The Watchtower — February 1, 1960

“Death Will Be No More”

ONLY those who have had someone dear to them taken away by death can know the frightful emptiness, the terrible sense of loss, the heartbreaking sorrow that death leaves behind by its unwelcomed visit. For such ones death is not a friend. A friend would not cause such anguish or inflict such deep, long-lasting wounds. Instead of being a friend, death is a formidable enemy.

Trying to convince yourself that death does not actually exist but is merely a door to a new life does not change the hard reality. It cruelly cuts short the cherished existence of young and old. The very absence of a loved one taken by death and the shocking realization that he or she will never again come into the house and lovingly embrace you and talk with you makes its existence and the awful finality of it continually felt. Death is very real, and it leaves painful scars upon the hearts of the living.

The desire of all normal persons is to escape the clutch of death as long as possible as well as to keep their loved ones. Think what it would mean to see a time when death would be no more! Never would you have to go to a cemetery and mourn the loss of someone you loved. Never would you experience the heartache of looking at a marker that tells where your loved one is lying in the ground beneath your feet. Instead, your loved ones would always be with you in the land of the living.

That such a time will come is not empty imagination. It will be a reality as surely as the sun rises every morning. It is a dependable promise, given by the only One capable of fulfilling it. The promise is found in his Word at Revelation 21:4, which says: “He will wipe out every tear from their eyes, and death will be no more, neither will mourning nor outcry nor pain be any more. The former things have passed away.” It is also given in the book of Isaiah: “He will actually swallow up death forever, and the Lord Jehovah will certainly wipe the tears from all faces.”—Isa. 25:8.

The fulfillment of this wonderful promise will come when Jehovah’s kingdom under Christ has wiped out the present wicked system of things and replaced it with a righteous new world. Under the rule of that kingdom the death that has been inevitable for all mankind because of Adam’s sin will no longer exercise power over man. It will cease to be, because the benefits of Christ’s ransom sacrifice will then be applied toward obedient humans that want earthly life.

This does not mean that animals, birds and fish will not die. No such promise has been given to them. They die, not because of Adam’s sin, but because it evidently was not God’s purpose for them to live indefinitely. His Word speaks of unreasoning animals as being “born naturally to be caught and destroyed.” (2 Pet. 2:12) The promise that “death will be no more” can apply, therefore, only to man.

What if a person should become rebellious when death is no more? Will there be no way to end his life? Yes, there will. The end of death does not mean that if any person should become wicked he would be safe from destruction. The Bible says: “Death and Hades were hurled into the lake of fire. This means the second death, the lake of fire.” (Rev. 20:14) It is evident from this that the death symbolized by the lake of fire will always be possible for man, but not inevitable. As long as a person remains obedient to the Supreme Sovereign he will not experience it. The death that has come automatically to all humans because of Adam’s sin is the death that is destroyed by being cast into the lake of fire. Anyone that dies in God’s new world will die because of his own wickedness, not Adam’s. It is the death that is inherited from Adam that is referred to when the Bible says: “As the last enemy, death is to be destroyed.”—1 Cor. 15:26.

The destruction of Adamic death will also mean the end of Hades, or the common grave of mankind. No longer will it be the inevitable future for all who are born. Not only will it cease to take people in, but it will cease to hold those that are there. By resurrection multitudes that have gone into the common grave of mankind and have been retained in God’s memory will return to human life. Jesus promised this when he said: “Do not marvel at this, because the hour is coming in which all those in the memorial tombs will hear his voice and come out, those who did good things to a resurrection of life, those who practiced vile things to a resurrection of judgment.”—John 5:28, 29.

This comforting promise gives hope to those who mourn. It removes the awful feeling of finality that death brings and gives hope that loved ones that have died will live again. Until the time arrives for the dead to be raised by God, they will continue in an unconscious state that Jesus likened to sleep when he said: “Lazarus our friend has gone to rest, but I am traveling there to awaken him from sleep.” (John 11:11) As he awakened Lazarus and brought him back to conscious existence, so will he awaken multitudes during his 1,000-year reign. If any of these resurrected ones should choose a course of rebellion and be adversely judged by God, they will die again. It will be a second and final death for them. This is the eternal death symbolized by the lake of fire.

Because the end of Adamic death will mean that humans will be able to live indefinitely as long as they are obedient, we must not conclude that the earth will become overpopulated. The One who can bring an end to death and raise the dead is capable of preventing mankind from becoming too populous. We can look forward with absolute confidence to a time when death will be no more, because the One who promised it cannot lie. That time is within the life span of people who are now living.

How Happy the Mild-tempered and Peaceable!

“Happy are the mild-tempered ones, since they will inherit the earth. Happy are the peaceable, since they will be called ‘sons of God’.”—Matt. 5:5, 9.

1. What history-making convention was held in 1958, and why is it impossible for other organizations to duplicate it?

HAPPINESS and mildness of temper are so inseparably bound together that it is impossible for those who are peaceable to have one without the other. That is why it can truthfully be said, Never in human history has there been a happier assembly of so many peaceable people as when the Divine Will International Assembly of Jehovah’s Witnesses convened in New York city, July 27 to August 3, 1958, for never before had so many mild-tempered individuals gathered together at one time. It is utterly impossible for any other group of people to duplicate a convention like this, for only witnesses of Jehovah are able to reflect on earth the peaceableness, mildness and happiness that constantly radiate from the very personality of the Most High God.

2. (a) Jehovah is the personification of what precious qualities? (b) What is the divine will for Jehovah’s people in this regard?

² Over and over again the Scriptures tell of how the happy God Jehovah is “slow to anger and abundant in loving-kindness.” (Ex. 34:6; Num. 14:18; Neh. 9:17; Ps. 86:15; 103:8; 145:8; Joel 2:13; Jonah 4:2; Nah. 1:3) Having such a mild and controlled temper enables the Sovereign Ruler of the universe to be long-suffering, patient, forgiving, loving and merciful beyond measure and without compare. Certainly, then, his faithful and loyal witnesses must exhibit these godly qualities at all times and under all circumstances, whether isolated, as many of them are in Communist camps of slavery, or congregated, as more than two hundred thousand of them were at their New York city assembly. Their doing this is not discretionary. It is mandatory, for it is Jehovah’s will.

3, 4. By teaching and example what kind of man did Jesus prove to be?

³ Christ Jesus, Jehovah’s Chief Witness, was no exception. In fact, he was the most mild and gentle man ever to walk this earth. When inviting others to take upon them his yoke and become his disciples, Jesus said: “I am mild-tempered and lowly in heart.” (Matt. 11:29) This one who was so peaceable that he proved fully worthy of the title “Prince of Peace” not only displayed mildness in his personal life and activity but also preached to others that they too should live a life of peace and mildness. Here is how Jesus stated this fundamental Christian principle on one occasion: “I say to you who are listening, Continue to love your enemies, to do good to those hating you, to bless those cursing you, to pray for those who do you injury. To him that strikes you on the one cheek offer the other also.” (Luke 6:27-29) At times Jesus and his traveling companions were exhausted from their walking and talking and they sought a little seclusion and rest. However, the crowds rudely intruded upon their privacy. Instead of harshly rebuking them, Jesus suppressed his own personal feelings and tenderly and compassionately cared for their spiritual and physical needs. (Matt. 14:13-23; Mark 6:31-46) Later, when Jesus peacefully rode into Jerusalem without a fight and presented himself as king, the words of the prophet were fulfilled: “Tell the daughter of Zion, ‘Look! your King is coming to you, mild-tempered, and mounted upon an ass.’”—Matt. 21:4, 5; Zech. 9:9, AS.

⁴ Throughout his ministry in all his dealings with others this extremely powerful man Jesus was never belligerent against his enemies, never intolerant toward his opposers, never impatient with his associates, never irritable or quick-tempered with others even when under extremely heavy pressure. He never lost self-control. He never flew into a fit of anger. When under the most difficult circumstances, when in the very clutches of his enemies, when they cursed and beat and spit upon him, when even the wild mob had him taken out and fiendishly nailed to a torture stake to die without a cause, through it all Jesus demonstrated a calmness and self-control that proved beyond a question of doubt that he was the very Son of God. He was the wise and happy Son who made his heavenly Father’s heart rejoice by doing the divine will.—Prov. 27:11.

5. (a) What did Peter and James say about self-control, wrath, mildness and meekness? (b) How did Paul demonstrate Christlike gentleness?

⁵ Surely this “mildness and reasonableness of the Christ” was something for the happy followers and apostles of Jesus to write to others about, and, in their own personal lives, to copy and emulate. (2 Cor. 10:1) Instead of being haughty, hot-tempered and proud boasters, they were humble, mild-tempered and lowly in heart like their Master. Repeatedly these inspired writers spoke of themselves as mere “slaves” of God and of Christ. (Rom. 1:1; Phil. 1:1; Titus 1:1; Jas. 1:1; 2 Pet. 1:1; Jude 1) Instead of being contentious, quarrelsome, easily provoked and offended, they were gentle and mild and understandingly considerate of other people and their problems. The apostle Peter, for example, wrote: “Supply to your faith virtue, to your virtue knowledge, to your knowledge self-control, to your self-control endurance, to your endurance godly devotion, to your godly devotion brotherly affection, to your brotherly affection love.” (2 Pet. 1:5-7) The writer James also speaks of the virtues of mildness and self-control. “Know this, my beloved brothers. Every man must be . . . slow about wrath; for man’s wrath does not produce God’s righteousness.” “Who is wise and understanding among you? Let him show out of his right conduct his works with a meekness that belongs to wisdom.” (Jas. 1:19, 20; 3:13) Here is Paul the apostle’s testimony: “We became gentle in the midst of you, as when a nursing mother cherishes her own children. So, having a tender affection for you, we were well pleased to impart to you, not only the good news of God, but also our own souls, because you became beloved to us. You are witnesses, God is also, how true to loving-kindness and righteous and unblamable we proved.”—1 Thess. 2:7, 8, 10.

CHRISTIAN MILDNESS PRODUCED BY GOD’S SPIRIT

6. By birth and nature what kind of dispositions do modern-day witnesses of Jehovah possess, and why?

⁶ Leaping nineteen centuries of time, one finds that Jehovah’s anointed Christian witnesses living today are like the happy first-century disciples, “ambassadors substituting for Christ.” (2 Cor. 5:20) It is therefore Jehovah’s will and purpose and pleasure that each one of these substituting representatives possess the same Godlike qualities of mildness and control of temperament that characterized the Chief Ambassador, Jesus. This does not mean or infer that Jehovah’s witnesses are a superior breed of people who are born with inherent mild dispositions and are perfect in self-control. No, not at all. Like all other people of the earth, they are descendants of the willful sinners Adam and Eve. They are conceived in sin and brought forth with error (lawlessness) and their natural dispositions are disagreeable, their tempers unruly by nature.—Job 15:14; Ps. 51:5; 53:2, 3; Eccl. 7:20; Rom. 3:10; 5:12; Jas. 3:2;1 John 1:8.

