The Watchtower — August 15, 1954

Meaning of the World’s Woes

THINGS are really bad in the world today. Probably you have wondered why. Well, there is a good reason for all the increasing world woes. And there is vital meaning in them too. The Bible sheds light on this meaning at Matthew 24:3 (NW); here the disciples asked Jesus: “Tell us, When will these things be, and what will be the sign of your presence and of the consummation of the system of things?” Now the answer that Jesus gave at Mt 24 verse seven is eye-opening: “For nation will rise against nation and kingdom against kingdom, and there will be food shortages and earthquakes in one place after another.”

So the unusual number of earthquakes we have been having since 1914 truly means something. So do the food shortages and the world wars. Even all the fear in the world and the confused condition of all the nations mean something, for at Luke 21:25, 26 (NW) Jesus foretold that during the “last days” of this evil world this would occur: “On the earth anguish of nations, not knowing the way out because of the roaring of the sea and its agitation, while men become faint out of fear and expectation of the things coming upon the inhabited earth.” Here Jesus foretold that the time would come when nations would be perplexed as they never had been before. And they would not be able to find the way out of their confusion. As we look about today we see how the nations fear the future. There is the threat of the H-bomb. Still the brainy statesmen, even with all their conferences, are doing little about easing the world’s woes. They do not know which way to turn.

Well now, do true Christians have to fear the future as the whole world is doing? No, they do not; for at Luke 21:28 (NW) Jesus explains: “But as these things start to occur, raise yourselves erect and lift your heads up, because your deliverance is getting near.” How near? Christ Jesus goes on to tell us in Lu 21 verses 29 to 32:“Note the fig tree and all the other trees: When they are already in the bud, by observing it you know for yourselves that now the summer is near. In this way you also, when you see these things occurring, know that the kingdom of God is near. Truly I say to you, This generation will by no means pass away until all things occur.”

All this means that we are living at a time when there will be a complete change in the system of things. An old world must go out and a new world must come in. No wonder Jesus said to lift up your heads and rejoice when you see a flood of woes upon the earth, for the end of the Devil’s rule over mankind is here! It is Satan the Devil who is bringing these woes upon mankind. He does not want people to know that he is really the ruler of this evil world and that he is misleading the nations. The Devil wants people to believe that God is responsible for the woes. But as we learn from Revelation 12:7-9, 12 (NW), the Devil is the real culprit: “And war broke out in heaven: Michael and his angels battled with the dragon, and the dragon and its angels battled but it did not prevail, neither was a place found for them any longer in heaven. So down the great dragon was hurled, the original serpent, the one called Devil and Satan, who is misleading the entire inhabited earth; he was hurled down to the earth, and his angels were hurled down with him. On this account be glad, you heavens and you who reside in them! Woe for the earth and for the sea, because the Devil has come down to you, having great anger, knowing he has a short period of time.”

When that war was fought, between 1914 and 1918, the Devil lost the day. He was tumbled down to the earth. And greatly enraged, he brings woe after woe upon mankind. But we can rejoice, because when we see these woes it means that the Devil has only a short period of time left before Armageddon. At that war Christ will smite the nations with a rod of iron and also put the Devil out of the way. This abyssing of the Devil is found at Revelation 20:1-3 (NW): “And I saw an angel coming down out of heaven with the key of the abyss and a great chain in his hand. And he seized the dragon, the original serpent, who is the Devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years. And he hurled him into the abyss and shut it and sealed it over him, that he might not mislead the nations any more.” So Christ Jesus merely seizes the Devil and hurls him into the abyss. With the Devil no longer active to interfere in the affairs of mankind, the woes for the earth come to an end.

Also at Armageddon the nations of this world will suffer destruction. The prophet Daniel foretold this nation-smashing work at Daniel 2:44 (AS): “In the days of those kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom which shall never be destroyed, nor shall the sovereignty thereof be left to another people; but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand for ever.” After this smiting of the nations Christ’s thousand-year reign begins. A righteous new world will have displaced a wicked old world. Things will be different then. No world troubles, no sickness, not even death will afflict mankind. All the animals will become friends of man. God’s prophet tells us about this happy time at Isaiah 11:3-9 (AS):

“He shall not judge after the sight of his eyes, neither decide after the hearing of his ears; but with righteousness shall he judge the poor, and decide with equity for the meek of the earth; and he shall smite the earth with the rod of his mouth; and with the breath of his lips shall he slay the wicked. And righteousness shall be the girdle of his waist, and faithfulness the girdle of his loins. And the wolf shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; and a little child shall lead them. And the cow and the bear shall feed; their young ones shall lie down together; and the lion shall eat straw like the ox. And the sucking child shall play on the hole of the asp, and the weaned child shall put his hand on the adder’s den. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain; for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of Jehovah, as the waters cover the sea.”

So instead of being full of woes the earth will soon be full of the knowledge of Jehovah. The wicked will be destroyed. Nothing will cause trouble in God’s new world. So really we are living in a most blessed time, for the world’s woes mean that the “last days” of Satan’s rule are at hand.

What Hope for Permanent World Peace?

Since Almighty God made man to live on a peaceful, paradise earth, why is our home-town planet today a global battlefield, with the smoke of war never clearing? The answer to this question, contained in the article below, will also enlighten you as to the one sure hope for permanent world peace.

STRANGE world, this! The civilized people today know more about killing than living, more about war than peace. Yet the inborn desire of man is for life, not death; for peace, not war. How can we explain this topsy-turvy condition? Yes, and how can we explain the fact that man’s many avenues of hope for peace all lead to the dead end of war? These questions demand a logical answer. But first the heartcheering, irrepressible news: there is a sure hope for permanent world peace. It is not a pipe dream. It is a reality. This generation can experience its blessings.

Just what is this sure hope? A third all-out war? Hardly! For history shows that no war has ever ushered in permanent peace. Look, for example, at the war record of the twentieth century. In the book A Study of War Professor Wright observes that in the first thirty years of this century the European powers alone fought seventy-four wars. These lasted an average of four years, a record not approached by man since the twelfth century. According to the professor’s calculations, this “enlightened generation” has a war-casualty rate far worse than the grand total of the previous 800 years! Still this blood-curdling concentration of wars within one generation has not brought permanent peace.

Nor is it reasonable to believe that a colossal build-up of military might will permanently scare nations out of war. Fear does not tend to evoke peaceful reaction in men. Rather, people react to fear by preparing for defense and attack. “Those who seek peace in terms of military strength alone,” said President Eisenhower, “are doomed to end up in the agony of the battlefield.”—New York Times, November 20, 1953.

Could the sure hope for peace, then, lie within the sphere of diplomacy, with its conferences, peace pacts and leagues of nations? Well, many people do feel that these methods offer the best hope for peace. In fact, a recent survey revealed that 73 per cent of the American people are in harmony with Dag Hammarskjold, who said that the United Nations “remains the principal source of hope of a world without fear.” (New York Times, May 18, 1954) Since so many pin their hope on diplomacy, these words of Roman Catholic Bishop Fulton J. Sheen, reported in the New York Times of April 20, 1953, should be thought-provoking: “Those who put too much trust in words alone should keep in mind that 4,500 treaties of peace were signed under League of Nations auspices between the first and second world wars. In the eleven months preceding the second World War, 211 treaties of peace were signed.” Still inclined to trust in diplomacy? Eye-opening, then, are the results of the most celebrated twentieth-century peace pacts.

(1) League of Nations Covenant of 1920: fifty-four nations promised “not to resort to war.” In the 1930’s Japan attacked China, Italy attacked Ethiopia and Russia attacked Finland. (2) Russo-Polish nonaggression pact of 1920. In 1939 Russia took over half of Poland. (3) Locarno Treaties of 1925. Germany signed nonaggression pacts with Belgium, France, Poland and Czechoslovakia. In 1938, Germany took over Czechoslovakia. Later, all went to war. (4) Italo-Ethiopian 20-year pact of 1928. In 1935 Italy attacked. (5) Kellogg-Briand pact of 1929. Sixty-two nations renounced war. Almost all were at war within 15 years. (6) Russo-Finnish pact of 1932. Russia attacked Finland in 1939. (7) Russian and Baltic States nonaggression pacts of 1939 with Latvia, Estonia and Lithuania. Within a year all three were annexed by Russia. (8) Stalin-Hitler pact of 1939. Peace was to last for ten years, but Germany attacked Russia in 1941. (9) Russo-Chinese nonaggression pact of 1945. To last for 30 years, but in 5 years, with Soviet help, Chinese Communists conquered China. (10) Russo-Yugoslav pact of 1945. Russia denounced it a month after signature. (11) United Nations Charter, 1945. Sixty nations agreed to outlaw war. But full-scale fighting broke out in Palestine, Greece, Malaya, Korea and Indo-China. United Nations attempts to secure formal peace treaties fail. Indeed, President Eisenhower had good reason for declaring: “I am convinced there is no peace alone in edicts and treaties, no matter how solemnly signed.”—New York Times, November 20, 1953.

IDENTIFYING THE GOD OF THIS WORLD

Since many statesmen have been sincere in their efforts, why have all man’s hopes for peace turned into bitter failures? The reason is twofold: (1) Man, as a result of Adam’s sin, is imperfect and sinful; thus no peace pact can guarantee that greedy, selfish rulers will not crop up; (2) the superhuman ruler of this world is Satan the Devil. “The whole world is lying in the power of the wicked one,” explained Christ’s apostle. This means that all nations of the earth are under Satan’s control. No peace pacts, bullets or atom bombs can nullify the peace-wrecking efforts of the Devil, “the god of this system of things.”—1 John 5:19; 2 Cor. 4:4, NW.

Do not be deceived. The Devil is not some abstract quality of evil. That is what he would like you to think. To show that Satan is a real person and that he has power over earthly kingdoms, let us turn to the inspired Word of God, where we learn of Satan’s attempt to induce the Son of God to rebel against his Father. “The Devil took him [Jesus] along to an unusually high mountain, and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory, and he said to him: ‘All these things I will give you if you fall down and do an act of worship to me.’ Then Jesus said to him: ‘Go away, Satan!’” Would this have been a temptation to Jesus if the Devil did not really control the nations of the world? Of course not! So the Devil’s power of the nations is real. That is why the apostle Paul called the Devil and his demons “the world-rulers of this darkness.”—Matt. 4:1-11; Eph. 6:12, NW.

Jesus rejected the offer of this world’s ruler. He knew that in his Father’s due time he would be given Kingdom power and the command to shepherd the nations with “a rod of iron.” (Rev. 19:15) When Christ wields the “rod of iron,” which he will do very soon now, it means that all the kingdoms of this world will be smashed out of existence. This nation-destroying action was foretold at Daniel 2:44 (AS): “And in the days of those kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom which shall never be destroyed, nor shall the sovereignty thereof be left to another people; but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand for ever.”

