The Watchtower — June 1, 1956

Is Sincerity Enough?

MANY persons say that if you are sincere in your belief that is enough. They argue that divine judgment swings on the hinges of sincerity rather than correctness. It is not so much a matter of right belief as it is of sincere belief. Sincerity is necessary, but is it enough?

“There is a way which seems right to a man, but its end is the way to death.” The wrong way does not lead to the right destination just because the lost one is sincere.—Prov. 14:12, RS.

Jesus said to his followers: “The hour is coming when everyone that kills you will imagine he has rendered a sacred service to God.” Will Jehovah approve the killing of Christians on the grounds of sincerity?—John 16:2, NW.

The apostle Paul said of those who were sincere but incorrect: “I bear them witness that they have a zeal for God; but not according to accurate knowledge; for, because of not knowing the righteousness of God but seeking to establish their own, they did not subject themselves to the righteousness of God.”—Rom. 10:2, 3, NW.

These persons were sincere; they were also stubborn. They were so intent in proving that they were right they had no time to learn what God said was right. They were not sincerely meek, but were sincerely stubborn, idolizing their own will and way and refusing to subject themselves to the will and way of God.

Sincerity is necessary, but it is not enough. Those who are truly sincere will change when they learn they are wrong. Because of their sincerity Jehovah extends them mercy. So it was in the case of the apostle Paul, who wrote: “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.

Jehovah requires more than sincerity: “What doth Jehovah require of thee, but to do justly, and to love goodness, and to walk humbly with thy God?” How is it possible to do justly and to practice goodness without knowing what Jehovah considers just and good? How can one walk humbly with God unless he knows the way or path of God? He cannot walk stubbornly in his own way and at the same time walk humbly in God’s way.—Mic. 6:8, Da.

A person who is truly sincere will change when he is proved to be wrong. How sincere, actually, is the person who is shown from his own Bible that “the soul that sinneth, it shall die,” yet continues to believe the soul is immortal? How sincere is the one who still believes God and Christ are equal in a trinity after reading in his own Bible Jesus’ words: “My Father is greater than I”? How sincere is the one who is shown from his own Bible that “the wages of sin is death,” but continues to argue that sin’s punishment is eternal torment?—Ezek. 18:4; John 14:28; Rom. 6:23.

Is it not possible that many who say sincerity is enough are just wanting to take their own course while giving it the stamp of God’s approval? It is so easy to go your own way complacently while hiding behind the claim of sincerity. Oftentimes stubbornness lurks behind the cloak of sincerity. When it does not, when the sincerity is genuine through and through, its possessor changes when ways are proved wrong. If there is no effort to learn what is right, if there is no change when belief is proved wrong, then there was never present any genuine sincerity.

Jesus and the Jews

Why did the Jews stumble over Jesus nineteen centuries ago? Why is he now an even greater stumbling stone to the Jews? What facts are a key to open minds long closed on this subject?

JESUS could turn water into wine. He could stop the wind and calm the waves and walk on water. He could feed thousands with a few loaves and fishes. He could cure cripples, cleanse lepers, make the blind see and the deaf hear. He could even raise the dead to life.

But he could not convert the Jewish nation.

He did not expect to. He knew that Isaiah had foretold that he would be “for a stone of stumbling and for a rock of offence to both the houses of Israel.” God’s word would not be voided. He expected rejection and persecution and death.—Isa. 8:14.

Nevertheless, Jesus did cause thousands and thousands of individual Jews to switch over from Judaism to Christianity. Christianity rests on a Jewish foundation; all the apostles and early disciples of Jesus were Jews. Though the majority of these Jewish Christians were drawn from the humbler walks of life, many of them were formerly scribes and priests and Pharisees. (Acts 6:7; 15:5) Jewish characteristics have not changed. If racial traits did not prevent thousands from accepting Jesus then, these traits cannot now be rightly blamed for Jewish rejection of Jesus Christ. Why did so many Jews accept him then, but do so few now?

He did perform miracles then that Christians cannot duplicate now. These were impressive and striking and attracted great crowds, but Jesus did not stress the miracles. Miracles inspire awe and amazement and gain attention, but it is the gaining of accurate knowledge that converts, that makes the mind over and changes the personality from old ways of thinking and acting to new ways of Christian thought and conduct. Because more prophecies have been fulfilled now than in Jesus’ day there is more knowledge available for preaching now than there was then, so this should offset the inability to perform miracles today.—Rom. 12:2; Col. 3:9; Prov. 4:18.

If the Jewish nature has not changed, and with more knowledge now, which has more power than miracles to effect a lasting and enduring conversion, why are so few Jews accepting Jesus today? Has something happened between Jesus’ day and ours that explains the increased resistance to accepting Jesus as Messiah? Yes.

ATROCITIES OF THE MIDDLE AGESa

During this period the Roman Catholics ruled in western Europe. They placed oppressive restrictions on the Jews. Jews were limited to certain kinds of employment, could own no landed property, and were officially stamped by the Catholic Church as “perfidious.” They were herded into ghettos to live, which they could leave during the day but had to be back into by nightfall, when a “Christian” guard locked the only gate to the ghetto. They were forced to wear the yellow Jew-badge, about which the Dominican priest Pater Constant wrote: “How was it otherwise possible not to lose sight of the odd companion whom the compassionate hospitality of the church had imposed upon the Christian? Ever since the great betrayal at Mount Calvary the spirit of the Iscariot had infested the Jewish race. In the heart of every Jew there flows a traitor’s blood.”

Jewish children had to attend sessions for Catholic religious instruction, and each week a Catholic teacher was commissioned to preach theology in the synagogues. Many false and ridiculous charges were raised against the Jews, such as when a red bread mold appeared on the wafers used in communion the priests said Jews had stabbed it, killing Christ again and making the wafer bleed. Often Jews were charged with killing Catholic children and using their blood for the passover celebration. These charges tossed like firebrands among the Catholic rabble inflamed them to commit the most horrible outrages against the Jews. Whole Jewish communities were annihilated, thousands of Jews were burned at the stake, massacres made ghetto streets run red with blood.

All of this was done in the name of Jesus. It was to avenge the death of Jesus. Jews were given the ultimatum: accept baptism or be put to death. Their children were stolen from them and baptized, never to be seen again by the parents. Thousands of Jews were forcibly baptized to become nominal Christians only, while thousands of others refused and suffered torturous deaths. When Jews heard the Crusaders were coming they often killed their children and then themselves. Those who did not were trampled under the feet of the horses of these cruel, coarse plunderers, or put to the sword, or burned alive in their homes or synagogues. Many times the record shows that the Jews died martyrs’ deaths with the words “The Lord our God is One” on their lips, a protest against the unscriptural trinity doctrine that Jesus is God. Jews were wrongly charged with deicide, or murder of God.

During the Spanish Inquisition public burning, called auto-da-fé, that is, act of faith, was widely used against the Jews, and one historian writes: “For three centuries Europe witnessed the terrible spectacle of the smoke of carbonized innocent victims ascending to the sky.” Thousands of Jews died in this way, and this diabolical horror was perpetrated as an act of faith! What kind of religious faith would command such acts? Certainly not the faith delivered by Jesus Christ, the meek and lowly one, the one who advocated turning the other cheek, the one who said do not refrain just from murder but even from anger. Yet the history of the Middle Ages is a sickening carnage wreaked on innocent persons by those who claimed that they were thereby serving Jesus! In his name they robbed, plundered, massacred, burned and annihilated hundreds of thousands of persons just because they were Jews. What preposterous, diabolical blasphemy!

In our day one Catholic theologian tried to wash the church’s hands of this blood by saying that in the case of the Inquisition the state executed the sentences. But this church would never let Jews living centuries after Jesus’ death escape responsibility for it by saying the Roman soldiers impaled Christ. In both cases it was the religious leaders that goaded the state into its murderous action. Nor was it Catholicism alone that committed these atrocities against the Jews. In one of his works Martin Luther called the Jews ‘liars, bloodhounds, poisonous otters, spiteful serpents, children of Satan,’ and declared that had he the power he would assemble their scholars and ‘under the threat of tearing their tongues out of their throats’ would make them confess Christian teaching. It is nauseating to read of such human depravity. And as the seemingly endless pages of horror upon horror unfold the senses numb and the mind reels and staggers under the ungodly impact of such inhuman fiendishness.

NO CAUSE FOR STUMBLING

If those so-called “Christians” represented Jesus, can you blame Jews for despising the name? If their efforts to convert are proper missionary activity, can you condemn the Jews for detesting the term missionary? Centuries of persecution and torture and death have rolled over the Jews since Jesus’ day, and these things have been done to Jews in the name of Jesus and in the guise of missionary activity. That is the great difference in the Jews in Jesus’ time and the Jews now; that is why individual Jews accepted him more readily then than they do now.

The Jewish people have been shamefully persecuted and misrepresented. And the most misrepresented Jew of them all is Jesus! He has been grossly misrepresented by the very ones claiming to serve him, to speak for him, but who instead are by their fruits identified as the offspring of Satan. (Matt. 7:20; John 8:44) How could any intelligent person read just one page of Jesus’ words recorded in any one of the Gospels and still think the religious murderers of the Middle Ages represented Christ Jesus? When did he ever assail the Jews with false charges, or rouse rabble elements against them, or forcibly baptize them? When did he ever burn a Jew at the stake for not accepting him as Messiah? By what ridiculous stretch of the imagination, then, can it be said that those who do such things are following in the footsteps of Jesus? Some who have lived in modern times have committed such atrocities against Jews. Who has forgotten Hitler’s attempted genocide of the Jews? He was also a Roman Catholic, never excommunicated despite repeated requests to that effect, and his avowed aim was to reestablish the Holy Roman Empire, an empire characterized by just such Jewish persecution and slaughter that Hitler revived.

None of such fiendishness is representative of Jesus. He was a Jew, showed love toward Jews, confined his preaching to Jews, healed the diseases of many Jews, forgave the sins of many Jews, and when he laid down his life it was for Jews as well as for others. The Jesus of the Bible is so different from the one taught by orthodox religions of Christendom. If Jews will investigate this difference, learn of it, it will chip off much of the falsehood that makes Jesus such a stumbling stone to them. Their cause for stumbling will shrivel. They will see Jesus as he was and is, not as false Christians represent him to be.

WHY THE JEWISH NATION REJECTED JESUS

But why did not the Jewish nation accept Jesus when he came centuries ago? They saw him as he was. They had no false picture of him as Jews today have. Why did they reject him as Messiah? At that time the Jews were restive under Roman domination, were smarting under the Roman yoke. They anticipated a Messiah that would come as a great military figure to smash Roman power and break that yoke from off Jewish necks. Jesus did not measure up to these expectations, these hopes. They were disappointed in him and his talk of submissiveness under Rome displeased them. He exposed the hypocrisy of Jewish religious leaders, which first nettled them and finally enraged them to the point of demanding his death. As an unresisting lamb he was led to the slaughter.

