The Watchtower — April 1, 1960

When Will Oppression End?

WHY have not men with all their wars and revolutions to overthrow oppression succeeded in so doing? Why have they not founded a nonoppressive society? Why is it that oppression is not eliminated by higher forms of economy but accompanies them? To answer these questions necessitates one’s understanding the very origin of oppression itself.

For centuries men have prayed, warred and died to free the oppressed. Their efforts, for the most part, have never led to anything except the replacing of one oppressive system by another. Karl Marx thought he was able to demonstrate scientifically that things were different in our day. He set about to develop a system of government that he thought would lead to true emancipation, not to a new oppression. This was the beginning of communism, the most oppressive of all systems to date. The people’s communes in China are proof enough of that, for about 98 percent of China’s peasantry have been herded into a system of forced collectivization. All their personal rights, freedoms and belongings have been surrendered to the State. This is the fruit of a system that Marx believed would do away with oppression and bring true emancipation.

There are, of course, different kinds of oppression. In many parts of the world there is what might be termed industrial oppression. Huge industrial systems pin down thousands of men to more or less servile jobs, govern their hours and, indirectly, their standard of living. For workers to press for better working conditions and a higher wage to meet the high cost of living often brings on more oppression. When employers are forced to pay higher wages, they frequently boost the price of their products to compensate for the additional overhead, prices are raised to absorb the higher costs, and the worker, who must buy the product, ends up paying for his own raise. The recent 116-day steel strike in the United States cost some 500,000 steel workers an estimated total of $1,160,000,000 in wages. When will these workers ever regain this loss by their raise in pay? Possibly never. So strikes and collective bargaining are not the means by which economic oppression will be brought to an end.

The oppression of the farmer is big enough to become a national issue during presidential-election years in America. Giant landowners have all but choked out the small farmer. His few bushels of wheat cannot compete with the millions of the rich. So he is often forced to sell for less than it cost him to raise it, which leads to bankruptcy—oppression.

The big chain stores now operated by giant corporations have much to do with the setting of prices. Often huge corporations undersell the small merchant until he is driven out of business and into bankruptcy. Then prices are raised. The man who eats and the man who produces must suffer; the one because he has to pay high prices, the other because he has to sell at a loss, and the ones who control the market make the profit. The result? The small merchant passes out of existence and the people suffer.

Recent investigations in the United States into the pricing practices of the drug industry uncovered another kind of oppression. Some drugs sold at from 7,000 to 10,000 percent over the cost of the materials! One item that cost 14 cents to make was sold for $15. The subcommittee was told that large concerns were “overcharging the public $750,000,000 a year for prescription drugs” alone. Drug costs may be so high as to prevent people from receiving proper medical treatment, or make them hesitate to get their prescriptions filled when necessary. Oppressors care little for the public’s health so long as they get their profit.

The vicious practice of kidnaping Negro children and selling them to become servants is reported by Life, January 11, 1960, to be a lucrative trade in Nigeria. The article states: “Sometimes the child . . . is sold to a local believer in juju who thinks that if he sacrifices a human being to the god he will grow rich, or that by eating some parts of the slaughtered anatomy he can rejuvenate himself or prolong his life. The current price is £300 ($846) per child.”

Heavy taxation is another form of oppression. In the past decade the American taxpayer has paid $365,000,000,000 into defense and yet feels more insecure today than ever. That is over $6,000 for every working American, which is an oppressive burden to bear.

When will oppression end? No power can abolish oppression so long as the cause that makes it inevitable remains. Abolishing oppression means getting at the very root of the trouble, namely, getting at this system’s god, Satan the Devil. (2 Cor. 4:4) To eliminate Satan and those who display his selfish spirit is to wipe oppression off the earth. That is why nations have failed, because only God can destroy Satan and root out greed. This Jehovah has promised to do. “The God who gives peace will crush Satan under your feet shortly,” wrote the apostle Paul. (Rom. 16:20) This crushing will take place at Armageddon, God’s war against the wicked. To follow Armageddon there will be a new world of God’s making, completely free of oppression. Ruler of the new world is Jesus Christ, the Prince of Peace, who, when on earth, “went through the land doing good and healing all those oppressed by the Devil.” (Acts 10:38) Now from his heavenly throne as King of the new world he will make a complete end to all oppressors and oppression. Gone will be all oppressive communes, greedy industrial giants and commercialists, religious and military oppressors. The inspired promise is: “He will deliver the poor one crying for help, also the afflicted one and whoever has no helper. From oppression and from violence he will redeem their soul, and their blood will be precious in his eyes.” “For evildoers themselves will be cut off, but those hoping in Jehovah are the ones that will possess the earth.”—Ps. 72:12, 14; 37:9.

The Anniversary That Must Be Kept by Christians

On April 10, 1960, after sundown, Christians in all parts of the earth will assemble to commemorate the death of Jesus Christ in the way that he commanded. Will you be among them?

EACH year there are many anniversaries celebrated in the name of the Christian religion. But there is only one that is incumbent upon each and every Christian; only one that is expressly commanded by Jesus Christ, the Leader, Teacher and Master of Christians. What is that anniversary? Christmas? No. Easter? No. All Saints’ Day? No. It is the anniversary of the death of Jesus Christ, known as the “Memorial,” the “Lord’s supper,” or the “Lord’s evening meal.” It and it alone is the anniversary that is a must for all Christians.—Luke 22:19.

The importance of the Memorial is indicated by our having received a fourfold record of it. Concerning it the apostle Paul, who received his information by direct inspiration, wrote: “For I received from the Lord that which I also handed on to you, that the Lord Jesus in the night in which he was going to be handed over took a loaf and, after giving thanks, he broke it and said: ‘This means my body which is in your behalf. Keep doing this in remembrance of me.’ He did likewise respecting the cup also, after he had the evening meal, saying: ‘This cup means the new covenant by virtue of my blood. Keep doing this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.’ For as often as you eat this loaf and drink this cup, you keep proclaiming the death of the Lord.”—1 Cor. 11:23-26.

Because this anniversary must be kept by Christians, Jehovah’s witnesses have kept celebrating it even at the risk of their freedom and their lives. Among other places, they did so right in the midst of German concentration camps. Today they continue to do so in spite of bans on their assembling in lands behind the Iron Curtain and in countries such as Red China and Ethiopia.

This year Jehovah’s witnesses throughout the world, from east to west, after sundown, will assemble at their Kingdom Halls on April 10. This date, April 10, is the only red-letter date on their calendar. All persons of good will toward God are invited, yes, urged, to attend. The program, in brief, will consist of song, prayer, a discourse on the meaning of the occasion, the passing of the emblems, concluding remarks and a closing song and prayer.

Why do Jehovah’s witnesses celebrate the Lord’s supper only once each year and why on this particular date? Do not many professed Christians celebrate it several times a year, whereas the Roman Catholic Church, in the Mass, celebrates it every day in the year except on Good Friday? For what good reasons did Jesus command that we should commemorate his death?

To commemorate Jesus’ death annually on the day he died is fitting, logical and Scriptural. Anniversaries of important events are yearly occasions. Does not celebrating such an event more than once a year detract rather than add to it? Besides, Jesus instituted this anniversary on the night of the Jewish passover. It commemorated the passing over or sparing of the first-born and the freeing of the Israelites from Egyptian bondage and was celebrated on the same date each year at God’s express command. In passing, it should also be noted that any Israelite who neglected that celebration was “cut off from his people.”—Ex. 13:3-13; 34:18; Num. 9:13.

Why is this celebration held on April 10? Did Jesus die on that day? No, but he died on Nisan 14, which falls on April 10 this year. Nisan 14? Yes, according to the lunar calendar that God gave the Israelites, the year began in the spring with the new moon nearest the spring equinox; the equinox usually falling on March 21, the first day of spring. Nisan or Abib, the first month, began with the visible new moon nearest that date. The celebration of the Passover took place on Nisan fourteenth, by which time the moon was full. With the Israelites, as with the Genesis account of creation, the day began in the evening instead of at midnight. That is why both Jesus’ institution of the Memorial after sundown on Thursday evening and his death the next afternoon took place on the same day.

WHY THE MEMORIAL?

Why did Jesus command his death to be memorialized? Because of its importance to all, from Jehovah down to the lowliest human. More than 4,000 years before, a perfect angelic creature had rebelled against God due to selfish ambition and had induced the first human pair to join him in that rebellion by appealing to their selfishness. He boasted that he could likewise turn all God’s creatures away from God. Thereby this one, Satan the Devil, raised the issue, Who is ruler of the universe? Related thereto was the question, Whose fault was it that Adam and Eve sinned? Had God created them incapable of keeping integrity and yet required it of them? So that the reproach upon Jehovah God that these questions implied might be removed once and for all, God permitted Satan and Adam and Eve to continue for a time; giving Satan full opportunity to prove his boast.—Job, chaps. 1, 2; Prov. 27:11.

Throughout the years faithful men such as Abel, Enoch, Noah, Abraham and Moses have kept integrity, thereby vindicating God and proving the Devil a liar. They did so in spite of all that the Devil could do in the way of temptation and persecution. But could a perfect man keep God’s law perfectly, which was what God had required of Adam and Eve? Jesus, by the time of his death, had done that very thing. His example of faithfulness therefore, above all others, had proved the Devil a lying braggart and cleared Jehovah’s name of reproach. More than that, as a perfect man he had the right to life. By his giving up his human life he could bestow that right upon all deserving humans who had lost it due to Adam’s transgression. So we can see that up to the time of Jesus’ death no more important event had taken place as regards both Jehovah God and all his creatures than Jesus’ vindicating his Father and providing the way to life for all deserving humans. Surely such an event deserves being memorialized if any event does.

The Lord’s evening meal is therefore a memorial to Jehovah’s sovereignty. It forcefully brings home to our minds that He is deserving of our worship and He alone. It magnifies his four marvelous attributes of wisdom, justice, love and power that made possible his vindication and our gaining everlasting life. So by our attending the Memorial of Jesus’ death our appreciation of Jehovah God increases and our gratitude for all he has done for us grows.

The same may also be said regarding Jesus Christ. In fact, it in particular highlights his course of action and what he did and will yet do for us. Although existing in God’s form, the Word—as he was known before coming to earth—was willing to humble himself and become a man and suffer all manner of abuse upon earth while faithfully carrying out his commission to be a witness to the truth. He kept integrity even to the shameful and painful death on the torture stake. Jesus did all this out of love for us as well as out of love for his heavenly Father, thereby making His heart glad. At the Memorial his body that he gave and his blood that he shed for us are pictured by unleavened bread and red wine. How much we are indebted to him! Surely to have these truths so graphically called to our attention is another powerful reason why attending this Christian anniversary is a must for us!—Phil. 2:5-8.

