The Watchtower — December 15, 1959

God Will Do It His Way

DESPITE all the promises and complaints of men, God will do it his way. Do what? Bring in a righteous new world, a world of enduring peace, a world without worry, pain or death.

Politicians talk of doing what only God can do. Clergymen, instead of pointing out God’s way, all too often sound like politicians themselves. Declared Bishop G. Bromley Oxnam in a speech for the National Convocation of Methodist Youth in Lafayette, Indiana: “This will be called the century in which man abolished war, established economic justice and realized racial brotherhood.” But God’s Word says: “Behold the activities of Jehovah, how he has set astonishing events on the earth. He is making wars to cease to the extremity of the earth.”—Ps. 46:8, 9.

Human promises for building a peaceful new world have repeatedly failed. It is time, therefore, for lovers of righteousness to learn that God will do it his way: “I am creating new heavens and a new earth,” says Jehovah. Not concerning human promises but concerning God’s promise the apostle of Jesus Christ wrote: “There are new heavens and a new earth that we are awaiting according to his promise, and in these righteousness is to dwell.”—Isa. 65:17; 2 Pet. 3:13.

Christians need to learn that God will do it his way and in his time. Jehovah God is the great Timekeeper of the universe. When he promises something, it comes to pass unfailingly in his set time. Man cannot rush God. And yet sometimes professed Christians get to complaining at God’s time schedule. They may be suffering physically or in other ways and they long for the fulfillment of God’s promised new world wherein “death will be no more, neither will mourning nor outcry nor pain be any more.” Such persons may think God slow concerning his promises. But we always need to keep in mind the words of the apostle Peter: “Jehovah is not slow respecting his promise, as some people consider slowness, but he is patient with you because he does not desire any to be destroyed but desires all to attain to repentance.”—Rev. 21:4; 2 Pet. 3:9.

Instead of counting God slow concerning his promise, benefit by his patience. Do the divine will now and help others to learn the divine will, that they may be spared through the destruction of this wicked world. Show that you are in harmony with God’s way of doing things by recognizing that we are living in the “last days,” the “time of the end” of this old world.—2 Tim. 3:1; Dan. 12:4, AV.

The Bible might be likened to a timetable, God’s timetable for carrying out his purpose. Why ignore this timetable, then? Why not pattern our lives after God’s way of doing things? Can we reverse the clock of the universe? We can deliberately ignore the physical facts and happenings that make up the great sign of the “last days,” but this does not change God’s time schedule. God has set a specific time for this set length of time called the “last days” to come to its end in the Armageddon climax. Concerning this time the Lord Jesus said: “Concerning that day and hour nobody knows, neither the angels of the heavens nor the Son, but only the Father.”—Matt. 24:36.

If we recognize that God will do it his way, we will not hope that the Bible timetable is wrong, that the “last days” will be a long period of time. Indeed, we are assured that it is only “a short period of time.” (Rev. 12:12) So how foolish it would be not to recognize and act on God’s way of doing things! Some persons seem to ignore God’s way deliberately, as a writer in The Christian Digest admitted concerning Christendom’s professed Christians: “We often say that we live in the last days, but our actions prove that we hope it isn’t so. The world has gone through many dark days. If only we could find just the right program of action we think we might push the clock back a century or so and go on with business as usual.”

“Business as usual” is a device many persons use for ignoring God’s way, that they may carry out their own desires. We should examine our motives. Are we postponing or ignoring the doing of the divine will because of “business as usual”? Because of the policy of “business as usual,” millions of persons will lose their lives. Just after commenting on the fact that Jehovah has set the “day and hour” for the Armageddon destruction of this world, the Lord Jesus Christ said: “Just as the days of Noah were, so the presence of the Son of man will be. For as people were in those days before the flood, eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered into the ark; and they took no note until the flood came and swept them all away, so the presence of the Son of man will be.”—Matt. 24:37-39.

Now is the time, then, not for “business as usual” but for living by the divine will, for “buying out the opportune time for yourselves, because the days are wicked. On this account cease becoming unreasonable, but go on perceiving what the will of Jehovah is.” (Eph. 5:16, 17) Do you buy out time for perceiving what Jehovah’s will is? Do you make time for learning Jehovah’s righteous ways? “Jehovah is righteous in all his ways and lovingly kind in all his works.” (Ps. 145:17) God’s way is not only the righteous way but the only way that will work.

That this world is not working most men will admit, but God’s new world will work. Not through human schemes, however, will this new world come about. The new world of righteousness comes at God’s hands, by means of his kingdom.

Let us work in harmony with God’s ways. Do not trust in man-made schemes; do not complain at God’s patience; do not ignore God’s ways because of “business as usual.” “Happy is everyone fearing Jehovah, who is walking in his ways.”—Ps. 128:1.

The Seeking of Peace

“Let him seek peace and pursue it. For Jehovah’s eyes are upon the righteous and his ears are toward their supplication.”—1 Pet. 3:11, 12.

1. How does one want life to be, and how do Solomon’s proverbs picture this desire?

WHAT is life without peace? Who wants life, even everlasting life, without peace? Not the average man or woman. Life with no quietness or freedom from nagging disturbances makes one long to get away. This was well pictured in the proverbs of the much-married King Solomon: “The contentions of a wife are as a leaking roof that drives one away.” ‘Better is it to dwell upon a corner of a roof than with a contentious wife, although in a house in common.” (Prov. 19:13; 21:9) Although living in a big, roomy house, a person would prefer to take refuge in the most remote corner of it to escape from the irritator and disturber.

2. What question is raised concerning the man wanting life, and how do we happen to have the inspired and proved answer to the urgent question?

² Today, when there is no remote corner on this spacious earth to which to escape from the troubles, dangers and evil effects of this nuclear-bomb, space age, who is there that does not want life with peace, that he may see good days? That question is old, no doubt as old as the existence of trouble and injustice on our earth. Happy was the man who raised the question, not in hopelessness and helplessness, but with the ability to give the proved answer to the urgent question. His answer was something to sing about with musical accompaniment, and so it was included in the inspired Book of Psalms. It has been preserved for more than three thousand years for our benefit in this day of world trouble, distress and fear of more terrible things yet to come. Speaking as an experienced teacher to his pupils, the psalmist David, who became king of Jerusalem and the father of King Solomon, said:

3. How did David both pose the question and answer it in a psalm of his?

³ “Come, you sons, listen to me; the fear of Jehovah is what I shall teach you. Who is the man that is delighting in life, that is loving enough days to see what is good? Safeguard your tongue against what is bad, and your lips against speaking deception. Turn away from what is bad and do what is good; seek to find peace and pursue it. The eyes of Jehovah are toward the righteous ones, and his ears are toward their cry for help. The face of Jehovah is against those doing what is bad, to cut off the mention of them from the very earth.”—Ps. 34:11-16.

4, 5. (a) How did the apostle Peter show that David’s words were advice also for Christians? (b) In support of what exhortation does Peter quote David’s words?

⁴ Let no one today think that this is advice only to Jews. More than a thousand years after King David, a Christian apostle quoted David’s words and addressed them to Christians in various parts of Asia. He was the apostle Simon Peter, who had changed his religion from the corrupt Judaism or Jews’ religion of his day to the pure Christianity as originally established by Jesus Christ nineteen hundred years ago. Thus the apostle Peter made David’s inspired words a part of the Christian Scriptures. He showed that David’s words were advice also for Christians. Peter imitated Jesus Christ, who many times quoted from the psalms of David and applied them to Christianity. In his first letter to Christians Peter tells them to be different from what Christendom is today, for Christendom’s course has not led to the blessing of everlasting life with peace and good days. Therefore Peter quotes David’s words and says:

⁵ “Finally, all of you be like-minded, showing fellow feeling, exercising brotherly love, tenderly affectionate, humble in mind, not paying back injury for injury or reviling for reviling, but, to the contrary, bestowing a blessing, because you were called to this course, so that you might inherit a blessing. For, [now quoting David’s words] ‘he that would love life and see good days, let him restrain his tongue from what is injurious and his lips from speaking deceitfully, but let him turn away from what is injurious and do what is good; let him seek peace and pursue it. For Jehovah’sa eyes are upon the righteous and his ears are toward their supplication, but Jehovah’sb face is against those doing injurious things.’”—1 Pet. 3:8-12, footnote.

6. Why may the question about loving life seem hard to answer nowadays, but how did Jesus tell Christians to react to events and conditions since A.D. 1914?

⁶ Do we delight in life? Do we love life? Such a question may seem hard to answer now when our living into the future may mean our taking the risk of running into the worst trouble, the worst days that mankind has experienced since its creation, with hardly any hope of surviving. True, the battle of Armageddon, “the war of the great day of God the Almighty,” is fast approaching. (Rev. 16:14, 16) But God’s great Prophet, who foretold both that universal war and all the terrible events that would precede it from A.D. 1914 forward, told his true followers to take an optimistic view of these very events and conditions: “But as these things start to occur, raise yourselves erect and lift your heads up, because your deliverance is getting near. . . . Note the fig tree and all the other trees: When they are already in the bud, by observing it you know for yourselves that now the summer is near. In this way you also, when you see these things occurring, know that the kingdom of God is near. Truly I say to you, This generation will by no means pass away until all things occur.”—Luke 21:26, 28-32.

7. Why, then, should we rightly be “loving enough days to see what is good”?

⁷ Good days, the best days yet, are ahead of us, and there is something, yes, everything, to live for. We ought to delight in life, we ought to love life, for without life we would never be able to enjoy these good days under the established kingdom of God. Rightly, then, we should, as David the psalmist said, be “loving enough days to see what is good.”

PEACE WITH WHOM?

8. To have our delight and love toward life fulfilled, what do David and Peter say we must seek, and that with whom?

⁸ However, if we want our delight in life, our love of it, to be fulfilled, both David and the apostle Peter say we must seek peace and find it, first. Properly the question comes up, Peace with whom? Peace with man, with our fellow humans? Yes. But this is not possible except we attain to peace with someone else first. It is because Christendom has not attained to peace with this all-necessary one that there is no peace between even the nations, tribes and families of Christendom. Who, then, is that all-important one? Just who that one is was correctly pointed to by the famous British statesman of the eighteenth century, William Pitt, the earl of Chatham, when he 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.”

9. (a) To be really at peace with man, what is required, and how did David and Peter say more than did statesman William Pitt on this? (b) To that end, what will we accept, and why will we not wish his face to be against us?

⁹ It is equally true that, if one is not at peace with God, one cannot really be at peace with man, the creature of God. Both the psalmist David and the apostle Peter said this, although more than a thousand years apart. In fact, they said more than William Pitt did, for they named or identified the God with whom we need first to be at peace. Proving that it is absolutely necessary to find peace with God first, David followed up his advice to seek to find peace and pursue it by saying in the very next verses: “The eyes of Jehovah are toward the righteous ones, and his ears are toward their cry for help. The face of Jehovah is against those doing what is bad, to cut off the mention of them from the very earth.” The apostle Peter quotes the verses of David’s psalm in the same order. Moreover, David’s counsel on enjoying good days follows his exhortation to lovers of life: “Come, you sons, listen to me. The fear of Jehovah is what I shall teach you.” If we have intelligent fear of God, whose name is Jehovah, we will first of all desire to seek peace with him and hence we will accept the teaching that we need. We will not wish Jehovah’s face to be against us, for that would mean the very loss of life, the cutting off of all mention of us from the very earth, the blotting out of our very name.

10. Does Luke 2:14 mean that all mankind is at peace with God and has his good will, and how do we know whether that is so?

¹⁰ Why, though, is it with Jehovah God that we have to seek peace? Is it not true that, at the birth of his heavenly Son Jesus in Bethlehem, a multitude of angels said the words that Christendom sings around Christmas time: “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men”? Yes! But the words as the angels chanted them do not mean that all mankind is at peace with God and has his good will. (Luke 2:14, AV) Both the English Revised Version of 1881 and the American Standard Version of 1901 render the angelic words: “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among men in whom he is well pleased!” An American Translation reads: “Peace to the men he favors!” Monsignor R. A. Knox’s Roman Catholic version reads: “Peace on earth to men that are God’s friends.” The margin of the New World Translation reads: “Upon earth peace among men whom he approves.” It is only with the men whom Jehovah God favors and approves and who are therefore his friends that he is at peace. It is only upon them that his eyes are favorably. Only to their cry for help are his ears open.

11. Why should this be so, although the first man was the direct creation of God?

¹¹ Why should this be so? Is not man the direct creation of God? Yes, the perfect man Adam was the direct creation of God. Hence Luke 3:23-38, when tracing the human line of descent of Jesus Christ back to the first man on earth, ends up by saying “the son of Adam, the son of God.” However, we are all the descendants of Adam after he had sinned against his Creator and had lost his human perfection. The wisest king of ancient times, Solomon, said: “There is no man that does not sin.” (1 Ki. 8:46) Also King David said: “They have all turned aside, they are alike corrupt, there is no one doing good, not even one.” (Ps. 14:3) A thousand years later the Christian apostle Paul said: “There is no distinction. For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, . . . through one man [Adam] sin entered into the world and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men because they had all sinned.” (Rom. 3:22, 23; 5:12) We are all, whether natural Jews or non-Jews, descended from the sinner Adam. Thus all of us came under the rule of sin, and all of us are facing the wages that sin pays to its servants, which is death. “By the trespass of the one man death ruled as king through that one . . . For the wages sin pays is death.” (Rom. 5:17; 6:23) The very fact that all men are dying proves that they are all sinners against Jehovah God, who pronounced the condemnation of death.

12. As to man’s relationship with God, what was it that sin destroyed, and what scriptures show to whom mankind are rendering obedience?

¹² It was sin that destroyed man’s peace with God, man’s right standing with God. Mankind became servants to sin and to the wicked spirit who started sin throughout the universe, Satan the Devil, the chief adversary of Jehovah God. Men who are self-righteous may not like being told that they are the servants of the author of sin, but they betray whom they serve by obeying that one. The Word of God says: “Do you not know that if you keep presenting yourselves to anyone as slaves to obey him, you are slaves of him because you obey him, either of sin with death in view or of obedience [to God] with righteousness in view?” (Rom. 6:16) One of the last books in the Bible to be written says, sweepingly: “The whole world is lying in the power of the wicked one.” (1 John 5:19) Even to the Christians it was written: “You were dead in your trespasses and sins, in which you at one time walked according to the system of things of this world, according to the ruler of the authority of the air, the spirit [Satan] that now operates in the sons of disobedience. Yes, among them we all at one time conducted ourselves in harmony with the desires of our flesh, doing the things the flesh and the thoughts willed, and we were naturally children of wrath even as the rest.” (Eph. 2:1-3) “Indeed, you who were once alienated and enemies because your minds were on the works that were wicked, he now has again reconciled.”—Col. 1:21.

13. What do all men need as regards their relations with God, in harmony with what Paul and Timothy begged as ambassadors?