Many prophecies in the Hebrew Scriptures foretold Messiah’s coming. For instance, this Messianic promise: “For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government will be upon his shoulder, and his name will be called ‘Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.’ Of the increase of his government and of peace there will be no end, upon the throne of David, and over his kingdom, to establish it, and to uphold it with justice and with righteousness from this time forth and for evermore.” And this one: “I saw in the night visions, and behold, with the clouds of heaven there came one like a son of man, and he came to the Ancient of Days and was presented before him. And to him was given dominion and glory and kingdom, that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve him; his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom one that shall not be destroyed.”—Isa. 9:6, 7; Dan. 7:13, 14, RS.

In fulfillment of these prophecies the Jews expected a Messiah who would set up a victorious earthly kingdom that would remain forever. But they overlooked this vital point: Messiah was foretold to come twice, once as a sacrifice to die for obedient men, and then as a reigning king over an everlasting government. In their anxiousness to be delivered from Rome and be politically exalted immediately they overlooked the necessity of the first presence and had eyes only for the glorious second presence. They looked for Messiah to come in the clouds of heaven and set up an everlasting earthly government. Instead he came riding on the foal of an ass recommending submission to the Roman yoke!

How unattractive to those Jews! Of him they could well say: “He had no form or comeliness that we should look at him, and no beauty that we should desire him,” and they could add: “He was despised, and we esteemed him not.” These Jewish sentiments for Messiah at his first coming were foretold in the fifty-third chapter of Isaiah, and this chapter goes on to show that Messiah would be led like a lamb to the slaughter “when he makes himself an offering for sin” and when he shall “make many to be accounted righteous; and he shall bear their iniquities.” Only after this first coming and ignominious death as a sin-offering would he come again with everlasting kingdom power, as Jehovah said: “Therefore I will divide him a portion with the great, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong; because he poured out his soul to death, and was numbered with the transgressors; yet he bore the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.”—RS.

So at his first coming Jesus fulfilled Zechariah 9:9, RS: “Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout aloud, O daughter of Jerusalem! Lo, your king comes to you; triumphant and victorious is he, humble and riding on an ass, on a colt the foal of an ass.” And he fulfilled Isaiah chapter 53 about dying a sacrificial death, despised and hated and classed with sinful transgressors.

It is at his second presence that he comes in clouds or in invisible heavenly kingship, and it is then that he is given an everlasting dominion from Jehovah that will administer peace and righteousness to all obedient mankind. Then will Isaiah 9:6, 7 and Daniel 7:13, 14 be fulfilled, at the second presence and not at the first as the Jews nineteen centuries ago erroneously expected. If he had set up his everlasting kingship then, when would the prophecies of Isaiah chapter 53 and Zechariah 9:9 have fulfillment? The Jews back there were looking for the wrong signs, for the wrong presence of Messiah, so they failed to recognize Jesus as Messiah. Nevertheless, thousands of individual Jews did recognize him, accept him, and become the first Christians. Today Jews and others can see the signs Jesus foretold for his second presence, for that time is here.

WITNESSING TO JEWS TODAY

When the apostle Paul witnessed to persons he adapted his words to their needs, to their viewpoints. He kept in mind what their background was. He said: “To the Jews I became as a Jew, that I might gain Jews,” and added: “I have become all things to people of all kinds, that I might by all means save some.” So should we keep in mind the false concept Jews have of Jesus because of past and present lies and atrocities in his name, misrepresenting him. We should rout this false picture, exposing the fraudulent Christians. Show the two comings, and that nineteen centuries ago the Jewish nation rejected Jesus because they looked for the wrong coming. Show the prophecies Jesus fulfilled the first time he came, and the ones now undergoing fulfillment at his second presence. Point out that soon Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and Moses will be back, resurrected to act as princes in the new earth and inherit the promises long ago made to them. Depict the blessed conditions of unity among men then, with health and happiness and everlasting life for all obedient ones.—1 Cor. 9:20, 22, NW.

The Jewish religious leaders of ancient time demanded Jesus’ death as a service to Jehovah God, and Jesus rightly applied Isaiah’s words to them: “You hypocrites, Isaiah aptly prophesied about you, when he said: ‘This people honors me with their lips, yet their hearts are far removed from me. It is in vain that they keep paying respect to me, because they teach commands of men as doctrines.’” (Matt. 15:7-9, NW; Isa. 29:13) Past and present so-called Christians have persecuted and killed Jews and others in the name of Jesus and in imagined service to God, and to them also Isaiah’s above words apply. But many thousands of the common people, Jews, accepted Jesus long ago, and hundreds of thousands of the common people today are accepting him in this time of his second presence.

Talk about Jesus to the Jews. Do not avoid the subject. But show understanding of Jewish thinking, erase the false picture given by false religionists and Crusaders and Inquisitioners, ancient and modern. But talk about Jesus to the Jews, try to remove the cause of stumbling. “There is no salvation in anyone else, for there is not another name under heaven that has been given among men by which we must get saved.”—Acts 4:12, NW.

[Footnotes]

[Picture on page 325]

‘He comes with the clouds of heaven.’—Dan. 7:13, 14.

‘He comes riding on an ass.’—Zech. 9:9.

Luther Fights Then Compromises

MARTIN LUTHER is to be remembered not only as the man who first translated the Bible into German, but as the successful challenger who courageously defied the all-powerful domination of the popes of Rome. Unwittingly Luther lit the match that finally set off the powder barrel of mounting opposition to Catholicism.

Martin Luther was born in 1483 at Eisleben in Prussian Saxony. After a stormy religious career, untouched by the murderous hands of Rome’s agents, Luther died a natural death February 18, 1546. Born a miner’s son, he had had a stern upbringing. Luther’s father was able financially to send him to the well-known University of Erfurt in 1501; in 1505 he graduated with a Master of Arts degree. At the desire of his father, who was somewhat anticlerical, Luther entered Erfurt’s law school in May, 1505. Two months later he suddenly renounced the world and entered the monastery of the Augustinian convent at Erfurt.

In 1507 Luther was consecrated to the Roman Catholic priesthood and later became associated with the teaching staff of the University of Wittenberg. As an Augustinian monk and priest he made a pilgrimage to Rome in 1510. The corruption, irreligion and vice that Luther witnessed among the priests in Rome greatly disturbed him. Years later he said that he would not have missed “seeing Rome for a hundred thousand florins; for I might have felt some apprehension that I had done injustice to the Pope; but as we see, so we speak.”¹

Returning from Rome to Germany he pursued his studies in the Latin Bible that was available to him and also continued to teach theology at Wittenberg University. By the winter of 1512-1513 his inner struggle of conscience became such that he began to make an independent study of basic Catholic teachings. Finally on October 31, 1517, enraged at the Catholic Church’s campaign of selling indulgences, which to him amounted to divine bribery, the selling of forgiveness of sins, Luther nailed his now-famous 95 protests on the church door of Wittenberg. This one act touched off what became known as the Protestant Reformation. Luther’s many delighted friends, eagerly employing the then very new art of printing, quickly reproduced and widely circulated this stirring protest so that within two weeks all Germany was informed and the righteous were moved to indignation and opposition. At last someone had come along with courage to “bell the cat,” that is, to expose publicly the prowling, dangerous catlike papal hierarchy.²

Shocked by this rebellion in Germany, the pope of Rome finally issued a bull of excommunication against Luther in 1520, dismissing him from the Catholic Church. Ignoring this action of the pope, Luther continued as a priest to preach and teach. On December 10, 1520, Luther, in public, spectacularly consigned this papal written decree to the flames. He also released for wide publication his great reform treatises, the Address to the German Nobility, The Babylonic Captivity of the Church and The Freedom of a Christian Man.³

The next year, 1521, Roman emperor Charles V called for an assembly at the city of Worms of high church dignitaries and German princes to hear Luther’s defense against the pope’s orders. After a two-hour defense spoken in German, repeated for two hours in Latin, Luther concluded: “Unless I am convinced by the testimony of Scripture or by an evident reason—for I confide neither in the pope nor in a council alone, since it is certain that they have often erred and contradicted themselves—I am held fast by the Scriptures adduced by me, and my conscience is taken captive by God’s Word, and I neither can nor will revoke anything, seeing that it is not safe or right to act against conscience. God help me. Amen.”⁴

Incidentally, in April, 1523, nine nuns escaped from the convent of Imptsch near Grimma, fled to Wittenberg and appealed to Luther for protection. Among them was nun Catharina von Bora, whom Luther married in 1525, in further defiance of the Catholic Church. In time they came to have six children, three sons and three daughters.⁵

LUTHER’S ORIGINAL DOCTRINAL VIEWS

During the years that followed Luther made the first translation of the entire Bible into German. He also made great progress in his Scriptural studies, coming to some very accurate glimpses of Bible truth. Note the following quotations from Luther’s early works, which were printed and widely distributed.

JEHOVAH: In an exposition of Jeremiah 23:1-8 Luther says: “ . . . but this name Jehovah belongs exclusively to the true God.”—From Ein Epistel aus dem Propheten Jeremia, von Christus reich und Christlichen freyheit, gepredigt durch Mar. Luther, Wittenberg, 1527.

SOUL MORTAL: “I permit the Pope to make articles of faith for himself and his faithful—such as ‘the soul is the substantial form of the human body,’ ‘that the soul is immortal,’ with all those monstrous opinions found in the Roman filth-pile of resolutions.”—From Assertio Omnium Articulorum M. Lutheri, per Bullam Leonis, X (Luther’s Works, Vol. 2, folio 107, Wittenberg, 1562), first published in 1520. Also Zion’s Watch Tower, 1905, p. 228.

DEATH DEFINED: “Therefore the Scripture calls death a sleep. For as one falls asleep, he, when he awakes in the morning, knows nothing about how the falling asleep happened, nor about the sleep itself, nor the awakening, so shall also we on the last day arise with haste and not know either how we came into death or through death.”—Kyrkopost, 1 band., no. 29, par. 9, sid. 259.⁶ See also Watch Tower Reprint, Vol. 1, p. 408.

RESURRECTION: “Hereof it must follow that they who lie in the graveyard and sleep under the ground do not sleep as profound as we do on our beds. For it may happen that your sleep is so profound that you must be called ten times before you hear once. But the dead will hear at the first calling of Christ, and awake, as we here see of this young man and of Lazarus.”—Evang. Luk. 7. 11-17, par. 8.⁶

STATE BETWEEN DEATH AND RESURRECTION: “Let this be unto you an excellent alchemy and a masterpiece that does not turn copper or lead into gold for you, but changes death into a sleep and your grave into a sweet room of rest, and all the time elapsing between Abel’s death and the last day into a short little while. The Scripture gives this consolation everywhere.”—Kyrkopost, 1: a band., no. 109, par. 39-47, sid. 434-436.⁶

TRUTH SACRIFICED FOR A COMPROMISE

Neither Luther nor his present-day admirers have held fast to these and many more original Scriptural teachings advocated by Luther. Regrettably, those admirers of his have followed a course of watering down and compromise.

