The Watchtower — November 15, 1956

Does the Bible Agree with Your Church?

MANY people think that their religion does not encourage the reading of the Bible. Writing in the London Catholic Herald Michael de la Bedoyere said that “despite the fact that he had had very exceptional opportunities of what might be called high-level Catholic training, never was anything done to stimulate him to read the New Testament, let alone the Old.”

Yet pamphlets approved by church leaders say: “The Roman Catholic Church considers the Bible the greatest Book in the world. . . . God is the Author.” “Why does the Church encourage the reading of the Bible? Because she knows that in order to grow, to develop spiritually, to become mature Christians, we must be nourished by God.”

But why have they not really been urged to read “the greatest Book in the world,” of which God himself is the Author? Could it be that there really is a difference between what the Bible says and what the church has taught? A Catholic Information Society pamphlet says: “Catholics, not looking for a complete description of their beliefs in the Bible, are not surprised when they do not find such words as ‘Pope’ or ‘Purgatory’ mentioned.”a

But are they surprised? Do they ever wonder why the apostles, who were supposed to be such good Catholics, sound so little like it, never even once mentioning the pope, or the name of their church, or the cardinals, or the trinity, or purgatory, or the mass, the holy eucharist, indulgences, the use of images, holy days, or processions; why they never called one another “His Holiness,” “Reverend” or “Father,” and why they failed to mention so many other things that are so common in the church? When reading the Bible you would think that the apostles had an entirely different religion.

And, for a fact, they did!

It is amazing what you would learn by listening to the apostles and their inspired writings. By reading 1 Timothy 3:2-5 you would learn that a bishop (1) may have a wife, and (2) is instructed regarding the rearing of his children. A bishop may have children? How different from the church’s practice today!

By reading 1 Timothy 4:1-3, from the Catholic Douay Version you would learn that it is those who would “depart from the faith, giving heed to spirits of error and doctrines of devils,” who would forbid to marry and command abstinence from meats. Might this not shock even a priest who read it on a Friday? It is what the Catholic Bible says, however, and it was written under inspiration by Paul, one of the greatest of the apostles!

Matthew 23:9 might raise a further question in your mind. It records Jesus’ statement: “Call none your father upon earth: for one is your father, who is in heaven.” (Dy) A priest might tell you that Catholics “are surprised that non-Catholics should quibble when they call their priests ‘Father’—when non-Catholics address their own male parent as ‘Father.’” But if you had read Jesus’ statement for yourself you would know that Jesus was not talking about what you call your male parent, but was talking about what you call your religious leader! Would it shock you to read in your Bible that Jesus himself forbade his followers to use such titles?

Consider even the mass. According to the church, the mass is “the unbloody renewal of the Sacrifice of our Lord upon the cross.” But Hebrews 10:11, 12 says that in contrast with the sacrifices of the Jewish priests that had to be offered regularly, Christ offered “one sacrifice for sins.” Would it surprise Catholics to know that this one sacrifice was sufficient, and that the mass is not needed?

And what about 1 Corinthians 15:50? Would it surprise people who believe, as an article of faith, that Mary’s human body went to heaven to read in the Catholic Bible that “flesh and blood cannot possess the kingdom of God”? And will they be even further surprised as their continued reading shows them that nowhere in the Bible is any exception made to this rule, not even for Mary? Surely if the doctrine were true the apostles would have been sufficiently enthused about it to have written it down!

But Protestant religions, too, directly ignore the Bible’s specific statements. Is the Protestant who believes that the soul never dies shocked when he learns that it does? You can read it for yourself at Ezekiel 18:4; 18:20 and Acts 3:23.

Or is the Protestant who believes that the wicked are eternally tormented in hellfire shocked to read at Ecclesiastes 3:19 that dead men, like dead animals, are out of existence? Or is he shocked when he learns that the same Hebrew and Greek words were translated both “hell” and “grave” in our English Bibles, and therefore that hell is no hotter than the cold graves in the neighborhood cemetery?

God’s written Word is “the sword of the Spirit.” It divides between what is true and what is false. It can cut deep in doing so. It disagrees with much of what is taught in today’s churches, and for those who will accept it it slashes away falsehood and uncovers long-hidden truths.—Eph. 6:17.

The Bible presents problems for people who say you should call religious leaders “Father,” who say that clergymen must not marry, that meat cannot be eaten on certain days, that Christ’s sacrifice must be renewed through the mass, that the wicked are burned forever in hell and that the soul never dies. But who is the reliable authority on religion, men or God? The answer is obvious; so study God’s Word, see if it agrees with your church, and change your belief if it does not!

[Footnotes]

Jehovah’s Judgment Days

Jehovah has had judgment days in the past, at present we are in a judgment day, and another is coming in the future. On what basis are they held? Whom do they affect, and how?

MOST religions of Christendom teach that God has two judgment days for each person: an individual or “particular judgment” day, said to take place at one’s death, and then the “general judgment day,” which is supposed to take place at the end of the world and at which time, it is said, the soul is to be reunited with the body. Since one’s destiny is supposed to have been fixed at death, it is not at all clear why there need be another judgment day.

As has been noted in these pages time and again, the Scriptures do not teach that man has a soul that at death goes either to heaven or to a limbo, purgatory or place of eternal torment. Rather they teach that at death man remains asleep, unconscious, until the resurrection—provided he is recorded in God’s memory. At that time there will be a day of judgment.

Before considering that judgment day as well as others mentioned in the Bible, let us first note that the great Judge is no other than Jehovah God. Abraham addressed him as Jehovah, “the Judge of all the earth.” Yes, “Jehovah is our judge.” Being the Creator, the Most High, the King of eternity and the great Lawgiver, he rightly holds all creatures accountable to him.—Gen. 18:25, NW; Isa. 33:22, AS.

And it is a great comfort to know that Jehovah is a Judge who is not only righteous but also merciful: “With Jehovah our God there is no unrighteousness or partiality or taking of a bribe.” He is “Jehovah, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abundant in loving-kindness and truth, preserving loving-kindness for thousands, pardoning iniquity and transgression and sin, but by no means will he give exemption from punishment.” At the same time there is the sobering thought that “the eyes of Jehovah are in every place, keeping watch upon the evil and the good.” We do well, therefore, to fear Jehovah.—2 Chron. 19:7; Ex. 34:6, 7, NW; Prov. 15:3, AS.

Jehovah’s judgment days are periods of time in which he takes an accounting. They may be comparatively brief or last a thousand years. Usually there is a period of testing followed by an execution of judgment. Jehovah’s adverse judgments are irrevocable and mean annihilation, for he says, “I, Jehovah, change not.” For lovers of righteousness God’s judgment days are not occasions to be dreaded but occasions for rejoicing: “Let the heavens be glad, and let the earth rejoice . . . before Jehovah; for he cometh, for he cometh to judge the earth: he will judge the world with righteousness, and the peoples with his truth.”—Mal. 3:6; Ps. 96:11, 13, AS.

God’s Word calls attention to a number of judgment days. The first one took place in Eden and the next one in the days of Noah. Among the others are the one that took place in the days of Lot, that which befell the nation of Israel between A.D. 29 and A.D. 70, the present judgment day that will reach its climax at the battle of Armageddon, the one of a thousand years that will immediately follow that and then the final test that will climax that judgment day.

JEHOVAH’S PAST JUDGMENT DAYS

Jehovah’s judgment days are made imperative by reason of his supremacy and justice. His judgment days are always a time of taking an account with his creatures, and the first time he did this was in Eden immediately after the rebellion of the “covering cherub” and Adam and Eve. His authority having been outraged by a willful breaking of his law, Jehovah took drastic action by divorcing the covering cherub from God’s heavenly organization and by casting Adam and Eve out of Eden. The eventual destiny of all three was to be annihilation. However, even here God’s mercy was shown in that God did not at once execute Adam and Eve. This allowed for them to have offspring, and for the obedient ones of these to regain eventually that which Adam had lost for them.

The next judgment period the Scriptures tell about seems to have begun possibly fifty years before the great Deluge and lasted until the waters actually fell; for it was after Noah’s sons had grown to maturity and married that God commanded Noah to build the ark. Wickedness and violence made it necessary that God again take action. That this likewise was a time both of executing justice upon the wicked and showing mercy to the righteous can be seen from Peter’s words that God “did not hold back from punishing an ancient world, but kept Noah, a preacher of righteousness, safe with seven others.” That the destiny of those antediluvians was everlasting destruction Peter also makes clear.—See 2 Peter, chapter 2, NW.

And since Peter also includes Sodom and Gomorrah in the foregoing reference, we know that those who perished by Jehovah’s fiery judgment in Lot’s day also had their eternal destiny sealed. Here again extreme wickedness and violence made a judgment day by Jehovah necessary and again mercy was shown, to Lot and his family.

With the warning message of John the Baptist a judgment day began for the nation of Israel. He told that the ax was already lying at the root of the tree and that soon one would appear who would baptize that nation with fire, a symbol of destruction. After John came Jesus, who preached a message both of good news and of warning for about three and a half years. Particularly beginning with Pentecost his followers took up the preaching work. Those who accepted the truth and Christ became part of the Christian congregation and escaped Jehovah’s judgment of execution at the hands of the Roman armies A.D. 70.

All those who failed to heed the message of truth were either destroyed at that time or taken captive. That their perishing at that time meant eternal destruction is apparent from Jesus’ words to the religious leaders of the time: “Serpents, offspring of vipers, how are you to flee from the judgment of Gehenna?” And that this destruction also included their flock Jesus also indicated: “If, then, a blind man guides a blind man, both will fall into a pit.” Preferring their hypocritical, ear-tickling religious guides to Christ, the unrepentant people deserved the same destiny as their false guides.—Matt. 23:33; 15:14, NW.

THE PRESENT JUDGMENT DAY

Coming down to our day for another of Jehovah’s judgment days we find that it has several aspects. First of all, it is a day of judgment for the Christian congregation of God, the bride of Christ. From the prophecy at Malachi 3:1-3 it is seen that when Jehovah comes to judge these he has associated with him his Son, Jesus Christ. In fact, Jesus once stated: “For the Father judges no one at all, but he has committed all the judging to the Son.”—John 5:22, NW.

From the fulfillment of such prophecies as that found at Matthew 24 we know that since 1914 we have been living in the day of Jesus’ second but invisible presence. And even as Jesus came to God’s literal temple three and a half years after his appearing as the Messiah, so the physical facts show that the year 1918 marked “the appointed time for the judgment to start with the house of God.” By the house of God is meant the congregation of God, the body of Christ, who have been “born again” by means of God’s spirit.—1 Pet. 4:17, NW.

