The Watchtower — December 15, 1958

Thinking About Christmas?

AT THIS time of year people can hardly help but think about Christmas. Despite the holiday’s merriment and festivity, some of one’s thoughts are likely to be disturbing. They are disturbing because of the things that often take place on a day Christendom has set aside to honor Christ.

Yes, it causes many persons to wonder when they see so many things practiced at Christmastime that Christ condemned. For example, drunkenness, rowdiness, gluttony and other forms of immoderate behavior—these things dishonor Christ. Not only are such things deeply disturbing to thinking persons but one wonders, too, about the financial, physical and mental exhaustion that so often afflicts Christmas celebrants. The hectic struggle to purchase presents, the busy task to decorate tree and home, and the herculean efforts to send out holiday greeting cards are causing people to wonder why Christmas is as it is.

Something else provokes thought: Santa Claus’ receiving greater attention than Christ. A heathen visiting Christendom at Christmastime would likely think that Santa Claus was the central figure of the celebration. What would Christ say if he were on earth to comment about Christmas? one wonders. Would he even know that the day was ostensibly set aside to honor him? From the emphasis put on Santa Claus, the department stores, feasting and merriment, he would hardly know it.

One’s thoughts are stirred, too, by an increasing number of newspaper articles, such as the editorial in the Washington Post: “The American Christmas has become commercialized to an extent that is shocking to many foreigners and that almost transforms it into a national orgy of sentimental materialism. But there also remains the fact that it is not merely the manufacturers and advertisers, but the great part of the American people, who prefer to have it this way.”

It truly disturbs thinking persons that many professed Christians want Christmas this way—a time for the materialistic exchanging of presents, a pattern Christ did not set. Bible-reading Christians know that Christ recommended giving, but they also know it was the kind of giving in which one does not expect repayment. Said Christ: “When you spread a dinner or evening meal, do not call your friends, or your brothers or your relatives or rich neighbors. Perhaps some time they might also invite you in return and it would become a repayment to you. But when you spread a feast, invite poor people, crippled, lame, blind; and you will be happy, because they have nothing with which to repay you.” “And if you do good to those doing good to you, really of what credit is it to you? Even the sinners do the same.”—Luke 14:12-14; 6:33.

True it is, material things usually eclipse spiritual things at Christmastime. Celebrants all too often spend their time worried and occupied in pleasing friends and relatives, while they hardly think of pleasing Christ. This lack of spirituality causes one to think of the time Jesus reproved Martha because she was anxious and disturbed about material things, whereas she should have concerned herself primarily with spiritual things.—Luke 10:38-42.

And it was evangelist Billy Graham who gave Christmas celebrants cause for deep thought when he said: “Let’s put Christ back into Christmas.”

Perhaps this thought now comes into one’s mind: Did Christ command Christians to celebrate his birthday? Bible readers know there is no such command. Christ did command his followers to celebrate his death: “Keep doing this in remembrance of me.” (Luke 22:19) Nowhere in the Bible is there mention of a Christian’s celebrating a birthday. In the Bible only pagans celebrated birthdays.

Not surprising, then, that newspapers and magazine articles often tell us that the early Christians did not celebrate Christmas. The mind is set to wondering about the December 25 date itself when one reads such statements as that found in the Woman’s Home Companion of December, 1956:“No one knows exactly the day or the year of Christ’s birth—perhaps because no one thought of celebrating it until four centuries after He died.”

When one reads in such a reliable encyclopedia as the Americana of Christmas’ origin, it makes him wonder; for under the heading “Christmas” this authority says: “The celebration was not observed in the first centuries of the Christian church. . . . In the 5th century the Western church ordered the feast to be celebrated on the day of the Mithraic rites of the birth of the sun and at the close of the Saturnalia, as no certain knowledge of the day of Christ’s birth existed.

“Among the German and Celtic tribes the winter solstice was considered an important point of the year and to commemorate the return of the sun they held their chief festival of yule, which, like other pagan celebrations, became adapted to Christmas. Most of the customs now associated with Christmas were not originally Christmas customs but rather were pre-Christian and non-Christian customs. . . . Saturnalia, a Roman feast celebrated in mid-December, provided the model for many of the merrymaking customs of Christmas.”

What, then, are we to think of Christmas? How do we know from the Bible that Christ was not born in December but rather on about the first of October? You can have the answers to these and other such questions you may have been thinking about. Jehovah’s witnesses will be glad to give you these answers at no cost to you and from your own Bible. Ask them.

Who Is God?

Of the many gods that have existed and do exist, which one is the right One? How has he proved himself God before all creation?

ALMOST every conceivable thing known to man has, at one time or another, been worshiped as a god or a goddess. The sun, moon, stars and planets have all been objects of worship from time immemorial. Plants and animals, insects and reptiles, animate and inanimate creatures were all added to the collection of gods. Mosquitoes, flies, monkeys, boars, cobras and cows, trees and rivers are still numbered among the prominent gods of today. There seems to be no end to the making of gods.

Some people worshiped one God and had no idols, others worshiped millions of gods and had as many idols. King Solomon worshiped Ashtoreth, the goddess of the Sidonians, and Milcom, the disgusting thing of the Ammonites. Some women of Jerusalem worshiped Tammuz. King Ahab and Queen Jezebel worshiped Baal. King Jeroboam made the people bow down before golden calves. The Israelites even had their sons and their daughters pass through the fire to the god Molech. Babylon and Egypt had their many gods; Assyria and Persia, Greece and Rome all had gods of different names that they worshiped.

The modern world has its gods. For example, the Roman Catholic Church worships a triune god, a nameless god, referred to only by his titles such as “Lord,” “God,” “Father,” etc. He is looked upon by Catholics as both a loving and a vengeful god, blessing the good with heavenly bliss, purging the wrong-doers in a fiery purgatory and punishing the wicked for all eternity with excruciating pain in a hell-fire. Many Protestant denominations join the Roman Catholic Church in the worship of this nameless, triune god.

On the other hand, Christian Scientists maintain: “God is divine Mind, Soul, Spirit. He is Life, Truth, and Love. He is omnipotent, omniscient, and omnipresent; the only creator, the one cause, the All-in-all.”

The Eastern religions have many gods. The gods and goddesses in India alone have multiplied until today they have reached the number of some 330,000,000, and these are worshiped in thousands of temples, in many cases with images and rites that shock the decency of moral, self-respecting people.

Still Christians profess to worship only one God, as the apostle Paul declared to the Corinthians: “For even though there are those who are called ‘gods’, whether in heaven or on earth, just as there are many ‘gods’ and many ‘lords’, there is actually to us one God the Father, out of whom all things are, and we for him, and there is one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom all things are, and we through him.” But who is this one God?—1 Cor. 8:5, 6.

There is no doubt in our mind that he is the God of Jesus Christ, the God that raised Jesus from the dead; the God of faithful Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the forefathers of Israel; the God of Samuel, Elijah, Isaiah, Jeremiah and the other faithful prophets; the One whom Moses confessed, David honored and Noah served; the God of the Holy Bible, whose name is Jehovah. “I am Jehovah. That is my name; and to anyone else I shall not give my own glory, neither my praise to graven images.” This name Jehovah appears more than 6,823 times in the Hebrew text of the Holy Scriptures. Of him the prophet Moses wrote: “Even from time indefinite to time indefinite you are God.”—Isa. 42:8; Ps. 90:2.

THE APPEARANCE OF FALSE GODS

Noah survived the flood because he worshiped the true God Jehovah. He handed down the worship of the living God to his sons, but soon after the flood true worship degenerated into the false worship of many gods. The worship of Jehovah was neglected by those who began to worship the powers and objects of nature. As Paul the apostle declared: Men “exchanged the truth of God for the lie and venerated and rendered sacred service to the creation rather than the One who created, who is blessed forever. Amen.”—Rom. 1:23, 25.

In Ur of the Chaldeans, the land where Abram was born, people worshiped star-gods, because their leaders were great astrologers. Their gods, Assur and Kissar, were the works of their own hands. The Chaldeans also made the gods Anu, Bel and Baal and Hea. Jehovah proved himself supreme over all the gods of the Chaldeans when he frustrated their attempt to build the tower of Babel by confusing the languages of men.—Gen. 11:5-9.

When the descendants of Abraham journeyed down into Egypt, there they came across a whole selection of different gods. According to Wilkinson, Egypt had many gods, the greatest of whom were Neph, Amun, Pthah, Khem, Sati, Maut and Bubastis. Ra and Seb were the first of the second class of Egyptian deities. The Egyptians believed that Neph made the sun and moon revolve. Pthah was worshiped as the creator. Khem was the god of agriculture. Ra was worshiped as a sun-god and his son Seb represented time. The ancient Egyptians also worshiped a trinity made up of Osiris, Isis and Horus, namely, father, mother and son. This trinity is precisely the same as that worshiped in Christendom. It has been handed down from ancient Egypt and Babylon.

Jehovah vindicated his supremacy over all the gods of Egypt when he disgraced them with ten plagues and destroyed the Egyptian forces in the Red Sea. Following the Red Sea victory the Israelites sang to Jehovah’s praise: “This is my God, and I shall laud him; my father’s God, and I shall raise him on high. Jehovah is a manly person of war. Jehovah is his name. . . . Who among the gods is like you, O Jehovah?” There is none.—Ex. 15:2, 3, 11.

Baal was a great god of the ancient Babylonians. He was also the god of the Assyrians, Phoenicians and Carthaginians. Even the Israelites strayed away to worship Baal. He was represented as a cruel god. To appease him little children were offered up as sacrifices. The priests of Baal cut themselves with knives and lancets until blood gushed out. Animals too were sacrificed to him in great numbers. A forty-foot-high statue made of gold served as a temple built to the worship of Baal in Babylon. Jehovah proved himself invincible before Baal when he had the prophets of Baal slain during Elijah’s time. Later, when the Babylonians went to worshiping Merodach as a god, King Nebuchadnezzar was forced to acknowledge Jehovah to be the true God, saying to the prophet Daniel: “Of a truth your God is the God of gods, and the Lord of kings.”—Dan. 2:47, AS.

Even all the gods of the Assyrians proved themselves helpless before Jehovah when he routed their armies, destroying 185,000 of King Sennacherib’s troops in one night. Nisroch, the god of the Assyrian king, could not even save the king from assassination by his own sons.—Isa. 37:36-38.

MEDES, PERSIANS, GREEKS AND ROMANS

When the Medes and the Persians took over the world rulership new gods came to the fore. The Persian god Ormuzd became the supreme god to be worshiped. He was represented at times as a majestic man seated on a bull, the Persian emblem of creation. Mithra, the god-mediator symbolized by the sun, and Ahriman the prince of darkness, along with Ormuzd, formed the Persian trinity. Great ceremonies were held in Mithra’s honor on his birthday, which was the 25th of December, Christendom’s Christmas Day.

Despite the many gods of Persia, King Darius was made to recognize Daniel’s God Jehovah as the true God. Darius made a decree that said: “I make a decree, that in all the dominion of my kingdom men tremble and fear before the God of Daniel; for he is the living God, and steadfast for ever, and his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed.” Daniel’s God was Jehovah, God of faithful Israel.—Dan. 6:26, AS.

The ancient Greeks surpassed other nations in the number of gods they devised and worshiped. On Mount Olympus in Greece, during a brief period of time, some claim that there were 30,000 gods of various ranks. Grecian gods were personifications of nature’s forces. Gradually the Greeks had them evolve into representatives of human powers and passions. The Grecian gods then became idealized men and women, warm with life, having human adventures, wars and loves. Rome later accepted the Grecian gods, but called them by different names.

Saturn was worshiped for bringing a golden age to Rome. Once a year a seven-day celebration, called the Saturnalia, was held in his honor. Historians tell us that it was from this pagan festival, which was kept in December, that Christendom acquired its Christmas holiday.

Jehovah confounded the Grecian and Roman gods when he raised his only-begotten Son, Jesus Christ, from the death state to life again. Jesus Christ was the One whom the Roman soldiers had staked and mocked.

THE GODS OF INDIA AND CHINA

The gods of India were mostly abstractions. The ancient Hindus had many gods. Indra was believed to be the greatest of all gods. His worshipers claimed that he slew the demon-god Vritra, thus proving his supremacy over the gods. Yama was worshiped as the god of death and is spoken of as the founder of paradise and the ruler of the golden age in the hereafter.

In later Hindu mythology Brahma is represented as the supreme deity. The Hindu trinity is composed of Brahma the Creator, Vishnu the Preserver, and Siva the Destroyer. Together, the three composed the one god Brahm. Brahma is the supreme god of the Hindus, but actually he is little worshiped, and it is said that in all India there are only two temples devoted to him. Vishnu, the second person of the Hindu trinity, receives the worship of millions. Siva, the third person of the trinity, is figured with a rope for strangling evildoers, with a necklace of human skulls, with earrings of serpents and with the sacred river Ganges on his head. Numerous temples are erected for his honor and worship. In India, cows, monkeys, snakes and boars are also considered sacred.

Of ancient China it is said that their gods were few, but later for almost everything in life the Chinese had a special god. Chang-ti was worshiped as the great first cause. New emperors devoted a crop from a section of land in sacrifice to Chang-ti. When the rulers neglected this practice, it was believed that various forms of public calamities befell them.

The Chinese worshiped other gods. Hwa-Kwang, the god of fire and heat, is represented with three eyes. His worshipers claim that he is able to see a thousand miles, even in the dark. Merchants appeal to him to protect them from robbers and plunderers. To-ti is the god of the earth that confers prosperity in business. The Tiger-god and the fire-god are two very popular Chinese deities. Like these, almost all the Chinese gods are ugly and grotesque.

Shintoism, the common religion of the Japanese, has its gods and goddesses, sacred symbols and legends. The Japanese hell-god is truly colossal in size, some sixty-three and a half feet from bottom to top.

The Teutons and the Saxons worshiped gods of the sky. Human sacrifices were commonplace to appease the gods. Huitzilopochtli, the Aztec god of war, was appeased only by human sacrifices. F. S. Dobbins asserted that “not less than twenty thousand men, women, and children were annually sacrificed to this monster.” That represents a figure of not less than fifty humans every day.

