The Watchtower — November 15, 1957

The Pitfall of Modern Youth

THE pit of moral degeneracy dug by adults has become the trap for modern youth. The result is a skyrocketing increase in illegitimate births by teenage mothers, an alarming increase in teen-age venereal disease and shocking cases of youthful sex orgies.

Adults are the ones who brought the modern world into its murky pit of low morals. They are the ones who violate the sacredness of marriage and fill newspapers with sordid stories of immorality. They are the ones who produce the magazines, books and plays that give illicit sex relations the leading roles. They are the ones who produce sexy movies and sexy advertising. They are the ones who brought forth the demoralizing theories of sex freedom, and they are the ones who have produced the morally degenerate atmosphere that surrounds this world. Youth is born and reared in this atmosphere. Is it any wonder so many have stumbled into the pit of immorality?

The adults who have preached sex freedom have done much to pull modern youth into the pit of moral degeneracy. Howard Whitman in his article “Youth and ‘the Natural Urge,’” which appeared in the magazine Better Homes & Gardens of July, 1957, commented on this point. He said: “Traditional standards of morality have been knocked down in the 12 years since World War II; they have been lampooned as ‘old-fashioned,’ scored as the blue-nose route to maladjustment and neurosis, branded ‘unscientific.’ New standards of sex freedom have been tried—bringing new highs in illegitimacy, a crushing burden of divorce, and a greater psychiatric caseload than ever. . . . Youth has been hurt—badly. There are the kinds of hurts we know about, when social agencies or the law step in and file their reports on pregnancies, forced marriages, V.D. There are the hushed-up hurts, when distraught families manage to ‘keep it quiet.’ And there are the silent hurts, when youth is ‘lucky,’ manages to ‘get away with it.’ These silent hurts—the remorse, the regrets, the loss of self-respect, the blight upon the individual’s future life—can be the greatest hurts of all.”

Standards that approve sex laxity do not build up, but destroy. They create disregard for one moral law, and that leads to indifference toward others.

Parents have a grave responsibility. It is up to them to safeguard their children from the world’s bad moral influence. This requires proper instruction from an early age. They cannot wait until a child is in his teens. They must start when he is very young. “Train up a boy according to the way for him; even when he grows old he will not turn aside from it.”—Prov. 22:6.

Parents can save their children confusion, anxiety and grief by instructing them in the purpose and function of the sexual organs. The child should not be left to learn for himself. When he is, he invariably ends up with a misconception of sex. The marvelous power of reproduction should be elevated in his mind to the highest level of respect. He should see it as a sacred trust from God.

When children understand their sexual make-up they will understand the power of sex attraction. They will know what it can lead to if they are not wary. It will make them cautious. They will see sex relations as an expression of love within the sacred bond of marriage, not as something that can exist outside that bond. It will be their desire to save their virginity for the one they will finally choose as a mate.

It should be made clear to the children that a misuse of sex not only brings the danger of disease but can cause severe emotional damage that may extend far into their adult life. But over and above that, it brings the condemnation of God, who does not approve of his gift to man being misused. “What! Do you not know that unrighteous persons will not inherit God’s kingdom? Do not be misled. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men kept for unnatural purposes, nor men who lie with men . . . will inherit God’s kingdom.”—1 Cor. 6:9, 10.

More than sex education is required to safeguard children from the pitfall of moral degeneracy. There must be respect for high moral principles. Since these principles are found in the Bible, it is necessary for parents to instruct their children in the Scriptures. This is their duty and not that of a church. Principles are essential. They are something solid for a child to hold on to when buffeted by the world’s storm of immorality.

Parents cannot build up high morals in their children if they fail to live by the principles they teach. There can be no double standard, one for the parents and one for the children. Children are quick to spot hypocrisy.

Teen-agers are very susceptible to crowd leadership. They feel they must conform to what their associates do. This puts their moral integrity to a severe test when the crowd chooses a path of immoral action. Whether a child can endure popular ridicule for standing up for his moral principles will depend upon the quality of his early training.

It would be better for him to choose as companions persons who have the same respect for good morals. The Bible wisely says: “Evil companionships corrupt good morals.”—1 Cor. 15:33, AS.

For the time this present world remains, morals will continue to be a pitfall for youth. Children will continue to be influenced by an atmosphere of adult degeneracy, and this atmosphere will not change until God’s kingdom destroys the present system of things. This means parents who want to safeguard the morals of their children will have to shoulder the responsibility of educating them in the way they should go.

Become an example to the faithful ones in speaking, in conduct, in love, in faith, in chasteness.—1 Tim. 4:12.

Identifying the Messiah

Has the Messiah come? If so, who is he, and why have so many who profess to accept the Hebrew Scriptures failed to identify him?

“Father,” asked a little Jewish boy on passover night, “for whom is that extra glass of wine on the Seder table and why did you open the door?” “That glass of wine is for the prophet Elijah,” replied his father. “You see, we expect him to return some passover night and bring us the good news that the Messiah has come. That is also why I opened the door.”

Yes, each year millions of Jews throughout the world include preparations for Elijah in their passover celebration, still looking for the Messiah to come. Especially do Orthodox Jews look for a personal Messiah. Some of these even refuse to have anything to do with Zionism, convinced that when the Messiah comes he will need the help neither of the United Nations nor of the wealthy Jews residing in the United States.

However, less and less do Jews look for a personal Messiah. Some believe that their nation, and particularly Zionism, will be the Messiah of the world, while others merely look for a Messianic era, “which is to be achieved by the co-operative efforts of good men of all nations, races and religions.”—What the Jews Believe, Bernstein.

In the minds of those who expect a personal Messiah, his coming is linked with the Messianic era, the time when he will rule all the world in righteousness. But are these two events necessarily linked, or could it be that the Messiah would come at one time and the Messianic era come at a later time, perhaps a much later time? This not only is possible but is exactly what the Scriptures and the facts of history indicate to be the case: that some nineteen centuries ago the Messiah actually came, whereas his world rule establishing righteousness is still in the future.

THE MESSIAH IN PROPHECY

The Jewish Encyclopedia claims: “Not until the fall of the Maccabean dynasty, when the despotic government of Herod the Great and his family, and the increasing tyranny of the Roman empire had made their condition ever more unbearable, did the Jews seek refuge in the hope of a personal Messiah.” The facts and the Scriptures, however, prove otherwise. As far back as the garden of Eden God gave basis for hope in a personal Messiah when he said to the Serpent: “I shall put enmity between you and the woman and between your seed and her seed. He will bruise you in the head and you will bruise him in the heel.”—Gen. 3:15.

The hope of a personal Messiah became brighter when God promised Abraham that, because of his obedience, “by means of your seed all nations of the earth will certainly bless themselves.” Becoming still more specific, the prophecy Jacob made on his deathbed stated: “The scepter will not turn aside from Judah, neither the commander’s staff from between his feet, until Shiloh comes, and to him the obedience of the people will belong.” Helping further to identify the Messiah are God’s words to David: “I shall certainly raise up your seed after you, . . . and I shall certainly establish the throne of his kingdom firmly forever.”—Gen. 22:17, 18; 49:10; 2 Sam. 7:12, 13, 16.

The very place where this promised One was to be born was also foretold: “But thou, Bethlehem . . . , out of thee shall one come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth are from of old.” Surely such prophetic promises gave hope that a personal Messiah was to come and cannot at all be made to apply to a nation, much less to a co-operative effort among many nations.—Mic. 5:2, AS.

And not only were the lineage and birthplace of the Messiah thus clearly given, but the very year of his appearing was pinpointed. Where? At Daniel 9:25 (AV): “From the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem unto the Messiah the Prince shall be seven weeks, and threescore and two weeks.” By means of the Scriptural rule found at Ezekiel 4:6 of counting a day for a year this is seen to involve a total of 483 years. God’s Word shows that the command to restore and build Jerusalem went forth in the twentieth year of Artaxerxes (III), which secular history shows to be the year 455 B.C. Counting 483 years from that time we come to A.D. 29, the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar. This was the very year that Jesus appeared as the promised Messiah.—Neh. 2:1; Luke 3:1.

FULFILLING THE PROPHECIES

Clearly, then, ever since the first martyr, Abel, men of faith have hoped for the coming of the Messiah, a personal deliverer, and particularly since God gave David a Messianic promise, some thousand years before the days of Herod the Great. That is why the Jews time and again stated that the Messiah was to come through David’s line.—John 7:42; Matt. 22:42.

The fourfold Gospel record shows that Jesus Christ met the requirements regarding the Messiah’s lineage, his birthplace and the time of his coming. (Luke 2:10-16; 3:23-34) And what is more, on occasions he admitted being the Messiah. Thus, in reply to the woman at the well of Sychar, who had said: “I know that Messiah is coming, who is called Christ,” Jesus replied: “I who am speaking to you am he.” Likewise, when the high priest asked Jesus: “Are you the Christ the Son of the Blessed One?” Jesus answered, “I am.”—John 4:25, 26; Mark 14:61, 62.

Micah had prophesied that the Messiah had a prehuman existence and Jesus repeatedly testified thereto. He claimed to have come down from above and to have been in existence before Abraham was. (John 3:13; 8:58) Had he been a dupe or an impostor, could he have performed such miracles as curing the sick, casting out demons, commanding the elements and having them obey him, raising the dead, etc.? Surely all this was ample proof that God’s power was backing up Jesus in his claims to be His Son and the Messiah.

No wonder that the people said: “When the Christ [Messiah] arrives, he will not perform more signs than this man has performed, will he?” That is why he could say to his followers: “Believe on account of the works themselves.” Yes, just as God gave Moses credentials so that his people would believe that Jehovah had indeed appeared to Moses and commissioned him, so also Jehovah empowered Jesus Christ to perform countless miracles of amazing magnitude so that the Jews had reason to believe that Jesus was indeed the promised Messiah, “the Son of the living God,” as Peter so confidently identified him.—John 7:31; 14:11; Matt. 16:16.

God had foretold that the way would be prepared before the Messiah, which prophecy John the Baptist fulfilled. (Mal. 4:5, 6; Matt. 17:12, 13) As Jesus continued with his ministry more and more prophecies concerning him were fulfilled, among which were his triumphal entry into Jerusalem and his being sold for thirty pieces of silver. (Zech. 9:9; 11:12; Matt. 21:4, 5; 26:15) The prophecy of Isaiah, chapter 53, saw remarkable and detailed fulfillment in Jesus: he was despised and rejected, bore the infirmities of others, was tried and falsely condemned, was numbered with sinners, died a sacrificial death, was buried with the rich, etc. See Matthew 8:17; 27:12-14, 38, 57-60; Mark 15:1-15; John 1:29; 12:38.

