The Watchtower — December 1, 1955

Actively Trusting Jehovah Free from Fear

JEHOVAH’S servants are free from fear. Long ago the prophet Isaiah voiced their sentiments when he wrote: “Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and will not be afraid: for Jehovah, even Jehovah, is my strength and song; and he is become my salvation.” Yes, although the world all about them is filled with fear because of “expectation of the things coming upon the inhabited earth,” Jehovah’s servants do not fear.—Isa. 12:2, AS; Luke 21:26, NW.a

What makes them free from fear? Chiefly, their fear of Jehovah. Fear of him drives out all fear of man or what man may do to them. By the study of God’s Word and by putting into practice its teachings they have built up their confidence in Jehovah and so their hearts do not fluctuate between Jehovah’s world and that of Satan. They will not back down from their uncompromising position regardless of how many enemies they may face.—Ps. 112:7.

They are also helped to be free from fear because of their love for Jehovah. Hearts kept strong in their love and devotion for Jehovah and his kingdom keep them from worry and the tyranny of fear, even as the apostle John says: “There is no fear in love, but perfect love throws fear outside, because fear exercises a restraint. Indeed, he that is under fear has not been made perfect in love.”—1 John 4:18, NW.

True, because of this stand for Jehovah his adversaries will also hate them, but those who love Jehovah will be glad to suffer for him. They know who Jehovah is, what he has done and can do, and so they take his view of his adversaries and theirs. Why, in his sight all the nations of the world are as but a drop in a bucket or the small dust on the scale pan.

And how do they show that they are “actively trusting Jehovah”? By ‘giving to the poor.’ While Jehovah’s servants keep giving to the poor among them the necessary material things, the emphasis of their giving is on spiritual gifts. Yes, their primary concern is not for those poor in a material way but with those who are conscious of their spiritual need, those who hunger and thirst for righteousness. To such they have given and continue to give generously without ever taking up collections, charging fees or assessing any dues.—Ps. 112:9.

In giving to the poor Jehovah’s servants are really lending to him, for such poor ones are his poor and so Jehovah considers himself as indebted to such generous givers. And how does he pay his indebtedness to those who generously give to the poor? By fulfilling his promises to them, among which is the one that their righteousness will stand forever.—Prov. 19:17.

[Footnotes]

Modern History of Jehovah’s Witnesses

Part 23—Expanding with a Trained Ministry

IN THE general historical study of the educating of Jehovah’s witnesses for the ministry we cannot overlook the teaching feature of their work in the field service. This educational feature has grown to gigantic proportions in spiritually influencing the change-over of thinking on the part of multitudes of people of good will toward Jehovah God. The idea of calling back or making return calls upon interested persons to render educational assistance began to be suggested in 1936.a Then in 1937 at the Columbus (Ohio) convention the Model Study booklet No. 1 was released, encouraging publishers to call back on interested persons to begin studies in the booklet Uncovered used in conjunction with the phonograph record series entitled “Exposed,” covering basic Bible doctrines.b It was not until the year 1938 that the Society asked publishers to keep record of their return calls in their performing of this free home Bible educational service. Finally in 1942 publishers were asked for the first time to report additionally their average monthly Bible studies apart from their back-call service. In the course of the years other study-question publications were forthcoming. However, the greatest field study textbook produced by the Society was “Let God Be True”, released in 1946. More than 12,000,000 have now been printed in 30 languages. Scores of thousands have become witnesses through home Bible studies with this book.

In the following chart of their worldwide efforts note the picture of progress made by Jehovah’s witnesses in their service to educate honest people in their homes on Biblical matters.

1938c 298,489 unreported as yet

1942d 6,707,204 5,593

1945e 8,443,050 104,142

1949f 15,897,544 167,571

1953g 22,990,305 281,219

1954h 25,337,026 293,341

This tremendous swell of Bible education and knowledge is sweeping the earth even as the waters cover the sea. (Isa. 11:9) The “theocratic ministry school” education of the witnesses, begun in 1943, is qualifying them to maintain their leading position as Bible educators of men of good will in this time of the world’s end.

The living God, Jehovah, is the great unifier. He is the great magnet who, together with his intimate associate, Christ Jesus, is the unifying force that draws all right-thinking persons into organized relationship with himself. (John 6:44) Nearly four thousand years ago, in the days of Abraham, Jehovah revealed his unification strategy and order: “I shall surely bless you [Abraham] and I shall surely multiply your seed [spiritual Israel of 144,001 anointed ones—Gal. 3:29; 6:16, NW] like the stars of the heavens and like the grains of sand that are on the seashore [left unnumerical until A.D. 96, when their number was revealed at Revelation 7:4 (NW)], and your seed [principally Christ Jesus, the head of the seed organization of 144,000] will take possession of the gate of his enemies [at Armageddon]. And by means of your seed [the Kingdom organization of 144,001] all nations of the earth [the great crowd of many national origins described at Revelation 7:9 (NW)] will certainly bless themselves due to the fact that you have listened to my voice.” (Gen. 22:17, 18, NW) On time and in order the Seed-King Christ Jesus was first produced A.D. 29 to 33 as Jehovah’s chief witness. Next, over a period of 1900 years from Pentecost A.D. 33 to 1931, the “little flock” of 144,000 anointed ones were called out and unified in organized relationship to Jehovah as His witnesses. (Luke 12:32; John 17:21) Last in order after 1931 up to Armageddon comes the calling of the “other sheep” into God’s protective organization that they also may become witnesses of Jehovah with a destiny of earthly life that all may be unified as ‘one flock under one shepherd.’—John 10:16 and Eph. 1:10, 11.

After 1931 the anointed witnesses on earth began to see that an earthly group was already beginning to associate with them, whom they began to call “Jonadabs.” However, it was not until the Washington (D.C.) convention that a full understanding was had, on May 31, 1935, concerning the “great crowd” mentioned at Revelation 7:9 (NW), that it was an earthly class identical with the “families of the earth” to be blessed with everlasting life on earth under the Abrahamic covenant. All this meant a gigantic transformation of thinking, organization and preaching activity. For nineteen hundred years the congregation of anointed ones had been concerned primarily with their own salvation, to gain the prize of the “high calling.” Their organization was considered merely temporary to keep them together until the time would come for their change, to go to heaven to rule with Christ Jesus in his kingdom. As to preaching, their efforts were limited to the proclaiming of the high calling to the “little flock,” except that in February, 1918, the message began to be proclaimed that “Millions Now Living Will Never Die.”

It would take time for the mature, 1900-year-old anointed congregation to become ready for the mass ingathering of the “other sheep,” possibly ‘millions now living that may never die.’ The facts indicate it took about ten years, from 1935 to 1945, to effect the proper arrangements. In this period the message through the Watchtower magazine enlarged on its spiritual call by speaking frequently of the prophecies concerning the gathering of the “great crowd.” These Bible studies steadily enlarged the thinking of the anointed ones, who rejoiced to be used as instruments to give a helping hand to the new earthly class of witnesses. The organization had to become clean to receive these “refugee” dwellers in “Beulah” land. Moreover, a change-over in the organization to the theocratic system of government was necessary and was effected by 1938. An element of permanency as to organization became apparent. Yes, in time the field witness work itself was changed. Now there was to be a calling back on people, the conducting of home Bible studies, the holding of public meetings, the establishing of theocratic ministry schools and the doing of street work to catch the eye of the multitudinous public. All this amazing adjustment was completed by 1945.

The work of Jehovah’s witnesses had spread into Europe in the early 1880’s, into Africa, Australia and parts of South America in the early 1900’s, and finally into Asia after 1910. Following the restoration of true worship in 1919, efforts were made to spread out into foreign fields as far as possible. The Society’s literature began to be published in as many as 78 languages. New branch offices were opened in countries where the witness work was taking firm hold. By 1934 the Society maintained 49 branches scattered on the five continents.i Fifty-four nations reported witnesses active in them during 1942. More than fifty thousand of the 115,240 ministers reporting were working in territories outside the United States.j Members of the anointed remnant in small but scattered numbers have been found in most parts of the earth. This testifies to the fact that Jehovah, from 1919 on, had been gathering “his chosen ones together from the four winds.”—Matt. 24:31, NW.

But all this development in foreign fields was just the groundwork for the great harvest of ingathering from all nations by means of his rescued remnant of 1919. For a certainty, did not the prophet Isaiah foretell all this global expansion? “I will send such as escape [remnant after 1919] of them unto the nations, to Tarshish [in Europe], Pul, and Lud [in Africa], that draw the bow, to Tubal [in Asia] and Javan [in Europe], to the isles afar off, that have not heard my fame, neither have seen my glory; and they shall declare my glory among the nations. And they shall bring all your brethren out of all the nations . . . to my holy mountain Jerusalem [God’s organization], saith Jehovah.”—Isa. 66:19, 20, AS.

Jesus assigned the territory to his witnesses, when he said: “The field is the world.” (Matt. 13:38, NW) This has been more literally realized since 1945 than ever before. In this ‘field of the world’ the Christian witnesses must conduct a battle not against flesh and blood but at the minds of men. (2 Cor. 10:4, 5) Satan has been busy for thousands of years in developing various states of mind in men, all of which thinking is against Jehovah and his new world. Basically the thinking of worldly men of today is the product of paganism, lying traditions, desires of the flesh, doctrines of demons and every wind of theory of modern materialism. Against these mighty forces of entrenched thinking Jehovah’s witnesses have engaged in daily battle by reasoning with millions of people with whom they come in touch and to whom they preach. They advocate New World thinking, Christian thinking, the thinking of Jesus Christ who, nineteen hundred years ago, came to champion the mind, will and purpose of the Great Sovereign of the Universe, Jehovah God. (1 Cor. 2:16) There must be a reconciliation to God requiring a transformation of thinking on the part of humans to that of being attuned to the right and glorious thinking of their Maker, Jehovah God. Such transformation of thinking results in their being unified with Almighty God and his family-like organization.—Rom. 12:2.

This also has resulted in a global struggle for the hearts and minds of humans of good will. The varying states of sectional thinking on the five continents have all yielded to the power of the Word of God, the Bible, thus producing fruitage, in that thousands have been released from Babylonish religious thinking to come forth into the sunlight of truth and Christian freedom. Another striking fact is that the whole world together with all its variations of religions has been thrown into the same global crisis of the last days. Therefore truly the one whole world with all its many nations of peoples has become ripe at the same time for global spiritual harvesting. This world-wide ingathering of the “other sheep” hastens rapidly in these closing days before universal Armageddon.

(To be continued)

[Footnotes]

“Apostolic” Leader Becomes Truly Apostolic

AMONG the Africans in Southern Rhodesia, the Apostolic sect has a strong following. Its members wear long, white, flowing robes and its leaders carry a long shepherd’s crook and claim to speak in tongues, to prophesy and to heal. As a traveling representative of the Watchtower Society was about to give his Saturday evening discourse to a certain African congregation last May, more than a hundred of the Apostolic sect, accompanied by their leader, came and sat down to hear the talk on “Spiritual Healing.”

At its conclusion the speaker asked if any had questions, and one of the Apostolics rose and asked: “Does the speaker have the holy spirit and can he speak in tongues as we do?” However, before the speaker could answer him the leader of the group stood up and, turning to his followers, said: “Friends, there is no need to ask questions on what you have heard, for since we joined the Apostolic faith we have not heard anything like this. We must go away silently and check the Scriptures to see if the speaker was right.”

