The Watchtower — December 15, 1951

Mankind’s Greatest Leader

MEN have been following human leaders for thousands of years in search of liberation. Jehovah God touched the keynote of true deliverance in Eden. After humanity’s fall to sin and death, God pointed ahead to a Seed to be produced from the womb of his organization who would restore justice, peace and life. (Gen. 3:15) In the meantime politics, militarism and science have filled the world with champions and heroes to be hailed while living, and after death to be memorialized each year on their anniversaries.

But for all the glory men would accord their great ones, the Bible rule remains: “Rely not upon great men—mere mortals who can give no help; when their breath goes, they return to the dust, and on that very day their projects perish.”—Ps. 146:3, 4, Mo.

Some of the most worthless men have been accorded posthumous praise. Man’s first king, Nimrod, though worshiped after death as a god, was a wanton spiller of blood in his lifetime. He reviled the true God and encouraged worship of the state. Though claiming to be the promised seed of deliverance, he brought only slavery to creature worshipers.—Gen. 10:8-10.

When holidays are declared in honor of such “great men”, how hollow the usual procedures followed. Usually it is a time for rowdyism and general debauchery to reign. The one whose birth provides the excuse for such reveling cannot hear the noisemakers, and if he was an honorable man in his lifetime, he probably would not want to if he could. It is worse than when the ancient priests of Baal gashed themselves and wailed all day long in an effort to make their “god” hear them when Elijah called their bluff. At least they admitted that they were heathen!—1 Ki. 18:20-40.

But why, especially at this season, make so much of these matters? Because just now all of Christendom is making a great show of commemorating the birth of Jesus Christ, the mighty ‘witness, leader and commander to the people’. (Isa. 55:4) Certainly we will not deny that man owes recognition to this only truly great leader ever given him. Beyond question, Jesus meets every requirement for leadership in the perfect sense. His invincible military prowess he will demonstrate in crushing the Devil to defeat at the “battle of that great day of God Almighty” or Armageddon. (Rev. 16:14, 16) Then the government of this “Prince of Peace” will introduce the most blessed and peaceful rule ever known, amid conditions of contentment and prosperity. (Isa. 9:6, 7; Mic. 4:1-5) And no scientist or doctor ever lived who came near to matching what Christ has given humanity. Instead of burdening his subjects with sin and death, his life has furnished a ransom “in order that everyone exercising faith in him might not be destroyed but have everlasting life”. (John 3:16, NW) Moreover, life under his government is promised to uplift the race to perfection.

But now in view of these facts it should be apparent that no “mass for Christ” or “Christmas” is necessary for this great Leader. This conviction is deepened in noting that the Bible nowhere records a celebration of Jesus’ birth by either himself or his disciples. Nor does the Bible become any more explicit on the exact date of its occurrence other than that it was in the early fall, about October 1. Where then did the December 25 date originate? Protestants took it from the Catholics, who had appropriated it from the pagan religions so plentiful in the Roman empire of the fourth century. In turn, ancient heathen peoples had kept it since the time of the early Babylonians, who on that date annually commemorated the birth of Nimrod!

And just as the date is wrong, so is everything connected with it. By burning the pagan yule log, Nimrod’s death was anciently observed on December 24. Then on the 25th, the presence of an evergreen tree depicted the belief of his worshipers that “god Nimrod” had been changed into divine or to immortality. Furthermore, while Christendom is filled to overflowing with such heathen lip service to its professed Leader, it is empty of all the virtues he required of his true followers.

Jesus held to the premise of one true worship and branded all others false roads leading off into destruction. But Christendom’s unity is shattered by no less than 265 sects in the United States alone. Clergy hypocrisy that capitalized on acts of public charity and loud prayers he condemned. This world’s clergy’s love for headlines in accompaniment to their charity and their praying at public functions where politicians kiss the Bible and they add a benediction—all this is well known. That his followers might not be divided and destroyed by barriers of national pride, Jesus advocated rendering to Caesar his due; but stressed that God must be given his as well, and that God came first. Yet twice in one generation, professed Christians the world over have been torn by global war in which Catholic killed Catholic and Protestant, Protestant.

Throughout the ministry of Christ there shone the theme of the Lord’s prayer: “Your kingdom come.” Christendom’s sermons are weighted with fair-haired promises of a better world by human ingenuity, collective security schemes, a United Nations as man’s hope, etc. Jesus gave “a new commandment, that you love one another”. (John 13:34, NW) Worldly religion hatches constant political intrigue and frequent violence against true Christians who are separate from the world, thus reflecting strife, envy and hate.

Truly Christendom is an empty shell of vanity and paganism. When she calls to her gods on the same holidays and in the same way as the heathen of old, the results are naturally the same. The gods for whom such celebrations were originally established cannot answer. Thus Nimrod is forever dead despite all the evergreen trees of antiquity and of those that now may be displayed on December 25. Demons intercept the praise to God and continue to lead the nations to Armageddon.

True Christians seek to move their lips in intelligent praise to Jehovah the true and Almighty God and to his Son. (Heb. 13:15) Their doing so, preaching the good news of his kingdom, helps more and more persons to appreciate the meaning of the peace he brought to “men of good-will” and the blessings ahead for this earth under his rule. (Luke 2:14, NW) They make his God their God, his kingdom their hope. How uplifting! What a truly great Leader and Commander he is!

“Say to the Prisoners, Go Forth”

“That thou mayest say to the prisoners, Go forth; to them that are in darkness, Shew yourselves. They shall feed in the ways, and their pastures shall be in all high places.—Isa. 49:9.

1, 2. What record has Jehovah for opening prisons and letting the inmates loose?

JEHOVAH cannot be beat for opening prison doors and letting prisoners loose. He has a record of doing this in a literal way. He sent prophetic dreams to Pharaoh of ancient Egypt, and these worked for him to release Joseph from prison to interpret the dreams and become chief minister of Pharaoh. He used the mighty armies of Babylon as his executioners and let them batter their way into Jerusalem and release his prophet Jeremiah from prison. Much later the religious rulers of Jerusalem again committed a false arrest, this time on the apostles of Jesus Christ. But Jehovah’s angel opened the prison doors that night, brought them forth without their keepers’ realizing it, and told them to go back to preach about Jesus Christ in the temple. Afterward when Peter alone was imprisoned and sentenced to death and lay sleeping bound with chains between two soldiers and with guards before the cell door, Jehovah’s angel again struck off the chains and led Peter out to freedom and to further service of his God.

² Even an earthquake was not too much for Jehovah to stir up under the prison at Philippi in Macedonia to loose the hands and feet of the apostle Paul and Silas from chains and stocks and to knock open the cell door and induce the jailer to lead them out with the greatest respect and meekly listen to their message. It is truly written, “Jehovah looseth the prisoners.”—Ps. 146:7, AS; Jer. 40:1-4; Gen. 41:1-46; Acts 5:17-21; 12:1-11; 16:19-34.

3. Since when in our time is he doing a greater releasing work, and from what?

³ But here we are at the threshold of A.D. 1952. This is too modern a day for Jehovah God to be doing anything like loosing people from prison, is it not? Do not think so for a moment. The fact is, he is doing his great work of releasing now, in this modern period from A.D. 1919. This work is marked by the releasing of many from literal prisons, concentration camps and other places of detention. But it is specially remarkable for releasing victims from a vaster and more terrible prison, a spiritual prison condition in a modern Babylon. Nothing can resist, and nothing is resisting his power to set those who are bound free even while the prison still stands. When he has delivered all those who long to get free and who look to him for it, he will smash the entire prison system at the battle of Armageddon and introduce a free world for everyone that lives. Note how this is coming about.

4. How do we identify Jehovah’s great Servant of liberation?

⁴ God Almighty has a great Liberator or Servant whom he now uses in this work of granting sweet release to liberty lovers who are bound. Who is he? Hear the voice that comes sounding down the corridors of nineteen centuries from a Jewish synagogue at Nazareth in Galilee, Palestine. The voice is reading the words of the prophecy of Isaiah, chapter sixty-one61, verses one and two, and you hear these words: “Jehovah’s spirit is upon me, because he anointed me to declare good news to the poor, he sent me forth to preach a release to the captives and a recovery of sight to the blind, to send the crushed ones away with a release, to preach Jehovah’s acceptable year.” (Luke 4:18, 19, NW) Ah, you recognize the voice of Jesus of Nazareth speaking and there applying to himself those prophetic words designating Jehovah’s Servant of liberation. Yes, he is the great Servant whom Almighty God has raised up now to serve as Liberator, now when the whole earth is threatened with a new bondage, that of blasphemous international communism. The self-conceited religious pontiff who claims to be the visible “vicar of Christ” falls far short of being a spiritual bulwark against the onrush of Christless Communism. A false Christ could never be depended upon to be a true bulwark against political and social lies. But the true Christ himself, Jesus the Son of God, stands firmer than the rock of Gibraltar, not only repelling the invasion of Communism and other political isms into the lives of lovers of truth and righteousness, but also releasing many who are in bondage under these systems.

5. To what does it lead to look to men as liberators, and whose appointment does this course ignore?

⁵ Millions of people inside and outside of Christendom have been fooled in the past. And it is now a foolish thing to listen to some man or group of men when they lift themselves to prominence and then, to draw followers after themselves, proclaim that they will bring about the people’s liberation. The granting of full liberty to mankind rests with the Almighty God Jehovah. He has made his own appointment of someone reliable to free the prisoners of this oppressive system of things. To this day he sticks to that appointment. So it is not worth the while and it only leads to heartbreaks to look to anybody else than the One the Most High God has appointed. He makes known the One he has appointed and he speaks to him with these words: “Thus saith Jehovah, In an acceptable time have I answered thee, and in a day of salvation have I helped thee; and I will preserve thee, and give thee for a covenant of the people, to raise up the land, to make them inherit the desolate heritages; saying to them that are bound, Go forth; to them that are in darkness, Show yourselves.”—Isa. 49:8, 9, AS.

THE SERVANT

6, 7. To whom do those words apply in type and in antitype?

⁶ Oh, you say, those words apply to King Cyrus of Persia. In 539 B.C. he and his uncle Darius overthrew mighty Babylon which had destroyed Jerusalem and its temple and had desolated the land of the Jews by carrying nearly all the survivors off into Babylon as exiles. But in the first year of his reign Cyrus released these Jewish prisoners. He let them go back to the desolate Jewish heritages in Palestine and rebuild the ruined land.

⁷ All that is true. Isaiah, chapter forty-five45, did foretell Cyrus and his liberal deeds toward Jehovah’s people, but it sets him forth as a type or prophetic figure of Jesus Christ, the Greater Cyrus. It is Jesus Christ who brings about the complete fulfillment of Jehovah’s prophecy. So he is the great Servant of liberation now.

8. (a) What powerful instrument of liberation did Jesus have? (b) How did God help him and give him as a “covenant of the people”?

⁸ When Jesus was on earth he had a powerful instrument, the truth. At once we think of his words: “If you remain in my word, you are really my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” (John 8:31, 32, NW) All the while he was on earth as a man he was in constant danger from the great Serpent Satan the Devil, and all his wicked seed demon and human. He prayed to his heavenly Father and he was answered and helped that he might finish his work for mankind’s salvation. Jehovah God preserved him till his work was finished. Then he let him show his loyalty and integrity even to disgraceful death on a torture stake at Calvary. But Almighty God preserved him by raising him up from the dead to immortal life in heaven as the exalted spirit Son of God. In this way Jesus Christ could carry on with his liberation work and be on hand for it in this day. God has given him for a “covenant of the people”. How a “covenant”? A covenant is a solemn engagement to do something. God has solemnly engaged or bound himself to loose true liberty lovers from prison and bondage, and he has given his Son Jesus Christ as a covenant or pledge that he will do this. He has provided and appointed Jesus to be the One to set people free. As certainly as there is a resurrected and glorified Jesus at the Father’s right hand in heaven, just that certainly there will be a loosing of righthearted people from slavery to the tyrannical world system of modern Babylon. So the One to look to is this glorious Servant whom God has given for a “covenant of the people”. All human leaders will prove frauds.

9. How does Paul apply Isaiah 49:8 and show we may be associated with the true Liberator in his work?

⁹ You love liberty for yourself, and you would like to see others enjoy it too. Would you not like to be associated with the true Liberator in his work? You may. We know from these Scriptural facts that you can. Above (¶ 5) we quoted the words of Isaiah 49:8. The apostle Paul calls attention to these words and applies them in connection with the followers of Jesus Christ. We reproduce Paul’s particular way of saying it, and also his words surrounding it, as follows: “We are therefore ambassadors substituting for Christ, as though God were making entreaty through us. As substitutes for Christ we beg: ‘Become reconciled to God.’ The one who did not know sin he made to be sin for us, that we might become God’s righteousness by means of him. Working together with him, we also entreat you not to accept the undeserved kindness of God and miss its purpose. For he says [and here comes Paul’s quotation of Isaiah 49:8, LXX]: ‘In an acceptable season I heard you, and in the day for salvation I came to your help.’ Look! Now is the especially acceptable season. Look! Now is the day for salvation. In no way are we giving any cause for stumbling, that our ministry might not be found fault with; but in every way we recommend ourselves as God’s ministers.”—2 Cor. 5:20 to 6:4, NW.

