The Watchtower — September 15, 1962

Courage like David’s for Modern Times

THESE are days fraught with peril. Well were they foretold as “critical times hard to deal with.” To deal with them adequately takes courage. And what is courage? Courage has been defined as “mental or moral strength enabling one to venture, persevere, and withstand danger, fear, or difficulty firmly and resolutely.”—2 Tim. 3:1.

It takes courage to be honest in business when one’s competitors are dishonest. It takes courage to admit having made a mistake. And in particular does it take courage these days to swim against the current of public opinion with its mad chase for pleasure and wealth and with its low moral standards. To keep on doing what you know is right, to have the determination to live by one’s convictions in spite of what others may do—well, it takes courage.

There is precious little of this kind of courage in the world today. There is, however, much of what often passes for courage, namely, physical recklessness. But there is a big difference between the two. Courage is based on principles; physical daring is based on physical strength, on emotion or even on ulterior motives. A prize fighter has physical daring; he is in there fighting for fame or money. Many a soldier in combat, inflamed with the passion to kill, or confident because of superior military equipment, may display daring. But courage is not based on superior physical power. It is mental or moral strength that comes from devotion to principles.

The Bible gives us many examples of the kind of courage we need in these modern times. Among the more noteworthy of these is the example of courage furnished by David the giant killer. When a mere lad entrusted with his father’s flocks he manifested remarkable courage in protecting them from the wild beasts. As he himself told King Saul of it: “Your servant became a shepherd of his father among the flock, and there came a lion, and also a bear, and each carried off a sheep from the drove. And I went out after it and struck it down and made the rescue from its mouth. When it began rising against me, I grabbed hold of its beard and struck it down and put it to death. Both the lion and the bear your servant struck down.” Certainly that took courage!—1 Sam. 17:34-36.

While still a lad, some seventeen years or so of age, David faced Goliath, the giant nine feet nine inches high, who for days had immobilized the entire army of Israel through fear and who kept taunting them day after day. David with rare courage approached this giant calmly and fearlessly, hurling defiance at him and setting the issue squarely before him: “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 people of all the earth will know that there exists a God belonging to Israel.” Then, with a shepherd’s sling and one of the smoothest stones he could find, he ran toward the giant, slung his sling and with a stone from it felled the giant. What a display of courage that was!—1 Sam. 17:45-50.

David continued as a man of courage. In going out to battle he so inspired the men with him that the women of Israel were able to sing: “Saul has struck down his thousands, and David his tens of thousands.” As a result of this King Saul became insanely jealous and envious of David and repeatedly sought to kill him, causing David eventually to flee to the cave of Adullam, where his brothers and the entire house of his father as well as hundreds of men who had grievances joined him. There, though hunted like a wild beast by King Saul and his soldiers, David kept up his courage. Of this he gave repeated proof, as when on two occasions he had Saul within his power and yet refused to take the life of the man who was determined to take David’s own life.—1 Sam. 18:7; 22:1, 2.

Upon becoming king, David extended the boundaries of his nation to their God-ordained limits by means of military conquests. And that this fighting was a matter of courage can be seen from the fact that repeatedly David inquired of Jehovah as to his moving into battle, showing that he was being guided by the divine will and not merely love of conquest.

Wherein lay the secret of David’s courage? First of all, it lay with his great faith in Jehovah: “Jehovah, who delivered me from the paw of the lion and from the paw of the bear, he it is who will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine.” Contributing also to his courage was his love of righteousness: “The wicked do flee when there is no pursuer, but the righteous are like a young lion that is confident.” And further, love for Jehovah God and for his own people gave David courage: “There is no fear in love, but perfect love throws fear outside, because fear exercises a restraint.” Yes, faith in Jehovah God, love of righteousness and love of God and neighbor may be said to account for David’s remarkable courage.—1 Sam. 17:37; Prov. 28:1; 1 John 4:18.

To have courage like David’s for these modern times requires the same three basic qualities. Faith in Jehovah God will give you the courage of your convictions: that you do not need to imitate the dishonest practices of your competitors in order to provide for yourself properly. Love of righteousness will give you the strength to admit a mistake. And love for God and your fellowman will give you the courage to swim against the tide and seek to do what will please God and what is for the highest welfare of those with whom you associate, even though they may not always appreciate that fact.

To acquire this Davidlike courage for modern times you will need to study God’s Word. It alone can give you the needed faith, the essential appreciation of what is righteous and love of God and neighbor.

Light on Life’s Roadway from the Psalms

“Your word is a lamp to my foot, and a light to my roadway.”—Ps. 119:105

LIGHT is happifying, especially the sunlight. This is even more true of what might be called spiritual light, light for the mind and the heart. Without this light men are blind, lost, do not know which way to go, for it simply is not in man himself to direct his own steps. Proof of this is seen in the sorry state of affairs in which men find themselves today. Look where we may, we find confusion, strife and wickedness due to selfishness and conflicting theories as to what is best for man in science and art, in religion and politics.—Jer. 10:23.

Who is to blame for this sorry state of affairs? Not the Creator, for he has provided man with spiritual light, with an infallible guide, his Word, the Bible. Concerning it the one man whose life more greatly affected mankind for good than any other one that ever lived, Jesus Christ, once said, “Your word is truth.” It is, as a psalmist long ago expressed it, ‘a lamp for our feet, a light for our roadway.’—John 17:17; Ps. 119:105.

This Word of God is known as The Book and itself consists of sixty-six books. The term “books” here is used in a special sense, since twenty-eight of these are less than six pages in length, and the five shortest average less than a page each of the ordinary Bible. The largest as well as perhaps the best known among the sixty-six books is the book of Psalms, it accounting for about 8 percent of the entire inspired Scriptures.

In the original Hebrew this book was known as T^e·hil·limʹ, meaning “Praises.” There are 150 of these psalms, almost half of which are credited to David, the shepherd king. Written over a period of more than a thousand years, they do indeed have as their theme the praises of Jehovah God. In them their writers praise Jehovah God, call on others to praise him and give many, many reasons for doing so. Interwoven in among these many psalms is what might be termed an epitome of the Hebrew Scriptures, for in them much is found to throw light on life’s roadway in the way of Bible history, Bible prophecy, Bible doctrine and exhortation to right conduct.

THE LIGHT OF BIBLE HISTORY

Information concerning God’s mighty deeds and his dealings with human creatures in times past throws light on life’s roadway. It shows us how we came to be here and what God expects of us, and this the book of Psalms certainly does, covering events from the time of creation on to sometime after the Jews returned from Babylon in 537 B.C.

To begin with, the Psalms eloquently and repeatedly call attention to the fact that Jehovah God created all things: “When I see your heavens, the works of your fingers, the moon and the stars that you have prepared, what is mortal man?” (8:3, 4) “Before the mountains themselves were born, or you proceeded to bring forth as with labor pains the earth and the productive land, even from time indefinite to time indefinite you are God.” (90:2) “Know that Jehovah is God. It is he that has made us, and not we ourselves.” (100:3) “I shall laud you because in a fear-inspiring way I am wonderfully made.”—139:14.

Among the earliest instances of God’s dealings with his creatures that the book of Psalms records is that of Jehovah concluding a covenant with Abraham and his making sworn statements to Isaac and Jacob. In fulfillment of these promises Jehovah God “brought out his people with exultation” to the land promised.—105:9, 10, 42-44.

Bringing his people Israel into their Promised Land involved many mighty acts, and these the book of Psalms also features. It tells that Jehovah sent ten plagues upon Egypt, that he split the Red Sea so that they could pass over and that he miraculously sustained them in the wilderness, providing bread, meat and water. Noted also are the striking victories God gained for his people in the days of Barak and Gideon.—Psalms 78, 83, 105, 106, 135.

Then too, the Psalms record that it was necessary for Jehovah God repeatedly to chastise his people, even to the point of bringing them into Babylonian captivity: “By the rivers of Babylon—there we sat down. We also wept when we remembered Zion.” (137:1-9) And they record also Israel’s return from captivity: “When Jehovah gathered back the captive ones of Zion, we became like those who were dreaming. . . . At that time they proceeded to say among the nations: ‘Jehovah has done a great thing in what he has done with them.’” (126:1, 2) Yes, by recording how Jehovah God dealt with his people in times past and why, the book of Psalms throws much light on life’s roadway, for thereby it acquaints us with God’s attributes and principles.

THE LIGHT OF PROPHECY

The book of Psalms also serves as a light on life’s roadway by reason of the prophecies it contains, many of which have already been fulfilled, giving confidence that the rest will also have fulfillment. Among the many prophecies of the Psalms regarding Jesus Christ that the Christian Greek Scriptures show had fulfillment were that he would come in dedication to do God’s will (40:8; Heb. 10:7-9); that zeal for God’s house would eat him up, as it were (69:9; John 2:17); that he would be betrayed by an intimate (41:9; John 13:18); that lots would be cast for his garments (22:18; John 19:24); that not a bone of him would be broken (34:20; John 19:36) and that God would not leave his soul in Sheol or Hades.—16:10; Acts 2:29-31.

Further, the book of Psalms foretold Jesus’ exaltation to the right hand of his Father, there to await God’s due time for him to go into action against God’s enemies and for God to subject all things under Christ’s feet.—110:1, 2; 8:6; Heb. 1:13; 2:8.

The fulfillment of such prophecies instills faith that the prophecies in the Psalms regarding the blessings of the Messianic reign of the King’s Son, Jesus Christ, will also have fulfillment: “Let him judge the afflicted ones of the people, let him save the sons of the poor one, and let him crush the defrauder. He will descend like the rain upon the mown grass, like copious showers that wet the earth. In his days the righteous one will sprout, and the abundance of peace until the moon is no more. There will come to be plenty of grain on the earth; on the top of the mountains there will be an overflow.”—72:4, 6, 7, 16.

BIBLE TEACHINGS

The book of Psalms also throws light on life’s roadway by the various Bible teachings it touches on. Fittingly it stresses the role of Jehovah God as the Universal Sovereign. Though ‘the rulers of earth mass together as one against Jehovah and his anointed one, Jehovah himself will laugh at them in derision, speak to them in his anger and disturb them in hot displeasure.’ (2:1, 2, 4, 5) He will put them in their place, answering the psalmists’ prayers: “Do arise, O Jehovah! Let not mortal man prove superior in strength. Let the nations be judged before your face. Do put fear into them, O Jehovah, that the nations may know that they are but mortal men.” “Fill their faces with dishonor, that people may search for your name, O Jehovah. That people may know that you, whose name is Jehovah, you alone are the Most High over all the earth.”—9:19, 20; 83:16, 18.

The means by which Jehovah will vindicate his sovereignty is his kingdom, another teaching made prominent in the Psalms, even as in the rest of the Scriptures. In fact, there are a number of psalms that might be termed “Kingdom psalms,” because their theme is God’s Kingdom rule.—2, 45, 72, 96, 97, 99, 110.