The following morning ten of the group showed up for preaching activity, asking to go along to see how the witnesses preached from house to house. They were impressed by the way the witnesses used their Bibles in giving the doorstep sermons.

Thirty of the Apostolics followed the Society’s representative as he went to the next congregation ten miles away. After further discussion the leader, who was also a “prophet” and “healer,” subscribed, together with his wife, two brothers and mother, for The Watchtower.

Within a month of their having first heard Jehovah’s healing message these five are having a share in making it known to others and are being trained in the truly apostolic way of preaching from house to house. The Apostolic flock, deprived of their leader and his family, have been heard to bemoan: “When you speak with Jehovah’s witnesses they even bewitch the Bible, for when we go home to check the Scriptures all the chapters we read support their teaching.”

“The Majesty of the Scriptures”

Writing to a friend, the noted French philosopher and author, Jean Jacques Rousseau, once said: “I must confess to you that the majesty of the Scriptures astonishes me. The holiness of the Evangelists speaks to my heart, and has striking characters of truth, and is, moreover, so perfectly inimitable that if it had been the invention of men the inventor would be greater than the greatest heroes.”—The Supremacy of the Bible, page 27.

Avoiding the Wine Press of God’s Anger

“I have trodden the winepress alone; and of the peoples there was no man with me: yea, I trod them in mine anger, and trampled them in my wrath; and their lifeblood is sprinkled upon my garments.”—Isa. 63:3, AS.

1. What should you be glad to know how to avoid, and why?

IF YOU can avoid having the very life crushed out of you, will you not be glad to know how you can do so? The field called Armageddon, where the “war of the great day of God the Almighty” will be fought, will be like a tremendous wine press for all mankind. Comparatively few of this generation of mankind will escape being crushed to everlasting death there. You may avoid this crushing experience and share in all the joy, singing and shouting that will both accompany and follow the treading or trampling of this global wine press. How may you do so? It is worthwhile knowing.

2. (a) How does God explain the importance of human blood? (b) What is God perfectly just in demanding for the life of a person undeservedly killed?

² Blood flowing freely and fully within your body’s blood vessels means your life as a human soul. The great “Fountain of life,” Jehovah God, tells us how important our blood supply is, saying: “The soul of every sort of flesh is its blood by the soul in it.” We can therefore see the reasonableness of his command for us not to take the blood of other people into our system, when he says: “Consequently I said to the sons of Israel, ‘You must not eat the blood of any sort of flesh, because the soul of every sort of flesh is its blood. Anyone eating it will be cut off.’” Because blood has life value God justly accepted the blood of a proper victim as an atoning sacrifice or a repurchasing price for the life that mankind had lost as a penalty for wrongdoing or sin. So God said: “The soul of the flesh is in the blood, and I myself have put it upon the altar for you to make atonement for your souls, because it is the blood that makes atonement by the soul in it.” (Lev. 17:11, 14, NW; Ps. 36:9) Even as God was pleased to accept the lifeblood of a proper victim in payment for the life of another that had been forfeited, so God is perfectly just in demanding that the life of a person who had been undeservedly killed should be offset or counterbalanced by taking away the life of the killer.

3. (a) How did God state that to be his rule of action to Noah and his family? (b) Of what does the rainbow not stand as a sign, and so of what survivors do Noah and his family stand as signs?

³ Over four thousand years ago Jehovah declared this as his rule to the eight human survivors of the global flood, Noah and his family, from whom all of us today have descended. When granting them permission to eat animal flesh as food, Jehovah God said: “Only flesh with its soul—its blood—you must not eat. And, besides that, your blood of your souls shall I ask back. From the hand of every living creature shall I ask it back; and from the hand of man, from the hand of one who is his brother, shall I ask back the soul of man. Anyone shedding man’s blood, by man will his own blood be shed, for in God’s image he made man.” (Gen. 9:4-6, NW) The life of an animal victim could not make repayment for the life of the man killed; only the life of the killed man’s brother man, the killer himself, would meet the demands of divine justice. Although at that time Jehovah God had caused the rainbow to appear in the sky as an everlasting sign that he would never again cut off all flesh by the waters of a deluge, his rainbow does not stand as a sign that he may not and will not crush all human flesh by other means like a global wine press. The eight human survivors of the global flood stand as a prophetic sign and guarantee that there will be happy survivors when mankind is crushed in the wine press of God’s anger at Armageddon.—Gen. 9:4-6, 11-16, NW; Matt. 24:37-39.

4. Why will the tramping out of lifeblood be done in justice at Armageddon?

⁴ Noah made wine after the flood, doubtless using a wine press. In the time of making wine to gladden man’s heart the blood, the juice, of the grapes flowed heavily under the crushing feet of the treaders or trampers in the wine trough. In the “war of the great day of God the Almighty” at Armageddon human blood will flow, human life will be poured out, on an unheard-of scale, and woe to those who are then in the war against God the Almighty! As the tramping out of the lifeblood will be done in justice, in the anger of God the Almighty, it will be because of a great bloodguilt resting upon mankind. All the past unjust shedding of human blood will be counterbalanced by crushing out the lives of the bloodguilty. It will be no injustice to mankind, but the payment of a just due.

5, 6. What experience of Judah and Jerusalem shows that there will be no refuge in any part of Christendom, and how did God through Isaiah describe that experience?

⁵ At that terrific execution upon the bloodguilty there will be no place of refuge in any part of Christendom, even though she religiously mentions God and claims to be his people. The Israelites of twenty-five centuries ago did the same thing, but it did not act as a charm to shield them when Jehovah expressed his anger at their willful wrongdoing and breaking of their covenant with him and punished Jerusalem and the land of Judah. At Armageddon Christendom faces an experience like that of ancient Judah and Jerusalem, the prophetic type of unfaithful Christendom. Describing beforehand what happened, God said:

⁶ “Behold, Jehovah maketh the land empty, and maketh it waste, and turneth it upside down, and scattereth abroad its inhabitants. And it shall be, as with the people, so with the priest; . . . The land shall be utterly emptied, and utterly spoiled; for Jehovah hath spoken this word. The land mourneth, it fadeth away; the world languisheth, it fadeth away: the haughty people of the land do languish. And the land is polluted under the inhabitants thereof; for they have violated the laws, changed the statute, broken the everlasting covenant. Therefore doth the curse devour the earth, and they that dwell therein are held guilty; therefore the inhabitants of the earth are consumed, and few men are left.”—Isa. 24:1-6, Da.

7. How did Jehovah turn the land of Judah and Jerusalem upside down, and what was the reason for doing so?

⁷ How did God turn the land of Judah and Jerusalem upside down? It was full of Jewish inhabitants just like a bowl full of certain things. So Jehovah treated the land just like a full bowl, turning it upside down and dumping out its human inhabitants and so emptying the land, scattering abroad its former inhabitants. Jehovah had previously measured out a treatment like that to Samaria, the capital of idolatrous, murderous King Ahab, and so Jehovah said: “Here I am bringing a calamity upon Jerusalem and Judah, of which if any one hears both his ears will tingle. And I shall certainly stretch upon Jerusalem the measuring line applied to Sa·marʹi·a and also the leveling instrument applied to the house of Aʹhab, and I shall simply wipe Jerusalem clean just as one wipes the handleless bowl clean, wiping it clean and turning it upside down. And I shall indeed forsake the remnant of my possession and give them into the hand of their enemies, and they will simply become a spoil and plunder to all their enemies.” The reason for thus turning the land upside down is given, in part, in these words about Manasseh, its king: “There was also innocent blood that Ma·nasʹseh shed in very great quantity until he had filled Jerusalem from end to end, besides his sin with which he caused Judah to sin by doing what was bad in the eyes of Jehovah.” (2 Ki. 21:10-16, NW) About a hundred years later this dire prophecy came true.

8. Why was the land not turned right side up by being turned upside down, and so when was the land put in its right condition?

⁸ Was the land of Judah and Jerusalem turned right side up by being turned upside down? No! For Jerusalem and its temple were destroyed by the Babylonians, the land of Judah was wrecked and completely depopulated, not even domestic animals being left there, and what former inhabitants were left were either taken captive to Babylon or frightened into flight down to Egypt. The land was upside down, like a handleless bowl emptied of its contents; so the deserted land turned into a wilderness, a jungle, with dreary ruins, infested by doleful wild beasts and birds. That was not the right condition of the land of Judah. God had given it to his chosen people according to his promise and he gave it to them to be inhabited. Therefore after letting it lie desolate and enjoy land sabbaths for seventy years, he overthrew Babylon and brought back a faithful remnant of his people from there that Jerusalem might be rebuilt and her temple restored and the land repopulated. A land was born in that day and was in its right condition, like a bowl right side up, filled with inhabitants who praised and worshiped Jehovah. In this we see a prophetic picture of how Jehovah God will preserve and deliver a faithful remnant of people to survive Armageddon.—Isa. 45:17-22; 66:8, 9; 2 Chron. 36:17-23.

9. To what crushing experience is Jehovah’s treatment of the land of Judah likened, and what does this illustrate respecting Christendom?

⁹ It was frightful the way the land of Judah had its holy city and temple ruined, the most of its population slaughtered by sword, famine and pestilence, and its survivors scattered into captivity and exile in enemy lands. This experience came from the hand of Jehovah, whose covenant they had broken and whose land they had polluted with innocent blood. It is likened to his treading down the land of Judah in a vast wine press, with a terrible loss of life and spilling of the blood of the guilty. (Jer. 2:21; Isa. 5:1-8) The writer of the prophetic Lamentations mourns over it, saying: “Behold, and see if there be any sorrow like unto my sorrow, which is done unto me, whom Jehovah hath afflicted in the day of his fierce anger. . . . the Lord hath delivered me into hands out of which I am not able to rise up. The Lord hath cast down all my mighty men in the midst of me; he hath called an assembly against me to crush my young men; the Lord hath trodden as a winepress the virgin daughter of Judah. Jehovah is righteous; for I have rebelled against his commandment.” (Lam. 1:12, 14, 15, 18, Da) This illustrates what it will mean when Jehovah gives Christendom the wine-press treatment at Armageddon. Only it will be more appalling, for Christendom extends round the globe. Let no one think of finding refuge then in bloodstained Christendom.

10, 11. (a) Why is there no other place in this old world in which to escape being crushed at Armageddon? (b) Why is taking refuge in the “vine of the earth” something to avoid?

¹⁰ There is no other place in this old world where one may seek refuge and escape from being crushed at Armageddon. All the nations, those of heathendom as well as of Christendom, will be stamped down as in a global wine press. The worldly system of things is like a great “vine of the earth” that has spread all over the earth filling it with its bad fruit, and now it is about time for the entire vine to be uprooted and crushed and all its lifeblood stamped out with the greatest violence. All the nations, even those of Christendom who lay claim to Christianity, have warred among themselves soaking the earth with blood; and now, since the birth of God’s kingdom in the heavens in 1914 and since the world-wide announcement of this royal birth by Jehovah’s witnesses, the nations have risen to the height of their wickedness by preparing for war against Jehovah God and his enthroned King, Jesus Christ.