Those who had fallen asleep in death and who had been faithful until death were resurrected and given their heavenly reward. Those Christians then on earth professing to be of the body of Christ were judged and separated. The unfaithful were cast off into the outer darkness, whereas the faithful were purified so that they were from then on able to offer God fitting service by keeping clean from the old world and preaching the good news to the meek and warning of God’s day of vengeance.

Because of the establishing of God’s kingdom in the heavens, which fact the Scriptures associate with Christ’s return, the present is also a time of judgment of men and nations. Christ has been enthroned as King and therefore the rulers of earth are commanded to give their allegiance to him, even as noted in Psalm 2. However, not only have these refused to do so, as seen by their ignoring the Kingdom announcement, but they have set up their own substitute, the United Nations, and have showed their opposition even to the point of persecuting the Kingdom announcers. Because of all this they will perish at the rapidly approaching battle of Armageddon.

While the rulers and the nations as such have sealed their destiny by rejecting God’s kingdom, at the present time there is still opportunity for all men of good will to take their stand for Jehovah and his kingdom. That is one of the chief purposes for publishing this magazine and similar literature. This is a merciful provision of Jehovah and why he has delayed the climax of the present judgment day. If you are wise you will take advantage of this period of mercy by heeding Jehovah’s command: “Seek ye Jehovah, all ye meek of the earth, that have kept his ordinances; seek righteousness, seek meekness: it may be ye will be hid in the day of Jehovah’s anger.”—Zeph. 2:3, AS.

We seek Jehovah by studying his Word, for therein he reveals himself to us; and that is also the way to seek righteousness, for it makes clear to us what God’s righteous requirements for us are. Of course, you will need help, even as did the early disciples of Jesus, and standing ready to help you are the ministers of the New World society, Jehovah’s witnesses. They will be only too glad to come into your home and study the Bible with you.

Additionally, it will be necessary for you to associate with others who are likewise endeavoring to carry out God’s righteous requirements, for we are counseled not to forsake the assembling of ourselves together. As you grow in knowledge and understanding you will see your privilege of following in Jesus’ footsteps by dedicating yourself to do God’s will and being baptized even as he was. By leading a clean Christian life, by keeping separate from this old world’s commercial and political schemes, and by sharing in preaching the good news about God’s kingdom you can hope to have God’s approval and be among those who will survive the climax of this judgment period, the battle of Armageddon. You will show yourself to be one of the sheep that are spared to enter God’s new world, during whose judgment day of a thousand years Satan and his demons will be bound.

THE FUTURE JUDGMENT DAY

Christ Jesus will be the Judge in this thousand-year judgment day and he will have associated with him his footstep followers, even as Paul’s words indicate: “Do you not know that the holy ones will judge the world?” According to Revelation chapters 7 and 14 those associate judges will number 144,000.—1 Cor. 6:2, NW.

During the first part of that thousand-year judgment day you, if an Armageddon survivor, will have the great privilege of sharing in a token fulfillment of the procreation mandate first given to Adam and Eve and restated to Noah and his sons. That means you will be able to bring forth children in righteousness, exercise loving dominion of the lower animals and help restore the earth to a paradisaic state. Then all those still in the memorial tombs will hear the voice of the everlasting Father, Jesus Christ, and come forth to a resurrection of judgment. It will doubtless be your privilege to help welcome these back from the grave and then instruct them in the ways of righteousness.

Then, when all these have been awakened from the dead and gradually reach mental, moral and physical perfection, for which purpose the thousand years have been set apart, Christ and his associates will step aside and Jehovah himself will administer the final test, even as Paul shows at 1 Corinthians 15:20-28. This final test will be brought about by a releasing of Satan and his demons from their state of deathlike inactivity. All who are selfish at heart will be misled by him and manifest it by open rebellion against God’s arrangement upon earth. Having revealed what was in their heart, they will then be executed by Jehovah, along with the Devil and his demons. This is spoken of as the lake of fire, which really means the second death.—Rev. 20:7-10, 14, NW.

Thus we see that Jehovah’s judgment days are both righteous and merciful and are cause for rejoicing by all lovers of righteousness. By these judgment days God will vindicate himself as the rightful Sovereign; he will demonstrate his ability to enforce his righteous judgments and yet realize his wise and loving purposes regarding his creatures. And even as his first judgment day meant the loss of paradise, so his final judgment day will mean the full restoration of it.

When I say unto the wicked, O wicked men, thou shalt surely die, and thou dost not speak to warn the wicked from his way; that wicked man shall die in his iniquity, but his blood will I require at thy hand. Nevertheless, if thou warn the wicked of his way to turn from it, and he turn not from his way; he shall die in his iniquity, but thou hast delivered thy soul.—Ezek. 33:8, 9, AS.

Mary a Disciple, Not a Queen

THERE was a most unusual occurrence in the Galilean town of Nazareth. It was not to the daughter of a king, but to the humble daughter of Heli who was soon to be married to the young carpenter Joseph, that the angel Gabriel appeared with the greeting, “Good day, highly favored one, Jehovah is with you.” Quite naturally Mary was disturbed at the greeting. What did it mean? The angel continued: “Have no fear, Mary, for you have found favor with God; and, look! you will conceive in your womb and give birth to a son, and you are to call his name Jesus. This one will be great and will be called Son of the Most High, and Jehovah God will give him the throne of David his father, and he will be king over the house of Jacob forever, and there will be no end of his kingdom.” There were no promises of a jewel-bedecked crown for her. She would bear the son, but he would be the king. She was not presumptuous or demanding of more for herself, but responded: “Look! Jehovah’s slave girl! May it take place with me according to your declaration.”—Luke 1:28-38, NW.

A SONG OF PRAISE

Mary soon made a trip to Judah to visit Elizabeth, who greeted her with this statement inspired by God: “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb! So how is it that this privilege is mine, to have the mother of my Lord come to me? For, look! as the sound of your greeting fell upon my ears, the infant in my womb leaped with great gladness. Happy, too, is she that believed, because there will be a complete performance of those things spoken to her from Jehovah.” Elizabeth was right; Mary was being richly blessed by Jehovah and she was happy to be His servant.

Mary showed good sense in her response. Her privilege of service had not made her proud or boastful, for she gave the glory to God. “My soul magnifies Jehovah, and my spirit cannot keep from being overjoyed at God my Savior; because he has looked upon the low position of his slave girl. For, look! from now on all generations will pronounce me happy; because the powerful One has done great deeds for me, and holy is his name, and for generations after generations his mercy is upon those who fear him. He has performed mightily with his arm, he has scattered abroad those who are haughty in the intention of their hearts. He has brought down men of power from thrones and exalted lowly ones; he has fully satisfied hungry ones with good things and he has sent away empty those who had wealth. He has come to the aid of Israel his servant, to call to mind mercy, just as he once said to our forefathers, to Abraham and to his seed, forever.” (Luke 1:39-55, NW) While she expressed heartfelt gratitude for the undeserved kindness shown to her by God, she directed all honor to him: He was the one magnified, the powerful One who does great deeds; his name is holy.

BLESSED AMONG WOMEN

But what of the statement, “all generations will pronounce me happy”? Does it not indicate special praise and glory is due this one privileged to be the mother of God’s Son? No; “It is Jehovah your God you must worship, and it is to him alone you must render sacred service.” (Matt. 4:10, NW) Nor is even relative worship to be given by one bowing before her image. “You must not make for yourself a carved image . . . You must not bow down to them nor be induced to serve them, because I Jehovah your God am a God exacting exclusive devotion.” “I am Jehovah, that is my name; and my glory will I not give to another, neither my praise unto graven images.” When John bowed before even a living angel he was reproved: “Do not do that! . . . Worship God.”—Ex. 20:4, 5, NW; Isa. 42:8, AS; Rev. 19:10, NW.

In what way, then, is she pronounced happy? Is it because of being the “woman” spoken of prophetically in Genesis 3:15? No, for the woman that was to bring forth the serpent-bruising Seed, later promised to come through the line of Abraham, is identified in Galatians 4:26 as “Jerusalem above,” the universal organization of God.—Gen. 22:18.

Is she declared happy because of being the “woman” referred to in the symbolic account of Revelation chapter 12? Again, No. It could not possibly be discussing the human birth of Jesus. The Revelation was given to John in the year 96 (A.D.), years after the birth of Christ, and it is introduced with the clear statement that these events were yet future.—Rev. 1:1.

Is her joy, then, as Co-Redemptrix of the human race? St. Alphonsus Liguori ascribes that position to her by saying, “There is no one . . . who can be saved or redeemed but through thee, O Mother of God.” But the Bible firmly declares: “Jesus Christ the Nazarene, . . . 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 4:10-12, NW) And Revelation 7:10 excludes Mary when it says: “Salvation we owe to our God, who is seated on the throne, and to the Lamb.”—NW.

May she be pronounced happy as the Mediatrix of mankind? Let God have the say as to the truth of the matter by accepting the statement in his Word: “There is one God, and one mediator between God and men, a man Christ Jesus, who gave himself a corresponding ransom for all.”—1 Tim. 2:5, 6, NW.

Certainly all will agree that Mary’s was a happy lot as the earthly mother of Jesus, but her lot as a disciple of Jesus was a source of even greater joy. When Jesus was on one occasion teaching a crowd, a woman raised her voice in sincere expression, saying, “Happy is the womb that carried you and the breasts that you sucked!” That is to this day the feeling of many. But Jesus corrected the woman: “No, rather, Happy are those hearing the word of God and keeping it!” It was in this that Mary found her greater happiness.—Luke 11:27, 28, NW.

“QUEEN OF HEAVEN”

Mary is much spoken of in Catholic groups as the “Queen of Heaven” and the “Queen of Peace.” This is not a new thought, for early apocryphal writings ascribed great honor to her as the “Mother of God.” But let us go back much before that, into ancient Babylon with its pagan religion, to find its beginning. “Under the name of the ‘Mother of the gods,’ the goddess queen of Babylon became an object of almost universal worship. ‘The Mother of the gods,’ says Clericus, ‘was worshipped by the Persians, the Syrians, and all the kings of Europe and Asia, with the most profound religious veneration.” How did the practice creep into the “Christian” world? “The worship of the goddess-mother with the child in her arms continued to be observed in Egypt till Christianity entered. . . . With the generality it came only in name. Instead, therefore, of the Babylonian goddess being cast out, in too many cases her name only was changed. She was called the Virgin Mary, and, with her child, was worshipped with the same idolatrous feeling by professing Christians, as formerly by open and avowed Pagans.”—The Two Babylons, by Alexander Hislop.