For example, by 1530 Luther’s friend Melanchthon, who was a Greek scholar, had persuaded him to be party to a proposal now known as the Augsburg Confession. Melanchthon wrote up this creedlike document and presented it at Augsburg before the assembly of Emperor Charles V together with his princely and hierarchic corulers to effect a reconciliation between the vast number of followers of Luther and the Roman Catholic Church. In this way Melanchthon and Luther hoped to bring about an internal cleansing of the papal church by inducing her to reform some of her ways. But the assembly flatly rejected this proposal. Luther’s supporters were left holding the bag of compromise, which was full of half truths and repudiations of some of Luther’s earlier right views.

The Augsburg Confession, in part, says concerning the trinity and souls of the wicked suffering eternally: “Our churches, with common consent, do teach, that the decree of the Council of Nicaea concerning the Unity of the Divine Essence and concerning the Three Persons, is true . . . of the same essence and power, who also are coeternal, the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost . . . that, at the Consummation of the world, Christ shall appear for judgment and shall raise up all the dead; He shall give to the godly and elect eternal life and everlasting joys, but ungodly men and the devils He shall condemn to be tormented without end.”—Articles I and XVII.⁷

Upon this sacrifice by compromise, the Augsburg Confession, many of the present-day separate Lutheran sects were founded. Thus Luther’s great fight for truth was largely marred by unscriptural compromises.

[References]

¹ History of the Christian Church by Schaff, Vol. VI, pp. 105, 109, 111, 112, 125, 126, 130.

² Ibid., pp. 135, 156.

³ Ibid., pp. 206, 213, 220, 227, 247.

⁴ Ibid., pp. 287, 305.

⁵ Ibid., pp. 456, 462.

⁶ Luther and The Final Reformation by J. Lee, pp. 30, 31.

⁷ The Making and Meaning of the Augsburg Confession by C. Bergendoff, 1930, pp. 33, 76.

Wielding the Spiritual Sword Against Wicked Spirit Forces

WITH but few exceptions survival after death is believed in by Protestant and Catholic and Jew, as well as by the countless Oriental and primitive religions. That is why many bereaved persons turn to spiritualism for comfort, hoping to get in touch with their dead loved ones. At times they seem to succeed. Materialists, denying both the possibility of any survival after death and the existence of spirit entities, have no satisfactory explanation of spiritualistic phenomena.a

The Bible alone has a satisfactory explanation, it showing that there is a case of mistaken identity. In brief, it tells that God created invisible creatures long before he made the earth and man and that one of these rebelled at the time Adam and Eve were in Eden, making himself into Satan the Devil. In Noah’s day other spirit creatures joined Satan in his rebellion, thus making themselves demons. Since the Deluge all these have been confined in a state of darkness known as Tartarus. These, by impersonating the dead, would give the lie to the Bible’s plain statement that “the dead know not anything.”—Ezek. 28:14, 15; 2 Pet. 2:4, 5; Eccl. 9:5, AS.

The Israelites were forbidden to have anything to do with demonism; Jesus when on earth repeatedly cast out evil spirits from possessed persons; and Paul warned that the “practice of spiritism” will debar one from God’s kingdom.—Lev. 19:31; Gal. 5:20, NW.

As dedicated Christians who desire God’s approval and life in God’s new world not only must we avoid spiritism ourselves, but we must wield “the sword of the spirit, that is, God’s word,” “against the governments, against the authorities, against the world-rulers of this darkness, against the wicked spirit forces in the heavenly places.” That means to use Bible truth to expose the lies behind which spiritism as well as all other false teachings operates.—Eph. 6:17, 12, NW.

With strong confidence in the Bible’s authenticity we can therefore urge the people to consult it rather than the dead for enlightenment. (Isa. 8:19, 20) And God’s Word plainly shows that at creation “man came to be a living soul,” that “the soul that sins shall die,” and that in death “man has no advantage over the beasts.” It also shows that only Jehovah God originally had immortality and that this gift he is bestowing upon a select few, including his only begotten Son, and that in his due time “all those in the memorial tombs will hear [Jesus’] voice and come out,” either to a resurrection of life or to one of judgment.—Gen. 2:7, NW; Ezek. 18:4; Eccl. 3:19, RS; John 5:28, 29, NW.

By diligently and skillfully wielding the spiritual sword against wicked spirit forces we shall “let God be found true, though every man be found a liar,” and we shall be fulfilling our commission to “comfort all that mourn.” (Rom. 3:4, NW; Isa. 61:2) The sword of the spirit is not all that we need. No, we must “put on the complete suit of armor from God,” and that includes having our “loins girded about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness.” Also we must have our feet shod with the equipment of the good news of peace and must take up the large shield of faith and the helmet of salvation. And last, but not least, we must keep on praying, looking to God for guidance, help and protection. Thus we shall triumph in our warfare against wicked spirit forces.—Eph. 6:11-20, NW.

[Footnotes]

Pursuing My Purpose in Life

As told by Harry W. Arnott

THE joys and blessings of the April 3, 1955, talk and the activity that followed, and the Memorial season with its evident blessing from Jehovah, have made me want to put in writing my story. It begins around July, 1939, for it was then that, during a visit to our home by my grandmother, I first got to know of the truth from her. And right from the start I got to learn some lessons that have stood me in good stead during all the years since. Granny had been active in the witness work since 1915, yet during all that time from 1915 to 1939 she had seen little, if any, direct fruits from her Kingdom-preaching. So you can imagine her joy at helping me to take my stand. Since then she has had other like blessings, but her patience during those years was a real example to me. She gave me good Scriptural counsel also. I well remember her taking me aside one day, just after I had begun to take an active share in the service, and before she concluded her stay with us, and saying: “Here is something always to keep in mind: never allow yourself to become discouraged or stumbled by something one of the brothers may say or do. Remember that you are serving Jehovah, not men. If you stick to Jehovah and his organization you will not go wrong.”

In March, 1940, I was immersed, enrolling the following June as a pioneer. From then on I really began to pursue my purpose in life, and in all the years since I have been most thankful that all my energies have been in Kingdom service.

I know that in these days there is a need in many lands for one to have a part-time job to care for the necessities of living when one is a general pioneer; but right from the start I was grateful that I was able to get along without the need for such. Not that I had any finances of my own, or any outside help. I did not. I believe that I had about £6 (about seventeen dollars) as my total wealth when I entered the pioneer service at the age of 18, and I received no financial assistance from home. Some may feel that was foolhardy. Maybe it was; but I trusted in Jehovah, and though I learned to be “low on provisions” sometimes, yet I was not without what was essential. Looking back, I’m glad it was that way, for so many seem to have missed the joys of pioneer service because there were certain things, certain material possessions, a certain amount of money laid up, that were needed before the step of pioneering could be taken—and they just never seem to get to take the step. So I never did take a part-time job. But later, in 1942, I was assigned to special pioneer work in Britain as part of the expansion into isolated territory, and the Society’s financial provision was really appreciated.

While I was consistently pursuing my purpose in life, the only break in the past fifteen years of pioneer service was involuntary. That was during the war years when I wanted to continue my ministry but others thought differently and put me in prison. I really count myself fortunate to have shared this kind of experience with other brothers and sisters, who also had objection to breaking their exclusive devotion to Jehovah. It proved to be a most strengthening experience, although a test. With so much time on my hands (the first seventeen weeks I was locked up on my own for nineteen out of twenty-four hours, and even during the five hours of communal labor I was not allowed to talk to anyone) I had time for meditation. Then all the doubts I had ever had about the truth came back to mind: ‘Was I throwing away my life for a pipe dream?’ ‘Was I just being carried away by some youthful emotional experience?’ ‘Just why was I going through with these experiences?’ Then what Paul wrote also came to mind: “Keep testing whether you are in the faith, keep proving what you yourselves are.” And, despite my many shortcomings, it was the greatest encouragement to find that in my heart I did love the truth and wanted to please Jehovah. Now I had no doubts that it was the truth, and though I might fail, the truth would endure; so with Jehovah’s help I determined to stick to the truth.

What helped at that time was that along with these prison experiences had gone some wonderful times in the service in the special pioneer work. One particular assignment to isolated territory always sticks in my mind. I had a fine partner, who since has gone through Gilead, along with his wife, and they now are in South Africa. The Christian love and companionship we shared was a wonderful blessing to both of us and made the work all the more a delight. Within weeks of arriving in that isolated assignment we had twenty studies going in the one town, and within the year it was possible to organize a new congregation. Seeing the “productive seed” of God’s Word thus reproduce in such a short time was a happy thrill. There was hard work along with the joyful experiences, of course, including cycling some sixty miles some days to care for studies in the scattered farms up in the hills. But that taste of real pioneering quickened the desire to do missionary service some day, Jehovah being willing. Quite vividly I recall cycling home around midnight after ten or twelve hours’ service. As we went along we would talk over the blessings of the day, or often marvel at the wonders of the universe, as the stars and moon shone at their best in that crisp, clear air of northern Scotland.

When I first heard of Gilead I wanted to go. I guess there was the thought of “going places” in the spirit of adventure. But I felt, too, that it was the only logical step to take—to register for Gilead when the opportunity came. If I held back I felt I would be putting a restriction on the organization’s use of me. If I did register and was not called, then that was that. But it certainly is best to let Jehovah direct us in our assignments, and since I had dedicated my life to do Jehovah’s will, I could think of no valid reason for ceasing to pursue my purpose in life.

Next to dedication and going into the full-time service, Gilead was the most important step in my life. So much has been said about the training at Gilead that there is little I can add. But I believe that it was not my learning much that was new that impressed me most (although I did learn many new things), but rather that Gilead was like taking the truth and handling it anew, bringing together the many things learned (and mostly dimmed from lack of use) and fitting them together into one brilliant, clear picture, thus deepening more than ever before our appreciation and understanding of the truth.

After Gilead I was sent to Northern Rhodesia, and here until now I have been for nearly eight years. And what eventful years! On arrival I did some special pioneer work, having some happiest months in seeing many Europeans here accept the truth. It was a privilege to help establish new congregations. At first, however, I felt the climate might get in the way of my keeping on in this assignment. To most folks it is an equable climate, but I found it most enervating. I began to get bouts of heat exhaustion. Once while speaking at an assembly I collapsed in the middle of the talk. Though I was tempted to ask for a change of assignment, I’m glad so far that I didn’t ask definitely to be moved. It hasn’t turned out as bad as I had imagined. Once again it has been the spiritual blessings in the assignment that have encouraged me to keep going. If it wasn’t for that and Jehovah’s help by his spirit and his organization, I might have quit, for the flesh is weak—I know mine is. But just to be at one of the assemblies of the African brothers here, to listen to the singing, to have the privilege of talking to them and to see how eagerly and intently they follow each point of counsel and instruction as the program develops, makes it all worthwhile.