Then there were gods and goddesses dedicated to virtue, faith, honor, hope, justice, mercy, chastity, truth, good sense, peace, health, fidelity, money, liberty, laughter, genius and silence. A marked peculiarity of the gods is that they have almost in every case been made to possess the characteristics of their makers. They were the works and imaginings of men. The apostle Paul taught correctly, as Demetrius testified: “This Paul has won over a considerable crowd and turned them to another opinion, saying that the ones which are made by hands are not gods.” So they are not.—Acts 19:26.

THE TRUE GOD

The only God that has proved his supremacy throughout all the centuries is Jehovah. Of Jehovah, David wrote: “All the gods of the peoples are worthless gods, but as for Jehovah, he has made the very heavens.” “Jehovah is a great God and a great King over all other gods.” The Ruler of the universe is not a nameless, triune god. His name is Jehovah. Of himself he states: “Before me there was no God formed, and after me there continued to be none. I—I am Jehovah, and besides me there is no savior.” “Turn to me and be saved, all you at the ends of the earth, for I am God and there is no one else.” The apostle Peter declared: “Anyone that calls upon the name of Jehovah will be saved.” This truth still stands, for “Jehovah is in truth God. He is the living God and the King to time indefinite.” Turn to him. Worship him and live.—Ps. 96:5; 95:3; Isa. 43:10, 11; 45:22; Acts 2:21; Jer. 10:10.

Happy Are the Ones Staying Awake

“Look! I am coming as a thief. Happy is the one that stays awake and keeps his outer garments, that he may not walk naked and people look upon his parts of shame.”—Rev. 16:15.

1. Under whose supervision does the particular work come that calls for the forfeiture and destruction of the dismissed worker’s garments?

NOT all types of work today call for a man’s outer garments to be forfeited and destroyed when he is thrown out of work for not staying awake. What, then, is the particular type of work referred to at Revelation 16:15, which brings the surrender and destruction of one’s clothing when dismissal from work occurs for going to sleep at one’s post? It is the work that comes under the supervision and control of the heavenly One who issues the warning: “Look! I am coming as a thief. Happy is the one that stays awake and keeps his outer garments, that he may not walk naked and people look upon his parts of shame.” Re 16:15 It is Jesus that speaks.

2. As respects his professed followers, in what is Jesus keenly interested, and how does he get the true information in this matter?

² It is in the manner in which his professed followers conduct themselves now that Jesus Christ is keenly interested. Are they faithfully imitating him, or are they disloyally, hypocritically misrepresenting him before the world? Are they lovingly serving him, or are they serving the interests of an enemy world? Are they alertly doing the work he commanded them to do in these days since the year 1914, or are they asleep to their Christian obligations because of seeking the ease, the peace and the prosperity that this world holds out? These are the questions to which Jesus Christ has to learn the true answers, by coming upon his professed followers at a time not known beforehand, at a time when they would be doing just the things that they want to be doing when he is not around.

3. At his coming, what happens to the awake Christians and to the ones asleep, and to what place is it that he comes?

³ At his thieflike coming the awake Christians would keep possession of their outer garments. Those found asleep would lose their outer garments. The Lord Jesus Christ would remove their garments from them, leaving them to walk naked and to expose their parts of shame in disgrace. To what place, though, is it that he comes? To the Vatican or to the Roman Catholic Church? To the Church of England or to any other Protestant church or to any federation of Protestant churches? No! It is to the spiritual temple of God that he comes. That is to say, to both the true spiritual temple of God and that which falsely claims to be the spiritual temple of God.

4. What is the temple to which he comes as the Chief Overseer?

⁴ Let us understand the matter clearly as to the temple. To true Christians or true followers and imitators of Jesus Christ, the apostle Paul writes: “Do you not know that you people are God’s temple and that the spirit of God dwells in you? If anyone destroys the temple of God, God will destroy him; for the temple of God is holy, which temple you people are.” (1 Cor. 3:16, 17) The Jews’ temple to Jehovah God on Mount Moriah in Jerusalem was destroyed by the Roman legions in the year 70 (A.D). Since then the only temple to Jehovah in existence has been the spiritual temple, in which God dwells by his spirit or holy active force. The spiritual temple is made up of “living stones,” Jesus Christ himself being the foundation cornerstone and his 144,000 chosen followers being “living stones” built on him. (Eph. 2:21, 22; 1 Pet. 2:5-7) This is the temple to which he comes as the Chief Overseer.

5. What course would be a defiling of the temple class, and what would the defilers prove themselves to be?

⁵ To the same true Christians the apostle Paul also writes: “Do not become unevenly yoked with unbelievers. For what partnership do righteousness and lawlessness have? Or what fellowship does light have with darkness? Further, what harmony is there between Christ and Belial [or, Satan]? Or what portion does a faithful person have with an unbeliever? And what agreement does God’s temple have with idols? For we are the temple of the living God; just as God said: ‘I shall reside among them and walk among them, and I shall be their God, and they will be my people.’ ‘“Therefore get out from among them, and separate yourselves,” says Jehovah, “and quit touching the unclean thing,’” ‘“and I will take you in.”’” (2 Cor. 6:14-17; Isa. 52:11; Ezek. 20:41) Manifestly, any class of Christians that would get unequally yoked with unbelievers and mix philosophical doctrines of worldly darkness with Christian doctrines of light and borrow from the Devil’s worship and bring idolatrous images into the congregation for worship would be defiling the temple class. Such pretenders of Christianity would be setting up a false temple of God. They could not be the true temple of God, but would merely be pretending to be the Christian temple of God. They would really be a hypocritical part of this old world.

6. In coming to the spiritual temple to do any destroying, why must Jesus Christ make an inspection?

⁶ At the time that he comes like a thief to destroy the old world or the unclean, oppressive, wicked old system of things, Jesus Christ must make inspection and find out what has to be destroyed. He must inspect the religious realm claiming to be Christian. He must separate the hypocritical from the true Christians. That is why he has to come to the spiritual temple of God.

7. That the temple is the place to which he comes appears to have support from his mention of what, and where was such a procedure carried on in Jesus’ day?

⁷ That this is the place to which he must come appears to have support in his mention of staying awake and keeping one’s outer garments to avoid having to walk naked and let people see one’s parts of shame. This could be a reference to a procedure that was followed in Jehovah’s temple at Jerusalem in the earthly days of Jesus Christ. In that temple the sons of the ancient family of Aaron (the brother of the prophet Moses) served as the priests, and the sons of the tribe of Levi served as the assistants of the priests. Concerning the arrangements and procedures among them we read, in the Jewish Mishnah (translated by Herbert Danby, D.D.):

8, 9. According to the Jewish Mishnah, who were put on watchman duty at the temple, and how was a watchman asleep at his post dealt with?

⁸ “The priests kept watch at three places in the Temple: at the Chamber of Abtinas, at the Chamber of the Flame, and at the Chamber of the Hearth; and the levites at twenty-one places: five at the five gates of the Temple Mount, four at the four corners inside, five at five of the gates of the Temple Court, four at its four corners outside, and one at the Chamber of Offerings, and one at the Chamber of the Curtain, and one behind the place of the Mercy Seat [that is, outside the western or rear wall of the temple’s Holy of Holies].

⁹ “The officer of the Temple Mount used to go round to every watch with lighted torches before him, and if any watch did not stand up and say to him, ‘O officer of the Temple Mount, peace be to thee!’ and it was manifest that he was asleep, he would beat him with his staff, and he had the right to burn his raiment. And they would say, ‘What is the noise in the Temple Court?’ ‘The noise of some levite that is being beaten and having his raiment burnt because he went to sleep during his watch.’ Rabbi Eliezer ben Jacob said: ‘They once found my mother’s brother asleep and burnt his raiment.’”—Mishnah, Middoth (“Measurements”), 1 paragraphs 1, 2.

10, 11. (a) Why was it necessary for each watchman to remain awake at his post? (b) Why was it necessary to stay awake for the coming of the officer in charge of casting lots?

¹⁰ Since the overseer or officer of the Temple Mount was accustomed to make the rounds of all twenty-four stations during the watches of the night, it was necessary for each watchman to remain awake at his post constantly in order not to be caught off guard by the overseer. It was also necessary to open the door to another officer that was in charge of the casting of the lots for the temple services. Concerning this we read: “He that was minded to clean the Altar of ashes rose up early and immersed himself before the officer came. At what time did he come? Not always at the same time. Sometimes he came at cock-crow and sometimes a little sooner or later. The officer came and knocked [on the door] where they were, and they opened to him. He said, ‘Let him that has immersed himself come and cast lots.’ And they cast lots and the lot fell upon whom it fell.a

¹¹ “He took the key and opened the wicket and entered the Temple Court by the Chamber of the Hearth. The priests entered after him carrying two lighted torches, and they separated into two parties.”—Mishnah, Tamid (“The Daily Whole-Offering”), paragraphs 2, 3.

12. (a) As pictured by the priests and Levites serving at the temple, to whom in particular is Jesus’ encouragement to stay awake directed? (b) Since 1931, who also can well take heed to such admonition, and why?

¹² The priests and Levites serving at Jehovah’s temple in Jerusalem typified or foreshadowed the 144,000 victorious footstep followers of Jehovah’s High Priest, Jesus Christ. In the “spiritual house” or temple of God the 144,000 are at the same time “living stones” and a “holy priesthood,” to offer up “spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.” (1 Pet. 2:5) The selection of these “living stones” of the “spiritual house” has been going on during the “Christian era.” Today, after nineteen centuries, there is only a remnant of them still on earth, and the number of them is growing less from year to year. To these in particular Jesus’ encouragement to stay awake and keep one’s outer garments is directed. However, since the year 1931 a “great crowd” of worshipers of Jehovah God out of all nations and languages have associated themselves with the remnant of the “spiritual house” or “holy priesthood.” Revelation 7:9-15 foresaw the incoming of this “great crowd” of sheeplike worshipers of God and pictured them as being before the throne of God and ascribing their salvation to him and to his Lamb Jesus Christ and also rendering sacred service to God at the temple day and night. Because of this mention of temple service at night, they also can well take heed to the admonition to stay awake directed to the spiritual remnant of the “holy priesthood.” They do not want to be like those who fall asleep and lose their garments.

OUTER GARMENTS

13. (a) What physical condition of the priests was prohibited at Jehovah’s temple? (b) What, then, are the outer garments that the remnant should keep possession of?

¹³ In ancient heathen religions priests often offered sacrifices to their false gods naked, as in the sacrifices to Bacchus the god of wine, etc. In the ancient temple of Jehovah at Jerusalem the show of nakedness was prohibited. This was why the priests had to wear drawers of linen, that their private parts might not show at any time, in any position, during their ministry in the temple. (Ex. 20:26; 28:42) What, then, are the “outer garments” that the remnant of the “holy priesthood” at Jehovah’s spiritual temple wear and should keep possession of? Since failure to stay awake at one’s post of duty during the night was punished with the loss of one’s post of service at the temple and resulted in the disgrace of nakedness, the outer garments picture the insignia or the distinguishing marks or evidences of one’s holding the honorable office of being a servant of Jehovah God and a fellow minister with Jehovah’s High Priest, Jesus Christ, at His temple. The outer garments denote the honored service of being a witness of the Most High God, Jehovah, rendering public service to him at his temple. Such garments are a gift from God and hence can be taken away by God for the wearer’s not living up to the responsibilities of his sacred of office.

14. When are such outer garments of ministry at the spiritual temple bestowed, and with what privileges resulting?

¹⁴ When are such outer garments of ministry at the spiritual temple bestowed? When one believes in Jehovah as being the only living and true God and accepts his provision for salvation through Jesus Christ and then lovingly dedicates oneself to God in order to worship and serve him forever. The dedication being accepted through Jesus Christ, then Jehovah God takes the dedicated one into the sacred ministry. Figuratively speaking, he clothes the dedicated Christian with the outer garments symbolizing his being in the ministry at God’s temple; and Jehovah bestows recognition upon the dedicated Christian by giving him sacred privileges of service.

15. How was this foreshadowed in ancient Israel, and why are the garments of the ministry to be prized and retained?

¹⁵ Foreshadowing this, the priests of Israel were clothed with official garments to denote their sacred appointment to service. As regards the Levites, these had to wash their clothing before they were presented to the priests as their assistants at the temple. (Ex. 28:1-43; Num. 8:5-22) It is an honor to wear the figurative garments of the true Christian ministry at God’s spiritual temple. Jesus Christ was thus figuratively clothed when he went about on earth preaching the good news of God’s kingdom among the circumcised Jews, “the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” It is written: “Christ actually became a minister of those who are circumcised in behalf of God’s truthfulness, so as to verify the promises He made to their forefathers, and that the nations might glorify God for his mercy.” (Rom. 15:8, 9) The glorified Jesus Christ is the greatest minister, the chief minister, of the Most High God, the Creator of the universe. It is the highest honor a creature could enjoy to be in the ministry with Jesus Christ, the High Priest of the only living and true God. One’s garments betokening one’s being honored with this ministry are something to prize and retain.

16. (a) What matter is here concerned, and why is it so vital to everybody? (b) How can one’s form of religion be death-dealing, and so what must not be allowed to happen to the true religion?

¹⁶ The matter here concerns the true, pure religion. The pure religion means life to all intelligent creation, because it puts and keeps an intelligent creature in touch with the divine Father, the Source of all life, whether life in heaven or life on earth. A creature’s form of worship can be wrong and deceive the worshiper’s heart and so prove futile, fruitless, death-dealing instead of life-giving. If he does not rein in his tongue and say, preach, teach and pray true, right things about the real God and his purpose, his form of worship will result in no blessing and salvation in spite of sincerity of worship. “If any man seems to himself to be a formal worshiper and yet does not bridle his tongue, but goes on deceiving his own heart, this man’s form of worship is futile. The form of worship that is clean and undefiled from the standpoint of our God and Father is this: to care for orphans and widows in their tribulation, and to keep oneself without spot from the world.” (Jas. 1:26, 27) The one true religion must not be allowed to become spotted up with the world’s false religions and forms of worship, not even with the falsely called “Christian” religions of Christendom.

THE PURPOSE OF STAYING AWAKE

17. In relation to the true temple, what is the purpose of staying awake and on the watch, and whom must we have watch with us, and why?

