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JANUARY 1, 1971

JEHOVAHS
KINGDOM

Semimonthly

HAVE YO U ENTERED
THE GREAT CONTEST OF FAITH?

WHAT IS THE KIN G DO M OF G O D?

MAKE FRIENDS WITH

THOSE W HO LOVE GOD

WTB&TS

YOU ARE MY WITNESSES, SAYS JEHOVAH.-Isa.43:12

T H E PU R PO SE O F "T H E W A T C H T O W E R
E very w a tc h to w e r has its purpose. It serves as an elevated place for a
w id e-aw ak e person w ith sharp vision. It enables him to see far ahead into
the distance and tell those b elow for w h o m he is a w atch m an w h a t is
d raw ing near, w h e th er it is a danger against w h ich to prepare o r it is
som ething good over w h ich to be glad w ith strong faith and hope.
Because o f having the nam e "The W a tc h to w e r this m agazine ju stly
has to render a sim ilar useful service to the people o f all nations. T h is is
an in tern ational m agazine and makes no racial distinctions, for w e are all
facing a com m on w o rld danger; w e are all hoping for a com m on good.
E ver since "The W a tc h to w e r began to be published in J u ly o f 1 8 7 9 it
has looked ahead into the future, alw ays striving to aid its readers to advan ce in k now ledge and to gain a clearer picture o f the glorious n e w order
o f things th at is in store for righteous mankind. N o , "The W a tc h to w e r
is no inspired prophet, but it follow s and explains a Book o f prophecy the
predictions in w h ich have proved to be unerring and unfailing till n o w .
"The W a tc h to w e r is therefore under safe guidance. It m ay be read w ith
confidence, for its statem ents m ay be checked against that prophetic Book.
A m o n g th e m an y nations o f today there are hundreds o f differing
religions. W h ich one does this magazine present? N o t the confused religions
o f C hristendom , but the religion o f the oldest sacred Book on earth. W h ich
Book? T h e Sacred Bible o f the H o ly Scriptures, w r itte n b y inspiration in
the nam e o f the C reator o f heaven and earth, the o n ly living and tru e G od.
T h e sacred, nonpolitical purpose o f "The W a tc h to w e r is accord in gly
to encourage and prom ote study o f the H o ly Bible and to give our m a n y
readers th e needed unsectarian help to understand th at Book o f true
religion and infallible prophecy. T hus this m agazine w ill be helping them
to prove w o r th y o f perfect life and happiness in G o d s promised n e w order
under H is everlasting kingdom o f righteousness.

PUBLISHED BY T H E
WATCH TOW ER BIBLE AND TRACT SOCIETY O F PENNSYLVANIA
117 Adams S tre et
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Grant S uiter, Secretary

They will all be taught by Jehovah.John 6:45; Isaiah 54:13

Average Printing Each Issue:

CONTENTS

6,800,000

Five cents a copy

What Is the Kingdom of God?

Make Friends with Those Who Love God

Have You Entered the Great Contest

of Faith?

Do You Remember?

30

Accept the Implanting of the

Soul-saving Word

31

Questions from Readers

32

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-p ^ T m o z m c ir z a

J E H O V A H S
K ING DO M
January 1, 1971

HiSK men and women

C /T . in th e s tr e e t th is
question and you will get a
great variety of answers.
Some will say the kingdom of God is in your
hearts. Others insist it is
a spiritual realm reached
only after one dies. Many
persons will even scoff at
the question, claiming that the whole idea
of a kingdom of God is unreal, impractical,
that man, in effect, is in complete charge
of his own destiny.
But what would your answer be?
You may say, Well, what difference
does it make anyway? Ill leave that to
the theologians to argue about. What concem s me is that today Im almost afraid
to send my children to school or let my
wife walk down the street alone. Im
concerned about the shakiness of the
economy, the problem of pollution, and a
dozen other things. But the kingdom of
Godwell, after these immediate problems are straightened out, then Ill think
about that.
But really, for those very reasons you
should want to know about Gods kingdom. Yes, the very fact that you are concerned about the crime and violence in the
schools and on the streets, the shaky
economy, the threat of spreading wars,
the dangers of pollution, should make
truthful information about the kingdom

Number 1

h a t is

Ik ki11dm
of God of great interest to you. Why?
Becausewhen a person clears his mind
of political propaganda, cleans out preconceived notions and prejudices, and honestly
faces up to what man has been doing or
failing to do with life on earth, not just
in recent years but for decades, even centuriesit can be appreciated that the kingdom of God is the only realistic and practical solution to mankinds problems.
This is because Gods kingdom is, not
just a feeling in peoples hearts, not something that only benefits persons after
death, but a government. And it is a government with power and purpose, especially fitted to correct the bad conditions that
right now rob human life of so much of
its joy.
GODS KINGDOMREALLY A GOVERNMENT?

Does it sound strange to speak of the

kingdom of God as a government? Perhaps so, yet that is what the Bible teaches.
The very word kingdom means a government ruled by a king. The Bible speaks
3

SEeW ATCHTO W ER

B rooklyn , N .Y .

upon
of the kingdoms of Babylon, Persia, will take place, as in heaven,
Greece and other ancient kingdoms. What earth. (Matt. 6:10) True, the Bible does
were they? Governments ruled by kings. teach that some persons are selected to
The second chapter of the prophecy of reign with Christ Jesus in his heavenly
Daniel deals w ith such national kingdoms government. But what does Revelation 5:
and their rule and strength and then says: 10 say about their rule? It states that they
And in the days of those kings the are made to be a kingdom and priests
God of heaven w ill set up a kingdom that to our God, and they are to rule as kings
w ill never be brought to ruin. And the over the earth
However, some may say that to talk
kingdom itself will not be passed on to any
other people. It w ill crush and put an end about the earths being ruled by a govto 111 these kingdoms, and it itself will emment based in heaven, and therefore
stand to tim es indefinite.Dan. 2:37-44. invisible to men, is not being practical,
So Gods kingdom is also a government not being realistic. Still, today m ost peoand one with power far superior to any pie live some distance, and often hundreds
or all governments that men have pro- of miles, from the executive offices of the
duced. According to the prophecy, it is government that rules them. The m ajority
going to do away with all such govern- have never personally m et the chief executive. Still they must admit that their govments and permanently replace them.
Jesus disciples understood that the ernment has force and effect in their daily
kingdom he taught them about was a gov- lives.
ernment. (Acts 1:6) In fact, prior to JeNo less so with Gods kingdom. Its seat
sus birth the prophetic promise was: of authority in the courts of heaven in no
This one will be great and w ill be called way impairs its efficiency of administraSon of the Most High; and Jehovah God tion. Really, in a tim e when men have rew ill give him the throne of David his fa- ceived messages broadcast from the moons
ther, and he w ill rule as king over the surface, should space be viewed as a barhouse of Jacob forever, and there will be rier to communication by Gods kingdom?
no end of his kingdom. (Luke 1:32, 33) Today pragmatic political rulers of the
That Davids kingdom was a government worlds great powers are willing to spend
is a fact of history. The kingdom of Christ huge sums of money on space efforts.
Jesus, who descended from David, is also Why? Because they see definite advana government, though far greater than tages in being able to survey the earths
Davids. This is because it is a heavenly surface from greater heights than their
government.Acts 2:29-36.
capitol buildings. Their interest in space
platforms or even moon stations is cerA HEAVENLY GOVERNMENT
tainly not purely scientific. Back in 1958
BOTH REAL AND PRACTICAL
More than thirty tim es the kingdom of when he was a senator of the United
God is referred to in a parallel phrase as States Congress, Lyndon B. Johnson said:
There is something more important
the kingdom of the heavens. (Luke 8:1;
Matt. 10:7) Does that mean that to enjoy than any ultim ate weapon. That is the
its benefits you must go to heaven? No, ultimate positionthe position of total
for Christ Jesus said that persons should control over earth lies somewhere out in
pray: Let your kingdom come. Let your space. This is the future, the distant fu-

J anuary 1, 1971

SEeWATCHTOWER.

ture, though not so

of God is th e only
d istan t as w e m ay
practical government
have thought. Whothat can solve earths
ever gains that ultiproblem s. Its king,
mate position gains
Christ Jesus, showed
control, total control,
th a t he could read
over the earth, for
m ens h earts when
purposes of tyranny
on e a r th , and h is
or for the service of
analyses consistently
fr e e d o m . N ew
proved righ t. Take
York Times of Januthe tim e to read what
ary 8, 1958.
he said and did as reThe B ible show s
corded in the Bible
that, despite recent
and you w ill see that
space successes, no
he really knew what
political government
was in man. (John
G od s kingdom will forever rid the earth of
will ever gain that crime, drug addiction, pollution and every 2 :2 5 ) You m ay, in
ultimate position.
fa c t, fin d y o u r se lf
form of corruption
It is already taken by
searching your own
Gods kingdom in the hands of Christ Je- heart as a result of what you read.
sus. And that government is even now usMore than this, though, Gods kingdom
ing such ultim ate position for the benefit government is solemnly committed to
of persons who truly love what is right. Its cleansing this earth of all persons who prepromise is that, not the tyrannical, the f er to live in selfishness, and it has the powproud, the violent, or the greedy, but the er to do this. (2 Thess. 1 :6 8 )It takes this
mild-tempered ones . . . w ill inherit the action because, as Jesus disciples stated:
earth.Matt. 5:5.
If anyone makes the statem ent: love
What would you say is the greatest God, and yet is hating his brother, he is
problem that governments today must a liar. For he who does not love his brothcope with? You may think of war, crime, er, whom he has seen, cannot be loving
corruption, pollution, economic instability God, whom he has not seen. (1 John 4:20)
or other similar problems. But what causes Yes, the kingdom by Christ Jesus gives
these things? Do they just happenor is highest importance to love of God and love
there something that leads to them, mo- of neighbor. That is why it alone holds
tivates them? The answer may sound sim- the key to the elimination of earths probpie, yet no one can honestly deny that lems.
selfishness is the basic cause, a lack of
Do you sincerely want to see an earth
respect, consideration, yes, love for ones free from riots, strikes, poverty, oppresneighbor.
sion, crime and violence? Then begin now
While many w ill acknowledge that this to learn about Gods righteous governis so, they may say: True, but what can ment. Why not w rite the publishers of
be done about it? How could laws requir- this magazine for more information. They
ing men to love their neighbor ever be w ill be happy to see that you receive help
enforced? To do that a government would in learning what your Bible says about the
have to be able to read mens hearts.
kingdom of God, the real solution to manExactly. And that is why the kingdom kinds problems.

MAKE FRIENDS W THOSE WHO IAHE GOD

I

AM thinking of the very best friend towns that Jesus and his apostles visited,
you can have. This one has done more there were fam ilies who loved Jehovah
for you than any other person. Do you God. These people were Jesus friends too.
know who it is? It is Jehovah God.
He would stay with them. And they had
It is true that Jehovah is in heaven good times together.
and we cannot see him. But he cares for
One fam ily Jesus liked to stay w ith lived
us. He wants to be our friend. And the in the small town of Bethany. Do you reB ible show s th at we
member them? There
An article specially designed for
can be friends of Jehowere Mary and Martha
vah. It tells us that the
and their brother Lazaparents to read with their children
m an A brah am , w ho
rus in this fam ily. Jesus
lived long ago, was called Jehovahs called Lazarus his friend. And the Bible
says that Jesus loved all three of them.
friend.Jas. 2:23.
But how can we be friends of Jehovah John 11:5, 11.
God? Can we be his friends if we do things
Do you know why Jesus loved this famithat he does not like? Jesus is a friend ly and enjoyed being with them? It is beof God, and he said: I always do the cause these sisters and their brother loved
things pleasing to him . So if we want to Jehovah God and served him. And they
be Gods friends, we also need to do what also respected Jesus as the Great Teacher.
One tim e Jesus showed what is needed
pleases God.John 8:29.
Many persons today do not love Jeho- to be his friend. He told his followers:
vah. They do not want to study the Bible You are my friends if you do what I am
or do what God says. If you play with commanding you. (John 15:14) So could
persons like that, w ill it help you to love a person be Jesus friend if he did not obey
God more? Or could it cause you to love him? What do you think? No, Jesus made
friends only with those who were willing
God less? What do you think?
It does not please Jehovah if we make to do what he said.
Many persons liked to listen to Jesus
friends with persons who do not love him.
Those persons can cause us to become just speak. But not all of them would do everylike them. Jesus did not make friends with thing Jesus said. They may not have been
people like those. His friends were per- persons who told lies or killed people. But
sons who loved Jehovah God and wanted still Jesus did not become their friend.
There is the example of a young man
to serve him. Lets see who some of them
who came to Jesus one day. This man told
were.
Jesus closest friends were his apostles. Jesus: have kept the laws of God. What
They were men like Peter and John who else must I do to get everlasting life?
Jesus told him: Go sell the things that
traveled with him and helped him in doing
the preaching work. Jesus spent much of you own, and come be my follower.
When Jesus said this, the man became
his tim e with these men. They ate together. They talked about God together. very sad. This is because he was rich and
And they did many other things together. owned many things. He loved these things
But Jesus had many other friends. In more than he loved God. So the man went

J anuary 1, 1971

ffieW ATCHTOW ER.

away and did not do what Jesus told him down. Today I w ill come to your home.
to do. He did not sell his many things and
Why did Jesus go to the home of Zacbecome a follower of Jesus.
chaeus? Do you know? It was so he could
This rich young man was not a person preach to Zacchaeus. And the result was
who most people would say was bad. The that Zacchaeus changed from his bad
Bible even says that Jesus felt love for ways. He gave back the money he had
him. But still Jesus did not become one of no right to take, and he became a follower
his friends.Mark 10:17-22.
of Jesus. It was then that Jesus made
friends
with Zacchaeus.Luke 19:1-10.
This does not mean that Jesus was not
kind to persons who did not serve God. He
So Jesus made friends only with perwas. He would even go
so n s w ho loved and
to their homes and eat
served God. He was
with them. This caused
kind to other people.
men to ask Jesus disciH e w ould even v is it
pies one day: Why is
their homes to talk to
it th at your teach er
them about God. But
eats with persons that
he did not make friends
do bad things? (Matt.
with them unless they
9:10, 11) What would
becam e his follow ers.
you have said? Could
He did not even make
you have answered that
friends with that rich
question?
you n g m an w ho did
J esu s v is ite d w ith
many good things but
these persons so that
who would not serve
he could talk to them
God completely.
about God. He tried to
To be like Jesus, you
help them to change
and I must follow Jesus
from th eir bad w ays
example. We should be
and to serve God. Jesus
kind to all persons. But
did n ot go to th e ir
w e sh ou ld n ot m ake
homes because he liked
friends with everyone.
the things that those people did. These We must not make friends with perpeople were not really his friends.
sons who do not love God and serve him.
Once Jesus visited the home of ZacWhy is it wrong to make friends with
chae'us. Zacchaeus was a rich man who persons like that? What could happen if
had done bad things. When Jesus came we did? We could become like those perto his town, a crowd of people were there. sons. We could lose our love for Jehovah
Zacchaeus, who was a small man, climbed God. So, lets be wise and follow the exa tree so he could see Jesus as he went by. ample of Jesus, shall we? Lets make
When Jesus came to that tree he looked friends only with those who really do love
up and told Zacchaeus: Hurry and get God.

He
that is walking with vnse persons will become wise, but he
that is having dealings with the stupid ones will fare badly.
Prov. IS :20.

Fight the fine fight of the faith, get a

hold on the everlasting life. 1 Tim. 6:12.

<

T IS estim ated that today 924,274,000 was the first pope of th eRoman Catholic
persons profess Christianity. Do you Church? He believed the Holy Scriptures
think that the majority of these persons just as Christ Jesus did and he said: I am
are running the great race for the faith? arousing your clear thinking faculties by
Have they taken hold on everlasting life? way of a reminder, that you should reOr, do you think that the majority of member the sayings previously spoken by
those in Christendom believe that they the holy prophets . . . For, according to
have gained what life they have through their [that is, the scoffers] wish, this fact
an evolutionary process? Many of Chris- escapes their notice, that there were heavtendoms schools teach evolution, not ere- ens from of old and an earth standing comation by God, as the Bible states. Which pactly out of water and in the m idst of
water by the word of God; and by those
way do you lean?
2 In the denominational systems ofmeans the world of that tim e suffered deChristendom it is generally understood struction when it was deluged with water.
that Jesus was the founder of Christianity, But by the same word the heavens and the
but today a number of the so-called mod- earth that are now are stored up for fire
ernists, and those of little faith, do not ac- and are being reserved to the day of judgcept Jesus Christ as their redeemer from ment and of destruction of the ungodly
death. They look upon Jesus as an ordinary men.2 Pet. 3 :1 7 .
4 Maybe you do not have faith like Peman who had a very fine philosophy,
taught many good things and led an ex- ters, but Peter believed the things he
emplary life. But as for his being the Son wrote about the flood of Noahs day beof God bom of the virgin Mary, and pro- cause he had faith in what was spoken
viding the ransom price for all mankind, by the holy prophets and by Christ Jesus,
well, that is going too far for them. And who said: For just as the days of Noah
then there is the creation of Adam and were, so the presence of the Son of man
Eve by God, and the story of Noah with will be. For as they were in those days
his ark. Does it take too much faith for before the flood, eating and drinking, men
marrying and women being given in maryou to believe all that also?
3 Well, what about Peter, who many say riage, until the day that Noah entered into
1. W hat tim ely questions are asked about the hundreds the ark; and they took no note until the
of m illions of persons professing C hristianity?
2. How do m any in the denom inational systems of flood came and swept them all away, so the
Christendom view Christ Jesus, as well as the Creation
presence of the Son of man w ill be. (Matt.
and Flood accounts?
3, 4. (a) W hat was the apostle P e te rs view of the 24:37-39) Here Jesus was answering a
Flood account, and of w hat concern should th a t be
question put to him by his disciples, nameto Rom an Catholics? (b) How did Jesus show his
faith in the Flood account and its significance to
ly: Tell us, When will these things be,
m ankind?

J anuary 1, 1971

SEeWATCHTOWER.

and what w ill be the sign of your presence to talk about this kingdom, and he sent
and of the conclusion of the system of his twelve disciples out to tell other perthings? (Matt. 24:3) Jesus Christ, the sons about the Kingdom. He said: As
Son of God, described to his disciples the you go, preach, saying, ,The kingdom of
many things that would happen at the the heavens has drawn near. Cure sick
conclusion of this system of things, or, if people, raise up dead persons, make lepers
you prefer the expression, the end of the clean, expel demons. You received free,
world. Read the twenty-fourth chapter of give free.( Matt. 10:7, 8) Jesus wanted
Matthew. It may rekindle a fire in you his disciples to help people everywhere to
and you may want to enter the great con- understand that the only hope for mantest of faith. If you already believe Gods kind to get hold of everlasting life was
Word it will certainly help you to continue through Gods kingdom. Now when Jesus
had finished giving instructions to his
fighting a fine fight for the faith.
twelve
disciples, he set out from there to
Jesus declared that one of the big
teach
and
preach in their cities. (Matt.
events that would take place world wide
11:1)
After
teaching in the synagogue in
in the last days of this system of things
would be a great preaching work concern- Capernaum and doing some wonderful
ing the kingdom of God. Jesus prophesied: works Jesus told his disciples: Let us
And this good news of the kingdom will go somewhere else, into the village towns
be preached in all the inhabited earth for nearby, that I may preach there also, for
a witness to all the nations; and then the it is for this purpose I have gone out. And
he did go, preaching in their synagogues
end will come.Matt. 24:14.
throughout
the whole of Galilee and ex6 Jesus startled people by saying somepelling
the
demons.Mark
1:38, 39.
thing that millions of people are still say8For
three
and
one
half
years Jesus
ing: Our Father which art in heaven,
devoted
him
self
to
teaching
and
preaching
Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come.
and
his
only
theme
was
the
kingdom
of
Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heavGod
and
the
blessings
that
it
would
bring
en. (Matt. 6:9, 10,
KJames Version)
Were you taught that prayer and have to mankind. Then he died upon the torture
you prayed it once in a while in your life? stake. But he knew that the good news
But how many persons saying these words of the Kingdom had to be preached right
really want Jehovah Gods kingdom to on down to the end of this system of
come to take over the rulership of this things. That is why Jesus, after being
earth? Jesus Christ, the Son of God, did! raised from the dead, said to his followers:
Go therefore and make disciples of peoDo you?
pie of all the nations, baptizing them in
the name of the Father and of the Son
IN WHAT IS YOUR INTEREST?
7Jesus whole interest in life was in Gods and of the holy spirit, teaching them to
kingdom. It still is. In his Sermon on the observe all the things I have commanded
Mount he said: Keep on, then, seeking you. And, look! I am with you all the days
first the kingdom and his righteousness, until the conclusion of the system of
and all these other things w ill be added things.Matt. 28:19, 20.
8 We learn from the Holy Scriptures in
to you. (Matt. 6:33) Jesus trained people
5, 6. In whose rule was Jesus prim arily interested, and
how did he show this?
7. How did Jesus school his disciples in show ing interest
in God's kingdom ?

8. A fter Jesu s death and resurrection, did the impor*

tance of Gods kingdom fade from th e m inds of his
followers? W hy?
9. At Pentecost w hat did P e te r preach, and to whom
and w ith w hat results?

10

B rooklyn , N .Y .
f&eWATCHTOWER
the book of Acts, chapter two, that after to a good sta rt These dedicated, baptized
Jesus ascended into heaven he sent the people must now be evangelizers, which
holy spirit on the day of Pentecost of the meant they would try to convert others to
year 33 C.E., and the 120 disciples that Christianity, and Jesus words that you
Jesus taught and trained were all filled will be witnesses of me both in Jerusalem
w ith this active force from God. It was on and in all Judea and Samaria and to the
that day that Peter went out before the most distant part of the earth must have
great crowds in the city of Jerusalem and fulfillment.Acts 1:8.
eloquently spoke to thousands of persons.
THE EXPANSION BEGINS
On hearing the message that Peter deliv10There is much evidence in the Word
ered on that day, many got saved from
that crooked generation and they were of God to show that Jerusalem, Judea and
baptized. From that day on, the good news Samaria received a very fine witness.
of the Kingdom started to go on to the Philip the evangelizer went down to the
city of Samaria, and the
ends of the earth. There
crowds paid attention to
were in Jerusalem at that
what he had to say. Pe*
tim e Parthians and Medes
ter started things going
and Elamites, and the inwith the Gentiles by talkhabitants of Mesopotamia,
ing to Cornelius, who got
and Judea and Cappadocia,
baptized and, being bePontus and the district of
gotten by h oly sp irit,
A sia, and P hrygia and
proved that he, too, was
Pamphylia, Egypt and the
a Christian. We also read
parts of Libya, which is
about Paul and Barnabas
tow ard C yrene, and soand th e ir m in istr y in
joum ers from Rome, both
th ese w ords: AccordJews and proselytes, Creingly, after being contans and Arabians. (Acts
2:9-11) In fact, fifteen nationalities were ducted part way by the congregation,
represented, having come there from many these men continued on their way through
parts of the then known world, and the both Phoenicia and Samaria, relating in
record shows that many who heard Peters detail the conversion of people of the
message that day were baptized. These nations, and they were causing great joy
Jews and proselytes believed in Jehovah to all the brothers. (Acts 15:3) There
God and now they accepted Christ Jesus was great expansion work going on in
and were glad to carry back to their differ- those early days of Christianity, and peoent countries and lands the message that pie who listened to the truth from the
they had heard. They were Jehovahs Word of God got together in congregaChristian witnesses now because they had tions and became very active in doing
faith in Gods Son, Christ Jesus, who re- Gods will. Acts 9:31 tells us: Then, indeemed them from death, and they be- deed, the congregation throughout the
whole of Judea and Galilee and Samaria
lieved in the kingdom of God. They, too,
entered into a period of peace, being built
were now entering the great contest of
up; and as it walked in the fear of Jehofaith and would have to stand up against vah and in the comfort of the holy spirit
many different religions that people in
10. Show how people in Jerusalem , Ju d ea and Sam aria
their lands believed. Christianity was off received the witness of the tru th following Pentecost.

J anuary 1, 1971

3 EeWATCHTOWER

it kept on multiplying. This peaceful condition occurred before the conversion of

Cornelius, and even though Gentiles were
converted after this particular tim e it did
not disturb the Jewish Christian congregations in any way because now they understood that a worldwide evangelizing
work must be pushed forward.
11The apostle Paul was the faithful
Christian that helped the young man Timothy to take a firm stand for the truth and
to fight the fine fight of the faith. It
must have given Paul a lot of satisfaction
to see a young man like Timothy become
so zealous and reach out for the office of
overseer in a congregation of God and do
so well in his work. Being a man who had
such a firm hold on everlasting life, Paul
could also admonish Timothy to preach
the word, be at it urgently in favorable
season, in troublesome season . . . keep
your senses in all things, suffer evil, do
the work of an evangelizer, fully accomplish your m inistry. (2 Tim. 4:2-5) There
were many men like Paul and Timothy
preaching the good news of the Kingdom
in those early days. Today likewise there
are many dedicated men and women doing this work.
12What would you do if you were to
meet Jesus journeying from city to city
and village to village? Would you, like a
certain man, say to him: Lord, are those
who are being saved few? In reply to
this man and those w ith him Jesus said:
Exert yourselves vigorously to get in
through the narrow door, because many,
I tell you, w ill seek to get in but will not
be able. Would that answer disturb you
and would you say, like many people today: I know Christ Jesus. I go to church.
I eat and drink at the Communion in re11. W hat good advice did the apostle P aul give young
Tim othy concerning the preaching w ork?
12. (a) How m ight some reply to the words of Jesus,
E xert yourselves vigorously to get in through the
narrow door ? (b) How only can one gain C hrists
approval?

11

membranee of Christ. That certain man

heard Jesus say of those professing to
know him: I do not know where you are
from. Get away from me, all you workers
of unrighteousness! (Luke 13:23-27) It
takes a lot more than just talk and an outward appearance. A person must show his
faith and works if he is going to get favor
from Christ Jesus. He must exert him self
vigorously to get in through the narrow
door. He must fight the fine fight of the
faith in order to get a firm hold on the
everlasting life. Do you? Is your religion
easy? James said: Faith without works
is dead.Jas. 2:26.
13There are too many people in Christendom today who are begging off. They
do not want to do the work that Christ
Jesus was doing when he was on earth,
nor that of his disciples. That is why the
apostle Paul so emphatically said to the
Hebrews in the letter he wrote to them:
See that you do not beg off from him
who is speaking. For if they did not escape who begged off from him who was
giving divine warning upon earth, much
more shall we not if we turn away from
him who speaks from the heavens. (Heb.
12:25) Do you beg off from what Gods
written Word says, and still call yourself
a Christian? You should thank God that
not everyone has begged off and that there
are still some people who are putting up
a fine fight for the faith and warning the
nations of the impending end of this system of things and announcing the kingdom
of God, which is about to rule fully over
this earth.
THE GOOD NEWS REACHES AFRICA

14 In the early days of Christianity when

Peter spoke on the day of Pentecost some
who heard had come from Egypt and Lib13. W hat were P a u ls w ords reg ard in g the need to
exert oneself vigorously?
14, 15. (a) W hy can it be said th a t Christendom is
not vigorously preaching Gods kingdom in Africa
today? (b) How did the K ingdom -preaching w ork of
Jehovahs witnesses get sta rte d in W est A frica in our
day?

12

SBeWATCHTOWER

B rooklyn , N .Y .

ya. When we think of these nations we Bible studies in their own homes, faith in
think of the continent of Africa. Is the Gods Word could be established. By 1939
good news of Gods kingdom being vigor- Jehovahs witnesses numbered 636. These
ously preached in Africa today? Surely Christians regularly preached along with
Christendom is not declaring Gods king- Bible Brown, declaring the Kingdom
dom as mans only hope, because it says good news. Then came the second world
the United Nations organization is mans war. The government prohibited the imonly hope. But have Jehovahs Christian portation of the Societys publications. The
witnesses been evangelizing in this conti- ban was lifted in 1946, but during the years
nent, trying to establish faith in Christ between 1939 and 1946, by just using the
Jesus and Gods kingdom? Let us take a Bible, Jehovahs Christian congregation in
Nigeria had grown to 3,542 persons.
look.
15
It was in 1923 that W. R. Brown, one 17 During the second world war the
of Jehovahs witnesses who later became Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society
known as Bible Brown, left his native opened the W atchtower Bible School of
G ilea d . In 1943 th e
land of Trinidad in the W est Indies, along
first graduates of this
w ith his w ife and young family, and travm
issio n a r y sch o o l
eled to Africa. He had faith, faith in Jewere ready to be sent
hovah God and his Son, Christ Jesus, and
out to carry on evanin Gods kingdom. He wanted the people
gelizin g work in all
of W est Africa to know about Gods
parts of the world. By
kingdom and he went there to preach
1947 the first graduthe good news. He traveled in many
ates of Gilead School
countries of West Africa
were allowed to enter
Sierra Leone, Ghana,
Lagos, Nigeria.
Nigeria, Cameroon and
18B eca u se o f th e
o th e r s and en d u red Z
high rate of illiteracy
many hardships.
it w as n ecessary to
In 1 9 3 1 B i b l e
Brown settled in Lagos, Nigeria, and teach many Africans how to read and
established an office of the Watch Tow- write, and in 1948 a literacy campaign
er Bible and Tract Society. A t their first was launched through reading classes in
convention, there were only ten dele- the congregations of Jehovahs witnesses.
gates in attendance. This did not dis- Literally thousands of West Africans have
courage Bible Brown. He realized that, been taught to read and write through
while many people in Nigeria could speak these free instruction classes in reading
English, no great impression could be and writing. Now many more disciples
made upon these people until literature have been added to the Christian miniswas available in their native tongues. The try, preaching the good news of Gods
Society arranged for the translation of kingdom.
19
Tens of thousands of people apsome publications in the Yoruba language,
proached
with the Bible message were
as well as Ibo, Itsekiri, Hausa and Efik.
Catholics
and Protestants, but, even so,
W ith these publications in their languages
the people could be reached and, by having 17, 18. How did graduates of Gilead School help the
16. F o r w hat reasons did the preaching activity move
forw ard in N igeria betw een the years 1931 and 1946?

progress of the w ork?

19. W hat changes did the honest-hearted ones in Nigeria make upon learning the tru th of th e Bible ?

J anuary 1, 1971

fBe W ATCHTOW ER

many were still living in polygamy. Before any of these could become Jehovahs
Christian witnesses they had to adjust
their lives to become acceptable. The Bible
says a man should be a husband of one
wife and that each man should have his
own w ife and each woman her own husband. (1 Tim. 3:2; 1 Cor. 7:2) Why is it
that Christendoms religious denominations allow their members to live in polygamy when the Bible speaks against this
practice for Christians? What a marvelous
change has taken place in the lives of
these Nigerians and peoples of other nations throughout Africa who made a similar decision to fight a fine fight for the
faith. Even though their former religious
leaders in Christendom ridiculed them,
this did not make any difference to these
true Christians because, like the apostle
Paul, they wanted to say: I have fought
the fine fight, I have run the course to
the finish, I have observed the faith.
2 Tim. 4:7.
20Today, nearly fifty years after Bible Brown went to Africa to promote
true Christian faith, we find that there
are over 118,000 of Jehovahs Christian
witnesses declaring the good news of Gods
kingdom in seven countries of W est Africa.
21Let us look at a country in Central
Africa, Zambia. The preaching of Gods
kingdom had its beginning there in 1924.
For many years, due to unjust bans, persecution and harassment of Jehovahs witnesses, things went slowly. It was not until
1947 that things really began to move forward, with 6,114 individuals preaching the
good news of the Kingdom. The country
was then known as Northern Rhodesia.
In 1948 a branch office was established in
Lusaka and in just one year the publishers increased to 11,606. The year 1948
20. W hat has happened in W est Africa in the last
fifty years because of the Kingdom proclam ation?
21,22. W hat problem s have come upon Jehovahs
witnesses in Zambia, and how have these affected the
activity of Gods servants?

13

also saw the arrival of the first graduates

of Gilead School. These came to assist in
the evangelizing activity and to aid in organizing the Christian work. They also
assisted the congregations in their reading
and writing program.
22 Recently the government asked the
Watch Tower m issionaries to leave the
country, and the officials last year announced that Jehovahs witnesses may no
longer go from house to house to make converts to the Christian faith. Now Jehovahs
witnesses may speak about the Bible only
to their own associates so as to build them
up in the faith, and to those who inquire
about their Christian work. In spite of
these restrictions on going from house to
house and village to village, the report
from Zambia for the 1970 service year
shows that the people of Zambia want to
hear what Jehovahs Christian witnesses
have to say and thousands of newly interested persons are coming to their Kingdom Halls. The actual number of individuals and households interested in having
Jehovahs witnesses study the Bible with
them every week this past year numbered
33,699, and 50,655 Christian witnesses of
Jehovah shared in declaring this Kingdom
good news during 1970. In fact, 157,013
Zambians attended the Memorial of Christ
Jesus death on the night of March 22,
1970.
23Directing the minds of the people of
Zambia to the Bible has had a good moral
effect. In The African Weekly of August
30, 1950, it was reported: Watchtower
Christians in the townships . . . are very
active, but I am glad to report that their
activities are very good indeed, and are
reducing fighting among the Africans in
these townships. Once they join the Watchtower . . . those Christians [Jehovahs
witnesses] do not fight among them selves.
23. W hat outside testim ony on how th e Kingdom message changes people do we have from T h e A frican
W e e k ly f

14

S&eWATCHTOWER

They do not go to beer halls

to be mixed up with other fellows or women. The moral
standard of Jehovahs witnesses in Zambia is based on
the Bible and is the same as
that of Jehovahs witnesses
throughout the world. Today,
in Zambia, there is one witness of Jehovah for every 89
Zambians. It can truly be said
that every fam ily in Zambia
has heard the good news of
Gods kingdom. Whether they will fight
the fine fight of the faith and get a firm
hold on the everlasting life is for each
one to decide. They can never say, We
did not have a chance to hear the good
news.
24Nineteen hundred years ago some
Christians left Jerusalem after hearing
Peter, and went to Egypt, Libya and perhaps other parts of that great continent.
Philip talked to an Ethiopian eunuch who
was returning to his homeland. Can it be
said that the witness of Jesus has been
given to the most distant part of the earth,
including Africa? The chart below shows
what Jehovahs Christian witnesses have
been doing.

In the Lands where

year work was done
1940
11
1950
29
1960
42
1970
51

AFRICA
Number of
Jehovahs witnesses
preaching
6,612
53,787
131,321
250,915

Number of
Gilead
graduates

46
177
328

ON TO ASIA
25

On the day of Pentecost of 33 C.E.

people from Parthia, Media, Elam, Cappadocia and the district of Asia heard what
Peter had to say. What about today? The
24. Show w herein progress has been made in Africa
during the p ast th irty years.
25. W hat problem s do C hristians face in bringing the
Kingdom m essage to Asia?

B r o o k l y n , N .Y .

greater part of
A s ia is n o n C h r istia n . T he
M oslem religion
holds sway over
a population of approximately 374,000,000, th e S h in to ists
num ber 70,000,000, T aoists
54,000,000, Confucianists 371,000,000, Buddhists 176,000,000,
and Hindus 435,000,000. Throughout all of Asia there are approximately
120,000,000 professing Christianity. But
are these showing faith in Gods kingdom?
Do they preach it? No! They just belong
to a sect of Christendom and in most instances have a second non-Christian religion. But is the good news of Gods kingdom heard in Asia at all now? Yes it is!
26 In 1949 the Watch Tower Society was
able to send its first m issionaries to Korea, when only thirteen persons in the
whole country were doing the work that
Jehovahs witnesses do, namely, going
from house to house to preach the good
news of Gods kingdom. In those days the
missionaries met five Christian women
who had stood firm, even in a concentration camp. During the time that the Japanese controlled Korea these five Christian
women, bound in chains, refused to bow
to the emperor and accept his religion.
Their torture was severe, but they continued fighting a fine fight for the faith.
They were released following the second
world war and were very anxious to continue on in declaring the Kingdom good
news. They are doing so to this day.
27 How did the Koreans respond to the
good news? By 1960 the Watch Tower
Society had sent twenty-two missionaries,
and more than 3,800 Koreans had joined
26, 27. Despite w hat type of persecution did Jehovahs
C hristian witnesses continue forw ard in Korea, resuiting in w hat progress by 1970?

J anuary 1, 1971

SfceWATCHTOWER

them in the work. In 1970 there were

12,267 preaching and teaching the good
news of Gods kingdom. It is truly remarkable to see that 6,575 Koreans were baptized during the past three years, which
means that one half of all the witnesses
of Jehovah in Korea have entered the great
contest for the faith since 1967.
28 We m ight look at another country of
Asia, namely, India. What has happened
there? In 1914 Jehovahs witnesses had
four representatives there. It was not until
1926, though, that the Watch Tower Society opened an office in Bombay. This was
done by some very zealous young Christian men from England who believed that
India should have evangelizing work done
there. They found it very difficult to convince the Hindus that the Bible is truly
the Word of God, for the Hindus have
been steeped in their religious beliefs for
centuries. But progress was made and by
April of 1947 the first two graduates of
Gilead School were able to enter the country to help those already putting up a fine
fight for the faith.
29 India is a country of many gods, many
languages, many customs and many ways
of life. A missionary must adjust himself
so as to reach different personalities. All
kinds of people make up Jehovahs ereation. So no m atter where they may be on
earth they must be given the opportunity
to hear about Gods kingdom, even though
very few will accept it. Their work has
been rewarding, because today there are
3,347 persons proclaiming the kingdom of
God in spite of the greatest obstacles.
Could you represent and be substituting
for Christ in a land like India? It certainly would test ones fighting ability.2 Cor.
5:20.
28, 29. W hy has Kingdom w itnessing in India required
Jehovahs servants to exert them selves vigorously?

15

30
In comparison with many other parts
of the earth, Japan had to w ait longer to
hear the good news of the Kingdom. In
the year 1912 the first president of the
Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society,
Charles T. Russell, visited Japan as the
head of a committee of the International
Bible Students Association, investigating
the religious field in the Orient. They no
ticed that the m issionaries of orthodox
Christianity were considerably discouraged and Pastor Russell concluded that
what the Japanese people needed was the
gospel of the Kingdom, the announcing of
the second coming of Christ and the establishment of his righteous kingdom.
However, it was not until 1927 that an
American-Japanese person was sent to Japan to try to open up the work. With the
aid of a number of pioneers working hard,
a peak of 110 m inisters was reached in
1938. In that year, 1,125,817 copies of the
Golden Age magazine, forerunner of the
Awake! magazine, were distributed among
the Japanese people. Then, on June 21,
1939, all of Jehovahs witnesses were arrested. Other members of so-called Christian organizations were not arrested, because the government did not object as
long as those who belonged to their socalled Christian churches also worshiped
the Shinto gods, of which there were eight
million. However, Jehovahs witnesses
were frowned upon for their noncompliance in worshiping the Shinto gods. And
so they were charged w ith advocating a
Jehovah monotheism. Through a long
trial, held behind closed doors, those who
refused to renounce their God Jehovah
were sentenced to prison for five years, and
some were sentenced again after the first
term expired. Those still in prison at the
30. (a) W hat was B rother R ussell's conclusion a fte r
visiting Ja p a n ? (b) W hat problem s did Jehovahs
witnesses have to face once the preaching w ork got
under way in Ja p a n ?

16

SIkWATCHTOWER-

tim e of the American occupation in 1945

were released.
31 The Society had hopes of opening up
its Christian work again among the more
than 82 million people in Japan and did
so in 1949, when a number of Japanese
Hawaiians trained at the missionary school
of Gilead reached Japan. By 1950 the
Watch Tower Society sent twenty-six missionaries to Japan and by 1960 there were
seventy missionaries. By 1970 there were
eighty. Did those preaching the good news
of the Kingdom have good success? Today
the number of Japanese people doing the
work Jesus said would be done totals 9,478.
32 The Society started printing the
Watchtower magazine in Japanese in 1951
and then the Awake! magazine in 1956.
And today we are printing upward of
7,400,000 magazines every year in Japan.
There are now 228 Christian congregations
of Jehovahs witnesses there. Look at all
of Asia by means of this chart and see
what has happened in thirty years.

In the Lands where

year work was done
1940
7
1950
15
1960
26
1970
28

A SIA
Number of
Jehovahs witnesses
preaching
541
1,485
11,568
30,693

Number of
Gilead
graduates

69
265
257

ON TO EUROPE
S3

On the day of Pentecost of 33 C.E.

there were some people in Jerusalem from
Rome, and undoubtedly they took back
the message of the Kingdom to others in
Rome. But much later Paul and other disciples of Christ Jesus carried the message
into Greece, Italy and perhaps Spain, as
well as other parts of Europe. Today the
good news of Gods kingdom is being
31, 32. (a) Give evidence to show th a t the work of
Jehovah's witnesses has moved forw ard since 1949.
(b) Show w herein progress has been m ade in Asia in
the past th irty years.
33. To w hat extent is God's kingdom being preached
in E urope today, and how have Jehovahs witnesses
proved to be different from the denominations of
Christendom ?

B rooklyn , N .Y .

preached throughout all of Europe, in all

the countries of that continent. Even during World War I and throughout World
War when all religious denominations
of Christendom were at war with one another, cutting one anothers throats, the
true Christian witnesses of Jehovah were
busy preaching the good news of Gods
kingdom. They suffered for it because they
would not join in killing their neighbors,
and in Germany thousands were put in
prisons or sent to H itlers concentration
camps.
34 When Hitler took power in January of
1933 it became apparent that he was determined to wield his power ruthlessly
against Jehovahs Christian witnesses. He
did ban their work in 1933, and thousands
upon thousands of Jehovahs witnesses
were hunted down like animals and arrested. For many months special courts
were busy sentencing people who prior to
that tim e had never appeared before a
court for any wrongdoing. Terms of imprisonment were for five and more years.
Later many were sent to concentration
camps, and from all outward appearances
it looked as though Jehovahs Christian
witnesses were to become extinct.
35 In 1932 when the last report was received from Germany and before the ban
was placed on Jehovahs witnesses, there
were 14,453 sharing in the Kingdom declaration. By 1946, following the collapse
of the German war machine and the opening of the gates of the concentration camps
but not the gravesthere were 11,415
dedicated Christians still in the great contest for the faith. Ten years later this number grew to 50,530, and by 1970 in Western Germany there were 86,252 Christian
witnesses of Jehovah. The survivors never
34. W hat position did H itler and his governm ent take
tow ard Jehovah's w itnesses?
35. (a) Between 1932 and 1946 w hat happened to
Jehovah's witnesses in Germ any? (b) Since th a t time
how has Jehovah blessed his people in th a t land on
both sides of the Iro n C urtain?

J anuary 1, 1971

S&eWATCHTOWER

gave up! They preached! There is another group in West Berlin, now numbering 5,396 Christian witnesses, going from
house to house. And in East Germany,
where the witness work is carried on behind the Berlin wall and Iron Curtain,
there are many more thousands of Witnesses teUing East Germans, now under
Communistic rule, about Gods kingdom, but not w ith the same free
dom of speech as Jehovahs
C hristian w itn esses have
west of the Iron Curtain.
Proving faithful to right
principles brought death to
thousands of Jehovahs witnesses in Germany, but the survivors brought salvation to tens of
thousands, and they are still helping people to get a firm hold on
everlasting life.
33France has alw ays been a
staunch Catholic religious center.
History shows how powerful cardinals often ruled in French poll
tics. However, in the last days the
good news of Gods kingdom had to be
preached, and it begem to be around the
year 1904. It had a small beginning, and by
August 27, 1919, the work of Jehovahs
witnesses was legally recognized. In 1940,
because of H itlers take-over, the 320 publishers of the good news were forced underground. But after the war in 1947 when
the ban was lifted, there appeared on the
scene of action 2,380 persons. Even under
years of difficult conditions the preaching
had continued with fine success. A t the
first international assembly held in Paris,
in the Palais des Sports in 1951, 10,456
persons came out to hear the Societys
president talk on the subject Will Religion Meet the World Crisis? In that
year there were 7,136 of Jehovahs witnesses preaching Gods kingdom through36. How have the people of F rance been helped to
hear the good news of the K ingdom ?

17

out France. Today, just about twenty-three

years after Jehovahs witnesses were again
legally recognized in 1947, we find a fastgrowing organization, with 36,721 ministers giving a m ighty witness to Jehovah
God and his Son, Christ Jesus.
37 A new and flourishing era opened up
in Italy for Jehovahs witnesses immediately after World War . Even while the
second world war was on, the Society invited some Italian-Americ a n s to a t t e n d G ile a d
School and to prepare themselves for service in Italy as
soon as it was possible to
send evangelizers in. The
first one arrived in October
1946. There were only 120
of Jehovahs Christian witn esses preaching in th at
land then. In this Catholicdominated country where
C om m unism is g ro w in g
very rapidly the people are
very unsettled and, strange
as it may seem, are anxious
to know what the Bible really teaches. In
1970 there were 372 congregations of Jehovahs witnesses scattered throughout
Italy from the tip of the boot up to the
border of Switzerland, with 18,636 Christian witnesses of Jehovah telling the peopie the truth from Gods Word, and exposing the error of the crumbling organization of Christendom. It takes faith to
stand for Gods kingdom and against the
Hierarchy of the Vatican.
38 Jehovahs Christian witnesses are
growing fast in three of the strongest
Catholic countries of Europe. But this is
true for all of Europe. Jesus said that the
message he gave to his disciples should
37. W hen did the preaching w ork begin to move forw ard in Italy, and w hat problem s have Jehovahs
witnesses had to m eet and surm ount?
38. (a) W hat prophecy of Daniel is in course of fulAliment now? (b) How m uch progress has been m ade
in Europe in the past th irty y ears?

18

fEeWATCHTOWER.

B rooklyn , N .Y .

first missionaries from the Watchtower

Bible School of Gilead in the year 1945.
When these missionaries arrived, there
was no one known to be a witness of Jehovah. Up until 1949 there was very little
opposition to their evangelizing work. But
in that year a Roman Catholic priest opposed the activity and threatened to have
some of the m issionaries put out of the
country. By this tim e there were twentytwo missionaries in various cities of this
land. The Catholic priests were warning
their parishioners not to have anything to
do with Jehovahs witnesses. Later they
induced the police to take the names of
those of their church attending the meetings of Jehovahs witnesses. By June of
EUROPE
1950 the branch servant was called to the
Number of
Number of
Gilead
Jehovah's witnesses
In the Lands where
office of the Secretary of the Interior and
preaching
graduates
year work w as done
given instructions to the effect that the
17,414
1940
13
142,675
101
1950
24
propagating
work of Jehovahs witnesses
337,053
305
1960
26
30
442,707
339
1970
was against the law of the land and was
banned.
ON TO THE ISLANDS OF THE ATLANTIC,
43 During the period of this ban the WitCARIBBEAN AND MEDITERRANEAN
39The disciples of Christ Jesus visited nesses met in private homes of interested
the islands of the Mediterranean. But as people. For a short tim e in 1956 the opfor the islands of the Atlantic Ocean and position lessened, but then suddenly a great
the Caribbean Sea, and the western hemi- persecution fell upon all of Jehovahs witsphere, these were parts of the world un- nesses throughout the Dominican Repubheard of. But today all these places are lie. The W itnesses were sought out, beaten
included in the most distant part of the and jailed. The Roman Catholic priests
took the lead in heaping reproach upon
earth.
40Jehovahs witnesses feel the respon- them. They used sound cars, beginning
sibility to preach and teach and want to early in the morning telling the people not
make disciples of people of all the na- to talk to Jehovahs witnesses and to bum
tions, baptizing them, teaching them to their literature or to give it to the priest
observe all the things Christ commanded. to burn. Some of the homes of Jehovahs
witnesses were stoned by Catholic youths
(Matt. 28:19, 20) So a great preaching
egged on by the priests. The missionaries
and teaching work must reach out to the
were
expelled. The reasontelling the
islands.
truths
that Jesus spoke in his day.
41The Dominican Republic received its
43After a few years the government
39, 40. W here else has the Kingdom message gone In
changed, the Catholic church lost much of
m odern times, and why do Jehovah's witnesses feel
a heavy responsibility in this regard?
its hold and influence, not only with the
41, 42. (a) How was interference brought to bear

be preached to the most distant part of

the earth. It is being done today and thousands upon thousands of persons now
know that the prophecy of Daniel is having fulfillm ent wherein it states: In the
days of those kings the God of heaven
will set up a kingdom that w ill never be
brought to ruin. And the kingdom itself
w ill not be passed on to any other people.
It w ill crush and put an end to all these
kingdoms, and it itself w ill stand to times
indefinite. (Dan. 2:44) Do you believe
what Jehovah God inspired Daniel to
write? This chart should help you to see
that hundreds of thousands of dedicated
persons do.

against the Kingdom preaching of Jehovah's witnesses

in the Dom inican Republic? (b) To w hat extent were
they persecuted in th a t land?

43. Then w hat changes took place, resulting in an

expanded w itness?

J anuary 1, 1971

SReWATCHTOWER

government, but with the people. The

Watchtower m issionaries were allowed to
return in 1960. Today there are thirtyfive m issionaries in the Dominican Republic and a fine Christian organization
of 3,591, and the people are listening. In
this little island of the Caribbean Jehovahs witnesses suffered much, but the joy
of returning and enlightening the people
is worth it all. They entered the great contest for the faith and stayed with it. Jehovah blessed his witnesses, and today
they are preaching the good news of Gods
kingdom everywhere throughout the island.
44Cuba, too, has an interesting history
as a Catholic country. As far back as 1918
the good news of the kingdom of Jehovah
God reached this country. The first congregation was organized in 1922, and there
was a convention attended by 100 persons
in Palma Soriano, Oriente. The preaching
of the good news continued to make steady
progress, and by 1944 it was possible to
send some of the graduates of the Watchtower School of Gilead to Cuba. By the
end of that year there were 1,260 Witnesses. The work grew steadily, and by
1959 there were 12,140 of Jehovahs witnesses in the island, with twenty-two missio n a rie s. T h en cam e
a ch ange in g o v ern m en t, and f o r a f e w
years there were no particular difficulties. Finaliy, however, the importation of all literature
was held up and local
printing was stopped.
But the work of giving
th e w itn e s s to Gods
44. (a) W hen was the first
congregation of Jehovahs witnesses organized in Cuba, and
w hat progress was m ade up
until 1959? (b) W hat does the
report show since th en ?

19

kingdom continued in private homes

through the Bible study work. Pressures
grew against the preaching of Gods kingdom, and many Kingdom Halls were closed
and some burned, but still the ministry continued. There are many more of Jehovahs
witnesses in Cuba today than there were
back in 1965 when the last report of their
activity appeared in the Yearbook of Jehovahs Witnesses. A t that tim e there were
18,078 regular workers. From 1959 to 1965
the number of W itnesses grew from 12,000 to 18,000. No m atter what the handicaps in a land may be, a true, live Christian is going to preach and teach and keep
a strong grip on life.
45 Cyprus is in the Mediterranean and
was visited quite often by early Christian s. C ongregations w ere established
there. The persecution of Christians that
followed the martyrdom of Stephen and
the subsequent dispersion resulted in some
disciples going to Cyprus, where they
witnessed to the resident Jews. Certain
Cypriot Christians went to the city of Antioch, opposite Cyprus near the Syrian
coast, and preached w ith much success
among people who, like them selves, were
Greek speaking. (Acts 11:19, 20) When
Paul and Barnabas, accompanied by John
Mark, were sent out from Antioch on
their first missionary tour, their initial
territory was in the home island of Barnabas, namely, Cyprus.
46 Today eight evangelizers from
Gilead School have been sent to
the island. Twelve congregation s are established and 562 m inisters
of Gods kingdom speak
45-47. (a) W hat early history do
we have concerning Cyprus, and
who w ent on th e ir first missionary to u r th ere ? (b) W hat
has happened in m odern tim es?
(c) Give a resum e of the preaching w ork in th e p ast th irty
years in the A tlantic, Mediterra n ea n and C aribbean islands.

20

SEeWATCHTOWER.

B r o o k l y n , N .Y .

48 The islands of the Pacific are numerous and Jehovahs witnesses have not
reached them all. Looking first at the
Philippine Islands, we find this country
made up of 7,100 islands extending 1,150
m iles north and south and 682 miles east
and west. Eleven of the islands comprise
the bulk of the area. Only 462 islands have
areas of more than one square mile. Going back to the year 1912, we find that
Charles T. Russell visited Manila and delivered a public address in the Manila
Opera House. The interest aroused by his
lectures caused many
p erson s to w r it e th e
Watch Tower Society in
America for literature WP;
fo r t h e m s e lv e s and
many of them, so convinced that what they fP ?
heard w as th e truth, j i g
took up the distribution _J||
of the books to friends.
49On D ecem b er 7,
1941, war broke out
in th e Pacific. The Japanese invaded the Philippine Islands. The branch servant, an
American citizen, was interned by the Jap-

anese. The branch office was closed. Jehovahs witnesses were hunted down. But
many kept them selves free and continued
to declare the good news of the Kingdom
right straight through the war by preaching in small towns and in the mountains
where many witnesses of Jehovah fled
with the refugees. A good work was done.
80 In 1947 N. H. Knorr, president of the
Watch Tower Society, visited the newly
reestablished branch office and gave a publie talk to 4,200 persons. In that year
2,902 ministers were engaging in houseto-house work. It was not long before
many of the Societys publications were
published in the numerous languages of
the Philippine Republic. Then many Filipino brothers were called to Gilead School.
These were trained and sent back to the
Philippine Islands to help in better organizing the preaching work. By 1960 there
were 31,608 associated with Jehovahs witnesses in preaching the good news, and in
1970 there were 54,789. They are estabfished in 1,309 congregations.
81 The Fiji Islands of the South
Pacific are well known, and travelers to the islands find Fijians
to be a very interesting people.
Som e of Jehovahs w itn esses
from Australia visited these
islands in the tw en ties
and it was not long before a
healthy congregation was
e s ta b lis h e d . T h is
s m a ll grou p of
Christians did not
pass unnoticed by
the opposers of the Bible truth. Clergymen began denouncing the message.

48. A fter Charles T. Russell preached in the Philippines

in 1912, how did people respond ?
49. How did Jehovahs witnesses preach in the Philippine Islands during W orld W ar II?

50. W hat has contributed to the expansion of th e

Kingdom w ork in the Philippines since 1947?
51,52. (a) How were pressures brought against the
work of Jehovahs witnesses in the F iji Islands?
(b) W hat has been the situation since 1945?

peace to the inhabitants of a troubled land.

47Here is a progress report for the islands of the Atlantic, Caribbean and Mediterranean over a span of thirty years.
ISLANDS OF THE
ATLANTIC, MEDITERRANEAN AND CARIBBEAN
Number of
Number of
Jehovah's witnesses
Gilead
In the Lands where
year work was done
preaching
graduates

803
1940
6
12,938
1950
16
148
1960
43
25,508
187
1970
42
49,337
163

ON TO THE ISLANDS OF THE PACIFIC

January 1, 1971

In 1932 the governor of the islands even

jailed one of the W itnesses for being a
Christian. Legislation was soon passed
prohibiting the entry of Bible literature of
the Watch Tower Society. Even books that
had been shipped into the country were
gathered up and burned. However, by January of 1941 the prohibition order against
the importation of the Societys literature
was made even more stringent
and severe penalties were imposed upon th ose found
with literature in their possession.
52After the end of the
second world war the prohibition on literature was
eased, and in 1945 the govemment proclamation was that
literature approved by the government could be allowed in the
country. Public meetings are now
freely held. It proved to be a long,
steady and persistent fight for the faith
on the part of Jehovahs witnesses in Fiji,
but a good witness is being given, and November 9 to 12, 1969, an international assembly was held in Suva with 1,621 attending.
53 The people of the South Pacific have
a love for righteousness and a love for life.
They have a right to be given the opportunity to learn about life everlasting. Does
your faith move you to offer your help?
The following chart tells of the progress
made by Jehovahs witnesses in this area,
which to many seems to be the most distant part of the earth.

In fhe
year
1940
1950
1960
1970

ISLANDS OF THE PACIFIC

Number of
Lands where
Jehovahs witnesses
work was done
preaching
4
3,819
6
16,807
17
52,671
30
91,782

21

SReWATCHTOWER

Number of
Gilead
graduates

25
82
150

53. Show w herein progress has been m ade

South Pacific during the past th irty years.

in the

ON TO NORTH AMERICA

MIn the fifteenth century a new world

was found, and in the centuries that followed, inhabitants of Europe journeyed
westward. Many persons interested in freedom of religion fled to North America.
They looked for a new land free from govem m ents where the church and
the state were lovers and together oppressed their subjects.
Many new religious denominations were formed over the
years and now the United
States alone has over 270,
most of them seeking freedom from the traditions of
powerful religious leaders.
In 1884 a small group of
earnest Bible students incorporated what is now the
W atch Tower B ible and
Tract Society of Pennsylvania.
It was chartered to disseminate Bible truth in various
languages with emphasis on preaching
the good news of Gods kingdom. The
Watch Tower Society had a very small
beginning, but it has grown in eightysix years and now its associates are capable of giving the worldwide witness Jesus said should be given in these last
days. Charles T. Russell, its first president, was a great preacher and a fighter
for the true faith. He traveled the length
and breadth of the United States and lectured in many countries around the world,
declaring the second presence of Christ and
Gods kingdom by Christ Jesus as mans
only hope for salvation. He also showed
that the religious teachings of the orthodox clergy, Protestant, Catholic and Jewish, were based on traditions of men. He
proved from the Bible that there is no
hellfire and brimstone for human souls
54. (a) W hy did m any persons begin fleeing from
E urope to America from and a fte r the fifteenth century,
resulting in w hat religiously? (b) W hat had its beginning in 1884, resulting in w hat religiously?

22

ffceW ATCHTOW ER

B rooklyn , N .Y .

after death. In fact, it was often written the United States. But by 1946 there were
that Russell took the fire out of hell. He 65,922 associated and now there are 388,proved from the Scriptures that man does 920 W itnesses. Have you m et some of
not have a soul, but that he is a soul and them? Did you listen to what they had to
that when man dies he goes into the com- say when they called at your door? They
mon grave of mankind and there he re- w ill continue to try to reach you in 1971,
mains until the resurrection of the dead and as long as this good news of the
to a paradise earth. He proved there is kingdom has to be preached.
no Trinity. What Pastor Russell did was
87
Canada has a sim ilar story to tell. The
revive Bible study, and he got people to Canadian government banned the work on
put their faith in God and his written July 4, 1940, when there were 6,813 of
Word rather than the theories and fiction Jehovahs witnesses in the country. The
of men. This brought the wrath of the branch office in Toronto was closed. All of
clergy down on his head and on the heads the literature was seized, but the Chrisof all working with him. But Jehovahs tian witnesses worked in their m inistry
Christian witnesses are still here, still de- with the Bible alone. W hatever publicadaring the truths of the Bible.
tions they may have had in their own
88
During World War I, J. F. Rutherford,homes they also used. The ban against the
the second president of the Watch Tower Society was finally removed in Canada in
Society, was put in prison in 1918 along 1944, and when the reports were received
w ith other prominent members of the So- again from all the congregations many
ciety because of his energetically preach- more were shown to be a part of the oring Gods kingdom as mans only hope. ganization, for now 10,345 were associated.
The clergy were the instigators of that While underground for four years they
action, but by 1919-1920 through the put up a hard fight for the faith and they
Court of Appeals the charges against them had success. The record shows they are
of being seditious were all dropped and working just as hard now and showing
these faithful men were once more seen in real faith. Canada now has 46,808 witpublic declaring to thousands the good nesses of Jehovah.
news of Gods kingdom.
88For a moment consider the increase
88During the second world war Jeho- in North America, for it speaks well of
vahs witnesses were again persecuted. the house-to-house preaching and the conMany were put in prison in the United ducting of home Bible studies. Maybe if
States. Kingdom Halls were burned and you listen carefully to Gods Word you
many of Jehovahs witnesses were chased too will want to enter the great contest
out of cities and towns for going from for the faith.
house to house telling the people the mesNORTH AMERICA
sage of the Bible. From 1939 to 1945 JeNumber of
Number of
hovahs witnesses went through some of In the Lands where Jehovahs
witnesses
Gilead
their most difficult years. But, neverthe- year work was done
preaching
graduates
1940
7
65,577

less, they fought a fine fight of faith. When 1950

12
138,108
492
1960
12
319,560
858
the second world war began in 1939 there 1970
12
498,736
823
were 41,902 publishers of the Kingdom in 57. How is C anadas story sim ilar to w hat happened
55. How did the pressures of W orld W ar I
preaching of God's kingdom by Jehovahs
56. Did the persecution against Jehovah's
witnesses stop th e ir preaching w ork during
W orld W ar H ? W hy?

affect the
witnesses?
C hristian
and a fte r

in the United States, and w hat blessings has Jehovah

given?
58. Show how th irty years of preaching in N orth
America has resulted in a g reat increase in the num ber
of persons who have entered the g re at contest of the
faith.

J anuary 1, 1971

23

3HeWATCHTOWER.

ON TO SOUTH AMERICA

South America, religiously speaking,

has always been a stronghold of the Catholic church, but their citadel is crumbling.
The education that the Catholic organization gave its people in the United States
and Europe it failed to give its people in
South America. Why did the Catholic
church deliberately keep its people uneducated and illiterate for centuries?
Hundreds of evangelizers from
the W atchtower Bible School
of Gilead learned the Spanish and Portuguese languages
and then taught thousands of
Catholics in Latin America
to read and write so that they could
put faith in Gods written Word, and they
are doing so today. Practically the entire
organization of Jehovahs witnesses in
South America is made up of former Catholics. They are now fighting the fine fight
of the faith.
* In 1945 there were 415 associated with
Jehovahs witnesses in Argentina. In 1947
when the first m issionaries were sent
there the work moved ahead very rapidly.
Excellent progress was made even though
the work was banned due to religious pressure in 1950. Then in 1955 there was a
revolution in the country and, following
that, Jehovahs w itnesses gained more
freedom to preach from house to house.
In the year 1970 there were 18,763 proclaiming the good news from house to
house.
81 The Catholic people of Brazil are hungry for the truth from Gods Word. In
1923 there were only eight persons in that
vast country that were preaching Gods
kingdom as mans only hope. The Societys
59. W hat educational problem have Jehovahs witnesses
m et in th e ir Kingdom preaching in South America,
and how have they overcome the problem ?
60. W hat increases of activity has A rgentina enjoyed?
61. (a) Outline the increase in the num ber of those
preaching Gods kingdom in B razil from 1923 to the
present, (b) How has th irty years of preaching affected
South Am erica?

evangelizers were able to get into Brazil

in 1945 and at that tim e the record shows
there were 394 witnesses of Jehovah in
the land. These few ministers moved out
in all directions and continued to preach
to Catholics, and they listened to what Jehovahs witnesses had to say. What an in
gathering in Brazil for lovers of truth! By
1960 there were 20,321 persons in the congregations of Jehovahs witnesses. The organization has now grown to
64 ,1 9 9 in 1970, a
g r e a t loss to th e
Catholic church. But
now these many new
ones are helping other Catholic people to
establish their faith
in Gods Word and
to fight the fine fight
of the faith. South
America, too, could
be called part of the distant parts of
the earth. But let the following chart
speak for itself as to the progress made
because of sending witnesses of Christ that
far.
SOUTH AMERICA
Number of
Jehovah's witnesses
In the Lands where
preaching
year work was done
561
1940
8
7,630
1950
13
38,651
1960
13
119,260
1970
13

Number of
Gilead
graduates

205
381
501

WITNESSING AROUND THE WORLD IN 1970

62 Jesus said the field is the world.

(Matt. 13:38) So Jehovahs witnesses have
the responsibility and are declaring the
good news of the Kingdom around the
world. It takes stalwart, faithful and de62. (a) W hat qualities are needed by those who preach
Gods kingdom ? (b) W hat does the worldwide report
show in regard to: lands hearing the Kingdom message
and persons exhibiting faith and preaching? (c) To
w hat extent were home Bible studies freely conducted
in the past year, and w hat procedure was followed in
such studies? (d) How m any new ones have been
baptized, and w hat did th a t m ean for them in th eir
personal lives?

B rooklyn , N .Y .
S&eWATCHTOWER
termined men and women to keep at this a six-month, or twenty-six-week, period.
work year after year. Paul wrote Timothy These Christian witnesses of Jehovah take
and said: Pursue righteousness, godly de- the time to explain what the Bible has to
votion, faith, love, endurance, mildness of say and to answer questions. What have
temper. Fight the fine fight of the faith, the results been through this home Bible
get a firm hold on the everlasting life for study method of preaching in 1970? They
which you were called and you offered the have been remarkable. There were 164,193
fine public declaration in front of many persons who left their former religious afw itnesses. (1 Tim. 6:11,12) That is good filiation, changed their way of living, and
took their stand
counsel, and Jeon J e h o v a h s
hovahs witnessside, dedicating
T H E N EXT IS S U E
es h a v e oftheir lives to the
fered the fine
Do You Believe in Evolution or in Creation?
doing of Jehopublic declaravahs will. They
tion in front of
W hat Is G od s Will for You?
became disciples
many w itn ess How Can You Find Joy in Personal Study?
of Jesus Christ
es. Can it be
and, of course,
proved that they
were baptized in
did so in 1970?
Let the worldwide report on the activity water just as Jesus was. These 164,193
of Jehovahs witnesses give the answer. recently baptized witnesses of Jehovah
Are these Christian witnesses today doing are already preaching the good news of
what Jesus said they should do, namely, be Gods kingdom world wide. They have
witnesses of me . . . to the most distant come from all races, peoples and tongues,
part of the earth? (Acts 1:8) First let it and they will m eet with the W itnesses
be noted that the reports show that Jeho- three times a week and learn more durvahs witnesses have been active in 206 ing the five Bible study sessions in 26,524
lands, and this includes all the principal congregations in all parts of the world.
countries of the world. Secondly, no less Would you be interested in that kind of
than 1,483,430 persons engaged in this weekly program? If you are going to put
worldwide witness work during 1970 and up a fine fight for the faith you m ust get
they devoted 267,581,120 hours to talking involved in Bible teaching work.
about the Bible from house to house, and
63There is a great difference between
included in their message was the good those persons who belong to Christendoms
news of Gods kingdom. But much more religions and Jehovahs witnesses. Chriswas done. Persons truly interested in the tendom requires little or nothing of their
Bible were helped with free home Bible members except to make contributions to
studies conducted by Jehovahs Christian the church. At Christmas and Easter time
witnesses. Many of these were arranged much larger numbers than usual attend
for, and the annual report shows that the church services. But as to ones beliefs
1,146,378 weekly home Bible studies were and moral habits, it does not matter. There
conducted. That means that the teacher is is no dedication of peoples lives to the
invited into the home and he sits down doing of Gods will, or walking in the
with the interested ones with Bible opened, footsteps of Jesus Christ. The church memand together they study some Bible sub- 63. (a) State the difference betw een C hristendom s
and Jehovahs witnesses, (b) Who are included
ject every week for at least one hour for religions
in doing the discipling w ork?

24

J anuary 1, 1971

3EeWATCHTOWER.

25

bers of both Catholic and Protestant de- every month. This is marvelous, is it not?
nominations, as well as their clergy, do There are many more people interested in
not know anymore what Jesus meant when Jehovahs witnesses and their activity, and
he said: Go therefore and make disci- they showed it by attending the Memorial
pies of people of all the nations, baptizing of the death of Christ Jesus. This was
them . . . teaching them to observe all the celebrated on March 22, 1970, and the
things I have commanded you. (Matt. worldwide attendance was 3,226,168.
28:19, 20) This was no meaningless state65 Readers of the Watchtower and
ment on the part of Christ Jesus. He Awake! magazines w ill be interested in
meant that every follower of his should be knowing that during the past year Jehoa witness of him wherever he lives, and vahs witnesses around the world obtained
that many would go to the most distant 2,464,196 new subscriptions for these magpart of the earth to preach and make dis- azines. In addition to that, they distributed
ciples. That is how Jehovahs witnesses 204,758,521 individual copies to interested
feel about it. They take their commission persons who are not subscribers for these
seriously. That is why all of them must two fine publications.
fight the fine fight of the faith and get
68 The people w ith whom Jehovahs wita firm hold on the everlasting life.
nesses place literature are entitled to have
84
Many men and women who are Je-return visits so their questions can be anhovahs witnesses feel the urgency of swered if they have any. In this activity
spending all their tim e in preaching the Jehovahs witnesses made return visits
Kingdom good news, and 13,426 have been dining the year to the number of 121,226,assigned to what is called the special pio- 605. The reason for all this activity is to
neer work. That means they spend 150 build faith and help others to get a firm
hours or more every month in preaching hold on the everlasting life. Over the years
the good news in territory where they are this is what has been done. (For details
needed, and often where there is no con- see the complete chart of activity on pages
gregation of Jehovahs witnesses. In ad- 26-29.)
dition, there were, on the average, 1,295,WORLDWIDE REPORT
911 congregation publishers who cannot
Number of
Number of
spend all of their tim e in the ministry. In the Lands where Jehovah's witnesses
Gilead
preaching
graduates
work was done
They really do the greater part of the year

1940
56
95,327
1950
115
373,430
1,086
work in all parts of the earth, because they
916,332
1960
179
2,255
206
1,483,430
2,561
average anywhere from 10 to 20 hours a 1970
month in talking about the Bibles mes67 The Watch Tower Bible and Tract
sage. After doing their secular work and
home duties they use all the time they Society has numerous printing plants
can in the preaching of the good news of throughout the world, and all of them are
Gods kingdom. Then there were 75,445 staffed by Jehovahs witnesses. The main
pioneers, who spend about 100 hours a plant is in Brooklyn, New York. They also
month in this God-assigned work. This have printing plants in Canada, England,
makes a grand total of 1,384,782 W itnesses 65, 66. (a) W hat p a rt do Bible lite ratu re and re tu rn
visits on interested persons play in the w ork of Jehoon the average engaging in the ministry vahs
witnesses? (b) W hat does the worldwide re p o rt
64. (a) W hat are the activities of special pioneers,
congregation publishers and re g u la r pioneers as Jehovahs C hristian w itnesses? (b) W hat shows th a t m any
are interested in th e ir w ork?

of the past th irty years show?

67, 68. (a) W ho does the p rin tin g of the Bible publications for Jehovahs w itnesses? (b) How extensive
was the prin tin g of Bible lite ra tu re ? (c) W hy is fa ith
so necessary to do th is w ork?

1970 SERVICE YEAR REPORT OF JEHOVAHS W ITN ESSES WORLD WIDE

1970
Av.
Pubs.
371,561
109
765
17,762
21,474
9,182
381
810
22
26
179
138
104
12,579
964
60,139
400
59,705
35
510
45,734
1,128
49
277
6,923
6,588
1,437
242
13,181
2,973
527
1,733
11,769
45
25
3,378
2,717
1,545
410
44
8
145
10
10
143
15
83
10,250
34,224
45
30
84,421
5,336
13i389
S

%Inc. Peak
over
Pubs.
1970
1969
388,920
8
118
7
14
814
18,763
13
22,203
8
6
9,618
8
411
7
869
8 *
23
29
13
10
194
167
25
4
116
13,271
11
15
1,168
64,199
12
441
11
7
61,913
37
3
559
18
46,808
6
1,234
9
17
54
6
292
7,422
17
20
7,083
14
1,595
302
34
21
15,401
4
3,123
9
562
15
1,807
5
12,569
10
55
4
27
16
3,591
23
2,949
20
1,755
12
453
47
13
14
11
23
162
9*
14
23*
13
15
155
6*
19
92
5 *
10,620
4
36,721
15
74
27*
34
86,252
4
5,396
1
14,223
13
431
32

No.
Bptzd.
38,790
29
106
2,365
2,544
938
49
133
2
2
13
10
8
1,792
241
8,501
43
5,273
4
76
3,953
263
9
21
1,396
1,650
261
63
1,906
249
34
241
804
5
1
812
670
272
66
9

Av.
Pio.
Pubs.
24,448
5
64
1,299
1,946
451
21
32
3
3
16
19
10
606
201
2,832
39
4,640
4
115
2,800
124
11
61
441
667
110
17
1,002
125
27
290
777
13
7
466
370
168
57
4

26

6
1

38

5
1
5
671
1,334
3

10
735
4,887
10

5,503
325
2,500
132

3,717
178
1,017
65

No. of
T otal
Congs. L ite ratu re
5,492 10,041,342
2,926
1
17,768
12
396,440
325
352,367
465
211,133
175
18,157
7
16,254
14
1
244
308
1
3,812
5
4,420
3
1,471
2
266,980
214
30
58,653
983,368
1,117
11,152
11
860,479
891
1
346
5,331
18
788
677,349
10,755
28
1,502
2
11,333
8
116
291,106
139
207,059
14,372
29
4
8,485
194
128,474
79
32,358
5,855
12
25,766
53
129,840
210
2,451
2
2,758
1
90,760
63
83,898
46
48,550
25
17,502
8
1
4,638
69
1
5,552
150
1
1
224
1
6,819
85
1
2,185
292
188,219
583
781,137
1
651
1
111
1,078 1,312,211
44
101,182
289
283,593
10
24,824

T otal
H ours
69,791,988
16,218
149,104
3,848,150
5,078,024
1,597,224
67,314
117,379
6,176
7,749
40,139
40,976
24,257
2,257,267
413,081
10,277,523
98,685
11,799,580
9,130
230,625
8,377,969
326,604
23,306
118,590
1,419,507
1,690,812
378,488
56,991
3,628,784
490,445
85,602
626,613
1,924,464
22,046
6,301
1,060,489
856,089
433,576
126,093
11,575
771
25,914
1,580
951
31.722
3,695
18,480
1,748,878
6,166,592
9,260
3,128
13,402,020
786,902
3,290,676
157,617

New
Subs.
1,459,786
614
2,664
29,079
30,100
6,002
2,140
1,198
10
13
423
338
77
20,467
3,090
53,788
704
46,560
26
2,259
72,194
165
56
1,981
9,611
5,273
308
149
3,113
557
336
440
5,768
149
40
5,902
3,357
1,776
1,073
230
552
24
3
658
9
73
17,619
75,093
191
24
45,682
2,491
6,577
708

Individual
M agazines
86,083,604
19,122
152,880
3,458,201
4,504,949
1,855,409
82,771
90,354
3,384
2,463
32,999
27,839
15,075
2,374,270
317,866
6,051.883
90,233
11,591,078
1,219
70,238
7,530,369
17,739
6,904
92,955
1,279,893
958,136
47,692
23,646
494,652
205,725
33,337
55,254
2,714,616
34,057
7,243
747,275
594,686
283,336
107,957
15,281
36
19,873
675
788
38,761
3,035
8,140
2,127,215
6,545,866
3,056
387
16,268,048
1,049,191
691,041
92,275

Av. Bible
Back-Calls Studies
295,468
33,220,102
10,452
88
588
66,232
2,021,937
18,620
15,505
2,090,571
819,953
5,895
35,167
389
52,361
611
2,988
18
3,647
36
21,980
217
22,184
234
131
11,875
7,727
1,111,451
1,743
160,363
4,284,116
52,768
42,681
471
44,222
5,984,701
45
3,825
708
93,317
27,321
3,654,474
1,668
140,364
105
10,339
410
44,792
8,182
658,861
791,896
8,416
150,168
1,586
287
21,819
1,288,390
16,077
208,627
2,705
308
36,764
1,964
238,900
6,660
884,673
56
9,000
21
3,921
5,970
525,565
4,148
409,646
2,338
189,633
45.002
561
47
5,139
6
328
151
13,700
15
1,109
16
683
167
14,544
2,151
11
6,693
86
913,922
6,702
3,332,848
27,070
4,921
56
2,705
30
6,880,722
40,224
2,312
493,376
1,441,834
15,043
88,043
999

SReWATCHTOWER

I960
Av.
Pubs.
Country
343,673
U.S. of America
102
Bermuda
672
Alaska
15,698
A rgentina
A ustralia
19,838
8,648
A ustria
Bahamas
353
755
Barbados
24
Bequia
Carriacou
23
163
G renada
110
St. Lucia
100
St. Vincent
Belgium
11,360
840
Bolivia
Brazil
53,716
B ritish H onduras
359
B ritish Isles
55,876
M alta
34
Burm a
431
43,265
Canada
C entral Afr. Rep.
1,039
Tchad
42
Ceylon
261
5,910
Chile
Colombia
5,485
Congo (Brazzaville)
1,258
Gabon
180
Congo (Kinshasa)
10,908
Costa Rica
2,850
Cyprus
485
Dahomey
1,509
11,164
Denm ark
Faroe Islands
41
Greenland
24
Dominican Republic
2,911
Ecuador
2,213
El Salvador
1,290
F iji
366
39
American Samoa
G ilbert & Ellice Isis.
7
New Caledonia
118
New Hebrides
11
Niue
13
T ahiti
124
Tonga
16
87
W estern Samoa
9,869
Finland
29,754
France
62
Algeria
T unisia
30
Germany, W est
81,051
W est Berlin
5,297
11,937
Ghana
294
Ivory Coast

>

Upper V olta
Greece
Guadeloupe
French Guiana
M artinique
Guatem ala
Guyana
H aiti
Hawaii
Guam
M arshall Islands
Palau
Ponape
Saipan
T ruk
Yap
H onduras
Hong Kong
Macao
Iceland
India
Nepal
Indonesia
Ireland
Israel
Italy
L ibya
San M arino
Somalia
Jam aica
Cayman Islands
Japan
Kenya
Burundi
E thiopia
Rwanda
Seychelles
Sudan
T anzania
Uganda
Korea
Lebanon
Abu Dhabi
B ahrein Islands
Iran
Jordan
K uw ait
Q atar
Saudi A rabia
Syria
Leewards (Antigua)
Anguilla
Dominica
M ontserrat
Nevis
St. E ustatius
St. K itts
St. M artin
L iberia
L uxem bourg

1
12,653
1,090
105
404

2
14,096
1,308
118
534

1,752
1,076
1,561
2,866
44

2,109
1,037
1,794
3,180
64

44
7
34
7
7

50
14
44
10
8

4
1,096
218
6
128
2,693
1,802
825
155
14,343
40
8
1
5,099
11
6,861
632
14
334
6
41
1,044
64
9,379
1,073
2
15
26
5
1
2
126
109
13
169
29
27
1
92
47
511
490

100
11
20
12
32
20
4 *
15
11
45
14
100
29
43
14

50
6
1,234
13
222
2
17
7
125
2*
3,070
14
3 New
2,248
25
941
14
159
3
17,449
22
27
-33*
15
88
1
5,274
3
12
9
8,635
26
844
34
30
114
437
31
3 New
7
17
44
7
1,168
12
86
34
11,486
22
1,201
12
2
1 New
20
33
27
4
6
20
1
2
15
145
130
19
8
14
5
177
20
31*
4
28
1
104
13
48
2
599
17
8
528

3
14,622
1,435
129
604

1,104
338
27
152

1
709
76
6
42

389
18
1
6

106
80,507
30,307
4,630
21,054

526
2,657,784
259,414
22,940
120,011

2
550
2,077
343
1,706

285
161,760
208,754
20,272
112,166

305
1,499,552
146,825
12,244
53,701

4
7,791
1,374
174
676

c-1

2,250
1,079
2,049
3,340
83

300
125
256
549
10

223
120
171
447
10

38
28
31
37
1

66,237
35,504
24,863
96,312
3,864

564,381
273,299
505,071
906,428
18,651

1,981
2,003
319
12,467
569

392,118
210,933
98,113
841,387
21,475

223,478
121,567
236,313
460,001
9,346

2,863
1,312
3,190
3,675
66

55
15
62
15
11

8
2

11
5
10
4
2

2,895
1,114
2,789
431
207

19,643
9,165
15,862
6,976
3,903

25
52
8
17
2

4,065
5,196
4,161
4,505
1,933

7,039
5,365
7,282
2,504
1,926

122
45
79
20
19

2
231
26
1
5
371

4
162
30
2
25
375
567
197
18
985

6,080
375,997
73,621
2,748
46,855
865,852
114
1,088,470
369,442
42,011
3,714,468
1,924
2,323
121
748,116
2,067
3,733,835
335,643
7,986
125,268
1,867
1,163
12,015
341,319
39,382
3,279,331
262,269
66
1
5,689
5,395
327
68
202
28,400
33,257
3,192
49,064
6,084
4,762
147
22,404
14,515
215,628
118,148

32
1,823
2,651
395
480
7,377
21
3,760
941
321
48,118

734
254,027
97,124
2,193
38,164
301,906
95
327.921
254,079
24,421
3,873,233
142
2,411
85
595,278
1,196
4,303,074
118,463
334
5,283
10
1,319
1,331
18.545
18,439
1,894,291
345
5

3,358
148,917
32,603
1,036
20,530
309,068
27
397,599
136,462
17,984
2,050,212
978
967
33
316,582
710
1,778,062
143,637
4,009
74,956
631
1,538
4,173
115,600
22.106
1,279,146
109,392
34
6
2,870
2,474
256
59
106
11,375
14,905
1,474
20,190
3,103
2,074
112
11,203
6,931
86,048
55,890

41
1,784
312
16
137
3,024

438
80
12
2,621

341
44,192
13,759
109
7,803
99,365
5
165,395
28,200
27,463
950,773
89
720
77
75,342
419
697,500
75,437
86
2,206
83
143
969
19,261
9,299
219,343
89,167
2
1
1,011
897
29
2
41
377
6,263
390
4,057
952
304
33
2,457
2,428
29,680
16,067

8
1,341
235
7
132
3,347
4
2,563
987
167
18,636
41
21
1
5,556
14
9,478
947
46
498
3
9
54
1,222
97
12,267
1,267
2
1
24
30
9
1
3
176
139
15
186
24
31
1
111
58
645
544

21
8
3
65
76
21
4
372
1

563
2,245
225
9
142

196
1
1,968
132
1
18
2

153
1
228
18
1
6

4
120
7
3.290
152

6
121
17
1,512
74

1
32
2
236
26

1
3

3
2

1
1

9
22
1
22
1

6
15
2
23
3
3

5
3
1
7
1
1

17
3
96
41

8
7
85
43

4
2
13
14

14
4
3,998
37
95,965
2,803
12
629
3
23
633
432
21,179
17
102
12
4

744
16
230
68
4
6
208
265
1,137
1,004

2,101
343
8
1
36
1
24,146
1,990
19,115
3,312
2,271
37
13,067
7,410
86,835
136,386

4,111
651
156
17,449
15
11
4,085
4
15,196
1,242
57
800
4
9
48
1,182
186
14,510
9S7
1

fc
M

CD
-q

<

38
23
4
2
123
167
12
202
33
21
3
99
87
895
437

to
-q

Peak
Pubs.
1970
469
238
361
19
49,031
181
39
18,261
339
169
17
902
5,574
9
1,446
85,358
14,012
443
27
5,555
450
159
7
1,905
554
16
17
98
361
40
553
803
4,518
54,789
7,498
355
87
8
79
1
6,940
53
270
11,598
19,050
3,145
177
9
6
2
851
166
218
168
21,716
2
202
406

No.
Bptzd.
92
47
33
5
5,672
23
3
1,678
46
20
95
690
163
10,268
1,732
62
1
400
58
11
204
49
2
11
42
11
58
81
646
7,145
1,136
34
2
5
14

Av.
Pio.
Pubs.
82
29
17
4
3,446
18
1
974
14
6
3
92
386
1
127
6,798
754
42
13
245
71
30
1
172
46
1
2
15
48
6
57
87
441
5,525
299
5
6
3

428
2
10
712
851
89
35
3
1

110
24
17
16
2,644

175
34
25
30
1,363

20
33

24
40

1,260
8
19
1,480
1,778
441
22

T otal
No. of
T otal
Congs. L iterature
H ours
35,636
11
173,416
6,544
5
66,033
6
6,400
69,927
663
7,900
1,288 1,034,463
8,885,926
8,058
4
46,548
689
1
5,935
214,863
233
2,986,224
12,331
5
60,949
4,427
4
27,017
710
1
4,862
23,152
33
225,469
80,894
1,038,228
100
626
2,177
35,045
331,054
27
683,331 18,084,879
1,065
62,923
2,258,882
275
11,291
4
112,876
795
24,752
1
136,040
151
786,368
37,346
9
139,253
9,994
4
58,162
168
1
1,134
58,094
45
439,825
17
9,135
112,655
1,795
550
202
2,739
1
2
2,883
31,841
11
4,594
97,173
979
1
16,083
3,644
12
147,225
20
14,986
200,493
178,181
1,222,179
78
486,752 11,887,989
1,309
148,384
1,297,271
101
4
4,531
62,091
2,268
17,482
3
40
867
1,915
11,562
2
6
42
366,271
105
1,384,432
1,487
1
7,191
6
12,387
40,823
136,580
343
2,359,151
2,245
416
3,148,109
50
5,347
513,919
2
10,003
74,826
1,607
1
6,930
144
2,701
91
224
32
36,807
348,105
5
5,811
67,169
4
10,263
55,616
6
25,944
62,027
509,766
413
4,459,972
16
40
4,778
4
53,137
7,364
9
107,437

New
Subs.
2,204
230
462
23
44,997
1,076
92
13,322
1,969
903
98
2,689
6,843
3
982
17,590
2,488
223
64
7,474
2,413
2,435
26
2,165
177
33
2
92
107
48
1,449
7,349
32,788
42
1
9
2
44,873
114
1,665
3,799
111
142
806
82
40
13
2,028
190
2,193
238
33,296
4
100
199

Av. Bible
Individual
Magazines Back-Calls Studies
776
77,000
124,406
356
25,257
35,050
261
31,233
33,361
24
2,812
1,738
43,961
3,512,149
5,827,390
170
21,935
41,939
35
2,889
4,252
9,029
1,313,163
2,579,028
334
31,132
64,778
134
15,766
27,447
2,297
20
4,206
634
104,219
240,374
3,699
470,685
1,026,967
7
848
793
1,779
175,493
248,489
75,109
6,845,148
1,506,848
9,884
1,036,120
233,470
537
49,908
10,927
106
9,621
3,522
2,764
375,327
986,273
581
58,192
182,931
217
23,682
42,916
5
611
819
2,384
209,686
327,851
545
41,411
33,432
10
801
1,476
17
1,082
631
137
11,788
8,998
370
35,338
19,274
63
5,898
4,284
734
70,875
738
162,676
100,193
5,550
520,729
909,235
37,960
3,775,286
4,255,941
8,559
607,783
33,286
500
50,039
303
107
1,040
9,007
5
636
36
81
6,029
577
6
42
2
640,215
7,758
1,779,986
48
3,033
6,863
262
19,330
58.726
9,988
313,498
882,108
12,184
2,377
1,269,963
2,285
220,454
3,477
349
35,742
47,908
4,825
36
5,021
12
848
2,184
1
182
155
1,658
153,157
155,734
27,531
293
14,685
282
21,660
56,355
24,646
308
25,566
18,353
1,633,094
2,368,839
20
1
78
242
16,513
9,531
449
14,253
41,183

B rooklyn , N.Y.

1970 %Inc.
AV.
over
Pubs.
1969
415
20
17
211
346
-3
15
25
14
45,256
162
20
34
3
17,706
5
8
320
161
13
13
28*
844
8
5,322
5
7
1,321
20
62,641
27
10,299
8 *
275
1 *
24
9
5,183
8
402
13
150
6
6
1,781
10
490
14
350
9
15
15
81
8 *
322
9
35
67
498
7
722
13
4,097
21
10
50,117
6,909
26
45
259
79
15*
6
20
69
21
1
26
6,334
36
45
27
252
10,747
6
17,469
20
2,563
23
158
12
9
50
6
50
2
100
10
815
124
27
199
5
154
8
20,588
7
2
50*
168
1
368
21

f&eWATCHTOWER,

1969
Av.
Pubs.
C ountry
345
M alagasy Republic
M auritius
181
Reunion
358
12
Rodrigues
Mexico
39,825
Morocco
135
G ibraltar
33
16,784
N etherlands
297
Neth. Ant. (Curacao)
Aruba
143
Bonaire
18
783
Newfoundland
New Zealand
5,051
7
Cook Islands
N icaragua
1,097
N igeria
49,342
Cameroon
11,153
278
E quatorial Guinea
N iger
22
Norway
4,810
Okinawa
355
P akistan
142
6
A fghanistan
Panam a
1,612
Papua
431
2
Bougainville Is.
Manus Island
13
New B ritain
88
295
New Guinea
21
New Ireland
465
Solomon Islands
P araguay
641
Peru
3.385
45.479
Philippines
5,487
P ortugal
179
Angola
93
Azores
5
Cape Verde Islands
M adeira
57
Portuguese Guinea
1
Puerto Rico
5.042
Virgin Islands (B ritish) 33
199
Virgin Islands (U.S.)
Rhodesia
10,147
Malawi
14,594
Mozambique
2,090
Senegal
141
Gambia
6
Mali
4
M auritania
1
Sierra Leone
744
Guinea
98
Singapore
189
M alaysia
142
South Africa
19,233
Ascension Island
4
167
Botswana
304
Lesotho

J anuary 1, 1971

29
SEeWATCHTOWER
00
Sweden, Finland, Germany, Switzerland,
OHIO
CsfcM
South
Africa and Australia, as well as
fccoo
i
rH rH
smaller plants in other parts of the world.
CO
eooogjio
They also use outside printing plants in
HSo 55 jq
some parts of the world to get their literature printed for distribution.
c*i
rH H
HpJH
88Their total production in bound books
oi
<75cq
for
Bible study during the twelve months
cqco
of
the
1970 service year amounted to 29,
138,291,
booklets 13,965,784, Watchtower
i
H
magazines 177,038,027, Awake! magarH
zines 171,719,337. What a joy it has been
rH ri
for these Christians to print all this litercs
<N
ature and help in its distribution! They
00<
feel like the apostle Paul, who said: I am
not ashamed of the good news; it is, in
rHCO
fact, Gods power for salvation to every
P
10
tJ
5
one having faith. (Rom. 1:16,17) Those
i i
who
love righteousness today must turn
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to
Gods
Word and keep studying it. You
f
11
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cannot shrink back. Paul said: But my
8
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10O
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and,
if he shrinks back, my soul has no
8 8'
pleasure in him. Now we are not the sort
IS g
that shrink back to destruction, but the
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sort that have faith to the preserving
alive of the soul. (Heb. 10:38, 39) Paul
s
U
knew that that kind of faith was going to
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be needed down through the centuries,
cotand that kind of faith is needed now. This
8 8 8 r8H
88
HN
is
no tim e to give up or even slow down.
1 8 m
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Remember what Habakkuk said: For
H
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the vision is yet for the appointed time,
8 a a s dco
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and it keeps panting on to the end, and it
S

will
not tell a lie. Even if it should delay,
" 8 3 StFO
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ft
88 H I 8
keep
in expectation of it; for it w ill with1H*ci eo coV
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out fail come true. It w ill not be late.
H H
Hab. 2:3.
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89 Look back a minute. It was without
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fail
that the prophecy concerning Judahs
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1 !
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193
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129,048
017,832
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503,994
439,047
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Andorra
Canary Island
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Sweden
Switzerland
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Taiw an
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L aos
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Trinidad
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69. (a) How are we to be assured th a t w hat Jehovah

prophesies comes tru e ? (b) B ut w hat is required oi us ?

30

fBeW ATCHTOW ER

delivered to their own homeland again.

W ithout fail the one that the Jews rejected
and had nailed to the torture stake, the
Son of God, was raised from the dead by
his Father, Jehovah. Peter was not hesitant in telling the Jews there in Solomons
colonnade at the temple in Jerusalem that
they killed the Chief Agent of life, but
God raised him up from the dead, of which
fact the disciples were witnesses. (Acts
3:15) W ithout fail the temple of Jerusalem and the city of Jerusalem were destroyed, just as Jesus said: Truly I say
to you, By no means w ill a stone be left
here upon a stone and not be thrown
down. (Matt. 24:2) Did not all of these
things come true? What Jehovah God said
would happen in days gone by did happen.
But how do you know unless you have
studied Gods Word?
70
Did not Jesus give the full answer
the disciples when they asked him the
question, When w ill these things be, and
what w ill be the sign of your presence and
of the conclusion of the system of things?
(Matt. 24:3) Have you read and do you
now believe that the twenty-fourth chapter of Matthew is having its greater fulAilment and that you are living in the last
days? Do you believe that Christ Jesus
has returned, and is present in his heavenly kingdom, having been seated upon
his throne in the new heavens? (Acts 2:
34, 35; Rev. 11:17) Do you not see that
70. W hat self-exam ination are we now called upon to
undertake?

B rooklyn , N .Y .

the conclusion of this system of things is

very near its close? Do you still pray, and
believe, that Gods w ill be done on earth
as it is in heaven? W ithout fail w ill you
continue to ,fight the fine fight of the
faith and get a firm hold on the everlasting life for which you were called and
offered the fine public declaration in front
of many witnesses? Do you believe that
the vision w ill not tell a lie? Do you
have the faith that Habakkuk said we
should have, namely, even if it should delay, keeping in expectation of it, for it will
come true without fail? Recall, too, please,
what Peter said: However, let this one
fact not be escaping your notice, . . . Jehovah is not slow respecting his promise,
as some people consider slowness, but he
is patient w ith you because he does not
desire any to be destroyed but desires all
toto attain to repentance.2 Pet. 3:8, 9.
71It takes faith to be a Christian, for
Christians walk by faith, not by sight.
(2 Cor. 5:7) The Christian w itnesses of
Jehovah, no m atter where they are, will
continue preaching Gods kingdom because
they will be fulfilling Jesus words: You
will be witnesses of me . . . to the most distant part of the earth. A t the same tim e
each one has the opportunity to prove
that he can fight the fine fight of the
faith, get a firm hold on the everlasting
life, and help thousands of other people
to do the same thing.1 Tim. 6:12.
71. W hat Is required If one is to have Jehovahs
approval, and w hat will C hristians continue to be and
do?

Do You Remember?
Have you read the recent issues of The
Watchtower carefully? If so, you will remem
ber the following points:
Who is the Chief Agent of life?
Jesus Christ.P. 527.*
* All references are to The W atchtow er for 1970.

Who Scripturally is to take the lead in a

home?
The husband.P. 549.
What does the word ,sin as used in the
Bible literally mean?
To miss the mark, that is, the mark of
perfect obedience to God.P. 572.

J anuary 1, 1971
SFEeWATCHTOWER.
31
What is the yoke to which Jesus referred until the siege of Jerusalem in 70 C.E., and
when he said, Take my yoke upon you ?from 1914 C.E. until the great tribulation
begins.Pp. 659-661.
Matt. 11:29.
It is the yoke of complete dedication to What does Jesus statement, Salvation origmates with the Jews, mean for Christians?
God as a disciple of Jesus.P. 593.
Why could Jesus say in his day that the
That the channel for passing salvation to
kingdom of God has drawn near?
non-Jews has been through the Jewish remnant
Because he, Gods appointed one to rule in who accepted the Messiah in 33 C.E.P. 681.
What in the first century C.E. and what
that kingdom, was there.P. 621.
When was the doctrine of the Trinity intro- today has fulfilled the prophecy at Matthew
duced to those professing to be followers of 24:15 about the disgusting thing?
In the first century it was the encamped
Christ?
In the fourth century, after Jesus death. armies of the Romans surrounding Jerusalem;
today it is the United Nations.Pp. 719, 722.
P. 643.
Why was Eves original sin not the seduction Wlaen Jesus told his disciples, You will be
witnesses of me,( Acts 1:8) did he mean that
of Adam?
God had commanded Adam and Eve to have they were to cease being witnesses of Jehovah?
No! Their being witnesses of Jesus was to
children before they sinned.P. 645.
What two time periods are meant by the show that Jehovah had not lied but had raised
expression year of goodwill, at Isaiah 61:2? up his Messiah, and so they continued also
From the Messiahs appearance in 29 C.E. being witnesses of Jehovah.Pp. 749, 750.

A dept the Implanting

How can the Word of God be said to be soul
saving, as stated at James 1:21 ?*
That Word of God safeguards us against
needless calamity even now, saying: He that
would love life and see good days, let him
restrain his tongue from what is bad and his
lips from speaking deception, but let him turn
away from what is bad and do what is good;
let him seek peace and pursue it.1) Pet. 3:
10, 11) Heeding this advice keeps one from
many of the troubles that can unduly shorten
ones life.
The Word of God can also be said to be
soul-saving as to the future life, for Jehovah
God says: Seek righteousness, seek meekness. Probably you may be concealed in the
day of Jehovahs anger. That day of Jehovahs anger is the foretold great tribulation,
including Armageddon, the war of the great
day of God the Almighty. Only those who
accept the implanting of the soul-saving Word
can hope to be spared at that time.Zeph. 2:3.
How important is the heart condition in accepting the implanting of the Word f
It is all important, as Jesus showed in his
parable of the sower. Where the heart is
hard, like the road under ones feet, the enemy
* F o r details see T he W atchtow er, Ja n u a ry 1, 1970.

of
f

theSoul-saving Word
is able at once to steal the seed. Where the

X heart appreciation does not go very deep, the

X hot sun of opposition causes the plant to
wither and die. Or where in the heart there
I is too much concern over the material things
X of life, or the desire to get rich, these choke
{ the truth, the Word, so that it also dies. But
*. where the soul-saving Word is implanted in
X a fine and good heart,** the result is fruit to
Gods praise and the saving of the soul of the
X one possessing such a fine and good heart,
f Luke 8:9-15.
X

I How can a Christian family accept the imX planting of the soul-saving Word f
I;
One way is by regularly considering the
Bible text (and comment on it) for each day
I in the Yearbook of Jehovahs Witnesses.
X
More than that, the parents should also see
to it that at least one evening a week is set
I apart for a family Bible study. Throughout
X the world the Bethel families of the Watch
Tower Society set aside Monday evening for
this purpose. Parents should also seek to imX plant the Word in their children by discussing
I; with them, day by day, Bible principles that
apply to everyday problems of life. In this
X way they learn to look to Gods Word to guide
:* every facet of their lives.

Tarsus and acquaint him with the good news

about the Messiah, which he did. After Saul
became the apostle Paul he repeatedly had inspired visions. And what inspired visions the
apostle John had toward the end of his life!
Acts 9:10; 18:9; 2 Cor. 12:1; Rev. 1:1.
However, we are not to think of this prophecy
as being limited to those apostolic times. Even
as do many other prophecies, it has a secondary
application in our day. This is clear from the
reference to these things taking place before
the "great and fear-inspiring day of Jehovah.
Joel 2:31.
Since today we have the complete inspired
Scriptures, God is not giving any more inspired
visions or dreams. However, Jehovahs people
today are seeing the fulfillment of many of
the inspired visions and dreams that Gods servants had in ancient times, and they are even
having a share in their being fulfilled. They are
having a share in the fulfillment of the prophecy, "your sons and your daughters will certainly prophesy. (Joel 2:28) Not that these
prophesy in the sense of foretelling events under inspiration, but rather in that they are
making public proclamation of the inspired
dreams and visions long ago recorded. They
prophesy in the sense of being Gods spokesmen. That this is one of the meanings of ,prophesy is apparent from the fact that Jehovah
God appointed Aaron to be prophet to his brother Moses. Aaron did not foretell things to
Moses, but he served as Moses spokesman or
mouthpiece.Ex. 7:1.

What is the meaning of the prophecy: "As

for your old men, dreams they will dream. As
for your young men, visions they will see?
D. A., U.S.A.
This prophecy from Joel 2:28 had a fulfillment in apostolic times beginning with Pentecost of 33 C.E., even as the apostle Peter showed
on that occasion. (Acts 2:17) As the prophecy
states that the old men will dream dreams and
the young men will see visions, it means that
both kinds of flesh, old flesh and young flesh,
will be used by God as means for divine communications. The dreams of the old men would
be inspired ones from God just as the visions
of the young men were by divine inspiration.
This does not mean that the old men might
not also be inspired to see visions from God.
And so the record shows. Peter had a vision
from God that prepared him for preaching to
the Gentile Cornelius, even as it was about the
same time that the Italian centurion Cornelius
had a vision from God to send for Peter. (Acts
10:3-17) The disciple Ananias had a vision that
told him to go to the persecuting Saul of

I I

anno uncem ents

{ I

WATCHTOWER STUDIES FOR THE WEEKS

January 24: Have You Entered the Great Contest of Faith?, If124. Page 8. Songs to Be
Used: 3, 44.
January 31: Have You Entered the Great Contest of Faith?, 1125-47. Page 14. Songs to Be
Used: 58, 81.
February 7: Have You Entered the Great
Contest of Faith?, II48-71. Page 20. Songs
to Be Used: 108, 90.
32

JEHOVAHS
KINGDOM
JANUARY 15,
Semimonthly

D O YO U BELIEVE IN EVOLUTION
OR IN CREATION?

WHAT IS GOD'S WILL FOR YOU?

WTB&TS

T H E P U R P O SE O F T H E W A T C H T O W E R
E very w a tc h to w e r has its purpose. It serves as an elevated place fo r a
w id e-aw ak e person w ith sharp vision. It enables him to see far ahead into
th e distance and tell those b elow for w h o m he is a w a tch m a n w h a t is
draw in g near, w h e th er it is a danger against w h ich to prepare o r it is
som ething good over w h ich to be glad w ith strong faith and hope.
Because o f having the nam e T he W a tc h to w e r this m agazine ju stly
has to render a sim ilar useful service to the people o f all nations. T h is is
an in tern ational m agazine and m akes no racial distinctions, fo r w e are all
facing a com m on w o rld danger; w e are all hoping fo r a com m on good.
E ver since T he W a tc h to w e r began to be published in J u ly o f 1 8 7 9 it
has looked ahead into the future, a lw a y s striving to aid its readers to advan ce in know ledge and to gain a clearer picture o f the glorious n e w order
o f things th a t is in store for righteous mankind. N o , T h e W a tc h to w e r
is n o inspired prophet, but it follow s and explains a Book o f prophecy the
predictions in w h ich have proved to be unerring and unfailing till n o w .
T h e W a tc h to w e r is therefore under safe guidance. It m a y be read w ith
confidence, for its statem ents m ay be checked against th a t prophetic Book.
A m o n g th e m an y nations o f today there are hundreds o f differing
religions. W h ic h one does this m agazine present? N o t the confused religions
o f C hristendom , but the religion o f the oldest sacred Book on earth. W h ich
Book? T h e Sacred Bible o f the H o ly Scriptures, w r itte n b y inspiration in
the nam e o f the C reator o f heaven and earth, the o n ly living and tru e G od,
T h e sacred, nonpolitical purpose o f T he W a tc h to w e r is accord in gly
to encourage and prom ote study o f the H o ly Bible and to give our m a n y
readers th e needed unsectarian help to understand th at Book o f true
religion and infallible prophecy. T hus this m agazine w ill be helping them
to prove w o r th y o f perfect life and happiness in G o d s promised n e w order
under H is everlasting kingdom o f righteousness.

PUBLISHED BY TH E
WATCH TOW ER BIBLE AND TRACT SOCIETY OF PENNSYLVANIA
117 Adams S treet
Brooklyn, N.Y. 11201, U.S.A.
N. H. K norr, P resident
Grant S uiter, Secretary

They will all be taught by Jehovah.John 6:45; Isaiah 54:13

CONTENTS
What Is Gods Will for You?
Tempted by the Devil
Do You Believe in Evolution
or in Creation?
Evolution Undermines Faith
Benefits That Accompany Faith
in the Creator
The Meaning Behind Bible Names

Average Printing Each Issue:

35
38
40
46
52
58

How Can You Find Joy in Personal Study? 60

Divine Name District Assemblies

63

Questions from Readers

63

The Bible translation used In The Watchtower is the modern-language

New World Translation of the H oly Scriptures, unless otherwise Indicated.
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- p ^ T X T L O z iT L c ir iG r

J E H O V A H S
KING DO M
January 15, 1971

Number 2

Ol
RE you Mr. or Mrs. Average Perdrink, the food we eat, the air we breathe
C /r L son?
If so, you are very much aware of the originally come from? To whom do we
problems facing this generation.
owe this planetary home we call Earth,
People everywhere are shocked by the with its regular rotation that gives us sunbreakdown in human relations, both in lit days and moonlit nights, and with its
th eir im m ediate neighborhoods and tilted axis and its solar orbit that give
throughout the world. City dwellers are us our varied seasons? Whom w ill we
horrified at the crime and violence in the thank for the sun that heats the earth and
streets. Farmers far removed from the causes vegetation to grow? for the oceans
wickedness of the big cities are worried and atmosphere to regulate the temperaover rising costs and uncertainties of the ture? Who made all these things and a
future. Businessmen are deeply troubled thousand more, and then made humans
by labor troubles, international wars and far superior to the animals and capable of
economic pressures. Parents everywhere reproducing their own kind? There can be
are fearful that their children will turn only one answer: our grand Creator, God
Almighty, whose name is Jehovah!
to drugs and end up degenerate addicts.
In the face of these realities, Mr. or Mrs.
Perhaps we incline to take these things
Average Person, have you given any for granted, to forget their Source, but
thought lately as to what Gods w ill is for our grand Creator did all these wonderyou? Or have you been too busy with your ful things for some very good reasons. The
everyday activities, your personal prob- Bible clearly shows that he is a God of
lems of the moment and your plans for determination and purpose. And what he
wills he does; none can stay his hand,
the future to think about this?
Sometimes we fail to realize it, but the change his mind or thwart his purposes.
very m atters that involve us the most Ps. 33:11; Isa. 14:24; 46:10, 11.
our daily problems and plans for the
And what were Gods very good reafutureare directly and inseparably re- sons and purpose in bringing forth this
lated to Gods w ill for us.
array of creative works? Surely it was not
After all, where did the water we now his will that man should misuse and abuse
35

36

ffteW ATCH TO W ER

his grand provisions, or that the earth be

filled with the present chaos. The Bible
tells us that the confusion in the earth today is the result of mans sin and utter
disregard for Gods laws. (Rom. 5:12; Jas.
3 :1 3 1 8 )But, fortunately, the Bible also
discloses that six thousand years of sin
and disobedience are nearing their end,
and it is therefore hopefully expected that
great changes w ill soon occur in the condition of both the earth and mankind upon
it. What this w ill mean for us, you will
certainly agree, should be our paramount
concern.
GODS WILL FOR ALL MANKIND

ro oklyn,

N .Y .

not clear that the present system is be

yond real reform? What else can be done,
then? In reality, the only remedy is to
eliminate the present wicked system and
replace it with a righteous new system .
But as prophecy recorded by Daniel in the
Bible shows, only God can and w ill do this
very thing.Dan. 2:44.
It is hard to imagine how wonderful
conditions w ill be under the administration of Gods kingdom. We can, however,
get small glimpses of these blessings
through the pages of the Bible. So take
a little tim e and investigate these points
in your own Bible: No more crime and
violence, for just a little while longer, and
the wicked one will be no more. (Ps.
37:10) No more disease, sickness and
death, for God will wipe out every tear
from their eyes, and death w ill be no more,
neither w ill mourning nor outcry nor pain
be any more. The former things have
passed away. (Rev. 21:3, 4) No more
revolutions or wars, since nation will not
lift up sword against nation, neither w ill
they learn war any more. (Isa. 2:4; Mic.
4:3) No more food or water shortages,
for with God blessing the earth it will
yield a superabundance, to the complete

Gods w ill regarding this globe is closely

bound up with his promised Kingdom rule.
Hence, in his model prayer, after saying,
Our Father in the heavens, let your
name be sanctified, Jesus next stated:
Let your kingdom come. Let your will
take place, as in heaven, also upon earth.
(Matt. 6:9-13) So the coming of Gods
glorious kingdom is necessary if Gods will
and purpose respecting this earth are to
be carried out as they are in the invisible
heavens. Such divine government is under
the direct administration of Gods beloved
Son, the glorified Lord
Jesus Christ, to whom
all authority has been
given . . . in heaven and
on the earth.Matt. 28:
18; see also Daniel 7:13,
14.
How else can the myriads of evils this world
system has accumulated
be eliminated except by
replacing the whole system? Reformers of all
sorts have com e and
gone, but when we survey the sorry state of
Gods will is that the earth be made a paradise.
affairs earth wide, is it
You can benefit from it

January

15, 1971

SHeWATCHTOWER,

satisfaction of all.Isa. 35:1, 2, 6, 7; Ezek.

34:26, 27; Zech. 8:12.
What a happy prospect! Instead of the
present joy-killing conditions, people will
live in peace and tranquillity, with neither
men nor animals to make them afraid.
(Isa. 11:6-9; Ezek. 34:25; Mic. 4:4) The
earth w ill gradually be brought to a state
of perfection, to that of a paradise restored. What Jehovah has done for his
people in the past he w ill also do for
the entire dominion of the earth over
which his heavenly kingdom ruleshe
will make her wilderness like Eden and
her desert plain like the garden of Jehovah.Isa. 51:3.
Even those in their graves w ill be resurrected and given an opportunity to live
forever. (John 5:28, 29; A cts 24:15) What
unity too when the whole world will be
worshiping and praising the one true and
living God, Jehovah!
YOU MAKE THE CHOICE

There is no forced obedience in Gods

dealings with mankind. When he created
Adam and Eve he gave them freedom of
choice, either to obey or to disobey their
Creator. So, too, as descendants of Adam
and Eve we all have freedom to choose
Gods Kingdom rule over us or to reject it.
Making that choice is no gamble or game
of chance. It is plainly stated ahead of
time for us what results our decisions will
bring. Obedience brings blessings and life;
disobedience, cursings and death.Deut.
30:15-20; Josh. 24:15.
What then is your choice? The easy
way, of course, would be to throw your
lot in with the majority; but following
the crowd is indeed a poor choice to
make. History shows that when it comes
to serving God the m ajority have regularly been wrong. The majority died in
the flood of Noahs day. The majority
were wrong in their united efforts to build

37

the tower of Babel. The same was true

when destruction came on Sodom and Jerusalem, on the latter city both in the
seventh century B.C.E. and again in the
first century C.E. As Jesus said, the broad,
easy road taken by the m ajority leads to
destruction. It is the narrow, cramped way,
which only the faithful few follow, that
leads to everlasting life and true happiness.Matt. 7:13, 14.
Sound reason and logic therefore urge
you to make the same wise choice that
Jesus made. Of him it was written, To
do your will, O m y God, I have delighted.
(Ps. 40:8; 143:10; Heb. 10:7) So when he
took up his m inistry he said: My food is
for me to do the w ill of him that sent me.
I seek, not my own will, but the w ill of
him that sent m e.John 4:34; 5:30.
Of course, Mr. or Mrs. Average Person,
such a choice means a big change in your
very thinking. But you w ill be happy if
you make that change, knowing that only
by transforming your mind from that of
a worldly view of m atters can you prove
to yourselves what the good and acceptable and perfect w ill of God is.( Rom. 12:
2) You will then appreciate even more the
apostles further counsel to keep strict
watch on how you walk, in view of the
wickedness of the tim es, and to go on
perceiving what the w ill of Jehovah is.
Eph. 5 :1 5 1 7 .
You w ill surely agree, then, that one
cannot afford to go about his daily pursuits unsure, or worse, indifferent as to
what the w ill of God is. The world is passing away and so is its desire, but he that
does the w ill of God remains forever.
(1 John 2:17) To this end, if you do not
already have a free Bible study in your
home, ask one of Jehovahs witnesses today to make the necessary arrangements.
By doing the divine w ill you too m ay live
forever under the happy rule of Gods
kingdom!

This is when Satan tried to tempt Jesus.

The Devil said: If you are a son of God,
tell this stone to become a loaf of bread.
How good some bread would taste!
BY THE
But could Jesus have turned a stone into
a loaf of bread? Yes, he could. For Jesus
is the Son of God. He has special powers.
Would you have made the stone a loaf
of bread if the Devil asked you to do it?
-T ^ I D anyone ever ask you to do some- Would this be the right thing to do? Jesus
* I J thing that was wrong? Did the per- knew that it would be wrong for him to
son try to get you to do this wrong thing use his powers in this way. Jehovah gave
by saying that it would be fun or that him these powers to attract people to God,
not to use them on himit would not really be
self.
wrong? When someone
An article specially designed for
But Jesus was very
does this to us, he is
parents to read with their children
h u n g ry . He w an ted
trying to tempt us.
What should we do when we are tempt- something to eat very much. So was Satan
ed? Should we give in and do what is able to get Jesus to turn the stone into a
wrong? That would not please Jehovah loaf of breadjust this one tim e? Did he
God. But do you know who it would make get Jesus to use his powers from God in
a wrong way?
happy? Satan the Devil.
No, Jesus would not do it. Jesus did the
Satan is the enemy of God and he is our
enemy. He tries to get people to do what right thing. He told Satan that it is writis bad by promising them things that may ten in the Bible: Man must live, not on
sound good. One day the Devil talked with bread alone, but on every word that comes
Jesus Christ and tried to tempt him. By forth from Jehovahs mouth. Jesus knew
finding out what Jesus did when this hap- that doing what pleases Jehovah is more
pened, we can learn the right thing to do important than having food to eat.
when we are tempted.
But the Devil did not give up. He now
When was Jesus tempted by the Devil? took Jesus into Jerusalem and had him
It was after Jesus had been baptized in stand up on a high part of the temple.
the Jordan River. He had gone away from Then the Devil said to Jesus: If you are
the cities to the mountains. It was very a son of God, throw yourself down from
quiet there. So it was a good place for here. For it is written that God w ill have
Jesus to pray to God. He could think about his angels help you, and they w ill carry
the work that God had for him to do on you on their hands.
earth.
Why did Satan say this? He said this
While Jesus was there in the moun- to tempt Jesus to do something foolish.
tains, one day passed. Then many days Maybe the Devil was trying to get Jesus
passed by. The mind and heart of Jesus to kill himself. But it would be wrong for
were filled with thoughts about God. Jesus to jump off the temple and want the
Finally, forty days and nights went by! angels to catch him. So what did Jesus do?
All of this time Jesus did not eat anyJesus did not listen to Satan. Jesus told
thing. Would you be hungry if you did Satan: You must not put Jehovah your
not eat for that long? Jesus was.
God to the test. Jesus knew it was wrong

TEM PTED
D E V IL

38

January

15, 1971

SfceWATCHTOWER.

to test Jehovah by taking chances with

his life. It would not be pleasing to God
for him to jump off the temple, and so
Jesus did not do such a foolish thing.
Still Satan did not give up. He tried to
tempt Jesus again. This tim e the Devil
took Jesus along to a very high mountain.
He showed him all the kingdoms of the
world and their glory. Then Satan said to
Jesus: All these things I w ill give you
if you bow down and do an act of worship
to m e.
Just think of ruling all the kingdoms of
the world! The Devil tried to make all of
his kingdoms look very desirable to Jesus.
All he asked was that Jesus do one act
of worship to him. What would you have
done?
Jesus would not do it. He knew it would
be wrong to worship the Devil no matter
what he would get. So Jesus said to the
Devil: Go away, Satan! For the Bible says,
It is Jehovah your God you
must worship, and it is he
only that you must serve.
Luke 4 :1 1 3 ;Matt. 4:1

39

gry too. But he knew that pleasing God

was more important. And you show that
you are like Jesus when you obey your
mother and refuse to eat anything that
you are told not to eat.
As you grow a little older, it may be
that some other children will ask you to
swallow some pills. They may tell you that
these pills w ill make you feel really good.
But these pills may be drugs. They can
make you very sick, and can even kill you.
What w ill you do? Satan wants you to
swallow them.
But remember Jesus. Satan tried to get
Jesus to take chances with his life by telling him to jump off the temple. But Jesus
would not do it. He did not listen to Satan.
Neither should you listen to anyone who
tries to get you to take drugs.
Someday you may be asked to do an
act of worship to some image, perhaps as

10.
It is good for us to know
what Jesus did when he
was tempted by the Devil.
Do you know why? It is
because we are faced
with temptations too.
Every day the Devil
tries to tempt us to
do things we should
not do. Do you know
how? Here is an ex
ample.
Your mother may make a delicious pie
or cake for dinner. But she may tell you
not to eat any of it until mealtime. You
may be very hungry. So you may feel
tempted to eat it. Will you obey your
mother? Satan wants you to disobey.
But remember Jesus. He was very hun-

part of a ceremony in school. You may be

told that you cannot even go to school
anymore if you refuse. What w ill you do
now?
Remember that the D evil wanted Jesus
to do just one act of worship to him. But
Jesus knew that worship belongs only to
Jehovah God. So Jesus would not bow
down. We want to be like him, dont we?
How good it is that we have the exampie of Jesus, the Great Teacher! By always following his example, we w ill do
the right thing when we are faced with
temptation.

E V O L U T IO N

CtecuSdH?
T

IHE question Do you believe 1

lution or in creation? is more
a m atter of idle curiosity. The answer that of chemical evolution leading to the origin
one gives w ill be deeply reflected in his of life. So it was with keen anticipation
attitude toward his fellowman, his moral that rock samples were brought back to
the earth and carefully analyzed for any
values and his outlook on the future.
2B elief in evolution is not new; it did traces of life, present or past, but the lack
not originate with Charles Darwin. But, of publicity given to the results was a
following publication, in 1859, of his book reflection of the disappointment felt by
advocates of evolution. Still they push on
The Origin of
Species,the supporters
the idea have greatly increased in number. farther, and at even greater expense.
In those lands where considerable empha- Why? In an article entitled Future in
sis is placed on science, the teaching of SpaceFrom Moon to Mars,
evolution holds a prominent place in school & World Report announced: One of the
textbooks. It is introduced in the early main goals of such an expedition is to
grades, and repeated and enlarged upon search for evidence of life on the planet.
year after year.
4The basic idea of evolution is that all
3It is the desire to find more evidence the plant, animal and human life on this
for this teaching that has also been a earth had its origin in one-celled life forms
prime moving force in the exorbitantly that developed in the sea hundreds of milexpensive space exploits of the nations. lions of years ago. Though some profess
To NASAs planning chief, Wernher von to believe that a Creator began the proBraun, the flight of Apollo 11 was noth- cess, this is not true of the majority. Evoing less than a step in human evolution lutionists contend that the ancestors of
comparable to the tim e when life on earth man included both apelike beasts and fish.
emerged from the sea and established it- But that is not what everyone believes.
self on land. And Science magazine, in its Not all educators believe in evolution, nor
special issue of January 30,1970, revealed: do all scientists. There are many people
The search for carbon-containing mate- who believe that God created the earth,
rial on the lunar surface is not only a com- and that he made the vegetation, the aniponent part of the study of the origin and mals and man. (Jer. 27:4, 5) That is what
Jesus Christ believed. (Mark 10:5, 6; Matt.
1. A persons belief as to the origin of hum an life
affects his a ttitu d e on w hat other m atters ?
6:26-30) What do you personally believe?
2. Since when has belief in evolution notably increased,
and where is it p articularly em phasized?
3. How has belief in evolution influenced exploration
of the moon and M ars?

4. (a) E xplain the basic idea of evolution,

do not believe th a t theory?
40

(b) Who

J anuary 15, 1971

41
S&eWATCHTOWER.
This question was recently asked of are a parent, do you take tim e at the beboth students and teachers in a ninth- ginning of each school term to examine the
grade class in a Catholic high school 10- textbooks that your children w ill be using
cated in New York state. The entire class so you know what they are going to be
responded that they believed that man taught? Doing so would show your deep
came by evolution. When asked if any concern for their welfare. Then, if you do
of them believed that God made man, not find that the textbooks advocate evoluone hand was raised. Further questioning tion, what can you do about it? You can,
revealed that they knew names and de- of course, tell your child what you believe,
tails connected with the teaching of evolu- and you should. But, to be truly persuation, but none of them knew even the name sive, you may find that you need to read
of the God who the Bible says made and discuss together certain portions of
man. Did they really believe in evolution? the school textbook, making sure that
Or was it simply that they knew some- your child understands why the various
thing about evolution, whereas they had theories in support of evolution are in ernot been taught what the Bible says about ror and what the facts are that support
belief in creation.
creation?
7 An examination of current school textWHAT DO YOUR CHILDREN BELIEVE?
books shows that, in the earlier grades in
* It has come as quite a surprise to some many localities, any direct mention of
parents when they learned the extent to the term evolution is rare. But the books
which the teaching of evolution permeates may comment on early life forms that
the school courses. They may have taken they say developed in the sea billions of
for granted that, since they believed the years ago and prehistoric dinosaurs
Bible, their children would also accept that lived m illions of years in the past.
what the Scriptures say about God and his As the years pass, more details are given.
creating of the earth and living things In support of evolution, they point promiupon it. But when the school puts forth nently to bones that have been unearthed
more effort to emphasize evolution than and to fossils of living things in the rocks.
the parents do to give reasons for belief in These books also emphasize mutations, or
creation, it is not
changes in heredity,
coupled with natudifficult to see which
viewpoint w ill more
ral selection as the
m ean s b y w h ich
deeply influence the
child. (Prov. 22:6;
new species came into existence. Your
Deut. 6:4-9) If you
child may be given
5. W hat did students a t
a Catholic high school say
the impression that
th a t they believed as to
this has been well
th e origin of m an, but
w hy did they view m atters
established
by scienin th a t w ay?
6. (a) W h y a r e
so m e
tific
research,
and
children m ore deeply inthat, while he is free
fluenced by the teaching
of evolution th a n they
are by th e ir p a ren ts belief in the Bible? (b) At
th e beginning of each
school term , w hat m ight
paren ts do in ord er to
safeguard the fa ith of
th eir children?

7. ( a ) W h a t d o m a n y
school textbooks teach as
to evolution? (b) Since
C hristian children a re exposed to th is teaching,
w hat do p aren ts need to
help th e ir children to do?

B rooklyn , N . Y.
SfkWATCHTOWER
to believe in creation if that is what he illusion with the method because of the
chooses, all the facts support evolution. chronological uncertainties (in some cases,
In order to reason clearly on the matter, absurdities) that would follow a strict
your child needs your assistance. He is in adherence to published C-14 dates. Nor
the world, exposed to its viewpoints, so he do they alert students to the fact that
needs to learn to examine facts, reason sen- potassium-argon dating of rocks starts,
sibly and draw sound conclusions.Prov. not with fact, but with an improvable assumption concerning the condition of the
5:1, 2.
8 As an example, you may find it help- rocks, and that, if even a tiny bit of argon
ful to approach the m atter as follows: remained in the rock when it was molten,
How many facts do the advocates of evo- the date could be millions of years too
lution actually have? What does the fossil high. These are points that your child
record really show? Their own writings should know.
admit that in the lowest rocks in which
10What, then, of the mutations, actual
there are fossils, they do not find primi- changes in the heredity, coupled with nattive life forms, but complex organisms ural selection of the ones that prove benerepresenting most of the basic divisions of ficial? The books point to examples of
plant and animal life.* They say much these, do they not? Reports and pictures
about prim itive forms from which these are presented to show changes that have
evolved, and such are vital to their theory, taken place in moths, fruit flies, grapes,
but none of them have ever been found. and so forth. On this basis, it is speculated
Also, textbook illustrations and museum that greater changes could take place, that
displays line up skeletons in a way that life forms radically different from their
they say demonstrates the evolution of the parents m ight result, and that natural
horse, man and other creatures. But no- selection would result in preserving those
tice that each skeleton is fully formed. changes that were truly advantageous. But
They w rite at length about transitional what are the facts? The moths did not
forms, upon which their whole argument develop into eagles; the fruit flies did not
depends, but none are displayed with prim- produce buzzards, and the grapes did not
itive forms of arms and legs on otherwise become watermelons. Variation in color,
full-grown bodies. As for pictures that they size and flavor was possible, but there was
draw, these are largely imagination; they no change into plants or insects of other
have no photographs from which to work. kinds. Therefore, absolutely no proof for
9 The dates used by evolutionists sound evolution. Reason with your children on
impressive. But seldom do school textbooks these matters; help them to see the differinclude such items as the following from ence between fact and speculation. Show
Science magazine of December 11, 1959: them that there is nothing wrong with
Although it was hailed as the answer to true science; it is a study of the handithe prehistorians prayer when it was first work of God. But there is much that is
announced, there has been increasing dis- falsely called science or knowledge,
and by accepting it some lose what is truly
* Scientific A m erican, A ugust 1964, pp. 34-36; New
York Tim es, October 25, 1964, p. 8E.
worth while in life.1 Tim. 6:20, 21; AV.

42

8. W hat does the e a rth s fossil record include, and

w hat does it not contain? So, w hat viewpoint as to
the origin of life does it really support?
9. Do the dates used by evolutionists prove th a t the
Bible is w rong?

10. (a) W hat do evolutionists theorize as to m utations,

but w hat are the facts? (b) To w hat balanced view
of science can C hristian parents help th e ir children to
come?

J anuary 15, 1971

SEeWATCHTOWER

43

EVIDENCE OF CREATION
peatedly by the explosion of nuclear de11Even more important than analyzing vices. If all the atoms in a pound of matter
the weaknesses in the case for evolution, were changed into energy, it is said that
however, is our examining what the Bible they would release power equivalent to
itself says and its consistency with ob- that from the explosion of ten million tons
servable evidence. W ith marvelous sim- of TNT. How great, then, must be the
plicity the opening verse of Genesis says: power that was employed in making up
In the beginning God created the heav- this matternot just a pound of it, but
ens and the earth. (Gen. 1:1) Thus it the 6.6 sextillion tons that comprise the
comes to grips with a question that baffles earth!
evolutionists. Instead of leaving us in the
13What of the productive land? Was
dark as to that fundamental point con- divine wisdom m anifest in establishing it?
cem ing the origin of all things, it tells us Yes, indeed! Research has shown that the
the answer, simply and understandably. It earth is made up of the same chemical
confirms our own observation of the fact elements that are needed to sustain huthat nothing comes into existence by itself. man life. But vegetation must first con
Grass huts, wooden homes and brick apart- vert these elem ents into forms that can
ment buildings all were designed and built be assimilated by the body. Some of these
by someone. Even though we personally elements may amount to no more than
were not on hand when a particular struc- one hundredth of one percent of the huture was erected, we know that it had a man body, but they are necessary for life.
builder. In harmony w ith that, the Bible Cooperating in making them available are
reasons: Every house is constructed by thousands of millions of living organisms
someone, but he that constructed all things in the soil, of countless different designs,
is God.Heb. 3:4.
each working to convert dead leaves, grass
12 Further enlarging on th is, Jere-and other waste m atter back to usable
miah 10:10-12 records: Jehovah is in form or to loosen up the soil so that air
truth God. He is the living God . . . and water can get in. Who can honestly
He is the Maker of the earth by his deny that great wisdom is evident in this
power, the One firmly establishing the arrangement to sustain life?Ps. 24:1;
productive land by his wisdom, and the 89:11.
One who by his understanding stretched
14And the heavensdo they reflect
out the heavens. Does this description the understanding that indicates intellicoincide with what we can observe? Did gent design? It is noteworthy that, while
the making of the earth require great the moon has virtually no atmosphere, the
power? You have no doubt seen pic- earth, where man lives, has an atmosphere
tures showing what happens when man with just the right content of gases for
splits the atoms in even a very small us to breathe. No space suits are needed
portion of the material making up the in order to live here. Fittingly, too, the
earth. By this means tremendous power is atmosphere has such properties that when
released for either constructive or destrue- meteors are drawn in by the earths gravitive use. This has been demonstrated rety, most of them burn up before ever
11. (a) In building faith, w hat is even m ore im portant
reaching the ground, thus safeguarding us
th an seeing the weaknesses in the case fo r evolution?
(b) W hat question th a t baffles evolutionists is answered
by the Bible, and w ith w hat observable facts is the
answ er in agreem ent?
12. W hat indicates th a t the m aking of the e arth did
indeed require pow er, as the Bible says?

13. In harm ony w ith w hat the Bible says, how does
the productive land give evidence of wisdom ?
14. How is u nderstanding reflected in the w ay the
atm ospheric heavens a re designed?

B rooklyn , N .Y .
S&eWATCHTOWER
from bombardment by the 200 million lodged in its crevices or eggs have been
rocks that plunge into the atmosphere dai- laid there. So, then, the producing of
ly. And this same atmosphere makes pos- something that has life requires a source
sible the formation of rain to refresh the that is alive. Biologists agree, but those
earth, protects against excessive heat from who advocate evolution ask you to believe
the sun during the day, and retains a rea- that, although they can point to no exsonable amount of heat during the night. ample of it today and there is no parallel
How evident it is that the atmospheric for it, life sprang repeatedly from nonheavens were carefully designed, the living matter many millions of years ago.
work of One with understanding far sur- Since they cannot find proof of it here on
the earth, they have had manned expedipassing ours!
tions look for evidence of it on the moon,
The heavens, of course, extend far
and they hope to check out their theory on
beyond earths atmosphere. This is but a Mars. The Bible, however, agrees with the
tiny part of them. Raise your eyes high observable fact that life derives only from
up and see, Jehovah invites. Who has a living source. Psalm 36:9 addresses to
created these things? It is the One who is Jehovah, the living God, the words:
bringing forth the army of them even by With you is the source of life.
number, all of whom he calls even by
17 The Bible also explains how the variname. Due to the abundance of dynamic ous kinds of living things came into exenergy, he also being vigorous in power, istence. In its opening chapter it tells us
not one of them is m issing. (Isa. 40:26) that God made the vegetation, the sea
All together, they operate with a precision creatures, the birds and the land animals.
so marvelous that man has long looked to (Gen. 1:10,11, 21, 24) The Bible does not
them as the basis for timekeeping and a say that single-celled life forms evolved
means by which to navigate. Who as- into grass, trees, fish, birds and land
signed these heavenly bodies to their places animals. Nor does it allow for the idea that
and fixed the laws by which they move? God created such primitive life forms and
(Job 38:33; Amos 5:8) Evolution provides then used evolution as the means for prono answer. But the Bible does: The heav- ducing the various kinds of plants and
ens are declaring the glory of God; and animals that exist today. It says that he
of the work of his hands the expanse is produced each according to its kind, not
telling. (Ps. 19:1) This is the work of from some other kind. When the tim e
Jehovah__ the living God.Jer. 10:10.
came for man to be produced, he was not
developed from some apelike pre-Adamite,
ORIGIN OF LIFE
but,
as the Bible says: Jehovah God pro As to living things, what has been
your observation? Do not plants spring ceeded to form the man out of dust from
from seeds in which there is life? Do not the ground and to blow into his nostrils
insects, fish, land animals and humans the breath of life, and the man came to
come from living parents? Nothing living be a living soul. Then, when that first
comes from a rock, unless seeds have man, Adam, became father to a son, in
harmony with the rule that each pro-

44

15. W hat accounts for the precision of movement of

th e heavenly bodies?
16. As to the origin of life, which is in harm ony w ith
observable factsevolution o r the Bible? Explain.

17. W hy does the Bible not allow for the idea th a t

God used evolution to produce the various kinds of
plants and anim als existing today?

J anuary 15, 1971

SHeWATCHTOWER,

45

duces according to its kind, his son was cause he believes in God and in His Word.
in his likeness, in his im age.Gen. 2:7; Is that true of you?
5:3.
20 If so, you w ill not be unduly concerned
18Thus, what the Bible says is in full when you read news reports about disharmony with what you personally have coveries by evolutionists that are heraldseen. When you plant seeds, they produce ed as proof of evolution. Nor will adaccording to their kinds. You plan your missions made by evolutionists concerning
garden with confidence in the dependabili- the weaknesses of their case come as a
ty of that law.
surprise to you.
When cats give
W ith good reabirth, their offson you are conT H E N EX T IS S U E
spring are cats.
vinced that God
Proclaiming Good News World Wide.
When hum ans
knows far more
become parents,
about the origin
When Will G od s Will Be Done on Earth?
their ch ild ren
of the universe
are h u m an.
and o f liv in g
Effective Use of Study Time Brings Joy.
There is variathings than does
tio n in co lo r,
a n y m an w ho
size and shape, but always within the limi- has only recently arrived on the scene.
tations of the fam ily kind. Have you ever Rom. 11:33, 34.
personally seen a case that was otherwise?
21 No one who believes in what the Bible
No; and neither has anyone else. There says about creation has any need to feel
are over three billion persons on earth to- the least bit apologetic about his position.
day, as well as countless billions of plants It is true that some may chide him, claimand animals, all of which are living proof ing that they believe only in what they
of the truthfulness of what the Bible says. see and that this is why they do not believe in God. However, if they profess to
WHY YOU BELIEVE
believe in evolution, then, as we have
It is interesting to note that Science learned, there is actually much that they
Education for October 1967 says: The ba- accept that neither they nor any other
sic reason why the theory of evolution is man has ever seen. Does it reflect sound
rejected by so many, many who are famil- thinking when a person believes in uniar with modern biology, is because it con- seen events that run counter to all availflicts with the account of creation in the able evidence and that conflict with all
Bible. If a person honestly believes that human experience, as is the case with evothe Bible is the inspired Word of God, lution? Or is it more reasonable, in view
then, obviously, this should be the first of the fact that all the universe and all
and foremost reason why he believes in
living things bespeak intelligent design and
creation. He does not choose to believe in
a source of dynamic energy infinitely
creation simply because he has become
greater than man, to believe that there is
aware of flaws in the argument for evoluan alm ighty Creator?Heb. 11:6; Rom.
tion. Rather, he believes in creation be-

1 :20.

18. (a) To w hat evidence in agreem ent w ith the Bible

rule th a t living things reproduce according to th eir
kinds can you point? (b) In contrast to evolution,
why does the Bibles account of creation appeal to a
reasoning m ind?
19. W hat is your reason fo r believing in creation?

20. W hy should news re p o rts favoring evolution not

disturb us?
21. W hy is belief in creation, which requires fa ith in
an unseen Creator, m ore reasonable th a n belief in
evolution?

46

B rooklyn , N .Y .
ff&eWATCHTOWER
22The answer is plain: Belief in creation to cope successfully with the problems of
fits the facts. The Bible is in full harmony the present. And it shows us what we must
with those facts. But it does not stop with do in order to benefit from his loving prodetails about the past. In its pages Jehovah visions for the future. It is the course of
God has provided us the guidance we need wisdom, then, to get well acquainted with
22. In the Bible, w hat has God provided besides deall that it contains.
tails about th e past, and so w hat is it wise for us to do ?

HE teaching of
evolution is not
designed to build faith
in God. It does not encourage one to view the
Bible with deep respect.
So it comes as a surprise to some persons when they realize
that large numbers of the clergy of Christendom freely endorse evolution and that
it is advocated in the textbooks used in
their church-supported schools.
2
As to the development of this trend
the Roman Catholic Church, the New
Catholic Encyclopedia says: In 1950 the
encyclical Humani generis [issued by Pope
Pius XII] marked the starting point of a
new development . . . evolution was expressly recognized as a valid hypothesis.
In line with this, A. Hulsbosch, a seminary
teacher in Holland and a member of the
Order of St. Augustine, has said: We can
no longer deny that, on the biological side,
man originates in the animal kingdom.*
And Peter Schoonenberg, S. J., a visiting
professor at Duquesne University, a Catholic school, wrote: When we now consider the genesis of the human species
we m eet with the lowest grade of parenthood, for the first men had no human
but animal parents.
However, this is

* God in Creation and Evolution, 1965, p. vli.

t Gods W orld in the M aking, 1964, pp. 55, 56.
1. W hy does it surprise some persons to learn th at
m any of the clergy of Christendom endorse evolution?
2. (a) W hat have Catholic spokesmen said about belief
in evolution? (b) How does th e ir view conflict w ith the
Bible?

UNDERMINES
FAITH
in
in direct conflict with the Bible, which
plainly states that Adam was the son of
God and that he was made in the image
of God.Luke 3:38; Gen. 1:26.
3These Catholic teachers of evolution
are not passive about it, but want to make
sure that their students have it thoroughly
impressed on their minds. This is indicated
by the fact that the preface of one edition
of the biology textbook used at Iona (Catholic) College says: The most general principle of all in biology is evolution. Most
treatments of the subject make such a
statement, but fail in conviction that it is
really tru e.. . . In this book we have tried
to make evolution as pervasive as it really
is in the world of life. Every topic has its
evolutionary background and aspects.
Can there be any doubt as to how such
instruction affects the students? N ot long
ago U.8.
News& World
when fea3. To w hat extent do some Catholic schools push the
teaching of evolution, and w ith w hat effect on their
students?

January 15, 1971

SEeWATCHTOWEK

47

turing Growing Unrest in the Catholic

Church, said: A St. Louis priest estimated that 25 per cent of his Catholic
students definitely doubted the existence
of God and another 25 per cent were agnostics. Notre Dame University officials
were taken aback recently when a graduate complained that as I was exposed to
the best that Notre Dame had to offer,
I grew farther and farther away from
Christianity.
4It is not only the Roman Catholic
Church that, by its support of evolution,
is undermining faith in God and his Word.
The Protestant churches are doing the
same. In a letter dated 18 October, 1949,
the archbishop of Canterbury freely said:
T he Christian Church as a whole has accepted the theory of evolution as scientifically established. In the noted Protestant
publication The Christian Century, Dr.
Paul Holmer, professor of theology at
Yale University divinity school, writes:
I confess to deep appreciation of the talents and labors that have made evolution
a prevailing scientific conclusion in our
tim e. It should be kept in mind that, when
these writers refer to evolution, they do
not mean simply the fact that there is
variety in life forms or that land areas
undergo change as a result of the forces
that work on them; they are talking about
the origin of man and other living things.
The Protestant Interpreters Bible bluntly
stated their view in this way: The reptile
was content to stay in the swamp; man
wanted to climb out of it. He had and still
has primitive instincts against which he
must struggle, for he began on the plane
of the animal; but he has not been content
to dwell there.
8Despite such statem ents, some clergymen contend that they are not repudiating

the Bible. But on what basis? A. Hulsbosch, of Holland, claims: The earthly
man taken as a whole is a two-sided being;
on the biological side he is related to the
animal, and on the personal he is the image
of God. In this way the body is viewed
as a product of evolution, but there is said
to be another part of man that did not
evolve. On this point, Rudolph Bandas, a
member of the Roman Pontifical Academy
of Theology, has written: The soul is outside the process of evolution. The soul is
rational, simple, spiritual and immortalit
cannot evolve out of mere animal life.
Similarly, Raymond Nogar, a Catholic
priest, in his book
TheWisdom of
turn, says: Biologically, man like the
lynx, is a special kind of animal. He belongs in the animal kingdom with all the
rest of the animals. . . . The soul of man
(and woman) was created immediately by
God and is spiritual and immortal. Those
who make such statem ents are either
grossly ignorant of the Scriptures or they
are deliberately deceptive.
The Bible makes no allowance for biological relation of man to animals. As to
fleshly organisms, the apostle Paul was inspired by the Creator to write: N ot all
flesh is the same flesh, but there is one of
mankind, and there is another flesh of
cattle, and another flesh of birds, and another of fish. (1 Cor. 15:39) Nor is it
possession of a soul that makes man
differ from the animals. The Bible shows
that animals are souls even as men are
souls. (Gen. 1:21, 24; Lev. 24:18; Num.
31:28) Furthermore, the Scriptures do
not say that when God formed Adam and
gave him life, God gave man a soul, but,
rather, that man came to be a living
soul, that Adam became a living soul.
(Gen. 2:7; 1 Cor. 15:45) Thus man him-

4. W hat do P ro te stan t spokesm en and publications

say about this faith-destroying teaching?
5. On w hat basis do clergym en who endorse evolution
contend th a t they are not repudiating the Bible by
doing so?

6. From the Bible, show th a t these clergym en are

completely w rong when th ey argue (a) th a t m an is
biologically related to anim als, and (b) th a t possession
of a soul m akes m an differ from the anim als.

48

B rooklyn , N .Y .
SffteWATCHTOWER.
self is a soul. So, if, as the clergy say, the hands with atheistic communists whose
soul did not evolve, then man did not avowed aim is to root out faith in God.
Karl Marx was so pleased with Darwins
evolve.
7 In their endeavors to fit the Bible in work on evolution that he wrote him a
with the theory of evolution, it is com- letter asking permission to dedicate the
mon for clergymen to argue that the Bible English edition of Das Kapital (called the
account about Adam is simply an allegory, bible of the Communist movement) to
a parable, but not historical fact. Says him. Openly a ninth-year school textbook
Dutch Jesuit Trooster: Let us first of all published in the Soviet Union declares:
become completely aware that the story The study of the laws of evolution of the
of paradise is not history in our modem organic world assists in the working out
sense of the word.* He reasons that Ad- of the m aterialistic conception . . . In adam here was not the first man but that dition, this teaching arms us for the antihe represents every man, and that every religious struggle, by giving us the maman, though he has the opportunity for terialistic interpretation of the appearance
communion with God, commits his own of purpose in the organic world, and at
act that alienates him from God. But the the same tim e proving the origin of man
Bible does not allow for this view either. from lower animals. Additionally, an
Adam is said to be the first man, not essay by evolutionist Julian S. Huxley
every man. (1 Cor. 15:45) The Bible writ- on Darwin and the Idea of Evolution
er Luke lists Adam along with seventy- states: To begin with, if evolution is acfour other men in the genealogy of Jesus cepted as a fact, much of the theological
Christ. (Luke 3:23-38) If one was simply framework of the world's major religions
allegorical, what about the rest? Also, is destroyed, or is conveniently . . . repreJude, a half brother of Jesus, wrote that sented as significant m yth. Yet, the clerEnoch was the seventh one in line from gy are out front in proclaiming that evoAdam, but Enoch certainly was not the lution is a fact and that the Bible accounts
seventh in line from every mem. (Jude 14) are merely myth. Why do they do it?
And Genesis 5:3 says that Adam fa9 It is not that evolution is solidly foundthered a son by the name Seth at the age ed on fact. A t the conclusion of a recent
of a hundred and thirty years. Is that true UNESCO conference in Paris, France, a
of every man? Of course not! By accepting published news report announced: The
evolution as fact, and seeking to interpret only certainty about the origins of modern
the Bible to fit evolution, they are down- man (homo sapiens) is that they are ungrading Gods Word and exalting material- certain. And the book Creation and Evoistic science.
lution, by Ulrich A. Hauber, a Catholic
8Whether they are aware of it or not, monsignor whose publication bears the imreligious advocates of evolution thus join primatur of the bishop of Davenport, ac Evolution and the Doctrine of Original Sin, p. 43.
knowledges the uncertainty of it, saying:
The theory of evolution does not explain
7. (a) How do some evolutionist clergymen view the
Bible account about Adam? (b) W hat facts show th a t
all the facts, it seems to rim counter to
th e Bible does not allow fo r th a t view? (c) By trying
to fit the Bible to evolution, w hat are these clergymen
actually doing w ith the Bible and w ith science?
8. In advocating evolution, w ith whom do the clergy
ally themselves, and w hat published statem ents show
this?

9,10. (a) W hat shows th a t clergy support of evolution

is not m otivated by overwhelm ing proof in support
of the theory? (b) W hy do they advocate evolution
even though this requires dow ngrading the Bible?

15, 1971

49
SEeWATCHTOWER.
some of them. Despite this, he goes on
11In April of 1969 it was reported in
to say: But it is an em inently reasonable the New York Post that the governing
theory. Plainly these religious spokesmen body of the Presbyterian Church in the
have fallen into the trap against which the United States had also gone on record as
Bible warns: Look out: perhaps there endorsing evolution. They took the posimay be someone who w ill carry you off tion that it is not necessary to understand
as his prey through the philosophy and the Genesis account as a scientific descripempty deception according to the tradition tion of creation. Opponents of the report
of men, according to the elementary things that was presented for adoption strenuousof the world and not according to Christ. ly argued for the literal truthfulness of
(Col. 2:8) Their choosing evolution in the book of Genesis and denied that it was
preference to the Word of God is because compatible with the theory of evolution.
they want to be acceptable to the world, One of them declared: We make serious
really a part of the world. Even the scien- accusations against the integrity of the
tific community realizes this. As reported Apostles and Jesus Christ him self if we
in Le Monde et la Vie, March 1964, a accept the theory of evolution. NevertheFrench biologist and professor of zoology less, another speaker rose and declared:
at Strasbourg University, said: I am well I am a geologist and I would like to bring
to the Assembly the established fact that
aware that the most stubborn supporters
evolution exists and that no action by this
of evolution are nowadays recruited among
General Assembly can rescind this fact.
priests, monks and every kind of clerical
In whom did that religious body express
dignitaries; they thus believe that they put
its faiththe Creator, who made all
themselves in the know. But in so doing
things, or men who have studied some of
they also make it plain that they are not
Gods handiwork but who say that they
disciples of Jesus Christ, who said that
know more about it than God? To their
his followers would be no part of the
shame they overwhelmingly voted in favor
world.John 17:16.
of imperfect men and their theory of evo10
They give their support to evolution,
lution.Ps. 40:4, 5.
not because it is fact, but because their
12About four years earlier, Le Figaro,
desire to be acceptable to the world far
a Paris daily, in its religious news of June
outweighs their love of the truth. (2 Thess.
15, 1965, took note of an event of similar
2:9-12) This is also true of many sciensignificance. It reported that the general
tists. Their education gives them status in
of the Jesuit order, Pedro Arrupe, in his
the world, and if they want to be well
talk following his induction and in which
thought of in the world they go along with
he defined the new policy of this religious
what is popular. Just as the Bibles moral
body, said they would put emphasis on
standards are not popular in worldly cirthe knowledge of the books of Jesuit evocles, so, too, belief that man was created
lutionist Teilhard de Chardin. The imby God and so is obligated to conform to
portance of this declaration, notes Le
those standards is not popular. Thus perFigaro, is stressed by the fact that there
sonal pride coupled with fear of man be11. On this issue, in whom has the governing body of
comes a snare to them, and it is the Devil the
P resbyterian Church chosen to p u t fa ith ? Explain.
who lays that snare.Rev. 12:9; 2 Cor. 12. W hat position have the Je su its tak en on the teaching of evolution, and are they really follow ing through
4:4.
on this?
January

50

ff&eWATCHTOWER

B rooklyn , N. Y.

is no doubt in the clerical circles of Rome Canada. As the Jesuit writer S. Trooster
that Father Arrupes point of view com- put it: We must even bear in mind that
pletely harmonizes w ith the sovereign Adam as ancestor has been as artificially
Pontiffs. That this news report was no invented as other legendary tribal ancesmisinterpretation of m atters is evident tors. Now, if a person is w illing to acfrom the facts, already examined, show- cept that viewpoint, is that all there is to
ing that Catholic spokesmen definitely are it? Can one go right on believing the rest
among the foremost advocates of this of the Bible?
faith-destroying dogma.
By his accepting the philosophies of
15 To those who professed to worship the men in preference to the Word of God on
true God but whose devotion was merely even this one point he w ill find that the
a m atter of tradition, Jehovah issued a stage has been set for the complete ruin
of his faith. Why so? Bestrong rebuke through his
cause Jesus Christ quoted
prophet Isaiah: Woe to
the Genesis account con*
those who are going very
cerning Adam and Eve as
deep in concealing counsel
historical fact, referring to
from Jehovah . . . The perit at the same tim e that he
versity of you men! Should
talked about Moses, who was
the potter him self be acalso a genuine historical per*
counted just like the clay?
son. (Matt. 1 9 :3 9 )Jesus
For should the thing made
apostle Paul, who wrote
say respecting its maker:
fourteen books of the ChrisHe did not make me? And
does the very thing formed
tian Greek Scriptures, like*
wise showed in his writings
actually say respecting its
that he believed in the literformer: He showed no unCan one who rejects
derstanding? That rebuke
al truthfulness of those earbelief in Adam and
ly ch a p ters o f G e n e sis.
applies with equal force toEve still be Christian?
(1 Tim. 2:13, 14) The same
day to the clergy of Christendom for their perversity in conceal- is true of the Christian Bible writers Luke
ing the truth of Gods Word and denying and Jude. (Luke 3:38; Jude 14) A willingness to go along with the idea that part
the works of God.Isa. 29:15, 16.
of Genesis is m yth or artificially inRESULTS OF BELIEF IN EVOLUTION
vented legend thus leads one to the con The whole process that undermines elusion that Jesus Christ was deluded and
ones faith starts with what seems to many that his apostles too were in error. It thus
people to be such a small thing: simply becomes obvious that one who is willing
taking the position that a portion of the to accept the currently popular viewpoint
first book of the Bible is not strictly his- of many of the clergy concerning Genesis
torical. But if the account of creation, and is having his faith seriously undermined.
Of course, if a person allows evolution
consequently what is said there about Adam and Eve, is not historical, what is it? to guide his thinking and classifies the
Myth, replies the United Church of 15. W hen anyone accepts th a t viewpoint of the clergy
13. W hat rebuke from God's W ord well applies to the
clergy of Christendom , and w hy?
14. If a person accepts evolution, w hat position is he
taking tow ard the first portion of Genesis ?

as to Genesis, to w hat conclusion does it lead as to

Jesus C hrist and his apostles and the things th a t they
w rote? W hy?
16. Those who go along w ith evolution m ust take what
view of the sin of Adam and its effect on m ankind?

January

15, 1971

S&eWATCHTOWER

Scripture record of creation as unhistorical, it means that he does not believe

that Adam broke Gods law, as reported
in Genesis chapter 3. Nor does he believe
that mankind is bom in sin because of
the transgression of Adam. It is not only
outright atheists who say they do not believe in these Bible teachings. Says Newsweek of August 22,1966: Canadian Jesuit
Biblicist Father David Stanley points out,
. . . Tf you accept evolution, Adam . . .
was only a primate. The myth of a fall
doesnt fit at all. Also, the book Evolution and the Doctrine of Original Sin, published in 1968 with the imprimatur of the
archbishop of Newark, takes the same
view. It first states the fundamental Bible
belief that every human being begins his
life in a sinful state because of the sin of
Adam, but then adds: Those who take
the scientific doctrine of evolution seriously can no longer accept this traditional
presentation. And the book shows that
its author definitely does take that doctrine of evolution seriously. So seriously
does he take it that he is willing to mold
his viewpoint of the entire Bible to conform to it.
17 Now, how does this affect ones attitude toward the ransom sacrifice of Jesus
Christ? Belief in the sin of the first man
Adam is directly related to belief in the
ransom, as the apostle Paul explains at
considerable length in his inspired letter to
the Roman Christians. (Rom. 5:12-19)
And to the Corinthian congregation he
wrote: Since death is through a man,
resurrection of the dead is also through
a man. For just as in Adam all are dying,
so also in the Christ all w ill be made
alive. (1 Cor. 15:21, 22) Obviously, when
clergymen classify as m yth what the
Bible says about the reason for the ran17. (a) How does th is influence ones attitu d e tow ard
the ransom ? (b) So, how does th e teaching of evolution
affect ones faith ?

51

som, they sow s< ds of doubt about validity

of the ransom itself. The 1970 edition of
World Boole
Enckypsdia, in its article on
evolution, reali.- cally observes: The reality of sin, and of redemption from sin,
is held to be sential to the Christian
faith. But if r in is in the process of
evolving from
lower state, sin tends to
become mere ii perfection, and the Gospel of redempt n from the guilt of sin
tends to lose all meaning. When that has
happened, wher is ones faith? It is gone.
18If you are t member of one of the
churches of Ci ristendom, some of the
things that you mve read here may have
come as a shock to you. You may feel that
your minister
different, that he does
not believe 8
teach such things. But
would it n o t' ise to find out? Ask him
whether he t
es that the Bible account
of Adam
is historical fact. If he
says that lie
not, then you know that
he disagr es
h Jesus Christ and the
inspired w itt
of the Christian Greek
Scriptures ,
whether he accepts the
teaching of e
tion. If he does, it makes
little differen
whether he professes to
believe in Je
hrist as mankinds ransomer, becaus
ich belief has no meaning if man is
olving, moving upward;
it only has me ng to one who recognizes
that the first
by disobedience, fed
into sin. What
!1 you do if you find that
the minister c
air church endorses evolution? Will y
tay with him, as a follower of man?
cannot give you eternal
life. But God < and he w ill if you exercise faith in 1
revision for eternal life
through his S
esus Christ and if you
carry on wors
now in association with
those who wo
p him with spirit and
truth.John
4.

an(

an,

18. (a) W hat are cl

in order to find
(b) W hat action mu
gain Jehovahs a p p r

ch m em bers encouraged to do
w hat th e ir m inister believes?
such persons tak e if they are to
11?

ENEFITS

THAT ACCOMPANY

FAITH IN THE CREATOR

HOSE who profess to believe in evo- heart and do not lean upon your own unlution have a very bleak future. They derstanding. In all your ways take notice
speak of mans evolving, developing over of him, and he him self w ill make your
the ages into a finer specimen of life than paths straight.
he was in the past. But, as far as the evoANSWERS THAT MAKE SENSE
lutionist personally is concerned, what does
4
If
you are a person who believes in the
his belief offer him? He well knows that
Creator,
you are not left in the dark as
as he grows older his health and strength
to
the
origin
of the universe. That is not
fail, and, in time, death w ill claim him.
an
issue
that
has to be dodged. You can
The belief to which he holds offers no
with
conviction
quote the explanation in
alternative.
the
first
words
of the Bible. (Gen. 1:1)
2 Any who claim to believe in both God
And
you
can
confidently
point to both
and evolution are likewise without a solidheavens
and
earth
as
overwhelming
evily based hope. They say that God used
dence
that
they
are,
indeed,
the
work
of
evolution as a means to produce all the
One
who
is
almighty,
One
whose
knowlliving things on this globe. But, in so doing, they reject the Bible. Without it as a edge and wisdom far exceed that of any
guide, they have no revelation of the di- man. You will not find yourself in the
vine will. They do not know why they are awkward position of evolutionists such as
here, what moral standard should guide Charles Darwin, whose Autobiography
them, or what the future holds. Asked to states: Another source of conviction in
give reasons for what they champion as the existence of God, connected with the
moral, they have only their own opinion reason and not with the feelings, impressto which to turn, and that is molded by es me . . . This follows from the extreme
the society in which they live.Jer. 8:9. difficulty or rather im possibility of con3 On the other hand, the person who hasceiving this immense and wonderful unifaith in the Creator and the Bible as His verse, including man with his capacity of
inspired revelation to mankind has a very looking far backwards and far into fudifferent view of life. He does not spurn turity, as the result of blind chance or
the counsel from Gods Word, but enjoys necessity. When thus reflecting, I feel comthe rich blessings that come with living in pelled to look to a First Cause.
Yet, with all the facts and rules of reaaccord with what is written at Proverbs
3:5, 6: Trust in Jehovah with all your son pointing to a Creator, he rejects such
1. W hat kind of future does the teaching of evolution a conclusion and accepts a viewpoint that

offer to the individual?

2. In w hat situation do those who claim to believe in
both God and evolution find them selves?
3. How is the person who believes in the Creator and
his W ord the Bible in a fa r b e tte r position?
52

4,5. (a) W hy Is the answ er th a t the Bible gives

concerning the origin of the universe one th a t m akes
sense? (b) B ut how did evolutionist Charles D arw in
find th a t he had to handle this subject ?

J anuary 15, 1971

53
SfreWATCHTOWER.
he him self has acknowledged as an im7A person with such godly fear does
possibility, saying: But then arises the not suffer from the frustration so comdoubtcan the mind of man, which has, mon among the youth of our day because
as I fully believe, been developed from a they feel that life has no meaning. One
mind as low as that possessed by the low- who has come to know the Creator agrees
est animals, be trusted when it draws such fully with the declaration recorded in the
grand conclusions? When anyone rea- Bible: You are worthy, Jehovah, even our
sons in such a way, he demonstrates in God, to receive the glory and the honor
his own case the truthfulness of the scrip- and the power, because you created all
ture that says: The senseless one has things, and because of your w ill they exsaid in his heart: There is no Jehovah. isted and were created. (Rev. 4:11) When
Ps. 14:1.
a person with that outlook is deeply moved
* But one who believes in the Creator by a beautiful landscape or the gorgeous
is in position to use his mind with satis- colors of a sunset, when his spirits are
fying results that otherwise are totally lifted by the song of a bird, he does not
impossible. Why? Well, if the universe view it all as meaningless. He gives thanks
were the product of mere mindless evo- to Jehovah for the works of His hands.
lution, then it did not result from intelli- The evidences of the Creators love that
gent design; and nothing that would appeal he experiences every day of his life move
to a rational mind could be learned from him to help others to know and love the
a study of that which is itself completely One who has so generously provided for
irrational, could it? And, even though the all his creatures. (Matt. 5:45; A cts 17:
universe truly is the product of an intelli- 26-28) It is in knowing and doing Gods
gent Creator, as the facts show, those who will that he finds genuine fulfillm ent in
attempt to understand it while endeavor- life. He does not selfishly build his life
ing to leave Him and his purpose out of around only his own needs and desires,
account m eet with constant frustration, be- as if he were personally responsible for
cause they start with a wrong premise everything that he is and has. Rather, his
and endeavor to relate all that they learn thoughts are directed toward God. Wrote
to a theory that is totally unsound. The the Bible psalmist: Serve Jehovah with
result is constant misinterpretation of rejoicing. Come in before him with a joywhat they observe and misuse of the in- ful cry. Know that Jehovah is God. It is
formation that they glean. Is that not evi- he that has made us, and not we ourselves.
dent in the way mans environment is We are his people and the sheep of his
being ruined? It is true as the Bible prov- pasturage. . . . Give thanks to him, bless
his name. For Jehovah is good; his lovingerbs state: The fear of Jehovah is the
kindness is to tim e indefinite, and his
beginning of knowledge, and, The fear faithfulness to generation after generaof Jehovah is the start of wisdom. (Prov. tion.Ps. 100:2-5.
1:7; 9:10) Coming to know Jehovah, and
8 Those who believe in God and his Word
having a reverent fear of Him, must be are not oblivious to the troubles that surthe starting point if one is to understand round them in the world. They have their
and w isely act in harmony with His works.
6. (a) W hy does one who believes in creation have a
definite advantage over the evolutionist in understanding the universe in which he lives? (b) So, how
does it prove tru e th a t the acquiring of both tru e knowledge and wisdom sta rt w ith the fe ar of Jehovah?

7. (a) To w hat fru stratio n am ong youth has th e teaching of evolution contributed? (b) W hy do we exist,
and how can we find genuine fulfillm ent In life?
8. How does the Bible, ra th e r th a n evolution, show
itself to be in harm ony w ith w hat is actually happening to m an biologically and m orally?

54

S&eWATCHTOWER

share of sickness, and, with others, they

feel the effects of the soaring rate of
crime. But this does not embitter them
toward God. They do not profess to believe that man is evolving, moving upward
biologically and morally, while all the evidence is to the contrary. Rather, they
know from the Bibleand the events of
our day agreethat mankind is going
downward.
8The same portion of the Bible that
tells about creation also explains the reason for this condition among men. First,
a spirit son of God corrupted himself by
allowing his mind to dwell on wrong desires, craving the glory that belongs only
to God. To satisfy his desire, he induced
the first woman, Eve, and, through her,
Adam, to violate Gods plainly stated law.
Though God had made man upright, he
did not make him a robot. Not due to any
physical flaw or mental inability to grasp
the seriousness of the situation, but because of his own lack of appreciation for
all that God had given him, Adam disobeyed God. (Genesis chaps. 2, 3; Deut.
32:4, 5) Thus, through the forefather of
us all, sin entered the world and, as a
result of it, the sickness and deterioration
that lead to death. Alienated from God,
upon whom all life depends, man could go
only downward. Also, the continued influence of the one who had made himself
Satan the Devil when he urged the first
human to sin would only worsen the situation. (Rom. 5:12; Rev. 12:9) This Scriptural explanation of matters makes sense;
it fits the facts that are evident everywhere in our day. Furthermore, the Bible
tells in detail about the means by which
God will bring wickedness to an end and
open up the opportunity for eternal life
under righteous conditions for those who
find pleasure in doing his will.
9. (a) W hat explanation does the Bible give for the
constant downw ard tren d of m an? (b) Does it point
to any hope for the fu tu re?

B rooklyn , N . Y.

THE BIBLE OR EVOLUTION AS A GUIDE

IN HUMAN RELATIONS T

10At present, however, unrighteousness

is found on every hand. Where can sound
guidance be found to protect one from the
pitfalls that so easily lead to ruin? The Bible provides help from mankinds Creator
himself. How will a young man cleanse
his path? asks the psalmist. Then, addressing him self to God, he replies under
inspiration: By keeping on guard according to your word. In my heart I have
treasured up your saying, in order that I
may not sin against you. Your word is a
lamp to my foot, and a light to my roadway. (Ps. 119:9, 11, 105) The benefits
of following that Word closely are emphasized by a comparison of what it says with
the fruitage of philosophies that are
oriented around evolution.
11This generation has seen two world
wars, and belief in evolution was a factor
that led to both of them. Does that sound
strange? In discussing the effect of Darwins thesis in support of evolution, H. G.
Wells in The Outline of History says: The
Darwinian movement took formal Christianity unawares, suddenly. . . . The new
biological science was bringing nothing
constructive as yet to replace the old moral stand-bys. A real de-moralization ensued. Then, showing the connection of
this with the attitude toward war, he continues: Prevalent peoples at the close of
the nineteenth century believed that they
prevailed by virtue of the Struggle for
Existence, in which the strong and cunning
get the better of the weak and confiding.
. . . Man, they decided, is a social animal
like the Indian hunting dog . . . so it
seemed right to them that the big dogs
of the human pack should bully and sub10. W here can sound guidance be found to protect one
against the pitfalls of life?
11, 12. How did belief in evolution prove to be a factor
contributing to both world w ars?

J anuary 15, 1971

SEeWATCHTOWER.

55

due. In full accord with evolutions con- this century was in the two world wars,
cept of survival of the fittest in the strug- nor even in smaller wars. The same surgle for existence, they plunged into a war vival of the fittest philosophy is reflected
in the anim alistic assaults that characterunequaled in history till that tim e.
12Not only atheistic evolutionists, but ize street crime. This thinking reaches
also those who try to cling to some sem- right into the home and disrupts fam ily
blance of piety by saying that they are ties. When parents go along with the
Christian evolutionists, are thus influ- teaching of evolution, and thus infer that
enced. Philip G. Fothergill in his book life has no meaning, on what basis can
Evolution and Christians notes: From they tell their children that they should
scientific evolution there can arise an evo- not ruin their lives w ith narcotics and
lutionary philosophy, and by false exten- loose living? How can they convince them
sion, an evolutionary ethic, which may that they should not end it all, if they
determine a non-Christians outlook on choose, by suicide? Even parents who may
morality, and if allowed to permeate Chris- say that they believe in God face this
tian thought may subtly undermine Chris- problem if they accept evolution. Why?
tian belief. . . . Wood Jones maintained Because it is the Bible that contains the
that the rise of the m entality which in- principles for right living, and by endorsduced the tragedy of 1914, and later Na- ing evolution they reject the Bible.
15 Those who believe in the Creator are
zism and its evil excesses, could be traced
protected
from such a situation. They
in great part to the effect of a certain type
know
that
God made our first parents,
of Darwinian teaching.
that
He
is
the
One who sets the rules for
13
Such violent fruitage of evolution
proper
conduct
in the fam ily, and that all
stands in sharp contrast to the upbuilding
are
accountable
to Him. (Prov. 15:3; Jer.
guidance of the Word of mankinds Cre16:17)
To
parents
God has given the reator. Drawing on that same Bible book
sponsibility
to
instruct
their children in
that tells about creation, the apostle John
writes: This is the m essage which you His way and to build up in them appreciahave heard from the beginning, that we tion for the wonderful things that he has
should have love for one another; not like done. (Ps. 78:4) Children are required
Cain [a son of Adam ], who originated by God to be obedient to their parents,
with the wicked one and slaughtered his not merely because their parents are bigbrother. (1 John 3:11, 12) And to his ger or stronger, but because this is righdisciples, Jesus Christ said: By this all teous in the eyes of God. (Eph. 6:1;
will know that you are my disciples, if Prov. 23:22) The result is a home where
you have love among yourselves. (John love and respect draw fam ily members to13:34, 35) The benefit of enjoying life with gether and where problems that may arise
such associates is som ething that accom- can be dealt with on the basis of authoritative counsel that is respected by all.
panies faith in the Creator.
18 Ones viewpoint toward sexual morali14Not all the violence demonstrated in
ty is also influenced by his belief as to the
13. Explain how th a t fruitage of evolution contrasts
origin of man. The believer in the Bible
w ith w hat results from belief in th e W ord of m ankind's
Creator.
14. (a) In w hat ways does evolutionary thinking influence conduct on city stre ets? (b) W hen parents
accept evolution, w ith w hat serious problem s m ay they
find th a t they are confronted?

15. How does belief in the C reator safeguard the fam ily ?
16. A gainst w hat situation as to sexual m orality are
evolutionists left w ithout safeguards, b u t w hat wholesome guidance does th e Bible provide?

56

B rooklyn , N .Y .
fReWATCHTOWER
knows that Gods law forbids adultery, forms of meditation and expects an in*
fornication and abortion, and respect for crease of parapsychic capacities of man.t
that law is a genuine protection for him In their desire to become something more
in many ways. (Heb. 13:4; Rom. 13:9,10; them man now is they thus make them*
compare Exodus 21:22, 23.) Catholic selves vulnerable to the control of superpriest Raymond Nogar, though himself human spirits. The Bible does not leave
going along with the worldly philosophy one in the dark as to the source of such
of evolution, acknowledges that the trend powers. It firmly warns against involve*
of thinking among revolutionists touches ment in mysticism, identifying the Devil
immediately upon mans philosophy of and the demons as its source. (Acts 16:
life, his morals, his religion, and that as 16*18; Eph. 6:10-13) Thus, Gods inspired
a result changes are taking place.* Why Word provides the guidance that 2111 men
so? Because even churchmen who accept need as protection against the degrading
evolution do so by classifying the Bible practices that surround them, and to 1as unscientific. When people come to able them to use their lives in full harmony
believe that the first book of the Bible with the w ill of their Creator.
is not to be taken seriously, then they do
WHAT THE FUTURE HOLDS
not take the rest seriously either. Even
18
Though
the theory of evolution holds
the governments of men are removing leout
no
hope
that any individual now livgal restrictions on adultery, abortion and
ing
will
benefit
from the changes that fuhomosexuality. And since men who reject
ture
generations
may see, some of its ad*
belief in creation acknowledge no authorivocates
see
a
glowing
future for the human
ty higher than them selves and their govrace.
Alfred
Wallace
is quoted as saying
ernment, they are thus left open to the
of
the
man
that
he
envisioned
that evodisease, frustration and insecurity in which
lution
would
develop:
W
hile
his
external
such conduct results. Taught from youth
form
will
probably
ever
remain
unchanged,
that he is simply a descendant from a
beast, man often acts that way.Rom. 1: except in the development of that perfect
beauty which results from a healthy and
22-27.
well-organized
body, refined, and enno17Since evolution results in rejection of
bled
by
the
highest
intellectual faculties
God and the righteous standards of his
and
sympathetic
emotions,
his mental conWord, it comes as no great surprise that
it also lays its adherents open to yet an- stitution may continue to advance and imother trap, against which Bible believers prove till the world is again inhabited by
are safeguarded. What is that? Alfred R. a single homogeneous race, no individual
Wallace, who was a disciple of Darwin, of which w ill be inferior to the noblest
was a spiritist, according to evolutionist specimen of existing humanity. Each one
Ernst Benz. And he says: It is significant will then work out his happiness in relathat the founder of parapsychology . . . tion to that of his fellows; perfect freedom
writes: It is Darwinism which leads us of action w ill be maintained, since the
to m ysticism . Also: Julian Huxley . . . well-balanced moral faculties w ill never
deliberately turns to Buddhist ideas and permit any one to transgress on the equal
* The W isdom of E volution, p. 13.
17. To w hat o ther degrading tra p does evolution lead,
but how does the Bible m ake available the needed
protection?

t E volution

and Christian Hope, pp. 78, 80.

18. W hat future did an evolutionist of the p ast century

envision for the hum an race, but how have his expectations proved w rong?

J anuary 15, 1971

57
fEeWATCHTOWER.
freedom of others. All this, keep in mind, not in the hands of wicked men, but with
is seen as a result of evolution, not be- Jehovah, who is a lover of righteousness.
cause of divine intervention in human af- As the Former of the earth and the Makfairs. But do the developments of the past er of it, . . . the One who firm ly estabfifty years give sound reason for believing lished it, he did not make it to be a desothat this is the direction that man, by him- late waste but to be inhabited. (Isa. 45:
self, is heading? The writer just quoted 18) W ith confidence appropriate to the One
died in the year 1913, so he did not see upon whom all life depends, he declares:
the events that burst upon the world in Just a little while longer, and the wicked
the following year. The facts of our day one will be no more; and you w ill certainrefute his claims.
ly give attention to his place, and he will
19In contrast with the above view, the not be. But the meek ones them selves will
American Museum of Natural History in possess the earth, and they will indeed
New York, during 1969 and 1970, featured find their exquisite delight in the abunthe theme Can Man Survive? This mu- dance of peace.Ps. 37:10, 11.
seum, which gives prominence to displays
22 He has provided a completely new adadvocating evolution, acknowledges in its ministration to oversee the affairs of huCalendar of Events sheet for March 1970: mankind. (Eph. 1:8-10) Earths new ruler
A rapidly increasing human population will be the Lord Jesus Christ, the One who
coupled with the impact of an undisci- shared with his Father in making the
plined technology has brought manand earth itself and the first humans, Adam
his environmentto the edge of disaster and Eve. Jesus is one who him self came
and has placed the survival of the species to earth and lived as a man, and so underin doubt. What they now see for the fu- stands the problems of mankind. With lovture looks dim, and, of course, when there ing concern his administration w ill prois no solidly based hope for the future men vide benefits, not only for those who
readily become m entally unbalanced. This happen to be alive at the tim e his millenis a fruitage of belief in evolution.
nial reign begins, but also for those who
20Of course, all this leaves God out of have been claimed by death. Under his
account, and without him there can be no rule mankind w ill advance m entally and
true knowledge. We can be grateful that morally, but this w ill not be as a result
the future does not depend on mindless of mans own great achievements nor as
evolution or on the type of person of whom the result of mindless evolution. It w ill rePsalm 10:3, 4 says: He has disrespected suit from application of the benefits of
Jehovah. The wicked one according to his Christs ransom and from education in
superciliousness makes no search; all his the will of God. The earth w ill certainly
ideas are: There is no God.
be filled with the knowledge of Jehovah as
21The future of the human race rests, the waters are covering the very sea.
(Isa. 11:9) Confident expectation of such
19. W hat kind of fu tu re do advocates of evolution
in our own tim e see, and how does such an outlook
a
marvelous future is the portion of those
affect m en?
20. W hy are th eir predictions fo r the future w rong?
who have faith in the Creator and who
21. 22. (a) W hat has m ankinds C reator declared to be
live in harmony with his inspired Word the
the fu tu re of the hum an race? (b) How will he bring
about these conditions, and who m ay expect to share in
Bible.
them ?

combined with the word for

God (El) or an abbreviation of the divine name Jehovah. Such names could
express the hope of parents
or reflect their appreciation for having been blessed
w ith offspring. Some examples are Jehdeiah ( may Jah give joy) ,
Jeberechiah (Jah blesses), Jonathan
(Jehovah has given) and Daniel (God
is [my] judge).
Sometimes children were named after
animals and plants. Some of these names
are Deborah ( bee), Jonah (dove) and
Susanna (lily).

BIBLE NAMES
N MOST countries today few names
have special meaning in themselves.
When a baby is born it m ay be named
after a friend or relative, but the actual
meaning of that name is rarely considered.
This was not the case in ancient times.
In the original Bible languages (Hebrew,
Aramaic and Greek) names of persons,
places and things had meaning.

NAMES OF ANIMALS, PLANTS AND PLACES

Jehovah God granted to the first man

Adam the privilege of naming the lower
creatures. (Gen. 2:19) The names given
doubtless were descriptive. This is suggested by some of the Hebrew names
for animals and even plants. Burrower
seems to be the name for the fox. Springer or leaper is seem ingly applied to the
antelope. Waker designates the almond
tree, apparently because of its being one
of the earliest trees to bloom.
There were tim es when physical features provided the basis for the names of
places, mountains and rivers. The cities
of Geba and Gibeah (both meaning hill)
doubtless got their names because of being
situated on hills. The river Jordan (meaning descender) drops rapidly in elevation, and this is probably the basis for its
name. In view of their situation near wells,
springs and meadows, towns and cities
were often given names prefixed by beer
(meaning well), en (spring) and
abel (meadow).
Other places are named on the basis of
the events that occurred there. An exampie is Babel (confusion) , the place where
the confusing of mans language took place.

NAMES OF PERSONS

The name given to a child often reflected

the circumstances associated with its birth
or the feelings of the father or mother.
For example, Eve named her firstborn son
Cain (which in Hebrew means something
produced), for, as she said: I have produced a man with the aid of Jehovah.
(Gen. 4:1) The son bom to her after Abels
murder she named Seth (appointed, substituted) , regarding him as a replacement
for Abel. (Gen. 4:25) Isaac named his
younger twin son Jacob (supplanter; taking hold of the heel) because at birth
this boy was holding onto the heel of Esau
his brother.Gen. 25:26.
Sometimes what an infant looked like
at birth provided the basis for its name.
Thus, the firstborn son of Isaac was called
Esau (hairy) on account of his unusual
hairy appearance at birth.Gen. 25:25.
Especially did names given at divine direction have prophetic meaning. For example, in the case of the Son of God, the
name Jesus means Jehovah is salvation and was prophetic of his role as
Savior or Jehovahs means of salvation.
Matt. 1:21; Luke 2:30.
Names given to children were often
58

15, 1971

59
SEeWATCHTOWER.
(Gen. 11:9) Other names were derived pronunciation of Bible names.1 Tim.
from such characteristics as size, occu- 4:13.
pation and produce. This is reflected in
TRANSLATING HEBREW NOUNS
the names Zoar (littleness), Bethsaida
Nouns (names of persons, places and
(house or place of fishing) and Bethlethings) are sometimes difficult to transhem (house of bread).
late from Bible languages into modem
READING PROPER NAMES
tongues. There is no ancient dictionary
Proper names in the Bible often cause into which the translator can look to get
difficulty in reading, especially when one the exact definition of a common noun
is doing public reading. This is understand- that may have been written three thouable, as these proper names come from a sand years ago.
language that is different from the one
Scholars have labored to determine the
most persons speak today. To help solve exact meaning of Hebrew words by comthe problem of pronunciation some Bible paring them with those of related lantranslations divide proper names into syl- guages, such as Arabic. Thus the Hebrew
word
sis is thought to identify the swift,
lables and provide an accent mark ().
The accent mark is not to be ignored; since that bird is still called sis in Arabic.
it indicates which syllable is to get pri- (Jer. 8:7) Additionally, names of birds and
mary stress in pronunciation. Thus at Job beasts in the Bible may be onomatopoeic
(im itating the sound the creature makes,
2:11 in the New World Translation of the
just as cluck, hoot, and quack help
Holy Scriptures appears the name El'i- to identify chickens, owls and ducks in
phaz the Te'man ite. By placing the stress English). The Hebrew name
for exon the correct, accented syllable, this ample, appears to fit the shrill si-si-si cry
would be pronounced: EL'i phaz the TE- of the swift.
m anite. Five of the names at Acts 6:5
Nevertheless, because of insufficient inare correctly pronounced: PROCH'orus, formation, translators are not sure of the
Ni CA'nor, TTmon, PAR'me nas and Ni-co- exact meaning of all Bible nouns. The HeLA'us.
brew word tin she'meth (as at Leviticus
So if you are going to do public reading 11:18) has been identified with the water
and there are a number of Bible names, hen, eagle owl, ibis and swan by various
prepare well by actually saying these modem translators.
names out loud to yourself. Be certain you
Future developments w ill undoubtedly
have the correct pronunciation by check- reveal the exact meaning of such questioning an appropriate Bible translation or able (and, it m ight be added, relatively
Bible dictionary. A fine help for pronuncia- minor) terms. In fact, some points will no
tion of Bible names in the English lan- doubt be clarified only by the firsthand
guage is the book Aid to Bible
- testim ony of those who were alive when
standing. It also helps to pay attention to the Bible was written. The evidence will
how experienced persons pronounce Bible be forthcoming in Gods new order, when
names; if you have been pronouncing them ancient Hebrews and other peoples come
in a different way, investigate. If you do back from the dead in the promised respublic reading, you want to do it well, ap- urrection of the righteous and the unplying yourself also to the m atter of righteous.Acts 24:15; John 5:28, 29.
January

would not find anything of value,

would you enjoy the digging? But
what if you were guaranteed to find all
the gold and silver needed to assure you
financial security? Your digging would be
much more enjoyable because you would
know it would be rewarding. You would
have real motivation for digging.
Then what about the riches that Jehovah God has promised? He has promised:
The righteous themselves w ill possess the
earth, and they w ill reside forever upon
it. They w ill indeed find their exquisite
delight in the abundance of peace. And
he will wipe out every tear from their
eyes, and death will be no more, neither
w ill mourning nor outcry nor pain be any
more.Ps. 37:11, 29; Rev. 21:4.
Such riches are far greater than anything that gold or silver can buy. No effort you could exert would bring such
great rewards as does a study of the Creator in his own Word, the Holy Bible. As
Jesus said: This means everlasting life,
their taking in knowledge of you, the only
true God, and of the one whom you sent
forth, Jesus Christ.John 17:3.
How diligent should you be in this
search, since the rewards are so great?
Gods Word answers: If, moreover, you
call out for understanding itself and you

^ YOU find personal study enjoy I / able? Or do you consider it unpleasant work that you try to avoid?
Many persons who now enjoy personal
study did not at one tim e. But they cultivated the ability to enjoy it. Most persons cam do the same if they want to.
How? If you are a person who does not
find joy in personal study now, what steps
can you take to work toward that end?
And by personal study, we mean that
which you would do by yourself, apart
from group or fam ily studies.
PROPER MOTIVATION

The first step in cultivating joy in personal study is perhaps the most important.
It is having the proper motivation, having
strong reasons why you should study. This
w ill build up in you a desire to study. In
this regard the book Effective Study notes
of its study suggestions: It has been
found that the student must sincerely desire to improve his study skills before
these projects can be of much assistance.
Mere exposure to such a program will not
help him.
If someone told you to dig a deep hole
in the ground, but that you definitely
60

J anuary 15, 1971

SEeWATCHTOWER,

61

First, analyze the tim e you devote to

give forth your voice for discernment itself, if you keep seeking for it as for nonessential things. For example, if you
silver, and as for hid treasures you keep have a television set, how much tim e do
searching for it, in that case you will un- you spend watching it? How much time
derstand the fear of Jehovah, and you do you spend going to movies, making
will find the very knowledge of God. small talk over the phone, reading
worldly magazines and books, or in other
Prov. 2:3-5.
Appreciate, too, that Gods new order nonessential activities? If you actually
wrote down the number of hours involved,
is already
inthe making. The government
of God for controlling all the earth is now you might be shocked to see how much
in operation. The future inhabitants of tim e you really have.
This is not to say that proper recreation
that paradise are now being gathered. Instructions for the changeover to the new is wrong. Recreation adds to the enjoyorders way of life are now being studied ment of life. But is such enjoyment so imand applied. Thus, what a person now portant that some of that tim e, if necesstudies of Gods w ill is of permanent value sary, cannot be devoted to learning about
Jehovah? Consider: How much closer to
to him.
You need to appreciate, too, that if you Jehovah will all that nonessential activity
are making progress in true Christianity bring you?
Working for a living, keeping house, and
great changes for the good have likely
such
activities are considered among the
taken place in your life already. How
essential
things of life. Yet, n ot even
have these come about? By your study of
these
things,
of themselves, w ill bring you
Gods Word. But there is much more that
closer
to
eternal
life! Jesus said: Man
can be done. You can draw ever closer to
must
live,
not
on
bread alone, but on
Jehovah so you can better understand and
every
utterance
coming
forth through Jeappreciate his loving arrangements for
hovahs
mouth.
(Matt.
4:4)
Better to let
obedient mankind.
the house stay undusted for one more hour
or daybetter to have less than the best
FINDING TIME TO STUDY
Instead of picking up Bible publications food, clothing, and housingthan to give
at random, have in mind what it is you up our personal study of Gods Word.
need to study. Plan definite tim es for the
What is needed is balance. For everykind of study to be done. Then the tim e thing there is an appointed time, even a
spent w ill be more productive. Without time for every affair under the heavens.
such a plan, it would be like a carpenter (Eccl. 3:1) This certainly includes taking
hammering nails at random with no ob- care of our families, our daily needs, and
jective in mind.
can include recreation as well. But it simply
does not make sense to occupy all of
But when study is mentioned, many perones
waking hours w ith other things and
sons say: Oh, if only I had more time
neglect
something upon which eternal life
to study. I just cant seem to find the
in
Gods
new order depends. So take tim e
tim e! In todays busy world, you will not
likely find tim e that is not already being for personal study. Be as determined in
used. You need to determine that your this as you would if your life depended
personal study related to Gods Word is so upon itbecause it does!
At the headquarters of the Watch Tower
vital that you will take tim e from other
Bible and Tract Society in Brooklyn, New
activities.

B rooklyn , N .Y .
f&eWATCHTOWEFl
York, as well as its
ther branches this Bible reading? You may feel: Well,
throughout the world, M day evening is T il plan on an extra evening for that.
set aside as a study pe d. While it is But such extra evenings for study have
group study, you can stil
titate the pat- a way of not coming around. Why not set
tern by setting aside simi! time for your- aside time for Bible reading every day, a
few minutes each day?
self.
Who recommends daily Bible reading?
True, if you are not use
a good study
schedule, you may find ar ;ning, or even Jehovah does. He commanded Joshua:
two hours beyond you!
oacity. Then, This book of the law should not depart
why not start with a les
period, say a from your mouth, and you must in an
half hour? As you adju
0 it you can undertone read in it day and night, in
lengthen the tim e so mor
accomplished. order that you may take care to do acThe key is not just
ing the time cording to all that is written in it; for then
aside, but sticking to it re
Let noth- you will make your way successful and
ing but an emergency tal
ou away from then you will act w isely.Josh. 1:8.
The Bible commends the ancient Bethat period. If people a
>n the phone,
you can say you are bu!
and then call roeans because they received the word
back later. If they want
isit, you can with the greatest eagerness of mind, caresuggest another time. A >thers become fully examining the Scriptures daily as to
aware that this is your i
for personal whether these things were so. (Acts 17:
11) Those people had a living to make,
study, they w ill respect it
b uld memfam ilies to care for. But they set aside
bers of your immediate
time daily to study Gods Word.
Then there are other
that can
It is far better to have regular daily
be redeemed, such as wh
de a bus,
periods,
even if short, to read the Bible
subway or train, or are
it g for an
than
to
w ait for an entire evening that
appointment. Many use
le profitmay
never
come. Even ten to fifteen minably to read articles in
utes
each
day
can be richly rewarding.
and Awake! magazines.
Some make this Bible reading the first
thing they do on arising in the morning.
BIBLE READ .&
The m ost important reading, or study, Others do this reading every night just
that you can do is directly from Gods before going to bed.
Word itself. The word of God is alive and
An average reader can cover at least
exerts power and is sharp r than any two- two pages of the Bible in just five to ten
edged sword. (Heb. 4:1 ) By regularly minutes. If that is all the daily reading
taking in the powerful thoughts of God, you were able to do, in less them five
you will be further motiv ted toward use months you would cover the entire Chrisof other Bible-study help
tian Greek Scriptures! How richly reWhen can you arrange to use tim e for warding that would be!

62

In the w
0* your reminders I have exulted, just as over
all other
iluablethings. With your orders I will concern
myself, ai I will look to your paths. For your statutes I
shall show a fondness. I shall not forget your word. Uncover
m y eyes, / l a t I may look at the wonderful things out of
your law.
. your reminders are what I am fond of, as
menof my counsel.Ps. 119:14-16,18, 24

D IV IN E N A M E DISTRICT A S S E M B L IE S
EADERS of The Watchtower will be pleased
to know that arrangements are now well
under way for a series of district assemblies
to be held under the direction of the Watch
Tower Society from late June through August in the northern hemisphere. Some who
may be newly associated with Jehovahs witnesses or who are just beginning to study the
Bible with them have never attended any of the
large assemblies held annually by Jehovahs
witnesses, but we urge you all to be on hand
for one of these assemblies this summer.
Each of these Divine Name District Assemblies will feature a five-day program, from
Wednesday through Sunday, inclusive. There
will be a delightful program built around the
counsel of Gods Word. You will find the dis

courses, demonstrations, dramas and experiences to be practical and upbuilding for every
member of the family. Plan to be on hand when
the program opens early Wednesday afternoon,
and enjoy every session right through until the
conclusion Sunday afternoon.
Unless otherwise indicated, the programs for
the assemblies listed here will be in English,
but, as shown, some of the assemblies will inelude other languages or, in certain cases, will
be exclusively in another tongue.
To assist you in making arrangements to be
present, the dates and cities of the assemblies
are listed here. Decide now where you will
attend, make definite plans to be there, and
earnestly seek Jehovahs blessing on your efforts to do so.

UNITED STA TES

June 30-July 4: C incinnati, Ohio; Jersey City, N.J.
(te n ta tiv e ); New York, N.Y.
July 7-11: F lint, M ich.; G reensboro, N.C.; Jackson,
Mich.; Je rse y City, N .J. (S panish only) (te n ta tiv e );
L ansing, M ich.; Lincoln, N e b r.; Mangilao. Guam ;
P o rt H uron, M ich.; Sioux Falls, S. Dak.
July 14-18: A lbuquerque, N. M ex.; A nchorage, A laska;
F o rt W orth, Tex. (S panish also ); Los Angeles,
Calif.; M ilwaukee, W is .; M em phis, T enn.; P hiladelphia, P a. (te n ta tiv e ); P o rtlan d , Oreg. (te n ta tiv e );
Pueblo, Colo.; San Antonio, T e x .; San Francisco,
Calif, (te n ta tiv e ).
July 21*25: Chicago, 111. (Spanish only); Corpus Christf, Tex. (Spanish only); Pom ona, Calif. (Spanish
only); Shreveport, L a.; W ailuku, Maui, H aw aii.
July 28 A ugust 1: A tlan ta , Ga. (Spanish also); Buffalo,
N.Y. (te n ta tiv e ); Greenville, S.C.; Spokane, W ash.;
T ulsa, Okla.

A ugust 4-8: Lihue, K auai, H aw aii.

A ugust 18-22: H onolulu, Oahu, H aw aii.

CANADA
July 7-11: V ancouver, B.C.
July 14-18: H alifax, N .S.; M ontreal, Que. (English,
F re n c h ); W innipeg, Man.
July 21-25: P o rt A lberni, B.C. (te n ta tiv e ).
July 28-A ugust 1: London, Ont. (te n ta tiv e ); Saskatoon, Saak.; T oronto, Ont. (Italian only) (ten tativ e).
A ugust 4-8: Sudbury, Ont.
A ugust 11-15: C algary, A lta.
A ugust 18-22: St. Jo h n 's, N ew foundland.

Can it be stated flatly that only baptized witnesses of Jehovah will survive Armageddon?
A. S., U.S.A.
It would be misleading to answer this question with either a simple Yes or a No. The
Scriptural answer of necessity must be a qualified one, and it is easy to see why.

At 1 Corinthians 7:14 the Bible shows that

God can consider as holy the minor children
of a Christian parent. Though they are young
and not yet to the point of being personally
responsible to Jehovah, their parent is trying
to develop in them a love of God and of the
way of righteousness. It seems clear that at
the time of the destructive war of Armageddon
God will preserve them on the basis of the
family merit of the Christian parent, even
though the children are not yet dedicated and
baptized.
The reply must also be qualified because
the Bible does not pointedly say how God is
going to handle certain unusual cases, such as
those involving mentally retarded persons who

BRITISH ISLES
July 7-11: Sunderland.
July 21-25: M anchester (te n ta tiv e ).
A ugust 4-8: London.

63

64

SEeWATCHTOWER,

B rooklyn , N .Y .

never had the capacity to learn about Jehovah from doing so, would be preserved by God
and his purposes. Regarding these unbaptized through the coming destruction.
We are aware that many hypothetical or
persons, it is possible that family merit may
apply as in the case of minor, irresponsible What if . . . cases can be raised, cases that
children who have a faithful believing parent seem to involve extenuating circumstances.
What point, though, is there in speculating on
or guardian.
Nonetheless, these special instances do not these? Jesus illustration of the ,sheep *and
diminish in any way the importance of dedica- ,,goats makes it plain that a time will come
tion and baptism for those desiring Gods favor when the division between the sheep and the
and protection through the destructive climax goats will be clear and final. (Matt. 25:31-46)
of this wicked system of things. God urges Instead of looking for loopholes in God*s
those truly interested in survival to seek righ- arrangement for salvation, what all humans
teousness and to call on him in faith. (Zeph. who desire preservation need to do is take full
2:2, 3; Joel 2:32) That obviously means that a advantage of Gods merciful opportunity to
person must do all in his power to do Gods will. serve him. And they need to do so now, before it
becomes too late to begin thinking about beAnd what is that will as regards baptism?
Jesus was baptized in water, setting an exam- coming a servant of Jehovah. The sheep who
pie for Christians. (Matt. 3:13-17; 1 Pet. 2:21) are preserved into everlasting life will be
Among his final instructions to his disciples is responsible persons who do Gods will as comthe command to make disciples of people of pletely as possible. (1 John 2:17) The Bible
all the nations, baptizing them. (Matt. 28:19, shows without doubt that Jehovahs will for
20) And one has but to read the book of Acts humans today includes being baptized and
to see that early Christians recognized that being public witnesses of him.Rom. 10:10.
Jesus compared our time, faced as it is with
baptism was a necessary step of obedience for
the end of this wicked system of things, to the
all desiring Gods favor.Acts 2 :3 7 1 6 : 3 0 -3 3 ;41.
days of Noah. (Matt. 24:36-39) And drawing
Neither the Watch Tower Society nor any on Noahs experience, the apostle Peter added:
human today can lessen the force of that indiThat which corresponds to this is also now
cation of Gods will. There appears to be no saving you, namely, baptism, (not the putting
Biblical reason for thinking that a person away of the filth of the flesh, but the request
who had a reasonable knowledge of Bible truth made to God for a good conscience).** (1 Pet.
and knew the importance of dedicating his life 3:20, 21) So all who desire salvation ought
to God and being baptized, but who held back to recognize how vital the step of baptism is.

ANNOUNCEMENTS

WATCHTOWER STUDIES FOR THE WEEKS

February 14: Do You Believe in Evolution or

in Creation? Page 40. Songs to Be Used:
91, 100.
February 21: Evolution Undermines Faith.
Page 46. Songs to Be Used: 70, 71.
February 28: Benefits That Accompany Faith
in the Creator. Page 52. Songs to Be Used:
104, 110.

y 4 n n o tin c in ff

FEBRUARY 1, 1971

JEHOVAHS
KINGDOM

Semimonthly

PROCLAIM ING G O O D NEW S

WORLD W IDE
MADAGASCAR DENIES
FREEDOM OF WORSHIP
WHEN WILL G O DS WILL BE
DONE ON EARTH?

WTB&TS

YOU ARE MY WITNESSES, SAYS JEH O VAH.-Isa.43:12

T H E PU R PO SE O F 'T H E W A T C H T O W E R
E v ery w a tc h to w e r has its purpose. It serves as an elevated place fo r a
w id e-a w ak e person w ith sharp vision. It enables him to see far ahead into
the distance and tell those b elow for w h o m he is a w atch m an w h a t is
draw in g near, w h e th er it is a danger against w h ich to prepare o r it is
som ething good over w h ich to be glad w ith strong faith and hope.
Because o f having the nam e "The W a tc h to w e r this m agazine ju stly
has to render a sim ilar useful service to the people o f all nations. T h is is
an in tern ational m agazine and makes no racial distinctions, for w e are all
facing a com m on w o rld danger; w e are all hoping fo r a com m on good.
E ver since "The W a tc h to w e r began to be published in J u ly o f 1 6 7 9 it
has looked ahead into the future, alw a y s striving to aid its readers to advan ce in k now ledge and to gain a clearer picture o f the glorious n e w order
o f things th at is in store for righteous m ankind. N o , "The W a tc h to w e r
is n o inspired prophet, but it follow s and explains a Book o f prophecy the
predictions in w h ich have proved to be unerring and unfailing till n o w .
"T he W a tc h to w e r is therefore under safe guidance. It m a y be read w ith
confidence, fo r its statem ents m ay be checked against that prophetic Book.
A m o n g th e m a n y nations o f today there are hundreds o f differing
religions. W h ic h one does this m agazine present? N o t the confused religions
o f C hristendom , but the religion o f the oldest sacred Book on earth. W h ic h
Book? T h e Sacred Bible o f the H o ly Scriptures, w r itte n b y inspiration in
the nam e o f the C reator o f heaven and earth, the o n ly living and tru e G od.
T h e sacred, nonpolitical purpose o f "The W a tc h to w e r is accord in gly
to encourage and prom ote study o f the H o ly Bible and to give our m a n y
readers the needed unsectarian help to understand th at Book o f true
religion and infallible prophecy. T hus this m agazine w ill be helping them
to prove w o r th y o f perfect life and happiness in G o d s promised n e w order
under H is everlasting kingdom o f righteousness.

PUBLISHED BY TH E
WATCH TOW ER BIBLE AND TRACT SOCIETY O F PENNSYLVANIA
117 Adams S treet
Brooklyn, N.Y. 11201, U.S.A.
N. H. K norr, P resident
Grant S uiter, Secretary

They will all be taught by Jehovah.John 6:45; Isaiah 54:13

CONTENTS
When Will Gods Will Be Done on Earth?
Effective Use of Study Time Brings Joy
Love for Our Brothers and Sisters
Proclaiming Good News World Wide
Where More Proclaimers of the Good News
Are Especially Needed
Madagascar Denies Freedom of Worship
Look to God for a Reward
Where She Finds Refreshment
Loyally Advocate Gods Word
Questions from Readers

6,900,000

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'T ^ r in o u r ic ir ig
J E H O V A H S
KING DO M
February 1, 1971

N um ber 3

ET your kingdom come. Let your isting poisoning by mass pollution of air,
I . w ill take place, as in heaven, also land and water, the problem of feeding a
upon earth.Matt. 6:10.
growing world population that threatens
Nineteen hundred years have passed to double in the next thirty years, plus the
since those words were first spoken by breakdown in respect for authority and
Jesus of Nazareth as part of a model standards of moral conduct.
prayer given to his disciples. Since then
What solutions, then, do men offer? Rethey have been repeated by thousands of cently, Charles A. Lindbergh, discussing
millions of persons, thousands of millions the urgent need to prevent further damage
of times, all over the earth.
to the earth by modern technology, said:
Is what we see on earth today a fulfill- We need a policy and plan that covers
ment of that prayer? The answer obvious- our entire planet and extends to the utly is, No! Some persons may try to assure most of human capability into space and
us that mankind is in fine shape and that tim e.
the future looks good. But their statements
But who can offer such an earth-wide
have a hollow sound when compared with plan or formulate a worldwide policy that
the actual facts.
would work and effectively control human
Not wild-eyed fanatics, but presidents, capabilities? Are the scientiststhe ones
statesmen, scientists, historians and other that developed the atomic weapons and
men of repute today voice grave concern the modern technology that now endanger
about mans future. They warn that this our environmentthe ones to formulate
earth could easily become a colossal grave- such plan? And what government or comyard for men and animals if solutions are bination of governments could ensure the
not foundand found quicklyfor the enforcement of such a policy if produced?
If your mind turns to the most commajor problems facing the planets inhabitants. There is not only the possible trig- prehensive international organization men
gering of World War III with interconti- have yet produced, the United Nations,
nental m issiles carrying hydrogen bombs what assurance do you find? Speaking belacing the skies, but also the already ex fore a congress of World Federalists, UN
67

68

3HeWATCHTOWER.

B rooklyn , N .Y .

Secretary-General U Thant called for re- realistic is it to keep on putting hope in

forms in the United Nations and a body imperfect men to do the job when, after
of enforceable world law backed by the all these centuries, their leaders now adnecessary executive, legislative and judi- m it their concern and even anxiety for the
cial functions, saying: The degradation future of mankind as a whole? Rather
of our environment is now so serious that than think it strange to turn to the everunless immediate measures are taken, the lasting God for hope for the future, is it
very capacity of the planet itself to sus- not far stranger that people should keep
on trusting dying men to bring them out
tain human life w ill be in doubt.
About two months later, when opening of the worlds worsening situation?
Men of affairs admit that for any real
the tw enty-fifth annual session of the UN
General Assembly, Thant asked: Is it not improvement to come there must be full
high tim e for the leaders of this world cooperation on the part of people, rulers
to turn radically away from the errors of and subjects, earth wide. Selfishness, nathe past and to realize that understanding, tional and individual, must be set aside.
love and tolerance are the highest forms Do you personally see any genuine progof interest on our small and interdepen- ress in that direction? Are people in your
neighborhood changing in that direction?
dent planet?
Make no mistake about it, however. The
Understanding, love and tolerance
Bible
does not say that the needed change
has the United Nations made progress
will
come
about by world conversion of
in teaching these qualities and inculcating
all
persons
by religious organizations. It
them into the minds and hearts of people
foretold
in
plain
terms that conditions on
everywhere, all over the earth? The facts
earth
would
develop
to their present point
say No. Can we count on the worlds relifor
the
very
reason
that
the nationsrulgions to do this? N ot when we see how
ers
and
people
in
generalwould
stublittle they have succeeded in their centubornly
refuse
to
submit
to
Gods
w
ill
and
ries of existence and observe how unsetbring
their
lives
into
harmony
with
it.
tied and troubled they are themselves.
In the last book of the Bible, the nations of the earth, their armies, and the
GODS WAY TO BRING THE NEEDED CHANGE
The Bible shows that the Creator of people, from both the free world and the
earth, man and all forms of life, is the enslaved world, are shown as opposing
only One who can and w ill provide the the carrying out of Gods w ill for the earth
global direction and moral guidance the by his kingdom. For that reason, Christ
inhabitants of this planet so desperately Jesus is represented as shepherding the
need. His selected means for doing this is nations with a rod of iron, ridding the
a government, heaven based and headed earth of all who oppose his Kingdom rule.
by his own Son, Christ Jesus. That gov- (Rev. 19:11-21) This is, in fact, what you
emment is the Kingdom for which per- pray for if you pray, Let your kingdom
come. Let your will take place, as in heavsons have been praying for centuries.
en,
also upon earth.
But someone may here say, Just how
realistic is it to put our hope in God to
1914 THE TURNING POINT
straighten out m atters on earth if, after
As far back as its issue of March 1880,
nineteen centuries, that prayer still has this journal, The Watchtower, called atnot seen fulfillm ent?
tention to Bible prophecies focusing on the
Would it not be better to ask: How year 1914 as the date when what Jesus

F ebruary 1, 1971

SfEeWATCHTOWER.

69

called the appointed tim es of the nations know that the kingdom of God is near.
would end. (Luke 21:24) That would Truly I say to you, This generation will
mean this worlds system s would then en- by no means pass away until all things
ter their last days leading up to a great occur.Luke 21:28-32.
tribulation that would see those system s
Men of this world offer you nothing staforever end, replaced by a new system of ble, nothing sure. Their promises and preGods milking. (2 Tim. 3:1; Matt. 24:21, dictions of better things have failed time
22) Every year that has passed since 1914 and again. Why let yourself be carried
has served to strengthen our conviction along with them in a steadily downward
that this has been the case.
course to ultim ate disaster due to rejecting
As British historian H. R. Trevor- Gods will? Gods prophetic Word has not
Roper said in 1954: Since 1914 the world failed. Time has confirmed its truthfulness,
has had a new character: a character of its unerring accuracy. The generation that
international anarchy. Ten years later, saw the start of the tim e of distress that beKonrad Adenauer, then chancellor of Ger- gan in 1914 is now dwindling in numbers.
many, stated: Security and quiet have Before it passes off the scene the prophedisappeared from the lives of men since sied great tribulation w ill come. You can
1914.
be among the joyful survivors, experience
This magazine has also repeatedly deliverance from a world system that has
shown from the Scriptures that the proved oppressive, unworkable and death
distressing conditions that have devel- dealing. Why not investigate Gods prophetoped and inic Word and
tensified
seek knowlW H E N YO U SEE THESE THINGS OCCURRING,
edge and uns in c e 1 9 1 4
K N O W THAT THE K IN G D O M OF G O D IS NEAR.
d ersta n d in g
are so lid
"Nation will rise against Since 1914 two world wars have killed
proof that we
that
w ill give
nation and kingdom against more than 69,000,000.
you
the
faith
liv e in th e
kingdom."
g e n e r a tio n
you
n
eed
to
"There will be food short- Half the world called undernourished,
ages . . . in one place after with 3,500,000 dying every year from
en d u re now
that will see
another."
malnutrition.
and to win the
G o d s w i l l
"In one place after anothor From 1918 to 1919 some 500,000,000
p
r iv ile g e o f
take place on
persons stricken with Spanish flu; 21,pestilences."
life
in Gods
ea rth . Y es,
000,000 died. Other diseases take their
toll.
righteous new
th at we can
"There will be . . . earth- Since 1914 there have been recorded
order? Jehon ow do a s
quakes in one place after nearly twice as many major quakes as
vahs
witnessChrist Jesus
during the previous 200 years.
another."
e
s
o
f
f e r to
said: R aise
"Increasing of lawlessness." A plague of violence and Lawlessness is
h
elp
you
in
y o u r s e lv e s
now sweeping the earth.
gaining
such
erect and lift
.. Men become faint out of Fear is said to be "the biggest single
str e n g th e n you r h ead s
emotion" that dominates peoples lives
fear."
today.
in g, life-g iv up, b eca u se
"This good news of the Jehovahs witnesses preach the good news
in g k n o w l your deliverof the kingdom in 206 lands, their literakingdom will be preached
e
dge. Why
an ce is g e tin all the inhabited earth ture appearing in 165 languages.
not
w rite us
ting n ea r.. . .
. . . and then the end will
fo r s u c h
When you see
* These prophecies given by Jesus Christ are in Matthew chapter
help, free of
th ese th in gs
24 and Luke 21.
charge?
o c c u r r in g ,

EFFECTIVE USE OF STUDY TIME

RINDING joy and getting results
in personal study are not always
a m atter of spending more time at it.
There is another consideration, an.
even more important one. It is how
you use the tim e you do take.
Those whose study is fruitful and enjoyable do not necessarily put more time
in study than poor students. But they do
make more effective use of the time they
spend. They are skilled at study.
Some have difficulty with study because
of problems such as a slow reading rate,
poor grammar, or poor study habits. If
these are remedied, the student could make
far better use of the tim e spent and enjoy
it much more.
There are remedies for such problems,
but the remedies require effort. But then,
anything new usually does. When you were
a child, did you learn to walk confidently
overnight? It took months of repeated
falls. Now you enjoy walking with little
effort. If you are a housewife, your first
attem pts at cooking were likely frustrating and not very successful. But what a
calam ity for your fam ily if you had given
up trying to learn! If you play a musical
instrument, your first tries and the constant practice were likely not very enjoyable. But by persisting you became proficient enough to enjoy it.
So, too, with study habits. You cannot
expect to improve them without hard effort, particularly at first. But in time, good
study procedures will become easier, even
habitual. They w ill then make your per

sonal study far more effective and enjoyable.

Do you want the best help anyone can
give you toward improving your study?
Who could help better than the One who
created your mind? Since study related to
the Bible involves Jehovah, and the material is provided by means of his spirit
and organization, begin by asking Jehovahs assistance. Jesus said: Keep on asking, and it will be given you; keep on seeking, and you w ill find; keep on knocking,
and it w ill be opened to you. . . . the Father in heaven [will] give holy spirit to
those asking him.Luke 11:9-13.
READING SPEED

One of the main reasons some find study

difficult is that they are poor readers. The
cure is PRACTICE. Do you want to cook
well? PRACTICE! Do you want to play a
musical instrument well? PRACTICE! Do
you want to be a good reader? PRACTICE!
But the practice must be based on proper reading principles. One habit poor readers have is that their eyes stop at every
70

71
SHeWATCHTOWER.
word, even each syllable in words. That as well as your eyes. It helps you to keep
is very slow and makes for poor compre- your attention focused on the lesson.
hension. A good reader w ill average sev- Josh. 1:8.
eral words for each stop. He w ill let his
So there is a difference between reading
eyes come to rest just a few tim es for a for general interest, which is much faster,
line of the length you are now reading. A and doing deeper study for a lesson, which
poor reader w ill stop many more times. is much slower. A good reader may be
Are you a slow reader? Practice reading able to move along at the rate of 1,000
more rapidly than you do now. Force your- words or more a minute w ith light maself to take in at least two of the smaller terial, but may slow down to 100 words
words at a time, then more if you can. or less a minute in deep study. Hence, do
At first you w ill lose some of the meaning. not expect to treat lighter material the
But soon you w ill develop the habit of same way you would deeper material.
reading faster w ith the same understandSTUDY CONDITIONS
ing as before. In tim e your understanding
As
you
prepare
to study, establish the
will improve, as you w ill come closer to
right
study
conditions.
reading thoughts instead of just words or
There are many things in a home that
syllables.
As you learn to take in several words can be of interest. If you do not shut these
with one stop of the eye, keep going. Do off as much as possible, they can divert
not let your eyes backtrack because you your attention before long. It would be
have missed a word. For lighter reading well, as much as you can, to elim inate all
you eventually w ill want to avoid any interesting sounds and activity from your
backtracking, as that slows reading down study area. This includes conversations,
television programs, and even a radio playgreatly.
Also, with lighter material, avoid pro- ing pleasant music.
nouncing each word out loud, or even movAlthough pleasant music playing in the
ing your lips. If you come across words background may seem to be desirable, it is
you do not know, w ait until you are fin- often interesting enough to divert some
ished with the article, or at least the para- of your mental energy. The efforts to pull
graph, then look them up in a dictionary. your mind back to the lesson w ill be tiring.
However, what if the subject matter is And pleasant music may tend to lull you
weighty? Would you want to read it the to sleep. There is a tim e and a place for
same way, rapidly? No. For instance, if pleasant music, as well as television proyou are preparing for the weekly
- grams and interesting conversations. But
tower study held at the Kingdom Hall, the private study period is not that time.
your reading method w ill be different. You
Since soft beds and pillows are associatmay have read the m aterial more rapidly ed with sleep, for serious study it usually
when you first received your magazine, is not good to lie on a bed or sit in a chair
but now for the actual lesson preparation that is too comfortable. You should be
you w ill want to slow down and digest one comfortable, but not overly so, as that
paragraph at a tim e, meditating on what might suggest relaxing, sleep. And if you
you read. With this kind of reading, as are already too tired or sleepy, then a brief
with Bible reading, reading out loud in nap or rest, or an invigorating shower, or
an undertone can be very profitable. This both, may be beneficial before beginning
makes use of your ears and your mouth your study.
F ebruary 1, 1971

72

B rooklyn , N .Y .
SReWATCHTOWER.
For serious study it is good to sit at a lesson? Consider the following five steps.
plain table in an attitude of work, since
(1) Survey the Material. First, correctstudy requires work. Keep the table free ly determine the lesson for that week.
from clutter, which is distracting. Have Then look at the title of the article, which
the necessary tools for study and as little will tell you what the subject is. Next,
else as possible on it. The lighting should read the Scripture text under the title,
be good, but avoid glare. If you can, keep which reinforces the theme. Lastly, go
room temperature comfortable, but not so through the pages of the lesson and read
warm as to encourage drowsiness.
just the subheadings. These steps w ill give
you an overall picture of what is to be disHOW MUCH MATERIAL?
cussed, the general plan of the material.
Some who are skilled in study spend This survey should take no longer than
whatever tim e they need to study an entire thirty to sixty seconds.
Watchtower lesson well in just one study
(2) Read the Question on the Paraperiod. But if you are one who can study
graph. Before reading each paragraph, go
seriously for only a short tim e to begin
down to the bottom of the page and read
with, then concentrate on just a portion
the question, or questions, for that parof the study.
ticular paragraph. This w ill call your atYou may choose the part that affects tention to the main points in that parayou more directly, or perhaps the begin- graph.
ning part. Cover that m aterial well. The
(3) Read the Paragraph. You may do
rest you w ill get to an extent by paying
this silently, but reading out loud, in an
close attention to comments from others
undertone, is even more effective, since
at the congregation study itself. By covyou are not trying to hurry anyway. And
ering a portion using good study habits,
as you read, read actively, not passively.
you w ill learn how to study correctly. In
Search for the answer to the question.
time, you w ill be able to expand this so
Meditate on the material. The heart of
you can cover the entire lesson.
the righteous one meditates so as to anShould you try to speed along and cover swer. (Prov. 15:28) Ask yourself: How
as much material as possible? No. Why does that information fit what I already
not? Because coverage of material is not know? How should I revise my attitudes
the main consideration. How much serious or actions to harmonize with what I read?
study m aterial would sink down into your Such searching and meditation creates
heart, where it really counts, if you were interest as well as sounding down the mato speed through it? What is bettermereterial into your heart. After reading the
ly to skim over a lesson and learn and reparagraph in this way, you can look up
member little or nothing? or to concenscriptures that are cited but not quoted, as
trate on a part of it, having those thoughts
well as looking up in a dictionary words
sink down deep into your heart? How
you do not know.
much good would excellent food do you if
(4) Give the Answer. Having done this,
all you ever did was to smell it, but never
now
look down at the question again. Can
ate any?
you answer it in your own words as though
you were explaining it to someone else?
EFFECTIVE STUDY
How can you improve effectiveness in If you can, then you know what the main
serious study, such as for a Watchtower point is. If you cannot, then go over the

F ebruary 1, 1971

SHeWATCHTOWER

73

paragraph again to search for that answer. able to study beforehand? For example,
It is helpful too, to underline the answer, what if you have not studied all the mamarking only key words or phrases. You terial presented in the Theocratic Miniscan underline an additional point or two try School? Well, since you are present at
of interest, but avoid underlining too many the school for one hour, why not pay carethings in one paragraph as this makes it ful attention to what is said? In that way,
difficult to locate the main ideas.
in a sense, you could be studying the ma(5)
Review. When you have finishedterial, benefiting from what the others
the entire lesson, or as much of it as your say. Since you are there already, what
tim e allows, review it to get the overall better use of the tim e could you make?
picture. Check the points you have underBENEFITS
lined and see how they fit the subheading
By
using
good
study methods, you w ill
under which the paragraphs fall. This final
find
that
your
reading
ability w ill imreview will help to fix points in your mind,
prove,
as
well
as
your
choice
and use of
since repetition is a key to learning. And
words,
and
grammar.
You
w
ill
learn
more,
if there are additional points you want to
and
remember
more,
as
Jehovahs
Word
check, or you have questions, then after
gets
past
your
mind
and
down
into
your
the lesson you can consult such helps as
heart.
the Watch Tower Publications Index or
You w ill be better equipped to make
Aid to Bible Understanding. Also, if you
judgments
when faced w ith important dehave the opportunity to talk to someone
cisions
or
issues
of right and wrong. You
else about the material, this will reinforce
w
ill
enlarge
and
make
stronger the shield
what you know about the subject.Heb.
of
faith
to
protect
you
from this worlds
5:14.
wicked
influences.
You
w ill give better
Now you are prepared for the Watchtalks,
more
upbuilding
comments
at meettower study that week. And you w ill find
ings
and
home
Bible
studies.
Yes,
the
more
the study hour far more enjoyable. You
you
learn,
the
better
equipped
you
w
ill be
can be an active participant and not just
to
give
others
the
reasons
for
the
Kinga passive listener. Also, when the paragraph is read by the reader, you w ill not dom hope within you.1 Pet. 3:15.
Thus, by improving your study habits,
be looking ahead to the next paragraph,
trying to find an answer, as some have you can grow spiritually strong instead of
the bad habit of doing. This poor practice remaining a spiritual babe. You w ill plant
deprives you of following the reading and your feet more firmly on the road that
having the paragraphs thoughts further leads to eternal life in Jehovahs new orimpressed on your mind.
der. So be diligent about your study. Do
Following the reading also enables you your utmost to present yourself approved
to confirm the pronunciation of difficult to God, a workman w ith nothing to be
words. It w ill help you to learn how words ashamed of, handling the word of the
go together when spoken correctly, all of truth aright.2 Tim. 2:15.
which helps to improve your speaking
Then you can be like one of those hapability. So follow the reading instead of py persons about whom the psalm ist said:
looking ahead to the next paragraph.
His delight is in the law of Jehovah, and
But what of other m aterial used at con- in his law he reads in an undertone day
gregation meetings that you may not be and night.Ps. 1:2.

T T OW m an y b ro th ers
try to change so that he would
and s is te r s do y o u
be like his brother? No. H e behave? N ot everyone has a
came angry. His face showed
brother or a sister in his famithat he was angry.
ly at home. If you have even
m in i
H ave you ev er f e lt a n g ry
one, you can be thankful.
when your brother or sister did
God made us so that we feel
something better than you did?
especially close to certain peoWe can learn a lesson about this
p ie . W e m a y h a v e m a n y
from what happened with Cain
friends, but brothers and sisand Abel.
ters u su ally care about one
Jehovah saw that Cain was
a n o th e r e v e n m o re th a n
angry. So Jehovah said to Cain:
friends do. When one is in
Why are you angry w ith your
trouble, the other helps out. Thats the brother? If you do what is good, I will
kind of brother you would want to have, show favor to you. But if you do not
isnt it?
change, sin w ill get a hold on you and you
But not everyone is
w ill do something very
bad.
An article specially designed for
good to his brother or
parents to read with their children
his sister. Have you ever
D id C ain lis te n to
seen brothers or sisJ e h o v a h ? Did he
ters fight each other? Do you think it is change his thinking? If he had really loved
right to do that? The Bible tells us about God, he would have paid attention to him.
a person who hit his brother. Do you But he did not love God. And he did not
know his name? He was Cain, a son of love his brother. So, do you know what
Cain did?
the first man.
One day he said to Abel: Let us go
One day Cain took some food that he
had grown. He made a gift or an offering over into the field. Cain had bad in his
of this food to Jehovah. His brother Abel heart, but Abel did not know it. So Abel
also made an offering to Jehovah. Abel went along with Cain. W hile they were
offered to God the very best sheep that there in the field alone, Cain hit his brothhe had. God was pleased with Abel and er. He hit him so hard that he killed him.
with his offering. But he was not pleased Wasnt that terrible?Gen. 4:2-8.
The Bible tells us that there is a special
w ith Cain and his offering.
lesson
that we should learn from that. Do
Why was that? It was not because Abel
you
know
what it is? The apostle John
offered the most. And it was not just the
tells
us.
He
says: This is the message
kind of offering that made the difference.
which
you
have
heard from the beginning,
The Bible tells us that God can see what
that
we
should
have
love for one another;
is in our hearts. He knows how we feel
not
like
Cain,
who
originated with the
deep inside ourselves. He could see what
wicked one. (1 John 3:11, 12) So brothwas in the heart of Cain, and he could see
ers and sisters should have love for one
what was in Abels heart. What he saw in another. They should not be like Cain.
Cains heart was not good.
Why would it be so bad to be like Cain?
What did God see in Cains heart? He Because the Bible says that he originated
saw that Cain did not really love his with the wicked one. Who is the wicked
brother. When Cain saw that Jehovah was one? The main wicked one is the Devil.
pleased with Abel and his offering, did he Cain acted like the Devil. The Devil does

BROTHERS
in

SISTERS

74

1, 1971

75
3EeW ATCHTOW ER
bad things to people. Cain was just the you know what the result was? These
same as the D evil is. So the Bible says brothers came to love Jesus, and they bethat it was just as if the Devil were his came his disciples. Isnt that fine?Acts
father. Think of that!
1:14.
Do you see why it is so important to
Now they were Jesus brothers in a very
love your brothers and sisters? If you do special sense. You see, the Bible says that
not love them, whose child would you be? Christians have many more brothers and
You would be a child of the Devil. You sisters than just those who live in the
wouldnt want to be that, would you? So same house with them. Do you know who
how can you prove that you want to be they are? Jesus said: Whoever does the
a child of God? It is by really loving your will of my Father in heaven is my brother
brothers and sisters.
and sister. (Matt. 12:50) That means that
But what is love? Love is a deep feeling all who do Gods w ill are brothers and
inside us that makes us want to do good sisters in the faith. They are a special
things for other people. We show that we fam ily of brothers and sisters. Did you
love others when we have a good feeling know that?
toward them. We show it when
Do you love all the brothers and sisters
we do good things for them.
in this big Christian fam ily? Jesus
The Bible says, God is love.
said that we should. He said: Every(1 John 4:8) God is always doing
one w ill know that you are my
good things for people. God made
disciples if you love one another.
the beautiful earth for us to live
(John 13:35) We cannot love
on. He gives us the sunshine and
just a few of them. We must love
the rain. Even before we loved
all of them. If we love them, we
God, God loved us. We can learn
wont stay away from them befrom this. Even before others do
cause we dont want to talk to
good to us, we can do good to
them. We w ill be friendly to all
them. We can love them first.
of them. We w ill always do
Jesus was the Great Teacher,
good to them. If
and he was like that. He had
ever they are in
brothers and sisters. The
trouble, w e w ill
names of some of them were
co m e to t h e ir
Joseph, James and Simon.
help, because we
Were they always kind to
a re tr u ly a b ig
him? No, it does not seem so.
fam ily.
They may have been among
When we realJ e su s r e la tiv e s w ho sa id
ly d o l o v e a l l
our brothers and sisters, what does
about him: He has gone out of his mind.
it p rove? I t sh o w s th a t w e are d isThey made fun of Jesus.Mark 3:21.
But did Jesus let anger grow in his c ip le s o f J e su s, th e G reat T ea ch er.
heart for his brothers and sisters? No, he A nd is n t t h a t w h a t w e w a n t to
did not. He showed love for them. And do be?
F ebr uary

If anyone makes the statement: I love God, and yet is hating his
brother, he is a liar. For he who does not love his brother, whom he
has seen, cannot be loving God, whom he has not seen.
1 John 1:20.

mtUNIIt MN IMS
World W ide
How comely upon the mountains are the feet of the one bringing good news, the one publishing peace, the one bringing good
news of something better, the one publishing salvation, the
one saying to Zion: 4Your God has become king! Isa. 52:7.
N YOUR minds eye see the earth as it ideal. Men have leaned upon their own
was photographed for the first time by wisdom and tried to rule the earth withthe Apollo 8 astronauts. See it hanging in out God. This has resulted in a colossal
the blackness of space with the rays of mess. Mankind has become divided into
the sun making it look like a giant multi- nationalistic groups that are constantly
colored bowling ball. Through bands of quarreling and fighting among themselves.
fluffy white clouds can be seen the spar- Vast cities have become asphalt jungles
kling blue waters of the oceans and the where people prey upon one another, actbrowns and greens of the land areas. What ing like unreasoning wild beasts. Violence,
a beautiful planet God created for man- crime, injustice and rebellion tire everykind! For all who dwell on it he has good where.
news. Do you know what it is?
4Man in his folly is even ruining his
2When one is looking at the earth from earthly environment upon which he dea point far out in space it is not difficult pends for life. He is polluting the a it and
to imagine why the Bible says that the fouling the rivers, lakes and oceans. He
angelic sons of God began shouting in has ruined fertile lands by unwise agriculapplause when God created the earth. tural practices and has ruthlessly slaugh(Job 38:7) It is so outstandingly different tered vast numbers of wild creatures, causfrom all the other planets in our solar
ing many to become extinct. Indeed, mans
system that the angels felt impelled to cry
out joyfully together in praise of the Cre- effort to rule him self without God has
ator, Jehovah God. Then when he populat- been a monumental failure.

ed the earth with living creatures and

capped his work on earth by creating man,
they had even more reason to shout in
applause.
3But what has happened on earth since
the tim e God created man? Because man
rebelled and turned his back on his Creator living conditions have been far from
1,2. How does
space, and how
it?
3, 4. W hat has
m ans efforts to

SOMETHING BETTER IS COMING

the e arth appear to one fa r out in

did the angels react when God created

For all who are sighing and groaning

over all the detestable things that are being done the Creator of this beautiful
earth has good news. (Ezek. 9:4) He has
set up a kingdom of his making by which
he will rule the entire earth in justice
and righteousness. Under its rule mankind w ill no longer be divided into warring

happened to the e arth as a result of

ru le him self w ithout God?

5, 6. W hat is the good news God has for m ankind, and

how were his actions regarding w ar foretold?

76

F ebr uary

1, 1971

SKeWATCHTOWER.

national groups but w ill live in permanent

peace.
8 Speaking as if it already has happened,
a Bible prophecy says: Come, you people,
behold the activities of Jehovah, how he
has set astonishing events on the earth.
He is making wars to cease to the extremity of the earth. The bow he breaks apart
and does cut the spear in pieces; the wagons he burns in the fire. (Ps. 46:8, 9)
These ancient instruments of war employed at the tim e when this prophecy
was written are used here to symbolize
all weapons of war. There w ill be no need
for them under the peaceful and righteous reign of
Gods kingdom.
TThe king of that kingdom has already been selected and installed in office. He is none other than
the tried and faithful Son
o f J eh o v a h G od, J esu s
Christ. He was spoken of
in B ible prophecy as a
tried stone, th e precious
corner of a sure foundatio n . (I sa . 2 8 :1 6 ) T he
whole structure of Gods
kingdom is built upon him
King. This prophecy in Isaiah goes
on to foretell that the rule of Gods
kingdom under Jesus Christ w ill be
one of ju stice and righteou sn ess.
And I w ill make justice the measuring line and righteousness the leveling instrument. (Isa. 28:17) As a plumb
line reveals the trueness of a supporting pillar in a building or of a wall so
the quality of righteousness that w ill predominate in Gods kingdom w ill cause
people to act in a straight and truthful
manner. How different it is today under
the unrighteous rule of imperfect men!
7. Identify th e foundation of Gods kingdom, and
explain w hy th e people u n d er th e K ingdom will act
in a stra ig h t and tru th fu l m anner.

77

Wicked people have made a lie [their]

refuge and in falsehood [they] have concealed [them selves].Isa. 28:15.
8W ith righteous rulers in Gods kingdom ruling the earth in justice, righteousness and peace, there w ill be no reason for
anyone to feel fearful and insecure. The
wicked will no longer be present to threaten them with violence and death or to try
to steal their possessions. Our Creator has
assured us that the wicked one w ill be
no more. (Ps. 37:10) Instead of the
earth being dominated by violent people
who rebelliously violate the laws of God,
people who are mild-tempered and obedient to those laws w ill possess it.
Jesus Christ him self foretold
this when he said: Happy are
the mild-tempered
8. W hy will no one under
th e rule of Gods kingdom need to feel fearful
o r insecure?

78

fEeW ATCH TO W ER,

B rooklyn , N .Y .

ones, since they w ill inherit the earth. home of Zacchaeus in Jericho, the home
This is certainly good news!Matt. 5:5; of Matthew and at the home of a ruler
whose daughter had died, just to mention
Ps. 37:11.
9
In view of the marvelous purpose Goda few. (Luke 19:5; M att 9:9, 10, 18, 23)
has for the earth his kingdom is good He also preached in the mountains, at the
news for mankind. It gives us assurance seashore and in the marketplaces. It was
that the wicked w ill not dominate the to all types of people that he preached
earth indefinitely, and it gives us hope for rulers, priests, merchants, fishermen,
much better living conditions to come. The tax collectors, harlots, soldiers, and so
fact that Gods kingdom has been estab- forth. Jesus thus set an example for the
lished in the heavens and that we are now way his followers should preach the good
living in the last days of the present wick- news of the Kingdom.
ed system of things is especially good news.
12 As Jesus walked about proclaiming the
To those putting their trust in that king- good news he was fulfilling the prophecy
dom at this tim e, Jesus Christ said: But of Isaiah 61:1, 2: The spirit of the Lord
as these things start to occur, raise your- Jehovah is upon me, for the reason that
selves erect and lift your heads up, be- Jehovah has anointed me to tell good news
cause your deliverance is getting near. to the meek ones. He has sent me . . . to
proclaim the year of goodwill on the part
Luke 21:28.
of Jehovah . . . to comfort all the mournBEGAN IN FIRST CENTURY
ing ones. To the meek and distressed peo10The proclaiming of the good news of pie of that tim e his coming among them
the kingdom began in the first century of with the good news of the Kingdom was
our common era. It was taken up by Jesus a pleasing sight indeed. His feet would be
Christ, and his followers were instructed a comely or pleasant sight. People would
to engage in it. As you go, preach, say- be grateful that he came among them being, The kingdom of the heavens has cause of the good he did for them. He
drawn near. (Matt. 10:7; 4:12-17) Al- brought to distressed people comfort, and
though the kingdom of God was not yet to downhearted ones hope. They learned
established at that time, the message was from him that God has purposed someappropriate and the Kingdom could be said thing better that would come by means
to be near because its anointed King, Jesus of his kingdom.
Christ, was present. He represented it.
13 Following the example Jesus set, his
11
Jesus took the good news of the King-disciples after Pentecost of 33 C.E.
dom directly to the people by going to preached the good news of the Kingdom
them and preaching to them. Then he wherever they went, even when they
went around throughout the whole of Gali- were scattered by persecution. However,
lee, teaching in their synagogues and those who had been scattered went through
preaching the good news of the kingdom. the land declaring the good news of the
(Matt. 4:23) He also preached to people word. (Acts 8:4) They were used in fulin their private homes. He called at the filling Isaiah 52:7: How comely upon the
mountains are the feet of the one bringing
9. Explain why Gods kingdom, especially its establishm ent, is good news for m ankind.
good news, the one publishing peace, the
10. (a) W hen and how did the proclaim ing of the good
news begin? (b) W hy could the Kingdom be said to
be near a t th a t tim e?
11. How did Jesus set an exam ple as to the way the
good news ought to be preached?

12. How did Jesus fulfill the prophecy of Isaiah 61:1, 2?

13. Describe how Jesus' disciples followed his example
of preaching a fte r Pentecost.

F ebruary

1, 1971

SEeW ATCH TO W ER

79

one bringing good news of something bet- turn, w ill they put faith in him of whom
ter, the one publishing salvation, the one they have not heard? How, in turn, w ill
saying to Zion: Your God has become they hear without someone to preach?
king! Those that went to other lands How, in turn, w ill they preach unless they
also preached the good news. The Bible have been sent forth? Just as it is written:
gives detailed information on how the How comely are the feet of those who deapostle Paul and those traveling with him clare good news of good things!( Rom.
did this in several lands over a period of 10:14,15) See how Paul quoted the prophmany years. Like Jesus they went directly ecy at Isaiah 52:7 and applied it to those
to the people, calling at their homes and following Jesus example of proclaiming
talking to them in the marketplaces and the good news.
in other locations where the public gath16 As a result of the zealous and diligent
ered.
preaching effort of the early Christian
14 To a group of persons in Asia Minororganization people in many lands heard
who had embraced the hope of Gods king- the good news and became believers. Redom because of his efforts, the apostle Paul porting the results of the first missionary
said: You well know how from the first tour by Paul and Barnabas through Cyday that I stepped into the district of Asia prus and Asia Minor, the Bible says:
When they had arrived and had gathered
I was with you the whole time, slaving
the congregation together, they proceeded
for the Lord with the greatest lowliness of
to relate the many things God had done by
mind and tears and trials that befell me
means of them, and that he had opened
by the plots of the Jews; while I did not
to the nations the door to faith.( Acts
hold back from telling you any of the
14:27) The people in these other lands
things that were profitable nor from teachwho listened and responded in faith to
ing you publicly and from house to house.
what they heard were m ost grateful that
(Acts 20:18-20) See how he expended himPaul and Barnabas had come to them.
self so people could learn the good things
They certainly regarded the feet of these
that God has purposed for mankind. Were
publishers of good news as comely. Thus
not his feet also comely or pleasant in
the good news spread throughout the Roappearance to the many people he comman Empire, and a great many people beforted with the good news?
came part of Gods organization. But that
15The anointed followers of Jesus who was just the beginning.
have the prospect of eventually ruling with
him fulfill the prophecy at Isaiah 52:7. PREACHED IN ALL THE INHABITED EARTH
This is indicated by Paul himself. They
17 After the death of the apostles the
too publish peace, bring good news of Christian organization began to deteriosomething better and publish salvation. rate because of corrupting beliefs brought
Pointing out the need for them to preach into it from false religions. Also individthe good news to others, Paul wrote: uals began promoting their own ideas,
However, how w ill they call on him in causing divisions in the congregations.
whom they have not put faith? How, in These self-important persons gathered to
14. How did P aul describe his efforts to help people
learn of Gods purposes?
15. Why can we be certain th a t the prophecy a t Isaiah
52:7 applies to Je su s anointed follow ers?

16. W hat was the result of th e preaching done by the

early Christian organization?
17,18. W hat happened to the C hristian organization
a fte r the death of the apostles?

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S&eW ATCHTOW ER

them selves members of the congregation

and went off on their own course. All this
was foretold by the apostle Paul. I know
that after my going away oppressive
wolves will enter in among you and will
not treat the flock with tenderness, and
from among you yourselves men will rise
and speak twisted things to draw away the
disciples after them selves.Acts 20:29,
30.
18 From this corrupting of the Christian
organization came a fusion religion that
appeared outwardly to be Christian but
actually was fused with falsities of paganism. Because of being filled with pagan
beliefs and practices it became less objectionable in the Roman Empire, eventually being made to dominate it. As
m ight be expected, this corrupted organization did not carry on the preaching of
the good news of the Kingdom and did not
encourage the people to do so. Its people
became spiritually dead.
19 In view of this, we can see that it
was not the true Christian organization
but one that even used m ilitary arms to
force people throughout Europe to become so-called Christians. This was not
the way Jesus instructed his followers to
make disciples. Such forced conversions
were the result of twisted thinking by men
who thought more of their own ideas than
of Gods Word of truth. Such men had become a clergy class that preached the religious philosophies of men to church
members who formed an inactive and inferior laity class. This was not Gods way,
and the religious organization that prompted it was not his. Although the preaching
of the good news stopped, it was not Gods
w ill that it should cease permanently. It
was his will that it should be preached in
all the inhabited earth.
19. Can Gods C hristian organization be blam ed for
conversions by th e sw ord?

B r o o k l y n , N .Y .

20After a lapse of many centuries God

revived the preaching of the good news
in the latter part of the nineteenth century. This revival started w ith a small
group of Bible students in Allegheny, Pennsylvania, U.S.A. It had become evident to
them that the churches of Christendom
were not fulfilling the commission that Jesus Christ gave to his followers. Instead,
they were engrossed in politics, social activities, human philosophy, unscriptural
teachings and human traditions. Seeing the
need for proclaiming the good news, these
modern-day followers of Jesus Christ expressed their willingness to serve as did
Isaiah. That prophet said: I began to
hear the voice of Jehovah saying: Whom
shall I send, and who w ill go for us? And
I proceeded to say: Here I am! Send
me. ( Isa. 6:8) So this group of faithful
Christians under the leadership of Charles
Taze Russell began taking up the longneglected work of proclaiming the good
news of the Kingdom. Gods Christian organization began to reappear.
21 From that small beginning back in
the 1870s the body of proclaimers of the
good news has grown to an organization
of more than a million active Christian
witnesses of Jehovah today. This is Gods
active organization, and it has been doing
what Jesus foretold would be done in the
last days of the present worldly system of
thingspreaching the good news of the
Kingdom in all the inhabited earth for
a witness to all the nations.Matt. 24:14.
22Every dedicated, baptized person in
this Christian organization is a preacher.
All are spiritually active and are continually being encouraged by Jehovahs organization to continue being active in the min20. E xplain how the preaching of the good news was
revived.
21,22. (a) To w hat extent has the num ber of proclaim ers of the good news grow n since the 1870s?
(b) How have they been fulfilling Je su s prophecy for
the last days, an d how have they followed Jesus
exam ple?

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SHeW AT CHTO W ER.

81

istry. This is the way his organization was along with some other mature Christians
in the first century while the apostles were in Jerusalem. This group rendered decistill living. Like Jesus they have been go- sions, appointed persons to special service
ing to the homes of the people and to and settled disputes. Its decisions were
every other place where they can find binding upon the entire organization of
people who are willing to listen. To grate- Christians in that day as we see in the
ful people who have been comforted by fifteenth chapter of Acts.
the good news they have brought, they
25 When we read the fifteenth chapter of
are a pleasant sight.
Acts, particularly verses twenty-three to
23 In the first century the preaching of twenty-nine, we see the governing body of
the good news was directed considerably Gods organization in action. A dispute
to th e la n d s
that had arisen
bordering th e
am ong the
Mediterranean
C hristians in
THE NEXT ISSUE
Sea, but today
Antioch, Syria,
Enduring Trials That Test Our Faith.
we see it being
one that could
done throughnot be resolved
Family Study a Blessing.
out the inhabl o c a l l y , was
ited ea rth as
brought before
W hat the Coming of G ods Kingdom Means.
Jesus foretold.
it. After hearIn 1970, Jehoing it, the govvahs witnesses were busy preaching it in em ing body rendered a decision that was
206 lands, spending more than 267 million dispatched to Antioch.
hours at it and distributing approximately
26Today the organization that God has
232 million pieces of literature about Gods raised up for preaching the good news of
Word and purposes. Certainly this is the the Kingdom also has a governing body.
scale of preaching of the good news that It represents the faithful and discreet
Jesus foresaw over 1900 years ago as tak- slave class of anointed Christians that
ing place in the last days of the earth- Jesus spoke about in an illustration at
encompassing system of wicked men.
Matthew 24:45 to 47. These fulfill their
responsibility to provide spiritual food at
PREACHING ORGANIZATION
the
proper tim e, doing so through the
24 To carry on the worldwide preaching
governing
body. This governing body is
of the good news that God has purposed to
be done an organization is necessary. It closely associated with the board of anointis needed to unify the efforts of the hun- ed directors of the W atch Tower Bible and
dreds of thousands of Christians whom Tract Society of Pennsylvania.
God is using to do this preaching work.
27Unlike Christendoms churches that
Its governing body directs the work for have become involved in politics, social rethe best results and settles differences. forms, operating businesses and investing
Such an organization existed after Pentein business corporations, Gods organizacost in the year 33 C.E., and its governtion of faithful w itnesses has concentrated
ing body consisted of the twelve apostles
on only one thingthe preaching of the
23. Show how Gods organization today is indeed
preaching th e good news in all the inhabited earth.
24, 25. W hy is an organization necessary am ong those
whom God uses, and w hat evidence do we have of its
existence am ong the early C hristians?

26. Identify the governing body in God's organization

today.
27. E xplain how God's organization is devoted exclusively to serving his interests.

82

SEeWATCHTOWEFL

B rooklyn , N .Y .

good news of the Kingdom. It has not lost

sight of the commission that Jesus gave
his followers to make disciples of people
of all the nations and to teach them to
observe all the things I have commanded
you. (Matt. 28:19, 20) It therefore is fulfilling today Jesus prophecy about the
worldwide preaching of the good news of
the Kingdom.Matt. 24:14.
28When Jesus was preaching the good
news of the Kingdom he taught common
people such as fishermen and tax collectors
to be preachers and teachers of Gods
Word of truth. Unlike the scribes and
Pharisees who had been trained in the religious schools of higher learning of those
days, these common people had Gods
blessing and authorization to preach. They
actually did his will, whereas the scribes
and Pharisees did not.
29 So today, Gods organization teaches
and trains common people of all walks of
life to be preachers and teachers of his
written Word. They do not have to go to
a religious seminary of higher learning to
have Gods authorization to preach. It
even trains children to preach the good
news. Like the fishermen of Jesus day,
these common people are being taught to
do what they probably never dreamed
they could do.
30A special school established by the
organization also provides training for
those selected to be sent to other countries
as missionaries. An intensive five-month
course of study is given them in the Bible
as well as a foreign language. When they
arrive in their foreign assignments they
devote 150 hours a month to proclaiming
the good news of the Kingdom and teach-

81The very fact that the good news is

now being preached in all the inhabited
earth and on a scale such as never before
seen is evidence in itself that we are in
the last days of this present wicked system
of man-made governments. Jesus made it
clear that, when this would be seen along
with the other world events he foretold,
it would be the tim e of the end, and the
final climax would be near.Luke 21:28.
32 We have been in the tim e of the end
since 1914 C.E. During this tim e Jehovahs
organization of witnesses has been publishing peace, bringing good news of
something better and saying, Your God
has become king! This is what the prophet Isaiah foretold.Isa. 52:7; Rev. 11:17,
18.
33The tim e remaining to proclaim the
good news is very short. Much is still to
be done, for, as Jesus said, the harvest
is great, but the workers are few. (Matt.
9:37) If you want the blessings that God
has in store for those in his organization,
become part of it now. Join in the ingathering work by being an active proclaimer
of the good news. Let people know what
Jehovah God has purposed for our beautiful earth. Be one of those of whom Isaiah
prophesied that they would publish peace
and bring good news of something better.

28, 29. W hom did Jesus tra in to be proclaim ers of the

good news, and how is Gods organization today
following his exam ple in this respect?
30. W hat train in g is given to those who are sent to
oth er lands, and w hat has been the result of th eir
efforts?

31, 32. W hat is indicated by the worldwide preaching

of the good news, and w hat has Gods organization
been doing in fulfillm ent of Isaiah 52:7?
33. W hy is it im portant for everyone who w ants the
blessings th a t come w ith being p a rt of Jehovahs
organization to preach the good new s?

ing the truths of Gods Word to the local

people. Graduates of this special school of
Gilead have opened up the work of preaching the good news in many lands, territories and islands of the world. They have
assisted thousands of persons to take a
stand for Gods kingdom.
HOW MUCH LONGER?

Wh e
0 1

MORE PROCLAIMERS OF THE GOOD NEWS

ah Eipw-iotCi! Needed
OR those who appreciate the
Ephesus. When they arrived he
Step over into
C hristian resp on sib ility to
spoke with them and reminded
Macedonia
proclaim the good news of God's
them of how he had expended
and help us.
kingdom, it is a thrilling experihim self so they could learn the
Acts 16:9.
ence to find people who plead with
good news. From the moment he
them to stay and teach them the
had step p ed in to th e R om an
truth. Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ, had province of Asia, which was an area that
this experience when he first visited the embraced the western part of the peninsucity of Ephesus in Asia Minor. It was la of Asia Minor and which had Ephesus
about the middle of the first century of our as its capital, he kept preaching the good
Common Era. He stopped there briefly on news despite persecution. This fine atti
his way back to Antioch, Syria, during his tude is what persons today need who go
second missionary tour. When people in a to where the need for proclaimers of the
synagogue heard him proclaim the good good news is very great.
news, they urged him to stay so they could
4On an earlier occasion Paul m anifesthear more.
ed his willingness to serve where more
2 Paul recognized that the need for preachers were needed. This was on his
preachers of the good news in Ephesus was second missionary tour. He was at the
great. He could not stay and help them town of Troas in the northwest com er of
at that tim e, but he promised to return, the peninsula of Asia Minor. There he resaying: I w ill return to you again, if Je- ceived a vision of a man of Macedonia enhovah is willing." (Acts 18:21) This he treating him to come over and help the
did on his third m issionary tom, staying
people of Macedonia. (A cts 1 6 :9 ,1 0 ) Recthere for three fruitful years. He built up
ognizing this as Jehovah's direction to go
a congregation in Ephesus that was speto
this territory where the need was very
cifically mentioned by the resurrected Jegreat,
Paul promptly boarded a vessel and
sus Christ more than forty years later.
sailed
to Neapolis in Macedonia. From
Jesus inspired the apostle John to commend the Ephesus congregation for its en- there he went to the city of Philippi, which
durance and labor but also to rebuke it for was on a trade route. It was always his
having left the love you had at first. policy to establish him self in cities that
Rev. 2:2-4.
were on trade routes, evidently so the
3A t the conclusion of his third mission- preaching he did would be carried by
ary torn, Paul stopped at Miletus, a small travelers to other cities. The congregation
town a little south of Ephesus, and he sent he formed in Philippi was always especialfor the older men of the congregation in ly grateful to him for his labors and often
sent gifts to him.
1, 2. W hat w as P a u ls experience w hen he first visited

Ephesus, and w hat did he recognize and prom ise?

3. How did P aul m anifest the rig h t a ttitu d e w hen he
spoke w ith the Ephesians on his th ird m issionary to u r?

4. How did P au l respond to th e plea to come to

Macedonia and help people th ere ?
S3

84

3EeW ATCHTOW ER.

*Paul set a fine example for Jehovahs

dedicated servants today. He put the interests of Gods kingdom first in his life
and was willing to go to other places where
the need for preachers was great. This also
appears to have been true of Aquila and
Priscilla. Paul met them in Corinth during
his second m issionary tour, and when he
left they accompanied him as far as
Ephesus. There they stayed and preached.
Persons who are dedicated servants of Jehovah today can m anifest the same willingness to serve where the need for
preachers of the good news is greater than
where they are.
PLACES WHERE THERE IS GREAT NEED

* There are many places today where the

need for more preachers of the good news
of the Kingdom is very great, and these
places provide fine opportunities for dedicated servants of Jehovah to make their
efforts in the m inistry as fruitful as possible in the short time that remains to the
present system of things.
7 Of course, if one of these dedicated
Christians is having good results in the
territory assigned to his congregation, and
people are responding to the good news of
the Kingdom by associating with Jehovahs organization, he is needed right
there. He has a fertile field for the ministry, and he m ight as well continue working it instead of going elsewhere. But
suppose the territory is being worked frequently without much fruit coming from
his efforts, what then? Should he slow
down or quit? By no means! His endurance
is pleasing to Jehovah God.
8 However, if he is in a position that perm its him to help out in another territory
5. W hat exam ple did Paul, Aquila and Priscilla set
for us today?
6, 7. (a) How can a Kingdom publisher m ake his efforts
m ore fru itfu l? (b) Should a C hristian move to another
te rrito ry if he is getting good results where he is?
8. W hy is it advisable to move, if possible, when a
te rrito ry is not productive?

B r o o k ly n , N .Y .

where more preachers are needed, would

it not be a w ise move for him to go to that
territory? A fisherman that finds that his
boat is in a location where the fishing is
bad will move his boat to fishing grounds
where the possibility of a catch is more
promising. He is interested in catching as
many fish as he can before the day ends.
As spiritual fishermen Jehovahs witnesses today want to work where their efforts
w ill be the most productive.
8It may be possible that a fam ily can
arrange its affairs so as to go to another
country where the need for preachers is
exceptionally great. In the United States
the ratio of publishers to population is one
to 524, but there are a number of countries
where the ratio is not as good, indicating a
great need for more preachers of the good
news of Gods kingdom. For example, in
Bolivia the ratio is one in 4,222; in El
Salvador it is one to 1,951; in Guatemala
it is one to 2,298; in Colombia it is one to
3,021; in Ecuador it is one to 2,095; in
Paraguay it is one to 2,963, and in Peru
it is one in 3,007. These countries are all
in Central and South America, where the
fishing has proved to be very good.
Some of them, however, still have entire
cities without a congregation of Jehovahs
people.
10
Now suppose we take a look at Africa
and see how great the need for preachers
of the kingdom is there. In Burundi the
ratio of Jehovahs witnesses to population
is one to 71,174; in Senegal it is one to
20,339; in Gambia it is one to 35,111; in
Ivory Coast it is one to 9,513; in Kenya it
is one to 11,094; in the Republic of Mali
it is one to 700,000; in Niger it is one to
106,296; in Tchad it is one to 50,000, and
in Uganda it is one to 98,234. These countries offer a fine fishing opportunity to
9, 10. If a person can move to a nother country, w hat
are some of the countries w here the need is very great
th a t he m ight consider?

F ebruary

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S&eW ATCHTOW ER,

85

dedicated servants of Jehovah who are

able to move to another country.
11There is so much interest in some of
these countries that the W itnesses there
have waiting lists of people who want to
study the Bible with them. In Kenya, for
example, they do not w aste tim e with persons who fail to keep appointments. When
a person fails to be home a few tim es
when the study is supposed to be held, the
Witness will discontinue the study and
spend his tim e w ith someone else who
shows more appreciation for it. If after a
study has been discontinued the person
promises to keep his appointments and
wants the study to be renewed, he is put at
the bottom of the list of those waiting for
studies.
12A missionary that went to Dahomey
reported that in a little over six months
she was conducting fifteen home Bible
studies. She writes: There is not enough
time to cope with everyone who would like
to study. We are getting well known in
the town and people just stop us and ask
if we w ill study with them . The good
fishing conditions in these countries are
indicated by the fine increases in the number of those associating with Jehovahs
organization. These too are active in proclaiming the good news of the Kingdom.
18 As might be expected, those who have
gone to countries where the need for
preachers is very great have had some
stimulating experiences. One who visited
some of the many islands in the Truk District found people who had never seen a
Bible and had never heard the good news
of the Kingdom. They eagerly listened to
him. When he left an island after preaching to the people for a while, they repeatedly asked, When are you coming
back? How like the people of ancient

14
If a fam ily is not able to go to another
country, it may be able to move to one
of the isolated territories within its own
country. Many W itnesses have done this
with good results. Some have moved to territories a great distance from their hometown, and others have moved only a few
miles away where more help is needed. In
some instances the territory is isolated
from a congregation of Jehovahs witnesses. The interest there must be developed
so a congregation can be formed. In other
instances a congregation may be present
but is small and weak. It is in need of help
and encouragement. In other instances a
congregation may need stronger leadership, and this provides opportunity for a
mature m inister in Jehovahs organization to move his fam ily to that town and
help that congregation.
15Much good can be done by mature
W itnesses who move where there is a small
congregation in need of help. By taking a
zealous lead in the m inistry they can infuse new life into the congregation and
help the local W itnesses to become more
productive fishers of men. (Matt. 4:19)
They can be a stim ulating example to the
local congregation, as Paul and his companions were to the congregation at Thessalonica. Writing to the Christians in that
congregation, Paul said: For we know,
brothers loved by God, his choosing of you,
because the good news we preach did not
turn up among you with speech alone but
also with power and w ith holy spirit and
strong conviction, just as you know what
sort of men we became to you for your

11,12. D escribe w hat W itness m issionaries are finding

in some of the A frican countries.
13. W hat did a W itness find in th e T ru k Islands, and
w hat question confronts you?

14. How can a person serve w here more proclaim ers

of the Kingdom are needed w ithin his own country?
15. How can m atu re W itnesses help a sm all congrega
tion?

Ephesus when the apostle Paul first visited

them. Can you respond to the plea of such
people in various countries to Step over
. . . and help us?
WITHIN ONES OWN COUNTRY

86

S&eW ATCHTOW ER

sakes; and you became im itators of us and

of the Lord.1 Thess. 1:4-6.
18The apostle Paul found great joy in
opening up new territories to the preaching of the good news of the Kingdom. In
his letter to the Roman Christians, those
living at Rome, he revealed this joy by
saying: In this way, indeed, I made it
m y aim not to declare the good news
where Christ had already been named, in
order that I m ight not be building on another mans foundation; but, just as it is
written: Those to whom no announcement
has been made about him w ill see, and
those who have not heard will understand. (Rom. 15:20, 21) This can be the
joy of W itnesses today who are willing to
move to an isolated territory where there
is no established congregation.
17 Those who move to where the need is
greater must necessarily be persons who
have a keen appreciation for the truth of
Gods Word and who m anifest this appreciation by zealous activity in the ministry.
They need to be persons who are strong
in the truth and able to make a defense
before everyone that demands of [them]
a reason for the hope in [them ]. (1 Pet.
3:15) They need to be persons who are
w illing to endure inconveniences, hardships and even persecution in order to carry on the m inistry. This was the attitude
the apostle Paul had. He said: You well
know how from the first day that I stepped
into the district of Asia I was with you
the whole time, slaving for the Lord with
the greatest lowliness of mind and tears
and trials that befell me.Acts 20:18,19.
THOSE WHO CANNOT MOVE

18 But what about those who cannot

16. W hat special joy did the apostle Paul have, and
how can W itnesses today share th a t joy w ithin th eir
own countries?
17. W hat kind of persons m ust those be who contemplate moving to w here the need for preachers is
especially g re at?
18,19. How can arrangem ents be m ade so those who
cannot move can serve w here there is great need?

B r o o k l y n , N .Y .

move? How can they serve where more

preachers of the kingdom of God are needed? It may be that within their circuit of
about tw enty congregations there is territory that contains many people interested in the good news, but perhaps the
local congregation has too much territory
to care for this interest. Arrangements can
be made w ith that congregation for W itnesses in another congregation to come in
and develop the interest. Why should they
spend their tim e in unfruitful territory
when there is better fishing in territory
that another congregation holds but which
is too much for that congregation to handie?
19
W itnesses in other parts of the circuit
who can travel to such a territory could be
assigned to develop the interest there.
When interest is found they w ill want to
start studies and to conduct those studies
regularly. This, of course, will be an expense to them in tim e and money. If they
are able to carry this expense they will
be able to serve where more proclaimers
of the Kingdom are needed without having to move from their homes.
MEETING PROBLEMS

20As might be expected, problems are

certain to confront anyone who goes to a
territory that is distant from his home or
who moves to another city or country.
For those who move it may mean they
will have to content themselves with accommodations that are below their accustomed standard of living. This will require an adjustment in their thinking in
order to continue preaching in that territory. It would be difficult to stay if they
kept thinking about what they had left
behind.
21Finding employment may be another
problem, but can we say that it is an im2022. Describe problem s th a t m ay be encountered with
accommodations and em ploym ent and how they can be
overcome.

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possible one to solve? In some instances

the local W itnesses have been able to help
a fam ily to locate work. In others it has
been necessary to take work that was different from what the person had been accustomed to doing. He may even have to
take work that does not pay as well, but
that may be necessary in order to stay
there where the need for preachers is
great. Here again developing the right
mental attitude is important. Paul pointed
out the view to take when he said: Having sustenance and covering, we shall be
content with these things.1 Tim. 6:8.
22 So the fam ily that moves will do its
best to get along on possibly lower income
and perhaps less desirable accommodations
so it can stay where more proclaimers of
the Kingdom are needed. This would be
putting the interests of Gods kingdom
ahead of material interests, as Jesus recommended.Matt. 6:33.
23The difficulty of leaving good friends
may be still another problem. Moving does
not mean the end of their friendships but
rather the opportunity to expand friendships. A fam ily w ill find new friends to add
to those it already has. Remember Jesus
promise that those who leave relatives in
order to proclaim the good news of the
Kingdom elsewhere w ill receive relatives
and houses a hundredfold. New friends
who are also dedicated servants of Jehovah
God will become as close as fleshly relatives. Because of their hospitality their
homes w ill be open to such persons. Graduates of the Watchtower Bible School of
Gilead who have gone as m issionaries to
other countries have proved Jesus statement to be true.Mark 10:29, 30.
24 No m atter what the problems may be
in trying to serve where the need for more
proclaimers of the Kingdom is great, the

25Those who are dedicated servants of

Jehovah ought to take stock of their situation and seriously consider going where
more preachers are needed. If a fam ily
thinks it can move to another country or
to another location within its own country
it must necessarily count the cost and decide whether it can m eet it or not. The reason why this is so necessary was explained
by Jesus when he said: Who of you that
wants to build a tower does not first sit
down and calculate the expense, to see if
he has enough to complete it? Otherwise,
he m ight lay its foundation but not be able
to finish i t Luke 14:28, 29.
28 Since the tim e left for this old system
of things is very short, it is only sensible
to work where our efforts w ill produce the
most fruit. If we are in position to make
a move, it is not reasonable to continue
struggling with unproductive territory
when the fishing is better in another
territory that is short of preachers. But

23. How can a person view th e leaving of

so as to serve w here m ore proclaim ers
news are needed?
24. W hat helps to m ake insignificant the
serving w here th ere is need fo r K ingdom

25. Before moving, w hat is it necessary fo r a fam ily

to do?
26, 27. W hy is it only sensible to w ork w here o u r efforts
will produce the m ost fru it, and how did P au l set
a n exam ple in th is respect?

good friends
of the good
problem s of
proclaim ers?

joy of being able to help people come to

a knowledge of the truths of Gods Word
makes them fade to insignificance. It
makes the effort and endurance worth
while. There is an inner satisfaction of
knowing that you are helping others and,
above all, are doing what is pleasing in
the eyes of God. Mature W itnesses know
the satisfaction that comes when their
efforts in the m inistry bear good fruit.
Think how much greater that joy can be
when the fruit is abundant because of
working in territory where the need is
great. Certainly there is happiness in unselfishly giving ones tim e and energy to
helping people to learn about Jehovah, his
Son and his wonderful purposes for mankind.
COUNT THE COST

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S&eWATCHTOWER
30It would be very fine if the fam ily
when a fam ily moves it should be able to
stay. So advance planning and counting of could spend most of its tim e in the minthe cost are essential.
istry as pioneers. Much more would be ac27The apostle Paul saw the wisdom of complished, and it would be better able to
moving to more productive territory when care for the interest that is found. This
he found him self where the fishing was is the best way to follow the example set
not good. It was for this reason that he did by Jesus and the apostle Paul, who denot remain longer in Athens. It was a rela- voted most of their tim e to the m inistry.
tively unfruitful territory. So he moved to
31The tremendous growth of Jehovahs
Corinth, where he remained for one and organization just since the end of World
a half years during his second missionary War II is good evidence of how fruitful
tour. This was what the Lord wanted him the proclaiming of the good news of the
to do. In a vision he told Paul: Have no Kingdom has been. It is also a good indifear, but keep on speaking and do not keep cation that the method used is the best.
silent, because I am with you and no man In 1945 there were 141,606 W itnesses prow ill assault you so as to do you injury; claiming the good news in 68 lands. By
for I have many people in this city. (Acts 1970, twenty-five years later, the organiza18:9, 10) This proved to be so.
tion had grown to more than ten tim es
28 If a fam ily, after counting the cost, de- that size, to 1,483,430 active proclaimers
cides that in one way or another it can in 206 lands. To these many people who
serve where more preachers of the good heard the good news and responded to it
news are needed, what should it do? the feet of those who brought it to them
Everyone in the fam ily should take the were comely, as the prophet Isaiah forem atter to Jehovah in prayer, asking for told. (Isa. 52:7) They are grateful that
his guidance and help in making the right there are people in these modem tim es
decision. Then they can proceed to make who are willing to proclaim the good news
all the necessary advance preparations so of the Kingdom even in distant places.
as to ensure their ability to remain in the They are showing their gratitude by also
new territory once they arrive. If possible, proclaiming the good news for the benefit
the new territory ought to be scouted out of still others. In doing this they follow
in advance, especially if it involves mov- the way recommended by Jehovahs orgaing. Accommodations as well as employ- nization.
ment need to be located.
32 Here we are seeing the fulfillm ent of
28Suppose the fam ily decides to go to the prophecy at Isaiah 60:22: The little
another country, what then? It can write one him self w ill become a thousand, and
to the branch office of the Watch Tower the small one a m ighty nation. I myself,
Society in the country where it wants to Jehovah, shall speed it up in its own tim e.
go, asking for whatever information may With the pace of response from the procbe needed. On the other hand, if the con- lamation of the good news of the Kingtemplated move is within the country dom rapidly increasing, it is clearly eviwhere the fam ily lives, it can write to the dent that this is the tim e when Jehovah
Societys offices in that country. The So30. W hat is the best way to follow the exam ple of
ciety w ill be happy to inform the family Jesus C hrist and P aul? W hy?
Of w hat evidence is the great grow th of Jehovahs
of places where more proclaimers of the 31.
organization, and how have people coming into th a t
organization shown th eir g ratitude th a t someone had
good news are especially needed.
28, 29. W hat is the procedure if a fam ily decides it
can move to where it can be m ore productive?

preached the good news to them ?

32. How are we seeing now the fulfillm ent of Isaiah
60:22?

F ebruary 1,

1971

SEeWATCHTOWER.

89

is speeding up the growth of his earthly how you can increase your efforts in the
great ingathering of people desiring Jehoorganization.
33The ingathering is great, the workers vahs favor and the benefits of his king
few and the tim e left to do the work great- dom. Seriously consider how you can
ly reduced. If you are dedicated to Jehovah increase your productiveness in the Chrisas one of his witnesses, seriously examine tian m inistry by working where more proclaimers of the good news of Gods king33. W hy is it necessary for Jehovah's w itnesses to
dom are especially needed. Could it be that
examine seriously how they can increase th eir productiveness as proclaim ers of the good news of the
it is where you are now living?
Kingdom ?

N THESE days of increasing crime and

violence, every country desperately
needs citizens who are peaceful, who respect the rights of their neighbors, and
who are obedient to the law of the land.
Jehovahs witnesses are such kind of
people. They have a deep love for God, for
their fellowman, and a respect for authority. They teach their own children, and
others too, the highest and most beneficial
moral standards in existence. Thus, many
countries in which Jehovahs witnesses
have long lived recognize that they are
the kind of people a country very much
needs in these tim es of hatred, killing, revolt and delinquency.
If you were in the seat of governmental
power, what kind of persons would you
want in your country? Would it not be
those who are peaceful and respectful of
authority? Surely that would be the reasonable and practical course. It would be
the criminals, delinquents, anarchists, drug
addicts, those who disrespect authority

both Gods and mansthat would be

undesirable.
It is for this reason that decent persons
all over the world are so shocked when a
government issues decrees banning its
most peaceful citizens! They find it difficult to understand such a tragic situation,
especially when that very governments
Constitution guarantees freedom of worship!
This very unreasonable and perverse action has been taken lately on the island of
Madagascar. This large island off the
southeast coast of Africa is also officially
called the Malagasy Republic. The motto
of this land is Liberty, Fatherland, Progress. W ith such a motto you m ight expect progress in respect to freedom of worship. But the progress has been in the
wrong direction. The Malagasy Republic
is closing its doors to freedom of worship!
Denying this liberty, the Malagasy Republic, in June 1970, informed all the missionaries of Jehovahs witnesses that they

90

B rooklyn , N .Y .
Sf&eWATCHTOWER.
m ust leave the country within a few days. State protects the freedom to worship.
Why all the hurry? Were they dangerous
But does the ban on Jehovah's witnesses
criminals or revolutionaries? No, yet the really reflect a determination to guaranreason given on the deportation order was tee the fundamental rights of man? Such
that their presence constitutes a threat to a ban tramples to the ground the guaranpublic order and security. Not a single tee of freedom to practice religion. The
fact was produced in support of this ac- Malagasy Republic has not shown respect
cusation.
for its own Constitution.
Obviously the matter is a serious one.
BAN ON JEHOVAHS WITNESSES
With liberty to worship according to the
Then on August 8, 1970, a decree was Bible being denied in Madagascar, what is
published in the Official Journal of the
any prospective visitor to that land to
Malagasy Republic. Decree No. 70-431 dis- think? Has he any assurance that his own
solved the A ssociation of Jehovahs witfreedom of worship and liberty would not
nesses. The ban, according to the decree,
be infringed by a government that chooses
is based on an ordinance directed against to violate its own Constitution? Would
associations and . . . persons convicted of you feel secure in a country that tramples
subversive acts.
on such basic freedoms?
But what subversive acts have JehoWhat Madagascar has done is fast bevahs witnesses committed? Again, no spe- coming news around the world, and it calls
cific actions were mentioned, and no wit- into question its adherence to the Declaraness of Jehovah was brought into court tion of Human Rights that has been issued
and charged w ith any subversive acts.
by the United Nations, to which the Malagasy Republic belongs.
DISREGARD FOR CONSTITUTION

The decree banning the W itnesses said

that the action was being taken in pursuance of the Constitution. But is that true?
What does the Constitution of the Malagasy Republic state? The Preamble to it, as
published in the Annuaire National of the
Malagasy Republic for 1970, states:
Affirming their belief in God and in
the eminent dignity of the human person,
determined to guarantee the fundamental
rights of man, . . . inspired by the United
Nations Universal Declaration of Human
Rights, the Malagasy people solemnly proclaim that:
All men have equal rights and duties
without distinction of origin, race or
religion. . . .
Freedom of thought, of conscience
and freedom to practice religion is guaranteed to everybody, provided that morals and public order are respected. The

NO THREAT TO PUBLIC ORDER AND SECURITY

In the 206 lands where Jehovahs witnesses preach God's kingdom and other
Bible truths, they have never been found
taking part in any uprising to overthrow
a government. Moreover, in their publications, which get worldwide circulation,
they urge obedience to governments and
respect for the laws of the land. Their Bible handbook The Truth That Leads to
Eternal Life, printed in thirty-two million
copies and in sixty languages, urges such
respect in its chapter Christian Obedience to Law.
Often the public press has commented
on the good public order and conduct of
the W itnesses. On the occasion of an international assembly held in France in August
1969, bringing to the Colombes Stadium
near Paris 47,480 conventioners from 78
countries, including the Malagasy Repub-

F ebruary 1, 1971

91
S&eWATCHTOWER.
lie, the French press was unanimous in I---------------------------------------------------rendering praise for the peaceful conduct
OFFICIALS OF M A LA G A SY REPUBLIC
of the W itnesses. A well-known newspaper
His Excellency
President Philibert Tsiranana
said in a report under a four-column title
Residence de Mahazoarivo
God in the Stadium the following:
Tananarive, Malagasy Republic
Brother Knorr [president of the
The Honorable Calvin Tsiebo
Vice-president, Justice
world organization of Jehovahs witnesses]
Antaninarenina
showed in his instructions that although
Tananarive, Malagasy Republic
the governments of this world will have
The Honorable Andre Resampa
Vice-president, Interior
to give way to the Kingdom of God some
Tsimbazaza
day, this does not authorize the Christian
Tananarive, Malagasy Republic
to try to overthrow the present systems,
The Honorable Jacques Rabemananjara
Vice-president, Foreign Affairs
nor to incite his fellow-citizens to disobey
MinistAre des Affaires Etrangeres
the legitim ate laws of the nations: JehoRue Jean-Assolant
Tananarive, Malagasy Republic
vahs W itnesses are not anarchists. They
Mr. Cesaire Rabenoro
pay their taxes and cooperate with the poSecretary of State for African Affairs
lice to maintain order. Le Monde, AuMinistere des Affaires Etrangeres
Rue Jean-Assolant
gust 7, 1969, p. 8.
Tananarive, Malagasy Republic
People who truly live by the Bible are
Mr. Jean-Francois Jarison
Minister of Justice
no threat to any government. And Jeho43, rue George V
vahs witnesses, as Colliers Encyclopedia
Tananarive, Malagasy Republic
states, place great emphasis on the BiMr. Rene Rasidy
Minister of Information, Tourism and
ble. Concerning the influence that the
Traditional Arts
Bible has on the W itnesses, the Dutch
Tananarive, Malagasy Republic
newspaper Het Stadsblad (The City JourMr. Pierre Bora
Director of National Security
nal), edition for Breda and Baronie, said
Tananarive, Malagasy Republic
in its issue of November 23, 1967, in an
His Excellency
article by journalist M. van Dael: For
Jules Alphonse Razafimbahiny,
Ambassador E. and P.
these witnesses the Bible is the book out
Embassy of the Malagasy Republic
of which all wisdom and all truth can be
2374 Massachusetts Ave. N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20008
drawn up. The method applied has been
His Excellency
grafted onto the system that the first
Blaise Rabetafika,
Christians used some 2000 years ago.
Ambassador E. and P.
Mission of the Malagasy Republic to
So the Malagasy ban on Jehovahs witthe United Nations
301 E. 47th St.
nesses is in effect a ban on the Bible and
New York, N.Y. 10017
Christianity, which they preach and teach.
APPEAL TO GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS

If you love freedom of worship and wish

to help these peaceful Christians to regain their fundamental rights to worship God according to the dictates of their
consciences, we invite you to write respectfully to the ambassador of the Malagasy
Republic in your country and to government officials in Madagascar.

The government officials can be asked to

investigate the facts: That throughout the
earth Jehovahs witnesses are known as
Christians that do not meddle in politics;
that they everywhere respect the country
in which they live and that they prove it.
How? By not defrauding the government
of tax money, by not plotting against rul-

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f&eWATCHTOWER-

B rooklyn , N .Y .

ers or engaging in political strife, and by

building up the community by teaching the
Bibles high moral principles.
You may wish to entreat the officials to
heed the warning issued to the religious
persecutors of the apostles of Jesus Christ:
Do not meddle w ith these men, but let
them alone; (because, if this scheme or
this work is from men, it w ill be overthrown; but if it is from God, you will not
be able to overthrow them;) otherwise,
you may perhaps be found fighters actually against God.Acts 5:38, 39.
The Constitution of the Malagasy Republic speaks of affirming their belief in
God. In your appeal you m ay wish to
urge them, if that is really true, to refrain

from fighting a losing battle against Jehovah God. Your written appeal m ay request to hear at the earliest possible tim e
the news published to the whole world
that the Malagasy Republic has revoked
its ban on the Christian witnesses of Jehovah and has once again dignified itself
by granting to these peaceful Christians
the religious freedom that the Malagasy
Constitution guarantees.
Lovers of freedom of worship, having
made this appeal, w ill eagerly await the
response of government officials, not merely by written word, but mainly by the
favorable action of the government of
Malagasy Republic before the judgment
bar of Alm ighty God.

O DO what is right, to serve God

with the hope of a reward is not at
all selfish. It does not deprive either
or any fellow human creature of that
which is due a person. In fact, Jehovah
God, as a God of justice and love, obligates
him self to reward those who serve him.
Heb. 6:10.
It takes faith for one to serve Jehovah
God with the hope of a reward from him.
That is why so few people today even profess to serve God. Such faith is in itself
a virtue. Far from being selfish, it is only
a m atter of being grateful, of being appredative of the blessings that God offers on
the condition of obedience and right-doing.
Luke 18:8; 2 Thess. 3:2.

That is why Gods Word gives much encouragement to do what is right w ith the
God
hope of a reward from Jehovah. Typical
of this is what it tells about a certain
young Moabite widow, Ruth. Because of
her taking her stand with Jehovah God,
the God of her mother-in-law Naomi, and
for taking good care of Naomi, she was
told by a kinsman of her mother-in-law:
May Jehovah reward the way you act,
and may there come to be a perfect wage
for you from Jehovah the God of Israel,
under whose wings you have come to seek
refuge.Ruth 2:12.
That this prayer (which it was in effect)
was fitting in the case of Ruth can be seen
from the affection and determination she

F ebruary 1, 1971

93
S&eWATCHTOWERexpressed toward her mother-in-law: Do improve their lot in an honorable way, by
not plead with me to abandon you, to turn appeals to reason and in a peaceful manback from accompanying you; for where ner, they still can take comfort nevertheyou go I shall go, and where you spend the less. Take comfort in what? In the thought
night I shall spend the night. Your people that by doing that which is right they are
will be my people, and your God my God. pleasing to Jehovah God and will be reWhere you die I shall die, and there is warded by him both now and in the future.
where I shall be buried. May Jehovah do
Rewarded even now? How so? you ask.
so to me and add to it if anything but One of the ways in which God now redeath should make a separation between wards right doing is by his angels. Time
me and you. And Ruth was richly reward- and again those serving Jehovah God have
ed for her noble course of action. She be- been recipients of blessings that can only
came the happy w ife of God-fearing and be accounted for as being in answer to
prosperous Boaz and also the ancestress of their prayers, as coming directly from JeKing David and of Jesus Christ. She even hovah God through his angels. Then
had one of the books of the Bible named again, Jehovah Gods holy spirit is the inafter her!Ruth 1:16, 17.
strument used by him to reward his faithYour reward is from Jehovah. What a ful servants. And often God puts it into
happy thought, what a faith-strengthening the mind and heart of some of his faithful
thought! And who can hope to receive earthly servants to show kindness to felsuch a reward? Not the workers of iniq- low servants, thus rewarding them, as it
uity. God rewards only those who rec- were. Ruths reward from Jehovah came
ognize him as their God and endeavor through a human agency, the kinsman of
to please him. Ruth was of that frame her mother-in-law Naomi, namely, Boaz.
of mind as her words to Naomi clearly Ruth 4:9-17.
showed. How can it be selfish when Gods
That Jehovahs servants can indeed exWord tells us that to please Jehovah God pect such blessings from their God is clear
we must believe not only that he exists, from the promise found at Proverbs 10:
but also that he rewards those earnestly 22: The blessing of Jehovahthat is
seeking him .Heb. 11:6.
what makes rich, and he adds no pain with
Parents and children, husbands and it. Besides, did not Jesus say that if his
wives, employees and employers, overseers, followers would seek first Gods kingdom
ministerial servants and individual mem- and His righteousness all other necessary
bers in the Christian congregation all have things would be added to them? He truly
certain obligations to discharge. A t tim es did!Matt. 6:33.
some of these may feel that they are not
Still another reward that Jehovah God
being appreciated, that they are being exm ight be said to give at the present tim e
ploited or taken advantage of. Then again,
to those of his servants who truly seek to
it may seem that their tasks are boring,
please
him is peace of mind with contentmonotonous, frustrating, offering little or
ment
and happiness, surely no mean
no hope of betterment. W hile those with,wage.
Yes, godly devotion along with
out faith in God often feel so frustrated
self-sufficiency
is great gain. (1 Tim. 6:
and resentful that they create riots and
engage in other acts of violence, Christians 6) It is indeed a happy state of mind to
have no reason to do so. Rather, if unable be able to say as did the apostle Paul: I
to change their circumstances, if unable to have learned, in whatever circumstances

94

STkWATCHTOWER

I am, to be self-sufficient, that is, content. Thus we read regarding the patriarch
Abraham, who served Jehovah God to an
age of 175 years, that he died old and
satisfied.Phil. 4:11; Gen. 25:8.
Today it is also true that Jehovah God
rewards his faithful servants. Indeed,
there are faithful Christian witnesses of
Jehovah by the hundreds of thousands that
can testify to this. Proof of this is seen
in their life stories as they have appeared
in the Watchtower magazine. And proof of
this can also be seen at their large conventions, where their happy state is so noticeable by reason of their great numbers.
And then, of course, there is also the
hope of a future reward, which reward is
repeatedly held out in the Scriptures. Jesus assured his followers that they would
be repaid in the resurrection of the righteous ones. And the apostle Paul assured
Christians of this in the conclusion to his
powerful exposition of the resurrection,
saying: Consequently, my beloved broth-

B rooklyn , N .Y .

ers, become steadfast, immovable, always

having plenty to do in the work of the
Lord, knowing that your labor is not in
vain in connection with the Lord. Similarly he told Christian slaves of his day:
Whatever you are doing, work at it
whole-souled as to Jehovah, and not to
men, for you know that it is from Jehovah
you will receive the due reward of the inheritance.Luke 14:14; 1 Cor. 15:58;
Col. 3:23, 24.
No question about it, Jehovah God does
reward those who abide by his principles
and who do what is pleasing in his sight.
They have present rewards and can hope
for future rewards in his due time. Such
is not selfish but is m erely taking Jehovah
God at his word, even as Joshua reminded
the Israelites: Not one word out of all
the good words that Jehovah your God
has spoken to you has failed. They have all
come true for you. Not one word of them
has failed. (Josh. 23:14) So look with
faith to Jehovah God for your reward!

