The Watchtower — September 15, 1958

Never Too Old to Learn

THE saying, “One is never too old to learn,” is as true as it is trite. Learning new things is one of the best ways to keep young in mind and spirit even though old in years. Of course, one who is old will find learning a little more difficult; to make a change will be a little harder than it was in his youth or prime of life. If we are among the older ones, can we not compensate by putting forth a little more effort? And that should not be too onerous, since now we most likely have a better understanding and appreciation of the importance of knowledge than we did when we were young. So advanced years need not keep us from learning new things or from making a change that promises to be for the better.

Jehovah God uses old men if they are willing to learn and to make a change. Thus the prophecy of Joel foretold that in our day Jehovah would pour out some of his spirit on all kinds of flesh, causing even those consecrated Christians old in years to receive increased knowledge and understanding, spurring them on to increased activity. (Joel 2:28, 29) That this same principle applies to men of good will the facts clearly show.

Thus the 1958 Yearbook of Jehovah’s Witnesses tells of an American Methodist minister who at the age of sixty-five came in touch with the good news of Jehovah’s kingdom. Although she felt she knew all about the Bible and at first seemed rather self-important and self-righteous, she proved to be an open-minded lover of truth. In just a matter of weeks she had learned enough new things to make a radical change in her life; she severed her connections with her religious organization and began witnessing for Jehovah.

Among those baptized at large assemblies of Jehovah’s people, invariably there are some well along in years. Typical is what a London newspaper once reported: “There was a gray-haired great-grandmother of 76,” as well as “a thin little whispy-haired woman of 86.” By their being baptized they too acknowledged that they had learned many new things and had made a radical change in their lives.

Recently the Watch Tower Society was forwarded a copy of a letter sent to a witness of Jehovah in Canada by a one-time lay preacher of the Church of England. At the age of ninety-two this lay preacher had come to an accurate knowledge of the truth and made a change in his life by taking his stand for Jehovah and His kingdom. As a result he is happier than he ever was in all those ninety-two years. And some dedicated Christians in their old age have seen their privilege of entering the full-time ministry, appreciating that there truly “is more happiness in giving than there is in receiving.”—Acts 20:35.

Yes, to turn down new ideas or to refuse to make a change simply because of advanced years is unwise. And in particular is it foolish when what is involved is the truth of God’s Word and the worship of Jehovah. Only those who keep on taking in the right kind of knowledge and make a change in their lives can hope to be spared from the expression of God’s wrath at Armageddon, which fulfillment of Bible prophecy is very near at hand. That is why God’s Word counsels us to take in new ideas, to make a change in our lives—regardless of our age: “Seek ye Jehovah, all ye meek of the earth, that have kept his ordinances; seek righteousness, seek meekness: it may be ye will be hid in the day of Jehovah’s anger.”—Zeph. 2:3, AS.

Indian Searches for Jehovah’s Witnesses

THE Indian population make up the majority of Bolivia’s inhabitants. They live mainly in the mountains and the vast altiplano, the 13,000-foot-high plateau stretching from the north to the south of Bolivia, located between two mighty mountain ranges, the eastern and western cordilleras or ranges of the Andes.

Although they are great sticklers for their traditions, especially as to religion, some of them have come out of the old-world system of things showing a keen desire to know Jehovah and his promised new world of righteousness. For an example: At the Cochabamba missionary residence when the doorbell was answered by one of the missionaries there, she was surprised to see an Indian standing there with the book “Let God Be True” in his hand. He greeted her in Spanish, saying, “Hello, my sister.”

About six months before, a friend had given him a Bible, which he began to read. Through his own study of the Bible he became convinced that Jehovah is the only true God. This truth he tried to teach those of his local Evangelist church, but without success. They insisted that Jesus was the only God. After this, he decided to come to the city to find the organization that worshiped Jehovah. He walked up one street and down the other until he found a building marked Kingdom Hall of Jehovah’s Witnesses. It was here that he obtained the book he was carrying. Soon thereafter he joined Jehovah’s witnesses in the house-to-house ministry and attended their meetings.

Being able to speak the Quechua Indian dialect, he allowed himself to be used by Jehovah in a marvelous way. He could reach these people, whereas we, not understanding the language, could not. After having talked at a door he was asked by the missionary to translate what he had said. So he repeated to her in Spanish: “Humanity is in a sad and pitiful state today. However, Jehovah has a wonderful organization for them, if they would only realize it. They enjoy the beauty of a flower for a short time, but Jehovah’s organization can be compared to a beautiful eternal flower and they can enjoy the fruits of it forever.”

It is said that Quechua is a very expressive language. And it is even more so when used to praise Jehovah.

“The Sun Will Be Darkened”

Certain Bible prophecies speak of the darkening of the sun. How are these to be understood, literally or as figures of speech?

THE earth is man’s home. However, without the benefit of the sun man could not live upon it. The sun gives us light, heat and energy. The coal and oil in the ground, the winds that move the windmills and the rivers that furnish water power are all the product of the sun. Our food also depends upon the sun. Its energy plus water and carbon dioxide are utilized by plants, which plants give us not only food but also building material, fuel and—not to be esteemed lightly—beauty. The sun is truly a marvelous gift of the Creator to man. It is not surprising, therefore, that when man fell away from pure worship he worshiped the sun; the sun god, in fact, being a prominent deity in many ancient nations.

For the sake of making known his supremacy Jehovah God has in times past interfered with the light of the sun. Thus the ninth plague upon ancient Egypt was a darkness that could be felt. The Egyptians “did not see one another and none of them got up from his own place three days.” Proof that this was no mere freak of nature was the fact that at the very same time “for all the sons of Israel there proved to be light in their dwellings.” Likewise when Jesus died, beginning with the sixth hour, or noon, midday, “a darkness fell over all the earth until the ninth hour, because the sunlight ceased entirely.” In each of these instances the literal sunlight was involved.—Ex. 10:21, 23; Luke 23:44, 45.

God’s Word not only recorded God’s causing the light of the sun to fail but also foretold that he would do so again. Thus Ezekiel prophesied that Jehovah would “cover the sun with a cloud.” Joel wrote of the time when “the sun will be turned into darkness.” And Jesus, in his great prophecy regarding the end of this system of things, said that “the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light.”—Ezek. 32:7, AS; Acts 2:20; Matt. 24:29.

Do these prophecies refer to the literal sun’s being darkened, as was the case in the time of Moses and Jesus Christ? Yes, say many devout religionists. Thus a Seventh-day Adventist publication, Bible Readings for the Home Circle, states that such texts were fulfilled in the dark day of May 19, 1780. In support of its position it quotes, among other authorities, Webster’s Dictionary, Unabridged, edition 1833, which on page 1604 has the following to say regarding “The Dark Day”: “In some places persons could not see to read common print in the open air for several hours together. Birds sang their evening song, disappeared, and became silent; fowls went to roost, cattle sought the barnyard; and candles were lighted in the houses. The obscuration began about ten o’clock in the morning, and continued until the middle of the next night, but with differences of degrees and duration in different places. . . . The true causes of this remarkable phenomenon are not known.” Nor can this darkness, it is pointed out, be explained as an eclipse, as the moon had been full the night before and therefore was on the opposite side of the earth at the time the sun became obscured.

SYMBOLIC USE OF SUN

But does it necessarily follow that when God’s Word states that “the sun will be darkened” the literal sun is referred to? Not at all. And especially not when we note the many ways in which the sun is used as a symbol. Thus Jehovah God is referred to as the sun, and that most fittingly so, as he is the primal source of all light, life and energy: “Jehovah God is a sun and a shield.” In keeping with this expression is his being termed “the Father of the celestial lights.”—Ps. 84:11; Jas. 1:17.

Jesus Christ is likewise most fittingly spoken of as a sun: “But unto you that fear my name shall the sun of righteousness arise with healing in its wings.” As the sun is the light of the earth, so Jesus is the spiritual “light of the world.”—Mal. 4:2, AS; John 8:12.

The Scriptures further tell that God has a host of heavenly spirit creatures or angels, the organization of which is spoken of as a woman. This womanlike organization is spoken of as being “arrayed with the sun.” Then again, God’s kingdom rule, we are assured, will be so bright that by comparison the sun and moon will feel embarrassed: “Then the moon shall be confounded, and the sun ashamed; for Jehovah of hosts will reign in mount Zion.”—Rev. 12:1; Isa. 24:23, AS.

And, finally, we also read of God’s servants while still on earth being described as luminaries or suns and as shining as the sun: “Be blameless and innocent, children of God without a blemish in among a crooked and twisted generation, among whom you are shining as illuminators in the world.” “At that time [of the harvest] the righteous ones will shine as brightly as the sun in the kingdom of their Father.” The facts show that God’s faithful servants today are indeed shining forth as the sun by publishing far and wide the good news of God’s kingdom.—Phil. 2:15, 16; Matt. 13:43.

The sun not only is used as a symbol of spiritual light, but, by reason of its great heat, is also used to picture persecution. Thus Jesus, in his illustration of the sower, told of seeds being sown on rocky soil, where they sprang up at once, “but when the sun rose they were scorched, and because of not having root they withered.” In explanation Jesus said: “This is the one hearing the word and at once accepting it with joy. Yet he has no root in himself but continues for a time, and after tribulation or persecution has arisen on account of the word he is at once stumbled.”—Matt. 13:6, 20, 21.

HOW AND WHEN SUN DARKENED

In view of all the foregoing, is it necessary to hold that the prophecies regarding the darkening of the sun refer to the literal sun not giving its light? No, it is not; nor does it seem reasonable to hold that this darkening of the sun was limited to but a few hours in just a small section of the earth. Further, the contexts of some of these texts very definitely locate the darkening of the sun in our day rather than two centuries ago. For example, Jesus associates the darkening of the sun with his return, when the nations were angry, nation rising against nation and kingdom against kingdom, when there would be famine, plagues and earthquakes. The facts show that 1914 marked the beginning of the fulfillment of these prophecies. Thus also Joel’s prophecy shows that this darkening of the sun would precede the terrible day of Jehovah, as an indication of its nearness. It is not reasonable to conclude that this sign would come some 170 years or more before Jehovah’s terrible day.—Matt. 24:7-12.

It follows, therefore, that we should expect this darkening of the sun to take place now. And in just what manner is this prophecy being fulfilled? In the great spiritual darkness now covering the earth. As Isaiah foretold: “Behold, darkness shall cover the earth, and gross darkness the peoples.” This spiritual darkness is due to the fact that men are ignoring Jehovah, the Great Light, and Jesus Christ, “the light of the world,” as well as God’s Word, which to the Christian is as a lamp to his feet and a light to his roadway.—Isa. 60:2, AS; John 8:12; Ps. 119:105.

