The Watchtower — February 1, 1963

Downgrading God’s Name

THE Bible is the Word of God, the Creator. Logically it reveals to man not only the qualities and works of the Creator but also his name. This it does especially in the original Hebrew, where God’s name appears some 6,900 times in the form of a tetragrammaton or four-letter word, corresponding to YHWH in English. The most popular English translation of the tetragrammaton is “Jehovah.”

But modern Bible translators appear to go out of their way to downgrade that honorable, majestic and sacred name. Thus some ten years ago the committee that revised the American Standard Version, bringing out the Revised Standard Version, entirely eliminated Jehovah’s name. Thereby they inferred that the eminent Bible scholars who had produced the American Standard Version and who had strongly argued for restoring God’s name to its rightful place and who consistently used it wherever the Hebrew tetragrammaton appeared were complete fools.

Now comes another Bible translation that also downgrades God’s name. Made by a committee of leading Jewish Bible scholars in the English-speaking world, it was featured on the front page of the New York Times, October 12, 1962. The way this committee betrays its inclination to downgrade God’s name can be seen from its attitude toward the third of the Ten Commandments. By means of this commandment Jehovah God indicated the importance of his name and how seriously he viewed any desecration of it. According to the New World Translation it reads: “You must not take up the name of Jehovah your God in a worthless way, for Jehovah will not leave the one unpunished who takes up his name in a worthless way.”—Ex. 20:7.

Not so, say the Jewish scholars who just produced this new translation of the Hebrew Scriptures. According to them, “the [third] commandment could not be interpreted as an injunction against profanity, because in that sense, it lacked both sufficient importance to be in the position it occupied as well as intent. A more accurate reading of the Hebrew,” they contend, “reveals the commandment to be concerned instead with perjury.” These have therefore rendered the Third Commandment: “You shall not swear falsely by the name of the Lord your God; for the Lord will not clear one who swears falsely by His name.” They do not name Jehovah here.

The Hebrew literally has the thought of not taking up God’s name for “vanity” or “falsehood,” and so it does indeed forbid the use of God’s name for false oaths, even as noted by such Jewish Bible scholars as J. H. Hertz, editor of the Soncino edition. But it was by no means to be limited just to that. How can we be certain?

By the way the Ninth Commandment reads: “You must not testify falsely as a witness against your fellow man.” (Ex. 20:16) Since the Israelites were accustomed to swearing by God’s name, whether in court or on some other occasion, it follows that this commandment also forbade the false use of God’s name. (1 Ki. 1:30; Matt. 26:63) If the Third Commandment were directed solely against swearing falsely by God’s name, why repeat it in the Ninth Commandment?

That Jehovah God meant not merely for the Jews not to perjure themselves by his name but also that they were not to use it in any vile, profane or disrespectful way, and that he considered it of such importance as to make it one of the Ten Commandments and to list it after the first two, which forbade the worship of any other gods, is clear from an incident recorded by Moses at Leviticus 24:10-16, 23. In brief, it tells about the son of an Egyptian and an Israelitess who abused “the Name,” calling down evil upon it or cursing it, while engaged in a struggle with an Israelite. Note that it was simply known as the Name. It was considered that important. Not only that, but those who heard this blasphemy were so horrified that they at once brought him to Moses to be dealt with. Apparently this was the first time anyone had presumed to do this, for Moses was obliged to inquire of Jehovah himself. And what was Jehovah’s verdict? That this was nothing serious? Far from it! It was a capital offense! The record goes on to say:

“Jehovah proceeded to speak to Moses, saying: ‘Bring forth the one who called down evil to the outside of the camp; and all those who heard him must lay their hands upon his head, and the entire assembly must pelt him with stones. And you should speak to the sons of Israel, saying, “In case any man calls down evil upon his God, he must then answer for his sin. So the abuser of Jehovah’s name should be put to death without fail. The entire assembly should without fail pelt him with stones. The alien resident the same as the native should be put to death for his abusing the Name.”’”

Could anything be more explicit as to how seriously Jehovah viewed the abusing of his Name? No question that such a serious offense should be forbidden in the Ten Commandments. The record shows that the sons of Israel carried out Jehovah’s command.

No, the Third Commandment cannot be limited to forbidding perjury. It also applied to or forbade any use of God’s name in a profane way. This helps us to appreciate how serious a matter is the taking of Jehovah’s name upon oneself in a worthless way, by being called one of his people, as were the Israelites of old and as are the modern witnesses of Jehovah, and then not living up to what one claims to be, one of Jehovah’s witnesses.

While Christians are not bound by the Decalogue itself, they are bound by its principles. Certainly if the names of worldly rulers, religious or political, are to be treated with respect, then the name of the Sovereign Ruler of the universe should be still more so. For Christians the Ten Commandments are summed up in the two great commandments regarding love of God and love of neighbor. All who love Jehovah God with their whole heart, mind, soul and strength will give his name the respect and reverence due it and will not take it up in any worthless way.—Mark 12:29-31.

Are the Nations Headed for Armageddon?

Can it be avoided? What does the Bible disclose?

MANY men of note think the nations are heading for some kind of disaster. A prominent clergyman speaks of a “thermonuclear Armageddon.” In the United States Congress a Senator from Vermont said on the Senate floor: “In very truth the world seems to be mobilizing for the great battle of Armageddon. Now is a crisis in the agelong warfare between God and the Devil for the souls of men.”a And playwright Tennessee Williams sees the nations acting like crazy persons: “If people acted like nations they would all be put in straitjackets. . . . I think Armageddon is really at hand this time.”b

Now, what is this Armageddon? Some view it as a third world war, the annihilation of all life on earth, the result of folly by nuclear-armed nations. But is this what the Holy Bible speaks of by the word “Armageddon”?

If you turn to the Holy Bible, the book of Revelation, chapter sixteen, you will be able to read about the true significance of Armageddon. This prophetic vision is what the Lord Jesus Christ gave to his apostle John: “I saw three unclean inspired expressions that looked like frogs come out of the mouth of the dragon and out of the mouth of the wild beast and out of the mouth of the false prophet. They are, in fact, expressions inspired by demons and perform signs, and they go forth to the kings of the entire inhabited earth, to gather them together to the war of the great day of God the Almighty. And they gathered them together to the place that is called in Hebrew Har–Magedon [or Armageddon].”—Rev. 16:13, 14, 16.

Observe, please, that in this inspired prophecy it is clear that the nations are being gathered to the place called Armageddon, also that this place of battle is linked with no mere human war but a universal war—”the war of the great day of God the Almighty.” Since battles often take their name from the place where they are fought, this war of the great day of God the Almighty is also referred to as the battle of Armageddon. Now, what is it that drives the nations to a suicidal march to Armageddon?