The Lord’s evening meal also causes us to grow in appreciation of what is required of us as Christians. We must imitate Jesus, as we read: “Christ suffered for you, leaving you a model for you to follow his steps closely.” His example of keeping integrity in spite of temptation and persecution is set forth for us to follow. And as shown by Jesus’ further remarks on that evening when he instituted the Memorial, as recorded at John, chapters 13 through 17, Christians must bear fruit and so prove themselves his disciples. They must abide in union with Christ, the Vine, and must love one another, even as Jesus loved them. By this fact alone, all men would recognize who truly were his followers. The Memorial, or Lord’s evening meal, therefore causes us to examine ourselves and serves to spur us on to greater efforts to imitate Jesus Christ in keeping integrity.—1 Pet. 2:21.

WHO MAY PARTAKE?

The Memorial’s unique feature is the passing of the unleavened bread and red wine to all in attendance. But do all in attendance partake of them? No; in fact, in many if not in most instances today no one will partake. Why is that? Because the Scriptures show that Jesus instituted the Memorial of his death with those with whom he had made a covenant for his heavenly kingdom, the members of which are limited to 144,000. (Luke 22:28-30; Rev. 7:1-4; 14:1, 3) Last year, of the one and a quarter million in attendance, a mere one in eighty-eight partook. Only those partook who had a firm conviction that God was individually dealing with them as spiritual sons and who therefore had a sure hope of a heavenly destiny.—Rom. 8:15-25.

What about the rest? These are the “other sheep,” the members of “a great crowd, which no man was able to number, out of all nations.” Their hope is that of enjoying everlasting life in an earthly Paradise, for someday this earth will be filled with righteous creatures, all worshiping Jehovah God. However, though not partaking of the emblems, they heed Jesus’ command to commemorate his death and are glad that they can be present to profit from the things said and done, for they also need to keep integrity to share in vindicating God’s name and to gain life everlasting.—John 10:16; Rev. 7:9; Isa. 11:9.

So let all men who are well disposed toward God, whether professing to be dedicated Christians or not, attend the anniversary celebration of Christ’s death with Jehovah’s witnesses at one of their Kingdom Halls and be greatly benefited thereby.

The Master’s Manner of Teaching

“Never has another man spoken like this.”—John 7:46.

1. Who is the greatest teacher that has ever been on earth? What things should we learn from him, and with what result?

WHEN he was on earth nineteen hundred years ago they used to call him Master, Lord, Teacher and Instructor. (Matt. 8:19, 21, margin; Luke 5:5; 8:24, 45) This one was Jesus, whose birth at Bethlehem the angels of heaven announced and whom God his heavenly Father sent and anointed with his spirit to preach and teach among men. (Luke 2:4-14; 3:21-23; 4:16-22) Never has there been a greater teacher on earth than Jesus! No imperfect man can surpass his effectiveness in the ministry. As Jesus himself said: “A pupil is not above his teacher, but,” he added, “everyone that is perfectly instructed will be like his teacher.” Jesus the Master Teacher directed his disciples to preach as he preached, and he instructed them to teach as he taught. When we copy Jesus by speaking the word of God and not ideas of our own originality, we show that we are following him. When we employ the same methods of teaching that Jesus did, then we are becoming ‘like our teacher.’ It will then be recognized about us, as it was of the apostles, that we have learned from Jesus.—Luke 6:40; Acts 4:13.

2. (a) What message did Jesus announce, and why appropriately so? (b) What good news is to be preached in our day, and how?

² The message that Jesus announced was: “Repent, for the kingdom of the heavens has drawn near.” When he sent out his twelve disciples he told them: “As you go, preach, saying, ‘The kingdom of the heavens has drawn near.’” Yes, the kingdom had drawn near in the person of the anointed King himself. Concerning the time of the end, in which we now live, he said: “This good news of the kingdom will be preached in all the inhabited earth for the purpose of a witness.” Again it is the message of the Kingdom that Jesus’ followers are to preach, but this time it is the good news that God’s heavenly kingdom is established, that “now have come to pass the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God and the authority of his Christ.” Jesus made the Kingdom live in the minds of his listeners, and we should learn to do the same. He also knew that there were stumbling blocks that kept some from embracing the good news, and he helped to clear them out of the way. By listening to Jesus we can learn from him how to be effective ministers.—Matt. 4:17; 10:7; 24:14; Rev. 12:10.

3. Why is Jesus’ manner of teaching, though centuries old, of special interest to us today, and what is required if our ministry is to be fruitful?

³ The manner of teaching that Jesus employed is as effective now as it was in the first century. People today are as they were in those days, inquisitive, curious, and they wanted to know why? how? where? Even though times change and world conditions may vary, the basic nature of people remains the same. As it was then, so it is now; people have the same weaknesses, desires and worries, so there is the same need for mercy, comfort, hope and security. We do not have to be able to perform miracles in order to convince others of the truth, but we must have accurate knowledge and the spirit of God in order to bear fruit that is an honor to his name. We must stay close to God and to his organization. Jesus illustrated it in this way: “I am the true vine, and my Father is the cultivator. . . . Just as the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it remains in the vine, in the same way neither can you, unless you remain in union with me.” We must stay close to the Word of God and copy carefully the example of Jesus to be effective in the ministry.—John 15:1, 4.

4, 5. What showed his insight in dealing with people?

⁴ Jesus knew how people would react under various circumstances, and he used that knowledge in selecting pointed illustrations. Showing why he went to the sinners, those who had been as lost sheep, to teach them, he said: “What woman with ten drachma coins, if she loses one drachma coin, does not light a lamp and sweep her house and search carefully until she finds it? And when she has found it she calls the women who are her friends and neighbors together, saying: ‘Rejoice with me, because I have found the drachma coin that I lost.’” She searched the whole house to find the one lost coin. Even though she still had nine, she wanted the lost one, and when she found it she rejoiced more over that one than over the nine that she already had, because the lost coin was one of a special set of ten. This set may have been sewed to her marriage headpiece as part of her wedding dowry. So, because of its connections, that lost coin was irreplaceable. Its absence from her headgear because of loss would also arouse suspicion as to her virtue as a married woman. Or, if the set of ten coins was an heirloom, then it would be specially precious, and every coin in the set would be of special value. The set would not be complete without each coin. The loss of even one coin might cast suspicion on any visitor in the house before the loss was discovered. Hence visitors to the house would be concerned over the loss of the coin and would be glad to be proved innocent of theft of any part of the heirloom. So, when the loser of the coin would ransack her house and discover it there and she discharged her obligation to all her visitors of joyfully announcing the find, all her friends and neighbors would rejoice with her, both because of being cleared of suspicion of theft, and because the valued heirloom was restored complete.

⁵ Is that not true of people today? Let a person lose an original piece of a priceless set that has a lot of sentiment connected with it, or even family virtue and honor, and he is not happy until he finds it and can, with the joy of relief, announce the successful find to his concerned friends and neighbors. So, too, “the Son of man came to seek and to save what was lost.” How clearly Jesus illustrated the point! He understood people, and this showed in the way he spoke.—Luke 15:8, 9; 19:10.

6. Why were his illustrations so effective?

⁶ His use of illustrations became characteristic of his teaching. Instead of making complicated comparisons, he used everyday matters. He made use of little things to explain the big things, and easy things to make plain the hard things. What woman could not instantly appreciate the illustration of sewing a new patch on an old garment? What man in that agricultural country would not see and identify himself with the story of the man who went out to sow seed that fell on different types of soil? Those were things in everyday life, and when spiritual truths were tied to such events the truths could be visualized and more easily remembered.—Matt. 9:16; 13:3-9, 18-23.

7. (a) Why do illustrations make it easier for people to accept new ideas? (b) How did Jesus make his denunciation of greed and unmercifulness forceful?

⁷ These illustrations drove home the points so forcefully that no one could argue back. Most people believe what they see more readily than they believe things that they have simply heard. If you use an illustration, it is easier for them to accept what you are teaching, because they can see, or visualize, the truth that is involved. For example, when Jesus spoke against greed and lack of mercy he did not merely say, “It is not nice to be greedy.” No; he told of a man who wanted to settle accounts with his slaves. One slave owed him ten thousand talents but could not pay. “Therefore the slave fell down and began to do obeisance to him, saying: ‘Be patient with me and I will pay back everything to you.’ Moved to pity at this, the master of that slave let him off and canceled his debt. But that slave went out and found one of his fellow slaves that was owing him a hundred denarii; and, grabbing him, he began to choke him, saying: ‘Pay back whatever you owe.’ Therefore his fellow slave fell down and began to entreat him, saying: ‘Be patient with me and I will pay you back.’ However, he was not willing, but went off and had him thrown into prison.” Can you imagine it? A man forgiven a debt of over ten million dollars turned around and jailed another for failing to pay him seventeen dollars! How could anyone possibly defend such greed and lack of mercy? Jesus made greed and failure to forgive so repugnant that his disciples would sincerely try to root them out of their lives.—Matt. 18:23-35.

8, 9. What kind of person was Jesus, as shown by his speech, and how can we benefit by his example?

⁸ Jesus was uncompromisingly for the truth; he was dynamic as he attacked pride, self-righteousness and oppressive traditions. A man’s style of speech reveals what kind of person he is, and Jesus’ speech was vigorous. His descriptions were vivid. His listeners heard as Jesus painted word pictures of men with rafters in their eyes trying to pick straws from the eyes of others, herdsmen offering pearls to swine, houses on sand crashing in the storm while those on rock stood, men cutting off hands and plucking out eyes to escape destruction, offenders with huge millstones around their necks being hurled into the sea, camels squeezing through the eyes of sewing needles, and men straining out gnats and swallowing camels. Now just imagine swallowing a camel! Only a dynamic person would ever think of such verbal imagery, because a man talks according to his personality. Christ Jesus was the Lion of the tribe of Judah, he was filled with the spirit of God, and he spoke like it. Those who want to be his followers should learn his manner of teaching and follow his example as vigorous, enthusiastic advocates of the Bible truth.

⁹ His speech reveals him as one who was not shyly restrained or timid, but plain-spoken and effective. Jesus’ thoughts soared above and beyond the power of vocabulary, and at times only highly pictorial language could convey his intensity of feeling to those who listened. The crowds were astonished at his teaching and at the authority of his speech. With conviction he spoke the truth to them in the name of his Father, who had sent him. “And the great crowd was listening to him with pleasure,” we are told.—Mark 12:37.