IDENTIFYING THE SURE HOPE

Now it becomes clear that the sure hope for world peace must be a kingdom, a kingdom that will rule over this planet earthwide and forever. This means a new world for mankind, a world the apostle Peter called “new heavens and a new earth” in which righteousness is to dwell. The King of the new world already reigns! In 1914 Jehovah enthroned Christ as King. Foretelling this enthronement, Psalm 110:2 (AS) says: “Jehovah will send forth the rod of thy strength out of Zion: Rule thou in the midst of thine enemies.” Thus Christ rules although the Devil’s world, Christ’s enemies, is still a going concern. But not for long! For following his enthronement, the Jehovah-empowered King initiated offensive warfare against the Devil’s invisible forces: “War broke out in heaven. . . . Down the great dragon was hurled, the original serpent, the one called Devil and Satan, who is misleading the entire inhabited earth; he was hurled down to the earth, and his angels were hurled down with him. . . . Woe for the earth and for the sea, because the Devil has come down to you, having great anger, knowing he has a short period of time.”—2 Pet. 3:13; Rev. 12:7, 9, 12, NW.

“A short period of time” before what? Before the war of Armageddon, called in the Bible “the war of the great day of God the Almighty.” This war will not be fought by man, but by superhuman forces under the direction of Christ Jesus. It is upon this generation that Armageddon will come, because the sign of the “last days” is now visible. A few features of that sign, mentioned by Jesus at Matthew 24 and Luke 21, are world wars, widespread famines, an unusual number of earthquakes, increased lawlessness, earth-wide tribulation, perplexity of nations and men stricken by fear. “When you see all these things,” Jesus said, “truly I say to you that this generation will by no means pass away until all these things occur,” including Armageddon.—Rev. 16:14; Matt. 24:33-35, NW.

Armageddon will be the final war, for it will end all wars. No need will there be for this war to be fought again: “He [Jehovah] is about to execute complete destruction; he will not take vengeance twice upon his enemies.” Never will anyone debate whether Armageddon was a worthwhile war, as people do with wars fought by men! It will be a righteous war. Thus of the “King of kings,” Christ Jesus, it is written: “He judges and carries on war in righteousness. . . . Out of his mouth there protrudes a sharp long sword, that he may smite the nations with it.”—Nah. 1:9, AT; Rev. 17:14; 19:11, 15, NW.

This smiting of the nations is necessary because they do not want the real, living Christ to rule over them. Nor will they relinquish their rule. Yet even the smiting of the nations will not be sufficient to bring in permanent peace unless “the world-rulers of this darkness,” the Devil and his demons, are also destroyed. Since Christ is the “Prince of peace,” he will see to it that that devilish obstructor of peace, together with the demons, is put out of the way at Armageddon: “He seized the dragon, the original serpent, who is the Devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years. And he hurled him into the abyss and shut it and sealed it over him.”—Isa. 9:6; Rev. 20:1-4; Matt. 8:29, NW.

BLESSINGS OF THE NEW WORLD HOPE

Armageddon’s war will sweep the earth clean of all wickedness, all unrighteousness, all corruption. Never again will nationalistic barriers divide earth’s inhabitants. Never again will there be different governments on earth at the same time, each claiming to be the right kind for the people. Never again will there be armies, navies, war planes, cannons, tanks, machine guns and atom bombs. And never again will there be bomb shelters, bomb craters, radio-active “death dust,” no man’s lands, fox holes, monuments to known and unknown soldiers, statues of bayonet-wielding soldiers or even military academies. For nothing, absolutely nothing, will spoil the peace or mar the beauty of God’s new world. This Jehovah guarantees: “Come near, and see God’s acts, his marvellous acts done on earth; how he puts an end to wars all over the world, the bow shivered, the weapons shattered, the shields burnt to ashes!” “I create new heavens and a new earth; and the former things shall not be remembered, nor come into mind.”—Ps. 45:9, 10, Knox; Isa. 65:17, AS.

Clearly, then, Jehovah’s new world is man’s only hope for permanent world peace. Indeed it is a hope for much more! Because even if man could bring in a measure of peace, he would still need doctors, undertakers, grave diggers and tombstone makers. Yes, man would still have his life filled with tears, deep mourning, pain and outcries over keen suffering and heartaches. So man needs more than peace. He needs life. He needs health. But no kingdom of this evil world can put an end to the medicinal needs and the graveyards. Jehovah’s new world will! “And I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the former heaven and the former earth had passed away, . . . And he [God] will wipe out every tear from their eyes, and death will be no more, neither will mourning nor outcry nor pain be any more.”—Rev. 21:1, 4, NW.

WHAT TO DO

To enjoy the blessings of permanent world peace, perfect health and everlasting life on a paradise earth after Armageddon, what must you do? The Bible answers: “Put on the complete suit of armor from God.” Why? “That you may be able to stand firm against the machinations of the Devil.” To fight such a spiritual warfare you also need the “sword of the spirit, that is, God’s word.” All this means that you must obtain a knowledge and understanding of Jehovah’s written Word. Really, this in itself is a fight because people tend to think themselves too busy for Bible study. This too-busy outlook was foretold for our day by Jesus: “Just as it occurred in the days of Noah, so it will be also in the days of the Son of man: they were eating, they were drinking, men were marrying.” Nothing wrong with eating, drinking and marrying. Then what was wrong? This: the people engrossed themselves so deeply in the pursuits of life, all the while thinking that everything was going to continue as it always had, that they were unwilling to listen to and heed Noah’s warning of that world’s end. The result: “The flood arrived and destroyed them all.”—Eph. 6:11, 17; Luke 17:26, 27, NW.

So take time to investigate the message of the peaceful new world that Jehovah’s witnesses are bringing you. Already a New World society of Christian men and women, who are living for the new world, is formed. Ally yourself with them. They are the sure victors, the survivors of Armageddon’s war. Forsake the man-made, doomed-to-failure peace plans of this Devil-controlled world. Take a positive stand for the new world, its government and King. Remember, there will be no neutrality at Armageddon. All who fail to decide for God’s kingdom are passive resisters of it. The King of the new world, Christ himself, laid down this strict, unbending rule: “He that is not on my side is against me.” (Matt. 12:30, NW) So the time for indecision is past. Decide now. Act now. For soon, at Armageddon, a too-busy world, too busy to heed the warning of its own end, will be crushed out of existence. But there is no need for you to die.

Bearing Fruit in Old Age

“THE righteous shall flourish like the palm-tree: . . . They shall still bring forth fruit in old age; they shall be full of sap and green: to show that Jehovah is upright.” While those words have particular application to those ‘planted as cedars in the house of Jehovah,’ the “little flock,” they undoubtedly enunciate a principle that applies to all Jehovah’s faithful servants, including the other sheep being gathered to the Right Shepherd today.—Ps. 92:12, 14, 15, AS.

Among the faithful servants of Jehovah in times past of whom those words were true was Moses, whose active service to Jehovah began when he was eighty years old. Then for forty years he was used by Jehovah to bring honor to his name and miraculously to deliver, guide, instruct, protect and provide for God’s people, and we are told that at the age of 120 years, when he rehearsed Jehovah’s righteous acts and his requirements for his people before the Israelites on the plains of Moab, “his eye had not grown dim and his vital strength had not fled.” (Deut. 34:7, NW) Yes, in a most literal sense the psalmist’s words proved true in Moses’ case. That Moses was indeed “old” at the age of eighty is apparent from the words of his psalm: “The years of our life are threescore and ten, or even by reason of strength fourscore.”—Ps. 90:10, RS.

The poet-king David was another who kept bearing fruit in his old age, supervising the gathering of material for the temple, working out its details of construction and its extensive and elaborate form of worship, and singing Jehovah’s praise and giving instructions to his people. “I have been young, and now am old; yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging bread.” Truly Jehovah’s goodness and loving-kindness did follow David all the days of his life.—Ps. 37:25, AS.

Bearing fruit in old age was true also of Daniel. He, no doubt, was in his nineties when he fearlessly stood before Belshazzar and his wanton revelers and interpreted the ominous handwriting on the wall; and when, later, he defied the law of the Medes and the Persians to worship his God Jehovah and was delivered from the den of lions, at about which time he also wrote the book bearing his name.

Nor are such examples of fruit-bearing in old age limited to the Hebrew Scripture record. Does not Luke tell us about the faithful priest Zechariah, who in his old age was blessed not only with a son, John the Baptist, but also with the gift of prophecy? And what about the apostle Paul? Although “an aged man” and a prisoner, did he not keep on writing letter after letter, eight of them, of instructions to his brothers on the outside, at the same time making use of every opportunity to preach by word of mouth, thereby proving that the Word of God was not bound, making his last contribution to the Christian Greek Scripture canon, 2 Timothy, just shortly before his death?—Philem. 9, NW; Luke 1:5-7; Acts 28:31; 2 Tim. 4:6.

And what an example the apostle John left for us! He must have been in his nineties when, banished to the isle of Patmos because of his faithful witnessing, he was privileged to see and to record the stupendous apocalyptic vision; still later writing, under inspiration, three letters and his account of the life of Christ. No question about Jehovah’s goodness’ continuing with these faithful servants, and their bearing fruit in old age, is there?

KEEP ON GROWING

This matter of bearing fruit in old age might be said to be of more pertinency to Jehovah’s servants today than for those in times past, because more of them proportionately live to reach old age. Thus today in the United States there are twice as many persons, in proportion to the population, living to be 65 years as there were fifty years ago. Incidentally, let it here be noted that in spite of man’s vaunted “scientific progress,” Moses’ words, uttered some 3,500 years ago, about man’s life span as being generally 70 to 80 years are still true. In fact, according to Encyclopædia Britannica, the expectation for life at the age of 68 for Egyptians living at the time of Christ was longer than is that of modern man of the same age.

To acquire the right mental attitude toward the matter of aging it is well to remember that it is in fact an expression of God’s mercy. Adam, by reason of his transgression, merited instant death, but God mercifully let Adam die gradually, over a period of some nine centuries. Now according to those who make a study of the aging process our bodies keep growing until the age of thirty and then the various organ systems, heart, kidneys, etc., begin to function ever less and less efficiently until death ensues. It is as though, until the age of thirty, we take in more than we give out, and after that, for the next forty years (nearly seventy years being the average life span in such lands as the United States) we give out more than we take in. And while heredity may be the most important single factor in determining our individual life span, we can increase our individual potential by exercising self-control in work, in food and drink and in pleasures.

It is also encouraging to note that although we stop growing physically at the age of thirty there is no age limit to mental and emotional growth, no reason why we should not continue to keep on growing in these respects indefinitely. In fact, we are soberly told that “the ‘old’ person is the fellow who doesn’t have anything to look forward to.” And certainly, Jehovah’s servants, more than any others in the earth today, have much to look forward to, being right on the threshold of the new world.

Obviously, then, to keep young in spite of our years we must keep on growing mentally and emotionally, yes, keep growing spiritually. How? By taking in accurate knowledge; by renewing our minds by means of the truths contained in God’s Word and the understanding of them as revealed through God’s channel; by associating with others who are thus keeping young, not overlooking those also young in years, at congregational meetings and at various assemblies; and by endeavoring to put into practice the things we keep learning.

BEARING FRUIT IN OLD AGE

It is only by keeping on growing thus that we can keep on bearing fruit in spite of our years. And remember, there is more than one kind of fruit. There is “the fruitage of the spirit [namely] love, joy, peace, long-suffering, kindness, goodness, faith, mildness, self-control.” We may not compare favorably with those young in years as regards physical beauty of form and feature, but a possession of the fruitage of the spirit does make us appear beautiful in the sight of Jehovah and in the eyes of all those having his spirit.—Gal. 5:22, NW; Prov. 31:30.