Where She Finds Refreshment

A woman, in her letter **To the Editors that
was recently published in Commonweal magazine, said: **How about Jehovahs Witnesses
as an example of a healthy, growing church?
80 percent of its members are said to be
former Catholics.
**Much of the secret of their success can be
found by reading their humble publications,
Watchtower and Awake. The first studies and
discusses the bible, and the second is on general subjects.
**Why is it, that after I read those magazines, with their rather old-fashioned graphics
and cheap paper, I feel refreshed, inspired,
and ready to roll up my sleeves again and
tackle life (in my case, the raising of seven
sons and two daughters)?
**Why is it that after I read certain Catholic
publications I feel tired, depressed, and a little
bored with religion? After unraveling the
tangled web of erudite words some writers
weave around a slight thought, I only wish I

I had expended the energy on some useful task

around the house.
I think the answer is to be found in Matj thew, Chapter 18. *Unless you change and become as little children, you shall not enter the
I kingdom of heaven.
The Witness magazines anonymous writ( ers write clearly and simply. Their object is
S to share the good word of the Gospel and to
j encourage you to go to the source of their
wisdom. It inspires, instructs, and comforts.
I It is unselfconscious.
*I am not a Jehovahs Witness myself, but
I it is a great thing that Catholic people are
j beginning to look their fellow believers in
Christ in the eye and seeing a few virtues
there.
As Jesus Christ himself said: Come to me,
all you who are toiling and loaded down, . . .
I and you will find refreshment for your souls,
f For my yoke is kindly and my load is light.
! Matt. 11:2830.

LOYALLY ADVOCATE GODS WORD

Why can we loyally advocate the Bible as
being God's Word?
Among the loyal advocates of Gods Word
in apostolic times were the Christians at Thessalonica. This is apparent from the words of
the apostle Paul as found at 1 Thessalonians
2:13: When you received Gods word, . . . you
accepted it, not as the word of men, but, just
as it truthfully is, as the word of God, which
is also at work in you believers.*
Among the many reasons why we can, like
the Christians at Thessalonica, be loyal advocates of Gods Word is that Christianity, the
religion of the Bible, is distinguished from all
other religions by its historical character. It
presents a scheme of doctrine based on facts.
The Bible is indeed built around people who
actually lived and places that truly existed.
Another reason why we can loyally advocate
Gods Word is that it is a book of reliable
prophecy. Ever so many of its prophecies have
actually come to pass, many even being fulflfled in the lifetime of those who first heard
them.
Still another reason why we can loyally advocate the Bible as Gods Word is the obvious
truthfulness, the honesty, the frankness, the
candor and the humility of its writers. In their
very frank manner they recorded not only the
fine and noble things that Gods servants did,
but also their mistakes, their shortcomings
and their sins. They recorded that Noah on
one occasion got drunk, and that Moses once
lost his temper and so forfeited his privilege
to enter the land of promise. Bible writers
also tell of the shortcomings of Jesus* twelve
apostles, that Peter denied his Master three
* F or details see The W atchtow erj F eb ru ary X, 1970.

times and that they all fled when Jesus was

I*, taken captive. All such honesty helps us to
X advocate Gods Word loyally.

And so does the fact that the Bible as Gods

Word gives us information obtainable from no
X other source. And what is that? It alone tells
us of the origin of the universe, of the earth
% and of man. It alone tells us why humankind
X is so plagued with difficulties, disease and
death, and it alone tells about Gods purpose
X to restore paradise and humankind to perfecf tion.

T
A
X

?
.*
X
*
I
X

%
X

t*.
X

I
X

j
X
I
X
I
X
$

In what practical ways can we loyally advocate God's Word?

Children often have the privilege of doing
this in school when such subjects as biology,
history or evolution come up for consideration,
by boldly presenting what the Bible has to say
about these subjects. The same is also true
when there is a discussion regarding morals
and principles. If children are asked to write
an essay, they can use this opportunity to
choose some Biblical subject and thus give a
witness.
Adults similarly can be alert to opportunities for showing loyalty to Gods Word in
their day-to-day contacts with other people by
incidental witnessing.
And, of course, a person is a loyal advocate
of Gods Word when he applies Bible principies. By the way Christians dress, by the kind
of language they use, by their refusal to laugh
at obscene jesting, by their being conscientious
in meeting all their financial obligations and
by their obeying the laws of Caesar, whether
these are tax laws or related to their driving
an automobile. In all such ways Gods servants
can show themselves to be loyal advocates of
his Word.

This statement is part of what an angel told

the aged apostle John when John, in a moment
of strong emotion, began to do obeisance before
him. The angel said: Be careful! Do not do
that! All I am is a fellow slave of you and of
your brothers who have the work of witnessing
to Jesus. Worship God; for the bearing witness to Jesus is what inspires [literally, is the
spirit of! prophesying. (Rev. 19:10) The
words in question basically mean that the
spirit or the whole intent and purpose of
Bible prophecy is to point to Jesus Christ.

What is the meaning of the comment at

Revelation 19:10, the bearing witness to Jesus
is what inspires prophesying?U.S.A.
95

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3EeWATCHTOWER

Jehovah had assigned his Son Jesus the key

role in the outworking of Gods purpose to
sanctify His name and restore the earth and
its human population to the proper place in
His arrangement. (Eph. 1:9, 10; Col. 2:3) The
fulfillment of Gods great purpose is all bound
up in Jesus; hence the main thrust of Bible
prophecy or inspired messages from God proclaimed by his servants pointed forward to
Jesus.
God himself began this prophesying when he
foretold the seed that would eventually crush
the head of the serpent, Gods adversary the
Devil. (Gen. 3:15; Rev. 12:9) The numerous
inspired prophecies about the seed and his
position and accomplishments all bore witness
to Jesus. (Gen. 22:18; 2 Sam. 7:1216 ;Ps. 2:612;
110:17 ;Isa. 53:112 ;Mic. 5:26 )As the apostle
Peter said, To him [Christ] all the prophets
bear witness. (Acts 10:43) The prophetic visions of the book of Revelation also contain
much regarding Jesus as Gods conquering
King.Rev. 5:12-6:2; 19:11-16.
Even the faithful angels in heaven were
interested in the prophecies of the Hebrew
Scriptures concerning the Christ. (1 Pet. 1:

B rooklyn , N .Y .

1012 )Along with Gods servants on earth, they

could recognize, once Jesus proved his faithfulness to death and was resurrected, that *no
matter how many the promises of God are,
they have become Yes by means of him.2) Cor.
1:20) So the angel who spoke to John could
properly point out that the entire spirit or
whole inclination and purpose of these prophecies was to bear witness to Jesus.
The same can be said of the prophesying and
prophecies mentioned in the Christian Greek
Scriptures. These evidently involved witnessing
about Jesus directly, the accomplishing of the
preaching work he commissioned or the understanding of Gods purposes that revolve around
the Kingdom of which Jesus is king. (Acts
21:9-13; 1 Cor. 14:2225 )It is similar with the
prophecying by Gods servants in these last
days before the great and fear-inspiring day
of Jehovah. (Joel 2:2832 )Jehovahs witnesses
are not giving new prophecies about the future.
But they are proclaiming the present and future
fulfillment of prophecies recorded in the Bible,
as well as prophesying in the sense of declaring
Gods message today. In this they emphasize
Jesus role as the key one in Jehovahs purposes, the king of His kingdom.

ANNOUNCEMENTS

WATCHTOWER STUDIES FOR THE WEEKS

March 7: Proclaiming Good News World Wide.

Page 76. Songs to Be Used: 86, 4.
March 14: Where More Proclaimers of the
Good News Are Especially Needed. Page
83. Songs to Be Used: 74,103.

T ^ n n o ztric irig
FEBRUARY IS , 1971

JEHOVAHS
KINGDOM

Semimonthly

ARE YO U TRAINING N O W
FOR THE TRIALS AHEAD?

FAMILY STUDY A BLESSING

IS UNITY POSSIBLE
A M O N G ALL ETHNIC GROUPS?

WTB&TS

YOU ARE MY W ITNESSES, SAYS JEHOVAH.--Isa.43:12

T H E PU R P O SE O F "T H E W A T C H T O W E R "
E v ery w a tc h to w e r has its purpose. It serves as an e le v a te d p la c e for a
w id e-aw ak e person w ith sharp vision. It enables him to see far ahead into
the distance and tell those b elow for w h o m he is a w atch m an w h a t is
draw in g near, w h eth er it is a danger against w h ich to prepare o r it is
som ething good over w h ich to be glad w ith strong faith and hope.
Because o f having the nam e "The W a tch to w er" this m agazine ju stly
has to render a sim ilar useful service to the people o f all nations. T h is is
an international m agazine and makes no racial distinctions, for w e are all
facing a com m on w o rld danger; w e are all hoping fo r a com m on good.
E ver since "The W a tc h to w e r began to be published in J u ly o f 1 6 7 9 it
has looked ahead into the future, a lw a y s striving to aid its readers to advan ce in k now ledge and to gain a clearer picture o f the glorious n e w order
o f things th at is in store for righteous mankind. N o , "The W a tch to w er "
is n o inspired prophet, but it follow s and explains a Book o f prophecy the
predictions in w h ich have proved to be unerring and unfailing till n o w .
"The W a tch to w er " is therefore under safe guidance. It m a y be read w ith
confidence, for its statem ents m ay be checked against th at prophetic Book.
A m o n g th e m an y nations o f today there are hundreds o f differing
religions. W h ic h one does this m agazine present? N o t the confused religions
o f C hristendom , but the religion o f the oldest sacred Book on earth. W h ich
Book? T h e Sacred Bible o f the H o ly Scriptures, w r itte n b y inspiration in
the nam e o f the C reator o f heaven and earth, the o n ly living and true G od.
T h e sacred, nonpolitical purpose o f "The W a tch to w er" is accordingly
to encourage and prom ote study o f the H o ly Bible and to give our m a n y
readers th e needed unsectarian help to understand that Book o f true
religion and infallible prophecy. T hus this m agazine w ill be helping them
to prove w o r th y o f perfect life and happiness in G od's promised n e w order
under H is everlasting kingdom o f righteousness.

PUBLISHED BY T H E
WATCH TOW ER BIBLE AND TRACT SOCIETY O F PENNSYLVANIA
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C O N TEN TS

What the "Coming

of God's Kingdom Means

6,900,000

Five cents a copy

99

The Unforgiving Slave

102

Family Study a Blessing

104

Are You Training Now

for the Trials Ahead?

108

Enduring Trials That Test Our Faith

115

Is Unity Possible
Among All Ethnic Groups?

122

Questions from Readers

127

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-p /lrm o xcn cirio

J E H O V A H S
K IN G D O M
Vol. X C II

February 15, 1971

Number 4

iels prophecy (2:44) says:

/ O YOU ever say
The God of heaven will
* L / the Lords Prayer?
set up a kingdom that will
If so, then, like many milnever be brought to ruin.
lions of other persons, you
. . . It will crush and put
repeat the words, Thy
an end to all these kingkingdom come, or, perdoms, and it itself will
haps in modern English, you say, Let
stand to times indefinite.
your kingdom come.Matt. 6:9-13.
Do you fully comprehend what
But stop and think. Do you fully realize
that
will
mean? The prophecy of Daniel
what you are praying for when you say
likens
Gods
kingdom to a stone that
these words? And just as important, Do
grinds
the
entire
complex of human govyou really
wantthat kingdom to come?
ernments
to
powder,
after which the KingThe Bible says that the coming rule of
dom
grows
until
it
fills
the whole earth.
Gods kingdom or government will bring
Dan.
2:34-45.
drastic changes, nothing short of a gloriKeep in mind that our wanting it or
ous and peaceful paradise here on earth.
This, of course, is the ultimate result. But not wanting it will not in the least affect
first consider how such a condition will be the certainty of its coming; this is the determined purpose of Almighty God. Howbrought about.
ever, depending on our attitude, its coming
will be for good or for bad to us inPOLITICAL RULE BY MEN REPLACED
Did you know, for example, that, ac- dividually. We must make our own choice.
cording to the Bible, Gods kingdom will If we sincerely want it we will act in harreplace the now-existing governments of mony with it, and that with benefit to
men? Gods kingdom will be no world fed- ourselves.
eration, nor will it be a continuation of
Not everyone wants Gods kingdom to
the present United Nations concept; it will come. The kings of earth, the Bible
not be a glorified polylingual debating so- psalmist says, take their stand and high
ciety whose members, with or without officials themselves have massed together
veto power, champion various political as one against Jehovah and against his
ideologies.
anointed one. (Ps. 2:2) Obviously, those
The Scriptures abound with prophetic whose positions of power will be eliminatdescriptions of just what the coming of ed by the coming of Gods kingdom are
Gods righteous kingdom will mean. Dan not eager for its coming, and they fre99

100

SfteWATCHTOWER

quently try to silence those who urge others to put faith in it.
Many persons whose prosperity is
geared to the present selfish system of
competition are not anxious to see it all
end. Great stars of stage and screen, and
athletic and sports heroes who relish the
huzzah and praise of the populace will not
rejoice to see the end of the system that
puts them on glamorous tinsel-bedecked
thrones of fame. Superpatriots and radical racists who worship nationalism and
pride themselves over racial origins do
not want to lose their cherished distinetions, yet under Gods kingdom there will
be neither Greek nor Jew, circumcision
nor uncircumcision, foreigner, Scythian,
slave, freeman.Col. 3:11.
Despite such self-centered attitudes, the
need for a great change, a global change,
becomes daily more evident. Gods solution to the grave problems facing mankind is to replace the wicked old system
with the righteous new one of His design.
The whole social and economic system of
the present must be terminated with the
grinding destruction of human rule by
Gods kingdom as promised. Look! I am
making all things new, says the Sovereign Ruler who authorizes this new govemment.Rev. 21:5.
If you truly love your Creator, your
neighbor, your family, yes, your own life,
you will be anxious for that change to
come. You will not be disappointed either,
for its coming will mean many more essential, yes, delightful benefits.
FINALLYTHE END OF ALL WAR

Under the new administration of Gods

kingdom, nation will not lift up sword
against nation, neither will they learn war
any more. (Isa. 2:4; Mic. 4:3) What a
blessing this will be! No more bombing of

B rooklyn , N .Y .

cities, no more killing of innocent men,

women and children. Earth wide, people
will indeed find their exquisite delight in
the abundance of peace.Ps. 37:11.
Most persons will agree that peace is
very much to be desired, and they say
that they earnestly want it. They are disappointed with international negotiations
for peace that go on for years without
tangible results. They realize that stockpiling of death-dealing weapons is not a
reasonable way to promote an atmosphere
conducive to genuine security. They cannot agree with those who protest the war
policies of their governments by themselves engaging in acts of violence. They
are also well aware that the United Nations has not put mankind on the way to
peace. But are they willing to listen to
what Gods Word says about peace? Are
you?
Gods purpose to bring peace is not dependent on negotiations with any other
government, nor is it hindered by their
stockpiles of weapons. Jehovah is the Almighty, and all the forces of the universe
are at his disposal. It is by means of his
kingdom that he is making wars to cease
to the extremity of the earth. (Ps. 46:9)
This he will do by removing all peace disturbers.
As we have seen, this means the destruetion of selfish political governments, but
that is not all. The Bible also shows that
those who personally indulge in strife,
hatred and fits of anger, as well as those
who disrupt relations with their fellowman by practicing fornication and adultery, will not inherit Gods kingdom.
(Gal. 5:19-21) So, if we personally want
to enjoy the peace that Gods kingdom
will bring, we need to take steps now to
root such tendencies out of our own lives.
That is something that we can do by a

F ebruary 15, 1971

conscientious study of the

Bible and earnest application of its principles.

SReW ATCHTOW ER,

101

Christian denom inations

that make up Christendoms sectarianism. There
can be only owe way of
NO MORE FALSE RELIGION
worshiping the one true
The coming of Gods
God, the w ay he alone
kingdom also means the
a p p ro v es. T he a p o stle
end of all false forms of
w r it e s , t h e r e is o n e
worship. Do you know
Lord, one faith, one bapthat this too is what you
tism ; one God and Faare praying for when you
t h e r o f a ll p e r s o n s .
repeat the Lords Prayer?
Eph. 4:5, 6; 1 Cor. 1:
Your Grand Creator
10-13.
tolerates no rivalry. As he
So when you pray for
states in th e Ten ComGods kingdom to come,
mandments: You must
it could mean that you are
not have any other gods
praying for the end of
against my face [or, in
your own church. Did
defiance of me] . . . beyou know that? If you because I Jehovah your God
long to one of the more
am a God exacting excluthan 230 denominations
sive devotion. If Jehovah war gone, with swords beaten a c t iv e in th e U n ite d
insisted on such devotion into plowshares, but do they also States, the mathematical
when he ruled over Israel welcome the prospect of the end l i k e lih o o d t h a t y o u r
of divisive nationalism and false
as Judge, S tatute-giver
church will survive into
religion?
and King, no less can be
Gods new order, is only
expected when his rule is extended over about four tenths of one percent. But
all the earth.Ex. 20:3-5; Isa. 33:22.
if we take into consideration the great
This means that drastic changes will variety of additional religious groups
come with the take-over of earths affairs found in all parts of the world, then the
by the Kingdom, for, as in Pauls day, so mathematical likelihood that your relinow there are those who are called gods, gion is the right one is reduced to one
whether in heaven or on earth, just as tenth of one percent or even less.
there are many gods and many lords.
Why gamble on so important a mat(1 Cor. 8:5) Why, India alone is said to ter when it means your very life? Why
have 330,000,000 gods and goddesses, and not make sure that your religion is the
these plus many others are worshiped by one that survives? It will survive only
many persons among the more than two if it agrees with Gods Word the Biand a half billion of the worlds population ble. Write us today and we will put you
who are no part of Christendom. Obvious- in touch with Bible teachers in your
ly, if there is to be one united world the community who truly believe in Gods
divisive forces of all such polytheistic wor- kingdom and who will gladly aid you
ship must be removed.
in searching the Scriptures for the truth
Jehovah will likewise soon put an end that leads to eternal life.John 8:
to the hundreds of different so-called 32.

his disciples a story. Would you like to

hear it?
THE
Once there was a king. He was a good
king. He was very kind. He would even
lend money to his slaves when they needed
help.
But the day came when the king wanted
to get his money back. So he called his
slaves who owed him money, and asked
v
y
them to pay him. Well, one man was
T T AS anyone ever done something brought in who owed the king sixty milC J X wrong to you? Did he hurt you or lion pieces of money! That is a lot of
say something unkind to you? It made you money. It is more money than I have had
in all my life.
feel bad, didnt it?
The slave had spent the kings money
When something like that happens,
should you treat the other person in the and had nothing with which to pay it back.
same unkind way that he treats you? So the king gave orders for this slave to
be sold. The king also said to sell the
What do you think?
If someone hurts them, many people will slaves wife and his children and everyhurt the other person
th in g th a t th e sla v e
owned. Then with the
right back. But Jesus
An article specially designed for
m oney received from
sa id th a t th is is n o t
parents to read with their children
good. He taught that
the sale the king was
we should forgive those who do wrong to be paid. How do you suppose this made
the slave feel?
to us.
The slave felt very bad. So right away
But what if a person is mean or unkind
to us many times? How many times should he fell down before the king and put his
we forgive him? That is what the apostle face to the ground. Please, do not do that
Peter wanted to know one day. So he to me, he begged the king. Give me more
asked the Great Teacher: Do I have to time. And I will pay back everything that
I owe you. If you were the king, what
forgive him as many as seven times?
Jesus did not tell Peter that seven times would you have done with the slave?
The good king felt very sorry for his
would be plenty. He said: You are to forgive seventy-seven times, if the person slave. So he told the slave that he did not
have to pay back any of the money. He did
sins against you that many times.
not have to pay back even one of the sixty
That is a lot of times to forgive somemillion pieces of money! How happy that
one! We do not even remember that many
must have made the slave!
wrongs or bad things done to us, do we?
But what did the slave do then? He went
And this is what Jesus was showing. We
out
and found another slave who owed
should forgive others over and over again.
him just one hundred pieces of money.
We should not try to remember the numThat is not much money at all when comber of wrongs others may do to us. If they pared to sixty million pieces. The man
ask to be forgiven, we should forgive them. grabbed his fellow slave by the neck and
Jesus wanted to show his disciples how began to choke him. And he said to him:
very important it is to be forgiving. So Pay back that one hundred pieces that
after he answered Peters question, he told you owe me.

UNFORGIVING
SLAVE

102

F ebruary 15, 1971

3EeWATCHTOWEFL

Can you imagine a person doing something like that? The slave had been forgiven so much by the king. And now he
turned around and demanded that a fellow slave pay back one hundred pieces.
This was not a kind thing to do.
Well, the slave that owed just one hundred pieces was poor. He could not pay the
money back right away. So he fell down
at the feet of his fellow slave and begged:
Please give me more time, and I will pay
back what I owe you. Should the man
have given his fellow slave more time?
Would you have done it?
Well, this man was not kind, as the king
had been. He wanted to be paid right now.
And because his fellow slave could not do
it, he had him thrown into jail. He certainly was not forgiving.
Other slaves saw all this
happen. They did not like it.
They felt sorry for the slave
who was thrown into jail. So they went
and told the king
about it.
The king did not
like what happened
either. He became
very angry at the
unforgiving slave.
So he called him,
and said: You bad
slave, did I not forgive what you owed
me? So, should you not have been forgiving to your fellow slave?
He should have learned a lesson from
the good king. But he had not. So now
the king had the unforgiving slave thrown
into jail until he paid back the sixty million pieces of money. And, of course, in
jail he could never earn the money to pay
it back. So he would stay there till he died.
As Jesus finished telling this story, he
said to his followers: In the same way

103

my heavenly Father will also deal with

you if you do not forgive each one his
brother from your hearts.Matt. 18:2135.
You see, we all owe God very much.
Everything good that we have has come
from God. Our life comes from God, but
because we do wrong things he could take
it away from us. Never, in our whole lifetime, could we earn enough money to pay
God what we owe him.
When compared with what we owe to
God, other people owe us very little. What
they owe us is like the one hundred pieces
of money that the one slave owed to the
other. But what we
owe to God is like the
six ty m illion pieces
th at the slave owed
to the king.
God is very kind,
and he will forgive us
what we owe him. But
he does that only if we
believe in his Son Jesus, and if we forgive
other people who do
wrong to us. T hats
som ething to think
about, isnt it?
So, if someone does
something unkind to
y ou , but th en sa y s
that he is sorry, what will you do?
Will you forgive him? What if it happens many times? Will you still forgive
him?
If we were the person who was asking
to be forgiven, we would want the other
person to forgive us, wouldnt we? We
should do the same for him. We should
not just say that we forgive him, but we
should really forgive him from our heart.
When we do that, we show that we really
want to be followers of the Great Teacher.

m outh. M att.
4:4.

H R IST IA N
fathers and
m o th e r s w an t
their children to
g r o w up to be
God-fearing men
and women of inte g r ity . Such
c h ild r e n a r e a
real blessing to
parents. The father of a righteous one will without fail
be joyful; the one becoming father to a
wise one will also rejoice in him. Your
father and your mother will rejoice, and
she that gave birth to you will be joyful.
Prov. 23:24, 25.
Overseers in the congregations of Jehovahs witnesses have been asked: Why
do so many children of Jehovahs witnesses grow up to be sincere, devoted worshipers of Jehovah? They reply: Basically, the answer is to be found within the
family circle. When the father takes the
spiritual oversight of the family, arranging for a practical family schedule, children really benefit.
A key element in a balanced schedule
is a family study guided by the father.
But if only the mother is a dedicated
Christian, then what? An overseer said:
We know it isnt easy for them to bring
up their children in Godly ways by themselves. Yet many are doing a fine job and
their youngsters are holding fast to the
truth. These mothers have a regular Bible
study with their children.
Thus the key element for the successful Christian family is studying the Bible
and Bible publications together regularly.
And it is not only the children that need
to be considered. The father and the mother also need the spiritual upbuilding that
comes from a united family study of Gods
Word. Jesus pointedly said: Man must
live, not on bread alone, but on every utterance coming forth through Jehovahs

START WHEN
YOUNG

Godly principies are not bom

in children. Instead, foolish n e s s is tie d up
with the heart of
a boy; the rod of discipline is what will
remove it far from him. (Prov. 22:15)
From an early age they need proper
training to counteract wrong tendencies.
Ps. 51:5.
That is why the Bible counsels: Train
up a boy according to the way for him;
even when he grows old he will not turn
aside from it. (Prov. 22:6) The apostle
Paul wrote Timothy:
you
have known the holy writings, which are
able to make you wise for salvation
through the faith in connection with
Christ Jesus. (2 Tim. 3:15) And who is
to take the lead in this training? You,
fathers, do not be irritating your children,
but go on bringing them up in the discipline and mental-regulating of Jehovah.Eph. 6:4; see also Deuteronomy
6:6, 7.
The first four or five years of a childs
life are crucial ones. During this time
his mental patterns and abilities are being established. Dr. Joseph M. Hunt of the
University of Illinois said: It is during
the first four or five years of life that a
childs development is most rapid and most
subject to modification. During this period
a child acquires the abilities on which his
later abilities will be based. Perhaps 20
percent of those basic abilities are developed before his first birthday, perhaps half
before he reaches four.
Very important in the childs development is the acquiring of reading skill,
since so much else depends on that. At a
104

F ebruary

15, 1971

Sf&eWATCHTOWER.

family study young ones will be helped to

acquire reading skills before they go to
school. The value of this is noted by U.8.
News & World Report: It was shown
that the parents of high achievers in first
grade usually have read to their youngsters in preschool yearsoften from infancy.
Since parental guidance early in a
childs life has so much to do with his
mental abilities, then what about early
training in moral and spiritual matters?
This is even more vital than other training, for eternal life is at stake. By beginning early, a childs life pattern can be
correctly set.
Of course, parents may study Gods
Word with their children individually, especially when their ages vary greatly. The
mother can do this with particular effectiveness when children are of preschool
age, as she has time during the day. But
in addition to this, the father will want to
study with the entire family together.
There is no more fruitful arrangement for
families than this united study of Gods
Word.
SETTING ASIDE TIME

When can such family studies be held?

One opportunity for a brief family study
is at breakfast. For a few minutes a Scripture text such as provided in printed form
by the Watch Tower Society can be discussed. The father may have the Scripture text read and then invite comments,
perhaps asking a question. After others
comment, he can summarize. Experiences
may also be read from the Yearbook of
Jehovahs Witnesses where such is available in the local language.
This upbuilding morning discussion has
long been the rule at Bethel and missionary homes of Jehovahs witnesses all over
the world. Families do well to imitate the
pattern. And if breakfast is not a con-

105

venient time, perhaps the discussion can

be held when all are together at the evening meal.
A most profitable arrangement for family study is taking perhaps ten to fifteen
minutes at the end of the day, before going to bed. The family can get together
in a comfortable place and read directly
from the Bible, each taking turns according to their reading ability. If just two
pages of the Bible are read each day, in
less than five months the entire Christian
Greek Scriptures will be covered! Is there
a more upbuilding way to end the day?
EVENING FAMILY STUDY

Another occasion for regular family

study, one of the most vital, should be a
longer period of time. At Bethel and missionary homes, this time is Monday evening, although you may choose some other
evening or time more suitable to your
schedule.
How long should such a study be? Each
family head will have to determine this,
depending on the circumstances. Where
some of the children are quite young yet,
the time may be more limited. As they
grow older and are better able to concentrate, the time can be expanded so that
at least an hour is taken for this vital
activity.
All the children should be included.
Even those who are too young to read can
learn. They will also profit by learning to
sit quietly. In that way they will come to
understand that there are times when
they must do what the entire family is
doing and cannot have their own way.
If the children are quite young, the
family head may choose to concentrate on
the articles especially designed for children, appearing in the Watchtower magazine. The book From Paradise Lost to
Paradise Regained can also be used to good
advantage.

106

B rooklyn , N .Y .
3KeWATCHTOWER
Bring younger children into the discusWhen children are a little older, many
families imitate the pattern at Bethel and sion as soon as they are able to respond.
missionary homes by studying the Watch- Simple questions requiring answers of only
tower lesson that will be considered at the a few words can be phrased for them.
Kingdom Hall the following week. Some When they are able, they can be allowed
parents vary this coverage when a particu- to read a portion, perhaps only a few senlar need arises. They may take the eve- fences at first. This would be limited until
ning study time to concentrate on a por- the childs ability is adequate to handle
tion of one of the books, or articles in The longer portions.
Watchtower or Awake! that deal with the
The main object of the study is not just
particular problem at hand.
to find an answer for the congregation
study later. The object is to inculcate JeSTUDY PROCEDURES
hovahs thoughts in the heart. (Eph. 3:
There are severed ways to discuss the 17-19) This means working to get informaterial at the family study. Some sug- mation down past the head into the heart.
gestions are as follows.
Give the family reasons why they should
First, the father can read the title of want to do Gods will, why it is the very
the material under consideration. If it is best course. Help all to see the folly of
the Watchtower lesson for that week, it is following the course that this world is takwell to read the Scripture text that high- ing. Show how the material applies to the
lights the theme. Then he can briefly state family.
the general plan of the material, which is
In all this, a key element is to draw the
often indicated by the subheadings of the comments out by using questions. A good
article.
teacher will not only give answers, but
He may then ask the question on the concentrate on drawing them out of his
first paragraph. If the family usually read pupils. And even the questions can vary
the lesson beforehand, he can call for an- some short ones, true or false, multiple
swers. But if they do not read the lesson choice, and others. Variety adds spice.
beforehand, he can have the paragraph
Keep the view of eternal life in Pararead immediately after the question is dise bright before the eyes of all, especialasked. The members of the family can ly young ones. In one case, a six-year-old
take turns in reading, helping all to keep girl being taught the Bible started to
alert, and young ones will benefit from school, but spoke only Spanish, and her
the reading of the adults. After the para- teacher only English. One day the assigngraph is read, the question can be restated ment was to tell the class what each one
would like to do in the future. This little
for anyone to answer. Some choose to
girl tried hard when her turn came, but
allow the one who read the paragraph to
could not make the teacher understand.
have the first opportunity, enabling each Finally, she drew a picture of a furry
one to express himself.
lion and placed the teachers hand upon
When the main points are isolated, they the drawing. Still not understanding, the
can be underlined as a memory aid for teacher called the mother, who through a
use at the congregation study later. Also, friend explained the childs desire to play
additional thoughts can be called for and with a lion in Paradise. The teachers inpertinent scriptures that are cited but not terest was aroused. She began studying the
quoted can be read.
Bible and attending meetings at the King-

F ebruary 15, 1971

SfieWATCHTOWER

dom Hall, all because a little girl had

learned about playing with a lion in Paradise!Isa. 11:6.
This also shows the value of highlighting illustrations when they appear in the
study material. Take time to explain them,
as they make a deep impression. In addition, you can make use of other aids such
as charts or maps. When places are mentioned, their location can be noted on the
map. Visual aids help to make the study
more interesting.
Keep the setting comfortable, not too
rigid. After the study, mother may get
refreshments for the family, helping to
make the evening enjoyable. Some families even choose to include other families
in their study. They take turns in going
to each others homes, adding to the interest and variety of comments. But others feel that they want their study limited
to the immediate family.
A REAL BLESSING

The family study is truly a blessing from

Jehovah. It provides spiritual feeding for
both young and old, and that is so vital in
these critical times. It also improves reading skills and mental abilities, particularly
of the young. It builds close family bonds.
It builds respect for father and mother.
But most important of all, it builds deep
respect for Jehovah, bringing his favor
and eternal life in his new order.John
17:3.
Will your children appreciate the family
study? At first they may not, since foolishness is tied up with the heart of children. But in time they will. Note the comments of a married woman who wrote:
I am so thankful for being raised in a
home where we were instructed in Jehovahs
way. And maybe if parents know how much
we do appreciate this way of life it would
encourage more to take a strong stand with

107

their children in teaching and enforcing

Bible principles.
Along with countless other Christian
youths who from infancy have known the
holy writings/ I daily thank Jehovah for
my God-fearing Christian parents. I would
like you to know how much this kind of
training and discipline is appreciated.
We three girls are in our twenties now
and married, but I can easily remember our
weekly Bible studies. Our Bible reading was
another valuable part of this learning. We
used to sit on the end of the bed every
evening and take turns reading it.
There were youths at school who ridiculed, and said things like you never have
any fun/ But we had answers for these
things. For one thing these decisions were
ours. Dad always sat down with us and
looked up scriptures until we had an answer
for ourselves. He would say, Let's see what
Jehovah says about this or that/ An early
love for Jehovah made us want to do the
things that would please first our heavenly
Father and in turn our earthly parents.
Then in answer to not having fun we
usually left the other youths with their
mouths open. For one thing we had traveled to so many different assemblies, seeing
firsthand many historical places, museums,
zoos, gardens, national parks and other sites.
We had been through the Bethel home and
the factories in New York. We knew missionaries in different parts of the earth. We
had brothers and sisters everywhere. In
addition, our parents spent time with us in
family picnics, outings and camping trips.
We learned much about plant and animal
life, many times watching various wild creatures play and work in their wild state.
In all these things our parents made sure
we didn't miss the point: Jehovah has
given us all this and a promise for life
everlasting, asking back only our love,
obedience, and worship.'"

Yes, family study is the basis for true

blessings. It provides children, and adults
as well, with the firmest kind of foundation for life, both in this system and in
Gods new order.
Are you having a family study? If not,
why not organize one this very week?

A/16 You Tiamtn# A/ow

FOR THE

' Jehovah knows how to deliver

people of godly devotion out
of trial."2 Pet. 2:9.

TrialsAhead?

T T U M A N K IN D fa c e s ex C J L ta m ely severe trials ahead. All

the evidence points to this conclusion. The
human family has reached its most critical
time in history. In fact, the world situation
is deteriorating so rapidly that world leaders believe that the very survival of humankind is in danger. The New York
Times of January 6, 1969, reported: The
politicians and social scientists of Russia,
China and America probably would agree
on one thing: Unless remarkably positive
steps are taken in the next five years, the
chances of the world celebrating the dawn
of New Years in the year 2,000 are far
dimmer than at any moment in recorded
history.
2 When present-day events are examined
in the light of the prophecies of Gods
Word the Bible, the conclusion is forced
upon us that these are the foretold last
days of this system. (2 Tim. 3:1; Matt.
24:3-14) This means that we have reached
the days of which the Bible prophecy
speaks: In the days of those kings the
God of heaven will set up a kingdom that
will never be brought to ruin. . . . It will
crush and put an end to all these kingdoms, and it itself will stand to times indefinite. (Dan. 2:44) The evidence in
Gods Word is that this kingdom of God,
the very one for which Christians have
long prayed, was established in heaven in
this very generation, in the year 1914.
1, 2. (a) How serious is th e w orld situation? (b) W hat
is the m eaning of present world events?
108

(Matt. 6:9,10) At that time the enthroned

King Jesus Christ proceeded to cleanse
the heavens of the Kingdoms angelic opposers.
3 The Bible describes the results of this
heavenly war in this way: So down the
great dragon was hurled, the original serpent, the one called Devil and Satan, who
is misleading the entire inhabited earth;
he was hurled down to the earth, and his
angels were hurled down with him. And
I heard a loud voice in heaven say: Now
have come to pass . . . the kingdom of our
God and the authority of his Christ . . .
On this account be glad, you heavens, and
you who reside in them! Woe for the earth
and for the sea, because the Devil has
come down to you, having great anger,
knowing he has a short period of time.
Rev. 12:7-12.
*Think of it! The Bible says that at the
coming to pass of Gods kingdom in heaven Satan and his angelic forces were cast
to earth. Here on earth they have been
stirring up great trouble because they
know their destruction is near. Has it not
been apparent that the nations have been
driven on madly by demonic forces since
1914? What, therefore, lies immediately
ahead? There can be no doubt about it.
Demon-inspired woes are certain to increase, and the Bible says that the in3, 4. (a) W hat heavenly w ar was fought a t th e tim e
of the establishm ent of God's kingdom, and w hat was
its outcome? (b) W hat, therefore, lies im m ediately
ahead ?

F ebruary 15, 1971

SfieWATCHTOWER

creased wrath of the ousted Devil will be

particularly directed against those who
observe the commandments of God and
have the work of bearing witness to Jesus. (Rev. 12:17) This means that the
faith and loyalty of all Christians are certain to be tested. Severe trials of their
faith lie ahead. Are you training now to
meet these trials successfully? If you are,
you can take comfort in the assurance:
Jehovah knows how to deliver people of
godly devotion out of trial.2 Pet. 2:9.
APPRECIATE THE IMPORTANCE OF TRAINING

6It would be foolish to conclude that

somehow you are an exception, and that
your faith will not be tested. The Devil
would like to lull you into such a frame
of mind. He does not want you to train.
He would be so pleased if you would forget entirely the divine warning: Keep
your senses, be watchful. Your adversary,
the Devil, walks about like a roaring lion,
seeking to devour someone. But take your
stand against him. (1 Pet. 5:8, 9) Yes,
show yourself to be wise by heeding this
divine warning. Be on guard against any
thinking, regardless of its source, that
would discourage you from preparing for
the difficult tests of faith ahead.
8 Jesus Christ set a fine example in this
connection. He did not allow favorable circumstances to lull him into thinking that
he would not have to undergo severe tests
of his faith. For example, consider the
circumstances during the last year of his
earthly ministry. Great crowds of people
had come to him in the mountainous region near the Sea of Galilee. There Jesus
healed their lame, crippled, blind and
dumb. Also, because they had stayed with
5. (a) W hat fram e of m ind should we avoid? (b) W hat
should be our m ental attitude, and w hy?
6, 7. (a) W hat favorable circum stances existed during
the last year of Je su s e arth ly m inistry? (b) W hat
shows th a t Jesus did not allow these circum stances to
prevent him from train in g for the tria ls ahead?

109

him for three days and were hungry and

tired, Jesus miraculously fed the four
thousand men, besides women and young
children on just seven loaves and a few
fishes.' (M att 15:2939 )As a result Jesus
was well received by the people. In fact,
not long before, after performing a similar miracle, the crowds attempted to seize
him and make him king. (John 6 :1 0 1 5 )
Yet, Jesus did not allow his favor with
the people to lull him into thinking that
the difficult trials foretold in the Bible
would not soon come upon him.Isa. 50:
6; 5 3 :5 1 2 .
7When Jesus and his disciples had trav
eled farther north and were near Mount
Hermon, the Bible record says: Jesus
Christ commenced showing his disciples
that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer
many things from the older men and chief
priests and scribes, and be killed. How
remote such sufferings must have seemed
to them! The apostle Peter, therefore,
took him aside and commenced rebuking
him, saying: Be kind to yourself, Lord;
you will not have this destiny at all.
(Matt. 16:21, 22) How would Jesus respond? After all, Peter meant no harm in
contradicting his Master. He truly loved
Jesus, and did not want him to be disturbed by what then seemed such remote
possibilities.
8 Jesus, however, drew no comfort from
Peters words. In fact, he did not appreciate them at all. He knew that, if listened
to, this type of talk would discourage him
from training and strengthening his mind
and heart for the severe trials the Scriptures foretold he was soon to face. So
Jesus strongly reproved Peter, saying:
Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me, because you think, not
Gods thoughts, but those of men. (Matt.
8. (a) W hat was Je su s response to P e te rs w ell-m eaning
efforts to com fort him, an d w hy? (b) W hat lesson
can we learn from th is?

110

B r o oklyn , N .Y .
SEeWATCHTOWER.
16:23) Peter did not appreciate how vital have been accompanied by flagellation. The.
it was that Jesus brace himself up for the whip (
flagrum
) had several thongs ending
trials ahead. Do you today appreciate the in lead balls or sheep astragalus bones.
importance of training for future tests of Finally, weakened by such brutal beating,
your faith? Do not allow what may now Jesus was nailed to a torture stake and
be calm and favorable circumstances to hung up to die an agonizing death. But
lull you into thinking that severe trials Jesus faithfully endured. He had trained
cannot suddenly come upon you. Do not for these severe trials.
listen to any talk that would discourage
10Jesus wanted his disciples also to be
you from preparing for an all-out demon- prepared for the trials they must face. So
inspired attack. Only by such preparation the night before his own death he told
can you be assured of experiencing Jeho- them: Bear in mind the word I said to
vahs deliverance out of trial.2 Pet. 2:9. you, A slave is not greater than his master. If they have persecuted me, they will
TRIALS CAN COME SUDDENLY
persecute you also . . . In the world you
* It was less than a year after telling his are having tribulation, but take courage!
disciples what would
I h a v e co n q u ered
befall him that Jethe world. (John
sus suddenly experi15:20; 16:33) A t
enced the very suftimes these tribulaferings of which he
tio n s cam e u n ex pectedly and sudhad spoken. He was
in Jerusalem, in the
denly upon Jesus
garden of Gethsemfollowers.
an e, w hen a mob
11F o r ex a m p le,
arm ed w ith clubs
there was the time
and swords came by
t h a t th e a p o s t le
Paul and his fellow
night and took him
into custody. That
m issionary Barnanight, as he was bebas were ministerin g tr ie d , som e
ing in the city of
started to spit on
Lystra in Asia Minor. Here they were
him and som e to
cover his whole face
w ell r e c e iv e d . In
and h it him w ith Jesus betrayal and arrest came suddenly, but f a c t , a f t e r t h e y
their fists. (Mark he had prepared for the trials ahead of him healed a lame man,
and faithfully endured
14:65) But this was
the people were so
only the beginning of his ordeal. The next impressed that they wanted to offer sacriday Pontius Pilate had Jesus whipped flees to them. However, shortly afterward,
or scourged. (Matt. 27:26-30; John 19: the Bible record says: Jews arrived from
1-3) Commenting on what this might Antioch and Iconium and persuaded the
have involved, the Medical World News crowds, and they stoned Paul and dragged
of October 21, 1966, observed: The tragW hat did Jesus say to prepare his disciples for
ic pantomime of crowning Christ with 10.
trials they would face?
thorns and the heckling of the crowd may 11, 12. (a) W hat sudden opposition did P aul and B ar
9. W hat trialsom e experiences did Jesus finally suffer,
and did he faithfully endure them ?

nabas experience in L ystra, and why was it unexpected?

(b) W hat should we learn from this, and how did
Paul seek to prepare the disciples for w hat lay ahead?

F ebr uary

15, 1971

SReWATCHTOWER.

him outside the city, imagining he was

dead. How suddenly there was a reversal
and persecution came!Acts 14:8-19.
12 This should serve as a lesson to us today. Our Christian lives may be going
along quite peacefully. The preaching
work may be enjoying unusual acceptance
with the people. But then something can
happen and difficult trials can suddenly
come upon us. We must anticipate such
tests of our faith and train to meet them.
The apostle Paul appreciated this, and
urged his fellow Christians to do this very
thing. The Bible says that after Pauls
being stoned, he and Barnabas returned
to Lystra and to Iconium and to Antioch,
strengthening the souls of the disciples,
encouraging them to remain in the faith
and saying: We must enter into the kingdom of God through many tribulations.
Acts 14:21, 22.
13 Do not conclude that you will escape
tests of your faith. Gods Word is certain
on thisall true Christians will be subjected to trials. (2 Tim. 3:12) How or in
what form they will come, we do not
always know. But even today they can
come suddenly. For example, in the African country of Malawi in 1965 and 1966
the Christian witnesses of Jehovah were
enjoying reasonably favorable conditions
under which to carry on their ministerial
work. But then in 1967 they were banned
and vilified by the government, setting off
a sudden wave of vicious persecution.
Homes and meeting places were burned.
Women were raped and men were tortured
and killed. In recent years sudden outbreaks of persecution have also been experienced by Christians in Cameroon, the
United Arab Republic, Malagasy, Equatorial Guinea and other places.
13. W hat evidence is th ere th a t tria ls can come sudien ly upon C hristians today?

Ill

WHY GOD PERMITS TRIALS

14 But why, someone may inquire, does

Jehovah God allow his servants to suffer
trials? Why is Satem the Devil permitted
to go about like a roaring lion causing so
much suffering and distress? There is
good reason for this. This is shown by the
fact that God says, He that is touching
you [people of mine] is touching my eyeball. (Zech. 2:8) Now think about it:
Would God permit suffering upon his beloved people, which has the same painful
effect upon him himself as a jab in the
eyeball, if he did not have good reason for
permitting it? Of course not! We are wise,
therefore, to obtain a proper understanding of why God allows Satan to bring terrible suffering upon His servants.
15 The Bible shows that an issue of universal importance between Jehovah God
and Satan the Devil is involved. It reveals
that, after God created the first human
pair and placed them in a paradise home
on earth, a mighty angelic creature intervened and by means of a slanderous lie
successfully enticed them to disobey their
Creator. (Gen. 3:1-6) This troublemaker
thus became the Devil, or Slanderer. The
Scriptures indicate that the Devil later
challenged God in claiming that he could
turn away from God all the yet unborn
offspring of that first human pair. Unmistakable evidence to this effect is found
in connection with the faithful servant of
God named Job.
18 The inspired Bible record takes us into
heaven itself, revealing an important conversation there. It says: Now it came to
14. W hat fact shows th a t God has good reason fo r perm itting his people to suffer trials, so w h at are we wise
to obtain?
15. Who enticed the first hum an p a ir to tu rn aw ay from
God, and of w hat challenge of his to God is th ere unm istakable evidence?
16. (a) As indicated in th e conversation recorded in
the book of Job, w h at is involved in th e issue betw een
Jehovah and S atan? (b) W as th is issue new in Jo b s
day?

112

B rooklyn , N .Y .
SfreWATCHTOWER.
be the day when the sons of the true God meins will serve Jehovah God because they
entered to take their station before Jeho- truly love him? Whether you will be able
vah, and even Satan proceeded to enter to do so depends upon whether you avail
right among them. . . . And Jehovah went yourself of important aids.
on to say to Satan: Have you set your
AIDS TO ENDURING TRIAL
heart upon my servant Job, that there is
18 Consider, for example, how happy Jeno one like him in the earth, a man blameless and upright, fearing God and turning hovah God must have been with the course
aside from bad? At that Satan answered taken by faithful Job. Satan had said, in
Jehovah and said: Is it for nothing that effect, that nobody would keep integrity to
Job has feared God? Have not you your- God under trial. Yet, Jobs course of life
self put up a hedge about him and about was testifying before the entire universe,
his house and about everything that he You are a low-down liar, Satan, for until
has all around? . . . But, for a change, I die Ill remain faithful to God! (Jas.
thrust out your hand, please, and touch 5:11) How happy Jehovah is when pereverything he has and see whether he will sons like Job faithfully serve Him and thus
not curse you to your very face. This prove his Adversary a liar! This is indishows that involved in the issue between cated by Gods loving appeal: Be wise,
God and Satan is the question: Will hu- my son, and make my heart rejoice, that
mans remain faithful to God under test? I may make a reply to him that is tauntSatan obviously maintained that they ing me. (Prov. 27:11) So consider the
would not. So to settle the matter, at least privilege you have of making Jehovahs
in connection with the man Job, Jehovah heart glad! Your faithfulness to Him under
said to Satan: Look! Everything that he trial will add to the reply he can make
has is in your hand. But, regardless of to his taunter Satan the Devil. Your remembering this will serve as an invaluable
the trials that Satan brought upon him,
aid to you to endure trial.
Job maintained his faith in God. He proved
19Another important aid to enduring
the Devil to be a liar, even as had faithtrial is to consider its temporary nature.
ful men before him, such as Abel, Noah,
Really, the trial does not amount to anyAbraham and others.Job chapters 1 and thing in comparison with the blessings
2; Heb. 11:4-38.
with which God will reward his faithful
17Although down through the centuries servants. (Rom. 8:18) Although Job sufthe faith and endurance of Gods servants fered terribly at the hands of Satan, the
have time and again proved Satan to be Bible record says: As for Jehovah, he
a liar, Satan has refused to slow down in blessed the end of Job afterward more
his insane course. He continues in his at- than his beginning. (Job 42:12) And of
tempts to turn humans from true worship. even greater importance, Jobs faithfulness
Yet lovers of Jehovah have remained assured for him the blessing of a resurfaithful to God despite whatever trials the rection from the dead to enj'oy eternal life.
Devil has brought upon them. Will you be How wise, therefore, it is to serve God
able to withstand Satans final onslaughts faithfully! The Bible explains: Happy is
j'ust prior to his destruction by God? Will
(a) W hy did Jo b 's faithfulness make Jehovah's
you contribute to the evidence that hu- 18.
heart rejoice? (b) Therefore w hat will aid us to rem ain
17. W hat has the Devil continued to attem p t to do, so
w hat questions do each one of us face?

faithful to God under tria l ?

19. Keeping w hat else in m ind w ill aid us to endure
trials ?

F ebruary 15, 1971

3HeWATCHT0WER

the man that keeps on enduring trial, because on becoming approved he will receive the crown of life, which Jehovah
promised to those who continue loving
him.Jas. 1:12; Matt. 5:10-12.
20Still another important aid to enduring trial is to consider the faithful endurance of you r
Christian brothers throughout
the world. On occasion a person
may think th at
h is t r i a l s a r e
unique, that no
one has experienced exactly the
same difficulties
he is undergoing. But the Bible says:
Take your stand against him [Satan
the Devil], solid in the faith, knowing
that the same things in the way of sufferings are being accomplished in the entire association of your brothers in the
world. (1 Pet. 5:9) Yes, the same things
in th e w a y o f
sufferings are
befalling your fellow C h r istia n s
elsewhere. You
can read ab ou t
this in the annual
Yearbook of Jehovahs Witnesses. But since others are ta k in g
their stand faithfully against Satan under
such suffering, you can too. Remembering
this will help you to endure trial.
TRAINING NECESSARY TO ENDURE TRIAL

21Besides availing yourself of these

20. (a) Are the tria ls we m ay undergo different from
those experienced by other C hristians? (b) How can
considering the experiences of others aid us to endure
trial?
21. W hat p a rt does p ra y er play in train in g for the
tria ls ahead?

113

aids, it is absolutely necessary that you

train for the trials ahead by keeping in
close communication with Jehovah God by
means of prayer. The Bible urges: Persevere in prayer. Pray incessantly.
(Rom. 12:12; 1 Thess. 5:17) Just as a
soldier in battle should keep in communi*
cation with his superior officer, so too
Christians need always to go to God for
direction and strength. Jesus encouraged
his followers to pray to God: Do not
bring us into temptation, but deliver us
from the wicked one.Matt. 6:13.
22 However, this does not mean that af*
ter praying you can simply sit back and
wait for deliverance. More is required if
you are successfully to endure trial. This
is evidenced from
the way in which
God answers that
prayer, Do not
b r in g u s in t o
tem ptation, but
deliver us from
the wicked one.
G od d o e s t h is
p r in c i p a l ly in
two ways. First,
by giving forewarning through his Word
concerning the way Satan operates. Thus,
you can know what to expect from Sa*
tan in the way of trials. Being forewarned,
you are forearmed. (2 Cor. 2:11) And
secondly, Jehovah answers that prayer by
strengthening his servants by means of
his Word. This enables them to endure
the trials that God permits Satan to bring.
23How clear it is, therefore, that your
training for the trials ahead must include
study of Gods Word the Bible! This study
is necessary in order to be properly forewarned and strengthened. But in addition
22. How does God answ er the p ra y er not to be brought
into tem ptation b u t to be delivered from the wicked
one?
23. W hat m ust be included in ou r train in g fo r the
tria ls ahead?

114

B rooklyn , N .Y .
S&eWATCHTOWER.
25To illustrate how Jehovah can make
your training must also include regular
association with Gods people in congre- the way out for those who have availed
gational meetings. Here at these meetings themselves of his provisions, consider the
you receive Gods spirit, and here you can example of Gods servants in the United
receive loving help and strengthening Arab Republic. They were beaten on the
from Gods visible organization. (Matt. bottoms of their feet and on their backs
18:20) You cannot isolate yourself, for as because they refused to share in activities
the Bible says: One isolating himself will that would violate their Christian neuseek his own selfish longing; against all trality. But one wrote: While I was lying
practical wisdom he will break forth. on the ground being beaten I was praying
Prov. 18:1.
to Jehovah to help me endure this torture.
24If you avail yourself of these provi- I was very happy because Jehovah, the
sions of Jehovah God for your strengthen- Almighty God, helped me. Another WitingHis Word, His Spirit and His Or- ness wrote: Regardless of the amount of
ganizationwhat a grand assurance you insulting and beatings that we received,
have! Note the promise that is given in a few seconds would pass and we would
the Bible: God is faithful, and he will not feel anything more even though the
not let you be tempted beyond what you beatings continued. We were feeling that
can bear, but along with the temptation Jehovah God was always with us. How
he will also make the way out in order for marvelously Jehovah can make the way
you to be able to endure it. (1 Cor. 10: out! Just as he delivered tormented Lot
13) Yes, no matter how great the tempta- long ago, so Jehovah has proved time and
tion or trial may be, Jehovah will make it again today that he knows how to deliver
possible for his servants to endure it faith- people of godly devotion out of trial.
fully. What a wonderful assurance! But 2 Pet. 2:6-9.
28 Your faith, too, is certain to be tested.
remember, this promise does not apply to
everyone. It applies only to those that This is so because Satan the Devil knows
avail themselves of Gods provisions for his end is near and he will bring trials
their strengthening. If you do not keep upon you in an effort to turn you from
in regular communication with Jehovah Gods service. Therefore, it is absolutely
God by means of prayer, and if you do not essential that you avail yourself of Gods
regularly study Gods Word and attend provisions for your strengthening by praycongregational meetings with his people, ing to God regularly, by studying his
you simply cannot expect Jehovah to make Word, and by meeting regularly with his
organization of people. In this way you
the way out for you when you are tempted.
will obtain Jehovahs approval and will
Surely this should impress the vital imsuccessfully endure any trial that may
portance of proper training now for the come upon you.
trials ahead!
24. W hat grand prom ise do we have from Jehovah,
but does this prom ise apply to everyone?

25. W hat m odern-day examples do we have to show

how Jehovah can help his servants endure tria l?
26. W hat is it absolutely essential th a t we do now?

EnduringTrialsThat TestOur Faith

"You have been grieved by various trials, in order
that the tested quality of your faith . . . may be
found a cause for praise."-! Pet. 1:6, 7.

RIALS are not pleasant. They can loving him. (Jas. 1:12) Yes, it is a source
be very grievous. It certainly was of joy when we know that our faithfulness
not pleasant, for example, when Jesus
under trial is pleasing to God and will
Christ was spit upon and ridiculed, and merit his reward of eternal life. We can
finally viciously beaten and nailed to a also be happy for the opportunity that
torture stake to die an agonizing death. trials afford to prove our love for our
(Matt. 26:66-68; 27:26-30) Those trials heavenly Father.
that put his faith to the most extreme test
3 When they are viewed properly, therewere indeed grievous. Yet Jesus faithful fore, we can actually welcome trials, for
course under trial proved a cause for they produce beneficial results. This cerpraise. First, it brought praise to Gods tainly is true in connection with the trainname, for Jesus faithfulness proved Sa- ing that is necessary for a runner or swimtan the Devil incapable of turning him mer. Those persons must undergo many
from the worship of God. Then, too, Jesus demanding trials and tests to cultivate the
was rewarded for his faithfulness with needed quality of endurance. Only after
praise and honor when God resurrected being put through such trials can they
him from the dead to heavenly life.Phil. ever hope to win in fiercely competitive
2:9-11.
track and swimming meets. It is similar
2When we always keep in view the with a Christian; trials serve to make him
praise brought to Gods name and the stronger in the faith. It is for this reason
grand reward he gives for faithfulness, we that the disciple James wrote: Consider
can maintain genuine happiness even when it all joy, my brothers, when you meet
undergoing trials. In fact, Jesus said in with various trials, knowing as you do
his Sermon on the Mount: Happy are you that this tested quality of your faith works
when people reproach you and persecute out endurance.Jas. 1:2, 3.
you and lyingly say every sort of wicked
4An experience of the apostles illusthing against you for my sake. Rejoice trates how tests of faith can produce enand leap for joy, since your reward is durance, and actually result in joy. On one
great in the heavens. (Matt. 5:11, 12) occasion they were summoned by the SanThe disciple James wrote similarly: Hap- hedrin officials, who flogged them, and
py is the man that keeps on enduring ordered them to stop speaking upon the
trial, because on becoming approved he basis of Jesus name. How did they rewill receive the crown of life, which Jeact? The Bible says: These, therefore,
hovah promised to those who continue
went their way from before the Sanhedrin,

1. Are trials pleasant? How can faithfulness under tria l

prove a cause fo r praise ?
2, 3. (a) How is it possible to be happy even when
undergoing tria ls? (b) W hat benefit do trials serve?

4, 5. (a) W hy could the apostles rejoice a fte r receiving

a flogging? (b) In w h at w ay a re we strengthened by
tria ls?
115

116

S&eWATCHTOWER.

rejoicing because they had been counted

worthy to be dishonored in behalf of his
name. (Acts 5:40-42) The apostles were
happy for the opportunity to prove their
loyalty to Christ and his heavenly Father.
Also, the fact that their faith had been
tested by a severe trial and proved to be
of genuine quality was a source of joy to
the apostles. They could rejoice that the
trialsome experience had produced in them
endurance.
5 Just think of that! Those experiences
through which Satan endeavors to tear
down our faith can in fact build us up. For
when we faithfully endure trial, our mind
is filled with the conscious realization that
we are pleasing to God. This consciousness of Gods approval strengthens and
makes our hope more sure. Trials and tribulations thus set in motion a sort of chain
reaction through which the Devils attempts against us are completely thwarted. The apostle Paul explained the matter
nicely, urging: Let us exult while in tribulations, since we know that tribulation
produces endurance; endurance, in turn,
an approved condition; the approved condition, in turn, hope, and the hope does
not lead to disappointment. (Rom. 5:3-5)
What a victorious combination Jehovah
God has given us! Yes, sufferings and
trials can only serve to build us up and
strengthen us when we remain faithful.
*It is significant that Satan the Devil
has no new methods, no new ways of endeavoring to turn us from Gods service.
That is why the apostle Paul once said regarding Satan: We are not ignorant of
his designs. (2 Cor. 2:11) Also we are
told at 1 Corinthians 10:13: No temptation [or trial] has taken you except what
is common to men. In the Bible there are
recorded for us the many different trials
6. (a) How do we know th a t the Devil has no new
m ethods in his attem pts to tu rn us from God's service?
(b) W hy m ay the Devil seek to bring different trials
upon different individuals?

B rooklyn , N .Y .

by which we may be tempted to reject

Jehovah. By examining these Bible examples we can be warned of what to expect, and to be forewarned is to be forearmed. We also want to remember that
Satan is very clever. He will not necessarily bring the same trials upon everyone. For what is a severe trial for one
person may be something relatively easy
for another person to endure. So we can
be sure that the !Devil will endeavor to
strike us at our most vulnerable point.
With this in mind, let us consider briefly
some trials that may come upon us to test
our faith.
TESTED ON LOYALTY TO GOD

1It is in connection with obedience to

Gods laws that our faith will be tested.
Satan the Devil endeavors to create circumstances that constitute a severe test,
making it very difficult for us to obey God.
One of Jehovah Gods laws or commands
that Satan frequently attempts to get
Gods servants to break is this: You must
not have any other gods against my face.
. . . You must not bow down to them nor
be induced to serve them, because I Jehovah your God am a God exacting exclusive
devotion. (Ex. 20:3-5) Jesus stated the
command this way: It is Jehovah your
God you must worship, and it is to him
alone you must render sacred service.
(Matt 4:10) Gods servants frequently
have undergone severe trials that have
tested whether they would remain faithful
to this requirement to give God exclusive
devotion.
8For example, when ancient Babylon
was a world power her ruler King Nebuchadnezzar set up a huge golden image,
and the order was issued to all present:
7. (a) How does the Devil seek to m ake persons break
God's law s? (b) W hat is one law of God th a t Satan
has often endeavored to get persons to break?
8. In w hat way were the th ree H ebrew s tested in
connection w ith the above law of God?

117
3EeWATCHT0WERAt the time that you hear the sound of dren sing hymns.* And just as obligation
the horn, the pipe, the zither, the triangu- was laid upon citizens of ancient Babylon
lar harp, the stringed instrument, the bag- to bow before the image of the State, so
pipe and all sorts of musical instruments, in modem times nations often require that
you [must] fall down and worship the service or worship be paid to some State
image of gold that Nebuchadnezzar the emblem or some human representative of
king has set up. And whoever does not the State.
fall down and worship will at the same
10In Nazi Germany people were commoment be thrown into the burning fiery
manded
to heil Hitler and raise their arm
furnace. (Dan. 3:5, 6) Among those presto
the
swastika.
Failure to comply with
ent were three Hebrew servants of Jehovah God, Shadrach, Meshach and Abedne- this idolatrous practice was punishable by
go. What a severe tried this was for them! brutal treatment and the horrors of a conWhat a test of their faith! God had com- centration camp. What a severe test of
manded, You must not bow down, and faith this was for true Christians! Would
yet the command of the Babylonian king they heil a man and render worshipful
was, Fall down and worship the image honors to an emblem of the State? Or
of gold or die in the furnace. This was would they obey God? What would you
a deliberate attempt of Satan the Devil have done? Thousands of Christian witto get the three Hebrews to break Gods nesses of Jehovah obeyed God and relaw by bowing to the State, the States fused to render devotion to Hitler or an
image.
emblem of the State. True, they were sent
* The Devils methods have not changed. off to concentration camps and suffered
He still maneuvers Gods servants into horrible treatment, but the majority of
similar trying situations. For example, them came out rejoicing that the trialsome experience had produced
just as nations did in the days
in them endurance.
of ancient Babylon, so nations Despite feartoday set up emblems and com- some threats,
11 More recently, persons in
the three Hemand their citizens to salute, bow brews refused
the United Arab Republic
or perform other worshipful hon- to bow down
* W hat Am ericans Believe and H ow
ors toward these. Regarding a to the kings
T h ey W orship by J. P aul W illiams,
pages 359 and 360.
image.
Can
you
prominent symbol of the nations
10, 11. How have God's servants in
in modem times, Catholic his- endure similar
m odern tim es been tested in connection
trials that
w
ith idolizing a m an or rendering
torian Carlton Hayes observes:
test your
allegiance to an em blem of the S tate?
Nationalisms chief symbol of
faith?
faith and central object of worship is the flag, and curious liturgical forms have been devised for
saluting the flag, for dipping
the flag, for lowering the flag,
and for hoisting the flag. Men
bare their heads when the flag
passes by; and in praise of the
flag poets write odes and chilF ebruary 15, 1971

9. To w hat Image or sym bol have nations

in m odern tim es often required th a t service
be paid ?

118

SHeWATCHTOWER,

were commanded to shout such patriotic cries as: Long live the president
Gamal Abdel Nasser! How happy were
those who loyally refused to share in
such idolatrous practices toward a man
who has since diedin 1970. Although
they received beatings, they were conscious of Jehovahs help during this trialsome experience. The Washington
reporting on another African country, said:
Hundreds of children from Witnesses
families have been expelled from school.
They refused to sing the anthem and salute the flag.f Despite the Scriptural
precedent and the conscientious objections
of these children who were put under
much pressure to break Gods law, the
High Court ruled that there was sufficient
basis to deny them an education.
12 We can be certain that Satan the Devil will continue in his efforts to pressure
Christians to pay worshipful honors to
persons or emblems of the State. He does
not want anyone to remain loyal to God
by giving God exclusive devotion. In many
countries schoolchildren are regularly
called upon to salute the flag, repeat an
oath of allegiance to it, and in some places
even to kneel before it and kiss it with
their lips. Ridicule and in some cases physical harm have been meted out to those
who have not complied with such requirements. This may soon become the practice where you live, if it is not already.
What will you do? Will you endure such
deliberate attempts of the Devil to cause
you to become disloyal to God? Will you
pass this test of your faith?
TESTED OVER ISSUE OF BLOOD

13 Another law in connection with which

t The W ashington P ost, Feb. 21, 1969, p. F2.
12. To w hat test are schoolchildren frequently subjected?
13. (a) W hat is Gods law regarding blood? (b) How
w ere early C hristians tested in connection w ith this
law, and w ith w hat results?

B rooklyn , N .Y .

servants of God frequently have been tested is the prohibition regarding blood.
Gods command to the Israelites was:
You must not eat the blood of any sort
of flesh, because the soul of every sort of
flesh is its blood. Anyone eating it will be
cut off. (Lev. 17:14) The command was
repeated to Christians: Abstain . . . from
what is strangled and from blood. (Acts
15:19, 20) The early writer Tertullian reports that the Romans knew about the
stand of Christians on blood, and that
Christians were tested in connection with
this law. Tertullian writes: When you
are testing Christians, you offer them
sausages full of blood; you are thoroughly
well aware, of course, that among them
it is forbidden; but you want to
J5k
make them transgress.* But
faithful Christians would not
transgress. They could not be
coerced to break Gods law even
when threatened with the punishment of death.
What will you
Due to the moddo if doctors ern me(jicaj practice

J> 'V

of transfusing blood
in t o i l l p e r s o n s ,
Christians today frequently are
faced with a similar test of their faith.
Some medical authorities insist upon giving this blood treatment, or no treatment
at all. This can be a real trial for a Christian. What if you should find yourself in a
circumstance where doctors insist on giving blood to you or to one of the members
of your family? Will you faithfully adhere
to Gods clear law that commands abstinence from blood? Or will you be tempted
into breaking his law by pressures instigated by the Devil? How happy are those
who have faithfully obeyed God when
in gy o u b lo o d ?

* T ertullians Apology, translated by T. R. Glover,

pp. 5 1 1 9 3 1 ) 53).
14. (a) W hat is a common m edical practice today, and
how can this constitute a tria l for tru e C hristians?
(b) How does obedience to Gods law prove a real
protection?

15, 1971

119
SfteWATCHTOWER,
faced by such a test! Not only do they course not! For the thoughts with which
have the grand consciousness of Gods ap- we continually fill our minds are what will
proval, but they have been protected from eventually motivate us to act. How danthe many horrible diseases and dangers gerous, therefore, to allow our minds to
with which blood transfusions are asso- focus upon immoral desires!Matt. 5:28;
Jas. 1:13-15.
ciated.
17To pass this test of our faith sueTESTED ON MORAL REQUIREMENTS
cessfully we need to persistently control
15
On the other hand, Christians are alsoour thoughts. We need to heed the instruefrequently tested in connection with Gods tion of Gods Word: Whatever things
moral requirements. God commands: You are righteous, whatever things are chaste,
must not commit adultery. Abstain from whatever things are lovable, whatever
fornication. (Ex. 20:14; 1 Thess. 4:3; things are well spoken of, whatever virActs 15:20) The Devil has found many of tue there is and whatever praiseworthy
Jehovahs people to be vulnerable in this thing there is, continue considering these
area. Therefore, one of his favorite meth- things. (Phil. 4:8) Yes, make it your
ods to alienate persons from God is to se- mental resolve, and reinforce that resolve
duce them to break these laws. For ex- over and over again, that no matter what
ample, when Jehovahs people of Israel situations arise in your life you will obey
were about to enter the land of Canaan, Gods moral requirements. When tempted,
Satan used attractive Moabite women as pray to Jehovah. Think about making His
bait to seduce Israels men to commit im- heart glad. Also, strengthen yourself by
morality and thus bring upon them Gods considering such faithful examples as Jowrath. (Num. 25:1-9; Rev. 2:14) In re- seph, who resisted enticement to immoralcent times, too, Satan the Devil has em- ity. Oh, how fine to be like that Godployed sex to tempt Christians into im- fearing man!Gen. 39:1-13.
moral conduct. The tremendous emphasis upon sex, with
THE COMMAND TO PREACH
th e g lo r ify in g p r a c tic a lly
A TEST OP FAITH
everywhere of illicit sexual
18G o d s w ill f o r J e s u s
practices, can constitute a
C h r is t w a s t h a t h e be a
real trial for Christians.
preacher of the kingdom of
God, and Jesus faithfully did
18How can we successfully
endure this trial? By allowt h is w o r k in t h e f a c e o f
ing our minds to dwell on im- Will watching TV pro- m o u n tin g o p p o sitio n th a t
moral thoughts? By going to grams that condone im- eventually claimed his life.
practices help you
m ovies, reading books and moral
(Luke 4:43; 8:1) Later Jesus
to endure trials?
watching television programs
commanded his followers: Go
that condone prostitution, adultery and therefore and make disciples of people of
other God-dishonoring practices? By look- all the nations . . . teaching them to obing on persons other than our own mar- serve all the things I have commanded
riage mate with the thought of hav- you. (Matt. 28:19, 20) This command to
ing immoral relations with them? Of preach is applicable to all Christians toF ebruary

15. (a) W hat are Gods law s in connection w ith m oral

conduct? (b) How has S a ta n . tem pted Gods servants
in connection w ith these laws, and is he doing so today?
16, 17. How can we successfully avoid falling into
sexual im m orality?

18, 19. (a) W hat was God's w ill for Jesus, and is it the
same for C hristians today? (b) W hat evidence is th ere
th a t the Devil has m ade it difficult to obey God's comm and to preach, b u t w ith w h at effect upon C hristians?

120

B rooklyn , N .Y .
S&eWATCHTOWER.
day. In fact, it is especially urgent now poses a real test of our faith. Are you enthat Christians preach, for Jesus foretold during this trial? Do you recognize the
that this good news of the kingdom must responsibility of Satan for the indifferent
be preached in all the inhabited earth for attitude of people? It is a fact. By means
a witness before the end comes. (Matt. of his propaganda he has molded their
24:14) Little wonder, therefore, that Sa- thinking. (2 Cor. 4:4) He is thereby entan the Devil is concentrating his efforts deavoring to discourage you from even
to make it difficult for Gods servants to attempting to preach to them. But do not
obey this command. This means that the let him succeed! Recognize in the indifsolemn charge: Preach the word, be at ferent and sometimes even hostile attitudes of people
it u r g e n tly ,
th e e ffo r ts o f
poses a real test
S a ta n to slo w
of faith for
TH E N EXT IS S U E
yo u dow n and
Chr i stians.
Serving Jehovah with a Complete Heart.
keep you from
2 T im . 4 :2 ;
z
e a lo u sly and
1 Cor. 9:16.
Do You Really Want G ods Kingdom?
ta
c tfu lly pre19In the first
s
e
n tin g the
century it cer W hy People Do Bad Things.
Kingdom mestainly did. You
sa g e to th em .
will recall that
Satan stirred up his religious represen- Do not allow the Devil in any way to stop
tatives against the apostles, and they you from obeying our heavenly Fathers
flogged them, and ordered them to stop command to preach.
speaking upon the basis of Jesus name.
PASSING THE TESTS OF OUR FAITH
(Acts 5:40) What would you have done?
21 Gods commands to us can prove to
Stopped preaching to avoid another flogging? Not the apostles! They endured be a test even when Satan does not bring
the trial, passing this test of their faith. trials. The Bible gives an ancient examIn recent years, too, Christians have pie, telling us: God put Abraham to the
faced similar circumstances. Authorities test. Accordingly he said to him: Abrahave banned the preaching work in some ham! . . . Take, please, your son, your
places. But in imitation of Jesus Christ only son whom you so love, Isaac, and
and the twelve apostles true Christians make a trip to the land of Moriah and
have continued right on preaching. They there offer him up as a burnt offering.
have said in effect: We must obey God Just imagine how difficult it was for Abraas ruler rather than men. (Acts 5:29) ham to obey this command of God! But
What courage! What faithfulness to God! Abraham did. He went to the very point
This is the example that we certainly want of using the knife to slaughter his dear
to imitate.
son. What faithfulness to God! After hold20In most places, however, the preach- ing back his hand from harming his son,
ing work has not been banned. Neverthe- Jehovah said to Abraham: Now I do
less, people frequently are indifferent to know that you are God-fearing in that
the Kingdom message; they may even you have not withheld your son, your only
scoff and ridicule. This, too, is a trial. It one, from me.Gen. 22:1-18.
20. How is the Devil responsible for peoples attitudes,
and w hat is the intended effect upon Christian m inisters ?

21. How did God test Abraham , and how did Abraham
respond ?

F ebr uary

15, 1971

SEeWATCHTOWER.

121

22 Gods instructions to Christians today

pose a similar test. For example, how diffieult some find it to preach publicly and
from house to house! (Acts 20:20) And
how hard they find it to prepare for this
preaching work by giving talks in the
Theocratic Ministry School or by making
comments at congregational meetings!
(1 Tim. 4:13; Heb. 10:24, 25) But are
these tests any greater than the one God
applied to Abraham? An extremely timid
person may almost think so. But remember, Jehovah is a loving, merciful God. He
never asks his people to do anything that
is not for their own good and blessing.
Think, for example, about the blessings
Abraham received for obeying God. He
had the joy of being stopped by Gods
angel and hearing Gods approval pronounced upon him. He became ancestor to
the seed of promise. (Gen. 22:17, 18; Gal.
3:16) Also, his faith is recommended in
the Bible for all Christians to imitate.
(Heb. 11:17-19) And Abraham served as
a prototype of God himself who offered
his Son as a sacrifice for mankind. (John
3:16) We, too, will be blessed by God if
we obediently do what he says.
23It is a real mistake to try to avoid
or sidestep a test by failing to do what
God commands us. The Bible says that
Abraham got up early in the morning
and took Isaac and immediately began his
journey to Moriah. He did not put it off.
Neither should we put off obeying Gods
instructions to preach his Kingdom message. Obedience will only be more difficult
the longer we put off doing what we know
that we should do now. And that test will
always stand between us and obtaining
Gods approval and blessing.

24As an example, consider the Israelites

whom God brought out of Egypt to the
land flowing with milk and honey. The
land was theirs, but there was a test they
first needed to pass. The land was filled
with demon worshipers who participated
in truly abominable practices. What is
more some were of unusual, giantlike size.
(Num. 13:1-33) This caused the Israelites
to become fearful and to refuse to obey
Gods, instructions to go in and take the
land. Therefore God said that they would
not go in, but that all of those over twenty
years of age would die in the wilderness.
(Num. 14:29-34) However, forty years
later when the next generation of Israelites proceeded to go into the land at Gods
command, what was the situation? Why,
there were those same powerful men, or
at least their offspring! The test still had
to be passed. But the Israelites at this time
did not avoid the test. They trusted in God
and obediently went right on in and began
taking the land. (Josh. 11:21-23) How
much better, though, it would have been
for their fathers to have passed the test
forty years before!
25Now we are at the portals of Gods
righteous new system of things. (2 Pet.
3:13) How close the end of this system is!
This is no time, therefore, to put off or
neglect to do Gods will. We must trust
in Jehovah, and courageously do what he
says. Very shortly now we can expect
Satan in his final all-out assault against
Gods people to bring tremendous trials
upon us. But in Gods strength we can endure these trials that test our faith. Yes,
and then consider the grand reward of
eternal life in his righteous new system
with which God will bless us!Jas. 1:12;
Rev. 21:3, 4.

22. (a) W hat requirem ents for C hristians today m ay

be about as hard for some to obey as the test applied
to A braham ? (b) How was A braham blessed for his
obedience, and w hat does this indicate about us if we
are obedient?
23. W hat m istake do we w ant to avoid m aking?

24. W hat test did some Israelites fail to pass, and w hat
shows th a t if they had tru sted in God they could have
passed it?
25. W hat should we do now, and w ith w hat prospect
in view?

S THERE a basis on which people can they, in turn, feel like brothers to the asget along together in real, heartfelt sembly delegates in Africa?
love and unity? Is it possible, particularly
DAKAR, SENEGAL
if they are of different race or nationality,
In
order
to
cover the ten assemblies to
language and social background?
be
visited
the
travelers
took different itinNear the close of 1970, when a group of
eraries,
some
visiting
one assembly and
236 persons from the United States and
some
another.
Dakar,
Senegal,
situated on
Canada visited Africa, they had opportuthe
westernmost
point
of
Africas
great
nity to get firsthand information about
bulge
into
the
Atlantic
Ocean,
was
first.
this matter. Where could a greater diverArriving
in
Dakar,
the
tourists
were
sity of ethnic groups be found? And where
on earth is there now a stronger expres- warmly greeted at the early hour of 7:30
sion of the quest for freedom than in this in the morning by a large delegation of
continent, awakening like a giant to its local Witnesses, assisting them through
customs and whisking their luggage onto
privileges and place in the world?
waiting
buses. Some were accommodated
The travelers chose December for their
near
the
main hotel in quaint conicaltrip, because throughout this month Jeshaped
huts
after the Senegalese fashion,
hovahs witnesses in Africa were to hold
to
get
the
real
feeling of a visit to Africa.
their Men of Goodwill assemblies. These
conventions would bring together thouThe four-day assembly, opening on Desands of Africans of many tribes and cember 1, was held at La Maison
varied backgrounds. The traveling group Jewries, or Youth Building. Though the
were themselves Jehovahs witnesses. They exterior of the building was very attracknew that the Bible says, ,God made out tive, the interior had fallen into a state of
of one man every nadisrepair. But the Sention of men. And they
egalese Witnesses got
had seen unity and coto work ahead of time
operation displayed in
with buckets of water
the first series of such
and soap. At no cost
a sse m b lies h eld in
to the hall owners they
North Am erica last
used nearly one hunsummer. Would this be
dred gallons of paint,
possible in aU lands?
replaced light bulbs,
Moreover, would these
repaired and replaced
North American visidoors, unblocked sewto r s be rec eiv ed as North American visitors arrive in Dakar, ers and provided wabrothers and would Senegal, to attend assemblies in Africa te r f a c ilit ie s . A fte r

122

F ebruary 15, 1971

SHeWATCHTOWER.

1,200 man-hours of hard work everything

was ready, including a fine platform with
scenic backdrop. Surely the visitors from
Western shores never had anything cleaner or more comfortable for a meeting
place.
In this country of about four million
people, 80 percent of whom are Moslem,
178 of Jehovahs witnesses carry on their
preaching activity. The assembly was not
advertised, but was in the nature of a private gathering. The peak attendance was
325. Both the president of the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society, N. H. Knorr,
and the vice-president, F. W. Franz, appeared several times on the program,
speaking through interpreters.
AUDITORIUM DIRECTOR COMMENTS

What did the delegates from the American continent observe here as to the question of unity among people of various races
and languages? Perhaps it is reflected in
the remarks made by the director of La
Maison des Jeunes. Commenting on the
cooperation and discipline displayed, he
asked: Please, tell me how you do it?
When it was explained that it is not
achieved by making an announcement over
the public-address system but
a
of
life learned through a study of the Bible
and practiced in everyday life, he asked
to receive subscriptions for the
er and Awake! magazines and wanted a
copy of all the Watch Tower publications
placed in the Youth Buildings library. In
parting he concluded: I never realized
that you have such a serious organization
with such high standards of cleanliness
and orderliness. And you are always in
such a happy frame of mind; it is obvious
you have a very noble purpose.
One of the Senegalese convention delegates exclaimed, as the visitors plane took
off for the next assembly point: I did
not speak English, so I hesitated to go

123

and talk with them, but how surprised and

happy I was when they came to me and
greeted me warmly when they first arrived and then said good-bye before they
left. I felt loved so much. Jehovahs peopie in other parts of the world are truly
my brothers and sisters.
MONROVIA, LIBERIA

While the Dakar assembly was in its

third day, another planeload of travelers
landed in the splendid modem city of
Monrovia, Liberia. The Centennial Pavilion was a fitting place for this assembly.
But the convention manager was given
late notice that the government university
had engaged the Pavilion for graduation
exercises for the final day, the day of the
public meeting. The meeting could be held
afterward, at six oclock. This adjustment
did not seem wise, however, for the graduation might possibly be prolonged. So
eyes turned toward a second effort to engage the four-million-dollar True Whig
Party Building located nearby. The structure belonged to the government and was
only nearing completion. It had never yet
been used. Well, to get the use of such a
building as this, a cabinet minister, the
architect, the contracting manager, company president and the electrician had to
be hunted up on this Sunday afternoon,
for approval and access to the building.
But it was all accomplished in time to let
in the 1,427 persons patiently waiting outside to hear the public talk.
On the second day of the gathering the
679 active witnesses of Jehovah in Liberia
were happy to see sixty-two persons baptized in the Atlantic Ocean. A wide variety
of backgrounds and walks of life was represented in these newly ordained ministers.
One was a well-known lawyer, another
an American woman formerly with the
Peace Corps. There was a young African
girl who had suffered repeated beatings in

124

B rooklyn , N .Y .
f&eWATCHTOWER
school because of her faith, and a seventy- ert, providing relief from the suns hot
seven-year-old former Protestant preach- rays by day and a cool, soft breeze at
er. All were now united in the worship of night. The natives call it the Doctor, bethe true God.
cause those afflicted by malaria and other
tropical diseases get cured, at least ternA REUNION
porarily.
A real highlight, especially for the LiSince there are 851 active ministers of
berian Witnesses, was the arrival on FriJehovahs witnesses in Sierra Leone, a
day of Milton G. Henschel, a director of sizable crowd was expected. So application
the Watch Tower Society. Henschel had was made for use of the Brookfields Stadibeen present seven years previously at an
um, the largest and best facility in Freeassembly at Gbamga, Liberia, when some
town. However, it was already booked by
persecution from those opposing Jehovahs
witnesses had taken place. On Henschels another organization. Undaunted, the conarrival this time, scores of the Liberians vention planners approached representapressed forward to shake hands, recount- tives of the organization, who kindly reing some of the sufferings that had taken linquished their booking in favor of the
place when their assembly had been bro- assembly. The attendance at the public
ken up and very severe treatment had been lecture proved to be 1,540.
dealt out to the four hundred then assemCHANGING LIVES TO MEET GODS
bled. Now they were even able to laugh
STANDARDS
at some of the ludicrous or humorous asA
trying
problem
is faced by many depects of the tense occasion. Some of the
siring
to
serve
God
in Sierra Leone, as
children present at that time have grown
up to become strong, active witnesses of well as in many other parts of Africa. This
Jehovah, and they wanted their visiting is because polygamy prevails. How great
the desire is on the part
brother to know this.
of thousands of honest
FREETOWN,
Africans to bring their
SIERRA LEONE
lives into line with
Sierra Leone (meanGods will and to please
ing Lion Mountains),
him was portrayed in a
the site of the next asreal-life demonstration,
sembly visited, is the
in a special session arranged for the visiting
worlds third-largest
producer of gems. Its
delegates from North
capital city, Freetown,
America.
was founded by freed
As reenacted on the
slaves in 1787.
p la tfo rm , th e scen e
The time for the asopened with an African
sem bly here early in
chief studying the book
December was ideal. It
The Truth That Leads
is th e sea so n o f th e
to Eternal Life w ith
harm attan, a dry,
one of Jehovahs witcool wind that blows in
nesses. Soon he came to
from the Sahara Desthe realization that one

15, 1971

125
SEeWATCHTOWER
cannot be accepted for baptism and be- tian brothers in other parts of the earth.
A remarkable circumstance was noted
come a servant of Jehovah God while in a
polygamous state. But what would he do? by an observer of the assembly in FreeHe had six wives. Scriptures were pointed town. Here people from eleven tribes that
out showing that he could be acceptable are usually hostile toward one another had
only if he gave up all his wives but one. gathered, along with delegates from other
nations. What was the result? He reAfter much thought, he agreed to dismiss
marked: O n the first day six policemen
five and keep the young one, because she
were seen strolling across the grounds. The
could bear him many children. But again, second day two were sitting in the shade.
counsel from the Scriptures admonished: On the last day, when 1,540 persons were
Rejoice with the wife of your youth. present, not a policeman could be found.
Prov. 5:18.
This is amazing when you remember that
Sierra Leone is now under a state
of emergency.' Among these people
unity is not only possible but a
present reality.
F ebruary

ABIDJAN, IVORY COAST

Ivory Coast received its name

because of being a center of ivory
trade in the fifteenth century. Coffee is now its main crop, however.
In this land the work of Jehovahs
witnesses was banned in 1964. This
ban rem ain ed fo r th r e e y ea rs.
When it was lifted, the Witnesses
were so overjoyed that at their
Presentation of the drama based on the Bible book
first
meeting they sang Kingdom
of Esther, at Monrovia, Liberia
songs until they were hoarse.
The man then gathered together his
At the present time there are ten conwives and explained to them what he must gregations in the land, and six missionary
do, namely, keep the first wife and dis- homes, with 440 active ministers. They
miss the rest. He offered to support the are studying the Bible with 1,000 persons.
others until they were able to take care A fruitage of their work was manifested
of themselves, or until they should mar- when 1,003 attended the assembly in
ry again. He stood firm against the ar- Abidjan. They were especially glad to reguments of his wives, and also against the ceive the encouragement and fellowship of
pressures brought against him when he the American visitors who were able to
resigned as chief. As a result, one of his visit their country.
dismissed wives, seeing the propriety and
ACCRA AND KUMASI, GHANA
cleanness of this course of action, also beGhana, formerly called the Gold Coast,
came a witness of Jehovah. From this,
which is only a sample of thousands of still produces gold and diamonds, but the
such cases, the visitors could see that Je- chief export is cacao, the source of cocoa
hovahs witnesses in Africa live by the and chocolate. Lake Volta, the worlds
same high Bible standards as their Chris- largest man-made lake, is located in east-

126

SfieWATCHTOWER

central Ghana. The capital city, Accra,

and the second-largest city, Kumasi, were
the sites for two conventions in this country. More than fifty languages and dialects
are spoken in Ghana, though six, including Twi, Ewe and Ga, predominate. English is the official language.
The visitors appreciated the beautiful,
brightly colored garments of kente cloth
worn by both men and women. They also
noted that the Afro hairstyle is not the
general style in Africa. The women in
Ghana, for instance, divide their hair into
sections, winding black thread around each
tuft, in the nature of short braids. They
give names to each style, such as Corn
Row, Mother Popcorn, the Y, and so
forth.
There are 289 congregations in Ghana,
made up of 14,363 active ministers of Jehovahs witnesses. A crowd of 14,526 at
the Accra Race Course heard the public
address Saving the Human Racein the
Kingdom Way, given on the second day
by M. G. Henschel. On the fined day, N. H.
Knorr gave the closing remarks, delighting the conventioners by announcing that
sometime in the near future The Watchtower may be printed in three languages
right in their own country, instead of
being mailed from abroad.
The North American delegates to the
assembly at Kumasi, Ghana, were greatly
moved by the spontaneous welcome. As
two busloads of visitors arrived, shouts of
joy and a roar of applause broke out from
the 18,000 then assembled. Hundreds lined
up to shake hands and personally welcome
them. For the public talk at Kumasi, the
Sports Stadium was filled with an audience of 24,960, and 662 new ministers were
baptized.
LOM, TOGO

Togo is a country between Ghana and

Dahomey having a coast forty miles wide,

B r o oklyn , N .Y .

Top: Some of 662 baptized at Accra, Ghana.

Bottom: Baptism of 25 at Dakar, Senegal

but reaching back from the coast 365

miles. Here the assembly in the capital,
Lome, turned out to be of only one days
duration, but nevertheless a very successful one. On the evening of that first day,
some 4,000 persons gathered to see performed, by native Togolese, a dramatization of the Bible book of Esther. This attendance was the more remarkable in view
of the fact that there are only 1,638 active ministers of Jehovahs witnesses in
the entire country.
Disappointingly, at the close of the first
days session, the health authorities, because of a cholera epidemic scare in
the country, closed the convention, even
though the Witnesses had taken careful
precautions to safeguard the assembly delegates against the epidemic. Nonetheless,
the native Witnesses, who had spent long
hours of work in preparing the assembly
site and the necessary equipment, many
of whom had also spent all their savings
to come to the assembly over primitive
roads and paths, enjoyed what they had
seen and heard, as well as the association
experienced. So they returned to their
homes happy.

F ebruary

15, 1971

SffceWATCHTOWER,

VISITING NORTH AMERICAN

DELEGATES SATISFIED

Up to this point, what had the North

American travelers observed? Is there a
basis on which people can work together
in real harmony with love? One writes:
After the assembly was canceled in Togo
the brothers were reluctant to go home.
They just had to see the visitors who were
scheduled to come in the second day. They
came to the branch office throughout that
entire day and into the night. When at
five oclock a busload of visitors arrived,
the brothers broke out in song and held
outstretched arms to welcome each one.
What a sight of love among brothers!
I dont think there was a dry eye among
the visitors as they were overcome with
such affection.
After the assembly in Dakar one of the
visitors remarked: Dakar made a big im-

What is the Christian view of the payment

of bills?L. D., U.S.A.
While there are countless situations covered
by this question, the basic answer is quite simpie. The counsel at Romans 13:8 definitely applies to this matter: Do not you people be
owing anybody a single thing, except to love
one another. Surely it would be unloving for a
person to avoid paying money owed to another,
whether it was owed because of having borrowed it or because of having received goods
or services. In this vein the inspired psalmist
wrote: The wicked one is borrowing and does
not pay back, but the righteous one is showing
favor and is making gifts.Ps. 37:21.
Also bearing on the matter is the fact that
Christians are honest! The apostle Paul nicely

127

pression on our minds and hearts, because

we were able to appreciate more than ever
the apostle PauTs statement in Acts 17:
26, 27 [And (God) made out of one man
every nation of men, . . . and he decreed
the appointed times . . . for them to seek
God, if they might grope for him and
really find him, although, in fact, he is
not far off from each one of us.] . The
seed of truth is being sown here, and we
pray Jehovah's rich blessing upon all those
here in this land as they seek Jehovah.
Before completing their tour, the travelers visited other African lands too. ,They
saw well over 175,000 persons assembled
in peace, talked with thousands and became personally acquainted with hundreds,
all manifesting the same unity. They could
certainly return fully satisfied that men
of all ethnic groups can find unity on the
basis of Bible truth.

expressed the point, saying: We trust we have

an honest conscience, as we wish to conduct
ourselves honestly in all things. (Heb. 13:18)
When a person makes a purchase, he in effect
says that he agrees to pay for the merchandise
received. For a number of reasons it is usually
wise to pay cash and not run up bills.* Yet
there may be an instance wherein a Christian
is billed for a purchase. In most places a person
in that position is obligated to pay for what he
has purchased or face legal action. But beyond
any fear of such a consequence, the Christian is
motivated by a personal desire to live up to the
implied agreement he made when he purchased
the merchandise. He accepts and follows Jesus*
counsel: Let your word Yes mean Yes, your
Noy No.Matt. 5:37.
It is quite common for worldly persons who
care little about having God*s approval to be
willfully negligent when it comes to paying
bills. Many of these persons might be repelled
by the thought of breaking into a store and
stealing merchandise off the shelves. But they
think little of taking the same merchandise out
See A w ake! of Novem ber 8, 1970, pages 7 and 8,
and A w a ke ! of M arch 22, 1964, pages 17 through 19.

128

SEeWATCHTOWER

the front door and then deliberately refusing to

pay for it. Is that much different from stealing?
Sometimes one receives a bill for some service rendered, such as from a repairman, doctor
or hospital. The fact that one did not receive
merchandise or goods in no way changes the
reality of his obligation. Representative of the
legal view in many places, American Jurisprudeuce (Vol. 58, p. 512) states: In the absence
of circumstances indicating otherwise, it is inferred that a person who requests another to
perform services for him thereby bargains to
pay for the services rendered. A wise course
that can prevent difficulties from arising is to
determine as nearly as possible ahead of time
what the fee will be. This is true whether one
is dealing with a professional man such as a
dentist, lawyer or doctor, or with a tradesman
such as a carpenter, painter or electrician. Jesus
recommended such an attitude of forethought,
saying: Who of you that wants to build a
tower does not first sit down and calculate the
expense, to see if he has enough to complete
it?Luke 14:28.
Jehovahs witnesses are well known for their
honesty in all aspects of life. And that is as it
should be. They know that to have Gods approval they must be as honest in their financial
affairs as in any other avenue of life. Thus they
do not engage in sharp business practices that
cheat customers or the government, excuse

B rooklyn , N .Y .

dishonest or unethical deals by hiding behind

corporate laws or other legal technicalities, or
willfully default on their bills.* All of this is
consistent with the Bibles counsel to be honest
and to avoid lying, stealing, defrauding and
greediness.Col. 3:9; Eph. 4:28; 1 Cor. 6:8-10.
In the rare case when something unexpected,
such as an accident, does occur and makes it
impossible at the moment for a Christian to
meet the payment of a bill, his honesty and
fairness will guide him. For instance, out of
consideration for his creditor he will contact
that one and explain what happened. Likely
the creditor will very much appreciate the
Christians forthrightness and will agree to
accept smaller payments or something of that
sort instead of turning the case over to a collection agency and then receiving only a portion of what is collected. The Christians obvious
honesty in being determined to pay the bill will
stand in clear contrast to those persons who
just ignore a bill they cannot or prefer not to
pay.
So even in the matter of paying bills a Christian can uphold the fine reputation Jehovahs
witnesses have for being honest. Thus no reproach is brought on the congregation, and the
way of the truth continues to be spoken of
highly.2 Pet. 2:2.
* F o r a discussion of bankruptcy, see The W atch tower of April 1, 1968, pages 223 and 224.

ANNOUNCEMENTS
HI^

^KiHHHHHHHHHHHHHHIHHHH

WATCHTOWER STUDIES FOR THE WEEKS

March 21: Are You ,Training Now for the Trials

Ahead? Page 108. Songs to Be Used: 79,
115.
March 28: Enduring Trials That Test Our
Faith. Page 115. Songs to Be Used: 75, 87.

JEHOVAHS
KINGDOM
M ARCH 1, 1971
Semimonthly

H O W IS YOUR HEART?

DO YOU REALLY W ANT

G O D'S K IN G D O M ?

W HY PEOPLE DO BAD THINGS

W TB4TS

YOU ARE MY WITNESSES, SAYS JEH O VAH.-Isa.43:12

T H E P U R P O SE O F *T H E W A T C H T O W E R
E v ery w a tc h to w e r has its purpose. It serves as an elevated place fo r a
w id e-aw ak e person w ith sharp vision. It enables him to see far ahead into
the distance and tell those b elow for w h o m he is a w atch m an w h a t is
d raw ing near, w h eth er it is a danger against w h ich to prepare o r it is
som ething good over w h ich to be glad w ith strong faith and hope.
Because o f having the nam e **The W a tc h to w e r this m agazine ju stly
has to render a sim ilar useful service to the people o f all nations. T h is is
an in tern ational m agazine and makes no racial distinctions, for w e are all
facing a com m on w o rld danger; w e are all hoping fo r a com m on good.
E ver since **The W a tc h to w e r began to be published in J u ly o f 1 8 7 9 it
has looked ahead into the future, a lw a y s striving to aid its readers to advan ce in k now ledge and to gain a clearer picture o f the glorious n e w order
o f things th at is in store for righteous mankind. N o , **The W a tc h to w e r
is n o inspired prophet, but it follow s and explains a Book o f prophecy the
predictions in w h ich have proved to be unerring and unfailing till n o w .
**The W a tc h to w e r is therefore under safe guidance. It m ay be read w ith
confidence, fo r its statem ents m ay be checked against that prophetic Book.
A m o n g th e m a n y nations o f today there are hundreds o f differing
religions. ,W h ich one does this magazine present? N o t the confused religions
o f C hristendom , but the religion o f the oldest sacred Book on earth. W h ich
Book? T h e Sacred Bible o f the H o ly Scriptures, w r itte n b y inspiration in
the nam e o f the C reator o f heaven and earth, the o n ly living and true G od.
T h e sacred, nonpolitical purpose o f **The W a tc h to w e r is accord in gly
to encourage and prom ote study o f the H o ly Bible and to give our m a n y
readers the needed unsectarian help to understand that Book o f true
religion and infallible prophecy. T hus this m agazine w ill be helping them
to prove w o r th y o f perfect life and happiness in G o d s promised n e w order
under H is everlasting kingdom o f righteousness.

PUBLISHED BY TH E
WATCH TOW ER BIBLE AND TRACT SOCIETY OF PENNSYLVANIA
117 Adam s S treet
Brooklyn, N.Y. 11201, U.S.A.
N. H. K norr, P resident
Grant S uiter, Secretary

They will all be taught by Jehovah.John 6:45; Isaiah 54:13

CONTENTS

Average Printing Each Issue:

Do You Really Want Gods Kingdom?

131

How Is Your Heart?

133

The Human Heart Is Treacherous

139

Serving Jehovah with a Complete Heart

146

Creation Manifests Design

152

Why People Do Bad Things

153

Africas Men of Goodwill

Stand Firm for Truth

155

Run the Race Course, Looking at Jesus

159

Questions from Readers

159

The Bible translation sed In The Watchtower is the modern-lanevage

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'y 4 rv n o u 7 x c ir1 q r

J E H O V A H S
K ING DO M
March 1, 1971

*"VTOT ev ery Cy \
one, by any
m ean s, w ould answer Yes to that
question. Today om
ly one out of every
3.6 persons on earth
m akes the profession of being either
Christian or Jewish
in belief, hence bein g o f a r e lig io n
tacitly acknowledging the Sacred Scriptures that tell of Gods kingdom. Furthermore, not even all those who belong to the
religions of Christendom and Judaism actually accept the Bible as the Word of God.
But you may be one who doesand we
hope you are. For the Bible alone gives
the sound basis for believing that a righteous government w ill soon control all the
earth. That government is Gods kingdom.
By means of it God will answer the prayer,
Let your will take place, as in heaven,
also upon earth. (Matt. 6:10) When will
this be? Thousands of years ago the Bible
pointed to our very day, describing it in
detail and foretelling that this would be
the generation when Gods government
would assume full control of all earths affairs.Dan. 2:44; Matt. 24:3, 7-14, 32-34.
We believe that you w ill agree that
this troubled, polluted, crime-ridden earth
needs relief such as only God can bring,
and it needs it soon.

Number 5

But for relief to

c o m e , th e B ib le
shows that by means
of Gods kingdom
great changes must
be made, affecting
all those living on
earth. Do you know
what those changes
are? Do you know
what they will mean
to you personally,
how they will affect your life and, in fact,
should be affecting it even now?
First of all, note that Gods kingdom
comes to donot the will of the religious
teachers of Christendom and Judaism, nor
even the will of all the persons who may
have prayed for Gods kingdom to come
but it comes to carry out Gods will
toward earth.
WHAT CHANGES DUE TO COME!

Tremendous changes must and will

come. The inspired Scriptures foretell the
domain of Gods kingdom to be one in
which righteousness is to dwell. (2 Pet.
3:13) It is obvious that that will represent a great change from what now exists. To assure that his w ill is done, God
has empowered his Son Jesus Christ as
king, and of him it is written: You loved
righteousness, and you hated lawlessness.
That is why God, your God, anointed you.
(Heb. 1:9) As king he w ill see that Gods
131

132

B rooklyn , N .Y .
SfieW ATCH TO W ER
righteous law is fully carried out. Just for righteousness by sincerely endeavoring to live now in harmony with Gods
what will that mean?
Word.
Even now under the present sysThe Bible tells us what some of the
tem
of
things we must deaden our body
things are that will be brought to an end
members
as respects bad practices. Even
by the enforcement of Gods law. At
now
we
must
really put them all away
1 Corinthians 6:9, 10 it says: Do you
from
usnot
only
sexual immorality but
not know that unrighteous persons will
also
wrath,
anger,
badness, abusive
not inherit Gods kingdom? Do not be
speech,
and
obscene
talk.
We must not
misled. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters,
be
lying
to
one
another.
We
must strip
nor adulterers, nor men kept for unnatural
off
the
old
personality
with
its
practices.
purposes, nor men who lie with men, nor
We
must
clothe
ourselves
with
the new
thieves, nor greedy persons, nor drunkpersonality,
demonstrating
genuine
love
ards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will infor
God
and
for
our
fellowman.Col.
3:
herit Gods kingdom. All such practices
5-14.
are unlawful from Gods viewpoint. So
Is this truly what you want to do? If so,
they w ill not be tolerated under the rule
of Gods kingdom. Though God is patient how can you go about it? By becoming
w ith persons who earnestly seek to do his new in the force actuating your mind,
will, those who insist on practicing what as the Bible says. (Eph. 4:20-24) This is
he condemns will not inherit Gods king- not simply a matter of personally determining to be different from other people
dom. Gal. 5:19-21.
You can see, then, why many persons around you. Besides determination, you
today really do not want Gods kingdom need to fill your mind regularly w ith the
to rule over them. True, they may say wholesome and faith-building truths found
that they want better conditionslife free in Gods Word the Bible. In harmony w ith
from war, economic insecurity, disease Romans 12:2, quit being fashioned after
and violent crime. But they do not want this system of things, but be transformed
to feel accountability to God for their by making your mind over, that you may
prove to yourselves the good and acceptpersonal way of life. A world in which
able and perfect will of God.
immoral conduct is not tolerated does not
If a person really wants Gods kingdom,
appeal to them. They may say that they
is it not reasonable to learn all that he
do not approve of lawlessness, but that apcan about it, its laws and what is required
plies only to certain kinds of lawlessness.
in order to gain life under its righteous
They are not lovers of righteousness. As
administration? Is that what you would
a result, they really do not want Gods
like to do? Jehovahs witnesses will be
kingdom.
glad to assist you. They w ill gladly come
to your home, each week, free of charge,
LIVE NOW AS YOU WILL LIVE THEN
How do you feel about these things? to help you to gain this vital information
Do you really long to see Gods kingdom from Gods Word. Do you really want
remove all unrighteousness from the life under Gods kingdom? Then, by all
earth? If so, rich blessings are in store for means make known your desire to learn
you. But, to lay hold of those blessings, more about it. Ask any of Jehovahs wityou must show your faith in Gods pro- nesses in your locality, or write to the
vision for life and demonstrate your love publishers of this magazine.

HEART?
h u m a n
Jl heart, as to
size, is only about
as la rg e as you r
fist. Yet it is a real
powerhouse. Think
of it! E v ery few
minutes your heart circulates the five to
six quarts of blood in your body around
the 60,000-mile network of arteries, veins,
and capillaries, bathing each of the trillions of cells of your body with the precious fluid of life. Since before you were
separated from your mothers womb, you
have been completely dependent upon this
intricately designed organs beating day
and night without letup. If it stops beating
for more than a few minutes, the cells in
your body begin to die, starting with the
fragile brain cells, which, in being starved
of vital oxygen and other nourishment of
the blood, begin to perish, making death
imminent.
2 To do its enormous job for an average
lifetim e of approximately seventy years,
the heart necessarily must be rugged. It
is, but the heart is greatly affected by the
way a person lives and thinks. The strains
and living habits of this modem world
put a crushing burden on the heart. Things
can go wrong with it, and despite advances
in medical research which have brought
forth heart transplants, mechanical hearts,
and other devices and techniques in the
field of cardio-vascular therapy, there is
still relatively little that doctors can do
for you if your heart begins to fail. Heart
1. W hat impressive and sobering facts are known about
the hum an h e art?
2, 3. (a) Despite m edical advancem ents, w hat continues
to be the chief cause of death? (b) W hat can be done
physically to safeguard the h e a rt?

More than all else that is to be guarded,

safeguard your heart, for out of it are the
sources of life. Prov. 4:23.

disease is still the number one killer by a

wide margin.
3Doctors do tell us, however, that there
is much you can do to safeguard your
heart, but this must be done before the
trouble begins. Improper eating, smoking,
heavy drinking, anxiety, prolonged stress,
violent emotional outbursts, not getting
the proper amounts of rest and exercise,
all have detrimental effects upon this vital
organ, hastening death or perhaps making
a person an invalid for the rest of his life.
W isely the Bible counsels: A calm heart
is the life of the fleshly organism, but
jealousy is rottenness to the bones.
Prov. 14:30; Eccl. 2:23.
4It is serious business when we talk
about this little organ on which life is so
dependent. We have only one. When it
goes, death has indeed claimed another
victim. In reading these sobering facts,
you may even feel your own heart begin
beating a little faster and a tinge of anxiety pass over you. But despite the urgency of protecting our hearts from the physical standpoint in order to live an average
lifetim e, it is even more urgent to safeguard the heart because of its important
role in motivation, in originating desires
and affections, if we hope to live forever
in Gods new order now so near. That is
why the Bible warns: More than all else
that is to be guarded, safeguard your
heart, for out of it are the sources of life.
How we develop and protect our hearts
4. W hile safeguarding the h e art physically is vital,
w hat is m uch m ore im p o rtan t? W hy?

133

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SHeWATCHTOWER.

spiritually, and how our hearts motivate

us, w ill be deciding factors to the One
who is making an estim ate of hearts, in
determining if we shall live in the righteous new system of things of God's making, or if we shall go into perpetual death
because our hearts failed us spiritually.
Prov. 4:23; 21:2; 24:12.
LOOKING DEEPLY INTO THE HEART

8Where and what is your heart? You

may say, What heart are you talking
about? You know you have a heart in your
chest, one that is pumping blood throughout your entire body, serving every single
cell w ith that stream of life. But do you
have another heart in your head, a figurative heart? Is it part of your brain
or is it that abstract capacity of the brain
that we call the mind? No! The brain,
in which the mind resides, is one thing
and the heart in our thorax, with its power of motivation, is another thing.
*W ith but few exceptions, the use of
the word heart in the Bible is limited to
the operations of the heart of man as the
powerhouse of ones desires, emotions and
affections, the place that comes to include
the capacities for motivation. The Bible
does not speak of a symbolic or spiritual
heart in contradistinction to the fleshly or
literal heart, just as it does not speak of
5. Is the h e a rt p a rt of the m ind? Explain.
6. How does the Bible use th e word h e a rt ?

B rooklyn , N.Y.

a symbolic mind, and thus we do not want

to make the m istake of viewing the literal
heart as m erely a fleshly pump as does
orthodox physiology today. Most psychiatrists and psychologists tend to overcategorize the mind and allow for little if
any influence from the fleshly heart, looking upon the word heart m erely as a
figure of speech apart from its use in
identifying the organ that pumps our
blood.
7The heart, nevertheless, is intricately
connected with the brain by the nervous
system and is well supplied with sensory
nerve endings. The sensations of the heart
are recorded on the brain. It is here that
the heart brings to bear on the mind its
desires and its affections in arriving at
conclusions having to do with motivations.
In reverse flow, the mind feeds the heart
with interpretations of the impulses from
the senses and with conclusions reached
that are based on the knowledge it has
received, either at the moment or from
the memory. There is a close interrelationship between the heart and the mind,
but they are two different faculties, centering in different locations. The heart is
a marvelously designed muscular pump,
but, more significantly, our emotional and
motivating capacities are built within it.
Love, hate, desire (good and bad), preference for one thing over another, ambition,
fearin effect, all that serves to m otivate
us in relationship to our affections and
desires springs from the heart.
8 The Bible makes a definite distinction
between the heart and the mind. Jesus did
so when saying we must love Jehovah
with our whole heart as well as with our
whole mind. (Matt. 22:37) What we
are at heart determines in large measure
what we are as to personality. In this
regard the apostle Peter speaks of the
7, 8. (a) Describe the interplay betw een the h e art and
the m ind of an individual, (b) W hat influence does
the h e art have as to personality tra its?

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135
SEeWATCHTOWER
secret person of the heart in the incor- of the body and the new heart are able
ruptible apparel of the quiet and mild spir- to make some connections in tim e is not
it, which is of great value in the eyes of clear, but this cannot be ruled out as one
God.1 Pet. 3:4.
of the several factors causing the serious
* Let us consider some significant points mental aberrations and disorientation that
about the fleshly organ in your chest, the doctors report are observed in heartheart, called in Hebrew lev and le vav' and transplant patients. These patients have
in Greek kar di'a (from which we get the donor-supplied pumps for their blood, but
word cardiac). Some medical scientists do they now have all the factors needed
and psychiatrists believe that the heart to say they have a heart? One thing is
does considerably more than pump blood. sure, in losing their own hearts, they have
For instance, Dr. D. E. Schneider, a neu- had taken away from them the capacities
rologist and psychiatrist of New York, of heart built up in them over the years
points out that, when the human embryo and which contributed to making them
is forming, the heart and the brain de- who they were as to personality.
velop from the same area, that the heart
11
Medical World News (May 23, 1969),
is in part nerve tissue and, additional- in an article entitled What Does a New
ly, has the capacity for manufacturing Heart Do to the Mind? reported the foland storing certain highly potent chem- lowing: A t Stanford University Medical
icals that exercise a regulatory effect Center last year, a 45-year-old man reon the body, including, according to this ceived a new heart from a 20-year-old
research, the brain. His conclusion is that donor and soon announced to all his
there is evidence for a two-way relation- friends that he was celebrating his twenship between mind and heart, and that, tieth birthday. Another recipient resolved
even as the mind has its effect on the to live up to the sterling reputation of the
heart, the heart [yes, the fleshly one in prominent local citizen who was the donor.
your chest] in turn may influence the And a third man expressed great fear of
mind intensely. Certain other research- feminization upon receiving a womans
ers have arrived at rather similar conclu- heart, though he was somewhat mollified
sions.
when he learned that women live longer
10It is significant that heart-transplant than men. According to psychiatrist Donpatients, where the nerves connecting the aid T. Lunde, a consultant to surgeon
heart and brain are severed, have serious Norman Shumways transplant team at
emotional problems after the operation. Stanford, these patients represent some of
The new heart is still able to operate as
the less severe mental aberrations [italics
a pump, it having its own power supply
and tim ing mechanism independent of the ours] observed in the Shumway series of
general nervous system for giving impulse 13 transplants over the last 16 months.
to the heart muscle, but just as it now The article continues: Though five paresponds only sluggishly to outside influ- tients in the series had survived as of
ences, the new heart in turn registers few, early this month, and four of them were
if any, clear factors of m otivation on the home leading fairly normal lives, three of
brain. To what extent the nerve endings the nonsurvivors became psychotic before
9. W hat do some scientists believe about the heart,
a p art from its being a pum p fo r the blood ?
10. In heart-tran sp lan t patients, w hat conceivably
causes the serious psychotic behavior?

11,12. (a) W hat has been reported on th e behavior of

h eart-transplant p atien ts? (b) W hat significant observations are m ade on the h e a rts m akeup and function
other than as a pum p for th e blood ?

B rooklyn , N .Y .
f&eWATCHTOWER.
they died last year. And two others have though we are living, if there is not a
steady flow of proper motives, desires and
become psychotic this year.
affections
from our heart, we cannot ex12W hile the giving of the drug prednipect
to
please
the Life-giver, Jehovah.
sone and the mind-wearying effects of a
The
one
that
goes
in for sensual gratiserious operation and a long confinement
under intensive care are given by Dr. fication is dead though she is living.
Lunde as the chief causes of these strange (1 Tim. 5:6) In this light, out of it are
personality disorders, it is interesting to the sources of life takes on greater sigobserve that Dr. Schneider, a New York nificance. It is from the heart that we
psychiatrist-neurologist and a student of are motivated to worship. W ith the heart
heart-brain interaction, sees other factors one exercises faith for righteousness.
modifying Dr. Lundes explanations for (Rom. 10:10) We must love Jehovah with
the psychoses encountered in the Shum- the whole heart and worship him with
way heart transplant series. Dr. Schneider spirit and truth. (John 4:24) In creating
. . . maintains that the heart is more man, Jehovah made a special place in the
than a plumbers pumpit is a neuroendo- heart of mem for himself, which, of course,
crine battery. It has a little brain all its needs to be cultivated and nurtured by
own, the S-A and A-V nodes and the con- each one. It is the fool or senseless one
duction bundle, and the little waves from who has said in his heart: There is no
this bundle can be discerned along with Jehovah. God can be replaced in the
each heart wave on an ECG [electro- heart by other persons, objects, or concardiogram ]. Beyond this, the hearts cepts, if one chooses to have this done,
extensive manufacture and storage of cate- but human creatures are made naturally
cholamines may affect the levels of these at heart to worship, their Creator.Ps.
neurohormones in the hypothalamus. 14:1; Prov. 3:1-7.
14It is interesting to observe, too, that
(Ibid., page 18) Dr. Schneider observed
that many non-heart-transplant patients the heart is one of the first organs of the
who were given prednisone or confined for body to be affected by emotional circumstances. Our hearts leap with joy; sudden
long periods did not get psychoses.
13W hatever medical science may yet danger brings a violent racing of the heart.
learn about the human heart, the Bible Fear causes trepidation of the heart. Grief
definitely makes a distinction between and sorrow bring it pain. From the heights
mind and heart, separating them. And, of joy and pleasure to the depths of dew ith the heart playing such a vital role, spair and pain, the sensations of the heart
how important it is to safeguard it, not are felt throughout the body. Appropriatejust by dietary self-control and other phys- ly we have many words and phrases that
ical means, but by watching what sinks incorporate the word heart. To name a
down into our hearts as impressions come few: Take to heart, fainthearted, tenderto it from the senses and as the result of hearted, hardhearted, with all your heart,
interactions of heart and mind! If the heartrending, set your heart on, heartenheart stops and the body does not get life- ing, change of heart, and so forth.
giving blood, we perish, including our
CONTRASTING THE HEART AND THE MIND
heart and mental faculties; but even
15The mind, as we use the term in

136

13. (a) How is it th a t a person m ay be living and

y et be dead in God's sight? (b) In w hat m ore vital
way can it be said of the heart, out of it are the
sources of life "?

14. How is the h e art involved in expressing ou r emotions ?

15. Describe the faculty of m ind.

M arch 1, 1971

SHeWATCHTOWEFL

137

English, is the intellect or knowledge- However, the person not having developed
processing center. It gathers information, a love at heart for things mechanical
thinks on it and, by process of reason and would have little or no motivation to
logic, reaches conclusions. W ith its powers learn about motors. If his car stops runof learning and perception, the mind re- ning, he likely would not know where to
lates the pieces of information it receives start in making the repair. Yet this one
into concepts and patterns. (2 Tim. 1:13) m ight be a skilled musician, an expert
When the pieces fall into place with clari- lawyer, or a devoted homemaker, each
ty , it can be
loving his work
said th at one
and pursuing
TH E N EXT IS S U E
has knowledge
it b eca u se a t
o f a m a tte r .
h e a r t th is is
Persecution by Permission of Jehovah W hy?
w h a t h e (o r
W isdom and
understanding
she) wants to
When You Feel Like Screaming.
come when one
do as a profess
io n . B u t, in
is able to turn
The Desirability of Government by God.
examining
this knowledge
c lo s e ly th e
into p ractical
worth and see clearly how the related background of a skilled mechanic, likely
parts fit together into the whole with you would find he loves to work with motors, and, as a boy, he always wanted to
meaning, usefulness, and workability.
1*The fleshly heart, in contrast, is in- know what made things tick. Hearing
tim ately associated with affection and mo- a powerful motor start up and run smoothtivation. The psalm ist wrote: In my ly is music to his ears. Now, what are
heart I have treasured up your saying, in we talking about? Yes, the heart! We are
order that I may not sin against you. discussing his affections, m otives and de(Ps. 119:11) We can see that the heart sires, not just the mental ability to learn
is what m otivates ones mind and course about mechanics.
of action, by the case of the Israelites
18Now, although the Bible shows the
when preparing for and constructing the heart and mind to be separate and distent of meeting in the wilderness. The rec- tinct, this still allows for close interrelaord says that everyone whose heart im- tion, interdependency, and interplay beveiled him, all whose hearts incited tween them. Your heart can be fed by
them, contributed m aterials, skill and la- your mind, for it is really with the conbor. (Ex. 35:21, 26, 29) It is because the scious brain that we see, hear, feel, and
heart has this m otivating capacity that it
receive the effects of our other physical
focuses attention on what the person really
senses. In turn, your mind, which is seated
is inside, what the apostle Peter called the
secret person of the heart. 1 Pet. 3:3,4. in the brain, can be moved or motivated
17A simple illustration w ill help us to by your heart.
19From youth the mind is exercising
see the difference in the role played by
a
strong influence on the heart. If the
each. Almost anyone can gain a knowledge
of mechanics by study and application. right kind of information is taken into
the mind, right conclusions and impres16. W ith respect to the Israelites in the wilderness,
w hat insight does the Bible record give as to h e art
m otivation?
17. Illu stra te th e difference betw een the m ind and
the heart.

18, 19. (a) In w hat ways do th e m ind and h e a rt w ork

together? (b) How does w h a t is tak e n into th e m ind
influence the h e art?

B rooklyn , N .Y .
SEeWATCHTOWER
sions are formed, and, as these sink down most inerasably upon the heart from youth
into the heart, there is a good influence up by the environment of this world.
in molding, controlling, and directing the
21Each generation, the present generam otivations, desires and affections of the tion even more so, has produced a maheart. If wrong information is taken into jority who have turned away from God,
the mind, wrong concepts are built up, becoming empty-headed in their reasonand as a result prejudice, hate, fear, pride, ings and their unintelligent heart begreed, stubbornness and other despicable came darkened, so that God, in keeping
traits take root in the heart and are re- with the desires of their hearts, gave them
fleeted in the personality of the individual, up to uncleanness. They proved to be like
especially if these wrong conclusions and most in the nation of Judah whom Jehoimpressions were formed early in life. That vah described as having their sins enis why one, in becoming a Christian, must graved on the tablet of their heart as
be transformed by making his mind over. with a diamond point. Because God has
Paul admonished: Be made new in the not brought speedy execution of the wickforce actuating your mind. This new ed, that is why the heart of the sons of
force of mind is built up as we get Gods men has become fully set in them to do
Word firmly implanted in our minds and bad. (Rom. 1:18-32; Jer. 17:1; Eccl. 8:
respond fully to Gods spirit, carefully 11) Yet down through the stream of tim e
watching afterward that our minds are there have been a precious few who have
not corrupted away from the sincerity worked against great odds to cultivate in
and the chastity that are due the Christ. their hearts love for God and righteousRom. 12:2; Eph. 4:22-24; 2 Cor. 11:3. ness. Today, even deep into the tim e of
20The m ajority of mankind today are the end, Jehovahs witnesses are finding
raised in homes and neighborhoods where thousands whose hearts prove to be rethe environment for learning is not good. ceptive to the Word of God, heeding the
Permissiveness in home and school train- counsel: Put away all filthiness and that
ing has gone to seed, producing a rebel- superfluous thing, badness, and accept with
lious, thrill-seeking generation. The learn- mildness the implanting of the word which
ing about bad and the indulgence in it is able to save your souls. As for that
make deep circuits in the minds and cor- [seed] on the fine soil, these are the ones
rupt the hearts of individuals, so that when that, after hearing the word with a fine
they grow older they do what has already and good heart, retain it and bear fruit
become natural to them. The abnormal with endurance.Jas. 1:21; Luke 8:15.
becomes normal. Sex is for thrills and
22
While it often involves making drastic
something about which to make dirty changes in their lives, such as turning
jokes, rather than for what God made it, from a course of immorality, cooling down
the clean, pleasurable act within the con- their tendency to be hot-tempered, refines of marriage to produce children. orienting their ambitions, being completeHave a good time, make money, get ahead, ly honest and industrious servants of God,
become somebody, do not let anyone push they courageously make these changes. If
you around, indulge yourself, steal if you we call upon the Lord out of a clean
can get away with itthese are just some heart and work for a good heart, we have
of the attitudes and goals impressed al- 21,22. (a) How are the hearts of those who tu rn

138

20. Describe the general environm ent th a t shapes the

hearts and m inds of the m ajority today.

away from God described? (b) In contrast, w hat is

taking place In th e h earts of those who are receptive
to the W ord of God?

M arch 1, 1971

SEeWATCHTOWER

the promise from Jehovah that he will

help us to have one.2 Tim. 2:22.
28 So, how is your heart? As far as you
know, your heart, medically speaking, may
be sound for the moment, but the more
important question is, How is your heart
when you weigh out the motives, affections and desires arising therefrom? When
you examine your heart in the light of
23. W hat honest exam ination should be m ade of our
hearts?

139

Gods Word, do you find that it is moti*

vating you in the right direction, and does
it have right desires and affections? Where
deficiencies are found, are you having suecess in renewing and strengthening your
heart as well as your mind, so as to think
correctly and to resist the tendencies of
the imperfect flesh and the temptations
around you? If you are having a measure
of success now, it is vital that you keep
building and safeguarding your heart.

TheHum Heart IsU n i

UR own experiences and the experiences of others remind us daily that
one is not bom with a good heart and a
bent of mind toward righteousness. Despite the innocency of a newborn babe, sin
and imperfection have already been at
work within him since conception. The
psalmist David put it this way: Look!
With error I was brought forth with birth
pains, and in sin m y mother conceived
me. (Ps. 51:5) Even conscientious parents who are endeavoring to bring up their
children in the discipline and mentalregulating of Jehovah become painfully
aware very often that foolishness is tied
up with the heart of a boy, and have
found that it takes the rod of discipline
in its various applications to remove it
far from him . (Eph. 6:4; Prov. 22:15)
Jehovah m ercifully took note of this miserable inheritance that is passed along
from parents to children in His accepting
the sacrifice of Noah and his fam ily following the global flood: Never again
shall I call down evil upon the ground on

1. W hat does the Bible tell us fran k ly about the

inclination of the h e art of m an?

The heart is more treacherous than

anything else and is desperate. Who
can know it? I, Jehovah, am searching
the heart, . .. even to give to each one
according to his ways, according to the
fruitage of his dealings. Jer. 17:9,10.

mans account, because the inclination of

the heart of man is bad from his youth
up.Gen. 8:21.
THE HEART CAN BE DECEPTIVE

2Working with the heart is tricky. If

we are not careful, we become the vietim s of self-deception. The Bible warns:
The heart is more treacherous than anything else and is desperate. Who can know
it? (Jer. 17:9) A person who is treacherous is marked by a ready disposition to
betray confidence or faith pledged; he is
disloyal, untrustworthy, really traitorous.
Think of it! We all have, in our imperfect
2. (a) How is it th a t the h e a rt is m ore treacherous
th an anything else and is desperate( ? b) W hat
realization did th e apostle P a u l acknowledge, even
a fte r m aking his m ind over?

140

SHeWATCHTOWER.

state, a potential traitor enclosed in our

bosom! Is it not true that at times we
are appalled, yes, ashamed, over things
that start to take root in the heart? And
when the heart wants something desperately, this can lead to serious trouble. It
is vital that we make adjustments quickly,
to quiet down those new affections, to
elim inate those sudden desires. The apostie Paul confessed that his renewed mind
was being warred against by the bad desires arising from the heart as well as
burdened by weights imposed by the imperfect flesh: I really delight in the law
of God according to the man I am within,
but I behold in my members another law
warring against the law of my mind and
leading me captive to sins law that is in
my members. (Rom. 7:22, 23) He acknowledged that only Jehovah through
Christ could rescue us from this miserable
state. Left to our own devices, we would
surely go astray many tim es. Many are
the plans in the heart of a man, but the
counsel of Jehovah is what w ill stand.
Prov. 19:21.
8As we have learned earlier, the heart
does not always listen to the mind. There
are tim es when the heart overwhelms the
mind despite its force of logic. We must
remember that the heart reasons, too, although this has to do not so much with
logic as it does with what is taking place
in the heart as our motives, affections and
desires take shape and gather momentum
in a certain direction, whether for good or
for bad. David prayed, L e t. . . the meditation of my heart become pleasurable before you, O Jehovah. In contrast, Jesus
said, Out of the heart come wicked reasonings. (Ps. 19:14; Matt. 15:19) The
mind is in a position to influence the heart,
3. W hile the m ind is in a position to Influence the
h e art w ith reasoned-out conclusions, w hat can happen
if the h e art has no inclination to listen?

B rooklyn , N . Y.

to make logical recommendations to it,

to appeal to it, perhaps on the basis of past
experience, and in some cases strongly
urge it to take a certain course because
of knowing the dangers involved, but if
desire and affection for a certain thing
have built up strongly in the heart, the
heart can win out.
4To illustrate, suppose the tim e comes
when you must make a decision on buying a new suit or dress. First, the mind
is confronted with certain facts. Perhaps
older clothes are getting past their usefulness or there is a need for a change for
some good reason. The heart comes very
much into the picture too, as there is a
desire at heart to look presentable. Heart
and mind are in agreement that a new
dress or suit be obtained. The mind now
collects information on prices, quality,
styles, and so forth, so that when you go
shopping you have a pretty good idea
which suit or dress should be purchased.
But when you arrive at the store, there in
the window is quite an eye-catcher, just
waiting for the impulse buyer. It is not
really practical for you; it involves much
more money; it is rather extrem e in styling; but how it tantalizes the heart! Its
the hearts delight!
5Now what w ill be done? What decision will be made? Will it be a practical,
reasoned-out one, or one according to this
new desire of the heart? If you are not
very careful, the heart w ill overwhelm the
mind. You w ill be motivated to follow a
course against your better judgment. On
the other hand, this may be a case, as
sometimes happens, of a momentarily divided heart. If so, the transcending good
motives and affections of the heart will
win out, resulting in the right decision to
4. Illu strate the w orkings of th e m ind and h e a rt in
connection w ith buying a new su it o r dress.
5. W hat is necessary to keep our h earts unified to do
Jehovah's w ill?

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3EeWATCHTOWEFL

141

purchase the most practical ensemble to

fill your clothing needs. But you are further reminded that in order to be assured
that right decisions w ill be made, it is necessary to fortify and train the heart in
advance in the counsel of Jehovah. He
that is trusting in his own heart is stupid,
but he that is walking in wisdom is the
one that w ill escape. The more powerful
desires that a person has cultivated at
heart to put Jehovahs interests and principles first in his life can overrule fascinating interests and desires that spring up
suddenly in the heart.Prov. 28:26.
6 Now let us take this reasoning a step
farther, into more serious aspects of life.
How does the heart react when we are
faced with temptation to commit immorality, to steal, to do injury to others? Even
more seriously, what goes wrong when a
person begins to scheme deliberately to
satisfy the desires of the heart? Is your
heart strong enough to m otivate you away
from a wrong course, or w ill it succumb
to entertaining secretly the possibility of
indulging in the desires of the flesh? To
delay in making a right decision can be
disastrous. A powerful force is generated
when the heart begins to contemplate, the
emotions are stirred and the flesh begins
to prepare itself for the wrong. But each
one is tried by being drawn out and enticed by his own desire [which begins in
the heart]. Then the desire, when it has
become fertile, gives birth to sin; in turn,
sin, when it has been accomplished, brings
forth death.Jas. 1:14, 15.
7Consider, for example, the case of a
married man faced with the temptation
to commit adultery w ith a woman who
is not his mate. His mind, from study and
from what he has heard and seen, may

have information weighing heavily against

such a course. By reasoning on the results
to others who have taken that course and
considering the difficulties and bad aftereffects to which this w ill logically lead,
his mind may produce arguments pointing
overwhelmingly in the direction away from
such temptation, information that urgently recommends getting out of the danger
area. But suppose the persons heart has
no desire to turn away from the temptation? Then his heart w ill make a decision
contrary to what his mind offers and recommends, the heart, in effect, saying to
the mind, No, but this is the way we will
go. The emotional power of his heart
causes him to stay in the danger zone contrary to his minds counsel and reason.
8This ability of the heart to select between optional courses and fix its desire
on one of them explains why the Bible
speaks of the heart of man as making
plans and as thinking out his way, that
is, the way over which his mind has first
thought and which way appeals to his
heart. (Prov. 19:21; 16:9) This is particularly the case in moral and spiritual
matters.
9More than this, however, the heart
may then move the mind to begin seeking
some pretext or excuse for going in the
wrong course, employing false reasoning.
The person may enter into sinful action,
and, at the very tim e that he is sinning,
his heart may prompt his mind to invent
justifications. He m ay presume on Gods
loving-kindness, saying, God is very merciful; he w ill forgive me on account of my
fleshly weakness, and at the same tim e
continuing his wrong course. He becomes
like the wicked person who has said in his
heart: God has forgotten. He has con-

6. Why is it necessary to act im m ediately if w rong desire begins to take root in the h e a rt?
7. Illu stra te how th e h e art can w in out in electing to
go contrary to the argum ents of th e m ind.

8. How does the Bible describe th e ability of the

h e art to choose the course one w ill tak e ?
9. If the h e art has a strong desire to do wrong, w hat
can happen in bringing its influence to bear on the
m ind?

142

SHeWATCHTOWER

B rooklyn , N.Y.

cealed his face. He w ill certainly never see d ate dearly the Bibles distinction beit. (Ps. 10:11; compare Romans 1:21, tween mind and heart, and that the heart,
24.) It is no wonder, then, that the Scrip- and not the mind, is the seat of m otive?
tures warn us that sinful mans heart is
12It was said of David that he was a
more treacherous than anything else and man after Gods own heart, but on one
is desperate.Jer. 17:9.
occasion he happened to be looking out
10 This also helps us to understand how his window and in the distance bathing
it is that a person can be viewed by God herself, perhaps innocently, was Bathas having committed adultery although he sheba. Rather than turning away before
has not even touched the other person erotic thoughts could be stirred in his
involved. A man may at a glance see a heart, he kept looking and built up a pasbeautiful woman not his w ife and in his sion for her. In turn, this led to his shameheart say, Shes quite attractive, this fully committing adultery and maneuverbeing done almost before he has had time ing m atters to have her husband killed so
to think about it. This passing deduction that he could take her as wife. In condoes not have to be wrong or impure, but trast, Joseph fled when tempted by the
if a man keeps on looking at this worn- sex-mad w ife of his master. True, he landan, desire is bound to develop so as to ed in prison on a false charge and lost his
build up a passion for her in his heart. freedom for a while, but he had not lost
Jesus counseled: But I say to you that his good conscience and standing with
everyone [married] that keeps on looking God.
at a woman so as to have a passion for
her has already committed adultery with JEHOVAH KNOWS THE HEART AND ITS NEEDS
13Who
can know the human heart?
her [where?]
inhis heart.Matt.
5:28.
Well,
we
must
confess that in our imper11 Such one has not engaged in the acfeet
state
we
cannot
fully, but how thanktual physical act, perhaps because circumful
we
can
be
that
Jehovah
does! For not
stances have not lent themselves to it; he
the
way
man
sees
is
the
way
God sees,
does not feel he can get away with it
without undergoing a lot of disagreeable because mere man sees what appears to
problems. His mind may have warned him the eyes; but as for Jehovah, he sees what
of this. But if the circumstances should the heart is. I, Jehovah, am searching
change, appear propitious, if he thought the heart . . . even to give to each one
there were some possibility of escaping according to his ways, according to the
serious aftereffects, then his heart is al- fruitage of his dealings. You have exready willing to commit the act, wants to amined my heart, you have made inspecdo it. The full motivation is thereonly tion by night, you have refined me.
the opportunity is lacking. In Gods eyes
(1 Sam. 16:7; Jer. 17:10; Ps. 17:3) Jesus
such a one is already guilty. (Compare also knows accurately the workings of the
James 1:13-15.) In the very same way one
heart of man. The things proceeding out
could become guilty of theft, or even mur- of the mouth come out of the heart, and
der. (1 John 3:15) Can we see, then,
those things defile a man. (Matt. 15:18)
why it is so important for us to appreNow, what are those things?
10,11. (a) W hat did Jesus have to say about a m an's
com m itting adultery in his h e a rt? (b) How is it th a t
a man, in God's eyes, can go so ia r as to commit
adultery in his h eart, even though not touching one
not his w ife?

12. How did David allow his heart to lead him astray,
in contrast w ith Joseph?
13. W hat do th e Scriptures show as to Jehovah's
knowing the h e art accurately?

M arch 1, 1971

5ReWATCHTOWER.

u While the human heart is capable of

the most noble and exalted motivations,
look what foul, repulsive things can also
come from the heart, as enumerated by
Jesus! For from inside, out of the heart
of men, injurious reasonings issue forth:
fornications, thieveries, murders, adulteries, covetings, acts of wickedness, deceit,
loose conduct, an envious eye, blasphemy,
haughtiness, unreasonableness. [Matthews
account adds false testim onies.] All
these wicked things issue forth from within and defile a man. (Mark 7:20-23)
Faced with the capacity for such a formidable array of wicked things originating
in the heart, one could easily give up and
say it is no use. Most people do. That is
one reason why the broad road to destruetion is filled with so many millions, whereas the narrow and cramped road to life
has so few thereon. But Jesus did not hold
out an impossible goal in opening the narrow way leading to everlasting life. He
did say: Exert yourselves vigorously to
get in through the narrow door, because
many, I tell you, w ill seek to get in but
will not be able.Luke 13:24.
1'H ow we take in knowledge and submit to discipline determines to a large
degree what affections or desires, whether
good or bad, develop in our hearts, and
with what intensity they spring from the
heart. We cannot feed the heart and mind
with a steady diet of filth and expect to
have good desires and motives. Moreover,
the mind needs good reasons to recommend to the heart as to why something
should be done or not be done. It takes
educating and disciplining of the heart.
(Prov. 23:12) Then finally the heart is
14. (a) W hat penetrating analysis did Jesus m ake of
the hearts capacity? (b) Are we w orking against
impossible odds in a ttem p tin g to have a good h e art?
15. In sta rtin g to reshape and mold our desires and
affections in order to have proper m otivation, of w hat
should we rem ind ourselves?

143

won over, if there is any tendency to be

reluctant, as it gets a taste of the good
results that come from doing the right
thing. It is not just a m atter of getting up
in the morning and saying, Today Im
going to be more loving, or some similar
expression, as if working such psychology
on self w ill provide the answer. First, we
must cultivate good qualities as a way
of life in daily application so that good
habits and traits can be formed, and then
be honest with ourselves in getting to
know the root causes of the bad qualities
and tendencies embedded in the heart.
Then we can apply Bible principles in
elim inating or controlling them. When
wisdom enters into your heart and knowledge itself becomes pleasant to your very
soul, thinking ability itself w ill keep
guard over you, discernment itself will
safeguard you, to deliver you from the
bad way.Prov. 2:10-12.
1To iUustrate this reorienting of the
heart, consider what takes place in the
heart when a person hears the truth of
Gods Word with delight after spending a
good portion of his life associating with
immoral persons and frequenting places
that are in business for providing sensual
pleasure. The person has shown a great
deficiency in good m otivating capacities,
since anyone committing adultery with a
woman is in want of heart. (Prov. 6:32;
9:1-5, 13-18) Reading cheap novels, looking at pornographic magazines and listening to and telling dirty jokes may have
enhanced this craving for sexual stimulation. Now he learns that, instead of growing old and dying, he can look forward to
living forever under perfect conditions.
This appeals to him at heart. But he also
16,17. (a) Describe th e h e a rt situation of a person
who has spent m uch of his life in im m oral surroundings,
(b) W hat conflicts develop as he learns the tru th of
Gods W ord?

B r o oklyn , N .Y .
fEeW ATCHTOW ER
learns that only those who conform to in this too. It, along with the mind, sees
Jehovahs righteous requirements will live the benefits. These former desires begin
to be replaced in the heart by the right
there. What w ill he do?
17The strong immoral cravings of the things. Two things cannot occupy the same
heart and flesh, built up over the years, place at the same tim e. In effect, there has
are not dispelled overnight. How conscious been a circumcising of the heart. (Rom.
he becomes of this! A terrible conflict of 2:29; Col. 2:11) Now he stays away from
mind and heart begins. (Ps. 38:7-10) The the former acquaintances and bad influmind sees the logic of serving Jehovah: ences because he wants to at heart, not
The wrath of God can be escaped; free- because he has to force himself. The heart
dom from sickness, suffering and death has come to find its highest delight and
can be had, leading to everlasting life; purest pleasure in the doing of Gods w ill
good conduct really is in the best interest and associating with his people. The forof ones body, physically, mentally, and mer things become revolting to him. He
emotionally; and wholesome, upbuilding has built up a love, a deep affection, for
association among Gods people is avail- Gods law in his heart. The law of his
able to replace the former friends who en- God is in his heart; his steps w ill not wobcouraged and contributed to his delinquen- ble.Ps. 37:31.
cy. But the heart wants things now, all
OTHER MOTIVES OF THE HEART
the things that have given it secret de19
Morally,
we may have our hearts unlight in the past! True, there is a desire
der
control,
but
what about the motivato worship God there, although rather
tions
of
the
heart
otherwise? How are we
weak now. Deep down, there is a desire
using
the
tongue,
for instance? Jesus set
to do what is right, but this is not too
strong now. The mind reminds the heart forth the principle: Out of the abundance
of the evil consequences, such as possibly of the heart the mouth speaks. (Matt.
contracting a venereal disease or father- 12:34, 35; Prov. 15:28) The good heart
ing an illegitim ate child or being party to motivates one to speak good things. Howan abortion, which points cannot be gain- ever, if anyone does not bridle his tongue,
said by the heart, but still those desires but goes on deceiving his own heart, this
mans form of worship is futile. Gossip
are there.
18 This is a crucial point in his life. Many, is bad medicine for the heart. If we are not
progressing to this point, go no farther. careful, it just gets great delight in savorLife in the new system sounds very good, ing juicy items about others and spreadbut the attractions to the old system are ing them around. But the spreading of
too strong in the heart. But the one who rumors and half-truths is unloving.Jas.
keeps mustering up courage in his heart 1:26.
to progress, yes, forcing himself to do the
20More seriously, if you have bitter jealright thing, to get the law of God into ousy and contentiousness in your hearts,
his heart soon finds it easier to do the . . . there disorder and every vile thing are.
right thing. More than this, the heart gets (Jas. 3:14-16) You must not hate your
a taste by actual experience of what pleas- brother in your heart. Rather, we are
es God, and the more the heart does this,
19. W hat influence does the heart have on the tongue?
it has to conclude, you can get pleasure 20.
(a) W hy is it necessary to keep loving one another

144

18. How is the h e art finally won over, so th a t it finds

its highest delight in doing Jehovahs w ill?

intensely from the h e a rt( ? b) W hy is it significant

th a t forgiveness m ust come from the h e art and not
ju st from the m ind?

M arch 1, 1971

fHeWATCHTOWER.

145

instructed to love one another intensely sacrifice, we can confidently approach Jefrom the heart. (Lev. 19:17; 1 Pet. 1:22) hovah without being further condemned
If your brother has sinned against you, it at heart, as we henceforth walk circumshould be straightened out between you spectly before him.Heb. 10:22; 1 John
and him alone before you build up a hate- 3:18-24.
ful attitude toward him. Of the unforgiv22 Our hearts need to be guarded with
ing ones Jesus said: In like manner my all diligence, as we look to Jehovah to
heavenly Father w ill also deal with you help us to lead our hearts on in the way.
if you do not forgive each one his brother Because the heart is deceitful and can refrom your hearts. (Matt. 18:15, 35) One vert to former bad ways before we know
of the seven things that Jehovah hates, as it, we must every day be mindful of the
listed at Proverbs 6:16-19, is a heart exhortation from Gods Word: Trust in
fabricating hurtful schem es.Ps. 140:2. Jehovah with all your heart and do not
21
In our relationship w ith Jehovah andlean upon your own understanding. Dohis organization, there is no room for ing this, we have the assurance that the
hypocrisy, greed, haughtiness or stubborn- peace of God that excels all thought will
ness. (1 Tim. 1:5; Ps. 101:5; 131:1) Both guard your hearts and your mental powthe doublehearted and the halfhearted ers by means of Christ Jesus.Prov. 23:
are condemned by Gods Word. (Ps. 12:2; 19; 3:5; Phil. 4:6, 7.
119:113) The tendency of the heart is to
23 Can you see more clearly now why
put up a pretense, to justify, to lie out of
it is that more than all else that is to
a situation. If this tactic does not work,
be
guarded, we should safeguard the
then there is a resorting to flattery or
heart?
The sources of life come out of it,
possibly to threatening by abusive speech
or reviling. (Rom. 16:18) The heart needs and this not only because the heart, as a
to be trained in truthfulness and obedi- muscular pump, causes life-giving blood
ence so that we w ill be honest not only to course throughout the body to all the
with Jehovah but also with ourselves and cells to keep them alive and healthy. More
our brothers. If we have sinned, and our importantly, the heart can, if we develop
hearts begin to beat us we should quickly it properly, originate the motives, desires
go to Jehovah in prayer and bare our and affections which, with Jehovahs help
hearts before him, seeking forgiveness and and undeserved kindness, w ill ensure for
a cleansing of heart. (2 Sam. 24:10; Jas. us everlasting life in perfect health in his
4:8-10) If a serious sin has been commit- new system of things. The great heart
ted, we need to reveal this to the respon- Physician, Jehovah, has correctly diagsible ones in the congregation and seek nosed the heart condition of all mankind
their help. The heart should not despise and only he has the right prescription for
reproof nor be unfeeling just like fat. our defective hearts: My son, my law do
Jehovah is healing the brokenhearted not forget, and m y commandments may
ones, and is binding up their painful spots. your heart observe, because length of
(Ps. 119:70; 147:3; Prov. 5:12-14) If we days and years of life and peace w ill be
appreciate Jehovahs mercy and this pro- added to you.Prov. 3:1, 2.
vision to cover over sins by the ransom 22. W hy is diligence to guard the h e a rt a t a ll tim es
21. W hat common tendencies of the h e art can be m anifest if extrem e care is not exercised ?

im portant?
23. Why, m ore th a n all else, should th e h e a rt be
safeguarded?

with a
/

\ \

You must love Jehovah your God with your

'whole heart and with your whole soul and with
your whole mind. Matt. 22:37.
/

T J E WAS an old man and he did not

X have long to live. Before a gathering of people he talked to his son, and said
to him: My son, know the God of your
father and serve him with a complete
heart and with a delightful soul; for all
hearts Jehovah is searching, and every inclination of the thoughts he is discerning.
If you search for him, he w ill let himself
be found by you; but if you leave him,
he w ill cast you off forever.1 Chron.
28:9.
2 The aged man, his son, and the people
who heard what was said have long passed
off the scene. But those words of King
David to his son Solomon contain counsel
and truth that are eternal and that are
vital today for you and me. The whole
record of the Bible, including the ministry
of Gods Son, Christ Jesus, testifies to the
fact that the Sovereign God Jehovah wants
to be served with a complete heartor not
at all. When asked, Which is the greatest commandment in the Law? Jesus replied: You must love Jehovah your God
w ith your whole heart and with your
whole soul and with your whole mind and
with your whole strength. (Matt. 22:3638; Mark 12:28-30) Surely none of us want
God to cast us off forever, do we? So,
since our hearts are among those hearts
that Jehovah is searching, how can we
be sure we are serving him with a com-

plete heart, with our whole heart?

*Seeing clearly the Bibles distinction between mind and heart w ill help us in safeguarding the heart and serving Jehovah
with a complete heart. A person may have
an excellent knowledge of the Bible, may
be able to answer questions on numerous
points and show that he or she is up-todate on the very latest information published. But that person m ay be in grave
danger. For the sources of life are not
out of the head, not out of the brain or
mind, but, as Proverbs 4:23 tells us, out
of the heart. We can easily deceive ourselves unless we realize this. Remember,
even individuals who have turned against
the truth, who become apostates, do not
instantly lose all Bible knowledge. Even
though their hearts have decisively rejected Gods way, knowledge remains in
their minds, though fading w ith tim e. So
mental knowledge alone is not a sure guide
to our spiritual health.
4 Ask yourself, then: What kind of person am I in the secret person of my
heart? Am I now serving Jehovah with
a complete heart, with my whole
heart? To serve with a complete heart
means to serve with a heart that is all one
way in its motivation, not halfhearted (Ps.
119:113) or doublehearted. (1 Chron. 12:
33; Ps. 12:2) If we are serving with our
whole heart, then pleasing Jehovah God

1, 2. (a) W hat serious advice did King David give his

son Solomon regarding the im portance of serving Jehovah w ith a complete h e art? (b) How did Jesus show
the need of serving Jehovah w ith a complete h eart?

3. W hy is it essential to see clearly the distinction be*

tween the heart and the m ind?
4. W hat does it m ean to serve Jehovah w ith a com
plete h eart?
146

M arch 1, 1971

SEeW ATCHTOW ER

is the greatest thing in our lives, our

hearts delight. Like the psalmist, we
pray: Instruct me, O Jehovah, about your
way. I shall walk in your truth. Unify my
heart to fear your name. (Ps. 86:11) So,
our heart is united, has singleness of purpose. (Prov. 23:19) Such a heart moves
us steadily in one direction, Jehovahs
way.
GOOD MOTIVE VITAL IN ALL THAT WE DO

5Serving with a complete heart means

as well that our heart is right toward the
full scope or complete range of what Gods
service includes. This includes the marriage relationship, training of children,
secular work, relations with neighbors,
personal study, Christian meetings and
assemblies, interest in ones brothers, caring for congregational assignments and responsibilities. Our heart cannot be just
partially in harmony with Jehovahs will.
* Take, for example, the tim e when the
tabernacle or tent of meeting was to be
built. The Bible shows that the Israelites
hearts moved them to contribute so generOusly that the things given, much of
which they had to produce by manual
work, proved to be enough . . . and more
than enough. Moses, in fact, had to tell
them not to bring any more. (Ex. 36:4-7)
This was fine. But within a short time
these same people were engaging in murmuring and complaining about their circumstances. (Num. 11:1-6, 10) Moses
sister Miriam (who had sung Jehovahs
praise so joyously after the destruction
of Pharaohs forces in the Red Sea)
leagued with her brother Aaron in speaking against Gods appointed overseer for
directing the nation. (Num. 12:1-8) The
people in general gave way to fear and lack
5. Having a complete h e art will cause us to have w hat
view of the various aspects of God's service?
6,7. (a) W hile the hearts of the Israelites moved
them to be generous, w hat condition of h e art was
manifest by m any only a sh o rt tim e la te r? (b) How
is this an exam ple for us?

147

of faith when hearing bad reports from

spies sent into Canaan, even talking of pelt*
ing Moses and Aaron with stones. (Num.
13:1, 2, 2 5 1 4 : 1 - 1 0 ;33 )They had con*
tributed material goods and labor, but
were they serving Jehovah with a com*
plete heart, with their whole heart?
Jas. 3:13, 14.
7 Are any of us like that? Do we give
heartily of our m aterial means, perhaps
even perform fine services when there is
a large-scale effort under way to accomplish some major project, as at an assembly or when building a Kingdom Hall;
but afterward, possibly when things do
not go just as well as we would like, do
we give way to murmuring, complaining,
even showing a spirit of rebelliousness?
8Remembering the treachery that his
heart can play, a Christian, though he
knows the truth and may consider himself perfectly safe, must safeguard his
heart if he would keep it complete in
service to Jehovah. He must exercise great
care not to place him self in the way of
temptation. The apostle Paul cites the example of the Israelites sins, among them
being gross fornication, and then says:
Consequently let him that thinks he is
standing beware that he does not fall.
(1 Cor. 10:6-12) And the inspired writer
of Proverbs says: He that is trusting in
his own heart is stupid, but he that is
walking in wisdom is the one that will
escape.Prov. 28:26.
PROVISIONS FOR HAVING
A COMPLETE HEART

9To walk in wisdom we need to examine our hearts regularly, test our motives, search out our weaknesses and work
on remedying them. It is good for us to
stop and think: I know what my mind
8. W hy m ust the h e art be safeguarded a t all tim es,
not taking for g ranted th a t it w ill alw ays m otivate
correctly?
9. How can we be sure of the thoughts and intentions
of th e h e a rt ?

148

fikW ATCH TO W ER

says, but what is in my heart? Why do I

want to do this or that? What motive is
it that is impelling me? Is my reasoning
truly sincere or am I in effect trying to
,pull the wool over my own eyes, excuse
m yself? In view of the hearts treachery,
we need help. God provides it through his
Word. For the word of God is alive and
exerts power and is sharper than any twoedged sword and pierces even to the dividing of soul and spirit, . . . and is able
to discern thoughts and intentions of the
heart.Heb. 4:12.
10 But for the Bible to discern the
thoughts and intentions on which our
hearts have set them selves with benefit
to us, we need to do our part. We need
to ,soften our hearts to the counsel we
get, ,incline our hearts to receive it. We
have an abundance of spiritual food from
Gods visible organization to help us pay
attention to wisdom with [our] ear, that
[we] may incline [our] heart to discernment, so that we w ill not have hearts
dull of understanding, but have the
,eyes of the heart enlightened. Since the
heart of the understanding one acquires
knowledge, and the ear of wise ones seeks
to find knowledge, we are provided regular Christian meetings to attend, where
in stru ction and association are
wholesome and upbuilding. We
have, too, counsel in the heart
of mature men serving as overseers which we can discerningly
,draw up as deep waters from
their wells of experience in making
practical application of Jehovahs
laws.2 Chron. 34:27; Prov. 2:1,
2; 18:15; 20:5; Mark 6:52; Eph.
1:18.
11 But we must put forth the effort to get these benefits, to use
10,11. (a) W hat provisions are m ade by Jehovah to help us have a good and complete
h e art? (b) To w hat extent does a complete
h e art depend upon the individual?

B rooklyn , N .Y ,

them diligently in building and safeguarding our hearts. King Jehoshaphat was commended by Jehovah for ,preparing his
heart to search for the true God. (2 Chron.
19:3) The understanding heart is one
that searches for knowledge. (Prov. 15:
14) David did pray that God would ereate in [him] even a pure heart, but
Jehovah does not do this miraculously,
since to earthly man belong the arrangings of the heart.Ps. 51:10; Prov.
16:1.
12
It is not enough to get a mental understanding, we need to be moved by what
we learn, feel it in our hearts. Through
the inspired writer our heavenly Father
says: My son, to my words do pay attention. To my sayings incline your ear. May
they not get away from your eyes. Keep
them
inthe midst of your heart. For they
are life to those finding them and health
to all their flesh. More than all else that
is to be guarded, safeguard your heart,
for out of it are the sources of life. (Prov.
4:20-23) Yes, we need to write what we
learn ,upon the tablet of our heart (Prov.
3:3; 7 :3 ), and we can do this only if we
take tim e to let Gods truth sink down
into our heart, right into the middle of it,
12. W hy is not a m ental understanding of th e tru th
sufficient?

M arch 1, 1971

SEeWATCHTOWER.

so that it w ill motivate us in a right way.

(Ps. 37:31) Is that what you do when you
engage in personal study at home? when
you attend meetings?
18Sometimes we say that in our personal reading or at m eetings we find that
our mind wanders. Perhaps so. Perhaps
something a child does or some other distraction may divert our attention momentarily. But, being completely honest with
ourselves, could it be that sometimes it
is not our mind but our heart that starts
to wander? Do we find ourselves thinking
of material things, something we are going
to buy, some project at home we are interested in, money m atters, or find ourselves thinking on things of the flesh: food,
entertainment, someone of the other sex?
If we keep finding these things more interesting than the consideration of Gods
Word and its splendid counsel, perhaps
even wishing the m eeting would end so we
could devote attention to these other matters, then we are in trouble, in danger of
having our hearts become insensitive as
if covered w ith fat (Ps. 119:70), or become hardened and resistant to Gods guidance. (Heb. 3:8) This shows a lack of faith
in Jehovahs goodness, in his rewarding
us for our faithful devotion to him, and
shows that we are starting to look elsewhere for our reward. Christians are
warned to beware for fear there should
ever develop in any one of you a wicked
heart lacking faith by drawing away from
the living God. (Heb. 3:12) The start of
such a disastrous course generally shows
itself first in our attitude toward Gods
Word and our appreciation of what we
read and hear from it.
14 So, too, with attendance itself at the
13. (a) R ather th an th e m ind w andering, a closer look
m ay reveal w hat to be w andering? (b) W hat w arning
is given a t H ebrew s 3:12, and how does a wicked
heart lacking fa ith often begin to be reflected first?
14. Illu stra te how th e h e art comes into play when it
comes to appreciation fo r and attendance a t C hristian
m eetings.

149

meetings or w ith engaging in the m inistry.

It is normal for a person to be sick oecasionally, and the sickness sometimes
may be serious enough to keep him at
home. Too, it is not unusual at tim es for
a person simply to feel tired and have
little energy for m eetings or field service
the flesh is weak even though the spirit
is willing. So, occasionally we have to push
ourselves to get started, knowing we will
be glad we did. Thus, discipline is necessary in order to avoid going along with
the selfish desires of the heart and the
fallen flesh. Let us illustrate it this way:
Suppose this is the night to go to the
Kingdom Hall for Bible instruction, and
as the tim e approaches a brother finds that
he is just physically unable to go. My, how
he would love to go! Well, he cannot make
it. He is just too sick. But where is his
heart? On the other hand, another brother comes home after working quite hard
all day. His heart tells him subtly, It
would be quite nice to stay home tonight.
(Remember, the heart is the seat of desire and m otive.) But there has to be some
kind of reason for staying home from the
meetings. So, the heart m otivates the mind
to go to work on this, and alm ost before
he knows it, up come several good-sounding reasons for staying home. If he is not
very careful, he will not make it to the
Kingdom Hall that night. Now, the same
thing could happen w ith respect to any
of our Christian activities. The point is:
Where is our heart? If it wants to, desires
to, loves to, it w ill usually find a way. Jesus summed it up when he said: For
where your treasure is, there your heart
will be also.Matt. 6:21.
15 Individuals also have personal or family responsibilities, and each one m ust ar15. W hen we find ourselves looking for reasons for
not sharing in th e m inistry or atten d in g m eetings,
w hat corrective m easures should be tak en rig h t aw ay?

B rooklyn , N .Y .
SEeWATCHTOWER
range his own affairs as he feels best. Father. Like the writer of Proverbs 23:26,
Some months he m ay find it possible to He says: My son, do give your heart to
devote more tim e to the field m inistry than me, and may those eyes of yours take
in others. This is his personal affair. But pleasure in my own w ays. Open up your
when we find ourselves looking for rea- heart to him in your prayers, tell him what
sons to stay home from m eetings or from is in your heart, ask his aid in carrying
engaging in field service, searching for out the right desires of your heart and in
excuses or pretexts to avoid thesethen revealing to you its weaknesses and the
we are in danger! Now our hearts are mo- remedy for them. Then give your heart to
tivating us in the wrong way. When this him by carrying through with the guidan ce h e g iv e s y o u by
happens we need to do as
means of his Word, his
James says: Draw close
spirit and the Christian
to God, and he will draw
congregation.
c lo se to y o u . C lean se
your hands, you sinners,
STRENGTHENING THE
and purify your hearts,
HEART IN ADVANCE
you in d e c isiv e o n es.
(J a s. 4 :8 ) W e h ave a
17We are living in a
problem and we need to
system that is daily betake it to our heavenly
coming more and more
Father and tell him about
degraded. This puts our
it in prayer.
hearts to ever greater
16 This, too, is a means
tests as to the completefor examining our hearts.
ness of our devotion to
Perhaps as much as any
Jehovah God and his serOur prayers reveal what our relaother facet of our ser- tionship with God is. What kind of vice. If we are going to
vice to Jehovah God, our relationship do your prayers reveal? safeguard our hearts we
prayers reveal what our
must keep the heart in
relationship with him is, how we feel focus, remember its importance because
toward him in the secret person of the of its capacity for motivation and affecheart. What kind of relationship with tion. We should not wait for tests and
him do your prayers show that you have? temptations to hit us with their full force,
Only you and he can know. But it should but be strengthening our hearts long bebe a warm, trustful and intimate relation- fore to meet them.
ship, as of a son or daughter with a Father
18When even the first thoughts of imwho is respected and loved with all ones morality m anifest themselves, we should
heart. (Prov. 4:3, 4) Is that the kind of reask ourselves: Would I really
to do
lationship your prayers reveal? Or is your
such
a
thing,
knowing
what
it
w
ill
result
relationship just that of a mere speaking
acquaintance, as with a neighbor, with in? Would I want to bring reproach on
ones employer, or with a fairly good my family, on the congregation with which
friend? If the relationship is not what it I associate? What about my mate? True,
should be, you can be certain of one thing: she (or he) may have faults, weaknesses
It is through no fault of your heavenly but so do I. Do I want to cause the deep

150

16. (a) W hat do our prayers reveal about our hearts?

(b) W hat is m eant by the invitation from Jehovah,
Do give your h e art to m e ?

17. W hy is it im portant to strengthen and safeguard

the heart in advance of tem ptation ?
18. W hat questions will help us to test out our m otives?

M arch 1, 1971

fHeWATCHTOWER.

151

hurt such an act would surely bring? Is

that gratitude for the years of my m ates
life that I have shared? More than that,
am I really so ungrateful that I would do
despite to Jehovahs gift of his Son, treat
Jesus death on a torture stake as if it
were of no account, throw away all Jehovahs undeserved kindness just for a few
moments of illicit pleasure? Where is my
love of decency, uprightness, honesty?
19When we begin to feel the pull of
materialism, the call of the present system
to enter more fully into its supposed benefits and profits, we should ask ourselves,
ask the secret person of the heart : Can
I honestly say that m aterial things have
ever really given me a joy that compares
with Jehovahs service, w ith my association with the brothers, w ith the pleasure
of knowing that I have been of real help
to others, aiding them on the way to life?
What future does this world have to offer
me that a righteous heart could really
want? Do I want to place my affections
on this system of things when I know full
well that it would only use me for a while
and then discard me when it had no more
use for me? True, we must w ait for the
blessings of Gods new order. But as James
counsels: You too exercise patience;
make your hearts firm, because the presence of the Lord has drawn close.Jas.
5:7, 8.
20Likewise, when pressured to abandon your neutral position regarding this
worlds system s or in any way break your
integrity to God, review in your heart the
despicable things that the god of this
world, Satan the Devil, has fomented
among the nationsthe bloodshed, crime,
greed and cruelty. How could we possibly

agree even for a moment to put ourselves

on his side? Even if he persecutes us, jails
us, tortures us, how could we possibly deny
Jehovah, the God of the new system of
things, in favor of Satan and his beastlike, corrupt and heartless system s?
21B y similar means we can strengthen
our hearts in their love for all that is
right, decent and honest and cultivate a
genuine hatred for all that Jehovah condemns and detests. (1 Chron. 29:17; Heb.
1:9) But once we have developed a good
heart, it cannot be taken for granted. It
must be safeguarded. But pay attention
to yourselves that your hearts never become weighed down w ith overeating and
heavy drinking and anxieties of life, and
suddenly that day be instantly upon you
as a snare. For it w ill come in upon all
those dwelling upon the face of all the
earth. (Luke 21:34, 35) Solomon prayed
to Jehovah for an obedient heart and for
discernment in judging Gods people. Even
though God continued giving Solomon
wisdom and understanding in very great
measure and a broadness of heart, how
sad it is to read that it came about in
the tim e of Solomons growing old that
his wives them selves had inclined his
heart to follow other gods; and his heart
did not prove to be complete with Jehovah his God like the heart of David his
father. (1 Ki. 4:29; 11:1-6) Just imagine!
After being blessed so abundantly with
wisdom from Jehovah and having so many
privileges in connection w ith Jehovahs
typical kingdom and building the magnificent temple of Jehovah, he allowed his
heathen wives to draw his heart away to
worship other gods! And he was one who,
under inspiration, wrote so much about
the heart.

19. W hat questions can we ap propriately ask ourselves when we begin to feel the pull of m aterialism ?
20. W hen we are faced w ith issues involving n eutrality,
w hat should be reviewed in our h e arts?

21. (a) How can we prevent our h earts from becoming

weighed down, seeing th a t we are deep into the
tim e of the end( ?b) How did Solomon fail in
following the advice of his fa th e r in m aintaining a
complete h e art?

152

SReWATCHTOWER

B rooklyn , N .Y .

22 W hatever we do and in all that we do,

then, let us do it wholeheartedly as to
Jehovah. He is very pleased with such service. He is not an ungrateful God. He is
appreciative of all we do; he finds delight
in rewarding us, blessing us, giving us
gifts. But our service must be sincere,
genuine, with our whole heart. He can
see through any subterfuge, see when we
are doing things for other reasons. He can
see when we are concerned more with a
report than with our praise to Him, or
concerned with our appearance, our impression on others, or are doing things
sim ply because we feel we have to. True,
we must serve if we want life. But we will
never hold out, never endure, never reach
the goal unless we want to do this, have
a heartfelt longing to serve Jehovah, long
to live in a tim e when we can serve him
perfectly, free from all the things that
now make us commit wrongs and fall
short of his perfect standards.

23Everything points to the nearness of

Gods new order. Yet even at this late
hour some who have been in Jehovahs service for many years are dropping away.
Why? Could it be the spirit of independence, or that they realize that soon Gods
government w ill assume full control over
all surviving earthly inhabitants and that,
in their hearts, they really do not want
this, do not want this fullness of control
that righteous rule will bring? Having
searched for Jehovah and having found
him, keep your heart complete toward
him, love and serve him with your whole
heart. Do not leave him or he w ill cast you
off forever. As Paul prayed for his brothers in his day, so we now pray for you:
May the Lord continue directing your
hearts successfully into the love of God
and into the endurance for the Christ.
2 Thess. 3:5.

22. W hy is it essential th a t we serve Jehovah not only

because we m u st b u t also because we w ant to do his
w ill?

23. (a) W hat m ay be the reasons w hy some drop out

of the race for life? (b) How can we confidently pray
as did Paul, in behalf of those seeking to have a
complete h e art?

Creation !Manifests D
Biologist W. J. Tinkle and horticulturist W. E. Lammerts commented on the
design manifest in creation. What they said about this appears in the book
Modern Science and Christian Faith as follows: In His arrangement of the cells
of plants and animals the Creator has written an account which the trained
person can read. . . . When the outer layer of a leaf is stripped off and examined
under a powerful lens, the leaf tissue is magnified revealing its minute arrangement. It is a layer of cells fitted nicely together, all having similar size and
shape, and within each cell there is a smaller body called a nucleus. When a
thin slice of root tip is magnified still more, using a compound microscope, one
observes that the nucleus is made up of regularly shaped parts, including the
rod-shaped chromosomes. The more we magnify the things of nature, the more
order is revealed to us.
Such intricate structure is not characteristic of the work of man. When magnified, the edge of a sharp razor blade looks like a jagged and very irregular saw,
as if a nervous man had cut out saw teeth with his eyes shut. If we look at
fine printing we see irregular blobs of ink on criss-cross fibers of paper. Yet who
would look at the razor blade or the piece of fine printing and deny the intelligent
planning of the man who formed them?
Such order and design as we see in nature demands a Designer.

WHY PEOPLE DO HAD THINGS

OULDNT it be wonderful if ev- written in that Word of God. Do you think
eryone were good? Then no one that was wise? It could lead to serious
would ever hurt anyone else.
trouble.
But is there anyone who really is good
One day when Saul was in Jerusalem a
all the time? What do you think? The disciple of Jesus named Stephen was arBible tells us that Jerested. They took him
hovah God is alw ays
An article specially designed for to court, and some of
good; there is no badthe judges on the court
parents to read with their children
ness in him at all. And
w ere P h arisees. Even
Jesus, the Great Teacher, always does though bad things were said about him,
what is right. But none of us can truth- Stephen was not afraid. He spoke right up
fully say that we are good all the time. and gave the judges a good witness about
We may try to be good. But there are God and about Jesus.
times when we think bad things, arent
But those judges did not like what they
there? And at tim es we do acts that are heard. This was not the first tim e that
bad. The first man, Adam, willfully dis- they had heard about Jesus. In fact, it was
obeyed God. What he did was very bad. this court that had said Jesus ought to be
As a result, we were all bom imperfect. put to death. Gods Word showed that
We are all children of Adam. That is one these men were bad. Instead of changing
reason why people do bad things, even their ways, they fought against Jesus and
though they dont want to be bad.
his disciples because these preached Gods
But some people do many bad things. Word. Those judges did not like the truth.
T h ey b ecam e v e r y e x c ite d . T h ey
They hate other people and deliberately
do things to hurt them. Do you think a grabbed hold of Stephen and took him outperson like that could ever change and side the city. They knocked him down, and
threw stones at him until they had killed
learn to be good?
The Bible gives examples of bad persons him.
Saul was right there watching while
who changed. I am going to tell you about
one of them. And, together, lets see if we Stephen was being put to death. He was
approving of the murder of him. But how
can figure out why he was bad.
The mans name was Saul from the city could he do such a bad thing?
Well, Saul had grown up as a Pharisee.
of Tarsus. He lived when Jesus was on
earth. But we dont know if Saul ever saw All his life he had been taught that they
the Great Teacher. The Bible first speaks were right. He looked to these men for
about Saul soon after Jesus had died and his example. So he copied them.
was raised to heavenly life by his Father.
Now that Stephen was dead, Saul wantSaul was a very religious man. He be- ed to get rid of the rest of Jesus disciples.
longed to a religious group called the He began going right into their homes
Pharisees. They had the writings of Gods and dragging out both men and women.
Word, but they put the teachings of some Then he would have them thrown into
of their important men ahead of what was prison. Many of the disciples moved away

153

154

fBcW ATCHTOW ER

from Jerusalem to get away from Saul.

But they did not stop preaching about Jesus.Acts 8:1-4.
This caused Sauls hatred for Jesus disciples to grow. He went to the high priest
and got permission to arrest Christians in
the city of Damascus. He wanted to bring
them as prisoners to Jerusalem to have
them punished. But on the way to Damascus an amazing thing happened.
A light flashed from heaven so bright
that it made Saul blind. And a voice said:
Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?
It was the Lord Jesus from heaven speaking!
Three days later Jesus appeared in a
vision to one of his disciples named Ananias. Jesus told Ananias to visit Saul, to
restore his eyesight and to talk to him.
Saul had been doing some serious thinking
for the past three days. He was ready to
listen. Now he accepted the truth about
Jesus. His entire way of life changed. He
became the apostle Paul, a faithful servant of God.Acts 9:1-22.
Now do you see why Saul used to be
so bad? H e had b een
taught wrong things. He
was following men who
were not faithful to God.
A nd he b elo n g ed to a
group of people who put
the ideas of men ahead
of the Word of God.
B u t w h y d id S a u l
change his life and begin
to do good, even though
other Pharisees did not? It was because
Saul did not really hate the truth.
There are many people today who are
like Saul. They can change, but it is not
easy. This is because there is someone who
is working hard to make everyone do bad.
Do you know who that is? Jesus talked

B rooklyn , N .Y .

about him when he spoke to Saul from

heaven. He told Saul: am sending you
to open peoples eyes, to turn them from
darkness to light and from the power of
Satan to God.Acts 26:17, 18.
Yes, it is Satan the Devil who has caused
all the teaching of bad things. He wants
people to be bad. The Bible warns us about
him, saying: Woe for the earth and for
the sea, because the Devil has come down
to you, having great anger.Rev. 12:12.
The Devil is here near the earth. We
cannot see him, because he is a spirit. But
he can see us. He really does exist, and
he is doing everything that he can to make
people bad.
If we do what is bad, then the D evil is
pleased. But we want to please Jehovah,
dont we? How can we be sure to please
Jehovah?
We will please God if we always pay
attention to the Bible and do what it says.

When the Bible shows that we have been

doing something bad, we should stop doing
it. When we learn from the Bible about
things that God wants us to do, we should
be eager to do them. When we do what
pleases God we are doing good things,
because God is good.

Subject yourselves, therefore, to God; but oppose the Devil,

and he will flee from you.Jas.

in parts of Africa. And

though 85 percent of
the conventioners had
been inoculated and
the rest were ready to
submit to inoculation,
authorities insisted on closing
the convention immediately after its opening day. As a consequence, most of the travelers converged on Cotonou.
Dahomeys population consists of about
sixty groups of people, with some fifty
languages or dialects being spoken. Just
four languages, though, were needed to
serve those attending the convention:
French (the official language), Gun, Yoruba and Ewe. This required the erection of
four platforms so that each language group
could hear all the program in its own
tongue. The 1,835 W itnesses in Dahomey
were happy to see 3,793 persons come to
hear the public talk, Saving the Human
Racein the Kingdom Way.
A t this assembly sixty-six persons were
baptized in symbol of their dedication to
the true God, Jehovah. Many of these had
formerly practiced fetishism , but now
h a v in g abandoned magical
fetish es they
are sta n d in g
firm for Bible
truth.

AFRICA'S "MEN OF GOODWIU"

S till H r
tirM
DUCATORS have long turned their
eyes toward Africa. But there have
been obstacles, not the least of which are
the many tribes, often warring with one
another. Additionally, the barriers of superstition, illiteracy and local tribal religions have hindered progress. Nevertheless, hundreds of thousands of Africans
have gladly taken hold of the highest form
of educationinstruction in the Bible.
These Africans have amazed persons from
the so-called cultured nations by their
strong Christian personalities and by their
standing immovably for what is right.
A special delegation from North America, visiting Africa recently, had an opportunity to see this education in operation,
along with its results, at the Men of Goodw ill Assemblies. Ten of these assemblies
were held across the equatorial belt of
Africa during the month of December
1970. The first seven were reported on in
the preceding issue of The Watchtower.
Such assemblies play an essential role in
the education and unification program of
Jehovahs witnesses.

LARGEST
ASSEMBLY, AT
LAGOS, NIGERIA

COTONOU, DAHOMEY

The Men of Goodwill Assembly at

Cotonou, the largest city of Dahomey, was
scheduled for December 8-11, running concurrently with one at Lome, in Togo, the
country just to the west. It developed, however, that the convention in Togo lasted
for only one day. Cholera had cropped up
155

A Witness assists in the

construction of facilities for
the assembly in Dahomey

On to th e
l a r g e and
densely populated country
of Nigeria. An
expected attendance of more
th an 100,000
persons at La-

B rooklyn , N .Y .
SEeWATCHTOWER.
groups have such unity? Because
of their standing firm for Bible
truth, which unites people of all
kinds.
A m ong th e th in g s n eed ed in
great quantity for such a large assembly were bamboo poles, 100,000
of them fourteen to twenty-four
feet long, and 36,000 large woven
reed mats. A big order, but these
people can do things. The women
in the various congregations agreed
to weave the mats and bring them
in. The bamboo supply was some
thirty miles away, and it called for
Roofing of the assembly pavilions in progress
a volunteer force of 1,500 to 2,000
at Lagos, Nigeria
men to cut the poles. Moreover,
gos made it obvious that there was no au- holes had to be dug for the bamboo posts;
ditorium large enough to accommodate the acres of ground had to be covered to shade
assembly. A place had to be built.
the conventioners from Africa's burning
Lagos officials cooperated by contribut- sun.
Backless seats were made of clean
ing the use of a forty-five-acre tract and
planks
rented from a lumber company.
gave permission to connect into water and
The
planks
were laid across abutments in
electric facilities. An additional need at
the
ground.
For the baptism pool the men,
this assembly was seventeen separate platusing
shovels,
dug a pit in the hard ground
forms for the speakers who would address
four
feet
deep
and twenty-five feet square
the seventeen language groups. Furtherand
filled
it
with
water. On the day armore, these had to be arranged so that
ranged
for
baptism
the applicants were
sound from the public-address system in
organized
into
five
lines,
and 3,775 were
one area would not interfere with the next.
immersed,
at
the
rate
of
twenty
a minute!
When the Societys president and viceThe
planners
had
not
overestimated.
For
president and others spoke in English,
the
public
talk
by
N.
H.
Knorr
on
the
subwhat they said was immediately interpreted into the sixteen other languages, so that ject Restoration of All Things of Which
all present received the same message God Spoke, there were on hand 121,128
from Gods Word of truth, the Holy Bible. persons! With such a great crowd of
The seventeen language groups present people, some may wonder how many powere English, Yoruba, Urhobo, Efik, Ibo, licemen were there on duty. Actually,
throughout the four days of the assembly,
Isoko, Ika, Edo, Ishan, Kwale, Ijaw, Okpe,
not one policeman could be seen on duty.
Owan, Itsekiri, Ogoni, Abua and Hausa. Even the direction of heavy traffic around
Before becoming Gods men of goodwill, the grounds was left to Africa's men of
many of these people used to war with oth- goodwill.
er tribal groups in the past; but now they
New equipment for teaching, in the form
are all working and meeting together in of Bible publications in six languages, were
peace. And how could so many language happily received. In his closing remarks

156

March 1, 1971

157
fHeWATCHTOWER
at the conventions final session Knorr de- were killed, their women raped and their
lighted those present when he announced homes and meeting places burned. Through
plans to enlarge the Watch Tower Soci- all this they stood firm. Many appeared on
etys printing facilities in Nigeria.
the assembly program to relate thrilling,
though trialsome, experiences of those
LITERACY AND BIBLE PRINCIPLES
troubled months.
Illiteracy is still high in Nigeria. Only
about one out of five is able to read and
A REPORT FROM CAMEROON
write. This situation presents a real chalAt the Lagos assembly some came from
lenge to those trying to teach the truths bordering Cameroon. Here the governof the Bible. However, among Jehovahs ment recently confiscated the branch ofwitnesses about three out of four can read flee of the Watch Tower Society, closed
and write, and the ratio is rapidly increas- up some of the Kingdom Halls used for
ing. This is because, in 1951, Jehovahs meetings by the W itnesses and banned
witnesses set up literacy classes (as in their work. Pressures and persecution in
many other lands). A special
many forms have been brought
booklet, Learning to Read and
on the W itnesses, but they too
Write, is used, along w ith Bible
are standing firm for truth.
publications in the language
Many thousands of letters
taught, so that Bible truth acwritten from all over the world
companies the teaching.
expressing regret at this action
These literacy courses run
a g a in st th e W itn e sse s h ave
for a full year, with a graduabeen received by government
tion day, when marriage mates,
officials, and they are taking
the m atter under special conparents and friends are present.
There are about one thousand
sideration. Of the 14,000 Witof these literacy schools in opnesses in that land, reports of
eration. During the past ten
activity have filtered through
years 6,162 persons have been
from 65 percent.
taught to read and write. At
NAIROBI, KENYA
present 7,279 are enrolled.
Such education and training
At the assembly in Nairobi
A Witness mother in
in the Bible have produced real Kenya carries her baby delegates came from Uganda,
C h ristia n s th a t can sta n d with her as she goes Ethiopia and Tanzania with realongside their brothers in othports of the increases of the
out to teach Bible
truths to others
er parts of the earth in integriwork in those countries. The
ty and Christian qualities. Durfirst group of over 120 visiing the recent civil war the W itnesses in tors from North America arrived in Naithe former Biafra suffered much be- robi, Embakasi Airport, soon after dawn.
cause of their nonpolitical, neutral posi- Knowing the fine reputation of the Wittion. They were badly mistreated as gangs nesses for honesty, the customs officer
of men passed through Biafra conscript- let them through without checking even
ing every able-bodied man for the army. one piece of baggage. The second group
But as Christians, these witnesses of Jeho- arrived close to midnight. A friendly Afrivah would not take sides or join in the can airline official explained to a different
killing. For this they were beaten, some group of customs officers that the group

B rooklyn , N .Y .
SEeWATCHTOWEFt
was composed of W itnesses. You can be also care for the children. But W itnesses
sure of these Christian people, he said. assembled in Nairobi no longer conform
The officer in charge permitted one or to that way of life. Men were not sepatwo local W itnesses into the customs hall rated from women as they often are in
so they could help carry out the baggage the churches in Africa. Fam ilies were seatwithout so much as a customs chalk mark. ed together! Husband and w ife shared the
Though Gods Word of truth is growing responsibility for the care of their chilrapidly in Kenya now, the preaching of it dren. Father, mother and children had
had, at first, a slow start. In 1931, two of their meals together. These fam ilies reJehovahs witnesses spent a short time fleet the new homelife and fam ily unity
there and placed 2,000 pieces of Bible that the Bible truth has brought them.
literature. It was in 1949 that a Witness
moved there and opened her home as a
meeting place for Bible study. In 1955
Watch Tower President N. H. Knorr and
M. G. Henschel, a director, visited and
began organizing of the work. The number of one hundred W itnesses was reached
in 1960. A branch office was established
in 1962. Now there are 966 of these Christian teachers of Gods Word.
One of the problems in Kenya, as in
many African lands, is polygamy. To date,
at the assemblies sat and ate together,
in the congregations of Jehovahs witness- Families
as did this one at the Nairobi assembly
es, there have been 306 marriages adjusted
to conform to the Scriptural standard of
Those baptized at the assembly were
monogamy. The insistence of Jehovahs from four different countries and totaled
witnesses that they will receive in baptism 101. The public talk, given by the Socionly those meeting this high moral stan- etys president, was translated into Swadard has impressed the government offi- hili and heard by 2,503the highest attendance ever in Kenya.
cials.
In his closing remarks on the last day
During the Nairobi assembly a lady
of
the Nairobi assembly, President Knorr
asked a W itness who called at her home:
encouraged all to continue in their educaDoes your religion really make any diftional work, training yet others to conform
ference in people?
their lives to the Bibles high principles.
Why not come down to the City Sta- He announced a grand total attendance
dium and see for yourself? was the pleas- at these ten African Men of Goodwill
ant reply.
Assemblies of 175,218. The number bapWhat a change she saw! Why so? Be- tized as new ministers joining the ranks
cause the African man often eats his food of the W itnesses in teaching their fellowalone, not caring if there is enough for men was 5,115. Indeed, more and more
the other members of the family, who wait Africans are proving them selves to be
for him to finish before they can eat. He Gods men of goodwill, standing firm for
w ill let his wife do all the heavy work and Bible truth.

158

Run the Race Course, Looking at Jesus

Why should Christians look intently at Jesus
rather than at someone else ?
To look intently at someone means to have
the mind or attention closely directed toward
that person; to have ones interest engrossed
in what the person says and does. It means
to direct ones powers of observation with
fixed or keen attention. Among the reasons
why Christians should look intently at Jesus
rather than at another are these:
Because the Bible, Gods Word, tells us
to do so. At Hebrews 12:1, 2 we read: So,
then, because we have so great a cloud of
witnesses surrounding us, let us also put off
every weight and the sin that easily entangles
us, and let us run with endurance the race
that is set before us, as we look intently
at the Chief Agent and Perfecter of our faith,
Jesus.*
We should also look intently at Jesus rather
than at any other because he was the greatest teacher that ever walked the earth. He
was sent by God, and what he taught originated with God. Among the instructions he
gave his followers were to keep on seeking
first Gods kingdom and his righteousness, to
preach the good news of the Kingdom and
to make disciples of people of all nations.

him, we also can be pleasing to God. We

therefore always want to ask, What would
Jesus do under these circumstances? Then
let us be sure that we answer that question
from the Bible, not merely personal opinion.
For example, what should we do if our own
family tries to discourage us from serving
God? Looking at Jesus, we find that while
on earth his brothers did not exercise faith
in him. But did that deter him? Not in the
least! (John 7:5) If we look intently at him,
such discouragement will not slow us down
in the race either.
Looking at Jesus will help us to run the
race successfully, for it will keep us humble.
When someone addressed Jesus as *,Good
Teacher, Jesus reproved him, saying, Why
do you call me good? Nobody is good, except
one, God. And even though he was the
Teacher and Master or Lord of his disciples,
he stressed that he came, not to be served,
but to serve and to give his life for them.
At times a Christian in carrying out his
ministerial commission may be inclined to
depend upon human reasoning or worldly
knowledge in refuting error and teaching
truth. Here again, by looking to Jesus he will
be able to take the wise course, the right
one, for Jesus always referred his listeners
and his opposers to the Scriptures, saying:
It is written. How much better, how much
more effective, how much more God-honoring
it is to follow Jesus example in this also!

How will looking intently at Jesus help us

to run the race course successfully?
Jesus at all times pleased his heavenly
Father. By looking intently at him, imitating
F or details see The W atchtow er, Septem ber 1,
1970.

Why did Jesus instruct his followers, as recorded at Acts 1:8, to preach in Samaria, since
earlier (Matt. 10:5, 6) he had told them not to
preach to the Samaritans?D. R., New Zealand.
When sending his twelve apostles out on a
limited preaching tour, Jesus told them: Do
not go off into the road of the nations, and do

not enter into a Samaritan city; but, instead,

go continually to the lost sheep of the house of
Israel.( Matt. 10:5, 6) That Jesus did not forbid all preaching to the Samaritans can be seen
by his own words and actions. In one of his
parables he showed that the Jews should consider the Samaritans as neighbors. (Luke 10:
29-37) Once Christ healed ten men, one of whom
was a Samaritan, and Jesus commended that
man for being the only one of the ten who expressed gratitude. (Luke 17:11-19) Also, Jesus
preached to a Samaritan woman at the well of
Sychar and later also to others in that Samaritan city.John 4:4-43.
Consequently, Jesus order at Matthew 10:5,
6 must be understood as a restriction that ap159

160

JfcWATCHTOWER

plied particularly to that time and occasion.

By what Christ said about the lost sheep of
the house of Israel, it seems evident that he
was emphasizing the importance of taking the
message to the Jews first, giving them the
first opportunity. So, on their preaching tour
the apostles were to concentrate on the Jews,
not attempting at this time to preach to all peopies and nations. Surely the six pairs of men
would have more than enough to do during their
relatively brief tour even with their territory
restricted to the cities and villages of the Jews.
Mark 6:7.
The situation was quite different when Jesus
said what he did as recorded at Acts 1:8. He
was, in effect, giving his followers some parting instructions that indicated the worldwide
preaching work to be accomplished. Just before
ascending to heaven he said: You will be witnesses of me both in Jerusalem and in all Judea
and Samaria and to the most distant part of
the earth. And that is just the way it worked

B rooklyn , N .Y .

out. Due to persecution the Christian disciples

were scattered, and as a result their message
was preached in Samaria.Acts 8:117.
It might be noted that this preaching to the
Samaritans, with the result that many Samaritans were baptized and received holy spirit, took
place prior to 36 C.E., when uncircumcised
Gentiles (non-Jews) were for the first time
accepted as believers. (Acts 10:3448 )This ap
parently was because the Samaritans had much
more in common religiously with the Jews than
did the Gentiles. The Samaritans accepted the
first five books of the Bible (according to the
Samaritan Pentateuch )and thus they looked
forward to the coming of a prophet greater
than Moses. (Deut. 18:18, 19; John 4:25) And
though their form of worship was in many
ways different from Judaism, still they claimed
to be worshiping the God of Abraham, Isaac
and Jacob and observing the Law of Moses,
including the circumcision requirement. Hence,
they were in quite a different category from
that in which the uncircumcised Gentiles were.

ANNOUNCEMENTS
LORDS EVENING MEAL

On Friday evening, April 9, after 6 p.m.

Standard Time, the Christian witnesses of Jehovah will assemble at their Kingdom Halls
to commemorate the death of their Lord Jesus
Christ. This is a most important occasion, for
Jesus himself expressly commanded that his
followers do so. (1 Cor. 11:23-26) He instituted
this memorial of his death with prospective
members of his kingdom, the remnant of whom
on that occasion will partake of the emblematic
bread and wine. However, all other persons
interested in gaining life through the merits
of Christs sacrifice are welcome. They stand
to benefit spiritually by the discussion of the
Lords evening meal as well as by joining in
song and prayer with fellow Christians.

WATCHTOWER STUDIES FOR THE WEEKS

April 4: How Is Your Heart? Page 133. Songs

to Be Used: 54, 55.
April 11: The Human Heart Is Treacherous.
Page 139. Songs to Be Used: 101, 70.
April 18: Serving Jehovah with a Complete
Heart. Page 146. Songs to Be Used: 24, 82.

YOU ARE MY WITNESSES, SAYS JEH O VAH .-Isa.43:12

T H E P U R P O SE O F T H E W A T C H T O W E R
E v ery w a tc h to w e r has its purpose. It serves as an elevated place fo r a
w id e-aw ak e person w ith sharp vision. It enables him to see far ahead into
the distance and tell those b elow for w h o m he is a w a tch m a n w h a t is
d raw ing near, w h e th er it is a danger against w h ich to prepare o r it is
som ething good over w h ich to be glad w ith strong faith and hope.
Because o f having the nam e **The W a tc h to w e r this m agazine ju stly
has to render a sim ilar useful service to the people o f all nations. T h is is
an in tern ational m agazine and makes no racial distinctions, for w e are all
facing a com m on w o rld danger; w e are all hoping fo r a com m on good.
E ver since **The W a tc h to w e r began to be published in J u ly o f 1 8 7 9 it
has looked ahead into the future, alw ays striving to aid its readers to advan ce in k now ledge and to gain a clearer picture o f the glorious n e w order
o f things th at is in store for righteous mankind. N o , **The W a tc h to w e r
is n o inspired prophet, but it follow s and explains a Book o f prophecy the
predictions in w h ich have proved to be unerring and unfailing till n o w .
**The W a tc h to w e r is therefore under safe guidance. It m a y be read w ith
confidence, fo r its statem ents m ay be checked against th at prophetic Book.
A m o n g th e m an y nations o f today there are hundreds o f differing
religions. W h ic h one does this m agazine present? N o t the confused religions
o f C hristendom , but the religion o f the oldest sacred Book on earth. W h ic h
Book? T h e Sacred Bible o f the H o ly Scriptures, w ritten b y inspiration in
the nam e o f the C reator o f heaven and earth, the o n ly living and true G od.
T h e sacred, nonpolitical purpose o f **The W a tc h to w e r is accordingly
to encourage and prom ote study o f the H o ly Bible and to give our m a n y
readers the needed unsectarian help to understand that Book o f true
religion and infallible prophecy. T hus this m agazine w ill be helping them
to prove w o r th y o f perfect life and happiness in G od s promised n e w order
under H is everlasting kingdom o f righteousness.

PUBLISHED BY TH E
WATCH TOW ER BIBLE AND TRACT SOCIETY OF PENNSYLVANIA
117 Adams S treet
Brooklyn, N.Y. 11201, U.S.A.
N. H. K norr, P resident
Grant S uiter, Secretary

They will all be taught by Jehovah.John 6:45; Isaiah 54:13

CONTENTS
When You Feel Like Screaming
The Desirability of Government by God
He Knew Where
They Would Be Welcomed
Water Sweeps Away a World
Something Better than Confirmation
Persecution by Permission
of JehovahWhy?
A Change from Mourning to a Good Day
Grateful for Our Older Brothers
Questions from Readers
What Would Your Child Do?

Average Printing Each Issue:

163
165
167
168
170
172
179
186
191
191

The Bible translation used In The Watchtower Is the modern-language

New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures, unless otherwise Indicated.
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-p/irvnoztnciricf

J E H O V A H S
K IN G D O M
March 15, 1971

WHEN YOU FEE UKE

HEN a fouryear-old
boy stepped into his
m o th ers k it c h e n
not l o n g a g o , a
sm all pail slipped
from his hand. Sand
spilled onto the newly scrubbed floor.
Angered, the mother screamed and
struck her son, sending him sprawling on
the floor. After more screaming, the mother stormed from the kitchen, leaving the
child still on the floor.
Have you ever seen anything like that
happen? Has it happened in your home?
Screaming is frequent in many fam ilies
today. Not only do parents scream at their
children, but often marriage mates shout
abuse at each other. Why?
Some persons may feel it is normal.
Their parents screamed at each other.
Their acquaintances do it. Also, they may
have heard that it is harmful to bottle up
emotions. So they feel justified in screaming when they are angry.
Women often scream when they feel
under pressure. It m ay be that the children are sick and irritable. Perhaps the
mother herself does not feel well. Preparation of supper may have been interrupted.
Just about everything may seem to have
gone wrong, and she feels at her w its end.
Under such circumstances, it is little won

163

Number 6

der that she feels

like screaming.
Men, too, are under pressure more
and m ore. Often
there are financial
w orries. A fath er
may face the loss
o f h is j o b . H i s
nerves may be worn
to a frazzle. Then
even the slightest irritation, such as noisy
children, may make him feel like exploding verbally.
Is such a verbal outburst beneficial? On
the contrary, it can be damaging in many
ways to oneself, as well as to those
screamed at. Consider what happens to a
person physically when he gives way to
angry screaming.
Blood pressure rises. Circulation is adversely affected. Digestion is interfered
with. Undue strain is put on the bodys
defense system. Thus, such serious conditions as strokes or heart attacks may
result. Angry verbal outbursts can actually shorten ones life-span!
And what about the effect on others
for example, a marriage mate who is
screamed at? Will this cause that one to
want to be with the mate? Will that one
be eager to see the mate in the evening
and hold the mate in his arms?
Regarding the effect on a child frequently screamed at, one New York doctor

164

S&eW ATCHTOW ER,

observed: The child is certainly harmed

emotionally. He frequently feels alienated
from his parents. He often becomes withdrawn. And he may engage in abnormal,
even delinquent behavior.
Is screaming worth such possible physical and emotional effects? Does it improve the situation at hand? Will the child
screamed at be more inclined to view you
with respect and love? Or will he feel uncomfortable in your presence and avoid
you?
Does this mean that there is never a
tim e to raise ones voice? Parents at times
need to be firm with their children, and a
somewhat enlarged voice may emphasize
ones point. But this does not call for an
uncontrolled verbal outburst or explosion.
Gods Word the Bible takes a practical
view of m atters and gives this fine encouragement: Let all malicious bitterness and anger and wrath and screaming
and abusive speech be taken away from
you along with all badness. But become
kind to one another, tenderly compassionate, freely forgiving one another just as
God also by Christ freely forgave you.
Eph. 4:31, 32.
You may agree that that is fine counsel.
But what, you may ask, can be done
when I am at my w its end, and screaming
and abusive words seem to leap from my
lips?
Drug companies advertise that that is
the tim e to reach for one of their sedafives. But resorting to drugs provides no
lasting remedy. Rather, it can create even
worse problems.
Another bit of common advice when
you feel like screaming is to count to ten.
The idea is that this w ill provide time for
you to simmer down and hold back angry
words. This may help.

B r o o k l y n , N.Y.

But there is something much more beneficial that a lover of God can do. He can
stop and, at that moment when he feels
like screaming, pray to Jehovah God.
Pointing to the effectiveness of looking to
God for help, one of Christs apostles said
that God can do more than superabundantly beyond all the things we ask or
conceive.Eph. 3:20.
Surely, t h e One who ur ged t h a t
screaming and abusive speech be taken
away from you, can help you to calm
down when you feel like screaming. But
you must go to him in prayer to ask his
help.
Other practical measures when you feel
like screaming may be to get away from
the trouble or problem if possible. Go for
a walk. Listen to soothing music. Or get
away to where you can sit down and read
the Bible and meditate on its encouragement from God. To have Gods continued
approval we must apply what he says, ineluding his admonition to put an end to
the habit of screaming.
But is screaming ever justified? Yes, it
is. For example, when your life is threatened or when trying to ward off an attacker. Under Gods law to ancient Israel an
engaged virgin who was threatened with
rape was even under obligation to scream.
But these are exceptional circumstances
and do not represent a loss of ones selfcontrol.Deut. 22:23-27.
As for other circumstances, if you feel
like screaming, stop and consider its effects. Do you want to hurt yourself physically, alienate other persons, and adversely affect your standing with God? If you
do not, work hard to be kind, forgiving
and tenderly compassionate. W ith the help
of God, you will be able to refrain when
you feel like screaming.

F YOU could personally select the government under which you would like
to live for the rest of your life, what
kind would you choose? Democratic? Socialistic? Communistic?
The fact is that different people would
choose to live under each of these forms
of government. And in each case they
would make their choice because they believed that it would be for their own good
and for the good of their fam ilies.
Undoubtedly you desire to live under
the best form of government. But which
one is it? With so many kinds of government, how can you know?

MAKING A COMPARISON

There are many factors to be considered. But, to help you to analyze your own
thinking on the matter, consider these
points:
Pollution is a major problem to governments everywhere, and various means are
being used to cope with the situation. But
what is really needed? Is the difficulty
that there are not enough laws? Are more
severe penalties required for violators?
Would this solve the problem?
Or do we really need a government
headed by someone with such thorough
understanding of all that is involved in
life on earth that he can guide his subjects in a course that w ill root out the
very causes of pollution? If you believe
that the latter solution is the right one,
then you would favor government, not by
men, but by God.Jer. 10:10-13, 23.
Much is said about the need for peace.
165

But what kind of peace do you want?

Would you say that the best arrangement
is to live under a government that is
armed to the lim it with nuclear weapons,
and with the latest radar equipment to
detect the approach of enemy rockets?
Would peace under these circumstances be
most desirable?
Or would you rather live in a world
where weapons of war had been converted
into tools of peace, and where there were
no enemy nations to fear, because there
was just one government for all the earth?
This latter kind of government is what
is described in the Holy Bible as being
Gods purpose for man. Furthermore, the
Bible indicates that we are living in the
generation that w ill see that change take
placenot by governments of men, but by
intervention of God.Mic. 4:2-4; Ps. 46:9.
Racial tensions are also a cause of great
concern. But what is the solution? Do you
favor repressive police tactics as the means
to cope with the situation? Does this get
to the root of the problem and solve it?
Or would you rather live under a government that could elim inate racial prejudice by inspiring love in the hearts of its
people so that they would show genuine
concern for everyone, regardless of race?
Do you know any government of men that
has really gotten to the root of the situation in that way?John 13:34, 35; Acts
10:34, 35.
Corruption in government is so commonplace that it is almost taken for granted, but no one likes the idea of having

166

fffieWATCHTOWER

B r o o k l y n , N .Y .

by God really just an unrealistic dream?

What is being realistic? And what is just
dreaming? Are this earth and man upon
it only a dream? Of course not! This is real.
Who, then, put man on this wonderful
earth? Someone did. Man did not come to
exist without intelligent thought or design;
he is not the result of some chance combination of molecules. The marvelous complexities of life make it obvious that a
Master Designer must be responsible.
Ps. 100:3; 104:24.
So think about it: Is it really unbelievable that mans Creator should establish
a government to direct earths affairs? Is
that really any harder to believe than that
God created man and other living creatures to populate the earth?
Jesus Christ did not think so. He taught
people to look forward to the blessings of
Gods government, even teaching them
to pray: Our Father in the heavens, let
your name be sanctified. Let your kingdom come. Let your will take place, as in
heaven, also upon earth. (Matt. 6:9, 10)
That kingdom of God is a real government.
And such a government by God is only
fitting for this earth, which is so wonderfully designed for mans home.
Consider the grand precision that goveras the movements of the sun, moon and
stars, making life on earth both possible
and pleasant! Why, the earth receives just
one two-billionth of the heat and light
that the sun em its. Yet it is precisely the
right amountif there were much more,
all living things on earth would roast, and
if much less, everything would freeze!
Consider, too, the breathtaking beauty of
ONLY A DREAM?
a brilliant sunset, or of a green valley decBut lets be realistic, someone may orated with colorful flowers and majestic
object. Of course a person would prefer trees. Would you not say that the disthe idealistic government of which you order and strife so apparent in present
speak. But such a thing is only a dream. earthly governments are completely out of
It could never be attained.
harmony with the orderliness, beauty and
Is the idea of living under a government peace in creation around us?

his hard-earned tax money used in that

way. Yet is there a government anywhere
that is not tainted with corruption?
Well, the Bible says that Gods kingdom
is to rule from the heavens, and God has
no need of your money or other possessions. In fact, God tells us in his Word:
To me belongs every wild animal of the
forest, the beasts upon a thousand mountains. . . . For to me the productive land
and its fullness belong. So, unlike many
human rulers, God has no desire to take
anything away from you.Ps. 50:10-12.
Rather, the Bible shows that God cares
about you so much that he actually gives
to you life and breath and all things.
(Acts 17:25) Dont you agree that govem m ent administered by him would be the
kind that you want?
And then there is the matter of ones
health. N ot all governments view this matter in the same way. Some leave all the
problems up to you. Others offer free medical treatment until the day you die. But
would it appeal much more to you if you
could live under a government that would
oversee the complete elimination of sickness and death? Of course, that would require far more knowledge and power than
are at the disposal of men. It would call
for the wisdom and the power of God.
Rev. 21:3, 4.
So, then, when you consider the things
that are reaUy important to you and how
they can be attained, what kind of govemment is it that you wantone administered by men, or the government of God
that is promised in the Holy Bible?

M arch 15, 1971

167
S&eWATCHTOWER
Think, too, about the wonderful capaci- to attain to repentance. Do you really
ty of humans to receive and express love. wish that God had destroyed all those not
The Bible explains that God is love, and doing his will before now? Where would
that he endowed man with this wonderful you have been?2 Pet. 3:9.
quality. (1 John 4:8) Would you not say
Yet God has set a tim e to destroy evilthat these marvelous gifts indicate that doers and replace all earthly governments
God really does love us and is interested with his government. According to fulfilled
in providing for our needs?
Bible prophecy we are now privileged to
Well, then, what is one of mans great- be living in the generation facing that
est needs today? Is it not for a government time. Yes, this Bible prophecy soon will be
that could successfully solve the gigantic fulfilled: The God of heaven will set up
problems that threaten even the very ex- a kingdom that w ill never be brought to
istence of mankind? Is not such a govern- ruin. And the kingdom . . . w ill crush and
put an end to all these kingdoms, and it
ment what you want?
itself will stand to tim es indefinite. Then
SOON EARTHS ONLY GOVERNMENT
Gods government w ill be earths only govSurely no one can deny that Gods gov- ernment.Dan. 2:44.
ernment is the best one for earth. But
How desirable that w ill be! But the
why has not God done something about question is: Are we desirable from Gods
bringing it about? you may ask.
standpoint? Will he want us to be subThe fact is that he has. God has been jects of his government?
selecting and preparing persons to rule in
God rules by love; that quality charachis heavenly government. Jesus Christ terizes his government, and so to be his
proved his worthiness as king by his faith- subjects we need to exhibit love. We must
fulness on earth to God. And since then learn to love righteousness, to love doing
God has been selecting from among man- what is right. God desires persons who
kind faithful servants to be rulers in heav- want to please Him and to do good to their
en with his Son, Jesus.Luke 22:28, 29; fellowman.
Are you cultivating this disposition?
Rev. 20:6.
While some persons may complain that Are you making a real effort to know God
God is slow about destroying evildoers and better by studying his Word? Jehovahs
bringing his government, is their com- witnesses will be happy to help you do
plaint valid? The Bible explains: Jeho- this. You are cordially invited to their
vah is not slow respecting his promise, as local Kingdom Hall to study Gods Word
some people consider slowness, but he is with them. Do not put off learning Gods
patient with you because he does not de- w ill and doing it. Your prospects for life
sire any to be destroyed but desires all depend on the course you take now.

He Knew Where They Would Be Welcomed

One summer in Michigan a group of persons who work in the farm harvest
wanted to attend church on Sunday. They hired a bus to take them. When the
group reached the church, they experienced harsh treatment from people of their
own denomination. The bus driver, who was the husband of one of Jehovahs
witnesses, though not a Witness himself, observed this. He told the group that
he knew a place where they would be welcomed and where they could learn about
the Bible. Shortly, the bus group arrived at the Kingdom Hall of Jehovahs witnesses. There they were warmly welcomed and experienced spiritual refreshment.

were doing. But God knew that it was

very bad.
Yet there was one man who found favor
with God. Who was that? He was Noah.
Noah loved Jehovah God. He was never
too busy to listen to God. Isnt that the
way we should be too?
One day Jehovah told Noah that He
was going to destroy all people who kept
on doing bad things. God was going to

0 \ YOU like to play games? I do.

' I J They can be a lot of fun, can't make it rain so much that the water would
they? When we play games, we sometimes cover the whole earth, even the mountains.
Would Noah die too when all that wahave such a good tim e that we may not
ter fell? No; Jehovah was going to save
even want to stop to do other things.
But did you know that there is danger him. Jehovah told Noah to build a big ark.
An ark is like a boat,
in becoming too busy
An article specially designed for
but it looks more like
having fun? Yes, there
parents to read with their children
a big, long box or chest.
is. We could become so
It floats on the water.
busy having fun that
we m ight fail to pay attention to God. Noah and his fam ily would be safe in
this ark.
Did you know that?
The Great Teacher knew that this could
But what would happen to the animals?
happen. He knew what happened to a Some of every kind would be saved. The
whole world of people once before, be- ark would be big enough for them too.
cause he saw it from heaven. Jesus said: God told Noah to build the ark over 430
'Those people were eating. They were feet long, over 70 feet wide and over 40
drinking. Men were getting married, and
feet high! Is that bigger than our house?
women were being given in marriage. It
It would be bigger than many large houses
is not wrong to eat and to drink or to get
all put together.
married. But they were so busy doing
Now, Noah had never built an ark bethose things that they did not take time
fore.
But Noah listened to God, and God
to listen to God. That was bad.
What happened to those people? Jesus told him how to do it. Noah and his fam ily
said: They took no note until the flood worked very hard. They cut down large
came and swept them all away. Jesus was trees. With the wood from these trees they
talking about the people who died in the began putting the ark together. This took
days of Noah when the waters of a flood many, many years, because the ark was
covered the whole earth.Matt. 24:37-39. so large.
Jesus said that what happened to those
After the ark was put together, God
people is a lesson for us today. So it is told Noah to cover it inside and out with
important that we know all about the flood
tar. This was done to keep the water from
of Noahs day.
First of all, why did Jehovah God bring leaking into the ark.
Did Jehovah give other people a chance
the Flood? It was because the people were
to
get into the ark and be saved? Yes,
doing very bad things. Perhaps those peopie did not all think they were so bad, he did. Jehovah told Noah to preach. So
because they just did what other people during all the years that the ark was
168

March 15, 1971

169
SfieWATCHTOWER.
being built, Noah warned the people about kept on raining for forty days and forty
the coming flood.
nights. Soon the whole earth was covered
Did any of them listen? Only Noahs with water. Every person outside the ark
fam ily did. All the rest were just too busy died. As Jesus said, They did not listen,
doing other things. They did not think and so the flood came and swept them
they were so bad, and they did not take all away.
time to listen.
But there floating on the water was the
ark.
Noah, his fam ily and the animals
Finally, all the animals that Jehovah
were
safe inside. Jehovah saved the peowanted to save were brought into the ark.
Now it was tim e for the people to get into pie who listened to him. Gen. 6:5-7:24.
the ark too. Noah and his fam ily went
Now, why should we know about what
inside. Then Jehovah shut the door. Once happened in Noahs day? Do you rememthat door was shut
b er w h a t Jesus
no one could open
said? He said that
w h a t happened
it. It was too late
for anyone else to
then is a lesson
fo r u s. Jeh o v a h
get in.
will again destroy
What were the
people outside the
all bad people, but
this tim e he will
ark doing? Wornnot use a flood.
en were still busy
The tim e for him
cooking, washing
and c le a n in g
to do this is getting very near.
house. Men were
When God does
still w or k in g in
this, who w ill be
th e f i e l d s and
th e people t h a t
building homes.
God w ill k eep
Families were still
getting ready for
alive? Will it be
persons who were
weddings. Th ey
so busy with other
did n o t b e l i e v e
th in gs th at th ey
th at the flood
never w anted to
would come.
learn about God?
T h e n a ll of a
Will it be persons
sudden water began to fall! People stopped what they were who were always too busy to study the
doing. They had never seen it rain before. Bible? Will it be those who never wanted
Noah had been right! What he had been to go to meetings where people learned
saying all those years was coming true! Gods will? What do you think?
Soon the rain was falling very hard. It
We want to be among those people
was a downpour! Big puddles formed whom God will keep alive, dont we?
quickly. The streets filled with water, and Wouldnt it be wonderful if our fam ily
the water began coming into the houses. could be like Noahs so that God would
People tried to reach safety on top of save all of us? L ets always help one anthe hills. But it rained and rained, and the other to be faithful to God so that all of
water rose up the sides of the hills. It us will find favor with God.

T THE tim e
. of their confirmation, children in Roman
Catholic fam ilies
1_______
kneel along th e
altar rail of their church. The bishop passes along the line of these young folks and
puts a mixture of olive oil and balsam on
their foreheads in the form of a cross
while repeating a formula prescribed by
tradition. This ceremony is regarded as
a sacrament in which the Holy Ghost is
given to those already baptized in order
to make them strong and perfect Christians and soldiers of Jesus Christ. Tine
Catholic Encyclopedia of 1908, Vol. IV,
p. 215.
Confirmation is also practiced in various
ways by the Greek Orthodox Church, the
Anglican Church, the Lutheran Church
and a number of others. Though not viewing confirmation as a sacrament, Protestant churches that have retained a form
of this ceremony consider it as a rite during which the individual renews and confirms the promises made by others at the
tim e of his baptism.
Have your children been confirmed?
Should they be? Many sincere parents, desiring to see their children be strong in
their faith, have encouraged them to get
confirmed. Later, however, a considerable
number have been disappointed, realizing
that confirmation and the religious instruction preceding it did not make their
children strong Christians. Parents often
have seen their confirmed children lose interest and, in tim e, even stop attending
religious services.
In such cases, confirmation has evidently failed in its intended purpose and, in

the opinion of some, has even

been harm ful. F or exam ple,
Vergote, an ecclesiastical dign itary at th e C atholic
U n iversity of Louvain,
Belgium, observed: The
baptism of infants and
particularly their confir_______ I
mation has had a disastrous and telling effect on
their conscience. . . . Even before these
children have had tim e to think about
their faith, we ask them to make a solemn
declaration of faith.
Since the results of this custom admittedly are not what is desired, the question
arises, Is there something better than confirmation, something that will really assist children to have strong faith?
Instruction is definitely needed. Paul, an
apostle of the Lord Jesus Christ, wrote:
Faith, then, comes through hearing, and
what is heard is the word of Christ.
(Rom. 10:17,
New American Bible)
faith is a safeguard in this morally corrupt world. But where and when should
children hear things that will enable them
to have strong faith?
According to the Holy Scriptures, the
home is the primary place for teaching
children about the Creator. Gods law to
the Israelites directed that parents give
such instruction, and that they do so at
every opportunity. They were told: Take
to heart these words which I enjoin on you
today. Drill them into your children. Speak
of them at home and abroad, whether you
are busy or at rest.Deut. 6:6, 7, NAB.
Note that parental instruction was required even though the Israelites had a
sanctuary for worship. The sanctuary in
Israel was, not merely a place for sacrifice, but also a center for education in the
Law of God. Particularly was this the case
every sabbath year during the festival of
booths. A t that time the entire Law was

Confirmation

170

March 15, 1971

171
SHeWATCHTOWER
read to all Israelthe men, women and preceding it have tim e and again failed to
children. (Deut. 31:10-13) This reading produce strong Christians, regular Biblical
was of great value in acquainting children education by parents has repeatedly conwith what God required of those who tributed immeasurably toward the realizawould gain his approval and blessing. But tion of this aim. This is to be expected,
it did not relieve parents of their respon- for parental training in the way of righsibility to teach their offspring. The in- teousness is in harmony with the express
struction available at the sanctuary had command of God.
to be supplemented by daily teaching at
On the other hand, even those who adhome.
vocate confirmation acknowledge that the
Similarly, though assembling regularly ceremony is largely a m atter of tradition
with their children to hear Gods Word and cannot really be supported by the
discussed at m eetings of the congregation, Scriptures. The Catholic Encyclopedia of
Christian parents are under obligation to 1908 (Vol. IV, p. 217) states: The Sacrasupplement this teaching. The apostle Paul ment of Confirmation is a striking incounseled: You, fathers, do not be irri- stance of the development of doctrine and
tating your children, but go on bringing ritual in the Church. . . . we must not exthem up in the discipline and mental- pect to find there [in Holy Scripture] an
regulating of Jehovah. (Eph. 6:4) Do exact description of the ceremony as at
you provide such instruction for your chil- present performed, or a complete solution
dren? They need it in order to cope sue- of the various theological questions which
cessfully with the everyday problems of have since arisen.
life.
Of course, for parents to help their chilA God-fearing woman living in the first dren to have a faith based on Gods Word,
century C.E., Eunice the mother of Timo- they themselves must be well acquainted
thy, very much appreciated this. As a re- with its contents. Do you feel equipped to
suit of her training, Timothy knew the care for that God-given responsibility? If
Scriptures from infancy. (2 Tim. 3:15) you are a parent who would like to imHer efforts were richly blessed in seeing prove the Biblical education being made
her son become a young man of outstand- available to your children, Jehovahs witing faith. Two of the inspired letters in nesses will be happy to assist you by studythe Bible are addressed to him. He willing- ing the Scriptures with you in the privacy
ly expended him self in behalf of others. of your home, and that without any cost
In one of his letters to Timothy, the apos- to you. The entire fam ily can share in this
tie Paul wrote: I recollect the faith which study. Thousands of parents have been
is in you without any hypocrisy, and aided through such studies to build up
which dwelt first in your grandmother their knowledge sufficiently to do a good
job of teaching the truths of the Bible to
Lois and your mother Eunice, but which
their own children. If you are interested
I am confident is also in you.2 Tim. 1:5. in doing so, ask Jehovahs witnesses about
What Christian parents would not be their home Bible study arrangement the
pleased to see their children reflect a faith next tim e they call on you, or write to the
like that? But it does not come automati- publishers of this magazine, requesting
cally. Regular teaching of the Holy Scrip- that someone be sent to demonstrate how
tures at home is a must. Whereas con- such fam ily Bible discussions are confirmation and the religious instruction ducted.

most part, persecution has served to identify Gods enemies (Deut. 2 5 :1 7 1 9 )as
well as those favorably disposed toward
him. (Matt. 25:34
36) It has served as
a test of integrity
on h is o w n
people and,
"Jehovah knows how to deliver people of
through th eir
godly devotion out of trial, but to re
deliverance, as
serve unrighteous people for the day of
a
vindication of
judgment to be cut off. 2 Pet 2:9.
J e h o v a h s
ROM the day that Abel, the second name.1 Pet. 4:1, 2; Prov. 27:11.
son of Adam and Eve, was killed by
3 Gods dealings with his people and
his jealous brother, Cain, Jehovahs faiththeir adversaries in tim es past sire often
ful witnesses have been hated and bitterly
symbolic or pictorial of his dealings with
persecuted. An inspired writer of the first us today, and one of the Bibles most dracentury C.E., in his letter to the Hebrews, matic accounts is found in the book of
described the treatment they received, and Esther. (1 Cor. 10:11; Gal. 4:24-26; Luke
Jesus of Nazareth, who was him self killed 17:2630 )You will read the entire book
by misguided opponents, forewarned his with great profit. Then, with the details
true followers that they too would receive fresh in mind, consider the significance of
sim ilar persecution. (Heb. 11:4, 36-38; this prophetic drama in our day.
John 15:18-20) All such ill-treatment is
4 The story begins in the court of King
unwarranted and the Lord God Jehovah Ahasuerus, who was ruling over the vast
could have prevented it. Why did he not empire of Persia and Media from India
do so?See Habakkuk 1:13.
to Ethiopia. Now it came about . . . in
2 Those dealing treacherously might be- the third year of his reigning he held a
gin to develop a false sense of security. banquet for all his princes and his serThe Bible psalmist wrote: Why is it that vants. (Esther 1:1-9) What does this sugthe wicked one has disrespected God? He gest in modem times? A t the end of the
has said in his heart: You will not re- times of the Gentiles for world dominaquire an accounting.( Ps. 10:13; 76:7) tion in 1914, the time had arrived for the
But Gods delay in exacting an accounting Heir of King David, Jesus Christ, to asis not due to weakness or lack of concern sume his heavenly authority as King, to
for the oppressed. Peter, an apostle of Je- rule over all his subjects with royal power
sus, assured us: Jehovah knows how to and authority, subjecting his enemies and
deliver people of godly devotion out of exalting those whom he approves. (Luke
trial, but to reserve unrighteous people for 21:20-24; Ps. 110:1, 2; 1 Cor. 15:25; Matt.
the day of judgment to be cut off. (2 Pet. 24:45-47, Authorized Version) And in a
2:9) Persecution of the righteous by the remarkable preview given to the apostle
wicked then serves a purpose of God; John as recorded in Revelation 12:10, 12,
sometimes, it is true, it is allowed by him a time for great gladness came shortly
as a chastisement when his people have
W hat are prophetic dram as, and w hat evidences are
displeased him (Isa. 12:1), but, for the 3.there
of them in the Bible?

PERSECUTION

by Permission of Jehovah

1, 2. W hat m ight persecutors of tru e Christians falsely

conclude, and why does Jehovah not intervene?
172

4. How is the tim e feature of the E sth er dram a identifled in m odern tim es, and w hat is represented by K ing
Ahasuerus ?

M arch 15, 1971

173
SEeWATCHTOWER,
thereafter to those who understood Bible and her royal dignity let the king give to
prophecy. And I heard a loud voice in a companion of hers, a woman better than
heaven say: Now have come to pass the she is. This pleased the king and he orsalvation and the power and the kingdom dered it to be done.Esther 1:13-22.
of our God and the authority of his Christ
Vashti, whose name means beautiful,
[M essiah], because the accuser of our was the queen, espoused to the king; but,
brothers has been hurled down, who ac- in spite of this preferred position that was
cuses them day and night before our God! hers, she was deposed because she did not
On this account be glad, you heavens and respond to the king's direction to join
you who reside in them! So there was, him in his joyful feast. In the events surat least, great rejoicing in the heavenly rounding the enthronement of the Messiah,
courts. Thus, King Ahasuerus, seated on Jesus Christ, in the heavens in 1914, did
his royal throne in splendor and wielding all those who looked for Gods kingdom
unlimited authority as to his vast empire, join with the King in his celebration? The
would well picture royal power in the prophecies of the Bible, coupled with the
hands of Jesus Christ in this time of the physical facts in fulfillm ent, provide the
end.Dan. 12:1-4.
answer.
8
Furthermore, those Bible students on
A TEST OF LOYALTY
earth who were anticipating these events
7 In 1918, Jesus the Messianic Messenger
would properly be expected to join in in
this joyful celebration. (Ps. 97:1; 96:8) accompanied Jehovah to the spiritual ternHow was this paralleled among the sub- pie, suddenly and unexpectedly, to begin
jects of King Ahasuerus? On the seventh judgment on Gods people. (1 Pet. 4:17;
day, when the kings heart was in a merry Mai. 3:1) Jesus the Messiah foreknew that
mood with wine, he said to . . . bring some of those seeking him would not be
Vashti the queen in the royal headdress doing so with a pure motive. One purpose
before the king, to show the peoples and in judgment was to expose this heart attithe princes her loveliness; for she was tude of those who seek ,Gods Messianic
beautiful in appearance. But Queen Vashti kingdom and to deal accordingly with
kept refusing to come at the kings word those displaying it. (Matt. 24 :4 8 5 1 )As
that was conveyed by means of the court it is with a m aster of slaves, the Messiah
officials. A t this the king grew highly in- was within his prerogative in acting acdignant and his very rage flared up within cording to his own w ill and that of his
him. (Esther 1:10-12) And rightly so! God Jehovah, in dealing with those who
This would be highly damaging to the are Scripturally spoken of as a slave
kings prestige and could cause contempt class. Jehovahs purpose for this time of
for authority to spread throughout the the end had been determined long in adempire. The king sought legal counsel from vance. (Isa. 46:8-11) That the full details
his wise men, who advised him: If to the of this purpose were not known to the
king it does seem good, let a royal word slave class on earth at that tim e was
go out from his person, and let it be writ- not the important thing. Their dedication
ten among the laws of Persia and Media, vow to Jehovah made them responsible to
that it may not pass away, that Vashti do whatever it was that Jehovah and his
may not come in before King Ahasuerus; Messianic King asked them to do accord5, 6. (a) W hat was Queen V ashti called upon to do?
w ith w hat re su lt? (b) How is the m odern-day parallel
recognized ?

7. W hat happened in 1918, and w hat did Jehovah's

purpose for the tim e of th e end" require as regards
the slave" class?

174

B r o o k l y n , N .Y .
f&eWATCHTOWER
ing to his Word, the Holy Scriptures. Now, tern of things was destroyed in the apw ith Jehovahs enemies disposed of in preaching world trouble. During World
heaven, the tim e had come for the Mes- War I in 1914 to 1918 none of Gods peosianic King and Judge to begin the fulfill- pie realized the full extent of this relim ent of Jehovahs purpose as regards the gious responsibility that was ahead. Yet,
earth. He knew what was ahead for this those who loved God sincerely accepted
class of servants on earth and he knew the trials that came upon them from withthat only complete unity within their in the disturbed organization and the fiery
ranks and a single-mindedness as to the test that was being put upon them in orcarrying out of Gods purpose would en- der to purge them and cleanse them as
able them to fulfill the Scriptural respon- foretold by the prophet Malachi. There
sibility that was to be theirs. For this rea- were some, however, who failed and who
son it would seem that he imposed upon rebelled and therefore, like Vashti, these
his anointed footstep followers on earth were not submissive when the call came
a very severe test so as to eliminate those forth for them to show their godly beauty
who would not respond to his direction. and their submissiveness to the Messianic
Mai. 3:2, 3; 1 Pet. 2:4-8; Isa. 8:13-15. King.*Luke 14:17-21.
* Certain conditions were allowed to deFurther details were given by Jesus in
velop within the religious organization his illustration of the field in which a certhat searched out to the full depths the tain man had sown wheat and in which an
heart devotion of every individual who enemy had come along and oversowed
claimed to be espoused to the Messianic weeds. When the m atter was reported to
King, Jesus, as a member of the bride the master he said: Let both grow toclass. (Ps. 45:10-14; John 3:29) In three gether until the harvest; and in the harways particularly their submissiveness vest season I will tell the reapers, First
was tested: first, as to their reliance on collect the weeds and bind them in bundles
the doctrine of Gods Word as revealed to burn them up, then go to gathering the
through his channel of communication; wheat into my storehouse. (Matt. 13:30)
secondly, as regards their willingness to The gathering spoken of here was to take
share in the preaching of this good news place after the temple judgment and was
of the Messianic kingdom, which must be to be applied to those who were faithful
done before Jehovahs purpose in this members of the bride of Christ, his
tim e of the end would be concluded; and, anointed followers who were to rule w ith
thirdly, as regards their complete loyalty him in heaven. (Luke 22:28, 29; Rev. 3:
to his earthly organization, which was yet 21) But it was not Gods purpose to
to be built up in full theocratic structure, gather out only this group. (Luke 12:32)
something that must be accomplished dur- Unknown to the anointed ones at that
ing this tim e of the end. This was es- time Jehovah had a further purpose, and
sential, not only to enable his people to that was to gather together later on a
stand and to face severe persecution that great crowd that he purposed to use as
Jesus knew they must yet receive, but a nucleus of a righteous human society
also in order that his people would be that would live on earth under the Mesready to take over the responsible work
* See the book Jehovah's W itnesses in th e Divine
that would be theirs after the present sys- Purpose,
pp. 6473.
8. How were those claim ing to be of th e bride class
tested ? W ith w hat results?

9. W hat gathering w ork was to take place during the

tim e of the end, and how was it foretold?

March 15, 1971

SHeWATCHTOWER,

175

cause her to turn away from the law of

her own people in which she had been
instructed by her caretaker, Mordecai. He
was determined that this not be the final
outcome for her. So he continued to maintain a close supervision of her spiritual
welfare. And day after day Mordecai was
walking before the courtyard of the house
of the women to know of Esthers welfare
REPLACING THE UNSUBMISSIVE
and what was being done with her.
10
First, however, King Ahasuerus foundEsther 2 :1 1 1 .
it necessary to replace the queen who had
11M ordecai, th erefore, w hose name
means like pure
been deposed. It
myrr h, bruised
was recommended
m yrrh, pictures
t o h im b y h i s
TH E N EX T IS S U E
cou nselors t h a t
t h o s e of t he
Uniting the Divided Household.
anointed remnant
t h e y g a t h e r to World Government in the Hands of the
g e th e r all th e
who faithfully surPrince of Peace.
vived the temple
young virgins, the
judgm
ent during
mo st b e a u t i f u l
Those W ho Chose the Best Places.
World War I and
ones of the entire
who w ere interrealm , th at he
might select from their number the one ested in seeing that those who were to
who would please him most as a successor replace the Vashti class were properly
to Vashti. Before any of the young women prepared to find acceptance with the King.
could be brought in to the king, they must In modern tim es, those of the Mordecai
be properly prepared to meet him. This in- class have been found faithfully dischargvolved a years beauty treatm ent includ- ing their God-given responsibilities. (Matt.
ing massages with various kinds of oils 24:45-47) But it is to be noted that Mordeunder the strict supervision of Hegai, a cai him self did not personally have the imtrusted eunuch in the service of the king. mediate charge of Esther in this matter;
Esther, whose name means m yrtle, was it was accomplished through Hegai, who
included among these young women and was in the service of the king. Hegai,
she immediately found favor with Hegai therefore, pictures the arrangement under
so that he made haste to give her her the supervision of the Mordecai class to
massages and her appropriate food, and to prepare those of the Esther class for propgive her seven selected young women from er presentation to the King.Eph. 5:26,
the kings house. Esther had not told 27.
about her people or about her relatives,
12Finally the day came for Esther to
for her cousin Mordecai him self had laid appear before the king. Unlike Vashti,
the command upon her that she should who had leaned on her own understanding
not tell. Mordecai knew that Esther was in her response to the kings commands,
going to be subjected to many environWho or w hat is pictured by (a) M ordecai?
mental changes and pressures that might 11.
(b) H egai?
sianic kingdom. (John 10:16; 2 Pet. 3:13)
This would require a great amount of
work on the part of the anointed ones,
and they must be united because the work
of preaching the Messianic kingdom would
be done in the midst of great opposition.
(Matt. 10:16-18) This was also pictured in
the drama of Esther as it developed.

10. W hat steps did K ing A hasuerus take to replace

Vashti, and how w ere Mordecai and E sth er involved?

12, 13. Of whom was E sth er a type, how have they

been m anifested, and w h at a ttitu d e like th a t of E sth er
do they display?

S&eWATCHTOWER,

176

Esther chose to take nothing with her

when she went in before the king except
what Hegai him self recommended. Today,
too, those of the Esther class show themselves to be modest in appraisal of themselves and willing to follow the arrangement that is laid out for them in their
service of the King. And the king came to
love Esther more than all the other wornen, so that she gained more favor and
loving-kindness before him than all the
other virgins. And he proceeded to put the
royal headdress
upon her head
and make her
queen instead
of V a sh ti.
Esther 2:1218.

13I t

must

B r o o k ly n , N .Y .

sive attitude. But these, like Esther, did

not presume upon their new position. They
continued to follow the arrangement of
God just as Esther did that of Mordecai.
And the saying of Mordecai Esther was
performing, just as when she happened to
be under care by him .Esther 2:19, 20.
AN ACT OF LOYALTY GOES UNREWARDED

14 Something occurs now in the dramatic

account that seems, at the tim e, of little
significance to the story, yet it was to
play a remarkable part in
the outworking of events.
Mordecai uncovered a plot
against the king and reported it to Esther, who revealed
it to the king. Investigation
proved the
gu ilt of the
would-be assassin s and th ey
w ere hanged.
(E sth er 2:2123) Mordecais
thwarting this
attem pted assassin ation of
th e king w ent
unrewarded
at
King Ahasuerus made Esther queen

have been a
joyful day indeed for the
k ing to have
before him on
h is t h r o n e a
woman not only o f g r e a t
beauty but also of modesty
and appreciathe time,
in place of unsubmissive Vashti
tio n for her
though it was
relationship to him. Today, too, there entered permanently in the record in his
is great rejoicing to see those who since favor. The same holds true in the modemWorld War I ended became new believers, day parallel.Heb. 6:10.
newly dedicated ones who symbolized their
15 In their service to the King, those of
dedication to Jehovah God through Jesus the Mordecai class are organization mindChrist by water immersion from the year ed. As the organization began to take on
1919 onward, especially down to 1931. more of the theocratic structure after the
Those coming in were anointed by Gods temple judgment had begun, they were
spirit as younger members of the bride quick to observe some who had appeared
class because the door was not yet closed to be in harmony with the progress of
to the high calling to reign with the heav- Jehovahs purpose up to that tim e, men
enly Messiah. They were replacements 14. How did Mordecai dem onstrate his loyalty to the
king, and w hat resulted?
that were being made for those who had 15. How do the Mordecai class show th eir loyalty to
the King, and how is this brought to the notice of the
been set aside because of their unsubmis K ing?

March 15, 1971

S&eWATCHTOWER.

177

prominent in the organization, but who

became disgruntled and who took a course
of action that endangered the welfare of
the Kingdom interests, thus constituting
rebellion against the King. (Jude 1 6 1 9 )
The Mordecai class brought these matters
to the attention of the Esther class, who
needed to learn organization and be
strengthened in loyalty to the King. This
was especially true since they were newcomers. (Rom. 16:17, 18) Through the
Esther class it came to the Kings notice
when these newly selected ones of the
bride of Christ chose loyalty to the Messianic King and to the organization. However, no particular reward was given to
the Mordecai class at that time.

was descended. Yet Esau hated Jacob and

opposed him bitterly because Jacob took
what was rightfully his. (Gen. 2 5 :2 9 3 4 ;
27:41) Furthermore, and in keeping with
this anim osity of Esau toward Jacob, his
descendants through Amalek showed their
hatred for Gods own people the Israelites,
when Jehovah him self was delivering his
people from Egypt. The Amalekites attacked the rear of the departing Israelites
and therefore Joshua fought against them
with the help of Moses upright hands and
defeated them. Because of this vile attack
upon the Israelites, God said that they
had laid their hand against the throne of
God and Jehovah would have war against
the children of Amalek forever, and that
meant down into the day of Mordecai and
Esther. (Ex. 1 7 :8 1 6 )Haman would well
AN ANCIENT ENEMY APPEARS
1It would almost seem, in fact, that represent in modern tim es the clergy of
Mordecais act was unappreciated, because Christendom who have sold their birththe account continues: A fter these things right as to Gods kingdom in return for exKing Ahasuerus magnified Haman the son altation among the kingdoms of this world
of Hammedatha the A gagite and proceed- and who fight bitterly against God and his
ed to exalt him and to put his throne chosen people, as did the Am alekites of
above all the other princes that were with old.Matt. 2 3 : 5 1 5 7 , 13 ;John 11:4850,
him. And all the kings servants that were 53.
in the kings gate were bowing low and
18 Now Haman was exalted above Morprostrating them selves to Haman, for so decai, and King Ahasuerus had commandthe king had commanded respecting him. ed all to bow low and prostrate themselves
But as for Mordecai, he would neither bow to him. How then can we say that Ahasulow nor prostrate him self.Esther 3 :1 4 . erus represents royal power in the hands
11
Hamans name, if of Persian origin,of Jesus Christ? The Scriptures speak
means magnificent; celebrated, but if it about God as perm itting certain things to
corresponds with the Hebrew parallel, it occur, bad things, damaging apparently to
means noise, tumult, he who prepares, his own organization and hurtful for the
doubtless in a bad way. Being the son of tim e being to his own people. An instance
Hammedatha (possibly, he who troubles of this is found in 2 Thessalonians 2:11:
the law) the Agagite, he was a descen- So that is why God lets an operation of
dant of Amalek, who was the grandson of error go to them [God shall send them
Esau. Esau had sold his birthright to his strong delusion
(AV )] , that they may g
twin brother Jacob, from whom Mordecai to believing the lie. God is not the au16, 17. (a) How did H am an come into prom inence, and
w hat is his ancestral background? (b) Whom does
Ham an picture, and how so?

18. How could the H am an class receive prom inence

in this tim e of the end" w hen Je su s,C h rist is ruling
in heaven w ith all pow er and a u th o rity ?

178

S&eWATCHTOWER.

thor of error nor the source of delusions

but he permits them to go to the class
that he wants to be affected by them. So
in the fulfillm ent of the prophetic drama,
Jehovah wants his people to come under
a certain test in order for them to prove
that they uphold his universal sovereignty
and to demonstrate their true theocratic
Christian integrity to him. The Lord Jesus
Christ, ruling at Jehovahs right hand with
all power in heaven and earth, lets this
situation develop. He lets the clergy of all
Christendom get a high station in this
world, in the midst of which the Mordecai
class and Esther class are living. This affects the condition of the Lords people on
earth. It does not destroy their own relationship with the Messianic King, but it
does prove to be a peril, threatening even
their lives.John 16:2, 3.
ANNIHILATION THREATENED

1# Mordecai, however, refused to bow to

Haman. Jehovahs witnesses today take
the same position as regards the clergy of
Christendom. (Ps. 139:21, 22) In view of
recent developments on the world scene
this m ight not be difficult to understand.
We must remember, however, that the
events relating to this aspect of the fulfillment of the prophetic drama began to take
place some years ago when rebellion was
not the order of the day and when church
attendance was high and religious leaders
were highly respected. They held high positions in civic matters. They entered into
concordats with world leaders, not only to
establish themselves more securely but also
to advance the interests of these secular
leaders. When Jehovahs witnesses, the
19. W hat a ttitu d e did Mordecai take tow ard Haman, and
why m ight its fulfillm ent not be too difficult for some
in recent tim es to appreciate?

B rooklyn , N .Y .

Mordecai class, spoke out boldly against

them to expose their friendship w ith the
world which made them enemies of God,
it is understandable how tension and hostility grew between these servants of God
and the clergy of Christendom.* (Jas. 4:4)
The house-to-house preaching by the Mordecai class continued, however, and the
anim osity of the clergy increased until finally it became evident that they had determined to break up the work of the
Mordecai class altogether.
20
Haman, too, goaded to the extrem e by
his pride and Mordecais refusal to bow to
him, determined that he would annihilate
not just Mordecai but all the Jews. To this
end Haman cast lots to determine the tim e
most auspicious from the standpoint of his
gods for his plot to be fulfilled. The lot or
Pur fell on the thirteenth day of the
twelfth lunar month, Adar. He then presented the m atter to the king, charging the
Jews with being against the kings law,
and asked that a writing be published
throughout the empire authorizing their
destruction. King Ahasuerus agreed, giving Haman his own signet ring to seal the
writing, making it a law of the Medes and
Persians which could not be revoked. (Esther 3:5-15) This would indicate that in
modem tim es the Lord Jesus Christ would
allow the enemies of his people to go to
the full lim it in their effort to carry out
their purpose to destroy them. What the
end result would be, however, would be
his to determine, as it was even in the case
of Mordecai and Esther. These dramatic
events are the substance of the article
that follows.
* See the book Jehovahs W itnesses in th e Divine
Purpose, pp. 123*125, 129.
20. (a) W hat was H am ans reaction, and w hat did he
set out to do? (b) W hat is the parallel today?

JL

CHANGE from

MOURNING
1UE Christians know they w ill be
hated by this world, because the
world also hated Jesus, even cruelly
ting him to death. (John 15:18-25) The
apostle Peter wrote to the Christian congregation: Beloved ones, do not be puzzled at the burning [persecution] among
you . . . On the contrary, go on rejoicing
forasmuch as you are sharers in the sufferings of the Christ [M essiah], that you may
rejoice and be overjoyed also during the
revelation of his glory. 1 Pet. 4:12, 13.
* This privilege of sharing in the vindication of Gods name through endurance
and through reliance on Jehovahs power of deliverance was demonstrated by
both Mordecai and Esther when Haman
schemed the annihilation of all the Jews.
A writing, naming Adar the thirteenth as
the fateful day, was published throughout
the 127 jurisdictional districts of the empire of the Persians and the Medes, ineluding Shushan the royal castle. Mordecai, learning of it, put on sackcloth and
ashes, doubtless in supplication to Jehovah, as others of Gods servants have done.
(Dan. 9:3; Ps. 12:1) When Esther inquired the reason for his deep grief he told
her all the things that had happened and
laid the command upon her to come in to
the king and make request directly before
him for her own people.
8Deeply moved by this command of
Mordecai, Esther reminded him that ac-

cording to the law of the Medes and the

Persians anyone coming in before the king
putunbidden was to be put to death. Only in
the case that the king would hold out to
him the golden scepter would he stay alive.
Besides, Esther informed Mordecai, she
had not been called to come in to the king
for thirty days. To do so now as Mordecai
requested, without being bidden by the
king, could mean her death. Mordecai,
however, was adamant and replied to Esther: Do not imagine within your own
soul that the kings household will escape
any more than all the other Jews. For if
you are altogether silent at this tim e, relief and deliverance them selves w ill stand
up for the Jews from another place; but
as for you and your fathers house, you
people will perish. And who is there knowing whether it is for a tim e like this that
you have attained to royal dignity? Esthers obedience to Mordecai and her love
for her people won out. She replied: Go,
gather all the Jews that are to be found in
Shushan and fast in my behalf and neither eat nor drink for three days, night
and day. I too with my young women,
I shall fast likewise, and upon that I shall
come in to the king, which is not according to the law; and in case I must perish,
I must perish.Esther 4:1-17.

1. W hy are tru e Christians not puzzled w hen persecution

comes ?
2, 3. (a) W hat did persecution allow for in the case
of Mordecai and E sther, b u t w hy would Mordecai go
into m ourning? (b) On w hat course of action did
Mordecai determ ine, and w hat was E sth er's response?
179

DISCERNMENT IN FACING DANGER

4Esther did not presume on her relations with the king. N either did Mordecai
rely upon his own deed of loyalty, which
had gone unrewarded up to this point.
4. W hat a ttitu d e did both E sth er and M ordecai display,
and w hat exam ple is set by those whom they p ictured?

180

SEeWATCHTOWER.

B rooklyn , N .Y .

(Esther 2:21-23) Both relied entirely on toward God, absolutely doomed to destrueJehovah and sought his guidance in the tion.2 Thess. 2:3, 4, 8.
course of action they would follow to serve
*Still Esther did not reveal w hat was
as instruments for the preservation of in her heart. No doubt acting under JeGods people alive. Esther, taking her life hovahs direction, as subsequent events
in her hands, dressed up royally and took strongly suggest, she asked the king to reher stand before the king. As soon as the turn for a second banquet, to be attended
king saw Esther the queen standing in the by Haman also. Haman went out, joyful
courtyard, she gained favor in his eyes, and merry of heart. But seeing Mordecai
so that the king held out to Esther the at the kings gate not bowing or quaking
golden scepter that was in his hand. (Es- on account of him, he was immediately
ther 5:1, 2) Today, too, the Esther class filled with rage. However, he controlled
are in the same danger as the Mordecai himself and came into his house where he
class. But they do not back down, they boasted of his greatness to his w ife and
show real love for all of Gods people and friends. They rejoiced w ith him but agreed
work along with the Mordecai class in when Haman complained that all this
complete unity seeking the preservation none of it suits me as long as I am seeof the ones whom God is calling out of ing Mordecai the Jew sitting in the kings
this world to represent him in this time gate. Then Zeresh and all his friends adof the end. (Matt. 12:30; Ps. 133:1) What vised him: Let them make a stake fifty
an example this is to those who are in cubits high. Then in the morning say to
association with the anointed ones of Je- the king that they should hang Mordecai
hovah, confident of the outcome in their on it. Then go in with the king to the banreliance upon the Greater Ahasuerus, Je- quet joyful. This pleased Haman imsus Christ.
mensely. He determined that early the
6
Esther approached the king but askednext morning he would go in before the
simply that the king attend a banquet that king and press this request upon him.
she had prepared for him and for Haman. Esther 5:6-14.
The king readily accepted. (Esther 5:3-5)
JEHOVAH MANEUVERS MATTERS
Apparently by including Haman in this ar7Now events took an unexpected turn.
rangement, Esther was showing favor to
Haman, unlike Mordecai. This agrees with That night while Haman was plotting misthe fact that in the antitype the Esther chief against Mordecai, King Ahasuerus
class, acting under the instructions of the went to bed but could not sleep. Drawing
Mordecai class, do not try to destroy by the conclusion that he had omitted someviolence the professed Christian clergy of thing, was guilty of some delinquency,
Christendom. They do not try to undo the some failure, he had the book of records
closeness of their Church-State union. brought to him and asked his servants to
(Eph. 6:12) According to Bible prophecy read. They ran down the list to see if anyit must be shown up to its fullest degree. thing had failed to be done. At length
The Haman class will expose themselves there was found written what Mordecai
for what they really are: enemies of God had reported concerning Bigthana and
by being friends of the world. It must be- Teresh, two court officials of the king,
come very apparent that those pictured
How did H am an respond to this seeming favor of
by Haman are the man of lawlessness 6.Esther,
but w hat did he now purpose tow ard M ordecai?
5. W hat request did E sth er make, but how was her
course tow ard H am an not contradictory to Mordecais?

7. W hat unexpected occurrence th a t night changed the

situation for Mordecai?

March 15, 1971

SReWATCHTOWER

doorkeepers, who had sought to lay hand

on King Ahasuerus. Then the king said:
What honor and great thing has been done
to Mordecai for this? To this the kings
attendants, his ministers, said: Nothing
has been done with him . The king determined at once to honor Mordecai.Esther 6 :1 3 .
8Early the next morning Haman came
to present him self before the king and
King Ahasuerus had him brought in. But
before he could carry out his resolve
toward Mordecai, the king put in his question first, thereby averting what could
have been an altogether different outcome
of events. Had Haman been allowed to ask
first that Mordecai be hanged, the king,
seeking to honor Mordecai, m ight well
have turned on Haman then and there
without the intervention of Queen Esther
or Mordecai. Thus, their role in this drama would have been anticipated and they
would not have served to finish Jehovahs
warfare against the Amalekites.Esther
6:4, 5.
9According to Jehovahs purpose, the
king spoke first: What is to be done to
the man in whose honor the king himself has taken a delight? (Esther 6:6)
Haman, with his boasts of the night before still fresh in his mind, could view no
one but him self as being in the highest
estimation of the king and concluded that
he must be the one whom the king delighted to honor. Therefore he advised the
king according to his own ambitions:
Bring out the kings own horse with a
crown upon its head and the man who is to
be honored is to be seated on the horse
and the chief officer in the kings realm
is to take the horse and make this favored
man ride in the public square of the city
and proclaim aloud before him: This is
how it is done to the man in whose honor
8. W hat developed th a t assured M ordecai a continued
p a rt in the outw orking of Jehovah's purpose?
9. How was H am an hum iliated before M ordecai?

181

the king him self has taken a delight.

Confidently, Haman awaited the kings re
ply, only to hear him say: Quickly, take
the apparel and the horse, just as you
have said, and do that way to Mordecai
the Jew who is sitting in the kings gate.
Haman was completely crushed. But he
could do nothing but comply. Failure to do
so would have meant certain death. Thus,
when Mordecai most needed to be remembered, Jehovah acted in his behalf for his
protection and the saving of his life. Haman, by contrast, was obliged to admit
that, not he, but this hated, despised Jew
Mordecai was the one whom the king delighted to honor.Esther 6:6-11.
A COMPLETE REVERSAL

10Haman was a proud man. Proverbs

16:18 says: Pride is before a crash, and
a haughty spirit before stumbling. According to this principle, there was only
one outcome for Haman. There had to be
a comedown. Today, an exact parallel is
taking place. In tim es past the clergy have
been exalted to the very highest position
in this system of things. Though claiming
to rule by the grace of God and by his
King, Jesus Christ, the clergy have no
real standing with God, which fact is becoming increasingly evident to all openminded observers. (Matt. 7:15-23) The
Mordecai class, on the other hand, is coming more and more into favor with the
Lord Jesus Christ, particularly since 1926
when they declared them selves favorable
toward God in
TheWatch Tower, issue o
January 1 of that year, in the leading
article, Who Will Honor Jehovah? Many
events since that tim e have borne out
these facts. From 1922 to 1928 a series of
proclamations went out by Jehovahs witnesses, many of these aimed directly at exposing the clergy. In 1930, two books called
Light, explaining Revelation, were pub10. W hat led up to H am an s comedown, and w hat p a r
allel is taking place today?

182

f&eWATCHTOWEFL

B rooklyn , N .Y .

* F o r an outstanding instance, see the book Jehovah's

W itnesses in the Divine Purpose, pp. 117, 118.

to state her request to the king. If I have

found favor in your eyes, O king, and if
to the king it does seem good, let there be
given me my own soul at my petition and
my people at my request. For we have
been sold, I and my people, to be annihilated, killed and destroyed. Now if we
had been sold for mere men slaves and
for mere maidservants, I should have kept
silent. But the distress is not appropriate
when with damage to the king. The king
was highly aroused. Who is this, and
just where is the one who has emboldened
himself to do that way? Then Esther said:
The man, the adversary and enemy, is
this bad Haman. The king, unable to
contain his rage, withdrew to the garden
of the palace to regain his composure.
Haman, terrified at this turn of events,
pleaded with Esther for his life because he
knew that the kings face was set against
him. So intense were his pleas that he fell
upon her couch beside her just as the king
returned from the garden. Seeing this the
king said: Is there also to be a raping
of the queen, with me in the house? The
word itself went out of the kings mouth,
and Hamans face they covered. Harbona,
one of the court officials before the king,
now said: Also, there is the stake that
Haman made for Mordecai, who had spoken good concerning the king, standing
in Hamans housefifty cubits high. At
that the king said: You men, hang him
on it. And they proceeded to hang Haman
on the stake that he had prepared for
Mordecai; and the kings rage itself subsided.Esther 7 :1 1 0 .
13Esthers exposing of Haman as the
archenemy necessitated her revealing her
own identity. When did those of the Esther class in modem times identify themselves according to the historical record?

11. W hat future did H am ans wife and friends see for
him now?
12. How did E sth er accomplish H am ans exposure, and
w hat was the outcome for him ?

13. (a) How was the identification of the E sth er class

brought about; how has this added to the exposure of
the Ham an class? (b) W hat is pictured by H am ans
being hanged on the stake prepared for M ordecai?

fished and these, too, exposed the clergy

of Christendom, at the same tim e exalting
Gods kingdom by the Lord Jesus Christ.
All these proclamations and exposes stung
the clergy of Christendom with humiliation. Yet, even at the height of their power they were unable to prevent these and
many other publications from being distributed world wide in millions of copies.*
This record still stands, and in the fight
of current events it is proved even more
true. Those who care to look into the record can see for them selves that the faithlessness of the clergy toward the Bible
and their lack of interest in building up
the moral standards of the people is not
new but is just as it has been exposed by
Jehovahs witnesses from this early period
when God showed his favor upon his true
servants, the Mordecai class, at the expense of the clergy and to the clergys
shame. What further humiliation awaits
them before their ignominious end, the
future alone w ill reveal.
11 Haman slunk home to his fam ily and
friends, but there he found no comfort. On
the contrary, his wise men and Zeresh his
wife said to him: If it is from the seed
of the Jews that Mordecai is before whom
you have started to fall, you will not prevail against him, but you will without fail
fall before him . Hardly were these words
of doom out of their mouths when the
kings court officials arrived and proceeded
to take Haman to the second banquet that
Esther had made for the king.Esther
6:12-14.
IDENTIFICATION AND EXPOSURE

12 Now, at the conclusion of the second

banquet, the tim e had arrived for Esther

M arch 15, 1971

SEeWATCHTOWER.

The best evidence is the identification that

took place Sunday, July 26, 1931, at an
assembly of Jehovahs people in Columbus,
Ohio. On that occasion they adopted a
resolution by which they identified themselves, embracing the name Jehovahs
witnesses. (Isa. 43:10,12) A booklet contabling this resolution was published and
given a wide circulation. This identification also worked for the expose of the
clergy class. The hatred already manifested toward the true servants of God was
now revealed in even stronger action and
the Haman class now became identified
even more positively as anti-God, determined to destroy Gods servants. (Matt.
23:29-36) Jehovahs people ran into opposition as never before in their history.*
The fulfillment of Hamans being hanged
on the stake prepared for Mordecai does
not need to w ait until the destruction of
Babylon the Great, for by these acts, from
this time forward, the Haman class died
in the sight of God and in the eyes of
honest-hearted persons the world over. Additionally, Hamans ten sons survived him
to carry forward the picture to a further
fulfillment.
* F o r some of the details, see the book Jehovah8
W itnesses in the Divine Purpose, pp. 125, 126, 128147.

183

14It was in this same year, 1931, that

the first volume of a series of three books
was issued, namely, Vindication, and at
that same assembly a speech was given
explaining in detail the ninth chapter of
Ezekiel. In this talk the man clothed with
linen and carrying the recorders inkhorn
was identified in antitypical fulfillm ent as
well as those sighing and groaning that
were to be marked in the forehead and
the twenty-five men in front of the temple
who were worshiping the sun instead of
Jehovah God. The Mordecai class and the
Esther class together now realized they
had a further work to do for which they
were being retained on earth for a while
longer. This was to find those who were
sighing and groaning because of the conditions brought about by those perverting
the true worship of God, those pictured
by the twenty-five men worshiping the sun,
namely, the clergy class. This lifesaving
was to take place before destruction was
to be brought upon all who did not receive the mark on their foreheads. So the
identification of Jehovahs people by the
significant name Jehovahs witnesses came
at a time of great need for Gods people
and simultaneous with the opening up of a
new and imp ort an t
phase of the purpose
of God in this time
of the end.
ORGANIZED FOR
DEFENSE AND OFFENSE

Now Mordecai
was promoted and was
given the kings signet
ring, which had been

Esther exposed Haman as the archenemy,

thus also revealing her own identity

14. W hat fu rth e r w ork was

now seen to be ahead fo r the
M ordecai class?
15. (a) W hat reversal for the
M ordecai class did Jesus foretell? (b) W hat th re a t still
loomed ahead for the Jews,
and w hat steps did Mordecai
take to av ert it?

184

SEeWATCHTOWER.

removed from the finger of Haman before he was hanged. The fulfillment is
in harmony with the prophecy of Jesus
when he said: This is why I say to you
[that is, to the clergy of his day], The
kingdom of God w ill be taken from you
and be given to a nation producing its
fruits. (Matt. 21:43) This has indeed been
a dramatic reversal that has taken place
in our day. But something else needed to
be done. Though Mordecais personal life
had been saved and he had been exalted,
Hamans ten sons were still alive and there
still stood the decree for the extermination of all the Jews throughout the empire
on Adar 13. Mordecai realized that there
was a way out for the Jews, one that Hamans decree had not allowed for. This
was authority for Jehovahs people to
gather together and fight back in selfdefense. Now the Jews could take the initiative against those who would destroy
them and destroy the malicious enemy instead. To this provision the king agreed
and the decree was sealed with his ring
and copies were sent to all 127 jurisdictional districts.Esther 8:1-14.
18This caused a great change to take
place. Now, instead of great mourning
among the Jews, and fasting and weeping
and wailing, they began to rejoice and to
gather together and unite themselves for
their stand against their enemies. Furthermore, the fear of the Jews fell upon
the peoples of the land and many began
to declare them selves Jews. (Esther 8:
15-17) This part of the drama had a dramatic fulfillment during the critical decade in the 1930s. Realizing they were entitled to take all peaceful, law-conforming
measures for the protection of their lives,
Gods servants proceeded to appeal to the
courts and the governments in behalf of
their God-given work of finding those hon16. (a) W hat changed a ttitu d e among the Jews now
came about? (b) How has this been fulfilled in m odern
tim es?

B r o o k l y n , N .Y .

estly disposed toward Jehovah and his peopie. Further steps of unification were taken and the theocratic structure of the
organization came to its full realization by
1938. Gods people were now fully united
and ready when the tim e for the antitypical fulfillment of Adar 13 should arrive.*
17This tim e came during the period of
the second world war. All the evidence
points to the conclusion that the enemies
of Gods people determined to use that war
situation with its patriotism, its nationalism, its bias, its false accusations of Communism on the one hand and Nazism on
the other in order to get Jehovahs witnesses and destroy them. A global attack
shaped up that appeared as though it
might completely blot out the worldwide
preaching of the Mordecai and Esther
classes and their companions who had now
begun to join with them .f It could have
been a bleak day indeed, one of mourning,
but these faithful servants of God did not
take this concerted action lying down. During this tim e represented by Adar 13 Jehovahs witnesses fought as they have
never fought before. They made a spiritual
fight to preserve their spiritual lives all
around the world, fighting from a centralized headquarters, presenting an organized front against the enemy. There
were casualties, but there was no fighting
with carnal weapons by Jehovahs people.
(2 Cor. 10:3, 4) Even in the concentration
camps Jehovah blessed this demonstration
of courage on the part of his witnesses,
and the result of this fight has made a
lasting impression upon those sighing and
groaning in Christendom because the clergy exposed themselves more than ever
* See the
Purpose, pp.
t See the
Purpose, pp.

book Jehovah's W itnesses in th e Divine

127, 147-149.
book Jehovah's W itnesses in th e Divine
150153.

17. When did the antitypical day of A dar 13 arrive,

and w hat occurred?

March 15, 1971

SEeWATCHTOWER

as being anti-God and anti-kingdom of

Christ.* (2 Thess. 1:4, 5) This continuing
spiritual death of the clergy in the eyes
of honest-hearted people is well represented by the death of Hamans ten sons
killed on Adar 13. Along with them, 500
of Gods enemies were slain in Shushan
and 75,000 throughout the rest of the
realm. On Adar 14 the fighting was continued in Shushan the castle and 300 more
enemies of the Jews were put to death,
whereas in the outlying districts the Jews
were celebrating their victory.Esther
9:1-19.

185

* See the book Jehovahs W itnesses in the Divine

Purpose, pp. 154185.

Orthodox Jews celebrated their feast of

Esther on March 10, and their feast of
Purim on March 11, 12.
18 With full proof of Jehovahs deliverance already a part of the historical record both in ancient and in modern times,
we will look forward with confidence and
keen anticipation to the great tribulation just ahead when all those of the Haman class and their supporters will literally reap what they have sown, just as King
Ahasuerus pronounced upon Haman: Let
his bad scheme that he has schemed
against the Jews come back upon his own
head. (Esther 9:25; Matt. 24:21, 22)
When that tim e comes, the Greater Ahasuerus will literally make an end of all his
enemies and will exalt the Mordecai and
Esther classes to the position reserved for
them in the Messianic kingdom.2 Thess.
1 : 6- 10.
20 In the meantime, the final preparation
of the rest of the Kings subjects must be
accomplished according to Jehovahs purpose for this tim e of the end. This is
as indicated by Esther 10:1: And King
Ahasuerus proceeded to lay forced labor
upon the land and the isles of the sea.
What a blessed privilege it is today for
those of Messiahs other sheep to comply wholeheartedly and loyally with the
modern-day service commission! This they
do by cooperating, to their own everlasting
benefit, with those taking the lead in this
energetic work as promoted by those
anointed Christians foreshadowed by Mordecai. For Mordecai the Jew was second
to King Ahasuerus and was great among
the Jews and approved by the multitude
of his brothers, working for the good of
his people and speaking peace to all their
offspring.Esther 10:2, 3.

18. W hat was the outcome of the enem ys efforts to

annihilate Gods people, and w hat pictures the continuation of this spiritual w arfare?

19, 20. W hat final outcome is certain, and how should

we view in its fulfillm ent the forced labor th a t was
imposed by King A hasuerus?

FROM GRIEF TO REJOICING

18This day that it had been schemed

was to be a day of mourning had become
a good day, a day of victory, vindication
and rejoicing! So also in modern times!
When World War II began in 1939, there
were 71,509 of Jehovahs people united in
their defense of true worship. By the time
this war was over among the nations of
the world, far from being annihilated, the
faithful band of active witnesses had almost doubled, and 1945 saw 141,606 carrying on the spiritual warfare against
Gods enemies. But our spiritual war of
self-defense is not over. It continues down
to this day as pictured by the annual celebration of Purim that was imposed on
all the people by Mordecai, namely, to
be regularly holding the fourteenth day
of the month Adar and the fifteenth day
of it in each and every year, according to
the days on which the Jews had rested
from their enemies and the month that
was changed for them from grief to rejoicing and from mourning to a good day.
(Esther 9:20-32) This year (1971) the

OUR OLDER
BROTHERS
As told by Don and Earlene Steele

my first set of booklets, I dont know who

was the happier.
That was in Kansas, wasnt it?
Right. I can recall vividly many of our
activities in the 1930s out in W ichita,
Kansas. We would organize several carloads of publishers and go as a group in
the door-to-door m inistry in the various
towns and cities. In 1934 and 1936 we used
to go from door to door seeking to get as
many names as possible on the petitions
seeking relief from the boycott on broadcasts by the Watch Tower Societys president, J. F. Rutherford. We also used printed testim ony cards in explaining and
presenting our Bible message from door to
door, and later phonographs were put to
use.
And you have often told me about
those early conventions. They must have
been thrilling to attend.
They surely were, Earlene. A t first
Mom used to give us all the news, such
as the adoption of the name Jehovahs witnesses in 1931, and the information about
the great multitude in 1935. But my first
convention was at Columbus, Ohio, in
1937. I stayed with friends at the trailer
camp on the Fair Grounds, and how I
loved to listen to the experiences of my
older Christian brothers each night after
the sessions had closed!
So, when once you started, you have
never really been idle as far as the Lords
work is concerned, have you?
Well, in 1939 I had become involved
with secular work and worldly associates

T IS June 29, 1970, our thirtieth wedding anniversary. Earlene and I are
seated in our comfortable room in the
Watch Tower Societys branch headquarters here in Seoul, Korea. We are reminiscing about our years togethertwentyseven of them in the full-tim e m inistry of
Gods kingdom, the last twenty-one years
in m issionary assignments.
Your memories of the organization of
Jehovahs people and of faithful older men
and women in it must go back a long way,
Don.
Yes, Earlene, for mother accepted the
Kingdom message when I was only two
years old, and she did her very best to
bring us boys up in a way that would fit
us for the m inistry. The major part of
each year she herself used to devote to
the m inistry full tim e.
Thats wonderful! She is still busy on
a m issionary assignment in Puerto Rico,
too. But is there anything else you recall
about those early days?
Yes, there is. Mother saw to it that my
two brothers and I were trained to pay
close attention at class, as our Bible study
m eetings used to be designated. She made
sure that we were surrounded by visitors
and associates who were devoted to Jehovahs service. And each one of us went
along in the door-to-door m inistry when
we realized it was expected of us. I recall
working with mother when I was not yet
ten, she on one side of the street and myself on the other, offering seven booklets
on various Bible subjects. When I placed

186

March 15, 1971

SReWATCHTOWER,

to the point that I was inactive. But I recall the loving assistance I received from
our company servant, as a congregation
overseer used to be termed. He was a
barber, and he used every opportunity
when I was in the chair to remind me
tactfully of my responsibility to Jehovah.
And do you remember, after I met you,
how he used to invite us both for dinner
and engage in fine Scriptural discussions
for our benefit?
Oh, yes, and that was not long before
we got married in 1940. Then we hesitated
about going in the full-tim e pioneer ministry because we had the idea we needed
to have some kind of financial reserve.
ENTERING THE FULL-TIME MINISTRY

How glad I am that we got rid of that

idea and wrote the Society to say that we
had saved up enough money to keep us
going for at least two months! With my
appointment as pioneer m inister came a
letter admonishing us not to be anxious
about the necessities of life. (Matt. 6:2533) So I got started in February 1943, and
you were appointed one month later. Anyway, weve managed, with Jehovahs help,
to keep going, not for just two months,
but for twenty-seven years.
I remember how happy we were, Don.
Of course, we did not realize at the time
that there would be tests and trials of our
devotion.
Thats right. Soon after that my brothers and I got caught up in the neutrality issue. A t first I was given deferment
by reason of being married prior to
Pearl Harbor. Later my classification was
changed to conscientious objector rather
than to that of m inister as I had requested. So soon I joined my brothers and
some sixty other W itnesses in Leavenworth Penitentiary. But even there we
kept up our Bible studies and meetings,
and I shall never forget the visits of the

187

Societys special representative, A. H. Macmillan. His counsel and encouragement did

much to sustain us all spiritually.
I really missed you 111 that tim e, I
must say.
Yes, that was one of several occasions
when we had to endure separation for the
sake of the good news. But then we appredated each other all the more when
we were reunited. That time it was twentyfive months. And one thing that really
made it easier for me, Earlene, was your
faithfully continuing in th e full-time
preaching work.
It was quite difficult in some ways, especially since I could not visit you often.
But I agreed with Dave and Pauline Hasty
and their young son, Bud, to go into unassigned territory where there was great
need for giving the Kingdom witness. At
an assembly in Denver, Colorado, we met
Sister Glass and she encouraged our group
to come to Glenwood Springs and Aspen
in the mountains. I shall never forget her
kindness, not only then, but down through
the years. Later, the McLain fam ily came
out from W ichita and we moved our
trailers near Palisade, Colorado. With only
one car for the whole group, we preached
Gods Word throughout that rugged area.
It seemed to take every cent we could get
to keep the car going.
Thats where I joined you on my release, and I remember that one of the
first questions you asked was, How much
money do you have? It seems that the
car was badly in need of some repair.
But you must admit that those were
among the happiest years of our lives,
pioneering in that beautiful mountain
country and associating with those wonderful friends we still have there.
Soon after, do you recall going to the
Cleveland assembly of 1946? I believe that

188

SlieW ATCHTOW ER

was your first large one, wasnt it, Earlene?

Yes, and I was assigned in the volunteer service department with Mabel Haslett. We did not know at the time what a
fine influence she and her husband were
to have on our lives, no, not even when
we found that they were called to the same
class of the Societys Gilead School as we
w ere.
GILEAD SCHOOL AND MISSIONARY WORK

That was the eleventh class, the second

international class as it was called, since
only about one third of its students were
Americans. What a privilege it was to associate so closely with spiritually mature
brothers from Britain, Australia, New
Zealand and Europe!
And do you remember how, after the
first quarter, the Societys president, N. H.
Knorr, asked for volunteers to go to Japan w ith Don and Mabel Haslett and a
group of Hawaiians of Japanese descent?
As I recall, about 75 percent were willing
to go, and we were among the sixteen
who were selected. That meant we had to
start studying Japanese right away.
For about a year after graduation we
were assigned to visit and assist congregations in a California circuit, and then
came President Knorrs letter changing
our assignment from Japan to Korea, and
asking if we would accept. Of course, we
did, and it was in August 1949 that we
took off from Los Angeles airport bound
for Korea. Our plane arrived in Tokyo,
and Don Haslett arranged with the occupation authorities for us to stop over for
a few days, days during which he could
offer us some fine counsel as to how to
adjust to an Oriental assignment.
Yes, Don, I remember that. And I remember too that when we arrived in Seoul
there were about twenty meeting each
week for a study of The Watchtower. One

B rooklyn,

N. Y.

of the W itnesses would translate the study

material from the English, and then make
extra copies on thin sheets of paper. This
painstaking handwork would produce only
eight copies, and at the study four or five
persons would crowd around one copy.
Thats right. Little literature was available then. In fact, we had brought with
us twenty copies of the Korean edition of
the booklet Where Are the Dead? And in
the m inistry we loaned these twenty booklets out, then went back and picked them
up again. Eight of the local W itnesses
joined us in the field m inistry that month.
What other recollections of those early
days do you have, Earlene?
I remember when six new missionaries
arrived in March 1950. By May we had
reached a peak of sixty-one publishers, ineluding eight missionaries. The original
W itnesses we found here when we came
had endured prison from five to seven
years each under the Japanese occupation.
Almost all of them held on faithfully until
their deaths, and those surviving are still
preaching the good news.
THE KOREAN WAR

Then war came. I know that you recall

the public meeting we had in a school
auditorium on June 25,1950. As the meeting was dismissed, police told us that Communist North Korea had attacked and that
a curfew was in force; everyone was to
hurry home.
So we watched the war from the roof
of our home the first night. On the third
day, when the Communist forces had entered the citys outskirts, all American and
European citizens were ordered to report
to their respective embassies for immediate evacuation. As we obeyed the order,
we had no idea that the hostilities were to
develop into a major conflict. Youll never
forget those days, will you, Earlene?
Never! One of our Christian sisters and

189
fEeWATCHTOWER.
I were ill at the tim e, and we had about to Korea. Finally the Supreme Commandthirty minutes to pack one suitcase. I still er of the Allied Powers permitted one of
remember how upset the American consul us to return to Korea. The Societys presiwas when he found out that there were dent wrote me to go back and stay at least
six American women still in the city be- a month. It turned out that I could recause we had not recognized the warnings main in Korea, but no other W itness misbroadcast in code earlier over the radio. sionaries could come in; so I stayed. I got
But it worked out well for us because we back there in November 1951, but you
got to go on the last group of planes from were not allowed to come until October of
Kimpo airport, while the other women and 1952, Earlene.
children who had been evacuated on a
How well I remember! And how happy
fertilizer boat the previous day were a you were, when I did get back, to have
long time in getting reunited with their me cook you a meal for a change. I susmenfolk.
pect you had many more cold meals from
Ill never forget the strafing of our those GI rations that were on the market
buses by Communist planes as we were then than youd admit, Don.
going to the airport. And out there on the
That year was difficult in view of our
airstrip they strafed us again, so we were being separated again, Earlene, but what
herded into a cramped basement. Finally a wonderful year of progress for the Kingwe women were put on the first plane out. dom work. Our Christian brothers had
Then two Communist planes tried to shoot been scattered to the south as refugees
down our plane; however, they were shot during the heavy fighting. In November
down by the planes escorting us. We 1951, only thirty-five reported serving in
learned later that these two planes were the field m inistry, but more were preachreportedly the first to be downed in the ing than that. In December and January
Korean War. Instead of taking the evacu- I traveled around to visit them, and six
ees to some other place in Korea, they congregations were organized. From then
took us to Itazuke in Kyushu, southern on, the work grew so fast there was alJapan. How glad we were to find out that most no keeping up with it. By the end of
you men had been taken to the same the 1952 service year, there were 192 pubplace!
lishers reporting. By the end of the 1954
Yes, Earlene, and it was only later that service year, 1,065 were reporting! So,
it became apparent there would be no while the Korean War was a disastrous
early end to the Korean conflict, and Seoul thing for the Korean people, the fact that
twice fell into the hands of the Commu- Jehovahs witnesses were scattered to difnists. The Society then assigned us eight ferent parts of the country served to get
m issionaries from Korea to Nagoya, Ja- the Kingdom m essage to people in those
pern. There were no local W itnesses then areas that much sooner. It is certainly a
in Nagoya, but within a years tim e there
credit to our dear Korean brothers that
were more than sixty publishers of the
they exerted them selves vigorously to
good news!
make use of that circum stance.
Don, I must say that those days had
RETURN TO KOREA
During the next year the Tokyo branch their difficulties for us, but it brings me
office of the Society tried repeatedly to joy when I think about the excellent qualiarrange for at least one of us to return ties of our Korean brothers and Jehovahs
March 15, 1971

190

3 EeWATCHTOWER

direction that resulted in all that increase.

It is true that at tim es things seemed
difficult. For example, when we first moved
back to Seoul after two years in Pusan,
into the portion of the present Bethel home
known as the old building, it had been
all shot up from the warno windows,
the plaster down, no electricity, no water,
and so forth. Then for ten years in that
building we had no water come through
the pipes. It all had to be carried up in
buckets on an A-frame on someones shoulders. Now, just look at the fine modern
Bethel home we enjoy today. Its hard to
realize what happened during those other
days.
Yes, all of Korea has changed much
from those days, Earlene. Eight more missionaries arrived in 1955 after the war.
And local W itnesses had made fine progress in spiritual growth. One of my first
Bible students, baptized in 1950, is now an
overseer in one of Seouls fifty-two units.
A t that tim e he was not yet married; now
his second son is assisting us here at Bethel. It makes us seem old, doesnt it?
Well, Don, we are considered the grandfather and grandmother of our Christian
brothers here. They use those same endearing terms when speaking to us. Even
though we have passed the age of fifty
years, we still have years ahead of us to
use for the work remaining before Armageddon. Jehovah has certainly blessed us.
You remember, Earlene, when we
graduated from Gilead in 1948, the Societys president told our class we were to
be given one-way tickets to our assignments. But Jehovah has been good to us,
for since our return to Korea from our
home leave in 1969, we can say we have
crossed the Pacific nine tim es, having been
back on four different occasions. In 1953,
for instance, to attend the international
assembly in New York, we were sched-

B r o o k l y n , N .Y .

uled to go by ship, but the brothers in

our old circuit in California contributed
the extra funds so we could go by air.
Again in 1958 we were in New York at the
assembly. Then in 1962 I was called back
for the ten-month course in Gilead School.
And at that tim e you were having physical difficulties and were allowed to spend
those ten months in Colorado to recuperate. This last year we were able to attend
the 1969 assembly in New York also. Our
fam ilies have been good to us, as well as
many friends whose help made those trips
possible, and we are grateful to them as
well as to the Society.
Don, I shall always be grateful for that
extra leave given in 1962.1 have had some
health problems during the years, including three cases of surgery, and I cant say
that I have had less competent treatm ent
here than I could have had elsewhere.
Now I must say I feel better physicaffy
than I have in the past five or six years,
and I am grateful to Jehovah for it.
Through the years our Christian brothers have been very kind and hospitable to
us, Earlene, and have shown their love in
so many ways. They have been our constant delight. And now as we write this
story, our Korean brothers are still growing in numbers. The service year of 1970
has seen more than 3,000 baptized. And
for the service year, we had a publisher
peak of 12,267. There is no letup in sight.
We can look back with thankfulness to
the many older brothers and sisters in the
faith whose lives touched ours in our
younger years and who exerted much influence on us by their own course of faithfulness. Many of them were of the Lords
anointed. If these blessings we have enjoyed so far are any indication, then what
wonderful joys await us all in the new
system of things, along with the fine associations we can then enjoy!

 What are the old commandment and the

new commandment mentioned at 1 John 2:7,
8?U.S.A.
The verses in question read: Beloved ones,
I am writing you, not a new commandment,
but an old commandment which you have had
from the beginning. This old commandment is
the word which you heard. Again, I am writing
you a new commandment, a fact that is true in
his case and in yours, because the darkness is
passing away and the true light is already
shining.1 John 2:7, 8.
Was the apostle John referring to the Mosaic
law by the words old commandment? That
could hardly be, for he was writing to Christians who were not under the Law. (Rom. 6:14)
Rather, since the theme of Johns letter is love,
it appears that he had reference to Jesus statement: I am giving you a new commandment,
that you love one another; just as I have loved
you, that you also love one another. (John
13:34) When John wrote his first letter (c. 98
C.E.) more than sixty years had passed since
Jesus, at the beginning of Christianity, gave
that commandment to love. So John could appropriately say that it was an old commandment.
What then is the new commandment that
John mentioned in verse eight? It seems to be
the same as that which he had just called the
old commandment. We cannot imagine John
giving Christs followers a truly new commandment, different from that which Jesus had
taught. But in what sense could John call it
new?

He could call it new just as Jesus had done.

It Involved being willing to surrender ones
soul in behalf of ones brother, something the
Mosaic law did not require. (John 15:12) Fur*
thermore, it was new in the sense that fresh
application of it had to be made, and with new
urgency, in view of changing conditions and
situations. Near the end of the first century
C.E., with the apostles dying off and the mystery of lawlessness already at work among the
congregations, the Christians to whom John
wrote could see the changes and could appreciate the new applications of love needed. (2
Thess. 2:68 )Yet John was able to write them
that the new commandment was true in both
Christs case and in yours because they were
carrying it out in their lives, even as Jesus
carried it out. In the context John showed that
a Christian who does not love his brother is in
darkness. It therefore appears that because of
the increasing love among many of Christs
followers John could write that the darkness is
passing away and the true light is shining.
In view of the difficulty that 1 John 2:7, 8
presents, a number of modern Bible translators
have freely translated the verses in line with
the foregoing explanation. For example, The
New English Bible reads: Dear friends, I give
you no new command. It is the old command
which you always had before you; the old com
mand is the message which you heard at the
beginning. And yet again it is a new command
that I am giving younew in the sense that
the darkness is passing and the real light al*
ready shines. Christ has made this true, and it
is true in your own experience. See also The
Jerusalem Bible and the translations by C. B.
Williams and J. Phillips.
Consequently, both the expressions, the old
commandment and the new commandment,
evidently refer to Jesus command that his
followers love one another just as he loved
them.

What Would Your Child Do?

At an assembly of Jehovahs witnesses a young lad of twelve went to the Lost
and Found Department and asked if they had the dollar he had lost. He was
given the one turned in that morning, but, after carefully examining it, he ex*
claimed, No, I dont believe thats my dollar. Ill wait until after the assembly
is over, and if its not claimed by then Ill know its mine.
What a shining example of youth today who have been trained by Gods Word
in the way of righteousness! Sunday evening the unclaimed dollar was waiting
for the lad when he returned.
191

RESTORATION
OF ALL THINGS
OF WHICH GOD SPOKE
W hat things has God promised to restore?
How can you be sure that you will benefit?

Hear this important talk that will be

given world wide on March 28.
It will be delivered in the Kingdom H all of Jehovahs W itnesses in your vicinity. You are welcome.
If you do not know where the Kingdom H all is
located in your area, write to the publishers of this
magazine. They w ill be happy to give you the address
and time for this special talk.