In the Psalms is also found the basic Bible doctrine of the unconsciousness of man in death. “O Jehovah, do rescue my soul . . . For in death there is no mention of you; in Sheol who will laud you?” “The dead themselves do not praise Jah, nor do any going down into silence.” “Do not put your trust in . . . man, to whom no salvation belongs. His spirit goes out, he goes back to his ground; in that day his thoughts do perish.”—6:4, 5; 115:17; 146:3, 4.

Then again, the Psalms enlighten us regarding man’s need of a redeemer: “Those who . . . keep boasting about the abundance of their riches, not one of them can by any means redeem even a brother, nor give to God a ransom for him.” Fittingly the psalmist asks: “What able-bodied man is there alive who will not see death? Can he provide escape for his soul from the hand of Sheol?”—49:6, 7; 89:48.

But because God has provided a ransom there is hope that the dead will return from Sheol (gravedom), will be resurrected, a hope that the Psalms show is not limited to only Jesus Christ: “You will not leave my soul in Sheol.” “God himself will redeem my soul from the hand of Sheol.” “You have brought up my soul from Sheol.” “You have delivered my soul out of Sheol.”—16:10; 49:15; 30:3; 86:13.

ADMONITION REGARDING CONDUCT

In a most practical way the inspired Psalms throw light on life’s roadway by their admonitions. Rightly they draw attention away from the creature and to the Creator. Hundreds of times they exhort us to bless, extol, laud, praise and thank Jehovah God; thirteen times the command to praise Jehovah appears in Psalm 150 alone. Yes, “Praise Jah, you people, for it is good to make melody to our God; for it is pleasant—praise is fitting.” Why? Because “Jehovah is gracious and merciful, slow to anger and great in loving-kindness,” and because of “his works of mightiness.”—147:1; 145:8; 150:2.

Throughout the Psalms we are also admonished to put our trust in Jehovah. “Trust in him at all times,” for is he not “the Trust of all the borders of the earth”? So, “you that fear Jehovah, trust in Jehovah.” “It is better to take refuge in Jehovah than to trust in earthling man.”—62:8; 65:5; 115:11; 118:8.

Wisely the Psalms show us the need to concern ourselves with the law of God, with the other parts of God’s Word as well: “Happy is the man” whose “delight is in the law of Jehovah, and in his law he reads in an undertone day and night.” “I shall certainly meditate on all your activity, and with your dealings I will concern myself.” “How I do love your law! All day long it is my concern.”—1:1, 2; 77:12; 119:97.

While such admonition, either direct or indirect, either explicit or implied, is to be expected in the book of the Psalms, what is often overlooked is that it is also filled with wise admonition as to daily conduct. For example, time and again its writers show that they appreciate that “bad associations spoil useful habits.” (1 Cor. 15:33) “I have hated the congregation of evildoers, and with the wicked ones I do not sit.” “In his eyes anyone contemptible is certainly rejected.” “Anyone of haughty eyes and of arrogant heart, him I cannot endure.” “Get away from me, you evildoers, that I may observe the commandments of my God.”—26:5; 15:4; 101:5; 119:115.

The Psalms also throw light on life’s roadway by their wise counsel as to what should be our attitude when we see the wicked prosper: “Be agitated, but do not sin. Have your say in your heart, upon your bed, and keep silent. Sacrifice the sacrifices of righteousness, and trust in Jehovah.” “Do not show yourself heated up because of the evildoers. Do not be envious of those doing unrighteousness. For evildoers themselves will be cut off, but those hoping in Jehovah are the ones that will possess the earth.”—4:4, 5; 37:1, 9.

Then again, the Psalms enlighten by showing what God approves and what he disapproves: “O Jehovah, who will be a guest in your tent? . . . He who is walking faultlessly and practicing righteousness and speaking the truth in his heart. He has not slandered with his tongue. To his companion he has done nothing bad, and no reproach has he taken up against his intimate acquaintance. . . . A bribe against the innocent one he has not taken.” (15:1-3, 5) “Safeguard your tongue against what is bad, and your lips against speaking deception. Turn away from what is bad, and do what is good; seek to find peace, and pursue it.” “Lovers of Jehovah, hate what is bad.”—34:13, 14; 97:10.

We have further light on our roadway by the very things the psalmist prays for: “Mistakes—who can discern? From concealed sins pronounce me innocent. Also from presumptuous acts hold your servant back; do not let them dominate me. In that case I shall be complete, and I shall have remained innocent from much transgression. Let the sayings of my mouth and the meditation of my heart become pleasurable before you, O Jehovah.” (19:12-14) “O Jehovah, my heart has not been haughty, nor have my eyes been lofty.” “Do set a guard, O Jehovah, for my mouth; do set a watch over the door of my lips. Should the righteous one strike me, it would be a loving-kindness; and should he reprove me, it would be oil upon the head, which my head would not want to refuse.”—131:1; 141:3, 5.

Truly, today there is need of light, spiritual light for guidance on life’s roadway. Such light certainly is to be found in the book of Psalms, along with other books of the Bible, for the Psalms contain much history, many prophecies, right doctrine and an abundance of fine admonition in addition to its many songs of praise to and expressions of trust in Jehovah God. “Make melody to God, make melody. Make melody to our King, make melody. For God is King of all the earth; make melody, acting with discretion.”—47:6, 7.

Part 1

“The Word”—Who Is He? According to John

1, 2. In his life account of Jesus Christ, whom does John first introduce to us, and so what do readers naturally want to know?

“IN THE beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God.” That is how the first two verses of the apostle John’s account of the life of Jesus Christ read, according to the Roman Catholic Douay Version and the King James Version of the Holy Bible.

² Thus at the very beginning of John’s account the very first one to be introduced to us is someone who is called “the Word.” After having such a sudden introduction to the Word, any reader would naturally want to know who or what this Word was. In fact, since the second century of our Common Era there has been a big debate as to the identity of this Word. And particularly since the fourth century there has been much religious persecution poured out upon the minority group in this debate.

3. In what language did John write his account, and why do we have difficulty in understanding John’s opening statements?

³ The apostle John wrote his account in the common Greek of the first century. Such Greek was then an international language. Those for whom John wrote could speak and read Greek. So they knew what he meant by those opening statements, or, at least, they could get to know by reading all the rest of John’s account in its original Greek. But, when it comes to translating those opening statements into other languages, say modern English, there arises a difficulty in translating them right in order to bring out the exact meaning.

4. Do all modern translations read like the old accepted versions of the Bible, and what examples do we have to illustrate whether?

⁴ Of course, the Bible reader who uses the generally accepted versions or translations will at once say: “Why, there should be no difficulty about knowing who the Word is. It plainly says that the Word is God; and God is God.” But, in answer, we must say that not all our newer modern translations by Greek scholars read that way, to say just that. For instance, take the following examples: The New English Bible, issued in March of 1961, says: “And what God was, the Word was.” The Greek word translated “Word” is logós; and so Dr. James Moffatt’s New Translation of the Bible (1922) reads: “The Logos was divine.” The Complete Bible—An American Translation (Smith-Goodspeed) reads: “The Word was divine.” So does Hugh J. Schonfield’s The Authentic New Testament. Other readings (by Germans) are: By Boehmer: “It was tightly bound up with God, yes, itself of divine being.”a By Stage: “The Word was itself of divine being.”b By Menge: “And God (=of divine being) the Word was.”c By Pfaefflin: “And was of divine weightiness.”d And by Thimme: “And God of a sort the Word was.”e

5. What is the most controversial translation of all, as shown by two examples, and why may the translation by Professor Torrey be placed alongside the above?

⁵ But most controversial of all is the following reading of John 1:1, 2: “The Word was in the beginning, and the Word was with God, and the Word was a god. This Word was in the beginning with God.” This reading is found in The New Testament in An Improved Version, published in London, England, in 1808.f Similar is the reading by a former Roman Catholic priest: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was a god. This was with God in the beginning. Everything came into being through the Word, and without it nothing created sprang into existence.” (John 1:1-3)g Alongside that reading with its much-debated expression “a god” may be placed the reading found in The Four Gospels—A New Translation, by Professor Charles Cutler Torrey, second edition of 1947, namely: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was god. When he was in the beginning with God all things were created through him; without him came no created thing into being.” (John 1:1-3) Note that what the Word is said to be is spelled without a capital initial letter, namely, “god.”

6. With what differing expressions are we confronted in the above-quoted translations, and so now whose identity do we have to find out?

⁶ So in the above-quoted Bible translations we are confronted with the expressions “God,” “divine,” “God of a sort,” “god,” and “a god.” Men who teach a triune God, a Trinity, strongly object to the translation “a god.” They say, among other things, that it means to believe in polytheism. Or they call it Unitarianism or Arianism. The Trinity is taught throughout those parts of Christendom found in Europe, the Americas and Australia, where the great majority of the 4,000,000 readers of The Watchtower live. Readers in the other parts, in Asia and Africa, come in contact with the teaching of the Trinity through the missionaries of Christendom. It becomes plain, in view of this, that we have to make sure of not only who the Word or Logos is but also who God himself is.

7, 8. What does Christendom say that God is, but by applying this equivalent term to John 1:1, 2 what tangle do we get into?

⁷ Christendom believes that the fundamental doctrine of her teachings is the Trinity. By Trinity she means a triune or three-in-one God. That means a God in three Persons, namely, “God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Ghost.” Since this is said to be, not three Gods, but merely “one God in three Persons,” then the term God must mean the Trinity; and the Trinity and God must be interchangeable terms. On this basis let us quote John 1:1, 2 and use the equivalent term for God, and let us see how it reads:

⁸ “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with the Trinity, and the Word was the Trinity. The same was in the beginning with the Trinity.” But how could such a thing be? If the Word was himself a Person and he was with the Trinity, then there would be four Persons. But the Word is said by the trinitarians to be the Second Person of the Trinity, namely, “God the Son.”h But even then, how could John say that the Word, as God the Son, was the Trinity made up of three Persons? How could one Person be three?

9. If it is claimed that “God” means God the Father, then into what difficulty do we get?

⁹ However, let the trinitarians say that in John 1:1 God means just the First Person of the Trinity, namely, “God the Father,” and so the Word was with God the Father in the beginning. On the basis of this definition of God, how could it be said that the Word, who they say is “God the Son,” is “God the Father”? And where does their “God the Holy Ghost” enter into the picture? If God is a Trinity, was not the Word with “God the Holy Ghost” as well as with “God the Father” in the beginning?

10. What if it is said that “God” means the other two Persons of the Trinity, and what attempted explanation does not explain it?

¹⁰ Suppose, now, they say that, in John 1:1, 2, God means the other two Persons of the Trinity, so that in the beginning the Word was with God the Father and God the Holy Ghost. In this case we come to this difficulty, namely, that, by being God, the Word was God the Father and God the Holy Ghost, the other two Persons of the Trinity. Thus the Word, or “God the Son,” the Second Person of the Trinity, is said to be also the First Person and the Third Person of the Trinity. It does not solve the difficulty to say that the Word was the same as God the Father and was equal to God the Father but still was not God the Father. If this were so, it must follow that the Word was the same as God the Holy Ghost and was equal to God the Holy Ghost but still was not God the Holy Ghost.