After being here for six years I got married to a graduate of the same class of Gilead. We both worked at the branch. There followed the happiest months of my life, sharing a blessed companionship with a lovely girl wholly devoted to Jehovah and an ideal helpmate. We had waited a long time, both of us, to share such a happy companionship and we were determined by Jehovah’s help to use this added blessing to his praise. Then, just five months after we were married, my wife was killed in a car accident. That was a little less than a year ago, so the event still is easy to recall. I was in the accident myself, but escaped without any serious injury. I was able to resume work at the branch within a day or two. But for a while I was stunned by the tragedy. It was then I learned to appreciate what a wonderful blessing the truth is, and especially to have the privilege of full-time service. There is no doubt that true spiritual healing comes from Jehovah, and the closer we are to him and his organization, the more we are actively participating in the things of the New World society, the more effective is the healing.

So here I am in Northern Rhodesia after seven and a half years of varied experiences, all of which have strengthened my hope and trust in Jehovah. I know that it has not been in my own strength that I have kept on in full-time service. There is the temptation (and I fall into it sometimes) of being self-reliant, instead of relying entirely on Jehovah. On the other hand, there is the danger of becoming despondent, feeling incapable of handling an assignment—again not relying on Jehovah. So I have been especially thankful these past years for the continual counsel from the ‘faithful and discreet slave,’ to help us always to look to Jehovah, giving the best we can and leaving the results to him; for he is the One who can keep us in his service. Thankfully rejoicing now in my privilege as branch servant, my desire is to continue in full-time service right on down till Armageddon, and, of course, beyond, in the new world, by Jehovah’s undeserved kindness, and to do so in whatever capacity Jehovah’s organization wants to use me. I hope I shall have the necessary health and strength to do that and, above all, keep the right condition of heart and mind, following along wherever Jehovah through his reigning King, Christ Jesus, leads his people. I am glad I started the pioneer work and pursued my purpose in life. Jehovah has certainly added his blessing.

Keep Pace with the New World Society

“We have left all things and followed you.”—Matt. 19:27, NW.

1. What is the New World society, and why is it imperative that lovers of righteousness keep pace with it?

THE New World society is an expanding society of ministers, extending its influence to the ends of the inhabited earth. It is a living, moving, breathing organization, whose spiritual prosperity is unequaled in the history of Christianity. Everywhere it turns, its influence exerted inspires the attention of honest-hearted people. It is a beacon light in this dark world, holding forth words of hope and life to all who come within its borders. It is imperative today that those who wish to live in the new world of righteousness keep pace with the New World society. Why? Because, soon now, it will usher all its members safely through the greatest of all tribulations, the war of Armageddon, and bring them into a bright new world of God’s making, where mankind will enjoy everlasting peace, prosperity and happiness.—Matt. 24:21, NW.

2. (a) Why can we say that Jehovah is behind the New World society? (b) In what way does the New World society reflect the mind of Jehovah?

² Behind the success of this wonder-working organization is its Builder and Maker, Jehovah God. He alone could conceive such a marvelous arrangement for the preservation of his people. He alone has the power to sustain so great an undertaking during these perilous times. And he alone has the wisdom and spirit to direct it to accomplish his purpose according to his divine will. Therefore Jehovah is the One responsible for its being, its phenomenal growth and its success. Rightly then, all praise and honor go to him. As the apostle Paul so aptly stated: “What, then, is Apollos? Yes, what is Paul? Ministers through whom you became believers, even as the Lord granted each one. I planted, Apollos watered, but God kept making it grow; so that neither is he that plants anything nor is he that waters, but God who makes it grow. Now he that plants and he that waters are one, but each person will receive his own reward according to his own labor. For we are God’s fellow workers. You people are God’s field under cultivation, God’s building.” Being God’s building, his “field under cultivation,” the New World society reflects the mind of Jehovah toward mankind, by expanding true worship in the earth, by moving ahead with increased knowledge, by providing for the spiritual growth and prosperity, by keeping step with its head, Christ Jesus, who is showing the way unto the perfect day.—1 Cor. 3:5-9, NW; Ps. 127:1.

3. How has Jehovah inspired hope in the new world, and how has this hope influenced men?

³ Before man could ever expect a new world, Jehovah God began to build its foundations and inspire hope in it. He moved men to write and to utter prophecies concerning the world to come wherein righteousness is to dwell. These prophecies became a source of immeasurable joy, hope and courage to men of good will in every generation. They gave men the needed impetus to move ahead in faith and to look forward to their ultimate fulfillment. When Jehovah commanded Abram: “Go your way out of your country and from your relatives and from the house of your father to the country that I shall show you,” Abram unhesitatingly obeyed, because he believed God’s promise of a new world. Paul tells us that Abraham obeyed God “in going out into a place which he was going to receive as an inheritance, and he went out although not knowing where he was going. By faith he resided temporarily in the land of the promise as in a foreign land, and dwelt in tents with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the very same promise. For he was awaiting the city having real foundations and the builder and creator of which is God.” It was Abraham’s great desire to live in Jehovah’s new world of promise that enabled him to leave his homeland and content himself with life as a temporary resident, in tents, so that he could inherit the promise. Sarah, his wife, willingly joined him in his sojourns, thus displaying her faith in God’s promise. Through faith they walked ahead to a new land with hope in a new world.—Gen. 12:1-3; Heb. 11:8-10, NW.

4-6. (a) Who were others that regarded this promise of a new world? (b) How did Jesus demonstrate his willingness to share in Jehovah’s promise?

⁴ The question remains, Are we willing to do the same, that is, to exercise the same faith and willingness in God’s promise as did Abraham and his wife Sarah? The fact that Abraham did not inherit the promise in his lifetime did not deter Isaac or Jacob from following Abraham’s footsteps in exercising faith in God and from recommending the same course to their children. Jesus said of Abraham: “Abraham your father rejoiced greatly in the prospect of seeing my day, and he saw it and rejoiced.” So great was the faith of these patriarchs in God’s promise that they were willing to give all things, even their very lives, that they might inherit the promise of the new world.—John 8:56; Heb. 11:39, NW.

⁵ Moses exercised the same faith in God’s promise. He who had been reared in the courts of Pharaoh “esteemed the reproach of the Christ as riches greater than the treasures of Egypt.” Moses responded to God’s call when eighty years of age, leaving the life of a shepherd behind to become Jehovah’s witness to Pharaoh and a leader of the nation of Israel. In Israel we have an example of how a whole nation found hope in Jehovah’s promise of a new world. Paul speaks of a great “cloud of witnesses” putting aside every weight so that they could become sharers in the promise.—Heb. 11:26, 27; 12:1, NW.

⁶ Chief of this great “cloud of witnesses” was Christ Jesus: “Who, although he was existing in God’s form, gave no consideration to a seizure, namely, that he should be equal to God. No, but he emptied himself and took a slave’s form and came to be in the likeness of men. More than that, when he found himself in fashion as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient as far as death, yes, death on a torture stake. For this very reason also God exalted him to a superior position.” Jesus gave his all, which was more by far than all the human race could possibly give, so that he could share in Jehovah’s promise of a new world. He illustrated his willingness to do this in several parables: “The kingdom of the heavens is like a treasure hidden in the field, which a man found and hid, and for the joy he has he goes and sells what things he has and buys that field. Again the kingdom of the heavens is like a traveling merchant seeking fine pearls. Upon finding one pearl of high value, away he went and promptly sold all the things he had and bought it.” So completely had Jesus divested himself that he was able to say to a certain scribe that desired to follow him: “Foxes have dens and birds of heaven have roosts, but the Son of man has nowhere to lay down his head.” Rather than bemoaning the loss of “all things” Jesus recommended this course to his followers, if they would make the Kingdom.—Phil. 2:5-9; Matt. 13:44-46; 8:20; Col. 1:15, 16, NW.

7. (a) For attaining the new world, what advice did Jesus give? (b) What does it mean to follow Christ?

⁷ Jesus knew what it would take to conquer this world; so he said: “If anyone wants to come after me, let him disown himself and pick up his torture stake and follow me continually. For whoever wants to save his soul will lose it; but whoever loses his soul for my sake will find it. For what benefit will it be to a man if he gains the whole world but forfeits his soul? or what will a man give in exchange for his soul? For the Son of man is destined to come in the glory of his Father with his angels, and then he will recompense each one according to his behavior.” Therefore, to follow Jesus Christ means to practice Christianity; it means a disowning of oneself in a life of dedication to the principles of Christianity. It calls for taking up the “torture stake” and partaking of some of the hardships and sufferings Jesus left behind. It means the forsaking of one’s own personal ambitions and desires to accumulate wealth and prestige and power. The prophet Job said: “If I have made gold my hope, and have said to the fine gold, Thou art my confidence . . . I should have denied the God that is above.” So to follow Christ means to give up the old world, the whole world and life, if necessary. It calls for full allegiance and loyalty to Christianity, such as a soldier gives to the cause of independence and freedom. Paul makes this point plain, saying: “No man serving as a soldier involves himself in the commercial businesses of life, in order that he may meet the approval of the one who enrolled him as a soldier.” Christians following Christ must stand ready to respond for duty with the same willingness of the prophet Isaiah, who, when hearing the question: “Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?” replied: “Here am I; send me.” Having no attachments to this old world he was free to respond to Jehovah’s call. This was the enviable lot that faithful men, such as Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and others, had through their faith. This must be the lot of all those who keep pace with the New World society.—Matt. 16:24-27, NW; Job 31:24, 28, AS; 2 Tim. 2:4, NW; Isa. 6:8.

CALLED ON TO GIVE ALL

8. What did Jesus call on his followers to do, and how did they respond?

⁸ When establishing Christianity Jesus Christ called on his followers to exhibit this same faith, the faith of Abraham. And his immediate apostles showed they had this faith. Note particularly with what willingness they responded to Jesus’ call, “Come after me.” The inspired account says of Peter and Andrew, who were fishing with their nets at the time Jesus beckoned to them: “At once abandoning the nets, they followed him.” Of James and John, who were called when repairing their nets, the record says: “At once leaving the boat and their father, they followed him.” When a disciple desired to turn back to bury his father, Jesus replied: “Keep following me, and let the dead bury their dead.” The thought here is that they let nothing stand in their way; occupation, family, friends were not considered all-essentials. These were placed in a secondary position and that more desirable thing, the kingdom of God, was placed first in their lives. There were no months of saving before leaving their jobs, nor a cautious weighing of matters to see whether it would be worth it or not. Nor did the apostles question, What is there in it for me? Rather, their response was immediate, displaying great faith in Jehovah, his Son and the arrangement made for their continued existence.—Matt. 4:18-22; 8:22, NW.