¹⁷ In the ancient temple of Jehovah in Jerusalem the priestly and Levite temple guards were posted at their stations in order to safeguard the temple from robbery and to keep out all unclean persons and all intruders who were bent on no proper business. In relation to God’s spiritual temple and his worship that is carried on there today, the purpose of staying awake and keeping on the watch is the same. The purpose is to keep God’s pure worship undefiled from the intrusion of any unclean persons and of any uncleanness from this Babylonish old world. It is to see to it that the pure and acceptable worship is maintained, promoted and brought to others in order that the lifesaving benefits may flow from it to others and that God may thus be honored and exalted. All true Christians, who are the ones favored with having the one and only God-given religion, are responsible to keep on the watch, as long as they are in this Babylonish world. They must keep watch with God’s help, trusting in the assistance of his holy angels and in the activity of his holy spirit. As a reminder of this, it is written: “Unless Jehovah himself builds the house, it is to no avail that its builders have labored on it. Unless Jehovah himself guards the city, it is to no avail that the guard has kept awake.” (Ps. 127:1) Our watching and guarding may be imperfect and incomplete, but God’s watching is perfect and is over everything concerned and is able to see through any emergency. We need to have him watch with us.

18. (a) Who in congregations of the temple class have a special responsibility to keep on watch? (b) Why is it now all the more important to keep watching as overseers, and against what?

¹⁸ Men who have been appointed as overseers in a congregation of God’s temple class have a special responsibility to keep on watch against the development of any bad or improper conditions. As it is now nineteen centuries since the apostle Paul said the following words to overseers, it is all the more important to take heed to them: “Pay attention to yourselves and to all the flock, among which the holy spirit has appointed you overseers, to shepherd the congregation of God, which he purchased with the blood of his own Son. I know that after my going away oppressive wolves will enter in among you and will not treat the flock with tenderness, and from among you yourselves men will rise and speak twisted things to draw away the disciples after themselves. Therefore keep awake, and bear in mind that for three years, night and day, I did not quit admonishing each one with tears. . . . by thus laboring you must assist those who are weak and must bear in mind the words of the Lord Jesus, when he himself said, ‘There is more happiness in giving than there is in receiving.’” (Acts 20:28-35) There is still great need, yes, greater need, to stay awake and watch against the intrusion of wolves to devour and against the rising of ambitious religious leaders to draw disciples after themselves away from following the Right Shepherd, who said, “Neither be called ‘leaders’ for your Leader is one, the Christ. But the greatest one among you must be your minister.”—Matt. 23:10, 11.

19. Uncertainty as to what event makes it necessary for all worshipers to stay awake, and in what sense must they do so?

¹⁹ Nonetheless, all, worshipers at the true spiritual temple of Jehovah God must stay awake and watch, not alone against unclean intruders but also for the coming of the High Priestly Inspector. Jesus warned us about the uncertainty of the time of the final inspection, at which time it will be made plain whether we have endured in the worship and service of God down to the finish of the period of watching, at the complete end of this worldly system of things. Said Jesus: “Concerning that day or the hour nobody knows, neither the angels in heaven nor the Son, but the Father. Keep looking, keep awake, for you do not know when the appointed time is. It is like a man traveling abroad that left his house and gave the authority to his slaves, to each one his work, and commanded the doorkeeper to keep on the watch. Therefore keep on the watch, for you do not know when the master of the house is coming, whether late in the day or at midnight or at cock-crowing or early in the morning, in order that when he arrives suddenly he does not find you sleeping. But what I say to you I say to all, Keep on the watch.” (Mark 13:32-37) This means for all to keep on the watch, fully awake always, in a spiritual sense, in the religious realm.

[Footnotes]

Every day they used to remove the ashes from off the Altar at cock-crow, or near to it, either before it or after it; but on the Day of Atonement [they did so] at midnight, and on the Feast [Passover, Pentecost and Tabernacles] at the first watch. And before the [time of] cock-crow drew near the Temple Court was filled with Israelites.

“Beforetime whosoever was minded to clear the Altar of ashes did so. If they were many they used to run and mount the [Altar-] Ramp and he that came first within four cubits secured the task. . . . When the Court saw that they incurred danger they ordained that they should not clear the Altar save by lot. There were four lots: and this was the first lot.”

The Crucial Time for Staying Awake

1. Against what military background does Jesus’ critical warning to stay awake now apply, and on what side do we need to stay awake?

THE critical warning, “Look! I am coming as a thief. Happy is the one that stays awake and keeps his outer garments,” was given by the glorified Jesus Christ against a prophetic background now being dramatically staged on a world-wide scale. Kings, the rulers of the entire earth and the Rulers of heaven, are on the march! Throughout heaven and earth is heard the rumble of military hosts that are now being deployed for the battle of battles, the universal war of the Mountain of Megiddo. There is no neutrality in this war. Everybody alive is being forced to a decision, the consequence of which will be either life or death, survival or destruction. There is a pressing need to be aware of the issue that has to be settled. There is a continual need to stay awake and prove faithful and dependable on the right side of the issue. Note how the timely advice to do this is interjected in the prophetic signs given long ago to foreshadow things now taking place:

2. Between what prophetic signs was Jesus’ timely advice at Revelation 16:15 interjected?

² “And the fifth [angel] poured out his bowl [of the anger of God] upon the throne of the wild beast. And its kingdom became darkened, and they began to gnaw their tongues for their pain, but they blasphemed the God of heaven for their pains and for their ulcers, and they did not repent of their works. And the sixth [angel] poured out his bowl [of the anger of God] upon the great river Euphrates, and its water was dried up, that the way might be prepared for the kings from the rising of the sun. And I saw three unclean inspired expressions that looked like frogs come out of the mouth of the dragon and out of the mouth of the wild beast and out of the mouth of the false prophet. They are, in fact, expressions inspired by demons and perform signs, and they go forth to the kings of the entire inhabited earth, to gather them together to the war of the great day of God the Almighty. ‘Look! I am coming as a thief. Happy is the one that stays awake and keeps his outer garments, that he may not walk naked and people look upon his parts of shame.’ And they gathered them together to the place that is called in Hebrew Har–Magedon [the Mountain of Megiddo].”—Rev. 16:1, 10-16.

3. What would the mention of Magedón or Megiddo recall to Hebrews like Jesus Christ and the apostle John?

³ To a Hebrew, such as Jesus Christ had been on earth and such as his apostle John then was, the mention of Magedón or Megiddo recalled the battle-marked history of that place. When the Israelites were subduing the land of Canaan, Jehovah’s judge Joshua fought at the city of Megiddo and defeated its pagan king. (Josh. 12:7, 21) Jehovah’s judge Barak also fought there and subdued the oppressive kings of Canaan. (Judg. 5:1, 19-21) King Josiah, who sat upon “Jehovah’s throne” at Jerusalem, later fought an ill-advised battle against the Egyptians “in the valley plain of Megiddo” and was wounded to death, his army also suffering defeat.—2 Chron. 35:20-25.

4, 5. (a) With what meaning, therefore, does the name Megiddo become filled when applied to the war of God’s great day? (b) Before which kings did ancient Babylon fall, and how was the Euphrates involved?

⁴ The name Megiddo was therefore pregnant with solemn meaning when applied to the universal war of the “great day of God the Almighty,” in which he battles against the “kings of the entire inhabited earth,” to deal them an everlasting defeat. It is at that time also that the great worldly system pictured by ancient Babylon on the Euphrates River, 525 miles east of Megiddo, must fall before God the Almighty and his Son Jesus Christ. These two heavenly Kings are the ones who are signified by the “kings from the rising of the sun” and before whom the water of the symbolic “great river Euphrates” is dried up to prepare a way for gaining entrance into symbolic Babylon. The “anger of God” is upon that symbolic river for contributing to the commerce and enrichment of symbolic Babylon and also for affording Babylon a strong protection.

⁵ Long ago, on an October night in 539 B.C., the waters of the literal river Euphrates were drained away by military engineers. Then the armies of the two kings from the east, Median Darius and Persian Cyrus, marched down the dried-up riverbed and got into Babylon through its open gates and killed King Belshazzar. The Babylonian world power fell. Shortly afterward the people of the prophet Daniel, Jehovah’s people, were let go free by King Cyrus to rebuild the temple of Jehovah at Jerusalem.

6. What will be the modern counterpart of this fall of Babylon, and what place of worship will remain standing?

⁶ As a modern counterpart of this, symbolic Babylon of today will fall before the anger of Jehovah and his associated King, Jesus Christ. The kings of the entire inhabited earth will be unable to come to Babylon’s aid. Demon-inspired propaganda and policies now gather these kings to the aid of Babylon and to the attack upon Jehovah’s liberated people, his dedicated witnesses on earth today. This provokes the “war of the great day of God the Almighty,” and the kings of the entire inhabited earth meet with defeat and destruction as at Megiddo long ago. But the spiritual temple of God remains standing, and his worship continues at it in triumph.

7, 8. (a) Who will continue ministering at the true temple, and why will there be an increasing need of ministers there? (b) Why does the need for staying awake and watching become all the greater the farther along that we go?

⁷ However, who will continue ministering to God at his true spiritual temple? Those true Christians who take heed to Jesus’ warning sandwiched in between the prophetic description of how the kings of the entire inhabited earth are gathered to Armageddon by demonic propaganda and policies. True Christians need to keep watch and stay awake at the spiritual temple, for, whereas the water of the symbolic Euphrates must dry up to leave symbolic Babylon without support and defense, the streams of people going up to the “mountain of the house of Jehovah” must keep getting fuller and fuller, running perennially. Hence the temple gates will have to be kept open all the time, not being closed night or day, in order to receive into the temple courts the inpouring crowds of dedicated worshipers. (Isa. 2:2-4; 60:11-13) There will be an increasing need of ministers in behalf of all the added worshipers.

⁸ Anyone unclean and evil-intentioned trying to get in and pollute the holy temple will have to be screened out. All the faithful worshipers will join in keeping it clean and holy as a “house of prayer for all the peoples.” (Isa. 56:7) The need for staying awake and watching against any infiltration of what is unclean and spiritually dangerous becomes all the greater as the time gets nearer for the kings of the entire inhabited earth under the leadership of the symbolic dragon, Gog of Magog, to make their do-or-die assault on Jehovah’s faithful Christian worshipers at Armageddon.—Ezek. 38:1 to 39:8.

HOW TO STAY AWAKE

9. Falling asleep puts the sleeper in what danger, and so what will God’s loving worshipers do?

⁹ Falling asleep at one’s post as a minister of Jehovah puts the sleeper in danger of being caught by the Chief Temple Inspector, Jesus Christ, who comes as a thief at Armageddon and makes his final inspection of all the religious realm that professes to be Christian, and then executes finally the judgment. It exposes the sleeper to being stripped naked and having his symbolic garments burned.a Any worshiper who loves God with exclusive devotion and who loves his Chief Inspector and longs for his coming to the final judgment will resolutely strive to stay awake. He will watch after the pure worship of Jehovah and the precious interests of his kingdom by Christ. How will the worshiper stay awake spiritually?

10, 11. (a) To stay awake what does a person need to do, as also advised by Jesus in his prophecy? (b) In what way, therefore, do we not want to act like Babylonians, and why not?

¹⁰ Basically, to stay awake a person needs to get his proper rest first, and also to avoid overindulgence in eating and drinking. Jesus said to his followers who questioned him as to when and as to what would be the sign when the things foretold would occur: “Pay attention to yourselves that your hearts never become weighed down with overeating and heavy drinking and anxieties of life, and suddenly that day be instantly upon you as a snare. For it will come in upon all those dwelling upon the face of all the earth. Keep awake, then, all the time making supplication that you may succeed in escaping all these things that are destined to occur, and to hold your position before the Son of man.”—Luke 21:7, 34-36.

¹¹ We do not want to be Babylonish like the world of mankind, celebrating a Belshazzar’s feast and carousing carelessly and depending upon the military establishment of this world and misusing the things of Jehovah God and blaspheming him, doing all this on the very night of doom, when the miraculous handwriting has appeared on the wall and the miraculous interpretation has been given. (Dan. 5:1-30) Such Babylonish self-indulgence and unspiritual worldliness would be certain to induce drowsiness and ease-taking and to throw us off guard, and to stifle prayer to God. It would dull one to one’s responsibilities as a Christian minister of the good news of God’s kingdom and weaken one in standing for principle, and cause one to forget the lateness of the time. Only a wicked slave eats and drinks and gets drunk, in the thought that his master will be a long time in coming home and taking an account.—Luke 12:43.

12. During this emergency need, what helps us to stay awake beneficially, and why?

¹² When there is an emergency need for us to stay awake and on watch, under great strain, we are helped by taking a stimulant to wakefulness. It should be a stimulant that gives strength and that does not draw on one’s future reserve of strength, thus really sapping one’s vitality and leading to future weakness. When any worshiper of Jehovah God studies God’s Word purposefully and intelligently, seeking certain information to equip himself for carrying on his ministry and for meeting a foreseen occasion, it serves as a spiritual stimulant to him. This needs to be done regularly, prayerfully to God, for he gives wisdom generously and without reproaching the one that prays for his lack. (Jas. 1:5) Says wisdom personified: “Happy is the man that is listening to me by keeping awake at my doors day by day, by watching at the posts of my entrances. For the one finding me will certainly find life, and gets good will from Jehovah.” (Prov. 8:34, 35) Happiness stimulates.

13. What should be our condition when studying, and why must our study be progressive?

¹³ However, we need to be awake when studying. We need to make progress in study, really adding to our knowledge and understanding because of study. Moreover, we must keep up with the advance of knowledge and understanding of God’s Word and purposes. To do this, we must study what progresses farther ahead of what we already know and understand. What we study should be progressive in its information, not dwelling continually on the primary things of Christian truth like a growing child that cannot pull himself away from his toys. What we study should be upbuilding to our proper desires and impulses. Then our study becomes very refreshing and stimulating to mental and spiritual alertness. By such study we grow to Christian matureness.—Heb. 5:14; 6:1-3.

14. How will we clinch what progress we make in knowledge and understanding, and with what emotional effect upon ourselves?