¹³ If men who are Christians not in name only but also in life were once alienated from God and were enemies of His because of their minds and works, certainly, then, all men who have not become true Christians must be alienated and enemies toward Jehovah God. They need to be reconciled or be made friends with God, if they long to cease being “children of wrath” subject to destruction during the oncoming “war of the great day of God the Almighty.” They need to do what the apostle Paul and his missionary companion Timothy begged to do: “All things are from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ . . . , and he committed the message of the reconciliation to us. We are therefore ambassadors substituting for Christ, as though God were making entreaty through us. As substitutes for Christ we beg: ‘Become reconciled to God.’”—2 Cor. 5:18-20.

14. Anciently, what did sending out ambassadors mean, and why are the terms of the one who sent out Paul and Timothy unusual?

¹⁴ In the days of Paul and Timothy, when ambassadors were sent out, it meant, not peaceful relations between countries or governments, but hostilities. Ambassadors were sent to those who were hostile to try to set up peaceful relations between those at enmity. In the case of Paul and Timothy, however, it is not the weaker of the hostile parties that sends out the ambassadors. It is the Almighty God Jehovah who does so. He shows his mercy in doing so, in order to spare as many as possible from destruction who become reconciled with him. Being enormously the stronger of the two parties, Jehovah God is the One that makes possible peace with himself. So, in Isaiah 45:7, he says: “Making peace and creating calamity, I, Jehovah, am doing all these things.” He therefore dictates the terms for peace. It is not we who set the terms for peace. Yet his terms are not harsh, but merciful and practicable; and it is in our best interests to accept them gratefully.

HOW TO SEEK

15, 16. (a) In seeking for peace with Him how do we show faith and sincerity, and through whom is the way to peace? (b) How had the natural Jews been seeking a right standing with God, but what did they need for their sins?

¹⁵ What, then, are his terms? How can we as “children of wrath” seek and find peace with Jehovah God? His terms for peace are plainly stated in his written Word, the Holy Scriptures, the sacred Bible. In seeking for peace with God we take the right course, and we show our faith and our sincerity by studying the entire Bible, not merely the old Hebrew Scriptures that Jesus and his apostles had, but also the Christian Greek Scriptures. God’s Word squarely states there is only one way through which we may become reconciled or become friends with Him. That way is through his beloved heavenly Son Jesus Christ. Jehovah God sent this Son from heaven to earth, to the nation of Israel. Accordingly, this Son was miraculously born of a Jewish virgin and hence was born as a Jew, an Israelite. For three and a half years, or A.D. 29-33, he preached God’s kingdom exclusively to the Israelites, both publicly and privately. The sinful Israelites or Jews had long been trying to get out from under the condemnation to death by striving to keep the Law that God had given exclusively to the Jewish nation; but because of the perfection of the Law the Jews were unable to keep it.

¹⁶ God’s law given through the prophet Moses only made their sinfulness more manifest. It expressly condemned the Jews as sinners. This was why they had to offer up animal sacrifices year after year in order to procure a pictorial cleansing from sin and keep on in their covenanted relationship with Jehovah God. They needed a better sacrifice than animal victims. They needed a perfect human sacrifice to be offered for them and for all mankind.

17. How was the needed sacrifice provided, how were the Israelites informed, and how did they take to the information?

¹⁷ No man even in the nation of Israel was perfect in body and mind and able to offer himself as an acceptable human sacrifice. So God was obliged to send down his heavenly Son, let him be born as a perfect human child with a heavenly Father, let him grow up to perfect manhood like that of Adam in the garden of Eden and then let him offer up himself as the needed perfect human sacrifice. Before dying as a sacrifice for the sins of all mankind, Jesus Christ and his twelve apostles and seventy other evangelists preached to the Israelites in Palestine. Thus the Israelites or Jews were not left ignorant of what the way was for them to enter into a lasting peace with God. It is written: “He sent out the word to the sons of Israel to declare to them the good news of peace through Jesus Christ: this One is Lord of all others.” (Acts 10:36) Out of the millions of Jews under God’s law through Moses, only a remnant accepted the good news and entered into peace with God through Jesus Christ. The rest of the Jewish nation tried to create their own right standing or justification with God by proudly but fruitlessly keeping on trying to fulfill God’s law through Moses with its ineffective animal sacrifices, subhuman sacrifices.

18. How did God show himself to be the one providing the conditions or means for peace with himself, and therefore what is he called?

¹⁸ The fact that God is the One who created the conditions or means for peace with himself is revealed by his providing his only-begotten Son from heaven as a perfect human sacrifice. “For God loved the world so much that he gave his only-begotten Son, in order that everyone exercising faith in him might not be destroyed but have everlasting life.” (John 3:16) God not only sent his Son to earth and let him die at the hands of God’s enemies as a perfect, sinless human sacrifice, but also made it possible for the value of this sacrifice to be presented to Him in heaven in behalf of men who want peace with God. How did God do this? God by his all-power raised up Jesus Christ from the dead as a heavenly, spiritual son once again and had him return to heaven. Thus, with the value of the lifeblood of his sacrifice, Jesus could enter into God’s presence in order for a new covenant of peace to be made. In making such provision for peace with humankind Jehovah is the God of peace. In this special regard he is called the “God of peace, who brought up from the dead the great shepherd of the sheep with the blood of an everlasting covenant, our Lord Jesus.”—Heb. 13:20.

19. In seeking peace, what do we need to get for full guidance?

¹⁹ We can therefore appreciate why, in seeking to find peace, we need to get knowledge, accurate knowledge, not only of Jehovah God but also of his lovingly sacrificed Son Jesus Christ. Through their thirty-nine books in Hebrew of the Holy Bible the Jews can at most gain only partial knowledge. That is not enough. The additional knowledge of the twenty-seven books of the Christian Greek Scriptures written by inspired Jewish followers of Jesus Christ is also necessary to complete our knowledge and understanding and to make our knowledge accurate. If we do not have the accurate knowledge, which embraces the knowledge not only of God but also of Jesus, we cannot secure the peace we desire. That is why the inspired Bible writer Peter, in expressing his prayer for the peace-seekers to whom he wrote his first letter, said: “May undeserved kindness and peace be increased to you [how?] by an accurate knowledge [of what?] of God and of Jesus our Lord, forasmuch as his divine power has given us freely all the things that concern life and godly devotion, through the accurate knowledge of the one who called us through glory and virtue.”—2 Pet. 1:2, 3.

20. So, to enjoy peace with God, what must we accept in faith?

²⁰ Seek how we may, we shall never find peace with God if we do not get accurate knowledge concerning Jesus Christ and accept the sacrifice for sins that God provided in his Son. The Jews, because of partial knowledge, try to establish their own righteous standing with God apart from the cleansing from sin that the blood of Jesus’ sacrifice provides for us. Instead of relying upon our own works of righteousness according to the Law given to the Jews through Moses, we must put full faith in the sin-removing sacrifice of Jesus Christ. Otherwise we cannot enjoy any peace with God.

21. (a) Because of being declared righteous, what do Christians enjoy? (b) How did Isaiah foretell the need of Jesus’ sacrifice, and what does our resting our hope in Jesus result in?

²¹ Hence to the Christians who had righteousness ascribed to them through faith in God’s Son, the apostle Paul wrote: “Therefore, now that we have been declared righteous as a result of faith, let us enjoy peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Much more, therefore, since we have been declared righteous now by his blood, shall we be saved through him from wrath.” (Rom. 5:1, 9) The sacrifice of Jesus Christ is absolutely necessary to making our peace with God and escaping his wrath. Long previously the prophet Isaiah had predicted concerning Jesus’ sacrifice: “He was being pierced for our transgression; he was being crushed for our errors. The chastisement meant for our peace was upon him, and because of his wounds there has been a healing for us.” (Isa. 53:5) Peace with God brings joy, but we cannot have God fill us with such peace unless we believe in the Son whom he chastised for our peace. It is written: “‘On him nations will rest their hope.’ May the God who gives hope fill you with all joy and peace by your believing, that you may abound in hope with power of holy spirit. May the God who gives peace be with all of you.” (Rom. 15:12, 13, 33) If God is with us, we shall indeed know fullness of peace.

22. Why is it in vain that to this day the natural Jews trust in their circumcision in the flesh?

²² The natural Jews continue to trust in having their foreskins circumcised for a show of righteousness. Doing so, they will never enjoy peace with Jehovah, who was once the God of natural Israel. Fleshly circumcision is not what now counts with their one-time God. What counts is our walking or conducting ourselves according to the principles or rules of a new Christian personality, a new spiritual creation over which Jesus Christ is head. That is what will result in peace with the God of spiritual Israel. Our hearts must be circumcised or purified for righteousness. The Jewish convert Paul gave up his proud reliance upon his fleshly circumcision as a natural Jew and wrote to believers in Jesus Christ: “For neither is circumcision anything nor is uncircumcision, but a new creation is something. And all those who will walk orderly by this rule of conduct, upon them be peace and mercy, even upon the Israel of God.”—Gal. 6:15, 16; Phil. 4:9; Gal. 5:25; 2 Cor. 5:17.

THE “GREAT CROWD” OF PEACE-SEEKERS

23. In agreement with Isaiah 27:1-5, how have the spiritual Israelites of today made peace with God, but particularly since 1935 who have followed them in this course?

²³ In this day when Jehovah God will kill the great symbolic Leviathan (the Devil’s visible organization) but when he will constantly safeguard his spiritual vineyard (his own visible organization on earth), Jehovah’s friendly advice to everyone that wants to enjoy protection and preservation is: “Let him take hold of my stronghold, let him make peace with me; peace let him make with me.” (Isa. 27:1-5) The believers who make up the spiritual vineyard of Jehovah, the spiritual Israel of God, have made peace with him by coming out from under the Devil’s Leviathan organization. In recent years, however, particularly since 1935, there have been hundreds of thousands of persons who are not members of the spiritual Israel of God who have heard and acted upon the advice of Jehovah God. They have followed the remnant of the spiritual Israel of God in coming out from the sea of humanity in which the wicked Leviathan operates, and they have made peace with Jehovah God through the blood of Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God. In Revelation 7:9, 10 they are pictured as a great crowd, out of all nations, tribes, peoples and tongues, and they ascribe their saved condition to God and his Son Jesus Christ, saying: “Salvation we owe to our God, who is seated on the throne, and to the Lamb.”

24. How does Revelation 7:14-17 describe the way in which they came into their peaceful condition?

²⁴ Because the ones in this unnumbered great crowd seek peace with God and gain a clean, right standing with him through faith in the cleaning blood of Jesus Christ, Revelation 7:14-17 describes how they came into their peaceful condition, saying: “They have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. That is why they are before the throne of God, and they are rendering him sacred service day and night in his temple, and the one [God] seated on the throne will spread his tent over them. They will hunger no more nor thirst any more, neither will the sun beat down upon them nor any scorching heat, because the Lamb [Jesus Christ] who is in the midst of the throne will shepherd them, and will guide them to fountains of waters of life. And God will wipe out every tear from their eyes.”

25. By whom in the ancient city of Jericho was this “great crowd” pictured, and in what respects?

²⁵ This “great crowd” was anciently pictured by the Canaanite woman named Rahab in the days of Joshua, the successor of Moses. Rahab’s city in Canaan was Jericho and it was doomed to destruction with all its inhabitants. Rahab and her family escaped destruction when Jehovah God shook down the walls of Jericho and the men of Israel, who had marched around Jericho for seven days, moved into the exposed city and killed off its wicked population. How so? Because she made peace with the God of Israel. She did not betray the two spies whom Joshua sent into the city and who found lodging in Rahab’s inn. (Josh. 2:1-21; 6:1-25) On this the Christian Greek Scriptures say: “By faith the walls of Jericho fell down after they had been gone around for seven days. By faith Rahab the harlot did not perish with those who acted disobediently, because she received the spies in a peaceable way.”—Heb. 11:30, 31.

26. By the men of what city in Canaan were the “great crowd” of survivors prefigured, and in what procedure?

²⁶ This same “great crowd” of survivors of the coming “war of the great day of God the Almighty” was also prefigured by the men of the city of Gibeon. This city in Canaan was also doomed to be destroyed by Jehovah’s Israelite armies under Joshua. The name Joshua was pronounced Jesus by the Greeks; and, in fact, Joshua was a prophetic figure of Jesus Christ, who has become God’s Officer for executing divine judgment. (Acts 7:45; Heb. 4:8) Strangely, the city of Gibeon and three neighboring cities escaped the destruction that Joshua executed upon the other cities of Canaan. How so? Again it was a case of making peace with Jehovah God before his executioner arrived. Days before Joshua and his forces got near, the Gibeonites sent out their ambassadors under a disguise to Joshua’s camp and sued for peace with Jehovah God and his people. They offered a full surrender of themselves to Him through Joshua.

27. Similar to the result to those ancient men, what will be the result to the “great crowd” of peace-seekers?

²⁷ What was the result? The record answers: “And Joshua went to making peace with them and concluding a covenant with them to let them live, and so the chieftains of the assembly [of Israel] swore to them.” (Josh. 9:15) Like those ancient non-Israelite Gibeonites, the “great crowd” of peace-seekers of today surrender themselves in full dedication to Jehovah God through Jesus Christ now before Armageddon breaks out. Therefore the Greater Joshua, Jesus Christ, spares them from destruction in that universal war. Like the remnant of spiritual Israelites, that great crowd loves life. They desire to see an eternity of good days under God’s kingdom. So they follow today the counsel of David and of Peter about peace.

[Footnotes]

The Pursuit of Peace

1. Having found peace, what must the lover of life then do, and what obligation now rests upon him?

AFTER the lover of life has sought and found peace with God through his Son Jesus Christ, what must he do? He must henceforth pursue peace. “Let him seek peace and pursue it,” is the counsel through the Christian apostle Peter. (1 Pet. 3:11) He must make peace his pursuit for the rest of his life. That means he must maintain peace. He is not alone in enjoying peace with God through Christ. His entering into peace with God brings him into peaceful relationship with the congregation of all those who are entirely dedicated to God through Christ and who have thus become reconciled to God. (2 Cor. 5:18-21) He must not become a disturber of the Christian congregation. It is his obligation to preserve a quiet, tranquil, calm, harmonious relationship with this organization. He must live up to the rule of conduct stated by an apostle of the Christian governing body: “Be peaceable with one another. On the other hand, we exhort you, brothers, admonish the disorderly, speak comfortingly to the depressed souls, support the weak, be long-suffering toward all. See that no one renders injury for injury to anyone else, but always pursue what is good toward one another and to all others.”—1 Thess. 5:13-15.

2. Amidst what situation must Christians pursue this course, and because of their being a principal target of attack what attempt is made respecting them?

² Christians have to pursue this course amidst a world in which there is turmoil everywhere such as there was never before. Since his being cast down to earth immediately after the birth of God’s kingdom in the heavens in 1914, Satan the Devil and his demons have been maliciously bent on causing all the woe, tumult and disquietude that they can among men. (Rev. 12:12) His principal target of attack now is the Christian remnant of spiritual Israel and their “great crowd” of sheeplike companions. (Rev. 12:17) Satan is accordingly doing his utmost to cause unrest, disturbance and disruption among them in order to break up the organization.