10. How was Paul trying to keep his ministry blameless, and what appeal does he make to us about God’s undeserved kindness?

¹⁰ Here Paul tells us he had a ministry of service entrusted to him, and that in doing it he was working together with God and his great Servant Jesus Christ. Since Christ was not there personally in the flesh, Paul was acting as an ambassador substituting for Christ and saying for him, “Become reconciled to God [so as to gain salvation in this acceptable season and day for it].” That his ministry or service might be blameless in this respect, Paul was giving his hearers no cause for stumbling but was in every way recommending himself to them as God’s minister or servant. So he appeals to those to whom he writes that they should not receive the undeserved kindness of God through Christ and miss its purpose. And here is where all of us who accept his undeserved kindness come in. We must not miss the purpose for which it was given to us.

COMMISSION OF WORK

11. How can we avoid missing the purpose of God’s undeserved kindness given to us?

¹¹ How can we miss the purpose of this undeserved kindness? By our failing to do the work for which it was given us to make us fit. Having tasted of his undeserved kindness and been reconciled to God or put on friendly terms with him, we must from now on be a coworker with him. We must colabor with his great Servant Jesus Christ. He has given a commission of work to his great Servant. What part of that commission of work we can help in doing, we are obliged to do it. So to that extent the commission to the Servant also applies to us, and we become his fellow servants. We become members of the servant class. This is specially true of those Christians who are anointed with God’s spirit as Jesus was and who are baptized into his spiritual body or congregation and who are made joint heirs with him of the heavenly kingdom. It is their obligation according to the divine commission to join in ‘saying to the prisoners, Go forth, and to them that sit in darkness, Show yourselves’. If we faithfully carry out this commission, then we are not receiving God’s undeserved kindness in vain.

12, 13. Whom does the Servant tell to listen to him, and how was it made possible for them to hear and listen to Jesus’ voice?

¹² Well, then, what is our working equipment? Listen to the great Servant, the Head of the servant class, suggest to us what it is, in the opening words of chapter forty-nine49 of Isaiah which we are considering: “Listen, O isles, unto me; and hearken, ye peoples, from far: Jehovah hath called me from the womb; from the bowels of my mother hath he made mention of my name: and he hath made my mouth like a sharp sword; in the shadow of his hand hath he hid me: and he hath made me a polished shaft; in his quiver hath he kept me close: and he said unto me, Thou art my servant; Israel, in whom I will be glorified. But I said, I have labored in vain, I have spent my strength for nought and vanity; yet surely the justice due to me is with Jehovah, and my recompense with my God.”—Isa. 49:1-4, AS.

¹³ The Servant indicates that the message which he has about deliverance is to be heard by the isles, coastlands or distant shores and by peoples far off. It is to be a world-wide message of liberation through him, Jehovah’s great Servant. But when Jesus was on earth, he did not go to any isles—the land of Palestine has no islands—and he did not go to distant shores or coastlands or to peoples far away. He confined himself to the “lost sheep of the house of Israel” there in the little land of Palestine. And while he was in the flesh with his disciples he instructed them to do the same in their preaching of God’s kingdom. (Matt. 10:5, 6) So if Jesus did not go to the isles and far-off peoples, how were they to listen to him? By his sending his anointed fellow servants to them. If they were to hear and listen, how could they do so unless his servants went and preached to them and let them hear the voice or message of Jehovah’s great Servant? (Rom. 10:14, 15) Hence we can see how the servant class under Christ Jesus is necessary to fulfill this prophecy of freedom to the prisoners.

14. How in a literal way was Jehovah’s great Servant called and named from his mother’s womb?

¹⁴ The great Servant says Jehovah called him from his mother’s womb and named him from the bowels of his mother. This was true in a double sense. When the angel Gabriel announced to Mary that she was to be the mother of the Son of God, he told her: “You are to call his name Jesus.” When the angel appeared to Joseph in a dream to explain Mary’s pregnant condition, he said to him: “She will give birth to a son, and you must call his name ‘Jesus’.” Why? “For he will save his people from their sins.” When the angel announced the child’s birth to the shepherds in the fields near Bethlehem, he said to them: “There was born to you today a Savior, who is Christ the Lord, in David’s city.” (Luke 1:31; Matt. 1:21; Luke 2:10, 11, NW) But all that was at the time he was conceived in the womb of an earthly mother and was born from her.

15. How was this so of him in a spiritual way?

¹⁵ Thirty years later he was baptized in Jordan’s waters to give symbolic testimony to the dedication of himself to do God’s will. Then he was brought forth from the womb of God’s woman, his heavenly organization, for then the heavenly Father, Jehovah God, begot Jesus by his holy spirit to be his spiritual Son once again. Then as the spirit descended in the outward manifestation of a dove and anointed Jesus to be the Christ, God’s voice was heard from heaven saying: “This is my Son, the beloved, whom I have approved.” (Matt. 3:13-17, NW) Thus from the womb of his heavenly mother, God’s woman or organization, Jesus was called to be the Christ or Anointed One and he was named to be Jehovah’s Savior for mankind.

16. How has Jehovah made the Servant’s mouth like a sharp sword?

¹⁶ The Servant, and in fact the entire anointed servant class, is produced from God’s woman for a service against God’s enemies. This is why God made the Servant’s mouth like a sharp sword and made him like a polished shaft or arrow. One of the servant class, the apostle Paul, tells us that we should accept the “sword of the spirit, that is, God’s word”, and that “the word of God is alive and exerts power and is sharper than any two-edged sword and pierces even to the dividing of the soul and spirit”. (Eph. 6:17 and Heb. 4:12, NW) The tongue of the wicked is like a sword of slander, blasphemy and reproach; but the tongue of the Servant and his followers takes up God’s Word and so makes use of the “sword of the spirit”. It declares the judgment of the great Judge Jehovah against his enemies and exposes the hearts of religious hypocrites. It puts to death false doctrine and human traditions which would make God’s Word invalid. This sword of truth is an important part of the full suit of armor which God supplies to his servant class, and the foes of God’s people cannot withstand it. As his servants use it he hides them in the shadow of his hand. So although they are out in the open fighting they are still under his protection.

17. How has Jehovah made him like a polished shaft hid in a quiver?

¹⁷ From far off Jehovah sends the servant class, like a polished shaft or arrow shot from a bowstring. The Son of God from heaven was in fact the “Word of God”, his great Spokesman, so that in him Jehovah’s Word went forth. God kept him close or stored him away like an arrow in a quiver, reserving him for use at the due time. In the same way he reserved all the servant class for use at the proper time, at which time he propels them by his spirit against the foes of truth, righteousness and God’s kingdom. By the activities of the servant class God’s Word is today spread far and wide and his judgments are declared abroad.—Ps. 127:4, 5.

18. How and when could the servant say he has labored in vain?

¹⁸ But how is it that such an honored servant should say: “I have labored in vain, I have spent my strength for nought and vanity”? Well, the immediate disciples of the great Servant might have said that at the time he died on the torture stake and they were all scattered from him. Even on his resurrection day two of them were heard to remark: “We were hoping that this man was the one destined to deliver Israel.” (Luke 24:17-21, NW) They thought Jehovah’s Servant had labored in vain and spent his strength all for nothing. Similar grounds for discouragement were laid for the servant class in 1918, at the climax of World War I. Then the visible organization of the servant class of Jehovah was under vicious assault by political, religious and military enemies; their Bible literature was banned; their freedom of action was curtailed in many ways; and many of them were imprisoned, including vital official members of their legal Society. There was division within their ranks due to rebellious and traitorous ones; and great fear and uncertainty distressed them and made them subject to the power of the enemy. Their organization was broken up, just as when the Babylonian hordes destroyed Jerusalem and its temple in 607 B.C. Their fields of activity were desolated like the realm of the kingdom of Judah when King Zedekiah and those of his subjects who survived were carried off exiles to Babylon. Then the appearance of things was as if the servant class had worked and expended their strength in Jehovah’s service for nothing.

REMNANT LOOSED FIRST

19. At this point whose services now were needed, as shown by Isaiah 49:5, 6?

¹⁹ Here now was where the need of the great Servant of Jehovah came in, to see to it that his servant class on earth, his spiritual Israelites, got justice and were rewarded. The great Servant now tells us that Jehovah formed him from the womb of his “woman”, his heavenly organization, for this honorable purpose: “And now saith Jehovah that formed me from the womb to be his servant, to bring Jacob again to him, and that Israel be gathered unto him (for I am honorable in the eyes of Jehovah, and my God is become my strength); yea, he saith, It is too light a thing that thou shouldest be my servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob, and to restore the preserved of Israel.”—Isa. 49:5, 6, AS.

20. So how did the great Servant “raise up the tribes of Jacob” and “restore the preserved of Israel”?

²⁰ On the day of his resurrection Jesus began reviving his disciples dismayed and discouraged. On the day of Pentecost he poured out God’s spirit upon them and began building them up as a spiritual organization. He made their spiritual state to flourish and blossom as the rose. They had once been captives of Babylon’s religious counterpart, namely, apostate Jewish religion, but now they were made free and were restored to Jehovah’s theocratic organization for worship and service. To this remnant of Jewish believers who were prisoners of mystic Babylon, Jehovah’s great Servant said, “Go forth.” They had been sitting in religious darkness, and he said to them: “Show yourselves”; come out into the light. This was a remnant of natural descendants of the faithful patriarch Jacob. So it was made up of members of all the tribes of Israel, Jacob’s surname. Hence the glorified Jesus Christ in heaven acted as Jehovah’s servant and served in a literal way “to raise up the tribes of Jacob, and to restore the preserved of Israel”.

21, 22. How has this Servant done similarly to another remnant since 1918?

²¹ Since A.D. 1918 there has turned up a faithful remnant of spiritual Israelites, for, as the Jewish Christian apostle Paul says, “he is not a Jew that is one on the outside, nor is circumcision that which is on the outside upon the flesh. But he is a Jew that is one on the inside, and his circumcision is that of the heart by spirit, and not by a written code.”—Rom. 2:28, 29, NW.

²² Like the faithful Jewish remnant of nineteen centuries previous, this modern remnant of spiritual Israelites had been bound and made prisoners by mystic Babylon during World War I. They were sitting in darkness of mental gloom, fear and uncertainty as to God’s purpose and his will for them. Only Jehovah by his great Servant, the King Jesus Christ, could help them, just as Jehovah’s servant of ancient times, King Cyrus of Persia, had helped the imprisoned Israelites in Babylon. Jehovah had formed his great Servant for this very work of liberation. He had given him as a covenant or pledge of the deliverance of His people, and now he used his Servant in this behalf, from 1919 onward. In that year he began leading the remnant of spiritual Israelites out into freedom.

23. How were Jehovah’s words true of Christ Jesus: “Thou art my servant; Israel, in whom I will be glorified”?

²³ Most truly Jehovah had said to Christ Jesus: “Thou art my servant; Israel, in whom I will be glorified.” (Isa. 49:3, AS) In olden time Jehovah had chosen Jacob instead of his older twin brother Esau to inherit the Abrahamic promise: “In thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed”; and he had changed Jacob’s name to Israel, meaning “ruling with God”. And now Jehovah’s great Servant was bringing blessing to the remnant of spiritual Israel by releasing them from Babylon’s power and freeing them to be witnesses of Jehovah in all the earth. By this action of his Servant Jehovah was glorified and the honor of his name was upheld. The remnant’s freedom served everywhere for his glory, because for their faithfulness they became part of the servant class.

24. How did Jehovah answer Zion’s plaint of being forsaken, forgotten?

²⁴ With this restoration of her spiritual children taking place after the desolations experienced during World War I, God’s woman Zion had no reason to speak any more as Isaiah’s prophecy had foretold: “But Zion said, Jehovah hath forsaken me, and the Lord hath forgotten me.” To which Jehovah replies: “Can a woman forget her sucking child, so as not to have pity upon the son of her womb? Even should these forget, yet I will not forget you. See! I have carved you upon the palms of my hands; your walls are continually before me. Already your buildersa make haste, while those who destroyed you and laid you waste go forth from you. Lift up your eyes round about, and see! All of them gather, they come to you.” (Isa. 49:14, AS; Isa 49:15-18, AT; Mo) From 1919 on, the remnant of spiritual sons of God’s organization Zion took courage and made haste to rebuild the desolated visible organization and to revive the free and fearless worship of Jehovah and to renew the proclamation of his kingdom by Christ Jesus. So they returned to Zion with joy, and Jehovah proved to Zion that he had not forgotten her so as to let her go on lying desolate and torn down. His hands of power, on which her beloved name was printed or carved, became active for rebuilding her and raising up her walls of protection. His great Servant Christ Jesus commanded her spiritual children in Babylon’s prison system, “Go forth,” and then led them back to Zion. The darkness of divine disapproval has fled from them, and now they rejoice in the light of his favor and approval.

[Footnotes]

Release Under Way to the Ends of the Earth

1. Whose groaning does Jehovah hear, and why is now the time for him to act in their behalf?

TO THE ends of the earth there exists a vast prison over which Satan’s world organization Babylon presides, holding the people in political, social, economic, military and religious bondage. The God of love hears the groaning of the liberty-loving prisoners more clearly than anyone else, and he has raised up his great Servant Christ Jesus and clothed him with kingly power for the very purpose of bringing about their release. Now is the time for him to act, for the hour draws closer for great Babylon to be destroyed at the battle of Armageddon, and all people who stay in bondage to her and share in her sins will be destroyed with her.