But has not such spiritual darkness prevailed in the many centuries past? someone may ask. True, but today the darkness is deeper and more widespread in many respects. Today we are living in the foretold “critical times hard to deal with,” when more than ever men are lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God; when there is a widespread form of godly devotion but very little manifestation of its power. Concerning this very time Jesus asked: “When the Son of man arrives, will he really find this faith on the earth?”—2 Tim. 3:1-5; Luke 18:8.

Indicative of this spiritual darkness is the way professedly Christian clergymen place the Bible on the level of writings by imperfect men and put Jesus Christ in the category of weak, fallible teachers such as Socrates, Buddha and Mohammed. Thus Jesus said: “No one comes to the Father except through me,” and Peter said of him: “There is no salvation in anyone else, for there is not another name under heaven that has been given among men by which we must get saved.” But not so, says Niebuhr, one of the leading clergymen of the United States. According to him the Jew can “find God more easily in the terms of his own heritage” or religion than by a conversion to Christ.—John 14:6; Acts 4:12.

How deep this spiritual darkness is can be seen from such reports as the following that appeared in Time magazine, January 27, 1958: “Glenview Community Church . . . is a believe-as-you-like, worship-as-you-please fellowship of searchers.” It has “dozens of beaver-busy organizations in a daily boil of dances, pageants, picnics,” etc. There are hunting and fishing groups, a women’s association, a boys’”hot-rod” group and camps for all ages. “In a recent sermon one minister ruefully quoted a newcomer as saying to another: ‘I guess I’ll have to join that damned church to get acquainted!’” That this church is a social club rather than a religious institution is apparent from the further report that “Glenview’s communion is as free as its theology (i.e., God, Christ, the Bible, each understood as the individual sees fit). Communion tables are set in the chancel, and parishioners come forward and serve themselves.” Truly all such is in striking contrast to the way religion was practiced, say, some fifty years ago. Although the various religions did teach much error in the name of Christianity, still they had at least a measure of respect for the Bible as God’s Word and a certain amount of the fear of God.

Then, too, there is the matter of contrast. The light on God’s Word, true to his promise, is shining ever more brightly: “The path of the righteous ones is like the bright light that is getting lighter and lighter until the day is firmly established.” But “the way of the wicked ones is like the darkness; they have not known at what they keep stumbling.” Thus also the prophet Isaiah, after telling of the darkness upon the world, goes on to say: “But Jehovah will arise upon thee, and his glory shall be seen upon thee. And nations shall come to thy light.” And Jesus foretold that at the very time of the sun’s being darkened “this good news of the kingdom will be preached in all the inhabited earth for the purpose of a witness to all the nations,” indicating a time of enlightenment for some in spite of the spiritual darkness. In fact, this was foreshadowed when the darkness enveloped the Egyptians for three days just before the Exodus. At that time, as we have already noted, there was light in all the dwellings of the Israelites.—Prov. 4:18, 19; Isa. 60:2, 3, AS; Matt. 24:14.

Proof of the spiritually darkened condition of the world and especially of Christendom is to be seen on every hand. It is clearly evident in its increasing immorality, delinquency and crime and in the greedy worship of materialism. As a result thereof we see the fulfillment of Jesus’ words: “On the earth anguish of nations, not knowing the way out because of the roaring of the sea and its agitation, while men become faint out of fear and expectation of the things coming upon the inhabited earth.”—Luke 21:25, 26.

Since in practically every reference to the sun’s being darkened the moon also is mentioned, the question might well be asked: Is there any particular significance to be attached to the moon’s also being darkened or ‘turned to blood,’ as one prophecy describes it? In times past Bible students have endeavored to distinguish between the symbolic darkening of the sun and of the moon; however, it seems both more reasonable and in keeping with the facts to conclude that they both refer to the same thing. Without the sun the moon could not shine, for the moon merely reflects the light of the sun. And as the sun lights up the day, so the moon lights up the night.

Therefore the darkening of both the sun and the moon would emphasize the complete and continuous spiritual darkness prevailing at the present time. And even so we find it to be.

Beverages in Bible Times

Writing in Everyday Life in Old Testament Times, E. W. Heaton tells about beverages used by the Israelites: “Since water was scarce and not very palatable, a good deal of milk was drunk. It came from goats and sheep. Hebrew has a word for fresh milk, but in the climate of Palestine it cannot have been used as much as another term meaning sour milk or curds. As soon as the fresh milk was put into the goat-skin bottle, it thickened slightly and went sour. All the better, it was thought, for quenching the thirst. . . .

“The drinking of wine was universal. Taking it with water or luxuriously iced with snow from the mountains were later customs and even then the latter can hardly have been a part of everyday life. The ordinary Israelite in our period took his wine in its natural state or (like the Assyrians) mingled with spices and drugs to increase its ‘headiness.’ It is not surprising that the Old Testament contains so many warnings about drinking to excess. The men of Israel also drank pomegranate wine. . . . They do not appear, however, to have been great beer-drinkers. In this respect, they differed from their neighbours, the Philistines, whose beer mugs with strainer spouts have been found by the hundred.”

“These Things Became Our Examples”

TODAY many Bible believers put the spotlight on the Christian Greek Scriptures and leave the Hebrew Scriptures in the outer darkness. They say that these Scriptures written before the time of Christ have no application now, that with his coming they had served their purpose, that they were the “old testament” and are outmoded and replaced by the “new testament” or covenant. These Hebrew Scriptures are now nothing but dead history, they argue.

It is true that in the Hebrew Scriptures is recorded the law covenant that Israel was under, and that was to lead them to Christ and then be replaced by a new covenant with laws written, not on stone tablets this time, but on human hearts. But the Mosaic law is only a part of the Hebrew Scriptures. They contain many prophecies that point not only to the time of Christ but down to our day. To exclude them from the spotlight of our attention is to keep ourselves in the dark on vital matters. The history found in the Hebrew Scriptures is not something dead to be forgotten, for it too has prophetic value. And even the Mosaic law served as a shadow of good things to come after its termination: “The Law has a shadow of the good things to come.”—Heb. 10:1.

To Christians Paul wrote about the earlier writings of the Hebrew Scriptures: “All the things that were written aforetime were written for our instruction, that through our endurance and through the comfort from the Scriptures we might have hope.” This includes events that might appear purely historical. Commenting on the backslidings of Israel, Paul said: “Now these things became our examples, for us not to be persons desiring injurious things, even as they desired them. Now these things went on befalling them as examples and they were written for a warning to us upon whom the accomplished ends of the systems of things have arrived.” Good examples to follow are also to be found in this ancient historical record: “Brothers, take as a pattern of the suffering of evil and the exercising of patience the prophets, who spoke in the name of Jehovah.”—Rom. 15:4; 1 Cor. 10:6, 11; Jas. 5:10.

CHRIST AND HIS SACRIFICE

In Genesis 3:15 the promise is given that a Seed would come and crush Satan’s head. This would be a blessing for men on earth. Abraham was told that in his seed all families of earth would be blessed, and this pointed to Christ: “Now the promises were spoken to Abraham and to his seed. It says, not, ‘And to seeds,’ as in the case of many such, but as in the case of one, ‘And to your seed,’ who is Christ.” But actually the literal seed that came to Abraham by God’s miraculous power was Isaac, and when Abraham started to sacrifice his only son by Sarah he did so confident that Isaac would return in a resurrection. All this is an illustration of Jehovah’s sacrifice of the Seed, Christ Jesus, and of Christ’s resurrection: “By faith Abraham, when he was tested, as good as offered up Isaac, and the man that had gladly received the promises attempted to offer up his only-begotten son, although it had been said to him: ‘What will be called “your seed” will be through Isaac.’ But he reckoned that God was able to raise him up even from the dead; and from there he did receive him also in an illustrative way.” The Seed has been sacrificed as a ransom, but it is yet to come to crush Satan’s head and bless all obedient families of earth.—Gal. 3:16; Heb. 11:17-19.

The Passover lamb sacrificed in Egypt pictured Christ killed in the world. “Christ our passover has been sacrificed,” says 1 Corinthians 5:7. He was not killed in the land of Sodom or in Egypt, yet Revelation 11:8 speaks of a place “which is in a spiritual sense called Sodom and Egypt, where their Lord was also impaled.” It was into this present wicked world that Jesus came and suffered impalement, and hence Sodom and Egypt picture this world.

Not only was Christ the sacrificial lamb, but he is also the sacrificing priest: “Therefore it was necessary that the typical representations of the things in the heavens should be cleansed by these means, but the heavenly things themselves with sacrifices that are better than such sacrifices. For Christ entered, not into a holy place made with hands which is a copy of the reality, but into heaven itself, now to appear before the person of God for us. Neither is it in order that he should offer himself often, as indeed the high priest enters into the holy place from year to year with blood not his own. Otherwise, he would have to suffer often from the world’s foundation. But now he has manifested himself once for all time at the consummation of the systems of things to put sin away through the sacrifice of himself.”—Heb. 9:23-26.

This shows the resurrected Christ offering in heaven the value of his own sacrifice. It also shows that the tabernacle and its service and later the temple and its service, where the priests officiated with animal sacrifices, were “typical representations of the things in the heavens.” They are types, and as such are worthy of study today.

PERSONS WHO WERE TYPICAL

Moses was a type of Christ Jesus. At Deuteronomy 18:15 Moses spoke of a prophet to come “like me,” and Acts 3:22, 23 refers to this and the context indicates that it is Christ Moses foreshadowed: “In fact, Moses said: ‘Jehovah God will produce for you from among your brothers a prophet like me. You must listen to him according to all the things he speaks to you. Indeed, any soul that does not listen to that Prophet will be completely destroyed from among the people.’”

David also was typical of Christ. Ezekiel 34:23 foretold: “And I will set up one shepherd over them, and he shall feed them, even my servant David.” (AS) David was dead when this was written. He was used to picture Christ, for Christ is the one identified as the “one shepherd” over the sheep of Jehovah: “And I have other sheep, which are not of this fold; those also I must bring, and they will listen to my voice, and they will become one flock, one shepherd.” (John 10:16) A number of the psalms written by David concerning his own situation are, in fact, prophetic of Christ Jesus and find their major fulfillment in Him. Psalms 16 and 22 are examples of this.

Elijah was a type of John the Baptist, for Jesus, speaking of John, said: “And if you want to accept it, This is ‘Elijah who is destined to come’.”—Matt. 11:14.

