1950 This Means Everlasting Life - A2Z.org

REARING CHILDREN IN DIVINE FAVOR 249
dren endangered by the nearness of Armageddon,
but their eternal destiny is involved . The prophetic
foreview of the destruction of Christendom at
Armageddon lays bare the alarming fact that the
lives of ungodly children will not be spared by
God's executional forces just because of their tender
years. Ezekiel 9 :5, 6, 10 The parents will
therefore be in large part responsible for what befalls
their young offspring at Armageddon .
We are living in the world's "time of the end",
and its last days are upon us . Widespread child
delinquency was foretold to prevail now, together
with parental neglect because of lack of natural
affection and care for children's eternal interests :
"Know this, that in the last days critical times
hard to deal with will be here . For men will be lovers
of themselves, lovers of money, self-assuming,
haughty, blasphemers, disobedient to parents,
without gratitude, with no loving-kindness, having
no natural affection, . lovers of pleasures
rather than lovers of God, having a form of godly
devotion but proving false to its power." 2 Timothy
3 :1-5, NW Hence parents need to be specially
mindful of God's commandments that concern
the lasting good of their offspring . They need
to fight the worldly tendency and put up a hard
fight for the faith once for all time delivered to
the holy ones by doing their utmost to rear their
children aright .
e For the Christian congregation it is a qualifi-
4 . As respects children, what was foretold to prevail in
the last days? And so what do parents need to do?
5 . What is a qualification for an appointed servant with
children?