10. What enabled Jesus to speak to people according to their individual needs?

¹⁰ He also had other qualities, softer ones. He was at ease with all kinds of people—young or old, male or female, rich or poor, upright or sinners—and he spoke to each one on a personal basis, in the way that that individual needed to be spoken to. This insight into the needs of others was one of his outstanding characteristics and it greatly influenced his teaching. As stated in John 2:25: “He was in no need to have anyone bear witness about man, for he himself knew what was in man.”

11, 12. Why did he give the counsel he did to the rich young ruler, but who acted according to such counsel?

¹¹ Appreciating the need of each one, he spoke to them with insight. For example, a rich young ruler came to Jesus asking what he had to do to gain life, and Jesus said to keep the commandments of the Mosaic law. “All these I have kept from youth on,” the ruler answered. But had he? Could any imperfect man keep that perfect law? No. Yet Jesus did not waste time contesting that, but said: “There is yet one thing wanting about you: Sell all the things you have and distribute to poor people, and you will have treasure in the heavens; and come be my follower.” The man went away sad. (Luke 18:18-23) He was not happy like Simon Peter, who said for himself and his fellow apostles: “Look! we have left all things and followed you.” (Matt. 19:27) He was not like the wealthy tax collector Zacchaeus, who joyfully received Jesus into his house and entertained him and listened to Jesus’ teaching and then said: “Look! the half of my belongings, Master, I am giving to the poor.”

¹² But why did the Master not tell Zacchaeus to give all his belongings to the poor in order to become a disciple and follow Jesus? The reason why not was that Zacchaeus wanted to render justice with the other half of his belongings and thereby show he was a real follower of Jesus. Zacchaeus did not retain the other half of his belongings materialistically but, in the interest of justice, in order to discharge his righteous obligations. Zacchaeus said concerning the use of the other half not distributed to the poor: “And whatever I extorted from anyone by false accusation I am restoring fourfold.” The Mosaic law required a thief who had disposed of a stolen sheep to make compensation with four sheep; but if the stolen property was still alive in his hand, he had to make only double compensation. (Ex. 22:1, 4) Zacchaeus thus showed repentance and not only love for the poor but also justice toward oppressed ones as the fruitage of his repentance. Jesus was pleased with such a disposition of the belongings of Zacchaeus as a natural descendant of faithful Abraham, for Jesus said: “This day salvation has come to this house, because he also is a son of Abraham. For the Son of man came to seek and to save what was lost.”—Luke 19:1-10.

13. (a) Why did he tell Martha that she was unwisely “anxious and disturbed about many things,” and is that counsel appropriate for others? (b) How can we develop this quality of teaching that Jesus used so effectively?

¹³ When Jesus visited the home of Mary and Martha he was teaching the truth to Mary while Martha prepared an elaborate meal. Finally Martha complained: “Master, does it not matter to you that my sister has left me alone to attend to things? Tell her, therefore, to join in helping me.” “Martha, Martha,” Jesus said, “you are anxious and disturbed about many things. A few things, though, are needed, or just one. For her part, Mary chose the good portion, and it will not be taken away from her.” (Luke 10:38-42) While a very simple meal would have sufficed, Martha spent too much time on elaborate preparations for her guest, to the neglect of the more important spiritual things, and Jesus made that plain. But he did not go throughout Palestine telling women not to prepare large meals for their guests. Martha’s concern over the details of her work in the home was her personal stumbling stone. Jesus’ counsel fit her need, as well as that of all who are inclined to be like Martha. In other instances of his teaching it is evident that Jesus showed similar insight by making the individual’s personal obstacle stand out and then alerting the person to it. We too should be observant, noting the inclinations and reactions of those we teach, and then taking those things into consideration as we continue to help them.

HE ROUTED COMPLACENCY

14, 15. How did Jesus open his sermon on the mount, and with what effect?

¹⁴ Jesus’ famous sermon on the mount would not take more than twenty minutes to give as recorded in Matthew 5:1 to 7:27, but it has lasted for nineteen centuries and has been equaled by no sermon since! He was near Capernaum and the crowds were following him, so he went up into the mountain and sat down to teach those that followed him. What did he say? Was it what the majority would readily accept? Did he say that it is the rich who have no need, or the happy who need no comfort? Did he commend those who are well liked by men? No! Rather, he said startling things:

¹⁵ “Happy are you poor, because yours is the kingdom of God. Happy are you who hunger now, because you will be filled. Happy are you who weep now, because you will laugh. Happy are you whenever men hate you, and whenever they exclude you and reproach you and cast your name out as wicked for the sake of the Son of man. Rejoice in that day and leap, for, look! your reward is great in heaven, for those are the same things their forefathers used to do to the prophets.” It was the spiritually hungry, thirsty, reproached, persecuted, needy and mourning ones he pronounced happy.—Luke 6:20-23.

16. What high standards did he set forth, and what effect would these teachings have on his hearers?

¹⁶ Jesus continued: “You heard that it was said to those of ancient times, ‘You must not murder; but whoever commits a murder will be accountable to the court of justice.’ However, I say to you that everyone who continues angry with his brother will be accountable to the court of justice.” (Matt. 5:21, 22) Many people can say, “I have never committed murder. I have kept that law.” But how many can say, “I have never been angry with my brother”? Then Jesus said: “You heard that it was said, ‘You must not commit adultery.’ But I say to you that everyone that keeps on looking at a woman so as to have a passion for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart.” (Matt. 5:27, 28) Many in his audience might be able to say, “I have never committed adultery,” but how many of them could honestly say that they had never had a thought of lust in their life? Jesus also said: “You heard that it was said, ‘Eye for eye and tooth for tooth.’ However, I say to you: Do not resist him that is wicked; but whoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn the other also to him.” Many men can say they do not go around starting fights, but if someone comes up and provocatively slaps first, how many can hold their temper and their hands and avoid a fight?—Matt. 5:38, 39.

17. Whom should we love, and why? And how may hate be conquered?

¹⁷ “You heard that it was said: ‘You must love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ However, I say to you: Continue to love your enemies and to pray for those persecuting you. For if you love those loving you, what reward do you have?” (Matt. 5:43, 44, 46) It is easy to love those who love you, but it is extremely difficult to love those who hate and persecute you. Jehovah is able to love his enemies, and we must copy him if we are to be his children. Why let your conduct be governed by the bad behavior of others? Why hate just because others do? Why get into the vicious cycle of rendering evil for evil? Why lower yourself to the base standards of your enemies? Meeting hate with hate brings trouble, while meeting it with love may end the difficulty. What a blessing it would be if you by your right conduct could win over even your enemy! “Return evil for evil to no one,” Paul said. “But keep conquering the evil with the good.”—Rom. 12:17, 21.

18. In his teaching how did Jesus get right to the bottom of the problem, and how do Christians react to his counsel?

¹⁸ In his teaching Jesus got right to the bottom of the problem, routing one’s feeling of self-righteous complacency. He showed that more is involved than merely refraining from deeds of violence and immorality. He pointed out the thoughts that would lead to those wrong acts, and urged other thoughts to cultivate godly desires so that their right deeds would be motivated by love. In that way they would avoid falling into the deadly cycle later described by James when he said: “Each one is tried by being drawn out and enticed by his own desire. Then the desire, when it has become fertile, gives birth to sin; in turn, sin, when it has been accomplished, brings forth death.” (Jas. 1:14, 15) Christians take Jesus’ counsel to heart and earnestly endeavor to apply it, but what sinful man can honestly say that he fully measures up to that perfect standard? Who can say that he does not need the long-suffering of Jehovah God and His provision of the Messiah? In Jesus’ day such truths that drew attention to human shortcomings greatly disturbed the religious traditionalists, whose self-righteousness was in the outward keeping of rules and regulations. (Matt. 23:23) Jesus hit hard at complacency in order to bring honest ones to their senses and save them from the snare of pride and self-righteousness.

JESUS PREACHED ACTIVITY

19. What anxieties did Jesus know of, but where did he teach us to fix our attention?

¹⁹ His sermon continued: “Stop being anxious about your souls as to what you will eat or what you will drink, or about your bodies as to what you will wear. Does not the soul mean more than food and the body than clothing?” Then, picking illustrations at hand on the hillside, he told them to observe the birds that ate without sowing and the lilies of the field that were so beautifully clothed without spinning. Man too should learn to look to God and thank Him for the things He provides. “If, now, God thus clothes the vegetation of the field which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much rather clothe you, you with little faith?” Jesus stressed putting spiritual things, the Kingdom and God’s righteousness, first, rather than spending so much time and anxiety on material things.—Matt. 6:25-34.

20. (a) What things did Jesus emphasize, and what evidence can you give? (b) Does that affect our teaching? How?

²⁰ Jesus taught his disciples that activity was important. He placed emphasis more on doing good things than on not doing bad things. If you are doing what is right you cannot be doing what is wrong at the same time. “Every good tree produces fine fruit, but every rotten tree produces bad fruit; a good tree cannot bear bad fruit, neither can a rotten tree produce fine fruit. Not everyone saying to me, ‘Master, Master,’ will enter into the kingdom of the heavens, but the one doing the will of my Father who is in the heavens will.” Merely claiming to be Christian and refraining from wicked deeds is not enough. Instead of laying down a long list of things that his disciples were not to do, Jesus urged them to do the will of God. In the main he dealt with positive action, not negative goodness. He more often condemned people for failure to do good than for the committing of bad. For example, there were the priest and the Levite who went on the other side of the street and left the victim of robbers helpless, the goatlike ones who refrained from doing good to the King’s brothers, and the rich man who did nothing for Lazarus the beggar. Jesus warned his disciples against the wrong way, but he emphasized God’s way. He left the pattern for Christian teachers to follow.—Matt. 7:17, 18, 21.

21. What was the effect of his sermon on his hearers, and what will add illumination to Bible incidents involving him?

²¹ “Now when Jesus finished these sayings, the effect was that the crowds were astounded at his way of teaching; for he was teaching them as a person having authority, and not as their scribes.” How were the scribes teaching? Who were they? What other religious groups functioned in Palestine when Jesus taught there? Knowing something about the religious situation in Palestine at the time of Jesus’ preaching will help us better to understand many incidents recorded in the Bible. (Matt. 7:28, 29) We shall also appreciate more why the listening crowds were astounded at the difference in the Master Jesus’ manner of teaching.