“EXPRESSIONS INSPIRED BY DEMONS”

God’s Word shows that three unclean inspired expressions are misleading the nations and that they are froglike in appearance. Since frogs were classed by God as unclean food for his people of ancient times, the froglike appearance denotes how unclean these expressions are in the Almighty’s eyes. They are unclean because they are of demonic origin and because they come forth (1) out of the mouth of the dragon, (2) out of the mouth of the wild beast and (3) out of the mouth of the false prophet.

The dragon, mentioned first as a source of these unclean expressions, is none other than “the original serpent, the one called Devil and Satan,” the one “misleading the entire inhabited earth.”—Rev. 12:7-9.

These unclean expressions also come forth from the mouth of the wild beast. What does the wild beast represent? Revelation 13:1, 2 speaks of “a wild beast ascending out of the sea, with ten horns and seven heads,” and which receives its power from the dragon. Just as certain wild beasts are used by the prophet Daniel to represent world powers, so it is in Revelation. This wild beast, then, is Satan’s visible organization, made up of all the nations of the world, and it rises up out of the sea of humanity estranged from Almighty God, the “sea” the Bible speaks of as “peoples and crowds and nations and tongues.”—Rev. 17:15; Dan. 7:1-8.

Finally, froglike expressions or demonic propaganda come from the mouth of the “false prophet.” This is not an individual man. How do we know? By comparing chapter 16 of Revelation with Re chapters 13 and 19, it is clearly evident that the false prophet is an outstanding governmental system that takes upon itself the role of a prophet. What world power does it represent? Well, what world power system took the lead in advocating and forming the League of Nations and later the United Nations and predicted great Messianic things for such organizations? When the League of Nations failed to bring peace and prevent World War II, what world power system proved to be a false prophet? What world power system is made up of two parts, to harmonize with the two horns of the wild beast of Revelation 13:11-15 and which is identified at Revelation 19:20 as the “false prophet”? It is the dual world power of Britain and America, the power system that took the lead in setting up and predicting great things for the world peace organization, directing people to a man-made organization to fulfill their hope for peace rather than to God’s kingdom.

WHY ARMAGEDDON CANNOT BE AVOIDED

Out of the mouth of the dragon, the wild beast and false prophet spews demonic propaganda. It turns the confidence of the people away from God and teaches them to trust in men and in human governments that are under Satan’s control. (Matt. 4:8, 9;1 John 5:19) It entices men into a way of life that is out of harmony with the righteous kingdom of God. Relentlessly, the nations are thus being gathered in opposition to God, to the battlefield of Armageddon.

Another reason, yes, the basic reason, why Armageddon cannot be avoided is that the great issue between Jehovah God and Satan the Devil must be settled. It is not mere global domination but universal domination; hence the issue of universal sovereignty must be decided. Almighty God settles this issue by fighting the battle of Armageddon, “the war of the great day of God the Almighty.” It will be a great day for “Jehovah of armies,” the great God whose heavenly armies under the command of Jesus Christ will come off victorious, utterly destroying the wicked nations of this world and putting to death the Devil and his demons.—Jas. 5:4; Dan. 2:44.

OBJECT OF ATTACK

But how can all nations head for one battlefield, and what is the object of their united attack? The word “Armageddon” draws some of its meaning from the name Megiddo, a battlefield site in Palestine where decisive battles were fought by God on behalf of his people. But the battlefield of Armageddon is not a literal place; it is a symbolic battlefield. The demons, by their devilish propaganda, prod the nations to march there to fight against God’s kingdom. But how can the demons goad nations to attack a government that is heavenly? Certainly the rulers are not so impractical as to be driven to an unoccupied battlefield or to fight against something intangible.

So, then, the nations march to Armageddon to fight something visibly tangible that represents God’s heavenly kingdom. Well, then, what could represent that kingdom, the kingdom concerning which Jesus Christ foretold for our day: “This good news of the kingdom will be preached in all the inhabited earth for a witness to all the nations; and then the end will come”? Why, the preachers of that kingdom! They represent the Kingdom by preaching it, by advocating it, by giving it their allegiance.—Matt. 24:14.

Hence there is a deeper significance in the word Armageddon or Har–Magedon, which means “Mount of the assembly of troops.” Since Megiddo was in the land of God’s people of ancient time, in this “time of the end” Armageddon represents the people who are assembled to preach the good news of God’s established kingdom and engaged in a spiritual warfare against demons, to get this Kingdom preaching done. So the battle is fought in defense of God’s people, the representatives of the heavenly kingdom by Jesus Christ. It is this attack upon God’s Kingdom witnesses that provokes Armageddon and that results in a smashing defeat for all the nations of the earth.—Eph. 6:12.

Why should the nations attack these Kingdom preachers? Because the demons misleading the nations are anti-Kingdom; and the nations, under their superhuman rulers, are determined to stop once and for all the worldwide preaching of God’s kingdom as the hope for the world. The rulers do not want their citizens or subjects giving loyalty and allegiance to God’s heavenly kingdom. So the Kingdom preaching and the Kingdom witnesses must go! To war, then; but as the nations launch their united attack against the unarmed witnesses of Jehovah and his kingdom they provoke Jehovah of armies to fight for his people. The nations ask for it, and Jehovah gives it to them—destruction! Put to the sword, the nations are slaughtered by the heavenly armies under the command of the King Jesus Christ: “The armies that were in heaven were following him on white horses, and they were clothed in white, clean, fine linen. And out of his mouth there protrudes a sharp long sword, that he may strike the nations with it, and he will shepherd them with a rod of iron.”—Rev. 19:14, 15.

It is to this destruction that the nations are headed, prodded by the demonic propaganda that turns people against God’s kingdom. Not only the nations are headed for an Armageddon defeat but so also are the demons and their ruler, Satan the Devil.—Rev. 20:1-3.

Since no worldly nation is free from demon influence today, every person is being forced to a decision, the consequences of which will be either life or death, survival or destruction. All who long for survival into God’s new world must turn a deaf ear to unclean, demon-inspired expressions. Test all expressions; if they do not declare Jehovah as Universal Sovereign and his kingdom as the hope of the world, then you can be certain they hopped out of the mouth of the dragon and his visible organizations. Do not be misled with the nations to suffer defeat at Armageddon. Make your decision for God’s kingdom, that you may be spared alive through the coming universal conflict, “the war of the great day of God the Almighty.”

[Footnotes]

Conduct “Worthy of the Good News”

1. Of what outstanding value is the Bible to us?

THE Bible reveals what is God’s will for his creatures. By studying it one who was previously without experience or understanding can become wise; it provides a guide to a clean way of life, which brings a good conscience and rejoicing to the heart. That is why the information found in the Bible concerning laws, commandments and principles of Jehovah is something more to be desired than all the material riches in the world. “The law of Jehovah is perfect, bringing back the soul. The reminder of Jehovah is trustworthy, making the inexperienced one wise. The orders from Jehovah are upright, causing the heart to rejoice; the commandment of Jehovah is clean, making the eyes shine. The fear of Jehovah is pure, standing forever. The judicial decisions of Jehovah are true; they have proved altogether righteous. They are more to be desired than gold, yes, than much refined gold; and sweeter than honey and the flowing honey of the combs. Also, your own servant has been warned by them; in the keeping of them there is a large reward.”—Ps. 19:7-11.