WHY NOT RECOGNIZED

In view of all these scriptures and facts identifying Jesus as the Messiah, why did the nation of Israel, and especially its religious leaders, fail to recognize him? In the first place, let it be noted that this failure should not surprise any Jew familiar with the history of his people, for the Hebrew Scriptures time and again testify that they were a stubborn nation. (Ex. 32:9; Deut. 9:6; 2 Chron. 30:8) From the time of their call out of Egypt to their restoration after Babylonian captivity theirs is a record of repeated backslidings, of ignoring God’s instructions and of persecuting his prophets. (2 Chron. 36:15, 16) Having so abused the slaves of the great Vineyard Owner, Jehovah God, it is not surprising that they maliciously killed his Son, even as Jesus showed in one of his illustrations.—Matt. 21:33-46.

Another thing: the clergy of Jesus’ day had deteriorated to such an extent that they were hypocrites and money lovers, both characteristics designed to keep them from identifying Jesus as the Messiah. As Jesus told them: “How can you believe, when you are accepting glory from one another and you are not seeking the glory that is from the only God?” His exposing their selfishness made it all the harder for them to weigh objectively the evidence, and so they sought refuge by accusing Jesus of doing his works by means of the power of Satan the Devil!—John 5:44; Matt. 12:22-31.

There is still another reason why these religious leaders failed to recognize their Messiah. They were chafing under the Roman yoke and so were eagerly looking for the Messiah to free them from it. Did not Isaiah foretell that “the government shall be upon his shoulder,” and that “of the increase of his government and of peace there shall be no end”? More than that, had not Isaiah also prophesied that the Messiah would be a very wise and righteous ruler, that he would destroy all the wicked and that all nations would give their allegiance to him? Surely he had.—Isa. 9:6, 7; 11:1-10, AS.

‘FOR EVERYTHING AN APPOINTED TIME’

Then does God’s Word contradict itself, or was some of it uttered in vain? Neither. Obviously such contrasting prophecies could not be fulfilled at one and the same time. It must therefore be that God’s rule applies here, namely, “For everything there is an appointed time, even a time for every affair under the heavens.”—Eccl. 3:1.

The Scriptures show that it was God’s purpose in the beginning to have the whole earth become a paradise. (Gen. 1:26-28) They also show that this purpose will eventually be realized by the Messiah’s reign. This, however, involves two comings of the Messiah, God’s Son, each for a separate and distinct purpose. The first coming, or rather “presence,” took place A.D. 29 to 33. At that time Jesus came as a lowly man, bore witness to his Father’s name, proved his integrity under test and died for the sins of mankind. Thereby he proved himself worthy to be Messiah the King and furnished a legal basis for relieving all mankind from disability due to Adam’s sin. After Jesus’ having accomplished these purposes God raised him from the dead and highly exalted him.—John 18:37; Heb. 5:8; Matt. 20:28; Phil. 2:9.

Shortly before his death Jesus not only told his followers that he would return but also gave them a detailed prophecy by which the time of his return could be identified. That return or second presence is to be for the purpose of realizing the fulfillment of all the glorious prophecies regarding his reign, which the Jews of his day mistakenly thought he should have fulfilled at his first presence.—Matthew, chapter 24; Mark, chapter 13; Luke, chapter 21.

For long centuries Jews have felt obligated to back up the mistake made by their leaders in the first century, when they rejected the Messiah. Now, however, the trend is to recognize Jesus as one of their prophets. Such a view is but logical, since absolutely no one else ever so profoundly affected humankind for good as did Jesus. But is this sufficient? It is not. To benefit fully from the Messiah’s reign we must also recognize his claims: that he is the Son of God in a unique sense; that he had a prehuman existence; that he died sacrificially for our sins; that his prophecy that he should be raised from the dead was indeed fulfilled.

Atheists, agnostics, deists, modernist clergy, Jews and Moslems who may profess to recognize Jesus’ qualities as a great teacher and humanitarian while refusing to recognize his claims, are inconsistent. Either the foregoing-noted claims of his are true or else he was either a self-deceived fool or a faker; in either case he could not have been a great teacher and a humanitarian. We cannot have it both ways. God’s Word is unequivocal.

Yes, not only has Jesus ‘left for us a model that we should follow in his steps closely,’ but he is also our means of gaining everlasting life; for “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.” Jesus Christ is the promised Messiah.—1 Pet. 2:21; Acts 4:12.

Diocletian Tried to Destroy Christianity

JESUS told his followers: “If they have persecuted me, they will persecute you also.” From early times the Devil has used various means to turn men from their worship of Jehovah God. He has subtly employed materialism, appealing to a desire for the things of the world or the approval of men, interspersing that with violent opposition calculated to strike terror into the hearts of those yet firm; and should that fail to turn them aside, then by violence he has sought to destroy them, even as in the case of Christ Jesus.—John 15:20; Prov. 29:25.

Following the impalement of Christ persecution was heaped upon the Christian congregation by both the populace and the government. Severe persecutions flared up in various localities and then died out. But in the fourth century under Roman emperor Diocletian a demon-inspired empire-wide program was launched to stamp out every trace of Christianity. A medal of Diocletian testifying to the purge bears the inscription, “The name of Christians being extinguished.”¹

The effects of Christianity could not go unnoticed in the Roman world. True worship is more than a mere form of devotion; it affects the entire way of life of those who practice it. And those who adhere to it believe it and persuasively speak of it to others. “The pagan priests, therefore, from well-grounded fears lest Christianity, to their great and lasting injury, should spread far and wide its triumphs, endeavoured to excite Diocletian, whom they knew to be both timid and credulous, by means of feigned oracles and other impositions, to engage in persecuting the Christians.”² When their efforts failed to move the emperor they worked through his son-in-law Galerius, who controlled the northern part of the empire under Diocletian.

Galerius spent the winter in the palace at Nicomedia with the emperor. On February 23, A.D. 303, the day of the feast to the Roman god Terminus, the efforts of Galerius began to produce their rotten fruit when his men stormed the principal Christian meeting place in Nicomedia and, finding nothing else, burned copies of the Scriptures. The next day a general edict was issued: All Christian churches were to be demolished. Books and Bibles were to be burned. Civil rights were forfeit. Those of humble classes, if firm, were to be enslaved. Slaves could never be freed. Although at first “the magistrates were restrained from the effusion of blood; . . . the use of every other severity was permitted, and even recommended, to their zeal,” and soon refusal of the Christians to turn over their books was considered ample reason for punishment with death.³ It was a vigorous effort to destroy the Bible and all memory of it, if possible.

When one affected by the edict vengefully tore down the proclamation he was seized, fiendishly tortured and finally roasted alive in punishment. Whether by chance or purpose, fire broke out twice in the next two weeks in the bedchamber of Diocletian. If they were caused by professing Christians or by a malicious Galerius, it has never been proved. But the incidents, along with other disturbances, were quickly seized upon and cunningly used to rouse the hatred of Diocletian against the Christians. The emperor, who had at first let Galerius push the persecution, now took a most active part. It appears that a number of Christians were serving in the palace itself, some being entrusted with considerable responsibility, but even they were not spared.

When he saw that his laws did not cause the Christians to abandon their worship he became infuriated. “The resentment, or the fears of Diocletian, at length transported him beyond the bounds of moderation, which he had hitherto preserved, and he declared, in a series of cruel edicts, his intention of abolishing the Christian name. . . . the governors of the provinces were directed to apprehend all persons of the ecclesiastical order; and the prisons destined for the vilest criminals were soon filled” with those who held positions of oversight in the congregations.³ This was soon followed by another edict, which “ordered that all these prisoners should be compelled by tortures and punishments to offer sacrifice to the gods.”² It was his hope that if he could make them break their integrity the others would follow their example.

Eusebius relates how certain of the brothers were martyred as examples to terrorize the congregations. He says that “the order had been given that those in prison should be allowed to go in liberty if they sacrificed, but if they refused, should be mutilated by countless tortures.” In one instance, the man was “ordered to sacrifice; and, as he refused, the command was given that he should be raised on high naked, and have his whole body torn with scourges, until he should give in, and even against his will do what was bidden him. But when he remained unmoved even under these sufferings,” he was subjected to other tortures too devilish to relate.⁴

Unsuccessful in its endeavors to blot out the Christian faith in this way, the state turned its savage fury against not only the overseers but all who held the faith. “In the second year of the persecution, A.D. 304, Diocletian published a fourth edict, at the instigation of his son-in-law and the other enemies of the Christians. By this edict the magistrates were directed to compel all Christians to offer sacrifices to the gods, and to use tortures for the purpose.”² Both imperial edicts engraved in metal and local decrees were nailed up in every town for all to see.¹ Never before had such a concerted effort been made by Rome to abolish the Christian faith. Especially did Maximian in the western part of the empire take delight in the purge.³ Even in Spain a pillar has been found bearing the words “Diocletian . . . for having extinguished the name of Christians.”¹

Just two years after issuing the first edict, that is, A.D. 305, Diocletian withdrew from office. But the persecution did not cease. Now that Galerius was in supreme control he gratified to the full his hatred of the Christians and his lust for cruelty. With varying severity according to the disposition of the local rulers, the oppression continued without letup until shortly before the death of Galerius, when he issued an edict of relative toleration, which was followed in the year 313 by a proclamation by Constantine from Milan granting freedom of worship.

Faithful Christians of the fourth century viewed their circumstances as did the three Hebrews before the enraged King Nebuchadnezzar: “If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace; and he will deliver us out of thy hand, O king. But if not, be it known unto thee, O king, that we will not serve thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up.” To his people Jehovah assures continued victory in the face of all opposition until their deliverance into the new world, when he says: “They shall fight against thee; but they shall not prevail against thee: for I am with thee, saith Jehovah, to deliver thee.”—Dan. 3:17, 18; Jer. 1:19, AS.

REFERENCES

¹ The History of the Church of Christ, by Joseph Milner, pages 258, 270.

² Mosheim’s An Ecclesiastical History, translated by J. S. Reid, pages 114, 115.

³ History of Christianity, by Edward Gibbon, pages 270-275, 277.