7. When persons become true Christians how is the radical transformation in their dispositions accomplished?

⁷ Peaceable mildness, therefore, comes from some other source and by some other means than through the evil bent of imperfect human heredity. That a complete transformation must and does take place when a person becomes one of Jehovah’s witnesses cannot be denied. The question is, How and by what means? For a tree to produce good fruit it takes, first of all, good soil, plus other things. So it is in this case. First there must be “a right and good heart” condition (the soil). (Luke 8:11-15) Then it takes time and effort to sow the seed, to watch over, cultivate, water and nourish the tender planting. This expenditure of much time and toil on the part of the individual himself is necessary, but, as in the case of the natural fruit tree, before the sweet and desirable fruitage of Christian mildness is produced, God’s power or spirit must come into play and activate the heart and the mind. (1 Cor. 3:6, 7) The Scripture definitely says that “love, joy, peace, long-suffering, kindness, goodness, faith, mildness, self-control” are fruitage produced by Jehovah’s spirit.—Gal. 5:22, 23.

8. Why is dedication so important in the life of a Christian?

⁸ For an individual to have God’s spirit, however, he must first dedicate himself to Jehovah. This means that his personal will is to seek after, find, take up and do the divine will. He then gets baptized in water before witnesses in symbol of his dedication. This newborn babe in the truth then continues further to feed upon God’s inspired Word the Bible, and this, in turn, makes him strong enough to go on to maturity. To those who fail to make progress, Peter writes: “Put away all moral badness and all deceitfulness and hypocrisy and envies and all kinds of backbiting, and, as newborn infants, form a longing for the unadulterated milk belonging to the word, that through it you may grow to salvation.” (1 Pet. 2:1, 2) Paul also counsels: “You should put away the old personality which conforms to your former course of conduct and which is being corrupted according to his deceptive desires; but that you should be made new in the force actuating your mind [this force being Jehovah’s spirit], and should put on the new personality which was created according to God’s will in true righteousness and loving-kindness.”—Eph. 4:22-24.

9. Describe the beautiful garments Jehovah’s people are privileged to wear.

⁹ Thus stripping off the old hereditary, sin-shaped personality with its vicious temper, Jehovah’s dedicated witnesses clothe and adorn themselves with a new, theocratic or godlike personality of mildness, tolerance and self-control. “As God’s chosen ones, holy and loved, clothe yourselves with the tender affections of compassion, kindness, lowliness of mind, mildness, and long-suffering.” What beautiful garments, identifying and distinguishing the servants of the Most High God!—Col. 3:12.

PERSONALITIES FASHIONED AFTER A NEW SYSTEM OF THINGS

10. What does it mean to be “transformed by making your mind over”?

¹⁰ Such a way of life as above outlined and recommended certainly means a radical change in the whole structure of one’s thinking. The individual’s responses to outward influences are completely altered. Reactions to circumstances and surroundings are drastically changed. But the apostle knew that such a complete transformation in mental processes would be necessary, for he writes: “Quit being fashioned after this system of things, but be transformed by making your mind over, that you may prove to yourselves the good and acceptable and complete will of God.” (Rom. 12:2) All those making such a transformation in their lives actually become part of Jehovah’s new mild-tempered society, which is altogether different from the Devil’s old bad-tempered society.

11. (a) How do friends and relatives often view those who abandon old-world practices? (b) Is this too high a price to pay?

¹¹ To these who have thus transformed their way of life and cultivated Christlike dispositions, the apostle Peter writes: “For the time that has passed by is sufficient for you to have worked out the will of the nations when you proceeded in deeds of loose conduct, lusts, excesses with wine, revelries, drinking matches, and idolatries that are without legal restraint. Because you do not continue running with them in this course to the same low sink of debauchery, they are puzzled and go on speaking abusively of you. But these people will render an account to the one ready to judge those living and those dead.” (1 Pet. 4:3-5) As Peter warned, oftentimes relatives and former friends and associates speak abusively of those who begin to break away from this Devil-ruled system, and they do everything possible to discourage life seekers from having their ways of life transformed. But never should those dedicating themselves to the doing of Jehovah’s will feel that because of blood relation or because of financial or social ties they are obligated in any way to continue to live and act like those who are part of the present system. To do so means inescapable death. Jehovah does not compromise on this issue. Neither do his devoted people. “We are under obligation, not to the flesh to live in accord with the flesh; for if you live in accord with the flesh you are sure to die; but if you put the practices of the body to death by the spirit, you will live. For all who are led by God’s spirit, these are God’s sons.” (Rom. 8:12-14) Surely no fleshly ties or associations could ever be compared with this position. What an indescribable privilege—to be sons forever of the Sovereign Lord and Ruler of the whole universe!

12. By sticking with Satan’s world what kind of harvest is one bound to reap?

¹² Satan’s world, instead of producing the fruitage of Jehovah’s spirit, has harvested a bumper crop of wicked works, products of rebellious fallen flesh. “Now the works of the flesh are manifest, and they are fornication, uncleanness, loose conduct, idolatry, practice of spiritism, hatreds, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, contentions, divisions, sects, envies, drunken bouts, revelries, and things like these. As to these things I am forewarning you, the same way as I did forewarn you, that those who practice such things will not inherit God’s kingdom.” (Gal. 5:19-21) Works of the flesh do not give those who indulge in them true joy and real happiness even momentarily under the present conditions, and, as for the future, all those drinking these dregs will die at Armageddon, at the latest. Reasonable persons, therefore, gladly seize the opportunity of replacing the joy-killing works of the flesh with the joy-giving fruits of the spirit.

13. (a) How do the high and the mighty of this system view mildness and self-control? (b) Is the pattern set by the leaders of this old world a good one to follow?

¹³ In view of all of this it is indeed a strange thing that those clinging to the old system scoff at and ridicule and look down on mildness of spirit and control of temper as spineless, jellyfish weaknesses to be avoided. The so-called successful bosses in the world, the labor leaders, the financial tycoons, the political and judicial men of power, the military and police authorities, the high and mighty rulers, executives and dictators of this satanic system boast themselves in being calloused and hard, easily enraged, quick-tongued, impatient, hotheaded, and most frequently possessing cruel, saw-toothed tempers. And as the leaders set the pattern, so the masses that are led attempt to copy it. Proverbs 29:22 is certainly true when it says: “A man given to anger stirs up contention, and anyone disposed to rage has many a transgression.” Little wonder, then, that with the earth filled with people who are “given to anger” and “disposed to rage” the present system is in such a sorry, unhappy state of affairs, for, indeed, it is a contentious, hateful, warring world, overflowing in crimes and transgressions. And all the tens of millions of aspirin tablets daily consumed, all the tranquilizers and “miracle drugs,” and all the oily balm of the “peace of mind” psychologists have failed to ease the pains and headaches of this dying old world.

14. How is it possible for Christians to live here on earth and yet not share this world’s incurable headache?

¹⁴ How refreshingly different conditions among Jehovah’s new and happy world society! They are on the earth, it is true, but instead of imitating the loathsome characteristics of the majority of the people, or following their crooked policies and practices, the Witnesses give heed to the divine instruction written at Proverbs 22:24: “Do not have companionship with anyone given to anger, and with a man having fits of rage you must not enter in, that you may not get familiar with his paths and certainly take a snare for your soul.” The apostle also agreed: “Bad associations spoil useful habits.”—1 Cor. 15:33.

15, 16. (a) Really, then, is a mild and gentle disposition the earmark of a coward? (b) What example of strength is set by Jehovah’s witnesses both inside and outside of prison bars?

¹⁵ Mildness, therefore, instead of being the earmark of a weak coward is one of the identifying characteristics of those who are exceedingly courageous and strong, stronger by far than the mighty military and civilian leaders of this world. “He that is slow to anger is better than a mighty man, and he that is controlling his spirit than the one capturing a city.” (Prov. 16:32) For an example of the strength there is in mildness look at Jehovah’s mild-tempered witnesses living in the totalitarian lands, who were physically restrained from attending the Divine Will Assembly in New York city. Instead of attempting to flee or hide their identity behind a mask of compromises and a cloak of hypocrisy, these happy Witnesses in those dark lands have fearlessly remained steadfast in their God-assigned places as united worshipers of the true God Jehovah, and by their magnificent display of calmness and self-control, even when brutally tortured to the point of death, they have won the respect and admiration of many of their enemies.

¹⁶ By following this course the persecuted Witnesses have been doing their heavenly Father’s will, as recorded in his written Word: “If the spirit of a ruler should mount up against you, do not leave your own place, for calmness itself allays great sins.” But whether inside or outside of jails, torture chambers or concentration camps, these happy Witnesses display the same mildness toward all with whom they come in contact. “Always [be] ready to make a defense before everyone that demands of you a reason for the hope in you, but doing so together with a mild temper and deep respect.”—Eccl. 10:4; 1 Pet. 3:15.

17. Who are the most happy people on earth today, and why?

¹⁷ What are the benefits obtained by following such a narrow and cramped course of Christian discipline as here outlined? Well, no one ever saw a laughing, jubilant person who was at the same time in a fit of anger. The reason is that happiness and anger do not mix or keep company. If one comes in, the other immediately leaves. Now Jehovah’s witnesses are blessed above all others because they are the happiest, most peaceful and contented people on earth. But such immediate benefits are only of secondary importance compared with the final and, by far, the grander blessings bestowed upon these mild-tempered people.

18, 19. What precious blessings are promised to those who are truly mild-tempered and peaceable?

¹⁸ In the introduction to Jesus’ famous “sermon on the mount” that great Teacher did not simply say: “Happy are those who are conscious of their spiritual need,” “Happy are the peaceable,” or, “Happy are the mild-tempered ones.” While it is true that a certain amount of happiness accrues to the person who has his spiritual needs satisfied and is mild-tempered and peaceful, yet these are not the big things or the grander blessings that Christ promised. Jesus’ purpose in coming to earth was to bear truthful witness concerning Jehovah’s glorious kingdom, and on this particular occasion he did not fail in accomplishing this purpose, for, really, what Jesus said was this: “Happy are those who are conscious of their spiritual need, since the kingdom of the heavens belongs to them.” “Happy are the peaceable, since they will be called ‘sons of God’.” “Happy are the mild-tempered ones, since they will inherit the earth.”—Matt. 5:3, 9, 5.