2. How does an accurate knowledge of the Bible guide us in conduct that is “worthy of the good news”?

² It can therefore be seen that in order for our conduct to be “worthy of the good news” we need as a foundation an accurate knowledge of God’s Word the Bible and a sincere appreciation for the information it contains, along with a wholesome fear of Jehovah. With this proper foundation we will have the proper view of right and wrong. It will help us avoid the mistake of cultivating self-righteousness to be seen of men. Of such ones the apostle Paul wrote, at Romans 10:3: “Because of not knowing the righteousness of God but seeking to establish their own, they did not subject themselves to the righteousness of God.” The sincere worshiper of God does not want to be like the Pharisees in Jesus’ day, to whom Jesus said: “You . . . , outwardly indeed, appear righteous to men, but inside you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.” (Matt. 23:28) Rather, by a sincere and diligent study of God’s Word the servant of God learns to ‘abhor what is wicked and cling to what is good.’—Rom. 12:9.

3, 4. (a) On what two great commands is right conduct based? (b) The rules and commands of God affect what relationships, and what relationship is the most important?

³ Conduct “worthy of the good news” is based on the same two great commandments that were the basis for God’s dealings with the Israelites, namely, ‘to love God with all one’s heart, soul, strength and mind and to love one’s neighbor as oneself.’ So, with these two commands in mind, let us examine some of the basic requirements for righteousness as set forth in the Bible by our Creator and heavenly Father. As we do so, we shall see that the rules or commands of God affect different parts of our lives and our relationship with others: our relationship with God, with our families and with our fellowmen. And as we consider these commands of God, it is not just blind obedience that is required but, rather, seeking with ‘our whole mind and heart’ to understand and appreciate why God tells us to do this or that, or not to do a certain thing, so that we may serve him with understanding.—Phil. 1:9; Matt. 22:37.

⁴ As we have seen, our relationship with God is of vital importance. Our worship of him must be clean and pure and undivided. It calls for firm faith in his Word, fearing him alone as God, giving him exclusive devotion.

5. (a) What things must one put away from his life if he is to be a true worshiper of God? (b) If a professing Christian were to follow superstitious practices, what would this show?

⁵ For us to give this kind of worship to Jehovah and thus come into a proper relationship with him we must put out of our lives any false practice of worship that is based on wrong teaching, on paganism or on superstition. Because of superstition some find it difficult to break away from hurtful fears. A common fear that is manifest in many lands is fear of the “spirits” of the dead, or fear of those (sometimes called “witches”) who claim supernatural powers. To protect themselves against such, superstitious people wear charms around the neck or arm or other parts of the body, these charms being made of different substances, such as, for example, the bones of a dead child, with the thought that the spirit of the child would provide protection. Likewise elaborate funeral practices are followed in order to appease the “spirit of the departed one.” All-night “wakes” are held following a death, with paid mourners making much noise so that the “spirit” of the dead will not feel he is forgotten or dishonored, and return and bring some evil on the family. All such ideas are based on the false doctrine that the soul of man is immortal and continues living after death. The Bible makes it plain that this is not so. (See Ecclesiastes 9:5, 10; Psalm 146:3, 4.) To follow such practices shows a lack of faith and understanding if it is done by a professing Christian, and it would demonstrate that he did not appreciate his proper relationship to Jehovah. True worship requires not only a knowledge of what the Bible says but also faith in it and backing up that faith by actions in harmony with God’s Word. While it is natural to feel genuine sorrow at losing a loved one in death, the Christian avoids any hypocritical outward show of sorrow for the sole purpose of satisfying pagan customs or traditions.—Jas. 1:22-25.

6. Who are the “evil spirits,” and how do Christians protect themselves against them?

⁶ It is true that there are evil spirits, but these are not the spirits of humans who died some time in the past. In fact, they were once angelic sons of God who rebelled with Satan and are now known as demons or wicked spirits. (Jas. 2:19; Rev. 16:14; Eph. 6:12) But the true Christian is provided with proper armor to defend himself against the machinations of these evil ones. Those who stand firm in the truth of God’s Word, who are active in proclaiming “the good news of peace,” who have their faith strong like a large shield and put their hope and trust in Jehovah for salvation, are assured of protection from any attacks of these wicked ones. (Eph. 6:14-18) The Christian would never, therefore, resort to demonism or witchcraft for protection or for healing purposes. The dedicated Christian is commanded by God to put faith in Him.

RESPECT FOR GOD’S LAW ON BLOOD

7. (a) What can a Christian do when he gets sick, but what does he not do? (b) Why does God’s law on the prohibition on the use of blood still apply to us today?

⁷ This does not mean that, when a Christian gets physically sick, he foolishly rejects proper medical help. He does not selfishly expect God to perform a miracle of healing on his behalf. Rather, the Christian uses good sense in taking reasonable and proper care of his body, and, if he falls sick, he accepts with gratefulness any medical help that can aid him. But he does not resort to “faith healing,” since miraculous healing and other such gifts that were present in the early congregation in the time of the apostles have long since passed away. (1 Cor. 13:8) Nor does he resort to witchcraft. At the same time he is also alert to see that the kind of medical treatment he receives does not violate God’s law regarding blood. The divine law concerning blood applies to Christians today just as it did to the nation of Israel. Though the law covenant with Israel is no longer in force, God’s law prohibiting the taking of blood into the human body still applies. This is because it was originally given to the common forefather of mankind, Noah, just after he came out of the ark after the global flood. On that occasion God plainly stated to Noah: “Only flesh with its soul—its blood—you must not eat.”—Gen. 9:3-6.

8. How was this prohibition on the use of blood made clear at a special meeting of the apostles and older brothers in Jerusalem?

⁸ The prohibition on the use of blood was made very clear to the Christian congregation at a special meeting of the apostles and older brothers at Jerusalem some years after the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. The inspired decision was: “The holy spirit and we ourselves have favored adding no further burden to you, except these necessary things, to keep yourselves free from things sacrificed to idols and from blood and from things strangled and from fornication. If you carefully keep yourselves from these things, you will prosper. Good health to you!” (Acts 15:28, 29) You will note that keeping free from blood was considered just as necessary as keeping free from fornication.

