The Watchtower — December 15, 1961

Why Read the Bible?

THE question, Why read the Bible? is well put. Many are the reasons why various persons read the Bible. Why, for example, do you read the Bible?

Do you, as do many, read it because of the delight you get from its literary excellence? Its beauty of language is well known to all. Then perhaps you have been pained by the way some of the modern versions read, for they appear to have sacrificed literary beauty for the sake of Biblical scholarship. That is the way a certain professor in an eastern United States university felt about it. He criticized the way Psalm 23 read in the Revised Standard Version because it had lost the stately rhythm it had in the King James Version.

In a similar vein a literary authority, writing in the New York Times, criticized the way the New English Bible read as compared with the King James Version. After noting various opinions on the subject he concluded his own objections by saying: “I have a suspicion that their labors, whatever scholarly correctness they may have established, will not dislodge the K.J.V. from its vantage point. If we read the Bible for delights of language, we will not forsake its noblest version.”

But, it may well be asked, did God inspire some forty men, over a period of sixteen centuries to write his Word so that we might have “delights of language”? Is that the reason why many of its writers suffered persecution and even martyrdom, and why many who copied, translated, published and distributed the Bible had similar treatment accorded to them—merely so that we may have the delight of perusing a literary masterpiece? Hardly!—Ezek. 33:32.

Or do you, like others, read the Bible solely as a religious duty, covering so many pages a day or devoting so many minutes daily to reading the Bible? In certain Catholic Bibles readers are encouraged by being told that they will receive so many days of indulgence for reading the Bible fifteen minutes daily. But what profit can there be in all this if little or no thought is given as to the real meaning of what is read?—Acts 8:30.

Or do you occasionally read in the Bible out of curiosity? It is well to know something of its contents, true, but after having satisfied your curiosity with a mere smattering of knowledge, then what? How much profit would you derive from such an approach to any scientific subject? The Bible contains the very highest science, the ultimate truth. It deserves your regular and careful consideration.—John 17:17.

Then there are those who read the Bible merely so that they can say that they have read it through. Or they may read it over again and again so as to be able to boast about the number of times they have read the Bible. Reading the Bible through is commendable, and everyone should read it through at least once; but if our motive in reading it is that of having a name for having done so, then we have read it in vain as far as any real lasting benefit is concerned. We are in the class of those who pray or give gifts in public to be seen of men.—Matt. 6:1-5.

Many others read the Bible to find proof for their religious beliefs instead of basing their beliefs on what they read. They call to mind the words of the poet:

“Some read to prove a pre-adopted creed,

Thus understand but little what they read;

And every passage in the Book they bend

To make it suit that all-important end.”

Typical are the trinitarians, who, finding no mention or explanation of their favorite teaching, cite texts that mention the Father, the Son and the holy spirit to prove that these three are coequal in power, glory, substance and eternity, when such texts prove no such thing. (See Matthew 28:19; 2 Corinthians 13:14.) This also is futile Bible reading, for how can one learn from the Bible when he has preconceived notions and merely uses it to prove his own ideas. Such people read “to teach the Book instead of to be taught.”

Among other Bible readers that might be mentioned are the foes of the Bible, those who approach it with a critical eye, as often do the agnostic, the skeptic, the infidel, the atheist and the deist, to mention a few. While purporting to have an objective attitude toward the Bible, more often than not they read for the purpose of finding fault with it, scanning its pages with eagle eye to find instances in which the Bible appears to contradict itself, science or secular history. Thus these hope to discredit the Bible in the eyes of others. The extremes to which these go prove that they are anything but what they make their boast to be—objective. However, Bible scholarship, science and archaeology more and more bring forth evidence refuting all such attacks. Obviously, all such Bible reading is futile.

Then why should we read the Bible? To become familiar with the one true God Jehovah, whose revelation it is. In it he makes known to us himself as well as his purposes and will for us. As noted by that peer of Christian Bible scholars, the apostle Paul: “All Scripture is inspired of God and beneficial for teaching, for reproving, for setting things straight, for disciplining in righteousness, that the man of God may be fully competent, completely equipped for every good work.”—2 Tim. 3:16, 17.

To thus benefit from the Bible we must approach it with the right heart attitude and right frame of mind. We want to be open-minded, without preconceived notions, yet with the will to believe, with a consciousness of our spiritual need. That also means we must approach it humbly, recognizing how little we know and how much we have to learn. And we must approach it honestly, willing to pay the price for the truth, for truth does exact its price.—Prov. 23:23; Matt. 5:3.

So take time to read the Bible, but do so from the right motives.

Courageous in the Face of the World’s Armageddon

“Hope in Jehovah; be courageous and let your heart be strong. Yes, hope in Jehovah.”—Ps. 27:14.

1, 2. (a) At the exhortation to be courageous, what questions do many people without hope ask? (b) Why have they got into this frame of mind?

“BE COURAGEOUS”—in these days? Why? What reason is there for being courageous? The world is in for trouble, its worst trouble, and if the politicians, the military men, the Big Business men and the labor leaders, and the religious clergymen cannot do anything about it, what can we people do about it? When the worst of the trouble comes, we shall just have to take it, whether we survive or we die. So why worry about it now? Let us live for the present—for today. Since there is no future for humanity in this divided world, with its nuclear weapons on both opposing sides, why not follow the age-old saying: “Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we are to die”? Is not this the best course?

² Today many persons are taking on that frame of mind. This world and its outlook offer them nothing solid and persuasive to make them want to change their minds. On a worldly basis they have no reason to be courageous toward the future. The world offers nothing but false hopes, and they know it. The many gods and idols of this world bring no relief, answer no prayers, offer no solution, and prove to be mere no-gods; hence atheism keeps growing, and traditional religions are breaking down.

3. Who, then, dares to exhort us to be courageous, and where?

³ Who, then, dares to say: “Be courageous”? The one living and true God does so. His message of courage he has preserved for us in written form in an imperishable Book, available today in hundreds of millions of copies, The Holy Bible. In it this Almighty God of the universe gives us sound reasons for us to be courageous. His is a book that inspires in us the courage needed for these days. Courage brings us joy of heart, a joy that even the outlook of an Armageddon of trouble upon the world cannot remove or lessen.

4. Why does God face Armageddon with courage, and into what will he convert that greatest calamity for wicked people?

⁴ True, the coming Armageddon will prove to be more than this world can endure, but there is joy in knowing that it is nothing too big for God Almighty to handle. It will be no problem for him. He faces it with courage. In that universal war he will be the Chief Fighter. He will come off the Winner, although that war will be a clash between him and all the enemy forces lined up against him in heaven and earth. It will mark a great day for Him. For this reason it is prophetically called the “war of the great day of God the Almighty.” (Rev. 16:14, 16) He is not worried about the consequences of that war, regardless of the fact that the enemy nations are overstocked with nuclear weapons and chemical, bacteriological and radiological weapons, capable of an overkill of the entire human family. He will ruin all those who are at present ruining the earth. He can and will preserve a portion of the human family alive through Armageddon into a righteous, peaceful, healthy new world of paradise beauty. Thus what will be the greatest calamity yet for wicked people he will convert into the greatest benefit and relief for all lovers of true righteousness. With this joyful prospect before Him, he moves on to Armageddon with courage.

5. (a) To have unfalling courage in these days, what is needed by us? (b) As to courage, what kind of book is the Bible?

⁵ With such a God as he, why would not one have every reason to be courageous, in obedience to the exhortation given in his written Word? If we would have unfailing courage in these days which try the very being of men, we must know Him and His Word. Regardless of the false impression given by Christendom, which peddles copies of the Bible, God’s written Word is not a book of cowards and defeatists. It is not a book of weak-kneed, spineless, wishy-washy, compromising religious people who please all and offend none, afraid to stand by God-given principles and even to die for them. God’s written Word was produced under divine inspiration by men of courage. For our encouragement, it gives an unbroken account of men of unbreakable courage, men who therefore have a glorious future ahead of them in God’s new world of righteous principles.

6. (a) What kind of men does God’s Word produce? (b) Heeding Jesus’ words at John 16:33 results how to his followers today?

⁶ God’s Word, when not misinterpreted and misapplied, produces men of courage, able to conquer the influence of this world. The greatest man in its records said to his little band of followers: “I have said these things to you that by means of me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation, but take courage! I have conquered the world.” (John 16:33) To this day his true followers heed these strong words and feel strengthened. In spite of the tribulations heaped upon them they know peace by him.

7, 8. (a) What courage did the shepherd lad David display? (b) How was the secret of the shepherd lad’s fearlessness bared?

⁷ Does any one of our readers have the courage to face alone a wild lion or bear hunting prey and to kill this marauder with just the instruments of a Palestinian shepherd? Does any one of our readers have the courage also to stand up against a champion fighter nine feet and a span tall, clad in full armor and thoroughly skilled in individual fighting, and to kill him with just a slingshot? Well, David the son of Jesse of the little town of Bethlehem had such magnificent courage, and for it he gained the victory over wild beast and beastlike giant. (1 Sam. 17:34-44, 48-51) What was the secret of this shepherd lad’s fearlessness in contrast with the bravado and braggadocio of the Philistine Goliath? The shepherd David bares the secret in his words to the giant who was cursing David by all the false gods of the Philistines:

⁸ “You are coming to me with a sword and with a spear and with a javelin, but I am coming to you with the name of Jehovah of armies, the God of the battle lines of Israel, whom you have taunted. This day Jehovah will surrender you into my hand, and I shall certainly strike you down and remove your head off you; and I shall certainly give the carcasses of the camp of the Philistines this day to the fowls of the heavens and to the wild beasts of the earth; and people of all the earth will know that there exists a God belonging to Israel. And all this congregation will know that neither with sword nor with spear does Jehovah save, because to Jehovah belongs the battle, and he must give you men into our hand.”—1 Sam. 17:45-47.

9. (a) What then inspired David to victorious courage? (b) Why did David never lose courage?

⁹ Seemingly, that was a duel between the human champions of the two opposing armies. In reality, though, it was a fight between gods, the false gods and the one living and true God, whose name the shepherd lad David was not ashamed to confess, Jehovah. David knew his God. It was because of his being a faithful worshiper of this God and a full believer in Him that David was inspired with victorious courage. In this he was a right example for us. To the end of his life he never lost his courage. Why? Because he never let go of his God. To his credit Jehovah speaks of him as “my servant David, who kept my commandments and who walked after me with all his heart by doing only what was right in my eyes.”—1 Ki. 14:8.