¹¹ In this hydrogen-bomb era the fruitage of this international “vine of the earth” is reaching its full ripeness and the time for this tremendous vine to be harvested is getting near, to pitch all of it, root, branch and fruit, into the wine press of God’s anger. Jehovah God even urges on the ripening of its ungodly fruitage with this challenge now proclaimed by his witnesses: “Proclaim this among the nations: prepare war, arouse the mighty men, let all the men of war draw near, let them come up. Beat your ploughshares into swords, and your pruning-knives into spears; let the weak say, I am strong. Haste ye and come, all ye nations round about, and gather yourselves together. Thither cause thy mighty ones to come down, O Jehovah. Let the nations rouse themselves, and come up to the valley of Jehoshaphat; for there will I sit to judge all the nations round about. Put in the sickle, for the harvest is ripe: come, get you down, for the press is full, the vats overflow; for their wickedness is great. Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision! For the day of Jehovah is at hand in the valley of decision.” (Joel 3:9-14, Da) For anyone now to take refuge in the branches of this “vine of the earth,” either continuing as a branch of it or sitting under it and enjoying its fruitage, means to be stamped out of existence with it in the wine press of God’s anger. That crushing experience is certainly something to be avoided.

12. What is one outstanding reason for God’s crushing out the life of this world, and what especially comes in for its due in this regard?

¹² One outstanding reason for God’s crushing the lifeblood out of this worldly system of things is the enormous bloodguiltiness that rests upon it and that must be punished. This is true not only of the political, commercial and social organizations of this world but also of its religions. All the religions of this world now associate with the international alliance, the United Nations, and support it. These religions are all symbolized under one figure, that of the great harlot, Babylon the Great, who rides the seven-headed wild beast to a battle against Jehovah’s “Lord of lords and King of kings.” All the blood unrighteously shed on the earth is due to false religion and hence is laid to the charge of this mysterious Babylon the Great. Calling her bloodguiltiness to notice just before she is executed, John the beholder of the Revelation vision says: “I saw that the woman was drunk with the blood of the holy ones and with the blood of the witnesses of Jesus. . . . Yes, in her was found the blood of prophets and of holy ones and of all those who have been slaughtered on the earth.” (Rev. 17:6; 18:24, NW) In executing judgment at Armageddon the God of justice renders to all worldly religion her dues for her sickening bloodthirstiness and bloodguiltiness.

13. What do the heavenly hosts say as respects this act of judgment, and how will the guilty drink their own blood?

¹³ Because of this act of judgment the heavenly hosts give Jehovah praise, saying: “Praise Jah, you people! The salvation and the glory and the power belong to our God, because his judgments are true and righteous. For he has executed judgment upon the great harlot who corrupted the earth with her [religious] fornication, and he has avenged the blood of his slaves at her hand.” The long record of worldly religion, reeking with blood, must now be shown up and the coming judgment of those who have shed innocent blood under the instigation of Babylonish religion must be declared, to show that God is righteous: “You . . . are righteous, . . . because they poured out the blood of holy ones and of prophets, and you have given them blood to drink. They deserve it. . . . Yes, Jehovah God, the Almighty, true and righteous are your decisions.” (Rev. 19:1, 2; 16:5-7, NW) The guilty will be made to drink their own lifeblood by their own deserved death at Armageddon.—Isa. 49:26.

Avoidance Inside the Cities of Refuge

1. Why do we need a place of refuge at Armageddon, and how did God picture it prophetically for us?

BLOODGUILT cleaves to all the world. While outwardly striving for international peace in her own way, Christendom is at the same time taking the lead in preparing the most sanguinary war of all time. Where is there a place for us to escape from having any part in the world’s bloodguilt at Armageddon, that our own lives may not be required of us according to Jehovah’s covenant concerning the sacredness of blood? Jehovah has provided the only place of escape and refuge, and he pictured it for us prophetically in the cities of refuge that he arranged for in the land of Israel.

2. What were the places of sanctuary among the pagan nations, and why were they reduced in number finally?

² These were not like the places of refuge that were in fashion among the ancient pagan nations. Those places were religiously sacred places, such as groves, temples and altars, and they were given the right of asylum, that is, the right to furnish shelter with protection against punishment for any misdoing. The protective power given to these places extended itself over a considerable area around the holy spot and was sternly guarded and preserved by severe punishments to the violators of the protection offered at the place. However, these places of refuge or of sanctuary were places where, under the cover of religion, the guilty as well as the unfortunate person might find shelter and protection against the officers of the law or those who would take the law into their own hands and inflict punishment. The famous temple of Artemis (or Diana) at Ephesus was a heathen place of asylum or sanctuary and its privileges in this regard expanded as time went on. In time the number of these places of sanctuary multiplied greatly among the Greeks and the Romans, but the privilege of sanctuary was abused and this led to a great increase of criminals. So Roman emperor Tiberius, of Jesus’ day, had a solemn inquiry made into the effects of these sanctuaries, and this resulted in reducing the number of them and limiting their privileges.

3. Were the cities of refuge allowed to multiply in Israel, and when first did Jehovah mention a future place of sanctuary for Israel?

³ The cities of refuge in the land of Israel were limited in number and provided no asylum for the guilty taker of life, but asylum for only the unintentional manslayer. By some it is understood that, while the Israelites were wandering in the wilderness for forty years prior to their entering into the Promised Land of Palestine, sanctuary was provided among the encampment of the temple servants known as the Levites, to whom the high priest and his body of underpriests belonged. First when giving the law to the prophet Moses at Mount Sinai, Jehovah God made mention of a future place of sanctuary, saying: “One who strikes a man so that he actually dies is to be put to death without fail. But where one does not lie in wait and God lets it occur at his hand, then I must fix for you a place where he can flee. And in case a man becomes heated against his fellow to the point of killing him with craftiness, you are to take him even from being at my altar to die.”—Ex. 21:12-14, NW.

4. What is meant by taking one guilty of murder even from being at Jehovah’s altar?

⁴ This last statement may mean that even if a man is a priest who serves at God’s altar he is not to be treated as guiltless, but is to be led away to execution for a crafty, planned murder. Or if any willful murderer should flee to the altar as a sanctuary and take hold of one of its horns in hope of being shielded by the sacredness of the altar, he is to be taken away and executed as he deserves. God does not protect willful criminals either by his law or by holy things of his organization. An example of this is the case of general Joab. During the kingship of David he was guilty of shedding the blood of innocent men because he was moved by vengeance and jealousy. To this he added the crime of supporting a usurper of David’s throne instead of God’s choice for the throne, namely, David’s son Solomon. When the would-be usurper still showed ambitions for the throne and King Solomon had him killed, general Joab fled and took hold on the altar horns and refused to come away, saying: “No! For here is where I shall die.” Accordingly King Solomon had him executed there, saying: “Jehovah will certainly bring back his blood upon his own head, because he fell upon two men more righteous and better than he was and he proceeded to kill them with the sword, when my father David himself had not known of it.” (1 Ki. 2:28-34, NW) No murderer or willful sharer in blood shed may expect the sacrifice of Jehovah’s great altar, namely, Jesus Christ, to atone for his crime or share in crime.

5. How many cities of refuge were to be set aside, and why were they not ordinary cities?

⁵ In the fortieth year of their wandering the Israelites reached the desert plains of Moab east of the Jordan River opposite the city of Jericho. Then Jehovah God saw good to order them to set aside six cities of refuge, three on the east side of the river and three on the west side. These were not just ordinary cities, but cities belonging to Jehovah’s special servants attached to his temple, one city, Hebron, being a priests’ city and the other five belonging to the Levites. In harmony with their being places of refuge where the refugee was untouchable by the executioner, they were given a sacred status. So we read of the assignment of the cities: “They gave a sacred status to Keʹdesh . . . and Sheʹchem . . . and Kirʹi·ath-arʹba, that is to say, Heʹbron, . . . Beʹzer . . . and Raʹmoth in Gilead . . . and Goʹlan.” (Josh. 20:7, 8, NW) The cities of refuge therefore had God’s special recognition, and their power to provide refuge deserved to be respected.

6. What was it the purpose of the refuge cities to prevent, and what would result if the Israelites tried to sidetrack or bypass this law?

⁶ The purpose of the refuge cities was to prevent the land from being polluted with innocent blood, not the blood of the person unintentionally killed, but the blood of the unintentional killer who was innocent of any wrong intent: “that no innocent blood may be spilled in the midst of your land that Jehovah your God is giving you as an inheritance and no bloodguilt has to be upon you.” (Deut. 19:10, NW) Besides that, if the Israelites failed to carry out the law of the cities of refuge and tried to sidetrack or bypass the law, it would result in polluting the land with the blood of the innocent person, whether killed intentionally or unintentionally. “You must not pollute the land in which you are, because it is blood that pollutes the land and for the land there may be no atonement respecting the blood that has been spilled upon it except by the blood of the one spilling it. And you must not defile the land in which you are dwelling, in the midst of which I am tenting, for I Jehovah am tenting in the midst of the sons of Israel.”—Num. 35:33, 34, NW.

7. To avenge the blood shed, who was the one made in God’s image, and where might a manslayer flee to escape from this one?

⁷ Jehovah recognized the right of the nearest relative of the innocent person killed to put the manslayer to death when he came upon him. Jehovah recognized this nearest relative as the avenger of blood and therefore assigned to him the right and power of executioner. Thus God made the blood avenger “in God’s image,” for God himself has the right and power of executing murderers. (Gen. 9:6, NW) God’s law said: “The avenger of blood is the one who will put the murderer to death. When he chances upon him he himself will put him to death.” (Num. 35:19, NW) However, a man might kill another person or be the cause of another’s death accidentally, unintentionally, without malice aforethought. To protect such a man God provided the refuge cities, that the unintentional manslayer might be spared his life until he stood trial and proved his having no intent to kill and no murderous hatred. (Josh. 20:9) So to the refuge city for his district the innocent manslayer might flee. “And you must choose cities convenient for yourselves. As cities of refuge they will serve for you, and the manslayer must flee there who fatally strikes a soul unintentionally. And the cities must serve you as a refuge from the blood avenger, that the manslayer may not die until he stands before the assembly for judgment. And the cities that you will give, the six cities of refuge, will be at your service.”—Num. 35:11-13, NW.

8. What arrangement in Catholic Christendom did such refuge cities not typify, and why was that arrangement at last abolished?

⁸ Jehovah’s law covenant with natural Israel had literal cities of refuge. Jehovah’s new covenant with spiritual Israel provides for a similar refuge. Thus the Israelite cities of refuge typified or foreshadowed a good thing to come, having to do with Christ. (Col. 2:16, 17; Heb. 10:1) What did they typify or foreshadow? Not the Roman Catholic church buildings and precincts where sanctuary used to be provided for offenders against the law. When those who claimed to be Christians began adopting the things of paganism and giving them a Christian appearance, the pagan custom of granting the right of sanctuary at holy places passed over into Christendom. As early as Emperor Constantine of Rome the Roman Catholic churches were made asylums where unfortunate persons could take refuge when pursued by officers of the law or powerful, vengeful enemies. In 681 the synod of Toledo widened the right of asylum to cover thirty paces from each church. Since that time the ecclesiastical privilege held sway in all of Catholic Christendom and continued, at least in Italy, as long as the pope remained independent and had his domains. But this ecclesiastical assumption tended to transfer power from the civil magistrate to the priesthood and worked against the law and the proper administration of justice. It aided the guilty or the sympathizers with the guilty to abuse the privilege. Says The Encyclopedia Americana: “It was the abuses to which this system gave rise, as tending to defeat the ends of justice, that led to its abolition in all Christian countries.”—Vol. 24 under “Sanctuary.”