Note, too, the madonnas of Christendom. Until Raphael departed from the conventional, Mary was never painted with the Hebrew features of her people and with the dark eyes and hair so common to them. She, like most of the pagan madonnas, has usually been portrayed with golden hair and blue eyes, just as the goddess-queen of Babylon. “There is yet another remarkable characteristic of these pictures worthy of notice, and that is the nimbus or peculiar circle of light that frequently encompasses the head of the Roman Madonna. . . . The disk, and particularly the circle, were the well-known symbols of the Sun-divinity, and figured largely in the symbolism of the East. . . . The same was the case in Pagan Rome. Apollo, as the child of the Sun, was often thus represented.”—The Two Babylons, page 87.

In considering the work of St. Alphonsus Liguori, The Glories of Mary, written about 1750 and pronounced without error by Popes Pius VII and Leo XIII, Charles Amlin draws a few rather pointed comparisons on the glory given to the Catholic “Queen of Heaven”: “In the Liguori book we read (p. 92): ‘All power is given to thee (Mary) in heaven and on earth, and nothing is impossible to thee.’ In the Catholic Bible we read (Matt. XXVIII:18): ‘And Jesus drew near and spoke to them, saying, “All power in heaven and on earth has been given to me.’” In the Liguori book we read (p. 257): ‘Mary . . . is that throne of grace to which the Apostle Paul, in his epistle to the Hebrews, exhorts to fly with confidence.’ In the Catholic Bible we read (Heb. IV:14-16): ‘Having therefore a great high priest . . . Jesus the Son of God . . . Let us therefore draw near with confidence to the throne of grace.’ . . . In the Liguori book, pronounced, as will be recalled, ‘without error’ by two popes, we read (p. 130): ‘The Holy Church . . . commands a worship peculiar to Mary.’”

On page 37 of this same work, Mary: Mother of Jesus or Queen of Heaven? the author quotes further from The Glories of Mary: “Of other saints we say that they are with God; but of Mary alone can it be said that she was so far favored as to be not only herself submissive to the will of God, but even that God was subject to her will.” And on page 49 Pope Pius IX is quoted as concluding his definition of the dogma of Mary’s immaculate conception with the words: “Let the children of the Roman Catholic Church . . . proceed to worship, invoke and pray to the Blessed Virgin Mary.” And so the worship of Mary, Queen of Heaven, has come to replace the worship of God in the lives of millions.

Just who is this “Queen of Heaven,” ascribed greater authority than Christ and of whom it is said that even “God was subject to her will”? Surely not the humble Mary who magnified Jehovah and was his willing servant. No, but she is the Babylonian queen of heaven of whom God himself says at Jeremiah 7:16-20 (AS): “Therefore pray not thou for this people, neither lift up cry nor prayer for them, neither make intercession to me; for I will not hear thee. Seest thou not what they do in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem? The children gather wood, and the fathers kindle the fire, and the women knead the dough, to make cakes to the queen of heaven, and to pour out drink-offerings unto other gods, that they may provoke me to anger. Do they provoke me to anger? saith Jehovah; do they not provoke themselves, to the confusion of their own faces? Therefore thus saith the Lord Jehovah: Behold, mine anger and my wrath shall be poured out upon this place, upon man, and upon beast, and upon the trees of the field, and upon the fruit of the ground; and it shall burn, and shall not be quenched.” Worship of a “Queen of Heaven” or a “Queen of Peace” is not the way to honor God, but recognition of the God of peace and of his appointed Prince of Peace is.

DISCIPLE OF JESUS

What a contrast there is between the humble mother and disciple of Jesus described in the Bible and the gold- and jewel-bedecked images of the “Queen of Heaven” adored and worshiped by men! Mary’s meekness, sincerity and love of righteousness fit her well as a devoted disciple of Jesus. Nowhere do we find her with a halo on her head and richly decked out as the glorified “Queen of Heaven.” After Jesus’ death she was not glorified in the Christian congregation. In fact, very little is said about her. The last mention of her in the Bible shows her with the other faithful followers of the Lord in an upper room giving her worship to God. (Acts 1:13, 14) When she died her body returned to the dust, and there she slept in death until God’s due time to raise her with other faithful ones to life as a spirit creature in heaven.—1 Cor. 15:44, 50; 2 Tim. 4:8.

The Chief Was Impressed

The district servant was busy overhauling the Society’s panel truck after arriving at the assembly site. It was out in “bush” country of Northern Rhodesia and the trip had been made over rough dirt roads. To keep any vehicle in good condition under these circumstances requires constant attention. So here he was, busy on the job, and not in exactly the kind of attire to receive a formal visit, when there appeared on the scene a small procession, a superior chief and his attendants, personal clerk, interpreter, etc.

After a few minutes of formal exchanges, the chief nodded to one of his attendants, who immediately presented the district servant with a dozen eggs—without doubt a friendly visit.

Along with many others, this chief has been undergoing a change of heart toward Jehovah’s witnesses. Just a few years ago he had no time for the witnesses, for he thought they were political troublemakers. Now he is an ardent backer and defender of Jehovah’s witnesses, finding them to be the greatest peacemakers ever to bless his district. Taking up the story the district servant writes:

“When the news trickled through to the chief that Jehovah’s witnesses were having their circuit assembly in his area, that was his cue to get busy. First he calmed the uneasiness of a European superior, who, not knowing the nature of the assembly, feared there might be trouble. Next, at every court hearing which he attended he commanded that the accused should be present at this assembly. Then he called in all the village headmen under him and in no mean terms told them that if they themselves failed to attend or if they did not notify the village people and encourage them to be present then he personally would see that they were charged with negligence of duty. As though this were not sufficient, he made a public decree that all the officials and officers and people of his own village must honor the assembly by their presence!

“Although not one of Jehovah’s witnesses, the chief talks highly of these cheerful peacemakers. And as he says, ‘Peacemakers are here to stay.’”

No doubt about it, the chief was impressed.

Israel’s Wonderful Way in Worship

COULD you imagine a small two-room house, on a lot seventy-five by one hundred and fifty feet, worth two million dollars? Why, you say, a house that costly would be a palace! And if it were a building that small it would have to be gold-plated! Yes, it would, and yet it is not all a fiction of the imagination. The glorious tentlike palace of Jehovah God was just such a structure and it was a reality. It was the tent of meeting, the wonderful way of Israel into the presence of the Most High in worship, the tabernacle in the wilderness.

So resplendent was the tabernacle of Israel in appearance, so magnificent in appointment, and yet so simple was it in engineering details that it could not have had its birth in the mind of man. Still, one group of higher critics states, “The tabernacle as here presented never actually existed. It is a product of the priestly imagination.” They claim that priests added the account of the building of the tabernacle to the Scriptures after the Babylonian exile in order “to illustrate a new theological conviction.”a This is a denial not only of Moses’ writings but also of Zechariah’s, for this latter prophet spoke of the days of these priests as a time of restoration of true worship, not that of a “new theological conviction.”—Zech. 8:1-13.

Despite the opinion of such men, God’s own Word says that the design was received under inspiration by Moses from the great Architect of the universe, Jehovah God himself. (Ex. 25:9) Christ Jesus accepted this statement. More than five centuries after the exile, and therefore after the account is supposed to have been tampered with, Jesus had these same Scriptures in the form we now know them today and he said in his prayer to Jehovah, “Your word is truth.” (John 17:17, NW) True Christians, then, can rely with confidence on the description of the tabernacle as it has been preserved for us.

The tabernacle was so simple in its construction that the account has little, actually, to say about the way it was to be put together and this very lack of description has caused confusion among those who have tried to reconstruct it. Some have pictured it as a tent with sloping sides and a ridge pole down the center,b but this conception requires too many structural details not mentioned or even suggested in the textual account. Other factors also rule out such a conception as impossible.

PANEL FRAMES

The point most open to discussion in the description of the tabernacle is the term translated “boards” in most versions of the Bible. This term is now understood to be “frames.”c (Ex. 26:15, AT; Knox; The Interpreter’s Bible) The New World Translation of the Hebrew Scriptures at this text renders the term “panel frames” with the footnote, “‘Panel frames,’ rather than ‘boards’, which would have been solid timbers and hence of ponderous size and weight.” These were twenty-seven inches wide by nine inches thick and fifteen feet high or long and heavily plated with pure gold. This means that, if they were solid ‘boards,’ each of the forty-six would weigh about a thousand pounds.d That would make the entire structure well over twenty tons. A preponderant weight!

It is evident, therefore, that they were not solid but were fashioned much like a modern window frame. Each frame had two tenons on the bottom that fitted neatly into holes in socket pedestals of silver, two socket pedestals to each panel. These socket pedestals were flat slabs of pure solid silver weighing about eighty-six pounds eache and they served as a foundation base for the building. Three walls of the building were panel frames but the entire east wall was a finely woven hanging that served as a screen or door.—Ex. 26:17-21, 36; 38:27.

On the outside of each panel frame were rings through which gold-plated bars were inserted to bind the frames together as one wall.f Evidently to simplify its erection, ten panel frames on each side and the six at the rear were first joined by bars at the top and the bottom of each section. It appears that these bars met at the rear corners and locked in some way at the two corner posts. Next, the ten panel frames forming the forward half of each side wall were set in place and similarly joined by bars at the top and bottom. Then a single bar on each of these three sides was inserted in rings the full length of the wall. These joined the two sections of each side wall together and further secured the corners.g The entire structure was fifteen feet wide and high by forty-five feet long, outside measure.—Ex. 26:16-18, 22, 26-29.

The frames thus being set side by side would form a double row of panels all around the three sides of the building.h The upright members of each frame, with the upright members of the frame adjoining it, would make pillars of gold nine inches square. Between these golden pillars, and each set in its own magnificent frame of pure gold, were the cherubs, giving mute but eloquent testimony that this was the place of Jehovah’s residence in Israel. These cherubs were exquisitely embroidered on the fine twisted linen covering that next commands our attention.

THE COVERINGS

This covering was in two parts, each composed of five uniformly sized strips joined together to make a tent cloth thirty feet long by forty-two feet wide. One of these cloths covered thirty feet of the framework toward the front and the other covered the back fifteen feet and the rear wall of the framework. Since they were only forty-two feet wide they did not quite reach to the ground on either side of the building and therefore the ends would not be affected by ground moisture. Where the edges of these two large tent cloths met they were joined with loops of blue thread and gold hooks. Being in two parts they were much easier to handle in erecting and dismantling the tabernacle when the Israelites were on the march. The cherubs were so arranged in the pattern of the cloths that, when the cloths were in place over the framework, each cherub stood within a windowlike opening of the wall, as it were, looking in.i—Ex. 26:1-6.