9. How do Christians show respect for the sanctity of blood in connection with eating meat?

⁹ It is clear, then, that true Christians are required to show respect for the sanctity of blood, because it represents life. (Lev. 17:11) Jehovah’s witnesses show this respect by being careful to avoid any violation of this law. The law on blood applies to any kind of blood, animal or human. A Christian is under obligation not to eat anything “strangled,” because it has not been bled. The principle on this matter is stated at Leviticus 17:13: “As for any man . . . who in hunting catches a wild beast or a fowl that may be eaten, he must in that case pour its blood out and cover it with dust.” For the same reason an animal that is found dead as a result of being caught in a trap or being torn by another animal would not be fit for food for a Christian, since it had not been bled at the time of death. Likewise, when one buys meat, either in a market or from a hunter, the Christian should be satisfied that the animal was properly bled so that he does not risk a violation of this law of God. While in most lands licensed slaughterhouses and butchers do bleed meat and so it is generally safe to eat, this is not always so and especially when we are buying from an individual hunter. Also, the Christian would not eat sauces in which blood has been mixed. Of course, a little blood remains in the meat itself even though an animal has been bled; this cannot be avoided. It is the blood that is flowing through the veins that must be drained off in order to meet the requirements of God’s law.

10. Why do Jehovah’s witnesses refuse medical blood transfusions?

¹⁰ A very common practice in hospitals throughout the world today is that of giving blood transfusions in cases where the patient has lost much blood due to an accident or operation, or is said to require blood to build up strength. In harmony with the scriptures quoted above, Jehovah’s witnesses recognize that to take blood into the body in this way would likewise be a violation of God’s law. It is quite clearly stated by the apostles: “Keep yourselves free from . . . blood.” This refusal by Jehovah’s witnesses to take blood into their bodies by medical transfusion is not because of foolish stubbornness, but because they respect God’s law; they respect His decision on how blood may be used, since blood represents life, which is a gift from God. At the same time Jehovah’s witnesses will accept any other medical treatment that does not violate God’s law, such as transfusions of salt solution or other preparations instead of blood.

11. What principle stated by Jesus at Matthew 10:39 applies in such circumstances?

¹¹ Everyone wants to live, and it is natural to seek any remedy to prolong life or the lives of those one loves. However, a dedicated Christian will not seek to save his life in a way that would violate God’s law. He appreciates that his everlasting life is at stake. He bears in mind the words of Jesus when he said: “He that finds his soul will lose it, and he that loses his soul for my sake will find it.” (Matt. 10:39) It takes faith to stick to God’s law at such times, but by doing so the Christian shows he really is obeying the first great commandment, to love Jehovah with all his heart, soul, strength and mind. He appreciates that it is his dedicated relationship to Jehovah that he must guard at all costs.

HONORABLE CONDUCT IN MARRIAGE

12. (a) Why has Jehovah the right to decide what is proper conduct between the sexes? (b) How, then, should marriage be treated?

¹² Man was not meant to live alone. It was Jehovah’s purpose for the earth to be filled with human creatures, and he arranged for this to come about by men and women coming together in marriage and building up families. For that reason he created the two sexes, “male and female,” and to the first pair God gave the command: “Be fruitful and become many and fill the earth.” Since Jehovah God is the one who created the different sexes along with their organs of reproduction, he has the right to decide on what is proper conduct between man and woman. Rightly, marriage should be treated with honor and respect.—Gen. 1:27, 28.

13. (a) Who only may properly enjoy sexual relations? (b) Is polygamy permitted for Christians, or what is the standard for them?

¹³ Right from the beginning God made clear certain principles concerning this relationship. The privilege of sexual relationship between man and woman was to be permitted only in the marriage state. So it was that after God created the first woman he brought her to the man and gave her to him as his wife. (Gen. 2:21-24) Although Jehovah later permitted polygamy in the nation of Israel, that was not the way God established the pattern in Eden, and he does not now permit this for Christians. Through Christ Jesus he restored the basic principle of marriage, that man should have but one wife. This principle was clearly understood by the early congregation, and so we find the requirement for an overseer in the congregation, as recorded at 1 Timothy, chapter 3, verse 2, that he should be a “husband of one wife.”

14. What decision must be made by a polygamist before he can be accepted as a dedicated associate in the New World society?

¹⁴ In lands where the custom is for men to have more than one wife this Bible principle may present a difficulty to some. A man may have more than one wife, but he hears the “good news,” appreciates it, and wishes to associate with the New World society of Jehovah’s witnesses. But his marriage state does not agree with the principles set out in the Bible for Christians; so what is he to do? Yes, the “good news” in this respect is a challenge to him. It will mean a big change in his life, putting away all his secondary wives, keeping only the one wife whom he is Scripturally permitted to have. This is a decision that he must make for himself, but he must make it if he is to be accepted as a dedicated servant of Jehovah in association with God’s people.

15. (a) How should the marriage bond be viewed? (b) What can be said about fornication and “trial marriage”? (c) What should first be done in order for a couple to enter into an honorable marriage?

¹⁵ The marriage of a man and woman, giving them the right to enjoy the sexual relationship together, was meant to be a binding tie, not one to be broken for any reason at all. After speaking of the first marriage in the garden of Eden, Jesus went on to say: “Therefore, what God has yoked together let no man put apart.” (Matt. 19:6) By these words Jesus showed the seriousness of marriage for the Christian, that it was not something to be treated lightly. Anything, then, that would violate the divine marriage arrangement would be unrighteous, hence disobedient and displeasing to man’s Creator, Jehovah. Since the sexual relationship is to be enjoyed only in the marriage state, the man with his lawful wife and the woman with her lawful husband, fornication is forbidden. So it would be improper and in violation of God’s commands for any unmarried man to have sexual relations with any woman, married or unmarried. Likewise, it would be wrong for an unmarried woman to have sexual relations with any man. This would rule out any “trial marriage” that is practiced in some countries, a young couple living together just to see whether they are suitable, but without entering into a permanent and binding marriage. To the contrary, it is necessary for there to be a proper marriage recognized by both the man and the woman as binding and permanent, with the marriage properly registered as a testimony to their honorable intentions, before entering into the marriage privilege of sexual relationship. Even though this may sometimes take a few months to arrange, yet the young man and woman preparing for marriage should keep morally clean by refraining from sexual intercourse until the marriage is registered. By doing this they show proper respect for the divine marriage provision, treating it as something honorable.

16, 17. How should a married couple show respect for the marriage arrangement, and what quality will help them to do so?

¹⁶ After marriage is entered into, the couple must continue to show respect for the marriage arrangement. The Bible states concerning Christian marriage: “Let marriage be honorable among all, and the marriage bed be without defilement, for God will judge fornicators and adulterers.” (Heb. 13:4) Having in mind that Jehovah is the judge and that all our actions are open before him will help the married man and woman to avoid any unfaithfulness to their marriage partner. Also, their love for each other strengthens their loyalty to each other and helps avoid unfaithfulness. “In this way husbands ought to be loving their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself, for no man ever hated his own flesh; but he feeds and cherishes it, as the Christ also does the congregation, because we are members of his body. ‘For this reason a man will leave his father and his mother and he will stick to his wife, and the two will become one flesh.’” Certainly the husband would not be loving his wife if he committed adultery with another woman. Nor would he be loving the other woman, since he would be causing her to sin also and to come under judgment from God.—Eph. 5:28-31.