9. Since when do the cities of refuge find their antitypical fulfillment, and why is there now dire need of such an antitype?

⁹ The typical cities of refuge find their antitypical fulfillment since God’s kingdom was born in the heavens in 1914 (A.D.), for it is to bring about the avenging of the blood of all who have been unjustly slain. The time for the avenging of the innocent blood draws near and there is dire need of the antitypical city of refuge, for since 1918, when the Lord Jehovah came with his Angel of the covenant to the spiritual temple, the time of judgment has been in progress to determine the bloodguiltiness of humanity.

10. What is the antitypical city of refuge today? With whom is it found, and for whose benefit is it?

¹⁰ What is the antitypical city of refuge today? As the typical refuge cities were cities of the temple servants, including the high priest of Jehovah, the antitypical city must be Jehovah’s provision for protecting us from death for violating the divine covenant concerning the sacredness of blood by our coming and remaining under the benefits of the active service of Jehovah’s High Priest Jesus Christ. That provision of protection is to be found with Jehovah’s theocratic organization of his people. It is for only those pictured by the accidental or unintentional manslayer: “When he strikes his fellow man without knowing it and he was no hater of him formerly, . . . he himself should flee to one of these cities and must live. Otherwise, the avenger of blood may, because his heart is hot, chase after the manslayer and certainly overtake him, since the way is great, and he may indeed strike his soul fatally, whereas there is no sentence of death for him, because he was no hater of him formerly.”—Deut. 19:4-6, NW.

COLLECTIVE BLOODGUILT

11. Since when has more blood been shed than ever before, and especially over what great issue?

¹¹ Since the birth of God’s kingdom by Christ in 1914 more blood has been shed than ever before in human history, not only in private, individual killings and accidental killings but more so in collective killings, in the two greatest carnages of all human experience, World Wars Nos. I and II. Both sides to the wild sprees of human butchery try to justify themselves and try to wash their hands clean of bloodguilt in the water of various self-excusing arguments. But we know that both sides engaged in the mass slaughter over the issue of world domination, though they were informed by Jehovah’s people both before 1914 and more particularly since 1914 concerning the ending of the “appointed times of the nations” that year and the establishment of God’s kingdom then. These wars were waged with total warfare, because for the prosecution of them to gain victory the whole nation was mobilized and all citizens were made to contribute their part to the national effort; and civilian population centers behind the lines became points of strategic bombardment.

12. So what scriptures should the worldly organizations that try to justify themselves remember, and why is religion not clean in this respect?

¹² So let the nations and the worldly organizations that feel no sense of guilt before God remember Paul’s words: “I am not conscious of anything against me. Yet by this I do not stand vindicated, but he that examines me is Jehovah.” (1 Cor. 4:4, NW) Also the proverb: “Every way of a man is right in his own eyes; but Jehovah weigheth the hearts.” (Prov. 21:2, AS) Also the apostolic words: “For not the one who recommends himself is approved, but the man whom Jehovah recommends.” (2 Cor. 10:18, NW) Before God, the Giver and Sustainer of life, an all-embracing bloodguilt rests on all mankind, on both those who directly did the shedding of blood and those who lent their support morally or materially. In this respect the skirts of religion are not clean, for in these massacres the religious leaders of all nations at war, even the clergy of Christendom, have prayed to their religious gods for heaven’s blessing upon their own military forces. Hence to Christendom the prophetic words addressed to unfaithful Jerusalem apply: “Also in thy skirts is found the blood of the souls of the innocent poor.”—Jer. 2:34, AS.

13. What typical illustration did Jehovah give of how he lays a joint responsibility upon people regarding bloodshed?

¹³ We must remember that the God of justice lays upon people a joint responsibility in respect to bloodshed. This point he made very sharp and clear in his law to Israel concerning a person slain whose killer was never discovered: “In case someone should be found slain on the ground that Jehovah your God is giving you to take possession of it, fallen on the field, and it has not become known who struck him fatally, then your older men and your judges must go out and measure to the cities that are all around the slain one, and it must prove to be the city nearest to the slain one.” In clearing themselves of guilt the older men of that likely guilty city must break the neck of a young, unworked cow in an unsown torrent valley, doing so before the Levite priests, “because they are the ones Jehovah your God has chosen to minister to him and to bless in the name of Jehovah and at whose mouth every dispute over every violent deed should be disposed of.” The older men of that city then washed their hands over the cow with the broken neck and had to say: “Our hands did not shed this blood, neither did our eyes see it shed. Do not set it to the account of your people Israel whom you redeemed, O Jehovah, and do not put the guilt of innocent blood in the midst of your people Israel.” Only then, said God’s law, “the bloodguilt must not be set to their account. And you—you will clear away the guilt of innocent blood from your midst, because you will do what is right in Jehovah’s eyes.”—Deut. 21:1-9, NW.

14. So today how do all peoples share in a community of responsibility for the blood that has drenched the earth?

¹⁴ So all peoples, especially in these days of total warfare, national mobilization, and international friendships, treaties and trade, share in a community of responsibility for the blood that has drenched the earth, all shed because the nations have refused to acknowledge Jehovah’s universal sovereignty and to bow peacefully before Jehovah’s enthroned King Jesus Christ, seeking his favor.

15. Who today are like the manslayer in Israel who killed without knowing it or without previous hatred, and how so?

¹⁵ Who is without bloodguilt today, either directly or by association, either in times of war or in times of peace? Some may have committed manslaughter by carelessness in driving a car or by other accident or willfully so. Afterward they have repented and, whereas the law may have inflicted upon the guilty ones a penalty that must be paid to “pay back, therefore, Caesar’s things to Caesar,” yet they have implored the mercy of God the Giver of life. Others may have taken part in collective killing, thinking conscientiously that it was their duty, or being persuaded by the religious leaders and teachers that it was God’s will and was a doing of sacred service to God. They have since confessed that they made a mistake and see the need of divine mercy toward them. Others being incited by the venomous hissings of Christendom’s clergy or other religious leaders have joined in persecuting Jehovah’s witnesses, this resulting in death to thousands of them for their integrity toward God. Now they realize how mistaught and misled they were and how they need God’s mercy, the same as Saul of Tarsus did. All of us may be aware of some community responsibility for the violent loss of human life. We feel that, if we had known better and been better instructed, we should not have done it or taken any related part in it. It was all accidental or unintended because of our lack of knowledge and understanding of God’s law and will. All such are like the ancient manslayer in Israel “who slays his fellow without knowing it, while he was not hating him formerly.”

16. (a) What does fleeing to a city of refuge picture? (b) For what nationalities were Israel’s cities of refuge meant?

¹⁶ Fleeing to a city of refuge pictures how we go as quickly as possible, whether we are dedicated to God or not, and we confess our sin of bloodguilt to him and appeal to him to have mercy on us through his great High Priest, Jesus Christ, who provided the ransom sacrifice for all mankind. Thereafter we seek to prove to God that our repentance is genuine by keeping fast to our refuge within his provision and theocratic organization. We must bear in mind for whom the ancient cities of refuge were meant, in order to appreciate who may benefit by their antitype today. Jehovah’s law said: “As cities of refuge they will serve. For the sons of Israel and for the temporary resident and for the settler in the midst of them these six cities will serve as a refuge, for anyone to flee there that fatally strikes a soul unintentionally.” “These became the cities appointed for all the sons of Israel and for the temporary resident who resides for a while in their midst, for anyone to flee there who fatally strikes a soul unintentionally, that he may not die by the hand of the avenger of blood until his standing before the assembly.”—Num. 35:14, 15 and Josh. 20:9, NW.

17. Who, then, were first in taking advantage of the divine protection for unintentional manslayers, and why so?

¹⁷ Hence the members of the spiritual “body of Christ,” the congregation of anointed Christians, need this provision, too, for they are the antitypical “sons of Israel”; they are members of spiritual Israel. The original part of this remnant passed through the years of World War I, during which they became captive to the Babylonish world because they came under the fear of men in high station and their course of action was not altogether clean from this world, not entirely neutral toward the mortal combats of this world. How much of bloodguiltiness Jehovah at his temple judged to be upon them, we do not definitely know. But after he released them from their captivity to Babylon in 1919 they repented of any measure of sin in any respect, confessed their guilt and endeavored to clean up their worship of him under his guidance by Christ. Moreover, since then, and particularly down to 1931, thousands who were definitely tainted with bloodguilt heard the message of the Kingdom and of the coming Armageddon and they began to flee to the antitypical city of refuge. They repented and turned to God for mercy. With faith in his High Priest Jesus Christ they gave themselves in full dedication to God to do his will ever afterward and to remain strictly within his merciful provisions to be safeguarded against the executing of all the bloodguilty at Armageddon. In this time of ‘shortening the days of tribulation for the chosen ones’ sake’ spiritual Israelites were first in taking advantage of this divine protection for the unintentional manslayer.

18. For whom else is the antitypical city of refuge, as foreshadowed by the type, and what does this prove as to the time of fulfillment of the type?

¹⁸ But the ancient refuge cities were also “for the temporary resident and for the settler” in Israel. As these were not Israelites they picture those not of spiritual Israel, those not of the spiritual remnant today, but who turn to the God of spiritual Israel and want to take advantage of his merciful arrangements through his High Priest. Their eyes have been opened to see the bloodguiltiness of all the world and they want no share further in it nor in paying the penalty for it with this world at Armageddon. So they, too, are fleeing from threatening execution and entering into the antitypical refuge city under the High Priest Jesus Christ. In fleeing there they show the sincerity of their repentance and of their reliance upon God’s mercy to spare their lives through Christ. How? By dedicating themselves to God to be subject to the divine will from now on into eternity. Thus today, for their protection from the death of the bloodguilty, hundreds of thousands of refugees of the “temporary resident” and “settler” class are to be found within Jehovah’s provision in company with the members of the remnant, inside the New World society. Now is the time, since 1931, for these “other sheep” of the Lord Jesus to be gathered to his fold, to make them “one flock” with the remnant of spiritual Israel. This fact adds to the proof that now, since 1914, is the time of application of this prophetic picture of the refuge cities.

Formerly I was a blasphemer and a persecutor and an insolent man. Nevertheless, I was shown mercy, because I was ignorant and acted with a lack of faith.—1 Tim. 1:13, NW.

Keeping Within the Bounds of Refuge

1, 2. Under what restriction was the refugee in the refuge city placed, and for how long?

THE fugitive from the avenger of blood was obliged to prove his innocence of any intent to kill the person accidentally slain. The refuge city to which he fled must first return him to the city in which or in the neighborhood of which the killing occurred. There the assembly must try his case to establish his worthiness to enjoy the protection of a city of refuge: “Then the assembly must judge between the striker and the avenger of blood according to these judgments. And the assembly must deliver the manslayer out of the hand of the avenger of blood and the assembly must return him to his city of refuge to which he had fled, and he must dwell in it until the death of the high priest who was anointed with the holy oil.” (Num. 35:24, 25, NW) Since Hebron, one of the refuge cities, was the city of the high priest and his underpriests, the sons of Aaron, this reminds us that Jehovah’s High Priest Jesus Christ is the one anointed to pass upon the manslayer’s lack of wicked intent in causing loss of life to others. He is the one to decide whether to admit him within Jehovah’s place of refuge in his New World society and to let him stay there.

