
The Signs of the End and the War in Heaven
Jesus' disciples asked him for the sign of his presence and the end of the world. He foretold a series of events that would mark this period, including an unprecedented world war ("nation shall rise against nation"), followed by widespread famine, pestilence, and earthquakes. He also said his true followers would be hated and persecuted.
These prophecies pointed definitively to the year 1914, which marked the end of the "Gentile Times"—the long period during which earthly nations ruled without divine interference. The outbreak of World War I in that year, along with the subsequent calamities, provided the physical evidence that the old world had entered its last days and that Christ had taken his power and begun to reign invisibly. Another key sign was the beginning of the restoration of the Jewish people to their homeland in Palestine.
The birth of God's nation, or kingdom, in 1914 triggered a war in heaven. Michael (Christ Jesus) and his holy angels battled against Satan and his demons. The result was a decisive victory: Satan and his hosts were cast out of heaven and confined to the vicinity of the earth. This event brought "woe to the earth," as the enraged Devil, knowing his time is short, now concentrates his efforts on misleading all of humanity and fighting against God's kingdom.
The Final Battle of Armageddon
With Satan confined to the earth, the stage is set for a final, decisive conflict: the great battle of Armageddon. God will now act to vindicate His name and put a final end to wickedness. The gathering of the nations for this battle is prompted by "unclean spirits like frogs"—boastful and deceptive propaganda from the Dragon (Satan), the Beast (his global political, commercial, and religious system), and the False Prophet (the dominant Anglo-American world power).
The forces are arrayed for this final war. On one side stands Satan's entire massive organization—all the governments, financial institutions, and religious systems of the world—a seemingly invincible force. On the other side stands Jehovah's army, represented on earth by only a small, weak remnant of faithful witnesses who courageously proclaim His name and kingdom. The battle that ensues will be an overwhelming expression of God's righteous indignation. It is not a fight between men but the "battle of that great day of God Almighty," led by Christ Jesus. This conflict will result in the complete and utter destruction of Satan's entire visible organization, described as the fall of the "beast" and the "false prophet."
The New World: Reconstruction and Eternal Restoration
Following the devastation of Armageddon, a glorious work of reconstruction will begin. God will create a "new heavens and a new earth." The "new heavens" is the invisible, righteous government of Christ and his 144,000 co-rulers. The "new earth" will be the new, righteous human society on earth.
The visible representatives of this kingdom on earth will be the resurrected Ancient Worthies—faithful men of old such as Abraham, Moses, and David—who will be made "princes in all the earth." They will administer the laws of the New Covenant, guiding humanity in righteousness.
During Christ's thousand-year reign, the works of the Devil will be undone. A "highway of holiness" will be opened—a clear and unobstructed path for willing humanity to return to God, free from the deceptive influence of Satan, who will be bound and abyssed. This period will see the fulfillment of God's promises of restoration:
Blindness Removed: The veil of ignorance and deception will be lifted.
The Resurrection: The billions who have died will be brought back from the grave, both the just and the unjust, and given an opportunity for life.
Blessings for the Obedient: Mankind will be restored to perfect peace, with war becoming a thing of the past. Prosperity will replace poverty, as the earth becomes like a new Eden. Health will be restored, and sickness, pain, and infirmity will be eliminated. Ultimately, obedient ones will be granted everlasting life.
At the end of the thousand years, Satan will be released for a final test. All who choose to follow him in rebellion will be destroyed along with him, eternally and completely. The universe will be cleansed of all wickedness. Death itself, the last enemy, will be destroyed. Humanity, fully delivered and restored, will enjoy perfect liberty and happiness forever, living in a pure universe where every creature joyfully praises the great Creator, Jehovah God.