11, 12. According to the Trinity, how much of God would the Word be, and what question do we have to ask about the personality of God?

¹¹ And yet the trinitarians teach that the God of John 1:1, 2 is only one God, not three Gods! So is the Word only one-third of God?

¹² Since we cannot scientifically calculate that 1 God (the Father) + 1 God (the Son) + 1 God (the Holy Ghost) = 1 God, then we must calculate that 1/3 God (the Father) + 1/3 God (the Son) + 1/3 God (the Holy Ghost) = 3/3 God, or 1 God. Furthermore, we would have to conclude that the term “God” in John 1:1, 2 changes its personality, or that “God” changes his personality in one sentence. Does he?

13, 14. (a) What does the Trinity teaching do for the meaning of John 1:1, 2? (b) What was John’s state of mind on the Word and on God?

¹³ Are readers of The Watchtower now confused? Doubtlessly so! Any trying to reason out the Trinity teaching leads to confusion of mind. So the Trinity teaching confuses the meaning of John 1:1, 2; it does not simplify it or make it clear or easily understandable.

¹⁴ Certainly the matter was not confused in the mind of the apostle John when he wrote those words in the common Greek of nineteen centuries ago for international Christian readers. As John opened up his life account of Jesus Christ he was in no confusion of mind as to who the Word or Logos was and as to who God was.

15. Whom must we let help us out on this puzzle of identities, and what writings can we draw upon for an explanatory enlargement of things?

¹⁵ We must therefore let the apostle John himself identify to us who the Word was and explain who God was. This is what John does in the rest of his life account of Jesus Christ and also in his other inspired writings. Besides the so-called Gospel of John, he wrote three letters or epistles and also Revelation or Apocalypse. By many John is understood to have written first the book Revelation, then his three letters and finally his Gospel. Says Biblical Archaeology, by G. Ernest Wright (1957), page 238: “John is usually connected with Ephesus in Asia Minor and is dated about A.D. 90 by most scholars.” For the Gospel of John The Watchtower accepts the date A.D. 98. So for an explanatory enlargement of things written in the Gospel of John we can draw upon his earlier writings, Revelation or Apocalypse and his three letters or epistles.

16. In doing this, with what aim do we start out, and why?

¹⁶ This we shall now do. We do so with a desire to reach the same conclusion about who the Word or Logos was that the apostle John does. For us to do so means our gaining a happy everlasting life in God’s righteous new world now so near at hand. John, with all the firsthand knowledge and associations that he had, had a reason or basis for reaching an absolutely right conclusion. He wanted us as his readers to reach a right conclusion. So he honestly and faithfully presented the facts in his five different writings, that he might help us to come to the same conclusion as he did. Thus, as we accept John’s witness as true, we start out with a right aim, one that will lead to an endless blessing for us.

WHAT ABOUT 1 JOHN 5:7, DY; AV?

17. What will Trinity believers, when not up-to-date, ask, and what must be said about the verse to which they point in their Bible?

¹⁷ If Trinity believers are not up-to-date, they will ask: Does not John himself teach the Trinity, namely, that three are one? In their copy of the Bible they will point to 1 John 5:7 and read: “And there are three who give testimony in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost. And these three are one.” That is what 1 John 5:7 says in the Roman Catholic Douay Version and similarly in the Authorized or King James Version. But the words “in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost. And these three are one” do not appear in the oldest Greek manuscripts. Hence the most modern Bible translations omit those words, the Bible edition by the Roman Catholic Episcopal Committee of the Confraternity of Christian Doctrine putting the words in brackets along with an explanatory footnote, as follows: “The Holy See reserves to itself the right to pass finally on the origin of the present reading.”

18. What confession does Cardinal Maius make about 1 John 5:7 in his edition of the Vatican Manuscript No. 1209?

¹⁸ The oldest Greek manuscript of the Christian Scriptures is, in the judgment of many, the Vatican Manuscript No. 1209, written in the first half of the fourth century. In our own copy of this Greek manuscript as edited by Cardinal Angelus Maius in 1859, he inserted the Greek words into the Manuscript copy but added a sign of a footnote at the end of the preceding verse. The footnote is in Latin and, translated, reads:

From here on in the most ancient Vatican codex, which we reproduce in this edition, the reading is as follows: “For there are three that give testimony, the spirit, and the water, and the blood: and the three are for one. If the testimony” etc. There is therefore lacking the celebrated testimony of John concerning the divine three persons, which fact was already long known to critics.i

19. What does Dr. E. J. Goodspeed say about 1 John 5:7, and so on what basis can we not proceed in examining the identities of the Word and of God?

¹⁹ Says Dr. Edgar J. Goodspeed, the Bible translator, on 1 John 5:7: “This verse has not been found in Greek in any manuscript in or out of the New Testament earlier than the thirteenth century. It does not appear in any Greek manuscript of 1 John before the fifteenth century, when one cursive has it; one from the sixteenth also contains the reading. These are the only Greek manuscripts of the New Testament in which it has ever been found. But it occurs in no ancient Greek manuscript or Greek Christian writer or in any of the oriental versions. . . . It is universally discredited by Greek scholars and editors of the Greek text of the New Testament.”j So in our examination of John’s writings as to who the Word and God are, we cannot proceed on the basis of what the spurious words in 1 John 5:7 say.

HUMAN BIRTH ON EARTH

20, 21. (a) When did the Word leave God’s personal presence, and what questions arise as to how the Word did it? (b) How does John say the Word did this, and what does this mean?

²⁰ There came a time when the Word or Logos left the personal presence of God with whom he had been in the beginning. This was when he came down to earth and mingled with men. Says John 1:10, 11: “He was in the world, and the world came into existence through him, but the world did not know him. He came to his own home, but his own people did not take him in.” When coming down, did the Word do the same as heavenly angels had done, still stay a spirit person but merely clothe himself with a visible human body and operate through this body in mingling with men? Or did the Word become a mixture, an intermixture of that which is spirit and that which is flesh? Rather than guess at it, let us allow John to tell us:

²¹ “So the Word became flesh and resided among us, and we had a view of his glory, a glory such as belongs to an only-begotten son from a father; and he was full of undeserved kindness and truth.” (John 1:14) Other Bible translations agree that the Word “became flesh.” (RS; AT; Ro; New English) This is far different from saying that he clothed himself with flesh as in a materialization or as in an incarnation. It means he became what man was—flesh and blood—that he might be one of us humans. Search John’s writings as much as we can, yet we do not once find that John says that the Word became a God-Man, that is, a combination of God and man.

22. As to his humanity, what did the Word call himself, and what did his becoming flesh really mean?

²² The expression God-Man is an invention of trinitarians and is found nowhere in the entire Bible. What the Word called himself when on earth was “the Son of man,” something very different from God-Man. When he first met the Jew named Nathanael, he said to this Jew: “You will see heaven opened up and the angels of God ascending and descending to the Son of man.” (John 1:51) To the Jewish Pharisee Nicodemus he said: “Just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so the Son of man must be lifted up, that everyone believing in him may have everlasting life.” (John 3:14, 15) In John’s writings the expression “Son of man” is applied to the Word sixteen times. This indicates that it was by a human birth on earth that he “became flesh.” His becoming flesh meant nothing less than that he ceased to be a spirit person.

23, 24. By becoming flesh, what did the Word become to man’s senses, and in what words does John report on his own experience with the Word?

²³ By becoming flesh the Word, who was formerly an invisible spirit, became visible, hearable, feelable to men on earth. Men of flesh could thus have direct contact with him. The apostle John reports to us his own experience with the Word when he existed in the flesh, that John might share that blessing with us. John says:

²⁴ “That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have viewed attentively and our hands felt, concerning the word of life, (yes, the life was made manifest, and we have seen and are bearing witness and reporting to you the everlasting life which was with the Father and was made manifest to us,) that which we have seen and heard we are reporting also to you, that you too may be having a sharing with us. Furthermore, this sharing of ours is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ.”—1 John 1:1-3.

25, 26. (a) How does John refer to the earthly caretaker father of Jesus? (b) How does John, after becoming her caretaker, speak of Jesus’ human mother?

²⁵ John brings to our attention the human mother of this Son of man, but never by her personal name. John never speaks of her firstborn Son as the “Son of Mary.” John mentions his human caretaker father by name right near the beginning of the account, when Philip said to Nathanael: “We have found the one of whom Moses, in the Law, and the Prophets wrote, Jesus, the son of Joseph, from Nazareth.” (John 1:45) Later, after this Jesus fed five thousand men miraculously from five loaves and two fishes, the Jews who tried to belittle Jesus’ background said: “Is this not Jesus the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know?” (John 6:42) So, whereas John speaks of other women by their name Mary, he leaves the mother of Jesus nameless. Whenever she is spoken of it is never as “Mary,” or “Mother,” but always as “Woman.”

²⁶ For example, in his last reported words to her, when Jesus was dying like a criminal on a stake at Golgotha as his earthly mother and his beloved disciple John stood looking on, he “said to his mother: ‘Woman, see! your son!’ Next he said to the disciple: ‘See! Your mother!’ And from that hour on the disciple took her to his own home.” (John 19:25-27) How long John took care of Mary the mother of Jesus he does not tell us; but he never tries to glorify her or beatify her, even name her, for being Jesus’ mother.

27, 28. Whose mother do trinitarians claim that Mary became, and to what question does this lead?

²⁷ However, according to Trinity teachers, when “the Word became flesh,” Mary became the mother of God. But since they say God is a Trinity, then the Jewish virgin Mary became the mother of merely a third of God, not “the mother of God.” She became the mother of only one Person of God, the Person that is put second in the formula “God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Ghost.” So Mary was merely the mother of “God the Son”; she was not the mother of “God the Father,” neither the mother of “God the Holy Ghost.”

²⁸ But if Roman Catholics and others insist that Mary was “the mother of God,” then we are compelled to ask, Who was the father of God? If God had a mother, who was his father? Thus we see again how the Trinity teaching leads to the ridiculous.

29. In Revelation 4:8, 11, how does John describe the Lord God, and what question arises as to Mary’s having him in her womb?

²⁹ Furthermore, the apostle John saw in a vision certain heavenly creatures saying to God on his throne: “Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, who was, and who is, and who is to come,” and others saying: “Thou art worthy, O Lord our God, to receive glory, and honour, and power: because thou hast created all things; and for thy will they were, and have been created.” (Rev. 4:8, 11, Dy) The Bible is plain in saying that the heaven of heavens could not contain the Lord God Almighty; and King Solomon’s stupendous temple in Jerusalem could not contain the only Lord God Almighty. How, then, could such a microscopic thing as the egg cell in Mary’s womb contain God, for her to become “the mother of God”? So let us be careful of what we teach so that we do not belittle God.