⁴ Eusebius’ The Ecclesiastical History, Vol. 2, translated by J. E. L. Oulton, pages 265, 269.

Convict’s Stand Bears Fruit

THE apostle Paul reminded the Corinthians that some of them had been lawbreakers but that they had changed their lives by reason of Christ’s blood and the power of God’s holy spirit. (1 Cor. 6:9-11) That these factors also make for righteousness and fruit-bearing in our day is apparent from the report received from a convict in March, 1957.

“Just recently I was released from the state prison at Columbia, S. C. . . . I would like to tell you how I came to be one of Jehovah’s witnesses.

“Because of disobedience in prison I was placed on soft solitary for a period of three months. A prisoner in the next cell asked me if I wanted to read a book. I asked him what kind. He said it was a religious book. His wife, who is one of Jehovah’s witnesses, had sent it to him. I told him that I didn’t care anything about religion, but since I didn’t have anything else to do I took the book. It was the 1949 Yearbook of Jehovah’s Witnesses. I became so interested I asked him where I could get some more of this literature. He said he would have his wife get a couple of books for me. She sent ‘Let God Be True’, ‘This Means Everlasting Life’ and the New World Translation of the Christian Greek Scriptures.

“The prison chaplain who censors all religious literature that comes in said I could have the Greek Scriptures but not the two books, because they were against the laws of the land. I refused to accept this unless they also gave me the other two books. A week later my time in soft solitary confinement was up, but I refused to go back to work until they gave me my books. Because of my stand they put me on bread and water for eighty-six days in hard solitary. I went down in weight from 165 to ninety-four pounds. Finally they decided to give me all the literature and, as a result of this stand, two fellow prisoners began asking me questions. I started Bible studies with them and they are now Jehovah’s witnesses. Incidentally, the chaplain who fought so hard against the literature was later fired for stealing some Christmas candy and baseball uniforms. The new chaplain, who isn’t interested in the truth, is more liberal and does let the literature come in.

“I have been immersed and pray that I can continue to remain faithful in serving Jehovah in his organization.”

Church Horn

● Most people have heard of church bells. Recently people in Britain heard about a horn used for the same purpose. A minister, annoyed by poor attendance at his Sunday morning services, drove around his parish one Sunday blowing his horn to wake up his parishioners.

Jehovah’s Helper and the New World Society

JUST before Christ Jesus ascended to his Father following his resurrection he commissioned his disciples to preach the good news in all the inhabited earth and make disciples and baptize them. Then he added: “And, look! I am with you all the days until the consummation of the system of things.” (Matt. 28:20) What did he mean by those words? He certainly would not be with them in a bodily way, for he would be sitting at the right hand of the Father in heaven. Well, then, would he merely have his mind or thoughts turned toward them, as when we today say we are with someone in spirit, a purely mental directing of our mind to think about the person or group?

By our reading Luke’s account of the same event (Luke 24:48, 49; Acts 1:4, 5), the meaning of Jesus’ statement becomes clear to us: “You are to be witnesses of these things. And, look! I am sending forth upon you that which is promised by my Father. You, though, abide in the city until you become clothed with power from on high.” “And while he was meeting with them he gave them the orders: ‘Do not withdraw from Jerusalem, but keep waiting for what the Father has promised, about which you heard from me; because John, indeed, baptized with water, but you will be baptized in holy spirit not many days after this.’”

Far from just fixing his mind upon them and leaving them orphans, so to speak, Jesus would be used by Jehovah to send upon his followers the helper, or comforter, or advocate (paraʹcletos, Greek). His description of the helper and its operations on behalf of the congregation, on the night he was betrayed, makes very interesting reading.

NOT A PERSON

The clergy of most religions stoutly maintain that the helper is the third person of the trinity. In their assumed wisdom they claim that, mysterious as it might sound, “he” is equal in power, substance and eternity with the Father and Son. Looking down their spiritual noses at those who are honest enough to admit that the trinity doctrine does not make sense, they do not deign to answer pointed questions, which might prove embarrassing, but try to squelch all such opposition by loftily stating that such doctrines are not beyond reason but may be above reason, your reason. Nevertheless, here are some more questions that call for some of their “wisdom” in the form of answers. If the helper is a person and coequal with the Father and the Son, then what is his relation to them? Another son? A brother? A twin of Christ Jesus? If so, then in what sense is Jesus the “only-begotten” of the Father?

The Bible, not the clergy, gives the true information regarding the helper. For one thing, the Greek language, which is the original language of the Christian Scriptures, is a precise language. The Greeks had a word to express the exact meaning or shade of meaning that they wished to convey, and the Christian writers knew that language well. In addition they wrote under inspiration and so would certainly select the correct words to convey the truth clearly.

Notice how the use of the neuter gender in referring to the helper shows it not to be a person: “And I will request the Father and he will give you another helper to be with you forever, the spirit of the truth, which the world cannot receive, because it neither beholds it nor knows it. You know it, because it remains with you and is in you.” (John 14:16, 17; also AT, ED, Ro) “When the helper arrives that I will send you from the Father, the spirit of the truth which proceeds from the Father, that one will bear witness about me.” (John 15:26; also ED, AS) “This Jesus God resurrected, of which fact we are all witnesses. Therefore because he was exalted to the right hand of God and received the promised holy spirit from the Father, he has poured out this which you see and hear.”—Acts 2:32, 33; also AV, RS, Mo, Dy, etc.

It is true that Jesus used the masculine gender when calling the holy spirit the helper, paraʹcletos, but the context of such places, as well as the many other places where the holy spirit is mentioned, shows again that it is not a person. In describing the benefits to be obtained from receiving the helper, Jesus said: “Nevertheless, I am telling you the truth. It is for your benefit I am going away. For if I do not go away, the helper will by no means come to you; but if I do go my way, I will send him to you. And when that one arrives he will give the world convincing evidence concerning sin and concerning righteousness and concerning judgment: in the first place, concerning sin, because they are not exercising faith in me; then concerning righteousness, because I am going to the Father and you will behold me no longer; then concerning judgment, because the ruler of this world has been judged.” (John 16:7-15) Jesus was here personalizing the spirit as a helper, which practice is familiar to Bible readers.—Judg. 9:8-15.

In this age of electronics it should be an easy thing for us to grasp the fact that an inanimate force or energy can “speak” whatever it hears as well as do many other wonderful things. By means of radio and television a person can speak and be seen by a distant and scattered audience whose receiving sets are tuned to that particular broadcasting frequency. By means of his electronic “cat eye” man can now see in the dark. No one today, however, would declare that electricity, which is the basis of modern electronics, is a person. It is simply an invisible power or energy created by Jehovah that man has learned to harness.

So it is with the holy spirit. It is Jehovah’s invisible active force or energy by which he operates the universe and accomplishes his will. It was that force from on high that caused the mighty deeds to be performed by Jehovah’s servants of old and that inspired the prophets to write the Hebrew Scriptures. Now, through Christ Jesus, it was to function in a special way toward his disciples. Jehovah, its Sender, always fully controls its operation.

At Pentecost, not many days later, the promised helper came. “And suddenly there occurred from heaven a noise just like that of a rushing stiff breeze, and it filled the whole house in which they were sitting. And tongues as if of fire became visible and were distributed to them, and one sat upon each one of them, and they all became filled with holy spirit and started to speak with different tongues, just as the spirit was granting them to make utterance.” (Acts 2:2-4) They were baptized in the spirit and were there begotten as spiritual sons of God; they were filled with the spirit. It was Jehovah’s energizing force, not a person, that was thus poured out upon them. From then on it would act as an advocate on their behalf and a helper in carrying forward their commission.

VARIETIES OF OPERATIONS

To get the early congregation organized and firmly started in its work many things were necessary, which were made possible by the helper. As Paul explains: “Now there are varieties of gifts, but there is the same spirit; and there are varieties of ministries, and yet there is the same Lord; and there are varieties of operations, and yet it is the same God who performs all the operations in all persons.” (1 Cor. 12:4-6) Special gifts were given to various members of the congregation so that some could teach, others prophesy and others organize, with the apostles and older ones in Jerusalem acting as a co-ordinating governing body of the whole congregation. Through the apostles certain gifts of the spirit could be conferred on others.

The very act of the outpouring of the spirit furnished convincing evidence, to that world, of sin on the part of the Jewish nation in particular against God and his Son and showed them to be a part of Satan’s system of things. It proved the righteousness of the Son, for he had been resurrected; and this active force from on high was through him, showing his acceptance by the Father. Now a judgment was entered against the “prince of this world,” for he had failed in his effort to corrupt the integrity of Christ Jesus, making his own destruction doubly certain.

Pentecost was only the beginning of the fulfilling of Jesus’ words. Beginning with Peter as spokesman, the message concerning sin and righteousness and judgment was preached first in Jerusalem and then abroad. God’s truth on the reason for sin and his provision to cancel its effects were proclaimed along with information about our repentance and taking the course leading to being declared righteous through faith in Christ Jesus. The great issue over universal sovereignty and the coming day of wrath and the execution of Jehovah’s judgment were preached, and this preaching work continues to this very hour, when it has reached its greatest intensity and scope.

At the direction of the helper the good news was carried to the nations so that both Jews and Gentiles could know God and be accepted into the congregation. Cornelius and his family became the first Gentile recipients of God’s mercy. Then the spirit caused Paul and his companions to do missionary work among the people of the nations, while Peter and the other apostles concentrated on the Palestine area and the East.

Through the spirit from on high it was possible for the good news and its proclamation to be boldly defended and legally established. The helper made known Jehovah’s will in matters of doctrine and morals. It caused prophesying to be done regarding matters soon to occur and in the far-distant future.—Acts 4:18-20; 5:32; 10:18, 44; 21:4, 11.

POSITION OF THE ANGELS

Jehovah did not withdraw the angels from the service in behalf of and in connection with his earthly servants with the sending of the helper. They continued to serve and, in many instances, they seem to be directly responsible for the functioning of the spirit on a particular occasion. In the case of the apostles’ being freed from prison, the angel who freed them also instructed them to continue their preaching activity. An angel of God caused Philip to contact and convert the Ethiopian. Cornelius received his instructions on getting in touch with Peter by means of one of the angels. Paul was counseled and comforted by an angel on one occasion. Christ Jesus sent his angel with God’s revelation to John to be recorded as the last book of the Bible.—Acts 5:19, 20; 10:3; 8:26; 27:23, 24; Rev. 1:1.