3. By what discriminations has Satan kept the world upset, but how did God long ago do away with this inside his congregation?

³ Hence each lover of life, who has found inside God’s visible organization the peace that he was seeking, must make peace his fixed pursuit. In the world Satan the Devil has succeeded in keeping it upset and eruptive by means of racial, tribal and color discrimination. But God through Christ did away with this inside his true Christian congregation. The Christian congregation started out as an almost Jewish Christian organization in ancient Jerusalem, except for some circumcised proselytes from other nations. (Acts 2:10; 6:5) Then circumcised Samaritans were added to the believers. (Acts 8:4-25) It was first three and a half years after Jesus Christ died on the torture stake outside Jerusalem that there was introduced into the Christian congregation the first uncircumcised Gentile or non-Jew, an Italian named Cornelius, together with a number of his relatives and intimate friends.—Acts 10:1 to 11:2.

4. How did God make it possible for the circumcised Jewish Christians to adjust themselves to his merciful arrangement toward Gentiles?

⁴ At first this occasioned considerable unrest among the circumcised Jewish Christians, but in time they got peaceably adjusted to this merciful arrangement of God. This final admission of uncircumcised non-Jews into the Christian congregation was made possible by God. How? He took away the fence barrier, the wall of separation, namely, the Law given through Moses, which had divided off the Jews from the Gentile world. By Jesus Christ as Mediator between God and men he established a new covenant with Christians.

5, 6. How did Paul explain to the congregation at Ephesus why there must be no segregation inside the congregation on various grounds?

⁵ The apostle Paul explained why there must be no segregation inside the Christian congregation on the grounds of race, tribe, nation or color. He wrote to the congregation at Ephesus, which included Gentiles or non-Jews who were once far off from Jehovah:

⁶ “But now in union with Christ Jesus you who were once far off have come to be near by the blood of the Christ. For he is our peace, he who made the two parties [Jews and Gentiles] one and destroyed the wall in between that fenced them off. By means of his flesh [impaled on the torture stake] he abolished the hatred, the Law of commandments consisting in decrees, that he might create the two peoples [Jews and Gentiles] in union with himself into one new man and make peace, and that he might fully reconcile both peoples in one body to God through the torture stake, because he had killed off the hatred by means of himself. And he came and declared the good news of peace to you, the ones far off [Gentiles], and peace to those near [the Jews], because through him we, both peoples [Jews and Gentiles], have the approach to the Father [Jehovah God] by one spirit.”—Eph. 2:11-18.

7. In view of the adjustment made in spiritual Israel long ago, why is there no basis today for segregating the great crowd of other sheep from spiritual Israel, and how does Haggai 2:6-9 indicate this?

⁷ Jesus’ sacrifice on the torture stake is the basis for desegregating the believing Jews and the believing Gentiles, of all the nations. Certainly, then, today that same sacrifice of Jesus for the “sin of the world” is the basis for the desegregating and the unifying of the small remnant of spiritual Israel and the “great crowd” of earthly sheep out of all nations, tribes, peoples and tongues. In this time when Jehovah’s Right Shepherd is gathering his other sheep to his right hand, there must be no segregating of this great crowd of other sheep from spiritual Israel. “They will become one flock, one shepherd,” said the Right Shepherd Jesus Christ. (John 10:16; Matt. 25:31-40) There must be Christian harmony, unity and peaceableness among all those in the one flock under the Right Shepherd Jesus Christ, “for he is our peace.” It is exactly in connection with Jehovah’s promise to shake all nations and to cause the precious things, the desirable things, of all nations to come to His house of worship that he says: “And in this place will I give peace, saith Jehovah of hosts.” (Hag. 2:6-9, AS) To this date Satan and his demons have been unable to frustrate this prophecy.

PRAYER FOR IT

8. In harmony with Psalm 122:6-8, what will we daily pray for, and why could Jesus Christ not be head of a congregation in a condition not like that?

⁸ If we really have at heart the good of the organization to the glory of God, then we will pray to the God of peace that he will keep his people in oneness, concord and quietude. In our daily prayers we will bear in mind the words of the psalmist David: “Ask for the peace of Jerusalem. Those loving you will be free from care. May peace continue within your rampart, freedom from care within your dwelling towers. For the sake of my brothers and my companions I will now speak: ‘May there be peace within you.’” (Ps. 122:6-8) Agreeably with such prayer, the name Jerusalem means “The Possession of Peace,” or, “Founded Peaceful.” It was there at the site of Jerusalem that the priest Melchizedek was King of Salem, which title means “King of Peace.” Jehovah God swore that his Son Jesus Christ was to be a priest-king like Melchizedek forever. In harmony with this, one of the names of the glorified Son of God was to be Prince of Peace. (Gen. 14:18-20; Ps. 110:1-4; Heb. 6:20 to 7:21; Isa. 9:6, 7) With such a title, how could Jesus Christ as Princely King of Peace be the spiritual head of a congregation that becomes split, disturbed and uproarious with dissension, enmity, jealousy, competition, rivalry and sectarianism, as Christendom is today and has ever been? He could not. But as King he can enforce and does maintain peace within the “congregation, which is his body.” (Eph. 1:22, 23) By his angels he gathers out peace-disturbers.—Matt. 13:41.

9. (a) How did Paul, in Philippians 4:6, 7, magnify the pacifying power of prayer? (b) Praying in harmony with 1 Timothy 2:1-4, what could God’s obedient servants never take part in under any government?

⁹ In magnifying the pacifying power of heartfelt prayer the apostle Paul wrote to his beloved Christian brothers at Philippi: “Do not be anxious over anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication along with thanksgiving let your petitions be made known to God, and the peace of God that excels all thought will guard your hearts and your mental powers by means of Christ Jesus.” (Phil. 4:6, 7) The apostle bore in mind, also, that true Christians on earth must live under worldly political rulers who do not sue for peace with Jehovah God and whose governments affect the lives of true followers of the Prince of Peace. So Paul wrote this exhortation to the Christian overseer Timothy: “I therefore exhort first of all that supplications, prayers, intercessions, offerings of thanks, be made concerning all kinds of men, concerning kings and all those who are in high station, in order that we may go on leading a calm and quiet life with full godly devotion and seriousness. This is right and acceptable in the sight of our Savior, God, whose will is that all kinds of men should be saved and come to an accurate knowledge of truth.” (1 Tim. 2:1-4) Praying that way, the obedient servants of Jehovah God our Savior could never take part in revolts, revolutions, uprisings, rebellions, secessions, conspiracies and any kind of popular action, disturbance or violence against persons in high political or governmental station. Under any and all sorts of government, even under ban and proscription, faithful witnesses of Jehovah lead a calm and quiet life.

10. What must pursuing peace “with all people” mean for those within the congregation, and of what fruitage and what wisdom is this an evidence?

¹⁰ “Pursue peace with all people, and the sanctification without which no man will see the Lord,” is the exhortation of Hebrews 12:14. If Christians seek to pursue peace with people outside the congregation, then certainly they ought to pursue it with those inside the congregation, who are their own dedicated brothers. We should never forget that peace is part of the fruitage of God’s spirit, which we must cultivate to rich ripeness. (Gal. 5:22) It is an evidence of having and exercising heavenly wisdom, for “the wisdom from above is first of all chaste, then peaceable.” (Jas. 3:17) The inspired proverb agrees with this in saying: “Happy is the man that has found wisdom.” Why? Because “its ways are ways of pleasantness, and all its roadways are peace.”—Prov. 3:13-17.

11. How does Paul state that peace is what unites the congregation, and so who do not deserve to be in the congregation?

¹¹ Yes, freedom from internal strife, dissension and disorder is what unites the Christian congregation of Jehovah’s witnesses. In witness thereof Paul writes: “But, besides all these things, clothe yourselves with love, for it is a perfect bond of union. Also let the peace of the Christ control in your hearts [the residence place of motive], for you were, in fact, called to it [to peace] in one body [not in two or more disunited bodies].” (Col. 3:14, 15) If we make it our continual pursuit, peace will serve as a uniting bond to those who have the spirit of God. Paul says so in these words: “Walk worthily of the calling with which you were called, with complete lowliness of mind and mildness, with long-suffering, putting up with one another in love, earnestly endeavoring to observe the oneness of the spirit in the uniting bond of peace. One body [under Christ] there is, and one spirit.” (Eph. 4:1-4) One who willfully, maliciously disturbs does not walk worthily of being in the Christian congregation of the God of peace.—Rom. 16:17, 18.

AN EFFECT OF THEOCRATIC ARRANGEMENT

12. (a) For the indulgence in what is the birth of God’s kingdom no reason? (b) To enjoy life and peace, what must we mind, and why?

¹² The evidence is that since 1914 we have been living under the kingdom of God, which was born in the heavens that year. This should be and has been a cause for great rejoicing among lovers of God and of life. This is no reason, however, for greedy, inconsiderate and materialistic eating and drinking, by which we could stumble others and tear them down spiritually. The enjoyment of the benefits of God’s long-awaited kingdom means things higher than sense-dulling excessive eating and drinking. “For,” says Paul, “the kingdom of God does not mean eating and drinking, but means righteousness and peace and joy with holy spirit. So, then, let us pursue the things making for peace and the things that are upbuilding to one another. Stop tearing down the work of God just for the sake of food.” (Rom. 14:17, 19, 20) The minding of our selfish flesh is no part of our Christian pursuit, but the cultivation of the fruitage of God’s spirit is. If we love life and good days under God’s kingdom, we will heed this warning: “The minding of the flesh means death, but the minding of the spirit means life and peace; because the minding of the flesh means enmity [lack of friendship] with God, for it is not under subjection to the law of God, nor, in fact, can it be. So those who are in harmony with the flesh cannot please God.” (Rom. 8:6-8) Hence, mind the spirit; be at peace with God.

13. What did the coming of God’s kingdom to power in 1914 mean for the congregation of its subjects, and when did this become true for them, in fulfillment of Isaiah 60:17?

¹³ Instead of loose gaiety, the coming of God’s kingdom to power in the heavens in 1914 means a stricter procedure on earth inside the congregation of the subjects of the Kingdom. In ancient days when there was no human king in Israel, what was right in his own eyes was what each Israelite was accustomed to do. But when God answered their request and gave them a human king, that personal loose freedom of action was changed, exactly as Jehovah God himself forewarned. (Judg. 21:25; 1 Sam. 8:9-18) This strictness became true with regard to Jehovah’s modern witnesses when they began to set up theocratic procedures and arrangements among themselves in 1919 when reorganizing themselves following the havoc-working first world war. This became particularly true from 1938 onward, after the Watchtower magazine published the two-part article entitled “Organization,” based on the Bible verse, Isaiah 60:17 (Ro): “Instead of bronze I will bring in gold; and instead of iron I will bring in silver; and instead of wood, bronze; and instead of stones, iron; and I will appoint the oversight of thee [God’s symbolic capital city or organization] to prosperity, and the setting of thy tasks to righteousness.”

14. How did the installing of the theocratic order result in improvement, and therefore what must all lovers of life loyally support and maintain?

¹⁴ As promised in this prophecy, the installing of the theocratic order of operation among Jehovah’s witnesses on earth fully from 1938 onward meant improvement. It did result in noticeable improvement. It made for great peace. It helped to maintain peace inside the organization. It standardized methods of operation and conduct throughout the earth in the 175 lands where Jehovah’s witnesses are now preaching the gladsome news of His kingdom, in fulfillment of Matthew 24:14. It removed dissimilarity, confusion, inequalities and disorder from the earth-encircling organization. It helped toward fulfilling God’s loving promise to his wifelike organization: “And all your sons will be persons taught by Jehovah, and the peace of your sons will be abundant.” (Isa. 54:13) Therefore in their sincere pursuit of peace all lovers of life will loyally support and maintain the theocratic setup of the organization.

15. How does this management apply also to meetings of the congregation, as outlined by Paul in 1 Corinthians 14:26, 29-33?

¹⁵ This management of the things of the organization theocratically or according to God’s rule applies also to the conducting of the meetings of the Christian congregation and the program for those attending such meetings. Paul, as a member of the theocratic governing body, spoke against disorderly meetings or meetings without good continuity, without a controlled program, where things may be said or done disconnectedly and without being explained or understood. He said: “Let all things take place for upbuilding. Further, let two or three prophets speak, and let the others discern the meaning. But if there is a revelation to another one while sitting there, let the first one keep silent. For you can all prophesy one by one, that all may learn and all be encouraged. And gifts of the spirit of the prophets are to be controlled by the prophets. For God is a God, not of disorder, but of peace.”—1 Cor. 14:26, 29-33.

16. In the pursuit of peace, what did David and Peter stress that we have to restrain, and how?

¹⁶ For the sake of the unity, harmony and restful calm of the congregation we must specially guard our tongues and lips. Did not the psalmist David, right after asking who it was that delighted in life and loved enough days to see what is good, say: “Safeguard your tongue against what is bad, and your lips against speaking deception”? (Ps. 34:13) Yes! And did not the apostle Peter quote those words of David right after he had advised his Christian brothers, saying: “Not paying back injury for injury or reviling for reviling, but, to the contrary, bestowing a blessing, because you were called to this course, so that you might inherit a blessing”? (1 Pet. 3:9) Yes! With the tongue and lips we can pay back injury for injury. With the tongue and lips we can revile the one reviling us. But with the tongue and lips we can, instead, bestow a blessing, even upon one doing us an injury or reviling us. The bestowing of a blessing has a better effect. It is a mild answer that turns away rage. (Prov. 15:1) It results in a spiritual benefit to at least the blesser. It saves him from becoming like the injurious speaker or reviler. It makes for peace inside the organization. Therefore the pursuit of peace unavoidably requires us to restrain our tongues from what is injurious and our lips from speaking deceitfully. We simply have to refrain from slander, backbiting, revilings.

17. What is the best safeguard against this, and why is the pursuit of peace not contrary in meaning to this?

¹⁷ The best safeguard for this is to teach and preach the precious truth about God’s kingdom, inside our meeting places and outside, publicly and from house to house. Do not be mistaken: Godly peace does not mean inactivity, careless ease, laziness. The God of peace has given his organized people, his witnesses on earth, a strenuous work to do. It is the work of bearing witness to Him and to his reigning Son Jesus Christ, in all the inhabited earth, to all the nations before these come to their calamitous end at Armageddon.

18. (a) As to this work to be performed, what vital fact do Jehovah’s witnesses from all extractions recognize? (b) Hence what command of Jesus do they obey, to the fulfillment of what prophecy of peace and brotherhood?