Religious Attitudes When the Master Preached

1. What did the Essenes believe and practice?

APART from the zealous activity of John the Baptist, there were a number of Jewish groups that were molding religious attitudes in Palestine when Jesus began his ministry. One of these groups was the Essenes, who are not mentioned in the inspired writings of Jesus’ apostles and disciples. They believed that godliness required them to punish the body, to fast and to live austerely, so they looked down on anything that was a pleasure to the flesh. They isolated themselves in little communities. The Essenes were not a major religious group confronting Jesus in his preaching, although they have recently been brought into prominence because of the finding of the Dead Sea Scrolls of books of the Bible.

2. What were the Zealots interested in, and on what occasion does their influence seem apparent?

² Then there was the group of Zealots or Nationalists. They wanted a Jew to arise to lead them in a revolt against Rome and break the yoke of Rome from off their necks. Galilee was a hotbed of seditions, and that was where Jesus had grown up. One of Jesus’ disciples was called “the zealous one” or “the Zealot,” and may have been a member of the Zealot party. However, he did not stir up the nationalistic or home-rule spirit immediately after Jesus had miraculously fed five thousand men. “Hence when the men saw the signs he performed they began to say: This is for a certainty the prophet that was to come into the world.’ Therefore Jesus, realizing they were about to come and seize him to make him king, withdrew again into the mountain all alone.” These nationalistic ones wanted to set him up as king, consequently in opposition to the rule by Rome. They wanted to draft Jesus, with his miraculous powers, for their own selfish purposes. But Jesus steadfastly refused to be sidetracked from the work that his heavenly Father had sent him to do. As he testified before Pilate: “For this purpose I have been born and for this purpose I have come into the world, that I should bear witness to the truth.”—John 6:14, 15; 18:37; Luke 6:15, margin; Acts 1:13.

3. Who were the Sadducees, and how did they view Rome, the Hebrew Scriptures and tradition?

³ A third group were the Sadducees, who included scribes and members of the Sanhedrin and even the two chief priests among their number. (John 11:47; Acts 5:17; 22:30; 23:6) They were not concerned about the coming of a Messiah but were interested in maintaining the status quo. They had a working agreement with Rome. They were to handle the affairs of the temple, the priestly services, the collection of the tithes, the contributions made at the temple, the sale of sacrificial animals in the Court of the Gentiles, and the money-changing business operated there. The Sadducees did not accept either all the inspired Hebrew Scriptures or the traditions of the Pharisees; in fact, they believed only in the Law of Moses.

4. How did Jesus answer the Sadducees on resurrection, and why?

⁴ Hence it was the Sadducees that came to Jesus to object about the resurrection, because they thought the Law of Moses gave no basis for such a teaching. Jesus met them on their own ground, quoting from the writings of Moses: “Concerning the dead, that they are raised up, did you not read in the book of Moses, in the account about the thornbush, how God said to him: ‘I am the God of Abraham and God of Isaac and God of Jacob’? He is a God, not of the dead, but of the living. You are much mistaken.” (Mark 12:18-27) This meant that those men who were dead would live again by resurrection. Just as some who were living alienated from God were spoken of as dead from God’s standpoint, so these dead approved ones were considered to be living from his standpoint.—Eph. 2:1; 1 Tim. 5:6; Luke 20:38.

5. What knowledge about the Sadducees would identify them as the ones who would cry out, “We have no king but Caesar”?

⁵ Because of the working agreement that they had with Rome, the Sadducees did not want anyone stirring up trouble that might bring in Roman legions to impose restrictions. They wanted to get rid of Jesus. Pilate himself knew that, and said to Jesus: “Your own nation and the chief priests [Sadducees] delivered you up to me.” Very logically they would be the ones to make his case an issue of loyalty to Caesar: “If you release this man, you are not a friend of Caesar. Every man making himself a king speaks against Caesar.” And when Pilate asked whether he should impale their king, it was the chief priests, or Sadducees, that shouted: “We have no king but Caesar.”—John 18:35; 19:12-16.

SCRIBES AND PHARISEES

6. Who were the scribes?

⁶ Some of the scribes were Sadducees, but most of them were Pharisees, and that is no doubt why Jesus spoke of scribes and Pharisees together so frequently in the twenty-third chapter of Matthew. The priestly scribes read, copied, taught and interpreted the law. They showed how it was to be applied in daily living.—Matt. 23:2, 13, 15, 23, 25, 27, 29.

7. What did the Pharisees believe?

⁷ The Pharisees, who were the religious traditionalists, thought salvation was only through keeping the traditions or so-called oral law. They looked forward to the coming of the Messiah in their own way. They accepted all the Hebrew Scriptures, but to these they added oral traditions. They wanted to stay separate from the Romans because they thought it was a contamination to have anything to do with them. It was also contaminating in their mind to have anything to do with the common people who did not keep the oral traditions.

8. Why were the Pharisees the ones that complained about Jesus’ disciples’ not washing their hands before they ate?

⁸ Since the Pharisees were tradition-lovers, we are not surprised that they were the ones who complained to Jesus about his disciples: “They do not wash their hands when about to eat a meal.” The complaint was not lodged on sanitary grounds, but in defense of the traditions, which Jesus said “made the word of God invalid.” (Matt. 15:1-6; Mark 7:1-8) The tradition of hand-washing developed with time. First it was a ritual washing before meals. Then the washing took place before and after meals, and later the more rigorous worshipers washed between the courses of the meal. For some food hands had to be immersed completely, and for other types the hands were to have special water poured over them, running down over the wrists. This water was now considered to be dirty, so if any ran back onto the hands, they had to be washed again to take off the dirty water. The Talmud sets out the penalty for failure: “He who lightly esteems hand-washing will perish from the earth.” They were busy washing their hands, but they never got around to cleansing their heart!

9. Why did the Pharisees complain about Jesus’ disciples’ plucking grain on the sabbath, and what were some of their sabbath regulations?

⁹ Who would complain about plucking grain and eating it on the sabbath? Matthew 12:2 answers: “At seeing this the Pharisees said to him: ‘Look! your disciples are doing what it is not lawful to do on the sabbath.’” It was their sabbath traditions that moved them to object. The sabbath was a touchy subject, and in the Talmud there are two large volumes on sabbath regulations. For example, you could not bite your fingernails on the sabbath. A woman could not look into a mirror, as she might see a gray hair and pull it out, and that would be work. You could not wear false teeth, because they might fall out, and to pick them up would be bearing a burden on the sabbath. A plaster might be worn on a wound if it only prevented it from getting worse; if it improved the wound, that would be unlawful work. A fractured bone could not be treated on the sabbath, unless the person’s very life was at stake. You could not eat the egg a hen laid on the sabbath. The exception was if the hen was not being kept as a layer, but was being fattened up to eat, then her egg could be eaten, for it was to be viewed merely as a piece of the hen that had fallen off!

THE “PEOPLE OF THE EARTH”

10. Who were the am ha-arets, and how were they viewed by religious Jews?

¹⁰ The Hebrew expression am ha-arets means “people of the earth [or, land].” (Jer. 1:18, marginal footnote) These people were treated like dirt under the feet of the Pharisees, and, of course, the Sadducees had nothing to do with them, because they looked down on everyone. The am ha-arets were poor laborers who did not know the Law or the traditions or did not keep them. They did not recite the formal prayers, have ritual fringes on their garments or wear phylacteries at devotions, nor did they train their sons in the traditions as did the scrupulous Jews. They were hated and outlawed from the community by the rabbis. One rabbi denied them all hope of a resurrection, and Rabbi Hillel said: “No am ha-arets is truly religious.” A good Jew would not let his daughter marry one. Their view was: “Let not a man associate with sinners even to bring them near to the Torah.” When the religionists objected to Jesus’ associating with sinners, they doubtless included this class.

11. How did Jesus feel about the am ha-arets?

¹¹ Jesus showed consideration for the am ha-arets class of sinners. “I came to call, not righteous people, but sinners,” Jesus said when the self-righteous Pharisees objected to his associating with these lowly ones. Jesus was drawn to them: “On seeing the crowds he felt tender affection for them, because they were skinned and knocked about like sheep without a shepherd.” These long-ignored people responded to the preaching of Jesus; they were not indifferent to Jehovah’s law. It was the impossible traditions of the elders that these working people could not keep.—Matt. 9:13, 36.

12. How does this knowledge make clearer the situation recorded at Luke 15:1-10?

¹² With this knowledge of the situation we can better understand the account at Luke 15:1-10. “The sinners kept drawing near to him to hear him. Consequently, both the Pharisees and the scribes kept muttering, saying: ‘This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.’” In response to this Jesus told of a man with a hundred sheep; when one sheep strays he leaves the ninety-nine to find the one that is lost and rejoices greatly over its recovery. Then Jesus said pointedly: “I tell you that thus there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner that repents than over ninety-nine righteous ones who have no need of repentance.” He took the Pharisees’ own viewpoint, that they were righteous and were safe in the fold of God. So he would seek the lost ones, the sinners, and he said that there would be more rejoicing over the recovery of one sinner than over ninety-nine self-righteous men that thought they did not need saving. To make the same point doubly strong he added the illustration of the woman with ten coins, who lost one and diligently searched till she found it and rejoiced greatly over this one that made her set of coins complete. It was the lost coin, the lost sheep, including the am ha-arets class that are lost and know it and seek salvation that interested Jesus and brought joy to Jehovah when recovered. God was not interested in the self-righteous scribes and Pharisees, who did not repent over the consciousness of sins.

13. What absurd views did the Pharisees have about their traditions and God’s Word?

¹³ Why should Jehovah and Jesus find joy in the traditionalists? The traditions of the scribes and Pharisees made void God’s word, yet they thought so highly of these traditions that they became ridiculous. They said that the written law was like water, but the traditions were like wine. They said that God spent all day studying the written word and all night studying the oral traditions. Can you imagine it?

DENUNCIATION OF HYPOCRITES

14. How did the scribes and Pharisees bind heavy loads on men’s shoulders, and in what way did they hinder people from entering the Kingdom?

¹⁴ Is it any wonder that Jesus spoke the scathing words recorded in the twenty-third chapter of Matthew? “They bind up heavy loads and put them upon the shoulders of mankind, but they themselves are not willing to budge them with their finger.” These loads were the oral traditions that were so burdensome to keep, and they would not so much as lift one little regulation to make it easier. They had set themselves up as teachers of the people, but instead of directing the people’s attention to the kingdom of God, they were discouraging them by insistence on burdensome traditions. Then when Jesus did what they were failing to do, they became enraged and sought to turn the people against him. Rightly Jesus said: “You shut up the kingdom of the heavens before mankind; for you yourselves do not go in, neither do you permit those on their way in to go in.”—Matt. 23:4, 13.