10. Why could David say his courageous words of Psalm 27:1?

¹⁰ For this reason Jehovah backed up David, and David knew that he could depend upon the backing of Jehovah his God. This removed the fear of all creatures from David, and he could say in the first verse of Psalm 27: “Jehovah is my light and my salvation. Of whom shall I be in fear? Jehovah is the stronghold of my life. Of whom shall I be in dread?” So David was not afraid of the giant Goliath or of Goliath’s gods. David was not disappointed in his own God, for Jehovah won the battle with the false gods. David’s reliance upon God in the face of odds was the secret of his courage.

“MY LIGHT AND MY SALVATION”

11. Why does no lover of the light of life need to go on in darkness and go down with the world into the darkness into which it will go?

¹¹ Salvation leads to light; and the eyes find it sweet and good to see the light of a sunny day. (Eccl. 11:7) Today’s international system of things lies in the power of a wicked god, Satan the Devil, and it is nearing its destruction. But why should any lover of the light of life go down into the darkness of destruction of this old world? No one today needs to walk on in the darkness of this world’s uncertainty and perplexity, with no salvation by human means in sight. Being in the dark as to how the oncoming universal conflict of Armageddon will turn out makes men feel insecure. It inspires fear, and fear causes weakness. O if men would only turn to the psalmist David’s God, Jehovah! Then God would become to them what he was to David, a “light” to show the way to go and to remove all fear of the future, yes, a “salvation” that delivers us from destruction with this world. That salvation comes through the kingdom of God’s dear Son, Jesus Christ, who was foreshadowed by David but who has become a heavenly King greater than David.

12. To whom can Jehovah be a stronghold, and how?

¹² Jehovah God is almighty and is the Source of all strength. He will be the stronghold of our lives, just as he was to David, if only we will take refuge in him and not in the doomed organizations of men. With the Almighty Jehovah as our defense and Savior, we cannot lose; we cannot go down into the darkness of defeat. He can keep us in a saved condition now and can give us the final victory over all that is against us in this world. In him as our stronghold, our life in the future is secure and we can endure to the finish of the test of our integrity in this world. Knowing the untakable, unconquerable position of our divine “stronghold,” we need not and will not be in dread of any enemy, any wicked person, nor of the calamitous end that awaits this wicked world.

13. (a) Why does it require courage to confess God’s name and take it upon one? (b) How did certain Christians display such courage in 1931 and afterward in their preaching activities?

¹³ Our readers already know that the religious world, even Christendom, and the scientific world have made the name of the one “living and true God,” Jehovah, unpopular. It therefore requires courage to confess that sacred name and to take it upon one or be called by it. So it required courage for those dedicated, baptized, Bible-studying Christians during their international convention in Columbus, Ohio, July 26, 1931, to embrace the name Jehovah’s witnesses as a proper designation of themselves. It required courage for them to keep on preaching from house to house and now to introduce themselves as Jehovah’s witnesses. In many cases they handed to the householder interviewed the printed card reading:

IMPORTANT

ALL THE WORLD IS IN DISTRESS and you are wondering why and what is to come to pass in the near future. It is my privilege as one of Jehovah’s witnesses and in obedience to his commandment to deliver to the people a message. Thus I am preaching the gospel. I have here a booklet containing the message. . . . You cannot afford to be ignorant of its contents. . . . —September, 1931, for presenting the booklet The Kingdom, The Hope of the World.

14. (a) What shows whether ridicule and persecution cut down their numbers? (b) How did David strengthen himself by Jehovah his God, and how has this course resulted to Jehovah’s witnesses today?

¹⁴ For embracing the divine name and serving as witnesses of its heavenly Bearer they suffered ridicule and persecution. But did this cut down their numbers? No! From less than fifty thousand in 1931 they have increased to more than nine hundred thousand now who actively preach in 185 lands about God’s kingdom by Christ as the only sure, realizable hope for mankind now menaced with destruction. These witnesses looked to Jehovah as their Light, their Salvation, their Stronghold. They did what David did when he was abused and was threatened even with stoning. David turned to God as his stronghold. How? “David took to strengthening himself by Jehovah his God.” (1 Sam. 30:6) He did this by seeking and learning what was the divine will for him to do. Knowing now from on high what to do, he felt strong and proceeded to do God’s orders to him. For this he was favored with success. Likewise has it been with Jehovah’s witnesses. They have prospered despite the Mussolini era, despite the Hitler era, despite the six years of World War II.

15. What emboldens them to quote Psalm 27:2, 3 as regards themselves?

¹⁵ Our past experience with how Jehovah deals with our adversaries and haters gives us confidence for the future. We are emboldened to quote Psalm 27:2, 3 and say: “When the evildoers approached against me to eat up my flesh, they being my adversaries and my enemies personally, they themselves stumbled and fell. Though against me an encampment should pitch tent, my heart will not fear. Though against me war should rise, even then I shall be trusting.”

16. How have assailants of God-given rights fared recently in their trying to devour Jehovah’s witnesses?

¹⁶ One by one the dictators and opposers of God-given human rights who have tried to devour Jehovah’s witnesses have themselves stumbled and fallen out of power and into death, yes, into everlasting destruction for fighting against God. They failed to heed the counsel of Acts 5:38, 39: “Do not meddle with these men, but let them alone; (because, if this scheme and this work is from men, it will be overthrown; but if it is from God, you will not be able to overthrow them;) otherwise, you may perhaps be found fighters actually against God.” We do not forget Adolf Hitler’s response to his Interior Minister Frick on October 7, 1934, when Dr. Frick showed Hitler telegrams of protest against religious persecution and said: “If the Bible Students do not immediately get in line we will act against them using the strongest means.” Hitler jumped up and with clenched fists screamed: “This brood will be exterminated in Germany.”a To this end he furiously worked his prisons and hateful concentration camps till 1945. But who is exterminated in Germany today—Hitler or the Bible-studying witnesses of Jehovah?

17. (a) Despite the world’s fear, who are the real ones whom Satan the Dragon aims to devour? (b) But how have these continued showing courage?

¹⁷ Today the whole informed world is in fear of being destroyed by a nuclear world war. But by our study of Bible prophecy we know who are the real ones at whose destruction Satan the Devil aims, even if it means he has to destroy also the entire human race. Who are they? Those spiritual children of God’s holy organization who still remain on earth but who are called to reign with Jesus Christ in his heavenly kingdom for the preserving and blessing of the human race. Picturing Satan the Devil as a fiery-colored dragon, Revelation 12:17 says: “The dragon grew wrathful at the woman [God’s holy organization], and went off to wage war [with whom?] with the remaining ones of her seed, who observe the commandments of God and have the work of bearing witness to Jesus.” This remnant of Kingdom witnesses still suffer the warfare that the symbolic dragon directs at them by means of all the dragon’s visible agents, but the remnant keep on observing God’s commandments even if it means disobeying dictatorial men. They keep on carrying out their work of bearing witness to Jesus as the heavenly King whom Jehovah God installed in active office in the heavens in 1914.

18. What must we expect from the Dragon for observing God’s commandments, and yet what have hundreds of thousands done at this time?

¹⁸ Be sure of one thing: For us to keep God’s commandments as set forth in the Bible means for us to make ourselves targets of Satan the Devil’s warfare. We cannot escape it; we must expect it. Yet hundreds of thousands of godly-inclined persons see how the small remnant make a matchless display of courage in observing God’s commandments and in witnessing to Jesus Christ as his enthroned King. So they also muster up the courage to line up with the faithful anointed remnant and to brave Satan’s warfare. That puts them on God’s side of the war; and on what grander side could they be?

19, 20. (a) In what will the Dragon’s warfare reach its hottest stage? (b) How was the Dragon identified in 1953?

¹⁹ This warfare by the symbolic fiery-colored dragon is to reach its hottest stage in a final, total attack by Satan the Devil with all his forces and powers in heaven and on earth.

²⁰ It was in 1953 that this dragon, or Satan the Devil, was seen to be now enacting the wicked role of the once mysterious Gog of Magog. In that year the message entitled “New World Society Attacked from the Far North” was given out. This message used the Holy Scriptures in clearing up the mystery and identified the foretold Gog of Magog as being the Devil Satan since his being cast out of God’s holy heavens and down to this earth.—Rev. 12:7-13; Ezekiel, chapters 38, 39.

21. Of what did this message warn, and hence what will Jehovah’s witnesses do when the thing warned of rises against them?

²¹ The message warned all the New World society of Jehovah’s witnesses concerning the approaching “attack by Gog of Magog,” that is to say, by the cast-out dragon, Satan the Devil, and it built up their courage to face it. This satanic attack upon the New World society will bring upon this old-world system of things the battle of Armageddon that will result in utterly destroying this wicked system of things and abyssing Satan the Devil and all his peace-disturbing demons. Jehovah God himself will fight that symbolic Gog of Magog and defeat him. In this way Jehovah will sanctify his own name and deliver the New World society of those who observe his commandments and who do the work of witnessing to Jesus as our Ransomer and King. Hence when that final phase of the war by the dragon, Satan the Devil, rises against them, the remnant and their God-fearing companions will do like the psalmist David, keep trusting in Jehovah their Light and their Salvation.b

THE “ONE THING” ASKED FOR

22. As expressed by the psalmist David, what is the one big thing that we ask and look for and that is really behind our prayer for deliverance from the wicked one?

²² If we pray the Lord’s Prayer as taught by Jesus Christ, we pray: “Deliver us from the wicked one.” It is true that when we thus pray we ask to be saved from the temptations and warfare by Satan the Devil. But there is another thing that we ask and want given us, which makes us ask for such deliverance from the wicked Devil. That other thing, that all-absorbing thing, is suggested in the first part of the Lord’s Prayer, namely: “Our Father in the heavens, let your name be sanctified.” (Matt. 6:9, 13) This one all-dominating thing is well stated by the psalmist David in these beautiful words: “One thing I have asked from Jehovah—it is what I shall look for, that I may dwell in the house of Jehovah all the days of my life, to behold the pleasantness of Jehovah and to look with appreciation upon his temple.”—Ps. 27:4.

23, 24. (a) Why was what David wanted to behold called the “pleasantness of Jehovah”? (b) How did Jesus describe just how pleasant Jehovah is?

²³ This “one thing” was the heart or essence of all David’s prayers. It was nothing political or materialistic or fleshly. It was something spiritual. He desired to have direct, personal contact with Jehovah’s temple of worship. It was because he admired Jehovah as the living God. His personal acquaintance with Jehovah by reading the Holy Scriptures and by his experience with Jehovah’s dealings stirred him to a worshipful attitude. Especially at the temple David felt near to his God, for it was there that Jehovah’s priests and Levites offered up sacrifices and sang psalms of praise to Jehovah and conducted prayers to Him and read aloud portions of his written Word. At the temple David felt the brotherhood with all his fellow worshipers.