¹⁹ This, then, gives an expanded understanding and appreciation of the indescribable joy and happiness allotted Jehovah’s faithful witnesses. First of all, to actually witness Jehovah’s furious and unusual battle of Armageddon, when he will in all his mighty glory and strength uproot and destroy forever the wicked, and then, as “sons of God,” personally to receive an assigned place of service as an eternal possession and inheritance under the Kingdom’s peaceful rule—what a great vindication of Jehovah’s Word and name all this will be! That surely will be a most wonderful blessing and a thrilling privilege for the mild-tempered ones, far surpassing the mere freedom they now enjoy from the present turbulence and sorrows plaguing this sick and crying world!

Mildness and Self-Control Yield Peaceable Fruitage

“Who is wise and understanding among you? Let him show out of his right conduct his works with a meekness that belongs to wisdom. Moreover, the fruit of righteousness has its seed sown under peaceful conditions for those who are making peace.”—Jas. 3:13, 18.

1. (a) The peaceable fruitage of God’s spirit consists of what? (b) If there is to be an abundant crop of such fruitage, what precautions must be taken?

IT IS Jehovah’s will that his happy witnesses continually produce an abundant crop of spiritual fruitage. This product of God’s spirit consists not alone of goodness, faith, joy, love and kindness, but also of peace, mildness, long-suffering and self-control. Now, if such delicious fruit as this is to be brought forth, then not only must the seed be sown under the right conditions, but, of equal importance, the right kind of seed must be planted. Jehovah’s ancient law forbade Israel to plant mingled seed or two kinds of seeds together. And Jesus said: “Never do people gather grapes from thorns or figs from thistles, do they? A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, neither can a rotten tree produce fine fruit.” So make sure to plant only the good kind, the right kind of seed. “For whatever a man is sowing, this he will also reap; because he who is sowing with a view to his flesh will reap corruption from his flesh, but he who is sowing with a view to the spirit will reap everlasting life from the spirit. So let us not give up in doing what is right, for in due season we shall reap by not giving out.” The apostle then adds this significant point: “Really, then, as long as we have time favorable for it, let us work what is good toward all, but especially toward those related to us in the faith.”—Lev. 19:19; Deut. 22:9; Matt. 7:16, 18; Gal. 5:22, 23; 6:7-10.

2. (a) Is it proper for a dedicated servant to seek appointment as an overseer? (b) Before one qualifies for appointment as an overseer what reputation must he have?

² In the theocratic arrangement of things certain servants of the Lord are placed as overseers of God’s flock. (Acts 20:28) In such positions of responsibility they must take the lead in bearing peaceable fruitage and working what is good toward all, especially toward those related to them, their faithful brothers and sisters in the congregation of God. It is a commendable thing, the Scripture says, for a dedicated servant of the Lord to seek appointment to the office of an overseer. This is because the very highest requirements must be met before one is qualified to serve in this capacity. Among the prerequisites to receiving a stewardship from Jehovah as an overseer a person must “have a favorable testimony from people on the outside,” being “not a drunken brawler, not a smiter, . . . not belligerent.” He must never be pugnacious, never bossy or dictatorial or domineering, never an overbearing browbeater of the flock, never irritable or quarrelsome. Rather, to meet Jehovah’s high standard he must be “moderate in habits, sound in mind, orderly.” He must “speak injuriously of no one,” and he must be “reasonable” toward all, understanding other people and their problems, “exhibiting all mildness toward all men.”—1 Tim. 3:1-3, 7; Titus 3:2.

3. What good advice did the overseer Paul give Timothy in First Timothy, chapter six?

³ The young man Timothy was such a qualified overseer in the early Christian congregation, and to him the apostle and overseer Paul gave some good advice on what to do when envy, jealousy and violent disputes broke out. Certain ones would arise in the very midst of the congregation, Timothy was told, who would be puffed up with pride and mentally diseased over doctrinal questions. “From these things,” the apostle said, “spring envy, strife, abusive speeches, wicked suspicions, violent disputes about trifles on the part of men corrupted in mind and despoiled of the truth.” Under such circumstances what was Timothy to do? He was told to have nothing to do with these troublemakers or their poisonous venom. He was to hasten and flee from their wickedness and pursue after “righteousness, godly devotion, faith, love, endurance, mildness of temper.” Here Paul placed mild-temperedness in the same class with the other five essential requirements.—1 Tim. 6:4, 5, 11.

4, 5. (a) To whom were first-century Christians reminded by the apostle Paul to show mildness, and why? (b) In this respect what is required of twentieth-century Christians?

⁴ Another overseer of the first century, named Titus, was told that it was his responsibility as superintendent to “continue reminding them [of the congregations] to . . . speak injuriously of no one, not to be belligerent, to be reasonable, exhibiting all mildness toward all men. For even we were once senseless, disobedient, being misled, being slaves to various desires and pleasures, carrying on in maliciousness and envy, hateful, hating one another.” (Titus 3:1-3) As a reason for being mild-tempered toward all other men, Titus was to remind the congregations how kind and loving God himself had been to us, saving us not because of any activities of righteousness that we had performed to obligate God to us, but saving us according to his own divine mercy toward us through Jesus Christ, his self-sacrificing Son. What mildness this displayed to an unparalleled degree on the part of the Most High God toward us! Along with this mildness, how long-suffering God has been toward us of humankind throughout the centuries till now! It is not because God is slow or indifferent, but because he does not desire us to be destroyed. He has desired us to have the needed time to come to repentance leading to salvation. Thus we can consider God’s mild patience with us as spelling our salvation.—Titus 3:4-7; 2 Pet. 3:9, 15.

⁵ Today no less is required of faithful Christian overseers. They too must continually remind the congregations to be in humble subservience and willing subjection to “our Savior, God,” and to imitate him in our conduct toward others in the matter of mildness of treatment. His Son, “Jesus Christ our Savior,” imitated his heavenly Father in this respect, and we should also.

OVERSEERS, SHEPHERD THE FLOCK OF GOD!

6, 7. (a) What animal well illustrates the Lord’s people, and why? (b) How do Peter and Paul admonish those charged with oversight of God’s flock?

⁶ There are some very good reasons for us to consider why the Scriptures repeatedly refer to and illustrate the Lord’s people as “sheep” instead of other animals, for instance, cows, pigs, mules, bears, wolves, dogs or goats. Sheep are easily led about by their own shepherds. They are mild-tempered, gentle and peaceful creatures not only toward other animals but also among their own kind. All other well-known animals are lacking to varying degrees in these desirable characteristics. And because sheep are so gentle their shepherds must treat them accordingly. To the shepherds over God’s flock who are appointed as such by holy spirit, Peter the apostle writes: “To the older men [overseers] among you I give this exhortation, for I, too, am an older man [an overseer] like them . . . Shepherd the flock of God in your care, not under compulsion, but willingly, neither for love of dishonest gain, but eagerly, neither as lording it over those who are God’s inheritance, but becoming examples to the flock.”—1 Pet. 5:1-3.

⁷ Pay attention, you overseers and ministerial servants, all of you! You appointed servants in the local congregations, you circuit servants, you district servants, you branch servants, you zone servants—all of you mature men of influence whom Jehovah’s holy spirit has appointed to look after and shepherd his happy flock—never forget that you must be exceptionally peaceful, loving, mild, patient, gentle and kind, especially toward the Lord’s tender sheep under your watchcare and keeping. Never forget that these qualifications you must have before and after you are recommended for appointment to your special stewardships in this theocratic society. “An overseer,” it is written, “must be free from accusation as God’s steward, not self-willed [no, but guided by the divine will], not prone to wrath, not a drunken brawler, not a smiter, not greedy of dishonest gain, but a lover of strangers, a lover of goodness, sound in mind, righteous, having loving-kindness, self-controlled, holding firmly to the faithful word as respects his art of teaching, that he may be able both to exhort by the teaching that is healthful and to reprove those who contradict.”—Titus 1:7-9.

8. (a) For what reason was Moses not permitted to enter the land of promise? (b) Why is it most important for an overseer to have complete self-control at all times?

⁸ Self-control or control of one’s spirit must be self-imposed. Self-control must be vigilantly watched over and guarded and constantly exercised if it is to be effectively useful when needed. Remember the overseer Moses, concerning whom it is written: “The man Moses was by far the meekest of all the men who were upon the surface of the ground”? (Num. 12:3) Yet this same Moses lost out from entering the Promised Land, all because in a single fit of anger he lost control of his temper. This is why an overseer must never become lax and lose control of his temper, not even for a moment. If he is lacking in self-control and has no restraining power over his spirit, then, as Proverbs says, he is “as a city broken through, without a wall.” To the contrary, faithful overseers must be strongly fortified and dependable in time of need, able to give protection, support and defense to the weaker ones in the congregation, and they can do this only if at all times they have mildness with self-control.—Num. 20:9-12; Prov. 25:28.

9. (a) How should rebuke and correction be given to rebellious ones? (b) If opposition arises within or outside the congregation, is not one justified in losing his temper and becoming hotly enraged?

⁹ As already quoted from the Scriptures, an overseer must hold firmly to the faithful Word of God, and he must be able to exhort by the teaching that is healthful, and “to reprove those who contradict.” It is therefore necessary at times for an overseer to give rebuke and correction to those who become unbalanced and warped in their thinking, to reprove those who contradict the truth. But never should such counsel be given in an overlording or belligerent manner or in a fit of anger. The old world has a theory, ‘fight fire with fire,’ but within Jehovah’s organization this practice is wholly out of place. Much better to fight a literal blaze with cold water than to throw on it a hot explosive mixture. So too, it is divine wisdom and counsel to allay fiery disputes in a congregation with the cooling and refreshing water of truth from God’s Word in a quiet and mild manner. Says divine wisdom: “An answer, when mild, turns away rage, but a word causing pain makes anger to come up. An enraged man stirs up strife, but one that is slow to anger quiets down contention.” “Better is one who is patient than one who is haughty in spirit.” Surely a patient overseer who speaks the truth in a kind and mild manner is fully capable of handling every sort of opposition arising within the congregation, for, of a truth, the tongue he possesses, when controlled and used as Jehovah directs, is a mighty weapon, so powerful, in fact, that “a mild tongue itself can break a bone.” In agreement with these principles of truth the apostle Paul’s theocratic instructions sent out to all overseers say: “A slave of the Lord does not need to fight, but needs to be tactful toward all, qualified to teach, keeping himself restrained under evil, instructing with mildness those not favorably disposed.”—Prov. 15:1, 18; 25:15; Eccl. 7:8; 2 Tim. 2:24, 25.