15. What shows that the Pharisees and scribes were interested only in the outward appearance of things?

¹⁵ “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! because you give the tenth of the mint and the dill and the cummin, but you have disregarded the weightier matters of the Law, namely, judgment and mercy and faithfulness. These things it was binding to do, yet not to disregard the other things. Blind guides, who strain out the gnat but gulp down the camel!” They were so occupied with small things that they never got around to the weightier matters of true worship. Although they kept up outward appearances, they failed in performance. “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! because you cleanse the outside of the cup and of the dish, but inside they are full of plunder and immoderateness. Blind Pharisee, cleanse first the inside of the cup and of the dish, that the outside of it also may become clean.” They were interested in surface appearances, but God looked on the heart. While there was much outward piety, justice and mercy and faithfulness were woefully lacking.—Matt. 23:23-26.

16. What illustrations contrast those appearing good outwardly and those actually good inwardly?

¹⁶ A precious stone may look dull, but it is good inside. When you rub it and grind it, it begins to shine. Even if the rough unpolished outside looks common, its value extends beneath the surface. On the other hand, though a whitewashing job may help the appearance of an old frame house, it takes very little rubbing before the old boards beneath begin to show. So it is with people. Jehovah is not interested in those who look pious outwardly. When rubbed the wrong way, when they do not get their own way, or when they have to change, then you see what is inside of them. You see how irritable they can be, and the real person inside comes out. When Jehovah gathers the precious things out of all nations he is interested in persons who are like precious stones. The more Christians who have the right heart are rubbed around, persecuted, reproached and oppressed, the more their integrity shines, the more brilliantly they reflect the glory of Jehovah and the more dazzling becomes their disproof of Satan’s lie that men will not hold their faith under test.—Hag. 2:7, AS.

17. What shows the hypocrisy of the scribes and Pharisees regarding Jehovah’s prophets?

¹⁷ “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! because you build the graves of the prophets and decorate the memorial tombs of the righteous ones, and you say: ‘If we had been in the days of our forefathers, we would not have been sharers with them in the blood of the prophets.’” But it was these very hypocrites who killed the greatest prophet of all, Jesus Christ! They were glad to build tombs for the prophets and decorate them to draw attention to their own deeds of charity, but woe to the living prophet who would dare to expose their hypocrisy!—Matt. 23:29, 30.

RELIGIOUS ATTITUDES TODAY

18. What shows these same religious types exist today?

¹⁸ The same types of people exist now as did in the first century. Some isolate themselves in religious buildings, fast and mistreat the body, thinking such asceticism to be godliness, as did the Essenes. Some are superpatriots, who look to human rulers and nations as God’s instruments and want to take matters in their own hands and bring in peace in their own way, as did the Zealots. The Sadducees took only part of the Hebrew Scriptures, setting aside the rest, and religious modernists today do the same. Like the Sadducees, they want to be in favor with the governments of men. But if you are going to walk with God you cannot be a part of the old world, as the modernists are. Also, like the Pharisees, there are today the traditionalists. Some hold to religious traditions brought in from ancient paganism, and others have built up their own traditions in addition to what has been borrowed from paganism. Religious fundamentalists of today fall into that category. Their traditions about trinity, immortality of the soul, torment for sinners, use of idols, and many others, make void the simple truths of the Bible, just as did the traditions of the scribes and Pharisees.

19. (a) What class compares with the am ha-arets, and how do religious leaders react? (b) What do these formerly neglected ones experience when they associate with the New World society?

¹⁹ There are also present today those like the am ha-arets or “people of the earth [or, land].” They are sincere people who have not been properly taught by the religious systems of Christendom, yet they hunger and thirst after righteousness. It is mainly to these that Jehovah’s witnesses go in love, and they find many hearing ears. Just as the Pharisees scoffed at those who listened to Jesus and said: “You have not been misled also, have you? Not one of the rulers or of the Pharisees has put faith in him, has he? But this crowd that does not know the law are accursed people,” so religious leaders today scoff about listening to Jehovah’s witnesses. They say it is only the lowly, uneducated ones that listen. They are wrong, just as the Pharisees were wrong, for some of the rulers and Pharisees did listen to Jesus and follow him. (John 3:1, 2; Acts 4:36, 37; 6:7) The majority who listen are of this neglected class, but when they begin to follow in the footsteps of Jesus and associate with the New World society they are no longer neglected. They are lovingly helped to get an accurate knowledge of God’s Word; if necessary, they are even taught how to read so they can study the Bible. They note that Jehovah’s witnesses, like Jesus, preach differently. They rely on the authority of the Bible, unlike the modern Pharisees and Sadducees with their tradition and modernism.—John 7:47-49.

20. (a) What course should we wisely follow today, but what should we shun? (b) How can we share in a work of spiritual healing?

²⁰ If we are true followers of Jesus, we must walk in his footsteps, shunning hypocrisy and God-dishonoring tradition and faithfully directing the attention of men conscious of their spiritual need to God’s kingdom. Never may we become like the false religionists of Jesus’ day who were interested in doing things only their own way and who did not carry on worship that was acceptable to Jehovah God. Of course, we cannot duplicate Jesus’ miracles of healing and raising the dead, but we can share in a work of spiritual healing. We can put Bible truth in the mind and impress it on the heart of the receptive one, and the transformed mind will direct that one’s feet in God’s service, feet once lame as far as walking with God is concerned. Eyes once blind to his truth will perceive, ears once deaf to his message will hear, bodies once leprous with spiritual sickness will become clean; and those dead in trespasses and sins can be raised to spiritual life and activity, gaining a faith no longer dead but proved alive by activity and works in Jehovah’s service.

21. How should we strive to follow closely the model set by Jesus?

²¹ Jesus left “a model for you to follow his steps closely.” (1 Pet. 2:21) Just as a builder carefully examines his blueprints for all details, so we must study Jesus’ ministry in order to copy it closely. We should strive to understand the people to whom we witness, see their need, make the message forceful and clear with appropriate illustrations, and show deep love for the sheep as Jesus did. We should be fearless in speaking the truth to all persons, and we should patiently assist the lowly ones. If we pay constant attention to both ourselves and our teaching, it will result in salvation for ourselves and those who listen to us.—1 Tim. 4:16.

Pursuing My Purpose in Life

As told by Jack D. Powers

MY FIRST contact with Jehovah’s witnesses was on July 4, 1939, on Market Street in San Francisco watching their information walkers, and my second was months later in a bar in Sacramento where I read the magazine Consolation, now called Awake! Both contacts knocked down my old world. I was angered by what I thought to be Fascist propaganda and, at the same time, hurt by the deep stab wound made by the sword of the spirit that exposed my former church as the principal part of Satan’s system. Only after spending a sleepless night thinking about my childhood altar-boy days in St. Victor’s Catholic church in the Cripple Creek gold mining district of Colorado, my student days at the Abbey School for Catholic Boys in Canon City and the time spent as a member of the Catholic Newman club was I finally convinced that Jehovah’s witnesses published truth. I also reflected on the Good Friday my knees were burned while kneeling before one of the stations of the cross and on how the parish priest refused to answer my questions as to why we worshiped such idols.

Yes, all these memories confirmed that my church was more devilish than godly. I had already seen the worthlessness of the Protestant religion while on a vacation trip with an Episcopalian minister. When we visited an old classmate of his who had become an Episcopalian bishop we were shocked by his talk about real estate and drinking cocktails. What a surprise it was years later to learn that my old friend had turned in his frock and was earning a living as a baker! He now admits that Jehovah’s witnesses speak the truth.

A few months passed after my first two contacts with the Witnesses, and I continued to pursue what I thought to be my purpose in life—an assayer and chemist of gold and silver. While in a northern California Feather River mine in 1940, I came to the point of almost doubting the existence of God as I observed the spiritual vacuum among the miners. I felt as Lot must have felt in the days of corrupt Sodom and Gomorrah. I then decided to change my purpose in life, so I turned in my resignation. I did not know where I was going, but I headed south to leave it all. When I stopped to rest up in Los Angeles, a man of good will who had not as yet become one of Jehovah’s witnesses began to build up my faith and to replace what had been torn down.

From then on things moved fast. That same day I purchased a Bible, and the following Sunday I attended a Watchtower study accompanied by the man of good will and his friends. That study convinced me that for the first time in my life I had found people who really believed in God. Just watching their faces as they spoke the answers, with some reading and others talking directly but all giving public declarations of their faith, made my heart rejoice.

An alert brother had taken down our address, and it was not long before an elderly sister called on us. I was so impressed by the recording of Judge Rutherford that she played, I asked if I could go out and play some of these records for other people. She said that a good time for me to begin witnessing would be at the local assembly the Witnesses were due to have. What an assembly! I listened carefully to all the talks, and between sessions kept the Witnesses with whom I was sitting busy answering my many Bible questions. They answered every one. I will never forget their patience and kindness.

Then came a convention at Long Beach that was tied in by wire with Detroit. How I enjoyed it! I never missed a Watchtower study after that, and I began to attend the service meetings. I reasoned that I had never missed Mass while in the Catholic Church, so why miss a meeting now that I had found the truth.

I was out in the field service practically every day. All I did was study and preach until suddenly my money gave out. Now what would I do? I did not want to return to the old course of life. The mine up north kept after me to come back, offering a better position with an increase in salary. But if I were to accept that it would mean giving up witnessing. My first alternative was to accept a night job that gave me free time during the day for preaching and studying. But this caused me to miss meetings, so I did not hold onto it for long. After trying two or three other jobs that did not work out because they required too much time, I found a job that paid well and gave me plenty of time, but it was only temporary.

Finally I began to think about how pioneering would be as my goal in life. Few in the Hollywood unit seemed to be enthusiastic about the thought, but I noticed that the Informant continually stressed pioneering. It was the zone servant who encouraged me. He said that Jehovah sustained those who work for him. The zone servant counseled me to pay up my debts and start pioneering. He said to rely upon Jehovah.

BLESSED AS A PIONEER

In my heart I determined to do just this. That very night a long-distance telephone call came from Santa Maria asking me to report for work there the next morning. I took this as a leading from Jehovah and drove all that night. It was not the kind of job I would have chosen, but it was a way to get into the pioneer work.

On my first Saturday in town I found the local publishers on the street corner. It was a town where the need was great and pioneers were working there. Every free minute that I had away from the camp where I was working was spent with this diligent group of faithful pioneers. I asked to be put on the night shift at work so I could spend the day in the field service, putting in pioneer hours. But the meetings were a problem. I asked the head of the camp if I could take an hour off during evening lunch hour to attend the Watchtower study on Sunday evening. He said I could and also permitted me to use his automobile to save time going and coming from the meeting. In a short time I had more than enough money to pay my debts.