¹⁴ We need to clinch what progress we make in knowledge and understanding of God’s Word by serving our gains in knowledge and understanding out to others. If we become full of our gains of new and enlightening things, we will overflow spontaneously. We will serve out the new, progressive things that we are enjoying to others, to all those with whom we come into association. Especially will this be true at the Kingdom Hall of Jehovah’s witnesses, or at the home where a weekly study of the Bible is held with a Bible study aid by certain members of the congregation, or in the homes of the people when we are witnessing from house to house or when we are calling back on sheeplike persons interested in studying the Bible. All this serving of progressive knowledge out to others pleasantly makes us stir up the knowledge in our own mind and impresses it there; and the process of explaining it to others helps us to understand it better ourselves. It gladdens us at perceiving that we have a grasp of the progressive knowledge and have positively made it our very own, useful to us as educators in God’s Word.

15. How does stimulation of this kind affect us with regard to the future?

¹⁵ Such stimulation as the above puts new life into us and fortifies us for our future needs, instead of drawing now upon the reserves we need for the future.

16, 17. (a) What other stimulant is there that is commanded upon Jehovah’s worshipers? (b) Why is there greater urgency now to act on this command?

¹⁶ Another powerful stimulant to wakefulness and to keeping active in the ministry and alert to what is going on and to what it means is our regularly meeting together with progress-minded fellow Christian witnesses, who are worshiping at the same spiritual temple of Jehovah. The fact is, our attending at meetings with fellow worshipers is commanded by Jehovah upon his worshipers. The day of the final inspection by the High Priest of Jehovah and the execution of judgment at the universal war of Armageddon is drawing closer and closer. There is therefore all the greater urgency to act on the course recommended under inspiration at Hebrews 10:23-25, 35-37:

¹⁷ “Let us hold fast the public declaration of our hope without wavering, for he is faithful that promised. And let us consider one another to incite to love and right works, not forsaking the gathering of ourselves together, as some have the custom, but encouraging one another, and all the more so as you behold the day drawing near. Do not, therefore, throw away your freeness of speech, which has a great reward to be paid it. For you have need of endurance, in order that, after you have done the will of God, you may receive the fulfillment of the promise. For yet ‘a very little while’, and ‘he who is coming will arrive and will not delay’.”

18. Why in this cold world do we need all the encouragement and incitation that we can get by meeting together?

¹⁸ We need all the encouragement and incitation that we can get by meeting with the faithful brothers and by engaging with them in an interchange of comfort, faith and hope. In this cold world where the love of the greater number has cooled off, the encouragement, admonitions and incitements that the faithful brothers give us at meetings are like the slaps that the German witnesses of Jehovah gave to one another when imprisoned naked in a Nazi dungeon, where the bitter cold induced to sluggishness and drowsiness, in order to keep one another awake and active and thus prevent freezing to death. Slaps may sting but be lifesaving for us. “The wounds inflicted by a lover are faithful.” (Prov. 27:6) Said David, who did not despise reproof: “Should the righteous one strike me, it would be a loving-kindness; and should he reprove me, it would be oil upon the head, which my head would not want to refuse.” (Ps. 141:5) So meeting together with our fellow worshipers and ministers results in a powerful stimulation to stay awake.

19. Why are reminders and warnings needful for us in behalf of our ministry?

¹⁹ We need to remind and inform ourselves as regards our Christian duties at Jehovah’s spiritual temple and also to have others remind us of the same things. We should always seek to improve ourselves in carrying out our ministry, since improvement results in greater enjoyment of the ministry as well as brings in greater joy-producing results. “The reminder of Jehovah is trustworthy, making the inexperienced one wise.” (Ps. 19:7) One gains wisdom by taking to heart the reminders and warnings that come from Jehovah God through his visible organization of our faithful co-workers.

20. What further stimulant has been provided for our use, and how did Jesus under the greatest temptation illustrate the effectiveness of this stimulant?

²⁰ One further stimulant to awakeness is our privilege of prayer to God. More than need the brothers we need God; and the loving God has set up a communication system between himself and us. This provision was made because of our need for it, to use and not to ignore and spurn. In his last visit with his disciples in the garden of Gethsemane Jesus Christ found prayer to his heavenly Father a great preventive of spiritual sleepiness. He must have prayed a considerable time, to come and find his trusted disciples sleeping on his return. He said: “Could you men not so much as watch one hour with me? Keep on the watch and praying, that you may not enter into temptation. . . . At such a time as this you are sleeping and taking your rest!” Because of not praying they slept and entered into temptation. Jesus prayed and stayed awake and resisted the greatest temptation. (Matt. 26:36-45) In our bloodless warfare against the “wicked spirit forces in the heavenly places,” including the demon-inspired propaganda that comes forth from the symbolic dragon, wild beast and false prophet, we need more than the “complete suit of armor from God.” We need prayer, too.—Eph. 6:18.

21. Besides taking up the complete suit of armor from God, what did Paul say that Christian warriors should do in addition?

²¹ Besides instructing us to take up the “complete suit of armor from God” in order to make a successful resistance in this wicked day, the apostle Paul said: “While with every form of prayer and supplication you carry on prayer on every occasion in spirit. And to that end keep awake with all constancy and with supplication in behalf of all the holy ones, also for me, that ability to speak may be given me with the opening of my mouth, with all freeness of speech to make known the sacred secret of the good news, for which I am acting as an ambassador in chains, that I may speak in connection with it with boldness as I ought to speak.”—Eph. 6:11-20.

22. In view of the end of all things, what did Peter say to do?

²² No doubt writing under inspiration for our day especially, the apostle Peter says: “The complete end of all things has drawn close. Be sound in mind, therefore, and be vigilant with a view to prayers.” (1 Pet. 4:7) We need to be watchful for occasions to pray, realizing clearly what to pray for, as well as be kept awake by indulging in prayer.

LOSS OF OUTER GARMENTS

23. (a) By keeping ourselves informed and up to date, why would we not want to go to sleep? (b) In view of the thieflikeness of the Chief inspector’s coming, what danger should we bestir ourselves to avoid?

²³ If we keep ourselves informed and up to date on what is going on within the purpose of Jehovah God, the time should be too exciting for us to want to go to sleep and to miss anything or lose anything. The thieflikeness of the coming of the Chief Inspector to the execution of divine judgments at the approaching battle of Armageddon should bestir us to make every effort and arrangement to stay awake. Danger lies in making arrangements to render ourselves comfortable materially and take our ease, with the idea that the uncertainty of the time of the Inspector’s coming means that he will be a long time yet in coming, during which long time we can take things comfortably, intending to move into action when we get more sensational evidence of the close nearness of his coming.

24. Why will the Chief inspector not let us know of Armageddon’s definite time in advance, and so what will be a great help to us to keep watching for him?

²⁴ The Inspector will not let us know of Armageddon’s day and hour in advance so that we can set some sort of alarm clock and wake up the shortest amount of time before he arrives and then put on an appearance of having been alert, awake and busy at one’s assigned post of service all the time. In reality, the divine alarm sounds now, not just before Armageddon. Consequently, we must wake up now and thoroughly accomplish our ministry, to get as much done as possible before the grand Inspector comes. We do not want to play the hypocrite to him—as if we could do that—but we want to win his approval with a good conscience, all because we love this coming one. It is a great help to us if we keep up our interest in the reason for his coming and what will be the outcome of it.

25, 26. (a) Why will the loss of one’s outer garments mean a great unhappiness to the loser, in view of what meaning of such garments? (b) What will the removal of one’s ministerial garments signify, and why is it a serious matter for a guard to fall asleep?

²⁵ If we do not keep our outer garments, it will mean great unhappiness for us, because he removes them from us as unworthy of wearing them and then burns them beyond recovery. What will the disrobing of a minister obligated to stay awake and watch mean? Also the burning of his outer garments? The symbolic outer garments are the outward evidences that one has an appointment to the ministry at the spiritual temple of Jehovah. In recognition, God’s holy spirit or active force rests on such appointed minister to aid him in performing his duties, and he is favored with opportunities and privileges of preaching the good news of God’s kingdom and of gathering the sheeplike worshipers out of all nations and then feeding them with spiritual food and safeguarding them spiritually.

²⁶ The removal of one’s ministerial outer garments would signify loss of divine recognition and the taking away of all these privileges of divine service because one had proved unfaithful and unappreciative in one’s ministry. This is to be expected with respect to the minister who fails to carry out his duties or assigned tasks because of falling asleep at his post and becoming inactive through taking his ease. It is apparent that the religious clergy of Christendom have never had on these true ministerial “outer garments,” but they have been “naked” in God’s sight all along. Long ago Peter warned: “It is the appointed time for the judgment to start with the house of God. Now if it starts first with us, what will the complete end be of those who are not obedient to the good news of God? ‘And if the righteous man is being saved with difficulty, where will the ungodly man and the sinner make a showing?’” (1 Pet. 4:17, 18) It is a serious matter for a guard to fall asleep and thus leave exposed to loss or defilement the things committed to his oversight. In worldly armies sentries found asleep at their guardpost during times of war used to be shot to death. Why? Because they had put in danger the lives or freedom of the many soldiers over whom they stood guard.

27. (a) What warning did Jehovah give the prophet Ezekiel regarding the accountability of a watchman, and how did Ezekiel keep his ministerial garments? (b) Over what is the watch of ministers, so that they should be so careful?

²⁷ A watchman who falls asleep cannot see or note the approach of danger to the city or community and so cannot sound the alarm and awaken others to the approaching danger. Over 2,500 years ago, when Jerusalem was about to be destroyed by the conquering armies of Babylon, Jehovah God warned the prophet Ezekiel, whom he had made a watchman to the endangered Israelites: “If the watchman sees the sword coming and does not blow the trumpet, so that the people are not warned, and the sword comes, and takes any one of them; that man is taken away in his iniquity, but his blood I will require at the watchman’s hand.” So Ezekiel was told to stay awake and keep on the watch and warn the wicked who were threatened with the sword of destruction. (Ezek. 33:6-9, RS) He did so. Unfaithful Jerusalem fell, the wicked ones died in its destruction, but Ezekiel kept his prophetic, ministerial “outer garments.” The watch of ministers is over precious lives or souls. This fact is emphasized in the instruction to Christians: “Be obedient to those who are governing you and be submissive, for they are keeping watch over your souls as those who will render an account, that they may do this with joy and not with sighing, for this would be damaging to you.”—Heb. 13:17.

28. (a) Why did stripping of a sleeping guard leave him in great embarrassment? (b) How is the rendering of an unfaithful guard spiritually “naked” a punishment for his failure?

²⁸ The stripping of a sleeping guard of his outer garments and the burning of these left the undependable guard naked. To his embarrassment his private parts thus became exposed. Not that God the Creator has made any part of the human body shameful; but that because of the entrance of sin into the world and the operation of immoral passion in the fallen flesh, self-respecting persons feel a measure of shame at having their private parts exposed to public gaze, bringing on scorn, ridicule and humiliation. (Gen. 2:25; 3:7; 1 Cor. 12:22, 23) So the rendering of the unfaithful ministerial guard naked is a punishment for his failure. To sheeplike men and to angels it shows that he has not been active in Jehovah’s service and has not been fulfilling his Christian commission and his obligations under that commission. He has not been fulfilling the purpose of being a Christian, that of being one of Jehovah’s witnesses and ministers. Only in name has he been a Christian, having a mere form of godly devotion but really proving false to its power. (2 Tim. 3:5) He is unfaithful, lazy, loving ease, careless, not taking his duties seriously in a theocratic spirit. He does not prize the things of Jehovah God and try to preserve them and keep them clean. He is not watching out for the increase of the earthly interests of God’s kingdom or for preserving and expanding the spiritual paradise of Jehovah’s faithful witnesses on earth.

29. Why is the sleeper’s being rendered “naked” more shameful than the nakedness of any worldly person, and in what does his punishment result?

²⁹ The sleeper becomes as “naked” as any worldly person who is a sinner, only more shamefully naked because once he was clothed with the honorable Christian ministry and should have known better and lived up to his responsibility. His punishment becomes like that of the “evil slave,” as described in these words: “The master of that slave will come on a day that he does not expect and in an hour that he does not know, and will punish him with the greatest severity and will assign him his part with the hypocrites. There is where his weeping and the gnashing of his teeth will be.” (Matt. 24:48-51) He will die with the unfaithful and the hypocrites during the execution of God’s judgments at Armageddon by Jesus Christ, the royal Inspector. He will die with the “naked” clergy who hypocritically minister in their religious vestments at Christendom’s so-called temple of God. That means a hopeless death, second death.—Rev. 21:8.

THE HAPPINESS OF KEEPING ONE’S OUTER GARMENTS

30. (a) Our discerning of the unhappiness coming upon the sleeper helps us to appreciate what more fully? (b) Like Israel’s priests when being ordained, what will we carry out in love, and for this what shall we receive from God?

³⁰ Our discerning the terrible consequences of falling asleep and forfeiting one’s outer garments aids us in appreciating more fully the happiness of those who stay awake and are privileged to keep their outer garments as God’s ministers. The thieflike coming of the royal Inspector at Armageddon must not take us by surprise and find us idle, unoccupied, inactive in the Kingdom service. For the complete period of our test we will carry out our dedication to God in love. We will stay awake at our duties and keep within the bounds of our holy commission or assignment of service, just as the priests did who were being ordained for temple service and who were commanded: “You will stay at the entrance of the tent of meeting day and night for seven days, and you must keep the obligatory watch of Jehovah, that you may not die.” (Lev. 8:35, 36) So, as faithful wide-awake watchers, we shall receive God’s approval through his Inspector Jesus Christ. O, then what a happiness!

31. What are the consequences of keeping our outer garments on us?

³¹ This results in our keeping our outer garments on us in active service. Our retaining our official garments means that we are favored with God’s continued recognition as his ministers and are retained in his holy service. Our garments of official service at his temple are not taken away and burned, obliging us to “walk naked” and be disgraced before the universe, exposed as being a part of this world that is to be destroyed at Armageddon. At Armageddon the Inspector and Executioner spares our lives. Our life prospects for the new world of righteousness are preserved for us. In this way we can “stay awake” forever and can enjoy living in God’s everlasting new world.—Compare Revelation 3:3-6.