And we can also bear the Kingdom fruits of the Christian ministry in spite of advancing years. At one of the Society’s “Bethel homes” some fifteen brothers, between the ages of 70 and 88, serve day in and day out, from morning till night alongside their younger brothers. Not contenting themselves with that, these go out evenings, Saturday afternoons and Sunday mornings to preach on the streets, in the homes and from house to house. One of these, whose crippled feet permit little walking and no climbing of stairs, watches obituary columns for addresses of bereaved ones to whom he sends a letter of comfort together with a booklet containing a message of like import. At hand is also a report of a sister well along in years, who, although blind and bedridden, bears much Kingdom fruit by means of the telephone.

Nor need we feel sorry for ourselves because we cannot bear as much fruit as we once did. If our time and strength are limited because of old age, let us remember the lesson of the widow’s mite. It is the motive, the heart appreciation, the sincerity that goes with the giving that counts; so let us give cheerfully, for God loves a cheerful giver. He judges each one by what he has, and not by what he does not have; and He, and not another, judges.—Luke 21:1-4; 2 Cor. 8:12; 9:7.

And rather than begrudging youth its more active and more prominent role in Kingdom preaching, let us give it a helping hand and full co-operation, drawing freely on our Scriptural knowledge accumulated over the years and our tested integrity because of having weathered many storms. If we have truly profited by our years of experience we shall not envy but rather rejoice in our younger brothers’ exaltation.

And finally, should we reach the point or time when it seems we can do nothing at all, we can still bear fruit by maintaining integrity, by keeping loyal and faithful at heart to our great Benefactor and thus have the privilege of making his heart glad. (Prov. 27:11) We can fill our minds with memories of past Kingdom joys, we can rejoice in the present prosperity of the New World society, even though our part in it is small, and we can look forward to boundless and endless blessings in the new world so near at hand. And though never having neglected prayer, we can gain much comfort, strength and joy from more frequent communion with our heavenly Father, remembering also that “a righteous man’s supplication when it is at work has much force.”—Jas. 5:16, NW.

Yes, in spite of our years, we can keep on growing, we can keep on bearing fruit. Truly, “the hoary head is a crown of glory, if it be found in the way of righteousness.”—Prov. 16:31.

Hast thou not known? hast thou not heard? The everlasting God, Jehovah, the Creator of the ends of the earth, fainteth not, neither is weary; there is no searching of his understanding. He giveth power of the faint; and to him that hath no might he increaseth strength. . . . they that wait for Jehovah shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; they shall walk, and not faint.—Isaiah 40:28, 29, 31, AS.

Jehovah’s Witnesses Increase in Korea

By a Watch Tower missionary in Korea

TRUCE has come to Korea, but not peace. Nor does peace look possible in the future. The United Nations organization, which came to the rescue of South Korea in the summer of 1950, is finding that arranging a peace conference with the Communists is no less frustrating than the long months of truce talks. And even if a peace should be effected, who could trust the terms agreed to in view of past records of breach of faith? Such is the attitude of many people in Korea. They take a very dark view of the future, indeed.

The violence of the war has shifted now from the front lines to deep within South Korea’s mountainous terrain. The guerrilla activity has increased considerably, showing signs of extensive organization by the Communists. While this writer was in Chonju a few days ago he observed the moving of a division of the ROK army through the streets. They were going south to flush out the guerrillas from the Chiri Mountain area.

But among the 22,000,000 people of South Korea are many persons who look above the stalemate of human efforts and turn to the only One who can offer real hope for the future. Those who look to Jehovah and his promises for a new world of righteousness grasp at his truth with a vigor and determination that is marvelous to behold. It is difficult to get many really to look into the Bible for God’s promise at first. They have been let down too many times in the past. Many had experienced the Communist rule of North Korea or during the occupation of South Korea in the early days of the war. They learned that the loudly propagandized promises the Reds gave to the laboring class resulted only in more terrible oppression. And again the promises of the United Nations organization to rehabilitate their destroyed country have been undermined by the United Nations organization’s concessions during the truce and further possible concessions in the peace conference. Little wonder, then, that the Korean just sits silently, not bothering to comment when further promises are made to him.

But, then, when he hears that Jehovah, the Creator of the universe, has promised to destroy all the wickedness from earth and to make all things new he pricks up his ears. Strangely enough, it is not the promise of the Kingdom or the new earth that takes his attention at first, but the Bible teaching of Armageddon. A new world based on past things does not interest him. But if God is going to destroy the wicked things first, then bring in the thousand-year reign of Christ, that sounds more reasonable.

Once his interest is aroused in the truth, the person of good will in Korea studies his Bible day and night. As soon as he sees the difference between Satan’s old world and Jehovah’s new world the Korean is capable of very strong faith. Hardships, difficulties, persecutions, are overcome, even when his faith is quite young.

The general lot of the Korean has changed but little since the truce. Many organizations are operating in Korea now, trying to bring some relief to the people. It is a monumental task for any and all. Much sincere effort is being made. The United States is trying to arrange a way for the Koreans to build their own fertilizer plants and cement factories, etc., in an effort to aid in rebuilding and at the same time enable Korea’s principal occupation, agriculture, to produce enough to keep the people from starving until the country gets on its feet economically. It has set up a Combined Economic Board to combat inflation. Being completely dependent on outside help, particularly the United States of America, Korea naturally has to accept unwelcome conditions on the help it receives. Much has been done by the United States and others. Much more will be done, but even if this help is continued until Armageddon there will be no real peace or hope for the people. Man cannot rise above his own power, and the cure for Korea’s troubles is beyond human ability. Many are turning from men’s schemes and looking to God.

The winters in Korea are bitterly cold as the winds blow down across the peninsula from Siberia. The army refers to it as “arctic weather,” as the American soldiers shiver in their fur-lined parkas. But despite the cold and lack of necessities the Korean witnesses of Jehovah do not permit the winter weather to lessen their zeal for Kingdom service and attending the congregation meetings.

They love to associate together with those of like precious faith and eagerly look forward to Sunday each week, as Sunday is “meeting day,” when they can get together and study and tell each other of the experiences and joys they have had in their service work.

Until recently the early military curfew has made it difficult to attend evening meetings and get back home in time. So in most congregations the usual weekly meetings of the congregation are all held on Sunday instead of during the week. One unit in Seoul meets at the missionary home. Each Sunday the living room, dining room and lobby are packed out with around 170 in attendance. Perhaps you are wondering how so many can squeeze in. The answer is that the Korean people do not sit on chairs, but they sit on the floor, and in that way many can crowd into a small space. They leave their shoes at the door as they enter, because according to Korean custom they never wear their shoes inside the house.

On Sundays the brothers begin arriving at the Kingdom Hall about 10:30 in the morning, and it is usually around 2:00 before they leave; and all this time they are sitting on the cold floor in their stocking feet and with the temperature below the freezing mark.

It is really a joy to attend the meetings and notice with what rapt attention the brothers listen to every word, and when the conductor refers to a scripture the pages of their Bibles begin to fly as they hurry to locate the text in their own Bibles. The Watch Tower literature translated into Korean has been very limited, so the brothers always take notes, that the new thoughts may be used by them later as they are teaching others.

After the meetings many of them engage in group witnessing work before returning to their homes. So Sunday is a busy day for Jehovah’s servants in Korea.

When the American missionaries engage in the house-to-house preaching work they are rarely invited inside, because of the present economic conditions. Often the whole family is forced to live in only one room and they are hesitant for you to come in. But even if you are invited inside, you will find that the houses are not warmed in the style of the Western home, as no space heat is used. The floors are warmed by channeling the smoke from the kitchen fire under the floor. But this floor is warm only if there is a pallet on top of the floor to keep the heat in the floor. Then one gets warm by putting his hands and feet under the pallet. Sometimes little charcoal braziers are used to warm the hands and to keep the water warm for tea. So one must dress warm inside the house as well as outside. The circuit servant, an American, sometimes sleeps on a Korean floor in his overcoat. He finds the floor warm usually in one spot and his lanky frame extends beyond. The fuel problem in Korea is great. What little wood and charcoal are available are very high, and wages are low; hence in most homes fuel is used only for cooking purposes.

It has been very gratifying in recent months to see an increasing number of those having no previous affiliation with any professed Christian organization come into a knowledge of the truth and exhibit real faith in the Bible. A recent case in Chonju is typical. A provincial government official was recently baptized. He presented many difficult questions before he would accept the Bible as true. His patience to hear and study the matter out enabled Jehovah’s witnesses to clear away his doubts one by one, and now he is quite enthusiastic about the truth. Through his efforts we were able to use a public school auditorium for the public lecture given by the circuit servant in Chonju this month. One hundred and seventy persons attended the lecture. The Chonju congregation rejoiced, as their usual attendance at meetings in their Kingdom Hall is around 60. Many Buddhists, ancestor worshipers, Confucianists and even atheists are coming into the truth. It is estimated that fifty per cent of those being baptized now have had no previous “Christian” affiliation.

In Seoul there are now two thriving congregations with a combined attendance at the Watchtower study regularly approaching 300 persons. One of the congregations uses the second floor of a former hospital. The doctor who owns the building is providing the four rooms free for the Kingdom Hall. The doctor herself is very active in the service.

This doctor’s husband was formerly a high official in the national government. At that time his wife received the truth, but he was so busy with official matters he could not take the time to look into the details of the doctrines taught by Jehovah’s witnesses. Now that he is again in private business he is taking the time. He stays up late at night reading the Bible and the Society’s publications and is now introducing them to other persons. He still is close to the government and has been able to assist in the Society’s problems many times. Through him and his wife the truth has been brought to the attention of many prominent people.

Seoul is still the war-battered city of last winter; but now with most of its population returned, temporary shacks are going up where homes and offices used to be. The city is once more a bustling metropolis. The streetcars are overcrowded and the sidewalks jammed with people. A city has come to life again since the truce began. Jehovah’s witnesses are happy to be back in their homes again and are not slacking the hand toward the witness work, which many of them learned while refugees down south. Before the war there was a small congregation in Seoul, but now the two larger and more active congregations are a testimony that life and hope and praise are still present in Korea. In November of 1951 there were about 35 publishers of the Kingdom message reporting in Korea. In May 1954 there were 855 in thirteen congregations and several isolated groups in the southern part of the peninsula.

From high and low stations in Korean life these newly dedicated servants have come. Among them is the wife of the then prime minister, whose meekness and humility toward the commands of Jehovah are a good example for all. She studies her Bible constantly and is anxious and willing to go at any time in the Kingdom service. It has caused quite a change in her life, bringing some difficult problems for her. She looks confidently toward Jehovah and his organization to provide the strength for her to continue in His work. Recently she went with the brothers from Seoul who gave a public lecture for a smaller congregation in a village about fifteen miles from Seoul. Because she attended the meeting all the village officials and dignitaries attended also. The school principal lined up the school children in front of her to bow to her, but she refused this gesture, instead calling upon them to give honor to Jehovah and not to his creatures.