To protect this elegant linen covering from the ravages of sun and rain three outer coverings were made. One, of goat’s hair, was no doubt tightly woven with perhaps a satiny sheen and would serve as a cushion for the other coverings of ram skins and seal skins. It is of interest that dimensions are given for only the one outer covering, that of goat’s hair, and it overlapped the linen covering on each side by a foot and a half. In spite of this the goat’s hair tent cloth, like the linen one, would not quite touch the ground.j

The outer two coverings, though, were no doubt made to reach to the ground and all must have been held securely in place by tent pinsk and ropes, perhaps these even being sewed into the seams of the pieces that made up the various cloths. Another feature of all three of these outer coverings was the additional strip for the forward half of the covering. This half of the tent cloth was made of six strips in comparison with the five strips composing the forward half of the linen covering. This sixth strip of tent cloth was folded double and was used as an overhanging at the front of the tabernacle to form something like a small canopy or porch.—Ex. 26:7-14.

THE TWO ROOMS

The tabernacle was divided into two rooms by a curtain of material similar to the linen tent cloths. It was also embroidered with cherubs, blue thread and wool dyed reddish purple and coccus scarlet material being used. This was hung on four stately pillars of gold under the hocks of the linen covering. The first room of the building would therefore be thirty feet long and the second room would be a perfect cube of fifteen feet. Inside this second room was the most precious piece of furniture of the entire palace.—Ex. 26:31-33.

At the front and outside as an entrance was the screen mentioned earlier. This was suspended from five magnificent gold pillars that rested on copper socket pedestals. (Ex. 26:37) Another hanging similar to the curtain and the screen was the door of the courtyard in which the palace was situated. This made an entrance thirty feet wide.l All the pillars and their socket pedestals for the courtyard were gleaming copper.—Ex. 27:9-18.

What an awe-inspiring sight this magnificent temple of the wilderness must have been for the worshiping Israelites! And how thankful we, as recipients of the inspired Record, should be to know that its description has been faithfully preserved for our learning! Whether we see it clearly in the reconstruction or not we know that it was not fiction, for if it were, then our hope would be in vain. This is certain from the apostle Paul’s words where he describes the tabernacle as a reality and then says: “This very tent is an illustration for the appointed time that is now here, and in keeping with it both gifts and sacrifices are offered. However, . . . when Christ came as a high priest . . . he entered, no, not with the blood of goats and of young bulls, but with his own blood, once for all time into the holy place and obtained an everlasting release for us.”—Heb. 9:9-12, NW.

Higher critics, lacking vision, may scoff and discount the record, but true Christians believe with Jesus, ‘Your word is true.’

[Footnotes]

Preaching by Writing Letters

EACH dedicated Christian witness of Jehovah is under obligation to preach the good news of the Kingdom. Of course, the most effective way to do this is by going from house to house. Some, however, because of disease, old age or other crippling infirmity, are unable to share in the house-to-house activity. Many of these are making good use of their opportunities by writing letters containing the good news of God’s kingdom.

Thus one writes: “Because of a stroke three years ago I am no longer able to go from house to house, and so I witness by writing letters. Recently I wrote such a letter to a woman who had suddenly lost her husband. This woman then came to see me and told how much my letter had helped her. I was able to give her a further witness and to make arrangements for a home Bible study the following week. The study is progressing fine and she witnesses to everybody she meets.”

Another shut-in writes: “At present I have been confined to the bed for over a year. I cannot sit up at all but still I am writing letters and sending out lots of literature. While in almost four years I have only gotten four subscriptions for The Watchtower, placed a Bible and several bound books, I have also placed hundreds of magazines and booklets.”

This sister spends from 65 to 85 hours a month writing letters. She has been in this sanitarium six and a half years, but received the truth only some four years ago. The last time she was permitted to leave the sanitarium, some three years ago, she was able to be immersed.

Another infirm sister, who is 72 years old, devotes some 100 hours each month writing letters in which she includes booklets. The congregation reports that her letters have paved the way for many an effective witness at the door by those able to go from door to door. From one woman she received the following letter:

“Dear——, I want to thank you for the nice letter I received from you yesterday. To begin with I am Catholic, and do love my religion very much. I don’t know how you received my address, but I was very much impressed and interested in your letter. I think it is wonderful to be so sincere and enthusiastic in a person’s religion. Most people won’t sit down and take time out like you do, to write and tell others about our wonderful and loving Master. I am sure God appreciates your work. I have a good friend who belongs to Jehovah’s witnesses, or the same religion as yours, a very wonderful person like yourself and doing a great job in the missionary field. So thank you again and may God bless you.”

At one of the Society’s Bethel homes a brother, close to eighty years old, unable to climb stairs because of heart trouble, sends letters of comfort together with literature to those whose addresses appear in the obituary column because of having lost a loved one. He also uses a list of names and addresses, obtained from a commercial agency for a small fee, of persons professing to be Christians who would like to correspond with others professing to be Christians. He sends a short letter of self-introduction, which he accompanies with tracts, booklet or magazine, and invites an expression on the literature enclosed after it has been read. He has received some very fine replies from various parts of the world.

Nor would we overlook those who are too crippled to write letters and who witness by using the telephone, or who supplement their letter writing by phone calls. One sister, who for many, many years was bedridden, made good use of the telephone, which she had right at her bed, until she was no longer able to witness in this way either because of crippling arthritis.

Then he began to say to them: “The harvest, indeed, is great, but the workers are few. Therefore beg the Master of the harvest to send out workers into his harvest. He that listens to you listens to me too. And he that disregards you disregards me too. Moreover, he that disregards me disregards also him that sent me forth.”—Luke 10:2, 16, NW.

Faithful Stewardship

“Indeed, everyone to whom much was given, much will be demanded of him, and the one whom people put in charge of much, they will demand more than usual of him.”—Luke 12:48. NW.

1. What responsibility has a steward?

A STEWARD is one who looks after or guards, having management of either real or personal estate or of both. A chief steward becomes in effect an overseer, an administrator, a governor. Stewardship and responsibility go hand in hand. Having responsibility means being answerable for the discharge of a duty or trust; being accountable to a rightful superior; being able to respond or answer for one’s conduct and obligation; being one who is trustworthy.

2. Mention some Scriptural requirements for a steward.

² The apostle Peter expresses the close connection between stewardship and responsibility when he says: “In proportion as each one has received a gift, use it in ministering to one another as the right kind of stewards over God’s undeserved kindness which is expressed in various ways.” And Paul says: “Let a man so appraise us as being subordinates of Christ and stewards of sacred secrets of God. Besides, in this case, what is looked for in stewards is for a man to be found faithful.” “For an overseer must be free from accusation as God’s steward, not self-willed, not prone to wrath, not a drunken brawler, not a smiter, not greedy of dishonest gain, but a lover of strangers.”—1 Pet. 4:10; 1 Cor. 4:1, 2; Titus 1:7, 8, NW.

3. How did Paul recognize his responsibility as a steward?

³ Paul clearly recognized his responsibility for his charge when he wrote: “You have heard about the stewardship of the undeserved kindness of God which was given me with you in view, that by way of a revelation the sacred secret was made known to me.” “I became a minister of this congregation in accordance with the stewardship from God which was given me in your interest to preach the word of God thoroughly.” “According to the glorious good news of the happy God, with which I was entrusted.” “Just as we have been proved by God as fit to be entrusted with the good news, so we speak, as pleasing, not men, but God, who makes proof of our hearts.”—Eph. 3:2, 3; Col. 1:25; 1 Tim. 1:11; 1 Thess. 2:4, NW.

4. With what responsibility do Jehovah and Christ Jesus give interests into the care of the stewards?

⁴ Jehovah God through Christ Jesus has entrusted great interests into the care of the true people of God in these last days. This is of utmost concern to all dedicated to Jehovah’s service. To all God’s slaves or stewards the following illustration is given: “A certain man of noble birth . . . calling ten slaves of his . . . gave them ten minas and told them: ‘Do business till I come.’ . . . Eventually when he arrived home after having secured the kingly power, he commanded to be called to him these slaves to whom he had given the silver money, in order to ascertain what they had gained by business activity. Then the first one presented himself, saying: ‘Lord, your mina, by trading, went up to ten minas.’ So he said to him: ‘Well done, good slave! Because in a very small matter you have proved yourself faithful, accept authority over ten cities.’ But a different one came, saying: ‘Lord, here is your mina, that I kept laid away in a cloth. You see, I was in fear of you, because you are a harsh man; you take up what you did not deposit and you reap what you did not sow.’ With that he said to those standing by: ‘Take the mina from him and give it to him that has the ten minas.’ But they said to him: ‘Lord, he has ten minas!’ . . . ‘I say to you, To everyone that has, more will be given; but from the one that does not have, even what he has will be taken away.’” (Luke 19:12-17, 20, 21, 24-26, NW) Here is shown how the King handed interests of the Kingdom into the custody of his slaves and expected increase. Approval for increase, disapproval for failure to increase, are definitely expressed. The same principle is emphasized by the illustration of the talents, at Matthew 25:14-30. There can be no standing still.

5. State some of the interests committed to the disciples.

⁵ The Lord Jesus certainly committed interests to the care of his disciples when he said: “I have given your word to them.” ‘I have made your name manifest to them.’ “I have given them the glory which you have given me, in order that they may be one just as we are one.” (John 17:6, 14, 22, NW) “The kingdom of God will be taken from you and be given to a nation producing its fruits.” (Matt. 21:43, NW) “Have no fear, little flock, because your Father has approved of giving you the kingdom.” (Luke 12:32, NW) Then Paul states: “All things are from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of the reconciliation.” (2 Cor. 5:17, 18, NW) “Keep watching the ministry which you accepted in the Lord, that you fulfill it.” (Col. 4:17, NW) “You, though, keep your balance in all things, suffer evil, do missionary work, thoroughly accomplish your ministry.” (2 Tim. 4:5, NW) These are a few of the many scriptures showing some of the precious interests given into the care of God’s people, namely, the Word of Jehovah, the name of Jehovah, the kingdom of God, the ministry of reconciliation and work of evangelists.

6. Why must interests of the Kingdom be increased, and is this reasonable, and why?

⁶ The interests entrusted must be increased, for the rule of Scripture is fixed: “To everyone that has, more will be given; but from the one that does not have, even what he has will be taken away.” (Luke 19:26, NW) This is a rule of justice. Encouragement is given to the industrious. Those who go out of their way to do things should have their opportunities of Kingdom service enlarged. Those who work for increase Jehovah blesses, and gives them increase. The ones who are negligent and slothful lose what they have. Therefore we must treasure our opportunities of Kingdom service with great care and come into line with the Scriptural rule. The reward for faithful, diligent service is greater responsibility. Walking in the fear of Jehovah and with fervent prayer is the way to qualify for increased privileges.