Hagar and Sarah were more than historical figures; they were prophetic of two organizations that are distinguished by two covenants: “These things stand as a symbolic drama; for these women mean two covenants, the one from mount Sinai, which brings forth children for slavery, and which is Hagar. Now this Hagar means Sinai, a mountain in Arabia, and she corresponds with the Jerusalem today, for she is in slavery with her children. But the Jerusalem above is free, and she is our mother.” Sarah was free and by the covenant of promise with Abraham she brought forth a seed, and pictured God’s free woman bringing forth His Seed by means of the Abrahamic covenant.—Gal. 4:24-26.

TYPICAL EVENTS

The prophet Isaiah was used to foretell the captivity of Judah to Babylon, but he also told of a release from captivity. This release came in 537 B.C. However, long after this these same prophecies were being applied to Jesus and the work he did when on earth, and the facts indicate that even down in our day this work of release took place. (Isa. 61:1-3; Luke 4:17-21) Isaiah 52:11 foretold the call that would go to the Israelite captives when Babylon would be overthrown: “Depart ye, depart ye, go ye out from thence.” (AS) But long after Babylon was overthrown, and after Jesus had released captives from false religious systems, a prophecy was given in Revelation that still speaks of a future fall of Babylon, and the warning cry is given to Jehovah’s people: “Get out of her, my people, if you do not want to share with her in her sins, and if you do not want to receive part of her plagues.”—Rev. 18:2, 4.

An outstanding historical event was the flood of Noah’s day. But Jesus showed that it, along with the destruction of Sodom, is prophetic of our time: “Moreover, just as it occurred in the days of Noah, so it will be also in the days of the Son of man: they were eating, they were drinking, men were marrying, women were being given in marriage, until that day when Noah entered into the ark, and the flood arrived and destroyed them all. Likewise, just as it occurred in the days of Lot: they were eating, they were drinking, they were buying, they were selling, they were planting, they were building. But on the day that Lot came out of Sodom it rained fire and sulphur from heaven and destroyed them all. The same way it will be on that day when the Son of man is to be revealed.”—Luke 17:26-30.

These are a few of the many instances proving that places and persons and events of the Hebrew Scriptures are prophetic. These Scriptures are not outdated. They should be studied. They are timely for us.

The Foundation

British statesman William Pitt, the earl of Chatham, once said to his nephew: “If you are not right toward God, you can never be so toward man; and this is forever true, whether wits and rakes allow it or not.”

Part 1—Relatives of Jesus

WHEN the time came for Jehovah’s anointed Son to walk the earth as His Messiah, Jehovah chose the right human relationships to converge together as a zealous family circle of trusted servants of God to become a wholesome shield and influence to His own Son. As it proved to be, the relatives of Jesus of Nazareth along with him became some of the most dynamic men of faith and champions of Jehovah’s true worship this earth has ever seen. It was their liberal contribution of righteous works as preachers that helped bring theocratic fame to the closing generation of the Jewish systems of things.

JOHN THE BAPTIST

John the Baptist was the last in the long line of the prophets that Jehovah had sent to his covenant people, the Jews. From the great work he accomplished in a public ministry of one year in co-operation with a group of disciples and about two years in prison, John is marked as among the greatest of all the pre-Christian prophets God had sent. (Matt. 11:11) In Jehovah’s maneuverings this great prophet was the second cousin of Jesus and was his senior by only about six months.

Jesus’ mother Mary and John’s mother Elizabeth were first cousins. Not only that, but earlier they had established an endearing friendship based on similar high privileges extended to them by Jehovah. (Luke 1:39-45) It appears that Mary’s mother (who tradition says was named Anna and whom the Catholics call St. Anna)a and Elizabeth’s mother were fleshly sisters, descendants of the tribe of Levi. While Mary’s mother married Heli of the tribe of Judah, thus making Mary’s mother’s children Judeans in fact, Elizabeth’s mother married into the priestly house of Aaron, thus making her children not only Levites but of the highest house of the Levites as children of Aaron. So Elizabeth, a descending daughter of Aaron, married Zechariah, who was also a descendant of the priestly house of Aaron. (Luke 1:5) Their son John the Baptist then was of the Aaronic priestly house by double right, both through his father and through his mother.

How historically dramatic this all turned out to be! The anointing of Solomon of the house of David as king over Israel was performed by the Aaronic priest Zadok. (1 Ki. 1:39) Likewise, the anointings of all future kings of Judah were performed by the Aaronic high priest then living. So when the greatest regal anointing of all time occurred here on earth the picture was followed to an extent. For this high event Jehovah had developed his own faithful Aaronic representative, not needing to rely upon Jerusalem’s wicked Aaronic high priest who later had Jesus executed. On this occasion of being anointed, Jesus of the tribe of Judah and of the kingly house of David presented himself to be baptized by his own second cousin, John the Baptist, of the tribe of Levi and of the Aaronic priestly house. At that time Jesus became legally anointed from heaven with holy spirit as King of spiritual Israel.

JOSEPH

Joseph, the foster father of Jesus, must have been a man after God’s own heart, even as David his illustrious forefather was. In view of the great authority and position of influence exercised by the male parent in the Israelite family, Joseph must have been a most outstanding God-fearing man of trust. Why so? Because the Living God found him worthy to be entrusted with the custody of the dearest treasure in the universe, the life of Jehovah’s only-begotten Son, the possession nearest to God’s own heart. The child Jesus was Jehovah’s own Son. He was not Joseph’s natural son.

Joseph was a member of the leading family of the Jewish nation, for he was of the royal house of David. Joseph had divine legal right to the throne. For this reason it was necessary for him to travel to Bethlehem in accordance with Caesar’s decree in the days of Quirinius as the Roman governor of Syria for the tax registration, inasmuch as the records of the kingly house of David were kept in Bethlehem, the home town of David. (Luke 2:1-3) Years later former tax collector Matthew, who was an expert at genealogical registrations, was able to go to Bethlehem to make record for us of this line that ran back to David and Abraham. (Matt. 1:1-16) At this point Joseph shines forth as a man of great unselfishness, for in spite of his famous legal heritage he again does not hesitate to do God’s will but readily agrees to adopt Jesus as his legal firstborn son and thus pass on to him the legal right to the throne of David. (Luke 4:22) From this day forward Jesus was known as Joseph’s son, the son of the carpenter, with first-born rights of Joseph.—Matt. 13:55.

The finest fitting tribute to Joseph’s and Mary’s successful parenthood in connection with the wise training of Jesus is the brief but apt record in the Bible, which says: “He continued subject to them. . . . And Jesus went on progressing in wisdom and in physical growth and in favor with God and men.” Apparently Joseph did his job well as the early foster instructor of Jesus, having in addition taught him to become an expert carpenter, which trade Jesus pursued until he was about thirty years of age.—Luke 2:51, 52; Mark 6:3.

MARY

David’s outstanding female descendant, Mary, the daughter of Heli of the house of David, would have rejoiced the ancient king’s heart had he lived to see her perform her high privilege of theocratic service. The several references to her in the Scriptures afford a fairly interesting picture to be painted of her. She was a virgin not only physically but also spiritually, being undefiled by the apostasy of her day. Her knowledge of the Hebrew Scriptures was great and her devotion to Jehovah as her God was exclusive and complete.

Being strong in faith and knowledge, she displayed concern when interviewed by the mighty angel Gabriel, the same theocratic messenger from the courts of heaven who spoke to priest Zechariah in the temple six months previously. “Good day, highly favored one, Jehovah is with you.” This was the greeting offered by Gabriel to open this dramatic meeting. Mary was greatly disturbed as to the significance of this opening salutation.

Then she was informed that Jehovah desired to use her as a human mother to produce by means of the overshadowing holy spirit of God a male child who would be called the “Son of the Most High, and Jehovah God will give him the throne of David his father, and he will be king over the house of Jacob forever, and there will be no end of his kingdom.” What an exalted offer of service was this! Readily she agreed to the offer as a remarkable woman of faith.—Luke 1:26-38.

Away from the glittering apostasy of Jerusalem, under the protecting care of loyal Joseph and in the quiet of a mangerplace in Bethlehem, this devoted handmaiden of Jehovah, in a natural way at the close of the normal nine-month period of gestation, delivered herself of the perfect man-child. He was not incarnated as half spirit and half man, but was completely human flesh in every sense. Men of good will, faithful shepherds aroused by an angelic chorus, came to the manger to become faithful witnesses of this universally important birth event. Eight days later he was circumcised, as was the custom, and named Jesus.

Mary’s heart kept treasured up all the many unusual things that happened in connection with this son of Jehovah that she was privileged to bear. Daily she attended to his growing needs and exercised at all times a clean, loving and devoted influence that this her ward might receive the finest of theocratic training and education. Thirty years later, when Jesus entered upon his great public ministry, she followed his career minutely. She, too, became one of his devoted followers. Never during his ministry did Jesus favor her above other devoted women. He never addressed her as “mother” but always as “woman.”—Matt. 12:48; John 2:4.

She had the happy privilege of being one of the 120 at Pentecost who received the gift of the holy spirit to become the first anointed members of Christ’s body organization that they might qualify for life with him in his heavenly kingdom. Thus her hope became heavenly, not to become a queen of heaven, but to become one of the 144,000 members of Christ’s glorious heavenly bride class. Mary was a shining example of faithful theocratic womanhood. Theocratic women today do well to emulate her course of devotion, obedience and faithfulness.

[Footnotes]

Who Is the Archangel Michael?

JEHOVAH’S witnesses hold that the archangel Michael is Jesus Christ, and they not at all alone or unique in doing so. Hengstenberg, one of the foremost German Bible scholars of the nineteenth century, argues at great length to that effect in his Christology and Commentary on the Apocalypse. A strong case for this position is also made in the Imperial Bible Dictionary, edited by the British Bible scholar Fairbairn. And Clarke, in his Commentary, holds that, at least at times, Michael refers to Jesus Christ.

As for the Scriptural testimony, in the first place note the very meaning of the name “Michael,” namely, “Who is like God?” There is no one else to whom that name could so fittingly apply as to Jesus, either before he came to earth or since his ascension. He alone is described as “the image of God,” “the reflection of his glory and the exact representation of his very being,” and as “the image of the invisible God.”—2 Cor. 4:4; Heb. 1:3; Col. 1:15.