¹⁸ This work must be performed by his dedicated witnesses of all nationalities, tribes, peoples, colors and languages. They cannot unitedly perform this work while fighting and bickering among themselves because of external, naturally caused differences. They must co-operate peaceably. The harmonious carrying out of their God-given witness work earth-wide demands international, interracial, intertribal, intercongregational peace among themselves. Jehovah’s witnesses recognize this vital fact. So they obey the instruction of Jehovah’s Principal Witness, Jesus Christ: “Keep peace between one another.” (Mark 9:50) They harmonize their deeds and endeavors with the beautiful prophetic vision given in Isaiah 2:1-4 of this international peace and brotherhood in the united worship of Jehovah God. Hence their witness work prospers.—Jas. 3:18.

19. (a) For what warfare are they armed, and how? (b) In their house-to-house work for whom do they look, but whom do they leave?

¹⁹ Wherever they go with the Kingdom message they promote the abiding peace that is to adorn God’s new world of righteousness. They are armed only for a spiritual warfare, not a sanguinary war with flesh and blood. Consequently they equip themselves as the apostle Paul said to do: “with your feet shod with the equipment of the good news of peace.” (Eph. 6:11-15) In their house-to-house work they are looking for the friends of peace with God. Jesus Christ told them to do this, saying: “Wherever you enter into a house say first: ‘May this house have peace.’ And if a friend of peace is there, your peace will rest upon him. But if no such one is there, it will turn back to you.” (Luke 10:5, 6; Matt. 10:12, 13) If the householder proves to be an enemy of peace, they leave the house. They have no religious quarrel to pick with Jehovah’s foes.

20. Why, despite religious persecution, do they go on rejoicing, and what sure hope do they entertain as regards peace?

²⁰ Nevertheless, they encounter much religious persecution. In spite of it all they go on rejoicing. “Those counseling peace have rejoicing.” (Prov. 12:20) They know God’s promise that men who unjustly make tribulation for them will be destroyed at Armageddon. (2 Thess. 1:6-10) They are strengthened and comforted in the sure hope that their continual pursuit of peace will be rewarded with an endless measure of it after Armageddon in the new world promised by Jehovah God, the righteous Judge. “He will render to each one according to his works: everlasting life to those who are seeking glory and honor and incorruptibleness by endurance in work that is good; however, for those who are contentious and who disobey the truth but obey unrighteousness there will be wrath and anger, tribulation and distress, upon the soul of every man who works what is injurious, . . . but glory and honor and peace for everyone who works what is good.”—Rom. 2:6-10.

21. In answer to what inspired question do we each one want to identify ourselves, and accordingly what will we seek and pursue?

²¹ To the divinely inspired question, “Who is the man that is delighting in life, that is loving enough days to see what is good?” can we now each one answer, “I am”? If we can, then in Jehovah God’s way let us seek to find peace and pursue it.

“It’s Scriptures We Want”

“THIS is an experience I feel sure you will be happy to hear about; as Jesus said: ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep which was lost.’

“Mrs. O————, after having learned the truth, found it no longer tolerable to leave her two children in the Catholic school, as they were obliged to go through all the Catholic ritual and teachings. Steps were taken through the Society’s legal department to register the girls in the English Protestant school. This was necessary because Mrs. O———— was separated from her husband, who was strongly opposed both to her new religion and to the transfer of his children to the Protestant school.

“Finally, the registering was completed without the consent of the father and all was thought to be fine. One week before school opened in September, Mr. O———— visited his wife and discussion ensued concerning the children, Mr. O———— again strongly opposing the change from the Catholic school and threatening to just simply pack up the girls and take them with him.

“He then urged his wife to make one last trip to see the Jesuit ‘fathers,’ who he felt sure could convince his wife that she was leading the entire family astray from the good religion. She consented to go with him, but she stated to her husband in advance that she was sure the Jesuits could not prove Scripturally that she did not now have the true religion from Jehovah’s witnesses. Also that what they would probably tell her would be something like this: ‘My dear little lady, don’t you know the Catholic Church has been established 2,000 years and that this man Russell was a very bad man?’ etc.

“They made an appointment to see the Jesuit ‘fathers’ (supposed to be the branch that specializes in Scriptures) and, after being ushered in, the husband explained to the priest that he would like the priest to explain with Scriptures why his wife should repent and be a good Catholic again. The priest’s first words were, ‘My dear little lady, don’t you know the Catholic Church has been established 2,000 years and that this man Russell. . . ?’ ‘No, No!’ broke in Mr. O————, ‘that’s not what we want at all. It’s Scriptures we want.’ ‘Well,’ said the priest, ‘that’s not my line; I specialized in theology. You want Father [so and so] upstairs.’

“They then went upstairs to see ‘Father so and so,’ and Mr. O———— explained to this second priest the situation. This second priest’s next words were the changing point in Mr. O————’s estimation of the Catholic Church, because the priest said: ‘My dear little lady, don’t you know the Catholic Church has been established 2,000 years?’ etc.

“Mr. O———— jumped up out of his chair, grabbed his wife’s hand and bounded out, calling after him, ‘I’m sorry, you just don’t have what we want.’

“From that point on Mr. O———— has been much more reasonable. He has accepted ‘Let God Be True’ and ‘The Truth Shall Make You Free’ in French as well as a copy of the Scriptures, which he is reading. He has also permitted his wife to let one of the children attend the Protestant school.

“Mrs. O———— was immersed at the Divine Will assembly in New York.

“In the meantime, because of Sister O————’s stand for the truth, her sister, Mrs. G————, is now studying and progressing rapidly.

“Also, Mr. G———— has decided that he will send his children to the English Protestant school. A study is being arranged for him.

“It is a real joy to us working here to see these French people throw off the yoke of the Catholic system and find real happiness and a hope in the New World society. We thank Jehovah for the increase he gives as these lost sheep are found.”—From a pioneer minister in Quebec.

Part 28—“Your Will Be Done on Earth”

In the book “Your Will Be Done on Earth” we are now studying in chapter 10, entitled “The North Against the South.” This concerns the military and political duel between what Daniel’s prophecy, chapter 11, styles “the king of the north” and “the king of the south.” The identity of these two symbolic kings changes from time to time. For more than two hundred years the role of the king of the north was carried by the line of Hellenic rulers of Syria in the Middle East. But in 64 B.C. Syria was made a Roman province with its capital at Antioch, and here at the latest the line of rulers of the Roman Empire became the king of the north. Emperor Caesar Augustus died A.D. 14, and his stepson Tiberius became his successor, a “contemptible person,” as Daniel 11:21 calls him. During the reign of Tiberius the military “arms of the flood” in subdued countries were held in check or were “swept away from before him” and were “broken.”

64. How was also the “prince of the covenant” then “broken” before him?

⁶⁴ Even the “prince of the covenant” was broken in death. This was not any Jewish high priest, whom the Roman political representatives had put into office. It was the Leader of the covenant that Jehovah God had made with Abraham for blessing all the families and nations of the earth. It was the Seed of Abraham promised in this covenant. It was Jesus Christ. On Passover day, Nisan 14, of the year 33 (A.D.) Jesus stood in the governor’s palace (the Praetorium) in Jerusalem, before Pontius Pilate, who represented Tiberius Caesar and before whom the Jewish priests charged Jesus with treason against the emperor. Jesus said to the Roman governor: “My kingdom is no part of this world. . . . my kingdom is not from this source.” In order that the Roman governor might not release the faultless Jesus, the Jews shouted to Pilate: “If you release this man, you are not a friend of Caesar. Every man making himself a king speaks against Caesar. . . . We have no king but Caesar.” Then, according to the recent law of laesa majestas (“injured majesty”), the Roman governor handed Jesus over to be “broken,” impaled on a torture stake.—John 18:36; 19:12-16; Mark 15:14-18.

65. Why was the law of laesa majestas established, and what made Tiberius Caesar unpopular?

⁶⁵ Yes, because of being very suspicious, Emperor Tiberius had extended the law of laesa majestas to include offenses against his own person and he also encouraged the informer system (delation). The land became like a police state and the latter part of his imperial rule became one of terror. The Roman author Pliny the Elder called Tiberius the “gloomiest of men.” Because he was so reserved, uncommunicative and retiring, the people could not understand him, and this made him unpopular.

66. With whom was Tiberius Caesar in league, and to what extent, and how did he become strong “with a little nation”?

⁶⁶ Still speaking in advance about Tiberius, the angel said to Daniel: “And after the league made with him he shall work deceitfully; and he shall come up and become strong, with a little nation.” (Dan. 11:23, JP) Tiberius was constitutionally in league with the Roman Senate; he depended upon them formally, according to the constitution. Actually, though, he depended upon the “little nation.” Which “nation”? The Praetorian Guards, which had been formed by Caesar Augustus in 13 B.C. as Imperial Lifeguards, like the bodyguard around the person of the commander in chief of a Roman army. Up till now this imperial guard had been seen only near Rome in small detachments. Tiberius changed this. On the advice of his favorite, Sejanus, the commander of the Praetorian Guards, Tiberius had these Guards encamp permanently in full force close to the city walls. By this arrangement he held in check any unruliness of the people. This attached great importance to the commander of the Guards. The Guards came to enjoy special privileges and in time became so powerful that they were able to put emperors in office or to dethrone them, according to their will. By means of the Guards, just about 10,000 strong, Emperor Tiberius kept strong. Without much trouble, any risings within the Roman domain against his authority were put down. He almost completely abolished the popular assemblies known as the comitia.

67, 68. How did he enter into the fattest portion of the province, doing what his fathers and fathers’ fathers had not done, yet how did he die?

⁶⁷ “In quiet and into the fattest portion of the province will he enter; and he will do what his fathers have not done, nor his fathers’ fathers: the prey, and spoil, and riches will he divide freely to them, and against the strong-holds will he devise his plans, but only till a certain time.” (Dan. 11:24, Le) This is what Tiberius did by the way he expressed his suspicions, largely under the influence of Sejanus, commander of the Praetorian Guards, till finally Sejanus himself fell under suspicion and was killed.

⁶⁸ Ceaselessly Emperor Tiberius expended great care on the Roman provinces. At his death he left all the peoples subject to the empire in a condition of prosperity that they had not known under Augustus or previously and did not know again. Because of strict government economies, taxes were light and Tiberius was able to show generosity when times were exceptionally bad anywhere. If representatives of the empire, whether soldiers, governors or other officials, oppressed anyone below them and promoted any sort of irregularity in handling matters, they could be sure of imperial vengeance. A firm grip on power kept up the public security and quiet both in Italy and in foreign lands. The improvement in the communications system helped along commerce. With what were considered the sterner Roman virtues, the emperor saw to it that affairs were administered fairly and steadily both inside and outside Rome. In many respects the laws were improved, and social and moral relations were safeguarded by holding on to and furthering the reforms instituted by Caesar Augustus. However, the Roman historian Tacitus describes the personality of Tiberius as “one of studied dissimulation and hypocrisy from the beginning.” He was considered a tyrant, and after his death, in the latter half of March, A.D. 37, he was not honored with any deification. A “contemptible person”!

69. How did the king of the north, in Claudius, develop the empire still further, and under which emperor did it attain its greatest expansion?

⁶⁹ Tiberius was succeeded by Gaius Caesar, commonly called Caligula, who, in turn, was succeeded by his uncle, Claudius, in 41 (A.D.). Besides what Tiberius, as king of the north, had done for the improvement of the Roman Empire, Claudius saw to the further development of the empire along the lines that Augustus had in mind. Says one authority: “Client-states were absorbed, southern Britain was conquered, the Romanization of the West received powerful impulse, public works were executed in Rome and Italy, and the organization of the imperial bureaucracy made rapid strides.”a Says a history: “An important extension of the state was made under Claudius, who sent a successful expedition into Britain in A.D. 43 and added the southern portion of the island as the province of Britannia. Later the British frontier was pushed farther northward and secured by a line of defenses. Trajan (A.D. 98-117) . . . ambitious to build a great oriental empire, entered upon a war of aggression in which he defeated the Parthians in Persia and added Armenia, Mesopotamia and Assyria to the empire as provinces. This represents the expansion of Rome to its greatest extent, but these conquests by Trajan in the East were abandoned by his successor.”b

70. With Daniel 11:25, who does the king of the north become, and during his reign whose ambitions became a danger to the empire?

⁷⁰ Continuing his preview of the activities of the prophetic king of the north, Jehovah’s angel told Daniel: “And he will then stir up his power and his courage [heart] against the king of the south with a great army: and the king of the south will prepare himself for the war with an exceedingly great and mighty army; but he will not stand; for they will devise evil plans against him. Yea, they that eat of his food will bring his downfall, and the army of the other will overflow; and many will fall down slain.” (Dan. 11:25, 26, Le) With this verse the king of the north has become Emperor Aurelian (A.D. 270-275). One of his great problems was Queen Septimia Zenobia, of Palmyra in the Syrian desert. An ancient city, Palmyra was favored in its growth by the wars between the Romans and the Parthians in Persia. When Emperor Hadrian visited the town about A.D. 130 he named it Adrianopolis. It became a Roman colony and an important military post. The wars with Persia brought Palmyra to political importance for a time and it became for a few years the mistress of the Roman East. It became a danger to Rome, because of the ambitions of Queen Zenobia. Her native name was Bath Zabbai. Her husband, King Odaenathus, was the supreme commander of the East. After he died (A.D. 266-267), Zenobia planned to lift her position higher than his by making Palmyra the dominant city of the Roman Empire in the East. Already skilled at government administration, she took over the reins of government entirely.

71. How did she, with her son, come to occupy the position of king of the south toward the Roman Empire?

⁷¹ Her general-in-chief was Zabdā, a kinsman of her husband, and under him the Palmyrene army occupied Egypt A.D. 270 under the pretext of making it secure to Rome, for there were pretenders that disputed the Roman emperor’s authority along the Nile River. Zenobia directed this conquest, and her son governed Egypt with the title of king, whereas his mother was titled queen. Garrisons of Palmyrene troops were established in Asia Minor as far west as Ancyra (now Turkish Ankara) and even opposite European Byzantium. Zenobia came to be called Augusta or empress. When Aurelian became the Roman emperor in 270 (A.D.) he became king of the north. He soon appreciated that the ambitious policy of Queen Zenobia was putting the unity of the Roman Empire in danger. In his second year the breach between him and Queen Zenobia occurred. Zenobia was now faced with an invasion by the king of the north, to whom she held the position of king of the south. She had gained worldly greatness by uniting the desert Arabs with the Egyptians. Besides Mesopotamia and part of Asia Minor, she held Egypt as well as Syria. She could rely on the Arabs and the Armenians, but not too strongly on the loyalty of the Syrians.

72. What did the king of the north have to stir up, and how did the king of the south have to prepare himself, and how did the contest result?

⁷² It required Emperor Aurelian to stir up his power and his heart to proceed against this warlike queen of Egypt and Syria. For her part, she had to prepare herself for war with the king of the north by an exceedingly great and mighty army under her two generals Zabdā and Zabbai. Aurelian first recovered Egypt for himself by Probus. Then he got ready for a big expedition into Asia Minor and Syria. Zenobia with her two generals was defeated at Emesa (now Homs) and retreated to Palmyra. Although this city was bulwarked by the desert, Aurelian finally formed and kept up a siege of the strongly fortified and well-provisioned city. Under the siege the courage of Zenobia cracked. She and her son got out of the city and fled toward Persia for help. The Romans captured them on the bank of the Euphrates River. The besieged Palmyrenes lost heart and surrendered their city, A.D. 272. Aurelian spared the life of Zenobia and took her to Rome to be his prize feature in his great triumphal march through the imperial capital A.D. 274.c After that she was permitted to spend the rest of her life as a Roman matron.