2. How did Jehovah show in 1919 he was interested in Zion, and for what purpose?

² In 1914 Jehovah God honored his Servant Jesus Christ by installing him as king in Zion. Like the miniature Zion of ancient times, this Zion is Jehovah’s organization. However, it is a heavenly one, with a visible part on earth made up of the remnant of his spiritual sons, Israelites inwardly. He cares for this visible organization of spiritual Israel more than any earthly mother cares for her child nursing at her bosom. Hence, when the visible organization appeared desolated beyond repair in 1918 and the power of great Babylon over her seemed unbreakable, Jehovah sent his Servant to the rescue. He broke the enemy’s power over them in 1919 and began releasing the imprisoned remnant, that they might resume their worship of him freely and fearlessly. For his name’s sake Jehovah was interested in the reorganizing of his people in freedom from Babylon. His purpose was to have them gathered and united in an organization that the enemy could nevermore shatter, that pure worship might continue.

3. What illustrates that Jehovah will not let his worship be stamped out of the earth by Babylon?

³ Let us be certain about this one thing: Jehovah is not letting his worship be stamped out of the earth by the Devil’s world organization Babylon. His worship was here before ever Babylon came along in Nimrod’s day, and his pure worship will be here after modern great Babylon goes down. That is just as sure as that the remnant of ancient Israel survived the destruction of ancient Babylon. And just as surely, Jehovah’s witnesses will survive and be here after Rome, the city whom its bishop at Vatican City calls “The Eternal City”, goes down in eternal destruction, and along with it Moscow and other seats of totalitarian power. All dictators and tyrannical rulers on earth are but men. They will inevitably come to their end in the dust of the earth, and that shortly. But Jehovah’s worship on earth will go on forever.

4. To have an organization for receiving all on earth who would worship him before Armageddon, what did Jehovah do with his remnant?

⁴ There must be a visible organization to receive all on earth who want to worship Jehovah God in freedom, before the battle of Armageddon. So from and after 1919 he used his great Servant to restore the remnant of spiritual Israel and he reorganized them to act as his witnesses in the momentous postwar period. He cleansed them from the unsightly religious soils that they had gotten while under Babylon’s power and influence. Thus he made it a clean organization worthy of receiving those who forsook Babylon in obedience to his command: “Away! away! go out thence; touch nothing unclean! Go out of the midst of her; keep yourselves pure, you who bear the vessels of the LORD [Jehovah]!” And since Jehovah God had taken his great power and was now reigning by his Servant-King Christ Jesus, he led his reorganized people to see that the only organization for them now to have and serve by was the theocratic organization, not democratic organization. Because of their repentance and return to him with faithful hearts, Jehovah made the remnant of spiritual Israelites part of his servant class, under his Chief Servant Christ Jesus. In that way they could serve as the “faithful and discreet slave” whom Jesus had foretold and whom he said he would appoint over all his earthly, visible belongings, the interests of the Kingdom.—Isa. 52:11, AT; Matt. 24:45-47, NW.

5. But was the remnant of spiritual Israel alone to be gathered, and how was their idea like that of the Jewish remnant long ago?

⁵ But was the gathering of people to the rebuilt theocratic organization to be only of those who composed the remnant of spiritual Israel? Those of the original remnant who survived the experiences of World War I used to quote Psalm 50:5, “Gather my saints together unto me; those that have made a covenant with me by sacrifice.” They used to think that only these saints were to be gathered or harvested before Armageddon, although it was timely for them since 1918 to herald the message, “Millions Now Living Will Never Die.” It was even suggested that this harvesting of such spiritual saints might end with the year 1924, after which the heavenly glorification of these anointed, spirit-begotten followers of Christ would take place. (See The Watchtower, January 1, 1924, ¶¶ 11-32.) Nineteen centuries ago the early members of the Jewish remnant were also inclined to think that the gathering of the sheep of the Shepherd Christ Jesus was to be only from the Jewish nation, Samaritans and circumcised proselytes. For three and a half years after Jesus’ death, resurrection and ascent to heaven and the Pentecostal outpouring of the holy spirit, they confined their preaching about the Christ to these only and would not step into the home of an uncircumcised Gentile to tell him the good news.

“LIGHT TO THE GENTILES”

6. By what scripture of Isaiah 49 did Jesus know better than that idea?

⁶ But the great Servant of Jehovah knew better than that. He had even hinted so just before he ascended from his disciples to heaven. (Luke 24:45-49; Acts 1:6-9) Jesus knew that these words in Isaiah’s prophecy were written particularly to him: “Yea, he saith, It is too light a thing that thou shouldest be my servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob, and to restore the preserved of Israel: I will also give thee for a light to the Gentiles, that thou mayest be my salvation unto the end of the earth. Thus saith Jehovah, the Redeemer of Israel, and his Holy One, to him whom man despiseth, to him whom the nation abhorreth, to a servant of rulers: Kings shall see and arise; princes, and they shall worship; because of Jehovah that is faithful, even the Holy One of Israel, who hath chosen thee.” No wonder, then, that at the outset of the chapter he calls upon the isles, coastlands, or distant shores to listen and far-off peoples to hearken to him!—Isa. 49:1, 6, 7, AS.

7. How was it “too light” a thing for Jesus to raise up only Jacob’s natural tribes and Israel’s preserved ones?

⁷ How was it “too light” or too slight a thing for him to raise up only the natural tribes of Jacob and restore the preserved of only natural Israel? Because only a small remnant of some thousands of the circumcised Jews would accept Christ Jesus as Jehovah’s Servant for their salvation, and this remnant would not be enough to complete the foreordained 144,000 members of Christ’s body over which Jesus is the Head. (Rev. 7:4-8; 14:1, 3) Moreover, Jesus’ human sacrifice was not only for the natural Jews but for non-Jews also, men of all kinds. So it was necessary for God to let the message of salvation and the opportunities of sharing with Christ Jesus in the heavenly kingdom go to the Gentiles. Then they might believe and become spiritual Israelites by faith in God and his Christ, and by his begettal of them with his spirit.

8. To whom did Jesus personally preach, and so what was necessary if he was to be a “light to the Gentiles” and salvation to earth’s end?

⁸ But when Jesus was on earth as a man, a Jew, he restricted his preaching to the Jews and Samaritans that these first might have the Kingdom opportunity extended to them. So here again we see the need of the servant class, if Jehovah’s Servant is to be a “light to the Gentiles” and His “salvation unto the end of the earth”. The Chief Servant would have to use his followers as his ambassadors and send them to the Gentile nations, if light and salvation were to come to such uncircumcised nations. This he began to do when he sent his apostle Peter to the home of the Italian centurion Cornelius at Caesarea to preach the good news about Jehovah and his Christ. There “God for the first time turned his attention to the nations to take out of them a people for his name”. Then light began breaking on the Gentiles.—Acts 15:14; 10:1-48, NW.

9. How does inspiration show Isaiah’s prophecy here includes the servant class under Jesus?

⁹ That Isaiah’s prophecy here concerning the Servant includes in a secondary way the servant class under their Head Christ Jesus is stated under inspiration. The apostle Paul and his companion Barnabas applied Isaiah’s prophecy this way when they quoted it to the unappreciative opposing Jews in their synagogue and said: “It was necessary for the word of God to be spoken first to you. Since you are thrusting it away from you and do not judge yourselves worthy of everlasting life, look! we turn to the nations. In fact, Jehovah has laid commandment upon us in these words, ‘I have appointed you as a light of nations, for you to be a salvation to the most distant part of the earth.’”—Acts 13:44-47, NW.

10. Why was it necessary to show the remnant since 1919 that this part of Isaiah’s prophecy also applies to them?

¹⁰ There is no question about it. This part of Isaiah’s prophecy applies also to the remnant of spiritual Israelites since 1919. But at first they did not realize this fact. As above observed, they thought the gathering of Jehovah’s worshipers to his theocratic organization was to be only of themselves, the spiritual class, the saints in the covenant. Down till 1931 efforts were centered principally on gathering the Kingdom heirs to complete the remnant of Christ’s body. But all these formed a servant body under Jesus the Head, and the servant class is not for serving itself only but for serving others to whom Jehovah God sends his servant class. So by light upon the Holy Scriptures he duly opened the eyes of the remnant to see that they must serve others besides those of the servant class. There were “other sheep” who were not of the “little flock” of Kingdom heirs and these the Right Shepherd Christ Jesus said he must gather and bring that they might be one flock with the remnant under one Shepherd.—John 10:16.

11. So what needed to be done about the “other sheep”, and why?

¹¹ There was a great crowd of these other sheep straying about abused by the false shepherds of the Babylonish religious systems. They were, in fact, prisoners of Babylon and were in the death-dealing religious darkness there. They, too, needed to have Jehovah’s great Servant say to them, ‘Go forth, show yourselves, come out into freedom and the light of truth and divine favor!’ They too must come to Zion and submit to the theocratic organization so as to escape destruction at Armageddon. As the prophet Joel had foretold: “Whosoever shall call on the name of Jehovah shall be delivered; for in mount Zion and in Jerusalem there shall be those that escape, as Jehovah hath said, and among the remnant those whom Jehovah doth call.”—Joel 2:32, AS; Rom. 10:13.

12. (a) What kind of Israelites are the remnant today, and hence what are the other sheep, relatively speaking? (b) What must be said to them?

¹² Note now how the Scriptures apply Isaiah’s prophecy to make this plain to us. Nineteen centuries ago, compared with the remnant of believing Israelites, all the uncircumcised nations to whom the message was to go were Gentiles naturally. Today, the remnant who compose the “faithful and discreet slave” class are spiritual Israelites. Compared with them, the Shepherd’s “other sheep” are Gentiles of all kinds, spiritually speaking. And yet now the good news of God’s established kingdom must go to these other sheep to release them from bondage and imprisonment in the Devil’s Babylonish world. Says Jehovah to his servant class to which the remnant of today belongs: “That thou mayest say to the prisoners, Go forth; to them that are in darkness, Shew yourselves. They shall feed in the ways, and their pastures shall be in all high places. They shall not hunger nor thirst; neither shall the heat nor sun smite them: for he that hath mercy on them shall lead them, even by the springs of water shall he guide them. And I will make all my mountains a way, and my highways shall be exalted. Behold, these shall come from far [east]: and, lo, these from the north and from the west; and these from the land of Sinim [the south-land of Syenê, Mo; AT]. Sing, O heavens; and be joyful, O earth; and break forth into singing, O mountains: for the LORD [Jehovah] hath comforted his people, and will have mercy upon his afflicted.”—Isa. 49:9-13.

13. How does Revelation picture the other sheep as Gentiles?

¹³ This joyful prophecy extends now to the Shepherd’s “other sheep” who must be rescued from Babylon before Armageddon. That fact is revealed to us in the Revelation. John the apostle first describes his vision of the gathering and sealing of the 144,000 members of the twelve tribes of spiritual Israel. Then he says: “After these things I saw, and, look! a great crowd, which no man was able to number, out of all nations and tribes and peoples and tongues.” That makes this a Gentile crowd, when compared with the 144,000 spiritual Israelites. But they are where, and what are they doing? “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.’”

14. Where have these other sheep come, and what prophecy is now quoted from and applied to them?

¹⁴ Have this “great crowd” come to Zion and submitted to the theocratic rule of Jehovah who is seated on the heavenly throne? They have; for one of the elderly persons identifies the crowd to John and says: “These are the ones that come out of the great tribulation [this locates their coming between 1919 and Armageddon], 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 [on Mount Zion], and the one seated on the throne will spread his tent over them.” And now the elderly person goes on to quote Isaiah 49:10 and to apply it to the “great crowd” whom he likens to sheep, saying: “They will hunger no more nor thirst any more, neither will the sun beat down upon them nor any scorching heat, because the Lamb who is in the midst of the throne will shepherd them, and will guide them to fountains of waters of life. And God will wipe out every tear from their eyes.”—Rev. 7:9, 10, 14-17, NW

NEED FOR MORE TERRITORY

15. Since when was the identity of the “great crowd” made clear, and how do statistics show they have come to Zion since then?

¹⁵ The applicableness now of the vision of the “great crowd” to the other sheep from all nations was revealed to the remnant of spiritual Israel in 1935. To illustrate how the droves of “other sheep” have flocked to Zion since then, we can say there were 20,786 active Kingdom publishers reporting in the United States of America that year, to compare with 135,356 in April, 1951. To make their coming easy Jehovah has made a way for them over mountainous obstacles and he has raised up highways for them across the deep places. All along the road he has fed them and even on the hills that appeared bare he has found pasture for them, always supplying them with living waters of truth from his Holy Word.