We are now in the time of the parousía of our Lord. Prophecy clearly shows that he would be accompanied with many angels and that they would perform services with regard to the New World society. They are the reapers of the harvest; they gather out all things that offend in the organization of Jehovah’s servants on earth. The helper is still in operation among Jehovah’s dedicated ones and performs similar services as at Pentecost, though the miraculous gifts ceased with the death of the apostles. In the final fulfillment of Joel’s prophecy Joel (2:28, 29) there was an outpouring of the spirit in 1919, with the founding of the New World society, and again in 1922, which corresponded with the two outpourings A.D. 33 and 36. This has resulted in completing the full membership of the congregation of God and in the final manifestation of the “man of lawlessness [or, sin],” as the angels do their work of gathering out the lawless ones who resist the spirit.—2 Thess. 2:3-8.

Those who have worked with the New World society for ten, twenty or more years have seen convincing evidence of the operation of the holy spirit as a guide and counselor. No man can be given credit for the wonderful flow of truths: the vision of the Kingdom’s establishment, the vindication of Jehovah’s universal sovereignty, our new name, the “great crowd,” etc. Decisions with regard to theocratic organization, the casting away of false religious practices, the operating of Gilead School and the increasing of missionary work are certainly not reached or accomplished by purely human reasoning and logic. The great legal victories that have become so numerous and that have defended and legally established our right to expand true worship are really Jehovah’s victories. He assures us that it is not by might or by power but by his spirit.—Zech. 4:6, AV.

Now, under the guidance of the helper, all of us, the remnant along with the “other sheep,” are preaching the final convincing message of sin and righteousness and judgment. Jehovah will not remove that spirit. (Isa. 59:21, AV) So let it have free rein in you as you continue to receive its benefits. “The undeserved kindness of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the sharing in the holy spirit be with all of you.”—2 Cor. 13:14.

Seminary Education

● In the book Under Orders William L. Sullivan writes: “The seminary was a place for immature minds which were to be kept in immaturity. The Church was mature, and that was enough. We were exactly in the position of infants who had only to repeat the words of an infallible parent. The method served well enough for practical purposes. For, in the leaden quiescence of a parsonage and in the humdrum of parish rites, what was the need of a mind? Indeed, there was latent in our thought the sense that an independent intellect, determined to study religion profoundly and impartially, would encounter peril.”

The Congregator on Works Vain and Worthwhile

“Fear The [true] God and keep his commandments. For this is the whole [obligation] of man.”—Eccl. 12:13.

1. Since the close of World War I, what two kinds of congregating have been going on, and by whom for each kind?

SINCE the close of World War I in the year 1918 the political rulers and armies of all the nations have been experiencing a gathering together, a congregating, to the “place called in the Hebrew tongue Armageddon.” (Rev. 16:14, 16; Ezek. 38:7, 13, AV) There has also been going on a great gathering together, a world-wide congregating, of peace-loving men and women to a place of real safety. Already these make up a congregation that extends all around the earth, and yet daily many others are being gathered together to them. In this troublous period since the first world war they have seen more and more evidence that this world, or system of things, has no future, but will end with the universal conflict at Armageddon. They appreciate how vain and worthless the works of men in support of this old world are. They no longer want to misspend their lives in a chase after mere wind. They want to spend their lives henceforth in worthwhile works that give joy and satisfaction now and that accomplish a good that will not be wiped out by Armageddon but will carry on into a radiant new world. All doers of worthwhile works are being gathered together under a power different from that operating upon this world. The rulers and their armies are being gathered to Armageddon by the influence of demons under the control of Satan the Devil. The men and women doing works worthy of the righteous, peaceful new world are being gathered together by a wise, God-fearing congregator, who instructs and guides them in worthwhile works.

2. How does the congregator identify himself, and why is there no objection to his using a feminine title concerning himself?

² Who is this congregator? It is possible to know who he is. He was foreshadowed long ago by the wisest ruler of ancient times, King Solomon, who reigned for forty years in the city of Jerusalem. A thousand years before the Christian era King Solomon wrote a book of more than human wisdom, popularly called the book of Ecclesiastes, and in the very opening of this book he speaks of himself in this capacity of congregator, or assembler, saying: “The words of the congregator, the son of David the king in Jerusalem. ‘The greatest vanity!’ the congregator has said, ‘the greatest vanity! Everything is vanity!’ I, the congregator, happened to be king over Israel in Jerusalem.” (Eccl. 1:1, 2, 12) The fact is that, in the language in which King Solomon wrote it, the book is called Qo·helʹeth, which means “Congregator.” It is true that in the Hebrew language the word Qo·helʹeth is in the feminine gender, but so is the Hebrew word for “wisdom”; and yet King Solomon, because of his God-given wisdom, was used as a symbol of wisdom, as if he were wisdom personified. Furthermore, the One whom King Solomon foreshadowed in the days of his wisdom is outstandingly the embodiment of heavenly wisdom.—Prov. 8:12, 22-31.

3. How was King Solomon a congregator, and to what did he do congregating?

³ But how was King Solomon a congregator, and to what did he do congregating? He was a congregator of people, of his people, his subjects, and of other persons of friendliness and good will. He congregated all these to the worship of the God of peace and happiness, Jehovah. For seven and a half years Solomon occupied himself in building a gorgeous temple to the name of Jehovah in Jerusalem, finishing it in the eleventh year of his reign. For the dedication of this temple of worship King Solomon called together or congregated all the people who were specially interested. The history of this says: “At that time Solomon proceeded to call together the older men of Israel, all the heads of the tribes, the chieftains of the fathers, of the sons of Israel, to King Solomon at Jerusalem, to bring up the ark of the covenant of Jehovah out of the city of David, that is to say, Zion. Then the priests brought in the ark of the covenant of Jehovah to its place, to the innermost room of the house, the Most Holy, to underneath the wings of the cherubs.” (1 Ki. 8:1, 6; 2 Chron. 5:2, 7) Thus Solomon’s congregating of his subjects to the newly completed temple of Jehovah started off their worship of God at the place where he had placed his name.

4. In writing his book, why did he call himself Qo·helʹeth, and to what are we today helped by a study of his book?

⁴ As the congregator of his people Solomon acted for their highest welfare, to lead them in the worship of the God with whom they had made a national covenant or solemn agreement to love, worship and serve him. Later, when writing the book of Ecclesiastes, he spoke of himself as Qo·helʹeth or “the congregator.” Here he was calling himself thus, not merely because he had first congregated his people and their companions of good will to the dedication of the new temple, but because he was, by his newly written book, seeking to congregate his people away from the vain, fruitless works of this world to the works worthy of the God to whom they as a nation were dedicated. The purpose of his book called Qo·helʹeth was to keep God’s people from drifting away, or to recover them from any drifting away, into the materialistic pursuits of this world. This fact is borne out in the last chapter of the book, where he says: “‘The greatest vanity!’ said the congregator, ‘Everything is vanity!’ And besides the fact that the congregator had become wise, he also taught the people knowledge continually, and he pondered and made a thorough search, that he might arrange many proverbs in order. The congregator sought to find the delightful words and the writing of correct words of truth.” (Eccl. 12:8-10) By a study of the book of Qo·helʹeth and its proverbs written with such well-chosen words and with such correct expressions of truth we ourselves today are helped closer to Jehovah God and to a finer appreciation of his treasurous service.

5. Besides having the book of Qo·helʹeth, what else more important do we have, and why is it so important that we listen now?

⁵ However, today not only do we have the book of Qo·helʹeth, which the Greek translators mistakenly called Ecclesiastes, but we have a Congregator greater than King Solomon. He is the Lord Jesus Christ, who was foreshadowed by King Solomon. It was very important that the people listen to Jesus Christ when he was on earth, for, as he said, “the queen of the south will be raised up in the judgment with this generation and will condemn it; because she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon, but, look! something more than Solomon is here.” (Matt. 12:42) Today it is still more important that we listen to Jesus Christ now that he is in heaven, reigning at the right hand of his heavenly Father, Jehovah God. We are the generation of mankind that is living in the “time of the end” of this old world. To us the visible evidences of his reign begun are increasing more and more each day since 1914. We are in the time of judgment not only of the congregation of the holy ones, of whom the King Jesus Christ is the Head, but also of the nations of this world, who are being congregated to the battleground of Armageddon.

6. How may we know whether the queen of Sheba is better than we are today, and whom specially did she prefigure?

⁶ The faithful example of the queen of Sheba from the south will condemn us today if we do not appreciate the Greater Solomon in heaven and come to him to learn of his wisdom and of his godly works. She, not a Jew, was better than most Jews of Jesus’ day, because of her appreciation of Solomon. Is she better than we are today? She is, if we fail to appreciate the One now here who is far greater than King Solomon. A great crowd of people of good will, prefigured by the queen of Sheba, the Congregator, Jesus Christ, is gathering together today, that he might be the royal Shepherd of these “other sheep.” This he has been doing since he has gathered the remaining ones on earth of the “little flock,” the congregation of 144,000 sheep, of which he himself is the heavenly Head. All such sheeplike followers of his in this day he has congregated to the side of God’s kingdom and to the spiritual temple of God’s worship. Concerning this it is written: “In order that the children of God who are scattered about he might also gather together in one.”—John 11:52; Rev. 7:1-17; John 10:16.