9. How were they to evaluate their Kingdom privileges?

⁹ Jesus had impressed his followers with the value of making the Kingdom. To attain it would be worth all cost. He emphasized the need of self-sacrifice, hard work, endurance and patience to attain the goal of faith, which is the salvation of our souls. He stressed that to follow him continually would mean for one to be free from worldly ties and obligations. Food, clothing, shelter and the other necessities of life were made incidentals. “For all these are the things the nations are eagerly pursuing. For your heavenly Father knows you need all these things. Keep on, then, seeking first the kingdom and his righteousness, and all these other things will be added to you. So, never be anxious about the next day, for the next day will have its own anxieties. Sufficient for each day is its own evil.” The principal thing was the Kingdom; in comparison all other things faded into nothingness. Paul expressed how he felt about it: “On account of him [Christ] I have taken the loss of all things and I consider them as a lot of refuse, that I may gain Christ.” And the apostle John reasoned in this way: “The world is passing away and so is its desire, but he that does the will of God remains forever.” What better reason could be given as to why to abandon this world and dedicate oneself completely and unreservedly for the kingdom of God? If it took absolute faith and trust in Jehovah and Christ Jesus to keep pace with the growing Christian church of the first century, does it require less today?—Matt. 19:27; 6:32-34; Phil. 3:8; 1 John 2:17, NW.

10. What has been the result of faithful response to the command to “make disciples of peoples of all the nations”?

¹⁰ Faithful obedience to the commission to go and “make disciples of people of all the nations” has caused the Christian congregation to grow until today it is represented in all the earth by devoted ministers declaring this good news of the established kingdom of God. Particularly in the last thirty-seven years hundreds of millions have come to hear of the divine government of the new world. Out of these millions, hundreds of thousands have recognized this to be God’s life-giving message for this day. These have responded with the same faith and joy as did the prophets of old and the disciples of Jesus, and have dedicated their lives to God through Jesus Christ and have joined in holding aloft this brilliant torch of the Kingdom. All together, these Christian witnesses form a society no part of this old world. They are for God’s new world of righteousness; therefore they form a New World society.—Matt. 28:19, 20; 24:14, NW.

11. Are members of the New World society required to make the same sacrifices as Christian witnesses of the first century?

¹¹ Now as members of the New World society, are they required to make the same sacrifices and display the same faith as those Christian witnesses of the first century? Yes. Because there is no separate set of rules of conduct or of ministry for Christians of any century. They all follow the same Exemplar, Christ Jesus. Peter wrote: “In fact, to this course you were called, because even Christ suffered for you, leaving you a model for you to follow his steps closely.” Paul admonished: “Become imitators of me, even as I am of Christ.” And again: “Be imitators of those who through faith and patience inherit the promises.” “For all the things that were written aforetime were written for our instruction, that through our endurance and through the comfort from the Scriptures we might have hope.” Therefore, in addition to Christ’s perfect example, we have in writing the example of Abraham and of all the prophets before us as profitable lessons for us to study if we are to keep pace with the New World society.—1 Pet. 2:21; 1 Cor. 11:1; Heb. 6:12; Rom. 15:4; 1 Cor. 10:11, NW.

12. What must be the mental attitude of those keeping pace with the New World society?

¹² It is becoming increasingly clear that for anyone of us to keep pace with the New World society we must respond with the same readiness and willingness to Jehovah’s directions as did the faithful prophets and apostles. We cannot allow ourselves to be tied down to this old world and at the same time think that we can keep step with this Christian society of ministers. We must be free to answer calls as did Abraham and Moses, willing to move and leave behind old-world interests. We must be eager to answer the Master’s call: “Come be my follower,” and answer it in the complete sense that Peter did: “We have left all things and followed you.” To leave behind “all things,” not with a longing, as did Lot’s wife, but rather with no regrets, and with joy that such an opportunity has been extended to us to fulfill. As Paul, who gave up all, said: “I am ready not only to be bound but also to die at Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus.” This should be our determination and devotion.—Mark 10:21; Matt. 19:27; Acts 21:13, NW.

13. What can be said of those still clinging to the old world, and what admonition can be given them?

¹³ There are, however, still some “Christians” who think it possible to live in the New World society and the old world at the same time. But even these who appear slow to learn are finding the task increasingly difficult. Their dedication has not been complete. They have not truly left “all things” and followed Christ. Their dedication has been one with reservations, with “strings attached.” They still yearn for the luxuries and pleasures of the passing system of things. They know that to keep up with the New World society demands time, and old-world pleasures demand time. Consequently there is a test of one’s affections, a pulling in different directions, with tension and frustration resulting. An unstable person, divided in mind, is displeasing in Jehovah’s sight. “In fact,” says James, “let not that man suppose that he will receive anything from Jehovah; he is an indecisive man, unsteady in all his ways.” “Draw close to God, and he will draw close to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you indecisive ones. Give way to distress and mourn and weep. Let your laughter be turned into mourning, and your joy into dejection. Humble yourselves in the eyes of Jehovah, and he will exalt you.” Those who insist on leading double lives are not truly humble. They are always found crowding the line of demarcation. They choose to ignore Jehovah’s wise counsel. Reluctant to break clean with the old world, they hang on by the skin of their teeth to the new, until the old world drags them completely away into oblivion. It is dangerous to try to straddle the line, and impossible to be a slave to two masters. “For either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will stick to the one and despise the other. You cannot be slaves to God and to Riches.”—Jas. 1:7, 8; 4:8-10; Matt. 6:24, NW.

NO ROOM FOR INDECISION

14, 15. (a) Why is there no room for indecision now? (b) Why does it take determination and courage to keep pace with the New World society?

¹⁴ The increased pace now of the New World society allows no place for indecision. Even a slight hesitation means ground lost. And the more and longer we hesitate means only that so much more distance must be gained if we are to keep up with the New World society. It means that greater effort and determination must be put forth. The tragic truth is that distance lost almost always proves disastrous, because the onward march of the New World society is unrelenting, pressing forward to the perfect day. It takes faith, courage and determination to keep pace with it. Especially now, since more and more of our time is demanded. There are pioneer, missionary and Bethel service calls to answer with a “Here am I; send me.” More attention is to be devoted to the house-to-house ministry, the training of new Kingdom publishers, the making of back-calls on those who show interest in the Kingdom message, and home Bible studies to be conducted with people of good will. All of this demands time, our time and vital force. But since it is dedicated time, then it rightly belongs to Jehovah. “You do not belong to yourselves, for you were bought with a price. By all means, glorify God in the body of you people.” “Pay back . . . God’s things to God.”—Isa. 6:8; 1 Cor. 6:19, 20; Matt. 22:21, NW.

¹⁵ But that is not all there is to care for. There are congregation studies and meetings to attend and support. These call for thought and preparation in advance. Our personal studies must not be neglected, neither must our family obligations. The least entanglement with the old world can be a hindrance and hamper our progress to the new world. That is why Jesus advised those who would follow him to disown themselves and take up the torture stake and follow him continually. Paul counseled similarly: “Let us also put off every weight and the sin that easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, as we look intently at the leader and perfecter of our faith, Jesus.” If we heed this wise admonition, to keep pace with the New World society will not be nearly so difficult as it is to those burdened down with the things of this life.—Heb. 12:1, 2; Matt. 16:24, NW.

16. What should every member of the New World society ask himself?

¹⁶ To be unnecessarily tied down to this old world only tends to dampen our spirit; it impedes our progress and destroys the joy we normally get from serving Jehovah. In fact, if old-world pursuits are not controlled, they will bring us to a dead stop. Every member of the New World society should concern himself with his progress toward the new world. He should ask himself: Where do I stand in relation to the New World society? Am I keeping pace with it? Am I neglecting New World interests for old-world pursuits? Are my responses to theocratic calls like those of the faithful prophets and apostles? Or am I letting secular interests swallow up my time? To a moral rich young man who desired to get everlasting life, Jesus said: “‘One thing is missing about you: Go, sell what things you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven, and come be my follower.’ But he grew sad at the saying and went off grieved, for he was holding many possessions. After looking around Jesus said to his disciples: ‘How difficult a thing it will be for those with money to enter into the kingdom of God!’” Do not let money, materialism, things of this world, keep you from gaining life.—Mark 10:17-30, NW.

17. Does a Christian lose anything by breaking clean from the old world?

¹⁷ It was after Jesus’ conversation with the young man that Peter said: “Look! we left all things and have been following you.” Jesus replied in this way: “Truly I say to you men, No one has left house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or fields for my sake and for the sake of the good news who will not get a hundredfold now in this period of time, houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and fields, with persecutions, and in the coming system of things everlasting life.” Jesus, in other words, told Peter that the Christian does not lose a thing by giving up the old world, nor does any Christian witness of Jehovah lose a thing by doing the same for the sake of keeping pace with the New World society. We gain a hundredfold of all that we give up, and more. The anointed remnant will gain in addition thereto a glorious life in the heavens as Christ’s bride, and the other sheep of the Lord will gain everlasting life on a paradise new earth. All this for not losing faith, but believingly moving ahead with the New World society in its journey to the new world.

Keep Pace by Conforming to Theocratic Requirements

“I give you orders that you observe the commandment in a spotless and irreprehensible way until the manifestation of our Lord Jesus Christ.”—1 Tim. 6:13, 14, NW.

1. What was the great responsibility that fell upon the anointed witnesses of Jehovah and professed Christians following A.D. 1914?

WITH the setting up of Jehovah’s kingdom in the year 1914 (A.D.) a great responsibility fell upon the anointed witnesses of Jehovah God and all who professed Christianity. Would they arise to declare this good news of the established kingdom in all the inhabited earth for the purpose of a witness to all the nations, or would their faith fail them, cause them to sink into the hopeless oblivion of this old world? Faith and trust in Jehovah and his Word was a requirement to be met before they could be used by God as his witnesses. Therefore, Jesus asked: “When the Son of man arrives, will he really find this faith on the earth?” Glancing back over the years to 1918, when Jehovah came to his temple, we can sincerely thank God that he did find “this faith on the earth,” the faith of Abraham. He found men and women who were wholly devoted to him as Almighty God Jehovah and who abandoned “all things” of this world and loved not their lives unto death.—Luke 18:8; Matt. 19:27; 24:14; Rev. 12:11, NW.

2, 3. (a) Why and how were the anointed remnant used by Jehovah? (b) What words of Isaiah began to have fulfillment?

² Those years from 1914 to 1918 were trying years. The enemy had considerably demolished their earthly visible organization, but was unable to destroy their love and devotion to God. Their faith in him remained undying. It was with these devoted ones that Jehovah began building a new earthly organization, a New World society, under the established kingdom of God. These faithful ones collectively, Jesus ‘appointed over all his belongings.’ Immediately they felt the urgency of their responsibility and trust. And since they were free of any ties with mystic Babylon they were able to move right into the work at hand, the fulfilling of their commission to declare to the ends of the earth the good news of Jehovah’s kingdom. With God’s spirit upon them and much work to do, the anointed remnant came to life and a brilliant, divinely blessed future loomed before them as they formed the nucleus of the New World society.—Matt. 24:45-47, NW; Ezek 37:1-14; Rev. 11:11.