²⁴ So there he beheld the “pleasantness of Jehovah.” To him Jehovah was no ugly god like the grotesque gargoyles on Roman Catholic cathedrals or like the horrifying, fierce-looking idols seen at the entrances of pagan temples or inside them. How pleasant Jehovah is was described for us by the Son of David, namely, Jesus Christ the Son of God, when he said: “God loved the world so much that he gave his only-begotten Son, in order that everyone exercising faith in him might not be destroyed but have everlasting life.” (John 3:16) A God who would give his own beloved Son in sacrifice for us sinners must be pleasant, indeed.

25. In what way did David “look with appreciation” upon Jehovah’s temple?

²⁵ Because of looking upon Jehovah as such a pleasant God, David was able also “to look with appreciation upon his temple.” In his eyes the temple was not a mere material structure of a design different from that of pagan temples. The various features of that temple had a meaning for David—its altar, its basin, its Holy with the lampstand, the table of sacred bread and its golden altar of incense, and its Most Holy with the golden ark of the covenant upon the lid of which were two cherubs stretching out their wings. The prophetic ceremonies that the priests carried out also carried some meaning to David. The more that he attended the meetings for worship at the temple, the more he deepened his appreciation of what he looked upon.—Compare Psalm 84:1-4, 10.

26. In what way could David dwell in Jehovah’s house all the days of his life, and how did he show that he looked for this privilege?

²⁶ In his own case, David did not desire to dwell in Jehovah’s house all the days of his life by becoming a priest. He knew he could not do this, because he was no Levite of the household of Aaron. How, then, did David want to do it? How could he do it? How did he “look for” it or seek it as the “one thing” that he asked from God? By seeking and endeavoring on every suitable occasion to be there at the temple to join with his fellow Israelites in the worship of Jehovah, the pleasant God. So it pained him most keenly when unfaithful King Saul of Israel outlawed David and prevented his taking part in the regular yearly festivals and other occasions of worship and sacrifice at the temple.—1 Sam. 21:1-10.

27. In harmony with dwelling at Jehovah’s house, how did David as king show his appreciation for the temple?

²⁷ How glad David was when he became king of all Israel and could freely attend all the celebrations and render all the obligations at Jehovah’s temple in company with His people! After David made Jerusalem his royal capital, he had the ark of God’s covenant, that had been isolated from the Most Holy, placed in a suitable tent near his royal residence on Mount Zion. Later he felt that it was an unequal state of affairs for him to dwell in a sturdy stationary palace whereas the symbol of Jehovah’s presence, his ark of the covenant, did not. He determined to build such a palace or temple, but Jehovah God said No! The privilege of building such a glorious temple was to go to his son and successor, who proved to be Solomon. Yet in appreciation of such a temple King David contributed much money and collected and got ready many materials for his son Solomon to use in building the temple. Jehovah even inspired David to draw up the building plans for the authorized temple.

28. What strengthening words did David give to Solomon regarding the temple, and in time what resulted?

²⁸ Toward the end of his reign he turned over to his successor Solomon these materials. Solomon was but a young man and delicate, and the temple work was a great project. It required courage and godly devotion to undertake it. So King David said to him: “And you, Solomon my son, know the God of your father and serve him with a complete heart and with a delightful soul; for all hearts Jehovah is searching, and every inclination of the thoughts he is discerning. If you search for him, he will let himself be found by you; but if you leave him, he will cast you off forever. See, now, for Jehovah himself has chosen you to build a house as a sanctuary. Be courageous and act.” (1 Chron. 28:9, 10) Having this assurance that Almighty God had chosen him to build, King Solomon could and did take courage. He acted, and the grandest temple ever built by man resulted for the worship of Jehovah God.

29. (a) Why does it now require courage to engage in the pure form of religion? (b) Through what agency must this pure worship now be rendered?

²⁹ In these days of popular but false religion (popular because it is false), when the foretold religious condition is here in which men are “having a form of godly devotion but proving false to its power,” we need to have courage, tremendous courage to engage in the “form of worship that is clean and undefiled from the standpoint of our God and Father.” (2 Tim. 3:1-5; Jas. 1:27) We can no longer go to a material temple of Jehovah on Mount Moriah in Jerusalem, as it was destroyed by Roman soldiers in the year 70 of our Common Era. And yet Jehovah’s pure worship continues with spirit and truth, as Jesus Christ himself foretold. (John 4:21-24) Jehovah has something far better than such a perishable, destructible temple at Jerusalem. He has his spiritual temple, which will be everlasting in the heavens. Of this temple his self-sacrificing Son Jesus Christ is the Foundation Cornerstone, and all the true followers anointed with God’s spirit are the superstructure built upon him to form a living house in which God can dwell by His spirit. (Eph. 2:20-22) It is through the agency of this living spiritual temple that all mankind must henceforth render acceptable worship to God. The builder of this temple of “living stones” is someone greater than King Solomon. It is the Lord of lords and King of kings, Jesus Christ.—1 Pet. 2:5; Rev. 17:14; 1 Tim. 6:14, 15.

30. Why did the Builder of this spiritual temple have to have courage greater than that of Solomon at building the temple?

³⁰ A temple is associated with sacrifice; and to lay the foundation for this living spiritual temple Jesus Christ had to provide something immeasurably more valuable than all the precious metals, stones and woods that King David gathered and contributed toward the building of Solomon’s temple. It was the sacrifice of his own sinless, perfect human life. To do this Jesus had all the world to overcome, for the “ruler of this world,” Satan the Devil, was against him and his perfect sacrifice on God’s true altar. This called for greater courage than that of young King Solomon.

31. How, finally, did Jesus display such courage, and in this regard what did he say to his apostles before he died?

³¹ Jesus refused to call to his heavenly Father for more than twelve legions of angels to deliver him. He willingly yielded himself over to death at the hands of the Devil’s henchmen. This proved that what he had told his faithful apostles on the night before his violent death was true, that he had conquered the Devil’s world. In a manifestation of his own exemplary courage Jesus told them: “I am not alone, because the Father is with me. I have said these things to you that by means of me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation, but take courage! I have conquered the world.”—John 16:32, 33; Matt. 26:53.

32. How can a Christian meet the requirement of courage, and what conquest must he make?

³² To be a true Christian takes courage. But looking to the Foundation Cornerstone of the spiritual temple, Jesus Christ, we can be courageous and likewise conquer this world and its devilish god. Hence for anyone to become a “living stone” in the spiritual temple of Jehovah he has to imitate the Temple Builder greater than Solomon and do as that One did and told his apostles to do, “take courage!” As a World Conqueror this One greater than Solomon can aid his followers to conquer and to become worthy of being “living stones” in the heavenly temple. His heavenly promises are held out to such overcomers. (Rev. 2:7, 11, 17, 26; 3:5, 12, 21) This conquest must be done by a faith that rests upon God’s written Word, the Bible. “This is the conquest that has conquered the world, our faith. Who is the one that conquers the world but he who has faith that Jesus is the Son of God?” (1 John 5:4, 5) At the spiritual temple where Jesus serves as God’s High Priest a true Christian has to exercise faith. Such a faith founded on the Bible makes us courageous to do God’s will and conquer the world’s false god.

33. What part in the temple can hundreds of thousands now coming out of all nations not enjoy, and yet where must they also dwell?

³³ Like David who as a Judean could not become a Levite priest in Jehovah’s temple, hundreds of thousands who come out of all nations, tribes and peoples to the spiritual temple in order to worship Jehovah God cannot become “living stones” in that heavenly temple. Forever they will worship him on earth, which God’s kingdom will transform into an everlasting paradise. (Isa. 2:2-4) Like David, they will have to prove that the “one thing” that they have asked from Jehovah is to dwell in his house all the days of their lives now before Armageddon and forever on earth after Armageddon.

34. How, as stated in David’s case in Psalm 40:7-9, must these show that it is the thing for which they are looking?

³⁴ How will they prove that this is the one thing that they are looking for or seeking? How will they make sure of the privilege of beholding Jehovah’s pleasantness and looking with appreciation upon His temple? David once said prophetically: “Here I have come, in the roll of the book it being written about me. To do your will, O my God, I have delighted, and your law is within my inward parts. I have told the good news of righteousness in the big congregation. Look! My lips I do not restrain. O Jehovah, you yourself know that well.” (Ps. 40:7-9) Jesus the Son of God took those words of David to heart and courageously carried them out. (Heb. 10:5-10) All who become “living stones” with him in the spiritual temple must do the same. All others must do the same, if they would now worship at the temple, even if they have no hope of themselves becoming “living stones” in it. They must dedicate themselves to Jehovah, coming to him through his High Priest Jesus Christ to do Jehovah’s will as that will is written down in the “roll of the book,” the Bible.

35. (a) What does it call for to make such a dedication and carry it out in this world, and why? (b) Hence for whom is God’s new world?

³⁵ In keeping with this dedication they must inform themselves on Jehovah’s law and take it to heart, delighting to do it. Today when all the world, even including Christendom, is not committed or dedicated to doing God’s will but there is an increasing of lawlessness as foretold (Matt. 24:12), it calls for courage to make such a dedication and do Jehovah’s will. The whole world is against a person in taking such a course, and so it means that in the world he will have tribulation. This will require him to conquer the world, but he can do this with our world-conquering Leader, Jesus Christ. There is no reason to be discouraged at the certain prospect of tribulation and to hesitate. “Take courage,” if you desire to walk the path that leads to everlasting life in God’s new world. His new world of righteousness is not for cowards; it will never be gained by “cowards and those without faith.”—Rev. 21:7, 8.

36. (a) How was David a speaking minister for Jehovah? (b) How was Jesus Christ also such, and so what must his followers be?

³⁶ In these times when the name of Jehovah is not popular, it takes courage to be a speaking minister of God’s Word, such as David was although he was no Levite priest. David said that he “told the good news of righteousness in the big congregation.” Jehovah himself knew that David did not restrain his lips from telling the good news of God’s righteousness. So David could say to Jehovah God himself: “Your righteousness I have not covered over within my heart. Your faithfulness and your salvation I have declared. I have not hidden your loving-kindness and your trueness in the big congregation.” (Ps. 40:9, 10) Jesus Christ, as the Son of David, was no less a minister of Jehovah’s Word than his royal ancestor was. He told the good news of Jehovah’s righteousness and salvation throughout the “big congregation” of the whole nation in all the territory of Israel. He never missed going to meetings at Jehovah’s temple, even when his life was in danger. (Luke 8:1; Acts 10:38, 39; John 7:1-10) Like Jesus, all his dedicated followers must do the same thing. Every truly dedicated Christian must be a speaking minister of God’s Word and not keep God’s Word to himself, covered over within his heart. He must attend congregation meetings.