16. From what parts has Jehovah brought them, and what assemblies show their numbers, to Zion’s great amazement?

¹⁶ From all directions, as foretold by the prophecy, he has brought them to the one flock of his Lamb, the Right Shepherd, from east and west, and from north and south, yes, from the dark continent of Africa as represented by the southland of Sinim or Syenê (modern Aswân, Egypt). Zion, represented on earth by the remnant of spiritual Israelites, is surprised. She cannot account for them, never having expected them this side of Armageddon. “As I live, saith Jehovah, thou shalt surely clothe thee with them all as with an ornament, and gird thyself with them, like a bride.” (Isa. 49:18, AS) Look at what demonstrations we have of this at the circuit assemblies of Jehovah’s witnesses, their district, national and international assemblies! At the international assembly in New York city in 1950 there were 123,707 with attentive ears at the public meeting Sunday, August 6, to hear the address “Can You Live Forever in Happiness on Earth?” The nations and their rulers have despised and abhorred the servant class from its Head Jesus Christ down till its remnant now, and no wonder they start up with amazement at the miraculous sight. Much as the kings and princes dislike it, they have to admit that Jehovah, the Holy One of spiritual Israel, has been faithful to the servant class he chose.—Isa. 49:7.

17. What has this required as regards the extent of the organization of the surprised Zion?

¹⁷ Logically this has thronged the organization with people, requiring it to be broadened out, and overgrown companies to be split, resulting in the formation of new companies at new places to receive the new incomers and to provide room for still more to enter and so be incorporated in the organization for publishing the message of release from Babylon. “Surely,” says Jehovah to Zion, “as for thy wastes and thy desolations, and thy land of ruins surely now shalt thou be too strait for thine inhabitants, and far off shall be they who have been swallowing thee up. The children of whom thou wast bereaved shall yet say in thine ears,—Too strait for me is the place, make room for me that I may settle down. Then shalt thou say in thy heart,—Who hath borne me these, seeing I have been bereaved and unfruitful, a captive and banished? These therefore, who hath brought them up? Lo! I was left alone, these where were they?” How pathetic this exclamation of motherly surprise of Zion at having this numberless multitude of children and their loyal companions from all nations, tribes, peoples and tongues! (Isa. 49:19-21, Ro) But how does Jehovah accomplish this?

18. How does Jehovah accomplish this, and before what destruction?

¹⁸ Listen: “Thus says the Lord GOD [Jehovah]: ‘Behold, I will lift up my hand to the nations, and to the peoples will I raise my signal; and they shall bring your sons in their bosom, and your daughters shall be carried on their shoulders. And kings shall be your foster fathers, and their queens your nursing-mothers; with their faces to the earth shall they bow down to you, and shall lick the dust of your feet; and you shall know that I am the LORD [Jehovah], in whom none that trust shall be put to shame.’” (Isa. 49:22, 23, AT; Mo) This proves that this prophecy of the release of the bound ones to the ends of the earth must be fulfilled now before the battle of Armageddon while there are nontheocratic nations, peoples, kings and queens.

19. Can earthly systems and rulers hold these sheep back, and how have they been like foster fathers and nursing mothers?

¹⁹ Even while the demons of Satan’s invisible organization are hurrying the nations and their rulers to the battlefield of Armageddon, these earthly systems and rulers are unable to hold their own people of good will under them when they hear the liberation call of Jehovah’s great Servant, Come forth! Show yourselves! Emerge into freedom and into light! Despite their mobilizing of the peoples by dictatorial measures, they are obliged to yield these “other sheep” over to the theocratic organization of Zion. Like foster fathers and nursing mothers they have just been governing these persons of good will so as to have them ready in due time for delivery to Jehovah’s organization. They are obliged to bow and to admit the defeat of their wicked endeavors to prevent all this gathering to the Signal which Jehovah has raised on high.

20. What is that Signal, and what is the evidence that it stands ruling and that Jehovah is a God who does not disappoint?

²⁰ That Signal is his King Jesus Christ, his great Servant of liberation, whom he raised to the throne in 1914 to rule in the midst of his enemies. (Isa. 11:10-12; Rev. 12:5; Ps. 110:1, 2) One of the ways by which he manifests he is ruling in the midst of his enemies is by releasing the prisoners whom they hold bound within their systems of control and leading them like a Shepherd to Zion to worship Jehovah God at his temple there. In this way Zion expands her territory even in lands which are under dictatorial and totalitarian rule; and Christ Jesus the King thus shows that all of earth’s rulers, the mighty and the weak, are under his feet like a footstool. By his causing Zion to overflow with children, she, and specially her remnant on earth, is given evidence showing that Jehovah is God and that those who wait for him to act in his appointed time will not be put to shame by being disappointed.

21. What must the servant class and its associates now do, and until what accomplishment?

²¹ Are you a member of the servant class, or are you one of the “other sheep” co-operating with the servant class? Then be strong in confidence in God’s Word and move forward to the work he has laid upon his servant to do at this time. Jehovah God Almighty is with his great Servant in releasing the bound ones who yet remain to be loosed, and the work of release now under way will keep on to the very ends of the earth until the last of them is freed and engages in Jehovah’s worship and service at his temple on Zion.

22. What divine statement shows whether it is possible to get more sheep out, especially from under totalitarian rule?

²² Do not think it impossible to get any more out, especially from under totalitarian rule. “Can prey be taken from a warrior, or a tyrant’sa captives be rescued? But thus says the LORD [Jehovah]: ‘Even should a warrior’s captives be taken, and a tyrant’s prey be rescued, your opponents will I oppose, and your children will I save. I will cause your oppressors to eat their own flesh, and they shall be drunk with their own blood as with new wine; then all flesh shall know that I the LORD [Jehovah] am your savior, and that I the Mighty One of Jacob am your redeemer.’”—Isa. 49:24-26, AT; Mo; Maredsous.

23. By what means and methods, then, does the work go on and the work of release spread to the ends of the earth?

²³ Let no one say, then, “It cannot be done! It cannot go on!” This militarized world, with its conscription and universal military training laws, cannot prevent Jehovah’s Servant’s work of releasing the prisoners. Neither can the oppressive totalitarian dictators do so, either behind or outside the “iron curtain”. The rescue of those upon whom they prey and whom they have held captive takes place under their very noses, whether by underground or by aboveground methods. The public services which all these rulers render the people, and for which we justly “pay back Caesar’s things to Caesar”, these things the servant class uses to carry on Jehovah’s work, gathering his “other sheep” now to the side of his theocratic government. More room is needed for Zion’s children, and this is being acquired. But not by military aggression and unjust encroachment, invading and grabbing other people’s lands by force and violence. No; but by peaceful expansion, with the good news of peace. Thus those who feel there is not enough room for them go out as home missionaries and as foreign missionaries to other territories and to other lands and establish settlements of Jehovah’s worship there. So the work of release spreads to the ends of the earth.

24. What will Jehovah make his opposers do, and make them and also us know about him?

²⁴ Those who oppose us Jehovah God has promised to oppose. That means he is on our side and backs us up. At the battle of Armageddon he will confuse our oppressors and opposers. He will maneuver them into fighting one against another and thus destroying one another. So it will come about that they will eat the flesh of one another and drink the blood of one another, and it will not be by any medical blood transfusion either in an attempt to save their lives. The final conclusion will be that all flesh—our enemies while yet alive in the flesh, and we, also—will be made to see that Jehovah is the only Savior of his people, those who come to Zion. If we cleave to him and serve with his great Servant Christ Jesus, we are bound to get full deliverance at last. No devilish power can prevent it before we have had the privilege of helping release the others.

25. So what high honor is ours now, and to what extent should we take part in it?

²⁵ What an honor to free Jehovah’s people from prison! At the climax of World War II the Allies’ troops may have felt privileged and greatly honored to release victims from Nazi concentration camps and prisons. But now how much grander a privilege and honor it is to release victims from Babylon’s prison house, and do this by peaceful means through the Kingdom, and all this that they may adore and serve Jehovah God at Mount Zion! Consequently, in deep appreciation and with courageous confidence in Almighty God, let the servant class and their loyal companions move ahead in the work of release to the very ends of the earth. The ultimate triumph of Zion over all enemies and opposers is absolutely assured, together with a righteous new world of endless freedom.

[Footnotes]

Priestcraft Surrenders to Truth in the Near East

THOUGH the Near East was the first area blessed with the message of true Christianity, it languishes today in bondage to priestcraft. But the liberating power of the truth cuts through even the tightest bonds. More than a year ago, a full-time preacher of Jehovah’s kingdom visited a monastery on a slope between Jerusalem and Bethlehem. While there, this pioneer had opportunity to witness concerning the Kingdom to a monk who was in the act of bowing before images. A year later the witness met the same monk in Bethlehem. The monk told the pioneer that shortly after their first meeting he had refused to obey his chief or pray to images, and had demanded a Bible. He added: “I believed your words because you showed it to me from the Bible. . . . so I fled with the idea of finding you.” He is now overjoyed to be associating with the brothers, and is learning the ways of true Christianity as quickly as possible.

Another of Jehovah’s witnesses encountered a Syrian priest and some of his following. The people prompted the two to discuss their beliefs, in the hope of proving the brother false. Following a short discussion, the priest asked the people to let him be alone with the witness. He then confided in the brother, saying: “You are right in your beliefs. Hold fast to what you have been taught, for we are wrong. Of course, I cannot tell this frankly to the blind people, lest they stone me.” A few days later this same priest scolded a group of worshipers in the Syrian church who crowded up to kiss an image, and gave them a lengthy talk on the wickedness of image worship. For this he was denied his salary. Still later he was asked to express himself on the subject in the presence of a group of fanatic false religionists. To the chagrin of his listeners he described the false, general practice of Christianity as a heathen religion, far from true Christianity, and that its fall draws near.

“Clean Worship” Assemblies: from France to Netherlands

THRILLED with the great international assembly at the Wembley Stadium, London, England, the first five days of August, hundreds of the conventioners from many countries, including many Frenchmen, streamed across the English Channel the following Monday and forward, to attend the four-day assembly at Paris, August 9-12. From France itself and other neighboring lands thousands were converging on the same famous, fabulous city. French witnesses of Jehovah were especially excited about it. This was to be their first national assembly in many years. For the first time in fourteen years they would all be met together in one place. In 1937, before World War II, France had just 700 witnesses. Now over 7,000 are reporting active service as publishers. Now many thousands of these would have an opportunity to meet both one another and their Christian brothers who, through publications of the Watch Tower Bible & Tract Society, were invited to come from all parts of the world. Brothers from 28 lands, from as far off as Australia, New Zealand, Philippine Islands, India, South Africa, Venezuela, and North America, were due to be there. The Society’s president and vice-president, together with other representatives from the Brooklyn headquarters and Canada, were to be present and serve on the program. France was thus no longer isolated from the rest of the globe. French witnesses knew this was to be the “best assembly yet”. This proved to be no mistaken conviction.

The Palais des Sports, site of the convention, stands only a block from the beautiful Seine river and a few blocks south of the skyscraping Eiffel Tower. This big sports stadium has seating accommodations for 12,000 and is generally used for bicycle races or boxing and wrestling matches. But now—well, the Sunday newspaper of Paris, Dimanche, in its issue the final day of the convention, spoke of it as “the Palais des Sports transformed into a cathedral”. But we would say, “a Kingdom Hall.” Certainly its interior had been transformed. Besides the thousands of seats which had been especially installed for us in the arena and covering the concave, steeply sloping racetrack, there was now a large, tall platform at the southern end. Hung up for a background for it was a gorgeous red-velvet curtain. Two stage floodlights trained upon this towering curtain made the words stand out in bold relief, “Jehovah’s witnesses—1951—Clean Worship Assembly,” spelled in French with large gilded letters. The palms and colorful gladioli about the stage were just what was needed to complete the setting.

The convention chairman was the Society’s then Paris branch servant, Henry Geiger, and his assistant was the Brussels (Belgium) branch servant, C. H. Holmes. The convention servant was a graduate of the Watchtower Bible School of Gilead, L. E. Smith, and his assistant was also a graduate, a Frenchman, L. Iontès, now the Paris branch servant since September 1. Due to Brother Geiger’s illness it was best to place the responsibility of the branch on younger shoulders. The 16-page program was printed in French, but with the section “information for Conventioners” translated both in English and in Polish. In fact, the program showed sessions to be held in Polish for two hours the Saturday morning of the convention, this because of the large number of Poles in France who are witnesses. But the regular talks given by the international roster of many speakers were not translated into Polish. Those given in English were translated into French by competent interpreters. The program listed 24 departments of service under Convention Personnel, and these saw to it that the assembly was well staffed and served for the convenience, help and comfort of the conventioners. The thousands arriving were met at the principal stations and the air terminal by brothers from the convention Information Department. Upward of 6,000 maps of the Paris Métro and bus routes were given to the conventioners to help them find their way around this metropolis.

The Rooming Committee arranged for 6,000 accommodations in private homes and in 700 hotels. The cafeteria was situated to the rear of the speaker’s platform, on two floors, and served 8,500 hot meals in trays à la américaine, something rarely seen in La belle France. The refreshment stands were popular, with delicious fruit, including grapes and peaches in abundance. Stands for drinks were operated by the staff of the Palais des Sports. An orchestra of 50 musicians led the singing, and the French brothers did sing heartily, to the enjoyment of all listeners, even worldly attendants. As there was no trained personnel with a lot of convention experience to call on, the assembly was like a big experiment for them. This was the first time a hot-meal cafeteria had been organized, the first time magazine bags had been made, distributed and used, the first time special trains had been arranged. But the big job was undertaken with faith, obstacles were surmounted and God Almighty imparted his blessing and help. Result: grand success!