³ The words of Isaiah’s prophecy began to have fulfillment: “Arise, shine; for thy light is come, and the glory of Jehovah is risen upon thee. For, behold, darkness shall cover the earth, and gross darkness the peoples; but Jehovah will arise upon thee, and his glory shall be seen upon thee. And nations shall come to thy light, and kings to the brightness of thy rising. Lift up thine eyes round about, and see: they all gather themselves together, they come to thee; thy sons shall come from far, and thy daughters shall be carried in the arms. Then thou shalt see and be radiant, and thy heart shall thrill and be enlarged; because the abundance of the sea shall be turned unto thee, the wealth of the nations shall come unto thee.” “And the sons of them that afflicted thee shall come bending unto thee; and all they that despised thee shall bow themselves down at the soles of thy feet; and they shall call thee The city of Jehovah, The Zion of the Holy One of Israel.” After 1919, and especially since 1935, great crowds of people, out of all nations and tribes and peoples and tongues, began to assemble to the New World society for theocratic instruction. God’s universal organization became known as “The city of Jehovah, The Zion of the Holy One of Israel.”—Isa. 60:1-5, 14, AS; Rev. 7:9; Mic. 4:1-5.

4. Why is it necessary for the meek to conform themselves to Jehovah’s requirements, and what are some of those requirements?

⁴ Now that these meek ones have come to Jehovah’s theocratic organization, it is only right that they conform themselves to his requirements; because only by so doing will they be able to keep pace with the New World society. Among the first requirements is the need of recognizing the theocratic organization; that through the “faithful and discreet slave” class Jehovah is providing his flock with spiritual food at the proper time. Also, study and association are joyful requisites, a means of keeping up with the ever-increasing light of understanding beamed forth through the New World organization. The need of discarding old-world habits and ambitions must be realized. Squabbles, racial and religious hatreds, national traditions, prides and rivalries and numberless other divisive theories and practices peculiar to the old world must be seen as things gladly to be tossed aside as belonging to this system of things that is passing away. All forms of worldly selfishness, jealousies, envies, egotistic ambitions, religious sectarian wars, persecutions of one another—all manifestations of the spirit of this dying system and its god, Satan—must be abandoned to this old world. There is no place for them in the new system of things. And it is only as we conform ourselves to these theocratic requirements that we shall be able to keep pace with the New World society.—Jas. 3:13-18; 4:1-4; Matt. 24:45, 46, NW.

EXERCISING SELF-CONTROL

5. How does self-control aid in keeping step with the New World society?

⁵ The journey to the new world calls for self-control. Moses after serving diligently and faithfully for many years as a servant of Jehovah did not enter the Promised Land, because at one time he lost self-control. He allowed himself to be driven to anger, and in a moment of rage he failed to sanctify Jehovah in the eyes of Israel. This cost him the privilege of entering the Promised Land. Those traveling today to the antitypical Promised Land must be on guard against losing control. Self-control is moderation and self-discipline in all things. Paul counseled the Philippians: “Let your reasonableness become known to all men.” As we give up habits of the old world and take up the habits of the new, we want to find ourselves adopting a reasonable, sensible course in all things that we do. The wise man’s advice is: “Be not righteous overmuch, and do not make yourself overwise; why should you destroy yourself? Be not wicked overmuch, neither be a fool; why should you die before your time?” This means self-control, a knowledge of when to begin and when to end. Not becoming all one-sided or lopsided but balanced in all things is an important feature in keeping pace with the New World society.—Phil. 4:5, NW; Eccl. 7:16, 17, RS.

6. What should each member of the New World society be able to recommend?

⁶ It is incumbent upon every traveler to the new world, and especially so upon the servants, to set proper examples. Each servant should so conduct himself as to be able to recommend his course to others. Each should be able to say as did the apostle: “Become imitators of me, even as I am of Christ.” What sort of example was this apostle? Under inspiration, here is what he said of himself: “I call you to witness this very day that I am clean from the blood of all men, for I have not held back from telling you all the counsel of God. . . . Therefore keep awake, and bear in mind that for three years, night and day, I did not quit admonishing each one with tears. And now I commit you to God and to the word of his undeserved kindness, which word can build you up and give you the inheritance among all the sanctified ones.”—1 Cor. 11:1; Acts 20:26-32, NW.

7. Why cannot the servant permit his habits, and especially his eating and drinking habits, to get out of line?

⁷ New World servants must copy Paul’s fine example so they too can be examples for good to the many tens of thousands coming into the New World society each year. These new ones seeing this fine example in conduct set before them will be moved to imitate the servants and thus keep pace with the New World society. That is why Paul forcefully stated: “The overseer should therefore be irreprehensible, a husband of one wife, moderate in habits, sound in mind.” The servant cannot afford to permit his habits to get out of hand. The flock of God look to him for proper leadership. Some habits may very easily become immoderate unless self-control is exercised. This is especially true of the eating and drinking habits. We are counseled that neither gluttons nor drunkards will inherit the kingdom of God. Overeating shows a lack of judgment. It saps one’s energy and makes one mentally sluggish and sleepy. Overdrinking causes loss of control of oneself. A drunkard lacks poise, dignity and respectability. How can a drunkard represent the theocratic organization with a clean conscience? Impossible! Drunkenness impedes progress and dishonors the congregation of God and its Christ. It certainly does not befit those keeping step with the New World society. Therefore Paul advises overseers to be “moderate in habits, . . . not a drunken brawler, not a smiter, but reasonable.” And to Christian women his advice is: “Be serious, not slanderous, moderate in habits, faithful in all things.” And to the household of God he says: “Whether you are eating or drinking or doing anything else, do all things for God’s glory.”—1 Tim. 3:2, 3, 11; 1 Cor. 9:25; 10:31, NW.

8. What sort of life should the Christian endeavor to live?

⁸ Conforming to God’s requirements allows the Christian witness to live a balanced and happy life. It brings satisfaction. And “godly devotion is a means of gain. To be sure, it is a means of great gain, this godly devotion along with self-sufficiency.” It helps the Christian to appreciate that he is just one of a great body of praisers reflecting God’s glory; that his conduct reflects on the entire Christian organization, either aiding or impeding progress with the New World society.—1 Tim. 6:5, 6, NW.

9. How can we check our habits?

⁹ To form good habits is not easy in an imperfect world, because habits are not formed automatically. Good habits must be thoughtfully cultivated by hard work. And for the most part good habits are the fruits of the spirit of God, a result of the diligent application of his Word. Bad or improper habits will inevitably put us out of step and draw us away from the New World society. So check your habits and progress. Ask yourself: Would Jesus have behaved as I did? How would he have handled this matter demanding self-control? Copy his example. If about to enter upon a doubtful course, ask yourself: Will this course enrich or corrupt my appreciation of the Creator? What will happen if I let things develop to the fullest extent? Will the fruit be theocratic, reasonable, practical? Or will it be detrimental to my spiritual welfare? Keep Paul’s words in mind: “Keep testing whether you are in the faith.” Keep testing to see whether you are in pace with the New World society, by checking your mental attitude, your disposition, your conduct and your progress. Keep maturing not only horizontally, that is, onward with the years in the truth, but upward too, vertically in spirituality, appreciation, love and understanding. “Keep proving what you yourselves are.”—2 Cor. 13:5, NW.

OBEDIENT TO THEOCRATIC REPRESENTATION

10, 11. In what way should New World policies and principles and the “faithful and discreet slave” class be viewed?

¹⁰ Newcomers must learn to fall in line with the principles and policies of the New World society and to act in harmony with them, so that all may function smoothly for the welfare and blessing of all within the organization, to the glory of God the Father. Sometimes it becomes rather difficult for some of our new associates to make this change. They are prone to be a little rebellious or unruly. But to become genuinely a part of the New World society it is imperative that proper respect for theocratic arrangement and order be shown. A humble, obedient mental attitude is required. We cannot permit dispositions and trends of the old world to influence our thinking and actions once we have come into the New World organization. The old world we have left behind, so why not leave it all behind for all time? Why try to drag its policies and methods into the New World arrangement? Its policies have not benefited the old world; how will they be of any value to the new? Only by a conscientious effort of making over our minds, by refusing to be fashioned after this system of things, shall we be able to prove to ourselves the good and acceptable and complete will of God.—Rom. 12:2, NW.

¹¹ Since the “faithful and discreet slave” has been entrusted with all the Master’s goods, then let us view with proper mental perception that whatever the ‘faithful slave’ does is for our good. The slave is thereby fulfilling its own obligation before Jehovah in getting His work done. Therefore the slave’s will is Jehovah’s will. Rebellion against the slave is rebellion against God. A proper mental attitude toward the slave’s direction is a part of keeping pace with the New World society.

12. Why is the road of the “freethinker” dangerous to follow?

¹² A tendency among the rising generation is to exalt individuality—“freethinking,” they call it. The “freethinker” expresses an individual desire for independence. He resists being “tied down” to any set rule or regulation. He has his own way of doing things, which to him always appears better. Submission to theocratic authority or representation becomes hard for him. He feels cramped for space, as if he were hemmed in on all sides by instructions. Everyone in the New World society is out of step but him. He always seems to know a better way for things to be done. His course is one puffed up with pride and self-esteem. If he is not careful to rectify his waywardness, “big-headedness,” his pride will lead him to a disgraceful fall. Better always to recognize in the Scriptural way the theocratic arrangement that brought us the truth and to fall in line with it than to resist its direction simply because at times we do not understand why things are done the way they are. “Trust in Jehovah with all thy heart, and lean not upon thine own understanding: in all thy ways acknowledge him, and he will direct thy paths. Be not wise in thine own eyes; fear Jehovah, and depart from evil.” “Pride goeth before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall. Better it is to be of a lowly spirit with the poor, than to divide the spoil with the proud.” Let these words suffice.—Prov. 3:5-7; 16:18, 19, AS.

13. How do the Scriptures show the need for obedience to and respect for theocratic representation?

¹³ Obedience to and respect for theocratic representation are a requirement in Jehovah’s organization. “Let the older men who preside in a right way be reckoned worthy of double honor, especially those who work hard in speaking and teaching.” (1 Tim. 5:17, NW) Jehovah is responsible for the organization of his creatures and delegates power and authority to these and directs what honor should be given them. “Now God has set the members in the body, each one of them, just as he pleased.” Earthly overseers represent Jehovah in their assignment just as much as heavenly ones do. “Be in subjection to one another in fear of Christ. Let wives be in subjection to their husbands as to the Lord, . . . In fact, as the congregation is in subjection to the Christ, so let wives also be to their husbands in everything. . . . The wife should have deep respect for her husband.” This demonstrates the need for order and respect within the Christian congregation for delegated authority.—1 Cor. 12:18; Eph. 5:21-33, NW.

14-16. (a) How is respect for theocratic representation illustrated in Zechariah’s case? (b) In the case of Paul with the high priest Ananias? (c) In the case of David and King Saul? (d) Michael the archangel and the Devil?