37. (a) To show that he has asked for this one big thing, what will he do? (b) In harmony with the fulfillment of what prophecy will he thus be acting?

³⁷ To show that he has asked Jehovah for the one big thing of dwelling in Jehovah’s house all the days of his life, he will look for all opportunities to associate with Jehovah’s congregation in their worship at His spiritual temple. He will arrange to attend all the meetings of the congregation that have been scheduled and to which he is cordially invited. He will seek to bring others to the congregational meetings. Hence he will go forth from door to door and from house to house, ministering the Word of God to people in their homes as Jesus and his twelve apostles did. (Matt. 10:5-13; Acts 20:20) Thus he will be acting in fulfillment of Isaiah 2:3: “Many peoples will certainly go and say: ‘Come, you people, and let us go up to the mountain of Jehovah, to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will instruct us about his ways, and we will walk in his paths.’” It is needful to do this now in view of Armageddon.

38. For doing this what will he behold, and how will he face Armageddon?

³⁸ Because of all this, such a minister of the good news of God’s Word will behold the “pleasantness of Jehovah”; he will know and feel that he is a pleasant God, a God of good will. In these days of divine wrath against the wicked nations he will experience God’s good will and he will become numbered among God’s “men of good will.” Consequently he will enjoy peace with God and his Son Jesus Christ. (Luke 2:13, 14) With more and more appreciation of the meanings of things in God’s temple organization he will look upon God’s spiritual temple by faith and will strive to be with His congregation on all occasions possible. This will fill him with more courage to keep on being God’s minister even in the face of Armageddon.

[Footnotes]

Courage Under Divine Protection

1. Is it just during all our days on earth during this old world that we will dwell in Jehovah’s house, or what are the prospects?

JEHOVAH’S house of worship is a protected place, and anyone dwelling there enjoys divine protection. Courageously dwelling in Jehovah’s house all our days on earth during just the existence of this old world is not all there is to the matter. Christians who are spiritual “living stones” will, by a resurrection from the dead, be transferred to the heavens to make up Jehovah’s completed temple up there with the Corner Foundation Stone Jesus Christ. The hundreds of thousands of other dedicated worshipers who are today coming to Jehovah’s temple will continue to dwell in His house all the days of their lives in the endless new world by carrying on His pure worship on the paradise earth.

2. For looking for what now do Jehovah’s witnesses show what they want for the future?

² But what we want for the future we show by what we want and look for now. So even with the prospect of forever dwelling in the house of Jehovah in the future after Armageddon, we want to dwell there also now before Armageddon. Hence, despite all the tribulation and persecution that we undergo in this world, Jehovah makes it possible for us to enjoy this privilege now. In a number of lands both behind and outside the Communist Iron Curtain Jehovah’s witnesses are banned and are forbidden to meet together in Bible study, and they run great dangers in trying to do so. Yet with great courage they succeed in doing so, underground. By this they show what they want for the future.

3, 4. (a) How do we suffer persecution together, and despite it what must we do? (b) How did David, in Psalm 27:5-10, express his confidence about dwelling again in Jehovah’s house?

³ Whether directly so or indirectly so as sympathetic companions of others, we as Christian witnesses of Jehovah suffer persecution together. Despite it we must take courage and attempt to meet together as David did under the hostile fire of the enemy. He trusted in Jehovah’s protection and in His help and deliverance to enable him to resume dwelling in God’s house. Hence David said:

⁴ “For he will hide me in his covert in the day of calamity; he will conceal me in the secret place of his tent; high on a rock he will put me. And now my head will be high above my enemies all around me; and I will sacrifice at his tent sacrifices of joyful shouting; I will sing and make melody to Jehovah. Hear, O Jehovah, when I call with my voice, and show me favor and answer me. Concerning you my heart has said: ‘Seek to find my face, you people.’ Your face, O Jehovah, I shall seek to find. Do not conceal your face from me. Do not in anger turn your servant away. My assistance you must become. Do not forsake me and do not leave me, O my God of salvation. In case my own father and my own mother did leave me, even Jehovah himself would take me up.”—Ps. 27:5-10.

5. How were enemies trying to ruin David spiritually, but why was he certain that they would not succeed?

⁵ In those words of the persecuted David there rings a sureness of final victory over his enemies who interfere with his worship of Jehovah at his temple. Enemies would scheme spiritual calamity for him, especially by “framing trouble by decree,” legalizing the wicked persecution, and thus trying to force David to let drop his faith in God and his worship and service of God. (Ps. 94:20) But they would not succeed in ruining David as a servant and witness of Jehovah. Even calamity would not affect David spiritually, for he was hid in Jehovah’s covert place of safety, concealed in the unreachable “secret place” of Jehovah’s sacred tent, as if on a high rock unscalable by all his enemies. God would raise David’s head high in victory over the enemies of true worship. He would again have free access to God’s altar at his tent of worship in order to offer sacrifices and to sing and make melody in a public display of thanksgiving to Jehovah, who is loyal to his worshipers.

6. (a) To what divine invitation do we respond, and why so despite obstacles? (b) On whose assistance do we therefore count?

⁶ Take courage, then, all you persecuted witnesses of this loyal God. The evidences of his favor toward us will without fail come through to us in answer to our prayers, in spite of all the interferences and all the war against us by our ungodly enemies. Our hearts take up Jehovah’s own invitation to his people and remind us of his invitation by saying it within us, namely: “Seek to find my face, you people.” As his dedicated people we respond eagerly and seek to find his face of favor and pleasantness. (Zeph. 2:1-3) To succeed in doing so we have to overcome many obstacles put in our way by the enemies and by this materialistic world of enticement; but in love and loyalty to him we do so, for his favor means life to us. We do this although our assistance from all other sources may fail us. When we seem left and forsaken by everybody, Jehovah through Christ must become our assistance, for his assistance never fails the loyal. We can count on it if we seek his face.

7. (a) What did David suggest as the most extreme case of human abandonment? (b) In such a case, however, who could be depended upon?

⁷ How terrible it is to be forsaken by one’s own father and mother! Persecuted David did not have that experience. His father and mother did not forsake him. When he went into hiding from his persecutor, King Saul, and took refuge in a cave near Adullam, his “brothers and the entire house of his father” heard of it and went out of Bethlehem to him there. Later David took his father and mother east of the Jordan River and said to the king of the land of Moab: “Let my father and my mother, please, dwell with you people until I know what God will do to me.” There his parents remained for the time being. (1 Sam. 22:1-3) If David’s father and mother did ever forsake him, it was forcibly when they died and left him behind in the land of the living. So in his psalm David merely suggested an almost unthinkable case of human abandonment, that by his own father and mother; and if parents did so, then it was to be expected that all other humans would do so. Then, in this extreme situation, there was one who could be expected not to fail David—oh, what a comfort! Jehovah God, whose face he continually sought, would take him up; and Jehovah does not die.—Hab. 1:12, Ro; NW.

8, 9. (a) What division, as foretold, does the choice of Jehovah’s worship cause in some cases? (b) In such a case, who shows ownership of us, and according to what promising assurance?

⁸ In the “time of the end” of Satan’s world the choice of Jehovah’s worship causes a division in many intimate family groups. Jesus Christ, when restoring his Father Jehovah’s pure worship on earth, said that it would do so. Jesus did not come to establish religious peace on earth: “I came to cause division, with a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a young wife against her mother-in-law. Indeed, a man’s enemies will be persons of his own household.” In the ensuing test of affections, parents were going to disown or abandon their own children who showed more affection for Jesus Christ and his heavenly Father. (Matt. 10:33-37) To face such an abandonment requires courage for one who desires to pursue the true, life-giving worship of Jehovah the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. But what if parents do disapprove of our choice of the heavenly Father Jehovah and disown and leave us? Our immortal heavenly Father will show his ownership of us and take us in, giving us a place within his organization. Expressing unbreakable loyalty to his organization Zion, he says:

⁹ “Can a wife forget her suckling so that she should not pity the son of her belly? Even these women can forget, yet I myself shall not forget you. Look! Upon my palms I have engraved you. Your walls are in front of me constantly.”—Isa. 49:15, 16; cf. Job 39:14, 15.

10. (a) How has Jehovah proved this prophecy to his Christian witnesses in recent times? (b) What has he built up to receive us, and how does he heal the wounding of our affections?

¹⁰ Since the close of World War I in 1918 Jehovah God has proved this prophecy of his unswerving loyalty. He did not permit the organization of his Christian witnesses to be wiped out by the vicious persecutions against them during that first world conflict. In 1919 he restored them from their religious captivity and took them up again into his favor, and his hands began rebuilding the walls of their dilapidated organization. He had not really forgotten them, as it had seemed. Neither did he forget them during the worse conditions of World War II. Since then, what a mighty walled or well-protected organization he has built up for them, as they apply themselves to the foretold work of preaching this good news of God’s established kingdom publicly and from house to house, in all the inhabited earth, for a witness to all the nations before the end of these political institutions comes in the threatening war of Armageddon! (Matt. 24:14) So, then, let our closest natural relatives—even our earthly father and mother—leave us because of our seeking Jehovah as God. He is glad to take us abandoned ones up. His lovingly taking us up heals the wounding of our hearts. He assures us of everlasting life in his new world, a life that our mortal, dying father and mother could never give to us.

11. Now that we have been taken up, what must we never do, and why not?

¹¹ Now that he has taken us up into his theocratic organization, we must never leave it, never cease meeting with it. He never forgets his faithful organization and so cannot leave and forsake it. If Jehovah never abandons his organization, then for us to abandon it would be equal to abandoning him. If we abide in his unforgettable organization, he will never forget us. For him to forget and leave us would mean our eternal destruction. Never may that happen!

HOPE ON AND BE COURAGEOUS

12. Why are we facing the most faith-testing experience in all the history of Jehovah’s witnesses?

¹² Now more than ever, let us remember that we, along with the whole world, are moving closer and closer to the “great day of God the Almighty,” which is to be marked by the war of the universe in which God will administer an Armageddon-like defeat upon all the “kings of the entire inhabited earth” and their totally mobilized nations. God’s own unchangeable time schedule calls for that in the near future. Therefore, we as his dedicated people are facing the most faith-testing experience in all the history of Jehovah’s witnesses from the time of Abel the first martyr for Jehovah down to the present “conclusion of the system of things.” (Rev. 16:14-16; Matt. 24:3; 28:20) The world population is increasing far faster than we are finding the “lost sheep” and bringing them into the safety of Almighty God’s organization. Since Satan is aligning all the nations of the world against God’s kingdom, our enemies are constantly increasing inside and outside of Christendom. Because we are no part of this satanically regimented world, their soulful desire is to destroy us, at least to undo us spiritually and ruin our hopes of Jehovah’s new world under Christ.