ANNOUNCEMENTS

WATCHTOWER STUDIES FOR THE WEEKS

April 25: Persecution by Permission of Jehovah

Why? Page 172. Songs to Be Used: 21,
17.
May 2: A Change from Mourning to a Good
Day. Page 179. Songs to Be Used: 67, 33.
192

JEHOVAHS
KINGDOM
APRIL 1, 1971
Semimonthly

U N ITIN G
THE DIVIDED HOUSEHOLD
WORLD GOVERNMENT IN THE HANDS
OF THE PRINCE OF PEACE
THOSE W HO CHOSE THE
BEST PLACES
WTB&TS

YOU ARE MY W ITNESSES, SAYS JEH O VAH.-Isa.43:12

T H E PU R PO SE O F *T H E W A T C H T O W E R
E v ery w a tc h to w e r has its purpose. It serves as an elevated place fo r a
w id e-aw ak e person w ith sharp vision. It enables him to see far ahead in to
th e distance and tell those b elow for w h o m he is a w a tch m a n w h a t is
d raw in g near, w h eth er it is a danger against w h ich to prepare o r it is
som ething good over w h ich to be glad w ith strong faith and hope.
Because o f having the nam e "The W a tc h to w e r this m agazine ju stly
has to render a sim ilar useful service to the people o f all nations. T h is is
an in tern ational m agazine and makes no racial distinctions, fo r w e are all
facing a com m on w o rld danger; w e are all hoping fo r a com m on good.
E ver since **The W a tc h to w e r began to be published in J u ly o f 1 8 7 9 it
has looked ahead into the future, a lw ays striving to aid its readers to advan ce in k now ledge and to gain a clearer picture o f the glorious n e w order
o f things th at is in store for righteous mankind. N o , **The W a tc h to w e r
is no inspired prophet, but it follo w s and explains a Book o f prophecy the
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confidence, for its statem ents m ay be checked against that prophetic Book.
A m o n g th e m a n y nations o f today there are hundreds o f differing
religions. W h ic h one does this m agazine present? N o t the confused religions
o f C hristendom , but the religion o f the oldest sacred Book on earth. W h ich
Book? T h e Sacred Bible o f the H o ly Scriptures, w ritten b y inspiration in
the nam e o f the C reator o f heaven and earth, the o n ly living and true G od.
T h e sacred, nonpolitical purpose o f **The W a tc h to w e r is accordingly
to encourage and prom ote study o f the H o ly Bible and to give our m a n y
readers the needed unsectarian help to understand that Book o f true
religion and infallible prophecy. T hus this m agazine w ill be helping them
to prove w o r th y o f perfect life and happiness in G o d s promised n e w order
under H is everlasting kingdom o f righteousness.

PUBLISHED BY T H E
WATCH TOW ER BIBLE AND TRACT SOCIETY OF PENNSYLVANIA
117 Adams S treet
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N. H. K norr, P resident
Grant S uiter, Secretary

They will all be taught by Jehovah.John 6:45; Isaiah 54:13

CONTENTS
Will You Be Present
Friday Evening, April 9?
World Government in the Hands of
the Prince of Peace"
Those Who Chose the Best Places
Uniting the Divided Household
The Christian Wife and Children
in a Divided Household
Why Early Christians Were Persecuted
Preach Gods Kingdom
with the Right Viewpoint
Serving Jehovah in Youth and in Old Age
Blessings from Taking the
Ministry Seriously
Questions from Readers

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-y ^ n n o x tr ic ir ia

J E H O V A H S
K ING DO M
April 1, 1971

Number 7

Jehovah? If so, we
earnestly invite you
to attend. It will enhance your understanding and appre FRIDAY EVENING, APRIL 9?
c i a t i o n o f G o d s
Word and purposes.
More than that, you
/O R ESEN T where? A t the local King- will see just how Jesus Christ directed
that the Lords evening meal be celebrated,
X dom Hall of Jehovahs Christian witand this will aid you to grasp the meaning
nesses, after 6 p.m., Standard Time.
For what purpose? To celebrate the of it all.
Or have you recently begun to share in
Lords evening meal or Lords Supper.
This was commanded by our Lord Jesus preaching the good news of Gods kingChrist, the Son of God, on the last evening dom? Then you w ill certainly want to be
present with all others who have been
before his death.
preaching
this good news in your locality
Last year more than 3,225,000 persons
for
many
years. It w ill strengthen your
attended this celebration that was held in
faith
to
continue
as a proclaimer of the
upward of 26,000 congregations throughgood
news.
out the world. Will you be among those
Do you happen to have one or more
in attendance this year?
Has your interest in religious subjects members of your fam ily who are witnesses
been limited to your perusing this maga- of Jehovah, while you yourself are not?
zine or other publications of Jehovahs Why not join them as they attend the
witnesses? Why not widen out by attend- Lords evening meal at the local Kingdom
ing the celebration of the Lords evening Hall? It w ill make them happy to have
meal at the local Kingdom Hall of Jeho- your company and you are sure to reap a
vahs W itnesses? You w ill doubtless be spiritual blessing.
Of course, all Christian witnesses of Jeimpressed with the sincerity of the presentation as well as the sim plicity and the hovah, whether they have a heavenly hope
reasonableness of what is said on that or an earthly one, w ill be present; they
occasion. But that is something that you would not think of m issing out on such
can prove to yourself only if you attend. an occasion. And not only w ill they be
Are you one of those who are studying there themselves, but before then each
the Bible with the help of a witness of one will be busy inviting others to attend.

^WiM QJou

6 /iGsent

195

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B r o o k l y n , N .Y .
f&eW ATCHTOW ER,
Among such ones w ill be those with whom and His righteous requirements. R ightly
they are conducting Bible studies, or upon he referred to him self as Teacher.
whom they make return visits from time Matt. 23:8; 22:36-39.
to time, as well as those they know to be
And thirdly, Jesus Christ set the patsubscribers for this magazine.
tern, giving us a model to follow. He did
The Bible, at 1 Corinthians 11:23-25, not seek to please himself. He did nothing
tells just how Jesus Christ instituted this of his own originality; he put Gods will
memorial of his death. It says: The Lord ahead of his own. As we read: To that
Jesus, on the night of his arrest, took you were called, because Christ suffered
bread and, after giving thanks to God, on your behalf, and thereby left you an
broke it and said: ,This is my body, which example; it is for you to follow in his
is for you; do this as a memorial of me. steps.1 Pet. 2:21, NEB; John 14:10.
In the same way, he took the cup after
All who attend the celebration of the
supper, and said: ,This cup is the new Lords evening meal, with the right mencovenant sealed by my blood. Whenever tal attitude, and who pay close attention
you drink it, do this as a memorial of to the truths there presented w ill surely
m e. New English Bible.
benefit greatly. Their gratitude to JehoWhat benefits can you expect to derive vah God and Jesus Christ w ill grow; they
from attending the Lords evening meal? will gain a better understanding of Gods
Since Jesus commanded its observance will for them and they will be strengthened
Do this as a memorial of methere in their determination to do what is pleasis certain to be a blessing for obedience to ing in Gods sight. They w ill also discern
his command. This occasion builds up ones better than ever before how Christians
appreciation of what Jehovah God did in can truly be at unity.
giving his only-begotten Son so that all
The celebration of the Lords evening
who believe on him may not perish but meal will open with words of welcome and
gain everlasting life.John 3:16.
the singing of a sacred song by the congreIn particular does the Lords evening gation, followed by prayer. Then you will
meal remind us of what Jesus Christ did hear an upbuilding Biblical talk about the
for us. And what did he do in our behalf? meaning, purpose and benefits to be deFirst of all, as the Word of God he left rived from this celebration. This w ill be
heavenly glory, came to earth as a hu- followed by blessings asked upon the bread
man and gave his life as a ransom for the and the wine, and the serving of first the
sins of the world. (Matt. 20:28; John 1: unleavened bread and then the red wine.
1, 29) Jesus not only said, There is no Comparatively few will partake, for last
greater love than this, that a man should year, of the more than three million atlay down his life for his friends, but ex- tending, only some 10,500 partook. After
emplified this great love by doing that further appropriate remarks the meeting
very thing. (John 15:13, NEB) So his will close with sacred song and prayer.
death is of keen interest to all of us.
There will be no collection taken nor will
Secondly, as the Great Teacher he re- anyone be pressed to contribute or to join
vealed Gods will to us. He taught his fol- something. All who are conscious of their
lowers the truth, which truth sets them spiritual need w ill truly want to be on
free from bondage to sin, to the fear of hand for this occasion, April 9, 1971. Will
man, to false religion. He helped them to you be present? We warmly encourage you
get better acquainted with Jehovah God to do so.

1Y should
W you
be interested in a world
government? Persons in increasing
numbers are today. For what reason?
Fear is the main
factor with many.
True, logic alone
tells us that having scores of divided, and often uncooperative, political
systems brings inefficiency, waste, disagreeable hindrances. So, some men began dreaming of a world government as
early as the 1300s, according to The
World Book Encyclopedia (1970 edition,
Vol. 20, page 363). But it was the shock of
World War I that made men think seriously of world government. The League
of Nations formed at the wars end was
a step in that direction. But the League
collapsed in World War . The horrors of
that war, and the prospect of an all-out
modernized war, moved governments to
form the United Nations in 1945.
Since then men have been faced with
new dangers. National boundaries and
frontiers provide no protection against
growing pollution of air, water and land.
An economic crisis in one part of the
world can now disrupt the interwoven
fabric of many national economies, bringing poverty and hunger.
Would you welcome a world government that could solve these problems,
bring lasting peace and genuine security?
Is there any reason to hope for such a
government?
WHY MEN HAVE NOT PRODUCED
A WORLD GOVERNMENT

Neither the League of Nations nor

the United Nations have been world gov

er n m e n t s . W h y
not? Because even
as fear edged men
toward world governm ent, fear
makes them back
off from giving up
th e p o w e r t h a t
would make such
a government possible. Each nation
distrusts the others. Men fear that,
no matter who forms the world government, sooner or later those ruling wifi let
selfish interests control them.
As the Encyclopedia article on World
Government, quoted earlier, says: Some
of the questions that must be solved inelude the problem of finding leaders for
a world government, the problem of keeping it from becoming tyrannical, and the
problem of avoiding civil wars, often
bloodier than international ones.
Who, for example, would you trust to
head a world government? What national
leaders are doing such a superb job today
in their own landsproving themselves
free from favoritism and selfishness, devoted to justice and righteousness, and
possessed of wisdom and ability to solve
problemsthat they would qualify for
such a responsibility?
THE SOURCE OF WORLD GOVERNMENT

World government is a certaintybut

not by men or political governments. The
Bible contains the promise of Jehovah God
that it will come. He foresaw the need for
world government long before men began
to dream about it. Now, thousands of
years later, men are finally face to face
with undeniable evidence that planet Earth
and the human fam ily on it desperately
need some kind of effective, unified con197

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B r o o k l y n , N .Y .
WATCHTOW E R.
trol and guidance. With world conditions those who loved truth to love him and bewhat they are, is it reasonable to refuse come his disciples.John 8:40, 44-47; 18:
to consider the Bibles promise?
37.
Justice, im partiality and wisdomhow
Over 2,700 years ago the prophecy of
desirable
in a ruler! Christ Jesus associatIsaiah foretold the coming of the one who
ed
with
both
the rich and the poor and
would head that world government. For
refused
to
show
favoritism to any. His
there has been a child born to u s , . . . a son
message
was
the
same
to all.Luke 5:29given to us; and the princely rule will come
32;
7:36;
14:1;
19:1-6.
to be upon his shoulder. And his name
Read what the Bible says about him and
w ill be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty
God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace. To you will see that, while courageous, he
the abundance of the princely rule and was also compassionate, tender and conto peace there will be no end, upon the siderate. (Matt. 9:36; 14:14; Mark 6:31throne of David and upon his kingdom 34; Luke 7:11-15; 9:10, 11) He was never
in order to establish it firmly and to overbearing nor arrogant.Matt. 11:28sustain it by means of justice and by 30.
means of righteousness, from now on and
Shortly now the rule of the promised
to time indefinite. The very zeal of Jeho- world government in the hands of this
vah of armies will do this. (Isa. 9:6, 7) Prince of Peace will be m anifest in all the
That promised one is Christ Jesus, Gods earth. As human anxiety now shows, it
own Son. His power to rule comes, not will be none too soon! Already all authorfrom any grant by national, political gov- ity in heaven and earth has been given
em m ents, but from the Sovereign God to the resurrected and glorified Jesus
himself.
Christ. (Matt. 28:18) His rule will be firmly established and sustained by means of
QUALIFICATIONS OF THE
justice and righteousness, not for a few
PRINCE OF PEACE
years but to time indefinite, even forCan you confidently put trust in a world ever! The question is, Will we be the subgovernment headed by Christ Jesus, even jects, yes, children of that Eternal Fato the point of making that, and not any ther?
political government by men, your real
Though a Mighty God, Christ Jesus
and only hope for life in peace and securiwill force no one to live under his world
ty? You certainly cannot unless you learn
government. But neither will he allow perabout him, read the record of his life, his
sons to live on earth who do not really
words and deeds, the effect his teachings
love righteousness, truth and justice, in
had on others, the kind of persons it probrief, who do not love his Father, Jehovah
duced among those becoming his disciples.
God, nor love their fellowman. What is
Have you ever done this?
your choice? What are you willing to do
Would not honesty rate high on the list to prove your desire to be his subject?
of principal qualities that you would look
Today more than one and a half million
for in one heading a world government, of Jehovahs witnesses publicly advocate
for that matter, any government? Jesus world government in the hands of the
record for speaking the unvarnished truth Prince of Peace. Associate with them in
caused hypocritical religious leaders of his their Kingdom Halls and learn how you,
day to seek his death and political rulers too, can have the hope of life under his
to carry out their wish. But it caused world government.

THOSE WHO CHOSE THE BEST PUCES

lOME persons always want the best guests, and it has some good advice for
1 things for themselves, and they will us today.
take these things before anyone else can
Jesus said: Someone may invite you to
get them. Have you noticed this? I have. a big wedding feast. When you go, do not
For example, at a meal I have seen a pick the most honored place to sit. For
big dish being passed.
someone more imporAn article specially designed for
tant than you may also
It was filled with delicious pieces of cake. As
parents to read with their children
have been invited. Then
the dish came around,
the one putting on the
each person carefully looked over the feast may come over to you and say, Let
pieces to make sure that he took the big- this man have your place. You will then
gest one. Do you think it is right to do feel shame as all the others present watch
you go to the lowest place.
that?
Jesus wanted to show those guests, who
There is something else that I have seen
had
been choosing the best places, the
happen. A father and mother have taken
their children with them to visit a friend. right thing to do. So he went on to say
When they came into the friends house, to them:
When you are invited to a wedding
the children hurried to get the most comfeast
go and sit down at the lowest place.
fortable chairs. Is this right? Should they
Then
the one who has invited you may
take the best seats?
come
and
say, Friend, we have a better
When the Great Teacher was on earth
place
than
this for you! You w ill then
something like that happened. He was inhave
honor
in front of all the others as
vited to a big meal at the house of an imyou
move
up
to the better place.Luke
portant Pharisee. There were many guests
14:1

11
.
invited. As the guests came in for the
meal, Jesus noticed that they would
choose the best places near the head
of the table. They wanted places of
honor. W ould you like to hear
what Jesus said to them?
H e told th em a st o ry . It
contained good advice for those

199

B r o o k l y n , N .Y .
fEeWATCHTOWER.
Did you get the point of Jesus story? close friends of Jesus. So they said to him:
Lets take an example, and see if you did. We want you to do us a favor.
Lets say that we were going to have dinWhat do you want me to do for you?
ner at someones house. Would you pick Jesus asked.
the m ost comfortable chair when you were
They said to him: Let us sit down next
ready to sit down? Or would you leave the to you in your kingdom, one of us at your
best place for someone else? What do you right hand and the other at your left
think Jesus would want you to do?
hand. These brothers wanted first places
Take another example. Imagine that you in the Kingdom. They wanted honored
are getting on a crowded bus. Should you seats.
hurry to get a seat, and let an old person
But how do you think the other ten
stand? Would Jesus want you to do that? apostles felt when they found out what
Someone may say that it does not make James and John had asked? They were
any difference to Jesus what we do. But angry! And so Jesus had to give them all
do you believe that? When Jesus was at some good advice.
that big meal at the home of the Pharisee,
Jesus told them that the rulers of the
he watched what seats people were choos- nations want to appear big and important.
ing. And dont you think that he is just They want a high position, and to have
as interested in what we do today? Now everyone obey them. But Jesus explained
that Jesus is in heaven he certainly is in to his followers that they should not be
a better position to watch us.
that way. Rather, Jesus said: Whoever
Does it bring peace and good feelings wants to be first among you must be the
between persons when each one tries to slave of all. Think of that!Mark 10:
get the best place? Or, rather, do they 35-45.
get into an argument and become angry
Do you know what a slave does? He
with one another? What do you think?
serves other persons, rather than let othSometimes this happens when children ers serve him. He takes the lowest place,
go for a car ride together. As soon as the not the first place. He acts as the least
car door is opened, they rush to get the important one, not the most important.
best seats, the ones near the window. And And remember that Jesus said that the
right away there is an argument. They one who wants to be first should act like
become angry with one another because a slave toward others.
they each want the best place.
Now what do you think that means for
This can also happen when children go us? Would a slave argue with his master
out to play a game of ball. Before they over who is going to get the best seat?
even get started playing they may have an Or would he argue about who is going
argument over who is going to be first. to eat first? What do you think? Jesus
Isnt it too bad that these things happen? showed that a slave always puts his masWanting to be first can cause a lot of ter before himself. Isnt that the way we
trouble. It even caused trouble among Je- should do too?Luke 17:7-10.
sus apostles. Did you know that? Let me
Yes, it is the Christian way to put othtell you about it.
ers ahead of ourselves. This is what the
One day the brothers James and John Great Teacher did. And if we follow his
came up to Jesus. These apostles were example we will be pleasing to God.

200

" W ife,
h o w d o y o u k n o w b u t th at yo u w ill save yo u r
O r, h usban d, h o w do yo u k n o w b u t th at yo u w ill save yo u r w ife?

1 Cor. 7:16.

T ^ IV ID E D householdshow could truth does not mean breaking up the mar* \ J such a thing come about? By one riage. The wise and optim istic way to
or more members of a household learning handle a divided household is set out by
Gods truth, the truth concerning Gods the apostle Paul at 1 Corinthians 7:12-16:
purposes, as revealed in the Holy Bible.
8 If any brother has an unbelieving
Yes, this is what Jesus Christ foretold at wife, and yet she is agreeable to dwelling
Luke 12:51-53: Do you imagine I came with him, let him not leave her; and a
to give peace on the earth? No, indeed, woman who has an unbelieving husband,
I tell you, but rather division. For from and yet he is agreeable to dwelling with
now on there w ill be five in one house her, let her not leave her husband. For
divided, three against two and two against the unbelieving husband is sanctified in
three. They w ill be divided, father against relation to his w ife, and the unbelieving
son and son against father, mother against wife is sanctified in relation to the brothdaughter and daughter against her moth- er; otherwise, your children would really
er, mother-in-law against her daughter-in- be unclean, but now they are holy. But if
law and daughter-in-law against her the unbelieving one proceeds to depart, let
mother-in-law. Not all persons in a fami- him depart; a brother or a sister is not
ly, Jesus shows, w ill readily recognize or in servitude under such circumstances, but
appreciate the truth that comes from God. God has called you to peace. For, wife,
2 Since Gods truth is not popular with how do you know but that you will save
this world, many persons oppose it and your husband? Or, husband, how do you
especially resent it when members of their know but that you w ill save your w ife?
own household take a stand for God and
4 Can the believing wife, then, save
his kingdom. Divided households, as Jesus her unbelieving husband by staying with
prophecy indicates, were certain to occur. him? Yes, this m ight be possible. If she
But does this mean that the situation in does in tim e save her husband, it is, of
a divided household is hopeless? that noth- course, salvation in a relative sense, since
ing can be done to help the situation? No! salvation is from Jehovah. (Rev. 7:10)
Improvement is possible. Jesus is no mar- But a w ife can in a relative measure save
riage wrecker, so ones learning Gods her husband, just as a person can use a
companys facilities for lifesaving to save
1. W hat did Jesus C hrist foretell w ith regard to households, and w hy?
2, 3. Since Jesus is no m arriage wrecker, w hat is the
wise way to handle a divided household?

4. In w hat sense can a believing w ife save h e r unbelieving husband?

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B rooklyn , N .Y .
5EeWATCHTOWER
a drowning man. The company may have rightly hating Gods truth. Why, it may
a boat with rescue equipment. And when be that he simply was not introduced to
the rescuers see a person floundering in Bible truth at the same tim e, and so he
the sea, they throw out equipment to save resents his m ates being ahead of him.
him. The one hauling the person in from Also perhaps no effort was made to hold
the raging sea is the one most active in a Bible study with the entire fam ily. As
the salvation, yet the company, too, must a result the unbelieving member may not
be considered, since it provided the facili- understand what Jehovahs w itnesses realties for lifesaving. Jehovah makes the ar- ly teach and what they are really like. Or
rangements for salvation, but he uses in- could it be that the husband does not want
dividuals to have a part in this lifesaving to be taught religion by his wife? There
is need for Christian m inisters to analyze
work.
s So the believing w ife can save her a situation in which the husband remains
unbelieving husband. She can help him to an unbeliever. What is the root of the
salvation. How encouraging that is! To do problem?
this, the apostle Paul says, let the wife
8 Remember, unbelievers differ as to destay with her unbelieving husband. A gree. Some bitterly persecute the believer.
Christian w ife preaches the Kingdom good Some constantly nag the believer, trying
news to outsiders, so why not try to help to break down integrity. Some subtly dismembers of her own household, especially courage the believer. Others show indifthat one w ith whom she is one flesh? Thus ference toward true worship. Other unChristian women with unbelieving hus- believing mates are favorable to Gods
bands should never lose hope that their truth but do little to make spiritual progdivided household can be united!
ress. Gradual progress can be made in
*Consider, for example, the mother of helping the unbeliever in any of these
three children in Spain. She was cruelly categories. Showing the proper Christian
opposed when she learned the Bible truth. qualities results in breaking down oppoHer husband even applied in a Catholic sition or in stirring up interest. If the uncourt for separation, charging that his believer is favorable, the believer, with
w ife was poisoning the childrens minds. the aid of the Christian congregation,
The court awarded custody of two chil- should work toward the goal of uniting the
dren to the father. A ll seemed lost. But fam ily by means of a home Bible study.
she appealed to God. Later, by chance, If the unbeliever is opposed, the believer
the husband happened to m eet an old needs to endure even under abuse and
friend. How surprised he was to learn that persecution.
his friend was now one of Jehovahs witKEEPING INTEGRITYTHE FIRST GOAL
nesses! After a two-hour discussion, a Bi9This brings us to the first goal in a
ble study was started with the husband.
He changed, and now his fam ily is more divided household. What is that? The beunited them ever before. So Christian liever needs to keep integrity to God and
to obey the one through whom God speaks
wives need never lose hope.
7
Also it is well to remember that it istodayhis beloved Son, Jesus Christ. To
not always a case of the unbeliever out- yield integrity is to yield life itself. (Heb.
5, 6. W hat, then, is the proper a ttitu d e for a believer
w ith an unbelieving m ate?
7. W hat factors m ay account for a husband's rem aining
a n unbeliever, and so w hat should C hristian m inisters
do?

8. How do unbelievers differ as to degree, and how can

progress be m ade in helping any unbeliever?
9. (a) W hat is the C hristian's forem ost goal in a divided
household? W hy? (b) If the unbeliever presses th e
m atter to a showdown, th en w hat?

1, 1971

203
SEeWATCHTOWER
1:1, 2; 2:3; Matt. 10:32-35) When discuss- ture? So the believing mate must always
ing divided households, Jesus said: In- remember that keeping integrity works for
deed, a mans enemies w ill be persons of the benefit not only of the believer, but
his own household, and then Jesus ex- also of the unbeliever.
plained: He that has greater affection
HELPING THE UNBELIEVING MATE
for father or mother than for me is not
THE SECOND GOAL
worthy of me; and he that has greater
1
2
The
believers
keeping integrity is a
affection for son or daughter than for me
must
if
the
second
goal is ever to be
is not worthy of m e. (Matt. 10:36, 37)
realizedand
that
is
to help the unbeIf it must come to a showdown, then
lieving
mate
to
learn
Gods
truth. To do
what? The believer must obey God as
this
the
believing
mate
tries
to stay with
ruler rather than men. (Acts 5:29) True,
the
unbelieving
mate.
By
living
together,
it may be a long war of nerves, but keep
the
unbeliever
is
in
constant
touch
with
the goal of integrity foremost. The betrue
worship,
and
this
is
most
beneficial
liever should refuse to become provoked
or loud, when the going gets difficult. Re- for the unbelieving mate and for the
alize that it is better to take abuse than children. Timothys mother, a Jewess,
to give it. (Eph. 4:26, 29, 31) And all who evidently remained with her unbelieving
are members of the Christian congrega- Greek husband, all the while imparting
tion can help these persons who are fight- Scriptural instruction to her son Timothy.
ing the battle of integrity on the home (Acts 16:1; 2 Tim. 1:5; 3:14, 15) This
front. Encourage them to endure, to keep home religious education of Timothy prevailed over any pagan influence of his
integrity to Almighty God.
10 Always remember this: The integrity Greek father. So when the apostle Paul
of the believer is a must to enable the un- came to town the first tim e, Timothy
believer to see the importance of loving joined his Jewish mother and his grandGods truth. Consider what might happen mother in becoming a Christian. (1 Tim.
if a wife fails to keep integrity by agreeing 1:1, 2; 2 Tim. 1:1, 2) Continuing to live
not to go to meetings of the Christian with an unbelieving mate may subject the
congregation. May not the husband feel believing one to some form of domestic
that these meetings could not be so im- persecution. But, rather than separate, the
portant after all or she would never give believer can accept this as suffering for
them up? May he not feel that her in- Christs sake and can strive to show the
terest in the Bible is merely a passing unbelieving mate good Christian endurfancy and nothing of any consequence? If ance. If, when you are doing good and
so, how can the believer expect the un- you suffer, you endure it, this is a thing
believer to take an interest in Gods Word? agreeable with God.1 Pet. 2:20.
13If your marriage mate is opposed to
11 On the other hand, if the w ife keeps
on going to m eetings of the Christian con- Gods truth, tactfully try to help the ungregation, explaining to her unbelieving believer. Gradually endeavor to reduce
husband why they are so important to her, the opposition. If the unbeliever is not ophe might in tim e be impressed. May not posed, but simply is indifferent, try to stir
the unbeliever eventually accept an invi- 12. (a) If the second goal in a divided household is to
be realized, w hat should the believer try to do? (b) If
tation to attend one of these meetings and staying
w ith an unbelieving m ate results in dom estic
thus see for him self their beneficial na- persecution, how should this be viewed?
A p r il

10, 11. W hy is keeping integ rity to God vital in helping

the unbeliever?

13. W hy should the believer never give up hope th at

the unbelieving m ate will respond to the B ibles message?

204

g&eWATCHTOWER

up interest gradually. Never give up in

your determination to help the unbelieving mate to learn Gods truth. As trouble and violence increase throughout the
earth, some unbelievers may be jarred into examining the Bibles explanation of
present-day events. Also circumstances
change. One husband who was unfavorable
to the m essage of Jehovahs witnesses had
an auto accident and narrowly escaped
death. The next day he asked his wife to
call a W itness, and a home Bible study
was started with him. There is always
hope that a divided household can be united. But to unite such a household, it is
absolutely vital that the believing mate
live up to the twofold goal: Keep integrity
and try to help the unbeliever to learn
Gods truth. Always work toward the goal
of a united household, praying Gods blessing upon your loving efforts.
THE CHRISTIAN HUSBAND IN
A DIVIDED HOME

14 Not always, of course, does a divided

household have an unbelieving husband;
the unbeliever may be the wife. If so, what
is the Christian husbands responsibility?
A dedicated, baptized worshiper of Jehovah God should give his unbelieving wife
no occasion for wanting to depart from
him. Because of the bettering effect of her
husbands belief upon him, she should see
all the more reason for being agreeable
to dwelling with him the same as before
he became a Christian witness of Jehovah.
Ones being a Christian husband in a divided home is a more favorable situation
than a w ifes having an unbelieving husband. This is because here the believer is
the head of his household. Though head
of the house, the Christian husband still
needs to use tact and kindness when
14. W hy is one's being a C hristian husband in a divided
house a m ore favorable situation, and w hat is the
husbands responsibility?

B rooklyn , N .Y .

speaking about Gods truth to his unbelieving mate. Properly the believing husband will kindly invite his w ife to accompany him to meetings of the Christian
congregation; but, if she refuses to respond
to the invitation, he will not become angry with her, nor will he allow any w ifely
opposition to cause him to neglect assodating with Gods people.Heb. 10:24, 25.
15 Why, then, does a w ife sometimes appear opposed to Gods truth? Although
there are many reasons, there are three
that the believer does well to consider:
16 (1) Is it possible that he seems to be
forcing Bible truth on her? If so, remember that it is vital to present the truth
tactfully at the right tim e to unbelieving
loved ones. A fine thing along this line
would be for mature Christian women to
call upon the unbelieving w ife to try to
kindle her interest and endeavor to start
a home Bible study with her.
17 (2) Is the believer insisting on his
personal desires that are not related to
Gods requirements and that seem to slight
her interests? How good it would be for
him to put aside a few desires to spend
some time doing what she wants!
18 (3) It may be that the unbelieving
wife is mainly opposed to her husbands
being away from home so much, rather
than the Bible truth itself. So he must realize that she needs companionship and
recreation provided by him. True, he cannot compromise Christian duties just to
please her, but he may have to adjust his
schedule to be with her more. His applying
these principles may cause her to look into
the faith that produced such loving consideration from him.
1*To help win his unbelieving wife to
Gods truth, the believing husband does
1518. W hat are three possibilities to consider w hen the
wife rem ains an unbeliever?
19. Like the apostle Paul, w hat principle should the
believing husband follow when try in g to save another?

A p r il

1, 1971

SEeWATCHTOWER.

well to pay heed to the principle followed

by the apostle Paul toward those he was
trying to save. Said the apostle: To the
Jews I became as a Jew, that I m ight gain
Jews . . . To the weak I became weak,
that I might gain the weak. I have become
all things to people of all sorts, that I
might by all means save some. (1 Cor.
9:20, 22) The apostle Paul sympathetically considered the problems of the Jews. He
respected their convictions, though he
knew them to be wrong. He did not mock,
despise or act intolerantly toward the Jews
he was endeavoring to save. Likewise
Christian husbands do well not to mock,
be intolerant or ridicule their unbelieving
wives. If they do, they w ill drive their
wives farther away. Instead, show empathy and love. Ask yourself: How would
I like to be dealt with if I were in the
same situation? Love endures all things.
1 Cor. 13:4-8.
20What if there are children in such a
divided household? The apostle Paul indicates what the Christian fathers duty
is: You, fathers, do not be irritating your
children, but go on bringing them up in
the discipline and mental-regulating of Jehovah. (Eph. 6:4) Note that the Christian father has the obligation from Jehovah as the head of the house to insist on
rearing his children as true Christians.
So as not to fail as the spiritual provider
of his family, it thus becomes mandatory
for him to lead the children in attendance
at meetings of the Christian congregation,
in the public sharing of the good news
of Gods kingdom and in having a home
Bible study with them. This is the wise
course and may have the same gratifying
results that came to a W itness in Panama
who started a home Bible study with his
children. Imagine his joy when his op20. W hen there are children in a divided household,
what is the C hristian fa th e rs responsibility?

205

posed wife began to listen and take part

in the study and eventually came to accept Gods truth!
21 Taking the lead with the children also
requires balance. It would not be wise for
him and the children to leave his wife
home alone all day, as she would quite
naturally resent it. How fine it would be
for him considerately to arrange his schedule perhaps to engage in the field m inistry
on Saturdays and attend the meetings on
Sundays, thereby providing part of these
days for the whole fam ily to be together.
This loving course w ill likely unite his
children with him in the Bibles truth and
may bring the blessing of the w ifes accepting it.
22 Suppose, now, that the situation is
that the w ife really is opposed to true
Christianity. What if she openly expresses
herself as being against it and even speaks
against her husband because of his love
and zeal for God? Then the husband must
endure under abuse and keep integrity.
Davids wife Michal spoke very belittlingly
of his worship of Jehovah, even to the
point of despising her husband in her
heart. David did not let her displeasure
dampen his zeal and enthusiasm and love
for God, did he? N ot at all! Nor did
faithful Job weaken in integrity when his
w ife and others of his companions spoke
against him. What fine examples for believing husbands with unbelieving mates!
2 Sam. 6:14-23; Job 2:9, 10; 16:19-21;
42:10, 11.
23 How should the husband react to his
w ifes unkind words? Romans 12:21 very
clearly answers: Do not let yourself be
conquered by the evil, but keep conquering the evil with the good. So it is evi21. W hy is balance w ith regard to C hristian privileges
and responsibilities im p o rtan t?
22, 23. W hen a wife abusively opposes her husband's
love and zeal for God, w hat should be his course of
conduct?

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fFEeWATCHTOWER

B rooklyn , N .Y .

dent that his answers must be mild, not in and tim e again that when she is apanger, which only makes m atters worse. proached tactfully, often a Bible study can
Women respond to kindness and love, not be started. In Malawi a circuit supervisor
to a hard pressing of matters. Love and of Jehovahs witnesses started home Bible
long-suffering wear down opposition and studies with five opposing wives by calling
may cause the opposer to respect ones on their husbands and tactfully asking the
faithful stand. This is the good advice giv- wives to join in. Shortly thereafter, the
en at Colossians 3:19: You husbands, wives said that they really appreciated the
keep on loving your wives and do not be Bible study that was started in their homes
bitterly angry with them . The point is and that it was sufficient for them to see
this: Be a better husbandmore consider- that this was the truth. They even ex*
ate, kind and understanding. The apostle pressed their desire to share in the King*
Peter encourages the Christian husband to dom ministry.
have the proper view of his wife, saying:
27 Thus friendly visits by mature ChrisYou husbands, continue dwelling in like tians have often been of great help in unitmanner with them according to knowl- ing divided households. In the Philippine
edge, assigning them honor as to a weaker Islands, for example, the w ife of one Witvessel, the feminine one.1 Pet. 3:7.
ness was so opposed that she would damp24
So win her to Gods truth as you wonen his clothing on days that she knew he
her to yourself when courting her. Do not might go out in the field m inistry, and
be dictatorial and harsh as so many world- she burned his Bible and Bible literature.
ly husbands are. In many ways you can However, a mature W itness made friendly
show her Christian consideration. Get her calls on the fam ily and was gradually able
thoughts before making final decisions. to overcome the prejudice of the wife. FiShow concern for her. Give as much time nally a Bible study was started with the enas possible to the one with whom you tire family. The study progressed well for
chose to share your life. Often reassure several months, and the w ife reached the
her of your continuing love.
point of dedicating her life to God. Imag25Remember, it is easy to lose your ine the joy of the husband as he him self
temper and speak in anger. But such talk baptized his wife in a nearby river! When
betrays a lack of self-control, a lack of they came out of the water they embraced
one of the fruits of Gods spirit. (Gal. 5: each other with tears in their eyes, thank22, 23) It takes a real man, a real Chris- ing Jehovah that their long-divided fam ily
tian man, to practice the fine conduct and was at last united in true worship through
tactful speaking of the truth that the Bible the help of a loving Christian brother.
outlines. So why lose self-control and be
28Never become discouraged, then, or
unhappy when you can bring forth the give up in your fine efforts to unite your
Christian fruitage of Gods spirit that household in true worship. Apply the good
brings true peace and happiness to you? counsel of Gods Word to your fam ily and
26 Even though a w ife may seem to op- be assured that Jehovahs blessing w ill be
pose Bible truth, it has been found time upon your household.Gal. 6:9.
24, 25. How can a believing husband show his unbelieving
wife C hristian consideration?
26. W hat can often be done to help opposing wives, as
illustrated by the success of a circuit servant in Malawi?

27,28. (a) W hat has been of g re at help in uniting

divided households, as illustrated by an experience in
the Philippine Islands? (b) So w hat is the Christian
course in a divided household?

dtic
Q iristiqn^/tfe
and Oiddren

senting the Bible

H EN th e
---------------------------------------liv e s of
truth to the unbelieving family
people are endanhead th er e are
gered, such as in
certain things
fires, floods, and
that believing
so forth, rescue
w iv es and chilwork is urgent.
dren can do and
At time s, howcertain things
ever, on account
they should avoid.
of th o u g h t l es sness or carelessALWAYS WITH
ness lives are lost.
GRACIOUSNESS
In this there is a
4In h e l p i n g
lesson for Jehoo t h e r s in t h i s
vahs w itn esses.
You wives, be in subjection to your own husbands, in order
that, if any are not obedient to the word, they may be won
manner, it is imHow so? Because
without a word through the conduct of their wives.1 Pet. 3:1.
portent to try to
they realize that
this system of things and all who are a place ourselves in the position of the
part of it will be destroyed in the not-so- other person. By doing so, we can see
distant future. But before that happens how unwise it would be to bring up Bithey must continue to aid people to come ble truth continually. Personally we would
out of this doomed system and to enter not enjoy repeatedly hearing a subject
the narrow gate that leads to everlast- discussed that did not interest us. Even
ing life in Gods new system of things. if we had some interest in it, too many
words could easily turn us against the
Matt. 7:13, 14.
2Certainly Jehovahs witnesses do not whole thing. Hence, in presenting the
want to neglect anyone or make it more truth from the Bible to an unbelieving
difficult for others to learn Gods truth husband, how inappropriate it would be
because of thoughtless words or actions for a wife to try to force the truth on him,
on their p art This would also be true in to call him stubborn or to make uncomplia divided household. There are tim es when mentary remarks about his not seeing the
husbands are not actually opposed, but truth. Doing so would not be in harmony
have been neglected. For example, one with the apostle Pauls counsel at Coloswife in talking to her husband about the sians 4:6: Let your utterance be always
meetings of the Christian congregation with graciousness, seasoned with salt, so
was told, But youve never invited me. as to know how you ought to give an anSo a tactful invitation to the congrega- swer to each one.
tions meeting is not to be neglected at
5
Here the apostle Paul is telling Christhe opportune time.
tians that it is not only what you say that
8Wives and children in fam ilies where matters, but equally as vital is how you
the husband and father is not a believer say it! The apostle is talking about how
would surely want to do everything they
4. In view of Colossians 4:6, w hat w ill C hristian wives
can to aid him to take his stand for Je- avoid when try in g to help th e ir unbelieving husbands
tru th ?
hovah and His kingdom. However, in pre- 5,to 6.see(a)God's
W hat does it m ean to speak God's m essage

in a

1-3. W hy is spiritual rescue w ork now u rg e n t? How

can neglect be a factor in a divided household?

always w ith graciousness, and w hy is th is so imp o rtan t? (b) So how will a C hristian wife n o t react
when her husband shows no in te rest in Bible tru th ?

207

208

B r o oklyn , N .Y .
SFEeWATCHTOWER.
you speak Bible truth to others. We need in return. When he was suffering, he
to remember that there is an art of pre- not go threatening, but kept on commitsenting information. The Christian mes- ting himself to the one who judges righsage can lose its force if the way we say teously. (1 Pet. 2 :2 1 2 3 )That is the wise
it is not always with graciousness. This course for Christian wives.
does not require flattery, but it means
THE QUIET AND MILD SPIRIT"
speaking Gods truth in a way that is
8
There
is another way in which a wife
profitable to one and upbuilding. And
can
witness
to her husband, regardless of
always means not only when the Chrishow
opposed
he m ight be to Bible truth.
tian m inister is preaching from house to
That
is
by
her
fine conduct. The apostle
house but also at home! So, when opporPeter
stresses
the
value of this fine contunities arise to present a knowledge of
duct.
He
writes:
In like manner, you
Gods truth to an unbelieving husband, the
wives,
be
in
subjection
to your own husbelieving wife would want to make the
bands,
in
order
that,
if
any are not obebest of them, doing so always with gradient
to
the
word,
they
may
be won withciousness. She does this by being tactful
out
a
word
through
the
conduct
of their
and kind.
wives,
because
of
having
been
eyewitness8 When a wife presents Bible truth kindly to her husband and there is no response, es of your chaste conduct together with
then what? Should she act terribly dis- deep respect. And do not let your adornappointed? Should she then become an- ment be that of the external braiding of
gry? No! Instead of showing open dis- the hair and of the putting on of gold orappointment or becoming angry with her naments or the wearing of outer garments,
husband, the Christian wife does well to but let it be the secret person of the heart
close the m atter when it is appropriate. in the incorruptible apparel of the quiet
She does not press matters too far, nor and mild spirit, which is of great value in
the eyes of God. 1 Pet. 3:1-4.
does she become overanxious.
7Showing respect toward her husbandly 9 The apostle Peter emphasizes the valhead, the Christian wife would not use ue of fine conduct and the quiet and
mild spirit. From the context we learn
Gods truth to threaten him. (Eph. 5:33)
that the apostle is discussing the Lord JeEven if he rejects the truth, does not want
sus Christ and how mildness distinguished
to hear about it, or even treats his wife
him. When he was undergoing injustices,
abusively, reviling her, she would not be
he refused to make vehement protest. He
justified in using the truth to threaten
him. When her gracious words are rejected went like a lamb to the slaughter, knowing it was Gods will for him. There was
or she is treated abusively, the Christian
no loud, strong protest, no departing from
wife does well to remember Jesus exampie. Concerning this, the apostle Peter mildness. And so Peter, talking to marwrote: In fact, to this course you were ried women, stresses that mildness has
called, because even Christ suffered for great value in the eyes of God. He conyou, leaving you a model for you to follow trasts mildness with the outward adornment by which some women largely try to
his steps closely. He committed no sin, nor
capture the attention and affection of their
was deception found in his mouth. When
8. In w hat powerful way can a C hristian wife witness
he was being reviled, he did not go reviling to her unbelieving husband, as stated by the apostle
7. W hen an unbeliever trea ts his believing wife abusively, is she ever justified in using the tru th to threaten
him ? Explain.

P eter ?
9. W hat quality should distinguish ones C hristian conduct, as illustrated by Jesus and as recom mended by
P eter? W hy?

A pril 1, 1971

SBeWATCHTOWER

209

husbands, that is, by the garments of out- ter. Upon learning that it was Bible truth,
ward apparel. But unlike cloth garments the husband also began to study the Bible
that get old and wear out, the apostle Pe- with Jehovahs witnesses, and soon made
ter calls mildness som ething that is in- progress to the extent that now he wanted
corruptible. It is incorruptible apparel. to share the good news with his friends
10
Though not pretentious, mildnessand neighbors. Here was a home in which
works; it brings good results. An answer, the husband was ready to leave, but the
when mild, turns away rage. And a mild change in his w ifes conduct due to studyto n g u e i t s e l f can
ing the Bible united
break a b o n e .
what was rapidly be(Prov. 15:1; 25:15)
c o m i n g a divided
NEXT ISSU E!
Mildness thus betohome.
kens not weakness
12 Illustrating that
Restoration of All Things
but stren gth . One
an unbelieving husof Which God Spoke
must develop spiriband ca n be won
tual inward strength
to Gods t r u t h by
in order to show
the fine conduct
mildness and quietness. Thus if a Chris- of his w ife is an experience in Hungary.
tian woman is married to an unbeliev- An unbelieving husband treated his Chrising husband, she is not to rise up in in- tian wife cruelly, often beating her undignation and anger and engage in an til she was unconscious. But she kept
altercation or argument w ith her husband. integrity to God, and always dealt with
A strong-willed w ife may actually hinder her husband patiently and with love, and
her mate in learning Gods truth. But this over a period of years. On one ocmildness, when coupled with quietness, is casion she told her husband kindly but
effective, for it is Gods way.
firmly: Here I am and you can kill me,
11Many are the examples of how the but even so I shall trust in Jehovah! This
quiet and mild spirit has helped unbe- man had a friendship with a local priest,
lieving husbands. In one case a wife began who had full confidence in the husband
to study the Bible with Jehovahs wit- because he was fighting against Jehovahs
nesses. After a few weeks she began to witnesses, not even sparing his own wife.
change her personality. Previously she had One day the priest told this man that he
a violent temper and used profane lan- should not even take a Bible into his hand.
guage. Her husband had threatened to Shocked, the husband asked, Well, is it a
leave home because of the cursing and the sin to read the Bible? The priest replied
way she was treating the children. After that it was not but if he did, he m ight one
this wife had studied the Bible for some day nourish beliefs the same as his wife.
weeks with Jehovahs witnesses, her hus- The man then admitted how loving and
band came to the W itness conducting the patient his w ife was despite his hard dealstudy and asked what was causing his wife ings w ith her. He told the priest that if
to change so much. She was now beginning Bible reading produces such results, it
to control her spirit, to use better lan- seemed worth while to read Gods Word.
guage and to treat her children much bet- He begem attending m eetings of the Chris10. (a) W hy does mildness betoken, not weakness, but
tian congregation with his w ife and took
stren g th ? (b) W hy m ust th e strong-w illed wife be
especially careful to show m ildness ?
up preaching the very truth he had for11, 12. Illu stra te th a t m ildness and fine C hristian conmerly opposed.
duct can w in unbelievers to God's tru th .

210

B rooklyn , N .Y .
3HeWATCHTOWER.
18 When an unbelieving husband ob- herself as the one who should make the
serves the fine conduct of his believing fam ily decisions because of her knowing
wife, he may come to appreciate that she Bible truth. So, she w ill respect her hushas something that he does not have. And band, and her good example w ill help him
he m ay want to be like her. However, even to appreciate the value of Bible truth. Her
if the unbeliever does not accept Gods chaste conduct with deep respect may open
truth, the w ife certainly is not the loser his eyes to see what a fine w ife he has
for having applied the inspired counsel and lead him to accept Gods truth. What
given by the apostle Peter. Mildness, we a blessing that would prove to be for him
need to remember, is also of great value and for her!Eph. 5:33.
in the eyes of God. Hence the believing
GOOD PLANNING
w ife can rest assured of Jehovahs tender
17Besides speaking with graciousness
care.
and showing the quiet and mild spirit,
14As the apostle Peter indicates, the what else may a Christian w ife do to help
quiet and mild spirit displayed by the her husband see Gods truth? Good planChristian wife w ill cause her to be sub- ning is important so that she w ill be well
m issive to her husband. This is Jehovahs balanced in her activities, not neglecting
w ill for Christian wives, just as much as her children nor her husband nor her
it Is his w ill for them to have a part in Christian privileges.
preaching the Kingdom good news. (Titus
18 Good planning w ill help the Christian
2:4, 5) And a w ife with an unbelieving wife to refrain from doing anything that
mate has the added incentive to be sub- might contribute to her husband's building
m issive in compliance with the divine will up resentment for Gods truth. To illusso that in this way she m ight help a loved trate, the unbelieving husband may wish
one to learn Gods truthEph. 5:21, 22. to be with his wife for the weekend. How15 A w ifes submissiveness, of course, is ever, because his w ife shares in the field
not absolute but relative. If her husband ministry and goes to the m eetings of the
tries to cause her to violate Gods law, she Christian congregation, he may begin to
follows the example of the apostles, who feel that his w ifes religion is taking her
said: We must obey God as ruler rather away from him. While he may not object
than men.Acts 5:29.
to her being gone for a few hours to a
meeting,
he may very much dislike his
18At all tim es, though, the believing
w ife should strive to be a model Christian w ifes being away for prolonged periods.
wife, carrying out all w ifely duties to the In this case good planning on the part of
best of her ability. Never should she give the wife is necessary. She m ight arrange
her husband reason to complain that she to share in the m inistry on the weekis neglecting to care for the home and days when her husband is away. Perhaps
children properly. At no tim e will she view this w ill require curtailing her Christian
ministerial activity to some extent, but
13. (a) So because of his w ifes fine conduct, w hat m ay
an unbelieving husband eventually realize? (b) Why is
still not forsaking the Christian obligath e C hristian wife never the loser for applying P e ters
tion to share the good news and to asseminspired counsel?
14,15. (a) W hat incentives does a believing wife have
ble regularly with fellow believers.
for being submissive to h er unbelieving husband?
(b) Is h er submissiveness absolute?
16. In striving to be a model C hristian wife, w hat will
th e believer do? And w hat m ay be the result?

17, 18. Explain why good planning is also im portant in

helping th e unbelieving husband.

A p r il

1, 1971

SReWATCHTOWER

INDIRECT HELP

19There are also other ways in which

Christian wives can help their unbelieving
husbands, but in a somewhat indirect manner. For example, a Christian wife m ight
ask her husband for suggestions in preparing a talk for the Theocratic Ministry
School. This was recommended to a believing wife in Bolivia. Her husband had
threatened her w ith violence if she ever
were to participate in the door-to-door
preaching work. However, she enlisted her
husbands aid in preparing talks for the
Theocratic Ministry School. In time, this
mans attitude improved. He eventually became the Bible study servant in the Christian congregation!
20 Another thing a w ife can do to interest her husband indirectly in Gods Word
is to leave some Bible literature in an appropriate place in the home. It may be
an article on some subject in which her
husband has a particular interest. A t some
time when the w ife is busy or away, her
husband may be in search of good reading
matter and may richly benefit from the
material that the wife has made available.
Of course, should a husband resent having
Bible literature out in the open, then it
would be best to keep such publications in
a private place.
21 Certain publications of the Watch
Tower Society have been particularly effective in helping unbelievers, even those
who seem opposed, to appreciate the reasonableness of Bible truth. Some opposed
mates, although accepting little or nothing else, have accepted and enjoyed reading the Watch Tower Societys book Did
Man Get Here by Evolution or by Creation? Speaking of this publication, one
circuit supervisor of Jehovahs witnesses
observed: Quite a number of men in this
19. How m ight a C hristian wife help her husband spiritually in an indirect m anner?
20, 21. (a) W hat else can a C hristian wife do to help
her unbelieving husband? (b) W hat publications of
the Society have especially helped unbelieving husbands?

211

circuit, m ostly husbands of believing wornen in the congregations, have come to appredate the clear, logical arguments presented in this publication. This has helped
some to be more tolerant of their wives
Christian activities. The book Is the
ble Ready the Word of God? is another
fine publication for helping unbelieving
husbands.
FRIENDLY CALLS ON THE UNBELIEVER

24
Often it is possible for mature Christians to make friendly calls on the unbelieving husband. He may have a wrong impression of Jehovahs people and this can
eventually be corrected. The purpose of
such calls is to get to know him, to befriend him. It will be helpful to find out
what his interests are, because people enjoy talking about what they really like.
So it would be good for the believing wife
to enlist the aid of a mature Christian
brother, perhaps one who has some interest along the line of the unbelievers
likes, such as fishing, farming, a knowledge of sports, and so forth. A few friendly visits w ill often break down prejudice
and enable the m inister to correct any
false impressions.
23 Some mature Christians have found
it helpful to invite the unbelieving husband and his Christian w ife to come to
dinner, with a view to getting acquainted
and to breaking down prejudice that may
exist. Some have found that when an
unbelieving husband has a business, by
patronizing that business they have been
able to get better acquainted with him.
24 Should the unbeliever become sick or
be confined to a.hospital, friendly visits by
dedicated Christians may encourage him
in many ways. Consider this example of
an unbelieving husband in Luxembourg.
2224. (a) How can the w rong im pressions of an unbelieving husband often be corrected? (b) W hat opportunities are th ere for m atu re C hristians to get acquainted
with an unbelieving husband?

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SfteWATCHTOWER

B rooklyn , N .Y .

during the study. The

husband may then relax m ore and speak
more freely.
26
C hristian congregatio n will e s p e c ia l ly
want to be of help to
b elievin g w ives w ith
unbelieving husbands,
to help to unite the divided household. One
o v e rsee r who put
forth special efforts in
this regard was greatly
blessed.
Over
a
period of about two
He became very ill and had to go to the
years
he
had
Bible
studies
with eight hushospital. During this tim e he was afraid
bands,
three
of
whom
are
making good
of dying, and he began to read Bible litprogress.
I
find,
he
reports,
that these
erature. N ot one of his fellow employees
unbelieving
husbands
will
respond
when
visited him in the hospital, but Jehovahs
called
on
by
men,
especially
by
the
overwitnesses did. This made such an impresseer.
sion upon him that he started to attend
27 If an unbelieving husband is reluctant
the congregation meetings after his reto
join the Bible study, it may still be poscovery. In this way he learned Gods truth,
and he became a dedicated, baptized Chris- sible to help him to sit in on it, not with
the idea that he would have an active part
tian.
in the study, but merely to be there to
STARTING A HOME BIBLE STUDY
check the things being taught his w ife to
25
In making friendly calls on the unbe-see whether they are true. This opportulieving husband, Christians want to work nity for him to hear the kind of informatoward the objective of starting a Bible tion that his wife is receiving may favorstudy with him. Frequently, husbands do ably influence him in a very short time.
not like to have wives teach them reli- A wife who tactfully asks her husband to
gion, but prefer to be taught by other men. sit in on the Bible study to make certain
If the believing w ife is not too far ad- that what she is being taught is all truth
vanced in Bible knowledge, it may be pos- from the Bible may find her husband resible for a W itness to invite the unbeliev- sponding to the authority and logic of
ing husband to study along with his wife. God's Word.
However, when the wife is advanced in
FINE CONDUCT OF THE CHILDREN
Bible truth, the husbands pride is a fac28 Frequently, there is another avenue
tor that may have to be taken into consideration. Should a W itness succeed in start- by which the unbelieving husband can be
ing a study w ith the man, it may be 26, 27. (a) Who can be of g re at help to believing wives
ith unbelieving husbands, and w hat did one overseer
advisable for the w ife to leave the room w
say In this reg ard ? (b) If an unbelieving husband Is
25. (a) W hat should be the objective in m aking friendly
calls on the unbelieving husband? (b) If the wife is
advanced in Bible tru th , w hat course m ay be advisable?

reluctant to participate in a Bible study, how m ay he

be helped to sit in on it?
28. In order for children to help th eir unbelieving
fathers to learn Gods tru th , how m ust they be train ed ?

Se

A pril 1, 1971

SHeWATCHTOWER

assisted, and that is through his children.

The mother can in many cases tactfully
arrange to have the children go with her
to the m eetings of the Christian congregation and share in the field ministry.
Should the husband object, the w ife may
accede to her husbands wishes. Nevertheless, at home the mother can teach the
children Bible principles as to how they
should conduct themselves. Children so
trained can do much to encourage an unbelieving parent to look into the Bible.
28When believing children show obedience and respect to their unbelieving parent, they are doing the w ill of God. Showing respect toward the unbeliever is very
important. If the unbeliever saw his children studying the Bible with their mother
and yet noted that they were becoming
hostile toward him, would this cause him
to view the Bible favorably? The answer
is obvious. How important it is therefore
for children to heed the Bibles counsel:
Be obedient to your parents in everything, that is, everything not contrary
to Gods will. (Col. 3:20) Believing children should respond eagerly and willingly
to requests to do something, whether it
be to wash or dry dishes, set the table,
mow the lawn or do something else.
30 When the unbeliever observes the fine
spirit of his children, which is so unlike
29, 30. (a) W hy is respect for the unbelieving parent
im portant? (b) W hen an unbeliever observes the fine
conduct of his children, w hat m ay result?

213

that of great numbers of disrespectful

youths of the world, it m ay move him to
investigate their faith. When he sees that
they do not steal, tell lies or get into trouble, he may see the contrast between his
children and worldly ones, causing him to
think or say, My children dont do that.
This may be just the thing to aid the unbeliever in opening his eyes to see that
Bible truth is worth investigating. What
a blessing this would be for God-fearing
children!
31Really, much can be done to work
toward uniting a divided household. Keep
the two goals (maintaining integrity and
being alert to help the unbeliever) foremost in mind. Speak about Gods truth
always with graciousness, remembering
that mildness breaks down opposition.
Fine conduct works in a powerful way,
enabling the Christian w ife in many cases
to win her husband to Gods truth without a word. Good planning w ill aid the
believer to be well-balanced in all activities. Use the various means of indirect aid.
Arrange for friendly calls on the unbeliever, with the goal of starting a Bible
study to unite the fam ily. Do not give up
hope. Be encouraged by Gods Word and
what it records at 1 Corinthians 7:16 and
1 Peter 3:1. Do your best under the circumstances, and be assured of the blessing
of the Father of tender mercies and the
God of all comfort.2 Cor. 1:3.
31. Summarize some of the things th a t can be done
to help unite a divided household.

W h y Early Christians Were Persecuted

# Roman history is stained with the blood of
the early followers of Jesus Christ. Why?
Philip Schaff answers this in his book History
of the Christian Church:
*The conscientious refusal of the Christians
to pay divine honors to the emperor and
his statue, and to take part in any idolatrous
ceremonies at public festivities, their aversion
to the imperial military service, their disregard for politics and depreciation of all civil

and temporal affairs as compared with the

spiritual and eternal interests of man, their
close brotherly union and frequent meetings,
drew upon them the suspicion of hostility to
the Caesars and the Roman people.
Yes, the early Christians were objects of
hatred because, in these matters for which
they were persecuted, they were *obeying
God as ruler rather than men.*Mark 13:
13; Acts 5:29.

Preach Gods Kingdom with the Right Viewpoint

W h a t exam ples do w e h ave to encourage us
to preach Gods kingdom w ith th e rig h t v ie w - 5
poin t?

Our chief Exemplar, of course, is Jesus

Christ, Gods Son. He appreciated that preach- Ij
ing Gods kingdom was the greatest privilege V
that could be extended to anyone. That is
why he said: I must declare the good news 5
of the kingdom of God, because for this I was S
sent forth. And he continued faithful re- \
gardless of what others did or failed to do. 5
Luke 4:43; 8:1; Mark 1:38.

Jesus right viewpoint included having a

close personal relationship with his heavenly
Father. He found delight in preaching Gods S
kingdom because it provided him with oppor-
tunities to prove his unbreakable love for i
God, thereby furnishing his Father a reply i
to Satans taunt that humans will not serve \
him out of love for him.Job, chapters 1 and
2; Ps. 40:8; Prov. 27:11.
^
Jesus apostles likewise had the right view- S
point of Kingdom preaching. They left all \
things and kept following Jesus to share in
that work. Without letup every day, in the i
temple and from house to house they con-
tinued teaching and declaring the good news 5
about the Christ.Mark 10:28; Acts 5:42. i
In the apostle Paul we have another fine S
example of preachingGods kingdom with
the right viewpoint. He had much of which f
to boast after the flesh, but he gave it all i
up to preach Gods kingdom. What a record
he made, as he tells it at 2 Corinthians 11:22- Jj
33 and at Philippians 3:48. Even when in \
prison he kindly received all those who came J
in to him, preaching the kingdom of God to 5
them and teaching the things concerning the
Lord Jesus Christ with the greatest freeness
of speech, without hindrance.Acts 28:30, S
31.*

In modern times, among the many exam- %

pies that might be cited is that of the young
American couple that had settled down in
a fine home and were planning to raise a
family. Then one day the husband came home ^
and said to his wife: Just what difference is %
there between us and the people of Christen- \
dom? We are contenting ourselves with mere ^
token service when there is nothing to keep S
us from being in the full-time ministry. Lets \
* F or details see The W atchtower, March 15, 1970.
214

quit our secular jobs, sell our home and enter

the full-time pioneer ministry. His wife
gulped, for she had been looking forward
to the joys of motherhood, to bearing and
rearing a number of children. But she went
to Jehovah in prayer and asked his help. And
he did help her. So they entered the pioneer
ministry and in a few years were invited to
attend the Gilead missionary school. For
some years now they have been very joyful
serving as missionaries in a South American
country.
How will having the right viewpoint help
us to preach Gods kingdom ?
The right viewpoint will help us to preach
Gods kingdom because it means appreciating
that Gods kingdom must come first in our
lives. It will keep us from becoming lovers
of pleasures rather than lovers of God and
it will help us to buy out the opportune time
for preaching Gods kingdom. It will help
us to turn off the television set in time to
get a good nights rest, especially on Saturday night.Matt. 6:33; Eph. 5:15,16.
This right viewpoint will also help us because it includes appreciating that we are
dedicated to a person, Jehovah God, and not
just to a work. So regardless of how many
doors are slammed in our faces we will be
able to continue faithful, knowing that our
work is successful so long as we are pleasing
to God and contributing to the vindication
of his name.
We will also be diligent to improve our
skill in presenting the Kingdom message, to
improve our tact in dealing with objectors,
if we have the right viewpoint of preaching
Gods kingdom. It will even motivate us to
improve our voices if they are unpleasant
to listen to. (Helpful along this line being
an article recently published in Awake! December 22, 1970.) We may never have given
it any thought, but really, whether we have
a pleasing voice or not may make the difference between whether the householder behind
the door opens it to us or not. Especially is
a good tone of voice an asset to the public
preacher of Gods kingdom.
In all such ways and many more, having
the right viewpoint can help us in preaching
Gods kingdom.

1V E N as a y o u n g s t e r I
learned to have a deep respect for the name of the Great
Creator, Jehovah. A t home I had
opportunity to read about that
name in the Bible. And when
I attended Lutheran religious
services with my fam ily I often
felt deeply touched by songs that
made use of that name. I wanted
to praise that name, just as the
inspired writer of Psalms invited
fellow worshipers to do. (Ps. 66:
1, 2) But I did not know how.
In the quiet of our home in AS TOLD BY
B avaria, Germ any, it m ight
seem that we would be far from the stresses and strains of world developments, but
in 1914 they began to affect us. War already raged throughout much of Europe.
Some were against it, though many favored it; among them particularly the
clergy. I can recall the Lutheran priest
telling us from the pulpit that if the govemment declares war . . . it is because
Gods will m anifests itself in favor of it.
Like many other youths I had to go to
the nearest city to join the army. On the
way I had a conversation with my father.
He did not agree with the priests view,
and I can well recall his saying: I dont
think its right for Lutherans to kill Lutherans, and Catholics to kill Catholics.
In the trenches there was no tim e for
spiritual thoughts. We seemed to be continually on the move, transferring from
one place to another until we got to the
port of Reval (now Tallin) on the Baltic
Sea. The days passed, and then came 1918
and the Armistice. We sailed back to
215

Germany and home. My

cousin, who w as a B ible
Student, as Jehovahs witnesses were then known,
gave me one of C. T. Russells booklets What Say the
Scriptures A bout Hell? He
promised to return the following week so we m ight talk
about it some more. So great
did my interest become that I
wrote the W atch Tower Societys office in Barmen-Elberfeld requesting one of every
available book by R ussell. I
also subscribed for the Watch
Tower m agazine. W ithin a
week I received four books, one
of them being The Divine Plan
of the Ages.
So engrossed was I in this
CARLOS OTT
book that I was still reading at
four the following morning. My father,
when he heard about it, scolded me, saying: Stop reading so much . . . you are
wasting too much electricity. As I continued my reading I began to see that a
life of devotion to Jehovah God was required. I learned, too, that the decision to
dedicate ones life to God could not properly be made merely on the basis of emotion. It would mean a complete change in
ones way of life.
I WANTED TO PREACH

Having learned that others were spreading the good news of Gods kingdom by
means of literature of the Watch Tower
Society, I wanted to share in that work.
But I did not feel sufficiently qualified.
I really tried to get in touch with the Bible Students. Finally I located a congregation in Nuremberg and began to study
with them. Many of their number visited
me and by conversation stirred up m y desire to share the good news w ith others.

216

B r o o k l y n , N .Y .
Sf&eWATCHTOWER.
I began passing on to members of my own fifty-one years, I can testify that m y confam ily the things I was learning. Two of fidence was not misplaced.
my sisters later joined me in association
When the Society asked where I wished
w ith the Bible Students. Very soon I was to serve, I suggested Ingolstadt, because
sharing in the distribution of literature I was interested in learning all about the
from door to door, and even started visit- organizational setup of a congregation of
ing other nearby towns where we wit- Gods people. Soon I was sent to northern
nessed to the people and put on public Bavaria, and by 1922 a group of us pioBible lectures.
neers or full-tim e preachers of Gods Word
Our campaign of Bible education an- had visited eight cities and established Bigered the clergy and they incited the au- ble study centers, many of which develthorities against us. The police visited me oped into active congregations of Jehoand asked: Who pays you to do this vahs witnesses later.
work? I answered that nobody did, that
In May 1925, during a convention in
I was doing it for Gods sake. They re- Magdeburg, where the Societys branch
plied: Do you think God is going to pay office was then located, President J. F.
you for what you are doing? Yes, I an- Rutherford asked me to go to Argentina,
swered without hesitation, I am positive South America. Imagine what a thrill that
about that, and that is why I am praising was! Crossing the Atlantic to serve in terGod openly. My father, I recall, took my ritory where very little Kingdom work had
side in that discussion.
yet been done! I was overjoyed.
I embarked on July 12 and arrived in
ENLARGING MY SERVICE
Buenos Aires on July 26. Juan Muniz, the
When I was privileged to attend a show- Societys representative in Argentina, and
ing of the Photo-Drama of Creation, a two other W itnesses were awaiting my arslide-and-movie presentation of the Bibles rival. They had just received four tons of
true-life story with appropriate commen- Bible tracts, and it was our job to distribtary, it helped me to decide to dedicate ute them. We would get up early in the
m yself to God and be his minister. That morning and by breakfast time we would
dedication I symbolized by water baptism have distributed thousands of tracts. These
on August 19, 1919. Though I was still were put under doors and in other places
helping my father on the farm, I started where people would find them.
to think about a life of full-time service
From our home, which was also a meeting place for Bible study, we organized
in the preaching ministry.
Finally I wrote the Society. Father the work of spreading the Kingdom mesthought I was being unrealistic and told sage by house-to-house visits. Publications
me I would starve. My answer was that we used included the booklet Millions Now
Jehovah had used ravens to feed the Living Will Never Die, the Photo-Drama
of Creation in book form, The Divine Plan
prophet Elijah (1 Ki. 17:6), that Jesus
of the Ages, and The Harp of God. I enfed five thousand people with a few loaves joyed visiting schools, especially German
of bread and some fish, and Luke 22:35 schools, where we used to obtain the adrelates that when Jesus asked his disciples dresses of the studentsabout 300 in two
whether they had experienced any want months time. The objective was to take
in his service, their answer was No. I to their parents the good news of the Kingtrusted in Jehovah, and now, after some dom in their own language. Thrilling, too,

A pril 1, 1971

217
^eW ATCHTOW ER.
it was to see the first two of those GermanIn 1949 President Knorr again visited
speaking people step out to symbolize their Argentina, this tim e accompanied by his
dedication to Jehovah!
secretary, Milton Henschel. We planned an
During some years I was sent to various assembly in a centrally located facility in
parts of Argentina for the purpose of or- Buenos Aires, but the authorities, influganizing meetings for Bible discussion. enced by the clergy, denied us authorizaThen, in 1928, I was assigned to Monte- tion. So we then arranged for the assemvideo, Uruguay, where I was kept happily bly in our own hall on the Societys
busy in the Kingdom work for ten years. property. Again the police interfered, closIn 1939 I was recalled to Argentina, and ing down the assembly place and detaining
this time I was appointed as a pioneer min- some four hundred witnesses, including
ister and congregation overseer at Bahia President Knorr, for several hours. This
Blanca. Following a year of service there, was just one of the many occasions when
I was invited to serve in the Societys I was taken to the police station to exbranch office in Buenos Aires. My first job plain our work. If the clergy had had their
way, we m ight have been the victim s of
there was in the shipping department.
hotter persecution. It was always a joy,
GIRDING FOR EXPANDED SERVICE
however, to suffer in behalf of Jehovahs
That we were living in a tim e when truth.
great things were due to happen, we were
BLESSING APPRECIATED
all quite certain. In 1945 we eagerly anThroughout my course as one of Jehoticipated the visit of N. H. Knorr, the Societys president, to Argentina. He prom- vahs witnesses I have rejoiced to see the
ised to send some m issionary graduates growth of the Kingdom work and of the
from the Societys School of Gilead to help organization that God has brought into
with the vastly expanding opportunities of existence among men for the very purpose
the Kingdom-preaching work. Also, he told of spreading the Kingdom good news. I
us that some local W itnesses would in due can recall when we were just tw enty Kingtime be brought in to the Gilead School for dom publishers here, whereas now there
training.
are more than 18,700 W itnesses serving
During that visit President Knorr ar- Jehovah unitedly here in Argentina. And
ranged for us to start the weekly course in I attended three international convenBible and speech training in all of the con- tions in New Yorkone in 1953, one in
gregations in Argentina, an arrangement 1958, and most recently the one in 1963.
that has proved to be marvelously helpful
How thankful I am to Jehovah for those
in equipping Kingdom publishers in all
extra blessings!
parts of the country for their ministry.
To me it is also still a great privilege to
Personally I had the joy of establishing
be
able to live in this beautiful and comthis training provision, known as the Theocratic Ministry School, in several congre- fortable Bethel Home in Buenos Aires with
gations. A t the same tim e the country many fellow W itnesses with whom I can
was divided into districts or regions, with still happily serve. True, I am now in my
a district servant supervising each, and eighties and have undergone three operaeach district was subdivided into circuits, tions within a short period, so my strength
each comprising a group of congregations is not what it once was. But through Jehovahs undeserved kindness I have the
visited regularly by a circuit servant.

218

B r o o k l y n , N .Y .
SEeWATCHTOWER
joy of continuing to serve to the fullest of old. If, on the basis of long experience,
my capacity. I am still able to get to the I am considered as one who can offer mabreakfast table each weekday morning to ture Christian counsel, I would urge all
share w ith the Bethel Fam ily in our daily in Jehovahs organization, young and old,
discussion of a precious text from the Bible. to keep on faithfully in the way they chose
It is my earnest desire to carry on in when they dedicated their lives to the lovJehovahs service, w ith his help, until he ing and merciful God. Just as I have been
is disposed to grant me the heavenly in* blessed in all of m y years of Kingdom acheritance for which I have hoped. I have tivity, so you too can enjoy the peace and
been young in his service and now I am satisfaction that derives from his favor.

.B l e s s i n g s

FROM

F YOU are a
true Christian m in ister,
yours is a highly favored position. You have
a firm basis for
your faith in Jehovah God. You
h a v e a lso a
bright hope for the future, Gods kingdom.
Heb. 11:6; Rev. 21:3, 4.
But how deep is your concern for those
w ith whom it is your privilege to share
these good things? Are you really interested in their eternal welfare? If you are,
you w ill heed these instructions of Jesus
Christ to his followers: Go therefore and
make disciples . . . teaching them to observe all the things I have commanded
you. And you will take seriously the
Bibles command: Preach the word, be
at it urgently in favorable season, in
troublesome season.Matt. 28:19, 20;
2 Tim. 4:2.

work? Is it a work
that a person can neg leet and still gain
Gods favor?
T he C h ristian
apostle Paul indicated
the seriousness of the
m inistry when he encouraged h is fellow
worker T im othy:
Pay constant attention to yourself and
to y o u r t e a c h i n g .
Stay by these things,
for by doing this you will save both yourself and those who listen to you. The
m inistry is really that important! Sharing
in it conscientiously can mean the difference between enjoying eternally the blessings of Gods kingdom, and being cut off
from life forever.1 Tim. 4:16.
Servants of Jehovah God today are in a
position sim ilar to that of Gods prophet
Ezekiel some 2,500 years ago. Ezekiel
served as a watchman to warn the people
of Jehovahs coming judgments. Thus God
told him: O son of man, a watchman is
what I have made you to the house of
Israel, and at my mouth you must hear
the word and give them warning from me.
When I say to someone wicked, wicked
one, you will positively die! but you actually do not speak out to warn the wicked

TAKING
THE MINISTRY
SERIOUSLY

SERIOUSNESS OF THE MINISTRY

Really, how vital is it that Gods servants share in this preaching and teaching

A pril 1, 1971

219
f&eWATCHTOWER
one from his way, he him self as a wicked she had before moving to this particular
one will die in his own error, but his blood place.
I shall ask back at your own hand.Ezek.
In another instance a Christian minister
33:7, 8.
thought of neglecting a certain not-atToday Christians also have a warning home because on previous calls the housework to do. They are commissioned by God holder was strongly opposed to the Bibles
to warn of the approaching great tribu- message. Nevertheless, the effort was
lation that will annihilate this entire sys- made to call, and to the surprise of the
tern of things and those who remain a part minister a new fam ily had moved into the
of it. Thus lives are involved. Not only the house. The m inister reports:
lives of those who are warned are at stake,
She invited me in. I gave her the Bible
but also the lives of Gods own servants sermon and she subscribed for the Awake!
who are commissioned to give the warning. magazine. I was able to start a Bible study
So because of the seriousness of the mat- with her on this initial call. Within three
ter, Christian ministers need to be thor- weeks she was attending the m eetings at
ough in their m inistry. Are you? Do you the Kingdom Hall. A fter seeing the Societys picture, Proclaiming Everlasting
really take your m inistry seriously?
Good News, she discerned that the Witnesses did indeed have the right underCALLING BACK ON NOT-AT-HOMES
Following the example of Jesus and his standing of Gods Word. She began sharapostles, Christian m inisters of Jehovahs witnesses call on people at their
homes. But what if no one is there?
Would it really be taking the m inistry
seriously to forget persons living in
those homes?
To find persons at home often involves calling at another tim e of the
day. Why? Because as a matter of habit some people are not at home at certain times, such as is the case with
those who may go to church every Sunday morning. So they w ill have to be
reached on Sunday afternoons or at
some other time of the week. If you
are not in position to call at another time,
you m ight arrange for a fellow minister
to do so.
Illustrating the importance of trying to
contact persons at every home is the case
where no one was found at one house for
three years. When finally someone was
contacted it turned out to be a woman
who had been waiting all that tim e for a
Witness to call and resume the Bible study

220

B r o o k l y n , N .Y .
3fieWATCHTOWER.
Truly, this impressed upon the young
ing in preaching the good news of the
Kingdom and within six months of my minister the importance of not giving up
first call on this not-at-home she sym- in making return visits. Think of the blessbolized her dedication to do Jehovahs will ing he almost missed of helping this person onto the road to everlasting life! Are
by being baptized.
Truly, many blessings have been en- you missing similar blessings by failing to
joyed by Kingdom publishers who are be persistent in efforts to find persons who
thorough in their m inistry. Can you see have shown interest?
Making a sim ilar pointthat persistence
possibilities for contacting persons who
often is needed even when interested perpreviously were not at home?
sons are foundis another true-life experiMAKING RETURN VISITS
ence.
There is also the need to feel concern
A m inister placed two magazines with
about calling back on all who manifest in- a family. Concerned, he made it a point
terest. The following true-life experience to call back on them. On this call he was
underscores the need to be persistent in able to obtain a subscription for the
trying to locate such persons.
Awake! magazine. By persisting in making
A Christian m inister placed two maga- return visits he was able, at the end of
zines with a young man who had just been two months, to start a Bible study in their
discharged from the marines. He seemed home. As the study began the parents
to be searching for something better. Be- asked the children to go to the next room
cause of this the m inister who placed the so as not to disturb the study. However,
magazines with him made it a point to the Christian minister, concerned for the
call back. But not finding him at home, spiritual welfare of the children also, sugafter a few tries he scratched the name gested that they remain and join in the
study; a suggestion greatly appreciated by
off his list.
the
parents.
Then one day at a semiannual circuit
The m inister further showed his conassembly of Jehovahs witnesses this minister m et the man w ith another minister cem by inviting the fam ily to attend the
who had found him and had brought him meetings of the W itnesses at their Kingto the assembly. Because of sim ilarity of dom Hall. They readily accepted the inviage and of other interests it was decided tation, and their attending these meetings
that the first m inister study the Bible with resulted in their making still more progress. So it was that within six months of
him.
the tim e the study of the Bible was started
The ex-marine made rapid progress and
with this family, both parents took their
soon was sharing in the Christian minis- stand for Jehovah God and his kingdom
try. Then one day, after the two had en- and dedicated their lives to serve Jehovah
gaged in the house-to-house ministry, the and were baptized.
m inister was looking through his old recIf you are a Christian minister, do you
ords and found the name of this man call back whenever interest is shown? Do
scratched off his list as not interested be- you persist in efforts to start a Bible
cause he had not found him at home after study? You may enjoy similar blessings if
a few tries. And here he was, sitting along- you do.
side him, him self one of Jehovahs witOn the other hand, failure to make a
nesses!
return visit when one has said one would

221
SEeWATCHTOWER
may cause real disappointment. Thus a herself is a zealous Christian m inister and
minister placed two Bible study aids with so is her husband.
a woman and promised to call back. But
And then there was the very earnest
for some reason he failed to take his own Roman Catholic man in the broadcasting
word seriously. He may have felt that so profession. He had spent four years studyoften he had called back on others with- ing advanced mathematics at a university,
out finding any interest. However, be that but at heart he was searching for Bible
as it may, it so happened that this woman truth. One day he went to the office of one
was different. She was interestedso of the executives where he worked to ask
much so that she at once read the books. some questions about certain statements
Disappointed that the m inister did not this executive was supposed to have made.
call back as he had promised, this woman The executive happened to be one of Jewrote the publishers of the books, the hovahs witnesses who had been doing
Watch Tower Society, telling of her in- some incidental witnessing, but who had
terest and requesting that someone call been misquoted. He was glad to give this
on her. The Society sent the letter to Roman Catholic searcher for truth the
the congregation in whose assigned terri- correct information. It was suggested that
tory the householder lived. When the min- it would be best to discuss these things
ister heard about the letter, and recog- at home instead of on company time.
nized that the woman was one of his calls,
A few days later the man called again,
how did he feel? Well, he certainly saw asking the W itness when they could get
the need to take his m inistry more seri- together to discuss these things. Thus a
ously!
call was arranged and several Bible study
aids were placed with the man.
INCIDENTAL WITNESSING
A week later he asked about attending
And what about incidental witnessing
one of the meetings, but since his worktalking to people about Gods purposes
day began at four in the morning he was
wherever and whenever you happen to
able to stay for just the first meeting, the
meet them in your daily course of life?
Theocratic Ministry School. He found it
Those who are alert to do this often have
so interesting, the students so confident
many outstanding joys and blessings. Thus
and knowledgeable and the school servant
a Puerto Rican m issionary began witnessso instructive that he could hardly believe
ing to a college student while sharing a
his ears. When asked how he enjoyed it,
taxi ride with him. That incidental withe said: I've never seen such friendly,
ness started the young man on the way
confident people . . . even the children.
to life. Today he is a servant in a congreHe asked about the next meeting and
gation.
was
told it was Sunday morning. As the
One day at her secular place of employmans
w ife was away for a few weeks, the
ment a Christian m inister heard a woman
Witness
invited him for lunch after the
say that socialism was the only answer to
meeting.
The result was that they carried
world problems. This gave the W itness an
opportunity to tell the woman about the on a discussion from 2 to 11:30 p.m., durKingdom hope she had. Soon these discus- ing which tim e he also obtained more Bisions at work led to a regular Bible study ble study aids as well as the Yearbook of
in the home. In a few months the woman Jehovahs Witnesses. He attended the
began to witness to others and today she Tuesday night and Thursday night conA pril 1, 1971

B rooklyn , N .Y .
3fieWATCHTOWER
gregational meetings during the following hours of his secular work he is able to
take the lead in midweek witnessing. When
week, even taking part in them.
The next Sunday it was much the same his wife went away for a few weeks he
m eetings and luncheon, followed by a had not begun studying. When she restudy in the book The Truth That Leads turned he was already a dedicated Christo Eternal Life from 2 to 11:30. That tian m inister of God, and waiting to be
Wednesday they completed the study in baptized. It was almost too much for her,
the Truth book, upon which he asked, but it was not many studies before she was
W hat prevents me from getting bap- telling her relatives about the wonderful
tized? It was suggested that he get in things she had been learning from the
touch with the congregation overseer, Bible. Yes, what marvelous blessings can
which he did. He soon completed reading come from incidental witnessing!
So,My
if you are a Christian minister, take
the books
YourWord Is a Lamp to
Foot and Life Everlastingin Freedom your m inistry seriously. Try to reach all
of the Sons of God. W ithin three weeks those who are not at home when you first
from when he began the study in the call while going from house to house with
Truth booknot six monthshe was bap- the good news. Make return visits wherever persons show interest in Gods purtized!
The person continues as a zealous Chris- poses. And do not overlook the many
tian witness of Jehovah, averages from opportunities for incidental witnessing. Reforty to sixty hours a month, mostly in member, he that sows bountifully will also
door-to-door preaching. Because of the reap bountifully.2 Cor. 9:6.

222

What is the meaning of Proverbs 20:19, and

how does this apply to a Christians keeping
certain matters confidential?E. M., U.S.A.
The verse in question reads: He that is going
about as a slanderer is uncovering confidential
talk; and with one that is enticed with his lips
you must have no fellowship. The first part is
quite plain. A slanderer is a person who intentionally spreads harmful talk designed to put
someone in a bad light. Often to accomplish
this he deliberately makes public and distorts
things that were supposed to be kept confidential.
The second portion of the text is somewhat
parallel, but it deals with one that is enticed

with his lips. A person can be enticed with his

lips just as with his eyes or hands in that any
of these organs can allow him to be tempted
and drawn into evil ways. (Matt. 5:27-29) One
enticed with his lips is led astray into trouble
because his mouth is open in speaking whatever he hears. He has no protection, for he
does not control his speech. King David observed: I will guard my ways to keep from
sinning with my tongue. I will set a muzzle as a
guard to my own mouth. (Ps. 39:1) The person
that is enticed with his lips is just the opp0
site; he seldom keeps anything confidential.
Proverbs 20:19 counsels, You must have no
fellowship with him, for he can cause you
just as much trouble as a slanderer.
There are actually two aspects of this topic
of confidential matters. The latter half of Proverbs 20:19 focuses on one of them. The advice
basically is to be careful as to the one to whom
you entrust confidential matters. Sometimes a
person has certain private information or plans
that he does not want made public at present.
Perhaps he tells these to an acquaintance, ex-

A pril 1, 1971

SKeWATCHTOWEFL

pecting that one to keep the matters confidential, and he may even request as much. Later
he learns that the second person spread to
others the private information that was of no
real concern to them. The wise man will learn
from such an experience with an acquaintance
and determine accordingly how much he will
say in the future.
However, without in any way excusing the
habitual betrayer of confidences, it must be admitted that all humans are imperfect. The disciple James wrote: The tongue, not one of
mankind can get it tamed. (Jas. 3:8) Even persons with the best of intentions occasionally
make mistakes and unintentionally mention or
hint about things that they know ought to be
kept private. Thus, a degree of responsibility
rests on the person himself who has a matter
that he does not want made public. The more
persons to whom one tells a confidential matter,
the greater is the possibility that it will become
general knowledge. And when one tells such a
matter to a person who has proved himself to
be one that is enticed with his lips the possibility becomes a probability.
The other important aspect of this topic is
that of personally being trustworthy. Proverbs
25:9, 10 recommends this, saying: Plead your
own cause with your fellow man, and do not
reveal the confidential talk of another; that the
one listening may not put you to shame and the
bad report by you can have no recall. So there
is a stigma affixed to the one who needlessly
and without authorization reveals information
that he was expected to keep confidential. And
once a private matter has been publicized, there
is no recalling it despite all the complications
to which it may lead.
Let us consider some situations and relationships in life that bring to ones attention private information.
A husband and wife, being one flesh, are
aware of many family matters, plans or weaknesses that are understood to be confidential.
(Matt. 19:5) If either mate got into the habit
of thoughtlessly telling other people such
things, many problems could result. For exampie, perhaps a husband kiddingly comments to
others about an unusual personality trait his
wife has. When this gets back to the wife, she
easily might be offended. Though this is just an
illustration, it shows how a wedge can come
between the mate who expected the matter to

223

be kept confidential and the one who publicized

i t On the other hand, how the bond of love
between mates is strengthened when each sees
that the other is worthy of full trust in regard
to personal or family matters. (Eph. 5:25, 28)
Children also can be taught to use discretion
about repeating things they hear discussed
within the family circle.
In ones relationship as a close friend or
business associate a person sometimes knows
of things of a confidential nature. It would be
impossible to set any rules on just what should
be kept confidential in these relationships. But
a person can keep in mind that one strong
binding force between close friends is mutual
trust. (Prov. 18:24) If in your mind there is
any question as to whether something your
friend told you can be mentioned to others, it
is best not to, or at least not until you have his
permission. The same general view holds tine
in business matters, keeping in mind that one
could severely hurt ones employer economically
by revealing confidential business plans. The
Scriptures urge those in the relationship of
employees to exhibit good fidelity to the full.
Titus 2:9, 10.
Other situations that should be considered
involve the Christian congregation. In each
congregation of Jehovahs witnesses there are
mature ministers appointed to care for various
assignments. (1 Tim. 3:2,12) As they discharge
their duties they often are told about confidential things, and it is essential that they respect
this confidence. For instance, James 5:13-16
shows that a member of the congregation who
has some spiritual problem, perhaps even having committed a sin, should go to the spiritually older men for help. Isaiah 32:2 prophetically
pictured these men as places of comfort and
protection. What a fine thing it is to be able to
explain ones problem and get balanced spiritual
help, and at the same time have full confidence
that the matter will not become general knowledge in the congregation or community.
Those mature ministers will not discuss even
with their wives and close friends what they
thus learn in confidence. They know that if
they did so it would undermine respect for their
positions; it would make individuals hesitant
to come to them; yes, in time it might even
make it impossible for them to fulfill their role
as spiritual shepherds. Another reason why
they maintain this confidence is so as to avoid

gfieWATCHTOW ER

224

burdening others. For instance, if a man tells

his wife some confidential matter related to his
ministerial duties, she is put under pressure to
maintain that confidence. Is that fair to her as
the weaker vessel1) ? Pet. 3:7) Even if in a
moment of weakness she out of curiosity asked
her husband what took place or why he was
speaking with a certain person, the loving and
correct course is for him to say kindly that it is
a confidential matter regarding the congrega
tion. In that way she does not have to carry
unnecessary mental burdens. And if someone
asks her about the matter, she can honestly say
that she does not know the details.
All in the congregation should cooperate with
the appointed servants by not trying to obtain
the details on such confidential matters. Humans are somewhat curious by nature, and we
usually like to learn new things. This is not
bad. The number of new points about the Bible
and the Christian ministry that we can learn
and share with others is limitless. (Phil. 4:8)
Yet we need to keep our curiosity in check when
it comes to things that are confidential. Remem
ber Samson and Delilah. When he would not
tell her a secret that related to his theocratic
assignment, she said in effect, *You don't love
me.' And because she pressured him with her
words all the time and kept urging him, his
soul got to be impatient to the point of dying.
Finally he disclosed to her all his heart." (Judg.

B rooklyn , N .Y .

16:1517 )As a consequence, Samson suffered

personally and he also temporarily hurt the
cause of true worship by depriving Israel of his
leadership. (Judg. 16:20, 21) Surely no Christian
relative or friend today wants to copy Delilah's
example.
,There may be an occasion when the presiding
minister announces to the congregation that its
representatives have had to expel an unrepen
tant sinner or had to offer strong discipline to
someone because of his unchristian conduct.
The members of the congregation are informed
so that they can avoid that one altogether or
be careful in his presence, as the case may require. (1 Cor. 5 : 1 1 2 ;13 Thess. 3:14, 15) But
they should not try to ferret out all the details.
Those are confidential and ought to be kept as
such.
How thankful we can be that Jehovah provided in his Word perfect counsel on this vital
topic. He had recorded, for example, the proverb: The one walking about as a slanderer
is uncovering confidential talk, but the one
faithful in spirit is covering over a matter.
(Prov. 11:13) He obviously knew that it was a
common failing of imperfect human nature to
talk about confidential matters that should be
kept private. But by calling attention to this
danger He helps all who want to please Him
to guide their steps in a way that will encourage peace, friendship and unity.

ANNOUNCEMENTS

WATCHTOWER STUDIES FOR THE WEEKS

May 9: Uniting the Divided Household. Page

201. Songs to Be Used: 56, 94.
May 16: The Christian Wife and Children in a
Divided Household. Page 207. Songs to
Be Used: 60, 107.

APRIL 15, 1971

Semimonthly

PRIME DEFENSE AG AIN ST

DRUG ABUSE

1' II1
WTB&TS

^ nnow ncing

JEHOVAHS
KINGDOM

T H E PU R P O SE O F "T H E W A T C H T O W E R
E v ery w a tc h to w e r has its purpose. It serves as an elevated place for a
w id e-aw ak e person w ith sharp vision. It enables him to see far ahead into
the distance and tell those b elow for w h o m he is a w a tch m a n w h a t is
d raw ing near, w h e th er it is a danger against w h ich to prepare o r it is
som ething good over w h ich to be glad w ith strong faith and hope.
Because o f having the nam e "The W a tc h to w e r this m agazine ju stly
has to render a sim ilar useful service to the people o f all nations. T h is is
an in tern ational m agazine and makes no racial distinctions, fo r w e are all
facing a com m on w o rld danger; w e are all hoping fo r a com m on good.
E ver since "The W a tc h to w e r began to be published in J u ly o f 1 8 7 9 it
has looked ahead into the future, a lw ays striving to aid its readers to advan ce in know ledge and to gain a clearer picture o f the glorious n e w order
o f things th at is in store for righteous mankind. N o , "The W a tc h to w e r
is no inspired prophet, but it follow s and explains a Book o f prophecy the
predictions in w h ich have proved to be unerring and unfailing till n o w .
"T he W a tc h to w e r is therefore under safe guidance. It m ay be read w ith
confidence, fo r its statem ents m ay be checked against th at prophetic Book.
A m o n g the m an y nations o f today there are hundreds o f differing
religions. W h ic h one does this m agazine present? N o t the confused religions
o f C hristendom , but the religion o f the oldest sacred Book on earth. W h ic h
Book? T h e Sacred Bible o f the H o ly Scriptures, w r itte n b y inspiration in
the nam e o f the C reator o f heaven and earth, the o n ly living and true G od.
T h e sacred, nonpolitical purpose o f "The W a tc h to w e r is accordingly
to encourage and prom ote study o f the H o ly Bible and to give our m an y
readers the needed unsectarian help to understand that Book o f true
religion and infallible prophecy. T hus this m agazine w ill be helping them
to prove w o r th y o f perfect life and happiness in G od s promised n e w order
under H is everlasting kingdom o f righteousness.

PUBLISHED BY T H E
WATCH TOW ER BIBLE AND TRACT SOCIETY OF PENNSYLVANIA
117 Adams S treet
Brooklyn, N.Y. 11201, U.S.A.
N. H. K norr, P resident
Grant S uiter, Secretary

They will all be taught by Jehovah.John 6:45; Isaiah 54:13

CONTENTS

Average Printing Each Issue:

The Biblethe Creators Guide for Man

227

The Blessing of Work

231

Restoration of All Things of Which

God Spoke

233

How Restoration of All Things Is Made 240

Prime Defense Against Drug Abuse

247

Is Gabon Really
the Country of Friendship?

251

Seeing the Condition of the Churches

254

Questions from Readers

255

The Bible translation used in The Watchtower is the modern-language

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- p ^ r t n o u n c ir ig

J E H O V A H S
KIN G D O M
April 15, 1971

thousands of millions.
N o o th e r book can
equal that record.
Of course, the mere
writing of a religious
book, its preservation
for hundreds of years
and its esteem by m illions do not prove
that it is of divine origin. It must bear
credentials of Divine Authorship demonstrating that it was inspired by God. A
careful examination of the Bible convinces
sincere persons that it truly has such
credentials.
Originally written in Hebrew, Aramaic
and Greek, the Bible, as we know it, has
sixty-six books. The exact number of
books is not important (whether a certain two are combined or left separated),
nor is the particular order in which they
follow one another. The books remained
as separate rolls long after the Bible canon
or catalog of inspired books was closed,
and ancient catalogs vary in the order in
which the books are listed. What is most
important, however, is what books are ineluded. In reality, only those books now
in the canon have any solid claim to inspiration. From ancient tim es efforts to
include other writings have been resisted.
The Bible was originally written in continuous, unbroken lines of letters. It was
not until the ninth century C.E. that any
system of dividing sentences by punctua-

-TH E CREATORS
GUIDE FOR MAN
tt

LAMP to my foot, and a light

C /lL to my roadway. That is how
the Bible psalmist described Gods Word.
And appropriately so, because the Bible
serves as a light to guide all men in
the way God wants them to go. Surely
such a book as thisthe Creators Guide
for all mankinddeserves careful study.
Not only should all lovers of Gods Word
be well acquainted w ith its contents, but
they also ought to know how it was produced and why it can be said that it is
inspired of God.Ps. 119:105; 2 Tim.
3:16.
Bible writing dates back to the year
1513 B.C.E., when Moses was directed to
begin the record. It was late in the first
century C.E. when the apostle John finished his writing, thus bringing Bible writing to an endafter about sixteen centuries. No other book took so long to
complete as the Bible.
Today the Bible is available, in whole
or in part, in over 1,400 languages. Though
few books reach a circulation in the millions, the Bible has been published by the

Number 8

227

SEeWATCHTOWER

228

tion marks was devised. The main features

of our modern system of punctuation began in the fifteenth century C.E. as a resuit of the introduction of printing. Subdivision of the Bible into chapters and
verses (the Authorized Version has 1,189
chapters, 31,173 verses) was not done by
the original writers either. This came centuries later. The Masoretes, Jewish scholars, divided the Hebrew Scriptures into
verses. Then in the thirteenth century
C.E. chapter divisions were added.
INSPIRED OF GOD

About forty different individuals served

as secretaries of the one great Author to
record the inspired Word of Jehovah. All
Scripture is inspired of God, wrote the
Christian apostle Paul. And this includes
the writings of the Christian Greek Scriptures along w ith the rest of the Scriptures. (2 Tim. 3:16; 2 Pet. 3:1 5 ,1 6 ) But
what is meant when one speaks of the Bibles inspiration?
By inspiration is meant, not a mere
heightening of the intellect and emotions
to a higher degree of accomplishment (as
is often said of secular artists or poets),
but the production of unerring writings
that have the same authority as if written by God him self. How did the Creator
accomplish this?
God caused his own spirit to become
operative on faithful men whom he used
to record things at his direction. For this
reason the apostle Peter could declare:
Prophecy was at no tim e brought by
mans will, but men spoke from God as
they were borne along by holy spirit.
(2 Pet. 1:21) In at least one case, however, the information was supplied in written form by God him self. This was the
set of Ten Commandments, God giving it
to Moses on two tablets of stone written
on by Gods finger.Ex. 31:18.
In some cases information was trans-

B r o o k l y n , N .Y .

mitted word for word, by verbid dictation.

(Ex. 34:27) The prophets also were often
given specific m essages to deliver. (1 Ki.
22:14; Jer. 1:7) The evidence indicates,
however, that the men used by God to
record the Scriptures did not always simply record dictated material. For exampie, John received the Revelation through
Gods angel in signs and John was told:
What you see write in a scroll. (Rev.
1:1, 2, 10, 11) So, God apparently saw
good to allow the Bible writers to select
words and expressions to describe the visions they saw, while he always exercised sufficient guidance over them so that
the end product was accurate and suited
his purpose. (Eccl. 12:10) This doubtless
explains the different styles evident in the
books of the Bible.
That the writings of Moses were inspired of God there can be no doubt, in
the light of internal evidence. It was not
Moses idea to become the leader of the
Israelites. A t first Moses drew back at the
suggestion. (Ex. 3:10, 11; 4 :1 0 1 4 )Rather, God raised Moses up and gave him
miraculous powers. Even magic-practicing
priests had to acknowledge that what Moses did originated with God. (Ex. 4:1-9;
8:16-19) In obedience to Gods command
and with the divine credentials of holy
spirit, Moses was moved first to speak
and then to write down part of the Bible.
Following Moses death, the writings of
Joshua, Samuel, Gad and Nathan (Joshua,
Judges, Ruth, 1 and 2 Samuel) were added.
Kings David and Solomon also made contributions to the growing canon of the
Holy W ritings. Then came the prophets
from Jonah to Malachi, each contributing
to the Bible canon. And each in turn met
the requirements of true prophets as outlined by Jehovah: They spoke in the name
of Jehovah, their prophecies came true
and they turned the people toward God.
Deut. 13:1-3; 18:20-22.

A p r il

15, 1971

SHeWATCHTOWER

COLLECTING THE INSPIRED WRITINGS

Just as Jehovah inspired men to write,

it logically follows that he would direct
the collecting of these inspired writings.
According to Jewish tradition, Ezra had
a hand in this work after the exiled Jews
were resettled in Judah. He was well
qualified for the work, being one of the
inspired Bible writers, a priest, and also
a skilled copyist in the law of Moses.
Ezra 7:1-11.
The canon of the Hebrew Scriptures
was well fixed by the end of the fifth century B.C.E. It contained the same writings
that we have today. No council of men
made them canonical; from their beginning they had divine approval. The most
conclusive testim ony on the canonicity of
the Hebrew Scriptures is the unimpeachable word of Jesus Christ and the writers
of the Christian Greek Scriptures. Though
they used the inspired Hebrew Scriptures
freely, never did they quote from the
apocryphal books.Luke 24:44, 45.
THE BIBLE CANON COMPLETED

The writing and collecting of the twentyseven books of the Christian Greek Scriptures was sim ilar to that of the Hebrew
Scriptures. Christ gave gifts in men, yes,
he gave some as apostles, some as prophets, some as evangelizers, some as shepherds and teachers. (Eph. 4:8, 11-13)
With Gods holy spirit upon them they set
forth sound doctrine for the Christian congregation. Jesus assured his apostles that
Gods spirit would help them, teaching,
guiding and recalling to their minds the
things they had heard from him, as well
as revealing to them future things. (John
14:26; 16:13) This assured the truthfulness and accuracy of their Gospel accounts.
The real test of canonicity is not how
many tim es or by what nonapostolic writer a certain book has been quoted. The

229

contents of the book itself must give evidence that it is a product of holy spirit.
Consequently, it cannot contain superstitions or demonism, or encourage creature
worship. It must be in total harmony with
the rest of the Bible. Each book must conform to the divine pattern of healthful
words, and be in harmony with the teachings of Jesus.2 Tim. 1:13.
The apostles clearly spoke with divine
authority. By holy spirit they had discemment of inspired utterances as to
whether such were of God or not. (1 Cor.
12:4, 10) With the death of John, the
last apostle, this reliable chain of divinely
inspired men came to an end. And so with
the Revelation, Johns Gospel and his letters, the Bible canon closed.
The sixty-six books of our Bible, by
their harmony, testify to the oneness of
the Bible, and recommend it to us as indeed Jehovahs Word of inspired truth.
INFORMATION OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE
TO MEN

The Bible contains information that otherwise would not be available to men. The
Genesis account, for example, provides information about earths creation; it gives
us knowledge of things that took place
before man was on the scene. (Gen. 1:
1-31) The Bible also tells us about conversation that took place in the heavens,
conversation that no human ears could
hear, unless God provided the information.
- J o b 1:6-12; 1 Ki. 22:19-23.
Moreover, the Bible acquaints us with
Jehovah. It relates details of miraculous
visions of Jehovah w ith which his servants were favored. (Dan. 7:9, 10) Also
the Bible acquaints us w ith Gods name
Jehovah, which name occurs more than
6,800 tim es in the Masoretic text of the
Hebrew Scriptures. In the Bible we learn
of Jehovahs outstanding qualities, such
as love, wisdom, justice, mercy, long-

230

SfieW ATCHTOW ER

suffering, generosity, perfection in knowledge, changelessness.Ex. 34:6, 7.

Furthermore, the Bible tells us much
about Gods Son and the important place
that he occupies in Gods purpose. (Col.
1:17-20; 2:3; 2 Cor. 1:20) More than any
others, the Son of God, when on earth,
was able to enlarge our acquaintanceship
w ith Jehovah. For he was able to say: He
that has seen me has seen the Father
also. (John 14:9) Yet, if Jesus teachings and sayings were not written down
and made part of the Bible, we would not
have this accurate information today.
A PROPHETIC AND PRACTICAL GUIDE

D etails as to the development of Gods

purpose are revealed in the Bible. All of
the foretold blessings for obedient man
were centered in a promised Savior whom
Jehovah would raise up. He was described
prophetically in the Garden of Eden by
God as the seed of Gods woman. (Gen.
3:15) In tim e God promised that this
Seed would come through Abraham. (Gen.
22:18) He showed that the promised Savior would be an everlasting king and
priest according to the manner of Melchizedek! (Ps. 110:4; Heb. 7:1-28) He
gave the Law covenant to Israel with its
priesthood and sacrifices, all of which
were a shadow of the good things to
come.Heb. 10:1; Col. 2:17.
To David promise was made that the
kingship would everlastingly remain in his
family. (2 Sam. 7:11-16) And the heir
of that promise, as well as the one to
whom all the other prophecies pointed as
the Deliverer, is shown to be Jesus Christ.
Yes, throughout its pages the Bible focuses on the theme of the inspired writingsthe kingdom of God in the hands
of Jesus Christ as the means that Jehovah
has provided for carrying out his purpose.

B rooklyn , N .Y .

As a book of prophecy, the Bible is outstanding. Thus it gives significance to

events of history and shows why they
turned out as they did. (Luke 1 9 :4 1 4 4 )
It shows the future of all present worldly governmentsthat they w ill all be
crushed by Gods heavenly kingdom, and
that kingdom will stand forever. (Dan.
2:44) It explains events of our days, showing that we live in the foretold tim e of
the end of this old system and that soon
God will clear out all the wicked.
W ithout the Bible we would not know
the real purpose of a dedicated persons
life: Fear the true God and keep his commandments. For this is the whole obligation of man. (Eccl. 12:13) It makes clear
that man is not a product of blind chance,
but a creation of God, who has a loving
purpose for mankind. And it explains
what Gods w ill is for us now and how we
can find real satisfaction in life.Rev. 4:
11; 1 Tim. 2:3, 4; Ps. 16:11.
Human history demonstrates that man,
apart from God, cannot successfully direct his steps. (Jer. 10:23) Only the Bible
provides the guidance that he needs. It
gives guidance regarding morals, showing
what God condemns and what he approves.
(Gal. 5:19-23) It proves to be a m ost practical help amid a world that has thrown
off moral restraint. It helps us to get the
viewpoint of God and to be pleasing to
him.
Is it not obvious why this Book of books
should be mankinds primary textbook for
study? Christians, above all, are keenly
concerned about investigating this Book
that is authored by the One to whom Gods
Son said: Your word is truth. (John
17:17) The more you become fam iliar
with the sixty-six books of the Bible the
more you will be convinced that it is indeed the Creators Guide for all mankind.

THE
OF

W ORK
An article sp e cially designed for
parents to read with their children

HICH would you rather do, work

or play? Its true that we all enjoy playing. But would it really be good
if we played all the tim e? Have you ever
thought what would happen if no one ever
worked? Lets think about it for a moment.
Look at the clothes you have on. Do
you know where they came from? They
were probably made from the wool of an
animal or the cotton that grows from the
ground. But if people didnt work to make
wool and cotton into clothes, you wouldnt
have anything to wear. So arent you glad
that people work to make clothes?
Think about the food you eat. Do you
know where it comes from? Most of it
grows from small plants and large trees.
But if no one cared for them and picked
the fruits and vegetables
that they produce, what
would you eat? Isnt it
good that people work so
that you have food to
eat?
Look around the home
in w h ich you liv e . D o
you have a bed to sleep
in? Are there chairs on
which to sit and also a
table? Arent you glad
someone worked to make
these things?
H ow did J e su s, th e
Great Teacher, feel about
work? Lets see.

Marys husband Joseph was a carpenter.

He made things out of wood. And he
raised Jesus as his own son. Thats why
the Bible calls Jesus the carpenters son.
In those days a young boy would work
with his father. He would learn to do the
same jobs his father did. So Jesus no
doubt worked with Joseph.Matt. 13:55.
It may have been hard at first. But with
years of practice, he learned to do it well.
The Bible tells us that Jesus became a
carpenter too.Mark 6:3.
Do you think this work brought Jesus
pleasure? Would you be happy if you
could make fine tables and chairs and
other things for people to use? You can
get great pleasure from work. The Bible
says its good for one to rejoice in his
works. Work gives a kind of pleasure
that you cannot get from play. Its not
wrong to play, but its not good to play
all the time.Eccl. 3:22.
Jesus did not work as a carpenter all
his life. Jehovah God had special work for
him to do on earth. Do you know what
that work was? Jesus said: I must declare the good news
of the kingdom of
God, b eca u se fo r
th is I was sent

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B rooklyn , N .Y .
SPReWATCHTOWER
Lets take just one example: Putting
forth. Yes, God had a preaching work
away your toys after you play. Why would
for Jesus to do.Luke 4:43.
How did Jesus feel about doing this you say that is important? It helps to
make the house neat. It is also important
work? Did he want to do it?
Jesus said: My food is for me to do because it can prevent accidents. If you
the w ill of him that sent me and to finish dont pick up your toys, your mother may
his work. How much do you like to eat come along someday w ith her arms full
your favorite food? This gives you an and step on one of them. She may trip and
idea of how much Jesus liked the work fall and crack her head. She may even
that God gave him. That work was a bless- have to go to the hospital. Wouldnt that
ing to him, just as it is a blessing to eat be terrible? So, when you put away your
toys after you play, that is a blessing to
when you are hungry.John 4:34.
all of us.
Since Jesus found pleasure in working,
There is other work that children have
do you think that you can find pleasure
too. I am thinking of schoolwork. At
in working too? I am sure you can. When
school you learn how to read. Some chilyou learn to do a job well, then it can
dren find reading to be fun, but some say
bring you real pleasure.
it is hard. Even if it seems hard at first,
God made us so that we are happy when you will be glad if you learn to read well.
we learn to work. He says that it is his gift When you know how to read, there are
to man that he should rejoice in his hard so many interesting things that you can
work. So, if you learn to work when you learn. Reading opens up great treasures
are young, your whole life will be more of knowledge. You w ill even be able to read
enjoyable.Eccl. 5:19.
Gods own book, the Bible, for yourself!
That does not mean that a young child So, when you do your schoolwork well, it
can do the work of a big man, but we is really a blessing, isnt it?
can all do some work. Your father works
There are some people who try to avoid
day after day so that we w ill have food to work. Maybe you know someone who does
eat and a home in which to live. Do you that. But since God made us to work, do
know what kind of work your father does? you think that people of that sort are
He doesnt work just for himself. He happy? No; we need to learn how to enjoy
works for the good of the whole family. work.
Here are some things that can help.
And your mother works to prepare our
meals. She keeps our home and our cloth- When you are given any work to do, make
it a habit to figure out why it needs to be
ing clean.
done. When you know why something is
What work is there that you can do important, it is easier to do it. And wheththat w ill be a blessing to the whole family? er the work seems to be big or little, do
You can help to set the table, wipe the a good job of it. If you do that, you will
dishes, clean your room and pick up your be able to rejoice in the work of your
toys. Perhaps you already do some of those hands. Then you will know from your own
experience that work really is a blessing.
things. Is that work really a blessing?
Look! The best thing that I myself have seen, which is
pretty, is that one should eat and drink and see good for
all his hard work with which he works hard Eccl. 5:18.

TT OW glad we can be that the promJL ised restoration was to be, not of
the things of which human politicians and
philosophers spoke, but of the things of
which God spoke! Those things should
therefore be good for all mankind. They
should be certain of being restored. We
ought to want those things to be restored,
for, better than anyone else, our Creator
knows what needs to be restored to us.
But do we want those things?
2 We do not care to answer this question
blindly, ignorantly. We are gifted with
the right of free moral agency. We desire
to know first what the things involved are,
in order that we may make an intelligent,
enlightened choice. What are all those
things? How can we find out that God
spoke of all of them? Who heard him
speaking? When did he speak of them?
And how? Questions like these come flooding into our minds. They deserve to be
answered with the backing of a reliable
authority. They can be.
3 A man who figured prominently in the
first century of our Common Era brought
up this subject, and he did so in a city
the name of which is mentioned much in
the world news of today. That man has
had many places on earth named after
him. The mans name was Peter, the son
of John, of a city in the controversial
Middle East. The place where he spoke
was in the temple of the city of Jerusalem.
Today that temple, constructed by famous
King Herod the Great, does not stand at
that location. It was destroyed in the year
70 of the first century, when the Roman
armies destroyed the whole city of Jerusalem. A t that location there is now a
place of worship of a different religious
belief. But back there when Peter, the son
of John, spoke, it was yet thirty-seven
The restoration is to be of things of which who
,T h e times of restoration of all 1.spoke,
and why can we be glad on th a t account?
do we desire to answ er th a t question, and
things of which God spoke through 2.so How
w hat questions come flooding into our m inds?
raised this subject of restoration of all things,
the mouth of his holy prophets of 3.andWho
when, where and w hy?
old time.Acts 3:21.
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B rooklyn , N .Y .
gReWATCHTOWER
years before that news-making event of perishable Book is our reliable authority
the year 70 C.E. A great crowd of worship- for backing up what we say.
6Years later Peter wrote a letter coners had gathered around Peter. What had
happened through the agency of Peter cem ing those Holy Scriptures, addressing
raised questions in their minds. It was on it to Bible readers. In it he wrote: You
that occasion that Peter uttered the mean- know this first, that no prophecy of Scripingful phrase, the tim es of restoration of ture springs from any private interpreall things of which God spoke through the tation. For prophecy was at no tim e
mouth of his holy prophets of old tim e. brought by man's will, but men spoke
Acts 3:21.
from God as they were borne along by
* Ah, here we have answers to our ques- holy spirit. (2 Pet. 1:20, 21) Knowing
tions. It was in old tim e, even before this, Peter accepted what those spiritthe tim e of Peter, that God spoke. It was borne men prophesied as being, not mans
by means of his holy prophets that he word, but Gods word. We, although being
spoke of these vital things. No false proph- of this twentieth century, should accept
ets were they, but they were holy proph- those inspired writings in the same way
ets of God. He spoke to them, and they, in which Peter did, for those writings
in turn, used their mouths to tell to stand unchanged today. What Peter there
others the things spoken by God. The wrote and what he spoke in the temple
voices of those holy prophets died down 6. (a) W hy did P e te r accept those w ritings in the
way th a t he did? (b) W here do we find w hat P e ter
more them twenty-three centuries ago. wrote and w hat he said in the tem ple?
Their voices were not preserved
on p h on ograp h reco rd s or on
recording-machine tapes. The messages that God sent through the
m ouths of th ose h oly prophets
w ere recorded in w ritin g. That
writing, which took over a thousand years to complete, has been
jealously safeguarded in the first
thirty-nine books of the Authorized Version of the Holy Bible.
Peter the son of John read thpse
books. That is why he knew what
he was talking about.
6We also can know the things
that God spoke through the mouth
of his holy prophets by reading
th ose selfsam e books. There is
hardly any excuse for us not to
know, for the Holy Bible is the
most widely distributed book in the
most languages on earth. This im4, 5. (a) W hy were those m en not false proph*
ets, and how has w hat they spoke been preserved? (b) W hy is th ere hardly any excuse
for us not to know today w hat those men
spoke?

A pr il 15, 1971

235
S&eWATCHTOWER
of Jerusalem are preserved for us in the
9Peter disclaimed any credit for this
last twenty-seven books of the Holy Bible. marvelous miracle. To the inquisitive
7Why, though, did that crowd of wor- crowd, Peter said: The God of Abraham
shipers gather around Peter and his com- and of Isaac and of Jacob, the God of our
panion, John the son of Zebedee? An forefathers, has glorified his Servant,
excitement of curiosity! A crippled beggar Jesus, whom you, for your part, delivered
at the temple had looked to Peter for a up and disowned before [Governor] Picharitable money gift. Peter gave him lates face, when he had decided to release
something better. He said: Silver and him. Yes, you disowned that holy and
gold I do not possess, but what I do have righteous one, and you asked for a man,
is what I give you: In the name of Jesus a murderer, to be freely granted to you,
Christ the Nazarene, walk! The beggar, whereas you killed the Chief Agent of life.
lame from birth, was helped by Peter to But God raised him up from the dead,
get onto his feet and walk. Was this not of which fact we are witnesses. Conseenough to make any crowd gather? Yes. quently his name, by our faith in his name,
So the crowd wanted an explanation from has made this man strong whom you bePeter.
hold and know, and the faith that is
8Now let us remember that in early through him has given the man this comspring of that year 33 C.E. a murder had plete soundness in the sight of all of you.
occurred in open daylight in public, just And now, brothers, I know that you acted
outside the walls of Jerusalem. It was the in ignorance, just as your rulers also did.
murder of that one whom Peter named, But in this way God has fulfilled the
Jesus Christ the Nazarene. That meant things he announced beforehand through
Jesus the Messiah of the city of Nazareth. the mouth of all the prophets, that his
Roman soldiers were employed to nail him Christ would suffer.Acts 3:1-18.
to a stake to die like a criminal, but his
10 Even though it had been done in ignofriends got permission to bury him nearby. ranee as far as that crowd was concerned,
But on the third day of his buried the a crime had been committed. What was
sealed tomb was opened by an angel and worse, it was committed upon Gods own
was found to be empty. In proof that Messiah or Christ. The fact that God had
Jesus Christ was no guilty criminal, Al- foretold by his prophets that his Messiah
mighty God raised him from the dead, or Christ would suffer did not excuse the
to life, not in flesh again, but in spirit. crowd. According to Gods Law as given
Peter and John had seen the resurrected to the Jews through the prophet Moses,
Jesus Christ appear a number of times even manslaughter committed unwittingly
thereafter by his m aterializing in flesh or unintentionally had to be made up for,
on certain occasions before many reliable in order that the land m ight not be polluteyewitnesses during forty days. On the
ed with innocent blood. (Nura. 35:9-34)
fortieth day Peter and John and their
Those listening to Peter knew that. They
companions saw this Jesus Christ ascend
knew
that community responsibility for
heavenward and disappear. Now Peters
the
murderous
killing of Jesus Christ,
use of the name of Jesus Christ the Nazathe faithful Servant of God, rested upon
rene worked for the cripple.
7. Of w hat did the crowd gathered around P e te r and
John w ant an explanation?
8. W hat had happened to th a t one nam ed by P eter,
so th a t P e te rs use of th a t nam e w orked for the
cripple ?

9. W ith w hat words did P e te r disclaim any c redit for

the m iracle, and also speak of fulfillm ent of prophecy?
10. W hy was the m u rd er of Jesus, although com m itted
in ignorance, not excusable and w ithout consequences
for th a t Jew ish crow d?

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B rooklyn , N .Y .
f&eWATCHTOWER
them. What should they do to escape the effort to cease from it. For those Jews
consequences of this crime? How could back there, that meant to stop resisting
their sins in this regard be blotted out? Jesus Christ and, rather, to start walking
Likely this miracle-worker Peter knew. in his footsteps as the Christ [or, Messiah] appointed for you, Jesus.( A cts 3:
He did. So he told that crowd:
11 Repent, therefore, and turn around 19, 20) Those Jews were already dedicated
so as to get your sins blotted out, that to Jehovah as God by reason of their
seasons of refreshing may come from the having been born into the covenant that
person of Jehovah and that he may send Jehovah had made with their forefathers
forth the Christ appointed for you, Jesus, through Moses. So now they had to accept
whom heaven, indeed, must hold within the one whom Jehovah had appointed as
itself until the tim es of restoration of all their Messiah or Christ and present themthings of which God spoke through the selves to Jehovah as believers in and
mouth of his holy prophets of old tim e. followers of His Messiah. Some days earlier Peter told some three thousand reActs 3:19-21.
pentant Jews that they needed to symbolize
their repentance and conversion by
HOW TO GET SINS BLOTTED OUT
being
baptized in water in the name of
12 Those words of Peter set the pattern
Jesus
as
now being their accepted Messiah,
for us today. We all have sins that need
the
Son
of God.Acts 2:37-42.
to be blotted out according to Gods loving
arrangement, for we are all bom sinners,
14 What did Peter say would be the fine
by inheritance of sin from our first human result of such turning around from the
parents, Adam and Eve. (Gen. 3:1-24; way of being contrary to Gods purpose
Rom. 5:12, 18, 19) We must remember and appointment and going in the way of
that the wages sin pays is death. (Rom. his approval and will? This: that seasons
6:23) If we are anxious to gain life ever- of refreshing may come from the person
lasting, in the favor of God, then it is of Jehovah.
necessary that we repent, that is, feel
15 Certainly it would be most refreshing
sorrow and regret for our sinfulness and for them to have their sins blotted out,
imperfection and our sins against Gods and no longer have the condemnation of
law. If we really feel sorry and hate our- sin nor a guilty conscience before him,
selves for being sinners against God, we especially after having been in opposition
w ill try to get out of that sinful state and to the Messiah or Christ of Jehovah. The
to cease from sinning. How, though?
blotting out of their sins resulted not from
18 Peter said one must take action in the water in which they were baptized,
harmony w ith ones repentance. He added: but from the shed blood of Jesus Christ
And turn around so as to get your sins as a perfect human sacrifice for the sins
blotted out. Mere repentance will not get of all mankind. Just as Peters companion,
our sins blotted out. We have to turn John the son of Zebedee, wrote later on
around and go in the opposite direction concerning our walking with God, saying:
from the course of sinning, making the If we are walking in the light as he himself is in the light, we do have a sharing
11. How could those Jew s get th e ir sins blotted out,
with one another, and the blood of Jesus
and w hat was to follow th is in due tim e ?
12. W hat p a tte rn for having sins blotted out does this
set for us today, and w hy?
13. W hat in addition to repentance was necessary for
those Jews, and w hat course did th is call upon such
Jew s to take?

14, 15. (a) W hat fine result comes to the forgiven

one from having his sins blotted out? (b) As to w hether
the blotting out of sins comes from th e w ater of baptism, w hat does John have to say ?

A pr il 15, 1971

SEeW ATCHTOW ER

237

secular enemies in the near future. Jehovahs face of favor is turned away from
Christendom, and he w ill no more protect
her against the approaching destruction
than he protected Jerusalem in the year
70 C.E.
18 This is why it is now urgent upon the
people, Jew and Gentile alike, to do what
the apostle Peter advised, Repent, therefore, and turn around so as to get your
sins blotted out [or, forgiven]. This is
what the Christian w itnesses of Jehovah
have done, and all the evidence proves that
they are, in a spiritual sense, enjoying
abundantly the seasons of refreshing from
the person of Jehovah. By the presenting
of them selves to Him in a full dedication
through his Messiah, Jesus, they have
become his men of goodwill. As a reward for this they are enjoying what the
angels said in the hearing of the shepherds
at the birth of Jesus in Bethlehem, upon
earth peace among men of goodwill. They
do not want to be destroyed with unpeaceful Christendom nor w ith all the rest of
the world empire of false religion in the
near future. They feel great refreshing
because of being relieved of any community share in the sins of Christendom
and of that religious world empire, BabyIon the Great.Rev. 18:2-5.

his Son cleanses us from all sin. (1 John

1:7) Thus God no longer looks on us as
sinners, and the peaceful relation with God
that results from this mercy on Gods part
brings us tremendous refreshment indeed.
18Since these seasons of refreshing
are said to come from the person of
Jehovah, it means that his face is turned
toward us with favor. He is giving us his
favorable attention. His goodwill is toward
us, during the year of goodwill on the
part of Jehovah. We have become his
men of goodwill. (Isa. 61:1, 2; Luke
2:14) In the days of the Christian apostle
Peter it was urgent upon those Jews to
gain Jehovahs goodwill after the murder
of His Messiah at Jerusalem, inasmuch as
the destruction of the city of Jerusalem
and the breaking up of the Jewish nation
in the land of Judah was getting very
close. The sad history of the Jewish people
after the destruction of Jerusalem by the
Romans in the year 70 C.E. proves that
the dispersed Jewish people have not been
enjoying seasons of refreshing from the
person of Jehovah [literally, from the face
of Jehovah].
11Also, as we examine the history of
the religious organization of Christendom
since its establishm ent in the fourth century, we are obliged to admit that Christendom has not been enjoying the seasons
of refreshing from the person of Jehovah
during the more than sixteen centuries
of her existence until now. All through
her history she has been tom by inside
religious disputes and wars, sectarian divisions and disunity and ever-worsening
religious confusion. The destruction of
Jerusalem back in the year 70 C.E. was
a type foreshadowing the destruction of
Christendom at the hands of worldly,

19 Christendom claims to be w aiting for

the return of Jesus Christ, and she expects
to experience seasons of refreshing as
a result of his return. But for this to be so,
Christendom would have to do what Peter
told the sin-guilty Jews to do, Repent,
therefore, and turn around [or, be converted] so as to get your sins blotted out.
Such tim es of refreshing follow such a

16. W hat did P e te r m ean by saying th a t those seasons 01 refresh in g come from the person of Jehovah,
and in th a t regard w hat does histo ry show regarding
the Jews since 70 C.E.?
17. In th is sam e reg ard w hat m ust be said about
Christendom, and w hat does Je ru salem s destruction
in 70 C.E. indicate fo r h e r?

18. W hat counsel is it therefore u rg e n t upon all people

to follow now, and who have alread y done so and
w ith w hat resu lt?
19. How do C hristendom and th e n a tu ra l Jew s differ as
to M essiahs coming, and fo r it to re su lt in refreshing
w hat does Christendom need to do?

A SECOND SENDING OF MESSIAH AND WHY

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SEeWATCHTOWER

Each one ought to ask

himself: A m I really a
loyal supporter of G o d 's
M e ssian ic kingdom b y
Jesus Christ? If so,
how d o I prove it?

c o u rse, ju st as
Peter went on to
show, saying:
That seasons of
refresh in g m ay
com e from th e
person of Jehovah and that he
m ay send forth
the Christ appointed for
you, Jesus, whom heaven, indeed, must hold within itself until the
tim es of restoration of all things of which
God spoke through the mouth of his holy
prophets of old tim e. (A cts 3:19-21)
The natural, circumcised Jews that do not
believe that the Messiah came nineteen
centuries ago look for him to come for
the first tim e in the future. But Peter and
John and the other Christianized Jews
looked for the Messiah to return or to
come a second tim e and for a different
purpose. Peter and John had seen him
ascend back to heaven.
20Peter and John remembered Jesus
words to the Jews: What, therefore, if
you should behold the Son of man ascending to where he was before? On his
resurrection day he appeared to Mary of
the city of Magdala and said: I have not
yet ascended to the Father. But be on
your way to my brothers and say to them,
am ascending to my Father and your
Father and to my God and your God.
(John 6:62; 20:17) He ascended back to
20. W hy was the re tu rn of the Messiah a necessity,
and w hy had God sent him the first tim e?

B r o oklyn , N .Y .

heaven on the fortieth day after his resurrection from the

d ead . B u t to f u lf ill a ll th e
p ro p h ecies co n cer n in g th e
Messiah, he had to come again.
So th e ap ostle P eter, after
speaking of seasons of refreshing from the person of
Jehovah, went on to say: And
that he may send forth the
Christ appointed for you, Jesus. The first tim e that Jehovah sent his Son to earth,
it was that he m ight die as a
ransom sacrifice for all mankind. Hence Peter said to the
crowd of Jews around him: In
this way God has fulfilled the
things he announced beforehand
th ro u g h th e m ou th o f a ll th e
prophets, that his Christ would
suffer.Acts 3:18.
21 Other things announced beforehand
through the mouth of all the prophets of
Jehovah told of his coming glory in the
Messianic kingdom. In his first letter to
Christian believers the apostle Peter wrote
concerning those prophets, saying: They
kept on investigating what particular season or what sort of season the spirit in
them was indicating concerning Christ
when it was bearing witness beforehand
about the sufferings for Christ and about
the glories to follow these. (1 Pet. 1:10,
11) Peter remembered the words of Jesus
Christ in his prophecy concerning the
destruction of Jerusalem, saying: When
the Son of man arrives in his glory, and
all the angels with him, then he will sit
down on his glorious throne. (Matt. 25:
31) His sufferings in the flesh on earth,
as foretold for him through the prophets,
would then be forever past. When Jehovah
21. W hat other things did Jehovah's prophets foretell
about the Messiah, as indicated by P e te r in his letter,
and why does Jehovah send him the second tim e?

A p r il 15, 1971

SEeWATCHTOWER.

sends him to earth the second tim e, it is

that he m ight reign in heavenly glory
to fulfill all the other prophecies concerning the kingdom of Messiah.
22Now just when would that be? King
David of Jerusalem, who was a royal
ancestor of Jesus Christ, said prophetically
concerning his ascension to heaven: The
utterance of Jehovah to m y Lord is: Sit
at my right hand until I place your enemies as a stool for your feet. The rod of
your strength Jehovah w ill send out of
Zion, saying: ,Go subduing in the midst of
your enem ies. (Ps. 110:1, 2) In comment on this prophetic psalm Hebrews
10:12,13 says concerning Jesus Christ and
his perfect humem sacrifice: This man
offered one sacrifice for sins perpetueilly
emd sat down at the right hand of God,
from then on awaiting until his enemies
should be placed as a stool for his feet.
This prophecy meant that the glorified
Jesus Christ in heaven at Gods right
hand would be victorious over all persons
on earth who would oppose his reigning
over all mankind as Jehovahs Messiah.
23Each one of us does well, therefore,
to ask him self the vital question, Am I
an enemy of Jehovahs Messianic kingdom
by Jesus Christ? Christendom is! Babylon
the Great, the world empire of false religion, is! So are the political nations that
make up the world organization for international peace and security, the United
Nations. All such enemies are to be subdued, crushed! According to Bible prophecy and world conditions, this is near!
2*Why are we convinced of that world
disaster as being near? For the reason
that the apostle Peter prophesied that
this ascended Jesus Christ heaven, indeed,
22. As to when this fulfilling of K ingdom prophecies
would be, w hat do Psalm 110:1, 2 and H ebrew s 10:12,
13 indicate?
23. So w hat vital question does each one do well to
ask himself, and w hy?
24. U ntil w hat tim es was heaven to hold the Messiah Jesus w ithin itself, and so now w hat is the key
question for us?

239

must hold within itself until the tim es of

restoration of all things* of which God
spoke through the mouth of his holy
prophets of old tim e. (Acts 3:21) The
key question here is, What are those
all things until the tim es of the restoration of which the heaven must hold within
itself the ascended Messiah Jesus, who is
seated at Jehovahs right hand waiting
for his enemies to be made his footstool?
25Those all things are the Messianic
kingdom and its interests at the earth.
Is this a surprising answer to the question?
Is anyone of us inclined to ask, How could
this be so, when, back in the apostle
Peters day, that Messianic kingdom of
Jehovah was yet to come? Since that
kingdom of the Messiah had not been
established and been lost, how could it
be restored?
26
The apostle Peter, however, knew
what he was talking about. He knew how
that kingdom could be restored. He was
one of the apostles who asked the resurrected Messiah Jesus just before he ascended to heaven: Lord, are you restoring the
* Jesus C hrist used a sim ilar expression, in M atthew
17:11, when he said: E lijah, indeed, is coming and
will restore all th in g s. T his statem en t had reference
to Malachi 4:5, 6. B ut th en Jesus w ent on to m ake an
application of this prophecy about E lijah to John
the Baptist. (Matt. 17:12, 13) Jo h n the B aptist also
served as the fo rerunner of Jesus Christ, and fo r th a t
reason he proclaim ed: The kingdom of the heavens
has draw n n e ar. (M att. 3:1, 2) B ut as to m odern
times, a fte r W orld W ar I and since the y e ar 1919 a
work like th a t of E lijah has been carried on by
Jehovahs C hristian witnesses. By them a w itness to
Jehovahs Messianic kingdom has been given since
th a t tim e un til now such as has never before been
given world wide in all previous hum an history.
M att. 24:14; M ark 13:10.
Since 1919 C.E. these C hristian w itnesses of Jehovah
discern a spiritual fulfillm ent tow ard them of the
words of Isaiah 1 :2527: And I w ill tu rn back m y
hand upon you, and I shall sm elt aw ay yo u r scummy
dross as w ith lye, and I w ill remove all y o u r waste
products. And I will bring back again judges fo r you
as a t the first, and counselors for you as a t the sta rt.
A fter this you will be called C ity of Righteousness,
F aithful Town. W ith justice Zion herself will be
redeemed, and those re tu rn in g of her, w ith righteousness.
25. Briefly, w hat are those all th in g s, and w hat
questions does this brief answ er raise up?
26. Concerning the resto ratio n of w hat had P e te r and
fellow apostles asked Jesus before he ascended, and
w hat was his reply?

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S&eWATCHTOWER

kingdom to Israel at this tim e? To this

question the resurrected Messiah Jesus
replied: It does not belong to you to get
knowledge of the tim es or seasons which
the Father has placed in his own jurisdiction; but you will receive power when the
holy spirit arrives upon you, and you will

LL who are fam iliar

w ith h istory know

that at the tim e of Jesus ascension the nation of Israel

did not have a kingdom. For some years
they had had a kingdom of the Maccabees,
but that had been a kingdom of Jewish
priests of the tribe of Levi and had been
overthrown by the Roman Empire in the
year 63 before our Common Era. Also, the
later kingdom of Herod the Great had been
no Jewish kingdom but an Edomite kingdom and had been imposed upon the Jews
by the Roman Senate. But when Jesus ascended to heaven, Jerusalem was under
the Roman governor Pontius Pilate, who
had handed him over to be put to death;
and the province of Galilee was being ruled
by Herod Antipas, the son of Herod the
Great. (Luke 3:1, 2; 23:6-15) So the
disciples could properly ask Jesus Christ
before he ascended: Lord, are you restoring the kingdom to Israel at this
tim e? (Acts 1:6) He did not then do so,
and to this day Israel has no kingdom.
The government of Israel in the Middle
East is a Republic and is a member of
the organization for world peace and security, the United Nations.
2The United Nations does not want the
Messianic kingdom to come by means of
the Republic of Israel. In fact, the United

HOW

1. W hat question did the political situation of the

Jew s in Je su s days m ake it appropriate for his apostles
to ask him, and w hat does Isra e ls position today show
as to his action?
2. W hat is the a ttitu d e of the U.N. tow ard Jehovahs
Messianic kingdom, but who w ants it restored?

B r o o k l y n , N .Y .

be witnesses of me both in Jerusalem and

in all Judea and Samaria and to the most
distant part of the earth. A fter saying
that, and as he was blessing them, he was
taken up from his disciples on the Mount
of Olives into heaven.Acts 1 :6 1 1 ;Luke
2 4:553.

(0

J^lom tion
J lllm in g s
IS MADE
Nations does not desire or pray for Jehovahs Messianic kingdom at all. N ot Christendom, but Jehovahs Christian witnesses
do desire that Messianic kingdom and
have given their allegiance to it.
3The establishment of that Messianic
kingdom, not on earth, but in heaven,
means a restoration, according to the
Holy Scriptures. How so? Let us remember that the apostles of Jesus Christ knew
and acknowledged that he was the Messiah
or the Christ appointed by Jehovah for
His people. On one occasion the apostle
Nathanael said to Jesus: Rabbi, you are
the Son of God, you are King of Israel.
And on a later occasion the apostle Peter
said to him: You are the Christ, the Son
of the living God. (John 1:49; Matt.
16:16) The title Christ is the Greek word
3. How did the apostles by th eir question show th at
establishm ent of the Messianic kingdom then would be
a restoration, and how did they expect him to m ake it?

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f&eWATCHTOWER.

241

for the Hebrew word

a Savior, who is Christ
Messiah. Consequentthe Lord, in Davids
ly, when the apostles
city.Luke 2 :8 1 1 .
asked the resurrected
5Th is J e su s, w ho
Jesus, Lord, are you
was to be the Lord
restoring the kingdom
of K ing D avid, was
to Israel at this tim e?
born into a Messianic
they were asking
line. How is that? Bewhether the real Mesca u se th e a d j ec t iv e
siah would restore the
Messianic means havkingdom. As he was
in g to do w ith th e
truly the Messiah or
Messiah. Well, then,
Christ, they expected
were the kings of Dahim to restore the
vids line in ancient Iskingdom. How? By his
r a e l c a l l e d Me sbecom ing King him siahs? Or, would the
self over Israel at that
G reek-speaking Jew s
time.
call them Christs?
*Ah, do we now get
Yes, because the title
the point? The ancient
Messiah means Anointk i n g d o m of I s r a e l
ed One, and Christ
down to its overthrow
means Anointed One.
by th e B ab ylo nia n
This title applied to
Em pire in th e year
these kings of Davids
607 B.C.E. was a Mes- God promised King David that his kingdom royal line because they
sianic kingdom. That would be established to time indefinite. had been anointed by
kingdom was the gov- This meant that the Messianic kingdom in Jehovahs high priest
ernment of the royal the royal line of David had to be restored in I sr a el w it h holy
a n o i n t i n g oil to be
f am il y of Da vid of
Bethlehem. When God sent his only-begot- kings over Jehovahs chosen people. (1 Ki.
ten Son from heaven, he was born into the 1:34-39) R epeatedly D avid spoke of
family of King David and was given the King Saul, the first king of the twelve
name Jesus, the name meaning Jehovah tribes of Israel, as being the anointIs Salvation. Thereby Jesus was an heir to ed [or, Messiah] of Jehovah. Likewise,
the throne of King David. (Matthew 1:1 to David him self as king was constantly
2:6; Luke 3:23-31) Even an angel from spoken of as Jehovahs anointed or Mesheaven declared that Jesus was the Christ siah. (1 Sam. 24:6, 10; 26:9-23; 2 Sam.
or Messiah. On the night of his birth in 1:14- 16 ; 1 9 : 2 1 ; 2 2 : 5 1 ; 2 3 : 1 ) Even
Bethlehem, this angel from Jehovah said Zedekiah, the last king of Davids line
to God-fearing shepherds: Have no fear, on the throne of Jerusalem, is called
for, look! I am declaring to you good news the anointed one [or, Messiah] of Jeof a great joy that all the people will have, hovah.Lam. 4:20, footnote of 1958 edibecause there was bom to you today tion.
4. So w hat kind of kingdom m ust the Jew ish kingdom
have been down to the y ear 607 B.C.E., and why was
the Son of God from heaven born into Davids line?

5. Into w hat kind of line, then, was Jesus born, and

w hat is th ere to prove th a t Isra e ls kings were referred
to as Messiahs?

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3ReWATCHTOWER
After the overthrow of King Zedekiah hovah, for he was anointed by Jehovah
at the destruction of Jerusalem in 607 himself, and not with holy anointing oil,
B.C.E., there was no Messianic king on but with Jehovahs spirit. This took place
the throne of Israel. But 463 years before after Jesus was baptized in water by John
this Jehovah, in a solemn covenant with the Baptist. (Matt. 3:13-17; Acts 10:38)
King David, promised him: Your house His death on an execution stake outside
and your kingdom w ill certainly be stead- Jerusalem did not prevent him from befast to tim e indefinite before you; your coming the Messianic Heir of King David
very throne w ill become one firmly es- forever, for, on the third day of his death,
tablished to tim e indefinite. (2 Sam. God Almighty resurrected him and re7:16) This meant, therefore, that the warded him with immortality, with incorMessianic kingdom in the royal line of ruptible life in the spirit. (Rom. 1:3, 4;
1 Cor. 15:3-8; 1 Pet. 3:18-22) So by reason
David had to be restored.
7Jesus Christ was the one by means of of his endless life in heaven he can reign
whom to make this restoration of the as Messianic King forever.
Messianic kingdom, for Jesus was bom
FORETOLD BY MOSES AND LATER PROPHETS
into the line of King David. Before his
9 In order to show how great this Jesus
human birth an angel said concerning
is,
the apostle Peter went on to say to the
Jesus: Jehovah God w ill give him the
crowd
of Jews around him in the temple:
throne of David his father, and he will
In
fact,
Moses said, Jehovah God will
rule as king over the house of Jacob forraise
up
for
you from among your brothers
ever, and there w ill be no end of his
a
prophet
like
me. You must listen to him
kingdom. And at Jesus birth in Bethleaccording
to
all
the things he speaks to
hem an angel announced that he was to
you.
Indeed,
any
soul that does not listen
be Christ [or, Messiah] the Lord. (Luke
to
that
Prophet
will be completely de1:32, 33; 2:11) That fixed matters; the
stroyed
from
among
the people. (Acts
restoration of the Messianic kingdom was
3:22,
23)
Peter
was
there quoting the
to be with Jesus.
words
of
the
prophet
Moses
as found in
8True, Jesus was not anointed to be
Deuteronomy
18:15-19.
king over Jacob or Israel by having the
10 Jesus Christ is that promised Prophet,
high priest pour the holy anointing oil
upon his head at Jerusalem. To the con- who was to be like Moses but greater than
trary, in the year 33 C.E. the high priest Moses. He did more and greater miracles
of Jerusalem called for the death of Jesus than Moses did, and he mediates the New
by being executed at the hands of the Covenant between Jehovah and the ChrisRomans. But this did not prove that Jesus tian congregation, a covenant that is far
was not the Anointed One or Messiah. better than the Law Covenant as mediated
(Luke 24:20; John 19:6, 15, 21) Jesus by Moses at Mount Sinai in Arabia. (Acts
was anointed by someone higher than the 2:22; Jer. 31:31-34; Heb. 8:6; 9:15; 12:
high priest of Israel. He was in a very 24; 13:20) Certainly, then, we do not
special sense the Anointed One of Je- desire to be found among those who oppose
the restoration of the Messianic kingdom
6. In view of w hat event in 607 B.C.E., why would
Gods prom ise to K ing David require th a t the Mesin the person of Jesus Christ, the Prophet
sianic kingdom be restored?
7. W hy was Jesus Christ the one in whom to make
restoration of the Messianic kingdom ?
8. A lthough not anointed by the high priest a t Jerusalem, why was Jesus nevertheless the Messiah, and
why can he now reign forever?

9, 10. (a) How did P e ter indicate who was to be the

P rophet like Moses, but g re ater? (b) How is th a t one
greater than Moses, and so why do we not w ant to
resist him ?

A pril 15, 1971

SReWATCHTOWER

243

King who is greater than Moses. To be to bless first the natural, circumcised
found among them would mean our com- Jews, by having his Son Jesus born as a
plete destruction.
Jew in the fam ily line of King David.
To
11
Moses, however, was not the only one get the blessing those Jews had to turn
who prophesied under divine inspiration from wicked works.
13
So by calling upon those Jews to reabout this Jesus the Messiah. There were
pent
and
turn around or be converted,
many others, and so the apostle Peter
the
apostle
Peter was not setting before
went on to say to Jews crowded around
those
Jews
an earthly hope, a hope of
him in the temple: And all the prophets,
inheriting
an
earthly Paradise under the
in fact, from Samuel on and those in sueMessianic
kingdom
of the heavens. He
cession, just as many as have spoken,
was
not
pointing
them
forward to the
have also plainly declared these days. You
long-distant
future
w
ith
the prospect of
are the sons of the prophets and of the
being
restored
to
perfect
human life and
covenant which God covenanted with your
health
in
a
Garden
of
Eden
restored to
forefathers, saying to Abraham, And in
earth.
Rather,
Peter
was
pointing
them
your seed all the fam ilies of the earth
to
the
opportunity
of
becoming
associated
will be blessed. To you first God, after
raising up his Servant, sent him forth to with that Jesus Christ the primary Seed
bless you by turning each one away from of Abraham and thus sharing with Jesus
Christ in blessing all the fam ilies and
your wicked deeds. Acts 3:24-26.
12The prophet Moses was the one that nations of the earth. This would mean
recorded Jehovahs covenant with the pa- that they would also be associated with
triarch Abraham for all fam ilies and na- him in his Messianic reign, reigning with
tions of the earth to be blessed by means him in the heavens for the blessing of
of his Seed or Offspring. (Gen. 12:3; 22: all mankind. So they, also, would receive
18) The prophet Samuel was the one who the anointing with Jehovahs spirit and
first anointed David of Bethlehem to be- become his spiritual sons. Their being
come the king of all Israel; and this in natural circumcised Israelites no longer
itself was a prophetic act pointing forward counted with God. They needed to become
to Jesus Christ. (1 Sam. 16:11-13) The spiritual Israelites, circumcised at heart,
succession of Hebrew prophets after Sam- and making up the spiritual Israel of
uel all had something to say with reference God.Gal. 6:15, 16.
14When the vast m ajority of the Jews
to Jehovahs Messianic kingdom. From
refused
to take advantage of this wonthese prophecies we are helped to appredrous
opportunity
to become associated
ciate how much the Messianic kingdom
with
Jesus
Christ
in
his
heavenly Messianic
of the Son of God w ill mean to all manreign,
the
opportunity
was offered to all
kind. Jesus Christ was primarily that
non-Jewish
nations.
Gods
predetermined
promised Seed of Abraham for blessing
number
are
acting
upon
this
opportunity.
all fam ilies and nations. (Gal. 3:3-16)
(Acts
10:1
to
11:18;
15:7-14;
13:46-48)
God raised him up and commissioned him
A
remnant
of
these
spirit-begotten
heirs
as his Servant to bring blessings to the
of
the
Messianic
kingdom
are
on
earth
people. God sent this anointed Servant
11. According to P e te r's words, who besides Moses
had declared those days and th e blessing fo r which
the Israelites were in line?
12. (a) How w ere those w ords tru e w ith respect to
the prophets? (b) How did Jehovah a rran g e to have
Israel blessed first by M essiah?

13. W hen P e te r called on those Jew s to repent, was

he setting before them an e arth ly hope o r a heavenly
one, and w hy?
14. (a) W hen the vast m ajo rity of th e Jew s tu rn ed
down the Kingdom opportunity, who w ere allow ed to
take advantage of it? (b) W hy are a re m n a n t of these
Kingdom heirs rejoicing today?

B rooklyn , N .Y .
S&eWATCHTOWER.
today, and eagerly they look forward to cies and its timetable for human affairs?
sharing with the Messiah Jesus in his Are we rejoicing in these tim es of restoheavenly kingdom. (Rom. 8:14-17; 2 Tim. ration of all things of which the God
2:10-12; Rev. 20:4-6) They specially re- of the Bible spoke? If we do have faith
joice today because they know that times and we are therefore rejoicing, then the
of restoration of all things of which God first thing that we should unselfishly despoke through the mouth of his holy sire with due respect to God is the reestabprophets of old tim e have broken upon lishment of the universal sovereignty of
them. (Acts 3:21) The Messianic kingdom Jehovah so as to include our earth. This
would mean that Jehovah would positively
has been restored! Since when?
15Since the end of the tim es of the prove that he as God the Creator still
Gentiles, or, the appointed times of the owns the earth and controls it the same
nations, in the year 1914 C.E. (Luke as all the rest of the boundless realm of
21:20-24) Jesus Christ did not restore creation, heavenly and earthly.
17 This would mean an all-inclusive
the kingdom at the tim e of his ascension
to heaven in the year 33 C.E. He knew change in things. It would mean the rehe had to wait, and he did wait, until those establishment of peace through all the
Gentile Times ended in that year when universe heavenly and earthly. What a
the first world war erupted upon mankind. great refreshing it w ill be for us when
A t that tim e he was authorized to make that greatest of all peace disturbers, Satan
request of Jehovah, and Jehovah foretold the Devil, and his demons will be bound
that he would then grant the request of by Jehovahs Messianic kingdom and be
his Messiah. He would give the Messiah hurled into an abyss so as not to be able
or Christ the political nations for his in- to mislead and oppress earths inhabitants!
heritance and the ends of the earth for (Rev. 20:1-6) By destroying Satans entire
his possession. Today these nations are organization Gods kingdom w ill vindicate
interested in world domination by poli- his universal sovereignty.
18 Gods Messianic kingdom has rightful
ticians not anointed with Jehovahs spirit.
They are giving themselves over to selfish interests in the earth. These interests benationalism along with national sovereign- long to the all things of which God spoke
ty, in spite of belonging to the United through the mouth of his prophets of old
Nations organization. Even in their des- tim e and which must have a restoration
perate circumstances today they are not here. So subjects are included. All human
seeking and praying for Jehovahs restored creatures living on this earth must become
Messianic kingdom. Their keeping on in subjects of that kingdom in order to come
this course w ill mean their annihilation. under the universal sovereignty of Jehovah.
Ps. 2:1-9.
18a great crowd of sheeplike persons
RESTORATION OF UNIVERSAL SOVEREIGNTY
today acknowledge and subject themselves
1How about us, though? Do we have
W hat change in things will such a reestablishm ent
faith in the Holy Bible and in its prophe- 17.
mean, and w ith w hat refreshing to us?

244

15. Since when has the Messianic kingdom been restored, and so because of going on in w hat course will
th e nations be destroyed?
16. W ith due regard fo r God, w hat would we desire
to see reestablished?

18. W hat do the all things* th a t are to be restored

include?
19. 20. (a) Who already subm it them selves to this Messianic kingdom, and w ith w hat prospects for a fte r
the end of this system ? (b) How does Isaiah 11:1-5
describe th e ir K ing?

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245

to that Messianic kingdom as set up in

21 W ith the rod of his mouth, or with
the heavens at the end of the Gentile the authoritative orders that issue from
Times in 1914 C.E., even now before the his mouth for striking, he will have
destruction of Satans organization visible smashed to pieces the visible earthly orand invisible. A fter the disastrous end of ganization of mankinds great enemy,
this wicked system of things, they will Satan the Devil. Also, w ith the spirit of
not experience opposition and persecution his lips, or with the irresistible active
for further subm itting them selves to the force that is expressed by his lips in proMessianic government then in full undis- nouncing Gods judgments, he w ill have
puted power and control. (Rev. 7:9-17) put all the wicked ones of the earth to
Unitedly they w ill worship the divine Sov- death. (Compare Revelation 19:15,16,21.)
ereign of the universe, Jehovah. As his This will leave only the true lovers of
men of goodwill they w ill receive every peace alive on the earth. The refreshing
help and blessing from his Messianic king- peace that already exists between Gods
dom, as well as from their fellowmen. men of goodwill world wide even now
How refreshing w ill be the peace that will before that coming destruction of all wickthen reign over all the earth! What a ed, unpeaceful ones w ill be carried over
into the righteous system of things under
wise, just and m erciful King they will
Messiahs kingdom. The beauty of that
have in the Messiah Jesus! Speaking of peace and harmony, besides now fulfilling
him as the descendant of Jesse of Beth- the further words of the prophet Isaiah
lehem, who was also the direct father of in a spiritual sense, w ill become more
King David, the prophecy of Isaiah 11:1-5 concrete in a literal fulfillm ent of those
says:
same prophetic words, which we read in
20
And there must go forth a tw ig outIsaiah 11:6-9:
of the stump of Jesse; and out of his roots
22 And the wolf w ill actually reside
a sprout w ill be fruitful. And upon him the for a while with the male lamb, and with
spirit of Jehovah must settle down, the the kid the leopard itself w ill lie down,
spirit of wisdom and of understanding, and the calf and the maned young lion
the spirit of counsel and of mightiness, and the well-fed animal all together; and
the spirit of knowledge and of the fear a mere little boy w ill be leader over them.
of Jehovah; and there w ill be enjoyment And the cow and the bear them selves will
feed; together their young ones w ill lie
by him in the fear of Jehovah. And he
down. And even the lion w ill eat straw
w ill not judge by any mere appearance
just like the bull. And the sucking child
to his eyes, nor reprove simply according
will certainly play upon the hole of the
to the thing heard by his ears. And with
cobra; and upon the light aperture of a
righteousness he must judge the lowly
poisonous snake w ill a weaned child acones, and with uprightness he must give
tually put his own hand. They w ill not
reproof in behalf of the meek ones of the
do any harm or cause any ruin in all my
earth. And he must strike the earth with
holy mountain; because the earth w ill
the rod of his mouth; and with the spirit
certainly be filled w ith the knowledge of
of his lips he w ill put the wicked one to
(a) How will th e K ing strik e w ith th e , rod
death. And righteousness m ust prove to 21,22.
of his m outh and p u t to death w ith th e sp irit of
be the belt of his hips, and faithfulness his lip s( ? b) The peacefulness of whom on e arth
today will carry over into th e new system , and how
does Isaiah 11:6-9 describe th e beauty of it?
the belt of his loins.

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SEeWATCHTOWER
Jehovah as the waters are covering the to the Messianic government. Those revery sea.
fusing full submission and obedience to
the restored Messianic kingdom over earth
EARTH-WIDE PEACE AND SECURITY AT LAST!
will be judged as undeserving of any life
23 Under the Messiah Jesus, who is at all and w ill be destroyed, condemned
something more than Solomon, the to absolute extinction. But those who learn
peace w ill be restored that existed under to practice obedience w ill receive the full
the united kingdom of wise King Solomon, benefit of the perfect human sacrifice of
the son of David, concerning whose reign Jesus Christ as a ransom. They them selves
it is written: Judah and Israel were will be uplifted to perfection of human
many, like the grains of sand that are by life, as obedient children of the Messianic
the sea for multitude, eating and drinking King. Thus they will be able to enjoy him
and rejoicing. And Judah and Israel con- as their life-giving Father, for another one
tinued to dwell in security, everyone under of his titles prophetically given is Eternal
his own vine and under his own fig tree, Father.Isa. 9:6.
from Dan to Beer-sheba, all the days of
26The Messianic kingdom of the kings
Solomon. (1 Ki. 4:20, 25; Matt. 12:42)
of ancient Israel had just the God-given
It w ill be this prosperous peace earth wide
territory in the Promised Land over there
into which all the ransomed dead of manin the Middle East. The Messianic kingdom
kind w ill be resurrected. The Messiah
of the Son of God, Jesus Christ, w ill have
Jesus, one of whose titles is Prince of
this territory restored to it. It w ill also
Peace, will not call men of all nations
have Africa, Asia, Europe, Australia, the
and fam ilies back from the grave to reNorth, Central and South Americas, the
sume under his kingdom the interracial,
Antarctic and all the islands of the seven
international, intertribal and interfamily
seas, yea, all the earth. They w ill all be
quarrels and wars in which they engaged
transformed into a Paradise of Pleasure,
before and down till death. Concerning his
a
Garden of Eden, for all the interests
reign he prophesied:
that belong to the universal sovereignty
24 Do not marvel at this, because the
of Jehovah in those parts of our planet
hour is coming in which all those in the
will be restored to his Messianic King,
memorial tombs will hear his voice and
Jesus Christ. (Luke 23:43) That Messicome out, . . . to a resurrection.John
anic Government w ill see to it that all
5:28, 29.
these earthly interests belonging to the
25How will each ones resurrection to
Creator are conserved forever, to Jeholife on earth under the Messianic kingdom
vahs praise and to mans eternal good.
turn out to be? This w ill depend upon
27 Through the mouth of his holy prophthe course of each one. There will be an
ets
of old time God spoke of all these
opportunity for each one to gain endless
things
that are to be restored. (Acts 3:21)
life on a Paradise earth, and that will be
The
promised
times of restoration of
taken advantage of by heartfelt obedience
all things are now upon us. Let us see
23,24. (a) W hat conditions under ancient King Soloto it that they are a blessing to us all.
m ons reign will be restored? (b) Whom will the
G reater Solomon
conditions then?
25. W hy w ill the
kingdom tu rn out
and th a t of others

call back to

enjoy these earthly

resurrection of some under M essiahs

to be for judgm ent or condemnation,
tu rn out to be fo r life?

26. W hat te rrito ry will be restored to Jehovahs Messianic kingdom, and into w hat will it be transform ed?
27. W hat tim es are now upon us, and we should see
th a t they are w hat to us?

y t YOUNG musician in Canada

C / l was found in bad condition by
the police. He told them he had decided to try LSD because he no longer
got kicks from marijuana. The resuit was a bad trip during which
he shoved his fingers deep into his
eye sockets because he didnt want
to see what he was seeing. He severely damaged both eyes, and doctors feared he would lose the sight of
one of them.
Accounts like these are not uncommon in news reports. Doctors, lawmakers and even most users of drugs
admit that the heavy psychedelic
drugs such as LSD and heroin as well
as the up and down pills, amphetamines and barbiturates, are dangerous.
Heroin and the barbiturates, particularly,
are addictive. Few addicted to heroin are
ever cured.
On the other hand, marijuana users,
who include many youths of college and
high-school age, present arguments to support their use of the weed. They call it
a social intensifier.
One college student said that with marijuana the mind is m agnificently delighted by very simple situations or memoirs.
Some went farther by expressing a deeper
purpose in their smoking, saying: Drugs
are our only means of feeling love in this
debacle of self-destruction. It is a return to Eden, and drugs are instant
paradise, or instant analysis of oneself.
SOME FACTS AS TO MARIJUANAS EFFECTS

Two questions are m ost frequently

asked: Are users of marijuana likely to
go to stronger drugs? Is marijuana itself
dangerous?
Because the truth about marijuana has
been shrouded in a m ist of ignorance,
and noting its epidemic spread, governments are establishing drug research commissions. In addition, research is carried

on independently by a large number of

scientists. What have they found? Does
marijuana smoking lead to the use of
heavier drugs?
A folder published by the U.S. Department of Health, Education, and Welfare
reports that users of one illicit drug may
be exposed to a variety of them through
contacts with drug sellers and other users. And under the heading Latest Findings on Marijuana, the U.S. News &
World Report of February 1, 1971, states
that there is evidence that people who
have come to lean on the drug for psychological reasonsin the belief it w ill relieve tension and depressionare likely
to go on to stronger drugs.
The physical dangers of the heavy drugs
are well attested. As to marijuana, sufflciently high doses . . . can cause unpredictable, acutealthough temporary
psychotic episodes m anifesting themselves in the form of illusions, hallucinations, paranoia, depression and panic,
says a report from the New York State
Temporary Commission to Evaluate the
Drug Laws. In addition, preliminary research indicates that continued regular
use of marijuana or extrem ely high dosages may cause liver damage, genetic de247

B rooklyn , N .Y .
ffReWATCHTOWER.
fects, brain damage and upper respiratory those who are disgusting in their filth
ailm ent. What sensible person would de- and murderers and fornicators and those
liberately expose him self and his posterity practicing spiritism [Greek,
to m isery and a shortened life from these druggers] . . . their portion w ill be in
the lake that bum s with fire and sulphur.
diseases?
This means the second death.Rev. 21:
THE BIBLE VIEWPOINT
8, Kingdom Interlinear Translation.
Does the Bible say anything relative to
HASHISH, THE DRUG OF ASSASSINS
the subject of drugs? Does it give us help
Marijuana is a product of the cannabis
to resist use of them? Can we, with the
Bibles help, strengthen our children to plant, a hemp, from which hashish is also
made. This drug is similar to marijuana
resist?
Drugs were known in the ancient days and is frequently used by marijuana smokof Bible writing. For what, especially, ers.
The origin of the word assassin testiwere they known? For their connection
with sorcery, witchcraft, spiritism. But fies to the power of hashish to incite to
drugs did not bring their users into com- acts of violence. A ssassin is drawn from
munion with God, as some modem drug the Arabic word hashshashin, used to deadvocates claim. A t Galatians 5:20, spirit- scribe the Order of Assassins, a Moslem
ism is classed, not as a fruit of Gods order founded in Persia about 1090 C.E.
spirit, but as one of the works of the At the tim e of the crusades these men
flesh that w ill prevent one from entering terrorized the Christians and other eneGods kingdom. Here the Greek word used mies by secret murder, religious assassinafor practice of spiritism or sorcery is tions, committed under the influence of
phar-maki'a, literally, druggery.
hashish.
On this word, Vines Expository DieDRUGS BRING USERS INTO SLAVERY
tionary of New Testament Words comAll these drugs, from marijuana to LSD
ments: PHARMAKIA . . . primarily signified the use of medicine, drugs, spells; to heroin, are either physically or psychothen, poisoning; then, sorcery, . . . See logically addicting, or both. Researchers
also Rev. 9:21; 18:23. . . . In sorcery, the say: Scientists . . . agree that signs of psyuse of drugs, whether simple or potent, chological addiction [to marijuana] are
was generally accompanied by incanta- common. True, certain drugs, administions and appeals to occult powers, with tered under a physicians care, m ay have
the provision of various charms, amulets, some medicinal purpose. But marijuana
etc., professedly designed to keep the ap- users can find no such excuse, for, says
plicant or patient from the attention and the U.S. Department of Health, Educapower of demons, but actually to impress tion, and Welfare, unlike other drugs, it
the applicant with the mysterious resourc- has no known use in modem medicine.
es and powers of the sorcerer.
The Christian, in carrying on the fight
If one is led into the practice of spirit- for the faith, is warned: Keep your sensism he is open to all sorts of wrong prac- es, be watchful. Your adversary, the Devil,
tices that can bring demon influence and walks about like a roaring lion, seeking to
insanity, and w ill surely result in his ever- devour someone. (1 Pet. 5:8) The person
lasting death. God says: But as for . . . who relaxes vigilance, particularly when

248

15, 1971

249
SFEeWATCHTOWER.
PARENTS, HELP YOUR CHILDREN
it is done for kicks and by something
Parents can help their children, and
that incapacitates his normal processes of
thinking and discernment, is opening him- should prepare them in advance. They
self up to attack by Satan and the de- should approach the subject with the right
mons. Such a person throws away self- attitude. Young persons may feel that they
c o n t r o l , and
have good reaacts contrary
sons for using
TH E N EX T IS S U E
to his devotion
drugs, because
to G od a n d
they hear ar Appreciating Jehovah God and Jesus Christ and
Christ. The
guments favorW hat They Have Done for Us.
apostle Paul
ing drugs from
Relief from Depression.
said: I will
w orldly assonot let m yself
c i a t e s all
Blessed Is the One Coming as King.
be brought unaround them .
der au th ority
Children are
by anything (that is, that would put Paul basically intelligent, and they want, not
at a disadvantage in serving God).1 Cor. merely a series of nos, but adequate
6:12; Gal. 5:22, 23.
reasons. Parents, employing love, consideration and kindness, reasoning with facts
CHRIST REJECTED UNREALITY AND DRUGS
and Bible counsel, can fortify children to
What was Jesus Christs view of es- resist the drug menace.2 Tim. 2:24-26.
capism and drug use? When a suggestion
The relationship of the person with God
by Peter, one of his apostles, tempted him is the strongest m atter to stress. For, if
to escape reality by looking away for even God is left out of the picture, the disan instant from the difficult course of sac- cussion may go in circles and end up
rifice before him, Jesus quickly replied: with the child feeling that there was really
Get behind me, Satan.Mark 8:32, 33. little valid, authoritative counsel that
Later, when about to be impaled on the would benefit him. And the parents must
torture stake, Jesus was offered wine set the proper example themselves, not
drugged with myrrh, but he would not giving them selves to a lot of wine, and
take it. (Mark 15:23) Why did Jesus re- not relying on pep pills (amphetamines)
fuse? Vines Dictionary comments: [The and sedatives (barbiturates) to substitute
verb] SMURNIZO . . . is used transitively
for self-control when faced with emotional
in the N.T., with the meaning to mingle
problems, weight problems (from lack of
or drug with myrrh, Mark 15:23; the mixture was doubtless offered to deaden the control in eating), and so forth.1 Tim.
pain (Matthews word gall [27:34] sug- 3:8; Prov. 23:20.
Parents should point out to their chilgests that myrrh was not the only ingredien t). Christ refused to partake of any dren that illicit drug trade and use are
such means of alleviation; He would re- suppressed by very strong laws in many
tain all his mental power for the complete countries, penalties for violations ranging
fulfillment of the Fathers w ill. Just be- up to the death penalty. The Christian who
fore he died, Christ accepted some sour traffics in or uses illicit drugs is a lawwine for his thirst. This, incidentally, in- breaker, a criminal; he is refusing to obey
dicates that Jesus made a distinction be- God, to pay back Caesars things to Caesar, and is not showing proper subjection
tween drugs and wine.John 19:28-30.
A p r il

250

B r o o k l y n , N .Y .
S&eWATCHTOWER
to the superior authorities, as commanded and, Flee from the desires incidental to
youth, but pursue righteousness, faith,
by God.Matt. 22:21; Rom. 13:1.
In addition, the person who is tempted love, peace, along with those who call upon
to use drugs should realize that, very of- the Lord out of a clean heart. (1 Cor.
ten, in order to buy drugs, users turn to 15:33; 2 Tim. 2:22) Those who are learnstealing and even violence. In a survey by ing to respect Gods laws are therefore
the Centre of Criminology of the Univer- the clean-hearted ones whose companionsity of Toronto, covering 967 persons ship is valuable.
If the youth is a Christian witness of
eighteen years of age and older, drugs
were listed as the chief cause for crime, Jehovah, he has the strongest possible
w ith lack of discipline in the home a close weapon. That is his knowledge of Gods
second.
Word of truth and the ability to bear w itDrugs weaken integrity to God. The U.S. ness to Gods kingdom. (Eph. 6:17) OfGovernment brochure reports: A person ten, if he tells his associates that he is
using marijuana finds it harder to make one of Jehovahs witnesses and that he
decisions that require clear thinking. And cannot join them in their use of drugs, he
he finds him self more easily open to will be left alone. If, whenever opportuniother peoples suggestions. If they had ty arises, he speaks about Bible principles
been smoking marijuana to escape reality, and the better things that Gods kingdom
would the three Hebrew companions of brings, he w ill be respected by many for
Daniel have been able to stand with firm abstaining from drugs. Furthermore, he
decision, as they did, with death in a fiery may even be able to help some of his asfurnace staring them in the face?Dan. sociates to avoid or break away from
drug use.
3:1-25.
COPING WITH GROUP PRESSURE

LIVING NOW ACCORDING TO REALITY

Psychedelic means mind (or, soul)

Parents must face the realization that
probably the strongest force tending to m anifesting. But it is not through any
promote drug use is peer group pres- analysis of his own imperfect mind and
sure. This is the desire to be in with heart that man finds what is good. (Rom.
the crowd and the fear of being called a 7:18; Jer. 17:9, 10) Rather, it is through
coward or a square. Usually it is a an understanding of the mind of God and
friend who is the pusher. The peddler of his Son Jesus Christ. It is Gods Word
may be the boy next door, says the New
and spirit that reveal these things of inYork Times. Often a pusher makes a gift
estimable value to us. (1 Cor. 2:9-13) The
of a reefer (marijuana cigarette) or a
stronger drug to the individual to get him Bible also enables one to analyze what is
started toward becoming a profitable cus- really in ones own heart, so that one can
tomer later. In an apparent effort to cause make corrections in harmony with Gods
further addiction, some have sprayed mar- righteous will, not a mere trip into sensuality that leaves the individual more conijuana with heroin before selling it.
fused
and depressed than before.Heb.
How, then, will the youth who is con4:12.
stantly pressed by companions, at school,
at work and elsewhere, successfully fight
While drug users claim that they
the use of drugs? The Bible rule is: achieve Eden, paradise and love,
Bad associations spoil useful habits, those who hold to the principle of godly de-

A pril 15, 1971

251
3EeWATCHTOWEFL
votion have the promise of the life now changing. (1 Cor. 7:31) Instead of war,
and that which is to come (1 Tim. 4:8) hatred, prejudice and death, a true Edenic
They are living in reality and enjoying paradise is at hand, in which God will
life, being kept occupied, with no bore- wipe out every tear from [mankinds]
dom or frustration, for they have a pur- eyes, and death will be no more, neither
pose in life. (1 Cor. 15:58) On the other will mourning nor outcry nor pain be any
hand, a college student confessed: I have more. The former things have passed
stopped taking drugs.. . . It became all too away. (Rev. 21:4) Anyone with a desire
easy to groove on something . . . with- to learn of God can achieve real peace of
out ever coming to terms with real prob- mind and, not a fanciful, dreamy instant
lems, without ever really thinking. The paradise, but an
actual,enduring on
borders of illusion and reality became studying the Bible with Jehovahs witnesshazy.
es. If we seek God, he w ill let him self be
Truly, the present scene of this world found by us, for, in fact, he is not far
is a depressing thing. But the apostle Paul off from each one of us.Acts 17:27;
comforts us: The scene of this world is 2 Chron. 15:2.

M PM

co u n tr y of
friendship th is
' SI
is the way some tourist adiJ
vertisements describe Gabon, a West African counIt!;*______
try t h at stra ddl es the
equator. But since April of 1970 doubts
have been raised as to whether Gabon
really is the country of friendship. Why?
Because toward the end of April the govemment of Gabon took action to ban freedom of worship for the most peaceful peopie in the country.
On Wednesday evening, April 29, 1970,
Radio Libreville announced that, in a cabinet meeting presided over by President
Bongo, the decision was made to ban the
work of Jehovahs witnesses in all of Gabon. Thereafter the government expelled
all missionaries of the W itnesses from the
country.

REALLY

JL

o f ^friendship ?
The ban has meant that all Christian
meetings of Jehovahs witnesses and all
preaching of the Bible from door to door
are forbidden. Further, the Bible magazines mailed in to them were seized as
they arrived at the post office. They were
even refused the right to receive shipments of Bibles!
As a result of the ban two native fulltime ministers of Jehovahs witnesses were
arrested. And why? Well, one was found
carrying a Bible! And it is the same Bible
that can be purchased in many places
throughout Gabon. What do you think of

252

S&eWATCHTOWER

a government that arrests peace-abiding

people for carrying a Bible?
THE REACTION AMONG THE PEOPLE

The announcement to deny freedom of

worship to these Christian witnesses was
a shock to many, especially those who
know that these Christians believe in living by the Bibles command to seek peace
and pursue it. (1 Pet. 3:11) One man
said: My w ife just cried out at hearing
the announcement. A Gabonese man who
was not a W itness expressed the feelings
of many as he told a missionary: Since
the announcement of the expulsion of the
m issionaries was made I could neither eat
nor sleep for several days but cried!
Several persons asked: Why does our
government not respect its own Const!tution? There should be freedom of religion in Gabon.
Another man said: Were chasing out
the good religion that minds their own
business and were keeping those who are
all the tim e m ixing in politics and giving
us trouble.
Thus there were many Gabonese peopie who were very disappointed by the unfriendly actions of their government. One
who thanked the m issionaries for helping
him was formerly a worthless drunk, but
now he is pursuing the Christian ministry. Another expressed appreciation in a
letter for the help the m issionaries gave
him. He had previously been a polygamist
w ith four wives, but is now happily married to only one because of the influence
of Bible truths on his life.1 Tim. 3:2,12.
The people of Gabon in general are
friendly. Many natives appreciate that the
W itnesses preach the Word of God and
stick to it; and they are continuing to
show the same friendly spirit they always
have. It is their government, however, that
has taken such unfriendly steps against
freedom of worship.

B rooklyn , N .Y .

WHY THE BAN AND UNFRIENDLY ACTS?

Was this decision by the Gabonese govemment one motivated only by political
rulers? There are indications that religious
clergymen were involved. For example,
soon after the ban was announced, Catholie priests began to visit the owner of the
home where the m issionaries of Jehovahs
witnesses lived. Had the priests come to
sympathize w ith the homeowner and to
express them selves in favor of freedom of
worship? No, the priests tried to persuade the landlord to put the missionaries
out of his house! But the homeowner refused to take such unfriendly action, despite much prodding on the part of the
Catholic priests.
Another interesting aspect of the matter
is that W itnesses were told by persons in
a position to know that there had been a
meeting of many of the clergy, both Catholic and Protestant, at the home of a government official, and that they had rejoiced over a plot to ban religious freedom
for these Christian witnesses. One minister in the government who spoke against
the W itnesses is a Protestant pastor. And
one prominent political leader is a Catholie priest.
The W itnesses in Gabon knew that
charges were being fabricated, and that,
whether they were being inspired to some
extent by religious clergymen or not, the
truth should be stated. So the very next
morning after the ban was announced, two
missionary representatives of the Witnesses and a native Gabonese W itness went to
see the Minister of the Interior. They discussed the m atter for about forty-five minutes. They asked him on what grounds
their Christian activity was banned. He
told them that their religion was banned
because of some members of their religion
in the interior of the country. And how
did he back this charge up? With four
handwritten letters from towns in the in-

A pril 15, 1971

fReWATCHTOWEFL

terior of Gabonwhere there are no Wit

nesses! He said that the work of the Wit
nesses had been investigated and that
these letters came from their agents as a
result.
Later the authorities accused the Witnesses of not respecting the flag, not paying taxes, teaching people not to vote and
causing disorder among the population.
THE CHARGES UNFOUNDED

The W itnesses answered these government charges by explaining that as Christians they respect the government and
show it obedience, as the Bible teaches.
(Rom. 13:1) They pointed out that none
of the W itnesses in Gabon were ever arrested or put in prison because they had
stolen anything, killed anyone or fought
against the law or the government. Why,
world wide Jehovahs witnesses are known
as peaceful, law-abiding citizens. They
show respect for the flag, knowing that
it represents the government, and any Witness in Gabon who was present at a ceremony in which the flag was saluted was
standing quietly and respectfully.
As to the accusation of not paying taxes,
any informed person knows that this is
not true. The W itnesses have always paid
their taxes because that is what Gods
Word instructs them to do, and they live
by the Bible. Even the instruction book
for baptized W itnesses,
Word Is a
Lamp to My F oot says on page 38:
Must a Christian pay all the taxes demanded by law? Reply is given by quoting the Bible: Render to all their dues,
to him who calls for the tax, the tax; to
him who calls for the tribute, the tribute.
Rom. 13:7.
As for politics, Jehovahs witnesses
maintain a neutral stand. Nobody was
brought forth by the Gabonese government as proof that the W itnesses had
taught him not to vote. Incidentally, the

253

vote in Gabon is secret, so it should not

be possible to tell who did and who did
not vote. Then, too, for three years prior
to this ban there were no elections, and
for four years thereafter none are to be
held. So is this m atter of voting a problem that Gabon has suddenly been faced
with? Hardly.
How about the charge of causing disorder among the people? The W itnesses
preach the good news of God's kingdom.
They never force others to accept their
message and become W itnesses. They follow the counsel of Jesus, who said: When
you are entering into the house, greet the
household; and if the house is deserving,
OFFICIALS OF G A B O N

His Excellency
President Albert B. Bongo,
BP 546
Libreville, Gabon
The Honorable Leon Mebiame,
Vice-president
BP 547
Libreville, Gabon
Mr. Jean-Stanislas Migolet,
Minister of State
BP 549
Libreville, Gabon
Mr. Jean Remy Ayoune,
Minister in Charge of Foreign Affairs
BP 389
Libreville, Gabon
Mr. Raphael Mamiaka,
Minister of the Interior
BP 1110
Libreville, Gabon
His Excellency
Gaston-Robert Boukat-Bou-Nziegui,
Ambassador E. and P.
Embassy of the Republic of Gabon
4900 16th St. NW
Washington, D.C. 20011
His Excellency
Jean Davin,
Ambassador E. and P.
Mission of the Republic of Gabon
to the United Nations
866 United Nations Plaza
New York, N.Y. 10017

B r o o k ly n , N .Y .
3fieWATCHTOWER
let the peace you wish it come upon it; Gabon to explain their position and to anbut if it is not deserving, let the peace swer the false charges made against them.
from you return upon you. Wherever any- However, the requests were ignored. The
one does not take you in or listen to your government did not give an opportunity
words, on going out of that house or that for the W itnesses to explain their position
city shake the dust off your feet.Matt. to the high officials responsible for the ban.
10:12-14.
YOU CAN HELP
Since 1958 Jehovahs witnesses have
Although the government has refused
been preaching publicly and freely in Gabon. Why, after twelve years, does the to accept an explanation from the W itgovernment suddenly accuse them of caus- nesses, you can help. If you are not in
agreement w ith such denial of freedom of
ing disorder?
To show that the charges are unfounded, worship, confiscation of Bibles, and other
the W itnesses sent a four-page letter of unfriendly acts toward peaceful Chrisdefense covering the foregoing points to tians, why not write to one or more of
the government. W ith what result? A brief the government officials listed here and
reply said that their legal corporation had express your views? Urge them to show
been dissolved. It added that once the respect for their own Constitution and for
government has made a decision it is sov- people who seek to do the w ill of God.
If you do, it m ight cause the governereign and can never be changed.
But since the charges are false and ment of Gabon to reconsider the matter
since freedom of worship is involved, ought and to endeavor, by a change in their
there not to be a change? Definitely so! course of action, to show that Gabon is
The W itnesses tried by different chan- the country of friendship that they
nels of approach to see the president of claim it to be.

254

Seeing the Condition of the Churches

Jehovahs witnesses have frequently pointed out that what one sees in the churches of
Christendom is not really Christianity. Some
persons have considered such conclusions unfair, and not really true.
Last year The Defenders Trumpet, a paper
put out by a Catholic church in Minnesota,
made some interesting comments regarding
this. In its Vol. 2, No. 5 issue it carried this
quotation:
Have you wondered about the Churches?
Throughout the world, Church Organizations
are being torn by disputes. Churchmen contradict one another in public. Church doctrine
and church authority are being challenged by
both clergymen and churchgoers. In fact, in
many areas church attendance has sagged so
much that some churches resort to ,rock and
roll* music, dancing and other entertainment
to bolster it.
In addition, instead of exercising a wholesome influence on morals, a number of church-

men are excusing homosexuality and other

I loose conduct Also, the ,God is dead* philosoj phy is gaining ground among them.
I But what is causing the churches to die?
j It is because they are not teaching Bible truth
j and are not adhering to Bible principles. The
clergy often downgrade the Bible and substij tute their own ,philosophy for the Word of
j God. (Col. 2:8) . . . What they offer is false
religion.
j
The Catholic paper then said: The above is
j an excerpt from a tract put out by ,The
j
j Watchtower,( Jehovahs Witnesses). We think
J that much of it applies to the situation here
at St. Stephens/
}
} About sixteen years ago a Roman Catholic
{ man in Dublin, Ireland, became one of JehoJ vahs witnesses. As a result, he encountered
J opposition, particularly from his wife. She
I took him to court regarding their six children.

A pril 15, 1971

SHeWATCHTOWEFL

Winning the case, she was permitted to rear

them as Catholics.
The newspaper reported the matter fully,
even publishing the incident of this mans
throwing his images into the river Liffey.
From that time on, his wife refused to cook
for him or to do his laundry. But the more
things she did to hurt him, the more loving
he was to her.
About four years ago this Witness became
gravely sick with cancer of the liver. During
his long illness in the hospital, his son John
visited him each night, bringing various
friends. The boys who accompanied John to
the hospital were all Catholics.
The father would ask John to read to him
the daily Bible text from the Yearbook of
Jehovahs Witnesses. Then he would kindly

At Luke 23:43, why does the New World

Translation put the comma after the word
today ?E. D., U.S.A.
In the New World Translation of the Holy
Scriptures Luke 23:43 reads: And he said to
him: Truly I tell you today, You will be with
me in Paradise.* Jesus said this in answer to
the following request of one of the evildoers
hung beside him: Jesus, remember me when
you get into your kingdom.Luke 23:42.
However, other Bible translations punctuate
Luke 23:43 differently. For instance, the King
James Version says: And Jesus said unto him,
Verily I say unto thee, To day shalt thou be
with me in paradise.
There is no question but that the position of
the comma changes the meaning of the verse.
In the King James Version the commas being
placed before the word today makes it appear
that Jesus told the evildoer that he would be in
Paradise that very same day. This would mean
that Jesus would have to come into his Kingdom, and that Jesus, as well as the evildoer,
would be in Paradise on that very day that he
was speaking.
In the original Greek language of the Christian Greek Scriptures, how is this sentence punc

(
j
1
!
j
1
j

I
j
j

j
j
t
{

255

discuss with the visiting boys the meaning

behind the scripture under consideration. In
this way Johns father was able to tell these
youths something about Gods purposes.
Johns father finally died. The young persons were so deeply impressed that he had
kept his faith to the end that John and three
of his friends asked the Witnesses to help
them to learn the message of the Bible. They
made rapid progress. Soon they were telling
all whom they met the fine things that they
were learning. The result? Twenty young
men have become footstep followers of Jesus
as witnesses of Jehovah in Dublin. Yes, the
endurance of Johns father and his faithful*
ness helped these young persons to find the
road that leads to life.Matt. 7:14.
tuated? It is not punctuated at all. Why not?
Because the writers of the Greek Scriptures did
not use punctuation at that time. The Encyclo
pedia Americana, 1956, Volume 23, page 16,
states: No attempt to punctuate is apparent
in the earlier manuscripts and inscriptions of
the Greeks. It was not until the 9th century
C.E. that punctuation came into general use.
Although later Greek texts such as that of
Westcott and Hort put the comma before the
Greek word for today, they did so according
to their own understanding and religious be*
liefs. However, neither the comma nor any of
the other punctuation was there in the older
Greek texts.
Where, then, should the comma be put? What
is the testimony of Gods own Word on this
matter? What did Jesus himself say? Did he
believe he was going to inherit his kingdom
and be in some kind of Paradise immediately
after he died, in that same twenty-four-hour
period?
Earlier, to his disciples, Jesus stated: The
Son of man must undergo many sufferings and
be rejected by the older men and chief priests
and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day
be raised u p (Luke 9:22) The two angels at
the tomb told the women who had come there:
He is not here, but has been raised up. Recall
how he spoke to you while he was yet in Galilee, saying that the Son of man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men and be
impaled and yet on the third day rise Luke
24:6, 7.
Jesus was not resurrected on the day he
died, but on the third day from his death. Thus,

256

SF&eWATCHTOWER-

he could not have come into his kingdom on

the day of his death. Then where was he during
those three days, before his resurrection? Acts
2:24 says: God resurrected him by loosing the
pangs of death, because it was not possible
for him to continue to be held fast by it." So
Jesus was in the grip of death during that
time. Acts 2:27 further says concerning him:
You will not leave my soul in Hades, neither
will you allow your loyal one to see corruption.
Hence, Jesus was in Hades, which is mankind's
common grave. And the Bible says that there is
no work nor devising nor knowledge nor wisdom in Sheol [LXX, Hades]." So he was out of
existence in Hades, as was the evildoer.Eccl.
9:5,10.
Then, on the third day from his death, God
raised Jesus from the dead as a mighty spirit
creature. But the evildoer was not raised; he
stayed in the grave.1 Pet. 3:18.
When Jesus, after his resurrection, materialized to appear to his disciples, they asked
him: Lord, are you restoring the kingdom to
Israel at this time?" (Acts 1:6) Jesus showed
that the answer was, No. The time had not yet
come for his kingdom to be established.
Then, was God's heavenly kingdom, with Jesus as king, established at any time during the
lives of the apostles? No, for about sixty-three
years after Jesus' death and resurrection the
apostle John was inspired to write that God's
kingdom was still in the future. (Revelation
chapter 12) And it would be under that future
kingdom that paradise would be restored.
,Thus, the New World Translation of the Holy

B rooklyn , N .Y .

Scriptures, in its rendering of Luke 23:43, is

consistent with the truth of God's Word conceming the establishment of God's kingdom,
the Paradise earth that will be restored under
Kingdom rule, the condition of the dead, and
where Jesus was during those three days.
Other translators have also seen the difficulty involving the comma in this scripture.
The Riverside New Testament avoided the problem by not putting in a comma at all, rendering it: T tell you truly to-day you will be with
me in Paradise.' On the other hand, The New
Testament by George M. Lamsa renders it:
Truly I say to you today, You will be with me
in Paradise.' Also The Emphasised Bible by
Joseph B. Rotherham reads: Verily I say unto
thee this day: With me shalt thou be in Para
dise."
So what Jesus was saying was that when
God's kingdom by Christ was established at a
time then future, and when Paradise was restored to the earth, this evildoer could expect to
be resurrected to have an opportunity for eternal life. He would be included among those
mentioned at Acts 24:15, where it states: There
is going to be a resurrection of both the
righteous and the unrighteous.' As an unrigh
teous' person he would be resurrected and
given the opportunity to learn of God's purposes and requirements. If obedient to God and
his King-Son, he would live forever on that Paradise earth, qualified to be among those of
whom Psalm 37:29 foretold: The righteous
themselves will possess the earth, and they will
reside forever upon it."

ANNOUNCEMENTS

WATCHTOWER STUDIES FOR THE WEEKS

May 23: Restoration of All Things of Which

God Spoke." Page 233. Songs to Be Used:
85, 111.
May 30: How Restoration of All Things" Is
Made. Page 240. Songs to Be Used: 114, 93.

74nnouTLci71g

JEHOVAHS
KINGDOM
M A Y 1, 1971
Semimonthly

APPRECIATING JEHOVAH G O D
A N D JESUS CHRIST
RELIEF FROM DEPRESSION

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YOU ARE MY W ITNESSES, SAYS JEHOVAH.-lsa.43:l2

T H E PU R P O SE O F "T H E W A T C H T O W E R
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som ething good over w h ich to be glad w ith strong faith and hope.
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facing a com m on w o rld danger; w e are all hoping fo r a com m on good.
E ver since "The W a tc h to w e r began to be published in J u ly o f 1 8 7 9 it
has looked ahead into the future, a lw a y s striving to aid its readers to advan ce in k now ledge and to gain a clearer picture o f the glorious n e w order
o f things th at is in store for righteous m ankind. N o , "The W a tc h to w e r
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Book? T h e Sacred Bible o f the H o ly Scriptures, w ritten b y inspiration in
th e nam e o f the C reator o f heaven and earth, the o n ly living and true G od.
T h e sacred, nonpolitical purpose o f "The W a tc h to w e r is accordingly
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to prove w o r th y o f perfect life and happiness in G od s promised n e w order
under H is everlasting kingdom o f righteousness.

PUBLISHED BY TH E
WATCH TOW ER BIBLE AND TRACT SOCIETY OF PENNSYLVANIA
117 Adams S treet
Brooklyn, N.Y. 11201, U.S.A.
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G rant S uiter , Secretary

They will all be taught by Jehovah.John 6:45; Isaiah 54:13

CONTENTS
Do You Lighten the Burden?
Relief from Depression
Appreciating Jehovah God and Jesus Christ
and What They Have Done for Us
The Ransom, Marvelous Expression
of Love and Justice
Striving to Serve Jehovah from
Childhood On
Your RecreationControlled or Controller ?
*Blessed Is the One Coming as King
Rendering Our Best to Jehovah
Use All Means to Keep Healthy in Faith
Do You Remember?
Gileads 50th Class Encouraged
to Seek Wisdom

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-y fo iT zo u T ic irig
J E H O V A H S
KING DO M
May 1, 1971

Number 9

H jM M W iT Ifc UGHTEN IKE BURDEN?

IFE brings with it all kinds of burdens to bear. Among the heaviest,
without a doubt, are the burdens that go
with responsibility. Especially are such
burdens heavy upon parents and upon
those in supervisory positions, such as employers, foremen, schoolteachers and overseers in Christian congregations. If we do
to others as we would have them do to us,
then, if at all possible, we certainly will
lighten rather than increase their burdens.
Luke 6:31.
Take, for example, a father. As the head
of his family he has the burden of providing for their needsfood, clothing and
shelter. More than that, he must discipline
his children, supply them with needed recreation and see that the religious or spiritual needs of his family are met.1 Tim.
5:8.
Are you a wife? Then it is in your own
interest to lighten the burdens of your
husband, if possible. One way in which
you can do this is by being content with
what he is able to provide for his family.
Your taking a keen interest in keeping
your home neat and clean and your deriving pleasure from preparing meals for
your family will certainly lighten your
husbands burdens, for he is concerned

about keeping you happy and contented.

Prov. 31:15, 26, 27.
Then again, as a good wife, if you cooperate with your husband in the disciplining of the children, teaching them to re*
spect their father, you can help a great
deal to lighten his particularly heavy burden in these modern times. Lending a patient ear when he shares his problems with
you will have the same effect. You can
also lighten your husbands burden by
words of appreciation for his faithfulness
and dependability. Yes, by manifesting
understanding, contentment, empathy and
appreciation you can greatly lighten the
burden of your breadwinner.Eph. 5:22,
33.
Are you a youth living at home with
your parents? You also can lighten the
burden of those closest to you, your parents. How so? By first of all recognizing
that they love you more, and are more
interested in your welfare, than any companions of your own age are. So it is to
your own interest to be obedient to their
requests and submit to their wishes. Show
appreciation for all that your parents have
done for you. You represent a great investment on their partin time, money,
energy and concern. All they ask is that

259

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B r o o k l y n , N .Y .
fEeWATCHTOWER.
you make good; you could never repay
In contrast, Jesus offered real help to
them for their total expenditures on you. those who were burdened down by their
religious leaders, as well as by economic
Eph. 6:1-3; Col. 3:20.
Yes, be respectful toward your parents. conditions and by their own sins. Come
Feel free to confide in them; the genera- to me, Jesus said, all you who are toiling
tion gap need not be. Your sharing con- and loaded down, and I will refresh you.
fidences with your parents builds them up, Take my yoke upon you and become my
strengthens them and is for your own disciples, for I am mild-tempered and lowgood. Then again, take good care of the ly in heart, and you will find refreshment
things that your parents provide for you, for your souls. For my yoke is kindly and
be it clothing or other things such as a my load is light.Matt. 11:28-30.
bicycle. You can also lighten their burden
In ways both practical and helpful Jesus
by taking good care of your health, for lightened the burdens of others. He gave
that, too, is their concern. So eat a bal- them the truth that set them free from
anced diet of wholesome foods. A diet re- the religious burdens their leaders had
stricted largely to candy, cake, ice cream placed upon them. He helped them to unand soda pop does not build sound bodies. derstand and appreciate Gods goodness,
Do not take needless chances; do not risk His will and purposes. He showed comaccidents or flirt with death in the quest passion for them and pointed out to them
for thrills, kicks, or in the name of how they could obtain forgiveness of sins.
sports.
He also lightened many of their physical
What about in school? You can do much burdens by performing miracles.Matt.
to help your teachers to bear their burden 9:36; 4:23-25; John 8:32.
of imparting knowledge to you by behavTo be sure, if you truly are a Christian
ing yourself and applying yourself dili- minister of God today, you cannot ungently to the acquiring of knowledge.
burden people to the same extent that JeAre you an employee? Then the same sus did. But you can help to set men free
principles also apply to your conduct at from the burdens placed upon them by
the place of employment. Are you depend- false religion. By telling those toiling and
able? Are you attentive and quick to learn? loaded down the good news of Gods kingAre you conscientious, honest? Do you do dom, and of Gods provision for salvation
your best? In all such ways you can light- by means of his Son, and how to apply
en the burden of your employer or your Bible principles in their lives, you can
foreman. As a sign in an office of a United greatly refresh them and lift up their
States agency put it: Are you helping to spirits. Having received freely, should you
solve the problem or are you a part of the not give freely?Matt. 10:7, 8.
problem?Col. 3:22, 23.
There is satisfaction in lightening the
This matter of lightening the burdens burden of others, for then you are doing
of others has application also in religious to others what you would have them do
matters. When on earth Jesus Christ casti- to you. You thereby bring happiness to
gated the religious leaders. Instead of try- others and even more to yourself. And
ing to lighten the burdens of others, he where the help you may give is from Gods
said, they put heavy loads on the shoul- Word, then praise goes to Him: The minders of men but they themselves are not istry of this public service is . . . rich with
willing to lift a finger to help them bear many expressions of thanks to God.
these burdens.Matt. 23:2, 4.
2 Cor. 9:12; Acts 20:35.

ARE Y O U FEELING DEPRESSED? IF SO, THERE IS M UCH YOU C A N D O A BO U T IT.

ASIMIR was a very happy person.

For years he had served as a Christian missionary in a foreign land. Then
one day, due to DDT poisoning, he became
partially paralyzed. This brought him back
from the missionary field but not to a life
of idleness.
Though never fully regaining the use of
his limbs, he kept on in the full-time ministry the best he could until one recent
day when he succumbed to a heart attack
at the age of sixty-six. He could have felt
deeply depressed because of the great difficulty he experienced in getting around,
but did he give way to any such feeling?
No; he kept his joyous, outgoing disposition, to his own blessing as well as to the
blessing of those about him. He set a fine
example for others who may at times be
victims of hardships and so inclined to feel
depressed.

pressed because of loneliness, such as single men and women who are no longer
young and those who have lost a loved
one in death.
Still others let the wrongs, hardships
and injustices they have endured make
them low in spirits. At times lovers of
righteousness are discouraged because of
their weaknesses and shortcomings. Then
again, a Christian minister may feel
gloomy because of the opposition or indifference he encounters as he keeps on
preaching the good news of Gods kingdom.

A WIDESPREAD PROBLEM

To be depressed means to feel sad,

gloomy, dejected. It means to be discouraged, to be low in spirits. It means to be
pessimistic about the present and the
future.
Many people today are depressed because of the wretched conditions in the
world. Others feel dejected because of poor
health, old age or some physical handicap
such as failing eyesight. Not a few are de

DO WORLD CONDITIONS DISTRESS YOU?

Do they? If so, at least that is better

than for you to get so heated up that you
resort to violence as so many are doing
today. Such persons only make matters
worse for themselves and for others. Happily, there is yet another alternative. You
do not have to be either depressed or explosive with anger. You can take comfort
from Gods Word. He sees what is going
on.Heb. 4:13.
Yes, take heed to wise King Solomon
who advised: If you see any oppression
of the one of little means and the violent
taking away of judgment and of righteousness . . . do not be amazed over the affair,
for one that is higher than the high one
is watching, and there are those who are
high above them.Eccl. 5:8.
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^BeWATCHTOWER
Not only does Jehovah God see all that him: My undeserved kindness is suffiis going on, but in his due time he will cient for you; for my power is being made
also set matters straight, even as Solo- perfect in weakness. Far from feeling demon assures us: Because sentence against pressed because this obstacle had not been
a bad work has not been executed speedily, removed, Paul said: Most gladly, therethat is why the heart of the sons of men fore, will I rather boast as respects my
has become fully set in them to do bad. weaknesses, that the power of the Christ
Although a sinner may be doing bad a may like a tent remain over me. Yes,
hundred times and continuing a long time make your handicap a cause for boasting
as he pleases, yet I am also aware that in the Lord rather than a cause for deit will turn out well with those fearing the pression and do this by continuing on in
true God, because they were in fear of spite of it! For a modem example conhim. But it will not turn out well at all sider the minister Casimir, referred to
with the wicked one, neither will he pro- earlier.2 Cor. 12:7-9.
long his days that are like a shadow, beOn the other hand, it could be that your
cause he is not in fear of God.Eccl. depression has a more deep-seated cause.
8:11-13.
It is known that hypoglycemia, a lack of
True, those words were written long sugar in the blood, can cause one to
ago, but fulfillment of Bible prophecy gives depressed. Then again, a womans vicissius reason to believe that this generation tudes or the change of life may cause
will see Jehovah God rising up in burning her to feel that way. In such instances
zeal to devour all wickedness. (Matt. 24: the remedy may lie in the right kind of
3-34; Zeph. 3:8) Since this is so you have therapy or medication.
reason to do as Jesus said, Raise yourself
COULD IT BE LONELINESS?
erect and lift your head up, because your
Loneliness
can be very painful. And for
deliverance is at hand.Luke 21:28.
young folks so also can homesickness. If
either is the cause of your depression, then
IS THE CAUSE PHYSICAL?
Or is your depression due to a run- work at remedying it. Accept the fact that
down physical condition? Often poor under present conditions it simply cannot
health makes circumstances seem depress- be that everyone will enjoy a happy family
ing; much worse than they actually are. life. If having a mate is denied you, reIf so, then try to remedy matters by ex- member that not all married persons are
ercising moderation in all things, in work, happy and that married persons can be
in pleasures and in food. Learn to relax, lonely even though not alone. How so?
and make certain that you get sufficient Because of a failure to communicate with
rest and sleep. If yours is a sedentary oc- each other the way they should.1 Cor.
cupation or way of life, you may find daily 7:28.
exercise of some kind to be quite helpful.
That is something all lonely persons
A feeling of depression can also be should work at, learning to communicate
caused by some physical handicap. If that with others. Be outgoing, ready to start
is your problem then call to mind the conversations. Why not go out of your way
apostle Paul. He tells that he suffered to show unselfish interest in others? Seek
from a thorn in the flesh, which he re- out those who also seem to be lonely. This
peatedly asked God to remove. But instead will be beneficial to both yourself and othof freeing Paul of this burden, God told ers. As the apostle counsels: Speak con-

M ay 1, 1971

263
f&eWATCHTOWER,
solingly to the depressed souls.1 Thess. tices you have to endure? Are you among
5:14.
the many victims of racial discrimination?
Cultivate a closeness with your Creator, Or are you depressed because of having
Jehovah God, by turning to his Word, the been wronged by a relative or friend?
Bible. Especially are the Psalms, the GosThe trend today is to retaliate in kind
pels and the inspired letters of the Chris- against those causing one to suffer, but
tian Greek Scriptures filled with antidotes Gods Word repeatedly counsels against
for depression. But do not read these in it: Return evil for evil to no one. . . . Do
a hurry; you cannot gain much comfort not avenge yourselves, beloved, but yield
from speed reading. Read aloud if circum- place to the wrath; for it is written: Venstances permit; but even when reading si- geance is mine; I will repay, says Jeholently, read in a way that you clearly feel vah. Rom. 12:17, 19.
the right expression. Heed Jesus words:
Rather than rendering evil for evil, tell
Come to me, all you who are toiling and Jehovah God about it in prayer and seek
loaded down, and I will refresh you. Take to do good to those who have harmed
my yoke upon you and become my dis- you. Find comfort in Gods promise that
ciples, . . . and you will find refreshment he resides with the one crushed and lowfor your souls.Matt. 11:28-30.
ly in spirit, to revive the spirit of the
Another fine aid for overcoming de- lowly ones and to revive the heart of the
pression caused by loneliness is to turn to ones being crushed. Think of that! The
Jehovah God more frequently in prayer, High and Lofty One, the great univernot just at certain times of the day. Heed sal Sovereign, Jehovah God, takes an inthe counsel to persevere in prayer, and terest in the lowly and crushed ones!
to pray incessantly. Because of having Isa. 57:15.
this precious privilege of prayer you need
Bear in mind that Jehovah is not only
never feel lonely, for you always have a just but also a wise and loving God. He
someone to whom you can talk, Jehovah waits to act until the best time to end
God. No question about it, prayer is one injustices. As King Solomon so well noted,
of the ways you can heed the counsel: God has an appointed time for everything,
Throw your burden upon Jehovah him- a time for tolerating evil conditions and
self, and he himself will sustain you. Never a time for ending them and bringing in
will he allow the righteous one to totter. righteousness, joy and peace. So exercise
Rom. 12:12; 1 Thess. 5:17; Ps. 55:22.
faith and do as Gods prophet Micah said
Nor to be overlooked is the fact that he did: I will show a waiting attitude
you may be able to get comfort and re- for the God of my salvation. It is to your
freshment from playing the recordings of interest to learn to wait and to endure
Kingdom songs as produced by the Watch these things.Eccl. 3:1, 8; Mic. 7:7.
Tower Society. Not only does the beautiWEAKNESSES AND SHORTCOMINGS
ful music itself act as an antidote for deDepression
may be your lot because as
pression but the words that are associated
a
lover
of
righteousness
you grieve over
with these songs, such as, for example,
your
own
weaknesses
and
shortcomings.
No. 97, Balsam in Gilead also do.
You may have trouble controlling your
tongue or your temper. Or you may have
DEPRESSED BECAUSE OF INJUSTICES?
Are you depressed because of the some secret vice that keeps troubling you.
wrongs, or crushed because of the injus- Gods Word assures us that if we con-

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B r o oklyn , N .Y .
f&eWATCHTOWER.
Let also Jesus words bring you comfess our sins, he is faithful and righteous
so as to forgive us our sins and to cleanse fort: In the world you are having tribuus from all unrighteousness. And if lation, but take courage! I have conChristians are to forgive each other quered the world. (John 16:33) As long
seventy-seven times, certainly God will as you keep pushing ahead zealously in
the Christian ministry despite indifferalso.1 John 1:9; Matt. 18:22.
Take comfort also from the fact that ence or opposition you are conquering the
no less a Christian than the apostle Paul world. Doing so, you are proving God true
had to struggle against sin in his body. and Satan the Devil a liar, thereby gainHe wrote: The good that I wish I do not ing everlasting life and making the heart
do, but the bad that I do not wish is what of Jehovah God glafi. What more could
I practice. He even spoke of himself as you want?Prov. 27:11; Matt. 10:22.
a miserable man! But then he gave
ACCORDING TO YOUR FAITH
thanks to God because with his mind he
Once
two blind men asked Jesus to have
could keep serving God.Rom. 7:19-25.
mercy on them. Jesus in turn asked them:
Do you have faith that I can do this?
IS IT INDIFFERENCE,
OPPOSITION OR PERSECUTION?
When they answered that they did, JeAre you a servant of Jehovah that is sus restored their sight, saying: Accordfeeling depressed because of the apathetic ing to your faith let it happen to you.
or hostile attitudes you meet in your min- Matt. 9:27-30.
istry? Have you labored hard and yet have
Whatever may be the cause of your
seen meager results from your labors?
depressionworld conditions, bodily inBut what do the Scriptures say? Do firmity, loneliness, hardships, sins and
they not give us to understand that that shortcomings, indifference or persecution
may be the lot of Christians? Surely! What there is dependable, unfailing help availthen does the disciple James (5:10) tell able for overcoming it. The Word of God
us to do? Brothers, take as a pattern of is filled with assuring promises. But you
the suffering of evil and the exercising of must exercise faith, as Jesus told those
patience the prophets, who spoke in the blind men: According to your faith it
name of Jehovah. One such prophet was will happen to you. And it must be a real
Jeremiah. Though at times he got de- faith, a faith that proves that it is alive
pressed he did not despair or quit. Even by works, a faith that puts forth a genuafter Jerusalem was destroyed he could ine effort. As the disciple James stressed:
say: Good is Jehovah to the one hoping Indeed, as the body without spirit is
in him, to the soul that keeps seeking for dead, so also faith without works is dead.
him.Lam. 3:25; Jer. 20:8, 9.
Jas. 2:26.
Or consider what the apostle Paul had
Just reading this article is not enough.
to endure as he tells about it at 2 Corin- Do something about it! Spend more time
thians 11:22-33. Yet he could write: We reading Gods Word, give thought to talkare pressed in every way, but not cramped ing to God, be outgoing, seek to comfort
beyond movement; we are perplexed, but others, associate with genuine Christians.
not absolutely with no way out; we are Doing so, you can expect the words of the
persecuted, but not left in the lurch; we psalmist to come true in your case: Those
are thrown down, but not destroyed. sowing seed with tears will reap even with
2 Cor. 4:8-10.
a joyful cry.Ps. 126:5.

 O the depth o f G o d s riches a n d w is dom a n d k n o w le d g e ! H o w u n se a rch able his ju dgm en ts a re a n d p a st tracin g

out his w a y s a r e ! Rom . 11:33.

HE reason why Jehovah's Christian

witnesses are serving Him and working hard to preach the good news to all
nations is because of appreciationappreciation of what Jehovah God and Jesus
Christ have done and are doing for mankind. That is the important thingheart
appreciation. To have such appreciation
we must come to know God. Jesus Christ
said: This means everlasting life, their
taking in knowledge of you, the only true
God, and of the one whom you sent forth,
Jesus Christ. (John 17:3) As to taking
in of knowledge, we have to keep taking
it in; it is not enough to believe that God
exists and to know some of the things he
has done as Creator. There is much difference between an acquaintance with God
and knowing him. So really to know God
means much more than just having a sur-

face knowledge. By continually seeking

deeper knowledge we come to appreciate
from the heart what a friend he is to mankind and how he has expressed his friendship with unparalleled love and patience.
2 The apostle John, after being a Christian servant of God for more than sixty
years, wrote: Everyone remaining in
union with him does not practice sin; no
one that practices sin has either seen him
or come to know him.1) John 3:6)
Again, he says: He that does not love
has not come to know God, because God
is love. (1 John 4:8) Individuals who do
not come to know God do not see God in
all his fine qualities and lofty principles,
and their hearts do not feel deep appreciation.
3 John tells us that some fell away. He
says: They were not of our sort; for if
they had been of our sort, they would have
remained with us. (1 John 2:19) John
demonstrates that those who really have
come to know God intimately, as one
comes to know a fine friend or a loving,
manly father, will remain loyal. They are
not going to practice a course of sin and
fall away from the truth. We can say,
therefore, that not all of those claiming
to be servants of God know God in this
intimate sense, for some do fall away and
some are disfellowshiped from the congregations for carrying on unscriptural
practices.
BECOMING LIKE GOD

4 Jesus, when he was on earth, said that

no one fully knows the Father but the
Son and the one to whom the Son is willing to reveal him. (Matt. 11:27) The Son
was the intimate one of the Father for
billions of years prior to his coming to
earth; therefore during his ministry on
earth he had the fullest knowledge of the
2, 3. W hat will prevent ones tak in g up a practice of
sin?
4. W hy was Jesus able to reveal God to m en on e a rth ?

1. W hat m ust we do in ord er to get h e art appreciation

of Jehovah?

265

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B rooklyn , N .Y .
5EeWATCHTOWERFather. He knew Gods qualities so well the more important things, so that you
that he loved him more devotedly than all may be flawless and not be stumbling othothers and he in turn was able, by speech ers up to the day of Christ.( Phil. 1:9,
and by his copying Jehovah God, to re- 10) In everything that we learn we want
veal Him.
to understand its relationship to God and
5A person becomes a copy of the god Christ, and to meditate as to how it maghe serves. If he believes in a hellfire god, nifies Gods personality and his provisions.
a vicious god, in his own mind, his heart We must enhance in our hearts the underwill become hardened; he will in time be- standing and appreciation of what they
come vicious toward other persons. Jesus have done for us. Then, if we come across
said that some, believing falsely, would something we do not understand fully, we
even kill Gods servants, thinking that they will not let that upset us and cause us to
were doing God a service. (John 16:2) throw away our faith in all the important
But if a person serves the God of love, things we have learned.
he will be loving toward others. He will
8 As one brother in the truth for many
develop the qualities of that God. If he years expressed the matter: It is fine to
serves Jehovah he will come to imitate learn all we can. We must increase our
him as a son who loves his father in his knowledge to strengthen our faith. But
heart.Eph. 5:1.
we should never let some small matter
*Therefore, when we serve with our cause us to stumble. The way I feel about
brothers in the faith, the all-important it is this: I know what Jehovah God and
thing is to help them to know God and Jesus Christ have done for us, and thats
his viewpoint. (Compare Exodus 18:15, enough to die for.
16.) Getting to know God does not mean
9Now, The Watchtower aims at helpmerely to study. As the Scriptures say, ing us to get Gods mind, his viewpoint,
at Romans 12:2:
Proveto on
yourselves
matters. the
And Gods servant body, the
good and acceptable and perfect will of faithful and discreet slave, has the reGod. We do this by working together sponsibility to set these things before us
with him. (2 Cor. 6:1) Then we experi- by declaring Gods Word, and has done
ence by application Gods good principles so faithfully right up to this year 1971.
and see why he is the happy God and that That is why it is so important to follow
all who work with him are happy. (1 Tim. the principle that the apostle Paul ex1:11) We become real friends with his pressed at 1 Corinthians 4:6: Do not go
loyal friends and find the enjoyment of beyond the things that are written. If
working together with them.
we hold to that and work within the
framework that the Bible has outlined for
THE IMPORTANT THINGS
the Christian congregation, we will help
TWe must have accurate knowledge of others to know God and Christ and not
God. But the apostle Paul said in this
be looking to us as individuals. (1 Cor.
regard: This is what I continue praying,
4:6) We do not want anyone to lean on ms,
that your love may abound yet more and
but only on Jehovah. We want them to
more with accurate knowledge and full realize that the entire Christian congrediscernment; that you may make sure of
gation expresses Gods qualities through
5. W hat effect does the service of a god have on an
its various members. (1 Cor. 12:4, 5, 24,
individual ?
6. How does one get to know God?
25) Our own ideas might appear at the
7. 8. (a) How can we come to get full discernm ent?
(b) W hat should be our attitu d e tow ard some point
th a t we m ay not fully understand?

9. Why is it im portant not to go beyond the things

th a t are w ritte n ?

S&eWATCHTOWER.

May 1, 1971

moment to be good, but in the long run

they do not accomplish the purpose, because if our brothers do not come to
know God and Jesus Christ and their
qualities, they are missing out on the most
importent thing.
10One of the things that will best acquaint us with the marvelous qualities of
God is an understanding of the Bible
teaching of the ransom. If we fully realize
what God and his Son have done for us
in thus giving us undeserved help, we cannot help but respond with expressions of
love and appreciation to our fellowmen.
THE ISSUE

11 The need for the ransom arose in connection with the issue that came about between God and Satan. In Genesis chapter
three we find how this issue came up. It
was the Devil, using an animal, who spoke
to Eve. But notice what he spoke. It helps
us to understand what the issue concerns
what it is about. He said to Eve: Is it
really so that God said you must not eat
from every tree of the garden? Or, he
said, in effect: Do you mean to tell me
that God has told you that? that he would
do that to you? and keep something back
from you? The Devil did not come out at
first and say flatly that God was wrong,
because he might have met stiff resistance.
No, first, he put this selfish thought, this
doubt, into Eves mind; then he went on
to slander God by saying, God knows
that this is not right. He knows that if
you eat from the forbidden tree you will
get more knowledge.Gen. 3:1-5.
12 Thus Satan brought up the issue.
What was the issue? Was it a challenge
of Gods supremacy? We can say No to
that, because if a person is supreme in
power, who can challenge him on that
10. W hat teaching will help us to know God be tte r?
11. How did Satan raise an issue o r controversy w ith
God?
12. Was th e issue over Gods suprem acy? Explain.

267

point with any hope of success? Notice

that, later, the Devil did not challenge
the Almighty God's restriction protecting
Jobs life.Job 2:6, 7.
13Well, then, was it Gods sovereignty?
Sovereignty means the right to rule and
to delegate authority in government. Did
Satan challenge Gods sovereignty? Yes,
but not the
factthe existenceof Gods
sovereignty, because, again, if a person is
supreme and almighty he can rule no matter what anyone says. Gods sovereignty
was therefore never in danger.
14 So it was not the fact of Jehovahs
sovereignty that was challenged. Well,
then, what was it? It did have to do with
Gods sovereignty. We can see from what
the Devil said that it was the deservedness,
rightfulness and righteousness of Jehovahs sovereignty that was brought into
question. God surely was sovereign, but
was that sovereignty exercised in a way
that was really for the benefit of his
creatures? Or was he withholding something from them? When the Devil spoke
to God about Job, he craftily put the argument the other way around and said:
Look at all Job has. Look at what you
have given him. Of course he will serve
you, because he gets everything from you.
So, from another viewpoint, he repeated
his challenge of the deservedness or rightfulness of Gods sovereignty.Job 1:8-12.
MAN INVOLVED

15 Additionally, man was involved in the

issue. It brought in the matter of mans integrity to God. The Devil was saying that
Jehovahs sovereignty was not a good one
over his creatures; it was not altogether
deserved or right. So the question was
raised: Would creatures recognize Jehovahs sovereignty as altogether merited
13. W hat is sovereignty, and was the fact of th e existence of Gods sovereignty challenged?
14. W hat was it about Gods sovereignty th a t was
challenged, and in w hat w ay?
15. How was m an involved in th e issue?

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fE e W ATCHTO W ER.

and hence righteous? Would they love

Gods sovereignty more than anything
else? Would they prefer to live under that
sovereignty rather them any other? Would
they truly prefer it, from the heart? And
even if they had opportunity to get out
from under the sovereignty of God and
be completely independent, would they
want to? or would they choose to stick
with him loyally through everything that
might come up to challenge him?* The
latter ones are the kind of people that God
wants to serve him, because others would
not be loyal; they would only bring trouble in the universe. That is what the issue
is going to prove about all creatures. It
is going to sort out all those who have
the selfish viewpoint.
16The question might be asked, Was
God doubtful of his sovereignty? Did he
wonder, Have I been wrong in the way
I have governed the universe? No, he was
satisfied with his own sovereignty. He
knew what was within himself, and he
knew what his intelligent creatures needed. (Ex. 34:6, 7; Ps. 136:1-9) He knew
that his way of rule was for the good and
everlasting happiness of his creatures.
Was there not, however, a probability that
Gods organization of creatures in heaven
and earth might think that way in toto
and withdraw en masse from him? No. Jehovah let the issue be tried, which proves
he did not fear the loss of his organization.
17 Jehovah knew that his sovereignty
was worthy and right and that his creatures loved and appreciated it. He had given his creatures free will; therefore there
could be some who would withdraw if they
wanted to take that course, but God knew
that this would not take place en masse.
* See the book Then Is F inished the M ystery of
G o d p. 309 (published by W atch Tower Bible & T ract
Society, 1969).
16. W as God doubtful of his sovereignty or th a t his
organization would stand by him ?
17. W hy was God confident th a t his organization would
no t forsake him en m asse?

B rooklyn , N .Y .

Why? Because of the quality he had ereated within them and because he had given them the potential to develop that
quality to a greater degree. That quality
was LOVE. The Bible says that love is a
perfect bond of union and love never
fails. (Col. 3:14; 1 Cor. 13:8) It is the
strongest binding power in the universe.
It is one of Jehovahs own qualities and
cannot fail him. He had full confidence
that his organization would stick with
him. He also knew that there would be
those who would come to
him, a
thing that Adam never came to do because of his lack of loyalty. Those who
would do so would love him and would
stay unbreakably and joyfully under his
sovereignty.
WHY GOD PERMITTED THE ISSUE
TO BE TRIED

18 Then why did Jehovah allow the testing of the challenge to be an issue carried
out for the past 6,000 years? Was it selfishly for his own good? No one could give
God anything in the way of material or
property, or add to his wealth and power,
or his knowledge. (Rom. 11:34-36) And
he did not have to have anything proved
to him. No, he did it for his names sake,
at the same time for the benefit of his
creatures.
19We can see that this is true if we
analyze the matter. Jehovah was slanderedslandered badly about how he ran
the universe. But it was not just Jehovah.
Every creature in the universe was slandered, because the Devil was saying, in
effect: The only reason they are sticking
with you is because you have given them
everything. So, the Devil put a shadow or
black mark on the reputation of every
intelligent creature that lived.
18. Did God allow the 6,000 years' continuance of the
issue for his own benefit, o r w hat?
19. Who was slandered by the challenge of the Devil?

M ay

1, 1971

SfteWATCHTOWER.

20Jehovah knew that he had sons who

would be anxious to have the opportunity
to remove the mark of reproach from His
name. This was the primary thing to be
done by them. But at the same time they
could remove the mark of the slander
from their own name and that of their
20. W hy did God let others share w ith him in the
clearing away of reproach?

EHOVAH, in harm ony

with the dignity of his
universal sovereignty, works
out seem ingly im possible
problems in a way that we
marvel at. And afterward
we say, It just could not
have been done in any other way and been so thorough, righteous and altogethergood. (Isa. 55:9) So,
at the very time the issue
was joined, God, in his foreknowledge of
exactly what he would do, announced: He
[the seed] will bruise you [Satan] in the
head.Gen. 3:15.
2Who would be designated by God to
be the seed, to be bruised in the heel?
Jehovahs only-begotten Son! He was chosen as the one to serve for the primary
settlement of the issue regarding the worthiness and righteousness of Jehovahs
sovereignty. Why this great one so close
to Jehovahs heart? Well, when Satan
made his challenge it put a shadow on the
reputation of every creature. It would

1, 2. (a) W hen the issue was joined, w hat prom ise did
Jehovah make, prom pting w hat question? (b) W hy was
the only-begotten Son selected as the one to be prim ary
vindicator of God?

269

brothers. What son of any worth would

not want to go out and defend the family
and clear up the fathers name? It would
be more thoroughly a vindication of God
than if Jehovah did it all himself. As we
contemplate reading the following article
we ask: Who would be the one chosen as
primary vindicator, and why?

reach clear up to this Son.*

More than that, it would focus more on him than on
any one of the other creatures of God because, first
of all, he was the chief one
of Jehovah, next to him in
the universe. He was the
one who was always in command of the other angels.
He had been co-worker with
God in making the universe.
(Col. 1:15-17) A challenger
of God could say, Of all the
c r e a tu r e s w ho w ould be
faithful in serving God, he
should be. So Satans challenge brought this mighty
Son of God into the limelight.
3 Also, the only-begotten Sons name in
his prehuman existence bears upon the
situationhis name Michael. (Dan. 12:1;
1 Thess. 4:16; Rev. 12:7) It means Who
is like God? The name itself is a question. It is as if to say that if anyone should
rise up and challenge God, would try to
rival God, Michael would be the foremost
one upon whom the duty would devolve to
stand up and say, Who is this who challenges my Father? I will prove to him
See
The New W orld (published in 1942), page 153,
paragraph 1, to page 157, to th e subheading T est
Applied. Now out of p rin t and out of stock.
3. W hat significance did the nam e of th e Son in his
prehum an existence have?

270

B r o o k l y n , N .Y .
5ReWATCHTOWER
there is no one like Jehovah God. So his provision of the ransom. (John 3:16) It
name actually designated him as the one provides for mercy, but is the ransom also
who would be Vindicator and Settler of in harmony with Jehovahs justice? Let us
see. Adam and Eve rebelled against Gods
this issue in Jehovahs behalf.*
4 We can look at the matter from an- sovereignty, which thing God knew was
other angle, as to why he was the one possible, for the reason that he had erechosen. He was not forced to serve for this ated these creatures as free moral agents
purpose. The Bible shows that when Jesus to serve him. They did not serve out of
came to be baptized he was saying: To compulsion but because of the qualities
do your will, O my God, I have delighted. they had and their ability to appreciate
(Ps. 40:8; Heb. 10:5-7) Of him it is also and copy his qualities. Jehovah has mawritten: You loved righteousness, and terial things, the planets, for example, that
you hated lawlessness. (Heb. 1:9) So we serve him to the most minute detail and
see that Jesus was keenly anxious, de- just the way he wants; animals are govlighted to do Gods will. He himself said: emed by instinct, but intelligent creatures
I always do the things pleasing to him. may take their own course. Nevertheless,
(John 8:29) He was qualified above all if sin should come into the universe, God
others. Furthermore, in the Proverbs, could not condone it and say, Ill just overchapter eight, this One, personified as look it. Could he say to any sinning inwisdom, says, speaking of Gods creative dividual, want to show you mercy, so
work: The things I was fond of were Ill just forgive your sin? No. In harmony
with the sons of men. (vs. 31) He deeply with his justice and righteousness he could
loved mankind, whom God created. He not ignore sin and let it go unaccounted
gladly took this assignment to vindicate for.
7It is not that way, however, with the
his Father, first out of loyalty to Him and,
governments
of earth today. They have
additionally, out of the deep love that he
condoned
lawlessness,
being slack and not
had for mankind.
zealous
to
act
against
it. The result has
5 Now, if this Son of God willingly acbeen
that
people
lose
faith
in the governcepted the assignment, what other angel
ments
and
everything
finally
breaks down.
could say, No, let me take that assignThe
universal
Lawgiver
will
not let that
ment? Who could step ahead of him?
take
place
with
his
laws.
Michael had the prior position, to offer
8 Accordingly, God the universal Sovhimself and to cooperate with God in this
ereign,
in his responsibility to uphold law
matter. He was Jehovahs only-begotten
and
order
in the universe, does not overSon, the closest one, the intimate of Jelook
sin.
God
is not one to be mocked.
hovah God.John 1:18.
(Gal. 6:7) In fact, at Habakkuk 1:13 the
prophet says: You are too pure in eyes
NO CONDONING OF SIN
6 The ransom was provided by Jehovah to see what is bad; and to look on trouble
through Jesus Christ. Love on the part of you are not able. Why is it that you look
Jehovah God and his Son motivated the on those dealing treacherously? But, of
course, for a time he allows wickedness
* See the book Then Is Finished the M ystery of
because of the great issue. In Jehovahs
God/ published by W atch Tow er Bible & T ract Society,
1969, pp. 305308.
presence sinful things cannot exist. The
4, 5. W hy was the only-begotten Son the best one to be seraphs in Isaiahs vision are shown as
chosen, and was his response a forced one?
6, 7. W hy could Jehovah not overlook the sin of Adam
and Eve?

8. W hat
sinners ?

is

Jehovahs position

relative

to

sin and

1, 1971

271
S&eWATCHTOWER
saying: Holy, holy, holy is Jehovah of would serve for his side of the issue.
armies. (Isa. 6:3; Rev. 4:8) Holy has Job 1:8; 2:3.
the basic meaning of cleanness, both physiSOUL FOR SOUL*
cally and morally, the triple repetition of
Gods legal requirement of perfect
it meaning cleanness in the superlative
degree. There is no one in the universe so justice is evident in his law to Israel:
clean, in the highest possible degree, and Soul will be for soul, eye for eye, tooth
therefore nothing that is sinful can pos- for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot.
(Deut. 19:21) Gods exactness in this matsibly approach him directly.
ter was illustrated also in his dealing with
A LEGAL PROBLEM
Israel when he selected a tribe for tem9 Consequently, in order to have deal- pie service to him. The firstborn already
ings with those who were born in sin, belonged exclusively to Jehovah because he
though it was through no fault of their had saved them from being destroyed durown, God had to have some legal basis on ing the tenth plague upon Egypt. But now
which to deal with them. (Ps. 51:5; Rom. Jehovah wanted the tribe of Levi to serve
5:12) He had to have someone, the one at his sanctuary in exchange for the firstwhose sacrifice would be the legal basis, born. However, a census revealed that
through whom he could deal. He could there were 273 more of the Israelite firstnot deal directly with sinful people be- born than there were Levites. Therefore,
cause of his own dignity and righteous- to redeem these 273, the Israelites had to
ness. So he provided.
pay a ransom for each one. God was very
10 In the meantime God let man contin- strict in this transaction. (Num. 3:39-51)
ue to bring forth children. He stuck by Also, if a person committed murder, no
his own stated purpose toward parents. money or other ransom could be taken
He had commanded them to bring forth for the man; he had to die. He had to give
children. (Gen. 1:28) Since he now pur- soul for soul. (Num. 35:31-33) It is clear,
posed to let mankind serve for the issue, therefore, that to redeem mem from sin
he did not change his law or take away and death, the ransom price of a perfect
that privilege from the parents, nor did human soul was required.
12 Mans helplessness is expressed in the
he interfere, but he let man go ahead and
forty-ninth
Psalm, verses six to nine:
bring forth children in his own image,
Those
who
are trusting in their means
a now imperfect image. (Gen. 5:3) Parof
maintenance,
and who keep boasting
ents were accorded the privilege of bringabout
the
abundance
of their riches, not
ing up their children so that they could
one
of
them
cam
by
any means redeem
be what the parents trained them to be.
even a brother, nor give to God a ransom
(Prov. 22:6; 29:15) We see that princifor him; (and the redemption price of
pie in operation in the world today, and their soul is so precious that it has ceased
many are growing up as haters of God. to time indefinite) that he should still live
But God permitted it. He respected his forever and not see the pit. The price
own laws that he made to govern man- was too precious, too high, beyond the
kind, and knew that they were right laws. reach of all mankind. As far as mans
He knew that some of the children born ability was concerned, relief was so far
M AY

9. How only could God deal w ith sinners?

10. In m aking arrangem ents to deal w ith m ankind, did
Jehovah change his basic laws governing m an?

11. W hat was required to satisfy justice, and how was

this dem onstrated in God's dealings w ith Israel?
12. W hat was m an's situation as to providing relief?

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SEeWATCHTOWER.

B r o oklyn , N .Y .

away that it was to time indefinite, actually beyond hope.

3,900 years ago, he could do it, rightly so,

because He knew He was going to provide
the ransom in the future. (Rom. 4:9)
JUSTICE, RIGHTEOUSNESS UPHELD
Abraham was not free from sin, though
13
So, if man was ever to be delivered,exercising faith. Jehovah, however, could
God had to act to make provision. Would deal with Abraham and still be completely
he be as strict with himself as he was clean and righteous in doing so, through
in his law to Israel? Would he uphold that this legal arrangement.
law and stick to his stated principles? He
15Toward settlement of the issue, and
did exactly that, even though it cost him to provide the ransom, the only-begotten
the giving of his firstborn Son. (Rom. 5: Son of God was sent to earth, where the
6-8) What a wonderful quality! We can Devil could put pressure on his integrity.
have full confidence in Jehovah because By miraculous birth through the virgin
we know that he will never deviate in the Mary he became a human son of God. This
least from his principles. He will never, son was born of an imperfect woman, but
by some whim, nor by force of circum- himself perfect and unblemished. The anstances, do anything unreasonable, or any- gel Gabriel had announced to Mary: Holy
thing beyond the principles he reveals to spirit will come upon you, and power of
us.Mai. 3:6.
the Most High will overshadow you. For
14In this manner Jehovah was able to that reason also what is born will be called
maintain completely his own righteous- holy, Gods Son. (Luke 1:35) The holy
ness, at the same time showing the ex- spirit put a wall of invisible power around
treme badness of sin. The apostle Paul Mary, so that nothing could harm this
expresses it: For all have sinned and embryo as it was developing toward birth.
fall short of the glory of God, and it is Satan the Devil would have desired to deas a free gift that they are being declared stroy that Son before he was born, if posrighteous by his undeserved kindness sible. Jesus, throughout his human life,
through the release by the ransom paid remained in that perfect state. He was
by Christ Jesus. God set him forth as an loyal, guileless, undefiled, separated from
offering for propitiation through faith in the sinners. (Heb. 7:26) Jesus life course
his blood. This was in order to exhibit his on earth settled the issue beyond question.
own righteousness, because he was for- He said, before his sacrificial death: The
giving the sins that occurred in the past ruler of the world is coming. And he has
while God was exercising forbearance; so no hold on me, and, Now there is a
as to exhibit his own righteousness in this judging of this world; now the ruler of
present season, that he might be righteous this world will be cast out. (John 14:30;
even when declaring righteous the man 12:31) These statements show that he had
that has faith in Jesus. (Rom. 3:23-26) completely proved Satan a liar.
God therefore had a legal basis in harmony with his justice and righteousness,
JESUS SUFFERING
1*At this point we might say that it is
in the ransom sacrifice of Jesus Christ.
Accordingly, when he dealt with Abraham really difficult for us to grasp how great
and declared him righteous, as he did some 15. (a) Why was God's Son sent to earth , and how was
13. W as Jehovah as strict w ith himself as he was w ith
Israel in the m atter of the ransom ? Explain.
14. How was the ransom provision absolutely in harmony w ith justice and righteousness?

he born as a perfect hum an? (b) How do we know that

he m aintained integrity and gave a full and complete
answ er to the Devil's slander?
16. W hat will we realize b e tte r when we consider w hat
Jesus suffered?

M a y 1, 1971

SfreWATCHTOWER.

273

Jesus was and is. In serving for the per- on the third day. (Mark 8:31; Luke 9:22)
feet settlement of the issue, Jesus suffered. Even the thought of avoiding the sacriAll Gods servants have experienced ter- ficial death was repugnant to Jesus. (Matt.
rible things at the hands of Satan and his 16:2123 )The book of Hebrews shows that
agents. But Jesus endured greater suffer- when he started on the sacrificial course
ing than any servant of God has ever at the time of his baptism he said: You
undergone. How can we say this? In the prepared a body for me, that is, a peranswer to this question we can better re- feet body as the ransom price. All along
alize the marvelous thing our Lord Jesus he was determined in that sacrificial
Christ did for us.
course.Heb. 10:5.
17 Consider what occurred on his last
19 No, Jesus did not appeal to his Fanight with his disciples. The account ther to be spared from death. But he knew
reads: Then Jesus came with them to that in a few hours he was going to be
the spot called Gethsemane, and he said to arrested and brought before the Jewish
the disciples: Sit down here while I go Sanhedrin. They were going to declare
over there and pray. And taking along him guilty of blasphemy against God, the
Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, he worst possible crime. (John 10:33; Matt.
started to be grieved and to be sorely 26:65) Remember, he was the one who
troubled. Then he said to them: My soul loved righteousness and hated lawlessis deeply grieved, even to death. Stay here ness. Here he had come down from heavand keep on the watch with me. And go- en as the Son of God, to vindicate his
ing a little way forward, he fell upon his Father, and first of all, his essential nature
face, praying and saying: My Father, if his sonshipwas denied by Gods own
it is possible, let this cup pass away from professed people. (John 19:7) But now,
me. Yet, not as I will, but as you will. they were going to hang him upon a stake
Three times Jesus did this, and each time as the worst kind of person there could
that he returned to his disciples they were bea blasphemer against God, as well as
asleep. He said to them: Could you men a seditionist. (Luke 23:2-4) What a defanot so much as watch one hour with me? mation of God! He comes to vindicate his
The disciples were dull of mind; they did Father and exalt his name and here he is
not see the great issue that was focused to be hung up as a curse and a blasphemer!
on this night; so they could not remain
20 To have that charge as a blasphemer
awake.Matt. 26:36-44.
and to have Gods chosen nation respon18When Jesus asked Jehovah, My Fa- sible for that accusationthat was a terther, if it is possible, let this cup pass rible thing to Jesus Christ, for in the past
away from me, what did he mean? Was he had been the one most zealous of all
he saying that he was withdrawing, back- in the universe to please his Father, to
ing down from his decision to die and uphold him, to avoid even the smallest
provide the ransom? No, for he had told thing that might reflect upon his Father.
his disciples right along that he was going
A blasphemer! Today, if a person is one
to die. He explained that the chief priests
of
Jehovahs servants, but turns away in
and scribes would take him and he would
apostasy
and blasphemes God, he is debe put to death and raised up by Jehovah
testable to all of Gods people. Jesus Christ,
17. W hat did Jesus do, along w ith his disciples, on his
last night on earth, before he was arrested ?
18. By Jesu s expression in p ray er to Jehovah, was he
asking th a t he m ight be spared from death?

19, 20. (a) W hat did Jesus know he was facing, and
w hat did he pray, if God should w ill it? (b) W hy was
the thing Jesus faced so h ard fo r him ?

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fEeWATCHTOWER

with his perfect mind, heart and understanding was far keener about this than
we could be. Nevertheless, he said: Yet,
not as I will, but as you [Jehovah] will.
Matt. 26:39.
*1Because of all these things, when he
prayed his sweat became as drops of blood.
(Luke 22:44) There was such a great
weight on him; he had the burden of everything on his shoulders that night. He
appealed to his Father and prayed with
strong outcries and tears. (Heb. 5:7) He
knew that he had to remain faithful, because, what if he failed? What a slap in
the face to Jehovah that would have been!
On the other hand, what a vindication of
his Father and what a slap in the face of
the Devil when Jesus remained faithful!
Jehovah had such confidence in his Sons
loyalty that he had recorded in his Word,
yes, Jehovah had said in advance, what
Jesus would do. Jesus knew that. But Jesus
also knew that the maintaining of integrity was on him; he could have failed;
he could have sinned. All that was on
Jesus shoulders. His eternal life and the
life of the whole human race hung in the
balance. That was a terrible strain.
22 On the stake just before dying, he
cried out: My God, my God, why have
you forsaken me? (Matt. 27:46; Ps. 22:1)
The apostle Paul said to fellow Christians:
Christ by purchase released us from the
curse of the Law by becoming a curse
instead of us, because it is written: Accursed is every man hanged upon a
stake. (Gal. 3:13) He had to become
one accursed so as to release those under
the Law. And Peter said: He himself
bore our sins in his own body upon the
stake.1 Pet. 2:24.
23 Now, if we sin, we can repent and go
21. W hat crushing w eight w as on Jesus' shoulders that
n ig h t?
22. W hy did Jesus cry out as he did ju st before his
death?
23. W hat was it th a t Jesus did not have access to, that
he provided for us?

B r o o k l y n , N .Y .

to Jehovah God, praying to him and saying: Jehovah God, I confess that I have
sinned. On the basis of Christs ransom
sacrifice I ask for forgiveness. Please forgive me. And we will receive Gods forgiveness. (1 John 1:9) But Jesus could
not do that. He could not call for mercy
on the basis of (someones) sacrifice, if he
weakened and made the least mistake. It
was a crushing weight that he bore that
night.
24What thanks we can give to Jehovah
God and Jesus Christ that Jesus did not
fail! He served to answer the challenge
fully. The apostle says: So, then, as
through one trespass the result to men of
all sorts was condemnation, likewise also
through one act of justification the result
to men of all sorts is a declaring of them
righteous for life. (Rom. 5:18) This one
act of justification was Jesus course of
integrity, including his sacrifice. By this
he was proved to be just. Of course, he
was righteous all the way, but after this
test, which he underwent successfully, God
could still say: You are completely just,
righteous in every way.
25The apostle Paul further declared of
Jesus: He learned obedience from the
things he suffered; and after he had been
made perfect he became responsible for
everlasting salvation to all those obeying
him. (Heb. 5:8, 9) So it was in Christs
own merit that God declared him righteous. He did not have to grant righteousness to Christ as a gift. That was why
his sacrifice could serve as a basis for other
men to be declared righteous. If others
are declared righteous it is not on grounds
of their own righteousness, but it is on
the basis of the ransom sacrifice of Jesus
Christ; it is a gift to them.Rom. 5:17.
24. W hat does Romans 5:18 tell us about Jesus?
25. Compare C hrist's righteousness w ith th a t of those
who exercise faith in him.

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275
ffeW ATCHTO W EFt
and who could also share his glory and
23 The loving-kindness of Jehovah is power in the heavens. (Rom. 6:4, 5) He
magnified in all this, and in a further way was glad that God had others on earth,
also. Jesus knew he would be back in where the Devil could persecute them, who
heaven with his Father. Jehovahs love and nevertheless remained faithful to Gods
appreciation were so great toward this sovereignty, loving it just as he did.
one who vindicated his name under the
29Then, there is the great crowd of
severest of tests that he granted Jesus the other sheep. Jesus Christ is glad to
much more than he ever had. He gave let them come in and have some small
Christ immortality and a position higher share also in that vindication. (Rev. 7:9,
than ever before, far above the angels. 10; John 10:16) So he assists all Gods
(Phil. 2:5-11; Heb. 7:26) And not only sheep to stand firm for Jehovahs soverthat, but Jesus also gained something else. eignty, despite what the Devil said.
21We know that the intelligent creatures
THE LAST ADAM
of God are gregarious. They love to have
30Because of Jesus faithful course and
associates. Here now Jesus was, except for
Jehovah, in a class all by himself. But now, sacrifice he is able to save many. He had
Jehovah in appreciation gave him a mar- the power, when on earth, to have a family
velous reward in addition, that is, a bride. of his own by natural human means. He
(John 3:28, 29; Rev. 19:7; 21:9) Jesus did not bring forth that family, but gave
called them, as individuals, brothers. up that potential in his sacrifice. He there(Heb. 2:11) They undergo the same ex- fore became the last Adam. Adam
periences that Jesus had on earth. We brought forth a family, an imperfect one,
most greatly enjoy association with and with bad traits. Jesus Christ brings forth
conversation with those who have under- a family that has righteousness. Individgone the same things, done the same work, uals can transfer from the family of Adam
had the same experiences, as we have, just and be regenerated through the righteousas Jesus undoubtedly does with his bride. ness of Jesus Christ and, according to
God gave Jesus this bride as evidence Gods law of procreation, can come to be
of his unfathomable richness and depth of in his image. They can be cleaned up as
appreciation and love toward his wonderful sons of the last Adam. 1 Cor. 15:45.
Son.
31 Isaiah, by inspiration, describes some
of Christs sufferings and says: If you
JESUS GENEROSITY
will set his soul as a guilt offering, he will
28 Jesus Christ, on his part, also revealed see his offspring. (Isa. 53:10) When a
his loving-kindness and generosity, and his person sets Christs soul, the ransom saclove of righteousness, in that he was not rifice of Jesus perfect human life, as a
selfish in this matter. He did not say: guilt offering for his sins, he becomes
accomplished the vindication of God. Why Christs offspring. Christ does not get
should anyone else share with me in this offspring through the natural method, but
glory? No, rather, he was glad, he was as the Eternal Father he brings forth a
happy that he could have others who could family with his righteous traits, in the
share in that vindication and glorify God manner that the prophet Isaiah describes.
Isa. 9:6, 7.
may

JEHOVAHS LOVING-KINDNESS

26, 27. W hat did Jehovah do fo r C hrist in expression

of his love and appreciation?
28, 29. How does Jesus Christ, on his p art, dem onstrate
his loving-kindness and generosity?

30. How does Jesus C hrist become the last A dam "?
31. By w hat m eans does C hrist come to have offspring?

B rooklyn , N.Y.
3EeWATCHTOWER
RANSOM BENEFITS FLOWING NOW
those resurrected from the dead will have
82Viewing these things, someone may opportunity to avail themselves of the ranask: It has been 1,900 years since the som. Those who do not get life will be
ransom was given. Why do we not see persons who do not want Jehovahs sovpersons receiving ransom benefits? We do. ereignty. They do not love righteousness
Immediately after the ransom price was and hate lawlessness. They are self-conpresented in heaven, only fifty days after demned, adding their own willful sin to
Christs resurrection, the holy spirit was their inherited sin.John 3 :1 7 2 1 .
poured out and men began to become sons
35Therefore, Christs ransom, adminisof God. (Acts 2:1, 33) The apostle John tered by his Kingdom rule, completely
says: Now we are children of God. (1 wipes out what Adam did. The last enemy,
John 3:2) Such received benefits from the death (the death brought to mankind by
ransom and were spirit begotten, given the sin of Adam), will be brought to
the heavenly hope. Within the 1,900 years nothing. When death is wiped out, then
since then Jehovah has been selecting the all that Adam didall that he brought
ones that make up that group of 144,000 on the human racewill not be here at
persons who will be kings and priests with all. There will not be anything at all left
Christ. (Rev. 14:1, 2; 5:9,10; 20:6) Select- to show for Adams sin. (1 Cor. 15:26, 56)
ing and proving them has taken time, for And there will be nothing left to show for
they are the ones who will forever admin- the sin of the Devil because, as the Bible
ister Jehovahs sovereignty throughout the says: For this purpose the Son of God
universe.
was made manifest, namely, to break up
33Today we see the fruitage of that the works of the Devil. (1 John 3:8)
sacrifice coming also to the great crowd. Satan will have completely wasted his
They are experiencing the fine benefits of effort and lost his life. The shadow on the
peace with God, happiness, a hope and a name of Jehovah and his creation will be
purpose in life, a completely changed life, completely erased. Gods name will be fully
with an approach to Jehovah God and his vindicated to all eternity and those who
blessing. They also have a happy, upbuildwant his sovereignty will be there, alive,
ing work to do for Jehovahs vindication.
to his praise.Ps. 150.
In the new order so near at hand they will
33What loving-kindness of God! And
attain to human perfection as sons of God.
what love on the part of our Lord Jesus
Rom. 8:21.
Christ! We can say with the apostle: O
RANSOM STRONGER THAN SIN
the depth of Gods riches and wisdom and
34Summing up the matter, we can say knowledge! How unsearchable his judgthat the ransom is stronger than the sin ments are and past tracing out his ways
of Adam. The sin of Adam brought every- are! (Rom. 11:33) Having a true apprebody down. The ransom, of course, does ciation of these things, we can exclaim,
not save every last human soul, but it is
regardless of what things the world may
nevertheless stronger than the sin innate
bring to cause doubts and assail our faith,
in us. How? Every last soul who wants to
Is not this enough to die for?Acts 20:
get free from sin and imperfection can get
24; 21:13.
it wiped out and become wholly clean. Even

276

32, 33. Have the benefits of the ransom yet been applied
to any? Explain.
34. How is the ransom stronger than Adams sin?

35. How will all th a t Adam and Satan did be erased

brought to nothing?
36. A fter considering Jehovahs ransom provision, w hat
can we exclaim ?

rrrrn e
ENOA, Italy, w here I now
live, is a long way from Montana. But many years have passed
and much has happened since my
early childhood. I was bom in 1928
and grew up on a small ranch
within view of the majestic Rocky Mountains. The widely known Yellowstone Park
is only a few hours drive from there.
One sunny spring day a young man came
to my parents ranch and introduced himself as one of Jehovahs witnesses. He
spoke with mother and offered her a book
explaining the Bible, but she sent him to
see father in the garden. Father could not
seem to decide whether to take the book
or not and left the decision up to mother.
Finally, the book Deliverance was accepted.
My parents were firm believers in God.
Though they were members of a Protestant church they gradually left off going
to church services, for they found no comfort there. They figured they were not
good enough to go to heaven, and that
left as an alternative only the fiery hell
that had been preached to them so often.
When they were shown a real hope from
the Bible, their joy was great. They began
to leam the actual condition of the dead,
that they are as asleep and not in torment.
(Acts 13:36; Eccl. 9:5) And that was but
the beginning, for they went on to leam
that they had been taught many false,
unscriptural ideas. In time they begem
studying that first book they received, as
well as other publications of the Watch
Tower Society. They also subscribed for
The Watchtower and The Golden Age
(now known as Awake!).
In the course of time they heard that a
Watchtower study was being held at the

As told by Ruth Cannon

home of a family nearby. They began to

attend, and, of course, I was taken along.
My parents never thought otherwise than
that I should be there with them.
It was not long before they began taking
part in the work of preaching the good
news of Gods kingdom, much to the surprise of relatives, neighbors and friends.
Eventually, they dedicated their lives to
God and were baptized. That was about
the time when I reached school age.
As I look back on those times I can
recall something that really impressed me.
Special traveling representatives of the
Watch Tower Society used to come and
visit our little group. They were busy
people, and, I feel sure, often quite tired.
But nevertheless they always took time to
speak to me. It made me feel as if I was
a part of what was going on.
During school years I also became active
in the preaching activity. This was when
we used to use phonographs and records,
which we would play for people wherever
convenienton the doorstep, in the living
room, out at the bam, in the open field,
and so forth. Then, too, we had longer,
one-hour lectures that we could play to
people on a return visit. It was wonderful
how this method of preaching aided many
to grasp the Bible truths!
A CAREER WITH A FUTURE

Several Witnesses were engaged in the

preaching work full time as pioneers at
Billings, Montana, quite near our ranch.
277

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SfHeWATCHTOWER

Association with them from time to time

awakened in me a strong desire to serve
Jehovah with all my time and energy. In
1941 my parents allowed me to spend my
vacation working with this group of pioneers. The following year I finished school
and was baptized soon thereafter. It seemed
to me that nothing could be more urgent
than to serve Jehovah.
My first assignment, upon my appointment as a pioneer, was at Livingston,
Montana. Later, I moved to Miles City,
Montana, where a family of Witnesses
provided me with all the comforts of home.
In due course I wrote the Society about
obtaining a partner and the possibility of
being assigned in territory where there
was greater need. That resulted in another
move, to Saline County, Nebraska, where
my young partner lived. We stayed at her
parents home, where once again I experienced fulfillment of Jesus promise that
we would gain many parents and brothers
and homes as a result of devoting ourselves
to his service.Mark 10:29, 30.
Since gasoline was rationed, we did a
lot of walking, particularly up long lanes
to the farm homes. And another difficulty
was that of coping with dogs, for every
farm seemed to have one or two watchdogs, some of them none too friendly.
However, I never did run into any real
trouble with them.
In course of time my parents sold the
ranch and joined me in Nebraska, where
they also took up the pioneer service.
When they obtained a trailer home, we
were able, all three of us, to move to
another town where our activities were
neededLincoln, Nebraska. Due to illness
they were unable to continue, though they
did encourage and help me to do so.
PREPARATION FOR EXPANDED SERVICE

It was in 1947, while attending the All

Nations Expansion Assembly in Los An-

B rooklyn , N .Y .

geles, California, that I made out an application for service at the Society's headquarters or Bethel, as it is known. I had
long hoped I might be privileged to serve
there. About a year passed, and then, to
my great surprise, instead of a response
to my Bethel application, I received an
invitation to consider applying for enrollment in the Societys Bible School of
Gilead. That meant training for foreign
missionary service.
Though I did question very much my
ability to complete the course, I filled out
and submitted the application anyway. It
was accepted, and in August 19481 became
a student in Gileads Twelfth Class. I had
had six years pioneer experience. Now I
was to gain a much greater appreciation
of the organization of Jehovahs people.
I was to learn many new things from the
Bible, things that would strengthen my
faith and my determination to go on
serving Jehovah with all of my time and
faculties.
I was one of a group chosen for an
assignment in Italy, so that meant studying
Italian along with our other courses. The
months sped swiftly by, and then came
graduation and preparations for our ocean
trip to Italy.
MISSIONARY ASSIGNMENT

It took ten days by ship from New York

to Naples. When we arrived we could see
the ravages of war here. Conditions were
far from what they are now.
Our group traveled by train to our territory assignment in Sicily. On its way
the train was almost derailed when it hit
a cow on the track, but nobody seemed to
be too concerned. Rather, many were interested in hearing about our work when
they heard that the purpose of our mission
was to teach the Bible. Many came to our
compartment to hear more.
It was a wonderful experience to be at

M ay 1, 1971

fEeWATCHTOWER.

279

last where we could put our limited Italian its copy. Some years ago almost no one
to work. Little by little it became easier had even read the Bible or owned a copy.
to speak with people who showed interest So our calls are now more interesting. We
in our message. Of course, the territory can encourage people to read their Bibles
was quite different from what I had been in conjunction with the study aids we
used to out in the U.S. West. As in cities have to offer.
everywhere, many of the people in Italy
THE PAST AND THE FUTURE
live in tall apartment houses, seven, ten
or more stories high, with several apartDuring those years I have served in
ments on each floor.
Italy I have enjoyed many blessings, outAt first we had little problems with the standingly the blessing of having had a
language and customs. For example, chil- small share in the vast expansion of the
dren w ould often
Kingdom interests.
answer our knock
A ssignm ents have
at th e door, and
taken me to city afTH E N EX T IS S U E
when we asked if
ter city in various
The Need for Earthwide Unity.
mamma was at
parts of the land,
home we would get
and my memories
Understanding the Miracles of the Bible.
no audible answer.
of each assignment
Can You Make Leisure Time Rewarding?
This happened time
are precious. Some
and again. We knew
of those with whom
th ey u n d erstood
I have studied the
the word mamma, but why the ab- Bible have now dedicated their lives to
sence of a response? On closer observa- Jehovah also and been baptized. Some are
tion it came home to us that it was all even in the full-time preaching work and
a matter of gestures. A slight jerk of others have gone on to greater privileges
the head and a sharp click of the tongue, in the theocratic organization of Gods
without a word, was saying: No, she is people.
not at home. So, as we had learned at
Then, I enjoyed the marvelous privilege
Gilead, gestures are important.
of attending several international assemThe Kingdom work has progressed mar- blies, notably those in New York in 1953
velously in these intervening years. When and 1958. And in 1969, by reason of the
we arrived in 1949 there were only a few generosity of fellow Witnesses and the
hundred Witnesses, and at assemblies ev- provision of the Society, I crossed the
eryone seemed to know one another. But
ocean again and had the great joy of
year after year the organization has
visiting
my family and attending the
grown, so that the total attendance at the
Peace
on
Earth International Assembly.
Memorial celebration in March 1970 was
45,884more than 10,000 over 1969s At every such assembly we have been
attendance. And in the month of April built up and strengthened to persevere in
there was a 28-percent increase in the the service of our God, having always
number of active Witnesses over the pre- before us the fine lead given by Jehovahs
faithful and discreet slave class of modvious year.
And we can see the vast difference in ern times.Matt. 24:45-47.
As I look back to early childhood I
the people. There is now definite interest
in the Bible, and almost every family has cannot but think of the generous way that

280

ffreWATCHTOWER.

Jehovah has dealt with me. By his direction my parents not only accepted the
Bibles message but also took time to train
me according to its divine principles. They
encouraged me to take hold of the pioneer
privileges, and that, in turn, prepared me
for the added responsibilities of the missionary field.
I can also be very thankful for the
multitudes of true Christians with whom
I have associated and who have all aided
me to mature in the ministry of Jehovah.
I particularly have appreciated the comradeship of my missionary partner, with

B r o oklyn , N .Y .

whom I have spent so many happy hours

and years. I do hope that we may continue
this precious relationship for many years
to come. Certainly as this old system nears
its end there appears to be much still to
do and the time just does not seem long
enough. But we can be sure that Jehovah
will crown his work with success.
If it is Jehovahs will it is my earnest
desire to stay in this assignment, which
has become like home to me, and to continue on in his service forever. It will be
wonderful to be one of his full-time servants in the new order of things now near!

l/jou r R ecrea tio n (C on trolled or (C on troller?

OW pleasant it is to share in relaxing
recreation, a game or mode of diversion
that provides refreshment. The forms of
recreation are multitudinous. When a person
controls the amount of time used for such
recreation, as well as his outlook on a game,
he may be benefited. In some cases, though,
recreation ceases to be controlled and instead
becomes the controller of one's life, consuming an inordinate amount of time and attention.
In St. Kitts in the Leeward Islands, a min- ,
ister of Jehovah's witnesses was conducting
a free home Bible study with a man who
was very fond of playing draughts" or checkers. Many persons from the neighborhood
gathered to watch him play. He was such
an ardent player that he sometimes neglected
his tailoring business and hence suffered financially. He even allowed his obsession with
the game to interfere with his appointments !
to study the Bible with the minister. Truly,
in his case, his recreation was no longer controlled but, instead, was the controller in his
life.
)
Finally the Witness decided to speak frankly with him about the matter, for he was
not progressing spiritually in his study of
God's Word. It was pointed out that games
such as draughts or checkers are not wrong.

When controlled, they can be played with

enjoyment and benefit. However, he was shown
that dangers exist in regard to recreation.
One can allow a game to assume such importance as to lose the spirit of amusement and
friendship. Quarrels and fights can result. The
*stirring up of competition with one another/
condemned in the Bible, easily arises. (Gal.
5:26) Further, the man was shown how he
had been allowing his recreation to interfere
with his study of the Bible, something vitally
important for all desiring God's favor and
eternal life. (John 17:3) What would he do?
The man decided that, in view of his addiction to the game, in his case it would be best
to give it up altogether. He gave away the
draughtboard or checkerboard. The crowds
that had frequented his place drifted away.
He had more time to handle his business as
well as ample time to study God's Word in
peace. He once again began to make fine
spiritual progress. Soon thereafter he was baptized at a large assembly of Jehovah's witnesses, thus becoming himself an ordained minister of God.
How worth while, then, for a person to
examine a sport, hobby or form of recreation
and ask himself whether, in his life, it is
controlled or is the controller.

Blessed Is the One Coming as King'

The disciples did just as Jesus said. And
/ YOU know the Lords Prayer?
* I 7 Can you tell me what it says? Let when they brought the colt to Jesus, he
s a t do wn upon it.
me hear you say it. If
An article specially designed for
Qu ic kl y the word
you dont remember,
spread that Jesus was
we will read it together
parents to read with their children
com ing to Jerusalem,
from the Bible at Matthew chapter six, verses nine to thirteen. and a great crowd of people came out to
Now, in that prayer it says, Let your meet him.
kingdom come. What does that mean?
As Jesus rode along, most of the crowd
What is a kingdom? Do you know?
began laying their outer garments on the
A kingdom is a government. And you road in front of him to show their love
know what a government is, dont you? for him. Others cut down branches from
All countries have a government. The gov- the trees and put these on the road. And
the crowd rejoiced and praised God with
emment rules a country.
In a government there is someone who loud voices.
The people were glad to welcome Jesus.
is the head person or ruler. In some countries this person is called the president. They cried out: Blessed is the One coming
But do you know what the ruler of Gods as the King in Jehovahs name! Peace in
heaven, and glory in the highest places!
government is called? He is the king.
Who makes a person president or ruler
But not everyone was happy that Jesus
of a government? Do you know? Often it was riding into Jerusalem as king. The
is the people who choose him. They vote religious leaders did not like it. They even
for him to make him the president. Or a said to Jesus, Teacher, tell your disciples
person may just be born into a certain to be quiet. But Jesus said to them: I
family and he becomes ruler.
tell you, if these persons were silent, God
But for Gods kingdom Jehovah himself would cause the very stones to say it.
has picked the king. Do you know who Luke 19:28-40.
that king is? It is Jesus Christ. He is better
How do you feel about having Christ
than any ruler that men choose. Jesus has as king? If you had been living when Jesus
more power than any of those rulers. And rode into Jerusalem, would you have welJesus really loves God, so he always does corned him as the one sent by Jehovah?
what is right.
Well, Jesus is not on earth today, is he?
Long ago in Israel new kings rode into He is in heaven. It is from there in heaven
Jerusalem on a colt to show themselves to that he rules as king. Even though we
the people. This is what Jesus did.
cannot see him, he can see every one of
Just outside of Jerusalem there was a us here on earth. We cant fool him. He
small village called Beth'pha ge. As Jesus sees what we do, and he even knows what
got near to it, he said to two of his disci- is in our hearts. If we really love Jehovah,
pies: Go into that village, and you will he knows that. And if we are trying hard
find a colt. Loose it and bring it to me. to do what the Bible says, he will help us.
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3fieWATCHTOWER

B rooklyn, N.Y.

Would you like to have him as your king universe belongs to God. He made it. So
forever?
he has the right to decide what kind of
Not everyone wants Christ to be king. government should rule. And his governThey may say they believe in God, but ment is the best. Soon Gods kingdom will
they do not want his kingdom. They dont be the only government there is.
want God or Christ to be telling them what
Do you want to live forever under Gods
to do. They want their own governments
kingdom? I do. But we need to prove to
right here on earth. So do you know what
God that we really do. Do you know how?
is going to happen to them?
The Bible gives us the answer at Daniel Listen carefully to the answer. It is by
chapter two, verse forty-four. Lets get learning the laws of God from the Bible
our Bibles and turn there together. This and obeying them now.
Now, God says that his kingdom will
scripture is speaking about our own day
when it says: In the days of those kings destroy the governments of men. But does
the God of heaven will set up a kingdom he tell us that we should do that? No. The
that will never be brought to ruin. And Bible says that we should obey the laws
the kingdom itself will not be passed on of men. So we must do that just as long
to any other people. It will crush and put as God lets those governments exist.
an end to all these kingdoms, and it itself
But if we really want Christ as king,
will stand to times indefinite.
we have to do more than that. We have
Did you understand that? The Bible to obey all the things he said. He said
says that Gods government is going to that we should be no part of the world.
Would we be obeying
h im i f w e g o t in volved in the affairs
of the governm ents
of the world? Jesus
and his apostles all
sta y e d aw a y from
such things. John
15:19.
What did they do
instead? They talked
to other people about
Gods kingdom. That
was the big work in
their lives. Can we do
put an end to all these earthly govern- that too? Yes, and we will do it if we
ments. Why? Because they dont obey the mean what we say when we pray for Gods
one whom God has made king. The whole kingdom to come.
See there! with the clouds of the heavens someone like a son of
man happened to be coming . . . And to him there were given
ship and dignity and kingdom, that the peoples, national groups
and languages should all serve even him. His rulership is an
indefinitely lasting rulership that will not pass away, and his
kingdom one that will not be brought to ruin.Dan. 7:18, lk

cribe to Jehovah the glory belonging

to his name; carry a gift and come into
his courtyards.Ps. 96:8.
Those words may give us a mental
vision of the Israelites of old as they
brought their gift offeringsfine flour,
wine, oil, unblemished animalsto the
courtyards of Jehovahs temple, particularly on the three special occasions
of the year. Deut.
16:16.
Priests of the family line of Aaron, acting as Jehovahs representatives, accepted
the generous offerings of the people. They had their instructions from Jehovah as to the proper disposition of all those gifts for the
maintenance and advancement of true
worship. Sincere worshipers were satisfied to lay down their gifts in that holy
place, and then start the journey back
to their homes, happy in the knowledge
that they had given of their best to their
God.

RENDERING
OUR BEST
TO

^J HE One who owns everything in

the universe cannot be enriched by anyone. Whatever you might offer him as
a gift is already his and is due him.
Indeed, whether humans acknowledge the
fact or not, they are merely stewards
accountable to God for things they hold
in possession.
David, who ruled as king in Jerusalem
centuries ago, recognized this and confessed: Yours, O Jehovah, are the greatness and the mightiness and the beauty
and the excellency and the dignity; for
everything in the heavens and in the earth
is yours. . . . The riches and the glory are
on account of you.
Yes, David had the right view of all
his own and his peoples contributions
toward the place of worship at Jerusalem,
for he goes on to admit: Everything is
from you, and out of your own hand we
have given to you.1 Chron. 29:11-14.
Yet should that discourage Gods people
from offering gifts in support of pure
worship, rendering their best to Jehovah?
No, for, under inspiration of God, the
psalmist penned this enthusiastic invitation
to all who would please the Creator: As-

MODERN WORSHIPERS AND THEIR GIFTS

Today there is, of course, no such literal

temple with its courtyards. But since all
those things were to serve as typical representations of heavenly things or spiritual
things, we look for the modern-day courtyards with their throngs of worshipers.
(Heb. 9:23) Association of those ancient
worshipers with the anointed Aaronic
priesthood proves a clue. Today there is
on earth a small remnant or remaining
number of Jesus spirit-anointed brothers,
persons who have before them the prospect
of one day serving as heavenly priests
under their High Priest, Jesus Christ. A
great crowd of persons from all nations
count it a privilege to come into association
with that remnant, for thereby they can
enjoy the blessings of an arrangement that
283

284

SHeWATCHTOWER.

God has made for a visible organization

of his worshipers today. That association
to them is like approaching the very
courtyards of Jehovahs house.1 Cor.
3:16.
The throng of modem worshipers also
concern themselves about the gifts they
bring into Jehovahs courtyards. Perhaps
the first thought that comes to mind is
to make a monetary contribution of some
kind. But how much? For an answer, we
can go back to the typical scene and note
these words of Deuteronomy 16:17: The
gift of each ones hand should be in proportion to the blessing of Jehovah your
God that he has given you. Who knows
better than the individual worshiper the
extent of Gods blessing upon him? The
unappreciative person may not see that
Jehovah has blessed him at all, but those
who are grateful for life and breath and
opportunities to serve their Creator have
a different view. They give cheerfully.
2 Cor. 9:7.
Just as God loves a cheerful giver, so he
loves those who give with the right motives
and heart attitudes. We do well to meditate
upon some of Gods own expressions on
this matter: I am Jehovah, the One exercising loving-kindness, justice and righteousness in the earth; for in these things
I do take delight. (Jer. 9:24) To this
one, then, I shall look, to the one afflicted
and contrite in spirit and trembling at my
word. (Isa. 66:2) And according to the
apostle Peter, what is it that is of great
value in the eyes of God? Why, the
secret person of the heart [draped] in the
incorruptible apparel of the quiet and mild
spirit.1 Pet. 3:4.
So it is evident that the first thing
Jehovah is concerned about in those who
would bring gift offerings to his courtyards is their heart attitude. Are they,

B r o oklyn , N .Y .

too, lovers of loving-kindness, justice, righteousness? Are they humble, contrite, repentant in their approach to God? Are
they striving to put on that apparel of
the quiet and mild spirit?
Thus it is not only what is offered that
counts. The spirit and motive behind the
gift are open before the searching gaze of
the Supreme One.
TYPICAL GIFTS SPEAK OUT TODAY

Back in the typical scene there are

beautiful pictorial ideas that help us to
see the importance of giving our very best
to God. For example, each animal offered
had to be a sound one, free of all defects.
(Lev. 22:21) True, those sacrificial animals pointed forward to the one sacrifice
for all time, the sacrifice of the one so
aptly described as being loyal, guileless,
undefiled, separated from the sinners, that
is, Jesus Christ. (Heb. 7:26) But does it
not also seem to suggest to modem worshipers of Jehovah that it is the best they
should offer?
Again, with respect to the grain offerings, it is significant that the expression
fine flour keeps recurring, as in the
preparation of those ring-shaped loaves for
the temples table of showbread. (Lev. 24:
5, 6; Numbers 7) The fine flour suggests
also the best we have to offer, not some
coarse substitute, as one might describe
worship performed perfunctorily, done to
be seen of men and without the heart of
the worshiper being in it.
The incense too was involved in the
typical grain offerings of old. Frankincense,
we are told, was sprinkled on the grain
offerings by fire to Jehovah. (Lev. 2:1,15)
What did it prefigure for our day? Under
inspiration King David offered the answer,
when he wrote: May my prayer be prepared as incense before you, the raising

May

1,1971

SEeWATCHTOWER.

up of my palms as the evening grain offering. (Ps. 141:2; see also Revelation 8:
4.) So acceptable gift offerings to the true
God are tied in with earnest prayer. Sincere prayer is a vital feature of this rendering our best to Jehovah.
WHAT WE HAVE AND WHAT WE ARE

This brings us to the crux of the matter.

Each one of us, as intelligent creatures
moved by gratitude after having learned
about Jehovah and his purposes, is in fact
a gift made to be carried into Jehovahs
courtyards and there applied toward the
glory of his name. It is not only what we
have but what we are that belongs to
Jehovah.
A greatly increased crowd of modern
worshipers render their gifts in the courtyards of Jehovah. Many see their privilege
of sharing in the support of Kingdom
activities in their local area, contributing
regularly and generously to the upkeep of
the Kingdom Hall as a center for Bible
education. Many also are pleased to share
the cost of advancing todays vastly expanding witness work in all the earth,
sending their contributions to the Watch
Tower Society, 124 Columbia Heights,
Brooklyn, New York 11201, or to the
branch office of that Society in some other
land. As such gifts are made in the spirit
that Jesus inculcated, they are truly commendable.Matt. 6:3.
But what about the giver? To Jehovah
the one who is giving means much more
than what he gives. The truth of this may
best be grasped by noting these significant
words: My son, do give your heart to me,
and may those eyes of yours take pleasure
in my own ways. (Prov. 23:26) Is not
the worshipers presence regularly at Kingdom Hall meetings a grand way of ascribing glory to Jehovah and carrying his best

285

gift into His courtyards? Are we not

indebted to Him for everythinglife,
breath and strong hope about the future
in his blessed new order of things?
Thus rendering their best to Jehovah
means for some an increased effort to
devote time to the work of proclaiming
the good news of the Kingdom. For others
it may involve planning to spend extra
time at certain periods of the year as
vacation pioneers. To still others it moves
them to forsake secular labors and become full-time preachers of the Kingdom
message.
And how does Jehovah view all of these
endeavors on the part of his worshipers
to render the best of their gifts to him?
By his prophet Haggai he pointed forward
to this time in history where we are, dedaring that the desirable things of all
the nations must come in to his spiritual
house of prayer, there to ascribe to Him
the glory belonging to his name.Hag. 2:7.
What could be more desirable to Jehovah
than to see a numberless crowd of worshipers willingly offering themselves for
the work of proclaiming his name and
kingdom to the ends of the earth? In
prophetic vision God gave the apostle John
a foreview of this very thinga numberless crowd, standing before Gods throne,
clad in white garments, waving palm
branches and joyously confessing: Salvation we owe to our God, who is seated on
the throne, and to the Lamb. * (Rev. 7:9,
10) By that confession they are in fact
declaring: We belong to God. We will
serve Jehovah wholeheartedly.
Is it not a fact that this offering of our
best to Jehovah is something very comprehensive? By all means, let us meditate on
all his provisions for our eternal welfare
and in gratitude render to him our very
best.

Use All Means to Keep Healthy in Faith

Gods kingdom and making disciples by teaching those willing to learn. Other works are
also required. To enjoy spiritual health, we
must all cultivate the fruits of the spirit, love,
joy, peace, long-suffering and self-control.Gal.
5:22, 23.

What are some of the chief means to keep

t(healthy in faith?
The instruction to keep healthy in faith,
while originally directed to older men in the
Christian congregation is applicable to all who
would be pleasing to Jehovah God.Titus 2:2.*
One of the chief means by which you can
keep **healthy in faith is by studying Gods
Word regularly. The need to do this Jehovah
emphasized in his instructions to Joshua: *This
book of the law should not depart from your
mouth, and you must in an undertone read in
it day and night.Josh. 1:8.
To keep healthy in faith you must also
persevere in prayer, yes, *pray incessantly.
(Rom. 12:12; 1 Thess. 5:17) By prayer you are
strengthened, for by means of it you have
communion with the great Rock of strength,
Jehovah God.
Another fine aid is regular attendance at
the weekly meetings of Jehovahs witnesses.
Also take part in them as opportunity affords.
Just as physical exercise, and not just food
alone, is essential to be physically healthy, so
too spiritual exercise is necessary to keep
healthy in faith. As the disciple James so
well expressed it: Indeed, as the body without
spirit is dead, so also faith without works is
dead.Jas. 2:26.
What kind of works? Activity in the Christian ministry, preaching the good news of

What can you parents do in order that your

children may be tehealthy in faith?
First of all, you must be able to communicate
with your children. You must set them a fine
example. You must manifest unselfishness,
which is love, in dealing with your children.
The special articles appearing in this journal
to be read to young children are a case in point.
Not written in baby talk, not written condescendingly, yet they are simple enough that
young children will be able to grasp their
meaning. Parents, if your children are of tender
years, are you making good use of this instrument so that your children may be healthy
in faith?
Additionally, arrange for a regular weekly
Bible study in which all the family take part.
This should be held as regularly as are the
congregation meetings, yes, as regularly as
going to work is for father and going to school
is for the children. Time can be found, time
for it must be found by *buying it out* from
less important things.
As a parent, ask yourself: *Am I leaving no
stone unturned so that my children will be
healthy in faith?

* F o r details see The W atchtow er, June 1, 1970.

DO YOU R E M E M B E R ?
Have you read the recent issues of The
Watchtower carefully? If so, you will remember the following points:
What is the kingdom of God?
It is the heavenly government of God in
the hands of Jesus Christ.Pp. 4, 5.*
Why is it impossible for a believer in evolution also to be a true Christian?
Because acceptance of the teaching of evolution requires that one reject the Bibles
creation account and what the Bible says
about mans fall into sin. For a person who
* All references are to The W atchtow er for 1971.

286

d oes th is, th e ra n so m sa crific e o f J e su s C h rist

May 1 , 1971

STfeWATCHTOWER.

Jehovahs purpose centers around Christ and

the Kingdom.Pp. 95, 96.
Will a fine knowledge of the Bible help
one toward everlasting life? Will such knowledge guarantee life?
It will help one toward life because the
mind can assist the heart in the right way.
But knowledge alone does not guarantee life,
for the "sources of life are not out of the
head but out of the heart.Pp. 137, 138, 146.
How can it be said that a man has committed adultery in his heart when he keeps
on looking at a woman with passion?
Because the heart motivation is there, but
opportunity may be lacking or he may refrain because of fear that he cannot get
away with it.P. 142.
How were the chief opponents of Jehovahs
witnesses clearly identified in modern times,
and who were they revealed to be?
Being the chief instigators of the persecution upon Gods people who proclaimed the

Gilead's 50th Class

t t \ 1 7 HO is wise and understanding among
V V you? was the question posed before
the fifty students comprising the Fiftieth Class
of the Watchtower Bible School of Gilead, at
their graduation exercises on Sunday, March 7.
The exercises were held in Jehovahs Witnesses Assembly Hall in New York citys borough
of Queens. From ten oclock in the morning
until about five in the afternoon the 1,999 persons attending were oblivious to the rain falling
steadily outside.
The theme of the morning program centered
around the words of the Bible writer James
(3:13-18) and those of King David (Psalm 139).
N. H. Knorr, Watch Tower Society president,
pointed out that the wisdom from above is
displayed in the individual by his works, but
that these works must be marked by fine conduct, for such wisdom is "first of all chaste.
Cleanness, pureness, particularly in a moral
way, is the prime essential. Without this, ones
works do not count with God. Even then, such
wisdom does not flaunt itself, but, rather, is
characterized by meekness. President Knorr
warned the students of the snares that await
a person who lets his knowledge puff him up
in a display of what falsely appears to be
wisdom.

287

good news of the Kingdom, the clergy of

Christendom revealed themselves as anti-God.
P. 183.

)
!I

How can a Christian wife save an unbelieving husband?

^
By her Christian conduct, her firmness in
keeping integrity to God, and her lovingly
seeking opportunities to encourage her husband to examine the Bible. If he responds
and becomes a believer, he will gain salvation.
P. 202.

Entouragto Seek Wisdom

When is the beginning of the "times of

restoration of all things of which God spoke
s through
thethe
mouth
of his
holy prophets?
Therefore,
speaker
continued,
on arriv1[ ing
Acts
in a 3:21.
foreign assignment, new missionaries
!| should
Sincenotthethink
"all that
things
spoken
of arefrom
the
their
freshness
school
Messianic
its the
interests
at the
equipskingdom
them toand
direct
missionaries
earth,orthose
"timesresidents
began inof1914
there,
the native
theC.E.,
landwhen
who
Jesus
Christorwas
the heavens
as
are
mature
whoinstalled
may beinserving
as overKinginand
began to exercise
authority
seers
congregations.
Rather kingly
than talk
proudall theown
earth.Pp.
245.should humbly
lyover
of their
learning,244,
they
listen to the experienced missionaries. They
should devote their attention and efforts toward
learning how best to help the people of that
country to get an understanding of Gods Word.
Wisdom, if exercised, will direct them to concentrate on this, their primary work, and will
prevent them from letting their attention be
diverted to unprofitable things.Prov. 17:24;
16:9.
Milton G. Henschel, a director of the Watch
Tower Society, counseled the graduates that
in the wise pursuit of their missionary career
they should keep their faith strong. They could
count on such faith to accomplish much for
them, as the apostle Paul emphatically illustrated in the eleventh chapter of the Bible
book of Hebrews.
The prospective missionaries were greatly
encouraged by the words of another speaker,
Fred W. Franz, the Societys vice-president. He

288

SfieWATCHTOWER

called attention to a fact of scientific wisdom,

namely, the law of gravity, a force that exerts
itself throughout the physical universe. Then
he pointed out that Jehovahs holy spirit is a
far more powerful and all-pervading force.
One can have full assurance that this force
operates just as powerfully in the most remote,
isolated territory as it does in ones homeland,
where one may have been surrounded by Christian brothers.Ps. 139:7.
In his extensive quotations from the 139th
psalm, F. W. Franz stressed Davids words:
If I should spread out my couch in Sheol,
look! you [Jehovah] would be there. (Ps. 139:
8) Accordingly, a missionary of Jesus Christ
should not fear the prospect of dying in his
assignment, or feel that he must go back to
his loved relatives to end his days. For, by his
holy spirit *God can reach right into the very
grave and resurrect you! Franz exclaimed.
*However, he concluded, *you are not going
to your assignments to die, but to liveto
live to declare Gods Kingdom good news to
the people so that they, in turn, can live.
All fifty students qualified to receive the
Schools Certificate of Merit. As they filed
across the platform they were also handed
their assignments, to nineteen countries. When
the 5,000th graduate of the School was announceda young man from Austria who was

B rooklyn , N .Y .

being assigned to Taiwanhe was cheered

heartily by the audience.
In the afternoon the students turn came to
entertain and edify the audience. This they
did, first by an informal program that presented music typical of the eight lands they
represented. Then came the afternoons highlight, a drama that the students had been preparing for several weeks. Entitled Jehovah
Blesses the Loyal Ones, it focused on the time
in which we are now living, so near to Gods
new order, and encouraged moral cleanness in
loyalty to Jehovah; fine counsel in this critical
period when immorality is rife in the world.
Gilead School, located in Brooklyn, New York,
was established in 1943 to train those among
Jehovahs witnesses who are able and willing
to be sent to a foreign missionary assignment.
On arriving at their foreign assignment, these
missionaries are provided with adequate housing and food by the Watch Tower Society, but
they do not live expensively or idly, as do many
of Christendoms missionaries.
The Gilead graduate missionaries have spearheaded the Kingdom proclamation throughout
the earth. In 1943 the number of active ministers and preachers of the good news, outside
the United States, was 53,839. By 1970 the number had grown to 1,094,510. Truly as Jesus said:
Wisdom is proved righteous by its works.
Matt. 11:19.

ANNOUNCEMENTS
WHY DO YOU GROW OLD AND DIE?

If you are a young person, it is not likely

that you have given much thought to this
question. But if you are an adult in the latter
quarter of life, you most likely have. The lifespan that seemed to stretch out endlessly before you when you were young now appears
very limited. The closer you approach that end
the slower you become physically and mentally.
When you have enjoyed a lifetime of relatively
good health and activity, old age with its many
limitations is hard to take. Why is it that you
must grow old? Why do you have to die? Is
there any hope of its ever being otherwise?
There are satisfying answers to these questions,
and there is hope for this experience to change.
You will find the answers to these questions

in the pocket-size, hard-covered book The Truth

That Leads to Eternal Life. During the month of
May, Jehovahs witnesses will be presenting
this book in their door-to-door ministry.

WATCHTOWER STUDIES FOR THE WEEKS

June 6: Appreciating Jehovah God and Jesus

Christ and What They Have Done for Us,
til-20, and The Ransom, Marvelous Expression of Love and Justice, ^1-8. Page 265.
Songs to Be Used: 72, 23.
June 13: The Ransom, Marvelous Expression of
Love and Justice, ff9-36. Page 271. Songs
to Be Used: 118, 83.

JEHOVAHS
KINGDOM
M A Y 15, 1971
Semimonthly

THE G O O D NEW S THAT

UNITES M A N K IN D
THEY LIE TO GODI

WTB&TS

----- -

YOU ARE MY WITNESSES, SAYS JEHOVAH. Isa.43:12

T H E P U R P O SE O F T H E W A T C H T O W E R
E v ery w a tc h to w e r has its purpose. It serves as an elevated place fo r a
w id e-aw ak e person w ith sharp vision. It enables him to see far ahead into
the distance and tell those b elow for w h o m he is a w a tch m a n w h a t is
draw in g near, w h eth er it is a danger against w h ich to prepare o r it is
som ething good over w h ich to be glad w ith strong faith and hope.
Because o f having the nam e T he W a tc h to w e r this m agazine ju stly
has to render a sim ilar useful service to the people o f all1 nations.
_______ T h is is
an in tern ational m agazine and makes no racial distinctions, for w e are all
facing a com m on w o rld danger; w e are all hoping for a com m on good.
E ver since T he W a tc h to w e r began to be published in J u ly o f 1 8 7 9 it
has looked ahead into the future, a lw a y s striving to aid its readers to advan ce in k now ledge and to gain a clearer picture o f the glorious n e w order
o f things th at is in store for righteous mankind. N o , T h e W a tc h to w e r
is no inspired prophet, but it follow s and explains a Book o f prophecy the
predictions in w h ich have proved to be unerring and unfailing till n o w .
T h e W a tc h to w e r is therefore under safe guidance. It m a y be read w ith
confidence, for its statem ents m ay be checked against th at prophetic Book.
A m o n g th e m a n y nations o f today there are hundreds o f differing
religions. W h ic h one does this magazine present? N o t the confused religions
o f C hristendom , but the religion o f the oldest sacred Book on earth. W h ic h
Book? T h e Sacred Bible o f the H o ly Scriptures, w r itte n b y inspiration in
the nam e o f the C reator o f heaven and earth, the o n ly living and true G od.
T h e sacred, nonpolitical purpose o f T he W a tc h to w e r is accordingly
to encourage and prom ote study o f the H o ly Bible and to give our m a n y
readers the needed unsectarian help to understand th at Book o f true
religion and infallible prophecy. T hus this m agazine w ill be helping them
to prove w o r th y o f perfect life and happiness in G o d s promised n e w order
under H is everlasting kingdom o f righteousness.