10. What purpose is served in rebuking those who err from the faith, and so how should spiritually sick ones be treated?

¹⁰ The purpose of giving rebuke to those not favorably disposed, or to those who err from the faith, should be to protect the flock of God from corrupting influences and false philosophies, and at the same time to restore, not destroy, those who are erring. “Brothers, even though a man takes some false step before he is aware of it, you who have spiritual qualifications try to restore such a man in a spirit of mildness, as you each keep an eye on yourself, for fear you also may be tempted.” If healthy sheep must be tenderly cared for, how much more so should sick sheep be given gentle consideration! Overseers, therefore, who are spiritually strong and mature should exercise tender consideration when attempting to aid and help those who are spiritually sick. Let them remember that the sheep are not their own. The sheep are the Lord’s. So never treat them as a hireling, even when for a time they go astray. But when “ravenous wolves” creep in disguised as sheep in order to corrupt the flock, then the overseers as faithful shepherds will speedily deal with them according to what they really are. “Remove the wicked man from among yourselves.”—Gal. 6:1; Matt. 7:15; John 10:11-13; Acts 20:29, 30; 1 Cor. 5:9-13.

11. Is less required in humility, mildness, self-control and so forth, of one who is not an overseer or ministerial servant?

¹¹ All this wonderful counsel and wisdom from Jehovah’s inspired Word, which is here so pointedly directed to overseers and ministerial servants, applies with equal force to each and every one of Jehovah’s witnesses. Let no novice, no babe in the truth, or, for that matter, let no individual who has been associated all his lifetime with Jehovah’s organization, think for a moment that less is required of him than of those taking the lead when it comes to the quality of fruit they bear. God is no respecter of persons, sex or age. As in ancient Israel, so also today, there is one law for all, overseers and people alike, as well as strangers and aliens. All are in the same contest, the same race, a race for life or death. Let all therefore run as Paul advised: “Every man taking part in a contest exercises self-control in all things. . . . Therefore, . . . I browbeat my body and lead it as a slave, that, after I have preached to others, I myself should not become disapproved somehow.” All true Christians were addressed when Paul wrote to the “faithful ones in union with Christ Jesus,” saying: “I . . . entreat you to walk worthily of the calling with which you were called, with complete lowliness of mind and mildness, with long-suffering, putting up with one another in love, earnestly endeavoring to observe the oneness of the spirit in the uniting bond of peace. One body there is.” It takes all members in this congregational body to maintain this Christian peace and unity. So what is required of overseers in the way of mildness of temper, patience, gentleness, self-control, long-suffering, humility, love, and so forth, is also demanded of every one of Jehovah’s dedicated people.—Ex. 12:49; Lev. 24:22; 1 Cor. 9:25-27; Eph. 1:1; 4:1-4.

EXERCISING MILDNESS AND SELF-CONTROL IN THE HOME

12. Where does one find an absence of mildness and self-control, and what has this resulted in?

¹² Some of life’s most knotty problems are domestic ones. Witness the staggering number of unhappy married people, the prevalence of parental and child delinquency, the appalling number of broken homes and the rising rate of divorce as evidence of the breakdown and moral decline of this old world’s unhappy society. Husbands and wives squabble and feud both privately and in public. Juvenile delinquency ranges from childish tantrums and petty fits of anger to open assault and murder of parents. It is all too obvious that peace and tranquillity do not inhabit these shattered homes, because there is a complete lack of Christlike mildness and self-control.

13. On the other hand, when husbands and wives carry out the divine will what happy domestic conditions prevail?

¹³ Where husbands and wives are Jehovah’s happy witnesses one does not find such deplorable conditions. Why not? Simply because the same Christian principles of patience, love, gentleness, long-suffering, tolerance and control of temperament, developed and practiced in the congregation, are carried over into life within the family circle. “You wives, be in subjection to your husbands, as it is becoming in the Lord. You husbands, keep on loving your wives and do not be bitterly angry with them.” And to both husbands and wives this instruction is given: “Continue putting up with one another and forgiving one another freely if anyone has a cause for complaint against another.” There is absolutely no excuse or reason, and there are no problems so great or emergencies so crucial as to justify married people losing control of their emotions and tempers. If husbands and wives are carrying out the divine will, then they must be mild-tempered, kind, considerate and tolerant toward each other and toward their children at all times.—Col. 3:18, 19, 13.

14. Where there is a divided household what divine counsel should be followed by the Christian mate?

¹⁴ This is all very well, some may say, in a theocratic home where both the husband and wife are dedicated servants of God, but how about the home where, perhaps, a Christian wife is married to a man who is not in the truth? There are many such homes today, and when the head of the home is not a true Christian he is bound to lose his temper and be unreasonable and downright mean at times. This, however, does not justify the wife’s abandoning her happy state to join her husband in his unhappy state of mind. Under such circumstances the dedicated mate should follow the divine will, to wit: “You wives, be in subjection to your own husbands, in order that, if any [husbands] are not obedient to the word, they may be won without a word through the conduct of their wives . . . let your adornment be . . . the incorruptible apparel of the quiet and mild spirit, which is of great value in the eyes of God.” Doing this, the dedicated, mild-tempered wife will enjoy a happiness and contentment not shared by her harsh-tempered husband.—1 Pet. 3:1-4.

15. What Scriptural counsel must parents with minor children follow if they want their home blessed with peace and contentment?

¹⁵ Not only must parents in the Christian home be mild in temper toward each other, but they must also have the same mental disposition toward their children. “You, fathers, do not be irritating your children, but go on bringing them up in the discipline and authoritative advice of Jehovah.” Discipline of children is absolutely necessary, for Jehovah’s advice is: “The rod and reproof are what give wisdom; but a boy let on the loose will be causing his mother shame. Chastise your son and he will bring you rest and give much pleasure to your soul.” It is an act of love, not hatred or ill will toward the child, for the parents to administer corrective discipline. “The one holding back his rod is hating his son, but the one loving him is he that does look for him with discipline.”—Eph. 6:4; Prov. 29:15, 17; 13:24.

16. How important is parental correction to you children who want to live in God’s new world?

¹⁶ Now you children, and this also includes all you teen-agers, have in mind that this discipline prescribed by Jehovah is medicine for your good, because disobedience, stubbornness and fits of anger are the ways of sin and death, and they are bound up in your heart from your very birth. It you want to live under God’s kingdom rule, these devilish hereditary tendencies must be forcefully rooted out and supplanted with godly qualities, and the parental rod of correction will help to do this. “Foolishness is tied up with the heart of a boy; the rod of discipline is what will remove it far from him.”—Prov. 22:15.

17. (a) Explain why there were no juvenile delinquents in ancient Israel when Jehovah’s laws were enforced (b) Why is the problem of delinquency practically nonexistent among Jehovah’s witnesses today?

¹⁷ There may be rare instances where a child is so hardened in its stubbornness that even the rod of correction cannot drive it out. In the days of Israel parents were instructed by Jehovah to take such a rebel to the city fathers and they, in turn, took the incorrigible one out and stoned him to death. There were no juvenile delinquents under such a system. (Deut. 21:18-21) So also today, the New World society of Jehovah’s witnesses can not and will not tolerate juvenile delinquency to exist in its midst. So, to avoid a possible death-dealing blow by being disfellowshiped from the congregation, wise theocratic children give heed to and follow what God’s Word says: “Children, be obedient to your parents in union with the Lord, for this is righteous.” “You children, be obedient to your parents in everything [this leaves nothing out], for this is well-pleasing in the Lord.” “Listen to your father who caused your birth,” the Proverb says, “and do not despise your mother just because she has grown old.”—Eph. 6:1; Col. 3:20; Prov. 23:22.

18. In what respects is the organization of Jehovah’s witnesses like the garden of Eden in its beautiful fruitage, and how is this made possible?

¹⁸ So whether married or single, whether adults or juveniles, of the remnant or of the “great crowd,” overseers or not, one and all of Jehovah’s witnesses with the aid of God’s holy spirit, and by exercising mildness and self-control, are able to produce an abundant and never-ending crop of peaceable fruitage. Under Jehovah’s loving watchcare their organization in the beauty of peace and unity is like the garden of Eden. This is because each one has deep respect and love for Jehovah’s laws and commandments, together with zeal and devotion in carrying out the divine will in everything. “My son, my law do not forget, and my commandments may your heart observe, because length of days and years of life and peace will be added to you.” “Abundant peace belongs to those loving your law, and for them there is no stumbling block.”—Prov. 3:1, 2; Ps. 119:165.

19. How only may those who love peace and contentment be assured of enjoying it forever and ever?

¹⁹ All persons everywhere who are of good will and who love peace and unity, if you want to share in the all-surpassing happiness and live in everlasting peace and contentment in a paradise garden under the rule by God’s kingdom, then quickly associate yourselves with Jehovah’s peace-loving witnesses, and together with them be mild-tempered, calm, lovingly patient, self-controlled. Continue to obey the divine will, which includes Psalm 37: “Do not show yourself heated up because of the evildoers. . . . For like grass they will speedily wither . . . Let anger alone and leave rage . . . For evildoers themselves will be cut off, but those hoping in Jehovah are the ones that will possess the earth. And just a little while longer and the wicked one will be no more, and you will certainly give attention to his place and he will not be. But the meek ones [the mild-tempered ones] themselves will possess the earth and they will indeed find their exquisite delight in the abundance of peace.”—Ps. 37:1, 2, 8-11.

The Apocrypha—of God or of Men?

IS THE Apocrypha of God or of men? Is it part of “all Scripture [that] is inspired of God” and beneficial for our being “fully competent, completely equipped for every good work”? Or does it belong to “the tradition of men,” to “the elementary things of the world,” against which the apostle Paul warned Christians? What are the facts?—2 Tim. 3:16, 17; Col. 2:8.

The original meaning of the term “apocrypha” is made clear from Jesus’ use of it: “For there is nothing hidden that will not become manifest, neither anything carefully concealed that will never become known.” In time, however, the term took on the unfavorable connotation of “writings or statements of doubtful authorship or authority.” As most commonly used today, “The Apocrypha” refers to the eleven additional writings declared canonical by the Roman Catholic Church in her Council of Trent (1546), but which are challenged by others.—Luke 8:17.

These eleven additional writings are Tobit, Judith, Wisdom (of Solomon), Ecclesiasticus, Baruch, 1 and 2 Maccabees, a supplement to Esther and three additions to Daniel: The Song of the Three Holy Children, Susanna and the Elders, and The Destruction of Bel and the Dragon. Catholic writers refer to these books as deuterocanonical, meaning “of the second (or later) canon,” as distinguished from protocanonical.

HISTORY OF THE APOCRYPHA

There is little information as to when and by whom the various books of the Apocrypha were written. What evidence there is points to the second and first centuries B.C. The Greek Septuagint Version was produced without the Apocrypha, those writings being added to it later. They became part of the Catholic Bible because Jerome used the Septuagint as a basis for his Latin Vulgate translation.

The writings of the Apocrypha had been placed in the Septuagint wherever they seemed to fit best and there they remained until the time of the Reformation. Luther, due to the influence of able Bible scholar and radical reformer Karlstadt, gathered the Apocrypha in one place, between the Hebrew and Christian Greek Scriptures, and at the same time noted that these did not have the same weight of authority as did the rest of the Bible.