Further, note his title “archangel.” This term occurs only twice in the Scriptures (AV), at 1 Thessalonians 4:16 and Jude 9. The prefix “arch” means “chief, principal, great.” Certainly both before his coming to earth as a man and since his return to heaven he is the chief or principal one of all God’s spirit creatures or angels. Trinitarians may consider this a downgrading of the “Second Person of the Trinity,” but if we accept the Scriptural testimony that Jesus was “the beginning of the creation by God,” and “the firstborn of all creation,” we will have no diffidence about applying to him the term archangel.—Rev. 3:19; Col. 1:15.

Of the five references to the spirit prince or archangel Michael—there are also ten references to as many different humans by that name—the first two are found at Daniel 10:13, 21 (RS).

There he is shown to be a mighty angel rescuing from the clutches of one of Satan’s demon princes an angel of Jehovah God who had been sent to Daniel with a message of comfort. There Michael is also referred to as Daniel’s prince, even as at Daniel 12:1 (RS) he is spoken of as “the great prince who has charge of your people.” This is in keeping with Exodus 32:34 and similar scriptures that tell of God as appointing his angel to lead Israel. This being so makes clear why “Michael the archangel had a difference with the Devil and was disputing about Moses’ body.” The full force of Jude’s condemnation of rebellious ones, incidentally, becomes apparent when we note that not even Jesus Christ, the highest of all God’s creatures, dared render abusive judgment upon the Devil but said: “May Jehovah rebuke you.”—Jude 9; Zech. 3:2.

And finally we have Revelation 12:7, 8, where we read: “And war broke out in heaven: Michael and his angels battled with the dragon, and the dragon and its angels battled but it did not prevail.” The context tells of the birth of God’s kingdom, whose king is Jesus Christ, and identifies the dragon as Satan the Devil. Surely Jesus as King would be the one to take action upon the birth of God’s kingdom even as David took action against his enemies upon his becoming king. Did not Jesus state, upon his resurrection, that all power had been given him in heaven and on earth? Does not Psalm 110:1, 2 command him to rule in the midst of his enemies? And does not the apostle Paul show, at Hebrews 2:14, that it is Jesus who will destroy the Devil, thereby identifying him as the angel of Revelation 20:1 that will bind Satan?

All relevant Scriptural testimony unites to prove that Michael is none other than Jesus Christ, both before he became a man, as at Daniel 10:13, 21 and Jude 9, and after his ascension into heaven, as at Daniel 12:1 and Revelation 12:7.

“Your Certain Interest”

“Young man,” once said Benjamin Franklin, “my advice to you is that you cultivate an acquaintance with, and a firm belief in, the Holy Scriptures. This is your certain interest.”

Keep Your Eyes on the Prize

“Do you not know that the runners in a race all run, but only one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may attain it.”—1 Cor. 9:24.

1. Why does the Bible often use words pertaining to a foot race?

RUN, running, race—these are words you probably have noticed many times in your reading of the Bible, especially the epistles of the apostle Paul. Why does he frequently use words pertaining to a foot race? Because a race well illustrates the course that is set before a Christian; because running expresses movement, action, going forward; because running is one of the most forceful, striking words the apostle could use to express the efforts a Christian must put forth to win the prize of everlasting life in God’s new world.

2, 3. The ancient Corinthians had what knowledge of the foot race, and so what counsel did the apostle give the Corinthian Christians?

² To encourage the Christians of Corinth to run so as to win the prize, Paul used the picturesque language of the ancient games. Of the four most celebrated games of the ancient world, one was held near Corinth, at the stadium at the Isthmus of Corinth. One of the most highly esteemed contests at the Isthmian games was the foot race. Almost every Corinthian, at one time or another, had attended the games and witnessed a foot race. For the non-Christian Corinthian it was the thing to do; it was the national pastime or sport, only the contests were more important than sport as we know it today; for those contests were profoundly associated with the ancient Greek religion. Knowing his readers’ familiarity with the foot race, Paul could fittingly ask:

³ “Do you not know that the runners in a race all run, but only one receives the prize?” They knew. Those Christian Corinthians knew that many runners ran in a race, yet only one received the prize; they knew that each runner put forth the most strenuous efforts to win that prize; they knew the runners ran to win the prize. Christians, Paul shows, must run in a similar way: “Run in such a way that you may attain it.” Yes, run to win! Unlike the ancient foot race, in which only one received the prize, the Christian race offers a prize to all who run well, to all who reach the goal line.—1 Cor. 9:24.

4. In the ancient foot race, what was the custom regarding the prize, and how did this affect the runners?

⁴ No doubt about it: those ancient Greek runners ran to win the prize; they were not running just to be in the race. How eagerly they sought the prize! With what intentness they ran! How they kept their eyes straight ahead! At the very point where the race was to end it was customary to set the prize in a conspicuous place. The sight of it roused the contestants to strain every nerve, to forget everything but their one objective—to win the prize. They ran with their eyes on the prize. How much more so should the Christian!

5. For what kind of prize did the ancients run?

⁵ For, compared to the Christians’ prize, what was the prize that those runners so eagerly sought? “Now they,” said the apostle, “do it that they may get a corruptible crown, but we an incorruptible one.” For the ancient runner the prize was a crown or garland of olive, laurel or pine. At the Isthmian games the crown was of pine. This crown and the ensuing glory it brought was what the ancient runners ran for with all they had. And yet even the pine crown in time faded and dried up. Their prize faded, withered, perished! A fading crown—and yet how vigorously they strove to win that crown, running with their eyes on the prize!—1 Cor. 9:25.

APPRAISING THE PRIZE

6. In contrast with the prize given pagan runners, what is God’s loving reward for running well?

⁶ In contrast with the fading crown of the ancient games, the apostle tells Christians that a prize awaits those who run the race to the finish, a prize that will never perish. Speaking of this crown, the apostle Peter wrote: “When the chief shepherd has been made manifest, you will receive the unfadable crown of glory,” or, as the footnote shows, “carry away as a prize” the unfadable crown. What a prize for the anointed Christians, those called to the heavenly kingdom! Could any prize this world offers compare with that prize God offers—the prize of incorruptibility, the prize of everlasting life in heavenly glory with Christ the King? Today there are hundreds of thousands of Christian runners who are not anointed by God to be his spiritual sons in the heavenly kingdom; God offers them also an unperishable prize. It is everlasting life in perfection on earth under the kingdom of heaven. Whichever prize the Christian runner has his eyes on, it is worth expending just as much vigor and energy as the runners of the ancient games did; indeed, the Christian should run with greater determination and vigor, for the prize God lovingly promises will never fade: “This is the promised thing which he himself promised us, the life everlasting.”—1 Pet. 5:4; 1 John 2:25.

7, 8. From the apostle Paul’s example, how should the Christian runner view the prize God offers?

⁷ With such an incomparable prize before the Christian runner, what should be his view of the prizes of this world? It should be that like Paul’s, who said: “I do indeed also consider all things to be loss on account of the excelling value of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord. On account of him I have taken the loss of all things and I consider them as a lot of refuse.” And so how did Paul run? “Brothers, I do not yet consider myself as having laid hold on it; but there is one thing about it: Forgetting the things behind and stretching forward to the things ahead, I am pursuing down toward the goal for the prize.”—Phil. 3:8, 13, 14.

⁸ Just as the runners of the ancient games ran with their eyes on the prize, oblivious to all other prizes, to all things in the past and stretching forward to the things ahead, so Paul ran. To paraphrase the apostle’s words: ‘Believe me, there is only one thing worth while in the whole world—the prize my eyes are fixed upon. Nothing can be compared to it, absolutely nothing. All that this world offers, no matter how fine the chariot, how spacious the mansion, how resplendent the apparel or how exquisite the pleasures, I count them all as so much refuse, rubbish to be cast aside, that I might concentrate on winning the prize. So I’m not running irregularly, indifferently, as if my goal were in doubt. I’m running with full purpose of heart, with singleness of eye. I have the goal in view. Why should I take my eyes off it? So I live, I run—with my eyes on the prize!’

9. What danger confronts the Christian runner, making it vital for him to get the right mental attitude?

⁹ Paul took a realistic view of the prize. He placed the right value on it. He took the right view also of the prizes this world offers. He tells the Christian runner to do the same: “Let us, then, as many of us as are mature, be of this mental attitude.” How vital this is in this “time of the end” when the world’s prizes have multiplied—prizes in careers, prizes in pleasures, prizes in possessions! So we see the danger then: the danger that the Christian runner begins the race in joy and vigor but later lets the prizes of this world distract him and he takes his eyes off the prize of life. Then what happens? The runner slows to a walk, a careless saunter. How uncertainly he runs now. He no longer runs as one seeking to win the prize of life. The things behind, the prizes of this old world, have distracted him, causing him to lose that stimulus and incentive for running that comes only by keeping one’s eyes on the things ahead, the prize God offers. Demas, Paul’s fellow runner, took his eyes off the prize; the prizes of this world distracted him, and he stopped running. We need to get the right mental attitude toward this world’s prizes, “because everything in the world—the desire of the flesh and the desire of the eyes and the showy display of one’s means of life—does not originate with the Father, but originates with the world. Furthermore, the world is passing away and so is its desire, but he that does the will of God remains forever.”—Phil. 3:15; 2 Tim. 4:10; 1 John 2:16, 17.

10, 11. (a) Why is no prize the world offers worth taking one’s eyes off the prize God offers? (b) How do people who have pursued the prize of wealth often feel toward the close of their life, in contrast with the apostle’s expression?

¹⁰ So of what value are the prizes of this world, prizes that are doomed to pass away and fade just as surely as did the vegetable crown of the ancient runners? Is the greatest prize this world offers—the life goal of so many persons today, the so-called economic security—really worth taking our eyes off the prize of life? Not for a minute! The Christian runner must provide the necessities of life and yet at the same time never take his eyes off the prize. Paul made tents to provide some of his necessities; yet he never allowed tent-making to take his eyes off the prize. So Paul did not pursue the fruitless goal of economic security; he knew that money, wealth and possessions are of no value without life. Even those who attain what they view as economic security by amassing millions of dollars often come to realize what a fading prize they spent a lifetime to win. In the volume Treasury of the Christian World appears the following item: “Mr. T. P. O’Connor reports an interview with Mr. Andrew Carnegie: ‘As we drove to the station I was remarking how I envied him his wealth. He said, “I am not to be envied. How can my wealth help me? I am sixty years old, and cannot digest my food. I would give all my millions if I could have youth and health.” Then I shall never forget his next remark. We had driven some yards in silence, when Mr. Carnegie suddenly turned, and in hushed voice, and with bitterness and depth of feeling quite indescribable, said: “If I could make Faust’s bargain, I would. I would gladly sell anything to have my life over again.” And I saw his hand clench as he spoke.’”