13. What are our enemies framing against us, and what is the Devil’s aim in this?

¹³ As in the case of flag-salute legislation, blood-transfusion legislation, dictatorial decrees against the existence of Jehovah’s witnesses, and so forth, our enemies are knowingly or unknowingly “framing trouble by decree” against us. The Devil’s aim in this is to enable them to accuse us of lawbreaking, since they are unable to find a pretext to take action against us except they find it against us in the law of our God. As in Daniel’s case, they know we will not break God’s law even if man’s law is contrary to it. (Ps. 94:20; Dan. 6:5-9) Will our God leave us and give us over to the soulful desire of our adversaries who now wield authority? Not if we refuse to compromise, not if we keep his way even at cost of suffering.

14. As expressed by David, for what do we have urgent need, and why?

¹⁴ Our urgent need is for continued instruction in the principles of God’s righteous way, that we may have his leading in the way in which our foes cannot rightly accuse us of lawbreaking toward God. Even if our earthly father and mother abandon us religiously and will not give us such instruction and leading, God will. The prayer of the persecuted, hated David is most suitable for us to offer now: “Instruct me, O Jehovah, in your way, and lead me in the path of uprightness on account of my foes. Do not give me over to the soul of my adversaries; for against me false witnesses have risen up, and he who launches forth violence.”—Ps. 27:11, 12.

15, 16. (a) In trying to make us compromise, to what lengths will our enemies go? (b) Under like circumstances what did David say for himself and to us fellow witnesses of Jehovah?

¹⁵ The uncompromising course for us is not to fear the violence that enemies launch or threaten to launch against us when the symbolic Gog of Magog makes his final, total assault upon the New World society of Jehovah’s witnesses around the earth. They will try to make it so hard for us that the ordinary person of this old world would lose all hope for the future. They want to break down our faith in the ultimate fulfillment of God’s good promises for the future beyond this world of tribulation. That was how hard they made it for David, who was a prophetic type of Jesus Christ, the Son of David. Under the circumstances did David furnish us a good and correct example? He did. What did he say for himself and then say to each one of us as fellow witnesses of Jehovah? This:

¹⁶ “If I had not had faith in seeing the goodness of Jehovah in the land of those alive—! Hope in Jehovah; be courageous and let your heart be strong. Yes, hope in Jehovah.”—Ps. 27:13, 14.

17. (a) How did David see the goodness of Jehovah in the land of the living? (b) What was he himself doing that he told us to do?

¹⁷ Was David’s faith rewarded by later seeing Jehovah’s goodness in the land of the living? It was. Despite many hard battles and trials David reigned for forty years and got ready the temple materials and turned his throne over to the temple builder, his beloved son, wise Solomon. But even while he was in the midst of a faith-testing situation he urged us to keep on hoping in Jehovah. By advising others to do so, he proved that he himself was doing so when such hoping was needed to uphold him in his godly integrity. He kept courageous.

18. (a) According to David’s Hebrew expression, what does being courageous mean? (b) How may courage be demonstrated?

¹⁸ Faith and hope help us to be courageous. Being courageous, according to the Hebrew expression used by David, means to keep an internal strength, to hold together as if tightly bound together and so not to crumble under pressure, not to fly to pieces under the impact of tribulation or enemy attacks. Doing this, we can bear up with faith and hope under stress of difficulties and dangers. We do not need to make any daring display of ourselves, such as is usually associated with bravery. “Courageous,” says The American College Dictionary (page 146), “implies a higher and nobler kind of bravery, especially as resulting from an inborn quality of mind or spirit which faces or endures perils or difficulties without fear and even with enthusiasm.” Our steadily keeping on in the way of faithfulness to God, even though it be quiet and inconspicuous, denotes courage. We seek no admiration by a display of daring.

19. (a) How will courage affect our hearts? (b) Of what hope should we never let go, and why not?

¹⁹ Our courage will help our hearts to keep strong. They will not melt in fear, but will be unwavering in the love of God and will throw fear and distrust outside. (1 John 4:18) Thus we shall also have love of Jehovah God and of his Son Jesus Christ as the active force pushing us ahead through the trials, difficulties, persecutions, troubles and dangers, yes, through Gog’s attack that provokes God’s war of Armageddon. Always faithful to God, we will keep our faces turned ever toward His new world of victory over all that is wicked. Since it is Jehovah God himself that has given us this hope of the new world under the righteous kingdom of his Son Jesus Christ, then that hope is nothing to be thrown away. We may safely and profitably throw away all other hopes, but not that one from the God who gives hope. “Yes, hope in Jehovah.” He did not disappoint David, nor Jesus Christ the Son of David. He will not disappoint us. In the strength of our hope and faith we can be, yes, we will be courageous in the face of the world’s Armageddon, where Jehovah will triumph gloriously in vindication of his universal sovereignty.

Nothing Unscientific in the Bible

In his Studies in Creationism, Frank Lewis Marsh, professor of biology, Union College, Lincoln, Nebraska, observes: “As scientists come to a careful study of the Guidebook of the Christian religion, they find that actually no ground exists for any conflict whatsoever between scientific facts and the Christian religion. Although the Bible contains some of the greatest truths, still it is not a scientific treatise. This situation in the Bible is most worthy of careful consideration. If Moses had written down the very best scientific opinion of his day, advancing science would have discovered its inaccuracy long ago. But the scientific facts stated in nonscientific language thousands of years ago are still completely accurate scientifically. That is one of the marvels of the Bible. That Moses, who was ‘learned in all the wisdom of the Egyptians,’ and that Daniel, in whom the Babylonians considered that the spirits of the gods of wisdom dwelt, should write into their messages nothing of the accepted doctrines of beginnings of their day places the Bible outside of natural sources. Only those things were stated which evidently were everlastingly true. To the present moment no scientific inaccuracies have been discovered. True science can have no conflict with such a book.”—Pages 206, 207.

Much for Which to Be Grateful

As told by Edgar Clay

1914 marked a turning point. The nations remember it because it was then that the first world war began. Bible students remember it because Bible prophecies mark it as the year when God’s kingdom was established in the heavens. I have an additional reason for remembering it—that was the year I began to understand what the Bible says about God’s purpose for mankind.

I had been a dyed-in-the-wool churchman up until that time. In fact, just the year before, when I moved from Shropshire to Coventry, I made it a point to attend the little church in our suburb. Then in August, 1914, my widowed mother, one of my sisters and I visited an invalid aunt at Stratford-on-Avon. While there we got to discussing the Bible Students, who later came to be called Jehovah’s witnesses. My aunt was not one of them, but she evidently had read one of their books, and she started to tell me about them, the meetings they held in homes and how they studied the Bible. “Well, who are these people that they should know more than anyone else?” I asked. “You will know someday, Edgar,” she replied. How right she was!

TAKING HOLD OF THE TRUTH

Toward the end of the year the Photo-Drama of Creation came to Coventry. It was a remarkable production, including moving pictures and slides, synchronized with recorded talks and music, and setting forth God’s purpose for the earth and mankind, from the time of the preparation of the earth for human habitation down to the end of the thousand-year reign of Christ. My two younger sisters went to see the “pictures” and said they were very good, so I decided to go to the lecture on Sunday evening, on the subject of the Lord’s return and its purpose. After all, I thought, it was only fair to hear what they had to say. My mother decided to come with me. In the afternoon the church warden’s wife called at our home for the first time and, after staying for tea, she agreed to go along with us.

The talk we heard sparked my interest. As the speaker presented reasons and Scriptural backing for the things he said I had sense enough to know that it sounded right and was worth investigating. I could not help but feel gratitude for the things I had heard. At the follow-up lectures, which I also attended, I asked endless questions. About the same time I began to devour that remarkable book The Divine Plan of the Ages, and within a very short time I was “in the truth.” Early in 1915 I was baptized, symbolizing my dedication to God to do his will and wanting to do it forever.

Later that year I had the privilege of assisting when the Photo-Drama was shown in a town about twelve miles away, and it is encouraging to know that a pioneer brother and sister who were following up the interest shown at that meeting are still active in the full-time ministry; they are the oldest brother and sister in the circuit work in England. What a grand record they have! What an encouragement they are to others to hold in high esteem the treasure of full-time preaching!

Those years during World War I were not easy ones. Part of the time I spent in prison because of my Christian neutrality. How grateful I was then that I had studied hard before, both at home and in the meetings; for in prison we had no Watchtower study, no association in any meetings at all—just a Bible in the cell! It was then that I learned to draw on the things that had been stored away in my mind, “the precious and very grand promises” of God that give strength.—2 Pet. 1:4.

In those days there seemed to be no special call, as there is now, to take up the pioneer service, but I knew there was a little band of them in Britain. I think you could almost have counted them on your two hands. It was one of these pioneers that made a call on me with the Studies in the Scriptures after the first meeting I had attended. In 1921, when my family moved out to Australia, I found it very hard to part with them; but I saw what it could mean to me—joining that little band of pioneers, added to by now, but still very small.

PIONEER MINISTRY

Although becoming a pioneer meant leaving behind my comfortable job at a modern printing works in Coventry, there were no regrets. My dedication had already settled the matter; my life was dedicated to God. I remembered Caleb, who entered the Promised Land with Joshua and of whom it was said, ‘He followed Jehovah fully.’ (Josh. 14:8) That seemed to me to be the desirable attitude. I knew that serving God “fully” would make my dedicated life more vital; it would afford me greater opportunity to produce the fruitage that marks a Christian. I also kept well in mind a scripture that we quoted often in those days: “What shall I repay to Jehovah for all his benefits to me?” (Ps. 116:12) I knew that full-time preaching service would make the repaying a joy. I had also been stirred by the Watch Tower article in 1919, “Blessed Are the Fearless,” with its call to action. I wanted to respond to the call.

I wrote to Pryce Hughes, whom I had known for five years, and arranged to meet him at the Manchester assembly that year, in 1922. Imagine my joy when, after telling him that I wanted to go into the pioneer service, he told me that his desire was the same! We joined ranks, and from that time till now we have managed to ‘put up with one another in love’ very well indeed. (Eph. 4:2) How gratifying it was that we were already in the pioneer service when the call went out at the Cedar Point, Ohio, convention a few months later: “Advertise the King and Kingdom”!

Stepping out into the pioneer service was, of course, a step of faith. I knew that I must place my confidence in the One whose service I had taken up. But my! how blessed we were even in those first few weeks! We had been given a tremendous stretch of territory in beautiful North Wales, and since our main work then was a quick placing of Bible literature, we placed a great quantity, caring for any interest during the short time we were in the area.