¹⁴ When Gabriel told Zechariah that he was to have a son, Zechariah did not believe the angel. Zechariah showed lack of respect through disbelief. Therefore the angel said to him: “I am Gabriel, who stands near before God, and I was sent forth to speak with you and declare the good news of these things to you. But, look! you will be silent and not able to speak until the day that these things take place, because you did not believe my words. Just the same, they will be fulfilled in their appointed time.” Gabriel was Jehovah’s representative. His words were not to be questioned. Disrespect to this authority brought a severe punishment from God.—Luke 1:19, 20, NW.

¹⁵ When Ananias ordered that Paul be slapped on the mouth, Paul said to him: “God is going to strike you, you whitewashed wall. Do you at one and the same time sit to judge me in accord with the Law and, transgressing the Law, command me to be struck?” Those standing by said: “Are you reviling the high priest of God?” Paul then apologized, saying: “Brothers, I did not know he was high priest. For it is written, ‘You must not speak injuriously of a ruler of your people.’” On other occasions before kings and rulers of this world, Paul was always very careful to show due respect. How much more so should we be respectful to those to whom Jehovah delegates authority!—Acts 23:1-5, NW.

¹⁶ King Saul threatened David’s life on many occasions. Yet, when it was within David’s reach to take Saul’s life, he said: “Who can put forth his hand against Jehovah’s anointed, and be guiltless?” David displayed fear of God and deep respect for his appointees by refusing to lay a hand on Saul. (1 Sam. 26:9; Ps. 105:14, 15, AS) Jude draws a contrast between the conduct of persons like men of Sodom and Gomorrah and the cities about them and that of Michael. Of the wicked, he said: “These men, too, indulging in dreams, are defiling the flesh and disregarding lordship and speaking abusively of glorious ones. On the other hand, when Michael the archangel had a difference with the Devil and was disputing about Moses’ body, he did not dare to bring a judgment against him in abusive terms, but said: ‘May Jehovah rebuke you.’ Yet these men are speaking abusively of all the things they really do not know, but all the things they do understand naturally like the unreasoning animals, in these things they go on corrupting themselves.” Peter launched a similar charge against the disrespectful and lawless: “Daring, self-willed, they do not tremble at glorious ones but speak abusively, whereas angels, although they are greater in strength and power, do not bring against them an accusation in abusive terms, not doing so out of respect for Jehovah. But these men, like unreasoning animals born naturally to be caught and destroyed, will, in the things of which they are ignorant and speak abusively, even suffer destruction in their own course of destruction, wronging themselves as a reward for wrongdoing.”—Jude 8-11; 2 Pet. 2:6-13, NW.

17, 18. What serious consequences of showing disrespect to authority are highlighted in the cases of Ananias and his wife Sapphira, Korah, Miriam and Aaron?

¹⁷ The faithful servant will be careful to show due respect to authority at all times, appreciating that these representatives speak in the name of Jehovah. When Ananias and Sapphira lied to Peter, the apostle told them: “You have played false, not to men, but to God.” They paid with their lives for this lack of respect to Jehovah and his representative. Korah rebelled against the leadership of Moses and Aaron, but Moses showed that Korah’s disrespect was more far-reaching than that. Moses said: “By this you will know that Jehovah has sent me to do all these deeds, that it is not of my own heart: If it is according to the death of all mankind that these people will die and with the punishment of all mankind that punishment will be brought upon them, then it is not Jehovah that has sent me. But if it is something created that Jehovah will create and the ground has to distend its mouth and swallow up them and everything that belongs to them and they have to go down alive into Sheol, then you will certainly know that these men have treated Jehovah disrespectfully.” By their rebellious conduct, Korah and his cohorts “sinned against their own souls.” Such men oppose, not men, but God.—Acts 5:1-6; Num. 16:1-38; Acts 5:38, 39, NW.

¹⁸ The serious consequences of showing disrespect are also highlighted in the case of Miriam and Aaron, who disregarded Moses as Jehovah’s chosen spokesman: “Is it just by Moses alone that Jehovah has spoken?” they asked. “Is it not by us also that he has spoken?” For their untheocratic behavior Miriam was struck with leprosy. Only because of their repentant attitude and Moses’ intercession in her behalf was Miriam cleansed. Yet, Jehovah’s displeasure at Miriam’s conduct is evident in His words to Moses: “Were her father to spit directly in her face, would she not be humiliated seven days? Let her be quarantined seven days outside the camp and afterward let her be received in.” Both brothers and sisters should take to heart a warning from this, that to speak abusively or disrespectfully of authority, Jehovah’s representatives, is a sin serious enough to remove one “outside the camp,” the theocratic organization. Let it be known that “it is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.”—Num. 12:1-15; Heb. 10:31, NW.

IMPARTIAL GOD

19. Why is it not advisable to look at faulty man of flesh?

¹⁹ Peter declared that Jehovah “is not partial, but in every nation the man that fears him and works righteousness is acceptable to him.” Therefore, dispose of old-world ideas that Jehovah’s organization is filled with “favorites.” There are no favorites. If you fear him and do works of righteousness, then you are his favorite as much as anyone else. In the congregation, servants are chosen for their qualifications and ability to serve. The congregation should show them the respect befitting their assignment, because this is Jehovah’s means of dealing with you and you with Him. Do not weaken your theocratic relationship by stumbling over the “flesh” you may not personally like. Because, says Paul: “From now on we know no man according to the flesh. Even if we have known Christ according to the flesh, certainly we now know him so no more. Consequently, if anyone is in union with Christ, he is a new creation; the old things passed away, look! new things have come into existence.” If we are prone to look at any faulty man of flesh, that will tend to lessen our appreciation for his theocratic position, his responsibility as Jehovah’s slave. If we see this principle of theocratic representation clearly, we will not insist on our own rights and interests, but will follow the wise counsel of Jehovah’s appointees. These are “gifts in men” from Jehovah. They will help us work out our salvation to the honor of God and to the vindication of his great and holy name.—Acts 10:34, 35; 2 Cor. 5:16, 17; Eph. 4:8, NW.

20. What, then, does it mean to keep pace with the New World society?

²⁰ Therefore, to keep pace with the New World society means many things for us. It means a life of dedication, self-sacrifice, being wholly and unreservedly devoted to Jehovah God as Christ Jesus was and now is. It means for us to get rid of old-world habits and conform ourselves to Jehovah’s requirements. It means recognizing the “faithful and discreet slave,” and showing due respect to those in authority. It means ‘proving ourselves what we really are.’ In substance this all means to “observe the commandment in a spotless and irreprehensible way.”—2 Cor. 13:5; 1 Tim. 6:14, NW.

21. How will keeping pace with the New World society benefit us?

²¹ If we do this, we shall mature by Jehovah’s undeserved kindness. We shall become aware of the bountiful blessing it is to keep in step with his organization. We shall thrill in theocratic expansion. We shall glow with the spirit at the increase of knowledge and understanding. We shall reap with joy what we have sown. Our conviction will be strong, our faith immovable, our appreciation deep, our joy will abound with the full assurance that we are in step with the New World society of God, whose guidance and direction not only will feed us well spiritually in the last days of this old world, but will keep us alive on into the New World of righteousness and for evermore.

[Picture on page 345]

Years in the Truth

Spiritual growth

Preaching to Fellow Workers

Ever since the Society held its 1955 series of international assemblies in Europe it has been receiving glowing letters of appreciation and reports of interesting experiences enjoyed by the writers because of their having attended these conventions. Among such is the following by a witness in Virginia, who was among the 795 passengers on the chartered ship the Arosa Kulm: “For sixteen years I have been employed at the D.P. Manufacturing Company and all my fellow employees know that I am one of Jehovah’s witnesses. Upon my telling of my plans to attend the European assemblies this summer, the company gave me a fine write-up in its monthly magazine. As a result, upon my return many asked questions about the trip. In fact, I had the opportunity to speak to six different shop groups, with a total of 220 attending, the largest group having 114. I was given thirty minutes for these talks and took advantage of the opportunity to witness to them concerning Jehovah’s name and kingdom. Three of the shops invited me to give the talk in place of their usual safety meeting and at the other three I took the place of their regular Bible classes, which were being conducted by Sunday School teachers during lunch hours.”

Ridicule Proves Nothing

Recently a reader of Our Sunday Visitor, “The Most Widely Circulated Catholic Weekly in the World,” wrote it relative to its slur on Jehovah’s witnesses. In reply the associate editor of the paper, “Rev.” R. Ginder, said: “But if you have had much to do with the Witnesses you must by now have realized that it’s not a religion—it’s a disease of the mind. I mean it. It’s a frenzy that seems to eat out certain sections of their intelligence. It makes them bullheaded, impervious to argument, and utterly incapable of handling the truth.” It was that way when Jesus was on the earth. Unable to answer his argument his opposers said: “He has a demon and is mad.” And Paul had the same experience even as Jesus foretold his followers would have. When Paul was making his defense before Governor Festus, in the presence of King Agrippa, Festus interrupted him to exclaim: “You are going mad, Paul! Great learning is driving you into madness!” It is therefore not surprising that the Christian witnesses of Jehovah today receive like reproach.—John 10:20; Acts 26:24, NW.

Questions From Readers

● In the book You May Survive Armageddon into God’s New World, on pages 281, 282, paragraph 14, it speaks of Hobab as the brother-in-law of Moses the prophet, whereas page 283, paragraph 16, quotes Judges 4:11, NW, which states that Hobab was the father-in-law of Moses. How does the book harmonize with itself in treating Hobab in this double relationship to Moses?—B. G., United States.

The name Hobab may be one name but it may apply to two separate individuals, namely, to a father and to his son. Numbers 10:29, which is quoted on page 282, says of Hobab the son whose sister Zipporah Moses married: “Then Moses said to Hobab the son of Reuel the Midianite, the father-in-law of Moses: ‘We are pulling away for the place about which Jehovah said.’” (NW) Since Reuel the Midianite was Moses’ father-in-law, then Reuel’s son Hobab was the brother-in-law of Moses. This Hobab the brother-in-law of Moses is the one whom the chapter in the book is discussing as a prophetic picture of the present-day “great crowd” of the “other sheep” whom Jesus Christ, the greater Moses, is gathering to his fold today.

The chapter continues to discuss this same Hobab the brother-in-law of Moses in paragraph 16, but in the midst of this paragraph it quotes Judges 4:11 according to the New World Translation, which reads: “Incidentally Heber the Kenite had separated from the Kenites, the sons of Hobab, whose son-in-law Moses was.” In rendering Judges 4:11 thus the New World Translation is in agreement with the literal translation by Dr. Robert Young, by J. B. Rotherham and by J. N. Darby, also the translation of the Jewish Publication Society, Moffatt’s translation and An American Translation. True, the American Standard Version does read: “Hobab the brother-in-law of Moses,” but in the marginal reading it says: “or, father-in-law.” And the Revised Standard Version reads: “Hobab the father-in-law of Moses.” So the decision of the majority is to make the translation read according to what the original Hebrew says.