¹¹ How different was the expression of the apostle Paul, who, after expending his life in pursuit of the heavenly prize, could say: “I have run the course to the finish, I have observed the faith. From this time on there is reserved for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will give me as a reward in that day.”—2 Tim. 4:7, 8.

ENDURANCE THROUGH SINGLENESS OF EYE

12. To what did Paul largely owe his powers of endurance?

¹² Paul owed his extraordinary endurance to his singleness of purpose. And he gained singleness of purpose by keeping his eyes on the prize. So keeping our eyes on the prize vitally affects our powers of endurance. Make no mistake about it: endurance is needed. “Let us run with endurance the race that is set before us.” The Christian race is no short dash; it is long and difficult. Because the prize is not won until the finish line has been crossed, there can be slackening of effort along the way. Among the most penetrating parables of Jesus were those in which he pointed out the failure of those who started well but were not able to keep it up to the end.—Heb. 12:1.

13. In the parable of the sower, what did Jesus show could cause a runner to stumble and lose the prize, and what counsel did he give as to possessions?

¹³ In his parable of the sower Jesus, in explaining the meaning of the seeds that fell upon rocky ground and among the thorns, said: “As for the one sown upon the rocky places, this is the one hearing the word and at once accepting it with joy. Yet he has no root in himself but continues for a time, and after tribulation or persecution has arisen on account of the word he is at once stumbled. As for the one sown among the thorns, this is the one hearing the word, but the anxiety of this system of things and the deceptive power of wealth choke the word, and he becomes unfruitful.” So some runners fall out of the race, stumbled by “tribulation or persecution.” Others lose their powers of endurance because of “the anxiety of this system of things.” After discussing the parables of building a tower and of a king going to war, Jesus commented: “Thus, you may be sure, none of you that does not say good-bye to all his belongings can be my disciple.”—Matt. 13:20-22; Luke 14:33.

14. How should a Christian regard material possessions?

¹⁴ The Christian runner is under no obligation to give away his material possessions, but he is under the principle that Jesus laid down: If one sees that his possessions are taking his eyes off the prize of life, then he would rather say good-by to those distracting possessions than keep them and take a chance on losing the race. No possession, no material belonging, should ever be allowed to become so important, so big in one’s life, that it takes the runner’s eyes off the prize. In today’s world, though, it is not likely that a single possession will take one’s eyes off the prize; it is the multitude of things, belongings, pleasures, hobbies and the anxieties and distractions of life. All together the multiplicity of distractions exert a strong power, making it difficult—and yet at the same time more vital than ever—to obey the Bible command for the race: “As for your eyes, straight ahead they should look, yes, your own beaming eyes should gaze straight in front of you. Smooth out the course of your foot, and may all your own ways be firmly established. Do not incline to the right hand or to the left.” How to get this singleness of eye that adds so much to our powers of endurance—that is the problem each runner must solve.—Prov. 4:25-27.

AGE OF DISTRACTIONS

15. What has a worldly speaker said about “the anxiety of this system of things”?

¹⁵ A comment on the “anxiety of this system of things” comes from Bernard M. Baruch. Speaking to a group of college students at City College, New York, he declared: “Never in history has mankind boasted superior means of communication, high speed printing presses, profusely illustrated magazines, the radio, movies, television. Yet all these miraculous forms of communication seem less conducive to thought than a log in the woods. Almost, in fact, these jet-propelled, streamlined means of communication appear the enemies of thinking. They bombard us daily with fresh distractions. . . . Our energies . . . are dissipated on side issues. . . . Not too long ago, it was fondly thought that ours was ‘The Age of Enlightenment.’ More and more it is becoming ‘The Age of Distraction.’”—Vital Speeches of the Day, June, 1953.

16, 17. (a) Those who are distracted by many things should take what counsel of Jesus? (b) What did a woman writer say about distractions in a modern civilization?

¹⁶ The more distractions the more difficult it is to attain the singleness of eye needed for the Christian race. Obviously, there are more distractions today than in Jesus’ day; and yet people were distracted in Jesus’ day too. On one occasion Jesus entered a certain village and “a certain woman named Martha received him as guest into the house. This woman also had a sister called Mary, who, however, sat down at the feet of the Master and kept listening to his word. Martha, on the other hand, was distracted with attending to many duties. So, she came near and said: ‘Master, does it not matter to you that my sister has left me alone to attend to things? Tell her, therefore, to join in helping me.’ In answer the Master said to her: ‘Martha, Martha, you are anxious and disturbed about many things. A few things, though, are needed, or just one. For her part, Mary chose the good portion, and it will not be taken away from her.’” Mary shed distractions to sharpen her spiritual vision; Martha was too distracted with many things to sit down at the feet of the Master and take in the knowledge, the one thing that she really needed.—Luke 10:38-42.

¹⁷ This modern world has more Marthas than Marys. Distractions are the reason. Commenting on some of the distractions that face a modern housewife, Anne Morrow Lindbergh writes in Gift from the Sea: “I mean to lead a simple life. . . . But I do not. . . . The life I have chosen as wife and mother entrains a whole caravan of complications. It involves a house in the suburbs and either household drudgery or household help. . . . It involves food and shelter; meals, planning, marketing, bills, and making the ends meet in a thousand ways. It involves not only the butcher, the baker, the candlestick maker but countless other experts to keep my modern house with its modern ‘simplifications’ (electricity, plumbing, refrigerator, gas-stove, oil-burner, dishwasher, radios, car, and numerous other labor-saving devices) functioning properly. It involves health; doctors, dentists, appointments, medicine, cod-liver oil, vitamins, trips to the drugstore. It involves education, spiritual, intellectual, physical; schools . . . tutoring; camps, camp equipment and transportation. It involves clothes, shopping, laundry, cleaning, mending, letting skirts down and sewing buttons on, or finding someone else to do it. It involves friends, my husband’s, my children’s, my own, and endless arrangements to get together; letters, invitations, telephone calls and transportation hither and yon. . . . The problem of the multiplicity of life not only confronts the American woman, but also the American man. And it is not merely the concern of the American as such, but of our whole modern civilization.”

NEED TO SHED DISTRACTIONS

18. How is Paul’s example and admonition valuable to us, and what must the Christian runner learn?

¹⁸ Amid the cares and distractions of modern life the Christian runner must maintain a singleness of purpose. And he must be certain he is making progress toward his goal. Never did the apostle Paul let the “anxiety of this system of things” take his eyes off the prize. “The way I am running,” he said, “is not uncertainly.” Paul had his goal in view; there was never any doubt of it. We must run with such determination to win the prize, with such singleness of vision. But how can one do this, seeing that distractions come from every quarter, many of them being obligations that cannot be set aside? One can apply the principle given in Paul’s counsel to Christian runners: “Let us also put off every weight and the sin that easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us.” For the sake of endurance, then, the Christian runner must learn the art of shedding distractions, the art of putting off weights—those things that, added together, tend to take one’s eyes off the prize and hold him back in the race for life.—1 Cor. 9:26; Heb. 12:1.

19. How did this matter of distraction govern Paul’s counsel on marriage? So what is basic in a Christian’s life?

¹⁹ By reducing distractions we make time for concentrating on running the race and winning the prize. It is this matter of keeping distractions at a minimum that enters into so many facets of a Christian’s life. The apostle Paul knew marriage brought many distractions; so he advised singleness as the better course because of its permitting “constant attendance upon the Lord without distraction.” Yet, on the other hand, Paul knew that passion was a distraction and that it could be a dangerous one; hence he wrote: “It is better to marry than to be inflamed with passion.” Trying to get away from distractions—that is basic in a Christian’s life.—1 Cor. 7:35, 9.

20. To buy out time, what should a Christian be willing to do, and what about nonessential possessions?

²⁰ For the sake of keeping his eyes on the prize the Christian runner should be willing to determine which distractions may rightfully and profitably be discarded. By shedding these he buys out time for himself, in harmony with the command: “Keep strict watch that how you walk is not as unwise but as wise persons, buying out the opportune time for yourselves, because the days are wicked.” We ought to go about this matter of buying out time in earnestness, ever being on the alert to keep distractions at a minimum. Since people tend to be acquisitive, what distractions a person can pile up in the way of possessions alone! What a vast amount of gadgets, magazines, books, clothing, hobby paraphernalia and nondescript effects one can accumulate! It is often surprising how many things one tends to accumulate that are not really useful. Even piled away in a closet, things not really needed are a distraction: not only do they require space but they take time—dusting, cleaning, rearranging, etc. By shedding distractions, by keeping possessions to those that are needful, we feel happier and, above all, are better able to keep our eyes on the prize.—Eph. 5:15, 16.

21. How can we aid ourselves in keeping distractions at a minimum?

²¹ Selectivity is an important aid in keeping distractions at a minimum. The world’s commercialists do not want you to be thoughtfully selective; they are doing their utmost to entice people to pile up acquisitions whether they need them or not. So we need to be selective in purchasing, selective in reading, selective in the way we choose to use our time. Remember that only “a few things,” as Jesus said, are needed.

DETERMINATION AND TRAINING

22. What did a modern runner say about running and training, and why does the same principle apply to the Christian’s race?

²² Time bought out by shedding distractions enables us to concentrate on the race. Since the word “running” embraces the whole Christian way of life, especially our vigorous efforts to preach the good news, it is imperative that we train for the race. No runner runs well without training. In 1954 Roger Bannister, the first man to run a measured mile in less than four minutes, told a newspaper reporter, after his victory: “There is no point in running a race unless you set out to win. To do that you have to train. If you haven’t time to train you shouldn’t enter races.” Is the Christian race really different? “Run in such a way that you may attain it,” said Paul about the prize. He also counseled: “Be training yourself with godly devotion as your aim.” So why enter the Christian race unless you are determined to win the prize? And if you are determined to win, why run without training? Yet some runners have tried running without training; they neglect the spiritual training available at congregational meetings of the New World society. These meetings serve a vital function: they aid us in keeping our eyes on the prize. No wonder those who regularly miss meetings often drop out of the race; they lose a clear view of the prize and their powers of endurance weaken.—1 Cor. 9:24; 1 Tim. 4:7.

23. For encouragement what examples of singleness of eye should we reflect upon?

²³ In training for the race we need to reflect on examples of those who ran well, such as Abraham and Moses. Abraham was “awaiting the city having real foundations,” and Moses “looked intently toward the payment of the reward.” They had their eyes on the prize! Especially do we need to reflect upon the example of the perfect runner, Christ Jesus. “Let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, as we look intently at the leader and perfecter of our faith, Jesus. For the joy that was set before him he endured a torture stake, despising shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.” Make Jesus your pacemaker.—Heb. 11:10, 26; 12:1, 2.