¹⁷ The man and woman were meant to “stick” to each other. That means to continue firmly united, both with the desire to make the marriage last. How can this be? Only if the quality of love is present. In many marriages this quality is often lacking. In some lands there is little or no companionship between the man and woman in marriage; they do not share their thoughts nor spend time in each other’s company, not even eating their meals together. Often the woman is looked upon more as a servant in the house than as a companion and partner in the marriage contract.

18. (a) What example did Jesus set for Christian husbands? (b) In what practical ways does a husband show love for his wife?

¹⁸ What, then, should be the attitude of the Christian man toward his wife? This is well illustrated at Ephesians 5:25 and 28, which reads: “Husbands, continue loving your wives, just as the Christ also loved the congregation and delivered up himself for it. In this way husbands ought to be loving their wives as their own bodies.” Jesus was long-suffering, patient and kind to his Christian brothers in the congregation. He was happy to be with them and to talk with them about the wonderful things of God’s kingdom. Besides declaring the “good news” to the general public in Palestine he spent many hours with his faithful disciples explaining the truth to them. He showed the deep quality of his love in finally giving up his earthly life as a sacrifice in order that the congregation might be saved to eternal life. This is the kind of love a husband should have for his wife. He learns to enjoy her companionship. Because he wants her to gain eternal life, he gladly seeks opportunities to discuss with her the wonderful hope of life in a new world that he has learned by means of the “good news.” Even if both husband and wife have accepted the “good news,” they would continue to speak together of those things to build each other up in faith.

19. In what two ways is a Christian man under obligation to provide for his family?

¹⁹ It is true that a husband has a duty and obligation of caring for his wife and children in a material way. The Bible plainly states: “Certainly if anyone does not provide for those who are his own, and especially for those who are members of his household, he has disowned the faith and is worse than a person without faith.” (1 Tim. 5:8) But in addition to caring physically he must care even more for the spiritual needs of his family, just as Christ cared for the congregation.

20. What kind of preparation will Christian parents make for their children, and in what will this result?

²⁰ Do you have children? If so, what kind of preparation are you making for their future? A good education in the world so that they might improve their economic and social position? These are not the all-important things. Appreciating that marriage is from Jehovah, and that the fruit of marriage, children, is also a gift of Jehovah, parents who love Jehovah will want their children to grow up to serve Him. (Ps. 127:3) For this reason, Christian parents will train their children from an early age in wholesome conduct, in study of the Bible and in declaring the “good news” to others, all to God’s glory. “And you, fathers, do not be irritating your children, but go on bringing them up in the discipline and authoritative advice of Jehovah.” If this command is followed, the children will grow up strong spiritually and be able to resist the temptations of the world, and their faith and right works will be a glory to their parents as well as to Jehovah.—Eph. 6:4.

21. How does the Christian wife best show her love for her husband?

²¹ In all these things the wife will give loving support to her husband and head. The wife best shows her love for her husband in the way she cooperates with him, humbly accepting Jehovah’s arrangement that “the head of a woman is the man.” (1 Cor. 11:3) By sharing together as companions in a study of the Bible, in attending meetings with God’s people, in proclaiming the “good news” to others and in all other activities in the home, the family, husband, wife and children, will grow together in love and in joy. Appreciation for the “good news of [God’s] kingdom” will move each sincere person to work toward having his own family life in harmony with these fine Bible principles.

22. (a) On what ground only does the Bible allow for divorce that really ends the marriage? (b) In view of the seriousness of marriage, what wise counsel is to be followed in selecting a mate?

²² But what can be done where the marriage is not a happy one, where there are disagreements over religion or over other matters? Are there any grounds upon which such a marriage might be ended by divorce, allowing the man or woman to marry another partner with whom they feel they could get along better? The Bible does not permit divorce just for any reason. While the law of the land may permit a divorce just because a husband and wife do not get along together and want to be free to marry somebody else, the Bible states only one reason allowing for a divorce that really brings the marriage to an end, namely, adultery. Jesus made this clear when he said: “I say to you that whoever divorces his wife, except on the ground of fornication [that is, adultery], and marries another commits adultery.” (Matt. 19:9) By the act of adultery the unfaithful mate really becomes one flesh with someone other than his lawful marriage partner. Of course, the faithful partner may choose to forgive this act and continue to live with his mate, but if he chooses to divorce because of the adultery of his mate, then he will be free to marry some other person, since the marriage contract is thus Scripturally as well as legally broken. In view of the need for understanding and love to make a marriage last, the dedicated Christian heeds the wise counsel of the Scriptures to marry “only in the Lord,” that is, to marry one who is, like him, a dedicated Christian.—1 Cor. 7:39.

23. Where there is division in the home, what will the Christian mate strive to do?

²³ Where the home is divided on matters such as religion, the Christian mate who recognizes the seriousness of marriage will do all that he can to try to heal the differences that exist in the home. He will not seek to leave his unbelieving mate, but, rather, through patience and kindness, work for the salvation of his mate if at all possible.—1 Cor. 7:10-16.

24. How may the “good news” present a challenge to the family circle, and to what will answering this challenge in the right way lead?

²⁴ Conduct “worthy of the good news” then means more than just talking about it to others and making a profession of serving God. It must be conduct that comes from putting on the ‘new personality,’ which is expressed at all times and certainly within the family circle—the husband toward his wife, the wife toward her husband, the parents toward the children and the children toward their parents. If your family life, because of custom or for some other reason, falls short of these Bible requirements, then certainly your hearing this fine counsel from the Bible presents you with a challenge. Will you make the needed change? If you do, you can be assured of a rich blessing from Jehovah, the Originator of marriage, and the One who will grant eternal life in a new world to all obedient families of mankind.

Conduct Showing Practical ‘Love of Neighbor’

1. Why is a Christian’s maintaining proper conduct among the nations so important?

CONDUCT “worthy of the good news” is not limited to just inside our home, within the family circle, but extends to everything we do, at all times and in relationship with all persons. 1 Peter 2:12 instructs us: “Maintain your conduct fine among the nations, that, in the thing in which they are speaking against you as evildoers, they may as a result of your fine works of which they are eyewitnesses glorify God in the day for his inspection.” This shows us why our conduct is important. It is because men of the nations, by seeing our fine works, may be led to glorify God. They come to see the difference between the conduct of dedicated Christians and the conduct of the world. They wonder why this is so, and when they look into the matter they find it is because these ones have become dedicated witnesses of Jehovah, living with a sure hope of life in a new world. They see that the conduct of these servants of Jehovah is not out of a hypocritical desire to please men and get honor from men, but they are doing things “whole-souled as to Jehovah.” (Col. 3:23, 24) Such fine works are really an expression of love for Jehovah and love for neighbor.