PUBLISHED BY T H E
WATCH TOW ER BIBLE AND TRACT SOCIETY OF PENNSYLVANIA
117 Adams S treet
Brooklyn, N.Y. 11201, U.S.A.
N. H. K norr, P resident
Grant S uiter, Secretary

They will all be taught by Jehovah.John 6:45; Isaiah 54:13

Average Printing Each Issue:

CONTENTS

7,200,000

F ive ce n ts a copy

Understanding the Miracles of the Bible

291

Children Raised from the Dead

295

The Need for Earthwide Unity

297

The Good News That Unites Mankind

303

They Lie to God!

309

Can You Make Leisure Time Rewarding?

311

Testimony of the Nabonidus Chronicle

315

An Assembly Not to Be Missed

317

Questions from Readers

318

The Bible translation used In The Watchtower Is the modern-language

New W orld Translation of the H oly Scriptures, unless otherwise indicated.
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-y ^ rzrio ziT ic irig

J E H O V A H S
KIN G D O M
M a y 15, 1971

Number 10

HE miracles of
Understanding the
the Bible have
miracles of the Bible,
long fascinated readthen, begins w ith beers of Gods Word.
lief in a deity. If a
No doubt you have
person believes in a
read or heard about
deity, particularly in
some of the amazing
the God of creation,
m iracles perform ed
he cannot consistentby Jesus Christ, such
ly deny God's power
as his turning water
to accomplish things
into wine and raising
awe-inspiring to the
people from the dead.
eyes of men.Rom.
M
Som e p erso n s, o f
1 :20 .
course, have been skeptical about Bible
MIRACLES AND NATURAL LAWS
miracles. But by your acquiring greater
But
how
are we to understand the reinsight into this remarkable subject, you
lationship
of
miracles to natural laws?
will be better equipped to help others to
Well, through study, researchers have
gain an understanding of the miracles of
noted various uniform operations in natthe Bible, building up their faith.
ural things, and have recognized laws that
To satisfy the inquiring mind on the govern this uniformity. The Encyclopaedia
question of miracles requires that the evi- Britannica gives as an example of a law
dence in connection w ith them point to of nature the law of gravitation. Scien(1) a superior power, (2) their possibility tists admit the com plexity and yet the
from a scientific point of view and (3) the reliability of these laws, and in calling
reason for or purpose of the miracles. A them laws imply the existence of One
miracle, amazing to the eye of the be- who put such laws into force.
Skeptics who accept such laws view a
holder, is something beyond his ability to
perform or even to understand fully. It is miracle as a violation of these laws, which
a work requiring greater power or knowl- they accept, reasonably, as irrevocable, inedge than he has. But from the viewpoint exorable: therefore, they say, a miracle
of the one who is the source of such power never occurs. However, it is good to keep
it is not a miracle. He understands it and in mind that they do not fully understand
the operation of these laws. Nevertheless,
has the ability to do it.

. me

M IR A C LeS
of

me

BiBLe

291

292

SReW ATCHTO W ER

B r o o k l y n , N .Y .

NO VIOLATION OF GODS OWN LAWS

their attitude is that if it is not underSuch
discoveries have astounded scienstandable and explainable to us
far as
tists,
seeming
to upset their former ideas.
w e discern these
si t cannot happen.
law
How,
then,
can
anyone say that God vioHowever, capable scientists are becomlated
his
own
laws
in performing powering increasingly cautious about saying
ful
works
that
seemed
amazing and mithat a certain thing is impossible. Profesraculous
to
men?
Surely
the Creator of
sor John R. Brobeck of the University of
the
physical
universe
has
perfect control
Pennsylvania stated:
of
that
which
he
created
and
can maneuA scientist is no longer able to say honver
these
things
within
the
framework
estly something is impossible. He can only
say that it is improbable. But he may be
of the laws he has made inherent in them.
able to say that something is impossible
(Job chap. 38) It is not necessary that a
to explain in terms of our present knowllaw be violated. God does not contradict
edge. Science cannot say that all properties
himself. He can bring about the condition
of matter and all forms of energy are
necessary for the performance of these
known. . . . [For a miracle] one thing that
needs to be added is a source of energy unworks; he can speed up, slow down, modify
known in our biological and physical scior neutralize reactions, all within the
ences. In our Scriptures this source of energy
framework of his laws.
is identified as the power of God.Time,
Certainly the scientist is not supersedJuly 4,1955.
ing
or going beyond physical laws when
Since this statem ent was made, furhe
applies
more heat or cold, or more
ther scientific development has made it
oxygen,
and
so forth, to speed up or slow
more emphatic.
down
a
chemical
process. Nevertheless,
When you stop to think about it, do
the
skeptics
challenge
the Bible miracles,
scientists fully understand the properties
including
the
miracle
of creation. These
of heat, light, atomic and nuclear action,
challengers
are
asserting,
in effect, that
electricity or any of the forms of energy
they
are
fam
iliar
with
all
conditions
and
or matter, even under normal conditions?
processes
that
ever
took
place.
They
are
No; and still more deficient is their uninsisting
that
the
operation
of
the
Creator
derstanding of these properties under
must be limited by the narrow confines of
unusual conditions.
For example, only recently have exten- their understanding of the laws governing
sive investigations been made under con- physical things.
Lim itation of knowledge on the part of
ditions of extreme cold, but in this brief
scientists
is acknowledged by a Swedish
tim e, many strange actions of the eleprofessor
of
plasma physics, who pointed
ments have been observed. Lead, which is
out:
No
one
questions the obedience of
not an ideal electrical conductor, when
the
earths
atmosphere
to the laws of
immersed in liquid helium cooled to a
mechanics
and
atomic
physics.
All the
temperature of -456 Fahrenheit, strangesame,
it
may
be
extremely
difficult
for us
ly becomes a superconductor and a powto
determine
how
these
laws
operate
with
erful electromagnet when a bar magnet
respect
to
any
given
situation
involving
is placed near it. A t such supercold ternperature helium itself appears to defy the atmospheric phenomena. The professor
law of gravity by creeping up the side applied this thought to the origin of the
of a glass beaker and over the edge, drain- universe. God established the physical laws
ing itself out of the container.Matter, governing the earth, sun and moon, withLife Science Library, pp. 68, 69.
in the framework of which men have been

May 15, 1971

f&eWATCHTOWER.

able to do marvelous things. Surely God

could bring the laws into play so as to
produce a result unexpected by humans;
it would present no problem for him to
split the Red Sea so that the waters
were a wall on each side.Ex. 14:22.
Since the acknowledgment of the existence of law, such as the law of gravity,
presupposes a lawmaker of surpassing,
superhuman intelligence and power, why
question his ability to do marvelous
things? Why try to lim it his operation to
the infinitesim ally narrow scope of mans
knowledge and experience? Job describes
the darkness and foolishness into which
God lets those go who thus pit their wisdom against his.Job 12:16-25; compare
Romans 1:18-23.
CONTRARY TO HUMAN EXPERIENCE?

Merely to assert that miracles did not

take place, as some do, does not prove
that they did not. The truthfulness of any
recorded event of history may be challenged by someone living today, because
he did not experience it and there are now
no living eyewitnesses to testify to it. But
that does not change the facts of history.
Some object to the accounts about miracles because, they say, they are contrary
to human experience. If scientists actually
took this position in practice, there would
be far less research and development of
new things and processes on their part.
They would not, for instance, continue research on the curing of incurable diseases, or on space travel to the planets.
What is accomplished today would astonish men of ancient tim es, and a good share
of modem mankinds common daily experiences would be viewed as miracles.
BIBLE MIRACLES NOT MERE
NATURAL HAPPENINGS

Some opponents of the Bible account

hold that Bible miracles can be scientifically and logically explained as m erely nat-

293

ural happenings. It is true that such

things as earthquakes were employed.
(1 Sam. 14:15, 16; Matt. 27:51) But this
in itself does not prove that God did not
take a hand in these events. N ot only were
the things powerful works in themselves
(for example, the aforementioned earthquakes), but also the timing was such
as to make the odds overwhelming against
any chance happening.
For illustration: Some have contended
that the manna provided for the Israelites
can be found in the desert as a sweet,
sticky exudation on tamarisk trees and on
bushes. Even if this doubtful contention
were true, the provision of it for Israel was
still a miracle because of its timing, for it
did not appear on the ground on the
seventh day of each week. (Ex. 16:4, 5,
25-27) Furthermore, whereas it bred
worms and stank if kept over until the
next day, it did not do so when kept over
for food on the sabbath.Ex. 16:20, 24.
CHARACTERISTICS OF BIBLE MIRACLES

An understanding of the characteristics

of Bible miracles helps build up faith in
their credibility. For example, noteworthy
are their open and public nature. Some
were performed in private or before small
groups, but often they were public, before
thousands or even m illions of observers.
(Ex. 14:21-31; 19:16-19) Jesus works
were open and public. There was no secrecy attached to them, and he healed all who
came to him.Matt. 8:16; 9:35; 12:15.
Another characteristic of Bible miracles
is that the m otive of the individual performing the miracle was not the selfish
prominence of the individual or to make
anyone wealthy, but was primarily to glorify God. (John 11:1-4, 15, 40) Miracles
helped others, som etim es directly in a
physical way and always in a spiritual
way, turning persons to true worship.

294

SKeW ATCHTO W ER

B rooklyn , N .Y .

essary information is present and available to the literate population of the world
and, to help illiterate ones who w ill listen,
there are mature Christians who have
knowledge of the Bible and wisdom gained
by study and experience.
It is not necessary for God to perform
such miracles at this tim e to attest to
Jesus Christ as his appointed deliverer, or
to provide proof that he is backing up his
servants.
Even if God should continue to give his
servants the ability to perform miracles,
that would not convince everyone, for not
even all the eyewitnesses of Jesus miracles were moved to accept his teachings.
(John 1 2 :9 1 1 )On the other hand, scoffPURPOSE OF MIRACLES
ers
are warned by the Bible that there will
Miracles served a number of important
yet
be stupendous acts of God performed
purposes. Most basic, they helped to conin
the
destruction of the present system
firm the fact that a man was receiving
of
things.2
Pet. 3:1-10; Rev. chaps. 18,
power and support from God. (Ex. 4:1-9)
19.
Both w ith Moses and Jesus people drew
So it may be said that those who deny
this correct conclusion. (Ex. 4:28-31;
John 9:17, 31-33) Through Moses, God the existence of miracles either do not
had promised a coming prophet. Jesus believe there is an invisible God and Cremiracles aided observers to identify him as ator, or they believe that he has not exercised his power in any superhuman way
that One.Deut. 18:18; John 6:14.
When Christianity was young, miracles since creation. But their unbelief does not
worked in conjunction w ith the message make the Word of God of no effectRom.
to aid individuals to see that God was be- 3:3, 4.
The Biblical account of Gods miracles,
hind Christianity and had turned from the
earlier Jewish system of things. In time along with the good purpose that they acmiraculous gifts present in the first cen- complished, always in harmony w ith the
tury would pass away. They were a ne- truths and principles found in his Word,
cessity during the infancy of the Christian gives confidence in God. It gives strong
assurance that God cares for mankind and
congregation.1 Cor. 13:8-11.
that he can and w ill protect those who
A DIFFERENT SITUATION TODAY
serve him. The record of Bible miracles
We do not see God performing such builds faith that God will, in the future,
miracles by the hands of his Christian intervene in a miraculous way, healing and
servants today. Why not? Because all nec- blessing faithful humankind.Rev. 21:4.

Biblical m iracles involved not only anim ate things, but inanimate things also,
such as calming the wind and sea (Matt.
8:24-27), stopping and starting rain (1 Ki.
17:1-7; 18:41-45), changing water into
blood or into wine (Ex. 7:19-21; John 2:
1-11), and others. They also included
physical cures of all types, even including
leprosy (2 Ki. 5:1-14; Luke 17:11-19)
and blindness from birth. (John 9:1-7)
This great variety of miracles argues for
their credibility as backed by the Creator.
For it is logical that only the Creator
could exercise influence in aZZ fields of human experience and over all forms of
m atter.

of Galilee. The father and mother loved

their daughter very much. She was their
only child.
So you can im agine how sad they were
when their little girl became very sick.
They did everything they could to make
her better, but she only got worse. Jairus
could see that his daughter was going to
die. And there was nothing that he or the
doctors could do to help her.
But maybe Jesus could help. Jairus had
heard about this wonderful man, and how
he could heal people. So Jairus went to
SNT it wonderful to know that some- look for him. He found Jesus on the shore
one loves you? Its a fine thing to have of the Sea of Galilee teaching many people.
persons who really care
Jairus made his way
for you. But do you An article specially designed for
through the crowd and
know that there is
parents to read with their children
fell at Jesus feet. He
someone who loves you
said to him: My little
more them anyone on earth does? That daughter is very sick. W ill you please
come and help her? I beg you to come.
one is Jehovah God.
Right away Jesus went w ith Jairus. The
How much does Jehovah love us? Does
he just think about us when we are here, great crowd that had come to see the
and then forget us when we are
gone? Or does he really remember
us? The Bible says that neither
death nor life, nor things here nor
things to come, w ill be able to
separate us from Gods love.
Rom. 8:38, 39.
So God does not forget. He
remembers persons who serve him,
and he remembers their little children too. Even if they should die,
he w ill bring them back to life
again.
When Gods Son Jesus was on
earth, he showed that Jehovah
cares for little children. Jesus
would take tim e to talk to children
about God. He even used Gods power to Great Teacher also followed along. But
bring young ones back from the dead! after they had gone a distance, some men
Would you like to hear how Jesus did came from the house of Jairus, and told
this for one fam ily?
him: Your daughter died! W hy bother
There was a man named Jairus. He and the teacher any longer?
Jesus overheard the men say this. He
his w ife and their twelve-year-old daughter lived a short distance from the Sea knew how sad Jairus was to lose his only

295

296

SEeWATCHTOWER

child. So he told him: Do not fear. Just

have faith in God. Your daughter will be
all right.
So they kept on going until they came
to Jairus house. Here friends of the family were crying. They were sad because
their little friend had died. But Jesus told
them : Stop weeping. The young child has
not died, but she is sleeping.
When Jesus said this, the people began
to laugh at him. For they knew that the
girl had died. But Jesus said that the girl
was only sleeping in order to teach those
people a lesson. He wanted them to know
that by means of Gods power he could
bring a dead person back to life just as
easily as we could awaken a person from
sleep.
Jesus now had everyone leave the room
except three of his apostles and the childs
father and mother. Then he went in where
the young child was. He took her by the
hand, and said: Young girl, get up! And
right away she got up and began walking!
The father and mother were just filled
w ith joy.Mark 5:21-24, 35-43; Luke 8:
40-42, 49-56.
Have you ever had a friend who died?
How would you like it if that person could
come back to life again so that you could
enjoy his company? Do you think this can
happen?
Jesus said that dead ones w ill be brought
back to life in Gods new system of things.
Just think how wonderful it w ill be to see
these persons again! God does not promise
to raise animals from the dead, but he does
say that his Son Jesus w ill resurrect peopiemany, many m illions of them.John
5:28, 29.
Do you think that Jesus wants to do
this? Is he glad to make dead persons
alive again? Something that happened one
day near the city of Nain shows us how
Jesus feels about it.

B rooklyn , N .Y .

A fam ily of three persons lived in Nain.

There was a father, a mother and their
son. Then the father died. How sad this
made the woman! But she still had her
son, and this brought her comfort. Then
her son died. Now she had no fam ily left.
Her grief was indeed great!
The tim e came to bury the boy. Many
of the people of Nain went along as the
body was carried outside the city. The
boys mother was weeping, and the people
could not do anything to comfort her. It
was very sad.
Now, Jesus and his disciples happened
to be coming toward the city of Nain on
this day. And near the city gate they m et
the crowd that was on their way to bury
the womans son. When Jesus saw the
crowd and the weeping woman, he was
moved w ith pity for her. His heart was
touched by her great sadness. He wanted
to help her.
So w ith tenderness, and yet with a firmness that made her listen, the Great Teacher said: Stop weeping. His manner and
action caused everyone to watch him w ith
interest. As Jesus went over to the boys
body, all must have wondered what he
was going to do.
Jesus spoke to the dead boy, and commanded: Young man, I say to you, Get
up! Right away he sat up! And he started
to speak.Luke 7:11-17.
Imagine how the woman m ust have felt!
How would you feel to receive a dead loved
one back again? It would be just too wonderful for words!
Doesnt this show that Jesus truly loves
people and wants to help them? Isnt it
wonderful to know that Jehovah God and
his Son Jesus truly care for us? How grand
it w ill be in Gods new system of things
when loved ones w ill be brought back from
the dead!

THE NEED

"Now I exhort you, brothers,

through the name of our Lord
Jesus Christ that you should
all. . . be fitly united in the
same m ind and in the same
line of thought. 1 Cor.
0.

S THERE anyone who would challenge the statem ent that we live
today in a divided world? Politically,
religiously, economically, nationally
and internationally, man in this twentieth century finds him self at disagreement with his neighbors. The
so-called generation gap is but a
further evidence of the division existing between the young and their
elders, between children and their
parents. On all sides the call is, Let
us reason together. From the conflicts in Vietnam, the Middle East,
Africa and eastern Europe to the
confrontations in the universities,
colleges, high schools and elementary
schools, the cry is for reason, for

1. Over w h at issue is th ere general agreem ent

today, and so w hat a re people everyw here
calling for?

ending the divisions that exist. And yet it

appears that mankind m oves on inexorably to
fulfilling the words of the apostle Paul in his
letter to Timothy that in these last days of
critical tim es men would not be open to any
agreement.2 Tim. 3:3.
2
With all of the parleys of people
to bring about unity, division continues and the chasm between peoples
grows. The problems of peace among
various national and racial groups
lead oftentim es to violence and acts
of bloodshed. Some feel that the
problems w ill never be handled and
that because of the natural origin of
an individual or because of his color
he should live separately from others
of the human race.
3 In the field of religious thinking the division is indeed noticeable. To read of the views
of people of different religious persuasions, and
even those of the same religious organization,
on a given subject more often than not leaves
the individual in a state of bewilderment.
Where, he asks, is the same mind and the same
line of thought when it comes to religious
beliefs? It has gotten so bad that even people
who are members of the very same religious
organization do not agree as to what they
believe, and they find it impossible to explain
their beliefs to one another, or to others. The
division is compounded when you consider religious thinking on an international scale.
Catholic thinking among the national groups
differs greatly. For example, the Catholic
Church in the Netherlands produced a new
Catechism. Rome said it found fifty-eight heresies in it. The new Catechism says that no
clear teaching is possible on hellfire, and
that each of us must draw his own conclusions
here. It also questions certain aspects of the
Eucharist, which, of course, touches on a very
basic Catholic teaching, one dealing w ith the
2. In spite of th e call for reason, w h a t is occurring, leading
some to w hat conclusion?
3, 4. (a) W hat question is logically asked w hen one views the
divisions in the religious field? (b) How is th is division pointed
up in the Catholic Church a n d in P ro te stan tism ?
297

B rooklyn , N .Y .
SEeWATCHTOWER.
transubstantiation of the bread and wine ural catastrophe such as an earthquake,
served at the mass. Divisions have resulted a flood, hurricane, tornado, or other storm
from the birth-control edict issued by Pope occurs, people suddenly have the urge to
Paul VI, as well as the celibacy of priests help their fellowman? W ith regard to the
w ithin the Church. The division reached earthquake in Alaska in March of 1964,
a point where the Pope was no longer able one report told of people forming a huto remain silent on certain issues. In the man chain to protect them selves in case
New York Times of Friday, April 4,1969, a fissure opened up in the street. Anthe front-page headline read: Pope Says other told of an elderly lady running out
Church D issent Is Practically Schismat- of a store, hands outstretched, her face,
ic. The article pointed out that many white with fright. She threw her arms
hundreds of priests and two Latin-Ameri- around a woman and they held on to each
can bishops had renounced the vows of other. Said the woman: A fter the earth
the priesthood due to their differences stopped rolling, the little old lady went her
way and disappeared around the com er.
w ith the teachings of Rome.
*Protestantism , with its divisions and I had never seen her before and havent
subdivisions into hundreds of religious de- any idea who she is. But for a brief monominations, presents no better picture of ment we had a common interestsurvivunity in religious thinking. From tacit ap- al. In January of 1969 the w est coast
proval given to immoral conduct such as of the United States suffered from very
fornication and homosexuality to outright heavy rains. It got so bad that houses were
condemnation of the teachings of the Bi- washed away in raging torrents. A writble, labeling the Genesis account and other ten account tells of people fleeing on horseBible doctrines as m yths, the Protestant back, in automobiles and by helicopter.
organizations show they, too, lack ability In the tim e of emergency people banded
to be fitly united in the same mind and together to help one another, to work for
a common cause and in unity. A local
in the same line of thought.
radio station gave continuous reports on
5All of this leads us to ask: Is it pos- the evacuation, and when people should
sible for mankind to be fitly united in
leave their home. The police verified the
the same mind and in the same line of departure of people from a certain area,
thought? If so, how can such unity be and then army troops came in to prevent
brought about? Let us examine some of looting. Following the floods, bulldozers
the solutions offered, to see whether it is cleaned streets and lawns. Thousands of
possible to have earthwide unity.
volunteers pitched in to help. Yes, the peo-

298

SOLUTIONS OFFERED

W hat does bring people together so

that they act in unity and harmony? At
tim es, adversity brings people together.
Have you ever noticed that, when a nat5. In view of such divisions, w hat questions reasonably
arise?
6 ,7 . How does adversity som etim es b ring people tog e th e r? Cite exam ples.

pie worked together in unity in the face

of adversity.
TA t tim es when it is known in a certain area that a thief is robbing the homes
of the people, the neighbors w ill band together for their common good and keep
a careful watch on one anothers property
and belongings. Once the thief is appre-

M ay 15, 1971

3 EeWATCHTOWEFL

299

hended or leaves the area, the people return to their own interests and cares.
8On a larger scale, nations w ill often
band together in a unified action when
they are threatened by a common foe.
Thus it was that in 1899 and in 1907 two
peace conferences were held in The Hague,
Netherlands, the first attended by twentysix nations and the second by forty-four.
Many of these nations were at war in 1914!
To try to prevent an occurrence of another great war like that which covered
the earth in 1914-1918, the Treaty of Versailles in 1919 was to regulate the armaments of Germany. Came 1936, and Nazi
Germany took over the Rhineland, a
demilitarized zone under the Versailles
treaty, and ignored the m ilitary restrictions.
9 In 1928 the Kellogg-Briand Peace Pact
was signed by sixty-tw o nations. Its lofty
purpose was to outlaw war as an instrument of national policy. Came 1939, and
the start of World War , and before that
great war was finished most of those sixtytwo nations participated in that holocaust.
10 The Soviet Union signed a nonaggression agreement with the countries of Estonia, Lithuania, Latvia, Poland, Finland
and Romania. N ot long afterward the Soviet Union took over all or part of these
countries.
11In 1939 Russia and Germany signed
what became known as the famous StalinHitler nonaggression pact. Some two
years later these two nations were at war
on the battlefield butchering one another.
12During World War , the United
States, England and Russia, along with
other nations, cooperated closely together
against the common enemy, the A xis Nations led by Germany and including Ja-

pan. Their banding together for survival

was short-lived thereafter when Russia
took a separate course bent on conquest.
And in the interim the enemies of the
United States and England, of World War
, notably Germany, Italy and Japan,
have now become their allies, and the common foe in many respects comes to be
Communist Russia.
13 All of this goes to prove but one thing:
The unity of these nations and their common efforts are only for a selfish purpose,
the furtherance of an aim, or a national
goal. Once their ends have been served,
the nations are not interested in maintaining the unity and oneness with their
neighbors. A survey made of the history
of mankind from 1481 B.C.E., when Egypt
was the dominant world power, down to
the end of World War , a period of tim e
amounting to about 3,426 years, shows
there were more than 3,000 years of war
and only 268 years of peace. Diming that
tim e some 8,000 international peace agreements or treaties were made and broken.
Since 1945 there have continued to be
peace treaties, alliances and pacts made
between and among nations, but all with
a selfish end in view, not a desire to live
in unity and peace w ith ones neighbor.
14 In the arena of national and local polltics we also find that the reason for unity
is often not genuine interest in the people.
In many political campaigns a particular
candidate is backed, not because he can do
the most good for the people, but because
he can bestow certain favors on those who
support him. These favors are often called
patronage. Thus if people w ill support
a certain candidate, there is som ething in
it for them. The unity that is gained is

8, 9. Outline how nations strive fo r u n ity a t certain

times.
1012. W hat fu rth e r acts of u n ity does histo ry show
have occurred?

13. (a) W hat do these efforts of th e nations prove?

(b) How do we know th a t u n ity fo r a selfish purpose
is not som ething new ?
14,15. (a) W hy is u n ity in th e political field a t tim es
m aintained? (b) W hat often re su lts th e re a fte r?

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ishness of mankind, the desire for
personal gain and advancement.
16
And through 0111 of this we
still faced with the question: What
does bring people together so that
they can act in true unity and in
true harmony? Is it adversity? Is
it national and international treaties and pacts? Is it the many religious organizations? Is it the pollticians and their backers? Just a
brief consideration of the m atter
causes honest-hearted ones to say
that there must be something else.
There has to be something else,
something more stable, more sure,
founded on better principles. There
once again for a selfish purpose. Often most assuredly is.
the cry is loud and clear that if a particuTHE BASIS FOR TRUE UNITY
lar candidate for a political office is elected
17That something else has its basis in
he w ill do the most good for the populace
in general. Political rallies are held, also a book that has come to be disregarded
campaign dinners and speaking engage- by many, used as a good-luck charm by
ments, all showing masses of people uni- others and condemned by still others. Yes,
fied behind the man who can do the most it is God Alm ightys book of truth the
good. On the face of it one m ight easily Holy Bible. W ithin its pages is to be found
conclude that the unified efforts of so that something which w ill truly unite peomany of these people are indeed going to pie regardless of their national background
bring about changes in the future for the or station in life.
18
The apostle Paul in writing his letter
good of the people.
15
Once the individual has the office heto the Corinthian congregation in the first
must begin paying off his debts, his century of our Common Era said this
promises to those who may have supported to them: Now I exhort you, brothers,
him financially and otherwise. This often through the name of our Lord Jesus
means that it is not the individual who Christ that you should all speak in agreecan do the most good for the masses who ment, and that there should not be divibecomes the head of a government de- sions among you, but that you may be
partment or agency, but the one who fitly united in the same mind and in the
served the interests of the candidate best same line of thought. For the disclosure
and came through perhaps with the large was made to me about you, my brothers,
campaign contribution. Others who may by those of the house of Chloe, that dishave also supported, but perhaps not to sensions exist among you. What I mean
the same extent, now find that the prom- is this, that each one of you says: beises and the unity of the campaign trail 16. Up to this point, w ith w hat pressing question are
we still faced?
were mere illusions. Nothing changes, but 17. Identify the basis for tru e unity.
18. W hat was P a u l's counsel to the C orinthian conagain what comes to the fore is the self- gregation on unity, and w hy w as the counsel given?

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SHeWATCHTOWER
long to Paul, But I to Apollos, But I to thus say the good news has many unitCephas, But I to Christ. The Christ ex- ing messages. We w ill consider just a few
ists divided. (1 Cor. 1:10-13) When Paul of such m essages as contained in Gods
wrote these words the members of the con- book of truth, the Holy Bible.
gregation in Corinth were not working to21In Genesis 3:15 Jehovah God said to
gether in unity. Rather they were follow- the serpent who had caused Adam and
ing men with the thought in mind that Eve to disobey his righteous command:
these men somehow deserved their alle- I shall put enmity between you and the
giance at the expense of cultivating unity woman and between your seed and her
by all speaking in agreement and being of seed. He w ill bruise you in the head and
the same mind.
you w ill bruise him in the heel. The good
1Paul clearly showed these Christians news here was that Jehovah God would
in Corinth that if they were to become in time produce a seed that would crush
camp followers of men, of Paul, Apollos, the first foe of God, the serpent, the Devil,
Cephas or others, they would sacrifice and his wicked seed. On the basis of this
their most important strengthunity of good news and by understanding its promind and of heart. He plainly described phetic meaning mankind could have a hope
the religious state, saying: The Christ for the future that would bring blessings
exists divided. Therefore true Christian instead of curses and would serve to unite
unity could not exist, since the adherents all peoples.
to the teaching of Christianity were di22In Genesis 22:16*18 after Abraham,
vided. Paul further said to the Corinthi- Jehovahs friend, had w illingly made the
ans: For when one says: belong to attempt to offer up his son Isaac as a
Paul, but another says: to Apollos, are sacrifice, Jehovah God said: By m yself
you not simply men? (1 Cor. 3:4) So I do swear, is the utterance of Jehovah,
to be more than sim ply men the Corin- ,that by reason of the fact that you have
thian Christians, and all Christians for done this thing and you have not withheld
that matter, must work for unity of mind your son, your only one, I shall surely
and heart And what is the basis for unity? bless you and I shall surely multiply your
It is the good news that Paul said Christ seed like the stars of the heavens and like
dispatched him to declare. You may ask, the grains of sand that are on the seaJust what is the good news? What is shore; and your seed w ill take possession
embodied in the term and how does it of the gate of his enemies. And by means
promote unity of mind in all persons?
of your seed all nations of the earth w ill
certainly bless them selves due to the fact
THE GOOD NEWS THAT BRINGS UNITY
that you have listened to my voice. The
20In a world filled w ith daily reports good news to Abraham was that Jeho*
that are bad news for so many of earths vah made an oath-bound covenant with
inhabitants the good news from Gods him that through Abrahams seed all naWord should bring happiness to earths tions of the earth were to be blessed in
inhabitants. The Bible is filled with good due tim e and be united as one people. It
news and it is that good news that is a now became more evident that the promuniting force for true Christians. We can ise in Eden that Gods seed would in tim e
be m anifest was now going to come
19. W hat did the C orinthians lose by following difM ay 15, 1971

feren t men, and w h at really w as a unifying force

to them , leading us to ask w h at questions?
20. Is the good news ju s t one m essage necessarily?

21. W hat is th e good new s of Genesis 3:15?

22. W hat is th e good new s of Genesis 22:1618?

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through the line of the friend of God, Davids city. (Luke 2:10, 11) This outstanding occurrence would result, in Gods
Abraham.Jas. 2:23.
23In 2 Samuel 7:12, 13, Jehovah God due time, in uniting humankind on a permade a promise to King David of Judah manent basis.
in these words: When your days come
24In Matthew 24:14, just before his
to the full, and you must lie down with being taken into custody and being imyour forefathers, then I shall certainly paled on a torture stake in 33 C.E., Jesus
raise up your seed after you, which will told his disciples about another m atter of
come out of your inward parts; and I good news: And this good news of the
shall indeed firmly establish his kingdom. kingdom w ill be preached in all the inhabHe is the one that w ill build a house for ited earth for a witness to all the nations;
my name, and I shall certainly establish and then the end will come. That kingdom
the throne of his kingdom firmly to time was indeed good news, for it was to bring
indefinite. The good news to David was to mankind the fulfillm ent of all the promthat through his line of descent from ises that Jehovah God made, starting in
Abraham there would come a permanent, Eden and carrying through to the birth,
everlasting heir to a righteous Kingdom. life, death, resurrection and exalting of
Centuries later the Bible writer Luke Christ Jesus to be the King in that kingspoke about this good news in these dom.
words that the angel spoke to the virgin
25Briefly, then, the good news that
Mary: You w ill conceive in your womb unites mankind earth wide has many facand give birth to a son, and you are to ets and we have touched on just a few of
call his name Jesus. This one will be great them as they are contained in Gods Word
and w ill be called Son of the Most High; of Truth. There is much other good news
and Jehovah God w ill give him the throne in the pages of the Bible, in the informaof David his father, and he w ill rule as tion we have from God contained in its
king over the house of Jacob forever, and sixty-six letters or books. But the question
there w ill be no end of his kingdom. is,
How does unity come from the good
(Luke 1:31-33) Thus with accuracy the news? In what ways can unity be brought
good news of the seed, first spoken of about among peoples of this earth with
in Eden and promised through Abraham their many national and racial divisions
and David, culminated in Jesus Christ, and varied political persuasions? And furabout whom Matthew begins his account ther, since mankind is in such dire need
in these words: The book of the history of this earthwide unity now when manof Jesus Christ, son of David, son of Abra- kind is so badly divided and at odds with
ham. (Matt. 1:1) So it was at the birth
their fellowmen, when w ill this earthwide
of Jesus that the angels of heaven could
unity be a reality? The answers to these
rejoice and it was said by one such angelic
messenger to the shepherds in that same questions and others we leave to the folcountry where Jesus was bom : Have no lowing article, and we invite you to read
fear, for, look! I am declaring to you good it, along with the Bible references, which
news of a great joy that all the people will enable you to build faith in the promw ill have, because there was bom to you ises of Jehovah God for unity of mankind
today a Savior, who is Christ the Lord, in world wide.
23. (a) W hat is the good news of 2 Samuel 7:12,
13? (b) How w as this good new s revealed to the
virgin M ary? to shepherds in a field?

24. W hat is the good new s of M atthew 24:14?

25. W hat th ree questions are now in need of being
answ ered concerning earthw ide u n ity ?

HE opposite of
u n ity is dissension. Dissension
arises when people
h ave c o n f lic t in g
id e a s, o p p o site
g o a ls, d iffe r in g
opinions. To u n ite
people th ere m ust
be a unifying force. The
good news proves to be
that force. At tim es it is
possible for individuals
and groups to be united
by a common goal. But
once the goal is reached,
then diverse opinions and ideas often arise.
A case in point is the space effort made
to get man on the moon. B y a unified action of thousands of people the feat was
accomplished, and it brought worldwide
acclaim. Now that the goal has been
reached, diverse opinions of what should
next be done have caused dissension, division and loss of unified action. A New
York Times report of August 17, 1969,
under the heading Space Program, Behind the Triumph Criticism of Goals,
spoke this way: Controversy No. 1
revolves about the question: Which astronauts should be sent on future Apollo missions, men who have backgrounds primarily as test pilots and engineers . . . or
scientist-astronauts, whose primary qualification is their knowledge of geology,
biology, physics and other sciences? . . .
Discontent . . . has already produced the
resignations of several scientist-astronauts.
. . . Controversy No. 2 centers on the question: Who should control the tim ing of
future Apollo m issions and the planned
activities of astronauts sent to the moon?
. . . Controversy No. 3 centers about the
question: For exploration of the solar

system beyond the moon

should the nation emphasize unmanned probes carrying cameras and other
instruments or should it f0
cus instead on a crash program to put men
on Mars and retu r n th e m to
earth in the early
1980s?
2A t this point
you m ay sa y :
W ithout dissent
nothing w ill improve. Since there
is certainly no one human who knows all
the answers, in order for us to make progress we must have some dissent even at
the cost of unity. So how is it ever going
to be possible to unite mankind? Since we
are free moral agents, our future will always keep company w ith the disunited.
What possible force is there that could
unify all mankind? You w ill remember
that at the dose of the preceding artide
the point was made that the good news
unites mankind. We invite you, therefore,
to consider this m atter further.
3The Bible, Gods Word, contains good
news. When one knows what that good
news is and appreciates its dynamic force,
one can be strengthened in ones personal
convictions that such good news can unite
people of diverse national, racial and language backgrounds. This is because that
good news contains good promises, not
from an imperfect man or group of imperfect menall of whom have failed
miserably in bringing unity to the earth
but from the Alm ighty God, Jehovah,
mans Creator and Life-Sustainer.
2. W hat is th e argum ent of some concerning dissent?
3. Due to w hat source can we rely on th e Bible and
its m essage of good new s?

1. W hat is th e opposite of unity, and how does it

often arise? Cite an example.
303

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THE ONE WHO CAN UNITE MANKIND
does come through knowing and serving
* The good news of the Bible builds the Creator. So while dissent may be the
faith, and faith is the assured expecta- course of imperfect man for improving
tion of things hoped for, the evident dem- things, such is not the course with the
onstration of realities though not beheld. all-wise Creator, Jehovah, whose full un(Heb. 11:1) So the good news of the Bible derstanding and knowledge cannot be fully
tells about the things faith hopes in, and, searched out by man.
further, it gives an evident demonstration
6 The good news builds faith in Gods
of certain realities though at present some provision for mans eternal life through
of such realities may not be seen or be- Christ Jesus. The clear teachings of the
held. The good news also builds faith in Holy Scriptures show that in his mercy
the Creator of mankind. This is vital be- and tender compassion for mankind Jehocause, as pointed out above, no one human vah made arrangements for redeeming
knows all the answers. The good news fallen man from sin and death. This he did
helps us to turn to the Source of all truth through his firstborn Son, known before
and knowledge, the One who can direct his human birth as the Word or Logos.
all things without anyones having to dis- (John 1:1; Col. 1:15) This good news
sent, having to say that the method or the unites mankind in giving praise to Jehogoal is wrong. This Great First Cause has vah God for this unspeakably marvelous
every qualification to lead mankind in provision of his firstborn Son and in giving
paths of righteousness. Isaiah under in- thanks to the Lord Jesus Christ for faithspiration wrote these words of good news fully carrying out his Fathers w ill that
about Jehovah, mans Creator: And to results in benefit to mankind in all the
whom can you people liken God, and what earth. Is not our faith strengthened in the
likeness can you put alongside him? Raise goodness of God and are we not united in
your eyes high up and see. Who has creat- a common determination when we consided these things? It is the One who is bring- er how priceless was this provision of a
ing forth the army of them even by num- ransom by God for mankind through Jesus
ber, all of whom he calls even by name. Christ? It was Paul the apostle who said:
. . . Have you not come to know or have For, indeed, Christ, while we were yet
you not heard? Jehovah, the Creator of weak, died for ungodly men at the apthe extrem ities of the earth, is a God to pointed tim e. For hardly will anyone die
tim e indefinite. He does not tire out or for a righteous man; indeed, for the good
grow weary. There is no searching out of man, perhaps, someone even dares to die.
his understanding. (Isa. 40:18, 26, 28) But God recommends his own love to us
Further, Jehovah says through Isaiah: in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ
For the thoughts of you people are not died for us. (Rom. 5:6-8) This knowledge
my thoughts, nor are my ways your ways, serves to unite the beneficiaries, imperis the utterance of Jehovah. For as the feet humankind, for it becomes their reheavens are higher than the earth, so my solve to act as one in obeying the direcways are higher than your ways, and my tives of the Almighty God Jehovah,
thoughts than your thoughts. (Isa. 55: Creator and Father of all mankind, and
8, 9) Unity of thought and action, then, his only-begotten Son, Jesus Christ, the
provider of a release from sin and death
4. (a) In w hat does the good new s build faith? by his ransom sacrifice.
(b) W hat good news about m ans C reator did Isaiah
w rite? (c) T hrough w hat does unity of thought and
action come?

5. In w hat ways does Gods redem ption of m an through

C hrist serve as a uniting force?

M ay 15, 1971

305
SEeW ATCHTOWER
A PERFECT BOND OF UNION
ness of mind, mildness, and long-suffering.
6Let us consider together the various Continue putting up with one another and
ways that those who closely follow Gods forgiving one another freely if anyone has
Word work together in unity regardless a cause for complaint against another.
of where they m ight live on earth, what Even as Jehovah freely forgave you, so do
their culture or customs may have been you also. But, besides all these things,
and what national backgrounds they have. clothe yourselves w ith love, for it is a
Jesus Christ pointed to a strong factor in perfect bond of union.Col. 3:12-14.
uniting mankind when he spoke of the
good news about the love that God had
SAFEGUARDED AGAINST PRACTICES
THAT PRODUCE DISUNITY
for man and that man is called upon to
8 From Pauls comment it is readily seen
have for God and for his fellowman. Jesus
said to his followers: God loved the world that love is a perfect bond of union, reso much that he gave his only-begotten suiting in a oneness, a unity or joining
Son, in order that everyone exercising together of persons. Thus it can be that
faith in him m ight not be destroyed but individuals, through the good news,
have everlasting life. (John 3:16) Of the work in the common interest of others
need for man to have this love Jesus said: without wrangling, disputing, bickering.
You must love Jehovah your God with Such individuals, for example, because of
your whole heart and with your whole soul this perfect bond of union, which is love,
and with your whole mind. This is the live lives that are in keeping with the
greatest and first commandment. The sec- good news from Gods Word. Following
ond, like it, is this, You must love your the uniting counsel of Ephesians 5:3-5,
neighbor as yourself. On these two com- their conduct in a moral way shows them
mandments the whole Law hangs, and the to be striving to be upright. Paul there
Prophets. (Matt. 22:37-40) This type of said: Let fornication and uncleanness of
love, principled love, is more than saying every sort or greediness not even be menI love you. It is not an erotic attraction tioned among you, just as it befits holy
to another person. It is based on the high- people; neither shameful conduct nor foolest principles, those enunciated in Gods ish talking nor obscene jesting, things
book of good news, the Bible. It requires which are not becoming, but rather the
an in-depth understanding of what Gods giving of thanks. For you know this, recwill and purpose for mankind are and how ognizing it for yourselves, that no fom ipeople can act in unity and harmony in cator or unclean person or greedy person
which means being an idolaterhas any
following the teachings of Gods Word.
7To illustrate the good news of this inheritance in the kingdom of the Christ
principled love that Christians are com- and of God. If all adherents to the good
manded to show, the apostle Paul in Colos- news follow this advice, then there is
sians wrote about the attitude one must unity. There is no need to disregard the
have to be pleasing to God. He said: Ac- advice, simply saying it is some humans
cordingly, as Gods chosen ones, holy and direction. No, rather it is Gods direction
loved, clothe yourselves w ith the tender for his people through holy spirit. For
affections of compassion, kindness, lowli- unity to prevail, then every adherent to
the good news of Gods Word world wide
6. How is th e quality of love a unitin g factor for
m ankind?
7. How does th is q u ality benefit C hristians in their
relationship to one an o th er?

8, 9. (a) W hat are some causes of dissension, as shown

in Ephesians 5 : 3 5 ( ?b) W hat is required if the advice
of Ephesians 5 :3 5 is to un ite all in the congregation?

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f&eW ATCHTOW ER
must abide by this counsel. It does not out of your mouth, but whatever saying
become the prerogative of any human to is good for building up as the need may
say what part of this directive he will obey be, that it m ay impart what is favorable
and what part he w ill ignore. Those serv- to the hearers. (Eph. 4:25-29) B y unified
ing Jehovah and desiring to do so unitedly action in these fields the good news of
recognize that they cannot set themselves Gods Word gives upbuilding direction to
up as judges of what is to be obeyed and those desiring to serve Jehovah wholewhat not obeyed. Here is the key to unity, heartedly.
recognizing the superior position of Jeho11 Today in many parts of the earth govvah and what he says through his Word. emments employ the technique of lying
All, therefore, bear in mind Pauls counsel to their own people as well as to other
in Romans 12:3: For through the un- governments. One government official said,
deserved kindness given to me I tell every- when asked about lying, that it is the inone there among you not to think more herent right of a government to lie to
of him self than it is necessary to think; save itself. Gods Word counsels differbut to think so as to have a sound mind, ently: Speak truth each one of you w ith
each one as God has distributed to him his neighbor, because we are members bea measure of faith. Unity, then, comes longing to one another. (Eph. 4:25) Unifrom speaking in agreement and following ty can come only if people speak truth
the same line of thought.
with one another. Liars are deceivers. How
8 The advice of the good news is not could lying possibly produce unity that is
to be talking and meditating about com- built on a firm, long-lasting foundation?
m itting fornication or becoming greedy. It cannot!
Watch the tongue that it does not engage
12 Stealing produces disunity. The good
in obscene jesting, and be cautious that news of Gods Word condemns it. Accordyour conduct is above reproach, above ing to one fact-finding organization, whiteshame. Why? So that unitedly you can collar workers steal more than five milserve the interests of the good news lion dollars in cash and merchandise each
without differences due to custom, culture working day. N ot all who steal are pagans
or national background.
or nonbelievers. Rather the m ajority have
10The good news of Gods Word also religious connections. Such ones have becautions on the m atter of lying, stealing come a law to themselves, rejecting the
and cursing. Paul wrote: Wherefore, now good advice of Gods Word that the stealer
that you have put away falsehood, speak should steal no more. To produce unity,
truth each one of you w ith his neighbor, the good news of the Holy Scriptures forbecause we are members belonging to one bids stealing on the part of those who
another. Be wrathful, and yet do not sin; seek Gods blessing and favor.
let the sun not set with you in a provoked
13 Cursing today seems to be the going
state, neither allow place for the Devil.
Let the stealer steal no more, but rather thing, the accepted way of life for many.
let him do hard work, doing with his The theater, movies, even television, have
hands what is good work, that he may become victim s of the four-letter words
have something to distribute to someone 11. How do some view lying, b u t w hy is lying a
course for those causing dissension?
in need. Let a rotten saying not proceed 12.
W hy does stealing produce disunity?
10. W hat fu rth e r cautions a re given by P aul In the
le tte r to the E phesians?

13. (a) To w hat extent has cursing become prom inent

today? (b) W hat wise advice of the Bible do we have
on this m atter?

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307
fEeW ATCHTOW ER.
as they are called. To be somebody, the badness. (Eph. 4:31) Todays world is
view prevails, you have to use foul lan- filled with abusive speech, malicious bit*
guage, you have to swear. To those with terness, anger and wrath. Protests, riots,
such warped views the advice and counsel marches, all of these and many other
of the Bible indeed seem archaic, out- forms of expression are often vitriolic in
moded and is looked upon with disdain. their display of displeasure w ith some ac*
Nevertheless, the counsel is that those tion or lack of action on the part of anseeking to promote unity among mankind other man or group of men. The advice
should not even let a rotten saying pro- of the disciple James, one of those entrustceed out of the mouth. It does not make ed with the sacred pronouncements of
a person a man or a woman to be good news, was: Mans wrath does not
able to speak rotten things. The Bibles work out Gods righteousness. (Jas. 1:
good counsel is that those wishing to 20) The good news contained in the Word
please God and promote unity w ill follow of God counsels that wrath and screaming
this advice: Finally, brothers, whatever and abusive speech should not be a part
things are true, whatever things are of of the Christian personality. Rather, Chrisserious concern, whatever things are righ- tians are admonished: Put on the new
teous, whatever things are chaste, whatpersonality which was created according
ever things are lovable, whatever things
are well spoken of, whatever virtue there to Gods w ill in true righteousness and
is and whatever praiseworthy thing there loyalty. (Eph. 4:24) Unity of thought and
is, continue considering these things. action is assured when the good news from
(Phil. 4:8) Rotten sayings can produce God is adhered to by all wanting the aprotten people. To avoid rottenness, follow proved of the Creator. How wise therethe advice of Philippians 4:8. To promote fore the words of James, who counseled:
unity, follow the advice of the good news Every man must be sw ift about hearing,
of Gods Word. Shun things that would slow about speaking, slow about wrath.
fill your mind w ith rotten sayings and Jas. 1:19.
ideas. If you feed your mind w ith the garUNITED IN SUPPORT OF GODS KINGDOM
bage productions of the theater, screen,
15 Another facet of life wherein unity is
television and the printed page, in time
you will become a speaker of garbage or produced by those heeding the advice of
rotten sayings. Remember, the advice the good news of Gods Word is the neucomes from mankinds Creator through trality of Christians. Jesus Christ very
the working of holy spirit on men who plainly said of his followers: They are
spoke as they were moved along by such no part of the world, just as I am no part
holy spirit.
of the world. (John 17:14) The Bible
14
The good news produces unity inclearly shows that to Jehovah belong the
still another field of activity. The apostle earth and that which fills it, the producPaul wrote about it in these words: Let tive land and those dwelling in it. (Ps.
all malicious bitterness and anger and 24:1) Thus to Jehovah there are no such
wrath and screaming and abusive speech things as national boundaries for lands on
be taken away from you along with all this globe. The present divisions of this
14. How is u n ity produced by avoiding th e use of
abusive speech, malicious bitterness, anger, w ra th and
scream ing?

15. (a) How does n e u tra lity of C hristians produce

u n ity ? (b) W hy does Jehovah not su p p o rt one national
group against an o th er?

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SHeWATCHTOWER
earth into various types of governments lievers there is the unity that comes as
are not the work of Jehovah. He does a result of obeying the command at Matnot respect one national group above an- thew 24:14 to preach the good news of
other, favor one against the other, sup- Gods kingdom in all the inhabited earth
port one to the exclusion of another. These for a witness. World wide those joined todivisions are the work of the god of this gether in the unity of the good news of
system of things, Satan the Devil, who God from his Word the Bible are also deoffered Jesus all the kingdoms of the world daring a message concerning Gods kingif he would do but one act of worship be- dom that in itself is a unifying declaration.
fore Satan. (2 Cor. 4:4; Matt. 4:8, 9) The That good news serves to unite people of
good news of Gods Word shows that Je- all races and national backgrounds in a
hovah made out of one man every na- common work, shared in by one and all
tion of men, to dwell upon the entire sur- without partiality.
face of the earth. (A cts 17:26) Thus God
8 So it is, in this twentieth century, that
calls for those who want to serve him in the unifying message of Gods Word is
unity to be neutral as to the affairs of being brought to the people by word of
this system of things. For such unity to mouth and printed page. W hile men may
prevail no m atter where an individual
feel that without dissent nothing w ill imlives, regardless of his national heritage,
prove, we can say with assurance that
language, color or line of descent, that individual must be at unity with Gods peo- when the Creator of the universe, Jehovah
pie in all parts of the earth. Again, it does God, speaks and people of all walks of life
not depend on how an imperfect human in all areas of the earth listen, then they
interprets the law of God. It depends on can work in unity without dissent, without
what the Alm ighty First Cause, Jehovah wrangling, without division.
19
Of his people the Alm ighty God said
God, decrees for man in order to have
in
Micah
2:12: In unity I shall set them,
unity and the blessing of that First Cause.
like
a
flock
in the pen. Therefore, how
18At the same tim e the good news of
good
and
how
pleasant it is for brothers
Gods Word does show that all who would
be gathered together in the unity mark- to dwell together in unity! . . . It is like
ing Gods people would be obedient to rul- the dew of Hermon that is descending upers and governments, never breaking up on the mountains of Zion. For there Jetheir unity by fighting to overthrow the hovah commanded the blessing to be, even
existing system . It was Jesus himself who life to tim e indefinite. (Ps. 133:1-3) That
said: Pay back, therefore, Caesars things unity exists now and is evident in 206
to Caesar, but Gods things to God. (Matt. lands and islands of the sea around this
22:21) This obedience by Christians earth globe. You can be a part of such worldwide is further evidence of their unity in wide unity. We invite your close inspection of the Word of God and of the orthought and action.
17Added to all of these ways in which ganization he is using today to bring to
the good news of Gods Word unifies be- the people the good news that unites all
mankind.
16. (a) T hough neutral, are Christians disobedient to
ru lers? (b) W hat guide did Jesus give them in this
reg ard ?
17. How does M atthew 24:14 serve as a uniting force
fo r tru e C hristians?

18. W hen Jehovah speaks and m an listens, w hat

results ?
19. W hat did Jehovah say he would do fo r his people,
and w hat are you invited to do?

HAT do you think of a person who

makes strong promises to you,
then later backs out? Do you forgive him
if he makes the excuse that he did not
know what he was getting into?
Just such a thing is being done more
than 750,000 tim es each year in the United
States. There are upward of 500,000 legal
divorces granted per year, and 250,000
cases of desertion. One out of four marriages ends in divorce. The rate is also
rising in other lands, with the nations of
Christendom taking the lead.
Every known society has prescribed
marriage as the normal and accepted way
of expressing adult love and of establishing a family. From earliest tim es the marriage contract has been considered binding from a religious and moral standpoint
as well as constituting a legal status or
relationship not easily broken.
Though there is a trend today to do
away with the taking of vows, Time magazine of July 4, 1969, reported: However
far-out some of todays weddings tend to
be, the need for ceremony remains deeply
rooted. And the m ajority still hold to the
taking of vows that call for love, honor,
respect, fidelity to ones mate in sickness
and health, for better or for worse.
Whatever form the marriage may take, it
is in effect a contract. In fact, the very
carrying out of a formal ceremony makes
it a contract, the witnesses of which are
watching for its fulfillment.
Consequently, only liars w ill enter into
a marriage lightly and without the intention of keeping its requirements. And those
who break the marriage contract, or who
violate the terms thereof to love, honor,
respect, cherish and stick to the mate, are
liars. They have lied to their mates and
defrauded them, even though they may
309

make the excuse that marriage was much

more difficult than they had expected.
CHRISTENDOM LEADS IN LYING TO GOD

But worse than this, these persons are

lying to God! The m illions in Christendom,
who claim to be Christian servants of God,
and yet who are leading the world in divorces, separation suits, desertions and
marital infidelity are the worst liars of ah!
How can it be said that all these persons are lying to God? W hat does it mean
for them? Well, many of them take the
vows in religious ceremonies. These acknowledge God as a W itness and the One
holding them to faithfulness to their vows.
Also, many having a secular ceremony
recognize the vows as taken before God.
And those who do not make open recognition of God in the m atter are nonetheless
responsible before him. Why? Because
they are Gods creatures, taking advantage
of his institution of marriage, his way of
enabling the humem race to fill the earth.
Jesus Christ was authority for the statement that God was the Instituter and the
Performer of the first marriage. Therefore
all marriages are due to Gods provision.
He is involved as the Watcher of the married pair, to see whether they w ill keep
their vows, either expressed or implied,
before him.Matt. 19:4-6.
GODS VIEWPOINT

Just how binding does Jehovah consider

the contract entered into by a person, particularly by one who considers him self a
Christian? His Word says that those false
to agreements . . . are deserving of death.
If such a person does not repent, change
his thinking and ways and seek forgiveness, he is in a very dangerous position.
Rom. 1:31, 32.

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SEeWATCHTOWER

Jehovahs attitude toward such liars,

whose word means nothing, is shown in
his dealing with ancient King Zedekiah of
Judah. This king, by an oath
the name
of God, had made a covenant to serve the
king of Babylon. Even though the covenant was with a pagan king, Zedekiah actually lied before God, for he broke that
oath and rebelled. For this God said to
him: As I am alive, . . . the one that despised his oath and that broke his covenant, . . . in the midst of Babylon he will
die.Ezek. 17:16; 2 Chron. 36:13.
The one claiming to be a Christian who
vows to love, honor, respect and stick
faithfully to his or her marriage mate and
who then shows indifference toward these
vows is swearing in Gods name to a lie,
a thing that incurs Gods burning anger.
(Lev. 19:12) God hates liars (Prov. 6:16,
17), and lists unrepentant liars among
those who w ill receive everlasting destruetion: But as for the cowards and those
without faith and those who are disgusting
in their filth and murderers and fom icators and those practicing spiritism and
idolaters and all the liars, their portion
will be in the lake that burns with fire and
sulphur. This means the second death.
Rev. 21:8.
So a contract or covenant made with another person, particularly the marriage
covenant, is considered binding by God.
Jesus pointed out that one cannot break
up ones marriage and go ahead as if nothing had happened. He said: I say to you
that whoever divorces his wife, except on
the ground of fornication, and marries
another commits adultery. (Matt. 19:9)
So the man or woman who casts off a marriage mate, or even contemplates doing so,
should think first, recognizing that God
will not hold such a one guiltless for the
terrible thing that he or she would thus
do to the mate. God will require an accounting.Heb. 4:13.

B r o o k l y n , N .Y .
OTHER LIARS

While many gain divorces on flim sy

pretexts, there are other couples who continue to dwell together, but who nevertheless prove them selves liars by failing to
respect and honor each other. They ignore
the fact that they vowed, not m erely to
live together, but also to love each other.
Does the man give more respect and attention to women other than his wife?
Does the woman respect and obey her
husband, or does she instead tear him
down, or give more attention to other
men? Does either of them speak evil of
the other to persons outside? Does the
husband do all he can to provide properly
for his wife? Does the w ife take proper
care of things for the husband, such as
his meals, keeping his clothing dean and
pressed, ready for him to wear? Is there
loud quarreling and fighting? Are there
always words of sarcasm, complaint, criticism, even animosity, rather than words
that upbuild, encourage and show love?
Unless the couple is really making a strong
and sincere effort to make the marriage
successful and an honor to the One who
instituted marriage, they have lied to God.
TAKE CARE THAT
YOU ARE NOT LYING TO GOD

In view of the seriousness with which

God looks upon the marriage arrangement
and its vows, each married person who
wants to please God and to get life under
His arrangement should reappraise his situation. Be careful that you are not living
a lie before God. Each should ask: Am
I exercising real love toward my mate?
Am I showing deep respect? Do I do these
things in favorable and unfavorable circumstances, for better or for worse?
Those who keep their word before God
will find happiness now in greater measure, and his favor of life as faithful keepers of their vows.

EISURE time! When you hear these

words, you may think of rest, or of
getting something done that you have been
putting off. Or you m ay have ideas as to
how you can spend the tim e in a way
that you find entertaining and amusing.
But, even though the thought may present
a rather glowing prospect, leisure tim e can
result in a detrimental outcome.
Why is this? Because, as the Bible explains, the inclination of the heart of man
is bad from his youth up. (Gen. 8:21) If
a person does not guide him self within the
bounds of good principle, he can tear himself down during his leisure tim e. This
does not mean he should not fully enjoy
his free time. He should. But he should
not afterward have a feeling of disgust or
regret over tim e wasted or wrongly spent.
Persons who consult the Bible on matters of life are protected by keeping in
mind the apostle Pauls words: Whether
you are eating or drinking or doing anything else, do all things for Gods glory.
(1 Cor. 10:31) He also wrote: Let us
pursue the things making for peace and
the things that are upbuilding to one another. (Rom. 14:19) These scriptures
provide fine standards by which to judge
the value of the way a person spends his
time. It does not require that he be narrowminded or fanatical, unable to take tim e
to talk about any subject aside from the
Bible. Nor does it preclude enjoyment of
the things God has provided, within the
bounds that he has set. (1 Tim. 4:4) God
made man with the ability to enjoy the
delights of good association. Man also has
the capacity to enjoy beauty and the arts
and the multitudinous features of this
amazing earth, which God gave man as
his home. Gods own Son did not condemn
the enjoyment of things that give one
pleasure. A t a wedding feast in Galilee,
you m ay recall, he worked a miracle that
provided a fresh supply of the best of wine,
which, the Bible says, makes the heart

311

of mortal man rejoice.Ps. 104:15; John

2:3-11.
THE NEED FOR A CHANGE

Most persons today have a day or two

a week free from secular work. There are
also the evenings. Those who fill up all
their evenings m oonlighting, that is,
working at a second job, are m issing an
important part of their lives. And, if they
have fam ilies, they are depriving them of
a much-needed feature of fam ily life. If
circumstances make it possible, it is much
better to have free tim e for things that
are upbuilding than it is to possess much
in a material way.
Relaxation that is m ost profitable is not
so much a doing of nothing or of having
pure fun. It is a change of pace or occupation, particularly a change that builds
up a person in a phase of his life that
usually gets less tim e and attention. Every individual needs balance, and leisure
tim e ought to be employed toward achieving a balanced life and personality.

SfeWATCHTOWER

312
APPLYING A PROVERB

In ancient Israel the people were farmers, for the most part; some had businesses or trades. The proverbs of King Solomon constituted counsel for Israel in
every area of life. They were actually
Gods inspired counsel for the people. One
of these proverbs states: Prepare your
work out of doors, and make it ready for
yourself in the field. Afterward you must
also build up your household. (Prov. 24:
27) This proverb shows that it is a mans
responsibility, first to do his work, which
w ill provide necessities and security for
the fam ily, then to give attention to the
household itself.
So in Israel long hours were spent daily
in the fields, except on the sabbath day.
This rest day was generally used in discussing and teaching Gods law. The father also used tim e for other purposes.
This included journeys to Jerusalem for
the festivals, tim e spent in vintage and
harvest festivities, weddings and other activities, all of which were educational as
w ell as recreational.
The inspired proverbs, since they deal
w ith human nature, which does not change,
can be applied in principle to modern society. It is true that more stress and strain
are on everyone, but people generally have
more leisure time. The pace and tenseness
of our day w ill be far less oppressive and
life much more refreshing and enjoyable
if the tim e other than that spent in the
field, whether it be the farm or factory,
or the business world, is spent in building
up ones household.
A primary requirement is to have a
genuine interest in the welfare of the children and in their upbuilding, so that the
children can face and handle lifes problems. Accordingly, tim e free from work
can be spent, first, in fam ily discussion,
covering m atters of all kinds. Then problems, when they arise, w ill be more freely

B r o o k l y n , N .Y .

brought out into the open where they can

be aired out and solved or corrected.
The father can establish the proper relationship by having his son w ith him
when he uses tim e off from secular work
to do repairs around the house, or to work
on the fam ily car, or the lawn mower. Let
the boy actually participate in the work;
he learns to be a real man in this way.
Likewise, the mother can arrange things
so that her daughter shares w ith her in
things that need to be done in the home.
By this training the daughter grows into
real womanhood.
A MODERN EXAMPLE

Those who accept the Bible as Gods

Word and who try to follow its direction
have the clearest, m ost direct w ay of helping their children with full assurance that
they are doing the right things. A t the
same tim e they are using their leisure
tim e in the most enjoyable, satisfying way.
How is this? As a helpful illustration let
us look briefly at the example found among
Jehovahs witnesses. They are people who
have found them selves facing the same
problems that everyone encounters in this
fast-moving age. But as one observes them
one finds that they do not feel these things
overly burdensome. Most of them refuse
to be so concerned with making money as
to sacrifice all their leisure tim e. They see
that such tim e is set aside.
The reason is that these people have
turned to the Bible to investigate the hope
it holds forth. From its study they are
convinced that the Creator, who really
owns all mankind, has a marvelous purpose to bring relief and life by his Messianic kingdom. They feel that they therefore owe him complete devotionthat
actually all their tim e should be spent in
some beneficial way within the bounds of
his arrangements.

M a y 15, 1971

SEeWATCHTOWER.

313

These Christians draw from the Bible all the free tim e of Jehovahs witnesses.
the view that service of God to a large There are periods of leisure that are used
extent involves communication with oth- for complete relaxation, and much of this
ers. This is indeed the most pleasurable is found in association with fam ily and
occupation that God has provided for man- friends. Varied are the ways in which they
kind. When good things are communi- do this. It may be eating a meal togethcated, it is an
er. It may be a
unparalleled pleapicnic or outing,
T H E NEXT IS S U E
sure, and the enor travelin g to
joyment of it ensom e n ea rb y
* How to Succeed in the Pioneer Service.
dures after th e
place of interest
discussion is endor
rec rea tio n .
* Do You Let Prejudice Stumble You?
ed, because it is
T h ere is an inupbuilding.
te r c h a n g e of
* A God W ho Cares.
Jehovahs witt h o u g h ts , feelnesses norm ally
in gs, id eas and
arrange their leisure tim e so that a good experiences that relieves the pressure of
share of it is occupied with the ministry everyday living and encourages and upof the Word. This means that they take builds.Rom. 1:11, 12.
their time free from work, often Saturday
WHAT MAY BE DONE?
afternoons and Sundays, to engage in
All
persons
need some tim e for relaxspeaking to others about the Bible, its
ation
in
a
form
that they really enjoy, and
principles, and the hope for mankind preone
cannot
be
the
judge of another as to
sented by the kingdom of God. They do
what
form
of
relaxation
he selects, as long
not confine this to their friends and famias
it
does
not
violate
right
principles. One
lies, but speak to people in their neighmay
engage
in
a
hobby,
such
as woodborhood, calling at their homes. They take
working,
radio
building,
painting,
raising
their children along. Bible studies are conflowers,
photography,
sewing,
needlework,
ducted in the homes of interested persons,
often in other free hours, such as eve- learning another language, and so forth.
Another may spend some tim e listening to
nings.
good
music, reading, watching television,
It is an interesting and outstanding fact
walking
through the woods, windowthat, in interviewing many of them, not
shopping,
or any number of things. Just
one of these persons has ever been heard
rest
or
sleep
alone may at tim es be the
to say, after spending a few hours engagbest
thing.
ing in this occupation, that he felt that
What one may enjoy may seem a waste
he had wasted his time, even though it
may have occupied all his leisure hours of tim e to another. Nevertheless, if he
for that day. And thousands of persons finds it relaxing and helpful to him, and
with whom Jehovahs witnesses have spent if he does not overdo it, but observes modtim e discussing or studying the Bible in eration and maintains a balance, he should
this manner feel the same way, though it not be condemned.
The apostle Paul discusses certain mathas cost them an hour of their free tim e
each week.Matt. 11:29, 30.
ters, such as the eating or not eating of
But Bible study, discussion and attend- certain foods, and the observance of a
ing congregational m eetings do not occupy certain day as a rest day or as an ordi-

314

S&eWATCHTOWEFL

nary day. Then he says to those who were

judging according to their personal ideas
or opinions: W hy do you judge your
brother? Or why do you also look down
on your brother? . . . each of us w ill render an account for him self to God. Therefore let us not be judging one another any
longer, but rather make this your decision,
not to put before a brother a stumbling
block or a cause for tripping. If a person
thinks a thing is wrong for himself, it
would be wrong for him, as Paul further
points out: Only where a man considers
som ething to be defiled, to him it is defiled.Rom. 14:1014.
Conversely, as the apostle goes on to
say, we should not insist on our right
to do something that we personally enjoy
if it is a cause of upset or stumbling for
others. We cannot rightly use the excuse
that it is our own business, if it is something that is not really essential. Paul
counsels: It is well not to eat flesh or to
drink wine or do anything over which
your brother stumbles.Rom. 14:21.
Everyone would do well to ask himself,
Do I give enough thought to the way my
free tim e is used? Is it wasted? or does it
serve some beneficial purpose? If I employ an evening in some form of recreation or entertainment, is moderation observed? or am I up so late that I am
drowsy and inefficient the next day? Or,
if the evening happens to be Saturday or
some evening preceding a day free from
work, do I stay up watching a late movie,
or a late television show, or doing something else so that I have to sleep well into
the next morning, thereby losing some of
the best part of the day? If the answer is
Yes, and especially if this occurs frequently, it is unbalanced use of tim e and a
change should be made. If the activity engaged in was such that it left one feeling
empty, unrewarded, and somewhat guilty
because of wasting tim e, it would be an

B r o o k l y n , N .Y .

indication that some revision of ones recreational activities was in order.

WHEN A GROUP GATHERS

When a family, or two or three families get together, there is a great variety
of things that can be done. It is good if
the children and older ones can be included
in the conversation or the activity. For
those who love the Bible, probably the
most upbuilding and enjoyable thing of all
is to read the Bible, each in turn reading
a few verses, then asking questions and
commenting on the material. Readers of
this magazine or its companion Awake! or
other W atch Tower publications, may enjoy reading and discussing m aterial from
these in a sim ilar manner.
Some like to play games. If games of
any sort are played, based on the Bible or
otherwise, it is better to minimize the
spirit of competition. This avoids making
one or two of the group prominent while
others feel embarrassed or inferior. To
this end, games can be selected that do not
put any individual on the spot. Let persons be free to volunteer an expression or
to remain silen t Questions asked can be
directed to the group rather than to any
individual. Whoever wants to speak up
may do so; yet all can hear and learn.
An important thing to remember in all
cases is that our enjoyment of a thing
should not infringe on the tim e of others,
time they would like to use for something
else. All should use good judgment as to
the length and frequency of visits. The
proverbs again w isely counsel: Make your
foot rare at the house of your fellow man,
that he may not have his sufficiency of
you and certainly hate you.Prov. 25:17.
CRITICAL TIMES CALL FOR CAUTION

The Bible foretold critical tim es hard

to deal w ith, as one of the signs of the
last days of this rapidly deteriorating

May 15, 1971

S&eWATCHTOWER

system of things. (2 Tim. 3:1) We see an

upsurge in crime and immorality, along
with pornography in movies and in print.
It becomes increasingly dangerous to be
present where crowds assemble for movies, sports events and other worldly forms
of entertainment. Only recently a bomb
was discovered in one of New York citys
largest theaters. Robberies, muggings and
even riots are a menace to those attending
such gatherings.
Even though this condition exists, the
young person who has experienced only
the way of life carried on in these critical
times may find some of its way out
entertainments appealing. He may want to
have his fling, with thoughts of pursuing a more serious, settled life later. Anyone having such ideas should soberly weigh
his attitude against the words of the inspired writer of Ecclesiastes, who counseled: Rejoice, young man, in your youth,
and let your heart do you good in the
days of your young manhood, and walk
in the ways of your heart and in the things
seen by your eyes. But know that on account of all these the true God w ill bring
you into judgment.Eccl. 11:9.

315

Youth has a natural zeal for enjoyment.

The heart leans that way. God, of course,
wants not only youth, but all, to enjoy life.
But God especially warns youth that restraint must be exercised. (2 Tim. 2:22)
If there is unbridled pleasure and things
done are not good, the person w ill have to
account for his acts to God. In view of
this, the writer of Ecclesiastes continues:
So remove vexation from your heart,
and ward off calam ity from your flesh; for
youth and the prime of life are vanity.
Youth is transitory; it does not last long.
So during this tim e avoid abuses that will
bring debauchery, calam ity and Gods disfavor. Select proper relaxation and enjoyment now.Eccl. 11:10.
As the available selection of good movies,
television programs and other forms of
entertainment becomes more and more
narrow, both old and young should be increasingly careful. Paradoxically, this situation works toward good for the Christian. It tends to turn his mind more
exclusively toward the basic things that
bring satisfaction and reward. Yes, it impels him to do all things for Gods glory,
at the same time building up and making
for peace.

Testimony of the Nabonidus Chronicle

HE fall of strongly fortified Babylon
The date of this event is of interest to
came with a suddenness that must students of the Bible. This is because the
have surprised the ancient world. The condates of many other happenings mentioned
queror, Cyrus the Great, diverted the wa- in the Holy Scriptures can be determined
ters of the Euphrates River that coursed in relationship to the number of years they
through the city. Then his forces marched occurred before or after Babylons fall.
through the riverbed, taking the city by
The Nabonidus Chronicle (also known
surprise through the unlocked gates along as the Cyrus-Nabonidus Chronicle and
the quay. In one night Babylon feU, end- The Annalistic Tablet of Cyrus) , though
ing centuries of Sem itic supremacy and very brief, contains the m ost complete
fulfilling Jehovahs word spoken through extant cuneiform record concerning the
his prophets Isaiah and Jeremiah.Isa. fall of Babylon. This fragm entary clay
44:27; 45:1, 2; Jer. 50:38; 51:30-32.
tablet measures approximately five and a

316

SHeWATCHTOWER

B r o o k l y n , N .Y .

half inches in breadth at its widest point ylon must have come in that year and that,
and about the same in length. On the basis if the tablet were not partially effaced,
of the script style, scholars have concluded those words would appear in the space
that the tablet may date from some time now damaged. (It may also be noted that
in the Seleucid period (312-65 B.C.E.). the Jewish historian Josephus [quoting
But historians claim the inscription is Babylonian priest Berossus (of the third
probably a copy of an earlier document. century B.C.E.) ] reports that Cyrus took
As it tends to glorify Cyrus while present- Babylon in the seventeenth year of Nabing Nabonidus in a disparaging way, the onidus reign.)Against Apion, Book I,
thought has been advanced that the in- par. 20.
scription was the work of a Persian scribe
Also other sources, including Ptolem ys
and has even been referred to as Persian canon, point to the year 539 B.C.E. as the
propaganda. Nonetheless, the circum- date for Babylons fall. For example, an
stantial data is considered to be reliable. cient historians such as Diodorus, AfriAccording to the Nabonidus Chronicle, canus and Eusebius show that Cyrus first
Cyrus, in the month Tashritu (Tishri year as king of Persia corresponded to
[September-October]), attacked the Bab- Olympiad 55, year 1 (560/59 B.C.E.),
ylonian forces at Opis. The inscription con- while Cyrus last year is placed at Olymtinues: The 14th day, Sippar was seized piad 62, year 2 (531/30 B.C.E.). (The
without battle. Nabonidus fled. The 16th years of the olympiads ran from approxiday, Gobryas (
gbaru,) the governor
U
of July 1 to the following June 30.)
mately
Gutium and the army of Cyrus entered Cuneiform tablets give Cyrus a rule of
Babylon without battle. Afterwards Nab- nine years over Babylon. This would haronidus was arrested in Babylon when he monize with the accepted date for the start
returned.Ancient Near Eastern Texts, of his rule over Babylon in 539 B.C.E.
edited by James B. Pritchard, p. 306.
Though the year is not found in the
The reference to Cyrus army entering Nabonidus Chronicle itself, the available
Babylon without battle probably means evidence is nevertheless sufficient for ac*
without a general conflict. This agrees cepting 539 B.C.E. as the date for Babwith Jeremiahs prophecy that the mighty ylons fall. Of course, this factor does lessmen of Babylon would cease to fight. en the value of the Nabonidus Chronicle
Jer. 51:30.
in determining the time for the event. But
But does the Nabonidus Chronicle of the inscription is still of considerable valitself provide the basis for establishing the ue, for it provides noteworthy testim ony
year for this event? No. This inscription concerning the manner of Babylons fa
shows that Babylon fell to the army of Also, since the inscription shows that NabCyrus on the sixteenth day of Tishri (coronidus was not in Babylon at the tim e
responding to October 11/12 [Julian calenof the citys fall, this explains why the
dar] or October 5 /6 [Gregorian calendar]
of the year 539 B.C.E.) but reference to Bible does not mention him by name. Howthe seventeenth year of Nabonidus ever, the Holy Scriptures imply his ex(which year historians believe fell in 539 istence in that Belshazzar is shown to
B.C.E.) has been inserted by translators. have offered Daniel the third position in
There being no extant cuneiform tablets the kingdom, the first being held by Nabdated beyond Nabonidus seventeenth year, onidus and the second by Belshazzar.
it has been assumed that the fall of Bab- Dan. 5:16.

An Assembly Not to Be Missed

AVE you prayed for Gods kingdom to
come? Do you long for the time when
that kingdom will fulfill the Word of mans
Creator by destroying those who practice wickedness and then making this earth a Paradise?
If so, you will do everything possible to be
on hand for the discourse entitled When All
Nations Collide, Head On, with God. This is
to be the principal address at each of the assemblies listed below.
Again and again the Bible declares: The
nations will have to know that I am Jehovah.*
We now live very close to the time when God
will take action to make the nations know him
in a way that they have never known him before. What does the immediate future hold
for all mankind? These thrilling events will be
a principal topic for consideration at each of
the forthcoming Divine Name District Assemblies of Jehovahs Witnesses. Will you be
present?
The program at each assembly city (except
in the Bahamas) is five days in length. It will
open at 1:40 on Wednesday afternoon, and
conclude at about 5:15 p.m. on Sunday. Dont
miss any of it.
The assembly highlights are by no means
reserved simply for the last couple of days
of the program. Starting with the first session,
the program is packed with things that are
of the greatest interest to every person who
wants to be well-pleasing to God. There are

discourses and demonstrations that are practical and upbuilding. Portions of the program
are outstanding in what they feature for par
ents and for youths, including powerful dramas
of Biblical events and their meaning to us to
day. And on Friday morning, at each assembly,
there will be arrangements for immersion of
those who have made the necessary prepara
tion to be baptized as disciples of Jesus Christ.
We urge you to get to the assembly city
well ahead of time so that you will be in your
seat when the program begins at 1:40 on Wednesday afternoon. To do that, you need to
start making plans now. If you do not live
in the immediate vicinity of one of the assem
bly cities, you will no doubt need rooming
accommodations. The volunteer workers who
care for the assembly organization will be
glad to help you to arrange for such accommodations, if you so desire. Simply address
your request to Watchtower Convention at the
Rooming address listed below for the assem
bly that you plan to attend.
Unless otherwise indicated, the programs for
the assemblies listed here will be in English,
but, as noted, some of the assemblies will inelude other languages or, in certain cases,
will be exclusively in another tongue.
If you have not already done so, decide now
where you will attend, make definite plans
to be there, and earnestly seek Jehovahs
blessing on your efforts to do so.

NB. Room ing: 6715 C en tral Ave. N E ., A lbuquerque,

N. Mex. 87108. A nchorage, A lask a, A nchorage w e s t
H igh School, Rom ig A uditorium , 1700 H illcrest Dr.
Room ing: Kingdom Hall, 420 W . 54th Ave., A nchorage, A laska 99503. F ort W orth, T ex. (Spanish
also). W ill Rogers M em orial C enter, 1 Am on C a rte r
Sq. Room ing: 813 N ashville St., P o rt W orth, Tex.
76105. Los A n geles, C alif., D odger Stadium , 1000
E lysian P a rk Ave. Room ing: 4310 S. D egnan Blvd.,
Los Angeles, Calif. 90008. M em phis, T enn ., MidSouth Coliseum, M id-South F airgrounds. Rooming:
3849 E lliston Rd., M em phis, T enn. 38111. M ilw aukee,
W is., C ounty S tadium , 201 N. 46th St. Room ing:
2685 K innickinnic Ave. S., M ilw aukee, W is. 53207.
Philadelphia, Pa., V e tera n s Stadium , S. B road &
P a ttiso n Ave. R oom ing: Je h o v a h 's W itn e sse s A ssem bly Hall, P.O. Box 338, B uckingham , P a. 18912.
Portland, Ore., P o rtlan d Civic Stadium , SW. 18th
& M orrison. Room ing: 3390 SE. M ilw aukie Ave.,
P ortland, Ore. 97202. P ueblo, Colo., F a irg ro u n d s
G randstand, Colorado S ta te F a irg ro u n d s, B eulah &
Sum m it Aves. Room ing: S ta te F airg ro u n d s, B eulah
& Sum m it Aves.. Pueblo, Colo. 81004. San A n tonio,
T ex ., San A ntonio C onvention C enter, S. A lam o &
M arket Sts. Room ing: 1603 W. Lullwood Ave., San
Antonio, Tex. 78201. San F ran cisco, C alif., K ezar
Stadium , Golden G ate P a rk , F re d e ric k & S tan y an
Sts. Room ing: 3435 A lem any Blvd., San Francisco,
Calif. 94132.

U N IT E D S T A T E S

Ju n e 30Ju ly 4: C in cin n ati, Ohio, R iver F ro n t Stadium ,

201 E. 2nd St. R oom ing: 1860 C ar 11 St., C incinnati,
Ohio 45225. J ersey C ity, N .J., R oosevelt Stadium ,
D an fo rth Ave. & R te. 440. Room ing: 3316 K ennedy
Blvd., Je rse y City, N .J. 07307. N ew York, N.Y.,
Y ankee Stadium , 157th St. & R iver Ave. Room ing:
25 Columbia H gts., Brooklyn, N.Y. 11201.
July 7-11: Flint, Mich., I.M.A. A uditorium , 901 E.
2nd Ave. Room ing: 1187 S. Dye Rd., F lin t, Mich.
48504. Greensboro, N.C., G reensboro Coliseum, 1921
W. Lee St. Room ing: 918 Glenwood Ave., G reensboro, N.C. 27403. Jack son , M ich., F airg ro u n d s
G randstand, 200 W. G anson St. Room ing: 219 W.
P ro sp ec t St., Jackson. Mich. 49203. Jersey City, N .J.
(S panish an d F re n c h ), R oosevelt Stadium , D anfo rth Ave. & R te. 440. R oom ing: 3316 K ennedy
Blvd., Je rse y City, N .J. 07307. L an sing, Mich.,
Civic C enter, 505 W. A llegan St. Room ing: 3611
W. Jolly Rd., L ansing, Mich. 48910. Lincoln, Neb.,
P e rsh in g A uditorium , 15th & M Sts. Room ing:
3700 Vine St., Lincoln, Neb. 68503. P ort H uron, Mich.,
M cM orran M em orial A uditorium , 701 M cM orran
Blvd. Room ing: 3037 E le ctric Ave., P o rt H uron,
Mich. 48060. Sioux F alls, S. D ak., Sioux F alls
A rena, 1201 N. W est Ave. R oom ing: 2020 S. N orton
Ave., Sioux Falls, S. D ak. 57105.
Ju ly 14-18: Albuquerque. N. M ex., T ingley Coliseum,
N ew Mexico S ta te F airg ro u n d s, 6715 C entral Ave.
317

S&eWATCHTOWER

318

Ju ly 21-25: C hicago, III. (Spanish only), Jehovahs

W itn esses A ssem bly Hall. 7859 S. A shland Ave.
Room ing: Je h o v a h s W itn esses Assem bly Hall,
7859 S. A shland Ave., Chicago, 111. 60620. Corpus
C h risti, T ex . (Spanish only), M em orial Coliseum,
402 W . Shoreline. Room ing: 3602 C urtiss, Corpus
C hristi, Tex. 78405. Pom ona, Calif. (Spanish only),
F a irg ro u n d s G randstand, Los A ngeles C ounty F a irgrounds, Cor. W h ite & McKinley. Rooming: 1546
S. G arey Ave., Pom ona, Calif. 91766. Shreveport,
L a., H irsch M em orial Coliseum , S ta te Fairgrounds.
Room ing: 7033 B ra n d tw ay St.. Shreveport, La.
71108. W ailu k u, Maui, H aw aii, Baldw in High
School A uditorium . Room ing: Box 231, K ahului,
H aw aii 96732.

Buffalo, N .Y ., W a r M em orial Stadium , Cor. B est

St. & Jefferson Ave. R oom ing: 6710 Main St.,
W illiam sville, N.Y. 14221. G reenville, S.C., Greenville
M em orial A uditorium , 300 E. N o rth St. Rooming:
1000 R u th erfo rd Rd., G reenville, S.C. 29609. Spokane,
W a sh ., Spokane Coliseum , 1101 N. H ow ard St.
R oom ing: N. 2824 Lee, Spokane, W ash. 99207.
T u lsa , O kla., T ulsa A ssem bly C enter, 100 Civic
C enter. Room ing: 120 S. R osedale Ave., Tulsa,
Okla. 74127.
A ugust 4-8: Lihue, K auai, H aw aii. K auai W ar
M em orial C onvention H all. Room ing: Box 204,
K apaa, H aw aii 96746.
A u g u st 18-22: H onolulu, O ahu, H aw aii, K alani High
School A uditorium , 4860 K alanianaole Hwy. Rooming: 1228 P en saco la St., H onolulu, H aw aii 96814.
BAH AM AS

A u g u st 26-29: N a ssa u , E a s te rn
A uditorium , P e tu n ia St.

Secondary

School

BRITISH ISL E S

Ju ly 7-11: Sunderland, R oker P a rk . Rooming: K ingdom H all, W hickham St. E a s t, Sunderland.

Ju ly 2 1 2 5 : Dublin, Irish Republic, Top H a t Ballroom,
D un L aoghaire, C ounty D ublin. Room ing: Kingdom
H all, 44a Ja m e ss Place, B aggot St., D ublin 2, Irish
R epublic. M anchester, M anchester City Football
Ground, M aine Rd. Room ing: K ingdom H all, 5 St.
Jo h n s St., Salford, M7 9FD.

In what sense is God *over all and through

all and in all, as Ephesians 4:6 says?E. R.,
U.S.A.
By reading the context we can clearly see
that the apostle Paul was writing to the Christian congregation, speaking of the unity that
God had brought about among them. Paul
wanted the members of the congregation to
recognize and appreciate their true relationship
to God and Christ. He had no reference here
to the world of mankind in general.
Paul speaks of the one body, baptized with
the same water baptism, partaking of the same
spirit, and of their one Lord, Jesus Christ.

B rooklyn , N .Y .

Augrust 4-8: London, R ugby U nion G round, T w ickenham . Room ing: R ugby U nion G round, W h itto n Rd.,
Tw ickenham , Middlesex.
CANADA

Ju ly 7-11: V ancouver, B.C., Pacific Coliseum , E x h ibition P ark . Room ing: 3280 G randview H w y., V an couver 12, B.C.
Ju ly 14-18: H alifax, N .S., H alifax Forum , 2901 W indsor St. Room ing: 5519 Almon St., H alifax, N.S.
M ontreal, Que. (F rench also), Blue B onnets R aceway, 7440 boul. D ecarie. Room ing: 6940 S tu a rt Ave.,
M ontreal 303, P.Q. W innipeg, Man., W innipeg A rena,
1430 M aroons Rd. Room ing: 1338 M ain St., W innipeg
4, Man.
Ju ly 21-25: V ictoria, B.C., M em orial A rena. 1925
B lanshard St. Room ing: 1095 Jo a n Cres., V ictoria,
B.C.
Ju ly 28-A ugust 1: London, O nt., G randstand, W este rn
F airgrounds, Q ueens P ark . Room ing: 1587 Caledonia
St., London 35, Ont. Sask atoon , S ask ., E xhibition
G randstand, E xhibition G rounds. Room ing: Queen
St. & Second Ave. N., Saskatoon, Sask. T oronto,
Ont. (Italian only), George Bell A rena, 215 Ryding
Ave. Room ing: 402 Oakwood Ave., T oronto 345, Ont.
A ugust 4-8: Sudbury, O nt., Sudbury A rena, 230 E lgin
St. S. Room ing: 485 McNeil Blvd., Sudbury, Ont.
A ugust 1 1 1 5 : Calgary, A lta., Stam pede Corral, E x hibition Grounds, 17th Ave. & 2nd St. S.E. Room ing:
804 12 Ave. S.E., C algary 21, A lta.
A ugust 1 8 2 2 : S t. Joh n s, Nfld., F eild ian G ardens,
Pennyw ell Rd. Room ing: K ingdom H all, 49 M orris
Ave., St. Jo h n s, Nfld.
GUAM

Ju ly 7-11: M angilao, K ingdom Hall, M angilao. Room ing: Box 1219, A gana, G uam 96910.
JAMAICA

A ugust 4-8: S avan n a-la-M ar. Room ing: 41 T rafa lg a r

Rd., K ingston 10, Ja m aica . W est Indies. Ocho R io.
Room ing: Box 144, Ocho Rios, Jam aica, W est Indies.
PUERTO RICO

Septem ber 22-26: San Juan (E nglish a n d Spanish),

H iram B ithorn M unicipal Stadium .

Eph. 4:4, 5; Matt. 28:19, 20; 1 Cor. 12:13.

The apostle goes on to say that they have
only one God ;they are not dividedly serving other gods in many ways (as some of them
had done before becoming Christians).Gal.
4:8; Eph. 2:13.
Jehovah is the one Father* of the Christian
congregation of anointed ones because he has
begotten them as sons by his holy spirit. They
are now spiritual children of God, with a
hope of being heavenly joint heirs with the
Lord Jesus Christ, their older brother.* God,
as their Father, is clearly over them all.* (Eph.
4:6) As his children they submit wholly to his
will and direction.Rom. 8:16; Heb. 2:11;
1 John 3:1, 2.
Jehovah, the Father of this unified Christian
family, is through allthat is, all, as making
up the congregation, in this way: God has
formed the congregation for his glory. (Eph.
3:21) Jehovah, in creating and directing the
congregation has displayed his marvelous wis-

May 15, 1971

SEeWATCHTOWER.

dom, even before angels. In the same letter

to the Ephesians, Paul spoke of his commission
to make men see how the sacred secret is
administered which has from the indefinite
past been hidden in God, who created all things.
This was to the end that now to the governments and the authorities in the heavenly
places there might be made known through
the congregation the greatly diversified wisdom
of God." The congregation has also been a
pillar and support of the truth," a bulwark
against false teaching in the world, and has
been used to declare the good news of God's
Messianic kingdom. Certainly God has accom
plished much through it.Eph. 3:9, 10; 1 Tim.
3:15.
Jehovah is in all" the Christian congregation because his spirit operates in all its members, performing its various functions. Each
member, as a part of the body," is motivated
and moved by the spirit for the benefit of
the entire body, to upbuild it, for the manifestation of the spirit is given to each one
for a beneficial purpose." (1 Cor. 12:6, 7) Furthermore, the Christian congregation is a
temple of a living God," in which God resides,
as the Ephesians were reminded: In union
with [Christ] you, too, are being built up together into a place for God to inhabit by
spirit."2 Cor. 6:16; Eph. 2:21, 22.
In the twenty-first chapter of Revelation, the
city New Jerusalem, the great heavenly templepalace, is seen in vision. Jehovah God and
Jesus Christ are shown to be dwelling in it.
This heavenly temple, made up of 144,000 living stones," being fully, in its every part, at
unity with the King of eternity and his immortal Son, will always have God *over, through
and in them all' as they serve as righteous
kingly and priestly administrators in God's
Messianic kingdom.Eph. 1:10; 1 Pet. 2:5;
ITim . 1:17; 6:16; Rev. 20:6.
Was the apostle Paul one of the twelve
apostles?
The evidence reveals that, while Paul was
an apostle of Jesus Christ, he is not presented
by the Bible as one of the twelve apostles."
The Greek word apo'stolos means one sent
forth." Vine's Expository Dictionary of New
Testament Words, under **Apostle," remarks:
**Paul, though he had seen the Lord Jesus,
1 Cor. 9:1; 15:8, had not *companied with' the
Twelve *all the time of His earthly ministry,
and hence was not eligible for a place among

319

them, according to Peter's description of the

necessary qualifications, Acts 1:22. Paul was
commissioned directly, by the Lord Himself,
after His Ascension, to carry the Gospel to
the Gentiles.
Judas Iscariot was one of the twelve originally chosen by Jesus as an apostle. (Matt. 10:
2-5; Luke 6:13-16) But he became a thief, then
a traitor, betraying Jesus and finally killing
himself, leaving eleven faithful apostles.John
12:4-6; 18:15.
After Christ's death, but prior to Pentecost,
33 C.E., the apostle Peter presented at a Christian gathering the need for a replacement for
Judas, in accord with the prophetic words at
Psalm 109:8. So they [evidently the male
Christians present] put up two, Joseph called
Barsabbas, who was surnamed Justus, and
Matthias." The assembled Christians prayed,
asking Jehovah to designate the replacement.
Then they cast lots over them [the two],
and the lot fell upon Matthias; and he was
reckoned along with the eleven apostles
Acts 1:1526.
Just as the twelve sons of Jacob existed as
the foundations of natural Israel at its begin
ning, so it was true to type that the twelve
foundations of spiritual Israel (built upon the
Chief Foundation, Jesus Christ) be present
at the time of establishment of the Christian
congregation, at Pentecost. When about 120 of
the disciples gathered in an upper room on
Pentecost day, they were in expectation of
being baptized in holy spirit, because Jesus
had told them at the time of his ascension ten
days earlier that it would not be many days.
(Acts 1:5, 8) There the Christian congregation
began, and about 3,000 were built upon the
foundation that very day. Now, no foundation
is brought into a building after the erection
of its superstructure has begun. So it does not
seem that God would hold open Judas' vacated
place, awaiting Saul's (Paul's) conversion. God
evidently acted then on the prayer of the assembled disciples. Accordingly the lot indicated
Jehovah9s choice of Matthias.Prov. 16:33.
Did Matthias afterward display the quali
fications of an apostle? The Scripture record
shows that the apostles had, among other
gifts, the power to transmit the miraculous
gifts of the spirit. (Acts 8 : 1 4 1 0 : 4 4 ;18 )If
Matthias were not in reality God's choice, his
inability to do this would have been apparent
to all. But the Bible says nothing about Matthias as being deficient in this regard.

SEeWATCHTOWER.

320

Sometime after Pentecost, 33 C.E., but before

Pauls conversion, the twelve settled a matter
involving food distribution, appointing a committee of seven men as administrators. The
apostles made the appointments by laying
their hands on the seven. Matthias was undoubtedly one of the twelve, the apostles,
who did this.Acts 6:1-6.
Probably about 34 or 35 C.E., Paul was converted to Christianity. At that time the resurrected Jesus declared to Paul that he was to
be sent to bear Jesus name to the non-Jewish
nations. Thus Paul was to be an apostle [not
merely of a congregation, but an apostle or
sent forth one of the Lord Jesus Christ] to
the nations. (Acts 9:15; 26:14-18; Gal. 1:15,
16; Rom. 1:5; 11:13; 1 Tim. 2:7) The apostle
James was not killed by Herod until about
44 C.E., so it seems that all of the twelve were
still alive when Paul received his commission.
(Acts 12:1, 2) However, it should be remarked
that no apostles were replaced because of
death; only Judas was replaced for unfaithfulness. There are no successors to the twelve
apostles. There is nothing in the Bible suggesting that Paul displaced Matthias or that he
replaced any of the other apostles.
Though Paul acknowledged his apostleship,
and had all the powers and qualifications of
an apostle of Jesus Christ, being placed in
this position in the Christian body by Jehovah, Paul never included himself among the
twelve. (Gal. 1:1; 2:8; 1 Cor. 9:1, 2; 12:27, 28)

B rooklyn , N .Y .

Rather, when listing those to whom the resurrected Christ appeared, Paul mentioned himself separately from all the apostles and
the twelve.1) Cor. 15:5, 7, 8) At 1 Corinthians 15:5 the designation the twelve refers
to the apostles at a time prior to Matthias
selection, but according to Acts 1:21, 22 it
would include Matthias, who was then assodated with the eleven.
In the description of New Jerusalem, the
heavenly city in which Jehovah and Jesus
Christ are seen as dwelling, we read: The
wall of the city also had twelve foundation
stones, and on them the twelve names of the
twelve apostles of the Lamb.( Rev. 21:2, 14)
The evidence just presented leads to the conelusion that the name of Matthias, not Paul,
was on one of the twelve stones. Matthias was
an apostle right from the foundation (Pentecost, 33 C.E.) of the spiritual nation of 144,000
making up New Jerusalem, Christs bride.
(2 Cor. 11:2; Rev. 21:2) True, Paul wrote many
inspired letters. But the first of these came
about seventeen years after the spiritual nation
was founded, at a time when the nation had
already grown to include thousands of persons.
Therefore, the evidence indicates that Paul
was not one of the twelve apostles, the secondary foundations of New Jerusalem. However,
he was the special apostle of Christ to the
nations, or Gentiles, and this assignment he
zealously fulfilled.2 Tim. 4:7, 8.

ANNOUNCEMENTS

WATCHTOWER STUDIES FOR THE WEEKS

June 20: The Need for Earthwide Unity. Page

297. Songs to Be Used: 5, 6.
June 27: The Good News That Unites Mankind.
Page 303. Songs to Be Used: 36, 64.

JEHOVAHS
KINGDOM
JU N E

1, 9 7

Semimonthly

A GO D W HO CARES

DO YOU LET PREJUDICE STUMBLE YOU?

a<;iA"'<*
WTB&TS

YOU ARE MY WITNESSES, SAYS JEHOVAH.Isa.43:12

T H E P U R P O SE O F T H E W A T C H T O W E R
E v ery w a tc h to w e r has its purpose. It serves as an elevated place fo r a
w id e-aw ak e person w ith sharp vision. It enables him to see far ahead into
the distance and tell those b elow for w h o m he is a w atch m an w h a t is
d raw ing near, w h eth er it is a danger against w h ich to prepare o r it is
som ething good over w h ich to be glad w ith strong faith and hope.
Because o f having the nam e The W a tc h to w e r this m agazine ju stly
has to render a sim ilar useful service to the people o f all nations. T h is is
an in tern ational m agazine and m akes no racial distinctions, for w e are all
facing a com m on w o rld danger; w e are all hoping fo r a com m on good.
E ver since T h e W a tc h to w e r began to be published in J u ly o f 1 6 7 9 it
has looked ahead into the future, a lw ays striving to aid its readers to advan ce in know ledge and to gain a clearer picture o f the glorious n e w order
o f things th at is in store for righteous mankind. N o , T h e W a tc h to w e r
is no inspired prophet, but it follow s and explains a Book o f prophecy the
predictions in w h ich have proved to be unerring and unfailing till n o w .
T h e W a tc h to w e r is therefore under safe guidance. It m ay be read w ith
confidence, for its statem ents m ay be checked against th at prophetic Book.
A m o n g th e m an y nations o f today there are hundreds o f differing
religions. W h ic h one does this magazine present? N o t the confused religions
o f C hristendom , but the religion o f the oldest sacred Book on earth. W h ic h
Book? T h e Sacred Bible o f the H o ly Scriptures, w r itte n b y inspiration in
th e nam e o f the C reator o f heaven and earth, the o n ly living and true G od.
T h e sacred, nonpolitical purpose o f T he W a tc h to w e r is accordingly
to encourage and prom ote study o f the H o ly Bible and to give our m a n y
readers the needed unsectarian help to understand th at Book o f true
religion and infallible prophecy. T hus this m agazine w ill be helping them
to prove w o r th y o f perfect life and happiness in G od s promised n e w order
under H is everlasting kingdom o f righteousness.

PUBLISHED BY TH E
WATCH TOW ER BIBLE AND TRACT SOCIETY OF PENNSYLVANIA
117 Adams S treet
Brooklyn, N.Y. 11201, U.S.A.
N. H. K n o r r , P resident
G r a n t S u it e r , Secretary

They will all be taught by Jehovah.John 6:45; Isaiah 54:13

CONTENTS
Do You Let Prejudice Stumble You?
A God Who Cares
Are You Waiting for The Call328
How to Succeed in the Pioneer Service
Pontius PilateRoman Politician
Learning Gods Ways from Infancy
Early Christianitys Regard for Life
More Happiness in Giving
Work with Counselors of the
New Order Society
Who Were the Hittites?
Monotony and Futilityor Stability
Questions from Readers

A v e ra g e Printing Each Issue:

323
325
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334
340
341
344
345
347
348
349
351

The Bible translation used In The Watchtower*' Is the modern-language

New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures, unless otherwise Indicated.
CHANGES OF ADDRESS shoold reach ns thirty days before yoor moving
date. Give ns your old and new address (If possible, yoir old address label). Write Watchtower, 117 Adams St., Brooklyn, New York 11201, U.S.A.

7 ,2 5 0 ,0 0 0

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- y ^ r tn o u T ic ir ia

J E H O V A H S
K IN G D O M
June 1f 1971

Number 11

Did the mere fact that the Bible did

not foretell in so many words that a prophet would come out of Galilee mean that
none ever would? B y no means! In fact,
the prophet Isaiah did foretell that a
great light would be seen in this region.Isa. 9:1, 2; Matt. 4 :1 3 1 7 .
That it was indeed self-interest that
s r t / m
if y o u ?
prejudiced the Jewish leaders against Jesus is dear from his words rebuking
O EO PLE with cataracts on their eyes them: How can you believe, when you
* JL have cloudy, fuzzy vision. This in are accepting glory from one another and
turn affects their judgment; they often you are not seeking the glory that is from
stumble, fall and hurt them selves. In like the only God? Because of their selfish
fashion some peoples mental vision is be- desire to have the praise of men they
clouded by figurative cataracts, by preju- could not see the obvious evidence that Jedice caused by self-interest or some other sus Christ was indeed their long-promised
emotional factor. Judgments based on Messiah, the great Prophet, the Son of
such factors are said to be subjective, not God. To acknowledge Jesus would have
objective judgments. If you act on such cost them their reputation among the
judgments you also could stumble, fall and higher dasses. So because they could not
hurt yourself.
see the truth that was so obvious to many
Jesus Christ, the Son of God, when upon of the common people, the religious leadthe earth, repeatedly m et up with persons ers as a class stumbled at Jesus__ John
exercising subjective judgments because of 5:44; Luke 7:11, 16.
prejudice. Jesus was reared in Galilee, a
The apostle Paul m et up with people
Roman province peopled m ostly by hum- having the same type of fuzzy mental
ble farmers and fishermen. This fact vision. Most of the philosophers who lisserved as an excuse for religious leaders tened to him on Mars Hill betrayed a judgof his tim e not to listen to him. Thus when ment beclouded by prejudice, as the recNicodemus, a ruler and a member of the ord shows: Well, when they heard of a
Jewish supreme court, requested a fair resurrection of the dead, some began to
hearing for Jesus, his colleagues sneered: mock, while others said: We w ill hear
You are not also out of Galilee, are you? you about this even another tim e. That
Search and see that no prophet is to be someone should actually rise from the
raised up out of Galilee.John 7 :5 0 5 2 . dead seemed to them too ridiculous even
323

324

fEeWATCHTOWEFt

to consider, and so they refused to examine the evidence that Jesus Christ had
in fact been raised from the dead. A few
of Pauls listeners on that occasion, however, were willing to reason on what he
had told them. Because of being openminded, free from bias, they were able to
focus their perceptive powers on this great
truth. The results? They were persuaded
and became believers.Acts 17:32-34.
The same situation prevails in modem
tim es. Viewing things subjectively or in a
prejudiced way still causes many people
to reject Gods Word the Bible. What
about you in this regard? Do you maintain clear thinking ability, free of prejudices, or do you allow the opinions of others to becloud your vision? Many persons
have been influenced by such Bible critics
as the German theologian J. Wellhausen,
who died in 1918. Of him we read, in the
1959 edition of a popular encyclopedia,
that he made his name famous by . . .
the uncompromising scientific attitude he
adopted in analyzing the Bible.
pcedia Britannica, Vol. 23, p. 498.
But any scientific methods he may
have used were nullified by his unscientific m otives. He was not scientific, objective, but subjective, for he let emotional
factors warp his judgment. He let his vision be beclouded by prejudice against anything that claimed to be a revealed religion.
He therefore proceeded on the premise that
many books of the Bible were pious frauds.
Because of this, as American archaeologist Albright so well noted: Wellhausen
. . . greatly exaggerated the resemblance
between the Hebrews of the Mosaic age
and the pagan Arabs . . . nearly 2,000
years later. Moreover, Albright showed
that there was absolutely no evidence to
support W ellhausens theory of ancient
pious fraudulent literature .The American Scholar, Vol. 7, No. 2, p. 183.

B rooklyn , N .Y .

Thus also H. F. Hahn, writing in Essays

on Jewish Life and Thought (1959), states
regarding Wellhausen, It is only fair to
say that his work was not ,scientific. . . .
Wellhausen . . . wrote from the conviction
that the most important task of the historian was interpretation. . . . H is history
of Israels religion, therefore, was not so
much a scientific study as a philosophical
view of history. Yes, this Bible critics
preconceived ideas beclouded his judgment.
Today the Christian witnesses of Jehovah go from house to house, even as did
the apostle Paul and others, declaring the
good news of Gods kingdom. (Matt. 24:
14; Acts 5:42; 20:20) Sincerely, yet calmly, they point out the wisdom of Bible
principles, the reasonableness of Bible
teachings, and the certitude of Bible prophecies. But many persons, because of having their vision beclouded by prejudice,
turn a deaf ear to the message that the
W itnesses bring.
Why? Some do so because among the
W itnesses comparatively few highly educated are to be found. But such biased
persons overlook the fact that the same
was true among the apostles and other
early Christians. Some turn a deaf ear
because the message of the W itnesses is
based on the Bible, which they hold to be
unscientific. But as Professor Brobeck of
the University of Pennsylvania once observed: ,True, m ost scientists do not accept the Bible, but not because they are
scientists. Most other people do not accept the Bible either.John 7:48; 1 Cor.
1:26-29.
So do not let prejudice or preconceived
ideas or the uninformed opinions of others
becloud your vision. Investigate for yourself. Give the W itnesses an impartial hearing. Ever so many who have done so are
most thankful that they did. Yes, make
sure of all things; hold fast to what is
fine.1 Thess. 5:21.

/l ^od ^j/tw {{1

T T OW do we know that God is good?
C J j L Why could not the Alm ighty God
just as well be bad, or at least have some
bad in him? How do we know he has a
genuine care for humankind?
These are questions that m ight run
through a persons mind when he considers the psalmists statem ent: Good and
upright is Jehovah, and Jesus words:
Nobody is good, except one, God.Ps.
25:8; Mark 10:18.
For God to be good, he certainly must
be a God who cares about his creation,
every part of it. He m ust be a God who
makes arrangements for their subsistence.
Moreover, if God is good he must supply
more than mere physical subsistence for
his human creation. He must additionally
provide arrangements for feeding the mind
through the five senses. Gods intelligent
creatures obviously are not made to carry
on a drab, monotonous lifemere existence; they possess the ability to appreciate and enjoy their surroundings. In the
case of man, his home the earth should
have the things that w ill give him joy and
happiness. Is this what the facts show?
CARE MANIFEST IN CREATION

First, a look at creation w ill enlighten

us. Consider earths productivity. When
properly cultivated and cared for, it yields
in a marvelously abundant fashion. Ponder
on the miracle of a fruit tree. Such trees
are literally fruit factories. Their boughs
323

are burdened with an amazing number of

their nutritious products. They operate
quietly and without pollution: no smoke,
radiation or disturbance. Imagine what a
man-made factory would be like (if one
could be invented) that produced the crop
of a fruit orchard. Just think what noise,
pollution and unsightliness there would be!
Fruit trees, as they produce food, are
at the same tim e a delight to see, to stroll
among. And they provide shade, as well
as refreshment for the atmosphere, giving off oxygen as they do.
But, in addition, their fruit is more than
mere sustenance. It is delicious, a joy to
eat, as is all food that God has provided.
Then there are the gorgeous displays of
color throughout creation, the fragrance
and beauty of flowers, the marvelous sunsets, and innumerable other things on
earth in the greatest variety. All these
enjoyable things are extras, special bonus gifts, as it were, for the delight of
the senses.
Still, some m ay object, saying that the
fragrance of flowers, the colors, and so
forth, are a necessity, for they attract insects that pollinate the plants. Perhaps
that is true. But if that functional purpose
is the only reason for the existence of
these extras, why is it that they are also
a source of such delight, such peace of
mind and such a feeling of well-being for
man?

SEeWATCHTOWER.

326

The Bible tells us that man is made in

Gods image and likeness, having qualities
of appreciation like his Creator. (Gen. 1:
26) The supplying of these beautiful, enjoyable things is proof that God loves and
cares for his creation in the most minute
way. No God of evil, or possessing any
evil, could or would provide so fully and
lovingly, even beyond the imagination of
his creatures to conceive.
Moreover, think of the great care with
which the earth, and particularly the living things on it, are designed. Each
fits the conditions in which it lives, and
enjoys them. Man adapts to the various
clim ates of the earth, but most creatures
are not so comfortable and happy out of
their natural habitat, and some cannot
survive if removed. The complexity and
intricacy, the interdependence, the absolute necessity of each kind of living thing
to the lives of other kinds, could not be
the production of a God who does not care.
PROOF FROM ECOLOGY

Ecologists are scientists who make a

study of how all living things in an area,
the biological or biotic environment, are
related to one another and to the physical
environment of earth, water, air and energy. There is a cycle of energy in the food
chain. Moreover, the ecologists have
found that, the more deeply one studies
a certain animal, the more clearly it is
seen that that kind of animal is a vital
essential to the ecology of the area. One
kind of animal life cannot survive when
certain other kinds are taken away; and
an upset of the ecological balance means
calamity for other forms of life, reaching
up to man.
Consider, as just one example, the lowly
insect. Generally when insects are mentioned, there is a feeling of revulsion and
the word pest comes to mind. But when

B r o o k ly n , N .Y .

the insect world, having a far greater

number of kinds than all other animal life,
is investigated, it becomes apparent that
there is no area of natural creation, except in humankind itself, where Gods care
is more evident. Meditate upon what was
written in the Annual Report of the Smithsonian Institute (1947) by Carl D. Duncan,
Professor of Entomology and Botany, San
Jose State College:
The insect species which are injurious
or antagonistic to human welfare actually
constitute only a small proportion of the
total of insect life and . . . the great majority of insects are either directly or indirectly beneficial to man or enjoy a neutral status. Dr. Frank Lutz has estimated
that not more than one-half of 1 percent
of all the insects in the United States are
actually pests.

Regarding the services rendered to forests by insects, the article says:

It is obvious, therefore, that without the
beneficial services of numerous forest insects our forests would never have attained
to their present magnificence, their productivity would be far less than it now is,
lumber would be inferior, they would be less
suitable as homes for valuable wildlife, and
their esthetic and recreational values would
be far less than they now are. They would,
moreover, be filled with a tangled maze
of dead branches and small trees that would
constitute a fire hazard far greater than any
now known, or what is more probable, they
would be swept by destructive fires of such
frequency as never to attain the status of
forest maturity as we now know it.

And on the insects contribution to soil

fertility, Paul Knight is quoted as saying:
(1) Soil organisms cause a continual interchange of soil particles by bringing to
the surface particles of subsoil. The gradual
enrichment of these soil particles increases
the thickness of the rich top layer. (2) The
burrows of soil organisms allow better drainage and aeration. (3) The dead bodies of
animals such as insects and worms add a
large amount of organic material to the
earth. (4) The excreta of insects compares

J u n e 1, 1971

SEeW ATCHTOW EP,

favorably in fertilizing value with the digestive wastes of other animals. Though
the digestive waste of one insect is inflnitesimal, the aggregate mass of all insect
excreta probably exceeds that of the larger
animals and is an important factor in soil
fertility.

Professor Duncan concludes: It is not

too much to say that insects determine the
character of mans world to a far greater
extent than he does him self, and that if
they were suddenly to disappear completely the world would be changed so extensively that it is extrem ely doubtful that
man would be able to maintain any sort
of organized society whatever.
A fter Adams sin and consequent loss of
direction from God, the unbalance brought
about by mans dealing with the earth and
animal life has caused certain animals,
particularly insects, to become pests.
Also, mans filthiness and pollution and
his upsetting of the ecology by destruction
of some life-form s have resulted in the
vast increase of certain kinds of insects.
Observation will reveal that it is primarily
the waste, or the diseased or rotten portions of a plant or animal that insects
attack. To a great extent they are useful
scavengers. But the unbalance man brings
about manifests itself in such swarms of
insects that they overflow into mans personal domain. Insects then invade and destroy mans food supplies and foul up his
property. An example is found in big cities,
where garbage and sewage may attract
huge swarms of flies, as well as rats and
other rodents.
JOB TAUGHT THAT GOD CARES

Jehovah God the Creator spoke out of

a windstorm to his servant Job, calling
attention to His creative works and His
use of them for the benefit of earth and
its creatures. (Job, chaps. 38, 39) He asked
Job:

327

Can you hunt prey for a lion itself

And can you satisfy the lively appetite
of young lions,
When they crouch in the hiding places,
Or keep lying in the covert for an
ambush?
Who prepares for the raven its food
When its own young ones cry to God
for help?
-J o b 38:39-41.

Bible commentator Matthew Henry writes:

God here shows Job what little acquaintance he had with the untamed creatures
that run wild in the deserts, and live at
large, but are the care of the Divine Providence.
Since God has provided so carefully for
the animals, how much more does he have
a heartfelt care for man! Jesus Christ,
who knew the Father better than any
other person did, comforted his disciples
with the words: Do not two sparrows
sell for a coin of small value? Yet not
one of them w ill fall to the ground without your Fathers knowledge. Therefore
have no fear: you are worth more than
many sparrows.Matt. 10:29, 31; 11:27.
In appreciation of the surpassing loving
care that God has manifested in the ereation alone, how zealous we should be in
looking more deeply, not only into creation,
but particularly into Gods Word, which is
his direct communication to us, whom he
loves. There we find his grand purpose for
those who serve him, a purpose which
human eyes themselves could never envision, and human minds never conceive.
(1 Cor. 2 :9 ,1 0 ) Yes, to the one who learns
about Him and gets heart appreciation,
it is obvious that He is indeed as the
psalmist describes Him:
You are my Divine One, and I shall laud
you;
My GodI shall exalt you.
Give thanks to Jehovah, you people, for he
is good;
For his loving-kindness is to time indefinite.
Ps. 118:28, 29.

 \ ANY people find that it is very

C / V L difficult to direct their lives in
the way they would like. They are caught
up in the stream of life and carried along,
concerned with the problems that face
them from day to day like rocks and
eddies in a stream, sometimes losing sight
of their personal goals and desires. Youngsters frequently have fanciful goals, something that has aroused their interest or
respect. But many are not able to achieve
these early wishes. They often find it is a
struggle just earning a living, and so they
fall far short of the goals they originally
hoped to attain.
2 Why is it that so many are disappointed w ith what they accomplish in life? Is
something missing, or are they pursuing
the wrong goal? Have they missed their
calling?
3 Certainly it is not for lack of governmental agencies and guidance counselors,
as there are many serving to help young
people make the best use of their talents.
A ll kinds of tests have been devised to
determine what work or skill a person
m ight best pursue. And even the Scriptures make clear that mans Creator has
given him a tremendous variety of work
to enjoy. The fourth chapter of Genesis
alludes to the construction trades in connection with city building; it mentions
livestock raising and farming, also mu-

sicians and metal craftsmen. So what is

lacking? Why do many feel dissatisfied
even when in the successful pursuit of
their chosen career?
4 Modem society is oriented toward materialism. A man is not considered sue
cessful in many places if he does not have
a fine home, modem conveniences, and a
late-model car. Affluence is equated with
success in life. Yet as Andrew Carnegie
said, I would gladly sell everything to
have my life over again. Others rememher the saying, You cant take it with
you, and are frustrated that their suecesses and pleasures in life are so shortlived. Certainly happiness cannot be measured in terms of wealth or even by the
rung of the employment ladder that one
reaches.
The goals men set in life fall far short
of bringing lasting happiness, particularly
as they get farther and farther from applying Gods Word in their lives. (Jer. 10:
23) With good reason, then, the aged apostie John wrote: Do not be loving either
the world or the things in the world. If
anyone loves the world, the love of the
Father is not in him; because everything
in the worldthe desire of the flesh and
the desire of the eyes and the showy display of ones means of lifedoes not originate with the Father, but originates with
the world. Furthermore, the world is pass-

1, 2. (a) W hat difficulty do m any people find in life?

(b) W hat questions m ight be asked?
3. W hat indicates w hether God purposed for men to
enjoy a v ariety of occupations?

4. W hy are m any m en who are successful by w orldly

standards not tru ly happy?
5. (a) W hat good counsel is found a t 1 Jo h n 2:1517?
(b) W hat questions do we do well to consider?
328

J u n e 1, 1971

SEeW ATCHTOW ER.

329

ing away and so is its desire, but he that

does the w ill of God remains forever.
(1 John 2:15-17) So it is good to ask ourselves, How much do these things influence our livesthe desire of the flesh, the
desire of the eyes, the showy display of
ones means of life? Do the TV set, the
plush home, the modem car, the pursuit
of fleshly pleasures mean much to you?
Do you devote your life to these things?
Or are you more concerned with doing the
will of God?

to share in the m inistry, for none were

excluded from worshiping and praising
their Creatora fact well understood by
early Christians. ]Rather this call is to become one of the little flock referred to
by Jesus to be associated with him as
kings and priests in his heavenly kingdom
as part of the select group of faithful,
spirit-anointed ones who make up the
144,000 who are bought from the earth.
(Luke 12:32; Rev. 14:1-3) Paul referred
to this at Philippians 3:14 as the prize
of the upward call of God by means of
A MEANINGFUL GOAL IN LIFE
Christ Jesus. Romans 8:30 shows that
*It is doing the w ill of God that can such ones are declared righteous by God
make life fuller and more rewarding so and are glorified. To these Peter wrote:
that we need not feel, at the close of life, Do your utmost to make the calling and
look! everything was vanity and a striv- choosing of you sure . . . thus there will
ing after wind. W hile many have felt that be richly supplied to you the entrance into
they could best serve God by developing the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and
their own talents and inclinations, wheth- Savior Jesus Christ.2 Pet. 1:10, 11.
er in the arts or in education or medicine,
8But no special divine call is required
still we find no indication in the Scriptures for one to enter the m inistry. God does
that these things w ill lead to everlasting not whisper to some, This is for you,
life. W hile hard work is called the gift and ignore others. Nor does he withhold
of God and can bring joy to the person a call from some because finances make
accomplishing it, still as Solomon said, seminary training an im possibility. The
he hated the thought of leaving it all be- churches in Christendom are becoming
hind at death for someone who would fol- concerned because many of their parishlow him. So how much better it is to de- ioners are reluctant to consider entering
vote our principal efforts to accomplish the m inistry even when invited to do so
a work w ith a future, a work that leads by their religious organizations. Some reto everlasting life. There is no vanity in port that the low income is a factor. Oththis. Difficult circumstances may come to ers are concerned about the changes they
one who does good just as much as to the see taking place. They may oppose priestwicked one, but still his life has a goal, a ly celibacy, or they are confused by the
purpose and Jehovahs direction and bless- changes in their church, w ith saints being.Eccl. 2:10, 11, 18; 3:13; 8:14.
ing dropped from the religious calendar,
7 Christendom has taught that the ser-modem-language masses, jazz services,
vice of God is not for all, and that one priests and m inisters on picket lines, birthmust receive a special call for the min- control questions, religious intervention in
istry. W hile a call is mentioned in the social m atters and political issues, even
Bible, it is not referring to an invitation attempts to exchange Scripture principles
for a modem m orality. These and other
6. W hat did wise K ing Solomon have to say about
hum an pu rsu its?
ideas have caused some to turn their backs
7. (a) W hat teaching of Christendom as to serving God
runs counter to th e B ible? (b) W hat do the Scriptures
say about the upw ard call ?

8. W hat are some reasons w hy so few are interested

in the m inistry?

330

SEeW ATCH TO W ER

B rooklyn, N . Y.

on the churches, as they feel they no Ion- dent for it is found in the m inistry of
ger have a message of significance for Jesus or his disciples. As MClintock and
them. They hear no call from God. In fact, Strongs Cyclopaedia, says, The great commission in Matt, xxviii, 19, 20 was not
some think God is dead.
* As Dean William Cannon of Emory delivered to the eleven apostles merely,
University said, Fewer and fewer stu- but to the general body of the disciples
dents in our colleges are indicating any . . . So on the day of Pentecost the whole
interest in the m inistry. U.8. News & mass of believers at Jerusalem seem to
World Report declared: Ministers by the have been inspired with preaching powthousands are leaving the church entire- ers. W hile referring to a technical disly . . . All together, statistics released by tinction between clergy and laity, they
the National Association for Pastoral Re- go on to say that this is almost ignored
newal in September show, the rate of in the New Testament, and we find mempriests departure from the active min- bers of the Church, whether official or
istry so far this year is up 31 per cent private, male or female, freely exercising
over 1967 . . . thousands of nunsan es- their liberty in proclaiming Jesus everytim ated 3,600 in 1966 are also quitting where.
their orders. The report continues to say
AN OPEN DOOR TO SERVICE
that the United Methodist Church has
11It
is
noteworthy in this connection
been trying to raise funds to train new
that
a
writer
on early church history says,
m inisters, as they have only 33,000 clerCelsus,
the
first writer against Chrisgymen for their 42,000 congregations.
tianity,
makes
it a m atter of mockery, that
W ith this trend in many churches it is
labourers,
shoemakers,
farmers, the most
not surprising to find mention in the New
uninformed
and
clownish
of men, should
York Times of March 8, 1969, of a nabe
zealous
preachers
of
the
Gospel. W hat
tional organization with fourteen offices in
counted
was
not
their
education
(were
major U.S. cities designed to help priests
not
the
first
disciples
humble
fishermen?)
and nuns who are leaving religious work
but their faith and willingness to serve
to find secular employment.
God. Far from making a technical dis10 Another reason why many feel there
tinction between clergy and laity, Jesus
is no place for them in the service of God
condemned this very thing as practiced
is due to the clergy-laity distinction that by the scribes and Pharisees. (Matt. 23:
is fostered in the churches. However, there
1 3 3 )He referred to their hypocrisy, their
was no clergy-laity division in early Chrispracticing works to be seen of men, their
tianity, and there is none today in true ornate religious vestments, the prominent
Christianity. Whether one has a heavenly
place they took in local affairs and the
hope or one hopes to live forever on the
titles they adopted. To his followers he
paradise earth when Gods w ill is fully emphasized, all you are brothersyes,
done here, still each one has a responsibrothers in the faith and brothers in the
bility before God as a m inister in harmony ministry, including the preaching of Gods
with what is set out in the Scriptures. The
Word. The fact that some served as shepsetting apart of a clergy class dates back herds and teachers and m inisterial serto Babylonish, pagan worship. No prece- vants did not elevate them over the
flock, but gave them responsibilities in
9. W hat tren d is reported am ong students and among
th e clergy?
10. Is th ere a basis in early C hristianity for the clergyla ity distinction?

11. Did Jesus or the early C hristians advocate a distinction betw een clergy and laity?

J u n e 1, 1971

SEeW ATCHTOW ER,

331

addition to the commission for all Chris- this prophecy as recorded by Joel would
tians to make disciples of people of all have an application in the last days
the nations.Matt. 23:8; 28:19; Phil. 2: when your sons and your daughters will
3, 4.
prophesy and your young men w ill see vi12 Jehovahs witnesses, young and old, sions and your old men w ill dream dreams
men and women, have been happy to ac- . . . And everyone who calls on the name
cept this commission to share in the Chris- of Jehovah w ill be saved. (Acts 2 :1 7 2 1 )
tian ministry. They do not say as do the So in fulfillm ent of this prophecy we see
people of Christendom, That is for my Jehovahs people world wide sharing the
m inister or p riest
p ro p h etic word
to care for; he has
with others, calling
studied those things
on Jehovahs name
TH E N EX T IS S U E
and is q u alified .
in p ra y er and in
Let N o M a n Ever Look D ow n on Y o u r
No, they know that
their
public minisY o u th ."
the qualification for
try, making Gods
Fear o f G o d s A n g e r Is W isdo m .
the m inistry comes
name known, even
from Jehovah and
as Jesus did. They
H a p p y A r e the P e a c e a b le ."
by his spirit. So they
are happy to share
do not agree with
in the public decthe viewpoint of one ecclesiastical writer laration for salvation and to take part
who said, W hile preaching the Gospel in in declaring good news of good things
some form, and as a specific work, is the as Paul encouraged all believers to do.
general duty of all believers, it is the sole (Rom. 1 0 :8 1 5 )Impelled by the spirit of
or exclusive duty of those only who, by un- God, they not only study his Word, but
doubted internal and external marks, are apply it in their lives and publicly dedivinely called to the office, and sanctioned dare that word in your own mouth, that
in it by the Church at large. In fact, Jeho- Jesus is Lord. In 1970, 1,483,430 were
vahs witnesses recognize that this teach- active with Jehovahs w itnesses as proing has been responsible to some degree claimers of the good news.
for turning sincere persons away from the
14Yes, they appreciate the need to put
ministry. How many in the churches of to use what they have learned from Gods
Christendom feel that preaching the gos- Word. In his illustration of the talents
pel as a specific work is their general Jesus commended those who used well the
duty? How many actually engage in the knowledge of the Kingdom w ith which
preaching of the good news? Do not many they were entrusted, but the one who hid
rather say they prefer not to talk about his talent in the ground was condemned
religion? Do not most parishioners leave as a wicked and sluggish slave. (Matt.
any sharing in the m inistry to their priests 25:14-27) In the book of Revelation the
and m inisters?
apostle John tells of an angel flying in
13However, such a viewpoint is quite midheaven who has everlasting good
contrary to the direction of Gods spirit, news to declare to every nation and tribe
which was poured out at Pentecost upon and tongue and people. W ith a loud voice
every sort of flesh. Peter indicated that he urges: Fear God and give him glory,
because the hour of the judgment by him
12. Unlike m ost persons in Christendom , w hat responsibility have Jehovahs w itnesses been happy to
has arrived, and so worship the One who
accept ?
13. W hy is it im portant to call on the nam e of Jehovah ?
And how can this be done?

14. W hat call is open to all, and w hy do you say so?

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S&eW ATCHTO W ER

made the heaven and the earth and sea

and fountains of waters. (Rev. 14:6, 7)
The response is outstanding. A great
crowd . . . out of all nations and tribes
and peoples and tongues answer the invitation. They openly share in the worship of Jehovah, not in some secluded spot
out of public view. As reported at Revelation 7:10, they keep on crying with a
loud voice, saying: Salvation we owe to
our God, who is seated on the throne, and
to the Lamb. Are you one of that great
crowd who is making public expression
of your faith?
HOW QUALIFIED?

How are such ones qualified for this

service? Well, how were Jesus fisherman
apostles qualified?or Luke, who was a
physician rather than a m inister when he
learned the truth of Gods Word? How
was it that Paul could write to Timothy:
For the purpose of this witness I was appointed a preacher and an apostleI am
telling the truth, I am not lyinga teacher
of nations in the m atter of faith and
truth. (1 Tim. 2:7) Who was it that gave
him this appointment if it was not from
God? Certainly Peter did not appoint
Paul to his m inistry as some might like
to think. Paul him self explained, Our
being adequately qualified issues from
God. (2 Cor. 3:5) Those men who were
fishermen like James and John must have
recognized that their being adequately
qualified for the m inistry issued from God.
Yet they had a background for this service. As Jews they had been taught by
their parents in the Law and the Prophets.
They felt that Gods Word was a lamp
to their foot and a light to their roadway.
They must have prayed, Instruct me,
O Jehovah, in the way of your regulations. (Ps. 119:105, 33) And now they
15. How did the early C hristians become qualified to
share in the preaching of the good new s?

B r o o k ly n , N .Y .

had the privilege of associating w ith the

one who was outstandingly a teacher of
truth. (John 13:13) When the application
of the Scriptures in the life of Jesus was
made clear to them, they were ready to
share what they knew with others. (Matt.
4:18-22) Their clear understanding of the
Scriptures and the direction of Jehovahs
spirit in their m inistry made it possible
for these apostles and disciples to speak
with authority so that even the rulers
took note that they used to be with Jesus. (Acts 4:13) Jehovah had seen to it
that they were adequately qualified for
the ministry.
* Sim ilarly today Jehovah holds open a
door to the Christian m inistry to people
in all walks of life, to those with all levels
of educational achievement who have a
zeal for the Lord. (2 Ki. 10:15; John 4:
34) Just as with the early Christians they
may come from various occupations. But
they recognize the need for taking in accurate knowledge of Gods Word. They
are not burdened down with years of fruitless training in philosophy and higher
criticism, but their training and instruetion for the m inistry help to build their
faith and adequately equip them to share
the truth w ith others. They recognize the
wisdom of Pauls words: Do you, however, the one teaching someone else, not
teach yourself? (Rom. 2:21) So in addition to personal home study of the Bible, they associate regularly in the five
meetings each week provided in the 26,524 congregations of Jehovahs witnesses
throughout the world, including the Theocratic Ministry School, to become well
equipped in using the sword of the spirit,
Gods Word.Col. 2:8; 2 Tim. 2:15.
*7Since the goal of a Christian is to
16. W hat provisions to qualify fo r the m inistry does
Jehovah m ake for tru e w orshipers today?
17. (a) Did Jam es try to discourage others from
becoming teachers of tru th , and w hat argues against
such a view point? (b) W hat then was the point of his
comment th a t n o t m any . . . should become teache rs"?

J u n e 1, 1971

333
SHeWATCHTOWEFL
fulfill Jesus mandate to make disciples the lead in giving instruction to the conof people of all the nations . . . teaching gregation. Others serve as teachers for
them to observe all the things he had missionary service at Gilead School, or for
commanded them, why is it that James congregational activity at the Kingdom
3:1 says, Not many of you should be- Ministry School. Some brothers have the
come teachers, my brothers, knowing that responsibility of preparing the material to
we shall receive heavier judgment? Is be used by the congregations in their
not this contrary to Jesus own instrue- educational program. But the purpose of
tion? Certainly James was not advocating it all is as Ephesians 4:12 says: with a
that parents should not teach their own view to the readjustment of the holy ones,
children or that the discipling work should for m inisterial work. So while some serve
not go forward. He would not be encour- in more specialized capacities as teachers,
aging some to hold back from using the this does not exclude any from serving as
Kingdom talents entrusted to them in ministers or teachers of the good news
serving their Creator fully when the way among the nations as Jesus commanded.
was open to them for service. That was Heb. 5:12.
not the course he followed as an overseer
SEEKING FIRST THE KINGDOM
and teacher of the Christian congregation.
1
8
There
is no finer way in which a mem
In fact he had just been discussing the
or
woman
can spend his life than this. It
fact that faith without works is dead. But
is
a
wonderful
privilege to serve Jehovah
in this scripture he was speaking of the
and
to
do
so
full
time. It is the way of
wise use of the tongue and the need for
life
that
has
Jehovahs
approval and that
those with special responsibilities as teachhelps
others
on
the
way
to eternal life as
ers within the Christian congregation to
well
as
giving
much
personal
satisfaction.
be sure to instruct in accurate knowledge.
The goal is not one of financial reward,
He recognized the fact, as set out at
but rather results in heaping up treasures
Ephesians 4:11, that God gave some as
in heaven. The true m inister of the gospel,
apostles, some as prophets, some as evan- like Paul, will consider all things to be
gelizers, some as shepherds and teachers. loss on account of the excelling value of
So there would be various services to be the knowledge of Christ Jesus. They do
shared in in the Christian organization. not have their minds upon things on the
There would be only twelve apostles of earth but rather follow Jesus example
the Lamb, but others m ight serve as in seeking first the kingdom and [Gods]
prophets or evangelizers. In the early con- righteousness.Matt. 6:33; Phil. 3 :8 ,1 9 .
1*Can you do the same? Certainly the
gregations some took the lead in instruerequirements
are not difficult for those
tion as teachers and shepherds of the flock
who
sincerely
love Jehovah and apprecijust as in the days of the kingdom of Isate the rightness of his ways. You must
rael when there were schools of the prophhave a spirit of willingness. (Ps. 110:3)
ets. Sim ilarly Jesus m inistry included the
As Jesus did, you must get baptized in
training and instruction of his apostles to symbol of your decision to do Jehovahs
carry on the work after his death. And the will as set out in the Scriptures. You must
apostles imitated Jesus in giving instrue- live in accord w ith Jehovahs righteous
tion to those who were younger. (2 Tim. 18. (a) W hat recom m endation did Jesu s m ake concern2:2) Today in the congregations of Je- ing a goal in life? (b) W hy is it a wise objective?
19. W hat are some requirem ents fo r those tak in g up
hovahs people there are servants who take the m inistry?

334

B r o o k l y n , N .Y .
SEeW ATCHTOW ER.
requirements. A person who takes up the 13:23) Are you producing that? Can you
service of Jehovah must do it full time, do it more fully? The call for more workliving in accord with His Word every day ers in the Kingdom proclamation has gone
of his life. Preaching is by no means all out. The work is urgent. If you respond
there is to the service of God, but it cer- wholeheartedly, Jehovah w ill bless you
tainly is a prominent part of that service. richly, because, whether the actual hours
Those who get the sense of Gods Word that you are able to spend in preaching to
do not keep it to themselves; they produce others are many or few, you w ill be provgood Kingdom fruits, thirty, sixty or a ing yourself to be a full-tim e servant of
hundredfold, as Jesus encouraged. (Matt. the true God.1 Cor. 15:58.

e k

t t e

PIO NEER
SERVICE

N 1864 the worlds record for running

a mile was four minutes and fifty-six
seconds. No one dreamed of running a
m ile in less them four minutes. Even in
1923 when Paavo Nurmi ran it in four
minutes and ten seconds, they said it could
not be done. But then in 1954 Roger Bernnister of Britain ran it in 3:59.4. Since
then the race has speeded up even more,
with eight new records. Now the time for
the m ile is 3:51.1.
2 Everyone in Jehovahs service is running in a race for everlasting life, and
their service is on a full-tim e basis, but
some have accepted the challenge of the
pioneer service. In this service the pace
is stepped up, more ground is covered and
it requires endurance. Not all find they
can continue at this increased pace of
theocratic activity. Yet this does not discourage others from trying. They see the

1. W hat viewpoint did m en have for m any years

tow ard running a four-m inute mile, but was it the
rig h t view point?
2. (a) W hat race is everyone who Is serving Jehovah
engaged in running? (b) W hat privilege deserves our
consideration, and w hat response to the call has there
been?

'

urgency of the tim e and are encouraged

to get in the pioneer service. It is wonderful to see that in 1966 there were over
47,000 pioneers in the world; in 1967, over
53,700; in 1968, 63,800 shared in this work,
and in 1969 the average number was 76,500. Then in 1970 the pioneers increased
to 88,871. In some countries as many as
one out of every five publishers are in the
pioneer service. So do not think this is not
for you. Fathers, mothers, elderly persons
as well as the young have found it possible
to share in this m inistry full tim e. Even
some who are blind or crippled find this
pace to their taste. But still the call is
going out. More help is needed in the field
to care for interested ones. It is a privilege
of service that deserves careful consideration.Acts 16:9, 10.
3 How do you feel about the pioneer ministry? Do you say to yourself, I couldnt
possibly do it? Perhaps you feel you could
not keep the pace or that the obstacles in
3. W hat are some viewpoints w ith regard to the pioneer
service, and w hat problem s have some faced?

>'

J u n e 1, 1971

SBeW ATCHTOW ER.

your way are too great. Some young publishers just finishing high school and who
are desirous of entering the pioneer ministry are discouraged by unbelieving parents. Others are under pressure to continue on w ith a college education. Some
have even been put out of their homes
for pursuing their plans for the ministry.
Others feel that problems of health or
limited employment prospects or lack of
transportation make pioneering as difficult
for them as running a four-minute mile.
Yet these obstacles have been overcome
by many with Jehovahs help. They feel
as Paul did, saying: For a large door
that leads to activity has been opened to
me, but there are many opposers.1 Cor.
16:9.
This race of being a loyal Christian
has no ending this side of the great tribulation, and to win means to continue running with effectiveness in the ministry.
(Matt. 10:22) Many have worked hard
for yeaz-s to get ahead in some profession,
but when they learn the truth they decide
that nothing can compare w ith this privilege of serving Jehovah and many of them
do it as full-time pioneers. Those who have
been a long tim e in the pioneer service
will tell you that their desire to continue
and their appreciation for the m inistry
increase the longer they continue. They
speak of the joys of service and how it
has helped them. How happy they are to
be able to help one or two or even more
persons on the way to life each year as
many pioneers do. Compared with the
average of about ten hours spent in the
service by many congregation publishers
which is goodthe pioneer is able to
spend ten to fifteen tim es as much time
in helping others, and as a result the blessings multiply. Personal appreciation and
ability in using the Scriptures and in
teaching others also increase rapidly.
4. W hat good reasons for staying
m inistry have some expressed?

in

th e

pioneer

335

6
It is interesting to know that throughout the world there were 13,426 in special
pioneer service during 1970 spending, on
an average, approximately 150 horn's a
month in the m inistry, and this number
includes many who are serving as missionaries in foreign lands. Additionally,
there were 75,445 spending upward of 100
hours a month as vacation pioneers and
regular pioneers. This includes 2,326 serving as traveling m inisters or circuit servants and another 290 in the district work.
Additionally, 2,304 served throughout the
world as full-tim e m inisters at the Societys 93 offices producing literature and
supervising the m inistry of Jehovahs witnesses. So, truly, as Paul said, a large door
leading to activity is open. Will you pass
through it?
OVERCOMING OBSTACLES

* How can you be sure you w ill be able

to run the race successfully and not become a discouraged dropout? What are
some obstacles that m ay confront you?
One reason why many either give up this
service or are disqualified is that they do
not reach the service goals. This takes
planning. In any race the runner must
get a good start, otherwise he m ay fall
so far behind that he becomes discouraged.
A good runner w ill never enter a race
without training first, and the same principle applies to the pioneer m inistry. It is
not easy to jump from a pace of ten hours
a montii as a congregation publisher to
one hundred hours a month on the pioneer
track. So it is good to build up your service first. This w ill also make it possible
for you to m eet the entrance qualifications for the pioneer service. Many find
it good to vacation pioneer for a while
before becoming a regular pioneer. Then
5. M ention various branches of th e full-tim e service
in which m any share.
6. W hat p reparation fo r re g u la r pioneer service helps
m any to succeed?

336

B r o o k ly n , N .Y .
SEeW ATCH TO W ER
they find the pace is not really so difficult. finish the month well ahead in tim e deA fter all, being a regular pioneer minister voted to the field m inistry and ready to
does not mean spending six or eight hours get a good start the following month.
a day preaching, but only four hours on
* One thing is sure: the full-tim e piothe average.
neer m inistry is not for lazy people. A
7 Even so, a practical schedule is essen- minister who is a regular pioneer has a
tial. This is true of both congregation pub- requirement to spend 1,200 hours a year
lishers and pioneers. You may have seen in the field m inistry. Having the right
a race where a runner starts out so slowly viewpoint on this is a great help to conthat even though he picks up speed as the tinuing. If one considers this to be a burrace progresses, he still loses out. Well, to den or weight, it w ill slow one down in
be a good pioneer, it is important to get running well. But if he appreciates that
off to a good start and at a good pace; he is not in the service just to be putting
then you w ill not be disqualified and in tim e or setting records but because of
dropped from the Societys list for not valuing the opportunity to increase his
reaching the goals. One pioneer said he ministry, to share more fully in the worfelt he should be businesslike about his ship of Jehovah, then this hour requireservice. In secular work he would have ment w ill be a goal to be exceeded if posto be at the office at 9 a.m., so as a pio- sible. So, instead of offering the sacrifice
neer he always got to the first door by of praise, the fruit of lips, ten hours a
9 a.m., and he made a good pioneer. In month in the field m inistry as a congresome territories one can start at 7 a.m. gation publisher might, pioneers can heap
Jehovah set the pattern for us in this. As up ten tim es that praise to Jehovah durJeremiah said: And Jehovah sent to you ing just one month.Heb. 13:15.
all his servants the prophets, rising up
10The other goals suggested for reguearly and sending them . Note how Jere- lar pioneers, such as placing 100 magamiah followed this example in his minis- zines a month, making 35 back-calls or
try: I kept speaking to you people, ris- return visits on interested people and coning up early and speaking. (Jer. 25:3, 4) ducting seven home Bible studies each
So get an early start rather than a late week, are really recommendations from
one.
practical experience to help pioneers be
8Many pioneers pace themselves during productive and fruitful in their ministry.
the month by planning on spending thirty Many pioneers, really putting their heart
hours a week in the m inistry. They like in their work, spend not just 100 hours a
to get their tim e in early, leaving a few month, but 110, 120, even 150 hours a
days at the end of the month for other
month. Why? Because they see the need,
things that may become necessary. If you
the urgency of our tim es, and they want
do this, then you w ill never come down
the homestretch at the end of the month to help as many as possible to appreciate
going at top speed, only to be exhausted the truth and get on the road to life. Beat the start of the next lap the following sides that, a pioneer who is always ahead
month. Getting a slow start in the service in reaching his goal of hours knows that
makes each month a race at the finish, he w ill never have difficulty in reaching
with the pioneer often not even reaching the goal later in the year if he gets sick
his goal of hours. How much better to

7, 8. W hat helps in m eeting a good pioneer schedule?

Give an exam ple.

9. How should the hour requirem ent fo r the field

m inistry be viewed?
10. How are the goals suggested for pioneers helpful?

J u n e 1, 1971

SEeW ATCH TO W ER

some month or wants to take a vacation.

He is ready for any emergency.
11 However, you can be sure that Satan
will be out on the track, trying to slow
you down. He m ay put hurdles in your
way, or pitfalls that have to be skirted or
jumped, or he m ay try to get you off the
course on a sidetrack through materialism. To run a good race it is necessary
to avoid distractions. Could you imagine
a runner in a cross-country race suddenly
stopping to inspect a car that catches his
eye, or pausing to gaze in a store window
as he goes through town, only to let others pass him by? Instead he should follow
the counsel of Proverbs 4:25-27: As for
your eyes, straight ahead they should look,
yes, your own beaming eyes should gaze
straight in front of you. Smooth out the
course of your foot, and may all your own
ways be firmly established. Do not incline
to the right hand or to the left. That
counsel applies, not only to pioneers, but
to every servant of Jehovah. Yet some do
drop out of the service because they do
not keep their eyes straight ahead on their
goal. They become enmeshed in materialism, and soon drop out of the race for life.
Some pioneers decide to pick up heavy
loads to carry, trying to pioneer while buying a car or trailer, something that may
not be really needed. But it does not have
to be that way. If you keep your eye on
the goal and are determined to continue,
you can with Jehovahs help. Just do not
pick up those extra weights. Instead, let
us also put off every w eight . . . and let
us rim with endurance the race that is set
before us.Heb. 12:1.
12 One big hurdle for many is suitable
work to provide the needed income. Some
say, It is all right to serve God, but who
is going to feed you? Well Jehovah is see11. (a) How does
th eir service? (b)
in determ ining the
12. Does Jehovah
serve him ?

m aterialism tu rn some aside from

W hat S criptural counsel is helpful
course to follow?
provide m aterially fo r those who

337

ing to it that over 88,000 in the full-tim e

m inistry as pioneers and Bethel fam ily
members are being fed and clothed and
provided for, and the number is growing.
It is necessary to have some income to
maintain oneself. However, good balance
is necessary to keep any needed secular
work secondary and the m inistry uppermost. Jesus had that balance, and we do
well to listen to his counsel. As he said,
Never be anxious and say, What are we
to eat? or, What are we to drink? or,
What are we to put on? . . . For your
heavenly Father knows you need all these
things. (Matt. 6:31, 32) So we do not
need to worry, but we do want to plan
wisely.Prov. 20:4; Phil. 4:11-13.
13Those in school who are planning to
pioneer do well to learn a practical trade
such as stenography or carpentrysomething that w ill provide part-time work,
perhaps some skill that is needed in the
area where they live. Some pioneer ministers do cleaning, painting, gardening,
washing windows, selling, and so forth.
Sisters may do typing, ironing, sewing,
washing, baby-sitting. As one brother said,
You can usually find
if you
are willing to do
anyth And he was
willing because he wanted to continue as
a pioneer. Of course, a pioneer needs to
consider not just his income, but also his
outgo. This is just as important. If a car
costs more than the pioneer can afford,
why be forced to stop the pioneer m inistry
just to have a car? Many find it possible
to pioneer even in rural territory without
a car by traveling w ith others or using
public transportation or riding a bicycle
or just by walking. A fter all, Jesus did
not have a car or even a bicycle to get
around the territory where he preached,
and much of it was rural territory. A ll in
the full-tim e m inistry, whether congregation publishers or pioneers, do well to
13. As to em ploym ent and tran sp o rtatio n , w h at do
pioneers and prospective pioneers do well to consider?

338

B r o o k l y n , N .Y .
SEeW ATCH TO W ER
cultivate the attitude of the apostle Paul, vacation pioneer service for two weeks or
who said, So, having sustenance and cov- a month as there are on the regular pioering, we shall be content with these neer list, showing the desire of many
things. (1 Tim. 6:8) Paul did not worry brothers to expand their share in the minabout getting a racing chariot to help him istry. In some countries as many as one
out of ten or even one out of five pubin his travels.
14Perhaps you have a good start as a lishers of the good news are engaged in
pioneer. You may have a good schedule, a the pioneer ministry.
part-tim e job; you are putting the KingCOULD YOU PIONEER?
dom interests first. Could you be deterred
1
Could
you be among the six out of
from running the race successfully? Some
every
one
hundred
publishers of the good
can be. They fail to avoid the snares of
news
who
share
in
the pioneer m inistry
Satan and are tripped by improper conon
the
average?
It
is
something to conduct. Yet to continue in the pioneer sersider.
Jehovah
can
strengthen
you to suevice one must be free from accusation.
ceed.
Why
is
it,
then,
that
some
in this
For all true Christians it is necessary,
service
become
discouraged
and
even
drop
as Titus 2:12 says, to repudiate ungodliout
of
the
pioneer
service?
Perhaps
it is
ness and worldly desires and to live with
due
to
lack
of
a
partner
in
service,
or
soundness of mind and righteousness and
maybe
because
of
incurring
too
many
bills,
godly devotion amid this present system of
things. The apostle Paul was aware of taking on more than one can handle so
this, for he wrote: I pummel my body that the schedule becomes too crowded
and lead it as a slave, that, after I have and there is too much extra work. As a
preached to others, I m yself should not result the m inistry begins to suffer and
become disapproved somehow. (1 Cor. the joy of service is diminished just as
9:27) It is a shame to help others on the when a runner tires during a long race. Evway to life, only to be disqualified per- ery pioneer knows what it is that gives
sonally. How much better to go on to him problems. There it is like a hurdle
greater privileges, perhaps entering the across his path. Can it be overcome? Ususpecial pioneer ministry, or becoming a ally it can. Do not underestimate the imm issionary serving in a foreign land, or portance of prayer. Jehovah knows our
receiving a call to be a traveling circuit needs and helps us when we seek his asm inister of the Society or to serve at the sistance.Ps. 145:18, 19.
1TIt is good to talk to other pioneers or
Bethel headquarters of the Lords organithe
servants in the congregation or perzation.Heb. 6:1, 10-12; Titus 1:5, 6.
haps
to the circuit servant to try to find
15 Last year hundreds came to Bethel
a
solution
to what hinders you in your
and many entered the missionary service,
service.
If
the
problem is due to working
while others moved on their own to help
alone,
then
take
the initiative, and try
with the work in foreign fields. In such
to
make
appointments
to work with othservice they may find the race even more
ers.
If
you
do
not
succeed
at first, do not
demanding than in their homeland, but
be
discouraged,
but
try
again.
Find who
the rewards are often greater too. It is
can
work
with
you
on
certain
days. Enencouraging, too, to note that in some
months there are as many sharing in the 16. (a) Mention oth er obstacles to continuing in the
14,15. (a) How m ay Satan use m isconduct to stop
some from running a good race? (b) W hat happy
course have m any followed?

pioneer service, (b) W hat is a great help in overcoming problem s?

17. How can arrangem ents be m ade to w ork w ith
others in the field service?

J u n e 1, 1971

SHeW ATCHTOW ER

courage others to consider pioneering with

you. Rich blessings result from sharing
fully in the service of God. As Proverbs
11:30 declares: The fruitage of the righteous one is a tree of life, and he that is
winning souls is w ise.
18Many have arranged their affairs so
as to pioneer, and their experiences are
very encouraging. One sister started pioneering at fifty-seven and is continuing
now at seventy-two years of age. Sometimes during the winter, illness keeps her
in bed, but she has been able to have
those with whom she is studying the Bible
come to her home for their studies. And
she has even kept in touch by phone and
by mail with those on whom she usually
calls and those to whom she regularly delivers the Watchtower and Awake! magazines. She finds it good to work in territory near her home so she can rest at
noon and get som ething to eat to keep
her strength up. Another sister who is
now seventy-four years old has been a
pioneer since 1912. She has been a special
pioneer since 1941 and is still spending
150 hours in the service. A brother who
has been a pioneer for forty years continues to serve faithfully at eighty-seven.
18Becoming a pioneer does not release
a person from his responsibilities in the
family, whether as the head of the family
or as the w ife or a child. Those who are
married need to consider fam ily matters
such as the care of the children, the
schedule for secular work or cooking and
housework and how it can be done without harming fam ily interests. One brother
has been able to continue pioneering despite raising a fam ily and encountering
serious illness. W hile recognizing his family obligations, he reports that good co18. Relate an encouraging exam ple of someone who
has continued in the pioneer service.
19. W hat responsibilities m ust one in pioneer service
not overlook, and how can these be m et?

339

operation on the part of his w ife and working closely with the congregation have
helped him to continue. Sisters, even with
large fam ilies, sometimes find that with
good fam ily support they can pioneer. One
sister with six children and another with
eight work together as pioneers since their
children are now in school m ost of the
time. Many other examples m ight be mentioned. Old and young, single and married,
these pioneers are following the course of
wisdom. So if you are not a pioneer but
could be, then consider Jesus words at
Matthew 6:19-21: Stop storing up for
yourselves treasures upon the earth . . .
Rather, store up for yourselves treasures
in heaven . . . For where your treasure is,
there your heart w ill be also.
20
F o r y O U who are in the full-tim e service as pioneers or missionaries, in the
circuit or district service or at Bethel
whatever may be your privilege of service, do not give up the race, for the end
of this system of things is getting close.
Look to Jehovah to help you to pass the
pitfalls and hurdles that stop others along
the way. You are not in a race to run the
mile in four minutes, but you are in a
race with the goal of everlasting life in
view. So do not let anything or anyone
discourage you or turn you aside from
this wonderful privilege of service. Not
everyone can pioneer, but you who can,
keep the pace and continue the race. Remember, in the m inistry, whether as a
congregation publisher or as a pioneer,
the race is not for the sw ift, the young,
the strong, but for all who trust in Jehovah. (Isa. 40:28-31) It is not the speed
but the endurance that counts in this race.
We encourage all who can, not only to
start, but more importantly to stay in the
wonderful service of our God Jehovah.
20. W hat encouragem ent do we have to continue the
race as Jehovahs servants?

Pontius Pilate-Roman Politician

N 1961, at the site of the ancient coastal city brought by the Jewish leaders to Pilate. Told
of Caesarea, situated about fifty-four miles to take Jesus and judge him themselves, the
north-northwest of Jerusalem, a partially accusers replied that it was not lawful for them
damaged inscription was found. This inscrip-to execute anyone. Pilate then took Jesus into
tion bears the name [Ponjtius Pilatus. It was the palace and questioned him concerning the
before this Pontius Pilate that Jewish leaders charges. It was evident that Jesus was innofalsely accused Jesus Christ of subversion, of ad- cent. However, repeated attempts by Pilate
vocating nonpayment of taxes and making him- to free the accused brought only an increase
self a king rivaling Caesar. But who was this in the shouting for Jesus impalement. Fearing
man that finally yielded to their demands a riot and seeking to placate the crowd, Pilate
for Jesus to be impaled? Why did he do so? acceded to their wishes, washing his hands
Tiberius Caesar appointed Pilate as governor as though cleansing himself from bloodguilt.
Pilate now had Jesus whipped and the solof Judea in 26 C.E. According to the historian
Josephus, Pilate offended his subjects. One diers placed a crown of thorns on Jesus head
night he sent Roman soldiers into Jerusalem and dressed him with royal robes. But again
with standards bearing images of the emperor. Pilate appeared before the crowd, making
Subsequently a delegation of Jews traveled to known that he found no fault in Jesus. The
Caesarea to protest the presence of the stan- leaders of the people continued to shout for
dards and call for their removal. After five Jesus impalement, now revealing for the first
days of discussion, Pilate sought to frighten time their charge of blasphemy. Their referthe petitioners with the threat of execution by ence to Jesus as making himself Gods son
his soldiers, but their determined refusal to added to Pilates apprehension, and he took
yield caused him to accede to their request. Jesus inside for further questioning. Final
(Antiquities of the Jews, Book XVIII, chap. efforts at releasing him brought the warning
, par. 1) Philo, a Jewish writer of the first by the Jewish opposers that Pilate was becomcentury C.E. in Alexandria, Egypt, describes ing vulnerable to the charge of opposing Caea somewhat similar act by Pilate that involved sar. After hearing this threat, Pilate seated
gold shields bearing the names of Pilate and himself on the judgment seat. When the chief
Tiberius.De Legatione ad Gaium, XXXVIII. priests again rejected Jesus as king and deJosephus records still another disturbance. dared, We have no king but Caesar, Pilate
To construct an aqueduct to bring water into handed Jesus over to them to be impaled.
Jerusalem for a distance of about twenty-five Matt. 27:131 ;Mark 15:1-20; Luke 23:1-25;
miles, Pilate used money from the temple trea- John 18:28-40; 19:1-16.
The foregoing illustrates that Pilate was a
sury at Jerusalem. When he made a visit to
the city, large crowds clamored against this typical Roman ruler. Though obviously not the
act. Pilate then sent disguised soldiers to min- condescending type, Pilate displayed lack of
gle among the multitude and, at a signal, to integrity. He was primarily concerned about
attack the Jews. (Antiquities of the Jews, Book his position, about what his superiors would
XVIII, chap. , par. 2; Wars of the Jews, say if they heard of further disturbances in
Book II, chap. IX, par. 4) If Luke 13:1 does his province. He was fearful of appearing to
not refer to another incident, it may have been be overly lenient toward those accused of sediat this time that Pilate *mixed the blood of tion. Pilate recognized Jesus innocence and
Galileans with their sacrifices. This seems to the envy that motivated his accusers. Neverimply that he had them slain right in the tern- theless, rather than risking damage to his
pie area. Since the Galileans were subjects of political career, he gave in to the crowd and
Herod Antipas, the district ruler of Galilee, had an innocent man put to death.
this slaughter may have been at least a conJosephus reports that Pilates later removal
tributing factor in the enmity existing between from office resulted from complaints lodged
Pilate and Herod up until the time of Jesus by the Samaritans with Pilates superior, the
trial.Luke 23:6-12.
governor of Syria. The historian Eusebius
On Nisan 14, 33 C.E., at dawn, Jesus was claims that Pilate died a suicide.

340

cAs

toM

by

*D{atUy\ QCass

Each summer
morning, before
m o s t of us
reached school
age, m other
w ould assem ble
us alon g with
som e neighborhood children
and we would sing a song from the book
Hymns
ofMillennial Dawn. Then she
would lead us in a short prayer, following which there would be a Bible story.
More than that, she would encourage a
little discussion, so we would get the deeper meaning. How we enjoyed those occasions! And they helped us to appreciate
the role of the various Bible characters
in Jehovah's purposes.
The congregation of Jehovah's people in
our town of Vincennes, Indiana, m et in
our home. We children were taught to get
a drink of water and go to the bathroom
before each meeting, so we would not disturb anyone later. We learned to sit quietly and listen. Then, when I was in third
grade I was given m y own copy of the
Bible study aid and I would take my turn
in reading the paragraphs.
Our home was always open house to
the pioneers (then known as colporteurs)
who were engaged full tim e in distributing
the Watch Tower Societys literature, and
to the traveling representatives of the Society whom we then knew as pilgrim
brothers." We profited much from those
visits as we listened to their experiences.

from infancy

TOW that you have begun to

t t (
U X study the Bible and are learning about Jehovah's purposes, there is
something you should do. Keep talking
about these things to your little children.
But they are so little! Why, the girl is
only four and the boy just past a year.
These are deep things we are learning!
How often parents express them selves
in this way! But is it true that little children cannot understand the Bibles teachings? Well, I have often used Proverbs
22:6 to answer that question for many
mothers. It reads: Train up a boy according to the way for him; even when
he grows old he w ill not turn aside from
it. From my own experience that counsel has proved to be sound in modem
times.
EARLY TRAINING

It was back in 1911 that m y parents began studying the Bible with the help of
the set of books called Studies in the
Scriptures, published by the Intem ational Bible Students Association. I was not
quite four years of age. I had a little
brother, and m y parents taught us about
the joyful hope of Gods kingdom and
Jehovahs requirements for little children
from the very beginning. Later another
brother and sister were added to the family, and they, too, learned along with the
rest of us. Thus we grew up with Gods
purposes and promises always in our
minds.

DECISION AT TEN

My memory of one such visit still stands

out clearly in my mind. I was ten years
old. The visitor was a pilgrim named
W. J. Thom. For some reason m other and
we children were the only ones at one
of his meetings, so he decided to direct
341

SEeWATCHTOWEFL

342

his remarks to us young ones particularly.

He spoke about dedication, and he made
it so clear and desirable that I was deeply
impressed. When I went to bed that night,
part of m y prayer was to offer m yself to
God to be used as he saw fit. I never told
anyone about that dedication, but all
through my adolescent years it was uppermost in my mind and often guided me in
decisions I had to make.
Some two years later we moved to a
small town in Ohio where there was no
congregation of Jehovahs people. Although we still had some Bible study,
it was no longer regular. Sickness, the
struggle to raise a fam ily, the cares of
life, and father often having to be away
on business, hindered spiritually healthful
association with others of Gods people
for a number of years. But that early
training had had profound effect on us
youngsters. It had sent down deep roots
in our hearts. One after another we dedicated our lives to God. I was baptized,
together with m y sister, in 1936. Our
brothers had already embarked on the fulltim e preaching work, pioneer service, and
Gertrude and I had plans to do the same.
A LIFEWORK BEGINS

In December 1938 we both entered the

pioneer service, preaching Gods Word full
tim e. By this tim e our home was in Cleveland, Ohio, so we served there for a few
months before accepting Em assignment to
work in Brookville, Pennsylvania. Those
were stirring tim es. Jehovahs witnesses
in many places were the targets of persecution during World War . Gertrude and
I spent several days in jail for preaching
Gods Word. Then the Society obtained
an injunction against a number of towns
in Pennsylvania, and we were free to engage in our preaching work without interference.

B r o o k l y n , N .Y .

It was while we were serving in Warren,

Pennsylvania, that the Societys then president, J. F. Rutherford, announced a new
arrangement for special pioneers, whereby the Society would afford some financial
support to those pioneers who would go
into communities where there was special
need for Kingdom preaching. W hat a thrill
we got when letters came to us inviting
us to share in this special preaching activity!
In December 1941, four of us pioneers
commenced under the new arrangement at
Salamanca, New York. Later, a fifth girl
joined us there. A congregation was soon
established, a Kingdom Hall was located
and furnished, and it was tim e for us to
move on to another assignment. In the
meantime my sister Gertrude found it advisable to return home to care for mother
in her final illness. Dorothy Lawrence and
I were sent to Penn Yan, New York, in
1944, but not for long. We were both invited to attend the Fourth Class of the
Watch Tower Societys m issionary training school, the School of Gilead. We have
been partners and companions ever since
then.
GILEAD AND ONWARD

We did notice that many in our class

at Gilead had known about Jehovahs purposes since childhood. Here, too, we met
the former pilgrim W. J. Thom again.
Though old and failing in health, he was
still able to work every day at the Watchtower Societys Kingdom Farm, where
Gilead School was then located. When I
reminded him of his words that had influenced me in early childhood, he told
me that he had often used that theme
when talking to youngsters.
I could write a book about our grand
experiences at Gilead, but then Gilead was
but a springboard to greater things ahead.
Our first assignment was to Cuba, where

u n e

1, 1971

SEeWATCHTOWER

we arrived on the first of the year, 1946.

We were to help strengthen a small congregation at a place called Cienfuegos. The
Kingdom Hall or m eeting place was the
large living room of our missionary home.
Some in the congregation were confused;
others had discontinued association due to
evil influences, so it was our job to visit
and build up as many as possible. With
Jehovahs help we succeeded measurably.
A DIFFERENT ASSIGNMENT

Our next major assignm ent was to the

Dominican Republic. Hardly were we settied and granted permanent residence
when trouble came. A ban was imposed on
our work. Dictator Trujillo ordered all
Kingdom Halls closed, and our preaching
work was prohibited. Some of the missionaries were withdrawn, but Dorothy and
I were happy that we could remain. The
work was reorganized along new lines. We
were counseled to take up secular employment and live as ordinary residents.
That was quite a change. We found a
comfortable apartment facing the Caribbean, and taught English in order to keep
going. Our students were m ostly business
people and diplomats from various lands.
A t the same tim e we had a small group
of W itnesses assigned to us, and we met
in our apartment for m eetings and Bible
studies. In this way police spies could
never be sure which were bona fide students of English and which were our spiritual sisters coming and going from our
home.
We had a large bathtub in our apartment, and this proved to be very serviceable, since it was not possible to have
public baptisms during those years of ban.
From around the city candidates came to
be baptized here, and incidentally we were
able to keep in touch w ith what was going
on in other parts of the city and country.
I know of fifty or more, including many

343

young persons, who were immersed in

that tub.
Once at Memorial celebration our apartment was crowded with W itnesses. There
was heavy rain and everyone came in
soaked to the skin, but we had towels
ready to help them dry off. And that rain
proved to be a blessing, because it made
it impossible for the official spies to sit on
the low wall in front of our house to watch
what went on.
THEN TO PUERTO RICO

In 1957 all of us m issionaries were deported from the Dominican Republic; so

we were assigned next to Puerto Rico, our
specific assignment being the small town
of Adjuntas in the mountains. We worked
hard and made progress despite opposition. The religious clergy, Catholic and
Protestant, brought pressure on the peopie. People were expected to stay with
the church in which they had been brought
up. Even the efforts of the Greek Orthodox Church to gain a foothold there were
thwarted. But not Jehovahs people, for
we befriended many and we had many
sympathizers, including even prominent
persons.
One happy experience here had to do
with a young boy of fourteen who presented him self at a home where I was conducting a Bible study saying he had come
to study. He made many comments and
asked numerous questions. He had a happy nature and was chatting and laughing
most of the tim e. Not being quite sure of
his sincerity, I made some inquiries and
found that his schoolteacher was already
studying the Bible with me, and she had
aroused his interest. She assured me that
he really was sincere.
Sure enough, he made remarkable progress. When he went to a larger city to
finish schooling, he kept up his Bible
studies, shared in the field m inistry and

344

SReWATCHTOWER

B r o oklyn , N .Y .

was eventually baptized. He had to con- er told her, just as long as she completed
tinue w ith his fam ily for a tim e to help a regular study of it. The girl agreed, and
raise several younger brothers and sisters. the mother asked me to conduct the course
In due tim e he arranged his affairs to of study.
enter the full-tim e pioneer ministry. Later,
It was difficult. The girl would try to
he was invited into the special pioneer ser- refute the simplest of statem ents. I tried
vice and is now an overseer in the congre- to keep calm and endeavored to answer all
gation where he serves as a pioneer min- her objections, and since she had a good
ister.
sense of humor I tried to keep it light,
I m ust tell you another experience in- though at the same tim e m aintaining the
volving a young girl in our territory. The dignity worthy of the good news. As
girl had been brought up rather permis- we neared the end of the book, I felt that
sively. Her outspokenness, though sincere she had not accepted its message from the
and honest, m ight lead people to consider Bible. I had rather questioned the mothers
her disrespectful, even impudent. The judgment in making such a deal with her
mother was really concerned about her. daughter. However, to m y surprise one
One day she had come home from school day she asked which book we were going
announcing that she was through with the to study next! Jehovah had certainly made
Catholic Church, though her mother still the seed to grow!1 Cor. 3:7.
When I look back over the past thirtywas going to mass at the tim e. On her own
she withdrew from the Catholic school one years of full-tim e service in the interand chose to be graduated from a public est of Gods kingdom, I can only rejoice
at the full life that has been mine. Why,
school.
But then, when the mother started to in a sense, I am richer than King Solomon.
have Bible studies w ith us, the girl hotly And as I observe fam ilies with small childenounced the idea. Efforts to have her at dren at the Kingdom Hall here in the
Rio That
Piedras
congregation in San Juan, I
least read the book
ThTruth
Leads
to Eternal Life were to no avail. In des- cannot but think of the blessings that will
peration the mother made a deal with her. result to parents who heed the counsel at
It seems that she had been promised a Proverbs 22:6.
I, for one, give thanks to Jehovah and
trip to Spain, so the mother now told her
that if she would study the book before to my parents for such good, thorough
she went, she would give her an additional training from infancy, a training that
amount of money for travel expenses. She molded me to accept Gods way with
did not have to believe the book, her moth- pleasure.

Early Christianitys Regard for Life

The ancient Roman world reveled in bloodshed. However, in the book The
Catacombs of
e, W. H. Withrow points out that early Christianity gave a
om
R
new sanctity to human life, and even denounced as murder the heathen custom of
destroying the unborn child. The [killing by] exposure of infants was a fearfully
prevalent pagan practice, which even Plato and Aristotle permitted. We have had
evidences of the tender charity of the Christians in rescuing these foundlings
from death, or from a fate more dreadful stilla life of infamy. Christians also
emphatically affirmed the Almightys canon gainst self-slaughter,' [suicide] which
crime the pagans had even exalted into a virtue. It taught that a patient endurance
of suffering, like Jobs, exhibited a loftier courage than Catos renunciation of life.

"MOREHAPPINESS

KNOW a secret. Would you like to who he is? Jehovah God has given us all
hear it? It is the secret of happiness. the good things that we have. He gives us
There are a lot of people who are notwater to drink. He makes plants grow so
happy. They look sad m ost of the time. that we have food to eat. The Bible says
They are often the kind of people whose that God gives to everyone life and
happiness depends too
breath and all things.
A n a r t ic le s p e c ia lly d e s ig n e d fo r
much on w hat other
Acts 17:25.
people do. If someone p a re n ts to rea d w ith th e ir c h ild re n
A nd J e s u s knows
gives them something
t h a t h i s F a t h e r in
nice, they are happy. But they spend most heaven is happy. The Bible even says that
of their life waiting to get things that he is the happy God. (1 Tim. 1:11) Giving to others is one of the things that
just dont come.
makes
God happy. And when we give,
Now, here is the secret. The Great
it
can
make
us happy too.
Teacher said: There is more happiness in
Now, what is there that we can give
giving than there is in receiving. (Acts
20:35) So, the one who is m ost happy is to other people? What would you suggest?
not the person who gets gifts, but the one
Sometimes when you want to give a
who gives things to other people. Did you gift, it costs money. If it is a gift that you
know that? Now, that is not the kind of get in a store, you w ill have to pay for i t
secret that you cant tell to anyone else. So, if you want to give that kind of gift,
But it is a secret because it is something you may have to save money until you
that not many people really know.
g et enough to buy
the gift.
Just think about what it means. Did
B u t n o t a ll g if t s
Jesus say that a person who received a
come from stores. Let
gift would not be happy? No. You like to
me explain. On a hot
get gifts, dont you? And so do I. We are
day there is nothing
happy when we rea s g o o d as a co ld
ceive nice things.
glass of fresh water.
B u t Jes us said
You dont have to go
that there is even
to th e s t o re for it.
more h ap pin ess
Yet when you give it
when we give. And
to s o m eo n e who is
Jesus was alw ays
thirsty, you can have
righ t, w asnt
th e happiness th a t
he?
comes from giving.
Jesus knows
S o m e d a y m ay be
someone who
you and your mothdoes m ore
er ca n b a k e s o m e
g iv in g than
cookies. That can be
anyone else.
fun. And when they
Do you know
345

346

S&eWATCHTOWER.

B rooklyn , N .Y .

So, Lydias giving made her happy befirst come out of the oven, they taste
specially good. But what might we do cause she really wanted to give. And that
w ith some of those cookies that would is something that we ought to remember.
make us even happier than eating all of Someone tells us to give a gift. But if we
really dont want to do it, the giving w ill
them ourselves?
Yes, the greater happiness comes from not make us happy.
For example, what if you had a bar of
giving. We can have a good time eating
some ourselves. But, if we want even more candy that you wanted to eat? If I told
happiness, then we might wrap up some of you that you had to give it to another
them and make a gift of them to one of child, would it make you happy to give it
our friends. Would you like to do that away? But you may have a bar of candy
when you meet a friend that you like very
sometime?
The apostle Paul was one who knew the much. If you got the idea all by yourself
happiness of giving. What did he give to that it would be nice to split the candy
other people? He had the best thing in the bar with your friend, then you would be
world to give. He knew the truth about happy about it, wouldnt you?
God and about Jesus. Gladly he shared it
And, do you know that sometimes we
with others. And he did it without letting love a person so much that we want to
anyone give him money for the help that give him everything, and not keep back
anything for ourselves? As we grow in
he offered.
One tim e the apostle Paul and his com- love, that is the way we should feel about
panion Luke met a woman who also want- God.
The Great Teacher knew a woman who
ed to have the happiness of giving. They
felt
that way. He saw her in the temple in
m et her down by a river. Paul and Luke
Jerusalem.
She had just two small coins;
had come there because they heard that
that
is
all
She
had. But she put both of
it was a place of prayer. And sure enough,
them
in
the
box
as a contribution or a gift
they found some women gathered there.
for the temple. No one made her do it.
Paul began to tell these women the good
Most of the people did not even know
things about Jehovah God and his king- what she had done. She did it because she
dom. A certain one of them named Lydia wanted to, because she really loved God.
paid close attention. She liked very much It made her happy to be able to give.
what she heard. And she wanted to do Luke 2 1 :1 4 .
som ething to show her appreciation.
So, there are many ways in which we
Luke tells us: She urged us: If you can give, arent there? And the Great
men have judged me to be faithful to Je- Teacher knew that if we gave because we
hovah, enter into my house and stay. wanted to, we would be happy. That is
And she just made us come.Acts 16: why he tells us: Practice giving. That
1315.
is, make it a habit to give to other people.
Lydia was glad to have these servants If we do that, we w ill not be sad because
of God in her home. She loved them be- of waiting for someone else to do somecause they had helped her to learn about thing nice for us. We will be busy at made
Gods provision for people to live forever. ing other people happy. And when we do
It made her happy to be able to give them that, we are the happiest ones of all!
food to eat and a place to rest.
Luke 6:38.

Work with Counselors of the Hew Order Society

What is the New Order society ?
The new order refers to the new system
of things that will follow the end of the present wicked system after the abyssing of Satan.
It consists of a new heavens and a new
earth. The New Order society is that group
of men and women today who are living by
the principles of that new order and who
hope to gain entrance into it and live forever
in it. Those principles and that hope are
found in Gods Word, the Holy Bible.Isa.
65:17; 2 Pet. 3:13; Rev. 21:4.
Who are the counselors of the New Order
society?
The counselors of the New Order society
are the overseers and other servants in the
various congregations of the Christian witnesses of Jehovah who have been appointed
to take the lead. Additionally, these have the
obligation to keep Jehovahs organization
clean. Such counselors are set in position by
the faithful and discreet slave organization
whom Jesus appointed over all his belongings.
(Matt. 24:45-47) These counselors are mature
men who have proved faithful over the years,
who love justice and mercy, and who are
therefore qualified to safeguard the congregations doctrinal and moral purity as well
as its harmonious functioning.
The provision for counselors is no modern
innovation. A similar arrangement was in
effect in the days of the early Christian congregation. The twelve apostles and certain
other older men served as counselors and
judges. They gave counsel by word of mouth
and eight of them had a share in providing
the inspired counsel found in the Christian
Greek Scriptures. In addition, these also
served as judges to keep the organization
free from sexual and other forms of immorality and from apostasy. The record shows that
the apostles Paul and Peter in particular
served in this capacity, as can be seen from
Acts 5:1-11; 1 Corinthians 5:1-13.
The presence of these counselors both
in the early Christian congregation and in
modern times was foretold by Jehovahs
prophet Isaiah: I will bring back again
judges for you as at the first, and counselors
for you as at the start. After this you will
be called City of Righteousness, Faithful
Town.Isa. 1:26.*
* F o r details see T he W atchtow er, Ju ly 1, 1970.

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347

How can members of a Christian congrega

tion work with their counselors, their ser
vant body?
They can do this by taking to heart the
principles, laws and counsel that these men
teach from Gods Word and applying it in
their own lives. At times the counsel given
may be in the form of correction, admonition
or discipline. Of course, as the apostle Paul
shows at Hebrews 12:11, discipline is not a
pleasant thing to receive. But if the Christian
recognizes the source of the counsel or discipline being given him, it will help to overcome any barrier of pride that one might
be inclined to erect. Without any such barrier
one is truly able to benefit from the disciplinary counsel given.
Members of a Christian congregation also
work with and not against their counselors
when they encourage their fellow Christians
to accept counsel. Especially can this be done
when difficulties arise because some do not
work with their counselors. And when there
are serious cases of wrongdoing they can
show their loyal support by being willing to
testify to the extent that they are familiar
with the facts, and then by acquiescing to
the Scripturally based judgment of these
counselors.
Individual Christians in the congregations
can also work with their counselors by
visiting the homes of those who are not getting to the congregation meetings, so as to
pass on to these the counsel they have received and thus strengthen the faith of such
absent ones.1 Thess. 5:14.
The words spoken by these counselors at
the weekly meetings of the Christian witnesses of Jehovah are of importance not only
to dedicated Christians but also to all other
righteously disposed persons. Christians can
therefore work with their counselors by
having an active share in the field ministry,
and by pointing out the Scriptural things
they learn at these meetings to all whom
they find hungering for truth and righteousness; being ready to make return visits upon
these and study the Bible with them.
In all such ways the dedicated Christian
witnesses of Jehovah can show their appreciation to Jehovah for having provided
judges for you as at the first, and counselors
for you as at the start.

W ho W ere the H fttites?

HE H ittites are identified in an an- Palestine and, therefore, may allude to the
cient book that traces the history Biblical H ittites. On the basis of the name
H atti, certain scholars, however, have
of mankind to its very beginning. This
book, the Bible, reveals that they were gone beyond the Assyrian cuneiform texts
the descendants of Noahs great-grandson and tried to link the H ittites of the Bible
Heth. Since Heth was a son of Canaan and record w ith an empire that had its capia grandson of Ham, the H ittites were tal in Asia Minor, far to the north and
west of the land of Canaan.
Canaanites. Gen. 10:1, 6, 15.
At Bogazkoy (formerly called HattuEven before the patriarch Abraham
moved to Canaan in 1943 B.C.E., the Hit- sas), the site of what is thought to have
tites were well established there. They been the capital of this empire, many anare known to have lived in the mountain- cient texts have been unearthed. Based on
ous region of southern Palestine, more the sim ilarity of the sound of the words
specifically in Hebron and its vicinity. Hattusas and H atti, some scholars
(Gen. 15:18-20; 23:2-20) Centuries later have called the language of certain texts
they were still to be found inhabiting discovered at Bogazkoy H attie or Hitmountainous regions, but the extent of tite. Modem theory holds that the early
their territory is not precisely described inhabitants of the area were overrun by
conquerors who brought in a different
in the Bible.Num. 13:29; Josh. 11:3.
Of the Canaanites, seemingly only language. This language used cuneiform
the H ittites maintained prominence and script. Later still another language, one
strength as a nation for a considerable pe- using hieroglyphic script, superseded the
riod after the Israelite conquest. (1 Ki. cuneiform script. It has been suggested
10:29) They are mentioned in the Scrip- that the three different languages repretures as having kings and m ilitary strength sent three groups of people.
as late as the reign of King Jehoram of
But there is no way to establish with
Israel (c. 917-905 B.C.E.). (2 Ki. 7:6) certainty that any of these groups should
However, the Syrian, Assyrian and Bab- be identified with the H ittites of the Bible.
ylonian conquests of the land apparently Acknowledging the difficulty of identificashattered their power.
tion, one historian, E. A. Speiser, observes:
In view of the prominence of the Hit- The problem of the H ittites in the Bible
tites in ancient tim es, one might expect is . . . complex. To begin with, there is
that archaeological findings have provided the question as to which type of H ittites
additional details. Numerous reference may be involved in any given Biblical pasworks indicate that this is the case and sage: Haitians, Indo-European H ittites of
that archaeology has, in fact, vindicated the cuneiform records, or hieroglyphic Hitthe Bibles testim ony concerning the ex- tites .The World History of the Jewish
istence of the H ittites. This gives rise to People, 1964, Vol. One, p. 160.
the question, Does the archaeological eviIt is also noteworthy that none of the
dence rest on a solid foundation or is it cuneiform texts found at Bogazkoy in
subject to question?
themselves refer to the language as being
References to H atti in Assyrian cunei- H ittite. This is merely the conclusion
form texts usually place it in Syria or drawn by some scholars. And, concerning

348

1, 1971

349
f&eW ATCHTOW ER
the H ittite hieroglyphic writing, I. J. sas can hardly be considered strong
Gelb states: The beginnings of the Hit- evidence for making an identification.
tite hieroglyphic w riting are still rather
However, the fact that extra-Biblical
obscure, but all indications point toward sources do not provide certain identificathe Aegean cultural area as its source of tion should not be a cause for concern.
origin. (A Study of Writing, 1952, p. 83) Since archaeological findings are often
The Aegean Sea lies between Asia Minor subject to various interpretations, they
and Greece. This would seem to remove it are not a sound foundation for basing ones
from the realm of the H ittites of the Bible. belief in the Holy Scriptures. Right within
From the foregoing it can be seen that the pages of the Bible there is ample eviany identification of the H ittites of the dence that it is a book of truth. One canBible with the H ittite Empire that had not help but notice the wisdom and praeas its capital city Hattusas cannot be es* ticality of its counsel for daily living, its
tablished with certainty. The sim ilarity candor and its harmony, as well as its
between the names H ittite and Hattu- many prophecies and their fulfillm ent.
Ju

n e

ONG ago, King Solomon, a great observer of nature, and endowed with
unusual wisdom from God, wrote:
The sun . . . has flashed forth, and
the sun has set, and it is coming panting
to its place where it is going to flash forth.
The wind is going to the south, and it is
circling around to the north. Round and
round it is continually circling, and right
back to its circlings the wind is returning.
All the winter torrents are going forth to
the sea, yet the sea itself is not full. To
the place where the winter torrents are
going forth, there they are returning so
as to go forth. All things are wearisome;
no one is able to speak of it. The eye is
not satisfied at seeing, neither is the ear
filled from hearing.Eccl. 1:5-8.
The eye and ear being constantly confronted with this restless procession of
repetitious events, and the life-span of imperfect man being so short, the appearance m ay be that all is monotony and ends
up in vanity. But as Solomon went on to
show, the real cause of frustration is the
situation man has made for him self, seeking out many things that he really does
not need. Solomon proved it to him self by
experience, amassing wealth, houses, gar-

dens, servants, even singers to entertain

him. But as he discovered, this was a
striving after wind.Eccl. 2 :3 2 3 .
An illustration of this in modem tim es
can be seen in mans getting away from
a natural life in this industrial age, and
developing an artificial technological society that has in many cases created a life
of drudgery and monotony. How so?
While a life of sheer poverty is obviously undesirable and brings drudgery, the
prosperity of the industrial age has not
been without its own drudgery. Mass production has tied many persons to jobs in
which they repeat one small operation
hundreds of tim es daily, w ith nothing to

B rooklyn , N . Y.
SEeW ATCHTOW ER
There is another aspect in which the
advance the worker mentally or spiritually. And in the business world the unre- repetition of natural things is seen to be
lenting pressure to excel in profit making a blessing, in fact, a necessity. The earth
creates a treadmill that wears men out. is actually a giant spaceship. In its cycles
The futility of this kind of life, with of wind, water and seasons, it has its own
all its routine sameness, brevity and emp- magnificent purification system by which
tiness, is causing many persons to ask, Is it can keep a supply of pure air, water
this all there is to life? Is this what God and food for its inhabitants.
Consider earths water cycle. Only about
has provided for mankind? No, and a consideration of the cycles that God has set 3 percent of earths water is fresh water,
in natural things, described by Solomon, 2 percent being locked in ice caps, and
shows this. In reality, they provide sta- only about 1 percent existing in the lakes,
rivers and underground, and as vapor in
bility and security, not monotony.
the air. The oceans are salty, but water
REPETITIVE CYCLES A BLESSING
evaporated from them by the sun is sweet,
There are certain factors of sameness for the salt stays behind. The sun, in its
that are essential for balanced human life. daily path over the oceans, pulls up this
Consider some of the cycles of Gods ere- water at the rate of nearly 15,000,000 tons
ationsun, wind, water, seasons, and so a second. The ,ever-circling wind currents
forth. What if we could not count on the carry it over the land, where it condenses
suns rising at a certain tim e in the mom- and falls as rain. The water thus precipiing? or if we could not be sure what sea- tated to earth flows back into the oceans.
son was to come next? There could be no On this cycle man is dependent for water
planning, no real work accomplished. All supplies, for growth of plants for food and
would be confusion. In reality, it would for weather conditions suitable for living.
not be long before we would begin to lose Ps. 147:18; Prov. 25:23.
sanity.
JEHOVAH THE SOURCE OF STABILITY
There are certain things also that God
Additionally, if man is to continue living
has made inherent in mans naturecertain repetitions, without which neither he must regularly draw on a stable source
mans mind nor his body will function of spiritual and physical energy. God is
properly. A few of these are: regular eat- that unchangeable Source. He calls attening, bathing, dressing, going to bed and tion to the visible heavenly bodies and
rising, having a regular amount of work says: Raise your eyes high up and see.
to perform each day. Some may seem to Who has created these things? It is the
be chores at the tim e, but one would soon One who is bringing forth the army of
be sick if their regularity should be seri- them even by number, all of whom he calls
even by name. Due to the abundance of
ously broken up.
Furthermore, the regularity of things dynamic energy, he also being vigorous in
that God has placed upon man tends to power, not one of them is missing. . . .
cause him to desire an established place Jehovah, the Creator of the extrem ities
to dwell, a home. There are things that of the earth, is a God to tim e indefinite.
constantly need attention around the home He does not tire out or grow weary. . . .
that center his interests there. This works He is giving to the tired one power; and
toward stability in home or fam ily life, to the one without dynamic energy he
adding a feeling of security.
makes full m ight abound. . . . those who

350

J une 1, 1971

351
3ReWAT CHTOWER
are hoping in Jehovah w ill regain power. the normal cycles God has arranged, enIsa. 40:26-31.
joy your work and w ait upon God to bring
All this reveals that there is a God who permanency for you in a system free from
loves man and has an interest in him. He the artificiality and futility of this present
is the Center of the universe, the Provider order of things.1 Cor. 7:31.
of stability and security. He purposes to
It was with divine wisdom, therefore,
provide through his Son a kingdom that that King Solomon concluded: With a
cannot be shaken to bless mankind. Je- man there is nothing better than that he
sus pointed to the work that does not end should eat and indeed drink and cause his
in frustration: Work, not for the food soul to see good because of his hard work.
that perishes, but for the food that re- . . . For to the man that is good before
mains for life everlasting, which the Son him he has given wisdom and knowledge
of man w ill give you.Heb. 12:28; John and rejoicing, but to the sinner he has
6:27.
given the occupation of gathering and
Consequently, for stability and security
bringing together merely to give to the
free of monotony and futility, the best
thing that one can do is to abandon the one that is good before the true God.
race to get ahead in this system of things With this the words of Jesus Christ agree:
and enter into Gods service of declaring Come to me, all you who are toiling and
the good news of the Messianic kingdom. loaded down, and I w ill refresh you. . . .
For the scene of this world is changing. For my yoke is kindly and my load is
Simplify your life, do your work within light.Eccl. 2 :2 4 2 6 ;Matt. 11:28-30.

What did the apostle Paul mean when he

wrote the Corinthians, All things belong to
you?B. B., England.
Essentially, he meant that all things God
has made or arranged are at the disposal of
Christians, to serve for their benefit.
The words in question occur twice in the
last three verses of First Corinthians chapter
three. We read: Hence let no one be boasting in men; for all things belong to you,
whether Paul or Apollos or Cephas or the
world or life or death or things now here or
things to come, all things belong to you; in
turn you belong to Christ; Christ, in turn,
belongs to God.1 Cor. 3:21-23.
Similarly at 2 Corinthians 4:15 the apostle
wrote: All things are for your sakes. Here
Paul was speaking of all the labors and suffer

ings he and his companions had undergone in

behalf of the Corinthian congregation.
The situation at Corinth was that some of
the Christians there had become fleshly in their
thinking, not spiritual. (1 Cor. 3:1-4) They
had begun to favor certain leading men such
as Apollos, Cephas (Peter) or Paul, and to feel
that they were followers of these men, or belonged to them. This brought dissension. (1 Cor.
1:10-13) The congregation should realize that
all these men were one, that is, all working
at unity to the same end, to build up the
congregation as a whole, spiritually. Actually,
all these men belonged to the congregation, as
a gift of God for their welfare.1 Cor. 3:5-8;
Eph. 4:8-12.
Paul emphasized that the congregation constituted a temple of the living God, in which
God dwells by spirit. Therefore boasting in
prominent men was foolishness and those doing so were degrading their own position as
members of that temple of God.1 Cor. 3:16-19.
As Paul wrote to the congregation at Rome:
Now we know that God makes all his works
co-operate together for the good of those who

SReWATCHTOWER.

352

love God, those who are the ones called according to his purpose. (Rom. 8:28, 29) Christians
should realize this and not let themselves come
to *belong* to or be the followers or servants
of any man or group of men, or of the world
or the things in it.1 Cor. 7:23.
Consequently the world belongs to these
spirit-begotten Christians in the sense that the
things arranged among mankind are for the
use of God*s people. For example, the Bible
says of the **superior authorities, the political
rulers in the world, that *it [the authority]
is God*s minister, an avenger to express wrath
upon the one practicing what is bad. They
are Gods public servants constantly serving
this very purpose. (Rom. 13:1-4, 6) Such authorities serve the Christians interests when
they keep law and order, so that the Christian
may go on leading a calm and quiet life with
full godly devotion and seriousness.1 Tim.
2: 1, 2.

Christians can accordingly use the transportation systems, the mail service, the police, and
any other lawful things as *belonging to them,
in carrying on proper living and preaching
the good news. However, as a warning Paul
later counsels that those making use of the
world [should be] as those not using it to
the full. (1 Cor. 7:31) All such things should
be used only to the extent that they serve
Christian interests.
Life belongs to the Christian because it
is a gift of God that can be used in service to

B rooklyn , N .Y .

God. Godly devotion, Timothy was told,

holds promise of the life now and that which
is to come (1 Tim. 4:8) The life that the
Christian lives now, though there are persecutions, is far better than a life without God
and without hope. He is living a life, not of
vanity, but of purpose.
Death belongs to the Christian, though
he does not court death. The anointed Christian,
the spirit-begotten one, with hope of heavenly
life, knows that it is necessary for him to die
in order to be resurrected to heaven in the
spirit, to be with Christ. Thus he will enjoy
triumph over death.1 Cor. 15:35, 36, 42, 54-57.
The things now here, events, conditions
and situations in this present system of things,
are subject to Gods maneuvering so that they
will not be allowed to overwhelm the Christian
in his integrity. Christians can also use to His
glory whatever God permits to come into their
possession. And the things to come, in their
service of God, either in the heavens or on
earth, will certainly be for their joy, upbuilding and eternal benefit.
As to belonging, therefore, Christians do not
belong to any man or anything of this world.
They do belong to Christ, who bought them
with his blood. (John 6:51; 1 Pet. 1:18, 19)
Anointed Christians exist to bring glory to
their Head, Christ, to whom all things will
be made subject. (1 Cor. 11:3; 15:27; Col. 1:18)
In so doing, they bring glory to God, to whom
Christ belongs.

ANNOUNCEMENTS
GOOD COMPANIONS

In the field of literature as in actual life it

is difficult to find good companions whose
association is upbuilding and faith-strengthening. The Bible, of course, is the finest literary
companion a person could have. Its wisdom is
unsurpassed because of its being the Word of
God. Another fine companion is the faithstrengthening 192-page book 18 the Bible Really
the Word of God? It upholds the Bible as Gods
inspired Word, giving sound reasons for doing
so. During the month of June, Jehovahs witnesses will be encouraging people to benefit

from the companionship of these two fine books,

as they call at the homes of the people. A
copy of the entire Bible and the book 18 the
Bible ReaTly the Word of God? will be offered
by them for only $1.25. Ask for them.

WATCHTOWER STUDIES FOR THE WEEKS

July 4: Are You Waiting for The Call?

Page 328. Songs to Be Used: 99, 62.
July 11: How to Succeed in the Pioneer Service. Page 334. Songs to Be Used: 16, 63.

JEHOVAHS
KINGDOM
JUNE 15, 1971
Semimonthly

REMEMBERING YOUR CREATOR

IN THE DAYS OF
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FEAR OF G O D S ANGER IS W ISDO M

WTB4TS

YOU ARE MY W ITNESSES, SAYS JEH O VAH.-Isa.43:12

T H E PU R PO SE O F "T H E W A T C H T O W E R
E v ery w a tc h to w e r has its purpose. It serves as an elevated place fo r a
w id e-aw ak e person w ith sharp vision. It enables him to see far ahead in to
the distance and tell those b elow for w h o m he is a w a tch m a n w h a t is
draw in g near, w h e th er it is a danger against w h ich to prepare o r it is
som ething good over w h ich to be glad w ith strong faith and hope.
Because o f having the nam e "The W a tch to w er" this m agazine ju stly
has to render a sim ilar useful service to the people o f all nations. T h is is
an in tern ational m agazine and makes no racial distinctions, for w e are all
facing a com m on w o rld danger; w e are all hoping fo r a com m on good.
E ver since "The W a tc h to w e r began to be published in J u ly o f 1 8 7 9 it
has looked ahead into the future, alw ays striving to aid its readers to advan ce in know ledge and to gain a clearer picture o f the glorious n e w order
o f things th at is in store for righteous mankind. N o , "The W a tch to w er "
is n o inspired prophet, but it follow s and explains a Book o f prophecy th e
predictions in w h ich have proved to be unerring and unfailing till n o w .
"The W a tc h to w e r is therefore under safe guidance. It m a y be read w ith
confidence, for its statem ents m ay be checked against th at prophetic Book.
A m o n g th e m a n y nations o f today there are hundreds o f differing
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o f C hristendom , but the religion o f the oldest sacred Book on earth. W h ic h
Book? T h e Sacred Bible o f the H o ly Scriptures, w r itte n b y inspiration in
the nam e o f the C reator o f heaven and earth, the o n ly living and true G od.
T h e sacred, nonpolitical purpose o f "The W a tc h to w e r is accordingly
to encourage and prom ote study o f the H o ly Bible and to give our m an y
readers the needed unsectarian help to understand th at Book o f true
religion and infallible prophecy. T hus this m agazine w ill be helping them
to prove w o r th y o f perfect life and happiness in G od s promised n e w order
under H is everlasting kingdom o f righteousness.

PUBLISHED BY TH E
WATCH TOW ER BIBLE AND TRACT SOCIETY O F PENNSYLVANIA
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G r a n t S u it e r , Secretary

They will all be taught by Jehovah.John 6:45; Isaiah 54:13

CONTENTS
Palm-Sunday Dispute in France
Fear of Gods Anger Is Wisdom
"Let No Man Ever Look Down
on Your Youth"
Remembering Your Creator in the Days of
Your Young Manhood
"Happy Are the Peaceable"
Are You an Encouraging Christian?
Family Fights
"God Will Fully Supply All Your Need"
The Role of the Hyksos
in Egyptian History
She Approached the Witness
Questions from Readers

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^ y/irvn o zcn ciriQ

J E H O V A H S
KIN G D O M

Palm-Sunday Dispute in France

tt/C H R I S T is God and not an image!
The amplified voice echoed around
the Gothic arches of Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris, covering momentarily the
reading of the Epistle. Some two thousand Catholics present had barely recovered from their surprise when they heard
the Apostles Creed being sung in Latin.
This protest singing was quickly drowned
out by the m ighty organ. A t that the demonstrators left and the Mass continued.
Similar demonstrations occurred in other churches in Paris at Masses celebrated
during that weekend of Palm Sunday,
April 4,1971. The demonstrators were not
Protestants or atheists but traditionalist
Catholics! But why the protest?
It involved the reading of the Epistle
in the vernacular, in French. As any practicing Catholic knows, the Epistle read
during Mass on Palm Sunday is Philippians
2 :5 1 1 . In the 1959 French lectionary
Philippians 2:6 read: Being of divine status, Christ did not greedily hold on to
the rank that made him equal to God. But
in 1969, the French-speaking bishops authorized the publishing of a new lectionary
that was approved by the Holy See in
Rome on September 16, 1969. In this Philippians 2:6 was rendered: Christ Jesus
is Gods image; but he did not choose to
seize by force equality with God.
355

One noted French Catholic scholar,

Andre Feuillet, wrote: This version . . .
stirred up sharp criticism on all sides. Was
it not liable to make the faithful believe
that Christ is not God in the strictest sense
of the word? (
Espritet Vie, December
17, 1970) Ah, there was the problem!
Pressure was brought to bear on the
French hierarchy, who consented to revise this second translation of Philippians
2:6. However, when it became known that
this third translation of Philippians 2:6
was no more trinitarian than the second
rendering and that it would be read out
in all the churches on Palm Sunday, April
4, 1971, traditionalist Catholics reacted
violently.
The Catholic monthly magazine
raires brought out a special supplement
dated January 1971. Referring to the second translation of Philippians 2:6, Itineraires stated: If he [Christ] refused to
seize it [equality with God], it must be
that he did not already possess it. And,
commenting on the third rendering, this
magazine said that if Christ did not
choose to claim to be the same as God,
this implies that he was not the same as
God. With this the New American Bible,
a Catholic edition of 1970, agrees, saying:
He did not deem equality with God something to be grasped at. In
s

356

SEeWATCHTOWER

view, the practical effect of this substitution amounts to heresy and blasphemy.
It encouraged its readers to demonstrate
their disapproval during Masses celebrated
on Palm Sunday, inviting them to await
the Epistle reading and then to cry out
Blasphemy!, Jesus Christ very God and
very man, or to sing the Apostles Creed.
In spite of these threats, the French
episcopate stood by their third translation
of Philippians 2:6. Le Monde (March 2122, 1971) commented: This translation
. . . was accepted by the entire body of
French-speaking bishops. The Permanent
Council of the French Episcopate, that has
just m et in Paris, has ratified it; so it will
stand. However, to avoid disturbances
during the Palm-Sunday Mass, severed
bishops allowed priests in their dioceses
to use the 1959 translation. Notwithstanding this concession, demonstrations occurred in cathedrals in Paris and also in
Lyons.
THE DILEMMA OF THE FRENCH BISHOPS

Oddly enough, these traditionalist demonstrators were trying to be better Catholies than the French-speaking bishops and
cardinals! As good Catholics they believe
in the Trinity doctrine, which teaches that
the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit
are equal within the Godhead. They were
profoundly shocked by a hierarchyapproved translation of Philippians 2:6
that shows Christ never claimed to be the
same as God. They were right in saying
that this translation denies that Christ is
God. But the point they overlook is that
Christ him self denied it, speaking of his
Father as the only true God. (John 17:
3, Douay) He did not teach a Trinity doctrine.

B rooklyn , N . y .

The intriguing question is: Why did the

French-speaking upper clergy feel obliged
to authorize a translation that so obviously
denies one of the basic doctrines of Catholicism? But that is not all. Is it not
passing strange that these prelates considered it necessary to have a fresh translation made of this passage? What about
all the Catholic Bibles duly carrying the
nihil obstat and the imprimatur? What
about the Jerusalem Bible, the Crampon
Bible, the
LienartBible, the Mareds
Bible, the Glaire Bible, the Osty New
Testament, the Saci Bible and still others,
all officially recognized French Catholic
translations? Why make a new translation when all of these Bibles make this
passage read as if Christ were equal to
God, as do the English Catholic translations, the Douay Bible and the more recent Jerusalem
Bible?
This m ystery is cleared up by the following remark printed in Le Monde (April
6, 1971): The scholars responsible for
this changea change ratified by the majority of the French bishopsconsider the
new translation more faithful to the Greek
text than the former one was [italics
ours].
So now the French-speaking Catholic
cardinals, archbishops and bishops find
themselves on the hom s of a dilemma.
Either they recant, withdrawing their new
translation of Philippians 2:6, in which
case they w ill show them selves to be more
attached to the Trinity doctrine than to
accuracy of Bible translation, or they
maintain their new official translation of
this important passage, at the cost of adm itting that French Catholic Bibles (not
to speak of those in other languages) have
mistranslated this scripture by giving it a
trinitarian twist.

OR many persons in Christendom the

thought of Gods becoming angry
seems strange. In fact, they object when
Christian witnesses of Jehovah tell them
that God is going to express his anger in
the worldwide war of Armageddon. How
can that be? they ask. Does not the
Bible tell us that God is love?
That it does, at 1 John 4:8, 16. God is
love, that is, he is the personification of
true love. This we can see both from the
bounty of creation all about us as well as
from his inspired Word, the Holy Bible.
But the fact remains that Gods anger is
mentioned some two hundred times from
Exodus through Revelation, to say nothing of the tim es mention is made of his
rage, his wrath, his fury and his indignation.
Moreover, Gods anger is truly something to be reckoned with, especially in
view of such warnings as this: Before
there comes upon you people the burning
anger of Jehovah, before there comes upon
you the day of Jehovahs anger, seek Jehovah. (Zeph. 2:2, 3) Also the Bible tells
us that God is a consuming fire toward
those meriting his wrath.Deut. 4:24.
It is to our interest, therefore, to consider the nature, that is, the characteristics or basic principles of Gods anger,
how he m anifests it, and why and how
Gods anger can be harmonized with his
being love. Then, too, we can appreciate
more clearly why fearing God, that is,
fearing to displease him or to arouse his
righteous anger, is truly the course of
wisdom.Ps. 111:10; Prov. 9:10.

357

PRINCIPLES GOVERNING GODS ANGER

First of all, Gods anger is always expressed in accord with wisdom based on
full knowledge of all the facts: There is
not a creation that is not m anifest to his
sight, but all things are naked and openly
exposed to the eyes of him with whom
we have an accounting.Heb. 4:13.
Human creatures m ay make a mistake
when expressing anger, but not Jehovah
God. Due to his infinite wisdom he is able
to express his anger in the best possible
manner and at the right tim e and place
for it. The fact that he never makes a
mistake should be a comfort to us. Yet
this is also fear-inspiring, for there is nothing that we can hide from him. Achan of
Joshuas day found this out, to his great
grief, when he secretly took some spoil
during the destruction of Jericho, in violation of Gods instructions. Among others who acted as if they could hide something from Gods eyes and who came to
grief were Ananias and Sapphira in the
days of the Christian apostles.Josh. 7:
16-26; Acts 5:1-11.
Secondly, Gods anger is always expressed in accord with his justice. Yes,
The Rock, perfect is his activity, for all
his ways are justice. A God of faithfulness,
with whom there is no injustice; righteous
and upright is he. (Deut. 32:4) When
Gods anger was about to be expressed
against the wicked cities of Sodom and
Gomorrah, Abraham questioned the justice of it, saying: It is unthinkable of
you . . . to put to death the righteous man
with the wicked one . . . Is the Judge of

358

SEeWATCHTOWEFL

all the earth not going to do what is

right? But if not even ten righteous persons could be found there, Abraham realized, he could not deny that God was indeed just in destroying those cities.Gen.
18:25.
Thirdly, Gods anger is always backed
up by his infinite power. He has all the
resources necessary to express whatever
degree of anger he wishes in whatever
manner he desires. He never finds himself
frustrated because of being righteously
angry and unable to do anything about it.
As King Jehoshaphat said of Jehovah:
Are there not in your hand power and
m ightiness, with no one to hold his ground
against you?2 Chron. 20:6.
And fourthly, Gods anger is always expressed in harmony with the fact that he
is love. W hile he decreed death for the
w illful manslayer, he also made loving
provision for unintentional manslayers by
means of cities of refuge. (Num. 35:
9-34) A t tim es his displeasure may be
mild, bringing only chastisem ent that disciplines and improves the person, as evidence of Gods love. (Heb. 12:5-11) True,
God brings destruction upon the wicked,
but he thereby shows love for the righteous, m ercifully bringing them relief and
deliverance.Ps. 145:20; 2 Thess. 1:6-9.
EXPRESSED BY VARIOUS MEANS

God has used a number of means to express his anger. Thus at times he employed supernatural phenomena, as when
he destroyed the wicked in Noahs day by
a global flood. He used fire from heaven
to wipe out the wicked cities of Sodom
and Gomorrah. He used various kinds of
supernatural means to plague the Egyptians ten tim es and to destroy Pharaoh
and his army in the Red Sea.Gen. 6:
5-7; 7:1, 11-23; 19:24, 25; Ex. 7:1-15:21.
Then again, the natural laws of retribution, of cause and effect, that he has put

B r o o k l y n , N .Y .

into operation, act to express his anger,

indirectly, as it were. So, if individuals
violate Gods moral laws, they m ust suffer
the consequences. They reap w hat they
sow. (Gal. 6:7, 8) For example, by overindulging in alcoholic beverages, by promiscuous sex relations and by using marijuana and other drugs people bring upon
themselves physical and mental harm. This
is really an indirect expression of Gods
anger. That this is the way to view these
matters is clear from the inspired declaration that Lesbians and other homosexuals
receive in them selves the full recompense,
which was due for their error.Rom. 1:
24-27.
Also God may use various human agencies to express his anger. The armies of
Israel under Joshua expressed Gods anger against the wicked and depraved Canaanites, for their iniquity had come to
its completion. As Moses reminded his
people: It is for the wickedness of these
nations that Jehovah your God is driving
them away from before you.Deut. 9:
5; Gen. 15:16.
But centuries later the Israelites themselves were guilty of making jest at the
messengers of the true God and despising
his words and mocking at his prophets,
until the rage of Jehovah came up against
his people. He expressed his anger by
means of the foreign armies of Nebuchadnezzar. They desolated the land, destroyed
Jerusalem and its temple and took its peopie captive.2 Chron. 36:16-21.
God allows the local governments, Caesar, to serve as a means for expressing
his anger against individual violators of
proper human laws that harmonize with
Gods laws. Thus concerning the authority
of these governments we read: If you
are doing what is bad, be in fear: for it
is not without purpose that it bears the
sword; for it is Gods minister, an avenger

15, 1971

359
5fceWATCHTOWER
to express wrath upon the one practicing desire, and covetousness, the wrath of
what is bad.Rom. 13:1-4.
God is coming. (Col. 3:5, 6; Eph. 5 :3 6 )
Still another human agency God uses Because of Gods great respect for blood
at times to express his anger is the judi- and for human life, those who willfully
ciary committee of a local Christian con- take human life and/or misuse blood can
gregation, such committee being respon- also expect to feel Gods anger.Gen. 9:
sible for the spiritual welfare of that 3-6; Lev. 17:10; Isa. 26:21; Acts 15:20,
congregation. When this committee, in the 29; Rev. 16:6; 18:24.
discharge of its duties, excommunicates a
Still another cause for Gods anger is
willful wrongdoer, it is expressing Gods opposition to his servants, either by opanger against a wrongdoer. A Scriptural pressing them or by rebelling against those
precedent for such action is recorded at upon whom God has conferred authority.
1 Corinthians 5:1-13, where the Corin- Because Egypt oppressed Gods people He
thian congregation is commanded, Re- sent upon that nation ten plagues and fimove the wicked man from among your- nally drowned Pharaoh and his army in
selves.
the Red Sea. (Ex. 14:26-28; 15:7) DurChief of all instruments used by Jeho- ing Israels journey in the wilderness Kovah God to express his anger against the rah, Dathan and Abiram openly rebelled
wicked are Jesus Christ and his angelic against Gods servant Moses. God exarmy. In particular w ill these do so at pressed his anger against these rebels by
the war of the great day of God the Al- causing the earth beneath them to open
m ighty to be fought at Har-Magedon. up and to swallow the rebels Dathan and
(Rev. 16:14, 16; 19:11-21) Surely Jeho- Abiram together with their fam ilies,
vah God has many effective means to ex- while Korah and two hundred and fifty
press his anger, which fact is added reason
of his supporters were destroyed by fire.
for us w isely to fear incurring his disNum. 16:1-35; 26:9-11.
pleasure.
That those who persecute Christs followers w ill also experience Gods anger
CAUSES FOR GODS ANGER
Among the main causes for Jehovah the Scriptures also make clear: It is righGods expressing his anger are false wor- teous on Gods part to repay tribulation
ship and apostasy. Since he is the Uni- to those who make tribulation for you.
versal Sovereign, the Most High, and the 2 Thess. 1:6-9; 1 Thess. 2:16.
Creator of all things seen and unseen, he
Failure to exercise faith in Jehovah
is entitled to the exclusive devotion of all God, in effect, shows that one doubts Gods
his intelligent creation. As he himself truthfulness or doubts his power and willsays: I Jehovah your God am a God ingness to fulfill his promises. So, while a
exacting exclusive devotion. Those failing Christian may not engage in idolatry or
to render him exclusive devotion rightly be guilty of apostasy, may not indulge in
arouse his anger.Ex. 20:5.
immoral works of the flesh, and may
All lawlessness, all immorality, sexual not oppose Gods appointed servants, yet
and otherwise, also arouses Gods anger. if he should shrink back from following
And so we read that on account of those the course of true faith, he would also
things, that is, on account of fornica- merit Gods anger and destruction.Heb.
tion, uncleanness, sexual appetite, hurtful 10:38, 39.
Ju n e

360

SfreWATCHTOWER.
HARMONIZING GODS ANGER
WITH GODS LOVE

That Gods anger can be harmonized

w ith his being love the Scriptures make
clear. This is so because, first of all, anger
is not a dominant quality of God. His
Word, in fact, counsels us: Do not have
companionship with anyone given to anger. (Prov. 22:24) God is not given to
anger; with him it is the exception rather than the rule. He is a happy God.
(1 Tim. 1:11) You cannot be angry and
happy at the same tim e. Love is his dominant quality and it makes him happy to
express it. He is slow to anger. Having
perfect self-control, he is able to put off
expressing anger as long as his principles
allow him to do so.Neh. 9:17; Isa. 42:14.
That is why his Word tells us: I take
delight, not in the death of the wicked
one, . . . why is it that you should die,
O house of Israel? And, to comfort repentant ones, he says by another prophet:
He w ill certainly not hold onto his anger
forever, for he is delighting in lovingkindness. He w ill again show us mercy.
Ezek. 33:11; Mic. 7:18, 19.
Proof of this is seen in that God gave
the dearest treasure of his heart, his onlybegotten Son, to die for mans sins. By
means of this sacrifice God was able to
hold out everlasting life and an escape
from Gods anger to all who will exercise
faith in his Son.John 3:16, 36; Rom. 6:
23.
That love, rather than anger, is Gods
predominant quality is also to be seen by
this: The expression of his anger is of
short duration as compared to the duration of his loving-kindness and goodwill.
So we read of the day of his vengeance

B rooklyn , N .Y .

but of the
year of his goodwill. (Isa.
1, 2) Likewise the psalmist, King David,
who on three occasions had been the object of Gods anger as well as receiving
truly unique expressions of Gods favor,
mercy and loving-kindness, said: Being
under his [Gods] anger is for a moment,
being under his good w ill is for a lifetim e.
Ps. 30:5.
King David had the right understanding of Gods anger. And he knew that God
does not relish or nurse his anger but
delights in showing goodwill and lovingkindness. But David also appreciated that
to fear Gods anger was truly the course
of wisdom, even as his further words
show:
Jehovah is merciful and gracious, slow
to anger and abundant in loving-kindness.
He w ill not for all tim e keep finding fault,
neither w ill he to time indefinite keep
resentful. He has not done to us even according to our sins; nor according to our
errors has he brought upon us what we
deserve. For as the heavens are higher
than the earth, his loving-kindness is superior toward those fearing him. As a father shows mercy to his sons, Jehovah
has shown mercy to those fearing him.
But the loving-kindness of Jehovah is from
time indefinite even to tim e indefinite
toward those fearing him, and his righteousness to the sons of sons, toward those
keeping his covenant and toward those
remembering his orders so as to carry
them out. W isely fearing Gods anger
while loving him for his goodness, we can
join David in saying: Bless Jehovah, all
you his works, in all places of his domination. Bless Jehovah.Ps. 103:8-11, 13,
17, 18, 22.

"LET NO
OH,

"Let no man ever look down on your youth. O n

the contrary, become an example to the faithful
ones in speaking, in conduct, in love, in faith,
in chasteness."-1 Tim. 4:12.

YOUR YOU!n r

TODAYS world one of the foremost

topics of conversation is young people.
The old adage that children should be seen
and not heard, meaning they should be
present with their elders but not be giving
their opinion on matters, has lost its meaning, and, in fact, is looked upon by the
younger generation as the older generations way of muzzling their free expression of thought. Because of the grant of
freedom of expression and action, the
young people today have much to say
about how things are to be done; and if
the authorities do not agree, youths often
take matters into their own hands and
do what they want. It would take reams
of paper to spell out what has been done
to placate young people, to keep them
from causing problems for the older generation. Standards have been relaxed, laws
have been changed, all in an effort to keep
the younger generation contented. Is it
possible that there has been a loss of the
right perspective in this matter? Could
it be that instead of catering to youth,
they should be called upon and required
to show a deep respect for their elders?
Rather than looking to the conflicting
theories of men, let us turn to the Word

of mankinds Creator and see what the

proper view should be.
2 Early in the history of the nation of
Israelthe people chosen by God to be
a special possessionGod him self gave
to the nation laws and commandments.
Among the first Ten Laws was this one
found in Exodus 20:12, which formed
part of the Decalogue: Honor your father and your mother in order that your
days may prove long upon the ground that
Jehovah your God is giving you. Jehovah went on to say these words, recorded
in Exodus 21:15: And one who strikes
his father and his mother is to be put to
death without fail. Parents in Israel were
called upon to give proper training to their
children so that they would be qualified
in tim e to take on responsibilities within
the fam ily circle. The words of Gods
servant Moses, spoken under inspiration,
were: And these words that I am commanding you today must prove to be on
your heart; and you m ust inculcate them
in your son and speak of them when you
sit in your house and when you walk on
the road and when you lie down and when
you get up. You should by all means keep
the commandments of Jehovah your God
and his testim onies and his regulations

1. (a) W hat a ttitu d e tow ard older people and authority

do young people often tak e tod ay ? (b) W hat has been
done to placate young people, giving rise to w hat
questions ?

2. (a) W hat w ere Gods comm ands to his people Israel

in regard to the p roper a ttitu d e to w ard p a ren ts?
(b) W hat responsibilities did p a ren ts have in train in g
children ?

361

362

SEeWATCHTOWEFL

that he has commanded you.Deut. 6:

6, 7, 17.
As tim e progressed, if a child proved
rebellious, incorrigible, bent toward wrong
conduct, it was the responsibility of the
parents to take that child before the older
men of the city for correction. These are
the words regarding such a child: In
case a man happens to have a son who is
stubborn and rebellious, he not listening
to the voice of his father or the voice of
his mother, and they have corrected him
but he will not listen to them, his father
and his mother must also take hold of
him and bring him out to the older men
of his city and to the gate of his place, and
they must say to the older men of his city,
This son of ours is stubborn and rebellious; he is not listening to our voice, being
a glutton and a drunkard. Then all the
men of his city must pelt him with stones,
and he must die. So you must clear away
what is bad from your midst, and all Israel w ill hear and indeed become afraid.
(Deut. 2 1:1821 )Many persons in todays
world feel this is cruel, inhuman treatment. But it should be remembered that
there were strict requirements resting
first upon the parents to give the child
the proper training. Remember Deuteronomy 6:17: You should by all means
keep the commandments of Jehovah your
God and his testim onies and his regulations that he has commanded you. Parents were not free to treat their children
in a harsh, ungodly, cruel or unloving
way. They were to be exemplary in godly
traits, showing love, consideration and
care for their offspring. The father was
to be a person in whom the children could
put their confidence as an honest, upright,
integrity-keeping and loving servant of
Jehovah. The mother was to have deep
respect for her husband and to be a shelter
3. (a) W hat was done w ith wicked, rebellious children
in ancient Israel? (b) W hy was this not cruel and
inhum an?

B rooklyn , N .Y .

and help to the children. Children were

not to be turned out to shift for themselves. They were a heritage to be cared
for in all respects. Thus, if a child went
bad it would be because of that childs
rebellious course, that course leading in
time, if not corrected, to the older men
of the city and to their judgment.
4 The Word of God points out that it is
a great blessing to have and to raise children in the discipline of Jehovah. The
psalmist under inspiration records these
words: Look! Sons are an inheritance
from Jehovah; the fruitage of the belly
is a reward. Like arrows in the hand of
a mighty man, so are the sons of youth.
Happy is the able-bodied man that has
filled his quiver with them . (Ps. 127:3-5)
So it is that the child properly trained
from his youth can be a person in whom
confidence and trust can be placed and
no one can look down upon such a child
with scorn. How true the words of the
Proverbs are when speaking about such
ones: The father of a righteous one w ill
without fail be joyful; the one becoming
father to a wise one w ill also rejoice in
him. Your father and your mother will
rejoice, and she that gave birth to you
will be joyful.Prov. 23:24, 25.
BIBLICAL EXAMPLES OF UPRIGHT CONDUCT

6 The Bible record gives us much good

information on the upright conduct of
young people that should serve as an incentive to the younger generation of this
twentieth century. By their conduct many
of these young ones exemplified the qualities the apostle Paul spoke about in writing these words of advice to the young
man Timothy. Remember, he said that
Timothy should be an example in many
4. How does Gods W ord view children, and w hat
rew ard comes to parents who do give proper train in g
to th eir children?
5. In w hat different ways should children be an
example ?

J u n e 15, 1971

S&eWATCHTOWER

363

ways, in speaking, in conduct, in love, in wherever we m ight be called upon to defaith, in chasteness.1 Tim. 4:12.
fend the truth of God's Word, our conThe Bible book of Job tells us about duct should reflect the proper respect that
the good example in speaking and con- is due. To know what is right and proper
duct of the young man Elihu. This Elihu is one thing; to conduct ourselves in a
was a distant relative of Abraham. He proper manner in stating what is right
was sittin g in
is another. An
the presence of
individual showJob in the midst
ing proper reTH E N EX T IS S U E
of his affliction
spect and con Come Before Jehovah with Thanksgiving.
and had listened
ducting him self
to the words of
in an upright
The Power of Song.
counsel and critway w ill not be
Mercy What Part Does It Play in Your Life?
icism that had
a fom enter of
been given by
unruly acts or
the older men
words. He will
Eliphaz, Bildad and Zophar to Job. He had not be the instigator of revolt against the
also listened to Jobs own defense and his laws of Caesar, or the laws governing
tendency to speak in self-centered terms Christians as found in Gods Word. He
concerning his disease, discomfort and dis- will not take things into his own hands
tress. Then Elihu began his words of coun- on the pretext that the ways of justice
sel in this way: Young I am in days and and law are too slow, outmoded and in
you men are aged. That is why I drew need of being revised. Rather, like Elihu,
back and was afraid to declare my knowl- he will be a defender of what is upright,
edge to you men. I said, Days themselves but will show by his proper conduct that
should speak, and a multitude of years are he is one who deeply appreciates the word
what should make wisdom known. (Job and commandments of Jehovah God. Such
32:6, 7) From that point Elihu spoke on proper decorum w ill then be in keeping
the matters at issue. His conduct in this with the advice of the apostle Peter, who
situation was above reproach. He realized said: Maintain your conduct fine among
that the older men should be recognized the nations, that, in the thing in which
and be allowed to speak without interrup- they are speaking against you as evildoers,
tion. He showed respect for these men. At they may as a result of your fine works
the same tim e he also had a message to of which they are eyewitnesses glorify God
speak and when the appropriate tim e came in the day for his inspection. 1 Pet. 2:
he did speak out and give an inspiring dis- 12.
8
Another example of faithfulness in
course on the problems that Job was having, showing that Jehovah God is just and youth is that of Josiah, King of Judah between the years 659 B.C.E. and 629 B.C.E.
righteous in his ways.
The
book of Second Kings points out that
TBy this course Elihu was certainly a
he
was
only eight years of age when he
fine example for young and old alike. We
was
appointed
king in Judah. In his eighare hereby reminded that, whenever and
teenth year, or at about the age of twenty6. How did young E lihu show respect for older persons
five,
Josiah ordered that the repair work
in his dealings w ith Jo b ?
7. How is this a n exam ple fo r young and old in our
day, and w hat words of encouragem ent did P e ter give
along these lines?

8. W hat type of person did Jo siah prove him self to be

as a king in Ju d a h ?

364

SReWATCHTOWER

on Jehovahs temple be completed. It was

during that tim e that Hilkiah the high
priest found the very book of the law
in the house of Jehovah. This find was
reported to Josiah, and the account in
2 Kings 22:11-13 tells us this: And it
came about that as soon as the king heard
the words of the book of the law, he imm ediately ripped his garments apart. Then
the king commanded . . . Go, inquire of
Jehovah in my own behalf and in behalf
of the people and in behalf of all Judah
concerning the words of this book that has
been found; for great is Jehovahs rage
that has been set afire against us over
the fact that our forefathers did not listen
to the words of this book by doing according to all that is written concerning us.
9 By this immediate and positive response to ascertain what Jehovahs will
was and how it was to be carried out by
the people, Josiah showed his great love
for Jehovah and his desire to do Jehovahs will. He wanted to inquire of Jehovah about his directions in the matter. He
sent his servants to inquire of Jehovahs
prophetess, Huldah, as to what was to be
done. Though the word of Jehovah was
condemnatory of the actions of the people
of Judah for forgetting his law, Josiah
faithfully carried through and made certain that the words of the law were sounded down into the ears of the inhabitants
of the land. The Bible account says:
10 Then the king sent and they gathered
together to him all the older men of Judah and Jerusalem. A fter that the king
went up to the house of Jehovah, and also
all the men of Judah and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem with him, and also the
priests and the prophets and all the people,
from small to great; and he began to read
in their ears all the words of the book of
9,10. How did Josiah set about restoring rig h t worship
in Ju d a h ?

B rooklyn , N .Y .

the covenant that had been found in the

house of Jehovah. And the king kept
standing by the pillar and now concluded
the covenant before Jehovah, to walk after
Jehovah and to keep his commandments
and his testim onies and his statutes with
all the heart and with all the soul by carrying out the words of this covenant that
were written in this book. Accordingly
all the people took their stand in the covenant.2 Kings 23:1-3.
11This young twenty-five-year-old king
indeed had the interests of Jehovah at
heart and, by his conduct, his love for
righteousness and his speaking words of
godly wisdom, he had the blessing of Jehovah. The account in Second Kings goes on
to relate some of his acts in accordance
with the words of the Law. He made
unfit for worship Topheth, which was in
the valley of the sons of Hinnom, so that
no children would have to pass through
the fire sacrificially to Molech. He tore
down the high places of pagan worship in
front of Jerusalem, and he got rid of the
spirit mediums, professional foretellers of
events, the teraphim and dungy idols, and
all the disgusting things in Judah and Jerusalem. Thus it was said of him: And
like him there did not prove to be a king
prior to him who returned to Jehovah with
all his heart and with all his soul and
with all his vital force, according to all
the law of Moses; neither after him has
there risen up one like him. (2 Kings
23:4-25) Truly, no man could look down
on this young kings youth.
12 One of the major prophets of Jehovah
in the latter days of the Kingdom of Judah
was the man Jeremiah. In his manhood
he proved to be a faithful and trusted ser11. Outline some of the cleanup work Josiah did In
behalf of the people of Judah, and w hat was said about
him for his courageous action?
12. W hat personal experience did young Jerem iah have
with Jehovah?

J u n e 15, 1971

SikWATCHTOWER

vant of Jehovah. But even from his youth

up this young servant of Jehovah was one
that the older ones could not look down
upon and criticize. He w rites of his personal experience with Jehovah God in
these words: And the word of Jehovah
began to occur to me, saying: Before I
was forming you in the belly I knew you,
and before you proceeded to come forth
from the womb I sanctified you. Prophet
to the nations I made you. But I said:
Alas, O Lord Jehovah! Here I actually
do not know how to speak, for I am but
a boy. And Jehovah went on to say to
me: Do not say, I am but a boy. But
to all those to whom I shall send you,
you should go; and everything that I shall
command you, you should speak. Do not
be afraid because of their faces, for I am
with you to deliver you, is the utterance
of Jehovah. Jer. 1:4-8.
18Jeremiah took Jehovah at his word
13. F o r his faithful course before Jehovah w hat tria ls
did Jerem iah go through, and for how m any years did
he faithfully prophesy concerning Jehovahs judgm ents?

365

and did become a fearless spokesman for

Jehovah to the people of Judah and Jerusalem. His full faith rested upon his God
Jehovah. His bold m inistry was not performed without opposition from his own
fellow Israelites. The Bible account shows
that he was condemned, placed in stocks,
there was a plot on his life, and he was
thrown into a deep cistern which served
as a prison for him. The Bible book of
Jeremiah contains the account of this
mans prophecies from the mouth of Jehovah God. For forty years he acted as
the prophet of Jehovah sent to uproot
and to pull down and to destroy and to
tear down, to build and to plant. (Jer.
1:10) Yes, from his youth up this man
of God indeed was one that no man could
look down upon.
14
Contemporary w ith Jeremiah as a
prophet was the young man Daniel. This
young servant of Jehovah was taken captive to Babylon when just a boy. He, together with his three close companions,
Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, made
Biblical history during their sojourn in Babylon. As young men
in that pagan land they faithfully did the w ill of their Creator, Jehovah God. Because of
his upright conduct Daniel came
to be entrusted w ith rulership
over all the jurisdictional district of Babylon and the chief
prefect over all the wise men of
Babylon. His companions, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego,
were appointed to positions of
responsibility in the government
also, and later went on to prove
they were devoted slaves of Jehovah in the fiery furnace episode.Dan. 2:48, 49; 3 :8 3 0 .

though he was opposed and put in stocks for his ministry

14. (a) Because of u p rig h t conduct w hat

positions did young Daniel and his th ree
companions come to have? (b) How did
Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego prove
th e ir loyalty to Jehovah God?

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SEeWATCHTOWER.

B rooklyn , N .Y .

15
Of particular note in consideringconduct, in love, in faith, in chasteness.
youthful servants of Jehovah is the life (1 Tim. 4:12) And that this young man
story of the Lord Jesus Christ. His earth- was a fine example is borne out by Pauls
ly life began around the year 2 B.C.E., reference to him in 1 Corinthians 4:17.
in the little town of Bethlehem when his In speaking to that Corinthian congregamother, the virgin Mary, gave birth to tion Paul said: I am sending Timothy
him and laid him in a manger. While the to you, as he is my beloved and faithful
Bible account does not go into great detail child in the Lord; and he w ill put you in
concerning the boyhood days of the Lord mind of my methods in connection with
Jesus, still what is told gives us a glimpse Christ Jesus, just as I am teaching everyof this young, perfect one, sent to earth where in every congregation. Of this
to ransom imperfect mankind. At a young young man the apostle Paul also wrote to
age he traveled with his parents to Jeru- the Philippian congregation: For my
salem for the festival of the passover. part I am hoping in the Lord Jesus to send
W hile there he came into contact with Timothy to you shortly, that I m ay be
the teachers in the temple of Jehovah. a cheerful soul when I get to know about
And it was there that his parents found the things pertaining to you. For I have
him after losing him in the crowds that no one else of a disposition like his who
had been in attendance in Jerusalem for will genuinely care for the things pertainthe passover. The Bible record tells us ing to you.Phil. 2:19, 20.
17
Is it then possible in this day and age,
about the occasion and informs us that
those in the temple who were listening to the twentieth century, a tim e of great turhim talking were in constant amazement moil and stress among peoples of all naat his understanding and his answers. In tions, that the examples of the past can
spite of his tender yearshe was about be helpful in directing the youths of this
twelve years old thenhe was giving at- modem world? By all means the reply is
tention to the Word of God and had gained Yes! For the lives of these men, and oththe respect of those with whom he came ers not mentioned, can serve as guideposts
in contact. However, the Bible record for young people in order that no man
shows that Jesus continued in subjection to will look down on their youth. In fact,
his parents and that he went on progress- throughout this earth we have examples of
ing in wisdom and physical growth and in young people that indeed are giving no
favor with God and men.Luke 2:41-52. cause for anyone to look down on their
18 So it was, with all of these examplesyouth, but, rather, to be favorably imrecorded in the Hebrew Scriptures, and pressed with their speech, their conduct,
with the conduct and way of life of Jesus their love, their faith and their chaste convividly in mind, that the apostle Paul could duct. A reading of the following article
give good counsel to another young man, will show what these young people are
Timothy, and advise him to be an ex- doing in bringing praise to their Grand
ample to the faithful ones in speaking, in Creator, Jehovah God, and how they can
be given further assistance by their par15. How was the Lord Jesus a fine example for young
ents and the adult generation.
people today?
16. W hat kind of a young m an did T im othy prove to
be as shown by the apostle P a u l's comments in
1 Corinthians 4:17 and Philippians 2:19, 20?

17. W hat question are we now asked concerning youths,

and w hat is the rig h t answ er to th a t question?

w ith those who

call upon the Lord
out of a clean
h ea rt. 2 Tim .
2 :22.
2This by no
means is to say
that the young
Remember, now, your grand Creator
years
of a perin the days of your young manhood.
sons
life
are a
Eccl. 12:1.
curse, nor should
one conclude that
I ODS Word has the Word of God in any way debases youth.
m u c h t o s a y Hardly could that be the case, for it was
about young people. As mentioned in the the Lord Jesus Christ who said to those
previous article, the fruitage of the belly questioning him about who would be the
is a reward. However, Gods Word also greatest in the kingdom of the heavens:
accurately tells us about the makeup of Truly I say to you, Unless you turn
young people and it shows that youths around and become as young children, you
need guidance in growing into adulthood will by no means enter into the kingdom
so that they can take on responsibilities. of the heavens. (Matt. 18:3) Jesus exGods Word accurately says: Foolishness plained that there is hum ility in children.
is tied up with the heart of a boy. (Prov. Therefore, no one should think too highly
22:15) Jehovah, the Creator, well knows of himself, but have the humble spirit of a
the makeup of his human creation. The godly child. The apostle Paul also gave
young years of life are the formative ones, commendation to children in this way:
the ones when the young need guidance Brothers, do not become young children
and direction. And the extent to which in powers of understanding, but be babes
they apply them selves in accepting that as to badness; yet become full-grown in
guidance and direction w ill show in their powers of understanding. 1 Cor. 14:20.
conduct and in the way they accept re8 So it is that youths need training and
sponsibility in later years. The apostle
education
in the important things in life,
Paul accurately described the difference
namely,
righteousness,
faith, love and
between youth and adulthood in these
peace.
On
the
other
hand,
none should ever
words: When I was a babe, I used to
lose
the
proper
attitude
toward
right and
speak as a babe, to think as a babe, to
reason as a babe; but now that I have be- wrong that was had by him as a youth.
come a man, I have done away with the This proper training is best given by Godtraits of a babe. (1 Cor. 13:11) So it was fearing parents. It involves a deep interwith good reason that Paul could write est in the welfare and rearing of children.
to his young companion in the ministry, Such training and education should not be
Timothy, and tell him: Flee from the passed off to others to care for, as is so
desires incidental to youth, but pursue often the case in the present system of
righteousness, faith, love, peace, along 2. W hat outstanding quality do godly young persons
1. (a) W hat do the Scriptures show regarding the need

for train in g young people? (b) W hat tim ely w ords of

advice did P aul give to young Tim othy?

have?
3. (a) In w hat do children need tra in in g ? (b) Who
are responsible to give th is training, and why should
such train in g not be passed off to others?
367

368

B rooklyn , N .Y .
fReW ATCH TO W ER
things. This has resulted in many young ues are falling apart, it is com forting to
persons feeling isolated from their par* m eet values that the passing years will,
ents, as not wanted, sometimes even as I trust, bring to m aturity and fruition. I
a nuisance. This in turn has led to the do not know you, but judging by your
so-called generation gap that exists be* two children, you must be praiseworthy
tween parents and children. To cope with parents. There can be no doubt that these
this tendency, God-fearing parents want young boys were remembering their Creto do all they possibly can to establish ator in the days of their youth. They
and maintain solid relations with their were not looked down upon for so doing,
children so that their children will have but praised, as were the parents of such
confidence in them, the kind of confidence children.
that w ill lead the children to their par6 There is another case of youths being
ents to discuss problems, and not to their a praise to the name of Jehovah. This
friends on the street or other outsiders. comes from the country of Burma. A letter
from an educated aged person who learned
GOOD EXAMPLES BY TODAYS YOUTH
the truth with the help of young pub*
4 This type of communication and train- lishers shows that worldly adults do not
ing does exist today and many are the know the Scriptures even as much as
young people who are remembering their youths who are Jehovahs witnesses: One
Creator in their youth, and who are giv- rainy day two young men came to my
ing no cause for anyone to look down upon house. Thinking they had come to take
them because they are young. To consider shelter from the rains, I invited them in.
their experiences is upbuilding and an en- But they introduced themselves as min*
couragement to others in walking on the isters and gave a sermon. After hearing
road to life.
it I was surprised to know that these
5 One example concerns two young boys young men knew more about the future
in France who gave a witness concern- of the earth than I did. I am now seventy*
ing their faith and convictions, and the four years old and have been a Baptist
householder to whom they spoke wrote a since the age of fourteen and have been
letter to the parents of the two boys say- looked upon as an elder and committee
ing: I am still under the charm of the member of the womens group in my
long conversation I have had this morn- town, but my knowledge of the Bible
ing with your two children, and since I
seemed nothing in comparison to that of
am appreciative of all that is beautiful and
these youths. They left me some magaupright, I am taking this liberty of writing
zines
and tracts and I became engrossed
to you, their parents, toshall we say
in
reading
them. What I read made me
congratulate them. Truly, I never rethink
seriously,
and I wanted to meet them
member having heard children express
again
to
ask
some
questions. To my sur*
their faith so interestingly and with so
much conviction and intelligence. Particu- prise and joy, they came back to see me.
larly the elder one. If he perseveres, by One of them started a Bible study with
Gods grace, humanity has there the mak- me. Since that day I have been very hapings of a true man. In a world whose val- py to know the true God and his purposes.
With Gods help I have now gained a bet*
4. Because th ere is some of this fine training being
given today, w hat can be observed?
5. (a) R elate the experiende of the two young boys in
France, (b) W hat com m endation did the parents
receive?

6. How did two young publishers in Burm a show they

remembered th eir C reator in the days of th e ir youth,
and w ith w hat good resu lt?

J u n e 15, 1971

S&eWATCHTOWER

ter understanding of his Word. My only

regret is that I did not get the truth sooner. I could then have done more for our
Creator. Still, I am very thankful that
during the remaining short period of my
life-span I can yet serve Jehovah God.
Again it is evident that no one can look
down on the conduct of such youths as
they share in telling the good news of
salvation to others.
A twelve-year-old boy in Jamaica,
West Indies, listened to a Bible discussion
among Jehovahs witnesses and was impressed with what the Bible said about
witnessing and w itnesses. He began
attending meetings at the Kingdom Hall,
to the chagrin of his mother. She made
it clear that he was not to attend again.
He obeyed and so his only contact with
the W itnesses for some tim e was through
an occasional magazine that his uncle
would get from the W itnesses. One weekend he was visiting his grandmother and
while he was there a witness of Jehovah
called at the home. He listened to the sermon and accepted a booklet, which he read
and reread, practically memorizing every
word. He began witnessing to his mother,
grandmother and aunt. His mothers opposition softened. When his aunt moved
to England, he continued encouraging her
through correspondence to get in touch
with the W itnesses and allow them to assist her to leam of Gods purposes. She
did and is now dedicated to God. In the
meantime he obtained further publications, studied and began attending meetings again and asked to be assisted in the
field m inistry. He is now regularly serving
the interests of the Kingdom as an ordained m inister of Jehovah. This young
man certainly listened with understanding
and was instrumental in helping also his
relative to become a servant of Jehovah.
7. Show how a young twelve-year-old boy in Jam aica,
W est Indies, w as one who did no t forget.

369

8How interested all parents should be

in helping their children grow up with an
accurate knowledge of Gods Word and
his purposes for mankind! They can indeed be a blessing to the parents and a
grand praise to the name of Jehovah.
Many young persons are anxious to take
up the m inistry and to be pleasing to their
heavenly Father. If they are solidly based
in the truths of Gods Word they will continue therein throughout their adult life.
The wise counsel of the Proverbs is:
Train up a boy according to the way
for him; even when he grows old he will
not turn aside from it. (Prov. 22:6) Many
young persons have come to serve at the
Watch Tower Societys headquarters and
branch offices in different parts of the
world and they are continuing in their
privileges of serving the Lords interests
right up to the present tim e. Interestingly,
in the Bethel home of the Watch Tower
Society in Brooklyn, of the twenty-five
oldest members of the staff tw enty came
when they were between the ages of eighteen and thirty. Today they range in age
from sixty-five to eighty-four. They are
still serving faithfully in their duties and
responsibilities. From the days of their
youth they have remembered their Creator. And there is no doubt that they
feel as the psalmist said: A young man
I used to be, I have also grown old, and
yet I have not seen anyone righteous left
entirely, nor his offspring looking for
bread. (Ps. 37:25) Jehovah has kept them
in his care and they have had the joy of
serving him and doing his will.
HELPING THE YOUNGER GENERATION

9 So now the question before parents

and adults in this day is: What can you
8. (a) W hat is the counsel of Proverbs 22:6? (b) How
have m any a t the h e adquarters of the W atch Tower
Society shown th a t th e ir early train in g was beneficial?
9. (a) W hat question is now posed fo r p aren ts and
other adults? (b) W hy is it m ore difficult, in this day
especially, to avoid rebellion and im m orality?

370

SEeWATCHTOWER

do to help your children and young peopie in general to be the kind of persons
who w ill remember their Creator so that
no man can ever look down on their youth?
A glance at the world we live in shows it
is a system that is sowing the seeds of
rebellion and immorality. In fact, there is
a deliberate attempt to undermine young
people, to turn them to wicked acts. This
is not something peculiar just to recent
days. The world has been on an accelerated
downward course as far as its morals are
concerned since mankind was thrown into
the throes of World War I. By the time
of H itlers rise to power in Germany in
the thirties this downward trend was well
under way. W ith an assist from Nazism
the process was even faster. There is much
evidence that those chosen to be elite
members of the Nazi SS forces were introduced to abnormal sexual activities as
part of their conditioning process to break
down their attachment to all traditional
moral values. C. S. Lewis novel, That
Hideous Strength, shows a young intellectual being introduced to revolting practices by the agents of evil, precisely because once he has been accustomed to
accept the unnatural and monstrous, then
no order or request from his masters will
be refused.
10To help your children face todays
world of violence, lack of respect, and desire for wicked acts you must give them
the training called for by Gods Word.
You must be honest and straightforward
with them. You cannot be hypocritical,
taking as your motto: Do as I say but
not as I do. Young people can see through
such a veneer of self-righteousness. It is
as the apostle Paul said: Do you, however, the one teaching someone else, not
teach yourself? You, the one preaching
Do not steal, do you steal? You, the one
10. In order to give effective train in g to th eir children,
w hat m ust parents keep in m ind?

B rooklyn , N .Y .

saying Do not commit adultery, do you

commit adultery? (Rom. 2:21, 22) Parents and other adults must set the right
example for children if they are to grow
up in the discipline and mental-regulating
of Jehovah and remember their Creator.
11Oftentimes parents use sarcasm in
dealing with their children. They belittle
them or their intelligence, causing the
child to feel humiliated. This is not proper.
This is not Christian. This is not Biblical.
Said the apostle Paul on this point: You
fathers, do not be exasperating your children, so that they do not become downhearted. (Col. 3:21) A child w ill not be
given every opportunity to grow up as a
praiser of Jehovah in his youth if those
who brought him into the world constantly berate him and bring him to the point
of exasperation. This does not mean that
every whim and wish of the child is to be
granted by the parents. Rather, as the
Proverbs say, train up the child in the
way he should go.
12 One of the most common complaints
of young people today is: My parents
just dont understand m e. If that is the
case in your family, or the situation is
heading in that direction, then now is the
time to straighten out m atters before it is
too late. Now is the tim e to be understood
because the moment is late. A wicked systern of things is about to be destroyed. For
the preservation of yourself and your children now is the tim e to come to an understanding. Many parents w ill say: If you
only knew how we have tried, but we just
seem to be in two different worlds. But
oftentimes parents have waited so long that
there has been a breach that has widened
between them and their children. The parents do not know what their children are
doing, who their friends are, and where
11. W hat m ust parents guard against in train in g
children ?
12. (a) W hat common com plaint do young people often
have about th eir parents, and w hat, in turn, is the
complaint of the parents? (b) W hat is thus the re su lt?

J u n e 15, 1971

SEeWATCHTOWER

371

they are. H ie children adopt their own go everything w ill work out all right. The
code, their own style of dress, their own odds are against such an outcome. For a
way of life. Then suddenly the parents young child to be an example in conduct,
come to realize they are talking a different in love, in faith, in chasteness, he must
language, as it were, and so neither side have the example from his parents and
other adults in the Christian congregation
understands the other.
13
It certainly is true that to be a goodand he must be aided to walk in the right
parent is a full-tim e job. There are no path by such older ones.
15 Now is the tim e of all tim es for young
shortcuts in this training either. It is said
people
to respond to the call to be servants
regarding the training of seeing-eye dogs
of
Jehovah
God, mankinds Creator and
for the blind, that the trainer must have
Great
Benefactor.
In the face of world reunlimited patience. All his lessons must
bellion
by
so
many
young people, now is
be taught by affection and never by bruthe
tim
e
to
help
those
who truly wish to
tality. When a dog learns well he is always
remember
their
Creator
and who want to
rewarded by an approving pat, kind words
come
to
know
him
better.
The adult genand a little tidbit that he is specially fond
eration
can
do
much
to
help
young perof. A mistake must never be let go by but
sons
who
are
searching
for
the
right anmust be corrected at once. There are tim es
swers
to
the
problems
of
the
day.
So it is
when adults give more attention and care
up
to
the
adult
generation
to
remember
to the training of animals than they do
their children. Nothing is more important the Creator and to walk in upright conto the Christian than the training of his duct, in love, in faith and in chasteness,
children. If unlimited patience is required so that they can assist the young to folin training an animal, can anything less low in such righteous steps. The answer
be expected in training a child? If an ani- does not lie in watering down Gods laws,
mal needs to be taught by affection and becoming like those who have forsaken
never by brutality, what should we con- right principles. No, but it calls for mature
elude about the children we may bring people to set the right example. Avoid
forth into this world? If an animal reacts hypocrisy, trying to appear as something
to an approving word or deed, what should you are not. Put on a new personality,
we expect in training children? And if one fashioned according to Christ. Let this
animals m istakes m ust not go uncorrect- new personality serve as an encourageed, what is there to be said about mistakes ment to the young so that they w ill be
drawn to the right principles of the Bible
children make?
16
The youths of today w ill be the adultsand want to remember their Creator.
of tomorrow. If a young person remem- Col. 3 :5 1 0 .
16Remember Elihu, Josiah, Jeremiah,
bers his Creator in the days of his youth,
Daniel
and his three companions. Rehearse
then in his adult years he w ill be equipped
in
your
mind their acts of upright conto face the problems of life and bring
duct
in
the
days of their youth. Think of
praise to his heavenly Father, and honor
the
young
man
Jesus and his way of life,
to his parents. It is not reasonable for
which
was
one
of
righteousness and subparents to think that if they just let things
jection to his parents. Think of the ex13. W hat basic instructions are outlined for train in g a
amples we have considered in todays
seeingeye dog, leading to w hat com parison w ith
training children?
14. W hy is it not reasonable for parents to conclude
th at, if they ju s t let things go, everything will work
out all rig h t in regard to th e ir children?

15. W hat is required of th e a d u lt generation if it is

going to help the young generation?
16. Who are we called upon to rem em ber? W hy?

372

SfreWATCHTOWER

B rooklyn , N .Y .

world of the young boys in France and in the young by your example in zeal and
Burma as well as Jamaica and elsewhere devotion to Jehovah and the doing of his
in the world. They are remembering their will. Do not conclude that you are doing
Creator in the days of their young man- all you possibly can. There is always room
hood. No doubt you are acquainted with for improvement. By taking a proper inmany fine, young people who are conduct- terest in gaining and maintaining good
ing them selves in such a way that no man lines of communication with the young
can look down on their youth. And per- ones and by the young ones responding in
haps you know of some young ones in their speaking, conduct, love, faith and
need of help through mature assistance chasteness, great praise w ill be given to
mankinds Creator, Jehovah God. Then all
and care.
17 Now, then, ask yourself, What can I dotogether can carry out the words of the
to be of further help to the young per- psalmist, who said: Praise Jah, you peosons? If you are a parent, can you give pie! Praise Jehovah from the heavens,
even more care and attention to your chil- praise him in the heights. Praise Jehovah
dren to ensure their growing up as prais- from the earth, . . . you young men and
ers of Jehovah? If you are associated with also you virgins, you old men together
the Christian witnesses of Jehovah in a with boys. Let them praise the name of
congregation, ask what you can do to help Jehovah, for his name alone is unreachably high. His dignity is above earth and
17. W hat will result if proper train in g and instruction,
along w ith a good exam ple, are given to our youth T heaven.Ps. 148:1, 7, 12, 13.

^
0 \ YOU know any boys who areThey were traveling with Jesus toward
' jL J always trying to act big and tough? Jerusalem. When they had gone some disDo you like to be with them? Or would tance, Jesus sent certain ones ahead to a
you r a th e r be w it h
village to find a place
An article specially designed for
for them to rest. But
someone who is peaceable?
parents to read with their children
th e p eo p le th e r e did
The Great Teacher
not want them to stay.
knows what kind of person God likes. He Those people had a different religion. And
said: Happy are the peaceable, since they they did not like anyone that went to the
w ill be called sons of God. That is the city of Jerusalem to worship.
kind of person we want to be, isnt it? We
If that had happened to you, what would
want to be peaceable.Matt. 5:9.
you have done? Would you have gotten
But sometimes other people do things angry? Would you have wanted to get even
that make us angry. And we may feel like with them?
getting even with them. Once this hapThat is what the disciples James and
pened to Jesus disciples.
John wanted to do. They said to Jesus:

Ju n e

15, 1971

f&eWATCHTOWER.

Do you want us to tell fire to come down

from heaven and destroy them ? But Jesus
told them it was not right to treat other
people that way.Luke 9:51-56.
It is true that people may be mean to
us at times. Other children may not want
you to play in their games. They may even
say, We dont want you around here.
When something like that happens, it can
make us feel bad, cant it? We may feel
like doing something to get even with
them. But should we?
Why not get your copy
of the Bible? And lets turn
to Proverbs chapter twentyfour, verse tw en ty-n ine.
There it reads: Do not
say: Just as he did to me,
so I am going to do to him.
I shall repay to each one
according to h is acting.
What does that mean to
you? It is saying that we
should not try to get even.
We should not be mean to the other person because he was mean to us. God does
not want us to do that.
But what if someone tries to pick a
fight with you? He may try to get you
angry by calling you names. He may laugh
at you and say that youre scared. Maybe
he calls you a sissy. What should you do?
Should you let yourself be drawn into a
fight?
Again, lets see what the Bible says.
Turn to Matthew chapter five and verse
thirty-nine. There Jesus says: Do not
resist him that is wicked; but whoever
slaps you on your right cheek, turn the
other also to him .
What did Jesus mean by that? Did he
mean that if someone hits you with his
fist on one side of your face, you should

373

let him hit you on the other side? No, he

did not mean that.
A slap is not like a hit w ith the fist. It
is more like a push or a shove. A person
does this to pick a fight. He wants us to
get angry. And if we do get angry and
push or shove back, what happens? We
will probably get into a fight.
Jesus did not want his followers to act
like that. So he said that if someone slaps
us, we should not slap back. We should
not become angry and get into a fight. If
we do, we show that we are no better than
the one who started the fight.
If trouble starts,
the best thing is to
walk away. The other fellow may push
or shove a few more
tim es. But that will
probably be the end
o f it . When y o u
walk away, it does
not show that you
are weak. It shows
that you are strong
for what is right.
Now, what should
we do if we see other people fighting?
Should we get in
there and take sides
w it h one or th e
other?
The Bible tells us what is right. Turn
to Proverbs chapter tw enty-six and verse
seventeen. It says: As one grabbing hold
of the ears of a dog is anyone passing by
that is becoming furious at the quarrel
that is not his.
What would happen if you grabbed hold
of the ears of a dog? It would hurt the
dog, and he would snap at you, wouldnt
he? The more the dog tried to get loose,
the harder you would squeeze the ears.

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SEeWATCHTOWER,

B rooklyn , N .Y .

And the more excited the dog would get.

If you let him go, he would probably bite
you hard. But can you just stand there
and hold his ears forever?
Well, that is the kind of trouble that we
would be in if we got mixed up in a fight
between other people. We may not know
who started the fight or why they are
fighting. One person may be getting beaten, but perhaps he stole something from

the other one. If we helped him, we would

be helping a thief. That would not be good,
would it? So, what should you do if you
see a fight? If it is at school, you can run
and tell a teacher. And if it is away from
school, you can call a policeman.
Even when other people want to fight,
we can be peaceable. They may want to
fight. But we can show that we are strong
for what is right.

]EW joys in life produce the

clean, genuine satisfaction
that doing something helpful for
others brings. Now, you may not
have much of this worlds goods
to bestow upon those in need.
Your tim e and your energies may
likewise be quite limited. But
there is one thing that you can
certainly do to show love to fellow servants of God. You can
be encouraging.
To be encouraging means to speak or
act so as to increase the confidence and
hope of another. In fact, the English word
courage is drawn from the French coeur
meaning heart. To be encouraging therefore means to strengthen the heart.
B y encouragement you can help others
to endure, to persevere, to keep from being
dropouts from Gods service. You thereby help them to be better Christians. As
has well been observed, Correction does
much, but encouragement does more. Encouragement after censure is as the sun
after a shower.
Examples of those who were encouraging are abundant in the Bible. Thus one
night, after the apostle Paul had been rescued by Roman soldiers from being pulled
to pieces by contending Pharisees and Sadducees, the Lord Jesus appeared to him

and said: Be of good courage! For as you

have been giving a thorough witness on
the things about me in Jerusalem, you
must also bear witness in Rome. (Acts
23:11) How strengthening that must have
been to Paul in that trialsome time!
Paul him self encouraged the Christians
in Macedonia with many a word. And
entire books of the Bible, such as the book
of Hebrews and Peters first letter, were
written largely as an encouragement
to fellow Christians.Acts 20:2; Heb. 13:
22; 1 Pet. 5:12.
Repeatedly Gods servants are counseled
to be encouraging: Strengthen the weak
hands, you people, and make the knees
that are wobbling firm. Say to those who
are anxious at heart: Be strong. Do not
be afraid. Look! Your own God w ill come

Ju n e

15, 1971

fEeWATCHTOWER.

. . . and save you people. (Isa. 35:3, 4)

One major reason why Christians are admonished to gather them selves together
is so that they m ight be encouraging one
another, and all the more so as you behold the day drawing near.Heb. 10:25.
ENCOURAGEMENT SUPPLIES A VITAL NEED

Yes, few things are as neededand as

welcometo Gods servants as encouragement. Not being part of the world, they
are faced with opposition and often with
bitter persecution. (John 15:18-21) At
tim es such treatm ent tends to discourage
them, even as it did the prophet Jeremiah.
(Jer. 20: 9) Encouragement may give them
the extra strength they need to persevere
in spite of such opposition. For that reason Paul and Barnabas were earnestly encouraging their Christian brothers at Lystra, Iconium and Pisidian Antioch to remain in the faith and saying: We must
enter into the kingdom of God through
many tribulations. Acts 14:22.
Then there are personal problems that
engulf somefinancial difficulties, misunderstandings or perhaps frictions due to
incompatibility of personalities. Physical
illness or simply a lack of vitality may
also cause a Christian to be in need of
encouragement. The apostle Paul had a
troublesome thorn in the flesh. But the
Lords encouragement enabled Paul to feel
powerful in spite of his weakness.2 Cor.
12:7-10.
Still others m ay need encouragement
because circumstances beyond their control lim it their share in the Christian ministry, such as in proclaiming the Kingdom
message to the public. But if they are doing all they can, are they not to be encouraged? Did not Jesus commend the
widow who was able to give only two small
coins of little value?Luke 21:1-4.

375

HOW TO BE ENCOURAGING

How can you be encouraging? First of

all, by setting a fine example. Actions
carry far more weight than mere words.
By m anifesting such fruits of the spirit
as love, joy and peace you can be so very
encouraging to others. And what about
opportunities to be encouraging by visiting
a sick fellow Christian? Is that not what
the sheep of Jesus parable did?Matt.
25:35-40.
The same is true as to m anifesting zeal
in other aspects of the Christian ministry.
For example, by being active in preaching
the good news of Gods kingdom in spite
of such obstacles as bad weather, you may
well encourage others to im itate your good
example.
Also by your very presence at meetings
of Gods people you can be encouraging.
At the very sight of brothers who had
come from Rome to m eet him the apostle
Paul thanked God and took courage.
(Acts 28:15) A mere friendly smile or a
cheery greeting can mean far more than
you may imagine to a depressed soul. And
still more effective are upbuilding words
based on faith in Gods Word. Paul longed
to see his brothers in Rome, that there
may be an interchange of encouragement
among you, by each one through the others faith, both yours and mine.Rom.
1 : 11, 12.
This is something to keep in mind when
Christians associate with one another in
social gatherings. Here is where all m ight
be encouraged simply by seeing that the
conversation includes a good share of upbuilding things of Gods Word. Why not
tell interesting field-ministry experiences
or relate how one came to be a w itness of
Jehovah, or discuss fine doctrinal points
that have been newly learned? B y contributing som ething in this direction you

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fEeWATCHTOWER

can help make the evening an enriching

one.
Another way for you to be encouraging
is by being an attentive listener. Often a
person feels the need of someone just to
talk to, and he feels much better if he has
been able to unburden him self. Similarly,
you can be encouraging to a minister delivering a public Bible lecture by giving
him an attentive ear; the less talented he
is, the more encouraging your undivided
attention w ill be.
In particular do all with headship privileges have opportunities to be encouraging to those in subjection to them. It is
not always easy to submit; at times it can
be quite frustrating. Because of this, employees, wives and children may at times
be overcome with negative feelings. What
an opportunity here to be alert to such
feelings and to counteract them by frequent and sincere expressions of apprecia-

B rooklyn , N .Y .

tion for what these are able to do, as well

as for what they are in themselves!
AIDS IN BEING ENCOURAGING

To be truly encouraging is a m atter of

both the mind and the heart. Empathy
will help you to understand how others
think and feel and just how you can be
encouraging to them. It w ill enable you
to put yourself in their shoes, as it were.
Unselfish love w ill m otivate that empathy. It w ill make you alert to opportunities to give a helping hand, to say the encouraging word. Christian love w ill cause
you to heed the counsel: Keep comforting
one another and building one another up.
1 Thess. 5:11.
And your reward for being encouraging? You yourself w ill be encouraged, for
true is the proverb: The one freely watering others [as with encouragement] wiU
himself also be freely watered [therew ith].Prov. 11:25.

fa m ily ^-icjkt0
Though marriage is an institution arranged
by God, many marriages are by no means
godly. (Gen. 2:1824 )Failure to apply the
righteous principles regarding Christian life
found in the Bible has resulted in marriages
fraught with fights and discord.
One of Jehovah's witnesses in the Netherlands knew of a couple with such a problem.
They lived in the apartment above him. This
couple fought like cats and dogs week after
week. In their angry fights they would often
throw dishes at each other, so that every now
and then they had to buy a new tea or dinner
set. Also, they had the habit of vacuuming the
apartment in the middle of the night, in the
tense period just before or after a family
fight.
Yet they could be very kind and helpful
too. At the Christmas season the husband
was going out to buy a Christmas tree. He
offered to purchase and bring back one for

witnesses spoke with his upstairs neighbor

about the Bible. A study of God's Word on
a regular basis commenced, using the book
The Truth That Leads to Eternal Life. The
chapter in it entitled Building a Happy Family Life was particularly appropriate, for it
sets forth the excellent principles of God's
Word, which, when followed, can bring real
happiness and peace to a marriage. Within
a short period of time the family fights came
to an end and the night vacuuming ceased.
Now both husband and wife are happily united as baptized ministers of God.
If family fights have been a problem in your
case, why not try this solution also? Is it not
reasonable that the Author of marriage knows
best how humans can find peace and joy in
this arrangement?

the burning up of our

b eau tifu l earth. My
mother was eager to
share the truth with
others, and she would
hitch up the horse and
buggy and call on the
neighbors to tell them
the good news of Gods
kingdom.
Traveling representatives of the Watch
AS TOLD BY
Tower Society, then
HAROLD P. WOODWORTH
called Pilgrim s, made
regular visits to our
little class or congregation of Bible stuHEN I was a child I had a motto dents. They provided needed instruction
in my bedroom: God shall supply and encouragement. And their personal
all your need. (Phil. 4:19) That Bible experiences, sometimes told to us as we
would left
eat atogether, left lasting imprestext from the
King James Version
lasting impression on my mind and life. sions, just as the experiences of the prophI had a loving mother who helped me to ets and apostles of Jesus Christ still thrill
appreciate the Bible. That was one of the and instruct us.
first needs that Jehovah provided. My
In 1914 the Watch Tower Society
mother had an intense love of the Holy showed the Photo-Drama of Creation in
Scriptures. She would sit on my bed and the Opera House in our town. This photoread to me at night. She was always ready graphic account of what the Bible is all
to answer my questions.
about included picture slides as well as
moving pictures to be synchronized with
HOW I LEARNED GODS TRUTH
phonograph records. Movies were new
In 1911 m y brother Eldon went to a then, and the eight hours of wonderful
Bible lecture in a theater in our home- Bible instruction attracted the largest
town, Marengo, Illinois. Immediately he crowds we ever had. I tried to help by
recognized the truth taught by the Inter- handing out free tickets.
national Bible Students, as Jehovahs
In 1915 we went to Chicago to hear
Christian witnesses were then known. The C. T. Russell, the first president of the
next Sunday he took m y mother and me. Watch Tower Society. The same year, on
From that start we attended meetings and July 4, I was baptized. That day is as
conventions of the Bible students without fresh in my mind as yesterday. I was only
letup. The instruction in Gods Word and thirteen years of age, but I wanted to be
Christian association have been a needed a servant of Jehovah and a follower of his
safeguard all through our lives. It was faithful Son.
God who supplied that need.
Gods truth brought us comfort and reEARLY ASSEMBLIES AND PRIVILEGES
lief from the senseless Babylonish docMy first big convention was in 1917 at
trines of eternal torment, the Trinity and Aurora, Illinois, and that w ill never be

377

B rooklyn , N .Y .
SEeWATCHTOWER
forgotten. Then the last Sunday of that a startling subject, was advertised far and
year, we waded through deep snow to go wide through public talks, newspaper ads
to the homes with the powerful message: and a comprehensive booklet. I printed up
The Fall of Babylon, a special issue of some big cards and put them on cem etery
The Bible Students Monthly. This tract fences just to let people know that cemeenraged the clergy, and later the book teries would eventually go out of business.
The Finished Mystery was banned and the
officers of the Society were unjustly sent SHARING IN THE WITNESS WORK FULL TIME
When I was in high school I started to
to prison. Those were trying times, but
learn
the printing trade, and this developed
when the ban was lifted I ran to a neighinto
a
business of my own. It kept me more
bor who had eagerly wanted that book.
and
more
involved for ten years. Seeing
The release of our Christian brothers
my
spirituality
slipping away, we decided
and the Cedar Point, Ohio, convention of
to
sell
out
and
enter the pioneer service,
1919 served a great need, and the witness
that
is,
full-tim
e
preaching under the diwork was revived. What a privilege to be
rection
of
the
Watch
Tower Bible & Tract
at that assembly!
Society.
Now
and
then
pioneers or fullIn tim e my heavenly Father provided
time
m
inisters
would
visit
us, and this was
me fulfillm ent of a need in a way that has
one
of
the
reasons
for
our
decision. Also
helped to shape my life. A t a small conas
I
looked
back
to
the
Cedar
Point convention I saw a gracious, neat young wornvention
of
1922
and
thought
of
the blessan, and I fell in love with her. We would
ings
I
had
had
in
the
witness
work, it
m eet at conventions, and she was such a
made
me
hunger
for
more
blessed
prividelightful and inspiring friend. She loved
leges
in
Gods
service.
the truth w ith all her heart and was serfIn 1934 m y w ife Mildred and I agreed
ous about sharing the good news with
others. Her companionship during the to keep ourselves ready to go wherever we
years was a protection to me against were sent by the Watch Tower Society.
worldly influences. Eight years later Mil- That decision brought peace of mind and
dred became m y wife. I have never heard many blessings. Over the years the Watch
of a better place to find a loyal friend and Tower Society sent us to sixteen states to
marriage mate than at a meeting of Gods tell the good news of Gods kingdom.
Our first assignment with the Societys
people, especially when ones need also is
sound car took us to five southern states,
made known in prayer.
A fter my brother Eldon went to Bethel, and in seven months we visited 213 cities.
the headquarters of the Watch Tower So- The use of sound equipment on an autociety in Brooklyn, New York, it left me mobile was a new preaching method, and it
as the only male member of our small drew large audiences.
congregation. That was 1920.1 recall that
After this we went to isolated territory
when Pilgrim R. L. Robie was with our in New Mexico. This assignment was about
class one time he announced that Broth- two hundred miles long. Then our attender Harold would conduct the meeting. ing the Los Angeles convention in FebThat encouragement I never forgot, and ruary 1936 and hearing the Societys
it helped me to be considerate of those president J. F. Rutherford speak on a nawho are young in years and who are try- tionwide radio network on Separating the
ing to learn to serve Jehovah.
Nations was a wonderful stimulus to us
Millions Now Living Will Never D ie, in our preaching work as we traveled.

378

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15, 1971

SEeWATCHTOWER.

Each day we would travel on new and

sometimes lonely but interesting roads.
We found interest in the Bibles message
among cowboys, Mexicans, Indians, ranchers and miners. It was an exciting life. We
would go as far as we could each day and
often sleep in our car at night. Sometimes
we found interested ones that cordially
asked us to stay w ith them overnight.
Then we would talk with them about the
Kingdom hope for hours.
MORE BLESSINGS DESPITE PERSECUTION

Opposition came from the clergy. One

drunken black-robed priest threatened to
run us out of Silver City, New Mexico,
and then had us arrested. But we found
Jehovahs promise true: Any weapon
whatever that w ill be formed against you
will have no success, and any tongue at all
that will rise up against you in the judgment you will condemn. This is the hereditary possession of the servants of Jehovah,
and their righteousness is from me, is the
utterance of Jehovah. (Isa. 54:17) Several years later, instead of just two
Christian sisters with us for the Memorial, there were over forty persons present.
In the fall of 1969 there were two congregationsone Spanish and one Englishspeaking in that same territory, and on
a visit it was my privilege to speak to a
hundred W itnesses.
In 1937 when we went to the Columbus,
Ohio, convention, the president of the
Watch Tower Society, J. F. Rutherford,
called for two hundred special pioneers.
My w ife and I were among them, and so
another blessing came into our livesa
special assignment in El Paso, Texas. The
following year the zone work was started,
an arrangement in which a representative
of the Societys headquarters would spend
one week with each congregation to encourage and strengthen it (now called circuit w ork). It was m y precious privilege

379

to enter the zone work in New Mexico and

west Texas. Our first zone assembly was
in Alamogordo, New Mexico, w ith ninetynine present.
Persecution came in 1940. Hatred and
suspicion broke out nation wide. There
were threats, arrests, slander and intense
opposition in almost all our territory. Jail
sentences were handed out to innocent
full-tim e ministers, the public officials often cooperating with the clergy, who instigated the persecution. My life was
threatened on a number of occasions. The
demons, through misled humans, engineered a flood of intense persecution
against Jehovahs Christian witnesses and
their ministry.
Under intense pressure I made an error
in judgment and wrote the Society that
wasnt born with courage. The reply
was one that I will never forget: Courage
comes from knowing that Jehovah is backing you up.
ADDITIONAL PRIVILEGES

In May 1941 the Society sent us a letter

to Albuquerque, New Mexico, where we
served as full-tim e proclaimers of Gods
kingdom. That letter directed us to go to
Cleveland, Ohio, to do some printing work
for the Society, and we worked hard there
till the close of the historic Glad Nations
Theocratic Assembly of Jehovahs Witnesses in 1946.
N ext came the assignment as presiding
minister of a Christian congregation at
Tiffin, Ohio, where we served for two
years. Then near the end of 1949 came a
totally unexpected letteran invitation to
enter the circuit work. Jehovah supplied
the strength beyond what is normal, and
for the next eighteen years I was privileged to serve circuits of W itnesses in
Indiana, Michigan, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Maryland, a portion of West
Virginia, then New York and South Carolina.

380

5heWATCHTOWER

The privilege I had of recommending

the formation of thirty new congregations,
and especially of seeing those congregations grow, has brought deep satisfaction.
Circuit assemblies have always been a
highlight of our lives. A t one circuit assembly in Detroit I had the privilege of
giving the baptism talk, and at the conelusion it seemed as if half the audience
stood up167.
I enjoy working with children, and what
a joy it has been to meet at the Societys
headquarters some mature workers we
had known when they were small. Some
of those children that I worked with at
big assemblies are now grown up and are
in foreign assignments, faithfully serving
the interests of Gods kingdom.
Attending the European assemblies in
1955 broadened our appreciation of Gods
organization. To see at Nuremberg, Germany, over 107,000 on Hitlers former
parade grounds for the worship of the God
he had defied, recalled the cablegram of
warning our small congregation had sent
to Hitler on October 7, 1934.
A call to the Watchtower Bible School
of Gilead in 1956 was another loving provision of Jehovah for our need, and we
were privileged to be in the 28th Class,
which graduated in February 1957. Severed
refresher courses have provided needed
strength.
Of course, there have been problems,
but loving and understanding letters from
the Society have kept us close to the
organization and served a great need.
Knowledge that Jehovahs spirit guides
the faithful and discreet slave has been

B rooklyn , N .Y .

a great incentive to endurance.Matt. 24:

45-47.
In the fall of 1967 when my w ife was
ill and unable to travel with me in circuit work, the Society kindly assigned us
to Charleston, South Carolina, as special
pioneers. In spite of asthma and repeated
cases of sickness, she kept on faithfully to
the end of her earthly life. We had visited
over two hundred congregations, some of
them many tim es, and what a treasure
that is! I never refused an assignment
from the Society, and Mildred was always
willing to go with me wherever we were
sent.
Back in 1924 she wrote: Each moment
is precious in these days and I am trying
to consecrate each moment to m y Masters
service. I feel very weak and incapable of
this great responsibility of being an am*
bassador for my Lord. His grace is sufficient, I know, and I am willing that every
bit of my energy and being shall be used
in His service. That is what she did till
her death on June 18, 1968.
Now I appreciate the privilege of full*
time service as I have for the past thirtysix years, and I am also blessed with the
responsibility of being presiding minister
for a new congregation embracing four
large islands adjoining Charleston, South
Carolina.
To look back over the years since my
childhood and see the miraculous growth
of Jehovahs people has helped me to have
increased appreciation of the scripture:
My God w ill fully supply all your need
to the extent of his riches in glory by
means of Christ Jesus.Phil. 4:19.

Jehovahs expressions of loving-kindness I will sing about even to

time indefinite. For generation after generation I shall make your
faithfulness known with m y mouth. Happy are the people knowing
the joyful shouting. O Jehovah, in the light of your face they keep
walking. In your name they are joyful all day long and in your
righteousness they are exalted. For you are the beauty of their
strength; and by your good will our horn is exalted.Ps. 89:1,15-17.

official Potiphar was

an Egyptian (Gen.
39:1) and that Joseph h im self w as
surrounded by nativ e E gyp tian s
w h o s e prejudices
in Egyptian History w ere scrupulously
respected. (Gen. 43:
Ol NCIENT historians, like those to- 32) So there really is no valid basis for
d / i . day, committed to writing only trying to fit the account of Joseph into
such information as they deemed impor- a period of foreign rule. Accordingly we
tant or necessary for their purpose. Often must investigate other sources to deterthe accounts were colored by the preju- mine what role the Hyksos may have
dices and personal views of the historians. played in Egyptian history.
The first-century Jewish historian JoNot infrequently did they resort to outright falsehoods to glorify their particu- sephus is the source for the name Hyklar nation. These are some of the factors sos. In the section of his work entitled
that make it very difficult to give an ac- Against Apion, Josephus claims to quote
curate picture of ancient happenings. This verbatim from the account of the Egyptian
should, therefore, impress us w ith the need historian Manetho (third century B.C.E.).
for caution in trying to understand Bibli- This account, if Josephus is to be believed,
cal narratives in the light of ancient his- directly links the Hyksos with the Israeltory as presented by modern historians. ites!
While accepting the connection between
A case in point involves what has commonly been designated as the Hyksos Pe- the Hyksos and the Israelites, Josephus
riod. It is generally believed that the argues against many of the details found
Hyksos were a foreign people that gained in the account. He prefers the rendering
control of Egypt. As to the account in the of Hyksos as Captive Shepherds rathBible book of Genesis, numerous scholars er than Shepherd Kings. According to
place Josephs entry into Egypt, and later Josephus, Manetho presents the Hyksos as
that of his father Jacob and his family, in gaining control of Egypt without a battle
the time of the Hyksos rulers. They do so and afterward destroying cities and ternprimarily on the premise that it would pies. Many years later the Egyptians are
have been more likely for a foreign ruler said to have risen up and fought a long
to have raised the non-Egyptian Joseph to and terrible war against them. Finally, an
the position of second ruler in the realm Egyptian force of 480,000 men besieged
than for a native Egyptian ruler to have the Hyksos at their chief city, Avaris.
done so. (Gen. 41:40) This gives rise to Then, strangely, an agreement was reached
the question, Is the view of these scholars that allowed the Hyksos to leave the country unharmed with their fam ilies and posin agreement with the Bible record?
If Joseph had been elevated to his posi- sessions, whereupon they went to Judea
tion while Egypt was under foreign domi- and built Jerusalem .Against Apion,
nation, reasonably the court of Pharaoh Book I, par. 14.
In a further reference, Manetho supwould have consisted largely of foreigners.
But the Scriptures provide no evidence to posedly adds to the account. He presents
this effect. Instead we find that the court what Josephus labels as a fictitious story

HYKSOS

381

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SEeWATCHTOWER
of a large group of 80,000 leprous and dis- had long come to Egypt for trade and
eased persons being allowed to settle in other peaceful purposes. This view, howAvaris after the departure of the shep- ever, makes it difficult to explain how such
herds. These persons later revolted, called wandering groups could have gained
back the shepherds (H yksos?), de- control of Egypt, especially since the
stroyed cities and villages and committed Twelfth D ynasty, prior to this period,
sacrilege against the Egyptian gods. Ulti- is considered to have brought the country
m ately they were defeated and driven out to a peak of power.
of the country .Against Apion, Book I,
The foregoing illustrates that there is
pars. 26, 28.
considerable confusion, not only in ancient
Modem historians believe that Jose- Egyptian history, but also among its modphus quotations are inaccurate in asso- ern interpreters. Consequently no conciating the Hyksos with the Israelites. But crete conclusion about the validity of the
they hold onto the idea of a Hyksos Hyksos Period can be reached.
conquest. This is primarily due to the fact
However, it may be that Manethos acthat they can find little or no information count, as quoted by Josephus, is simply a
from ancient Egyptian sources to fill in garbled Egyptian tradition. It should never
the records of the period supposedly cov- be forgotten that the recording of history
ering the Thirteenth to the Seventeenth in Egypt, as in many Near Eastern lands,
D ynasties. For this reason scholars have was inseparably linked w ith the priestassumed that a disintegration of power
hood, under whose tutelage the scribes
occurred in the Thirteenth and Fourteenth D ynasties. Based on random bits were trained. So it would be most unusual
of information, Egyptian folk tales and if some propagandistic explanation had
much conjecture, they conclude that dur- not been invented to account for the utter
ing the Fifteenth and Sixteenth Dynas- failure of the Egyptian gods to prevent
ties Egypt was under the domination of the disaster that Jehovah God brought
the Hyksos.
upon Egypt and its people. In the pages
As to their conquest, some archaeolo- of history, even recent history, there are
gists depict the Hyksos as northern many examples of gross misrepresentahordes . . . sweeping through Palestine and tion. The oppressed have been depicted as
Egypt in sw ift chariots. Others refer to the oppressors, and innocent victim s as
a creeping conquest, that is, a gradual dangerous and cruel aggressors.Ex. 12:
infiltration of m igrating nomads or semi- 12, 29-32; 14:15-31.
nomads who either slowly took over conTherefore, if preserved with some actrol of the country piecemeal or by a swift curacy by Josephus, Manethos account
coup detat put them selves at the head of (written over one thousand years after
the existing government. In a recent work Israels exodus from Egypt) perhaps rep( The World of the Past, 1963, p. 444) resented the distorted traditions handed
archaeologist Jaquetta Hawkes states: It down by succeeding generations of Egypis no longer thought that the Hyksos rul- tians to explain away the truth about Isers . . . represent the invasion of a con- raels residence in their land. Should this
quering horde of Asiatics. The name seems be the case, the Hyksos would be none
to mean Rulers of the Uplands, and they other than the Israelites, though portrayed
were wandering groups of Semites who in a distorted manner.

382

She Approached the Witness

One of Jehovahs witnesses in New York
city was waiting for a taxi to take her to the
Kingdom Hall. A woman approached her and
asked if she was a Witness. When she replied
that she was, the woman asked if the Witness
would kindly send someone to help her study
the Bible. This request surprised the Witness,
for she had been praying to God for the privilege of helping someone to learn his will. She
promised to help the woman, ahd did so regularly.
However, the astonishing point of this incident was revealed when the woman later
disclosed why she approached the Witness that
day. She explained: I was studying the Bible
with Jehovahs witnesses before I moved three
months ago. On this particular day I had just

Is it proper to pray for a person who has

been disfellowshiped (expelled) from the Christian congregation?Czechoslovakia.
Scripturally, it does not seem fitting and
proper for a faithful Christian to pray for a
disfellowshiped person. The Bible names certain detestable things that God hates. These
include fornication, idolatry, adultery, homosexuality and stealing. (1 Cor. 6:9, 10; Gal.
5:19-21) Jehovahs law commands the Christian
congregation to expel those who practice such
things and who show no heartfelt repentance
for their acts. The faithful members of the
congregation should have no spiritual association with them.See The Watchtower, July 1,
1963, pages 409-414, for discussion of the Scriptural basis for disfellowshiping.
Since the judgment of these persons is from
God as expressed in his Word, prayer for such
ones would be tantamount to asking God to
overlook or condone the sins of unrepentant
ones or practicers of wrongdoing. These disfellowshiped persons have spurned the mercy
God gladly extends on the basis of Christs
ransom to anyone who repents and turns from

learned that my father died and I was quite

upset I was returning from making a phone
call when I saw this woman standing on the
corner. I could not tell by any outstanding
feature that she was one of Jehovahs witnesses. She did not carry a book bag nor did she
have a Bible in her hand. She just had an
ordinary purse. But I felt, There is a Witness.
Talk to her.
I was a little afraid to approach a stranger.
But to my great relief, she was one of Jehovahs witnesses. Thanks to Jehovah, my study
of his Word was resumed. I have progressed
in it to the point of being baptized in symbol
of my dedication to him, the true God, who
really cares for those who seek him.

a bad course, sincerely asking Jehovahs forgiveness.1 John 1:9; 2:1, 2; 3:4-8; Heb. 6:1-8;
10:26-31.
Remember, too, that the Bible holds the
appointed older men or overseers of the
congregation responsible for seeing that its
doctrinal and moral purity is maintained, so
that Gods displeasure may not come upon the
entire congregation. The apostle Paul made
this clear when he directed the congregation
at Corinth to correct a condition of serious sin
that they had neglected.1 Cor. 5:5-8, 12, 13.
The appointed older men in a congregation
are to extend mercy if there is evidence of
genuine repentance. (Matt. 9:13; Jas. 3:17; 5:
11) But they must be equally zealous for justice
and for the congregations standing before
Jehovah. Paul commended the brothers at
Corinth for the indignation they expressed on
realizing the enormity of the sin and the reproach against God that was being carried
on in their midst. He commended their zeal in
correcting their former erroneous course of
permitting such a bad practice.2 Cor. 7:8-11.
The apostle John gives us further light on
the question of prayer for disfellowshiped persons when he says: If anyone catches sight
of his brother sinning a sin that does not incur
death, he will ask, and he will give life to
him, yes, to those not sinning so as to incur
death. There is a sin that does incur death.
It is concerning that sin that I do not tell him
to make request.1 John 5:16.