73. How was it that the king of the north did not stand, those who ate of his food bringing about his downfall?

⁷³ Not only had Queen Zenobia in the role of king of the south not stood before the armed might of Rome, but even her conqueror, Emperor Aurelian, did not stand against conspirators. The Roman Senate rightly conferred upon him the title Restorer of the Roman Empire. He was the first Roman emperor to wear the diadem, and on medals he was entitled Lord and God. Toward the end of his triumphal year he set out on an expedition against the Persians. While waiting in Thrace for the opportunity to cross the straits into Asia Minor, those who ate his food carried out their evil plans against him and broke him. He was going to call his secretary Eros to account for certain irregularities. Eros incited certain officers to conspire against the emperor by forging a list of men who were marked out for death and including these officers. The sight of this list moved them to devise his assassination.

74. As regards the further representation of the king of the north, how did the “army of the other” overflow, so that many fell down slain?

⁷⁴ The career of the king of the north did not end with Emperor Aurelian. Other emperors followed him, and for a time there were an emperor of the west and an emperor of the east, within the one empire. Under these the army of the king of the north was swept away and many fell down slain, as prophesied, due to the invasions of barbarians from the north. These invasions were thrown back until the fourth century, when the barbarians successfully broke through. The Goths or Germans found out that the armed legions of Rome were invincible no more. Now that they had broken the Roman frontiers, invasion followed invasion. By the beginning of the sixth century they had shattered the Roman Empire in the West, and German kings bore rule in Italy, Britain, Gaul, Spain and North Africa. In the eastern part of the empire, Constantinople (Byzantium) had failed to fall before the threatening Attila the Hun, who then went west.

75. How did the Roman Empire finally become divided into two parts, with two emperors, and how did Egypt eventually come under British domination?

⁷⁵ Emperor Constantine (324-337) gave state recognition to the popular form of Christianity and even presided over the Council of Nice in Nicomedia, Asia Minor, less than a hundred miles from Byzantium, A.D. 325. Later he moved the imperial residence from Rome to Byzantium. There, on May 11, A.D. 330, he founded the new imperial capital and dedicated it as New Rome or Constantinople. But there was still one Roman Empire. On the death of the later emperor, Theodosius, January 17, 395, the empire was finally divided between his sons, Honorius receiving the western section and Arcadius the eastern, with his capital at Constantinople. Egypt fell to the lot of Constantinople and became a province of the eastern division of the Roman Empire. In 641 (A.D.), when Heraclius was the emperor of the East, the Egyptian capital, Alexandria, fell to the Mohammedan Saracens and Egypt became a province of the caliphs or successors of Mohammed. Long afterward, in 1516-1517 Egypt became a Turkish province, governed by a pasha. When World War I broke out in 1914, Egypt belonged to Turkey and was ruled by a khediv or viceroy. Because of siding with the Germans, the Khedive Abbas Pasha was deposed on December 18 that year, and Egypt was declared a British Protectorate, particularly with a view to protect the Suez Canal.

76. When and how was the Eastern Roman Empire ended?

⁷⁶ Constantine P. XII was the last emperor of the East, ascending the throne in 1448. The Mohammedans had repeatedly tried to capture Constantinople. After centuries of attempts they at last succeeded. It was besieged fifty-three days by Turkish Sultan Mahomet (Mohammed) II and was taken on May 29, 1453. With its capture the Eastern Roman Empire definitely ended.

77. In what line of bishops did a new political religious figure arise, and when did it become proper to speak of an Eastern Empire and a Western Empire?

⁷⁷ In the western part of the Roman Empire a new religious political figure arose in the Catholic bishop of Rome, particularly with Pope Leo I, the Great, who is noted as the real founder of the papacy in the fifth century. In course of time the pope took it upon himself to crown the emperor of the Western Roman Empire. This occurred when Pope Leo III crowned Frankish King Charles (Charlemagne) on Christmas Day, A.D. 800, at Rome, as emperor of the Western Roman Empire. Pope Leo III said: “To Charles the Augustus, crowned by God, great and pacific emperor, life and victory.” So from then on the political ruler was supposed to rule “by the grace of God.” However, says one recent history: “The coronation of Charlemagne was a usurpation, for the government at Constantinople was still the legal governing authority in the Empire.”d This was true even though at the time a woman usurper, Empress Irene (780-802), sat on the throne at Constantinople. From this point forward it is proper to speak of the Eastern Empire and the Western Empire, both claiming to be Christian. Charlemagne added a second head to the eagle in his insignia, to denote that the Empires of Rome and of Germany were united.

(To be continued)

[Footnotes]

Canon of the Scriptures

Said Dr. Oscar Cullman in the New York Times: “Again and again we must marvel at the fact that from the large number of primitive Christian writings only those were accepted as canonic which really came from the oldest time and which were free from heretical tendencies.”

Is There a Purgatory?

PURGATORY is a Roman Catholic doctrine. In the creed of Pope Pius IV the following definition is given for purgatory: “I constantly hold that there is a purgatory, and that the souls therein detained are helped by the suffrages of the faithful.”

For the benefit of those unacquainted with the dogma, it is briefly this: That when a Catholic dies in venial sin he is not in fact dead, but his soul is conscious in a place of temporary punishment called “purgatory,” and the duration of his punishment in purgatory may be shortened, and the soul detained therein may be helped by suffrages, or prayers, and by sacrifices of the living.

For the doctrine of purgatory to be true, God’s Word, the Bible, must show (1) that every man has a soul that is separate and detachable from the body; (2) that there is no death of the human soul or creature, only the body dying and the soul continuing to live; (3) that the human dead are conscious in another world; and (4) that those in purgatory can be helped and benefited by money contributions made by their friends on earth and applied toward religious prayers and masses.

Does the Bible teach that man has a soul that is separate and, at death, detachable from the body? No! The Bible defines soul to mean both the human creature himself and also the conscious, breathing existence he enjoys when alive. The Bible teaching is that man IS a soul. Genesis 2:7 reads: “Jehovah God proceeded to form the man out of dust from the ground and to blow into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man came to be a living soul.” The man’s body and the breath that God breathed into his nostrils to animate the body together constitute the soul, the creature, that lives. Soul also refers to the conscious, breathing existence of a living creature, but at no time is it a mysterious immortal something in man that lives on.

Is it true that the body dies and the soul lives on? No! Pagan nations that “sacrifice to demons [devils], and not to God,” teach that there is a soul inside man’s body and that it is immortal and so cannot die. Such teaching is therefore of the Devil. (1 Cor. 10:20) Jesus well said of the Devil: “He is a liar and the father of the lie.” Why? Because the sinner soul dies. Ezekiel 18:4, 20 (AS) reads: “The soul that sinneth, it shall die.” Said God to the “living soul,” Adam: “Dust you are and to dust you will return.”—John 8:44; Gen. 3:19.

When a man dies, is the soul conscious anywhere thereafter? No! It is the living soul or creature that is conscious; and when a man or soul dies, his breathing, conscious existence ceases. Such is the indisputable Bible truth: “The living are conscious that they will die; but as for the dead, they are conscious of nothing at all.” (Eccl. 9:5) The dead man has no more thoughts anywhere: “His spirit goes out, he goes back to his ground, in that day his thoughts do perish.” Where there is no conscious existence, no thought, there can be no pain or suffering, in other words, no purgatory.—Ps. 146:4.

It is well known by all those of the Catholic Church that money is continually solicited and received by the religious clergy upon the claim that such money contributed is used in connection with masses and prayers for the benefit of those said to be in purgatory. Millions of sincere, hard-working people have responded to clergy appeals and have contributed huge sums of money to help relatives and friends, under the impression that these were in purgatory. Will such contributions of money and prayers aid or benefit the dead and shorten their stay in purgatory? Not at all; for the reason that there is no one in purgatory, because there is no such place as purgatory. Neither Jesus nor his apostles located any dead in a purgatory. Instead Jesus said: “Do not marvel at this, because the hour is coming in which all those in the memorial tombs will hear his voice and come out, those who did good things to a resurrection of life, those who practiced vile things to a resurrection of judgment.” (John 5:28, 29) The dead are awaiting a resurrection. They are not being purged in a purgatory, neither are they waiting on masses.

Nowhere in any Catholic Bible translation is purgatory even named. No Scripture text makes mention of a soul in purgatory. Who, then, invented purgatory? From the years 590 to 604 Gregory, known as “Gregory the Great,” was pope of the Roman Catholic Church. He was the first man to establish the doctrine of purgatory and to advance it as a place of fiery elements to torment souls. Under the title “Purgatory,” Volume VIII of the McClintock and Strong Cyclopædia says: “But whatever the views of some Church fathers on the subject, as a doctrine it was unknown in the Christian Church for the first 600 years, and it does not appear to have been made an article of faith until the 10th century. . . . ‘Purgatory as a burning-away of sins,’ said Doellinger at the Bonn Conference of Old Catholics in 1875, ‘was an idea unknown in the East as well as the West till Gregory the Great introduced it. . . . Gregory the Great added the idea of a tormenting fire.’”—Edition of 1879.

The purgatory doctrine finds basis only in the opinion and interpretation of religious men who lived centuries ago and whom religionists call “fathers.” Said Cardinal Gibbons concerning purgatory: “This interpretation is not mine. It is the unanimous voice of the Fathers of Christendom.” Is the fact that centuries ago men of religion taught certain things as to purgatory any proof of its existence? As to the value of traditions of religious “fathers,” Jesus answers: “You have made the word of God invalid because of your tradition. . . . It is in vain that they keep paying respect to me, because they teach commands of men as doctrines.”—Matt. 15:1-9.

The Bible truth regarding the dead is this: The dead in the graves are in the condition of nonexistence. God’s promise concerning those in the memorial tombs is that they shall be awakened out of death. The death and resurrection of Jesus Christ is a guarantee that those dead shall be raised up again, as Jesus himself promised at John 5:28, 29. Had any of such dead been in purgatory, Jesus certainly would have said so. Resurrection means a raising up again to life. If the creature or soul were in purgatory, there conscious and suffering, he would have to be alive. If alive, there could be no resurrection, because a live creature cannot be resurrected. Therefore religion’s doctrine of purgatory makes void the Word of God concerning the resurrection of the dead. The happy truth is that there is no purgatory and that the resurrection is God’s hope for the dead.

Questions From Readers

● How is Hebrews 11:1 to be understood? Does it mean that faith is the evident demonstration of unseen realities, or that faith is based on such evident demonstration of unseen realities, or is the verse to be understood in some other way?—J. L., Denmark.

The scripture here referred to reads: “Faith is the assured expectation of things hoped for, the evident demonstration of realities though not beheld.”—Heb. 11:1.

Evidently the rendering of the Greek word elenkhos into English as “the evident demonstration” is what raises the question as to the meaning of the text. The way a Greek-English Lexicon by Liddell and Scott of a 1948 reprint renders this Greek word is: “argument of disproof or refutation, cross-examining, testing, scrutiny and also evidence for conviction.” In connection with this latter signification it refers us to Hebrews 11:1.

The New World Translation rendering is literal, not adding any words that the translator might deem necessary to complete or enlarge on the thought. Hence it is the apostle Paul himself who says that faith is the evident demonstration, or the evidence for conviction, concerning unseen realities. In other words, the evident demonstration, or evidence for conviction, is so positive or powerful that faith is said to be it.

Faith is not based on unseen realities. There has to be an evident demonstration, or evidence for conviction, concerning unseen realities in order for faith to exist. If one does not have any evidence or evident demonstration of the existence of unseen things, how can he put faith in such unseen things, the existence of which he would not be aware of? Therefore, it would be wrong to read this verse as if it said: ‘Faith is the assured expectation of things hoped for, though the evident demonstration of realities is not beheld.’ Why so? Because if one does not behold the evident demonstration of realities, how can he know of such realities or have the assuring conviction concerning their existence? In the Greek text the expression “though not beheld” applies to or modifies “realities.” The expression “though not beheld” does not apply to “evident demonstration.” Since the “realities” are invisible to our human eyes, we have to have an evident demonstration of them in order to have faith built up in us as to the existence of such unseen realities.

Consequently, what the writer of Hebrews 11:1 is saying is that faith is the equivalent of the “evident demonstration of realities though not beheld.” The one who has faith is convinced by this evident demonstration, and for this reason he does not have to see the realities themselves. He therefore acts in harmony with the existence of those realities, although he has not yet seen them. Nevertheless, he is not acting blindly, because by his mental perception and heart appreciation he has an evident demonstration that proves to him the actuality of the real things that have not been beheld by him.

Atheism and Human Thought

“There are all sorts of different reasons for believing in God,” writes C. S. Lewis in The Case for Christianity, “and here I’ll mention only one. It is this. Supposing there were no intelligence behind the universe, no creative mind. In that case nobody designed my brain for the purpose of thinking. It is merely that when the atoms inside my skull happen for physical or chemical reasons to arrange themselves in a certain way, this gives me, as a by-product, the sensation I call thought. But if so, how can I trust my own thinking to be true? It’s like upsetting a milk jug and hoping that the way the splash arranges itself will give you a map of London. But if I can’t trust the arguments leading to atheism, [I] have no reason to be an atheist. . . . Unless I believe in God, I can’t believe in thought; so I can never use thought to disbelieve in God.”