The convention opened Thursday morning and, would you believe it, with 4,026 in attendance. It was some experience to walk into the auditorium toward 9 a.m. and find two-thirds of the conventioners there right at the opening, especially after we had observed the early morning attendances at the recent London assembly. So the convention got off to a good start, and this first morning was highlighted by a new release, the magazine bag in French, something not seen as yet by the French public. The bag added new zest to the street-preaching work.

The program practically duplicated that of the London assembly, though one day shorter. Thursday was “Life-giving Knowledge” Day, Friday “Undefiled Worship” Day, Saturday “Sons and Daughters” Day, and Sunday “Praise Jehovah as King” Day. Many speakers on the London programs repeated their talks here, though somewhat reduced for having to be given through French interpreters. Those from London who understood only English expressed appreciation for hearing the talks again, condensed, whereas the French responded with repeated handclapping to the talks, even though translated from English into French. Their enthusiasm was contagious. The opening day closed with 5,261 hearing Brother Knorr’s talk, “Confidently Facing the End.”

Friday morning saw 351 baptized at the Buttes Rouges swimming pool, 12 kilometers away from the Palais des Sports where a baptismal talk had been given. This extracted comment from the press, which observed that “children are baptized only when they are old enough to understand”. Brother Knorr’s talk “The Triumph of Clean, Undefiled Worship” gave added sparkle to the day, and he told of the new book which had been released in English in London, What Has Religion Done for Mankind? Convention attendance rose to 5,808. Brother Knorr also had a morning meeting with those pioneers who were interested in attending the Watchtower Bible School of Gilead. One in every eight persons at this convention was a pioneer, 741 of them from many different lands.

In good accord with the next day’s convention name, the children had their day of it Saturday evening. Three boys and three girls were interviewed for the feature “Out of the Mouth of Babes”. The tots had to be stood on a chair to reach the level of the microphone, and they all got a good hand from their elders at whose heartstrings strong emotion was tugging. In his evening talk on “Making the Mind Over for New World Living”, Brother Knorr wound up with apprising his 6,020 hearers that for health and other reasons the then Paris branch servant, after many years of faithful service, was retiring as such but not from the Paris branch and that a French brother was being installed in his place at the close of that month. The French applauded their appreciation of both the outgoing and the incoming branch servant. They came back with further applause when Brother Knorr announced the new book in French “Equipped for Every Good Work”, a book for their theocratic ministry school course. It had been hoped to place it in their hands there at the assembly, but due to inability to get the shipment of books off the boat in the harbor this was not possible. Nonetheless, they would have them available shortly after the Paris assembly.

The grand climax of the convention was reached at the public event Sunday, the closing day. For this the publishers in Paris had done a lot of advertising work well before the assembly started. They distributed 200,000 “teaser” leaflets giving the public talk title but posing the questions, “By whom? When? Where?” Thereafter to satisfy the public curiosity 300,000 handbills were released, of which 200,000 were distributed in one evening, when all publishers in Paris and its suburbs covered all the mainline and Métro stations at the time when the workers were returning home. Large factories were also covered at exit time one day, resulting in thousands of handbills placed. During the assembly itself much advertising was done by many more participants. In all, 800,000 handbills were finally put out, and 8,000 posters and window signs were used. Attached to the outside of the convention building were three big signs, two 50-foot banners and a 30 x 12-foot sign. These could be seen from the Métro elevated trains while passing by.

Before 3 p.m. the doors to the pelouse (race-track main floor) were closed. It was a gratifying pleasure to have to push through throngs in the lobby and corridor and enter by a side door, climb to the upper gallery, sit on the topmost row, look around and down on a crowded house and see more seats brought in. Printed advertising, personal invitations and assisting good-will persons to the meeting had had their effect: the attendance shot up from 6,188 witnesses to 10,456 present for the announced public lecture.

If the London assembly public talk at Wembley Stadium was an event marked by frequent, vigorous plaudits, the Paris public meeting was still more so. How those Frenchmen did eat up Brother Knorr’s address on that rousing question, “Will Religion Meet the World Crisis?” even though getting it second-handed through an interpreter! Why, all together, they punctuated and accented that speech with 47 applauses. Sometimes those who understood English broke out ahead of the French interpretation. Those Frenchmen plainly showed they do not like the false religion they have so long observed in operation but do appreciate the clean, undefiled religion, God’s pure form of worship. They hailed Jehovah who had begun to rule as King by Jesus Christ. At the close of the meeting free booklets in French and Polish were distributed. Many were eagerly taken.

The closing sessions followed after a brief intermission, and Brother Knorr gave the elated conventioners good counsel and encouragement in his farewell talk. By this international assembly in Paris the bonds of love already existing between the French brothers and those of other lands were strengthened manifold. The movement particularly in France for reinforcing and expanding Jehovah’s clean worship was given a great push and added momentum. Thanks to Him through Christ Jesus for the rich Paris assembly blessings.

LUXEMBOURG

Monday afternoon, August 13, Brother Knorr and several companions arrived by train in the capital of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, to be met by Gilead graduates assigned there and other publishers bearing placards announcing in German the public talk “Will Religion Meet the World Crisis?” to be delivered by him the next day. For the Luxembourg brothers this was a very special occasion, for it was the first visit of any president of the Society to Luxembourg. Brother Knorr and his secretary stayed at the missionary home, being thus able to spend some time with the missionaries and discuss any problems they might have.

For the one-day assembly to be held Tuesday, August 14, they had obtained the Salle d’Armes, a hall in a nice section of the city and which can comfortably hold about 250 persons. Featuring the morning’s field activities was a bicycle parade of about 40 bicycles and in which Brothers Knorr and Henschel and others from North America took part. In announcing the public talk 300 placards and 10,000 handbills were used. Placing all these required much activity. During the afternoon session Brothers Knorr, Henschel and Chapman (Canadian branch servant) and Nathan (Canadian circuit servant) addressed the 138 brothers and good-will persons assembled. That evening the public responded well for Roman Catholic Luxembourg to the advertising campaign, for 205 turned out to hear the Society’s president answer the great question regarding religion’s future. It was an attentive audience, and hearty agreement with the speaker of this forthright speech was evidenced. This convention event is certain to have a telling effect on the increase of the Kingdom witness work in Luxembourg.

BELGIUM

Next day, August 15, the president and his party crossed the frontier into Belgium and arrived in Brussels. Passing through the city on their way to the branch office they saw a large sign at a busy intersection announcing in French the public talk “Will Religion Meet the World Crisis?” to be delivered by the Society’s president the following day. At 7:15 p.m. a meeting for the brothers took place at the Regina Palace near the center of town. Since Brother Knorr last spoke in Brussels the owner has interested himself in the truth, is now an active publisher and offers his hall free to Jehovah’s witnesses. Here about 450 brothers and interested ones listened to the four above-named speakers. Their talks were all translated into French and Hollandish, the two official languages of Belgium.

The one-day national assembly began at nine o’clock next morning at the Stadium, a modern sports hall near the heart of Brussels. After a baptismal talk to them, 64 brothers underwent water immersion to betoken their dedication to Jehovah’s will. By way of advertising, 30,000 handbills were put out, 2,000 placards borne by information walkers or placed in windows, and 200 large signs set up in prominent places throughout the city, while 6 autos bore signs through the streets focusing attention on the public event. During the afternoon three speakers addressed the 1,400 conventioners. The most of the Belgians had never before heard Brother Knorr, because since his last visit here in 1947 the publishers have increased from 1,038 then to a new peak of 3,080 in June this year. They are willing to provide further material for foreign missionaries, for, following a talk by Brother Knorr to the pioneers, 13 filled out preliminary application blanks for Gilead School.

The evening public meeting went off very well, with 1,604 attending. This was very good for a meeting in the middle of the week and in between Paris and the coming Rotterdam assemblies, where about 1,200 Belgian brothers attended. The talk was translated into French to a keen audience whose frequent outbursts of applause expressed hearty agreement with the speaker. All the Belgian conventioners were very happy, for their Brussels assembly, despite its shortness, was a very fine one. They now face the future with joy and greater confidence.

ROTTERDAM

This same week was crowned with a three-day assembly at Rotterdam, the great seaport of the Netherlands, August 17-19. Conventioners from many lands flocked to it and made it truly international. On Tuesday of the week the government-controlled radio station at Hilversum broadcast for the first time a ten-minute interview (1:20 to 1:30 p.m.) with a member of the Amsterdam branch office, on Jehovah’s witnesses, and this afforded opportunity to advertise the national assembly. It created a favorable impression, corrected many misinformed persons, and stimulated a desire for Watch Tower Bible literature. Among the radio listeners favorably impressed was a director of the Ahoy Gebouw, the sports arena in Rotterdam which had been engaged for the assembly.

The Ahoy building proved an excellent place for such a large-scale assembly. It has extensive grounds, beautified with lawns and beds of bright flowers. This provided ample space for a huge encampment designed to furnish lodging for thousands during the assembly. Large tents of varying sizes were erected. Of the six tents surrounding the Dames-Kamp two were 52 meters long by 12 meters, and one 50 by 20. Of the three tents surrounding the Heren-Kamp two were 100 meters long by 10 meters broad. Toiletten were installed for service of each camp. For the bedding of the campers 40 tons of clean hay was bought at 45 guilders a ton, but after the assembly this was to be baled and resold at a reduced rate. A berth on the straw cost 1.25 guilders a night (about 25c). Some 3,600 conventioners slept thus on the straw, but there were about 1,950 put in the homes of the people of Rotterdam and vicinity, even though the city was terribly bombed during World War II.

The arrangement to lodge the conventioners on straw under tents was contracted for before the effort was made to canvass the homes for rooming accommodations. Now it is realized what a great opportunity was missed by not at first working at it to lodge all the conventioners in the homes and in this way locate witnesses of the Most High God right in among the people to testify direct in their homes. One American couple went out and secured a room in a home for just 1 guilder (20c) each a night plus their breakfast. One friendly man arranged at his birthday party for 17 rooms among those celebrating with him. Two English sisters got a room free with a Catholic man who works with one of Jehovah’s witnesses, and one night of the convention they witnessed to him till 3 a.m. One man, whose wife is in the truth, went off on his vacation to Austria but turned over his whole house to five conventioners. One Catholic lady, who at first refused a room, was informed by the lady downstairs that the witnesses are the most reliable people on earth, and so she ran downstairs and out after the canvasser and turned over her compartment with bath to the witnesses, also handing them the key, to occupy during their assembly and her vacation. We feel sure that next time the effort will first be made in faith to procure lodging for the conventioners in the most effective place for witnessing, the people’s homes.

In the main hall of the Ahoy building 12,000 chairs were set out, and 2,000 in smaller adjoining rooms. The cafeteria was in a large room which opened out on the main hall, and good food in good quantity was served at 1.25 guilders a meal. The service department and bookroom were in another adjoining hall. Here literature in 17 languages was available on the counters. A graph drawing showed the theocratic increase of publishers in the Netherlands. From 3,800 in September of 1946 the publishers decreased to 3,000 in February of 1947, and then made a climb up to near 7,000 in May this year. In 1940, when World War II struck the Netherlands with a blitzkrieg, there were 600 Dutch publishers, and 350 of these went to concentration camps. During the war the 250 publishers averaged 60 hours a month. Today the majority of publishers are in Protestant North Holland. In 1947 a public meeting at the national assembly in Amsterdam brought out an attendance of 5,500. What would the public attendance be here now at Rotterdam? As to literature, the Dutch had only the books Children and “The Truth Shall Make You Free” in their language. Would new releases be made at this convention?

The big platform in the main hall was beautified with many flowering plants, backed by a beautiful brown curtain with broad yellow side-borders. On it appeared the 1951 yeartext in Hollandish. To one side of the platform was the orchestra section. From here there was only intermittent orchestra music, much to the regret of many who would have enjoyed hearing more from that group of consecrated players. But the congregational singing lacked nothing: it called for comments on its goodness and earnestness.

The program was very interesting, practical and up-to-date and it afforded both speeches and demonstrations. Four speakers from the American and Canadian branch offices were featured on this program. In this way, too, the Rotterdam assembly heard a number of the London assembly features. Some feared that so much speaking in English with translation into Hollandish as this required would prove boring to the Dutch listeners; but their fears were not realized. The Dutch lent good attention to the talks first rendered in English, and many expressed appreciation of the fine spiritual things they had learned from these and the enlightenment and encouragement they had received. For the most part the Dutch are not disposed to applaud. They like to sit and listen intently and learn without noisy interruption. But, just the same, they can laugh and clap, like others at the London and Paris assemblies; and at this Rotterdam convention they broke out spontaneously at times in laughter and handclapping.

The first day, Friday, August 17, was fine, with the splendid attendance of over 6,000. The day was topped off by the speech of the Society’s president on “The Triumph of Clean, Undefiled Worship”, broken by applause. And, sure enough, there was a new release in Hollandish. They clapped their hands for joy and appreciation when Brother Knorr announced the new 32-page booklet, Can You Live Forever in Happiness on Earth? All conventioners were given a free copy. But they were in for larger joys of this kind the following night, with over 7,000 present. This was when Brother Knorr gave his talk “Making the Mind Over for New World Living”. He led on into telling of the Awake! magazine to be printed in Hollandish, with 30,000 copies to start with, twice a month, in the hope that this will shortly be increased to 100,000 copies each issue. Thus toward the end of this year they would begin to be supplied with four magazines a month, the two semimonthly issues of The Watchtower and now the two issues a month of Awake! in Hollandish. It had been desired to have the Hollandish translation of the recent book “This Means Everlasting Life” on hand for release at Rotterdam, but it proved impossible to get it ready in time. The announcement that it was all set up and ready for printing evoked a burst of applause.