383

SEeWATCHTOWER

384

How, though, are we as individuals to know

whether a person has committed a sin incurring
death? John evidently refers to willful, knowing sin, as contrasted with one that does not
incur death. Where the evidence indicated such
willful, knowing sin, the Christian would not
pray for the one so offending. (And such
evidence must exist for a disfellowshiping to
take place.) It is not a case of a person being
overtaken in a fault before he is aware of it'
and hence still meriting our prayers. (Gal.
6:1; Jas. 5:19, 20) God, of course, is the final
Judge as to the heart attitude of the sinner,
but in cases of disfellowshiping, the Christian
does well not to risk having his prayer be in
vain or be displeasing to God.
But what if a member of the congregation
feels that the committee of older men" acted
harshly or hastily in disfellowshiping the individual? He should keep in mind that it is
not his prerogative to make that judgment.
The congregation committee, in investigating
the case, gathers all the evidence available.
Many of the facts, as well as the accused
one's attitude before the committee, may be
unknown to others outside the committee. So
one would do wrong to judge the committee's
action without all the evidence. (Prov. 18:13)
And he would be wrong also because he is not
Scripturally appointed to judge the matter.

IP

B r o o k l y n , N .Y .

Even Jesus refused to act as judge in a matter

over which he had not been appointed to act.
(Luke 12:13, 14) If there are mistakes or injustices, Jesus Christ, the congregations Head
and the Fine Shepherd, will certainly correct
any such errors without lasting hurt to any
faithful ones.Col. 1:18; John 10:14; Rev. 3:19.
The disfellowshiped person may be one's relative or a close friend. It may also be that,
since his disfellowshiping, he seems to be giv
ing evidence of repentance. Would it be proper
to pray for him? In loyalty to Jehovah and
his arrangements the Christian would refrain
from praying for him. At the same time, he
can draw comfort from Jehovah's statement:
I take delight, not in the death of the wicked
one, but in that someone wicked turns back
from his way and actually keeps living."
Ezek. 33:11.
In harmony with this statement of Jehovah,
we can be assured that, if the person is truly
repentant, God will raise him up in His due
time, and will see that the individual is restored to association with the congregation.
Then, when he is reinstated by the congregation, the one who has stuck faithfully and
firmly to Jehovah's law, and has stood by the
congregation, will be able to give real, lifesaving assistance to the reinstated one.2 Cor.
2:5-8.

ANNOUNCEMENTS

WATCHTOWER STUDIES FOR THE WEEKS

July 18: Let No Man Ever Look Down on

Your Youth." Page 361. Songs to Be Used:
68, 39.
July 25: Remembering Your Creator in the
Days of Your Young Manhood. Page 367.
Songs to Be Used: 73, 63.

y 4 n n o u n c i7 1 g

JEHOVAHS
KINGDOM
JULY 1, I9J
Semimonthly

C O M E BEFORE JEHOVAH
WITH TH ANKSGIVING
DO YOU USE G O DS NAME
IN YOUR WORSHIP?

THE POWER OF A SO N G

WTB&TS

YOU ARE MY W ITNESSES

SAYS JEH O VAH.-lsa.43:12

T H E PU R PO SE O F *T H E W A T C H T O W E R
E very w a tc h to w e r has its purpose. It serves as an elevated place for a
w id e-aw ak e person w ith sharp vision. It enables him to see far ahead into
the distance and tell those b elow for w h o m he is a w atch m an w h a t is
draw ing near, w h eth er it is a danger against w h ich to prepare o r it is
som ething good over w h ich to be glad w ith strong faith and hope.
Because o f having the nam e "The W a tc h to w e r this m agazine ju stly
has to render a sim ilar useful service to the people o f all nations. T h is is
an in tern ational m agazine and makes no racial distinctions, for w e are all
facing a com m on w o rld danger; w e are all hoping fo r a com m on good.
E ver since **The W a tc h to w e r began to be published in J u ly o f 1 8 7 9 it
has looked ahead into the future, alw a y s striving to aid its readers to advan ce in know ledge and to gain a clearer picture o f the glorious n e w order
o f things th at is in store for righteous mankind. N o , **The W a tc h to w e r
is no inspired prophet, but it follow s and explains a Book o f prophecy the
predictions in w h ich have proved to be unerring and unfailing till n o w .
**The W a tc h to w e r is therefore under safe guidance. It m ay be read w ith
confidence, fo r its statem ents m ay be checked against that prophetic Book.
A m o n g th e m a n y nations o f today there are hundreds o f differing
religions. W h ic h one does this m agazine present? N o t the confused religions
o f C hristendom , but the religion o f the oldest sacred Book on earth. W h ich
Book? T h e Sacred Bible o f the H o ly Scriptures, w ritten b y insoiration in
the nam e o f the C reator o f heaven and earth, the o n ly living and tru e G od.
T h e sacred, nonpolitical purpose o f **The W a tc h to w e r is accord in gly
to encourage and prom ote study o f the H o ly Bible and to give our m a n y
readers the needed unsectarian help to understand that Book o f tru e
religion and infallible prophecy. T hus this m agazine w ill be helping them
to prove w o r th y o f perfect life and happiness in G o d s promised n e w order
under H is everlasting kingdom o f righteousness.

PUBLISHED BY TH E
WATCH TOW ER BIBLE AND TRACT SOCIETY OF PENNSYLVANIA
117 Adams S treet
Brooklyn, N.Y. 11201, U.S.A.
N. H. K norr, P resident
Grant S uiter, Secretary

They will all be taught by Jehovah.John 6:45; Isaiah 54:13

CONTENTS
A Good Name Is Something Precious
Do You Use Gods Name in Your Worship?
Come Before Jehovah with Thanksgiving
Assemblies After the Death of Christ
The Power of a Song
Jesus Gives a Sign
Church News Shows Problems Growing
Where Did Moses Get His Information?
What Rejecting Genesis Means
MercyWhat Part Does It Play
in Your Life?
My Future Is Bright*
Questions from Readers

A v e ra g e Printing Each Issue:

387
389
392
397
403
405
407
409
410
411
415
415

The Bible translation used In "T h e Watchtower is the modern-language

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'T ^ T iT zo u n cirig
J E H O V A H S
K IN G D O M

( ( E THAT filches from me my

good name, robs me of that,
which not enriches him, and makes me
poor indeed. Thus speaks one of the
characters in Shakespeares famous play,
Othello, the Moor of Venice.
As has well been noted, ones name
might be likened to ones faceit is that
by which one is known. But what makes
a name good or bad? It is the person who
wears that name. He gives it whatever
quality it has by what he is, the life he
leads, the things for which he stands. A
good name, that is, a good reputation, is
therefore something precious indeed. To
lose a good name is truly to be made poor.
Recognizing the value of a good name,
worldly governments have enacted laws to
protect ones name or reputation from malicious slander (oral defamation) and libel
(written defamation). In so doing these
governments are but following the pattern
set by the Bible in the ninth of the Ten
Commandments, which stated: You shall
not give false evidence against your neighbour. Under that law, those who did, were

(J T L

387

punished with the same punishment

they had intended to bring upon another by their false testimony.Ex. 20:
16; Deut. 19:16-21, New English Bible.
Yes, the Bible shows that we should
rightly be concerned about having and
keeping a good name. In it we read that
a good name is more to be desired than
great riches. A good name smells
sweeter than the finest ointment. The importance of a good name within the Christian congregation is made clear by the
Bibles requirement that overseers must
have a good reputation with the nonChristian public.Prov. 22:1; Eccl. 7:1;
1 Tim. 3:7, NEB.
Jehovah God himself has set us an excellent example in being concerned about having a good name. First of all, he has given
himself a very distinctive name, Jehovah
or Yahweh, meaning He Causes to Become. That name at once testifies to his
Creatorship and that he is a God of purpose, One who carries out his will and fulfills his promises without fail. He considered this name so important that he caused
it to appear in the Hebrew Scriptures
6,961 times. In fact, by that name he is
identified more than by all other terms
put togetherterms such as Lord, God,
Most High, and so forth. The name Jehovah he associates with his great works
and deliverances, as when freeing the Is-

388

B rooklyn , N .Y .
SfieW ATCHTOW ERThose who bear the name of Jehovah as
raelites from Egyptian bondage.2 Sam.
his witnesses have added reason to be con7:23.
Perhaps the earliest allusion to the im- cemed that their conduct is upright, for
portance of Gods reputation or name is not only their own name, but also the
that made by Abraham in connection with name of the Christian congregation and
the destruction of the cities of Sodom and the name of Jehovah himself are involved.
Gomorrah. Abraham questioned the jus- Thus a Witness in Dahomey, Africa, worktice of destroying the righteous with the ing in a better-class hotel, found $1,600
wicked, asking, Is the Judge of all the in a pair of trousers he was given to take
earth not going to do what is right? The to the cleaners. He took the money to the
reputation of God was involved, that is, hotel owner, who put it in a safe. When
his name as a just God and Judge. Jeho- the guest discovered his loss he was greatvah God agreed to spare those wicked ly distressed and went immediately to the
cities if but ten righteous persons were owner of the hotel bemoaning his loss,
found in them. But there were not ten, having no money with which to pay his
only Lots family.Gen. 18:24, 25; 19: bills, in fact, nothing except his airplane
15-29.
ticket back to France. The hotel owner
Jehovah spared his people Israel in the was glad to be able to return the money
wilderness when they deserved to die, be- and explained that it had been found by
cause of his name. And so in the centuries one of his employees. The guest asked to
to follow, repeatedly we read of Jehovahs see this employee; meeting the man, he
servants as pleading that He hear and asked him what made him return the
answer their petitions because his name money. The employee replied that he was
was involved, because his reputation was one of Jehovahs witnesses and that as
at stake.Num. 14:13-19; Josh. 7:7-9; such he lived by Bible principles. The
guest, very much impressed, stated:
Isa. 37:14-20; Ezek. 36:16-23.
know Jehovahs witnesses are good people
ACQUIRING A GOOD NAME
and when I return to France I am surely
Since it is so desirable, how can we going to look them up, because I want to
acquire a good name? By seeking to please know more about them.
men, by trying to be popular? No, but by
The hotel owner, who previously had
doing what is right, by living in the fear little time for the Christian witnesses of
of Jehovah God. Thus there was Job, who Jehovah, has changed his mind. Now he
the Bible record shows had a fine name is glad to have one of them working for
with God. Why? Because he was ,a man him. That honest deed not only gave the
blameless and upright, who feared God Witness involved a good name, but helped
and set his face against wrongdoing. And to enhance the name of Jehovahs witnesshe defended his good name against the es as a people. More importantly, it served
efforts of his three hypocritical friends to to glorify the name of their God, Jehovah.
besmirch it. In the end Job was vindiTruly a good name is something precated and his three supposed friends were cious. Happy are all those who have a
severely censured by Jehovah God.Job good name, for it is better than great
1:8; 42:7-10.
riches, finer than sweet-smelling oil.

DO YOU USE
T

HAT God has

a personal
nam e a ll p erson s
w e ll a c q u a i n t e d
with the Holy Scriptures realize. True,
he also is designated
in the Scriptures by such descriptive titles
as God, Lord, Father, the Almighty, the Most High and others. But
his personality and attributes are fully
summed up and expressed only in his personal name, one that is unique with him.
God says: I am Jehovah. That is my
name; and to no one else shall I give my
own glory.Isa. 42:8; Ps. 83:18.
Jehovah is the best-known English
pronunciation of Gods name, although
Yahweh is that favored by most Hebrew scholars. The oldest Hebrew manuscripts present the name in the form of
four consonants, commonly called the Tetragrammaton (from Greek tetra, meaning
four, and gramma, a letter). These
four Hebrew letters are the equivalent of
our four English letters YHWH (some
say YHVH or JHVH).
But if Jehovah is the name of God,
someone may ask, why is that name so
rarely used in the churches either by
preachers or parishioners? Do you, for
example, use Gods name in your worship?
Is it important that you do so?
SUPERSTITION HIDES THE NAME

A principal reason why so many are

unfamiliar with Gods name is because of
a superstitious idea that arose among Jewish people many centuries ago. This superstition held that it was wrong to pronounce
Gods personal name. Just what caused
389

the Jews to adopt this

id ea is n o t ce r ta in .
Some claim the teachin g a r o s e t h a t t h e
name was too sacred
for imperfect lips to
speak. Another view
is that the intent was
to keep non-Jewish
peoples from knowing
the name and possibly
misusing it. And still
another claim is that
the purpose was to protect the name from
use in magical rites.
When did this superstition toward pronouncing Gods name take hold? There is
uncertainty about this. Many reference
works have suggested that the name
ceased to be used by about 300 B.C.E. They
base this conclusion on the supposed absence of Gods name in the Greek
gint, the first translation of the Scriptures
from Hebrew into Greek, begun in about
280 B.C.E. Was this the case?
True, the most complete manuscript
copies of the Septuagint now known do
consistently follow the practice of substituting the Greek words
(Lord) or
ho
Theos'(God) for the name Jehovah
(Yahweh). But these major manuscripts
date back only as far as the fourth and
fifth centuries C.E. Recently, however,
much older copies, though in fragmentary
form, have been discovered that prove that
the earliest copies of the Septuagint did
contain the divine name.
For example, there is the fragment of
a papyrus roll, listed as Inventory Number 266 of the Fouad Papyri. It contains
the second half of the book of Deuteronomy, and in it the Tetragrammaton is regularly presented, written in Hebrew characters. This papyrus is dated by scholars
as of the second or first century B.C.E.,

390

SReWATCHTOWER

four or five centuries earlier than the

Septuagint manuscripts mentioned previously that do not contain the divine name.
Commenting on another ancient papyrus
find, Dr. Paul E. Kahle says: The papyrus
containing fragments of Leviticus ii-v is
written in a hand closely akin to that of
Papyrus Fouad 266, characterized as already mentioned by the fact that the name
of God is rendered by the Tetragrammaton
in Hebrew square letters ( )not by
[Ky'ri os] as later in Christian MSS
of the Bible. The Cairo Geniza, 1959 ed.,
pp. 222, 224.
So, there is sound evidence against the
idea that the divine name, at least in written form, ceased to be used in the period
before our Common Era.
WHEN THE SUPERSTITION TOOK HOLD

In the first century C.E., there first

appears some evidence of the development
of a superstitious attitude toward Gods
name. For example, Josephus, a firstcentury Jewish historian from a priestly
family, after discussing Gods declaring of
his name to Moses, said: It is not lawful
for me to say any more. (
of
the Jews, Book H, Chap. , par. 4) Josephus statement, however, is vague. It
does not clearly reveal just what the general attitude current in the first century
was as to pronouncing or using the divine
name.
The Jewish Mishnah, a collection of
rabbinical teachings and traditions, is
somewhat more explicit. Its compilation is
credited to Rabbi Judah the Patriarch,
who lived in the second and third centuries
C.E. Some of the Mishnaic material clearly
relates to circumstances prior to the destruction of Jerusalem and its temple in
70 C.E. It must be acknowledged, however, that the historical value of the Mish-

B rooklyn , N .Y .

naic traditions is questionable. Nevertheless, certain Mishnaic traditions give

insight into what were apparently Jewish
attitudes toward the pronouncing of the
divine name.
In connection with the annual Day of
Atonement, Yoma, 6, 2, states: And when
the priests and the people which stood in
the Temple Court heard the Expressed
Name come forth from the mouth of the
High Priest, they used to kneel and bow
themselves and fall down on their faces
and say, Blessed be the name of the glory
of his kingdom for ever and ever!
Of the daily priestly blessings, Sotah,
7, 6, says: In the Temple they pronounced the Name as it was written, but
in the provinces by a substitute word.
Sanhedrin, 10, 1, in listing those that
have no share in the world to come,
states: Abba Saul says: Also he that
pronounces the Name with its proper
letters.
Yet, despite these last two negative
views, one also finds in the first section
of the Mishnah the positive injunction that
a man should salute his fellow with [the
use of] the Name [of God], the exampie of Boaz (Ruth 2:4) then being cited.
Berakoth, 9, 5.
Taken for what they are worth, these
traditional views may reveal a superstitious tendency to avoid using the divine
name sometime before Jerusalems temple
was destroyed in 70 C.E. There is no evidence that such superstition prevailed before the Common Era. The available evidence shows that this superstition began
to develop at the earliest by the first or
second centuries C.E. Thus, in Jesus day
it may well have been the general practice
for many Jews to use the divine name.
The time did come, however, when, in
reading the Hebrew Scriptures in the original language, the Jewish reader substitut-

J u ly 1, 1971

391
fEeW ATCHTOW ER,
ed either ,Adhonay' (Lord) or *
' glish or any other version of the Old Testa
(God) rather than pronounce the divine ment, as it fortunately does not in the
name represented by the Tetragrammaton. numerous versions made by modern misThis is seen from the fact that when vowel sionaries. This Memorial Name, explained
pointing came into use in the sixth or in Ex. iii. 14, 15, and emphasized as such
seventh centuries C.E. the Jewish copyists over and over in the original text of the
in serted th e
Old Testament,
vow el p oin ts
designates God
TH E NEXT IS S U E
for e i t h e r
as the personal
Adhonay or
G od, a s t h e
D elivera n ce from the A u th o rity o f Darkness.
,Elo him' when
covenant God,
w r itin g the
the God of rev G o d s C h ildren Imitate W h a t Is G o o d .
Tetragrammae la tio n , the
ton, evidently
Deliverer, the
W h a t K in d o f B rea d fo r a H u n gry W o r ld ?
to w a r n t h e
Friend of his
reader to say
p e o p le ; n o t
those words in place of pronouncing the merely the abstractly Eternal One of
divine name. If using the Greek
many French translations, but the ever
gint translation of the Hebrew Scriptures living Helper of those who are in trouble.
in later copies, the reader, of course, found This personal name [Jehovah], with its
the Tetragrammaton completely replaced wealth of sacred associations, is now reby the Greek titles
Ky'rand
ho to the place in the sacred text to
stored
Translations into other languages, such which it has an unquestionable claim.
as the Latin Vulgate, followed the example
Yes, when we read Gods own declared
of these later copies of the Septuagint. purpose to have his name declared in all
The Catholic Douay translation of 1609 in the earth and that his name will be
English, based on the Vulgate, therefore great among the nations, how can we
does not contain the divine name. And the hold back from using that name in our
King James Version of 1611 customarily worship because of some superstition?
uses LORD or GOD in all capitals to repre- (Ex. 9:16; Mai. 1:11) The book of Malasent the Tetragrammaton in the Hebrew chi (3:16) describes a book of rememScriptures. However, in four places it does brance that began to be written up beuse the name Jehovah, namely, at Exo- fore God for those in fear of Jehovah and
dus 6:3, Isaiah 12:2 and 26:4, and Psalm for those thinking upon his name. Are
83:18.
you included in that book of rememThe translators of the American Stan- brance? Do you not only ,think upon that
dard Version (of 1901) forcefully expose name but also express it in worship? Only
the wrong basis for obscuring Gods sac- thereby can any person be counted among
red name Jehovah, saying, in the foreword the people for Gods name that the Chrisof that translation, the American Revis- tian disciple James spoke about at Acts
ers, after a careful consideration, were 15:14-18. It means life everlasting for you
brought to the unanimous conviction that to know God by his name, to treat that
a Jewish superstition, which regarded the name with respect and to live in harmony
Divine Name as too sacred to be uttered, with the things that he has had recorded
ought no longer to dominate in the En- in his Word over that Most Holy Name.

"It is good to give thanks

to Jehovah. Ps. 92:1.
ETTING to know Jehovah God has
been the happy lot of only a minority
of people. He is unknown to the majority.
The apostle Paul observed this fact some
nineteen hundred years ago during his visit
to Athens, where, on an altar, it was publicly acknowledged that God was unknown.
Today we can visit almost any place on
the face of the earth and find existing a
similar general lack of knowledge of Jehovah. Few are those who give thought to
the true God. However, this is not because
Jehovah God prevents people from having
knowledge of him and his ways. Jehovah
has provided a written word, the Bible,
that now has become available to the majority of peoples throughout the world in
their own languages. Also, he has sent out
witnesses, such as Paul, drawing attention
to his Godship. Failure to give attention
is an individual responsibility.Acts 17:
23; Rom. 1:19-21.
2It is necessary to know a person and
some of his good qualities before one can
really appreciate him. Those who have
known Jehovah and appreciated all that
he has done for mankind have seen the
privilege and duty to express themselves
in reverence and with thanks. In ancient
days Jehovah God chose the descendants
of Israel as his nation and revealed him-

1. (a) Do m any people know who Jehovah is? (b)

provisions has Jehovah made to help m ankind to
him ?
2. (a) W hat results from knowing Jehovah? (b)
is th e invitation in Psalm 95:1-3, and how do
verses identify Jehovah?

W hat
know

self to them, speaking to them through

prophets, judges and priests. He did many
good things for that chosen nation. Appredation of Jehovahs greatness and majesty moved his worshipers to invite one
another enthusiastically to come together
and unitedly express thanksgiving. One example is Psalm 95:1-3: O come let us
cry out joyfully to Jehovah! Let us shout
in triumph to our Rock of salvation. Let
us come before his person with thanksgiving; let us with melodies shout in triumph to him. For Jehovah is a great God
and a great King over all other gods.
How is Jehovah here identified? First of
all, it is by his name, Jehovah. He is the
great God and King over all. Then the
Psalm goes on to reveal him as the Creator; everything belongs to him. His greatness contrasts with the unworthiness of
his earthly worshipers, and the alert ones
who appreciate Jehovah therefore have
good cause to express thanksgiving, to be
joyful and to sing together the praises of
God. Why? Because they have come to
know the great Jehovah.
3Jehovah has interest in the human
family. Whenever Jehovah has dealt with
people, he has instructed them and caused
them to assemble together in united worship and thanksgiving for their good and
3. (a) W hat exam ple shows th a t Jehovah is interested
in having people congregate? (b) How was it beneficial
to assemble in ancient tim es? Who benefited?

W hat
these
392

July 1, 1971

393
ffieW ATCHTOW ER
blessing. As recorded at Deuteronomy 31: the law, the blessing and the malediction,
12, 13, God had the command given by according to all that is written in the book
his prophet Moses before the chosen na- of the law. There proved to be not a word
tion of ancient days went into the land of all that Moses had commanded that
promised to them: Congregate the people, Joshua did not read aloud in front of all
the men and the women and the little the congregation of Israel, together with
ones and your alien resident who is within the women and the little ones and the
your gates, in order that they may listen alien residents who walked in their midst.
and in order that they may learn, as they (Josh. 8:33-35) So, this arrangement was
must fear Jehovah your God and take care not simply for the benefit of Jehovah, who
to carry out all the words of this law. And was receiving their worship. The law was
their sons who have not known should read aloud by Joshua for the good of evlisten, and they must learn to fear Jeho- eryone, including non-Israelites. By keepvah your God all the days that you are ing familiar with Gods law they were able
living upon the soil to which you are cross- to comply with Gods requirements. And
ing the Jordan to take possession of it. what were the results to them? Jehovah
Who are involved here? This sweeping prospered the people in the days of Joshua,
command takes in everybody in the land, giving them many victories as they came
the entire family plus the alien residents to be settled in the land. Do you not think
associated with them. So on occasions for Jehovah God would do the same for his
worship the families should be together. people today if they complied with his
There was no segregation of the children. requirements?
All assembled together. Why? What should
IN THE DAYS OF SOLOMON
they do? It was a time to listen. It was a
6 Centuries passed and Jehovah kept his
place to learn. If they faithfully did this,
they would not forget Gods law, and the people together as a nation. Eventually
children coming along would learn of their Solomon became the earthly king. A great
responsibility was placed in Solomons
relationship to Jehovah.
4Ancient Israel as a nation, when faith- care, namely, oversight of construction of
ful, remembered to come before Jehovah Jehovahs temple at Jerusalem. Never had
for thanksgiving and worship. One exam- there been such a temple of Jehovah;
pie of this was in the days of Joshua short- therefore, completion of the building must
ly after they entered the land promised have been regarded as something special
to them. And all Israel and their older in the eyes of all, cause for united thanksmen and the officers and their judges were giving to Jehovah. The worship was orstanding on this side and on that side of ganized as follows: Solomon proceeded
the Ark in front of the priests, the Levites, to congregate the older men of Israel and
carrying the ark of the covenant of Je- all the heads of the tribes, the chieftains
hovah, the alien resident as well as the of the paternal houses of the sons of Israel,
native, one half of them in front of Mount to Jerusalem, to bring the ark of the coveGerizim and the other half of them in nant of Jehovah up from the city of David,
front of Mount Ebal, (just as Moses the that is to say, Zion. (2 Chron. 5:2) A
servant of Jehovah had commanded,) to multitude of animals were sacrificed. There
bless the people of Israel first of all. And was singing of praises to Jehovah, and
after this he read aloud all the words of
4. W hat were some of the good things accomplished
through assem bling in the tim e of Joshua?

5. (a) How was Solomon used by Jehovah in connection

w ith pure w orship? (b) W hat did the people learn
through hearing the p ra y er of Solomon?

394

SfieWATCHTOWER

finally a period of instruction as King

Solomon stood and prayed aloud before
the multitude. This prayer, recorded at
2 Chronicles chapter 6, helped the people
to see how this temple would benefit them
and it magnified Jehovahs greatness, his
concern for man and His mercies. Jehovah was too great to dwell in this house
that had been built, though it was a magnificent structure. The house was to be
used as a center of worship and prayer.
It also was a place for giving thanks. Peopie could straighten out their ways and regain Jehovahs favor by their repentance
and returning to worship Jehovah in connection with his temple. Foreigners could
worship Jehovah too. After hearing the
provisions to be made for the nation and
the people by having this temple, everyone should have a heart filled with thanksgiving.
* When Solomon finished his prayer, Jehovah gave the people evidence that He
was in harmony with the prayer and accepted the temple by sending fire from
heaven to consume the offering and sacrifices, and his glory filled the house. Pro
6. (a) How did Jehovah answ er Solomons prayer?
(b) W hat feature of Solomons reign showed Jehovahs
blessing?

B rooklyn , N .Y .

vision had been made for the entire nation to be united in his worship, coming
before Jehovah with thanksgiving when
praying toward the house that had been
built in Jerusalem. (2 Chron. 7:1, 2) During Solomons reign the nation enjoyed
great material prosperity. It was a reign
of peace as Jehovah had promised, giving
ample evidence that when there is pure
worship of Jehovah God blessings always
follow.
OTHER KINGS

, Many years later Hezekiah became

king at Jerusalem, and during his reign
there were notable gatherings before Jehovah. Chapters 29 and 30 of Second
Chronicles tell of efforts made to assemble the people for worship. Runners were
sent out by the king, carrying invitations
to people all through the land of Judah
and also to people living under the tentribe Kingdom of Israel. Those who responded to the invitation received the benefits. And there came to be great rejoicing
in Jerusalem, for from the days of Solomon the son of David the king of Israel
there was none like this in Jerusalem.
7. W hat are some of the notable events of H ezekiahs
reign as recorded in 2 Chronicles chapters 29 and 30?

Com pletio n o f the tem ple w as cause for united thanksgiving to Je h o v a h .

S h ould there not b e even m ore thanksgiving on the pa rt o f Christians?

J u ly 1, 1971

395
SHeWATCHTOWER
When about twenty-five years old, Jo(2 Chron. 30:26) What a pity that all
through the years from the time of Solo- siah rejoiced that a copy of the book of
mon to Hezekiah the people had not al- Gods law had been found. Consideration
ways faithfully come before Jehovah with of the law revealed how far away from
thanksgiving. What joy they missed! Those proper worship the people had Mien; the
who were present in the days of Hezekiah king understood what they should be dohad every reason to give thanks, because ing. Annually they should have been holdJehovah was blessing their efforts to re- ing a passover on the fourteenth day of the
turn to Him and His ways.
first month, so Josiah set about to celebrate
a passover in the eighteenth year
8 Following the death of Hezekiah, pure
of
his
reign. How well this was done is
worship broke down and troubles came to
summed
up at 2 Chronicles 35:17, 18:
the people. After some years a good king
And
the
sons of Israel that were to be
named Josiah came to the throne and was
found
proceeded
to hold the passover at
a mere eight years of age when he began
that
time
and
also
the festival of the unhis rule. But he had a heart inclined
fermented
cakes
for
seven days. And there
toward God and searched for God. This is
a fine Biblical example for youths of all had never been held a passover like it in
generations; indeed, no age is too early to Israel since the days of Samuel the prophbegin searching for God. By the time Jo- et, neither had any of the other kings of
siah was nineteen years of age, he had Israel themselves held a passover like that
learned many things about true worship which Josiah and the priests and the Leand false worship so he embarked on a vites and all Judah and Israel that were
to be found and the inhabitants of Jerucampaign to cleanse the land of all false
salem held. Going back to Samuels day
worship. And in the eighth year of his
meant a period of more than four hundred
reigning, while he was still a boy, he start- years, even beyond the time of Solomon.
ed to search for the God of David his fore- So who will deny that the people on that
father; and in the twelfth year he started occasion had cause for thanksgiving?
to cleanse Judah and Jerusalem from the
10It was Jehovah God who arranged
high places and the sacred poles and the that his people have periods of assembling
graven images and the molten statues. for worship and giving thanks. If his coveFurther, they pulled down before him the nant people kept the terms of their agreealtars of the Baals; and the incense stands ment, they always benefited and were
that were up above he cut down from off blessed very much. But by far the majorithem; and the sacred poles and the graven ty of kings who ruled in the land of Israel
images and the molten statues he broke and Judah turned away from Jehovah and
in pieces and reduced to powder, and then his arrangements. This always led the peosprinkled it upon the surface of the burial pie to unhappiness in many forms and
places of those that used to sacrifice to disasters. Eventually even the capital city,
them. (2 Chron. 34:3, 4) The center for Jerusalem, was destroyed, the temple was
pure worship and thanksgiving had to be demolished, many people were killed, othput in order and so Josiah organized re- ers were taken as exiles to faraway lands
pairing of Jehovahs house.
9. (a) Did Josiah appreciate Gods law ? (b) W hat does
8. (a) In his youth, how did K ing Josiah show respect
for Jehovah God? (b) How is th is an exam ple for
youths today?

2 Chronicles chapter 35 show to be outstanding about

the assem bly organized by Josiah?
10. W hat troubles came to Gods covenant people?
W hy?

396

B rooklyn , N .Y .
S&eWATCHTOWER
and great suffering occurred.2 Chron. with groups of people for the worship of
Jehovah. He kept Gods laws regarding
36:11-20.
11 Jehovah had foretold through the annual celebrations such as the passover.
prophet Jeremiah that Jerusalem would lie He used opportunities to praise Jehovah
devastated for a period of seventy years, God and call attention to Gods purposes
and, when that time ran out, Jehovahs in the presence of groups or crowds of
mercy and loving-kindness were shown people. At Nazareth it was his custom to
toward his covenant people in allowing a go to the synagogue each sabbath day,
remnant of them to be freed from exile and there he read aloud from Gods Word.
and return to the site of Jerusalem. This He taught at the synagogues and the ternwas for the purpose of rebuilding the city pie, 111 of which should have given the
and its temple of worship so that eventual- people reasons for expressing thanks to
ly Gods servants would come before him God.Luke 4:16; John 7:14; 18:19, 20.
in thanksgiving there. (2 Chron. 36:2113Besides the synagogues and the tern23) The faith of those who engaged in the pie, Jesus found other places to gather
rebuilding work was put to the test by people together for teaching and instrueopposers. Efforts were made to frustrate tion. Early in his ministry when crowds
the building campaign, so that Gods ser- followed him, he went up on a mountain.
vants had to put up a hard fight. For a What he said to his disciples is written
time all construction work was stopped in Matthew chapters 5 through 7. Today
because of the enemy conspiracy. (Ezra we enjoy reading of the happinesses with
chap. 4; Neh. 4:15-18) By making appeal which he opened his sermon. He explained
to the highest authority in the empire how to live with others, even with eneGods servants succeeded in receiving an mies, and he said a man should love his
order from Darius the king that the build- enemies just as God shows love. The gathing work might proceed and in the sixth ered ones heard him tell how to pray, what
year of the reign of Darius the temple forgiveness really means; the proper viewstood completed at Jerusalem. Jehovah point on material things was also a subhad blessed his servants with success, and ject for consideration, and stress was laid
the culmination was a joyful assembly for on seeking first the kingdom of heaven,
thanksgiving at the temples completion. laying up treasures in heaven. Outstanding
And the sons of Israel, the priests and too was the illustration about a tree and
the Levites and the rest of the former its fruit and how those who do the will of
exiles held the inauguration of this house the Father will enter the Kingdom. What
of God with joy. (Ezra 6:16) These were a wonderful experience it must have been
faithful servants of Jehovah with many actually to hear this sermon on the mounreasons for thanksgiving in ancient times. tain!
But what about our times? Should there
14 A small service assembly was held
not be more thanksgiving on the part of with the twelve apostles when Jesus sent
Christians?
them out to preach about the Kingdom.
He described the things they would face,
IN CHRISTIAN TIMES
the experiences in going from house to
12 Jesus Christ made it a practice to be house, how they would be taken care of,
11. (a) How was Jehovahs loving-kindness shown to
those who survived the exile? (b) W hat were the
outstanding reasons to come before Jehovah w ith
thanksgiving a t th a t tim e?
12. How did Jesus Christ assem ble w ith others?

13. Give examples showing how it was beneficial to

assemble w ith C hrist Jesus on the m ountain.
14. W hat were some outstanding points m ade by Jesus
Christ in the service assem bly described a t M atthew
chapter 10?

J u l y 1, 1971

S&eWATCHTOWER.

how they would have opposition. But they

should not be afraid of those who can kill
the body but cannot destroy the soul. He
told how families would become divided
because some desire to worship God and
others do not agree.Matthew chap. 10.
On another occasion, as recorded at
Luke 22:19-30, the passover had conduded and Jesus instituted the Lords evening
meal with the bread and wine. He made
a covenant with them for a Kingdom.
Calmly and in a kind way he settled a
heated dispute about who would be the
greatest. This was an example for them
to copy. Chapters 13 through 17 of John
contain many of the good things Jesus
told his assembled followers on that occasion. Here was given the new commandment to love one another. They were impressed with the importance of bearing
fruit to the glory of Jehovah God. Jesus
showed that as they were manifesting love
and bearing fruit to Gods glory they
would be hated and persecuted even as he
was. Jesus explained the Christian position of neutrality in chapter 15 and emphasized it again in his prayer in chapter
17. Truly, everyone present at that meet15. (a) As shown by L ukes account, w hat are some
things th a t were learned a t th e tim e th e apostles were
assembled a t the last passover w ith Jesus? (b) W hat
outstanding teachings did Jo h n record in connection
w ith the same occasion of assem bly?

397

ing should have had many reasons for

expressing thanks to Jehovah God.
1What Jesus was doing by gathering
people together for teaching and instruetion was the founding of the Christian
congregation. It was a building work. He
himself is the great foundation comerstone, and the faithful apostles are part of
the foundation as well. You have been
built up upon the foundation of the aposties and prophets, while Christ Jesus himself is the foundation cornerstone. (Eph.
2:20) Christ Jesus is also designated as
the head of this congregation or assembly. He is the head of the body, the congregation. He is the beginning, the firstbom from the dead, that he might become
the one who is first in all things. (Col.
1:18) Thinking about the wonderful organization that the Christian congregation is and the great building work Jesus
did in assembling living stones to make up
the building is sufficient to cause any person interested in God and his purposes to
feel moved with thanksgiving, which he
expresses to God in heaven. But someone
may ask, Where is that building of living
stones today? You will see. But please
read the next article and learn what happened since the death of Christ right up
to our day.
16. W hat sp iritu al building w ork did Jesus do th at
should m ake us ieel thankful to Jehovah?

n r me Dean 01C M
T

HE faith of those who had been put to a severe test by events surrounding
trained and selected by Jesus to be the death of Jesus and persecution of his
part of the Christian congregation was
followers connected therewith. Although
1. (a) Did the death of Jesus C hrist stop his followers
at the time they were in considerable danfrom assem bling? (b) How did C hrist give encourageger, the faithful ones did not fail in inm ent a t th eir m eetings in difficult tim es?

398

B rooklyn , N . Y.
SEeWATCHTOWER.
viting one another to come together for arrives upon you, and you will be witworship and thanksgiving to God. So it nesses of me both in Jerusalem and in all
was that, following his resurrection, Christ Judea and Samaria and to the most disJesus joined in some of the Christian as- tant part of the earth. And after he had
semblies. Because of the fear of the Jews, said these things, while they were looking
the disciples met together behind locked on, he was lifted up and a cloud caught
doors. Jesus came along to encourage and him up from their vision. (Acts 1 : 4 9 )
build them up. It must have been a thrill- Thus this was the last earthly assembly at
ing experience to be there and have Jesus which Jesus Christ was visibly present.
come into the room though all doors were
REASONS FOR THANKSGIVING
locked and hear him speak again. This
AT PENTECOST
and other evidences of Jesus resurrection
s
After
the
ascension
of Jesus Christ to
received by the Christians could hardly
the
heavens,
his
faithful
followers on earth
pass without great thanksgiving on the
continued
meeting
together
for prayer and
part of the Christians. Jesus actually arconsideration
of
important
spiritual
things.
ranged for meetings with his disciples folThe
festival
days
of
the
Jews
provided
lowing his resurrection. On a mountain
in Galilee Jesus told them: All authority an opportunity for Christians to meet at
has been given me in heaven and on the one place, and as faithful Christians they
earth. Go therefore and make disciples of seized the opportunity to congregate on
people of all the nations, baptizing them the day of Pentecost in 33 C.E. Can you
in the name of the Father and of the Son imagine what disappointment would have
and of the holy spirit, teaching them to been experienced by any one of the Chrisobserve all the things I have commanded tians who failed to congregate on that ocyou. And, look! I am with you all the days casion? The Bible does not indicate there
until the conclusion of the system of was advance notice that anything special
things.Matt. 28:18-20; John 20:19-22. would occur at that particular occasion,
2Acts of Apostles opens with a record but how glad they must have been that
of Christian meetings and instruction from they were all together at the same place!
Christ on what should be done in days to It was a unique experience for about one
come. And while he was meeting with hundred and twenty dedicated servants of
them he gave them the orders: ,Do not Jehovah: And suddenly there occurred
withdraw from Jerusalem, but keep wait- from heaven a noise just like that of a
ing for what the Father has promised, rushing stiff breeze, and it filled the whole
about which you heard from me; because house in which they were sitting. And
John, indeed, baptized with water, but you tongues as if of fire became visible to them
will be baptized in holy spirit not many and were distributed about, and one sat
days after this. When, now, they had upon each one of them, and they all beassembled, they went asking him: Lord, came filled with holy spirit and started
are you restoring the kingdom to Israel to speak with different tongues, just as
at this time? He said to them: It does the spirit was granting them to make
not belong to you to get knowledge of the utterance.Acts 2:2-4.
4 Here Jehovah had sent his active force,
times or seasons which the Father has
placed in his own jurisdiction; but you 3. W hat unique experience was enjoyed by the Chriswill receive power when the holy spirit tians assembled on the day of P entecost?
2. W hat w as learned at the last m eeting Christ attended
w ith them on e arth ?

4. (a) W hat did Gods spirit move his servants to do

th a t day? (b) W hat were some reasons for thanksgiving
then?

J u ly 1, 1971

ifEeWATCHTOWEFL

399

holy spirit, to move his

dedicated servants into
the witness work. Miraculous power from God
caused the small assemb ly to b r in g a b o u t a
great testimony to the
honor of Gods name.
What th e C h r istia n s
spoke was in many languages understood by
people then in the city
o f J e r u s a l e m an d i t
caused a s to n is h m e n t
among those who understood. The occasion of
this assembly opened an
The 120 Christians a t Pentecost 3 3 C .E . must h a v e b e e n fille d
opportunity for a public
with thanksgiving to G o d a n d g la d th ey w ere
discourse by Peter. The
a ll together a t the sam e p la c e !
discourse provided instructive material for the assembly itself would be difficult to imagine that anyone
and also for those not Christians who who was present on that occasion could
were within hearing distance. Peter was fail to be filled with thanksgiving to Jehomoved by Jehovah God to use scriptures vah.Acts 2:22-41.
6 From that time onward, with holy
and powerful reasoning to convince the
spirit
guiding them, Christians energeticalassembled ones that indeed Jehovah God
ly mounted a great educational campaign
had sent Jesus as Christ, that the powerthat spread throughout the whole Roman
ful works Jesus did were of God, that Je- Empire and beyond. They continued desus had succeeded in gaining a resurrec- voting themselves to the teaching of the
tion from the dead and was now at the apostles, to prayer, to meetings, and to
right hand of Jehovah in the heavens. praising God. They found favor with all
Peters speech contained motivation and the people. At the same time Jehovah
exhortation to get saved. So convincing continued to join to them daily those bewas Peters presentation that the small ing saved. (Acts 2:42, 46, 47) As time
group of Christians had a lot to do that went on, congregations were formed all
day. The group of about one hundred and throughout the area called Palestine. Gods
twenty was composed of men and women, servants continued to come before him
with thanksgiving, watching with great inso probably less than one hundred men
terest and joy as the spirit of Jehovah
got busy with the baptism of about three
moved the visible theocratic organization
thousand new Christian praisers of Jeho- forward. As the expansion went on, pervah. Thus this spiritual feast on the oc- secution arose; however, Jehovah always
casion of Pentecost produced honor to Je- carried his servants through it and kept
hovah and signaled a giant step forward
5. Mention some of the blessings th a t followed Penfor the spreading of the good news. It tecost.

400

B rooklyn , N .Y .
SEeWATCHTOWER.
adding to their strength.Acts 5:14; 6: behold the day drawing near.Heb. 10:
7; 8:1, 14, 40.
23-25.
6 For about three and a half years those
ASSEMBLY BLESSINGS IN THE LAST DAYS
who had been associated with Jesus exTThe words of the apostle Paul quoted
perienced the excitement of seeing great
above
have been full of meaning for Chriscrowds from among the Jews becoming
tians
ever
since they were written. The
believers in Jesus Christ and returning to
very
phraseology
used by Paul indicates
the pure worship of Jehovah. To them it
a
special
importance
for those living in
must have seemed like a great expansion
the
last
days,
for
he
says, all the more
was under way. At times they must have
so
as
you
behold
the
day
drawing near.
pondered on the words of Jesus when he
If
ever
there
would
be
a
time
when one
said they would be witnesses of him to
should
hold
fast
without
wavering
and
the most distant part of the earth. As they
looked to Jehovah for direction, they were incite others to love and fine works, the
not disappointed. By holy spirit Peter was last days would especially be such a
directed to go to Caesarea, and there a time. What Paul wrote was in full harnew field for expansion of worship opened mony with Jesus Christ, who urged his
up as Jehovah accepted Cornelius and servants to be together. His expression at
other Gentiles into the ranks of his dedi- Matthew 18:20, For where there are two
cated servants. Thus the way opened up or three gathered together in my name,
for Gentiles as well as the fleshly descen- there I am in their midst, indicates the
dants of Israel to participate in assem- benefits of being together with other
bling together for Christian worship of Christians. Blessings come through Christ
Jehovah. The next few years witnessed Jesus to those who gather together in his
a tremendous growth in the Christian or- name. And while such blessings will come
ganization. (Acts 11:19-21) While the to two or three, they will also be found if
governing body maintained headquarters there be two or three hundred, twenty or
at Jerusalem, representatives were sent to thirty thousand or even more. The Scripall kinds of cities and provinces, and the tures give ample evidence that Christ Jeassembling together of Christians became sus continues to look with favor upon
very widespread during the first century those who come before Jehovah with
of our common era. The apostle Paul was thanksgiving.
8 As we have considered already, many
privileged to have a considerable part in
the theocratic expansion program, congre- blessings came to Gods servants who asgating people everywhere. (Acts 14:21 sembled together in earlier days. We re28) It is in his writing to the Hebrews call the good things the apostle Peter was
that the exhortation occurs: Let us hold able to express on the occasion of Pentefast the public declaration of our hope cost or at the time when Cornelius was
without wavering, for he is faithful that admitted into the congregation of Chrispromised. And let us consider one another tians. The application of scriptures on such
to incite to love and fine works, not for- occasions proved to be cause for thankssaking the gathering of ourselves together, giving among those who assembled. But
as some have the custom, but encouraging
hy is assem bling of Christians in m odern days so
one another, and all the more so as you 7.im W
portant?
6. (a) How did holy spirit direct extension of the
expansion to include non-Jews? (b) W hat p a rt was
P au l privileged to have in assem bling Christians?

8, 9. (a) W hat are some of the reasons for thanksgiving

now? (b) W hat has come along in addition to increased
understanding of the Scriptures th a t causes great joy
in advertising the K ingdom ?

J uly 1, 1971

401
fEeWATCHTOWEFL
now in this period which the Scriptures Preaching of the Kingdom good news has
have designated as the last days, there reached more than 200 lands now. The
are even more causes for thanksgiving. number of those sharing in this activity
Much more light has been shed upon Gods sometime ago passed the one million mark
purposes. Many of the events foretold in and keeps steadily increasing from year
Bible prophecy have come to pass. The to year. When assemblies are held for
times of the nations which Jesus spoke special occasions of worship, such as the
of have run out; the year 1914 became a Memorial of the death of Jesus Christ, the
marked year so far as Gods purposes are numbers go up into the millions and are
concerned, and Jehovah has lovingly let increasing from year to year. It is easy to
his witnesses see the facts showing the find many reasons for coming before Jefulfillment of Revelation chapter 12 with hovah with thanksgiving in these last
the birth of the Kingdom in the heavens days.
and the ousting of Satan and his demons
10In addition to providing his servants
from heaven, cast down to the earth. All with people to proclaim the good news,
of the evidence has accumulated to show Jehovah God has graciously made availthat the end of wickedness is near and it able the material things necessary to caris a time to lift up Christian heads and be ry on the tremendous activity required.
full of joy because deliverance is at hand. Facilities are in the hands of Gods dediLuke 21:24, 28.
cated servants for the production of Bibles
8 Christians living in the last days are and Bible literature, and millions of copies
very thankful to Jehovah for a clear are going out each month, thereby speedappreciation of the meaning of Mat- ing up the required activity of getting the
thew chapter 24. As the years have gone good news spread all over the world. Inby since 1914, understanding of the sig- dividuals have been raised up by Jehovah
nificance of points mentioned by Jesus to comprise the faithful and discreet
in Matthews record has become clearer. slave whom Jesus foretold at Matthew
From 1922 forward importance of adver- 24:45-47, and so there has been a great
tising the King and the Kingdom has been flood of spiritual truths brought forth in
well known and Jehovah God has opened these last days. It is a time of much
up the way for the fulfillment of Jesus spiritual feasting on revealed truths; reguprophecy at Matthew 24:14. If the good lar provisions of spiritual food are made
news of the Kingdom is to be preached for the congregation of Gods servants
in all the world for a witness to all the throughout the earth.
nations, then people would have to do the
11 Regularly Gods people assemble topreaching. Though the ranks of Gods wit- gether to partake of this spiritual food.
nesses were few in the year 1922 com- This has brought about a wonderful unity
pared to now, the blessing of Jehovah has in the worship of Jehovah God world wide.
indeed produced results so that there have Many times this has been demonstrated in
been great increases in the number of inthe international assemblies of Jehovahs
dividuals proclaiming the good news of
witnesses in recent years. The fact that
the Kingdom. Jehovah God has not only
such great assemblies have been possible
raised up those of the little flock, but
In connection w ith our sp iritu al food, w hat m aterial
in assemblies Gods servants have come to 10.
things are we extrem ely thankful for now ?
understand the meaning of Revelation 7: 11. (a) How do large C hristian assem blies add blessings ?
(b) Why are C hristians thankful to see faithful brothers
9-17 and have identified a great crowd. keeping integ rity ?

402

B rooklyn , N .Y .
SReW ATCHTOW ER
is in itself cause for much thanksgiving be able to see and be with such a varied
to Jehovah. Anyone who is able to par- association of Christians. We are moved
ticipate in an assembly of Gods people to thanksgiving by the fact that the new
can look about him and see that he has commandment Jesus mentioned in John
many brothers and sisters. Among these 13:34, 35 is a reality. Although Gods
are some who have already shared in this servants are from all nationalities, races
service of Jehovah for many years. The and peoples, true Christian love binds them
presence of such individuals is a blessed together. Each one shows interest in the
example and cause to thank God for those other and not in himself alone. Jehovah
who endure in his service over the years. has done this through the unifying force
It is well known to those who serve God of his spirit and his Word. The rallying
in these last days that endurance is nec- point for Christians in these last days
essary and that there are those who op- is the united worship of Jehovah, and the
pose the spreading of the good news. But opportunity is available regularly to join
it is today just as it was following Pente- in such worship in the more than 26,000
cost of 33 C.E. Jehovah keeps the way Christian congregations now functioning
open. He keeps his hand of care and pro- around the world. As Gods faithful ones in
tection over his organized people and gives ancient times did, so too in these last
spiritual strength to his servants so they days his servants desire to be united tocan endure under many varying circum- gether in his worship and invite others,
stances and conditions. The Christian in saying: O come in, let us worship and
modern times is full of thanksgiving to bow down; let us kneel before Jehovah
our Maker. For he is our God, and we are
Jehovah for the theocratic organization
the people of his pasturage and the sheep
He has built up in this period and we are
of his hand.Ps. 95:6, 7.
moved to make expressions similar to the
13 The invitation is extended to all readapostle Pauls in 2 Thessalonians 1:3-5:
ers
of The
Watchtowerto come regu
We are obligated to give God thanks
into
the
Kingdom
Halls
of Jehovahs witalways for you, brothers, as it is fitting,
nesses
throughout
the
world.
There are
because your faith is growing exceedingly
and the love of each and all of you is in- vital reasons for everyone to join in worcreasing one toward the other. As a re- ship and thanksgiving to Jehovah God. As
suit we ourselves take pride in you among you read on the previous pages about the
the congregations of God because of your blessings given to worshipers of Jehovah
endurance and faith in all your persecu- in both ancient times and our century,
tions and the tribulations that you are do you see the value in congregating with
bearing. This is a proof of the righteous servants of God? Do you wish to receive
judgment of God, leading to your being and enjoy spiritual blessings now? and in
counted worthy of the kingdom of God, the future? Those whose God is Jehovah
and who are people of his pasturage are
for which you are indeed suffering.
full of joy now and have assurance of
12As the Scriptures foretold, all kinds
everlasting life in happiness under his
of people make up the congregation of Jeeternal rule. (Ps. 37:9-11) Be a worshiper
hovah God now. It is really a pleasure to
of Jehovah. In unity with other worshipers
12. (a) How is C hrist's com m andm ent a t John 13:34, 35
being kept now ? (b) How does Psalm 95 encourage
u n ity in w orship of Jehovah?

13. Why are all readers of The W atchtow er invited to

join in assem bling for worship of Jehovah?

July 1 ,

1971

SEeW ATCHTOWER

of Jehovah, acknowledge with thanks your

own faith in Jehovah and you will never
be disappointed. For the Scripture says:
None that rests his faith on him will be
disappointed. For there is no distinction

403

between Jew and Greek, for there is the

same Lord over all, who is rich to all those
calling upon him. For everyone who calls
on the name of Jehovah will be saved.
Rom. 10:11-13.

||
||
I
||

A song can cheer the heavy

Can bring Jehovah praise;
A song can lighten daily loads,
And help us walk Gods ways.
Yes, songs have power. Some have power for good and some have power for bad.
Which kind of songs do you sing?
Never before has this earth heard so
much singing of songs as today. Not only
by individuals themselveswith or without instrumental accompanimentbut also
by means of jukebox, radio and television,
and by phonograph and tape recorder. And
in particular is the production of popular
songs a multimillion-dollar business. There
are baroque rock, folk rock, hard rock,
jazz, blues and many other kinds of popular music and songs.
In times past the religious theme played
a leading role in the songs people sang.
In fact, musicologists tell us that Germanys being such a musical nation is
largely due to Martin Luthers insistence
that all in the congregations join in singing
praise to God. And the prominent role
that religious music played in the lives of

the early settlers of America is to be

seen from the very title of a history of
music in the United States:
vah to Jazz.
Today there seems to be a slight
I trend toward religious themes in popuI lar music, but it is irreverent, as can
be seen by the most ambitious album
I featuring it: Jesus Christ, Superstar.
I And we also read of the New Rock:
1 Bittersweet and Low. However, as regards the mainstream of popular music
the counsel of a writer in the New York
Times Magazine is still apropos: Parents,
if you want to know what your kids think
of war, drugs and sex, listen to the songs
they sing.
WHAT KIND OF SONGS?

Youth is impatient, it lacks the wisdom

that knowledge and years of experience
often bring. It wants to try everything,
and it wants to do it now. The popular
songwriters and singers give youths what
they want, or what they think they want,
namely, sex, drugs and rebellion.
Romantic love has ever been one of the
dominant themes of songs, but can today's
love songs that encourage loose conduct
be termed romantic? There are songs with
such words as Lets spend the night together. Hell hold you in his arms till
you feel his disease. Tonight Im yours.
Drugs have been made very popular by
modem singers. Thus, last October radio
executives attending a White House conference on drug abuse were told to listen
to the words of some of the songs sung

404

B rooklyn , N .Y .
SReWATCHTOWER
over their own stations. Among the words singing of such songs feeds its low tenthey might have heard were: Im a real dencies, and makes it still harder to do
straightshooter, if you know what I what is right. (Gal. 6:7; 1 Cor. 9:27) Singmean. One pill makes you larger, one ing of such popular songs, because of the
pill makes you small, but the pill your influence on mind and heart, causes one
mother gave you did nothing for you at to be fashioned after this system of
all. Songs tell about taking a trip and things, the very thing Christians are comuse other language that unsuspecting par- manded not to do.Rom. 12:2.
ents would not recognize as having to do
THERE IS AN ALTERNATIVE
with drugs. Thus Lucy in the Sky with
It is not as though there are no other
Diamonds refers to LSD.
Another theme with a bad effect that songs available. There are. It is simply
appeals to youths today is that of rebellion. a matter of discriminating, even as one
Parents and police are ridiculed, taunted should do in regard to what one eats and
and mocked. Youths sing out: We want what one reads. There are ever so many
the world and we want it NOW! We are fine songs that express noble, idealistic
sentiments in the field of folk, standard
the forces of chaos and anarchy.
and semiclassical music that can be enTHE TARGETTHE HEART
joyed by anyone.
A song has power, for it appeals to both
Also let it be noted that the songs
mind and heart. It involves both intellect published by the Watchtower society, as
and emotion. How can such songs, with
they appear in their songbook, Singing
music to match, have any other than a
bad effect on the youths that sing them and Accompanying Yourselves with Music
over and over again? When they repeated- in Your H earts are truly beautiful, of
ly feed their minds on such themes, can great variety and emotionally satisfying
their hearts be inclined otherwise? And as well as spiritually upbuilding. They are
does not the heart produce the motivation a power for good, for by singing them
that leads to actions? As Jesus Christ said: you will at the same time be heeding the
Out of the heart come wicked reasonings, command to continue considering whatmurders, adulteries, fornications. And as ever things are true, righteous, chaste,
one of his disciples showed: Each one is lovable and virtuous.Phil. 4:8.
tried by being drawn out and enticed by
Just as parents have the obligation to
his own desire. Then the desire, when it
see to it that their children are fed prophas become fertile, gives birth to sin.
When a person sings again and again, and erly, and given moral guidance in harmony
with feeling, words that express a craving with Gods Word, so too they have the
for that which is immoral, is he not culti- obligation to safeguard their children
vating and making fertile in his own heart against singing songs or playing music the
the desire for such things?Matt. 15:19; words, mood and spirit of which run counJas. 1:14, 15.
ter to Bible principles. By taking this matWe cannot escape it. Gods Word is true: ter seriously, by doing something about it,
Whatever a man is sowing, this he will parents will save themselves many a heartalso reap. Far from pummeling the body ache and regret and will safeguard the
to keep it under control, which is what spiritual interests and well-being of their
the apostle Paul said he had to do, the children.1 Tim. 4.: 16.

GIVES A SIGN
'ODAY we are going to talk about again? Well, Jesus told them what to
signs. It is good to know how to read watch for. He told them about things
signs. They can help us.
t h a t w o u ld h a p p e n
Som e sig n s h a v e
A n a r t ic le s p e c ia lly d e s ig n e d f o r
right here on earth,
words on them. They
p a re n ts to rea d w ith th e ir c h ild re n
W hen J e su s w as
tell us where we can
talking to them, they
buy food. They may warn us not to cross were close to Jerusalem. They could see it
the street when cars are coming. What across the valley. And they could see its
signs have you seen?
beautiful temple. So Jesus told them about
There are signs of another kind too. things that would happen to Jerusalem and
They may have no words. Some of them its temple. And those things did happen!
tell about changes in the weather. Clouds
But Jesus also said that the same things
may cover the sun. Perhaps the wind starts would happen again later. This time they
to blow. Lightning flashes. There is thun- would happen to the whole world. And
der. When you hear and see these things, what would this mean? It would mean
what do they mean? What
is going to happen? Yes,
there will probably be rain.
It is not hard to read those
signs, is it?
One day Jesus apostles
a s k e d h im f o r a s i g n .
They had heard him say
that people would not see
him again until some future time. They wanted
to know when that would
be. What sign would there
be t h a t t h e t i m e h ad
come?
The Great Teacher knew
that his followers would
need a sign. He was going
to go back to heaven to be
with God. When he came
again he would not be a
human. He w ould be a
spirit. And can you see a
spirit?
So, how would anyone
know that he had come
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B rooklyn , N .Y .
SEeWATCHTOWER.
that Christ had returned. It would mean he gave: ,There will be earthquakes in one
that from heaven he had begun to ride in place after another.
the kingdom of God. Soon he would deDo you know what an earthquake is?
stroy the wicked. Life would soon get It makes the ground shake under your feet.
much better here on earth.
Houses fall down and people often get
Have we seen the sign that Jesus gave? killed. Since the year 1914 there have been
I have. Would you like to hear about it? many more earthquakes every year than
As part of the sign, Jesus said: ,You there were before. These are things that
are going to hear of wars and reports of have happened in my lifetime.
Jesus said that another part of the sign
wars. Nation will rise against nation and
would
be ,more and more lawlessness.
kingdom against kingdom.
That
is
happening too. That is why peoI have seen that in my lifetime. Whole
pie
almost
everywhere lock the door on
nations have fought against other nations
their
houses.
They are afraid that someto destroy them. The trouble really began
one
might
try
to break in. And in many
in the year 1914. Now we hear news replaces
it
is
not
safe to walk on the street
ports about war almost every day. Have
alone
at
night.
Never before has it been
you heard those reports on the radio or
as
bad
as
it
is
now.Matt.
23:39-24:22;
on television?
Luke
21:5-36.
Here is another part of the sign that
Some people may say that these things
Jesus gave. He said: ,There will be food
have
happened before. But never before
shortages in one place after another.
has it happened to so much of the world
Not everyone has enough food to eat.
at the same time. All this has special
Did you know that? I have heard that
meaning.
every day ten thousand people die because
Remember, Jesus said that these things
they do not have enough food. Jesus said
would be a sign. Can you read that sign?
that there would be food shortages.
What does it mean?
Jesus also said: ,In one place after anMost people see only the trouble. It
other there will be pestilences.
makes them unhappy. But if they knew
Do you know what a pestilence is? It what the sign meant, they would rejoice.
is a sickness or disease that kills many Why?
people. Right after the war that began in
Jesus said: ,As these things start to hap1914 there was a very great pestilence. pen, lift your heads up, because your deIt was called the Spanish flu. About 500,- liverance is getting near. That means that
000,000 persons went to bed sick from we should be happy. Because in just a
the flu in just a few months, and over 20,- short time God will put an end to all the
000,000 of them died. Just think of that! troubles on this earth. Life will be a real
But the Spanish flu was not the only pesti- pleasure then.
lence. There are still cancer, heart disease
Dont you agree that is good news? If
and other sicknesses that kill many thou- we really believe it, we wont keep it only
sands of persons every year.
for ourselves. Other people need to know
This is another part of the sign that about it too.
How comely upon the mountains are the feet of the one bringing good news, the one publishing peace, the one bringing good
news of something better, the one publishing salvation, the one
saying to Zion: Your God has become king! "Isa. 52:7.

Church News Shows Problems Growing

N RECENT years, Christendoms
churches have been buffeted by severe
storms of criticism and opposition. Much
of the dissent is internal, coming right
from within the church systems themselves. The Roman Catholic Church especially has been undergoing inner struggle.
The following recent news items show how
these problems continue to mount with
growing force.

V A T I C A N RULES A G A I N S T PRIESTS

The papal encyclical ,,Humanae Vitae/1

issued in 1968, reaffirmed the Catholic Churchs
ban on the use of contraceptives in birth control. Among the many priests who disagreed
were about fifty who were disciplined by
Cardinal O Boyle of Washington, D.C. Nineteen of these priests took their case to the
pope. They lost. The Vatican has now issued
its ruling in the matter: the priests must uphold
the ban.

G E R M A N S Q U IT T IN G CH U RC HES

BISHOPS CRITICIZE PRIESTS

West Germans are formally quitting their

churches at the rate of about 4,800 a week,
says Time magazine. One reason why is
that by taking this action they can escape the
extra income tax that has for years been
imposed on church members and which, since
World W ar II, has been collected by the West
German government. These taxes net Protestant
and Roman Catholic churches more than one
thousand million dollars a year. But more and
more Germans are highly resentful of this forced
taxation. Since the only way they can escape
it is by officially quitting their church, they
are doing just that. An estimated 480,000 have
formally renounced their religion in just the
past three years. Now, many of the new
churches built with tax money during the last
two decades are nearly empty most of the time.

Sometime ago American Catholic bishops

authorized a study of the priesthood and its
problems. It revealed a ,,potentially dangerous
gap between the bishops and most priests on
all major Church issues. Especially did the
priests disagree with the Churchs stand that
requires them to be unmarried. However, in
their annual meeting this year the bishops
criticized the report, and they greeted with
applause a suggestion that the study be repudiated. Thus, the conflict between priests and
the hierarchy of the Church gathers momentum.

PO P E CRITICIZED BY ITALIAN N EW SPAPER ,

Q U E S T IO N E D O N

W AR

II Tempo" of April 17, 1971, carried headlines reading Shaggy Haired Pacifists and Girls
in Hot Pants in Audience with Pope. The
article criticized the pope for receiving members
of several pop music bands in scandalous
clothing after the Vatican had recently condemned sexy styles of dress. During the
audience with Pope Paul VI, one of the young
musicians asked him: You who are so powerful
that you can ban the pill, why dont you get
busy and abolish obligatory conscription? Why
don't you forbid Catholics to take part in wars
and violence? The pope answered: It is not
within our power.

CHURCH CH A LLEN G ED

IN IRELAND

For centuries Ireland has been one of the

most conservative bastions of the Catholic
Church in the world. But now, the Church in
that country is coming under increasing attack
from within and from without. It is being
challenged on a variety of issues, such as
church-state relations, priestly dissent, the alienation of young people, birth control and social
morality. When Archbishop John McQuaid of
Dublin issued a pastoral letter supporting the
official ban on contraceptives, parishioners at
two churches walked out when the letter was
read. The primate of all Ireland, William
Cardinal Conway, admitted: Theres a storm
in Western civilization and the church is involved in it. Things are not all calm and
peaceful.
C LER G Y D R O P O U T S

How many clergymen are quitting the ministry in the United States? Accurate figures are
407

408

SfteWATCHTOWER.

difficult to obtain, but the Denver Post reports: One estimate is that at least 3,000
Protestant ministers . . . and perhaps 2,500
Roman Catholic clergymen . . . are dropping
out annually.

B rooklyn , N .Y .

control, 78 percent said they would follow

their own conscience. And only 37 percent
said they believed in the Churchs teaching of
obligatory celibacy for priests.
S ER M O N S N O T M EE TIN G P EO P LES N EED S

S E M IN A R Y EN R O LLM EN T D O W N

SHARPLY

The magazine Christian Heritage," for May

1971, notes the following: Since 1966, the
number of young men studying for the priesthood [in the United States] has dropped
nearly in half, according to statistics in Washington, D.C., by the Center for Applied Research
in the Apostolate. About 46,000 future priests
were enrolled in the United States seminaries
four years ago, . . . By October 1970 the
number had decreased to some 24,000. The
exact 1970 figure 23,822 reflects a decline
in enrollment at every level, from high school
through graduate theology.
Also, the Vatican says that during 1970 the
number of new ordinations for the priesthood
throughout the world dropped to 4,064. That
represents a decrease of 12.5 percent from
1969.
PRIESTS SUPPORT M ARXISTS

Eighty priests in Chile issued a document

declaring: We dont see any incompatibility
between Christians and Marxists. They also
said: We categorically pronounce ourselves
for a Socialist system, which constitutes the
only way to escape from underdevelopment.
Similarly, Thomas and Marjorie Melville, a
former priest and a former nun, wrote in the
New York Times": It is worth noting that the
Papal Nuncio to Cuba has publicly described
Fidel Castro as 'politically a Marxist but ethically a Christian, and that alliances are being
built between Catholics both lay and clerical
and Marxists, especially in Colombia, Brazil,
Chile and Argentina.
D O G M A

B R EA K IN G D O W N

Toronto sociologist Martin Goldfarb states:

It is clear that some aspects of Catholic dogma
are breaking down. When Catholics were
asked if they would follow the popes decrees
or their own conscience in regard to birth

The president of Fuller Theological Seminary

in Pasadena says that many churchgoers are
getting restless. W h y? He states: Its getting
so its sometimes hard to tell church services
from Rotary luncheons. Many preachers have
become political pundits, economic analysts,
authorities on such subjects as the infield fly
rule. . . . Very often, sermon content has been
thin. He notes that the spiritual comfort
people need is not always there. They're tired
of hearing about Vietnam; theres no personal
encouragement, no joy, no celebration; nothing
to get excited about. Yet, G ods Word, the
Bible, is filled with information that encourages
those who love righteousness. And it tells of
thrilling events that will affect mankind in the
very near future and beyond.
T U R N IN G T O A

N EW

GOD

Catholic theologian Gregory Baum of Toronto

says that modern religion is turning to a new
God. Instead of thinking about God as an
invisible being who can be approached through
prayer, Baum says the new God will be found
through self-knowledge, through talking with
other people and deciding through political and
social growth what is right and what is wrong.
But this is precisely what has been done
already for centuries. Men have leaned on their
own understanding instead of following G ods
wisdom as revealed in the Bible. They have
decided for themselves what is right and what
is wrong and have ignored what God says is
right and what is wrong. The folly of leaning
on human wisdom alone is evident to many
now as the awful results of imperfect, often
selfish, human rule and human thinking become
more obvious daily. Long ago the Bible, G ods
Word, warned: Trust in Jehovah with all your
heart and do not lean upon your own understanding. Do not put your trust in nobles, nor
in the son of earthling man, to whom no salvation belongs. Prov. 3:5; Ps. 146:3.

incidental reference to Jacob and his family. Moreover, if the theory were
correct, this would mean
that Ishm ael and Esau
were the writers or possessors of the most extensive documents about
Gods dealings with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. This
does not appear to be reasonable, for it would make
HE testimony of none other than the those who had no share in the Abrahamic
Son of God, Jesus Christ, points to covenant the ones who had the greatest
Moses as the writer of the first book interest
of
in that covenant. It would be
the Bible, Genesis. (Luke 24:27, 44) Since hard to conceive that Ishmael had such
the events related in that book occurred concern about events associated with Abrabefore Moses birth, the question arises, hams household that he put forth efforts
Where did he get his information?
to get a detailed record thereof, a record
As far back as the eighteenth century that spanned many years after his being
the Dutch scholar Vitringa pondered this dismissed along with his mother Hagar.
question. Based on the use of the expres- Gen. ll:27b-25:12.
sion this is the history, Vitringa conSimilarly, there would have been no
eluded that each occurrence of this ex- reason for Esau, who had no appreciation
pression in the book of Genesis identified for sacred things, to have written or been
an already-existing document. In more re- the possessor of an account dealing extencent years others have reached a similar sively with events in Jacobs life, events
conclusion. For example, archaeologist to which Esau was not an eyewitness.
P. J. Wiseman, commenting on the expres- (Gen. 25:19-36:1; Heb. 12:16) Also, it
sion this is the history (or, these are does not seem logical to conclude that
the origins), writes: It is the concluding Isaac and Jacob would have largely igsentence of each section, and therefore nored Gods dealings with them, being conpoints backward to a narrative already tent to have only brief records about somerecorded. . . . It normally refers to the one elses genealogies.Gen. 25:13-19a;
writer of the history, or the owner of the 36:10-37:2a.
tablet containing it .
Discoveries in
While the expression this is the hisBabylonia About
ensip. 53. tory cannot in each case be reasonably
G
An examination of the contents of these linked with the writer or owner of such
histories, however, casts considerable a history, this would not necessarily rule
doubt on the correctness of this view. For out Moses getting some of his informaexample, according to this view, the sec- tion from earlier written records, includtion beginning with Genesis chapter 36, ing accounts committed to writing before
verse 10, would conclude with the words the flood of Noahs day. Though the Bible
of Genesis 37:2, This is the history of contains no definite references to preJacob. But nearly the entire record per- Flood writing, it should be noted that the
tains to Esaus offspring and makes only building of cities, the development of mu-

wbeRe t>it> Moses

se c

biSViNFORMATiON?

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B rooklyn , N .Y .
SKeWATCHTOWER.
So there is no way to establish definitesical instruments and the forging of iron
and copper tools had their start long before ly that Moses got some of his information
the Flood. (Gen. 4:17, 21, 22) Reasonably, from pre-Flood and post-Flood records.
therefore, men would have had little dif- Neither is there any basis for disproving
Acuity in also developing a method of writ- that he did so, for writing has long been
ing. And archaeological evidence indicates used for transmitting information. Neverthat writing existed for a considerable pe- theless, the source for Moses information
riod before the time of Moses. It must be did not have to be earlier written records.
acknowledged, however, that direct testi- It is obvious that someone had to receive
mony concerning the existence of pre- information relating to the events prior to
mans creation by divine revelation. Thus
Flood writing is lacking.
It is true that Assyrian King Ashurbani- Moses could have gotten this as well as
pal spoke of reading inscriptions on stone the rest of his material by direct revelafrom the time before the flood. But these tion from God. But, if revealed to someinscriptions may have simply preceded a one other than Moses, this information
local flood of considerable proportions or and the basis for the remainder of the concould have been accounts that purported tents of the book of Genesis could have
to relate events prior to the Flood. For been transmitted to Moses by means of
example, what is known as The Sumerian oral tradition. Due to the long life-span
King List, after mentioning that eight of men of that period, the information
kings ruled for 241,000 years, states: could have been passed from the first man
(Then) the Flood swept over (the earth). Adam to Moses through just five human
links, namely, Methuselah, Shem, Isaac,
Such record, clearly, is not authentic.
According to Bible chronology, the glob- Levi and Amram. This would, of course,
al flood of Noahs day occurred in 2370 have required the last traditional link,
B.C.E. Archaeologists have assigned dates Amram, to have the whole book of Genesis
earlier than this to numerous clay tablets in his head.
At the present time, no definite conthey have excavated. But these clay tablets are not dated documents. Hence the elusion can be reached as to the immedates that have been assigned to them are diate source from which Moses obtained
merely conjectural and provide no solid the information that he recorded. He
basis for establishing a relationship in could have received it through direct revetime to the Biblical flood. None of the arti- lation, oral tradition or written records.
facts that have been excavated are defi- Perhaps all three sources were involved.
nitely known to date from pre-Flood times. It should be remembered, however, that
Archaeologists who have assigned items the important thing is, not the immeto the pre-Flood period have done so on diate source, but the fact that Jehovah
the basis of findings that, at best, can only God, by means of his spirit, guided the
be interpreted to give evidence of a great prophet Moses to write the reliable aclocal flood.
count preserved in the Genesis record.

What Rejecting Genesis Means

Those who reject the Genesis account may not realize that by so
doing they reject Christianity. Why? Because the ransom sacrifice of
Jesus Christ became necessary as a result of what Adam himself did.

I s t h e Bible Really the Word of God?, page 34.

S i r \ 0 YOU consider yourself a

m e r c if u l p e r s o n ?
Christ Jesu s said:
Continue becoming
merciful, just as your
Father is merciful.
(Luke 6:36) Are you
doing that? How can
you tell?
Mercy, to many, brings
th ou gh ts of s h o w in g
more kindness than justice requires, or forbearan ce show n to an
offender. Like Shakespeare they say, Mercy
seasons justice.
True, these are expressions of mercy, for it often does refer to
being lenient in punishing an offender or
showing clemency in judgment. But mercy
involves much, much more than this. In
fact, if we think of mercy only in those
senses, we are missing the real meaning
of mercy, taking too narrow a view of it.
We could hardly become like our Creator
if that is the sum of our understanding of
mercy.
Look in a dictionary and you will see
that mercy can also mean: A blessing
regarded as a manifestation of compassion and compassionate treatment of the
unfortunate. Yes, and these definitions
come closer to the basic meaning of mercy
as that quality is expressed in the ancient
languages used to write the Bible.

* 1J

INVESTIGATING THE BIBLICAL MEANING

Describing Gods personality, Psalm

145:8, 9 says: Jehovah is gracious and
merciful, . . . Jehovah is good to all, and
his mercies are over all his works. To
present Gods wonderful quality of mercy
the Hebrew writer here used the word
ra hham'. Of course, we know that Jeho411

vah does show mercy

when he forgives repentant wrongdoers
and shows forbeara n c e to o p p o s e r s .
(Compare Psalm 51:
1, 2; 103:3, 4; Daniel
9:9.) But is that the
basic meaning of the
word the psalmist used?
Let us see.
Some Hebrew scholars
believe the original source
of
ra is a word
meaning basically to be
soft and g en tle. They
connect it with the word
for womb (
').
So one Lexicon defines
rahham' as meaning to glow, to feel
warm with tender emotion; . . . to be
compassionate. How grand to know that
this is a distinguishing quality of our God!
He is merciful. And because mercy can
be said to be the active expression of pity
or compassion, this same Hebrew word is
sometimes translated pity.
For example, at Isaiah 49:15 God says:
Can a wife forget her suckling so that
she should not pity
[r the son of
her belly? What depth of feeling a mother normally has for the child of her womb!
But what calls forth this quality as described in the Hebrew text by rahham'f
Has her suckling infant committed an offense so that the mother has to decide
whether to show clemency or not? Not
likely. Evidently this merciful feeling is
stirred by her babys need, perhaps its
being hungry, ill or experiencing some
other cause of suffering. So she exercises
tender compassion toward it. God shows
mercy in similar expressions of compassion.
Take another example, that of Joseph

412

SfceWATCHTOWER

B r o o k l y n , N .Y .

in Egypt. On their second trip to Egypt in Words: ELEOS () is the outward

search of food, Josephs ten half brothers manifestation of pity; it assumes need on
brought along Benjamin, his only full the part of him who receives it, and rebrother (from the same womb [rehhem'] sources adequate to meet the need on the
as Joseph w as). On seeing Benjamin after part of him who shows it. Other Greek
oi tiraknd
so many years, Josephs inward emotions words (such as
khnon) convey the strong feeling of pity
[plural of
rahham']were excited toward
(merhis younger brother and Joseph left the or warm kindness of which
room and gave way to tears. Was this a cy) is the active expression.
case of showing compassionate treatment
But, better than definitions are examto an offender or adversaryone of the pies. What does Jesus own example tell
meanings of mercy? No, for although Jo- us as to the part mercy should play in our
sephs half brothers were guilty of personal lives?
offense, Benjamin was not. Instead, Josephs act was one bom of deep affection
JESUS SETS EXAMPLE IN MERCY
Prominent among those calling forth
and merciful concern for this younger
brother of his. What a richness this ex- Jesus mercy were parents whose children
ample gives to that Hebrew word that de- were ill, the blind, the demon-possessed,
scribes Gods mercy as well!Gen. 43:30; the leprous. (Matt. 9:27-29; Luke 17:1214) In response to their plea, Have mercy
37:12-28; compare 1 Kings 3:25-27.
So, then, are you merciful in the Bible on us, Jesus performed miracles to resense? You can see that mercy is not ex- lieve them. And he did so, not in a roupressed just by holding backas when tine, apathetic or condescending way, but
refraining from punishing to the limit an- moved with pity.Matt. 20:33, 34.
We can appreciate Jesus strong feeling
others offense or showing forbearance
to an opposer. Rather it primarily relates more by noting that, in this last phrase,
to the compassion you feel and express the Gospel writer used a verb (form of
toward those in difficulty, in need or at splag'khnon) that literally means to feel
the bowels yearn. Yes, Gods Son felt
some disadvantage.
deeply moved inside on seeing the needs
THE MERCIFUL WILL BE SHOWN MERCY
of others.
In the Sermon on the Mount Jesus said:
This same word describes Jesus feeling
Happy are the merciful, since they will upon seeing the crowds who gathered to
be shown mercy. (Matt. 5:7) Surely we hear him, for they were skinned and
want to be shown divine mercy. So we thrown about like sheep without a shepshould want to know what is included in herd. (Matt. 9:36; 14:14; Mark 6:34)
being merciful. That means finding out And that same merciful feeling caused Jewhat the meaning of the word is as used sus to provide those crowds with food so
in this text in the Christian Greek Scrip- that they would not give out on the road
tures.
on returning home. (Matt. 15:32) In ah
Here the Gospel writer used forms of this depth of feeling for people in disthe Greek word e'le os to describe merci- tress or need, resulting in acts of mercy,
fulness. We can see how closely it corre- Jesus was but reflecting his Fathers wonsponds to the Hebrew word (just consid- derful qualities.Compare Jeremiah 31:
ered) by this definition in W. E. Vines 20.
Expository Dictionary of New Testament
It is not enough to feel compassion; we

J uly 1, 1971

SHeWATCHTOWER.

must express it if we would be merciful.

In Jesus parable of the neighborly Samaritan, the Samaritan found a traveler lying beside the road, robbed and beaten.
He was not only moved with pity, but
he also acted mercifully toward him,
treating his wounds and caring for him.
Again we may note that no forgiveness
of wrongdoing or judicial proceedings were
involved. It was a case of feeling sympathy with the misery of another, and especially sympathy manifest in actone
of the definitions of' the verb form of
e7eos.Luke 10:3337.
These few examples help us to appredate how much is involved in being merciful. Must we wait until someone causes
us some personal offense or until someone
violates some rule or law to show mercy?
By no means, but we can show it to any
in need of help, to complete strangers as
well as to friends and those we love. Mercy
is indeed compassion in action.

413

of our lives! But what can we do in practical ways?

The greatest need of people today is
spiritual help. They are, in the majority,
spiritually starved, blind, groping about in
the confusing conditions that are upon us
with no real hope for the future. They
are like sheep without a shepherd. Moreover, Gods Word shows that a great
tribulation is due to break soon upon all
the earth and that those who would escape need to inform themselves now of
his provisions. (Matt. 2 4 : 3 4 2 8 , 21,22 , 36)
What are we doing to show mercy to such
ones? Jesus and his disciples were especially active in merciful giving of spiritual
gifts of far greater value than material
things. (John 6:35; Acts 3 : 1 8 )They
preached and taught the truth of Gods
Word to others. Do we do that?
Does such preaching and teaching, however, guarantee that we are fully satisfying the requirement of being merciful?
Jesus said: Give as gifts of mercy the
things that are inside. (Luke 11:41) You
SHOWING MERCY IN OUR DAILY LIVES
may share in carrying the Word of life to
Today is a time like that foretold by others, perhaps going right to their homes.
Jesus, a time when, along with the in- However, in doing this, why are you doing
creasing of lawlessness, we see that the it? Do you feel that by doing so for a
love of the greater number has cooled off. certain number of hours each month you
(Matt. 24:12) As love for the true God thereby prove yourself righteous before
diminishes, love for neighbor weakens. God? Or are your efforts rather a gift of
Selfishness, hardness, indifference to the mercy that comes from inside, an exproblems and sufferings of others, even pression of mercy from a loving heart?
cruelty, have grown, and this seems es- And, while going to visit persons who are
pecially true in cities and crowded areas. perhaps strangers to you, are you careful
The modem industrial society, with its also to show mercy to those you know,
concern for mass production and big profit, your own family, those who are your
has developed the organizational man, brothers in the faith?
and men are often viewed as mere parts in
We may remember that the Pharisees
a machine.
of Jesus day felt they had Gods favor beIn such a time, how refreshing is the cause they scrupulously paid tithes, made
quality of mercy! How important that we the required sacrifices and abstained from
appreciate its wide range of expression secular work on sabbath days. They were
and see the need to manifest it every day critical of any who did not measure up to

414

S&eWATCHTOWER,

their idea of what obeying the Law meant.

But Jesus told them: If you had understood what this means, want mercy, and
not sacrifice, you would not have condemned the guiltless ones. True, being
under the Mosaic law they were required
to observe those things mentioned, but not
to the point of disregarding the weightier
matters of the Law, including mercy.
Matt. 9:1-13; 12:1-7; 23:23.
How about us? We may be endeavoring
to serve God, regularly, even systematically and routinely; we may set aside certain
time for performing services and worship
and may make monetary contributions to
advance Gods pure worship. This is fine;
but what is our motive? Could we be so
concerned with gaining Gods approval for
ourselves that we fail to notice the needs
of others around us?
For example, what of those with whom
we meet for study of Gods Word? Does
our mercy come into play here? Many
people in Christendom, as we know, are
churchgoers but betray a shallow motive. They go to fulfill a religious duty,
for social benefits and conversation, or to
enjoy a quiet atmosphere contributing to
inner tranquillity. Their interest is in
themselves, not others. If we are merciful,
however, our interest will be in others; not
in what they can do for us as much as
what we can do for them.
Do we notice any who seem to be in poor
health and do we show concern for them?
Do we upbuild them by expressing appreciation for their faith that moved them
to come to the meeting? What of those
who seem timid, lonely, worried or depressed? Do we feel for them so that we
are moved to show interest in them and
try to increase their happiness? What a
fine spirit such mercy builds up in any
group of Gods servants!

B rooklyn , N .Y .

MATERIAL GIFTS OF MERCY

But while giving in spiritual ways is the

most vital, this by no means eliminates
showing mercy in material ways. When,
in the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus spoke
of making gifts of mercy he evidently
referred to gifts to the needy, to those
experiencing poverty, adversity, illness, or
other causes of difficulty. True, Jesus condemned the hypocritical persons who used
such gifts to bring praise to themselves.
But he did not downgrade or depreciate
the giving itself. To the contrary, he told
his disciples: But you, when making gifts
of mercy, do not let your left hand know
what your right is doing, that your gifts
of mercy may be in secret; then your Father who is looking on in secret will repay you.Matt. 6:1-4.
Dorcas was a Christian woman who
abounded in good deeds and gifts of mercy. What did these consist of? When Peter arrived after Dorcas death, all the
widows presented themselves to him weeping and exhibiting many inner garments
and outer garments that Dorcas used to
make while she was with them. (Acts
9:36-41) Yes, she was a merciful woman.
Whether she personally bore all the expense of making such garments for these
widows, or whether she contributed her
time, strength and talent only, the account
does not say. Today, some of us may have
little in the way of material means, but
we can contribute time, energy and talent
in performing deeds of mercy for others.
And, where our means allow, we can
mercifully aid worthy ones in a financial
way. The Law covenant specifically urged
such mercy, warning against hardening
ones heart or being closefisted toward
poor brothers. (Deut. 1 5 :7 1 0 ;compare
Proverbs 19:17.) Christian congregations
in the first century kept lists of widows
who were given material aid. Their worthiness to be on this list required that these

J u ly 1, 1971

fEeWATCHTOWER.

women also have a record of deeds of mercy, entertaining strangers, relieving those
in tribulation, and similar good works.
(1 Tim. 5:9, 10) Should we fear for the
future and hesitate to use our funds to
help the needy, thinking that we may ourselves come into need? The apostle Paul
assured his brothers in Corinth that God

415

would bless their cheerful giving, supplying them with what they needed.
2 Cor. 9:6-14.
What a meaningful, satisfying and rich
life the merciful lead! Happy are you if
you are among them, for God will make
you the object of his mercy, now and in
the days ahead.

,My Future Is Bright

The London, England, branch office of the Watch Tower Society received a letter
addressed Dear fellow Christians. It said: I am writing this letter to your
office to express my gratitude to your people who called on me at my home and
brought the wonderful message about Jehovahs kingdom. Though I have been
associated with the Salvation Army for forty years, I have to admit that I was
blind and ignorant about God and his true faith. But now, less than four months
since I started to study the Bible with your publications, I have learned many
truths about Jehovah God and his purposes. . . . I am 78 years of age, but the
future for me is very bright. I am going every Saturday and Sunday in the preaching work and am looking forward to being baptized at the next assembly.
Having a bright future depends upon ones willingness to learn about and do
Gods will.

What are the elementary things of the

world mentioned at Galatians 4:3 and Colossians 2:8, 20?U.S.A.
After showing that a child is like a slave
because of being under the stewardship of
others until he is of age, the apostle Paul,
in his letter to the Galatians, writes: Likewise
we also, when we were babes, continued enslaved by the elementary things belonging to
the world. (Gal. 4:1-3) He then proceeds to
show that Gods Son came at the full limit
of the time and released those Jews becoming
his disciples from being under the Law in order
that they might receive the adoption as sons.
(Gal. 4:3-7) Similarly, in his letter to the Colossians, Paul warned the Christians at Colossae
against being carried off through the philosophy and empty deception according to the
tradition of men, according to the elementary

things of the world and not according to Christ;

because it is in him that all the fullness of
the divine quality dwells bodily. They should
have died together with Christ toward the
elementary things of the world.Col. 2:8, 9, 20.
Being set in contrast with what such Christians now enjoyed, the elementary things of
the world evidently are the fundamental or
\primary principles followed by those who are
not true Christians, persons who are a part
of the world alienated from God. An American
Translation renders the Greek expression for
elementary things of the world as material
ways of looking at things. Of course, the way
a person views things is determined by the
principles that he follows.
The text we are considering, Colossians 2:8,
indicates that these primary principles or elementary things include the philosophies and
deceptive teachings based on human standards,
concepts, reasonings and myths, things in which
the Greeks and other non-Jewish peoples reveled. Additionally, as evident from Colossians
2:16-18 and Galatians 4:4-5:4, the elementary
things embraced the non-Biblical Jewish teachings calling for asceticism and worship of
the angels as well as the teaching that Chris-

416

B rooklyn , N .Y .

SEeWATCHTOWEFL

tians must observe the Mosaic law in order

to gain salvation.
But was not the Mosaic law of divine origin?
Certainly. How, then, could its observance be
referred to as ones being enslaved to the
**elementary things of the world99f
We must remember that the Law had been
fulfilled in Christ Jesus. He was the **reality
to which the Laws *shadows,* including the
temple and the sacrifices there carried on,
pointed. The Law had therefore served its purpose and so was no longer the standard for
judgment. (Col. 2:13-17) Not only this, but
these Christians to whom the apostle Paul
wrote were called to heavenly, spirit life. The
Law was for humans, was composed of **legal
requirements pertaining to the flesh, *even
its tabernacle (and later temple) could be
called **worldly (Heb. 9:1, 10, Kingdom Interlinear Translation; mundane, Moffatt) in the
sense that it was part of the human sphere,
something built and used in the world of mankind, not something heavenly or spiritual. But
now Christians were called to the superior
way of worship based on Christ Jesus, who
had entered into heaven itself. (Heb. 9:11, 24)
Of Jesus Christ, in a letter to the Colossians
the apostle said that **all the fullness of the
divine quality dwells bodily in him. (Col. 2:9)
That being so, then Jesus Christnot humans
and their principles or teachings, nor even the
now fulfilled Mosaic lawwas to be recognized
as Gods appointed standard for his servants,

If

hence as the full means of measuring the

truth with regard to any teaching or way of life.
As the apostle had counseled the Christians
at Colossae, similarly he wrote those in Galatia not to be like children by voluntarily placing themselves under that which was likened
to a *pedagogue* or *tutor,* namely, the Mosaic
law. Their relationship with God was now like
that of a grown son with his father. The Mosaic
law had become *elementary,* as compared
with the Christian teaching. So it would have
been wrong for Christians to turn back to
the **weak and beggarly elementary things
of the human sphere. They possessed the full
truth.
Similarly, today people forming the world
alienated from God live according to certain
philosophies of life and customs that are out
of harmony with Gods Word. But to them, this
is the *practiced** way to life, a way typified
by such expressions as: **The end justifies the
means*** ;It*s a *dog-eat-dog* world where it*s
*every man for himself***; *Alls fair in love
and war. They lack the wisdom from above,
spiritual insight. (Jas. 3:1318 )As Christians
we must exercise care that we do not slip into
following worldly principles in conducting our
family and business affairs and in dealing with
others. A Christian does well to ask himself,
Am I wholly guided by Gods Word and by the
example and teachings of his Son in everything
that I do, or am I letting myself be influenced
by the popular sayings of this world?

announcements

WAR EVEN IN HEAVEN

Usually people think of heaven as a peaceful

place. But did you know that there was a war
in heaven? It is mentioned in the Bible at
Revelation 12:7. Would you like to know when
it occurred and how mankind has been affected
by the results of it? Would you like to know
what it indicates for our future? If you would,
you will enjoy reading the book (<Then Is
Finished the M ystery of God. This hardcovered book of 384 pages contains a detailed
consideration of this heavenly war. It also
discusses in detail the first thirteen chapters
of the highly symbolic Bible book of Revela

S !

tion. You may obtain a copy of this book from

Jehovah*s witnesses when they call at your
home. During the months of July and August
they will be offering this book, along with a
booklet on a Bible topic, to the people in your
area for a contribution of only 50 cents.

WATCHTOWER STUDIES FOR THE WEEKS

August 1: Come Before Jehovah with Thanksgiving. Page 392. Songs to Be Used: 48, 43.
August 8: Assemblies After the Death of Christ.
Page 397. Songs to Be Used: 102, 65.

^ /L n n o rc ric iric i

JEHOVAH'S
KINGDOM
JU L Y 15, 1971
Semimonthly

DELIVERANCE FROM THE

AUTHORITY OF DARKNESS

THE APOSTLE W HO BECAME A THIEF

WTB&TS

YOU ARE MY WITNESSES, SAYS JEHOVAH.Isa.43:12

T H E PU R P O SE O F *T H E W A T C H T O W E R
E very w a tc h to w e r has its purpose. It serves as an elevated place fo r a
w id e-aw ak e person w ith sharp vision. It enables him to see far ahead into
the distance and tell those b elow for w h o m he is a w atch m an w h a t is
d raw ing near, w h e th er it is a danger against w h ich to prepare o r it is
som ething good over w h ich to be glad w ith strong faith and hope.
Because o f having the nam e "The W a tc h to w e r this m agazine ju stly
has to render a sim ilar useful service to the people o f all nations. T h is is
an in tern ational m agazine and m akes no racial distinctions, for w e are all
facing a com m on w o rld danger; w e are all hoping for a com m on good.
E ver since **The W a tc h to w e r began to be published in J u ly o f 1 8 7 9 it
has looked ahead into the future, a lw a y s striving to aid its readers to advan ce in know ledge and to gain a clearer picture o f the glorious n e w order
o f things th at is in store for righteous mankind. N o , **The W a tc h to w e r
is no inspired prophet, but it follow s and explains a Book o f prophecy the
predictions in w h ich have proved to be unerring and unfailing till n o w .
**The W a tc h to w e r is therefore under safe guidance. It m a y be read w ith
confidence, fo r its statem ents m ay be checked against that prophetic Book.
A m o n g the m an y nations o f today there are hundreds o f differing
religions. W h ich one does this m agazine present? N o t the confused religions
o f C hristendom , but the religion o f the oldest sacred Book on earth. W h ic h
Book? T h e Sacred Bible o f the H o ly Scriptures, w r itte n b y inspiration in
th e nam e o f the C reator o f heaven and earth, the o n ly living and true G od.
T h e sacred, nonpolitical purpose o f **The W a tc h to w e r is accordingly
to encourage and prom ote study o f the H o ly Bible and to give our m a n y
readers the needed unsectarian help to understand that Book o f true
religion and infallible prophecy. T hus this m agazine w ill be helping them
to prove w o r th y o f perfect life and happiness in G od s promised n e w order
under H is everlasting kingdom o f righteousness.

PUBLISHED BY TH E
WATCH TOW ER BIBLE AND TRACT SOCIETY OF PENNSYLVANIA
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They will all be taught by Jehovah.John 6:45; Isaiah 54:13

CONTENTS

A v e ra g e Printing Each Issue:

What Kind of Bread for a Hungry World? 419

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Five cents a copy

N o w Published in 7 3 Lan gu ages

How the True Church Helps

423

The Apostle Who Became a Thief

426

Deliverance from the Authority

of Darkness

428

God's Children Imitate What Is Good

434

Circumcised in Heart and Ears

441

Questions from Readers

447

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* jd r iT io z iT ic ir iq

J E H O V A H S
KIN G D O M
July 15, 1971

Number 14

voice such critit t / HRISTIANS

cism? More and
\ _ j are plundering Christians is
more persons today
the title of a speech
have. They are
by Helder Camara,
hearing serm ons
saying that it is
the Catholic archbishop of Recife in
tim e the churches
Brazil.
stop debating and
V ery sim ilarly,
start to act. It is
German theologian Helmut Gollwitzer deeds that are wanted, says minister
in the book The Rich Christians and Morris; the poor and hungry cannot eat
the Poor Lazarus w rites that bap- our words, so give them bread. Yes, more
tized ones are plundering unbaptized and more churchmen are saying that this
ones.
is the primary way to follow Jesus in
our
day.
What do these churchmen mean?
Is
it? What would you say? Surely you
English Methodist m inister Colin Morlong
to see poverty and hunger erased
ris explains his view of the m atter in this
from
the earth, do you not? But could
way: The Church bears unlimited rethere
be a better, more effective way to
sponsibility [toward the worlds poor], for
help
the
worlds poor and hungry than
has she not for centuries trumpeted her
the
way
these
churchmen urge?
guardianship of the little people of the
If you want to be a true follower of
earth? Referring to the small white
Christian and W estern m inority as the Jesus Christ, you need to know. What can
rich 20 percent of the worlds population, you do, what should you do as a real
while the remaining 80 percent are sub- Christian? Consider first some of the
methods that those calling themselves
ject to famine and poverty, he writes:
Compared with those hungry millions, revolutionary theologians or secular
the Church is as rich as Croesus and as theologians are advocating today.
money-conscious as Midas. We are a rich
METHODS OF MODERN THEOLOGIANS
Church in a hungry world. That is why
Often
they refer to German theologian
our message rings hollow and our influBonhoeffer,
who, before he was executed
ence declines.*
by the Nazis in 1945, suggested that the
Have you personally heard churchmen first step is for the Church to dispose of
all its property for the benefit of those
* Include Me O ut!, Confessions of an Ecclesiastical
Coward, by Colin M orris (London; 1968), pp. 57, 67,
in dire need. Ordinary church charity,
89, 90.

MUT HMD Of BIUD

tot 9
HUNGRY WORLD?

419

B rooklyn , N .Y .
SEeW ATCHTOW ERcalled caritas, w ill not do anymore, they that Christians must love, not just with
say. Caritas in the traditional sense, that words, but in deed and truth. (1 John
is, relief of distress by means of charity, 3:18) But what kind of deeds? Changing
is not sufficient . . . because the distress an unjust society by political action or
is far too big. The Rich Christians and even by revolutionary violence? Was Jesus a revolutionary' principally concerned
the Poor Lazarus.
Is that all? No, something else is need- with providing material food for people or
ed, they say, and that is political effort. did he do an even more vital work w ith
W rites Catholic Archbishop Helder Cama- a nobler purpose? What are the facts?
ra: If we Latin-American Christians
SEPARATING TRUTH FROM ERROR
would accept our responsibility for the
That
plundering has been done and
underdevelopment in this continent, then
that
Christendoms
churches bear a rewe can and must work to promote radical
sponsibility
cannot
honestly
be denied. Hischange everywhere in the community, estory
shows
that
in
many
lands
Christenpecially in politics and education. At
doms
churches
and
church
leaders
leagued
the conference of the World Council of
with
and
favored
the
wealthy
over
the
Churches in Uppsala, Sweden, in July 1968,
poor.
It
shows
that
often
the
churches
the same signal was heard.
themselves became very wealthy. In MexiThe aim is to change the unjust society.
Archbishop Camara prefers nonviolent ac- co, for example, the Catholic Church at
tions, such as those of the movement for one tim e owned by far the majority of
racial integration of which Martin Luther the land in the entire country. Perhaps
King was a leader. Other m inisters and you have read in the newspapers reports
theologians, however, say violent revolu- on the great wealth of certain church
tion may be necessary. German theologian organizations in your own land. Now some
Gollwitzer writes in his book that the churchmen are confessing the responsinormal and most obvious attitude for the bility that lies at the door of their churches and on the shoulders of their church
Christian is absolute pacifism. But as a
members
for much of the worlds poverty.
secondary alternative he states: Out of
They
feel
guilty and rightly so.
responsible love to those that suffer, he
But,
even
though such plunderers can
w ill in a given situation decide to use revobe
counted
among
the baptized, are these
lutionary violence.
churchmen
right
in
calling them ChrisHow do they try to support such methtians?
Do
genuine
Christians
share their
ods as being Christian? By asserting that
guilt?
And
is
the
distribution
of
bread inJesus Christ was a revolutionary! Methostead
of
words
what
will
correct
the hoidist clergyman Morris states that the
Church is on the wrong side of the bar- lowness of the churches m essage and
ricade in the revolution of our tim e, by the worldwide decline of their influence
not taking a stand for the underprivileged that these churchmen are so worried
classes. He claims that Jesus is on the about? Is that the example Christ Jesus
opposite side of that barricade, there can set?
be no doubt about it, for he is a revoluA WRONG INTERPRETATION
tionary.
It is only by drastically tw isting the conAre these conclusions and the methods
based on them sound? Or is it a case of tent of many Biblical passages that these
m ixing truth w ith error? The Bible shows theologians can give this impression of Je-

420

u l y

15, 1971

SEeW ATCHTOW ER.

sus purpose and example. For instance,

they often (as at the world conference in
Uppsala), refer to Jesus words at Matthew 25:40: To the extent that you did
it to one of the least of these my brothers,
you did it to me.
They interpret those words to mean that
the least of Jesus brothers are all the
people in the world who suffer distress.
And so, they believe, the Christian is obligated to give them food, drink, clothes,
medical help and so forth. The best way
to do this, some believe, is through a political effort, through help to the developing countries and the like. They say Jesus
is to be identified w ith every needy person that one m ight happen to meet, even
if such a distressed person is prone to
say and do what by any Biblical standard
is plain evil.*
But who does Jesus say his brothers
are? At Matthew 12:50 he says: Whoever
doesthe will of my Father who is
heaven, the same is my brother. Jesus
brothers, including even the least
ones, are, of course, his disciples; consequently they are the Christian congregation.
Now, read for yourself Jesus words at
Matthew 25:31-46. Who are the ones gathered in front of the throne of the king, to
be separated into two flocks, the goats
and the sheep? Yes, who are those being judged according to the help they gave
Christs brothers? N ot Christs congregation but the nations of the earth, persons
outside the Christian congregation, who
are judged by the way they act toward
the congregation, formed of Christs
brothers.
That this is the correct understanding
of Jesus words is very clearly shown by
what he said on another occasion, as related at Matthew 10:40-42: He that receives you receives me also, and he that
* Include Me O u tl, p. 81.

421

receives me receives him also that sent

me forth. . . . whoever gives one of these
little ones only a cup of cold water to
drink because he is a disciple, I tell you
truly, he w ill by no means lose his reward. So, it is not simply a m atter of
helping a poor person because he is poor,
but is one of helping a Christian disciple
because he is a disciple. It is, then, a
matter of recognizing the disciple for what
he is, accepting his message, taking sides
with him by also becoming Christs disciple.
So rather than describe the Christians
as the rich who are to help the poor
people in the world in a m aterial way,
Jesus words at Matthew 25, on the contrary, show it is the people in the world
who have an opportunity to help Christs
spiritual brothers who are in need. In this
way these non-Christians can show they
are on the side of the true Christian
in
message.
People who are not Christs spiritual
brothers, then, can, in other words, help
these Christian witnesses in a quite literal
way with food, drink, clothes, and mediceil aid and by visiting them in prisons.
For true Christians w ill very often be in
situations where such help is highly welcome, especially in countries where they
are persecuted and imprisoned. Jesus
words cannot be used to prove that the
Christian m inistry should aim primarily
at supplying the m aterial needs of the
poor people of the world.
WRONG VIEW OP CHRISTIAN CONGREGATION

Why do the theologians interpret these

words of Jesus incorrectly? Is it not because they assume that the small white
. . . and Western m inority made up of the
rich in the world are the true Christian
congregation? Is the error not that they
believe that the churches of Christendom
and all their members are true Christians?

422

SEeW ATCHTOW ER,

Some of these theologians can see that

there has been a turning away from true
Christianity, but apparently they do not
draw the full consequence of this knowledge.
One of them, Methodist Colin Morris,
understands that such turning away possibly took place back in history when
whole communities [could] be baptized
into the name of Jesus. Then the Church
became a powerful institution, instead of
remaining a small m inority of personal
witnesses in whom word and act were perfectly joined. But he does not accept
the consequence of this train of thought,
namely: that the churches of Christendom
are not identical with the Christian congregation.
The attem pt by these theologians to renew and awaken the churches of Christendom thus rests on a wrong foundation.
The large passive laity they are trying to
activate are not true Christians. So the
job is not merely one of making them
active. It is to make them real Christians.
NOT WITH BREAD

Previously, the churches of Christendom

made entire nations Christian by political means. But they did not make the individuals true Christians, for real Bible
knowledge and genuine appreciation of
what Christianity really means was usually missing. These people became Christians only in name. Many people today
are church members because they have
been christened as babies and not because
they have taken a personal stand for the
teachings of the Bible. They are Christians in name only. Some have become
church members because of the social advantages connected with it. They too are
Christians only in name.
When the efforts of Christendoms missionaries consisted of giving medical help,
distributing food and giving advice with

B rooklyn , N .Y .

regard to agriculture, their converts often

became rice Christians, that is, people
who have pretended interest in Christianity in order to get rice or other help.
A well-known religious weekly, The Christurn Century, wrote in 1960: New Roman Catholic churches which were built in
places [in Formosa (Taiwan) ] where
there was no Catholic population were
equipped for storage and distribution of
relief supplies. . . . Priests used the U.S.
surplus commodities that came to them
so cheaply as come-ons for converts and
stay-ons for the come-ons.
The same religious weekly wrote on
February 20, 1960, that there were, at
that tim e, no more rice Christians on the
Chinese mainland. Judging from this information, you can conclude that since it
is now Mao Tse-tung who gives people rice,
they now believe in him. Rice Christians
are not real Christians. These or similar
methods do not produce true Christians.
JESUS EXAMPLE

Only by following Jesus example can

Christians help others to become true
Christians. Jesus was primarily a preacher
and a teacher. He said: For this I have
been bom, and for this I have come into
the world, that I should bear witness to
the truth. (John 18:37) His miracles, his
healing the sick, his feeding the hungry
and resurrecting dead ones, were to serve
as signs that he was the Messiah, the One
who was sent by God and whose words
people should listen to. The miracles were
at the same tim e evidence of what he as
King in Gods kingdom in due time will
do, to the everlasting good of mankind.
But apart from his offering his life as
a ransom, the most important part of Jesus m inistry nineteen hundred years ago
was what he said, the words he spoke. He
spoke life-giving words that he had heard
from God, words, which, if heeded, could

JULY 15, 1971

fEeWATCHTOWER.

423

lead one, not simply to bread for a meal

or two, but to the greatest of goalseverlasting life. To some, to whom he had
miraculously given bread on the previous
day, Jesus said: Work, not for the food
that perishes, but for the food that remains for life everlasting.John 6:27.
When Jesus sent out his disciples, he
did not send them out with material bread
but with spiritual food, the word of life.
He said: The sayings that I have spoken
to you are spirit and are life. (John 6:63)
It would become known that they were
the true Christian congregation because
they followed Jesus example. Jesus congregation of true disciples still exists and
still consists of a m inority of personal
witnesses. As regards the world of man

kind, its task, its assignment, is this: In

all the nations the good news has to be
preached first, and make disciples of
people of all the nations . . . teaching them
to observe all the things I have commanded you.Mark 13:10; Matt. 28:19, 20.
Only this congregation can make genuine Christians out of people, and only it
can make them active in the true Christian ministry. Only in cooperation with
this congregation w ill the individual be
able to do proper acts of love, in harmony
with Gods will and to the eternal good of
the needy of the world. The most important thing for each individual is to find
the true Christian congregation, to take a
personal stand for true Christianity and
to associate with this congregation.

the circumstances of the people among

whom they serve. Yet they expend their
very lim ited funds to bring Gods Word
to the common people. The popular claim:
One cannot preach to a hungry man;
he wants bread, not words, is not universally true. Jesus Christ him self dedared: .
Everyone that is on the side of
the truth listens to my voice. John 18:
37.
In any emergency situation, of course,
the Christian witness w ill help if he is
personally able to do so, as Jesus taught
in the parable of the neighborly Samaritan. (Luke 10:29-37) But the true Christian w ill not forget that he has a commission to preach Gods kingdom.

RUE Christianity has survived in a

minority of personal witnesses, a
true Christian congregation that has kept
in mind what its commission of work
means. Thereby it has been able to make
true disciples of Christ out of people instead of merely making them rice Christians or Christians in name only.
The true Christian congregation is not
a rich Church. And since its members,
each and every one, are witnesses who
serve personally by going directly to the
people in their homes, as Jesus and his
apostles did, they are able to reach peopies hearts with their message, even those
who are afflicted with hunger and poverty.
The Christian witnesses usually share

424

SEeW ATCH TO W ER
THE REAL SOLUTION

So, then, what should you do if you

want to follow the example of Gods Son?
You m ust be merciful and compassionate,
true. But how can you best show that
m ercy and compassion? Would you, for
example, throw a m atchstick to a man
drowning in the middle of a stormy sea?
Hardly. Y et the efforts of churchmen to
solve the problems of the world of mankind by concentrating on material giving
are very much like that. They only scratch
the surface as to bringing true relief. For,
as long as selfishness and greed continue,
poverty and hunger w ill follow.
Yes, an entire world system needs to
be changed. But how? Political action
m ay change governmental structures. But
can it change the hearts of men? Is that
not where the problem lies?
Churchmen who urge their parishioners to join in political activity and reform
movements are simply trying to sew patches on an old worn-out garment. But Jesus
showed that true Christianity is not a
case of patching up an old garment. (Matt.
9:16, 17) And, instead of patching up this
present world system with all its injustices, its inequalities, its greed and oppression, God is going to discard it as no
good, worthy to be destroyed. In its place
he w ill bring in a new system , founded on
righteousness and justice. Of his Son, who
w ill head that righteous rule over earth,
the prophecy says: And with righteousness he m ust judge the lowly ones, and
w ith uprightness he m ust give reproof in
behalf of the meek ones of the earth. . . .
and w ith the spirit of his lips he will put
the wicked one to death. Then and then
only w ill poverty and hunger disappear
from the earth.Isa. 11:4, 5; 2 Pet. 3:13.
SPIRITUAL AND MATERIAL ASSISTANCE

The help that the Christian is able to

give, then, is not just of a temporary nature, but is of more lasting value, since

B rooklyn , N .Y .

it is true that man m ust live, not on

bread alone, but on every utterance coming forth through Jehovahs mouth.
M att 4:4.
The one who receives the word of life
brought to him by a Christian w itness will
gain something to live for. He gets a hope.
He sees meaning in life. He understands
that he him self can be of some value and
that he can be used to help others. This
gives him the desire to live a decent life.
He gains self-respect. Before hopelessness
may have made him apathetic, made him
neglect his fam ily, disregard his duties or
perhaps even caused him to give himself
up to self-destroying vicesa situation
that material help alone cannot remedy
but he now gets a purpose in life.
He may still be poor, but he w ill not
be miserable. He has started a completely
new life where spiritual values are the
most important thing and the seeking of
Gods kingdom and of his righteousness
comes first. (Matt. 6:33) He w ill assod ate with the Christian congregation and
he will get friends there. He w ill learn the
importance of industriousness and cleanliness. He w ill learn moderation, and instead
of wasting his money, he w ill learn to do
good with it.
If he should find him self in real need,
the congregation will help. (Jas. 2:15,16)
Yes, even if their brothers in a whole
country come into need the Christian w itnesses in other lands w ill do all they can
to help them. In this way the Christians
in Macedonia and Achaia in the first century helped the needy Christians in Judea,
where there was a famine. (Acts 11:28,
29; Rom. 15:26) And after the same pattern Jehovahs Christian witnesses, for example, in the United States in 1945 sent
large quantities of clothes and food to
their fellow believers in Germany who had
been freed from the concentration camps.
In like manner, on numerous occasions

July 15, 1971

S&eW ATCHTOW ER.

425

the Christian witnesses of Jehovah have ing about Jehovahs Christian witnesses
given physical and humane help when whom he met in the German concentration
catastrophes and disasters have struck, as camps. He said:
when they supplied aid for their Christian
W ithout losing courage and without
brothers in Peru after the earthquake in compromising their conviction, these men
May 1970.
had lived for years in German concentraGiving such m aterial help, however, is tion camps. . . . The Bible Students who
not the
main commission of the congrewere generally respected in the concentragation. The main commission of the con- tion camps . . . submitted to their trials
gregation is to be a light to the world of patiently and with a peculiar gladness of
mankind, by the lives they live and by heart because they had been found worpreaching Gods kingdom and helping thy of walking in the footsteps of Christ
those who seek that kingdom to become and of bearing the same sufferings as their
true Christians.
Lord and Master had once borne in a wicked world. There is only one thing about
CORRECT VIEW OF DISTRESS IN WORLD
the attitude of these people that I cannot
The true Christian congregation thus understandand even less today than at
keeps clearly in mind its main commission the tim e when I first m et them in deep
and maintains the right view of the dis- respect for their mental strength. That is
tress in the world. It does not close its how they could bear to see others suffer
eyes to the misery and does not act deaf so terribly without being weighed down to
toward the cry for merciful help, but with the ground with the burden of sympathy.
confidence in God it gives the help that
The answer is: They have confidence
it is able and is commissioned to give.
that someday very soon now Jehovah will
Christians must serve lovingly in the intervene and in a perfect way do away
world and help where they can. Trusting with all misery and distress. Millions who
in God, they must, however, keep their have died in our tim e and in years past,
commission clearly in mind. If they take both the righteous and the unrighteous,
on a task other than the one they have will come to life again and get the opporbeen given, they w ill fall short in two tunity during Christs thousand-year reign
ways: In the first place, they will not be to show their attitude toward Christ and
able to fulfill the task they have taken his Messianic kingdom.Acts 24:15.
on themselves, since their work w ill not be
Now, if you are not convinced that God
blessed by Jehovah. (Ps. 127:1) And in the will and is able to intervene, your only
second place, they w ill neglect the work trust will be mans own groping efforts.
that they should have been doing and Then everything will, indeed, look purthereby prove to be false Christians. No, poseless and hopeless. But that need not
to be true Christians they must never lose be the case. Avail yourself of the help
from sight the fact that the good news Gods Christian witnesses give. Learn the
about Gods kingdom is the m ost vital truths of Gods Word, the Bible, and you
provision they can give the people.
will have a firm foundation for a strong
True, they see much distress and misery faith.
that they are not able to do anything
Gods true church or congregation w ill
about. How can they stand the sight of remain a m inority of personal witnesses.
all this? The same question was asked by It does not have a passive laity. All are
the late news editor N iels Jorgensen, writ- active, absorbed in serving others in a

426

SEeW ATCHTOW ER.

loving way. This congregation is keeping

free of this world, in accordance with
Jesus words: They are no part of the
world, just as I am no part of the world.
(John 17:16) Its Christianity is not of
the world, worldly or secular. There*
fore, it w ill not take on political tasks. It
w ill not allow itself to be sidetracked or
employed w ith other tasks than the one
w ith which it has been entrusted. It must
all the tim e hold the true hope of Gods
kingdom before people of the world.

B rooklyn , N .Y .

The m ost important thing for you, for

every individualincluding the poor and
afflictedis to enter into a right relation*
ship with God and Christ. To that end the
Christian witnesses of Jehovah are sent
into the world, not with m aterial bread,
which would be only a temporary help,
but with spiritual food, the word of life.
These words from God will open the way
to peace with Him, and at the same tim e
the way to eternal life in Gods new order,
when there w ill be plenty for all.

THE APOSTLE WHO BECAME A THIEF

T T AS anyone ever stolen anything kept together in a box. Jesus gave that
from you? How did you feel about box to Judas to take care of.
it? Whoever stole it
Of course, the money
was a thief, and nobody An article specially designed for did not belong to Judas,
likes a thief.
parents to read with their children
Jesus was the one who
Did you know that
would tell him how to
one of Jesus apostles became a thief? use it. But do you know what Judas did
after a while? He started to take money
His name was Judas Iscariot.
from the box when he wasnt supposed
Judas knew the things it was right to do.
to. He would take it when the others
Even when he was a small boy he had
were not looking. He became a thief.
heard the law of God. He knew that once Now he began to think about money all
God had even spoken from heaven with the time. He tried to find ways to get
a big voice and told his people: You must more of it.
not steal. Judas knew that Gods law was
One day a woman took some very fine
right.Ex. 20:15.
oil and used it on Jesus feet to make him
When he grew up he m et the Great feel good. But Judas complained. He said
Teacher. Judas liked the things that Jesus that the oil should have been sold so they
said. Judas became a disciple of Jesus. would have more money to give to poor
Later, Jesus even picked Judas to be one people. Really he wanted to get more money in the box so he could steal it. What
of his twelve apostles.
do you think of a person like that?John
Jesus and his apostles spent much time 12 : 1- 6 .
together. They traveled together. They ate
Jesus did not tell Judas right then that
together. And money for the group was he was a thief. But he did tell him not

J uly 15, 1971

SEeW ATCHTOW ER.

to make trouble for the woman who had

been so kind. Judas did not like that. What
would he do?
He should have felt sorry. He should
have told Jesus that he had been stealing,
and he should have put the money back.
But, instead, he did something terrible.
He went to the chief priests, who were
enemies of Jesus. They wanted to arrest
Jesus. But they wanted to do it at night
so people would not see them. Judas told
them; will tell you how you can get
Jesus, if you give me money. How much
will you give me? The priests said; We
will give you thirty pieces of silver! That
was a lot of money.Matt. 26:14-16.
Wicked Judas took the money. It was
just as if he was selling the Great Teacher
to those men. Can you imagine anyone doing such a terrible thing? Well, that is
the kind of thing that happens when a
person becomes a thief. He loves money
more than he loves God.
Now, lets be sure that we understand
this m atter clearly. To understand what
a thief is, we need to know what it means
to own something. People own things because they have worked for them. Or they
bought them with money. Or
maybe they were given to them
as gifts.
When your father works he
gets paid money for it. Does he
own that money? Yes, because
he worked for it. It is not yours;
it is his.
With that money he buys the
things in your
home. He owns
them. Because he
owns them, he
has the right to
say who may use
them. He tells
you if you can
play with them

427

or not. And he probably lets your mother

tell you this too.
Sometimes you go to play w ith other
children in their house, dont you? The
things in their house belong to their father. Would it be all right to take something from their house and carry it to your
house? Not unless their father or mother
tells you that you can. If you carry something home without asking them, that
would be stealing.
Why does a person steal? Well, he may
see something that belongs to another person. Perhaps it is a bicycle. The more he
looks at that bicycle and thinks about it,
the more he likes it. If he is not a loving
person, he does not care how the other
person feels. So he may hit the other person and try to take the bicycle away from
him. Or he may w ait until the other person is not looking. Then he takes the
bicycle away. What is he really doing?
He is stealing.
Maybe the other person doesnt see him
steal the bicycle. But someone sees him
do it. Do you know who? Jehovah God
sees him do it. God sees that he is a thief.
It does not make any difference if the
other person has many things or just a
few. Some people go
to a store and see
lots of things there.
They see something
that they want very
much. They may tell
them selves that nobody w ill m iss just
one. So they take it,
but they do not pay
for it. Is that right?
No, it is stealing.
W hen people do
that, they are being
like Judas. Because Judas was a thief! Lets
be sure that we are
never like him.

FROM THE AUTHORITY

OF DARKNESS
*'He delivered us from the
authority of the darkness and
transferred us into the kingdom of the Son of his love.
Col. 1113.
/ OST people, whether aware of it
C V L or not, are very much affected
by the surroundings and influences of their
childhood, including all their inherited
traits. Because of the prevailing spirit of
independence and rebellion against established authority and those in control,
many young people today feel that they
can kick over the traces and successfully
resist all such influences. But this is not
true. Besides our immediate fam ily background, in the wider sense we are all members of the human family, and naturally
tend to go along with the crowd, or some
particular section to which we are
attached, and im itate them in their
attitudes and behavior. More and more
this is marked by selfishness, and by indifference to what are considered oldfashioned standards of decency and
morality, including the Bible and its
standards.

2
Thus, by nature and through birth, we
are all children of the one large fam ily
and, humanly speaking, it seems impossible either to avoid or to overcome its
many bad influences. Some have tried to
start a new way of life, one that is entirely good, only to find them selves copying and falling in line w ith one or another
of the prevailing patterns of thinking and
of conduct. So you m ight well ask: Is
there no hope? Is there nothing I can do
to change things, at least for m yself?
Yes, there is hope. There is something you
can do. Strange as it may seem, you can
transfer to a different fam ily. You have
the choice of a different parent. Instead
of brushing this aside as fanciful and incredible, we invite you to consider with
us the reasons given as a basis for making
these statem ents. At the outset, however,
we can truly and sincerely say that many
hundreds of thousands from all nationalities and walks of life have already done
just that. They have transferred to a new
family, and chosen a new parent, with
tremendous benefit to themselves. How
have they done this?
8 You may, or may not, be fam iliar with
the Bible. Perhaps your only contact has
been through one of Christendoms churches, and you have viewed the Bible through
the teachings of that church. In any case,
we appeal to you to let the Bible speak
for itself, and listen to what it has to say.
Right now we invite your attention to the
apostle Pauls argument in his letter to
the Romans. Early on, he establishes a
fundamental truth, namely, the existence
of a personal Creator, whose invisible
qualities are clearly seen from the worlds
creation onward, because they are perceived by the things made, even his eternal power and Godship. Unless this is

L W hat kind of surroundings and influences are we

up against?
428

2. (a) How have some tried to change things, and

w ith w hat re su lt? (b) Is there a basis fo r hope, and
of w hat kind?
3. (a) W hat vital tru th is of p rim ary im portance?
(b) The denial of this tru th leads to w hat re su lts?

J u ly 15, 1971

ifikW ATCH TO W ER.

acknowledged, there can be no transfer as

above mentioned. This vital truth is often
disputed and denied today, as Paul warned.
Speaking of God, he tells of those who
did not glorify him as God nor did they
thank him, but they became empty-headed
in their reasonings and their unintelligent
heart became darkened. . . who exchanged
the truth of God for the lie and venerated
and rendered sacred service to the ereation rather than the One who created.
Paul then tells of the outcome: That is
why God gave them up to disgraceful sexual appetites . . . And just as they did not
approve of holding God in accurate knowledge, God gave them up to a disapproved
mental state, to do the things not fitting.
How true those words are today! Surely
all of such are under the authority of
darkness.Rom. 1:20-28.
4The apostle stressed the same truth
when speaking to the Athenians on Mars
Hill, but notice the hope he gave us in
these words: He [God] made out of one
man every nation of men, . . . and he decreed the appointed tim es and the set limits of the dwelling of men, for them to
seek God, if they m ight grope for him
and really find him, although, in fact, he
is not far off from each one of us. (Acts
17:26, 27) To help us in our groping, God
has given us his Word, the Bible, as a
lamp to our feet, and a light to our roadway. (Ps. 119:105) The Bible is not just
a collection of good books by good men.
It is of divine authorship in its entirety.
It is the Word of the personal, living Creator. Yes, God is alive, and the word
of God is alive. It w ill guide and protect
us, lest we should fall in the same pattern of disobedience, as described at Romans 1:21-28. With these things in mind,
let us follow the argument further in the
letter to the Romans.Heb. 4:11-13.
4. W hat provision has God m ade fo r those seeking
him, and how should it be view ed?

429

5 As members of the human fam ily, we

are all imperfect, due to our first parent,
Adam. Created in the image of God, and
recognized as his earthly son, he lost that
happy relationship for him self and his offspring by his w illful disobedience. (Gen.
1:26; Luke 3:38) As Paul says: Through
one man sin entered into the world and
death through sin, and thus death spread
to all men because they had all sinned.
(Rom. 5:12) But, as just reminded, we
have grounds for hope. Is it possible that
God has made the way open for a restoration, or transfer, back to a peaceful relationship with him, as children of his family? We are encouraged to entertain this
hope when Paul next tells of Gods free
gift. He makes a series of fine contrasts,
and commences by saying: But it is not
with the gift as it was with the trespass.
For if by one mans trespass many died,
the undeserved kindness of God and his
free gift with the undeserved kindness by
the one man Jesus Christ abounded much
more to many. (Rom. 5 :1 5 2 1 )How this
works out is explained earlier at Romans
3:23-25: For all have sinned and fall
short of the glory of God, and it is as a
free gift that they are being declared righteous by his undeserved kindness through
the release by the ransom paid by Christ
Jesus. God set him forth as an offering for
propitiation through faith in his blood.
See also 1 Timothy 2:5, 6.
To whom is this free gift made
available? Who are these who are dedared righteous . . . through faith in
his [Christs] blood? To appreciate this,
we must keep in mind that Paul, in his
letters, was w riting to Christians, who
collectively made up the congregation of
God. (1 Cor. 11:22) He knew that for
centuries his own kinsmen, the Israelites,
5. (a) W hy is the hum an fam ily in desperate need?
(b) W hat free gift has been provided, an d how does
it w ork out?
6. W hy was P aul disturbed over th e Israelites, and
was th e ir rejection to ta l?

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B r o o k l y n , N .Y .
SReW ATCHTO W ER
m y relatives according to the flesh, had of the heart by spirit, and not by a writbeen Gods chosen people, and had been ten code. (Rom. 2:28, 29) Paul later apbrought into covenant relationship with plies the same principle to the nation as
God. W ith the advent of their Messiah, a whole, saying: For not all who spring
Jesus Christ, they could expect to enter from Israel are really Israel. . . . That is,
into still closer relationship, as Paul in- the children in the flesh are not really the
timated when he said of them: To whom children of God, but the children by the
belong the adoption as sons. But this promise are counted as the seed, as was
very thing gave Paul great grief and un- illustrated in the case of Isaac. (Rom. 9:
ceasing pain. (Rom. 9:2-5) This was be- 6-8) In other words, the tim e had come
cause, as a nation, they stumbled on the when being members of Gods chosen peostone of stumbling, Christ Jesus. (Rom. pie, forming the true Israel, did not de9:32; see also 1 Peter 2:7-10.) They vio- pend on fleshly descent in the normal
lently rejected Gods beloved Son as their course. Rather, God purposed to have a
Messiah, causing him to be impaled on the spiritual Israel, the members of which are
torture stake, and put to open shame. transferred into his fam ily by a special
Hence God cast them off, but not with a operation of his holy spirit, and on meettotal rejection. God did not reject his ing certain requirements. Only a few, a
people, whom he first recognized. After remnant, of fleshly Israel showed faith in
Paul refers to Elijah, at the time when accepting Jesus as Gods anointed One.
God reminded Elijah, saying: I have left Therefore, as Paul shows, God turned to
seven thousand men over for myself, men the people of the nations, the non-Jews,
who have not bent the knee to Baal, then to give them the opportunity of making
Paul continues: In this way, therefore, up the predetermined number of spiritual
at the present season also a remnant has Israel, the Christian congregation.Rom.
turned up according to a choosing due to 11 :12.
8Membership in the Christian congreundeserved kindness.Rom. 11:2-5.
gation is strictly limited in number. Jesus
THE TRUE ISRAEL
spoke of them as a little flock, and three
7 Was Gods purpose to fail because the times in the book of Revelation the acgreat m ajority of the Jews were so lack- tual number is given as 144,000. (Luke
ing in faith, and so bitterly opposed to 12:32; Rev. 7:4; 14:1, 3) Are these the
Gods means of salvation through Christ only ones who make up Gods fam ily? Are
Jesus? Never may that happen! (Rom. no others spoken of in the Bible as Gods
3:3, 4) Paul gives the vital key as to who children? If so, there would not seem to
actually comprise Gods chosen people, be much purpose in further discussing
and the conditions that must be met in this comparatively small body of people,
order to be recognized as his children, unless one had definite evidence of ones
members of his fam ily. He does this from membership therein. Paul, at Romans 8:
both the individual and the national view- 14-17, tells of this evidence, saying that
points. First, he explains that he is not all who are led by Gods spirit, these are
a Jew who is one on the outside, nor is Gods sons. For you did not receive a
circumcision that which is on the outside spirit of slavery causing fear again, but
upon the flesh. But he is a Jew who is one you received a spirit of adoption as sons,
on the inside, and his circumcision is that by which spirit we cry out: Abba, Fa-

7. To aid in identifying the tru e Israel, w hat deep

tru th did P au l disclose?

8. Is m em bership lim ited in the sp iritu al Israel, and

w hat is the evidence of m em bership?

J uly 15, 1971

SfceW ATCHTOW ER

ther! He then goes on to tell of their

heavenly hope of being joint heirs with
Christ, provided we suffer together that
we may also be glorified together.See
also Revelation 20:6.
8 Happily, however, Paul does not leave
the matter there. The calling and selection
of those who make up the true church,
and leaving all the rest of the human family to be written off as lost, if not also as
consigned to eternal torment, as taught by
many of Christendoms creedsthis is certainly not the Bible teaching. In proof of
this, notice what Paul goes on to say after
mentioning the above-mentioned heavenly
hope. He says that the eager expectation
of the creation is w aiting for the revealing
of the sons of God . . . [and] that the ereation itself also w ill be set free from enslavement to corruption and have the glorious freedom of the children of God.
Showing that by the word creation he
has the entire human fam ily in mind, as
distinct from the Christian congregation,
Paul next says: For we know that
creation keeps on groaning together and
being in pain together until now. Not only
that, but we ourselves also who have the
first fruits, namely, the spirit, yes, we ourselves groan within ourselves, while we
are earnestly waiting for [the final] adoption as sons, the release from our bodies
by ransom.Rom. 8:19-23.
10What a glorious conception and description of the outworking of Gods purpose! At the same tim e, it recognizes the
pressures and sufferings that cause all of
us to groan. In addition, what makes this
a matter of intense interest is the fact that
this eager expectation is about to be
fulfilled! In 1914 the great change in the
sovereignty of this world took place. Loud
voices occurred in heaven, saying: The
9. (a) Is th ere any hope io r the re st of the hum an
fam ily? If so, w hat? (b) W hom did P aul refer to
when speaking of creation a t Rom ans 8:1923?
10. W hat eager expectation is about to be fulfilled?
By what events since 1914?

431

kingdom of the world did become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he
w ill rule as king forever and ever. Next,
there was announced the arrival of the
appointed tim e for the dead to be judged.
(Rev. 11:15,18) As other scriptures show
that judgment starts with the house of
God, this meant the resurrection from the
sleep of death for those of the Christian
congregation who had proved faithful
even to death. Shortly, these w ill be closely associated with Christ Jesus in heaven
in bruising the head of the serpent, Satan
the Devil, after Gods war at Armageddon.
Thus these sons of God, with Christ Jesus, the foremost Son of God, w ill be revealed.1 Pet. 4:17; 1 Thess. 4:16;
2 Thess. 1:7, 10; Rev. 2:10; 16:14-16;
19:11-20:3; Rom. 16:20; John 1:34.
11
Following that, during the thousandyear reign of Christ, and his bride (the
144,000) sharing with him, all mankind
will be set free from enslavement of
every kind, including even death. They
will realize that they have been restored
to a fam ily relationship with God, as John
heard announced: The tent of God is with
mankind, and he w ill reside with them,
and they will be his peoples. And God
himself will be with them . (Rom. 8:
21; Rev. 21:1-4) At the same time, they
will realize that the immediate rulership of the kingdom is in the hands of
Christ Jesus, and that their release from
the domination of Satan, the ruler of the
authority of darkness, and from sin and
death, has been made possible through
the release by the ransom paid by Christ
Jesus. (Eph. 2:2; Col. 1:13; John 1:29;
Rom. 3:24) Instead of inheriting death
from their first parent, Adam, they w ill
receive perfect human life from the last
Adam, Christ Jesus. (1 Cor. 15:45) He
11. (a) W hat freedom from enslavem ent will m ankind
enjoy during C hrist's reign? (b) How will C hrist Jesus
prove to be the E tern al F a th e r?

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SEeW ATCH TO W ER

w ill be their life-giver, their father. As

foretold: The princely rule w ill come to
be upon his shoulder. And his name will
be called . . . Eternal Father, Prince of
Peace. All of this w ill be accomplished
by the very zeal of Jehovah of armies.
This is a thrilling prospect indeed, but you
do not have to wait.Isa. 9:6, 7.
A PRESENT DELIVERANCE

12In reply to the disciples question:

W hat w ill be the sign of your presence
and of the conclusion of the system of
things? Jesus foretold certain activities
that would take place under his direction,
following his enthronement in 1914. Since
that tim e there has been a remnant of the
Christian congregation still on earth, who,
through the m inistry of the angels, and a
trumpetlike call, have been gathered into
a close unity. This has led to the clear
identification of the faithful and discreet
slave class, appointed over all Christs
Kingdom interests. Also, since his enthronement, attended by all the angels
with him , he has, through the Kingdom
message given as a witness to all the nations, caused a separation of the people
one from another, just as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. (Matt.
24:3, 14, 31, 45-47; 25:31, 32) In other
words, there has already occurred an
identifying of the sons of God, those
with the heavenly hope. So growing numbers of all creation have gladly recognized these spiritual brothers of Christ
Jesus, and have ministered and done good
things to them, as Jesus foretold at Matthew 25:34-40. These growing numbers
constitute a great crowd . . . out of all
nations, pictured as before the throne
of God, enjoying his favor, and rendering him sacred service day and night in
his temple, that is, at the spiritual temple
12. (a) W hat events have already led to an Identifying
of th e sons of God? (b) Who have recognized this,
resulting in w hat blessings?

B rooklyn , N .Y .

that God pitched, and in d ose unity with

the temple class of Christs brothers.
This is the happy experience of Jehovahs
witnesses, and is in full harmony with Jesus words at John 10:16: And I have
other sheep, which are not of this fold
[of the little flock]; those also I must
bring, and they w ill listen to m y voice,
and they w ill become one flock, [under]
one shepherd.Rom. 8:19, 22; Heb. 8:2;
9:11; Rev. 7:9, 15; Eph. 2:21, 22.
13How can you become one of these
other sheep? First, as Jesus said, you
must listen responsively to his voice, and
become one of his disciples. The big step,
as far as you are concerned, is that of
whole-souled dedication to Jehovah God,
following Jesus example. (Ps. 40:8; Rom.
12:1) You are encouraged, but not forced
or pressured, to take this step. It must
be your choice, your freewill expression
of faith in the provision of the ransom
sacrifice, and of your gratitude and devotion to Jehovah. In this way you are
transferred to a new family, and become
one of Gods children. It m ight be said that
you have chosen a new parent, for with
deep appreciation you can join with others of Gods sheep in addressing him as
Our Father. (Matt. 6:9) The clergy and
people of Christendom regularly repeat
the Lords Prayer, and talk about the fatherhood of God and the brotherhood of
men, but it is largely a form ality, and a
mockery in view of the prevailing conditions and spirit throughout Christendom.
14As to freedom from enslavement, it
is important to appreciate the true position in this regard. Sometimes Pauls
words are quoted as being the Christians
actual experience in hard fact, when he
said: I really delight in the law of God
according to the man I am within, but I
13. How can one become one of C hrists oth er sheep,
leading to w hat new relationship?
14. (a) How m ight a negative view be taken of P auls
words a t Romans 7:1 8 2 3 ( ?b) How does the context
help to give a m ore balanced view ?

J uly 15, 1971

SfeW A TC H TO W ER

behold in m y members another law warring against the law of my mind and leading me captive to sins law that is in my
members. (Rom. 7:22, 23) If this is the
last word on the subject, then the position
is indeed negative and frustrating. Let us,
however, take a look at the context.
Though Paul is writing to Christians with
the heavenly hope, the same principles
hold true for all Jehovahs dedicated peopie. At Romans 5:21 Paul says: Just as
sin ruled as king with death, likewise also
undeserved kindness m ight rule as king
through righteousness w ith everlasting
life in view through Jesus Christ our
Lord. Paul then shows that our present
life is closely linked with Christ in heaven,
and that just as Christ was raised up
from the dead through the glory of the
Father, we also should likewise walk in a
newness of life, here and now. Paul later
speaks of the fruit that you used to have
[as slaves of sin] . . . things of which you
are now ashamed, and then Paul adds:
However, now, because you were set free
from sin but became slaves to God, you
are having your fruit [not mere wishful
intentions] in the way of holiness, and the
end everlasting life.Rom. 6:4, 20-22.
15Then, with empathy, Paul puts himself in the position of those Jewish Christians who argued that Gods favor, for
themselves and for Gentiles, finally depended on meeting the requirements of the
Law given through Moses, including circumcision. Paul argues very strongly here
and elsewhere, to show the hopelessness
of such a position, and he cries out: Who
will rescue me from the body undergoing
this death? Is there a rescuer? Yes!
Thanks to God through Jesus Christ our
Lord!Rom. 3:20; 7:1, 18-21, 24, 25;
Gal. 3:10-14.
15. From whose view point does P au l argue in Romans,
chapter 7, and elsew here?

433

1Now notice how Paul goes on to describe the Christians true position, with
great emphasis on life, saying: For the
law of that spirit which gives life in union
with Christ Jesus has set you free from
the law of sin and of death . . . the minding of the flesh means death, but the minding of the spirit means life and peace . . . If,
now, the spirit of him that raised up Jesus
from the dead dwells in you, he that raised
up Christ Jesus from the dead will also
make your mortal bodies alive through his
spirit that resides in you.( Rom. 8:2, 6,
11) What a strong and positive position!
Though Gods spirit can operate in a special
way, giving some the hope of life in heaven, yet that same active force can and does
operate on behalf of all of Jehovahs dedicated witnesses. It sustains and strengthens the other sheep today to share in
the m inistry with the anointed remnant
who are in the new covenant, making the
truth m anifest to all peoples, invigorating
even their mortal bodies with the power
beyond what is normal. (2 Cor. 3:6; 4:2,
7) Granted, it is a daily battle with the
flesh, but it need not be and should not
be a losing battle. (Rom. 8:13) Granted,
we are imperfect and daily need to ask for
forgiveness of our shortcomings, but Jehovah has kindly made ample provision
so that we can all maintain a clean standing before him. It is so effectual that it
w ill cleanse our consciences from dead
works that we m ay render sacred service
to the living God. (Heb. 9:14; see also
Revelation 7:14; 14:5.) These are among
the benefits enjoyed by the many himdreds of thousands of Jehovahs witnesses,
who, by dedication and water baptism,
have come into Gods fam ily and, in a
preliminary way, are enjoying the glorious freedom of the children of God. All of
16. (a) How does P aul describe the C hristian's tru e
position, and w ith w hat em phasis? (b) In w hat way,
and to w hat extent, can we take a positive outlook
and course of action?

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S&eW ATCHTOW ER

these can truly join with the apostle Paul

in his cry of exultation, that nothing will
be able to separate us from Gods love that
is in Christ Jesus our Lord!Rom. 8:
21, 39.
17It surely has been a great help and
encouragement to pay heed to Paul and
17. From w h at other servant of Jehovah can we expect
guidance and encouragem ent?

B rooklyn , N .Y .

follow his line of reasoning, inspired by

Gods spirit. There was, however, another
faithful servant who also enjoyed a unique
relationship with Jesus, though w ith a dif*
ferent background and personality, and we
will look forward to receiving further upbuilding counsel by paying attention to
the apostle John and what he wrote under
inspiration.

GOD'S CHILDREN H E WHAT IS GOOD

W

HAT child is there who does not

love to get a seed of some kind,
and put it in a jar, and watch the start
of a new life? Every day the child will
peer into it, viewing attentively the signs
of growth. Grown-up people also take the
keenest interest in learning all they can
about how a new life gets started. The
initial germ, or cell, is microscopic, yet it
contains a complex code, or pattern, govem ing its future development. As the Bible says of each form of life, it produces
according to its kind. (Gen. 1:11,12, 21,
24) The tremendous amount of energy
stored up in that minute cell, with its potential of being endlessly renewed, also excites wonderment. Though much has been
discovered, giving evidence of purpose and
design, life is still a m ystery. No wonder
we love to peer at the beginning of a new
life, whether human, or animal, or in
plants. If it comes from good stock, it will
follow the same pattern, and will imitate
what is good.
2 The Bible reveals a similar attitude on
the part of the angels. We can imagine

1. In w hat particu lar thing do old and young take keen

interest, and w hy?
2. Did the angels show a sim ilar interest? How is
th is indicated?

imitator ,n o t o f w h a t is
b a d , b u t o f w h a t is g o o d . H e
th a t d o es g o o d orig in a tes w ith
G o d . 3 J o h n 11.

"Be an

their intense interest in what Jehovah, the

Creator, was causing to be done on our
tiny planet, microscopic compared with
the universe, when it was being prepared
to sustain life in endless variety and beauty. It is recorded that, at that time, they
joyfully cried out together, and all the
sons of God began shouting in applause.
And what a thrill when they saw the climax of it all, the creation of man, in
Gods image!Job 38:7; Gen. 1:27.
3That creative work was carried out
through the master worker, Jesus, in
his prehuman existence, and he, too, found
it to be of absorbing interest. Gods Word
speaks of him as then saying: was glad
at the productive land of his earth, and
the things I was fond of were with the
sons of men. He has never lost that interest in the human family. Likewise with
the angels. Speaking of Gods purpose,
3. Was God's m aster w orker"
Has this been m aintained?

likewise interested?

J u ly 15, 1971

SEeW ATCHTOW ER.

435

*Did the apostle John show a similar

interest? Listen to the opening words of
his first letter: That which was from the
beginning, which we have heard, which
we have seen with our eyes, which we
have viewed attentively and our hands felt,
concerning the word of life . . . that which
we have seen and heard we are reporting
also to you, that you too m ay be having
a sharing with us. Furthermore, this sharing of ours is with the Father and with
his Son Jesus Christ. There is no doubt
of his interest, is there? And what a kindly invitation! He wants us, he wants you,
to share with him. He desires that we
should feel drawn to him, for he has
worthwhile things to tell us, things that
have warmed his heart, and will warm
ours, and w ill help us in setting matters
straight. As he says: We are writing
these things that our joy may be in full
measure. Surely it w ill help us to look
at these good things through his eyes, that
we may learn to evaluate properly, and
imitate, what is good.1 John 1:1-4.
6Will Johns letter help us to get a
deeper appreciation of our relationship
with Jehovah? Will it help us to maintain
that relationship in the face of adverse
pressures, and subtle enticements? Why,
his introduction, just quoted, indicates
that very thing. But, first, let us introduce the writer himself. This w ill aid us
to get a better understanding of what he
wrote, and why he wrote it.

*What kind of man was John? He is

often called the apostle of love, and rightly
so, for the theme of love permeates his
writings. Does this mean, as is sometimes
said, that he had a gentle, serene disposition, with never a hard word? If you
have that idea, you are in for a surprise.
John thought in accord with his heart, as
well as with his mind. He held strong
views, accompanied w ith strong feelings,
and was not afraid to express himself. He
did not mince his words, or put on the
soft pedal. To impress the force of his
argument, and drive the point home, he
often made use of a strong contrast. The
question is, Are you prepared to take it,
and face up to it? He wrote his three letters somewhere about 98 C.E., when he
was well advanced in years, and could
write with authority as a mature Christian. As a background, he had enjoyed extremely close association with Jesus during Jesus entire m inistry. John came closer to Jesus than anyone else. (Mark 1:19,
20; 5:37; John 13:23; 19:26, 27; 21:20)
John was far from being gentle by natural
disposition. Once, when the Samaritans refused to entertain Jesus, then John and
his brother, James, asked him: Lord, do
you want us to tell fire to come down from
heaven and annihilate them ? N ot for
nothing did Jesus give those two brothers
the surname Boanerges, which means
Sons of Thunder. There is no contradiction in this. True love, besides being kind
and long-suffering, is marked by loyalty.
John was intensely loyal. He wrote his letters when, as foretold, there were many
who were proving disloyal.Luke 9:54;
Mark 3:17; Matt. 13:25; Acts 20:29, 30;
1 John 2:18.

4. (a) How did John express his in terest in the word

of life ? (b) W hy should we feel draw n to Jo h n ?
5. In w hat w ay do we expect to be helped by Jo h n s
first letter?

6. (a) As indicated by his style of w riting, w hat kind

of m an was John? (b) W hat w as Jo h n s relationship
w ith Jesus, and w hat surnam e w as given John, and
w hy?

centered in Christ and his footstep followers, Peter says that into these very
things angels are desiring to peer.Prov.
8:30, 31; Heb. 13:8; 1 Pet. 1:12; see also
Colossians 1:15, 16.
THE APOSTLE JOHN

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B rooklyn , N .Y .
SReW ATCHTOW ER.
GOD IS LIGHT
*Following the principle laid down at
1
A fter his introduction, John comes1 John 1:5, John proceeds to apply it as
straight to the point, saying: This is the a direct challenge, saying: If we make
message which we have heard from him the statement: We are having a sharing
. . . that God is light and there is no dark- with him, and yet we go on walking in
ness at all in union with him. (1 John the darkness, we are lying and are not
1:5) How did John hear this message? In practicing the truth. He drives the point
his Gospel, John testified regarding Jesus: home, saying: He that says: have come
The light is shining in the darkness, but to know him , and yet is not observing
the darkness has not overpowered it, and his commandments, is a liar [Greek:
that Jesus gave authority to those exer- pseustes] , and the truth is not in this percising faith in him to become Gods chil- son. (1 John 1:6; 2:4) These repeated exdren. These were not bom again by hu- pressions: If we make the statem ent,
man birth, but were bom from God by his and he that says, as at 1 John 1:6, 8,
spirit. (John 1:5, 12, 13) John then re- 10; 2:4, 6, show that John was keenly
corded how Jesus him self had confirmed aware of the worsening conditions within
this when talking to Nicodemus, who the Christian congregation. The enemy
came, unseen, to Jesus at night. Jesus had lost no time in sowing weeds in
spoke to him about being bom from the among the wheat, men who speak tw istspirit, and that unless anyone is born ed things to draw away the disciples after
again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. them selves. (Matt. 13:25; Acts 20:30;
He also spoke of the basis for judgment, see also James 4:1-4.) These ones claimed
that the light has come into the world but to be in the truth, but their actual deeds
men have loved the darkness rather than and course of action belied their claims,
the light, for their works were wicked, and proved them to be counterfeit, pseuand went on to contrast the one who hates do Christians, antichrists. John uses the
and avoids the light with the one who words lie and liar a number of times,
comes to the light, in order that his commencing at John 8:44, and on to Revworks may be made m anifest as having elation 22:15. A liar is not one who, by
been worked in harmony with God. This mistake, utters a falsehood unintentionalwould disturb Nicodemus, for, though he ly. A liar is one who knowingly utters an
had a certain love for the truth, his loyalty untruth, designed to deceive and mislead.
to it was overshadowed by the fear of man. Lies and truth do not mix. John was inJohn 3:1-8, 19-21.
tensely loyal to the truth. He knew that no
8Thus we learn that light stands for lie originates with the truth.1 John
truth and righteousness, in contrast with 2 : 21.
darkness, which stands for error and false10How do these things apply to us tohood, and things wicked and unclean. We day? It is not difficult to see how Christenhave also learned more about our deliver- dom is composed largely of those who
ance from darkness, and being transferred make a mere profession of being Chrisinto Gods kingdom, and into his family, tians. Jehovahs witnesses, however, take
this signifying the start of a new life.
their stand entirely separate from ChrisCol. 1:13.
7. (a) W hat was the message John heard, and from
w hat source? (b) How did Jesus relate light and darkness to the basis for judgm ent?
8. W hat can we learn from Jo h n s Gospel respecting
light and darkness, and our deliverance?

9. (a) Regarding 1 John 1:5, how did John apply this

to his day? (b) W ith w hat significance did John make
references to lies and liars?
10. (a) W hy do we not expect a general falling away
among tru e C hristians? (b) W hy does a careful w atch
still need to be kept?

J u ly 15, 1971

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437

tendom, a stand based solely on Gods fice for our sins, yet not for ours only [of
Word and its principles of truth and righ- us with the heavenly hope] but also for
teousness. We are assured that in this the whole worlds. (1 John 1:8-2:2) Yes,
harvesttime, referred to by Jesus, there those with an earthly hope, the great
will not again be a large-scale falling away crowd from all nations, have washed
into apostasy. (Matt. 13:30, 43; 2 Thess. their robes and made them white in the
2:3, 8) But we cannot afford to be indif- blood of the Lamb. (Rev. 7:14) John
ferent. The same
later makes the
enemy, Satan, the
d istin c tio n beTH E N EXT IS S U E
dragon, is on the
tween the brothw arp ath , m ore
er sinning a sin
How Christian Morals Are Viewed.
wrathful than evthat does not in* The Christian Ministry What Does It
er. The moderncur death, for
Include?
day history of Jew h om w e ca n
hovahs witnesses
pray, and the dem Having the Truth That Leads to Eternal Life.
sh ow s th a t a tlib erate, w illfu l
tempts have been
sin that does inmade by some, making up an evil cur death, for which we do not pray. All
slave class, to assume control over Je- unrighteousness is sin; and yet there is a
hovahs work and his people. This was sin that does not incur death. This shows
especially seen during the World War I that John was not an extrem ist, but was
period. Jehovah, however, has cleansed well balanced as a mature, older man.
his organization, and made it wholly theo- 1 John 5:16, 17.
cratic. The credit is due to him, not to
GOD IS LOVE
man. Individually, careful watch has still
1
2
Closely
linked
with the definition that
to be kept. The records show that, in our
God
is
light,
John
also
says that God
congregations, some need to be warned,
is
love.
(1
John
4:8,
16)
John first
others put on probation, and others have
learned
about
this
from
the
same
source
to be disfellowshiped. Why? Because,
while claiming to be in the truth, they do as previously mentioned. He recorded that
not practice the truth. This often starts Jesus said to Nicodemus: For God loved
in a small way, but, if persisted in, it leads the world so much that he gave his onlyaway from the light into the darkness out- begotten Son, in order that everyone exside.Rev. 12:17; Matt. 24:48; 25:30.
ercising faith in him m ight not be de11We need to be on guard. None of stroyed but have everlasting life. (John
us are physically perfect. John says: If we 3:16) The same truth is expressed at
make the statement: We have no sin, we 1 John 4:9, 10. As before, John makes a
are misleading ourselves and the truth
direct application of this vital truth, sayis not in us. If we confess our sins, he is
ing: Beloved ones, if this is how God
faithful and righteous so as to forgive us
loved us, then we are ourselves under obour sins and to cleanse us from all unligation to love one another. He later
righteousness. This can be done because
drives the point home by way of a forcewe have a helper w ith the Father, Jesus
ful contrast, saying: If anyone makes the
Christ, . . . [who] is a propitiatory sacri11. How can a n acceptable standing w ith Jehovah be
m aintained?

12. (a) W hy are we under obligation to love one another? (b) W hy is one who hates his b ro th er in a
dangerous position? W hat course should he tak e ?

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B r o o k l y n , N .Y .

statem ent: love God, and yet is hating in our own judgments. He that hates his
his brother, he is a liar. (1 John 4:11, 20) brother is in the darkness . . . and he does
In other words, if you have got your knife not know where he is going, because the
into your brother, if only one, deliberately darkness has blinded his eyes. To counavoiding and refusing to speak to that one, teract any such tendency, let us practice
or to acknowledge him, or her, as a mem- what John says about being unselfish,
ber of the congregation, then you are put- thorough and practical, not shutting the
ting yourself in a very dangerous position. door of our tender compassion when we
You are really acting as a judge, over and see our brother in need. Let us love, neiabove the congregation. If Jehovah ac- ther in word nor with the tongue [only],
cepts that one as one of His family, can but in deed and truth.1 John 2:11; 3:
you afford to treat him, or her, as dis- 17, 18.
fellowshiped as far as you are concerned,
14 For our encouragement, note this
your face hardening if that one comes in grand word of John: God is love, and he
sight? Could you afford for Jehovah to that remains in love remains in union with
treat you on that basis? Perhaps you say God and God remains in union w ith him.
that, in the first instance, it is your broth- This is how love has been made perfect
er who has his knife into you. Well, painful with us. (1 John 4:16, 17) To remain in
though that may be, if it is admitted, it love means to be determined and conremains to be said that you must be the sistent in pursuing a course of action alfirst to take your knife out of him. Do not ways governed by true, Godlike love. Due
im itate what is bad. If it is a matter of a to imperfection and wrongful desires, one
strong dislike and bad feeling, keep look- may stumble, but the wicked one does
ing for opportunities, perhaps in small not fasten his hold on him, causing him
ways, to show your desire to be friendly. to abandon that course. Never may that
If there is some grievance, not yet settled, happen! Rather, by proving steadfast, he
then the course to be followed is clearly remains in union with God and God relaid down at Matthew 18:15-17. John says: mains in union with him. How stimulatB y this we have come to know love, be- ing! To know that the true God, Jehovah,
cause that one surrendered his soul for us; is in union with you, on your side, trainand we are under obligation to surrender ing you, making you firm and strong, leadour souls for our brothers. That is the ing you on to the finish, why, that gives
good example to im itate. 1 John 3:16. you unshakable confidence and courage.
13
This does not mean that we must treat1 John 2:16; 5:18; see also John 10:
all the brothers exactly alike. Jesus did 27-30; 1 Peter 5:9, 10.
not. It was m anifest that there was a spe15 So now, little children, remain in
cial bond between him self and John. But union with him. (1 John 2:28; see also
Jesus did not cold-shoulder any one of his John 17:20-26.) That theme runs throughfollowers, not even Judas Iscariot, right out Johns letter. We remain in union with
to the end. In evidence of this, none of his God when we are loving God and doing
disciples had any idea, as far as Jesus his commandments. (1 John 5:2) This
manner was concerned, as to who would requires determination. Jesus was deterbetray him. Do not let us be too quick to 14. W hat does It m ean to rem ain In love, and w hat
rich blessing does this bring?
be too right in our own eyes, too stubborn 15.
(a) To prove our love for God requires w hat good
13. Did Jesus cold-shoulder any of his followers? How
can such a tendency be overcome?

qualities? (b) W hat is the distinction betw een being

sensitive and being touchy? (c) W hen and how were
the good qualities shown by Jesus and his m other?

J u ly 15, 1971

SEeW ATCHTOW ER.

mined. He was also keenly sensitive. Nothing escaped his notice. Though sensitive
to a perfect degree, he was in no way
touchy, or easily offended, because he was
in no way proud, or self-opinionated. He
had no self-pity. These qualities were
shown in an interesting way by Jesus, also
by his mother, Mary, when at a marriage
feast in Cana of Galilee. (John 2:1-11)
To everyones embarrassment, the wine
ran short. Jesus mother said to him:
They have no wine. She did not drop
her voice, speaking in a m atter-of-fact
way. She evidently raised her voice in
question form, and Jesus was at once fully
aware of what was in her mind: They
have no wine. Are you not going to do
something? Though overstepping the
mark in attempting to direct Jesus in his
ministry, he did not take it as a personal
offense. Instead, he firmly, yet kindly, replied: What have I to do with you, wornan? My hour has not yet come. What
was her reaction? Did she bridle up and

439

say: That is not a very nice way to speak

to your mother, in front of these servants? Instead, showing her determination, she went right ahead with what was
in her mind, and said to the servants:
Whatever he tells you, do. Ah! now, was
it Jesus turn to be deeply offended? Did
he angrily turn on her, and say: I told
you just now to keep your place. Why do
you not pay heed? Instead, he did an
amazing thing. Although his hour had not
yet come, he did exactly what his mother
had indicated. He did tell the servants to
do something. Surely he could have performed a miracle, and produced all the
wine required, without saying a word to
the servants.
18 However the m atter may be viewed,
both Jesus and Mary showed determination and sensitivity, yet without being
touchy. Remember that no one had stronger reason than Mary for expecting Jesus
to perform miracles as soon as he started
his ministry, considering the wonderful
miracle she had experienced in her own
body just over thirty years before. For
her, it was the start of a new life within
her. Gods angel, Gabriel, on a personal
visit (not by a dream ), had explained that,
by holy spirit, she
would conceive in her
womb, and that what
is bom w ill be called
h o ly , G ods S o n .
(Luke 1:26-38) From
that moment, she was
keenly sensitive to the
fact that she was indeed highly favored
of Jehovah. In a most
unique and intim ate
way she was brought

When the wine ran out at a wedding feast, both Jesus

and his mother showed determination and sensitivity without being touchy and Jesus performed his first miracle

16. (a) W hy did M ary have

good reason fo r expecting
Jesus to perform m iracles?
(b) In w h a t w ays w as M ary
b rought w ithin a n in n er circle?

440

3EeW ATCHTOW ER ,

w ithin the inner circle of his favor, and she

was determined to stay there. She could not
accompany Jesus during his m inistry, but
when the end came, and her Son was on
that terrible torture stake, she was there,
close enough for Jesus to speak to her.
Though in great mental and physical
agony, Jesus very kindly arranged for his
m other to be taken within the inner circle
of the home of John, the disciple whom
he loved. More than that, a few weeks
later, when that even more wonderful inner circle was being formed with that little
company at Jerusalem, she was there and
was included in their number. That small
band was chosen by God to form the nucleus of the Christian congregation, the
start of a new creation.John 19:2527; Acts 1:14; 2 Cor. 5:17.
17 It is good to be determined and sensitive to privileges that come our way.
To be brought within Gods fam ily circle
is truly a great favor, and we should always be keen to take in the spiritual solid
food so as to maintain our sensitivity, by
keeping our perceptive powers trained
in order to retain these privileges. (Heb.
5:14) Should a special privilege be ours,
in being a full-tim e servant of Jehovah in
a m issionary or Bethel home, we should
be determined to stay there, if possible.
Of course, a change is sometimes necessary, and this may not be because of unfaithfulness, or due to being touchy, or
offended. For example, the reason for the
change may be that one has decided to
marry, and it is readily acknowledged that
there is a world of difference between being touchy, and being touched.
18 John sharply contrasts those who
17. In w hat way is it good to be both determined
and sensitive?
18, 19. (a) How does John contrast the children of
God and the children of the Devil ? (b) How is God's
spirit, also faith, likened to a seed? W hat confidence
does this give us, y et w ith w hat need for our day?

B rooklyn , N .Y .

originate with the Devil, w ith those who

originate with God, or who have been
born from God. Though at one tim e we
may have been part of the world, lying
in the power of the wicked one, we can,
by responding to Gods invitation, be
transferred, or passed over, into his family. Says John: We know we have passed
over from death to life, because we love
the brothers. This is owing to the spirit
which he [God] gave us. That spirit, like
a seed, if planted within a good heart,
will be the start of a new life. As John
writes: Everyone who has been bom
from God does not carry on sin, because
His reproductive seed remains in such
one, and he cannot practice sin, because
he has been bom from God. (1 John 3:8,
9 ,1 4 , 24; 5:19) This must be coupled with
faith, which Jesus likened to a mustard
grain, the tiniest of all the seeds. Though
microscopic to begin with, if properly nurtured, it will grow with endlessly renewed
energy, and you will be able to remove,
or surmount, all obstacles. Nothing w ill
be impossible for you, if it is in harmony
with Gods will. It w ill enable us, as Gods
children, successfully to im itate what is
good, because everything that has been
bom from God conquers the world. And
this is the conquest that has conquered
the world, our faith.Matt. 13:31, 32;
17:20; 1 John 5:4.
19In these closing days of the old system of things, the obstacles and obstruetions to our Christian life and service are
very severe. There are many problems.
Jehovah foreknew this, and provided helpful and tim ely counsel in his Word. It will
be good to consider this in the light of
what the Scriptures have to say regarding
circumcision, especially that of the heart,
as already mentioned.

1Obstinate men and uncircumcised in

hearts and ears, you are always re*
sisting the holy spirit"Acts 7:51.

IRCUMCISION has been known and

practiced for about as long as records have been kept. It has been a subject of much interest, both from the viewpoint of health, also the viewpoint of
religion. Circumcision probably became
necessary, in the first place, on medical
grounds, due to the effect of mans fall
from perfection. In any case, whenever it
began to be practiced, evidently it was soon
given a religious significance. This is understandable in view of the Bible record.
Fallen man venerated and rendered sacred service to the creation rather than
the One who created. (Rom. 1:25) This
logically led to improper attention, even
worship, being given to sex and fertility, and anything related thereto. Circumcision, which literally means cutting
around, pertains to the organ of sex and
procreation, and serves as a permanent
mark of identification, also as proof of
initiation into a social or religious group.
But, we ask, does circumcision find a proper place in true religion? If so, we want
to give it proper attention, based on a
correct understanding. To obtain this, we
must go to Gods Word, the Bible, the only
source of reliable information.
2The first mention of circumcision in
the Bible is when God made, or confirmed,
his covenant with Abraham, who was then
ninety-nine years old. God said to Abraham: This is my covenant that you men
will keep, between me and you men, even
your seed sifter you: Every male of yours
must get circumcised . . . in the flesh of

1. W hat significance w as given early on to circumcision,

and w hy?
2. W hen and w ith whom did God m ake circumcision
a requirem ent? W hat details w ere given?
441

your foreskins, and it m ust serve as a sign

of the covenant between me and you.
Further details were given: Every male
of yours eight days old must be circumcised . . . Every man born in your house
and every man purchased with money of
yours must without fail get circumcised
. . . And an uncircumcised male who will
not get the flesh of his foreskin circumcised, even that soul must be cut off from
his people. He has broken my covenant.
Hence deliberate refused meant death, not
just dismissal from the household, for either a son or a male slave. Gen. 17:1014, 22-27.
3 Two questions arise here. There is no
question as to Gods right in the matter,
but perhaps we wonder why circumcision
was chosen as the sign, especially as, humanly speaking, the operation involves
some pain and embarrassment. When God
gives a sign, or symbol, to be observed,
usually its fitness can be seen quite readily, such as water immersion as a symbol
of ones dedication to Jehovah. The other
question is, Why was the entire household
involved, including all the male slaves?
Was it not just Abraham and his descendants who were actually in the covenant?
We will be interested to see if Gods Word
throws any light on these questions.
4 The Hebrew Scriptures show that
Abrahams descendants, the Israelites, continued to observe the above requirement.
It was incorporated in the Law given
through Moses, though not given as a new
3. W hat two questions arise from the record a t
Genesis 17:10-14?
4. (a) W hat situation arose req u irin g Gods command
given a t Joshua 5 :2 7 ( ?b) How does Jehovahs word
a t Joshua 5:9 have special significance?

442

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B r o o k l y n , N .Y .

commandment. (Lev. 12:3) However, dur- your necks any longer. This was necesing the forty years wandering in the wil- sary in order to carry out, not the cerederness, the baby boys then bom were monial requirements, the letter of the law,
not circumcised. It was a new generation but the fundamental requirements, based
that finally crossed the river Jordan into on true love, as expressed in the appeal:
the Promised Land. Jehovah then gave And now, O Israel, what is Jehovah your
the order to Joshua to circumcise all the God asking of you but to fear Jehovah
sons of Israel. When completed, Jehovah your God, so as to walk in all his ways
said significantly: Today I have rolled and to love him and to serve Jehovah your
away the reproach of Egypt from off you. God with all your heart and all your soul.
(Josh. 5:2-9) Since the evidence indicates Later, Moses again appeals, showing how
that the Egyptians practiced circumcision, both the heart and the ears are involved,
this may mean that now the Egyptians saying: Jehovah your God w ill have to
would have no basis for reproaching Is- circumcise your heart and the heart of
rael due to the uncircumcision of so many your offspring, that you may love Jehoof its males. Also, there was now a youn- vah your God with all your heart and all
ger generation of Jehovahs people, from your soul for the sake of your life. He
whom the last trace had been cut away, in puts the choice before them: If you w ill
symbol at least, from having any connec- listen to the commandments of Jehovah
tion w ith Egypt, along with its false gods your God, so as to love and obey him,
and unclean worship. Now we can begin they would have his rich blessing. But
to appreciate that circumcision, the sign if your heart turns away and you do not
of the covenant given to Abraham, was a listen, and you are actually seduced and
fitting symbol of pure worship also in bow down to other gods and serve them,
Abrahams case, marking those in cove- . . . you w ill positively perish. In other
nant relationship with Jehovah as a dis- words, circumcised heart and ears mean
tinct people. From Gilgal on, this require- a humble heart, wholly sincere, ready and
ment has continued to be observed by the eager to listen and observe, thus preservIsraelites, who became known as the Jews. ing one in the way of pure worship. But
5
Turning to the Christian Greek Scrip-if one has a heart that is inclined to turn
tures, we find adherence is still given to away, to turn a deaf ear, due to pride, as
a like requirement, and now we read about implied by a hardened, stiff neck, then
circumcision of the heart, as at Romans that one is bound to be entrapped in false
2:29. You m ight think this is the first religion, and lose out.Deut. 10:12, 16;
reference, and feel a certain relief in get- 30:6, 15-18; see also Joshua 24:14, 15,19.
ting away from the literal aspect, the let7 Notice Jeremiahs pointed words on
ter of the law, and hoping now to get the this subject: To whom shall I speak and
inner significance, the spirit of the law. give warning, that they may hear? Look!
But, no. The first mention of circumcision Their ear is uncircumcised, so that they
of the heart was made by Moses, where are unable to pay attention. Look! The
we get the root meaning.
very word of Jehovah has become to them
*Moses wrote: You must circumcise a reproach. When both Judah and Israel
the foreskin of your hearts and not harden had become very unfaithful, Jeremiah,
contrasting fleshly and spiritual circum5. Should the Bible be divided into two p arts as
betw een the letter and the sp irit of the law ?
cision, reports Jehovahs message: I will
6. (a) In w hat connection does Moses mention circumcision of the h e a rt? (b) How does Moses show the
ears are involved, teaching w hat lesson?

7. How
thing?

does Jerem iah

speak

respecting

th is

sam e

J u l y 15, 1971

SfieW ATCH TO W ER

443

hold an accounting with everyone circumcised [in the flesh] but still in uncircumcision, upon Egypt and upon Judah . . .
for all the nations are uncircumcised, and
all the house of Israel are uncircumcised
in heart.Jer. 6:10; 9:25, 26.
8 Centuries later, when Stephen, the
Christian martyr, was giving his defense
before the San'he-drin, he spoke of Abraham, saying that God gave him a covenant of circumcision. He then mentioned
Moses, and that to him our forefathers
refused to become obedient, but they
thrust him aside and in their hearts they
turned back to Egypt, saying to Aaron,
Make gods for us to go ahead of us.
Finally, linking those forefathers with
the Jerusalem San'he-drin (his immediate
hearers), Stephen said: Obstinate men
and uncircumcised in hearts and ears, you
are always resisting the holy spirit; as
your forefathers did, so you do. Stephen
spoke of the righteous One [Jesus],
whose betrayers and murderers you have
now become. What was the reaction of
the Sanhedrin? They felt cut [not as in
circumcision, but sawn through, Kingdom
Interlinear] to their hearts. As for
their ears, there was no excess of flesh,
calling for literal circumcision, and so
what did they do? They put their hands
over their ears and rushed upon him with
one accord, and stoned him to death.
Acts 7:8, 39-43, 51-58.
* What a terrible indictment of those religious leaders! Uncircumcised hearts and
ears signify those who are callous, obstinate, unyielding, and are connected with
a bold, hard face, a hard heart, and a
hardened neck. (Prov. 21:29; 28:14; 29:1)
Pride is the root cause, leading one on
from bad to worse, as Daniel said of Nebuchadnezzar: His heart became haughty

and his own spirit became hard, so as to

act presumptuously. The same was true
of Pharaoh.Dan. 5:20; Ex. 7:22; 9:7;
see also Hebrews 3 :7 1 3 .
10 How important, and how desirable, it
is to have a circumcised heart! How can
we do this? As distinct from the mind,
that thinks and reasons on information
taken therein, the heart is closely identified with affection and desire, and becomes the source, or seat, of motivation.
It has a great emotional power, and can
impel, or incite, to a certain course of action. (Ex. 35:21) It can easily sway the
mind. The heart is the very center, or
mainspring, of your whole makeup, your
personality. It is the real, inner self, the
secret person of the heart, the man
I am within. (1 Pet. 3:4; Rom. 7:22)
How can the heart be circumcised? We
can be guided by what happens in literal
circumcision. When this becomes neces
sary, because of a hazard to health, the
flesh that is cut off is viewed as excessive,
or as an obstruction, standing in the way
of maintaining a clean and healthy condition. Thus circumcision of the heart means
getting rid, or making a clean cut, of anything in our desires or m otives, that is
contrary to Jehovahs desires. It means a
complete removal of anything that is acting as an obstruction, such as pride, causing one to become unresponsive to Jehovah, to his appeals and to his Word.
11A fine example of circumcised heart
and ears was shown, as Luke reports, by
a certain woman named Lydia, . . . a
worshiper of God, [who] was listening,
and Jehovah opened her heart wide to pay
attention to the things being spoken by
Paul. (Acts 16:14) There certainly was
no obstruction. We cannot perform this
spiritual operation in our own strength

8. W hen and how did Stephen review Isra els history,

leading to w hat accusation and outcom e?
9. Uncircumcision in h e art and ears is due to w hat?
W ith w hat results?

10. (a) How can we distinguish betw een th e m ind

and the h e art? (b) How can the h e a rt be circum cised?
11. (a) W hat fine exam ple is recorded of circumcised
h e art and ears? (b) How can th is sp iritu a l operation
be perform ed?

SEeW ATCHTOW ER.

444

and wisdom. Paul speaks of the true Jew,

whose circumcision is that of the heart
by spirit. Yes, we need Gods spirit, and
he told us how to pray for a new attitude:
Create in me even a pure heart, O God,
and put within me a new spirit, a steadfast one.Rom. 2:29; Ps. 51:10.
A NEW PERSONALITY

12God does not automatically put his

spirit, his invisible, active force, within us.
We m ust cooperate, by submitting our own
spirit, or mental and emotional inclinations, to the influence and working of his
spirit, which operates through his Word.
Thus you have a new and steadfast spirit
in your clean heart, based on accurate
knowledge, just as truth is in Jesus.
You w ill be made new in the force actuating your mind, and w ill be helped to
put away the old personality which conforms to your former course of conduct.
In its place, you will learn how to put
on the new personality which was created
according to Gods w ill in true righteousness and loyalty. Those who pursue this
course become im itators of God, imitating what is good.Eph. 4:20-24; 5:1.
13 You m ight feel this is easier said than
done, and we wish to consider certain
aspects. For one thing, putting on the new
personality does not mean an entirely different personality, thus losing our identity. True, we must impale, or deaden,
those things that are bad, both in our
hearts and in our lives. (Gal. 5:24; Col.
3:5) However, some qualities and abilities,
though harmful if uncontrolled, can accomplish much good when brought under
control, and directed into right channels.
For example, a quick temper is the working of a quick mind, together with strong
feelings, both uncontrolled, and soon doing
12. W hat is involved in p u ttin g off the old personality,
and p u ttin g on the new ?
13. Does this require an entirely different personality?
How can this be illu strated ?

B rooklyn , N .Y .

much damage. But that same ability to

think quickly, and to express spontaneous
sympathy, or enthusiasm, when controlled
by a good motive, can be a great help,
especially when witnessing to others. In
all this, including self-control, perseverance is required. As James says: He who
peers into the perfect law that belongs to
freedom and who persists in it becomes,
not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the
work, [and] w ill be happy in his doing it.
Jas. 1:25.
14 Or you m ight feel that a natural gift,
such as music or poetry, should be repressed as being a distraction, making one
a daydreamer, when there is so much work
to be done. That may well be true, if the
gift is uncontrolled, but the special ability
coupled with that gift can be turned to a
good use. For example, a symphony is
made up of various movements, carefully
built up, forming a balanced contrast,
beautifully and harmoniously expressed,
and well modulated throughout, free from
dull repetition. Well, exactly the same can
be said as regards preparing and giving
a talk on the truth. The more you appreciate Gods Word in its composition, also
the Watch Tower Societys Bible study
aids, the more you get out of it for yourself, and in helping others. The reward,
too, is much greater. Whereas in music
the emotional appeal predominates, when
one is expressing the truth, the Kingdom
message, there is a proper balance between
the intellectual and emotional appeals.
Above all, it honors Jehovah, the Great
Composer.
15 Sometimes we get discouraged in our
efforts to put on the new personality. The
old one, with its deep-rooted habits, and
internal pressures, not to mention the extem al ones from Satans worldthese
14. How can the abilities
be turned to a good use ?
15. (a) W hat are some of
m ent? (b) Who doubtless
w hat can we learn from

prom pting a n a tu ra l gift

the causes for discouragehad sim ilar feelings, and
them ?

J uly 15, 1971

fEeW ATCH TO W ER.

445

things are allowed to get the upper hand.

Though Paul said that the spirit and the
flesh are opposed to each other, so that
the very things that you would like to do
you do not do, he also said: Keep walking by spirit and you w ill carry out no
fleshly desire at all. (Gal. 5:16, 17)
Hence, when overcome in a wrongful
course, we feel brokenhearted. We are not
alone in this. Imagine how Peter felt on
realizing he had done the very thing he
had promised he would never do, that is,
disown his beloved Master. Imagine, too,
how he m ust have felt when, after years
of service in a responsible position, he had
to be openly rebuked by Paul. As for Paul,
just imagine how he felt when, as Saul,
breathing threat and murder against the
disciples of the Lord, the real situation
was suddenly and forcefully brought home
to him. (Matt. 26:35, 75; Gal. 2:11-14;
Acts 9:1-9) Those servants, however, did
not lose heart. More importantly, they did
not harden their hearts. N either should
we. How comforting to read what John
wrote: By this . . . we shall assure our
hearts before him as regards whatever
our hearts may condemn us in, because
God is greater than our hearts and knows
all things. How is this true?1 John 3:
19, 20.

the choice is yours. In the first place, however, the choice is Jehovahs, and rightly
so. As David wrote: Happy is the one
you choose and cause to approach, that he
may reside in your courtyards. For one
thing, Jehovah makes the choice by stating the conditions that m ust be met. (Ps.
65:4; 24:3, 4) For another thing, the invitation is so made that it appeals only to
those who are sincere and humble at heart,
even brokenhearted. This shows that Jehovah is greater than our hearts. As he
says: In the height and in the holy place
is where I reside, also with the one crushed
and lowly in spirit, to revive the spirit of
the lowly ones and to revive the heart of
the ones being crushed.Isa. 57:15; see
also 2 Chronicles 16:9.
17
We need to be humble when approaching Jehovah. Surprisingly, this works both
ways. Have you ever thought it requires
hum ility on Gods part to bend low, as it
were, to peer at the sin-stricken human
family? Who is like Jehovah our God?
. . . He is condescending to look on heaven
and earth, raising up the lowly one from
the very dust. Your own right hand w ill
sustain me, and your own hum ility w ill
make me great. Even to those who have
gone astray, Jehovah appeals: I have
spread out my hands all day long to a
stubborn people. Listen too to Jesus:
INVITED TO COME
18
How delightful and uplifting it is whenHow often I wanted to gather your chilyou are invited to come to someones home dren together, the way a hen gathers her
for the first time, opening the way for a chicks together under her wings! But you
closer friendship. The invitation itself puts people did not want it! Such longnew heart into you, and you feel like a dif- suffering and undeserved kindness surely
ferent person. Is that not true, especially if require humility.Ps. 113:5-7; 18:35; Isa.
you are having a difficult tim e? Well, in 65:2; Matt. 23:37.
these critical tim es hard to deal w ith,
18Have no doubt. You are invited to
Jehovah is extending the most appealing come. Where? The choice is Jehovahs.
invitation. (2 Tim. 3:1) No one is com- Jehovah has chosen Zion; he has longed
pelled to respond. As mentioned earlier,
16. (a) Who is now inviting us to come, and are we
obliged to respond? (b) How does Jehovah have p rio rity
in choosing, giving w hat encouragem ent?

17. In w hat w ay is hum ility required on God's p art,

and how has he shown th is?
18. W here has Jehovah invited us to come, and how
can we identify th is today?

446

SEeW ATCHTOW ER.

B r o o k l y n , N .Y .

for it as a dwelling for him self. David has kindly invited us to come to Zion, not
had in mind earthly Zion, the center of just on a visit, but on the basis of a perpure worship. (Ps. 132:8,13-18) This finds manent transfer. In the world of sport,
its modem fulfillm ent in the heavenly such as football, a tremendous sum will
Mount Zion, where Jehovah installed his be paid for the transfer of a specially
Son as king in 1914 C.E. In vision, John talented player from one team to another.
saw the Lamb standing there, and with However high the sum, it does not begin
him a hundred and forty-four thousand, to compare with the price sponsored by
the complete Christian congregation. There Jehovah, and willingly paid by his Son in
is a remnant of this Zion class still on his costly human sacrifice. As Paul says:
earth, representing Gods organization. You were bought with a price.1 Cor.
This is where he invites those to come who 6 : 20.
realize their need for a place of safety,
21 We can, and should, show our appresim ilar to the provision God made at the ciation of Jehovah's invitation by extendtim e of the Flood. He then provided the ing it to others. Like Lydia, who, after
ark, wherein he kept Noah . . . safe with being baptized, entreated Paul and his
seven others.Ps. 2:6; Rev. 14:1; Gen. companions to come and stay in her home.
7:1; 2 Pet. 2:5.
Luke says: She just made us come. Isa19
When this remnant of spiritual Israeliah foretold this grand work, saying that
had been regathered, after being disci- many peoples will certainly go and say:
plined during the 1914-1918 period, then Come, you people, and let us go up to
these grand promises were fulfilled, with the mountain of Jehovah . . . For out of
the emphasis on cleanness and humility: Zion law will go forth, and the word of
Wake up, wake up, put on your strength, Jehovah out of Jerusalem. Listen also to
O Zion! Put on your beautiful garments, this free invitation: Hey th ere,. . . come,
O Jerusalem, the holy city! For no more buy and eat. Yes, come, buy wine and milk
will there come again into you the uncir- even without money and without price.
cumcised and unclean one. I shall cer- When on earth, Jesus invited: Come to
tainly let remain in the midst of you a
me, all you who are toiling and loaded
people humble and lowly, and they will
down, and I will refresh you. He foretold
actually take refuge in the name of Jehothat
on his return he would invite the
vah. (Isa. 52:1; Zeph. 3:12) All those
sheeplike
ones: Come, you who have been
coming to Gods organization, into close
association w ith the Zion class, must be blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom
circumcised in their hearts and ears. Ah! prepared for you from the founding of
now we can understand why even the the world. In fact, Gods Word concludes
slaves in Abrahams household had to be with this fine appeal, encouraging those
circumcised. That entire household pic- who respond to pass it on to others: And
tured Gods organized people today. It must the spirit and the bride keep on saying:
be kept clean, with all the reproach of Come! And let anyone hearing say:
Egypt rolled away from off it.Josh. Come! And let anyone thirsting come;
5:9.
let anyone that wishes take lifes water
20How thankful we are that Jehovah
free. He that bears witness of these things
19. (a) Since h er restoration, w hat condition obtains
in Zion? (b) W hat requirem ent is laid on all who
come to God's organization?
20. How has a perm anent tran sfer been m ade possible,
and a t w h at cost?

21, 22. (a) How can we show appreciation for Jehovah's

invitation? (b) In w hat different ways is the invitation to come expressed in God's W ord, and how should
it affect us?

J uly 15, 1971

SEeW ATCHTOW ER.

447

says, Yes; I am coming quickly/ [And

John responds:] Amen! Come, Lord Jes u s /Acts 16:15; Isa. 2:3; 55:1; Matt.
11:28; 25:34; Rev. 22:17, 20.
22 The invitation to come is expressed so

often in Gods Word, and with such appeal, it can truthfully be said that it is
indeed a most pressing invitation. Will you
not respond? Will you not come, and invite others to come?

Addressing rich men, the disciple James

said: You have murdered the righteous one.
(Jas. 5:1, 6) Since his letter was written to
Christians, what did he mean by this?U.S.A.
Appearing in the singular, the expression
righteous one evidently refers to the Lord
Jesus Christ. This is confirmed by the apostle
Peters words directed to Jews: You disowned
that holy and righteous one, and you asked for
a man, a murderer, to be freely granted to you,
whereas you killed the Chief Agent of life.
(Acts 3:14, 15) Similarly, the disciple Stephen
told those listening to his defense before the
Sanhedrin: Which one of the prophets did
your forefathers not persecute? Yes, they killed
those who made announcement in advance concerning the coming of the righteous One, whose
betrayers and murderers you have now become.Acts 7:52.
It is noteworthy that the Sanhedrin, the Jewish high court which sentenced Jesus to death,
was composed of wealthy and prominent men.
(Compare Matthew 26:59, 66; 27:57; Mark 15:
43; John 3:1; 7:4551.) Hence rich men were
definitely involved in the murder of Jesus
Christ.
But the act of murdering the righteous one
need not be limited to this murder of Gods
Son. According to Jesus words found at Matthew 25:40, the Son of God views the treatment
given to his brothers, his spirit-begotten followers, as being meted out to him himself.
When James wrote his letter (before 62
C.E.), the Christians were being persecuted
primarily by the Jews. The first Christian
martyr, Stephen, was killed by a Jewish mob
after he made his defense before the Sanhedrin.

(Acts 6:15; 7:5760 )Persecution of Christians

by the Roman governmental authority did not
begin until 64 C.E. after the great fire ravaged
Rome, destroying about a fourth of the city. So
it logically follows that the ,rich men whom
James had in mind were the rich men among
the Jews, who were directly or indirectly (by
their persecution of Christians) implicated in
the murder of Jesus Christ.Matt. 27:24, 25.
James addressing himself to the rich as a
class somewhat parallels what Jesus Christ
did when speaking to his disciples on one
occasion. After describing several happinesses, Jesus said: Woe to you rich persons,
because you are having your consolation in
full.( Luke 6:2024 )Though the rich as
a class obviously would not read his letter,
James, by employing the literary device of
direct address, was helping Christians to get
the right viewpoint. The fact that the rich
class were to ,howl over the miseries to come
upon them would serve to warn Christians
against becoming materialistic. (Jas. 5:1; compare James 4:1315.) It would also be encourag
ing for them to know that oppression by the
rich class would cease in Gods due time.
We as Christians must exercise care so as not
to become guilty of murdering the righteous
one. In another part of his letter it was, in
fact, to Christians that James said: You go
on murdering. (Jas. 4:2) How was this? Obviously these Christians had not actually killed
anyone. But they evidently had failed to do
good to their brothers. Perhaps though being
in a position to help needy brothers, they had
refused to do so. They may have looked down
on some lowly ones, despised them, or they may
have allowed covetousness, envy or pride to
lead them into hating certain ones of their
brothers. In any of these ways they could
become guilty of murder. (Jas. 1:27; 2:15, 16)
Another Bible writer, the apostle John, made
the same point: Everyone who hates his
brother is a manslayer, . . . we are under obligation to surrender our souls for our brothers.

448

SEeW ATCHTOW ER,

But whoever has this worlds means for supporting life and beholds his brother having
need and yet shuts the door of his tender
compassions upon him, in what way does the
love of God remain in him?1 John 3:15-17.
Yes, this murderous attitude was even refleeted by some Christians in the favoritism
that they showed toward the rich. Though God
had chosen generally poor persons to become
Kingdom heirs, certain Christians would see
to it that a rich person who attended their
meetings got a fine seat, but they would direct
a poor person to sit in a very lowly position.
Thus they judged the worth of a person on
the basis of his possessions. They failed to recognize the poor person as a neighbor who was
fully deserving of their love. Pointing out
the wrongness of such action, James wrote:
"You . . . have dishonored the poor man. The
rich oppress you, and they drag you before law
courts, do they not? They blaspheme the fine
name by which you were called, do they not?
If, now, you practice carrying out the kingly
law according to the scripture: 'You must love
your neighbor as yourself/ you are doing quite
well. But if you continue showing favoritism,
you are working a sin.Jas. 2:19.
Do any of us as Christians show favoritism
to persons on the basis of their position in the
world, their superior educational background

B rooklyn , N .Y .

or financial standing? Do we favor them over

others at our 'gatherings? Surely this would
be out of harmony with the counsel of James.
While there are exceptions, a hard, unloving
attitude is all too common among the rich and
influential members of human society today.
Surely, then, none of us should feel that persons merit being shown favoritism merely because of their possessions; nor should we expect
it if we have possessions. That is why James
called attention to the oppression of which
the rich as a class were guilty. Not the poor,
but the rich were those most frequently dragging Christians before law courts and mistreating them.
Hence, lest the Christian become guilty of
murdering the "righteous one in a representative sense, he must cultivate intense love for
fellow believers. He should not look down upon
any of his brothers regardless of how lowly
they may appear to be. If Jehovah God considers these worthy of his love, surely none
of his servants should imply that they are
greater than He is by refusing to love those
whom He loves. Rather, they desire to use
their time, talents and assets unselfishly in
behalf of their brothers, all of them. As the
apostle Paul said: "For my part I will most
gladly spend and be completely spent for your
souls.2 Cor. 12:15.

ANNOUNCEMENTS

WATCHTOWER STUDIES FOR THE WEEKS

August 15: Deliverance from the Authority of

Darkness. Page 428. Songs to Be Used:
40, 32.
August 22: Gods Children Imitate What Is
Good. Page 434. Songs to Be Used: 45, 49.
August 29: Circumcised in Heart and Ears.
Page 441. Songs to Be Used: 31, 88.

 /A n n o u n cin g

JEHOVAHS
KINGDOM
A U G U S T I , 1971
Semimonthly
H A V I N G THE TRUTH T H A T LEADS
T O ETERN AL LIFE

W HY G O D S NAME SHOULD APPEAR

IN THE WHOLE BIBLE

THE W AY TO LIVE FOREVER

WTB&TS

YOU ARE MY WITNESSES, SAYS JEHOVAH. Isa.43:12

T H E P U R P O SE O F T H E W A T C H T O W E R
E v ery w a tc h to w e r has its purpose. It serves as an elevated place fo r a
w id e-aw ak e person w ith sharp vision. It enables him to see far ahead into
th e distance and tell those b elow for w h o m he is a w a tch m a n w h a t is
draw in g near, w h eth er it is a danger against w h ich to prepare o r it is
som ething good over w h ich to be glad w ith strong faith and hope.
Because o f having the nam e T he W a tc h to w e r this m agazine ju stly
has to render a sim ilar useful service to the people o f all nations. T h is is
an in tern ational m agazine and m akes no racial distinctions, for w e are all
facing a com m on w o rld danger; w e are all hoping fo r a com m on good.
E ver since T he W a tc h to w e r began to be published in J u ly o f 1 8 7 9 it
heis looked ahead into the future, a lw a y s striving to aid its readers to advan ce in k now ledge and to gain a clearer picture o f the glorious n e w order
o f things th at is in store for righteous m ankind. N o , T h e W a tc h to w e r
is no inspired prophet, but it follow s and explains a Book o f prophecy the
predictions in w h ich have proved to be unerring and unfailing till n o w .
T h e W a tc h to w e r is therefore under safe guidance. It m ay be read w ith
confidence, for its statem ents m ay be checked against that prophetic Book.
A m o n g th e m an y nations o f today there are hundreds o f differing
religions. W h ic h one does this m agazine present? N o t the confused religions
o f C hristendom , but the religion o f the oldest sacred Book on earth. W h ic h
Book? T h e Sacred Bible o f the H o ly Scriptures, w r itte n b y inspiration in
th e nam e o f the C reator o f heaven and earth, the o n ly living and true G od.
T h e sacred, nonpolitical purpose o f T he W a tc h to w e r is accordingly
to encourage and prom ote study o f the H o ly Bible and to give our m a n y
readers th e needed unsectarian help to understand that Book o f true
religion and infallible prophecy. T hus this m agazine w ill be helping them
to prove w o r th y o f perfect life and happiness in G o d s promised n e w order
under H is everlasting kingdom o f righteousness.

PUBLISHED BY THE
WATCH TOWER BIBLE AND TRACT SOCIETY OF PENNSYLVANIA
117 Adams Street
Brooklyn, N.Y. 11201, U.S.A.
N. H. K norr, President
Grant S uiter, Secretary

They will all be taught by Jehovah.John 6:45; Isaiah 54:13

CONTENTS
How Christian Morals Are Viewed
Why Gods Name Should Appear
in the Whole Bible
The Christian Ministry
What Does It Include?
Having the Truth
That Leads to Eternal Life
Making Known Gods Prophetic Truths

A v e ra g e Printing Each Issue:

451

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F ive cen ts a copy

N ow Published in 7 3 Lan gu ages

453
456
460
467

My Career of Proclaiming Gods Kingdom 473

The Way to Live Forever

477

Questions from Readers

478

The Bible translation used in The Watchtower is the modern-language

New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures, unless otherwise indicated.
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Printed in U.S.A.

-y 4 n .T L 0 u n c ir1 a

J E H O V A H S
KING DO M
A ugust 1, 1971

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HAT makes a Christian really a

Christian? Should not his morals
play a large part in this, and should not
his moral standards be higher than those
of non-Christians? If not, then in what
way could the Christian believe that his
religion is superior to the non-Christian
religions? And, finally, if one claims to be
a Christian, should not his moral standards
be those found in the Bible?
There was a tim e when Christendoms
churches, by and large, based their morals
on the Holy Bible. But how do the churches of Christendom view Christian morals
today?
A report from the Dallas Morning News
of August 6, 1970, says: Churches Examine Sexuality. United Presbyterian, Lutherans, Adopt Contemporary View.
What is this contemporary view?
The report goes on to show that according to the Lutheran statem ent sexual intercourse outside of marriage is a growing
reality of our tim e and to state categorically that it is wrongful is to come at
it legalistically rather than contextually.
In much the same vein the Presbyterian
statements hold that there may be exceptional circumstances where extramarital sexual activity may not be contrary to

451

mm m m m

p s p ii
*AFtE VIEWED

1____

the interest of a faithful concern for the

well-being of a marriage partner.
Committees of experts appointed by the
two denominations worked out the statements, which take a like liberal and contemporary view not only regarding fom ication and adultery but also in regard to
homosexuality, abortion, masturbation and
artificial insemination. All these are not
wrong in themselves, it is claimed; it all
depends upon the circumstances. The Lutheran document was form ally accepted as
the position of that church. The Presbyterian statement was accepted for study
by that church.
Then again, in a Methodist church in
San Francisco, m inister Lloyd Wake performed a marriage uniting two male homosexuals. (
DailyPilot, March 27,1971) And
Anglican theologian Norman Pittenger, of
Cambridge University, has come out with
a suggested code of ethical conduct for
homosexuals.Caspar Star-Tribune, January 16, 1971.
It is true, of course, that not all religions may openly or officially endorse such
views regarding m orality, nor do all clergymen. Yet most of them give tacit approval by afiowing members who practice
such things to remain in good standing

452

SheWATCHTOWER,

B r o o k l y n , N .Y .

within the church. Have you not found couples own decision, their conjugal and
sexual morality is quite rigid. . . . They
this to be so?
The Roman Catholic Church, as is well regard the Bible as their source of belief
known, has firm ly opposed abortion as and rule of conduct.
well as divorce and birth control. But it is
What
doesthe Bible itself say abou
equally well known that many predomi- sexual morality? Does it make allowance
nantly Catholic lands have a very high for exceptional circumstances as justirate of illegitim acy. To cite but one ex- fication for adultery, fornication or homo*
ample, the official Catholic weekly Orien- sexuality? Hebrews 13:4 states: Let martaci&n, (September 24, 1967) gave figures riage be honorable among all, and the
showing that 66.5 percent of all births in marriage bed be without defilement, for
El Salvador were illegitim ate. Prostitution God will judge fornicators and adulterers.
is also high in many Catholic lands, the And at 1 Corinthians 6:9, 10 we read:
Italian weekly Lo
Speccreporting
thatyou not know that unrighteous
What! Do
100,000 prostitutes were active in Rome persons w ill not inherit Gods kingdom?
itself in recent years. Despite the high Do not be misled. N either fornicators, nor
rate of concubinage, adultery and fom ica- idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men kept for
tion in many such lands, excommunication unnatural purposes, nor men who lie with
for these practices is rare. So they con- men, nor thieves, nor greedy persons, nor
tinue to flourish.
drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners
Have you ever inquired of the pastor of will inherit Gods kingdom. Is this not
your church what his view is on Christian clear and unmistakable in its meaning?
morals? His answer m ight surprise you.
Jehovahs witnesses also believe that to
How do the views and position of Je- retain Gods favor they must remain clean
hovahs witnesses compare with those giv- as a congregation. They recognize that,
en above? Do they follow the modem just as a little leaven will ferment a whole
batch of flour or a bad apple w ill cause a
trend?
Their position briefly is this: They be- whole basket of apples to rot, in the same
lieve the Bible account that, in creating way an immoral person allowed to remain
man, God gave humans their male and in a congregation will have a polluting effemale characteristics. (Gen. 1:27) Be- feet on others therein. So, any who praccause of this, and because the sex powers tice immoral acts make them selves liable
relate to the procreation of life (which to disfellowshiping, that is, expulsion
the Bible presents as sacred), they ac- from all congregations of Jehovahs witknowledge that God alone has the authori- nesses. While it is true that such persons
ty and right to say what is proper and may be accepted back after a period of
good and what is improper and bad as to time, this is only when sincere repentance
the use of our sexual powers. Also because and elimination of the wrong practice are
of this sacredness of life, they consider evident.
the deliberate destruction of a living fetus
What does the Bible say on this? The
by abortion to be murder.Gen. 9:6; Ex. apostle Paul commanded concerning a man
21:22, 23.
in the Christian congregation at Corinth
Commenting on the beliefs of Jehovahs who was living immorally: Remove the
witnesses, the New Catholic Encyclopedia wicked man from among yourselves. And
(1967) Vol. 7, p. 846, says: Except for in that connection he stated: Now I am
birth control, which they leave to the writing you to quit m ixing in company

A u g u st 1, 1971

SBeWATCHTOWER

453

with anyone called a brother that is a fornicator or a greedy person or an idolater

or a reviler or a drunkard or an extortioner, not even eating with such a man.
(1 Cor. 5:11-13) Is this instruction followed in the church you attend?
The rule in Gods Word is that what a
person sows he will reap. (Gal. 6:7, 8)
What does the modern trend regarding sex
lead to? Is it not true that divorce and
broken homes are increasing and that such
broken fam ilies are fertile soil for juvenile
delinquency? Is it not true that health authorities now warn that venereal diseases
are getting out of hand, reaching epidemic
proportions? And is it not true that filegitimacy is skyrocketing, with ever younger unwed girls becoming mothers or
undergoing abortions to avoid this? Do

you think that these fruits are the product

of sowing what is good?
Gods laws are not only authoritative
but also wise and for mans good. Godly
devotion is beneficial for all things, as it
holds promise of the life now and that
which is to come. (1 Tim. 4:8) Yes, living by Bible principles leads to happy,
united homes and to the reward of endless
life in Gods favor. Is this what you want?
If so, then you doubtless appreciate the
importance of Christian morals. In a world
experiencing moral decay, should you not
avoid those who show themselves Christians in name only and seek rather to associate with those who are morally clean?
You will find such association refreshing
and stimulating to clean and wholesome
conduct.

/ TJERHAPS in your Bible reading you

JL have come across Gods name in the
so-called Old Testam ent. For example,
you may have read in the King James Version: That men m ay know that thou,
whose name alone is JEHOVAH, art the
most high over all the earth.Ps. 83:18;
Isa. 12:2.
However, in your reading of the New
Testament or Christian Greek Scriptures
you may never have come across Gods
name. Most translators have left it out
when translating that part of the Bible.
Why? One reason is that so far no ancient manuscript copies of the original
text of the Christian Greek Scriptures

have been found containing the divine

name in its full form.
But, on the other hand, Gods name does
occur in its abbreviated form in both the
old Greek manuscripts and the translations of them. In your Bible reading have
you observed at Revelation 19:1, 3, 4, 6,
the expression Alleluia or Hallelujah?
According to Websters New Collegiate
Dictionary Hallelujah means: Praise
ye Yah (
ova.
Jeh
)
This appearance of Gods name in abbreviated form reveals that use of the
name was not obsolete among early Christians. Why, then, does Gods name in its
full form not appear in any existing manu-

454

STkWATCHTOWER

script copy of the Greek Bible text? Does

this absence of Gods name in these old
manuscripts indicate that Jesus and his
disciples did not use the name Jehovah?
EXPLANATION THAT IS NO LONGER VALID

B r o o k l y n , N .Y .

more. The Cairo Geniza, pp. 222, 224.

But when did Christians in their
Greek translations of the Hebrew Scriptures replace Gods name in its Tetragrammaton form by the titles
(Lord)
and ho
The-os'(the God)? If we can determine this, it w ill shed light upon whether the writers of the Christian Greek
Scriptures actually used Gods name in
their inspired writings, and whether the
earliest copies of their original writings
contained the divine name.

It was long believed that the reason

Gods name in its full form is not found
in any known manuscript copies of the
Christian Greek Scriptures is that early
Christians used the Greek Septuagint
translation of the Hebrew Scriptures, and
that they simply followed its practice of
WHEN THE DIVINE NAME WAS REPLACED
om itting the divine name. This Greek
The replacing of Gods name in TetraSeptuagint version had been prepared for
Greek-speaking Jews beginning about 280 grammaton form in the Christian Greek
B.C.E., and is the translation of the He- Scriptures evidently occurred in the cenbrew Scriptures that early disciples of Je- turies following the death of Jesus and
sus Christ are thought to have used.
his apostles. This is apparent because in
The consensus of opinion used to be Greek translations of the Old Testament
that, because of a Jewish superstition re- or Hebrew Scriptures made in the first
garding Gods name, the Greek Septm- centuries of the Common Era by professed
gint translators had substituted in their Christians the divine name is found. For
version the Greek titles Ky'rios (Lord) or example, in Aquilas Greek version, dating
ho
The-os'(the God) for the Tetragram- from about the year 128 C.E., the Tetramaton, the four Hebrew letters ( )that grammaton still appeared in Hebrew charrepresent Gods name Jehovah. But com- acters.
Also, around 245 C.E., the noted scholar
paratively recent discoveries have shown
Origen
produced his Hexapla, a six-column
that the oldest fragments of the Greek
reproduction
of the inspired Hebrew
Septuagint actually do contain Gods name
Scriptures.
On
the evidence of the fragin its Hebrew form!
mentary
copies
now known, Professor
Commenting on this fact, Dr. Paul E.
W.
G.
Waddell
says:
In Origens Hexapla
Kahle says: We now know that the Greek
.
.
.
the
Greek
Versions
of Aquila, SymBible text [the Septuagint] as far as it was
machus,
and
LXX
[Sepall repr
written by Jews for Jews did not transsented
JHWH
by

;
in
the
second
collate the Divine name by Tcy'rios [Lord],
but the Tetragrammaton written with He- umn of the Hexapla the Tetragrammaton
brew or Greek letters was retained in such was written in Hebrew characters.* Others believe the original text of Origens
MSS [m anuscripts].
Hexapla used Hebrew characters for the
Who, then, replaced the divine name in
Tetragrammaton in all its columns. Origen
copies of the Greek Septuagint with the
himself stated that in the most faithful
titles Lord or God? Dr. Kahle goes on
manuscripts t h e n a m e is written in Heto answer: It was the Christians who rebrew characters, that is, not in modem,
placed the Tetragrammaton by ky'rios
but in archaic Hebrew.
[Lord], when the divine name written in
* The Journal of Theological Studies, Vol. XLV,
Hebrew letters was not understood any July-October, 1944, pp. 158, 159.

A u g u st 1, 1971

SiieW ATCHTOW ER.

As late as the fourth century, Jerome,

the translator who produced the Latin Vulgate, says in his Prologus Galeatus prefacing the books of Samuel and Malachi:
We find the four-lettered name of God
(i.e., )in certain Greek volumes even
to this day expressed in the ancient letters.
What does such information indicate?
It makes clear that the so-called Christians who replaced the Tetragrammaton
by
Tcy'riosin the Septuagint copies were
not the early disciples of Jesus. They were
persons of later centuries, when the foretold apostasy was well developed and had
corrupted the purity of Christian teachings.2 Thess. 2:3; 1 Tim. 4:1.
USED BY JESUS AND HIS DISCIPLES

There is irrefutable evidence, then, that

Gods name was found in copies of the
Scriptures used in the tim e of Jesus and
his disciples, both in Hebrew manuscripts
and in Greek manuscript translations.
Surely these men used the divine name
as they read and taught people from such
copies of the Scriptures. Also, when writing the Christian Greek Scriptures, the
disciples of Jesus without question would
follow the God-approved practice of using
the divine name in their writings. Their
master Jesus Christ certainly set them the
example as he magnified his Fathers
name.
Consider the very name Jesus. This
was the name that the heavenly angel directed Mary to give the child that was to
be bom to her. (Luke 1:30, 31) And that
name Jesus gives prominence to Gods
name, for in Hebrew it means: Salvation
of Jah [Jehovah].
What is more, Jesus repeatedly held the
name of his Father before the people in
his ministry. For example, he taught his

455

disciples to pray: Our Father in the heavens, let your name be sanctified. (Matt.
6:9) His works, he said, were done in the
name of my Father. (John 10:25) And
in prayer on the night of his death, he
said that he had made his Fathers name
m anifest to his disciples.John 17:6, 26.
In view of all this, when Jesus quoted
the Hebrew Scriptures or read from them
he certainly used the divine name, Jehovah. For example, he would do so when
he quoted from the Hebrew Scriptures at
Deuteronomy 8:3, and said: It is written,
Man must live, not on bread alone, but on
every utterance coming forth through Jehovahs mouth. (Matt. 4:4; also compare Matthew 22:37 with Deuteronomy
6:5; Matthew 22:44 with Psalm 110:1; and
Luke 4:16-21 with Isaiah 61:1, 2.) Logically, those disciples of Jesus who were
inspired to write the Christian Greek
Scriptures would follow their Masters example of using the divine name, thus incorporating it into their Bible writings.
Why, then, is the name absent from
the ancient manuscripts of the Christian
Greek Scriptures or so-called New Testament we now have? Evidently because
by the time those ancient copies were
made, which was from the third century
C.E. onward, the original text of the writings of the apostles and disciples had been
altered. The divine name (possibly in Tetragrammaton form) was undoubtedly replaced with
Ky'riosand ho
copyists, precisely what the facts show
was done in later copies of the
translation of the Hebrew Scriptures.
Recognizing that this must have been
the case, some translators have included
the name Jehovah in their renderings
of the Christian Greek Scriptures. There
is sound basis for this. Yes, Gods name
does belong in the whole Bible.

by later

HE mention of the Christian ministry

brings different things to mind to
different persons. What do you think
Like many, do you think of a man who
preaches and teaches in a congregation?
Or, like others, do you think of carrying
the good news of Gods kingdom to persons
in their homes? Which is correct?
Actually each of these ideas represents
a m inistry of Christians. But neither in
itselfnor even both togetherexpresses
the Christian m inistry in its full sense.
In fact, if we viewed the Christian ministry
as lim ited to such activities only, then we
would have an incomplete, imperfect grasp
of what it embraces. Since this would
impair our service to God, let us investigate and see what the Christian ministry
consists of according to Gods own Word.
WHAT IT MEANS TO MINISTER

Jesus Christ told his disciples: The Son

of man came, not to be ministered to, but
to m inister and to give his soul a ransom
in exchange for many. He showed that
he was thereby setting an example for all
his followers. They, too, should be active
in m inistering to others, not seeking for
others to m inister to them. (Matt. 20:
26-28; Luke 22:26,27) How would they do
this?
The expression to m inister in this
text translates a Greek verb (
)
meaning literally to serve. Yes, basically
the Christian m inistry is Christian service.
If we keep this in mind we will be better
able to grasp the full meaning of such
m inistry.

This Greek term lays emphasis on a

particular aspect of service, that of a
of?
personal service. In fact, one of its earliest
uses in the Greek language is to describe
the service of waiting at table for another, serving food to the one eating, being
his attendant.
Did you realize that the Bible uses the
Greek words for m inistering a number of
times in this same early sense? For exampie, Jesus gave the illustration of a m aster
whose slave comes in from the field where
he has been plowing or minding the flocks
(rendering service, true, but not of a very
personal nature), and the master tells his
slave: Get something ready for me to
have my evening meal, and put on an
apron and m inister [form of dia-ko-ne'o]
to me. (Luke 17:7, 8) Both Martha and
Peters mother-in-law m inistered in similar ways, serving food, rendering personal
service. (Mark 1:30, 31; Luke 10:40; John
12:2; compare John 2:5-9.) Yes, to minister has a broad meaning. But could activities like those just described ever be
properly spoken of as part of the Christian
ministry? Let us see.
As Jesus had said, he came, not to be
ministered to, but to m inister to others.
Nevertheless, certain ones did m inister to
Jesus and he accepted their service, for it
was done voluntarily and with the desire
to enable him and his disciples to use
their tim e and energies in spiritual activity. For example, we read of a number of
women who had accompanied Jesus from
Galilee to m inister to him and to his disciples. The mother of James and John was

456

A u g u st 1, 1971

SEeW ATCH TO W ER

among these. (Matt. 27:55; Mark 15:40,

41) How did they m inister?
Likely by rendering services such as the
preparing of meals, mending or washing
clothes, perhaps even making such garments. (Compare Acts 9:36-39; Romans
16:1, 2.) And they evidently used their
own funds and possessions to provide many
of the needs of Jesus and his disciples, for
Luke 8:3 says they were ministering to
them from their belongings.
But by caring for the needs of Jesus and
his male disciples so that they could concentrate on preaching and teaching, were
these women performing a Christian ministry? Most assuredly, and a fine ministry
indeed. Such m inistry was highly appreciated by Jesus him self and merited particular mention in Gods Word. (Compare
also Mark 14:3-9.) This can also be seen
by Jesus parable of the sheep and the
goats as recorded at Matthew 25:31-46.
In this account we find the goatlike ones,
judged adversely by Jesus, saying to him,
Lord, when did we see you hungry or
thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick
or in prison and did not minister to
f"
Jesus replied that to the extent that you
did not do it to one of these least ones
[of Jesus spiritual brothers], you did not
do it to m e. The sheeplike ones, on the
other hand, had performed such m inistry
and were richly blessed for doing so. Do
you share in such m inistry? Do you gladly
avail yourself of opportunities to render
help and aid to those of Christs brothers
today? Yes, even for the least ones, as
well as those more prominent?
MINISTERING' TO THE APOSTLES

After Jesus death, the Bible record

shows, some, including young John Mark,
Timothy and others, ministered to certain
of the apostles (A cts 13:5; 19:22; 2 Tim.
4:11), and some rendered services (from

457

di-a-ko-ne'o) to Paul while he was in prison.

(2 Tim. 1 :1 6 1 8 ;Philem. 13) What services did they render? The record does not
give particular details. Aside from providing food and other physical needs we
know they carried m essages and relayed
instructions from the apostles to others,
and they doubtless did secretarial work,
made purchases, perhaps of writing materials, and performed other sim ilar tasks
as true assistants to the apostles. Surely
they looked upon such service as a Christian m inistry and a real privilege, just as
it was.
By their m inistering to Paul and others,
these made it easier for the ones served to
concentrate their efforts on their own particular m inistry. Paul had a special ministry assigned him by Christ Jesus and that
was to bear thorough witness to the good
news of the undeserved kindness of God,
particularly to the nations or Gentiles,
to whom Paul was an apostle. (Acts 20:
24; 21:19; Rom. 11:13; Eph. 3:5-7) Also
in serving as a m inister of a new covenant, Paul was aiding persons to become
part of the nation of spiritual Israel in that
new covenant. And, even more importantly, he was serving those already in that
new covenant, rendering service as a shepherd, helping Christians to stay faithful
to that covenants terms and see its benefits realized toward them.2 Cor. 3:5, 6;
4:1; Col. 1:23-25.
In time, some of those who m inistered
to Paul were themselves charged with doing shepherding work within spiritual Israel, the Christian congregation. Timothy,
for example, was asked to stay in Ephesus
to aid the congregation there for a period
of time.1 Tim. 1:3.
THE MORE VITAL ASPECTS
OF THE CHRISTIAN MINISTRY

Yes, all these many services were ministries, all part of the Christian m inistry.

458

SEeWATCHTOWER,

Some services, of course, were more vital

than others. This was made evident shortly after the founding of the Christian
congregation at Pentecost of 33 C.E. There
was a rapid growth in the number of disciples, w ith three thousand newly baptized
ones. This gave rise to a need for aid in
the form of food and other supplies, since
many of those new believers were visitors
to Jerusalem, away from their home cities
or lands. To cope with this, there was a
wholehearted donating of funds by disciples to m eet the needs of others among
these new brothers and sisters. (Acts 2:5,
41; 4:32-37) But, for some unstated reason, the widows of Greek-speaking Jews
came to be overlooked in the daily distribution (literally the daily service [or
ministration, Gr., di-a-ko-ni'a]") of supplies. Who should handle this problem that
was causing a murmuring among the
Greek-speaking Jews against the Hebrewspeaking Jews?
On being informed, the apostles said:
It is not pleasing for us to leave the word
of God to distribute food [or to be ministering (
di-ako-nein ] ) to tables. So they
had the brothers select seven qualified men
and then the apostles appointed these over
this necessary business, saying, but we
shall devote ourselves to prayer and to
the m inistry of the word.Acts 6:1-6.
So, there were two m inistries involved
here. One m inistry had to do with the
equitable and impartial distribution of
food supplies (and doubtless also the handling of funds and purchasing of some supplies) for those in need. But there was a
more vital m inistry to be performed involving, not material food or funds, but
the supplying of spiritual food and riches
by prayerful study, research, teaching and
shepherding. The apostles realized that
this latter m inistry of the word merited
their undivided attention. They rightly ap-

B rooklyn , N .Y .

praised matters, and the result was that

the word of God went on growing, and
the number of the disciples kept multiplying in Jerusalem very much. (Acts
6:7) It is noteworthy that those assigned
to m inister to tables did not conclude that
nothing more was required in their case.
Stephen, for example, had a powerful share
in public proclamation of Gods Word.
Acts 6:87:60.
SHARING IN THE CHRISTIAN MINISTRY TODAY

Seeing the broad scope of the Christian

ministry, we can understand why the apostie says at 1 Corinthians 12:4-7: Now
there are varieties of gifts, but there is
the same spirit; and there are varieties of
ministries, and yet there is the same Lord
[Jesus C hrist]; and there are varieties of
operations, and yet it is the same God who
performs all the operations in all persons.
But the manifestation of the spirit is given
to each one for a beneficial purpose.
1 Cor. 12:12-28.
Yes, there are many m inistries within
the Christian ministry. For the Christian
congregation is like a body, and for that
body to function properly under its Lord
and Head, Jesus Christ, there are many
services, many ministries, that must be
performed. All of them are essential,
though some are more vital than others.
Clearly, then, there is something available
for everyone to do and, among the varieties of m inistries to be performed under
the direction of the one Lord, there is a
wide field of opportunity and privileges.
Many persons today, including not only
young men but also mature men and also
women, perform services similar to those
of first-century Christians who ministered
to Jesus and his apostles. Hundreds of
Jehovahs witnesses do so on a full-tim e
basis serving in Bethel homes, printing

A ugust 1, 1971

459
fKeWATCHTOW ER.
factories, farms and branch offices through- side the congregation. (Acts 2:17, 18;
out the earth. But since, in many cases, Heb. 10:24, 25) Surely there is ample to
their work may be very similar to, if not do for all true Christians in the Christian
the same as, work done by persons in sec- m inistry with its variety of services!
ular establishments, are they engaging in
Having this broadened understanding of
the Christian ministry by such activity? what the Christian m inistry embraces is
Yes, for their work is done in the interests beneficial. It helps us to find joy and satisof Christs kingdom; it contributes toward faction in serving. Christian men can see
others being able to concentrate on teach- that there are many outlets for their varied
ing and shepherding work, to devote them- abilities and talents. And they should be
selves to prayer and to the m inistry of encouraged to develop their spiritual abilithe word, providing the spiritual food ties to serve among the overseers in the
needed by Christs congregation and by fine work of shepherding Gods sheep.
persons in the world of mankind. Yes, and (1 Tim. 3:1) Wives can realize the value
those today caring for what m ight be of their m inistering to the needs of Christermed necessary business also can and tian husbands and their children, being asdo have a part them selves in personally sured that this service has m erit in the
ministering the word of life to others, eyes of the congregations Head, Jesus
sharing the good news of Christs kingdom Christ, and of God. (1 Pet. 2:21; 3:1-5)
with their brothers and w ith those of the Young people, too, can make themselves
world of mankind. They recognize this to helpful at home, at m eeting places, perbe a vital part of their m inistry.
forming services for those who are aged
In more than 26,000 congregations or ill, offering them selves for assignments
around the globe, spiritually qualified men of work under the direction of overseers.
serve as shepherds and teachers of the And all can and should share in telling
sheep of Gods flockoverseeing their spir- forth Gods praise within the congregation
itual welfare, counseling, reproving, com- and outside thereof, doing all this to their
forting, strengtheningwhile other de- own salvation and the salvation of those
voted men care for additional necessary listening to them.Rom. 10:10.
duties. (Eph. 4:11, 12; 1 Tim. 3:1-13)
How, then, can you share in the ChrisWithin each congregation there are many tian ministry? By accepting Christ Jesus
services to be rendered. There are sick as your God-appointed Head and subpersons to be visited, perhaps needy ones m itting to his direction, serving w ith his
to be cared for, m eeting places to be congregation. You can be helpful to those
provided and maintained. Yes, even per- doing shepherding and teaching work; you
forming such services as cleaning Kingdom can aid others in their worship and service
Halls, doing repair work, making curtains, to God and Christ; you can make known
painting signsall these are opportunities the good news to others. W hatever assignfor m inistering. Men, women and even ment may come your way, large or small,
children can share in caring for these nec- accept it with appreciation. Yes, in proessary things. And God through his Son portion as each one has received a gift, use
also grants to them all the grand privilege it in m inistering to one another as fine
of m inistering the good news to one an- stewards of Gods undeserved kindness
other and to honest-hearted persons out- expressed in various w ays.1 Pet. 4:10.

whom the prophet Ezekiel saw in a vision concerning Jerusalem before its destruction in 607 B.C.E. In that vision Jehovah told a mem w ith a secretarys inkhorn: Pass through the midst of the city,
through the midst of Jerusalem, and you
must put a mark on the foreheads of the
men that are sighing and groaning over
all the detestable things that are being
done in the midst of it. (Ezek. 9:4) Then
th e forces of deru ctio n J eh o v a h
said : P ass through
^
the city after him and
strike. Let not your
^ Z -e y e feel sorry, and do
ORE cl!
not feel any compasever before we s
sion. Old man, young
this system of things breakman and virgin and
ing down. D aily the evi'
little child and women
dence of its deterioration
you sh ou ld k ill o ff
mounts. One by one the
to
& ruination. But
things in which people have

tn
a
n
y m an u p o n
put their trust are proving
w hom th ere is th e
unable to overcome the dismark do not go near.
tressing conditions. The Bi
(Ezek. 9:5, 6) That
ble truthfully foretold of
I f
y o u rem a in in m y w ord, y o u a r e
ark m e a n t li f e
our age: In the last days
r e a lly m y disciples, a n d y o u w ill k n o w
critical tim es hard to deal th e tru th , a n d th e tr u th w i l l s e t y o u w h e n d e s t r u c t i o n
came.
with w ill be here. (2 Tim.
f r e e . John 8:31, 32.
3There is a similar
3 : 1 ) J esu s C h rist also
m arking going on
truthfully prophesied of our
tim e: On the earth anguish of nations, today. In these last days individuals are
not knowing the way out because of the also being identified. Jesus foretold: When
roaring of the sea and its agitation, while the Son of mem arrives in his glory, and
men become faint out of fear and expec- all the angels with him, then he w ill sit
tation of the things coming upon the in- down on his glorious throne. And all the
habited earth.Luke 21:25, 26.
nations will be gathered before him, and he
2Jehovah God has permitted sufficient will separate people one from another, just
tim e for this present system of things to as a shepherd separates the sheep from
come to full fruition. Now there can be no the goats. And he w ill put the sheep on his
doubt as to its true nature. Persons who right hand, but the goats on his left.
are honest-hearted are truly disgusted (Matt. 25:31-33) Those on the left will
with conditions. In this they are like those depart into everlasting cutting-off. Those
1. As to the present system of things, what is be- on the right hand of favor go into ever-

, THE TRUTH

TMT LEADS TO

coming clearer to thinking people?

2. (a) To whom can honest-hearted persons today be
compared? (b) What resulted from having the mark
and not having it?

3. (a) What marking work is going on in our time?

(b) What is the basis for being marked for eternal
life?
460

A u g u st 1, 1971

SHeWATCHTOWER

lasting life. (Matt. 25:34, 41, 46) What

kind of person is marked for eternal life?
At 1 John 2:17 we read: The world is
passing away and so is its desire, but he
that does the w ill of God remains forever.
Those to be spared for eternal life are
identified as persons who do the w ill of
God. And how do they know what the
truth is about Gods will?
*Jesus knew the truth about Gods will.
He had complete confidence that what he
taught others was the truth. Why was he
so sure? Concerning his followers he said
to his heavenly Father: I have given your
word to them . . . Sanctify them by means
of the truth; your word is truth. (John
17:14, 17) He also said: I do nothing of
my own initiative; but just as the Father
taught me I speak these things. And he
that sent me is with me; he did not abandon me to myself, because I always do the
things pleasing to him . (John 8:28, 29)
Jesus, in his prehuman existence, had been
with the heavenly Father for untold ages
of time. When on earth he would be able to
tell the truth about the Creators w ill and
purpose. (John 1:14, 18; 16:28) In addition, throughout his earthly m inistry Jesus
used the Hebrew Scriptures, which were
available in his day. These contained Gods
thoughts in written form. So when Jesus
referred to Gods word as being the truth,
he included the entire Hebrew Scriptures
as well as the additional information he
had as a result of his intim ate association
with Jehovah.
5Thus when Jesus spoke, he spoke the
truth because he spoke Gods thoughts.
He knew the truth about Jehovah better
than anyone else who had ever walked
the earth. The truthful teachings of Jesus,
and later those of his faithful followers,
were recorded in the Scriptures. Jehovah
4. Why did Jesus have such complete confidence that
what he had was the truth?
5. How can we learn what God's will is and be
marked ior survival?

461

saw to it that all the information Gods

servants needed would be recorded. So
today those who sincerely want to learn
the truth about Gods w ill and do it so as
to gain eternal life have the entire inspired
written Word of God as their guide. (2 Tim.
3:16, 17) By means of the truths it contains, individuals can develop the Christian personality that w ill mark them for
survived.Rom. 12:2; Col. 3:10.
USED TO DISPENSE TRUTH

* Jesus showed who would be used to dispense the truth to mankind after his death.
No, it would not be the hypocritical religious leaders of that tim e. It would be
those humble people who faithfully followed Jesus. They were the ones who were
doing Gods will. To them Jesus stated: I
have many things yet to say to you, but
you are not able to bear them at present.
However, when that one arrives, the spirit
of the truth, he will guide you into 111 the
truth, for he w ill not speak of his own impulse, but what things he hears he w ill
speak, and he will declare to you the things
coming. (John 16:12,13) Here Jesus was
speaking about Gods powerful holy spirit.
It would assist the faithful followers of Jesus to become the Christian congregation,
guiding them in the way of the truth. At
Pentecost, this spirit from Jehovah was
poured out on those followers of Jesus,
showing that now Jehovah was using them
to dispense the truth to mankind. (Acts 2:
1 1 8 4 ,1 4 )God had abandoned the Jewish
religious system. (Matt. 23:38) It took
place just as Jesus had said to the Jewish
religious leaders: The kingdom of God
w ill be taken from you and be given to a
nation producing its fruits.Matt. 21:43.
1 Later, the apostle Paul said: We speak
Gods wisdom in a sacred secret, the
6. (a) After Jesus death, whom did God use to dispense the truth? (b) What evidence did Jehovah give
as to whom he was using?
7. What is absolutely essential in order to understand
the truth?

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hidden wisdom, which God foreordained

before the system s of things for our glory.
This wisdom not one of the rulers of this
system of things came to know, for if
they had known it they would not have
impaled the glorious Lord. But just as it
is written: Eye has not seen and ear has
not heard, neither have there been conceived in the heart of man the things that
God has prepared for those who love him.
For it is to us God has revealed them
through his spirit, for the spirit searches
into all things, even the deep things of
God.1 Cor. 2 :7 1 0 .
8But who, specifically, get Gods spirit
to guide them in the way of the truth?
Peter and the other apostles said to the
Jewish Sanhedrin: We must obey God as
ruler rather than men. (Acts 5:29) What
could those who obey God as ruler expect
in return? The apostles said: We are witnesses of these matters, and so is the holy
spirit, which God has given to those obeying him as ruler (A cts 5:32) Yes, those
who do Gods will, obeying him as ruler
in everything, are the ones who can expect
to receive his spirit. That spirit will direct
them to the proper understanding of the
things God wants his servants to know.
GATHERING GODS SERVANTS

9A fter the death of the apostles and

other spiritually mature men of the first
century, the Christian congregation began
to be overgrown w ith weeds. These were
men who pretended to serve God, but who
would not really obey him as ruler. Jesus
foretold this growth of weedlike imitation
Christians among wheatlike true Christians, and also the final outcome, saying:
Let both grow together until the harvest; and in the harvest season I will tell
the reapers, First collect the weeds and
bind them in bundles to bum them up,
8. Who can expect to be guided by Gods spirit in the
way of truth?
9. What final separation of Gods servants takes place?

B r o o k l y n , N .Y .

then go to gathering the wheat into my

storehouse.' . . . so it will be in the conelusion of the system of things. The Son
of man w ill send forth his angels, and they
will collect out from his kingdom all things
that cause stumbling and persons who are
doing lawlessness, and they w ill pitch them
into the fiery furnace.Matt. 13:30,
4042.
10 All the evidence in fulfillment of Bible
prophecy indicates that God's kingdom was
established in the heavens in the year
1914 C.E. A t that tim e the last days for
Satans system of things began. (2 Tim.
3 :1 5 )Now would come the final gathering of Gods servants to Christs right hand
of favor. And as they were gathered, they
would be given heavy responsibilities, for
Jesus had prophesied: Who really is the
faithful and discreet slave whom his master appointed over his domestics, to give
them their food at the proper time? Happy
is that slave if his master on arriving finds
him doing so. Truly I say to you, He
appoint him over all his
(Matt. 24:45-47) Note carefully that when
Gods kingdom was established, those on
earth obeying God as ruler would be given
the supervision over all the Kingdom interests under the direction of Christ Jesus
and his angelic forces in heaven. God
would use these whom he likens to wheat
to dispense his truths to whoever wants
them. These latter would be clearly identified and set apart from those who are
likened to weeds or goats.
11 Those who make up the faithful and
discreet slavewho are they? They are
the anointed remnant of Jehovahs dedicated servants. How can it be said with
such certainty that they are the ones God
is using to dispense the truth to those who
are sighing and groaning over all the
10. What responsibility would be given God's servants
in the last days"?
11. Who make up God's faithful slave today, and on
what basis can this be said?

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463

detestable things that are being done in

the religious world? Jesus showed how a
person could identify those who had the
truth, saying: Every good tree produces
fine fruit, but every rotten tree produces
worthless fruit; a good tree cannot bear
worthless fruit, neither can a rotten tree
produce fine fruit. Every tree not producing fine fruit gets cut down and thrown
into the fire. Really, then, by their fruits
you will recognize those men. N ot everyone saying to me, Lord, Lord, will enter
into the kingdom of the heavens, but the
one doing the will of my Father who is in
the heavens w ill. (Matt. 7:17-21) Those
whom God uses must be those who are
doing his will, obeying him as ruler in
everything.

the past local Catholic hierarchies almost

always supported the wars of their nations,
blessing troops and offering prayers for
victory, while another group of bishops on
the other side publicly prayed for the opposite outcome. Significantly, the report
notes: The contradiction between the
Christian spirit and the conduct of war,
which was often obscured by theological
subtleties, seems increasingly clear to
many, as weapons grow more brutal.
13 Gods Word of truth makes the identification very clear: The children of God
and the children of the Devil are evident
by this fact: Everyone who does not carry
on righteousness does not originate with
God, neither does he who does not love
his brother. For this is the message which
you have heard from the beginning, that
LOVE AMONG YOURSELVES
we should have love for one another; not
12
What are some of the major identify-like Cain, who originated with the wicked
ing marks of those who are doing Gods one and slaughtered his
(1 John
will? What fruit must they be pro- 3:10-12) Those who do not obey God as
ducing? Among the many identifying ruler and who slaughter their brother
marks is this vital one given by Jesus: could not possibly have the truth. Only
By this all w ill know that you are my those who consistently obey God as ruler
disciples, if you have love among your- by refusing to participate in such mutual
selves. (John 13:35) This Christian love slaughter could be identified with the
must be in evidence among those who have truth.
the truth. Those who do not have this kind
14 What group has truly obeyed God as
of love cannot possibly have the truth.
ruler in this vital m atter wherever they
Now then, have the church systems of
live on this earth? The Sacramento, CaliChristendom produced this kind of fruit?
fom ia, Union commented editorially on
What have they done in periods of faith
July 9, 1965: Suffice it to say that if all
testing, such as during wartime? The facts
the world lived by the creed of the Jehoare beyond dispute: they have violated
vahs W itnesses there would be an end of
this requirement and sent their followers
bloodshed and hatred, and love would reign
to slaughter one another. For example, of
as king. Yes, the worldwide bond of genthe largest religion in Christendom the
uine Christian love displayed by the more
New York Times of December 29, 1966, than one million witnesses of Jehovah
reported: Traditionally Catholics sup- shows that they have the mark of true
port the nations war efforts and leave Christians. They really do practice the
moral responsibilities for the wars con- kind of love toward their Christian brothduct to the political authorities. . . . In
12. (a) What vital fruit must be evident among those
who have the truth? (b) Is it displayed by the
churches of Christendom?

13. What clear identification does Gods Word make

of those who are children of God and those who are
not?
14. Who today really practice true Christian love?

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S&eWATCHTOWER

During 1970 the Witnesses invited people

all over the world to hear 1,103,567
Bible discourses in their Kingdom Halls

ers and sisters that God requires. Regardless of the country in which they live, they
refuse to join in the wars of the nations,
for that would result in their slaughtering
one another.
15Rather than disobey God as ruler in
this matter, Jehovahs witnesses are willing to suffer persecution. In Germany,
many were executed in concentration
camps for obeying Gods law of love and
15. For showing true Christian love, what have Gods
servants undergone?

Witnesses use every opportunity to share

Bible truths, as this one does when the
postman calls. They offer Bible publications in 165 languages

B rooklyn,

N.Y.

refusing to participate in the slaughter

resulting from Nazi rule. In Communist
Russia, they were sent to labor camps in
Siberia for the same reason. In the United
States, to this very
, they are given
jail sentences of up to five yearsfor
obeying God as ruler and showing true
Christian love! Similar persecution has
taken place in many other countries. But
regardless of what the nations m ay do, Jehovahs witnesses continue to obey God
as ruler rather than men. For doing so,
what can they rightly expect from Jehovah? The holy spirit, which God has
given to those obeying him as ruler.
OTHER IDENTIFYING MARKS

16 Among other identifying marks, those

who have the truth will show respect for
Gods Word, the Bible. In this Jesus set the
pattern. He accepted the Scriptures of his
day as Gods inspired Word. He quoted
from them frequently and recommended
them to his followers. (Matt. 19:4-6; Luke
24:44,45) Never did he water down or
ridicule the Scriptures. But can we say this
about the religious leaders of Christendom
today? Are they taking the lead in building respect for Gods Word, upholding it
against its enemies? Are they recommending the Bibles standards of behavior?
No, but they belittle the Bible and call
parts of it myth. More and more of them
flout the Bibles moral standards and excuse or even condone premarital sex relations, adultery, homosexuality and violence. Truly, instead of defending the
Bible against its enemies, they themselves
have become its enemies!
17 That the clergy of Christendom have
not respected Gods Word or really taught
it to their people can be demonstrated
by asking persons who go to church to
16,17. (a) What attitude toward the Bible must be
shown by those who have the truth? (b) Contrast the
attitude toward the Bible on the part of the clergy
with that of Jehovahs witnesses.

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SEeWATCHTOWER.

465

explain Gods purposes and requirements

from their own Bibles. So few are able
to do so that it is obvious they are not
being taught from Gods Word. The
Readers Digest of May 1966 commented:
Many of the churchs top leaders today
especially in what are called the mainstream denominationsare sorely failing
its members in two ways: 1) by succumbing to a creeping tendency to downgrade
the Bible as the infallible Word of God,
and 2) by efforts to shift the churchs
main thrust from the spiritual to the :*.::
secular. But of Jehovahs witnesses the
In 1970 Jehovahs witnesses conducted
French publication France-Soir of August
1,146,378 regular home Bible studies
6,1969, said: The doctrines of Jehovahs
with people of all nationalities
witnesses are based on the Bible. And
Englands Weekly News of September 27, God would be called out to be a people
1969, commented: Perhaps the real secret for his name. (Acts 15:14) Thousands of
of the W itnesses success is because they times in the Bible, the name of GodJeknow their Bible so w ell. Yes, Jehovahs hovah in Englishis mentioned. But from
witnesses accept the entire Bible as the whom have you heard this name? You
know that if it were not for
Word of God. They teach it
Jehovahs
w itn esses you
freely to anyone who wants
lik
ely
would
never have
to learn its truths. This is
h
eard
th
e
nam
e, as th e
manifest by the fact that
churches
of
C
hristendom
they conduct well over a
rarely use it. Only Jehomillion Bible studies weekly
vahs witnesses today make
in the homes of interested
known the fact that thou,
persons in over 200 lands
whose name alone is JEHOthroughout the world. This
VAH, art th e m ost high
is by far the largest home
over all the earth.Ps. 83:
Bible study program in ex18, Authorized Version.
isten ce. Indeed, it is th e
largest ever in the history
19Those who have the
of the world!
mark of true C hristians
m ust keep th e m se lv e s
18Jesus said in prayer:
w ith o u t sp o t from th e
Our Father in the heavens,
world (Jas. 1:27) Gods
let your name he sanctiWord clearly warns: Whofied. (Matt. 6:9) He also
ever, therefore, wants to
prayed: I have made your
In 206 lands around
be a friend of th e world
name known to them and
the
world
Jehovahs
is constituting him self an
will make it known. (John
C h ristia n w itn e sse s
enemy of God. (Jas. 4:4)
17:26) The true servants of
te ach p e o p l e the
18. How are Gods servants identified
in connection with his name?

truths from G ods

Word the Bible

19. Who keep themselves without

spot from the world ?

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B r o o k l y n , N .Y .

The reason for this becomes apparent

21Even this very brief exam ination of
when we consider that Satan the Devil is some of the fruitage that m ust be prothe ruler of this world, the god of this duced by those whom God uses to dispense
system of things. (John 12:31; 2 Cor. 4: the truth makes it obvious that Jehovah
4) The clergy have constantly supported certainly is not using the church system s
this worlds wars and have become in- of this world. They are in utter confusion
volved in its political intrigues. They are and decay, and God is a God, not of disdefinitely part of this world. But what order, but of peace. (1 Cor. 14:33) To
about Jehovahs witnesses? Chicagos
growing numbers of sincere persons it is
day of October 18, 1969, observed: Their becoming clear that the clergy of Chrisbelief pattern, moreover, calls for total tendom do not have the truth, that God is
noninvolvement with the political society not using them. Rather it is becoming
in which they dwell. Jehovahs witnesses, more obvious all the time that the clergy
obeying God as ruler, are no part of this are actually the modern counterparts of
the religious leaders to whom Jesus deworld.
20
Another identifying mark would be thedared: You are from your father the
fulfilling of this key prophecy given by Devil, and you wish to do the desires of
Jesus for the last days : This good news your father. . . . If I speak truth, why is
of the
kingdom,will he ,preached in all the it you do not believe me? He that is from
inhabited earth for a witness to all the na- God listens to the sayings of God. This is
tions; and then the end w ill come. (Matt. why you do not listen, because you are not
24:14) That Kingdom was the theme of from God.John 8:44-47.
22There is an additional way, among
Jesus teaching. (Matt. 4:17) He taught
others,
to determine whom Jehovah is
his followers to pray: Let your kingdom
using
today.
Bible prophecy, history writcome. Let your w ill take place, as in heavten
in
advance,
comes from God. (2 Pet.
en, also upon earth. (Matt. 6:10) This
was the kingdom spoken of by Daniel the 1:20, 21) He can foresee future conditions
prophet centuries before when he said: It with total accuracy and keep his servants
w ill crush and put an end to all these abreast of them. Jehovah is the One
[other] kingdoms, and it itself will stand telling from the beginning the finale, and
to tim es indefinite. (Dan. 2:44) Who to- from long ago the things that have not
day teach people that the only hope for been done. (Isa. 46:10) These things Jemankind is Gods kingdom? Who teach hovah has made known to those who obey
that this heavenly government is the agen- him as ruler: The Sovereign Lord Jehocy God w ill use to end wickedness and vah w ill not do a thing unless he has
bring peace and eternal life to obedient revealed his confidential m atter to his
mankind? The clergy hardly mention it servants the prophets. (Amos 3:7) In this
anymore. But for the more than nine de- century who has been correctly informed
cades of their modem history, Jehovahs about the future? the clergy? the political
witnesses have forcefully proclaimed Je- leaders? the economic heads? Or has it
hovahs kingdom as mankinds only hope, been the witnesses of Jehovah? The next
as the announcement on the cover of this article will examine this question.
magazine indicates.
21. Is Jehovah using the church systems of today?
20. What message must be highlighted by those who
obey God as ruler?

Give a reason for your answer.

22. What is an additional way that we can determine
whom Jehovah is using today to dispense the truth?

EHOVAH GOD knows the

truth about the future. He
says: Surely just as I have
figured, so it must occur; and
just as I have counseled, that
is what will come true. (Isa.
14:24) Those who obey him
as ruler Jehovah enlightens with vital information about future events: New
things I am telling out. Before they begin
to spring up, I cause you people to hear
them. (Isa. 42:9) These new things are
revealed progressively: The path of the
righteous ones is like the bright light that
is getting lighter and lighter until the day
is firmly established. (Prov. 4:18) This
knowledge about the future strengthens
the faith of Gods servants. Jesus said: I
have told you before it occurs, in order
that, when it does occur, you may believe.
(John 14:29) Also, Jehovah wants his servants to know these prophetic truths so
that they can take them to other persons,
giving these ones the opportunity for eternal life too.John 17:3.
2Previously we examined some of the
main identifying marks, or the fruitage,
that those who know the truth about God
must bear. We have seen that Jehovahs
witnesses do bear those identifying marks.
Then we should expect them to have Gods
prophetic truths. Does the evidence show
this? Let us examine what Jehovahs witnesses have been saying down through
the years and compare it with what has
been said by the political, religious and
commercial leaders of this system of
things. Who has told the truth? Who today deserve our confidence as they tell of
events to come in the very near future?
8In the book 191Jf James Cameron describes the view that prevailed before
World War I in 1914 C.E. He says:
1. What vital information does Jehovah provide his
servants? Why?
2. Who should have Gods prophetic truths?
3. What view of world conditions was widely held before World War I?

Never before had Europe presented a

face so prosperous and buoyant;. . . it was
an enlightened age . . . N ot only was the
future full of promise; the present itself
was a thing of congratulation, and if a
moments uncertainty should intervene,
the record was there for all to examine
look at the motor car, look at the Marconi telegraph, look at the flying-machine
. . . War was scarcely even a speculation,
. . . Western Europe had known no war
for close on two generations. The political, religious and commercial elements of
this world widely accepted that view.
4However, Jehovahs witnesses held a
view that was just the opposite! In the
July 1879 issue of their official publication,
The Watchtower (at that tim e known as
Zions Watch Tower) its readers were told:
God teaches in many Scriptures that a
great time of trouble w ill come upon the
nations. In its October issue that same
year The Watchtower said: Great and
terrible things are coming upon the world
overturning of all governments, law and
orderutter wreck of society. It spoke
of a time of trouble such as was not since
4, 5. What view did Jehovah's witnesses have?

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B r o o k l y n , N .Y .
3EeWATCHTOWER
there was a nation. In all the years that rible events as took place. But Jehovahs
followed, Jehovahs witnesses (then known witnesses did expect such things, and othas Bible Students) consistently preached ers acknowledged that they did. On Authis m essage, that the world was headed gust 30, 1914, the New York World said:
into the worst trouble ever. They called The terrific war outbreak in Europe has
attention to Gods prophetic Word at Dan- fulfilled an extraordinary prophecy. For a
iel 12:1, which spoke of a tim e of distress quarter of a century past, through preachsuch as has not been made to occur since ers and through press, the International
there came to be a nation until that tim e. Bible Students . . . have been proclaiming
They noted Jesus prophecy that then to the world that the Day of Wrath prophthere w ill be great tribulation such as has esied in the Bible would dawn in 1914.
not occurred since the worlds beginning Look out for 1914! has been the cry of
until now, no, nor w ill occur again. the . . . evangelists.
7How could Jehovahs witnesses have
Matt. 24:21.
5 From Bible chronology, Jehovahs wit- known so far in advance what world leadnesses as far back as 1877 pointed to the ers themselves did not know? Only by
year 1914 as one of great significance. The Gods holy spirit making such prophetic
Watchtower as of March 1880 said: The truths known to them. True, some today
Times of the Gentiles extend to 1914, and claim that those events were not that hard
the heavenly kingdom [of God] will not to predict, since mankind has long known
have full sway till then. While they were various troubles. But if those events were
not yet dear on just what the details not hard to predict, then why were not
would be, in the nearly four decades pre- all the politicians, religious leaders and
ceding 1914 they sounded the warning economic experts doing so? Why were
that the future for this present system they telling the people the opposite? And
would not be one of peace, security and why did they persecute Jehovahs witnessprosperity for mankind, but that in 1914 es for telling things that were later seen
the world would come to the greatest time to be the truth?
of trouble ever. In 1897 the book The Battie of Armageddon, (at first entitled The PREACHING THE TRUTH AFTER WORLD WAR I
8World War I ended in 1918. What
Day of Vengeance) published by Jehovahs witnesses, said that this trouble then? Once more the leading elements of
would be more general and widespread, this world began to predict a future of
and more destructive, as the machinery peace, security and prosperity. In Saturof modern warfare signally suggests. In- day Review of November 9, 1968, professtead of being confined to one nation or sor of history Henry Steele Commager,
province, its sweep w ill be over the whole noting that World War I had been fought
world, especially the civilized world, Chris- to make the world safe for democracy,
stated: Surely the world had a right to
tendom.
exult
when this greatest and most terrible
*The momentous year of 1914 came,
of
wars
dragged to its weary end. Miliand with it World War I, the most widetarism
had
been crushed, aggression frusspread upheaval in history up to that time.
trated,
tyranny
ended, injustice rectified,
It brought unprecedented slaughter, famine, pestilence and overthrow of govern- democracy vindicated, and peace assured;
ments. The world did not expect such hor- for now, after centuries of yearning and

6. Whose view was proved to be the truth by the

events that began In 1914?

7. How did Jehovah's witnesses know these things?

8. What view of the future prevailed after World War I?

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469

striving, men of good w ill had set up a ing peace and eternal life.Matt. 6:10.
league to preserve peace. No more wars,
11Now that more than a half century
no more tyrannymankind had at last has passed since World War I, who has
sailed into the safe harbors of peace. proved to be the teller of truth? Were the
When the League of Nations was estab- predictions of the political, religious and
lished, some of the clergy of Christendom commercial elements correct? No, they
even hailed it as the political expression were not. Professor Commager shows
of Gods kingdom on earth.
what actually took place, saying: F ifty
*However, what were Jehovahs wit- years after the arm istice that was to make
nesses saying? Again, just the opposite! the world safe for democracy, men who
The March 1, 1919, issue of The Watch could control the great globe itself are
Tower declared: Lasting relief to suffer- unable to control them selves. . . , Rarely
ing humanity w ill come neither through in history have such high hopes been
human uplift nor through socialism nor dashed so low . . . Nineteen-eighteen did
through governmental regulation nor not usher in the millennium, it ushered in
through any league of nations, however a half century of conflictturbulence,
desirable such an arrangement might be, war, revolution, desolation, and ruin on a
but only through the power of the Christ, scale never before seen or even imagined.
Jesus and his church, bringing order out . . . The era which was to have seen the
of chaos by the establishm ent of the uni- end of war ushered in instead the m ost
versal kingdom of peace and righteous- terrible of wars, which rose to a climacterness. . . . As men come to realize, through ic in the most terrible of weapons; the era
troublous experiences now upon the earth, which was to have seen the triumph of
the futility of lasting happiness amidst hu- democracy saw instead the triumph of
man selfishness and depravity, the num- tyranny . . . How can we explain this long
ber of those who w ill long to welcome back succession of blunders and tragedies althe King w ill increase. They will come most without parallel in history?
to appreciate that the eradication of self12 They could not explain it. But Jehoishness from the earth is a work for the vahs witnesses explained it, truthfully
great heavenly Physician, far beyond the before it happened, while it happened,
power of imperfect mortal man.
and after it happened. No, not by their
10 From 1919 onward Jehovahs witness- own intelligence, but by being forewarned
es began the most widespread preaching from Gods Word of truth and directed by
campaign in the history of the world. They his holy spirit they could tell truth seekers
warned that this wicked system of things where this world was headed. In 1925 C.E.
had entered its last days. They preached they made known that after the beginning
with growing force and numbers that of the last days in 1914 great trouble
world conditions would continue to deteri- was due because, after a war in heaven,
orate until God crushed out of existence down the great dragon was hurled, the
the entire wicked system of things, re- original serpent, the one called Devil and
placing all governments of man with one Satan, who is misleading the entire inhabgovernment of God, his heavenly king- ited earth . . . Woe for the earth and for
dom under Christ. (Dan. 2:44) They high- the sea, because the D evil has come down
lighted the Bibles teaching that Gods to you, having great anger, knowing he
kingdom is mans only sure hope for last- has a short period of tim e.Rev. 1 2 :9 1 2 .
9,10. What was the message of Jehovahs witnesses
after World War I?

11,12. Who proved to be the truth teller?

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fEeWATCHTOWER.
TRUTH ABOUT MATERIALISM
monetary crisis that shook the basic ft15For nearly a century Jehovahs wit- nancial and political assumptions of the
nesses have warned those seeking to obey post-war period.. . . in the last year there
God as ruler not to put their trust in ma- has been a series of near-catastrophes in
terial wealth but to be content with lifes what is meant to be a system assuring
necessities, for that is what the Bible says. stability.. . . It was a nightmare week for
(Matt. 6:11,33, 34) Repeatedly they point- the worlds financial experts.
ed out the Bibles teaching that financial
15 None of this economic difficulty has
wealth was not truly satisfying or secure, surprised those who have been obeying
and that it would go out of existence with God as ruler. They have expected such
this system of things. Yet, all during that things. And they believed that the worst
tim e the worlds economic experts were economic collapse ever would come, on
promoting one scheme after another prom- the principle set out in this text: Into the
ising financial security.
streets they w ill throw their very silver,
14 W ith what results? In 1929 the worst and an abhorrent thing their own gold
economic depression in history begem. And will become. Neither their silver nor their
a measure of relief came only when the gold w ill be able to deliver them in the day
nations began borrowing and spending to of Jehovahs fury. (Ezek. 7:19) It will
finance World War II. What has been the happen just as Gods Word says: The one
economic situation since World War II? trusting in his richeshe him self w ill fall;
True, there has been an apparent increase but just like foliage the righteous ones
in m aterial prosperity in several countries, will flourish.Prov. 11:28.
but much of this has been the result of
deficit financing, going into debt to buy
THE TRUTH ABOUT SCIENCE
18
During this century science has been
things. How genuine and secure is such
prosperity? The publication entitled The hailed as a savior. It was claimed that it
Amazing Dollar in
published in would provide the technology to subdue
1969, states: Never, in the past 18 years, the earth and provide plenty and comfort
have innocent owners of currencies been for all. However, Jehovahs witnesses
subjected to such gigantic losses of mone- warned that, despite good intentions and
tary value as during the past twelve some benefits, science was a false hope
months. . . . There is not one case in the because it could not solve mankinds probhistory of [the] past 50 years that a gov- lems. Has this been so? Professor Comem m ent or other type of loan has been mager states: A t the end of a generaredeemed in the purchasing power in tion of unparalleled advance in science
which the buyer acquired it. And all in- and technology, mankind found hunger
terest payments by savings and commer- more widespread, violence more ruthless,
cial banks, as well as most dividends, have and life more insecure than at any time in
been wiped out during the past 28 years the century. Nor was this disappointment
by taxes and loss of purchasing power. confined to the backward peoples of the
Concerning just one of many recent eco- globe: Even in America, which boasted
nomic disturbances the New York Times almost lim itless resources and the most
of November 24, 1968, reported: The advanced technology, poverty was familW estern world struggled last week with a

13. What contrasting outlooks were held regarding materialism?

14. What has actually taken place?

15. Will the future prove to be better for this world's

materialism and its supporters?
16. How have events verified the view of Jehovahs
servants regarding science?

A u g u st 1, 1971

471
SEeWATCHTOWER,
iar in millions of households, white as well pectancy by allowing more people to reach
as black; cities decayed, the countryside the upper lim it, which for the general run
despoiled, air and streams polluted; law- of mankind still seems to be approximately
lessness, official and private, was conta- the Biblical fourscore years.. . . The aging
gious; and war and the threat of war filled of such normal cell populations is apparthe minds of men with hatred and fear. ently due to an intrinsic process, not a
And now, others are beginning to recog- deficiency in growing conditions.
nize the truth of what Jehovahs witnesses
18While men are to be commended for
have said, for
U.S.News & World
Report
sincere
efforts to help the sick and dying,
of February 9, 1970, noted: Scientists, the truth is that nothing has changed:
a fter reap ing
m an s t ill g e ts
adm iration for
sic k and dies.
th e le a p s in
And h is lif e T H E N E X T IS S U E
technology that
span is about
W h y H as G o d A llo w e d the Righteous to Suffer?
t h e y h ave acthe same as it
com p lish ed in
was when, cen Perfection W h a t D oes It R e a lly M e a n ?
recent decades,
turies ago, Gods
Word declared:
now find them H o w Religious Expenses A r e M et.
selves fending
The days of
o ff b rickbats.
our yea rs are
People in growing numbers seem to feel seventy years; and if because of special
that scientific research is creating more mightiness they are eighty years, yet their
problems than it is solving. . . . Criticism insistence is on trouble and hurtful things;
. . . has reached a point where many of for it must quickly pass by, and away we
the nations leading scientists are pro- fly. (Ps. 90:10) Man, by his own efforts,
foundly worried.
cannot overcome sickness and death. It is
What about the accomplishments in still true that through one mem sin enthe field of medical science? Many claimed tered into the world and death through
that it would provide the answers to mans sin, and thus death spread to all men.
sick and dying condition. As evidence they (Rom. 5:12) Not men, but God will bring
proudly pointed out that mans life-span permanent healing of body and mind by
has been greatly lengthened in recent means of his kingdom under Christ.Rev.
times. Has it? Scientific American of 21:3, 4.
March 1968 said: The common impresTHE RELIGIOUS SITUATION
sion that modern medicine has lengthened
19What has been the truth about the
the human life-span is not supported by
either vital statistics or biological evi- worlds religious situation, particularly
dence. To be sure, the 20th-century ad- that of Christendom? In November 1879
vances in control of infectious diseases The Watch, Tower stated: Every church
and of certain other causes of death have claiming to be a chaste virgin espoused to
improved the longevity of the human pop- Christ, but in reality united to and supulation as a whole. These accomplishments ported by the world . . . we m ust condemn
in medicine and public health, however,
as being in scripture language a harlot
have merely extended the average life exchurch. . . . Yes we believe the nominal
17,18. Has medical science been able to change the
truths contained in the Bible regarding sickness and
death?

19, 20. What have Jehovahs servants expected regarding

this worlds religions?

472

S&eWATCHTOWER

church of today to be the Babylon of our

text, which falls. . . . The fall we expect
w ill not be instantaneous; it will have a
beginning and w ill gather momentum as
it falls until it is dashed to pieces. While
it was not clear at that tim e just how this
would come about, forewarned by Gods
prophetic truths concerning false religion,
Jehovahs servants told their hearers to get
out of this worlds religions, for these religions were not serving God and would
receive his adverse judgments.
20The church systems did not believe
this and brought repeated persecution
against Jehovahs witnesses. Indeed, in the
1950s they experienced what seemed to
be a revival of religious interest. Then the
Vatican Council in the 1960s was hailed
by religious leaders as a great step toward
unifying and strengthening the churches.
But all during this tim e Jehovahs witnesses continued to sound the warning that
these worldly religions would go out of
business, and very soon.
21The evidence is now very clear that
what Jehovahs witnesses were saying was
the truth. They indeed had the guidance
of Gods holy spirit all the time. Now, all
authorities admit that the religions of this
world are in deep trouble. They are being
abandoned by increasing numbers of peopie and clergy alike, with financial support
dropping. As the New York Times of
March 25, 1969, noted: Institutional religion is on the way out, a German expert
on the sociology of religion said today.
This ferment in religion prompted an editorial in the New York Post of March 14,
1969, to say: The area in which the old
order seems to be reeling past us with the
speed of light is religion. . . . How far this
religious revolution will go nobody dares
say. But Jehovahs witnesses have been
saying itwith growing force, and for
more than ninety years now!
21. What Is the truth about false religion today?

r o o k ly n

, N .Y .

CONFIDENTLY FACING THE FUTURE

22So in all fields of human endeavor

there are the unmistakable signs of deterioration. The nations are in the precise
condition foretold by Jesus when he said
of our day: And on the earth anguish
of nations, not knowing the way out because of the roaring of the sea and its
agitation, while men become faint out of
fear and expectation of the things coming
upon the inhabited earth.( Luke 21:25,
26) But this anguish of heart is not shared
by Jehovahs servants, for Jesus also said:
As these things start to occur, raise yourselves erect and lift your heads up, because
your deliverance is getting near.Luke
21:28.
23 The hope of those who have been making known such prophetic truths from God
gets brighter even while conditions deteriorate in the old system of things. Why
so? Because these servants of God know
that all this means that the world is passing away and so is its desire, but he that
does the w ill of God remains forever.
(1 John 2:17) They look ahead with growing faith and confidence to a marvelous
future in Gods new order after the end of
this wicked system, fortified by the knowledge that Gods prophetic truths they
have been upholding have come to pass
and will continue to do so. Never w ill they
forsake Gods precious prophetic truths for
the vain promises of those who promote
this system of things. They heed the counsel of the apostle Paul: Be blameless and
innocent, children of God without a blemish in among a crooked and twisted generation, among whom you are shining as
illuminators in the world, keeping a tight
grip on the word of life.Phil. 2:15, 16.
24There are many honest-hearted per22,23. (a) Why is the anguish of nations today not
shared by Jehovahs servants? (b) What will those
who know Gods prophetic truths continue to do?
24. In view of the time, what is the most rewarding
thing anyone can do?

A u g u st 1, 1971

473
5&eWATCHTOWER,
sons who do not yet know the truth about time, to spread the truth to others. There
God and his purposes. They are distressed is nothing you could do at this tim e in huat what they see taking place in the world, man history that could be more rewarding.
but do not know which way to turn. They Why so? Because Gods Word promises:
too need the truth that comes from God. Pay constant attention to yourself and to
But the hour is very late for this dying your teaching. Stay by these things, for by
system. Appreciate the urgency of the doing this you w ill save both yourself and
times and take the tim e, yes, make the those who listen to you.1 Tim. 4:16.

OF

n y >TY DESIRE to make a career of

C V L proclaiming the kingdom of God
presented me w ith a marvelous choice.
One day the mailman brought a long
envelope; it contained an application for
serving at the Watch Tower Societys
headquarters at Brooklyn, New York. How
happy I was to receive this! Then before
I had tim e to fill it out I received another
application; this one was for the Societys
missionary school of Gilead. Now a big
decision faced me.
It was really a hard decision to make,
as I had always wanted each of these privileges. Well, I finally chose to fill out the
application for Gilead School. This led to

my serving now more than twenty years

in the Philippines, telling others about the
kingdom of God. Over the years my career
of proclaiming Gods kingdom has brought
me many blessings, yes, right from the
time of my baptism.
DESIRE FOR BAPTISM FINALLY REALIZED

I was grateful that my parents brought

me, from an early age, to the meetings of
Jehovahs Christian witnesses. Though I
was born of Protestant parents in 1926, in
Cleveland, Ohio, it was not long before my
father became dissatisfied at the minister
of the church, who would say: Do as I
say but not as I do. We had relatives who
were Bible Students, as the Christian witnesses of Jehovah were then known. And
soon we began attending meetings of the
Witnesses.
My first opportunity to go from house
to house in the Kingdom m inistry came in
1936, when I was only ten years of age.
But I enjoyed going from house to house
offering Bible literature with the help of
a testimony card, a printed card that
explained my reason for calling. I wanted
to be baptized, but my parents did not allow me to do so at that tim e because they
thought I should be older. So I had to wait
till I was fifteen years of age. But what an
occasion that was!
It was assembly tim e, and the Watch
Tower Societys convention was being held
in St. Louis, Missouri, August 6 1 9 4 1 ,10.
Upon arrival there, all children between

474

S&eWATCHTOWER.

the ages of five and eighteen years were

to register for Childrens Day. I registered.
And on Sunday morning there was an assembly for baptism. I was one of 1,357
children who symbolized by water baptism
their dedication to do Jehovahs will. What
a thrill it was finally to be able to present
m yself for baptism!
After being baptized we returned to The
Arena or main auditorium, and at 11 a.m.
I had the wonderful privilege of sitting in
the main part of the auditorium with
15.000 other children. We heard the discourse by the Societys then president
J. F. Rutherford entitled Children of the
King. It was an inspiring discourse. And
after concluding his talk, the Societys
president said: have a question to propound to each of you. All of you who have
agreed to do the will of God and have taken
your stand on the side of the Theocratic
Government by Christ Jesus, and who have
agreed to obey God and His King, please
STAND UP!
We arose as one body. Behold, exclaimed the Societys president, more than
15.000 new witnesses to the Kingdom!
A fter long applause he said: All of you
who w ill do what you can to tell others
about Gods kingdom and its attending
blessings please say Aye! Then came a
thunder of A ye from 15,000 children on
their feet.
And then the Societys president said:
If you had an instrument in your hands
that you could use to the honor of Jehovahs name, would you be diligent to use
it? We answered Yes! Then be seated,
and I w ill tell you about that instrument.
The Lord has made possible the preparation of this book as a message for you.
The title of this book is Children. What
tremendous applause followed! I remember going up one of the two stairways to
the platform to receive my free personal

B r o o k ly n , N .Y .

copy of this Bible study aid as Brother

Rutherford looked on smiling.
Yes, what a convention that was for me!
Getting baptized and then being one of
those 15,000 children and receiving that
wonderful spiritual m essage and book.
From that tim e until now I have been trying to do all I can to tell others about Gods
kingdom.
PROCLAIMING THE KINGDOM FULL TIME

After my baptism, I still had three years

of high school to complete, but early in
1944 I was thinking about a career as a
full-time proclaimer of Gods kingdom. I
filled out an application for pioneer service, full-tim e preaching of the Kingdom
under direction of the Watch Tower Bible
& Tract Society. Upon its approval I ordered m y literature and was very happy
when that first carton of books arrived
from Brooklyn.
On the first day of June, I started out
in the m inistry and rode my bicycle to the
territory. That evening I graduated from
high school. That ended twelve years of
schooling and began my many years in the
full-time m inistry of telling others about
Jehovah God and his kingdom.
Later I received an application for special pioneer service and was assigned to
serve in Medina, Ohio. While I was there
I received applications for both Brooklyn
Bethel and Gilead School. Having chosen
Gilead, I was called to its tw elfth class.
Upon graduation I remained a special pioneer for a time, and then came a letter
stating that I was assigned to the Philippines. What was it going to be like? Could
I endure? These and many other questions
arose in my mind.
GETTING ACQUAINTED WITH MY NEW HOME

My grandfather, who was an immigrant

from Germany, told me to eat the way the
people eat and to learn their ways. This

A u g u st 1, 1971

SReWATCHTOWER.

turned out to be a helpful suggestion, and

it has made life much easier.
On June 1 ,1 9 5 1 ,1 arrived at the Port of
Manila. That evening I went with several
of the W itnesses to a downtown section of
Manila to offer the Watchtower and
AuoaJce! magazines to pedestrians. I found
my new surroundings very fascinating. The
people were friendly, and most of them
could speak English. That evening I met
many W itnesses as they came past. At
times I may not have paid full attention
to the magazine work, as a mem came up
and tapped me on the shoulder and asked
if he could obtain a magazine from me.
I received my first m issionary assignment, a housing project of the government
called Roxas D istrict. After several months
of preaching Gods kingdom there, I was
able to recommend to the Society that the
group of new W itnesses there be formed
into a congregation. I was privileged to become the presiding minister. When witnessing about Gods kingdom from house
to house, I found that nearly everyone
would invite me into their living room. I
was able to give a sermon at nearly every
home.
SERVING AS CIRCUIT SUPERVISOR

After being in my missionary assignment for only nine months, I received the
privilege of serving as a circuit servant or
supervisor, visiting congregations of Witnesses to encourage them and help them
in their ministry. This work took me out
to the provinces. Life there was much different from that in the city. There was
very little transportation, and m ost of the
witnessing was done on foot. It reminded
me of the tim e when Jesus Christ and his
apostles went from town to town proclaiming the good news of Gods kingdom.
During my visits nearly every W itness
in a congregation would engage in the
field ministry. Each morning they would

475

assemble in the Kingdom Hall at 8 a.m.

In fact, many were already there at 7 a.m.
During my weeks visit, many of the Witnesses who lived farther from the Kingdom
Hall would sleep at the Hall for the whole
week; at about 2 oclock Monday morning
they would start for home, full of spirit
and happiness.
The weeks special preaching activities
made us all very happy. Sometimes we
would walk over the hills for two hours
to the witnessing territory, sometimes
singing Kingdom songs as we went. And
with fifteen to twenty in a group, all
walking single file over the trails and singing, it really made my heart glad that I
had accepted my foreign assignment.
The first circuit I was assigned embraced the whole of the Tagalog-speaking
towns; today that same section is contained in two districts. The expansion is
very fast. Serving as circuit servant there
in the Tagalog-speaking section of the
Philippines was a real highlight in my life.
To take Gods Word to the small homes in
the rural sections; to see these humble
people with no chairs in their homes but
sitting on the floor listening to every word
being spoken; to conduct a Bible study
with them and later to see them at the
Kingdom Hall on my next visit to the congregationthis made me want to work
all the harder to tell others of Gods kingdom before the work was finished.
Traveling on Monday to another congregation was a real treat. Early in the
morning in the rural sections I would w ait
for the bus to come. When it arrived it was
usually full, but that did not matter, as
there is always a way to make room for
one more. The roof of the bus was full of
cargo, and at tim es inside the bus, in the
rear, perhaps a cow. On the running board
m ight be some pigs; on the floor of the
bus perhaps sacks of rice. The bus would
travel along at about tw enty to twenty-

476

SfieWATCHTOWER

five kilometers an hour (about fifteen

m iles an hour), but in time we would
reach our destination.
One year I was serving in the BatangasMindoro circuit, made up of three provinces. Mindoro is a large island on the west
coast of Luzon. There in the town of Bongabon I found my partner for life; Nenita
and I have served together now in Kingdom work for thirteen years.
CONVENTION PRIVILEGES

Generally each year I have one month

or more leave from my regular work to
prepare for a large assembly. It is a wonderful privilege. The first assembly of
which I had the privilege of being assembly servant or supervisor was in 1953. We
had many problems, because this was my
first tim e to be assembly servant, and
m ost of the other W itnesses were new in
their work too.
Then in 1963 I received the assignment
to be assembly servant at the Around-theWorld International Assembly of Jehovahs
W itnesses. This was to be the biggest assembly yet in the Philippines. The Rizal
Memorial Football Stadium was under contract, but there was no place for the cafeteria and various departments. So a large
building had to be constructed. Besides
this, it was decided to place a roof over
the bleachers, as the assembly would take
place during the rainy season. We began
putting the roof over the bleacher section
two weeks before the assembly. Some employees of the stadium said it would never
be done. But just a handful of carpenters,
with good organization and Jehovahs
blessing, were able to complete the building
of the roof ahead of schedule, and on opening day it was ready.
We had planned this assembly for 20,000 persons, but when the attendance
count came in, we saw that there were
over 37,000 persons at the public talk!

B r o o k l y n , N .Y .

Convention tim es give us a nice break,

and we get to talk with other circuit and
district supervisors from all parts of the
country and to hear their experiences and
of the thrilling increases that Jehovah is
giving us here.
DISTRICT WORK

On June 1, 1968, I received the grand

privilege of being appointed to serve as a
district servant or supervisor. This has
brought us many joys and thrills. It is
delightful to assemble with Jehovah's peopie at a circuit assembly every two weeks.
In our present district each circuit is made
up of 200 to 500 W itnesses. We are now in
the section of the country where the major
language is Hiligaynon. Each circuit has
its own dialect, but the basic language here
is Hiligaynon.
This district is made up of alm ost 4,000
W itnesses. It includes many beautiful islands and has one volcano. Many of our
Christian brothers make their livelihood
by raising sugarcane and rice or by engaging in the fishing industry.
At tim es travel is still very difficult. In
some places, only during the mornings can
one travel, as there is danger in the evenings or at night. Often we ride one bus to
a certain town and then transfer to another to get where we are going. When it
is tim e to transfer, we may find there are
no buses at this tim e of the day. So we
just have to sleep in that town at the home
of a W itness and then proceed the next
morning. This means, then, that it may
take two days to go only a short distance.
It is encouraging, though, to experience
the warm hospitality of our Christian
brothers wherever we are.
I have been in the Philippines now more
than twenty years, and there is no place
that I would rather be on earth than here,
telling others of the kingdom of God. Jehovah has given me everything that I have
needed; in fact, more than I ever expected.

You may wonder what happens to the

EHOVAH has given us many wonderful
gifts. One of his finest gifts to us is life. old body parts. These die off a little bit
W ithout it we could not do anything, could at a tim e and are taken away as wastes.
we? But if we want to keep that gift, The new ones take their place.
T hese changes are
there are some things
happening everywhere
that we must do.
A n a r t ic le s p e c ia lly d e s ig n e d fo r
in our body. It does not
You are doing one of p a re n ts to rea d w ith th e ir c h ild re n
take very long until our
those things right now.
So am I. We do it all day and all night, whole body is made over. Jehovah made
even when we are asleep. If we were to our body so that it does this. He made it
stop, we would die right away. Do you so that it would go on doing it forever.
know what it is? Yes, we are breathing. Yes, he made mem to live forever.
There are other things that we do every
But people die. Why? Because Adam
day to keep alive. Can you name some sinned against God. And we got sin from
of them? We eat food. We drink water. Adam. He spoiled mans good relationship
And we sleep. God made us so that we can- with God. And our life depends on God.
not live without these things.
To live forever, we need more than air
None of them are hard to do. In fact,
and water and food and sleep. We need to
I like eating. Dont you? But how does
food keep us alive? Do you know? What have the right standing with God.
There is no doctor that can make us
happens to it after we swallow it?
live
forever. There is no magic pill that
Our body breaks the food into very tiny
w
ill
keep
us from dying. The only way we
pieces. Then the blood carries these to
can
live
forever
is by drawing close to
every part of our body. This food is used
in a marvelous way to build new bone, God. The Great Teacher tells us how to
new flesh, new hair, nails, eyes and other do that.
Lets get our Bibles and open
body parts. Did
them to John chapter 17, verse 3.
you know that?
H ere we find w hat Jesus said:
This means everlasting life, their
taking in knowledge of you, the
only true God, and of the one whom
you sent forth, Jesus Christ.
What did the Great Teacher say
that we need in order to live forever? We need to take in knowledge. That means we need to learn.
That is why we study the Bible.
But how w ill learning about Jehovah help us to live forever? Remember, all life comes from him.

477

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S&eWATCHTOWER

B rooklyn , N .Y .

To have his favor, we must worship him

as the only true God. But we cannot worship him in the right way unless we listen
to what he says. Just as we need food
every day, so we need to learn about Jehovah every day. This keeps us close to him.
The Bible says: Man must live, not on
bread alone, but on all the words that
come from Jehovahs mouth.Matt. 4:4.
We also need to take in knowledge about
someone besides God. Who is that? Jesus
Christ. This is because God sent Jesus to
take away sin. He can take away the harm
that Adam did when Adam sinned against
God. Jesus can help us to get back into
a good relationship w ith God. And that is
not possible in any other way.
That is why the Bible says: There is
no salvation in anyone else. We have to
learn about Jesus if we want to live forever. And if we really do have faith in
him, we w ill be able to live forever. When
he brings good conditions to all the earth,
he w ill help us to live forever and be happy. It is a sure thing. That is why the Bible
says: He that exercises faith in the Son
has everlasting life.Acts 4:12; John
3:36.

Now, what does it mean to exercise

faith in Jesus? It means that we really
believe that we cannot stay alive without
him. We believe that God gives us everlasting life through Jesus. Do you believe
that?
Exercising faith in Jesus means something else too. It means that we believe
him so much that we do what he says.
We do not do just some things and not
others. We do all the things he says. And
we do them because we really want to. Is
that what you want to do?
One of the things that the Great Teacher tells us to do is to talk to other peopie about God and his kingdom. He did
it him self to show us how. So, if we
have really learned from Jesus, that is
something that we will do. Do you do
that?
But that is not all that counts. Every
day we should do the things that the Bible
says are right. We must be careful not to
do bad things. We should show that we
truly love one another.
If we do these things, it shows that we
have really been listening to the Great
Teacher.

Since the Bible speaks about the prophet

Samuel as offering sacrifices, does this mean
that he was a priest?U.S.A.
No, the Scriptures clearly show that Samuel
was not a priest of the line of Aaron. Samuels
father Elkanah resided at Ramah in the mountainous region of Ephraim and is therefore
called an Ephraimite. But genealogically El-

kanah was a Levite of the nonpriestly family

that descended from Kohath. (1 Sam. 1:1, 19;
1 Chron. 6:27, 33, 34) As a nonpriestly Kohathite Levite, Samuel was not authorized to offlciate at the sanctuary altar, and there is no
record that he ever did so. Regarding Levites
who were not of the family of Aaron, Gods
law stated: To the utensils of the holy place
and to the altar they must not come near that
they may not die. (Num. 18:3) However, being
Jehovahs representative and prophet, Samuel
could, in compliance with divine direction, offer
up sacrifices at places other than the sanctuary,
as was done by Gideon of the tribe of Manasseh
and, later, by the prophet Elijah.Judg. 6:15,
25-28; 1 Ki. 18:36-38.

A ugust 1, 1971

S&eWATCHTOWER

It is noteworthy that, when King Saul *compelled himself to offer up the burnt sacrifice,
Samuel did not accuse him of wrongfully assuming the priestly office. He simply said to
Saul: You have acted foolishly. You have not
kept the commandment of Jehovah your God
that he commanded you, because, if you had,
Jehovah would have made your kingdom firm
over Israel to time indefinite. And now your
kingdom will not last. (1 Sam. 13:12-14) So
for violation of what command did Samuel
censure Saul? And what guiding principle can
we learn from this?
Earlier Samuel had instructed Saul: You
must go down ahead of me to Gilgal; and, look!
I am going down to you to offer up burnt sacrifices, to render up communion sacrifices. Seven
days you should keep waiting until my coming
to you, and I shall certainly let you know
what you should do. (1 Sam. 10:8) Even if
this command pertained to another occasion
(as some commentators believe), it would somewhat parallel the one that Saul violated. Whatever the case, the fact remains that Samuel was
Jehovahs representative and, therefore, the
command violated was really Jehovahs command and could not be treated with impunity.
Thus Sauls sin consisted of his presumptuously
going ahead with the sacrifice and not obeying
Jehovahs command (given through Samuel)
to wait. It did not involve an attempted seizure
of the priestly office, for Samuel was not an
Aaronic priest. Sauls sin differed from that
of a later king, Uzziah, who was told: It is
not your business, O Uzziah, to burn incense
to Jehovah, but it is the business of the priests
the sons of Aaron.2 Chron. 26:18.
Sauls sin illustrates that it is a very serious
thing for an individual to disregard Gods
arrangement of matters. Samuel had not made
himself a prophet. It was Jehovah God who,
by means of his spirit, called him to be such
so that all Israel became aware that Samuel
was one accredited for the position of prophet.
(1 Sam. 3:19, 20) Similarly, those serving as
overseers and shepherds in the Christian congregation receive their appointment by holy
spirit. (Acts 20:28) Of course, they do not speak
by divine inspiration as did Samuel. Nevertheless, we should not be presumptuous and attempt to take over the responsibility and duties
of those so assigned, perhaps due to feeling
they are not handling matters right or are too
slow. Anyone who deliberately took such action
would, like King Saul, bring trouble upon him-

479

self and endanger his relationship with Jehovah God.

Why is it that Psalm 102:25, 26 and Hebrews
1:10, 11 speak of the heavens and the earth
as *perishing and as *being replaced like a
worn-out garment?Hawaii.
In answering this question, some persons
may point to the fact that the terms **heavens
and **earth are not always applied to the
literal heavens and earth. At Psalm 96:1, for
example, the **earth is encouraged to sing a
**new song. Obviously in this case the people
of the earth are meant. The Bible also speaks
of *wicked spirit forces in the heavenly places.
(Eph. 6:12) This would suggest that such
wicked spirit forces constitute a *heaven over
the wicked human society. In fact, the Devil
is referred to as the **god of this system of
things. (2 Cor. 4:4) On this basis, some might
conclude that the heavens and the earth mentioned at Psalm 102:25, 26 (quoted at Hebrews
1:10, 11) refer to the wicked heavens composed
of Satan and his demons and which control
the earth made up of mankind alienated from
God. But does the passage itself allow for this
application?
Psalm 102:25, 26 reads: Long ago you [God]
laid the foundations of the earth itself, and
the heavens are the work of your hands. They
themselves will perish, but you yourself will
keep standing; and just like a garment they will
all of them wear out. Just like clothing you
will replace them, and they will finish their
turn. This gives rise to the question, How
could God possibly be the Creator of wicked
heavens and a wicked earth?
Well, it might be argued that God did create
the spirit creatures who rebelled and eventually
became a wicked heavens over mankind, and
that God created Adam and Eve, from whom
all persons alienated from God have descended.
However, it should be noted that neither the
passage itself nor the context readily lead to
this conclusion. Then, too, there are no other
scriptures that speak of Jehovahs laying the
foundation for a wicked human society or
creating wicked heavens. Reasonably, therefore, we should look for an explanation that
more naturally and logically fits the context.
As revealed in the superscription of Psalm
102, this psalm is a prayer of the afflicted in
case he grows feeble and pours out his concern before Jehovah himself. Such an afflicted
one could logically think about the everlast-

480

SEeWATCHTOWER

B rooklyn , N .Y .

Accordingly, greater permanence is ascribed

ingness of Jehovah in relationship to the physical heavens and earth. Yes, the physical ere- to Jehovah God (Ps. 102:25, 26) and to his
ation of heavens and earth is perishable. It glorified Son Jesus Christ (Heb. 1:10, 11) than
could be destroyed, if such were Gods purpose. to the physical creation, which is corruptible
Unlike Gods eternal existence, the permanence and could perish. Other scriptures also support
of any part of his physical creation is not this conclusion. At Luke 21:33, for example,
independent. As seen in the earth, the physical Jesus said that heaven and earth will pass
creation must undergo a continual renewing away, but my words will by no means pass
process if it is to endure or retain its existing away. Jesus here contrasted the stability and
form. That the physical heavens are dependent eternal truthfulness of his words as compared
on Gods will and sustaining power is indicated with the perishable nature of the physical
at Psalm 148. After referring to sun, moon and heavens and earth. Not that God purposes to
stars as well as other parts of Gods creation, destroy them, but that they are destructible.
this Psalm (verse 6) states that God keeps So, the sense of this expression seems to be like
them standing forever, to time indefinite. A that of Matthew 5:18: Truly I say to you that
regulation he has given, and it will not pass sooner would heaven and earth pass away
[or, it is easier for heaven and earth to pass
away.
At Hebrews 1:10,11 the words of Psalm 102: away, Luke 16:17] than for one smallest letter
25, 26 are applied to Jesus Christ. He, too, or one particle of a letter to pass away from
could be said to have laid the foundations the Law by any means and not all things take
of the earth and produced the heavens as place.
the work of his hands* because Gods onlySince Jehovah God and his Son possess greatbegotten Son was Gods personal Agent em- er permanence than the physical heavens and
ployed in creating the physical universe. (John earth, this gives us full assurance that Jesus
1:1, 2; Col. 1:15, 16) In highlighting the great- is always alive to plead for afflicted ones and
ness of the Son of God, who now enjoys incorruptibility, an indestructible life (Heb. 7:15, God is always alive to hear and answer such
16), the writer of the letter to the Hebrews pleas. (Compare Hebrews 7:25.) This knowlcontrasts the Sons permanence with that of edge should encourage us to trust completely
the physical creation, which God, if he so de- in every promise of God, with full assurance
signed, could wrap up just as a cloak and that it will be fulfilled, no matter what may
set it aside.Heb. 1:12.
appear to stand in the way.