HIS BIRTHPLACE

30, 31. (a) What question arose among the Jews about this Jesus who apparently came from Nazareth in Galilee? (b) At Jesus’ triumphal ride into Jerusalem how did the great crowd hint at his birthplace?

³⁰ Among the Jews a debate arose as to the birthplace of Jesus who came from Nazareth in the province of Galilee. The Jews in general did not know that he had been born in Bethlehem. Hence John tells us: “Others were saying: ‘This is the Christ.’ But some were saying: ‘The Christ is not actually coming out of Galilee, is he? Has not the Scripture said that the Christ is coming from the offspring of David, and from Bethlehem the village where David used to be?’ Therefore a division over him developed among the crowd.” (John 7:41-43) However, when Jesus made his triumphal ride into Jerusalem in the spring of A.D. 33, there were many Jews who were ready to hail him as God’s promised King, the Son of King David of Bethlehem. John 12:12-15 tells us:

³¹ “The next day the great crowd that had come to the festival, on hearing that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem, took the branches of palm trees and went out to meet him. And they began to shout: ‘Save, we pray you! Blessed is he that comes in Jehovah’s name, even the king of Israel!’ But when Jesus had found a young ass, he sat on it, just as it is written [in Zechariah 9:9]: ‘Have no fear, daughter of Zion. Look! Your king is coming, seated upon an ass’s colt.’”—See Psalm 118:25, 26.

32. (a) How did Nathanael indicate Jesus’ royal connections? (b) In Revelation how did Jesus indicate his royal connections, and how will his kingdom compare with that of his forefather?

³² Yet, three years before that, when Jesus began his public career in the land of Israel, Nathanael recognized Jesus’ connections with King David, saying to him: “Rabbi, you are the Son of God, you are King of Israel.” (John 1:49) And in the vision to the apostle John the royal connections of Jesus are emphasized a number of times. In Revelation 3:7 Jesus himself says: “These are the things he says who is holy, who is true, who has the key of David.” In Revelation 5:5 an elderly person says of Jesus: “Look! The Lion that is of the tribe of Judah, the root of David, has conquered.” Finally, in Revelation 22:16, we read: “I, Jesus, sent my angel to bear witness to you people of these things for the congregations. I am the root and the offspring of David, and the bright morning star.” Although Jesus on earth spoke of himself as “Jesus the Nazarene,” he had really been born in King David’s native town of Bethlehem but had merely been brought up in Nazareth. (John 18:5-7; 19:19) There Joseph his caretaker came to be looked on as his father. His forefather David had an earthly kingdom; but Jesus’ heavenly kingdom is something grander and more beneficial to all mankind.

33, 34. (a) How do the clergymen argue that the wording of John 1:14 implies an incarnation of the Word? (b) How does Peter’s use of the key word, together with uses of it elsewhere, argue it?

³³ The one who was the Word or Logos spent only a brief time among men, less than thirty-five years from the time of his conception in the womb of the Jewish virgin who descended from King David. As An American Translation renders John 1:14: “So the Word became flesh and blood and lived for a while among us.” Clergymen who believe in an incarnation and a God-Man call notice to the fact that the Greek verb translated “lived for a while” has its root in the word meaning “tent” or “tabernacle.” In fact, that is the way that Dr. Robert Young renders the expression, translating it: “And the Word became flesh, and did tabernacle among us.” Since campers dwell in a tent, the clergymen argue that Jesus was still a spirit person and was merely tabernacling in a fleshly body and so was an incarnation, a God-Man. However, the apostle Peter used a like expression about himself, saying: “I think it meet as long as I am in this tabernacle, to stir you up by putting you in remembrance: being assured that the laying away of this my tabernacle is at hand.” (2 Pet. 1:13, 14, Dy) Certainly by such words Peter did not mean he himself was an incarnation. Peter meant he was merely going to reside for a while longer on earth as a fleshly creature.

³⁴ The same Greek word used in John 1:14 is used also of other persons who are not incarnations, in Revelation 12:12; 13:6. So the words of John 1:14 do not support the incarnation theory.

[Footnotes]

BÍBLIA SAGRADA, a translation from the original Hebrew, Aramaic and Greek by means of the French version of the Benedictine Monks of Maredsous (Belgium) by the Catholic Bible Center of São Paulo, 2nd edition, 1960, says the same thing as the above, and reads: “Cap. 1:—1. O Verbo: a palavra substancial e eterna do Pai, que constitui a segunda pessoa da Santissima Trindade.”

Part 2

Prehuman Existence

35, 36. (a) To what existence does John 1:1 refer, and what man first called attention to that? (b) How was Jesus a man coming after John and yet existing before him, and to what did John’s calling him the Lamb of God refer?

THE apostle John opened up his account, saying: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God.” By that he did not mean the beginning of Jesus’ public ministry on earth nineteen centuries ago. He meant that the Word had a prehuman existence, long before he “became flesh” on earth. John makes that point clear all through his account. More than a month after Jesus was baptized in the Jordan River, John the Baptist called attention to Jesus and to his previous life, saying: “See, the Lamb of God that takes away the sin of the world! This is the one about whom I said, Behind me there comes a man who has advanced in front of me, because he existed before me. Even I did not know him, but the reason why I came baptizing in water was that he might be made manifest to Israel.”—John 1:29-31.

³⁶ John the Baptist was born about six months before the Word “became flesh” or was born as the Son of the Jewish virgin. For that reason John said with reference to Jesus: “Behind me there comes a man.” But now, because of what happened to Jesus after John baptized him, John could call Jesus “a man who has advanced in front of me.” So when John said of Jesus: “He existed before me,” John must have meant that Jesus had a prehuman existence. John also pointed out that Jesus was to become a sacrifice to God, for in ancient Israel lambs were daily sacrificed to God by the Jewish priests. In order for Jesus as the “Lamb of God” to take away the sin of the world, his blood would have to flow in sacrifice, for without the shedding of blood of an innocent victim there was no forgiveness of sins obtainable from God.—Heb. 9:22.

37. Why was Jesus able to speak to Nicodemus about heavenly things?

³⁷ On a number of occasions Jesus himself testified to his own existence in heaven before becoming flesh on earth. Thus Jesus was able to speak about “heavenly things,” because, as Jesus said to the Jewish ruler Nicodemus, “no man has ascended into heaven but he that descended from heaven, the Son of man.”—John 3:12, 13.

38. How, in speaking about manna, did Jesus testify to his previous existence in heaven?

³⁸ Jesus spoke of himself as symbolical manna from heaven and said to the Jews: “Moses did not give you the bread from heaven, but my Father does give you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is the one who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.” “I have come down from heaven to do, not my will, but the will of him that sent me.” “I am the living bread that came down from heaven; if anyone eats of this bread he will live forever; and, for a fact, the bread that I shall give is my flesh in behalf of the life of the world.” “He also that feeds on me, even that one will live because of me. This is the bread that came down from heaven.” Many Jews murmured at such sayings of Jesus, and so he surprised them still more when he said: “Does this stumble you? What, therefore, if you should behold the Son of man ascending to where he was before?”—John 6:32, 33, 38, 51, 57, 58, 61, 62.

39, 40. (a) On another occasion Jesus described himself as being from where? (b) Hence what could Jesus ask of God in prayer?

³⁹ Hence, later, when Jesus spoke to the unbelieving Jews about going away, he said: “You are from the realms below; I am from the realms above. You are from this world; I am not from this world.” “If God were your Father, you would love me, for from God I came forth and am here. Neither have I come of my own initiative at all, but that One sent me forth.” (John 8:23, 42) For that reason Jesus could pray to God and say in the hearing of his faithful apostles:

⁴⁰ “Father, glorify me alongside yourself with the glory that I had alongside you before the world [of mankind] was. Also, I am no longer in the world, but they are in the world and I am coming to you. Holy Father, watch over them on account of your own name which you have given me, in order that they may be one just as we are. . . . I wish that, where I am, they also may be with me, in order to behold my glory that you have given me, because you loved me before the founding of the world. “—John 17:5, 11, 24.

41. Of what, therefore, did the One from above speak and bear witness?

⁴¹ Up in heaven Jesus, as the Word or Logos, had had glory alongside his Father and had been loved by the Father. This was before the world was. The apostle John heard those words of Jesus, and so John could correctly make this comment: “He that comes from above is over all others. He that is from the earth is from the earth and speaks of things of the earth. He that comes from heaven is over all others. What he has seen and heard, of this he bears witness.” (John 3:31, 32) There is no question that Jesus had a prehuman life. As the Word or Logos he had been with God “in the beginning.”

WHAT BELIEVING JEWS CALLED HIM

42. In whom did the twelve believe before Jesus called them to be apostles, and so what questions arise about this?

⁴² When on earth, Jesus Christ called and chose twelve apostles. These were all Jews by birth and were brought up in the “Jews’ religion” or in Judaism, to believe in only one God, Jehovah. (Gal. 1:13, 14, AV) Did Jesus as their Teacher tell them about a Trinity? Did he convert them to believe in a Trinity in which he himself was the Second Person or “God the Son”? Did the apostles and other disciples get to regarding Jesus as “God the Son” and calling him such? What did they call him? Let us see what John reports.

43, 44. After John baptized Jesus, to what fact did John bear witness about him?

⁴³ After Jesus was baptized, John the Baptist introduced his own disciples to Jesus. John was sent by God to baptize, and God told John what to look for. So how did John refer to the baptized Jesus when introducing Jesus to the Jews who were John’s own disciples?

⁴⁴ For an answer let us read John 1:32-34: “John also bore witness, saying: ‘I viewed the spirit coming down as a dove out of heaven, and it remained upon him. Even I did not know him, but the very One who sent me to baptize in water said to me, “Whoever it is upon whom you see the spirit coming down and remaining, this is the one that baptizes in holy spirit.” And I have seen it, and I have borne witness that this one is the Son of God.’”

45. Whom did John expect to come to him for baptism, and what, therefore, did John disclaim to be?

⁴⁵ John the Baptist himself was filled with holy spirit right from his mother’s womb. Did John bear witness that Jesus was Jehovah or that Jesus was God? No! John the Baptist told his own disciples: “This one is the Son of God.” John said, not “God the Son,” but, “the Son of God,” an expression meaning something altogether different. John did not expect Jehovah God to come to him to be baptized in water. John expected the one who was to become the Christ, the Messiah, or Anointed One, the one whom God would anoint with holy spirit. And so John did not let anyone think that he himself was Christ. He said to his disciples: “You yourselves bear me witness that I said, I am not the Christ, but, I have been sent forth in advance of that one. . . . That one must go on increasing, but I must go on decreasing.” (John 3:28-30) By what John saw he knew that Jesus was the Christ, God’s Anointed One.

46. After John turned his disciples over to Jesus, what shows whether they changed their minds as to who John said Jesus was?