24. Why should there be no delay in running the race now, and how should we run?

²⁴ Jesus, Paul and the faithful witnesses of early times all ran with their eyes on the prize. Run as they did. Make time to run that way now. We have no assurance that circumstances will favor us with fewer distractions tomorrow. Distractions will likely increase as this world nears its doom. While it is still today, buy out the time for running. Appraise the prize correctly. Train regularly. Shed weights and distractions. Strip down to bare necessities. Run to win: Run with your eyes on the prize!

Two Faces

Pope Pius XII recently bemoaned the fact that many Catholics in Rome are in a state of “spiritual inertness.” The pope said he is made “anxious and almost sleepless” by the fact that Rome has two faces. One is “luminous with ancient glories,” he said, while the other is “mediocre and inglorious and almost like that of other places sadly known for religious apathy and moral insensibility.”—New York Times, February 19, 1958.

Running the Race Without Stumbling

“Everyone that is proud in heart is something detestable to Jehovah. . . . pride is before a crash, and a haughty spirit before stumbling.”—Prov. 16:5, 18.

1. Why does Jehovah set down certain rules in his Word, and what rule appears repeatedly?

RULES for running the race come from Jehovah through his Word: “I will instruct you even in the way of wisdom; I will cause you to tread in the tracks of uprightness. When you walk, your pace will not be cramped; and if you run, you will not stumble.” To help Christians avoid stumbling, Jehovah has caused certain rules to appear repeatedly in the Bible. One of these is the injunction to put off pride, which is a cause of stumbling; to put it off as an oppressive weight, as something that will make progress in the Christian race difficult or impossible. “Let us,” said Paul, “put off every weight.”—Prov. 4:11, 12; Heb. 12:1.

2, 3. (a) Why is this an apt time to know why Jehovah detests the proud in heart? (b) What is this pride the Bible condemns, and how does the possession of it affect one’s running?

² It is appropriate, in this “time of the end,” that we understand why pride is so detestable to Jehovah and such a stumbling block to running well “in the right contest of the faith.” Indeed, it is this very “time of the end” that would see an abundance of “lovers of themselves,” persons “haughty” and “puffed up with self-esteem.”—1 Tim. 6:12; 2 Tim. 3:1-4.

³ What is this pride that leads to stumbling? It is thinking too highly of oneself. It is running in a course opposite to that marked out by the apostle: “I tell everyone there among you not to think more of himself than it is necessary to think.” “Do not become discreet in your own eyes.” It is a heady draught of self-importance that induces a kind of intoxication. The proud person is drunk with self-flattery and self-esteem. For such a person, running the Christian race “according to the rules” is as difficult as it is for a drunk man to run without stumbling, because “before a crash the heart of a man is lofty.”—Rom. 12:3, 16; 2 Tim. 2:5; Prov. 18:12.

4. How do Jehovah and Christ look upon the proud? With what result?

⁴ “Pride is before a crash,” because Jehovah hates the proud person. He detests them. He opposes them. “God opposes the haughty ones.” Among the seven things listed as detestable to Jehovah’s soul are “lofty eyes.” Christ Jesus, the one who is wisdom personified, says: “Self-exaltation and pride and the bad way and the perverse mouth I have hated.” When on earth Christ stated the inflexible rule: “Whoever exalts himself will be humbled.” The result of pride, then, is opposition from Jehovah and Christ and eventual humiliation for the self-exalting proud ones. —Jas. 4:6; Prov. 6:16, 17; 8:13; Matt. 23:12.

WHY DETESTABLE TO JEHOVAH

5, 6. Why are the proud in heart something detestable to Jehovah?

⁵ It is easy to understand why those who are proud in heart are “something detestable to Jehovah.” They are not seeking God or the truth that comes from God. “The wicked one according to his superciliousness makes no search; all his ideas are: ‘There is no God.’” The thoughts of such persons are on how they can exalt themselves. They refuse to give the glory and praise to Jehovah.—Ps. 10:4.

⁶ Pride, arrogance, haughtiness—all these are characteristics of the wicked: “Haughtiness has served as a necklace to them.” “Haughty eyes and an arrogant heart, the lamp of the wicked ones, are sin.” The proud in heart not only fail to seek God but they oppose God and his servants. This opposition engenders a persecuting spirit: “In his haughtiness the wicked one hotly pursues the afflicted one.” Proud Pharaoh hotly pursued the Israelites and thereby suffered the consequences of his haughty action. Pride lays a foundation for all kinds of wickedness, yes, to the reprehensible wickedness of teaching false religion: “If any man teaches other doctrine and does not assent to healthful words, those of our Lord Jesus Christ, nor to the teaching that accords with godly devotion, he is puffed up with pride, not understanding anything, but being mentally diseased over questionings and debates about words. From these things spring envy, strife, abusive speeches, wicked suspicions, violent disputes about trifles.” No wonder the proud, those puffed up with pride, are detestable to Jehovah! Such persons are offensive even to man; how much more so to God!—Ps. 73:6; Prov. 21:4; Ps. 10:2; 1 Tim. 6:3-5.

7. Why should Bible warnings about pride concern the Christian runner, and who well illustrates that pride is before a crash?

⁷ But why so many warnings about pride if it is the characteristic of wicked ones? Why should it be a matter of concern to the Christian runner? Because pride can crop up in a Christian’s life and prove disastrous, because pride is part of the “old personality” that must be put off by the Christian runner if he is to run “according to the rules.” The reason a newly converted man is not to be recommended for the office of overseer, the apostle says, is “that he might get puffed up with pride and fall into the judgment passed upon the Devil.” Yes, the spirit creature now the Devil himself started out well, but pride led to his downfall; a humiliating crash awaits him at Armageddon: “Thy heart was lifted up because of thy beauty; thou hast corrupted thy wisdom by reason of thy brightness: I have cast thee to the ground; I have laid thee before kings, that they may behold thee.”—1 Tim. 3:6; Ezek. 28:17, AS.

8. What may make one susceptible to pride, and how does history confirm this?

⁸ From the case of Satan the Devil and the warning about a newly converted man’s serving as an overseer, it becomes apparent that the possession of authority and responsibility makes one susceptible to pride. There was proud and powerful Haman, whose pride led to his own downfall. (Esther 3:5; 7:9) There was proud Nebuchadnezzar, who lost his sanity after glowing with pride, saying: “Is not this great Babylon, which I have built for the royal dwelling-place, by the might of my power and for the glory of my majesty?” (Dan. 4:30, AS) There was proud King Belshazzar, to whom Daniel said: “And you his son, O Belshazzar, have not humbled yourself.” (Dan. 5:22, AT) He lost a kingdom and his life. There was the pride of Herod, who arrogated glory to himself instead of giving it to God and so was “eaten up with worms.” (Acts 12:21-23) Indeed, history is a long record of crashes of powerful men and nations, testifying to the fact that “pride is before a crash.”

PRESUMPTUOUSNESS PRECEDES DISHONOR

9. What act of unfaithfulness did King Uzziah commit, and what prompted him to such folly?

⁹ The possession of riches heightens the susceptibility to pride. “A rich man is wise in his own eyes,” declares God’s Word. Look what happened to King Uzziah of Judah. He was a faithful worshiper of Jehovah, but he stumbled when pride entered his life. In his later years he became strong and prosperous: “As soon as he was strong, his heart became haughty even to the point of causing ruin, so that he acted unfaithfully against Jehovah his God and came into the temple of Jehovah to burn incense upon the altar of incense.” Puffed-up King Uzziah had no business doing this. So the priests reproved him: “Go out from the sanctuary, for you have acted unfaithfully and it is not for any glory to you on the part of Jehovah God.” Did King Uzziah benefit from this reproof? No, for “Uzziah became enraged while in his hand there was a censer for burning incense, and, during his rage against the priests, leprosy itself flashed up in his forehead before the priests in the house of Jehovah.” Stricken with leprosy in his forehead! A leper until the day of his death, Uzziah lost his royal duties and his son ruled in his place. What a sad crash! And it befell one who had served Jehovah faithfully for so many years. But the rule is certain: “Has presumptuousness come? Then dishonor will come.”—Prov. 28:11; 2 Chron. 26:16-21; Prov. 11:2.

10. How can we benefit from Uzziah’s experience?

¹⁰ Jehovah’s servants today, even those not in positions of responsibility, can benefit by Uzziah’s experience. Do not be among the people that are never convinced about a thing unless they have experienced it. There is no reason to experience the crash that follows pride. How does one benefit, then? By guarding against presumptuous actions, saying or doing things out of self-importance that one has no business to. Keep your place in the theocratic organization, never letting pride cause you to run in the wrong course, one leading to a crash.

PRIDE HINDERS BENEFITS OF REPROOF

11, 12. What did King Uzziah fail to benefit from because of pride, and what lesson should we take from it?

¹¹ Do not be like Uzziah. He did not benefit from reproof and correction. He could have taken the priests’ reproof and left the sanctuary immediately. Such a course undoubtedly would have averted the humiliating crash he suffered. But he let pride be a hindrance to taking reproof. “Have you seen a man wise in his own eyes? There is more hope for the stupid one than for him.” Puffed-up Uzziah belittled reproof, even became enraged by it. Pride blinded him to the benefits of reproof.—Prov. 26:12.

¹² Since correction and discipline come to all of Jehovah’s servants, we need to remember Paul’s words to the Hebrews: “You have entirely forgotten the exhortation which addresses you as sons: ‘My son, do not belittle the discipline from Jehovah, neither give out when you are corrected by him; for whom Jehovah loves he disciplines, in fact he scourges everyone whom he receives as a son.’” If a Christian belittles the discipline that comes from Jehovah through his organization, refusing to take reproof in harmony with God’s Word, then such a person is like Uzziah; he is letting pride deny him the benefits of reproof. “True,” the apostle explains, “no discipline seems for the present to be joyous, but grievous; yet afterward to those who have been trained by it it yields peaceable fruit, namely, righteousness.” So when correction comes from Jehovah’s organization, benefit by it. Do not let the colossus of pride stand in the way. Discipline, though at first grievous, yields peaceable fruit, righteousness and life. “Take hold on discipline; do not let go. Safeguard it, for it itself is your life.” “The reproofs of discipline are the way of life.”—Heb. 12:5, 6, 11; Prov. 4:13; 6:23.