32. How will the watchful ministers be rewarded as regards the matter of worship?

³² As a reward for staying awake, ever on the watch at the temple against what is unclean and harmful, we have a joyful share in maintaining on earth the true religion, “the form of worship that is clean and undefiled from the standpoint of our God and Father.” We thus share in loyally vindicating the worship of the only true and enduring God, Jehovah, thus clearing his holy name of reproach. His is the only worship that will continue in practice under divine approval clear through the “war of the great day of God the Almighty” and be practiced in the new order of things under God’s kingdom by Jesus Christ. In harmony with this, the approved watchful ministers will have the reward of forever worshiping and adoring the victorious King of eternity, and joining with the “living creatures” throughout the universe in ceaselessly saying: “Holy, holy, holy is Jehovah God, the Almighty, who was and who is and who is coming.” (Rev. 4:8) The approved watchful ministers will thus fulfill the highest purpose of their living, which is to glorify and magnify God the Creator forever.

33. In the face of the great privilege that it is now, in what way will it be a privilege to wear our God-given outer garments when “Jehovah’s day” comes as a thief?

³³ How glorious and honorable it is to serve Jehovah God at his spiritual temple now! What inexpressible happiness there is even now amid this dark, evil world in serving God by proclaiming the good news of his Messianic kingdom! What a privilege it is to wear our God-given outer garments worthily as his ministers! What a privilege it will be thus to wear these garments of the ministry when “Jehovah’s day” comes “exactly as a thief in the night” and destroys Christendom’s hypocritical temple of God and overthrows the symbolic dragon and wild beast and false prophet and all the “kings of the entire inhabited earth” whom the demon-inspired propaganda and policies are now gathering to Armageddon for their destruction! (1 Thess. 5:2, 3; 2 Pet. 3:9, 10; Rev. 19:19 to 20:3) The ministerial watchmen found awake then and actively on duty will see Jehovah’s eternal victory over these foes of his true religion and of his only rightful government of all the universe.

34. In place of nakedness and shame, into what will the worthy ministers enter and when is the crucial time for them to stay awake?

³⁴ Thus in place of nakedness and shame they will survive and enter into beauty and honor as worthy ministers of the Most High God of the universe in his wonderful new world. They will each be found to be a “vessel for an honorable purpose, sanctified, useful to his owner, prepared for every good work.” (2 Tim. 2:21) Happy indeed is the reward of those staying awake at the spiritual temple of Jehovah God. But the crucial time for staying awake is NOW!

[Footnotes]

Scientific Investigation

Professor R. D. Wilson writes in A Scientific Investigation of the Old Testament, p. 213: “Whenever there is sufficient documentary evidence to make an investigation, the statements of the Bible in the original text have stood the test. . . . The chronological and geographical statements are more accurate and reliable than those afforded by any other ancient documents; and the biographical and other historical narratives harmonize marvellously with the evidence afforded by extra-Biblical documents.”

Part 4—“Your Will Be Done on Earth”

We are still in Chapter 1, entitled “Whose Will?” in the book “Your Will Be Done on Earth”. In the vision that the Christian apostle John had he saw four living creatures before the throne of God. These four living creatures together symbolized the organization of his intelligent living creatures whom he endowed with the four divine attributes of justice, power, love and wisdom. These creatures worship God, as also do the symbolic twenty-four “elders,” who ascribe to God the coming into existence of all things because of his will. Jesus Christ taught his followers to pray to this God as their heavenly Father, that his name might be revered or sanctified. This God is no nameless Person but is named Jehovah. The very name “Jesus” honors that name, for it means “Jehovah Is Salvation.”

45. (a) Who gave God that name, and how long have men known and used it? (b) When will it be revered and sanctified, and why?

⁴⁵ This Jehovah was the One to whom Jesus’ disciples were to pray as “Our Father in heaven.” God gave himself this name before ever there was an Abraham, an Israelite, a Jew or a Christian; and God has stuck to that name ever since. The first man and woman on earth knew and mentioned his name. (Gen. 4:1) More than five hundred years before the flood of Noah’s day men in general were using God’s exclusive name. Yes, for during the days of the first man’s grandson they were doing so: “Then began men to call upon the name of Jehovah.” (Gen. 4:26, AS) In the new world toward which humankind is rapidly moving, the name of Jehovah will be revered, hallowed, sanctified or held sacred by all human creatures that survive into that coming world. Jesus Christ taught his disciples to pray that it might be so. For nineteen centuries since then his faithful, obedient disciples have prayed that it might be so. It will be so, because the heavenly Father who respects his own name will answer the prayer that his beloved Son and the disciples of his Son have prayed continually in faith.

46. According to Jesus’ model prayer, what will make certain whose will is to be done on earth?

⁴⁶ But one important question before leaving this prayer. It is this: Who will rule the planet earth and decide what the people on earth must do? The answer to that question will determine whose will is to be done on earth. There is an answer to the question, and it will be given by an able government. Whose government? God’s own government. Addressing the model prayer to his own Father and the Father of his disciples, Jesus prayed: “Your kingdom come! Your will be done on earth as well as in heaven!”

47. Why will the government of the new world not be one from outer space?

⁴⁷ During the coming new world this earth will not be governed by some government from this earth, from men. It will not be governed by some government of great wealth, power and scientific achievements that gets control of man’s “ultimate position” in outer space, and that with this advantage forces the peoples of earth to do its will or else take the consequences from outer space. Earth will be governed by a government higher than man’s “ultimate position” in outer space. It will be governed by a truly heavenly government, by God’s kingdom, in answer to the prayer of all lovers of a righteous, perfect, sinless government, a theocratic government.

48. Because of the many so-called gods, how is it known whose government personally the Kingdom is, and why is it inescapable that his will should be done on earth?

⁴⁸ Since there are so many who are called gods today, how could we know whose government God’s kingdom really was unless we knew the name of this God, this Father in heaven to whom Jesus addressed the model prayer? But no uncertainty exists as to whose kingdom is prayed for. It is the kingdom of the great Life-giver in heaven, whose name is to be revered and hallowed. That heavenly King is Jehovah God the Almighty, whom the twenty-four symbolic “elders” called worthy to receive the glory, honor and power. The earth and man upon it were created because of Jehovah’s will. It is right and inescapable that his will should be done on earth. His will is being done up in heaven, where he reigns as Sovereign of the universe. On earth his will is not being done by men whom the Creator has permitted to live. His will is done up in heaven, which is so immeasurably bigger than our small earth. During the new world his will is certain to be done on earth just as it is done on a vaster scale in heaven.

49. To what grand end respecting the earth has God been working, and what will its realization mean for the earth?

⁴⁹ When the will of that One is done on earth whom John saw in his inspired vision, the One who is so radiantly beautiful in himself and who surrounds himself with an organization of creatures acting with justice, power, love and wisdom, how grand it will be on earth in the new world! For thousands of years the changeless, irresistible purpose of Jehovah God has been working to that grand end. Regardless of what has been the turn of events on earth, he in his all-might has always been in command of the situation. He has always been ahead of man and devil. He has permitted nothing to interfere with the perfect outworking of his purpose, his will.

50. Why has God seen thousands of years ahead of humans, and how shall we receive greater assurance that his will is going to be done here?

⁵⁰ Knowing the end of his works from the beginning of them, he has seen thousands of years ahead of his creatures. (Isa. 46:10) From the beginning he has worked steadily, unswervingly toward his goal. The end is now plainly in sight. By making a swiftly moving survey of the known events of human history over thousands of years in the light of prophecies given over God’s own name, we shall appreciate more his faithfulness to his promise and prophecy, and his perfect foresight and ability to carry out his righteous purpose. As never before we shall understand the meaning of what is now occurring on earth. Through this we shall receive still greater assurance that the will of Jehovah God will be done on earth as well as in heaven.

CHAPTER 2

WHY IT MUST BE DONE ON EARTH

1. Why is there no other place for man to move to, and how will he find himself trapped in destructive trouble?

LIVING on this earth is becoming more and more dangerous for mankind, not only physically but also morally and spiritually. This ought not to be so. But it is so. Yet there is no other place for mankind to move to. Mankind cannot move away from the trouble to the much smaller moon or to the other planets such as men have named Venus, Mercury and Mars. The earth’s moon and the planets of our solar system were not prepared for man to live there in comfort, happiness and eternity. Boast as men may of shooting a rocket to or around the moon, or of sending a manned, atom-powered spaceship there and beyond, no nation is prepared to evacuate its people from this earth to the moon or any other planet of our solar system. Besides, what sane man wants to live there or could live there? Man is bound to this planet. He will have to stay here when the danger reaches its highest pitch. He will find himself trapped in a destructive trouble that is largely of his own making.

2. Why is this nuclear space age not such a wonderful time in which to live, and what has scientific advance left unchanged?

² Because of the advances of worldly science the nuclear space age suddenly broke in upon mankind. Because it was practically forced upon us by ambition, rivalry and fears of a grasping, greedy enemy, not by love, it has not proved to be such a wonderful time to live in for people of this world. Any spreading of modern conveniences, any lifting of the people’s standard of living, any increases in the number of scientists, any enlargement of man’s understanding of the secrets of outer space and of the structure of our earth, all this has left the more important situation still unchanged. It is still a split-up world. More than just a chasm divides East and West. In numberless ways the people are divided as to whose political, social and religious will they want to rule them. Dictatorial powers or systems of rule take control of the people in large areas; even popular governments find it necessary to take over more power in order to keep operating or to protect themselves. So the people find themselves forced to bow down to the will of distracted, powerfully armed and heavily financed rulers.

3. Why is the isolation of any continent now a thing of the past, and why in further total warfare must all the people as well as the firers of weapons suffer?

³ Despite protests, the test explosion of atomic and nuclear weapons of war continued, polluting the air and the sea, even the rainfall and the snow. Nations are willing to call a halt to the production and testing of further weapons of holocaustic destruction of human lives only because they feel overstocked with them, or feel they have reached the ultimate weapon and no further testing is needed. Fear of radioactive fallout from nuclear explosions spreads around the globe and stirs unrest among the helpless, who feel victimized. For the sake of security and to get surprises ready for the suspected enemy, the invention and making of more hideous weapons of destruction continues. With the ICBM (intercontinental ballistic missile) or with the atomic or modernized submarine equipped to hurl IRBM’s (intermediate-range ballistic missiles) from underneath the water and able to conceal itself under the polar icecap, the “splendid isolation” of any continent is a thing of the past. All continents are within range of war missiles, all civilian populations also. Strategic bombing of population or industrial centers is just as vital to winning a hot war as tactical bombing of people in the war camp or on the firing lines. In the unavoidable total warfare and regimentation of the citizenry all the people supporting and supplying the men in uniform must suffer equally with those firing the scientific weapons of war.

4. What possibility does control of the weather take on as compared with nuclear weapons?

⁴ To add to the scare, the control of the weather takes on the possibility of being more deadly than nuclear warfare. The chairman of the American Advisory Committee on Weather Control warned that control of the weather by the enemy could work more disastrous results to the United States of America than atomic discoveries. About the same time the director of the Laboratory of Earth Sciences at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology backed that warning up, saying: “International control of weather modification will be as essential to the safety of the world as control of nuclear energy is now.” And he urged America to keep ahead or abreast of Soviet Russia.a

5. What does coexistence of opposed nations really mean and how hard would “cold war” at last make it for this world?

⁵ A peaceful coexistence has been recommended for nations that follow radically different political ideas and systems. Coexistence does not mean brotherly love between nations. It means a risky putting up with each other while the rivalry and race for worldly advantages and domination goes on in ways less noisy than launching deadly missiles armed with atomic and nuclear warheads. Merely the temperature of the war is different—cold. At the World Conference of Religions in New Delhi, India, during November of 1957, Jawaharlal Nehru as India’s Prime Minister mentioned to the delegates that the world had taken a “mighty turn” toward the adventure of interplanetary travel. He said no one was sure how the new forces would at last be put to use. One thing had become clear to him, though, and that was that if the “cold war” kept on it would be a hard thing for this world to survive.b Other voices besides his have been raised in warning.

6. For man’s preservation on earth, whose supranational will must be done here, and how will that affect the purpose in man’s creation?

⁶ If mankind and animalkind are yet to be preserved on an earth fit to live in, a will higher than that of the selfishly divided, suspicious nations needs to be carried out on earth. It must be the will of more than just anyone in the spirit realm who is higher and more powerful than earthly nations. Why so? Because the Holy Bible warns us that the nations are in the grip of the worst enemy of man and of man’s Creator, namely, Satan the Devil. He is, in fact, the invisible “ruler of this world,” “the god of this system of things.” (John 12:31; 14:30; 2 Cor. 4:4) What, then? For the survival of man and animal on earth as an everlasting home the supranational will that has to be done on earth is that of God the Creator, who says: “I am Jehovah. That is my name; and to anyone else I shall not give my own glory, neither my praise to graven images.” (Isa. 42:8) His will must be done on earth if man and beast are to enjoy life on earth forever. In this way his purpose in creating man and animals on earth will have to be proved just, righteous, good and loving. His purpose will thus have to be vindicated, justified, to his immortal glory. Those praying the model prayer that Jesus taught pray for God’s purpose to be vindicated by his will being done on earth as well as in heaven.

THE EARTH EVERLASTING

7. How can we make sure that it is the Creator’s will for the earth to exist forever?

⁷ How, though, can we make sure that it is the Creator’s will for the earth to stay in existence to eternity and for it to remain an inhabited planet always? We cannot make sure of this by going to the contradictory religions of Christendom. We can positively make sure of it by going to the Creator’s own written Word, the Holy Bible. By his spirit or active force he is the Creator of the Bible, even though he did use faithful men of God in the producing of it. “For you know this first, that no prophecy of Scripture springs from any private release. For prophecy was at no time brought by man’s will, but men spoke from God as they were borne along by holy spirit.” (2 Pet. 1:20, 21) Religious priests keep the Bible from the people and interpret or misinterpret it according to their creeds or man-made statements of belief. However, God produced the Bible for all the people to read or to have read to them, to know for themselves what God himself says in his Book.

8. (a) In harmony with what writings did Jesus compose his model prayer? (b) When God’s kingdom comes, why should the earth not be destroyed?