⁴⁶ John the Baptist taught his disciples and he turned them over to Jesus Christ to follow him as the “Son of God.” Did these disciples change their minds about Jesus after hearing, observing and being with him? What did those disciples call him, from first to last? When Jesus first met Nathanael and amazed him by his foresight, “Nathanael answered him: ‘Rabbi, you are the Son of God, you are King of Israel.’” (John 1:49) In 1 John 4:15; 5:5, the apostle says: “Whoever makes the confession that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, God remains in union with such one and he in union with God.” “Who is the one that conquers the world but he who has faith that Jesus is the Son of God?” In 2 John 3 he speaks of “peace from God the Father and from Jesus Christ the Son of the Father.”

47. What did Martha say was her belief in Jesus, and what did his enemies say was the reason why Jesus deserved to die according to their law?

⁴⁷ Before resurrecting Lazarus, then four days dead, Jesus asked Martha the sister of Lazarus whether she believed what he had just said. In answer Martha said: “Yes, Lord; I have believed that you are the Christ the Son of God, the One coming into the world.” (John 11:27) Notable even is the testimony of Jesus’ bloodthirsty enemies. When the Roman governor was minded to shift the distasteful job of execution over to the Jews since he himself had found no fault in Jesus, the Jews answered the governor: “We have a law, and according to the law he ought to die, because he made himself God’s son.” (John 19:7) Thus John the Baptist, Jesus’ apostles, Lazarus’ sister Martha, and even the enemies all agreed in their witness that Jesus was “the Son of God.” Not God himself!

48, 49. (a) What comparison did John make as to turning over his disciples to Jesus joyfully? (b) Whom does the Bride expect to marry?

⁴⁸ When John the Baptist explained why he must decrease in regard to having disciples but Jesus must increase in the number of baptized followers, John pictured Jesus as a bridegroom. John said: “He that has the bride is the bridegroom. However, the friend of the bridegroom, when he stands and hears him, has a great deal of joy on account of the voice of the bridegroom. Therefore this joy of mine has been made full.” (John 3:29) John had much joy in turning over baptized disciples to Jesus Christ.

⁴⁹ Since Jesus is the Bridegroom, symbolically speaking, then the entire group of his baptized, anointed followers must be his Bride. Their hope is that of being united with the Lord Jesus Christ as their Bridegroom in heaven. They are not expecting to be married to God, which would be the case if God were a Trinity. Nor are they expecting to be married to a particular Person of such a Trinity, namely, to the Second Person of the Trinity, the so-called God the Son. They cannot imagine being married to a Trinity or even to a third part of this Trinity. The inspired Holy Scriptures do not teach such a thing, like someone marrying a Siamese twin!

50. Whom does the Bridegroom marry, and how many does Revelation show?

⁵⁰ The Bridegroom Jesus Christ marries, not the whole human family of billions, but only a limited number taken from the human family. In the Revelation the apostle John had a vision of the Bridegroom and Bride together on the heavenly location of government, called Mount Zion, as foreshadowed by Mount Zion in Jerusalem where King David ruled. John says: “And I saw, and, look! the Lamb standing upon the Mount Zion, and with him a hundred and forty-four thousand having his name and the name of his Father written on their foreheads. . . . And they are singing as if a new song before the throne and before the four living creatures and the older persons; and no one was able to master that song but the hundred and forty-four thousand, who have been bought from the earth. These are the ones that did not defile themselves with women; in fact, they are virgins. These are the ones that keep following the Lamb no matter where he goes. These were bought from among mankind as a first fruits to God and to the Lamb.”—Rev. 14:1-4.

51. How is the Bride class virgin, marked in the forehead and bought?

⁵¹ The Bride class are thus pictured as a virgin class, who have not defiled themselves with persons or organizations guilty of spiritual adultery by becoming friends with this immoral world. They have their Bridegroom’s name and that of his Father upon their foreheads, but no other name, no name of any third Person of a Trinity called God the Holy Ghost. This Bride class of 144,000 members has been taken out from the earth for heaven, yes, taken out from among flesh-and-blood mankind for eternal life as spirit creatures. How? By being bought through the sacrifice of their Bridegroom, “the Lamb of God that takes away the sin of the world.”

52. How is the Bride class like a “first fruits to God,” and what does this fact mean for mankind in general?

⁵² They are like a first fruits that the Israelites took out of their harvest crops and offered up to Jehovah God through his temple servants, as on the day of Pentecost when the high priest presented to God two leavened loaves of wheat bread “as first ripe fruits to Jehovah.” (Lev. 23:15-20) Since the Bride class are only the “first fruits to God and to the Lamb,” there must be a much larger number of mankind who will be saved to eternal life, not in heaven, but on earth. Why? Because the Lamb of God takes away the “sin of the world” and not merely that of his Bride class.—John 1:29; 1 John 2:1, 2.

53, 54. According to Revelation 19:6-9, whose marriage is it, to whom does the Bride belong, and for whom is the marriage supper?

⁵³ The apostle John leaves us in no doubt as to whom the Bride class, the anointed Christian congregation, marries in heaven. In Revelation 19:6-9 John writes: “Then I heard what seemed to be the voice of a great multitude, like the sound of many waters and like the sound of mighty thunderpeals, crying, ‘Hallelujah! For the Lord our God the Almighty reigns. Let us rejoice and exult and give him the glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and his Bride has made herself ready; it was granted her to be clothed with fine linen, bright and pure’—for the fine linen is the righteous deeds of the saints. And the angel said to me, ‘Write this: Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb.’ And he said to me, ‘These are true words of God.’”—RS.

⁵⁴ The marriage is that of the Lamb of God, not the marriage of the Lord our God the Almighty. The Bride is the Bride of the Lamb of God, not the Bride of God the Almighty. The marriage supper is that of the Lamb of God; and the prophetic parables of Jesus indicate that it is his Father, the Lord our God the Almighty, who prepares the marriage supper for the Lamb, his Son.

55. Who does Revelation 19:11-16 identify the Lamb of God as being, and whose Bride do the 144,000 therefore become?

⁵⁵ A few verses later on, in Revelation 19:11-16, the apostle John identifies the Lamb of God as being the Word or Logos, for John sees the Lamb riding forth to battle against his Father’s enemies. John describes him, saying: “He is clad in a robe dipped in blood, and the name by which he is called is The Word of God. . . . On his robe and on his thigh he has a name inscribed, King of kings and Lord of lords.” (RS) Hence his 144,000 faithful followers become the Bride of the Word of God, not the Bride of God.

56, 57. In Revelation 21, between whom do we see a distinction made in connection with the Bride class, and how?

⁵⁶ The ones married are shown again in the further vision, which John describes, saying: “I saw also the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God and prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And there came one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls which were full of the seven last plagues, and he spoke with me and said: ‘Come here, I will show you the bride, the Lamb’s wife.’ So he carried me away in the power of the spirit to a great and lofty mountain, and he showed me the holy city Jerusalem coming down out of heaven from God and having the glory of God. . . . The wall of the city also had twelve foundation stones, and on them the twelve names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb. And I did not see a temple in it, for Jehovah God the Almighty is its temple, also the Lamb is. And the city has no need of the sun nor of the moon to shine upon it, for the glory of God lighted it up, and its lamp was the Lamb.”—Rev. 21:2, 9-11, 14, 22, 23.

⁵⁷ Always we are shown that there is a distinction made between the Lamb and the Lord our God the Almighty, and that it is to the Lamb that the Bride of 144,000 members is married. It is the Lamb’s wife that she becomes. If there were such a thing as the Trinity, then the 144,000 could not help marrying God in one of his Persons and thus becoming one with God. But the Bible does not teach this.

SELF-IDENTIFICATION

58. In his talk to Nicodemus, who did Jesus claim to be?

⁵⁸ For the benefit of the Bride class John the Baptist identified the Bridegroom as the Lamb of God. How, though, did the Bridegroom identify himself to his Bride class and to others? What relationship did he himself claim to have with God? Did he ever claim to be more than John the Baptist declared him to be, namely, God’s Son? In answer listen first to these much-loved words of Jesus Christ to Nicodemus: “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.”—John 3:16-18, AV.

59. After Jesus cured the man born blind, whom did the man confess believing Jesus to be?

⁵⁹ Jesus once cured a man blind from birth. According to a number of Bible versions, Jesus later said to him: “Dost thou believe on the Son of God?” The man answered: “Who is he, Lord, that I might believe on him?” Jesus replied: “Thou hast both seen him, and it is he that talketh with thee.” Jesus did not ask the man to believe that he, Jesus, was more than the Son of God. The man confessed to believing only that.—John 9:35-37, AV; Dy; AS; ED; Lamsa; Murdock.

60. Before raising Lazarus, who did he say was to be glorified, and thereafter who did Martha say she believed Jesus to be?

⁶⁰ Before going to the town of Bethany in behalf of his sick friend Lazarus, Jesus said to his apostles: “This sickness is not with death as its object, but is for the glory of God, in order that the Son of God may be glorified through it.” Before Jesus reached the tomb where Lazarus now lay dead, his sister Martha confessed to believing what Jesus claimed to be, as she said: “Yes, Lord; I have believed that you are the Christ the Son of God, the One coming into the world.”—John 11:4, 27.

61. In sending a message to the congregation in Thyatira, whom did Jesus speak of himself as being?

⁶¹ Even in heaven the glorified Jesus speaks of himself as the Son of God. In Revelation 2:18, when sending a message to the Christian congregation in the city of Thyatira, the glorious Jesus says to John: “To the angel of the congregation in Thyatira write: These are the things that the Son of God says, . . . And to him that conquers and observes my deeds down to the end I will give authority over the nations, and he shall shepherd the people with an iron rod so that they will be broken to pieces like clay vessels, the same as I have received from my Father.”—Rev. 2:18, 26, 27.

62. In prayer, in what relationship with God did Jesus speak of himself as being?

⁶² On the basis of such a relationship to God Jesus addressed himself to God as a son and prayed: “Father, the hour has come; glorify your son, that your son may glorify you, according as you have given him authority over all flesh, that, as regards the whole number whom you have given him, he may give them everlasting life. This means everlasting life, their taking in knowledge of you, the only true God, and of the one whom you sent forth, Jesus Christ.” (John 17:1-3) Thus Jesus did not claim to be “the only true God.”

63. Why did the Jews want to stone Jesus, and what did Jesus quote from the Psalms to show whether they were justified in doing so?

⁶³ In saying this, are we not forgetting John 10:31-39, according to which the Jews wanted to stone Jesus for saying: “I and the Father are one”? No, we are not forgetting. The Jews, who believed in the one God whose name is Jehovah, there wanted to stone Jesus. Why? Not because he taught such a thing as a Trinity and that he was one-third of it, but because he spoke of himself as the Son of God, the Son of their God Jehovah. Jesus said to them with their stones in their hands: “Many good works, from my Father, I have shown you; for which of them do you stone me?” The Jews replied: “It is for no good work that we stone you, but for blasphemy, because you, a man, make yourself god.” (Torrey) Jesus then referred the Jews to their own Holy Scriptures, to Psalm 82:6, and said: “Is it not written in your law, I have said, Ye are gods? If God said, that those to whom he was speaking were gods (and the scripture cannot be annulled), do you accuse of blasphemy him whom the Father consecrated and sent into the world, because I said, I am the Son of God? If I do not do the works of my Father, do not believe me; but if I do them, even if you believe not me, believe the works, that you may perceive and understand that the Father is in me, and I in the Father.”—Torrey.