13. How can pride cause misunderstandings and stumbling?

¹³ It is not surprising that pride sometimes causes misunderstandings in a Christian congregation. If pride is there, pride’s offspring are likely there—anger, contentiousness, sensitivity, envy, etc. “He that is arrogant in soul stirs up contention.” Pride is a barrier to peace and unity. Misunderstandings can readily be remedied if pride is not allowed to get in the way. It is so easy to let pride cause hypersensitivity,. The overly sensitive person, when he feels his pride has been wounded, may do things that lead to stumbling and a crash. For example, it has happened that a professed servant of God has severed a vital relationship with God’s organization by ceasing to attend meetings. And why? Often because such a person has had his pride wounded by an unbecoming action on the part of another. It may actually be only an imagined wrong, pride puffing up the whole matter into an inflated misunderstanding. But even if another servant of Jehovah has failed to run the race “according to the rules,” even if that one is a servant in the congregation, never let pride knock you out of the race. Is the prize of everlasting life worth less than one’s pride? Reflect some on that question. Whenever we allow pride to hinder our running, stumbling is ahead. “Pride is before a crash, and a haughty spirit before stumbling.”—Prov. 28:25; 16:18.

14, 15. How may pride lead to rotten bones, and what should we do in view of pride’s effects?

¹⁴ Pride may lead to a dangerous competitive spirit and the envying of others who may have superior gifts. Envy, in turn, leads to coolness and lack of harmony. So “let us not become egotistical, stirring up competition with one another, envying one another.” Remembering that “jealousy is rottenness to the bones,” we will not let pride rot our sturdy spiritual bones for running the Christian race set before us. And who can run well with rotten bones?—Gal. 5:26; Prov. 14:30.

¹⁵ Seeing some of the evil offspring of pride, how perilous pride is to a Christian runner and how detestable the proud person is in Jehovah’s eyes, guard against pride. But how can one guard against pride? God’s Word shows the way.

CURING PRIDE WITH LOVE AND HUMILITY

16. Why is love strong enough to conquer pride, and what kind of love is needed for humility?

¹⁶ Love is powerful enough to conquer pride and all its evil offspring. “Love is not jealous, it does not brag, does not get puffed up, does not behave indecently, does not look for its own interests, does not become provoked. It does not keep account of the injury.” Love will be victorious over pride if we have the love Jesus pointed to when he answered the question, “Which is the greatest commandment in the Law?” Jesus said: “‘You must love Jehovah your God with your whole heart and with your whole soul and with your whole mind.’ This is the greatest and first commandment. The second, like it, is this: ‘You must love your neighbor as yourself.’” This kind of love is certain to lead to victory over pride because it leads to true humility.—1 Cor. 13:4, 5; Matt. 22:36-39.

17. What garment do we need for running to win the prize, and why?

¹⁷ How opposite are humility and pride! “Before a crash the heart of a man is lofty, and before glory there is humility.” Pride leads to a crash, humility to glory. To win the glorious prize of life we need humility; we need it to run well. Humility, then, is the garment for Christian runners to wear: “All of you gird yourselves with humility of mind toward one another, because God opposes the haughty ones, but he gives undeserved kindness to the humble ones. Humble yourself, therefore, under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time.”—Prov. 18:12; 1 Pet. 5:5, 6.

18. How do many worldlings view humility?

¹⁸ What is this humility that precedes glory and exaltation? In this modern world humility is little understood, as well as being scarcely exemplified. Many worldlings hold humility in low regard. They confuse it with cowardice and weakness: it is a virtue for the weak and cowardly, they say. Humility is also viewed as a cloak for concealing lack of energy or lack of ability.

19. How did some of the ancient pagans view pride, and how were some of the Colossian Christians apparently deceived by a mock humility?

¹⁹ Today’s misunderstanding and unpopularity of humility is nothing new. In Paul’s day true humility was not understood or practiced by the worldlings. What was glorified was either pride or a mock humility. Among the virtues catalogued by Aristotle, pride and high-mindedness is called “the crown of the virtues.” Others taught that material things are inherently evil. It appears that some of the Colossian Christians had been deceived by a form of mock humility, a burdensome asceticism. This had a double danger: it led one to believe that the prize of life was awarded to those who merely adopted the negative practice of renouncing material things. Secondly, it spawned a subtle form of materialism, since ascetic prohibitions focus one’s interest and attention on material things. Hence, asceticism defeated its purpose: it caused one to concentrate primarily on that which one professed to despise, on things “that are all destined to destruction by being used up.” To warn the Colossians that such a form of humility could stumble them, causing them to be deprived of the prize of life, Paul wrote: “Let no man deprive you of the prize who takes delight in a mock humility . . . a severe treatment of the body.” No, true humility is not asceticism.—Col. 2:18-23.

20. What is humility, and what results from a false view of it?

²⁰ The word “humility” comes remotely from the Latin word humus, meaning “earth.” Humility, literally, is lowliness of mind; it is being down to earth. It is this quality that Christians must wear as a garment: “As God’s chosen ones, holy and loved, clothe yourselves with the tender affections of compassion, kindness, lowliness of mind,” or, as the footnote shows, “humility.” Humility, then, is the opposite of high-mindedness. Yet “lowliness of mind” has nothing to do with servility, groveling, cowardice or lack of energy. The false idea that humility is weakness deprives one of the rich blessings of true humility. Let us see how true humility is cultivated.—Col. 3:12.

THE FOUNDATION OF HUMILITY

21. With what does humility begin, and what is its foundation?

²¹ Humility begins with the knowledge, the love and the fear of God. Humility is born of the realization of how small we are and how great God is. Humility takes root when the creature man realizes that he is merely the flickering glow of a candle but that God, “the everlasting King,” is brighter in glory than the blaze of sun at noonday. (Jer. 10:10, AT) Yes, this is the foundation of humility: the realization of God’s infinite majesty and of our own littleness. Such a realization comes from knowledge, the kind of knowledge Jehovah imparted to Job, as recorded in the book of Job, Job 38-41 chapters thirty-eight through forty-one; that knowledge aided Job to humble himself “under the mighty hand of God.” We need this kind of knowledge. It enables us to place ourselves in the right relationship with God and to obey the words at James 4:10: “Humble yourselves in the eyes of Jehovah, and he will exalt you.”

22. Humility of mind toward one another rests upon what foundation, and how will such humility aid the Christian runner?

²² By humbling ourselves in the eyes of Jehovah we also lay a foundation for humbleness of mind toward our fellow man, for true humility toward man rests ultimately upon true humility before God. With true humility one gains the ability to see himself as he really is; likewise he is able to see others as they are. Being free from any need to belittle their qualities and successes, he can heartily appreciate what they are and do. By reason of humility, then, one thinks of himself no more highly than he ought to think. Though “knowledge puffs up,” true humility will keep even persons with superior education from puffing up and stumbling by reason of their own pride. The Christian with true humility is able to run the race according to the rules, “doing nothing out of contentiousness or out of egotism, but with lowliness of mind considering that the others are superior to you.”—1 Cor. 8:1; Phil. 2:3.

WORLD’S VIEW OF HUMILITY FALSE

23, 24. How does Christ expose the falsity of the world’s view of humility, and so what should be our view of it?

²³ How distorted the world’s view of humility, that it is weakness or a cloak to conceal weakness! Actually pride is weakness; humility is strength. Christ Jesus was the humblest man that ever walked the earth. Yet he was the strongest of the strong, the most courageous of the courageous, the wisest of the wise, the only man who knew no weakness or sin in himself. What great works he did, yet he disclaimed all personal credit! (John 5:19) Was there ever a leader so great as he and yet one who could wash the feet of his disciples and say: “I set the pattern for you, that, just as I did to you, you should do also”? What authority he had: “All things have been delivered to me by my Father”! And yet how humble he was: “I am mild-tempered and lowly in heart”!—John 13:15; Matt. 11:27, 29.

²⁴ Far from being a cloak for lack of intelligence or energy, humility is true strength and health. It is the steppingstone to glory. “Everyone that exalts himself will be humiliated, but he that humbles himself will be exalted.” “The very haughtiness of earthling man will humble him, but he that is humble in spirit will take hold of glory.”—Luke 18:14; Prov. 29:23.

25. What was Christ’s mental attitude and the result of it, and so what should we do?

²⁵ All that the Bible says about humility is illustrated and confirmed in that one great example, Christ Jesus. We must pattern our mind and life after him. So vital is this that the apostle commands: “Keep this mental attitude in you which was also in Christ Jesus.” What attitude? “He humbled himself and became obedient as far as death, yes, death on a torture stake. For this very reason also God exalted him to a superior position.” Yes, “for this very reason,” because Christ humbled himself and showed it by being submissive and obedient to God, he has been exalted to the highest place that can be occupied by any creature in the universe. How true it is that “before glory there is humility”!—Phil. 2:5, 8, 9; Prov. 15:33.

26. How does God regard the humble in spirit, and with what loss to the proud?

²⁶ Yes, humility is strength. It is the kind of strength we need for running the race set before us. God gives strength only to the humble: “Yet to this man will I have regard—the one who is humble and contrite in spirit, and who trembles at my word.” “For thus says the high and exalted One, who dwells enthroned for ever, and whose name is Holy: ‘I dwell enthroned on high, as the Holy One, but with him also that is contrite and humble in spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble.’” How foolish for the runner to deny himself God’s reviving strength because of pride! How can the proud receive strength from God? Even if they pray their prayers are hindered, as Jesus showed in the case of the Pharisee whose prayer reflected the pride that originates in self-righteousness.—Isa. 66:2; 57:15, AT; Luke 18:10-14.

27. What will humility enable us to do, and what should those reaching out for an office of overseer remember?

²⁷ Running the race according to the rules is no burden when one has true humility. The truly humble are teachable; they benefit from reproof. They realize that they are not competing in the race and that all must run unitedly for God’s loving reward; so they help one another, encourage one another. Humility enables one to “preach the word” to all men, under all circumstances. It enables one to train for the Kingdom ministry, to benefit from the counsel in the ministry school, to learn how to tell the good news from house to house. Humility enables those in positions of responsibility to be like Jesus—humble and always approachable. If any man is reaching out for an office of overseer, let him remember that pride is a barrier to usefulness and greater service privileges in God’s organization, because God detests the proud and opposes them. Let him remember that “before glory there is humility.” Let him remember Jesus’ words: “Whoever wants to become great among you must be your minister, and whoever wants to be first among you must be your slave.”—Matt. 20:26, 27.