More than a century previous the Bible lover Wycliffe left the Apocrypha entirely out of his translation. Coverdale, however, who in 1535 produced the first English Bible in print, brought the Apocrypha back into the Bible. The King James Version of 1611 also contained the Apocrypha. In fact, Archbishop of Canterbury George Abbott decreed a year’s imprisonment for anyone who dared to publish a Bible without the Apocrypha! Incidentally, it should be mentioned that the Apocrypha of these Protestant English Bibles contained fourteen writings, the Roman Catholic Church having seen fit, in its Council of Trent, to drop three of those found in the Vulgate. These three were the Prayer of Manasses and 1 and 2 Esdras (also known in the Septuagint as 3 and 4 Esdras, as in that version 1 and 2 Esdras refers to Ezra [Esdras] and Nehemiah).

But the Apocrypha was not to remain in the English Protestant Bible. Those zealots, the Puritans, so opposed its presence that they have been accused of “persecuting the Apocrypha.” A like zeal was displayed by the Scottish Protestants, who felt so strongly about the matter that they gave the British Bible Societies an ultimatum: Cut out the Apocrypha or we will cut out our financial support!

At present the Apocrypha is growing in popularity. Liberal and modernist Bible scholars and theologians claim that the Apocrypha influenced the forming of the Christian religion and that therefore to understand it fully one must be familiar with the Apocrypha. They claim that no Bible is complete without it and that it should be more widely read and taken more seriously. Thus one asks, What advantage has Ecclesiastes over Wisdom and Baruch? Why should Esther be a part of the Bible canon and not Judith? Why are 1 and 2 Chronicles a part of the Bible and not 1 and 2 Maccabees?

Thus we have two opposite opinions today regarding the Apocrypha, with the same result: The liberals and modernists, believing that there is no such thing as divine inspiration or revelation, hold that the Apocrypha is every bit as good as the Bible. The Roman Catholic theologians, believing the Apocrypha to be inspired, hold that the Apocrypha is every bit as good as the Bible and, in fact, a part of it. However, the facts will show both to be mistaken.

EXTERNAL EVIDENCE AGAINST THE APOCRYPHA

Since the authenticity of the Bible has been demonstrated repeatedly in the columns of this magazine by such lines of evidence as fulfillment of prophecy, archaeological discoveries, harmony and candor of the writers, and so forth, the discussion here will proceed with the external and internal evidence showing that the Apocrypha could not possibly have been inspired. Chief external evidence is the fact that not one of the Christian Bible writers ever quoted from the Apocrypha, although they doubtless used the Septuagint, which in their day contained the Apocrypha. While it must be admitted that this of itself is not conclusive, these writers also having failed to quote from certain canonical books, such as Esther, Ecclesiastes and The Song of Solomon, yet the fact that not one of the fourteen writings of the Apocrypha found in the Septuagint is quoted even once indicates deliberate design.

Further arguing against the canonicity of the Apocrypha is the fact that neither the Great Synagogue of the Palestinian Jews nor the historian Josephus nor Philo, leading first-century Jewish apologist, recognized any of the books of the Apocrypha as inspired. Their Hebrew Scriptures consisted solely of twenty-four books, which are the same as the thirty-nine books of the generally accepted Hebrew Scripture canon. (In Hebrew versions 1 and 2 Samuel, 1 and 2 Kings, 1 and 2 Chronicles, Ezra and Nehemiah, are counted as four instead of eight books, and the twelve minor prophets, from Hosea through Malachi, as only one book.)

Not without weight also is the fact that leading Bible scholars and “church fathers” of the first centuries of our common era definitely gave the Apocrypha an inferior position. It also appears that the more learned Bible scholars these were, the more they opposed the Apocrypha. Thus Augustine, who leaned toward recognizing the Apocrypha, was not nearly the Bible scholar that Jerome, translator of the Vulgate, was, and who once wrote Laeta, a lady acquaintance, in regard to the education of her daughter: “All apocrypha books should be avoided; . . . they are not the works of authors by whose names they are distinguished, [for] they contain much that is faulty, and . . . it is a task requiring great prudence to find gold in the midst of clay.”—McClintock & Strong’s Cyclopædia, Vol. 1, p. 290.

1 AND 2 MACCABEES, BARUCH

Foremost among the Apocryphal books must be placed 1 Maccabees, of unknown authorship and uncertain date. A patriotic history of the Jews, it covers forty years, from 175 B.C. to 135 B.C. Its “style is simple, terse and restrained, and objective”; which is remarkable, since it extols the prowess and religious zeal of one Mattathias and his four sons, the founders and leaders of the Maccabees. Good history it is, but is it of God or of men?

Definitely of men. Thus the Jewish Encyclopedia tells us that in it “history is written from the human standpoint.” Its author seems to have been a Sadducee, as he ignores the crimes the chief priests committed during that time, thus betraying his lack of objectivity. Another authority excuses the “few historical and geographical inaccuracies,” but divine history does not thus err. More than that, the prophetic, miraculous and the Messianic elements are entirely lacking as is also any reference to the resurrection hope. The writer even studiously avoids naming the Creator as either “God” or “Jehovah.” How superior in these respects is the inspired book of 1 Chronicles!

What about 2 Maccabees? Contrary to what might be expected, it does not chronologically follow 1 Maccabees as the books of Chronicles follow each other. It was written entirely independently of 1 Maccabees and apparently by a Pharisee who had no aversion to recording the crimes of chief priests. It covers some fifteen to twenty years, from 180 B.C. to 160 B.C., authorities not agreeing on these dates. It begins earlier than 1 Maccabees and covers about one half its time period. Its style is just the opposite: emotional, florid, sensational, and it abounds with references to angels and the miraculous.

It claims that the prophet Jeremiah, at the destruction of Jerusalem, took the tabernacle (which had been replaced by the temple 420 years before) and the ark of the covenant to the mountain from which Moses viewed the land of Canaan. Its reference to the offering of prayers for the dead “is without parallel in Jewish literature.” (2 Macc. 12:43-45) It obviously exaggerates and is filled with glaring historical and chronological errors. But no need to single these out, as the writer himself admits the work is of human origin, saying:

“And here will I end. And if I have done well, and as is fitting the story, it is that which I desired: but if slenderly and meanly, it is that which I could attain unto. For as it is hurtful to drink wine or water alone, and as wine mingled with water is pleasant, and delighteth the taste: even so speech finely framed delighteth the ears of them that read the story. And here shall be an end.” (2 Macc. 15:37-39) Who says wine and water alone are hurtful and that wine mixed with water is better—and meaning what? Can we find any parallel in the Bible of a writer apologizing for his efforts and confessing to striving for effect?

The Book of Baruch likewise proves itself of human origin by its typically Apocryphal mistakes. It purports to tell of captive Jews in Babylon collecting money and sending it to the priests in Jerusalem in the fifth year of that city’s having been burned by Nebuchadnezzar, when, in fact, at that time there was neither man nor beast there. It shows Jeconiah with the other Jews in Babylon, when, in fact, he was in prison. It tells the Jews that they will be in Babylon for seven generations, whereas the facts are that they were there only seventy years. And it speaks of the Jews having “waxen old in a strange country,” although having been there only five years. No wonder Jerome did not think it worthy of translation!—Baruch 1:2-7; 3:11; 6:3.

WISDOM (OF SOLOMON) AND ECCLESIASTICUS

Even as the Book of Baruch professes to be by Jeremiah’s servant Baruch but is not, so Wisdom professes to speak for Solomon but was written many centuries after Solomon’s time. Not only does it quote from Bible books written long after Solomon’s day but quotes them from the Septuagint Version. A typical example is Wisdom 15:10 taken from Isaiah 44:20. Its human origin is further betrayed by the fact that it contradicts God’s Word about man being created mortal and subject to death if disobedient. Wisdom says: “God created man to be immortal, and made him to be an image of his own eternity.” “In the sight of the unwise they seemed to die, . . . yet their hope is full of immortality.” And not only is immortality repeatedly attributed to man but man’s body is pictured as a mere hindrance to the soul, which at death is “received up.”—Wisdom 2:23; 3:2, 4; 16:14.

Ecclesiasticus has the twofold distinction of being the largest of the Apocryphal books and of having a definitely known author, one Jesus the son of Sirach. It has a lie in its very first Prologue (written by another), for it claims that this Jesus “was not less famous for wisdom and learning” than was King Solomon. The author himself, however, in the second Prologue apologizes: “Pardon us, wherein we may seem to come short of some words, which we have labored to interpret. For the same things uttered in Hebrew and translated into another tongue have not the same force in them.” Actually an apologetic self-justification.

How obviously this book is of man rather than of God can be further seen by its worldly wisdom and, in particular, by the writer’s low opinion of womankind. In contrast to God’s Word, which squarely blames the man Adam for our woes, he says: “Of the woman came the beginning of sin, and through her we all die.” “Give me . . . any wickedness, but the wickedness of a woman.” (But why want any wickedness?) “All wickedness is but little to the wickedness of a woman.” Yet some would place these two books on the same plane as the Bible’s “wisdom” books.—Ecclesiasticus 25:24, 13, 19.

TOBIT, JUDITH AND THE ADDITIONS

In Tobit we are asked to believe that a pious old Jew was blinded by bird’s dung falling in both of his eyes; that an angel impersonating a human became the traveling companion of his son, whom the old man sent to collect a debt; that on the way the son acquired the heart, liver and gall of a fish; that by burning the heart and liver he caused a stench that drove away a certain demon, who, in jealousy, had killed seven husbands of a certain woman; that this widow then married the son, who, after accomplishing his mission, returned home and restored the sight of his father by placing the gall of the fish on his eyes. Could anything be less creditable in the light of the Scriptures? Could this book be of God?

Proving itself also of human origin but for different reasons is the Book of Judith. It tells of a beautiful woman decapitating the leading general of the enemies of the Jews, resulting in their deliverance. While the story itself is not implausible, the details are so unhistorical as to make its location on the stream of time impossible. On the one hand it purports to tell of conditions after the Jews returned from captivity, yet it mentions Nineveh, the Assyrian armies and King Nebuchadnezzar, all of whom perished long before the Jews returned to Palestine, and even makes Nebuchadnezzar the king of the Assyrians. Authorities state that “the geographical inaccuracies are equally embarrassing,” and their censure that the apocryphal books “demonstrate that all true historical consciousness was deserting the people” applies most of all to the Book of Judith. In view of all this, what doubt can there be as to what is its origin?

What about the supplement to Esther, 10:4 to 16:24, appearing in the Apocrypha? It fares no better in the light of objective criticism. It asks us to believe that Mordecai was “a great man, being a servitor in the king’s court” in the second year of Artaxerxes, 150 years after he was taken captive the first time Nebuchadnezzar came up against Jerusalem. And in claiming that Mordecai occupied this position so early in the king’s reign it not only contradicts the canonical part of Esther but also its own reference later on to his being advanced. Profuse with references to God and acts of piety, it obviously was added to give Esther a religious tone. But references to God in themselves do not prove divine origin any more than their lack proves human origin.