Some time ago at a meeting in the Kingdom Hall at the missionary home in Seoul several American soldiers were present. A young witness was overheard to observe, “Look, the Americans have finally begun to come into the truth.” Quite a number of GI’s are associating with Jehovah’s witnesses here. Some are making good use of their time here by producing good works in Kingdom service. One sergeant, especially, has set a good example of zeal for the brothers. He has earned the love and respect of his Korean brothers. Many GI’s have taken their stand for the truth in difficult circumstances. Some had never heard of Jehovah’s witnesses before they came to Korea. Truly the message is reaching all kinds of men.

The Kingdom message is now making some progress in the rural sections among the lesser educated ones. Many illiterate persons too are beginning to understand. Recently a small rural group of isolated publishers began making periodic trips to another village some distance away. They had worked all the territory near their own area many times. These periodic visits bore fruit, as last month this new village suddenly appeared on the Theocratic map by reporting for the first time. They reported en masse too, as their first report showed 17 publishers. It takes great courage to become active in the preaching work in a rural place in Korea. The old traditions are so strictly adhered to that those who break the traditions are shunned and, many times, even harmed bodily. In Korea, as elsewhere in the Orient, the old rule the young. In their family life the daughter-in-law is controlled completely by the mother-in-law and even the son cannot interfere. The grandson is often dominated by either grandparent. For these people to defy this traditional authority when these elders resent their Christian activity is a great step that must be considered very carefully. Sometimes the prejudice of the elders is very violent, as they consider Christianity a reflection on their form of ancestor worship. Watching these brothers turn from these strong traditions helps us to understand the meaning of Jesus’ words, “Let the dead bury the dead.” It is necessary counsel to those bound by such traditions.

Here in this war-ravaged land there exists a segment of that nation, prophesied about at Ezekiel 38, that is at peace and dwells in unwalled villages. The description given by Ezekiel of those in Jehovah’s organization living in security is shared by Jehovah’s witnesses in Korea despite their proximity to one of the most explosive political situations in history. Jehovah is their trust!

The Power of Hope

“We were saved in this hope; but hope that is seen is not hope, for when a man sees a thing, does he hope for it?”—Rom. 8:24, NW.

1. To whom goes the credit for hope, and how is that hope a power?

HOPE could never exist in the universe without Jehovah, the great Source of everlasting life, “the God who gives hope.” (Rom. 15:13, NW) In the darkest hour of mankind’s history, when Adam and Eve rebelled against their Creator, bringing sin and death to their offspring, Jehovah saw the need of a hope and in his loving-kindness provided it. That sublime hope, first disclosed almost 6,000 years ago, is filled today with dynamic and protecting power for those loving and searching after righteousness. Its power, activated by an understanding of God’s written Word, impels a Christian to godly action, sustains him when under trial and directs him safely along the narrow path that leads to never-ending life in Jehovah’s new world.

2. Why does the world’s outlook appear so hopeless?

² But why does the world’s outlook appear so desperately hopeless today if Jehovah has given mankind a valid hope? Because a wicked one, Satan the Devil, has blinded the great mass of humanity to the true hope. This crafty one has devised counterfeit hopes, foisting them upon the peoples of all the earth. Cunningly, the Devil has deluded the nations by transforming himself into “an angel of light” so that now “the whole world is lying in the power of the wicked one.” (2 Cor. 11:14; 1 John 5:19, NW; 2 Cor. 4:4) The result? A world full of people entertaining barren, famished and hazy hopes. Ask the average person what his hope is. The answer almost invariably will reveal uncertainty or a hope that is vague. There are persons who will admit that their hope is in acquiring money, but they are not possessors of the hope Jehovah gives, because such ones are criminals in the eyes of the supreme Judge: “If I have made gold my trust, or called fine gold my confidence; if I have rejoiced because my wealth was great, or because my hand had gotten much; this also would be an iniquity to be punished by the judges, for I should have been false to God above.”—Job 31:24, 25, 28, RS.

3. Explain why it is not safe to pin our hope on organizations of men, and why the nations lack “joy and peace.”

³ Those who pin their hope on the promises of men or even on an organization of nations cannot with assurance say, “we were saved in this hope.” Indeed, how could they have a saving hope? For man’s lofty promises for a safe world of tomorrow have failed miserably. And by ignoring the hope that Jehovah has given, the people have made the object of their trust a spider’s house: if they lean upon it, it will not stand. How could even an organization of the brainiest men be the sponsors of a saving hope when “surely every man at his best estate is altogether vanity”? (Ps. 39:5, AS; Job 8:14, 15) Thus the best house or organization that man could build would be, as a foundation for a saving hope, only a spider’s house. “And thou dost wipe out his desire like a cobweb. Verily, all men are but a breath.” (Ps. 39:11, AT) Though the clergy have extolled President Eisenhower as “the architect of a new hope,” as he was called at his inauguration, and though the clergy, together with the politicians, have extolled the United Nations as man’s only hope, the bleak fact remains that the nations are not filled with “all joy and peace.” And why? Because they do not know the “God who gives hope.” Hear the words of Christ Jesus: “Righteous Father, the world has, indeed, not come to know you.” (John 17:25, NW) Not having come to know Jehovah, the only Source of genuine hope, the world’s hopes, based on riches and promises of men, fade and wither.

4, 5. (a) When men condemn God for the world’s corrupt state, what is wrong? (b) In what manner did Jehovah subject creation to futility “on the basis of hope”?

⁴ Jehovah’s promise of an enduring new world of righteousness will never wither. (Deut. 7:9; Isa. 66:22) This is an uplifting, liberating hope in spite of the fact that to this very hour “in Adam all are dying.” (1 Cor. 15:22, NW) How a liberating hope? Because a new world means “that the creation itself also will be set free from enslavement to corruption.” (Rom. 8:21, NW) Men often sweepingly condemn God for the present world’s enslavement to corruption. The trouble is that they do not examine the Scriptures to get the proper perspective. It was only because of Jehovah’s undeserved kindness that Adam and Eve, before their death sentence was carried out, were allowed to have children. Otherwise we would not be here today! But the human creation, as a result of Adam’s sin, was born into imperfection and death. (Rom. 5:12) Of course, we did not wish it that way, but the human creation had no choice in the matter. This the apostle explains at Romans 8:20 (NW): “The creation was subjected to futility, not by its own will but through him that subjected it, on the basis of hope.” This does not mean that, in hope that he could do something for them, Almighty God subjected the human creation to futility. No! God never hopes! He knows! “Known unto God are all his works from the beginning of the world.” (Acts 15:18) Jehovah’s perfect knowledge of his works allows no room for hope.

⁵ But, then, how did Jehovah subject mankind to futility “on the basis of hope”? By saying what he did in the garden of Eden just before he sentenced Adam and Eve to death. As Judge, Jehovah God addressed himself to the unfaithful covering cherub, the spirit creature that became known as Satan the Devil: “I shall put enmity between you and the woman and between your seed and her seed. He will bruise you in the head and you will bruise him in the heel.” (Gen. 3:15, NW) Here was summed up the supreme hope for all mankind! A promise from the Most High God that the fiendish introducer of wickedness, the “one having the means to cause death, that is, the Devil,” would be crushed out of existence by a deliverer. (Heb. 2:14, NW) Here was the promise of a new world wherein the human creation would be delivered from the futile bondage of corruption into glorious freedom and life!—Isa. 65:17.

6. For what reasons did Jehovah send his beloved Son to the earth?

⁶ When the beloved Son of God came to earth, the One chosen by Jehovah to be that great Deliverer, it became clear that the hope of a new world meant not only the bruising of the serpent but also that obedient mankind could be “saved in this hope” for everlasting life. Said Jesus: “I have come that they might have life and might have it in abundance.” (John 10:10, NW) It was for the perfect new world that God gave his only-begotten Son and allowed him to die on the torture stake. (John 3:16) When the resurrected Christ Jesus presented the merit of his ransom sacrifice to his Father in heaven, it being accepted by Jehovah, the foundation was laid for the new world. Today those who place their wholehearted trust in the saving hope of Jehovah’s new heavens and new earth are a New World society. Their hope, based on the promise of God, who cannot lie, is a source of sustaining, impelling power in their lives. Let us now see why hope is a power.

HOPE’S POWER ANALYZED

7. Define hope. How is it more powerful than mere desire?

⁷ Hope is defined by Webster’s unabridged New International Dictionary as “desire accompanied with expectation of obtaining what is desired.” Hope is thus comprised of two elements: (1) a desire and (2) a feeling that the desire will be realized or fulfilled. Hence one may have keen desire but lack hope. For desire accompanied by the background realization that there is little or no possibility of ever having that desire fulfilled is not hope. True, desire may attract, but hope does much more: hope impels, hope pushes one, hope urges to effort.

8. Why must there be grounds for hope?

⁸ To believe in things we hope for there must be firm and irremovable grounds, a basis or foundation for confidence and reliance. Why so? Because what we hope for we do not see. “Hope that is seen is not hope, for when a man sees a thing, does he hope for it?” (Rom. 8:24, NW) Here the word “see” conveys the thought of having one’s hope fulfilled, for then one’s eyes will behold realization. At Job 7:7 we read: “Mine eye shall no more see good,” the marginal reference adding “to see, that is, to enjoy.”

9, 10. (a) Does hope’s power always lead to success? Explain. (b) Why was the covering cherub’s hope certain to lead to disappointment?

⁹ Since hope is that which we do not see, it can lead to success or failure, depending upon what we have based that hope on. To show that hope’s actuating power does not always lead to success we shall take the example of the covering cherub who turned himself into Satan the Devil. This mighty spirit creature surrendered himself to a life-ruling ambition. That ambition became his hope, because he believed there was a possibility of succeeding. It was really hope’s power that moved the covering cherub into carrying out his ambitious plan of action. He rebelled against Jehovah’s universal sovereignty, turned traitor and then subtly induced Eve also to become a renegade.

¹⁰ But that satanic mastermind who perpetrated rebellion and who engineered a breakaway from Jehovah’s holy organization will never realize his fondest hope, that of making himself like the Most High. For there was something wrong with his hope. First, it was made up of a criminal desire; second, the feeling that the desire would be realized was inspired by a blinding pride that corrupted the cherub’s wisdom. (Ezek. 28:17; 1 Tim. 3:6) Such a pride-inspired hope could lead only to disaster. (Prov. 16:18) Already Satan has been tumbled from the heavenly heights down to the earth together with his pawns, the demons. Soon now that invisible ruler of this world will be checkmated at Armageddon, when the King Christ Jesus hurls him into the abyss of deathlike inactivity. (John 12:31; 14:30; Rev. 12:7-9, 12; 20:1-3) The case of the covering cherub illustrates how hope, without a sound basis, can never lead to success and how powerful a desire for something together with the feeling of obtaining it really is.

EVE’S HOPE, WHY DEFECTIVE?