“EVERYTHING IS VANITY”

7. By crying out, “Everything is vanity!” what was King Solomon including and not including?

⁷ To the congregation under the King Jesus Christ the apostle Paul writes: “My beloved brothers, become steadfast, unmovable, always having plenty to do in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in connection with the Lord.” (1 Cor. 15:58) But at the very beginning of the book of Ecclesiastes King Solomon cries out: “The greatest vanity! Everything is vanity!” (Eccl. 1:2) Now if King Solomon is a prophetic type of the King Jesus Christ, why does he do this? King Solomon was here making no reference to the work of serving Jehovah God and his anointed King. He was not including this in his sweeping expression “everything.” By “everything” he meant everything that he takes under survey, everything that he directly points out in his book by one example after another. These things have to do with this world, not with the kingdom of God, the kingdom of the heavens, which will rule forever in God’s new world of righteousness. As God’s anointed king sitting then upon the “throne of Jehovah” and who had specially asked God for wisdom to judge Jehovah’s people, Solomon was in a most favorable position to study the behavior and activities of men, even to test them out for himself. He himself tells us:

8. What does he tell us about his indulgence in things and of the conclusion at which he arrived?

⁸ “I, the congregator, happened to be king over Israel in Jerusalem. And I set my heart to seek and explore wisdom in relation to everything that has been done under the heavens—the calamitous occupation that God has given to the sons of mankind in which to be occupied. I saw all the works that were done under the sun, and, look! everything was vanity and a striving after wind. And anything that my eyes asked for I did not keep away from them. I did not hold back my heart from any sort of rejoicing, for my heart was joyful because of all my toil, and this came to be my portion from all my toil. And I, even I, turned toward all the works of mine that my hands had done and toward the toil that I had toiled to accomplish, and, look! everything was vanity and a striving after wind, and there was nothing of advantage under the sun. With a man there is nothing better [than] that he should eat and indeed drink and cause his soul to see good because of his toil. This too I have seen, even I, that this is from the hand of The [true] God [Jehovah, Syriac Version; Targum]. For who eats and who drinks better than I do?”—Eccl. 1:12-14; 2:10, 11, 24, 25.

9. Why did Solomon, when thus speaking, not have the temple and the heartfelt worship of God in mind?

⁹ When saying that his personally trying out various things showed that “everything was vanity and a striving after wind,” King Solomon was not including his building of the temple of Jehovah on Mount Moriah in Jerusalem. This was the greatest thing he ever did. He does not mention it when telling of the more extensive works in which he engaged, the houses he built, the vineyards he planted, the gardens and parks he made, the pools he made for irrigating purposes, the vast body of menservants and maidservants that he acquired, for all these were, as he said, “for myself,” and not for Jehovah God and his worship. These were things that King Solomon saw other men engaging in and trying to enjoy, but no other man of his time built a temple to the name of Jehovah God as King Solomon did. By building this temple he did not copy or make a test of what other men were doing. This, his greatest work of construction, was not the “greatest vanity,” for the building of the temple by Solomon was foretold by God and was accomplished by the help and guidance of God. It also served Jehovah’s purpose for as long as he chose to use this material temple as a type of his grander spiritual temple. (2 Sam. 7:12, 13; 1 Ki. 8:15-21) So in speaking of everything as vanity and a chasing after the wind Solomon did not have the temple and the heartfelt worship of God in mind; nor should we have such in mind.

10. In Ecclesiastes, what does Solomon say is God’s gift to us?

¹⁰ Jehovah God the Creator desires his human creatures to be happy and to enjoy life on earth. This is his gift to us, if we will accept it. Notice how King Solomon calls attention to this gift of God: “I have come to know that there is nothing better for them than to rejoice and to do good during one’s life, and also that every man should eat and indeed drink and see good for all his toil. It is the gift of God.” Also: “Look! the best thing that I myself have seen, which is beautiful, is that one should eat and drink and see good for all his toil with which he toils under the sun for the number of the days of his life that The [true] God has given him, for that is his portion. Also every man to whom The [true] God has given riches and material possessions, he has even empowered him to eat from it and to carry off his portion and to rejoice in his toil. This is the gift of God. For not often will he remember the days of his life, because The [true] God is preoccupying [him] with the rejoicing of his heart.” Again: “I myself commended rejoicing because mankind have nothing better under the sun than to eat and drink and rejoice, and that it should accompany them in their toil for the days of their life, which The [true] God has given them under the sun.”—Eccl. 3:12, 13; 5:18-20; 8:15.

11. How can we enjoy this “gift of God” now, and does this contradict the fact that God has given a “calamitous occupation” to men?

¹¹ We can enjoy this “gift of God” now as faithful and obedient subjects of the reigning King Jesus Christ, the Congregator, by acting according to the heavenly wisdom that he imparts to the humble and teachable ones. Why, then, does Solomon say that he sought to explore and gain wisdom in relation to the “calamitous occupation that God has given to the sons of mankind in which to be occupied”? Is there not contradiction here? No! How, then, has God given a “calamitous occupation,” and to whom?

12. What does Solomon say laid the basis for the “calamitous occupation,” and how has God given it to men?

¹² Solomon himself explains that, saying: “See! This only I have found, that The [true] God made mankind upright, but they themselves have sought out many plans.” (Eccl. 7:29) About 6,000 years ago, in the garden of Eden, Jehovah God made the man Adam upright, perfect, in the image and likeness of the perfect God. He also gave Adam a wife. Under temptation by the original Serpent, Satan the Devil, they sought out other plans to make themselves “wise as God” without dying. Even when Jehovah God destroyed the old world with the flood of Noah’s day he preserved alive an upright family, Noah and his wife and their three married sons, that mankind might have a new start in uprightness and godliness. But in the passage of time mankind again sought out many plans in opposition to God’s will and commands. For that reason, merely by executing his judgment against sinful, straying mankind, God has brought what has proved calamitous in their selfish lives. He informed Adam that the punishment of sin would be by death; and when Adam sinned, the condemnation to death came also upon his unborn offspring in his loins. (Gen. 2:16, 17; Rom. 5:12) They began to die as mere beasts do.

13. How does Solomon show that men are like beasts in this respect?

¹³ Said Solomon: “I, even I, have said in my heart with regard to the sons of mankind that The [true] God is going to select them, that they may see that they themselves are beasts. For there is an eventuality as respects the sons of mankind and an eventuality as respects the beast, and they have the same eventuality. As the one dies, so the other dies; and they all have but one spirit, so that there is no superiority of the man over the beast, for everything is vanity. All are going to one place. They have all come to be from the dust, and they are all returning to the dust. Who is there knowing the spirit of the sons of mankind, whether it is ascending upward; and the spirit of the beast, whether it is descending downward to the earth?”—Eccl. 3:18-21.

CALAMITIES

14. Why have men been unable to enjoy the benefit of their personal works continually, and if we yet die, of what should we now try to prove worthy?

¹⁴ Death is a calamity, but Adam could have spared himself and us his offspring from that by fearing God and keeping his command. Death is an enemy (1 Cor. 15:26), but Adam could have kept us from the clutches of that enemy by remaining the friend of God through loving obedience to him. Because of death no man or woman has been able to enjoy the benefit of his personal works and labors continually, without interruption. All mankind would die off perpetually, just like the beasts, were it not for the fact that God, through the Congregator, Jesus Christ, has lovingly provided a way for lifting the punishment of death and resurrecting all those who are dead in the memorial tombs. (1 Cor. 15:17-24) Those who, in the love of sin, choose to disobey Jehovah God willfully will perish forever like brute beasts. Like beasts, they choose to eat and drink and live according to their animal desires in outright materialism, without thought or regard for God. Since they prefer to live like beasts, not even serving God’s purposes as beasts do, let them perish like beasts. Why should we be beastlike and merely live selfishly like animals and die off with them? If we yet die, why not try now to prove worthy of a resurrection to life in God’s new world and thus be rated better than mere beasts?

15. How may there occur a calamity regarding an inheritance for a son, and how may we act wiser in passing on an inheritance?

¹⁵ Needless to say, the invasion of death among mankind has led up to many calamitous and ironical things for those who do not know or choose to know Jehovah God. A materially-minded father may work hard to lay up an inheritance for his son, say, money in the bank or property of some kind. Along comes a bank failure or some other disaster and the father loses all and has nothing to pass on down to his son. Would not an earthly-minded man view it as a calamity? Says Solomon: “There exists a grave calamity that I have seen under the sun: riches being kept for their grand owner to his calamity. And those riches have perished because of a calamitous occupation, and he has become father to a son when there is nothing at all in his hand.” (Eccl. 5:13, 14) How fleeting and uncertain earthly riches are, and how suddenly they can be lost or even be spiritually harmful to their owner or to the child to whom he bequeaths such riches! Far better and wiser is it, then, to seek to hand on to our children spiritual riches, which are permanent, a good name, a faithful example of godliness as a parent, a good disciplinary bringing up to manhood or womanhood, a home education in the truth of God and a theocratic training in how to serve that truth out to others as a minister of God. A material calamity cannot rob us of these spiritual values and, though we die, we do not leave behind children that do not have an inheritance of real richness.

16. How does Solomon describe another calamity certain to befall the materially rich, and so why should one not make oneself a slave to Riches?

¹⁶ The materially rich should remember another calamity that is certain to befall them. Solomon described it this way: “Just as one has come forth from his mother’s belly, naked will one go away again, just as one came; and nothing at all can one carry away for his toil, which he can take along with his hand. And this too is a grave calamity: exactly as one has come, so one will go away; and what profit is there to the one who keeps toiling for the wind? Also, all his days he eats in darkness itself, with a great deal of vexation, with sickness on his part and [cause for] indignation.” (Eccl. 5:15-17) Why, then, should one make oneself a slave to selfish riches, to Mammon, with all the darkness concerning God’s purpose, all the vexation, all the disappointment, all the temptations and snares, and all the stabbing pains that this causes one? We cannot be slaves to God and at the same time be slaves to Riches or Mammon. (Matt. 6:24) A man may selfishly become superrich, a multimillionaire, and at his death they may put into his tomb all kinds of household furnishings, and valuable jewels and clothing, and a sky-boat, and even the dead bodies of slaves whom they killed to bury with him, and yet he cannot take anything with him to enjoy. He brought nothing into this world and he can carry nothing out. He has died like a brute beast, and he has laid no foundation for real life and freedom in a world to come. What a calamity to such a man who has not been a slave to God! “For what benefit will it be to a man if he gains the whole world but forfeits his soul? or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?” That question of Jesus Christ answers itself.—Matt. 16:26.

17. What calamity concerning self-satisfaction does Solomon also list, and how was this illustrated in Nebuchadnezzar’s case?

¹⁷ Solomon continues with his list of calamities: “There exists a calamity that I have seen under the sun, and it is frequent among mankind: a man to whom The [true] God gives riches and material possessions and glory and who, for his soul, is in no need of anything that he shows himself longing for, and yet The [true] God does not enable him to eat from it, although a mere foreigner may eat it. This is vanity and it is a severe malady.” (Eccl. 6:1, 2) To get possession of something and not be able to enjoy it is heartbreaking if one thinks only of oneself. To have tasty food and yet through some stomach or bowel disorder one is unable to enjoy it is like being mocked at. Jehovah God permitted Nebuchadnezzar to become a world ruler at Babylon; and yet when God humiliated him for his pride, boasting and self-exaltation and he became crazy, thinking he had turned into a beast, the rich foods and drinks of his imperial palace did not suit him. He preferred to eat grass like an ox. What a calamity, a severe malady, this was to Nebuchadnezzar for seven years!—Dan. 4:28-37, AV.