The very first week I came in touch with a lady who was greatly distressed over the loss of her son in the war. They had been deeply attached to each other, and they being Christian Scientists, she had felt sure that he would not be killed. When she heard of the work we were doing she sent her maid to our humble dwelling to get some literature. That evening I made a call on her and was received very kindly by the lady. Both she and her niece listened with great interest as I explained God’s purpose. As we made further calls on this lady, her interest continued to grow, she subscribed for The Watch Tower and The Golden Age, mailed many of our books to people in high places, and then invited us to stay for a week in her home and work nearby territory before we moved farther away. Although we were used to humble dwellings, this lady who had attended the King’s Court treated us as her honored guests for the week of our stay.

It was also during the first month of my pioneer service that I called at a Roman Catholic college, a training center for young priests. Upon ringing the bell, I was invited in and taken to a waiting room overlooking a beautiful valley. I felt a bit nervous at first. Then the rector came in—a tall, dignified-looking man. As I began to speak, my nervousness vanished, and we went from point to point, doctrine to doctrine. How I appreciated knowing the truth! He then told me that I was in a Jesuit college and he thought I was rather bold to call (I hadn’t felt that way at all), shook hands with me and invited me to call again. The call had lasted an hour and a half, but it provided the basis for many fine discussions with other Catholics in that area.

Looking back over those early pioneer years, do I find anything to regret? No, indeed! From our present vantage point it may seem that we covered our territory rather fast in those days, but since then other pioneers have followed up in those areas and there are congregations in many of those towns now. For this and for the service in those early days I feel grateful. Over the years I shared in various types of service, but there was a big change ahead for me.

One day a letter came from the London office of the Watch Tower Society inviting me to Bethel. This would be a change indeed! From service in the field to becoming a member of the Bethel family. My feelings may have been mixed, but my mind was fixed. I wanted to serve where I was needed, and I knew that, whatever my assignment there, I would find joy and contentment.

SERVICE AT BETHEL

When I entered Bethel in 1926 it became my home, and it has been that ever since. Never has it entered my mind that I would leave Bethel, unless, of course, I was asked to take up another assignment. Bethel has become to me a happy place, enriched with pleasant friendships, many of which remain to this day.

When I went into the pioneer work I did not expect to become a printer again, but that was the reason why I was entering Bethel. Until then the Society’s printing in England had been done outside. Now a Verticle Miehle press was obtained and a cutter that I worked by hand, and so printing got under way in the London branch. We still have the original press but not the old cutter. Later we obtained a small flat-bed press and, in 1940, an Intertype. How grateful we were to have this equipment during those difficult days of the second world war, when it was used to print The Watchtower for the benefit of the brothers here in Britain! For two years we even managed to produce the Yearbook with a stiff paper back, the family working evenings to get it done. Sometimes I wonder how we did it all, but there is a “power beyond what is normal” that God supplies for us according to our need in his service.—2 Cor. 4:7.

In some ways Bethel life may not be quite as exciting as service in the field, yet I knew that it was by no means secondary in importance, and I found much cause for gratitude in the service I was able to perform. In those days when I entered Bethel we used to have Bible questions for discussion at every meal. Now, this taking in of spiritual food and material food at the same time may not be the best thing for digestion, but I did learn a lot from those discussions. I also came to appreciate that field service is very much a part of Bethel service. How well I recall those Saturdays when we spent all day witnessing on the outskirts of London!

As the years passed, there was constant progress within the organization, and those of us at Bethel were in a place where we could quickly perceive the changes and appreciate what they meant in the forward movement of the New World society. I well remember the thrilling moment at the Bethel table when the cable was read saying that the “new name” had been adopted at the Columbus, Ohio, convention; yes, we were Jehovah’s witnesses! By the year 1938 there was ‘gold instead of copper’ in the organization, as foretold at Isaiah 60:17 and as evident in the theocratic direction of affairs. What a blessing this was to us under the trying conditions of World War II! There was no easing up of the preaching work, but even under fire we called on the homes of the people, made our back-calls, conducted our home Bible studies, and were blessed with much increase in those troubled years.

CONVENTION IN AMERICA

In 1946, soon after the end of the war, an international assembly was announced for Cleveland, Ohio. Pryce Hughes, our branch servant, was invited by the Society’s president, and we all rejoiced with him in this. But imagine my surprise and delight when, a little later, an invitation came for me to attend too. How grateful I was!

Although there were many difficulties to overcome in travel in those years, we were finally on our way—down the Manchester Ship Canal to the open sea in a rather small boat. I knew that there was much in store, and I wanted to be able to enjoy it to the fullest extent. I think I did. First there was the pleasure of meeting with the Brooklyn Bethel family, which seemed so large in comparison with our own at London, but it was a time of happy association, getting to know so many brothers, forming many new and enduring friendships. From there we went on to Gilead with the Society’s president, Brother Knorr, and enjoyed meeting another big theocratic family—the students and the Kingdom Farm family. Since the school term had just come to an end, it was our pleasure to be present for the graduation and to hear the warm, friendly and helpful counsel given by all who spoke on the program. Those were pleasant days at Gilead, and further cause for gratitude.

Then a group of us set off through the night for Cleveland and the convention. While it was not so big as the assemblies in 1953 and 1958, which I also had the privilege of attending, it was mammoth to me. I shared with the work in the cafeteria, which was a big job, but a lot of fun, and it was satisfying to have a part in the convention work. How thrilling the whole assembly was! Still vivid in my mind is the fact that this was a “Glad Nations” assembly, for there were happy people from many nations gathered to worship and praise Jehovah. It was here that the book “Let God Be True” was released, and we are still using it to ‘clear out the stones’ and make plain the way for persons of good will. (Isa. 62:10) I remember clearly the evening Brother Knorr outlined the circuit work and its assemblies, which have been such a tremendous joy and blessing to the congregations. I had the privilege of being behind him on the platform that evening, and as he outlined the work and then told about the plans for enlarging the Brooklyn Bethel home and factory, the applause from the vast audience surged in renewed outbursts. While one could see no distinct face from the platform, it was easy to sense their joy. Those experiences are still vivid in my mind, and they are things for which I am grateful.

MORE FOR WHICH TO BE GRATEFUL

Years have gone by since then and our spiritual paradise has become richer. Not all who have been at Bethel have remained faithful in their service. Some lost their sense of gratitude; they no longer appreciated the things that God had given them. This has been a lesson to me to be grateful for the service I am given to perform. Also, there are others, some serving here at Bethel longer than I have, still faithful and appreciative of their privileges—and from these too I learn, for they are a source of much encouragement.

The time came when our headquarters at Craven Terrace in London became too cramped. We needed to ‘lengthen our tent cords.’ (Isa. 54:2) A suitable location near good transport facilities, yet away from the city, was needed. But what a location we obtained! Actually in the green belt, yet having an extension of the London Underground quite near. Here, near the old Mill Hill village, we have our new home—dignified and set in beautiful surroundings. It is like a paradise. My, but what a hive of activity; and our modern printing press turns out the magazines by the thousands. Cause for gratitude indeed!

Now we have the additional pleasure of the Kingdom Ministry School in our home. We enjoy having the brothers from the districts and the circuits and the congregations with us, enlarging our family and bringing many blessings to us, even as they receive many.

I am a little older than I was in that wonderful Kingdom year of 1914 when the truth reached my heart and enriched it; older, too, than when I embraced the full-time preaching work in 1922. But somehow I don’t feel old. I am still able to work the day through with the younger brothers, who show me much kindness, and for this I am very grateful.

From the department where I work I can see the old Miehle press I started with, still turning out work. If it can still work, why shouldn’t I? The psalmist’s words still echo in my mind: “What shall I repay to Jehovah for all his benefits to me?” I am sure that there is still much I can repay, and I want to do it—with gratitude.

Christians Should Witness

“Under God, every Christian should be on the witnessing team. Already in the fourth century the noted church father Jerome declared: ‘Baptism is the ordination of the laity.’ More recently Dr. John R. Mott wrote: ‘The great periods of the church have been those when the lay people have taken their place in the ministry of the church. . . . All have been called to witness for Christ. More than 235 passages in the Bible lay this responsibility squarely on the shoulders of the faithful.”—The Lutheran Witness, October 20, 1959.

Spirituality and the Modern Synagogue

“JEWS Hear Calls for Spirituality.” So read the headline of an article reporting on a convention of Conservative rabbis being held at Kiamisha Lake, New York. It went on to tell how Dr. S. Greenberg, vice-chancellor of the Jewish Theological Seminary of America, called for a rebirth of the prayer book and the synagogue to overcome the “spiritually sterile impasse” of Jewish secular groups, such as Zionism, in the United States.—New York Times, April 26, 1961.

Earlier in the year two spokesmen for modern Judaism, in addresses at the Theodor Herzl Institute in New York city, expressed themselves in a similar vein. The one spoke out against the trend toward secularization of the synagogue and the other discussed the lack of spirituality on the part of many rabbis.

What is the basic cause for these conditions and trends? Of course, to understand the problem it is necessary first to have some knowledge of the institution of the synagogue, its organization, place and form of worship. Apart from the Jews themselves, comparatively few know anything about the synagogue. As a recent issue of the United Synagogue Review aptly put it: “Judaism has frequently been called the least known religion.”

Basically, the synagogue is a democratic institution. It sprang up as a folk school in religion. Thus a plaque in the lobby of New York city’s leading Reform Synagogue reads: “The aim of the Free Synagogue is to reassert the democratic ideal of Israel, to democratize anew the spirit and form alike of the present-day synagogue.—S. S. Wise.” A synagogue group elects its own officers, its president and board of directors, its own rabbi and its own hazzan or cantor. The cantor may be a layman or professional, part time or full time, providing he is familiar with the Hebrew liturgy used by the particular congregation and has an acceptable voice.

Most synagogues have a day school in connection with them for teaching children the Hebrew language and Hebrew customs on Sundays and after school hours. And more and more synagogues are establishing parochial schools for their youth. Many synagogues also have recreational centers, for sports, dancing, massage and suchlike activities.

Large synagogues usually have a “Little Synagogue,” which is used when smaller groups meet, as at weddings and for summer services. The smaller synagogue is every bit as complete as the larger one.

Most synagogues belong to a federation of the particular branch of Judaism to which they subscribe: Orthodox, Conservative (a little less orthodox) and Reform (unorthodox); the federation exercises a measure of supervision and a degree of discipline. There is, however, more concern over practices than over beliefs.