⁸ Jesus Christ had the thirty-nine books of the Hebrew Scriptures, from the book of Genesis to the book of Malachi, which had been written under inspiration of God’s spirit before Jesus lived on earth. From those books Jesus knew what God’s will for this earth was and what his purpose was in creating it and putting man on it. In harmony with this knowledge from those Hebrew Scriptures Jesus composed the model prayer for his followers. He told them to pray to the Father in heaven: “Your kingdom come! Your will be done on earth as well as in heaven!” Let us ask ourselves, then: Is Jesus here teaching men to pray for the earth to be destroyed by fire or any other means and to be emptied of human and animal creatures? Since the heavenly Father’s kingdom is to come to this earth in answer to Jesus’ own prayer, why should this earth be destroyed at that time or at any time afterward? God’s kingdom comes to stay here for all future time. He does not need to destroy the earth on account of the people on it. No, not when God’s will is then being done by people on earth under God’s kingdom the same as it is being done up in heaven. Why destroy the earth any more than destroy the heavens, where holy spirit creatures are doing God’s will the same as human creatures will be doing it here under his kingdom?

(To be continued)

[Footnotes]

Questions From Readers

● I have been told that it is improper to speak of a human being. Yet being is defined in this way in the dictionary. What is the proper viewpoint on this matter?—J. P., United States.

According to modern dictionaries every human creature is a human being because he has being or exists. Dr. Joseph B. Rotherham in the foreword of The Emphasised Bible discusses the meaning of God’s name, Jehovah. Because this name means, according to Dr. Rotherham, that Jehovah God manifests himself as always alive in one capacity or the other, Rotherham, too, argues that Jehovah is the only being and that all other intelligent existing things are merely creatures. For some years now the Watch Tower publications have ascribed the quality of being only to Jehovah God, in view of the basic significance of his name. So it has reserved the word “being” as a sort of title of Jehovah out of respect for the significance of his name and has referred to humans as mere creatures. So the Watch Tower publications have refrained from applying the term “being” to humans in order to enhance the inherent quality of self-perpetuating existence that persists in Jehovah God. However, as you say, according to the definition of modern dictionaries human creatures are human beings. If anyone wants to use the modern dictionary meaning he is free to do so, but in the light of what is above said we trust you will understand why our publications have restricted the expression to Jehovah God.