11. Did hope’s power push Eve on to eat of the forbidden tree? How do we know?

¹¹ Through the serpent Satan invited Eve to eat of the forbidden tree, tantalizing her with this desire: “You positively will not die. For God knows that in the very day of your eating from it your eyes are bound to be opened and you are bound to be like God, knowing good and bad.” (Gen. 3:4, 5, NW) Did Eve actually believe in this promise of godlike wisdom to the extent that she had hope? Yes, Eve had all the elements that go to make up hope: she had the desire for added wisdom and she wholeheartedly expected to obtain it. So her desire had become fertile; it had led to hope and its power pushed Eve on, not to success, but to disaster. (Jas. 1:14, 15) That Eve had fertilized her desire to produce sin with the expectation of obtaining wisdom is evident from the Scriptures: “Adam was not deceived, but the woman was thoroughly deceived and came to be in transgression.” (1 Tim. 2:14, NW) Eve herself admitted that she had implicitly believed the serpent: “The serpent deceived me and so I ate.”—Gen. 3:13, NW.

12. Why was Eve’s hope defective?

¹² Why did Eve’s hope lead to her death? Because her hope had no sound foundation; if she sinned she could hope to gain the thing desired. Sin was the grounds for hope. Eve had no basis for believing that sin could produce what the serpent promised. There was no evidence of any kind to prove that the serpent was reliable and trustworthy. How could there be? The serpent’s statement directly contradicted Eve’s Creator, who had declared: “In the day you eat from it you will positively die.” (Gen. 2:17, NW) The serpent had not proved Jehovah’s declaration untrue, nor had he established evidence that his own statement was the truth. Therefore Eve had no sound basis for her belief. Her foundation was credulity. And a hope that is based upon credulity merely has the unproved word or opinion of another as to what the future holds. What was the glaring defect, then? This: Eve’s hope was not based on what the Scriptures call “faith.”

13. What is faith’s relationship to hope?

¹³ “What is faith? It is that which gives substance to our hopes, which convinces us of things we cannot see.” (Heb. 11:1, Knox) The word here translated “substance” signifies the underlying foundation, that which becomes a foundation for another thing to stand on. Thus Weymouth’s translation (third edition) defines faith as “a well-grounded assurance of that for which we hope.” Now what is “assurance”? Is it conviction, a firm belief? Even more! Under the heading “faith,” Funk and Wagnall’s New Standard Dictionary tells us: “Conviction is a belief established by argument or evidence; assurance is belief beyond the reach of argument.” Surely, then, we can understand the rich meaning of the rendering from the New World Translation: “Faith is the assured expectation of things hoped for.” Eve never had a “well-grounded assurance” or “assured expectation” of that for which she hoped. Thus her hope based on sin ended in death. But though Eve’s hope was defective it still had impelling power. Then how much more powerful must be hope founded on faith!

HOPE COMES TO THE AID

14, 15. (a) Of what is Hebrews chapter eleven an example? (b) What hope did the pre-Christian witnesses of Jehovah possess?

¹⁴ A hope that is founded on faith has the unimpeachable promise of the everlasting God that the things for which the person hopes are absolutely certain to be realized, if he continues faithful to the end. Such a well-founded hope was what the early witnesses of Jehovah had. In Hebrews, chapter eleven, the apostle writes of their hope. But is this not a chapter illustrating faith? True, but it is also an example of hope, hope founded on faith! These pre-Christian witnesses of Jehovah looked forward to the new world. Of Abraham the Bible says: “He was awaiting the city having real foundations and the builder and creator of which is God.” (Heb. 11:10, NW) This does not mean that Abraham and Isaac and Jacob looked forward to a heavenly hope, but rather that they hoped for a resurrection to life on earth under the rule of the new heavens. Thus Paul writes of their hope:

¹⁵ “In faith all these died, although they did not get the fulfillment of the promises, but they saw them afar off and hailed them and publicly declared that they were strangers and temporary residents in the land. . . . now they are reaching out for a better place, that is, one belonging to heaven.” (Heb. 11:13, 16, NW) Moses was one of these who knew his hope was not to go to heaven but to live on earth during the heavenly rule of Christ the King. Possessing such a hope, Moses cultivated a forward-looking mind. Hope could now buoy him up under tribulation. Indeed, Moses chose “to be ill-treated with the people of God rather than to have the temporary enjoyment of sin, because he esteemed the reproach of the Christ as riches greater than the treasures of Egypt, for he looked intently toward the payment of the reward.” (Heb. 11:25, 26, NW) Moses had every reason to look “intently toward” an earth filled with Jehovah’s glory. For it was the Almighty God himself who, with an oath upon his very existence, promised Moses: “As I live, all the earth will be filled with the glory of Jehovah.” (Num. 14:21, NW) Moses never forgot such a promise. Like Sarah, Moses “esteemed him faithful who had promised.”—Heb. 11:11, NW; Hab. 2:14.

16. Show how hope was a power in their lives.

¹⁶ Because the “so great a cloud of witnesses” had a confident hope they publicly declared that they were no part of the world. This brought them persecution, sometimes torture. Did their integrity break under torture? No! Hope came to the rescue; it succored them: “Other men were tortured because they would not accept release by some ransom, in order that they might attain a better resurrection.” (Heb. 12:1; 11:35, NW) What sustaining power springs from hope properly founded!

POWER OF RESURRECTION HOPE

17. Why did they “not get the fulfillment of the promise”?

¹⁷ Clearly, an integral part of the hope of those early witnesses was the resurrection. They turned their backs on the old world and looked forward to a resurrection to life on earth under the heavenly government with no need of ever dying again. Though they were faithful until the end, they “did not get the fulfillment of the promise.” Why? Because “God foresaw something better for us, in order that they might not be made perfect apart from us.” (Heb. 11:40, NW) They could not be “made perfect,” the apostle says, apart from the Christian congregation, the bride of Christ, which is limited to just 144,000 faithful overcomers. (Rev. 7:4; 14:1, 3) Not being of the Christian congregation that began with Christ Jesus, that “cloud of witnesses” could not hope in the “first resurrection,” the one to heavenly life and glory. The faithful men of old will, however, have a resurrection of the “righteous” by their being raised from the dead in an early resurrection on earth and they will eventually gain absolute perfection through God’s kingdom by Christ Jesus.—Acts 24:15, NW; Matt. 22:32, 33.

18. (a) What is the “living hope,” and who possess it today? (b) Who else possess a saving hope, and to whom do they owe it?

¹⁸ The hope of eternal life in heaven for the faithful Christian congregation of Jesus’ footstep followers is called, by the apostle Peter, a “living hope.” “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, for according to his great mercy he gave us a new birth to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an incorruptible and undefiled and unfading inheritance.” (1 Pet. 1:3, 4, NW) There is only a small remnant yet on earth of those Christians whose living hope is to reign in heaven with Christ as kings and priests for a thousand years. (Rev. 20:5, 6) At death they will be instantaneously raised to life in the spirit, being “changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye.” (1 Cor. 15:51, 52, NW) But the hope for salvation is also a power in the lives of a “great crowd” of people of good will: “A great crowd, which no man was able to number, out of all nations and tribes and peoples and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, dressed in white robes, and there were palm branches in their hands. And they keep on crying with a loud voice, saying: ‘Salvation we owe to our God, who is seated on the throne, and to the Lamb.’” (Rev. 7:9, 10, NW) These are the Lord’s “other sheep” who owe their hope of eternal life on a paradise earth to Jehovah and also to the Lamb, Christ Jesus, because “he became responsible for everlasting salvation to all those obeying him.”—Heb. 5:9, NW.

19-21. (a) Why is the power of the resurrection hope vitally needed today? (b) How does the world view the integrity of the New World society?

¹⁹ How is the resurrection hope such a strong power in the lives of the anointed remnant and their good-will companions? Because no amount of persecution from the Devil’s organization can break their integrity, not even torture or death; the resurrection hope sustains them. And even as the early witnesses from Abel to John the Baptist had kept their integrity through “mockings and scourgings, indeed, more than that, by bonds and prisons,” so likewise will the New World society, if such a trial comes upon them. (Heb. 11:36, NW) Indeed, it will. Did not the Master foretell for this day that “people will deliver you up to tribulation and will kill you, and you will be hated by all the nations on account of my name”?—Matt. 24:9, NW.

²⁰ During World War II thousands of Jehovah’s witnesses imprisoned in Hitler’s concentration camps would not accept a release by renouncing their faith. To do that would mean the loss of their hope. Nor will those who have the New World hope “accept release by some ransom” though they be imprisoned or tortured by Communist or “Democratic” dictators. And with the attack from the far north by Gog of Magog yet ahead, Jehovah’s witnesses will need the sustaining power of the resurrection hope. “He that finds his soul will lose it, and he that loses his soul for my sake will find it.” (Matt. 10:39, NW) Not understanding and experiencing the power of hope, the world is often amazed at the unbending integrity of the New World society. This is what one man wrote about Jehovah’s witnesses and expressed amazement:

²¹ “When I first began to study the Jehovah’s Witnesses, I was fortunate enough to secure the fine help of one of the counsels of the American Civil Liberties Union. In introducing me to the investigation he said, in effect: ‘Probably you have never seen anyone who is willing actually to die for his religious convictions. With our sophisticated ways of doing things, and with our mentalities which seem never to deal with absolute certainties, we moderns think that there is nothing for which a man should give his life. But when you meet the Witnesses, you will be meeting, probably for the first time, people who are willing to be persecuted, even slain, for the sake of their religious faith.’ At the time I was not entirely convinced. Now I am.” And why is the world so astonished at the integrity of Jehovah’s witnesses? Why do worldlings have hazy hopes, “mentalities which seem never to deal with absolute certainties”? Because the world has not come to know Jehovah, “the God who gives hope.”

22. (a) Describe the expectation of the remnant and of the “other sheep.” (b) If death should occur before Armageddon, how is hope a power for the survivors?

²² While the anointed remnant expect to serve on earth for a period after Armageddon, as it pleases Jehovah, and while the other sheep expect to serve Jehovah without a break in life clear through to the end of this system of things at Armageddon and on into the unending time of the new world, yet death due to natural causes or due to keeping integrity may occur before Armageddon. For the faithful remnant death means the immediate attainment of their heavenly hope. For the other sheep death means a short sleep until they come forth “to a resurrection of life.” (John 5:29, NW) In either case the power of the resurrection hope dispels sorrow, the hysterical grief so common in the world: “Brothers, we do not want you to be ignorant concerning those who are sleeping in death, that you may not sorrow just as the rest also do who have no hope.” (1 Thess. 4:13, NW) Thus whether by uninterrupted life through the war of Armageddon or by resurrection from death after Armageddon, the “great crowd” of the good-will companions of the spiritual remnant hope steadfastly in the promise that they will reach the perfect image and likeness of God as perfect men.

23. Is hope indispensable? Explain.

²³ So hope, rightly founded on faith by obtaining an accurate knowledge of God’s Word and by acquainting oneself with Him and His works, past and present, is a power indeed! It enriches our love for the Life-giver, Jehovah. It holds out comfort in times of distress. It imparts a peace of mind at this time when “men become faint out of fear and expectation of the things coming upon the inhabited earth.” (Luke 21:26, NW) It urges us to keep integrity. It works for our ultimate salvation. “For we were saved in this hope.” Hope is essential. We cannot get along without it. If we could Paul would have reduced the Christian indispensables to a basic two: faith and love. But no! He found hope also indispensable: “There remain faith, hope, love, these three.” (1 Cor. 13:13, NW) The apostle did not stretch faith so as to make it include the contents of hope. He knew that the test of endurance was yet ahead. And he knew that hope was a mighty power enabling us to endure, keeping “our eyes, not on the things seen, but on the things unseen.”—2 Cor. 4:18, NW.