Scripture Index for Texts Explained, 1959

GENESIS

1:22 28

1:26 27

1:27 27

1:28 28, 330, 591

2:4 326

2:7 346, 498, 590, 761

2:8 591

2:10 29

2:11 29

2:12 29

2:13 29

2:14 29

2:15 425, 591

2:16 259

2:17 217, 259, 677, 704

2:18 451

2:19 425

2:20 425

3:1 89, 447

3:2 89

3:3 89, 704

3:4 89, 178

3:5 89, 178, 198

3:6 89

3:7 89

3:8 59

3:12 627

3:13 627

3:14 91

3:15 91, 155, 197, 357

3:19 498, 761

3:22 92

3:23 76, 92

3:24 76, 92

5:1 326, 588

6:5 548

6:11 548

6:16 480

8:6 480

8:13 480

8:21 542

9:4 640, 646

9:5 640, 646

9:6 640, 646

10:1 588

10:8 232, 473, 647

10:9 232, 473, 647

10:10 473, 647

11:31 511

11:32 511

12:1 511

12:2 511

12:3 199, 511

12:4 511

13:8 452

13:9 452

13:10 59

14:19 180

14:20 180

22:16 593

22:17 593

22:18 357, 593

38:8 541

38:9 541

38:10 541

42:22 647

49:10 235, 358, 593

EXODUS

12:2 485, 492

12:3 485

12:6 485, 492

12:11 486

12:14 486

13:5 486

20:4 709

20:5 709

25:40 437

32:4 626

32:22 626

32:24 626

33:7 438

35:4 286

35:5 286

35:29 286

LEVITICUS

7:26 647

7:27 647

17:10 647

17:11 186, 380, 647

17:12 647

17:13 640, 648

17:14 640, 648

19:16 179

19:18 680

21:20 415

24:17 419

25:10 596

NUMBERS

9:13 488

14:34 216

18:31 715

32:23 169

DEUTERONOMY

4:23 711

4:24 711

4:25 711

4:26 711

4:27 711

4:28 711

6:5 265, 680

6:6 370, 549

6:7 370, 549, 550

6:15 265

10:12 680

12:16 640

12:23 640, 648

12:24 640, 648

15:23 640

16:1 486

18:17 358

18:18 358

18:19 358

19:21 332

23:1 415

25:4 715

25:11 415

25:12 415

32:4 28, 230, 677

32:5 260, 677

JOSHUA

1:8 274, 427

6:26 391

12:7 351

12:21 351

24:15 259

JUDGES

5:19 351

RUTH

1:16 265

1:17 265

1 SAMUEL

8:7 182

13:11 627

13:12 627

13:13 627

15:15 627

15:20 627

15:21 627

15:22 270

15:23 270

15:24 627

2 SAMUEL

7:12 358

7:13 358

1 KINGS

6:5 568

6:6 568

6:17 568

6:20 568

6:36 566

7:12 566

7:15 567

7:26 512, 567

7:27 567

7:38 567

7:49 576

8:46 744

16:34 391

17:16 452

21:19 391

21:23 391

22:38 391

2 KINGS

9:27 351

9:34 391

9:35 391

23:29 351

23:30 351

1 CHRONICLES

11:18 640

11:19 640

17:14 183

21:17 627

22:14 565

29:5 286

29:9 286

29:23 183

2 CHRONICLES

3:3 568

3:4 567

3:10 568

3:11 568

3:12 568

3:13 568

3:15 567

4:1 566

4:5 512, 567

4:9 566

20:15 625

36:16 569

EZRA

4:7 319, 629

4:8 629

4:11 629

4:23 629

5:6 629

5:7 629

6:1 629

ESTHER

1:1 319, 474, 538, 635

JOB

13:4 692

14:4 234

26:1 692

26:2 692

26:3 692

26:7 589

28:17 589

32:2 174

PSALMS

1:2 427

2:7 111

2:8 111

2:9 111, 358

11:5 227

14:1 328

14:3 744

16:8 169

16:10 72, 359

19:4 576

19:12 174

19:13 174, 467

19:14 174, 467

22:16 359

22:18 359

23:1 363

23:2 527

25:8 530

25:9 530

25:14 465, 688

27:1 504

27:11 520

32:8 270

32:9 270

34:12 741

34:13 741, 753

34:14 741

34:15 741

34:16 741

37:1 516

37:2 516

37:9 515

37:10 516

40:6 344

40:7 31, 344

40:8 31, 344

45:16 334

46:8 625, 739

46:9 625, 739

46:10 625

46:11 625

49:7 218

51:5 234

62:9 143

62:12 478

69:30 708

72:3 625

72:7 240, 625

72:8 240

78:72 364

85:8 623

85:9 623

85:10 623

90:2 686

101:5 178

101:8 178

102:19 152

102:20 152

104:5 254

110:1 181, 618

110:4 181

110:5 181

119:18 501

119:105 454

119:165 500

122:6 751

122:7 751

122:8 751

127:3 639

128:1 740

145:11 603

146:4 761

PROVERBS

2:6 686

2:7 686

2:8 686

2:9 686

2:10 460, 686

2:11 460, 686

2:12 686

2:13 686

2:14 686

2:15 686

2:16 686

2:17 686

2:21 218

2:22 218, 686

3:13 521, 752

3:17 752

3:19 684

3:20 684

3:21 684

3:22 685

3:23 685

3:24 685

3:25 685

3:26 685

6:23 271

8:12 697

8:13 697

8:14 697

8:22 330

8:24 256

8:25 256

8:30 330

11:13 178

11:24 452

11:25 452

12:20 754

14:12 523

14:28 25

15:1 753

15:3 169

15:8 173

16:5 90

18:10 504

18:12 109

18:13 173

18:17 174

18:19 173

19:2 293

19:13 741

20:9 174

20:19 178

21:9 741

21:27 173

23:6 484

23:7 484

23:23 68

24:11 653

24:12 653

24:19 516

24:20 516

25:20 589

28:13 627

29:18 500

29:23 555

29:25 502

ECCLESIASTES

2:14 151

2:15 151

2:16 151

3:19 151

7:1 503

9:2 151

9:3 151

9:5 761

10:10 695

12:1 528

12:7 91

12:12 644

12:13 644

12:14 169

SONG OF SOLOMON

4:13 76

ISAIAH

1:18 527

1:26 166

2:2 85, 624

2:3 85, 624

2:4 624

6:8 302

6:11 406

6:12 406

7:14 190, 359

8:18 150

9:6 240, 334, 358, 616

9:7 240, 334, 616, 625

10:21 134

10:22 134

10:23 134

11:6 625

11:9 315

12:1 572

19:19 700

23:2 308

23:7 308

23:12 308

27:5 747

28:1 135

28:2 135

28:3 135

28:4 135

28:5 148, 395

28:6 148, 395

28:7 136

28:8 136

28:9 138, 395

28:10 138, 395

28:11 139

28:12 139

28:13 139

28:14 142

28:15 142

28:16 142

28:17 142, 395

28:18 142, 395

28:19 142

28:20 145

28:21 145, 395

28:22 147, 395

28:23 148

28:24 148

28:25 148

28:26 148

28:27 148

28:28 148

28:29 148

29:9 137

29:10 137

29:11 137

29:12 137

29:13 137, 682

29:14 137, 682

30:21 530

32:1 334

33:24 219

34:1 620

34:2 620

34:3 620

34:4 620

35:1 83

35:2 83

35:3 528

35:4 528

35:5 83

35:6 83

35:7 83

35:8 83

35:9 83

35:10 83

40:22 589

44:8 713

45:1 105

45:4 105

45:7 745

45:18 27

51:3 60, 82

51:11 82

51:12 82, 504

51:16 382, 384

52:7 548

53:3 359

53:4 359

53:5 747

53:7 359

53:9 359

53:10 733

53:12 734

54:5 91

54:13 191, 753

55:1 138

55:4 583

55:8 526, 549

55:9 549

55:12 83

55:13 83

56:3 416

56:4 416

56:5 416

57:19 622

57:20 622

57:21 622

58:1 172

60:2 387

60:17 632, 753

61:5 531

62:10 405

65:17 739

65:21 498

65:22 498

65:25 498

66:1 59

66:8 84, 382

66:15 218

66:16 218

66:23 527

JEREMIAH

1:4 39

1:5 39

1:6 39

1:7 39

1:8 39

1:9 39

1:10 391

1:19 51

2:34 659

7:4 46

7:8 46

7:9 46

7:10 46

7:11 46, 59

7:12 46

7:14 46

10:14 143

10:15 143

11:20 175

15:10 51

15:15 51

15:16 51

16:16 406

20:8 51

20:9 51

20:13 51

23:29 42

25:8 44

25:9 44

25:10 44

25:11 44

25:27 43

25:28 43

25:29 43

25:32 44

25:33 44

25:34 44

25:35 44

25:36 44

27:9 390

27:10 390

31:3 48

31:4 48

31:5 48

31:6 48

31:16 48

31:31 48, 408

31:32 48, 408

31:33 48, 408

31:34 48, 408

33:20 48

33:21 48

33:22 48

35:19 49

39:15 50

39:16 50

39:17 50

39:18 50

LAMENTATIONS

3:22 631

3:23 631

3:24 631

EZEKIEL

4:6 216

13:3 390

13:6 390

17:5 214

17:6 214

17:7 214

17:8 214

17:9 214

17:10 214

17:20 214

17:21 214

18:4 761

18:20 761

18:23 661

21:21 389

21:26 105

21:27 105

26:2 309

26:3 309

26:4 309, 311

26:5 309

26:7 310

26:12 311

27:12 308

27:32 312

27:34 312

27:36 312

28:2 317

28:5 309

28:12 60

28:13 59, 60

28:14 60

28:15 60

28:16 60

28:17 60

28:18 60

29:18 310

29:19 310

29:20 310

34:10 296

35:6 659

36:10 275

36:22 631

36:23 81, 631

36:24 81

36:27 81

36:32 81

36:33 81

36:34 81

36:35 81

36:36 81

DANIEL

2:19 112

2:20 105, 112

2:21 105, 112

2:22 105

2:36 252

2:37 252

2:38 252

2:39 281, 283, 474

2:40 284

2:41 313

2:42 313

2:43 313

2:44 107, 157, 313, 314, 518

2:45 314

4:12 704

4:17 101, 248

4:20 213, 704

4:21 213

4:22 213

4:23 214

4:24 214

4:25 214

4:26 214

4:28 215

4:29 215

4:30 215

4:31 215

4:32 215

4:33 215

6:28 634

7:6 474

7:9 507

7:10 507

7:13 357, 507, 690

7:14 357, 507, 690

7:19 475

7:20 475

7:21 475, 506

7:22 690

7:23 475

7:24 475

7:25 107, 216, 475, 477, 506, 571

7:26 508

7:27 509, 690

8:10 571

8:11 107, 571

8:12 572

8:13 599

8:14 599

8:20 537

8:21 538

8:22 538

8:23 539

8:24 539, 571, 572

8:25 539, 633

8:26 633

9:17 536

9:24 283, 360

9:25 283, 342, 343, 357, 360, 391

9:26 283, 377, 391

9:27 283, 377, 391, 491

11:1 634

11:2 635

11:3 636

11:4 663

11:5 665

11:6 665

11:7 666

11:8 666

11:9 667

11:10 667

11:11 698

11:12 698

11:13 699

11:14 699

11:15 700

11:16 570, 700, 730

11:17 701

11:18 701

11:19 701

11:20 730

11:21 731

11:22 731, 756

11:23 756

11:24 757

11:25 758

11:26 758

11:31 112, 729

11:32 112, 264, 662

11:33 112, 662

11:34 112, 662

11:35 112, 662

11:36 107

11:37 107

11:38 107

11:39 107

11:41 570

12:4 524

12:7 216

HOSEA

8:7 617

13:11 182

13:14 332

JOEL

2:3 78

2:21 78

2:22 78

2:23 78

2:24 78

2:25 78

2:26 78

2:27 78

3:6 309

3:7 309

AMOS

1:9 309

1:10 309

3:7 521

8:11 80

9:9 629

MICAH

4:1 525

4:2 525

5:1 351

5:2 358

5:4 358

HABAKKUK

1:5 145

1:6 145

1:7 145

1:8 145, 474

1:9 145

ZEPHANIAH

2:3 596

3:8 336

HAGGAI

2:7 631

2:9 750

ZECHARIAH

2:8 571

8:16 528

8:23 164, 531

9:3 310

9:4 310

9:9 359, 617

9:10 617, 623

11:12 224

11:13 224

13:7 733

MALACHI

3:6 57

1 MACCABEES

1:54 728

1:55 728

1:56 728

1:57 728

1:58 728

1:59 728

MATTHEW

1:12 416

1:23 189

1:25 189

3:11 580, 581

3:12 581

4:4 368

5:5 254, 479

5:9 624

5:13 692

5:14 13

5:23 173

5:24 173

5:25 173

5:27 543

5:28 543

5:35 213

5:43 683

5:44 683

5:45 452, 683

5:46 683

5:47 683

5:48 271

6:3 286

6:4 286

6:10 7, 31, 597, 658

6:13 57

6:24 266, 398

6:25 10

6:32 683

6:33 10, 131, 336, 396, 683, 715

7:1 175

7:2 175

7:12 323

7:13 504, 521, 562

7:14 504, 521, 562

7:20 696

7:21 522, 696

7:22 403, 696

7:23 403, 696

7:24 697

7:25 697

7:26 697

7:27 697

8:20 208

8:21 273

8:22 273

9:37 301

9:38 301

10:7 714

10:8 714

10:9 714

10:10 714

10:11 715, 717

10:12 716, 754

10:13 716, 754

11:11 26

11:25 423

11:26 423

11:28 47

11:29 47

11:30 47

12:46 190

12:47 190

12:48 190

12:49 190

12:50 190

13:12 435

13:22 403

13:25 712

13:55 189

13:56 189

15:3 557

15:7 762

15:9 557, 762

15:13 522

15:14 47, 306, 522

15:24 306

16:18 378

16:19 73

16:22 484

16:23 484

16:24 723

18:15 172, 462

19:4 448

19:5 448

19:6 448

19:12 416

19:16 5

19:17 5

19:21 5, 273

19:22 5

19:23 14

19:25 14

19:26 14

20:17 733

20:18 733

20:19 733

20:28 218

21:16 528

21:28 531

21:29 531

21:30 531

21:31 531

22:21 269

22:37 337, 680

22:38 680

22:39 337, 680

22:40 680

23:15 725

23:23 682

23:24 682

23:27 488

24:1 155

24:2 155

24:3 8, 37, 335

24:7 37, 335

24:8 37, 335

24:9 8, 37

24:12 335

24:13 435

24:14 8, 37, 204, 336, 548, 619

24:15 583, 598, 730

24:17 583

24:18 583

24:21 621

24:22 621

24:30 423

24:31 352

24:34 158, 336, 519, 583

24:36 621, 740

24:37 11, 548, 582, 621, 740

24:38 11, 548, 582, 621, 740

24:39 11, 548, 582, 621, 740

24:45 191, 524, 608

24:46 191, 524, 608

24:47 191, 524, 608

25:31 158, 219

25:32 158, 219

25:33 158, 219

25:34 159, 479

25:40 50

25:46 51

26:26 379

26:27 379, 649

26:28 379, 649

26:29 649

26:30 487

26:33 503

26:34 503

26:35 503

26:41 163

26:64 508

26:70 503

26:71 503

26:72 503

26:73 503

26:74 503

26:75 503

27:9 224

27:10 224

27:24 649

27:25 649

28:16 719

28:17 719

28:18 719

28:19 192, 207, 288, 376, 580, 683, 714

28:20 192, 207, 288, 580

MARK

1:14 201

3:29 679

9:50 754

10:21 423

13:10 82

14:22 185

14:23 185

14:27 733

15:34 734

15:37 734

16:18 195

LUKE

1:19 200

1:31 616

1:32 239, 616

1:33 616

1:35 189

1:43 340

1:44 340

2:1 731

2:2 731

2:7 189

2:10 616

2:11 616

2:12 616

2:14 200, 499, 615, 743

2:22 189

3:1 489

3:2 287, 489

3:3 287, 580

3:16 580

3:18 200

3:23 416, 490

3:27 416

3:38 60

4:18 201

5:36 30

5:37 30

5:38 30

5:39 30

6:30 736

6:31 736

6:32 736

6:33 736

6:34 736

6:35 736

6:36 736

6:38 452

6:40 398

8:1 201

8:15 185

9:60 3

10:5 622, 716, 754

10:6 754

10:8 622

10:9 622

10:20 503

10:29 683

10:36 683

10:37 683

10:40 402

10:41 402

10:42 402

11:2 480

11:9 422

11:34 404

11:35 404

12:32 593

14:25 690

14:26 690

14:27 690

14:28 690

14:29 690

14:30 690

14:31 690

14:32 690

14:33 690

14:34 690

14:35 690

16:1 694

16:2 694

16:3 694

16:4 694

16:5 694

16:6 694

16:7 694

16:8 208, 694

16:9 694

16:10 694

16:11 694

16:12 694

16:13 694

16:15 90

16:23 72

17:21 343

17:26 158

17:27 158

19:14 109

19:41 619

19:42 619

19:43 619

19:44 619

20:35 415

21:20 12, 581, 654

21:21 12, 581, 654

21:22 12, 654

21:23 213