2. In what two principal ways does a Christian show love of neighbor?

² Jesus said we must ‘love our neighbors as ourselves.’ Since we seek what is good for ourselves, seeing that we have enough to eat, a place to live, and taking hold of the grand hope of everlasting life for ourselves in the new world, we want to do the same for our neighbor. The Christian’s nearest “neighbors” are his fellow witnesses in the New World society and, of course, those of his own family, but he is also under orders to seek the good of all men as he has opportunity. Preaching the good news is certainly an expression of love for neighbor, but a Christian also shows love of neighbor by backing up his preaching with a fine example in his personal conduct. If he just preached and then, in his personal life, did not live up to what he preached, he would be a hypocrite, and this could stumble others, causing them to turn away from the Kingdom message; and that would not be an expression of love, would it? Hence, the need for conduct “worthy of the good news.” “See that no one renders injury for injury to anyone else, but always pursue what is good toward one another and to all others. Make sure of all things; hold fast to what is fine. Abstain from every form of wickedness.”—1 Thess. 5:15, 21, 22.

3. Under what circumstances and why must the servant of Jehovah “abstain from every form of wickedness”?

³ In his personal dealings with his neighbors, or at home, in the Christian congregation, at his place of employment, wherever he is and under whatever circumstances he may find himself, the dedicated servant of Jehovah must always strive to conduct himself in harmony with the Bible, abstaining “from every form of wickedness,” if he wants to have Jehovah’s continued blessing and be counted along with God’s people for life in the new world.

HONESTY AND TRUTHFULNESS

4. What do willful liars show themselves to be, and what judgment is due to come upon them?

⁴ Honesty or truthfulness in dealing with others is an essential requirement. In this old world honesty and truthfulness are sadly lacking. Because of this people no longer trust one another. They are constantly on guard, cautious in their business dealings, expecting others to trick them. Many people tell a lie as easy as they tell the truth, without feeling any shame. This world or “system of things” is under the control of “the god of this system of things,” Satan the Devil, whose ‘spirit now operates in the sons of disobedience.’ Satan is “a liar and the father of the lie.” So lying and other forms of dishonesty are products of Satan, and liars are really showing themselves to be “sons of disobedience.” We can understand, then, why God’s Word lists unrepentant “liars” along with “murderers and fornicators and those practicing spiritism” as being worthy of eternal destruction.—2 Cor. 4:4; Eph. 2:2; John 8:44; Rev. 21:8.

5. What is one of the common reasons for lying, but what course does Ephesians 4:25 counsel?

⁵ The telling of lies or practicing dishonesty brings hurt to others. A lie is the opposite of what is true. Lies are told by people who wish to hide the truth for some reason—their wish to keep some wrong act from being found out, and thus to escape punishment or reproof, being one of the most common reasons. Some persons lie in order to deceive for personal advantage. But whatever the reason, the facts eventually come to light, leading to disappointment on the part of the one deceived and thereafter his distrust for the one who deceived him. The sound counsel of the Scriptures is: “Wherefore, now that you have put away falsehood, speak truth each one of you with his neighbor.”—Eph. 4:25.

6. What kind of people will live in the new world, and so what will those who want to live in that new world now do?

⁶ Honesty is shown, not only by what one says, but also by what one does. If one accepts responsibility for some property or money and then uses it in a wrong way, for his own personal use instead of the way authorized by the owner, that would be dishonest. Really it amounts to stealing, that is, taking something that belongs to another without the consent of the owner. It is because we live in a world of dishonesty and stealing that people find it necessary to lock up their houses, or lock up valuable things such as money and even to lock up food; but the new world, which is due shortly, will not be a world like that, because the people living in it will be honest, trustworthy and dependable. So those who look forward to living in that new world need to demonstrate these qualities now, putting out of their lives stealing and other dishonest practices, which are part of the old-world personality, “which conforms to [their] former course of conduct.” (Eph. 4:22) The Bible command is: “Let the stealer steal no more, but rather let him do hard work, doing with his hands what is good work, that he may have something to distribute to someone in need.”—Eph. 4:28.

7. (a) How could one steal time? (b) What kind of work should a Christian do?

⁷ These words of the apostle Paul lead on to another form of stealing or dishonesty, that is, in the way we spend our time. Yes, it is possible to steal time. How? For example, a person who has entered into a contract of employment to work a certain number of hours per day at an agreed wage would be stealing the time of his employer if he used his employer’s time for his own personal affairs, neglecting his work. The apostle says that the Christian should do “good work,” yes, “hard work.” That is, he must give honest work, being a conscientious and reliable workman, as though he was rendering his service to Jehovah. The apostle Paul wrote, at Colossians 3:22: “Be obedient in everything to those who are your masters in a fleshly sense, not with acts of eyeservice, as men pleasers, but with sincerity of heart, with fear of Jehovah.” Likewise, an employer should be honest in his dealings with his employees, being fair to them. “You masters, keep dealing out what is righteous and what is fair to your slaves, knowing that you also have a Master in heaven.”—Col. 4:1.

8. How is doing reliable and honest work an expression of love of neighbor?

⁸ This course shows practical love. How? If one, claiming to be a Christian witness of Jehovah, proved to be a worker who was unreliable and dishonest, would that not make it difficult for his employer to listen to the “good news” preached to him by other witnesses of Jehovah? Without a doubt it would. So the one who truly loves his neighbor avoids “every form of wickedness,” so that he puts no stumbling block in the way of his neighbor’s accepting the truth. “Love does not work evil to one’s neighbor,” wrote the apostle Paul.—Rom. 13:9, 10.

9. What counsel is given on borrowing?

⁹ To borrow money without the sincere determination to pay it back according to the agreement made is also dishonest and is similar to stealing. To sponge on the good nature and kindness of others with no intention of paying back what is borrowed is really wicked. For “the wicked one is borrowing and does not pay back.” (Ps. 37:21) This matter of borrowing and not paying back is a source of many difficulties. Indeed it is better, whenever possible, never to be a borrower; but if one is forced by circumstances to ask for a loan from his Christian brother or a neighbor, then he should work diligently to repay what is borrowed within a reasonable time.

SPEECH THAT IS UPBUILDING

10, 11. (a) Explain the difference between old-world and new-world standards as to speech and self-control. (b) How did Jesus set a fine example in this regard?