Light rains dampened Sunday morning, August 19. The day’s sessions began with song and a baptismal talk, after which 285 candidates were taken to the Eastern Swimming Pool and baptized.

Leaden skies still sprinkled as the hour drew near for the public address. But the advertising preliminary to this had done its work—advertising signs atop autos and on the side windows, signs on bikes, with a bicycle parade of 22 cyclists, window cards, placards of sizes for grownups and for children, handbills by the thousands, and badges pinned on coat lapels or waists. So the interested Dutch responded and braved the damp weather and thronged the Ahoy Gebouw, till they numbered 10,775. The advertised speaker forcefully handled his subject. Silent, absorbed, with close attention for so serious a discourse on religion, that biggest assembly crowd ever in the Netherlands listened to the end. Then they gave way to deserved applause.

As with its predecessors, this assembly now progressed to a rapid but heart-warming close, with just two speakers. The feeling of the Dutch seemed brought up to a pitch where it must express itself more freely, and the convention servant’s report had them repeatedly laughing and applauding. He asked if the assembly had been a slag! (a hit, a success!) and they roared out Ja! a positive Yes! Then with appropriate suggestions and remarks the Society’s president spoke in farewell and dismissal of the convention. All agreed with him that Jehovah’s witnesses are the greatest optimists, and that those appointed to minister to them in responsible positions should be servants, and not stern, exacting, hard bosses. Love is vitally essential for us all, love to God first and love to neighbor as to oneself; and in love we should help one another in the theocratic organization.

So with song and prayer the finest assembly yet in The Land of Windmills and Dikes concluded. By their beaming faces and words the friends showed that was the way they felt about it. How glad they were they had expended themselves to come, and now how loath they seemed to part! The blessings received at Rotterdam are sure to sustain them in the days ahead, moving them still more zealously in Jehovah’s service, to the increase of the interest of his kingdom in the Netherlands.

Questions From Readers

● How can we say that Paul became the twelfth apostle, when Matthias was chosen by casting lots?—M. W., Florida.

On the night of his betrayal and arrest Jesus said to the eleven faithful apostles: “You did not choose me, but I chose you, and I appointed you.” (John 15:16, NW) The original twelve apostles were selected by direct choice and appointment by Jesus, not by the casting of lots, as in the case of Matthias. In seeking to fill the vacancy left by faithless Judas, Peter had in mind the fulfillment of Psalm 109:8, quoting: “Let a different man take his office of overseer.” But by casting lots to find one to “take the place of this ministry and apostleship, from which Judas deviated”, Peter and those with him were acting in advance of the Lord Jesus Christ and without any instruction from him. (Acts 1:20, 25, NW) They did not wait to “become clothed with power from on high”, to “be baptized in holy spirit not many days after this”, and hence this pre-Pentecostal selection of Matthias was not done under the guidance of the holy spirit.—Luke 24:49; Acts 1:5, NW.

After the casting of lots no mention is made in the Scriptures of Matthias personally. True, Acts 1:26 (NW) says he was “reckoned along with the eleven apostles”; but it does not say he was reckoned as an apostle of Jesus Christ. Acts 6:2 and; 1 Corinthians 15:5 speak of “the twelve”, referring to the eleven apostles and Matthias, because Matthias and the eleven apostles were associated together as a committee of special servants in the congregation at Jerusalem; but it is noteworthy that in these cases the terms “twelve” and “apostles” are not used together.

But that a replacement, and only one, for Judas was selected in fulfillment of Psalm 109:8 is made certain by Revelation 21:14, which refers to “the twelve apostles of the Lamb”. That replacement was chosen by Christ Jesus, just as were the original twelve apostles. Was not Paul specially chosen, Christ the spirit creature spectacularly manifesting himself to Paul? Concerning Paul Jesus said to Ananias: “This man is a chosen vessel to me to bear my name to the nations as well as to kings and the sons of Israel.” (Acts 9:15, NW) Jesus sent Paul forth, and Paul was excelled by no other “sent-forth one” or apostle of Christ. He was not bragging, but was writing under inspiration when he wrote concerning himself: “Paul, called to be an apostle of Jesus Christ through God’s will.” “Paul, an apostle, neither from men nor through a man, but through Jesus Christ and God the Father.” “Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus under command of God our Savior and of Christ Jesus.” “I was appointed a preacher and an apostle.”—Rom. 1:1; 1 Cor. 1:1; 2 Cor. 1:1; Gal. 1:1; Eph. 1:1; Col. 1:1; 1 Tim. 1:1; 2:7; 2 Tim. 1:1, 11; Titus 1:1, NW.

Nevertheless, Paul’s apostleship was disputed by some in his day, making it necessary for him to declare frequently his appointment from the Lord. He challenged his disputants: “Am I not an apostle? Have I not seen Jesus our Lord? Are not you my work in the Lord? If I am not an apostle to others, I most certainly am to you, for you are the seal confirming my apostleship in relation to the Lord.” (1 Cor. 9:1, 2, NW) As Paul’s words here indicate, and Peter’s at Acts 1:22 suggest, it seemed that one of the tests of being an apostle of the Lamb was to have seen Christ after his resurrection. Hence in this same epistle Paul repeats: “But last of all he appeared also to me as if to one born prematurely. For I am the least of the apostles, and I am not fit to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the congregation of God. But by God’s undeserved kindness I am what I am.” (1 Cor. 15:8-10, NW) Paul was known as the “apostle to the nations”. (Rom. 11:13, NW) He produced “the signs of an apostle”. (2 Cor. 12:12) He unquestionably became the twelfth apostle of the Lamb.

● Might not the star that guided the wise men to Jesus have been from God, since these men were apparently sincere and brought gifts and worshiped the child? Also, is it not reasonable to conclude that, since at this time Jesus was no longer a babe in a stable’s manger but a child in a house, he and his parents had by this time moved from Bethlehem to Nazareth?—F. D., California.

We have before us the three Gospel Harmonies, by the System Bible Studies, Chicago, Illinois, and by Prof. A.T. Robertson, and by Dr. Edw. Robinson, and all of them locate the visit of the magi or astrologers as at Bethlehem, and not at Nazareth. After Mary got well from her giving birth to Jesus, she and Joseph could easily have moved from the manger place into a house, so that the child’s being in a house at the magi’s visit proves no change of cities. It would also be unusual after Herod, according to Bible prophecy, had directed the magi to Bethlehem as the prophesied birthplace, if then the star directed them away from Bethlehem and north to Nazareth. Actually, the Bible account indicates that Joseph and Mary and the child took up residence at Nazareth for the first time upon their return from their flight into Egypt. (Matt. 2:19-23) If they had been up at Nazareth when they were warned to flee into Egypt, then to reach Egypt they would have had to travel all that long journey from Nazareth at the northern border of Herod’s territory through to the southern border. On the other hand, at Bethlehem they were already south of Jerusalem and could easily start moving south to reach Egypt ahead of Herod’s murderous executioners.

If that so-called “star” had been from God, why did it forsake the magi after it had taken them to Jesus, thus leaving them free to return to Herod? Why did not the “star” guide them back another way, if it was from God, and not make it necessary for God to intervene by sending an angel to them to direct them not to report back to Herod? The angel from God directed the shepherds to Bethlehem and gave them a sign by which to recognize the infant, but the “star” did not do this first. So the magi were called to Jesus’ enemy to ascertain for him the child’s location after all this time, maybe two years after his birth. After Herod was alarmed and stirred up to make efforts to kill the child, then first the “star” appeared again and guided the magi to where the child was. So all the evidence is against the “star” being from God, for God does not direct his people by movements of stars. But those magi were astrologers and star worshipers, no matter how sincere their hearts might have been respecting the “King of the Jews”. (Deut. 4:19; 2 Ki. 17:16; Isa. 47:13, 14) The Devil used them unwittingly in an attempt against the life of the young child Jesus.

● How does Hebrews 1:10-12 harmonize with Ecclesiastes 1:4? Is not the text in Hebrews referring to the literal earth and heavens created by Jehovah God?—R. A., Alabama.

Ecclesiastes 1:4 refers to the literal earth when it says: “The earth abideth for ever.” Hebrews 1:10-12 does not contradict this, because it is referring to the symbolical earth and heavens of Satan’s world, saying: “You, O Lord, founded the earth at the beginning, and the heavens are works of your hands. They will perish, but you are to remain continually; and they will all grow old like an outer garment, and you will wrap them up just as a cloak, as an outer garment; and they will be changed, but you are the same and your years will never cease.”—NW.

Incidentally, before proceeding to a direct answer of the question it might be noted that Paul here quotes Psalm 102:25-27, and applies it to Christ Jesus, whereas the psalm seems to be speaking of Jehovah. Trinitarians use this in an effort to prove Jehovah and Christ are interchangeable, are one in a triune god. However, we know that angels representing God were spoken of as though they were God, just as we know that Christ Jesus did the actual work of creation yet Jehovah is spoken of as the Creator, because Christ did it as Jehovah’s representative workman under God’s command and through God’s power. This point is even touched on in the context of the scripture we are here considering, Hebrews 1:2 (NW) speaking of Christ as the one “through whom he [Jehovah] made the systems of things”. So either Jehovah or Christ could be spoken of as making the heavens and earth, depending on the particular viewpoint taken in each case.—See The Watchtower, August 1, 1951, page 478.

That heavens and earth are not always to be taken in a literal sense has been shown many times in The Watchtower. (1 Ki. 10:24; Ps. 66:4; 96:1; Hab. 2:20; 2 Pet. 3:5-13) The symbolical heavens and earth comprising this wicked world are shown by many scriptures to be doomed, and it is such heavens and earth that Hebrews 1:10-12 says will perish. But how can it be said they were founded by God and Christ? Christ, through Jehovah’s power, made the covering cherub and the sons of God, and thereafter they rebelled to become the wicked heavens. Likewise, Christ by God’s power made Adam and Eve, but they rebelled and today it is their wicked descendants that form the visible earth of Satan’s world. The original symbolical heavens and earth were made good by Jehovah through Christ, then called the Word. But it defiled itself and degenerated into the present evil world.

To illustrate, it was like the nation of Israel that was planted by God a good vine, but turned into a degenerate plant that was a stranger to God. (Jer. 2:21) Similarly, Christianity was planted clean, but most of it did not stay clean by constantly renewing itself in godliness, but it became apostate, clothed itself in the old worn-out pagan doctrines of antiquity, rather than holding fast to the garments of praise and salvation that once identified it as God’s servant. In a like manner the once good heavens and earth degraded itself into this present evil system of things, thus becoming useless like an old worn-out garment fit only to be laid aside, destroyed, to be changed for a new heavens and new earth organization. This chapter of Hebrews 1 is showing the exaltation and permanency of Christ Jesus, and Heb 1 verses 10-12 are brought in to prove Christ will outlast this wicked world that is to perish.

Announcements

“PRAISE JEHOVAH AS KING”

A command to praise the Almighty Creator, Jehovah, is found in the Christian Greek Scriptures at Revelation 19:6, NW, in these words: “Praise Jah, you people.” In response, an ever-increasing crowd of sincere worshipers offer as praise “the fruit of lips which make public declaration to his name”. (Heb. 13:15) The opportunity to thus use one’s lips and take part in this grand proclamation is now here. God-fearing persons, recognizing the fulfillment of Bible prophecies, know that the most important work in this world today is that of rendering praise to the honor and glory of the now ruling King. It is with this group of proclaimers that you are now invited to work, sharing in life-giving praise. During the month of December, the book What Has Religion Done for Mankind? and a booklet will be offered to truth-seeking people on a contribution of 50c. To permit the efforts put forth in this month’s activity to be accurately determined, a report of the time you spend should be turned in to the company of Jehovah’s witnesses in your locality or mailed in to the nearest branch office listed under the front cover of this magazine.

SONGS TO JEHOVAH’S PRAISE

Is there a person who does not love to sing? Surely, regardless of how poor his voice or how limited his knowledge of music, everyone loves to use his voice in giving expression to his inner feelings. To aid Christians in giving expression to their inner feelings of heartfelt appreciation of Jehovah, His King, the Kingdom and their privileges of service the Society has provided a songbook of 91 Songs to Jehovah’s Praise. Included therein are many beautiful new songs as well as the old favorites improved and brought up to date. It is bound in an attractive brown and two-tone green cover and is printed in large, readable type. Measures 5 1/8ʺ by 7 5/16ʺ. Mailed on a contribution of 15c.

“WATCHTOWER” STUDIES

Week of January 20: “Say to the Prisoners, Go Forth.”

Week of January 27: Release Under Way to the Ends of the Earth.