THE SYNAGOGUE ITSELF

Orthodox synagogues are so constructed that they face east, toward Jerusalem. In the front is the compartment on or in the wall housing the Torah scrolls, even as in Solomon’s temple the ark of the covenant contained the books of the law. Before the compartment shines the “Eternal Light,” in imitation of the Shekinah, the supernatural light that shone above the mercy seat of the ark of the covenant in the Most Holy or innermost part of the temple and which represented Jehovah God’s presence. Invariably displayed are the two tablets on which are inscribed the Ten Commandments. In front also is a platform and speaker’s stand, flanked by honorary seats facing the synagogue.—Deut. 31:26.

Additionally there is a stand for the one directing the prayers and those reading from the Torah or Law. In synagogues using the German or Ashkenazic ritual and liturgy based on the Babylonian Talmud this stand is toward the front. In the Spanish-Portuguese or Sephardic form of worship based on the Babylonian Talmud this stand is more or less in the center of the synagogue. The purpose of this is to make it easier for those in the audience to take part in the reading as well as to hear better what is said.

Another fixture of the synagogue that calls to mind the temple worship is the lampstand with its seven arms and lights.

As in the temple of Herod there was a court for the women, so in Orthodox synagogues there is a separate section for them, in large synagogues this being the upper balcony. As a result of this segregation comparatively few women are on hand for the sabbath morning worship; in one large synagogue only a handful of women were seen, compared with several hundred men and boys. In the Reform synagogue, which more often is called a temple, there is no such segregation. In most Conservative synagogues it is neglected, although held to in principle. The same, more or less, is true of such customs as wearing a hat and donning a prayer shawl at synagogue worship.

FORM OF WORSHIP

In times past, one’s belonging to the synagogue was not voluntary. Because of social pressure a Jew had no choice; he either belonged to the synagogue or was a man without a country. Thus in Germany in years gone by Jewish students in high school were taught by a rabbi employed by the government and they had no choice in the matter. Being Jews, they had to study under him and make passing grades in their Jewish religion.

In modern times, and especially in Western lands, belonging to a synagogue is voluntary, and some Jews even belong to more than one synagogue, an Orthodox and a Reform, for reasons best known to them. In keeping with its being called a “shul” or school, its overseer is called rabbi, meaning a teacher. Even two who began to follow Jesus said to him: “Rabbi, (which means, when translated, Teacher,) where are you staying?” Yes, Jesus’ disciples recognized him as their Rabbi or Teacher, but he limited this title to himself.—John 1:38; Matt. 23:7, 8.

Foremost in synagogue worship is the regular sabbath service, which in a Sephardic Orthodox synagogue may last from eight to twelve in the morning, or four hours. It consists of long prayers, readings from the Psalms, chanting of the creed, the Shema; readings from the Torah, the Law; and the Prophets, the Haftorah; and a sermon. Except for the sermon, which is in the vernacular tongue, everything is in Hebrew and sung or chanted. Most of the singing and chanting is done by the cantor, with regular responses of varying length by the worshipers. At intervals a trained choir, whose services are paid for, sings, assisted by children’s voices. Organ music is a part of the worship in Conservative and Reform synagogues but not in Orthodox. Thus there is singing by the cantor or hazzan, by the worshipers and by the choir. Interestingly, it appears that music played no small role in the temple worship, as can be seen from the frequent references to singers in connection with it, from First Kings through the book of Nehemiah.

It is also the custom to have a daily synagogue service in the morning and in the evening, about a half-hour long, consisting of prayers and the recitation of the creed or Shema. On Mondays and Thursdays the Torah is also read. This custom was instituted, it is said, because in ancient times these were the market days and so Jews came to town and were able to attend the synagogue. According to others, however, the reason for reading the Law on these days was so that no Jew would ever go three days without hearing the Law.

In addition to such regular features of synagogue worship there are certain feast days, some very solemn, others very joyous. The two solemn or high holy days, “Days of Awe,” are the New Year or Rosh Hashana and the Day of Atonement, or Yom Kippur. These mark the beginning and the end of a period known as the “The Ten Days of Penitence.” Each of these two days has its own added features, such as the blowing of the Shophar horn on New Year’s Day. In a truly Orthodox synagogue services are continuous from morning to night on the Day of Atonement, and the devout Jew is expected to remain in the synagogue all day, listening and fasting, after the manner of ancient Jews. The especially pious also observe a number of other fasts.

Among the joyous occasions celebrated at the synagogue are the three annual feasts: Pesach or Passover, Shabuoth or Pentecost, and Sukkoth or the Festival of Tabernacles, all of which were originally commanded by Moses. Two feasts added since his day are Purim and Hanukkah, the former commemorating the victory of the Jews in the days of Mordecai and Queen Esther, the latter celebrating the rededication of the temple in the time of the Maccabees.—John 10:22.

The synagogue is also the place for naming a baby girl, although not as part of a regular sabbath service. However, the ceremony by which a Jewish boy at the age of thirteen is recognized as a “son of duty or the law,” known as the Bar Mitzvah, is a part thereof. On this sabbath he is called up to do part of the Scripture reading for the day, make comments and express his appreciation. The Bar Mitzvah ceremony has given way to the confirmation ceremony in Reform synagogues, as they do not give the male a preferred position, and so they confirm girls as well as boys.

Funerals are not conducted at a synagogue, but weddings are. Collections are not taken, although special offerings may be made. The worship is financed by membership dues and voluntary offerings. In Orthodox synagogues men keep on their hats as a gesture of respect and upon entering the synagogue for morning worship also don a shawl, being given one by the attendant if they do not have their own. In all such matters the Reform synagogue worship resembles more the Protestant church service than the Orthodox Jewish, with the Conservative in between.

CONDUCIVE TO SPIRITUALITY?

Does all this form of worship tend toward spirituality? One thing that definitely tends toward a lack of spirituality is the rabbi-laity division that is becoming more and more pronounced in synagogue worship, the worshiper taking less and less active part, and becoming ever less informed. This is especially true of the younger generation.

A second weakness is the adulation given to the Torah scrolls. “There is no more sacred object than the Torah scroll,” we are told. Ritual accompanies its removal from the ark and its return, and it is considered a great honor to be permitted to carry it. It is wrapped in highly decorated velvet cloth and has ornate end pieces. But how enlightening is all this? Does it help one to understand and appreciate its contents?

Instead of giving the scroll itself so much attention, would it not be better to stress its laws? For example, are those in attendance guilty of looking to other gods, to the United Nations or other political organizations instead of to the God of the Bible for guidance and help? Are children obedient and submissive? The Law condemns murder, but does not engaging in Gentile war violate that command? What about the rest of the commandments: You must not steal, commit adultery, bear false witness and covet? Surely by learning to obey such commandments the Torah would be held in more honor than merely by a ritual.

Most serious of all is the lack of faith in the Torah as the inspired Word of God, handed to Moses by the Creator. More and more, Judaism in all its branches is taking a liberal view regarding the Torah as the work of men and having only tradition to support it. Human tradition is like a broken cistern that can hold no water.—Jer. 2:13.

Each Jew should be familiar with his Hebrew Scriptures. He should not rest his faith solely on his rabbi. In times past the prophets denounced the religious leaders for having misled the people and they urged them to pay attention to the Word of God. The Hebrew Scriptures point to deliverance by the Messiah. Every Jew who takes his worship seriously should be well acquainted with the prophecies that tell about the Messiah. He should know where they are found and what they say. He should give personal consideration to those who history says have been hailed as their Messiah and know for a certainty whether any of them met the Scriptural requirements. God’s purposes will not fail, but many, for lack of spirituality, will fail to receive God’s blessings.

Traditional Danger

“To follow imperfect, uncertain, or corrupted traditions, in order to avoid erring in our own judgment, is but to exchange one danger for another.”—Richard Whately, archbishop of Dublin.

“I am well satisfied that if you let in but one little finger of tradition, you will have in the whole monster—horns and tail and all.”—Thomas Arnold, nineteenth-century educator.

“Paradise” Book Helps People See Truth

RETIRED PREACHER AWAKES

Two of Jehovah’s witnesses were calling from house to house in Texas when they found a retired minister. He had been a Methodist minister for three years and a Baptist minister for two years. After several back-calls he subscribed for The Watchtower and Awake! A little later he took the book From Paradise Lost to Paradise Regained. The chapter “The Falling Away from the True Belief” particularly did something to him: It opened his eyes of understanding as to Satan’s organization. With a clear vision also of Jehovah’s organization, he dedicated himself to Jehovah God at the Houston district assembly. Now, at the age of seventy, he is no longer “retired” but is busy preaching the Kingdom good news, even hoping to be a pioneer.

RETRIEVED AND READ

While a man was helping a neighbor woman in California clean up her garage, he observed that among the items in the trash can was the Paradise book. He asked the woman if he could read it, since it had a beautiful cover and he liked to read. He started reading and kept reading till he finished at three o’clock in the morning. That same day he wanted to find one of Jehovah’s witnesses but did not know where to look. Three days later, however, one of Jehovah’s witnesses called at his door. He had some home Bible studies, went to meetings and was baptized at the San Francisco district assembly.

READING IN SHIFTS

While out in the door-to-door ministry during the Milwaukee district assembly, one of Jehovah’s witnesses met a man who had recently been in the hospital. He told the Witness that his room partner in the hospital had been reading the Paradise book. He had asked to read it also, but his room partner was so absorbed in the book that he kept on reading till late at night. So that he could also read the Paradise book this man told the Witness that he tried to get his sleep early in order to read the book while his room partner was asleep. He asked the Witness if she could possibly get him this book. Later that day the Witness returned with a copy, and the man said: “You may come back if you care to, but I know how busy you people are; and I would be willing to study with my own seven-year-old son to save you the trouble.”

AT SCHOOL

In Texas the teacher asked the pupils of one class to make an oral report for the next day on a book. A girl, one of Jehovah’s witnesses, went home and made a report on the Paradise book. The next day she gave her report in class. As this young Witness gave her report, she showed the class the colorful illustrations in the book. Though the other students had taken five to ten minutes for their reports, the Witness took forty-five minutes. This was because she was asked so many questions and it took time to give the answers. Afterward the teacher and ten classmates asked for a copy of the Paradise book. The next week the Witness started a Bible study with one of these classmates.