SCRIPTURAL EXAMPLE

7. What advantage is there for us in considering Joseph and his stewardship?

⁷ There are many Scriptural examples, but only one will be dealt with now and that is the experience of Joseph. The blessing of Jehovah was with Joseph because of faithful stewardship, and it is to our profit to consider his record. There is one thing sure and that is that prosperity comes through friendship with Jehovah. It is interesting to note that, in the first six verses of Genesis chapter 39 Ge 39:1-6 (NW), mention is made five times that Joseph had Jehovah’s favor. “But Jehovah proved to be with Joseph so that he turned out a successful man . . . And his master got to see that Jehovah was with him . . . everything he was doing Jehovah was making turn out successful in his hand. . . . Jehovah kept blessing the house of the Egyptian due to Joseph, . . . Jehovah’s blessing came to be upon all that he had in the house and in the field.” As a result note the further success stated: “Finally he left everything that was his in Joseph’s hand, and he did not know what was with him at all except the bread he was eating.” A marvelous record of a faithful steward fully discharging his responsibility.

8. Mention some of the blessings of friendship with Jehovah, as clearly indicated by the experiences of Joseph.

⁸ Joseph feared God. A person who is more afraid of displeasing Jehovah than he is of displeasing humans can be trusted. To walk with Jehovah is a blessed state, and God’s slaves are always happy in their service regardless of the assignment. The friendship of Jehovah must be sought after and prayed for, and attained by doing those things that will gain it. There is no better companion for a journey, and happy are those who realize Jehovah’s presence with them wherever they are, for then no place is lonely. He is with us in the severest of trials, and even the loss of something or someone will make us cherish his fellowship more than ever before. If Jehovah is truly with us then he is just as near on land or sea, in any country or condition. He is our friend and companion; yes, the fear and fellowship of Jehovah are the best protection we could ever have. The glory of Jehovah is reflected in the blessedness and happiness of his children. Because of our acknowledging him in all our ways he directs our paths. O happy people of Jehovah to have such companionship and assurances!

9. Show how stewardship can bring temptations, and how these may be successfully met.

⁹ Temptations will still come to those who are faithful stewards of Jehovah God. Even though conscious of his blessing we are not immune from dangers and therefore must always walk in the fear of Jehovah. And so it was with Joseph, for a dreadful experience came into his life. The record states: “Moreover, Joseph grew to be beautiful in form and beautiful in appearance. Now after these things it came about that the wife of his master began to raise her eyes toward Joseph and say: ‘Cohabit with me.’ But he would refuse and would say to his master’s wife: ‘Here my master does not know what is with me in the house and everything he has he has given into my hand. There is no one greater in this house than I am, and he has not withheld from me anything at all except you, because you are his wife. So how could I commit this great wickedness and actually sin against God?’” Joseph, when she persisted and grabbed him by his garment, left his garment and took flight. Here, then, is the safe course for faithful stewards to take today. When confronted with temptation, flee from it, for if you try to reason it may mean you will lose the battle. Flight is the safe way. Do so in haste, as when running from a poisonous snake;—get out of danger. See how Joseph got protection in his instant recognition of the fact that the suggestion was “actually sin against God.” The fear of Jehovah will likewise be our safety. Do not sin against God. No one goes extremely wicked all at once, but, rather, weakens gradually. On the other hand, by the fear of Jehovah one departs from evil and is safe.—Gen. 39:6-9, NW.

THE BLESSING OF JEHOVAH

10. Why is Jehovah’s blessing essential, and how can it be gained?

¹⁰ Every one of God’s people desires his blessing. “The blessing of Jehovah, it maketh rich; and he addeth no sorrow therewith.” (Prov. 10:22, AS) “The blessing of the Lord is upon the head of the righteous, it enriches him and grief of heart shall not be added to it.” (Septuagint) It is also written: “And you must remember Jehovah your God, because he is the giver of power to you to make wealth, in order to carry out his covenant that he swore to your forefathers, as at this day.” (Deut. 8:18, NW) Everything depends upon Jehovah’s blessing, but it is never given for the accomplishment of a selfish purpose, only to accomplish his will. “When acceptable to Yahweh are the ways of a man even his enemies doth he cause to make peace with him.” (Prov. 16:7, Roth.) The blessing of Jehovah is obtained by doing those things he commands, by really pleasing him. Certainly we must not act on our own initiative unless it is first approved. Jesus said: “When once you have lifted up the Son of man, then you will know that I am he, and that I do nothing of my own initiative, but just as the Father taught me I speak these things. And he that sent me is with me; he did not abandon me to myself, because I always do the things pleasing to him.” (John 8:28, 29, NW) Jesus was a faithful steward and carried his responsibility and so gained a full reward. He is our perfect example.

11. What course must be followed and what shunned to gain Jehovah’s blessing?

¹¹ To be enriched by Jehovah’s blessing we must be always busy in his service. This means diligence, real effort being put forth at all times, and having great patience and determination to attend to the work on hand and see it is done, following through with assigned tasks. Certainly it does not mean to evade responsibility, to make excuses to escape blame. It is of no use for a steward who is seeking approval to say or do those things that let one out and so avoid the charge laid on one’s shoulders for not giving attention to some matter. One is not dependable when he sidesteps responsibility, neither will Jehovah be pleased with such conduct. If one is to obtain the blessing of Jehovah, then his must be a self-sacrificing spirit, not one of self-indulgence, which leads a man to please himself rather than Jehovah. It means having honesty, purity, fidelity, loyalty and dependability.

FAITHFUL AND DISCREET SLAVE

12. Who is the “faithful and discreet slave,” and why do you say so?

¹² Jesus said: “Who really is the faithful and discreet slave whom his master appointed over his domestics to give them their food at the proper time? Happy is that slave if his master on arriving finds him doing so. Truly I say to you, He will appoint him over all his belongings.” (Matt. 24:45-47, NW) Those belonging to Jehovah’s organization know that the “faithful and discreet slave” is a class made up of the faithful remnant of God’s anointed ones, gathered now in one company and working together under the direction and authority of the governing body of the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society. Readers not yet associated with Jehovah’s witnesses may have a little hesitation in accepting this statement, but the manifestation of Jehovah’s blessing upon the activities of this class of anointed Christians will certainly aid you to appreciate the truth of it and will surely cause any doubts or misgivings to disappear. As a result it will bring happiness to you, because you will be helped to see that the Most High God, Jehovah, is now dealing with his people and his blessing is with them.

13. What publication amply expresses the aims and policies of the Society, and with what result?

¹³ The official magazine of the Society is The Watchtower and it has been published since July, 1879, and never has one issue missed publication. It has now reached a circulation of 2,800,000 copies of each issue and is printed in forty-six languages. It would help the reader just to turn to the inside of the front cover and read there the purpose of the magazine. You will see it warns of danger, announces good news, always sees things Scripturally, is alert to what is going on, points the way of escape, announces Jehovah’s kingdom, feeds Christ’s spiritual joint heirs with spiritual food, cheers men of good will with glorious prospects of eternal life, and in the interests of salvation it keeps sharp and faithful focus on Bible truths. Here are expressed the aims, ideals and policies of the Society. It has gained success and the blessing of Jehovah.

14. (a) How has the “faithful and discreet slave” class discharged its domestic responsibilities? (b) Contrast the conditions inside and outside the Lord’s household.

¹⁴ The “faithful and discreet slave” was appointed over the household to give them their food at the proper time. This has been done faithfully. Truths pertaining to the Kingdom, the second presence of Christ, the fulfillment of prophecy, Satan and his world and the end of his world have been served as rich, nourishing spiritual food to the household of faith for seventy-seven years. It is written: “Every public instructor, when taught respecting the kingdom of the heavens, is like a man, a householder, who brings out of his treasure store things new and old.” (Matt. 13:52, NW) As food has been supplied more has been provided, for there is no lack of spiritual food. No one hears of a famine for food in Jehovah’s organization. “He would feed them also with the finest of the wheat; and with honey out of the rock would I satisfy thee.” (Ps. 81:16, AS) Outside the household is a famine: “Behold, the days come, saith the Lord Jehovah, that I will send a famine in the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of Jehovah. And they shall wander from sea to sea, and from the north even to the east; they shall run to and fro to seek the word of Jehovah, and shall not find it.” (Amos 8:11, 12, AS) “There is that scattereth, and increaseth yet more; and there is that withholdeth more than is meet, but it tendeth only to want.” (Prov. 11:24, AS) As a result Jehovah’s people are spiritually strong and vigorous, being well cared for by the “steward” class. Constant care of the household has gained Jehovah’s blessing, and this is a fulfillment of prophecy. So those who would have the same blessing must perform the same kind of service.

15. What outstanding service has the steward class performed with Jehovah’s help and blessing? And how does Paul refer to it?

¹⁵ This same anointed remnant, or “slave” class, has faithfully carried its responsibility in seeing to it that the Bible alone has been our guide. True doctrine has produced pure worship. Discarding theories and traditions of men and organizations, it has held tenaciously to the book of wisdom, God’s Word. Jehovah’s witnesses now know the Bible is true, as stated: “Sanctify them by means of the truth; your word is truth.” (John 17:17, NW) Today the word of God is bound up in them. The sacred pronouncements of God have been committed to them. Yes, the valuable treasure of divine revelation has been lodged with this faithful slave class. It is a testimony and a law to which God attests. We do not add or take from these. They are letters from Jehovah God to his people, proclamations under seal, safely deposited now with his faithful ones. Paul declares: “Keep holding the pattern of healthful words which you heard from me with the faith and love that are in connection with Christ Jesus. This beautiful trust guard through the holy spirit which is dwelling in us.” (2 Tim. 1:13, 14, NW) This steward is now the custodian of the pure Word of Jehovah God. (Isa. 8:16, AS) This fact is a fulfillment of prophecy, bringing with it Jehovah’s blessing. If you also would receive the blessing, then hold to the truth and believe with all your heart and act upon it.

16. What very practical work has been accomplished by this faithful steward prior to and since 1918?

¹⁶ Another responsibility entrusted to this faithful class that has received attention and been accomplished has been the gathering together of the ‘chosen ones,’ as foretold at Matthew 24:31 (NW): “And he will send forth his angels with a great trumpet-sound and they will gather his chosen ones together from the four winds, from one extremity of the heavens to their other extremity.” In November, 1880, The Watchtower published an article entitled “Gathering to Christ,” using as the key text Psalm 50:5: “Gather my saints together unto me; those that have made a covenant with me by sacrifice,” clearly showing that the gathering was not after death but on earth at the end of the system of things. This gathering continued until in 1918 thousands were assembled to be judged when Jehovah suddenly came to his temple. (See The Watchtower of November 15, 1955, page 695.) Since 1918 the judging has gone on, cleansing this temple class, refining and purifying them so they will form a building for Jehovah to inhabit by spirit. (Eph. 2:22, NW) No other organization on earth has endured the trials, the purging, the heat, the persecution. In fact, no other body of people has the evidences of Jehovah’s severity, chastisement, mercy and undeserved kindness as this people.