Endurance Through Hope

“Rejoice in the hope ahead. Endure under tribulation. Persevere in prayer.”—Rom. 12:12, NW.

1. What mental outlook differentiates the mature and immature Christian? So who fully benefits from hope’s power?

MATURE Christians look ahead. They see beyond the present system of things. They seek to do the will of Jehovah, and their minds are attuned to New World living. Immature Christians still see much that interests them in this system of things. They still want their own way. Their minds are still attuned to their own interests. To lay hold on the hope of everlasting life demands maturity, that the servant of Jehovah can direct his mind ever forward, toward the hope ahead. It is the mature Christian, then, that can fully use the amazing power of hope, the power that encompasses the future and thereby governs the present. And by its governing our lives now, hope becomes an uplifting power that produces endurance: “If we hope for what we do not see, we keep on waiting for it with endurance.”—Rom. 8:25, NW.

2. Explain what endurance is and why we need it,

² Endurance in the slave of Jehovah means that quality of determination that, no matter what the circumstances, never will he relinquish the hope that God’s Word validly offers him. In other words, it means that our ship of faith must never suffer shipwreck, must never stop short of its goal, the haven of the new world. Our navigational map, the Bible, warns: “You have need of endurance, in order that, after you have done the will of God, you may receive the fulfillment of the promise.” (Heb. 10:36, NW) It is of value that we learn how to build up and fortify our hope that, together with faith and love, it may produce this fruitful maturity: “We bear incessantly in mind your work due to faith and your hard effort due to love and your endurance due to your hope.”—1 Thess. 1:3, NW, footnote.

3, 4. (a) Through what way does hope aid our endurance? (b) Show that hope helped Jesus pass the test of endurance.

³ Hope provides a basis for joy. Indeed, the Scriptural command is that we be filled with joy: “Rejoice in the hope ahead.” (Rom. 12:12, NW) Joy bubbles forth from our hope. And this joy works for our endurance. Christ Jesus provided the perfect example of how hope, joy and endurance work toward one another. Jesus’ hope laid the foundation for his immeasurable joy. His hope? Yes, Jesus had a definite hope: “Father, glorify me alongside yourself with the glory which I had alongside you before the world was.” (John 17:5, NW) But Christ’s hope was far grander than merely regaining his prehuman existence. For his hope was to buy the “treasure hidden in the field,” the treasure hidden within the sphere of God’s universal organization; namely, the headship of Jehovah’s capital organization. His hope prompted him to act joyfully: “For the joy he has he goes and sells what things he has and buys that field.”—Matt. 13:44, NW.

⁴ If Jesus had looked only at the present he could never have endured the agonizing trial that faced him. He could never have met the test of endurance successfully. But his mind was perfectly mature; he rejoiced in the hope ahead. As a result his intense sufferings were “momentary and light,” as are the sufferings of his followers who keep the mental attitude which was in Christ Jesus. (2 Cor. 4:17; Phil. 2:5, NW) That his hope brought joy and his joy, endurance, there can be no doubt: “Let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, as we look intently at the leader and perfecter of our faith, Jesus. For the joy that was set before him he endured a torture stake.” (Heb. 12:1, 2, NW) For the sake of endurance we must “look intently” at Christ’s example: his rejoicing in the hope ahead.

5. Why can Jehovah’s servants endure trials with joy?

⁵ What exultant joy the apostles had when they came into severe trials! “They summoned the apostles, flogged them, and charged them to stop speaking upon the basis of Jesus’ name, and let them go. These, therefore, went their way from before the Sanʹhedrin, rejoicing because they had been counted worthy to be dishonored in behalf of his name.” (Acts 5:40, 41, NW) How could they suffer a flogging and rejoice over it? Because of the joy-producing hope that they had. There was reason for joy also because they had passed a severe trial, and by doing so had worked out endurance. “Consider it all joy, my brothers, when you meet with various trials, knowing as you do that this tested quality of your faith works out endurance.” (Jas. 1:2, 3, NW) Since Jehovah is the Source of hope he is also the Source of joy. “The joy of Jehovah is your strength.” (Neh. 8:10, AS) Joy, a fruit of the spirit, comes in unbounded measure when we “persevere in prayer,” requesting God’s holy spirit. His spirit enriches our hope.

FORTIFYING OUR HOPE

6. Through what means do we build up our hope?

⁶ We need knowledge and understanding to build up our hope. All who are living for the new world should arrange for regular Bible study and reading each day. This brings a comfort that strengthens our hope: “All the things that were written aforetime were written for our instruction, that through our endurance and through the comfort from the Scriptures we might have hope.” (Rom. 15:4, NW) Besides the “comfort from the Scriptures” there is something else that fortifies our hope. This is endurance. We have already said that hope works for our endurance. True, but endurance also works toward hope. They work in a reciprocal manner. Hope produces endurance and endurance, in turn, builds up our hope.

7, 8. (a) What is the mature view of trials and tribulations? (b) What triumphant combination, based on hope, has Jehovah provided?

⁷ Are the persecutions and tribulation, then, that come upon Jehovah’s faithful people unprofitable and valueless? Far from it! For every trial endured strengthens and makes more certain our hope. That is why we can “consider it all joy” when trials come upon us. Just how does every trial fortify hope? When we keep integrity we find that our minds are filled with that conscious realization that we are pleasing to God. This approved condition is what builds up our hope. Hope is fortified as the result of a sort of “chain reaction” process:

⁸ “Let us exult, based on hope of the glory of God. And not only that, but let us exult while in tribulations, since we know that tribulation produces endurance; endurance, in turn, an approved condition; the approved condition, in turn, hope, and the hope does not lead to disappointment.” (Rom. 5:2-5, NW) What a victorious combination Jehovah has given us! Sufferings and imprisonments can only build up hope if integrity is kept. And hope that is founded on faith and that is continually fortified with spiritual food and by endurance will never lead to disappointment. By rejoicing in the hope ahead Jehovah’s witnesses can already experience the thrill and joy of victory, Jehovah’s victory at Armageddon. Indeed, are we not already being led by Christ in his triumphal procession?—2 Cor. 2:14, NW.

9. What does the Devil seek to do, and how does his strategy boomerang when we keep integrity?

⁹ The New World society has left behind a world without hope. (Eph. 2:12) Satan, “the god of this system of things,” cannot give hope; he has none himself. (Rev. 12:12) So the Devil is envious of the sure and powerful hope possessed by the New World society. He seeks to crush our hope in a low-down manner, through persecution. But the Devil has been a miserable failure as a general; his strategy always works against him when Jehovah’s people keep integrity. For we are the ones who gain because of the tribulation. It not only further advances the good news, but, as Paul said: “Keep on remembering the former days in which, after you were enlightened, you endured a great contest under sufferings, sometimes while you were being exposed as in a theater both to reproaches and tribulations, and sometimes while you became sharers with those who were having such an experience.” (Heb. 10:32, 33, NW) Yes, we gain so much in the way of building up our hope that the apostle tells us to “keep on remembering” the sufferings we endured. You of the New World society who are now undergoing tribulations remember that after this “momentary and light” tribulation has passed you will look back upon the trials with profit. They have brought you an approved condition, have fortified your hope.

OUR HOPE—“ANCHOR FOR THE SOUL”

10. Why do we have “strong encouragement to lay hold on the hope” ahead?

¹⁰ A hope based on vague and uncertain testimony could hardly give one strong encouragement to carry on in a work that stirs up the wrath of the Devil-controlled world. How thankful we are that our hope rests upon one whose promises are sure, one who cannot lie! “Men swear by the one greater, and their oath is the end of every dispute, as it is a legal guarantee to them. In this manner God, when he purposed to demonstrate more abundantly to the heirs of the promise the unchangeableness of his counsel, stepped in with an oath, in order that, through two unchangeable things in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled to the refuge may have strong encouragement to lay hold on the hope set before us,” the hope “of the everlasting life.” (Heb. 6:16-18; Titus 1:2, NW) With our hope anchored in the great unshakable Rock of the universe, what strong encouragement we have to “rejoice in the hope ahead”! (Deut. 32:4) Remember Jehovah has not sworn by anything finite, because that thing might fail and the obligation would be at an end. But he has given a “legal guarantee” in that he has sworn by what is infinite and cannot fail. He has sworn by the greatest personage in the universe, his own unchangeable self!—Mal. 3:6.

11. How does Paul describe the hope ahead? Why so?

¹¹ With keen understanding, then, we read Paul’s next reference to the hope ahead: “This hope we have as an anchor for the soul, both sure and firm.” The apostle speaks of the hope in metaphorical language as an “anchor for the soul.” How perfectly natural for Paul, for he had experienced shipwreck three times and certainly knew the value of an anchor! (Heb. 6:19, NW; 2 Cor. 11:25) He knew that an anchor is fastened in the bottom of the sea to hold a vessel firm during a storm, to keep the ship from being driven out to sea again or dashed upon the rocks. (Acts 27:29) A ship with an anchor firmly fastened can thus ride out a storm in confidence. “Anchor for the soul”—how apt a description for our hope that enables us to endure with unshakable integrity the most violent storms of persecution and not suffer shipwreck concerning our faith!

12. Why are these stormy times for our ship of faith, but what will keep our faith from shipwreck?

¹² These are stormy times. Satan would like to drown us in his “sea,” the symbolic term for that unsettled mass of humanity alienated from God and that spumes up the mire of sin and bears up Satan’s visible organization. Yes, these “waters,” more troubled than ever before, are “peoples and crowds and nations.” (Rev. 17:15, NW) Since the Devil has been hurled down to the earth he has visibly agitated the “sea” and has churned up a tidal wave of tribulations in a violent attempt to sink our ship of faith. Our hope is inseparably attached to our faith, and keeps our faith from being shipwrecked. (1 Tim. 1:19) With strong faith our “anchor for the soul” will not be lost; it will not lead to disappointment.

13, 14. How can we avoid great peril to our ship of faith?

¹³ But even with a strong cable, if an anchor is not sturdy enough a ship may be blown out to sea again and flounder disastrously. So with our spiritual support, the “anchor for the soul.” We have the best ground for fastening our “anchor”—in the promises of Jehovah. But if our “anchor for the soul” is flimsy, not even the good ground can hold our ship of faith steadfast during violent storms of tribulation. Therefore a word of caution: Never think that we can attend Watchtower studies and then, during the meeting, nod and doze off, believing that “just one wink” will not weaken our “anchor for the soul.” If one is dozing at the time vital truths are explained, that one’s ship of faith is not being built up; it is sinking. Then, too, how can one defend his ship of faith, which is attached to his hope, unless he uses all the weapons in the arsenal of revealed truths of God’s Word? “Let us put on the weapons of the light.” “Always [be] ready to make a defense before everyone that demands of you a reason for the hope in you.”—Rom. 13:12; 1 Pet. 3:15, NW.