18. Better than whom does Solomon say a stillborn child is, and from what does all this come?

¹⁸ Long life without personal enjoyment of what one comes to possess, and where one even longs for the grave, leaves one unsatisfied, feeling frustrated, with so much to be desired. “If a man should become a father a hundred times and he should live many years, though numerous the days of his years should become, yet his own soul is not satisfied with good things and even the grave has not become his, I must say that one prematurely born is better off than he is. For in vain has this one [prematurely born] come and in darkness he goes away, and with darkness his own name will be covered. Even the sun itself he has not seen, neither known. This one has rest rather than the former one [having long life]. Even supposing that he has lived a thousand years twice over and yet he has not seen what is good, is it not to just one place that everyone is going?” (Eccl. 6:3-6) With no hope other than in this life, better it is for one to be stillborn and not get started in this world of materialism than to survive through a long life and have no real satisfaction out of it, only suffering chagrin and vexation. This all comes from not taking advantage of things other than the material benefits of this earth or the selfish pursuits of this world.

19. What calamity regarding government does Solomon describe, and why will this result in calamity for the supporters of such government at Armageddon?

¹⁹ Another calamitous thing that Solomon describes is where a man or a form of government gets control of a country. Then it undertakes the responsibility of dictating to the people and of keeping them away from God, leading the people in a mistaken way. The people submitting to such false leadership and obeying it rather than God are taking upon themselves a responsibility for the governmental mistakes and the governmental fight against God. With their ruler they become responsible for foolishness in government. Says Solomon: “There exists something calamitous that I have seen under the sun, as when there is a mistake going forth on account of the one in power: Foolishness has been put in many high positions, but the rich ones themselves keep dwelling merely in a low condition. I have seen servants on horses but princes walking on the earth just like servants.” (Eccl. 10:5-7) In this “time of the end” the nations of this world are on judgment before the established kingdom of God. Hence his counsel through his Word and his witnesses has been for the political rulers and judges to act wisely, to fear Jehovah and to kiss his Son in obedience. But the rulers and leaders of the people continue to act foolishly toward Jehovah God, and their governments will be dashed to pieces at Armageddon by Jehovah’s Son Jesus Christ. That will spell a world calamity not only to the governments and their rulers but also to the people who have supported the bad mistakes of their governments in fighting against Jehovah God and his kingdom by Christ.—Ps. 2:1-12.

20. Because death is the common end of all, what is the heart condition of men, and how do they put themselves in a helpless and comfortless position?

²⁰ Because men have no hope of a resurrection of the dead but think that death ends all for everybody, they further another calamity under the sun: “This is what is calamitous in all that has been done under the sun, that, because there is one eventuality to all, the heart of the sons of men is also full of bad, and there is madness in their heart during their lifetime, and after it—to the dead ones.” (Eccl. 9:3) The democratic governments of the West look at Hungary and call what has happened to it since 1956 a terrible calamity. But there are oppressions going on in other parts of the world too. The poor people are helpless in themselves. Yet if they do not turn to Jehovah God and his kingdom, what other source of help to them is there? The ancient congregator remarked on this calamitous situation, saying: “I myself returned that I might see all the acts of oppression that are being done under the sun and, look! the tears of those being oppressed, but they had no comforter; and on the side of their oppressors there was power, so that they had no comforter. And I congratulated the dead who had already died rather than the living who were still alive. So better than both of them [is] the one that has not yet come to be, who has not seen the calamitous work that is being done under the sun.”—Eccl. 4:1-3.

21. Why could Solomon well comment on the condition under governments of men who did not worship Jehovah?

²¹ King Solomon was not here describing what was going on in his realm, in the typical kingdom of God on earth. As long as he ruled as a wise king there was no governmental oppression: They were “eating and drinking and rejoicing,” dwelling “in security, everyone under his own vine and under his own fig tree, from Dan to Beer-sheba.” (1 Ki. 4:20-25) The kingdom of the ancient congregator stood out in different colors from the oppressive governments of men who did not worship Jehovah. So Solomon could well comment on the calamitous situation under them.

22. Because of what knowledge do Jehovah’s witnesses under such oppressive governments not pity themselves, and how do they express pity for those to be pitied?

²² But Jehovah’s witnesses who today live under suchlike oppressive governments of faithless, materialistic men do not pity themselves. They have a comforter. They know Jehovah helps them daily. They understand that their integrity toward Jehovah, whose witnesses they are, is now on trial under such oppressive conditions. They know what the congregator of old said: “If you see any oppression of the one of little means and the violent taking away of judgment and of righteousness in a jurisdictional district, do not be amazed over the affair, for one that is higher than the high one is watching, and there are those who are high above them.” (Eccl. 5:8) We know that above the Supreme Presidium or the Supreme Court, or whatever men call supreme on earth, there are those infinitely higher, Jehovah God the Most High and his King Jesus Christ, who reigns at his right hand. They are the Divine Judges, whom no Iron Curtain or Bamboo Curtain can keep from watching and seeing, and their judgments will be executed against all oppressors at Armageddon. For action by these Judges of the highest Court of the universe the oppressed witnesses of Jehovah wait with confident patience. Sustained by God’s Word and spirit and with God’s love filling their hearts, they pity the poor people who find themselves hopelessly and helplessly under such calamitous conditions. To those with hearing ears they courageously preach the good news of God’s kingdom as the only hope and the only help for mankind.

A HATED KIND OF LIFE

23. Because of what uncertainty as to the future did Solomon express a hatred of life for its calamitousness?

²³ Having in mind all the human calamities outside the kingdom of God, and not knowing even what kind of successor he, the wisest man then on earth, might have in his throne, King Solomon said: “I hated life, because the work that has been done under the sun was calamitous from my standpoint, for everything was vanity and a striving after wind. And I, even I, hated all the toil of mine in which I was toiling [experimentally] under the sun, that I would leave behind for the man who would come to be after me. And who is there knowing whether he will prove to be wise or foolish? Yet he will take control over all my toil at which I toiled and at which I showed wisdom under the sun. This too is vanity. And I myself turned around toward making my heart despair over all the toil at which I had toiled under the sun. For there exists the man whose toil has been with wisdom and with knowledge and with proficiency, but to a man that has not toiled with such a thing will be given the portion of that one. This too is vanity and a big calamity.”—Eccl. 2:17-21.

24. How do the Hindus view life, and if life held only such calamities as Solomon described, what attitude would we have reason to hold toward life?

²⁴ The Hindus profess to hate life because they religiously think that life in the midst of a material, physical world means nothing but continuous suffering. So they seek to be blotted out of existence by being absorbed into an everlasting nothingness, a nirvana, at the very time that they think they are at their best and having the greatest merit. If life in this old world held nothing but such calamities as Solomon described, then he had reason for hating such a worldly, materialistic life. There would be no purpose in living Nothing of eternal value would be served by one’s living. One’s existence on earth, with a repetition of minor calamities of one kind or another, would end up in the great calamity of dying like everybody else and like beasts, the grave becoming the common place to which the body goes. And what does the grave, the common grave or Sheʹol, hold for the dead? Listen:

25. What does Solomon say is the difference between the living and the dead, and what does Sheol hold for the dead?

²⁵ “A live dog is better off than a dead lion. For the living are conscious that they will die; but as for the dead, they are conscious of nothing at all, neither do they any more have wages, because the remembrance of them has been forgotten. Also their love and their hate and their jealousy have already perished, and they have no portion any more to time indefinite in anything that has to be done under the sun. All that your hand finds to do, do with your very power, for there is no work nor devising nor knowledge nor wisdom in Sheol, the place to which you are going.”—Eccl. 9:4-6, 10.

Worthwhile Works of the Congregated Ones

1. Why do not our works have to end calamitously, as described in the preceding article, and what way has been provided for our lives to become everlastingly useful?

BUT do our works during this present wicked world of sin and death have to end up calamitously, as afore-described, so that we properly should have a disgust for the opportunity of living? Does our living have to be merely in vain and a mere chasing after something as ungraspable as the wind? No, not if we turn from serving this world and then work for God’s new world. To work for his new world means to serve Jehovah God; and work for him is never in vain. It is worthwhile, regardless of how much persecution and opposition we face because of such godly work. We can get nowhere without God. Men are imperfect, are unmistakably sinful, are under condemnation by a heavenly court and are therefore dying. Try whatever they will, work as hard as they will without God, those conditions will always block them, always doom them to calamity. Of themselves they cannot escape this impasse. But Jehovah God has provided the way by which our lives can become meaningful, can have an ennobling purpose and can be of everlasting usefulness. This way is through the kingdom of his Congregator, Jesus Christ.

2. What work is a gift from God, and what was God’s purpose respecting man’s work?

² Let us remember that work is a gift from God, that is, work in his service. God put the upright man in the garden of Eden to work. God did not purpose that his work should be wasted and be terminated calamitously by death after he had been driven out of his proper place of work. (Gen. 2:7, 8, 15) God purposed that man should be happy in his work, should see and enjoy the results of his work and should pass the benefits of his work on to his children.

3. What does worshiping God oblige one to do, and how do we become favored with respect to God’s gift of work?

³ If the perfect upright man kept working obediently at what his Creator assigned him to do, he would be worshiping God. Worshiping God is never in vain or calamitous. It means everlasting life under the universal sovereignty of Jehovah God. Let us remember that the Hebrew word sometimes translated as “worship” really means “service.” (2 Ki. 10:20-23; Ex. 12:25, margin) If we are working in God’s service we are worshiping him. If we are lazy and idle we are not worshiping God, we are not imitating God. Man’s being made in God’s image and according to his likeness required that man should work and should not work in vain, for the great Congregator, Jesus, once said: “My Father has kept working until now, and I keep working.” (John 5:17) Solomon also said: “I saw all the work of The [true] God, how mankind are not able to find out the work that has been done under the sun; however much mankind keep working hard to seek, yet they do not find out. And even if they should say they are wise enough to know, they would be unable to find out.” (Eccl. 8:17) Throughout all the eternity of the new world mankind will keep searching, trying to find out to the very depths the work of God, but they will be unable to do so. Favored we are if we appreciate that God has a worthwhile work for us to do, and if we find out what it is and then become laborers together with God in it. It is no vain gift.