² Since it was a mercy that the refugee was spared from death, it was perfectly proper for him to be put under bounds, to be limited as to his freedom. He had to stay within his city of refuge and its thousand cubits of open land all around the city. Beyond that limit lay danger to his spared life. “But if the manslayer should at all go out of the boundary of his city of refuge to which he may flee, and the avenger of blood does find him outside the boundary of his city of refuge and the avenger of blood does slay the manslayer, he [the avenger of blood] has no bloodguilt. For he [the manslayer] ought to dwell in his city of refuge until the high priest’s death and after the high priest’s death the manslayer may return to the land of his possession. And you must not take a ransom for one who has fled to his city of refuge to resume dwelling in the land before the death of the high priest.” (Num. 35:26-28, 32, NW) Thus the high priest during whose activity in office the manslaughter occurred must die before the unintentional manslayer could return to his own city or his land inheritance, without fear of the blood avenger. So if the Israelite high priest himself accidentally killed someone he could not leave his refuge city all his lifetime. If a Levite killed accidentally, he could not leave his refuge city to go up to the temple of Jehovah and perform a Levite’s duties there until the high priest died. This showed how the high priest governed the life and liberty of the refugees.

3. So through whom is Jehovah’s protection to blood-tainted refugees now granted, and in what way does one leave the antitypical city of refuge, and with what consequences?

³ This shows, too, that Jehovah’s protection to the blood-tainted refugees today against execution during the avenging of innocent blood at Armageddon is granted through his High Priest Jesus Christ, who gave his own human life to rescue even repentant manslayers besides sinners of all other kinds. Going outside of the refuge city before Israel’s high priest died pictures, therefore, that the one enjoying God’s mercy and protection becomes rebellious at God’s limitations upon him. He loses his appreciation of what God has done for him through Christ and why God has put him under bounds. He becomes like Shimei, who cursed David when fleeing from his son Absalom and whom David’s successor, King Solomon, put under bounds in the city of Jerusalem. Shimei put King Solomon to the test, left Jerusalem to recover two of his slaves, and on his return was put to death for having selfishly broken bounds. (1 Ki. 2:36-46) So the forsaker of refuge comes out from under the atonement covering of Christ’s sacrifice, no more trusting in its merit or feeling its need to safeguard him against the divine penalty for sin. He becomes careless about meeting Jehovah’s requirements and humbling himself under God’s mighty hand, and he develops his own self-righteousness and trusts in it to deliver him. He puts God to the test too far, impaling Jesus Christ afresh for himself and losing all sense of repentance. Outside of Jehovah’s merciful refuge he is certain to become subject to execution when all bloodguiltiness that is not covered is avenged at Armageddon. He will not survive.

4, 5. (a) What questions arise as to the fulfillment of the death of Israel’s high priest? (b) How long therefore, will members of the remnant of spiritual Israel have to remain in their refuge city?

⁴ The High Priest Jesus Christ, since his resurrection from the dead, has the “power of an indestructible life” and “dies no more,” as “death is master over him no more” but he is a “priest forever” like Melchizedek. (Heb. 7:15-17 and Rom. 6:9, NW) How, then, can he fulfill the picture of the death of Israel’s high priest? And so how could anyone come out from the antitypical refuge city in the New World society? How long will the modern-day refugees have to remain there? We must remember that Israel’s high priest, when he died, ceased to serve as high priest and to offer atonement for the accidental manslayer. Hence the members of the remnant within the antitypical refuge city must remain there as long as they live on earth. They hope to survive the battle of Armageddon into God’s new world, but even after that battle and its execution of the bloodguilty they will need the atoning merit of their heavenly High Priest. Why? Because they are still in the imperfect flesh.

⁵ However, when they finish their earthly duties after Armageddon and die and are instantaneously resurrected to life as divine spirit creatures in the heavens, they will no more need the atoning services of Jehovah’s High Priest, for then they have forever left the flesh behind, sacrificed in vindication of Jehovah’s universal sovereignty. Everything that attaches to the imperfect flesh, including accidental bloodguilt, will have passed away from them. Thus the High Priest will have died in an atoning, protective capacity toward them. But clear through Armageddon and until their fleshly tabernacle, their earthly house or tent, is dissolved in death and they gain a “building from God, a house not made with hands, everlasting in the heavens,” they will have remained within the refuge city under the immortal High Priest.—2 Cor. 5:1, NW.

6. How do the Armageddon survivors not of spiritual Israel stay in their refuge city until the antitypical death of the High Priest, and for what might they die after that?

⁶ But how about the modern refugee “temporary residents” and “settlers”? Since they will remain in the flesh forever, when will they ever be able to leave their refuge city and be free from accidental bloodguilt? They may not come out of the refuge city under Christ immediately after Armageddon, because they too, like the surviving remnant, will be in their imperfect flesh, infected with sin. So they will be obliged to remain under the High Priest’s atoning protection; otherwise the blood avenger would kill them. By availing themselves of this throughout the thousand years of his kingship and priesthood they will eventually be lifted to human faultlessness. At the close of the thousand years he will yield them over to Jehovah God together with all the rest of uplifted mankind for a final, eternally decisive test of their integrity, this by the loosing of Satan and his demons for a little while. For passing this test with divine approval, Jehovah God will justify them to everlasting life in the paradise “new earth” of the new world. But when the High Priest yielded them over in human perfection he in effect died to them as atoning, covering Priest, for they passed out from under his protective covering in the refuge city and were placed before God for a test of their own merit. If any die after that, it will not be by the avenger of blood, nor because of previous guilt for accidental bloodshed, but will be because of their willfully failing in the test of their integrity through some selfishness.—Rev. 20:1-6, 11-15, NW.

‘PREPARING THE WAY’

7. How did the ancient refuge city act toward the accidental manslayer, and how did he have to conduct himself in it?

⁷ The ancient refuge city was to open its gates and act as host to the accidental manslayer. “And he must flee to one of these cities and stand at the entrance of the gate of the city and speak his words in the hearing of the older men of that city, and they must receive him into the city to themselves and give him a place and he must dwell with them. And in case the avenger of blood chases after him, then they should not surrender the manslayer into his hand, for it was without knowing it that he struck his fellow man fatally and he was not hating him formerly. And he must dwell in that city until his standing before the assembly for judgment, until the death of the high priest who happens to be in those days. It is then that the manslayer may return and he must enter into his city and into his house, into the city from which he had fled.” (Josh. 20:4-6, NW) While in the refuge city the refugee was deprived of the freedom of going up to God’s temple, yet he was in close touch with the temple servants, the Levites, and at Hebron with the priests and even the high priest, for whose early death, however, he must not long, for that would be tending toward the spirit of murder and rebellion against God’s bounds. He must not be idle, thinking the city owes him a living, and thus become an economic burden on the Levites and priests. But he must learn a trade and become a contributor to the city’s welfare and prosperity.

8. So how must those fleeing to the Christian’s city of refuge conduct themselves, and in what does this result?

⁸ Likewise those fleeing to the Christian’s city of refuge may not be idlers within the New World society. They must show an appreciation of the divine mercy to them and keep in touch with the remnant of the “royal priesthood” and especially with the High Priest under whose covering they find protection. They must not be burdens, drags, on the New World society, retarding its activity, draining away its spiritual prosperity. They must learn a trade in that organization, and in view of the divine obligations laid upon it the only “trade” suitable within that organization is to learn to preach the Kingdom message and declare the “day of vengeance of our God.” (Matt. 24:14; Isa. 61:1, 2) This makes the time within bounds fly by most happily before Armageddon in praise of Jehovah and it results in salvation both to the refugee and to others.

9. To keep free from bloodguilt, for what have the refugees declared themselves and for what covenant have they taken their stand?

⁹ So here in our refuge city we find ourselves now, and here we are determined to stay until the High Priest’s “death.” Because Jehovah’s witnesses are determined to keep within bounds inside Jehovah’s merciful ‘city of refuge’ under his High Priest, these witnesses declared themselves, on November 1, 1939, in favor of absolute neutrality toward the sanguinary combats of this world. Also they have taken their stand for God’s covenant concerning the sanctity of blood, not to violate it by the transfusing of blood that has resulted in so many unreported deaths, to keep themselves from any willful bloodguilt in God’s sight. The willful murderer found no asylum in the ancient city of refuge but was handed over to the avenger of blood to die justly at his hands. We want no persons of that willful kind within the New World society.—Num. 35:16-21, 30, 31; Deut. 19:11-13.—See The Watchtower, November 1, 1939; July 1, 1945.

10. What help to successful flight had to be prepared for the unintentional manslayer, and how was this done in the type?

¹⁰ The priests and Levites of the cities of refuge had to be most helpful to those taking refuge among them and given safe harbor. Furthermore, they and all Israel had to be most concerned about helping the needy fugitives to beat the blood avenger in getting within the safe precincts of the refuge city, thus to prevent innocent blood of accidental manslayers from being shed. Said Jehovah’s merciful law: “You will set apart three [more] cities for yourself [Israel] in the midst of your land that Jehovah your God is giving you to take possession of it. You will prepare for yourself the way and you must divide up the territory of your land that Jehovah your God proceeded to give you as a possession into three parts [west of Jordan River], and it must be for any manslayer to flee there.” (Deut. 19:2, 3, NW) This ‘preparing the way’ meant that the main roads of flight to the cities of refuge had to be made speed roads; hillocks had to be leveled down, stumbling stones had to be cleared out, rivers had to be bridged, the roads had to be broadened to even as much as thirty-two cubits, or forty-eight feet, so that heavy traffic might not block the fugitive, and at the crossroads signs had to be erected marked “Refuge! Refuge!” to point out the direction to the city of asylum. Each division of the land, three east of the Jordan and three west of the river, had its own refuge city, so that the flight would not be overlong to a man in any district. Each one knew his proper refuge city.

11. Because of what provision may all nations be glad with Jehovah’s spiritual people today?

¹¹ What an excellent illustration this is of how the way has had to he prepared for the accidentally bloodguilty today, particularly the antitypical “temporary residents” and “settlers,” the “other sheep,” who are not spiritual Israelites but who are from all nations! Thus these nations may now be glad with Jehovah’s people, the remnant of spiritual Israel. Looking forward to punishing bloodguilt at Armageddon, Jehovah sings out: “I shall intoxicate my arrows with blood, while my sword will eat flesh, with the blood of the slain and the captives, with the heads of the leaders of the enemy. Be glad, you nations, with his people, for he will avenge the blood of his servants, and he will pay back vengeance to his adversaries and will indeed make expiation for the ground of his people.”—Deut. 32:42, 43, NW.

12. (a) Why is it urgent for us to keep the “way” in excellent condition, and how do we do so? (b) Otherwise, how might we incur future bloodguilt to our own destruction?