According to this, then, the name of Moses’ father-in-law was the same as that of his brother-in-law, namely, Hobab. Thus in the Scriptures several names are assigned to Moses’ father-in-law. In Exodus 2:16-22 he is called Reuel; in Exodus 3:1 he is called Jethro; in Judges 1:16 he is called Qeini in the Hebrew, or “the Kenite, whose son-in-law Moses was.” The fact is that the rabbis of the Jews say that Moses’ father-in-law had seven names.

If, however, we persist in arguing that Hobab was only the name of the son of Reuel and was the name of only the brother-in-law of Moses, then we must understand Judges 4:11 to mean that Hobab was Moses’ father-in-law only in a representative capacity. That is to say, Hobab acted representatively for his father Reuel who likely was now dead.

So from either understanding of the matter the book You May Survive Armageddon into God’s New World is not at disagreement with itself, neither is the New World Translation of the Hebrew Scriptures.

Good for Him!

“What is your opinion about the subject of hell?” Pastor Emeritus Oluf Rothe, one of Denmark’s most noted clergymen, was asked by a newspaper on the occasion of his 50th anniversary as a Protestant priest. He answered: “Hell simply was a dumping place outside Jerusalem where the refuse from the city was incinerated. When Jesus talked about somebody’s going to hell he meant that the person did not deserve anything better than being taken to the dumping place. And the Gehenna here mentioned was so vast that refuse was incinerated there day and night—from thence the entire doctrine of hellfire originates which has been diligently employed to scare man for 2000 years!”—Arbeiderbladet, Oslo, Norway, November 29, 1955.

Announcements

District Assemblies for the British Isles, Canada and the United States—1956

The command to ‘assemble ourselves together’ constitutes important counsel to Christians. While this is regularly done within the congregations of Jehovah’s witnesses, keen interest is manifested when larger assemblies are arranged. It is now time to arrange for the 1956 assemblies and all will make their plans to attend one. Which one? The one of your choice. In its letter of April 23, 1956, to the congregations the Society has suggested that, in a few instances, if those in certain circuits will attend specified cities the facilities will accommodate the size of crowd expected more satisfactorily and at the same time a good witness will be accomplished in those cities.

Each of the 40 assemblies (six in the British Isles, eight in Canada and 26 in the United States) will be for four days and will have identical programs. Also, there will be Spanish programs at Waco and Lubbock, Texas, Phoenix, Arizona, and Long Beach, California. There will be an assembly not far from your home. Be sure to attend. (Assemblies will be held in many other lands too this year. For information write to the branch office of the Society nearest you.)

You may write now for rooming accommodations, addressing your mail to WATCHTOWER CONVENTION. Send your letter to the rooming address. DO NOT SEND ANY MAIL TO CONVENTION HALLS.

July 19-22, 1956

Albany, Calif., Golden Gate Fields, East Shore Blvd. at Gilman St. Rooming: 990 University Ave., Berkeley 2.

Dublin, Eire, National Stadium. Rooming: 44 James Place, Baggot St.

Jersey City, N. J., Roosevelt Stadium, End of Danforth Ave. Rooming: 2849 Hudson Blvd., Jersey City 6.

London, Ont., Grandstand, Queen’s Park. Rooming: 1587 Caledonia St., London.

Niagara Falls, N. Y., Hyde Park Stadium, Hyde Park Blvd. Rooming: 8676 Buffalo Ave., Niagara Falls.

Paisley, Scotland, Ice Arena. Rooming: 21 School Wynd.

Pittsburgh, Pa., Forbes Field, Oakland. Rooming: 4100 Bigelow Blvd., Pittsburgh 13.

July 26-29, 1956

Cardiff, Wales, Maindy Stadium. Rooming: 64 Connaught Rd. Roath.

Edmonton, Alta., Concert Hall, Exhibition Grounds. Rooming: 11845 77th St., Edmonton.

Lansing, Mich., Civic Center, 505 W. Allegan St. Rooming: 2330 N. East St., Lansing 6.

Lubbock, Tex., Fair Park Coliseum, Fairgrounds adjoining Avenue A. Rooming: 129 Temple Ave., Lubbock.

Mandan, N. Dak., Memorial Building, 2d Ave. NW. & 1st St. NW. Rooming: 110 4th Ave. NE., Mandan.

Saint John, N. B., Thistle Curling Rink, Dufferin Ave. Rooming: 49 Carleton St., Saint John.

Thornton Heath, Surrey, England, Crystal Palace Football Ground. Rooming: 44 Windmill Rd., Croydon, Surrey.

Aug. 2-5, 1956

Cheyenne, Wyo., Frontier Park, 8th Ave. & Hynds Blvd. Rooming: 1819 Thomes, Cheyenne.

Columbus, Ohio, Merchants and Manufacturers Bldg., Ohio State Fairgrounds. Rooming: 22 W. Naghten St., Columbus 16.

Coventry, Warwicks, England, Coventry City Football Ground. Rooming: 55 Capmartin Rd.

Long Beach, Calif., Long Beach Municipal Auditorium, 270 E. Seaside Blvd. Rooming: 15 W. Plymouth St., Long Beach 5.

Louisville, Ky., Parkway Field, Eastern Parkway at Third. Rooming: 409 W. Oak St., Louisville 3.

North Bay, Ont., Memorial Gardens, 100 Chippewa St. W. Rooming: 258 6th Ave. W., North Bay.

Omaha, Nebr., Civic Auditorium, 18th & Capitol Ave. Rooming. 2901 North 30th, Omaha 11.

Phoenix, Ariz., Shrine Auditorium, 1500 W. Washington St. Rooming: 5235 North 19th Ave., Phoenix.

Pocatello, Idaho, Pocatello High School Auditorium, 246 N. Garfield Ave. Rooming: 1006 N. Harrison Ave., Pocatello.

Reading, Pa., Reading Fairgrounds Grandstand, Route 222 North. Rooming: 32 Morgantown Rd., Reading.

Salem, Oreg., Oregon State Fairgrounds Grandstand, 18th St. Entrance, North 18th St. Rooming: 1890 Mission St., Salem.

San Bernardino, Calif., Swing Auditorium, County Fairgrounds, Mill & E Sts. Rooming: 1541 W. Base Line St., San Bernardino.

Spokane, Wash., Spokane Coliseum, Howard & Boone Ave. Rooming: E. 223 2d Ave., Spokane 3.

Troy, N. Y., R. P. I. Field House, Peoples Ave. at Burdette Ave. Rooming: 3 111th St., Troy.

Tulsa, Okla., Fairgrounds Pavilion. Rooming: 1421 East 13th St., Tulsa 20.

Victoria, B. C., Memorial Arena, 1925 Blanshard St. Rooming: 1412 Broad St., Victoria.

Waco, Tex., Heart O’Texas Coliseum, 46th and Bosque Blvd. Rooming: 3733 Homan St., Waco.

Wigan, Lancs., England, Wigan Football Ground, Rooming: 37 King St.

Winston-Salem, N. C., Memorial Coliseum, North Cherry St. Extension. Rooming: W. 27th St. at Druid Hills Dr., Winston-Salem.

Worcester, Mass., Worcester Memorial Auditorium, Lincoln Square. Rooming: 274 Main St., Rooms 44 & 45, Worcester 8.

Aug. 9-12, 1956

Minneapolis, Minn., The National Guard Armory, 500 South 6th St. Rooming: 3717 Chicago Ave., Minneapolis 7.

Montgomery, Ala., Alabama State Coliseum, Federal Drive. Rooming: 2790 Lower Wetumka Rd., Montgomery 7

Regina, Sask., Exhibition Stadium, Exhibition Grounds, 1600 Block Pasqua St. Rooming: 2278 Retallack St., Regina.

Aug. 16-19, 1956

Augusta, Ga., Jennings Stadium, 1400 Walton Way. Rooming: 404 1⁄2 Eighth St., Augusta.

Winnipeg, Man., Olympic Rink, Church and Charles Sts. Rooming: 1338 Main St., Winnipeg.

(Continued on the next page)

Aug. 23-26, 1956

Montreal, Que., Verdun Auditorium, 4110 Lasalle Blvd., Verdun. Rooming: 1637 St. Catherine St. W., Montreal 25.

WIELDING THE SPIRITUAL SWORD AGAINST WICKED SPIRIT FORCES—Eph. 6:12, 17, NW.

Very graphically the warfare of God’s servants is described: “Go on acquiring power in the Lord and in the mightiness of his strength. Put on the complete suit of armor from God that you may be able to stand firm against the machinations of the Devil; because we have a fight, not against blood and flesh, but against . . . the wicked spirit forces in the heavenly [invisible] places.” (Eph. 6:10-12, NW) The only way in which anyone can stand firm is to be equipped with the complete suit of armor from God. Ministers of God want to help others to understand this vital matter and will do so by using the “sword of the spirit, that is, God’s word,” to point out to good-will persons what to do. During June Jehovah’s witnesses will call on people and, after giving an oral Bible sermon, will offer printed Bible sermons in book and booklet form on a 50c contribution. This will be the means of helping many to start their all-important fight against the wicked spirit forces that dominate mankind as a whole.

IS YOUR LIFE WORTH ONE DOLLAR?

Would you spend one dollar to save your life? Millions are spent annually in this losing struggle, yet your dollar can do more for you. It can direct you to “fountains of living waters” and give you hope of everlasting life in Jehovah God’s new world. It can obtain for you a year’s subscription for The Watchtower, the world’s most widely circulated Bible study periodical. Regular use of this unequaled aid will put new life in you as it makes your Bible live for you. Send today.

“WATCHTOWER” STUDIES FOR THE WEEKS

July 8: Keep Pace with the New World Society. Page 336.

July 15: Keep Pace by Conforming to Theocratic Requirements. Page 342.

The World Turned Upside Down

“1914—a year written with fire and blood in the history of man. The world war itself—and still more the conditions that followed—turned all accustomed notions and ideas upside down and inside out. Time was torn and splintered, ripped in two—we entered an altogether different era, morals became different, grosser and rougher than ever.”—Bokken Lasson in the Norwegian periodical Alt for damene, August 14, 1954.

Check Your Memory

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

✔ What, in addition to being sincere, you must do to be approved by God? P. 323, ¶6.

✔ What atrocities turned the Jews away from Christianity? P. 325, ¶3.

✔ Why, while so many Jews accepted Jesus in his day, so few do now? P. 326, ¶3.

✔ What facts about true Christianity should interest Jews today? P. 328, ¶3.

✔ What bribery prompted Luther to make his famous protests? P. 329, ¶5.

✔ How Luther had the right view of what happens after we die? P. 331, ¶1.

✔ What the true explanation of ‘talking with the dead’ is? P. 332, ¶2.

✔ What reasons prompted one of Jehovah’s witnesses to accept missionary training? P. 334, ¶2.

✔ What marvelous results the New World society is producing? P. 336, ¶1.

✔ What course to take to conquer the old world, attaining the new one? P. 338, ¶7.

✔ What specific requirements must be met in order to conform to God’s way now? P. 343, ¶4.

✔ Why “freethinking” is dangerous? P. 346, ¶12.