¹⁴ Nor should we think that we can attend any theocratic meeting and expect it to build up our hope if we let our mind wander onto personal interests, “the anxieties of this system of things.” (Mark 4:19, NW) Never allow the thoughts to have free rein, but direct the mind so that it can concentrate on the message being delivered. Drowsy minds cannot concentrate well. So wake up the mind. It tends to be lazy. And if not being alert at studies of Jehovah’s people is a decided danger, then what will happen to the hope of those who become negligent in attending spiritual feasts? Just this: Their “anchor” will not hold. They will seek their own interests, finally drifting back into the world. They may suffer irreparable shipwreck. (2 Pet. 2:20) “That is why it is necessary for us to pay more than the usual attention to the things heard by us, that we may never drift away.” (Heb. 2:1, NW) Do not forget that usual attention is not enough. We must give the very closest attention “to the things heard by us” “that we should no longer be babes, tossed about as by waves and carried hither and thither by every wind of teaching by means of the trickery of men.”—Eph. 4:14, NW.

FRAIL “ANCHOR” LEADS TO SHIPWRECK

15. Why is the matter of keeping our faith and hope so serious today?

¹⁵ After Armageddon there will be no more “sea.” (Rev. 21:1) But as long as the demon-agitated “sea” exists we may expect our ship of faith to be attacked from all sides. In time of war ships are attacked today from beneath, by submarines. That Satan will use all the underhanded means he can to torpedo our ship of faith is to be expected, since this is war. “The dragon grew wrathful at the woman, and went off to wage war with the remaining ones of her seed, who observe the commandments of God and have the work of bearing witness to Jesus.” (Rev. 12:17, NW) It is only by waging the right kind of warfare, which is not a carnal one, that our ship of faith can repel the Devil’s attacks. “Go on waging the right warfare, holding faith and a good conscience, which some have thrust aside and have experienced shipwreck concerning their faith.”—1 Tim. 1:18, 19, NW.

16. What part of “the complete suit of armor from God” is the hope ahead? How is it a protecting power?

¹⁶ The apostle found hope so powerful that he spoke of it not only as an “anchor for the soul” but also as a protective helmet for a soldier. Put on “as a helmet the hope of salvation.” (1 Thess. 5:8, NW) Hope is a power that protects; so why not wear it as a helmet? A soldier’s helmet protects the head, hence the mind. The Christians’ hope, then, is really part of the “complete suit of armor from God that you may be able to stand firm against the machinations of the Devil,” for the battle command is to “accept the helmet of salvation.” (Eph. 6:11, 17, NW) Indeed, Jehovah put on the “helmet of salvation,” and now the command applies to his faithful witnesses. (Isa. 59:17) How do we wear the helmet? By thinking of the hope ahead, by filling the mind with theocratic ideas, by studying the daily texts and comments in the Yearbook of Jehovah’s Witnesses, by discussing theocratic activities. Hope provides subject matter for meditation and thus protects the mind from old-world thinking. The hope of salvation keeps us thinking ahead, hence “forgetting the things behind.”—Phil. 3:13, NW.

17. Is it possible to scuttle our own ship of faith? How?

¹⁷ We wage the wrong kind of warfare and undermine our hope when we entertain backward thoughts. The potential human “shipwreck” concerning the faith takes off his helmet and begins to rejoice in the attractions and luxuries of this world instead of in the hope ahead. He forgets that the “sea” is full of whirlpools of ensnarling commercial pursuits and captivating pleasures. Take the case of Demas, a fellow worker with the apostle Paul. Demas was not new in the truth; he had even been with the apostle during his first imprisonment. (Col. 4:14) But something happened to Demas. He took off his “helmet”; he no longer had a forward-looking mind. Said Paul: “Demas has forsaken me because he loved the present system of things.” (2 Tim. 4:10, NW) Demas evidently became a “shipwreck.” And why? Because Demas stopped thinking on the hope ahead and developed a hope behind in the old world. No doubt Demas thought that having just the necessities of life was “too rugged.” The “fine” things in life became an overwhelming attraction, his very hope. That backward hope pushed Demas to “shipwreck.”

18. What did Jesus show was one of the greatest threats to our ship of faith? So what advice did Paul give?

¹⁸ How we must guard, then, against backward thoughts! We cannot rejoice in the hope ahead and at the same time try to rejoice in old-world interests. Today few things endanger our ship of faith as much as what Jesus called the “anxieties over livelihood.” (Luke 21:34, NW, footnote) If our hope is really in the new world, we shall not allow these “anxieties over livelihood” to undermine our hope. Attempts to sit in the lap of luxury may result in a course like Demas’. “So, having sustenance and covering, we shall be content with these things,” realizing the peril of striving for more: “Those who are determined to be rich fall into temptation and a snare and many senseless and hurtful desires which plunge men into destruction and ruin.” (1 Tim. 6:8, 9, NW) The danger of shipwreck is imminent when we cease waging the right kind of warfare: “No man serving as a soldier involves himself in the commercial businesses of life, in order that he may meet the approval of the one who enrolled him as a soldier.”—2 Tim. 2:4, NW.

UNDERMINING HOPE BY “OWN INTERESTS”

19. What hope-undermining trait did the apostle observe in certain Christians, and what does this mean to us today?

¹⁹ The precious hope for everlasting life can be undermined very easily by our own selves, by wanting our own way. King Solomon emphasized this danger. (Prov. 14:12; 16:25; 21:2) It was a common obstacle to maturity in the days of the apostles. Few there were that wholeheartedly put Kingdom interests first. Paul observed this, and in speaking of Timothy commented: “For I have no one else of a disposition like his who will genuinely care for the things pertaining to you. For all the others are seeking their own interests, not those of Christ Jesus.” (Phil. 2:20, 21, NW) Just think! Of certain Christians Paul knew at that time at Rome, all except Timothy had some self-seeking tendencies that interfered with the work of Christ Jesus! When Timothy dedicated himself to Jehovah he completely submerged his own will so that God’s work might take precedence in his life. He genuinely said: “Here am I; send me.” (Isa. 6:8) Since self-seeking tendencies were prevalent in Paul’s day, how much more likely that they will show up today when worldly interests and the “fine” things in life are so diversified and many! Pioneers, servants, congregation publishers—where do you stand in regard to your “own interests”? Are they in their theocratic place so as not to interfere with the work of Christ Jesus? “Keep on, then, seeking first the kingdom.”—Matt. 6:33, NW.

20, 21. (a) Illustrate what is meant by one’s “own interests.” (b) Could one’s “own interests” lead to shipwreck? Explain.

²⁰ Do not misunderstand. What Paul called our “own interests” may be perfectly legitimate pursuits; if not unscriptural, they are “lawful.” But as the apostle explained: “All things are lawful; but not all things build up.” (1 Cor. 10:23, NW) The desire for “fine” things and entertainment interests (television, radio, cinema, etc.) may, if care is not exercised, subvert our hope; for of a certainty they do not build it up. We need to fortify our hope so that it will become our very “joy,” as it did for Jesus. Many other nontheocratic interests abound in the world, such as the so-called “hobbies.” These may furnish pleasure and recreation, even profit in worldly goods. But hobbies, like commercial pursuits, may very easily entangle one and undermine one’s hope.

²¹ Hobbies are so varied today that they range from the sedate stamp-collecting to the vigorous athletic exercising. By way of illustration we shall take the common hobby called “photography.” A brother finds that this hobby furnishes him much pleasure. His camera records many delightful theocratic assemblies and personal experiences. His “own interests” tell him he needs to keep up with all aspects of this hobby. He buys numerous magazines and reads them. Soon he starts to read books on this hobby, spending more and more time on a “lawful” pursuit. Meetings may be missed to keep up with the latest “camera” magazine. He may even feel it necessary to associate with those outside the truth to learn more about his hobby. This brother’s “lawful” interest has grown to a point where it threatens to undermine his hope. If his “own interest” is not checked and put in its theocratic place, shipwreck is ahead.

22. (a) How did Paul value the hope ahead? (b) What hope-weakening danger is associated with seeking one’s “own interests”?

²² Paul valued his hope in Christ so highly that he could say: “I have taken the loss of all things and I consider them as a lot of refuse.” (Phil. 3:8, NW) If our hope is as powerful a force in our lives, we shall let no “anxieties over livelihood” or hobbies or “own interests” ever ruin our hope of salvation. Another danger associated with “seeking own interests” is that sooner or later one will find cause for mixing with worldlings. A worldly person, not interested in the truth, cannot build up your hope, because he has none. He will undermine your useful theocratic habits and your very hope. Associate with those who “rejoice in the hope ahead,” who are New World-minded. “Do not be misled. Bad associations spoil useful habits.”—1 Cor. 15:33, NW.

23. Why do we have impelling reason to cultivate forward-looking minds?

²³ The safe course to pursue is to cultivate forward-looking minds. Hope helps us do this. There is so much to hope for, so much to keep the mind looking ahead; for the anointed remnant: heavenly glory, incorruptibility and the sublime privilege of reigning as kings and priests and judges for a thousand years with the new world’s King, Christ Jesus, seeing him “just as he is”! (1 John 3:2, 3, NW; 1 Cor. 15:53, 54; Rev. 20:4, 6) For the other sheep: everlasting life on earth, participating in the work of transforming the earth into a global paradise, sharing in the token fulfillment of the procreation mandate, exercising dominion over the animal creation, witnessing the general resurrection of the dead! (Gen. 9:1; Hos. 2:18; Mark 10:30; Luke 23:43; John 5:28) And the crowning hope for both the spiritual remnant and the other sheep: to see the utter destruction of all of Jehovah’s enemies that the glorious name and word of Jehovah will be everlastingly vindicated. (Judg. 5:31; Rom. 3:4) Truly, the hope of the New World society is summed up in this: That we might “hope in Jehovah from this time forth and for evermore.”—Ps. 131:3, AS.

24. What wholesome benefit comes from rejoicing in the hope ahead?

²⁴ So wear the helmet of salvation. Rejoice in the hope ahead. Think upon your hope; it is true, of serious concern, righteous and lovable. (Phil. 4:8, NW) The more often we rejoice in the hope ahead the more often we shall think of the God of hope, Jehovah. This is wholesome: “Jehovah hearkened, and heard, and a book of remembrance was written before him, for them that feared Jehovah, and that thought upon his name.”—Mal. 3:16, AS.

FULL ASSURANCE OF HOPE

25. What is necessary if the hope ahead is to be realized?

²⁵ When is our hope valid? It is valid now if we are making public declaration of it. Faith without works is dead. So hope without its being voiced is invalid: “With the mouth one makes public declaration for salvation.” “Let us hold fast the public declaration of our hope without wavering.” (Rom. 10:10; Heb. 10:23, NW) So our hope backed up by Jehovah’s spirit and made valid by our public declaration of it is a power. It helps us think ahead, live ahead and work for the hope ahead: “To this end we are working hard and exerting ourselves, because we have rested our hope on a living God.” (1 Tim. 4:10, NW) Our hard work and unfaltering efforts to preach the good news assure us that our work is not in vain and that our hopes will be realized.—1 Cor. 15:58; Heb. 6:11, 12.