4. To whom today must we be congregated, thereafter taking what step, and what should be our attitude toward that step?

⁴ In order to turn us away from vain, fruitless works, the dead works of this world that end up in calamity, Solomon wrote the book of Qo·helʹeth, the Congregator. Today, to get away from the “calamitous occupation that God has given to the sons of mankind” in this doomed old world, we must be congregated by the Greater Solomon, the reigning King Jesus Christ, by listening to his voice, his wisdom expressed in God’s written Word. Through him we must come to Jehovah God and dedicate ourselves fully to him in faith and love. We must carefully consider what that step means and all that it will now require us to be and to do. We should not be rash to make a vow of dedication to God, no more than we should needlessly delay in vowing to serve him and do his will forever. But once we have entered into such a solemn, unrecallable vow, we should keep it, thus not taking it in vain and ending up in calamity. So we should mean it when we vow full dedication to Jehovah God through Jesus Christ. Let it not be a mere multiplying of words spoken rashly and foolishly without the heart behind it.

5. What does Solomon say with regard to the use of the mouth in a vow, and how should fear of God be shown toward a vow?

⁵ “Do not hurry yourself as regards your mouth; and as for your heart, let it not be hasty to bring forth a word before The [true] God. For The [true] God is in the heavens but you are on the earth. That is why your words should prove to be few [not promising more than you mean]. For a dream certainly comes in because of abundance of occupation [in this world], and the voice of a stupid one because of the abundance of words [rashly spoken, emotionally spoken without understanding]. Whenever you vow a vow to God, do not hesitate to pay it, for there is no delight in the [wordy] stupid ones. What you vow, pay. Better is it that you vow not than that you vow and do not pay. Do not allow your mouth to cause your flesh to sin, neither say before the angel that it was a mistake. Why should The [true] God become indignant on account of your voice [in a vow] and have to wreck the work of your hands? For because of abundance [of occupation] there are dreams, and there are vanities when words are multiplied [in a rash vow]. But fear The [true] God himself.”—Eccl. 5:2-7.

6. When one has been congregated through making a vow to God, why should one avoid getting estranged or isolating oneself?

⁶ When one has been congregated to the reigning King Jesus Christ by one’s making a vow to God, then one should stay with all his congregated worshipers. A person under such a vow should not isolate himself or let himself be estranged from the congregation. Proverbs 18:1 warns us: “One isolating himself will seek his own selfish longing; against all practical wisdom he will break forth.” He will seek selfish pretexts for staying away, to justify himself, but in doing so he acts unwisely and weakens his ability to pay his vow; in fact, he acts contrary to his vow to do God’s will. He deprives himself of the help that God gives only through his congregated people, and he is certain to fall calamitously.

7. What did the two congregators say about associating with one another, and why cannot those under vow to God not afford to stay away from congregational gatherings?

⁷ The Great Congregator said: “Where there are two or three met together in my name, there I am in their midst.” (Matt. 18:20) The ancient congregator, Solomon, said: “Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their toil [together]. For if one of them should fall, the other one can raise his partner up. But how will it be with just the one who falls when there is not another to raise him up? Also, if two lie down together, then they will certainly get warm; but how can just one keep warm? And if somebody could overpower one alone, two together could make a stand against him. And a threefold cord cannot quickly be torn in two.” (Eccl. 4:9-12) All those congregated to Jehovah’s spiritual temple for his worship are under one and the same vow. They must all pay their vows together, lovingly helping one another to pay their vow so that no one may be overpowered by Satan the Devil and his world. They therefore cannot afford to stay away from congregational meetings and other assemblies. They must build up their sense of togetherness, of belongingness, and of the mutual dependence and need.

TIME FOR KINGDOM ACTIVITY

8. What did our Congregator say regarding our coming to him, and what reasons does Solomon give for our keeping the king’s orders?

⁸ The One who congregates us when we make a vow to Jehovah is the reigning King Jesus Christ, who said: “No man can come to me unless the Father, who sent me, draws him.” (John 6:44) Jehovah draws us to his anointed King that we may follow in his footsteps and serve him. When we vow to Jehovah we are taking an oath before him to support his kingdom of his anointed One, for his King is the Leader whom he has given to us. In carrying out our vow we must obey the orders of Jehovah’s anointed King. Says the congregator: “I [say:] ‘Keep the very order of the king, and that out of regard for the oath of God. Do not hurry yourself, that you may go out from before him. Do not stand in a bad thing. For all that he delights in he will do, because the word of the king is the power of control; and who may say to him: “What are you doing?’” He that is keeping the commandment will not know any calamitous thing, and the wise heart will know both time and judgment. For there exists a time and judgment even for every affair, because the calamity of mankind is abundant upon them.”—Eccl. 8:2-6.

9. How has Jehovah made everything well-arranged in its time as regarding his kingdom and its proclamation?

⁹ The congregator well states: “For everything there is an appointed time, even a time for every affair under the heavens: I have seen the occupation that God has given to the sons of mankind in which to be occupied. Everything he has made well-arranged in its time.” (Eccl. 3:1, 10, 11) Jehovah appointed a certain year for the seven “times of the nations” to end; and so in the year 1914 his appointed time came for him to put his kingdom into operation in the hands of his anointed King. Later, at his appointed time, in the spring of the year 1918, he came to his spiritual temple accompanied by his royal Messenger, Jesus Christ, for the work of judgment. After that the congregating of his sheep of the “little flock” and then of the “great crowd” fell due according to Jehovah’s timing of events. His time for the sheep to do a certain final work then fell due, namely, to announce his established kingdom world-wide and to sound a warning concerning the end of this old world to all humanity. In his prophecy on the end of the world Jesus Christ, now King, gave us orders to make this kingdom proclamation, saying: “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.

10. How do we show wisdom with regard to the King’s order and our vow and our refusing to challenge Jehovah’s King?

¹⁰ The congregator tells us to show wisdom and keep this very order of the King Jesus Christ, and especially to do so out of regard for the oath that we have given to God in conjunction with our vow to him to do his will. We have given our word; we dare not prove false swearers; we may not break our vow. By what we have vowed and sworn before the Most High God we are under obligation to carry out the order of his King, who sits upon the throne of Jehovah. We cannot walk out on his King in a renunciation of him, neglecting our Kingdom duties. That would be a bad thing to do. We cannot join the rulers of this world in challenging Jehovah’s King with the words: “What are you doing?” They cannot and we cannot stop the King in doing “all that he delights in”; and his delight at the present time is in having this good news of God’s kingdom preached everywhere to people of every kind. The King’s word is the power of control. It will be carried out and is being carried out regardless of the challenge of all Satan’s world.

11. If we congregated ones are wise-hearted, what will we know and see, and hence what will we do to avoid the calamity of the world?

¹¹ Although some professed Christians do not want to take part in the Kingdom preaching because of the effort it requires and the persecution it brings, the preaching of the good news will not slow down or cease. It will go on anyhow without those who hold back, because the preaching is in obedience to the King’s order and his order is the “power of control.” If we congregated ones are wise-hearted, we will know that the Kingdom preaching was well arranged by God for this “time of the end” before the battle of Armageddon. We will see that this is his appointed time for it and that his judgment is in operation toward all the affairs of men and also toward what we do. We want his approval in judgment. Hence we will keep his commandment through his King. Doing this, we shall not know the calamitous thing that now blocks and frustrates all men of this world and that will reach its catastrophic expression at Armageddon.

12. (a) According to whose time should we now time ourselves, and how? (b) For what should we not look for pretexts, and why not?

¹² This is the time of times. In harmony with our vow let us time ourselves now according to God’s time. Let us prove to ourselves that this is his time for the royal message of salvation to be preached. Also, let us be sure to do the particular work appointed for the time. Then we will do the worthwhile work. To do the wrong work at this all-important time means to end up in calamity. It means to give ourselves over to the “greatest vanity.” Everything else but this assigned work of God for this time “is vanity,” from which a man will have no profit, despite all his toil now. (Eccl. 1:2, 3) Let us, then, accept the “gift of God” of his work that he offers to us to do now. Let us not look for pretexts not to engage in the use of this “gift of God,” judging things by outward appearances that seem to make it unfavorable. “He that is watching the wind will not sow seed, and he that is looking at the clouds will not reap.” (Eccl. 11:4) Regardless of unfavorable appearances, let our slogan be, On with the work! “In the morning sow your seed and until the evening do not let your hand rest, for you are not knowing where this will have success, either here or there, or whether both of them will alike be good.” (Eccl. 11:6) May we not waste time; may we not prove lazy in this grandest opportunity.

13. Why should we give our strength to the Kingdom service to the fullest, and in this regard what warning of the congregator to the young people is fitting?

¹³ May we not waste our strength in a calamitous occupation. The time to use our strength in Kingdom service now before Armageddon is too limited. To the fullest may we give our strength to the Kingdom service. Young people have a special opportunity in this regard. If they misspend their youth in vain, calamitous works, God will in due time judge them for it. The congregator warns: “Rejoice, young man, in your youth and let your heart do you good in the days of your young manhood, and walk in the ways of your heart and in the things seen by your eyes. But know that on account of all these The [true] God will bring you into judgment. So remove vexation from your heart and ward off calamity from your flesh, for youth and the prime of life are vanity.”—Eccl. 11:9, 10.

14. (a) What does the congregator tell the young person to do to ward off calamity and to use youth and life’s prime not in vain? (b) Why will most children today not have the opportunity to reach old age after misspent youth?

¹⁴ How may a young man or woman ward off calamity, spare the heart vexations, and not let youth and the prime of life be vainly lived? Answers the congregator: “Remember, now, your grand Creator in the days of your young manhood, before the calamitous days proceed to come, or the years have arrived when you will say: ‘I have no delight in them’; . . . before the silver cord is removed and the golden bowl gets crushed, and the jar at the spring is broken and the water wheel for the cistern has been crushed. Then the dust returns to the earth just as it happened to be and the spirit itself returns to The [true] God who gave it.” (Eccl. 12:1-7) It is a calamitous fact that most of the boys and girls today will not have the opportunity to waste their youth and prime of life and get to the calamitous days of old age, where life has been a vain thing for them. According to God’s timing the calamity of the universal war of Armageddon will strike them down while yet in their youth and prime of life because they are not remembering their grand Creator, serving him with worthwhile works.