¹² As Jehovah has allowed only a “short period of time” till the avenging of the innocent blood at Armageddon, and as that time since 1918 has been reduced so much by now, it has become most urgent for us to keep in excellent condition the way that has been prepared to the present-day city of refuge. Thus we shall make easy the speedy flight of countless others who become aware of their accidental bloodguiltiness before God and his High Priest, and who awake to the peril of the worldwide avenging of blood at the “war of the great day of God the Almighty.” We must sound the warning to them, by a fearless, steady declaration of the “day of the vengeance of our God.” We must assist them to speedy flight to the only place of refuge under Jehovah’s High Priest. We must become as signposts along the way announcing “Refuge! Refuge!” and pointing to the only place where to find it now. Everyone must serve in this lifesaving manner in his own division of territory. We dare not fail in our duty as watchmen, pointing at the threatening sword of execution and warning the imperiled people to flee. If we fail in our duty by neglecting to give warning, then our present place of refuge will not benefit us at the crucial time, for the blood of those who might have escaped through proper warning will be required at our hand by Jehovah God. (Ezek. 33:1-9) So let us be on guard against incurring future bloodguilt this way to our own destruction.

THE TREADER OF THE WINE PRESS

13, 14. (a) Who, then, is the antitypical “avenger of blood,” and why so? (b) When and where will he overtake the murderous bloodguilty?

¹³ But who is the “avenger of blood” before whom to flee? Who is this nearest kinsman of the slain ones who has been made “in God’s image” to act as His executioner of the shedder of human blood? (Gen. 9:6 and; 2 Sam. 14:6, 7, 11, NW) To be qualified to avenge the slain of all the earth and especially the slain witnesses of Jehovah God, this avenger must be a kinsman of all mankind and especially of Jehovah’s witnesses. Who must that be? Who could that be but God’s only-begotten Son, who became the man Christ Jesus? He is mankind’s closest relative, for he was born of a woman, born a perfect man with a life so valuable that it could be offered in sacrifice for all mankind to ransom them from everlasting death. He became a brother to his footstep followers, so that what one does to one of the least of these brothers one does it to their oldest brother Jesus Christ; so that one who kills one of his faithful followers kills one of Christ’s brothers and shows he would do it to Christ himself, too. (Heb. 2:11-17; Matt. 25:40, 45) However, as High Priest he is now about to apply the merit of his atoning sacrifice in behalf of all obedient mankind, to make them his children and to become their Everlasting Father. So, anyone that kills one of these antitypical “temporary residents” or “settlers” who have associated themselves with the New World society kills one of Christ’s prospective children, one of the “other sheep” over which he is the One Shepherd, the Right Shepherd who surrendered his own soul for all his sheep.—John 10:16, NW.

¹⁴ Therefore he, “the man Christ Jesus,” stands in the proper relationship to avenge, not the blood of one, but the blood of all the slain, taking action with the swiftness of a pursuing avenger of blood against all the murderous crowd. He will overtake them all at the field of Armageddon. He will find them all outside the antitypical city of refuge, for it will give them no harbor.

15, 16. (a) Who, then, rightly is the one to tread the wine press at Armageddon? (b) However, in Isaiah’s prophecy, who is it that pictures himself as treading the wine press, and in what language?

¹⁵ Rightly, then, Jesus is the one that treads the great wine press of God’s anger at Armageddon, for there the crushing of the life out of the bloodguilty world comes as an avenging of the innocent blood that it has already shed and will yet shed till the Avenger calls the world to account and forces payment. However, Jehovah prophetically pictures his own self as treading the great press to crush those who showed no brotherly love to his people, namely, Edom, the descendants of Jacob’s (Israel’s) twin brother. The prophecy gives us the dialogue between the prophet Isaiah and Jehovah in these words:

¹⁶ “Who is this that cometh from Edom, with deep-red garments from Bozrah [Edom’s capital city], this that is glorious in his apparel, travelling in the greatness of his strength?—I that speak in righteousness, mighty to save [my people].—Wherefore is redness in thine apparel, and thy garments like him that treadeth in the winevat? I have trodden the winepress alone, and of the peoples not a man was with me [none of Jehovah’s witnesses having to engage in violent action to help him at Armageddon, and none of the wicked being able to stand up against Him]; and I have trodden them in mine anger, and trampled them in my fury; and their blood is sprinkled upon my garments, and I have stained all mine apparel. For the day of vengeance [against my enemies] was in my heart, and the year of my redeemed [people] had come. And I looked, and there was none to help; and I wondered that there was none to uphold: and mine own arm brought salvation unto me; and my fury, it upheld me. And I have trodden down the peoples in mine anger, and made them drunk in my fury; and their blood have I brought down to the earth.”—Isa. 63:1-6, Da.

17. Whom, though, does Jehovah use in treading the wine press at Armageddon, and how does John describe his forevision of this?

¹⁷ But in treading the wine press at Armageddon Jehovah uses the nearest Kinsman of all mankind, the Blood Avenger who is entitled to do the treading for his heavenly Father, namely, “the man Christ Jesus.” The apostle John had a forevision of him going into the loaded wine press at Armageddon and treading it with a troop of heavenly companions: “And I saw the heaven opened, and, look! a white horse. And one seated upon it is called Faithful and True, and he judges and carries on war in righteousness. . . . he is arrayed with an outer garment sprinkled with blood, and the name he is called is The Word of God. Also the armies that were in heaven were following him on white horses, and they were clothed in white, clean, fine linen. And out of his mouth there protrudes a sharp long sword, that he may smite the nations with it, and he will shepherd them with a rod of iron. He treads, too, the press of the wine of the anger of the wrath of God the Almighty. And upon his outer garment, even upon his thigh, he has a name written, King of kings and Lord of lords.”—Rev 19:11-16, NW.

18. Why may we expect “all the righteous blood spilled on earth” since Jerusalem’s destruction to be visited upon Christendom?

¹⁸ At this Armageddon wine press the flow of blood from the smitten nations will be a flood. Nineteen centuries ago, at the temple of Jerusalem, Jesus said to the Jewish religious leaders, teachers and rulers: “I am sending forth to you prophets and wise men and public instructors. Some of them you will kill and impale, and some of them you will scourge in your synagogues and persecute from city to city; that there may come upon you all the righteous blood spilled on earth from the blood of righteous Abel [the first martyred witness of Jehovah] to the blood of Zechariah son of Bar·a·chiʹah, whom you murdered between the sanctuary and the altar. Truly I say to you, All these things will come upon this generation.” (Matt. 23:34-36, NW) Did they come upon that generation? Yes; for, thirty-seven years after the priest-inspired mob cried out to Governor Pontius Pilate, “His blood come upon us and upon our children,” Pilate’s own fellow countrymen, the Romans, destroyed Jerusalem and her temple after a four-month siege and piled up a death toll of 1,100,000 and scattered 97,000 survivors to the ends of the earth to die as slaves. (Matt. 27:24, 25, NW) So may we expect “all the righteous blood spilled on earth” since then to come upon unfaithful Christendom, the modern counterpart of anti-Christian Jerusalem? Yes!

19. In that connection, what may we expect about Babylon the Great?

¹⁹ Also what may we expect about that four-thousand-year-old harlot, Babylon the Great, drunk with the blood of the holy ones and of the witnesses of Jesus, in whom was found also the blood of prophets and of all those who have been slaughtered on the earth? Because, as the Bible says, she dominates all earth’s peoples, she and all peoples under her, including Christendom, will be hurled into God’s globe-encircling wine press. Then blood may be expected to gush out in a torrent.

20. At Armageddon by whom and how is the wine press trodden, and with the juice of the “vine of the earth” pressed out how deep?

²⁰ At Armageddon now near harvesttime comes, then the time of the wine treaders. Jehovah the Supreme Avenger signals, and with exulting shouts Jesus Christ and his troop of treaders leap into the wine trough, not with bare feet, but on horseback, on horses of the “war of the great day of God the Almighty” to crush the tremendous “vine of the earth” and its overload of wicked fruit. Picturing the tremendousness of the Armageddon slaughter, the Revelation says: “He called out with a loud voice to the one that had the sharp sickle, saying: ‘Put your sharp sickle in and gather the clusters of the vine of the earth, because its grapes have become ripe.’ And the angel thrust his sickle into the earth and gathered the vine of the earth, and he hurled it into the great winepress of the anger of God. And the winepress was trodden outside the city, and blood came out of the winepress as high up as the bridles of the horses, for a distance of a thousand six hundred furlongs [yes, two hundred miles].”—Rev. 14:18-20, NW.

21. (a) What does the deepness of the grapejuice picture, and what does its being “outside the city” where the wine press is trodden indicate? (b) How, then, may any avoid the wine press of God’s anger?

²¹ The great Armageddon wine press will be trodden “outside the city” and the horses under Christ and his heavenly troops will fairly wade, almost swim, through blood, so many will be those in opposition to Jehovah God and his King of kings. Do not skeptically think this is too gruesome to come true! It is a pictorial prophecy of God’s Word and his Word always comes true, and this picture has every reason for coming true. “Trodden outside the city” means it will be trodden outside the New Jerusalem, outside the theocratic organization, hence outside the Christian city of refuge and outside the New World society. Do any today want to avoid being pitched into the wine press of God’s anger to be crushed? Then make no delay to escape the divine Avenger of blood. Take the road marked “Refuge! Refuge!” and flee to the refuge city under the High Priest Jesus Christ. Then determinedly, wisely, gratefully stay inside it until Armageddon!

Part 1—The “Triumphant Kingdom” Assemblies of 1955

THE kingdom of Jehovah God gained a grand triumph in 1955 by crowning with splendid success the series of thirteen international assemblies of Jehovah’s witnesses during the summer. The theme common to each such assembly proved to be true, namely, “Triumphant Kingdom.” The holding of the entire series of assemblies just as scheduled added to the proof that Jehovah’s kingdom by Christ had been established in the heavens in 1914 and is now ruling triumphantly among all its enemies in this world, backing up the Kingdom preachers on earth that they might meet together to give a powerful, united witness to all nations concerning that established kingdom. This demonstration of invisible Kingdom power was quite in keeping with the title of the public talk that climaxed each assembly, “World Conquest Soon—by God’s Kingdom.” From sixty-two or more different lands and nations a grand total of more than four hundred thousand witnesses and other interested persons flocked together to hear this challenging public message. To millions more this same message will go out in booklet form in many languages, together with other Bible publications that were released for the first time at these assemblies. Yes, to millions of persons of good will throughout the earth the hundreds of thousands of blessed attenders will tell of their soul-stirring experiences at these assemblies, thus spreading still farther the good effects of this assembly series.

This chain of thirteen assemblies for ten weeks in a row was a matter of world-wide interest and prayer. It began with the assembly in Chicago, Illinois, U.S.A., June 22-26, 1955, and closed with the assembly in Helsinki, Finland, August 25-28. All the world had been informed of this international event as far back as July 26, 1953, at the close of the second international assembly at New York’s Yankee Stadium. Then the president announced to an audience of more than a hundred thousand from ninety-seven different lands the plans of the Watch Tower Bible & Tract Society for holding such a series of assemblies in 1955, extending from the Pacific coast of North America and through Britain and on to the European continent. Ever since then personal as well as organizational preparations were under way, thousands of witnesses of Jehovah saving money and arranging their affairs to travel abroad and attend one or more assemblies in foreign lands, especially those in Europe. In its magazines—The Watchtower and Awake!—and other communications the Society kept the matter of the assemblies alive, particularly those to be held in Europe. In response to this and in obedience to God’s command to Christians not to forsake the gathering of themselves together, half the number of those who reported activity as Jehovah’s witnesses throughout the earth attended the assemblies. Ordinarily for so many to hold convention together in one place, like Yankee Stadium, would have been impossible. The making of it a series of assemblies in thirteen cities of Christendom, in the Northern Hemisphere, made it convenient for hundreds of thousands to come together and share in the same spiritual feasts, and for a more impressive, farther-reaching witness to be given concerning God’s kingdom and his New World society.