Scripture Index for Texts Explained, 1958

GENESIS

1:1 190

1:3 684

1:28 202

Chapter 2 191

2:4 190, 191

2:16, 17 68, 109, 202

2:17 63

2:25 757

Chapter 3 191

3:5 273

3:6, 17-19 210

3:7 757

3:15 101, 229, 286, 415

4:1 760

4:2-7 115

4:26 760

5:1 429

6:22 110

7:9 110

9:3, 4 575

9:12-16 682

9:18-26 231

11:1-9 432

11:5-9 742

11:26 298

12:1-3 231, 723

17:11, 12 110

18:16–19:26 723

18:19 110

20:6, 7 95

20:14-16 95

22:15-18 231, 721

26:4, 5 110

31:38-40 182

40:13, 20 736

42:17, 18 736

49:9, 10 232

EXODUS

4:12 531

9:16 254, 615

9:30 191

14:21 672

15:2, 3, 11 742

15:8 672

19:7, 8 145

20:1, 5 709

20:5 329, 466

20:7 12

20:26 748

24:1, 9 682

24:12 110

28:1-43 749

28:42 748

30:19-21 13

32:34 559

33:20 663

34:4-14 723

34:10 146

34:12 371

LEVITICUS

3:17 575

7:22-27 575

8:35, 36 758

11:20-23 31

26:3-5 211

26:14-16 211

NUMBERS

8:5-22 749

8:25, 26 319

23:23 313

25:2, 3 623

DEUTERONOMY

3:24-28 504

4:1 531

4:2 191

4:9, 10 534

4:33, 34 146

6:5 468, 709

6:9 432

7:3, 4 372

7:5, 6 623

8:2, 16 10

8:10-14 582, 709

10:16 149

12:32 191

17:2-7 212

18:15 554

18:18 149

21:18-21 218

26:17-19 628

30:19, 20 330, 469

33:10 531

JOSHUA

1:8 529

6:22-25 116

12:7, 21 751

21:1-41 726

24:15 469

JUDGES

2:3 621

2:13 621

5:1, 19-21 751

6:31 211

1 SAMUEL

6:20 191

8:5 628

8:7 628

15:22 441

16:7 195

28:13 623

2 SAMUEL

7:11-16 722

7:12-16 232

7:14-16 731

7:22, 25 191

11:1-12:25 724

22:50, 51 725

1 KINGS

8:22-26 725

12:5, 12 736

15:4, 5 725

18:19 621

2 KINGS

1:2 621

11:1-16 727

12:3 623

17:14, 15 218

19:19 191

23:11 639

1 CHRONICLES

9:2 174

17:16 191

22:1, 19 191

24:1-18 173

28:20 191

29:1 191

29:10-20 501

29:23 633, 724

2 CHRONICLES

1:9 191

4:2-6 684

6:41, 42 191

10:17 726

11:13-17 726

13:3-12 725

15:2-15 645

15:9-15 726

17:9 531

24:22 727

24:25 727

26:16-21 569

26:18 191

32:16 191

35:20-25 752

EZRA

7:10 580

7:24 174

NEHEMIAH

2:1-8 506

8:6 191

8:8 531

9:7 191

13:14 15

ESTHER

4:15, 16 736

5:1 736

JOB

10:10 672

14:13 326

23:12 120

27:10 507

31:23-25, 28 583

36:22 529

PSALMS

2:2 703

2:8 139

10:2 568

10:4 568

11:4, 5 686

12:2-4 12

15:1, 2 9

16:10 730

17:3 10

19:7 755

Psalm 22 415

22:1 415

Psalm 23 182

23:1, 3, 4 176

25:4, 5 19

25:5 8

25:9, 12 530

25:21 735

26:1 8, 9

26:3 11

26:4-6 11

26:5 13

26:7, 8 14

26:8 9

26:9, 10 14

26:11 8, 14, 23

26:12 15, 31

28:3 13

29:3 684

34:7 714

35:24 8

37:1, 2, 7, 9 379

37:34, 11 255

39:6 216

40:8 25, 466

46:8, 9 324

49:6, 7 582

49:7 69

49:7-9, 16-20 345

50:5 733

72:18 191

73:6 568

83:16 12

83:18 254

84:11 550

84:12 191

89:27 734

89:28-37 732

90:2 742

95:3 744

96:1, 2 237

96:2 189

96:5 744

96:10 239

103:15, 16 3

104:5 255, 422

104:24 387

106:37, 38 623

110:1, 2 559, 732

110:4 127

115:1 80

115:2, 3 81

115:4-9 82

115:10-13 89

115:14-18 90

117:1 7

119:105 315, 451

127:1 750

133:1 103

139:1 10

139:8 415

139:14 393

139:21, 22 427

139:21-24 10

141:5 755

143:5 396

143:8 420

145:10-13 730

145:18 381

146:3, 4 626

146:4 619

PROVERBS

1:5 311

1:7 307

1:20, 21 208

1:23-25 218

1:28, 29 100

2:1, 2, 4-6 308

2:4, 5 338

2:6 208

3:3, 4 734

3:9 265

3:13-18 346

4:10-12 420

4:11, 12 567

4:13 570

4:18 279

4:25-27 563

6:6-9 311

6:16, 17 568

6:23 570

6:32 314

8:13 568

8:34, 35 754

9:10 536

10:22 84

11:2 569

11:4 216

11:14 419

12:15 376

13:4 281

13:20 14

14:12 36, 264, 307

14:30 570

15:3 686

15:33 572

16:8 338

16:18 570

16:21 540

16:23 540

18:12 567, 571

20:5 378

20:6 515

21:4 568

22:3 440, 452

22:4 573

23:4 344

24:5, 6 312

24:7 713

24:19, 20 379

25:20 227

25:21, 22 493

25:28 78

26:12 569

27:2 515

27:6 755

27:11 206, 330, 401

28:11 569

28:25 570

29:23 572

30:8 595

30:8, 9 340

ECCLESIASTES

1:2 350

1:4-8 228

1:9, 10 228

4:3 350

5:4, 5 203, 476

5:5 331

5:10 341

7:1-4 495

7:8, 9 643

7:12 346, 580

9:5 262, 326

10:4 77

11:9, 10 595

12:1 437

SONG OF SOLOMON

5:16 178

8:6 520

ISAIAH

1:3-6 543

1:9 688

1:15 100

2:2-4 646

2:2-5 693

2:3 532

2:4 255

5:20 338

6:1-3 713

6:1-9 695

6:8 468

6:8, 9 392

6:11 285

7:1-14 689

7:14 728

7:16 697

8:1-4 688

8:5-8 689

8:18 687, 698

9:6, 7 243

9:7 156

10:20-23 688

12:1 77

12:1, 2 730

12:3 405

14:15-20 287

16:5 720, 732

20:1-6 687

21:11 487

25:6 126

26:3, 4 381

26:9 132

29:22-24 91

30:21 36

31:1 148

37:36-38 743

40:1, 2, 10, 11 177

40:9 698

40:13-15 683

40:15 686

42:8 742, 763

42:8-11 228

43:1-7 189

43:10 698

43:10, 11 744

45:18 255

45:22 744

46:10 761

49:10 246

51:10 672

52:6-9 694

52:11 555, 746

54:7-10 730

55:1, 2 296

55:1-3 731

55:1-4 720

55:3 727, 729

55:3, 4 734

56:7 753

57:15 573

59:9, 10 35

59:14 543

60:1, 2, 17 45

60:2 36, 305, 551

61:1, 2 696

61:1-3 244

61:2 624

61:5 136

62:10 693

65:13, 14 247

65:21-23 132

66:2 573

66:18-22 692

JEREMIAH

2:13 213

5:5-9 213

7:24 218

7:25, 26 275

10:10 191, 627, 744

10:23 420

12:4 212

12:13 212

15:15, 16 653

15:16 648

17:5 213

17:9, 10 597

20:9 280, 370

23:3-6 652

23:9-11 648

23:15, 21, 22 648

23:16, 17, 27, 28, 30, 32 650

23:19, 20 652

25:4-7, 9, 11 147

25:32, 33 166

32:14 521

51:6, 9 707

LAMENTATIONS

3:22, 23 731

EZEKIEL

2:7 285

7:19 349

8:16 639

9:1-11 283

9:4 244

18:4 619

18:4, 20 262

21:25-27 633

28:15 254

32:7 549

33:6-9 757

34:23 554

36:8-11 81

36:20 380

36:27 86

DANIEL

2:43, 44 102

2:44 156, 243, 295, 637

2:47 743

4:16, 23, 25, 32 634

4:30 568

5:22 568

6:26 743

9:25, 26 703

10:13, 21 559

11:21, 22 730

11:30, 32 733

11:31 631

12:1 559

12:3 50

12:11 631

12:13 326

HOSEA

4:1 734

4:1-3 447

4:6, 10 307

7:8, 11 60

JOEL

2:28, 29 45

AMOS

3:2 146

8:11 247

JONAH

4:6 191

MICAH

3:9-12 383

4:8 178

ZECHARIAH

3:2 559

4:6 87, 646

8:23 157, 535

MALACHI

3:1 174

3:3, 4 10

4:2 550

MATTHEW

1:1 703, 715

1:1-16 557

1:18-25 690, 729

1:21 703, 716

1:25 666

3:7-12 114

3:8-10 152

3:10 510

3:13-17 235

3:14, 15 476

3:16, 17 472

4:9 453

4:21, 22 665

5:3 120, 339, 499

5:5 139, 662

5:11, 12 206

5:14, 16 649

5:16 536

5:19, 20 19

5:22 495

5:43-48 425

6:1-4 515

6:7, 8 390

6:9 530

6:9, 10 505, 627, 734

6:10 295

6:11 506, 584

6:12 507

6:13 506

6:16-18 575

6:19-21 121

6:24 6, 343, 465, 518, 623

6:25 214

6:31 215

6:32 339

6:32-34 215

6:33 709

7:11 503

7:13, 14 39

7:14 35, 369, 619

7:17-19 510

7:22, 23 264, 491

7:24-27 215

8:28 159

9:11-13 538

9:15 575

9:36 283, 537

10:2 665

10:28 159

10:32, 33 122

10:37 709

11:14 555

11:25 309

11:29, 30 445

12:9-12 538

12:22-32 47

12:31 427

12:31, 32 182

12:33 510

12:40 736

12:46 667

13:6, 20, 21 550

13:13-15 695

13:13-17 447

13:32 510

13:43 550

13:44 536

13:44-46 117

13:55 557, 666

13:56 666

14:23 500

15:1-4, 12 180

15:1-6 494

15:8 381

15:8, 9 253

16:1 687

16:13-20 703

16:18 362

16:24 709

16:26 580

17:22, 23 736

19:23, 24 62

19:26 255

19:27-29 471

20:26, 27 573

20:28 70

20:29-34 618

21:8 510

21:28-32 537

22:2, 3 461

22:3 462

22:4 462

22:5, 6 463

22:7 463

22:8-10 463

22:11-13 464

22:21 74

22:37, 38 220

22:41-45 732

23:9, 13, 15 214

23:10, 11 750

23:12 568

23:25-28 12

23:29 159

23:33 159

23:37, 38 148

24:1-8 635

24:3 17

24:7, 12 254

24:9, 14 103

24:12 351

24:14 17, 58, 239, 699

24:15 631

24:20, 21 167

24:21, 22, 30, 31 692

24:29 549

24:32, 33 536

24:33-42 240

24:34, 35 637

24:36-42 230

24:37-39 638

24:38, 39 447

24:45-47, 46 486

24:48-51 758

25:14-30 221

25:31-40 733

25:35 61

26:14-16 198

26:25 198

26:36-45 755

26:39 500

26:47, 49, 50 198

26:47, 55 510

27:3-10 199

27:24 14

27:45-50 736

27:46 415

27:52, 53, 60 159

27:56, 61 666

28:1-10 666

28:8 159

28:18-20 473

28:19, 20 18, 122, 532

MARK

1:1 703

1:4, 5 475

1:9-11 472

1:35 500

1:40-45 282

3:7, 9, 13, 14 715

3:22 621

4:15-19 119

4:18, 19 343, 583

6:3 666

6:6 531

8:24 510

8:34, 36 344

10:28 709

11:8 510

12:29-31 274

12:30 468

12:44 282

13:32-37 750

13:33 174

14:3-11 198

14:38 167

14:43, 48 510

15:40 666

16:1 666

LUKE

1:26-33 728

1:26-38 233, 558

1:39-45 556

2:1-3 557

2:1-12 729

2:7 666

2:10-14 234

2:11 703

2:14 637

3:9 510

3:21 500

4:16-21 696

4:22 557

4:41 703

6:12 500

6:15 666

6:26 519

6:33 740

6:38 407

8:1 531

8:17 197

9:18 500

9:54 540

9:59, 60 243

9:62 445

10:38-42 564

11:1 500

11:29-32 687

11:30 690

11:52 307

12:1-3 197

12:15 345, 583

12:16-21 217, 584

12:43 753

14:12-14 740

14:16-24 438

14:25-33 331

14:28-30 471

14:33 471, 563

15:4-7 185

16:8 347

17:5 676

17:21 242, 696

17:26-30 555

18:7, 8 508

18:10-14 573

18:14 572

18:35-43 618

21:7, 34-36 753

21:23, 24 631

21:24-26 635

22:28-30 729

22:29 236

22:31, 32 183, 500

22:48 198

22:52 510

23:31 510

23:42, 43 327

24:44 415

24:46 736

JOHN

1:12 606

1:14 234

1:18 663

2:12 667

3:2 531

3:3-7 605

3:7 604

3:16 70

3:16, 17 695

3:36 70

4:23 73

4:24 536, 663

4:34 499

5:19 572

5:28 159

5:28, 29 241, 325, 619

5:29 326

5:30 210

5:46 149

6:28, 29 491

6:38 210

6:38-40 180

6:38, 57 695

6:44, 45 20

6:54 20

6:64, 67-69 213

6:64, 70 197

6:70, 71 159

8:12 649

8:29 210

8:32 107, 313

8:44 115

10:12, 13 179

10:14 178

10:16 50

10:28 51

11:11-13 326

11:25, 26 325

11:57 197

12:1-3 197

12:4-8 198

12:31 763

12:35 36

12:36-41 695

13:10, 11 174

13:15 572

13:21-30 198

13:35 278

14:12 532

14:30 763

15:1-6 442

15:2 611

15:8 282

15:10 210

15:19 5, 73, 484, 636

15:22 203

16:23, 24 503

17:1-3 405

17:3 580, 703

17:6 273

17:6, 9, 10 691

17:11, 14 414

17:12 159

17:16 5

17:17 277, 618

18:3-9 180

18:36 10, 242, 295, 636

18:37 20, 242, 709

19:15 734

19:25 666

19:25-27 666

19:31 736

20:1 736

ACTS

1:8 272, 348, 532

1:14, 15 667

1:16-18 199

1:20 43

2:1-16 43

2:16-18 45

2:20 549

2:31 262

2:36-38 704

3:22, 23 554

4:1 174

4:12 348

4:18 22

5:27-29 23

5:28, 29 284

5:29 75

5:30 510

5:41 205

6:5, 6 46

8:1, 4 532

8:35-39 473

9:17 45

9:17, 18 43

9:18, 19 473

10:39 510

10:39, 40 736

10:44-48 606

12:17 667

12:21-23 569

13:1-5 44

13:16-41 539

13:29 510

13:34-37 730

14:23 44

15:1-35 486

15:13 667

15:20, 29 575

15:28 44

16:4, 5 44, 436

16:31 273

17:20, 32 325

17:22-31 539

19:1-7 475

19:26 744

20:17-28 42

20:20 651

20:28 47, 87, 182

20:28-35 750

20:29, 30 213

21:18 667

24:15 326, 638

26:8 327

ROMANS

1:3, 4 234

1:20 276, 675

1:23, 25 742

2:13, 21-24 253

2:28, 29 149

3:21-23 111

3:24 703

4:11, 19-22 276

5:1, 9 606

5:12 63, 68, 466

5:21 112

6:16 220, 273

6:17-19 220

6:23 330

7:6 111

7:15, 17-20 426

7:18, 19, 22, 23 342

7:19 498

7:21-23 112

7:24 111

7:25 111

8:2 111

8:4-8 112

8:5, 6 342

8:14-17 152

8:15, 16 606

8:38, 39 374

9:6-8 149

9:25, 26 154

9:31-33 154

10:2, 3 307

10:6, 7 287

10:10 710

10:12-15 694

10:17 277

10:19-21 154

11:2-5 697

11:17-22 155

12:2 223, 517, 584, 711

12:3 378

12:3, 16 567

12:12 678

12:17 709

12:17, 21, 20 493

13:11 599, 603

14:9 327

15:8, 9 749

16:20 455

1 CORINTHIANS

1:10 445, 619

1:18-25 346

1:26-29 348

2:10 308, 407

2:14, 15 308

3:6 285

3:6-9 86

3:7 506

3:16, 17 746

3:18-20 347

3:19, 20 403

4:9 422, 699

5:7 554

6:9, 10 711

6:11 13

7:20-22 707

7:35, 9 565

8:1 572, 579

8:5, 6 742

9:16 204, 370

9:24 560, 566

9:25 561

9:26 565

9:26, 27 374

9:27 440

10:6, 11 553

10:8 623

10:10 217

10:12 441

11:1 119, 647

12:18 436

12:20-30 437

12:21 499

12:22, 23 757

12:28 187

13:2 490

13:4, 5 283, 540, 570

13:8, 13 492

13:13 489

14:33-35 607

14:33, 40 433

15:7 667

15:20-22 63

15:21 327

15:25, 26 638

15:26 71

15:33 223, 371, 580, 599

15:58 377

16:9 58, 438

16:13 603

2 CORINTHIANS

2:6, 7 315

2:14-16 523

2:17 188, 523

3:3 283

4:4 305, 453, 763

4:7 521

4:8-11 522

5:17 235

5:20 5

6:1 491

6:14 220, 279, 372

6:14-16 6

6:14-17 244, 746

6:14-18 21

8:12 584

9:12 266

11:14, 15 36

12:7-10 505

12:15 183

13:5 261, 411

GALATIANS

1:1 43

3:13 510

3:16 554

3:19, 21-25 476

3:22 70

3:28 102

3:28, 29 152

4:4 234

4:24-26 555

5:17 342

5:18 111

5:22 612

5:25, 26 444

5:26 570

6:5 203

6:6 541

6:7-9 343

6:9 506

6:16 81

6:18 79

EPHESIANS

2:13-18 155

2:19 156

2:20-22 127

2:21, 22 746

3:20 503

4:4-12 435

4:11 182

4:15, 16 444

4:17, 18 217

4:17-19 20

4:22-24 467

4:25-27 78

5:5 340

5:15, 16 392, 565

5:15-18 267

5:16 275, 710

5:18 45

5:26 606

6:1-3 534

6:10 713

6:10, 16 676

6:11-20 756

6:18 755

PHILIPPIANS

1:1 42

1:27-29 122

2:2-4 444

2:3 572

2:5 79

2:5, 6 510

2:5-8 117, 233, 442

2:5, 8 378

2:5, 8, 9 572

2:7 69

2:9-11 127

2:15 50

2:15, 16 404, 550

2:16 446

3:4-11 119

3:8 343

3:8, 13, 14 561

3:19 340

4:5 373

4:6 505

4:6, 7 381

4:7 338

4:8 375

4:11, 12 344

4:13 713

COLOSSIANS

1:9, 10 407

1:9-12 310

2:13, 14 111

2:14 494

2:18-23 571

2:23 340

3:5 340

3:9, 10 223, 467

3:10, 11 646

3:11 711

3:12 467, 571

3:12, 13 443

3:14 443

3:23 595

3:23, 24 125

4:2 504

4:3, 4 58

1 THESSALONIANS

4:11, 12 444

4:13, 14 575

4:16 559

5:2, 3 759

5:6 603

5:12, 13 187

5:19 343

5:21 261, 272

5:23 79

1 TIMOTHY

1:3, 4 494

1:17 663

2:1, 2 505

2:4 317

2:5 704

2:11, 12 607

3:2 376

3:6 568

4:7 223, 566

4:7-11 21

4:8 330

4:14 44

4:15, 16 375, 411

4:16 489

5:8 583, 709

5:13 444

5:17 187, 442

6:3-5 568

6:6 501

6:6-8 601

6:7-10 342

6:9, 10 601

6:17-19 88

2 TIMOTHY

1:6, 7 44

1:10 704

1:14 158

2:1, 2 533

2:2 407

2:3 122, 207

2:4 595, 709

2:5 567

2:7 310

2:15 405

2:20, 21 521

2:21 759

2:24 16

2:24, 25 23, 138

3:1-3 255

3:1-5 113, 351

3:1-5, 12, 13 647

3:5 758

3:7 307

3:16, 17 377

4:3 38, 519

4:10 562

TITUS

1:4 704

3:8, 14 88

HEBREWS

2:1 375

2:10-13 691

2:14 559

2:17 69

4:12 279

4:12, 13 596

4:13 195

5:5-10 127

5:7 500

5:7, 8 207

5:9 348

5:12 22

5:12-14 406

5:14 754

5:14–6:2 470

6:1 292, 491

6:1-3 754

6:11, 12 123

8:6 150

8:7, 10 111

9:16-20 146

9:22 69

9:23-26 554

9:26 70

10:1 553

10:5-7 695

10:12, 13 634

10:22-25 13

10:23-25 407

10:23-25, 35-37 754

10:24, 25 126, 371, 710

10:26, 27 314

11:1 276, 619

11:4 230

11:6 276, 502, 675

11:19 326

11:24-26 116

11:27 207

11:35 326

12:1 230

12:1-3 117

12:5-7 77

12:5, 6, 11 570

12:11 207

12:12, 13 123

12:15 79

12:16 114

13:5 344

13:7, 17 442

13:15 282

13:17 188, 757

JAMES

1:5 754

1:5-8 371, 530

1:7, 8 680

1:13-15 601

1:14, 15 209

1:17 550

1:18 606

1:22 490, 579

1:25 124

1:26, 27 749

1:27 73, 244, 619

2:8 490

2:17 490, 619

2:26 274

3:13-15 138

3:14-17 217

4:4 5, 67, 244, 484

4:6 568

4:10 378, 572

4:13-15 584

4:17 203

5:11 25, 668

5:13-20 315

5:15, 16 184

5:16 678

1 PETER

1:6, 7 676

1:13 382

1:13-16 89

1:14-16 153

2:5 748

2:5-7 746

2:7, 8 59

2:11, 12 380

2:18-21 442

2:20, 21 24

2:21 67, 273

2:24 510

3:4 596

3:15 138, 261, 312

3:18 70, 235

3:21 206

4:7 165, 167, 756

4:13 207

4:15 206

4:17, 18 757

5:1-3 47

5:1-4 181

5:2, 3 436

5:4 561

5:5, 6 571

5:7 505

5:7, 8 183

5:8 453

5:10, 14 703

2 PETER

1:20, 21 229, 763

2:1 71

2:20 314

3:3-13 351

3:7 5, 422

3:9, 10 759

3:10 165

3:11 167

3:12, 13 240

3:13 255, 295, 636

1 JOHN

1:5 684

1:8 71

1:8, 9 314

2:15 5

2:16 341

2:16, 17 582

2:17 124, 659

2:25 561

3:15 206

3:23 318

4:8 713

4:16 713

4:17, 18 121

4:18 282

4:19 537

5:3 281, 330, 339

5:14 504

5:19 254

JUDE

vs 9 453, 559

vs 12 510

vs 14, 15 230

vs 15 255

REVELATION

1:1-3 41

1:9 664

1:10-17 48

1:19, 20 49

2:1 51

2:1-7 52

2:7 53, 510

2:8-11 54

2:12-17 55

2:18-29 56

3:1-6 58

3:3-6 759

3:7-13 58

3:12 59

3:14-22 59

4:1 681

4:4 682

4:6, 7 712

4:8 713, 759

4:9-11 714

5:5 232, 713

5:9, 10 156

7:1, 3 510

7:9, 10 103

7:9-15 748

7:9-17 733

7:10 123

7:14-17 123

7:15 174

8:7 510

9:4 510

11:8 723

11:15 479, 635

11:18 255

12:7, 8 559

12:7-9 254, 453

12:7-12 239, 294

12:9 254

12:12 254

12:17 486

14:1-5 239

14:6, 7 118

16:1, 10-16 751

16:13, 14, 16 613

16:14 255, 699