Scripture Index for Texts Explained, 1951

GENESIS

1:2 420

1:26 223

1:28 424

1:29, 30 95

2:5, 6 90

2:16, 17 32

2:17 63, 424

3:5 63

3:17-19 638

3:22 63

5:29 680

6:1-4 702

6:5 618

8:21 618, 638

9:4 414

24:1-67 372

30:37-43 325

31:10-12 325

32:24-30 478

EXODUS

3:4, 6 478

12:48, 49 61

15:3 67

19:19 478

20:2-5 389

20:7 490

21:22-25 159

21:23-25 74

22:2, 3 75

23:13, 31-33 661

24:10 478

31:17 26

33:20 478

33:22, 23 478

LEVITICUS

3:17 414

7:26 414

11:6 325

17:10, 11, 14 414

19:16 101

19:26 414

24:19, 20 74

25:9 461

25:9-13 453

25:55 456

NUMBERS

16:26 4

16:28-30 4

24:25 231

25:1-9 231

30:6-8 735

DEUTERONOMY

4:19 764

5:2, 3 26

6:5 626

8:3 498

8:5 502

8:7-9 638

11:10-17, 26-28 638

12:16, 23, 24 414

14:7 325

15:4, 7, 9, 11 118

18:15-19 74

22:5 607

24:1-4 122

31:21 620

32:4, 5 459

JOSHUA

23:7, 8 661

JUDGES

2:12, 14, 18, 19 92

10:13, 14 131

1 SAMUEL

13:13 639

14:31-34 416

15:22-24 390

23:17 728

1 KINGS

10:24 765

12:25-29 662

2 KINGS

13:14-21 266

17:16 764

19:8-37 719

1 CHRONICLES

11:17-19 414

NEHEMIAH

4:8-23 69

ESTHER

3:8-15 69

JOB

14:7-9 219

32:6-9 89

32:21, 22 382

37:6-12 333

38:22, 23 333

PSALMS

2:6 600

2:10-12 189

14:7 398

19:4, 5 405

22:1 63

23:5 269

34:6, 7 369

34:7 188

37:18 432

41:1, 2 118

45:16 717

46:1 176, 178

46:2, 3 179

46:4 182

46:5 184

46:6, 7 186

46:7 187

46:8, 9 188

46:10 188

46:11 189

50:5 53

50:16-21 555

55:22 24

66:4 765

67:6, 7 425

78:9, 67, 68 639

82:6, 7 150

86:8-11 669

88:3-7 143

91:1, 2, 7, 8 533

91:11, 12 369

95:7-11 27

96:1 765

102:25-27 764

103:3, 4 261

103:13, 14 89

104:29, 30 223

107:17-20 303

107:20 217

109:8 763

110:1 600

110:1, 2 182

110:2, 4 600

111:10 356

113:1, 7, 8 113

116:3 144

116:4, 7, 8, 15 144

116:12-15 53

118:24 31

119:9, 16 365

119:105 325

119:113 626

125:3 727

126:2 441

132:14 598

138:1-4, 7 669

141:5 269

148:7, 8 333

PROVERBS

3:9 250

6:16-19 102

11:4 136

11:9 477

11:13 102

14:23 102

15:1 330

15:30 40

16:28 102

17:9 102

17:17 102

18:8 102

22:9 583

23:26 629

26:4, 5 703

29:2 645

ECCLESIASTES

1:4 764

5:2, 4-6 192

7:3-6 35

7:12 163

7:29 459

9:5, 10 143

9:11 24

11:1 330

12:7 223

ISAIAH

1:4 646

1:4-6, 18-20 305

1:9-17 678

1:24-26 723

2:17 541

3:25, 26 735

4:1 735

6:1 206, 209

6:2 209

6:3 209

6:4 210

6:5 211

6:6, 7 212

6:8 214, 215

6:9, 10 215

6:11, 12 218, 352

6:13 219

7:14 716

8:9, 10 433

8:16-18 441

9:6, 7 716

12:1, 2, 5, 6, 667

17:12, 13 180

21:9 667

24:1-6 421

25:9 541

26:4 185

28:13 602

28:14 602

28:16, 17 594

28:17, 18 603

28:21, 22 616

29:18, 19 723

30:20, 21 376

30:26 304

31:5-9 719

32:1 716

32:2 717

32:3, 4 723

32:5-8 727

32:15-20 729

33:17 605

33:22-24 304

33:24 426

35:1, 2, 7 425

35:3-6 723

35:4-6 306

37:36-38 719

41:21-29 666

43:5, 6 404

43:10-13 177

45:7 255

46:11 528

47:13, 14 764

49:1-4 744

49:1, 6, 7 750

49:3 747

49:5, 6 746

49:7 753

49:8, 9 742

49:9-13 751

49:9, 12, 13, 18 404

49:10 752

49:14 747

49:15-18 747

49:19-21 753

49:22, 23 753

49:24-26 754

52:1, 2, 10-14 504

52:11 749

52:13 444

54:1-5 166

54:2, 3 6

54:5, 13 376

55:13 425

60:1, 2 165

60:1, 2, 15-17, 21, 22 726

60:4, 5 165

60:6-9 166

60:11 166

60:12 166

65:13-16 151

65:21, 22 426

65:23 425

JEREMIAH

1:7, 19 150

1:9, 10 217, 535

2:20-23 663

2:21 765

4:23-28 421

5:26-31 646

5:28-31 540

6:13, 14 305

8:20 336

8:22 305

17:14-16 303

23:16, 17, 26, 27, 31 490

25:33 446

27:14, 15 534

28:15, 16 534

33:1-9 303

35:14, 15 528

37:17 536

51:7 539

51:47, 48 537

EZEKIEL

4:6 383

9:1-11 7

9:2-5 646

21:25-27 402

22:26-29 732

28:18 702

33:32, 33 531

34:4 305

43:3 217

47:12 307

DANIEL

2:44 493

5:2 537

5:6 538

5:9 538

5:26-28 539

6:1-28 69

9:17-19 401

10:5-7 438

12:1 403, 404

12:2 404

12:3 405

12:4 399

12:5 439

12:5-7 406, 409

12:7 442

12:10, 11 433

12:11 411

12:12 433, 437

HOSEA

4:6 477

JOEL

2:28-32 265

2:32 751

3:9-12 614

AMOS

3:3-8 556

8:11 149

9:2 287

MICAH

3:11 135

4:3, 4 426

HABAKKUK

2:14, 20 210

2:20 765

ZEPHANIAH

1:4-6 662

2:10, 11 668

3:9 212, 339

ZECHARIAH

2:1-5 166

2:4, 5 5, 7

2:6-8 8

2:10-12 9

4:7-10 605

8:20-23 151, 567

8:23 15

14:1-3, 5-9 72

14:3 616

14:13 616

MALACHI

1:7, 12 51

3:1 206

3:1, 3 215

3:1, 5 663

3:2, 3 667

MATTHEW

2:19-23 764

2:23 256

3:1, 2, 11 120

3:4 223

3:7, 8 595

3:7-9 116

3:7-12 141

3:10-12 675

3:13-17 676, 745

4:4 498

4:5-7 369

4:14-16 406

4:17 722

5:1, 2, 38-45 74

5:3, 6 120, 733

5:17, 18 27

5:31, 32 236

5:33-37 95

6:1-4 644

6:9-13 488

6:9, 10 599

6:10 495

6:11 496

6:12 498

6:13 500, 504

6:24, 25, 32, 33 22

7:20-23 734

7:28, 29 132

8:5-12 125

8:12 115

8:20 114

9:11-13 119

9:14-17 734

9:22 127

9:30 446

10:9, 10 326

10:28 108

11:2-5 121

11:11 422

11:12 595

11:12, 13 121

11:19 510

11:23 287

11:25-30 142

11:28-30 680

12:15-19 447

12:28 595

12:30 734

12:34 104

12:39-41 154

13:3-9 655

13:13-15 216, 302

13:39-43 368

13:44-46 249

15:1-6 171

15:1-9 119

15:6-9 327

15:7-9 103

15:14 288

15:18, 19 104

16:1-4 334

16:13-20 447

16:18 345

16:23 629

16:27 599

17:20 24

18:10 368

19:3-9 234

19:9 236

19:16, 17 383

19:16-24 136

19:20-22 249

19:24 319

21:23, 31, 32 121

21:41 595

21:43, 45 115

22:7 677

22:21 76

22:30 319

22:37 626

23:4, 13 119

23:7-10 382

23:8 574

23:13 115, 328

23:27, 28 115, 595

24:3 203

24:3, 6-8 71

24:7, 8 203

24:9 516

24:12 432

24:14 12, 29, 79

24:20, 21 336

24:21, 22 164

24:30, 31 599

24:31 407

24:34 404

24:35-39 679

24:45-47 749

24:48-51 150

25:21 728

25:31 368

25:45 288

26:17-30 45

26:26-29 49

26:52-54 71

26:63, 64 447

27:46 63

27:49, 50 479

28:19 137

MARK

1:40-45 446

2:16, 17 119

7:33-36 446

9:38-40 734

10:17, 18 382

10:34-40 53

10:39 676

12:41-44 249

14:23-25 59

14:38 503

15:25 670

16:17, 18 265

LUKE

3:16 676

4:16-19 302

4:16-21 121

4:16-30 266

4:18 722

4:18, 19 742

5:33-38 734

6:21, 25 35

6:24, 25 120

6:38 330

10:4 326

10:21-24 142

10:23, 24 583

10:27 626

11:3 496

11:4 498, 500

11:49 528

11:52 117

12:50 676

13:10-16 297

13:27-30 146

16:10 19

16:14, 19 114

16:15 115, 141

16:16 121

16:17, 18 121

16:19-31 208

16:20, 21 117

16:22, 23 120, 141

16:24 149

16:25, 26 150

16:27, 28 152

16:29 153

16:30 154

16:31 154

17:20, 21 595

17:24-37 286

17:26 554

17:26-30 679

17:28-30 678

17:28-32 4

17:28-30, 32 685

18:9-11 118

18:18, 19 382

18:25 319

19:29-38 530

19:39, 40 530

19:41-44 530

21:1-4 136

21:26 355

21:31, 32 463

22:19, 20 48

22:20 52

22:35, 36 326

22:36-38 71

22:40, 46 503

24:17-21 746

24:27, 44 117

24:49 763

JOHN

1:18 124

1:29 61

1:46 118

1:51 367

3:13 134

3:18, 19 529

4:7-42 447

5:25, 26 56

5:27-29 319

5:28, 29 383, 446

6:51 55

6:53-58 56

7:38, 39 184

7:49 118

8:31-36 459

8:33, 37, 39 116

8:39, 42, 44 152

10:4 132

10:16 751

10:24, 25 447

12:28 492

12:31 80

12:36-41 216

13:18 46

13:22-30 46

13:23, 25 124

14:9 478

15:1-6 663

15:7 295

15:13 415

15:14 415

15:16 763

17:14, 16 77

18:36 19, 77

18:37 77, 447

19:14 670

19:32-34 479

ACTS

1:5 763

1:20, 25 763

1:26 763

2:1-42 142

2:10, 41, 42 382

2:16-21 265

2:34 134

2:44-47 169

3:19-21 722

3:20-23 74

4:32, 34, 35 170

5:1-4 170

5:4-10 170

5:29-32 77

6:1-4 171

6:2 763

7:37, 38 117

7:48, 49 185

9:15 763

10:25, 26 391

11:1-3 382

11:26 255

13:44-47 750

13:46 288

13:46, 47 144

14:14, 15 10

15:1, 2 382

15:14 750

15:17, 18 31

15:19, 20, 28, 29 414

17:11 320

21:25 414

24:15 383, 446

24:16 73

26:5 191

ROMANS

1:1 763

1:21-23 223

1:25 607

1:31, 32 80

2:12-29 563

2:28, 29 747

3:1, 2 117

5:12-14, 20, 21 460

6:2-5 54

6:3-5 684

6:23 460, 498

7:1-6 123

7:9-11 142

7:19-25 624

8:5-7 625

8:28-30 52

9:3-5 117

9:30-33 602

9:31, 32 116

9:32, 33 596

10:2-4 116

10:14, 15 214

11:7-9 142

11:13 764

12:2 24, 104, 618, 629

12:17 330

12:18, 19 8

12:21 331

13:1 21

14:4 574

14:17 493

1 CORINTHIANS

1:1 763

1:11-13 57

1:13 80

1:18-29 338

2:7-10, 11-14 374

2:10, 12 622

2:14 300

3:1-4 57

3:3 80

3:16, 17 539

3:18-21 338

5:7-11 59

6:9-11 292

6:19, 20 76

Chap. 7 371

7:4 278

7:10, 11, 15 239

7:14 288

7:23 76

9:1, 2 764

9:24-27 24

10:1, 2 682

10:6, 11 719

10:12, 13 503

10:12, 21, 22 663

10:14-17 49

10:16 53

10:17-22 50

10:21 51

10:29 574

Chap. 11 127

11:3 278

11:3-16 543

11:8, 9 277

11:17-22 57

11:20-26 44, 45

11:26-34 57

11:29 58

11:29-31 269

12:12, 13, 18, 19, 21, 27, 28 49

12:12, 13, 27 683

12:29-13:1 264

13:1, 2, 8-11 367

13:5 627

13:8-11 264

14:22 266

14:33-35, 40 278

14:33, 40 377

15:5 763

15:8-10 764

15:24 426

15:28 426

15:44 383

15:44, 50 62

15:45, 49 223

15:51, 52 383

2 CORINTHIANS

1:1 763

1:3, 4 646

1:12 689

1:21, 22 374

2:14-17 208

3:1-3 622

3:16-18 621

3:18 210

4:1, 2 689

4:1, 7 274

4:3, 4 621

4:4 80, 301

4:6 210

5:17 629

5:19, 20 79

5:20-6:4 743

6:14-18 208

6:14-7:1 52

10:3-5 80

10:4 75

11:3 626

11:5, 6, 12-15 272

11:13-15 309

12:6-10 271

12:12 764

GALATIANS

1:1 763

1:6-9 273

3:7, 8, 26, 29 124

3:28, 29 563

4:4, 5 27

4:9, 10 26

4:26 5, 597

4:26, 28 563

4:28 124

5:12 273

5:16, 17 24

6:2 24

6:7 330

6:15, 16 563

6:17 273

EPHESIANS

1:1 763

1:12-14 374

1:22, 23 49

2:1-6 301

2:20, 22 374

3:4, 5 374

4:3-6 379

4:17-19 621

4:22-24 329, 623

4:30 375

5:3, 5 390

5:3-7, 11, 12 103

5:23 278

5:23, 25 126

5:25, 28, 29, 33 278

6:11-13 80

6:11-18 380

6:17 745

PHILIPPIANS

1:27-30 379

1:29 55

1:30 24

2:5 629

2:6-8 391

2:25-30 267

3:2, 3 564

3:4-6, 9 116

3:8-11 54

3:13-17 628

3:18, 19 626

4:8 104

COLOSSIANS

1:1 763

2:8 119

2:8, 9 542

2:13, 14, 16, 17 26

2:18 191, 659

3:5 390

3:5-8 103

3:9, 10 104, 329