ANNOUNCEMENTS

WATCHTOWER STUDIES FOR THE WEEKS

September 5: Having the Truth That Leads to

Eternal Life. Page 460. Songs to Be Used:
9, 19.
September 12: Making Known Gods Prophetic
Truths. Page 467. Songs to Be Used: 51, 25.

JEHOVAHS
KINGDOM
A U G U S T 1971 ,5
Semimonthly
W H Y H A S G O D A L L O W E D THE
R IG H T EO U S T O SUFFER?

PERFECTION WHAT DOES IT

REALLY MEAN?

H O W RELIGIOUS EXPENSES ARE MET

WTB4TS

YOU ARE MY WITNESSES, SAYS JEH O VAH.-Isa.43:12

T H E P U R P O SE O F *T H E W A T C H T O W E R
E v ery w a tc h to w e r has its purpose. It serves as an elevated place for a
w id e-aw ak e person w ith sharp vision. It enables him to see far ahead into
th e distance and tell those b elow for w h o m he is a w a tch m a n w h a t is
d raw ing near, w h eth er it is a danger against w h ich to prepare o r it is
som ething good over w h ich to be glad w ith strong faith and hope.
Because o f having the nam e *,The W a tc h to w e r this m agazine ju stly
has to render a sim ilar useful service to the people o f all nations. T h is is
an in tern ational m agazine and makes no racial distinctions, for w e are all
facing a com m on w o rld danger; w e are all hoping fo r a com m on good.
E ver since **The W a tc h to w e r began to be published in J u ly o f 1 8 7 9 it
has looked ahead into the future, a lw ays striving to aid its readers to advan ce in k now ledge and to gain a clearer picture o f the glorious n e w order
o f things th a t is in store for righteous mankind. N o , **The W a tc h to w e r
is n o inspired prophet, but it follow s and explains a Book o f prophecy the
predictions in w h ich have proved to be unerring and unfailing till n o w .
**The W a tc h to w e r is therefore under safe guidance. It m a y be read w ith
confidence, for its statem ents m ay be checked against th at prophetic Book.
A m o n g th e m a n y nations o f today there are hundreds o f differing
religions. W h ich one does this m agazine present? N o t the confused religions
o f C hristendom , but the religion o f the oldest sacred Book on earth. W h ic h
Book? T h e Sacred Bible o f the H o ly Scriptures, w r itte n b y inspiration in
th e nam e o f the C reator o f heaven and earth, the o n ly living and true G od.
T h e sacred, nonpolitical purpose o f **The W a tc h to w e r is accordingly
to encourage and prom ote study o f the H o ly Bible and to give our m a n y
readers th e needed unsectarian help to understand th at Book o f true
religion and infallible prophecy. T hus this m agazine w ill be helping them
to prove w o r th y o f perfect life and happiness in G o d s promised n e w order
under H is everlasting kingdom o f righteousness.

PUBLISHED BY TH E
WATCH TOW ER BIBLE AND TRACT SOCIETY OF PENNSYLVANIA
117 Adams S treet
Brooklyn, N.Y. 11201, U.S.A.
N. H. K norr, P resident
Grant S uiter, Secretary

They will all be taught by Jehovah.John 6:45; Isaiah 54:13

CONTENTS
News Reports Show Great Contrast in
Religious Advance and Decline
Why Has God Allowed the Righteous
to Suffer?
Happy Are You
When People Persecute You
PerfectionWhat Does It Really Mean?
Why Have the Miraculous Gifts of the
Spirit Ceased?
How Religious Expenses Are Met
Gods Truth Saved My Life!
,*If One of Jehovahs Witnesses Calls
What Basis for the Greek Myths?
Questions from Readers

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-^

J E H O V A H S
K IN G D O M

N EW S REPO RTS SH O W GREAT CONTRAST

IN R ELIG IO U S ADVANCE AND D EC LIN E
ROM all over the world come reports of
churches in deep trouble. Clergymen and
laymen are abandoning the churches in growing
numbers, deep discord exists in many church systerns. Does this reflect adversely on the Bible or
on Christianity? No, for there is clear evidence
that the Bible has not lost its power and that
Christianity does work when really practiced.
Reports thus show great contrast.
W ITNESSES P R O C LA IM
SOON

TO

A LL N A T IO N S

CO LLIDE W ITH G O D

On June 30 a series of Divine Name" District Assemblies of Jehovahs Witnesses began.

Of keen interest is the public talk, When All
Nations Collide, Head On, with G od." The
speaker at New Yorks Yankee Stadium, N. H.
Knorr, president of the Watch Tower Society,
declared that all nations of the world will very
shortly collide, head on, with God. W hy is that
collision inevitable? Because the nations have
opposed G ods will, he explained. The point at
issue is world domination. The nations want this
for themselves. God has given that right to the
kingdom of his Son Jesus Christ. So the nations
are on a collision course with God. The speaker
asked: Will any humans be able to survive the
collision? He showed from G od s Word, the
Bible, that only those who side with God will
avoid that fatal collision, and warned: "D o not
walk with the nations in a course contrary to
God to that unavoidable collision ahead. He
noted that God has promised to those who do
side with him everlasting life in perfect health
and happiness in a never-fading paradise on

earth. This stirring information has already been

heard by audiences at twelve of the forty-five
assemblies to be held in the United States and
Canada this year. At those twelve assemblies so
far, the combined attendance for the public talk
was 212,217. M any other assemblies are being
held in other countries throughout the world.
There is a sharp contrast between the increasing numbers of persons associating with the
Christian witnesses of Jehovah and the decline
in so many churches of Christendom. What accounts for this? The persons associating with the
Witnesses say the answer lies in the faithstrengthening Biblical information they are receiving concerning G ods purposes.
CH U RC H ES IG N O R E CHRISTS T E A C H I N G

That was the headline of an article by Charles

King, writing in the Ottawa, Canada, 1Citizen.*
He expressed continual amazement over the
depressing inability of the churches to come
to grips with the concept that all men are brothers." This is evidenced by the fact that people
of the same religion, those called Christian"
as well as pagan, kill one another in wartime. King noted the religious disturbances,
often violent and bloody, going on in Northern
Ireland, East Bengal, South Vietnam, the Middle
East and southern Africa. He quoted the Bibles
teaching at 1 John 4:16-21, which says: God
is love . . . If anyone makes the statement:
love God, and yet is hating his brother, he is
a liar. . . . the one who loves God should be
loving his brother also." This the churches are
not doing.
483

SFEeWATCHTOWER

484

B rooklyn , N .Y .

At a general synod in Michigan, the United

Church of Christ approved abortions. It called
for the repealing of all prohibitions against
abortions performed by physicians. Yet, G ods
Word shows that such taking of human life is
murder. The scope of what this church now approves can be seen by what is happening in
New York city alone. Abortion was legalized
there on July 1, 1970. In the year since then,
165.000 abortions have been performed. By
June 1971 the number had risen so rapidly that
950 abortions were being performed for every
1.000 live births. It is expected that the total
will soar yet higher in the next year. This wholesale slaughter is what the United Church of
Christ now sanctions.

to its figures, which differ only slightly from

those of other Catholic sources, a net decline of
7,286 nuns was experienced from 1969 to 1970,
leaving 153,645. That total is over 26,000 fewer
than were reported in the 1965 directory. Also
the decline in seminary enrollment grows more
severe, as a drop of 3,256 from the 1969 figure
was recorded. This leaves 25,710 seminary students, a striking decline from the 48,992 reported in the 1965 directory. The total number
of priests fell by 1,031, leaving 58,161. M any
expect this figure to drop sharply in the immediate future due to the huge decline in seminary
enrollment and the growing number of priests
who are quitting. The number of Catholic educational institutions declined by 529, including
51 seminaries.

B ISH O P RESIGNS

S U N D A Y - S C H O O L A T T E N D A N C E S IN K IN G

Bishop Bernard Kelly of Providence, Rhode

Island, stunned Catholics by resigning from the
Catholic priesthood. He said that he took the
step because of an abiding sense of frustration with the attitudes and policies of American
bishops. Asked which event contributed most to
his decision, he said it was the National Conference of Catholic Bishops in Detroit. He was
grieved that the bishops reaffirmed the status
qu o" in the church and had ignored recommendations for change by priests. Kellys resignation,
Catholic officials said, could have a serious effect
on priests and those studying for the priesthood.
He is the second American bishop to resign, the
first being James Shannon of St. Paul-Minneapolis in 1959.

Canadian church officials reveal sharp losses

in the number of children attending Sunday
school. The United Church of Canada said that
eight years ago it had an enrollment of 757,388 in Sunday school. By 1969 enrollment had
dropped to 425,467, and in 1970 it fell to 369,959. The Anglican Church had 186,000 in 1967,
but only 150,300 in 1969. The Presbyterians
recorded 102,730 in 1967, but 89,373 in 1969.
And 1970 and 1971 are expected to be lower
yet. The chief reason cited is the loss of interest
in religion by parents.

C H U R C H A P P R O V E S A B O R T IO N S

M O R E C L E R G Y M E N T H IN K IN G O F Q UITTIN G

The number of clergymen quitting is likely to

grow. A Gallup poll taken in the United States
revealed that 43 percent of Jewish rabbis, 32
percent of Protestant ministers, and 23 percent
of Catholic priests are seriously considering leaving religious life. The poll also noted a growing
disinterest in religion by church members, they
being more concerned now about materialistic
pursuits.
DECLINE C O N T IN U E S

The 1971 Official Catholic Directory for the

United States reports the continued decline of
Catholic religious bodies during 1970. According

IRISH Y O U T H S H U N N IN G PRIESTH O O D

The Limerick Weekly Echo reported that Irelands youth has become disinterested in the
priesthood. The 1971 Irish Catholic Directory
showed a decline of 39 percent in ordinations
for the priesthood between 1965 and 1970. The
number of seminary students declined 45 percent from 1960 to 1970. The newspaper noted:
It can be seen that the falling rate of vocations
in Ireland is part of a world wide phenomenon.
However, while this is taking place in the
major religions of Christendom all over the
world, Jehovahs witnesses are experiencing the
largest growth in their history. They have baptized over 500,000 persons in the past four
years, and before baptism all of these had completed a prescribed course of Bible study and
were able to explain what they believe.

of God have suffered at the hands of the

wicked since the tim e of Abel.
They do not want to suffer. Persecution and torture are just as
unpleasant to them as to anyone else of rational mind. They would much
rather live in peace. However, the servant of
y /
W
'
God knows that a certain amount of suffering
is unavoidable in this evil world, because of
his desire to maintain integrity to God. He is
assured, however, that the end result of a life
of integrity to God w ill be an eternally happy
one indeed! But knowledge alone of this fact

, / / / . < >
does not make suffering any more pleasant or
desirable. In fact, the very undesirability of
pain and suffering may cause the servant of
God to break integrity, to his eternal regret
Happy are you when people reproach
and loss. Integrity to God, no m atter what the
and persecute you and lyingly say
cost may be, is a principle from which the ser- you
every sort of wicked thing against you
vant of God cannot and must not deviate.
for my sake. Rejoice and leap for joy,
2
The Holy Scriptures and history prove thatsince your reward is great in the heavens;
suffering for integritys sake is the lot of for in that way they persecuted the prophets prior to you.Matt. 5:11,12.
those who have chosen to serve God faithfully.
The Christian apostle Paid wrote to God- the sword, they went about in sheepfearing Thessalonians: Troubles are our lot, skins, in goatskins, while they were
you know that well. (1 Thess. 3:3, Moffatt) in want, in tribulation, under illFrom righteous Abel down to the present time treatment; and the world was not
that has been the case. Abel was murdered w orthy of them . T hey wandered
by his brother Cain, because Cains works about in deserts and mountains and
were wicked, but those of his brother were dens and caves of the earth. (Heb.
righteous. (1 John 3:12) The three Hebrews 11:36-38) They suffered such atrociwere tossed into a fiery furnace, because they ties because they insisted on keeping
refused to bow before King Nebuchadnezzars integrity to God. The apostle Paul
golden image and thus break integrity to Je- was right: The world was not worhovah their God. Paul tells us what happened thy of them.
3W ith the advent of Christianity,
to others for holding fast integrity: Yes, oththe servant of God has fared no beters received their trial by mockings and scourgter. Jesus Christ him self said to his
ings, indeed, more than that, by bonds and pris- followers: If they have persecuted
ons. They were stoned, they were tried, they me, they will persecute you also.
were sawn asunder, they died by slaughter with (John 15:20) On another occasion
he to ld th em : P eo p le w ill la y
1. (a) W hat is the C hristians view tow ard suffering, and does

ervants

THE

the end result m ake suffering any m ore desirable? (b) W hat
is the principle from w hich a servant of God cannot deviate?
2. (a) W hat is the lot of those who have chosen to serve God
faithfully? Give proof, (b) W hat proves th a t such persecutions were not justified?
485

3, 4. (a) W hat w ords of Jesus show th a t Christians would not fare any b e tte r th a n the H ebrew
prophets? (b) W hat proves th a t C hristians w ere
persecuted ?

486

Sf&eWATCHTOWER,

their hands upon you and persecute you,

delivering you up to the synagogues and
prisons, you being haled before kings and
governors for the sake of my name. It will
turn out to you for a witness. . . . Moreover, you w ill be delivered up even by
parents and brothers and relatives and
friends, and they w ill put some of you to
death; and you w ill be objects of hatred
by all people because of my name. And
yet not a hair of your heads will by any
means perish. By endurance on your part
you w ill acquire your souls. (Luke 21:
12-19) These words found their fulfillment
early in the first century.
4Paul him self admitted that Christians
were persecuted and that he himself, as
Saul of Tarsus, was one of the persecutors.
As recorded at A cts 26:9-11, he said: I,
for one, really thought within myself I
ought to commit many acts of opposition
against the name of Jesus the Nazarene;
which, in fact, I did in Jerusalem, and
many of the holy ones I locked up in prisons, as I had received authority from the
chief priests; and when they were to be
executed, I cast my vote against them.
And by punishing them many times in all
the synagogues I tried to force them to
make a recantation; and since I was extrem ely mad against them, I went so far
as to persecuting them even in outside
cities.
5 Later when Saul of Tarsus became the
Christian apostle Paul he in turn suffered
persecution at the very hands of those
whom he once served. As a Christian he
wrote to Timothy: All those desiring to
live with godly devotion in association
with Christ Jesus w ill also be persecuted.
(2 Tim. 3:12) To the Philippians he said:
To you the privilege was given in behalf
5. (a) W hat
who desired
w ith C hrist?
persecution?

did P aul say would be the lot of those

to live w ith godly devotion in association
(b) How did early Christians look upon
(c) W hat questions present themselves?

B rooklyn , N .Y .

of Christ, not only to put your faith in

him, but also to suffer in his behalf. (Phil.
1:29) Early Christians not only were persecuted for their faith, but considered it
a privilege to suffer for Christ, according
to Paul. Do you feel the same way? Are
you willing to suffer, yes, die for what you
believe about Christ? Why should one suffer at all? Why does God allow his people
to be persecuted? What good purpose does
persecution serve, if any?
WHY PERSECUTION?

In the first place, let it be noted that

God's permitting of persecution does serve
a worthy purpose; and, secondly, that God
is not to blame for the suffering of his
people, because persecution is due to the
entrance of sin into the world of mankind.
(Rom. 5:12) This can be illustrated in the
following way: When a boy breaks his
leg while doing something his father told
him to do for him, certainly the father is
not to blame. When the boys physician
father comes home to set the broken limb,
he may tell his son: This w ill hurt you,
but in tim e the limb w ill heal and your
leg will be as good as new. You w ill not
be a cripple because I was too tender to
take care of you in your hour of need.
As the father sets them in place, the bones
grate and crack. The child screams and
pleads with his father because of the pain,
but the father holds firm until the operation is completed. He disregards the childs
outcries and entreaties, not because he
does not care for him, but because he does
care for him. Something similar happened
in the beginning in the relationship between man and his God.
7 When the first human pair, Adam and
Eve, willfully disobeyed Gods law, they
fatally injured themselves. God expelled
6, 7. (a) Does persecution serve a w orthy purpose, and
is God responsible fo r the suffering of his people?
Illustrate, (b) How is God proved blam eless?

A ugust 15, 1971

SfceWATCHTOWER,

487

the rebellious couple from Eden. They thus fearing God and turning aside from bad?
lost for themselves and their descendants The fact that God called Jobs faithfulness
the special protection and blessing of their to Satans attention indicates there was a
Creator. For the effects of sin, namely, contention as to whether human creatures
pain, sorrow and death, they had only would keep integrity to God. Satans reply
themselves to blame, as the Bible states: proves that there was such an issue, for
They have actrigh t aw ay he
ed ruinously on
m ade ex c u se s
their own part;
for Jobs faithTH E N EXT IS S U E
they are not his
fulness. He as Fortify Y ou rself So as 0 M a in ta in Integrity.
ch ild ren , th e
serted that Job
defect is their
served God be B u ilding fo r the Future During Y outh .
o w n . (D eu t.
cause of the ma32:5; Rom. 6:
terial
blessings
Is Fasting fo r Christians?
23) God immer e c e iv e d and
d ia te ly , how not because he
ever, made arrangements to repair the loved Him. He suggested: For a change,
fracture. Through Christ Jesus he made thrust out your hand, please, and touch
a way possible for man to gain everlasting everything he has and see whether he will
life on a paradise earththe very prospect not curse you to your very face. Accordopened to Adam in Eden.John 3:16; ingly Jehovah said to Satan: Look! EvRev. 21:4.
erything that he has is in your hand. Only
8But not all pain is the result of internal against him him self do not thrust out your
imperfection stemming from Adamic sin. hand! Job 1:7-12.
Gods servants suffer greatly from exter10 Job maintained a righteous course denal abuse heaped upon them by wicked spite everything the Devil could do; he
persecutors. Why has God allowed this to proved that he served God because he
happen? The answer lies in a moral issue loved him and wanted to be pleasing in his
that was raised in Eden by Satan the Dev- sight. Job believed in the integrity of his
il, the rebel angel that caused Adam and course, and so proclaimed to his accusers:
Eve to sin. The issue involves the integrity Until I expire I shall not take away my
of man toward God and his Word. This is integrity from m yself! (Job 27:5) Integshown in the case of righteous Job. Satan rity to the sovereignty of God and to his
boasted that he could turn all men away righteous principles as expressed in his infrom God, even as he did Adam and Eve. spired Word is what the present struggle
Yes, he could turn away even the one of against the servants of God is all about.
whom God would say: There is no one That is why righteous men from Abel
like him in the earth, namely, the patri- down to the present time have preferred
arch Job.Job 1:8.
to die rather than to break integrity to
9 At a meeting of the angelic sons of their God Jehovah. They believe in the
God in heaven Jehovah asked Satan: righteousness of God and his Word and
Have you set your heart upon my ser- would prefer to die rather than to break
vant Job, that there is no one like him in
that confidence. But where do you stand
the earth, a man blameless and upright,
in this issue? Are you prepared to die for
8, 9. (a) W hy has God allowed the wicked to persecute
the righteous? (b) W hat is established in the book of
Job?

10. Jo b 's m aintaining in teg rity proved w h at? And w hat

questions arise?

488

S&eW ATCHTOW ER

the sovereignty of God and his Word?

How you face this issue will determine
eventually whether you w ill live or die. It
is as important as that.
EARLY CHRISTIANS WERE TRIED

11When Jesus Christ was on earth, Satan desperately tried to get Jesus to do
just one act of worship that would be a
breach of integrity to God. (Matt. 4:8-11)
Even when slapped around by Roman soldier guards and then nailed to the torture
stake to die, Jesus held fast his integrity.
The Devil tried his best, but he could not
induce Jesus to become disloyal to God.
(Phil. 2:8) By Jesus maintaining integrity as a perfect man, he established for all
tim e that Satans boast that he could turn
all men away from God is a lie. Jesus thus
set a perfect example of integrity-keeping
for his followers to im itate.1 Pet. 2:21.
12 The followers of Christ were not
spared from trials of integrity-keeping
even while Jesus was alive. Peter was told
by Christ: Simon, Simon, look! Satan has
demanded to have you men to sift you as
wheat. But I have made supplication for
you that your faith may not give out;
and you, when once you have returned,
strengthen your brothers. Then confident
Peter said to Jesus: Lord, I am ready
to go with you both into prison and into
death. But Jesus knew Peter better: I
tell you, Peter, A cock will not crow today
until you have three times denied knowing
me. (Luke 22:31-34) The Master was
right. Peter denied knowing Jesus three
times. Peter wept bitterly for failing in integrity at such a crucial time. But he recovered his spirituality to become an encouragement and a tower of strength
to his brothers. His two letters (First
11. (a) W hat proves th a t the issue of integrity was in
force in Jesu s day? (b) Jesus steadfastness proved
w hat and provided w hat?
1214. (a) W ere the followers of Christ excluded from
tria ls? (b) W hat did P aul have to say about his
m aintaining integ rity ? (c) W hat did Dr. Mosheim have
to say about C hristians following P auls tim e?

B rooklyn , N .Y .

and Second Peter) testify to that fact.

13 Paul, too, was sifted by the D evil and
his agents. He faced false apostles, deceitful workers who transformed them selves
into apostles of Christ. Paul tells what he
endured in the Christian m inistry. He
writes: In labors [as a m inister] more
plentifully, in prisons more plentifully, in
blows to an excess, in near-deaths often.
By Jews I five times received forty strokes
less one, three tim es I was beaten with
rods, once I was stoned, three tim es I
experienced shipwreck, a night and a day
I have spent in the deep; in journeys often,
in dangers from rivers, in dangers from
highwaymen, in dangers from my own
race, in dangers from the nations, in dangers in the city, in dangers in the wilderness, in dangers at sea, in dangers among
false brothers, in labor and toil, in sleepless nights often, in hunger and thirst, in
abstinence from food many times, in cold
and nakedness. Besides those things of an
external kind, there is what rushes in on
me from day to day, the anxiety for all
the congregations. (2 Cor. 11:21-28) The
way of Christian integrity was not an
easy course for Paul, neither is it today.
In fact, Paul warned Christians: Let him
that thinks he is standing beware that he
does not fall. (1 Cor. 10:12) Remember,
Judas and Demas and others who once
stood rather firmly but fell.2 Tim. 4:10.
14 A fter Pauls time, persecution continued against the Christians, even though
they were peace-loving people. Dr. John
L. von Mosheim, writer of ecclesiastical
history, refers to the first-century Christians as a set of men of the most harmless inoffensive character, who never harboured in their minds a wish or thought
inimical to the welfare of the state. Yet
these very Christians suffered indescribably at the hands of the pagan peoples and
the Roman state because they insisted on
maintaining integrity to God.

A ugust 15, 1971

SfreWATCHTOWER.

489

INTEGRITY TO GOD STILL AN ISSUE

15
Of all the religious groups in the world
Jehovahs witnesses are the ones most
widely criticized for their faith and for
their integrity to Christian principles. And
because of their stand they sometimes
have found themselves in courtrooms and
in prisons, as was the case with
the early Christians. A professor of
history stated: Perhaps the most
notable thing about the W itnesses
is their insistence upon their primary allegiance to God, before any
other power in the world. (
Also Believe) The result is, as stated by the Akron, Ohio, Beacon
E a rly Christians w ere persecuted because
Journal: Jehovahs W itnesses
o f refusal to perform a patriotic rite: burnhave a religion they take far more
ing incense to the em peror. True Christians
seriously than the great majority
to d a y a lso a v o id a ll acts o f id o la try
of people. Their principles remind
us of the early Christians who were so ligious act in which they cannot conscienunpopular and who were persecuted so tiously participate. They view the act to
be a violation of the Second Commandbrutally by the Romans.
18The early Christians were often per- ment and of Christian Scriptures warning
secuted because they refused to perform against idolatry. (Ex. 20:4, 5; 1 John 5:
a simple patriotic rite: sacrificing to the 21) While their stand against idolatry is
emperor. Those Christians regarded such little understood, still they consider it ima rite as idolatry. Jesus also refused to do portant enough to view it to be one of life
a single act of worship that was contrary or death. Their stand is like that of Peter
to Gods Word. (Matt. 4:9) Similarly Je- and the other apostles who said: We must
hovahs witnesses give their worship and obey God as ruler rather than men.Acts
allegiance only to God. Like the early 5:29.
Christians, they live quiet, moral, indeed,
17 Jesus declared his people were no
model lives. Also like the early Christians, part of the world, just as he was no part
they refuse to idolize the state. As min- of the world. (John 17:16) Like those first
isters of God and ambassadors for Gods Christians, Jehovahs witnesses are no
kingdom, Jehovahs witnesses do not salute part of the world; hence, when it comes
the flag of any nation; yet they show re- to this worlds politics and wars, their
spect for the flag of the country in which stand is one of strict neutrality. This has
they live by obeying all laws that do not resulted in persecution, such as in Nazi
conflict with Gods laws. Saluting the flag Germany, where thousands of W itnesses
is considered by the W itnesses to be a rewere thrown into H itlers concentration
15. Of all the religious groups, who today suffer simicamps. As Saul of Tarsus tried to force
larly for in te g rity to C hristian principles? Give proof.
16, 17. (a) W hy are Jehovahs witnesses persecuted tothe early Christians to make a recantation
day? (b) W hat is th e ir stand tow ard the political
world, and w hat indignities did they have to suffer
of their faith, H itler endeavored to do the
because of th is?

490

SHeWATCHTOWER

sam e thing by trying to get Jehovahs witnesses to sign their names to a piece of
paper renouncing their faith, which they
boldly refused to do. Other nations more
recently have tried to get them to carry
political cards in violation of their Christian neutrality and conscience, which they
steadfastly refused to do. For this they
have suffered the severest persecution, but
as a people they have not broken integrity
to God.
18 Today, because of their neutrality and
their uncompromising stand for Christian
principles, Jehovahs witnesses in Communist lands and in non-Communist lands are
often imprisoned. In Communist Poland,
for instance, at the trial of one of the
W itnesses, the prosecuting attorney made
this statem ent: Jehovahs witnesses undermine the present social order. They do
not go to the polls, refuse to salute the
flag and do not serve in the army. Jehovahs witnesses upset the present order
just as much as the first Christians did.
The Roman emperor could not suffer it
and so Jehovahs witnesses today cannot
be tolerated either. In substance his complaint was that these people are intolerable
because they keep the law of God.
19In lands supposedly guaranteeing the
right to worship God freely, Jehovahs witnesses have been deprived of those very
rights. They are banned in Red China.
They are banned in Russia and in all
Communist-dominated countries. Some of
the emerging nations of Africa have
shamefully persecuted Jehovahs witnesses
because of their Christian neutrality. But
even in these lands the worship of God
flourishes despite persecution.
SUFFERING SOON TO END

20 Notwithstanding the persecution lev18, 19. (a) W hat is th eir stand in Communist lands?
(b) How have they fared in some of the em erging
nations of A frica? W hat has been the result?
20. W hat are the determ ination and conviction of
Jehovah's w itnesses?

B rooklyn , N .Y .

eled against them, Jehovahs witnesses, no

matter where they live in the world, are
determined to be men of peace. In them
Isaiahs prophecy already has had fulfillment. They have beaten their swords into
plowshares and their spears into pruning
shears___ neither will they learn war anymore. (Isa. 2:4) They trust that Jehovah
God will soon bring a speedy end to all
wickedness in his war of Armageddon.
(Rev. 16:13-16) They are confident that
Gods love w ill stand vindicated. They are
convinced that the issue of universal sovereignty and the truthfulness of Gods
Word will be settled for all time to the
satisfaction of all who live in the universe.
That is why Jehovahs witnesses are fully
persuaded that the permission of evil and
of persecution has served a worthy purpose resulting in the vindication of Gods
Word and name.
21 The tim e allotted by God for wickedness to run its course has been sufficient
for the wicked to demonstrate their evil
intentions, to fill up the measure of their
sins. (1 Thess. 2:16) It has underscored
Gods Word as true that the existing systerns in the world are cruel and heartless
and are not worthy of existence. Their
very corruptness and ineptness demand
that God justly judge and destroy them.
And with that judgment all those who love
righteousness will rejoice!1 Pet. 4:15-19.
22 Persecution also has afforded all men
the opportunity to show them selves for
what they truly are, whether they are believers in God and his Word the Bible.
For by the way men and nations have
ruled and have treated the people of God,
they have indelibly stamped themselves as
for or against God. (Matt. 25:40, 45) Persecution has established beyond doubt that
God is love and that he is patient with
mankind and does not wish that any be
21. W hat has the perm ission of wickedness established?
22. W hat purpose has persecution served, and w hat
question rem ains to be answ ered?

S&eWATCHTOWER.

A ugust 15, 1971

destroyed but that all sorts of men should

be saved and come to an accurate knowledge of truth. (1 Tim. 2:3, 4) Persecution
also proves that Christians are lovers of
mankind by their suffering of evil to bring
this message of salvation to them. The
only remaining question is this: On whose

491

side of the issue w ill you be when God

finally brings the struggle to a dramatic
close in the battle of Armageddon now
drawing near? W ill you be found an
integrity-keeper? Concern yourself with
that question now, because your eternal
destiny depends on i t

* TO MANS lips
nations. They have sufC > /X . ever demanded
fered vicious persecuof his followers such
tio n . T h ou san d s o f
service as do the lips of
their homes have been
J esu s C h rist. P rim e
burned and hundreds of
Minister Winston Churth eir Kingdom H alls
chill of Britain early in
? 4 have been demolished.
World War warned
^ / l r e ( i/ e u
Their women have been
his people to exp ect
S b ru tally beaten, and
blood, toil, tears, and
th e ir m en fo lk h ave
sweat. But Christ isdied from beatings or
sued a darker warning.
have been killed out
His followers could exrigh t. T heir children
pect to be persecuted,
have been unjustly takd eliv ered up b efo re
en away from them.
you
synagogue courts, haled
This because they inbefore kings and goversist on worshiping God
nors and some would be
in th e m an n er th a t
put to death. You will
Jesus and h is aposbe objects of hatred by "Happy are those who have been per tie s did, th a t is, by
all people because of secuted for righteousness* sake, since k eep in g th e m se lv e s
my name, said Jesus. the kingdom of the heavens belongs to neutral as to the politthem .M att. 5:10.
If anyone w ants to
ic a l a ffa ir s o f th is
come after me, let him disown himself world.John 17:16; Jas. 1:27.
and pick up his torture stake and con3 Still such persecution has not embittinually follow me. For whoever wants to tered them against God or their persecusave his soul will lose it; but whoever loses tors. They have not risen up in revolt
his soul for my sake will find it.Luke against their persecutors and repaid them
21:12-17; Matt. 16:24, 25.
evil for evil, nor w ill they. N either has
2These words well characterize the lives persecution caused Jehovahs witnesses to
of Christians from the first century on.
stop serving God, nor w ill it. Onlookers
Today we witness their fulfillm ent in the
have been amazed at the attitude of Jeholives of Jehovahs witnesses around the
vahs
witnesses toward persecution and
world. They have been banned in many

I WHEN PEOPLE!
16
I PERSECUTE
1

1, 2. W hat w arning did C hrist give to his followers and

how have his words been fulfilled in th e lives of
Jehovahs w itnesses?

3. (a) W hat a ttitu d e of Jehovahs w itnesses tow ard

persecution has amazed onlookers? (b) W hat questions
about persecution are w o rth while asking, and w hy?

492

Sf&eWATCHTOWER

B rooklyn , N .Y .

4 Christians know that Gods hand is not

short. They believe he can protect, deliver
and sustain those who love him. Look!
said the prophet Isaiah, The hand of Jehovah has not become too short that it
cannot save, nor has his ear become too
heavy that it cannot hear. (Isa. 59:1)
One thing is certain. As Jehovahs dedicated servants, Christians are under Gods
care and are not entirely at the mercy of
the Devil. Why, if they were, they would
not be here today as Jehovahs witnesses.
They are on earth as Gods protected servants, even as Job him self was protected.
(Job 2:4-7) God may, however, permit
the Christian to be tested, to suffer, or
even to die. But, regardless of what Jehovah allows, if we are faithful, we are assured of his love, for which we are very
thankful.Rom. 8:38, 39.
5In his Sermon on the Mount Jesus dedared: Happy are those who have been
persecuted for righteousness sake, since
the kingdom of the heavens belongs to
them. Happy are you when people reproach you and persecute you and lyingly
say every sort of wicked thing against you
for my sake. Rejoice and leap for joy, since

your reward is great in the heavens; for

in that way they persecuted the prophets
prior to you. (Matt. 5:10-12) Therefore,
persecution is a cause for rejoicing, for
leaping for joy, according to Jesus, since
the kingdom of the heavens belongs to
such kind; since their reward is great in
the heavens. Christian sufferings also put
them in the distinguished and noble company of the prophets and of Jesus Christ
and his apostlesmen who suffered for
their faith in God. To be classed in the
company of these men is indeed no small
honor and a true cause for rejoicing, for
leaping for joy!
8The Christian attitude toward persecution should be that exemplified by
Christ. H ie apostle Peter wrote: In fact,
to this course you were called, because
even Christ suffered for you, leaving you
a model for you to follow his steps closely.
He committed no sin, nor was deception
found in his mouth. When he was being
reviled, he did not go reviling in return.
When he was suffering, he did not go
threatening, but kept on committing himself to the one who judges righteously. He
himself bore our sins in his own body
upon the stake, in order that we might
be done with sins and live to righteousness.
And by his stripes you were healed.
(1 Pet. 2:21-24) This nonviolent example
was productive and full of meaning.
7Through suffering God made the Chief
Agent of mankinds salvation perfect. Although he was a Son, he learned obedience
from the things he suffered; and after he
had been made perfect he became responsible for everlasting salvation to all those
obeying him. (Heb. 5:8, 9; 2:10) His
faithfulness until death sealed the doom of
Satan and his wicked system of things and
opened the way for a heavenly Kingdom

4. W ith persecution in m ind, w hat do Christians know

about God? W hat can C hristians be assured of despite
persecution?
5. W hat a ttitu d e tow ard persecution should th e Christia n have, according to Jesus? And w hy?

6. W hat exam ple tow ard suffering did Jesus leave?

7. (a) W ere the sufferings of Christ m eaningless?
(b) W hy is Christ not pitied today because he suffered?
(c) W hat lesson does P aul say we should draw from
this?

their persecutors. Some have wondered

why they are not more aggressive, more
vengeful, giving rise to serious questions,
such as: What should the Christian attitude be toward persecution? How do you
view it? Are you puzzled by it? Does it
frighten or sadden you? Are such sufferings meaningless? What should be the
proper attitude of a Christian toward his
persecutors? Answers to these and other
questions w ill explain why Jehovahs witnesses have remained peaceful and triumphant in the face of persecution.
PROPER ATTITUDE TOWARD PERSECUTION

A ugust 15, 1971

SfteWATCHTOWER.

government. It provided a ransom by

means of which mankind can gain everlasting life on a paradise earth. (Luke 23:
43) True, Christ suffered, but who today
for a moment would pity him for the faith
in God that he demonstrated, that brought
these benefits and led to his triumph and
immortality in the heavens? Speaking of
Christ, Paul wrote: For the joy that was
set before him he endured a torture stake,
despising shame, and has sat down at the
right hand of the throne of God. Indeed, says the apostle, consider closely
the one who has endured such contrary
talk by sinners against their own interests,
that you may not get tired and give out
in your souls.Heb. 12:2, 3; 1 Tim. 6:
13-16.
8The apostle Peter also urged Christians
to rejoice when persecuted for righteousness sake. Peter writes: Beloved ones,
do not be puzzled at the burning among
you, which is happening to you for a trial,
as though a strange thing were befalling
you. On the contrary, go on rejoicing forasmuch as you are sharers in the sufferings of the Christ, that you may rejoice
and be overjoyed also during the revelation of his glory. If you are being reproached for the name of Christ, you are
happy, because the spirit of glory, even
the spirit of God, is resting upon you.
However, let none of you suffer as a murderer or a thief or an evildoer or as a
busybody in other peoples matters. But if
he suffers as a Christian, let him not feel
shame, but let him keep on glorifying God
in this name. (1 Pet. 4:12-16) Is this your
attitude?
* In suffering, often there comes a rare
sense of Jehovahs favor by means of his
spirit, a realization that he has asked you
to play a very important part in the vin8. W hat a ttitu d e did P e te r say C hristians should have
tow ard suffering, and w hy?
9. W hat rew ards are often felt w hen one is persecuted
for righteousness* sake?

493

dication of his name, Word and purpose.

This realization brings a deep joy. There
also may come a rare sense of faith, which
can make of the Christian a better servant, a more active witness, a more serene
person. It all depends on how the Christian meets persecution and what he does
with it. Pain is beneficent when it brings
about correction of what is wrong. This is
a good thing. But unproductive suffering
caused from wrongdoing is sad indeed! Its
end can only be further misery.
10What, then, is the purpose of enduring persecution? Peter answers: In this
fact you are greatly rejoicing, though for
a little while at present, if it must be, you
have been grieved by various trials, in
order that the tested quality of your faith,
of much greater value than gold that perishes despite its being proved by fire, may
be found a cause for praise and glory and
honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.
Though you never saw him, you love him.
Though you are not looking upon him at
present, yet you exercise faith in him and
are greatly rejoicing w ith an unspeakable
and glorified joy, as you receive the end
of your faith, the salvation of your souls.
(1 Pet. 1:6-9) Peter says persecution is to
test the quality of the Christians faith so
that he may be found faithful and receive
the end result of faith, namely, the salvation of his soul. So persecution does serve
a worthy purpose.
THE APOSTLES REJOICED
WHEN PERSECUTED

11Little wonder that the apostles rejoiced when they were flogged, imprisoned
and otherwise persecuted for representing
Christ. They could identify them selves
with the sufferings of Christ and see the
outworking of their own salvation. For the
suffering Christian is more likely to be not
10. W hat is the purpose of enduring persecution?
11. W hy did the apostles rejoice w hen they suffered
persecution?

494

SEeWATCHTOWEFt

the complaining Christian but the singing

Christian. Shortly after Jesus death, the
apostles were arrested by the authorities
and flogged and ordered not to speak anymore in the name of Jesus. After this experience, the apostles left the Sanhedrin
court rejoicing because they had been
counted worthy to be dishonored in behalf
of his name. And every day in the temple
and from house to house they continued
without letup teaching and declaring the
good news about the Christ. (Acts 5:41,
42) Paul, too, said that he rejoiced in suffering because his trials taught him reliance on God. The persecuted Christian
is usually the more zealous, the more determined, the more enthusiastic and the
more sincere Christian.
12A t one tim e Paul and his companion
Silas were beaten with many stripes and
their feet were placed in stocks. But in the
middle of the night they were heard praying and praising God with songs, yes, the
other prisoners were hearing them sing.
Imprisonment brought them joy. Their joy
had a reference to the future, for then God
w ill reward all those who are persecuted
for righteousness sake. And that assurance no prison wall, no dungeon, not even
the threat of death can take away from
the Christian. Look! We pronounce happy those who have endured.Jas. 5:11.
MODERN REJOICING UNDER PERSECUTION

13That is why Jehovahs witnesses today can rejoice when persecuted. In Personality, the South African magazine
mainly about people, Nell Coward, illustrated the all-consuming faith of Jehovahs
witnesses and their happiness by quoting
extracts from the writings of people who
came into contact with them during the
black and terrible years of World War
12. W hat experience did P au l and Silas endure, and
w hat was th e ir a ttitu d e under suffering?
13-15. (a) How have Jehovah's witnesses of m odern
tim es suffered, and w hat is said of th eir attitu d e?
(b) W hy do they rejoice un d er suffering?

B rooklyn , N .Y .

when Nazi concentration camps were

packed with W itnesses. None of these authors were Jehovahs witnesses at the
time. Captain S. P. Best, in Venlo Incident,
writes: The fortitude of the Jehovahs
W itnesses was most remarkable and caused
the grudging admiration even of their
gaolers. Most had been imprisoned since
1933 and they had been beaten, tortured
and starved. Yet all I met with were honest, kind and very brave menfanatics if
you willbut carrying w ith them something of that sacred flame which inspired
the early Christians.
14An inmate of Dachau concentration
camp speaks of the admirable Jehovahs
W itnesses [who] showed such courage,
daring, virtue . . . that they deserve a
special salute. They were rocks in a sea
of mud. And the words of none other
than Commandant Hess, Nazi boss of
Auschwitz, are worthy of mention: As
people, Jehovahs W itnesses were quiet,
industrious men and women. All who saw
the condemned die were deeply moved
and even the execution squad itself was
affected. Coward says: The intense happiness of Jehovahs W itnesses stems from
a complete freedom from fear. They do
not fear death as do so many Christians
of other denominations in spite of the
Churchs teachings on life after d eath .. . .
The Jehovahs W itnesses have no fear because they know without doubt the answers to all those questions.
15 The same admiration comes from others who have witnessed the persecution of
Jehovahs witnesses in Europe, Africa and
Asia in even more recent years. Reports
from Siberian prison camps tell of Jehovahs witnesses going to work each moming singing Kingdom songs. Why do they
rejoice? Peter answers: If you are being
reproached for the name of Christ, you
are happy, because the spirit of glory,
even the spirit of God, is resting upon

A ugust 15, 1971

fEeWATCHTOWER,

you. (1 Pet. 4:14) This token from God

is what makes them happy under persecution.
WHAT THE REJOICING IS ALL ABOUT

495

changed now. Yet it is a cause for rejoicing

that under such trials the child still believes in Jehovah, that she still trusts him.
There is no pleasure in pain itself. But to
know that God has called some to represent him under such difficult circumstances and that they are able to stand firm and
faithful to him, come what maythis is
what brings true rejoicing to the Christian. And, in effect, God, too, must find
pleasure in them.Prov. 27:11.

1Christians do not want to be persecuted. They would much rather live in

peace. But this wicked world brings persecution against them for remaining steadfast to Christian principles. Their firm
stand, however, has resulted in happiness.
They thrill in the fact that they can stand
for Jehovah and not bring any shame on
him and his organization. Their rejoicing
is in maintained integrity. For example,
the fact that persecutors have burned
down many of their houses and Kingdom
Halls is no cause for rejoicing. But to find
the spirit of God within themselves to remain faithful to God despite their losses
is a cause for great rejoicing.
17When a w ife or a husband is cruelly
beaten by persecutors for righteousness
sake, as was the case in H itlers Germany
and his conquered lands, such brutality
did not bring happiness to Christians.
Christians do not rejoice in the brutal sufferings of others. Joy, however, does come
to them when they learn that such wicked
deeds have not embittered those persecuted, that wives and husbands under tried
have remained faithful to God, that they
have not doubted Gods love or mercy,
but have actually been drawn closer to Jehovah as a result of their suffering. This
is what makes Christians want to leap for
joy, because they see in such an uncompromising stand for righteousness the spirit of God at work in such individuals.
18 God knows that Christians do not rejoice when their daughters are raped and
cry out for help and there is no one to
help them, as was the case in Malawi just
a few years ago, but conditions have

18 What, then, should be the Christians

attitude toward persecutors? It should be
one of understanding. The Christian must
understand that persecutors are moved by
Satan the Devil and his wicked organization to do their evil deeds. Many tim es
persecutors are totally deceived. Jesus
said: Men will expel you from the synagogue. In fact, the hour is coming when
everyone that kills you w ill imagine he
has rendered a sacred service to God. But
they w ill, do these things because they
have not come to know either the Father
or m e. (John 16:2, 3; 1 Cor. 2:8) Therefore, the Christian attitude should be one
of forgiveness and a desire to help the persecutor to understand the Christians position before man and God.
20Jesus commanded: Continue to love
your enemies and to pray for those persecuting you; that you m ay prove yourselves
sons of your Father who is in the heavens. (Matt. 5:44, 45) Jesus also lived this
way. When he was nailed to the tree, he
prayed in behalf of his persecutors: Father, forgive them, for they do not know
what they are doing. (Luke 23:34) Jesus disciples did the same. When Stephen
was being stoned to death, he prayed:
Jehovah, do not charge this sin against

1618. (a) W hy have Jehovahs w itnesses thrilled under

persecution? Illustrate, (b) Since they do not find
pleasure in pain, w hat is the cause of th e ir joy?

19, 20. (a) W hat should be the C hristian a ttitu d e tow ard
persecutors? (b) How does th e C hristian prevent himself from being conquered by evil?

PROPER CHRISTIAN ATTITUDE

TOWARD PERSECUTORS

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SEeWATCHTOWER,

them . (A cts 7:60) The apostle Paul counsels: Keep on blessing those who persecute; be blessing and do not be cursing.
Return evil for evil to no one. Provide
fine things in the sight of all men. If
possible, as far as it depends upon you,
be peaceable with all men. Do not avenge
yourselves, beloved, but yield place to the
wrath; for it is written: Vengeance is
mine; I w ill repay, says Jehovah. . . . Do
not let yourself be conquered by the evil,
but keep conquering the evil with the
good. (Rom. 12:14, 17-21) This attitude
and behavior lead to Gods approval. It is
the Christian way.
21There is no reason to retaliate in a
vengeful way if people destroy the Christians property or do him injury. The
property belongs to God and he is Gods
fellow worker. The courts of law may protect the Christian and replace the lost
property. But if they do not, then the
Christian must suffer the loss. The Christian m ust not seek to injure or to kill anyone. Vengeance belongs to God; he will
repay. That is the Christian attitude.
BEARING UP UNDER PERSECUTION

22To endure persecution the Christian

m ust place full confidence in Jehovah. God
w ill strengthen him and make him happy
in the outcome. (2 Tim. 4:17) He should
never neglect to pray to Jehovah in his
own behalf and in the behalf of his Christian brothers who also may be enduring
trials. When praying he should not blame
Jehovah for the persecution, simply because God does not persecute any innocent
one. Satan and his wicked organization
are the ones who persecute. However, God
has allowed persecution to establish before all creation Christian loyalty to his
21. (a) W hat will be the C hristians attitu d e if his
property is destroyed or if he him self is injured? (b) If
worse comes to worst, how will the Christian view
m atters ?
22, 23. (a) W hat will a C hristian do to bear up under
persecution? (b) W hat is he adm onished to do when
threatened by u n ruly m obs?

B rooklyn , N .Y .

universal sovereignty. By enduring persecution the Christian in this way upholds

Jehovahs name and Word.
23The Christian will not seek persecution, or martyrdom, or want to provoke
the ungodly to violence. They are admonished to be cautious as serpents and
yet innocent as doves. (Matt. 10:16) On
one occasion Jesus avoided a mob. It may
be necessary on occasion for the Christian
minister when threatened to move to a
kindlier location.John 10:31-39.
24The Christian should always rememher that he does not endure persecution in
his own strength and that God w ill not
let him be tempted beyond what he can
bear, that Jehovah will make the way out
in order for him to be able to endure it.
(2 Cor. 4:9, 10; 1 Cor. 10:13) For some,
faithfulness until death may be the way
out, but Jehovah will give them the needed
strength even to endure so severe a trial.
By making Jehovah his stronghold, the
Christian will find strength in his hour of
need. The resurrection hope, the promise
of eternal life are faith strengthening.
They were for Jesus and they w ill be for
all who trust in Jehovah: For the joy
that was set before him he endured a torture stake, despising shame, and has sat
down at the right hand of the throne of
God. (Heb. 12:2) Keep Jehovahs promises ever before you that you m ight do
the same.Nah. 1:7; Prov. 18:10.
25The trials of persecution last but a
little season and cannot be compared to
the reward that Jehovah promises. Paul
said: I reckon that the sufferings of the
present season do not amount to anything
in comparison with the glory that is going
to be revealed in us. For the tribulation
works out for us a glory that is of more
and more surpassing weight and is ever24. W hat w ill the C hristian ever endeavor to keep
before him, and w hy?
25. W hat can th e integrity-keeper happily look forw ard
to?

A ugust 15, 1971

SfeWATCHTOWER.

lasting. (Rom. 8:18; 2 Cor. 4:17) Endure

all trials, therefore, you whose privilege it
is to suffer for righteousness sake, for
great indeed is your reward! Happy is
the man that keeps on enduring trial, be-

HE Bible says of God:

srfect is his activity.Deut. 32:4.
A s G ods h a n d iw o rk ,
the planet Earth must have
been perfect. Why, then, did
God tell Adam and Eve to
subdue the earth?Gen.
1:28.
Likewise the product of
Gods activity, the first human pair were also perfect. How, then,
could they sin?
How would you answer these questions?
What does perfection really mean? Do
you know what the Bibles teaching on it
is? Would it appeal to you to live in perfection on this earth? Or do you think
perfection would take all the challenge out
of living, make it mechanically regular,
stale?

497

ceive the
r Ve^. he wm repromised to those wh Whl?h Jehovah
him. ( j as. 1 : 12 ; R e v V i o f S *6 10vinS
your happy reward
^ May that be

iVkatelo&t
f n

than any other existing substance, harder

than even diamonds. How would a shirt
like that feel on your shoulders?
GETTING AT THE TRUE MEANING
Actually, most persons have a very
Yes, the advertisements use of the word
imperfect understanding of what the word perfect would be correct. The dictionary
perfect means. For example, one may see tells us that the English word perfect
some shirts advertised for $2.99 each, comes from the Latin prefix per, meaning
with the notice alongside, $5.99 if perfect. throughout, thoroughly, or completefacermeaning to do
Is that a proper use of the word perfect? ly, plus the verb
Some would say No. They m ight say, or make.
So, something that is perfect is someThere is no such thing as a perfect
shirt. Why? Well, they m ay think that thing that is com pletely made or finished,
a perfect shirt should have amazing not lacking in essential parts, not defective.
qualities, perhaps never wear out, last for- It is also som ething that m eets all reever. But if the shirt was made from cloth quirements and measures up to the stanthat never wore out, how could that cloth dards of excellence set.
The question, then, is: Who decides
be cut to begin with? If it could be cut,
what
is essential, and who sets the requirethen it could also wear out. And if it could
ments
and standards of excellence? In the
not be cut, then it would have to be harder

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S&eWATCHTOWER

case of a shirt, it is the manufacturer, the

maker, who has certain requirements and
standards. When these are met, the shirt
is perfect. Of course, if the shirt is a
sport shirt and the buyer wants a dress
shirt, then, from his viewpoint, the shirt
is not perfect for his use, the purpose
that he has in mind.
Really, then, the person objecting to the
use of the word perfect regarding a shirt
or sim ilar thing is simply going by his
personal ideal. An ideal is ones own
idea or concept of excellence or perfection,
what one thinks a thing should be. But
ideals differ from person to person, do
they not? What would you say is the perfeet height for a man, the perfect
shape for a womans face, or even the
perfect flavor for an apple pie? Your
answer would, of course, represent only
your own preference, your ideal.
What does this have to do with the
Bible or with living on earth in perfection?
Very much. For though these points seem
simple, keeping them in mind can help us
to understand many things in Gods Word,
including the questions asked at the beginning of this discussion. This is so because the Hebrew and Greek words that
the Bible writers used to express perfection have a meaning very similar to the
basic meaning of the English word perfeet. They convey the thought of something that is complete, finished, fully
developed, having attained the appointed
purpose or goal. Let us see, then, how all
this helps us to understand the Scriptures
and their promise of life in perfection.
THE FINAL ARBITER OF PERFECTION

All creation owes its existence to God.

That means that He is the final Judge as
to whether a thing is perfect or not. If
it meets his standards to his satisfaction,
serves his purpose in the way he wishes,
then it is perfect. That is why we can

B rooklyn , N .Y .

properly say that the perfection of any

part of Gods creation is relative, not absolute. That is, it all relates to Gods purpose
for it, and only when we know his purpose can we know whether a thing is perfeet in his sight or not.
For example, God prepared the planet
Earth for mans habitation, filling it with
vegetation, birds, animals and fish, and
finally brought man forth upon it. Surveying his work, God pronounced the completed results very good. (Gen. 1:31) It
measured up to his perfect standards. But
note that God still instructed the human
pair to subdue the earth, evidently meaning that they should cultivate it and make
the whole planet, and not just Eden, a garden of God. (Gen. 1:28; 2:8) We m ight
compare this with a builder who contracts
to build a fine house for a fam ily but then
to turn it over to them to do the painting,
decorating and furnishing. When he turns
the house over to the fam ily, the builders
work is complete, finished, of excellent
quality. Is it im perfect because other
things remain to be done? No, for this was
the arrangement decided upon beforehand.
Then, too, God gave command to the
Israelites to construct a tabernacle or tent
of worship in the wilderness, giving them
the specifications for making it. The work
was of superb quality and done just as
Jehovah had commanded. (Ex. 36:1, 2;
39:32, 42, 43) Could we say it was perfeet? Definitely, for, when completed, God
approved of it and made his presence evident there. (Ex. 40:16, 33-38) Yet in due
time God caused that portable tent to be
replaced by a fixed temple at Jerusalem
and later caused even the temple to be destroyed. Why? Because these structures
were only to serve as types or a small-scale
prophetic representation of a greater and
more perfect tent, Jehovahs heavenly arrangement in which the resurrected Christ
Jesus acts as High Priest. (Heb. 9:11-14,

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23, 24) The earthly tent was perfect because it satisfied all Gods requirements.
And it served its appointed end. On the
other hand, the perfection of that which
it represented, Gods heavenly arrangement, was of a far higher type, and would
accomplish Gods ultim ate purpose to remove sin completely. So, in this sense,
what the earthly tent represented was
greater and more
per
We cannot, then, go just by our own
ideas in these matters, otherwise we are
trying to make a god of ourselves, even
putting our own thinking over that of our
Creator. Since he is the Maker, the Producer, he knows what he wants and he
has the full right to decide what the standards of excellence and perfection shall be
in his activity and creation.

499

the Maker sets the standards and requirements, his will governs. Therefore, if the
human pair had not had this ability to
choose, they would actually have been incomplete, imperfect, according to Gods
standards.Compare Genesis 2:15-17; 3:
2, 3; Deuteronomy 30:19, 20; Joshua 24:
15.
But suppose someone argues, Yes, but
if they were perfect then they should only
have chosen what was right. This is the
same as saying that they had no choice,
for if you can only choose one thing,
you really are not choosing at all. So to
argue this way is simply to substitute a
personal idea in place of Gods own standards. Those standards required that the
human pair be capable of choosing either
good or bad. Why? Because only then
could love enter the picture. If they obeyed
PERFECTION AMONG HUMANS
because they could do nothing but obey,
Turning now to the first human pair, then their service would be automatic. But
we see that Adam and Eve were created God granted them the ability to choose, so
perfectphysically and mentally. God that they could serve because of love in
even gave them a perfect moral start, for their hearts. Or they could become dishe implanted in man a conscience. That obedient because their hearts had become
is why the apostle could properly say that selfish. How could that happen?
Gods law is written in mens hearts.
This would depend on what they fed
(Rom. 2:15) Could that perfect human their hearts, from which their motivation
pair sin? Or, to be perfect, should they issued forth. Just as their bodies, though
be incapable of sinning, made so that they perfect, required the right kind of food to
could only obey, only go in the right way, function well, so also they had to feed
never deviate from the course outlined for
their hearts with right thoughts and reathem? If you made a machine, say an ausonings. Perfect Adam could not eat dirt,
tomobile, you would make it so that it
always went in the direction you turned gravel or wood and still enjoy perfect
the steering wheel, would you not? So, physical health; if he tried to breathe wathen, should not the first human pair have ter instead of air he would drown. H is
perfection was relative, lim ited to the hubeen like that in order to be perfect?
No. Why not? Because they were not man sphere of life. In the same way, if
made to be machines, to perform like ma- he chose to let his mind and heart feed
chines. God, the Maker, purposed that they on wrong thoughts, this would lead to enshould exercise free moral agency, that is, tertaining wrong desire and finally would
be able to make personal moral decisions, produce sin and death. This is exactly
choose between right and wrong, between what happened, and by his disobedience
obedience and disobedience. Remember, Adam, of his own choice, entered into im-

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SHeWATCHTOWER.

perfection.Jas. 1:14, 15; compare Genesis 1:29; Matthew 4:4.

MANKINDS RETURN TO PERFECTION
ON EARTH

In answer to the prayer, Let your will

take place, as in heaven, also upon earth,
Jehovah God is going to remove everything from the earth that does not measure up to his standards, fit his righteous
purpose. His promise is that, as a result,
neither tears, death, mourning nor outcry nor pain will be anymore. (Matt. 6:
10; Rev. 21:3-5) During the thousandyear rule of his Sons heavenly kingdom
over earths inhabitants, obedient persons
w ill be brought to bodily and mental perfection, the equals of the first human pair
prior to their sinning.1 Cor. 15:25, 26;
Rev. 20:4-6.
W ill this take all the challenge out of
living, make life mechanically regular
and stale? Just the opposite. The reason
why some have this idea is that they
imagine that a perfect human would be able
to do just about anything he or she wanted
to with practically no effort. Suppose you
were to decide you wanted to play the
violin. Why, you could just pick it up and,
though never having had one in your
hands before, now play a piece like Sarasafes Zigeunerweisen (Gypsy Airs) without a single slip! So some seem to think.
But this is just an imaginary ideal. The
Bible gives no such concept.
Jesus Christ was born a perfect human.
Yet he had to learn to eat solid food, walk
and talk as all human babies do. If, as
seems likely, he worked at carpentering
w ith his foster father Joseph, he certainly
had to learn skill in handling carpenters
tools. It did not come automatically because he was perfect. Nor did other knowledge, nor even knowledge of his Fathers

B r o o k l y n , N .Y .

Word and purpose. As Luke 2:52 says of

him from the age of twelve years onward:
And Jesus went on ,progressing in wisdom
and in physical growth and in favor with
God and men.Luke 2 :4 2 5 2 .
Perfection, then, will not elim inate the
challenge of living. Each task w ill have
its particular problems to be solved. Effort,
thinking, planning will still be required.
But perfection wiU remove the frustration,
the disappointment, the futility that living
in an imperfect, sin-ridden world now
brings us, where even our best efforts so
often are thwarted by obstacles or by the
very shortness of our life-span, or fail
due to the weakness of our sinful nature.
The prospect of everlasting life in itself
will challenge those living in Gods new
order to learn more and more, to learn
about the wonderful earth on which they
live and the enormous variety of created
things that God has made. It w ill challenge
everyones productivity, initiative, resourcefulness and enterprise, ingenuity and
originality. What each person produces in
the way of homes, gardens, dress, handcraft and works of art will reflect his own
personal preferences and purpose, though
all in harmony with the w ill of God. This
will assure unending variety earth wide,
never sameness and monotony.
Realize, then, that we should learn now
all we can from the Source of truly worthwhile knowledge. Recognize that, as for
the true God, perfect is his way; the saying of Jehovah is a refined one. Trust in
his Word, put it to work in your life now
and, relying on his promises for the future, make him your refuge and source
of strength. Then you can say with the
psalmist: The true God is the One girding me closely with vital energy, and he
will grant my way to be perfect.Ps. 18:
30-32.

*V TINETEEN hundred years ago, the

C/ x . invisible God powerfully backed
up the good news of salvation through his
Son, Jesus Christ. By what means?
The writer of the book of Hebrews, addressing Christians who had been under
the Mosaic Law covenant, showed how,
saying: God joined in bearing witness with
signs as well as portents and various powerful works and with distributions of holy
spirit according to his w ill. (Heb. 2 :1 4 )
Yes, by this means, God also plainly showed
that he was now dealing with the newly
established Christian congregation under
the new covenant and had removed his
favor from the Jewish arrangement under
the Law covenant.
These distributions of holy spirit ineluded many miraculous abilities. The
apostle Paul spoke of these miraculous
gifts, and said that they would pass away
in time. (1 Cor. 13:8) Today we do not
observe Gods spirit operating through individuals in such startling, miraculous
ways, performing healings, speaking in
various tongues that the speaker has never
before studied, uttering inspired prophecy,
and so forth. Why not? If they were necessary to the congregation then, why not
now?
The reason is that, though the Christian congregation today is just as fully
blessed with the operation of Gods spirit
to accomplish its m inistry, the spirit supplies many of the congregations needs in
a different, more widespread and permanent way. How is this? For the answer,
it is necessary to review the purpose of
501

the gifts as bestowed back there and what

they accomplished.
THE SPIRITS MIGHTY ACTIVITY
IN THE FIRST CENTURY

When we read the account reporting

the activities of the apostles and their associates, as recorded primarily in the Bible book of Acts, we cannot help but be
impressed by the might, intensiveness and
energy of the holy spirits operation. From
Pentecost of 33 C.E. onward, believers in
the Lord kept on being added, multitudes
both of men and of women. (Acts 5:14)
During Pauls first m issionary journey,
which occupied only about a year and a
half, he and Barnabas traveled through
Cyprus and Asia Minor. (Acts chaps. 13,
14) In this short tim e they established
congregation after congregation and appointed local men to take oversight. Some
congregations were evidently formed in a
very short period of tim e. On a later tour,
Paul spent only about a year and a half in
the large city of Corinth, finding many
disciples there.Acts 18:11.
Why did the spirit operate so m ightily,
gathering hundreds, yes, thousands, to the
Christian congregation in so short a space
of its early history?
It was because there were relatively
only a few years in which to establish,
build up and strengthen the congregation.
Jesus, in his illustration of the wheat and

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the weeds, had shown that this vigorous Thereby it fully equipped the congregation
activity would be of lim ited duration. It as a body to maintain right doctrine and
would end when men were sleeping, that clean practices, to preach and teach the
is, after the apostles fell asleep or passed good news and to stand firm against the
off the scene in death. When this occurred, apostasy. Let us consider the various gifts
the foretold man of lawlessness would and their purposes.
not much longer be restrained and the
The first listed is speech of wisdom.
great apostasy, the rebellion against true Wisdom is the ability to use knowledge
apostolic teaching and practice, would and understanding successfully to attain
blossom forth in full strength. (Matt. 13: certain goals. This gift of wisdom was not
2
4
2
;43 30 , 36 Thess. 2 :3 8 )So athe
apos- bom of experience, but a miracwisdom
ties worked tirelessly to build up the con- ulous wisdom, the possessor thereof being
gregation in order that it would be a able to assist the congregation in decisions
pillar and support of the truth against the of a difficult nature.Acts 1 3 :1 5 .
storm waves of the apostasy that would
Second was speech of knowledge. This
all but swallow it up. 1 Tim 3:15; 4:1; was not the knowledge of God and Christ
Acts 20:29, 30; 2 Pet. 2 :1 3 .
that all Christians were required to have
Why, however, were miraculous opera- to be disciples. (John 17:3; Rom. 10:14)
tions of the spirit necessary? Well, you It was a miraculous knowledge that made
w ill recall that, in the first century, even up for the lack of copies of the Scriptures.
the Jew was rare who possessed a com- It also alerted them in a miraculous way
plete set of the scrolls of the Hebrew to situations affecting the well-being of
Scriptures. Among pagans the Bible was the congregation.Acts 5 :1 1 1 .
virtually unknown. As to the Gospel acN ext was faith. Again, this would not
counts and the letters of the Greek Scrip- be the faith that all Christians had to
tures, only very few copies were circulat- possess, for faith in God and in his Son
ing. None of the Bible books were handily and in the ransom sacrifice was the pridivided into chapters and verses, as today. mary requisite to become a Christian.
Bible concordances, Bible dictionaries and (Rom. 10:10; Acts 2:38, 39) Rather, this
commentaries were nonexistent. There- was a miraculous spirit-inspired faith, an
fore, it becomes apparent that help from unbreakable conviction that enabled its
God was needed, beyond what was normal. possessor to overcome mountainlike obIt was logical that the spirit of God should stacles and to impart to the congregation
operate in a way that filled the need of energy and zeal to go ahead unshakably
the many Christian disciples for Bible in preaching the good news. What a valuknowledge and direction. This it did able member of the congregation the one
through the miraculous gifts, as we shall possessing this gift would be!
see.
Then there were healings and other
powerful works. (Acts 3 : 1 1 6 8 ; 5:12
THE MIRACULOUS GIFTS
13:6-12) These served as signs to unbeThese gifts are listed at 1 Corinthians lievers, powerfully proving that Gods spir1 2:411. Here the apostle writes that the it was on the congregation and facilitating
spirit did not operate in the same manner its work.
upon every member of the congregation,
The gift of prophesying included, bebut, rather, that it manifested its opera- sides speaking the magnificent things of
tion and influence in a variety of ways. God, the inspired ability to speak accu-

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rately of things to come. This inspired

foretelling of events seems to have been
generally limited, however, to things that
affected the congregation at that time,
enabling it to m eet the foreseen situation,
as in the case of the famine in the tim e
of Emperor Claudius, foretold by the
Christian prophet Agabus.Acts 11:27-30.
Discernment of inspired utterances
was a gift that worked for the safety of
the congregation. A t that tim e there actually were prophets with inspired messages from God, some of whom traveled,
as did Barnabas, Silas, Paul and others.
By the gift of discerning inspired utterances, the congregation would be protected
from any impostors, false prophets. If such
came to the congregation, they could be
identified by the member who possessed
this gift. Thus the congregation would
know whether to give attention to the inspired utterances or not.1 John 4:1.
T ongues and in terp retation of
tongues were important in getting the
good news quickly spread through Asia,
Europe and Africa and the islands of the
sea. The gift of tongues also served as a
sign to those outside the Christian congregation. (1 Cor. 14:22) Paul, because of his
commission as the apostle to the nations,
traveled more widely than the rest, meeting persons of a great variety of languages
and dialects. Doubtlessly it was for that
reason that he was so richly endowed with
this gift, as he said: I speak in more
tongues than all of you do.1 Cor. 14:18.
SPIRITUAL GIFTS
IN THE MODERN CONGREGATION

Now, at the present tim e, the true Christian congregation has been recovered from
the apostasy that enshrouded the Middle
Ages in spiritual darkness. Just as Israel
was returned to its land in 537 B.C.E. by
King Cyrus of Persia, so Jehovah has used
his reigning King Jesus Christ to bring

503

the modern-day Christian congregation into a spiritually prosperous condition. (Isa.

1:25-27) The true doctrines have been
restored concerning Gods name, the position of his Son Jesus Christ, the kingdom of God, the ransom, resurrection, and
others. The false doctrines of Trinity, hellfire, immortality of the human soul and
others have been exposed as unscriptural.
The preaching of the good news of the
Kingdom is being done world wide. Are
the miraculous gifts of the spirit necessary
for the congregation to carry on its work
and to maintain its cleanness, uprightness
and unity?
No, such gifts are not needed in an altogether miraculous way, as they were in
the first century, for God has endowed the
congregation with the necessary things in
a different, more complete and permanent
way. However, just as in the congregations early history, not all members of
the congregation possess all abilities, but
each complements the others so that the
congregation as a body, in all its abilities,
accurately represents God and Christ. This
is accomplished by the operation of Gods
spirit, giving a variety of abilities.
As to knowledge, God has provided his
entire Word, which today can be possessed
in printed form by the most humble person. Its use can make the man of God
fully competent, completely equipped for
every good work. (2 Tim. 3:16, 17) Furthermore, knowledge is available to all
through Bible study helps such as commentaries, concordances and Bible dictionaries, as well as by the help of men in the
congregation who have acquired knowledge through diligent study.
Wisdom can be sim ilarly obtained. It is
not necessary for wisdom to be gained
miraculously. The experience of the early
congregation as related in the book of
Acts is available, along w ith the history
of the modem congregation, recovered

504

S&eWATCHTOWER.

from apostasy. Hardly a problem can arise

that has not been faced and overcome.
The congregation of anointed Christians
at this tim e is designated by Jesus Christ
as the faithful and discreet slave. (Matt.
24.*45-47) Mature men who have had years
of experience in being directed by Gods
Word and his spirit employ the wisdom
thus gained in helping the congregation to
overcome problems and to carry forward
the work in an orderly, successful manner.
In a sim ilar way, strong faith works
powerfully in the congregation through the
m ajority of its members. It is a fruit of
the spirit developed by carefully ascertabling Gods w ill through study of the
Bible and by following the leading of the
spirit. (Gal. 5:22) Through the upheavals
of two world wars, through the furnace
of burning hatred and opposition to Gods
kingdom and its proclamation, through indifference, ridicule and persecution, men
of faith have led and inspired the congregation to fulfill its commissions.
Gifts of healings and sim ilar miraculous
works are not necessary today. Gods
change from the ancient Jewish to the
Christian congregation is verified by history, while love and activity on the part
of the Christian congregation, as well as
many fulfillm ents of prophecy, stand as
modern identifying signs, proof that Gods
favor is upon it. The worldwide expansion
of the Kingdom preaching is also a powerful sign.1 Cor. 13:10-13; Matt. 24:14.
Inspired prophesying today would be
superfluous. The prophecies written in the
Bible being complete as a guide to the
congregation today, nothing needs to be
added. (2 Tim. 3:16, 17; Rev. 22:18, 19)
Accordingly, since Gods Word provides a
perfect guide, there is no need to have the
gift of discernment of prophecies in a miraculous sense, for there are no inspired
prophets now authorized by God. Those
things that come out of the mouth of the

B r o o k ly n , N .Y .

dragon and out of the mouth of the wild

beast and out of the mouth of the false
prophet, or from others who speak socalled inspired expressions are quickly
evaluated and proved false by means of
the spirit-inspired Word of God.Rev. 16:
13, 14; 1 John 4:1.
But what about tongues and interpretation of tongues? someone m ay ask. In
reply the question might be propounded,
Is the good news of the Kingdom being
preached to all the nations in all the major languages? Yes, in 206 lands the witness is being given, and the Bible or parts
of it are available in more than 1,400 languages. Thousands of trained m issionaries
have learned foreign languages and have
brought the good news of the Kingdom to
the people in those lands. The people hearing are in turn spreading it abroad, even in
dialects not spoken by the missionaries,
thus interpreting the word of truth to
others.
In this manner Gods spirit directs the
preaching of the good news, with the resuit that a great crowd, which no man is
able to number, out of all nations and
tribes and peoples and tongues' has come
forth in praise of Jehovah God and his
King Jesus Christ, joining in the proclamation that the King has begun his rule.
Rev. 7:9, 14.
The spirit therefore does indeed act
powerfully today, as it did in the early
Christian congregation. Actually the work
it is accomplishing m ight well be termed
miraculous, from a human standpoint. The
ones doing the work must have Gods spirit to do it, and they acknowledge that his
spirit really accomplishes the results.
However, the things accomplished may
seem to be the natural outworking of matters to one who does not recognize Gods
spirit as the force that energizes his peopie to activity. The operation of the spirit

A ugust 15, 1971

S&eWATCHTOWER.

505

in Gods congregation today does not appear as a spectacular thing, for the gifts
employed are spiritual gifts developed over
a period of tim e by their possessors, while
the miraculous gifts of the early congregation were bestowed instantly on Christians as selected by God.1 Cor. 12:6,11,
18; Acts 19:5, 6.

As Christians today, we can be happy

that God, in his marvelous wisdom, worked
in this manner so that the truth has been
kept alive in the earth. We should now
zealously seek to develop the fruits of the
spirit so as not to be found accepting the
undeserved kindness of God and m issing
its purpose.2 Cor. 6:1.

LL religions are pretty much the

C sT l. same. Have you heard people
say that? True, most religions share many
things in common. But not alt religions do.
To appreciate just how great the difference
can be, consider the m atter of how religious expenses are met.
Today, although Christendoms churches
have a wide variety of ways to finance
their activities, there is, nevertheless, a
basic sim ilarity. Among the most common
methods is that of passing the collection
plate or basketsometimes more than
once during the services. Some churches
send out letters with self-addressed return
envelopes, asking for donations. Others
get financial support from paid advertising
in their church bulletins and papers. Many
organizations send out religious trinkets
and ask the receiver to contribute for
these unsolicited gifts. Still other church

es resort to dinners and card parties to

raise money. An advertisement appearing
in religious magazines states: A Proven
Money Maker for Churches and Clubs.
Make $82 with Happy Home Dish Cloths.
A very common method is the use of
personal envelopes for Sunday contributions, as, for example, those of the Brown
Memorial Baptist Church in Brooklyn,
New York. Its members get a set of fiftytwo envelopes at the beginning of the
year, each set having an identifying number. When the collection basket is passed,
members drop in their envelopes. These
envelopes being numbered, the church
officials are able to tell just how regularly
and how much each member contributes
in the course of a year.
Certain clergymen in the New York
area are very businesslike about the matter. They send out monthly statem ents to

506

S&eWATCHTOWER

B rooklyn , N .Y .

their parishioners reminding them of the Jewish religions to m eet their expenses?
amount they owe their church. And one Note, too, that they all have a basic sim iCongregational preacher in Vermont was larity. Rather than encourage spontaneous
reported in the press as having installed giving, they employ pressure, subtle or
a credit-card machine inside the front door otherwise, and even appeal to selfishness,
for those who would prefer to contribute as through gambling.
by this means. Ever so many churches
What about the Christian w itnesses of
either require or encourage their members Jehovah? Which of these methods do they
to tithe, that is, to give to their church a use? Actually, they use none of them, not
tenth of their income.
even the very common passing of a colThere are also the professional fund lection plate. How, then, do they gain the
raisers for special purposes, such as the needed funds to pay for the expenses inrenovating or the building of church struc- curred in carrying on their religious activtures. As the book
TheChurch
as Employities on
a local, national and international
er, Money Raiser and Investor says, The scale?
work of helping churches raise money has
The emphasis in all giving among the
become a specialized job. Among the W itnesses is that it must be voluntary and
forem ost of the fund-raising agencies is spontaneous, from the heart. In fact, ever
Ketchum, Inc. It and others like it belong since the earliest days of the modem witto the American Association of Fund- nesses of Jehovah it has been their policy
Raising Counsel.
that never should there be any passing of
A very popular method used to collect collection plates or similar solicitations for
money for a church is the use of bingo money. It was their conviction that this
and like games of chance. Among the is Jehovahs work and that he would open
latest of these are what are called Las the hearts of his people to make the necesVegas N ights. Under the heading: Bin- sary contributions so that necessary funds
gos Sun Is Setting in Glow of Vegas would always be available for the expanN ites, the New York Daily News, of sion of the preaching of the Gospel.
March 2, 1971, told how these Las Vegas
At all of their meeting places there is a
N ights are replacing bingo as a source of contribution box. Those who want to conchurch revenue. The report said: Last tribute to the support of the worship by
Saturday night more than 500 persons the W itnesses may go to that box and
showed up at the Holliswood Jewish Cen- give to the extent that they are able. There
ter in Holliswood, Queens, to try their are no envelopes, no identification. So that
luck at cards, dice, luck bucks and a wheel those contributing m ight know the total
spinning creakily on the wall. Our Lady amount contributed and what was done
of Lourdes in Queens Village, Queens, is with the contributions received, once each
presenting a Las Vegas N ight replete with month a statem ent is read to the congrepoker, black jack, big six, over and under gation, giving those details. Additionally,
and you name it. Admission is $1 and the many feel moved to send donations to the
refreshments are gratis. One Catholic national and international headquarters
church reported an income of $26,000 from for use in furthering the missionary work
just one Las Vegas N ight staged recently. in other parts of the world. This, too, is
From your own experience, have you voluntary.
not found various ones of these methods
Which of these methods do you think
to be used by Protestant, Catholic and most closely resembles those used by Jesus

AUGUST 15, 1971

fReWATCHTOWER

and his apostles, who instituted Christianity? Have you ever read in the Bible of
Jesus or any of his disciples asking for
the tithe, or passing a collection basket or
plate or operating games of chance? No,
when Jesus sent forth his twelve apostles
he specifically commanded them: You received free, give free. (Matt. 10:8) But
did not Jesus and his band of apostles have
expenses that needed to be met? Indeed
they did, and so we read that they had a
money box for their funds. (John 12:6)
Where did this money come from? Doubtless from voluntary contributions. Indicating the source of some of this, Lukes account says that traveling from city to city
with Jesus and his apostles were a number
of women who were m inistering to them
from their belongings. (Luke 8:3) The
apostle Paul later set a fine example as a
true m inister of Christ Jesus in that he
worked with his own hands so as not to
put an expensive burden upon any one of
you. Likewise among Jehovahs witnesses

today there is no paid clergy class burdening the congregations.1 Thess. 2:9; Acts
20:34.
Newcomers at the Kingdom Halls of
Jehovahs witnesses are struck with this
difference between the way their churches
finance their worship and the way Jehovahs witnesses do. As one woman once
put it: In my church I felt like a dollar
sign; we have been very large contributors.
But here at the Kingdom Hall I was not
made to feel that way at all. The principle
governing such m atters among Jehovahs
witnesses is expressed by the apostle Paul
at 2 Corinthians 8:12: For if the readiness is there first, it is especially acceptable according to what a person has, not
according to what a person does not have.
Does the place of worship that you attend adhere to these Bible standards regarding religious expenses? If it does not,
do you believe that God is pleased with
your associating with an organization that
disregards the standards of his Word?

Qods Jrnth Saved

When my dearly beloved wife passed away
I was left very gloomy. I had been told at my
church that my wife was in a fiery hell, for
she had never been baptized. I was so miserable to be around that my son would not
stay at home on the weekends. He left on
Friday morning and returned late on Sunday
night.
One Friday evening I decided to join my
wife in death. I did not want to live another
year in misery. In our neighborhood, many
poisonous plants grow. I planned to pick some
of these, make a brew from them and then
drink it, after which I would go to bed.
As I was getting the wood to build a fire,
two young women walked up the path to my
home. They gave me a short sermon from
the Bible. I told them that this was a mother

507

Life!

less home but that they were welcome to

come in. They did so and we three sat down.
For an hour or more we discussed Gods
truth in the Bible. On leaving they promised
to call back on me next Friday. So I did not
gather the greens to make my poison brew
that evening.
These two witnesses of Jehovah called back
on me faithfully that Friday and others thereafter. Well, about a month later, I made my
first visit to a Kingdom Hall here in Seattle,
Washington. I have regularly gone there
since. Later I was baptized and I am now one
of Jehovahs happy witnesses. I truly feel
that those two Witnesses were a provision
from God, for the truth they brought saved
my life.Contributed.

"If One of Jehovah's Witnesses Calls"

HERE are very few places where Jehovahs
Witnesses cannot call to preach the good
news of Gods kingdom. Dartmoor prison,
one of Englands chief prisons, is one of them.
And yet recently the Anglican chaplain there distributed to every cell containing members of
the Church of England a leaflet called "What
to Say If One of Jehovahs Witnesses Calls.
He had good reason to do so.
A few months ago a prison officer at Dartmoor began witnessing to some men in his
shop. One of them accepted the message readily
and changed his religion so that he would
qualify to have the local overseer of Jehovahs
witnesses visit him. Soon, four more had become sufficiently interested to ask for interviews with the chaplain, who then gave a
sermon to the prisoners condemning Jehovahs
witnesses as unchristian and heretical. This led
to a considerable increase in the interest in the
prison and more requests for Bible studies.
Recently a new warder moved to Dartmoor
prison and the first thing the chaplain told him
was that he did not mind what religion he
was, or whether he had any religion at all.
He was perfectly open-minded except with
those "confounded Jehovahs witnesses. When
the new warder said that he was one of Jehovahs witnesses, the chaplain became very perturbed. One prisoner commented: "The chaplain
never refers to the Bible except when he is
running down Jehovahs witnesses.
Mr.----- has expressed his desire to be baptized and is now going over the preparatory
questions with the local overseer, and every
month groups of Witnesses travel to see him
in the prison to build up his faith. Regarding
the things that have happened in his life in
recent months he writes:
"Dear Brothers:
"Owing to forced circumstances I will not be
able to join you, but the comfort of knowing
we are united in spirit brings great joy. At the
present time, due to my former course of life,
I still owe the State some time.
Actually, this is where it all began for me,
right here in prison, just like this:
"I was searching for help and counsel as
regards how to live my life. I couldnt seem
to receive any satisfaction from the prison
authorities, so one day I got to speaking to the
prison chaplain and I told him that I had a
desire to serve God. I asked him how I would

know if God knew I had this desire. He replied,

'When he is ready . . . *I showed him the Gideon
Bible I had and told him I found it very difficult to understand, so he said, 'You want a
New Testament/ which was kind of him.
"He also explained that he was starting a
new Bible class with some friends from the
Church of England Mens Association. He enlisted me in this class.
"The first week at the class nothing happened
as regards discussing the help and guidance
that was needed. The next week nothing happened. For a few more weeks nothing happened,
but by this time they had given out small
membership cards and asked us for a penny
each. The only time the Bible was mentioned
was when they condemned Jehovahs witnesses.
"Well, at that time, in the prison shop where
I was working one of the staff was a Christian
witness of Jehovah, so we had quite a few conversations together, and counsel was given me
as regards changing my way of life. Thanks
to the generosity of what are now my brothers,
within a few days a Bible and Truth book were
placed with me. Within a few weeks a study
was started, and since then, I am happy to say,
through the help of Jehovahs organisation and
the love of my new brothers, I have this wonderful hope of serving Jehovah God forever,
also of sharing this good news with others.
"One man has already changed his religion.
He has now gone to another prison and as he
was leaving he said, 'Thanks for helping me
to find the truth. I look forward to seeing you
at one of the meetings in the future.
"Another has told the same prison chaplain
that he will not be going anymore to his church
and that he will be changing his religion to be
one of Jehovahs witnesses. Of course, the
chaplain got quite annoyed, and made mention
the next Sunday of a book that condemns Jehovahs witnesses. The inmate noticed there
was not one scripture in the whole book and
asked the chaplain why. The chaplain got even
more annoyed and has put in every cell where
Anglicans are a leaflet called, 'What to Say
If One of Jehovahs Witnesses Calls. The inmate refused to be put off and is determined
to learn more about Jehovah and his loving
purpose.
So the good news about Jehovahs kingdom
continues to be preached, even in the most
unlikely places, including the literal prisons.
508

What basisfor the

Qneek Myrhs?
EUS, Apollo, A rtem is,
Aphroditethese and others are fam iliar to most of us as
the names of Greek gods and goddesses. Many, too, know that the
mythological accounts of the ancient Greeks ascribe all kinds of
detestable practices to their deities. They are depicted as quarreling among themselves, fighting
against one another and even conspiring against one another. That
the myths m ight have even the slightest
basis in fact m ay seem difficult to conceive. Yet, strange as it may seem to some
persons, the Bible sheds light on the possible, or even probable, origin of these
legends.
According to the true history found at
Genesis 6:1-13, angelic sons of God came
to the earth prior to the flood of Noahs
day and took up living as husbands with
attractive women. The offspring of these
unions were Nephilim or Fellers, that
is, those causing others to fall. This contributed measurably to the immorality and
violence that prevailed on earth then.
Doubtless the Deluge survivors, Noah
and his family, passed on the information
about pre-Flood conditions to their descendants. It is therefore noteworthy that
the myths attributed to the Greek poets
Homer and Hesiod echo the account found
in the Bible. Of course, these myths present m atters in a highly distorted form
when compared w ith the Bible record.
The Grecian deities described by Hesiod
and Homer had human form and great
beauty, though often being gigantic and
superhuman. They ate, drank, slept, had
sexual intercourse among themselves or

509

even w ith humans, lived as

fam ilies, seduced and raped.
Though supposedly holy
and immortal, they were
capable of any type of deceit and crime. They could
move among mankind either visibly or invisibly.
Besides the principal
gods, the Greek legends describe demigods or heroes
who were of both divine
and human descent. The
demigods were of superhuman strength but were
mortal (Hercules being the
only one of them said to have been granted the privilege of attaining im m ortality).
So the demigods bear a marked sim ilarity
to the Nephilim mentioned in the Genesis
account, whereas the gods appear to find
their counterpart in the sons of God who
forsook their heavenly position.
EVIDENCE OF BABYLONIAN INFLUENCE

But why is it that the Greek m yths present such a distorted version of what appears to be alluded to in the Holy Scriptures? The facts of history, as contained
in the Bible, provide the needed clues for
answering this question.
It was after the Flood that a large
segment of mankind chose to rebel against
Jehovah God. On the plain of Shinar, they
undertook the building of the city of Babel
and a tower, likely a ziggurat to be used
for false worship. This project was begun
in defiance of the Creators purpose for
humans to spread about in the earth. But
it had no success, for Jehovah confused the
language of the builders. Unable to understand one another, they eventually
stopped their construction work, and were
scattered.Gen. 11:2-9.
However, the knowledge about earlier

510

S&eWATCHTOWER-

events, such as the conditions existing before the Flood, must have lingered in some
form in the memory of the dispersed peopie. Reasonably they and their descendants accommodated such knowledge to
their religious concepts. This could explain why these m yths are in many respects so different from the Biblical account.
Since Babel was the point from which
the rebellious people were scattered, we
should expect to find Babylonian or Chaldean influence in the Greek myths. And
this is exactly what numerous scholars
have noted. Orientalist E. A. Speiser traces
the theme of the Greek myths back to
Mesopotamia, saying:
The tale of divine beings who were guilty
of unseemly acts, which they sometimes
carried to the point of savage family battles,
was taken over from Mesopotamia by the
Hurrians, was transmitted from them to the
Hittites, and cropped up eventually in Greek
and Phoenician sources.The World History of the Jewish People, Vol. I, p. 260.

Years earlier Professor George Rawlinson

observed:
The striking resemblance of the Chalda2an system to that of Classical Mythology
seems worthy of particular attention. This
resemblance is too general, and too close in
some respects, to allow of the supposition
that mere accident has produced the coincidence. In the Pantheons of Greece and
Rome, and in that of Chaldeea, the same
general grouping is to be recognized; the
same genealogical succession is not unfrequently to be traced; and in some cases
even the familiar names and titles of classical divinities admit of the most curious illustration and explanation from Chaldsean
sources. We can scarcely doubt but that,
in some way or other, there was a communication of beliefsa passage in very early
times, from the shores of the Persian Gulf
to the lands washed by the Mediterranean,
of mythological notions and ideas.Seven
Great Monarchies, Vol. I, pp. 71, 72.

Yes, the evidence points to one source

for the religious concepts that are a distortion of the truth as contained in the

B rooklyn , N .Y .

Bible. Wrote Colonel J. Gamier in his

book The Worship of the Dead:
Not merely Egyptians, Chaldeans, Phcenicians, Greeks and Romans, but also the
Hindus, the Buddhists of China and of Thibet, the Goths, Anglo-Saxons, Druids, Mexicans and Peruvians, the Aborigines of
Australia, and even the savages of the South
Sea Islands, must have all derived their
religious ideas from a common source and
a common centre. Everywhere we find the
most startling coincidences in rites, ceremonies, customs, traditions, and in the names
and relations of their respective gods and
goddesses.P. 3.

The fact that the theme of the legends

from widely scattered areas can be traced
back to one point of origin, Mesopotamia,
demonstrates that they simply could not
have been the product of independent
imaginations. Had the sole basis for these
legends been imagination, it would be difficult to explain why the deities are always
presented in a poor light. Later Greek
writers and philosophers did, in fact, try
to purge the accounts of Homer and Hesiod of some of the baser elements. But
there is no indication that the people
generally ever thought that their gods
were being slandered or blasphemed by
the legends. Evidently they preferred to
venerate deities that could be portrayed in
a disparaging way, for the immorality of
the gods doubtless gave them reasons for
justifying their own wrongdoing.
In worshiping deities whose course of
action was wholly unworthy of imitation,
the ancient Greeks and other peoples were
really serving those spirit creatures who
had become demons. They were glorifying
and venerating those disobedient sons of
God whose disgusting practices in preFlood tim es may well have become the
underlying basis for numerous myths. As
the apostle Paul told Christians at Corinth: The things which the nations sacrifice they sacrifice to demons, and not to
God.1 Cor. 10:20.

 Second Peter 3:10 says: Jehovah's day will

come as a thief, in which the heavens will pass
away with a hissing noise, but the elements being intensely hot will be dissolved, and earth
and the works in it will be discovered." What
does this text mean? Are not the physical heavens and earth a permanent part of Gods ereation?U.S.A.
In determining the significance of the apostle
Peters statement, we must remember that the
terms heavens and earth often do not designate the physical heavens and earth, which are
an abiding part of God's creation. (Ps. 104:5) A
notable example of this are the words of Isaiah
13:13 regarding the day of Jehovahs triumph
over Babylon: I shall cause heaven itself to
become agitated, and the earth will rock out of
its place at the fury of Jehovah of armies
and at the day of his burning anger.
Obviously the fall of ancient Babylon resulted
in no agitation of the physical heavenssun,
moon, stars and planetsnor was the literal
earth rocked out of its place. But, figuratively
speaking, the heavens and the earth were affected. How so? Well, we might recall that the
Babylonians worshiped the sun and moon as
well as the stars and planets as gods or goddesses. So when these deities proved unable to
help Babylon in her greatest time of need, her
heavens became agitated. Also the earth
of the Babylonian Empire rocked out of its
place. Babylon lost control of this vast portion
of the earth upon being defeated and becoming
a mere province of the Persian Empire.
The case of Babylon illustrates that the heavenly bodies have been viewed as representing
powers higher than men, powers that have ex
ercised controlling influence over mankind. The
worship that has been given to these heavenly
bodies has actually gone to invisible spirit forees higher than men, namely, to Satan the Devil
and his demons. This is evident from the apostie Pauls declaration: The things which the
nations sacrifice they sacrifice to demons.
1 Cor. 10:20.
Yes, Gods Word clearly shows that Satan
and his demons constitute a heaven over the
human society alienated from Jehovah God. The

apostle Paul, for example, referred to wicked

spirit forces in the heavenly places, with their
governments, authorities and world rulers. (Eph.
6:12) And 1 John 5:19 tells us: The whole world
is lying in the power of the wicked one.
So it must be the heavens composed of Satan
and his demons that will pass away with a
hissing noise. A fierce, devouring flame of great
magnitude makes a loud hissing sound, as, for
example, in the burning of a house or a forest.
Of course, literal fire would be ineffective in
bringing an end to Satan and his demons. But
the wicked heavens will not escape the expression of Gods rage, spoken of in Scripture as
burning like a fire. (Ps. 89:46; Isa. 30:27) That
the Satanic and demonic heavens will pass
away is confirmed in the book of Revelation.
After having seen a vision of the complete defeat of Satan's forces and the casting of Satan
into the abyss, the apostle John noted that the
former heaven and the former earth had
passed away."Rev. 21:1.
The former heaven" not being literal, the
former earth likewise is not literal. According
to Revelation 19:1921, not the physical earth,
ANNUAL MEETING, OCTOBER 1, 1971

The annual meeting of the members of

Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society
of Pennsylvania on October 1, 1971, will
be held at Jehovah's Witnesses Assembly
Hall, Buckingham, Pennsylvania. At the
annual meeting last year the members
determined upon this location for 1971,
and accordingly the meeting will be at
10:00 oclock in the forenoon of Friday,
October 1, 1971, at the assembly hall in
Buckingham.
It will be appreciated if the members
of the corporation will now see to it that
the Secretary's office has their present
mailing addresses so that the regular
letters of notice and proxies can be sent
to them to reach them shortly after September 1.
The proxies, which will be sent to the
members along with the notice of the
annual meeting, are to be returned so
as to reach the office of the Secretary of
the Society not later than September 15.
As each member knows, he should complete and return his proxy promptly
whether he is going to be at the meeting
personally or not.
511

512

SfceWATCHTOWER

but the kings of the earth and their armies are

the ones in line for destruction. Thus the former earth designates the wicked human society under the control of Satan and his demons.
This identification of the earth is in agreement with the fact that, in Biblical usage, the
term earth can denote earths inhabitants.
Ps. 96:1.
Accordingly, no elements( or constituent
parts) of the symbolic heavens and earth will
be able to withstand the intense heat of Gods
burning anger. They will be completely dissolved. The words of Peter somewhat parallel
the thought expressed at Malachi 4:1: ,The
day is coming that is burning like the furnace,
and all the presumptuous ones and all those
doing wickedness must become as stubble. And
the day that is coming will certainly devour
them, Jehovah of armies has said, ,so that it
will not leave to them either root or bough.
The earth, the ungodly human society, and its
works will be discovered (the Greek word for
discovered appears in the two oldest and most
reliable Bible manuscripts available, the Vatican 1209 and the Sinaitic). This means that the
wicked human society and its works will be
seared bare of all disguise, exposed as being
against Jehovah God and his kingdom by Christ
and therefore worthy of destruction. By means
of his Son, Christ Jesus, and multitudes of faith-

B r o o k l y n , N .Y .

ful angels,. Jehovah God will see to it that none

of the wicked works will go undiscovered and
unpunished. A comparable idea is conveyed at
Isaiah 26:21: ,Jehovah is coming forth from
his place to call to account the error of the inhabitant of the land against him, and the land
will certainly expose her bloodshed and will
no longer cover over her killed ones.
If we desire to withstand the consuming heat
that will blaze against the old heavens and
earth, we must make it our determination to
know and to follow the course approved by Jehovah God. As Peter encouraged fellow Christians: Do your utmost to be found finally by
him spotless and unblemished and in peace. . . .
be on your guard that you may not be led away
with [the untaught and unsteady] by the error
of the law-defying people and fall from your
own steadfastness. No, but go on growing in
the undeserved kindness and knowledge of our
Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.2 Pet. 3:14-18.
WATCHTOWER STUDIES FOR THE WEEKS

September 19: Why Has God Allowed the

Righteous to Suffer? Page 485. Songs to
Be Used: 57,109.
September 26: Happy Are You When People
Persecute You. Page 491. Songs to Be Used:
7, 59.

SEPTEM BER 1, 1971

Semimonthly
FORTIFY Y O U R S ELF S O A S T O
M A IN T A I N INTEGRITY

A G O D W H O STANDS BY US

W TB4TS

JEHOVAHS
KINGDOM

T H E PU R PO SE O F *T H E W A T C H T O W E R
E v ery w a tc h to w e r has its purpose. It serves as an elevated place fo r a
w id e-aw ak e person w ith sharp vision. It enables him to see far ahead into
the distance and tell those b elow for w h o m he is a w a tch m a n w h a t is
draw in g near, w h e th er it is a danger against w h ich to prepare o r it is
som ething good over w h ich to be glad w ith strong faith and hope.
Because o f having the nam e "The W a tch to w er" this m agazine ju stly
has to render a sim ilar useful service to the people o f all nations. T h is is
an in tern ational m agazine and m akes no racial distinctions, for w e are all
facing a com m on w o rld danger; w e are all hoping fo r a com m on good.
E ver since "The W atch tow er" began to be published in J u ly o f 1 8 7 9 it
has looked ahead into the future, a lw a y s striving to aid its readers to advan ce in know ledge and to gain a clearer picture o f the glorious n e w order
o f things th at is in store for righteous m ankind. N o , *The W a tc h tow er"
is n o inspired prophet, but it follow s and explains a Book o f prophecy the
predictions in w h ich have proved to be unerring and unfailing till n o w .
**The W a tch to w er " is therefore under safe guidance. It m ay be read w ith
confidence, for its statem ents m ay be checked against that prophetic Book.
A m o n g the m a n y nations o f today there are hundreds o f differing
religions. W h ic h one does this m agazine present? N o t the confused religions
o f C hristendom , but the religion o f the oldest sacred Book on earth. W h ic h
Book? T h e Sacred Bible o f the H o ly Scriptures, w ritten b y inspiration in
the nam e o f the C reator o f heaven and earth, the o n ly living and true G od.
T h e sacred, nonpolitical purpose o f **The W a tc h to w e r is accordingly
to encourage and prom ote study o f the H o ly Bible and to give our m a n y
readers the needed unsectarian help to understand th at Book o f true
religion and infallible prophecy. T hus this m agazine w ill be helping them
to prove w o r th y o f perfect life and happiness in G od's promised n e w order
under H is everlasting kingdom o f righteousness.

PUBLISHED BY THE
WATCH TOWER BIBLE AND TRACT SOCIETY OF PENNSYLVANIA
117 Adams Street
Brooklyn, N.Y. 11201, U.S.A.
N. H. K norr, President
Grant S uiter, Secretary

They will all be taught by Jehovah.John 6:45; Isaiah 54:13

CONTENTS
A God Who Stands by Us
Building for the Future During Youth
Remembering the Creator in the Days
of My Youth
Fortify Yourself So as to
Maintain Integrity
Joyous Results of Maintained Integrity
Is Fasting for Christians?
Do You Remember?
Where Was the Garden of Eden?
"For the Purpose of a Witness541
Questions from Readers

A v e ra g e Printing Each Issue:

515
517
519
524
530
536
539
539

543

The Bible translation used In The Watchtower is the modern-language

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y ^ r t n o u T i c ir i q r

J E H O V A H S
KING DO M
September 1, 1971

WHO STANDS BY OS
1 BOVE all persons, God the Creator
C/ l and Source of life knows the value
of life. It was a loving-kindness on his part
to create others so that they could enjoy
life also. His desire is for us to live, not
just a few short years, but forever. To
this end he stands by all mankind, but
especially those who sincerely look to him
and follow his Word. I am loyal, says
Jehovah, and the faithful worshipers who
have observed his dealings with mankind
declare: You alone are loyal.Jer. 3:
12; Rev. 15:4.
Of the intensity of Gods loyalty toward
humankind, the apostle Paul writes: For
hardly will anyone die for a righteous
man; indeed, for the good man, perhaps,
someone even dares to die. But God recommends his own love to us in that, while
we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.
(Rom. 5:7, 8) Accordingly, through the
worst of circumstances, he will stand by
those who respond to his love. He comfortingly assures them: I will by no means
leave you nor by any means forsake you.
Heb. 13:5; Ps. 94:14.
The apostle Paul was one who appreci
515

Number 17

ated Gods loyalty, and he said to an Athenian audience: In fact, [God] is not far
off from each one of us. (Acts 17:27)
Surely, Paul himself was greatly loved by
God because he not only expressed faith
in Gods arrangement for life, but also did
all he could to help others to get life. In
doing so Paul underwent trials far beyond
what most persons have faced. To the congregation at Corinth he recounted these
trials, including imprisonments, beatings,
stoning, shipwreck, hunger, cold and constant danger from enemies. But he said:
Out of them all the Lord delivered me.
2 Tim. 3:11; 4:16, 17; 2 Cor. 11:23-27.
We must keep in mind that, while we
want to live as long as possible, whether
we live or die during this present system
of things is really not the main issue. But
keeping integrity to God is the important
thing, for he requires loyalty in those who
have come to know his loyalty. Such ones
can be absolutely confident that Jehovah
and his loyal Son Jesus Christ will stand
by them in sickness, family problems, discouragement, pressures and tensions, even
the severest persecutions.
Jehovah stood by faithful Job in his
terrible sickness. Of him the Christian
writer James says: You have heard of
the endurance of Job and have seen the
outcome Jehovah gave, that Jehovah is
very tender in affection and merciful.
(Jas. 5:11) The prophet Jeremiahs enemies sought a way to kill him but, as Jere-

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3ReWATCHTOWER

miah reported, Jehovah was with me

like a terrible mighty one. (Jer. 20:11;
1:8) Elijah was hunted by wicked King
Ahab and his wife Jezebel, but God provided Elijah ample food supplies, furnished by ravens, and by a hospitable
woman whom Jehovah helped.1 Ki. 17:
2-16.
Likewise in modern times, many are the
accounts of Gods standing loyally by the
person who serves him under conditions
of hardship, opposition and persecution.
It has proved true, as the psalmist dedared: Although he may fall, he will not
be hurled down, for Jehovah is supporting
his hand. A young man I used to be, I have
also grown old, and yet I have not seen
anyone righteous left entirely, nor his offspring looking for bread. (Ps. 37:24, 25)
Of himself and his companions, the apostie wrote: We are pressed in every way,
but not cramped beyond movement; we
are perplexed, but not absolutely with no
way out; we are persecuted, but not left
in the lurch; we are thrown down, but not
destroyed. (2 Cor. 4:8, 9) True, some
have died (as did Paul himself) under persecution and hardship, but they were upheld in integrity to God, with a resurrection assured.Matt. 10:28.
Do you appreciate the loyalty of Jehovah God and his Son, in standing by us,
to see that we get life? Then, how is your
own loyalty? If a husband, do you stand
loyally by your wife at all times, speaking well of her, standing by her to help
and comfort her in her times of depression? (Col. 3:19) If a wife, do you likewise stand by your husband at all times,
speaking well of him, honoring him, respecting his headship, not revealing intimate family matters to others?Prov.
31:26; Col. 3:18.
Family members, do you show love to
all in your family, including the sick or
older ones, who could be looked upon as

B rooklyn , N .Y .

a burden? For example, it sometimes happens that an older member may suffer
from senility. In this state he or she may
even begin to accuse others of stealing
possessions, may turn against the loved
one who is nearest, and may be generally
unmanageable. This constitutes a test on
the familys loyalty. Will they forget the
love the person, perhaps a father or mother, has expressed throughout past years?
Though such a situation is trialsome, one
medical work says of persons suffering
from this malady: The family should be
made to understand that the patients behavior is not directed consciously at angering them. Would you keep this in mind
and loyally stand by the sick person? To
one of Jehovahs witnesses whose husband
suffered from presenile dementia, a neurologist wrote: May I say that you are an
extraordinarily fine person. The sacrifice
that you are making in taking care of your
husband who is a totally helpless individual is unusual. Many people would have
had their irresponsible relative in an institution a long time ago.
If you are a Christian, do you stand by
your Christian brothers? What do you
do when one is sick? or in need of material
assistance? or needs encouragement? And
are you standing by your brothers in association, particularly at meetings where
Gods Word is discussed? Are you with
one soul striving side by side for the faith
of the good news? (Phil. 1:27; Matt. 25:
34-36; 1 Thess. 5:14) Do you extend love
and hospitality to your neighbors who are
not of your religion? (Luke 10:30-37) If
you show this loyalty and love to others,
you may express the conviction, as did
Paul, that neither death nor life nor angels nor governments . . . nor powers . . .
nor any other creation will be able to
separate us from Gods love that is in
Christ Jesus our Lord.Rom. 8:38, 39.

0 RE you young, perare happening, as you know.

O r L haps under twenty?
Will any of them happen to
Then you are going through
you? That depends on how
a very important, a very
wisely you build for the fucrucial, part of your life.
ture.
How so?
B u t som e sa y ,
B ecau se you
Who cares about
a re la y in g th e
what comes aftergroundwork for
ward? Youth is the
the kind of man
only time that realor w om an y o u
ly co u n ts; a fte r
will be in the futhat nothing matture. You already
ters. Is that true?
No, it is not. Inknow from expestea d o f b ein g th e h ig h
rience that what you do topoint in your life, youth
day affects your life tomoris just a transition period.
row. If you quarrel with
Your body, for example,
a friend today, tomorrow
does not reach complete
either you make up or else
p h y sic a l m a tu r ity u n til
the split between you widens. If you study well today, school to- somewhere between the ages of twenty
and twenty-three. Emotional maturity
morrow is easier.
But the things you think, say and do may take even longer. So since you are
still in an in-between peaffect more than what your
life is like tomorrow. They Helpful facts that young riod undergoing preparation
for the future, why look on
affect next week and next
people want to know
youth as if it were the end
month, even years and tens
of years later. They can leave scars almost of the road?
True, you are no longer a child. But
beyond erasing. Or they can contribute
toward building a strong foundation for a you are not yet an adult. Many changes
happy, productive, satisfying life. Is that are taking place in youphysically, mentally and emotionally. Some of these
what you want?
Some young persons are already crip- changes can make you feel confused, upset
pled or are blind or deaf because they or unsure of yourself. You feel new prestook foolish risks that brought serious ac- sures inside you and you may feel percidents. Some get hooked on drugs, and plexed as to how to control them wisely.
from then on their life is a wearying strug- But if you understand these changes and
gle to support a costly habit. Some con- pressures, you can adjust to them, learn
tract venereal disease, and before it can to cope with them and find satisfaction in
be stopped damage beyond reversing has doing so. This is all part of becoming an
weakened some part of their body. Girls individual, a distinct person: You.
may become pregnant and find themselves
So, youth is a time of real challenge.
with the burden of an illegitimate child in The way you meet that challenge will
their early youth. Granted, these are not greatly affect the kind of person you will
pleasant things to think about. But they become. And remember, once lived, youth
517

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SfceWATCHTOWER

is gone forever. Why waste the opportunities it offers to build for the future?
Young people today are usually allowed
to spend much of their time equipping
themselves with knowledge, perhaps even
learning trades or skills. But they can also
observe and think about what older persons have done, and are now doing, before
they themselves become involved in similar occupations and pursuits. Yes, in youth
you can begin to get insight into what life
is all about. You can consider what different courses have resulted in so as to
avoid the foolish mistakes of many as well
as benefit from the wisdom of others. You
can set your own goal in life.
Can you do all this on your own? Would
it make sense to try? Before you answer,
consider this:
Would you, if a boy, attempt to build a
car engine by yourself without first trying
to learn about mechanics from others,
from persons with experience in that field?
Or would you, if a girl, try to make an
evening gown without a pattern, without
ever having read anything on sewing or
even having seen anyone sew? No? Then,
remember that human living is a lot more
complicated than a car engine or an evening gown.
We all build on the knowledge and experience of others. This is a simple fact of
life. But to do this we need to communicate. If there is no communication, there is
no drawing on such knowledge and experience of others. Do you communicate?
With whom? With those who have knowledge and experience? With your parents?
Perhaps you look at the world around
you and you feel disgusted. You see crime,
injustice, war, greed, lying, cheating and
hypocrisy. You may say, Why should I
talk with older persons when they have
made such a mess of things? What could
I learn from them? True, many older

B rooklyn , N .Y .

persons bear guilt for these thingseither

because they do these things or because
they support and approve the systems that
are responsible for them.
But did you ever stop to think that
many older persons are just as disgusted
with the badness they see as you are?
Realize, too, that all the worlds troubles
did not begin just with your parents generation. Things have rapidly been getting
worse for over half a century now, espedaily since 1914and people who are old
now were then just youths about your
own age.
So, then, why not try to learn all you
can from your parents? After all, why
have you lived as long as you have? Because of your parents love and interest
in you they fed, clothed and kept you
clean, cared for you in sickness. It would
be hard to calculate how much of their
time, money and effort you represent. Besides this, from whom did you learn about
the dangers of fire, boiling water, sharp
objects, electric sockets, poisonous things,
the dangers of city traffic? If you had not
learned these things from your parents,
would you be here in as good a shape as
you are today? So why start doubting
their sincere interest in you and your
happiness now?
Of course, you can see that age and experience alone do not bring all the answers to lifes problems. Otherwise things
everywhere would be getting better instead of worse. So, is there a higher source
of information and guidance to which you
can turn? Yes, there is. That Source is
your Creator, Jehovah God. He has given
mankind his Word the Bible to answer
their questions and guide them in wisdom.
And the Bible does not direct your hopes
toward the present failing systems that
have filled the earth with so many dangers and problems. It points you to new

S eptember 1 , 1971

fReWATCHTOWER.

systems that offer something far superior.

2 Pet. 3:13; Rev. 21:1-4.
Maybe you have never read the Bible.
You may wonder if the information in it
can really solve your problems, answer
your questions. You will never know unless you look into it. More than that, even
though the Bible contains the finest counsel, this will not benefit you in the least
if you do not work at applying it in your
life.
The publishers of this magazine you are
reading appreciate the challenge that

A s to ld b y A le c k B a n g le

HEN I received an application for

the full-time pioneer ministry under the direction of the Watch Tower Society, I noted a question that made me
pause. It asked whether I had anyone dependent upon me. Before answering this
question, I asked my mother, since I was
partly supporting her. With a happy heart
and smiling face she said:
Son, you were the first child born after
I came to know Gods truth, and I feel
much like Samuels mother, who dedicated
her son to Jehovah. So, go, son, and give
Jehovah your time, strength and energy,
and Im happy you are doing it now in
your youth. Jehovah will take care of me.

519

youth faces today. Because of this, during

the months to come this magazine will
carry articles especially directed to young
people. It will seek to answer many of the
questions young persons are asking, questions others may have not answered for
them. These articles will not appear in
every issue, though it is our hope to have
at least one each month. Look for them.
Read them. See how Gods Word the Bible
can help you to meet the challenge you
face and to build for a happy and worthwhile future.

Those words of encouragement from a faithful, hardworking mother were enough for me.
It made tears drop from my
eyes, seeing the great faith and
confidence my mother had in Jehovah. I did not delay but at
once answered the question and
sent in my application, which
was accepted.
So I gave up my secular job,
and in June 1940, at the age of
twenty-one, went to New York
city to start my career as a pioneer minister or full-time proclaimer of Gods kingdom. As for my mother, she was well
cared for to the day of her death in 1965.
EXAMPLES OF OLDER ONES HELPED ME

My mother and father had learned Gods

truth between the years 1917 and 1918.
And their example was a big help in my
remembering the Creator from the days
of my youth. When I saw father and mother always praying before each meal and
before going to bed, it impressed me. And
I would do the same in my humble way.
We lived in Pittston, Pennsylvania, and
when my father retired in 1931, due to
ill health, he spent the remaining five

520

3EeWATCHTOWER

years of his life preaching the good news

of Gods kingdom full time. In this way
he set a good example for me as to how
to remember my Creator as a youth.
The time came when I wanted to show
my appreciation to the Creator for the
things I learned about him. So I dedicated
my life to him and symbolized it by water baptism in 1938.
I will never forget the first big convention I attended. This was at Madison
Square Garden in New York city in 1939.
The Watch Tower Societys then president,
J. F. Rutherford, was delivering the publie talk Government and Peace to an audience of over 18,000. After about twenty
minutes, a crowd of Fascist-minded followers of the Roman Catholic priest
Charles Coughlin tried to break up the
meeting. They began to boo, shout and
howl, some wildly crying out Heil Hitler!
The Societys president did not become
afraid but courageously said: The Nazis
and Catholics would like to break up this
meeting, but by Gods grace they cannot
do it. The speech was delivered in its entirety. When I saw the courage and confidence that my older Christian brothers
displayed, it impressed on my young mind
that to be a servant of Jehovah God one
needs to be courageous.
TESTED REGARDING COURAGE

Shortly after beginning my full-time

pioneer ministry, I moved to California to
preach the good news with another young
Witness. Our assignment was in central
California, a vast area with only three or
four isolated families of Witnesses. A few
months later I went to Red Bluff, Califomia, working with a small congregation.
When war was declared after the attack
on Pearl Harbor, the people of Red Bluff

B rooklyn ,

N.Y.

became more nationalistic, and there was

opposition to our preaching Gods kingdom. One night opposers broke all the windows in the Kingdom Hall, smashed some
benches and left the place in disarray.
When going out in the field ministry in
those days, I did not know whether I
would be arrested, beaten or opposed in
other ways. When we were offering
Watchtower on the streets of Corning,
California, the American Legion had
youths bring flags on the street and try to
force us to salute them. Because of our
Bible-based stand, some of the Witnesses
were kicked, punched and told to get out
of town.
Later, while I was engaged in the field
ministry with three of my Christian sisters in that same town, a member of the
American Legion whom I approached at
the door said: What are you doing here,
you . . . ? You are a young man and should
be in the army like my son. He then came
out of his house and began kicking me all
the way out of his yard and half way down
the block. He said: If you go on the street
corner today, Ill beat you up.
I went to the chief of police and informed him of this mans actions and
threats. His response was: Since youre
not wanted in this town, why dont you
leave? That did not make us cancel our
arrangements to do street magazine work
that day. About a half hour later the man
that kicked me drove up to me in his car,
got out and tried to beat me. Being a
much younger man than he, I was able
to prevent him from getting too close.
Soon a crowd of seventy-five to one hundred persons gathered. Some began to
shout, Lets tar and feather this Witness
as a lesson to the others. Thanks to Jehovah, I was calm and unafraid. I just

S eptem ber

1971

3fieWATCHTOWER

521

stood and looked at them. The chief of all the literature and other equipment and
police finally arrived and took the man piled them up in the middle of the street.
away. We left for Red Bluff to continue
Then they broke into the hah, took Biour work.
bles, books and whatever they could from
It seems that Jehovah supplied me with the literature department. They put all of
an extra amount of his spirit during that it together in the street and lit a bonfire.
hour of stress, but when it was over it
The mobsters tried to push their way
became a test as
into the main
to whether I was
b u ild in g , but
going to continth e W itn esses
TH E N EXT IS S U E
ue to remember
closed off all
J o y fu l A lw a y s In Je h o v a h s Service.
my Creator or
e n tr a n c e s and
whether I would
guarded them.
Baptist C o n cern over Church Problem s.
get frightened
T h e m ob d id
and stop. I knew
succeed, howev G o d W is e ly Selects Earths Rulers.
it was a test of
er, in cutting the
my faith, so I
telephone wire,
prayed to God to help me to overcome so the rest of the talk being given by the
any fears. Besides prayer, Bible study and Societys president had to be delivered by
regular association with Gods people a local Witness, who was prepared to give
helped to build up my courage to continue the talk from a manuscript, if necessary.
remembering my Creator in that assign- This angered the crowd more, and they
ment until the Society assigned me as a began throwing stones through the winspecial pioneer in South Pasadena, Cali- dows. We had to put benches against the
windows so that the stones would not hit
fomia.
the people in the auditorium. Despite this,
some were hurt.
FACING MOB VIOLENCE
This mob action continued throughout
I preached Gods truths in South Pasadena for about a year and a half. In 1942, the rest of the afternoon program, and
while working there, I attended a con- eventually the police succeeded in pushing
vention of Jehovahs people in Klamath the mob down the road. The police adFalls, Oregon, about 700 miles north. vised us to get out of the building and not
Fifty-one other cities were tied in by wire to continue the evening program because
from Cleveland, Ohio, the key city. Klam- they said it would not be possible for them
to control the mob when it got dark. The
ath Falls was another very patriotic
assembly was brought to an end, and we
town. We heard rumors that this assem- had to work our way through the crowd
bly was going to be mobbed. However, to get to our hotel rooms. Outside the
everything went smoothly until Sunday, building, it looked as if a hurricane had
when the public talk, PeaceCan It struck. Although I was young, I knew
Last? was coming over the telephone that Jehovah can protect his people, and
wire from the key city. Peace did not last that was proved to me right there. Followlong in Klamath Falls, because a mob of ing my experiences at that assembly, I
over one thousand adults and youths broke went back to my assignment and remained
into the Witnesses cars, smashed them, there until Jehovahs organization saw fit
put crowbars through the radiators, got to send me elsewhere.

522

B r o o k ly n , N .Y .
SEeWATCHTOWER
GILEAD AND ASSIGNMENT TO JAMAICA
This was really the beginning of expansion
Then I received an application for going in Jamaica. Since then it has been a source
to the Societys missionary school of Gil- of joy for me to see those three congreead. I filled it out, and a few weeks later gations grow into fifteen congregations
I was invited to the second class of Gilead, with over 1,500 proclaimers of the good
beginning September 1943. It was at Gil- news.
ead that I got deeper appreciation for the
During the years 1946-1950 I was asCreator and his organization. Those five signed as part-time circuit supervisor for
months of helpful training passed by so one of four circuits here on the island, and
quickly that, before we knew it, we were part-time worker in the branch office. In
given our assignments and graduated in those days transportation, especially in the
January 1944.
rural areas, was not very good. So one
Four of us were sent to Montgomery, presiding minister of a congregation came
Alabama, to work with a congregation. I to the railway station to meet me with two
remained in Alabama till April 1945. Then donkeys, one to carry my luggage and the
I was asked to come to the Societys head- other to carry me. Up the hills we went
for five miles or more, and it caused quite
quarters in Brooklyn in May 1945.
I
remained in Brooklyn for three monthsa stir. People would stop what they were
and was then sent to Oklahoma state to doing to see a white man riding a donkey.
At other congregations my luggage
serve some congregations as a servant
to the brethren, known today as a cir- would be put on a donkey, and a Witness
cuit servant or supervisor. I was just a would be sent with me to bring the donkey
youth compared to many of my Christian back, after we walked from five to twelve
miles to the next congregation. Naturally
brothers whom I served. Yet the Witnesses
youth was in my favor, and how happy
did not look down on me as a youth, but I am that I did remember the Creator
readily accepted the suggestions given then. It was a joy to serve my Christian
from Gods Word and organization.
brothers.
In February 1946 I received notice of a
Another opportunity to expend some of
new assignment, to a foreign country, Ja- my youthful vigor came in 1950 when the
maica, West Indies. One of the graduates Society arranged for another missionary
of my class was going with me as my and myself to visit the island of Grand
partner.
Cayman, about two hundred miles from
We arrived in Jamaica on March 10, Jamaica. We traveled by boat. There were
1946. Two days later I was in the field no witnesses of Jehovah on the island but
ministry, working in the block near the there was a population of about seven
branch office. Four days later Brothers thousand people. We covered every nook
Knorr and Franz, the Societys president and corner of the island on bicycles, over
and vice-president, came to Jamaica, and hard and rough roads, and we placed over
a two-day assembly was held in the Ward 1,200 pieces of Bible literature in the
Theater in Kingston, with 1,270 persons hands of the people within six weeks.
attending. The Societys president also ar- Shortly after our visit the Society sent
ranged for the one congregation of two other missionaries there, and today there
hundred Witnesses in Kingston, the capi- are fourteen proclaimers of Gods kingtal, to be divided into three congregations. dom on the island.

S eptem ber

1, 1971

SHeWATCHTOWER,

Not long after I returned from Grand

Cayman, the Society suggested that I work
at the branch office full time. So from
1951 to January 1962 I remained in the
branch office in Kingston. During this time
I also served as presiding minister in three
different congregations. It was a blessing
to work with many young ones in those
congregations and to help them remember
their Creator.
RETURN TO GILEAD AND MORE BLESSINGS

In the latter part of 1961 a test came

regarding my faith. I received an application from the Society for attending a
special ten-month course at Gilead School.
The application stated: If you fill out
this application and are accepted you
might not return to the country you are
now serving, so if you do not want to
leave, it would be better not to fill out the
application. It was not easy to decide
what to do.
I had come to love my Christian brothers here so much and really felt at home
with them. I was now forty-two years of
age and not a youth anymore, but I could
look back twenty-one years to the time
when I started in the full-time pioneer
ministry. I could see that Jehovah took
care of me for all those years. So I made
my decision to agree to go to Gilead again.
Not long afterward a letter came requesting that I come to Brooklyn to attend the
ten-month course beginning in February
1962. When leaving Jamaica, I will never
forget the crowd of over two hundred that
came to the airport to see me off. I bade
them good-bye with mixed feelings.
I enjoyed that course even more than
the one I took back in 1943. So I promised

523

the Creator that I would make use of

what I learned to show him that it was
appreciated, no matter where I was sent.
When the Societys president gave us
our assignments a few weeks before graduation, my heart began beating extra fast.
He started alphabetically, and I was happy
my last name began with the letter B.
Quickly he came to the Bs, and when
he said, Brother Bangle will be going
back to Jamaica, I felt like jumping for
joy. My heart must have skipped a couple
of beats. It was really a happy day for me.
Soon came graduation, and I was informed that I would take up work as a
district supervisor in Jamaica. I arrived
back in Jamaica in December 1962, and
took up the district work in March 1963,
and am happy to say that I am still serving in this most joyous work up to the
present.
As I travel around the island it is a
pleasure to show the Watch Tower Societys films to thousands of people. People
here love to see the films.
Since I came to this assignment over
twenty-five years ago, I have been privileged to see the growth of the Kingdom
work here in Jamaica from about 1,000
Witnesses in 1946 to over 5,500 today.
As I look back over the thirty-one years
since I entered the full-time pioneer ministry, I have found the psalmists words
to be true: A young man I used to be,
I have also grown oldfer], and yet I have
not seen anyone righteous left entirely,
nor his offspring looking for bread. (Ps.
37:25) I am not yet an old man, and if
it is Jehovahs will, I look forward to
spending my later years as I spent the
years of my youthremembering my
Creator.

FORTIFY

S O A S TO

MAINTAIN
INTEGRITY

,'A s for me, in my integrity

I shall walk. ">Ps. 26:11.

ttT

MYSELF have walked in my own

said David, king of the
nation of Israel. Would you like to be able
to say that about your life course? Would
you like to be able to describe your life
course as one of moral soundness, honesty, free from corrupting practices?
These are some of the thoughts involved
in the word integrity and that David
doubtless had in mind when he made that
statement. These are the qualities that
should come to our minds too when we
think of integrity.
2This integrity that David was speaking about was a godly quality, for he prefaced his comment, I myself have walked
in my own integrity, with the words,
Judge me, O Jehovah. Yes, David was
concerned about his uprightness in the
eyes of God. Are you? Do you want to be
able conscientiously to ask Jehovah to
judge you, to examine you, to put you to
the test, feeling that God will find you
are a person of integrity? How wonderful
it would be to be in such a position.Ps.
26:1, 2.

JL integrity,

NEED FOR INTEGRITY

3But why is this quality needed? To

1. What are some of the thoughts involved in the word
integrity ?
2. (a) How do we know that David was speaking about
a godly quality? (b) What should we be able to ask
Jehovah conscientiously?
3. (a) Why is this quality of integrity needed? (b) Describe the world today as far as integrity is concerned,
(c) How do we know what course God wants us to take
in such a world?
524

gain Jehovahs approval; it is as simple

as that. Note the qualities that the apostle
Paul said would mark the last days of this
wicked system of things: Men will be
lovers of themselves, lovers of money, selfassuming, haughty, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, disloyal, having no natural affection, not open to any
agreement, slanderers, without self-control,
fierce, without love of goodness, betrayers,
headstrong, puffed up with pride, lovers
of pleasures rather than lovers of God,
having a form of godly devotion but proving false to its power. (2 Tim. 3:1-5) The
world today is marked by qualities that
are opposite to integrity. But after listing
these morally unsound, dishonest, corrupt
characteristics, Paul went on to say, And
from these turn away. So Gods inspired
Word, the Bible, tells us to avoid such
people. God does not want us to be like
them. He wants people to maintain integrity, to be wholly loyal to him.
4We all live in a world that is full of
such bad qualities, however. We see these
manifest constantly. We hear workmen
talking. I overslept this morning, but Im
telling the boss my car had a flat tire on
my way to work, says one. The other
counters with, But that would be lying.
Why dont you just tell the truth? The
late sleeper retorts, Oh, no. I cant do
that. If I tell the boss something like that
4. Cite examples of lack of integrity in (a) secular
work and (b) everyday family life.

S eptember 1, 1971

SffieWATCHTOWER,

525

Ill get fired. I was tired and decided to brings its end. (John 17:15, 16) So, then,
sleep awhile longer when my alarm clock this matter of keeping integrity needs our
rang this morning. But he doesnt have to attention, does it not?
know that. Is this individual a man of
INTEGRITY WEAKENED OR STRENGTHENED?
integrity? Is he honest? Would it not have
6It is sad to say, but there are exambeen better for him to get up when he
pies
of individuals who have followed a
was supposed to and get to work on time?
He would have had no fear of losing his Christian course up to a point but who
job, and he would not have had to explain weaken their integrity by giving in to the
his lateness. (Prov. 30:8; 14:5) Or what ways of Satans system. Rebellious youths
about the teen-age boy who threatens his are found throughout the world, even in
parents that he will leave home if they countries where juvenile delinquency was
make him work in the garden instead of practically unheard of in times past. And
allowing him to play ball? Is this not like this rebellious attitude of schoolmates rubs
extortion, a dishonest practice? And what off on youngsters who may know the Bible
about his parents who, in order to keep truth but who associate with such individhim from carrying out his threat, prom- uals. Running away from home is viewed
ise to buy him some expensive gift? Are by many of the young worldlings as a way
they encouraging uprightness, integrity, to solve problems. But is it wise for a
by succumbing to his wishes, letting him Christian youth to follow such a course?
have his way? Are they not in fact re- Is it showing appreciation for Jehovahs
warding his rebellious course, giving him arrangement for parental care to run away
a present for such? Are they not bribing from home? (Eph. 6:1-3) Is it showing a
him? (Prov. 17:23; Mic. 3:11) In secular desire to maintain integrity? There was
work and in everyday family life, we see the case of a young girl, just entering her
teens, who ran away from home because
little or no manifestation of integrity.
5
Even among political leaders and gov-her parents had discovered she was skipernments of the world we regularly hear ping classes in school. She was afraid to
of lying and fraudulent practices being talk to them about problems she was havcarried on. In the commercial world, ing in school and so left home and was
claims are made in advertising that are later found after dark in a bad neighbordeceiving, misleading and often untrue. hood some distance from home. FortuThen, of course, there are the leaders of nately it was a respectable individual who
false religion who preach from the Bible found her and got her to talk, and no
at times and yet live contrary to its teach- harm came to her. But she could have been
ings or come forth with philosophies such accosted by someone immoral. Would she
as God is dead or that the virgin birth have had any excuse before Jehovah if
of Jesus is a myth or that the creation harm had come to her? Was she acting
account in Genesis is a fairy tale. From in harmony with the words of the model
the leaders on down, a lack of integrity prayer Jesus taught, Do not bring us
is the norm in this wicked system. (John into temptation?Matt. 6:13.
7Or what about the boy who was in8:44; 1 John 5:19) And while Christians
vited
to take an afternoon off from school
are to be no part of this wicked system,
we must continue living in it until Jehovah 6. What attitude of worldly youths has rubbed off on
5. (a) In what fields in this wicked system is integrity
lacking? (b) Why does integrity-keeping need our attention?

some young Christians? Cite an example.

7. (a) What wrong course did a boy follow, and to
what did it lead? (b) What Scriptural principle did
he fail to keep in mind?

526

SReW ATCHTOW ER.

to go to a party in a classmates home because the classmates parents were away?

A t first he was against the idea, but instead of definitely refusing the invitation
and sticking to his integrity, he asked
questions about what was going to happen. He weakened and decided to go to
the party. What happened to this young
man can serve as a warning to others.
While the party was going on, the police
arrived and found marijuana hidden in
the house. All the youngsters there were
picked up, and the young persons name
is now registered with the police. It may
be true, he probably did not even know
the marijuana was there, but he neglected
to follow the wise counsel of Proverbs 13:
20, where it says, He that is walking with
wise persons will become wise, but he that
is having dealings with the stupid ones
will fare badly. Now, with his bad record,
he has a harder fight than ever to maintain integrity. Everytime something goes
wrong in his neighborhood he is subject
to questioning by the police.
8Then there are the young teen-agers
who think they must date and go
steady, as many children of today do. Con
8. What can result from failing to heed counsel against
dating *at an early age?

Is it w ise fo r teen-agers, too young

to m arry, to get ro m an tically involved?
Physical attraction m a y cause them to
in d u lge in loose conduct

B rooklyn , N .Y .

trary to the advice of the organization of

Jehovahs witnesses, the appointed servants
in the Christian congregation and even
their parents, some youngsters will at an
early age get romantically involved with
one of the opposite sex. The physical attraction keeps on growing. They are too
young to get married, but they want to
satisfy the desires that are building up
inside them. So they begin toying with
immorality, some even going so far as to
commit fornication. Such ones fail to show
they are wise because they do not listen
and take in more instruction, as Proverbs 1:5 says wise ones do. Further, they
fail to heed the counsel of verse 8 of the
same chapter which says, Listen, my son,
to the discipline of your father, and do not
forsake the law of your mother. They
do not listen to their parents and they do
not listen to their heavenly Father, Jehovah, and their mother, Jehovahs wifelike organization. And because of this they
fail to maintain integrity, they fail to stay
loyally within the moral bounds that Gods
Word sets out for them.
9Grown-ups too sometimes fail to follow an integrity-keeping course. Romans
13:8 says that we should not be owing anyone anything except love. But what about
the situation where a brother has bills
to care for and who has previously
borrowed some money from another
individual to purchase some items he
wanted. Is he following a practical
course if he takes out an additional
loan to purchase some luxury he
wants? Is it absolutely necessary that
he have such? Was it necessary that
he go in debt to purchase perhaps a
stereo, a dishwasher, a piano? In
taking on so many financial obligations, is he considering the Scriptural
thought: The wicked one is borrow9. (a) How should we view borrowing money to
acquire luxuries? (b) How should we view lending money to someone for such a purpose?

S eptem ber

1, 1971

SReWATCHTOWER,

527

ing and does not pay back? (Ps. 37:21) Are these people then going to be able to
For that matter, would it even aid such an stand? Will they stay loyal to God, close
individual in a course of integrity to loan to their Christian brothers? What about
him money for such unnecessary luxuries? us? Can we profit from considering their
Proverbs 22:7 says, The borrower is ser- examples? Youths, can you not see the
vant to the man doing the lending. Do we need to submit to Gods arrangement for
want to be someones servant by borrow- you to be under the direction of your
ing or have someone like this become our parents? Can you not see the need to
servant by lending? Would it not be better avoid bad companionship, to avoid playto avoid such and be servants to just one ing hooky or cutting classes? Do you
master, God?Luke 16:13.
appreciate the importance of listening to
10We can fail to maintain integrity by the wise counsel of Jehovahs Word with
becoming critical of those whom Jehovah regard to morals? And as for adults, can
God is blessing. Some start looking at the we not see the practicality of avoiding
humem imperfections of those charged getting into debt unnecessarily, taking on
with oversight in the congregations of financial obligations that may end up by
Gods people. Sometimes when the older our being classified as wicked by Jehomen give wise, practical, Bible-based coun- vah? Are we cognizant too of not being
sel, others mentally and even sometimes critical of our brothers, of not failing to
vocally go against such because of their appreciate that Jehovahs organizational
dwelling on imperfections or mistakes that arrangement is for our welfare and promay have been made in years past by tection? Really, we have to work at forthe same individuals but who now have tifying ourselves so as to maintain integchanged and put on a new personality. rity. (Prov. 11:3) But how?
Hebrews 13:17 expresses the proper attiHOW TO FORTIFY YOURSELF
tude all of us should manifest in our Chris12
As was mentioned at the outset, King
tian course: Be obedient to those who
are taking the lead among you and be sub- David of Israel sought Jehovahs judgmissive, for they are keeping watch over ment as to his integrity. We too should do
your souls as those who will render an so. To get Jehovahs view on the matter
account; that they may do this with joy of how to fortify our integrity, we can
and not with sighing, for this would be examine Psalm 26, wherein David speaks
of this subject in prayer to Jehovah.
damaging to you.
11
By the course of action that the indi- 13In verse 3 David says to God: For
viduals whom we have been discussing your loving-kindness is in front of my
took, can we say they were strengthening eyes, and I have walked in your truth."
their integrity? No, rather, the opposite For this to be true of us, we need to be
was true. They were weakening it and acquainted with Jehovah and his truth.
That means we should be students of the
even trying to weaken the integrity of
Bible. So, then, one way to fortify ourothers. What will happen when persecution selves is by personal study. Daily Bible
or severe opposition comes upon them? reading is a fine practice in this connec10. (a) How can integrity be weakened by a wrong
attitude toward those whom Jehovah is using to direct
his work on earth? (b) What should be our attitude
toward the servants in the Christian congregation?
11. (a) What can we ask about those who have weakened their integrity? (b) What points have we learned
thus far to aid us to maintain integrity?

tion. Then, too, we have the written material provided through Jehovahs organi12. What should we seek as far as integrity is concemed ?
13. How is personal study involved with integrity?

528

SEeW ATCHTOW ER

B r o o k l y n , N .Y .

zation from which we can derive benefit. us to stay loyal to Jehovah we must avoid
Many say they have more to read than being friends with people such as these,
they possibly can. But do we fail to read avoid associating with such ones unnecesthe publications of the Society because we sarily, apart, of course, from preaching
really have no time? Or is it because the good news of Gods kingdom to them.
we spend considerable time reading news- In fact, preaching to these often assists in
papers, worldly magazines and novels? avoiding their bad association. To illusDo these publications encourage us to trate this point, consider the following:
pursue a course of faithfulness to Jeho- One individual who was studying the Bible
vah God? Why, even the advertising in for just a few months, and who had been
newspapers and magazines nowadays can living the life of a hippie for some years
prior to this study,
a r o u s e im m o r a l
said: Som etim es
th o u g h ts and depeople that we used
s ir e s . H ow m uch
to be friendly with
better it is to spend
look us up or write.
any tim e we can
to reading inforThey are generally
very surprised at us,
m ation th at will
since we very quickserve to strengthly begin to tell them
en us, build us up
the good news [of
spiritually. (1 Cor.
th e K i n g d o m ] .
1 5 : 5 8 ) B y ou r
Needless to say, its
personal study, innot good news to
elu d in g prep araIf a
Christian is too busy to fo rtify
tion for the congrethem, and surprise
him self b y reading B ible literature, is
gation meetings, we
turns to dislike and
it because he is sp en din g to o
much
th
e y m ake h a s ty
will be able to detime w atching TV, rea d in g new spapers
rive more benefits
exits from our trailand
w o rld ly
publications?
from the gatherings
er and we dont hear
of Jehovahs people and to give more for from them again. But sometimes, too,
the assistance of others attending with us. seeds fall on good soil and there is some
14 For I have not sat with men of un-interest generated. Yes, faithfully speaktruth; and with those who hide what they ing about our God and his kingdom helps
are I do not come in. I have hated the us to avoid bad company.
congregation of evildoers, and with the
15Attending meetings with others who
wicked ones I do not sit, continued David are anxious to do Gods will is another
in verses 4 and 5, pointing out another step in the fortification program of which
aspect of fortifying ourselves, that is, David speaks. He says: I shall wash my
avoiding bad associations. The type of in- hands in innocency itself, and I will march
dividuals David was talking about he men- around your altar, O Jehovah . . . Jehotions further in verses 9 and 10, where he vah, I have loved the dwelling of your
refers to them as bloodguilty men, in house and the place of the residing of your
whose hands there is loose conduct, and glory. (Verses 6 and 8) We too should
whose right hand is full of bribery. For love Jehovahs house. Today we could look
14. (a) What kind of associations are to be avoided?
(b) What helps us to avoid bad company? Cite an
example.

15. (a) Why do we say that meeting attendance fortides us? (b) What occurred to individuals who were
late for a meeting in Africa?

S e p t e m b e r 1, 1971

3HeW ATCH TOW ER.

529

upon Jehovahs house as the place where purposes to others, the preaching of the
knowledge of him is given. Meetings with good news of the Kingdom. David, in verse
Christians of like precious faith incite to 7, said he wanted to cause thanksgiving
love and fine works, and this will help us to be heard aloud, and to declare all your
to maintain integrity. (Heb. 10:24) We wonderful works. We should feel the same
will be built up by the good association and way. We should take every opportunity
by the fine spiritual discussions we hear we can to share what we know about Jeand can take part in. Getting to these meet- hovah and his purposes with others,
ings on time too is important to get the preaching the message of truth and then
full benefit of the program. In this connec- returning to teach those who are intertion an experience reported from an Afri- ested in learning more, endeavoring to
can country is of interest: A riot occurred make them disciples of Jesus Christ.
between two tribal groups just after the Matt. 24:14; 28:19, 20.
brothers began their meeting. Two broth18
Still another aspect of fortifying ourers who were late saw the fighting in town selves is prayer. David was very conscious
and returned to their homes. One stood of this. While all of Psalm 26 is in fact a
in the doorway of his home with a spear prayer, note verse 11: As for me, in my
in his hand for protection, as he was afraid integrity I shall walk. O redeem me and
the fighting would reach his house. When show me favor. We too should promise Jethe soldiers came upon him, they mistook hovah that we will walk in integrity, take
him for one of those engaged in the fight- advantage of the arrangement he has made
ing and refused to release him. In fact, for our redemption, and show our apprethey said: He is not one of Jehovahs wit- ciation for this by thanking Jehovah and
nesses; all of Jehovahs witnesses were at by our course of action, showing him our
their meeting studying the Bible, but he appreciation by our works. We should
was not there. And the other brother keep the lines of communication with Jewho was late? He was kidnapped and hovah open. We should talk to him regukilled.
larly, many times each day, telling him
16We cannot afford to let things inter- about our love for him and our desire to
fere unnecessarily with our meeting atten- do his will, talking to him about our probdance. Why take on secular work to earn lems and desires, seeking his guidance in
extra money for luxuries when the work- all aspects of our lives. The more that
ing hours will keep you from the meetings prayer becomes a habit the easier it will
or when the extra work will make you too be for us to maintain integrity. When
tired to leave your home to get to the some temptation or wrong course is premeetings? Or why arrange to have relasented to us, we will automatically take
tives visit you or arrange to visit them
at times when the Christian congregation Jehovah into consideration. (Prov. 2:7)
is assembling together? We do not want to In fact, we will often find that in the promiss any of these God-given opportunities cess of talking to Jehovah in prayer about
to fortify ourselves so as to maintain in- a matter or a decision we must make,
Scriptural passages will come to mind that
tegrity.Heb. 10:25.
17 Reinforcing our integrity is also donebear on the subject, thus helping us to
by sharing in the proclamation of Gods understand Jehovahs view on the matter.
16. What should we not let interfere with our meeting
attendance ?
17. What work reinforces our integrity?

18. (a) About what should we pray, and how often?

(b) If prayer is a habit, what will we do when any
problems come up, and what will result?

530

S& eW ATCHTOW ER

1To sum up matters, what are some

things that we can do to fortify ourselves
so as to maintain integrity? We should
personally read and study the Bible and
the Bible study aids that Jehovah provides
through his organization. We should avoid
bad associations. We should attend meet19. To sum up the matter of maintaining integrity,
what five things can we do to fortify ourselves?

B rooklyn , N .Y .

ings of those interested in Jehovahs will

and purposes. We should share in the
preaching and teaching work foretold for
these evil times in which we live. And we
should pray regularly to Jehovah to maintain a close relationship with him and dependence on him. But what results from
keeping integrity? We will leave the answer to the succeeding article.

MM

OF MAINTAINED INTEGRITY
David, with a sling and a stone,
^ proved stronger than the Philistine
and struck the Philistine down and put
him to death; and there was no sword in
Davids hand. (1 Sam. 17:50) What great
joy this must have brought David, to realize that he had gained the victory over
the Philistine giant Goliath because of Davids integrity, his whole-souled devotion
to Jehovah. Sometime after his encounter
with Goliath, David prayed to Jehovah,
Let integrity and uprightness themselves
safeguard me. (Ps. 25:21) The inspired
writer Asaph speaks of David and the integrity of his heart. (Ps. 78:72) I n i Kings
9:4, Jehovah encouraged Solomon to follow the course of his father by saying:
Walk before me, just as David your father walked, with integrity of heart and
with uprightness by doing according to all
that I have commanded you. So, although
he was imperfect and did make mistakes,
David many times throughout his life
proved he was an integrity-keeper.
1. What Scriptural support is there for the thought
that David was a man of integrity?

*In due time a greater-than-David ap*

peared on earth, the man Jesus. Jesus was
perfect and faithfully maintained his integrity to Jehovah throughout his human
life, setting a fine example for us to follow. (1 Pet. 2 :2 1 2 3 )Can we say that his
loyalty to Jehovah brought him happiness? Let Gods Word answer that for us:
For the joy that was set before him
[Jesus] he endured a torture stake, despising shame, and has sat down at the
right hand of the throne of God. (Heb.
12:2) Yes, Jesus was willing to go through
the ignominious death he faced because he
maintained his integrity and had a joyous
reward awaiting him. In Philippians 2:5
11 more is told us about this: Keep this
mental attitude in you that was also in
Christ Jesus, who, although he was existing in Gods form, gave no consideration
to a seizure, namely, that he should be
equal to God. No, but he emptied himself
and took a slaves form and came to be
2. (a) Why was Jesus willing to die as he did? (b) According to Philippians 2:5-11, how was Jesus' course
of integrity rewarded?

S eptem ber 1,

1971

3EeW ATCH TOW ER,

in the likeness of men. More than that,

when he found himself in fashion as a
man, he humbled himself and became
obedient as far as death, yes, death on a
torture stake. For this very reason also
God exalted him to a superior position and
kindly gave him the name that is above
every other name, so that in the name
of Jesus every knee should bend of those
in heaven and those on earth and those
under the ground, and every tongue should
openly acknowledge that Jesus Christ is
Lord to the glory of God the Father.
3In this twentieth century there are
many integrity-keepers throughout the
world, individuals who day after day show
their honesty, their desire to be upright
in Jehovahs eyes by their course of action even in little matters. And, of course,
there are many too who have faced big
issues, proving their integrity.

531

4 In one country where the church and

state work hand in hand, a Christian boy
of about sixteen was told that he would
be expelled from school if he did not make
the sign of the cross and attend the church
Mass. He was so near to graduating, but
he would lose all his credits if he did not
conform. The instructor told him just to
go through the motions without believing
in what he was doing, but the boy stood
firm. The instructor admired the boys
faith so much that he arranged to have
him stand at the rear of the room at
prayer time so it would not be noticed that
he was not making the sign of the cross.
(The teacher was afraid he would get in
trouble and that his job would be in jeopardy if he were openly to permit the boy
to refrain from this religious practice.)
The teacher also assigned him jobs dur-

ing church Mass so he would have an excuse to be busy and away from the church
service. Can we not say, then, that the
boys integrity-keeping course was rewarded?
5There are those who, in obeying the
counsel found in Gods Word, have been
physically abused. On one Pacific island
two youngsters refused to engage in a
patriotic ceremony that involved an idolatrous act. The teacher, not appreciating
freedom of religion as allowed for in that
land, went so far as to break the hand
of one youngster. The matter was discussed with the teacher and taken up with
his superior, and the teacher was soundly
reprimanded. Since that time the teacher
has been most cooperative. It is true that
the one youngster suffered considerably,
but he stayed faithful and in doing so
proved that he truly is loyal to Jehovah.
6
Another case of integrity-keeping
was manifested in recent years when a
thirteen-year-old girl in Berlin was found
to have leukemia. The doctor explained
that transfusions of blood would make the
girl more comfortable and stave off the
progress of the disease. The mother, being a God-fearing Christian, knew what
the Bible says about not eating blood.
(Gen. 9:4; Acts 15:28, 29) So she refused
to permit transfusions to be given. The
girl also refused to permit this, saying,
I would rather die faithful to Jehovah
God than to violate his command in order
to live a little while longer. (Matt. 10:
39) This girl did die, but she left a letter
for her mother to read. The letter was to
all the ones the girl knew and it asked
that they not find fault with her mother
for not permitting transfusions. She said:
It is just as much my firm will to be true
and obedient to Gods Word rather than

3. What have many in modern times done as well?

4. (a) What course did one sixteen-year-old follow in
his efforts to maintain integrity? (b) What did his
teacher finally do?

5. Why did a youth in school suffer physical abuse?

6. (a) Why was the matter of blood transfusions
brought up to one thirteen-year-old girl? (b) How did
she and her mother keep integrity to Jehovahs laws?

MODERN-DAY INTEGRITY-KEEPERS

532

3&eWATCHTOWER

B rooklyn , N .Y .

to be a lawbreaker. . . . If the great Life- mother, knowing Gods viewpoint of lying,

giver Jehovah considers me worthy he will told them that this was not the truth.
give me a resurrectionin honest-to- (Rev. 21:8) Then they suggested that the
goodness flesh and blood as a human on boy just wear the uniform and do nothing
a cleansed paradise earth in delight and more than call the roll and hand out the
happiness. So you see, that is why it wasnt wooden rifles. Again the mother explained
hard for me to die. Can you understand that this would identify her boy as part
of the exercises. Becoming irritated, the
that?
7 But why was it not hard for her toofficials angrily dismissed the mother, saydie? Because she had faith just as did ing that her religion is unreasonably strict.
Abraham of old, who reckoned that God She left quietly, but before she could go
was able to raise him [his son Isaac] up far she was hastily called back by the
even from the dead. (Heb. 11:19) Yes, officials. They apologized for what they
she had full faith in Gods promised new had said earlier and told her that, in fact,
system of things and the resurrection of they really admired her firm religious conthose ransomed by the sacrifice of Gods victions. How thankful she was to JehoSon. (John 5:28) But where would some- vah when they told her that the boy would
one so young get such faith that would be given work to do in the principals ofeiid her to keep integrity, even in the face flee while others did military exercises!
of death? It was from a study of Gods Certainly she and her son were rewarded
Word, the Bible. Another young girl, who for their efforts to maintain their integrity
is now a full-time minister of Jehovahs as far as the issue of Christian neutrality
witnesses, in commenting on some mate- is concerned.
rial she heard about parents training their
Even individuals newly associated with
children, said: It made me glad all over the true religion and the pure worship of
again that my mother had bothered with Jehovah have the opportunity to show
a family study. I sure do wish I could their loyalty to God, their integrity. Peoshake some of these children who ignore pie from all walks of life come to an actheir parents and their counsel.
curate knowledge of the truth. A mar8In John 18:36 Jesus is quoted as say- ried woman who was an actress in the
ing, My kingdom is no part of this world. Middle East began studying the Bible and
Our keeping integrity involves our being readily accepted the truth. Quickly she
loyal to that kingdom and maintaining a saw the need to avoid parts in television
course of strict neutrality toward the af- and oh the stage that violated Christian
fairs of this wicked system of things. In principles. (1 Pet. 4:3, 4) Her husband,
one island country, a Witness learned that an actor, had more difficulty in making
her son had been threatened with dismissal changes in his life because worldly asfrom school because of his conscientious sociations were hindering his progress.
refusal to participate in military exercises. Through encouragement from Jehovahs
So she appealed to the school officials on witnesses and some self-examination on
her sons behalf. One official suggested his part, he soon took a position pleasing
she claim that her son was physically disto God. Then he began inviting all his
abled so that he could be excused, but the
friends and neighbors to study the Bible.
7. (a) Faith in what makes one able to face death? They asked what changed him, and he re(b) How do individuals get such faith?
8. (a) Why is neutrality involved in keeping integrity?
(b) How were a mother and son tested on the neutrality issue, and what was the outcome?

9. Why did an actress and her husband make changes

in their lives, and what resulted from this?

S eptember l , 1971

SEeW ATCHTOW ER.

533

plied, You will know the truth, and the more. In these times of great economic
truth will set you free. (John 8:32) By hardships, those in responsible secular pothis couples endeavoring to conform their sitions are faced with many temptations
lives loyally to Jehovahs Word and the and intimidations. Studying the principles
principles therein, they had the joyous re- of the Bible serves to maintain ones balsuit of seeing the change in themselves ance and honesty. A person serving as a
and being able to share their newfound cashier in a bank in a poor Asian country
religion effectively with others.
began studying with Jehovahs witnesses.
10
Maintaining integrity often brings op-Often employees would endeavor to bribe
position from relatives who do not appre- or force him to falsify checks in order to
ciate the true religion, but did not Jesus obtain money for themselves. These corforetell that a mans enemies will be per- rupt persons even brought and offered him
sons of his own household? (Matt. 10: a complete set of furniture and a new
36) A woman in the southern part of motorcar in an effort to break down his
Africa began studying the Bible and im- resistance and get him to join with them.
mediately quit her church because of its Fortified with the Bible truth, he mainfalse teachings. Her husband and mother tained his integrity, refusing all such gifts.
fiercely opposed her, but the one studying Shortly after he was baptized, the director
the Bible with her pointed out Matthew of the bank endeavored to obtain large
10:37, where Jesus said: He that has amounts of money through him without
greater affection for father or mother providing the proper receipts. This too the
than for me is not worthy of me. She brother refused to do, as it was against the
was encouraged by this to continue study- regulations of the bank and contrary to
ing, and she was also comforted with the Scriptural principles. An inspection was
knowledge that those hated because of the made by the authorities of the bank. The
good news of Gods kingdom are really bank director was fired, but the brother is
blessed. (Matt. 5:10, 11) She became all still holding his job because of their respect
the more determined to put into practice for his honesty. He could have given in
what she learned from her studies. Her to the directors wishes, thinking he would
steadfastness brought results, however, have to continue working with him and
for sometime later she was astounded to would suffer abuse if he did not cooperate
find her mother also giving a witness of with him, but he chose to pursue a course
the good news to her friends, even ex- of loyalty to Jehovah, and in the end was
pressing regret that she previously had richly rewarded.
been wasting her time. The mother then
12The Bible, speaking of Babylon the
began encouraging her daughter not to Great, the world empire of false religion,
give up. Certainly the young womans says, Get out of her, my people, if you
integrity-keeping course has been richly do not want to share with her in her sins,
rewarded as she and her once-opposed and if you do not want to receive part of
mother work together serving Jehovah.
her plagues. (Rev. 18:4) Maintaining in11Keeping integrity involves living in tegrity involves heeding that counsel too.
harmony with the thought expressed in
In a west African land a man studied the
Ephesians 4:28: Let the stealer steal no
Bible with Jehovahs witnesses and in a
10. How did one newly interested person face up to
few
months expressed the desire to join
family opposition, and how was she rewarded?
11. What temptations were put before a brother to
break the Scriptural injunction against stealing, and
how did the matter work out?

12. What effort did one Bible student put forth to qualify for the ministry?

534

3EeWATCHTOWER

B r o o k ly n , N .Y .

in the field ministry. It was pointed out to persuade the family to make just one
that he was too closely associated with visit to the Kingdom Hall to see what went
a segment of Babylon the Great and that on there. At the meeting they were so
adjustments had to be made in his secu- impressed by the love, kindness and joy
lar work first. Due to a physical handicap manifested by the brothers that they no
he found it very difficult to find suitable, longer opposed the young ladys attending
alternative employment. Knowing that Je- meetings and sharing in the field ministry.
hovah would bless anyone doing what is In time her younger sister became interright, he moved over four hundred miles ested in the truth and is now a dedicated
to take up a new job. Imagine his delight servant of God. Continued efforts resulted
at finding that he was sharing an office in her mother and married sisters also
with one of Jehovahs witnesses. He im- learning the truth and, in turn, sharing it
mediately took up the field ministry, joined with others. Now they are happily united
the Theocratic Ministry School and made in Jehovahs service, all because of the
arrangements to be baptized in symbol of faithful course of the one who learned the
truth and determinedly shared it with othhis dedication to Jehovah.
13
Our loyalty to Jehovah, our maintain-ers in her immediate family.
ing our integrity to him is also shown by
JOY NOW AND IN THE FUTURE
our sharing the good news from Gods
1
4
From
the foregoing, can it not be said
Word, the Bible, with others. Knowing
that
maintaining
our integrity now brings
the truth, we should feel just as Jeremiah
joyous
results
at
present? True, joy may
did when he said, In my heart it proved
come
from
being
able
to help others to see
to be like a burning fire shut up in my
that
we
have
the
true
religion or from
bones; and I got tired of holding in, and
receiving
commendation
or
perhaps a proI was unable to endure it. (Jer. 20:9)
motion
from
a
worldly
superior
because
This right attitude toward speaking about
of
his
seeing
our
fine
course
of
action.
But
Jehovahs purposes brings joyous rewards
an
even
greater
reason
for
our
being
joytoo. A young lady visited relatives in another country and found that one of them ful is spoken of in Proverbs 27:11. Let us
was studying with Jehovahs witnesses. read and analyze this verse together: Be
She sat in on the studies and made rapid wise, my son, and make my heart rejoice,
progress. In a few months she became a that I may make a reply to him that is
dedicated witness of Jehovah. She wrote taunting me. Jehovah is telling us to be
her family about the truths she had wise. How can we be wise? How can we
learned from the Bible but they did not show wisdom? By taking in knowledge
respond favorably to her letters, so she de- from the Bible and then by applying that
cided to return home to speak to them di- knowledge in our lives. In other words, by
rectly and to let them see what a change keeping integrity to Bible principles. If
the truth had made in her life. But things we are wise in this way, what does it do?
did not work out that way, and her fami- It makes Gods heart rejoice. Why? Bely even opposed her attending meetings cause we can serve as an answer to him
of Jehovahs witnesses. Some of the men that is taunting God, that is, Satan the
in the congregation arranged to make a Devil. Yes, Jehovah can point to integrityfriendly visit on her family and were able keepers to prove Satans challenge that he
13. (a) What attitude toward the preaching work brings
rewards? (b) What did one young lady do to help her
family to learn the truth, and was it worth the effort?

14. (a) How do we receive joy now by maintaining integrity? (b) Explain Proverbs 27:11 in connection with
our being joyful.

S eptember 1, 1971

SEeW ATCHTOW ER.

535

could turn all men away from God is false, things behind and stretching forward to
just as Jehovah did in the case of Job. the things ahead, I am pursuing down
(Job 1:8) When you stop and think of it, toward the goal for the prize of the upis that not an outstanding reason for us ward call of God by means of Christ Jeto be joyful, knowing that by our course sus. Those anointed Christians, still alive
of action, by our doing what is right, es- in the flesh, must follow a similar course.
pecially under test or trial, we are making For so doing they will have many joyous
Jehovah rejoice? And knowing this will experiences now, and will in Jehovahs due
help us to continue in this right course, time be given the incomparable reward
for the joy of Jehovah is our stronghold. of immortality with Jesus as part of Gods
Neh. 8:10.
heavenly Kingdom government.1 Cor.
15
The happiness that comes from loyalty15:53, 54.
to Jehovah is not something that is short17After speaking of the limited numlived, however. This happiness is to sur- ber who would gain the prize of heavenly
vive the destruction of this wicked system life, Revelation chapter 7 goes on in verse
of things, which destruction is near at 9 to speak of a great crowd from all
hand. Isaiah 65:18 records Jehovahs in- over the world who would also gain life.
vitation: Exult, you people, and be joy- But the life these would gain is everlasting
ful forever in what I am creating. And life as humans on a paradise earth. For
what is it that Jehovah is creating? Verse those who keep themselves in a clean con17 says: For here I am creating new dition before Jehovah by maintaining their
heavens and a new earth; and the former integrity to him and who courageously
things will not be called to mind, neither acknowledge that salvation comes from
will they come up into the heart. The Jehovah through Jesus, the joyous result
righteous new system of Gods making is will be life eternal when these words come
something about which we can express joy true: And [God] will wipe out every tear
endlessly, because if we faithfully do his
from their eyes, and death will be no more,
will we have the hope of living in that
arrangement. Our integrity will serve as neither will mourning nor outcry nor pain
a refuge for us to protect us when the be anymore. The former things have
wicked are destroyed. Because of his bad- passed away. (Rev. 21:4) Such a promise
ness the wicked will be pushed down, but is not too good to be true, as some would
the righteous will be finding refuge in his say, for the next verse in the Bible says,
Write, because these words are faithful
integrity.Prov. 14:32.
18 For those yet remaining of Jesus lit- and true. Yes, they are guaranteed by
tie flock on earth, their maintaining their God himself.
18
There is no doubt about it. Maintainintegrity until death will bring the great
reward of being united with Christ Jesus ing integrity brings joyous results now
in heaven to serve as kings and priests and in the future. If we follow this course,
with him for a thousand years. (Luke 12: we too can say to God as did David:
32; Rev. 20:6) Paul, in Philippians 3:13 As for me, because of my integrity you
and 14, explains what he did to keep in have upheld me, and you will set me before
line to receive this prize: Forgetting the your face to time indefinite.Ps. 41:12.
15. Why can we say that the happiness Integrity brings
is not short-lived?
16. What joy awaits the remnant of the little flock ?

17. What Joy awaits those of the great crowd ?

18. If we maintain integrity, what attitude like that of
David can we have?

FASTING

for CHRISTIANS?

X h a t f S Rtod-thYe^ ef 'nj yU
tlStin? tor

resnnnrt & P^ cticin Catholic, you would

0_
1a
affirm ative, for you rec Certam ^ast Gays, and in particular
y u alw ays fast before tak ing H olv ComDid Jesus really recommend or command fastin g for his followers?

In the instances recorded in the Bible,

fasting was done as an expression of sorrow and repentance for sins or when under distressing conditions. (Dan. 10:2, 3;
1 Sam. 31:13; 2 Chron. 20:3, 4) Also, persons might fast when in sore need of divine guidance or at times when unusual
concentration on some service to God was
necessary.Judg. 20:26; Esther 4:16.
ATONEMENT DAY, WITH ITS
FASTING, PICTORIAL

However, neither Jesus Christ nor his

apostles commanded Christians to observe
fasts. On the other hand, the Scriptures
do not forbid them to fast. In the instances
where Jesus gave counsel on fasting he
was speaking to Jews under the Law covenant. (Matt. 6:16-18; Luke 18:9-14) Under
the Law, fasting was to be observed at
certain times and on certain occasions,
notably on the Day of Atonement.
On this day, the tenth day of the seventh lunar month, the Jews were to afflict
their souls. (Lev. 16:29-31) This included
fasting, as indicated by the words of David, who said concerning distressing con

ditions that he underwent: With fasting

I afflicted my soul.Ps. 35:13; compare
Isaiah 58:1-5.
On Atonement Day the Jewish high
priest made offerings for the sins of the
entire nation. It was a day reminding the
Jews of their inherent sinfulness. It was
a time to acknowledge their sinful condition before God and to manifest sorrow
and repentance. Therefore they were required to fast. And it was no mere formalism.
Why, though, did the Jews have to fast
repeatedly, every year, whereas the Christian congregation is not commanded to
fast at all?
The apostle Paul helps us to understand
this by his comments on the sacrifices offered under the Law. He says that these
sacrifices sanctified the offerers to the
extent of cleanness of the flesh, but that
they did not make them perfect as respects their conscience. These Jewish worshipers were viewed by God as clean to the
extent that they could approach him. They
were not as the unclean pagans. But they
were reminded of their sins again next
year on Atonement Day. The cleanness
they enjoyed was only a ceremonial cleanness, typical or pictorial of the complete
cleanness of conscience that Christians enjoy through the sacrifice of Christ once
for all time.Heb. 9:9, 13, 28.
The Christian congregation, being
cleansed of its sins, does not need to set
aside a day for fasting and repentance

53G

S eptem ber

1, 1971

SEeWATCHTOWER,

each year. Jesus Christ atoned for the

sins of his congregation by his sacrificial
course. He fulfilled what was foreshadowed
by the Day of Atonement. This day in
fulfillment ran from the time of his baptism until his appearing in heaven before
God to offer the merit of his sacrifice.
(Heb.
At Pentecost,
C.E.,
about
persons added at one time acknowledged their sins and repented of
them, which sins included bloodguilt for
Christs death. Faith in his sacrifice really
resulted in cleansing from sin.Acts 2:

9:24-26)
3,000

33

37-39, 41.

Nevertheless, does not the individual

Christian need to fast when he unintentionafiy commits sins from day to day?
No, he can draw on the sacrifice of Christ
given once for all time. On the basis of
this sacrifice he may always approach
with freeness of speech to the throne of
undeserved kindness, that [he] may obtain mercy and find undeserved kindness
for help at the right time.Heb.

4:16.

537

have houses for eating and drinking, do

you not? and, If anyone is hungry,
him eat at home, that you may not come
together for judgment. Cor.

22, 34.

11:21,

Additionally, the Lords Evening Meal

being a communion meal (a meal of joint
participation), it is not an occasion for
sorrow over sins and for repentance. The
basis for communion meals is found in the
Law, and there communion meals were
not occasions for making offerings given
in sorrow and repentance for sin. They
were classed as voluntary, vow or thanksgiving offerings. (Lev.
The
Lords Evening Meed therefore provides
opportunity to review and be thankful for
what Jehovah God and Jesus Christ have
done for Christians through Christs sacrifice, and to consider the unity of the congregation of Christ and the ministry that
all share in common.
John
It is
not a distressing or sorrowful time. Fasting for a period of time before the meal
is therefore not a Scriptural requirement.

7:11, 12, 16)

(1

1:3)

HOLY COMMUNION OR
THE LORDS EVENING MEAL

LATER ADDITIONS TO THE INSPIRED TEXT

But what about Holy Communion,

also called the Last Supper or the
Lords Evening Meal? The Scriptures
make it very clear that fasting before its
observance is not required.
The apostle Paul wrote to the Christians
in the city of Corinth about this memorial
meal. They had been treating the occasion
as a time for eating together first at the
meeting place. This, of course, led to bad
results in the midst of their sectarianism.
While some had plenty to eat and drink,
others had nothing to eat and so went
hungry. This preceded the communion
meal, and because some overindulged they
missed the significance of the Lords Supper. Paul reproved them, saying: You do

However, someone may ask: When Jesus disciples could not understand why
they had been unable to expel a certain
demon, did not Jesus say: This kind can
come forth by nothing, but by prayer and
fasting? (Mark
Authorized Version
D
ou
ay]) No, he did not say this,
for the oldest and best manuscripts do not
include the words and fasting. These
words were evidently added by Bible copyists. It appears that these copyists advocated and practiced fasting and so they added
references to it repeatedly where it was
not found in earlier copies. This is true
not only of Mark
but also of Matthew
where they inserted the entire sentence above quoted; of Acts

[9:28,

17:21,

9:29,

9:29

10:30,

538

SfteW ATCHTOW ER

where Cornelius is made to say he fasted;

and of 1 Corinthians 7:5, where Paul is
said to recommend it to married couples.*
INSTANCES OF CHRISTIAN FASTING

What, then, was Jesus purpose when

he fasted for forty days and nights? This
was when he was led by Gods spirit into
the wilderness where he was tempted by
the Devil. Here was a distressing situation
where he sorely needed divine help. Also
here he concentrated deeply on the course
of sacrifice ahead of him. Both Moses and
Elijah also fasted for forty days and nights.
In all these instances these men doubtless
received divine assistance.Matt. 4:1, 2,
11; Deut. 9:9; 1 Ki. 19:7, 8.
Jesus followers also fasted in special
circumstances, particularly when there
was great concern for divine guidance.
Thus we read of certain ones in the Christian congregation at Antioch, prophets
and teachers, who were publicly ministering to Jehovah and fasting. This was at
a time when there was great persecution
against the disciples, and when Gods spirit directed that Paul and Barnabas be sent
out on their first missionary tour among
the Gentiles.Acts 13:2, 3.
Again, when Paul and Barnabas were
establishing congregations in Galatia,
they needed strong, mature men to take
the lead in the newly formed congregations. To be sure that their choice was
right, they offered prayer with fastings
in connection with making the appointments.Acts 14:23.
Jesus was not giving his disciples a command to fast when he said: Days will
come when the bridegroom will be taken
away from them, and then they will fast.
Jesus was merely foretelling what actually
did happen to his followers later when
* Compare Authorized and Douay versions with The
New English Bible and The Jerusalem Bible.

B r o o k l y n , N .Y .

he was put to death. They were undoubtedly so upset that they did not want to eat.
Matt. 9:15.
The apostle Paul speaks of himself as
fasting (according to the reading of the
Authorized Version) at 2 Corinthians 6:5
and 11:27. But here the situations the
apostle speaks of are obviously such as
were beyond his control. The expression
is more properly rendered times without
food and starving, hunger, without
food.New World Translation; The Jerusalem Bible; Revised Standard Version.
ASCETICISM

In the Christian congregation at Colossae, some were being ensnared into ascetic practices. Undoubtedly this was due
primarily to the influence of Jews who
tried to bring Christians back under the
Law, insisting that they observe its precepts. Paul wrote to those being misled:
Why do you, as if living in the world,
further subject yourselves to the decrees:
Do not handle, nor taste, nor touch,' respecting things that are all destined to
destruction by being used up, in accordance with the commands and teachings of
men? Those very things are, indeed, possessed of an appearance of wisdom in a
self-imposed form of worship and mock
humility, a severe treatment of the body;
but they are of no value in combating the
satisfying of the flesh.Col. 2:20-23.
So today, Christians may fast for a limited time for practical reasons. But they
should not do it feeling it is a religious
requirement placed on the Christian congregation. Whatever they do they do with
a view to serving Jehovah more fully, as
the apostle said: He who eats, eats to
Jehovah, for he gives thanks to God; and
he who does not eat does not eat to Jehovah, and yet gives thanks to God.
Rom. 14:6.

Do You Remember?
Have you read the recent issues of The
Watchtower carefully? If so, you should remember the following points:
What does it mean to know God?
Knowing God is to come to have a deep, intimate understanding of him and his fine qualities and to appreciate from the heart what a
friend he is. This requires a person to exert
himself in developing knowledge, love and appredation.Pp. 265, 266.*
What was the main issue Satan raised in the
Garden of Eden?
It was over the deservedness, rightfulness
and righteousness of Jehovahs sovereignty.
That is, Was Gods rule exercised in a way that
was really for the benefit of his creatures?
P. 267.
Why is a person who is indifferent to his
marriage responsibilities a liar?
In Christendom the majority have sworn
in Gods name to love, honor and stick by their
marriage mates. Among others the marriage
is in effect a contract. Those who fail to live
up to their vows are liars.Pp. 309, 310.
What part should mercy play in our lives?
It should include not only forbearance toward
those who offend us, but also active expressions
of compassion to others who are in need. This
includes the giving of spiritual aid to others,
not to make a record for ourselves, but out
of concern for them; encouraging persons who
are ill or lonely, and giving material aid to
worthy ones as we are able.Pp. 411-415.
How might Christians become guilty of murdering the righteous One,* as stated at James
5:6?
By looking down on or refusing to help
lowly Christian brothers, or by letting covet* All references are to The Watchtower for 1971.

ousness, envy or pride lead them into hating

certain brothers. What is done to the brothers
of Christ, the righteous One, is counted as
done to him.Pp. 447, 448.
What besides preaching is included in the
ministry of true Christians?
It includes also the work done within the
Christian congregation by overseers, as well as
services to the sick, the poor and needy, work
done in caring for Christian meeting places,
service in Bethel homes, and the many other
activities by which we demonstrate that we
apply the counsel of Gods Word in our own
lives and so properly represent true worship
to others.Pp. 456459.
Why has God allowed the righteous to suffer?
Because of the issue raised in Eden involving
the integrity of men to God. God has allowed
to men the privilege of serving under test, enduring pressures from Satan and his world,
to vindicate Gods name.P. 487.
Since Adam and Eve were created perfect,
how could they sin?
They were not made to perform like machines but were in Gods likeness and had free
moral agency. They were perfect or complete
according to God the Creators standards and
purposes for them. Therefore, if they had not
had the ability to choose good or bad, they
would not have been perfect.P. 499.
What will human perfection in Gods new
order remove, but what will it not mean?
It will remove everything that does not measure up to Gods standards, but it will not make
the person all-knowing or possessing all abilities. It will not eliminate the challenge of living. Problems will be encountered, but without
the frustration, disappointment and futility we
meet in a sinful world.P. 500.

c\V(1ere \Vd$ the Qarfon 0$Q eri?

as Eden. It was therefore called the garden of Eden. Because of their disobedience, Adam and Eve were expelled from
their paradisaic home. And return to this

HE beautiful garden or park that

Jehovah God provided as a home for
the first human pair, Adam and Eve, was
situated in a section of the region known

539

540

^ eW A T C H T O W E R

garden home was barred by cherubs and

the flaming blade of a sword, evidently
until the surging waters of the Flood obliterated the garden.Gen. 2:8, 15; 3:24.
Regarding the location of Edens garden, Moses wrote: Now there was a river
issuing out of Eden to water the garden,
and from there it began to be parted and
it became, as it were, four heads. The first
ones name is Pishon; it is the one encircling the entire land of Havilah, where
there is gold. . . . And the name of the second river is Gihon; it is the one encircling
the entire land of Cush. And the name of
the third river is Hiddekel; it is the one going to the east of Assyria. And the fourth
river is the Euphrates.Gen. 2:10-14.
The regions Cush, Havilah and Assyria
(Asshur) existed in the post-Flood period,
evidently deriving their names from Noahs descendants. (Gen. 10:7, 22, 29) As
a geographical designation, the name
Cush at an early date became virtually
synonymous with Ethiopia. The region of
Havilah appears to have embraced the
northwest portion of the Arabian Peninsula and extended to or near the Sinai
Peninsula, where the wilderness of Shur
was likely located. (Gen. 25:18; 1 Sam.
15:7) The Genesis account speaks of the
Hiddekel or Tigris as going to the east
of Assyria. (Gen. 2:14) This may mean
that, in the period referred to, Assyria
occupied considerable territory west of the
Tigris, possibly including Babylonia.
Thus the evidence suggests that Moses
employed terms familiar in his day to indicate the location of Edens garden. Of
course, the Genesis account does not say
the garden of Eden covered all this area.
The references to Cush, Havilah and AsSyria (Asshur) serve to identify the cornses of the rivers. Nevertheless, their mention would have been helpful to Moses
contemporaries in getting a picture of the
relationship of the garden to these named

B rooklyn , N .Y .

areas. But for us today the regions themselves do not provide much assistance in
determining the location of the garden of
Eden.
As to the rivers, the Pishon and the Gihon cannot now be identified. This is understandable. If this part of Moses description relates to the time before the
Flood, the Deluge itself may well have
contributed to eliminating or changing
the courses of the Pishon and Gihon Rivers. But if the rivers were ones existing in
the post-Flood period, other natural phenomena, such as earthquakes, may since
have altered their courses. More recent
happenings illustrate that such changes
can take place. For example, in 1950 a
powerful earthquake in the region of Assam, India, caused some rivers to disappear and others to change their courses.
However, the Euphrates is well known,
and
Idiqlat(Hiddekel) is the name used
for the equally well-known Tigris in ancient Akkadian (Assyro-Babylonian) inscriptions. These rivers provide a real clue
as to the location of Edens garden. The
Hebrew word translated heads at Genesis 2:10 has a bearing on the matter. It
would favor placing the garden of Eden
in the mountainous region
the source
of the Tigris and the Euphrates. As The
Anchor Bible states in its comment on
Genesis 2:10: In Heb[rew] the mouth
of the river is called end (Josh xv 5,
xviii 19); hence the plural of ros head
must refer here to the upper course. . . .
This latter usage is well attested for the
Akk[adian] cognate resu.
Both the Euphrates and the Tigris have
their present sources in the mountainous
region to the north of the Mesopotamian
plains. Although opinions vary, numerous
scholars would locate the garden of Eden
in this area, a few miles south of Lake
Van, in eastern Turkey.

T WAS in the spring of 33 C.E. that

Jesus Christ, while on the Mount of
Olives, told his disciples: As for you, look
out for yourselves; people will deliver you
up to local courts, and you will be beaten
in synagogues and be put on the stand
before governors and kings for my sake,
for the purpose of a witness to them.
Mark 13:9,
New World
1950 edition.
The experiences of Christs followers
since that time prove this to be true. More
than fifty days after Jesus uttered these
words the apostles Peter and John had
to defend their faith before the highest
Jewish court, the Sanhedrin. Though unlettered and ordinary, they gave a powerful and fearless witness to that august
body composed of rulers, scribes and older
men of influence. (Acts 4:5-19) Not long
thereafter all the apostles were brought
before the Sanhedrin. Boldly they addressed the members of that court: We
must obey God as ruler rather than men.
The God of our forefathers raised up Jesus, whom you slew, hanging him upon a
stake. God exalted this one as Chief Agent
and Savior to his right hand, to give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins.
And we are witnesses of these matters, and
so is the holy spirit, which God has given
to those obeying him as ruler.Acts 5:
27-32.
Years later the apostle Paul made his
defense before Governor Felix and his wife
Drusilla, Governor Festus, King Agrippa
and his wife Bernice, and finally before
Caesar himself. (Acts 24:24; 25:8-12, 23;

26:32) So convincing was Pauls defense

that King Agrippa exclaimed: In a short
time you would persuade me to become
a Christian.Acts 26:28.
By being haled before kings and governors, first-century Christians were able
to give a witness about their faith to persons who might otherwise not have been
Translation,
reached.
This was in harmony with Jehovahs purpose. It being his will that all
sorts of men should be saved and come to
an accurate knowledge of truth, men in
high governmental station, by having
Christians brought before them, were given an opportunity to learn the truth.
1 Tim. 2:4.

541

IN THE TWENTIETH CENTURY

Also in this twentieth century there have

been Christians who have recognized that
their being brought before governmental
officials was for the purpose of a witness.
Therefore they have not been afraid to defend their faith. Whereas questions have
often been asked in an insulting manner,
these Christians have presented their reasons with calmness and gentleness. They
have not responded in an irritated or resentful way. Though not cowed by the fear
of men, they have manifested a deep respect or wholesome fear, as if in the presence of Jehovah God, whose ,eyes are
upon the righteous ones. (1 Pet. 3:12)
In so doing, they have heeded the counsel at 1 Peter 3:15: Sanctify the Christ
as Lord in your hearts, always ready to
make a defense before everyone that demands of you a reason for the hope in

542

3HeWATCHTOWER

you, but doing so together with a mild

temper and deep respect.
About five years ago, in Lebanon, one
of Jehovahs witnesses and the young man
accompanying him in the door-to-door
ministry for the first time were taken to
the police station for questioning. Told by
the police that they would be released if
they promised to stop preaching, the Witness asked what was wrong about preaching the Bible, as that is what the people
really need. He also mentioned that it
would be good for them to read and study
the Bible, and presented some Bible literature to them. Had you been in the position
of this Witness and his companion, would
you have spoken out courageously in behalf of your faith?
The fine stand taken by this Witness
and his companion did not result in their
being detained longer. Instead, one of the
policemen said to the other one: think
we had better let them go and not ask
them any more questions or they will be
changing our minds and way of thinking.
Truly, the reaction of these policemen to
the witness given was similar to that of
King Agrippa sifter hearing Pauls defense
in the first century C.E.
However, not only adults, but also persons of school age have been able to defend their faith. Not long ago two girls
used their school vacation to tell the inhabitants of a village in East Germany
about the Bible. At noontime, however, the
two girls were arrested and taken to the
police headquarters. While there, they
preached the truth to the policemen whom
they met. Each girl was interrogated separately for three and a half hours. Finally,
when the officials decided to expel them
from the county, the chief said that he
had never experienced such a thing. One
of the girls replied that he too needed to
hear the good news in order to make a

B rooklyn , N .Y .

decision about his own future, and both

girls expressed appreciation for having
been able to preach GocTs message to the
officials. Yes, these girls recognized that
they were at the police headquarters for
the purpose of a witness and made the
best of that opportunity.
While those listening to the defense often do not make any changes in their
lives, they nevertheless have received a
witness. At times, though, those who have
courageously taken advantage of the occasion to make a defense of their Christian hope have had the additional blessing
of seeing their words fall on responsive
ears. This was the experience of one Witness in Portugal a number of years ago.
He received a notice to appear at the local
police station for questioning. On his ar------------ ---------- ------------------- --------------

----------

ANNUAL MEETING, OCTOBER 1, 1971

!!

The annual meeting of the members of

Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society
of Pennsylvania on October 1, 1971, will
be held at Jehovahs Witnesses Assembly
Hall, Buckingham, Pennsylvania. At the
annual meeting last year the members
determined upon this location for 1971,
and accordingly the meeting will be at
10:00 oclock in the forenoon of Friday,
October 1, 1971, at the assembly hall in
Buckingham.
It will be appreciated if the members
of the corporation will now see to it that
the Secretarys office has their present
mailing addresses so that the regular
letters of notice and proxies can be sent
to them to reach them shortly after September 1.
The proxies, which will be sent to the
members along with the notice of the
annual meeting, are to be returned so
as to reach the office of the Secretary of
the Society not later than September 15.
As each member knows, he should complete and return his proxy promptly
whether he is going to be at the meeting
personally or not.

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S eptember 1, 1971

S&eWATCHTOWER,

rival, he was taken into a room with several officers, including the one who had
brought the notice to his door. Questions
were asked about his religion, and a good
opportunity was given to witness about his
faith. Most of the men belittled what he
had to say, but the Witness observed that
the officer who had knocked at his door
listened attentively. During the hours that
the Witness was kept at the police station,
he had occasion to speak directly to this
officer. Later, arrangements were made to
study the Bible with this receptive man.
Eventually he retired from the police force
and himself became one of Jehovahs witnesses. Interestingly, this former police
officer was baptized by the Witness on
whom he had served notice to appear at
the police station. Was this not a blessed

543

reward for taking advantage of the opportunity to give a witness?

Surely the experiences of Christians,
past and present, illustrate that their being brought before officials has been for
the purpose of a witness. Knowing this,
the Christian should be ever alert to seize
the opportunity to give a fearless witness
concerning his faith, doing so respectfully
and with mildness. Genuine love and concern for others, coupled with the ardent
hope that they might be helped to see the
truth, will move the Christian to take advantage of every opportunity to speak
about his faith to all persons. He can also
rest assured of the help of Gods spirit in
this respect, for Jesus told his followers:
You are not the ones speaking, but the
holy spirit is.Mark 13:11.

they walk in the unprofitableness of their

minds, while they are in darkness mentally,
and alienated from the life that belongs to God,
because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the insensibility of their hearts. Having come to be past all moral sense, they gave
themselves over to loose conduct to work uncleanness of every sort with greediness.( Eph.
At Ephesians 4:23, what is meant by being 4:1719 )Similarly, Paul reminded the Christians
*made new in the force actuating the mind ?at Colossae of the change they had made, saying: You who were once alienated and enemies
U.S.A.
because your minds were on the works that
After discussing the need to put away the were wicked, he now has again reconciled by
old personality which conforms to one's former means of that one's [Jesus'] fleshly body
course of conduct,' the apostle Paul wrote through his death.Col. 1:21, 22.
to Christians at Ephesus: You should be made
The Bible calls one who follows this wrong
new in the force actuating your mind." (Eph.
inclination a physical( literally, soulical)
4:2023 )Evidently, therefore, the new force man, as distinguished from a spiritual man.
that should actuate our minds as Christians The physical man's mind is inclined toward
must be one that contrasts with the inclination
materialistic things, toward satisfying his fleshof the mind belonging to the old personality.
ly desires and passions. (1 Cor. 2:14, 15) The
This force" must be an inclination, disposition
force that activates his mind has been formed
or dominant attitude to do that which is in in him in part by inheritance and in part by
harmony with Gods will.
his reaction to the things he has been taught
The Bible shows us that, as imperfect crea- and has experienced. When a matter is pretures, both our heart and mind have an incli- sented to him, perhaps involving a moral decination toward bad, from birth onward. What sion, this force pushes or inclines his mind in
can this lead to? With reference to people a materialistic or fleshly direction. What should
of the nations, the apostle Paul noted that we do if we find ourselves inclining this way?

544

fEeW A TC H TO W ER

By a study of Gods Word and by the operation of Gods spirit, this activating force or
dominant attitude can be changed so that it is
inclined in a right direction. In this process our
hearts clearly come into play. The heart motivates the mind in the effort to gain the right
information and then to apply it. We thus
can come to have the mind of Christ, who
was at all times activated by the proper force,
his mental inclination or dominant attitude
always being spiritual. (1 Cor. 2:16) Then,
whatever matters are presented to us, our
minds will be activated and directed toward
a proper spiritual course by a new force,* a
new dominant attitude, inclination or disposition.
If we, as Christians, are to be able to resist
pressures toward wrongdoing, we must continue to develop a dominant inclination to do
that which is pleasing in Gods eyes. This calls
for continual study of Gods Word, association
with others of like precious faith, persevering
in prayer and constant application of the things
learned. As a result the individuals heart and
mind will come to be in full agreement that
nothing should be allowed to jeopardize his

B r o o k l y n , N .Y .

standing with the Creator. Appreciating Jehovahs love, his dominant attitude inclines
him to respond to it in loyal obedience. He
realizes that such obedience is right and leads
to the greatest blessings, for Gods law serves
to ensure the welfare of all concerned.
Hence, when confronted with temptation, the
persons dominant attitude will push him away
from the temptation. He will not entertain
thoughts and desires about how pleasurable
it might be to take a course of action that
he knows to be wrong. He will not reason
that, well, he is weak and 'God is very merciful. Rather, his reaction will be much like
that of Joseph when Potiphars wife shamelessly invited him to have sex relations with her.
Joseph immediately replied: How could I commit this great badness and actually sin against
God?Gen. 39:9.
WATCHTOWER STUDIES FOR THE WEEKS

October 3: Fortify Yourself So as to Maintain

Integrity. Page 524. Songs to Be Used:
20 , 11 .

October 10: Joyous Results of Maintained Integrity. Page 530. Songs to Be Used: 16, 62.

JEHOVAHS
KINGDOM
SEPTEMBER 15, 1971
Semimonthly

BAPTIST CONCERN OVER

CHURCH PROBLEMS

CHOOSE THE BIG THINGS

IN LIFE!
W TB4TS

!i
YOU ARE MY WITNESSES, SAYS J E H O V A H -Isa .43:12

T H E P U R P O SE O F *T H E W A T C H T O W E R
E v ery w a tc h to w e r has its purpose. It serves as an elevated place fo r a
w id e-aw ak e person w ith sharp vision. It enables him to see far ahead into
the distance and tell those b elow for w h o m he is a w atch m an w h a t is
draw in g near, w h e th er it is a danger against w h ich to prepare o r it is
som ething good over w h ich to be glad w ith strong faith and hope.
Because o f having the name "The W a tc h to w e r this m agazine ju stly
has to render a sim ilar useful service to the people o f all nations. T h is is
an in tern ational m agazine and makes no racial distinctions, for w e are all
facing a com m on w o rld danger; w e are all hoping fo r a com m on good.
E ver since "The W a tc h to w e r began to be published in J u ly o f 1 8 7 9 it
has looked ahead into the future, a lw a y s striving to aid its readers to advan ce in know ledge and to gain a clearer picture o f the glorious n e w order
o f things th at is in store for righteous mankind. N o , *T he W a tc h to w e r
is no inspired prophet, but it follo w s and explains a Book o f prophecy the
predictions in w h ich have proved to be unerring and unfailing till n o w .
**The W a tc h to w e r is therefore under safe guidance. It m a y be read w ith
confidence, fo r its statem ents m ay be checked against th at prophetic Book.
A m o n g th e m an y nations o f today there are hundreds o f differing
religions. W h ic h one does this m agazine present? N o t the confused religions
o f C hristendom , but the religion o f the oldest sacred Book on earth. W h ic h
Book? T h e Sacred Bible o f the H o ly Scriptures, w r itte n b y inspiration in
th e nam e o f the C reator o f heaven and earth, the o n ly living and true G od.
T h e sacred, nonpolitical purpose o f **The W a tc h to w e r is accordingly
to encourage and prom ote study o f the H o ly Bible and to give our m a n y
readers the needed unsectarian help to understand th at Book o f true
religion and infallible prophecy. T hus this m agazine w ill be helping them
to prove w o r th y o f perfect life and happiness in G od s promised n e w order
under H is everlasting kingdom o f righteousness.

PUBLISHED BY TH E
WATCH TOW ER BIBLE AND TRACT SOCIETY OF PENNSYLVANIA
117 Adams S treet
Brooklyn, N.Y. 11201, U.S.A.
N. H. K norr , P resident
G rant S uiter , Secretary

They will all be taught by Jehovah.John 6:45; Isaiah 54:13

A v e ra g e Printing Each issue:

C O N T E N T S

Baptist Concern over Church Problems

They Found a Solution
Joyful Always in Jehovahs Service
Set Apart from the World
How Can You Be 'Perfect as Your
Heavenly Father Is Perfect*?
God Wisely Selects Earth's Rulers
The Books of Chronicles
Why Were ,They Written?
Choose the Big Things in Life!
Persecuted for Trying to Serve God
Questions from Readers

547
551
553
559
565
568
571
572
574
575

The Bible translation used in The Watchtower is the modern-langeage

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^ 4 n n o z c n .c ir 1 a

J E H O V A H S
KIN G D O M
September 15, 1971

/ T ) APTISTS today number into the

* millions. Nearly every country has

at least a small Baptist community.
But about nine out of every ten Baptists,
over 26,000,000, live in the United States.
More than a third of these Baptists are
members of churches affiliated with the
Southern Baptist Convention. This largest
of the Baptist bodies, according to the 1971
edition of
TheWorld Almanac,
sionaries serving in sixty-nine countries.
Very likely you know some Baptists.
You may be one yourself, belonging to
one of the churches affiliated either with
the Southern Baptist Convention or with
one of the twenty or more other recognized Baptist bodies. If so, have you noted
concern over any of the following problems?
THE PROBLEM OF UNITY IN BELIEF

Truths We Hold, a leaflet published by

the Sunday School Board of the Southern

Number 18

Baptist Convention, points out

that a churchs authority is expressed by its members, not by
bishops or potentates, . . . each
church is independent in its action under the lordship of Jesus
Christ.
\
So, as you may know, within
^ ^===the overall framework of the
Southern B aptist Convention,
I affiliated churches differ to a
g r e a te r or le s s e r d eg ree in
what they teach. Does this present any problems?
Some Baptist sources say Yes. A former
Baptist minister in Athens, Georgia, observed: The people who belonged to my
church said they believed the Baptist
teachings. But when I began to teach the
Trinity the way it should be taught, they
just wouldnt accept it.
The members of the church, however,
has
mis- felt they were within their right
probably
as Baptists to exercise independence and
express their member-oriented authority.
But a Director of Education associated
with a leading Baptist church in Charleston, South Carolina, voiced the opinion
that the difference in teaching and belief
is due to a warping of the Scriptures to
fit the ideas held by the individual. When
asked if this difference of belief did not
create problems for Baptists moving to
other locations, he agreed that it did, but
added: It is not just a problem between

547

548

B r o o k l y n , N .Y .
ffieWATCHTOWER
separate Baptist churches, but within a ic problems of modem society. Some feel
given church. In our church here we have that, instead of this emphasis on human
projects and schemes, more attention
three factions existing.
So, while some Baptists take difference should be given to the spiritual guidance
of belief within the ranks of their local provided by the Bible and to building
church group (or between their group faith in the hope it sets forth. They may
and other churches of the same faith) as have in mind Jesus words about his true
a matter of course, other Baptists are followers: They are not of the world,
disturbed. Is their concern justified? You even as I am not of the world.John
AV .
may feel that it is, particularly in view of 17:14,
Some of the concern doubtless springs
the words of the apostle Paul to the church
from the entry of new members into the
at Corinth:
I beseech you, brethren, by the name Baptist ministry, men who have completed
of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye all speak their seminary studies only in recent years.
the same thing, and that there be no In many non-Baptist Protestant denomidivisions among you; but that ye be per- nations, it is quite well known that evolufectly joined together in the same mind tionary teachings, doubts about the exisand in the same judgment.1 Cor. 1:10, tence of a personal God, and reluctance to
accept the entire Bible as inspired by God,
Authorized Version.
are becoming more and more common
among new members of the ministry. But,
CONCERN FOR RIGHT SPIRITUAL GUIDANCE
Then, too, some feel that this situation surprising to some, Dean Rosco Brong of
places many Baptist ministers in a com- Lexington Baptist College voices this warnpromising position. In Clarkston, Georgia, ing: Baptist churches are being overrun
a close relative of a Baptist minister re- and their testimony destroyed by a flood of
marked: A minister serves a given church infidels masquerading as ministers poured
at the pleasure of the local churchs power out of modernistic colleges and seminaries
structure. Gods truths are to be molded to infidel preachers who deny the Bible,
fit the prevailing views and prejudices of serve self instead of Christ.
those in power in the local congregations.
Likely you accept as true the Bibles
Is the picture overdrawn? Some church accounts of creation and the Flood. The
leaders evidently feel it is not. A few years Bible, of course, shows that Jesus and his
ago, Dr. Samuel Southard, of Southern apostles accepted these accounts as divineBaptist Theological Seminary at Louis- ly inspired truth. (Matt. 19:3-6; 24:37-39;
ville, Kentucky, stated: We have sub- 1 Tim. 2:12-14; 1 Pet. 3:20) To ask your
verted our message to hold our numbers minister about his acceptance of these
and our wealth. Dr. K. Owen White, a accounts may seem a little strange to you.
Southern Baptist clergyman, noted: We But today such questions often bring surhave drifted away from the practice of prising answers.
Scriptural Christianity.
CONCERN OVER
Sincere concern is expressed over presLACK OF CHRISTIAN CONDUCT
ent-day church services and their content.
Truths We Hold says that Baptists may
You, like other Baptists, may have noted
that sermons are becoming more secular, be called a people of the Book, that is,
urging support for mens efforts to solve the Bible. Like people in many other Protthe worsening political, social and econom- estant denominations, however, some Bap-

Septem ber

15, 1971

ffkWATCHTOWER.

549

tists have felt that all too often fellow trines among early Christians. There were
members do not take that Book seriously occasions when certain ones in their midst
enough in their daily lives. A recent sur- failed to maintain right conduct. And false
vey by Ladies Home Journal revealed teachers manifested themselves within the
that, among both Catholic and Protestant churches. But what did first-century Chriswomen churchgoers, one out of four was tians do about these problems? Did each
distressed by the feeling that many of church decide for itself what it should do?
my fellow worshipers are hypocrites. ConWhile the apostle Paul was at Antioch,
tinuing, the article
a dispute arose as
sta te s : A m ong
to w h e th e r nonIn this time of religious ferment,
Baptists, the sense
J ew ish co n v erts
sincere Baptists are expressing conof sharing a pew
should be circumcern about such problems as:
w ith h y p o c r ite s
cised. The church
Lack of unity in belief.
rose significantly:
at Antioch did not
The Bible's being overshadowed
one in th ree say
take it upon itself
in church by secular matters.
they feel this way.
to decide the matter
Modernistic clergymen.
A s w ith o th er
nor did it perm it
Failure of so many to put the Bible
Protestant groups,
this dispute to reto work in their daily lives.
the question here
suit in division. A
seems to be: Does
delegation was sent
being a member of a Baptist church really to Jerusalem to present the question to
make a difference in people, does it dis- the apostles and elders of the church there.
tinguish them from others as to their Testimony was given by Peter, Barnabas
daily life, their values and morals?
and Paul. The apostles and other elders
One Macon, Georgia, housewife, discuss- carefully examined the Holy Scriptures on
ing her former association with a certain the matter. With the help of the Holy
Baptist church, said that, as a result of Ghost or Gods spirit, they reached a
her employment, she gained definite knowl- unanimous conclusion. You can read about
edge that the pillars of the church were this in Acts chapter 15.
just as immoral, and did illegal things as
It should be noted that the decisions
much as those outside. She was disillu- made by the apostles and elders at Jerusioned and for a while lost interest in the salem benefited, not merely the church
Bible. Not all become so disturbed. But at Antioch, but all the other churches.
still the fact that a little leaven leaveneth
Acts 16:4, 5 tells us: As they [Paul and
the whole lump makes many sincere persons ask, What should be done with church Silas] went on their way through the
members whose conversation and conduct cities, they delivered them the decrees
violate Bible principles?Gal. 5:9, AV. to keep which had been ordained of the
apostles and elders that were at Jerusalem.
WAS IT DIFFERENT
So the churches were strengthened in the
IN THE EARLY CHURCH?
Admittedly, first-century Christians also faith .American Standard Version.
While we do not have the apostles with
had their problems. Baptists may point to
disputes over doctrinal matters back there us today, we do have their writings. Is
as reason for not getting upset over dif- it not reasonable, therefore, to expect that
true Christians would enjoy oneness of
fering beliefs today.
True, at times disputes arose over doc- belief because of their faithful adherence

550

SEeWATCHTOWER,

B r o o k l y n , N .Y .

to the Word of God? The Baptist pamphlet possible for a dean at a Baptist college to
Truths We Hold states: Baptists believe say that such churches were being overthat the Bible is the only safe and sure run and their testimony destroyed by a
guide in religious faith and practice. From flood of infidels?
this Bookand not from church councils
Obviously, there is a great difference
or man-made creedsBaptists have for- between the situation of first-century
mulated their basic beliefs.
Christians and that prevailing among
,This gives rise to the question: If the members of Baptist churches. While firstBible tells Christians to speak the same century Christians faced problems, they
thing, why should it be difficult for knew what had to be done to preserve
u n ity o f b e lie f
a B a p tis t w ho
and co n g reg a moves to another
TH E N EX T IS S U E
t io n a l p u r it y .
location to find
And th e y to o k
another B aptist
is M y Hom e W h o leso m e?
action. Their efchurch teaching
forts
resulted in
exactly the same
D o Y our Children Co n fid e in Y o u ?
maintaining unidoctrine as the
ty of belief in all
one in his former
Be Too Big for Spite.
th e co n g reg a p la c e o f r e s itions.
dence? Does this
perhaps suggest that, in actual practice,
If such unity is not in evidence in your
the Bible is not really being looked to as church, does this not indicate that you
should be taking positive action? True,
a safe and sure guide?
In the churches of first-century Chris- your membership in a particular church
tians, habitual thieves, fornicators, adul- may give you a certain standing in the
terers, drunkards, and the like, were not community. And social acceptance may
tolerated. To the church at Corinth the seem very important to you. But would
apostle Paul wrote: If any man that is it not be reasonable to investigate whether
called a brother be a fornicator, or covet- there is a body of Christians today that
ous, or an idolater, or a railer, or a drunk- strives to maintain unity, as did firstard, or an extortioner; with such an one century Christians?
no not to e a t.. . . Therefore put away from
Remember that the Lord Jesus Christ
among yourselves that wicked person. wants persons who are truly devoted to
(1 Cor. 5:11-13, AV) Does the church of what is right. The church of the Laodiwhich you are a member follow this Bibli- ceans was told: Because thou art lukecal admonition? Or are known violators warm, and neither cold nor hot, I will
of Gods righteous commands allowed to spue thee out of my mouth. (Rev. 3:16,
remain in good standing, perhaps even AV) Surely you would not want to be
permitted to hold important church offices? associated with a church that stands in
In the first century definite steps were danger of being rejected by Christ because
taken against professed Christians who of his not finding its works perfect before
)Therefore, wou
V
A
promoted false doctrines. The apostle Paul God. (Rev. 3:2,
instructed Titus: A man that is an here- not be truly wise to concern yourself about
tick after the first and second admonition Gods view of matters, rather than the
reject. (Titus 3:10, AV) If this were done opinion of relatives, friends or the comby Baptist churches today, would it be munity?

THEY FOUND
U

NDER inspiration the psalmist David

declared: Behold, how good and
how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell
together in unity!Ps. 133:1, Authorized
Version.
Today many churches are undergoing a
crisis. Not only the Catholic church, but
Protestant churches as well are feeling the
forces of disunity working within them.
Daily, it becomes ever clearer that unity
of belief is vital, essential, if there is to be
unity of action. And there must be genuine
love of God, love of truth, and love of
neighbor for people to enjoy the goodness
and the pleasantness of dwelling together
in unity. No matter how well concealed
under a cloak of religious piety, no matter
how smoothly carried out, such things as
dishonesty, immorality, subtle slander, acts
of favoritism, pridethese inevitably produce friction and disunity.
Many sincere Baptists desire, even long
for, the full unity the Bible describes. You
may be one who does. Back in the first
century, during Jesus earthly ministry
and in apostolic times, there were people
who hungered for real knowledge of the
truth and the unity that such clear understanding brings. The fact that the Pharisees and Sadducees and others misrepresented Jesus and his apostles, causing them
to be viewed as a sect that everywhere is
spoken against, did not deter these persons. (Acts 28:22) They investigated.
People today, Baptists included, are investigating. Sometimes they do it in the
face of pressure from relatives and friends,
despite warnings from clergymen. Rather
than blindly accept the word of others,
they have insisted on letting the Scriptures
551

be their guide as to
finding true religion. (Acts 17:11)
In th e ir sea rch ,
they have investigated the work and
publications of the
Christian group known as Jehovahs witnesses. What did they find?
WHAT SEARCHING BAPTISTS FOUND
AMONG JEHOVAHS WITNESSES

A mother from Charleston, South Carolina, relates the following: I had asked
our Baptist minister to help us find someone in the church to aid me and my children to learn the Bible. Our ministers
answer was: dont have anyone in the
church who is qualified to teach you. He
did not offer to do so. Later I went to
several churches in Charleston, South
Carolina, for two or three Sundays each,
trying to find where people really studied
the Bible. After several months, one of
Jehovahs witnesses came to my home. I
let her read from the Bible and comment
on the Scriptures. She said that she would
like to come back. So, I told her, please do.
When the lady came back the next
week, she showed me so many nice things
from the Bible. She read to me from her
Bible, which I thought they must have
printed up just for themselves. As soon as
she was out of the house, I looked up what
she had read in my King James Version.
Well, there it was! When she came back
each week, she would help me learn more
and answer any questions I had about the
Bible. Within a month, I was going to the
Kingdom Hall and learning even more. I
could see these people really lived the Bible
and enjoyed it. Soon my children and I
were doing the same.
A man in Macon, Georgia, relates: My
wife told me that a Witness was coming to
teach us the Bible. Since I had been a
deacon in the Baptist church, I told her to

552

flkWATCHTOWEFL

tell him to come on and I would teach him

the Bible. When the Witness brought up
the subject of the ,new earth, I went to
my preacher to ask him about it. He said
that it was a mystery; all we had to do
was believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and
be saved. He also told me not to get mixed
up with those people because I would be
disliked. I began to think about the scripture at Matthew 24:9 [,ye shall be hated
of all nations for my names sake] and
decided that maybe this was the religion
that was right. Everything else they told
me had been in harmony with the Bible.
From Athens, Georgia, come these comments: As a sincere Baptist preacher,
I thought Jehovahs witnesses were wrong.
I ordered them out of my home, destroyed
their literature, and even stopped my
mother-in-law from studying with them.
Later I began to think that it was my
Christian duty to show these people that
they were wrong. I accepted a Bible study
to show them that they were wrong and
that I was right. I was amazed to see that
they could back up everything they said
from the Bible, and I was hardly using the
Bible. I told myself that Jehovahs witnesses really knew the Bible, but they were
still wrong.
I agreed to go to one of their meetings
and there I interrupted by asking a question. It surprised me to see the lovingkindness that was shown me in the way
the question was answered. This proved to
me that Jehovahs witnesses are concerned
about people. From that time on, I have
continued to study with Jehovahs witnesses, and have realized that no other
religious organization is teaching the Bible
the way Jehovahs witnesses are.
Recalling her experience, a former Baptist lady residing in the vicinity of Columbia, South Carolina, observes: I can remember the first meeting I attended and
how the love of these Christian witnesses

B r o o k l y n , N .Y .

radiated throughout the congregation.

After the meeting they would stand around
and discuss what we had just heard and
other Bible truths. I started attending five
Bible studies a week and found more and
more joy as I learned about my Creator.
For the first time in my life I have
peace of mind and a close relationship with
my Creator. I know to whom Im praying
now, and I have learned of his wonderful
promises to those who love righteousness.
AN INVITATION TO YOU

Why not examine the evidence for yourself? Without any cost or obligation to
you, Jehovahs witnesses in your area will
be happy to give of their time to study
the Bible with you in the privacy of your
home. You will be able to consider such
questions as: Why do we grow old and
die? Where are the dead? How can we be
sure which religion God approves? Why
do so many prayers go unanswered? What
must we do to be heard by God? Are present world conditions a fulfillment of Bible
prophecy? What do they mean? Why has
God permitted wickedness until our day?
Could you presently answer these questions to the satisfaction of yourself and
others, using your own copy of the Bible?
Availing yourself of the free home Bible
study arrangement offered by Jehovahs
witnesses, you can soon enjoy the ability
to answer these and many other questions.
We invite you to accept the offer made
by Jehovahs witnesses the next time they
call on you. Or, if you wish, write to the
publishers of this magazine and arrangements will be made for someone to visit
you. Prove to your own satisfaction
whether Jehovahs witnesses know the
Bible, live in harmony with it and are
united in teaching Biblical truth. Heed the
words of the apostle Paul to the Thessalonians: Prove all things; hold fast that
which is good. 1 Thess. 5:21, AV.

E H O V A H S lo v in g kindness is beyond compare! His wonderful works

to the sons of men do indeed call forth heartfelt
thanks, stirring lovers of
rig h te o u sn e ss to m ake
known his matchless name
and purposes. (Ps. 107:21,
22) The living God, Jehovah, surpasses all other
gods in grandeur and wisdom. Is not Jehovah our
Creator, the Giver of life
itself? Did not Jehovah
create man to serve him
everlastingly in a paradise
of pleasure? And after our
unappreciative first parents
plunged the race into sin
and death, did not Jehovah Rejoice in Jeh o vah a n d b e joicing and sin cerity of
make the marvelous, unde- joyful, you righteous ones; heart. (Acts 2:46) And in
served provision through a n d c ry o u t j o y f u lly , a l l looking forward to Gods
Christ to ransom mankind you w h o a re upright in h ea rt. creation of a new order for
3 2 :1 1 .
mankind, the prophet Isafrom th e pow er of th e
grave? What joy to behold the sign to- iah calls on us today to be joyful forever
day that this resurrected Son rules in the and to serve God with joyfulness and
kingdom of the heavens, as he prepares exultation.65:17, 18.
to oust all wickedness from the earth!
s Does the world of mankind rejoice toVery soon, in the restored paradise, ev- day? What does the situation on internaerything that breathes will again praise tional and home fronts tell us? The pangs
Jehovah.Isa. 42:8; Gen. 2:7-9; John 11: of distress that Jesus foretold would mark
25, 26; Heb. 1:1-3, 13.
the end of the present system of things
2
What incomparable joy is to be foundbecome daily more agonizing. (Matt. 24:
in serving Jehovah God! This service is 3-12) Religious leaders of Christendom
also a need for all who wish to enter into find that their Babylon-based institutions
the everlasting blessings of his new order. and doctrines can no longer hold restive
Indeed, the paramount need of all mankind flocks. So, Protestant pastors lament empalways has been, and is, to serve Jehovah. ty churches, and Pope Paul VI bemoans
Ancient Israel was called upon to serve the priesthood crisis as causing him great
Jehovah with all their heart and soul. worry and pain. It is just as Jehovah
(Deut. 11:13) The newly formed Christian foretold: You yourselves will make outcongregation served daily with great re- cries because of the pain of heart and you
will howl because of sheer breakdown of
1. (a) In w hat respects is Jehovah beyond com pare?
spirit. On the other hand, Bible-based
(b) W hat provision has Jehovah m ade fo r m ankind,
and how?
2. W hat has alw ays been the param ount need of all
m ankind ?

3. How does the condition of Babylon th e G reat differ

from th a t of tru e C hristians today?
553

554

B r o o k l y n , N .Y .
SEeWATCHTOWER
Christians, Gods own people, eat to the and my household, we shall serve Jehofull of an abundance of spiritual food, vah.Josh. 24:14, 15.
drink to the full of life-giving Bible
Is this bondage to God a burden to be
truths and cry out joyfully because of avoided? Assuredly not! Coming into subthe good condition of the heart. They are jection to Jehovah and his law can bring
strengthened for joyful service to Jehovah, nothing but blessing and joy. All around us
and to make known his salvation in all the in the earth, living things of Gods creation
earth, for he has done surpassingly. flourish under divine law. In his Sermon on
Isa. 65:13, 14; 12:2-5.
the Mount, Jesus invites us: Take a lesson
*This joyful service to Jehovah is a from the lilies of the field, how they are
necessity for all who seek everlasting life growing; they do not toil, nor do they spin;
in the coming system of things. (Mark but I say to you that not even Solomon in
10:28-30) This service cannot be dispensed all his glory was arrayed as one of these.
with without loss or damage. Jehovahs (Matt. 6:28, 29) If lilies of the field, develmarvelous, loving provision, made for oping according to implanted laws of
mankind through his Son, calls for expres- growth, can display such breathtaking
sion of appreciative thankfulness on the glory, how much more pleasing in Jehopart of all. (Rom. 11:33-36) The full depth vahs sight must be the moral beauty of
of this appreciation can be shown only by those humans who uphold his righteous
laws
and known
principles! Just as bondage to
serving Jehovah in
hisway,
making
the Kingdom good news to others. Eyen Gods laws of creation is no hardship, but
before this crucial time of the end, the rather a blessing, to the abundance of livapostle Paul expressed it in this way: ing things on this earth, so the bondage
Necessity is laid upon me. Really, woe is that the Christian enters in dedicating his
me if I did not declare the good news! life to his Creator brings only satisfying
joy, and in the end eternal life.Ps. 104:
1 Cor. 9:16.
24;145:16,17.
BONDAGE WITH JOY
1 Those in bondage to God find meaning,
5Those who come really to love and beauty and purpose in life. There is incomappreciate Jehovah dedicate themselves to parable joy in doing Gods will, serving
him. What a privilege is thisto devote him daily. There is satisfying assurance of
oneself and ones all to the highest Person Gods blessing. (Prov. 10:22) But just as
the loving Godof all the Universe! a glorious flower of the field may be
(Neh. 9:5, 6) Really, every worthwhile stricken by contaminated air or soil, so
thing we have comes from Jehovah. So is Christian growth may be stunted by the
it not fitting, yes, imperative, that we pay intrusion of Satans spirit of the air,
back to him out of this abundance? (Job immoral thoughts, blights of materialism
41:11; Ps. 116:12, 13; Jas. 1:17) In dedi- and dissipated living. These pollutions
cation, we come under bondage to our bring joy neither to man nor to his CreCreator, subject to his direction. Like ator. Unless poisons are eradicated and replaced by healthful nourishment, the sick
Joshua of old, who worshiped Jehovah in
plant will wither and die.Rev. 16:17;
faultlessness and in truth, dedicated famiJude 12; 2 Tim. 1:13, 14.
ly heads today may declare: As for me
4. How and w hy should we express appreciation for
Jehovahs provision?
5. W hat is involved in dedication to Jehovah?

6. Is bondage to Jehovah a hard burden? Explain.

7. (a) How are those who come into bondage to God
rew arded? (b) W hat dangers m ay call for positive
action ?

Septem ber

15, 1971

SFKeWATCHTOWER

*Though they may hate to admit it,

scientists must constantly acknowledge
mans bondage to Gods physical laws. Anyone who steps outside the boundaries of
those laws stands in disasters way. Thus
while the lives of the three astronauts in
the crippled Apollo hung in the balance, they and helpers on earth struggled
desperately to keep the spaceship within
the framework of the Creators laws, for
a safe return to earth. Actually, their
underlying problem lay in that, in the first
place, they had moved outside the Great
Lawgivers stated purpose: As regards
the heavens, to Jehovah the heavens belong, but the earth [not outer space] he
has given to the sons of men. Dedicated
Christians respect Gods physical and moral
laws.Ps. 115:16.
OTHER THEOCRATIC BONDS

9 Back in 1513 B.C.E., the entire nation

of Israel came under bondage of dedication
to Jehovah. From birth, each Israelite was
a part of that dedicated nation. The situation is different, though, with spiritual
Israel in the new covenant, in that each
person must grow up in accurate knowledge and appreciation to the point of
making a personal dedication to Jehovah.
Eph. 3:14-19.
10 However, the same principles that
applied in ancient Israel teach us much
that is practical for the Christian congregation today. For example, children must
still be subject to parents, and parents can
take to heart the laws that operated in
Israel with regard to training their little
ones. When should this training begin?
Well, when did it begin in Israel? The
record tells us that the little ones were
to be found in the assemblies of Gods
people from very earliest years. (Deut.
8. W hy is it beneficial to respect Gods law s?
9. How does dedication in the C hristian congregation
differ from th a t in ancient Israel?
10. How m ay principles th a t applied in Israel benefit us
today? Illustrate.

555

29:10-13; 31:12; 2 Chron. 20:13) The same

principle was applied in the early Christian
congregation, for Lois and Eunice taught
Timothy the holy writings so that he knew
themfrom five years of age? from three
years? from one year? No, but from
infancy.2 Tim. 1:5; 3:15; see also Luke
1:80; 2:40-52.
11Why should young childreneven infantsbe denied their part in the theocratic arrangement? It is courting disaster
not to talk to them about our marvelous
God from infancy. Moreover, if they are
taken to Christian meetings from infancy,
they will grow up to appreciate these as
part of the Christian way of life.Prov.
4:1-13.
12But what if parents learn the truth
after the children have started to grow up?
Here, there may be problems. But parents
that love their children should start without delay to train them in the theocratic
way. (Prov. 22:6; 23:13,14) Even as laws
of instinct prompt mother bear to spank
her erring cub, so Gods law plainly stated
in his Word requires human parents to
discipline their youngnot in anger or
with irritating nagging, but reasonably
and out of love. (Eph. 6:4) Until discipline
takes effect, parents may show loving consideration for others, too, by sitting someplace in the Kingdom Hall where unruly
little ones will cause least distraction.
13 The discipline most productive of resuits is that administered daily in the
home. Here the loving parent can make
time to instill respect for law and principle,
to reason with little ones, to answer questions, to build up love for the family arrangement and respect for the theocratic
arrangement in Jehovahs earth-wide family. (Deut. 11:18,19; 32:45, 46) Little ones
11. W hat is the value of train in g young ones from
infancy ?
12. (a) W hat instruction do th e Scriptures give on
disciplining children? (b) How m ay paren ts show
loving consideration to others?
13. W hat is the value of hom e training, and how m ay
it be im parted?

556

B r o o k l y n , N .Y .
SEeW ATCHTOW ER
can be trained to sit still with a loving freshment and satisfaction not experienced
parent for five minutes, fifteen minutes, by others of the world of mankind.Matt.
thirty minuteswhile Bible helps are used 11:28-30.
for sounding down into little hearts the
KINGDOM INTERESTS
thrilling events and instruction of Bible

What
are
our interests? Should not
record. (Gal. 6:6; Ps. 78:4) The Watchour
God,
Jehovah,
come first and foremost
tower has carried articles specially prein
our
lives?
We
want
to know this loving
pared for reading to children. Parents have
God,
so
that
we
may
be like him. His
used these well in building youthful appremagnificent
qualities
are
reflected in his
ciation of spiritual things. Yes, it means
Son,
Jesus
Christ,
who
made
known his
effort on the part of parents. It takes planheavenly
Father
while
he
was
on earth.
ning and time. But the daily training of
(John
1:14,
18;
8:19;
15:15;
17:3-6)
little ones will build up the family bond.
Should
we
be
less
zealous
than
our
ExemYoungsters will come to love parents for
plar
in
glorifying
Jehovahs
name?
Jesus
their companionship, and for sacrifices
declared,
My
food
is
for
me
to
do
the
will
made on their behalf. They will be enof
him
that
sent
me
and
to
finish
his
couraged to become useful themselves,
work.
(John
4:34)
That
should
be
our
growing up morally, spiritually and theocratically to the point of making their own food and our sustaining interest in life, too.
dedication to Jehovah God.Deut. 29:29. If our prime interest is Jehovah and his
14Our bond of dedication to Jehovah worship, and we love truth, then we will
calls for respect for other bondsthe fam- indeed rejoice to render exclusive devotion
ily bond, the marriage bond, the bond of to our God.Deut. 6:4-7; Mark 12:28-30.
17 The Christians interests must be morlove in the Christian congregation. (Eph.
al
interests, in line with Jehovahs righ5:33; 6:1-4; Col. 3:14) Think of all the
things Gods people can do together! A teous laws. O you lovers of Jehovah, hate
family can consider the days Bible text, what is bad, says the psalmist. (97:10)
receiving a daily blessing just like that of Jehovah will not tolerate what is bad, and
the biggest of families, the Brooklyn this was clearly demonstrated in Moses
Bethel family of over 1,500 members. At day when Israel formed an immoral atmealtimes and other times together, your tachment to the Baal of Peor. Jehovah
family can discuss interesting Bible ques- killed 24,000 Israelites by plague, and this
tions, recent reports in The Watchtower was stopped only when upright Phinehas
and Awake!, or experiences from the field took positive action by striking a spear
of service. They can engage in healthful through the immoral Zimri and his Midfamily hobbies or outings together. Or if ianitess girl friend. Priest Phinehas
ones natural family has not yet joined in hated what Jehovah hates, and acted acstudying Jehovahs Word, many of these cordingly. Many modern-day priests are
things can be done in association with far different, as press dispatches often
Christian brothers and sisters.Matt. 19: show. For example, an AFP report, dated
29; Rom. 12:13.
June 5, 1970, described an extremely
15 Is this bond of dedication a hardship? 16. W hat should be our sustaining in terest in life, and
why?
Rather, it is a constant joy, bringing re- 17,
18. (a) W hat are the moral interests of those who
14. How m ay w orthw hile bonds be strengthened?
15. How should we regard the bond of dedication?

love Jehovah? (b) W hat contrast is noted between

those who love and those who ignore Gods m oral
principles? (c) How m ay we enjoy peace w ith God?

September

15, 1971

SHeWATCHTOWER

557

sympathetic meeting between the Dutch

homosexuals party and a cardinal, the
Roman Catholic primate of the Netherlands. The reported topic of discussion was
religious blessing for homosexuals. How
could anyone who loves God and righteousness entertain homosexuality, let alone sit
down and negotiate about it!Gal. 5:1921; Rom. 1:24-27, 32.
18Today, an avalanche of immorality
descends on mankind through news and
entertainment media. But we do not have
to join with the world in feasting on this
poisoned food. That would be fatal! May
we be zealous like Phinehas in upholding
standards of moral purity. May we continue to enjoy peace with God by feeding
our minds on the pure things of his Word
and through his service.Phil. 4:8, 9.
19The modern world has grown proud,
independent, rebellious and demanding.
(2 Tim. 3:1-13) How different from Jehovahs worshipers, who cultivate humility
and obedience after the example of Jesus!
Keep this mental attitude in you that
was also in Christ Jesus, who, although
he was existing in Gods form, gave no
consideration to a seizure, namely, that he
should be equal to God. No, but he emptied
himself and took a slaves form and came
to be in the likeness of men. More than
that, when he found himself in fashion as a
man, he humbled himself and became obedient as far as death, yes, death on a torture stake. (Phil. 2:5-8) What a fine
example for all who would place Jehovahs
kingdom interests first!Matt. 6:33.

the majority, is it not to get as much for

self as possible out of this brief life-span?
Some accumulate money for moneys sake.
Others accumulate possessions. Some
wreck themselves morally and physically
for the sake of thrills. Others aim for
high station or prominence in society. How
shortsighted! One of historys wealthiest
men, wise King Solomon, stated: And I,
even I, turned toward all the works of
mine that my hands had done and toward
the hard work that I had worked hard to
accomplish, and, look! everything was
vanity and a striving after wind, and there
was nothing of advantage under the sun.
(Eccl. 2:11) Do you thus strive in vain?
Or is your goal a permanent place in Gods
new system of things?
21 Does the worlds showy, material display intrigue you? If so, you stand in
dangers way, for misdirected desire,
when it has become fertile, gives birth
to sin. Encroaching worldly interests can
chop more and more out of a persons life,
until he is engulfed in sin. Sin, when it
is accomplished, brings forth death. But
the person who places Jehovah first in his
heart and who does the will of God remains forever.Jas. 1:14, 15; 1 John
2:15-17.
22 Through the precious blood of Jesus,
Jehovahs dedicated witnesses have been
set free from sin, to become slaves of righteousness. May we stand fast, therefore,
never becoming enslaved again to worldly
interests!Rom. 6:17, 18; Gal. 5:1.

BEWARE OF WORLDLY INTERESTS

20What do people live for today? Is it

to please God? Or is it to please self? For

23Mere lip service falls short of Jehovahs requirements. Jesus so reminded religious people of his day, and applied

19. In contrast w ith the world, w hat a ttitu d e do Christians cultivate?

20, 21. (a) W hy is it useless, and even dangerous, to
seek worldly interests? (b) W hat w orthw hile goal m ay
be attained, and how?

22. W hat appreciation should we show for Je su s sacriflce?

23, 24. (a) How m ay we be pleasing to Jehovah?
(b) Why have m any failed in th is in form er and la te r
periods of tim e?

HEART SERVICE TO JEHOVAH

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Isaiah 29:13 to them: This people honors

me with their lips, yet their heart is far
removed from me. (Matt. 15:8) Sincere
obedience from an appreciative heart is
what pleases Jehovah. It is with our whole
heart, and with all our other faculties, that
we must love and serve our one God, Jehovah. (Mark 12:29, 30) We must endure
joyfully, in positive service to Jehovah,
year in and year out. When Joshua expressed his households clear determination to serve Jehovah, all Israel answered
him: It is unthinkable, on our part, to
leave Jehovah so as to serve other gods.
. . . As for us, too, we shall serve Jehovah,
because he is our God.Josh. 24:15-18.
24 Unthinkable, they said. But later
their descendants
didgo
And why? Because they let their love for
Jehovah grow dim. Their service lost its
positive drive. They stopped their daily
meditation on his Word, stopped making
progress. They retreated from their faith
and spirituality. Their minds became
warped to worldly ways, and their consciences seared so as no longer to distinguish between right and wrong. If they
had continued to rejoice from the heart in
serving Jehovah, disaster would never
have befallen them.Deut. 4:3-10; Josh.
1:7-9; Heb. 10:36-39; 1 Tim. 4:1, 2.
25This should serve as a warning to
Jehovahs people today. How important
that we continue to serve Jehovah joyfully, without letup! How important that
we regularly study and meet to maintain
spirituality and joy! How important that
we joyfully cherish the incomparable privilege of serving Jehovah as his witnesses!
Remember, the thing that Jehovah, the
Creator and Owner of the whole earth,
delights in is loving obedience to his voice.
Ex. 19:5; 1 Pet. 1:13-16.
25. W hat kind of children should we become to Jehovah?

r o o k ly n

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26
All our hopes, all our service, all our
daily living must be centered on Gods
kingdom. All our worthwhile interests are
Kingdom interests. Our daily prayer is for
the Kingdom to come, with its glorious
revelation of Christs power, and for Gods
will to take place, as in heaven, also upon
earth. (Matt. 6:9, 10; 2 Thess. 1:6-8) We
want none of the worlds depravity, none
of the rulers anxieties, none of the nations
perplexities. The nations are against Jehovah and his anointed One, Jesus. Shortly, they will be dashed to pieces. (Luke
21:25, 26; Ps. 2:2-9) Mankind is fast approaching that great tribulation, such as
has not occurred since the worlds beginning until now, no, nor will occur again.
As pangs
of distress worsen, may we be
after
other gods.
like the first-century Christians in praying
to Jehovah for boldness to keep speaking
his Word.Matt. 24:7, 8, 21; Acts 4:24-30.
27What do we want in life? Surely we
do not want to live by the shifting sands of
the worlds moral codewhich have lately
become quicksands sucking in the unwary
for destruction! Nor do we want any part
with the worlds broken-down religion or
its corrupt politics, its ideologies or hatreds, its frustration or its confusion. We
want to live the real life, do we not? Then
we must love righteousness and hate wickedness, even as Jehovah does, and build a
fine foundation for the future. (Ps. 11:7;
Prov. 6:16-18; 1 Tim. 6:17-19) We must
continue to abound more and more in love,
treasuring up Bible knowledge and becoming filled with righteous fruit in Gods
service. (Phil. 1:9-11) With the goal of
everlasting life in view, may we be at one,
then, with Christ Jesus and with all other
faithful witnesses in serving Jehovah with
a complete heart and with a delightful
soul.1 Chron. 28:9.
26. W hat should be our a ttitu d e tow ard (a) Gods
kingdom, (b) the world and its nations, and (c) speaking Gods W ord?
27. How m ay we a tta in the goal of everlasting life?

"These things I command you, that you

love one another. If the world hates
you, you know that it has hated me
before it hated you." John 15:17, 18.

N HIS thrilling prophecy on the sign

of the conclusion of the system of
things, Jesus describes the pangs of distress that mankind now suffers world
wide. He then ties in his arrival in kingly
glory in the heavens, and a separating
work among the nations. Humble, sheeplike people receive his invitation: Come,
you who have been blessed by my Father,
inherit the kingdom prepared for you from
the founding of the world. (Matt. 24:
3-8; 25:31-34, 46) Since the time of faithful Abel, Jehovah God has been preparing this Kingdom realm for the world
of redeemable mankind.Luke 11:50, 51;
2 Pet. 3:13.
2Do you wish to be part of the righteous world that is rewarded with everlasting life in the Kingdoms earthly
realm? Then you must learn about Jehovah and his Son, and exercise faith
in Christs precious sacrificial blood. (John
17:3; 1 Pet. 1:18-21) But in doing so,
you will meet with opposition, even bitter hatred, from a different worldthe
world of mankind outside the Christian
congregation. This world hates Christ because he bears witness concerning it that
its works are wicked. He warns his disci-

pies, Now because you are no part of the

world, but I have chosen you out of the
world, on this account the world hates
you. (John 7:7; 15:19) This is the world
that is soon to perish in the fiery great
tribulation. It will never be renewed.
2 Pet. 3:5-7; Matt. 24:21, 22; Nah. 1:9.
3This wicked world and its system of
things is under the control of Gods archenemy, Satan the Devil. (2 Cor. 4:3, 4;
1 John 5:19) Hence we should never want
to befriend it. That would be adultery of
the worst kindspiritual adultery. Adulteresses, do you not know that the friendship with the world is enmity with God?
Whoever, therefore, wants to be a friend
of the world is constituting himself an
enemy of God. (Jas. 4:4) The issue is
clear-cut. Christians cannot have any part
with the present wicked world.

WHO HAS THE TRUTH?

4 Concerning his true followers, Jesus

made request to his Father, not to take
them out of the world, but to watch over
them because of the wicked one. Hence
they must continue to live among the
world of godless mankind, but avoid becoming a part of it. They must be like
Jesus, who said: They are no part of the

1. W hat has Jehovah long been preparing, and for

whom ?
2. (a) W hat is required in order to inherit the kingdom "? (b) W hy can you expect opposition?

3. W hat clear-cut issue do C hristians face?

4. How are tru e C hristians set a p a rt from th e w orld?
559

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world, just as I am no part of the world. of the Watch Tower Bible and Tract
But how is this setting apart accom- Society was calling attention to the year
plished? Jesus answers, in prayer to Jeho- 1914 as a marked date in Bible prophecy.
vah: Sanctify them by means of the truth; But was this to mark the start of an era
your word is truth. Just as you sent me of blessing for the world? That is what
forth into the world, I also sent them world leaders had been hoping for, even
forth into the world. And I am sanctifying up to the last year of normalcy in humyself in their behalf, that they also may man history, 1913. However, in 1914, there
be sanctified by means of truth. It is came insteadWorld War I! Concerning
truth that sanctifies, and sets Christians this the New York World of August 30,
1914, commented: The terrific war outapart.John 17:15-19.
5 But where, today, is truth to be found? break in Europe has fulfilled an extraorNot in the Babylonish sects of Christen- dinary prophecy. For a quarter of a cendom and pagandom, with their shifting tury past, through preachers and through
sands of doctrine, will you find itbut in press, [Jehovahs witnesses] have been
Gods inspired Word, the Bible, and with proclaiming to the world that the Day of
the nonsectarian organization that is Wrath prophesied in the Bible would dawn
teaching Gods Word today. This is the in 1914. . . . And in 1914 comes war, the
theocratic society of Jehovahs witnesses, war which everybody dreaded but which
whose 26,524 congregations operate in 206 everyone thought could not really happen.
lands of earth. A remarkable thing about Whose forecasts proved to be truththose
this society of preachers is that, though of world leaders, or those of the Biblethey have been preaching in 160 different based witnesses of Jehovah?
languages, all see eye-to-eye on Bible doc8 As the war ended, a badly jolted world
trine, all are united in the one work and brought forth its League of Nations, and
purpose, and all have the common goal the executive committee of the Federal
of everlasting life, in joyful service to Council of the Churches of Christ in AmerJehovah.Zeph. 3:9; Zech. 8:23.
ica, in its Declaration of December 12,
*For the past one hundred years, Je- 1918, endorsed the proposed League as
hovahs Christian witnesses have advocat- the political expression of the Kingdom
ed strict adherence to the Bible as Gods of God on earth, going on to say that the
inspired Word, and this has set them at Church can give a powerful sanction by
variance with the clergy and the nations. imparting to the new international order
These nations have propagandized many something of the prophetic glory of the
man-made blessings for this world, such Kingdom of God.* To the contrary, Jehoas a world made safe for democracy, four vahs witnesses consistently exposed the
freedoms for mankind, a brighter world League for what it wasthe disgusting
of tomorrow, peace and harmony for all
thing that causes desolation, as prophemankind, and so forth. But can the present
corrupt world really expect any kind of sied by Daniel and by Jesus. (Dan. 9:27;
blessing? The Bible answers, Far from it! 11:31; 12:11; Matt. 24:15; Rev. 13:14-18)
7 In the later 1870s the first president In the 1930s the League disintegrated,
and the 1940s were marked, not by pro5. (a) W here only is tru th to be found today? (b) How
do Jehovahs witnesses differ from all other organizations on earth today?
6. (a) W hy are Jehovah's witnesses a t variance with
th e w orld? (b) W hat prom ises has the world failed to
fulfill, and w hy?
7. In 1914, whose forecasts proved to be tru e?

* See page 207 of Your W ill Be Done on E a r th /'

published in 1958.
8. Who proclaim ed tru th about the League of N ations?
Explain.

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SikW ATCHTOW ER.

phetic glory, but by the most desolating

war of all history. Who had proclaimed
truththe worldly clergy or Jehovahs
witnesses?
9 Even before World War ended, the
League was revived under a new name, the
United Nations, for the purpose of uniting
our strength to maintain international
peace and security. Religious and political
leaders have hailed the U.N. as mans last
hope for peace. But has it fulfilled this
hope? Worsening crises in the Near and
Far East, in Europe, in Africa and in the
Americas, bespeak that mankind is far removed from the peace and security so
fondly desired. Jehovahs witnesses call
attention to Bible prophecy, which describes the League and the U.N. as a wild
beast that goes into eclipse, only to reappear and go off into destruction. (Rev.
17:8) Who have been speaking truth about
the U.N.world leaders or Jehovahs witnesses?
10 For fifty years and more, through the
Watchtower magazine, Jehovahs witnesses have consistently warned of the dangers
inherent in the materialistic society. Science and technology boast of material
progress, but for half a century they have
in fact been ruining the earth. (Rev. 11:18)
Self-seeking materialists have played havoc with the productive land, polluting air
and soil, river and sea, and decimating the
living resources of the earth. In some
countries the few rich are very, very rich,
and the many poor are very, very poor.
With populations exploding all over the
earth, many nations now stand at the
brink of starvation, and disaster is predieted by experts for the mid-1970s. Rather than fit in with political promises of a
bright, materialistic tomorrow, this devas9. As w hat has the U.N. been hailed, but where is
tru th on this to be found?
10. (a) W hat boasts have been m ade on behalf of the
m aterialistic society? (b) B ut w hat are the facts, and
who has been m aking known the tru th about ma*
terialism ?

561

tation on earth fits Jehovahs prophecies

on mankinds waywardness in the last
days. (Mark 13:8; 2 Tim. 3:1, 2; Rev.
6:5-8) Who have been making known the
truth about materialismthe worlds propagandists or Jehovahs witnesses?
11 For many decades, Jehovahs witnesses have been pointing to Bible prophecies
that show that the world empire of false
religion, the modern-day Babylon the
Great, is on her way out. The Bible-based
warning has been: Get out of her, my
people, if you do not want to share with
her in her sins, and if you do not want to
receive part of her plagues. The sins of
Babylonish sectarian religion have massed
clear up to God in heaven, and soon she
is to be completely destroyed. (Rev. 18:
4-8) Why, the clergy of Christendom have
even rejected the Bible, the foundation
textbook of Christianity! In a recent poll,
covering 7,400 clergymen in the United
States, those who declared that they do
not believe the Bible to be the inspired
Word of God were in the great majority
Methodist 82 percent, Episcopalian 89
percent, Presbyterian 81 percent, and Baptist and Lutheran 57 percent of the clergymen polled. Truly, the clergy have become
blind guides of the blind.Matt. 15:14.
12 Over the years, honest-hearted persons
in Christian and heathen countries
have been fleeing false religion, to take up
true worship with Jehovahs witnesses.
And now, as we enter the 1970s, an astonishing picture presents itself. Traditional religious organizations are starting
to fall apart, with even the priests abandoning their posts en masse. It is as though
Babylon the Greats people, whom she has
so long exploited for commercial greed,
are now drying up from under her. Who
have been preaching the truth about Bab11, 12. (a) Why has God been w arning the people to
get out of Babylon the G reat? (b) How do the clergy
regard Bible tru th ? (c) How is B abylonish religion
now fulfilling tru e prophecy?

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ylonian religionthe clergy or Jehovahs his few disciples to fight even on his behalf.
Why? Jesus answers: My kingdom is no
witnesses?
13
While Satans organization crumbles,part of this world. (John 18:10, 11, 36)
the organization of Jehovah prospers mar- The materialistic philosophy so rampant
velously under his protection and guidance. today is ,eat, drink and be merry with no
Those who symbolize their dedication to thought for the morrow. But as Jesus
Jehovah by water baptism are increasing showed in his illustration concerning a
rapidly year by year82,842 in 1968, certain rich man, at Luke 12:16-21, di120,905 in 1969, and 164,193 in the 1970 saster will inevitably catch up with such
service year. With more than 1,500,000 a one. So it goes with the man that lays
publishers in the field each month, the up treasure for himself but is not rich
publishing organization of Jehovahs wit- toward God.
15 Though a little time remains to live
nesses is hard pressed to keep up with
the demand for publications. In 1967 the in this world, we do not have to associate
Brooklyn factorys production of Bibles with it unnecessarily. We need not let our
and hardbound books reached a total of guard down by hobnobbing with worldlings
8,252,860 volumes, in 1968 it was 12,130,- at office parties, in outings or in sports
996 volumes and in 1969 an astounding groups. (1 Cor. 15:33) Worldly people are
24,038,531 volumes. But in 1970 Bibles and not governed by Gods principles, and a
books printed reached 26,232,766 copies. nice exterior can conceal wicked intents.
Magazine production continues to mushWalk in integrity with Jehovah by shunroom also, and toward the end of 1969 the
ning
worldly associations, and you will be
Watch Tower Society took a necessary
happy in finding that he does not hold back
step in nearly doubling its factory space
any good thing from you. Truly, those who
in Brooklyn, through purchase of another
studiously avoid associations in tents of
factory complex. The demand for truth
wickedness are rewarded many times
and true Bible education on the part of
persons seeking righteousness is on the over. O Jehovah . . . Happy are those
dwelling in your house! They still keep on
increase. Jehovahs witnesses are most
praising you. . . . For a day in your courthappy to have the truth, and to dispense
yards is better than a thousand elseit to others. Happy is the people whose
where.Ps. 84:3, 4, 10-12.
God is Jehovah!Ps. 144:15.
16 Impressionable youths are often the
target of greedy materialists. Parents,
AVOIDING THE WORLD
14The truth sets Christians apart from fortify your children. See that they avoid
the world. They can have no part in dem- the bad influences at schooldances, paronstrations, or in other political emo- ties, dating. This glamorous, sensual age
tionalism that is being whipped up through- is reaping its bumper harvest of youth
out the world. If Jesus had been interested immorality, horrible sex diseases, thievin worldly politics, he could have gathered ery, dope addiction and rebellion against
an army of followers in no time. But on society. With wise foresight, Jehovah comthe night of his arrest, he did not permit manded Israel: You must not follow after
13. W hat Indicates th a t m any of m ankind still love
tru th ?
14. How has the tru th set C hristians a p art from the
world ?

15. W hy are associations in Gods organization fa r to

be preferred to w orldly associations?
16. (a) A gainst w hat should parents fo rtify children?
(b) W hat wise counsel is given a t Exodus 23:2?

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the crowd for evil ends. (Ex. 23:2) This

applies also to our young people today.
The mob, with its degraded thinking, will
only lead them away from Jehovahs fine
principles. When a mob gets on the loose,
it is often the novice or the curious bystander that gets hurt. For mental, moral
and physical well-being, it is wise to keep
well away from the crowd.
17All worldly careers are soon to come
to an end. So, why should todays youth
get interested in higher education for a
future that will never eventuate? The
colleges are falling into chaos, anyway.
The essentials of education for a useful
life can be obtained by studying well at
high school, and beyond that there is also
the highest education that Jehovah provides through his organization, preparing
for a satisfying career of full-time service
that goes on forever. (Ps. 71:5, 17; 61:8)
Let young people, and older people, too,
avoid reading matter, TV and movies that
highlight worldliness. Rather than see how
close one can keep to the worlds course
and yet stay in the truth, how much wiser
to see how far away one can get from the
interests and ways of the world!2 Cor.
6:17; Rom. 12:2.
18 The bustle of twentieth-century living
brings its problems. If not watched, it can
start to crowd theocratic interests out of
ones life. Some negatively permit it to
do this. But there is an antidote. It is to
give more than the usual attention to personal Bible study, to the meetings and to
serving Jehovah. Use theocratic activity to
crowd unnecessary material interests out
of your life, and you will be blessed. Do
not fail to bring your offerings, your very
best, to your God. Test me out, please,
17. (a) How should education be regarded? (b) How
may we stay in the tru th ?
18. How m ay we successfully cope w ith the pressures of
life?

in this respect, Jehovah of armies has said,

whether I shall not open to you people
the floodgates of the heavens and actually
empty out upon you a blessing until there
is no more want. (Mai.
Jehovah is
always true to his promise.Isa.
19 Stay close by what Jehovah provides.
Trust in him with all your heart. (Prov.
3:5) Imitate the faith of other zealous
witnesses, ancient and modern. (Heb.
If personal problems seem too great,
take them to the mature servants in the
congregation, and follow through on the
loving counsel given. (Heb.
In
times of trial or weakness, lean all the
more heavily on Jehovah in prayer, for he
is a Source of power that can overcome
any problem. (Isa.
Ps.
As Paul admonishes: Always be rejoicing. Pray incessantly. In connection
with everything give thanks. . . . Abstain
from every form of wickedness.1 Thess.

3:10)

55:11.

6:11,

12)

13:7, 17)

17)

40:29, 31;

59:16,

5:16-22.

AVOIDING THE WORLD BRINGS BLESSINGS

20 Can the world be described as happy? Is anyone happy in his death throes?
That is just where this world is situated.
It is past cure. Politically, commercially,
religiously, morallythis world has had
it. Education is in disorder. Prices of lifes
necessities are soaring. Demonstrations
and racial riots add to the confusion. Many
nations stand at the brink of anarchy. But
you need not share in the worlds anxieties,
in its fears or in its gloom. You can have
accurate knowledge concerning what is
happening in the world, and by acting on
that knowledge you can share in a satisfying freedom. Jesus promise is: If you
remain in my word, you are really my
disciples, and you will know the truth, and
19. How m ay we overcome personal problem s?
20. W hat actually is the w orld's situ atio n today, but
w hat sets the C hristian free from th is?

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the truth will set you free.John 8:31, hope, and they joyfully welcome others
who come to learn and share that hope
32.
And how does one become a free dis with them. Their attitude is well expressed
ciple? It is by listening to, and studying by David: I rejoiced when they were saywith, those who are already Jesus disci- ing to me: To the house of Jehovah let us
pies, and who are carrying out Jesus com- go. In the theocratic association of Jemand: Go . . . make disciples of people hovahs witnesses there are to be found
of all the nations, baptizing them . . . teach- refreshing peace and freedom from
ing them. The resurrected Jesus is direct- care.Ps. 122:1, 7; Isa. 2:2-4.
23As the wicked world grows progresing this work, right through until the
sively
wickeder, and the hope of the righconclusion of the system of things. Soon
teous
progressively
brighter, the contrast
it will be too late to become a baptized
between
the
dying
world and those set
disciple. (Matt. 28:19, 20) Now is the
apart
as
Jehovahs
redeemed
ones deepens.
especially acceptable time. Look! Now is
the day of salvation. (2 Cor. 6:2) Now is These latter hope to be of the world of
the time for people world wide who love mankind that will never pass away. Joyrighteousness to learn the truth, and to fully they heed Jehovahs counsel: Into
come into an approved, dedicated relation- the path of the wicked ones do not enter
ship with God. As the fulfillment of Jesus . . . Shun it, . . . turn aside from it. In so
prophecy about pangs of distress ap- doing, what do they find? That the path
proaches its finale, it is time to flee in haste
of the righteous ones is like the bright
from this condemned world and its system
light that is getting lighter and lighter
of things.Matt. 24:15-22.
until the day is firmly established. (Prov.
22
All who seek a place in the redeemed
society of mankind thereby come into as- 4 :1 4 1 8 )What joy, indeed, it is to receive
sociation with the happiest people on earth ever clearer understanding of Jehovah and
Jehovahs witnesses. These are the only his glorious Kingdom purposes that are
people who know for a certainty where fulfilled through his Son, Christ Jesus!
24 A world of mankind, Satans domain
they are going. (Rom. 5:1-5; 8:19-21)
They are the happy slaves of the happy with its unholy system of things, now faces
God. (Matt. 5:3-12; 1 Tim. 1:11) What a demolition. The warning signal is plain
contrast they present to the formalistic, for all to see: Stand clear! Set yourself
sanctimonious religious sects of Babylon apart! Take and hold your place among the
the Great! In going to the Kingdom Hall redeemed ones of mankind who have found
of Jehovahs witnesses, one finds no cold the Way of Holiness. These exult that
aloofness, no embarrassing ceremonial, no Jehovah, through Christ, now reigns in
saluting of idols or symbols, no exalting heavenly Mount Zion, with Kingdom powof creatures, no clergy class, no passing of er. They come to Zion with a joyful cry;
collection plates, no bondage to creeds or and rejoicing to time indefinite will be
traditions. (Mark 7:3-8) These halls are upon their head. To exultation and rejoichappy places, where a happy people con- ing they will attain, and grief and sighing
gregate. They are people with a bright must flee away.Isa. 3 5 :8 1 0 .
21, 22. (a) W hy is it urgent for all who love tru th to
become Je su s disciples w ithout delay? (b) How do
the slaves of the happy God contrast w ith worldly
religion? (c) W hy do these go up to Jehovahs house?

23. W hat joy is now experienced by those set a p art

from the w orld?
24. W hat way do the redeemed ones now find, and
w ith w hat result?

r r W

CCUt

PERFECT

N THE Sermon on
the Mount Jesus told
his listeners: You must
accordingly be perfect,
as your heavenly Father
is perfect. (Matt. 5:48)
Does this sound impossible? How could sinful
humans be perfect like
their heavenly Father?
Yet, Jesus words show
that we must if we want
to prove ourselves his disciples. How can
we do so?
To understand this, we first should rid
ourselves of the idea that perfection
must always be unlimited, all-embracing,
and indicating supreme excellence in the
most minute aspect. Only God has such
absolute perfection. Perfection of any
other person or thing is relative. That is,
a thing is perfect in relation to the ,purpose
appointed for it by its designer, producer
or user. If these find no fault with it, then
it is properly called perfect.
We could, of course, go around all the
time examining everything with a highpowered microscope in our hand. Then
perfectly straight lines would all show up
wavy and ragged; ,perfectly clean clothes,
freshly laundered, would all reveal microscopic bits of foreign matter; a perfectly
smooth table top would appear to have
little craters and valleys and resemble the
moons surface. Yet even if these microscopic factors were eliminated, would it
really make any difference to us in our use
of these things? So, while we could be
dissatisfied with all these things as being
imperfect, why should we? Such a demanding attitude would be impractical,

foolish; it would fill

our lives with discontent and exasperation.
The Bible does not
present perfection in
such an im practical,
unreasonably demanding way, but in a sensible, realistic way. In
fact, the very same
Greek word
rendered perfect in
the record of Jesus
speech (Matt. 5:48)
can also be translated
complete (1 Cor. 13:
1 0 ), f u ll- g r o w n
(1 Cor. 1 4 :2 0 ) and
mature. (Heb. 5:14) The same is true
of the Hebrew words translated perfect
in the Bible. So, in Funk and Wagnalls
A New Standard Bible Dictionary (p. 694)
we read this statement about perfection
in the Bible:

as your

HEAVENLY FATHER

is

PERFECT?

565

When applied to impersonal objects [such

as commercial weights (Deut. 25:15)1 . . .
the word is the synonym of ,complete, . . .
The notion does not, however, occur with
an attempt at precision, but with the same
freedom and approximation to exactness as
outside the Bible. . . . When used of man
it denotes, first of all, conformity to the
ideal entertained at the time, and is there
a relative and quite variable and expansive
term. David claims to be perfect [faultless]
in this sense (Ps 18 23), tho[ugh] elsewhere
confessing sinfulness (Ps 51 3ff.).
FAULTLESS, BLAMELESS SERVANTS
OF GOD

Yes, the Bible speaks of Noah as being

faultless among his contemporaries and
of Job as being blameless and upright.
(Gen. 6:9; Job 1:8) The same Hebrew
words translated faultless and blameless may also be rendered perfect, for
anything without fault is perfect. Obviously this does not mean these persons
were without sin, for they were all de-

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scended from the sinner Adam. So, in what

sense were they faultless and blameless?
They could be spoken of in this way
because they measured up fully to what
God required of them and God did not
require of them more than they could
attain. As Micah 6:6-8 shows, God does
not make unreasonable demands upon his
servants. He has told you, O earthling
man, what is good. And what is Jehovah
asking back from you but to exercise
justice and to love kindness and to be
modest in walking with your God?
Yes, Jehovah mercifully and reasonably
took into account the imperfection and
disabilities of his earthly servants. A
father would not expect of his young son
what he would of a full-grown man, would
he? Nor would a potter expect the same
quality when molding a vase from ordinary
clay as he would when forming one from
special refined clay. Jehovah God, who is
the Great Potter, takes into consideration
the inherent weakness of his human servants. For, as a father shows mercy to
his sons, Jehovah has shown mercy to
those fearing him. For he himself well
knows the formation of us, remembering
that we are dust.Ps. 103:13, 14; Isa.
64:8.
In his Notes on the
Albert
Barnes, Bible scholar of the nineteenth
century, makes somewhat similar observations about the blamelessness (or perfection) of such men. Of the word perfeet he says: Originally it is applied to
a piece of mechanism, as a machine that is
complete in its parts. Applied to men, it
refers to completeness of parts, or perfection, where no part is defective or
wanting. Thus, Job (i. 1.) is said to be
perfect; that is, not holy as God, or sinless
for fault is afterward found with him
(Job ix. 20; xlii. 6); but his piety was

B rooklyn,

N. Y.

\proportionatehad a completeness of parts

was consistent and regular. He exhibited
his religion as a prince, a father, an individual, a benefactor of the poor. He was
not merely a pious man in one place, but
uniformly. He was consistent everywhere.
This is the meaning in Matthew [5:48].
. . . let the piety be
con
a d pro
tionate, and
r e g u l a r .
These men of faith of ancient times
merited being called faultless or blameless, not because they never committed
any error or wrong, but because, within
the limits possible for them to attain, their
devotion and loyalty to God was complete,
sound. They manifested a complete
heart (or a perfect heart according to
many translations) toward Jehovah. (1 Ki.
11:4; 2 Ki. 20:3) They humbly accepted
correction and discipline when they erred.
(Job 42:1-6; Ps. 51:1-4,7-11) Despite their
errors and weaknesses, the sum total of
what they did added up to what God required of them at that time and under the
existing circumstances. Jehovah God was
pleased with their worship. So, then, if he
did not find fault with their sincere effort
and overall course, who could rightfully
do so? Compare what the apostle Paul
says about anointed Christians at Romans
8:31-34.
How comforting it is to us today to
know that Jehovah God will deal with us
in the same understanding way, requiring
of us only what we are actually capable
of doing. This should encourage us to make
our expression of love and devotion to him
one that is full, constant, one that is manifest in every part of our life.
PERFECTING OUR LOVE AND MERCY

With this in mind, consider again Jesus

words: You must accordingly be perfect,
as your heavenly Father is perfect. The
word accordingly takes us back to what

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Jesus had been discussing with his listeners. What was that? Love and generosity.
Lukes account shows that Jesus also
brought in the matter of mercy at this
point. (Luke 6:32-36) He had shown his
disciples that for them to love those loving
them was no great thing. Why, even the
tax collectors and people of the nations did
that. But if they wanted to prove themselves sons of their heavenly Father the
disciples must imitate God in the way that
he showed generosity. How is that? God
makes his sun rise upon wicked people
and good and makes it rain upon righteous
people and unrighteous. (Matt. 5:45)
Why, Gods mercy is great enough to inelude even the animals, as shown by the
ancient sabbath provisions and in other
cases.Ex. 20:10; Jonah 4:11.
True Christians, then, should not be
narrow, incomplete, imperfect in expressing love and generosity but should show
these qualities in a broad, complete, hence
perfect way, their love extending even to
enemies. (Matt. 5:43, 44) Jesus here was
not talking about being like the Most High
God in all respects, something impossible
for humans, but was emphasizing this
particular aspect of expressing a full,
rounded-out love.
Do we today manifest love in this way?
Do we show love to the point of loving
our enemies and praying for those persecuting us? Jesus himself set us the
example. He was like his heavenly Father
in all these things. Jesus served and taught
all kinds of persons, impartially, generously, lovingly, finally giving his life on behalf of imperfect, sinful mankind. If we
perfect our love by broadening out our
interest in others, not letting partiality
and prejudice hold us back from showing
kindness and mercy, then we will be imitating Gods Son as he imitated his Father.
This expansive feeling in our hearts will
make for fine relations with others. It will

567

assure real warmth and consideration in

our family life and keep out friction and
disunity and maintain harmony and cooperation in Christian congregations. And,
far more than this, our rounded-out, amply
expressed kindness will extend out to
worldly neighbors, making us considerate,
helpful toward them, yes, even toward
strangers. Our mercy can often be shown
in material ways. But we will always remember that spiritual help is the most
vital, as Jesus course showed. Our hearts
will move us to offer this with the patience and mildness that mercy and love
imply.
DO YOU WANT TO BE PERFECT?

On one occasion a rich young man approached Jesus and asked him: Teacher,
what good must I do in order to get everlasting life? He was obeying the Laws
commandments, but Jesus showed him
that his worship was still lacking in vital
points. It was imperfect. Did he want to
be perfect? Then he must bring his worship to full development. How? Jesus told
him to sell his possessions, give to the
poor, and come be my follower.Matt.
19:16-21.
Do you see, then, how the thought of
completeness enters into this matter of
being perfect? The wealthy young man
could have done what Jesus recommended.
He may well have been single, without
family obligations. Even if not, he could
have done as others of Jesus disciples
were doing, for not all of them were single.
But the young man did not want to convert his wealth into a means for aiding
others, such as the poor among his fellow
Israelites. How different his self-centered
attitude from that of the heavenly Father,
whose love and mercy moved him to give
his dearest possession, his own Son, on
behalf of suffering mankind! (Rom. 5:7, 8)
The young mans many possessions

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SfieWATCHTOWER

meant more to him than taking hold of

this grand opportunity of accompanying
Gods own Son in his ministry.Matt.
19:22,27-29.
So, today, it is not a question of being
asked to do the impossible, something
beyond your reach. It is a matter of doing
what you can do in service to God and
your neighborand doing it wholeheartedly. Are you doing that? Do you study his

GOD WISELY
SELECTS
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Word and put it to work in your life?

Then you may have the pleasure and joy
of knowing that, on the basis of his Sons
ransom sacrifice and your faith in it, God
accepts this as a perfect service on your
part. Prove yourself a true child of your
heavenly Father. Show love, kindness,
generosity and mercy in the way that he
does, and let his worship pervade every
part of your life.

has not been busying himself with any

effort to convert mankind in general, nor
has he commissioned true Christians to
do so.
Do not misunderstand; God certainly
purposes to bring salvation within the
reach of all. And he has a time for this.
(Eccl. 3:1) However, during the past nineteen hundred years he has been selective
as to those whom he has saved. Why?
Because, until recently, he has been choosing only those who will be rulers of mankind.
CHRIST BEGINS THE SELECTION

T jOR sixteen centuries the churches of

J T Christendom have been working feverishly at their claimed commissionthe
conversion of the world to Christianity.
What has been their success?
They have failed miserably. Why? Because converting the world was their own
idea, not Gods. If it had been Gods idea,
they would have been successful. (Isa.
46:9, 10) Well, then, is God not interested
in all men? He is, indeed, very much so.
But during these nineteen centuries he

You will recall that when Jesus Christ

was on earth he, too, was selective. He was
here, it is true, to provide the ransom for
the salvation of all men who will accept it.
(Matt. 20:28; John 3:16) But Christ was
on earth primarily to prove his integrity
to God in order to qualify as King of Gods
kingdom that will rule the world in righteousness. He bore witness concerning the
truth of that kingdom.John 18:36, 37.
Knowing that the Kingdom meant so
much to his Father as well as to the life
and peace of mankind, Jesus Christ was
greatly concerned with it. And just as any
ruler not yet inaugurated into office thinks
first of the men he will place in important
administrative positions under him, so
Jesus was interested, first, in those whom

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fEeWATCHTOWER.

he would associate with himself in the

Kingdom government.Luke 22:28, 29;
John 17:12.
Accordingly Jesus, through prayer and
direction of Gods spirit, selected his aposties first. (Luke 6:12-16) These were to be
foundations of an administrative body to
operate under his headship. In Revelations
pictorial language this administrative organization is symbolized as a capital city,
called New Jerusalem. It is also represented as Christs bride, that will join
him in the heavens. During his thousandyear reign over earth, he, along with his
bride, will extend attention and authority to the earth, to rule it in peace.Rev.
21:1-4,14.
Having this knowledge, Christ, after his
death and resurrection, gathered those
who had exercised faith in the good news
that he and the apostles preached. He
poured out holy spirit on them and commissioned them to preach to others, and
to teach them. Thus Christ began preparation for the heavenly city or government
that would rule mankind.Acts 2:1-4;
Heb. 11:10,16.
TEST OF CHRISTS ASSOCIATES TAKES TIME

In reading the Christian Greek Scriptures we observe that the hope held out
to all those who accepted the preaching in
the days of the apostles was that of sharing with Jesus Christ in his Kingdom rule
in heaven. (2 Tim. 2:12; Heb. 3:1; 1 Pet.
1:1-4) It was not time for God to gather
together those who would live on earth
as human subjects under his heavenly
kingdom. This was because the Messianic
kingdom of God was not to begin active
rule toward all the earth until the second
presence of the Lord Jesus Christ.2 Tim.
4:1; Heb. 10:13; Ps. 110:1-3.
So, the long time period prior to Christs
taking of Kingdom power would be occupied in selecting, training, testing, proving

569

and qualifying those who would reign with

Christ. The requirements were very strict,
many being invited but few finally chosen.
(Matt. 22:14) According to the Scriptures,
God limited the number of this select
administrative body under Jesus Christ to
144,000 persons.Rev. 7:4; 14:1-3.
A SACRED SECRET REVEALED

In connection with this administrative

body, the apostle Paul points out that for
centuries God kept hidden a sacred secret. This was that he would select humans both from Israel and from the Gentile nations as associates in the heavens
with the promised Seed, Messiah the
King. (Eph. 3 : 4 1 1 6 ; 1:9 )Paul says that
the administration of this sacred secret
was to the end that now to the governments and the authorities in the heavenly
places there might be made known through
the congregation the greatly diversified
wisdom of God How was Gods wisdom
made manifest through the congregation? Eph. 3:9,10.
It is not that the congregation on earth
teaches wisdom to the heavenly author!ties. Rather, it is that God, by his dealings
and the working out of his purposes in
connection with the Christian congregation, reveals surpassing wisdom, even to
the angels.1 Pet. 1:10-12.
First, consider Gods wisdom in his dealing with the Head Member of the congregation. Through the sacrifice of his Son
for the removal of sin, Jehovah proved his
own rulership to be fully just and wholly
righteous. For on the basis of this sacrifice
God could declare righteous those whom
he would select to be prospective Kingdom
heirs with Christ. Since these were to be
heavenly rulers, God, by his spirit, brought
them into family relationship with himself,
making them spiritual sons. By his spirit
he placed in them a knowledge and realization of their heavenly hope. (Rom. 3:23-

SEeWATCHTOWER

570

26; 8:16) Jehovah leads, disciplines and

molds them through all the tests they
undergo, so that they become fitted exactly
for the place he has for them in his government. (Rom. 9:21-24; Eph. 2:10) Additionally, because of his perfect wisdom in
directing this training and testing he can
be sure of their everlasting loyalty. He
can safely give them incorruptible organisms and immortal heavenly life, as rulers
over mankind. (1 Cor. 15:50-54) But let
us now consider how God also had the rest
of humankind in mind as he tested and
approved those whom he would use as his
governmental body.
SYMPATHETIC RULERS

Jesus Christ, the congregations Head,

underwent a most severe test to prove his
qualifications. Of him it is said: We have
as high priest, not one who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who
has been tested in all respects like ourselves, but without sin. (Heb. 4:15) What
wisdom and fairness on Gods part! For
the Priest and Ruler that he puts over
mankind is not one who lacks full understanding of our problems and feelings.
From his previous experience in heaven,
where he worked together with his Father
in the creation of all things, Gods Son
understands the makeup of men and wornen, as well as of the angels. (John 1:10;
2:25; Col. 1:15-17) But more than that, by
becoming a man of blood and flesh on
earth he experienced the service of God
under adverse conditions. He fully understands human problems. He knows what it
means to suffer. (Heb. 5:7-9) All men can
have full faith in Christs priesthood,
knowing that he has undergone the same
trials successfully and knows what humans
need.Heb. 4:14-16; John 16:33.
Also, consider Gods wisdom in his
manner of selecting the body of 144,000
associate kings and priests. It has not

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been a waste of time. During the broad

scope of nineteen centuries these have
been chosen from all walks of life, all races
and languages and all backgrounds. There
is simply no problem that some of them,
in putting on the new Christian personality, have not faced and overcome. (Eph.
4 : 2 2 1 ;24 Cor. 10:13) These underpriests,
too, will be sympathetic and merciful
priests, able to help men of all kinds.
Furthermore, God has lovingly drawn a
sizable portion of these spiritual heirs with
Christ from among women. As to their
spiritual standing with God and Christ,
there was neither male nor female while
they were on earth, and in heaven there
is no sex principle or distinction. (Gal.
3:28) Nonetheless, those among the Kingdom heirs who have been women know by
experience the problems, vicissitudes and
thinking of women, and they have maintained integrity under test as women. This
is comforting to women who desire to be
faithful to God and who seek life under
that Kingdom government. How wise our
Creatoris!
COMPLETION OF RULER SELECTION
MEANS BLESSING FOR MANKIND

Bible prophecy foretold that Christ

would take Kingdom power while the
worldly nations were still active. (Ps. 2:16; 110:1, 2) On taking Kingdom power, he
would give early attention to those of the
144,000 who had died. Then he would proceed to gather together all his prospective
Kingdom associates on earth, called a
remnant, for testing and final approval.
(1 Thess. 4:16, 17; Rev. 12:10, 17) World
conditions in fulfillment of prophecy indicate that we are in the closing days of
this gathering, called the harvest. With
its completion and the destruction of the
present wicked system and its administration, Christ and his associate kings and
priests will begin the thousand-year reign

S eptem ber

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for the blessing of mankind.Matt. 13:37

40; Rev. 11:18; 19:19-21; 20:1-4, 6.
What does this mean now for earths
inhabitants? It means that it is time for all
of us to decide whether we will be willing
and loyal subjects of the Kingdom administration. Today the principles of that administration and of its rulers can be known
by all who desire to do so. We can apply
these principles in our lives now. If so,
we are in line for Gods protection through
the great tribulation that marks the end
of imperfect man-made administration.
Many are doing this today. (Rev. 7:9, 10,
14-17; Matt. 25:31, 32) If we are among
these, we can be the first earthly subjects
of that Kingdom. We can look forward to
seeing the resurrection of the countless
millions of the dead, whereby they will be
given opportunity of life under that Kingdom.Rev. 20:11-13.

571

So the Universal Sovereign, in selecting

earths rulers, has had mankinds interests
at heart. He has not overlooked anyone. In
his manner of selecting these kingly and
priestly administrators he has wisely laid
a solid foundation for faith, revealing his
qualities and attributes so that men can
intelligently love and serve him. He has
created an unshakable, incorruptible administration for the earth.Eph. 2:6, 7.
The governments and the authorities in
the heavenly places see Gods wisdom in
thus working out his purpose. (Eph. 3:10)
These angelic hosts gladly put themselves
under the command of his Messianic King.
(Heb. 1:6) Certainly we can exclaim in
unison with them: The blessing and the
glory and the wisdom and the thanksgiving
and the honor and the power and the
strength be to our God forever and ever.
Rev. 7:12.

THE BOOKS OF CHRONICLES WHY WERE THEY WRITTEN?

T J AVE you ever read the Bible
1 . through? Perhaps when you came
to the book of First Chronicles you found
little there to encourage you to continue
reading. Seemingly endless lists of unfamiliar names confronted you. The historical narrative, primarily dealing with events
from King Davids reign, does not begin
until chapter ten. Then, too, in Second
Chronicles you found that the history
basically covered events from the reign
of Davids son Solomon down to the desolation of Judah and Jerusalem, a period
about which you had already read in the
books of First and Second Kings.
Yes, you may have asked, Why was this
information written and preserved in the
Bible? What real purpose does it serve?
To learn the answer to those questions,
consider the background of the Jewish

people at the time that Ezra, a priest and

scribe, committed First and Second Chronicles to writing.
Roughly eight decades had passed since
the return of a faithful Jewish remnant
from Babylonian exile. The exile itself had
disrupted their ties with the past. So there
was much that the Jews needed to know
about their history to avoid the disastrous
mistakes of their ancestors. Especially was
it important for them to come to appreciate the vital role of true worship. They
needed to be strengthened in their faithfulness to Jehovah and in fulfilling their
covenant obligations. The books of First
and Second Chronicles admirably filled the
needs of the returned exiles in these respects. Let us see how.
The genealogies directly linked the Jews
with their past history. These genealogies

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furnished the basis for establishing royal

descent and family inheritances. They also
revealed who were authorized to serve at
the temple as priests or in other capacities.
The genealogy involving the royal line was
of particular value, as it would provide
one means for identifying the Messiah.
Though basically embracing the same
period as covered in First and Second
Kings, written more than a century earlier
by Jeremiah the prophet, the later historical narrative of First and Second Chronicles gives greater prominence to temple
worship. Why? Is it because Ezra, as a
priest, was more interested in the worship
at the temple than was the prophet Jeremiah? No, for Jeremiah was also a priest.
Rather, like Jeremiah, Ezra wrote under
inspiration and according to the needs of
his contemporaries. The Jews then needed
to be encouraged to continue upholding

IN LIFE!
W

HAT is big and what is little in

your life? That is an important
question. By your speech and your actions
you let everyone around you know what
you consider little and what you consider
big.
In this regard every true follower of
Jesus Christ is faced with a challenge. He

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true worship as carried on at the temple,

and the books of First and Second Chronicles served that purpose in a fine way.
The account is written in such a manner
as to show that the events of Israels history were shaped by the attitude of the
rulers and their subjects toward Jehovah
and his righteous law. The history itself
becomes instruction. It establishes that
faithful adherence to true worship results
in blessings, whereas abandonment of true
worship spells disaster. What strong encouragement this was for the Jews to avoid
the course that had brought calamity upon
their forefathers!
We today can also benefit from these
historical examples that serve to encourage faithfulness to Jehovah. By loyally
upholding true worship, we can demonstrate that we have not missed the purpose
of the books of Chronicles.

knows what should be the

big things in his life. They
are ,seeking first Gods kingdom and his righteousness.
Matt. 6:33.
Where then does the challenge come in? It lies in this:
the big things are those seen
chiefly by the eye of faith.
(2 Cor. 4:16-18) Also the
big things involve the future.
Moreover, the big things require earnest effort and
th eir enjoym ent involves
discipline of body, mind and heart.
Gods Word, the Bible, gives us many
examples of men who truly appreciated the
big things. These same men recognized the
little things for what they really were
little.
There was Moses, to whom all the treasures and pleasures of Egypt were as little

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things compared with the big thing, the

privilege of serving as Gods anointed one,
or Christ, even though this privilege
entailed suffering reproach. (Heb. 11:26)
Was Moses judgment proved right? It
most certainly was!
Jehovah God used Moses to write more
than one fourth of the contents of the
Hebrew Scriptures. Through him Jehovah
performed many mighty works and striking miracles, and by him God delivered his
ancient people from Egyptian bondage.
Wonderful privileges indeed, not to say
anything about his future reward. What
an example Moses is for Christians to
imitate when faced with alluring enticements to make the pleasures and treasures
of this system of things the big things in
their lives, doing so at the cost of spiritual
treasures! How wise the counsel that they
should endeavor to be rich in fine works,
rather than rich in material possessions!
1 Tim. 6:17,18.
Another one who had the right appreciation of what is big and what is little was
the apostle Paul. Paul was a highly educated and respected Pharisee. In fact, he had
everything of which to boast as a Jew.
(Acts 26:5; 2 Cor. 11:22; Phil. 3:5) Yet
he said of all such things: I do indeed also
consider all things to be loss on account of
the excelling value of the knowledge of
Christ Jesus my Lord. On account of him
I have taken the loss of all things and I
consider them as a lot of refuse, that I
may gain Christ and be found in union
with him.Phil. 3:8, 9.
Paul encouraged Christians to imitate
him, to forget the things behind, such as
the ambition to become rich or famous,
and to stretch forward to the things ahead,
Gods service, his approval and reward.
These were to be the big things in their
lives. The twelve apostles had the same
attitude. They themselves had left all

573

to follow Jesus Christ.Mark 10:2831;

1 Cor. 11:1; Phil. 3:13.
YOU MUST MAKE THE CHOICE

Christians are not to be unduly anxious

about material things such as food, clothing and shelter. True, these are essential
and we could not live without them. But
these are not the most important things
around which life should be built. That is
why Jesus counseled: Stop being anxious
about your souls as to what you will eat
or what you will drink, or about your
bodies as to what you will wear. . . . For
all these are the things the nations are
eagerly pursuing. For your heavenly Father knows you need all these things.
Matt. 6:25,32.
Now how can we apply this counsel of
Jesus to todays problems? In itself, there
is nothing wrong with owning a fine home,
a fine auto, a fine color TV set and suchlike
things. But if a Christian becomes anxious
about these things and pursues them to
the extent that they rob him of time needed for personal study of the Bible, of time
for his association with fellow Christians
in congregation meetings and of time for
his activity in carrying the word of life to
others, then what? Is he not saying by his
course of action that these fine material
things are the big things in his life? And
is he not saying that the interests of Gods
kingdom and the spiritual blessings are,
if not little, at least the smaller things?
Can any Christian hope to gain Jehovahs
approval, and everlasting life in Gods new
system of things, with such a mental
attitude?
Then again, there is the lure of fleshly
desire. The pleasures associated with the
use of the procreative powers have time
and again caused Christians to lose their
proper perspective. By their course of
action they have betrayed that sexual

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pleasures, even if obtaining them means ers and good relations with fellow worgoing to the extent of sexual immorality, shipers are big things in your life, then
are the big things in their lives and that you will be able to overlook petty slights,
Gods approval, the association with fellow neglects or oversights. They will seem to
Christians and the honor of serving as you to be like the little things that they
Gods witnesses are comparatively little really are. Then instead of replying in
things. Only as a result of being disfellow- kind or holding a grudge you will turn the
shiped or excommunicated from the other cheek, even as Jesus Christ counseled
Christian congregation have some been his followers to do.Matt. 5:39.
Driving home this lesson is the apostle
sufficiently jolted so as to get the right
view of matters, as was the case with a Peters counsel: Above all things, have
certain Christian in Pauls day. (1 Cor. intense love for one another, because love
covers a multitude of sins. To do this
5 : 1 2 ;13 Cor. 2:5-11) Others have sufshows one has the right perspective, namefered complete shipwreck of their faith.
What course will you choose? In your ly, that such things as personal offenses
are among the little things, and that love,
life, what really are the big things?
peace and harmony among Christians are
some of the big things in life.1 Pet. 4:8.
OTHER BIG AND LITTLE THINGS
Some let personal offenses betray what
Truly, it is the course of wisdom to
they consider big or little. If your pride or consider carefully what we make the big
so-called personal honor is a big thing in things in life and what we make the little
your life, then you will let personal offens- things. The right choice in such matters
es make you unhappy and resentful. You works for peace, joy and contentment now,
will hold a grudge and be unforgiving; you and everlasting life in happiness in Jehowill seek to save face.
vah Gods new system of things so near
But if harmony among Christian broth- at hand.

Persecuted for Trying to Serve God

GIRL FRIEND and I began studying
Bible with Jehovah's witnesses around
MYthe
November 1967. We had met them a
few times here in Miami, Florida. Up until
this time we were part of this new generation." As far as I was concerned I was re*
bellious enough to be a guru," which means
to the hippies being an expert in psychedelic
experiences. This is how I was regarded by
my associates in the area where I lived.
After living constantly high" for two years,
being in jail several times and once in court,
and after a few psychedelic trips during
which I felt I needed a guru" myself to help
me through, I decided that it was time to get
out of this empty way of life.
As we studied the Bible we began gradually
to realize the importance of it and the beauty

of its truth. Our interest grew, and soon we

]! began attending the meetings of Jehovah's
!witnesses. This helped to heighten our in*
!| terest and it was not long before we began

Septem ber

15, 1971

5ReWATCHT0WEFL

Her parents, brothers, grandmother and

other relatives failed to appreciate the fine
changes the truth of God was making in our
lives. Instead, insults were heaped upon me
because they thought that it was my influence
that got her into this religious situation and
that I was keeping her there. However, they
were quite mistaken about this because it
was not I but her own keen desire and appreciation that was responsible. This made
all their efforts to stop us ineffective.
When I came to the house they hardly
spoke to me except when they would surround us, asking a lot of questions and making false claims to try to weaken our faith.
There was some terrible screaming. One evening during one of these tirades, they proposed that we bring another Witness and
that they would get their rabbi to meet with
us so that he could show us how false and
fanatic we were. What a reversal of matters
that turned out to be, for the rabbi told us
that what we were doing was a beautiful
thing and that he gave us the green light"!
Sad to say, this did not stop their persecution, for now it went into a cold-war stage.
They would just say Hello and Good-bye to
me and nothing else. We were baptized in
symbol of our dedication to Jehovah God in
May of 1968. Months later we decided to get
married. They said that they would have
nothing to do with it and that they did not

What is meant by the expression 'behaving

like a prophet, which appears at 1 Samuel
18:10 and 19:20-24?U.S.A.
Jehovah God, by means of his holy spirit,
commissioned his prophets. With reference to
himself, the prophet Micah said: I myself
have become full of power, with the spirit of
Jehovah, and of justice and mightiness, in order
to tell to Jacob his revolt and to Israel his
sin." (Mic. 3:8) However, this evidently does
not mean that Micah and other prophets continually spoke under inspiration. Rather, at
certain times Gods spirit 'came upon them,'

575

I approve of it. They tried to tempt my fiancee

with trips to Europe, but this, too, failed. They
1
announced that they would not come to our
! wedding ceremony and that we were to expect
[ no help from them.
!
Though their opposition pained us, we were
! not weakened by it. How happy we are that
' Jehovah God strengthened us throughout this
! ordeal to keep our integrity! We went ahead
[ with our wedding plans with the help of our
fellow Witnesses. Do you know what hap! pened? They came to our wedding, along
I with almost every member of their family.
And guess who gave the bride away? My
! father-in-law!
I
Our steadfastly maintaining our fine conduct
to this day has changed my in-laws com*
! pletely. It would take pages to tell you what
I they are like now. For example, when I went
into the full-time preaching work, they of! fered me a part-time job in their construction
company to help me in my ministry. Now I
1
work a maximum of just three days a week
! for a fine salary. Because of this, it is going
[ to be possible for my wife to join me in the
1
full-time preaching work soon. All of this
! because of Jehovah God's undeserved kind' ness and love. How glad we are that we left
1
behind the hippie" way of life and endured
! the persecution for changing to the only road
' that leads to eternal life, the worship of
1
Jehovah God.Contributed.

revealing the messages to be announced. This

had a stirring effect upon the prophets, impelling them to speak. As the prophet Jeremiah
said: I got tired of holding in, and I was
unable to endure it."Jer. 20:9.
When God's spirit came upon them to 'fill
them with power,' not only did the prophets
do things that were out of the ordinary, but
also their expression and manner must have
reflected the intensity of their feeling. Take
our own case. We may hear some very important news, perhaps joyful, perhaps disturbing. Is it not true that often before we can tell
another that news he will ask, 'Why are you
acting or looking so different?'
It may, therefore, be that the expression
behaving like a prophet' alludes to the unusual
way in which the prophets expressed or conducted themselves. Their total concentration
and zealous boldness in carrying out their commission on occasion caused their behavior to

576

3EeW A TC H TO W ER

appear strange, even irrational, to others. For

example, the prophet who anointed Jehu as
king appeared to be crazy to the military
chiefs. But, on realizing that the man was a
prophet, the chiefs accepted his message with
full seriousness.2 Ki. 9:113.
At 1 Samuel 18:10 we read that Saul ,be*
haved like a prophet while David was playing
on the harp. Not that Saul began to utter
prophecies, but he showed a physical distur
bance like that of a prophet just prior to
prophesying or when prophesying. While in
that unusual, disturbed state, Saul twice hurled
a spear at David.1 Sam. 18:11.
Later, at the time King Saul sent messengers
to seize David at Naioth, these messengers
began ,behaving like prophets. They apparently conducted themselves in a manner like that
of prophets just before or during their prophesying. It appears that Gods spirit operated
toward these messengers in such a way that
they completely forgot the purpose of their
mission.1 Sam. 19:20, 21.
When Saul afterward decided to go personal

B rooklyn , N .Y .

ly in pursuit of David, he was caused to ,be*

have like a prophet. While ,behaving like
a prophet, Saul stripped off his garments and
lay naked all that day and all that night, during which time David evidently made his escape.
(1 Sam. 19:22-20:1) Does this mean that the
prophets frequently went naked? No, for there
are only two instances of prophets appearing
naked. ,These were Isaiah and Micah, and they
went naked for a definite purpose, to represent some facet of their respective prophecies.
(Isa. 20:24 ;Mic. 1:811 )The reason for SauTs
nakedness is not stated. It could have been to
show that he was a mere man, divested of
his royal garments and impotent against Jehovahs own regal authority and power. He
could not hope to succeed in anything that was
contrary to Gods purpose respecting David.
WATCHTOWER STUDIES FOR THE WEEKS

October 17: Joyful Always in Jehovahs Ser*

vice. Page 553. Songs to Be Used: 58, 1.
October 24: Set Apart from the World. Page
559. Songs to Be Used: 112, 28.