¹⁰ Practical “love of neighbor” is shown even in the way we speak. This world is full of harshness and bitterness. People try to show that they are superior and stronger than others by speaking abusively to them. We often see people lose their tempers, becoming very angry, even to the point of screaming at one another. Surely, such kind of conduct does not express ‘love of neighbor.’ When you read about Christ Jesus in the Bible, ‘you do not learn the Christ to be like that,’ do you? (Eph. 4:20) While he was very courageous and strong in support of God’s kingdom, and at times gave strong reproof to those who opposed the truth, he never lost his temper or his self-control. Always he was calm and, when dealing with his followers, kind, considerate and patient, even when having to correct them. So, then, the followers of Jesus are counseled: “Let a rotten saying not proceed out of your mouth, but whatever saying is good for building up as the need may be, that it may impart what is favorable to the hearers. Let all malicious bitterness and anger and wrath and screaming and abusive speech be taken away from you along with all injuriousness. But become kind to one another, tenderly compassionate, freely forgiving one another just as God also by Christ freely forgave you.”—Eph. 4:29, 31, 32.

¹¹ What a difference in speech and conduct between the old world and the standard God sets for those who will gain life in his new world! And how such good conduct is really showing love in a practical way! How upbuilding it is to have someone speak to us in a kind way! How comforting to experience loving forgiveness for some wrong we may have done to another! The exercise of these qualities of kindness and forgiveness makes for peace, and that is why the New World society of Jehovah’s witnesses enjoys such unity and harmony.

12. What did the Bible writer James have to say about the wrong use of the tongue?

¹² All this means a big change in our lives and requires sincere effort. This is especially so in learning to control the tongue. Certainly it cannot be pleasing to God for the tongue at one moment to be praising Jehovah and for it in the next moment to be speaking abusively of one’s brother or neighbor. If that were to happen, then it would be true that “out of the same mouth come forth blessing and cursing.” Is that proper? “It is not proper, my brothers, for these things to go on occurring this way,” says the inspired writer James. “A fountain does not cause the sweet and the bitter to bubble out of the same opening, does it? My brothers, a fig tree cannot produce olives or a vine figs, can it? Neither can salt water produce sweet water.”—Jas. 3:10-12.

13. How does one demonstrate that he is truly wise and understanding?

¹³ God’s Word the Bible guides you in the proper use of the tongue, just as it also guides you in how to act. It is by a study of God’s Word and getting the understanding of it that you can become truly wise. The proof that you have gained such wisdom and understanding is seen in the course of conduct you follow, by what you do and what you say. The Bible writer James, who was the half brother of Jesus, continues: “Who is wise and understanding among you? Let him show out of his fine conduct his works with a meekness that belongs to wisdom. But if you have bitter jealousy and contentiousness in your hearts, do not be bragging and lying against the truth. This is not the wisdom that comes down from above, but is the earthly, animal, demonic. . . . But the wisdom from above is first of all chaste, then peaceable, reasonable, ready to obey, full of mercy and good fruits, not making partial distinctions, not hypocritical. Moreover, the fruit of righteousness has its seed sown under peaceful conditions for those who are making peace.”—Jas. 3:13-18.

UNDERSTANDING AND OBEYING THE WORD OF TRUTH

14. What does it mean to study, and what does this require?

¹⁴ These words show the need for a continual study and feeding upon God’s Word, for it contains the wisdom from above. To study is not just a matter of reading something and then letting it slip out of the mind. Nor is it learning some information, as a child may do at school, that can be remembered and repeated word for word yet without understanding. To study means to read with a purpose, with the desire to learn and understand. It means an earnest seeking to grasp the meaning of the written word, to appreciate the reasons why certain counsel is given, to see how one teaching of the Bible is related to and in harmony with the rest of the Bible. This requires mental effort, the kind of effort that many find hard to make. But this is part of the challenge of the good news.

15. (a) What should we appreciate as to the need for understanding and doing what Jehovah commands? (b) How did Jesus illustrate this at Matthew 7:24-27?

¹⁵ If you really value the “good news of the kingdom” and the hope of living forever in a new world, you will demonstrate this by making an “earnest effort” to increase in the “accurate knowledge of God” as found in the Bible. (2 Pet. 1:2, 5) Appreciate the necessity of having an accurate knowledge of the “holy writings, which are able to make you wise for salvation.” (2 Tim. 3:15) The right foundation for future life is built up not by hearing only, but it is by understanding and then doing what Jehovah God commands us to do through Christ Jesus. While Jesus was on the earth he gave an illustration that very forcefully stressed this. “Everyone that hears these sayings of mine and does them will be likened to a discreet man, who built his house upon the rock-mass. And the rain poured down and the floods came and the winds blew and lashed against that house, but it did not cave in, for it had been founded upon the rock-mass. Furthermore, everyone hearing these sayings of mine and not doing them will be likened to a foolish man, who built his house upon the sand. And the rain poured down and the floods came and the winds blew and struck against that house and it caved in, and its collapse was great.”—Matt. 7:24-27.

16, 17. Why is it now most important and reasonable to subject ourselves to Jehovah as Ruler?

¹⁶ Jesus gave this illustration to show that the course of doing Jehovah’s will, which he had taught them, was really the only practical and wise course to take. The accurate knowledge of the Bible shows us how to act in a practical way for the good of our neighbor, to know what to say that “is good for building up” and “may impart what is favorable to the hearers.” But even more important, such wisdom shows us what it means to love Jehovah himself. It shows us the need, as James wrote above, to be “ready to obey” the Sovereign Ruler of the universe. It is, therefore, most important to your future hope of life that you now “subject yourselves . . . to God,” and “obey God as ruler.”—Col. 4:5, 6; Jas. 3:17; 4:7; Acts 5:29.

¹⁷ This is the course of true wisdom. Is not Jehovah God all-powerful, able to destroy and also to give life? Is not his kingdom under Christ Jesus the greatest of all kingdoms and the one that is to last forever after destroying all the kingdoms of this world? (Dan. 2:44) So it would be unreasonable, would it not, to disregard God’s law and to neglect the opportunity of learning his will from the Bible? How wise, then, is the counsel of the apostle: “Keep strict watch that how you walk is not as unwise but as wise persons, buying out the opportune time for yourselves, because the days are wicked. On this account cease becoming unreasonable, but go on perceiving what the will of Jehovah is.”—Eph. 5:15-17.

18. (a) How must we accept the “good news” and ‘get the sense of it’? (b) Then what course should we take?

¹⁸ What is Jehovah’s will for you? First of all, his will is that you give close attention to the “good news” preached by His servants on earth in these last days. Like the seed of corn that is sown and takes root in the earth, humbly accept the word of truth into your heart and mind. Through personal study of the Bible strive to grow in understanding of God’s Word, ‘get the sense of it,’ and thus perceive accurately what Jehovah wants you to do. As you ‘get the sense of it’ and discern God’s will, make an earnest effort to bring your life into harmony therewith. Turn away from the course of this world and follow a course of conduct in harmony with the principles of God’s new world. We sincerely hope that the information in the preceding pages will help you to follow this good advice of the apostle: “Quit being fashioned after this system of things, but be transformed by making your mind over, that you may prove to yourselves the good and acceptable and perfect will of God.”—Matt. 13:23; Rom. 12:2.