3:9-11 623

1 THESSALONIANS

2:15, 16 144

2:17, 18 377

5:3 614

5:8, 9 380

2 THESSALONIANS

1:6-10 603

1:9, 10 599

3:11 102

1 TIMOTHY

1:1 763

1:3-5 690

2:7 763

2:9-15 127

2:11, 12 278

2:15 159

3:1, 2, 4, 12 235

4:1, 2 689

4:1-3 227

5:3, 5, 9, 10 172

5:4, 8, 16 172

5:9, 10 235

5:11-15 127, 172

5:13 101

5:14 159

5:23 267, 510

6:9, 10 22

6:12 11

6:13 596

6:18, 19 136

2 TIMOTHY

1:1, 11 763

1:6-8 18

2:3, 4 80

2:4, 5 24

2:11, 12 54

2:15 5

2:19 3, 5, 29, 288

3:1-5 131

3:15, 16 373

4:2 78

4:7 21

4:20 267

TITUS

1:1 763

1:5-7 235

1:13-16 690

1:16 229

3:3-6 622

HEBREWS

1:2 765

1:3 224

1:10-12 764

1:14 368

2:1 18

2:13, 14 206

2:17, 18 88

2:18 596

4:3-11 27

4:9, 10 27

4:11 27

4:12 623, 745

4:15 596

5:7, 8 596

5:8 88

6:16-18 95

9:12, 24 461

9:14 688

9:24-26 45

10:1 28

10:10-14 45

10:13 600

10:19-22 688

11:8-14 110

11:30-34 68

11:35 383

12:1,2 20

12:5, 6, 11 92

12:22, 23 369

12:22-24 182, 597

12:26-28 180

13:1 8

13:4 227, 233

13:15 740

JAMES

1:13-15 500

1:17 370

1:22-27 659

1:26, 27 191, 511

1:27 78, 733

2:10 26, 291

2:13 291, 499

3:18 726

4:2, 3 177

4:4 6, 208

4:13-17 378

5:1-4 163

5:12 95

5:13-15 268

5:16 270

5:17, 18 270

5:19, 20 271

1 PETER

1:1 550

1:13-16 630

2:4-9 47

2:6 606

2:19-23 690

2:20 658

3:7-9 279

3:16-18 691

3:19, 20 702

3:20 686

3:20-22 679

3:21 687

4:1 330

4:1-5 550

4:7 547, 553, 558

4:8 559

4:9 559

4:10, 11 560

4:12-14, 19 560

4:15 658

4:15, 16 552

4:16 659

4:17 206, 551

4:19 552

5:1-6 561

5:2 135

5:8, 9 561

5:10 561

2 PETER

1:19-21 373

2:1-3 228

2:2 229

2:5 4

2:14-16 230

2:19 356

2:20-22 103

3:5-13 765

3:9, 15 686

3:10 326

3:15 557

1 JOHN

1:3, 7 125

2:15-17 23

3:2 224

3:11-16 81

3:16 126

4:17, 18 213

5:4 656

5:7 95

JUDE

vs 6 702

vs 7 678

REVELATION

1:13-15, 17, 18 439

2:10 536

2:14 230

2:20-23 232

3:14 596

3:16 626

4:1-8 209

7:1-4, 9-17 369

7:1-8 564

7:4-8 45

7:9, 10, 14-17 752

9:5-7, 10, 11 149

10:5-7 439

11:3 410

11:3-10 208

11:7 208, 410

11:7-12 303

11:12 148

11:15-18 730

11:15-19 205, 440

12:1-12 72, 176

12:6, 14 383

12:7-12 600, 730

13:1-3 208

13:16, 17 412

14:1, 3 45

14:9, 10 413

15:5-8 211

16:13, 14, 16 614

16:14 413

16:14-16 72

17:1-18 187

17:12-14 412

18:3 539

18:4 8

19:6 10, 13, 212, 730

19:6-8 13

19:11-20:8 191

19:20 144

20:1-3 420

20:2, 3 542

20:4-6 383

20:5 423

20:6-10, 15 426

20:10 351

20:14 144

21:14 763

21:27 240

22:1, 2 182

22:1-3 306

22:3 639

22:17 184, 307

Subject Index for “The Watchtower”, 1951

Adversity Does Not Retard the Witness Work in the Philippines 568

African Chieftain Recognizes Shepherd’s Voice 219

Baptism for Salvation and Fire Baptism 675

Bearing Fruit Manyfold from Right Soil 655

Beggar and Rich Man Experience a Change 120

“Be Rich in Right Works” 136

Bible at Your Doorstep, The 653

Biggest Optimists, The 547

Canada’s Supreme Court Sides with Jehovah’s Witnesses 147

Charity in Christendom 643

Chart of Outstanding Historical Dates 221

Cheap Talk versus True Principle 515

Christianity’s Non-Christian Witnesses 280

Christian’s Sabbath, The 25

Circuit Assembly Held Despite Legion Antagonism 87

Circuit Assembly in Nigeria 160

“Clean Worship” Assemblies: from France to Netherlands 756

Clergy and War—a Confused Picture 132

Comfort for Men Who Sigh and Cry 645

Commissioning of Witnesses in the Time of the End 214

Communists and Jehovah’s Witnesses 512

Communists Put Jehovah’s Witnesses on Trial 357

Concluding the Report on Japan 648

‘Condemned Out of Their Own Mouths’ 640

Confidently Facing the End 548

Conquer Your Fears! 355

Constantine’s “Sign of the Cross” 473

“Continue in the Things You Learned” 413

Convention Results in New York City 93

Cornerstone of Zion, The 593

Daily Bread, Forgiveness, and Deliverance 496

Denial of Church Building Permit Unlawful 41

Desolated Earth for a Thousand Years? A, 420

Divine Healing for Perfect Life 261

“Droop Not Your Hands” 220

Early Christians Not Communistic 168

Early Christians Under Roman Rule 137

Early Help for Surviving the World’s End 181

“Earthquakes in One Place After Another 201

Education That Brings Success 611

European Assemblies 252

Exchange of Letters Regarding New World Translation 427

Expansion of Theocracy in Indonesia and Singapore 428

Experience from Quebec City 476

Experience in Announcing Jehovah’s Kingdom 448

Fearless Testimony Rewarded 472

Federal Court of Appeals Rebukes Unfair Board 112

Final Victory over Babylonish Religion Near 665

Free Moral Agency and the Word 370

From the Philippines to Taiwan and Japan 584

Further Preaching in the Islands 241

Gilead Appreciates the New Version 156

Gilead Graduates Its Sixteenth Class 251

Gilead’s Largest Home-graduating Class 589

God Knows and Protects His Own 3

God’s Servants Are Different 109

“Happy Are the Eyes That Behold” 581

Hated for His Name 516

Healing for Life in the New World 293

How Practical Is the Bible? 325

Identifying “The Israel of God” 562

Image Put to Unexpected Use in Chile 274

In Defense of Marriage 227

International “Clean Worship” Assembly in London 707

Is Experience the Best Teacher? 88

Isle of Martinique 318

Italian District Assembly Aids Free Worship 247

It Was All a Bit Confusing 19

Jehovah’s War of Armageddon 613

Jehovah’s Witnesses in Costa Rica 637

Jehovah’s Witnesses in Denmark 696

Jehovah’s Word Endures Forever! 419

John the Baptist, Forerunner of Jesus 81

John, the Beloved Apostle 521

Keeping the Mind Renewed 624

Laying the Stone in Completion 599

Learned Truth Before Too Late 28

Leaves of Healing 306

Legality of Park Meetings Contested 85

“Let Marriage Be Honorable Among All” 233

“Let Your Kingdom Come” 492

Letter on Witnessing to University Students and Professors 699

Life-giving Knowledge 477

Lord’s Prayer Nears Complete Answer, The 488

Make Known the Good News 94

Making a Success of Marriage 276

Making the Mind Over for New World Living 617

Mankind’s Greatest Leader 739

Mary’s Assumption—A Scriptural Dogma? 62

Measuring the Visible Part of the Restored City 12

Memorial and National Assembly in Australia 393

Ministry in an El Salvador Hospital 698

Modern “Job” Maintaining Integrity, A 254

Moral Collapse, The 323

More Important Healing, The 300

More Liberation Prophecy to Be Fulfilled 438

Must Christians Pay Tithes? 248

New Legal Booklet Well Named 43

No Relief for the Rich, but Comfort for the Poor 148

Not Remaining Silent on the World’s Doom 537

On Service Tour in New Zealand 361

Open Answer to The Vindicator, An 105

Pacifism and Conscientious Objection—Is There a Difference? 73

Partaking in a Worthy Manner 57

Participation with Demons Forbidden 50

Pastor Says Church Fails in Duty 309

Peter, Apostle with the Keys 173

Place of God’s Word in Our Lives, The 365

Planning Now for the Time to Come 283

Poor Uplifted and Comforted, The 113

Praise Jah! You Who Attend the Memorial 165

Praise Jehovah as King 730

Prayer of Faith During Sickness, The 268

Prayers for Peace 131

Preaching in the Islands 195

Priestcraft Surrenders to Truth in the Near East 755

“Princes Shall Rule in Justice” 716

Prison, Torture and Death for Witnesses in Soviet Zone 63

“Proclaim Liberty Throughout All the Land” 451

Producing the Yearbook of Jehovah’s Witnesses 36

Progress Toward Taming the Tongue 101

Prometheus Represented as Tied to a Stake 190

“Pure Language” 339

“Put Off Every Weight” 20

Quebec’s Campaign of Persecution Suffers Another Stunning Blow 387

Questions from Readers In every issue

Receiving Mercy by Showing Mercy 291

Release to the Captives 398

Release Under Way to the Ends of the Earth 748

Religious Meeting in Public Park No Union of Church and State 259

Religious News Items 487

Religious Respectability and Decay 381

Remaining Fearless to the Accomplished End 520

Report on Japan and Korea 631

Request to God for a Good Conscience 686

Results of a Long-delayed Back-Call 445

Returning to North America 692

“Say to the Prisoners, Go Forth” 741

Scripture Index for Texts Explained, 1951 766

Sharing in the Final Witness 29

Showing Concern for the Poor 731

Shun the Snare of Creature Worship! 389

Spirit of Crusades Appears in Truman Speech 331

Spirit, the Organization, and the Word, The 373

‘Spoiling Their Pastures’ 384

Stability and Permanence During World Change 176

“Subjection to the Superior Authorities” 275

Surprise from a Clergyman 254

“The Lord’s Evening Meal” 44

The 1,290 and 1,335 Days of Daniel’s Prophecy 432

Theocracy’s Increase 5

Theocracy’s Increase in Burma 505

Theocracy’s Increase in China 524

Theocracy’s Increase in Southeast Asia 465

Theocratic Organization Re-established 724

Time Better than Money 163

‘Time, Times and Half a Time’ 408

Torments of the Rich Man 141

Traveling Increases the Witness 310

Triumph of Clean, Undefiled Worship, The 656

True Israel Now Restored 565

Two Classic Letters of Great Importance 348

“Upon This Rock I Will Build My Church” 345

U. S. Supreme Court Upholds Freedoms 158

Vision of the “Time of the End” 400

Watchtower, The 472

Way of Success 592

What the Thousand-Year Reign Will Accomplish 424

What to Do in the Face of the End 553

What to Love and What to Hate 579

When Christianity Went Underground 483

Who Sees the New World’s King at the Temple? 205

Why Jehovah’s Witnesses Are Not Pacifists 67

Why Mourning Excels Mirth 35

Why the Bible Is Specially Practical for Our Day 332

Will the Stones Have to Cry Out? 528

With the President in Fiji 340

“With Stammering Lips and Another Tongue” 246

World Hypocrisy, Christian Zeal 99

Worldly Knowledge versus God’s 471

Zechariah and Elizabeth, Aged Parents of John the Baptist 30