YOU ARE MY W ITNESSES, SAYS JEH O VA H .-Isa.43:12

T H E PU R P O SE O F "T H E W A T C H T O W E R "
E very w a tc h to w e r has its purpose. It serves as an elevated place fo r a
w id e-aw ak e person w ith sharp vision. It enables him to see far ahead into
th e distance and tell those b elow for w h o m he is a w atch m an w h a t is
d raw ing near, w h e th er it is a danger against w h ich to prepare o r it is
som ething good over w h ich to be glad w ith strong faith and hope.
Because o f having the nam e "The W a tch to w er" this m a g a z in e ju s tly
has to render a sim ilar useful service to the people o f all nations. T h is is
an in tern ational m agazine and makes no racial distinctions, for w e are all
facing a com m on w o rld danger; w e are all hoping fo r a com m on good.
E ver since "The W a tc h to w e r began to be published in J u ly o f 1 8 7 9 it
has looked ahead into the future, a lw a y s striving to aid its readers to advan ce in know ledge and to gain a clearer picture o f the glorious n e w order
o f things th at is in store for righteous mankind. N o , "The W a tch to w er "
is n o inspired prophet, but it follow s and explains a Book o f prophecy the
predictions in w h ich have proved to be unerring and unfailing till n o w .
"T he W a tch to w er " is therefore under safe guidance. It m ay be read w ith
confidence, fo r its statem ents m ay be checked against th at prophetic Book.
Am ong the many nations of today there are hundreds of differing
religions. ,W hich one does this magazine present? N o t the confused religions
o f Christendom, but the religion of the oldest sacred Book on earth. W hich
Book? The Sacred Bible of the H oly Scriptures, written by inspiration in
the name o f the Creator of heaven and earth, the only living and true God.
T h e sacred, nonpolitical purpose o f "The W a tch to w er" is accordingly
to encourage and prom ote study o f the H o ly Bible and to give our m a n y
readers the needed unsectarian help to understand th at Book o f true
religion and infallible prophecy. T hus this m agazine w ill be helping them
to prove w o r th y o f perfect life and happiness in G od s promised n e w order
under H is everlasting kingdom o f righteousness.

PUBLISHED BY THE
WATCH TOWER BIBLE AND TRACT SOCIETY OF PENNSYLVANIA
117 Adams Street
Brooklyn, N.Y. 11201, U.S.A.
N. H. K n o r r , President
G r a n t S u it e r , Secretary

They will all be taught by Jehovah.John 6:45; Isaiah 54:13

CONTENTS

A v e ra g e Printing Each Issue:

Be Too Big for Spite

579

Is My Home Wholesome?

581

Do Your Children Confide in You?

587

What About Dating?

593

Assemblies That Truly Exalt

the Divine Name

595

Strengthening the Ministry

for the Work Ahead

601

When to Be as a Babe

605

Questions from Readers

607

The Bible translation used In The Watchtower is the modern-language

New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures, unless otherwise indicated.
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-^/
J E H O V A H S
K ING DO M
O ctober 1, 1971

Num ber 19

spiteful acts (and

some not so petty),
because their husbands disagree with
them on some idea
HERE is a saying that you can mea- of theirs or perhaps because they are desure a man by the size of the things nied this or that luxury which the husbands feel they can ill afford. Then again,
it takes to upset him . How do you measome husbands m anifest spite because
sure up in this regard?
No m atter what the physical size is, their pride is wounded due to some tactless
the person who refuses to become upset remark or forgetfulness on the part of
by minor annoyances or offenses is a per- their mates. Refusing to speak to each
son of true stature. W hether man or worn- other or speaking in a cold or icy tone of
an, such a person shows, not a petty at- voice is a common form of spite manifested
titude, but a largeness of mind and spirit. by marriage partners who are still small,
But one easily upset over trifles is guilty that is, immature as regards the control
of smallness. And often that smallness fur- of their emotions.
Spite can have very serious consequencther betrays itself by acts of spite.
What is spite? Spite, we are told, ap- es. It can drive neighbors or marriage
plies to ill w ill shown by doing petty partners to acts of violence. Thus a man
things that hurt or annoy. It may be bom living in New York city once told a friend
of envy, resentment, or simply a mean that he was going to kill one of his neighbors because of the spiteful treatment
disposition.
Is it not true that when a child feels it is being given him by that neighbor. The
wronged it often wants to retaliate im- friend, who happened to be one of Jehomediately in petty ways? Why? Because vahs witnesses, pointed out how foolish
a child is not only small in body but also this was. What w ill happen to your famiimmature in mind and emotions. So when ly if you receive a long jail sentence beadults act in a sim ilar childish way they cause of having acted so rashly? Why not
show how small they are emotionally. rather move out of the neighborhood?
They are not grown up in a complete the friend asked. The man recognized the
sense; they are'not really big.
sensibleness of the counsel.
All too often spitefulness crops up beBesides the harm that others may do to
tween marriage partners. Psychiatrists one who is spiteful, there is the harm the
say that wives at tim es engage in petty spiteful one may bring upon him self. Bear-

579

B rooklyn , N .Y .
3BeWATCHTOWER
Humility w ill also help you to avoid
ing a grudge or resentment that breeds
spite has well been termed self-poison. this, for the person who engages in spite
It is one of mans chief enemies, because is acting presumptuously, proudly, taking
one cannot harbor hostility without reap- upon him self the roles of both judge and
ing harmful psychosomatic effects. That is executioner. He looks down upon the one
to say, what adversely affects the mind that offended him and presumes to judge
adversely affects the body and the bodily and punish him. The Bible says that venprocesses. Really, indulging in spite is cut- geance belongs to Jehovah God. Truly, a
ting off ones nose to spite ones face, for humble person is a big personJesus
the spiteful person hurts him self most. It Christ, the greatest man that ever lived,
was also the most humble mem.Phil. 2:
just is not worth it!
Spite certainly is not loving ones neigh- 5-8.
Empathy, the ability to put oneself in
bor as oneself, as the Bible instructs.
(Mark 12:31) Spite does not make allow- the shoes of another, w ill also help you
ances. Spite pays back in kind, and fre- to guard against spite. Try to see matters
quently with interest. Spite is hating ones from the other persons viewpoint. This
enemies, whereas Jesus Christ tells us to may help you not to take so seriously his
love our enemies. We should want to help offenses against you, but rather to make
people do better, not goad them on to do allowances for him. Here, too, empathy
worse. So guard against spite, because it is a quality possessed by mature people,
is destructive to oneself and to others too. those big in an emotional and spiritual
sense.
Matt. 5:44, 45; Luke 6:31.
Then again, a sense of humor may help
Most important of all, you should want
to guard against spite because it is dis- you to guard against spite. Being able to
pleasing to your Creator. Almost invari- dismiss, with a sense of humor, petty acably the spiteful one is trying to get even, tions on the part of others is often the
rendering evil for evil. There can be no wisest course and again demonstrates
question that this is displeasing to the ones maturity.
Creator, for his Word commands: ReBut most of all, love w ill help you to
turn evil for evil to no one. . . . Do not avoid resorting to spite, should you be the
avenge yourselves. Also: Do not let object of pettiness on the part of others.
yourself be conquered by the evil, but Love does not keep account of the inkeep conquering the evil with the good. jury. Love bears all things, hopes and
God is not pleased with us when we lower endures all things. Love truly is a meaourselves to the level of those who have sure of how big one is in spiritual matters.
wronged us.Rom. 12:17-21.
1 Cor. 13:4-7.
How can you check the fallen tendency
So be too big for spite. As Jesus said,
to express or indulge in spite? Just reason- Prove yourselves sons of your Father
ing on its bad fruits should help you. To who is in the heavens. Yes, be like the
give in to the desire to get even with Great God, who forgives in a large way.
another at the cost of displeasing your By being forgiving instead of resorting to
best Friend and greatest Benefactor, Je- spite you will be heeding this counsel of
hovah God, is not worth it, is it?
Jesus.Isa. 55:7; M att 5:45-48.

580

is
/ /

w,

IU JLL

WHOLESOME?
*The overseer should therefore
...
a man presiding over his own
hold in a fine
.m
a
n
e
r 1 Tim. 3:2-4.

cannot put your finger on

the cause of the trouble or
find a cure?
4 W holesome means being healthy, entire, complete; not sickly, morbid or
diseased. Especially is this
important in the spiritual
and moral senses. The family th a t is vigorous and
sound morally and spiritually is able to cope with
other problems that may
arise, such as poor physical
health and financial difficulties. It is able to resist all
the divisive forces that beset so many fam ilies today.

r \ Jf ANS quest for happiness is all in vain if he

IMPORTANCE OF THE
C / V X does not enjoy peace and contentment within
BIBLE IN THE HOME
his immediate fam ily circle. For what satisfaction is
5
How,
then, can a fam ily
there in the pursuit of happiness on the outside, if, upon
reach
that
desirable high
returning to that very personal and intimate abode called
plateau
of
moral
and spirihome, one is plunged into a seething caldron of discontual
wholesomeness?
It is
tent? What kind of atmosphere prevails in your home?
not
too
difficult.
The
family
2How would you children answer that question? Do
your parents agreeably live together in peace and unity? that makes the Bible its
Do fathers counsel and mothers understanding come to most read book, the fam ily
your assistance in trialsome times? If so, then, indeed, th at applies th e B ib les
you have a happy life, the memories of which you can principles in daily life is
treasure up for years to come. On the other hand, if the fam ily that is wholeyour parents are constantly badgering each other or are some and happy. Only by
engaged in open warfare, or if you live in a household means of Gods Word can
divided by communications barriers between you and moral fiber and spiritual
your parents, then childhood must be a nightmare you strength be built into each
member of the family.
hope soon to forget.
8
And what is the opinion of you parents? How whole- There are basically two
some is your home? Do you find that the pressures of reasons w hy households
the times and the deteriorating influences all around are have a constant struggle to
permeating your family? Do you find that in this modem maintain a wholesome atworld former guidelines have vanished and along with mosphere. First, there is
them the peaceful norms of the past? Do you feel that inborn im perfection and
there is a need for improvement in the home, but you 4. W hat is m eant by wholesom e,
1. In m ans quest fo r happiness, w hat is often his plight, raising w hat
question?
2. W hat conditions in th e home w ould help to make it happy from a childs
view point?
3. W hat m ay parents feel is influencing th e ir fam ily life?
581

especially as pertain in g to fam ily

life?
5. How im portant is th e Bible in
the hom e?
6. W hat is one of th e tw o principal
reasons for fam ily disunity?

582

SffieW ATCH TO W ER

B r o o k l y n , N .Y .

weakness in every one of us. As the Scrip- rulers of this darkness, against the wicked
tures say: There is not a righteous man, spirit forces in the heavenly places."Eph.
not even one; . . . all men have deflected, 6 : 11, 12.
. . . all have sinned." (Rom. 3:10-12, 23;
APPLYING BIBLE PRINCIPLES
Ps. 14:3) If we make the statement: *We
TO THE PROBLEMS
have no sin, we are misleading ourselves
9
It
is
not
intangible, impractical theory
and the truth is not in us.1 John 1:8,10.
to
say
that
Bible
principles, if applied, can
7The baby when bom, though helpless
solve
everyday
problems
in the home. The
and blameless, is hereditarily imperfect
practicality
and
usefulness
of the Bibles
and sinful. As David said, With error I
counsel
in
the
everyday
and
personal afwas brought forth . . . and in sin my
fairs
of
the
fam
ily
can
be
easily
demonmother conceived me. (Ps. 51:5) And yet
strated.
w ith proper training the child can grow
10Take, for instance, the home where
up to be much more than a wild, unruly
offshoot. Foolishness is tied up with the there is improper headship or where
heart of a boy, the proverb says; the headship is lacking altogether. Results?
rod of discipline is what will remove it Confusion and disorder. Members of the
far from him. (Prov. 22:6,15; 23:13,14) family act independently. There is an abThis does not mean that inborn traits to sence of rules and regulations. Homelife
do what is bad are completely removed soon disintegrates. The house then in reby discipline. No, the tendency to do bad ality is no more than a service station,
is ever present from the cradle to the a shelter from the rain in which to eat and
grave, even in individuals as devoted to sleep. And once these needs are satisfied,
righteousness as the apostle Paul, who each one hurries off to associate with othconfessed: I really delight in the law of er companions more to his liking. As wise
God . . . but I behold in my members an- King Solomon observed, Better to live in
other law warring against the law of my the attic than downstairs with a contenmind and leading me captive to sins law tious w ife. The other side of the coin
that is in my members.Rom. 7:22, 23. might read, Better to live in a shelter in
8The second reason why a constant the yard than to share a house with a
struggle is necessary to maintain a peace- domineering, alcoholic husband.Prov.
ful household is the presence of Satan the 21:9, 19.
D evil and his demons. These are very real,
11But what a difference if the Bibles
powerful and ever-present forces that must laws regarding headship are followed!
be reckoned with. It is their wicked pur- There is then a basis upon which peace
pose not only to cultivate in men wrong and unity can be built. want you to
desires but to capitalize on mans imper- know, the apostle Paul says, that the man
fection and sinful tendencies, in an effort is the head of the house. Proper male
to plunge men deeper into the pit of de- headship carries with it the responsibility
spair. Hence the warning: Stand firm of looking to Jehovah God and Christ Jeagainst the machinations of the Devil; be- sus for direction. This means that the huscause we have a wrestling, not against band will treat his wife with the same
blood and flesh, but a g a in st. . . the world
7. (a) W hat correction can be effected in the hereditary
tra its of a child? (b) By discipline and training, can
inborn im perfections be completely removed? Explain.
8. W hat is an o th er im portant reason for fam ily disu n ity ?

9. W hat suggestion is here given as to a solution io r

fam ily problem s?
10. W here proper headship In th e home is lacking,
w hat conditions resu lt?
11. In contrast, w hat m ay be expected if the Bible's
laws on headship are followed?

October 1, 1971

SEeW ATCHTOW ER.

583

tender affection that he shows toward his speech which cannot be condemned if you
own body. He w ill be a good provider for want peace and unity in your home.
both the fam ilys m aterial and spiritual Prov. 15:1; Titus 2:8.
needs.1 Cor. 11:3; Eph. 5:22-33; 1 Pet.
15 There may be petty likes and dislikes
3:1-7.
among members of the fam ily due to dif12
In this regard you fathers find a won-ferences in temperament and personality,
derful example in the great Father of the but these need not be a source of conuniverse, Jehovah God, whom you do well tention and strife. If everyone were exactto emulate. He constantly provides not ly alike in these characteristics, what a
only for the material and spiritual needs, dull world this would be! Rather, individbut also counsel and encouragement for ual traits add spice, color, variety and life
everyone in his household. He abhors re- to the fam ily circle. They enhance the joy
bellion and administers punishment to law- of living together without the boring
breakers without partiality.Prov. 6:16- monotony of sameness.
19; Deut. 10:17, 18.
16 What about the home where the chil13But at the same time, O how loving dren are unruly and disobedient? Is it beand compassionate and merciful Jehovah cause parents have completely given up
is! Yes, to a degree far beyond description trying to maintain authority over their reor measure. (Ps. 103:8; Jas. 5:11) Simi- bellious offspring? Or is it a case where
larly, you fathers can provide a whole- the rules are not clearly defined or undersome atmosphere in your households by stood? Perhaps the root of the trouble
lovingly and tenderly caring for your lies with parents who have forgotten what
fam ilies needs with understanding. Dwell the Bible says: Just let your word Yes
with your wives according to knowledge mean Yes, your No, N o. (Matt. 5:37;
and bring up your children in the discipline Jas. 5:12) As parents, do you unwisely
and mental-regulating of Jehovah. Do not violate the rules you expect your children
be irritating them.1 Pet. 3:7; Eph. 6:4. to keep? Do you in substance preach, Do
14
Are bitter words and explosions ofas I say but not as I do? Children are
emotional temper common occurrences in quick to detect hypocrisy in their parents.
your home? N ot if the Bibles counsel is (Matt. 23:3) Parents therefore can give
followed. There may seem to be ever so forceful meaning to the rules of the home,
many situations that justify angry words. and at the same tim e win the respect of
But when all is said and done, prevention their children, if they keep the rules themof anger is largely a m atter of guarding selves, thus setting a good example for
ones tongue and controlling ones spirit. their offspring to copy.
(Ps. 34:13; Prov. 25:28) This is the wise
17Are domestic friction and heated arcourse to follow. All his spirit is what a guments due to misunderstanding and a
stupid one lets out, but he that is wise lack of communication? Parents somekeeps it calm to the last. (Prov. 29:11) tim es seem to be at a loss to understand
Let anger alone and leave rage, for he their children. So often this is due to a
that is slow to anger is abundant in dis- lack of intim ate association between parcem m ent. (Ps. 37:8; Prov. 14:29) A mild 15. How should individual likes and personal tra its
answer turns away rage. Use wholesome be viewed so as not to allow them to distu rb the
12, 13. (a) Describe Jehovah as a Model Head of his
household, (b) In im itating Jehovah, how should fathers
tre a t th eir fam ilies?
14. W hen it comes to controlling anger, w hat practical
counsel does the Bible give?

fam ilys peace and unity?

16. W hat m ay be some of th e reasons w hy children
in the home are unruly?
17. (a) W hy are parents som etim es alienated from
th eir children? (b) How m ay grudges be prevented
from creating a b a rrie r betw een parents and a child?

584

SnieW ATCHTOW ER

ents and children, a condition that may

begin even when the children are small.
In other instances the communication
breaks down during the teen-age stage of
the childs development when the child
and parents stop speaking to one another
because of hurt feelings. However, the
bearing of grudges is condemned by the
Bible. To avoid this, let the sun not set
w ith you in a provoked state, neither allow
place for the Devil.Eph. 4:26, 27; Lev.
19:18.
18 A wholesome fam ily can well be compared to the human body in which every
member functions according to its created
purpose. In the human body if one member fails to do its part the entire body
suffers. However, when this occurs the
healthy members do not chastise, beat and
ill-treat the member that fails in its function. Rather, the rest of the body comes
to the rescue to give aid, assistance and
support to the ailing member by taking
over part of the work load until the sick
member is able to recover its strength. So
too it should be in a fam ily that is wholesomely strong.1 Cor. 12:19-26.
18In addition to the internal causes of
friction, there are a multitude of outside
influences that may disturb the tranquillity of the home if they are not closely
watched and kept in check.
PRESSURES FROM WITHOUT

20The sources of pressure in our times

seem legionfear of thieves and immoral
persons bent on doing harm, dangers of
fearsome diseases, skyrocketing costs of
living, shrunken purchasing power of savings, the seemingly endless stream of crises one atop another due to strikes, riots,
18. How does the function of the hum an body furnish
a fitting exam ple th a t m em bers of a household do
well to copy?
19. From w hat other area m ay a household expect
disturbance if not w atched?
20. (a) Name some of the common sources of pressure
in our tim es, (b) How can the Bible be of aid under
present conditions?

B rooklyn , N .Y .

wars, revolutionsjust to enumerate a

few. While such things are far beyond a
persons control, yet with the aid of the
Bible one is able to prevent such pressures
from disturbing the tranquillity of the
fam ily circle.
21Severe opposition from relatives, or
physical abuse from neighbors, m ay be
the source of pressure on the fam ily. Understanding the reason for this may not
eliminate the pressure, but it will greatly
strengthen the fam ily to endure it. Does
not the Bible say that ones closest relatives may violently oppose those devoted
to Jehovah God and Christ Jesus?Matt.
10 : 21, 22 .
22 Parents who are compelled by economic circumstances to work in association with worldlings are often under great
pressure to conform to this system, the
god of which is the Devil. If you do not
join with them in the same low sink of debauchery, consisting of deeds of loose
conduct, lusts, excesses with wine, revelries, drinking matches, and illegal idolatries, your workmates may speak abusively of you. (1 Pet. 4 :3 5 )Sometimes one
is persecuted because of remaining neutral toward political issues or for refusing
to compromise Bible principles in matters
of honesty, chaste conduct or the use of
blood. But here again such experiences
should never disturb the fam ilys peace of
mind. Happy are you, Jesus said, when
people reproach you and persecute you
and lyingly say every sort of wicked thing
against you for my sake. In fact, the
apostle Paul adds, 8111 those desiring to
live with godly devotion in association
with Christ Jesus will also be persecuted.
Matt. 5:11, 12; 2 Tim. 3:12.
23 Children going to school are much of
the time in close association with others
21, 22. How m ay the rig h t view point of religious opposition and persecution help to prevent these from
disturbing a household?
23. W hat pressures are m any children un d er when
going to school now adays?

O ctober 1, 1971

SEeW ATCH TO W ER

585

who use bad language and display all sorts the old as well as the young. Joshua was a
of immodest conduct. More and more, very old man when told, You must in an
schoolchildren are the victim s of dope ad- undertone read in [Gods Word] day and
diction, rowdyism, physical assault and night, in order that you may take care to
rape inflicted by roving gangs of hood- do according to all that is written in it;
lums who threaten, coerce, beat and in for then you will make your way successother ways intimidate both teachers and ful and then you w ill act w isely. (Josh.
1:8) In a study
p u p ils. I t is in
of the Bible, chilthe schools also
dren learn: Be
where the seeds
obedient to your
of discord and rebellion are plantparents in everything. In a study
ed and cultivated,
of the Bible parwhich, if aUowed
to develop, w ill
ents compelled to
e v e n tu a lly redo u n d esira b le
place the wholew ork
le a r n :
some training inW hatever you
are doing, work
stilled by parents
at hom e. These
at it whole-souled
things are all part
as to J eh o v a h ,
of th e troubled
and not to men.
A reg u lar fa m ily Bible study is on e
tim es in w hich
Col. 3:20, 23,
o f the most im portant w ays to keep
we live, the crit24.
yo u r hom e w holesom e
26
ical tim es hard to
deal with that make up the sign of the will transform your way of thinking in
last days of this system of things. many other ways too so that your mind
will no longer be fashioned after this
2 Tim. 3:1-5.
system of things. (Rom. 12:2) For exYOUR ONLY PROTECTION
ample, those who practice the works
24Make no m istake about it, only by of the flesh, the Bible warns, will not
remaining spiritually strong can one hope inherit Gods kingdom. Such works
to resist the tidal wave of corruption include fornication, uncleanness, loose
sweeping over the world. You cannot turn conduct, idolatry, practice of spiritism,
this tide back but you can improve your enmities, strife, jealousy, fits of anger,
spiritual strength to resist it, and this you contentions, divisions, sects, envies, drunken bouts, revelries, and things like these.
can do with the aid of Gods Word, his
(Gal. 5:19-21) Things like these are
spirit, his organization and by prayer. enumerated in other letters of the apostle
Consider briefly the importance of these as greediness, foolish talking, obscene jestfour aids.
ing (Eph. 5:3-5), and also sexual appetite,
25 A regular fam ily Bible study is most hurtful desire, covetousness, wrath, anger,
beneficial to all members of the household, badness, abusive speech and obscene talk,
all of which should be stripped off as part
24. W hat four aids are available to strengthen the
fam ily bond of unity in th is tim e of the e n d "?
25. Who in a fam ily will benefit from a reg u lar study
of the Bible?

26. W hat wholesome instruction does th e Bible give

on m oral issues of the tim es?

586

SEeW ATCHTOW ER.

B rooklyn , N .Y .

of the old personality. (Col. 3:5-9) Fur- company of Jehovahs witnesses at their
thermore, neither . . . men kept for un- Kingdom Halls? It is there that the W itnatural purposes, nor men who lie with nesses gather together to incite one anmen, nor thieves, . . . nor revilers, nor other to love and fine works, and all
extortioners w ill inherit Gods kingdom. the more so as they see the end of this
system drawing near.1 Cor. 15:33; Heb.
1 Cor. 6:9, 10.
27Doing away w ith all these evil prac- 10:24, 25.
tices in itself would certainly make for a
3 prayer too is a powerful aid in this
much more wholesome home, would it not? time of stress, for the fam ily that prays
But getting rid of the old personality is together in Gods way is the fam ily that
only part of it. The Bible says to put on stays together. Do not be anxious over
a new personality described as one of anything, the Scriptures say, but in evtender affections of compassion, kindness, erything by prayer and supplication along
lowliness of mind, mildness, and longwith thanksgiving let your petitions be
suffering. Also, put up with and forgive
made known to God. Persevere in
one another, and, above all, clothe yourself with love, the perfect bond of union. prayer. Pray incessantly. (Phil. 4:6;
Rom. 12:12; 1 Thess. 5:17) Having on
Col. 3:12-14.
28 Here is where the fam ily needs thethe complete suit of armor, you are able
aid of Gods holy spirit, for without such to stand up against the Devil, only if, in
divine active force it is impossible to de- addition, with every form of prayer and
velop a new, Christlike personality. This supplication you carry on prayer on every
is because love, joy, peace, long-suffering, occasion in spirit. (Eph. 6 :1 1 1 8 )And
kindness, goodness, faith, mildness, self- what should you pray for? Of first concontrol are the fruitage of Gods spirit. cem , Jesus said, is the sanctification of
Whereas there is no law against bear- Jehovahs name and the taking over of
ing such fruitage, there is a law, the king- earths affairs by Gods kingdom; other
ly law, that commands, You must love matters are of secondary importance.
your neighbor as yourself, which law Matt. 6:9-13.
81 Again ask yourself the question, Is my
is particularly applicable among neighhome
wholesome? If you are an overseer
bors (meaning near-dwellers) within
in
the
Christian congregation, surely your
the fam ily circle.Gal. 5:22, 23; Jas. 2:8.
answer
is Yes! For, as the apostle ar2The third important aid to acquiring
gues,
if
indeed any man does not know
peace and unity within the family is association with Gods organization of dedi- how to preside over his own household,
cated and devoted people. The truism Bad how will he take care of Gods congregaassociations spoil useful habits emphasiz- tion? (1 Tim. 3:2-5) On the other hand,
es how important good association is for if your answer is not in the affirmative,
a healthy spirituality. Now, where can then apply the Bible principles here disbetter association be found than in the cussed and you too w ill begin to enjoy a
happy wholesome home.
27. In addition to getting rid of the old personality,M
w hat does the Bible recom m end?
28. Of w hat aid is God's holy sp irit in the development
of a new personality?
29. How can good association be an aid to a wholesome
home, and where can such association be found?

30. W hat does the Bible say about pray er as an aid

in resisting the divisive forces of Satan in this tim e of
the end?
31. W hat will assure a positive answ er to the question,
Is m y home wholesome?

HAT a delight
A dam s o ffs p r in g ,
to see a young
sons of disobedience
child excitedly trying
for the m ost part, have
to tell his parents of
put little fa ith and
some little event that
trust in Jehovah or his
just happened! To this
Word. (Eph. 2:2) In
child the most importhis regard, the relitant thing at the mogious leaders are priment is telling father
m a rily responsible,
and mother the whole
and particularly is this
story, for he feels that,
so in modern times.
above all others, the
The m ajority of the
parents must hear about
clergy today discard the
it. But alas! a few years
Bible as not inspired by
later that warm and inGod, and in its p la ce
timate confidence often
preach that God is dead
deteriorates into icy siand man is a product of
lence, and a deepfreeze of
evolution.Matt. 15:6, 9.
evasiveness sets in.
CRITICAL TIMES
2Why such change in
"Children, be obedien t to your
parents
.

.
you,
fathers,
do
n
ot
HARD
TO DEAL WITH
attitude? Parents and chilb e ir r ita tin g y o u r c h ild r e n
dren who find themselves
4T h o u g h th e s e e d s
Eph. 6 :1 ,4 .
in this unhappy situation
of insubordination were
can give a whole string
planted long ago, it is only
of complaints against each other, but few in modem times that such a bumper crop
of them know the basic reasons for the of rebels has appeared. This generation of
change, otherwise they could cope with it. lawless ones has created a crisis in the
Usually they are too close to the problem earth the like of which has never before
and too emotionally involved to recognize existed. A t the same tim e that internathe cause or to find the remedy by them- tional wars are being fought over border
selves. They need outside aid. They need disputes, other types of warfare are waged
the aid of Gods Word the Bible, for it on many home fronts, and it is these latter
pinpoints the cause and highlights the ones that have the greatest effect on
remedy.
youths. A neighborhood riot has a greater
3
In searching for the cause it must beimpact on children than the bombing of
recognized, first of all, that the seeds of villages in a war zone halfway around the
rebellion against parental authority were globe.
planted long ago. The Devil, that original
8 Local labor disputes are ever more frerebel who is also called Satan, meaning
quent
and more and more difficult to mediadversary or opposer, caused Adam and
ate.
Peace
in such disputes is often reEve to lose confidence in their Father Jestored
only
temporarily. Confidence and
hovah, by calling into question the divine
law. (Gen. 3:1-6; 2 Cor. 11:3) Since then trust are at a low ebb. Labor and management have lost confidence in each other.
1. Describe the change th a t often occurs in a childs

CONFIDE
IN YOU?

a ttitu d e tow ard his parents as he grows older.

2. Is the reason why parents lose the confidence of
th eir children generally recognized? So w hat is needed?
3. W hen w ere the seeds of rebellion against parents
first planted, and by whom ?

4. Are conditions today any worse th a n In p a st generations?

5. W hat are some of the things today th a t are hard
to deal w ith?

587

588

SReW ATCHTOW ER

Meantime everybody suffers. Products and

services deteriorate, the cost of living
soars, the burden of taxation increases.
Everyone seems discontented.
*N ot only is rebellion rampant among
industrial workers, but many civil servants
rebel against constituted authority. Strikes
among municipal, state and federal employees were practically unheard of a few
years ago. But nowadays police, fire fighters, sanitation men, postal workers and
others have gone on strike, not alone for
higher wages, but in protest over other
m atters. There is also an ever-widening
rebellion of teachers against school boards.
7 Besides the disputes over economic
sues, there are those developments of a
more serious nature that involve protests
and rebellions against the present system
of things, against what is called the establishm ent. There are many anti movements afootantiwar, antipeace, antirich
and antipoor. Sometimes these small fires
of discontent cannot be contained until a
number of lives have been lost.
8Of a truth, world affairs are exactly
as foretold by the apostle Paul, critical
tim es hard to deal w ith! The details Paul
described in this way: Men will be lovers
of themselves, lovers of money, selfassuming, haughty, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, disloyal, having no natural affection, not open to
any agreement, slanderers, without selfcontrol, fierce, without love of goodness,
betrayers, headstrong, puffed up with
pride, lovers of pleasures rather than lovers of God, having a form of godly devotion but proving false to its power.
Certainly, these conditions constitute a
mountain of evidence that we are living
6. Are conditions any b e tte r among civil employees?
7. W hat rebellious attitu d es are of an even more serious
n a tu re ?
8. How were present w orld conditions foretold in Bible
prophecy?

B rooklyn , N .Y .

in the last days of this system of things.

2 Tim. 3:1-5.
9 It is not surprising, then, that children
living amid these desperate, critical tim es
are adversely affected. In many instances
the parents have lost confidence in their
social and political leaders, in their industrial superiors, and in their religious teachers. What, then, can be expected of the
children when they start thinking for
themselves? They too lose confidence in
the system around them, and in their parents and grandparents, whom they hold
responsible for the present rotting system.
is-

LISTEN TO YOUR CHILDS COMPLAINTS

10 One of the complaints youngsters have

is their parents failure to understand
them. For example, when youngsters do
confide and disclose a problem they are
having, so often parents become angry
instead of giving the needed help. Thus to
avoid fam ily friction, children feel it is
better not to mention their problems to
their unsympathetic parents.
11There are other complaints too. Parents often tell children what not to do,
but seldom do they say what to do or how
to do it. In other words, the emphasis is
negative rather than on upbuilding instruction. Too often promises are not kept
by parents. They will promise their children something very desirable, but then
fail to fulfill the promise on the flimsy
pretext of being too busy or too tired. So
how can a child trust such parents when
they make promises? The same is true in
regard to parental threats. Sometimes
they are carried out; most of the time
they are not. It thus becomes a game of
chance, a gamble, and the child soon learns
that the odds of the game are that the

9. How are youngsters bound to be affected by present

world conditions?
10. W hat is one com plaint often heard against p arents?
11. (a) W hen giving instructions to children, w hat do
some parents fail to do? (b) Can the prom ises and
opinions of parents alw ays be depended upon?

O ctober 1, 1971

SEeW ATCH TO W ER

589

word of the parent is not

18The charge of the
dependable. Sim ilarly,
teen-agers is true: It is
children are often severeadults, many of whom
ly scolded about certain
are fathers and mothers,
things, but on other ocwho m ake and supply
casions these same things
pornographic books and
are passed over without
pictures for the moral
comment as if unimporco rru p tio n o f y o u th .
tant. All too often these
Some parents, it seems,
changing whims, fancies
are no more concerned
and erratic notions of the
o v er th e ir c h ild r e n s
parents are enough to
reading filthy literature
than they are over what
destroy the childs conB y s y m p a t h e t ic a lly lis te n in g
fidence and alienate his
com panions th eir offto h is c h i l d s p r o b l e m s a n d
trust and affections.
spring have.
com plaints, a paren t encourages
12 One of the more se14
Children al
h is c h i l d to c o n f i d e in h im
rious charges of many
some harsh but honest
teen-agers is that their parents neglect criticism to offer when it comes to the
to instruct them in the very fundamen- personal lives parents sometimes live and
tals of life and its reproduction, that is, the example they are thus setting for
in matters having to do with proper sex youth. Everywhere one finds parents who
relations. Is there not a lack of genuine are liars and thieves, who boast of sharp
love when parents fail to instruct their business practices, who pilfer m aterials
children concerning the sanctity of marfrom their employers and cheat on hours,
riage, or to warn them about promiscuity,
who
break the speed laws and fraudulently
and the consequences of loose moral conwithhold
payment of income taxes. Some
duct that results in shameful pregnancy
out of wedlock and infectious venereal dis- parents are alcoholics, some are hooked
eases that produce blindness, sterility and on drugs, some are adulterers and sex perinsanity? Where is parental love when a verts. It is a rather common thing for
husbands and w ives
daughter is not told
to scream and curse
that a girl of easy virat each other in the
tue in the end becomes
presence
of their childespicable in the eyes
dren.
And
yet for all
of her so-called lovof this, these same parers? Where is there
ents often make a prelo ve on th e p a rt o f
tense of religious devoparents who let their
tion of a sort. What a
c h ild r e n le a r n th e
sham! Pious hypocrisy!
facts of life from the
And their children well
depraved and degenerknow it.
ate elements of soci13. W ho are responsible to a
ety?
large extent fo r the corruption
12. W hat is lacking w hen parents fail to tell th e ir children
the facts of life?

of youth by pornography?
14. W hat o th er harsh criticism
is lodged a g ain st m any parents
today, and is i t Justified?

590

fEeW ATCH TO W ER.

B r o o k l y n , N .Y .

15
Is it reasonable to expect that the off-w ill prove to be worth all the tim e and
spring of such people would put confidence effort necessary to gain it back. Here are
and trust in their parents? Hardly! They a few suggestions how this may be acare more likely to seek out companions complished.
they enjoy being around, and according
18Begin by laying a solid foundation.
to the natural law that birds of a feather That durable foundation is your own confidence and faith in
f lo c k t o g e t h e r ,
your heavenly Fath ose com panions
ther, Jehovah, and
w ill probably be a
N E X T IS S U E S P E C I A L !
in his Word the Bigang of youths with
ble. Trust in Jehosim ilar problem s.
When
A ll Nations Collide, vah with all your
T h ese, th en , w ill
Head On, with God
heart, the proverb
confide in one ansays, and do not
o th e r and wi l l
lean upon your own
frankly discuss their
mutual complaints. Whether the conclu- understanding. In all your ways take nosions they come up with will solve the tice of him, and he him self w ill make
problems makes little difference. At least your paths straight. If you put such imthey have someone they can talk to, some- plicit confidence in Jehovah, do you not
one who w ill listen, someone who will sym- think your children in turn will be inclined
to trust you? Usually they will.Prov.
pathize with them.
18 Little by little, these youths are 3:5, 6.
19
Now upon this solid foundation of
weaned away from the guardianship of
their parents. When they get into, trouble trust, lay that important cornerstone
now they confide in the gang. As their called love, love for your Father Jehovah.
feeling of security in the gang grows, their Loving him with all your heart, soul, mind
feeling of bitterness toward their parents and strength is the greatest and first
deepens. It is now only a short step to commandment. (Matt. 22:37, 38; Mark
joining protest groups in an effort to 12:30) If you love Jehovah, you w ill love
vent their contempt for the society with what he loves and you will hate what he
hates. Jehovah hates everyone that pracwhich their parents are identified.
tices badnessfornicators, idolaters, adulHOW TO GAIN THE
terers, homosexuals, thieves, greedy perCONFIDENCE OF YOUR CHILDREN
sons, drunkards, revilers, extortioners,
1TIt is much easier to hold on to and
liars. Such ones, God says, w ill not live
keep the confidence of a child than to
under his righteous Kingdom rule unless
gain it back once it is lost. So if your
children confide in you do not take it for they radically change their course. (1 Cor.
granted, but work hard to retain this good 6:9, 10; Gal. 5:19-21; Eph. 5:3-5; Rev. 21:
relationship that is mutually so beneficial. 8; 22:15) So you lovers of Jehovah, hate
If, though, you are one of the many thou- what is bad by refraining from all such
sands of despondent parents who have practices. (Ps. 97:10; 1 John 5:3) Belost the confidence of their offspring, it cause of doing so, do you not think your
15,16. (a) W hat companions do rebellious youths often
seek out, and w hy? (b) Does association w ith gangs
solve youths problem s?
17. As parents, w hether you have the confidence of
y our children o r not, w hat should you do?

18. How im portant is it for parents to pu t th e ir full

confidence in Jehovah?
19. (a) W hy is love for Jehovah so im portant? (b) Are
children m ore a p t to confide in parents who hate w hat
is bad?

October 1, 1971

S& eW ATCHTOW ER

children w ill build confidence in you? Of

course they will.Col. 3:5-9.
20When persons get rid of these bad
practices it is as if they stripped off an
old personality. In its place they are
admonished to put on a new personality,
consisting of tender affections of compassion, kindness, hum ility, mildness, longsuffering, love, a putting up with others,
and a forgiving of all who may cause one
injury. (Col. 3:10-14; Eph. 4:22-24) Now
what do you think? Will your children
confide in you if you display such a delightful personality, a personality reflecting the fruitage of Gods spirit? Indeed
they will!Gal. 5:22, 23.
21The Scripture says: If we confess
our sins, he is faithful and righteous so
as to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us
from all unrighteousness. (1 John 1:9)
Only when you parents thus confide in
Jehovah, asking him in prayer to forgive
you your debts, as you also have forgiven
your debtors, asking him to point out the
right way to go in this wicked world, saying, Instruct me, O Jehovah, in your way,
and lead me in the path of uprightness on
account of my foes, only then can you
expect your children to feel free to bring
you their problems and to ask advice and
counsel on what they should do.Matt.
6:12; Ps. 27:11.
22 And when your children come to confide in you, how will they be treated? Will
you extend them mercy in the same way
that you expect your Father in the heavens to extend mercy to you? Remember,
the one that does not practice mercy
will have his judgment without mercy.
(Jas. 2:13; Mark 11:25; Luke 6:36) You
20. Describe th e new personality th a t parents are
urged to put on.
21. W hat m ust parents do if they w ish th e ir children
to confide in them ?
22. W hat exam ple of extending m ercy do parents do
well to copy?

591

are happy that your heavenly Father is

long-suffering and patient with you, that
he tolerated with much long-suffering
vessels of wrath made fit for destruction,
and that he is patient with you because
he does not desire any to be destroyed.
(Rom. 9:22; 2 Pet. 3:9) You, therefore,
in turn make sure you are long-suffering
and patient with your children and their
problems. As the proverb says: Anyone
stopping up his ear from the complaining
cry of the lowly one, he him self also will
call and not be answered.Prov. 21:13.
23Another point: Never think that the
problems of your children are too petty
and small for you to bother about, and
never excuse yourself that you are too
busy to consider them. Just think how
small and petty your problems must seem
in the eyes of God Almighty! And who
could be busier than he is? Yet you are
most grateful that his ears are open day
and night to your cry and that he never
tires of listening to and answering your
prayers, as trivial as they may be.Ps.
34:15; Luke 18:7, 8.
HOW CONFIDENCE OF CHILDREN IS RETAINED

24
You parents who have put complete
confidence in Jehovah, make sure you apply his wise counsel and instruction in
dealing with your children, if you want
them to confide in you. Communicate
with them, and on their age level too.
When they are youngsters, do not treat
them as babes; when they are teen-agers,
speak to them as such. (1 Cor. 13:11) In
communicating, impart knowledge to your
offspring, especially about Gods purposes
as set forth in the Bible. Reason with
them, letting them ask questions and ex23. W hy should the problem s of y o u r offspring never
be viewed as too sm all to bother w ith?
24. In com m unicating w ith y our children, w hat points
should be kept in m ind?

592

SHeW ATCHTOW ER,

B r o o k l y n , N .Y .

press their own opinions. If they are Word of God. This will help the child that
wrong, kindly point out their error in a fears God and loves his laws to be happy
loving way, not in a belittling manner. to obey the rules of the home. Then, fol25
If instruction is to accomplish its in-lowing this, if punishment is necessary,
tended purpose, it must be accompanied the child will know that it is because there
w ith corrective discipline. Begin disciplin- has been a willful and deliberate violation
ing children when they are infants; then of the Bible-based instructions.
28 But even then, let the punishment be
when they are growing up they will not
have the problems other youngsters have. administered in justice tempered with
As it is written: Train up a boy accord- mercy. Let the parent, in im itation of the
ing to the way for him; even when he heavenly Father, demonstrate understandgrows old he will not turn aside from it. ing and sympathy, together with patience
True, no discipline seems for the present and self-control. Punishment by ridicule
to be joyous, but grievous; yet afterward before friends makes the child downto those who have been trained by it it hearted, even hostile. Hence the counsel:
yields peaceable fruit, namely, righteous- You fathers, do not be exasperating
your children, so that they do not become
ness.Prov. 22:6; Heb. 12:11.
28Do not hesitate to use the rod in ad- downhearted. Do not be irritating your
m inistering discipline. Foolishness is tied children.Col. 3:21; Eph. 6:4.
up w ith the heart of a boy; the rod of dis29 In all of this, parents should never be
cipline is what w ill remove it far from indecisive or double-minded, saying one
him. In case you beat him with the rod, thing one tim e and something else at other
he w ill not die. With the rod you yourself times. Let your Yes mean Yes, and your
should beat him, that you may deliver No, No. (Jas. 5:12; 4:8) Humility, too,
his very soul from Sheol itself.Prov. is a great virtue and one pleasing to God.
So avoid being high-minded, arrogant or
22:15; 23:13, 14.
27
However, such punishment shouldboastful. Jehovah hates the proud-hearted
never be administered in a fit of anger ones. Your children too w ill love you if
nor should it be a burst of emotion due you are humble-minded, and if they love
to a lack of self-control. It would hardly you, they w ill also confide in you.Prov.
be just to punish a child for doing some- 16:5; 1 Pet. 5:5, 6.
thing that he had never been told was
30 It is all so plain. If children are freely
wrong. First there must be careful, pa- to confide in their parents, then the partient instruction given, a mental-regulat- ents themselves must show faith in Jehoing of Jehovah, in which the child knows vah, devotion to him and obedience to his
not only what is reasonably expected, but Word. They must also demonstrate in their
also why. (Eph. 6:4) So when making daily lives such godly qualities as mercy,
rules and regulations be sure they are in sympathy, kindness, patience and selfharmony with Bible principles and in this control, along with integrity to the truth
way you can always say, Thus says the and a love for righteousness. Only in this
way can parents hope to gain and retain
25. Along w ith instruction w hat else should parents
give th eir children, bu t w hat does Hebrews 12:11 say
the
confidence of their children.
about this?
26. W hy should parents not hesitate to use the rod, if
necessary, to discipline children?
27. (a) B ut w hat precautions are needed in administerin g punishm ent? (b) W hy is it im portant th a t the
rules of the home be based on the Bible and its principles?

28. In im itation of Jehovah, how should parents discipline th eir children?

29. W hat other virtues should parents cultivate?
30. How only can parents gain and re ta in the confldence of th eir children?

5 WHAT ABOUT
.

gss

VERY normal person wants to get the prime of life are vanity. What does
real enjoyment out of life. The Bible this mean?
shows that this is proper, listing joy as
Here the Bible is saying that young perone of the fruits of Gods spirit.Gal. sons (and in Bible tim es a man was con5:22.
sidered young even at thirty or more
Many young people, especially in West- years of age) are not directly held back
ern lands, look to dating as a prime means by God from doing according to their
of finding enjoyment. They often arrange choice. But it also shows that God neverto spend time, unchaperoned,
theless holds young persons
with someone of the opposite Helpful facts that young responsible for what they do.
people want to know
sex. Should you?
Their youth w ill not excuse
Some persons feel th at
them from facing the conanything that brings pleasure is worth sequences of the course they choose.
But what does this have to do with
while. But is that true? All of us have
learned that pleasure
can bring pain dating? Well, ask yourself, Why do I
lateras when a person eats too much want to date? What am I looking for that
I could not enjoy, for example, as part
candy and gets sick afterward.
If you believe in reasoning things out, of a group? Why do I want to pair off
with one person, someone of the opposite
you will want to consider not just the
sex?
short-range effects of dating but also the
Is it because you are interested in marlonger-range results. True, youth is the rying the other person?* Most young perspringtime of life. But what about sons who date would not say that they
the other seasons ahead? Do they mat- are seriously thinking of marriage at prester to you?
ent or that they necessarily would like the
Have you ever read these words ad- person they date for a marriage partner.
dressed to the young man at Ecclesiastes In most places where dating is considered
11:9, 10? Rejoice, young man, in your to be customary, it is viewed merely as a
youth, and let your heart do you good in form of recreation, a way to spend an evethe days of your young manhood, and ning or a weekend. But is that all there
walk in the ways of your heart and in is to it?

the things seen by your eyes. But know

that on account of all these the true God
w ill bring you into judgment. So remove
vexation from your heart, and ward off
calamity from your flesh; for youth and

THE EFFECTS OF PHYSICAL CONTACT

Some young persons, not wanting to be

viewed as different, date because others
* Serious courtship p rio r to m arriage w ill be given
consideration in a fu tu re article in th is series.

594

f& eW ATCHTOW ER

their own age do. But the basic reason

why young persons date is because of the
growing attraction they feel toward those
of the opposite sex. This can be seen from
the fact that physical attractiveness usually has a lot to do with ones being desirable as a date. Also, more often than
not, dating involves some physical contactholding hands, kissing, or something beyond that.
Because of this, the m atter is one for
serious thought, at least if one wants to
avoid the vexation, or even calamity,
the Bible warns about. A t first, just touching the other persons hand may be very
pleasurable, causing one to feel a warm
glow. But after a while it may lose its
thrill and may not have the same effect.
Something more, such as kissing, may appeal. But then that too may become ordinary, even a little stale. Why is this?
Because it is all part of a chain of
events designed to lead to a specific outcome. The first link is the first touch. The
last link is sexual relations, which Gods
Word shows is reserved for marriage
mates. Everything in between is just leading up to that last link of the chain. No
m atter how much you may try to convince
yourself that this is not the case, you
cannot change the facts of life. This is the
way humans are made.
So, then, if you are not married or even
engaged to be married, is it wise to start
w ith that first link, or any of the others?
To do so is only going to bring vexation.
Why? Because your body is going to get
itself ready for something it should not
receive, that last link. Stimulating the desire for sexual relations but not fulfilling
this desire leads to irritation and frustration, nervous tension. It becomes a choice
between vexation and fornication.
But not even fornication w ill end the
vexation. And it leads to calamity. How?
Besides keeping you from having a clean

B r o o k l y n , N .Y .

conscience toward God, it can result in

venereal disease. There has been a fantastic rise in such disease among young
people. This can deprive a young woman
of the ability to bear children, and in either sex it can lead to ruin of the nervous
system. Is that what you want?
Fornication can also result in an unwanted pregnancy. This could pressure a
couple into a marriage they really are not
prepared for. How would that affect their
likelihood of future happiness? The facts
are not encouraging. In the United States,
for example, more them half of all teenage marriages end in divorce. Many of
these marriages were entered into because
of pregnancy. Doubtless so many of these
marriages failed because neither person in
the marriage had much reason for feeling
real respect or admiration for the other.
Their marriage only brought them vexationand ended in calamity.
On the other hand, the young man may
refuse to marry the young woman he has
made pregnant. She is then obliged to
bring up the child herself with no husband.
Or she may be tempted to undergo an
abortion, which the Bible shows to be a
form of murder. Is this not calamity?
You may be determined that dating will
not have these consequences for you. But
many of those who wound up facing these
troubles were just as determined.
YOUR PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT

And even when dating does not lead directly to calam ity, it has other disadvantages. One is that it narrows your interest down to just one personat a time
when, for the development of your own
emotional maturity, you can benefit most
from association with a wide variety of
persons. If you are in your young manhood, why not first concentrate on becoming a real man by having your main
friendships with other men who demon-

O ctober 1 ,

1971

SEeWATCHTOWER.

595

strate love for what is right, learning ent generation. You can too. You can find
manly abilities and ways from them? If real enjoyment in conversing, learning, deyou are in your young womanhood, why veloping skills, working on projects, playnot interest yourself first in developing ing games, going places and seeing things.
into a true woman, benefiting from asso- And you can find great pleasure in doing
ciation with those who are and who can
these things with someone of your own sex
help you to develop fine womanly abilities
or with a group. You w ill often find that
and ways? Dating really interrupts and
the wider the range of persons in the group
slows down such development.
some your age, some older, some younSo are you helping yourself or hurting
yourself if you date? The evidence is that gerthe more enjoyment you will have.
Why not spend the prime of your life
you are hurting yourself. You are opening
in
a way that will really bring you good
yourself up to vexation and calamity.
willConstrengthen your heart for gaining
As the book
TheFamily inand
Social
text shows, Dating as we know it prob- a life of enduring happiness? This is unably emerged after World War I. People doubtedly what your parents want for you.
before World War I, young people includ- And you know from his Word that this is
ed, found plenty of things to bring them en- what your Creator wants for you. Accept
joymentprobably more so than the pres their help.

ASSEMBLIES

tkat fouSy

EXALT THE DIVINE NAME

Hi T THE [Riverfront] stadium,
they w ill set up a little city,
ruled by Jehovah, was the way a feature
writer for the Enquirer described the Divine Name D istrict Assembly then in
preparation in Cincinnati.
This forecast also proved to be true of
all the thirty-four assemblies held in the
United States and the eleven in Canada
from late June through August.
Indeed, from advance preparation right
through the five-day program, it was evident that the assembled witnesses of Jehovah enjoyed the smile of their God and
Creator, whom they recognize as control
tt

ling their activities. The dominant spirit

of the assembly was exalting the Divine
Name, as well as the making of a good
name with God. Outstanding stress was
placed on spirituality, the need of obtaining it, how to guard it, and the building
up of others spiritually.
This attitude so permeated the gatherings that a writer in the Atlanta Constitution was moved to say: They come
seeking spiritual sustenance and refreshment, help with their problems or help
with helping somebody they loveand
they love everybody.

596

S& eW ATCHTOW ER

B rooklyn , N .Y .

PREPARATION
and attendants, rooming accommodations,
It is no small undertaking to arrange volunteer service assignment organization
and prepare for such assemblies, at which and a host of other things all set up by
an aggregate attendance of hundreds of the opening day.
thousands of persons is expected. Well
over a year beforehand, sometimes years
CITIES WELCOME THE ASSEMBLIES
ahead, work is begun to provide the new
In tim es past, opposition from religions
Bible literature that w ill be released. Also, of Christendom created much trouble for
convention sites are selected and contract- Jehovahs witnesses in obtaining assemed for. Months ahead, the
bly sites. Also, because of
clergy influence on local citiprinting plant of the Watchzens, rooming accommodatower Bible and Tract Society begins its typesetting and
tion s w ere som etim es difprinting. Bound books keep
f ic u lt to g e t . E v e n c it y
o fficia ls and businessm en
the plants bookbinding department busy right down to
were affected by the misrepconvention time. The assemresentation of the W itnesses
blys printed releases, on top
motives and reliability. But
of the normal demand for the
to d a y th is is r a r e ly th e
Societys Bibles, Bible books
case.
and magazines, put an extra
A reporter for the Monstrain on facilities and usutreal Star, observing so many
ally call for working extra
gathered together (22,692 attime.
tended in a race grounds),
remarked: The Bible has
In addition, the program
m ust be prepared, w ith a
drawn more here than the
view to the needs of Chrisraces. Jehovahs W itnesses
tians in todays world situjust never give up. The peoon M ilw a u kee C ity H a il
ation. Some of the primary Sign
pie who were fighting you
w elcom es conventioners
are not around anymore, but
talks are printed in manuscript form; others are outlined, so that Jehovahs W itnesses are still here.
Typical of the attitude of officials, audithe same spiritual food is received regardless of which assembly a person attends. torium managers and businessmen are the
Bible dramas are recorded and sent to the following examples.
On the second day of the Memphis asassembly sites in tim e for performers to
sembly
the Commercial Appeal editoriallearn the script and pantomime the words
ized:
coming over the public-address system.
FIFTEEN THOUSAND strong, the JeOther dramas are thoroughly prepared, rehovahs Witnesses have entered Memphis
hearsed and presented live.
lor a five-day meeting and Memphis is glad
to welcome them.
Besides all this, there are thousands of
The Witnesses are a diligent group. They
man-hours spent organizing each local ashave been to Memphis in the past, and
their conduct has always been exemplary.
sembly, so that there are a cafeteria, reThe
sect is an evangelical one whose memfreshment stands, attendants to handle
bers work as volunteers. Their convention is
the crowds, a large cleaning crew, publictrying to keep costs down lor their hardaddress equipment, parking arrangements
pressed workers, and the impromptu cafe-

October 1, 1971

SfieW ATCH TO W ER

teria they have put together is an example

of their careful planning.
Such industriousness on their part makes
them welcome guests. We hope they find the
city hospitable.

And the Memphis Press-Scimitar noted

that the crowd, being a fam ily affair,
was too big for the citys largest convention hall, then remarked: By the tim e
the Witnesses schedule their next assembly in Memphis the citys new Everett
Cook Convention Center on North Main
will be ready for them. The W itnesses are
always a welcome group. They maintain
high standards of conduct and civility and
they take care of their own problems.
Such was the reception in virtually all
the assembly cities. Only in a few remote
cases was there a question when auditorium managers or officials were approached.
But when they were directed to call other
managers and officials with whom the Witnesses had previously dealt, their doubts
were allayed. The director of Veterans

597

Stadium in Philadelphia remarked to news

reporters that he had talked to some other
stadium officials before renting the stadium. He added: They are a prime catch
to get in. They attract a lot of people but
do a tremendous job cleaning up and taking care of their own needs.
Similar cooperation by police, city authorities and businessmen was a feature
of every assembly in the United States
and Canada. So marked was the success
of the rooming accommodations activity
that it prompted comment in the Albuquerque, New Mexico, News: [It] almost
makes one feel Somebody Important is
taking a personal interest in m atters.
PURPOSE OF THE ASSEMBLIES

The assemblies m ight be described as

having a twofold purpose: (1) to exalt
the Divine Name Jehovah in the minds
and hearts of Jehovahs witnesses and of
all others whom they can reach (Matt.

598

SReW ATCHTOW ER.

Spea k er a t M ilw a u k e e releases

com plete A id to B ible U n derstan din g

6 :9 ); and (2) to provide education for

themselves, their children and others in
obedience to the divine principles for
which that Name stands.
The assemblys keynote talk, delivered
on the opening day, was entitled Whose
Name Do You Respect MoreYour Own
or Gods? It was shown clearly that the
clergy of Christendom put themselves
ahead of God, preferring their own ideas
instead of Gods Word. In contrast, a major feature of this assembly was the emphasis on use of the Bible. Daily Bible
reading was encouraged for each family.
And, for real depth of understanding and
proper application, the need of considering the background and events surrounding the Bible books, also the context of
the portion being read, was demonstrated.
The need of giving heed to the sovereignty of God and the vindication of the
Divine Name was highlighted in the publie talk When All Nations Collide, Head
On, with God. This climactic talk on the
assemblys final day was the occasion of

B rooklyn , N .Y .

the peak attendance, which soared up to

678,359, in the United States and Canada.
The assemblies actually constitute major steps in preparation for life in a new
order where justice, orderliness, peace,
real love and concern for one another w ill
prevail. Jehovahs witnesses are trying to
live that way now.
The W itnesses really believe the Lords
Prayer, which requests of God: Let
your kingdom come. Let your w ill take
place, as in heaven, also upon earth.
(Matt. 6:10) They follow Jesus counsel:
Keep on, then, seeking first the kingdom
and [Gods] righteousness. And it has
truly made them happy.Matt. 6:33.
Some persons like Jehovahs witnesses
but do not want to listen to what they
believe from Gods Word. But were it not
for Gods Word and the application of its
principles in their lives their conduct would
not be exemplary and they would not be
able to hold such fine assemblies. Some
people recognize this. One woman in Portland, Oregon, said to two of Jehovahs witnesses who spoke to her about providing
rooming accommodations in her home for
visiting delegates: You are so warm, kind
and good. It must be your religion that
makes you that way.
A columnist in the Buffalo Evening
News wrote: W itnesses just regard consideration of other peoples property as
Christian conduct. She reported an experience of a householder in Tonawanda,
New York, who at first had hesitated to
list rooms for delegates, but afterward
said: If all people were like them, Id like
to rent my rooms out every week. If it
was a rainy day, they even took their
shoes off before they came in the house,
so they wouldnt dirty the carpets. They
were among the most polite people Ive
ever m et.

October 1, 1971

fE eW A TC H T O W E R

TEACHING

The assembly program laid heavy stress

on teaching. Communication on the family
level must be kept open, the conventioners
were told. To aid parents to avoid a generation gap, children must be taught in
very early years. Before the speaker announced the release of the 192-page book
Listening to the Great Teacher he said,
addressing parents: Do not think that
your children w ill naturally become disciples just because you are. They will not
be followers of Jesus Christ unless you
teach them that way."
Parents received the book as a real boon
in helping them to set up an organized
teaching program, to get across to the
children deep Bible truths and principles
of Christian conduct in plain, simple words
and illustrations. Children attending the
assembly also showed that they were eager to receive such Bible teaching, as they
were seen on the convention grounds in
hundreds, clutching tightly the book that

Y o u n g ones e n jo y discussing n ew b o o k
Listening to the G re a t T ea ch er

599

was for
em/ or deeply engrossed in
th
reading it them selves.
Prior to the publication of this book a
series of sim ilar articles had appeared in
The Watchtower. Some persons had been
cutting out the articles and making a book.
One parent remarked: My children check
on me every week to be sure I dont miss
an article. We make a game of reading
these articles. The children answer every
question the article asks. In fact, we have
to insist that they hold up their hands first,
to keep all from talking at once. These
articles prompt the children to think and
to participate m entally. Another said: I
was struck by the point that a child learns
so quickly, even difficult concepts.
Such careful parental teaching brings
rich rewards. In this world of fam ily disintegration the fam ily unity among true
Christians is notable, as a Lansing, Michigan, reporter observed in the State Journal: The sea of old and young faces in
the auditorium, the corridors and overflow ing in the exh ib ition hall
downstairs is a show of fam ily
solidaritya keystone of the religions practice. This bond extends to the whole body of adherents. (Italics added.)
The teaching program does not
stop with the young ones, said
one convention speaker. We are
all in a school in which there are
no graduations. All of us must
continue to learn from the inexhaustible storehouse of God. The
Divine Name shines with greater
and greater brilliance as we learn
more about Jehovahs w ays. He
then released to those assembled
the Theocratic Ministry School
Guidebook, to be used in the ministry school held weekly in each
congregation of Jehovahs witnesses for both young and old.

600

SEeW ATCH TO W ER

B r o o k l y n , N .Y .

For more advanced Bible knowledge, a and the entering of Gods people into his
new order of righteousness are so near.
1,700-page book,
Aid Bible Understanding, was released. This book, similar in
AIMED AT THE HEART
style to a Bible dictionary, represented
Many
were
the remarks of appreciation
seven years of research.
for the fine material presented on the
program. But as much appreciated as the
MORALITY
Throughout the program, morals re- information itself was the spirit it engenceived strong attention. Young folks were dered, due to the programs focus on the
interviewed on the platform, discussing heart. One conventioner, who has walked
the drug problem as it exists in the in this way of truth for nineteen years,
schools. A father and mother talked the expressed such sentiments. He said: The
matter over with their teen-age children, program was of a very personal nature,
alerting them to the drug danger and giv- motivating one to examine his heart coning counsel as to why and how they should dition and that of his fam ily, and to proavoid drug use. This reasoning, under- vide loving Scriptural help as needed. It
standing way of approach served as a mod- has made me more aware of my obligation
el for parents, who must know what their to give more assistance to the congregachildren are doing and must arm them tion. Another, when asked what he
against the drug menace if they wish to viewed as the overall main point of the
save them.
program, answered: A love of God and
not
of statistics. We want the Divine Name
On the platform, some were interviewed
to
be
vindicated.
who had in the past used drugs but who
by reason of learning and applying Bible
A feature of the program that absorbed
principles had freed themselves from the attention of all was entitled What
drugs. In several of the convention cities, Is in Your Heart? The participants in
these youths were later interviewed ex- this drama underwent heart-searching
tensively on radio and TV. After one in- situations common to Christians. On the
terview, the news director of an Atlanta stage giant models of the brain and the
radio station concluded: Your young heart lighted up as each was speaking
folks not only have answers about the Bi- inside the individual wrestling with a diffible, but they also have answers concern- cult moral decision. The drama Making
ing the drug problem.
Jehovahs Purpose Your Way of Life,
portraying
the devotion of Ruth the
Many were moved by the drama JehoMoabitess
to
the God of Naomi, touched
vah Blesses the Loyal Ones, portraying
the
hearts
of
all. Ruths words, Where
the snare that the ancient Israelites fell
you
go
I
shall
go,
. . . Your people will be
into by association with the immoral, idolmy
people,
and
your
God my God, moved
worshiping Moabites just as Israel was
the
listeners
to
search
their own hearts to
about to move into the Promised Land.
see
whether
they
too
are making them(Numbers chapters 22-25) The fact that
selves
fully
available
to
serve in promoting
loose, sexually filthy conduct of any kind
is a sin, just as are fornication and idola- the worship of the true God, Jehovah.
try, was clearly set forth. The drama drove
The consensus as to the effectiveness of
home to all observers the great danger of the drama method of presentation was
bad associations in this tim e when the de- echoed by an assembly delegate in Portstruction of this present system of things land, Oregon, who stated: The talks and

October 1, 1971

S&eWATCHTOWER-

dramas have forcefully stressed the need to

guard our hearts? to take prompt action
to expel wrong thoughts. Another, from
Washington state, remarked: The thing
that was emphasized at this assembly was
love, helping all of us to search our hearts
and see the depth of our loyalty and devotion to Jehovah and Christ Jesus.
Indeed, Out of [the heart] are the
sources of life. It is as a delegate from
the Poughkeepsie, New York, congregation concluded: The matter of correct
motivationswhy we do things, not just
what we doseems to be the thread of
thought spun by the majority of speakers,
since it is the heart Jehovah judges, not
just ones works or what he appears to be
outwardly.Prov. 4:23; 21:2.
Thus the Divine Name assemblies
truly exalted the Name of Jehovah before
Gods own people. And their orderliness,
cleanliness, good manners and happy spirit

601

glorified in the eyes of all beholders the

Name of the God Jehovahs witnesses
serve. A staff writer for the Shreveport
Journal entitled a feature article on the assembly, They W itness to a Happy D eity.
The heartfelt sincerity that worship of
the true God Jehovah brings was noted by
a writer in the Greensboro, North Carolina,
Daily News. Viewing the higher ratio
of ethnic mixture than most other religious groups, he said, The business of
brother and sister is not pretended.
Jehovahs witnesses are happy that their
activities are resulting in exaltation of
the Divine Name. But they realize that
they must keep on seeking the kingdom
and Gods righteousness by making constant improvements in their ministry to
God. This broad subject was also considered on the assembly program, and will
be discussed in the following article.

STRENGTHENING THE MINISTRY

HAT is it th a t g iv e s
strength to a servant of
God to maintain clean and honest
living in the everyday world as
he faces all the pressures and difAcuities encountered today? And what, in
addition, empowers him to go to the homes
of people in his community to recommend
and teach his faith to others?
It is Gods spirit, obtained by studying
his Word the Bible and then putting its
principles into practice. Doing all this constitutes the Christians ministry. This
ministry must receive constant attention.
That is why Jehovahs witnesses are very

(jot the ukrtk akttuL

zealous for association together in meetings for Bible discussion.
That is also why Jehovahs witnesses
arrange for three assemblies a year, one
usually being a district assembly or even
a national or international one that brings
thousands together. In the summer of
1971, 678,359 persons attended the Divine
Name assemblies in the United States and
Canada. Britain and Europe also enjoyed

602

SHeWATCHTOWER.

B rooklyn , N.Y.

Forty-five D ivine N a m e assem blies o f Je h o v a h s witnesses w ere h eld in C a n a d a a n d U .S .A .;

3 6 ,3 3 5 attended here in C incinnati

assemblies, with later conventions scheduled for other parts of the earth.

A few of the comments heard on the

convention grounds show the spirit that
this talk generated in its hearers. An
THE INTERNAL MINISTRY
overseer in a New York city congregation
The strengthening of the Christian said: Perhaps in the past some of Jehom inistry was one of the major objectives vahs servants have been overly concerned
of the assemblies. The internal ministry with figures and performing duties in a
received special focus, and a new viewpoint precisely prescribed manner, whereas the
and attitude were gaineda more Biblical important thing is the heart motivation, a
view of the ministry, particularly as de- deep love of Jehovah.
scribed by the apostle Paul in First
A traveling representative of the WatchCorinthians chapter twelve, where he talks tower Society in Florida commented: One
about the varieties of m inistries.
thing that stood out was the building up
In a talk discussing the m inistry it was of the fam ily spiritually. . . . Sometimes
shown that, while preaching to outsiders the brothers get depressed because they
and teaching them by means of home Bible cannot do very much in the field m inistry.
studies is important, this is only one of . . . This will bring a spirit to the congremany m inistries of Christians. The in- gation that those who cant get out into the
ternal m inistrytraining of ones family, field service as much as they like are being
calling on others who are sick or in need faithful by building up the spirituality of
of help, sharing in Christian meetings, their fam ilies. They wont feel left out.
preparing talksall are ministries. Taking
Another delegate from New York statcare of other responsibilities in connection ed that he was especially delighted to
with the congregation and the Kingdom see the emphasis placed on loving enHall, even honest, conscientious conduct in couragement and shepherding, rather than
caring for the needs of ones family, are mere reports. There are so many of our
m inistries. A Christian must be circum- brothers and sisters, he said, who are
spect in everything he does, that his minis- elderly or otherwise limited, but yet who
try may not be found fault with.
make tremendous contributions to the

O ctober 1, 1971

SHeWATCHTOWEFL

overall health, spirituality and welfare of

the congregation in so many ways. It is
good to see that their m inistry in these
ways has received due recognition. The
emphasis that there is no special class,
but that all are brothers, was also fine.
I was happy to hear the speaker point
out, said an overseer from California,
that we dont want to say our pioneers
[full-time preachers] are worth more than
the other members of the congregation.
We have fine brothers and sisters who
cannot spend full tim e preaching, just as
we have fine pioneers.

Fam ily B ible re a d in g w a s en co u ra g e d b y the

pro gra m

APOSTOLIC CONGREGATIONS

The talks that dealt with the governing

arrangement of the early Christian congregation, and that outlined its application
today, brought forth enthusiastic response.
Jehovahs witnesses have always been
happy to conform to the apostolic method
of congregation organization and operation to the extent that they have understood it, and their spiritual prosperity and
increase are evidence that God has looked
upon them with favor.
In recent years the arrangement has
been that one mature mem was the over-

603

seer, the one prim arily responsible for

shepherding the congregation. Other appointed servants were assistants to him.
However, a recent study of Biblical,
apostolic congregation structure made by
the governing body of Jehovahs witnesses
revealed that, in one particular, the congregations need an adjustment in order to
be more perfectly in line with that of the
first century congregations.
In harmony with this understanding it
was called to the conventioners attention,
from the Bible, that the apostolic method
of governing each congregation was by
means of a
of elders,
spiritually mature men appointed from among the male
members, and who were also
overseers of the congregation.
All these were equal in authority, not merely assistants
to one man. Each apparently
acted in turn as chairman, but
while serving as such he was
not the overseer. This arrangement had the effect of
spreading the responsibility
and providing a m ore balanced governing arrangement
for the congregations.
assem bly
How was this notable Bible
principle of organization received by the assembled crowds?
Well, Jehovahs witnesses realize that
Jehovah progressively leads and refines his
people. They have experienced sim ilar adjustments before and recognize that advancement has come because of Gods leading. They also are aware of the fact that
they would not be true representatives of
God and his kingdom if they should refuse to accept such changes.
To get expressions on individual attitudes toward the new arrangement many
of the responsible men, those serving as
overseers of various congregations, and

604

SEeWATCHTOWER,

others, were interviewed. The general

feeling that this structural adjustment was
a step forward was well summed up in the
expression of three of these men.
One, a traveling minister serving a number of congregations in the Chicago area,
said: It has to work; it is from Jehovah. Another, who supervises a large area
known as a district in western United
States, envisioned a greater flow of Gods
spirit because of a closer feeling of one
Mediator between God and men. A fine
expression by a delegate from Oregon was
that the emphasis away from the individual, with none possessing the primary
authority in the congregation, will focus
more attention on the true Head of the
congregation, Jesus Christ.
Others spoke of the benefits to the individual m inister in the congregation. It
w ill be an encouragement to all mature
men to take hold of responsibility, said
a Chicago W itness of long experience. A
public expression was made by the as-

B rooklyn , N .Y .

2 ,5 5 6 w e re b a p t iz e d a t a s s e m b lie s
in C a n a d a a n d th e U n ite d S ta te s

sembled conventioners in Cincinnati, stating: How grateful we are to be a part

of an organization that is so intensely interested in the spiritual welfare of its
people.
ORGANIZED FOR A MOMENTOUS FUTURE

A t P h ila d e lp h ia m is s io n a rie s fro m W e s t

A f r ic a d iscu ss n e w T h e o c ra tic M in is try
S c h o o l G u id e b o o k

Thus it is evident that the m inistry of

those preaching the good news of Gods
Messianic kingdom is being strengthened.
If trialsome times of persecution are ahead,
the congregations w ill be able to continue
their work despite the taking away of some
of the responsible men. As an overseer of
twenty-nine years experience said, seriously: I feel that this information was
given to us just at this particular time because we are well along in the time of the
end. There is certainly a need for us to
draw closer together to face the enemy in a
unified way.
Momentous events to take place in the
immediate future are contained in the
Bible prophecy of Ezekiel. This prophecy
formed the basis of a book released at the

October 1, 1971

SEeW ATCH TO W ER

605

assemblies, entitled "The Nations Shall men with whom they dealt were not all
Know that I Am
Jbusiness,
How? Inas in the past. Some voiced the
Ezekiels prophecy the work of Gods opinion, We see no future in the business
people today is figuratively represented as world. Many realize too that Christena marking for preservation of all persons doms religions are decaying. As Ezekiels
who desire a world of righteousness and prophecy shows, such persons must be
peace, and who want to make over their reached with the Bibles warning to forlives to Gods way. (Ezek. 9:4-6; Col. 3: sake these religions if they are to survive
10) A total of 12,556 persons who are Christendoms fall.
newly taking up this course of life were
The general sentim ents of the convenbaptized at the assemblies in Canada and tioners at the conclusion of the assembly
the United States.
were expressed by an overseer in a CinThough time is short for the present cinnati congregation, who evidently had
system of things, Jehovahs witnesses have Ezekiels prophecy fresh in mind when he
much to do. There are many thinking men said: Christendom w ill go down, stubwho see the handwriting on the wall for bom ly refusing to change according to
this system of things and who need to hear revealed truth, whereas the society of
the good news of the Kingdom. Those Jehovahs witnesses w ill grow and eternalmaking advance preparations for the ly prosper because it readjusts to conform
Divine Name assemblies were impressed to Jehovahs way. I think we shall long
with the fact that, generally, the business- remember the Divine Nam e Assemblies.

babe? Is not being full-grown, mature, a

most desirable state? It truly is, even as
the apostle Paul indicated when he wrote:
When I was a babe, I used to speak as
a babe, to think as a babe, to reason as a
babe; but now that I have become a man,
I have done away with the traits of a
babe.1 Cor. 13:11.
Useful and essential as are physical,
mental and also emotional maturity, there

is, nevertheless, a kind of m aturity that is

even more important. And what is that?
Being grown-up spiritually or spiritual
maturity. This kind of m aturity enables
one to distinguish right from wrong. It
enables the Christian to remain firm in
spite of conflicting teachings, temptations
and pressures. Spiritual m aturity enables
one to stay awake, stand firm in the faith,
carry on as men, grow m ighty.1 Cor.
16:13; Heb. 5:14.
Because spiritual m aturity is so essential for Christians, they are told: Do not
become young children in powers of understanding,. . . become full-grown in powers of understanding. (1 Cor. 14:20) Yes,
Jesus Christ gave some as apostles, some
as prophets, some as evangelizers, some
as shepherds and teachers, with a view
to the readjustment of the holy ones, for
ministerial work, for the building up of
the body of the Christ, until we all attain
to . . . a full-grown man, . . . in order that

606

SEeWATCHTOWEFL

we should no longer be babes, unstable

and easily exploited.Eph. 4:11-14.
But w ith all this the Bible also shows
that there are certain aspects in which it
is m ost desirable to be as a child, as a
babe. What are these aspects and why is
it vital to be childlike in regard to these?
BABES AS TO BADNESS

One sense in which the Scriptures speak

favorably of Christians being as babes is
when it comes to wickedness. Thus when
the apostle Paul wrote, Do not become
young children in powers of understanding, he immediately added the words, but
be babes as to

es 1 Cor.
badn
No question about it, badness is something in which Christians need no experience, should want none. When it comes
to being skilled at cheating others, or at
playing the role of a hypocrite, or at distinguishing oneself by sexual immorality
or perversions, then it is most desirable
that Christians should be as babes, innocent, inexperienced.
Today the trend in the entertainment
world is toward being mature as to
badness. This fact is underscored by the
American system of grading motion pictures. By and large it appears to equate
m aturity with obscenity and sex practices that are condemned in Gods Word.
So, Christians who wish to heed the advice
to be babes as to badness would do well
to be cautious about pictures suggested
for mature audiences.
How fitting, then, is the counsel to be
as babes when it comes to badness! How
can one remain in that virtuous state?
One great help is to watch ones associations. Do not be misled. Bad associations
spoil useful habits. (1 Cor. 15:33) That
means avoiding the company of fornicators, adulterers, homosexuals and sadists
in real life, to the extent that one is able

B r o o k l y n , N .Y .

to do so. But it also means keeping them

out of ones mind by not thinking about
such types, by not reading about them for
sensual pleasure, by not viewing them on
TV or on the motion picture screen. The
human heart is treacherous and can easily
acquire a taste for such things and be
tempted to go beyond the imaginary enjoyment of them to actual participation.
Far better it is to avoid all such temptations by remaining babes as to badness.
Jer. 17:9; Phil. 4:8.
BABES AS TO CHILDLIKE TRUST

On one occasion Jesus prayed: I publicly praise you, Father, Lord of heaven
14:20.
and earth, because you have carefully hidden these things from wise and intellectual
ones, and have revealed them to babes.
Jesus prayed this way right after the seventy evangelizers whom he had sent forth
had returned elated at what they were
able to accomplish, such as being able to
cast out demons.Luke 10:17-21.
Jesus lowly disciples were like babes in
comparison with the highly educated
wise and intellectual scribes, Pharisees
and Sadducees. But God revealed to them
things that escaped the understanding of
the highly educated religious opposers of
Jesus because the disciples were childlike
in yet another sense.
Jesus brought this to the attention of
his disciples on one occasion after they
had asked him: Who really is greatest in
the kingdom of the heavens? Apparently
he detected in their asking this question
a measure of pride and ambition. So, to
teach them a lesson he called a young
child to him and set it in their midst and
said: Truly I say to you, Unless you turn
around and become as young children,
you w ill by no means enter into the kingdom of the heavens, let alone be the
greatest one there! Therefore, whoever

October 1, 1971

SfceW ATCHTOW ER

will humble him self like this young child

is the one that is the greatest in the kingdom of the heavens.( Matt. 18:1-4) Yes,
instead of displaying pride like the wise
and intellectual religious leaders, the disciples must display childlike humility,
childlike trust in their heavenly Father
who was now revealing these truths to
them through his Son.

Who were the spirits in prison" to whom

Jesus preached as stated at 1 Peter 3:19, when
did he preach to them and did this preaching
open up an opportunity for them to repent?
U.S.A.
At 1 Peter 3:20 the spirits in prison" are
described as having once been disobedient
when the patience of God was waiting in
Noahs days." In his second inspired letter to
Christians, Peter refers to them as angels
that sinned." (2 Pet. 2:4, 5) And the disciple
Jude adds: The angels that did not keep their
original position but forsook their own proper
dwelling place he has reserved with eternal
bonds under dense darkness for the judgment
of the great day.Jude 6.
That angels did indeed forsake their proper
dwelling place prior to the flood of Noah's
day is revealed at Genesis 6:2, where we read:
The sons of the true God began to notice the
daughters of men, that they were good-looking;
and they went taking wives for themselves,
namely, all whom they chose." Yes, these spirit
sons of God or angels had the power to materialize in human form, as is evident from
the fact that faithful angels did so at divine
direction to communicate messages to men on
earth. (Gen. 18:1, 2, 8, 20-22; 19:1-11; Josh.
5:13-15) However, when numerous angels of
their own volition left their proper place and
assigned service in the heavens to have fleshly

607

Clearly, then, mental, physical and emotional m aturity are important and desirable; and particularly so is spiritual maturity. But spiritual m aturity requires us
to turn around and become like young
children in these aspects: by being babes
as to badness, by having a childlike faith
and trust and by being free from ambitious
pride.1 Cor. 14:20.

relations, they were doing something contrary

to God's law. They became guilty of perversion,
as indicated by Jude's comparing the sin of
these angels to the sexual perversion of which
the inhabitants of Sodom, Gomorrah and surrounding cities were guilty.Jude 7.
As to the time of Jesus' preaching to the
spirits in prison," Peter, after pointing out
that Christ had been made alive in the spirit,"
continues: In this state [that is, Jesus' state
as a spirit person] also he went his way and
preached to the spirits in prison. (1 Pet. 3:18,
19) This would place Jesus preaching to them
after his resurrection to spirit life. And Peter's
use of the past tense (preached") suggests
that such preaching was done prior to the
writing of his first letter (about 6264 C.E.).
The New English Bible renders 1 Peter 3:
18, 19 as follows: In the body he was put
to death; in the spirit he was brought to life.
And in the spirit he went and made his proclamation to the imprisoned spirits." In this connection we must remember that on Passover
night, before his betrayal and arrest, Jesus
said to his apostles: The ruler of the world
is coming. And he has no hold on me." And
when that one [Gods spirit] arrives he will
give the world convincing evidence concerning
sin and concerning righteousness and concerning judgment: . . . concerning judgment, because the ruler of this world has been judged.
(John 14:30; 16:811 )On this basis, the resurrected Jesus Christ could make a proclamation
to the angels concerning the now fully justified judgment against the imprisoned spirits.
That was all he could do to those imprisoned
spirits, namely, make a proclamation to them
concerning judgment, with stronger reason
than when he had in his prehuman spirit state
said to the Devil: May Jehovah rebuke you.
(Jude 9) It was not then the time for the

608

fE e W ATCHTOW ER.

B rooklyn , N .Y .

resurrected Jesus Christ to abyss the impris- tures that rebelled had not been created with
oned spirits. When he entered into the Most an inclination to fall short of God's perfect
Holy of the heavenly temple to present the law. Their practice of sin was a result of demerit of his ransom sacrifice to Jehovah and liberate choice. Their situation would there
then sat down at Jehovah's right hand, it fore be somewhat comparable to that of spiritwould hardly be the appropriate thing to both- anointed Christians who apostatize. Concerning
er with the imprisoned spirits and preach to such persons, Hebrews 6:46 tells us: It is
them. So there is no reason to imagine that impossible as regards those who have once
the resurrected Jesus would have invited all for all been enlightened, and who have tasted
of the wicked spirit creatures to assemble so the heavenly free gift, and who have become
partakers of holy spirit, and who have tasted
that he might preach to them.
It should be remembered that the Greek the fine word of God and powers of the comword for preaching (kerys'so) refers to a proc- ing system of things, but who have fallen
lamation that could be something good or some- away, to revive them again to repentance.
thing bad, as when Jonah proclaimed Ninevehs Now, if it is impossible to aid such apostate
coming destruction. As Jude pointed out, the ones to repentance even though they are imdisobedient angels have been reserved for the perfect in the flesh, certainly it is also an
judgment of the great day. Therefore, the impossibility for willfully sinning spirit angels
preaching by the resurrected Jesus to such to repent.
unrighteous angels would only have been a
preaching of a condemnatory judgment.
WATCHTOWER STUDIES FOR THE WEEKS
That Jesus preaching could not have opened
up an opportunity for the spirits in prison October 31: Is My Home Wholesome? Page
581. Songs to Be Used: 8, 18.
to repent is made clear in the Scriptures. Hebrews 2:16 states: He [Jesus] is really not November 7: Do Your Children Confide in You?
assisting angels at all. Also, the spirit creaPage 587. Songs to Be Used: 15, 29.

WITH

YOU ARE MY W ITNESSES, SAYS JEH O VAH.-Isa.43:12

T H E PU R PO SE O F "T H E W A T C H T O W E R
E very w a tc h to w e r has its purpose. It serves as an elevated place for a
w id e-aw ak e person w ith sharp vision. It enables him to see far ahead into
the distance and tell those b elow for w h o m he is a w atch m an w h a t is
d raw ing near, w h eth er it is a danger against w h ich to prepare o r it is
som ething good over w h ich to be glad w ith strong faith and hope.
Because o f having the nam e "The W a tch to w er" this m agazine ju stly
has to render a sim ilar useful service to the people o f all nations. T h is is
an in tern ational m agazine and makes no racial distinctions, for w e are all
facing a com m on w o rld danger; w e are all hoping for a com m on good.
E ver since "The W a tc h to w e r began to be published in J u ly o f 1 8 7 9 it
has looked ahead into the future, a lw ays striving to aid its readers to advan ce in know ledge and to gain a clearer picture o f the glorious n e w order
o f things th at is in store for righteous m ankind. N o , "The W a tch to w er "
is n o inspired prophet, but it follow s and explains a Book o f prophecy the
predictions in w h ich have proved to be unerring and unfailing till n o w .
"T he W a tch to w er " is therefore under safe guidance. It m a y be read w ith
confidence, fo r its statem ents m ay be checked against that prophetic Book.
A m o n g th e m an y nations o f today there are hundreds o f differing
religions. W h ic h one does this magazine present? N o t the confused religions
o f C hristendom , but the religion o f the oldest sacred Book on earth. \V h ic h
Book? T h e Sacred Bible o f the H o ly Scriptures, w ritten b y inspiration in
the nam e o f the C reator o f heaven and earth, the o n ly living and true G od.
T h e sacred, nonpolitical purpose o f "The W a tch to w er" is accordingly
to encourage and prom ote study o f the H o ly Bible and to give our m an y
readers the needed unsectarian help to understand th at Book o f true
religion and infallible prophecy. T hus this m agazine w ill be helping them
to prove w o r th y o f perfect life and happiness in G od s promised n e w order
under H is everlasting kingdom o f righteousness.

PUBLISHED BY THE
WATCH TOWER BIBLE AND TRACT SOCIETY OF PENNSYLVANIA
117 Adams Street
Brooklyn, N.Y. 11201, U.S.A.
N. H. K norr, President
Grant S uiter, Secretary

They will all be taught by Jehovah.John 6:45; Isaiah 54:13

CONTENTS
It Pays to Be Informed
When All Nations Collide,
Head On, with God
Why Does God Not Prevent the Collision?
Are the Churches Leading the Nations
into Collision with God?
Do the People Share Responsibility
with the Rulers?
God Exhibits Loving-Kindness
in Enforcing Justice
Preparing for a New Order
of Righteousness
Would You Really Like to See a Change?
What Do You Want to Do?
Questions from Readers

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~y4rvnoz17zcir1cf

J E H O V A H S
KIN G D O M
O ctober 15, 1971

ts

R A Y S
TO B

__

IN FO R M E D
ITH only a twelve-hour advance
warning, some 50,000 residents of
the Mississippi Gulf Coast area fled northward before nightfall of August 17, 1969.
They barely escaped the fury of hurricane
Camille, one of the greatest storms ever
to hit the United States. How thankful
they were to be informed!
In Pass Christian, the city hardest hit,
Police Chief Jerry Peralta was making
his final warning round from house to
house. At an elegant apartment house a
number of people were gathered to party
away the storm. They refused to heed
Peraltas warning, whereupon Peralta
took the names of their nearest of kin.
They laughed at him. A short time later
the apartment was completely demolished,
killing twenty persons.
Said one refugee in Pass Christian:
Storms have hit here plenty times before,
and we just pass them off. But this one
really fooled us this time, and youd better believe we paid for it.
On a world scale, warning signs of another kind are now up. Leaders express
fear of disaster on many fronts. But the

611

Num ber 20

Bible gives warning of an even greater

danger. If this warning is true, and if you
are informed, it may mean a saving of
life for yourself and your family. If not
heeded, it could mean being faced with no
way of escape.
With his warning God kindly points out
the way of escape. One would be foolish,
therefore, to ignore and pass off the
warning. If, as the title of the following
article in this issue of The Watchtower
indicates, a collision of the nations with
God is just ahead, this is the greatest possible danger. It would certainly pay to be
informed as to the reasons for the collision, and what way of escape exists.
That is why Jehovahs witnesses call on
people in their homes with this magazine.
They are not expressing mere opinion.
They are really witnesses for God, who
does not take pleasure in the death of
anyone, but gives ample warning notice.
Ezek. 33:11.
Jehovahs witnesses are concerned with
peoples lives. However, they can only
help to inform you. You have the privilege
of weighing the information presented,
then either acting on it or declining to do
so. But it is extremely dangerous to adopt
the attitude that this world has weathered
storms before, so well just pass off this
warning. Do not laugh or scoff at this
Christian warning before you have read
the article When All Nations Collide,
Head On, with God.

 COLLISION that re su its in d is a s te r is

n ev er a n y th in g to lau gh
about. But this talk of all nations colliding with Godis
it not something about which
to laugh? Is not the very idea
of it ridiculous?
2 Oh, yes, the mere suggestion of it may make hundreds
of millions of men and women
laughthat is, right now. But
the fact that such an idea has
never entered their heads before does not take it out of
the realm of possibility or
even out of the realm of likelihood. And as for its likelihood, what if that is in the
near future, within our generation? In that case the present time would be the most
advisable time for us to examine this strange idea seriously, even though it may
seem so laughable to so many.
All the more so because the
disaster will prove to be only
on the one side of the collision. This means that we can
be on the side that escapes
unhurt and can have a happier future ahead of us, all
because of this oncoming collision. Well, since this is so,
it is certainly worth our while
to examine the matter now,
while time is in our favor.
3We human creatures are
tied down to this earth and
1, 2. (a) Despite being disastrous, how
does the idea of a collision of all
nations with God seem to so many?
(b) Does that fact make it unlikely,
and why is now the time to examine
the matter seriously?
3. Is mankind moving in the direction
of its own interests, and what do the
unbelievers in God think about the
rendering of an account in course of
time?

As a consequence of the fact that I shall do

this very thing to you, get ready to meet your
God. Amos 4 :1 2 .
so are moving with the earth. This terrestrial ball
beneath our feet has a glorious future before it. But
what about the present generation of human society
now living upon the earth? Is it moving in the direction of its own eternal interests? Many informed
scientists, learned historians and farsighted statesmen
say No! Even the young folks, by their fears for the
612

October 15, 1971

SEeW ATCHTOW ER,

613

future to which they give vent, sometimes

8For a collision to occur between all
with violent demonstrations, say No! In nations and God there has to be a God that
spite of sincere efforts of well-intentioned exists. He does, and he will prove the
persons who see disaster ahead, the move- statement true that men who say that
ment of the mass of mankind has gained there is no God and Creator are fools.
such momentum that the direction of
TheNew English Bible (of the year 1970)
m ovem en t can n ot
says, in Psalm foureven be swerved to a
teen, verse one: The
sidetrack. Sooner or
impious fool says in
The stirring message contained
laterand all indicahis heart, There is
in this article was presented as
tions are that it will
no God. But the
the principal discourse to audi'
be sooner than most
New World Translaences with a combined attenpeople thinkmant i o n of t h e Ho l y
dance of 919,755 in many parts
kind will have to enScriptures
goes back
of the earth this past summer.
ter into an accountto the original Heing with something
brew text and so renor someone. Those persons who do not ders this particular verse: The senseless
believe in God and who therefore feel no one has said in his heart: There is no Jeresponsibility to Him say that there will hovah. Today all the nations say, either
be an accounting with something, but not by word or by action, There is no God,
with God.
no Jehovah. Will all the nations for that
very
reason blindly collide, head on, with
4The earth on which such unbelievers
Him?
The nations do not have to see Him
in God exist is such a tiny bit of matter.
in
order
to collide with him. When we are
Just think of all the universes that the
in
total
darkness,
we can collide with many
astronomers have been able to discover! In
things
that
we
do
not see. The fact that
comparison with the total mass of all these
visible universes, our earth is infinitesimal. due to the darkness upon us we do not see
It appears to be so small that it is not what we collide against does not disprove
worth noticing. And yet it is the only the existence of what we bump into; it is
planet absolutely known to be peopled with the collision that causes us painfully to
intelligent creatures, creatures with a mor- know that it is there. Really, the darkness
al sense such as men are. Is this merely by promotes our colliding with it.
accident, or by design? Certainly man did
8
For a head-on collision, the two things
not get here by himself. Man did not pre- involved have to be moving in the same
pare the earths surface with such a won- path, but in the opposite directions. Are
derful environment in which to live before God and the nations going in opposite
man found himself here. The whole earth directions? And on the same path? For
mass weighs more than six and a half sex- them to be on the same path, there must
tillion short tons, and certainly man did be an issue, a common point of dispute, at
not make it. It did not get here by itself. stake. The two parties must be at odds
It did not put upon itself man together over this issue, and there is no way to
with animals, birds and fish. It needed a compromise. There must be a confrontaCreator more intelligent than man. That
5. Those who deny Gods existence will be proved to be
Creator and Source of all life is God.
what, and why do nations not need to see God in order
4. How does the earth compare with the total mass of
all the universes, and what about the earth indicates
the need of a Creator?

to collide with Him?

6. For a collision, what must be true of the things
colliding, and what questions arise as to the reason
for the collision?

614

B r o o k l y n , N .Y .
fEeWATCHTOWEFL
tion. All this is exactly the situation. What certain political ideology have the right
is the crucial issue or point in dispute? to total world domination because of its
Why have we about reached the time for military strength and its numerical
strength? Or does someone outside all
its settlement? How will it be settled?
those nations, yes, outside mankind itself,
ALL NATIONS UNITED AGAINST
have a prior right and claim to world
A COMMON ADVERSARY
domination? What about the Creator of
7 It is interesting to note, time and the earth and its occupant, man? Who
again, how humans in a certain commu- has more of a right to domination of all
nity can be in disagreement and in con- the earth than God has? Who has a more
flict with one another, but let a common valid claim to world domination than He
adversary put in appearance and they has as the source of life to whom the whole
will all unite against that one adversary. world of mankind owes its life and lifes
That is the state of the nations today. provision? As Maker of heaven and earth,
Because of nationalistic self-interest, they he rightfully holds, not such a limited,
are all in a clash with one another in one regional thing as national sovereignty, but
respect or more. There is one issue on universal sovereignty!
which each one stands by itself, that is,
9 World War I of 1914-1918 was fought
national sovereignty. Except for some few
over the issue of world domination. Who
nations, the majority of the nations are
is there that cannot see that, since that
divided into two opposing camps on a
first world war, the nations have been
world issue. What is that? It is world domforcing the issue of world domination?
ination. For example, it has been publicly
And in whose favor has this been? In favor
announced that, in the radical camp, the
of God the Creator and Universal SoverRussian leaders say that they expect to
eign? No! But all in favor of man as reprehave the whole world communized by the
sented by one or the other political bloc
year 1975. However, the bloc of nations in
of nations!
the capitalistic, democratic camp are de10 It is very evident that the nations are
termined that such a political development
thinking
only of themselves. They are igshall not be, by 1975 or any other year.
noring
the
unrelinquished superior right
Is our earth therefore destined for a diof
God
to
world
domination. Can this go
vided domination forever? Is that for man
on
forever?
Hardly!
This clash of interests
to say?
must come to its culmination at some time.
8Lovers of peace hope not, for that Who is to decide when? Not any particular
would mean a world never free from the bloc of nations or the United Nations, but
threat of nuclear war, in spite of the con- God the Creator. Lovers of peace and
tinuance of the United Nations as an orga- righteousness hope that Gods time for
nization for world peace and security. But settling this issue will be soon. They are
does man, because of being the visible agreeable that it should be settled by a
occupant of the earth, have the natural head-on collision. There can be only one
right to domination of the whole earth? survivor of that world-shaking collision,
Does one bloc of nations that hold to a and they now put themselves on the side
7. On what world issue are all nations divided today,
and What are the determinations of the respective
national groups?
8. What must be said about the right of any bloc of
nations to world domination, and what must be said
about the Creators sovereignty?

9. What issue have the nations been forcing since World

War I, and in whose favor is this?
10. According to the way in which the nations think,
what are they overlooking, and on what side are lovers
of peace and righteousness putting themselves and
why so?

October 15, 1971

flkW A T C H T O W E R .

615

of that One who will emerge unhurt from

that collision.
11 Thoughtful, observing men and women
fear a totalitarian world domination by a
one-party group. From how governments
are being run today, they can well imagine
what world domination by any human
group of rulers would be like. They dread
it. There is nothing desirable about it.
But what would world domination by God
be like? We could never know unless we
examined the Book that this God caused to
be written and in which he tells us of his
purpose toward man and why he has
permitted such international conflict, violence and anarchy until now. That Book
is the inspired Holy Bible. In it he again
and again claims to be the inspiring Author of that Book, doing so over his own
name, Jehovah. Unless we consult that
divinely provided Book, we keep ourselves
in the gross darkness of ignorance. That
ignorance is death dealing.
12 By our learning from that Book just
why Jehovah God created the earth and
put man upon it, we can discover just why
it is that all the nations of today are
headed for a fatal collision with Him
during the lifetime of our generation on
earth. To the astronauts in the spacecraft
of the Apollo series our earth looked beautiful from away out there in outer space
while they were flying to and from the
moon. It will look even more beautiful
when God brings mankind to the completion of seven thousand years of human
existence on earth. The difference in earthly conditions will be as great as that between a refuse dump and a park of paradise beauty. God started man off in a
paradise of pleasure, or a garden of
Eden. But a person would never know it

13Today, after six thousand years of

human existence, we find that, notwithstanding the outcries about a population
explosion, the earth is only partially populated and the animal life is being killed
off or is dying off. Why did not the original man whom God put in that garden
of Eden extend this paradise to the very
ends of the earth? That was Gods purpose in creating our earth, to have it
eventually in a paradise state everywhere
around the globe.
14 He disclosed this divine purpose when
he blessed the first man and his wife and
said to them: Be fruitful and become
many and fill the earth and subdue it, and
have in subjection the fish of the sea and
the flying creatures of the heavens and
every living creature that is moving upon
the earth. (Gen. 1:27, 28) God did not
make the whole earth a paradise before he
created the first man and woman. He left
the larger part of the earths surface in
an uncultivated state, and planted only a
garden large enough for the first human
couple to take care of at the start. He left
it for the offspring of this first man and
woman, Adam and Eve, to extend paradise
to the east and to the west until east and

11. What kind of world domination do thoughtful, observing persons dread, and how can we learn what
world domination by God would be like?
12. From that Book what do we learn about the beautiflcation of the earth, and according to that Book
where did man get his start?

13. What can be said about earths human population

and animal life today, but what question arises about
earths physical state?
14. When did God disclose his purpose concerning the
earth, and to whom did He leave the extending of
Paradise everywhere?

today. Gods own report on this, in the

first book of the Bible, chapter two, says:
Jehovah God planted a garden in Eden,
toward the east, and there he put the man
whom he had formed. Thus Jehovah God
made to grow out of the ground every
tree desirable to ones sight and good for
food and also the tree of life.Gen.
2:8, 9.
WHY PARADISE EARTH WIDE
HAS NOT YET BEEN REALIZED

616

SEeW ATCHTOW ER.

west met and from north to south until

north and south met.
15 Judging things by the state of mans
natural environment today, we might at
first thought be inclined to say that Gods
purpose failed or was somehow thwarted.
But was it? We do not have to guess, for
Gods written record says No! God himself prevented the paradise of pleasure
from being spread earth wide. Was that
not self-contradictory? Was that not
telling Adam and Eve to do one thing, and
then He himself doing another? No! Why
not? Because God found it necessary to
drive Adam and Eve out of that paradise
into the uncultivated earth. It was because Adam and Eve had a collision with
God. It knocked them out of Paradise.
16 Let us set matters straight in our
minds. When Jehovah God put man upon
the earth in human perfection, he did not
make him the owner of the earth, but
made man only a dweller and worker upon
it. God did not let go of his ownership of
Paradise and of every other part of the
earth. As earths Creator he owned it, and
he remains its Creator always. Over two
thousand nine hundred years after mans
creation, the psalmist David of Bethlehem
wrote and sang: To Jehovah belong the
earth and that which fills it, the productive
land and those dwelling in it. For upon
the seas he himself has solidly fixed it, and
upon the rivers he keeps it firmly established. (Ps. 24:1, 2) That is something
that all nations of today choose to ignore
and brush aside. How like their first parents! When Adam and Eve ignored Gods
ownership of the paradise of pleasure and
expressly ate of fruit that he commanded
them not to eat, they failed in their test of
subjection and obedience to him. That was
sin against God on their part. Instead of
15. Did that purpose of God fail or get thwarted, and
why was Gods action on the matter not contradictory?
16. What did God, when creating man, do about the
ownership of the earth, and on what score did Adam
and Eve collide with God?

B rooklyn , N .Y .

continuing to walk with God their Creator,

they chose self-sovereignty, and collided
with him on the issue of sovereignty.
Gen. 3 :1 1 4 ;Rom. 5:12.
17 God was not going to have rebellious
sinners spread the garden of Eden to the
ends of the earth, or even try to do so.
Rightfully, he drove Adam and Eve out of
the paradise of pleasure, his personal property, and away from the tree of life, out
into the uncultivated part of the earth.
There they must die, suffering death as the
foreannounced penalty for their sinful rebelliousness. (Gen. 2:15-17; 3:16-24) Thus
any expansion of the paradise ceased,
about six thousand years ago. Outside the
Paradise let man rule himself; let him
exercise self-sovereignty in whatever way
he wanted. But not inside the Paradise
with its tree of life. Outside the Paradise
man did not become owner of the earth.
It was a place for man to die, not exercise
permanent occupancy like an eternal owner. (Gen. 5:1-5) Because of having had a
start in human perfection with the possibility of everlasting life on earth, Adam
lived nine hundred and thirty years, and
yet he died, ceasing to occupy any place on
earth. Adam and Eves offspring, because
of being bom in sin and under condemnation to death, have likewise had only ternporary occupancy. So too with nations.
THE BENEFIT OF WALKING WITH HIM

18 The way in which not to collide with

God is to walk with God. For the most
part, Adam and Eves offspring, outside
the Paradise, walked contrary to God, they
being bom of rebels against Him. In the
divine written record it is reported that
Enoch, the seventh man in line of descent
from Adam, kept walking with the true
17. Why was Adam and Eves occupancy of the earth
outside Paradise to be only temporary, and why is it
so also for us their offspring and for nations?
18. Why have Adams offspring, for the most part,
not walked with God, and why did God take Enoch
suddenly off the scene?

O ctober 15, 1971

SEeWATCHTOWEFL

617

God. Then [at the age of three hundred dise that Jesus Christ referred as he was
and sixty-five years] he was no more, for hanging on the torture stake.
God took him. (Gen. 5:21-24; Jude 14,
20The Bible record, in Luke 23:38-43,
15) By Enochs time the world of mankind says concerning this: There was also an
was indeed ungodly, hence was not inscription over him: This is the king of
walking with God. Evidently they desired the Jews. But one of the hung evildoers
to kill Enoch, which was why the true began to say abusively to him: You are
God took Enoch off the scene, thereby to the Christ, are you not? Save yourself and
spare him from
us. In reply the
a violent death
other rebuked
THE NEXT ISSU E
at their hands.
him and . . . he
(Heb. 11:5) He
went
on to say:
W h o se N am e Do Y ou Respect M o re
has a hope of
Jesus, remem Y ou r O w n or G o d s?
r e s u r r e c t io n
b er m e w h e n
H o w Should Y ou V ie w D iscipline?
from death.
y o u g e t in t o
19A ls o , th e
your kingdom.
Christian M aturity a n Illusive G o a l?
ten th man in
A nd [ J e s u s ]
line from Adam
s a id to h im :
walked with his Creator. Concerning him Truly I tell you today, You will be with
the divine record says: Noah was a righ- me in Paradise.
teous man. He proved himself faultless
21
So Jesus Christ believed in this coming
among his contemporaries. Noah walked Paradise that is to be established world
with the true God. (Gen. 6:9) Did this wide under his kingdom. He also believed
bring its reward, as it did in Enochs case? in the deluge of Noahs day. If we are true
Yes! Noah avoided any collision with God. Christians, we also should believe in it,
This is proved by the astounding fact that even though the nations of this world do
he and his family survived the Deluge that not do so. (Matt. 24:38, 39; Luke 17:26,
engulfed the whole earth and drowned all 27) Another thing that the nations do not
ungodly human society. (Gen. 6:13 to 9: believe in is what Jesus prophesied about
20; Heb. 11:7; 1 Pet. 3:20; 2 Pet. 2:5; the conclusion of this system of things.
3:5, 6) That global inundation resulted not What did he say? That, just as the preonly in ice caps at the north and south Flood system of things on earth ended in
poles but also in the disappearance of the worldwide disaster at the Deluge, so the
unexpanded original paradise from the long-standing present system of things
earth. However, the divine Creator and would end in a disaster on a worldwide
Owner of the Paradise who took it away scale. According to their religious claims,
the nations of Christendom should have
by the Deluge can also restore it. This he
proved to be different from the so-called
has promised to do. His promise assures us heathen nations. But because of making
that he was not thwarted in his original herself like those nations, Christendom,
purpose but that, in due time, he will glo- too, is bound to collide with God, for she
riously fulfill that purpose and thus beau- acts as the counterpart of the ancient natify all the earth as mankinds everlasting tion of Israel.
happy home. It was to this restored Para- 20. How did Jesus, when dying between two evildoers,
19. How was the tenth man in Adam's line rewarded
for walking with God, and why has Paradise not
disappeared from earth forever?

refer to that Paradise restored?

21. With what did Jesus compare the end of the preFlood human society, and why can even the nations of
Christendom not escape a collision with God?

618

SEeW ATCHTOW ER
THE CHALLENGE TO PREPARE
TO MEET HER GOD

22Ancient Israel once inhabited a land

that was a land flowing with milk and
honey. (Ezek. 20:6; Ex. 3:8, 17; 13:5;
33:3) That land was Palestine.
23 Even in the twentieth century before
our Common Era, before Jehovah God
brought destruction upon the immoral
cities of Sodom and Gomorrah, the District of the Jordan River was almost like
a paradise. The first Bible book says that
it was like the garden of Jehovah. (Gen.
13:10) Before bringing the nation of Israel into that land in the fifteenth century
before our Common Era, Jehovah said to
them: The land is mine. For you are
alien residents and settlers from my standpoint. (Lev. 25:23) But did the Israelites
treat that beautiful, productive land like
Gods property? No! is what Gods prophets answer to that question. They polluted
that sacred land by their idolatries, immorality, violence and bloodshed. Because
of the way that they were walking religiously, the prophet Micah said: What is
Jehovah asking back from you but to exercise justice and to love kindness and to
be modest in walking with your God?
(Mic. 6:8) But they refused to give back
what God asked.
24 Hence a confrontation had to come in
course of time. They were violating their
national covenant with Jehovah God. They
deserved to suffer the penalties explicitly
set out in that covenant respecting covenant breakers. Already, in the ninth century before our Common Era, Gods prophet Amos rose up. By him the Creator of
all the earth warned the disobedient Israelites of the action that he would take
against them, saying:

B rooklyn , N .Y .

28 <1 caused an overthrow among you

people, like Gods overthrow of Sodom and
Gomorrah. And you came to be like a log
snatched out of the burning; but you did
not come back to me, is the utterance of
Jehovah. Therefore that is what I shall do
to you, O Israel. As a consequence of the
fact that I shall do this very thing to you,
get ready to meet your God, O Israel. For,
look! the Former of the mountains and the
Creator of the wind, and the One telling
to earthling man what his mental concern
is, the One making dawn into obscurity
[as by storms], and the One treading on
earths high places, Jehovah the God of
armies is his name.Amos 4:11-13.
28 Get ready to meet your God! This
is the challenging order of a military commander, Jehovah the God of armies. It
is a call for a military confrontation! (As
in Numbers 20:18, 20; 21:23, 33; 2 Samuel
10:9,10,17) Here the nation of Israel was
challenged to meet an invisible God. It was
not for that reason any joke, any ridiculous idea. This invisible One had visible
works of creation like mountains to bear
witness to his being a real God. He was
higher than the highest mountains in the
land of Israel. He could create winds and
manipulate them, and he could cause
storms early in the day to make the
dawning light fade into obscurity.
27 He could use the armies of the enemies
of Israel to serve as his visible agencies
in executing his judgments upon that
covenant-breaking nation, the polluters of
the sacred God-given land. He did just
that, in the years 609-607 B.C.E., bringing
the armies of the Babylonian Empire
against the land of Judah and Jerusalem.
Get ready all they could, the Israelites
were unable to meet Jehovah the God of

26. That was a challenge to what kind of confrontation

22, 23. What kind of land did ancient Israel once occupy, and issued by what kind of person, and because the
and in what way did they fail to walk with the Owner challenger was unseen why was it yet no ridiculous
of that land?
matter?
24, 25. What was due to occur therefore in course of 27. What could this unseen God use in expressing his
time, and what did God say in warning of this by his judgments upon the covenant-breaking nation, and
prophet Amos?
what did he actually use and with what result?

October 15, 1971

^eW A T C H T O W E R .

619

armies as represented by the armies of temple and thus had become the predomiBabylon. Jerusalem fell. The land of Judah nant world ruler. It was given therefore in
was depopulated.
the second year of the times of the Gen28 Today Christendom claims to be spir- tiles, or, appointed times of the nations,
itual Israel, Christian Israel. (Gal. 6:16) during which times the city of JeruShe claims to be in a new covenant with salem, or the Messianic kingdom of God
the same God as the One whom ancient that it represented, was to be trodden
Israel worshiped. She got her Bible from down and trampled upon by the nonthe Israelites, for all the writers of the Jewish or Gentile nations. According to
Holy Bible were natural Israelites. But the Bibles timetable, those Gentile Times,
along with the Bible, the nations of Chris- beginning in 607 B.C.E. with Jerusalems
tendom carry weapons of sanguinary war- destruction and desolation and running for
fare, they being more heavily armed than 2,520 years, would end in the early autumn
the whole world at any previous time in of the year 1914 of our Common Era.
human history. They are trying to be (Luke 21:24) After those Gentile Times
ready for a confrontation. So to Christen- ended in 1914 C.E., what was to happen?
dom, the modern-day counterpart of an- The prophecy that was given in the second
cient Israel, there appropriately comes the year after Jerusalems desolation indicates.
divine challenge to a military confronta- The inspired prophet Daniel explains it.
tion: Get ready to meet your God! Cir31The king of the Babylonian World
cumstances call for this!
Power had a prophetic dream that Daniel
29 The certainty of this confrontation is interpreted for him. He saw a terrifying
not in the stars, as the astrologers would metallic image, with head of gold, breasts
say; it is in the written Word of prophecy, and arms of silver, belly and hips of copthe inspired Holy Bible. Christendom is per, its legs of iron, and its feet of iron
part and parcel of the nations of this smeared with clay. Since Daniel said that
world, about half the nations in the world- the golden head represented the royal
ly United Nations being nations of Chris- dynasty of Babylon, the silver breasts and
tendom, the rest being non-Christian or arms pictured the next world power, that
heathen. In fact, Christendom dominates of Medo-Persia, the copper belly and hips
among the nations of this world, and she the succeeding Grecian World Power, the
cannot escape what is due for all the na- iron legs the Roman World Power, and the
tions of this world. Repeatedly the Biblical clay-besmeared feet the outgrowth of that
Word of prophecy points to a final con- Roman Empire, the varied forms of politifrontation of all the nations of this world cal government. Among these the twowith Jehovah God.
section world power of Britain and Amer30 Let us consider first this Biblical
ica predominates. That symbolic image of
prophecy of the year 606 before our Compolitical
world powers has overshadowed
mon Era. It was given in the second year
world
politics
since the start of the Gentile
after Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon
Times
in
607
B.C.E. at Jerusalems desohad destroyed the city of Jerusalem and its
lation and until the final year of those
28. Why does such a challenge to a military confronTimes, 1914 C.E. What was to happen in
tation apply to Christendom today?
29. What adds to the certainty of the occurring of this
that crucial year?
confrontation, and why cannot Christendom escape a
part in it?
30. In what year of what marked period of time was
this prophecy given, and what question comes up as
to the ending of this period?

31. What interpretation did Daniel give to Nebuchadnezzars prophetic dream, and how long has that
symbolic image overshadowed world politics?

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STkWATCHTOWER.

82This: The dreaming king of Babylon

saw a stone being cut out of a universal
mountain without the aid of human hands.
What was done with that prophetic stone?
It was hurled toward the metallic image.
A confrontation must follow! To the image
it could be said: Get ready to meet that
stone!
88Could the iron of the feet meet the
impact of the stone and repel it? No! The
feet are smashed. The image collapses. The
whole image is then crushed and ground to
powder by the stone and is blown away. As
for the stone, it grew and became a mountain that filled the whole earth.Dan. 2:
1-43.
84What does this all mean? we might
well ask, for we are living in the days of
those symbolic clay-besmeared iron feet.
85 Daniel, inspired with Jehovahs spirit,
gives us the accurate interpretation,
saying: And in the days of those kings
the God of heaven will set up a kingdom
that will never be
b ro u g h t to ru in .
And the kingdom its e l f w ill n o t be
passed on to any
other people. It will
crush and put an
e n d to a ll t h e s e
32. As due to occur at
the end of those Gentile
Times, what did Nebuchadnezzar see take place
in his dream?
33. Were the feet able to
withstand the impact of
the stone, and what did
the stone proceed to do?
34,35. W h a t q u e s t i o n
might we well ask, and
from D a n i e l s a n s w e r
thereto what becomes
clear as to the issue over
which confrontation takes
place ?
The K in g d om ston es to p p lin g
the sym bolic im age a n d then
crushing it m eans that w hen
a ll nation s c o llid e w ith G o d ,
th e y w ill b e to ta lly destroyed

B rooklyn , N . Y.

kingdoms, and it itself will stand to times

indefinite . . . The grand God himself has
made known to the king what is to occur
after this. And the dream is reliable, and
the interpretation of it is trustworthy.
(Dan. 2:44, 45) From this interpretation
what could be clearer to us than that the
issue over which this confrontation must
occur within our generation is that of
world domination, tied in with the universal sovereignty of the God of heaven. It is
a case of the kings of the earth against
the kingdom that God sets up! The dispute
over who will rule all the earth must now
at last be settled. We today are embraced
within the fulfillment of that prophecy! All
mankind over all the earth is embraced!
HOW THE END OF THE GENTILE
TIMES WAS MARKED

88When was this kingdom, symbolized

by the stone that was cut out of the universal mountain, really cut out by Gods
hands and set up in power? That
was at the end of the Gentile Times
in the very year that war broke
out on earth over world domination. We all know that year1914!
The kingdom in the hands of the
Son of God, Jesus Christ, was set
up, not at the site of old Jerusalem
in the Middle East, but in the heavens, where the Son of God sits at
the right hand of his heavenly Father. The immediate bearing that
the close of the Gentile Times had
upon the world conditions then was
called to the worlds attention in
the latter part of 1917, even by
clergymen of Christendom. Near
the time of the capture of old Jerusalem by the British armies on
36. When and how did the fulfillment of the
cutting out of the stone without hands occur,
and by what means was the bearing of the
close of the Gentile Times on world affairs
called to world attention?

October 15, 1971

SEeW ATCH TO W ER

621

December 9, 1917, Dr. G. Campbell Morgan, Dr. F. B. Meyer, and six other wellknown clergymen of England, issued a
Manifesto, which was republished throughout the earth and which declared:
37 ( 1 ) That the present crisis points
toward the close of the times of the Gentiles. . . . (5) That all human schemes of
reconstruction must be subsidiary to the
second coming of our Lord, because all
nations will then be subject to His rule.
. . . Current Opinion, for February
1918.
38For decades in advance, by means of
the Watch Tower Society publications, the
Christian witnesses of Jehovah were pointing ahead, not to the year 1917, but to
1914 as being the year for the close of
the times of the Gentiles. (Luke 21:24,
Authorized Version) The close of the Gentile Times marked the critical time for
Jehovah God to issue orders to his enthroned Son in fulfillment of King Davids
prophecy in Psalm 110:1, 2: Jehovah
saith unto my Lord, Sit thou at my right
hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool. Jehovah will send forth the rod of
thy strength out of Zion: Rule thou in the
midst of thine enemies. (American Standard Version) Hence the symbolic stone,
Gods kingdom by Christ, did not strike
the symbolic image of political power
in the year 1914. It merely began to rule
in the midst of its enemies. So it has been
hurled forth by divine power. It is now on
its way, headed toward that political image. To the nations of Christendom, who
are among those kings represented in
the feet of the image, Jehovahs challenge to a military confrontation rings

out: Get ready to meet your God!

Amos 4:12.
39Why should the political image be
struck on the feet, when these are motionless, apparently doing nothing wrong? It
is because that image is an idolatrous
image, and the people of the whole world
idolize this system of politics. Also, the
feet of that idolatrous image are
standing where they ought not to stand
since the close of the Gentile Times in
1914. They are standing in opposition to
Gods kingdom as governed by His Christ.
This kingdom was bom in the heavens in
1914 as the only government with right
to rule all the earth.Rev. 12:1-10.
40Let there be no mistake about the
matter in anyones mind. The Holy Bible
outrightly says that those kings, those
political rulers of the earth, are fighting
against Gods established kingdom. Let us
turn to the last book of the Bible, to Revelation chapter seventeen. There we see
through picture language how the political
rulers of this earth will destroy Babylon
the Great, which is the world empire of
false religion that had its start with ancient Babylon. The scarlet-colored wild
beast on which Babylon the Great rides
until her destruction is pictured as having
seven heads and ten horns. Those seven
heads point to the seven successive world
powers of human history, from ancient
Egypt, through Assyria, Babylon, MedoPersia, Greece, Rome and the AngloAmerican World Power. Verse eleven says
that the wild beast is itself an eighth
king, that is, an Eighth World Power.
That Eighth World Power is the presentday United Nations, the international organization for world peace and security

37. Pertinent to this, what did that Manifesto say?

38. To what year had Jehovah's witnesses pointed
forward as marking the close of the times of the
Gentiles, what did Gods kingdom begin to do then,
and to whom does Gods challenge now ring out?

39. Why is the image struck on its motionless feet,

which are seemingly inoffensive?
40. In Revelation, chapter seventeen, the wild beast
ridden by Babylon the Great is said to be what, and
why so, and what does it symbolize in our day?

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SEeWATCHTOWER

B r o o k l y n , N .Y .

HOW NATIONS FIGHT AGAINST THE INVISIBLE

and so for keeping the feet of the idolatrous image standing where they ought
no longer to stand.Rev. 17:11; Dan. 2:
33, 34.
41 That United Nations organization
stands for world domination by man, not
by God. Within that organization the two
opposing blocs of nations stand for world
domination by man-made political systems
and ideologies. World domination by Gods
kingdom in the hands of his Christ they
do not want, nor do they consider it realistic. They prefer their own political sovereignty to the universal sovereignty of Jehovah God. To the question, Who owns
the earth? they answer, We do! And we
are going to keep it!
42 Once that the political rulers have
done away with Babylon the Great, the
world empire of false religion, they will
show themselves as never before to be
fighters actually against God. (Acts 5:
39) Notice what Revelation, chapter seventeen, verses twelve to fourteen, tells us
then to expect, saying to the apostle John
to whom the Revelation was given:
43 And the ten horns that you saw
mean ten kings, who have not yet [in
Johns day] received a kingdom [that is,
membership in the organization for world
peace and security], but they do receive
authority as kings one hour with the wild
beast [the United Nations]. These have
one thought, and so they give their power
and authority to the wild beast [the United
Nations]. These will battle with the Lamb
[Jesus Christ], but, because he is Lord of
lords and King of kings, the Lamb will
conquer them. Also, those called and chosen and faithful with him will do so.

44The question might here be asked,

Since the Lamb Jesus Christ is an invisible
heavenly spirit person and since his kingdom is also heavenly, how can those sym*
bolic horns and wild beast here on earth
fight against Jesus Christ, the Lamb of
God that takes away the sin of the world?
(John 1:29, 36; Rev. 5:6-13) They can do
so by refusing to yield place to Gods kingdom under Christ, by refusing to yield
their national sovereignty over to him and
by thus striving to perpetuate their own
political position on earth. They can also
do so by opposing and persecuting those
who are the ambassadors for Christ, the
earthly proclaimers of the good news of
his kingdom. (Matt. 24:14) These are the
anointed footstep followers of Jesus Christ,
whom Revelation 17:14 speaks of as those
called and chosen and faithful with him.
The Christian apostle Paul, when addressing these dedicated, baptized, anointed followers of Christ, writes:
48 Now then we are ambassadors for
Christ, as though God did beseech you by
us: we pray you in Christs stead, be ye
reconciled to God.2 Cor. 5:20,
48 The apostle Paul also gives these ambassadors of Christ another status. He
speaks of the city of the living God, the
heavenly Jerusalem, along with an innumerable company of angels. (Heb. 12:
22, AV) Also, after writing to his Christian brothers about the prize of the high
calling of God in Christ Jesus, he points
them heavenward, saying: Our citizenship exists in the heavens. (Phil. 3:14, 20;
AV) They are therefore citizens of that
city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem.

41. What does the United Nations organization stand

for as respects world domination and ownership of the
earth?
42, 43. After they destroy Babylon the Great, what will
the nations show themselves actually to be, and what
does Revelation 17:12-14 tell us then to expect?

44. In what ways can the symbolic ten horns and wild
beast on earth fight against the heavenly kingdom of
Christ?
45. In 2 Corinthians 5:20, what did Paul term these
anointed followers of Christ?
46. What status as citizens does Paul give to these
ambassadors?

O ctober 15, 1971

fSeW A TC H TO W ER .

41 The nations of Christendom and of the

rest of this world already have a notorious
reputation for persecuting the anointed
Christians who are bearing witness to Jehovah God and who are preaching world
wide the good news of His kingdom by
Christ. Consequently, when those nations
will have destroyed Babylon the Great and
then threateningly turn against these
called, chosen and faithful anointed ones,
they will be taking ungodly action against
ambassadors for Christ, against citizens
of Gods city, the heavenly Jerusalem. In
fighting against these whom they can see
in their midst, they will be fighting against
the Lamb Jesus Christ, the King of kings,
even though they cannot see him nor see
Jehovah God. Could there be any more
manifest fighting against the invisible God
and his Christ them that? What did Jesus
Christ himself say about this in his final
prophecy about the conclusion of the
system of things? He said this: To the
extent that you did it to one of the least
of these my brothers, you did it to me.
Matt. 25:40; 24:3.
collision : its survivors !

48 Collision with God is bound to follow.

What will that mean? Nothing less than
the war of the great day of God the Almighty. By that time the nations will
have reached the field of the final battle,
that is to say, the critical stage of world
developments spoken of prophetically as
the place that is called in Hebrew HarMagedon [Armageddon, A V ].Rev. 16:
14-16.
49 All the nations are now on the march
to Har-Magedon! This much can be unerr47. Thus after destroying Babylon the Great, how will
the nations be able to fight manifestly against God and
Christ, and what pertinent rule on this did Jesus Christ
give in Matthew 25:40?
48. What is bound to follow, and at what prophetic
place?
49. To where are all nations on the march, to what
does God invite them to come on, and, to Him, what
are they, comparatively speaking?

623

For the nation s to try to stop G o d from

carrying out his pu rp ose w o u ld b e like a n
a n t trying to h a lt a n o ncom ing
locom otive

ingly said according to the Bibles timetable and according to world events in
fulfillment of Bible prophecy. The confrontation with God is imminent! To Him,
as He says, all the nations together are
but as a drop falling out of an emptied
water bucket. (Isa. 40:15) Because his
due time for action has come, he challengingly invites all the nations, in the
language of the prophecy of Joel 3 :9 1 2 ,
to come on for the encounter. No matter
how thoroughly they have prepared themselves, no matter how strong they feel so
as to be able to defy God and his Government by Christ, the situation of the nations will be as if an ant planted itself
firmly on the railroad track and defiantly
shouted to the oncoming huge dieselengine locomotive: Stop! You cant run
over me! You just dont dare to do so!
60 Crash! comes the head-on collision!
See there the United Nations organization!
Will it be able to stand its ground and repel the divine onslaught? Divine prophecy
says No! The Kingdom stone, cut out of
50. How does the crash now come, and what does the
prophecy show as to whether the United Nations will
save the situation for the image 'of political rule?

624

f& eW ATCH TO W ER

Gods universal mountain and hurled by

Gods own hand, now strikes the symbolic
image of mans domination of the earth.
As stone smashes into iron, there is a
deafening Bang! Listen! Something is
being crushed! Is it the stone that is being
crushed? No! but it is the Stone that is
crushing all the ironlike contenders for
world domination by human rulers! Listen
now to that ear-grating noise of a grinding! It is the Stone grinding to powder the
entire fallen image of devil-controlled
political rule that started with the golden
head of Babylon!
S1 The stormwind of Gods righteous anger will blow away all such powdery vestiges of the anti-God political image, like
chaff from the threshing floor. All traces
of the old system of things will be gone
for all time! The war of the great day of
God the Almighty at Har-Magedon, as
described in the last book of the Bible
(Rev. 19:11-21), will end with Jehovah
God and his military forces of heaven the
only ones remaining on the field of battle,
gloriously victorious. The issue of world
domination will have been settled forever,
in favor of Jehovah!
32 When this tremendous collision occurs,
will there be any place of safety on earth?
Will any humans be able to survive the
collision? Yes, and this will be only on the
side of Jehovah God. It is only to those
who place themselves on His side and on
the side of his Kingdom by Christ that the
divine promise applies: Only with your
eyes will you look on and see the retribution itself of the wicked ones. Because you
said: Jehovah is my refuge, you have
made the Most High himself your dwelling; no calamity will befall you. (Ps. 91:
8-10) Those now taking a firm stand in
51. What will happen to the powdery vestiges of the
symbolic image, and who will remain on the battlefield, victorious ?
52, 53. Where will there be a place of refuge for survivors on earth, will they take an active part in the
war, and what prayer for divine supremacy will
they behold answered?

B rooklyn , N .Y .

support of Jehovahs universal sovereignty

will stand on the sidelines and take no
active part in that war of the great day
of God the Almighty. In their place of
refuge under divine protection, they will
see Jehovah and his Christ gain the vietory over all the opposing nations. They
will thus see fulfilled the prophecy: He
has scattered the peoples that take delight
in fights. (Ps. 68:30) They will behold the
divine answer to the prayer of Psalm 83:
17, 18 against Gods enemies:
53 O may they be ashamed and be disturbed for all times, and may they become
abashed and perish; that people may know
that you, whose name is Jehovah, you
alone are the Most High over all the
earth.
54 Gods victorious kingdom, pictured by
the stone that struck the symbolic image
on the feet, will then grow as that stone
did and become like a large mountain
that fills the whole earth. (Dan. 2:35)
Gods kingdom by his Christ will be everywhere on this earth. What a privilege it
will be to survive the final collision of the
nations with God and live in that kingly
mountain!
55As respects those who happily dwell
in that same mountain it is written in the
prophecy of Isaiah 11:9: They will not do
any harm or cause any ruin in all my holy
mountain; because the earth will certainly
be filled with the knowledge of Jehovah
as the waters are covering the very sea.
Added to this is the soul-satisfying prophecy: And Jehovah of armies will certainly make for all the peoples, in this mountain, a banquet . . . He will actually
swallow up death forever, and the Sovereign Lord Jehovah will certainly wipe the
tears from all faces. And the reproach of
his people he will take away from all the
54. How extensive will Gods victorious kingdom then
become, as pictured by the stone that struck the image?
55. What prophecies are written in Isaiah respecting
those who will then dwell in that mountain ?

October 15, 1971

ffceW ATCHTOW ER.

earth, for Jehovah himself has spoken it.

Isa. 2 5 :6 8 .
56 So do not fear the reproach of men
now for taking your stand on the side of
the Sovereign Lord Jehovah and his kingdom by Christ. Do not walk with the nations in a course contrary to God to that
unavoidable collision ahead. Be like that
obedient man Noah who scorned the re56. Should we fear the reproach of men for taking the
right stand, and like whom of old should we be in our
walking, and with what reward?

625

proach of men and walked with the true

God. (Gen. 6:9) Then, like him, you may
rejoice in the hope of surviving the end
of this international system of things and
live on into his everlasting new system of
things under the kingdom of his reigning
King Jesus Christ. There you will see God
swallow up even death in victory, that you
may enjoy everlasting life and serve and
worship him in perfect health and happiness in a never-fading paradise over all
the earth.

WHY DOES
For whenever people of the nations that
T IS obvious to the thinking person
do not have law do by nature the things
that, to the Creator of the universe,
the law, these people, although not havthe earth is a very small thing. The na- of
ing law, are a law to themselves. They are
tions of earth are therefore insignificant
the very ones who demonstrate the matter
in comparison with Him. Could he not
of the law to be written in their hearts,
while their conscience is bearing witness
therefore swerve them from their collision
with them and, between their own thoughts,
course or step aside to avoid the clash?
they are being accused or even excused.
Is he acting as a bully, with his superior
Rom. 2:14, 15.
power, to let the collision take place?
Now, as to the nations called Christian,
No. Within the requirements of his own
they are even less excusable, for they have
dignity and justice, God cannot prevent
the principles of right government and of
the collision. He has allowed time for the
justice clearly set before them in Gods
nations to try all sorts of man-rule. He
Word the Bible, and they profess to be
has let them go, providing evidence over
bound by its laws. But they have to a
thousands of years of history, proving
great extent rejected Bible principles.
that the nations cannot govern the earth
In the light of these facts, God is not
in peace. Nevertheless, they want to go
arbitrary or hasty in dealing with the nathe way they are going and God is holding
tions. No one can accuse him of acting
off from interfering with their freedom
against a righteous nation. Rather, he has
of action until his exact time comes.
always followed the principle he states at
However, the nations themselves could Jeremiah 18:7, 8:
have turned voluntarily from a bad and
At any moment that I may speak against
disastrous way. They have had the oppora nation and against a kingdom to uproot
it and to pull it down and to destroy it,
tunity. God has shown the nations the
and that nation actually turns back from
way to go. Even pagan rulers have some
its badness against which I spoke, I will
measure of God-given conscience, as one
also feel regret over the calamity that I
of Christs apostles explains:
had thought to execute upon it.

626

SFizeWATCHTOWER.

God has shown the nations that he is

the rightful Owner of the earth. He says:
The whole earth belongs to me. (Ex.
19:5) Man could not be on the earth if
God had not put him here. The nations
themselves recognize their right of ownership, jealously guarding territory that
they have taken over by purchase, discovery or conquest. But they refuse to
recognize Gods ownership rights. They
deny his authority to set the standards by
which nations should conduct themselves.
But God has let the nations know that
there is a time limit to the exercise of
their authority, and that earths rulership
is to be exercised by his Messianic King.
(Ps. 2:6-8) Contrarily, the nations prefer
to have the earth continue to be divided
up into hundreds of conflicting governments, with unrest, national jealousies,
strife and wars. Instead of willingly acknowledging that their governments have
not brought happiness to their people and
instead of asking God to take over earths
rule, they continue to use the same old
political methods to hold on to their rulership. They could avoid colliding with God
if they were willing to submit, as he kindly warns them:
And now, O kings, exercise insight; let
yourselves be corrected, O judges of the
earth. Serve Jehovah with fear and be joyful with trembling. Kiss the son, that He
may not become incensed and you may not
perish from the way.Ps. 2:10-1
GOD ACTS FOR BENEFIT OF EARTH AND MAN

Meanwhile, the governments of earth

really show a condemnable lack of concern
that the earth is being ruined, becoming
more unfit for human habitation day by
day. They admit that crime, pollution,
threat of earth-wide starvation and many
other bad circumstances are out of their
control. Many believe that a third world
war could occur at any moment, practically depopulating the earth. Yet in spite

B rooklyn , N .Y .

of these things their principles or methods

of operation remain basically the same.
They still engage in political intrigue, diplomatic lying and international spying.
So, as would any owner who cares for
his property, God is not going to stand
idly by and see the earth destroyed and
made uninhabitable. He would be remiss,
indeed, to let such a thing happen. He
would not be acting in trueness toward
those who hate the corruption and the disgusting things taking place in the earth
and who want better living, right living.
Knowing the path the nations would take,
he foretold that there would be a time for
calling a halt, saying:
The nations became wrathful, and your
own wrath came, and the appointed time
for the dead to be judged, and to give their
reward to your slaves the prophets and to
the holy ones and to those fearing your
name, the small and the great, and to bring
to ruin those ruining the earth.Rev. 11:18.

Actually, God, by his firm action for

right principles, takes a positive course
opposite to that of the oncoming nations,
so that there is a collision head on, as the
only way to stop the nations from forcing
all humankind completely into self-made
oblivion. He does it primarily to settle the
issue of sovereignty in his own favor. But
he also remembers those who want righteousness and justice and who will accept
his sovereignty.
As a consequence, we can be happy that
God does have almighty power at his disposal and that, even though in comparison with the universe this earth is very
small, he takes an interest in humans upon
it. We can be glad that God is willing to
turn his attention to and exercise his great
power toward this small planet for the
everlasting welfare of its inhabitants.
But is the corrupt political rule of the
nations Gods only reason for displeasure?
No. There are even stronger reasons, as
the following discussion will reveal.

Churches
AINLY, what the people believe
C / V L about God they have learned
from the churches, or from what church
leaders have said or done. But have they
really learned the truth about God? Or
have they received a distorted picture?
If one reads about God purely from the
Bible, does its portrayal of God collide
with what the churches teach and do?
The majority of Christendoms churches
say that there are three persons in one
God, that he is, as it were, a three-headed
God. They teach that when Jesus died,
God died. According to this teaching, God
is not really the Sovereign Ruler of the
universe, the Father and Source of all life.
Rather, he shares these positions with the
Son and with the so-called holy ghost,
considered to be the third person of the
trinity.
But the Bible says (Moses speaking):
Listen, O Israel: Jehovah our God is
ONE Jehovah. (Deut. 6:4) And the
Christian apostle Paul writes: There is
actually to us ONE God the Father, out
of whom all things are, and we for him;
and there is one Lord, Jesus Christ,
through whom all things are, and we
through him. (1 Cor. 8:6) Jesus said:
The Father is greater than I am, and
spoke of Jehovah as my God. (John 14:
28; 20:17) And the Bible throughout does
not portray the holy spirit as a person,
but as an unintelligent force, the active
force of God.Acts 2:17, 33.
ATTEMPTS TO HIDE OR OBSCURE GODS NAME

In still other ways the churches distort

matters. The Bible says that God will
627

make known to the nations that his name

is Jehovah, and that he alone is Most High
over all the earth. (Ps. 83:18; Ezek. 38:
23) Gods personal name in the form of
the Tetragrammaton, the four-letter Hebrew word transliterated as JHVH or
YHWH in English and translated as Jehovah or Yahweh, appears nearly 7,000 times
in the Hebrew Scriptures. Jesus Christ,
when on earth, said that he made Gods
name known to his disciples, and Jehovah
has commanded that his name, with all
the righteous principles that it stands for,
be proclaimed and sanctified earth wide.
This is in order that people may learn of
his ways and walk in his paths.Matt. 6:
9; John 17:6, 26; Rev. 14:6, 7; 19:6.
But the religious clergy hide the name.
In their Bible translations they substitute
the titles LORD and GOD where the name
of God, Jehovah, appears. Moreover, they
misrepresent him, actually besmirching his
name by such doctrines as hellfire, portraying God as a fiend more vicious than
the torture experts of the Nazi Gestapo
and the concentration camps.
However, Gods own Word says that Jehovah is a God of justice and mercy. (Ex.
34:6, 7) His law says, the wages sin pays
is death, not torment. (Rom. 6:23)
Though the wicked must die, God takes
no delight in their death. (Ezek. 33:11)
His disposition toward the torment of humans was shown when he condemned the
people of Israel for offering up their children by fire to the pagan god Baal. He
sent his prophet Jeremiah to tell them:
And they built the high places of the
Baal in order to burn their sons in the

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B rooklyn , N .Y .

fire as whole burnt offerings to the Baal, the same time receiving money and masomething that I had not commanded or terial support under guise of being Gods
spoken of, and that
hnotrepresentatives
come up into to the people.
The sad fact is that the religions, parmy
h eartJer. 19:5.
If the reader will look into the Bible at ticularly those of Christendom, have acRevelation 20:14, he will see that the tually been the ones primarily responsible
lake of fire, which clergymen have long for the collision course the nations are
called a place of eternal torment, is ac- taking. How?
tually symbolic, meaning the second
ORIGIN OF APOSTATE CHRISTIANITY
death, not torment. In fact, hell or Hades
Well,
the apostle Paul, not long before
(which is actually the common grave of
his
death,
foretold an apostasy from true
mankind) is itself destroyed in this symChristianity.
During their lifetime the
bolic lake of fire.
apostles were able to hold back promoters
Many of the clergy have increased Gods
of false doctrine in the congregation, but
displeasure with them by calling him a
Paul said:
liar. These say that his Word is not inHowever, the inspired utterance says defspired, that the accounts of Adam and
initely that in later periods of time some
Eve and the fall of man, the Flood, the
will fall away from the faith, paying attenmiracles and the virgin birth of Christ
tion to misleading inspired utterances and
teachings of demons, by the hypocrisy of
are mere myths and unreliable fables. And
men who speak lies, marked in their conthey even say, God is dead, that is, he
science as with a branding iron.1 Tim.
has nothing to do with man and his prob4:1, 2.
lems.
Paul also warned certain ones in leading
positions
in the Christian congregation:
IMMORALITY WINKED AT
I know that after my going away oppresFurthermore, the church leaders have
sive wolves will enter in among you and
in many instances condoned immorality in
will not treat the flock with tenderness,
their congregations, not expelling persons
and from among you yourselves men will
practicing fornication, lying and stealing.
rise and speak twisted things to draw away
Some have spoken in favor of premarital
the disciples after themselves.Acts 20:29,
30.
and even of extramarital sex, and homosexual weddings have been performed
The apostle Peter likewise voiced a
by clergymen.
similar strong warning:
Those in the churches who practice
However, there also came to be false
prophets among the people, as there will
such things will doubtless condone such
also be false teachers among you. These very
clergy action, saying that it is in harmony
ones will quietly bring in destructive sects
with the new morality and the mod
and will disown even the owner that bought
ernizing of religious ideas. But are theclerthem, bringing speedy destruction upon
gy representing God in doing or approving
themselves. Furthermore, many will follow
their acts of loose conduct, and on account
these things? Just the opposite, for the
of these the way of the truth will be spoken
Bible says: Let marriage be honorable
of abusively. Also, with covetousness they
among afi, and the marriage bed be withwill exploit you with counterfeit words. But
out defilement, for God will judge fomias for them, the judgment from of old is not
cators and adulterers. (Heb. 13:4) Moremoving slowly, and the destruction of them
is not slumbering.2 Pet. 2:1-3.
over, Gods anger is especially aroused
against men who teach lies about him, at
This apostasy from true worship and

O ctober

15, 1971

SfreW ATCHTOW ER

doctrine took place and, particularly from

the fourth century, false, apostate Christianity flourished and became united with
the State, becoming a state religion. The
area in which it predominated came to be
called Christendom (meaning Christian
dominion) . This was directly contrary to
Christs words: My kingdom is no part
of this world, and they [Jesus disciples]
are no part of the world.John 18:36;
17:14.
History records that from that time on
religious leaders have been the counselors,
yes, often the directors, of national rulers.
Where they could not exercise power they
were willing to provoke revolution or warfare against those rulers resisting them.
Today, where they cannot be in favored,
powerful positions among national rulers,
they are often prominent among groups
rebellious against the established government.

629

For this reason all false religion, of

which apostate Christianity is the dominant part, is described in the Bible as a
city, Babylon the Great, a symbolic
empire, for it has a kingdom over the
kings of the earth. Also, it is personified
as a harlot, of whom it is said: In her

was found the blood of prophets and of

holy ones and of all those who have been
slaughtered on the
"
earRev. 17:1, 2
5, 18; 18:24.
According to verses 3, 1 2 1 4 of the seventeenth chapter of Revelation, the harlot rides a symbolic wild beast whose
horns represent kings or rulers of the
earth. Due to the harlot riders influence, these kings battle with the Lamb,
Jesus Christ. Here, then, is further evidence that the false religions of the earth
actually take the lead, being principally
responsible for the nations collision
course.
Is it surprising, then, that God is displeased with the worlds religions? Really,
it would be more surprising if he did not
act to clear his name and to help persons
who also hate the immorality and corruption in the churches, and the lies
taught about God.
Yes, someone may say, ,God has plenty
of provocation to act. But is it not unloving for him to destroy the people on account of conditions in which false religion
and politics bear such a large responsibility? Could he not merely bring about
a change in government and spare the
lives of the people? The article to follow
will consider this question.

F THE nations collide with God there

will inevitably be great destruction.
But if religious and political leaders are
in the forefront in antagonizing God, why
should the people suffer?
Well, can we put the blame on rulers

alone? No. That a government merely refleets the people it governs is acknowledged by men of affairs. Every country
has the government it deserves, was the
way Joseph de Maistre, a French diplomat
living at the turn of the nineteenth cen-

RESPONSIBLE FOR BLOODSHED

630

SEeWATCHTOWER-

tury, expressed the idea. And William

Penn, British statesman, taught: Governments rather depend upon men, than men
upon Governments. Let men be good, and
the Government cannot be bad. If it be
ill they will cure it, but if men be bad,
let the Government be ever so good, they
will endeavor to warp and spoil it to their
turn. With this the Bible agrees, as far
as the matter applies to man-made governments.
Even in Israel, where Gods law was the
nations constitution, both the rulers and
the people of Israel became guilty and
suffered. The reason was, as Jehovah said:
The prophets themselves actually prophesy in falsehood; and as for the priests,
they go subduing according to their powers. And my own people have loved it that
way.
In Christendom, which claims to be
Gods people, his holy nation, the same
situation exists. So Gods words to Israel
apply with equal force to Christendom
now: Should I not hold an accounting
because of these very things, . . . or on a
nation that is like this should not my soul
avenge itself?Jer. 5:29-31.
In the field of religion, have not the
people listened to men rather them to God?
They have the Bible and can read it, yet
they have continued to belong to and support the churches where false teachings
about God and rejection of his Word have
been taught, where dishonest and immoral
men have gone uncorrected, and where
even the God-denying theory of evolution
has been accepted. Can God be pleased
with this?
WORLD GOVERNMENTS
CANNOT CURE EARTHS ILLS

It is acknowledged by men of prominence that the governments cannot eliminate the numerous ills that beset the
world: crime, the drug epidemic, venereal

B rooklyn , N . Y.

disease, pollution and other serious

threats to humankind. Why not? Because
to eliminate these the people themselves
must give full cooperation, must keep the
law wholeheartedly, must give consideration to their neighbors and, instead of
showing selfishness and greed, must practice real love. But this is not the case.
Righteousness cannot be inculcated in
the people by the governments. Selfishness is so ingrained that no educational
program designed by worldly agencies will
eliminate it. Programs that are set up,
such as welfare, rehabilitation, and so
forth, are eventually ruined because of
favoritism, selfishness, bribery and corruption. (Eccl. 1:15) The people themselves therefore bear a large share of the
responsibility.
All these conditions that affect the peopie physically and socially are actually a
reflection of the bad spiritual condition
that exists. The Bible likens the spirit that
is breathed by the people of the world
to the air of our atmosphere. This spirit
or dominating force, the worlds attitude
or inclination, is a spirit of disobedience.
(Eph. 2:2) It pervades and exercises pressure all around us, as does the air. In the
Bible book of Revelation Gods anger is
shown as being poured out upon the air,
as a plague. Certainly the spirit that motivates the world in general is a sick spirit and its sickness is now manifesting itself
in literal plagues of deterioration in all
the activities of modem society.Rev. 15:
1; 16:17.
AN ENTIRE SYSTEM OF THINGS MUST GO

God, in viewing mankind from His superior position, sees this and realizes that
no one group or element is alone to blame.
Rather, the entire system of things as it
exists today has people locked into a way
of life that makes it very difficult for any-

O ctober 15, 1971

iFEeWATCHTOWEFL

631

one to avoid going along with it. It is the

system that has to be replaced. It cannot
be swerved to go in another direction, any
more than a locomotive can turn off its
rails and go across the country. Jesus
Christ showed that the system of things
of this world would come to a conclusion
under the circumstances we see in the
earth today.
Some feel that the only way of survival
is to go along with the system of things
and its dishonest principles. But this aban-

donment of right principles brings one

into sharing responsibility for its wickedness, with destruction ahead. However, no
one needs to feel unavoidably impelled to
go along with this system. God holds each
individual responsible for his acts. Therefore he provides a way out for those who
really are willing to follow a straight,
clean course of life. (Zeph. 2:3; 1 Cor. 10:
13) He is preeminently a God of love. His
loving-kindness is the subject we will next
consider.

NE of Gods prophets, given a vision

of divine execution of
judgment against corrupt, vicious oppressors
and worshipers of idols,
petitioned God: During the agitation, to
show mercy may you
remember. (Hab. 3:2)
Another prophet, observing in prophetic vision Gods destruction
of wickedness among Gods own
professed people Israel, cried
out: Alas, O Sovereign Lord
Jehovah! Are you bringing to
ruin all the remaining ones of
Israel while you are pouring out your
rage upon Jerusalem?Ezek. 9:8.
Both of these prophets made these expressions because they knew Jehovah to
be a God of love and mercy, just as Gods
friend Abraham had earlier addressed Jehovah in speaking of the judgment about
to come upon Sodom: It is unthinkable
of you that you are acting in this manner
to put to death the righteous man with
the wicked one so that it has to occur with
the righteous man as it does with the
wicked! It is unthinkable of you. Yes,

Abraham knew that to

destroy the righteous
was completely contrary
to Jehovahs principles.
Gen. 18:25.
Abraham was given
the answer, as was Ezekiel, that God would be
selective in his judgment,
and that those not deserving of destruction
would be spared. Such
proved to be the outcome.
These occasions give
us an insight into the
personality of God. He
declared to Moses: Jehovah, Jehovah, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abundant in
loving-kindness and truth, preserving
loving-kindness for thousands, pardoning
error and transgression and sin, but by
no means will he give exemption from
punishment. (Ex. 34:6, 7) In his majesty and dignity as supreme Sovereign,
Jehovah must maintain law and order in
the universe. He cannot condone lawbreaking. Yet he provides mercy and deliverance for those who want to do what
is right.

GOD EXHIBITS

IN ENFORCING
JOSTICE

632

^EeW ATCHTOW ER

Jesus Christ counseled his disciples:

Continue to love your enemies and to
pray for those persecuting you; that you
may prove yourselves sons of your Father
who is in the heavens, since he makes his
sun rise upon wicked people and good
and makes it rain upon righteous people
and unrighteous. (Matt. 5:44, 45) God
gives to all full opportunity to show what
their hearts really desire. He lets all
breathe the same air, eat the same food,
observe his beautiful creation and choose
the way they want to take.
EACH RESPONSIBLE FOR COURSE HE CHOOSES

It is only right and just that, being allowed to choose right or wrong, each individual should eat the fruitage of his
way. (Prov. 1:31) No one can rightly
accuse God of injustice when a person
comes into calamity because of his own
willful wrongdoing. God gives kind warning so that a person may avoid disaster. He says to the young person: Rejoice, young man, in your youth, and let
your heart do you good in the days of
your young manhood, and walk in the
ways of your heart and in the things seen
by your eyes. Yes, the young person is
free to do this; God will not prevent him.
But, God adds, know that on account
of all these the true God will bring you
into judgment. So remove vexation from
your heart, and ward off calamity from
your flesh; for youth and the prime of
life are vanity.Eccl. 11:9, 10.
God is not going to force anyone to
serve him. But if a person takes a course
of bad, or goes along with a system of
things that is corrupt, he himself is sharing in badness. Or if he remains affiliated
with an organization, religious, political or
commercial, that is reproaching God and
thereby is making its members tacit sharers in dishonesty or immorality, then he

B r o o k l y n , N .Y .

should expect to account to God for his

course.
This does not mean that there is no
forgiveness for one who has been such a
person, but who comes to recognize his
own imperfection, his wrong acts or wrong
course. He can turn from it and receive
forgiveness on the basis of Gods provision
of Christs ransom sacrifice. The penalty
for sin is not unjustly ignored or bypassed
by God, but on the basis of his own Sons
perfect human life as a sacrifice for sins
the requirements of justice are fully met.
The apostle Peter said: [Christ] himself
bore our sins in his own body upon the
stake, in order that we might be done with
sins and live to righteousness. By this
provision of the ransom God can be righteous even when declaring righteous the
man that has faith in Jesus.1 Pet. 2:
24; Rom. 3:26.
WARNING, AND PATIENCE

So God is loving toward his creation,

and wishes the best for them. He is slow
to anger, slow to execute justice toward
those who practice wrong, with the hope
that they might repent. (2 Pet. 3:9) God
exercises remarkable patience with persons who choose not to serve him. To some
who claimed to serve God but who practiced wrong things the apostle Paul appealed, writing: Do you despise the riches of his kindness and forbearance and
long-suffering, because you do not know
that the kindly quality of God is trying to
lead you to repentance?Rom. 2:4.
But wickedness cannot be allowed to
flourish indefinitely. It must be eliminated
in behalf of peace and order in the universe, for the relief and happiness of those
who want to live peaceably with their
fellowman. Therefore the wicked must be
removed. The wicked is a ransom for the
righteous one; and the one dealing treacherously takes the place of the upright

O ctober

15, 1971

633

SKeW ATCHTOW ER.

ones, says the inspired writer, at Proverbs 21:18.

Stated otherwise, the price of peaceful,
happy living for the right-minded persons
of earth is the removal of those who will
not live honestly and peaceably and who
work harm toward their neighbor. It is
as Jehovahs prophet said: Though the
wicked one should be shown favor, he
simply will not learn righteousness. In the
land of straightforwardness he will act unjustly and will not see the eminence of Jehovah.Isa. 26:10.
When God finally takes action he is impartial in enforcing his just laws. His anger is under control and he executes only
those deserving death. (Prov. 2:21, 22)
His war is not like the wars of the nations, that kill both good and bad indiscriminately. We can be sure that God,
the Judge of all the earth, will do what
is right, and that, when he destroys anyone, such person actually
not want
righteousness. (Gen. 18:25; Prov. 21:10)
He does not have any place for it in his
heart.

Accordingly, it behooves us to come to

God as to a loving Father, learn of him,
be corrected by him, conform our ways
to his written Word. He is preparing persons today for life in a righteous new order that will encompass the earth for the
happiness and well-being of all. You, like
everyone else, can take advantage of the
opportunity now.

OD has declared his purpose that

mankind will live in happiness on
earth governed in righteousness by His
laws. But it is not by converting the world
that he will accomplish this desirable condition for humankind. This fact is clearly
seen when we consider that the nations
are constantly drifting farther from the
Bibles standards.

God did not convert the world that existed before the Flood, but destroyed it.
The account reads: Jehovah saw that
the badness of man was abundant in
the earth and every inclination of the
thoughts of his heart was only bad all the
time. Nevertheless, Jehovah in his lovingkindness felt hurt at his heart. He gave
men 120 years before acting against them.
Their going into destruction was the re-

A LOVING FATHER

What other kind of God would anyone

want as his God? We appreciate fathers
who discipline their children for their
good, yet who love them and provide all
necessary good things for them. The apostie says to fellow Christians:
We used to have fathers who were of
our flesh to discipline us, and we used to
give them respect. Shall we not much more
subject ourselves to the Father of our spiritual life and live? For they for a few days
used to discipline us according to what
seemed good to them, but he does so for
our profit that we may partake of his holiness. True, no discipline seems for the present to be joyous, but grievous; yet afterward to those who have been trained by it
it yields peaceable fruit, namely, righteousness.Heb. 12:9-11.

634

3BeW ATCHTOW ER

suit of their own choice of a bad way.

Gen. 6:3, 5, 6.
This historical fact is of interest to us,
because Jesus Christ said: Just as the
days of Noah were, so the presence of the
Son of man will be. . . . they took no note
until the flood came and swept them all
away.Matt. 24:37-39.
ONLY THOSE PREPARED WILL SURVIVE

When God destroys the present system

of things he is not going to leave a vacuum. That is, he is not going to have a
depopulated earth. Nor is he going to have
a few people left who do not know Gods
ways or who do not want to recognize his
sovereignty.
When Noah and his family, eight persons in all, stepped out of the ark as the
sole survivors of the Flood, they were not
ignorant people. They had practiced Gods
principles and had lived by them. Noah,
in fact, had done so for 600 years. The
wisdom he had obtained from walking
with God enabled him to give right direction to the things to be done as men again
began to grow in numbers on the earth.
Gen. 6:9; 7:11.
God is giving humankind at this time
the opportunity to prepare for life in a
new orderthe opportunity now to get onto the road to life. Have you heard the
proclamation that the Kingdom is at
hand? Has anyone spoken to you at your
home, your place of business, or other
place, about the paradise condition of
earth near at hand, where one can live
everlastingly? If so, you may appreciate
that the Kingdom is indeed near. You may
identify the proclamation as an educational work that God is having done to
inform and train humans for survival.
You can prepare for life in a new order
by making a study of Gods laws and putting them into effect in your life now.

B rooklyn , N .Y .

It is not education in science, politics or

the philosophy of this world that is the
essential thing. That education will not
help one to survive. That knowledge is
mere information. It is not real wisdom,
for it does not help one to know how to
live peaceably with his fellowman and in
harmony with his Creator. As the Creator
and Architect of the universe, God knows
everything about his creation. It is knowing and following his laws that constitute
real wisdom.
Many persons today seek after knowledge. But not many have hearts that are
willing to obey God. People with good
hearts who are loyal and trustworthy
through and through are the ones valuable in God's eyes. These persons God will
give, along with wisdom, all the knowledge, technical and otherwise, that is necessary for an organized society on earth
in his new order. They will be able to
subdue the earth, making it a paradise
to Gods glory.Gen. 1:28.
What does the Bible say about Gods
new order and its governmental arrangement?
WHAT GOVERNMENT FOR THE NEW ORDER?

In this present system of things we have

governments often made up of large bodies of men. The legislative, judicial and
executive branches of a government comprise sizable numbers. Over these world
governments, the Bible says, is an invisible body of rulers. Who are these rulers?
They are wicked spirit persons, unknown
to most of mankind because of being invisible. One of Christs apostles counsels
Christians that they must stand firm
against the machinations of the Devil, then
continues:
B eca u se w e h a v e a w r e stlin g , n o t a g a in s t
blood an d flesh , b ut a g a in s t th e govern m en ts, a g a in s t th e a u th o rities, a g a in s t th e

O ctober 15, 1971

SfreW ATCHTOW ER

635

world rulers of this darkness,

against the wicked spirit
forces in the heavenly places.
Eph. 6:11, 12.

These wicked spirits, constituting the heavens, or invisible ruling power over the
earth or present-day human
society, are to be removed.
The heavens will pass away,
says the apostle Peter. (2 Pet.
Study o f G o d s W o rd a n d conform ing to it a re
3:10) Then the new heavvital to p re p a rin g for life in his n ew order
ens will rule the new earth
inite. And my people must dwell in a peaceof righteous human society. (Rev. 21:1-4)
ful abiding place and in residences of full
These new heavens the Bible describes
confidence and in undisturbed resting-places.
as being composed of Jesus Christ the
Isa. 32:1, 17, 18.
King and High Priest of God and his asThus, under the new heavens and
sociate kings and underpriests numbering
with
the body of princes operating ac144,000 persons. Will there be a visible
cording
to information transmitted by the
governing arrangement for humankind?
new
heavens,
the survivors of this old
Rev. 14:1, 3, 4; 20:4, 6.
systems destruction will make rapid progAt Psalm 45 the inspired writer speaks
ress toward perfection. Since Christs
as addressing the King. The Christian
sacrifice is not only for the living, but also
Scriptures make quotations from this
for the dead, people will be resurrected
psalm, applying it to Jesus Christ. (Ps.
and will be taught the same principles that
45:1, 6, 7; Heb. 1:8, 9) There the psalmthe prospective survivors are observing
ist says to the King: In place of your
now.Acts 24:15; 2 Tim. 4:1.
forefathers there will come to be your
The just and righteous principles of the
sons, whom you will appoint as princes in
Almighty
God are now easily understood
all the earth. (Ps. 45:16) Righteous men
by
any
who
want to know them. Those
like Noah, Abraham and David were
who
accept
the
Bible in its entirety as
among Jesus forefathers according to the
inspired
of
God
and who earnestly con
flesh. These were men of loyalty and
form
their
lives
to these principles are
proved integrity. They will become chilpreparing
for
life
in a new order of righdren of the Eternal Father Jesus
teousness.
They
can
confidently say to
Christ by reason of receiving a resurrecGod:
Let
your
kingdom
come. Let your
tion through Christs ransom sacrifice.
will
take
place,
as
in
heaven,
also upon
(Isa. 9:6) With other such men of unearth.
The
Kingdom
comes
into
collibreakable integrity to God they will consion
with
the
nations
to
clear
the
way
for
stitute visible princes, just as the prophGods will and purpose to take place, with
et Isaiah wrote:
real
peace on earth.Matt. 6:10.
Look! A king will reign for righteousness
itself; and as respects princes, they will
Do you want such a change? Are you
rule as princes for justice itself. And the
willing to investigate whether such a
work of the true righteousness must become
change in earths conditions would require
peace: and the service of the true righteousa change on your part?
ness, quietness and security to time indef-

WMym'Jkd&jbkefofeeaC/uutge?
ACING life under the conditions that
exist at the present time, millions of
persons would like to see a change.
When people are asked what they would
most like to see announced in the news
headlines, some say world peace, some,
the elimination of crime or pollution, or
a cure for cancer. Others speak of certain political changes they desire. The
subjects of taxes and the world food shortage also come in for comment.
A world of peace and plenty, with clean
air and water and wholesome food for all,
a balanced ecology and the end of oppression, is indeed desirable.
This world would have to undergo a
great many changes for all these desired
conditions to exist at the same time. How
far-reaching would the changes be? Would
it require personal adjustments in your
daily life? If so, would you be willing
even if making these adjustments now
should inconvenience you seriously?
As stated earlier, the responsibility for
the worlds deplorable situation does not
rest altogether on the rulers. If individuals obeyed the laws there would be no
crime problem. If each one had consideration for his neighbors, his fellow workmen, his employer, his employee, and dealt
honestly and kindly with others, there
would be few prejudices and hatreds, and
no tie-ups due to strikes. If each person
were willing to work and if he did his work
with real interest and concern, the economy would be much more stable and taxes
would be greatly reduced.
But is this the way things are today?
For example, how does the average workman feel about the materials, supplies and
equipment belonging to his employer?

Does he reason, The small items I will

take will never be missed, and, besides, the
company can afford it ?Or does he feel
that the company is making lots of money
and they really dont pay me enough anyway? Are people generally careless with
the property of others? How about their
treatment of public facilities such as parks,
rest rooms, streets, public buildings? What
is your own attitude about these things?
Changing our attitudes and practices
along these lines is not easy. But these
bad practices are some of the basic sources
of trouble in present-day society and would
be completely out of place in a righteous
society.
Moreover, if every individual had love
for his fellowman, wars would be no more.
And if he were willing to be more than
passive in demonstrating his love, if he
would exert himself by going out of his
way to help others, having as much concern for his neighbors welfare as his own,
then real peace and relief from tension
would come. Do you regularly show that
deep a concern for your fellowman?
It is clear that action on the part of
everyone, major changes in everyones
life, are necessary for all those who would
live in a desirable world. One not making
these changes and ordering his life along
these lines would cause trouble for others.
He would be a real misfit. He would not
be deserving of the peace and tranquillity
of that world.
The righteous new order that God promises is just such a fine, desirable arrangement, with the added prize of everlasting
life in perfect health. The Bible describes
the good conditions we have discussed as
realities in the earth under Gods Messi-

636

O ctober 15, 1971

fEeW ATCH TO W ER.

anic Kingdom rule. How does all this appeal to you?

637

living thing. (Ps. 145:16) This change

will affect every living thing, for earths
symbolic foundations are out of balance.
ARE YOU A DOER AS WELL AS A HEARER?
Jehovah spoke of the injustices of the rulAlmost everyone would like to enjoy
ers and judges of his covenant people Isthe material human benefits the Bible
rael, saying concerning the situation of
promises, but not all want to change their
the people: They have not known, and
way of life, forsaking materialism and
they do not understand; in darkness they
becoming spiritually minded. They are
keep walking about; all the foundations
comparable to those Jews in Babylon to
of the earth are made to totter. (Ps.
whom Gods prophet Ezekiel spoke. God
82:5) Through his prophet Isaiah, God
told Ezekiel:
said: The land has gone to mourning,
They will come in to you, like the coming
has faded away. The productive land has
in of people, and sit before you as my peowithered,
has faded away. The high ones
pie; and they will certainly hear your words
of the people of the land have withered.
but these they will not do, for with their
mouth they are expressing lustful desires
And the very land has been polluted under
and after their unjust gain is where their
its inhabitants, for they have bypassed
heart is going. And, look! you are to them
the
laws, changed the regulation, broken
like a song of sensuous loves, like one with
the
indefinitely lasting covenant.Isa.
a pretty voice and playing a stringed in
24:4, 5.
strument well. And they will certainly hear
your words, but there are none doing them.
These words are true in a larger and
Ezek. 33:31, 32.
more widespread way in Christendom,
If, really, in your heart, you would like which professes to be in a covenant with
to see a change to the fine conditions of God. However, the psalmist depicts the
Gods new order, then you will be like the state of affairs as it should be, and as it
ones to whom the apostle Peter spoke, will be in Gods new order. In inspired
saying: Get saved from this crooked gen- song the commandment is given to humans
eration. They asked with the greatest of all kinds, men and women, young and
earnestness: Men, brothers,
shall old, to praise Jehovah, and along with
we
dof (Acts 2:37, 40) You will have them you wild animals and all you dothe attitude of Zacchaeus the tax collec- mestic animals, you creeping things and
tor, who, on listening to Jesus teaching, winged birds. (Ps. 148:10-13) Thus, all
acted immediately at great expense to creation will be brought back into harhimself to right his wrongs and to change mony, with happiness and unlimited benehis life. (Luke 19:2, 8, 9) You will be like fits to all.
Lydia of the city of Thyatira, who made
It is inescapable, then, that a sweeping,
no excuses or inward reservations, so that large-scale change in the life of every huJehovah opened her heart wide to pay man must take place, that is, in the life
attention to the things being spoken by of every human who wants to live under
[the apostle] Paul.Acts 16:14, 15.
the conditions for which God originally
made man. But the change is certainly
A SWEEPING BUT BENEFICIAL CHANGE
worth
while, and is the only way to achieve
The only one who can make the change
true
happiness.
How can this change be
that will bring all the desirable things
mentioned is the Creator. Of him alone it made? This is the question dealt with as
can be truly said: You are opening your we proceed to the discussion, What Do
hand and satisfying the desire of every You Want to Do?

IN G th is
/
J ! T
N READING
I 1 I
m agazine, particu
larly the article When All
N ations Collide, Head On,
with God, you have considered inform ation from the
Word of God regarding the
situation now facing us and
events about to break upon
the world. You are informed
of the danger ahead.
The question before you, as it is before
all people, is, What can you do? or, rather, What do you want to do? For if you
want to, you can take the course of safety.

EVERYONE MUST MAKE A DECISION

Certainly safety will not come by doing

nothing, by sitting tight and waiting to
see what happens. The words of God are
not given in vain. Jesus gave an illustration that sets the matter before us clearly:
Therefore everyone that hears these sayings of mine and does them will be likened
to a discreet man, who built his house upon
the rock-mass. And the rain poured down
and the floods came and the winds blew and
lashed against that house, but it did not
cave in, for it had been founded upon the
rock-mass. Furthermore, everyone hearing
these sayings of mine and not doing them
will be likened to a foolish man, who built
his house upon the sand. And the rain
poured down and the floods came and the
winds blew and struck against that house
and it caved in, and its collapse was great.
Matt. 7:24-27.

These sayings that Jesus referred to

were not demanding anything unreasonable of his hearers, but were only those
things that any person who has genuine
respect for God and for the rights of his
fellowman should do. If you read Christs
638

Sermon on the Mount in Matthew

chapters five to seven you will see
that he stressed, first of all, the importance of being conscious of ones
sp ir itu a l n eed , se e k in g
righteousness, being purehearted and peaceable. And
he emphasized proper living,
repeatedly mentioning the
kingdom of the heavens, the
need to seek it and Gods
righteousness. Jesus stated
that safety lies in obedience
to these teachings.
A MATTER OF FREE WILL

All these things are left to

the free will of each individual to do or
not to do. No one is forced. God delights
in the fact that he rules by love. God is
love, says the apostle John, and Jehovah
himself says: I am Jehovah, the One exercising loving-kindness, justice and righteousness in the earth; for in these things
I do take delight.1 John 4:8; Jer. 9:24.
It is in harmony with his creatorship
and his dignity and sovereignty that he
lets each intelligent individual choose to
accept and acknowledge His sovereignty.
God is interested, not in mere service to
him, but also, primarily, in heart motive.
I, Jehovah, am searching the heart, he
declares. Jehovah is making an estimate
of hearts, says the inspired writer. (Jer.
17:10; Prov. 21:2) God is not impressed
with ones great ability. On the other
hand, he does not accept a mere show or
profession of loyalty. One must have genuine works, proving his loyalty.
Of course, any organization claiming to
be Christian should instill in its members
strong faith in God, a knowledge of his
Word, and loyalty to his kingdom. However, you may, on seriously considering
these matters, find that you are affiliated
with a religious organization that is not
teaching the truth of the Bible. If that

O ctober

15, 1971

SReW ATCHTOW ER.

organization has not enabled you to understand the Bible so that you have the
ability to explain it to others, and furthermore, if the organization condones wrongdoing, shows partiality to the rich and influential or preaches doctrines contrary to
the Bible, what will you do? Will you follow the command: ,Therefore get out
from among them, and separate yourselves, says Jehovah, ,and quit touching
the unclean thing ?
WHERE TO TURN

To what or where, then, should you

turn? Not to atheistic evolution, which
is grossly materialistic, nor to a policy of
complete isolation. This would not be seeking righteousness, and no safety would be
found therein. No, rather, God goes on
to say to those who are faithful believers,
and I will take you in. God shows how
to come under his care.2 Cor. 6:17.
First of all, it is urgent, a matter of
life or death in these critical times, to
read and study the Bible with understanding. And you will find that you make
much faster progress in understanding the
Bible by receiving help from one who
understands, and who can find the answers to your questions in the Bible.
At this time, very near the end of this
system of things, there is an association,
a society of Christians, ministers, who are
preaching and teaching the good news of
Gods kingdom and bringing their lives
into conformity with Bible principles. They
are expending time and energy in harmony with Jesus command: Go therefore
and make disciples of people of all the
nations, baptizing them in the name of
the Father and of the Son and of the holy
spirit, teaching them to observe all the
things I have commanded you. And, look!
I am with you all the days until the conelusion of the system of things.Matt.
28:19, 20.

639

This work is not done in a comer,

just as the apostle Paul declared. (Acts
26:26) It is international. All over the
world those who believe Gods Word associate with fellow believers in God and
Christ. The apostle Peter corroborates this
in his writings, saying: Have love for the
whole association of brothers.1 Pet. 2:
17; 5:9.
Jehovahs witnesses are thus associating in carrying on this work of teaching.
They do not feel that they are intrinsically
or inherently better or wiser than others.
But they are thankful that through a
study of the Bible and because of being
helped by others of this Christian society
they are informed. They are following the
command to quit being fashioned after
this system of things, but be transformed
by making your mind over, that you may
prove to yourselves the good and acceptable and perfect will of God.Rom. 12:2.
AN INVITATION TO INVESTIGATE FURTHER

In reading this magazine, you may have

had unanswered questions. Jehovahs witnesses invite you to read the Bible. At
your convenience they will be glad to
study the Bible with you, free of charge.
You will find it encouraging and upbuilding to investigate and examine more fully
what the Bible says, and to take the direction it recommends as the course of
safety for yourself and those you love.
You have the assurance from Gods
Word that if you sincerely keep on seeking the truth you will find it. (Matt.
7:7) If you pray to Jehovah God in Jesus
name, asking Him to help you find the
right way, you will be answered. Said
King David of Israel: He [Jehovah] will
teach the meek ones his way. And Gods
warm love toward you is expressed in the
apostle Pauls words: In fact, [God] is
not far off from each one of us.Ps. 25:
9; Acts 17:27.

For example, the Authorized Version reads:

As for the earth, out of it cometh bread:
and under it is turned up as it were fire.
Based on this rendering, some commentators
suggest that the fire refers to the glow of
precious stones and metals that are uncovered
by man. However, our understanding the fire
to allude to mans mining operations fits the
Does Job 28:5 refer to the apparent molten context better and agrees with the renderings
state of earths interior when it says: As for of many modem translations.
Though sparing no efforts to mine earths
the earth, out of it food goes forth; but under
neath it, it has been upturned as if by fire? concealed treasures, man does not find true
wisdom by exploring the physical creation.
Cyprus.
(Job 28:112 )For this, man must turn to God.
No. The context reveals that this pertains Job concludes: Look! The fear of Jehovah
to mans efforts to find earths treasures. (Job that is wisdom, and to turn away from bad
28:14 )Aboveground the farmer peacefully is understanding.Job 28:28.
prepares the soil, sows seed and cares for the
growing grain. Thus the earth produces food.
WATCHTOWER STUDIES FOR THE WEEKS
Underneath earths surface, however, man car
ries on a turbulent upturning activity, with November 14: When All Nations Collide, Head
On, with God, 11127. Page 612. Songs to
effects comparable to that of a ravaging fire.
Be Used: 13, 66.
Miners gouge and wrest from earths bosom
precious stones and metals.
November 21: When All Nations Collide, Head
It may be noted that a number of transla
On, with God, 1i2856. Page 619. Songs to
tions render Job 28:5 somewhat differently.
Be Used: 2, 84.

z/ln n otm ciT T g

JEHOVAHS
KINGDOM
NOVEM BER

1, 1971

Semimonthly

W H O S E N A M E D O Y O U RESPECT
M O R E Y O U R O W N O R G O D S?

CH RISTIAN MATURITY
A N ELUSIVE G O A L ?

WTB4TS

YOU ARE MY WITNESSES, SAYS JEH O VAH.-lsa.43:12

T H E P U R P O SE O F "T H E W A T C H T O W E R
E very w a tc h to w e r has its purpose. It serves as an elevated p la c e for a
w id e-aw ak e person w ith sharp vision. It enables him to see far ahead into
th e distance and tell those b elow for w h o m he is a w atch m an w h a t is
draw ing near, w h eth er it is a danger against w h ich to prepare o r it is
som ething good over w h ich to be glad w ith strong faith and hope.
Because o f having the name "The W a tc h to w e r this m agazine ju stly
has to render a sim ilar useful service to the people o f all nations. T h is is
an international m agazine and makes no racial distinctions, for w e are all
facing a com m on w o rld danger; w e are all hoping fo r a com m on good.
E ver since "The W a tc h to w e r began to be published in J u ly o f 1 8 7 9 it
has looked ahead into the future, a lw a y s striving to aid its readers to advan ce in k now ledge and to gain a clearer picture o f the glorious n e w order
o f things th at is in store for righteous mankind. N o , "The W a tc h to w e r
is no inspired prophet, but it follow s and explains a Book o f prophecy the
predictions in w h ich have proved to be unerring and unfailing till n o w .
"The W a tc h to w e r is therefore under safe guidance. It m a y be read w ith
confidence, fo r its statem ents m ay be checked against th at prophetic Book.
A m o n g th e m a n y nations o f today there are hundreds o f differing
religions. W h ich one does this m agazine present? N o t the confused religions
o f C hristendom , but the religion o f the oldest sacred Book on earth. VVhich
Book? T h e Sacred Bible o f the H o ly Scriptures, w r itte n b y inspiration in
th e nam e o f the C reator o f heaven and earth, the o n ly living and true G od.
T h e sacred, nonpolitical purpose o f "The W a tc h to w e r is accordingly
to encourage and prom ote study o f the H o ly Bible and to give our m an y
readers the needed unsectarian help to understand th at Book o f true
religion and infallible prophecy. T hus this m agazine w ill be helping them
to prove w o r th y o f perfect life and happiness in G od s promised n e w order
under H is everlasting kingdom o f righteousness.

PUBLISHED BY THE
WATCH TOWER BIBLE AND TRACT SOCIETY OF PENNSYLVANIA
117 Adams Street
Brooklyn, N.Y. 11201, U.S.A.
N. H. K norr , President
G rant S uiter , Secretary

They will all be taught by Jehovah.John 6:45; Isaiah 54:13

CONTENTS

A v e ra g e Printing Each Issue:

What Is Going On in the Churches?

643

F ive cen ts a copy

N o w Published in 73 Languages

Whose Name Do You Respect More

Your Own or Gods?

645

The People Who Respect Gods Name

More than Their Own

656

How Should You View Discipline?

659

Christian Maturityan Elusive

661

Goal?

7 ,5 0 0 ,0 0 0

Keep on Seeking, and You Will Find

665

Missionaries Told to Be Loyal, Merciful

669

Questions from Readers

670

The Bible translation used In The Watchtower is the modern-language

New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures, unless otherwise Indicated.
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'p ^ r v n o z c n c ir ia
J E H O V A H S
KING DO M
November 1, 1971

Number 21

What Is Going On in the Churches?

HE recent fighting between Catholics and
Protestants in Ireland is just one facet of
life in which the churches are in the limelight.
In the news, too, is the apparent surge of
interest of youths in religion many of them
caught up in what is called The Jesus Revolution.
The way the churches and their leaders are
reacting to such happenings is often reflected
in news reports.

CHURCH

SERM ONS

The titles of sermons at times mirror the

worlds distress. For instance, subjects of church
sermons recently advertised in the Boston
Globe include: Deliver Me from the Hand
of My Brother, and A Liberal Religion for a
Confused Age.
Often sermon titles seem deliberately vague,
causing one to wonder what they are about.
In the Washington, D.C., area some subjects
were: The Persistent Cipher Is Incredible,
and Stripped Bare. What would you expect
to hear in those sermons?
Other titles imply shortcomings of God, or
even question the rightness of his dealings. A
Washington, D.C., United Presbyterian church
advertised: G ods Great Nevertheless. And a
United Church of Christ in Cleveland, Ohio,
announced in front of its place of meeting:
Lord, We Have Considerable Doubts About the
W ay Youre Running the Universe.
CHURCH

SERVICES

Despite talk of a decline in religious interest,

some churches report large attendances. But is

this necessarily evidence of spiritual strength?

Consider the following news items:
In a syndicated column, AP religion writer
George W. Cornell reported: At the ClenMoore United Presbyterian church in New
Castle, Pa., the pastor, the Rev. Jack Heinsohn,
sometimes puts on clowns makeup and goes
through acrobatics on a trampoline to get across
points to younger members. The Express,
Easton, Pa., July 10, 1971.
Equally strange are the goings-on in certain
Baptist churches. People are invited to see ten
inches of concrete broken with Hand and
Head. Besides the use of karate. Baptist evangelist Mike Crain performs feats with samurai
swords. The News, Frederick, Maryland, reports: Rev. Crain demonstrated the full extent
of his skills Sunday evening at Peoples Baptist
Church when he placed a watermelon on the
stomach of David Gilbert, a congregation member, and, blindfolded, sliced the melon into two
sections.
Reporter Daryl Lembke notes that in San
Francisco theres never a dull moment Sundays
at Glide Memorial Methodist Church. He explains that the church has sponsored various
unorthodox events but that it didnt really
achieve standing-room-only status until the
summer of 1969. Thats when the paid choir
and organist were let go and replaced by
Meridian West [a jazz group]. About the same
time, the chancel was cleared by removing the
altar and the pulpit. Room had to be made for
the band and the crowd that gyrates with it.
Atlanta Journal, M ay 26, 1971.
These activities are not confined to Protestant
643

644

B rooklyn , N .Y .

fEeW A TC H TO W ER

groups. A heading in the Miami Herald,

August 6, 1971, says: PRAYER TO ROCK BEAT
REACHES JEWISH FAITH.
And the Chicago Tribune of August 1,
1971, observes: Folk masses, like the one at
St. Thomas the Apostle Church in Hyde Park,
were unique not long ago. Today, because of
the realization that survival means accommodating the young, they are a common occurrence. The conservative Catholic paper The
Defenders Trumpet complains that the Mass
has been turned into a three-ring circus.
Although such tactics may attract more people
to church, the question may be asked: Is this
really a sign of genuine spiritual strength?
C LER G Y IN THE MILITARY

Especially reflected in the churches is the

worlds division and disagreement on the issue
of war. On one hand, thousands of Catholic,
Protestant and Jewish clergy serve in the armed
forces as chaplains, being endorsed by their
various denominations. The United States currently has 1,704 chaplains in the Army, 1,129
in the Air Force and 994 in the Navy, and these
also serve the Marine Corps. In all, there are
some 30,000 active and inactive American chaplains, about 3,000 having thus far served in
Vietnam.
Chaplains have the military rank of officer.
And to illustrate that chaplains share much of
their fellow officers support for the war efforts,
the New York Times, June 22, 1971, observed:
A convention in Washington last month of
the Military Chaplains Association appeared at
times to turn into a rally in support of the
United States effort in Vietnam and against
antiwar demonstrators and hippies.
On the other hand, some clergymen are bitterly opposed to United States war efforts, and
do all they can to disrupt them. For instance,
recently three clergymen were captured when
they tried to steal or destroy FBI documents
and federal draft records in Camden, New
Jersey. Time magazine, September 6, 1971,
reported: Among those apprehended were two
Roman Catholic priests . . . [also] a Lutheran
minister.

POLITICAL IN V O L V E M E N T

The growing involvement of churches in political and social reform movements is a distinetive feature of todays news.
The Los Angeles Herald-Examiner, July 24,
1971, said: The Rev. Neil McLaughlin, a Baltimore priest indicted on charges that he plotted
with others to kidnap presidential adviser Henry
A. Kissinger as a tactic to support peace in
Vietnam, says: Priests and nuns must become
more involved.
The Rev. Carl Lezak, a Chicago priest active
in precinct politics, says: You will see more
priests in politics.
But in view of the serious problems within
churches and the conflicting opinions of clergymen, one may well wonder why greater clergy
involvement in politics should be expected to
improve the workings of governments.
N EW

ROLE O F W O M E N

In keeping with the Scriptural injunction not

to permit a woman to teach, or to exercise
authority over a man, women traditionally have
not held positions of oversight in churches.
(1 Tim. 2:12) But in more and more religious
areas there is an abandoning of this position.
As religion writer Richard Dalrymple observes:
Altar boys in one Roman Catholic Church
are now being replaced with girls . . . Lutherans
have a woman minister . . . and next year a
woman rabbi is expected to be ordained.
Last month, Seattle peace activist Mrs. Marcus Rohlfs was elected president of the American Baptist Convention. When Mrs. Lois Stair
was voted into the highest office of the United
Presbyterian Church, Presbyterian moderator,
she became the first woman to hold that post.
Los Angeles Herald-Examiner, June 12,
1971.
There is no doubt that unusual things are
going on in the churches. The real question, of
course, is. What does God think about these
attitudes and practices? Do they harmonize with
his standards and so meet his approval? Have
you read the Bible enough to know his mind
on these matters? It would be worth your while
to investigate.

will agree that that is

YOU a g ree
so, for the reason that
ancient
we are self-respecting.
King Solomon when he
3
Like alm
said that a name is to
body else, you respect
be chosen rather than
your name. You should
abundant riches? Of
do so, for your name
course, he meant a fameans you. Your Maker
vorable name, for in
made you that way,
the parallel line of this
A NAME IS TO BE CHO SEN
w ith that quality of
proverb Solomon addRATHER THAN ABUNDANT RICHES;
self-respect. In this reFAVOR IS BETTER THAN EVEN
ed: Favor is better
SILVER AND GOLD. PROV. 22:1.
gard we image Him,
than even silver and
fo r h e to o h as s e lfgold. (Prov. 22:1) Silrespect. He respects his
ver and gold are riches.
2
Many men try to gain abundant richesown name. We have reason to appreciate
regardless of how it affects their name. this fact, for we remember the Ten ComOthers try to protect their name by hiding mandments that he gave to the people of
the underhanded methods and crooked King Solomon. In the Third Commandmeans by which they got their abundant ment thereof he said: You must not take
riches. However, King Solomon had both up the name of Jehovah your God in a
name and riches, and that with honor. The worthless way, for Jehovah will not leave
God whom Solomon worshiped made him the one unpunished who takes up his name
rich with silver and gold and other ma- in a worthless way.Ex. 20:7.
terial possessions, just as his God promised
* It was in the year 1513 before our
to do, saying: Also what you have not Common Era, in the days of the prophet
requested I will give you, both riches and
Moses, that the God of King Solomon said
glory, so that there will not have hapthat; and during their long history after
pened to be any among the kings like you,
all your days. (1 Ki. 3:13) When it comes they got that commandment, Solomons
to making a choice between a favorable people learned in a hard way that God
name and abundant riches, the wise choice meant what he said. Their history proves
would be that of a favorable name. Human that it does not do anyone good to take up
experience proves that to be so. Even we Gods name in a worthless way, in a
way that serves no good use, in a misuse
1. With what proverb on a name are we asked regarding

* J_>/ w i t h

our agreement?
2. (a) How did King Solomon come to have both name
and riches? (b) As to a choice between name and
riches, what do we agree to be the wise choice, and
why ?

3, 4. (a) As regards our

how do we image God, and
people learn the truth of
ment says, and what does
645

attitude toward our name,

why? (b) How did Solomons
what that Third Commandthis prove to us?

646

SEeW ATCH TO W ER

of His name, in making a wrong use of

His name.
5 If we make wrong use of Gods name,
using it as if it were something worthless,
we make it plain that we do not respect
the divine name. Then it must be that we
respect our own personal name more than
we respect that of God. Will our doing so
work out in good for us? Will we go unpunished for this? Not according to what God
stated in the Third Commandment. Although most people do not realize it, Gods
name is involved with world affairs today.
It is advisable for us to consider the question directed to each one of us, Do you respect your own name more than Gods? It is
very urgent upon us to study over this
question, for very soon now the world will
pay the penalty for its disrespect toward
Gods name. We would hardly want to suffer that penalty with the world.
6 When you are absent and your name is
mentioned in the presence of someone else,
what impression is the one using your
name trying to create about you, or what
image of you comes up in the mind of
the hearer? You would like it to be favorable, would you not? You would not want
your very name to stink, as if you were an
offensive person. In ancient times perfumed
oil on a person made his physical presence
agreeable, sweet-smelling. Is the effect of
the mention of your name like that? King
Solomon thought so, for he said under inspiration from God: A name is better
than good oil. (Eccl. 7:1) King Solomons
ancestor, the thirteenth back, Jacob (Israel), felt that way about it. When his
two sons, Simeon and Levi, carried out a
massacre at the town of Shechem, Jacob
rebuked them and said: You have brought
ostracism upon me in making me a stench
5. How do we show that we respect our own name more
than Gods, and why is it advisable for us to consider
now the personal question about this matter of respect?
6. (a) How did Solomon compare perfumed oil on a
person and a good name? (b) How did Jacob feel
about his name because of the massacre committed by
Simeon and Levi?

B rooklyn , N .Y .

to the inhabitants of the land. (Gen. 34:

2 5 3 0 ;compare 2 Samuel 10:6.) Jacob,
whom the inhabitants of the land associated with his God, Jehovah, did not like to
have his own name be made foul-smelling.
7 No less would we like to have our
name made foul-smelling among people by
the way others spoke about us or acted
toward us. We can realize, therefore, what
Gods feelings are with regard to his own
name. It has so happened that those who
claim to be his closest friends on earth
have brought the greatest reproach upon
his name. The religious clergy of Christendom have made Gods name stink to
the high heavens throughout the whole
earth. They know, or should know by reason of their theological education, that the
Holy Bible sets forth Gods name as being
Jehovah. Over the centuries these clergymen have taught that this God of the Bible is a God who delights in eternal torture of his own creatures, that He prepared
a place called hell filled with fire buming forever with brimstone (or sulphur),
and that there he keeps alive sinful human
souls after death to be tormented forever,
without any relief. The clergy twist the
meaning of things said in the Bible in order to teach this, and to this day they
have never erased this teaching from their
church creeds, thus declaring it to be absolutely false and a God-dishonoring, demoninspired teaching. They do not want to
admit to teaching lies.
8For the sake of their own name the
clergy prefer to let their lies against God
stand. They not only bring God under reproach, but also bring reproach upon the
Chief One of Gods family, his Son Jesus
Christ, for they claim that Jesus Christ
taught such lies in his heavenly Fathers
name.
7. What odor have the clergy of Christendom made
Gods name have, and why have they made no alteration
about this?
8. For the sake of whose name do they let lies stand,
and on the names of whom have they brought reproach?

N ovember 1, 1971

f& eW ATCHTOW ER.

647

9 The clergy also connect up this God of

the Bible with all their spilling of blood
in violent wars. How? By praying to him
to grant victory to their own nation as
against the other nation, even putting on
the belts of the soldier boys the words God
with us. They have prayed the warriors
of their nation into heaven by claiming
that the soldiers dying on the battlefield
for their political rulers have an immediate passport into heaven to be with God
and Jesus Christ. It does not matter to
the clergy whether their soldier boys prove
to have fought for the losing side, and
apparently the wrong side; they still go
to heavenly bliss for having died under the
blessing of their religious clergy who pray
for them. Thus they picture Jehovah as a
God that has backed up all this war and
bloodshed committed by Christendom for
the past sixteen centuries.
10No wonder that Gods name stinks
in the nostrils of those who bitterly declare that religion is the opium of the
people, yes, even in the nostrils of those
hundreds of millions of people whom Christendom calls heathen or pagans in nonChristian lands! And then, are we to think
that God takes no account of this, that
he is dead and indifferent to this, that he
has no feelings at all about this? How unrealistic for us to think so! How could socalled Christian people think so, who go
to church and join with the clergyman and
the congregation in the prayer that Jesus
Christ taught, saying: Our Father which
art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name?
(Matt. 6:9, Authorized Version) Jesus
Christ taught his followers to pray for
the hallowing or sanctifying of his heavenly Fathers name, and not for the making
of that holy name a universal stench. So,

11
We personally may not desire to show
disrespect for Gods name, but, if we have
any religious connection, the question for
us to ask ourselves is: Do I belong to a
religious denomination that disrespects and
defames Gods name in these and other
ways? Suppose that any of us do. Well,
then, we should know the course for us
to take if we respect Gods name. What?
This, namely, to disengage ourselves from
sharing in the community responsibility
of such a religious denomination before
the Bible God, who is jealous for his name.
Ezek. 39:25, AV.
12When we come to think about it, the
personal name of each one of us human
creatures is of comparatively little importance. We live imperfect lives for some
few years, then we die and are soon forgotten by those who survive us. Or our
name, even if it is preserved in memory by
some means, finally fades in importance
and potency. But is that the case with
Gods name? Far from it! For, in Psalm
one hundred and forty-eight, verses eleven
through thirteen, the inspired songwriter
addresses himself to you kings of the
earth and all you national groups, you
princes and all you judges of the earth, you
young men and also you virgins, you old

9. In what warfare do Christendoms clergy implicate

God, and how?
10. (a) Among whom have the clergy made Gods name
to be foul-smelling, and has this been without concern
on Gods part? (b) What did Jesus teach us to pray
about that name, and how does violation thereof affect
him?

11. What question should we respecters of Gods name

ask about any religious denomination to which we may
belong, and to escape community responsibility, what
action must be taken?
12,13. (a) Why are we and our personal name of little
importance? (b) What does Psalm 148:1113 tell all
classes of people to do?

when people who profess to be his followers violate that prayer and pollute the
name of his heavenly Father, are we to
think that Jesus Christ has no feelings
about the matter, that he has so little respect for his Fathers name as not to care?
Not at all! For Jesus Christ respects his
Fathers name above his own name.
THE QUESTION FOR PEOPLE WITH
RELIGIOUS CONNECTIONS

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fikW A TC H T O W E R .

men together with boys, and then says:

13 Let them praise the name of Jehovah, for his name alone is unreachably
high. His dignity is above earth and heaven.
14 The dignity of this Bible God, Jehovah,
his worthiness, his respectability, his importanceall these things tower heavenhigh above the earth. Not a single human creature on earth, no matter how
famous he has made himself in human
history, has elevated his name and fame
above that of this God or even as high as
Gods name. No creature in heaven and
earth can exalt his name as high as that
of Jehovah, for his name alone is unreachably high. Yes, his name only is
supreme. (Ps. 148:13, New World Translation; M offatt) It is true that men have
disrespectfully striven to put their name
on a level with Jehovah or even above
that name. For instance, just some two
hundred and thirty-five years after the
first man was created,
his sinful descendants
began to misuse the divine name. One of Adam s g r a n d s o n s was
named Enosh, and conceming his days the record in Genesis 4:26 says:
A t th at tim e a start
was made of calling on
the name of Jehovah.
This was in a hypocritical or sacrilegious way.
Th at was why, 1,656
years after mans ereation, the global deluge
came, in Noahs day, and
destroyed them all.
14. (a) How have men tried to
rival Jehovah in name, and why
with failure? (b) In whose days
was a start made of calling on
Jehovahs name, and what world
event reveals the true nature
of that?

B rooklyn , N .Y .

15Then, too, there was the thirteenth

man in line of descent from Adam. This
man was named Nimrod. He made himself
so prominent that he was ranked as someone with whom to be compared. Genesis
10:8-10 says of this great-grandson of
Noah: He began to be a mighty one in the
earth. He was a mighty hunter before Jehovah: wherefore it is said, Like Nimrod
a mighty hunter before Jehovah. And the
beginning of his kingdom was Babel [Babylon]. (
American Standard Version) Does
that mean that he was a mighty hunter
from Jehovahs standpoint and in Jehovahs favor? No! For his hunting was directed also against human prey and so
extended itself to military campaigning
that results in shedding human blood. The
New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures presents the matter in the right,
Scriptural light, by rendering the accou n t:
Just like N im ro d a
mighty hunter in opposition to Jehovah. Nimrod showed no respect
for the name of the only
li v in g and t ru e God;
N i m r o d s n a m e bedimmed the name of Jehovah in the minds of
his admirers and followers. Fifteen centuries later a successor of Nimrod on Babylons throne
said:
19To the
shall go up. Above the
stars of God I shall lift
up m y t h r o n e , and I

D o the teachings a n d practices o f

yo u r church g lo rify the nam e o f
G o d ? D oes it teach hellfire, the Trinity? H as it ever shared in blessing
the w ars o f your nation ?

15,16. (a) How did Nimrod elevate his rank among his admirers and followers, and what
about Gods viewpoint of him?
(b) How did a late successor of
Nimrod on Babylons throne express his ambitions against
Jehovah?

N o v e m b e r 1,

1971

STkW ATCHTOW ER

shall sit down upon the mountain of

meeting, in the remotest parts of the
north. I shall go up above the high
places of the clouds; I shall make myself resemble the Most High.Isa. 14:
4, 13, 14.
17 However, the name of Jehovah proved
to be unreachably high for the hunterking of Babylon, Nimrod, and his successors. In the year 539 before our Common
Era the line of Nimrods successors was
overthrown when the imperial city of Babylon fell to the Medes and Persians. Less
than two years later, in 537 B.C.E., the
name of Jehovah went up when His spirit
moved the Persian conqueror, Cyrus the
Great, to issue the famous decree authorizing the exiled people of Jehovah to return
to their homeland and rebuild the temple
of Jehovah at Jerusalem. (2 Chron. 36:
19-23; Ezra 1:1-11) Almost too good to be
true, this seemed like a dream to the exiled Jews or Israelites, but it made an impression upon the Gentile nations that was
favorable to Jehovah. Psalm 126:1-3 beautifully sets this forth, saying:
18 When Jehovah gathered back the
captive ones of Zion, we became like those
who were dreaming. At that time our
mouth came to be filled with laughter, and
our tongue with a joyful cry. At that time
they proceeded to say among the nations:
Jehovah has done a great thing in what
he has done with them. Jehovah has done
a great thing in what he has done with
us. We have become joyful.
19 Today the clergy of Christendom do
not give glory to Jehovah as God. They
have shoved his name into a corner. By
their teaching of a trinity composed of a
God the Father and God the Son and God
17,18. (a) How did Jehovahs name prove to be unreachably high for Nimrod and his royal successors?
(b) How does Psalm 126:13 show how a favorable
impression concerning Jehovahs name was made among
the nations?
19. By their trinity doctrine, how do the clergy not
give glory to Jehovah as God, but, rather, downgrade
his name?

649

the Holy Ghost, they have made Jehovahs

Son Jesus Christ equal with Him the Father, and also the Holy Ghost equal with
Jehovah who pours out this holy spirit. To
suit their religious purposes the clergy
have put the designation Jesus Christ to
the fore. Look into your copy of the King
James Version of the Bible and see how
many times you can find the divine name,
Jehovah. Look into the Revised Standard
Version of the Holy Bible, of the year 1952,
and see whether you can find the name
Jehovah at
all.Look into The New American Bible, published by Roman Catholics
in 1970, as well as into the Douay Version
Bible of 1610, and see whether you can
find the name Jehovah (or even Yahweh)
in the Bible text. The claim is made that
when the New Testament writers called
Jesus Christ Lord or the Lord, this meant
that he was Jehovah or Yahweh himself.
Certainly all this is a downgrading of Gods
name.
20 What, though, does the Christian apostie Paul say? He describes the humbling of
the Son of God and then the glorification
of his faithful Son, saying, according to
The New English
Bible,of 1970: Let y
bearing towards one another arise out of
your life in Christ Jesus. For the divine
nature was his from the first; yet he did
not think to snatch at equality with God,
but made himself nothing, assuming the
nature of a slave. Bearing the human likeness, revealed in human shape, he humbled
himself, and in obedience accepted even
deathdeath on a cross. Therefore God
raised him to the heights and bestowed on
him the name above all names, that at
the name of Jesus every knee should bow
in heaven, on earth, and in the depths
and every tongue confess, Jesus Christ
is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
Phil. 2:5-11.
20. What does the apostle Paul say about the Son of
God in Philippians 2:511?

650

SHeW ATCHTOW ER.

21From this inspired statement we see

that God the Father rewarded his Son
Jesus Christ with a name above that of
all other sons of God or creatures of God.
Hence all other creatures must recognize
that exalted name and bow at it. But to
whose glory must they do this? To the
glory of the highly exalted Jesus Christ?
No! But, as the apostle Paul says, To the
glory of God the Father. The highly exalted Jesus Christ is called Lord, but he is
not called God nor is he called Father, for
always he remains the Son of God. The
rank and title of God the Father always
remain with Jehovah. He did not give his
heavenly Son a name higher than His own
nor a name even equal to His own. His
name remains supreme, unreachably high.
Jesus Christ in heaven recognizes it as
such. So in the name of the Lord Jesus
Christ we Christians still pray to Jehovah
God: Our Father which art in heaven,
Hallowed be thy name. (Matt. 6:9, AV)
We do not misuse that name but respect it
as the highest name in all existence. We
separate ourselves from all religions that
defame Gods name.
WHEN HE WENT TO MAKE
A NAME FOR HIMSELF

22 The original divine name has not

passed out of fashion and it should not
pass out of use in a respectful way. We
should never let ourselves get like the ruler Pharaoh of ancient Egypt and oppose
that name and get stubborn toward it as
when he said: Who is Jehovah, that I
should hearken unto his voice to let Israel go? I know not Jehovah, and moreover
I will not let Israel go. (Ex. 5:1, 2, AS)
Refusal to recognize Jehovah got Pharaoh
nowhereexcept into destruction in the
21. (a) How does that statement show that Jehovahs
name remains unreachably high? (b) To what extent
do we Christians show respect toward Jehovahs name?
22, 23. (a) Should the divine name go out of respectful
use, and why should we never take Pharaohs attitude
toward it? (b) How did God specially claim the name
when first appearing to Moses?

B rooklyn,

N. Y.

Red Sea. The Most High God specially

claimed the name when he sent his prophet
Moses to appear before Pharaoh and demand that the enslaved people of Israel
be let go that they might take possession
of the Promised Land. By the use of an
angel God manifested himself to Moses the
Israelite at the foot of Mount Horeb (or
Sinai) in the Arabian Peninsula. On being
told to go back to Egypt, Moses inquired
as to what he should announce as the name
of the God who was sending him. From
The New English Bible, of 1970, we now
read the answer:
23 God answered, a m ; that is who I
am. Tell them that I a m has sent you to
them. And God said further, You must
tell the Israelites this, that it is J e h o v a h
the God of their forefathers, the God of
Abraham, the God of Isaac, the God of
Jacob, who has sent you to them. This is
my name for ever; this is my title in every
generation. Go and assemble the elders of
Israel and tell them that J e h o v a h the
God of their forefathers, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, has appeared to
you. Ex. 3 :1 3 1 6 .
24 Since he said that Jehovah is his name
forever and is his title in every generation,
it is his name and title today, in our generation. We, even as Christians, have no
right to change that. Jehovah is his
Memorial name, according to the American Standard Version Bible, which does
not use the word title but says: This is
my name for ever, and this is my memorial
unto all generations. (Ex. 3:15, AS) It
was his memorial in the very first generation of mankind, for in the second chapter
of the Holy Bible and in the fourth verse
we read these words: These are the generations of the heavens and of the earth
when they were created, in the day that
24. (a) Why, then, have Christians no right to change
matters respecting God's name? (b) What action was
appropriate as taken by dedicated, baptized Christians
met in general convention in 1931?

N ovember 1, 1971

SEeW ATCHTOW ER,

Jehovah God made earth and heaven.

(Gen. 2:4, AS) As a memorial it is his
name by which to be remembered forever,
in all generations. Was it out of order,
therefore, when thousands of dedicated,
baptized Christians, when met together in
general convention in Columbus, Ohio, on
Sunday, July 26,1931, embraced the Scriptural name, Jehovahs witnesses? No; it
was most fitting.
20Already, back in the year 1925, the
Christians embracing that designation for
themselves had begun to perceive that the
time had come for the one true and living
God to make him a name. (2 Sam. 7:23,
AT) Quite appropriately, then, in the
Watch Tower issue of January 1,1926, the
leading article was entitled Who Will Honor Jehovah? On page 7, under the subheading entitled Himself a Name, paragraphs 37 and 38 said:
The natural descendants of faithful Abraham were domiciled in Egypt. The name of
God was then ignored, and was not in the
thoughts of the people of that nation nor
of any other nation of the world. David re
25. (a) In 1925 these Christians began
the time had come for what action
(b) Appropriate to this, what did the
issue of The Watch Tower say in its

to perceive that
on God's part?
January 1, 1926,
leading article?

651

cords the fact that God went down to Egypt

to deliver his people and to make a name
for himself. (2 Samuel 7:23) Now a like
condition exists. Those who are of the faith
of Abraham are domiciled in this wicked
world, all the organizations of which have
forsaken God and have defamed his holy
name.
The time approaches when God will
make for himself a name. God will have
somebody to be his witnesses in the earth.
And who could we expect would have the
privilege of filling that place? Surely none
other than Zion, Gods organization, some
members of which are on earth. To such
Jehovah says: Ye are my witnesses, saith
the Lord, and my servant whom I have
chosen; that ye may know and believe me,
and understand that I am he: before me
there was no God formed, neither shall
there be after me. I, even I, am the Lord;
and beside me there is no saviour. I have
declared, and have saved, and I have
shewed, when there was no strange god
among you: therefore ye are my witnesses,
saith the Lord, that I am God.Isaiah 43:
1012. [Authorized Version']

26 In addition to what King David of Jerusalem said regarding Gods making a name
for himself at the time that he delivered
his chosen people of Israel from slavery in
26, 27. The prophet Isaiah foresaw the need for what
repeat performance, and so what did he write in
Isaiah 63:1114?

Show ing respect fo r the D ivine N am e, thousands o f Christians a t this a ssem b ly

in C olum bus, O h io , J u ly 1 9 3 1 , em braced the nam e J e h o v a h s w itnesses

652

3EeWATCHTOWER

ancient Egypt, the later prophet Isaiah

foresaw the time for Jehovah to repeat
this performance by delivering his chosen
people from their dire straits. The same
God is to be looked for in behalf of this
deliverance, and so the prophet Isaiah
goes on to say (in Isaiah 63:11-14):
27 And one began to remember the days
of long ago, Moses his servant: ,Where is
the One that brought them up out of the
sea with the shepherds of his flock? Where
is the One that put within him His own
holy spirit? The One making His beautiful
arm go at the right hand of Moses; the One
splitting the waters from before them in
order to make an indefinitely lasting name
for his own self; the One making them
walk through the surging waters so that,
like a horse in the wilderness, they did
not stumble? Just as when a beast itself
goes down into the valley plain, the very
spirit of Jehovah proceeded to make them
rest. Thus you led your people in order
to make a beautiful name for your own
self.
28At the time of Israels deliverance
from Egypt, so many of the non-Israelite
people in that land came to fear the divine
name, that they took appropriate action.
How? Well, when the Israelites marched
out of Egypt after celebrating their first
Passover, then, as the record in Exodus
12:38 says, a vast mixed company also
went up with them. When God parted
the waters of the Red Sea, this mixed company marched through with the Israelites.
And when God brought the seawaters back
upon the pursuing horses, chariots and
horsemen of Pharaoh, and drowned these
bloodthirsty pursuers, this mixed company
heard the Israelites sing in safety on the
shore of the Sinai Peninsula: Jehovah is
a manly person of war. Jehovah is his
28. At the time of Israels deliverance, who in Egypt
came to fear the divine name, and what action did
they take, with what experiences resulting to them?

B r o o k l y n , N .Y .

name. . . . Jehovah will rule as king to

time indefinite, even forever.Ex. 14:3115:18.
29The terrific impact that that stupendous miracle made upon the nations back
there in that year 1513 before our Common Era has since lost its stunning effect.
The name that Jehovah made for himself
back there, so long ago, has little appeal
for the nations today, even for the socalled Christian nations of Christendom.
They neither fear it nor respect it. Christendom has lapsed into a condition like
that of ancient Egypt, the oppressor of the
people of Jehovah. (Rev. 11:8) Those
natural Israelites away back there were actually eyewitnesses of what Jehovah did
and they were made to know and appreciate his name as their faithful forefathers
never had done. (Ex. 6:2, 3) By force of
circumstances they were witnesses of Jehovah, and they were therefore obligated
to bear witness to future generations about
Jehovahs name and deeds. Through the
prophet Isaiah Jehovah plainly told them
that they were his witnesses. They should
have respected the name that Jehovah
made for himself and should have lived up
to their obligations to be witnesses of Him
as the only living and true God. A similar
status holds true for Christendom today.
30Today, as well as for centuries past,
Christendom claims to be a spiritual Israel, a Christian Israel. Inescapably, then,
her God must be the God of ancient natural Israel. So, just as much as natural Israel of old, Christendom is under obligation
to be witnesses of that same God of ancient
Israel, who is at the same time the God of
the Messiah, Jesus, the Son of God. Being
a witness for Jesus the Messiah or Christ
does not excuse one from being also a wit29. What has happened to the effect of the impact that
Jehovahs miracle made upon the nations then, and
what did the Israelites come under the obligation to be
and to do?
30. Why is Christendom today under obligation to be
witnesses for the same God of ancient natural Israel?

N ovember 1, 1971

653

SfieW ATCHTOW ER.

ness for Jehovah, and that primarily.Acts

1:8; 5:27-32.
31 But look at the nations of Christendom and
their churches. Listen to what they are saying.
In the light of the Holy Bible, examine what
they are doing. Where do the facts show that
these nations and churches of Christendom are
witnesses of Jehovah? The bald facts plainly
indicate that, once again, the time has come for
Jehovah to make a name for himself before all
nations and peoples who proudly and stubbornly
refuse to acknowledge, respect and fear his divine name. The historic example of Pharaoh and
his military forces at the Red Sea bespeaks
31. According to what Christendom and her churches do and
say today, the time has come for God to do what, and this
will bespeak what for modern-day peoples and nations?

disaster for such modern-day nations and peoples when Jehovah

again makes a name for himself in
the coming war of the great day
of God the A lm igh ty at H arMagedon!Rev. 16:14-16; 19:11-21.
32By now, in this year 1971, do
all the nations have good reason not
to know of all this? Due to the failure of Christendom with her more
than nine hundred million enrolled
church members, has Jehovah failed
to have his faithful, outspoken witnesses in this twentieth century, in
our very own generation? Absolutely No! The church-bound peoples of
Christendom may dispute that those
internationally known as Jehovahs
Christian witnesses today are really
witnesses of the Most High God.
They may say that these have no
right to that name and are false
prophets. They may accordingly oppose, misrepresent and persecute
them so as to force them to stop
doing the witness work all around
the globe. But those antagonistic
peoples of Christendom as well as
those of so-called heathendom can
never wipe out the record that these
Christian witnesses of Jehovah of
this twentieth century have made
in more than two hundred lands and
in some one hundred and sixty languages.
38They can never disprove that
Gods name as set out thousands of
times in the real text of the Holy
Bible has been made known to the
people world wide and that hun32. Do all the nations of today have good rea

'

'

'

Just a s J e h o v a h m a d e a g re a t nam e fo r him self at

the Red S ea , he w ill a g a in m ake a nam e fo r him self
a t the com ing w a r o f A rm a g e d d o n

cannot wipe out regarding Jehovah's Christian

witnesses ?
33. So what are the opposing peoples of all
Christendom obliged to admit respecting the
work of Jehovahs witnesses, and why has this
been so?

654

STkWATCHTOWER-

dreds of thousands of persons of all races,

nationalities, tribes and social groups have
been helped to know and fear and serve
Jehovah, the God and Father of the Lord
Jesus Christ. This is something that false
prophets could never accomplish. (Deut.
18:15*22) Yes, those opposing peoples
of all Christendom are obliged to admit
that they have failed to stop the worldwide preaching and teaching on the part
of these Christian witnesses of Jehovah till
now. Why is this? It is because they have
refused to heed the legal counsel that the
religious lawyer Gamaliel gave to the firstcentury opposers of Jehovahs Christian
witnesses back there, when he said: I
say to you, Do not meddle with these men,
but let them alone; (because, if this scheme
or this work is from men, it will be overthrown; but if it is from God, you will not
be able to overthrow them;) otherwise,
you may perhaps be found fighters actually against God.Acts 5:34-39.
PEOPLE FOR HIS NAME

34What became of those who meddled

with those first-century Christian apostles
and fellow believers? In the year 70 of our
Common Era, instead of having overthrown apostolic Christianity, their own
religious system was overthrown when old
walled Jerusalem and her temple were destroyed, never to be rebuilt by Jewish
hands. Their priesthood cieased to exist or
maintain its identity. Let the facts speak
as to whether those intolerant religious
meddlers were fighters actually against
God. That tragic event of the year 70
C.E. by no means meant that Jehovah
ceased to exist, as if he were a God of the
Israelites only, a national God that existed
only as long as his historic nation existed.
The immortal Jehovah, who is God without beginning and without end, has lived
34. In that first century C.E., what happened to those
meddlers with apostolic Christianity, and why has that
raised a question as to the existence of Jehovah?

B rooklyn , N. Y.

on, and still lives, despite the denials of all

atheists. But, because of what happened in
the year 70, has he since been without a
nation?
35 It is a fact that, in the year 1473
B.C.E., when the prophet Moses was giving
his farewell instructions to the nation of
Israel before they crossed the Jordan River into the Promised Land, he said to
them: Jehovah will establish you as a
holy people to himself, just as he swore
to you, because you continue to keep the
commandments of Jehovah your God, and
you have walked in his ways. And all the
peoples of the earth will have to see that
Jehovahs name has been called upon you,
and they will indeed be afraid of you.
(Deut. 28:9, 10) As Jehovah said to them,
they had become my special property
out of all other peoples. (Ex. 19:3-5)
Through having His name called upon
them, they were a people for his name.
(Jer. 14:9; Dan. 9:19) But have the people
of Israel continued to be a people for his
name to this day? Has the setting up of
the independent, untheocratic Republic of
Israel in 1948 C.E. confirmed them as the
people for his name, even though they do
not keep the law of Moses and have no
temple at Jerusalem that is called by the
name of Jehovah? It is important for us to
know.
36 The first century of our Common Era
was the critical time for determining this
question. Certainly Jesus Christ, born in
Bethlehem-Judah in the family line of King
David, was by birth a member of the
people for [Jehovahs] name. His very
name Jesus includes the divine name, for
it means Jehovah Is Salvation. But Jesus own nation disowned him. As for his
followers, who were a small remnant of
35. Why was the ancient nation of Israel a people
for his name, and why is there a problem as to their
being Jehovahs people for his name today?
36. Was Jesus a member of Jehovahs people for his
name, and how did Jehovah show his decision as to
whether His name should be transferred from natural
Israel?

N ovember 1, 1971

SfieW ATCHTOW ER.

655

the Israelites, they became separated from This is true, not because we say so, but
the nation of Israel, and they became a because the inspired disciple James, the
spiritual nation. Under this situation, did half brother of Jesus Christ, said so. This
the nation of natural, circumcised Israel was about thirteen years after the concontinue to be the people for his name version of Gentile Cornelius and his friends.
(Jehovahs name), or was Jehovahs name Speaking before a conference in Jerusatransferred and called
lem, Ja m es said:
upon the spiritual na38 Symeon [PeT H E N E X T IS S U E
tion of Jesus followter] has related
ers? God himself deth o r o u g h ly how
Theocratic O rg a n iz a tio n A m idst
cided the answer to
God for the first time
Dem ocracies a n d Communism.
this problem. On the
turned his attention
A B o d y o f Elders with Rotating
day of Pentecost of
to the nations to take
Ch airm an sh ip.
the year 33 C.E. he
out of them a people
H o w the H o ly B ible Is R ega rd ed.
poured out his holy
for his name. And
spirit in fulfillment of
with this the words
His prophecy in Joel
o f th e P r o p h e t s
2:28-32. Upon whom? Not upon the non- agree, just as it is written, After these
Christian Jews at the then-standing tern- things I shall return and rebuild the booth
pie in Jerusalem, but upon the twelve of David . . . in order that those who reapostles and other disciples of Jesus. Filled main of the men may earnestly seek Jewith spirit, they proclaimed Gods name. hovah, together with people of all the nations, people who are called by my name,
Acts 2:1-36.
37There, more than nineteen centuries says Jehovah, who is doing these things.
ago, Jehovah began taking out a new peo- Acts 15:12-18; Amos 9:12.
pie upon whom his name should be called
39 Consequently, Jehovah did not cease
or who are called by his name. (1 Pet. 2:9) to have a people for his name after the
Thousands of natural, circumcised Jews destruction of old walled Jerusalem and
accepted Jesus as Messiah and became part its temple in the year 70 C.E. and the
of this people for [Jehovahs] name. Not dispersion of the natural circumcised Jews.
quite three and a half years later, Jehovah He had the newly formed Christian people
God opened up the opportunity to the non- for his name. What Jehovah began back
Jewish or Gentile nations. He sent the there in the first century, he is finishing
apostle Peter to enter a Gentile home in up today in this twentieth century. Now,
Caesarea and to proclaim the good news before the outbreak of the greatest tribulaabout Jesus the Messiah to Cornelius and tion of all human history upon this system
his friends. Because of their belief, Jeho- of things, he is completing this spiritual
vah poured out his holy spirit upon them.
people for his name, and today there is
Thereby he made these believing Gentiles
still a remnant of them on earth. If this
a part of the people for his name. Thereis not so, then how can we account for
after membership in this spiritual people
what is now taking place on all inhabited
for his name was open to all non-Israelite
continents and the islands of the seven
or Gentile nations. (Acts 10:1 to 11:18)
39. (a) Why has Jehovah not ceased to have a people
37, 38. (a) How many Jews became a part of Jehovahs for his name since Jerusalems destruction in 70 C.E. ?
(b) What is Jehovah completing today that he began
new people for his name ? (b) When did Jehovah
open the door for non-Jews to be added to this people nineteen centuries ago, and what proof thereof do we
have?
for his name ?

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S&eWATCHTOWER

seas? What? The name Jehovah is being

made known and exalted on a scale never
before realized since tremendous reproach
was brought upon the divine name by the
destruction of Jerusalem and its famous

HAT is to be expected, what

should we expect, of a
people for his name?
Why, this: That they
would consider it an honor to bear that name,
t h e y w o u l d n o t be
ashamed of that name,
they would sound forth the praises of that
name in all the earth, both inside of Christendom and outside of Christendom. In
these last days of this world system,
when religious liberation is being gained
from Christendom and all the rest of the
world empire of false religion, the liberated remnant take to heart their obligation
to carry out the prophetic words of Isaiah 12:3-5:
2 With exultation you people will be
certain to draw water out of the springs
of salvation. And in that day you will certainly say: Give thanks to Jehovah, you
1, 2. (a) This is a day of religious liberation from what?
(b) What does Isaiah 12:35 declare, and who take
those words to heart so as to carry them out?

B rooklyn , N. Y.

temple in the year 70 C.E. Let there be

no mistake about it: Jehovah has his peopie for his name on earth today, and
they are proving themselves to be just
that, even if they are only a remnant.

people! Call upon his name.

Make known among the
peoples his dealings. Make
mention that his name is
put on high. Make melody
to Jehovah, for he has done
surpassingly. This is made
known in all the earth.
3 Since the anointed remnant of Christian witnesses
of Jehovah have put themselves to work to have a
part in the fulfillment of
th at prophecy, Jehovah has
done surpassingly, he has
done splendidly, he has friumphed! Over his own name he
caused his word of promise, his
prophetic word, to be written
down. With his name he backs
up the Holy Scriptures. With
his own name he guarantees the
Sacred Bible. Either the Bible is true, or
his name means nothing! But his word of
promise and of prophecy stands proved
true, stands vindicated! The faithful carrying out of his word proves that he has
lived up to his name, to the glory of his
name. Furthermore, in his actually carrying out his word he has surpassed what
his name, which was attached to his word,
has led us to expect. The result has been
just like what King David of Jerusalem
mentioned as a reason for his lauding Jehovah, saying:
3, 4. (a) Since the anointed remnant began taking part
in the fulfillment of that prophecy, how has Jehovah
done? (b) How has the result been just like what
David mentioned as the reason for his lauding Jehovah,
in Psalm 138:1, 2?

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SEeWATCHTOWEFL

4
I shall laud you with all my heart.
front of other gods I shall make melody
to you. I shall bow down toward your holy
tehiple, and I shall laud your name, because of your loving-kindness and because
of your trueness. For you have magnified
your saying [your spoken word] even
above all your name.Ps. 138:1, 2.
5What is this that David is saying? Is
Gods spoken word or saying greater than
his name? No! Well, how, then, does he
magnify his saying above all his name? In
this way: His meaningful name, because
of being attached to his saying or word
of promise and of prophecy, caused us to
look for much in the way of fulfillment.
But actually he carries out his saying in
a magnified way, in a way that is grander
than what the guarantee of his name leads
us to expect. He did not need to do so
much in order to prove to us that his name
is reliable as a guarantee of fulfillment.
6 So he magnifies his saying by making
the carrying out of it produce more than
we anticipated. He does surpassingly! For
example, in many vital cases his prophetic
saying has proved to have, not just a
primary literal fulfillment, but also a miniature spiritual fulfillment and even a major,
complete spiritual fulfillment. Note, too,
that he gave his saying or word of promise to bring forth the Messiah in King
Davids line of descent. But actually he
magnified that promissory saying. How?
By giving more than a mere human Messiah in Davids royal family. Jehovah
brought forth a spiritual Messiah, one begotten by Jehovahs spirit, raised from the
dead and exalted to immortal life and royal
glory in heaven at Gods right hand. As
Jehovah delivered David from his enemies,
so he delivered Jesus Christ from his earth5, 6. (a) How does Jehovah magnify his saying above
all his name? (b) How can we illustrate this in the
case of prophecy and in the case of providing the
Messiah?

657

Inly enemies, who had put him to death, by

resurrecting him from the dead to heavenly glory.Ps. 138:3-7.
7Jehovah left nothing more for David
to expect as respects the carrying out of
the divine word of promise. Right well
David could confidently say, in the same
psalm: Jehovah himself will complete
what is in my behalf. (Ps. 138:8) No less
so, Jesus Christ the Messianic descendant
of King David can say the same for himself. Jehovah will fully accomplish his purpose for Jesus the Messiah. He will leave
nothing of his word of promise and of
prophecy respecting him undone. No wonder that David was moved to say to his
heavenly Deliverer, Jehovah: In front of
other gods I shall make melody to you. . . .
For you have magnified your saying even
above all your name.Ps. 138:1, 2.
MAGNIFYING HIS SAYING
ABOUT THE GREAT CROWD

8 Are we today moved to say anything

like this to the only living and true God?
The anointed remnant of Jehovahs Christian witnesses are moved to do so, as a
people for his name. By his very dealings
with them and by the marvelous fulfillments of Bible prophecy in world events
since 1914 C.E., they see Jehovahs saying,
his word of promise and of prophecy,
coming true in a way that they had never
expected to experience. They see the evidences multiplying to prove that, at the
close of the Gentile Times in 1914 C.E., this
God of loving-kindness and trueness fulfilled his saying and established the
heavenly kingdom of the Son of David, Jesus Christ. They see how this Messianic
7. How did Jehovah complete that which was in Davids
behalf, and how does He do this respecting Davids
descendant, Jesus?
8. How is the anointed remnant moved to laud Jehovah
for the same reason as stated by David, because of
what has happened since 1914 C.E. ?

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kingdom is moving irresistibly forward to

the vindication of Jehovahs universal sovereignty and holy name in the approaching
war of the great day of God the Almighty. Much persecution, yes, many
threats against their very existence as a
people for his name they have had to
endure since 1914 C.E., but, because Jehovah has delivered and preserved them
till now, they make known his name everywhere.
9As depicted in the last book of Gods
Holy Word, this anointed remnant are
singing the song of Moses the slave of
God and the song of the Lamb [Jesus
Christ] and saying: Great and wonderful are your works, Jehovah God, the Almighty. Righteous and true are your ways,
King of eternity. Who will not really fear
you, Jehovah, and glorify your name, because you alone are loyal? For all the nations will come and worship before you,
because your righteous decrees have been
made manifest.Rev. 15:2-4.
10 Countless numbers of people today are
hearing the remnant of the people for
his name singing those words: Who will
not really fear you, Jehovah, and glorify
your name? Hundreds of thousands who
are hearing that challenging question are
showing that they feel about it as the
anointed remnant do, namely, that Jehovah is worthy of being feared and his name
worthy of being glorified. Openly, before
all the false gods of this world, they are
saying: The majority of mankind may not
today fear Jehovah and glorify his name;
but, as for us, we will fear Jehovah as the
one living and true God, and we will respect his name more than our own and

will glorify his name. How are they doing

this?
11They are doing this by accepting the
Holy Bible, not as the word of fallible men,
but, just as it actually is, the word of
God. They believe that its prophecies conceming the Messianic kingdom are now
reaching the climax of their glorious
fulfillment. They are approaching God
through his sacrificed Lamb Jesus Christ
and are dedicating themselves entirely to
him. In imitation of Jesus Christ they are
being baptized in water in the name of
the Father and of the Son and of the holy
spirit, and thus becoming full disciples of
Jesus Christ. (Matt. 28:19, 20) Recognizing that Jehovah has a people for his
name today in the earth, they loyally
associate themselves with this people, even
though it is a small remnant. They share
with these in making known to everybody
Jehovahs name and in glorifying it. By
thus witnessing to Him, they prove that
they are not ashamed to be Christian
witnesses of Jehovah.
12From all nations this great crowd
of God-fearing persons has come. (Rev.
7:9, 10) In these the anointed remnant of
singers see. already undergoing fulfillment
the words of their prophetic song: All the
nations will come and worship before you,
because your righteous decrees have been
made manifest. (Rev. 15:4) The gathering of all of this numberless great crowd
is not yet over. The question is, Who will
yet be taking his place among this great
crowd before Jehovah fully manifests his
righteous decrees by destroying all the
godless in the coming great tribulation,
the like of which has never taken place
before? Everyone who does so will be a

9. As depicted in Revelation, chapter Afteen, what song

are the anointed remnant singing, with what words?
10. Who among the countless hearers of that song are
responding affirmatively to the question as to fearing
Jehovah and glorifying his name, and with what
determination?

11. How are such ones doing that?

12. (a) Hence, what portion of the words of the song*
do the anointed remnant already see undergoing fulAilment? (b) What kind of person will yet take his
place among the great crowd,** and in what hope
may he share?

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SHeW ATCHTOW ER.

person that respects Gods name more than

his own. He will be one that gladly does
as Psalm 96:8 says: Ascribe to Jehovah
the glory belonging to his name. He may
share with the great crowd in the hope

659

of surviving the great tribulation and

entering into the righteous new system of
things where every breathing thing will
praise Jehovah.Rev. 7:13-15; Ps. 150:
6; 29:2.

OU p r o b a b l y
have known
someonemaybe a fellow student, a neighbor, or even a teacher
who never wanted
to admit to making a
m i s t a k e or b e i n g
w rong. H ow do you
norance is often the cause. Worse, a
feel personally about
person may do what he knows is
som eon e li ke t h a t ?
wrongexcusing himself for some
Would your opinion of him go up
reason
or other that looks good to him
or down if one day he came right
at
the
time.
out and said, Im sorry; I see I was
All this shows our need for discipline,
wrong?
Really, we all make mistakes, do we which involves correction. We aU need
correction, no matter whethnot? That is because none
er
we are young or old. In
of us are perfect, or fault- Helpful facts that young
fact,
if there were no dispeople want to know
less, in the full sense of the
cipline or correction there
word. The Bible tells us that.
It shows that, due to our first parent Ad- could be no progressin any field of huams disobedience, all men are born with man living. People would keep on making
an inheritance of imperfection, sin.Rom. the same mistakes, believing the same
wrong ideas, never advancing in knowl5:12.
Not all mistakes come from just not edge or ability.
Discipline means more than just instrueknowing. Many mistakes are because of
tion.
It is training that corrects, molds,
not caring. For example, on an airplane
strengthens,
or perfects. So, it often inflight over water a passenger might pay
volves
reproof;
it can include punishment
no attention when the stewardess explains
or chastisement, though this does not have
the proper use of life jackets or the planes
to be the case. But it is never punishment
oxygen supplies. If, during a sudden emerjust for the sake of punishmentit is
gency, the passenger failed to use these
always done with a view to correction and
provisions and lost his life, it would not
improvement for the future.
be simply because he did not know. It
would be because he did not care to know.
WHY HARD TO TAKE
So not all wrongs a person commits can
But if discipline is so beneficial, why do
be chalked up to simple error. Willful ig most persons find it so hard to take? The

Discipline?

660

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same cause that makes us need discipline,

namely, imperfection, also makes it hard
for us to accept it.
Discipline can cause us to feel embarrassed, hurt or discouraged. The Bible recognizes that discipline does bring some unpleasantness. The apostle Paul writes:
True, no discipline seems for the present
to be joyous, but grievous; yet afterward
to those who have been trained by it it
yields peaceable fruit, namely, righteousness.Heb. 12:11.
Humility takes most of the sting out of
discipline. Many persons, however, let
pride and stubbornness cause them to resist discipline. But when the correction or
reproof is well founded, and others can see
that it is, the person who stubbornly rejects it simply makes himself look foolish
in the eyes of those observing. Some politicians are like this, trying to weasel
out of responsibility for false or rash
statements made, or wrong deeds committed. But who wants to have a reputation like theirs? Gods Word says: Wisdom and discipline are what mere fools
have despised.Prov. 1:7.
By contrast, we read: Give a reproof
to a wise person and he will love you.
Why? Because he knows that through correction he will become still wiser. Yes,
a wise person will listen and take in
more instruction, and a man of understanding is the one who acquires skillful
direction.Prov. 9:8, 9; 1:5.
HOW WILL YOU REACT?

The real question, then, is: What do

you want to do with your life? Do you
just want to drift along, doing only what
you feel like doing? Or are you willing to
work toward a worthwhile future? Gods
Word advises: Listen to counsel and accept discipline, in order that you may become wise in your future.Prov. 19:20.
We can find discipline more pleasant if

B rooklyn , N. Y.

we always remember that it is Gods arrangement. That is why Psalm 50:17 says
that anyone who hates discipline is, in
effect, throwing Gods words behind him.
Discipline rightly comes from an authorized source. God has assigned that job to
parents, for they are responsible for their
childrens lives. (Prov. 1:8, 9; Eph. 6:4)
And, within the Christian congregation,
God has provided spiritually older men
who are able both to exhort by the teaching that is healthful and to reprove those
who contradict.Titus 1:5-9.
Remember, too, that those disciplining
us are not trying to hobble us so that
we are cramped in walking lifes highway.
Rather, they are trying to help us make
fast and pleasant progress. Discipline protects against harmful accidents, keeps us
free from the things that
tie us up
with disagreeable problems, making our
way difficult or even sidetracking us on
a dead-end road. (Prov. 5:11-13, 22, 23)
If we accept correction, the Bible promises: When you walk, your pace will not
be cramped; and if you run, you will not
stumble. Take hold on discipline; do not
let go. Safeguard it, for it itself is your
life.Prov. 4:10-13.
Do you sometimes feel inclined to resent
your parents discipline? Suppose they just
let you go your own way, paid no attention, gave no correction. Would that show
genuine love? Is that not the way men
who father illegitimate children usually do
ignoring their offspring? Do we want to
be treated like that? Using that same illustration, the apostle Paul reminds us
that discipline is really an evidence of
Gods love and interest in us.Heb. 12:410; compare Proverbs 3:11, 12.
If you find yourself getting upset over
someones offering counsel or reproof,
stop and ask yourself this: Why did they
take the time and effort to do it? Just
because they enjoy it? In most cases you

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SfteW ATCHTOW ER.

can see that giving reproof is not exactly

pleasant and easy for them. But they do
it because they care enough about you to
make the effort. That alone should be
enough to make you think seriously about
what they say and make you try to understand their reasons.Prov. 17:10.
True, it takes strength to face up to our
mistakes. But we can go to God in prayer
and ask for the strength and courage to
shoulder the blame and apply the reproof,
seeing its rightness and benefiting from it
with a right spirit, as David did. (Ps. 51:
1, 2,10-12; Isa. 26:16) We can be like the
apostle Peter. He was publicly reproved by
the apostle Paul for a certain wrong course
of action. But Peter was man enough, and
above all Christian enough, to take the
reproof. He harbored no resentment and
later referred to Paul as our beloved

661

brother.Gal. 2:11-14; 2 Pet. 3:15, 16.

Of course, you dont need to wait for
others to correct you. You can practice
self-discipline. B y being alert, you can
recognize many of your own mistakes and
take steps to correct them.1 Cor. 11:
31, 32.
So many benefits come from being receptive to discipline. To admit mistakes
or faults in a straightforward way gives
one a healthier, cleaner feeling inside. It
strengthens ones heart and mind for what
is right. It makes for good relations with
others; they recognize you as a person
who is honest, humble and balanced, refreshingly different from so many persons today. And, most important, it assures you Gods approval and blessing.
Yes, the reproofs of discipline are the
way of life.Prov. 6:23.

CHRISTIAN MATURITY

0 6

UST what is Christian maturity? How

would you define it? Do you have it?
Or are you still seeking to attain it?
There is real value in our having the
right understanding of Christian maturity.
For one thing, the wrong understanding
can lead to discouragement. It can make
Christian maturity seem like a will-o-thewisp, a mirage, that tantalizingly moves
away just when one thinks one is reaching
it. The attaining of Christian maturity is
no such elusive goal.
Then, too, the wrong understanding can

lead to false standards in esteeming or

judging others. It can cause us to fail to
see and appreciate their good qualities. A
false concept of Christian maturity could
make a person tend to downgrade others
and elevate himself in his own estimation,
or to favor some mistakenly over others.
OUTGROWING SPIRITUAL CHILDHOOD

In the ordinary sense, a mature person is one who has come out of childhood
into adulthood. Physical growth reaches a
certain point and then levels off. Emotional maturity develops somewhat simi-

662

SEeW ATCHTOW ER,

larly but often takes longer than physical

growth.
There is also a growth for Christians
from spiritual childhood into spiritual
adulthood, Christian maturity. How can
you know if you have attained spiritual
adulthood?
Those who are still babes in Christ
need to be fed only the milk of Christian truth. Such babes are not sure as
to what is the truth, and so they are indined to totter and be easily led astray
by the trickery and cunning of men who
advance false teaching. In this puerile
state they can contribute little to the
growth of the body of the Christ, the
Christian congregation, in the building up
of itself in love. (Eph. 4:12-16) They are
still fleshly, perhaps inclined to jealousy,
strife and sectarianism and must outgrow
these worldly ways in order to become
spiritual men, not babes.1 Cor. 3:1-4.
Are any of us like thatunstable, lacking conviction as to Christian truth, still
inclined to follow men, not having entered
into unity with those who are our spiritual
brothers, thus not having developed the
love that upbuilds and strengthens the
Christian congregation? Then we do indeed need to strive to attain Christian
maturity. We should realize, too, that outgrowing spiritual childhood and coming
into spiritual adulthood is not automatic,
as is physical growth. It requires sincere
effort and cooperation on our part with
God and his Son and the means they provide for attaining spiritual adulthood or
completeness.
ACCEPTING THE FULL RANGE OF
CHRISTIAN TRUTH

A major part of the process of spiritual

growth to Christian adulthood, then, is
progress in accepting the full range of
Christian truth. Some Hebrew Christians
of the first century failed to progress beyond the elementary things of the sacred

B rooklyn , N .Y .

pronouncements of God and so they were

like those still on a milk diet, not ready
for the solid spiritual food that belongs
to mature people, to those who through
use have their perceptive powers trained
to distinguish both right and wrong. For
this reason Paul wrote to them, exhorting
them to press on to maturity. How
would they do this? How can we do this
if we have not already done so?
The apostle showed them they should
not be like builders who never get beyond
the foundation of the building, in this case
the foundation being the elementary or
primary doctrines about Christ. They
should pass on to the superstructure that
rests on that foundation, namely, the more
advanced teaching about Gods purpose
revealed through his Son, teaching that
is harder to be explained than the elementary teachings.
There was urgent need to progress in
this way, it was vital to do so. Why? Because they could not stand still indefinitely; eventually they must either progress
or go backward. What would going backward mean? It would mean apostasy, a
falling away from true faith, and that
would bring destruction.Heb. 5:11-6:8.
Of course, their advancement in understanding of these more difficult doctrines
would have to be accompanied by corresponding growth in their spiritual outlook
and Christian personality. Head knowledge alone would not suffice. Those advanced truths should have an effect on
their lives, even as the elementary
teachings had already had.
Today we have the complete inspired
Word of God. Do we accept the full range
of its teachings and are we sincerely endeavoring to live in harmony with them?
Or do we pick and choose, as is the case
with many today who are only nominal
Christians? Such ones observe only what
they want to observe but do not want to

N ovem ber

1, 1971

SEeW ATCH TO W ER

go all the way as to being disciples of

Gods Son and they are therefore divided
into Christendoms many sects. Is that the
case with us? Our answer to these questions will aid us to determine whether we
have reached Christian maturity or not.
CHRISTIAN MATURITY NOT THE END
OF PROGRESS

But is it not a fact that as time goes

along we understand Gods Word better,
get increased knowledge of certain truths,
including some fine points of understanding? True. Well, then, do we ever really
reach maturity? Or is it always there
ahead of us so that we are on a sort of
treadmill, never actually reaching maturity as a goal? No, that is not the case.
Let us see why not.
Consider the example the Bible uses of
babyhood and manhood or adulthood
(being full-grown [Eph. 4:13], which
translates the same Greek word [telei o'ies] as does maturity). When a child
grows up and becomes an adult, does this
mean that such adult now has all the
knowledge, experience and discernment he
or she will ever have? Obviously not. A
person continues to progress in his adult
life.
A mature Christian also should continue to progress in knowledge, love, faith,
wisdom and all the other qualities that
are fruits of Gods spirit. Could we say
that he thereby becomes more mature?
No, no more than we would say an
adult becomes more adult because of the
experience and knowledge he adds after
attaining adulthood. Is a man fifty years
of age more adult than one of forty?
Or would we speak of a sixty-year-old
man as very adult and a seventy-yearold man as extremely adult? No, for this
is not the sense of the word. Neither is it
the sense of the word maturity.
In the first century, mature Christian

663

men who showed wisdom and who were

qualified to teach, to exhort and reprove,
were appointed as older men in the congregations. (1 Tim. 3 : 1 7 ;Titus 1:5-9)
Did this mean they were the only mature
ones and that others not so appointed were
immature ?No, for the qualities that
these men had, and that qualified them to
serve in this way, were
addition to
their already being mature Christians. For
example, in normal life a son who grows
up, marries, and has a family of his own,
may still look to his father or other elderly men for counsel and guidance in certain matters, due to recognizing their
greater experience and wisdom. So, too,
Christians, though themselves spiritually
mature, may benefit from the help of
spiritual older men in the congregation.
Acts 20:17, 28; Eph. 4:11, 12.
Even as a child should feel that his goal
in life is more than simply to become an
adult, so we should look on the attaining
of Christian maturity as a desirable state
but not as our ultimate goal. It is after
we have become mature Christians that
we can make greater strides and develop
the wisdom and endurance that will enable
us to render fine aid to our brothers and
that will bring us to our ultimate goal,
that of gaining Gods final approval to life
everlasting.
Thus, we find the apostle Paul urging
his Christian brothers onward to their
goal, the prize of the heavenly calling, saying: Let us, then, as many of us as are
mature, be of this mental attitude; . . .
to what extent we have made progress,
let us go on walking orderly in this same
routine.Phil. 3:12, 14-16.
Properly viewed, then, maturity is seen
as a helpful platform upon which to work
not as a disheartening ladder whose
rungs keep multiplying endlessly the higher we go.

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SEeW ATCHTOW ER.

RETROGRESS TO IMMATURITY?

But suppose a Christian uses poor judgment in a certain spiritual matter or acts
in a way out of harmony with Christian
principles. His action may not be sufficiently grave to warrant his being disfellowshiped from the congregation, but
nevertheless it shows a failure to apply
fully certain Bible counsel. Does this mark
him as immature?
Not necessarily. He m ay be immature,
for he may be young in years or he may
be a newly converted person (1 Tim. 3:
6), and hence not firmly established in
the truth. On the other hand, he may be
a mature Christian with a long record of
Christian service. It is not the gravity,
great or small, of the act itself that determines what the person iseither mature or immature. True, poor judgment and
weakness are characteristic of children.
But even adults can be guilty of these
things on occasion. Have you, as an adult,
ever found yourself ashamed of having
acted or spoken in a childish way? Yet
you did not thereby return to being a
child in reality; you remained an adult.
The wrong course taken by the mature
Christian may be due to the fact that he
has become spiritually ill, perhaps due to
neglecting study of Gods Word, or because of allowing wrong desires to enter
int.0 his heart and weaken his devotion to
God and Christ. A grown-up person who
gets sick can become as weak as a baby,
yet he is still an adult. He may need to
feed on food suitable for babies, milk or
other soft nourishment, for a time because
of his illness. Similarly, the spiritually ill
Christian, though mature, may for a time
need others to help him and care for him,
even nourish him spiritually to restore
him to spiritual health and strength.
Compare Hebrews 12:5, 6, 12, 13;
James 5:13-16.

B r o o k l y n , N .Y .

Of course, instead of being spiritually

ill, the mature Christian may go bad, become a delinquent or an apostate. But he
does not return to being immature. A ripe
(or mature) fruit that goes bad does not
become green (immature) again. It becomes corrupt, rotten.Heb. 6:1-8; 12:15.
VARIETY AMONG MATURE CHRISTIANS

So, then, we do well to avoid using the

word maturity as a sort of catchall
expression, so broad and vague as to be
all-inclusive. Nor would we want it simply to come to stand for our own imagined ideal of what a Christian should be.
Not all mature Christians will be precisely
alike in their personality or their manifestation of spiritual qualities. As an illustration, two orchards, each containing different kinds of fruit trees, might both be
mature, that is, having fully developed,
fruit-bearing trees. Yet, one orchard
might have more apple trees than pear
trees, while the other might have more
pear trees than apple trees.
So, too, mature Christians may show
themselves stronger in one aspect than another as to producing the fruits of Gods
spirit. (Gal. 5:22, 23) One may be outstanding in knowledge, another may be
especially notable in kindness or patience,
another may be exceptional in good judgment or discernment as to problems, another may be unusually generous or hospitable, another may have very good
directive ability. (Compare 1 Corinthians
7:7; 12:4-11, 27-31.) Yet this variety is
no sign of immaturity. It does not mean
that such ones are not all adult Christians. They do not all have to be equally
strong or capable in all aspects to be raature. Nor are they stereotypes one of the
other. Each in his own way contributes
something as a mature Christian to the
building up of the body of Christ.Eph.
4:15, 16.

N ovem ber

1, 1971

SReW ATCHTOW ER.

We must also avoid being guided by

worldly standards as to Christian maturity, characterizing some as immature because of apparent inabilities in worldly
education or experience in worldly methods of doing things. Certainly if the firstcentury apostles were to be thrust into a
modern industrialized, office-directed society of our day, there would be many factors that would be strange, unfamiliar and,
temporarily at least, bewildering to them.
Would this make them immature Christians? Obviously not. For Christian maturity is not determined by knowledge, experience or efficiency in modern business
methods or city life. It is determined by
spiritual qualifications set forth in Gods
Word. These qualifications apply equally
everywhere, to all persons and at all times,
so that geographical location, profession
or social position are not decisive.
Some first-century fishermen became
mature disciples of Gods Son, while high-

665

ly educated scribes and religious leaders

generally failed to do so. Bible principles
are what the mature Christian works with
and these are applied as well on a farm
as in a city, as well in a ',backward
primitive country as in an advanced industrial nation. Thus, no Christian need
feel discouraged about attaining Christian
maturity because of his lack of ability as
viewed from worldly standards.Compare
1 Corinthians 1:26-31; 2:3-6; 2 Corinthians 1:12.
So, then, if we have not reached maturity, let us press on to it. Are we
mature Christians? Then let us use our
maturity to good advantage, carrying on
as men, growing mighty, aiding immature
ones and continuing in the same fine routine that brought us to maturity and that
will bring us to our final goal, Gods approval to life.1 Cor. 16:13, 14; Gal. 6:
1, 2; Phil. 3:15, 16.

Yes, these words of our Lord Jesus

Christ have special meaning to me.
This is because as a young man
I was constantly seeking for a real
purpose in life. I wanted to know
the truth about God.
As a youth, questions about life
were frequently in my mind. Born
in Manchester, England, in 1908,
I had been baptized in the Church
of England. When I was quite
As (old by Richard S. Cotterill
young, I would wonder whether
God would really torture people
TT AVE you ever thought of a cer- eternally in a hellfire. I thought, too, about
C
L tain Bible verse as summing up the Dark Ages, when religious people
part of your life? One scripture that is cruelly tortured one another, and I wonmost pertinent to my life is Matthew 7:7: dered how that could be right. I prayed
Keep on asking, and it will be given you; earnestly.
In 1925 my father died suddenly. It was
keep on seeking, and you will find; keep
on knocking, and it will be opened to you. the first time that death had come into

"KeepO
bMm
ew t
Ik!fillFind

666

fikW ATCH TO W ER

my own life. Life now seemed more uncertain. After my fathers death I studied
law, accounting, economics and other subjects. But I was perplexed. For what was
I aiming? What was my real purpose in
life?
SEEKING IN A TIME OF CRISIS

As I was a shy person I took a course

in self-improvement, but I experienced difAcuities because I had not decided what
my purpose was in life. That was the
question I was asking.
As I was seeking, I visited an architecturally modern church. The clergyman
there was associated with the Oxford
Group, and he wanted me to get deeply
involved in church affairs. I taught in the
Sunday school, aided on the church council, was a crossbearer (leading the choir
into the church dressed in cassock and
surplice) and aided in the boys club at
the church. I also helped with a boys club
in the Manchester slums. Despite a wide
variety of activities, I felt that something
was missing.
I
was searching for a purpose in life,
I read all kinds of booksmany on psychology and philosophy. I also attended
Peace Conferences and groups and
joined in with activist pacifists. But at the
same time I read the Bible regularly and
attended all kinds of religious meetings,
including Roman Catholic, Unionists and
the Society of Friends. Who was right?
Did any group really know Gods truth?
Finally I handed in my resignation
from my job and decided I would try to
serve God. But how? For months I lived
on my savings, seeking to find just what
I should do to serve God. I inquired about
ordination in the Church of England, but
there was too much emphasis on certain
education qualifications and on money. I
inquired about church missionary work in

B rooklyn , N .Y .

Canada. The more I investigated the

church the more I began to dislike it.
I felt out of harmony with many of its
practices and with its support of war.
September 1939 came and Britain was at
war with Nazi Germany. This intensified
my searching and seeking. Then one day
a friend of mine suggested that I speak
with one of Jehovahs Christian witnesses
by the name of Richard Hayley. I did. For
hours we discussed the Bible and what
I believed and thought. This Witness lovingly answered my many questions from
the Bible. I realized I had found something valuable. I asked: Are there any
Jehovahs witnesses in Germany? He told
me about the faithful Witnesses there who
also supported Gods kingdom and who
were neutral in politics and wars. I was
glad to learn about this because I really
believed that true Christianity would embrace people of all nations and would unite
them.
Soon I was going to the meetings of the
Witnesses at their Kingdom Hall. Evensotually so-called friends of an activist pacifist group tried to get me to stay with
them. An activist group leader came with
me to talk with the Witness who was answering my questions. We discussed the
Bible and other matters late into the night.
For the most part I sat back and listened.
On one side I noticed that human philosophy and human wisdom predominated. On
the other side, that of Jehovahs witnesses,
there were answers direct from the Bible
Gods wisdom predominated. So what
would I choose, human philosophy or Bible truth? Witness Hayley concluded the
discussion that evening by quoting the Bibles words at Joshua 24:15: Choose you
this day whom ye will serve; . . . but as
for me and my house, we will serve Jehovah.American Standard Version.

N ovember 1, 1971

W ATCH TO W ER

I DECIDE FOR BIBLE TRUTH

So with whom would I go? I visited this

witness of Jehovah again and again and
studied the Bible regularly. Our studies
would continue even though there were
air raids, bombs dropping not far away.
Soon I realized I had found a real purpose in life. I had found what I was seeking. Now I knew how I could serve the
true God. But first I wrote letters of resignation to break off all connections with
the Church of England and other groups.
I wanted to break free from all false religion and to be truly neutral with regard
to political matters, and so live in harmony with Bible principles.
In June 1940, I began to share these
Bible truths with others, going from house
to house. I had been so shy and timid and
introvertedand here I was now speaking
to others about Gods Word, even sharing
publicly in the distribution of The Watchtower and its companion magazine, often
using a magazine bag, wearing it in business districts through the war years.
Then on September 1, 1940, I was baptized at a convention in Manchester in
symbol of my dedication to God. What
now would be my course in life? I had
the full-time ministry as a pioneer in mind.
PROCLAIMING BIBLE TRUTH FULL TIME

In September 1940, I turned in an application for the pioneer ministry, fulltime preaching under the direction of the
Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society. My
first assignment was Carlisle, not far from
the lovely English Lake District. Here I
had to find accommodations. So I left my
few belongings in the Kingdom Hall and
happily I found a person interested in
Gods Word who offered me a place to
stay.
In wartime fire-watching duties were
imposed. I was assigned to fire-watch
Carlisle Cathedral! Having abandoned the

667

churches, I refused this duty; moreover,

I had already been accepted to fire-watch
for the building where the Kingdom Hall
was located. I was summoned to court and
fined, with an alternative of one months
imprisonment. As I refused to pay the
fine, I was given one month to payor
prison. I landed in Durham prison, with
meager wartime rations. After my release
I was back in the pioneer ministry.
As I preached the Word of God in
Chester-le-Street and later in Washington,
County Durham, and Sunderland, the war
years passed by quickly. In 1945 I had
the privilege of visiting the Minister for
War in the British war cabinet to request
that the ban on the import of Watchtower
magazines be lifted. He listened kindly,
and I urged him to approach the Minister
for Information to do something about it.
I also visited local members of Parliament. How Jehovah strengthens one for
such assignments, prayerfully undertaken!
Happily, in due time the ban was lifted.
But in spite of the ban, we never missed
a study of
TheW atchtower, as the main
articles were printed locally.
GILEAD AND ASSIGNMENT TO INDIA

After World War II, I filled out 0m application for Gilead School, a school to
prepare one for a career as a missionary.
I could hardly believe it when shortly
thereafter I was invited to Gilead. What
a privilege! By mid-June 1946, I was at
the Watch Tower Societys headquarters
in Brooklyn, New York. It was a privilege
to be in the eighth class of Gilead School,
the first international one. I thoroughly
enjoyed the association with classmates
from many lands. Eventually I was assigned to India.
So here I am in India twenty-four years
later and still pressing on in the preaching of the good news of Gods kingdom.
During this time I have had many privi-

668

5EeW A TC H TO W ER

leges. When the Watch Tower Societys

president visited India for our assembly
in Bombay in April 1947,1 received a surprise: I would be privileged to go round
India and visit our first circuit assemblies
here. In September 1947, about two weeks
after the partition of India into India and
Pakistan, I began this tour. Thousands of
people were being killed because of religious hatred. How appropriate was the
public talk I gave at these assemblies:
Blessed Are the Peacemakers!
After preaching Gods Word for eight
years in the cities of Bombay, Ahmednagar and Poona, I was given the privilege
to act as circuit servant or supervisor to
encourage the Christian congregations. So
for the best part of thirteen years I traveled from the snowcapped Himalayas to
near Cape Comorin at Indias southern tip.
At one time I covered about half of India
twice a year, traveling thousands of miles.
As a result I have seen something of the
animal creation in the wild: elephants,
peacocks, monkeys, cobrasand one tiger!
Naturally, life in India is different. One
is surrounded by much poverty and difficult conditions. But I love my Indian
Christian brothers, whether they live in
Maharashtra, Gujarat, Mysore, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Bengal, Andhra Pradesh or
Delhi or any other part of India. In all
these parts I mentioned they speak different languages, but all are united in the
worship of the true God, Jehovah.
My Indian Christian brothers have been
so kind to me, and we have many mature
Indian Witnesses now. When I arrived in
India in 1947, we had about two hundred
proclaimers of Gods kingdom. Now we
have over 3,300. I have lived with the
Indian Witnesses, sitting on the floor at

B rooklyn , N. Y.

times and eating from banana leaves,

which served as plates. But what kindness!
It was a surprise that I got early in 1953
when I was invited to attend the New
World Society Assembly in New York!
What a wonderful assembly that was! In
1958 again I attended the memorable Divine Will International Assembly in New
York. In 1966 I returned to England for
a long vacation, after being away for
eight years. Another memorable year was
1969, when, on the way to the London
Peace on Earth International Assembly,
I visited Israel and went to Caesarea, Megiddo, Galilee, Nazareth, Jerusalem, Bethlehem, Jericho and other places associated
with Jehovahs works and the earthly ministry of Jesus Christ.
In India I have many spiritual brothers and sisters, fathers and mothers. I
never married, deciding that singleness
would be the better course for me. I know
many from all parts of this vast country,
and I can say that I love my Indian brothers very much. My heart wells up and
thrills when I meet them at assemblies.
With all of Jehovahs people in all the
world we are one.
I am sixty-two years of age and still
cycle around in Delhi, India, one of the
hottest capitals in the world in June! I go
to my Bible studies and from house to
house, preaching and teaching the good
news. Really, what a wonderful life! I
thank Jehovah God for all the provisions
that he makes through his organization
to supply us with so much to use, for
example,
TheW atchtower in seven of o
Indian languages. I also have a lovely
home in which to live. Truly, serving God
full time is a grand work. How grateful
I am that I kept on seeking and so found
what I had long looked forGods truth!

Missionaries Told to Be Loyal, Merciful

lEPTEMBER 7, 1971, was graduation day

for one hundred students of the 51st class
Iof the Watchtower Societys missionary
school of Gilead. The graduation, held at Jehovahs Witnesses Assembly Hall in New York
city, began with fine remarks by the school's
instructors. The highlight was an address by
the schools president, N. H. Knorr.
Jehovah is "loyal in all his works," President Knorr told the graduating class, but
the question is, Will you be loyal to him? (Ps.
145:17) After showing the importance of remaining loyal to God, the Societys president
emphasized the need for loyalty to Gods organization. He told the students that sometimes
things interfere with one's showing loyalty.
For example, problems can come up because
of living in close association with others in a
missionary home.
Helping the audience to get the right view
point, Brother Knorr emphasized that all Chris
tians are sinners. All, including overseers,
make mistakes. So when this happens, will
you pack up and leave your missionary assignment? Or will you remain loyal to Gods organization? he asked. Brother Knorr told the
graduating students to remember that Jehovah is guiding his organization.
He explained that at Matthew 18:1517 Jesus
outlined the way to settle a fault with one's
Christian brother: Go and talk with him; if
he does not listen, bring along one or two mature Christians. But sometimes, due to fear
of an overseer, these vital two steps are not
taken in settling a fault with that one. Then
Brother Knorr quoted Proverbs 29:25: "Trem
bling at men is what lays a snare." So fear
of man should not deter you from doing what
God wants you to do, Brother Knorr stressed.
If you fail to go to that one, then you may
lay a snare or trap for yourself, and it could
lead to laying a snare for others.
But how might a fearful one be laying a
snare for others? By gossiping about an overseer to others, and thus causing them also to
become fearful of him. Gossiping about the
faults of an overseer is not showing loyalty
to Gods organization. So if difficulties arise
due to human imperfection,' he said, go to
your brother and follow Jesus counsel and
so enjoy peace.'

Then the Society's president went on to highlight the need for mercy. Using the example
of Joseph's mercy to his brothers (Gen. 37:136;
39:1-45:28), he told the graduating students
to be merciful to new ones in God's organization, to those in a missionary home and to
overseers, for Jesus said: I want mercy, and
not sacrifice." (Matt. 9:13) So be filled with
mercy, counseled Brother Knorr.
In his talk, the Society's president also told
the audience that the arrangement of rotating
overseers, announced at the 'Divine Name"
Assemblies, would be put into effect at Bethel,
(Continued on the next p a g e )

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670

SReWATCHTOWER.

B rooklyn , N .Y .

the Societys headquarters, on September 13,

1971. He explained that the members of the
governing body of Jehovahs witnesses will rotate on a weekly basis with regard to conducting the morning Bible text discussions and
the Monday night Watchtower study. Thus the
Societys headquarters will be putting the rotating arrangement into effect more than a year
before the congregations do.
Just prior to the main address, the Societys
vice-president, F. W. Franz, explained to the
graduating class the meaning of Mark 9:49,
50: Everyone must be salted with fire. . . .
Have salt in yourselves, and keep peace between one another.
Is the fire in verse 49 referring to persecution or trials? No, he explained, for the
context shows that the fire of Gehenna is
being discussed. And the word everyone refers
not just to any person but to those anointed
Christians who allow their hands, feet or eyes
to stumble them or others into unfaithfulness.
Such persons must be salted with the fire of
eternal destruction.
But how are faithful Christians to have salt
in themselves? And how does this relate to

the life of a missionary? Brother Franz explained that the salt in verse 50 stands for
that quality in Christians that causes them to
do and say things that are in good taste. Any
Christian should do things in a way that is
tasteful from a Christian standpoint. In this
way he will not stumble anyone in Gods organization. O dear missionaries, he counseled,
have salt in yourselves!
After the students received their diplomas,
one of them read a letter that said, among
other things: We came to school to study,
but that was anticipated. What we did not
foresee was the warmth and scope of the welcome we received from the Bethel Family. You
brothers and sisters opened your hearts to us.
We want to thank you with all our hearts.
The program concluded with delightful songs
put on by the graduates and also with a Bible
drama entitled Are You a Merciful Person?
Based on the Bible account of Joseph and his
brothers, it underscored that quality that the
Societys president had earlier stressed. It was
evident from much applause that the need for
being merciful and loyal was keenly appreciated by those present.

Does the Bible indicate that a person who

wants to serve God should refrain from using
tobacco?U.S.A.
The Bible does not mention tobacco, since it
was not used, as far as history records, during
the time of Bible writing. But we can arrive
at a conclusion regarding tobacco use through
a consideration of Bible principles.
The Christian is engaged in a race for life.
The apostle Paul called this fact to the attention of the Christians in Corinth, who were
familiar with the Isthmian games, held nearby.
The contestants in these games underwent a
rigid training schedule that occupied most of
their time, under the strict supervision of
judges. One who broke a rule was disqualified.
Paul, drawing on these facts, impressed
upon the minds of Christians that they were

constantly under the eye of the great Judge,

Jehovah. Pointing out that living up to the
rules of the Christian race entails fighting the
desires of the flesh, he said: Every man taking part in a contest exercises self-control in
all things. . . . I pummel my body and lead
it as a slave, that, after I have preached to
others, I myself should not become disapproved
somehow.1 Cor. 9:2427.
The apostle wrote later to Christians in Rome:
Present your bodies a sacrifice living, holy,
acceptable to God, a sacred service with your
power of reason. (Rom. 12:1) Holy has
the sense of cleanness both in a physical and
a spiritual way. Christians are to cleanse themselves from every defilement of flesh and
spirit, perfecting holiness in Gods fear.2
Cor. 7:1.
Personal uncleanliness is undesirable and
detrimental, particularly to a Christian. Willingly following a habit that involves taking
poisonous substances into the body, contammating it, hinders one in serving God. If the
smell of tobacco, or the stained appearance
in the mouth and on the teeth is noticeable
to others, it distracts peoples attention from
the Kingdom good news one is proclaiming.

N ovember 1, 1971

fReW ATCHTOW ER

It also detracts from the fineness, beauty and

attractiveness of the worship of God that one
represents and advocates.
A person who caters to the desires of the
fallen flesh and who habitually overeats or
partakes of something detrimental to his body
becomes a slave to his appetite. The apostle
said: All things are lawful for me; but I will
not let myself be brought under authority by
anything. Then he went on to say, in effect,
that the one letting himself be controlled by
anything would be no more lasting than the
thing controlling him. Foods for the belly,
and the belly for foods; but God will bring
both it and them to nothing, he declared. (1
Cor. 6:12, 13) Certainly we do not want to
come under the control of something that is
destroyed in being used, whether food, tobacco,
or anything else.
These Scriptural thoughts regarding the use
of tobacco are not new. Some, when learning
them, had in mind applying them in their
lives, yet put it off for a future day. They
found they could associate with Jehovahs
witnesses without completely stopping their
use of tobacco. So, now, though they have a
certain feeling of guilt about their tobacco
habit, they are not putting forth a real effort
to break it.
However, such individuals ought to ask themselves sincerely: Does pursuing such a course
that shows indifference toward the application
of Bible principles meet with Jehovahs approval? Does the person who continues to
practice what he acknowledges to be wrong
truly love Jehovah with all his heart? Or
does he instead find pleasure in that which is
displeasing to God? If he really wants to be
found among those whom Jehovah will favor
with life in his new order, he needs to put
forth earnest effort to bring his life into harmony with Gods Word now. Remember that
when certain ones of Jesus disciples asked
him: Lord, are those who are being saved
few? he counseled them to exert themselves
vigorously because many would seek to get
into the Kingdom but would not be able.Luke
13:23, 24; Matt. 22:37.
Paul wrote in similar vein: Keep strict
watch that how you walk is not as unwise
but as wise persons, buying out the opportune
time for yourselves, because the days are wicked. On this account cease becoming unreasonable [not using false or specious reasoning
to support something we may want to justify],

671

but go on perceiving what the will of Jehovah

is.( Eph. 5:8-17) One should buy out the time
and not delay in giving up a bad habit. The
days are wicked and delay in obeying in one
matter may lead to greater disobedience in
other ways.
Christians want to have a good conscience
toward God now, for this is essential to wholehearted worship of him. If one now using
tobacco is contemplating baptism, he should
consider this matter seriously, because baptism
indicates, not the putting away of the filth
of the flesh, but the request made to God for a
good conscience (1 Pet. 3:21) He should put
away all filth of the flesh beforehand. He would
be somewhat inconsistent in asking for a completely good conscience if he knew that he
was failing or refusing to give up an unclean,
harmful habit. And if he has already been
baptized he should get rid of the habit now
so that there is no hindrance to his good conscience, and be thankful to God for His undeserved kindness.Heb. 4:16.
Some desiring to quit the tobacco habit may
feel very discouraged and downhearted. But
we have apostolic assurance that we can break
any bad habit through faith in the power of
Christs ransom sacrifice and with Gods help.
Paul described his own fight against fallen,
sinful flesh, concluding: Miserable man that
I am! Who will rescue me from the body undergoing this death? Thanks to God through
Jesus Christ our Lord! He also wrote: For
all things I have the strength by virtue of
him who imparts power to me.Rom. 7:2125;
Phil. 4:13.
If you are having difficulty in breaking the
tobacco habit, you should pray fervently to
God for help. Additionally, you are counseled:
Remember those who are taking the lead
among you, who have spoken the word of
God to you, and as you contemplate how their
conduct turns out imitate their faith. (Heb.
13:7) Then you will observe the examples
that please God. You will feel encouraged, for
many of these men have experienced the difAcuity you are having. They will help you.
Talk with them, get their advice and prayers
for you.Jas. 5:13-18.
Further, to the extent that you are able,
associate with those who are free from the
habit. It is also a great help to have a close
associate whom you can quickly call on
the telephone or whom you can visit when
you feel the urge to use tobacco. Then, keep

672

6e WATCHTOWER.

yourself busy with a study of the Bible, with

the things you have to do to care for your
family, with meetings where the Bible is discussed, and in any service of God that you
can perform. Only by this course can you
be sure to break the bad habit and substitute
good habits. You will be doing it in order to
be a better, more acceptable glorifier of Jehovahs name. And God will be pleased with
you.Prov. 27:11.
Isaiah 7:8 states that within sixty-five
years Ephraim was to be shattered to pieces
so as not to be a people. When did this happen?U.S.A.
This prophecy was given after Pekah the
king of Israel invaded Judah during the reign
of King Ahaz. (Isa. 7:1) According to the
Bible, Pekah reigned for a period of about
twenty years, and in the seventeenth year of
his reign, or in 762 B.C.E., Ahaz became king.
(2 Ki. 15:27; 16:1) So it must have been not
long after 762 B.C.E. that the sixty-five years
of Isaiahs prophecy began to count. In 740
B.C.E. the Assyrians overthrew the Northern
Kingdom of Israel. So, that kingdom, with
Ephraim as its dominant tribe, came to its
end approximately twenty years after Isaiah
foretold that Ephraim would be shattered

B rooklyn , N .Y .

to pieces. However, it was not until the reign

of Esar-haddon the king of Assyria that a
final transplantation of foreign peoples into
Israelite territory occurred. (Ezra 4:2) Apparently with the deportation of Israelites and
this final transplantation of foreigners, Ephraim was shattered to pieces so as not to be
a people. Between the fall of the Northern
Kingdom and Esar-haddons rule, the reigns
of Assyrian kings Sargon and Sennacherib had
intervened. Inscriptions show Esar-haddon to
be a contemporary of Judean King Manasseh
(whose rule ran from 716 B.C.E. to 661 B.C.E.).
So, the interval extending from the time that
the words of Isaiah 7:8 were uttered until
Esar-haddons transplantation effort would certainly allow for the sixty-five-year period of
Isaiahs prophecy.
WATCHTOWER STUDIES FOR THE WEEKS

November 28: Whose Name Do You Respect

MoreYour Own or Gods?, fll25. Page 645.
Songs to Be Used: 76, 105.
December 5: Whose Name Do You Respect
MoreYour Own or Gods?, 26-39, and The
People Who Respect Gods Name More
than Their Own. Page 651. Songs to Be
Used: 116, 95.

JEHOVAHS
KINGDOM
NOVEM BER

15, 1971

Semimonthly
T H E O C R A T IC O R G A N I Z A T I O N
A M ID S T D EM O C R A C IES A N D
CO M M U N IS M
A BODY OF ELDERS WITH
ROTATING CHAIRMANSHIP
HOW THE HOLY BIBLE IS REGARDED
WTB&TS

YOU ARE MY W ITNESSES, SAYS JEH O VAH.-lsa.43:12

T H E PU R PO SE O F "T H E W A T C H T O W E R
E ve ry watchtower has its purpose. It serves as an elevated place for a
wide-awake person with sharp vision. It enables him to see far ahead into
the distance and tell those below for whom he is a watchman w hat is
drawing near, whether it is a danger against which to prepare or it is
something good over which to be glad with strong faith and hope.
Because of having the name "The W atchtow er this m agazineJustly
has to render a similar useful service to the people of all nations. This is
an international magazine and makes no racial distinctions, for w e are all
facing a common world danger; w e are all hoping for a common good.
Ever since "The W atchtower began to be published in J u ly o f 1 8 7 9 it
has looked ahead into the future, always striving to aid its readers to advance in knowledge and to gain a clearer picture o f the glorious new order
o f things that is in store for righteous mankind. No, "The W atch tow er
is no inspired prophet, but it follows and explains a Book o f prophecy the
predictions in which have proved to be unerring and unfailing till now.
"T h e W atch tow er is therefore under safe guidance. It may be read with
confidence, for its statements may be checked against that prophetic Book.
Am ong the many nations of today there are hundreds of differing
religions. W hich one does this magazine present? N o t the confused religions
of Christendom, but the religion of the oldest sacred Book on earth. W hich
Book? The Sacred Bible of the H oly Scriptures, written by inspiration in
the name o f the Creator of heaven and earth, the only living and true God.
The sacred, nonpolitical purpose of "The W atchtow er is accordingly
to encourage and promote study of the H oly Bible and to give our many
readers the needed unsectarian help to understand that Book of true
religion and infallible prophecy. Thus this magazine w ill be helping them
to prove w orthy o f perfect life and happiness in Gods promised new order
under His everlasting kingdom of righteousness.

PUBLISHED BY THE
WATCH TOWER BIBLE AND TRACT SOCIETY OF PENNSYLVANIA
117 Adams Street
Brooklyn. N.Y. 11201, U.S.A.
N. H. K norr , President
G rant S uiter , Secretary

They will all be taught by Jehovah.John 6:45; Isaiah 54:13

CONTENTS
How the Holy Bible Is Regarded
How Precious Are
Christian Meetings to You?
Theocratic Organization Amidst
Democracies and Communism
Appointed Officers in the
Theocratic Organization

A v e ra g e Printing Each Issue:

675

F iv e

7 ,5 5 0 ,0 0 0

ce n ts a c o p y

N ow Published in 73 Lan gu ages

678
681
688

A ,Body of Elders
with Rotating Chairmanship

695

Preach the WordWhere and Why?

701

Questions from Readers

703

The Bible translation used in The Watchtower is the modern-language

New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures, unless otherwise indicated.
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-y47T?zoxmcir1qr
J E H O V A H S
KIN G D O M
N ovem ber 15, 1971

H ERE are
many religions in Christendom , th e re a lm
w here th e B ib le
h as b een m o st
w idely circulated.
And today som e
people say, It doesnt matter much which
church you go to. Theyre all teaching the
Good Book, the Bible. But are they?
Agreed that all of Christendoms churches use the Bible. But how do they regard
it? Do church leaders really accept it as
the inspired Word of God, reliable and
true, free from error? Do they teach their
church members that the Bible contains
divine standards by which people must
abide if they want life? Let us see.
MODERN RELIGIOUS ATTITUDE

Consider first the attitude toward the

Bible in religious seminaries where future
m inisters are taught and trained. Religious editor Louis Cassels quotes Presbyterian theologian John R. Bodo as saying
that a young man should have a shockproof faith if he decides to attend a seminary. Why? Because of the erosion of
faith that often results. As Cassels goes
on to say: The more famous the semi675

Num ber 22

nary, the more corrosive the atmosphere
of skepticism pervading
its faculty and student
body is apt to be.
An evidence of the degree of skepticism is seen
in the statem ent by the
dean of a very prominent Episcopalian
seminary that very few of his students
engaged in private prayer. The reason:
most of them didnt believe in the kind
of personal God to whom one m ight pray!
Perhaps you find this strange, rather
difficult to believe. Well, remembering that
Jesus said that a tree is known by its
fruits (Matt. 7:16-20), consider some of
the fruitage of these seminaries: the ministers they have produced.
Under the heading What Is Faith?
an article in the Los Angeles HeraldExaminer (January 24, 1968) discusses
a survey made of 3,000 Protestant ministers throughout the United States. What
did it show? The article says: A majority of the younger clergymen could not
be said to believe any longer in the virgin
birth, or to regard Jesus as divine in the
traditional way in which most older Protestants were brought up. And the Bible
had lost stature: The Bible is not only

676

S&eWATCHTOWER

not to be taken literallyless than five

per cent of the whole sample did sobut
also there is little specific guidance in it
for specific problems, the surveyors coneluded.
Illustrating the lack of faith in the Bibles divine inspiration, a leading American Protestant weekly, The Christian Century (August 19, 1970), carried an article
by United Presbyterian clergyman Dr.
R. E. W illis. He accused the Bible of containing anti-Sem itic passages and says
these portions will have to be branded as
enemies of the truth of God. To achieve
this aim , this m inister continues, the
church w ill need to develop a description
of the truth of God that is not slavishly
dependent on accepting the New Testament in toto as the Word of God.
But is this attitude only characteristic
of Protestant faiths? Evidently not. The
Morning Record of Meriden, Connecticut
(March 26, 1970), reports on a talk given
by priest Edward J. McLean of the Hartford Catholic Information Center. Among
other things, the priest is quoted as saying, The story of Adam and Eve is not
an historical account of human origins
. . . Its a theological account, an allegory
or literary form. The stories of Paradise, Noah and the tower of Babel were
meant to be interpreted the same way,
according to this Catholic clergyman.
Another source, the Daily Oklahoman
of April 30, 1971, reports on the views of
Dr. Gregory Baum, a leading Catholic
theologian. He is quoted as saying that
more and more religious people are turning from the invisible friend kind of
God that many find they can no longer
talk to, and are beginning to find the new
God in their everyday experiences. This
new God, according to the Catholic
theologian, w ill be found through selfknowledge, through talking with other

B r o o k l y n , N .Y .

people and deciding through political and

social growth what is right and what is
wrong. No longer, he says, w ill there be
specific doctrines imposed on church
members. Where does this leave the Bible
with its revelation of God and its specific
doctrines?
THE FUNDAMENTALIST VIEW

True, not all of Christendoms churches

and religious leaders regard the Bible in
these ways. Some, such as the so-called
Fundamentalist churches, still claim to
accept the entire Bible as inspired. But
what of the doctrines in their church
creeds? For example, the Bible states:
The soul that sinneth, it shall die. (Ezek.
18:4, Authorized Version) Do these
churches teach that? Or do they teach
that the human soul is immortal?
The Bible says that the wages of sin
is death, and that the dead know not
any thing. (Rom. 6:23; Eccl. 9:5, AV)
Is this the doctrine of these churches?
Or do they teach that the wages of sin
is eternal fiery torment in conscious suffering?
Jesus is quoted in the Bible as saying:
My Father is greater than I. (John 14:
28, AV) Is that what these churches
teach? Or do they present Jesus as part
of a trinity, as coequal and coetem al
with his Father? What does your own
church teach? Have you ever investigated?
THE VIEW OF JEHOVAHS WITNESSES

What is the viewpoint of the Christian congregation of Jehovahs witnesses

toward the Bible? Does it compare with
that of the modernist clergy who doubt
the complete inspiration of the Bible? Or
is it like that of the Fundamentalist
churches? Neither.
Jehovahs witnesses accept the entire

N ovember 15, 1971

SEeWATCHTOWER.

Bible as inspired of God. Rather than

skepticism, they have full confidence and
conviction as to its truthfulness. One reason why is that they have found that its
counsel works, that by applying Bible
principles and teachings in their daily lives
they have the way to solve their problems
and lead happy, fruitful lives. Yes, they
have proved that, as the psalmist said to
God, your word is a lamp to my foot,
and a light to my roadway.Ps. 119:105.
These Christian witnesses find that the
Bibles revelation of God and of his grand
purposes for mankind is one of the most
convincing proofs of its authenticity and
divine inspiration. Though once discouraged by the frustration of trying to find
God and to make real meaning out of life
simply through self-knowledge and political and social activity, they now see
how the Bibles prophecies marvelously
illuminate the happenings of our day and
point to a righteous new order of Gods
making.
While recognizing that the Bible contains parables and expressions that are
symbolic and figurative, Jehovahs witnesses do not try to water down other
parts obviously meant to be taken literally.
They accept the Bibles history as authentic, not mere allegory. They agree with
Jesus and his apostles as to the factualness of the Bibles account of the creation
of man in Eden, the coming of the Flood
and other historic events. (Matt. 19:4-6;
24:37-39; 1 Cor. 15:45-48; 2 Pet. 2:5)
They have only one creed: the Bible itself,
and they do not try to alter its teachings to conform to creedal teachings of a
trinity of deities, inherent im mortality of
the soul, or eternal torment.
Stop and think. If a person doubts your
word, doubts its truthfulness, is this not
an insult to your integrity? If a person
misrepresents your word or advocates
things contrary to it while pretending to

677

accept it, is this not treachery, a hypocrisy that you find disgusting? Then, if,
with regard to Gods Word, Christendoms
churches are guilty of either of these
courses, do you believe that God is pleased
with those churches? W ill he be pleased
with you if you associate with and support such churches? Or should you now
be looking for and associating with those
who firmly and honestly support, teach
and live by Gods Word, the Bible?

JEH O VAH S W ITNESSES

Their Teachings and Practices
T h ey re a lly b e lie v e the B ib le a n d en d e a v o r to live b y it, using it a s th eir g u id e
in a ll matters o f life . 2 Tim. 3 :1 6 , 17.
There is n o
cle rg y -la ity
distinction
a m o n g them . M a rk 1 0 :4 2 -4 5 .
Their religio n is n o t a set o f rituals but
a w a y o f life.- Rom. 12:1, 2.
T h ey kee p free from ra cia l discrim in a tio n . Acts 17:26 ; 1 0 :3 4 , 3 5 .
T h e y insist on hon esty a n d m oral
cleanness. 1 Pet. 1 :1 4-16 ; 4 :3 , 4 .
Perhaps the m ost n o ta b le thing a b o u t
the W itnesses is their insistence u pon
their prim ary a lle g ia n c e to G o d , b e fo re
a n y other p o w e r in the w o rld . These
A ls o B elie ve, C . S. B ra d e n (A cts 5 :2 9 ) .
T h ey h o n o r a n d respect a n d use G o d s
ow n n am e, Je h o v a h . Ps. 8 3 :1 8 .
T h ey b e lie v e th a t Jesus Christ is truly
G o d s Son a n d th a t a ll h o p e fo r fu ture life is d e p e n d e n t on fa ith in him.
A cts 4 :1 2 .
Instead o f w a rrin g a g a in st their fe llo w m a n , th ey h a v e in every country
b ea ten their sw ords into plow sh a res . . .
neither w ill th ey lea rn w a r a n ym o re.
Isa. 2:4.
T h ey b elie v e that in the v ery n e a r
future G o d s kin g d o m w ill d estro y the
present w icked system a n d w ill transform
this earth into a P a ra d ise . D a n . 2 :4 4 ;
Luke 2 3 :4 3 .
Each W itness h a s a p a rt in sh a rin g
the g o o d new s from G o d s W o r d w ith
others. T h e y a re a ctive to d a y in 2 0 6
la n ds. M a tt. 2 8 :1 9 , 2 0 .