The program of features and activities was identical for all the five-day assemblies in English-speaking lands. Those on the European continent required some change in the line-up of speeches according to the location or movement of the president and other officers of the Society charged with giving the main speeches of the assembly, also the assemblies at Rome, Berlin and Helsinki being less than five-days long. The need of some of the speeches to be translated on the platform directly from spoken English into a foreign language cut down on the amount of the material that could be presented in the time allotted to the speech. To ensure that all assemblies got the same spiritual food all talks, except farewell talks by the president and the vice-president, were read from specially prepared manuscripts, the same manuscripts being supplied to all the assemblies alike. Specially selected representatives of the Society, capable persons, were assigned to read the speeches, under instructions to familiarize themselves thoroughly therewith so as to be able to present the speeches feelingly, sincerely and with the most telling effect. To show the richness of the spiritual information, counsel and instruction that were spread on the program aside from the songs and experiences related, we give below the subjects of the talks of each day:

Wednesday

Pursuing My Purpose in Life

Address of Welcome by the Chairman: Responsibility and Stewardship

Following the Course of Hospitality

The Triumphant Message of “The Kingdom,” by the president

Be Satisfied by Work

“Be Rich in Right Works”

Your Personal Study

Your Bible Questions Answered

Thursday

Pursuing My Purpose in Life

Show Respect for Jehovah’s Organization

Appreciating the Society’s Publications

Qualified to Be Ministers, by the president

Productive Witnessing

Activity and Life versus Inactivity and Death

What Dedication Means to Me

Friday

Why One Must Be Baptized

Pursuing My Purpose My Life

Gossip Can Destroy You!

You Can Crush Gossip!

Keep Apace with the New World Society (by three speakers)

Be Filled with Accurate Knowledge

The Congregation Publisher’s Proper View of His Ministry

Full-Time Service—a Glorious Treasure

Triumphing over Wicked Spirit Forces, by the president

Saturday

Pursuing My Purpose in Life

Love Builds Up (by three speakers)

Waging the Right Warfare

“Jehovah Is in His Holy Temple,” by the president

Youth’s Place in the New World Society

Christian Worship and Preservation of Virtue

Avoiding the Wine Press of God’s Wrath

Sunday

Stay Awake, Stand Firm, Grow Mighty

Guard Your Christian Trust

Cautious as Serpents Among Wolves

World Conquest Soon—by God’s Kingdom, by the president

Keeping Up with the Truth

Closing Remarks by the President

As our spiritual food consists not only of hearing and taking the Bible message in with our minds but also our sharing it with others, thus doing our God’s will, to finish his work for us, the mornings except Sunday were assigned to preaching publicly and from house to house by the conventioners in general. The big public-lecture ads paid for and published in the local newspapers each Tuesday and Friday were not enough. A personal witness by live, flesh-and-blood Kingdom publishers must be given. Millions of handbills announcing the public meeting of Sunday were to be distributed, there was placard work to do, marching with public-lecture placards displayed on one’s person or placing them in store windows or other noticeable locations, there were the valuable Bible study helps in the form of bound books and booklets to be offered to the people at their homes, there were also the latest magazines of the Society to be offered at posts along the sidewalks or from door to door and from store to store. Conventioners must come to these grand gatherings not only to receive spiritual good things but also to give; they must ‘buy back the opportune time’ for preaching the good news by taking advantage of their opportunities for field service at the assemblies, unitedly giving an overwhelming witness in and around each assembly point. So allowance for this vital feature of an assembly was made on the program of events, and a brief service meeting was held mornings at the assembly location for those who found it convenient to assemble there at 9:30 to join in song and prayer, hear the day’s Bible text and discussion and receive field-service instructions.

One morning, generally Friday, was assigned for a mass baptism to be performed for all those who wanted to imitate Jesus Christ and obey his command to be totally immersed before witnesses as an open symbol of their having dedicated themselves completely and forever to Jehovah God through Christ. For three mornings the Society’s president would hold hour-and-a-half conferences with all the circuit servants and district servants present, many of these being accompanied by their wives who travel with them from congregation to congregation and have special responsibilities to fill. The last of the three mornings of conference the congregation servants who acted as overseers of local congregations were invited to join in the conference. In lands where the Society has branch offices a home called Bethel is maintained for the family of workers, and from time to time new workers are needed. So the program scheduled a meeting of the president one morning with those who wanted to apply for full-time service at one of the Bethel homes or for free schooling and training at the Watchtower Bible School of Gilead to become missionaries in foreign fields. Thus the thought of future service, the tremendous work yet to be done, was not left out of mind in planning and carrying out these assemblies. A consistent arrangement and effort was made to provide for more workers, yes, to provide better-trained, better-equipped, more effective workers, ministers, as a result of these assemblies.

CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, U.S.A., JUNE 22-26, 1955

The first international assembly of the modern witnesses of Jehovah was held in a pavilion near the lake front of Chicago in 1893, with about 360 representatives from Canada and the United States, the first president of the Watch Tower Society, Charles T. Russell, himself being present and serving the convention. Seventy of these symbolized their dedication to God by total immersion in water. During the sixty-two years since then no national or international convention was held in Chicago until this past summer, June 22-26, 1955. For this the one-time “Baseball Palace of the World,” Comiskey Park, with a seating capacity of 46,500, was engaged, as more than a hundred times as many were expected to attend this initial assembly of the series as attended the one sixty-two years ago. For the reception and lodging of so many conventioners for this five-day gathering a tremendous preconvention organization was arranged and built up. For weeks in advance Chicago’s twenty-three congregations with their total of 2,500 active publishers of God’s triumphant kingdom swung into action to procure rooming accommodations not only in the city’s many hotels but particularly in the private homes of hospitable people of the city. Over 15,500 room requests were received.

For the convenient feeding of many thousands right there at the convention grounds three times a day a kitchen was set up under the ball park’s stands. Cafeteria tables were installed in seven great tents adjacent to the baseball park, and many refreshment stands were put into operation. A large propane tank with fuel was donated for the convention’s use, to warm the tons of food that were to be eaten at the mass meals. Many departments for the administration of the assembly and its many services and activities were set up in the rooms and corridors of Comiskey Park’s diamond-shape structure, with its grandstand of lower and upper decks of seats.

The baseball diamond itself underwent a transformation: over second base an attractive speakers’ platform was erected, fringed with thousands of potted flowers of gorgeous hue and evergreen shrubs, with a circular bed of live, growing flowers over the ball pitcher’s “box.” In a wide sweep around this stood the large white letters spelling out TRIUMPHANT KINGDOM ASSEMBLY OF JEHOVAH’S WITNESSES. Hence one big Chicago daily said that “Comiskey Park was converted into an outdoor temple.” Said another daily: “Comiskey Park is transformed today into a gigantic Kingdom Hall for the Jehovah’s Witnesses assembly.” Here, as one newsman said, Bibles were to be sold instead of baseball scorecards. Here, too, tens of thousands who love God more than they love pleasures were to pack the stands and applaud the striking points of Bible speeches and to sing the praises of the two greatest champions of truth and righteousness, Jehovah God and Christ Jesus.

When the Society’s president, N. H. Knorr, and his personal secretary, M. G. Henschel, and the vice-president, F. W. Franz, arrived by plane from New York the evening before the assembly’s opening, the convention grounds were a beehive of activity by preconvention workers, and the cafeteria was already in operation and had served some 850 meals.

Chicago’s proved to be what one newspaper called it, a “giant” assembly. All the publicity agencies, newspapers, radio and television, interested themselves in this outstanding religious event. In the local newspapers 4,445 column inches of space were taken up with reports on the convention. There was even a nationwide television program from east coast to west coast, presenting an interview with the president, Brother Knorr. But the conventioners themselves were a most forceful publicity agency, not only by word of mouth but by circulating all the advertising material and by wearing on coat or waist the celluloid-encased colorful miniature placard naming the assembly, the place and the subject of the coming public address. The hundreds of cars by which many came to the convention also bore brilliant-color signs.

The day’s Bible texta was very fitting for the opening day of the Chicago assembly. Conventioners assembled not only from forty-two of the states of the American union but from seven foreign nations. A number of these foreign delegates related experiences from the platform, besides which telegraph messages poured in from still other foreign lands and were read from the platform—from such distant places as Australia, Philippine Islands, South Korea, Ceylon, Indochina—many thus being there in spirit and in prayer. By the closing session of the day there were 17,735 personally gathered together, quite filling the huge V of the grandstand.

A joy-bringing gift marked the afternoon of this first day of this first of the series of thirteen assemblies. After a vigorous presentation of the hour speech, “The Triumphant Message of ‘The Kingdom,’” Brother Knorr as the Society’s president took his audience of 16,565 completely by surprise by announcing and releasing Volume II of the New World Translation of the Hebrew Scriptures, setting out the nine Bible books from First Samuel to Esther. The stock of 28,000 copies on hand of this new volume was almost exhausted by the close of the assembly. All the other speakers on the day’s program handled their prepared talks well, and the fifteen-minute feature, “Pursuing My Purpose in Life,” the first of a series of four true-life stories of successful, still-going missionaries, won a warm place in the hearts of the conventioners.

Thursday morning, for more than an hour and a half, the president held the first of a series of three meetings with the Society’s representatives who serve circuits and districts. There were present thirty-six of such servants, quite a number with their wives. The discussion, led by the president, laid stress on how such servants must be proper representatives of the Society that sends them out, in morals, conduct, exclusive application to their duties, speech and leadership. They are to act as field members of the Society’s headquarters’ office force and so to handle congregational troubles and make recommendations and also submit descriptions of matters of concern to the Society: in brief, be “trouble shooters.”

They were reminded that the carrying out of written directions from headquarters results in success in the service. Schedule your activities, then stick conscientiously to such schedule, they were told. Do not burden yourself with social engagements, exhausting the strength you should conserve for Jehovah’s service. Show each congregation you visit the good quality of its territory; show that the territory can be worked with good results, even if you have to go out and work it alone while there. Do not countenance retaining incompetent servants in office in a congregation, to the hurt of a congregation or a circuit. Servants should be removed, if advisable; worthy servants are those who set the pace for the congregation publishers as respects the field activity in publishing the Kingdom news. When a congregation meets its quota of increasing its publishers ten per cent in number, there is no need to raise the quota, with a possibility of not attaining to that number of publishers and thus depriving the successful congregation of its elation of reaching a quota and even exceeding it. The real need is to train the ten per cent increase in the number of publishers to become capable dispensers of God’s Word. The calling in of district and circuit servants to attend the Watchtower Bible School of Gilead has even shown them to be in need of some training or instruction or able to profit from further instruction.

The president’s meeting with the circuit and district servants was very stimulating and won high appreciation. “Heart-warming!” commented one circuit servant at the close.