26. Summarize the power of hope. With its aid what can we do?

²⁶ So guard that “anchor for the soul.” It will prevent shipwreck. Our hope works out endurance. It brings joy. It encourages us to “persevere in prayer.” It makes us think upon the name of Jehovah. So, then, rejoice triumphantly, you of the New World society. The world’s hope is dark; your hope is bright. The world’s hope is collapsing; your hope nears fulfillment. The world’s hope is based on credulity; your hope is based on faith. The world’s hope leads to disappointment; your hope leads to success. For with the new world, oh so very near, our fondest hopes, whether heavenly or earthly, will soon be realized to our eternal satisfaction. Therefore we can with unflinching endurance “live with soundness of mind and righteousness and godly devotion amid this present system of things, while we wait for the happy hope and glorious manifestation of the great God and of our Savior Christ Jesus.”—Titus 2:12, 13, NW.

Questions From Readers

● Does the Watch Tower Society accept challenges to debate publicly the Scripturalness of various religious teachings?—J. P., United States.

Christ Jesus is recommended as “leaving you a model for you to follow his steps closely.” The methods he used to preach did not include debates. When in the course of events he was in the presence of the opposing religious leaders of his time he did enter into discussions with them, refuting their falsehoods and defending and preaching the truth of Jehovah’s Word. But he did not prearrange such meetings or formally assemble for such. In fact, relative to dealing with the false religious leaders he instructed his disciples: “Let them be. Blind guides is what they are. If, then, a blind man guides a blind man, both will fall into a pit.” Jesus set an example of preaching to assembled groups in public places, but the principal instruction he gave his disciples pertained to preaching at the doors of the people. Taking this as the model, Jehovah’s witnesses today concentrate on this method of preaching, at the same time using the additional methods of Jesus and the apostles.—1 Pet. 2:21; Matt. 15:14; 10:5-15; Acts 5:42; 20:20, NW.

Usually those wanting to debate are more interested in getting attention and publicity than they are in presenting the truth. It is not necessarily the truth that is acclaimed victorious by those who listen to a debate. Crowds are not always reasonable. They are swayed by bombastic oratory and showy eloquence aimed at the emotions rather than the mind. In a debate as much error as truth is presented, and by playing upon emotions and personal prejudices the final conclusions of many hearers may often favor the error. In the tense climate of a debate reason and logic are frequently ignored, except by one who has the spirit of Jehovah. A legally or judicially trained mind can separate the emotion from the fact and evaluate properly, but audiences generally are not so discerning. A more calm atmosphere is needed for unbiased thinking. Each side usually thinks it has won, and often some who were neutral or undecided find themselves more confused after the debating is over.

To determine the Scripturalness of a teaching we must go to the Bible and calmly weigh all the texts bearing on the point under consideration. The ideal place to do this is in a home, with the two or few involved sitting at a table with open Bibles, dispassionately considering the evidence to “make sure of all things; hold fast to what is right.” (1 Thess. 5:21, NW) If a person is in doubt as to a doctrine, he can have a minister from a religion that believes it come to his home and discuss it. The next evening he can have a minister from a group that says it is false. Or he may even wish to have a minister from each group there the same evening and ask questions and hear the discussion. Thus the truth will be more likely to get calm and careful attention, as also will the falsehood. Sincere ones honestly searching for the truth will see the advantage of this method, whereas those interested more in exciting controversy and grabbing publicity will clamor for the emotional, oratorical debate.

Christians do not debate with dissenters in their own congregation, knowing it can deteriorate into degrading bickering and quarreling: “Now I exhort you, brothers, to keep your eye on those who create divisions and causes for stumbling contrary to the teaching which you have learned, and avoid them.” Christians are also counseled: “Further, turn down foolish and speculative questionings, knowing they produce fights. But a slave of the Lord does not need to fight, but needs to be tactful toward all, qualified to teach, keeping himself restrained under evil, instructing with mildness those not favorably disposed, as perhaps God may give them repentance leading to an accurate knowledge of truth, and they may come back to their proper senses out from the snare of the Devil, seeing that they have been caught alive by him for the will of that one.” (Rom. 16:17; 2 Tim. 2:23-26, NW) Regardless of prior promises to the contrary, debates may lose restraint and mildness on the part of those not having the spirit of Jehovah and may degenerate into unbecoming quarreling and strife and emotionalism by such.

Hence the Watch Tower Society does not now adopt debating as a means of preaching the good news of the Kingdom. One of its representatives may be a guest speaker before a different denominational group, when invited, and may entertain questions afterward; but it is understood beforehand the session is not a debate and will not be allowed to deteriorate into such. The glorious good news deserves a dignified presentation, without a disorderly clamor by the opposers: “For God is a God, not of disorder, but of peace.”—1 Cor. 14:26-33, NW.

● The traditional picture of Jesus shows him with long hair and beard, but the Watch Tower publications illustrate him as beardless and with short hair. Which is correct?—M. H., United States.

The later Watch Tower publications show Jesus as beardless and with short hair because he is shown that way in representations of him that are older than the traditional effeminate-looking picture. In an ancient beaker or cup found at Antioch, Syria, which purports to represent Jesus and his disciples at the Memorial supper, Jesus is engraved thereon as a beardless young man while some of his disciples are pictured with beards. For a photograph of this see Harper’s Bible Dictionary, page 22, in the midst of the article “Antioch, the Chalice of.” (M. S. and J. L. Miller, 1952) The scholarly book by Jack Finegan, Light from the Ancient Past, tells of second-century Christian paintings found in the Catacomb of Priscilla, in the room Cappella Greca, and states:

“The painting of the Resurrection of Lazarus is now almost effaced but it is still possible to recognize that on one side is depicted a small building containing a mummy and on the other, the sister of Lazarus standing with arms upraised. In the middle Christ is shown, facing toward the tomb and with the right hand uplifted in a gesture of speech. He is represented in the Roman type, and is dressed in tunic and pallium, the left hand holding the garment. He is youthful and beardless, with short hair and large eyes. . . . The picture is of great interest since it is the oldest representation of Jesus that is preserved anywhere.”—Page 371.

Further on this book tells of the painting of the Healing of the Paralytic (Mark 2:1-12) found in the house church in the excavated ancient settlement of Dura in the Syrian desert, and states: “The almost destroyed painting of Christ in the Catacomb of Priscilla at Rome probably belongs, as we have seen, to the middle of the second century. The painting at Dura is dated even more definitely in the first part of the third century. In both pictures Christ is shown as a young and beardless man with short hair and wearing the ordinary costume of the day. These and similar portrayals are the earliest type of Christ as far as is now known in early Christian art. Later in the third century Christ appears still as youthful but with long, curly hair, and from the fourth century on the more familiar bearded type appears.”—Pages 408, 409.

As recently as October 7, 1949, the new east window of Stepney Parish Church, the mother church of East London, England, was unveiled by the Earl of Athlone. The photograph of this church window, as published in “The Illustrated London News,” October 1, 1949, shows a cross with a young man nailed to it, beardless and with short hair, to represent “Christ crucified, but triumphant.”

Since the Bible does not describe Jesus’ facial appearance or indicate he had a beard of length, we follow the oldest archaeological evidence rather than the later traditional view that makes Jesus appear effeminate and sallow and sanctimonious. Some use Isaiah 50:6 as proof that Jesus had a beard: “I gave my back to the smiters, and my cheeks to them that plucked off the hair: I hid not my face from shame and spitting.” This may have been literally fulfilled in a typical way upon Isaiah, foreshadowing the shameful insults and reproaches to be heaped upon the servant class, the primary one of whom is Christ Jesus. Each one of the servant class suffers reproaches, but not necessarily all of the ones here specified. The record shows Jesus was whipped, slapped and spat on, but no mention is made of beard-plucking. If it had happened why would it not have been named along with the other abuses and insults? (Matt. 27:26; Mark 14:65, NW) In fact, the Septuagint rendering of Isaiah 50:6 does not mention the cheeks’ being plucked of hair, but as being slapped instead: “I gave my back to scourges, and my cheeks to blows; and I turned not away my face from the shame of spitting.” The record in the Gospels states all this did literally happen to Jesus.

Announcements

FOREWARNED OF ASSAULT BY GOG OF MAGOG

It is said that ‘to be forewarned is to be forearmed.’ But this is true only if the warning is heeded. Today a world-wide warning is being sounded that a final onslaught will soon be made by Gog of Magog, namely, Satan, together with all his hosts, on true worshipers of Jehovah God. (Ezek. 38:3, 4; 39:1, 2) To withstand the assault and abound in God’s favor, knowledge is a primary essential. Jehovah’s witnesses and their companions will manifest that they are ‘forewarned and forearmed’ during the month of September by going from house to house to tell others of the approaching assault. To all they meet the modern New World Translation of either the Christian Greek Scriptures or the Hebrew Scriptures and a splendid hardbound Bible study aid book will be made available on a contribution of only $2. You are invited to share in sounding the warning, demonstrating the fact that you are on the side of the Most High, whose name alone is Jehovah.

“EQUIPPED FOR EVERY GOOD WORK”

This expression is found in the Bible at 2 Timothy 3:17 (NW). To be “equipped for every good work” one must use the Bible, for it is “beneficial for teaching, for reproving, for setting things straight, for disciplining in righteousness.” (2Ti 3 Verse 16) This calls for an understanding of the Bible, a knowledge of its contents and skill in its use. As a means for enabling one to get well acquainted with the contents of the Bible in a comparatively short space of time the book “Equipped for Every Good Work” is published. It contains important information about the Bible’s origin, composition and preservation. Also, it has an epitome on each one of the Bible’s sixty-six books, and a summary of Bible doctrines, composed entirely of Scripture texts topically classified and without comment. “Equipped for Every Good Work” is a splendid 384-page book for anyone who wants to get general knowledge of the Bible’s contents. You may obtain a copy for a contribution of only 50c.

“WATCHTOWER” STUDIES

Week of September 12: The Power of Hope.

Week of September 19: Endurance Through Hope.

Check Your Memory

After reading this issue of “The Watchtower,” do you remember—

✔ What startling examples prove international treaties do not prevent war? P. 485, ¶5.

✔ What is the sure hope for world peace? P. 487, ¶1.

✔ What Scriptural prediction showed many would be “too busy” to hear the truth? P. 488, ¶2.

✔ What outstanding example shows old age is no deterrent to serving Jehovah? P. 489, ¶2.

✔ How Jehovah’s servants can keep young in spite of increasing years? P. 490, ¶4.

✔ What, in particular, about the Kingdom message catches Korean ears? P. 492, ¶4.

✔ What a Korean congregational meeting is like? P. 493, ¶4.

✔ What outstanding difficulty rural Koreans have in accepting Christianity? P. 495, ¶3.

✔ Why the world’s outlook appears so hopeless? P. 496, ¶2.

✔ How hope can lead to failure? P. 498, ¶9.

✔ How Eve’s experience shows hope must have a sound foundation? P. 499, ¶12.

✔ What amazement has been expressed at the firm integrity of true Christians? P. 501, ¶21.

✔ How even persecution and trials are valuable to the Christian? P. 504, ¶7.

✔ Upon what firm basis our hope can be anchored? P. 505, ¶10.

✔ How hope, like a helmet, protects the mind? P. 506, ¶16.

✔ How a proper and “lawful” pursuit can lead to spiritual shipwreck? P. 508, ¶21.

✔ Why public debates do not lead to the truth? P. 510, ¶3.

✔ What the oldest available representation of Jesus indicates about his appearance? P. 511, ¶3.