MowPrecious^re

CHRISTIAN MEETINGS
Zo you?

T WAS midwinter and the temperature was below

zero. But that did not prevent a Christian mother
living in W isconsin from starting out on foot on an
eight-m ile walk to town w ith four of her children.
Happily for her, after they had trudged for three miles,
a neighbor in an auto happened to come along and
gave them a lift, driving them the remaining five miles
to their destination.
W hy would a mother want to start out on a hike
like that? Because she wanted to associate with fellow
Christians for worship and for study of Gods Word.
That is how precious those meetings were to her. Especially did she want to attend the meetings that Sunday, as a traveling representative of the Watch Tower
Society was to speak. There being no buses and her
husband refusing to let her use the family car, she
had no alternative but to go on foot. Are Christian
meetings that precious to you? Do you have a like
awareness of your spiritual need?Matt. 5:3.
Jesus encourages Christians to meet together, for
he promised: Where there are two or three gathered
together in my name, there I am in their midst.
(Matt. 18:20) And the apostle Paul wrote: We ought
to see how each of us may best arouse others to love

678

and active goodness, not staying away from our meetings,

as some do, but rather encouraging one another, all the
more because you see the Day
drawing near.Heb. 10:24,
25, The New English Bible.
How precious C hristian
m eetings are to you, you
show by the price you are
willing to pay to attend them.
In Cuba three Christians
w ere put into prison a fter
their homes were raided by
officials on April 29 and 30,
1969. In each case all their
Bible literature was taken, as
well as other possessions. But
why? They were charged with
having illegal meetings, meetings for study of the Bible.
In a tow n in T h e ssa ly ,
Greece, thirteen Christians
were imprisoned because they
had g a th ered fo r a B ib le
study. Their m eetings were so
precious to them that they
were willing to risk prison to
attend them.
Lesser obstacles can also
reveal how precious Christian
m eetings are to a person.
POOR HEALTH AND
PHYSICAL INFIRMITY

It takes a measure of health

and strength to be able to
attend C hristian m eetings.
But, with effort, problems can
often be overcome. A newly
interested woman in Ceylon
keeps attending m eetings at
the Kingdom Hall although
she is semiparalyzed. And in
spite of this condition she has
enrolled in the congregations
T heocratic M inistry School

N ovem ber 15, 1971

SReWATCHTOWER.

679

and has begun witnessing to others.

In Nicaragua the traveling circuit minister noticed an attender having tears
stream down over her face for about the
first fifteen minutes of each meeting.
Why? He learned that this was due to her
high blood pressure and rheumatism in
her legs. It took fifteen minutes or so after
getting to the Kingdom Hall for the pain
to subside enough for her to be able to
stand it without weeping. Still, unless she
is confined to her bed, she is a regular
attender of the congregation meetings.
If you are missing m eetings because of
such an obstacle you m ight well ask yourself, in view of such examples, Does it
present a challenge that I can overcome
or one that I must yield to? Do not deprive
yourself of spiritual blessings needlessly!

previous leg fracture he must walk very

slowly, so he leaves home a day early in
order to get to the meetings on tim eand
he always is on time!
But what would you do if it just was
not safe to travel to the meetings? A
newly interested woman living in the Caribbean island of Anguilla, at the opposite end of town from where the meetings
were held, was distressed because she
could not attend the midweek meetings,
as they were held in the evening and it
was not safe for her to go out alone at
night. So what did she do? She overcame
this obstacle by moving to a house near
the Kingdom Hall!
Is your problem sim ilar to any of these?
Can you overcome it?

THE TRANSPORTATION PROBLEM

Jesus Christ warned his followers that

they could expect opposition from their
own fam ilies: Indeed, a mans enemies
will be persons of his own household, he
said.Matt. 10:34-36.
Opposition by members of ones own
fam ily to ones attending Christian meetings has also furnished opportunities for
Gods servants to show how precious those
meetings are to them. In Okinawa an unbelieving husband would lock out his wife
on m eeting nights. So she used an old
blanket and slept out in the garden under
a corrugated metal sheet. This she has
done week after week even though faced
with the danger of being bitten by poisonous habu snakes and suffering from
many mosquito bites. When asked about
it, she said that it was nothing when compared to what Christians had been experiencing elsewhere.
In Surinam a Christian w ife had a similar experience. To discourage her, her husband not only took away her literature

FAMILY OPPOSITION

For others, it is the problem of transportation that keeps them from attending
meetings regularly. If it is lacking, how
far or how long would you be willing to
walk to attend Christian m eetings? In the
Congo (Brazzaville), a youth of seventeen
walks nine miles to attend meetings. In
Nicaragua in one congregation twelve
W itnesses walk two hours each way to get
to the meetings, and they seldom miss.
In Sierra Leone a W itness past eightysix years of age comes tw ice each week
to the Kingdom Hall in all kinds of weather. He never fails. Yet to do so he must
walk more than five m iles up and down
a steep mountain. A group of new Witnesses in Honduras each Sunday walk three
hours to get to the meetings and three
hours to get back home. And in the Philippine Republic a sixty-eight-year-old Witness living in a mountainous territory
walks twenty-four m iles over a stretch
where there are no roads. Because of a

680

S&eWATCHTOWER

to burn it, he saidbut every time she

went to the m eetings and she came home
she found the door locked, and so she had
to sleep in the chicken coop. She did not
give up. Finally one day her husband said
to her: Okay, you win. This is beating
the wind. Keep your books. Study with
Jehovahs witnesses. . . . I cant fight the
tide anymore.
Could it be that you have a like obstacle
to attending Christian meetings regularly?
If so, take encouragement from what these
women were willing to put up with for
the sake of m eeting with their fellow
Christians. Be like the psalmist who said:
A day in your courtyards is better than
a thousand elsewhere.Ps. 84:10.
DO HOURS OF EMPLOYMENT INTERFERE?

Could it be that you have not been attending Christian meetings regularly because of the hours of your secular employment? If so, it seems that there is a
conflict between your obligation to associate with your fellow Christians and that
of providing for yourself and your family.
(1 Tim. 5:8; Heb. 10:24, 25) Could you
solve this conflict in favor of attending
m eetings regularly? Many have.
In Belgium a W itness explained to his
Works Manager that he would like to
have a change in his hours, as they were
interfering with his attending congregation meetings. What response did he get?
He was fired, given five days severance
pay and a dole ticket. He at once set out
looking for another job. But four days
later the Works Manager called at his
door, offering him a better job with hours
that would enable him to attend all the
meetings.
A student in Andorra who was studying
the Bible with Jehovahs witnesses had

B rooklyn , N .Y .

such working hours that he could not attend any of the meetings. He quit his job
and finally took employment as a bricklayers helper. Although not accustomed
to working outside in cold weather, he prefers doing that because it gives him time,
not only to attend Christian m eetings, but
also for personal study and the field ministry.
In Ethiopia a W itness found that he was
forty-five minutes late to the congregation meetings every other week due to
shift changes. So he arranged with a fellow worker to come forty-five minutes
early on those days and relieve him. In
return the W itness agreed to work a complete seven-hour shift, either the day before or the day after. Now the W itness is
never late for meetings and he is happy
and willing to exchange fourteen hours
of work a month for just ninety minutes
of meetings, so great is his appreciation
for Jehovahs spiritual table!
Are you engaged in secular employment
that interferes with your attending Christian meetings? What you can do about it,
of course, depends upon your circumstances, but do not forget Gods promise:
I will by no means leave you nor by any
means forsake you.Heb. 13:5.
All Christians who would keep their integrity toward Jehovah God m ust be conscious of their spiritual need. That means
studying Gods Word and associating with
ones fellow Christians at the congregation
meetings to the extent that one is able to
do so. If these meetings are truly precious
to you, you will not be easily turned aside
or prevented from attending them. Rather,
you will do all you possibly can to overcome any obstacles. Doing so can result
in great happiness and many blessings
both now and in the coming system of
things.

Amidst

DEMOCRACIES
and

COMMUNISM
The God [Theos', Greek] of all undeserved kindness, who called you to his
everlasting glory in union with Christ,
will himself finish your training, he
will make you firm, he will make you
strong. To him be the m ight [kra'tos,
Greek] forever."--! Pet. 5:10, II.

T MAY be a new word for many readersthis word Theocracy, but it is at

least nineteen hundred years old. Yes, it
was used in the first century of our Common Era, and at that tim e it seemed to be
a strange word.
2The word was coined by a historian,
namely, Flavius Josephus of Jerusalem. In
answer to accusations leveled against his
people, Josephus wrote his work, in two
volumes, entitled Against Apion. In
volume 2, paragraph 45, he refers to
Moses, our excellent legislator, and in
paragraph 52 he introduces the new word,
in the course of these words written in
Greek: Several nations have their several
forms of government, and their diversities
of laws. Some governments are committed
to a single person, others to the people.

1, 2. (a) Is the word Theocracy a new word for today?

(b) Who coined the word, and how did he explain it?

Our legislator had no regard to any of

these forms, but ordained a government,
that, by a strained expression, may be
termed a Theocracy [
tGreek],
or Holy Commonwealth, in ascribing all
authority and power to God, and persuading the people to regard him as the author
of all the good things that were enjoyed
either in common by all mankind, or by
each individual in particular. To him he
directs us to fly for succour in our distresses, as he hears our prayers, and
searches into the very secrets of our hearts.
He inculcates the doctrines of one God, the
uncreated, immutable, and eternal Being,
infinitely glorious, and incomprehensible
one, further than what we know of him by
his works.*
3
So the word Theocracy was coined to
mean a rule of God, a government by the
Most High God as Ruler, in contrast with a
government committed to a single person
(an autocracy) and a government committed to the people (a democracy) and
a government committed to the rich people
(a plutocracy) and a government committed to many bureaus (a bureaucracy).
The historian Josephus applied the term
Theocracy to the government that was
established by the legislator Moses at the
command of God, who told Moses that His
name was Jehovah (or Yahweh). In our
twentieth century, however, the term Theocracy has been used in connection with the
true Christian church or congregation, in
these times when political democracies
have increased and political communism
has been forcibly established in many
lands. Accordingly, the Christian congregation is a theocratic organization, governed by God the great Theocrat, Jehovah.
* See page 482, paragraph 3, columns 1 and 2 of the
translation by William Whiston, M.A., as published in
Boston, Massachusetts, in 1849.
3, 4. (a) To which government did Josephus apply the
term Theocracy? (b) To what has the term been
applied in this twentieth century by The Watchtower;
and with what words?
681

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B r o o k l y n , N .Y .

In full recognition of this the issue of The cratic organization. This occurred even
Watchtower dated June 1,1938, page 163, before Jerusalems destruction in the year
70. Historically recorded events point to
paragraph 1, said:
4
Jehovahs organization is in no wisethat solemn fact. On the Passover day of
democratic. Jehovah is supreme, and his the year 33, when the surging crowd was
government or organization is strictly massed before the Roman governor, Pontheocratic. This conclusion is not open to tius Pilate, and cried out for the criminal
Barabbas to be released to them instead of
successful contradiction.
The historian Josephus witnessed the the man whom Pilate personally wanted to
destruction of Jerusalem by the Roman release as innocent, what did that crowd
legions in the year 70 of our Common Era. there in Jerusalem cry out? This: If you
He applied the term Theocracy to the release this man, you are not a friend of
national Jewish organization that had Caesar. Every man making him self a king
existed prior to that terrible calamity. At speaks against Caesar. . . . We have no
the present time, since the six-day war of king but Caesar. (John 19:12-15) This
1967, the Jews hold possession of all of outcry stood out in shocking contrast to
what is called Jerusalem today, and they what their ancient prophet Isaiah had long
have their national capital established previously said: Jehovah is our Judge,
there. But can we regard the government Jehovah is our Statute-giver, Jehovah is
that they have established in their ancient our King.Isa. 33:22.
7 Two months or more later another
homeland a successor to the Theocracy
that Moses was used to establish in the scene was enacted in that same Jerusalem.
year 1513 before our Common Era? Is the It was in the courtroom of the national
national government now functioning with tribunal called the Sanhedrin, composed
old Jerusalem as its capital a theocracy at of seventy-one members. The high priest
all? How could it be such when it is called presided at this particular trial, and twelve
a republic and has a democratically native Jews were to be tried for proclaimelected president, and has since the year ing certain religious teachings that were
1949 been a member of the Gentile organi- offensive to this Sanhedrin or Supreme
zation for world peace and security, Court. On this we read:
8 So they brought them and stood them
namely, the United Nations? Not even the
president of the Republic of Israel and the in the Sanhedrin hall. And the high priest
members of the national Parliament, the questioned them and said: We positively
Knesset, will claim that their government ordered you not to keep teaching upon
is a theocracy, a theocratic organization. the basis of this name, and yet, look! you
In the ranks of the Israeli politicians there have filled Jerusalem with your teaching,
is great strife over the issue of adhering and you are determined to bring the blood
strictly to the Law of Moses or not. What of this man upon us. In answer Peter and
has happened? This:
the other apostles said: We must obey
6In the first century of our Common God as ruler rather than men. The God
Era the Jewish nation ceased to be a theo- of our forefathers raised up Jesus, whom
5. Whereas Josephus applied the term Theocracy as you slew, hanging him upon a stake. God
he did, what must we say as to whether the government established by the Israelis in Jerusalem is a exalted this one as Chief Agent and Savior
theocracy ?
6. What did the Jewish nation cease to be in the first
century C.E., and what outcry before the Roman
governor proves this?

7, 8. Later, who presided at a session in the Sdnhedrin

hall, and how did the men on trial answer his complaint?

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to his right hand, to give repentance to that God made him both Lord and Christ,
Israel and forgiveness of sins. And we are this Jesus whom you impaled. (A cts 2:
witnesses of these m atters, and so is the 14-36) That the Jewish nation was no
holy spirit, which God has given to those longer acting theocratically the Jewish
obeying him as ruler. Acts of the Law teacher named Gamaliel hinted at
Apostles 5:27-32.
when he said to the Sanhedrin concerning
the
twelve apostles on the witness stand
9This testim ony at this court trial rebefore
them:
vealed who were the ones acting theocratically, recognizing God as ruler or as
11 Men of Israel, pay attention to yourTheocrat. According to that testimony, selves as to what you intend to do respectwith whom was the theocratic organiza- ing these men. . . . I say to you, Do not
tionwith the Sanhedrin, the representa- meddle with these men, but let them alone;
tives of the Jewish nation, or with those (because, if this scheme or this work is
twelve apostles of the Jesus whose death from men, it w ill be overthrown; but if it
that Sanhedrin had recently brought is from God, you w ill not be able to overabout? Beyond all denial, Jehovahs theoc- throw them ;) otherwise, you may perhaps
racy was with those tw elve apostles of be found fighters actually against God.
Jesus Christ.
Acts 5:34-39.
10The fact that the divine Theocracy
12 What this Jewish Pharisee Gamaliel
had ceased to be with the nation of Israel called this scheme or this work did prove
and was now w ith these twelve apostles to be from God, for the Sanhedrin and
and other disciples of Jesus Christ had all the Jewish people inside and outside
been substantiated by a powerful proof. the Roman Empire were unable to overBy what proof? This, that God had poured throw it, even though they persecuted the
out his holy spirit upon these disciples spirit-anointed followers of Jesus Christ.
of Christ who were recognizing God as But in the year 70 C.E. the Jewish capital
ruler rather than men who opposed God of Jerusalem was destroyed and the naas ruler. It was w ith the help of that out- tional Jewish Sanhedrin was put out of
poured spirit that Peter and the other business. And three years later, in 73 C.E.,
eleven apostles gave their courageous testi- the last Jewish stronghold in the province
mony to the Jewish Sanhedrin. Some days of Judea, namely, Masada on the w est side
earlier, on the feast day of Pentecost, God of the Dead Sea, fell to the Romam legions.
had poured out this spirit upon them in But before all this the faithful Jewish
fulfillment of the prophecy of Joel 2:28, Christians had fled from Jerusalem and all
29. This prophecy was quoted by the other parts of the province of Judea, beapostle Peter that day when he explained cause Jesus Christ had told them to do so
to the thousands of Jewish celebrators of when he was prophetically describing the
Pentecost the miracle that had just hap- coming destruction of Jerusalem. (Matt.
pened. It was on that occasion that Peter 24:15-22; Mark 13:14-20; Luke 21:20said to the inquiring Jews: Therefore let 24) Very m anifestly, then, Jehovahs theall the house of Israel know for a certainty ocracy had been transferred from the nation of natural circumcised Israel to the
9. According to the testimony thus given, with whom
was Jehovahs theocracy then to be found?
spirit-filled organization of the disciples of
10, 11. (a) By what powerful proof on the day of Pentecost was it substantiated that the Theocracy has
ceased to be with the Jewish nation? (b) How was the
untheocratic conduct of the Jewish Sdnhedrin hinted at
by Gamaliel's counsel to them?

12. Later, what proved that this scheme or this

work, as Gamaliel called it, was from God, and so
what transfer had really taken place?

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Jesus Christ, the Son of God. To this day

they are preaching the kingdom of God,
not preaching the Republic of Israel or
any other human government.
THEOCRATIC ORGANIZATION IN
THE FIRST CENTURY C.E.

18The magazine The Watchtower has

called and repeatedly calls attention to the
theocratic organization, and, to be consistent, we should examine to see whether
the dedicated, baptized Christian readers
of this magazine are adhering to theocratic
organization or not.
14 No doubt, we need to turn back to the
first century, to the days of Christs
apostles to see how their theocratic organization was structured. The apostles were
all natural circumcised Jews or Israelites,
the same as Jesus Christ had been. They
were well acquainted with the fact that
the pre-Christian structure of the theocratic nation of Israel had had certain
appointed officials or administrators. They
knew that when Jehovah sent Moses back
to Egypt to liberate His enslaved people
he told Moses: You go, and you must
gather the older men [zeqe-nimf, Hebrew]
of Israel, and you m ust say to them, ,Jehovah the God of your forefathers has
appeared to me. (Ex. 3:16) Those older
men were not just men of advanced age,
but had the rank of older men, possibly
on this occasion being representatives of
the whole house of Israel.
15 Months later, when the prophet Moses
mediated the Law covenant between God
and the nation of Israel, God said to Moses
at Mount Sinai: Go up to Jehovah, you
and Aaron, Nadab and Abihu and seventy
13. We should examine as to whether dedicated Watchtower readers are adhering to what, and why so?
14. The apostles knew that the pre-Christian Israel had
been structured with what kind of administration, and
how was this shown by those to whom Moses presented
himself on returning to Egypt?
15. How did the seventy men whom Moses took up
with him into Mount Sinai rank, and how is this shown ?

B r o o k l y n , N .Y .

of the older men [zeqe-nim] of Israel.

That these seventy older men were representatives of the nation is clear from
Exodus 24:11, which tells us: And he
[Jehovah] did not put out his hand against
the distinguished men of the sons of Israel,
but they got a vision of the true God and
ate and drank. So they were distinguished men, and not m erely men of
advanced age. (Ex. 24 :1 ,1 4 ) They ranked
as older men.
16
Later, when Jehovah was about to put
a share of the spirit that was upon Moses
upon seventy other Israelites, he said to
Moses: Gather for me seventy men of the
older men [zeqe-nim'] of Israel, whom you
do know that they are older men of the
people and officers of theirs, and you m ust
take them to the tent of meeting, and they
must station themselves there w ith you.
After this order was obeyed, Jehovah took
some of the spirit that was upon Moses and
put it upon each of the seventy older
men, and they proceeded to act as prophets. (Num. 11:16-25) Those seventy men
were associated with officers, or, possibly, as older men they them selves were
special officers of the people.
17According to Jehovahs instructions
to Moses, when the Israelites got into the
Promised Land their cities were to have
older men, as they were designated.
(Deut. 19:12; 21:2-20; 22:15-18; 25:7-9)
Bible history shows that this became true
of the cities and towns in the land of Israel.
(Judg. 8:14-16; 1 Ki. 21:8-11; Ezra 10:14)
This came to be true even in the days of
Jesus Christ and his apostles. When he began telling them about his coming violent
death, he told them that he must go to
Jerusalem and suffer many things from the
older men and chief priests and scribes,
16. What was the rank of the seventy men upon whom
Jehovah put some of the spirit that was upon Moses?
17. According to Jehovahs instructions to Moses, what
were the cities in Israel to have, and how was this
shown to have come true even in Jesus days?

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fikW ATCHTOW ER.

685

and be killed. (Matt. 16:21) These were this new theocratic organization also have
not just men of advanced age, but they older men officially? It has been sugranked officially as older men. These men gested that, as respects the Christian conwere associated with the chief priests and gregation, all of the anointed of God are
with the scribes at the arrest and the trial elders.* This application would include
of Jesus. (Matt. 26:47 to 27:41) These even the women who by reason of their
dedication to God fololder men joined in
lowed by water bapwith the chief priests
T H E N E X T IS S U E
in bribing th e men
tism and begetting by
w h o h a d b e e n on
G o d s s p i r i t w e r e
Bringing the Holy Place into
anointed with his spirguard at Jesus tomb
Right Condition.
it. But what do the
to say that he had not
Our Memory of Those Who Have
features of the Chrisbeen resurrected but
Passed into Death.
his body had been stotian theocratic organization in the first cenlen by his disciples.
Why Study in School?
tu ry actu ally show?
Matt. 28:12.
Do they show that no
18
Like Jesus Christ,
his apostles had to suffer at the hands dedicated, baptized men are to be installed
of the older men in association with as older men officially in the Christian
the chief priests. When the apostles Pe- congregation? Let us see.
ter and John were released after im20The apostle Peters quotation of Joel
prisonment and tried, then, as the ac- 2:28, 29 on the day of Pentecost of 33 C.E.
count says, they went to their own showed that there were to be old men in
people and reported what things the chief the Christian congregation, which men
priests and the older men had said to would dream dreams. But when this
them. (Acts 4 :5 2 3 )All this serves to prophecy is rendered into the Greek, the
show that these associates of the high Septuagint Version uses the Greek word
priests were officially older men. The pres-by'te-ros, which really means, in Encities of ancient Israel did not have what glish, presbyter, or, elder. This is beare called mayors, but they had their cause the Hebrew word (
)used in
board of older men. Such a board would Joel 2:28 is the word regularly applied to
have to have a chairman or presiding of- elders, such as those elders of cities and
ficer, and likely the chairmanship rotated so forth. The Hebrew word, however, can
among them, each member having his turn also mean just old persons, like Abraham
for a period. How the qualified ones were and Sarah. (Gen. 18:11; 25:8) A t any rate,
made older men is not shown.
these presbyters, elders, or old men of
18 When natural circumcised Israel Joel 2:28 and Acts 2:17 were part of the
ceased to be a theocracy and Jehovah every sort of flesh upon which Jehovah
established his theocracy over the church
would pour out his spirit in the last days.
or congregation of the disciples of his Son
They could be official elders or just plain
from Pentecost of 33 C.E. onward, did
old men.
18. (a) As with Jesus, at whose hands did his apostles
have to suffer? (b) These were older men in what
sense, and at their meetings what did they need to
have, and for how long?
19. (a) So what question arises as to God's new
theocracy since Pentecost of 33 C.E. ? (b) What suggestion has been made as regards elders, and what
questions does this suggestion arouse?

* See paragraph 1, page 266, of The Watchtower as

of September 1, 1932.
20. (a) According to Peters quotation of Joel 2:28, 29,
what kind of men would be in the Christian congrega
tion? (b) According to the word used in Joel 2:28, why
could these be official elders or just plain old men ?

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f&eWATCHTOWER.
9
9
21
Were there, however, official old men and Saul. (A cts 11:2730, marginal reador elders or presbyters in the primitive ing, 1971 edition) So the older men,
Christian congregation? To satisfy our- presbyters or elders were the direct reselves on this point let us turn to Acts cipients and these officials saw that it was
11:30. The Christian prophet Agabus had distributed to the congregations of Judea.
predicted that a great famine was about Websters Third New International
to come upon the entire inhabited earth, tionary defines presbyter as an official
which famine did historically take place in the early Christian church vested with
in the reign of Emperor Claudius. So the the task of providing leadership as an overdisciples of Christ in the city of Antioch seer usually over a local congregation.
of Syria determined to send a relief minis* By the Holy Scriptures we can find out
tration to their needy Christian brothers in whether that is a correct definition or not.
the Roman province of Judea. Now to
GOVERNING BODYCOMPOSED OP WHOM?
whom did these contributors specifically
22 When the matter of circumcising nonsend this relief m inistration (
Greek) ? The account says: And this they Jewish converts to Christianity became
did, dispatching it to the older men [pres- a hot issue in Antioch of Syria, to whom
byters, elders] by the hand of Barnabas did the congregation there send to have
the issue settled? To the apostles and
21. (a) To whom specifically was the relief ministraolder men in Jerusalem regarding this distion sent from Antioch to Jerusalem, and what does
this indicate regarding the primitive congregation?
pute. On arrival at Jerusalem Paul and
(b) What is a presbyter ?
Barnabas and others from Antioch
The governing body, composed of the apostles
were received by whom? By the
and other older men, made the decision against
congregation and the apostles and
circumcising Gentile Christians. The disciple
the older men [presbyters, or elJames may have acted as chairman
ders]. In this account we notice
that the older men as well as
the apostles are distinguished from
the congregation. Not the whole
Jerusalem congregation, but the
apostles and the older men gathered together to see about this
affair.Acts 15:2, 4, 6, marginal
reading, 1971 edition.
23
After the decision against circum cising th e new ly converted
Gentiles, then, as the account says,
the apostles and the older men
[presbyters, elders] together with
the whole congregation favored
sending chosen men from among
22. To whom did the Antioch congregation
submit the question of circumcision, who received their representatives and afterward
who gathered there to see about this matter?
23. Who favored sending the Jerusalem decree
to the congregations, and who signed as
issuing the decree?

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26 Years later the apostle Paul was

them to Antioch along with Paul and Barnabas, namely, Judas who was called Bar- journeying on his final trip to Jerusalem.
sabbas and Silas, leading men among the He stopped at the seaport of Miletus and
brothers; and by their hand they wrote: got in touch with the congregation nearby
The apostles and the older men, brothers, at Ephesus, Asia Minor. Did he send for
to those brothers in Antioch and Syria and the whole congregation of Ephesus to come
Cilicia who are from the nations [Gen- and let him have a farewell visit with
them? Here is what Acts 20:17 tells us:
tiles]: Greetings! Acts 15:22, 23.
24Thus it appears th at the apostles and However, from Miletus he sent to Ephesus
these associated older men (presbyters, and called for the older men [presbyters,
elders) acted as a governing body for all elders] of the congregation. (Marginal
the Christian congregations throughout reading, 1971 edition) So the congregation
the earth, but they had the backing of at Ephesus had its official older men or
the Jerusalem congregation. Among those elders. Acts 21:17, 18 reminds us that the
older men were James the half brother Jerusalem congregation also had such offiof Jesus Christ, and Judas (Barsabbas) cials, for there we read Doctor Lukes reand Silas (Silvanus). (2 Cor. 1:19; 1 Thess. port: When we got into Jerusalem the
1:1; 2 Thess. 1:1; 1 Pet. 5:12) It is usually brothers received us gladly. But on the
understood that at this m eeting of the following day Paul went in with us to
governing body at Jerusalem this older James; and all the older men were presman (presbyter, or elder) named James ent. James the half brother of Jesus
the son of Mary acted as the chairman. Christ was also one of those older men.
But the fact that he proposed the decree In Galatians 2:9 Paul speaks of James as
and its contents regarding the necessary a spiritual pillar, saying: James and Cephas [Peter] and John, the ones who
obligations of newly converted Gentiles
seemed to be pillars, gave me and Barnadoes not, in itself, make that chairman- bas the right hand of sharing together.
ship of his certain.Acts 15:13-21.
27 As bearing witness to the official na25
Acts 16:4 reports on the movements ofture of an older man (or presbyter,
the apostle Paul and his companion Silas elder) of the congregation, the apostle
(a member of the governing body), saying: Paul wrote to Timothy, about the years
Now as they traveled on through the 61 to 64 C.E., these instructions: Let the
cities [of Asia Minor] they would deliver older men who preside in a fine way be
to those there for observance the decrees reckoned worthy of double honor, espe*
that had been decided upon by the apostles d ally those who work hard in speaking
and older men who were in Jerusalem. and teaching. (1 Tim. 5:17) Thus such
The fact that these older men were older men presided officially in the conassociated with the apostles and were part gregation and worked at speaking and
of the Christian governing body makes it teaching the Bible. According to James
certain that they were officially older 5:14 the prayers of such older men were
specially beneficial.
men, presbyters, elders.
24. Who were some of those older men, and as being
what did the apostles and older men act, and who was
chairman at the meeting?
25. In the cities visited, Paul and Silas delivered the
decrees issued by whom, and what is indicated about
those associated with the apostles in deciding upon the
decree?

26. On his final journey to Jerusalem, with whom did

Paul have a farewell meeting in Miletus, and what does
Acts 21:17, 18 indicate as to the makeup of the Jerusalem congregation?
27. According to 1 Timothy 5:17, who were to be
reckoned worthy of double honor, and why, and whose
prayers were specially beneficial?

BOUT the years 62 to 64

C.E. th e ap ostle P eter
while at Babylon in Mesopotamia
had something to w rite about
older men. He says: Therefore, to the older men [presbyters, elders] among you I give this exhortation, for I too am an older man
w ith them and a witness of the sufferings of the Christ, a sharer even of the
glory that is to be revealed: Shepherd
the flock of God in your care, not under
compulsion, but willingly; neither for love
of dishonest gain, but eagerly; neither
as lording it over those who are Gods inheritance, but becoming examples to the
flock. (1 Pet. 5:1-3) If, now, all the flock
of God were to be considered as elders,
what would be the sense of Peter in speaking about the older men among you?
Then, too, how could it be said that that
flock of God was in your care, that is,
in the care of the older men? How would
they shepherd the flock if all the flock
were elders and hence all shepherds?
2The apostle Peter classes himself as
an older man with the older men
whom he addresses. So, if Peter was an
older man in an official sense, those
whom he addresses were also officially
older men. Certainly an apostle of Jesus
Christ should be officially an older man.
Consequently, when the Christian congregation started out on Pentecost day of 33
C.E., it had twelve official older men,
1. What questions does 1 Peter 5:13 raise as to
whether all members of the congregation were elders ?
2. Why must those addressed here by Peter have been
officially older men, and with how many older
men did the Jerusalem congregation start out on
Pentecost of 33 C.E.?

namely, the twelve apostles of Jesus Christ.

(Acts 1:13 to 2:37) Those apostles were all
like Peter in being each a witness of the
sufferings of the Christ, because they
had been associated together from the
time of Jesus baptism until his ascension
to heaven. (Acts 1:21, 22; 1 Pet. 5:1) As
official older men those apostles did
work hard in speaking and teaching,
from Pentecost of 33 C.E. onward.1 Tim.
5:17; Acts 2:37-42; 4:33; compare 2 John 1
and 3 John 1.
OLDER MENHOW MADE

3The eleven faithful ones of the apostles

of Jesus Christ had been disciples of him,
some as long as more than a year before
he appointed them to be apostles. (John
1:35 to 2:2; Matt. 4:12-22; 10:1-4; Luke
6:12-16) Consequently they were made
older men (presbyters, or elders) by
being appointed by Jesus. The later twelfth
apostle named Matthias was chosen by lot
after Jesus ascension to heaven, and hence
3. (a) How were the twelve apostles made 'older
men'( ? b) According to Acts, chapter 14, In what
connection do we learn how older men were made
for the other congregations back there?

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SHeWATCHTOWER

not by mans appointm ent (Acts 1:15-26)

How were the later older men of the
Jerusalem congregation put in office, also
the older men of other congregations
that were established after Pentecost of
33 C.E.? This is indicated for us in the
Acts of the Apostles, chapter fourteen.
The apostle Paul was on his first missionary tour with Barnabas and got as far as
Derbe, Iconium, Lystra and Antioch of
Pisidia, Asia Minor, and started congregations there. On their way back they visited
these young congregations.
4 How did these recently established congregations get their older men? Acts 14:
22, 23 tells us, saying that Paul and Barnabas went strengthening the souls of the
disciples, encouraging them to remain in
the faith and saying: We m ust enter into
the kingdom of God through many tribulations. Moreover, they appointed older
men for them in [each] congregation and,
offering prayer with fastings, they committed them to Jehovah in whom they had
become believers. M anifestly, then, the
congregations did not set up their own
older men by a popular vote or election
among their members. This could not be
called a democratic method of installing
older men. Paul had been chosen by
Jesus Christ as an apostle and he and
Barnabas had been sent out on this missionary trip from Antioch by instructions
of Gods holy spirit. So their appointing
of older men in the congregations was
theocratic.Acts 13:1-4.
5 Years afterward, about the years 61
to 64 C.E., which was after Pauls release
from his first imprisonment in Rome, he
wrote to his fellow worker Titus, who was
then in the island of Crete. Paul said:
For this reason I left you in Crete, that
4. How were the older men made in the congregations revisited by Paul and Barnabas, and how was
this method theocratic?
5. What did Paul write to Titus to do about the
congregations in Crete, and what qualifications did
Titus have to observe?

689

you m ight correct the things that were defective and m ight make appointments of
older men in city after city, as I gave you
orders. (Titus 1:5) Then Paul sets out
the requirements for ones being appointed
as an older man, by adding: If there
is any man free from accusation, a husband of one wife, having believing children
that were not under a charge of debauchery nor unruly. For an overseer must be
free from accusation as Gods steward, not
self-willed, not prone to wrath, not a
drunken brawler, not a sm iter, not greedy
of dishonest gain, but hospitable, a lover
of goodness, sound in mind, righteous,
loyal, self-controlled, holding firmly to the
faithful word as respects his art of teaching, that he may be able both to exhort by
the teaching that is healthful and to reprove those who contradict.Titus 1:6-9.
6By beginning to discuss the requirements for being an appointed older man
and then going on to say, For an overseer
must be free from accusation, and so
forth, Paul shows that an older man is
also an overseer {e-pi'skopos, Greek).
So at the same tim e that Titus would be
appointing older men he would be also
appointing overseers in the congregation.
Thus Paul here uses the words older men
and overseers as being synonymous, as
expressing the same idea, as being interchangeable. So an overseer m ust be an
older man, and an older man must
carry out the duties of an overseer. Paul
showed this at Miletus.
7We read: From Miletus he sent to
Ephesus and called for the older men of
the congregation. When they got to him
he said to them: * . . . Pay attention to
yourselves and to all the flock, among
which the holy spirit has appointed you
6. How was Paul here using the terms older men
and overseers, and how is this shown?
7. For whom did Paul at Miletus send to come from
Ephesus, and what did he tell them to do?

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of an overseer, and the apostles were overoverseers [

e-pi'sko-poi,G reek], to shepherd
the congregation of God, which he pur- seers appointed by Jesus Christ. For this
chased w ith the blood of his own Son. reason, on the day of Pentecost of 33 C.E.,
the Jerusalem congregation of about one
Acts 20:17-28.
8 According to those words, those older hundred and twenty members started out
men had been put in office, not by any with twelve overseers. (Acts 1:15 to 2:43)
democratic election or voting, but by ap- Thereafter as older men were appointed
pointment of Gods holy spirit acting to help in taking care of the growing conthrough the visible governing body over gregation, more than twelve overseers were
all the congregations. By being thus ap- serving in it.
10About twenty-three years after that
pointed to be older men (presbyters,
elders) they were simultaneously appointed Pentecost, when Paul was en route to Jeruto be overseers, and the duty of over- salem and stopped at Miletus, the congreseer obliged them to act as shepherds of gation at nearby Ephesus had a number of
the flock, Gods congregation. They were overseers, for all the older men whom
accountable primarily, not to the govern- he summoned to see him were overseers.
ing body, but to the Great Overseer, Jeho- (Acts 20:17-28) Four or five years later
vah God. (1 Pet. 2:25; Isa. 53:6) Pauls the congregation of Philippi in Macedonia
words to the older men of Ephesus had a number of overseers as w ell as a
agree with those of the apostle Peter, number of m inisterial servants to act as
when telling the older men among you assistants to the overseers. That is why
to shepherd Gods flock.1 Pet. 5:1, 2.
Paul, when writing from Rome, opened up
his letter to the congregation in that city
OVERSEERS AND MINISTERIAL SERVANTS
by saying: Paul and Timothy, slaves of
9 The apostle Peter and the other eleven
Christ Jesus, to all the holy ones in union
apostles were, not only older men, but
with Christ Jesus who are in Philippi,
also overseers. This becomes apparent at
along with overseers [epi'skopoi] and
the tim e that Peter recommended to the
ministerial servants
G reek].
Jerusalem congregation to fill the place
Phil. 1:1.
that had been vacated by the unfaithful
11
From this there is no mistaking that
apostle Judas. As calling for this, Psalm
the Philippian congregation had more than
109:8 was quoted by Peter, as he said:
one overseer as well as more than one
It is written in the book of Psalms, . . .
ministerial servant
(di.This w
His office of oversight let someone else
doubtless true of all other first-century
take. (Acts 1:20) The Hebrew word for
Christian congregations that had enough
office of oversight was rendered in the
competent manpower to provide overGreek
Septmgint Version by the word e-piseers and m inisterial servants for their
sko-pe', which refers to the office of an
needs. It was a later development after
overseer (
e-pi'sko-pos,G reek). Logically,
the death of the twelve apostles to have
then, the office of an apostle was the office
one overseer over a congregation or over
8. How had Pauls visitors been made older men,
what service were they obliged to render, and to whom
were they primarily responsible?
9. (a) In connection with filling the place vacated by
unfaithful Judas, how is it indicated that the apostles
were overseers ? (b) With how many overseers
did the Jerusalem congregation start at Pentecost of
33 C.E. ?

10. (a) When Paul sent from Miletus to Ephesus, how

was the oversight of the Ephesian congregation being
taken care of? (b) According to Philipplans 1:1, how
was the congregation in Philippi being served?
11. To Judge from the Philippi congregation, how
were all other congregations with sufficient manpower
staffed, in contrast with the later system of bishops?

N ovember 15, 1971

3HeWATCHTOWER

691

a number of congregations in a certain

area.*

AV;AS; Revised Standard Version; Dorny

Version; New American Bible) No, but this
desirous man is m erely wanting to share
BODY OF OLDER MEN( PRE-SBY-TE'RI-ON)
with other overseers in the congregation
12 The congregational group of overseers the duties of watching over the spiritual
would compose a body of older men, or condition of the congregation, feeding it
presbytery (
Authorized
spiritually, guiding it in Jehovahs worship.
can Standard Version), or, elders as a He strives to m eet the requirements for
body (
New English Bible), such as overseership
the
that are set out by the apostle
apostle Paul mentions in 1 Timothy 4:14. Paul in the succeeding verses, in 1 Timothy
(Compare Luke 22:66; Acts 22:5 as to the 3:2-7, and which correspond w ith the reassembly of older men.) The members of quirements set out in Titus 1 :6 9 . Such
such a body [or, assembly] of older men requirements prove that he is desirous of
were all equal, having the same official a fine work.
status, and none of them was the most
14 Of course, in such a congregational
important, most prominent, most power- presbytery or body [assem bly] of older
ful member in the congregation. Each men there would have to be a chairman,
member gladly took his share of the re- to direct the order of m eetings of the body
sponsibility of overseeing and shepherding of older men. Just how a member was
the whole congregation.
appointed as the chairman is not shown in
13 Accordingly, what did the apostle Paul the Scriptures. It would not be a permamean by what he wrote in 1 Timothy 3:1? nent chairmanship, but likely it was ternThere he said to Timothy: If any man is porary, for a period of tim e, and was
reaching out for an office of overseer [e-pi rotated among all the coequal members
sko-pe', Greek], he is desirous of a fine of the body of elders. When one elder
work. He did not mean that such a de- reached the end of his chairmanship and
sirous Christian man is reaching out to be- relinquished it to the next one in order,
come the most important, responsible, he did not cease to be an older man or
prominent and powerful person in the an overseer. He still remained a member
congregation as its sole overseer, some- of the body of older men. The members
thing like a bishop in Christendom, who not being put in office by regular elections
reigns over an area (a diocese) containing of a democratic kind on the part of the
a number of congregations. (1 Tim. 3:1, congregation, his theocratic appointment
by the governing body continued indefi* Read, for instance, the brief comment on this in
T h e New Bible Dictionary, by J. D. Douglas, M.A.,
nitely as long as he proved faithful in
page 158, under the heading Bishop," which is how
office.
many translations render epi'akopos: Among the
Apostolic Fathers, Ignatius is the only one who insists
15There was no assistant overseer or
on monarchical episcopacy, and even he never states
t h a t t h is is of divine institutionan argument which
assistant
elder. Either an appointed man
would have been decisive, if it had been available for
him to use. Jerome, commenting on Titus 1:5, remarks was an overseer, or he was not. Those
that the supremacy of a single bishop arose by custom
rather than by the Lord's actual appointment, as a who assisted the overseers by taking care
means of preventing schisms in the Church, (c/. Ep.
146). It seems most probable that monarchical episco- of congregational m atters that were not of
pacy appeared in the local congregations when some
gifted individual acquired a permanent chairmanship
of the board of presbyter-bishops. . . . "
12. According to 1 Timothy 4:14, what would the
congregation group of older men" compose, and how
did they compare with one another as to status?
13. According to 1 Timothy 3:1, what was a desirous
man aspiring to be and do?

14. (a) What was needed for maintaining the order of

meetings of the body of older men, and how was
this need supplied? (b) How long did one's membership
in this body of older men continue, and why so?
15. (a) Why were there no assistant overseers or
assistant elders in the congregations? (b) What does
the Greek word dia'konos basically mean, and how
broad an application does it have?

692

ffieW ATCHTOW ER

B rooklyn , N .Y .

a specifically spiritual kind were appointed dom was being preached inside and outside the Roman Empire, and the apostle
as m inisterial servants (
Greek). The requirements for these minis- Paul could write from his prison quarters
terial servants are set out by the apostle in Rome: That good news which you
Paul in 1 Timothy 3:8-10,12,13. The name heard, and which was preached in all
deacon is merely the Anglicized or trans- creation that is under heaven. (Col. 1:2,
23) The theocratic organization back there
literated form for the Greek name
nos, which ordinarily means a m inister favored this exploit. It is an example for
in the sense of a servant. Thus the word us today.
m inister (
s) can have a very
dia'ko-n
THEOCRATIC ORGANIZATION IN
broad, general meaning. Hence when the
THE TWENTIETH CENTURY
apostle Paul speaks of our being ministers
1
7
The
commands of the Lord Jesus
of a new covenant, or m inisters of God
Christ
as
quoted
in the preceding paraor m inisters of Christ, he does not mean
graph
still
apply
today, especially since
that he and his fellow workers were minJehovah
God
established
the kingdom of
isterial servants of a congregation, who
his
Messiah,
Jesus,
at
the
end of the Genassisted the older men or overseers.
tile
Times
in
1914
C.E.
We
are therefore
(2 Cor. 3:6; 6:4; 11:23) However, such
interested
to
see
how
the
organization
of
assistant officials could be m inisters of
those
dedicated,
baptized
Christians
who
that larger responsibility in serving God
are carrying out those commands harmoand Christ and Gods Word.Acts 6:4.
nizes with the apostolic pattern of the
18
Circumstances do not now allow for
a further consideration of the theocratic first century. In the issue of Zions Watch
organization of the Christian congregation Tower as of August, 1884, page 7, it said:
of apostolic times in the first century C.E. The kingdom of the saints is on the
Among other things, the Christian congre- contrary a Theocracy which w ill rule the
gation back there had a big public work world (during the period of its imperfection
to do. What was that? To carry out Jesus and restoration) without regard to their
words, This good news of the kingdom consent or approval. However, w ith rew ill be preached in all the inhabited earth gard to the organization of the saints or
for a witness to all the nations; and also, holy ones on earth, this visible, earthly
Go therefore and make disciples of people organization was conducted largely on the
of all the nations, baptizing them in the congregational basis for these dedicated,
name of the Father and of the Son and of baptized followers of Jesus Christ. Their
the holy spirit, teaching them to observe individual congregations had their elders
all the things I have commanded you. and deacons, these being elected at least
(Matt. 24:14; 28:19, 20) This they did with annually by a popular or democratic voting
the aid, guidance and leadership of their on the part of the dedicated, baptized ones.
older men (presbyters, elders), over- This procedure was according to the underseers, and m inisterial servants. Even be- standing then held of Acts 14:23.*
fore the destruction of Jerusalem in the
year 70 C.E. the good news of the king-

* See The New Creation, Study VI entitled 4Order

and Discipline in the New Creation/' pages 276278.
Published in 1904.

16. What public work did the first-century Christians

have to do, and to what extent did they accomplish it
along with their elders, overseers, and ministerial
servants?

17. According to the Watch Tower of 1884, what was

the heavenly kingdom of God's holy ones called, but
on what basis was the visible earthly organization of
these holy ones carried on?

N ovember 15, 1971

SfieWATCHTOWER.

693

18For example, in the issue of Zions

Watch Tower as of November 15, 1895,
there was published the leading article
entitled Decently and in Order, this
having reference to 1 Corinthians 14:40.
This discussed the m atter of the officers
of the congregations of dedicated, baptized
Christians under subheadings, such as
Order in the Early Church, Order
Necessary Today, The Apostolic Counsel
Commended, The Occasion of Choosing
Elders, The Qualifications of Elders,
the opening paragraphs thereunder quoting 1 Timothy 3 :1 7 according to The
Emphatic Diaglott New Testament, and
saying: If a man desires an overseers
office [service], he desires a good work.
[Any service we can render to the body
of Christ is a blessed service.] An overseer,
then, must be irreproachable, and so on.
It becomes apparent then that the article
equated the elders w ith overseers.
See also Zions Watch Tower as of January 15, 1896, page 24, setting forth
REPLY:The article Decently and in
Order.
18The putting of elders (overseers) and
deacons in office by the elective method of
the congregations continued down till
October 5, 1932, when the New York city
congregation by resolution asked for the
governing body to appoint for it a service
director, this officer to have a committee
of assistants who would be selected by the
majority vote of the congregation. This
example was followed by the congregations
all around the earth. (See The Watchtower
as of October 15, 1932, page 319, under
Resolution.) However, down to that tim e
the congregation had carried on an impressive campaign for announcing Jeho-

vahs name and advertising His established

kingdom of the heavens. Also, the major
part of the harvest, the gathering out of
the remnant of the w heatlike heirs of
the Kingdom, was accomplished. Also, on
July 26, 1931, the congregations of these
heirs of Gods kingdom began to embrace
the name Jehovahs w itnesses. (Isa. 43:
10-12)See Matthew 13:24-30, 37-43.
20
This altered arrangement for the congregations of Jehovahs w itnesses continued on from October of 1932 down to
1938. In this latter year the June 1 and
15 issues of
TheWatchtower published the
two parts of the article Organization
on what was set out as theocratic organization of the congregations. A fter that all
the officers of the congregation were appointed by the governing body at headquarters. The governing body is not the
Service Department of the W atch Tower
Society, as the governing body has larger
interests than just the proclamation of
the Kingdom by proclaimers in the field.
But the governing body uses the Service
Department and other agencies in directing
the work afield.
21Today in the congregations of Jehovahs witnesses there is in general a congregation servant. He acts as chairman
of the congregation and specifically directs
the preaching and teaching in the field by
the congregation members. According to
the Scriptural presentation of m atters he
is both an older man or elder and,
as such, an overseer. When, in course of
time, the chairmanship that he has occupied is rotated to another member of the
presbytery or body of older men, he still
remains a member of that presbytery and
he is assigned appropriate duties.

18. With the choosing of what officers of the congregations did the 1895 article Decently and in Order
deal, and with whom did this article equate such
officers ?
19. (a) How was this method of electing elders and
deacons terminated on October 5, 1932? (b) Down to
that time, what work had the congregation accomplished, also embracing what name?

20. (a) How was that altered arrangement terminated

in 1938? (b) What is the relationship of the Service
Department and the governing body?
21. (a) Today who acts as chairman of the congregation, and what are his duties? (b) When the chairmanship passes on to another member of the presbytery,
what happens to the former occupier of it?

694

f&eW ATCHTOW ER

22 There is also an assistant congregation

servant, one capable of serving as chairman at any tim e that the congregation
servant cannot do so. According to the
Scriptural requirements, he is not an
assistant overseer, but he is an overseer
and older man. Because there is a tremendous teaching work going on by the
conducting of private Bible studies in the
homes of interested people, the congregations also have an appointed Bible study
servant. Inasmuch as the Bible requires of
overseers that they be qualified to teach
and be holding firmly to the faithful word
as respects his art of teaching, this Bible
study servant m ust also be an overseer
and an older man. (1 Tim. 3:1, 2; Titus
1:5-9) These three servants have been used
as a judicial committee to handle matters
of serious spiritual concern.
23 Then there are the Watchtower Study
servant and the Theocratic Ministry School
servant. Because of the nature of their
assigned duties in connection with teaching
and preaching, these also should be older
men and overseers qualified to teach.
24 Today because of the tremendous production of Bible study aids and the widespread demand for these printed publications, there are the magazine-territory
and literature departments. Also, the financial accounts of congregations have to be
kept with respect to contributions received
and expenses. But since these matters do
22. What are the duties and status of the assistant
congregation servant and the Bible study servant, and
of whom has the congregations judicial committee
been composed?
23. What others in the congregation rank as older
men and overseers, and why?
24. What other departments are there in the presentday congregation, and how do those serving in such
departments rank Scripturally?

B rooklyn , N .Y .

not have to do with the purely spiritual

concerns of the congregation the work of
the magazine-territory servant, literature
servant and accounts servant would correspond with that work assigned in apostolic tim es to the appointed m inisterial
servants
(di-a'ko-noi).
25There are today also those called
Traveling Overseers who move from congregation to congregation in circuits and in
districts. These are appointed as Circuit
Servants and D istrict Servants. These
also must be considered as older men or
elders, due to the requirements of their
assigned duties.
28
Thus today, under these specific designations, the services of older men (or
elders), overseers and m inisterial servants
are being carried out. These officers are
not a titled clergy class. But with the benefit of their oversight, shepherding, leadership and help the general members of the
congregation now worship Jehovah God in
peace and unity and they carry on the
disciple-making work and preach the good
news of Gods kingdom of salvation world
wide before the end comes upon democracies and political communism and all the
rest of this system of things. Jehovah
greatly blesses and prospers the endeavors
of his Christian witnesses to be theocratic
in organization and worship and activity.
To Him, the m ighty Theocrat, be the glory
and praise forever through Jesus Christ
our Lord.1 Pet. 5:10, 11.
25. Who act as Traveling Overseers/ and how do
they rank Scripturally ?
26. (a) Under those specific designations, the services
of whom are being carried out, but is there thus a
titled clergy class? (b) Thus what work is being
carried out, and Jehovah blesses the endeavors of his
witnesses in what direction?

In th e c o n c lu d in g d is c o u rs e a t e a c h o f th e
D iv in e N a m e D istrict A s s e m b lie s o f J e h o v a h 's W itn e s s e s
e ld e r s ,"

e n la r g in g

m uch
on

w as

s a id

w hat

is

about
p rin te d

in th e f o r e g o in g s tu d y a r tic le s . T h is in fo rm otio n m et w ith e n th u s ia s tic re s p o n s e , a n d

it is p u b lis h e d h e re f o r th e b e n e fit o f a ll
our re a d e rs:

I left you in Crete, that you might correct the things that were defective and
/"X T O U will recall that in the discourse m ight make appointments of older men
X Theocratic Organization Amidst in city after city, as I gave you orders.
Democracies and Communism it was stat- According to the footnote of the New
ed that the congregation servant acts as World Translation, 1971 edition, Titus was
chairman of the congregation. We refer to to appoint elders. These men were aphim often as the presiding minister. Ac- pointed to be elders and overseers in the
cording to the Scriptural presentation that congregation. No one of them was reachwe heard, the congregation servant is both ing out for the most important, responan older man, or elder, and an overseer. sible, prominent and powerful position in
The statem ent was also made: When, in the congregation, nor did anyone want to
course of time, the chairmanship that he be that kind of a person. (1 Tim. 3:1)
has occupied is rotated to another member They were all one body of shepherds deof the presbytery or ,body of older men, sirous of looking after the sheep, and they
he still remains a member of that presby- would all work and cooperate together as
tery and he is assigned appropriate du- a body of elders.Acts 20:17, 28.
ties.Page 693, paragraph 21.
Of course, there would have to be a
Now some of the brothers are inquiring chairman of this body of elders in taking
about what is meant by this rotation, and care of the shepherding work that had to
should this be taking place in our day? be done in the congregation. Very likely
We noted that, according to the Bible, in those early days of the Christian concongregations may have a number of older gregation, the chairmanship rotated among
men, all of whom are overseers. The apos- the elders.
tie Paul refers to a body of elders [Greek,
presby te'rion]. At 1 Timothy 4:14 we
ANNUAL ROTATION
read: Do not be neglecting the gift in
Now, the question that the brothers
you that was given you through a pre- have been asking is, How is that going to
diction and when the body of older men work today? It would seem good for the
[or, elders] laid their hands upon you. rotation of elders to take place yearly.
Here there was a body of older men Does that mean that the congregation serthat had responsibility. And to Titus, Paul vant will be changed each year? Yes! He
said, as recorded in the first chapter of w ill still be an appointed elder, still be
Titus, the fifth verse: For this reason one of the overseers, but another elder in

696

B rooklyn , N .Y .
S&eWATCHTOWER,
the congregation w ill now become con- ing the flock of God, w ill (if there are
gregation servant, or the chairman of the only five elders) fill in the remaining vabody of older men. That does not make cancy of the overseers, which w ill be the
the new chairman the most important position of Theocratic Ministry School serelder; it simply means that he will be car- vant. So for the next year he w ill have
ing for added responsibilities for a time. that privilege of service as part of his
The information we received Friday af- responsibility in shepherding the flock of
tem oon of the D istrict Assembly pointed God. He will continue to be, along with
out that there could be five different men the entire body of elders, one of the
filling five key positions in the congrega- overseers. But the chairman of the body
tion, namely, the congregation servant, of elders will be the new congregation
the assistant congregation servant, the servant and he w ill look after the general
Bible study servant, the
study supervision of the work. If there are five
servant and the Theocratic Ministry School different elders filling these five different
servant. These should all be older men appointed offices, then all of them will
of the congregation if the congregation move, each one, into a different position
has that many appointed elders, and they each year.
The question might be asked, What if
would make up a body of elders. If they
would be rotating, then each year there some elder does not wish to take on the
would be a new chairman. Under the ro- office of chairman or, for some reason,
tation arrangement the one serving as the is unable to do so? Then it would be up to
chairman, the congregation servant, would the body of elders to make the recommove out of his position and logically the mendation that he be allowed to be byone serving as the assistant congregation passed and perhaps the next one in line in
servant would move in as the chairman, rotation would serve as chairman. Under
or congregation servant, for the next year- those circumstances the Bible study servant might move into the position of conly term.
It seems good, in harmony with what gregation servant for the coming year,
was said in the Theocratic Organization and be the presiding chairman. But there
talk, that beginning with October 1, 1972, should be a change in all positions unless
we put the rotation method into operation. it is a small congregation and there is
If that be Jehovahs will, then next year, only one elder. This might be the case in
on October 1, 1972, the one serving as as- newly formed congregations. We must
sistant congregation servant, where fea- keep in mind that all the older men that
sible, will move into the congregation have been appointed as elders and overservants position and all of the other seers by the governing body at headolder men or elders in the congregation quarters take on an office of responsibility.
w ill shift position. Logically, the Bible Therefore each one should be willing to
study servant w ill become the assistant rotate as respects his office and be the
congregation servant, the Watchtower chairman for a year and take on the postudy servant will become the Bible study sition of the presiding minister. Also, any
servant and the Theocratic Ministry elder that is bypassed at his request would
School servant will become the Watch- not serve another year in the office then
tower study servant. The former congre- held but would be shifted to another acgation servant, still being one of the body ceptable office of responsibility.
of elders and still assigned to shepherdIt is true that some congregations do

N ovember 15, 1971

SSeWATCHTOWER.

not have enough qualified elders or overseers, and some brothers may be filling
two positions now. In such cases, the body
of elders w ill have to make a recommendation to the governing body as to who
could fill two positions in the next round
when there is a new chairman, or presiding minister, of the body of elders.

697

would not stop him from being an elder.

Let us suppose that a congregation had
six or even seven elders. That would leave
two elders without assignments as servants in the five servant positions that
we listed earlier. What would happen to
them as the transfer of positions takes
place on October 1 each year? Probably
one could handle the Theocratic Ministry
QUALIFYING TO BE AN ELDER
School servants position, and the former
What if the congregation does not have congregation servant would now be one of
five brothers who qualify to be elders and the two older men without an appointment
the brothers who qualify to be overseers to one of those five servant positions. But
do not have the time to care for the work he would still be a member of the body
involved in more than one servants po- of elders and would certainly be intersition? What then? In that case a dia'konos ested in the congregation. He would be
or ministerial servant could be used. But active in shepherding the flock. He would
just because a m inisterial servant, or dia'- be happy to take part in the service meetkonos, is used to conduct a Theocratic ings or would substitute at any tim e in
Ministry School, it does not mean that he any position for one of the other officially
would automatically, by holding that po- appointed members who m ight be away
sition, become a member of the body of or be ill.
elders. He must m eet the qualifications
Whether appointed to another servants
before he would be appointed to be an
position or not, elders in the congregation
elder. Having once been appointed to the
can serve very well in selected homes as
body of elders, whether there be five
congregation book study conductors. And
elders
ormore in the congregation, he
especially when they are not active in the
would take his position in rotation, hanposition of another servant w ill this often
dling the various positions for which the
be possible. We need good men in these
body of elders would recommend him
positions, and, as the Bible says, an overand to which the governing body will very
seer must be qualified to teach. 1 Tim.
likely appoint him.
3:2.
As the lecture on Theocratic OrganiHowever, just because a person is apzation pointed out, when a person be- pointed as a book study conductor that
comes an older man or elder appointed does not make him an elder. He may not
by the governing body, that appointment have the qualifications to be an elder or
stays in force, not terminating after just older man. In many cases the body of
a year. Of course, he would not continue elders may find it necessary to use as
in the position of elder if he was placed book study conductors those assistants reon probation or was disfellowshiped from ferred to in the Scriptures as m inisterial
the congregation. In such an event, he servants. (1 Tim. 3:8-10, 12, 13) In othwould lose that fine position of being er words, the m inisterial servant is asa shepherd of the flock of God. If, due sisting the elders in teaching because
to sickness or some other reason, he there are not sufficient elders in the concould not care for the work of an ap- gregation to take care of all of these conpointed servant for a period of tim e, that gregation book studies.

698

SReWATCHTOWER.

The brothers appointed as magazineterritory servants and literature servants

and accounts servants should be at least
m inisterial servants as described in the
Bible. It is not necessary to have elders in
the congregation appointed to take care
of literature or magazines, territory or accounts. These men who are ministerial servants are assistants to the body of elders.
How can one ever become an elder?
We read in 1 Timothy 3:1: If any man
is reaching out for an office of overseer,
he is desirous of a fine work. Certainly
a young man who m ight be appointed as
a m inisterial servant and is conducting a
congregation book study or caring for
other work outlined by the presbytery is
reaching out for a fine work. He should
be desirous of being an older man or
overseer, but as yet he may not have all
of the qualifications for shepherding the
flock of God. However, when he meets
the qualifications that are set out in
1 Timothy 3 and Titus 1, he can be recommended to the governing body for appointment as an elder. It w ill be up to the
body of elders to recommend such a one
as an elder and overseer in the congregation. As a member of the body of elders
he will then take up shepherding work
along with all the other members of the
body of elders, and serve as chairman
when his turn comes.
How about congregations where most of
the publishers of the Kingdom are sisters?
Can they be elders? No, they could not
be appointed as elders or as ministerial
servants. But the governing body could
request certain mature, humble sisters to
assist the brothers in the congregation or
to be substitutes in caring for the work
until the tim e that a qualified brother is
available.
Why are not the accounts, literature and
magazine-territory servants required to be
elders? These positions in the congrega-

B rooklyn , N .Y .

tion involve work that is largely mechanical in nature or record-keeping. The body
of elders must look after the shepherding
of the flock or the spiritual welfare of all
of the individuals, whereas the accounts,
literature and m agazine-territory servants
are looking after records, stocks and supplies the brothers need. So, then, these
positions are filled by m inisterial servants
or dia'konoi. Of course, if there are sufficient brothers meeting the qualifications
of elders, there is no objection to having
elders handle these positions if their other
interests allow for it. But just because persons do this work does not mean that
they are elders.
Should not the book study conductors
be elders because they are teachers? It
would be a fine thing if there were a
sufficient number of older men in the
congregation to take over all the book
study positions. But this has not proved
to be the case in most congregations.
Therefore, m inisterial servants have had
to be used until such tim e as the body of
elders is large enough to take over these
positions. That is why it was stated that,
where there are enough elders in the congregation, elders should certainly be congregation book study conductors, because
a lot of good can be done in shepherding
this part of the flock that has been allotted to them. To be an overseer or elder
carries with it a very heavy responsibility,
as is set forth in Acts 20:28: Pay attention to yourselves and to all the flock,
among which the holy spirit has appointed
you overseers, to shepherd the congregation of God, which he purchased with the
blood of his own Son. The overseer must
be intensely interested in their spiritual
welfare because, as is pointed out in the
29th verse, Paul also said, I know that
after my going away oppressive wolves
will enter in among you and w ill not treat
the flock with tenderness. The overseer

N ovember 15, 1971

SHeWATCHTOWER

or elder must really be solid in the truth,

helping the sheep and willing to take responsibility.
SERVICE OR JUDICIAL COMMITTEE

Will there still be a committee of three

to look after some problems generally or
act as a judicial committee in the congregation? Yes, and this judicial committee will continue to be made up of the
chairman or congregation servant, the assistant congregation servant and the Bible
study servant. However, sometimes one of
these may be disqualified because of relationship or some involvement. Then, of
course, this committee could select any
one of the other elders to make up a comm ittee to hear a case. If for any reason
at all a brother does not qualify to serve
on a judicial committee, he should step
aside and let the body of elders select
another elder or elders to sit and hear
the facts in the case. There is no need to
have all the elders sitting in on a hearing,
but the brothers who hold these three positions could in most instances be the ones
that would handle the big problems for
the year, especially when a judicial comm ittee is required.
In connection with ownership and operation of some of the Kingdom Halls there
is an association that has been formed.
Sometimes it is a legal corporation. Does
the arrangement of rotation apply to such
associations? No. What we are discussing
here involves only positions in the congregations to which individuals are appointed by the governing body at headquarters.
OFFICIAL APPOINTMENTS OF ELDERS

During the coming months before October 1, 1972, how will the body of elders in each congregation be selected?
The governing body through the Watch
Tower Society w ill send out a letter asking
the committee that now looks after each

699

congregations activity to sit down after

further information on the subject has
been published in the columns of The
Watchtower and has been digested spiritually, and prayerfully consider who within your congregation really meets the
qualifications of an elder or overseer.
They, of course, would read over carefully
1 Timothy 3:2-7, Titus 1:5-9 and 1 Peter
5:1-5. Those who seem to qualify will
be compared with these requirements of
Gods Word. Then recommendations will
be made to the governing body. However,
this committee of three m ight know of a
number of brothers in the congregation
that definitely qualify as elders and they
may want them to sit with them when
they consider all of the brothers in the
congregation.
Then, instead of the three deciding who
qualify as elders, let five, six, seven or
eight, if there are that many older brothers who have already proved over the
years that they have these qualifications,
sit and decide who among them are Scripturally qualified to hold the position of
elders. In larger congregations they m ight
recommend as many as eight, nine or ten
elders because these brothers have the
qualifications. A t the same tim e they may
want to decide who qualify to be ministerial servants. Certainly not everyone in
the congregation is going to qualify as an
elder or as a m inisterial servant, because
there are new ones coming in and there
are those who are not making good progress. Ones being an elder is not necessarily determined by the number of hours he
puts in the field service. Of vital concern
are his spiritual qualifications, his love for
Jehovah God, his interest in his fellow
workers in the congregation, and his ability as a teacher and as one who can reprove and exhort. Of course, he m ust be
enthusiastic too for the preaching of the
good news. But he must primarily be one

700

SSeWATCHTOWEFL

who w ill shepherd those already in the

flock of God, as well as leading them in
the field.
Very likely the governing body will ask
for (1) the congregations recommendation of elders, and along with that, their
recommendation as to which one of those
recommended as elders should fill the office
as congregation servant or chairman of
the body of elders for the year beginning October 1, 1972, as well as which
ones should fill the other key positions
mentioned, five in number, (2) also, their
recommendation of m inisterial servants
any of whom could fill the positions of
accounts, literature and magazine-territory
servants, as the body of elders see fit
to use them. Of course, older men can
fill these positions too, but their principal
work is as shepherds and teachers.
A fter the governing body receives recommendations from the congregation, then
proper appointments w ill be made. The
governing body will do the appointing of
elders in every congregation and this information w ill be sent out by the governing body through the various offices of the
Society throughout the world.
ELDERS APPOINTED TO VISIT CONGREGATIONS

Then what about circuit and district

servants? Will there be any rotation concem ing them? Yes, these the Society expects to rotate to new assignments every
two years. Sometimes circuit servants may
even be made district servants for a period of two years and then, after being
district servants, they may be made circuit servants, depending on what is felt
to be best in the interest of the work generally throughout the country.
These brothers, of course, qualify as
elders; that is why they are in these positions. When visiting congregations they
w ill cooperate with the body of elders
of each congregation to the full and join

B rooklyn , N .Y .

in their field activities and in building up

the entire congregation spiritually. But after servants are appointed during the year
or rotate the following year, there w ill be
no need for the circuit servant to recommend any changes, unless the circuit servant along with the whole body of elders
sees that there is an emergency calling for
a change.
Does a circuit servant when he visits a
congregation have more authority than
the elders of the congregation and can he
change things in the congregation, such
as times of meetings, the arrangement of
the hall, or change brothers in the various
positions of oversight? No! A circuit servant does not have that authority. A circuit servant is simply an elder appointed
by the Society to visit congregations to
build them up spiritually and take the
lead in the field service. His being a circuit servant does not mean that he is
better qualified than are the local elders.
Often the Society uses congregation servants to be circuit servants on weekends
to serve other congregations in the vicinity. These congregation servants or other
servants are used because they are qualifled to give spiritual advice and counsel.
The circuit servant or district servant
should never think him self superior to the
body of elders in the congregation. He
should consider him self as an elder sent
to the congregation by the Society to give
what help and assistance he can offer and
to encourage the whole congregation to
press on in their grand work. The body
of elders in the congregation should look
forward twice a year to the visit of the
circuit servant, who is also an elder, knowing that he will bring some good spiritual
counsel from the Word of God and that
he him self w ill set a good lead in the field
service.
Of course, the governing body w ill have
a lot more to say about this in the So-

N ovember

15, 1971

5EeWATCHTOWEFL

cietys publications as tim e goes on. In the

meantime the congregations will function
just as they are w ith the appointed servants, and when September 1972 rolls
around, then the congregations having received their appointments of servants will
begin to transfer the work over to the new
servants during the month of September,
and on October 1 the new presiding minister of the congregation will become
chairman of the body of elders or older
men, each handling his overseers assignment. Each year the brothers in the congregation will rotate in their respective
positions and work together as a body,
having just one interest in mind, and that
is the welfare of the congregation itself,
and they w ill cooperate and shepherd the
flock of God that has been allotted to
them.

701

These organization adjustments w ill help

to bring the operation of the congregations into closer conform ity w ith Gods
Word, and surely that w ill result in greater
blessings from Jehovah. There will be
more of a sharing of the load of work in
the congregations, and this will make it
possible for the older men to devote
greater attention to the actual teaching
of Gods Word and to shepherding the
flock, to help each one to keep strong in
faith. Also, as we get a clearer view of
the matter of overseers, it helps us to focus
our attention more sharply on Jehovah
God, our Chief Overseer, and on the one
whom Jehovah has designated as the Head
of His congregation, and that is the Lord
Jesus Christ, who is now actively ruling
as king. As we do this, it w ill greatly
strengthen our appreciation for the way
in which Jehovah leads his people.

*PREACH THE WORD

JL65 C.E. The apostle
Paul was su fferin g in
chains as a prisoner in
Rome. Under these circumstances he wrote his
final letter to Timothy.
Pauls purpose was to
equip T im ot h y, as a
Christian overseer, to resist apostate elements in the congregation and to build
it up as a m ighty pillar and support of
the truth.1 Tim. 3:15; 2 Tim. 1:8,
16.

Paul knew that he would not

much longer be on hand to observe
how Timothy cared for the ministry as an overseer or older man.
But God and Christ would. Therefore he wrote: I solemnly charge
you before God and Christ Jesus,
who is destined to judge the living
and the dead, and by his m anifestation and his kingdom, preach the word, be
at it urgently in favorable season, in troublesome season, reprove, reprimand, exhort, with all long-suffering and art of
teaching. (2 Tim. 4:1, 2) But where was

702

fEeW ATCHTOW ER

B rooklyn , N . Y.

Timothy to preach the word and why? to preach, not human philosophies or specWhat did it mean for him to do so in fa- illations, but Gods word unadulterated.
vorable season and in troublesome seaRegardless of whether the congregation
son?
was experiencing favorable or troublesome
A consideration of the context reveals season internally, there were good reasons
what Paul had in mind. Earlier he warned for Timothy to preach the word. Such
Timothy about the apostasy that was be- preaching would strengthen the congregaginning to m anifest itself and that would tion spiritually, thereby acting as a deeventually spring into full bloom. (2 Tim. terrent to the apostasy. Timothy would
2:14-18; 3:8-13) And after admonishing thus be able to say, as Paul had previously
Timothy to preach the word, Paul al- said to the older men of the Ephesus conluded to persons who would turn away gregation: I am clean from the blood
from the truth, that is, become apostates. of all men, for I have not held back from
He stated: There w ill be a period of time telling you all the counsel of God.
when they will not put up with the health- Acts 20:26, 27.
ful teaching, but, in accord with their
AVOIDING HUMAN WISDOM
own desires, they w ill accumulate teachers
Today overseers or older men in the
for them selves to have their ears tickled;
and they will turn their ears away from congregations of Jehovahs Christian witthe truth, whereas they will be turned nesses appreciate that they, too, must be
examples in preaching the word. Thereaside to false stories.2 Tim. 4:3, 4.
So from the context it is clear that Paul fore they seek to im itate the example of
was not speaking about preaching to out- the apostle Paul. Though well educated,
siders, but about preaching inside the he shunned showy speech and display of
congregation by one who was an over- human wisdom and its power to persuade.
seer or older man. Hence the expres- While human wisdom or cleverness was
very appealing to the ancient Greeks, Paul
sions favorable season and troublesome
avoided it because he wanted his hearers
season must be descriptive of circumto found their faith, not on mans wisdom,
stances, not in the world, but within the but on Christ and have it built up through
congregation.
Gods spirit and power.1 Cor. 2:1-5.
Whereas today clever sayings or devices,
FAVORABLE AND TROUBLESOME SEASONS
jokes
and the like may have a certain
Pauls letter indicates that Timothy had
appeal,
such things generally detract from
to contend with persons who fought about
preaching the word. They have nothing
words, indulged in foolish and ignorant
to do with a dispensing of anything by
questionings, and who were not favorGod in connection with faith. (1 Tim.
ably disposed to the truth. (2 Tim. 2:14, 1:4) They are a product of worldly wis23-25) The presence of such persons in dom.
the congregation would certainly create a
Being under command to preach the
troublesome season. Trouble or opposi- word, overseers or older men recogtion coming from those wrongly inclined nize that they must shun things that tend
within the congregation m ight cause a to diminish the full force of Gods message
tendency to water down the word or or word. If they find that those who hear
to answer in kind, copying the methods of their discourses are talking much more
the opposers. Nevertheless, Timothy was about the illustrations used than about

N ovember 15, 1971

fEteWATCHTOWER,

the principles of Gods Word learned

through these illustrations, these men
make adjustments. They know that they
have not succeeded in fulfilling their assignment to preach the word if in any
way they have hindered their listeners
from getting the full impact of the instruetion from the Bible.
Nothing is as effective and powerful in
motivating others to action as the message
of the Bible. The word [or message] of
God is alive and exerts power and is sharper than any two-edged sword and pierces
even to the dividing of soul and spirit,
and of joints and their marrow, and is able
to discern thoughts and intentions of the
heart. (Heb. 4:12) The word of God
can penetrate the very motives of an individual. It reaches the heart and reveals
whether one is actually living according
to right principles or has a desire to do so.
EFFECT ON THOSE OUTSIDE
THE CONGREGATION

Therefore in the preaching and teaching

done within the congregation nothing
should be allowed to detract from Gods
Word. Not things done chiefly for effect,
but Biblical instruction strengthens and

How could persons called to heavenly life be

given undeserved kindness in connection with
Christ Jesus before times long lasting, as
2 Timothy 1:9 indicates?U.S.A.
It would, of course, be impossible for individuals to receive undeserved kindness many
centuries before their birth. However, Jehovah

703

builds up the congregation spiritually, encouraging all to remain faithful to Jehovah God. Outsiders, too, are affected in a
wholesome way. When attending meetings
where speakers concentrate on imparting
instruction from the Bible, outsiders can
readily see that something more valuable
than human wisdom is being imparted,
prompting sincere ones to say: God is
really among you.1 Cor. 14:25.
Since there must be this preaching of
the word inside the congregation, it is
only logical that the same word be dedared to outsiders. No reason exists for
going beyond the Bible and speculating on
such m atters as what people may expect
in the way of homes, and other possessions,
work and entertainment in the new
earth of Gods making. All the information that individuals must know to gain
Gods approval and life is contained in the
Bible. Hence they need to hear what Gods
Word has to say.
So, whether done inside or outside the
congregation, let our preaching as true
Christians be a preaching of the WORD.
Such preaching alone w ill strengthen sincere hearers in their determination to be
faithful servants of Jehovah God.

God foreordained a class of persons (but not

the specific individuals forming it) to become
heirs of a heavenly kingdom. That being his
purpose, it was as good as accomplished and
hence it could be said that this class of persons
had received undeserved kindness before times
long lasting. Romans 4:17 says of Jehovah:
[He] calls the things that are not as though
they were. So this can be one way of looking
at the matter.
The expression before times long lasting
evidently designates a period of considerable,
though undetermined length. However, other
scriptures enable us to be more specific relative to the time involved. In his letter to the
Ephesians, the apostle Paul wrote: He [God]

704

SHeWATCHTOWER,

chose us in union with him before the founding [ka ta-bo le'] of the world, that we should
be holy and without blemish before him
in love. For he foreordained us to the adoption through Jesus Christ as sons to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will,
. . . we were also assigned as heirs, in that we
were foreordained according to the purpose
of him who operates all things according to
the way his will counsels.Eph. 1:4-11.
The Greek term for founding (kata-bole')
appearing in this passage literally means a
casting or laying down and can mean the
implanting of seed in human conception. In
fact, at Hebrews 11:11 the term is appropriately rendered conceive. We read: By faith
also Sarah herself received power to conceive
seed, even when she was past the age limit.
Clearly the reference is to Abrahams *throwing down* human seed for the begetting of a
son and Sarahs receiving that seed so as to
be fertilized.
As to the **founding of the world, Jesus
Christ linked this event with Abel, saying:
*That the blood of all the prophets spilled

B rooklyn , N .Y .

from the founding of the world may be required from this generation, from the blood of
Abel down to the blood of Zechariah. (Luke
11:50, 51) Thus Abel is spoken of as living
at the founding of the world. Abel being
a son of Adam and Eve, the founding of the
world manifestly refers to the time when the
first human pair became parents to children,
thereby producing a world of mankind. So
it must have been after Adam and Eve sinned
and before children were bom to them that
Jehovah God purposed to produce a class of
persons to be heavenly rulers with his Son.
This was about 4,000 years before Paul wrote
his letter to Timothy and so could well be
spoken of as being before times long lasting.

WATCHTOWER STUDIES FOR THE WEEKS

December 12: Theocratic Organization Amidst

Democracies and Communism. Page 681.
Songs to Be Used: 27, 42.
December 19: Appointed Officers in the Theocratic Organization. Page 688. Songs to Be
Used: 77, 41.

YOU ARE MY W ITNESSES, SAYS JEH O VA H .-Isa.43:12

T H E PU R PO SE O F "T H E W A T C H T O W E R
E very w a tc h to w e r has its purpose. It serves as an elevated place for a
w id e-aw ak e person w ith sharp vision. It enables him to see far ahead into
the distance and tell those b elow for w h o m he is a w a tch m a n w h a t is
d raw ing near, w h eth er it is a danger against w h ich to prepare o r it is
som ething good over w h ich to be glad w ith strong faith and hope.
Because o f having the nam e "The W a tch to w er" this m agazine ju stly
has to render a sim ilar useful service to the people o f all nations. T h is is
an in tern ational m agazine and makes no racial distinctions, for w e are all
facing a com m on w o rld danger; w e are all hoping for a com m on good.
E ver since "The W atch tow er" began to be published in J u ly o f 1 8 7 9 it
has looked ahead into the future, a lw ays striving to aid its readers to advan ce in k now ledge and to gain a clearer picture o f the glorious n e w order
o f things th at is in store for righteous m ankind. N o , "The W a tc h tow er"
is no inspired prophet, but it follow s and explains a Book o f prophecy the
predictions in w h ich have proved to be unerring and unfailing till n o w .
"The W a tch to w er " is therefore under safe guidance. It m ay be read w ith
confidence, fo r its statem ents m ay be checked against that prophetic Book.
A m o n g the m an y nations o f today there are hundreds o f differing
religions. ,W h ich one does this magazine present? N o t the confused religions
o f C hristendom , but the religion o f the oldest sacred Book on earth. W h ic h
Book? T h e Sacred Bible o f the H o ly Scriptures, w ritten b y inspiration in
the nam e o f the C reator o f heaven and earth, the o n ly living and true G od.
T h e sacred, nonpolitical purpose o f "The W a tch to w er" is accordingly
to encourage and prom ote study o f the H o ly Bible and to give our m an y
readers the needed unsectarian help to understand that Book o f true
religion and infallible prophecy. T hus this m agazine w ill be helping them
to prove w o r th y o f perfect life and happiness in G od s promised n e w order
under H is everlasting kingdom o f righteousness.

PUBLISHED BY TH E
WATCH TOW ER BIBLE AND TRACT SOCIETY OF PENNSYLVANIA
117 Adams S treet
Brooklyn, N.Y. 11201, U.S.A.
N. H. K norr, P resident
Grant S uiter, Secretary

They will all be taught by Jehovah.John 6:45; Isaiah 54:13

CONTENTS
Our Memory of Those Who Have Passed
into Death
Encounter with ESP
Bringing the Holy Place
into Right Condition
What Its Right Condition Means
for Us Today
A Career That Leads
to Life-Long Blessings
Opportunities to Witness at School
Why Study in School?
Questions from Readers

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- y ^ n n o u n c ir iu

J E H O V A H S
KIN G D O M
December 1, 1971

THOSE
WHO

Number 23

ISIT
GOD WHO TAKES OUR LOVED ONES?
WHAT DOES GODS O W N WORD SAY?

cooperate with mankinds enemies. To the contrary, he promises to destroy death as well
as all other enemies of man.1 Cor. 15:26.
DEATHS ORIGIN AND DESTRUCTION

EATH
is u n natural for humans, in that mein was not created
to die. It was not purposed for him
by his Creator. Therefore death causes sorrow through the deep loss felt
by surviving relatives and friends.
We remember our loved ones, their
personalities, their warmth, their
love and hopes, and it saddens us.
When a person dies, do we sustain
permanent loss? Should the sadness
occasioned by death be a cause for
abject sorrow and hopelessness? The
Scriptures answer that those believing in God should not sorrow just as
the rest also do who have no hope.
Why? Because God has made a loving provision that greatly comforts
us.1 Thess. 4:13, 14; 2 Cor. 1:3, 4.
Well, then, can we properly say
that God took the one who has
died? No, for death is called an enemy in the Bible, and God does not

How did death come about? By reason of

mans own disobedience to God, which the Devil had a hand in bringing about. Adam rebelled
against God. Therefore through one man sin
entered into the world and death through sin,
and thus death spread to all men because they
had all sinned.Rom. 5:12; Gen. 2:17; 3:19.
It is natural to be anxious over the condition
of those who have died. Where, now, are they?
you may ask. The Bible says they are in Sheol
or Hades. These two words, in the Hebrew and
Greek Scriptures, respectively, mean the same
thing: the common grave of mankind. Those
in Sheol (Hades) are actually dead, not suffering. They are conscious of nothing at all.
There is no work nor devising nor knowledge
nor wisdom in Sheol, say the Scriptures. (Eccl.
9:5, 10; Gen. 42:38) Jesus him self was there
for parts of three days. The apostle Peter said
that Jesus was in Hades, but was not forsaken
by God, for God resurrected him.Acts 2:31,
32.
Jesus likened the condition of his friend
Lazarus in death to the unconsciousness of
sleep. He told his disciples: I am journeying
there to awaken him from sleep. When his
disciples did not understand, Jesus said to
707

708

B r o o k l y n , N .Y .
SBeWATCHTOWERthem outspokenly: Lazarus has died. remembered when Jesus would come into
There is no record that Lazarus described his kingdom.Luke 23:42.
any experiences of consciousness had durNow, while we may have been made
ing his four days in the death state.John sorrowful by the death of a few, think
11:11-14.
how much more God has been saddened
The promised destruction of death by the pitiable state of the human race
through Jesus Christs ransom sacrifice in sin and death for nearly 6,000 years.
holds forth hope to all of us who have lost (Lam. 3:33; Ezek. 18:32) And how much
loved ones. Of course, it takes more than more greatly he loves and cares for those
deaths destruction to help those who have who have died is proved by his memory
died. It entails also the bringing back and of them in every detail, and by the lasting
giving of life to them. Christs sacrifice quality of his remembrance of them. If
being for all, it must somehow benefit not one sparrow goes forgotten before
the billions of human dead. (1 Tim. 2:5, 6) God, or falls to the ground without his
It will. God promises to destroy, not only notice, certainly he thoroughly remembers
death, but also Sheol-Hades, the common humans whom he will resurrect.Matt.
grave!
10:29, 30; Luke 12:6, 7.
This means the destruction of cemeTo us, those who have died gradually
teries. How can this be done? By emptying become a dimmer memory, but not so with
them of the dead, who are held relentlessly God. Nevertheless, for many years we can
in the grave. God promises: From the remember personalities enough to recall
hand of Sheol I shall redeem them; from what they were like, and to desire to see
death I shall recover them. Where are them again. How much more so does God,
your stings, O Death? Where is your de- who loves mankind so much that he gave
structiveness, O Sheol? (Hos. 13:14; his only-begotten Son to provide a resur1 Cor. 15:55) The apostle John, in de- rection for them. (John 3:16) God rescribing his vision, said: The sea gave members everything, and can bring the
up those dead in it, and death and Hades person, the same personality, actually and
gave up those dead in them, and they tangibly back to live on this earth. Since
were judged individually according to their God can, if he so chooses, know before
deeds. And death and Hades were hurled a child is born exactly what all his personality traits areand the Bible tells of
into the lake of fire.Rev. 20:13, 14.
instances in which He has done thishow
easy it is for God to reconstruct such ones
GODS MEMORY AND THE RESURRECTION
This means a resurrection from the life pattern after he has lived and manidead for our loved ones. What a blessing! fested these traits.Gen. 16:11,12; 25:23.
What a wonderful hope and comfort! This
Jesus Christ demonstrated this ability
is done by means of Gods memory and to bring a person back from the dead with
power. Job prayed for God to conceal him all his characteristicshis full identity
in Sheol and after a tim e lim it remember when he called Lazarus from the grave.
him. (Job 14:13) He thereby revealed Lazarus brain cells had certainly brothat he viewed the dead to be resurrected ken down by this time, in fact, his body
as not forgotten and gone forever. Doubt- itself had progressed well into a state of
less with this understanding the evildoer decomposition. His sister Martha said:
put to death alongside Jesus asked to be Lord, by now he must smell, for it is

D ecem ber

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SFfieWATCHTOWER

four days. So it required a reconstruction

of personality and body to bring Lazarus
back.John 11:39-44.

709

FALSE TEACHINGS TAKE AWAY COMFORT

In view of Gods loving provisions for

the living as well as for those who have
died, how blasphemous it is for clergymen to claim that God is tormenting dead
GODS CONCERN FOR THE DEAD
So never feel that God is not concerned. persons in a purgatory or hellfire. And
He certainly did not show unconcern for how cruel and heartless it is for these men
mankind when he sent his only-begotten to collect money from bereaved relatives
Son to suffer at the hands of rebellious and friends on the pretense of helping
men and to die as a ransom. Neither is
persons or souls in one of
God unjust, that he should let the ranthese imaginary places.
som benefits be for only a fewlargely
An example of lack of
wasted. Otherwise he would not have incon cern fo r th o se w ho
spired his apostle to write: For just as
have lost loved ones is a
through the disobedience of the one man
tr a c t p u b lish ed by th e
many were constituted sinners, likewise
Franciscan Mass League,
also through the obeissued at St. Francis Fridience of the one perary in New York city. It
son many will be conencourages the reader to
stituted righteous.. . .
Enroll yourself now in
just as sin ruled as
the Mass League for the
Living. Do not depend
king with death, likewise also undeserved
too much on those whom
you leave behind to assist
kindness m ight rule
as king through righyou, when you fall into the
Hands of the Lord in judgteousness with everlastin g life in view
ment, the brochure reads,
** O u t o f s ig h t, o u t o f
through Jesus Christ
mind, w ill be the lot of
our Lord.Rom. 5:
most
of us.
19-21.
1$ there a sound basis fo r b elievThen the pamphlet urges
W hy, th en , d oes in g that the d e a d w ill live a g a in ?
the enrollment of departnot God exercise his
power now to bring back those who have ed relatives and friends in a Mass
died? Even here his loving-kindness is League, the usual offerings for memdemonstrated. For he does not bring them berships being For the living, $5.00.
back, again to undergo the terrible afflic- This membership continues perpetually aftions now oppressing mankind, with dan- ter life; For the deceased, $2.00. Your
ger of death every day. Rather, he pur- dear departed ones may be suffering in
poses to restore them when the righteous Purgatory on your account, says the
reign of his Messianic King Jesus Christ tract. A quotation is made from an apocis in force over all the earth. Then the ryphal book, which is no part of the inenvironment will be ideal for real life in spired Scriptures: It is a holy and wholehappiness. How Jehovah and his Son must some thought to pray for the dead, that
look forward to that tim e with even great- they may be loosed from sins (2 Mach, xii,
er anticipation than we do!Acts 17:31; 4 6 ).
However, it m ight be noted that Judas
24:15.

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SEeWATCHTOWER.

Machabeus, who is quoted in the text, was

not praying for souls suffering in a supposed purgatory, but concerning their
hope of resurrection from the dead, as the
context shows. (Verses 43, 44) And in
verse 45 those who had died were said,
not to be in purgatory or in any conscious
state, but to have fallen asleep.
The clergy, by teaching falsely concerning the state of the dead and by taking
advantage of the sorrow of persons for
their loved ones who have died, have taken
money by playing on the fears and helpless feelings of the survivors. They are
therefore actually guilty of extortion. They
are lying, misrepresenting God and taking
away from the living the hope and comfort the Scriptures give.
According to Gods sure promise and
guarantee, the living can hope with full

B r o o k l y n , N .Y .

assurance that their dead loved ones will

be back to a full opportunity for life. Then,
under Christs Kingdom rule to which the
evildoer alongside Jesus looked forward,
they can prove whether they are persons
who love and obey Gods instructions.
Accordingly, what should we the living
do at this tim e to ensure our being alive
to welcome them back from the dead and
really be of help to them? We should study
Gods Word the Bible now with a view
to full obedience to its righteous principies. Doing so, we may survive the destruction of this present system of things,
which destruction all evidences indicate is
very near. (Matt. 2 4 : 7 3 4 ,14 ;Zeph. 2:3)
How fine it will be to welcome back the
dead and to have a share in helping these
resurrected ones to a greater knowledge
of God, leading to everlasting life!John
17:3.

ENCOUNTER WITH ESP

t r c OR many years I had read the Watch
JP Tower Society's warnings about getting involved with ESP, writes a young
woman from New York state. But I somehow never thought those warnings applied
to me. Something happened, though, that
changed this.
I had always been interested in primitive
peoples and their customs. Because of this,
I spent considerable time reading about their
superstitions, incantations, spells and so forth.
I even dabbled in a little self-hypnotism.
Eventually I found myself being able to prediet what would come in the morning mail.
I could tell what each piece would be, whom
it was from and to whom it was addressed.
I began to have 'feelings' about events that
had not yet occurred.
Of course, I felt uneasy about this, because
I remembered reading experiences and warnings regarding such things in the Watchtower
and Awake! magazines. Finally, I realized
I could not serve the demons and Jehovah
at the same time. (1 Cor. 10:21; Acts 16:1618) I prayed to Jehovah, increased my personal Bible study and stopped reading books

having to do with witchcraft or the supernatural. It was a struggle, as I felt oppressed,

as if something was trying desperately to
control my mind. Many times I was thrown
into depressions. I was unable to do schoolwork without a struggle.
Yet, I knew that I could not afford to lose
this battle. Once lost, I knew it could mean
my life. After spiritually strengthening myself, I began to feel a lightening of these
attacks of depression, but I continued to
strengthen myself even more by prayer and
Bible study. The words at 1 Thessalonians
5:17 became a part of mePray incessantly.
Gradually I began to feel stronger: no longer
was it such a struggle to keep my mind on
right things. The battle had been won!
Now that this is over, I have not gone
back to the reading of such books that started
the whole problem. I often help my classmates to be on guard against ESP, hypnotism,
Ouija boards and other forms of spiritism.
Having gone through a most unpleasant experience, I can see more than ever the importance of heeding the warnings given in
the Watch Tower Societys publications.

OtS TIME rapidly moves on, more and

C y T . more persons are becoming convinced that Christendom is not the place
or sanctuary of pure worship of the one
living and true God. The place of His
worship ought to be holy, and Christendom is far from being that. After the
sixteen centuries of her existence, something better than her unholy condition
should have been expected of her, for she
' T IT l '
claims to worship this true God, the CreA AJILvJk'jlL JL JIL
ator of heaven and earth. After all the
tui \ 1 r ip 1T/^"'vp T
religious unsettlement that has been takV j v y l ^1
JIL JL V
ing place, it is now evident that Christendom has not been brought into its
right condition, or, restored to its right"U ntil two thousand three hundred evenings
ful state. (
Revised Standard Version)
and mornings; and the holy place will cerPlainly, Christendom is in her time of
tainly be brought into its right condition."
the end and is nearing the close of it.
-D a n . 8:14, NW ; RS.
Dan. 12:4.
2It is necessary for us to look somewhere else than to Christendom to find
where that holy place or that sane- in which Jehovah, the God of the universe,
tuary of the Most High God has been was directly recognised as their supreme
brought into its right condition, or, civil ruler, and his laws were taken as the
shall be justified.Dan. 8:14; Leesers statute-book of the kingdom. This principle is repeatedly laid down in the Motranslation.
3According to the Sacred Scriptures, the saic code, and was continually acted upon
sanctuary of God is his temple of wor- thereafter.
ship. It is his palace, according to an4In view of the foregoing, how would
other meaning of the word that the Scrip- the holy place or sanctuary of Jehotures use for temple (hei-Jchal', Hebrew). vah God need to be brought into its right
(Mai. 3:1; Ps. 45:15) In it he reigns over condition? And when would this occur,
his dedicated people. To these he is the or when did it occur? This is something
God Ruler or Theocrat. It is from there that affects true worship, the right relithat he exercises theocratic rule or gov- gion, and all persons who are upset by
emment. It is the center of his theocracy. all the religious disturbance and confuA good definition for this governmental sion and disillusionment of today have
term theocracy is given in MClintock good cause for being interested in the anand Strongs Cyclopaedia, Volume 10, page swers to these questions.
317, which says: A form of government
BIt is the ancient prophet Daniel who
such as prevailed among the ancient Jews, was used to call this m atter to our at1. A fter h er centuries of existence, in w hat way has
tention. This was as long ago as in the
Christendom been disappointing, and n e ar the close
J L

of w hat period is she?

2. F o r the fulfillm ent of w hat prophecy of Daniel
m ust we look elsewhere th an to C hristendom ?
3. W here is the center of the theocracy, and w hat good
definition does one Cyclopaedia give of the term theocracy ?

J ' J L

4. W hat questions therefore arise as to Jehovahs

holy place o r san ctu ary , and w hy should religiously
disturbed persons be interested in the answ ers?
5. In the last years of w hat w orld pow er did Daniel
get the vision, and un d er w hat circum stances?
711

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B r o o k l y n , N .Y .

Belshazzar, had destroyed the

city of Jerusalem and its tempie that had been built by
King Solomon. That glorious
tem ple w as not really th e
dwelling place of Daniels God
Jehovah, but was pictorial of
it. And so at the destruction
of Jerusalems temple by the
Babylonians in 607 B.C.E.,
Gods real dwelling place or
Palace was not really destroyed.1 Ki 8:27; Acts 7:
48; 17:24.
7That earthly temple did
n o t p ictu re or ty p ify th e
Christian congregation that
was established 639 years later in the rebuilt city of Jerusalem, on the day of PenteS o lo m o n s tem ple d id n ot picture the Christian concost of 33 C.E. No, but it was
g re g a tio n ; ra th er it pictured G o d s h e a ven ly tem ple
pictorial or typical of Jehointo the M o st H o ly o f w hich Jesus w ent with the
v a h s h ea v en ly tem p le or
v a lu e o f his ransom sacrifice
palace, in which he reigns susixth century before our Common Era, or preme above the living cherubs who atmore than twenty-five centuries ago. Dan- tend him. As it is beautifully stated in
iel was then an exile in Babylon and was Psalm 99:1, Jehovah him self has become
in the service of King Nabonidus the fa- king. Let the peoples be agitated. He is
ther of Belshazzar, who was acting as a sitting upon the cherubs. Let the earth
coregent. The Babylonian Empire, the quiver. It was there in the Most Holy of
Third World Power of Bible history, was Jehovahs temple that Jesus Christ prethen in its last years, for Daniel goes on sented his sacrifice after ascending to
to tell us: In the third year of the king- heaven.
ship of Belshazzar the king, there was a
8In ancient Jerusalem before its devision that appeared to me, even me, Dan- struction by the Babylonians the Jewish
iel, after the one appearing to me at the high priest presented the blood of the
start.Dan. 8:1.
Atonement Day sacrifices every year on
Tishri 10, sprinkling the blood before the
THE HOLY PLACE OR SANCTUARY
golden mercy seat upon which were carved
*Before being taken into exile in the two golden cherubs, above whom the Sheyear 617 B.C.E., Daniel had worshiped his kinah light appeared, to represent the inGod Jehovah in the temple at Jerusalem. visible presence of Jehovah there. (Ex 25:
But about eleven years later, in 607 B.C.E.,
W hat did th a t tem ple a t Jerusalem picture, and in
King Nebuchadnezzar, the grandfather of 7.
the Most Holy thereof whose sacrifice was presented?
6. Before being taken into exile, where had Daniel
w orshiped his God, and did th a t God lose his real
tem ple by w hat happened about eleven years later?

8, 9. (a) Who entered into the Most Holy of the earthly

temple, and to do w hat? (b) W hat does Hebrew s 9:1,
2428 say regarding the services of Jesus C hrist as a
spiritual High P rie st?

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55eWATCHTOWEFL

713

17-22; Lev. 16:11-17; Num. 7:89; 1 Sam. the Most Holy of the temple, Jesus perfect
4:4; 2 Sam. 6:2) On the other hand, Jesus flesh was the thing that separated him
Christ was not a Levite priest of the fami- during his human life in the flesh from
ly of Aaron and did not enter into the spirit life in the invisible heavens where
Most Holy of the earthly, mundane tern- God personally is. He passed beyond this
pie at Jerusalem. So as regards his ser- veil by dying as a human and being
vice as Jehovahs spiritual High Priest we raised as a sp irit
read:
12 With regard to this, it was written to
9
Christ entered, not into a holy placethe Christianized Hebrews, the natural demade with hands, which is a copy of the scendants of the patriarch Abraham: In
reality, but into heaven itself, now to ap- this manner God, when he purposed to
pear before the person of God for us. . . . demonstrate more abundantly to the heirs
But now he has manifested him self once of the promise [made to Abraham] the
for all time at the conclusion of the sys- unchangeableness of his counsel, stepped
terns of things to put sin away through the in with an oath [to back up the prom ise],
sacrifice of himself. . . . so also the Christ in order that, through two unchangeable
was offered once for all tim e to bear the things in which it is impossible for God
sins of many.Heb. 9:1, 24-28.
to lie, we who have fled to the refuge may
10When on earth Jesus laid down his have strong encouragement to lay hold
perfect human sacrifice, he entering on on the hope set before us. This hope we
this course of self-sacrifice at the tim e have as an anchor for the soul, both sure
that he was baptized in water by John the
and firm, and it enters in within the curBaptist, in 29 C.E. There Gods spirit detain,
where a forerunner has entered in
scended upon Jesus, begetting him to spirit
our
behalf,
Jesus who has become a high
life as a spiritual Son of God. At the same
time that spirit anointed him as a spiritual priest according to the manner of MelchizHigh Priest and a spiritual King who re- edek forever. (Heb. 6 :1 7 2 0 )Theresembled King Melchizedek of the ancient fore, brothers, since we have boldness for
city of Salem.
the way of entry into the holy place by
11From that tim e on, John the Baptist the blood of Jesus, which he inaugurated
spoke of the anointed Jesus as the Lamb for us as a new and living way through
of God that takes away the sin of the the curtain, that is, his flesh, and since we
world, also as the Son of God. (John have a great priest over the house of God,
1:29-51; Matt. 3:13-17) Because of this let us approach.Heb. 10:19-22.
new spiritual relationship with Jehovah
13 That Jesus Christ was resurrected as
God in heaven Jesus Christ was, as it were, a spirit creature because of having laid
walking in that spiritual state pictured by down his human life as a sacrifice in order
the first compartment of the temple, called to pass beyond the curtain, that is, his
The Holy, even while he was carrying out flesh, the apostle Peter testifies, writing:
his sacrificial course on earth. Like the Why, even Christ died once for all tim e
curtain or veil that separated the Holy and concerning sins, a righteous person for un10. W hen did Jesus en te r upon his sacrificial course
on earth, and like w hat ancient priest did he become?
11. (a) Into w hat new relationship did Jesus then enter, and by w hat was the sta te in which he was then
walking pictured? (b) W hat then separated him from
spirit life in the heavens?

12. According to the m anner of whom did Jesus C hrist

become a high priest, and w hat did th e inner cu rtain
of the tem ple picture?
13. According to the testim ony of 1 P e te r 3:18, w hat
kind of resurrection did Jesus have, and who are to
share w ith him in th a t kind of resurrection?

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B rooklyn, N . Y .

PLACE OP HIS SANCTUARY CAST DOWN

righteous ones, that he m ight lead you
15 Today, after more than nineteen cento God, he being put to death in the flesh,
but being made alive in the spirit. (1 Pet. turies of selecting out these 144,000 theo3:18) Thus he left his flesh forever be- cratic joint heirs of Jesus Christ, there is
hind and ascended to heaven with the only a remnant of these heirs of Gods
blood, that is, the value of his perfect heavenly kingdom on earth. These anointhuman sacrifice. There, as a High Priest, ed Christians, along with all other Bible
he presented that ransoming merit before students, are interested in taking a new
the person of God, hence in the antitypical look at the vision that the prophet Daniel
Most Holy. All his dedicated, baptized had during those final days of the Babfootstep followers, those begotten with ylonian World Power.! In Daniel 8:2-6 he
tells how a two-horned ram is attacked by
Gods spirit and anointed with Gods spirit,
a shaggy male goat that had a single horn,
have the hope of sharing in Jesus resur- between its eyes. Daniel 8:7, 8 goes on to
rection and joining him in the spirit heav- say:
ens as heirs of God and joint heirs with
18 And I saw it coming into close touch
Jesus Christ.Rom. 8:14-17.
with the ram, and it began showing bitter14While still on earth in the flesh, these ness toward it, and it proceeded to strike
spirit-begotten Christians are serving as down the ram and to break its two horns,
underpriests in that spiritual condition and there proved to be no power in the
pictured by the first compartment, The ram to stand before it. So it threw it to
Holy, of the temple. (1 Pet. 2:5-9) In this the earth and trampled it down, and the
way, although still on earth, they are serv- ram proved to have no deliverer out of its
ing Jehovah God in his holy place or hand. And the male of the goats, for its
sanctuary. Because these spiritual un- part, put on great airs to an extreme; but
as soon as it became mighty, the great
derpriests will eventually number 144,000,
horn was broken, and there proceeded to
they could be called an army, and also come up conspicuously four instead of it,
the people made up of the holy ones. toward the four winds of the heavens.
Inasmuch as Jehovah God calls this earth
17 As to the meaning of this vision neihis footstool, these 144,000 could be ther Daniel nor we are left to guess. By
called the established place of his sane- angelic means Daniel is told: Understand,
tuary. At least, they represent it, for O son of man, that the vision is for the
they are the earthly subjects and repre- time of the end. . . . Here I am causing
sentatives of Jehovahs Theocracy.* Also, you to know what will occur in the final
while in the flesh on Gods footstool, they
t See the article H is Sanctuary( P a rt 3), particuare pictured as being in the temples inner larly under the subheading 2300 days, page 212, of
the Ju ly 15, 1933, issue of The W atchtower. T hat applicourtyard for the priests, where the altar cation of D aniels prophecy was followed in the book
Your W ill B e Done on E arth in its chapter 9,
of sacrifice was located.Dan. 8:11, 24. entitled
Restoring the Sanctuary to Its R ightful S ta te .
U nder Theocracy MClintock and Strongs Cyclopasdia goes on to say: U nder the New Economy [because of the New Covenant], this idea passed over, in
its spiritual im port, to the Messiah as the heir of
D avids perpetual dynasty, and thus Christ becomes
the ru le r of his Church and the h earts of its m em bers.
14. (a) W here are these anointed footstep followers
pictured as w alking? (b) W hy can they be called an
arm y , and also the established place of his sanctua ry ?

Published in 1958. See, also, the W atchtower issues of

Septem ber 1 through October 15, 1959, pages 536540,
5 7 0 6 3 3
,632 ,597-602 ,574.
15, 16. (a) W hat are the anointed rem nant and oth er
Bible students interested in doing regarding D aniels
vision, and w hat two anim als did he see? (b) W hat
did the one anim al do to the other, and w hat happened
to the victor?
17. F o r w hat tim e is the vision reserved, and w hat did
the angel say th a t the horns of the ram pictured, and
then the horns th a t developed out of the goat?

D ecem ber 1, 1971

SEeWATCHTOWER.

part of the denunciation, because it is for

the appointed tim e of the end. The ram
that you saw possessing the two horns
stands for the kings of Media and Persia.
And the hairy he-goat stands for the king
of Greece; and as for the great horn that
was between its eyes, it stands for the
first king. And that one having been broken, so that there were four that finally
stood up instead of it, there are four kingdoms from his nation that w ill stand up,
but not with his power.Dan. 8:15-22.
18 This prophecy begins to apply, therefore, after Darius the Mede and Cyrus the
Persian brought about the downfall of
Babylon in the autumn of the year 539
B.C.E. and the Medo-Persian Empire was
established as the Fourth World Power of
Bible history. This Empire, which grew to
greater size than that of Babylon, eastward and westward and southward, continued its world domination from 539 to
331 B.C.E. (Dan. 5:1-6:28; 11:1, 2)
Greece, under the leadership of Alexander
the Macedonian king, finished the conquest
of the Persian Empire by the year 331
B.C.E. So that great horn between the eyes
of the hairy goat pictured this first king,
Alexander the Great. In this way the Grecian Empire, that quickly extended itself
as far eastward as to the Indus River of
India, rose to the position of the Fifth
World Power of Bible history.
19 Death from malarial fever at the city
of Babylon in the year 323 B.C.E. brought
Alexanders emperorship to an early end.
Thus the great horn was broken at the
zenith of its imperial power. Finally, after
years of maneuvering on the part of the
m ilitary generals of Alexander, four Hellenic kingdoms came into existence, none
of these, of course, with the power of
18. A fter the downfall of w hat world power did the
vision apply, who w ere the symbolic horns of the
ram , and who was the sym bolic single horn of the
goat ?
19. How was the goats g re at h orn broken, and,
in its stead, who became the symbolic four horns?

715

Alexander. So, by the year 301 B.C.E.,

General Ptolem y Lagus reigned over
Egypt and Palestine; General Seleucus Nicator reigned over Mesopotamia and Syria; General Cassander ruled Macedonia
and Greece; and General Lysimachus ruled
European Thrace and Asia Minor. Symbolically speaking, four minor horns
came up instead of the single great one,
in proof that Bible prophecy is true, infallible.Dan. 11:3, 4.
20 However, the fulfillm ent of the prophecy had not then moved on to the time
of the end, the fined part of the denunciation. (Dan. 8:17, 19) What history of
the world does Daniels vision now show
in advance? W riting concerning the four
Hellenic Kingdom horns, Daniel says:
And out of one of them there came forth
another horn, a small one, and it kept
getting very much greater toward the
south and toward the sunrising and toward
the Decoration. And it kept getting greater all the way to the army of the heavens,
so that it caused some of the army and
some of the stars to fall to the earth, and
it went trampling them down. And all the
way to the Prince of the army it put on
great airs, and from him the constant
feature was taken away, and the established place of his sanctuary was thrown
down. And an army itself was gradually
given over, together with the constant
feature, because of transgression; and it
kept throwing truth to the earth, and it
acted and had success.Dan. 8:9-12.
21We are given an inspired clue to the
meaning of this prophetic vision, for, again
by angelic means, Daniel is told with regard to the four Hellenic kingdoms: And
in the final part of their kingdom, as the
transgressors act to a completion, there
will stand up a king fierce in countenance
20. (a) Into w hat period had th e fulfillm ent of the
vision not yet entered? (b) W hat grew up out of one
of the four horns, and w ith w hat success did it act?
21. W hat did the angel say th a t the activities of the
symbolic little horn would be, and how would it end?

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B r o o k l y n , N .Y .

and understanding ambiguous sayings. kingdom of General Lysimachus the king

And his power must become mighty, but over Thrace and Asia Minor. This left now
not by his own power. And in a wonderful just three symbolic horns. But in the
way he will cause ruin, and he will cer- second century before our Common Era
tainly prove successful and do effectively. those western Hellenic domains were takAnd he w ill actually bring m ighty ones en over by Rome.
to ruin, also the people made up of the
24
In the first century before our Comholy ones. And according to his insight he mon Era imperial Rome took over the
w ill also certainly cause deception to sue- eastern Hellenic domains, and finally the
ceed in his hand. And in his heart he will southern domains. Thus Rome became the
put on great airs, and during a freedom Sixth World Power of Bible history, in
from care he will bring many to ruin. And the year 30 B.C.E. So, then, did the Roagainst the Prince of princes he will stand man Empire prove to be that small hom ,
up, but it will be without hand that he that king fierce in countenance? No!
w ill be broken.
For it did not keep existing down to the
22The meaning of that part of the vi- appointed tim e of the end. According to
sion was to be sealed to our understand- what the angel said to Daniel, then is when
ing, for Daniel was told: And the thing the fulfillm ent of the prophecy is due to
seen concerning the evening and the morn- occur. (Dan. 8:19) Of course, the Roman
ing, which has been said, it is true. And Empire did cruelly persecute the spirityou, for your part, keep secret the vision, begotten followers of Jesus Christ, who
because it is yet for many days.Dan. were worshiping and serving Jehovah in
his spiritual sanctuary. These were in
8:23-26.
25
Surely by now those many daysthe spiritual condition pictured by the
must have passed by. So we ask, What Holy of the earthly temple. Rome is said
does world history reveal regarding the to have put the apostles Peter and Paul
fulfillm ent of this prophetic vision? The to death, after that great fire in Rome
angel explained the Prince of the army for which Emperor Nero blamed the
to be the Prince of princes. That One Christians. Also, Revelation 1:9 shows
is the heavenly Theocrat, Jehovah God. that the Roman Empire exiled the apostle
Among all those who are called princes John to the penal island of Patmos. But
on earth, he is The Prince. None of them such persecution ceased shortly before the
can compare with Him or hold ground claimed conversion of Emperor Constanagainst Him. Not even the symbolic small tine. Still that was sixteen hundred years
horn, that king fierce in countenance, before the time of the end that began
can do so. Who, then, is that fierce politi- at the close of the Gentile Times in 1914
cal power? According to history, it was C.E. Even the Holy Roman Empire passed
an offshoot of one of the four symbolic out of power long before the year 1914.
25What, then, does history show to be
horns, the one farthest to the west,
namely, the Hellenic kingdom of General the symbolic small horn, that aggresCassander over Macedonia and Greece. sive king fierce in countenance? It was
Later, this kingdom was absorbed by the 24. (a) How did Rome become the Sixth W orld Pow er
22. W hat did the angel tell Daniel to do, th at would
affect the understanding of the final p a rt of the vision?
23. (a) Who is the Prince of the arm y, and who
the Prince of princes ? (b) H istorically, out of which
sym bolic ho rn did the sm all ho rn come forth?

of Bible history? (b) Despite its anti-C hristian record,

why could the Rom an Em pire not be th e sym bolic
sm all h orn?
25. (a) W hat relationship did the sm all h o rn have
with the Roman Em pire, and w hat did it prove to be?
(b) How was it a king fierce in countenance ?

D ecem ber

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SfteWATCHTOWER

a northwestern offshoot of the Roman

Empire, namely, Britain, forasmuch as
there were Roman provinces in what is
now England down till the early part of
the third century C.E. In the course of the
following centuries England came to be
the seat of an empire, which, from the seventeenth century onward, included colonies in North America. By the year 1763
the British Empire had defeated Spain
and France, both of which were powerful
sections of the Holy Roman Empire. From
then on, the British Empire demonstrated
herself to be the m istress of the seas and
the Seventh World Power of Bible prophecy. Even after the thirteen American
colonies broke away to establish the United States of America, the British Empire
grew to embrace a quarter of the earths
surface and a quarter of its population.
The Seventh World Power gained still
greater power when the United States of
America collaborated with Britain to form
the Anglo-American Dual World Power.

N THE year 1914 C.E. the sacred lunar

year began at Jerusalem on Nisan 1,
which corresponded with March 27/28,
from sunset to sunset. In the summer of
that year the first world war broke upon
mankind. This was not altogether unexpected by Bible students who had dissodated them selves from Christendom, in

1. W hat conflict began in 1914, and why was this no

surprise to dedicated, baptized Bible stu d en ts?

717

Economically and m ilitarily it was indeed

a king fierce in countenance.
26
In the year 1917 this Anglo-American
Dual World Power did grow very much
greater . . . toward the Decoration. How?
By the capture of Jerusalem on December
9, and bringing Palestine under British
control. In the year 1920 the League of
Nations assigned the mandate over Palestine to Great Britain, to continue until
May 14,1948. In Bible tim es the Promised
Land that Jehovah gave to his chosen
people was so beautiful that it was called
the Decoration, that is, of the entire earth.
In Ezekiel 20:6, 15, Jehovah calls it the
decoration of all the lands. Was it literally there that the established place of his
sanctuary was thrown down by the symbolic horn, a small one? We must examine the physical facts of this time of
the end to find out.
26. How did the symbolic ,sm all horn* grow great
tow ard the D ecoration," and so w hat question arises
regarding th a t D ecoration as a location io r fulfillm ent
of prophecy?

which World War I began. Why not? Because these dedicated, baptized Bible students had for decades pointed out that the
times of the Gentiles, as foretold by
Jesus Christ in his prophecy on the end
of the world, would end in early autumn
of that year 1914. (Luke 21:24; Matt. 24:
3, KingJames Version) The Gentile Times
had begun about the middle of the lunar

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SEeWATCHTOWER.

B r o o k l y n , N .Y .

month Tishri in 607 B.C.E., and so their mer of 1919, before ever the Paris Peace
2,520 years of duration would end in 1914 Treaty and its Covenant of the League of
about Tishri 15, which corresponds with Nations were ratified by the minimum
October 4 /5 . By then the British Empire number of essential countries, the remnant
and other empires of Christendom were declared that this political substitute for
embroiled in the war. The other member Gods kingdom did not have Jehovahs
of the Anglo-American Dual World Power backing and would certainly fail. In further Scriptural support of this, the magaentered the war in the spring of 1917.
TheWatch Tower boldly spoke out.
2
In the fall of 1918 the Anglo-Americanzine
Dual World Power and its allies emerged In its issue of January 1, 1921, on page
victorious from the world conflict. In 1919 12 and under the subheading Spoken of
the Peace Treaty of Paris was signed and by Daniel, it gave reasons for believing
ratified, and with it that part of the that the world organization for peace and
Treaty known as the Covenant of the security, the League of Nations, was the
League of Nations went into force. A t that abomination of desolation foretold by Jetim e there was a remnant of the dedicated, sus Christ in Matthew 24:15, King James
baptized, spirit-begotten Christians who Version.
*During May 2 5 1 9 2 6 ,31, the anointed
were worshiping Jehovah in his sancturemnant
held an international assembly in
ary or holy place. During the world
London,
England.
There, in the public adwar they had been badly persecuted and
dress
the
man-made
organization for world
hindered in their worship in Christenpeace
and
security
was
exposed as being
dom, including the domains of the Anglothe
symbolic
scarlet-colored
wild beast,
American Dual World Power, the Seventh
with
seven
heads
and
ten
horns,
that was
World Power of Bible prophecy. In the
portrayed
in
Revelation
17:3-11.
As such,
spring of 1919 Jehovah God revived them
it
was
the
Eighth
World
Power
of Bible
from their prostrate spiritual condition
prophecy.*
Just
as
that
prophecy
had
foreand regathered them for courageous, open
told,
that
international
organization
under
worship at his sanctuary. Once again publicly they took up preaching the good news the form of the League of Nations went
of Gods kingdom as foretold in Matthew out of operation by the outbreak of World
War II in 1939; but it was revived in 1945
24:14.
*They recognized that they were am- under the form of the United Nations orbassadors of Jehovahs Messianic kingdom ganization. Thus the Eighth World Power
that had been established in the heavens has kept functioning till now.
8 Some months before the historyat the close of the Gentile Times in 1914.
making
London convention of 1926 the
Consequently this remnant of worshipers
greatest
name
in the universe, that of the
at His sanctuary did not join with Chrisgreat
Theocrat,
Jehovah, began to come
tendom in hailing the League of Nations
to the front. This was accentuated when
as if it were the political expression of
The Watch Tower, in its issue of January
the Kingdom of God on earth. In the sum2. (a) W hat in ternational arrangem ent w ent into force
by ratification of the Peace T reaty in 1919? (b) W hat
happened to the open public worship of Jehovah a t his
sa n c tu a ry during W orld W ar I, and w hat was done
about it in 1919?
3. T his rem n an t did not join Christendom in adopting
w h at a ttitu d e tow ard the League of Nations, and in
1921 w hat did they identify the League as being prophetically?

* See The W atch Tow er as of Ju ly 15, 1926, under

London Convention.
4. (a) W here and in w hat year was th a t m an-m ade
organization for w orld peace and security identified
as being a w orld pow er? (b) W hat experience did it
have because of W orld W ar II, but how has it kept
functioning?
5. In 1926 w hat challenging question w as p u t to the
anointed rem nant, and why were they not presum ptuous
in em bracing a new designation in 1931?

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3EeWATCHTOWER

719

1, 1926, confronted its readers with the

leading article entitled Who Will Honor
Jehovah? That challenging question the
anointed remnant answered both in word
and in deed. During the years that immediately followed they proceeded to
prove who it was whom they honored by
publishing world wide the name and the
Messianic kingdom of Jehovah. This publicity work stamped them indeed as being
true witnesses of Jehovah. Who, then, can
accuse them of being presumptuous because, on July 26,1931, at an international
convention in Columbus, Ohio, this anointed remnant embraced the designation Jehovahs witnesses? No one! Being worshipers on earth at His sanctuary, they
were the established place of his sanetuary.
Next in order, w ith excellent timing
under divine guidance, the m atter of Theocracy, that is, Gods Rule, came to the
fore! Certainly this rule should apply to
the visible organization of those who worshiped Jehovah at his sanctuary. There,
indeed, he should be Ruler as God. All
worshipers at his sanctuary ought to pattern their lives and congregational organization in harmony with the Theocracy of
the Most High God, the Sovereign of the
universe.
7A decision by the remnant in favor
of this became more vital as political
totalitarianism and dictatorships spread
from country to country, and the political
state nationalistically set itself up as God
for worship by its citizen body. World conditions were more and more calling upon
the anointed remnant and their dedicated
companions to declare to those officials
and judges who opposed and oppressed
them: We must obey God as ruler rather

than men. (Acts of the Apostles 5:29)

Finally, fifteen months before World War
II began and subjected much of the world
to martial law and blasted the League of
Nations out of operation, there came of
ficial instructions on theocratic organization.
8 In the June 1, 1938, issue of The
Watchtcnver appeared the first part of the
article entitled Organization. It was
thrilling for worshipers at Jehovahs sanetuary to read these sentences of the opening paragraph: Jehovahs organization is
in no wise democratic. Jehovah is supreme,
and his government or organization is
strictly theocratic. This conclusion is not
open to successful contradiction. The
June 15, 1938, issue of The Watchtower
published the second part of Organization, and it set out a resolution for adoption by the congregations of Jehovahs
witnesses, the opening paragraph of which
said: We, the company of Gods people
taken out for his name, and now a t ____
__________ , recognize that Gods government is a pure theocracy and that Christ
Jesus is at the temple and in full charge
and control of the visible organization of
Jehovah, as well as the invisible. (Page
182) This called for appointment theocratically, from the top down, for all officiating servants in all congregations.
9 World War II, breaking forth on September 1, 1939, despite the League of
Nations found Jehovahs people theocratically organized. What was to be their
theocratic attitude toward this second
world war that, like the first one, erupted
in Christendom? There was no room for
compromise for them such as had been
committed during the first world war. It

6. Next in order, w hat type of rulership came to the

fore, and who ought to p a tte rn th e ir lives and congregational organization according to th a t rule?
7. W hy did a favorable decision tow ard theocracy become m ore vital as respects the anointed rem nant and
their companions, and w hen did instructions to guide
them come?

8. In 1938 w hat was published in the Ju n e 1 and 15 issues of The W atchtow er, an d w hat did th e resolution
proposed call for?
9. (a) W hat question did the outbreak of W orld W ar
II in 1939 pose for Jehovahs theocratically organized
people, and w hy? (b) W hen and how did the answ er
come, and to w hat effect?

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PLACE OF HIS SANCTUARY

was now no case of uncertainty and indeTHROWN DOWN!
cision. The League of Nations had been
11
It
is
easy
to see that the action thus
dealt a deathblow, but Jehovahs Messidescribed
meant
invading the rightful doanic kingdom of the heavens still lived and
main
or
interests
of the Most High God,
reigned. Having continued to declare that
the
Creator
of
the
army of the heavens
kingdom without letup till now, Jehovahs
and
the
stars,
and
even taking away
witnesses could not side with
of the
sacrifices
regularly
offered
to Him as a
kingdoms of this untheocratic world in
this new conflict. Just two months after constant feature of his worship. The
H itlers Nazi armies invaded Poland, pre- brief comment on this by the angel Gacipitating World War II, the anointed rem- briel helps us to understand the prophecy
nant of Jehovah served due notice upon correctly, for it says:
the warring world. How? By the publica12 And he [the king fierce in countetion of the leading article entitled Neu- nance] will actually bring m ighty ones to
trality in the November 1,1939, issue of ruin, also the people made up of the holy
The Watchtower Announcing Jehovahs ones. And according to his insight he w ill
Kingdom. Plainly pointing out what theo- also certainly cause deception to succeed
cratic warfare in the days of ancient Israel in his hand. And in his heart he w ill put
was, this article declared Christendom on great airs, and during a freedom from
N ot Theocratic. We are neutral toward care he will bring many to ruin. And
her wars.
against the Prince of princes he will stand
10
How, now, was the tremendouslyup, but it will be without hand that he will
grown small horn, the Anglo-American be broken.Dan. 8:24, 25.
Dual World Power, going to react toward
13 During World War II the Seventh
such a theocratic stand taken by Jeho- World Power of Bible history brought
vahs anointed remnant and their loyal many to ruin, yes, even m ighty ones. It
dedicated companions? Unerringly the paid no respect to true Theocracy. In the
prophecy of Daniel 8:10-12 forevisioned it, British Commonwealth of Nations and in
saying: And it kept getting greater all America it put its martial law and its total
the way to the army of the heavens, so mobilization for the success of its war
that it caused some of the army and some aims and for world domination above
of the stars to fall to the earth, and it Gods Messianic kingdom. Thus it put on
went trampling them down. And all the great airs even as far up as against the
way to the Prince of the army it put on Prince of princes, Jehovah the Sovereign
great airs, and from him the constant fea- Prince of all the universe. His army
ture was taken away, and the established of the heavens, that is, Jehovahs anointplace of his sanctuary was thrown down. ed remnant who were serving as underAnd an army itself was gradually given priests in His spiritual sanctuary, these
over, together with the constant feature, the Anglo-American World Power cast
because of transgression; and it kept down, downgrading their being ambassathrowing truth to the earth, and it acted
11, 12. (a) W hat did such conduct of the sm all horn
and had success.
m ean regarding Jehovah? (b) W hat brief com m ent did
10. As indicating w hat the Anglo-American Dual World
Pow er would do, w hat did Daniel 8:10-12 say th a t the
sm all h o rn would do?

the angel Gabriel m ake on this in explanation?

13. D uring W orld W ar U, how did the Seventh World
Pow er act tow ard Jehovah, even casting down the
arm y of the heavens,* yes, s ta rs ?

D ecem ber 1, 1971

SEeWATCHTOWER.

721

dors for Gods Messianic kingdom. Even themselves or their house-to-house preachthose who were like stars in the con- ing. They were driven underground. Men
gregations of Jehovahs witnesses were and women were put in prison for holding
considered as inferior, as not being spiri- to Christian neutrality.
tual light bearers to their congregations,
16The record plainly shows the extent
not as being spiritual overseers entitled of the wrath of the king fierce in counteto exemption from m ilitary conscription, nance. He struck hard against Jehovahs
but as being just earthly laymen without witnesses world wide during the dark days
of W orld W ar II,
theocratic appointe s p e c ia lly so in
ments. (Rev. 1:20;
countries associated
2 :1 ) B eca u se o f
T H E N E X T IS S U E
w ar p rop agan da
w ith th e B r itish
Forw ard into the N ew O rd e r
and high war fever
Com m onwealth of
U n der Theocracy!
and d elirious naNations. On July 4,
A G overn in g B o d y as Different from
tionalism the peo1940, the Dominion
a Legal C o rpo ra tio n .
of Canada, a part of
pie made up of the
the
Commonwealth,
h o ly o n e s w ere
W h e n a Christian Is in Business.
banned the work of
cruelly persecuted.
Jehovahs witness14 As these represented the established place of [Jeho- es. In that same year New Zealand banned
vahs] sanctuary, this place was thrown the public declaration of Jehovahs name.
down with their being thrown down. This About that same tim e the work in Gold
affected their spiritual sacrifices to Jeho- Coast (Ghana) was banned. From then
vah God.
on the sacrificial constant feature, the
15 Recall that in Jehovahs temple sane- fruitage of the lips, was indeed intertuary in ancient Israel there was a con- fered with. The work was banned in Ausstant feature offered in the inner court- tralia and Fiji in January of 1941. South
yard in the form of the sacrifice of a lamb Africa, the southernmost country of Afrito God each evening and morning. (Ex. ca, took official action against the work
in 1941. Bans spread throughout practical29:38-42) Likewise, by the spiritual remly all of the British possessions in Africa,
nant that worshiped at Jehovahs sane- including Nigeria on June 17, 1941. The
tuary there were sacrifices of a spiritual British possessions of Asia also took simikind that were offered to Him evening and lar actions. The work was banned in Burmorning, daily, constantly. Prominently ma, Ceylon and India in 1941. In 1942 in
among those constant sacrifices was the Great Britain the question of neutrality
fruitage of their lips in publicly declaring came to the forefront. When conscription
Jehovahs name and his Messianic king- came into force young Christian witnesses
dom, his theocratic government. This spiri- of Jehovah refused to engage in war. The
tual constant feature was taken away British Tribunals hearing the cases conby the Seventh World Power through its victed 1,593 men and women, sending most
war measures and restrictions and even of them to prison. Of these, 334 women
putting bans upon Jehovahs witnesses served prison sentences. This had the effeet of taking many active proclaimers
14. How was the established place of his sanctuary
thrown down?
15. How was the constant fe atu re taken aw ay by the
Seventh W orld Pow er?

16. How did the Seventh W orld Pow er strike hard

throughout the B ritish Com monwealth of N ations and
hinder the offering of the constant fe atu re ?

722

fEeWATCHTOWER.

from the service of offering the sacrifice

of praise to God publicly.
17 Just a few years before this the NaziFascist-Catholic war drive stampeded
throughout Europe. Legal restrictions and
imprisonment came upon Jehovahs witnesses, crushing branch office after branch
office of the Watch Tower Bible and Tract
Society. The pressure was on to throw
down the established place of his sanetuary.*
18 In the United States, while the work
of Jehovahs witnesses was not officially
banned, there were many attempts made
to silence the witnesses. Throughout the
then 48 states mob action was employed
in many places. To fan the fires of violence and hatred, on June 3, 1940, the
Supreme Court of the United States by
a decision of 8-1 determined that the flagsalute ceremony was compulsory for citizens of the country. Any schoolchild refusing to perform the act was subject to
being expelled from school. Persecution of
Jehovahs witnesses after that ran rampant. On June 16, 1940, the Solicitor General, in a broadcast over a coast-to-coast
network of the National Broadcasting
Company, said: Jehovahs witnesses have
been repeatedly set upon and beaten. They
had committed no crime; but the mob adjudged they had, and meted out mob punishment. The Attorney General has ordered an immediate investigation of these
outrages. It was not until June 14, 1943,
when the Supreme Court of the United
States reversed itself in the flag-salute
matter that the intense persecution began
to subside in the United States.!
* See Jehovah*8 W itnesses in th e Divine Purpose, page
153.
t Ibid., pages 181, 206-210.
17. Years before this how had the Nazl-Fascist-Catholic
forces striven to throw down th e established place of
his san ctu ary ?
18. W hat hardships did Jehovahs witnesses in the
U nited States of Am erica undergo during the years
1940 to 1943?

B r o o k l y n , N .Y .

It is also very interesting to note that

in 1938, the year before the outbreak of
World War II, the Watchtower Bible and
Tract Society had 39 branches established
throughout the earth to give oversight to
the work of Jehovahs witnesses. By 1942
there were some 106,000 w itnesses of Jehovah preaching the Kingdom good news
around the earth, but the number of
branches had dropped to 25. By then the
pressures were great and the ban was on
in most parts of the earth. The next three
years of the most violent war in history
saw the persecution against Jehovahs witnesses further intensified. Because of the
banning of the work more branch offices
were closed, until by 1943 there were only
21 branch offices operating throughout the
world. Jehovahs witnesses were tenaciously holding fast to their God-given assignment of preaching the good news, but
from 1942 when they had 106,000 publishers they only increased by about 4,000
by the end of 1944. Truly the offering of
the constant feature was restricted.
HOW LONG?"

20Daniel 8:12 said that thus the spiritual army of worshipers at Jehovahs
sanctuary, together with the sacrificial
constant feature, would be given over
because of transgression. W hatever may
have been the measure of transgression
on the part of Jehovahs witnesses against
him, there was unmistakable transgression on the part of the symbolic small
horn, the Seventh World Power. This was
evidently referred to in the question that
the angel raised in Daniels hearing, when
he asked: How long will the vision be of
19. As judged by the num ber of branch offices of the
Society and the ra te of increase of Kingdom publishers,
how was it evident th a t the *offering of the constant
featu re was restricted ?
20. W hen the arm y of Jehovahs w orshipers and the
constant featu re w ere given over on account of
transgression, w hat was the transgression causing
desolation* com m itted by the Seventh W orld P ow er?

D ecem ber 1 , 1971

SEeWATCHTOWER,

the constant feature and of the transgression causing desolation, to make both the
holy place and the army things to trampie on? (Dan. 8:13) Certainly, by causing the sacrificial constant feature to
be taken away and then trampling on Jehovahs theocratic holy place as represented by his anointed remnant of underpriests, the Seventh World Power was
committing a transgression causing desolation. It was desolating the earthly
interests of Jehovahs theocracy and ternpie worship. It was sacrilegiously transgressing on things holy to Jehovah God.
21 Moreover, that expression transgression causing desolation appears to connect up something else with it of which
the Seventh World Power was guilty.
What was that? The setting up of something as a replacement for the removed
constant feature, namely, the abomination of desolation, or, the disgusting
thing that causes desolation. (Matt. 24:
15; Dan. 11:31, King James Version; New
World Translation) As aforesaid, that
abomination of desolation was publicly
identified in 1921 as being the intem ational organization for world peace, which,
from 1919 to 1939, was the League of
Nations. This was set up for international
worship, like an im age of the political
wild beast, in opposition to the offering
of the sacrificial constant feature at Jehovahs sanctuary.Rev. 13:1-15.
22 As foretold in Revelation 17:7, 8, that
beastly Eighth World Power went into the
abyss of deathlike inability at the outbreak of World War . Its chief backer
and promoter, the British Empire, was unable to keep it alive in the face of military aggression by Nazism and Fascism
backed by Catholic Action.
21. W hat else does the expression transgression causing desolation connect up w ith it as som ething of
which the Seventh W orld Pow er w as guilty?
22. W hen and why did the beastly E ig h th W orld Pow er
go into the abyss ?

723

23 However, that idolatrous im age for

international worship was not left out of
calculation by those who were putting on
great airs against the Prince of princes,
Jehovah the great Theocrat. On Sunday,
December 7, 1941, the American member
of the Seventh World Power was forced
into World War alongside the British
member of the Anglo-American World
Power. Then note what happened with regard to these idolatrous worshipers of a
man-made organization for world peace
and security. The so-called A xis Powers
of Nazism, Fascism and Oriental Imperialism were still moving forward aggressively, when a significant event took place
on Friday, January 2, 1942. What? According to the Chronology of events of
1942, as published in
Americana Annual, all tw enty-six nations at war with
the Axis powers pledge them selves not to
make a separate arm istice or peace and
to employ full m ilitary or economic resources against the enemy in a Declaration by United Nations' signed in Washington. Americana Annual for 1943,
page 737.*
24 Seemingly, the beastly Eighth World
Power was stirring down there in the
abyss and scheming to come up for international worship. Jehovah God, by his
holy spirit and through his prophetic
Word, alerted his people to this fact. Con* On page 701 of T he Am ericana A nnual fo r 1944 we
read: UNITED NATIONS, the nam e of the international coalition form ed a t W ashington, D.C., on 1 Jan .
1942 and pledged to wage w a r to th e end a gainst the
Axis aggressors and to w ork together, follow ing vieto ry on the battle fronts, for th e establishm ent of a
lasting peace, based on justice. Tw enty-six nations,
through th e ir representatives, affixed th e ir signatures
to the jo in t declaration on the d ate of its original
prom ulgation, eight others having signed up to 1 Feb.
1944.
23. A fter America w as forced into W orld W ar , w hat
happened in Ja n u a ry of 1942 to show th a t the idolatrous im age for intern atio n al w orship w as not left
out of calculation?
24. Seemingly, w hat w as th e beastly E ighth W orld
Pow er then scheming to do, and how did Jehovah
a le rt his people to th is on Septem ber 20, 1942?

724

3 EeWATCHTOWER.

B r o o k l y n , N .Y .

sequently, on Sunday, September 20,1942, Theocratic Government of Jehovah God by

on the concluding day of the New World means of Jesus Christ.Dan. 8:17, 25.
Theocratic Assembly at the key city of
TWO THOUSAND THREE HUNDRED
Cleveland, Ohio, U.S.A., the president of
EVENINGS AND MORNINGS
the Watch Tower Bible & Tract Society
26
Remember,
now, the question that the
delivered the public address, PeaceCan
angel
raised
in
Daniels
hearing: How
It Last? This speech, which was carried
long
w
ill
the
vision
be
of
the
constant feaby telephone and radio facilities to fiftyture
and
of
the
transgression
causing
desoone cities in the United States and was
lation,
to
make
both
the
holy
place
and
presented to simultaneous assemblies in
the
army
[of
temple
servants]
things
to
North and South America, Europe, Africa
trample
on?
To
this
the
angelic
answer
and Hawaii, referred to Revelation 17:7,
8 and declared that World War would is given: Until two thousand three hunend and be succeeded by a peace in which dred evenings and mornings; and the holy
the scarlet-colored wild beast, the inter- place will certainly be brought into its
national organization for world peace and right condition.Dan. 8:13, 14.
27When did those 2,300 evenings and
security, would come up out of the abyss.
mornings
begin? By knowing this we can
Thereafter this abomination of desolafind
out
when
they end and thus when
tion would operate until Jehovah God
Jehovahs
holy
place is brought into
destroyed it by his reigning King Jesus
its
right
condition,
or, shall be restored
Christ.Rev. 17:12-14.*
to
its
rightful
state
(
Standard
25
Beyond all denial, then, there was
Version).i
If
Jehovahs
holy
place
is
transgression on the part of the symbrought
or
restored
to
what
it
should
bolic small horn, the Anglo-American
Dual World Power, in working for the re- be, then we should count the days from
storing of the idolatrous image of the the time when previously it was in the
political wild beast to be worshiped by right condition from Jehovahs viewall peoples after World War . In this point. A t the earliest this was on June 1,
way it was using insight and causing de- 1938, when the official magazine of Jehoception to succeed in his hand. This was vahs anointed remnant of underpriests at
,
occurring at the same time that it was His sanctuary, namely, The
published
Part
One
of
the
article
entitled
hindering the sacrificial constant feature and trampling on Jehovahs holy Organization, so as to state more fully
place. Here was transgression indeed. the theocratic requirements for it. When
It was nothing less than a standing up we calculate according to the Jewish lunar
against the Prince of princes, Jehovah, calendar that was used at the time of
whose worshipers at his sanctuary were Daniels vision centuries before the Jubeing opposed, oppressed and persecuted. lian calendar and Gregorian calendar were
The foretold king fierce in countenance
t Says Dr. Ju d ah J. Slotki, M.A., Ph.D., in his notes
in the Soncino Press edition of D aniels prophecy, page
took advantage of all those who were giv- 68,
on evenings and m ornings of Daniel 8:14: If a
ing way to a false sense of freedom from whole day is intended, a total of 2,300 days, about
seven years, is indicated which necessitates a reckoncare, and it kept throwing truth to the ing th at begins a t an a rb itra ry period before or a fte r
earth, especially truth as regards the the desecration of the Tem ple.'
* See The W atchtow er as of October 15, 1942, under
th e heading Key Theocratic Assembly a t Cleveland,'
pages 317320.
25. T his was a transgression on the p a rt of w hat
w orld power, and It was a standing up against whom?

26. W hat was the question raised concerning the constan t featu re and the transgression, and w hat answ er did the angel give?
27. From when, a t the earliest, would those 2,300 evenings and m ornings begin to count, and why, and
when was th a t according to the Jew ish lu n ar calendar?

D ecem ber 1, 1971

WATCHTOWER.

725

be necessary to maintain or restore interintroduced, June 1, 1938, falls on the 2nd

national peace and security.
day of the lunar month Sivan, 1938. FourOctober 23Acting Secretary of State Edteen days later, or June 15, 1938, when
ward R. Stettinius, Jr., announces official
The Watchtower published Part Two of
American recognition of the French Provithe article Organization with its Resosional Government, raising France to a high
place among the United Nations and prelution, would fall on Sivan 16, 1938. So
paring the way for rapid reconstruction;
now to our question:
governments of the Soviet Union, the United
28If we thus count from the critical peKingdom, and Canada issue similar anriod when theocratic organization was benouncements.The Americana Annual for
1945, page 730.
ing more fully installed in the congregations of Jehovahs witnesses, when did the
30 By now the tide of World War had
2,300 days end?
definitely turned in favor of the Allies,
20
Remember, this is a prophetic period.Hitlerite Germany having already been in
So a prophetic year of 360 days is in- vaded by Allied armies. But what was hapvolved. (Rev. 11:2, 3; 12:6, 14) So 2,300 pening in the theocratic realm of Jehodays would amount to six lunar years, vahs worshipers at his sanctuary in
four lunar months and tw enty days. That that year of 1944? There events were movamount of time counted from Sivan 2 ing forward to a noteworthy state of af(June 1), 1938, would end on Tishri 21 fairs by the end of the 2,300 days. This
(October 8 ), 1944, or, counted from Sivan was the thirtieth year from the birth of
16 (June 15), 1938, it would end on Hesh- Gods Messianic kingdom in the heavens at
van 5 (October 22), 1944.* A t that par- the end of the Gentile Times in 1914. On
ticular tim e world events were moving August 9-13 the United Announcers Theocloser to the bringing of the beastlike cratic Assembly was held with Buffalo,
Eighth World Power out of the abyss N.Y., as the key city, with sixteen other
shortly after World War II, this time in American cities being linked with it by
the form of the United Nations organiza- telephone wire. On August 12 the presition, for world peace and security. In its dent of the Watch Tower Society adchronology for 1944 The Americana An- dressed the assembly on the subject This
nual reports notable events on the follow- Gospel Shall Be Preached, and after his
address the 384-page book entitled The
ing dates:
Kingdom Is at Hand was released to the
October 9United States, Great Britain,
visible
audience. Two days earlier there
Soviet Russia, and China announce decision
had been another release to the Assemof Dumbarton Oaks Conference to recommend creation of an international security
bly. It was the American Standard Verorganization, to be called The United Nasion of the Bible, which features the ditions, and to be empowered to take such
vine
name, Jehovah, and it had been
action by air, naval or land forces as may
printed on the Societys own presses.
* The six (6) years, four (4) m onths and tw enty (20)
31 On September 30 through October 2,
days apply as follows: From Sivan 2 (June 1), 1938,
six years would end on Sivan 1 (May 23), 1944. F our
1944, a special Service and business Aslu n ar m onths (Sivan, Tam m uz, Ab, Elul) a fte r th a t
sembly was held at Pittsburgh, Pennsylvawould end on T ishri 1 (Septem ber 18), 1944. T w enty
days added onto th a t would end on T ishri 21 (October
8), 1944. If we count the whole period from Ju n e 15,
1938, then we add fourteen (14) days, which brings us
to Heshvan 5 (October 22), 1944.
28,29. (a) As counted from the critical period, when
did those 2,300 days end? (b) W hat Im portant events
were then taking place w ith reference to th e E ighth
W orld Pow er?

30. About th a t tim e events in the theocratic realm were

moving in w hat direction, as, fo r instance, a t Buffalo,
N.Y., in A ugust?
31, 32. (a) W hat events m arked the first two days of
the three-day assem bly in P ittsb u rg h , Pennsylvania, in
1944? (b) W hy was the final day of th a t assem bly,
October 2, notew orthy as regards theocratic organization?

726

SEeWATCHTOWER.

nia, U.S.A., where the registered offices of

the Watch Tower Bible & Tract Society
are located. On the opening day the Societys president addressed the gathering
of 5,000 on the subject The Theocratic
Alignment Today. The following day the
public address was on the subject One
World, One Government. The Societys
annual business m eeting was postponed
from this day to the next day, Monday,
October 2. This business meeting, which
began at 10 a.m. was noteworthy. How so?
32A fter the Societys directors and its
officers were elected by the shareholders
there represented, consideration was directed to six amendments that were proposed for the Charter of the Society, which
was a Pennsylvania corporation incorpo-

B rooklyn , N.Y.

rated sixty years earlier, in the year 1884.

These would amend Articles 2, 3, 5, 7, 8,
10. The first amendment resolution that
was adopted proposed the enlarging of the
purposes of the Society so as to assume
properly the great worldwide work that
lay ahead. Also, this amendment put Gods
name, Jehovah, into the Charter. Amendment Three did away with the original
charters provision that fixed ones membership in the Society on the basis of ones
money contributions to the Society; henceforth the membership was to be limited
to not more than 500, all of whom were
to be chosen on the basis of their active
service to Jehovah. As the
issue of November 1, 1944, said in its report: This amendment w ill have the ef-

EVENTS M A R K IN G B E G IN N IN G A N D END OF THE 2,300 DAYS

DATE
June

T H E O C R A T IC

MUNDANE
,O r g a n i z a t i o n , "

1, 1 9 3 8

P art

1,

p u b lis h e d

In

"T h e

W a tch to w e r"
June

15,

" O r g a n iz a t io n ,"

1938

P art

II ,

w ith

R e s o lu tio n ,

pub-

lis h e d in " T h e W a t c h t o w e r "

O c t o b e r 2, 1 9 4 4

Am endm ent
r e so lu tio n s
a re
ad o pte d
at
the
a n n u a l b u sin e s s m e e tin g o f W a t c h T o w e r B ib le
& Tract S o c ie ty in P ittsb u rg h , P e n n s y lv a n ia , to
b r in g its C h a r te r m ore in lin e w ith the fin a l
w o rk a h e a d a n d w ith the T h e ocratic a r r a n g e m e n t

O c to b e r 8,

En d o f th e
1, 1 9 3 8

1944

O c to b e r 9 , 1 9 4 4

2 ,3 0 0

days

as

c o u n te d

fro m

Ju n e

U n ite d S ta te s , G r e a t B rita in , S o v ie t U n io n a n d C h in a a n n o u n c e
d e c is io n r e c o m m e n d in g cre a tio n o f
" T h e U n ite d N a t i o n s "

O c to b e r 15, 1 9 4 4

" O r g a n i z e d fo r F in a l W o r k , " p u b lis h e d in " T h e

W a tch to w e r

O c to b e r 2 2 , 1 9 4 4

E n d o f th e
15, 19 38

O c to b e r 2 3 , 1 9 4 4

N o v e m b e r 1, 1 9 4 4

2 ,3 0 0

days

as

c o u n te d

from

June

A m e r ic a n r e c o g n itio n is a n n o u n c e d
t o w a r d French P r o v isio n a l G o v e r n m ent, to r a is e France to h ig h p la c e
a m o n g The U n ite d N a t io n s ; S o v ie t
U n io n , U n ite d K in g d o m a n d C a n a d a iss u e lik e a n n o u n c e m e n ts
A rtic le s " T h e o c r a t ic O r g a n iz a t io n
in A c t i o n , "
a n d , " T h e T h e oc ra tic A lig n m e n t T o d a y , " a r e
p u b lis h e d in " T h e W a t c h t o w e r "

D ecem ber 1 , 1971

SfteWATCHTOWER

727

feet of bringing the charter as near to earth. . . . That governing body was not
Theocratic arrangement as the law of the made up of perfect men.
land permits. All six amendment resolu85 In the article that followed the above,
tions were adopted.
in the same issue of The
38 It was necessary to get the approval namely, The Theocratic Alignment Toof the State court so as to make all these day, paragraph 3 said: The visible govamendments legal. The following year erning body of the Theocratic organization
(1945) the Amendments were duly record- is and must be appointed only by Jehovah
ed and thus became part of the Charter. God the Supreme Ruler, and Christ Jesus
With such an amended Charter the Watch the Head of His church. Its purpose is to
Tower Society has served as a legal in- issue directions and spiritual provisions to
strument of the anointed remnant wor- all Gods people. Acting in harmony with
shiping Jehovah at his sanctuary or the governing body, all the Theocratic orholy place, ever since.
ganization and its associates act in unity
throughout
the earth.
34 N icely timed, though the anointed
remnant was then not aware of it, came
TRUE
the publication of the leading article en38
What,
then,
does
all that combination
titled Organized for Final Work in the
of
significant
events
at
the critical tim e inOctober 15, 1944, issue of The
dicate?
Apparently
this:
that Jehovahs
er. Right on its heels, in the November 1
sanctuary
or
holy
place
was brought
issue came the leading article announcing
into
its
right
condition
on
tim e, at the
Theocratic Organization in Action. Under appropriate subheadings this article end of the 2,300 evenings and mornings,
discussed President, Diakonos, Ser- in early autumn (October 8-22) of the
vant, Qualifications, Governing Body, year 1944. It is as the angel said to Daniel:
and Theocratic Conduct. The term pres- And the thing seen concerning the eveident here did not refer to the president ning and the morning, which has been
of the Watch Tower Society, but para- said, it is true. (Dan. 8:26) Theocracy as
graph 12 said: The elders in the con- belonging universally to Jehovah God had
gregations, who were also spiritual over- been magnified. Ahead of all other places,
seers thereof, presided at m eetings of the Jehovahs sanctuary or holy place is
disciples. Any elder thus acting as chair- where His theocracy ought to prevail.
man of a meeting would be the president There it has indeed prevailed, outstandingof the gathering on that occasion. Under ly so since the autumn of 1944.
37 During World War the established
the subheading Governing Body paraplace
of his sanctuary, as represented by
graphs 33, 34 said: In the first century
the
remnant
of Jehovahs holy ones, was
it was the group of the apostles in particular, together with the body of elders thrown down. This anointed remnant of
that they associated with them at Jeru- spiritual underpriests certainly had their
salem, that made up the visible ruling body 35. W hat did the follow ing article, The T heocratic
ent T oday, have to say about the governing
of Jehovahs Theocratic organization on Alignm
body ?
33. W hen did those am endm ents become p a rt of the
Societys Charter, and as whose instrum ent has the
Society served ever since?
34. (a) W ith nice tim ing, w h at inform ation was thereafter published in The W atchtow er t (b) W hat was said
about president and the governing body ?

36. As illustrated in the T able on the opposite page,

w hat does all th a t com bination of significant events a t
the critical tim e indicate?
37. D uring W orld W ar I I th e anointed rem nant of
spiritual underpriests a t Jehovahs sanctuary w ere p u t
to the test in w hat respects, b u t w hat did they succeed
in doing?

728

SEeWATCHTOWER,

theocratic attitude and organization put to

a severe test from June of 1938 forward.
W hatever success the Anglo-American
Dual World Power and its allies had in
taking away the sacrificial constant feature of Jehovahs public worship and service made it very difficult for the theocratic holy ones to keep on obeying God
as Ruler rather than men. Yet, despite
this, they succeeded in maintaining Theocracy within his sanctuary.
38 The transgression causing desolation, particularly the steps that the
Anglo-American Dual World Power took
even during World War II to lift the
abomination of desolation out of the
abyss, did not deceive the remnant of
holy ones or turn them aside from their
theocratic worship of Jehovah at his sanetuary. A t the close of the 2,300 days of
great testing, they showed themselves
stronger for Jehovahs Theocratic Govem m ent by Christ than ever before. True,
after October of 1944, about ten months
remained before World War and its
pressures ended. But, at the climax of
those 2,300 days they had taken an organized stand for Gods rule at his sanetuary, and such theocratic rule they have
unswervingly upheld down to this day.
History shows that!*
39During those 2,300 days of trial the
anointed remnant of Jehovahs witnesses
have not been alone in striving to bring
his holy place into its right condition
under divine guidance. A t Jehovahs spiri* See the article The Need to Know W hat We
W orship, paragraphs 1727, in the W atchtow er issue
of November 15, 1970.
38. (a) W ere the rem nant of holy ones deceived
by the political steps taken by the Seventh W orld
Pow er during W orld W ar II? (b) How did they show
w hether it m attered th a t about ten m onths of world
w ar testin g rem ained a fte r October of 1944?
39. D uring those 2,300 days, were the anointed remn a n t alone in striving to bring the holy place into
its rig h t condition, and w hat vision did the apostle
Jo h n see in this reg ard ?

B r o o k l y n , N .Y .

tual sanctuary they have had loyal companions and supporters. Who? The apostie John got a prevision of these and said:
Look! a great crowd, which no man was
able to number, out of all nations and
tribes and peoples and tongues, standing
before the throne and before the Lamb,
dressed in white robes; and there were
palm branches in their hands. And they
keep on crying with a loud voice, saying:
Salvation we owe to our God, who is
seated on the throne, and to the Lamb.
. . . These are the ones that come out of
the great tribulation, and they have
washed their robes and made them white
in the blood of the Lamb. That is why they
are before the throne of God; and they
are rendering him sacred service day and
night in his temple.( Rev. 7 :9 1 5 )These
dedicated, baptized followers of the Lamb
Jesus Christ are just as theocratic as are
the anointed remnant of Jehovahs holy
ones.
40 Shortly now, at the close of this appointed tim e of the end, the prophetic
king fierce in countenance, the Seventh
World Power, will be broken in the war
of the great day of God the Alm ighty,
and all his political friends and foes with
him. This destruction will be accomplished
without hand, not a hand of Jehovah's
Christian witnesses being raised to bring
this about. (Rev. 16:14, 16; Dan. 8:19)
But Jehovahs Theocracy, that the faithful
worshipers at his sanctuary have persistently adhered to, w ill remain, triumphant. His visible theocratic organization
on earth will continue to prevail all over
the earth and will forever unite all obedient mankind in the worship and service of
the one and only Theocrat, Jehovah.
40. At the close of the appointed tim e of th e end,
w hat will happen to the Seventh W orld Pow er and its
friends and foes, and w hat will be the case of Jehovahs
Theocracy and of his theocratic organization on e arth ?

D.C., convention of Jehovahs

witnesses. There all three of
usmy mother, my sister and
Iwere baptized in symbol
of our dedication to Jehovah.

LESSINGS
A s told by Emily Hardin

J O E I N G of Pennsylvania Dutch stock,

* J I was brought up in a religious
home. My father was a Baptist deacon and
his duties included going by horse and
buggy once a month to collect the dues
from the members who would not bring
them to the church or who were behind
on their payments. My mother told us
later that on his return one day he said:
This is my last trip. Those poor farmers
have less than the preacher, so I am going
to resign.
That he did, but he stayed in the church
until the year 1919, when he died, a vietim of the Spanish flu. My mother was now
responsible to rear three small children.
In time we moved to another community
and lived in an apartment house where
an old lady lived. We understood her to
be a Bible Student, as Jehovahs witnesses were then called. When she heard
of my mothers disenchantment with the
churches, she began to visit us every Sunday and to discuss the Bible. Though she
was an arthritic cripple and could not attend meetings at her Christian congregation, she encouraged my mother and me
to go. So we began attending the meetings
of the Bible Students at Williamsport,
Pennsylvania.
From the very beginning my mother
talked to my sister and me about all the
things she learned from the Bible. Finally, came 1935 and the Washington,
729

THE FULL-TIME PREACHING

WORK

The rest of that year my

m other encouraged me to
take up the work of proclaiming Gods kingdom on a fulltime basis. She insisted that she could also
preach full time, so we both begem in
February of 1936. However, after about
six months my mother found she could not
keep on because of poor health. I started
to work with another W itness with whom
I continued for more than five years.
We worked with many different groups
in all parts of the east coast of the United
States. Sometimes we lived in groups of
twelve to fifteen full-tim e proclaimers of
the good news, working together and moving our cars and trailers from one place
to another. We always had plenty of food,
but money for gasoline was very scarce
at times. We did a lot of trading of Bible
literature for food, especially in the South.
It has always served as great encouragement to look back on that tim e and realize
how many that we worked with or came
to know were later m issionaries or serving
in some capacity as full-tim e ministers.
We worked with a sound car for a period of time. This was especially interesting and facilitated our preaching work.
After a recorded Bible lecture had finished
playing, we would all leave the sound car
to call on the houses nearby. Those who
did not like the message would not even
come to the door, and those who liked the
good news were waiting to receive us. We
left much Bible literature in the hands of
the people.

730

WATCHTOWER.

Then came the tim e for the house-tohouse phonograph work. My partner and
I were given the privilege to be among
the group selected to acquaint the congregations with how to use the phonograph
in the door-to-door preaching work. Our
group of nine was sent from one city to
another. What fine experiences we had
with the different congregations with
which we worked!
Thereafter I worked in California until
the spring of 1941, when I went to New
Mexico w ith others and stayed there till
tim e for the St. Louis assembly in 1941.
MARRIAGE AND CONTINUED FULL-TIME
PREACHING

The next year I married F. M. Hardin,

and we received an assignment in Las Vegas, New Mexico, as special pioneers or
full-tim e ministers. Then we were transferred to Albuquerque, where my husband
was to help arrange for one of the 1942
New World Theocratic Assemblies.
We were able to rent a hall in a small
town outside Albuquerque called Bernalillo. Here, as frequently occurred in those
years, a mob began to form and to threaten us. On Saturday night a number of
soldiers joined the mob. Our hall was completely surrounded. They evidently planned
to come in and destroy the sound equipment so that the public talk PeaceCan
It Last? could not be given the next day.
A state policeman came in to warn us
that he could not control the mob and that
we had better disband the assembly. However, the assembly continued and the state
trooper went out and talked to the mob.
They left, but declared they would return
on Sunday.
Return they did, and with more soldiers this time. However, before the mobsters could attack the assembly, some dissension arose among them. One of the
soldiers took a horse that belonged to

B rooklyn , N .Y .

a Mexican. The soldier wanted to ride

around and give orders to the mobsters.
This led to a fight between the soldiers
and the Mexicans. Some were badly cut
in the melee; finally the M ilitary Police
came to get the soldiers. So ended the opposition, and we had a fine attendance at
the public talk.
GILEADS FIRST CLASS AND
MISSIONARY WORK

Shortly after the assembly, we received

a questionnaire to fill out for something
en tirely new the W atchtow er B ible
School of Gileadtraining for missionary
service. What a thrill it was when we were
accepted! Arriving at Gilead, we found
many whom we knew who were also in
the first class. After graduation, we received an assignment to Costa Rica, the
smallest country in Central America; and
this was to us the finest assignment that
anyone could ask for.
The seeds of Bible truth had been sown
for many years before the arrival of the
first missionaries in 1946. We started out
in the preaching work by presenting a
Spanish Testimony Card, which explained our purpose in calling. Then it was
up to the householder to say Yes or No.
Also at that tim e we did a lot of street
work with magazines. One night two men
passed me, and one said to the other,
There are 150 of them on the street. Ive
been counting them. At that tim e the
entire congregation in San Jose was
than seventy-five, but we surely looked
like an army to passersby.
MEMORABLE EXPERIENCES

One of my most enjoyable missionary

assignments was in Port Lim6n on the
Atlantic Coast side of Costa Rica. We were
sent there in 1947 to help the Englishspeaking congregation, a good number of
whose members had been in the preaching

D ecember 1 , 1971

SEeWATCHTOWER.

731

work since 1910. To me it is still a real not begin to get into the Kingdom Hall, as
privilege to attend a national assembly in there were over three hundred persons
Costa Rica and m eet again those dear present. So the W itnesses just pulled the
friends who made our stay in Port Limon boards off the two sides of the hall, and
so enjoyable and spiritually profitable.
that way everyone could hear! Now alI especially remember one experience in most all the people living in that section
Costa Rica when we went to witness in are Jehovahs witnesses.
In 1945, the year before we arrived in
the small town of Colorado Bar, a place
where none of Jehovahs witnesses lived. Costa Rica, the maximum number of WitWe got passage on a small boat, the trip nesses there was 253. Ten years later the
taking twelve hours. We called on people number grew to 1,934. Our having had a
the next day, and that night a public talk share in this increase was surely a blessed
was given. In two days we had placed privilege. Even with the rapid growth, we
about all our Bible literature with the peo- could get to know nearly all of our Chrispie and talked to nearly everyone in the tian brothers.
village. I placed a Bible study aid with a
In 1950 we wanted to attend the interman who wanted it for his children. One national assembly of Jehovahs witnesses
of the boys, on reading the book, recog- in New York, but how? Well, just on tim e
nized it as Gods truth. Soon he went to my husband received a small inheritance
work in Port Limon and began associating of $135 from an aunt, and at the same time
with the congregaI r e c e iv e d $ 1 5 0
tion and was bapfrom an insurance
tized. He entered
policy paid twenty
the full-time minyears before. This,
istry, and is now a
with what we had,
sp ecia l tr a v e lin g
made it possible and
minister representw e w e r e g la d to
ing the Watch Towspend about our last
er Society in Costa
cent on such a wonRica.
d erfu l o cca sio n .
A nother experiFrom then on the
The Societys b ran ch office a n d m issionary
ence that stands out hom e in M a n a g u a , N ic a ra g u a , w here Sister Watch Tower Sociin my mind is the
e t y h a s a lw a y s
H a rd in is n o w privileg ed to serve
time our missionary
helped us to attend
fam ily was invited to go to a place called international assemblies, for which we are
Aguacate. A public talk was planned and truly grateful.
also a Saturday night m eeting. It turned
CHANGES IN MY LIFE AND A NEW
out to be a small assembly!
ASSIGNMENT
Saturday night the hall was full, and we
No
one
in
this
system of things can live
had a fine tim e. Sunday, when the people
without
heartbreaks,
and mine came afbegan to gather for the public talk, we
ter
attending
an
assembly
in New York in
could hardly believe there were so many
1953.
Arriving
back
in
Costa
Rica, my huspeople in the vicinity. They came on horses, oxcarts and on foot. They had killed band suffered a heart attack from which
a beef and there was plenty of food for he never completely recovered, and the
everyone. We soon saw that they could following year, in December, he died. We

732

f&eWATCHTOWER

were having an assembly, and the Societys

president, Brother Knorr, was visiting
Costa Rica at that time, and he was a
great source of comfort. How wonderful it
is to have hundreds of spiritual brothers
and sisters and homes where one can be
received at such a tim e as this!
Since I had chosen my career many
years before I was married, I could not
see why I should change it upon being
alone again. So after a struggle with my
health for about six months, I was able
to make a new start. I continued in Costa
Rica until 1957, when I received an assignment to Nicaragua.
In 1957 the organization of Jehovahs
Christian witnesses in Nicaragua was just
about the size it had been in Costa Rica
when we arrived thereonly 196 Witnesses in the whole country. So again I
would share in marvelous growth. The
people here are very hospitable; nearly
everyone will listen when we talk to them

B rooklyn , N .Y .

about Gods Word and take Bible literature if they have the money.
We have now reached a peak of 1,654
proclaimers of the good news. And instead
of the two congregations that we had in
the capital city Managua when I arrived,
we now have twelve. We expect many
more Nicaraguans to join the growing
ranks of the praisers of Jehovahs name.
What career could I possibly have chosen that would have given me such con*
stant pleasure and joy as this one of full*
time service to Jehovah? None.
When I look back over thirty-five years
of full-tim e service and twenty-five of
these years in foreign service, I still say in
the words of the resolution presented by
the First Class of Gilead, I want to express
my profound gratitude to Jehovah, the
Watch Tower Society and the governing
body for the privilege of having received
instruction and theocratic education enabling me to be a better m inister of the
good news.

O p p o rtu n itie s to W itn e s s at S c h o o l

HE branch office of the Watch Tower
Society in Wiesbaden, Germany, recently
received an encouraging letter from a
young lady who is one of Jehovahs witnesses.
She explained that fourteen days after she
began to attend a certain school she asked
for permission to be absent for a day in order
to go to a circuit assembly of Jehovahs witnesses. When the teacher heard that I was
one of Jehovahs witnesses, she wrote, it was
requested that I give an hours report about
the Witnesses to another class of school
that she also taught. I worked up a talk on
the subject ,How Can You Find the ,True Religion? At the conclusion of the report the
teacher told the class of eighteen-year-old
girls that they were free to ask any questions
they wanted to. The students were very impressed and asked many questions. They accepted Bible literature and even requested
literature for students who were not in the
class.

During the break between classes the teach

er told a fellow teacher what had taken place.
As a result the next hour the sixteen-year-old
Witness was able to give the report to a
second class. And on another occasion she
was able to speak to this class on the subject
Who Is God? At this time there was present
a third teacher, who was the instructor of a
still different class at school. The second report was given to this other class. Even
after graduating from school, the young Witness was asked to return to deliver the talk
again. And the teacher asked permission to
make a recording of the talk to use it as a
basis for future discussions.
In concluding the letter, this young Witness wrote: My heart is full of thanks to
Jehovah for these privileges that he gave
me. And I am convinced that many of my
brothers who still go to school will have many
opportunities in this field if they look for
them.

F YOU are a young person

In many schools
attending school, ask yourthere are subjects
self this question: Why am
that teach you the
I in school?
fundamentals of difYou m ay rep ly th a t
feren t sk ills. For
you go to sch o o l b eyoung m en, there
cause where you live
may be courses in
it is required for a
carpentry, in stallc e r ta in le n g th o f
ing electrical equiptime. Or it may be
m en t, w eld in g , acthat you are yet a
co u n tin g and o th e r s.
mi n o r and are
Young women can take courses in homeo b liged to do as
making arts such as cooking and sewing,
you r p a ren ts d ias well as typing and secretarial work.
Much of this training may not be easily
rect.
However, do you personally see any oth- available to you after you get out of school.
er reasons for being in school? Do you If you desire some of that instruction later,
know of any benefits that may come from you might even have to pay for it. Or you
spending your tim e w isely in school? You might have to learn it by working with
or under individuals who
likely know some young peopie who are not spending Helpful facts that young perhaps have little interest
people want to know
their time wisely. They may
in teaching you. Why not,
then, take advantage of the
study just enough to get by,
if that. Yet, by not taking advantage of opportunity to learn some of these things
the opportunity to learn, these young peo- while you can? And when selecting school
pie usually handicap them selves for the courses, by all means talk the matter over
rest of their lives. Why?
with your parents. They can give you the
Because what a person does during his benefit of their experience in life.
youth has a great bearing on what he can
LEARN TO READ WELL
do as an adult. Even in school study, the
While
there
are many things of practiBible principle applies: Whatever a man
cal
value
that
you can learn in school,
is sowing, this he will also reap. (Gal.
there
is
one
that
will have a tremendous
6:7) But what are some of the benefits
influence
on
the
rest
of your school life
you can reap from sowing tim e and efand
your
entire
adult
life
as well. It is the
fort in school study now?
ability to readand to read WELL. It is
the key to unlocking many kinds of knowlPRACTICAL TRAINING
You have to face the fact that before edge, skill and enjoyment.
many more years, you w ill be called upon
In your waking hours you are constantto support yourself. You may eventually ly confronted with things to read: signs,
take on the obligations of a husband and labels, books, magazines, newspapers, bills,
father, or wife and mother.
official forms and mail. All of this can be
Would you like to make those responsi- an unpleasant chore for those who read
bilities easier, more enjoyable? You can poorly. However, if you learn to read well,
help to do that if you take advantage of you will find your life enriched by things
your school years, learning things that will to read instead of having them be a burden to you.
be useful in your adult life.

733

B rooklyn, N.Y.
fEeWATCHTOWER.
Christian youths, especially, w ill want to a muscle, the mind w ill get flabby if you
learn how to read well because they want do not use it enough.
Is there something else of value that
to know what is in Gods Word, the Bible.
comes
from applying yourself to your
They also w ill find skillful reading of great
studies
in
school? Yes, you can learn selfvalue when explaining Gods purposes to
discipline.
True, that may not seem so deothers.Matt. 24:14.
sirable now. But as you know, you cannot
Do you have problems in reading? If
just do the things you prefer to do in life.
so, do not be discouraged. You can learn Often you have to do things you may not
to read well, as others have. Reading is really want to do or may not like to do,
mainly a m atter of practiceplus being but which need to be done anyhow. Paralert to note the way words are spelled. ticularly will that be true when the tim e
Read aloud at tim es. This w ill help you comes for you to take on greater responto see if you are developing any bad hab- sibility in making your own living, or in
its in your silent reading. Too, you will caring for your own family.
If you get used to disciplining yourself
find it helpful if you ask others who read
now,
it w ill help you to acquire the disciwell to listen to you occasionally when you
pline
needed to face adult obligations. So
read aloud. They can help you to correct
while
you may prefer doing something else
your mistakes.
rather than study, if you set your mind
Yes, the ability to read with ease and
to it and do not let other things interfere,
fluency does not come without real effort. you will be acquiring a quality you will
But for the effort you put forth now you appreciate more and more as you get older.
w ill be repaid many tim es over in later
A PROTECTION
life.
There is yet another benefit that comes
OTHER BENEFITS FROM STUDYING
from applying yourself diligently to your
Some school subjects may not seem too studies. It can serve as a protection to
practical to you, but they do help to you. In what way?
broaden your outlook and can be useful
Well, likely you have already seen eviin other ways. History, geography and dences of the moral breakdown among
language help you to leam about other your schoolmates. There is much sexual
peoples and places. Mathematics is useful immorality and taking of drugs. Also, a
in many trades and occupations, even in spirit of rebellion prevails among many
homemaking, where there is always the youths.
It may distress you to be around people
need to use recipes and to keep budgets.
who have no respect for the high stanThere is another benefit to studying in
dards of conduct taught in Gods Word. Alschool, even subjects you do not especially though you cannot avoid contacting such
like. Study exercises your mind and im- persons altogether, you can avoid having
proves your ability to use it. In a way, you any association with them beyond what is
can compare your mind to a muscle of necessary for your schoolwork. And if you
your bodythe more you exercise it the pay attention to your studies, and work at
better it will serve you. You will find that being successful in them, that w ill fill a
mental effort steadily comes easier, and sizable portion of your free tim e after
it w ill be more productive. But, as with school, which w ill autom atically lim it your
734

D ecem ber 1, 1971

SEeWATCHTOWER.

association with unprincipled persons. Seeing your desire to get on with your education, persons of that type, in time, will
likely not seek out your association. This
will be a protection to you.
Then, too, if you are known as a true
Christian, by applying yourself in your
schoolwork you can set a fine example.
That w ill be a credit to you, to your parents and to the God you worship. You
can be like Daniel and his three friends
who applied themselves in the educational
system of ancient Babylon and were commended for their diligence. At the same
time, they too had to deal with unprincipled persons, but they put first their
worship of God and did not compromise
their high standards.

735

Christian youths should find great encouragement and incentive in this fact:
many of the abilities and skills they develop now by applying them selves will be
useful for more than just a brief lifetim e
in this system of things. Why? Because
this entire wicked system is nearing its
end. Soon now it will be replaced by God's
righteous new order where honest-hearted
persons will be able to enjoy everlasting
life. (1 John 2:15-17) In that new order
God's promise will be fulfilled: The work
of their own hands my chosen ones will
use to the full." (Isa. 65:22) So the good
study and work habits youths learn now
will prove to be a source of satisfaction
and enjoyment forever in Gods new
order.

ing ones wedding stem from ancient pagan

religion? Apparently not. The Encyclopedia
Americana (1971 ed.) says: The family practice of observing wedding anniversaries seems
to have grown up in western Europe. The
earliest references in English literature occur
in the 17th century.-V01. 28, p. 564.
It is now customary in some lands for hus Is it proper for Christians to celebrate their band and wife to take special note of the anniversary of their wedding. Some Christian
wedding anniversary?D. Y., Venezuela.
couples do this too. They conscientiously feel
It is not unscriptural for a married couple that they can strengthen the bonds of their
to commemorate in a reasonable and modest marriage by quietly and privately reflecting on
way the anniversary of their wedding. But the joyful occasion when they became husband
neither is this a necessary thing.
and wife. On their anniversary they may reBasically an anniversary is an annual return view the progress they have made in building
of the day of a past event. There are anniver- a happy marriage and refreshen their resolve
saries of all sorts. Pagan peoples have noted to continue in that direction.
anniversaries of special events. Yet Gods serOther couples may find pleasure in sharing
vants have too. (Ex. 12:14, 2427 ;John 10:22, the happiness of their anniversary with a few
23; 1 Cor. 11:2326 )Of course, these anniver- Christian friends and relatives, including their
saries or commemorations noted in the Bible children. If this is done, there are certain baldirectly involved aspects of true worship. Still, ancing cautions that ought to be kept in mind.
we can see from this that not all anniversaries
With any social gathering or celebration,
can be ruled out as objectionable. It all de- care has to be exercised that things do not
pends on what is commemorated and how.
get out of hand. Even a modest celebration
A Christian would obviously avoid celebra- can become uncontrolled or can lead to imtions that involve unscriptural or false religious proper conduct, as appears to have occurred
practices. (John 4:24) Normally today, though, sometimes among the Jews in the first century.
a wedding anniversary is not a religious cele- (John 2:10) That unquestionably would be
bration. But does the custom of commemorat- wrong for Christians. (1 Pet. 4:3, 4) Nor would

736

3 EeWATCHTOWER.

it be fitting for celebrants to give humans excessive honor, as if the couple whose anniversary it is ought to be venerated. The Bible
clearly shows that veneration should go to
the Creator, not to any created thing on earth,
whether animal or human. (Rom. 1:24, 25)
If a couple have had a successful marriage,
that is fine. Others can rightly be happy for
them. But should not this also stimulate thankful praise to the Author of marriage? He
should be kept in mind and all that is done
should bring honor to Him.
In making the above comments we are not
recommending to couples who do not have
this custom that they now begin to celebrate
their wedding anniversary. Actually, we are
neither encouraging nor discouraging wedding
anniversaries. Each couple can, without being
criticized by others, decide personally what to
do. The circumstances or consciences of one
couple may lead them to take no special note

B rooklyn , N .Y .

of the event. Still another couple may commemorate their wedding anniversary. If so,
then the decision of how they will do this
should be made in the light of the counsel:
Whether you are eating or drinking or doing
anything else, do all things for God's glory."
1 Cor. 10:31.

WATCHTOWER" STUDIES FOR THE WEEKS

December 26: Bringing the Holy Place into

Right Condition, 11122. Page 711. Songs to
Be Used: 22, 30.
January 2: Bringing the Holy Place into Right
Condition, 112326, and What Its Right Condition" Means for Us Today, 111-19. Page
716. Songs to Be Used: 35, 69.
January 9: What Its Right Condition" Means
for Us Today, 1i20-40. Page 722. Songs to
Be Used: 78, 119.

JEHOVAHS
KINGDOM
D EC EM B ER 15, 1971
Semimonthly
F O R W A R D IN T O THE N E W
O R D ER U N D ER T H E O C R A C Y !

A GOVERNING BODY AS DIFFERENT

FROM A LEGAL CORPORATION

W HEN A CHRISTIAN IS IN BUSINESS

WTB&TS

T H E P U R P O SE O F "T H E W A T C H T O W E R
E v ery w a tc h to w e r has its purpose. It serves as an elevated place for a
w id e-aw ak e person w ith sharp vision. It enables him to see far ahead into
th e distance and tell those b elow for w h o m he is a w a tch m a n w h a t is
d raw ing near, w h eth er it is a danger against w h ich to prepare o r it is
som ething good over w h ich to be glad w ith strong faith and hope.
Because o f having the nam e "The W a tc h to w e r this m agazine ju stly
has to render a sim ilar useful service to the people o f all nations. T h is is
an in tern ational m agazine and makes no racial distinctions, for w e are all
facing a com m on w o rld danger; w e are all hoping for a com m on good.
E ver since "The W a tc h to w e r began to be published in J u ly o f 1 8 7 9 it
has looked ahead into the future, a lw a y s striving to aid its readers to advan ce in know ledge and to gain a clearer picture o f the glorious n e w order
o f things th at is in store for righteous mankind. N o , "The W a tc h to w e r
is no inspired prophet, but it follow s and explains a Book o f prophecy the
predictions in w h ich have proved to be unerring and unfailing till n o w .
"The W a tc h to w e r is therefore under safe guidance. It m a y be read w ith
confidence, fo r its statem ents m ay be checked against th at prophetic Book.
A m o n g th e m an y nations o f today there are hundreds o f differing
religions. W h ich one does this m agazine present? N o t the confused religions
o f C hristendom , but the religion o f the oldest sacred Book on earth. W n ich
Book? T h e Sacred Bible o f the H o ly Scriptures, w r itte n b y inspiration in
th e nam e o f the C reator o f heaven and earth, the o n ly living and true G od.
T h e sacred, nonpolitical purpose o f "The W a tc h to w e r is accordingly
to encourage and prom ote study o f the H o ly Bible and to give our m a n y
readers the needed unsectarian help to understand th a t Book o f true
religion and infallible prophecy. T hus this m agazine w ill be helping them
to prove w o r th y o f perfect life and happiness in G o d s promised n e w order
under H is everlasting kingdom o f righteousness.

PUBLISHED BY THE
WATCH TOWER BIBLE AND TRACT SOCIETY OF PENNSYLVANIA
117 Adams Street
Brooklyn, N.Y. 11201, U.S.A.
N. H. K norr, President
Grant S uiter, Secretary

They will all be taught by Jehovah.John 6:45; Isaiah 54:13

CONTENTS
Changing Attitudes Toward the Churches

A v e ra g e Printing Each Issue:

739

7 ,6 0 0 ,0 0 0

Five cents a copy

N o w Published in 7 3 La n gu a ges

Forward into the New Order

Under Theocracy!

741

Theocratic Organization with Which

to Move Forward Now

748

A Governing Body as Different from

a Legal Corporation

755

Changed Thinking About Race

763

When a Christian Is in Business

764

Questions from Readers

768

The Bible translation used in The Watchtower is the medern*lang 1 age

New World Translation of the Holy Scrlptares, nless otherwise Indicated.
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y ^ n n o z c n c i r r a

J E H O V A H S
KIN G D O M
December 15, 1971

Number 24

Changing Attitudes Toward the Churches

FEW

a lly

y e a rs a g o

th e c h u rc h e s w e re g e n e r -

h e ld in e ste e m . H a v e y o u o b s e rv e d

c h a n g e in this a ttitu d e ? D o y o u n o te a n in c re a s in g ly

critic a l

to n e

in

w hat

you

rea d

or

d in e d fro m
and

th a t

1 ,6 9 4 in 1 9 6 5 to 1 ,2 2 6 in 1 9 7 0

d r o p o u ts ,

in

th a t

p e r io d ,

had

risen

fro m 1 6 6 to 1 ,5 7 8 .

hear

C H U R C H LEADERS V O IC E

a b o u t th e ch u rc h e s th e s e d a y s ?
It is a m a z in g t o d a y w ith w h a t f r e q u e n c y new s

CONCERN

D u rin g O c t o b e r , n e w s p a p e r s a lm o s t d a ily c a r-

so u rces, if n o t d ir e c t ly e x p r e s s in g criticism , a r e

rie d o m in o u s re p o rts fro m th e m e e tin g o f C a t h o -

q u ic k to d e s c r ib e tr o u b le s o f th e c h u rc h e s . C o n -

lie le a d e r s in R om e. B e n e a th th e h e a d in g SEM I-

s id e r so m e re c e n t re p o rts .

NARY

PERIL

TO LD

TO

SYNOD,

th e

B oston

' 1H e r a ld T r a v e le r o f O c t o b e r 2 r e p o r te d : " C a r -

M A G A Z I N E S FEATU R E C H U R C H
The O c to b e r 4

N ew sw eek

in

DECLINE

d in a l G a b r ie l M a r ie G a r r o n e o f F r a n c e w a r n e d

la r g e w h ite

th e th ird in te r n a tio n a l s y n o d o f R o m a n C a t h o lic

letters o n a re d c o v e r a s k e d : H A S T H E C H U R C H

b is h o p s y e s t e r d a y th a t th e s e m in a r y system

L O S T ITS S O U L ? F o c u s in g o n C h r is t e n d o m s la r g -

in d a n g e r o f c o lla p s e b e c a u s e o f d o u b ts s w e e p -

is

est re lig io n , th e a r tic le in s id e s a id : T h e C a t h o -

in g th ro u g h th e p r ie s t h o o d . . . .

m e s s , c o m p la in s

" S e m in a rie s a r e in d a n g e r o f d is a p p e a r in g ,

a lib e r a l m o n s ig n o r w h o pu ts m uch o f th e b la m e

th e Fren ch c a r d in a l s a id . T h e y a r e in s lo w a n d

o n th e b is h o p s f o r w h o m h e w o r k s . A n d in th e ir

p ro g re s s iv e d e c lin e .

lie C h u rc h is in o n e g o d - d a m

ow n

re s tra in e d

Under

m a n n e r, s o m e m e m b e rs o f th e

h ie r a rc h y a g r e e .

T h e ch u rc h

is in

d is a r r a y ,

1 9 issu e o f L o o k

o n its c o v e r, T H E
VA TIC A N .
POW ER
a rtic le 's

AND
f in a l

ARE
s a id :

The

c le r g y

and

S u rve y s fro m

R om an

s e n te d

la ity ,

in

in

fa c t

th e

p r ie s t h o o d , a n d

s to ry o f fe w e r se m in a ria n s

T h e n ext d a y , O c t o b e r

by

Let

us

o r d a in

C e n t r a l A f r ic a n R e p u b lic . O t h e r w is e , w ith in

b o ld f a c e ty p e : " E v e r y w h e r e , tr o u b le s m o u n t f o r
s tu d y

1 1 , th e Los A n g e le s

r e p o r te d :

m a rrie d m en n o w , s a id th e a r c h b is h o p fro m th e

T H E S T R U G G L E A M O N G C A T H O L I C S , s a id in

but o n e

v ir t u a lly e v e r y c o u n try re p re -

h e re te ll a

H e r a ld - E x a m in e r

b e r 1, b e n e a th its a r tic le h e a d in g N E W V S . O L D

c h u r c h .

th e ir d isc u ssio n s,

o r d a in e d .

A ls o , U .S . N e w s & W o r ld R e p o r t o f N o v e m -

la r g e s t

FO R

a n d s u b s ta n tia l d e fe c tio n s a m o n g th o se a lr e a d y

w h o m th e d e v a s ta tio n is e n o r m o u s .

C h r is tia n ity 's

T IM E S

th e b is h o p s k n o w it. . . .

o f m em b ers
th e

in to

o u s in te r n a tio n a l crisis

P A S SIN G . The

h a s th re e c la s s e s
th e

TRO U BLED

is a lr e a d y in d is p u ta b le : T h e c h u rch f a c e s a seri-

PO W ER O F THE

p a ra g ra p h

h ie r a rc h y ,

one w eek

a d v e rtis e d

title d e c la r e d , T H E

THE G LO R Y

C atholic Church
th e

D E C LIN IN G

Inside, th e b o ld

h e a d in g ,

o f O c t o b e r 10 s a id : S y n o d f a t h e r s . . . a r e o n ly

a d m itte d B is h o p J o s e p h B e r n a r d in .
The O c to b e r

th e

T H E PRIESTLY C A L L I N G , th e N e w Y o r k T im e s

10

y e a rs I w ill h a v e to g o b a c k to p la n t in g o n io n s .'

" N d a y e n w a s v o ic in g a f e a r th a t th e p rie st-

Je su it, th e a r tic le s a id , s h o w s th a t in th e U n ite d

hood

S ta tes o r d in a t io n o f d io c e s a n

its e lf w ith e r.

p riests h a d d e -

739

m ig h t

d ry

up

and

th e

C a t h o lic

c h u rc h

740
"M an y

of

his f e llo w

209

T h ird I n te rn a tio n a l S y n o d
R e p o rts

a ls o

show

d e le g a te s

a t th e

o f B is h o p s a g r e e d .

o th e r ch u rch e s

to

be

n a t io n a l le a d e r s a r e a la r m e d a t th e r a p id e x o of

som e

of

th e ir

b e s t tr a in e d

c o n v ic tio n o f f o u r D o m in ic a n c le ric s o n c h a r g e s
o f s u b v e r s io n .
B e n e a th

in

d e c lin e . T h e A la b a m a B a p tis t " s a id : " D e n o m idus

B r o o k l y n , N .Y .

SfteWATCHTOWER.

c le rg y m e n ,

its h e a d lin e

A f r i c a s

se cu rity

ch u rch m e n

a n d p riests le a v in g c h u rc h e s o f A m e r ic a n d e n o m -

s u b v e r s io n .

!n a tio n s

each

B a p tis t H o s p it a l, A t la n t a , s a id . "

y e a r,

th e

c h ie f

of

c h a p la in s

A n g e le s T im e s " re p o r te d : ,T his y e a r h as seen

of

a rtic le s

and

sta te m e n ts

by

Je w ish

in te lle c tu a ls , la y m e n , y o u n g p e o p le a n d ra b b is
o n th e e m p tin e s s o f s y n a g o g u e lif e , s a id R a b b i
Lew is M . B a r t h .

S o m e re p o rts e x p re s s s tro n g
stirre d

to

criticism

o f the

h o s tility

to w a r d

th em .

An

e x a m p le is th e O c t o b e r " R e a d e r s D ig e s t a rtic le , M U S T O U R

CHURCHES

FIN A N C E

R EVO LU-

T I O N ? It c la im s : " T h e W o r ld C o u n c il o f C h u rc h e s
is u sin g ch u rch p o w e r a n d c h u rch fu n d s to b a c k
in s u rre c tio n in th e U n ite d S ta tes a n d A f r ic a .
The

R om an

r a id e d

th e

hom es

of

o f O c t o b e r 4 r e p o r te d

4 7 p rie sts in A r g e n t in a . T h e p a p e r n o te d th a t
this is th e la te s t e x p re s s io n o f " t h e g o v e r n m e n t s
w illin g n e s s to rep re ss f o r c ib ly w h a t it c o n s id e rs
r e v o lu tio n a r y a c tiv ity b y

r a d ic a ls in c a s s o c k s .

A lt h o u g h this h a s n o t g e n e r a lly b e e n th e c a s e
in

o th e r

lo n g

la n d s .

ta k e n

C o m m u n ist

re p re ssiv e

g o v e rn m e n ts

m e a su re s

have

a g a in s t

th e

re g im e s h a v e c o n d u c te d a n a n t i-r e lig io u s p o lic y

C H U R C H ES

c h u rc h e s , e v e n to th e p o in t th a t so m e p e rs o n s
be

p o lic e

a s a n a t io n w id e d riv e a g a in s t

c h u rc h e s. A s o n e s p o k e s m a n n o te d : " C o m m u n is t

HOSTILITY T O W A R D

m ay

R A ID S

" t h e a rre st a n d th r e e - d a y d e te n tio n la st w e e k o f

CRISIS, RAB BI TELLS C O N G R E G A T I O N , th e Los

f lo o d

. . .

T h e B a ltim o re " S u n

at

B e n e a th th e h e a d in g S Y N A G O G U E S F A C I N G

A FR IC A

T E A C H E R S , th e N e w

Y o r k " T im e s o f O c t o b e r 2 6 e x p la in e d : " S o u th

w ith s o m e e stim a te s a s h ig h a s 1 0 ,0 0 0 p a sto rs

G e o r g ia

SOUTH

H O M E S O F C L ER IC S A N D

o f c h u rc h e s, o f th o u s a n d s o f C h ris tia n s h a r a s s e d
o r se n t to la b o r c a m p s f o r n o th in g

m o re th a n

h a v in g

C o m m u n ist

c o u n try ,

B ib le s .
is

C h in a ,

p erh ap s

th e

even

la rg e s t

m o re

h o stile

to

th e

p r o v e d re v o lu tio n if it is f o r th e p u rp o s e o f o v e r-

e x p la in s : " T h e g o v e rn m e n t p ro h ib its m is s io n a ry
w o rk a n d fo r m a l r e lig io u s te a c h in g in c h u rc h e s ,

now

a re

h as

serves: " E v id e n c e a b o u n d s o f w h o le s a le c lo s in g

th ro w in g

T h u s q u ite

to o ,

R e g a rd in g th e S o v ie t U n io n s a ttitu d e to w a r d
c h u rc h e s, th e N o v e m b e r " R e a d e r s D ig e s t o b -

c h u rc h e s. T h e 1 9 7 0 " W o r ld B o o k E n c y c lo p e d ia

" t y r a n n y ."

C h u rc h ,

in p o w e r .

ap-

c le r g y

C a t h o lic

in th e d iffe re n t c o u n trie s w h e r e th e y h a v e b e e n

fe w

of

the

r e v o lu tio n a r ie s . T h e ir a ctiv itie s

a r e m o re a n d m o re b r in g in g th e ch u rch e s u n d e r
fire .

A lr e a d y C o m m u n ism

c o n tro ls a

th ird

o f the

w o r ld s p o p u la t io n , a n d its in flu e n c e is in c re a s -

R e p o rtin g on th e n e w m ilita ry g o v e rn m e n t o f
C o lo n e l B a n z e r , th e British p a p e r " T h e G u a r d ia n

h o m e s, o r s c h o o ls .

this

M OVES

fa ll

c a rr ie d

A G A IN ST

th e

h e a d lin e :

CHURCH.

B O L IV IA

It re p o r te d :

"T h e

in g . T his w a s a g a in

e v id e n c e d

on

O cto b e r 25

w h e n , b y a n o v e rw h e lm in g m a jo rity v o te . C o m m unist C h in a w a s a d m itte d to th a t in t e r n a t io n a l

o r g a n iz a t io n

th e

U n ite d

N a t io n s .

Thus

C h in a

n e w B a n z e r r e g im e s p r e d ic t a b le m o v e a g a in s t

joins th e S o v ie t U n io n a s a p e r m a n e n t m e m b e r

th e so c a lle d

o f th e U n ite d N a t io n s p o w e r fu l S e c u rity C o u n c il.

p ro g re s s iv e ch u rch in B o liv ia a p -

p e a r s to h a v e b e g u n . First hints h a v e b e e n the

O f s ig n ific a n c e , to o , is th e f a c t th a t in F ra n c e ,

d e a th o f F a th e r M a u r ic e L e fe v re . . . M o r e priests

G r e a t B rita in a n d th e U n ite d S ta te s, th e S e c u rity

a r e still in

C o u n c ils o th e r p e r m a n e n t-m e m b e r n a tio n s , th e

h id in g

and

c la im

th a t o rd e rs

have

b e e n g iv e n f o r them to b e s h o t o n s ig h t ."
S im ila r a c tio n is u n d e r w a y in o th e r co u n trie s.
T h e M ia m i " H e r a l d

o f O cto b e r

W h a t d o e s this m e a n ? T o w h a t is this tre n d

re p o rte d :

o f h o stility to w a r d the c h u rc h e s th ro u g h o u t the

S e v e ra l R o m a n C a t h o lic priests a r e u n d e r in -

w o r ld le a d in g ? E v id e n tly a g r e a t c h a n g e in th e

v e s tig a tio n

a n ti- g o v e r n m e n t a c tiv i-

s o c ia l o r d e r is a t h a n d . C o u ld it b e th a t r e lig io n

A re p o rt fro m B ra z il c a rr ie d in th e S a n A n t o -

d is a p p e a r o ff th e s c e n e ? It w o u ld b e w o rth y o u r

f o r a lle g e d

15

c h u rch e s a r e in ste e p d e c lin e .

ties in P a n a m a .

n io " E x p r e s s / N e w s te lls o f this p a s t w e e k s

th a t h a s f a ile d to a d h e r e to th e B ib le is d u e to
w h ile to in v e s tig a te .

Fototot/ut
Say among the nations:

,Jehovah himself has become king.

Ps. 96:10.

|O R th e e v e r la s tin g
preservation of the human race on a healthful
Paradise earth a stab le
government is necessary.
That means a permanent
government of righteousness is necessary.
Such a government is bound to come! It is
even foretold to comeon the best of
authority.
2What kind of government will it be?
That all depends upon the power, individual or collective, that sets it up. Will it be
the people collectively that w ill establish
it and determine its form? If things
worked out in that way, then a democracy
would result. Would such a prospect make
the future look bright for us? N ot according to the showing that democracies have
made in history down to date. Today, in
spite of the m ilitary m ight of some of
these democracies or peoples republics,
even their stableness is very much in question. The survival of them in the darkening future is no more assured than that
of other types of government. Those persons who call them selves World Federalists have their theories but are unable to
produce a satisfactory world government.
And nobody wants a one-man government
world wide, a world dictatorship with an
imperfect human individual as the absolute ruler.
1. For mans preservation in a Paradise earth what
kind of government is necessary?
2. (a) If a democracy were offered as the necessary
government, what assurance would there be for its
stability? (b) What about World Federalists and a oneman government world wide?

3Well, then, what about a government

set up by the Maker of the earth? Yes,
by the Creator of man Himself? Has anyone a better right to decide and order how
this earth and its inhabitants shall be govem ed than He has? The answer to this
question is self-evident.
4O the evolutionists may sarcastically
say that there is no personal intelligent
Maker of the earth and of man; but those
evolutionists have been unable to produce
a satisfactory government, even after the
millions of years that they claim that man
has been evolving on earth before reaching this much-vaunted Brain Age of man.
Those evolutionists are made of just common clay like all the rest of us, and they
remind us of a couple of questions that
were asked two thousand seven hundred
years before these brainy evolutionists
came along: Should the tiling made say
respecting its maker: He did not make
me ?And does the very thing formed actually say respecting its former: He
showed no understanding? (Isa. 29:16)
No one can successfully deny that earths
Maker and mans Former showed understanding. And a government that He un3, 4. (a) With whom does the right lie to decide and
order how earth shall be ruled? (b) Of what two questions asked by Isaiah does the argument of evolutionists remind us, and what is the answer thereto?

741

742

fHeWATCHTOWER.

B rooklyn , N .Y .

derstands how to set up over man would

be a theocracy.
5Reliable historic records prove that
theocracy was ahead of democracy on the
earth. Even scientists are forced to adm it that our human race descended from
a first human married couple. That first
man and first woman had to be under a
theocracy or rule of God, for God was
their Maker and likewise their Ruler, their
Lawgiver, their Commander. They were
not caveman and cavewoman. They were
Paradise persons, for God created them in
an earthly Paradise. (Gen. 2:7-25) Like
w ith the fishes, birds and land animals,
God had implanted in this perfect human
couple the power to have offspring; and
what finer purpose in life could he set before them than that which was set out in
this theocratic command: Be fruitful and
become many and fill the earth and subdue
it, and have in subjection the fish of the
sea and the flying creatures of the heavens and every living creature that is moving upon the earth?Gen. 1:26-28.
8 W ith Gods blessing this flawlessly
made human couple could live to see this
divine command completely carried out
the whole earth subdued to a global paradise, comfortably filled with their children and childrens children in perfection.
7Even if it took a thousand years of
living, that first married couple could have
survived to see the full number of their
offspring that were meant to inhabit the
global paradise forever, for they did not
need to die. By living loyal to the Theocracy, Gods invisible rule, and teaching all
their offspring to live loyal to it, they
could have been alive today and with the
prospect ahead of them of living happily
in Paradise with all their offspring to end-

less time. It was when our first parents

rejected Theocracy and chose peoples rule,
or democracy, that they came under the
sentence of death. Because we were bom
to them after they made that choice and
were driven out of the Paradise of Eden
to die, we inherited sin and the condemnation to death from them. (Gen. 2:16,
17; 3:1 to 4:2; Rom. 5:12) From this we
can see that democracy holds no promise
of eternal life. Theocracy does.
8 All trace of that lost Paradise was
wiped out by the global flood in the days of
Noah, the tenth man in the line of descent
from the first man, Adam. About sixteen
centuries after that, or in the eighth century before our Common Era, Greece is
reported to be in existence. It is said to
be the birthplace of democracy. First
about the year 700 B.C.E. was there a
tendency toward democratic government
in the Grecian city-states. This resulted in
peoples forms of government as tim e went
on and the people gained power, especially
when the high-ranking cavalry of the nobles was eliminated and the forming of
the phalanx of common foot soldiers came
about.* But more than eight hundred
years before that, a theocracy has been
established on earth by the heavenly Theocrat. Where?
9In the Sinaitic Peninsula. There, at
Mount Horeb, He announced the Ten Commandments. In the first of those Ten Commandments he said: I am Jehovah your
God, who have brought you out of the
land of Egypt, out of the house of slaves.
You must not have any other gods against
my face. (Ex. 20:1-3) That first commandment showed that he was speaking

5, 6. (a) Which was first on earth, democracy or theocracy, and what does the Bible show on this? (b) The
first human couple could have lived to what point of
fulfillment of Gods command to them?
7. (a) Why and how could they have lived to see earth
filled with their descendants? (b) Why were we, their
descendants, born under condemnation to death?

8. (a) When and where did democracy come into existence, and how? (b) What about theocracy at that
time?
9,10. (a) Where was this theocracy established, and
with what form of worship? (b) How did Moses, in
his farewell speech, point out that Israel had a royal
theocratic government?

* See pages 90, 91 of On the Road to Civilization,

published in 1937, by Heckel and Sigman.

D ecem ber

15, 1971

S&eWATCHTOWEFL

743

Jordan R iver and in to th e

Promised Land. A fter years
of conquest over the pagan,
untheocratic inhabitants of the
land, the Theocracy was estab lish ed over m ost of the
Promised Land. There were
many tem ptations for the Israelites to depart from the
theocratic rule.
12In one instance, in order
to restore His wayward peopie to theocratic order, Jehovah raised up Judge Gideon as
a deliverer. A fter the driving
out of the oppressive enemies,
the Israelites wanted to make
W h e n the men o f Israel w a n te d to m ake G id e o n king,
Gideon their visible king, the
h e rem ained lo y a l to th eo cra cy, sa y in g : Je h o v a h
head
of a dynasty of kings.
is th e o n e w h o w ill rule over y o u "
But Gideon was loyal to the
and acting as a Theocrat or Divine Ruler Theocracy. So he said to the would-be
and was speaking to the people whom he king-makers: I m yself shall not rule over
had liberated and over whom he was es- you, nor w ill my son rule over you. Jetablishing a Theocracy. That was back in hovah is the one who w ill rule over
the spring of the year 1513 B.C.E. By the you. (Judg. 8:22, 23) Under that theouse of the prophet Moses as his mediator, cratic rule the cities continued to have a
Jehovah established not only the form of number of elders as a local governing
government but also the form of religious body. In Gideons day the city of Succoth
worship for his liberated people as an or- had seventy-seven elders, including the
ganized nation. So it had a theocratic gov- local princes. (Judg. 8:6, 14-16) As offiemment and a theocratic worship. About cial older men they represented Succoth.
forty years later the aged Moses gave his
farewell speech to the theocratic nation.
FROM JEWISH THEOCRACY TO
MESSIANIC THEOCRACY
Speaking of it as Jeshurun, meaning Up13
In the year 1117 B.C.E. the Theocracy
right One, Moses said:
10
Jehovahfrom Sinai he came, . . in
. the Promised Land underwent an alteration,
took on an added feature. The
And he came to be king in Jeshurun, when
official
older men of the people asked Jethe heads of the people gathered themselves, the entire number of the tribes of hovahs prophet Samuel to install a visIsrael.Deut. 33:1-5.
ible human king over the nation. Jehovah
11In the spring following Moses death, was displeased and said to Samuel: It
in 1473 B.C.E., Jehovah their King is I whom they have rejected from being
brought his theocratic nation across the king over them . (1 Sam. 8 :4 7 )Yet Je11, 12. (a) In what land was Theocracy finally established, and how? (b) How did Judge Gideon prove loyal to the Theocracy, and in his day what local governing body did Succoth have?

13, 14. (a) What alteration in the government took

place in the days of the prophet Samuel, and how?
(b) How did David become king of all Israel, and on
whose throne was he said to sit?

744

B rooklyn , N .Y .
S&eWATCHTOWER.
hovah authorized Samuel to anoint Saul pie had ceased to exist? No! For he is the
the son of Kish of the tribe of Benjamin One who later brought about their restoto be king over all Israel. Being anointed ration to their God-given land. What had
as king by Jehovahs prophet, Saul be- ceased to exist was the kingdom in the
came the anointed of Jehovah.1 Sam. royal line of David, and thus the Messianic
kingdom of God in a miniature or small12:3, 5; 24:6, 10.
18Because of King Sauls repeated dis- scale way had gone out of operation. In
obedience, Jehovah had Samuel anoint the due tim e the Messianic kingdom of God
shepherd boy David of Bethlehem to be- was to be restored. The restoration of it
come the future king of Israel. So after would lead to the bringing in of a righSauls death and the death of his son and teous new order. (Ezek. 21:25-27; Acts 3:
successor, what took place? We read: So 20, 21; 2 Pet. 3:13) In the meantime Jeall the older men of Israel came to the hovahs people for His name would conking at Hebron, and King David con- tinue in relative subjection to the Gentile
eluded a covenant with them in Hebron nations and their kingdoms.Neh. 9:36,
before Jehovah; after which they anointed 37; Luke 21:24; Rom. 13:1.
17Accordingly, when Jehovah brought
David as king over Israel. (2 Sam. 5:1-3)
Thus David became the anointed [Mes- back his people to their homeland in 537
siah] of Jehovah, and he was said to B.C.E., it was as if Jehovah was resuming
sit on Jehovahs throne as the visible his reign over them. As it were, Jehovah
representative of the great Theocrat. sent ahead his messenger to his desolated
earthly organization, in fulfillm ent of Isa1 Chron. 29:23.
15
King David recognized the great The-iah 52:7, which reads: How comely upon
ocrat, saying: Yours is the kingdom, O the mountains are the feet of the one
Jehovah, the One also lifting yourself up bringing good news, the one publishing
as head over all. (1 Chron. 29:10,11) At peace, the one bringing good news of somethe tim e that David had the sacred Ark of thing better, the one publishing salvation,
the Covenant transferred to a tent near the one saying to Zion: Your God has behis palace in Jerusalem, David composed come king! In evidence of this the terna memorial psalm in which he said: Let pie was rebuilt at Jerusalem. Some decades
them say among the nations, Jehovah later, when Jehovah raised up his prophet
him self has become king! (1 Chron. 16: Malachi and explained why the Israelites
31; Ps. 96:10) That was about 1070 B.C.E. should render him proper worship at his
16Four hundred and sixty-three years temple, he said: For I am a great King,
afterward Jehovahs temple of worship in Jehovah of armies has said, and m y name
Jerusalem was destroyed by the Babylo- will be fear-inspiring among the nations.
nians, and Jerusalem and the land of Ju- Mai. 1:14.
18 Even in the first century of our Comdah became desolated for seventy years
as the deported inhabitants were exiles in mon Era, when the true Messiah, Jesus
the land of Babylon. Did that mean that Christ, was on our earth, he recognized the
Jehovahs theocracy over his chosen peo- kingship of Jehovah over Israel, for, in his
Sermon on the Mount, he told his disci15. Whose kingship over Israel did David acknowledge,
and as respects this what did he say when the Ark
was transferred to Jerusalem?
16. (a) When Jerusalem and its temple were destroyed
and the land became desolate for seventy years, what
happened to the Theocracy? (b) What would restoration of the Messianic kingdom bring in, and till then
in what condition were Jehovahs people to continue?

17. (a) According to Isaiah 52:7, when Jehovah restored his people to their land, what was Jehovah apparently resuming? (b) How did Jehovah declare his
kingship through Malachi?
18. (a) In his Sermon on the Mount how did Jesus
acknowledge Jehovah's kingship over Israel? (b) How
did he indicate that it would cease?

D ecember 15, 1971

SEeW ATCH TO W ER

745

pies: Do not swear at all, neither by cratic Law Covenant of Mount Sinai.
heaven, because it is Gods throne; nor Then, shortly before nine oclock of that
by earth, because it is the footstool of his morning of Sivan 6, Jewish calendar, the
feet; nor by Jerusalem, because it is the visible, audible proof came that Jesus
city of the great King. (Matt. 5:34, 35) Christ had appeared in the presence of
However, in the year 33 C.E., he indicated Jehovah God in the heavens and had apthat Jehovahs theocracy over Israel was plied the value of his perfect human sacriabout to cease. This was at Jerusalem, fice in behalf of a new covenant. This was
when he said to that city concerning her the new covenant that was promised in
temple: Look! Your house is abandoned Jeremiah 31:31-34 and that Jesus Christ
to you. Then, shortly thereafter, he fore- had mentioned when he started the celetold the destruction of that house of wor- bration of the Lords Supper on the preship.Matt. 23:37 to 24:22.
ceding Passover night. (1 Cor. 11:23-26;
19
At that tim e those Israelites to whomLuke 22:14-20) The proof of this was the
Jesus Christ preached the kingdom of God pouring out of Gods holy spirit from heavwere still under the Theocratic Law cov- en. Upon whom? N ot upon the Israelites
enant that the prophet Moses had medi- celebrating the Pentecostal feast at Jeruated for their forefathers at Mount Sinai. salems temple, but upon the faithful disOn the following Passover day, which was ciples of the Messiah, Jesus Christ, about
celebrated at Jerusalem under that Theo- one hundred and twenty of them, gathered
cratic Law, Jesus Christ was put to death in an upper room in Jerusalem. Thus upon
as the antitypical Passover Lamb and was these disciples the prophecy of Joel 2:28,
buried. But, because he was no false 29 was fulfilled.
Christ, but was the true Messiah, he was
21
This meant that these disciples were
raised from the dead on the third day to now in the new covenant through a Meheavenly life. On the fortieth day from diator greater than Moses, namely, Jesus
then, when Jesus Christ materialized and Christ. By being begotten through Gods
appeared to his disciples for the last time, spirit to be his spiritual children, they had
they asked him: Lord, are you restoring become spiritual Israelites. This meant,
the kingdom to Israel at this tim e? (Acts too, that Jehovahs Theocracy had been
1:1-6) As Jesus Christ had not then ap- transferred from the nation of natural cirpeared in Gods heavenly presence in be- cumcised Israel to this new holy nation
half of any new covenant, the natural cir- of spiritual Israel, the Israel of God.
cumcised Israelites were still under the (1 Pet. 2:9; Rom. 2:28, 29; 8:15-17; Gal.
Theocratic Law covenant that had been 6:16) So the old Law Covenant with natinaugurated at Mount Sinai. This was true ural Israel was abolished, went out of
even though those Israelites were not then force. (Eph. 2:15, 16; Col. 2:13, 14; Rom.
under the Messianic kingdom in the royal 7:4-6) In harmony w ith Jehovahs Theline of David. However, Jehovahs theoc- ocracy now over the disciples of Jesus
racy over them was about to cease.
Christ, the apostle Peter said to the thou20Ten days later the Israelites were sands of Jews that were attracted by the
gathered in Jerusalem to celebrate the miraculous outpouring of Gods holy spirit
feast of Pentecost according to the Theo- through Jesus Christ:
19. Were the Jews still under Theocratic Law at that
time, and what shows whether?
20. When did the proof come that a new covenant had
been established, and how and toward whom?

21, 22. (a) With what nation was the new covenant established? (b) What did this mean about Jehovah's
Theocracy, and in harmony with this fact what did
Peter say to thousands of Jews on Pentecost day?

746

SfieW ATCHTOW ER

B r o o k l y n , N .Y .

22
David did not ascend to the heavens, 25Just as the ancient congregation of
but he him self says, Jehovah said to my natural Israel was a theocratic organizaLord: Sit at my right hand, until I place tion, so the congregation of spiritual Isyour enemies as a stool for your feet. rael should be and m ust be a theocratic
Therefore let all the house of Israel know organization. That means that God, whose
for a certainty that God made him both name is Jehovah, is the Supreme Ruler
Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you of it. That explains why the things that
impaled.Acts 2:34-36.
happened to the ancient congregation of
Israel could be said to have happened typTHEOCRATIC CONGREGATION
ically or as examples to Jehovahs
22 Like King David of old, Jesus Christ Christian congregation. (1 Cor. 10:6, 11)
on earth recognized the nation of natural Jehovah delivered ancient Israel from slavcircumcised Israelites as the congregation ery and death in Egypt on the basis of
of Jehovah God. (Ps. 22:22, 23; Heb. 2: the blood of the Passover lamb and then
12; Matt. 18:17) Therefore, while Jesus from death in the Red Sea during their
was on earth and under the Theocratic escape from the pursuing Egyptian armies.
Law covenant, he did not establish any He could say to ancient Israel: You are
rival congregation, church or ecclesia. But mine. (Isa. 43:1) In like manner, the
he did have in mind the setting up of a Christian congregation became His by the
Messianic congregation after the foretold shed blood of the antitypical Passover
new covenant was put in force by the Lamb, Jesus Christ, Christ our passpresentation of his sacrificial m erit to Je- over. (John 1:29, 36; 1 Cor. 5:7) Corhovah God in heaven. That was why Jesus, rectly the Christian apostle Paul spoke of
less than a year before his sacrificial it as the congregation of God, which he
death and resurrection, said in response to purchased with the blood of his own Son.
the apostle Peters confession, You are Acts 20:28.
the Christ, the Son of the living God,
28 Since the congregation is a holy nathese words: You are Peter, and on this tion, a people for special possession, it is
rock-mass I w ill build my congregation, Jehovahs property and he is the undisand the gates of Hades w ill not overpower putable Ruler over it. He is the God Ruler,
it.Matt. 16:16-18.
the Theocrat. (1 Pet. 2:9; Ex. 19:5, 6)
24The following year Jesus Christ did The theocratic position of Jehovah God
establish this congregation on the day of toward the congregation is foretold in the
Pentecost (Sivan 6, 33 C.E.) by acting as prophet Isaiahs words with reference to
Jehovahs Chief Agent in pouring out the ancient Israel: Jehovah is our Judge, Jeholy spirit upon his disciples. (Acts 2:32, hovah is our Statute-giver, Jehovah is our
33) A fter that we read about the Messi- King; he him self w ill save us. (Isa. 33:
anic or Christian congregation. For ex- 22) Acting in all these capacities, he esample, at Acts 5:11, we read about the tablished the Law covenant with ancient
Jerusalem congregation: Great fear came Israel through the prophet Moses as meover the whole congregation and over all diator. Through a Mediator greater than
those hearing about these things.Acts 25. (a) What kind of organization did the Christian
congregation have to he? (b) To whom did ancient Is8 :1.
rael belong, and why, and to whom the Christian con23, 24. (a) Whom did Jesus, while on earth, recognize
as Jehovahs congregation? And how did he show this?
(b) When did Jesus establish the Messianic congregation, and what does Acts 5:11 say of it?

gregation, and why?

26. (a) Because of being whose possession the holy
nation had what kind of ruler over them, and how
did Isaiah prophetically point this out? (b) What kind
of covenant was the new covenant, and why?

D ecember 15, 1971

SEeW ATCHTOW ER,

747

Moses, namely, through Jesus Christ, Je- the twelve sons of Jacob, who was surhovah has established the new covenant named Israel. (Gen. 49:28, 33; Acts 7:8)
with the Christian congregation of spiri- Corresponding with that prophetic picture,
tual Israelites. (1 Tim. 2:5, 6) As the after the death o f Jesus Christ and his
Theocratic Ruler, Jehovah states in that resurrection and his ascension to heaven,
new covenant: I w ill put my law within the congregation of spiritual Israel started
them, and in their heart I shall write it. out on the day of Pentecost with twelve
And I will become
visib le, tangible
t h e i r God, and
foundations, nameTH E NEXT IS S U E
t h e y th em selves
ly , th e t w e l v e
will b eco m e my
apostles. (A cts 1:
A p p o in te d Elders to Sheph erd the Flock
people. (Jer. 31:
13 , 2426 ; 2:1 , 37 (
of God.
33; Heb. 8:7-10)
On that day the
So it was a theocongregation be D o Y ou K e ep Y ou r W o rd ?
cratic new covegan with about one
nant.
hundred and twen A G re a t C h a n g e Is N e a r W h a t Is It?
27
Calling attenty m em bers and
miraculously grew
tion to the theocratic power and right of Jehovah to make to about three thousand.Acts 1:15; 2:
all appointments of persons within his or- 37-41.
ganization, the apostle Paul writes: He
28All those members of the congrega[that is, Jehovah] also subjected all things tion, the original ones and the newly addunder his feet [that is, Christs feet], and ed ones, recognized the tw elve apostles as
made him head over all things to the con- being foundation members of spiritual Isgregation, which is his body. Christ also rael. This is m anifest from the fact that
is head of the congregation, he being a we read, in Acts 2:42, 43: And they consavior of this body. The congregation tinued devoting them selves to the teachis in subjection to the Christ. (Eph. 1: ing of the apostles and . . . Indeed, fear
22, 23; 5:23, 24) Consequently, Jesus begem to fall upon every soul, and many
Christ has the responsibility under God portents and signs began to occur through
to make choices and appointments in the the apostles. The relationship of these
congregation.
apostles to the whole congregation of spiri28Looking forward to the founding of tual Israelites is pictured in the apostle
the congregation of spiritual Israelites, Je- Johns vision of Christs bride, the New
sus spent a night in prayer to God and Jerusalem, concerning which we read: It
then chose twelve apostles. (Luke 6:12- had a great and lofty wall and had twelve
16; Mark 3:13-19) He said to his faithful gates, and at the gates twelve angels, and
apostles: You did not choose me, but names were inscribed which are those of
I chose you, and I appointed you to go on
the twelve tribes of the sons of Israel. . . .
and keep bearing fruit and that your fruit
The wall of the city also had twelve founshould remain. (John 15:16) Jesus knew
that ancient Israel, composed of twelve dation stones, and on them the twelve
tribes, was made up of the descendants of names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.
Rev. 21:1, 2, 12-14.
27. How did Jehovah show his theocratic power and
right toward the Christian congregation, and what
responsibility did the headship thereof carry with it?
28. How did Jesus discharge that responsibility with
regard to the founding of the congregation, and how
did it grow miraculously on the day of its founding?

29.
the
(b)
the

(a) How did the congregation show recognition of

twelve apostles as being foundation members?
What vision did John see of the relationship of
apostles to the whole congregation?

THEOCRATIC

W ITH W HICH T O
OlfVe<
Tkwa/1dU\/m
HOSE twelve apostles of the Lamb
were gifts from the great Theocrat
Jehovah through Jesus Christ to the congregation. The psalm of David (68:18)
had foretold such gifts, and the apostle
Paul matches the psalm to its fulfillment
and says: W herefore he says [in Psalm
68:18]: When he ascended on high he
carried away captives; he gave gifts in
men. . . . And he gave some as apostles,
some as prophets, some as evangelizers,
some as shepherds and teachers, with a
view to the readjustment of the holy ones,
for m inisterial work, for the building up
of the body of the Christ. (Eph. 4:8-12)
A t the beginning those twelve apostles, because of their position, served as a govem ing body for the whole congregation of
believers. So they made appointments of
qualified men in the congregation to assist them in less vital matters. As an illustration of this, when the Jerusalem congregation had increased to five thousand
members and a disturbing difficulty arose,
here is what happened:
2 So the twelve called the multitude of
the disciples to them and said: It is not
pleasing for us to leave the word of God
to distribute food to tables. So, brothers,
search out for yourselves seven certified
men from among you, full of spirit and
wisdom, that we may appoint them over

1. (a) According to Psalm 68:18, what were those

twelve apostles? (b) As a group, how did they act together, and so what were they authorized to do?
2. How did the apostles take care of the difficulty over
food distribution, and so what happened regarding the
word of God?
748

this necessary business; but we shall devote ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of the word. And the thing spoken
was pleasing to the whole multitude, and
they selected . . . and they placed them
before the apostles, and, after having
prayed, these laid their hands upon them.
Consequently the word of God went on
growing, and the number of the disciples
kept multiplying in Jerusalem very much.
Acts 6 :1 7 .
3
As those seven assistants were appointed by the apostolic governing body, who
extended their hands in approval of such
assistants, those appointments were theocratic, not congregational or democratic.
Later on, official older men or elders
(presbyters) were theocratically appointed and added to the governing body at Jerusalem. So, about the year 49 C.E., when
Paul and Barnabas came to Jerusalem and
submitted the question raised about circumcising non-Jewish believers, the governing body that handled and settled the
issue was made up of the apostles and
the older men, under the guidance of
Gods holy spirit.Acts 15:1-29; 16:4.
4That first-century congregation was
not some legal corporation that was registered and chartered by the Jewish gov3. (a) Why were those appointments of the seven assistants theocratic? (b) Were additions made to the
governing body, and what does the account of the settling of the circumcision issue show?
4, 5. (a) What shows whether the first-century congregation was a legal corporation regulated by worldly
authority or not? (b) The whole congregation was
what, in a composite way, and how do the words of
Isaiah 43:10 indicate this?

D ecember 15, 1971

5H eW A TC H T 0W E R

emment at Jerusalem or by the Senate of

the Roman Empire, w ith officers to be
appointed according to Caesars specifications. No, but it was a theocratic organization with officers and assistants that
were theocratically appointed by the governing body and Jesus Christ, the head
of the congregation. The gifts in men
that had been given to it were, not from
the Roman Emperor Caesar, but from the
great Theocrat, Jehovah God, through Jesus Christ. For what purpose? With a
view to the readjustment of the holy ones,
for m inisterial work. (Eph. 4:11,12) The
whole congregation was a service body,
all members rendering sacred service to
the great Theocrat Jehovah. They were
one composite servant of their Divine

749

Ruler, whose witnesses they were. They

were bearing witness that He had sent the
promised Messiah in the person of Jesus
Christ his Son. To them as spiritual Israelites the words applied:
5
You are my w itnesses, is the utterance of Jehovah, even m y servant whom
I have chosen. Isa. 43:10.
*Thus the many witnesses form one
servant, whom Jehovah calls my servant whom I have chosen. This composite
servant is the one whom Jesus Christ
had in mind when he spoke of his going
away and his returning, saying: Who
really is the faithful steward, the discreet one, whom his m aster w ill appoint
6. Who, then, is that steward and slave mentioned
by Jesus in Luke 12:4244?

Modern-Day Theocratic Organization

of Jehovah s Christian Witnesses

JEHOVAH GOD
Jesus Christ

Head of the Christian Congregation

"Faithful and Discreet Slave" Class,

w hom Jesus h a s *appointed o ver a ll his b e lo n g in g s. M a tt. 2 4 :4 5 -4 7

GOVERNING BODY
.DERS
!e Cong.

ELDERS
in the Cong.

MINISTERIAL
S ER V A N T S

ELDERS
in the Cong.

MINISTERIAL
SERVAN TS

ELDERS
in the Cong.

MINISTERIAL
S ER V A N T S

ELDER!
in the Cc

MINISTERIAL
SERVAN TS

750

f&eWATCHTOWER

over his body of attendants to keep giving

them their measure of food supplies at
the proper tim e? Happy is that slave, if
his m aster on arriving finds him doing so!
I tell you truthfully, He w ill appoint him
over all his belongings.Luke 12:42-44.
7 N otice that Jesus calls this steward
also a slave to his master. In the prophecy on the conclusion of the system of
things Jesus speaks of this same slave
class, saying: Who really is the faithful
and discreet slave whom his master appointed over his domestics, to give them
their food at the proper time? Happy is
that slave if his m aster on arriving finds
him doing so. Truly I say to you, He will
appoint him over all his belongings.
Matt. 24:45-47.
8Before Jesus Christ the Lord left by
ascending to heaven, he gathered together
his faithful disciples, including his loyal
apostles. On the day of Pentecost following his ascension back to his heavenly
Father, Jesus received and poured out the
holy spirit on his disciples gathered together at Jerusalem, and thereby he appointed this slave class, this steward
class, to give to his dom estics, his body
of attendants, spiritual food, their measure of food supplies at the proper tim e.
The slave class proceeded to do so.
INSPECTION, APPOINTMENT, GIFTS IN MEN

9 In the year 1914 C.E., at the close of

the appointed tim es of the nations, the
Lord Jesus Christ was installed in the
heavenly Messianic kingdom. Thereafter
he undertook an inspection of the slave
or steward class on earth. (Matt. 25:
14-30; Luke 19:11-27) He did find dedicated, baptized, anointed disciples on earth
who, in spite of World War I and perse7. How did Jesus refer to this same class in his prophecy on the conclusion of the system of things?
8. When and how did Jesus appoint this steward
or slave class, and what did it proceed to do?
9. When did the Lord Jesus Christ undertake an inspection of the slave class, and what did he find about it?

B rooklyn , N. Y.

cutions and other difficulties, were striving to serve the interests of Jehovahs
Messianic kingdom. They were endeavoring to feed in a spiritual way the faithful
domestics or body of attendants of
the now reigning Lord and Master, Jesus
Christ.
10 The facts of modern history show that
in the year 1919 he revived these much afflicted disciples and gathered them together in a united body. Then he appointed
them as his slave class over all his
belongings, that is, over all his royal interests at the earth. (Rev. 1 1 :7 1 2 )It was
this active body of dedicated, anointed
Christians who, in the summer of 1931,
embraced a name to distinguish them from
Christendoms sects, namely, Jehovahs
witnesses.Isa. 43:10-12; 44:8.
11 This faithful and discreet slave class
of today has a visible governing body, just
as the same class had a governing body
back in the first century, from Pentecost
of 33 C.E. forward.
12 As we have already observed, the
faithful and discreet slave class back
there was favored with gifts in men, or
gifts in the form of men. These were provided by Jehovah God through Jesus
Christ. According to Ephesians 4:7-11, not
all of these gifts were apostles. Some were
prophets, others evangelizers, others shepherds, still others teachers. Of course,
the apostles were at the same tim e prophets, evangelizers, shepherds (pastors) and
teachers. On the day of Pentecost, under
the force of the outpoured holy spirit, the
twelve apostles prophesied, in fulfillment
of Joel 2:28, 29. (Acts 2:16-18, 21) They
evangelized also, or declared good news,
10. What appointment did he make respecting that
faithful slave class In 1919, and what name did It
embrace in 1931?
11. What must be said about a governing body for
this faithful and discreet slave class?
12,13. (a) What spiritual services as rendered by the
gifts in men did the twelve apostles render after
the outpouring of the spirit? (b) What account proves
that they did evangelizing?

D ecember 15, 1971

SFEeWATCHTOW ER.

751

for, after the twelve apostles were ar- 14:29-32; A cts 13:1; 21:10) So not only
rested, jailed, haled into court, flogged and the apostles prophesied.
released, what did they do? Acts 5:42 tells
16
What about the gift of spiritual shepus:
herds? There is historical evidence that
13
Every day in the temple and fromthey were not lacking. About the year
house to house they continued without let- 56 C.E., when on his way to Jerusalem,
up teaching and declaring the good news Paul the apostle to the nations stopped
[evangelizein, Greek] about the Christ, at the seaport of Miletus and sent for the
Jesus.
official elders of the nearby Ephesus congregation
to come to him before his ship
14That account proves that they were
left.
In
the
course of his farewell remarks
not only evangelizers but also teachers.
Paul
reminded
these elders or presbyters
Were those apostles also shepherds or pasof
the
spiritual
work that they were aptors? Yes. Remember how, at the Sea of
pointed
to
render,
saying: Pay attention
Galilee, the resurrected Jesus told Peter
to
yourselves
and
to
all the flock, among
to prove his love and affection by obeying
which
the
holy
spirit
has appointed you
the command: Feed m y lambs. . . . Shepoverseers,
to
shepherd
the
congregation of
herd my little sheep. . . . Feed my little
God,
which
he
purchased
with the blood
sheep. (John 21:15-17) All the other
of
his
own
Son.
I
know
that
after my goapostles also became and acted as spiriing
away
oppressive
wolves
w
ill enter in
tual shepherds in the congregation. The
among
you
and
w
ill
not
treat
the flock
very fact that the congregation is called
with
tenderness.
(Acts
20:28,
29) So
the flock of God laid on these apostles
those
elders
were
both
overseers
and
the obligation to be shepherds of that flock.
spiritual
shepherds.
15However, although the twelve apos17Doubtless, not one individual elder,
ties and the apostle Paul were capable of
serving and did serve as prophets, evange- presbyter, overseer or shepherd, but the
lizers, shepherds and teachers, they did entire body of elders was what the glonot monopolize those forms of the Chris- rifled Lord, Jesus Christ, called the antian ministry. There were other dedicated, gel that was symbolized by a heavenly
baptized men who specialized or were star. Thus, about the year 96 C.E., he told
prominent in those varieties of m inistries. the aged apostle John on the Isle of Pat(1 Cor. 12:4, 5) For instance, when the mos to write, saying: To the angel of
apostle Paul, at Ephesus, baptized those the congregation in Ephesus write: These
men, about twelve of them, in the name are the things that he says who holds the
of the Lord Jesus and then laid his hands seven stars in his right hand, he who
upon them, the holy spirit came upon walks in the midst of the seven golden
them, and they began speaking with lampstands. (Rev. 2:1; 1:20) The body
tongues and prophesying. (A cts 19:1-7) of elders (or presbytery) there at EpheThe gift of miraculous prophecy was im- sus was to act like a star in shedding heavparted by the holy spirit to many other enly, spiritual light upon the congregation over which the holy spirit had made
dedicated, baptized Christians in the days
them shepherds. By such light these spiriof the apostles. (1 Cor. 12:7-10, 27-29;
14. Since the congregation is called the flock of God,"
this laid what obligation upon the twelve apostles,
and did they fulfill it?
15. How does the record show whether the apostles
monopolized the ministry of prophesying?

16. How did Paul at Miletus show that others besides

the apostles were to fulfill the ministry of spiritual
shepherds ?
17. Whom did the starlike angels of Revelation 1:20;
2:1 picture, and hence what was the responsibility of
these?

752

SEeW ATCHTOW ER

tual shepherds would guide them aright.

1 Tim. 4:14, margin.
18Further, with respect to the gift of
shepherds to the first-century congregation, the apostle Peter wrote, about the
years 62-64 C.E. Putting him self on a level
w ith the elders of the congregations in
Asia Minor, Peter wrote: Therefore, to
the elders among you I give this exhortation, for I too am a fellow elder and a
w itness of the sufferings of the Christ, a
sharer even of the glory that is to be revealed: Shepherd the flock of God in your
care, . . . becoming examples to the flock.
And when the chief shepherd has been
made m anifest, you w ill receive the unfadable crown of glory. (1 Pet. 5:1-4,
margin) So Peter recognized that the gift
of shepherds included others besides the
apostles.
19 Teachers were also given as gifts
in men. By these are meant, not parents
who teach their children in fam ily gatherings or ordinary congregation members
who teach interested persons the Bible
truths in their private homes, but men who
are specially gifted with the art of teaching and who are therefore appointed to
be teachers inside the congregation in its
regular Bible studies. For instance, after
his release from his first imprisonment in
Rome, the apostle Paul wrote to Titus,
whom he had left in Crete to appoint official elders for the congregations in city
after city. When setting out the qualifications of such elders, who should also be
overseers, Paul wrote: An overseer must
be . . . holding firmly to the faithful word
as respects his art of teaching, that he may
be able both to exhort by the teaching that
is healthful and to reprove those who contradict.Titus 1:5-9.
18. How does 1 Peter 5:14 show that Peter recognized
that the gift of shepherds included others besides the
apostles ?
19. As indicated by Paul in Titus 1:59, who were the
teachers that are included among the gifts in men?

B rooklyn , N . Y.

20
About the same tim e the apostle Paul
wrote Timothy, who had been given authority to make appointments. When telling him the basis on which overseers were
to be appointed over a congregation, Paul
lists sixteen qualifications. Among all these
we note the seventh requirement to be:
qualified to teach. (1 Tim. 3 :1 7 )As an
overseer had to be more than a newly
converted man, he must be officially an
elder. That the nonapostolic elders
were among the gifts in the form of
teachers, the apostle Paul indicated to
Timothy by going on to tell him: Let the
elders who preside in a fine way be reckoned worthy of double honor, especially
those who work hard in speaking and
teaching. (1 Tim. 5:17, margin) Accordingly, today Jehovahs w itnesses endeavor
to have official elders to preside over
the midweek Bible studies that are conducted in locations convenient for the
members of the congregation who are living in that neighborhood. Only if enough
elders are not available for all such weekly
Bible studies, are m inisterial servants
used to conduct such local Bible studies.
1 Tim. 3:8, 9, 12, 13.
EVANGELIZING

21Third among the gifts in men the

apostle Paul names evangelizers. (Eph.
4:8, 11) During his days in the flesh on
earth the Lord Jesus Christ sent out
more than just the twelve apostles to do
evangelizing work. (Luke 9:1-6; 10:1-11)
So too when he ascended to heaven and
poured out the holy spirit upon his waiting disciples on the day of Pentecost, he
gave others besides the twelve apostles to
be evangelizers.
22 Philip of Caesarea, whom the apostles
20. How did Paul indicate to Timothy that the official
elders of congregations are gifts in the form of
teachers?
21, 22. (a) Whom did Paul list third among the gifts
in men, and did Jesus appoint only the apostles to be
such? (b) What man was personally called an evangelizer, and to what extent did he act as such?

D e c e m b e r 15, 1971

31k WATCH TO W ER .

appointed with six others to look after the

distribution of food to needy disciples in
Jerusalem, did not remain long at that
work that a m inisterial servant of a congregation might perform. A fter his fellow
worker, Stephen, was martyred, persecution broke out against the Christians at
the instigation of Saul of Tarsus, and the
disciples, except the apostles, were scattered from Jerusalem. Among these scattered disciples was Philip, and he went
down to Samaria and did productive evangelizing work there. A fter that he presented the good news to an official eunuch
of Queen Candace who was returning to
Ethiopia, and then he did evangelizing
work along the Mediterranean seacoast
from Ashdod up to Caesarea. (Acts 8:
1-40) More than twenty years later Philip
was still busy at his evangelizing work,
for, when Paul and his missionary companions visited with Philip at Caesarea, he
was still called Philip the evangelizer.
(Acts 21:8) As one of the gifts in men
he proved to be of great value.
23Timothy, a m issionary companion of
the apostle Paul, was another of the gifts
in the capacity of an evangelizer. Shortly
before his death, about 65 C.E., Paul wrote
a second letter to Timothy and said: Do
the work of an evangelizer, fully accomplish your m inistry [
Greek].
2 Tim. 4:5; 1 Thess. 1:1, 5; 2:2, 4, 8, 9;
3:2, 6.
AND WHAT ABOUT TODAY?

21Today the Christian witnesses of Jehovah are heeding those words addressed
to Timothy nineteen centuries ago. The
official elders who are qualified to give
public lectures from a speakers platform
are not the only ones who are doing evangelizing work. All the dedicated baptized
members of the more than 27,150 congre23. Whom did Paul, by letter, tell to continue working
as an evangelizer?
24. Who today are doing evangelizing work, and under
whose guidance?

753

gations around the earth are doing so. In

Revelation 14:6 we have the assurance
that this is being done under angelic guidance, for that verse foretold an angel flying in midheaven who had everlasting
good news to declare as glad tidings to
those who dwell on the earth, and to every
nation and tribe and tongue and people.
25 In the first postwar year of 1919 there
came the revival of our public Christian
activity. Encouragement was then given to
all those making up each congregation to
take part in preaching Gods kingdomto
the official elders and deacons or ministerial servants and to all others, dedicated
men and women alike. Let them do this,
not just by distributing four-page tracts,
but also by going to the doors just as the
then colporteurs did and offering to
the householders directly books and booklets as Bible study helps. The article Announcing the Kingdom in the Watch
Tower magazine said:
The door of opportunity is opening before
you. Enter it quickly. Remember as you go
forth in this work you are not soliciting
merely as the agent of a magazine, but you
are an ambassador of the King of kings and
Lord of lords, announcing to the people in
this dignified manner the incoming of the
Golden Age, the glorious kingdom of our
Lord and Master, for which true Christians
have hoped and prayed for many centuries.
You are an angel of peace, bearing to a war
torn, sin-sick, sorrowing and broken-hearted
world the glad message of salvation. How
wonderful is our privilege!The Watch Tower as of September 15, 1919, page 281, paragraph 6.

26 Now, after all the intervening years,

we have the proof more than ever before
that Jehovah God enthroned his Son Jesus
Christ in the Messianic kingdom in the
heavens at the close of the Gentile Times
in the year 1914. We know that we are
25. In 1919 to whom was encouragement given to do
evangelizing work in a more direct manner, and what
did The Watch Tower say?
26. In what momentous time are we living, according
to the available proof, and what must go and what
must come in?

754

fEeW ATCHTOW ER

B rooklyn , N .Y .

in the tim e of the end as regards the interests belonging to the Lord Jesus
political nations of this world and that the Christ, and, as a faithful steward of his
destruction of them in the approaching interests, it serves out spiritual food
great tribulation upon the whole world through the evangelizing work.
28
This worldwide evangelizing organizais ominously near. (Dan. 12:1-4; Matt. 24:
21, 22; Rev. 7:14) We, for our part, are tion is not tailored according to any
approaching the portals of the righteous present-day legal corporation that may
new order earth wide as promised by Je- be required under the laws of man-made
hovah God, which order w ill completely political governments that now face dereplace the tottering wicked system of struction in the war of the great day of
things. The old order of these past thou- God the Alm ighty at Har-Magedon. (Rev.
sands of years must go amid the fiery 16:14-16) No legal corporation of earth
trouble ahead. The new order under Je- shapes the evangelizing organization or
hovahs theocratic government must come governs it. Rather, it governs such corporations as mere temporary instruments
in!
27
This is the only good news on earthuseful in the work of the great Theocrat.
today. It is the Gospel. It is the Evangel. Hence it is patterned according to His
W ith it we can do glorious evangelizing design for it. It is a theocratic organizawork! In his prophecy of Matthew 24:14 tion, ruled from the divine Top down, and
and Mark 13:10 Jesus said that this good not from the rank and file up. The dedinews of the kingdom must be preached cated, baptized members of it are under
internationally before the end of this sys- Theocracy! Earthly legal corporations will
tern of things comes. Jehovah the great cease when the man-made governments
Theocrat has now provided us the theo- that chartered them perish shortly. But
cratic organization for getting this good the theocratic organization w ill live on,
serving its Supreme Theocratic Ruler. Unnews preached to its completion.
28Is that visible earthly organization der his protection it w ill enter into his
eager to do that grand work? Look! The righteous new order. It will be right there
appointed elders and overseers of the con- on hand, as soon as the great tribulation
gregations are actively working in that is over, and be instantly ready to serve as
behalf. The m inisterial servants of the His instrument in his new order.
30 Forward, then, under Theocracy into
congregations are cooperating in that bethe
new order! Our Leader, the reigning
half. The rank and file of the congregaheavenly
King, Jesus Christ, moves at the
tions, the dedicated men and women and
head
of
our
advancing column. Let us not
their children, are taking part in the work,
break
our
ranks,
nor run in fear and disboth from house to house and publicly.
orderly
panic.
We
have nothing to fear at
The governing body over all these theothe
massing
of
our
many enemies. On our
cratic congregations is whole-souled beside
is
God
the
Almighty,
the great Theohind this evangelizing work and is making
crat
whom
we
obey
as
ruler
rather than
every arrangement for getting the work
men. He is over us. It is his work that we
done within the tim e divinely allowed. The
are doing at his command through Jesus
faithful and discreet slave class of today Christ. We are his men of goodwill, and
has been appointed over all the Kingdom
27, 28. (a) What, then, is this information, and what
must be done with it? (b) What has Jehovah provided
for getting that work done, and what is its attitude
toward that work?

29. (a) According to what is this organization patterned,

and so what kind of organization is it? (b) How
long will it be available as a divine instrument?
30. Why have we excellent reason to move forward
unitedly into God's new order?

D ecem ber

15, 1971

SeWATCHTOWER.

He takes delight in us. His spirit it is that

pervades the whole organization, and this
holy spirit is the active force that unites
us unbreakably.
s lOur life-giving message, the Evangel
that we preach and teach, is from Him
and is drawn from his revealed Word, the
Holy Bible. Our message is true, and soon
31. How are we highly privileged in connection with
God's Word, and what should we make known to everybody?

A GOVERNING
BODY
i1 LE0A1]
gr
mm
N Friday morning, October 1, 1971,
the legal corporation known as Watch
Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania held its annual corporation meeting,
this time in the Assembly Hall of Jehovahs witnesses at Buckingham, Pennsylvania. All seven members of the Board of
Directors of said Society attended and had
a part in the program presented. The
membership of this Society is lim ited to
five hundred at the most, there being at
present four hundred and fifty such members throughout the earth. Many of these

755

it must come to heart-gladdening fulfillment! Highly honored are we to be favored

with the privilege of proclaiming and
teaching it to all mankind. Immediately
before us is the glorious reward for our
living up to this marvelous privilege. Forward, then, unitedly into the new order
under Theocracy! Make known to everybody just how fully we appreciate that
Jehovah is now reigning as God King.
Ps. 96:10.

members attended this annual corporation

meeting in person, still more by means of
proxy. All together, 2,076 attended this
corporation m eeting, doubtless all of them
being interested Christian w itnesses of
Jehovah.
A t this m eeting a question came up and
was discussed from the platform. It was
as to what the relationship is between the
Board of Directors of the Society as a
legal corporation and the Governing Body
of Jehovahs Christian witnesses. Are they
the same, identical, or are they different?
Such questions were due to the fact that
it has been published in print that the
Governing Body of Jehovahs witnesses at
headquarters is associated with the Board
of Directors of the said Society. How did
this come about, and does this make the
Board of Directors the same as the Govem ing Body of Jehovahs witnesses all the
earth around?
The official magazine of Jehovahs Christian witnesses is
TheAnnouncing Jehovahs Kingdom. In the year
1944 the Watchtower magazine began to
speak about the governing body of the
Christian congregation. The true Christian congregation was established on the
festival day of Pentecost of the year
33 C.E. at Jerusalem in the Roman province of Judea. On that notable day this

756

B rooklyn , N .Y .
SEeWATCHTOWER.
congregation of dedicated Christians, con- ently the last surviving member of the
sisting then of about 120 members, was original governing body appointed by Jeanointed with holy spirit, which Jeho- sus Christ.
Centuries passed. Came the month of
vah God poured out upon them through
the glorified Jesus Christ. This anointed July of the year 1879. Then there apbody of dedicated, baptized Christians was peared on the scene a new religious magathen given a special assignment of ser- zine called Zions Watch Tower and Herald
vice. According to the prophetic words of Christs Presence. It was then to be pubof Jesus Christ at Matthew 24:45-47, it lished monthly, at Pittsburgh, Pennsylvawas given the appointment as the faith- nia, U.S.A., its first issue comprising only
ful and discreet slave. The now heav- 6,000 copies. Its editor and publisher was
enly Jesus Christ was the Master and Lord a sincere Christian man, Charles Taze
Russell, and the names of five other reguof this anointed slave class.
The Bible book, Acts of Apostles, dis- lar contributors to the magazine were ancloses that this anointed Christian con- nounced. Besides calling attention to the
gregation as a slave class had a visible, second presence of Christ as due to be
earthly governing body. On that day of invisible and in the spirit, it came out unPentecost it was composed of twelve men, reservedly for the perfect human sacrifice
namely, the twelve apostles of the Lord of Jesus Christ as being the ransom for
Jesus Christ. Years later, about the year all. (1 Tim. 2:5, 6) A t that tim e C. T.
49 C.E., this governing body was reported Russell was associated w ith a Christian
to include the then surviving apostles of congregation of Bible students at AlleChrist and the spiritual elders of the Je- gheny, Pennsylvania, and this congregarusalem congregation. (Acts, chapter 15) tion had requested him to serve as its
This Christian governing body did not use religious pastor. Thereafter C. T. Russell
as an adm inistrative agency any legal cor- became known world wide as Pastor
poration recognized, authorized and char- Russell.
In September of 1881 the issue of Zions
tered by Caesar or any province of the
Roman Empire. The decree issued was Watch Tower was published as a special
written up and carried by personal mes- edition featuring Food for Thinking
sengers to the Christian congregations Christians. This commanded a lot of atthat were concerned because of the non- tention and had a wide distribution. PreJewish or Gentile converts among them. viously, other pamphlets had been pubThe Christian apostle John, who wrote the lished by C. T. Russell. In fact, during the
last books of the Holy Bible toward the preceding four years more than a million
close of the first century C.E., was appar-

In this A sse m b ly H a ll a t Buckingham , Pa., the W a tch T o w er B ib le a n d Tract Society

o f P en n sylva n ia h eld its a n n u a l co rpo ra tio n m eeting fo r 1971

D e c e m b e r 15, 1971

757

5ReW ATCHT0W EFL

copies of these pamphlets had been circulated free of cha1*ge. For the purpose of
more efficiently spreading Bible literature
similar to such pamphlets, Zions Watch
Tower Tract Society was organized in
1881. But it was a legally unincorporated
society. Three years later, in 1884, for the
purpose of better taking care of all the responsibilities involved, Zions Watch Tower Tract Society was legally incorporated
under the Membership Corporation Law of
Pennsylvania, the charter of the Society
being issued on December 13, 1884. It was
chartered to have a Board of Directors,
from among whom a president, vicepresident and secretary-treasurer were
chosen. The six incorporators of the legal
Society served as the first six directors
thereof, to serve for a year at a time.
Zions Watch Tower, January 1885.
In the year 1914 International Bible
Students Association was incorporated in
London, England, to work in conjunction
with the American corporation, known
since September 22,1896, as Watch Tower
Bible and Tract Society. As tim e went on,
other legal religious corporations were organized in other lands to work in their respective lands in cooperation with the
American religious corporation. As a consequence, many thousands of God-fearing
persons around the globe became readers
of the publications of the Watch Tower
Bible and Tract Society and dedicated
their all to Jehovah God through Jesus
Christ and got baptized in symbol of this
and looked to the editorial staff and publishers of the Watch Tower Society for
spiritual food in the form of the Watch
Tower magazine and other publications as
aids to Bible understanding. These dedicated Christians became known as International Bible Students. They continued
under this designation until July 26,1931,
when, at a general convention of the International Bible Students Association in

Columbus, Ohio, U.S.A., a resolution was

adopted to embrace the name Jehovah's
witnesses.
GOVERNING BODY

According to the apostolic example of

the first century C.E., these dedicated,
baptized Christians known today as Jehovahs witnesses have a governing body,
as specifically noted from the year 1944
onward. This governing body has through
the years been associated with the publishers of the Watch Tower magazine and
the Board of Directors of the legal religious corporation now known as W atch
Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania. According to Pennsylvania law, this
corporation must hold annual corporation
meetings at its registered offices in Pittsburgh, Pa., or elsewhere as duly voted
upon, and must elect directors to fill the
vacancies of those whose three-year term
of office is expiring, and also to transact
all necessary obligations. From among the
full board of seven directors, all of whom
are dedicated, baptized, spirit-anointed
Christians, the officers of the Society must
be elected.
In view of what was presented from
the platform by speakers to the Divine
Name D istrict Assemblies of Jehovahs
witnesses around the earth during the
summer of 1971, the question was being
asked, Are the directors of the Watch
Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania the same as the governing body
of Jehovahs witnesses, who are an unincorporated body of dedicated, baptized
Christians and who worship Jehovah as
their God? Also, at the annual corporation
meeting of the Watch Tower Society such
as that at Buckingham, Pennsylvania, do
the members of the Society autom atically
elect the members of the governing body
of Jehovahs witnesses by electing the
members of the Societys Board of Direc-

758

SfteWATCHTOWER.

tors? Such questions interested those attending the meeting.

Let us keep in mind that the governing
body must be made up of dedicated, baptized Christians who are anointed with
Gods spirit and begotten by Him to be
his spiritual children, and who are to be
united with the glorified Jesus Christ in
the heavenly kingdom. This must be so
because, as in the case of the twelve aposties of Christ, the governing body is part
of the faithful and discreet slave class
and presides over it as spiritual shepherds
and overseers. This slave class is made
up of the spirit-begotten, spirit-anointed
followers of Jesus Christ, and these followers make up his congregation on earth
and unitedly serve as a composite slave
of God under the Head of the Christian
congregation, Jesus Christ. In consequence
of this, and in order to answer the above
questions, we are obliged to examine the
spiritual status of the individual members
of the Pennsylvania corporation who do
the voting in of the directors of the Watch
Tower Society. Who are these voting members?
By amendment to the Charter as voted
upon in 1944, the membership of the Society was restricted to five hundred at the
most, and these were to be men fully devoted to Jehovah God as dedicated, baptized disciples of Jesus Christ. These are
selected by the Board of Directors of the
W atch Tower Society. But their spiritual
status m ust also come under scrutiny.
Why so? Because not all these presentday members of the Society are spiritanointed members of the faithful and discreet slave class. A t this writing there
are just 450 members of the Society, but
less than half (or 200) of them are of
the anointed remnant of the slave class.
So the major number are disciples of
Christ who have no heavenly hope. They
are of Christs other sheep whose hope

B r o oklyn , N .Y .

is to gain everlasting life in a Paradise

earth under his heavenly kingdom.
Hence the question arises, Can this majority of voters who are made up of such
other sheep, by voting in the directors
of the Watch Tower Society, at the same
tim e be voting in the members of the
anointed governing body of the faithful
and discreet slave class? Scripturally,
they could not do so. N ot just because they
are not anointed heirs of God and joint
heirs w ith Jesus Christ, but because the
governing body of the slave class is not
appointed by any man. It is appointed by
the same one who appointed the twelve
apostles in the first century C.E., namely,
Jesus Christ the Head of the true Christian congregation and the Lord and Master
of the faithful and discreet slave class.
John 15:16, 19.
Another thing to keep in mind is this:
The directors of the Society now have
their terms of office expire after three
years, and each year there are directors
whose term expires and who need to be
replaced or be reelected to office by the
members of the Society at its annual corporation meeting. Each year also the terms
of the three officers of the Society expire,
namely, those of the president, vicepresident and secretary-treasurer (and
now also of his assistant). But is this the
case w ith the members of the governing
body of the faithful and discreet slave
class? No! The members of the governing
body are not elected annually, but are in
their positions of responsibility permanently as long as they live and continue
faithful as disciples of Jesus Christ. That
was the case with the twelve apostles and
with the fellow elders of the Jerusalem
congregation.
The governing body does not have offleers such as the Societys Board of
Directors has, namely, president, vicepresident, secretary-treasurer and assis-

D ecember 15, 1971

SEeW ATCHTOW ER,

tant secretary-treasurer. It has m erely a

chairman, such as the governing body of
the first century had. Apparently, the
apostle Peter was the chairman of the
governing body on the festival day of Pentecost of 33 C.E., and the disciple James,
the half brother of Jesus Christ, was the
chairman at a later date, according to the
account in Acts of Apostles. From this,
and from what historical evidence there
is available, the chairmanship of the governing body rotated, just the same as the
chairmanship of the presbytery or body
of elders of each Christian congregation
rotated among the coequal elders.1 Tim.
4:14.
From this it can clearly be seen that,
when a member of the Societys Board of
Directors is elected each year to the presidency of the Watch Tower Society, he is
not simultaneously elected to the chairmanship of the governing body of Jehovahs witnesses. Any member of the governing body can be chairman thereof
without being at the same tim e the president of the W atch Tower Bible and Tract
Society of Pennsylvania. It all depends upon the rotation system for the chairmanship in the governing body. Only if the
rotation method puts an individual in the
chairmanship at the same tim e that he
is elected by the Board of Directors to the
presidency w ill one occupy the chairmanship and the presidency at the same time,
for at least a year.
SIZE OF THE GOVERNING BODY

Another point worth noting is this: The

membership of the governing body is not
lim ited to the number of members of the
Board of Directors of the Society, namely,
to the number seven. The Christian congregation or the faithful and discreet
slave class started out on Pentecost of
33 C.E. with twelve members on its governing body, and that governing body 10cated at Jerusalem was increased from the

759

twelve apostles of Christ to include other

elders of the Jerusalem congregation. So
the governing body at that vital Jerusalem council included the eleven surviving
apostles of Christ, and the disciple James
who seems to have been chairman for the
occasion, also Judas (Barsabbas) and Silas as leading men among the brothers,
yes, prophets, and doubtless Paul and
Barnabas. That means at least sixteen
anointed Christians associated with the
governing body back there at Jerusalem.
(Acts 15:22, 32) So it is today: the governing body of the faithful and discreet
slave class includes more than the seven
anointed Christians who are on the Board
of Directors of the Society. This fact, in
addition, makes it m anifest that the voting members of the Watch Tower Bible
and Tract Society of Pennsylvania do not
nominate and elect the members of the
governing body of the slave class. It
further accentuates the difference between
the governing body and the legal Board of
Directors.
How is it, then, that members of the
governing body come to be directors of the
Pennsylvania corporation? This is according to the w ill of the voting members of
the Watch Tower Society. They choose to
be guided by Gods inspired Word. They
look to Jehovah God through Jesus Christ
to direct them in this m atter of voting for the Societys directors. From
the Societys present-day Charter (as
amended in 1944) the Society as a legal
corporation is m erely an adm inistrative
agency* of Jehovahs w itnesses. Hence,
also, of the governing body of Jehovahs

* Quoting from the Charter: The purposes

of this Society are: To act as the servant of
and the legal world wide governing agency
for that body of Christian persons known as
Jehovahs witnesses; to preach the gospel of
Gods kingdom under Christ Jesus unto all
nations as a witness to the name, word and
supremacy of Almighty God JEHOVAH; to
print and distribute [
conon page 7601

760

S&eWATCHTOWER

witnesses. So the Societys voting members

see that this governing body could most
directly use that administrative agency
as an instrument in behalf of the work
of the faithful and discreet slave class
by having members of the governing body
on the Board of Directors of the Society.
They recognize that the Society is not the
adm inistrative body, but is merely an
agency for administering matters.
Hence the Societys voting members do
not desire that there be any basis for conflict and division. They do not want to
cause anything like a situation where the
administrative agency controls and di[.continued from page 759] Bibles and to disseminate Bible truths in various languages by means
of making and publishing literature containing
information and comment explaining Bible
truths and prophecy concerning establishment
of Jehovahs kingdom under Christ Jesus: to
authorize and appoint agents, servants, employees, teachers, instructors, evangelists, missionaries and ministers to go forth to all the world
publicly and from house to house to preach
and teach Bible truths to persons willing to
listen by leaving with such persons said literature and by conducting Bible studies thereon:
to improve men, women and children mentally
and morally by Christian missionary work and
by charitable and benevolent instruction of
the people on the Bible and incidental scientific,
historical and literary subjects: to establish
and maintain private Bible schools and classes
for gratuitous instruction of men and women
in the Bible, Bible literature and Bible history:
to teach, train, prepare and equip men and
women as ministers, missionaries, evangelists,
preachers, teachers and lecturers; to provide
and maintain homes, places and buildings for
gratuitous housing of such students, lecturers,
teachers and ministers: to furnish gratuitously
to such students, lecturers, teachers, educators
and ministers suitable meals and lodging and
to prepare, support, maintain and send out to
various parts of the world Christian missionaries, teachers and instructors in the Bible and
Bible literature, and for public Christian worship of Almighty God [through] Christ Jesus;
to arrange for and hold local and world-wide
assemblies for such worship: to use or operate
radio broadcasting stations for preaching this
gospel of the kingdom; and to do any and
all other lawful things that its Board of Directors shall deem expedient for the purposes
stated.

B rooklyn , N .Y .

rects the user of that agency, which user

is the governing body as representing the
faithful and discreet slave class. No
more so them to have the tail wag a dog instead of the dogs wagging its tail. A legal
religious instrument according to Caesars
law should not attem pt to direct and control its creator; rather, the creator of the
legal religious instrument should control
and direct it. In harmony with Gods holy
spirit, therefore, in order to have the greatest efficiency and perfect harmony between
the governing body and the Board of Directors of the legal corporation, the voting
members of the Society have w isely elected to the Directorate those whom they
know are members of the governing body
of the faithful and discreet slave class.
HOW THE GOVERNING BODY
CAME TO EXIST

How did this governing body make its

appearance in recent tim es? Evidently mider the direction of Jehovah God and his
Son Jesus Christ. According to the facts
available, the governing body became associated with the Watch Tower Bible and
Tract Society of Pennsylvania. C. T. Russell was patently of that governing body
back there in the last quarter of the nineteenth century. Being fully dedicated to
God through Christ, he set him self to apply his tim e, energy, abilities, wealth and
influence to defending Gods inspired Word
and spreading its message. To that end
he began publishing Zions Watch Tower
back there in July of 1879, believing, as he
said in its columns, that this had Jehovahs backing, and hence there would be
no solicitation for money. He manifested
the qualifications of an overseer as set out
in 1 Timothy 3:1-7 and Titus 1:5-9 and
accordingly he was requested by the congregation of Christian Bible students at
Allegheny to serve as its pastor or spiritual shepherd. Five years later Zions
Watch Tower Tract Society was incorpo-

D ecember 15, 1971

fReW ATCHTOW EFL

761

rated and served as an agency to minis- creet slave class. The facts speak for
ter spiritual food to thousands of sincere themselves. There came on the scene a
persons seeking to know God and to under- body of anointed Christians who accepted
stand his Word and to come into relation- and undertook the responsibilities of govship with him through Christ.
em ing the affairs of Jehovahs dedicated,
Dedicated, baptized, anointed Christians baptized, anointed people who were folbecame associated w ith that Society at lowing in the footsteps of Jesus Christ and
headquarters in Pennsylvania. Whether endeavoring to fulfill the work stated in
on the Board of Directors or not, they Jesus prophecy at Matthew 2 4:4547.
rendered them selves available for special Facts speak louder than words. The govwork of the faithful and discreet slave em ing body is there. Thankfully Jehovahs
class. They aided in the feeding and di- Christian witnesses know and assert that
recting of the slave class, and thus a gov- this is no one-man religious organization,
erning body made its appearance. This was but that it has a governing body of spiritevidently under the guidance of Jehovahs anointed Christians.
invisible active force or holy spirit. Also,
ROTATION OF OFFICES IN THE
under the direction of the Head of the
DIRECTORATE?
Christian congregation, Jesus Christ the
In the governing body there is a rotaSon of God. True, the members of that
tion of the chairmanship of a years length
governing body were not directly appointamong the members thereof. Does this
ed by the Lord Jesus Christ. For that
mean that there must be a rotation in the
matter, not all the members of the govoffices of the Watch Tower Bible and Tract
em ing body associated with the Jerusalem
Society of Pennsylvania among the Board
congregation in the first century were thus
of Directors each year at election time?
directly appointed. How, then, were those
No! The Societys Charter does not call
elders of the Jerusalem congregation
for that.
who were not numbered among the twelve
apostles made members of the governing
CHAIRMANSHIP NOT DEPENDENT
body? Evidently by appointment of the
UPON PRESIDENCY
original twelve apostles, acting under the
The governing body of the faithful and
guidance of Jehovahs holy spirit.
discreet slave class does have a rotation
This is illustrated by the action of those of the chairmanship among its members.*
twelve apostles when appointing Stephen Since the governing body of the slave
and Philip and five other men to take care class preceded the legal corporation known
of certain business of the Jerusalem con- as the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Sogregation. (Acts 6:1-8) Also, the apostle ciety of Pennsylvania, the chairmanship of
Paul pointed out in his remarks to the the governing body is not determined by
elders of the Ephesus congregation that or dependent upon who is elected presithe overseers of Gods flock of spiritual dent yearly of the Society. What follows?
sheep were appointed by Gods holy spirit.
Even though the occupant of the presi(Acts 20:28) Thus, too, even though
dency may remain in office over a number
there were no apostles of Christ on hand
of years because of his suitability for that
in the nineteenth century, Gods holy spirto a Resolution adopted by the Governit must have been operative toward the ing* According
Body of Jehovahs Witnesses at its meeting on
formation of the governing body for his September 6, 1971, the chairmanship of the Governing
Body should rotate annually in alphabetical order acanointed remnant of the faithful and dis- cording to the last name of each member.

762

SEeWATCHTOWER

B r o oklyn , N .Y .

highly responsible office, this does not interfere with the rotation system for the
chairmanship among the governing body
of the slave class. The governing body
has the strictly spiritual field for its operation. The legal nonprofit corporation,
the Society, has many additional duties as
an adm inistrative agency of Jehovahs witnesses.*
The governing body is very grateful to
God for the religious Society that is to
be used as an agency of Jehovahs Christian witnesses. This legal nonprofit Society, through being manned by faithful dedicated, baptized disciples of Jesus Christ,
all ordained ministers, who volunteer their
services as directly to Jehovah God, has
tremendously facilitated the carrying on
of the greatest work on earth today, namely, the preaching of the good news of
Gods now established kingdom in all the
inhabited earth for a witness to all the
nations before the end of this system of
things arrives, shortly now. The functioning of the legal, religious society in this
way has thus spared Jehovahs witnesses
the vexatious problems, hindrances, interruptions and controversies that afflict the
nonreligious, industrial, commercial, labor
and legal establishments of the wicked
world. Now this is because their religious
society with 93 branch offices, and its associated societies, have had the volunteer
services of thousands of dedicated workers
world wide, and these have made over 230,000,000 Bible books and 530,000,000 booklets and have printed and distributed over
four billion religious magazines, The

Watchtower and Awake! This work they

did in more than 160 languages at just a
nominal cost for the printed literature.
Thus we are amazed to see that during the
past thirty years, or since 1942, these dedicated workers have produced 4,942,619,411 Bibles, bound books, booklets and magazines. W ith the end of this worldly system
of things, its many legal corporations, organized under the laws of the political
states, w ill cease to function as such, but
the Christian witnesses of Jehovah will
have to continue on.

* See excerpt of Charter quoted on page 759, column

2, and page 760, column 1.

t The present Governing Body comprises eleven

anointed witnesses of Jehovah.

AN INTERESTING PROBLEM

At the close of discussing m atters such

as the above at the annual chartered meeting of the Watch Tower Bible and Tract
Society of Pennsylvania at Buckingham,
Pa., on October 1, 1971, an interesting
problem was posed for the audience, espedally for the voting members present of
the said Society. It was this: Nineteen
hundred years ago, the faithful and discreet slave class with its governing body
functioned without a legal corporation
chartered by Caesar, and it did sosuecessfully, magnificently. What about the
governing body of the faithful and discreet slave class of the present tim e?f
Can it also function without the legal nonprofit corporation known as Watch Tower
Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania?
and succeed? In the light of the precedent
established by the apostles and fellow elders of the Jerusalem congregation in the
first century C.E., we leave you to answer
the question for yourself.

C ^tange*
h an qed

!lin k in g ^ sd k o u t ^ *ace

OW great can a change in ones thinking

and personality be? The Bible speaks of
'putting away the old personality which
conforms to ones former course of conduct
and 'putting on the new personality which
is in accord with righteousness. (Eph. 4:22-24)
Can this occur today?
Recently at a regional assembly of Jehovahs
witnesses a man from New Jersey related what
had occurred in his case:
'I was furious when my wife told me she
was going to be taught the Bible by a colored
woman who had come to our door in February
of 1966. I just couldnt see a colored person
coming into my home.
'During the study, I attempted to create distractions in order to discourage the study.
Also I started to come home drunk on the
night when the weekly study was held so as
to further disrupt it. Over a period of three
months my wife and I had a number of arguments about a colored minister of Jehovahs
witnesses coming into our home and teaching
what I viewed as a "worthless religion. I
tried to tell my wife that there was no point
in looking into religion, that all religions were
looking out for themselves.
My experiences with religion had always
been distasteful. When I was young and my
mother was near death, the family priest was
called. Ill never forget his answer, "Ill be
there later. But he never did show up. In
my confusion in the years following this experience I became associated with an extreme
right-wing political movement. I started collecting arms to protect myself and my country
against the uprising that I thought I foresaw.
My collection grew to nine handguns, a 30caliber carbine, with a unit to make it automatic, and several shotguns. I even began
to conduct handgun and rifle practice for my
wife and children. We used homemade silhouettes of men with the vital organs outlined on the figures. I concluded that when
the civil war that I foresaw actually broke
out, our family would escape to the mountains
and take by force anything that I thought we
needed.
'After my wife had studied the Bible with
Jehovahs witnesses for about three months,
I moved the family into the country, ending

763

the study. It was about this time that at work

someone left a copy of the Watchtower magazine on the lunch table. I became enraged and
demanded to know who had left it. A colored
employee calmly replied that he had.
'For about a year at various times I tried
to argue with this Witness, but he always replied calmly, pointing to what the Bible had
to say. Finally I began to notice that he was
different from the other people with whom
I worked. He would not take sides in political
matters. He agreed that a war was coming but
assured me that he was thinking of something
quite different from what I had in mind. He
said only the meek, who had Gods protection,
would survive the war that was coming.
'At home I spoke with my wife about some
of the points the Witness had brought up at
work. She told me that she liked to study the
Bible with them because they were not prejudiced. By the end of another year I had started
to read The Watchtower. The Witness working
with me offered to study with me in the Bible,
but I delayed deciding.
One day this colored Witness and a white
companion of his visited me at home. It must
have been some sight for them. Two walls in
my living room were decorated with crossed
rifles and bayonets. Religious pictures, crosses
and images were also displayed.
'After three months of regularly studying
the Bible I began to make changes in my
life. I disposed of my guns. My former friends
thought I had gone crazy and stopped associating with me in my unarmed condition. The
religious ornaments were removed from my
living room. Within a year I was attending
the meetings of Jehovahs witnesses in the
Kingdom Hall and even began sharing in the
field ministry with them. Finally I was baptized, becoming an ordained minister myself.
'Now, Im happy to be conducting my own
Bible study with my family, in addition to
teaching the Bible to other families. I can
definitely say that in my heart I am no longer
a racist, but rather am completely at ease
with my spiritual brothers of all races. I especially have great love for the two brothers
who spent so much time to help me to the
point where I can maintain a good relationship
with Jehovah and with my fam ily/

is i n n
ENUINE Christians are no part of
the world, not engaging in its religious or political schemes. Nevertheless,
they are in the world and must have some
dealings with it. (John 15:19; 1 Cor. 5:
9, 10) But from Jehovahs standpoint, the
main purpose in their being alive is to
serve as witnesses for his name and kingdom in every aspect of their lives.Phil.
2:15.
Accordingly, true Christians must
make honest provision, not only in the
sight of Jehovah, but also in the sight of
men. (2 Cor. 8:21) They appreciate that
everyone should work and that those
having the responsibility for dependents
should provide for them. This is a ministry, a feature of their worship of God.
2 Thess. 3:10; 1 Tim. 5:8.
Therefore, Jehovahs Christian witnesses support them selves financially, either
by some trade, profession or form of labor,
or, in some cases, by operating a business.
What is the purpose of a business, as far
as one of Jehovahs servants is concerned?
It is so that he can provide properly for
him self and his fam ily in the sight of God.
Consequently, he controls his business to
serve its proper purpose, not permitting
his business to control him.
Indeed, a Christian in business must be
unusually careful to keep his senses and
his balance. (1 Pet. 5:8) In some families
a successful business becomes a tradition,

764

a m atter of fam ily pride, an image. It is

put first. Others are greatly concerned that
their business serve to amass much material wealth. These persons, too, become
subservient to their business.
A Christian can fall into either of these
snares. The apostle Paul warned: Those
who are determined to be rich fall into
temptation and a snare and many senseless
and hurtful desires, which plunge men into
destruction and ruin. James the half
brother of Jesus speaks of some who ignore their dependence on God and plan
without his guidance. As an illustration of
such an attitude, James says: Come, now,
you who say: Today or tomorrow we will
journey to this city and w ill spend a year
there, and we w ill engage in business and
make profits,' whereas you do not know
what your life w ill be tomorrow. For you
are a m ist appearing for a little while and
then disappearing.1 Tim. 6:9; Jas. 4:
13, 14; compare Luke 12:16-21.
So a true Christian is not concerned
with expanding his business beyond what
is necessary. Otherwise it could gradually
encroach on the tim e essential for certain
vital m inistries: his personal study, associating with and teaching his family, attending Christian meetings, preaching the
good news of the Kingdom, preparing assignments, and other duties and privileges
in connection with the Christian congregation.

D e c e m b e r 15, 1971

3E eW A T C H T 0W E R

A BUSINESS BRINGS
RESPONSIBILITIES

A Christian contemplating entering into

business must take into consideration the
heavy responsibilities he is assuming. First
of all, he is bound, as a Christian, to be
careful that nothing he does brings any
blame on the Christian m inistry. (2 Cor.
6:3) He has a responsibility to his customers or clients. If he is manufacturing
a product, it must be a good product, or
if performing a service, it must be work
very well done. In advertising or selling,
he cannot employ lies, misrepresentation,
trickery or deception. He must realize that
engaging in business as a Christian means
hard work, not smooth talk. God hates
liars and deceivers.Rev. 21:8; Prov. 6:
12-15.
Additionally, a businessman has a responsibility toward his employees. Whether
these are fellow Christians or unbelievers,
all should receive fair and unprejudiced
treatment and should be paid the wages
agreed upon beforehand.Lev. 19:13.
Operating a business in this present
system of things requires great carefulness. Detailed records have to be kept because of governmental regulations such as
sales taxes, workmens compensation insurance, social security tax, income taxes,
and so forth. The Christian ought to keep
an accurate record of all his business
transactions so that he w ill not run into
difficulty and bring reproach on the ministry through laxity or carelessness, perhaps failing to pay back to Caesar what
is Caesars.Mark 12:17.
SUBTLE DANGERS

In view of the Scriptural warning about

seeking wealth, a Christian should be very
suspicious of projects that promise quick
or unusually large returns on money invested. Even if a Christian believes that
a certain enterprise of such nature is hon-

765

est and he decides to invest in it, it is wise

not to involve other Christians, or even
outsiders, in it. Such things have brought
about difficulty, particularly where the enterprise did not turn out well and caused
a loss of money. Certainly a Christian
would be sinning grievously against God
if he became guilty of fraud. He would
bear a measure of guilt if he cooperated
in a scheme that he thought was good, but
which proved to be fraudulent.Mic. 2:1,
2; Ps. 72:4; 62:10; Prov. 22:16.
Gods viewpoint of such m atters is
shown in the laws he gave to Israel. One
who defrauded or stole from his associate
was to pay double, or more, if caught. But
even if he repented and brought the matter to light of his own volition, he was
required to confess his sin, restore the
amount defrauded plus tw enty percent,
and offer as a guilt offering a ram (quite
costly to an Israelite) at the sanctuary as
an appeal to God for forgiveness. (Ex. 22:
1, 4, 7; Lev. 6:1-7; compare Luke 19:8.)
Even where a person found that he had
sinned unintentionally against any of Gods
laws, he was nevertheless guilty and had
to set the m atter straight. Lev. 4:27, 28;
5:15-19.
A Christian does not want to share responsibility for the sins of Babylon the
Great, the world empire of false religion.
(Rev. 18:2, 4) Also he wants to maintain
neutrality as to the conflicting political
factions of this world. Therefore the Christian in business w ill watch carefully
against making alliances w ith them, avoiding involvement in the supporting of them.
For reasons such as the foregoing, the
counsel of the apostle Paul should be taken
very seriously not to become unevenly
yoked with unbelievers. (2 Cor. 6:14)
A Christian entering into such a partnership in business would be acting disobediently toward Gods counsel. He would encounter innumerable situations where he

766

SfteWATCHTOWEFL

would be tempted to compromise to please

or to get along with his unbelieving partner. He could be led into violating right
principles, thereby incurring Gods displeasure.
BORROWING AND LENDING

Borrowing money is something to avoid

if at all possible, for, as the apostle adm onishes: Do not you people be owing
anybody a single thing, except to love one
another. (Rom. 13:8) And the Scriptures
say: The borrower is servant to the man
doing the lending. (Prov. 22:7) The borrower does indeed come into a form of servitude, because he has a responsibility to
his creditor. He must pay back to the lender according to the agreement made. Also,
when he thinks of engaging in certain further business ventures or expenses, he has
to consider the one to whom he is already
in debt, and he cannot be as free as if he
owed no money. Again, when he gets money in hand he is not free to use it as he
pleases, perhaps for recreation, or even for
his fam ily. He must give priority to the
payment of his debt.Ps. 37:21.
However, if a loan is necessary and a
brother has the money that he can afford
to lend, a written agreement should be
drawn up stating the amount borrowed,
the rate of interest, if any, and the manner and tim e in which the loan is to be
repaid.
Is this done because we do not trust
our Christian associates, our brothers?
No. It is done because of imperfection.
Spoken words may be misunderstood and
forgetfulness can enter in. Misunderstandings and hard feelings can then develop
and can even bring dissensions that affect
the congregation. Jehovah God recognizes
our imperfections and knows what can develop as a result. The psalmist says: For
he him self well knows the formation of us,

B rooklyn , N .Y .

remembering that we are dust.Ps. 103:

14.
For this very reason the apostle Paul
saw to it that the money contributed by
the congregations to help the oppressed
Christians in Jerusalem was handled by
more than one person, so that no misunderstanding would arise and no suspicions
of any kind be raised. This was the occasion on which Paul explained: Thus
we are avoiding having any man find fault
with us in connection with this liberal
contribution to be administered by us. For
we ,make honest provision, not only in the
sight of Jehovah, but also in the sight of
men. 2 Cor. 8:16-21.
For these reasons the same principle
holds true with respect to estim ates or
contracts for work to be done, where payment is expected. Of course, many kindnesses are done by Christians for one another as well as for others and many gifts
are given without any thought of a return
or reciprocation. (Luke 6:31-36; Gal. 6:
10) But if it is a business deal, then one
should have the term s in writing, each
one involved receiving a copy. The Bible
supports such a practice. Among the Israelites written business documents were
common, and this practice was approved
by God. He directed Jeremiah to write a
deed when purchasing a certain tract of
land.Jer. 32:8-14.
As to the lender, he should seriously consider the m atter before lending money to
another individual. Where there is a real
need on the part of a brother or sister,
he may well wish to help with a voluntary
gift, or make a loan without interest. (Ex.
22:25) Indeed, it would be his obligation
to help if he was able, and Jehovah would
bless him for his loving-kindness.Jas. 2:
14-16; Prov. 28:27.
On the other hand, if a loan is requested
for the borrower to use in a business way,
then the prospective lender should consider

e c e m b e r

15, 1971

SfteW ATCHTOW ER.

whether he can afford to make the loan,

yes, even to lose the money if adverse
circumstances should cripple the borrowers ability to repay. Also, the lender
should keep in mind that being too free
in lending may encourage the borrower
in an unwise course, particularly if the
borrower has no collateral, or is already
in debt. And lending to a person who is
lax in operating his business or slow in
making payments m ay do him more harm
than good, spiritually.
The Scriptures definitely counsel against
putting ones own financial status in jeopardy by becoming surety for another, as
by signing for another person who is taking on a debt. We are warned: Do not
get to be among those striking hands,
among those who go security for loans. If
you have nothing to pay, why should he
take your bed from under you? One who
does this is shown as lacking good, right
motive: A man that is wanting in heart
shakes hands, going full surety before his
companion.Prov. 22:26, 27; 17:18.
In view of all the complications that
may arise, therefore, it is wise for a person who contemplates borrowing money
to ask himself: Is this loan really neeessary, essential to my living? Perhaps,
on examining himself, a person may find
that he wants to live higher than he can
actually afford. In some instances he may
be better off getting a job as an employee
rather than continuing to try to run a
faltering business. Certainly it is wrong
to get into the attitude that others have
the money, so why should I not use some
of it?
There are cases where individuals have
taken advantage of their Christian brothers in business transactions because of the
brothers trust in them as fellow Christians. The apostle Paul speaks of those
who think, wrongly, that godly devotion

767

is a means of gain [in prominence or in

material th in gs]. He says: To be sure,
it is a means of great gain, this godly
devotion along with self-sufficiency. For we
have brought nothing into the world, and
neither can we carry anything out. So,
having sustenance and covering, we shall
be content with these things. Then the
apostle continues w ith a warning about determining to be rich. 1 Tim. 6 :5 1 0 .
CONFIDENCE IN JEHOVAHS CARE

Paul said in his own case: I have

learned, in whatever circumstances I am,
to be self-sufficient. I know indeed how to
be low on provisions, I know indeed how
to have an abundance. . . . For all things
I have the strength by virtue of him who
imparts power to m e.Phil. 4 :1 1 1 3 .
What a fine example we have in the
apostle Paul, and in our Christian brothers
who trust in Jesus words: Keep on, then,
seeking first the kingdom and [Gods]
righteousness, and all these other things
[necessities such as food and clothing]
will be added to you. Their conduct is
turning out fine and theirs is the faith we
want to im itate.Matt. 6:33; Heb. 13:7.
Maintaining strong faith in Jehovahs
care for us, realizing he knows what
things you are needing before ever you ask
him, we will not be tempted to store up
more than is necessary, and we w ill not
be brought into fear that we and our families may not get sufficient food. We are
reassured by the apostles inspired words:
Let your manner of life be free of the
love of money, while you are content with
the present things. For he has said: I w ill
by no means leave you nor by any means
forsake you. So that we may be of good
courage and say: Jehovah is m y helper;
I w ill not be afraid. W hat can man do to
me? Matt. 6:8; Heb. 13:5, 6.

 John 21:18, 19 says concerning the apostle

Peter: 1When you were younger, you used
to gird yourself and walk about where you
wanted. But when you grow old you will stretch
out your hands and another man will gird
you and bear you where you do not wish.
This [Jesus] said to signify by what sort of
death [Peter] would glorify God. Do these
words specifically refer to a death by crucifixion or impalement?U.S.A.
The ancient religious historian Eusebius reports that Peter was crucified with his head
downward, having requested of himself to
suffer in this way. However, Jesus prophecy
regarding Peters death was not that specific.
Acknowledges A Catholic Commentary on Holy
Scripture: As the extension of hands is set
before girding and being led away, it is difficult
to discern how it must be conceived. If the order is part of the prophecy, we must suppose the prisoner lashed to the patibulum be

fore being girded and led out to execution.

So, were it not for the tradition recorded
by Eusebius, Jesus* statement in itself would
not point to a death by crucifixion or impalement. Viewing the words of John 21:18, 19
apart from tradition, we would come to the
following conclusion: In his younger years
Peter was able to gird himself at will for whatever duty he wanted to perform. He had the
liberty to go where he wanted to go. But in
later life this would change. He would have to
stretch out his hands, perhaps in submission to
someone else. Another man would take control of him, girding Peter (either binding him
or preparing him for what was to come) and
bearing him to a place where he did not want
to go, evidently the place of execution. Thus
Jesus prophecy regarding Peter indeed indicated that the apostle would die a martyrs death;
but the manner of this death is not necessarily
implied.
WATCHTOWER STUDIES FOR THE WEEKS

January 16: Forward into the New Order Under Theocracy! Page 741. Songs to Be
Used: 11, 38.
January 23: Theocratic Organization with
Which to Move Forward Now. Page 748.
Songs to Be Used: 80, 61.