Television had its “inning” today, with the nationwide telecast over the National Broadcasting Company’s network, showing conventioners busy on a street, a view of the convention service and the president as he gave a report. Later the same evening a seven-minute interview of the president by a popular TV newscaster was telecast on the “Chicago Story” by WBBM-TV of the Columbia Broadcasting System.

The way the assembly dominated the news affected the sale of the newly released Vantage Press’ book entitled “Jehovah’s Witnesses—the New World Society,” by Marley Cole. Chicago bookstores handling it were selling out their stock of it, to put the book in line for a place on the best-seller list.

But the publication that dominated the day at the assembly was the book of ninety chapters entitled “Qualified to Be Ministers.” Little did the afternoon audience of 19,987 anticipate that the president would release this new publication at the close of his speech on that same subject. So they hailed it with delight, and rejoiced that this new textbook had been provided for use in the weekly theocratic ministry school of the congregations of God’s witnesses. It is the “best yet” book for this purpose. By the assembly’s close almost the entire stock of 38,000 copies of Qualified to Be Ministers was gone.

Thursday’s sessions closed with a half-hour talk by the convention servant, J. O. Groh, on the subject “What Dedication Means to Me.” This talk was specially to prepare many who had just dedicated themselves to God or who were contemplating this advisable, urgent step for the baptism in water that the program announced for the following morning.

Activity in the field also took its part on the day’s program of events. The city had been divided up into 3,000 territories for door-to-door witnesses, five publishers to each territory. The newspapers announced that 15,000 had gone into action afield that morning. Supplying the volunteers with territories for various types of field activity kept the Service Department of the assembly very busy.

Chicago had never witnessed a “mass baptismal ceremony” such as it did Friday morning. At the 8:30 a.m. consideration of the subject “Why One Must Be Baptized” 620 answered Yes to two determining questions to show their worthiness of being wholly submerged in water as their Leader Jesus Christ had been nineteen centuries ago. These 393 women and 227 men were conveyed from the park in a motorcade of 214 cars to the Washington Park swimming pool, where three lines of baptizers were ready to immerse them as John the Baptist had immersed Jesus. Besides the many spectators present at the pool as witnesses, three television company photographers were on hand taking pictures. ABC later telecast over its 36 stations a minute of scenes at the baptismal site. Large-size pictures of the baptism also were spread out over the pages of later issues of newspapers.

Today, after overcoming some difficulty with electrical union officials, the ground-level system of loud-speakers was installed by the assembly’s own experts, and the transmission of the speeches to the conventioners was made more satisfactory. Speaking of sound, many whose ears were dead to sound got the benefit of the speeches by a Canadian witness who translated them into sign language to the occupants of the section reserved for deaf-mutes. Thus, quite literally, ‘in that day the deaf heard the words of the book’.—Isa. 29:18.

Friday ended with 24,793 listening most attentively to a speech by the president against spiritism. The unfolding of the subject “Triumphing over Wicked Spirit Forces” gripped them, but they were not too absorbed to break out in applauses, and the release of the ninety-six-page booklet What Do the Scriptures Say About “Survival After Death”? brought forth a climax of applauses. The keen appreciation of the attractive new booklet was disclosed by the conventioners’ taking up the complete stock of 43,000 copies within the next twenty-four hours.

The next day the Chicago assembly was no exception to the world-wide rule. For it also Saturday was Magazine Day. While others were out in the magazine work afield that morning, the president conducted a meeting with applicants for full-time service at the Brooklyn Bethel and for missionary training at the Watchtower Bible School of Gilead. This was followed by the meeting of congregation servants along with the circuit servants and district servants. The spiritual shepherds of God’s flock are men of great responsibility involving the eternal life of God’s sheep, and so they were properly given special attention and instruction regarding the duties and obligations of their office. This morning these special servants gathered in the sections of the grandstand immediately in front of the flower-bedecked speakers’ stand; and any others of the conventioners who wanted to were permitted to listen in and hear the admonition that was given to their servants by the president.

A special revelation of Bible truth awaited the assembly this afternoon. The president’s announced theme was, “Jehovah Is in His Holy Temple” and 28,617 were attentive to hear it discussed. For the first time it was made clear to their understanding that it was Jehovah God himself who came to his spiritual temple in 1918, accompanied by his Messenger of the covenant, in fulfillment of the prophecy of Malachi 3:1. The solemn significance of Jehovah’s presence at his temple since then opened up to their understanding, for Jehovah was fulfilling his warning to be a “swift witness” against all wrongdoers among those claiming to be his people. Divine prophecy had declared that the worship of the living and true God must be exalted above everything else on earth, and this requirement hundreds of thousands of His witnesses out of all nations were now fulfilling. As the listeners were lifted to this elevated plane of thought, the president crowned his speech by holding aloft and announcing the new, bright-yellow book entitled “You May Survive Armageddon into God’s New World.” With applause and gladness they received it to themselves, and the entire supply of 43,000 copies was quickly taken up by the conventioners.

Conventioners kept pouring into the assembly place, and by the close of the day’s program the audience had risen to 30,394 to hear the final talk “Avoiding the Wine Press of God’s Wrath,” by Vice-President F. W. Franz.

The ideal convention weather continued throughout the fifth and concluding day. The spiritual menu of the feast on Sunday morning offered experience accounts and three meaty talks until noon, and 27,118 enjoyed it. The impressively advertised public lecture “World Conquest Soon—by God’s Kingdom” was next on the program, at 3 p.m. The newspapers had announced that 40,000 were expected for this the first delivery of this subject. But expectations were exceeded. Under a cloudless sky, bathed with sunshine, 42,116 assembled, an increase of 11,722 more than last night. This meant a gratifying turnout of spiritually hungry and thirsty people. The portion that the president speaker delivered to them regarding God’s world-conquering kingdom was satiating and they repeatedly applauded in appreciation. After showing them what grand things world conquest soon by God’s kingdom could mean for them according to their God-directed decision, the speaker introduced amid further applause the thirty-two-page booklet with the entire speech in print, to be distributed free to all his audience. He exhorted them to make a serious study of it with their own Bible, of whatever translation, and then to share the good news with others. A stock of 55,000 copies was on hand, but it quickly melted away into eager hands.

After a brief intermission the registrar of the Watchtower Bible School of Gilead gave the timely talk on “Keeping Up with the Truth.” Then the “closing remarks” by the Society’s president, Brother Knorr, followed. Evidently many of the public remained to hear this farewell address, for 30,893 heard these extemporaneous remarks and afterward felt that they would not have missed it for anything. Thoughtfully Brother Knorr took occasion to warn of two lines of attack by Satan the adversary today, (1) persecution by oppressive government and (2) materialism, which prevails in prosperous parts of the world. The latter attack is more subtle than the former; many are yielding to the latter, while others are defeating the heavy persecution by keeping their integrity toward God as his dedicated witnesses.

Neither must we yield to worldliness; the New World society of Jehovah’s witnesses must not let itself be overwhelmed by any worldliness that the inflowing “other sheep” might tend to bring in with them in their immaturity. Rather than let them change us into worldlings, we must help in their being changed to meet God’s standards. There is no place for a socializing “entertainment servant” in the New World society and its congregations. Spiritual interests come first and exclusively in Kingdom Halls.

Materialism may have cut down the number in the ranks of our full-time pioneers, but faith in God’s promises and an unwavering persistence such as were exhibited in the true-life stories, “Pursuing My Purpose in Life,” will help to build up our pioneer ranks. By our spreading the sweet odor of the knowledge of God to others we can be an acceptable fragrance to him and a life-giving odor to true seekers of God. By all five releases made at the assembly God has further equipped us to spread this vital odor to them.

The increase in the number of those reporting activity in spreading the knowledge of God in the month of April this past service year has been outstanding, a world-wide increase of 19 per cent, to raise the figure to 625,256 publishers in lands on both sides of the iron curtain; and there ought to be a corresponding increase in the number of full-time pioneers. As foretold in Isaiah’s prophecy, vast multitudes from all nations are now going up to the house of Jehovah on the mountaintop, to worship him. To take care of the spiritual needs of these and of untold numbers expected yet to come, the Watch Tower Society is expanding its building program in El Salvador, in Costa Rica, in Canada and in the United States, at an expense of millions of dollars. There is no excuse for idleness on the part of anyone in Jehovah’s service, and our remaining opportunities before Armageddon are great.

The coming assemblies in the series were mentioned, and by its applause the Chicago assembly voted to send its love and greetings to all other assemblies and to all the brothers back home by those in attendance at this assembly. There were also words of appreciation, heartily endorsed by applause, for the management of the baseball park, for the hospitable people of Chicago who had given lodging to conventioners and, not to be overlooked, for our dear brothers who at the convention had volunteered for the many departments of service that were necessary to the successful operation of the assembly. Some time after six p.m. grateful song by thousands of blended voices ascended heavenward and the president offered a fervent prayer and the Chicago assembly ended under the cloudless dome of heaven.

The Chicago assembly manifested Jehovah’s blessing upon all the planning and arrangement for the entire series of thirteen assemblies now begun. It set the pattern for the whole series, not only as to the common program of rich spiritual provisions but also as to the grand success with which each assembly was to be crowned.

(To be continued)

[Footnotes]

[Picture on page 732]

Speakers’ platform at Chicago assembly

Announcements

ACTIVELY TRUSTING JEHOVAH FREE FROM FEAR—Isa. 12:2, AS.

In their active service for Jehovah God, his witnesses can truly say, “Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and will not be afraid: for Jehovah, even Jehovah, is my strength and song; and he is become my salvation.” With this assurance and appreciating that the day is here for Jehovah to vindicate his word and name, his witnesses press on in Kingdom service. During December they will offer a volume of the New World Translation of the Scriptures and a book on a contribution of $2.

1956 YEARBOOK AND CALENDAR

The report of faithful service to Jehovah God brings joy to persons of good will. During the service year of 1955 Jehovah’s witnesses have piled up an amazing record of theocratic activity because their message, their commission, their work, their doctrine is built on Jehovah’s Sacred Record, the Bible. As compiled in the 1956 Yearbook of Jehovah’s Witnesses, it presents a thrilling picture of a people in modern times fulfilling the commandment of Jesus: “Go therefore and make disciples of people of all the nations.” Send 50c for this annual report. The 1956 calendar is also available with the encouraging Bible text of the year beautifully illustrated. They are 25c each, or 20c each if five or more are mailed to one address.

“WATCHTOWER” STUDIES FOR THE WEEKS

January 1: Avoiding the Wine Press of God’s Anger, and Avoidance Inside the Cities of Refuge, ¶1-5. Page 712.

January 8: Avoidance Inside the Cities of Refuge, ¶6-18, and Keeping Within the Bounds of Refuge, ¶1-3. Page 718.

January 15: Keeping Within the Bounds of Refuge, ¶4-21. Page 724.

Check Your Memory

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

✔ How Jehovah’s witnesses’ home Bible study work really got under way? P. 708, ¶1.

✔ How God explains the sacredness of human blood? P. 712, ¶2.

✔ What purpose the ancient Israelite cities of refuge served? P. 718, ¶6.

✔ How, at least by association, all persons share bloodguilt today? P. 721, ¶15.

✔ What special triumph of God’s kingdom occurred in 1955? P. 730, ¶1.

✔ How many persons attended the assembly of Jehovah’s witnesses in Chicago? P. 735, ¶2.