28. How does the Christian runner clothe himself for the race, and with what result?

²⁸ So off with pride, the weight that causes stumbling. On with the garment tailor-made for the race. “Gird yourselves with humility of mind toward one another.” “Clothe yourselves,” commands Paul, with “lowliness of mind.” This is the garment for running without stumbling; for “the result of humility [and] the fear of Jehovah is riches and glory and life.”—Prov. 22:4.

Hard Words for the World

Henry David Thoreau’s book A Week on the Concord and Merrimac Rivers was published in 1849, but it contains a passage up to date for this materialistic world: “It is remarkable that, notwithstanding the universal favor with which the New Testament is outwardly received . . . there is no hospitality shown to it, there is no appreciation of the order of truth with which it deals. I know of no book that has so few readers. There is none so truly strange, and heretical, and unpopular. . . . There are, indeed, severe things in it. . . . ‘Seek first the kingdom of heaven.’ ‘Lay not up for yourselves treasures on earth.’ ‘If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell that thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven.’ ‘For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?’ . . . Think of repeating these things to a New England audience! . . . Let but one of these sentences be rightly read, from any pulpit in the land, and there would not be left one stone of that meeting-house upon another.”

Is Catholic Action Christian?

THROUGHOUT many nations of the earth the Roman Catholic clergy endeavor to leave the impression that they are good fellows, tolerant of other people’s ideas and religions. Especially is this true in the United States. But this apparent sanctimoniousness of theirs has been proved time and again to be nothing more than a subterfuge, because in lands where Roman Catholics are in the majority the clergy show no tolerance for other religions. They are openly and at times violently opposed. It is only in lands where Roman Catholics are in the minority that this sheeplike cloak of tolerance is put on.

For an example of Roman Catholic opposition to peaceable religious assembly we go to Sucre, Bolivia. There Jehovah’s witnesses were preparing to hold a three-day meeting. While they were looking for a suitable place to meet, one hall owner told them that the Catholic clergy had warned and instructed all Catholic hall owners not to rent their halls to Jehovah’s witnesses. In addition, the Catholics had a handbill printed, which was entitled “We Do Not Want Them.” This, of course, meant that not only Jehovah’s witnesses were not wanted but all Protestants as well. The priests went so far as to instruct school children and students not to let any of Jehovah’s witnesses into their homes and to get rid of them as quickly as possible and then for them to go into a room and pray.

A meeting hall was leased in the Hotel Sucre directly across from a church. As soon as the priests found out that the hall had been arranged for they visited the owner and tried to get him to break his contract. The owner, however, refused to be intimidated. Next a gang of boys from the Sacred Heart School surrounded the hotel where the meeting was held and began throwing stones. They became very noisy and loud and tried to invade the premises. But the police arrived on time to scatter them. These Sacred Heart rowdies tore down the sign advertising the main public talk.

The assembly began and the sessions were held despite Catholic interference. The last day of the assembly proved to be exciting, because on this day a number of Jesuit priests came down to demonstrate their displeasure. They shoved their way into the assembly room, but before entering they were told: “We want order in there if you go in.” Mean while, across the street, high on the church a powerful loud-speaker of the Catholic radio station was blasting out—calling on all Catholics to come and defend the church and the virgin against these Protestants, heretics, etc. Since the hall was deep in the interior of the hotel, the loud-speaker noise did not disturb the assembly.

All went well until a priest arose toward the end of the public lecture and clamored to be heard. He was promptly told that his question would be recognized after the lecture was over. It was obvious that the clergy were not interested in any answers. They were there to break up the peaceable assembly. More police were summoned to the scene. The prefect or the chief of police himself came over. When he saw the Catholic mob milling around outside threateningly and heard the loudspeaker blasting away, he called a priest over and began to reprimand him for such shameful, unchristian conduct. He then ordered the priest and his group to leave. Those priests inside the assembly hall were asked to leave the premises and to take their gang with them. Police officers showed disgust over the unbecoming way these religious leaders conducted themselves. One officer stated that the citizens of Sucre do not approve of what they had seen.

For that matter, neither does God nor any Christian peace-loving person. But the good and the bad are distinguished by their fruits.—Matt. 7:15-20.

For such men are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into apostles of Christ. And no wonder, for Satan himself keeps transforming himself into an angel of light. It is therefore nothing great if his ministers also keep transforming themselves into ministers of righteousness. But their end shall be according to their works.—2 Cor. 11:13-15.

Questions From Readers

● Are we to consider the injection of serums such as diphtheria toxin antitoxin and blood fractions such as gamma globulin into the blood stream, for the purpose of building up resistance to disease by means of antibodies, the same as the drinking of blood or the taking of blood or blood plasma by means of transfusion?—N. P., United States.

No, it does not seem necessary that we put the two in the same category, although we have done so in times past. Each time the prohibition of blood is mentioned in the Scriptures it is in connection with taking it as food, and so it is as a nutrient that we are concerned with in its being forbidden. Thus when mankind for the first time was permitted to eat the flesh of animals, at the time of the restatement of the procreation mandate to the Deluge survivors, blood was specifically forbidden. (Gen. 9:3, 4) In the law of Moses blood was forbidden as food, and therefore we repeatedly find it linked with fat as things not to be eaten. (Lev. 3:17; 7:22-27) And so also in the days of the apostles; it was in connection with eating meat sacrificed to idols that the eating of strangled animals and blood was forbidden.—Acts 15:20, 29.

The injection of antibodies into the blood in a vehicle of blood serum or the use of blood fractions to create such antibodies is not the same as taking blood, either by mouth or by transfusion, as a nutrient to build up the body’s vital forces. While God did not intend for man to contaminate his blood stream by vaccines, serums or blood fractions, doing so does not seem to be included in God’s expressed will forbidding blood as food. It would therefore be a matter of individual judgment whether one accepted such types of medication or not.

● In some countries it is the custom to show mourning for the dead by wearing black for several months or even years, depending on the person doing the mourning. Is that proper for one in the truth?—O. R., Cuba.

In Jesus’ day a sign of mourning was fasting. Certain persons noted that Jesus’ disciples did not fast and asked Jesus why they did not. Jesus told them: “The friends of the bridegroom have no reason to mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them, do they? But days will come when the bridegroom will be taken away from them, and then they will fast.” (Matt. 9:15) So while Jesus was with his disciples they had no reason to fast in a mournful way. When Jesus was taken away from them there was some reason for mourning and fasting on their part; but since Christ’s resurrection from the dead, and especially since his enthronement in Kingdom power, there certainly is no cause for his servants to enter into mourning with specific reference to the dead. The example of Christ’s resurrection gives us hope of resurrection of our dead ones; so we do not sorrow as do those without hope in the world: “Moreover, brothers, we do not want you to be ignorant concerning those who are sleeping in death, that you may not sorrow just as the rest also do who have no hope. For if our faith is that Jesus died and rose again, so, too, those who have fallen asleep in death through Jesus God will bring with him.”—1 Thess. 4:13, 14.

It would seem, therefore, that a Christian who has advanced to a mature appreciation of these things would not feel called upon to carry on mourning along with the wearing of special types of clothing as an outward show. Even when some persons did fast, they were not to do so with an outward show of sadness. Jesus said: “When you are fasting, stop becoming sad-faced like the hypocrites, for they disfigure their faces that they may appear to men to be fasting. Truly I say to you, They are having their reward in full. But you, when fasting, oil your head and wash your face, that you may appear to be fasting, not to men, but to your Father who is in secrecy; then your Father who is looking on in secrecy will repay you.” (Matt. 6:16-18) Christians should not make a showy display of mourning and should not publicly sorrow as those who have no hope. However, when these points and Scriptural facts have been brought to a person’s attention, it is his own personal conscience that must guide the course he takes with regard to mourning and black clothes to symbolize it publicly.

Announcements

REMAIN AWAKE TO YOUR KINGDOM MINISTRY

The ministry in connection with the kingdom of God is most worthy of watchful attention. It is something to which we are awake and want to remain awake. We must be aware of the danger of becoming dull and drowsy, sluggish and sleepy, drugged by worldly propaganda and human philosophy appealing to love of self. Our love for God must keep us alert and ever watchful so we stay awake, standing firm in the faith, and have a full share in the happy work of proclaiming the good news of God’s kingdom. (1 Cor. 16:13, 14) During October Jehovah’s witnesses will stay awake to their Kingdom ministry privileges by going from house to house offering a year’s subscription for Awake! magazine on a $1 contribution. Three revealing Bible study booklets will be given free to each new subscriber. If you would like to have a share in Kingdom ministry, contact a nearby Kingdom Hall of Jehovah’s witnesses.

CONVENTION RELEASES

During the Divine Will International Assembly of Jehovah’s Witnesses just past ninety-one new publications were released. Most of them were in languages other than English. Four outstanding English releases were two Bibles and two bound books. Readers of The Watchtower will certainly want to have them. The first to be released was a pocket-size edition of the American Standard Version of the Bible. Its price is $1.50. The second was Volume IV of the New World Translation of the Hebrew Scriptures. This most recent Bible translation contains the books of Isaiah, Jeremiah and Lamentations. It may be had for $1. The third, and perhaps the most surprising release, was the book From Paradise Lost to Paradise Regained. Not only is its size different, but it is filled with large illustrations, and it is written in a manner that even poorly educated people can understand. You can obtain it for 75 cents. The fourth book is “Your Will Be Done on Earth”. This 384-page book is devoted to a detailed explanation of much of the Bible book of Daniel. A contribution of 50 cents will bring it to you.

“WATCHTOWER” STUDIES FOR THE WEEKS

October 12: Keep Your Eyes on the Prize. Page 560.

October 19: Running the Race Without Stumbling. Page 567.

Check Your Memory

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

✔ What is one of the best ways to keep young in mind and spirit? P. 547, ¶1.

✔ Why men could not eat if it were not for the sun? P. 549, ¶1.

✔ What is meant when the Bible says “the sun will be darkened”? P. 551, ¶1.

✔ Why the Hebrew Scriptures are of value to us today? P. 553, ¶2.

✔ What priest made a sacrifice of himself? P. 554, ¶2.

✔ Who was one of the greatest pre-Christian prophets? P. 556, ¶2.

✔ Who the archangel Michael is? P. 559, ¶1.

✔ Why the Bible frequently uses words pertaining to a foot race? P. 560, ¶1.

✔ To what the apostle Paul owed his extraordinary endurance? P. 563, ¶12.

✔ Why pride can stumble a runner in the Christian race? P. 567, ¶3.

✔ What conquers pride? P. 570, ¶16.

✔ Why a police chief had to counsel a priest on proper conduct? P. 574, ¶5.

✔ Whether a Christian should wear black when mourning the death of a loved one? P. 575, ¶6.