16:14, 16 238, 295

16:15 174, 745

18:2, 4 555

18:4 12

19:19 614

19:19–20:3 759

20:1 559

20:1-3 255, 286

20:6 236

20:13 326

21:5 241

21:8 758

21:14 682

22:2 72

22:2, 14 510

22:17 280, 522

22:21 703

Subject Index for “The Watchtower,” 1958

including the title of the first study article of each issue

Accurate knowledge, need for, 307, 308

value of, 312-317

Adam and Eve, why in Eden did not carry out

procreation mandate, 63

Appreciation, of one’s privileges, 119-125

record of creatures’, 115-118

Aquinas, Thomas, on heretics, 94

Archaeological discovery of Gibeon’s pool, 100

Armageddon, what it will mean for one, 613-616

Assemblies, markers for New World society, 222, 223

memorable ones of God’s people, 168

showing love at, 318

why Christians must have, 126

Assembly, advance preparations for, 332

Divine Will International, 585-594

great 1958 international, 245-247

must use what we learn at, 424

prepare for international, 268

witnessing en route to, 360

Associations, effects produced by, 524

Atomic war, “best thing that could happen”? 75

Augustine and his “City of God,” 361-364

Avoid Rebellious Tendencies, 209-220

Awake, happiness of those staying, 745-750

now crucial time for staying, 751-759

Baalism, ancient materialistic religion of Canaan, 621-623

Balance, evidences of lack of, 370-376

how to maintain good, 377-382

Balanced, how to become, 374-377

in all things being, 369-382

Balfour, speech of, on uniting mankind, 317

Bankruptcy of an age, 428

Baptism, 472-478

of Jesus, 476

of John, 475, 476

Be Balanced in All Things, 369-377

Believe, what one should, 617-620

Beverages in Bible times, 552

“Be Vigilant with a View to Prayers,” 497-501

Bible, how regarded by dictators, 61

neglected by Christendom, 112

results of scientific investigation of, 759

trying to buy one in Hamburg, 408

Bishop tickles ears, avoids truth, 509

Blind publisher helps others to see, 516

Bloodless therapy preferred, 439

Blood transfusions, taking of, not ground for

disfellowshiping, 478

Born again, who are and how, 604-606

Buddhist priests, witnessing to, 251

Carefulness, need of, 35, 36

Catholic, disgusted by dishonest priest, 391

lawyer defends witnesses, 446

Catholic Action not Christian, 574

Children, training of, 533, 534

Christendom(’s), clerical analysis of, 125

damning indictment of, 303

in Russia without fruits, 611, 612

is without confidence, 9

lacks courage to speak truth, 383

Lenin’s comment on, 356

rebellion in, 214

spiritual condition questionable, 71

stands in way of true Christianity, 207

Christian, obligations of a, 241-244

what it means to be a, 272-278

Christians, early, “Flaming Witnesses,” 711

integrity required of, 18

must be qualified to teach, 16-20

must obey God rather than men, 22-24

pioneered the codex, 278

testing of early, 73-75

Christmas, thinking about, 739, 740

Chronology, Biblical and Jewish compared, 297-300

Church members’ morals, 252, 253

“City of God,” review of Augustine’s, 361-364

Civilizations, why they disintegrate, 351

Clergy, are afraid, 616

manifesto by, 632

Clergyman commends witnesses, 413

Codex, pioneered by early Christians, 278

Comforting all that mourn, 624

Communism, admitted to be a religion, 100

Conduct, right, also a witness, 304

Confessional, the dilemma of, 511

Confidence of the Upright, The, 8-16

“Conformed to this world,” 517-519

Congregating together for worthwhile works, 350

Contentment found by congregation publishers, 336

Credit, give it where due, 387

“Cross” and “tree,” “New World Translation” of, 510

Crusades taught war techniques, 359

Daniel, MSS., fragments of book of, 543

David, God’s covenant with, 721-727

Dead, condition of, 325-328

Deciding blow, who will strike, 259, 260

Deciding with understanding, 67

Dedicate, why, 329-331

Dedication, the requirement of, 465-471

Desirable tendencies, Christian servitude, 220-222

Determination needed to win, 566

Dictators, how they regard the Bible, 61

Different, is it safe to be? 483, 484

Distractions, today age of, 564, 565

Divine Loving-Kindness and the Kingdom, 720-727

Divine Will assembly attracts world attention, 669-671

Divine Will International Assembly, 585-594

Does Superstition or Knowledge Govern You? 305-311

Endurance proves integrity, 24-31

Ephesus, message to congregation at, 51-53

Evil, hate it, not people, 425-427

Evildoers must be avoided, 10-13, 21

Examples, prophetic, 553-555

Exodus route explored, 639

Explosion, no, 488

Face, may not judge by, 195

Faith, is required, 276, 277

pray for more, 675, 676

Fight Materialism for Your Life, 581-584, 595, 596

Find Your Place in the New World Society, 433-439

Flood, universal legends of, 303

Freedom, snare of self-styled, 218-220

Friend, of God or of this world? 4-7

Fruits, but where are Christendom’s? 611, 612

Gandhi, Mahatma, on Christendom, 37

solution by, 139

Garments, happiness of those keeping outer, 758, 759

keeping one’s outer, 746-748

loss of outer, 756-758

outer, identified, 748, 749

Gentile Times ended 1914, 631-636

Ghana public lecture, fortyfold attendance, 144

Gibeon, pool of, discovered, 100

Gilead, hospitality at its 30th graduation, 200

God, who he is, 741-744

God not discouraged, 99, 100

God’s Kingdom Rules—Is the World’s End Near? 625-638

Guidance, man’s need for, 419, 420

Gunfire in church, 40

Happy, what it takes to be forever, 345-349

what it takes to make you, 337-345

Happy Are the Ones Staying Awake, 745-750

Hate evil, not people, 425-427

Healing, holding forth, 72

Heretics, Catholic policy regarding, 94

Horses, how entered house of Jehovah, 639

How Does Israel Stand with God? 145-151

Humility, need of, 570-573

Immorality, increase of, real, 383

Impatient, why be? 643

Increase, brought by Jehovah, 80-84, 89

Indian searches for Jehovah’s witnesses, 548

Ingratitude, record of creatures’, 113-115

Insects, why said to go on all fours, 31

Integrity, finding a safeguard in, 735

of early Christians tested, 73-75

proved by endurance, 24-26

required of teachers, 18-20

Irish, new era dawns for, 460

Isaiah and sons given as signs, 687-690

Israel, attraction of, not religious, 191

fleshly, cast off, 148

how it stands with God, 145-151

replaced by spiritual Israel, 148-151

Jazz in church, 157

Jehovah, honoring, with our valuable things, 264-266

Shepherd of Israel, 176-178

Jehovah Brings the Increase, 80-84

(See also “God”)

“Jehovah God,” expression Scriptural, 190, 191

Jehovah’s Witnesses, are freedom-loving Christians, 172

“Christian Century” on, 83, 89

in the world but no part of it, 414

not fair-weather Christians, 400

recognized to be like early Christians, 112

Jesus (Christ), as Immanuel, 690

did not desire equality with God, 510

how he taught, 535-538

is Right Shepherd, 178-181

relatives of, part 1, 556-558

part 2, 664-667

what he ransomed, 68-71

why he said God had forsaken him, 415

“Jesus Christ,” how different from “Christ Jesus,” 703, 704

Jewish count of time, why different, 297-300

Job, knowing his happiness for endurance, 668

Judas, no excuses for, 196-199

Juvenile delinquency, real, 351

Keep Your Eyes on the Prize, 560-566

King, a, shall reign righteously, 163, 164

Kingdom of heaven, calling the members of, 461-464

Kingdom will unite mankind, 101-104

Knowledge, how practical yours is, 579, 580

lasting benefits of increased, 311-317

Kremlin and the Vatican, 349

Lampstands, are congregations, 50

messages to the seven, 51-61

Laodicea, message to congregation at, 59-61

Law, use of term in Bible, 109-112

League of Nations, counterfeit of God’s kingdom, 629-631

Learn from the past, 451, 452

Left hand, not letting it know, 515, 516

Lenin, comments on Christendom, 356

Lepers, spiritually healed, happy, 84

Living up to the name, 279-286

“Love one another,” 318

Loving-kindness, meaning of, 722

“Loyal love,” 722

Man, free and responsible, 201-204

where he can live forever, 421-423

Mankind, now a fading flower, 3

“Manna” still being eaten, 542

Materialism, fight it for your life, 581-584, 595, 596

snare of, 339-345

to fight it self-examination vital, 597-602

Materialistic tendencies, must avoid, 214-216

Material remedies inadequate, 542

Maturity, progressing toward, 540-542

Meek, blessed are the, 137-139

Memorial, may brother on probation offer prayer at? 543

“Memorial tombs” a better rendering, 159

Memory, the divine gift of, 393-396

Men of loving-kindness and the Kingdom, 727-735

Mental disposition, cultivating a good, 77-79

Michael, who he is, 559

Military prisons, how “Watchtower”

reaches into, 331

Ministers, fruitful, led by active force, 85-92

why they are running out of, 357-359

Ministry, of Kingdom requires staying awake, 603

priceless treasure in earthen vessels, 521-524

requirements for an effective, 86-92

Moderation, importance of, 376

Moral breakdown is real, 447, 543

Morals, of church and nonchurch members, 252, 253

Mourning, Christians do not wear signs of, 575

Murmuring is rebellious, 217

Name, living up to the, 279-286

Needle’s eye, literal or symbolic? 62

New, how nothing new under sun, 228

New Song for All Men of Good Will, A, 227-241

“New World Translation,” of “cross” and tree, 510

of “memorial tombs,” 159

of Phil. 2:5, 6, 510

New York, convention city, 76

good place to preach, 140

Nun takes stand for Jehovah, 364

Nyasaland, spreading light in dark, 175

Old age, no barrier to learning, 547, 548

Olive tree, grafting from the wild, 151-157

Overseers, appointed through human intermediaries, 43-48

Overseers in Apocalyptic Times, 41-61

in Christ’s right hand, 51-61

Papal authority, growth of, 104-108

Pergamum, message to congregation at, 54, 55

Personality, putting on new, 223

Philadelphia, message to congregation at, 58, 59

Pioneering, is your place? 437-439

Place, beware you do not lose your, 440-446

Praise, increasing international, 7

Prayer, aids in keeping balance, 381

chaplain’s, insincere, 99, 100

need of, 167

precious loving provision, 502-509

Prayers, secondhand, 63

tell on one, 667-680

Preach, fulfilling the commission to go, 392

Preaching, importance of, 243, 244

the Kingdom in unity, 479

Pride, warnings against, 567-570

Priest rebukes bishop, 447

Principles, need for right, 287

Prisons, preaching in, fruitful, 108

Prize, keeping our eyes on the, 560-566

Pursuing My Purpose in Life

Anderson, Fred A., 141-144

Baxter, D. E., 92-94

Bivens, W. A., 397-399

Carnie, William, 248-251

Checksfield, A. W., 525-528

Cutforth, John A., 333-336

Eisenhower, Charles, 269-271

Errichetti, John, 456-460

Franks, Leslie R., 700-702

Maki, Gust W., 716-719

Ransom, what Christ did, 68-71

Rebellious tendencies, avoid, 209-220

Red Sea, how its waters were held back, 672

Refugees, the wiser, 707

Religion, is yours the right one? 261-264

teachers of easy, 37-40

what its role in life should be, 708-711

which is the right one, 619, 620

Remnant, are for signs and wonders, 696-699

pictured by Isaiah’s sons, 691-693

Resolution, adopted at Divine Will assembly, 654-660

argument for adopting, 645-654

Responsibility, flight from, 202, 203

Resurrection, hope of, 326-328

truth of, sinking in, 355, 356

Retirement age of Levites, not applicable today, 319

Rome has two faces, 566

Rosary, not Christian, 388-391

Running the race without stumbling, 567-573

Sardis, message to congregation at, 57, 58

Satan, demons, killed at Armageddon, 286, 287

why many doubt existence of, 453-455

Schweitzer, Dr. Albert, on Christendom, 39

on modern man, 471

Scientific investigation of Bible, 759

Sermons, subjects too thin, 349

what they should say, 292-296

Serums not forbidden Christians, 575

Service Report, analysis of, 25-27, 30, 31

for 1957, 28-30

Serving where the need is great, in Pacific, 365-367

in South Pacific, 301-303

Sheep, characteristics of true, 185-187

Shepherding the flock of God, 181-184

Shepherd of Israel, 176-181

Shulammite, imitating the, 520

Signs and Wonders in the Time of the End, 685-699

meaning of, 693-699

Sisters permitted to ask questions, 607

Skin of your teeth, meaning of, 415

Smyrna, message to congregation at, 53, 54

Song, new, for men of good will, 227-234

now time to sing, 234-241

Spirit, keeping filled with, 267

making room for the, 342-345

Spiritual need, being conscious of, 499-501

Stars, congregational, identified, 48-50

Stubbornness and self-will, 217, 218

Study, need for, 309, 310

Studying, need of, and how, 402-408

Studying with a Purpose, 401-408

Submissiveness, desirable, 220-222

Suffering in harmony with God’s will, 205-207

Sun darkened, meaning of, 549-552

Sunday schools, their value questioned, 428

Superstition, does it or knowledge govern? 305-307

Supreme Will to Be Done, The, 465-471

Surviving a World ‘Without Gratitude,’ 113-118

Teachers, Christians must be, 529-535

Teaching men of good will, 535-542

Temple, service, Biblical word sketches on, 173, 174

spiritual, to last forever, 127

Territory, repeated coverage of, 283, 284

Theology students, question that stumped, 368

“Three days and three nights,” how understood, 736

Thyatira, message to congregation at, 55, 56

Toynbee, on why civilizations disintegrate, 351

Treasure, ministry a priceless, 521-524

Trust, guarding our Christian, 158

Trusting our faithful brothers, 187-189

Truth, giving a strong witness to the, 136

worth the cost ($2,000), 496

United Nations, counterfeit of God’s kingdom, 629-631

Vigilance, with a view to prayers, 497-501

War, when its madness will cease, 323, 324

Washington, George, on right principles, 287

“Watchtower” reaches into military prisons, 331

Watch Tower Society in God’s purpose, the, 485-488

What Does It Take to Make You Happy? 337-345

What It Means to Be a Christian, 272-278

Why the Divine Will International Assembly Resolved, 644, 645

Wickedness, end of, certain, 255

why increasing, 254, 255

why permitted, 254

Wisdom and happiness under New World administration, 169-171

Wise sayings for our day, acting on, 208

Woman damages, Abraham did not accept, 94

Word of life, keeping a firm grip on, 409-413

Words, know the facts behind the, 493-495

Works of faith and love, 489-492

World, conforming to the, 517-519

preparing for end of, 165-167

without locks, a, 131, 132

Writing, an art as ancient as man, 429-432

“You Ought to Be Teachers,” 529-535

Your contribution prospects, 264-266

“Your Will Be Done on Earth,”

serial part 1, 660-664

serial part 2, 681-684

serial part 3, 712-716

serial part 4, 760-764

Youth, ties scriptures together, 602

why it is uncommitted, 291

Zionism, why it must fail, 133-136

Announcements

FIELD MINISTRY

A Bible-study book, on the contribution of 50 cents, will be offered to persons contacted by Jehovah’s witnesses in their ministry during December. Thereafter, to aid interested ones to gain further knowledge of Jehovah God’s purposes, return calls will be made and home Bible studies started. For information on how you can share in this joyful work go to the local Kingdom Hall of Jehovah’s witnesses or write this office.

NEW VOICES PRAISING JEHOVAH

In every part of the world the work of Jehovah’s witnesses is moving ahead. Every year new thousands join their voices in the swelling song of praise to Jehovah’s name. Last year 716,901 persons were engaged in preaching, while this year 787,967 participated. These are not just statistical figures. They represent human lives devoted to the service of the Most High. For the thrilling and inspiring details read the 1959 Yearbook of Jehovah’s Witnesses. Send only 50c, and for a beautiful calendar for 1959 add 25c to your order.

“WATCHTOWER” STUDIES FOR THE WEEKS

January 18: Happy Are the Ones Staying Awake, ¶1-19, and The Crucial Time for Staying Awake, ¶1-6. Page 745.

January 25: The Crucial Time for Staying Awake, ¶7-34. Page 752.