64. (a) What did Jesus there argue that he himself was? (b) Who were the ones whom Psalm 82 addressed as “gods”?

⁶⁴ The very argument of Jesus here proves he did not claim to be God. Had he claimed to be God, then the Jews would have been right in stoning him for blasphemy. But Jesus argues that he claimed to be less than God. To prove this, Jesus quoted to them from Psalm 82, verses 1, 2, 6, 7 (AV) of which read: “God [Elohím] standeth in the congregation of the mighty; he judgeth among the gods [elohím]. How long will ye judge unjustly, and accept the persons of the wicked? . . . I have said, Ye are gods [elohím]; and all of you are children of the most High. But ye shall die like men, and fall like one of the princes.” In this psalm the Most High God speaks to the unjust judges on earth, mere men, and calls them “gods,” or elohím in the Hebrew, and he tells them to correct their legal practice. Because those judges fail of their duty, it becomes necessary for the Most High God to arise and judge the peoples of the earth.

65. Despite their being “gods,” what will happen to those judges and for whose death were such kind of Jewish gods responsible?

⁶⁵ Their being called “gods” will not save these judges; neither will their considering themselves to be “sons of the Most High” or sons of God. That gives them no immortality. They are still mortal and will die just like other men. They will fall in death just like other judicial princes on earth, and this by the execution of God’s judgment. God’s word was against them in adverse judgment. It was human gods like these, among the Jews, that caused Jesus to be put to death at the hands of the Romans.—Ex. 22:28, AV; Dy.

66, 67. What did Jesus not claim to be, and what did he not say to the Jews about his Father and himself?

⁶⁶ Jesus told those who wanted to stone him that he had not claimed to be God or a god, even though Psalm 82:6 had called some men, some Israelite judges, “gods.” Jesus had been speaking to the Jews about God as being his Father, which would mean that he, Jesus, was the Son of God. Jesus said to them: “No one will snatch them [my sheep] out of my hand. What my Father has given me is something greater than all other things, and no one can snatch them out of the hand of the Father. I and the Father are one.”

⁶⁷ After Jesus said that, his very argument that followed proved that he was not claiming to be God, nor was he saying that he and his heavenly Father were one God, a trinitarian God in which he and his Father were two Persons along with a third Person, “God the Holy Ghost.” Jesus did not say, I and the Father and the Holy Ghost are one. He mentioned no “Holy Ghost.”—John 10:28-30.

68. Using Psalm 82:6, how did Jesus prove that he did not claim to be God by saying: “I and the Father are one”?

⁶⁸ Jesus argued that his statement, “I and the Father are one,” did not mean claiming to be God. How so? Because Jesus told those Jews that he was calling himself less than God his Father. He told those Jews that their own law in Psalm 82:6 called the men against whom God’s word came in criticism “gods,” and that the Jews could not annul this scripture that called human judges by the title of “gods”; nor could they deny that this scripture said this, and they could not take this scripture out of the inspired Scriptures. And yet, when Jesus Christ, who performed so many wonderful good works among the Jews, spoke of God as his Father and spoke of himself as merely the Son of God, they said he blasphemed and were ready to stone him as a blasphemer. Still he was more than those men whom Psalm 82 had called “gods,” because he, Jesus, was the one whom the heavenly Father had sanctified and sent into the world. If it was not blasphemy for Asaph to compose a psalm calling human judges in Israel “gods,” then it was far less a blasphemy for Jesus to speak of himself as merely the Son of God and not as a god.—Psalm 82, superscription.

69. (a) In the material thus far from John’s writings what have we failed to find about Jesus Christ? (b) Why is the reader invited to join us in considering further material from John’s writings?

⁶⁹ Thus not once in all the above material from John’s writings have we found that Jesus Christ called himself God or let others speak of him as God. But ah! the trinitarians will say, not all the pertinent texts in John’s writings have yet been considered, Scripture texts that will surely prove that Jesus did speak of himself as God and let himself be addressed as God, and these will prove that the many Bible translations are correct in rendering John 1:1 to read: “And the Word [or, the Logos] was God.” So in our next three parts of this article on “The Word” we shall deal with those texts. Let the reader join us in the consideration of them.

Sowing Seeds of Truth at School

GUEST SPEAKER

● A young witness of Jehovah in California recently told about an experience he had at a school. One day he met his former American Problems teacher. “Since part of the curriculum is to discuss the different religions in the community, he asked me if I would like to be a guest speaker for Jehovah’s witnesses in his classes. It was to consist of an hour in which I gave a thirty-minute talk about the work of Jehovah’s witnesses, followed by a question-and-answer period. After the talk, the teacher informed me of another teacher who was interested in my talking to his class also. Since he did not come to me, I went to him and offered myself as a speaker for Jehovah’s witnesses. He was very enthusiastic about this offer and we made the arrangements. In each class it was the same, a thirty-minute talk and a lively question period.

THE LOCKED GATE

● One of Jehovah’s witnesses in Texas writes this experience about the time she was a young girl in school: “We lived back in the woods on a farm, and since my father didn’t want people coming to our house, he kept the gate locked. But that locked gate didn’t keep the truth out! In grade school there were several Witness children who took an admirable stand for true worship in the war days; they seemed always to be so kind. Their conduct stood out in contrast to all others. And to this day I thank Jehovah that they witnessed to their playmates.

“One day a ten-year-old girl explained to me about the hope of living on earth forever; her words really seemed to have the ring of truth. All this made an impression on my mind, until finally when I was fifteen years old and my sister was thirteen years old, we both decided at the same time that this must be the truth and said: ‘Let’s become Jehovah’s witnesses.’ So we started studying, but Dad was furious!

“Since he hadn’t sent us to high school, we had no way of seeing those Witness children, and he would not let us go to their home; but they wrote us many letters, helping us. We subscribed for The Watchtower and Awake! and ordered many of the books from the Society. Because Dad forbade our going to the meetings or out in the service, we had our own meetings regularly at home, just the two of us, thereby building up much background knowledge. And we did incidental witnessing, mostly by mail.

“It was Dad’s plan to send us both to business school when I became eighteen; so with the hope of eventually getting away from home and to the meetings, we settled down to ‘bide our time’ for three years. Dad spent many hours, many days, trying to get us to turn from the course we had chosen, all to no avail. After leaving home to attend business school, we located a Kingdom Hall, began attending meetings, going in the service. Soon we were baptized. With every step of advancement we took, Dad put forth more frantic effort to get us to stop. About the last time he tried to get us to give it up was when I quit a good-paying job, took up part-time work and began pioneering. Now after 18 years, we are still grateful that those children witnessed to us at school, and that the truth reached us behind that locked gate!”

‘A Little One Became Thousands’

As told by W. R. Brown

INDEPENDENCE was coming to the British colonial territory of Nigeria in the fall of 1960. In preparation for that event, Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe, the governor general, remarked to his Council of Ministers: “Now all the heads of religion have been invited, what about the head or representative of Jehovah’s witnesses?” Some of the Council ministers, including clergymen, objected on the grounds that Jehovah’s witnesses abstain from politics and therefore did not help the government. To this Dr. Azikiwe, whom I had known for many years, replied: “If all the religious denominations were like Jehovah’s witnesses, we would have no murders, burglaries, delinquencies, prisoners and atomic bombs. Doors would not be locked day in and day out.” All the Council ministers kept silent. Then the governor concluded: “Invite Mr. Brown to represent Jehovah’s witnesses.”

That explains the cablegram I received in Trinidad late in 1959, inviting my wife and me to revisit Nigeria, all expenses paid. We gladly accepted. The following September, after stopovers in New York and London, we landed at Ikeja Airport in Nigeria, where an official greeted us. “That new Chevrolet is yours,” he said, “to take you anywhere you want to go in Nigeria until you leave. This man is your driver.” We drove to the governor’s residence, where Dr. Azikiwe met our car. He had arranged for us to take over their personal bedroom during our visit.

A few days later some high-ranking officials and their wives came to dinner. Among them were the queen’s representative, Lord Perth, and the ex-governor of Jamaica and Nigeria, Sir Arthur Richards. Dr. Azikiwe called us to the dining table where all were then seated except my wife and me. “I have known Mr. and Mrs. Brown for about thirty years,” said Dr. Azikiwe, “and they have added greatly to the spiritual upbuilding of our people in Nigeria. Therefore, Mr. Brown, take the head of the table and, Mrs. Brown, take the other end.”

Without a shadow of a doubt, the governor general of Nigeria appreciated our work as Jehovah’s witnesses. But I can remember the time when our work was unknown, not only in Nigeria, but also in the rest of West Africa. That was the reason Judge Rutherford, the president of the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society, had invited me and my little family to leave the Caribbean Islands and cross the Atlantic to the west coast of Africa. It was a pleasure to accept that assignment.

FIRST TRIP TO AFRICA

My wife, child and I arrived in Freetown, Sierra Leone, in April, 1923. We were not any government’s guests in those days. In fact, we did not know exactly where we would stay. I asked one of the natives, “Are there any hotels here?” He replied: “Two. A white man is in charge of one, a native lady in charge of the other. Do you see that three-story building up there? Go there and you will be accommodated.” And accommodated we were in a clean, cool room.

By newspaper and handbills I advertised a lecture series at the Wilberforce Memorial Hall. My first topic was “The Spirits in Prison—Who Are They? Why Are They There? And How Jesus Preached to Them.” The aroused city wanted to know where this man Brown came from and what he would say. The spacious hall was packed out, hundreds were turned away. About six clergymen with their garb on joined the people in applauding as point after point was made clear. The crowd went away satisfied with the explanation, and you can imagine my joy. The subject for next Sunday’s lecture had them thinking and talking. “Have you heard the latest?” they said. “You can go to hell and come back!”

That Sunday another capacity audience came and heard the discourse: “To Hell and Back—Who Are There?” Again the audience applauded the Bible arguments, and the result of the talk was the resignation of many prominent church members who then came into Jehovah’s organization. Clergymen saw what was happening and began a public attack against me in the newspapers.

The newspaper attack failing, they then got a large building called the Buxton Church and, styling themselves “Gladiators,” put on a series of six nightly lectures. The lawyer they got as their chairman told them at the end of the series that they had failed to put down “Russellism,” as they called it. In the daily paper I challenged the six “Gladiators” to public debate for two hours each night on different subjects. They refused and rebuked the newspaper editor for printing my challenge without consulting them. Witnessing in Freetown was much easier after that.