The Song of the Three Holy Children reads as though one of them first offered a prayer, in the vein of those of Ezra and Nehemiah, and then the angel of the Lord “smote the flame of fire out of the oven.” After this follows the song, which is very similar to Psalm 148. The song, however, makes reference to Jehovah’s temple, priests and cherubim, which does not at all fit in with the desolated condition of Jerusalem at the time. It consists of sixty-eight verses that were interpolated between verses 23 and 24 of Daniel 3.

Susanna and the Elders, chapter 13 of Daniel, tells of two elders framing a virtuous woman because she refused to have relations with them, causing her to be sentenced to die. Youthful Daniel exposes their duplicity by questioning them separately. The elders die, Susanna is spared and Daniel becomes famous. If this actually happened to youthful Daniel, why does it appear as an appendix and why was it first written in Greek, as also were the other two additions to Daniel, when the book itself was written in Hebrew and Aramaic?

The remaining Apocryphal writing to be considered is the Destruction of Bel and the Dragon. In the first half Daniel exposes a hoax practiced by the priests of Bel in eating food set out for Bel and supposedly consumed by the idol. Commanded to worship a live dragon, he causes it to explode by feeding it a concoction made of pitch, fat and hair. For this its devotees have Daniel thrown into the lions’ den. While there an angel takes the prophet Habakkuk, who happens to be far off, by the hair to the den to give Daniel a bowl of porridge. After seven days Daniel is delivered and his enemies are thrown to the lions. Does such a tale recommend itself to our judgment as the Word of God?

As one authority summed up the case against the Apocryphal writings: “They have not had the sanction of the Jewish and the early Christian Church; . . . are wholly wanting in the prophetic spirit. . . ; not only do not claim inspiration but bewail the want of it; are characterized in many passages by an air of romance and mythology alien to the simple grandeur of the Bible; contradict themselves and some well-known facts of secular history; teach doctrines not contained in the Bible. . . ; and appear never to have been quoted as an authority by the Lord or his apostles.”—Dictionary of Religious Knowledge, Abbott, pp. 50, 51.

Truly the Apocrypha is not of God but of men. What a lack of understanding and appreciation to place its writings on the same plane as those of God’s Word, the Bible! Well can Paul’s warning against paying attention to Jewish fables be applied to the Apocrypha.—Titus 1:14.

‘Entirely Contrary to Previous Trend’

In the volume Advance to Barbarism, F. J. P. Veale, an English lawyer, discusses how “the whole character of warfare and of international relations” has been completely transformed since 1914. “What is so remarkable about this development,” he writes, “is that it ran entirely contrary to the previous trend of events. Through the ages, down to 1914, with certain temporary fluctuations, manners generally had become steadily milder and in warfare, in particular, the methods of primitive savagery had become gradually modified by an increasing collection of restrictions and restraints. Compliance with these restrictions and restraints is commonly held to mark the distinction between savage and civilized warfare. . . . A code of conduct was gradually established which became formally recognized by all civilized countries. A history of warfare, written in 1913, would be a simple record of this slow and fluctuating, but on the whole steady, progress. . . . Such a sudden and complete reversal of the process of gradual ameliorating of warfare which had been going on for more than two thousand years surely calls for some explanation. Is not, for once, the overworked description of ‘epoch-making’ merited?”

The explanation for the epochal increase in woes and barbaric behavior since 1914 is, as this journal has often discussed in detail, that we are living in the “last days,” when “critical times hard to deal with will be here.”—2 Tim. 3:1-5.

Acquiring Mightiness for Turning the Battle

THE prophecy of Isaiah, chapter 28, on the one hand, paints us a vivid picture of the way Jehovah views the leaders of Christendom and, on the other hand, gives us words of encouragement. It exposes those leaders for what they truly are, modern drunkards of Ephraim, so filled with the wine of Satan’s propaganda that they not only dream vain things but vomit out filth. At the same time this prophecy contains the heart-cheering promise: “In that day Jehovah of armies will become as a crown of decoration and as a garland of beauty to the ones remaining over of his people, and as a spirit of justice to the one sitting in the judgment, and as mightiness to those turning away the battle from the gate.”—Isa. 28:5, 6.a

Though these modern drunkards of Ephraim mock the message we bring them as too simple for their attention, they neither discourage us nor will they continue their mocking for long. Soon Jehovah will rise up to do battle as he did on Mount Perazim and as at Gibeon, in the days of King David, thereby bringing to pass his strange deed and unusual work.

Until that eventful day there is much work for us to do. We must engage in the God-approved spiritual warfare, “not against blood and flesh, but . . . against the wicked spirit forces in the heavenly places.” (Eph. 6:12) To push back Satan’s assault forces from our gates Jehovah God must become mightiness to us. With us, even as it was with Jesus, it is true that we can do nothing of our own initiative. Everything depends upon Jehovah, as Isaiah 28:5, 6 shows.

How does Jehovah become mightiness to us for turning the battle from the gate? First of all, by providing us with the knowledge contained in his Word. “A man of knowledge is reinforcing power,” we are told, “and in the multitude of counselors there is salvation.” Yes, this knowledge that Jehovah provides makes our shield of faith both large and impenetrable to Satan’s darts; familiarity with it makes us skilled in wielding the “sword of the spirit.”—Prov. 24:5, 6; Eph. 6:16, 17.

Making practical application of this counsel means that we fully appreciate each issue of The Watchtower, Awake! and Kingdom Ministry as well as the books and booklets that come to us from the table of Jehovah through the faithful and discreet slave. Have you completed reading your copy of Jehovah’s Witnesses in the Divine Purpose? Are you regularly enjoying our new Yearbook?

For Jehovah to become mightiness to us in our spiritual warfare we must also make good use of his provision of congregational meetings and the various assemblies. How we do need each other! As the apostle Paul so well expressed it at 1 Corinthians 12, we are like members of a human body. What good would a hand or an eye be without the rest of the body? Truly “two are better than one,” and “a threefold cord cannot quickly be torn in two.” So let us not be “forsaking the gathering of ourselves together.”—Eccl. 4:9-12; Heb. 10:25.

Vital also is God’s holy spirit or active force, which he imparts to us in answer to our prayers and yet not apart from his Word, his organization and our consistent course of action. By means of it also Jehovah becomes mightiness to us, as we read: “Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, saith Jehovah of hosts.”—Zech. 4:6, AS.

[Footnotes]

Part 31—“Your Will Be Done on Earth”

We are now treating of matters that were prophesied to take place in the “appointed time of the end” of this worldly system of things. When World War I began in 1914, the ruling power of the revived German Empire was found fulfilling the role of the “king of the north,” whereas the Anglo-American dual world power was fulfilling the opposite role of the “king of the south.” Referring to the symbolic “king of the north,” Daniel 11:31 (JP) predicted: “And arms shall stand up on his part, and they shall profane the sanctuary [the Christian temple class of Jehovah God], even the stronghold, and shall take away the continual burnt-offering [the spiritual ‘sacrifice of praise’ offered to Jehovah God by his temple class on earth], and they shall set up the detestable thing that causeth appalment [the desolating abomination, Le].” Following World War I this “desolating abomination” had been set up in the form of the League of Nations, which had been hailed by religious organizations as “the political expression of the kingdom of God on earth.” So now we face a question.

“THE DESOLATING ABOMINATION”

31. What was the “desolating abomination,” and how did Revelation 17:7-11 state there must be a reappearing of it?

³¹ How is it, though, that at this stage of progress of the angelic prophecy it is said: “And they shall set up the detestable thing that causeth appalment,” “the desolating abomination”? Does this disagree with the setting up of the League of Nations, which has been styled the “abomination that makes desolate” and which was set up at the instance of the king of the south in 1919?a No, indeed! Let it be remembered that that abominable counterfeit for God’s established kingdom, the League of Nations, was the “image of the wild beast.” This image of that wild beast with seven heads and ten horns was proposed by the symbolic two-horned beast, the dual world power of Britain and America, and this was done toward the close of World War I in 1918. (Rev. 13:11-15) That “image,” being a League, was made up of the seventh world power and of remnants of the preceding six world powers. As a result, it was an expression of all seven world powers and was itself the “eighth king,” the eighth world power. Revelation 17:7-11 shows that the career of this symbolic seven-headed wild beast included a disappearance: “The wild beast that you saw was, but is not, and yet is destined to ascend out of the abyss.” Hence the wild beast must reappear!

32. When and how did that “wild beast” disappear into the “abyss”?

³² Although the League of Nations was formally dissolved on January 10, 1946, when the first General Assembly of the United Nations opened in London, England, it had really ceased as a world-peace organization in September, 1939. At that time World War II burst forth at the rash conduct of the Nazi king of the north. There the League of Nations showed itself a disastrous failure, and it went down into the “abyss” dead, with only some corpselike structure remaining but without any peace-preserving energy.

33. By what stages did this world-peace “beast” reappear from the “abyss”?

³³ However, would it stay down in the abyss? In September, 1942, Jehovah’s sanctuary class held an assembly, with fifty-three conventions in as many American cities holding simultaneous sessions September 18-20. The assembly grew to earthwide proportions when over eighty conventions on four continents besides islands joined in having the same program. Sunday, September 20, at the key city of Cleveland, Ohio, the president of the Watch Tower Bible & Tract Society spoke to the visible and invisible conventions in the public address “Peace—Can It Last?” In it he dealt with Revelation 17:7-11. He showed from this that World War II would end and, during the peace that would not last, the international world-peace beast would ascend out of the abyss but finally go off into destruction.b The following year the foreign ministers of Communist Russia, Great Britain, America and China held a meeting in Moscow and expressed the need for a new world organization to include all “peace-loving states,” as the League of Nations was considered dead. The Dumbarton Oaks Conference took place in early autumn of the following year, and there a proposed charter for a permanent United Nations Organization was outlined by representatives of the same four nations. This Charter had a thorough discussion and was finally adopted by a conference of fifty-one nations at San Francisco, California. On October 24, 1945, Communist Russia deposited its instrument of ratification of the United Nations and the Charter of this international organization went into force that day, which was shortly after Japan surrendered and World War II ended on September 2.