15. Why do we not need to go experimenting, and by taking heed to Solomon’s inspired words what shall we avoid?

¹⁵ So we have given consideration to what the congregator has said. We have been informed what the “greatest vanity” is and what the “calamitous occupation” is. We do not need to go experimenting to prove it for ourselves by experience. He, with all his resources and opportunities as a king, has done the needed experimenting and he gives us the findings of his experiment. We shall avoid the greatest vanity and spare ourselves calamity by taking heed to his inspired wise words.

16. (a) What, now, should be our conclusion on the matter and our action upon our right conclusion? (b) What judgment will our worthwhile works receive?

¹⁶ In view of our considering with him all those worthy things, what should be our conclusion and our action upon our right conclusion? This, as stated in his words, “The conclusion of the matter, everything having been heard, is: Fear The [true] God and keep his commandments. For this is the whole [obligation] of man. For The [true] God himself will bring every sort of work into the judgment in relation to every hidden thing, as to whether it is good or bad.” (Eccl. 12:13, 14) Nothing can we hide and keep from being judged by him. So our obligation is plainly set before us. In our private or hidden lives and in our lives out in the open before all men may we prove our fear of God by keeping his commandments. Our works will then be worthwhile, receiving God’s judgment favorable to our gaining life eternal with his blessed congregation in his righteous world to come.—Eccl. 8:12, 13.

“Playing at Christianity”

The Norwich, Connecticut, Bulletin of June 6, 1957, published the sermon of preacher Albert M. Pennybacker of the Taftville Congregational Church; it was a sermon on the Billy Graham New York crusade, then in progress. Declared preacher Pennybacker: “Christian faith is not meant for twaddlers and nincompoops. It is not something to be played at. It is not wrapped up in smallness or mediocrity. It deals with the real issues, those that lie below the surface symptoms. . . .

“Perhaps the greatest example of this playing at Christianity is taking place now in Madison Square Garden. With gigantic advertising and stupendous crowds and banner-draped galleries, Billy Graham each night calls men to a decision for Christ. I do not question his sincerity or his motives or his results or his finances or his crowds. I do question whether the Christian faith is as simple as Graham says. ‘Either you are converted here this evening and come down the aisle or you go away with a hardened heart.’ The issue is not the call of God; it is the invitation of Billy Graham. It remains of man-made size. Its dimensions are not those of God and Satan, but of a great advertising campaign and a large sports arena.

“It is the sort of playing at Christianity of which we are often guilty. It is the making of God and His salvation fit our words or be pigeon-holed into our churches or our Sundays. It is a small gospel for small people. . . . It is a religion for ‘twaddlers and nincompoops.’ They want their religion simple; the only trouble is that the Christian faith is not simple. Would that it were! . . . Would that it never disturbed the conscience or passed judgment on ourselves and the world that we create! . . . Is there a middle course, another alternative other than the simple, hollow, wordy playing at Christianity or the blind ignorance of what the real issues are? We would like another way. We would like to see big issues and be a part of gigantic struggles. . . . The twaddler, the nincompoop, those playing at Christianity . . . are too busy making money or fighting wars or saving souls.”

Inspired Misprint

● Writing in the volume Monday to Friday Is Not Enough, Frederick M. Meek reports: “The most inspired misprint, or at least one of them, that ever appeared was one in which a newspaper story recorded that the preacher’s text was, ‘Though I speak with the tongue of men and of angels and have not clarity, it profiteth me nothing.’”

Questions From Readers

● Leviticus 3:17 states: “It is a statute to time indefinite for your generations, in all your dwelling places: You must not eat any fat or any blood at all.” Nehemiah 8:10 says: “Go, eat the fatty things and drink the sweet things.” How can these two commands be reconciled?—E. Z., United States.

Leviticus 3:17 and Nehemiah 8:10 are not at variance with each other. Leviticus refers to the layers of fat in animal bodies, which were not to be eaten. By the expression “fatty things” Nehemiah refers to rich portions, things not skinny, things not dry but luscious, including tasty things prepared with vegetable oils. Frequently “fat” is used figuratively to indicate richness or lushness or prosperity. Instances of this are “the fatness of the earth,” “his bread shall be fat,” “they found fat pasture,” “they took strong cities, and a fat land,” “the large and fat land which thou gavest,” “in a fat pasture shall they feed,” and “the fattest places of the province.”—Gen. 27:28, 39; 49:20; 1 Chron. 4:40; Neh. 9:25, 35; Ezek. 34:14; Dan. 11:24, AV.

Now we are not under the Leviticus prohibition concerning fat, since we are not under the Mosaic law, it being made inoperative by God through Jesus’ death: “He kindly forgave us all our trespasses and blotted out the handwritten document against us which consisted of decrees and which was in opposition to us, and He has taken it out of the way by nailing it to the torture stake.”—Col. 2:13, 14.

Does this mean we are no longer under the Law’s prohibition concerning blood? No, because the prohibition against eating or drinking blood was given long before the Mosaic law covenant, namely, in the days of Noah immediately after the flood. This prohibition against blood was incorporated into and restated in the Mosaic law covenant to give it renewed emphasis, but mankind in general still continued under the obligations of the Noachian mandate concerning the sanctity of creature blood. Thus when the law covenant, binding upon the Jews, was taken out of the way by Jehovah’s nailing it to the torture stake of Jesus Christ. the Jews still continued under the prohibitions against eating and drinking blood, along with all the rest of mankind down to this very day. Christians were specifically notified of this continuing prohibition concerning blood: “They should keep themselves from what is sacrificed to idols as well as from blood and what is killed without draining its blood and from fornication.”—Acts 21:25.

The prohibition against fat, however, was lifted with the removal of the Mosaic law covenant. Other foods listed as unclean under the Jewish law covenant were thus removed from under prohibition by abolition of that covenant, and Jewish Christians as well as Christians from among Gentiles could eat such foods in all good conscience, giving thanks to God therefor that such foods might be sanctified through prayer.

● Sometimes in your publications you capitalize personal pronouns referring to Jehovah God and Christ Jesus, but generally you do not. Why not?—W. S., United States.

The practice of some who capitalize all personal pronouns referring to Jehovah and Christ appears to be merely a matter of preference or style and not something made obligatory by any principle in God’s Word. The way to praise and honor Jehovah and Christ is not by the mere capitalizing of initial letters in personal pronouns referring to them, but is by study and service, obedience and preaching. In the oldest Bible manuscripts available all the letters are alike. Capitalization is of relatively recent origin. Says Sir Frederic Kenyon in his book Textual Criticism of the New Testament, pages 19, 20, 25: “Capital letters, which are occasionally used in business documents to mark the beginning of a clause, do not occur in literary papyri . . .” It is interesting to note that not even the translators of the respected King James or Authorized Version always capitalized personal pronouns referring to Jehovah and Christ.—See Genesis 15:4-13; John 1:1-4, AV.

It is our policy to lower-case pronouns referring to Jehovah God and Jesus Christ in all our publications, with the exception that capitals are used when other pronouns in the sentence might make the meaning doubtful. If, for instance, both Jehovah and Jeremiah are mentioned in a sentence and then in that sentence the pronoun “he” occurs, the “h” would be capitalized if the pronoun were referring to Jehovah and it would be lower-cased if it referred to Jeremiah.

Announcements

“FROM DAY TO DAY TELL THE GOOD NEWS”

There is real good news to be told in this time of world distress and perplexity. Those whose hearts fail at seeing the gathering clouds of uncertainty and woe must have their attention called to the silver lining. That silver lining is the fact that the very things that cast such an ominous shadow over the world are evidence that we are living in the very last days of this wicked system of things and soon—within this generation—the kingdom of God by Christ Jesus will alone rule the earth. What grand news to have and to tell! In keeping with Jehovah’s direction, at Psalm 96:2, during December Jehovah’s witnesses will daily tell the good news of salvation to others by engaging in house-to-house ministry. A Bible-study aid book and booklet carrying the message of salvation will be offered on a contribution of 50c. All acquainted with the good news are privileged to tell it to others. If you wish to join in this happy service, contact the nearest Kingdom Hall of Jehovah’s witnesses.

OBTAIN YOUR 1958 YEARBOOK

The 1957 service year of Jehovah’s witnesses has proved to be one of the most productive in the history of the Kingdom ministry. The report of this world-wide activity, published by the president of the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society in this year’s annual Yearbook of Jehovah’s Witnesses, will thrill all of those who had a share in making it a part of the permanent record of Christian preaching. It will astonish those of good will and provide concrete encouragement to them. It will stimulate all to share in this modern fulfillment of Jesus’ commission to go into the highways and the byways of the world to seek his sheep. The ready response of those thirsting for truth, the stand they have taken for Jehovah’s new-world government—often under trying conditions—the strength of integrity they have displayed even in their Christian youth, all add up to the most inspiring report yet published in the Yearbook. Order your copy for 50c. The stimulating and colorful 1958 calendar is also now available for 25c each. If you are associated with a congregation of Jehovah’s witnesses, order through the congregation servant.

“WATCHTOWER” STUDIES FOR THE WEEKS

December 15: The Congregator on Works Vain and Worthwhile, ¶1-19. Page 688.

December 22: The Congregator on Works Vain and Worthwhile, ¶20-25, and Worthwhile Works of the Congregated Ones. Page 695.

Check Your Memory

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

✔ What pit dug by adults has become the trap for modern youth? P. 675, ¶1.

✔ Why parents must live by the same moral standard they teach their children? P. 676, ¶6.

✔ Why some Jews set an extra glass of wine on the passover table? P. 677, ¶1.

✔ What year was pinpointed by Hebrew prophecy for the appearance of the Messiah? P. 678, ¶3.

✔ Who were the chief instigators of Christian persecution during the days of Diocletian? P. 681, ¶3.

✔ Why a government ordered a man to be torn with scourges and then subjected to other devilish tortures? P. 682, ¶3.

✔ How two books caused a prisoner to be punished in hard solitary confinement for eighty-six days? P. 683, ¶5.

✔ What the holy spirit is? P. 685, ¶5.

✔ What great congregating work is going on today? P. 688, ¶1.

✔ Whether Solomon included the service of God when he said everything is vanity? P. 690, ¶7.

✔ How mankind could have been spared the curse of death? P. 692, ¶14.

✔ How a vow to God must be regarded? P. 698, ¶4.

✔ Why Christians are not required to obey the Scriptural law against eating fat? P. 703, ¶5.