More preaching and lecturing followed on my part and Jehovah gave the increase as the Freetown congregation expanded. I visited Bathurst, Gambia, in 1927 and also gave a witness in Liberia at the Hall of Representatives, placing many Bible-study aids. It was also my privilege to visit Ghana and Nigeria, taking my sound car along. The clergy in Nigeria became alarmed at my bold witnessing and tried to call a halt.

At the time the public had little regard for what they called “the white man’s religion.” It was appropriate that I speak at the Glover Memorial Hall on the failure of Christendom’s religion. Accordingly I advertised the lecture in the three leading newspapers. A Catholic editor submitted my write-up to Dr. Moses Da Rocha, who wrote a letter and had it published alongside my ad. He urged the government of Nigeria to prohibit my meetings or at least send policemen to preserve the peace. He appealed to various religious leaders in Lagos to send their ablest representatives to my meeting and smash to pieces my “heretical theses.” Policemen and many church representatives did show up.

Throughout the expose of Christendom the audience interrupted with applause. When the meeting was opened to questions, the son of an Anglican clergyman asked two questions, which were answered, and attempted a third, whereupon I said: “Please sit down and allow others to ask.” Other questions were propounded and answered to the audience’s satisfaction. I closed the meeting, offering them the paper-covered Deliverance book at a modest contribution. They emptied all the cartons we carried to the hall and even came to my home that night for more. When we took stock we found that they had obtained 3,900 books! They went far and wide placing them with their neighbors. It was a joyful day in missionary service.

TEACHING METHODS

When lecturing I always used lantern slides, enabling me to flash every Scripture text on the screen and then explain it. The people gained much understanding of the Scriptures thereby and wrote many letters to the Society requesting Bibles. That is how I came to be called “Bible Brown,” a nickname familiar to many on the west coast of Africa.

When entering a village with the sound car I would go to the chief and invite him to attend the lecture to be given in front of his compound. It was not uncommon for the chief to send a man around the village advertising the talk with a bell. The chief’s people would spread a large carpet for him and place a chair on it. There he would sit with a man holding an umbrella over him and sometimes a man with a large ostrich fan keeping him cool. Thousands would attend and respond enthusiastically to the Bible points.

On different occasions I drove from Freetown to Ghana, where I witnessed, lectured and showed the Society’s Photo-Drama of Creation. In Accra I secured the city’s largest theater for the lecture “All Nations Marching to Armageddon—Millions Now Living Will Never Die.” Hundreds had to stand outside and listen, and the papers gave good write-ups. However, the “Christian Council” in Ghana objected to my pointed speech and as a result the government declared me a prohibited immigrant. Two years passed and a new governor took over. The brothers got up a petition asking that I be allowed to visit Ghana. It was signed by thousands and presented to the authorities. Permission was granted! Imagine how happy I was to see my children in the Lord and attend the convention in Ghana.—3 John 4.

During the twenty-five years that I was branch servant in West Africa I never felt at home sitting in the chair in the office for any length of time. I would budget my time so that I could be out with the sound car delivering the good news orally and by printed page. Brother Rutherford’s letters to me were refreshing and strengthening during those years.

In 1930 we took up residence in Nigeria. Fourteen congregations were organized there from 1931 to 1938, and by 1947 the number had jumped to 165. In a new field laying the foundation I had to act as congregation servant, circuit servant and district servant, though these duties had different names then. Twice yearly we had our conventions at five or six places and I attended all of them, some days driving over 400 miles to arrive at the next assembly. Attendance varied from 65 to more than 2,400. During the difficult years of World War II the brothers did not slack their hands. The West African Branch translated many books and booklets into local tongues.

In 1947 the Society was able to send us ten graduates of the Watchtower Bible School of Gilead. Three were assigned to Sierra Leone, two to Liberia, two in Ghana and three to Nigeria. I was approaching seventy years of age then and was glad that Jehovah had provided willing hands to carry on. Not many months after the Gilead missionaries took over the load of branch duties, the president of the Society, Brother Knorr, arrived on the scene with Brother Henschel, his secretary. The meeting was a joyful one.

BACK TO THE WEST INDIES

Sister Brown and I stayed on in West Africa until 1950 and then arranged to return to the West Indies. A member of the Legislative Council who was also editor of one of the leading newspapers thought our departure newsworthy. He published an article in the Daily Times captioned: “‘BIBLE BROWN’ SAYS AU REVOIR, NOT GOODBYE.” The editor recounted my twenty-seven years in West Africa as a controversial Bible lecturer and commented: “Today ‘Bible’ Brown has become an institution and is the friend of all, young and old, European, African and Lebanese, even by those who disagreed with him and hated his religious propaganda. . . . Lagos will miss the familiar figure of ‘Bible’ Brown, and all his friends will wish him and Mrs. Brown good luck in their home in the Caribbean Isles.” Particularly touching was the farewell letter I received from the brothers in Nigeria. It said, in part: “Yes, ‘one man has become thousands’ is not idle talk, but the undeniable facts show that on your arrival to West Africa there was no single person as a Jehovah’s witness. But as you preached, there was one and rising from one to seven in 1928. Not stopping there, the rise jumped from seven into formation of [congregations]. The creation of the branch office resulted and today over ten thousand are answering to the honouring name, Jehovah’s witnesses, in the West Coast of Africa. . . . we say goodbye with tears to you and your family.”

On the way back to Trinidad we were privileged to attend the 1950 international convention at Yankee Stadium in New York. Refreshed, we then proceeded to Trinidad, and later to Jamaica, where I am busily engaged in the full-time ministry. However, because of old age and ill health I cannot put in pioneer hours. I wish I could; I love pioneering. It is one of the highest privileges that can be offered to a human creature, to be an ambassador of Jehovah!

According to the 1962 Yearbook of Jehovah’s Witnesses there are 35,729 Witnesses now in Nigeria, 8,662 in Ghana and hundreds more in the immediate vicinity. Having been used of the Lord to plant the seed and seeing how Jehovah made it grow calls to mind Paul’s words at Romans 15:17-21. What a joy to see men and women become obedient to the good news of God’s kingdom. Looking back in appreciation at the wonderful life spent in Jehovah’s service, fifty-three years as a pioneer minister, I am thankful to Jehovah that I heard the truth from that Watchtower lecturer who spoke by the side of the road in Panama. Gold was to be earned at the Canal in those days, but the truth meant more to me than money. By attending Bible studies I learned what God’s purpose is for man. Determined to tell others, I rented halls and gave Bible lectures. When the Watch Tower magazine called for colporteurs, I responded and have never regretted it.

In 1920 my wife and I were married, but there was work to be done. Two days after our wedding we left Trinidad for Montserrat with the Photo-Drama of Creation. We witnessed in Dominica, Barbados and Grenada, then returned to Trinidad. It was a joyful honeymoon in Jehovah’s service.

In 1922 I wrote to Brother Rutherford, president of the Society, informing him that by Jehovah’s help I had given the witness throughout the majority of the Caribbean Islands and made disciples in many. Should I go over them again? Not many days later his reply came: ‘Proceed to Sierra Leone, West Africa, with wife and child.’ Imagine my joy, going to a people that had not heard the good news!

Joy still fills my heart as I see more and more persons of goodwill coming into Jehovah God’s organization on both sides of the Atlantic. How many more will do so before the work is done, I cannot say. But I do know that our heavenly Father has certainly kept his promise given through Isaiah: “The little one himself will become a thousand, and the small one a mighty nation. I myself, Jehovah, shall speed it up in its own time.”—Isa. 60:22.

Catholic Priest Urges Arrest of Jehovah’s Witnesses

THE sure way to be rid of an enemy during the Spanish Inquisition was to denounce him to the authorities as a heretic. Many natives of Spain suffered imprisonment, torture and death because of that practice. Today in Spain there are descendants of the “Holy Office” who would like to see similar denunciations made against Jehovah’s witnesses. In fact, under prompting of Catholic priests, Spanish witnesses of Jehovah already have been arrested, fined and imprisoned, as pointed out in recent issues of Awake! Now further evidence of this priest-inspired persecution has come to light.

The Catholic magazine Juventud Misionera (Missionary Youth) is an official organ of the San Francisco de Sales religious order. In its issue No. 124 is a five-page article against Jehovah’s witnesses. The writer is Catholic priest José A. Rico, S.D.B., professor of theology at Salesian College in Salamanca, Spain. In the true spirit of the Inquisition, this priest advises his Catholic readers: “With fervor and constancy invoke Mary, the Helper of Christians, conqueror of all heresies, that She should stop the advance of these enemies of God.” If preached to by Jehovah’s witnesses, Rico urged his readers, “Denounce their proselyting activity to the police. Article 6 of the Fuero de los Españoles [Bill of Rights] supports you.”

CHRISTIAN ADVICE?

There are certain to be many sincere Catholics in Spain and elsewhere who will recognize this priest’s advice as unchristian in the extreme. It puts the Catholic Church in the dangerous position of being, not the persecuted, but the persecutors of Christian men and women. Jesus advised his followers to love their enemies, not, “Have them arrested.” Rather than be the ones to denounce others to the authorities, Jesus said that the way it would occur with true Christians is this: “Look! I am sending you forth as sheep amidst wolves; therefore prove yourselves cautious as serpents and yet innocent as doves. Be on your guard against men; for they will deliver you up to local courts, and they will scourge you in their synagogues. Why, you will be haled before governors and kings for my sake, for a witness to them and the nations.” (Matt. 10:16-18) Is this priest advising Catholics to play the role of “wolves” or of “sheep”?

It is remarkable how his advice resembles the experience of the apostle Paul, who was denounced similarly 1,900 years ago. The account at Acts 18:12, 13 reads: “Now while Gallio was proconsul of Achaia, the Jews rose up with one accord against Paul and led him to the judgment seat, saying: ‘Contrary to the law this person leads men to another persuasion in worshiping God.’” Priest Rico also advises his readers that Spanish law supports their denunciation of Jehovah’s witnesses. Christ himself was accused of breaking the law, so Jehovah’s witnesses are not surprised at this. But sincere Catholics should be surprised that it is their church that follows the methods of those who persecuted the early Christians. Nor is that the only statement by this Catholic priest that should disturb sincere Catholics.

SHALLOW KNOWLEDGE?

His article continues: “I understand that you are not prepared to carry on discussions, Bible in hand, with Jehovah’s Witnesses.” This advice is parallel to that distributed in writing to all homes in Palma de Mallorca not long ago, advising Catholics not to converse with Jehovah’s witnesses. Similar counsel appeared in the Catholic weekly magazine America of June 24, 1961. Is this the way Christians discharge their duty to let their light shine? Was it not the apostle Peter who wrote these words at 1 Peter 3:15: “Sanctify the Lord Christ in your hearts, being ready always to satisfy every one that asketh you a reason of that hope which is in you”?—Catholic Douay Version.