34. How was it the same beast, and thus how is Daniel 11:31 in full agreement with Daniel 8:11-14?

³⁴ The seven-headed scarlet-colored beast was again out of the abyss, and on January 10, 1946, its first General Assembly opened in London, England. It was the same beast, for the United Nations had a striking resemblance to the League of Nations, which now closed up and later turned over its physical properties to the U.N. So Daniel 11:31 does not disprove that the “abomination that makes desolate” was first given life in 1919 by the seventh world power, the king of the south. Rather, Daniel 11:31 implies that this abominable “image of the wild beast” was to be plunged into the abyss of helplessness by the Nazi king of the north through bringing on another world war; and that the abominable “image” for international worship was to be brought out with the aid of the Communist king of the north. Seen in this light, Daniel 11:31 and Daniel 8:11-14 are in full harmony with each other. Together, they are in agreement with Revelation 13:11-15 and Revelation 17:7-11. Jehovah’s angel showed the truth.

EDUCATIONAL WORK UNDER DIFFICULTY

35. What nonpolitical bodies does the king of the north try to win over and whom does he succeed in corrupting by flatteries?

³⁵ If the king of the north cannot destroy by persecution, he seduces by slippery, smooth talk. Jehovah’s angel warned of this, saying: “And such as act wickedly against the covenant will he corrupt by flatteries; but the people that do know their God will be strong, and deal valiantly. And the intelligent among the people will impart understanding to many: yet they will stumble through the sword, and through flame, through captivity, and through being plundered for some time.” (Dan. 11:32, 33, Le) The king of the north, whether Nazi or Communist, tries to win over the religious bodies. His having religious backing strengthens his position before the common people, if it does not also salve his own conscience as well as the people’s. He must dominate the religious systems, making certain that they have clergy leaders that support the totalitarian policies of the king of the north. Rather than have a religious system with international or foreign connections, he wants an independent national religious system owing allegiance to only the national government. Whom can he, whom will he seduce and corrupt by his flatteries into supporting the totalitarian king of the north? Only “such as act wickedly against the covenant.” That is why the religious organizations of Christendom under domination by the king of the north have yielded to him. Thus they get seeming advantages from him, so that they are free from persecution and keep operating their churches openly.

36. Whom does the king of the north not succeed thus in corrupting?

³⁶ Not so with the sanctuary class, the people that do know their God by his name and by his revealed Word. They will not deal wickedly with Jehovah’s covenant for the kingdom, into which they have been taken as “joint heirs with Christ.” Their “citizenship exists in the heavens.” They are not part of this world as Jesus himself was not. They refuse to make this world their friend and by doing so make God their enemy and lose the Kingdom. They know the command of the reigning King, Jesus Christ, for the “time of the end” of this world: “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.” Hence they resist the flattering offers of the king of the north and keep strong in faith and in exclusive devotion toward Jehovah God. As His witnesses to all nations they continue preaching the good news of the established kingdom of God.—Rom. 8:17; Phil. 3:20; Matt. 24:14.

37. In what way are the sanctuary class intelligent, and how do they impart understanding to many?

³⁷ The sanctuary class are “intelligent,” discreet, discerning the principle of godly devotion that should be their rule of conduct. They act with insight and keep walking in their integrity or blamelessness toward God. Realizing their being anointed with Jehovah’s spirit to preach, they do preach, that they may “impart understanding to many.” They help many to see that it is the supreme question of universal sovereignty that has to be decided in favor of Jehovah God. They thus help many to take the side of his kingdom and to quit working in vain for the world domination by either the king of the north or the king of the south.

38. How have they been made to “stumble,” and why?

³⁸ This uncompromising stand for God’s universal sovereignty and this proclamation of the kingdom of his reigning Son Jesus Christ within the domain of the king of the north, whether Nazi or Communist, has meant suffering. Jesus foretold such suffering or persecution during this “appointed time of the end” of Satan’s world. (Matt. 24:7-13) So because the sanctuary class refuse to worship the political State, the king of the north under both Nazi and Communist guise has mercilessly persecuted them. He has caused them to “stumble.” How? “Through the sword” of execution to death; “through flame” of hot public condemnation, bans, critical publicity, and scorching expressions of official anger; “through captivity” in prisons, in slave labor, concentration and deportation camps, in exile and in underground quarters; and “through being plundered for some time” by invasion of homes, Kingdom Halls and assemblies without proper legal warrant, along with the seizing of Bible literature and even of God’s own Word itself, since the sanctuary class feeds on His Word and preaches its good news of salvation to the lovers of truth and righteousness. “For some time” this has kept up, particularly from when the Nazi Fuehrer took dictatorial power in 1933 and also beyond Hitler’s death and through Communist Stalin’s dictatorial rule and down to the present time. In eastern Europe some of Jehovah’s witnesses have gone through years of Nazi persecution and then quickly came under Communist oppression.

39. Such stumbling is foretold to continue till when?

³⁹ The God of mercy has helped his intelligent sanctuary class to stagger through this persecution by the king of the north in his domains and also any persecution that he can stir up against them through his propaganda and secret agents in other lands. Jehovah has lovingly fulfilled his word through his angel: “But in their stumbling will they be aided with a little help; but many will join themselves to them with deceptive flatteries. And some of the intelligent will stumble, to make a purification among them, and to select and to cleanse them, until the time of the end; because it is yet for the time appointed.” (Dan. 11:34, 35, Le) This persecution is foretold to continue until the king of the north comes to his “time of the end” at Armageddon. When the Devil in his role of Gog of Magog makes his final, full-strength attack “from the uttermost parts of the north,” he will be certain to have the Communist king of the north among his assault forces. (Ezek. 38:1-9; 39:1, 2, AS) So till then Jehovah’s sanctuary class may expect to have to stumble and stagger under the totalitarian, dictatorial “king.”

40. How, though, have they been “helped with a little help”?

⁴⁰ Till now as they have thus stumbled along, they have indeed been “helped with a little help.” (JP) This has come about by the defeat of Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy and Imperial Japan, the Axis partners, the democratic “earth” thus opening its “mouth” and swallowing up the “river” belched out by Satan the Devil through that Nazi type of king of the north. (Rev. 12:15-17) Their defeat helped to bring about a liberation of Jehovah’s sanctuary class along with others in lands that had fallen under the Nazi king of the north and his allies, in Western Germany, Norway, Denmark, Holland, Belgium, France, Italy, Philippine Islands, Korea, Burma, Siam, Indonesia, Malaya, Singapore, Wake Island, Hong Kong, Greece, but not in Russia itself. In a number of lands, also, the judicial courts have rendered decisions favorable to Jehovah’s witnesses and relieved them of restrictions and oppressions by the king of the north or by those who partake of his spirit. In large assemblies held in 199 cities around the globe from June 30, 1956, to March 1, 1957, Jehovah’s witnesses to the total number of 462,936 adopted a stirring petition to Nikolai A. Bulganin, then Premier of the Soviet Union of Moscow, asking some relief for thousands of their spiritual brothers cruelly persecuted in Russia and Siberia. This won no favor or help from Soviet government officials or courts. Yet it did give great moral support to the persecuted victims of the king of the north, and also much encouragement.c

41. From whom, however, has the greatest help come, and how?

⁴¹ The greatest help to the sanctuary class stumbling under the brutalities of the king of the north has come from the “sheep” whom Jesus foretold in his prophecy on the end of this world. In contrast with the “goats,” these sheeplike people of good will have sympathized with Jesus’ spiritual brothers, who are part of Jehovah’s sanctuary. They have come forward in increasing numbers since 1931, but particularly since 1935, when The Watchtower, as of August, published the explanation of Revelation 7:9-17, to enlighten and encourage these “other sheep” of the heavenly Shepherd. (John 10:16) They have accepted the good news of God’s established kingdom and have helped the sanctuary class in ways described in Jesus’ parable of the sheep and goats. (Matt. 25:31-46) But most powerfully have they rendered this help by dedicating themselves to the divine Sovereign of the universe and by congregating with the sanctuary class and joining them openly in the field in preaching the good news of God’s kingdom that still other “sheep” may be gathered in. They keep worshiping with the sanctuary class, witnessing with them and faithfully suffering with them at the hands of the king of the north as well as the king of the south, even to the death.

42. How do many “join themselves to them” with deceptive flatteries?

⁴² But many who “join themselves to them” do not do so wholeheartedly or with sincere motives, merely in a form of flattery or smooth conduct, for selfish reasons. Some of such ones have turned out to be spies for the king of the north. Others make complimentary remarks about Jehovah’s witnesses but go no farther toward worshiping and serving Jehovah himself. Many admire and praise the faithfulness, stanchness and integrity keeping of Jehovah’s witnesses but hold back from dedicating themselves to Him and becoming his active, preaching witnesses. This fact brings to light that there is now a test of real devotion to the true God on the part of those who may claim to be “other sheep” or who may for a time receive Bible education by Jehovah’s witnesses. They should aim, not to flatter creatures, but to please the Creator.—Gal. 1:10.

43. What is Jehovah’s purpose in permitting some of his intelligent ones to “stumble,” and what are the intelligent determined to do?

⁴³ The God of salvation has been permitting all this persecution of his witnesses in order to test those who profess to seek him and to love him. By the fiery trials from the persecutors and oppressors Jehovah smelts those claiming to be his people in order to expose and skim away those who are mere scummy dross and to manifest, purify and retain those who are the pure, precious metal. It is by these genuine ones who lovingly carry out their dedication to him that he receives a vindication of himself as the chosen Sovereign of their lives. Thus Jehovah has permitted thousands of his intelligent witnesses to stumble under persecution, even to a fall into the death of a martyr, to refine the qualities of his surviving witnesses and to reject those not determined to endure to the finish that they may be saved. (Matt. 24:9-13) Down to the bitter end of the king of the north and his fellow persecutors Jehovah’s intelligent ones, who see and appreciate the supreme issue of universal sovereignty, are resolved to submit to purification and whitening by persecution. Their reward has no end, but at the “time appointed” their enemy persecutor has his end.

(To be continued)

[Footnotes]

Baptists, Take Note

In 1865 the American Bible Union published a Revised English Version of the New Testament that was widely used by Baptists. The Executive Board of the American Baptist Publication Society in 1883 appointed a committee to prepare an improved edition of this translation. This improved edition later was published and distributed by the American Baptist Publication Society of Philadelphia. This Baptist committee correctly rejected the trinitarian spurious text of 1 John 5:7 as found in the King James version.—See The New Testament American Bible Union Version, p. 544.

Why Do You Believe in the Trinity?

FOR centuries millions of people have believed the doctrine of the trinity, which teaches that “in the unity of the Godhead there are Three Persons, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, these Three Persons being truly distinct one from another. Thus, in the words of the Athanasian Creed: ‘The Father is God, the Son is God, and the Holy Spirit is God, and yet there are not three Gods, but one God.’” (The Catholic Encyclopedia) Do you believe this doctrine? Why?