17. How have Jehovah’s dealings with this servant class demonstrated their relationship to him as foretold?

¹⁷ For nearly forty years now Jehovah’s dealings with them have been demonstrated. Thousands have been rejected and turned out of the organization because they were sinners and hypocrites. “The sinners in Zion are afraid; trembling hath seized the godless ones: Who among us can dwell with the devouring fire? who among us can dwell with everlasting burnings?” (Isa. 33:14, AS) The next few verses show who shall abide. Those of the anointed remnant who have withstood the fire of God’s judgment and have abode his wrath and displeasure are now happy, Isaiah 33:17 (AS) stating: “Thine eyes shall see the king in his beauty: they shall behold a land that reacheth afar.” O happy blessed anointed of God, your land is good, your King is with you! Now is fulfilled: “One body there is, and one spirit, even as you were called in the one hope to which you were called; one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father . . . until we all attain to the oneness in the faith, . . . to a full-grown man, to the measure of growth that belongs to the fullness of the Christ.” (Eph. 4:4-6, 13, NW) This also is a fulfillment of one of the great signs of the end of this evil system of things. Hence Jehovah’s blessing is seen so much in evidence. Would you also have his blessing? Then join with God’s anointed in their service, with unity and in praise of Jehovah God, working under their direction in peace.

18. What more extensive activity must yet be brought to a successful conclusion in what limited time period?

¹⁸ After the work of gathering together the remnant of the anointed, the little flock, other gathering has to be done. Jesus said: “And I have other sheep, which are not of this fold; those also I must bring, and they will listen to my voice, and they will become one flock, one shepherd.” (John 10:16, NW) And at Revelation 7:9 (NW): “After these things I saw, and, look! a great crowd, which no man was able to number, out of all nations and tribes and peoples and tongues, standing before the throne.” The gathering of this great crowd of “other sheep” has been going on since the year 1931, particularly since 1935, until now the number gathered far exceeds the number of those who were anointed first to do the gathering. It is like a miracle. The number recognized as of the anointed on earth today is about 16,000 and yet the number of those gathered and proclaiming the Kingdom message is now 642,000. This is only through Jehovah’s blessing, and it is marvelous in our eyes. He has given prosperity and success to this great work and yet there may be hundreds of thousands more to be gathered before the ‘great and dreadful day of Jehovah,’ before the world destruction at Armageddon. Can you see his wonderful blessing today? Do you also want his blessing? If so, then do the same works as performed by those who have gained this blessing. The way is open before you; no one will hinder, indeed many will gladly help you to get this blessing. This accomplished ministry is also a fulfillment of prophecy and cannot be denied successfully.

19. What other marvelous fulfillments of prophecy may be seen as unfolding since A.D. 1914?

¹⁹ The King Christ Jesus gave promise that one of the signs of the times proving the end of Satan’s world would be: “This good news of the kingdom will be preached in all the inhabited earth for the purpose of a witness to all the nations, and then the accomplished end will come.” (Matt. 24:14, NW) The King was enthroned in heaven in 1914 as earth’s rightful ruler. The Kingdom is here. True it is that much work has had to be done by the King in preparation for the removal of the old kingdom of Satan and we are very close to the final showdown. Before this happens it is essential to gather all the “little flock” and the “great crowd” and to warn the world of its end. But the glorious good news of the Kingdom will be preached world-wide. Since the year 1922 in a very special way this ‘good news of the established kingdom’ has been proclaimed; yes, more than thirty-four years of intensified advertising of earth’s new King and the Kingdom. This message is being preached in 160 lands by more than 642,000 ministers. The world has heard the proclamation and is without excuse. So a world-wide fulfillment of prophecy is taking place before our eyes, all this under the direction and with the authority of Jehovah’s “faithful and discreet slave” class. His blessing has been and is today upon the great work. Do you desire Jehovah’s favor and blessing? Then follow the lead and course set by this faithful class and go forward and tell others of the Kingdom and its blessings.

Contrast

● In a fifteen-minute speech at St. Peter’s Basilica the pope said recently that the Roman Catholic Church cannot shun politics. According to the New York Times of July 23, 1956, “Pope Pius XII urged Roman Catholics today to take an active part in politics.” But Christ Jesus urged his followers to take an active part in preaching the good news of the Kingdom. As to politics a follower of Christ wrote under inspiration: “Do you not know that the friendship with the world is enmity with God? Whoever, therefore, wants to be a friend of the world is constituting himself an enemy of God.”—Jas. 4:4, NW.

Blessings Through Service

1. What has caused the anointed remnant to increase Kingdom interests a hundredfold?

THE reader will have observed how the faithful remnant of God’s anointed have increased their privileges and gained more responsibilities. They have increased more than a hundredfold. Using the interests of the Kingdom industriously, energetically and prayerfully, they have been helped by Jehovah to prosper in the service. Jehovah has made it a success, he has made the work prosper. This faithful steward class is receiving the mark of God’s approval and is happy. Look carefully at the years of diligent, enthusiastic, unselfish service that have been devoted to the ministry, so that you may see the way to take to gain the same favor and approval. You now have the honor and benefit of seeing an actual demonstration before your eyes of a class receiving the approval of the Most High God. He is well pleased with them.

2. (a) Why has one organization exclusively proclaimed God’s name? (b) How is this a fulfillment of prophecy pertaining to the end of the world?

² Out of obscurity the name of the true God, Jehovah, has been lifted. His name has been blasphemed, ridiculed and reproached, but Jehovah’s people have lifted it on high. His Word commands: “In that day shall ye say, Give thanks unto Jehovah, call upon his name, declare his doings among the peoples, make mention that his name is exalted.” (Isa. 12:4, AS) Think of all the religious organizations claiming to be Christian, and who among them all is declaring the name Jehovah and announcing that his name Jehovah is exalted? None but one. Strange though it may sound, the only people performing this Jehovah-honoring ministry are Jehovah’s witnesses working under the direction of the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society, the legal administrative body of God’s anointed remnant. Today hundreds of thousands of Christians are calling upon the name of Jehovah for salvation and protection. The name has been set in its right place in the minds and hearts of all these people. Years ago they did not know that name, and probably when a minister called at the home, saying, “I am one of Jehovah’s witnesses,” they wondered what it meant. Who was Jehovah? Why have witnesses? Now readers of The Watchtower know. Yet the day will come when one will not need to go to his neighbor’s door, for God’s prophet declares: “And they shall teach no more every man his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying, Know Jehovah; for they shall all know me, from the least of them unto the greatest of them, saith Jehovah: for I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin will I remember no more.” (Jer. 31:34, AS) And what a grand work this has been! Actually bearing his reproach, but loving him all the time! Shortly that name will be exalted by all living on earth and in heaven, for others simply will not exist. Jehovah has prospered this work and has given it his richest blessing. Is that what you want? Then follow the same example and do likewise. Preach the name of Jehovah as the only true God; honor him and he will honor you; bless him and he will bless you. This also is a definite fulfillment of prophecy marking the end of this wicked age.

3. Why must the day of vengeance be proclaimed, and what results to the proclaimers?

³ We are now at the end of this wicked system of things when Jehovah purposes to destroy all unrighteousness. This will be in the day of his wrath, the day of vengeance. He will not destroy, however, without warning. God does not do anything in the dark, nor slyly, like a dagger thrust in the back. So he commands: “Proclaim the year of Jehovah’s favor, and the day of vengeance of our God.” (Isa. 61:2, AS) Peter, speaking prophetically, said: “By the same word the heavens and the earth that are now are stored up for fire and are being reserved to the day of judgment and of destruction of the ungodly men.” (2 Pet. 3:7, NW) Again it is written: “A strong angel lifted up a stone like a great millstone and hurled it into the sea, saying: ‘Thus with a swift pitch will Babylon the great city be hurled down.’” (Rev. 18:21, NW) For declaring the day of God’s vengeance Jehovah’s witnesses are hated of all nations, but they have valiantly and fearlessly continued to speak all the words commanded. They have declared God’s judgment to the world at large and to all its rulers on earth, and before the wicked spirits invisible to human sight and against Gog the prince of devils, who is Satan the great adversary.

4. Has protection been given, and is it still promised?

⁴ This work has been performed faithfully and is still progressing and will do so until Armageddon. All has been done under the direction and guidance of the “faithful and discreet slave” class. Jehovah’s protection is over us as this perilous work is done. Salvation lies in obedience and confidence. His blessing is with the Jehovah-fearing man. Do you also desire his blessing? If so, come right onto Jehovah’s side, leave the old world, shun evil companions and join the happy slaves of Jehovah, who have faith in his works. Trust in him with all your heart. So shall his blessing be yours. The world is condemned to destruction. Take warning now and flee from it. Remember Lot’s wife. Be safe, relying on the promise that “he that dwelleth in the secret place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.”—Ps. 91:1, 2, AS.

5. (a) How is the scripture at Matthew 6:10 being fulfilled? (b) How are we a pure theocracy?

⁵ Jehovah God is the great Theocrat. Christ Jesus is next in power and authority, then those spirit creatures who carry out the will of the Most High God. God’s will alone is performed in heaven. The Theocrat’s rule is law there, therefore it is a theocracy. Now on earth Jehovah’s people are dedicated to do only his will; the Word of God is their law. He directs his will through his beloved Son operating through the holy angels by means of his spirit, causing the “faithful and discreet slave” class to carry out his purpose. With the anointed remnant and their faithful companions it is now a matter of doing only the will of Jehovah God. No personal purposes now, but only God’s! “Let your will come to pass, as in heaven, also upon earth.” (Matt. 6:10, NW) This was the prayer the Lord Jesus taught his disciples, and today it is an accomplished fact with Jehovah’s chosen people. The rule of Scripture is the rule in his organization. Also the principles therein set forth are those upon which we work. Jehovah’s thoughts, ways and purposes are those we follow and not our own. It is a pure theocracy. Therefore there is peace in our ranks Here again is another fulfillment of prophecy. Jehovah has blessed the wholehearted effort of his people to bring everything into line with the Scriptures. Therefore as you witness this, and if you too desire peace, prosperity and Jehovah’s blessing, then bring your life into obedience to the will of Jehovah God and be in subjection to theocratic rule, recognizing those who have the authority over you in Jehovah’s pure and happy organization.

6. (a) Have the faithful in times past looked for these days? (b) What should this fact produce in us?