IN ISOLATED TERRITORY

A man in Texas came home from work one evening and was told by his wife that she was unhappy. When asked why, she explained that neither of them were doing anything to build themselves up spiritually. The husband decided that they should start attending church. About two months later a car group of Witnesses from Houston worked the isolated territory in which this family lived. A Paradise book was placed with the lady. Later, when the husband came home from work, he picked up the book and began reading it. After supper he went back into the living room to read again, continuing for three hours. Then he looked up and asked his wife: “Is there any place near here that we could assemble with the people who are teaching the things in this book? I made a mistake in joining the church where we have been going.” His wife told him she did not know but would find out. This led to their visiting a Kingdom Hall. At the end of the meeting the lady approached one of the Witnesses, asking: “Is there anyone here that could come to our home and help us to learn something about the Bible?” A Witness arranged to visit their home and conduct a home Bible study; an average of fifteen persons attended this study. Seven of these persons attended the United Worshipers Assembly in Houston, Texas.

Questions From Readers

● When, in Genesis 1:30, God says: “To every wild beast of the earth and to every flying creature of the heavens and to everything moving upon the earth in which there is life as a soul I have given all green vegetation for food,” are we to understand that this absolutely excludes the idea that any animals ate meat at that time or before that? And on this basis are we to conclude that all animals will be vegetarian in the new world? How, then, can we account for the meat-eating birds, insects, reptiles and other animals with their poisonous fangs, hunting prowess, and so forth, apparently given them at creation and admirably equipping them as meat eaters?

Genesis 1:30, as just quoted, does not say that God had given “all green vegetation for food” to the wild beasts, the flying creatures and everything moving upon the earth in addition to what meat or flesh they could catch by hunting. The verse just ahead tells us that God said to Adam and Eve: “Here I have given to you all vegetation bearing seed which is on the surface of the whole earth and every tree on which there is the fruit of a tree bearing seed. To you let it serve as food.” (Gen. 1:29) We do not understand this to mean that Adam and Eve could eat animals that lived on grass and other vegetation, and that in eating such animals minus their blood Adam and Eve were eating vegetation indirectly, inasmuch as, to begin with, the animals ate the vegetation and then Adam and Eve ate the animals that lived on such vegetation to convert it into flesh. No! But it is evident that God set the perfect man and woman on a vegetarian diet, without suggesting even dairy products.

First after the flood God specified in so many words that Noah and his family and their descendants could eat bloodless meat or flesh. This indicates that God-fearing men like Abel, Enoch and Noah and his family had not lived on animal and bird flesh prior to the flood. What the ungodly men lived on till the flood we do not know. Abel, Enoch and Noah and his family did not reason in a roundabout manner and violate the Edenic dietary law that God stated to Adam and Eve in Eden, in Genesis 1:29, 30.

Of course, the Bible says a lot about zoology, but the Bible is no exhaustive treatise on all zoological matters. It therefore leaves in a lower or secondary position the discussing of details about the lower animal creation. It fixes first attention on Jehovah’s superior earthly creature, man, and specializes on that. Hence the facts about wild beasts, domestic beasts, flying creatures and insects are spoken of only incidentally, or in illustrations.

So, if the Bible itself does not give any answer to these questions about those creatures lower than man, it does not mean that there is no answer to the questions that is consistent with the Bible. It simply means that we are not to preoccupy ourselves with such questions. One big fact we must remember: that we humans are living and all these birds, insects and other animals are living in a system of things that has obtained since Jehovah God legalized man’s eating animal flesh minus its blood. Accordingly, if man has been eating animal flesh and insects for four thousand three hundred years and has teeth that can be adapted to eating such solid food as flesh, it is not strange that birds, insects and other animals should be also living on flesh that they hunt for and catch.

As to the preflood situation on the diet of man and animals, we may take the situation in Noah’s ark as an illustration. Under God’s instructions Noah and his family were to take into the ark wild beasts, domestic animals, flying creatures and birds, two each (male and female) of the unclean kind, and seven each of the clean kind. Besides this, Noah was to take into the ark every sort of food that is eaten to “serve as food for you and for them.” (Gen. 6:19-22) Now Noah had no deepfreeze unit nor any refrigeration installation to preserve processed flesh foods in the ark. The seven sheep, seven bulls and cows, seven goats, two horses, two pigs, and so forth, that Noah took into the ark would hardly have been enough flesh food for the two lions, two tigers and two of the other wild flesh-eating beasts of today to live on in the ark during the flood. Noah was not instructed to carry on a slaughterhouse in the ark to feed the wild beasts with flesh foods. Nor was he told to enmesh tremendous quantities of flying or creeping insects to provide fresh food for the creatures today devouring insects.

Noah came out of the ark the following year with not less wild beasts, domestic animals, flying and creeping creatures and birds than he took into the ark. It is possible that he had more when he came out, due to the breeding of these lower creatures. Well, then, on what did every living thing in the ark live during those twelve lunar months and ten days, or one full solar year, shut up inside the ark? Certainly not on flesh, nor on one another.

All those creatures, human and subhuman, were able to live without flesh for a whole year inside the ark. Why could not every one of those living creatures live without flesh during 1,656 years prior to the Flood, or back to the time when God specified to Adam and Eve in Eden what he had given to earthly creatures as food? And if they could subsist that way during the first 1,656 years of man’s existence, why can they not return to that way of life and keep living that way during the thousand-year reign of Jesus Christ and then for eternity? During his millennial reign Jesus Christ as King will have control over animal, bird, insect and fish life as well as over human life. He will regulate it according to God’s will and for the good of all creature life on earth. So we should not think only of the post-Flood side of the question and leave out of consideration the pre-Flood side of the question as if it had no bearing. Let us take the Bible position on the subject and not over-occupy ourselves with merely incidental matters to the extent of wasting time, thought and peace of heart and possibly stumbling ourselves into the camp of the godless evolutionists.

● How can girls guard against temptation in this sex-crazy world?

When a girl reaches the age of puberty or physical maturity, her body has developed in the matter of sex more than in the mind. Young folks like to be together, first in groups, later in twos. If they have not been instructed by their parents in regard to the matter of sex, a boy and a girl are likely to become too familiar and to engage in what is popularly called petting or necking. They may practice this for a time and see no bad results. However, the time will come when there will be great danger in such actions. Why? In answer to this question, we can learn about nature and sex from the bovine family of mammals, both wild and tame.

Large herds of cattle, both male and female, wander over the plains feeding. Ordinarily the male or bull would not think of approaching the female or cow for sex purposes. If he did approach he would not receive a hearty welcome, but, rather, he might be gored by the cow’s horns. There is no petting or sex relations between bull and cow permitted, because the female is not in physical condition to breed. The bull seems to understand this and keeps in his own place. However, when the female of the species is in condition to breed, she makes the matter known. If there is no male in the herd, she will go elsewhere looking for one and she is unsettled until she finds one and then is bred by him. Now she is contented, and the end result is a calf. In this connection it is interesting to note that the male animal has no season at which he is not willing to engage in the breeding act.

If we humans would take a lesson from these creatures, we would learn something of importance in matters of sex, as to its purpose and the results of its operation.

As with a cow, when a young girl who has reached her puberty is in physical condition to conceive and become pregnant, her sex emotions are greatly aroused. If she has association with a boy, she is inclined to think that it is the sweetness of the “boy friend” that causes this delightful and new feeling, and so she becomes infatuated with him. If the boy friend should become sexually aroused and lets her know it and then she yields her body to the advances of the amorous boy friend, she is likely to become pregnant as a result of just one sex experience of this kind.

Some persons foolishly think that they know when it is “safe” to have sex contact with those of the opposite sex and thus avoid becoming pregnant, but this is a serious mistake on their part. Even learned biologists do not know exactly when there is no danger of conception for a woman. This is due to certain irregularities in the case of various females.

When the ovum, that is, the egg cell from which the baby starts, is at large or is on its way from the woman’s ovary through her Fallopian tube to the uterus, there it remains for an uncertain length of time, which varies greatly with different females. Then is the time when conception can take place if the ovum is met by a male life sperm. During that same time the female is sexually aroused and is ready for the sex act that at this time will cause a baby to result. This bearing of children is the sole privilege of the female. In fact, this is one main reason for creating the female of the human species.

There are cases where a girl became pregnant as a result of one sex interview with a boy. What a price for a girl, a virgin, to pay for a few minutes of satisfied sex emotions! When persons start in this dangerous and sinful course, they find it hard to overcome future temptations. When a young, unmarried girl falls to the temptation, the price she pays is terrible: shame, sorrow, a ruined reputation, endless troubles, with the danger of being disfellowshiped from a congregation if the girl is a dedicated member. It is high time for girls to understand the make-up of their bodies and its functions, especially with regard to sex. Then if a girl understandingly takes care of herself while the ovum is at large and is causing sex disturbance and cravings within her, she will be able to act like a true lady of irreproachable morals at all times. She will avoid the violating of her virginity and the shame and conscience-stricken state due to this; and wisely she will direct her young life so as to end up in the position of a clean, happy wife and mother of legitimate children, journeying to the new world of righteousness, where there will be no sex problems amid a sex-crazy population.

Announcements

FIELD MINISTRY

The Bible says, “The one listening to me, he will reside in security and be undisturbed from dread of calamity.” (Prov. 1:33) The need for such security is great, and it is available to those who listen to the wisdom of God. To listen to God, one must have his Word the Bible to read and study in understandable language. Therefore, during this month Jehovah’s witnesses will make a special effort to offer to all persons the modern-English New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures, the complete Bible in one volume, for $1 a copy.

WATCH TOWER PUBLICATIONS INDEX

Keep the valuable information contained in The Watchtower at your fingertips. In the months to come you will find many opportunities to refer back to points discussed in the pages of this journal during 1961. To facilitate this, the Watch Tower Society has prepared the Watch Tower Publications Index for 1961, containing thorough listings of both subjects and scriptures discussed in all English-language publications printed for public distribution during the past year. Covered in the Index are the twenty-four issues of The Watchtower for 1961, also the twenty-four issues of its companion journal Awake!, the book “Let Your Name Be Sanctified,” the booklets Blood, Medicine and the Law of God and When All Nations Unite Under God’s Kingdom, the Yearbook of Jehovah’s Witnesses for both 1961 and 1962, and appendix material in the New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures, 1961 edition. This Index is available for 10c.

1962 YEARBOOK AND CALENDAR

Interest in Jehovah’s witnesses and their world-wide preaching work is constantly on the increase. This was particularly emphasized in the news reports of the United Worshipers District Assemblies this summer. Therefore the 1962 Yearbook of Jehovah’s Witnesses takes on a new significance as it brings you an informative and heart warming report of this modern-day example of preaching as Jesus did it. Get your copy for only 50c. Send too for the beautiful 1962 calendar. It is only 25c.

“WATCHTOWER” STUDIES FOR THE WEEKS

January 21: Courageous in the Face of the World’s Armageddon, ¶1-28. Page 741.

January 28: Courageous in the Face of the World’s Armageddon, ¶29-38, and Courage Under Divine Protection. Page 748.