Many persons think the trinity is a Christian teaching based on God’s Word, the Bible. However, early Roman Catholic writers did not hesitate to admit that the trinity could not be proved by Scripture alone. Cardinal Hosius is quoted as having said: “We believe the doctrine of a triune God, because we have received it by tradition, though not mentioned at all in Scripture.” (Conf. Cathol. Fidei, Chap. XXVI) Other persons are just as frank about declaring the trinity to be of pagan origin. Arthur Weigall, in his book The Paganism in Our Christianity, states: “Jesus Christ never mentioned such a phenomenon, and nowhere in the New Testament does the word ‘Trinity’ appear.” He says the idea of a coequal trinity “was only adopted by the [Roman Catholic] Church three hundred years after the death of our Lord; and the origin of the conception is entirely pagan.”

On page 198 of his book Weigall gives a brief history of the trinity doctrine, saying: “In the Fourth Century B.C. Aristotle wrote: ‘All things are three, and thrice is all: and let us use this number in the worship of the gods; for, as the Pythagoreans say, everything and all things are bound by threes, for the end, the middle, and the beginning have this number in everything, and these compose the number of the Trinity.’ The ancient Egyptians, whose influence on early religious thought was profound, usually arranged their gods or goddesses in trinities: there was the trinity of Osiris, Isis, and Horus, the trinity of Amen, Mut, and Khonsu, the trinity of Khnum, Satis, and Anukis, and so forth. The Hindu trinity of Brahman, Siva, and Vishnu is another of the many and widespread instances of this theological conception. The early Christians, however, did not at first think of applying the idea to their own faith. They paid their devotions to God the Father and to Jesus Christ, the Son of God, and they recognized the mysterious and undefined existence of the Holy Spirit; but there was no thought of these three being an actual Trinity, co-equal and united in One, and the Apostles’ Creed, which is the earliest of the formulated articles of Christian faith, does not mention it.”

Still there are persons who insist that the doctrine of the trinity is a Christian doctrine based on the Holy Scriptures. Let us briefly examine and see.

First of all, the words “trinity,” “triune,” “God-man,” “first person,” “second person,” “third person,” “three persons,” do not appear anywhere in the inspired text of either Catholic or Protestant Bibles. Nowhere in the Bible do we find terms such as “God the Son,” or “God the Holy Spirit,” but rather we read “the Son of God,” “the spirit of God,” or just “holy spirit.” Nowhere in Scripture is God revealed as three persons, but always as one God. Now if the very words that are necessary to express the doctrine of the trinity do not appear in the Holy Scriptures, how can we suppose the doctrine to be found or taught therein? Impossible.

There are three texts (1 John 5:7, AV; Matthew 28:19; 2 Corinthians 13:14) that speak of the Father, Son and holy spirit in formal connection, but not one of these says anything about a trinity. If the trinity doctrine is the central doctrine of “Christian” religion, why, out of 31,173 verses in the Bible, should there be only three to use Father, Son and holy spirit in formal connection, and one of these, that is, 1 John 5:7 admittedly spurious? John wrote this letter in Greek in the first century, but 1 John 5:7 cannot be found in any Greek manuscript written earlier than the fifteenth century. Concerning the verse, Bishop Lowth says: “I believe there is no one among us, in the least degree conversant with sacred criticism, and having the use of his understanding, who would be willing to contend for the genuineness of the verse 1 John 5:7.” Dr. Adam Clarke, in his Commentary, closes a lengthy dissertation on this verse in these words: “In short, it stands on no authority sufficient to authenticate any part of a revelation professing to have come from God.” Therefore, 1 John 5:7 is rejected by all impartial scholars of God’s Word.

As for Matthew 28:19 and; 2 Corinthians 13:14, they say nothing about there being three coequal persons in one God. They do not say that each of these mentioned is a God. They do not say that all three are equal in substance, power and eternity. They do not say all are to be worshiped. Since they do not say these things, then they do not teach the trinity, for all those claims are made concerning the trinity. Peabody, a highly reputable writer, in his Lectures on Christian Doctrine, page 41, says: “I am prepared to state, without fear of contradiction, that the doctrine of the equality of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit cannot be found in any genuine Christian work of the first three centuries, and that there cannot be found, with reference to the Divine nature, in any genuine Christian work of the first two centuries, any statement of doctrine equivalent or approaching to, or consistent with, the modern doctrine of the Trinity.” Why is this so? Because the trinity doctrine is of pagan origin, as historians point out. Early Christians of the first century did not believe in it. They did not worship a triune god. There is absolutely no Scriptural grounds for believing in the trinity. Tradition alone is not reason enough, because Jesus stated that the ‘word of God was made invalid because of tradition.’—Matt. 15:6.

Faithful servants of God believed in God as being one: “Jehovah our God is one Jehovah,” said Moses. (Deut. 6:4) Jesus Christ said the same thing at Mark 12:29. It is serious that we worship the true God Jehovah, because there is no salvation in any other: “Anyone that calls upon the name of Jehovah will be saved,” said Peter. Call upon him, worship Jehovah, take in knowledge of the true God and Jesus Christ, because this means everlasting life.—Acts 2:21; John 17:3.

The New World Society in Sarawak

THE province of Sarawak is situated in the northwestern part of the large island of Borneo. It has a widely scattered population consisting chiefly of Chinese, Malays, Indians and natives, the Dayaks. There the Kingdom message at last also penetrated as the two films of the Watch Tower Society, “The New World Society in Action” and “The Happiness of the New World Society,” were shown. Thereby many in and around Kuching, its capital, for the first time learned about Jehovah’s witnesses and their work.

Exploring all avenues for locations to show the films, the Witnesses were able to procure a Chinese association hall in the center of the city, and that free of charge. Some eighty-five persons were on hand to see the first film. The owner was presented with some Chinese literature for which he not only expressed sincere thanks but at the same time offered the use of the hall again for the same purpose any time in the future. His generous offer was accepted later and the second film was shown. Despite a tropical torrential rain, sixty-five came to see the film, including many who had seen the first one and who, it was noticed, brought along friends and neighbors.

It was possible to show the film also at the Sarawak Mental Hospital. Its staff erected a huge bamboo frame for the screen and placed it in the center of the compound, which was surrounded by a covered walk. Again it rained, but the audience was able to view the film in comfort from this covered walk, although the screen itself was in the rain. The film was greatly enjoyed by the staff, the patients of the hospital and people from the surrounding villages—some two hundred in all.

A retired Chinese man of good will asked to have the film shown at his house. For several weeks before its showing he visited his friends and neighbors inviting them to come. The night of the showing he had a large sign outside his home advertising the film. More than one hundred and fifty witnessed the earth-wide happiness of the New World society. The householder’s son read the film commentary in Chinese, thereby enabling all present to understand clearly the details of the film.

Arrangements had also been made to show one of the films at the home of a man living at the Kuching Airport with whom a Bible study had been started. Upon arriving with their equipment, the Witnesses found that the electricity had failed. However, the officer in charge of the airport police offered the use of their power line, since they had their own generator. So instead of its being shown in a small home to a handful of persons, the film was seen by virtually the entire air force staff and their families as the screen was fixed to the outside wall of the police department building. Many others relaxing at a restaurant nearby also were able to view it.

Perhaps among the most appreciative viewers of the film were the patients of the Rajah Brooke Memorial Settlement for Lepers. There the manager, greatly impressed by the Watch Tower literature, arranged to have the film shown at the cinema building. Shortly before the showing of the film a strange sound echoed through the jungle valley. It was the highly resonant sound produced by beating one type of wood against another—the usual way of calling people together. Then a steady stream of persons came from the valley. Many were patients from the colony’s dormitories and still more came from the surrounding ‘kampongs’ or native villages. The cinema was an ideal location; its being open on the sides kept it cool while being protected from the rain. The seats were quickly taken and many more sat on the concrete floor, filling the place. Still others sat outside on a grassy bank surrounding the building. Upward of 350 saw the activities of the New World society, and after the showing of the film more than 250 pieces of literature in three languages were distributed.

At a later day the second of the films was shown, with the commentary being read in Chinese by a person of good will. Some 270 were present. A person who accompanied the Witnesses from Kuching, and who had been studying the Bible with them for only a short time, commented: “I can see now that your way of baptizing is the Bible way, the proper way, too.”

So in just a few short months, in a country with a widely scattered population, at thirteen showings of the films, more than 1,360 persons saw the evidence that Jehovah God has a New World society operating earth-wide today, and that it is through it that true happiness can be found.

District Assemblies for 1960

Each District Assembly during the course of this year will be called “Peace-pursuing District Assembly,” in accord with the 1960 yeartext. As many branches of the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania as deem it advisable will arrange for one or more district assemblies in the territories under their supervision. As early as possible due announcement will be made in the Society’s official publications of the locations of these assemblies and of the dates of each of these four-day assemblies, that all those interested in attending may select the most appropriate assembly location for themselves and may make their necessary preparations. At this time we are pleased to announce the following assemblies for which the arrangements have been consummated. The list is complete for the United States, Canada and Great Britain.

Assembly Dates and Cities

JUNE 16-19: Manchester, England.

JUNE 23-26: Nashville, Tenn.; Fort Worth, Texas.

JUNE 30–JULY 3: Toronto, Ont., Canada.

JULY 7-10: Los Angeles, Calif.

JULY 14-17: Washington, D.C.; Sydney, N.S., Canada; Wembley, Middlesex, England.

JULY 21-24: Sacramento, Calif.; Birmingham, England; Vienna, Austria.

JULY 28-31: Detroit, Mich.; Edmonton, Alta., Canada; Glasgow, Scotland.

AUG. 4-7: Salt Lake City, Utah.

AUG. 11-14: Boston, Mass.

AUG. 25-28: Miami Beach, Fla.; Kansas City, Mo.

Portland, Oreg.: Date to be given later.

(Other information concerning the assembly locations and rooming accommodations will be announced later.)

Call the people together, the men and the women and the little ones and your temporary resident who is within your gates, in order that they may listen and in order that they may learn, as they must fear Jehovah your God.—Deut. 31:12.

Announcements

FIELD MINISTRY

In the great battle for truth and righteousness The Watchtower helps one in ‘acquiring mightiness for turning the battle’ to a successful conclusion. During February a year’s subscription for this magazine will be offered for $1, with three Bible booklets given free to new subscribers. If you would like to have a share in this work, inquire at the nearest Kingdom Hall of Jehovah’s witnesses or write to this office.

HOPE FOR PEACE

Peace is the desire of all people, yet the nations of this world have not been able to attain it, not even within the borders of individual nations. So commonplace has violence become that many persons view it as an inevitable evil of life. But is it? Will conditions never change? For your peace of mind and assurance of future happiness send for and read the beautifully illustrated hard-bound book From Paradise Lost to Paradise Regained. It is only 75c.

“WATCHTOWER” STUDIES FOR THE WEEKS

March 13: How Happy the Mild-tempered and Peaceable! Page 69.

March 20: Mildness and Self-Control Yield Peaceable Fruitage. Page 75.