The article in Juventud Misionera does not explain why Catholics are not ready to discuss their faith with Jehovah’s witnesses. Instead, the writer attacks Jehovah’s witnesses as shallow students of the Holy Scriptures: “Don’t believe that they have made deep Bible studies; no. They only meet together each week and read together the texts of the Sacred Scripture that are pointed out to them in their magazine The Watchtower. They are contented with that. That is sufficient to feign a deep knowledge of the Bible.”

People who are able to discuss their faith with Jehovah’s witnesses are aware that the Witnesses know a great deal about the Bible. Many have gone with them to their five congregational meetings each week and observed that they go into great detail regarding Bible prophecies, Christian doctrine, Bible principles and many related subjects. Evidently the author of the above advice in Juventud Misionera really does not believe that Jehovah’s witnesses are shallow students of the Bible, for he goes on to tell his readers: “Do not argue with a Jehovah’s Witness. Your lack of Biblical development can bring you doubts that you are not prepared to resolve; and with cunning trickery they will envelop you in their nets.” Obviously he shows that the lack of Bible knowledge is not among the Witnesses. But is it the custom of Jehovah’s witnesses to use “cunning trickery” when discussing the Bible? Would José Rico be pleased to have the Witnesses merely read the Bible to people without further comment? How willing would this priest be to have his parishioners compare the following scriptures with Catholic teaching?

CHECK YOUR BIBLE

For example, at Matthew 23:9 Jesus said: “Call none your father upon earth: for one is your Father, who is in heaven.” (Douay) The surrounding verses show that Jesus condemned other religious titles, such as “Rabbi.” Compare the Lord’s teaching with the Catholic practice of addressing priests by the title “Father.” It requires no trickery to convince sincere people that Catholic practice is in error.

Likewise it takes no cunning to compare the Catholic practice of celibacy and the forbidding of meat on certain days with such Bible statements as these: “Now the Spirit manifestly saith that in the last times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to spirits of error and doctrines of devils, speaking lies in hypocrisy and having their conscience seared, forbidding to marry, to abstain from meats, which God hath created to be received with thanksgiving by the faithful and by them that have known the truth.” “It behoveth therefore a bishop to be blameless, the husband of one wife.”—1 Tim. 4:1-3; 3:2, Dy.

It takes no special education to recognize that the practice of using images in worship is out of harmony with the inspired warning of Paul: “Wherefore, my dearly beloved, fly from the service of idols.” (1 Cor. 10:14, Dy) Neither does the use of images agree with the apostle John’s statement at 1 John 5:21: “Little children, keep yourselves from idols.” (Dy) Would it not be the loving and Scriptural thing for Catholic priests to warn their flocks that the Bible says “idolaters” shall not possess the kingdom of God?—1 Cor. 6:9; Rev. 22:15.

What trick is involved in comparing the Catholic teaching of the Trinity (which says that God and Christ are equal) with Jesus’ teaching: “The Father is greater than I”? (John 14:28, Dy) How clearly Jesus’ statement is confirmed by the apostle Paul’s at 1 Corinthians 11:3: “The head of Christ is God.” (Dy) There is no doubt from the Bible that Christ is subject to God, not equal to him.—1 Cor. 15:28.

One who opens the Bible to Ezekiel 18:4 and Matthew 10:28 (reading all of the verse and not only the first half quoted by this priest) will find that the human soul dies and is destroyed, Catholic teaching notwithstanding. Paul tells us that even in his day Christ was the only one other than God who had immortality. (1 Tim. 6:16) Therefore all men could not be possessors of “immortal souls” by reason of their human nature. The lack of immortality causes Christians who are in the race for heavenly life to seek it. There is no trickery in observing that fact, is there?—Rom. 2:7.

Catholic theologians may teach that God took the fleshly body of Jesus’ mother to heaven, but they ought not to expect people to ignore the emphatic statement of the Bible, “that flesh and blood cannot possess the kingdom of God.” (1 Cor. 15:50, Dy) Again, let priests teach that they sacrifice Christ daily in the celebration of the Mass, if they want to believe this. But they should not pretend that it is “trickery” to take the Bible and read Paul’s words: “For Jesus is not entered into the Holies made with hands, the patterns of the true: but into Heaven itself, that he may appear now in the presence of God for us. Nor yet that he should offer himself often, as the high priest entereth into the Holies every year with the blood of others: for then he ought to have suffered often from the beginning of the world. But now once, at the end of ages, he hath appeared for the destruction of sin, by the sacrifice of himself.”—Heb. 9:24-26, Dy.

WHOSE DISCIPLE?

It is apparent from these scriptures why Catholic priests tell the Catholic people not to discuss the Bible with Jehovah’s witnesses, but to “denounce their proselyting activity to the police.” Priests who admittedly have taken away the key of Bible knowledge from the people have much to lose by permitting free discussion of the Holy Scriptures, just as the Jewish “chief priests” had much to lose by the witnessing of Jesus.

If you turn to Matthew 26:46-50 in your Catholic Bible you will see that Judas Iscariot betrayed Christ at the bidding of those same religious priests. Take care, then, that men holding similar offices today do not direct you into the path of Judas, instead of the footsteps of Christ. Not that Jehovah’s witnesses are unwilling to suffer loss of freedom for the sake of the good news. But are you willing to suffer loss of everlasting life for the sake of some very bad advice?

Questions From Readers

● How are we to understand Genesis 7:11 and Ge 8:2? Do these verses contain parallel construction, or were there both rain from the heavens and an upsurging of water from below the earth at the time of the Flood?—N. K., United States.

Genesis 7:11 and Ge 8:2 read: “In the six hundredth year of Noah’s life, in the second month, on the seventeenth day of the month, on this day all the springs of the vast watery deep were broken open and the floodgates of the heavens were opened.” “The springs of the watery deep and the floodgates of the heavens became stopped up, and so the downpour from the heavens was restrained.”

In Genesis 7:11 the expressions “vast watery deep” and “floodgates of the heavens” are both used to refer to the great water canopy that was around the earth in suspension and that is described at Genesis 1:6, 7 as “the waters . . . above the expanse.” When it says that the springs were broken and the floodgates were opened it means that God caused the forces that held the great water canopy in suspension to be overcome and thus permitted the waters to pour down upon the earth, not in any global splash but as through floodgates into certain channels, particularly at the poles, but also by means of rainfall for forty days.

This has no reference to the springs of water below the surface of the earth and these being opened up and breaking forth through the crust of the earth to cause floods from below. Those Bible expositors who interpret the words of Genesis 7:11 to mean an upsurging of water from below the earth do not properly grasp the fact that there existed a water canopy that was suspended in space, producing a great watery deep out there, even as noted by what Genesis 1:6, 7 states regarding the dividing of the waters beneath the atmospheric expanse from the waters above. So we must conclude that at Genesis 7:11 and Ge 8:2 a parallel construction is used.

Just as the beginning of the Flood is spoken of as the breaking open of the springs of the watery deep and the opening of the floodgates of the heavens, at Genesis 7:11, so the cessation of the deluge, mentioned at Genesis 8:2, is referred to as the stopping up of those springs of the watery deep and the floodgates of the heavens. In other words, the contents of the watery canopy were exhausted. Of course, this did not mean that there would be no more rain on the earth. Rather, as clouds formed by the evaporation of water, rain would continue to fall to that extent. But there was no more a great watery reservoir, a watery deep or vast vapor canopy held in suspension above the earth.

● According to worldly historians Amman is a thriving city today and is built on the ruins of the ancient city of Rabbath Ammon. How, then, can we understand such a scripture as Zephaniah 2:9, which reads: “Moab herself will become just like Sodom, and the sons of Ammon like Gomorrah, a place possessed by nettles, and a salt pit, and a desolate waste, even to time indefinite”?—F. R., United States.

The desolations foretold to come upon Moab and Ammon actually did come, even as history shows. The Moabites and the Ammonites have ceased to exist as a people. The city of Amman that today stands on the site of the ancient city of Rabbath Ammon is not populated by Ammonites, descendants of the people against whom the prophecies were uttered. Rather, it is populated by the descendants of the Nabatean Arabs who absorbed the Ammonites about the first century A.D.

Modern Amman is the center of the government of the present kingdom of Jordan. Its Arabs are not Ammonites, nor is their king considered to be an Ammonite king. The ancient capital, Rabbath Ammon, is only a ruins surrounding the modern Amman of the Arabs. So the prophecy has indeed become true that Moab and the sons of Ammon have become like Sodom and Gomorrah; they have ceased to exist.

● What should a dedicated servant of Jehovah God do if he is present when a prayer is being offered aloud by one who does not recognize Jehovah nor is dedicated to him, as at funerals, weddings and graduation services conducted by clergymen?—H. L., United States.

The Scriptures show that at no time did God’s servants join in worship with those who served other gods. (Deut. 7:1-6, 16, 25, 26) Jesus Christ repeatedly indicated that true worship is exclusive: “He that is not on my side is against me, and he that does not gather with me scatters.” “No one comes to the Father except through me.” Lovers of righteousness who are found in organizations worshiping others than the true God Jehovah are commanded: “Get out of her, my people, if you do not want to share with her in her sins, and if you do not want to receive part of her plagues.”—Matt. 12:30; John 14:6; Rev. 18:4.

This being so, Jehovah’s servants could not join in prayer with one who does not serve Jehovah God, since prayer is a form of worship. What, then, should one of Jehovah’s servants do if present when a prayer is being offered by, say, a clergyman at a wedding, a funeral or at the graduation of a son or daughter?

If the group stands, it is up to the individual to decide whether he wants to do this or not; in itself this is not the act of worship. The same is true of bowing one’s head. Although he would remain quiet, he might prefer not to bow his head with the others, thus letting all know that he is not joining in the prayer being offered and that the one praying is not representing him. Or the servant of Jehovah could bow his head and offer his own silent prayer on such an occasion. Should he choose to do this, however, he certainly would not utter an audible “Amen” at the end of the public prayer as though expressing agreement with it. It is up to the individual Christian to determine which course he considers best to pursue under the circumstances, and no one should be criticized for his choice on such occasions.

The same principle would apply in the event one were a guest in the home of someone else at mealtime. If, in respect for the sincerity of his guest, the head of the house were to ask his guest to offer the prayer at mealtime, then the servant of Jehovah could do this, praying in harmony with the instructions found in the Bible. However, if a householder who is not a worshiper of Jehovah were to say the blessing when a witness of Jehovah was his guest, the Witness could not join in the prayer, though he could silently offer his own prayer of thanks to God. In homes where it is the custom for all to hold hands around the table when the prayer is said, sharing in this would indicate participation in the prayer, so the Christian would not share in this if the prayer were being offered by one who was not a worshiper of Jehovah God. For one’s prayers to find acceptance with God, they must be offered in the way that he commands.

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“WATCHTOWER” STUDIES FOR THE WEEKS

October 21: “The Word”—Who Is He? According to John, ¶1-34. Page 553.

October 28: Prehuman Existence, ¶35-69. Page 560.