I set the time of the St. Louis convention as the time to resign. When it came I walked into the head engineer’s office and told him that I was resigning. He could not understand how anybody could give up such a good position. He offered to increase my pay if I would stay on, as they needed men who were able to do the work I was doing. It seemed as though Satan himself was making the offers, but I was determined to pursue the purpose that I had fixed. I quit my job and attended the 1941 convention. What a blessing! I was first in line to sign up as a pioneer at the convention.

Pioneering was different for me, and I made many mistakes. During my first month I made the mistake of spending too much time fixing up an old shed for living quarters. At the end of the second month a letter came from the Society stating that they could not recognize anyone as a pioneer unless he met his quota of hours. From that day to this I have not missed meeting my quota of hours. I still keep that letter as a valuable document.

Next I ran out of money. I began to see what it was to live on faith. However, to this day, after seventeen years of pioneer service, I can say that I never really suffered from hunger, although I did have a meal postponed once in a while. What I missed on one day would be made up the next.

In 1941 I found myself assigned as a special pioneer to San Fernando, then an isolated territory. Here I met Brother and Sister Fred Anderson, who became my companions for the next year. I learned a lot from these veterans in Jehovah’s service. They had just come out of Nevada, where they had narrowly escaped being tarred and feathered. They were signs and wonders to me.

I had no place to live and little money for renting a place, but a brother that was completely disabled in a hospital because of a beating he had received from a mob lent me his trailer. I parked it in the chicken yard of a man of good will.

The San Fernando sun was hot, but I was determined to reach the goal I had set in my life. Finally we were given an assignment in Reno, Nevada. Once again Jehovah saw to it that his workers received what they needed. Newly interested persons supplied us with some heavy blankets and winter clothes for that cooler climate. In Reno I lived with a very kind old brother who was a chimney sweeper. We spent a pleasant winter together, but under the heat of persecution. The police bothered us continually. Just about every other day I ended up in the police station.

The most violent opposition came one icy night on the main street corner of Reno. Two local newsmen tried to beat me up while their dog bit my leg. To worsen matters the street filled with onlookers who called me a Japanese spy. Even a policeman began kicking me. Just at the crucial moment when I thought all was lost, a police car came up blowing its siren. These policemen broke up the mob and took the newsmen off to jail. They permitted me to resume my preaching. After that many people congratulated me for my stand and accepted my magazines. Meanwhile we three received invitations to attend the first class of Gilead School, which meant foreign missionary work.

GILEAD AND FOREIGN SERVICE

Although I was a college graduate with an engineering degree, the course at Gilead kept me busy. But what a day graduation was! It brought me far more pleasure than any graduation day in worldly schools. Brother Knorr told us that we were just beginning a new kind of life, and we would have to be faithful to the end. Since that day I have seen many of my classmates and rejoice that they are still pursuing their purpose in life.

Not all of us left immediately for our foreign assignments after graduation in 1943. I was assigned as a servant to the brothers in the State of Ohio. After about six months I was called to Bethel to prepare for my foreign assignment in Argentina. Another year passed before I left, but what a blessed year! During that time I was permitted to stay at Bethel and work in the printing plant. I learned a lot.

Many of the brothers were as signs and wonders to me, such as Brother Van Amburgh. Although he had been a public speaker for years, he gave student talks and received counsel. What humbleness! One day I was peeling potatoes in the kitchen and he came to me and asked if I would permit him to pass through. I marveled at that. Who was I to give this brother permission to pass through the kitchen? He was the secretary of the Society. I observed that these older brothers were diligent in getting out into the field service despite their advanced age.

One morning Brother Knorr commented during the discussion of the daily text that the only power capable of keeping anyone from entering a foreign country would be Jehovah’s spirit, since he is the One who commanded that the good news be preached to all nations. Just a few days later the passport division of the government began issuing passports to all of us. This seemed to indicate that Jehovah was opening the way. After receiving my passport I was, at first, disappointed because the Argentine government refused to stamp their visa on it. Later my assignment was changed to Uruguay.

After getting a Uruguayan visa I left New York immediately in company with Albert Mann, a classmate who was heading for Chile. I still remember the day we arrived in South America through Colombia. It was 1945. Women carrying heavy loads on their heads, noisy horn-tooting automobiles and heavily barred and padlocked doors and windows were scenes not to be forgotten. Our stop at Panama with the Harveys is also vivid in my mind. Brothers Knorr and Franz were due to be in Panama City the following week. We had the privilege of helping the Harveys prepare for this visit by making up territories, trying to rent chairs, printing sandwich signs, and so forth, all in a foreign tongue.

Before landing in Uruguay I had the privilege of helping the brothers in Buenos Aires put their branch office in order. Then on May 1, 1945, I landed in my missionary assignment at Montevideo, Uruguay. Instead of finding publishers that were practically isolated, I found that one of my classmates had arrived ahead of me. There were also a number of German pioneers who had been sent here from Germany during the Hitler persecution. They had a nice breakfast, a clean room and territory waiting for me. I arrived at seven in the morning and spent eight hours in the field service the first day.

My first house was not a poor native hut as I had expected from what I had seen in Panama and in Colombia. It was the university library store. I found that my territory was in the center of a bustling modern city. I witnessed to a university professor.

Although it was difficult working all day by myself in a foreign territory, Jehovah sustained me with many blessed experiences. Our first public talk was one. We put it on in our own home, using two rooms. Over twenty persons whom I had contacted in the field came to the first talk. Some became publishers and are still active. So many people wanted to study I could not take care of them all.

After working in Montevideo for a number of months I was assigned as a circuit servant to visit interested persons who were isolated in the interior of the country. Then it was that I appreciated what Paul said to Timothy about not drinking water for his stomach’s sake, because I was attacked with a chronic case of diarrhea. When I had become so weak that I did not think I could continue, I was assigned to work in the branch office. Although I never fully recovered, I regained my strength sufficiently so that I could continue pursuing my purpose in life.

The arrangement that helped missionaries to attend the international assemblies in New York in 1950, 1953 and 1958 helped me in two ways. It helped me to be spiritually refreshed at these assemblies, and it helped me to see that I am not missing anything really worth-while by being at my foreign assignment. The assembly in 1958 renewed my determination to continue pursuing my purpose in life by faithfully serving Jehovah here.

I can say that Jesus’ words are true when he said that if a person forsakes brothers and sisters in this world for his sake, many more will be gained. I have come to know hundreds of spiritual brothers and sisters. To pursue my purpose in life by following the way of the truth I had to leave my father and sisters, none of whom were favorable toward it. I married one of the first missionaries to come to Uruguay, and she has been a very hardworking and faithful companion.

As I look back over the years, I am truly thankful to Jehovah for preserving me in his service. For that reason I have never refused an assignment, left my place in the organization or stopped pushing the field service work. What a privilege it is to devote all one’s time and effort to serving Jehovah!

Gilead Graduation Emphasizes Building to the Future

FEBRUARY 7, 1960, was graduation day for Gilead’s thirty-fourth missionary class, and 2,476 persons gathered to share with them the spiritual benefits of the occasion.

The program got under way at 9 a.m., and the Society’s president, N. H. Knorr, called on the Kingdom Farm servant and each of the School’s four instructors for brief words of counsel to the class. Then President Knorr spoke for more than an hour on the topic “Building to the Future.”

He pointed out to his attentive audience that Moses was a successful theocratic builder because he was a man of faith and had love for righteousness. Jesus built the Christian congregation. Those whom he trained did the right kind of building for the future because they were careful to build on the right foundation, Christ Jesus, the chief cornerstone. “Today,” he said, “the building work is still going on. . . . Missionaries are being sent out to new fields and to places where the work is just getting started. Why? To build up Jehovah’s work there and develop the organization locally. But, you must always remember that it is really God who is doing the building. You must do the work, but it is God who will ‘make it grow.’”

Continuing, N. H. Knorr pointed out that the missionaries should be careful always to “speak the words of God” and never their own ideas. Referring to 2 Corinthians 5:20, he reminded them that they were being sent out as “ambassadors substituting for Christ.” Hence they must speak only the “sacred pronouncements of God.” “But you must speak. You cannot build up if you do not say anything.”

Then he turned to the fifth chapter of Galatians and discussed the fruits of the spirit. First he gave a definition of each one and then discussed it, tying in other scriptures. “Having these fruits of the spirit,” he said, “enables you to build for the future.”

At the conclusion of the program the seventy-seven students filed to the platform, where diplomas and gifts from the Society were handed to them. While many received assignments to Central and South America, some would be going to faraway places such as Japan, Korea, Cambodia, Pakistan, Taiwan and Guam, there to carry on the Christian building work.

Part 35—“Your Will Be Done on Earth”

Da Chapter 12 (verses 1-4) of Daniel is part of the same prophecy that was begun by Jehovah’s angel in chapter eleven. In Daniel 12:1 the angel declares to Daniel that during the final series of conflicts between the “king of the north” and “the king of the south” a heavenly prince named Michael, who stands for the children of Daniel’s people, would “stand up,” or assume governmental control. This was to be accompanied by the worst time of trouble ever in human history. The Bible evidence unmistakably establishes that this heavenly prince Michael is God’s Son who descended from heaven to become the man Jesus Christ on earth and who returned to heaven after his resurrection from the dead and sat down at his heavenly Father’s right hand. There in 1914, at the close of the “appointed times of the nations,” he was empowered as King to rule in the midst of his enemies.

18. For having been Michael in heaven, what familiarity with Scripture did Jesus show, and in the midst of what fight did he know that he had to come into his kingdom?

¹⁸ Michael in heaven was associated with the angel that brought the vision to Daniel. Thus he was acquainted with the prophecies of the book of Daniel. When on earth as the man Jesus, anointed with Jehovah’s spirit, he showed familiarity with Daniel’s book. He foreknew that the great Prince of Jehovah’s people must stand up in Kingdom power in the thick of the fight between the symbolic king of the north and the king of the south. Hence when the apostles of the sanctuary class asked Jesus for the visible evidence of his being present in the Kingdom at the consummation of the system of things, Jesus answered in harmony with the book of Daniel. He said: “Nation will rise against nation and kingdom against kingdom, and there will be food shortages and earthquakes in one place after another. All these things are a beginning of pangs of distress. Then people will deliver you up to tribulation and will kill you, and you will be hated by all the nations on account of my name. . . . But he that has endured to the finish is the one that will be saved. And this good news of the kingdom will be preached in all the inhabited earth for the purpose of a witness to all the nations, and then the accomplished end will come. Therefore, when you catch sight of the disgusting thing that causes desolation, as spoken of through Daniel the prophet, standing in a holy place, (let the reader use discernment,) . . . ” (Matt. 24:7-15) By these events that started in 1914 with the first world war between the king of the north and the king of the south, Jehovah’s sanctuary class were to know that Jesus their Prince was present in the heavenly kingdom and that the good news of this was to be preached earth-wide as a witness to all the nations before their end.