21:24 102, 213

21:25 335, 620

21:26 335, 517, 620

21:28 388

22:19 185, 380

22:28 73, 334, 411

22:29 73, 334, 411

22:30 73, 411

22:41 32

22:42 32

22:43 32, 733

22:44 32, 733

22:62 627

23:42 57

23:43 57, 70, 241

23:46 96

24:46 658

24:47 658

24:48 658

JOHN

1:3 329

1:9 61, 62

1:10 61, 62

1:11 61, 62

1:12 62

1:29 63, 240, 595, 652

1:31 287

1:32 343

3:33 247, 287, 343

1:34 343

1:46 558

2:13 491

2:19 639

2:20 639

2:21 639

2:22 639

3:10 160

3:11 160

3:12 160

3:13 26, 159

3:16 61, 63, 746

3:17 61, 63

3:21 64

3:22 288

3:23 580

4:14 369

4:34 368

4:35 301

5:1 491

5:19 247

5:28 77, 333, 345, 498, 762

5:29 77, 333, 345, 762

6:4 491

6:11 707

6:26 403

6:27 403

6:38 31

6:54 84

7:3 190

7:5 190

7:7 62

7:39 74

8:23 61

8:31 261

8:32 262, 584

8:44 178, 210, 318

10:1 723

10:2 723

10:3 368

10:8 723

10:9 723

10:10 723

10:11 364, 723

10:14 364

10:16 15, 352, 594, 750

10:22 154, 630

11:26 392

12:24 719

12:31 63, 64, 138

12:32 64

12:46 64

12:47 64

12:48 64

13:1 491

13:13 191

13:23 487

13:25 487

13:35 682

14:12 719

14:30 615

15:8 725

15:13 373

15:17 62

15:18 62

15:19 62

16:11 615

16:21 78

16:22 78

17:3 693

17:12 372

17:16 558

17:23 62

17:24 62

18:37 581

19:15 579

19:34 734

20:17 72

20:18 72

21:17 291

21:22 32

21:23 32

ACTS

1:4 288, 581

1:5 581

1:6 71

1:8 288

2:29 26

2:34 26

2:35 26

3:21 248

4:4 306

4:12 582

4:13 139

5:28 718

5:29 255

5:42 201

7:2 511

7:3 511

7:4 511

7:48 59

7:49 59

7:50 59

7:58 651

7:59 96

7:60 96

8:1 651

8:3 651

8:4 202

8:35 204

9:1 651

9:2 651

9:3 651

9:4 651

9:5 651

9:6 651

9:17 652

9:18 652

9:19 652

10:34 329, 556

10:35 329, 556

10:36 746

10:40 345

10:41 345

11:19 303

11:20 303

13:41 145

14:23 443, 444

15:28 648

15:29 648

17:6 718

17:11 307

17:16 559

17:18 559

17:26 555

18:6 653

18:9 654

18:10 654

18:11 654

18:19 655

18:20 655

18:21 655

18:24 496

18:25 496

18:26 496

18:27 496

18:28 496

19:1 655, 657

19:2 657

19:3 288, 657

19:4 288, 657

19:5 288, 657

19:6 657

19:7 657

19:8 655

19:9 655

19:10 655

19:11 657

19:13 656

19:14 656

19:15 656

19:16 656

19:17 656

19:18 656

19:19 656

19:20 656

20:18 655

20:19 655

20:20 655, 657, 658

20:21 658

20:22 658

20:23 658

20:24 658

20:25 650, 658

20:26 650, 655, 658

20:27 658

20:28 128, 339, 366, 659

20:29 659, 712

20:30 659, 712

20:31 659

20:32 660

20:33 660

20:34 660

20:35 451, 660

20:36 660

21:8 203

21:24 648

21:25 648

22:19 651

22:20 651

23:1 658

24:15 346

26:9 651

26:10 651

26:11 651

26:12 70

26:13 70

26:14 70

26:15 70

26:16 70

26:17 70

26:18 70, 366

26:19 70

26:20 70

27:35 708

28:31 211

ROMANS

1:20 328

2:10 755

2:21 530

2:29 531

3:20 234

3:22 744

3:23 677, 744

5:1 747

5:9 747

5:12 234, 331, 592, 677, 744

5:17 744

6:1 678

6:2 678

6:12 678

6:13 3

6:16 744

6:23 151, 677, 744

7:21 678

7:22 678

7:23 678

7:24 678

7:25 678

8:6 752

8:7 752

8:8 752

9:27 134

9:28 134

10:13 362, 528

10:14 362, 528

10:17 433

10:18 576

11:13 211, 654

11:17 338

11:24 338

11:33 526

12:2 254, 262, 433, 458, 519, 558

12:3 463

12:8 363

12:9 457

12:10 435

13:8 680

13:9 680

13:10 680

14:17 185, 752

14:19 752

14:20 752

15:12 747

15:13 747

15:33 747

16:20 91

1 CORINTHIANS

1:10 524

1:13 524

2:7 688

2:8 688

2:9 688

2:10 688

2:12 608

2:13 458, 608

2:14 608

3:6 718

3:7 718

3:8 718

3:9 718

3:10 431

3:12 431

3:13 431

3:14 431

3:15 431

3:16 639

3:17 639

4:6 462, 555

4:7 462, 555

5:7 488

5:8 488

5:11 171, 370

5:13 171

6:18 639

6:19 639

6:20 639

7:9 544

7:14 552

7:16 553

7:24 266

7:36 31, 544

7:37 31

7:39 31

8:8 479

8:9 479

9:1 432

9:20 553

9:22 553

9:23 286

9:24 543

9:25 543

9:26 543

9:27 171, 456, 543

10:6 169

10:7 169

10:8 169, 171

10:11 170

10:12 163, 170

10:13 170

10:14 262, 712

10:16 187, 409, 649

10:17 187, 409, 639

10:18 410

10:19 410

10:20 410

10:21 410

10:24 304

10:31 275, 479

11:3 269

11:20 185

11:23 410

11:24 410

11:25 410

11:26 410

11:27 187

11:28 187

11:29 187

11:30 187

11:31 187

11:32 187

13:1 435

13:2 435

13:3 435

13:4 553

13:5 179, 462, 553

13:7 553

13:8 404, 553

14:1 436

14:21 140

14:22 140

14:26 753

14:33 307, 753

15:8 652

15:9 652

15:10 652

15:11 652

15:19 345

15:25 219, 392, 678

15:26 219, 392, 678

15:33 552

15:44 191

15:45 590

15:47 590

15:50 84, 191

15:51 84, 347

15:52 84, 347

15:53 84

15:54 84

15:56 677

15:58 151

16:13 17, 626

16:14 17

2 CORINTHIANS

4:3 615

4:4 334, 615

5:18 745

5:19 745

5:20 717, 745

6:16 639

9:5 286

9:6 382, 452

9:7 286, 547

10:4 324

10:5 433

11:14 318

12:4 69, 77

12:21 542

GALATIANS

1:10 502

3:13 734

3:28 550

3:29 593

4:4 218, 681

4:5 681

5:19 542

5:22 751

5:26 465

6:2 372, 626

6:5 626

6:7 617

6:10 300, 683

6:15 747

6:16 747

EPHESIANS

1:3 687

1:7 687

1:8 687

1:9 687

1:10 688

1:11 688

1:16 689

1:17 689

1:18 689

1:19 689

1:20 689

1:21 689

1:22 689

1:23 689

2:1 3, 744

2:2 473, 744

2:3 744

2:11 750

2:12 750

2:13 750

2:14 750

2:15 750

2:16 750

2:17 750

2:18 750

2:19 639

2:20 639

2:21 639

2:22 639

3:16 426

3:17 426

4:1 752

4:2 179, 752

4:3 179, 623, 752

4:4 752

4:5 53

4:11 202

4:13 724

4:14 724

4:19 543

4:23 458

4:24 458

5:5 90

5:15 35, 165, 456

5:16 35, 165, 456, 740

5:17 165, 740

5:18 165

5:33 550

6:6 266, 505

6:14 175

6:15 754

6:16 175, 429

6:17 324

PHILIPPIANS

1:1 128

1:9 460

1:10 460

1:11 460

1:27 18, 535

2:15 433

4:6 708, 751

4:7 55, 751

4:8 461

COLOSSIANS

1:9 457, 496

1:10 457, 496

1:15 329

1:16 329

1:18 72

1:21 744

1:23 467

2:8 388, 400

2:14 583

2:16 185

3:5 90, 542

3:10 299

3:14 752

3:15 752

3:17 275

3:22 466

3:23 397, 466

3:24 466

4:6 497

1 THESSALONIANS

4:3 166

4:4 166

4:5 166, 542

4:7 166

4:8 42

5:6 18

5:8 18

5:12 23

5:13 23, 749

5:14 23, 749

5:15 23, 749

5:21 54, 305, 458

2 THESSALONIANS

1:7 55

1:8 55

1:9 55

2:3 167

1 TIMOTHY

1:12 652

1:13 652

1:14 652

1:15 652

1:16 652

2:1 751

2:2 751

2:3 751

2:4 751

2:5 329

2:9 267

2:10 267

2:13 89

2:14 89

3:1 362

4:1 7, 363

4:2 363

4:3 363, 707

4:6 363, 428

4:8 404

4:10 458

4:16 5, 405, 735

5:8 466, 549

5:11 176

5:12 176

5:13 176

5:14 176

5:15 176

5:16 176

6:6 397

6:9 467

6:10 467

2 TIMOTHY

2:1 16

2:4 6, 267

2:7 459

2:10 435

2:14 695

2:15 434, 496, 695

2:16 695

2:17 695

2:22 542

2:24 499, 703

2:25 499

3:2 555

3:4 555

3:14 552

3:15 552

4:2 15

4:5 203, 207

TITUS

1:5 442, 444

2:3 177

2:4 177

2:5 177

3:14 497

HEBREWS

2:10 32

2:18 32

4:12 175

4:13 175

5:7 32

5:8 32

5:12 192

5:13 464

5:14 464

6:1 298, 464

6:11 464

6:12 464

6:19 433

7:1 181

7:2 181

7:3 181

9:22 186, 734

10:1 437

10:7 344, 406, 465

10:9 344, 580

10:10 380

10:26 679

10:35 435

10:36 435

10:38 433

11:1 763

11:5 77

11:6 361, 433

12:5 271

12:6 271

12:7 551

12:8 551

12:11 271, 551

12:14 751

13:15 572, 708

13:16 572

13:17 167, 271, 373

13:20 662, 746

13:21 662

JAMES

1:17 260

1:22 356

1:27 170, 255

2:14 356

2:15 683

2:16 683

2:17 433

2:20 4

2:24 356

2:26 4

3:1 191

3:13 614

3:14 614

3:15 614

3:16 614

3:17 454, 614, 623

3:18 614

4:1 543, 614

4:2 614

4:3 614

4:4 170, 255, 558, 614

4:17 532

5:10 503

5:14 172, 371, 679

5:15 172, 371, 679

5:16 172

1 PETER

1:1 493

1:12 495

1:13 255, 355, 495

1:18 649

1:19 649

1:24 644

1:25 644

2:1 369

2:2 369

2:3 369

2:4 639

2:5 572, 639

2:6 639

3:1 266, 553

3:2 266, 553

3:3 266

3:4 266

3:7 549, 550

3:10 742

3:11 742, 749

3:12 742

3:15 460, 493

3:20 11, 582

3:21 582

4:3 542

4:4 494

5:1 442

5:2 365

5:3 365

5:4 365

5:5 555

2 PETER

1:2 746

1:3 746

1:4 542

1:5 433

1:6 433

1:7 433

1:8 436

1:10 436

1:19 388

2:18 542

3:7 61, 63

3:9 520, 739

3:13 64, 254, 739

3:14 297

3:17 297

1 JOHN

2:2 678

2:15 558

2:16 171, 543, 558

2:17 56, 151, 558

3:8 678

4:10 681

4:17 502

4:18 502

4:19 681

5:3 682

5:16 679

5:19 744

5:21 712

3 JOHN

vs 9 177

vs 10 177

JUDE

vs 3 370

vs 4 370

vs 8 178

vs 14 159

vs 15 159

vs 20 373

vs 21 373

REVELATION

1:7 400

1:16 571, 602

1:20 571, 602

2:1 602

2:7 71

4:4 441, 602

4:5 576

4:10 441, 602

4:11 602

7:9 337, 747

7:10 747

11:1 506

11:2 216, 506

11:3 80, 81, 216, 506

11:4 81

11:5 81

11:6 81

11:7 81

11:8 81

11:9 81

11:10 81

11:15 81

11:16 81

11:17 81

11:18 81, 335

12:6 216

12:7 110

12:8 110

12:9 110

12:10 110

12:11 272, 503

12:12 740

12:14 216

13:1 472

13:2 472

13:11 573

13:12 573

13:13 573

13:14 573

13:15 573

14:1 334, 351

14:3 334

14:6 197

16:12 537

16:13 691

16:14 336, 351, 620, 691

16:15 9, 297, 535

16:16 336, 351, 620

17:11 508, 600

17:14 690

18:4 307

19:19 508

19:20 508

20:11 595

20:12 256, 595

21:3 57

21:4 57, 242

21:5 57, 338

21:8 501

21:14 412

21:22 639

22:1 86

22:2 86

22:3 86

22:17 86, 369

Subject Index for The Watchtower, 1959

including the title of the first study article of each issue

Abraham, location of, when commanded to move, 511, 512

“According to their wish,” 274

Alive, on being spiritually, 3, 4

Ancient Pattern of Jehovah’s Unusual Work, 132-149

Appetite, importance of spiritual, 425-430

“Appointed Times of the Nations,” explained, 213-216

Archaeology, Bible supported by every discovery of, 344

Bible verified by, 327

famine of Joseph’s day confirmed by, 671

Prince Mikasa on Biblical, 327

Ark, Noah’s, pictured new system of things, 583

Armageddon, description of, 146-149

Jehovah’s witnesses, how assembled at, 351, 352

what is place of? 351

Atheism, reason does not support, 763

Baptism, death of will not pictured by, 31, 32

for life, meaning of, 580-583

Jesus’, meaning of, 343, 344

John’s, valid for Christians till Pentecost, 287, 288

Be Filled with Spiritual Discernment, 457-467

Belly, why used in “NWT” at Ps. 127:3, 639

Be Ready Always to Make a Defense, 483-499

Bible, authenticity of, 326-329, 587-589

basic teachings of, 589-597

best book, makes better people, 156

confirmation of, 312

Oriental book, 326, 327

paradise explained in, 326

peerless still, 643, 644

perfect accuracy of, 407

teachings of Jehovah’s witnesses not dependent

on “New World Translation” of, 672

translated in 1,361 languages, 644

unity of, as a book, 446, 447

Blame, shouldering one’s, 626, 627

Blood, one’s, may not be stored for future use, 640

sacredness of, 645-650

Bloodguilt, Christians must keep free from, 661, 662

keeping clean from, 650-662

Paul kept clean from, 650-661

Body, Christian’s human, not temple, 639, 640

Break Free to Do the “Complete Will of God,” 261-267

Burma, gathering sheep in far-off, 424

Catholic Church, pagan adaptations of, admitted, 722, 723

Christendom, asleep, 9, 10

“caricatures of what Christ intended,” 574

estrangement from God admitted by, 734

Christianity, front-page news, 29

Christians, all, are evangelists, missionaries, 201, 202

awakeness required of, 11-13

exerting selves vigorously required of, 431-436

misunderstood, 64

requirements of, 5-9

watchfulness required of, 735

work of, is building and planting, 47, 48

Christians Need Accurate Knowledge, 293-300

Christmas, gifts may be accepted, 736

Clergy, ridicule message of Witnesses foretold, 138-142

tax to U.N. advocated by, 492

Commandments, two, on which the Law hangs 680-683

Communism, false religion, a, 511

Completeness, attaining to, how, 268-274

Conduct, aids to wise, 172-179

watching our, 165-172

Confidence, misplaced in U.N., 579

Contributions, voluntary, support witness work, 285-287

Corinth, ancient city of, immoral, 381, 382

Cubit, length of, 438

Dead Sea Scrolls, Christianity’s origin and the, 243-247

Decision, day of, 157-159

Defense, be ready for making of, 493-499

Die, many now living will never, 217-219

Discernment, being filled with spiritual, 457-463