⁶ For thousands of years Jehovah’s prophets and the saints of God have prayed for and looked forward to this very time in which we are now living. Jehovah promised it and declared it would come to pass. His faithful ones rejoiced in its hope; some desired to know more about it but could not. The Lord Jesus was happy knowing such a glorious time would come and the apostles comforted the brothers in the same sure promises of God. Now the Kingdom is here. The satanic wicked old world is about finished. Very shortly Jehovah God will annihilate the wicked foes, and then unrighteousness, sin and death will be no more. Yes, Jehovah and Christ Jesus have given to us the evidences of their works, that they have worked with, cleansed and blessed this people. Therefore with grateful exultation Jehovah’s people should hear God’s word: “Happy you are, O Israel! Who is there like you, a people enjoying salvation in Jehovah? A shield your helper is, and he who is a sword is your eminent one. So your enemies will cringe before you, and you—upon their high places you will tread.”—Deut. 33:29, NW.

7. Can anyone be compared to Jehovah’s people today, and why do you answer as you do?

⁷ O happy people dwelling in the sunshine of Jehovah’s favor, working under the protection of his love, rejoicing in the bountiful provisions! O Jehovah’s witnesses, the antitypical Israelites, who is there like you in all the earth? None among all the nations can be compared to you. The blessings of Jehovah God are upon you because of his loving-kindness to his beloved anointed remnant. Jehovah God dwells with you because his anointed are his visible temple. Jehovah, he is your God; Jehovah, he is your salvation. He will go before us through his glorious King Christ Jesus. None shall successfully oppose us now, for Jehovah is with us. Even as did Joshua and Caleb of old, so now the “faithful and discreet slave” class bid you to choose and serve Jehovah and gain his blessings.—Josh. 24:15, AS.

BLESSINGS FOR SALVATION

8. Why does Jehovah give these blessings, and what should result?

⁸ What will result from all these blessings? The simple answer is, greater glory to the name of Jehovah, higher exaltation and proclamation of the King, Christ Jesus, and his kingdom; a more bountiful gathering of the Lord’s “other sheep,” holding up the truth like a burning torch to show the way for those in the world’s darkness to escape and find safety, as it is written: “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.” (Isa. 60:1-3, AS) “Thus saith Jehovah, The labor of Egypt, and the merchandise of Ethiopia, and the Sabeans, men of stature, shall come over unto thee, and they shall be thine: they shall go after thee; in chains they shall come over; and they shall fall down unto thee, they shall make supplication unto thee, saying, Surely God is in thee; and there is none else, there is no God. . . . Israel shall be saved by Jehovah with an everlasting salvation: ye shall not be put to shame nor confounded world without end.”—Isa. 45:14-17, AS.

9. What speedy move is required today, where to, and with what objective?

⁹ Those out of the many nations see today that Jehovah is with us and will hasten to get to know more about Jehovah’s ways and escape the coming wrath of Almighty God at Armageddon. Jehovah’s people are in the limelight for this purpose, so that those who escape from the nations will know where to go. The prophetic word written for this time says: “It shall yet come to pass, that there shall come peoples, and the inhabitants of many cities; and the inhabitants of one city shall go to another, saying, Let us go speedily to entreat the favor of Jehovah, and to seek Jehovah of hosts: I will go also. Yea, many peoples and strong nations shall come to seek Jehovah of hosts in Jerusalem, and to entreat the favor of Jehovah. Thus saith Jehovah of hosts: In those days it shall come to pass, that ten men shall take hold, out of all the languages of the nations, they shall take hold of the skirt of him that is a Jew, saying, We will go with you [people], for we have heard that God is with you.” This does not mean the natural Jew, but the favored people of Jehovah today, the spiritual Israelites and their companions.—Zech. 8:20-23, AS.

10. Who are the ten men mentioned at Zechariah 8:20-23, and how do they take hold of the skirt of the Jew?

¹⁰ Those escaped from the nations are hastening with all speed, carrying from city to city the good news that Jehovah is blessing his people, that God is with them. They are entreating God’s favor. To take hold of the skirt means to appeal for instruction and protection. The antitypical Israelites, Jehovah’s witnesses, hear the appeal and rush to aid. There is great urgency today in this gathering and instruction work. These inhabitants of great cities are, not stragglers, but intelligent, inquisitive men of business. All move forward with briskness, eager to obtain knowledge of Jehovah’s ways. All Jehovah’s witnesses and companions should take to heart the words “Let us go speedily”; yes, go continually to entreat the favor of Jehovah. “‘In an acceptable season I heard you, and in the day for salvation I came to your help.’ Look! Now is the especially acceptable season. Look! Now is the day for salvation.” This speedy work is for our salvation and the salvation of hundreds of thousands more. It is a matter of great moment, and delay is dangerous.—2 Cor. 6:2, NW.

11. How do the peoples of the nations recognize Jehovah’s people?

¹¹ But keep in mind that it is because of the blessing of Jehovah upon his favored people that others in the nations came to realize that here with God’s people is where they can get tuition and safety. Those out of the nations desire eagerly to go with God’s people. Therefore all must know that to join yourselves to Jehovah God you must join yourselves to Jehovah’s people. You cannot have one without the other. So let us incite one another to love and good works. Honor those whom Jehovah has honored. Then you will learn the fear of Jehovah, the beginning of wisdom.

12. What are the requirements for retaining theocratic citizenship, and how do we learn of these?

¹² All drawing near to Jehovah and his organization must come into line with theocratic instruction. It is written: “And it must occur that, because you continue listening to these judicial decisions and you do keep them and do carry them out, Jehovah your God must keep toward you the covenant and the loving-kindness about which he swore to your forefathers. And he will certainly love you and bless you.” (Deut. 7:12, 13, NW) “I will give thanks unto thee with uprightness of heart, when I learn thy righteous judgments.” (Ps. 119:7, AS) Jehovah has caused his righteous judicial decisions to be published through the theocratic organization and in it there is peace. I will “seek thee earnestly: for when thy judgments are in the earth, the inhabitants of the world learn righteousness. Let favor be showed to the wicked, yet will he not learn righteousness; in the land of uprightness will he deal wrongfully, and will not behold the majesty of Jehovah.” (Isa. 26:9, 10, AS) Therefore seek Jehovah earnestly, walk in his fear and learn his judicial decisions; so shall you then be in the way of salvation.

13. To whom does Jehovah give his salvation, and why especially now?

¹³ The redemption of Jehovah belongs to those who fear him, for the Word of God says: “So shall they fear the name of Jehovah from the west, and his glory from the rising of the sun; for he will come as a rushing stream, which the breath of Jehovah driveth. And a Redeemer will come to Zion, and unto them that turn from transgression in Jacob, saith Jehovah.” (Isa. 59:19, 20, AS) Those of the nations seeking his favor must turn from idolatry and all forms of false religion. Jehovah will put all our enemies to flight. Through the Angel of his presence he will come like a river pent up that the tempest of Jehovah drives along. His revealed judgments are terrible and strike fear into the hearts of all God’s enemies. Those who fear bow down before his majesty and awfulness. They tread before him gently and reverently, for Jehovah is dwelling with his beloved ones. Nothing can stop the onrush of truths, the manifestation of his judgments. The time has come at last for righteousness to be exalted and all the wicked to be dethroned. This glorious and happy day is here. Rejoice, you witnesses of Jehovah, for true and lasting salvation is here in the power of earth’s new King.

14. How is the Abrahamic promise fulfilled today through Jehovah’s people?

¹⁴ Following the lead and example set by Jehovah’s anointed now, all will be blessed. They are the remaining members of the seed of Abraham. To Abraham God promised: “I will bless those who bless you, and him that calls down evil upon you I shall curse, and all the families of the ground will certainly bless themselves by means of you.” (Gen. 12:3, NW) So those who bless God and the anointed remnant will themselves be blessed, and this means riches and prosperity. The faithful Jehovah-fearing class have prayed for guidance and their steps have been guided. “From Jehovah are the steps of a man, they have been prepared, and his way he desireth.” (Ps. 37:23, Young) The steps of this “good man” class have led Jehovah’s people to his holy hill and to the temple of God to dwell there forever in pure worship and true holiness.

15. (a) What important reason is there for pure and clean worship today? (b) How can one today stand in Jehovah’s holy place?

¹⁵ Now we dwell in his presence; his glory is over us and fills the organization. Every one of God’s people must now reverence and fear Jehovah to remain in his holy presence. There must be only pure worship offered, for any idolatry will be obnoxious to him and to his people. All must cleanse themselves from all impurity. “Who shall ascend into the hill of Jehovah? And who shall stand in his holy place? He that hath clean hands, and a pure heart; who hath not lifted up his soul unto falsehood, and hath not sworn deceitfully. He shall receive a blessing from Jehovah, and righteousness from the God of his salvation. This is the generation of them that seek after him.” (Ps. 24:3-6, AS) If you desire with all your heart to come to his temple to worship, which means recognizing the remnant of God’s anointed in their privileged and honored position of service, then do these things. You will neither worship here nor will you remain with Jehovah’s beloved ones unless you do have clean hands and pure hearts. Therefore learn God’s way now for pure worship, attend all the arranged meetings of Jehovah’s witnesses so you can study God’s holy Word with the aid of the Bible textbooks, appreciate the truth and escape this evil world. Then as you read, run, run speedily to your neighbor and tell him. Go to those in your district and tell them. Yes, if possible, go from city to city and show others how to escape and get to Jehovah’s house of prayer—his temple.

16. How important was Jehovah’s presence to his typical people?

¹⁶ When Moses was leading the Israelites from the Red Sea to the Promised Land there was always safety as long as they had with them the pillar of fire by night and the cloud by day. Yes, Jehovah’s presence was with them and they were secure from their enemies. Fear held them fast whenever there was the slightest possibility that Jehovah would not continue going before them. On one occasion Jehovah stated he would not go: “For I shall not go up in the midst of you, because you are a stiff-necked people.” When the people got to hear this evil word they began to mourn, and while Moses was seeking Jehovah he said: “See, you are saying to me, ‘Lead this people up,’ but you yourself have not let me know whom you will send with me. . . .’ So he [Jehovah] said: ‘My own person will go along and I shall certainly give you rest.’ At this he said to him: ‘If your own person is not going along, do not lead us up from here.’”—Ex. 33:3, 12-15, NW.

17. As showing its importance, what are the effects of his presence with his people today?

¹⁷ To have the presence of Jehovah with them meant everything to Moses and Israel. He would lead, feed, protect, deliver and bring them into the Promised Land. So it is today. Jehovah God is with us and he is our guide even unto death. “For this God is our God for ever and ever: He will be our guide even unto death.” (Ps. 48:14, AS) If Jehovah is with us we need have no fear, for “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. . . . though the earth do change, and though the mountains be shaken into the heart of the seas; . . . The nations raged, the kingdoms were moved: . . . Jehovah of hosts is with us; . . . God is in the midst of her [the holy place of the tabernacle of the Most High]; she shall not be moved.”—Ps. 46:1-11, AS.