19. To the Christians, of what were the setting up of the “disgusting thing” and their own persecutions still further evidence?

¹⁹ In 1919 the “disgusting thing that causes desolation” was set up in the form of the League of Nations and was idolized as the political expression of the kingdom of God on earth. By this the Christians had further evidence that Michael had stood up and that we were in the “appointed time of the end.” Even the persecution that they began to undergo in a special way for refusing to idolize this “image of the wild beast” and for standing loyal to the established kingdom of God and for preaching it everywhere was more evidence of our being in the last days of this system of things.

20. (a) The increase of international darkness and distress after the “beginning of pangs” fulfills what further prophecy of Jesus? (b) What is the result of the falling of the stars from heaven?

²⁰ When they saw the darkness and distress of the nations increase after that “beginning of pangs of distress” between 1914 and 1918, these intelligent ones appreciated that it was the fulfillment of Daniel’s prophecy and of Jesus’ prophecy: “Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. And then the sign of the Son of man will appear in heaven, and then all the tribes of the earth will go to wailing and they will see the Son of man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.” (Matt. 24:29, 30) When stars fall from heaven, where do they drop? Down on this earth? This earth could not endure that; it could not accommodate them all. So that is not to be expected. Yet, if they fell from heaven, they would no longer be lights in heaven for men but would all disappear. This would add to the continual darkness caused by the sun’s being darkened during the day and the moon’s not giving its light by night. The old world becomes all dark.

21. With what further details does Luke record Jesus’ prophecy, and their fulfillment is witnessed to by what reports?

²¹ The Christian disciple Luke gives further details of Jesus’ prophecy concerning the evidences of his kingdom and of the “appointed time of the end” of this world: “Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and there will be great earthquakes and in one place after another pestilences and food shortages, and there will be fearful sights and from heaven great signs. Also there will be signs in sun and moon and stars, and on the earth anguish of nations, not knowing the way out because of the roaring of the sea and its agitation, while men become faint out of fear and expectation of the things coming upon the inhabited earth; for the powers of the heavens will be shaken. And then they will see the Son of man coming in a cloud with power and great glory.” (Luke 21:10, 11, 25-27) The news reports from all over the world since 1914 bear witness to the undeniable fulfillment of Jesus’ prophecy, to prove that Michael, the Son of man, stood up.

22. As “fearful sights” and “great signs” from heaven, what things of recent discovery are not to be left unconsidered, and what rays are of increasing interest?

²² Not to be dismissed from consideration as “fearful sights” and “great signs” from heaven are new things that modern science is discovering and bringing to the people’s attention, to their own and the people’s mental agitation and rising fears. The so-called cosmic rays are more and more commanding scientific study. Only as far back as 1911 scientific experiments on the absorbing of penetrating gamma rays from radium in the air led a Dr. V. F. Hess to suspect that not all the ionization in air was due to this alone. Experiments later with balloons developed the right conclusion, that there was some extremely powerful radiation coming from above; there were cosmic rays. With the speed of light the cosmic rays are carried along through earth’s atmosphere and finally hit the earth with still enough energy to penetrate and be measurable to a depth of two hundred feet underground. Cosmic rays reach an energy of many billions of electron volts. The sun of our solar system plays its part in these cosmic rays.

23. According to reports, how does the sun of our solar system play its part in these cosmic rays, and with what effects?

²³ It has been observed that there has been an intensifying of cosmic ray showers during what appear to be patches of something on the face of the sun. What? Patches of darkness, to us. Sunspots, we call them. They are in actuality great flares of energy on the surface of the sun. In December, 1957, during the International Geophysical Year, it was reported that “in recent months” the sun had co-operated with the scientific studies being made. How? By “displaying what is regarded here as the greatest number of flares in its recorded history. . . . In recent months the sun has been at the peak of its eleven-year sunspot cycle. This has produced an unusual number of flares. These are thought to spray out particles, which strike the earth’s atmosphere a day or two later and cause magnetic storms and other phenomena.”a The sunspot activity was reported as having “disrupted radio and television waves.” Studies have shown that, accompanying a solar flare, there is a sudden increase of cosmic radiation and radio fade-outs. About a day after the appearance of the flare a magnetic storm is felt all over the world. During the period of greatest cosmic ray intensity some areas of the earth are almost completely blacked out with respect to radio communication. Lead-encased cables for communication and for transmitting power have also been burned completely through, and unexposed X-ray film has been rendered useless.

24. What has been observed concerning the source of these cosmic rays?

²⁴ What is the source of these cosmic rays? Not the stars. It has been scientifically established that the total energy carried by all cosmic ray particles is much more than all the energy ever emitted by stars. Cosmic rays seem to come from all directions with such great energies that scientists have not arrived at any satisfying explanation of their origin. Those of highest energy evidently come from beyond our Milky Way.

25. How could Jehovah God use these cosmic rays to affect the king of the north and the king of the south, and what other natural force might he use in his work?

²⁵ Studies have been made of the effect of cosmic rays on living cells in animal bodies, particularly with respect to disorders of the mind. What effect do they have or will they have on the way men behave here on earth? Certainly the Creator of cosmic rays, Jehovah God, could use these to affect the minds of his enemies, including the king of the north and the king of the south, and could drive them to mutual slaughter: “every man’s sword shall be against his brother.” (Ezek. 38:21, AS) In this prophecy God warns that he will also use other natural forces that are at his disposal, possibly a rain of antimatter that has the property of annihilating any material thing that it meets. He warns all scoffers that he will do an ‘unusual work.’—Isa. 28:21.

26. How is the moon becoming an object for fears to man, and what is man feeling more and more with regard to space and the visible heavenly bodies?

²⁶ The moon also has come in for scientific interest. The missile experts would transform it from being the gently beaming luminary of the night to being an object of fearsome possibilities. The conquest of the moon has become a serious aim. Not only “sterilized” rockets to the moon and satellites to go around and inspect the moon on both sides, but also the establishing of a manned base on the moon for observing and dominating all the earth! One Swedish scientist warned fellow scientists to study the possibility that the explosion of a hydrogen bomb on the moon might create disastrous tides of the oceans on the earth. Such an explosion would also create radioactivity on the moon and make the future exploration of it by scientific visitors hard. What with mysterious “flying saucers” being reported, even though the reports may be proved to be largely unfounded, man on earth since A.D. 1914 is indeed feeling horrors with respect to cosmic space and the sun, the moon and the stars.

27. At the sight of such things occurring, what do Jesus’ followers do, and why?

²⁷ Should the “people that do know their God” share in the anguish of nations and in the fear of men in view of all the things coming upon the earth? Not at all! They know that Jesus foretold this present world situation and said to them: “But as these things start to occur, raise yourselves erect and lift your heads up, because your deliverance is getting near. . . . when you see these things occurring, know that the kingdom of God is near.” (Luke 21:28, 31) Today, while the doomed world is in spasms of fear, Jesus’ followers, the sanctuary class and the great crowd of “other sheep,” do straighten up with confidence and lift up their heads with joy. They understand the glorious meaning of these things which they see occurring. They know that Michael their great Prince has stood up in the kingdom of God now established. He has stood up both to deliver them and to vindicate the universal sovereignty of Jehovah.

CHAPTER 13

THE PRESENT HAPPINESS AT THE SANCTUARY

1, 2. (a) As foretold by Jesus, what period of sorrow and captivity took place before Michael brought deliverance? (b) Why did Michael their Prince permit that, and who were the ones delivered?

THERE was a short period of sorrow and captivity before the heavenly Michael, standing up in his kingdom power, delivered Jehovah’s sanctuary class. Michael, when on earth as the man Jesus Christ, had foretold this in the prophecy on the end of this wicked system of things. He predicted the first world war and said that his faithful followers would be persecuted and be hated by all the nations on account of his name. Some followers would even be stumbled by this persecution and would fall away. (Matt. 24:7-12) This took place while the war in heaven was being fought by Michael and his angels against Satan the Devil and his demons. The people, for whom the reigning Michael was the great Prince, came into a forced captivity to the Devil’s visible organization on earth.

² Michael their Prince permitted the persecution and sorrowful captivity of them for a test to them, to make two classes among those claiming to follow him become manifest. What a happiness followed when Michael, having fought a victorious war in heaven, delivered his people from the power of the king of the north and the king of the south! He delivered the sanctuary class, that is, the remnant of it that was then alive on earth, “every one that shall be found written in the book.”—Dan. 12:1, JP.

3. Because of what had their names been inscribed, and why had they not been blotted out of the book?

³ Jesus once told his disciples: “Rejoice because your names have been inscribed in the heavens.” (Luke 10:20) Being anointed to serve as the symbolic “twenty-four elders” before the throne of God in heaven, they were spoken of as the “congregation of the firstborn who have been enrolled in the heavens.” (Rev. 4:4, RS; Heb. 12:22, 23) When the persecution and the captivity came, they endured it in a faithful way that kept their names from being blotted out of the book of God’s record. At the happy time marked in Daniel’s prophecies they were furnished with escape.

4. In what way were many sleeping “in the dust of the earth,” and when and why was there a command to awake?

⁴ Jehovah’s angel told Daniel of the result of the deliverance furnished by Michael the heavenly Prince: “And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to reproaches and everlasting abhorrence.” (Dan. 12:2, JP) Because of the unjust oppressions during World War I, the sanctuary class and their associates were beaten to the dusty ground, as the symbolic “little horn,” the “king of fierce countenance,” cast them down and trampled upon them, took away the continual burnt offering of praise to God and cast down the place of his sanctuary. (Dan. 8:9-11, 23, 24, JP) They were not actually dead and buried, but Revelation 11:1-12 pictures these witnesses of Jehovah God as lying dead in the very street of this worldly organization. They were as asleep in death. Yet there was a postwar work to do, as Michael himself had foretold in Matthew 24:14. For this witness work it was necessary to use the remnant of the sanctuary class. At the marked time in 1919 Michael, the reigning Jesus Christ, delivered his people, spiritual Israel, for he was their great Prince. With an “archangel’s voice” he issued a “commanding call” to them to awake from their sleep in that abased, captive condition. (1 Thess. 4:16, 17) What was the result?