spiritual, a sign of maturity, 463-467

Disciples, proving selves to be Christ’s, 719-725

Disfellowshiped, may family sit with? 448

Disfellowshiping, grounds for, 170-172

number involved in United States, 170

servants must exercise care in, 178, 179

Divine Will International Assembly of Jehovah’s

Witnesses, 114-123

outsiders impressed by, 337

Do All Things Jehovah’s Way, 520-532

Down with the Old, Up with the New, 37-51

Dream, Nebuchadnezzar’s, interpretation of, 100-114

Ephraim, drunkards of, picture Christendom, 134-148

Essenes, Christianity not originated by, 244-247

Eusebius Pamphili, compromising bishop of Caesarea, 605-607

Eventuality, defined, 151

Exert Yourselves Vigorously as God’s Workmen, 431-436

Expert Instruction in the Art of Witness-making, 713-725

Faith, defined, 763

popular worship of, 52-56

proving Christian, 195

Family, spiritual obligations to one’s, 548-554

Fear, Jehovah only to be given, 500-505

Field ministry, experience: “It’s Scriptures We

Want,” 755

report for 1957-58, 20-22

world peak in publishers, 164

Finding the Truth That Makes Men Free, 584-597

Full-time service, privilege of, 301, 302

Funeral, suicides’s, conducted by Jehovah’s

witnesses? 447, 448

Future, Bible foretells, 389-392

Gambling, God’s interests not served by, 675, 676

Generosity, proof of wisdom, 451, 452

Gifts, accepting of holiday, permissible, 736

Gilead School, graduation of thirty-second class, 275

graduation of thirty-third class, 604

missionaries of, 205-211

God, evidence for existence of, 585, 586, 763

existence of, proved by chemistry, 509

Gossip, not slander, 176-178

Government, perfect, for all mankind, 228-243

perfect, now time for, 239, 240

serving interests of God’s perfect, 211

Graciousness, good to manifest, 547

Great crowd, ancient pictures of the, 748

Headship, principle of theocratic, 269, 270

Holidays, may Christians accept invitations on? 479

Hope, basis for, 99

How Is Your Spiritual Appetite? 425-430

Images, bowing down to carved, forbidden, 709-712

“Immaculate Conception,” Mary’s, unscriptural

teaching, 188, 189

Innocence by Respect for Sacredness of Blood, 645-650

Intolerance, sign of weakness, 323, 324

Japanese Shoeshine Preacher, 575

Jehovah God, blameless regarding human ills, 259, 260

Christians must seek to do will of, 662, 663

creations of, 329, 330

divine Evangelist, 197-199

does things his own way, 739, 740

fear, never men, 500-505

Jesus’ relation to, 329, 330

miracles of, 329, 330

walking in name of, 525-532

ways of, differ from man’s, 611

when, speaks peace to all nations, 612-626

Jehovah’s Witnesses, “Battle for the Mind” on, 15

know Bible better, 541

persevere behind Iron Curtain, 374, 375

show most concern for man’s survival, 621-624

teachings of, not dependent on “New World

Translation,” 672

“The Advocate” on, 9

unreasonable God not preached by, 602

why different, 253-255

Jeremiah, preaching of, prophetic, 37-51

Jesus Christ, baptism and anointing of, 342-344

birth and youth of, 340, 341

death of, manner of, 733, 734

genealogy of, 315, 316

key to peace, 615-618

missionary evangelist, 199-201

not ascended to heaven prior to first coming, 159, 160

“other sayings” of, 393, 395

promised Messiah, 357-360

teachings of, do you accept? 420-424

time of ministry, 489-492

John the Baptist, not an Essene, 247

preaching of, stirs Jesus, 341, 342

Keeping Kingdom Interests First, 396-407

Keeping Strict Watch on How We Walk, 165-179

Kierkegaard, attack of, on Christendom, 561-564

Kind, being, to self, 483, 484

Kingdom, announcing rulership of God’s, 603

established, when, 335

foregleams of, 155, 156, 180-184, 212-216

who will compose, 334

Kingdom Missionaries, the Bringers of the Best News, 196-216

Knowledge, three basic kinds of, 426

Land, spiritual, of remnant, 382-384

“Let Your Will Come to Pass,” 100-114

Life, purpose in, 131

value of, 419

Light, walking in God’s, 387, 388

“Look! I Am Making All Things New,” 325-338

Lord’s evening meal, The, 379, 380

commanded, why! 186, 187

not a sacrifice, sacrament, 185

what it is, 184, 185

who, when partake, 187

Love, letting all take place with, 17-25

Loyal love, expressing, to God and his Kingdom Heir, 478

Malnutrition, spiritual, 467

Man, condemned, finds hope in paradise, 637-639

survival of, Jehovah’s witnesses show most

concern about, 621-624

Map, Palestine in the Maccabean period, 729

Mary, assumption of, unscriptural, 188-191

not ever-virgin, 189, 190

not immaculately conceived, 188, 189

Masturbation, Scriptural viewpoint regarding, 541-544

Meek, who are, that inherit earth, 479

Mind, requires activity, 355, 356

Ministry, expanding our, 300-304

Missionaries, defined, 196

Gilead School, 205-211

secular, worldly, 206, 207

special class of, 203

Molten sea, dimensions of, harmonized, 512

Nebuchadnezzar, dream of, interpreted, 100-114

dream of image by, interpreted, 280-284, 313-315

dreams of image, 251-253

New, recommending, instead of old, 30

surviving with the, 44-51

New World society, growth of, 295-298

“New World Translation,” why use of “belly” at

Ps. 127:3, 639

1914, summer of, last normal one, 540

Nyasaland, preaching the good news in, 510

Obedience, importance of, 270-272

Olive tree, literal and symbolic, 338

Other sheep, procreation mandate not for those

having early resurrection, 415

Overseers, number of, in any one congregation, 128

obligations of, 362-367

requirements of, 339

Palestine, map of, in Maccabean period, 729

Paradise, defined, 75

evildoer not in, 71-74

extending and peopling our spiritual, 275

Scriptural discussion on, 69-87

spiritual, how maintained, 77-87

Passover, observance of, 485-488

Paul, bloodguilt avoided by, 650-661

Peace, effect of theocratic arrangement, 752-755

how it can come to man, 517-519

Jesus Christ key to, 615-618

praying for, 750-752

pursuit of, 749-755

seeking it, with whom, how, 741-755

when God speaks, to all nations, 612-626

Perfect Government for All Mankind, The, 228-243

Practical Wisdom in the Space Age, 684-698

Prayer, Abraham Lincoln on selfish, 51

Stephen’s, not proof of trinity, 96

two versions of Jesus’ model, 480

Procreation mandate, limited to Armageddon

survivors, 415

Purgatory, teaching of, unscriptural, 761, 762

Pursuing My Purpose in Life

Berner, Alice, 220-223

Cooke, John R., 468-472

Garrard, G. B., 668-671

Hinds, Mary M., 276-279

Leathco, C. D., 412-415

Manso, Florence, 533-535

Olson, Olaf, 725-727

Webster, James O., 92-95

Woodard, Hermon, 348-350

Ransom, teaching of, illustrated, 332

Religion, changing one’s, not wrong, 305-307

Remnant, how like nation and land born, 382-384

Resolve, carrying out, to be at peace and unity, 87

Responsibility, shouldering one’s, 626, 627

Resurrection, hope of, 345-347

teaching of, illustrated, 333, 334

Ruler, perfect, for man’s government, 236-243

Sacred secret, God’s purpose to make Son chief in

capital organization is, 687-690

Salvation for Your Family as Well as Your Neighbor, 548-554

Sanctuary, record of typical, 152-156

Satan the Devil, worship of, 317, 318

Saved, what to do to really be, 13-17

Science, Bible does not conflict with, 360

Scientists, not all atheists, 328

Scrolls, life’s, identified, 256

Seeking of Peace, The, 741-755

Serpent, Eden’s, cautious or subtle, 447

Serving Where the Need Is Great, obligation to:

examples of, 303, 304

Shealtiel, who was father of? 416

Sheep, Christians must feed, 291, 292

clergy fail to feed, 291, 292

meeting today’s needs of, 368-373

Shepherding the Sheep with Skillfulness, 361-373

Signs, explaining God’s, and wonders, 150

Sin, God’s remedy for, 677-679

Slander, defined, 176

grounds for disfellowshiping, 176-179

“Stay by These Things,” 5-25

Stephen, prayer, not proof of trinity, 96

Sterilization, Christians may not resort to, 415, 416

Tabernacle, description of, 437-439

prophetic significance of, 439, 440

Tactfulness, field experience regarding use of, 703

Teachers, why many should not become, 191, 192

Temple, description of Solomon’s, 565-569

prophetic patterns of Zerubbabel’s, 628-632

prophetic significance of Solomon’s, 569

Temptation, need for resisting, how, 163

Thanksgiving, reasons for, 707, 708

Theological students, faith lacking among, 361

Thermopylae, who was defeated at? 575, 576

Time, do you have? 35, 36

length of a, 216

Traditions, must be overcome to gain salvation, 554-560

Tree, two bands around stump of, why, 704

Tree of knowledge, command not to touch, 704

Trinity, not proved by Zech. 11:11, 12, 224

Truth, value of, 67, 68

Tyre, doom of ancient, foretold, fulfilled, 308-312

United Nations, Christendom’s lying refuge, 142-144

Unusual work, Jehovah rises up to his, 145-149

pattern of Jehovah’s, 132-149

warning others of God’s, 395

warnings of Jehovah’s, 134-144

Violence, today an age of, 227

Walking, in name of Jehovah, 525-532

War, clergyman admits glorifying, 445

menace of nuclear, 612, 613

Watch Tower publications, who are writers of? 607, 608

Way, all things to be done Jehovah’s, 520-532

Wesley, John, on 1 John 5:7, 382

When God Speaks Peace to All Nations, 612-626

Wicked, why do they prosper? 515, 516

Wickedness, permitted, why, 331

Will, dedication does not mean death of, 31, 32

earth to see doing of divine, 108-114

Wisdom, displaying of practical, as sons of light, 692-698

forethought a manifestation of, 690-692

“labor pains” of, 256

making, succeed, 695, 696

practical, for the space age, 684-692

practical, foundation of, 696-698

unjust steward manifested practical, 693, 694

walking with, in a wicked world, 453-456

worldly institutions unable to impart, admitted, 685

worldly, space-age, admitted impractical, 692

Witnesses, expert instruction in the art of making, 713-718

Work, harmonizing our, with our ministerial

garments, 535

World, God loved what, so much? 61-64

resisting entanglement with, 401-407

World powers, march of the, 249-253

Xerxes, harmonizing statements regarding various, 318-320

“Your Will Be Done on Earth,”

Serial Part 5, 25-29

Serial Part 6, 56-61

Serial Part 7, 88-92

Serial Part 8, 123-127

Serial Part 9, 152-156

Serial Part 10, 180-184

Serial Part 11, 212-216

Serial Part 12, 248-253

Serial Part 13, 280-284

Serial Part 14, 313-316

Serial Part 15, 340-344

Serial Part 16, 376-380

Serial Part 17, 408-412

Serial Part 18, 441-445

Serial Part 19, 472-478

Serial Part 20, 505-509

Serial Part 21, 536-540

Serial Part 22, 570-574

Serial Part 23, 597-602

Serial Part 24, 632-636

Serial Part 25, 663-667

Serial Part 26, 698-702

Serial Part 27, 728-732

Serial Part 28, 756-760

Announcements

FIELD MINISTRY

“It is the will of God,” say many when faced with heart-breaking events. How sadly they misconstrue God’s will! And when praying to God, “Your will be done on earth,” few realize that God’s will for earth means the restoration of paradise. To aid all persons of good will to get such important Bible knowledge, during December Jehovah’s witnesses will offer the two books “Your Will Be Done on Earth” and From Paradise Lost to Paradise Regained, with two booklets, for $1.25.

FOR DAILY READING

For daily reading you should have the 1960 Yearbook of Jehovah’s Witnesses. Not only does it contain stimulating experiences of the Christian ministry world-wide, but it also provides daily consideration of God’s Word through the Daily Texts and Comments. In this popular portion of the Yearbook a text of the Bible is quoted for each day, followed by comments from The Watchtower of the year 1959. Send 50c for your copy today. Also, you will want the 1960 calendar, beautifully illustrating the year’s text. Send 25c.

“WATCHTOWER” STUDIES FOR THE WEEKS

January 24: The Seeking of Peace, ¶1-23. Page 741.

January 31: The Seeking of Peace, ¶24-27, and The Pursuit of Peace. Page 748.