18. How does Isaiah 4:4-6 find fulfillment today?

¹⁸ Now Jehovah’s witnesses know Jehovah is in his holy temple. (See The Watchtower of November 15, 1955.) They are filled with awe, fear and dread, because the Most High God dwells with his people. Yet all are comforted and at peace, knowing that he is here with his faithful ones and that his cloud of glory is over them. This means continual guidance and protection. It also means salvation for the anointed and for all the “other sheep,” those who have escaped from the nations. After the cleansing work has proceeded with his people then come his blessings, as is shown by the following promise: “When the Lord shall have washed away the filth of the daughters of Zion, and shall have purged the blood of Jerusalem from the midst thereof, by the spirit [blast] of justice, . . . Jehovah will create over the whole habitation of mount Zion, and over her assemblies, a cloud and smoke by day, and the shining of a flaming fire by night; for over all the glory shall be spread a covering. And there shall be a pavilion for a shade in the day-time from the heat, and for a refuge and for a covert from storm and from rain.”—Isa. 4:4-6, AS.

19. Why does world tribulation leave Jehovah’s people unshaken?

¹⁹ Oh the joy and blessedness of those who are dwelling in the presence of Jehovah God! They are in a holy place. The storms of opposition and the heat of persecution will come, also the troubles on earth will increase with perplexity. But none of these troubles will harm those in the pavilion of Jehovah. You want to remain there forever, do you not? Or, if you have not yet entered into association with Jehovah’s people, blessings await you. One of God’s promises states: “For in the day of trouble he will keep me secretly in his pavilion: . . . he will lift me up upon a rock.” “In the covert of thy presence wilt thou hide them from the plottings of man: thou wilt keep them secretly in a pavilion from the strife of tongues.” “He that dwelleth in the secret place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of Jehovah, He is my refuge and my fortress; my God, in whom I trust. . . . I will set him on high, because he hath known my name.”—Pss. 27:5; 31:20; 91:1, 2, 14, AS.

20. Jehovah’s people are a guarantee of what, and why?

²⁰ Let all hurry to go up to the organization of Jehovah and abide there. Seek his blessing while it is obtainable. Do not hesitate. Look to the faithful course of God’s anointed in these last days and know for a certainty that what Jehovah God has done for them he will do for you. The mercies of God will not be given to you if you remain in this evil world, neither will you be in the way to receive his goodness by standing still. You must move forward in faith born of the abundant testimony now before you. The promise is: “I, Jehovah, have called thee in righteousness, and will hold thy hand, and will keep thee, and give thee for a covenant of the people, for a light of the Gentiles.” (Isa. 42:6, AS) Yes, Jehovah’s people are a guarantee for your light and security.

21. What blessed promise should it be our aim to obtain?

²¹ All must be faithful, holding responsibility in the fear of Jehovah, guarding well this beautiful trust and giving a good account of our stewardship. Thereby may we gain his approval by increasing our privileges, and finally hear: “Well done, good and faithful slave! You were faithful over a few things. I will appoint you over many things. Enter into the joy of your master.”—Matt. 25:21, NW.

Why Christendom Starves Spiritually

● In Christianity and Crisis (edited by U.S. Protestantism’s most renowned theologian, Reinhold Niebuhr) Congregational Minister Clarence Kilde defends three Wisconsin pastors who were tried for doubting some Lutheran dogma. Preacher Kilde suggests that the three might not have got into trouble if they had been “more concerned with building financial and membership statistics. After all, a sister synod of the Midwest, the Evangelical Lutheran Church, has reported establishing a new parish every 18 days. . . . Go ahead and repeat the Apostles’ Creed, but be sure to be oblivious to people’s inarticulate disturbance over the meaning of the creed. At denominational headquarters it is statistics that are important, not spiritual sincerity or theological integrity.”—Time, January 2, 1956.

Questions From Readers

● On one occasion Jesus cast a demon out of a boy that his disciples had failed to cure, and when the disciples later asked Jesus why they could not expel the demon Jesus said: “Because of your little faith. For truly I say to you, if you have faith the size of a mustard grain, you will say to this mountain, ‘Transfer from here to there,’ and it will transfer, and nothing will be impossible for you.” (Matt. 17:20, NW) Can the use of a small amount of faith move a literal mountain? Just what did Jesus mean?—R. C., United States.

The Jews used a mustard grain to represent something very small, and by using it here he emphasized how little faith the disciples really had manifested in their effort to heal the demon-possessed boy, although previously they had healed the sick and had cast out demons. (Luke 9:1-6; 10:1, 17-20) So first Jesus stressed their need for more faith. They had a little faith, but they needed to expand that faith. Even the tiny mustard seed had a great potential for expansion, for Jesus said elsewhere that it is the “tiniest of all the seeds, but when it has grown it is the largest of the vegetables and becomes a tree, so that the birds of heaven come and find lodging among its branches.” Just as the mustard seed, when watered and cultivated in good soil, would grow into a vegetable so large as to be treelike; so a little faith, when nourished by private study and meeting attendance and service, would expand and increase.—Matt. 13:32, NW.

But the great power of faith, which is at first “the size of a mustard grain,” is shown by its ability to move a mountain. Does this mean a literal mountain? Yes, doubtless the mount of transfiguration, had it been God’s will. The term “mountain” may also be used to refer to vast, imposing obstacles and difficulties blocking progress in our service of Jehovah. However, it would mean something as unsurmountable and irremovable as a great literal mountain. We have Bible examples of mountains used in this sense. When Isaiah was foretelling the time of Judah’s restoration from Babylonian captivity and a faithful remnant’s return to Jerusalem, he said: “Let every valley be raised up, and every mountain and hill brought low; let the uneven ground become a plain, and the rugged heights a valley.” This was the symbolical way of saying that barriers to their return would be removed.—Isa. 40:4, AT.

Zechariah 4:7 (AT) says: “What are you, O great mountain? Before Zerubbabel, become a plain!” What was this mountain? A literal one? No, it was opposition to the work of theocratic reconstruction under governor Zerubbabel, who had returned at the head of the thousands of faithful Israelites after the Babylonian captivity. Opposition to the rebuilding of the temple arose from neighboring adversaries, and after years of interference the Samaritans maneuvered the imposing of an official ban on the work by the Persian government. All of this was like a great mountain blocking the path of reconstruction, but before Zerubbabel and the courageous Israelites this mountain was moved or leveled to become a plain, because in faith they kept on in the work, refusing to be stopped. Finally the mountainous obstacle of government ban was removed and the enemies subdued.

If we have faith today Jehovah will bless us in his work, and our faith will show its liveliness by pushing ahead in service, trusting in Jehovah for victory over all obstacles. As we work in faith, trusting in Jehovah, we should increase our faith. The mustard seed of faith in our hearts must be watered and cultivated and encouraged in growth, so that it will expand to maturity and strength and fruitfulness in good works, able to do mighty works because of its growth, works it could not do while remaining small and dormant and unfruitful of right works. To persons who lack faith a molehill looks like a mountain, but strong faith shrinks mountains to molehills. So strive to increase faith by study and association with Jehovah’s people. And when the task is too big for us we must look to Jehovah for help, ask for his help, never doubt that he will give it, but ask in confident faith, never doubting, as James 1:5-8 states. To ask in faith means to ask and then work toward making it come to pass, for only such faith accompanied by work is alive, only such faith has the conquering power necessary for moving mountains.

Announcements

JEHOVAH’S WORSHIP EXALTED ABOVE THE MOUNTAINS

The worship of the Most High, whose name alone is Jehovah, must be exalted above everything else, including the high governmental “mountains” of this world. That worship, moreover, must be “in spirit and in truth,” for only such worship does Jehovah God accept. This high standard is now sought by people of good will of all nations. They inquire about the ways of Jehovah and express their desire to follow them. In this way they ‘go up to the mountain of the house [temple] of Jehovah.’ (Isa. 2:2, 3, AS) The Word of Jehovah must be the spiritual guide for those who desire to escape the devastation of the approaching battle of Armageddon. To aid all such persons more than a half-million witness ministers will call on people at their homes presenting the Bible study aid You May Survive Armageddon into God’s New World and a booklet on another Bible subject on a contribution of 50c. You too may have a share in this work of saying, ‘Come, let us go up to the mountain of the house of Jehovah,’ by writing us for information.

WHAT CAN YOU BE SURE OF?

How can you be sure of anything when so many other persons have a different view? The answer is to be certain of your authority. But how can you have real confidence in any one man when even authorities disagree? There is only one absolute Authority available and that is God’s Word, the Bible. Of course, opinions vary considerably, even as to what the Bible has to say on any specific subject, but the reason for this is that men interpret various texts to satisfy their own views. The authority for the view, then, ceases to be God’s and becomes that of the private interpreter. Would you like to have assurance of what the Bible really teaches? Then you should have the book “Make Sure of All Things”. It treats seventy themes and 287 subjects simply by quoting related scripture texts without additional comment. The comparison of expressions from God’s Word on the point will give you the answer, one that you can rely on because the only authority used is absolutely reliable. The book is yours for only 75c. Send for it today.

“WATCHTOWER” STUDIES FOR THE WEEKS

December 16: Faithful Stewardship. Page 689.

December 23: Blessings Through Service. Page 696.

Check Your Memory

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

✔ How what the Bible says might shock even religious leaders? P. 676, ¶1.

✔ What facts Protestants will be surprised to read in the Bible? P. 676, ¶6.

✔ What confusion today’s religions face regarding the judgment day? P. 677, ¶1.

✔ What several judgment days the Bible mentions? P. 678, ¶1.

✔ How to seek Jehovah now? P. 679, ¶6.

✔ Whether the statement “blessed are you among women” means special worship is due Mary? P. 681, ¶4.

✔ Where the worship of Mary originated? P. 682, ¶6.

✔ Why there has been misunderstanding about what the ancient tabernacle looked like? P. 685, ¶4.

✔ What proves that the tabernacle is not fiction, but really existed? P. 687, ¶5.

✔ What a steward is? P. 689, ¶1.

✔ Why having Jehovah’s blessing is so essential? P. 692, ¶10.

✔ How many organizations proclaim Jehovah’s name today? P. 696, ¶2.

✔ What causes men to recognize that with Jehovah’s people there is safety? P. 699, ¶11.

✔ What the people who want Jehovah’s favor must now do? P. 700, ¶13.

✔ Whether faith literally will move a mountain? P. 703, ¶3.