5. How did some awake “to everlasting life,” and with what happiness resulting?

⁵ In that first postwar period there was an awakening from the inactive deathlike state. The faithful remnant of the sanctuary class wanted to be alive and expend their strength, time and means in giving the world-wide witness to God’s established kingdom. This was the line of activity that would lead to everlasting life in the heavenly kingdom in God’s new world. By awaking and rousing themselves to the Kingdom witness-work they were those out of the “many” who awoke to everlasting life. Because of their willingness to accept the care of the earthly interests of God’s established kingdom, Michael as the reigning King appointed them to be the “faithful and discreet slave” with oversight “over all his belongings.” Happy indeed was this slave class at such an honored appointment to Kingdom service.

6. How did some awake “to reproaches and everlasting abhorrence,” and with what effect upon their names?

⁶ But out of the “many” there were some that awoke and put themselves into postwar action, but it was to “reproaches and everlasting abhorrence” that these awoke. These included many democratically elected “elders” of congregations. These refused to take upon themselves the responsibility of the Kingdom interests, to deliver a world-wide witness to the established Kingdom; and they abused those of the “faithful and discreet slave” class who did. They tried to lead others to oppose the work of witnessing from house to house as well as publicly. (Acts 20:20, 25) The names of all these who went over to the opposition were blotted out of the book. They were found guilty of being an abusive, self-indulging “evil slave” class and were cast out into the darkness outside in this doomed world and were assigned their part with the religious hypocrites, to weep and gnash their teeth in bitterness out there. They earned reproaches, not recommendations. They became something ever abhorrent, something ever repulsive to God.—Matt. 24:45-51.

7. How did the “intelligent” ones then shine, and how did they “bring many to righteousness”?

⁷ Foretelling of those who awoke to everlasting life as Kingdom witnesses, Jehovah’s angel went on to say: “And the intelligent shall shine brilliantly like the brilliance of the expanse of the sky; and they that bring many to righteousness shall be like the stars, for ever and ever.” (Dan. 12:3, Le) These spiritually intelligent ones began shining with heavenly light, because Jehovah’s glory had shone forth upon them and they obeyed his command to arise and shed forth light. (Isa. 60:1, 2) With the good news of the newborn kingdom of God they shone like the sun, which lets nothing be concealed from its heat all around the globe. In the midnight darkness of this world they were like stars of light, for they engaged in an educational work that brought the Bible and its Kingdom truths directly into the homes and private lives of the lost “other sheep” and turned them to righteousness, which is the worship and the ministry of the true God, Jehovah. They turned these from worshiping the abominable “image of the wild beast” or worshiping the self-deifying king of the north and his State.

8. In running to and fro, as foretold in Daniel 12:4, how do we find ourselves living in a time more highly favored than Daniel’s?

⁸ Living as we do in this time of the end since Michael the great Prince stood up in heaven, we are living in a time more highly favored than that of the prophet Daniel. As Daniel came near to the end of his prophetic book, Jehovah’s angel said to him: “But you, Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book, until the time of the end. Many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall increase.” (Dan. 12:4, RS) To us in this “time of the end” Daniel’s book has been opened and unsealed. It was the meaning of the words in it that was shut up within God’s power. It was the explanation of the book that was sealed off till God should give it as the great Interpreter of his own prophecies. Sincere seekers after God’s will who go running to and fro through the words of Daniel’s book that they may know God’s will and do it are rewarded. Their knowledge of the Holy Scriptures increases. With their increased knowledge there goes a better understanding of God’s will and purpose. This enables them to impart understanding to many other sheep.

(To be continued)

[Footnotes]

Guarding Freedom for Doing God’s Complete Will

“BE TRANSFORMED by making your mind over, that you may prove to yourselves the good and acceptable and complete will of God.” What is this complete will of God, and why is it imperative that we do it? How can we guard freedom for doing God’s complete will?—Rom. 12:2.a

God’s complete will for us involves every aspect of our lives, for as dedicated Christians we are full-time ministers even though many of us may be part-time preachers. Whether we are eating or drinking, whether we are doing secular work to provide things right in the sight of all men or caring for our families, or whether we are doing anything else, all must be done as to Jehovah and in line with his righteous requirements. His complete will for us requires that we not only obey but do so readily, not only serve but serve joyfully, not only accept added privileges but welcome them. Yes, do all things “whole-souled as to Jehovah.”—Col. 3:23.

Having become free to do God’s complete will, we must be on our guard to keep that freedom. Why? Because of the many snares placed in our path by the Devil, the world and the desires of our own fallen flesh. Unless we keep on guard these will bring us into bondage again, even as it happened to the Galatian Christians.—Gal. 5:1-12.

Against what things must we guard our freedom? Against such snares as false religion in all its forms, national customs and patriotic practices, the many degrading works of the flesh, materialism and socializing with worldlings. Demands of Caesar contrary to Scripture, business inducements, fear of man and, in particular, fear of one’s undedicated mate, worldly culture and worldly wisdom also are things we must guard against to keep our freedom to do the complete will of God.—1 Cor. 15:33; Gal. 5:19-21.

However, even as the snares are many, so we have many aids to our guarding freedom for doing God’s complete will. To begin with, there is personal study of God’s Word and the helps providentially provided to understand it. There is meditation and frequent and earnest prayer, both of which we may tend to slight because of the press of time. Further, there are congregational meetings and the larger gatherings where we can be strengthened by the association with others who are likewise determined to do God’s complete will. Training ourselves in self-control and all the other fruits of the spirit will also greatly help, as will buying out the opportune time for Kingdom work.

As we continue to take advantage of all these aids to guarding freedom for doing God’s complete will ours will be the priceless treasures of divine wisdom and knowledge, the sincere love of true friends in the New World society, the joys of unselfish service and the sure hope of everlasting life in God’s new world.

[Footnotes]

Questions From Readers

● Each year the Society receives a number of inquiries regarding various aspects of the Lord’s evening meal. In reply to these the following is given:

The celebration of our Lord’s death is at once a joyous and a serious occasion. It merits faithful attention to all the details, especially on the part of the congregation overseers, even as we may be certain that Jesus was careful about all the requirements regarding the Passover.

The bread that is used must be unleavened. Its being unleavened pictures Jesus’ sinlessness. His body being perfect and complete, nothing was required to be added to it. So also, nothing such as salt or shortening should be added in the making of the unleavened bread. Besides, to add anything to improve its taste would detract from its being the “bread of affliction.”—Deut. 16:3; 1 Cor. 5:6-8.

Jewish matzos may or may not meet these requirements, this depending upon how they are made. It may be necessary to bake your own unleavened bread, as is done each year at the Brooklyn Bethel. The brother doing the baking uses the following recipe: One cup of (whole wheat) flour mixed with two and a quarter cups of water. Beat thoroughly in a bowl and then pour batter on medium-hot frying pan as if baking pancakes, baking them on both sides. After they become firm place them in a baking pan and bake them in an oven at 325 degrees until crisp.

As for the wine, this should, first of all, be fermented wine. There can be no question about Jesus’ using fermented wine and not grape juice. Grape juice cannot burst old wine bottles. Indeed, it was only because Jesus did not scruple against drinking wine that his foes accused him of being “given to drinking wine.” Besides, grape juice does not remain unfermented from the time of the grape harvest in the fall until spring, the Passover season, the time Jesus instituted the memorial of his death. The testimony of Jewish history confirms that fermented wine was used at the Passover.—Matt. 9:17; 11:19.

The wine must also be red. Only red wine is a fitting symbol of blood; it should be the “blood of the grape.” Further, as the blood of Jesus was wholly adequate, sufficient in itself, requiring no additions, so should the “fruit of the vine” be that is used to picture it. The wine used, therefore, should be unsweetened; most Jewish Passover wines are greatly sweetened and therefore unsuitable. It should also not be fortified; that is, nothing like brandy should have been added to it to increase its alcohol content, as is the case with port wine. Likewise, no herbs or spices should be added to it, as is done with vermouths and such wines as Dubonnet. Homemade, unsweetened red wine is acceptable as also are Burgundy, Chianti, claret and zinfandel, to mention the more common types of red wines.—Deut. 32:14.

The emblems should be on hand and passed to each one present, even though it may seem certain that none profess to be of the remnant. Each one should go on record as to his firm conviction of what his hopes are, heavenly or earthly, on the basis of God’s dealings with him, by partaking or not partaking at the time the emblems are handed to him. Those professing to be of the remnant should therefore not be segregated and the emblems passed only to them. A separate blessing will be asked over first the bread, which should then be passed, and next the wine, which will thus be passed by itself. The cup should be a large and common cup, although several may be used if the congregation is a large one. Fastidious objections to such on the basis of sanitation are not to be considered. Small individual cups cannot picture the common sharing in the blood of Christ, even as small individual wafers, such as are used by the Roman Catholic Church in the Mass, would spoil the picture of one loaf. It should also be noted that there is no need to keep the emblems covered until just before they are served, as this smacks of religious mysteriousness and ceremonialism, which are to be avoided.—Rom. 8:16, 17, 24, 25; 1 Cor. 10:15-17.

Of course, an exception should be made in the case of those of the remnant who, because of infirmity or sickness, are unable to attend. Individual portions are to be supplied to these, regardless of their age or physical condition, by a brother competent to discuss the occasion with them briefly. Such are to be considered as both attenders and partakers. Disfellowshiped persons are not welcome. Should they attend and partake, they would not be counted. Likewise, if any newcomers who are not yet baptized partake of the emblems, they should not be counted.

What if any professing to be of the remnant should, due to circumstances beyond their control, be absolutely prevented from observing the Memorial and partaking of the emblems? It would seem that the merciful and loving provision that Jehovah made for celebrating the Passover a month later by those Jews ceremonially unclean on Nisan 14 would apply in their case. The individual member of the remnant would therefore observe a personal memorial of Christ’s death on the fourteenth day of the following month, Iyar according to the Jewish calendar, or just thirty days later.—Num. 9:9-14.

What remains of the emblems after the Memorial celebration is over may be taken home and eaten the way any other food is. There is nothing particularly sacred about it after the event. But surely these emblems should not be consumed right after the Lord’s evening meal at the Kingdom Hall and in a spirit of levity, as has happened on occasion. “Let all things take place decently and by arrangement” is counsel that is especially appropriate for the Memorial of Christ’s death.—1 Cor. 14:40.

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“WATCHTOWER” STUDIES FOR THE WEEKS

May 8: The Master’s Manner of Teaching. Page 200.

May 15: Religious Attitudes When the Master Preached. Page 206.