19. What is meant by dedication to Jehovah, and on what proper basis can this step be taken?

¹⁹ By bringing your way of life into harmony with God’s requirements, you, as a sincere person who loves God, are now in a proper condition to make a very important step in the way of life—the making of an acceptable dedication of yourself to God to do God’s will, thereafter to be baptized in water before witnesses in symbol of that dedication. Dedication means making a solemn decision in prayer to Jehovah to do His will. This is a decision that cannot be made for you by someone else, but it is a personal matter of prayer; and the making of such dedication must be from a sincere heart, with the confidence that you are now in position to present yourself in a holy and acceptable way for Jehovah’s service. It is not a step to be taken just on a wave of emotion. It is to be taken as a result of earnest study, with the use of one’s “power of reason,” that leads to understanding and a heartfelt appreciation of the blessed privilege of serving Jehovah.—Rom. 12:1.

20. What is God’s will for those who dedicate themselves to him?

²⁰ God’s will for those who make such a dedication is that they also become his ministers, publicly declaring the “good news of the kingdom” to others from house to house, along with “conduct worthy of the good news.” This shows a genuine love for God and one’s neighbors.

21. (a) What question is it now good for you to consider? (b) Why should you not be discouraged if the way of life may seem difficult? (c) By your doing what will the news of God’s kingdom be really “good news” for you?

²¹ This is the challenge of the good news. Will you answer it? Will you be one of those who will follow this course of humble obedience to the divine will and accept the responsibility that comes with hearing the good news? Perhaps you may feel within yourself that it is too hard a way for you to walk. It is true, as Jesus said, “narrow is the gate and cramped the road leading off into life, and few are the ones finding it.” But do not let this discourage you. Those who do find the way of life and who successfully keep walking in it do not do so in their own strength. Those who sincerely want to serve Jehovah and live in the new world to praise him forever will receive the necessary guidance and strength from Jehovah to keep walking in that way, as they obediently do the divine will. In the same sermon on the mountainside Jesus said: “Keep on asking, and it will be given you; keep on seeking, and you will find; keep on knocking, and it will be opened to you.” (Matt. 7:14, 7) So, then, put your faith in Jehovah, the true God, and in his Son, Christ Jesus, who gave his life that you might be delivered from sin and death and who is now reigning as God’s appointed king in the heavenly kingdom. Put your faith in the promised new world. Start living now as an obedient subject of the heavenly kingdom and share in declaring to others that it is man’s only hope for the future. In all that you do, show that you love Jehovah God with all your heart, soul, strength and mind and that you love your neighbor as yourself. Then, indeed, the news of God’s kingdom means “good news” for you, assuring you of everlasting life under this most blessed government of peace and righteousness.

Right Direction

“Keep your minds fixed on the things above, not on the things upon the earth.” “Keep walking by spirit and you will carry out no fleshly desire at all.”—Col. 3:2; Gal. 5:16.

Early Christian Copyists

“NOT many wise in a fleshly way were called, . . . but God chose the foolish things of the world, that he might put the wise men to shame; . . . in order that no flesh might boast in the sight of God.”—1 Cor. 1:26-29.

Those words of the apostle Paul include the hardworking, conscientious, largely unknown and unskilled early Christian copyists. They proved themselves to be far wiser than the worldly professional calligraphersa of their day, both by reason of what they copied and their practical approach to their labors. A consideration of their work is interesting, enlightening and strengthening to faith.

Today little remains of the work of these early Christian copyists. This is not to be wondered at in view of the persecutions by pagan Rome, which repeatedly ordered the destruction of the Christians’ Scriptures. Age, wear and tear from handling also played their parts, as papyrus, the writing material used by these copyists, rapidly disintegrates in humid climates; accounting for the fact that most of the copies of their work that have been discovered in modern times were found in Egypt, which has a very hot and dry climate, favorable to the preservation of papyrus. Then, too, as the papyrus manuscripts of these early copyists were replaced by vellum copies made by professional scribes in the early fourth century, little need was seen to preserve these earlier manuscripts, even though among them were copies of the original autographs. What little has come down to us, however, has proved to be invaluable, as we shall see.

WHAT THEY COPIED

There is no question about it; these early Christian copyists were wiser than their pagan professional contemporaries by reason of what they copied. None other than the Son of Almighty God had come to earth and upon parting had given instructions to his followers to “make disciples of people of all the nations.” This ‘publishing of the good news,’ as it was called, began orally at Pentecost. But oral publishing has limitations. For the sake of accuracy, permanence and wider distribution the good news needed to be put in writing.—Matt. 28:19, 20; Rom. 10:15.

For these and other reasons the holy spirit moved men to put this vital message in writing. And so it was that within little more than thirty years of Pentecost, with the exception of John’s writings, all the Christian Greek Scriptures had been penned.

Not that Christian publication was to be limited to these writings. Obviously the Gospels were intended for general circulation, requiring copies to be made. The very way James begins his letter (and Peter begins his similarly) shows the need of publication: “To the twelve tribes that are scattered about.” Publication is also implied by the warning, recorded by John, against adding or taking away from the book of Revelation.—Jas. 1:1; 1 Pet. 1:1; Rev. 22:18, 19.

However, even before such copies were made the early Christian copyists played a vital role in publishing the good news. How so? In that the highly favored ones who were inspired to give us the Christian Greek Scriptures did not always do their own writing. Thus in one of Paul’s letters we read: “I, Tertius, who have done the writing of this letter, greet you in the Lord.” In fact, it is quite likely that Paul, with but few exceptions—such as the brief letter to Philemon—contented himself with dictating his letters and then adding in his own hand a greeting and his signature: “Here is my greeting, Paul’s, in my own hand, which is a sign in every letter; this is the way I write.”—Rom. 16:22; 2 Thess. 3:17; Philem. 19.

A Christian scribe also assisted Peter, for we read in his first letter: “Through Sylvanus, a faithful brother, as I account him, I have written you in few words, to give encouragement.” Apparently Sylvanus was a skilled writer, not “unlettered and ordinary” as was Peter, for, according to Doctor Goodspeed, “Hebrews and 1 Peter are generally regarded as the best Greek in the New Testament.” Some have claimed that Second Peter could not have been written by Peter since it represents such a contrast in style to the finely written First Peter. But that does not at all follow. It merely would show that Peter allowed Sylvanus latitude in choosing his words and that another (it might even have been Peter himself) wrote the second letter.—1 Pet. 5:12; Acts 4:13.

MATERIALS USED

The Hebrew Scriptures had been written on leather. History shows that it was leather copies that were sent to Alexandria for the production of the Septuagint. Without doubt the Isaiah scroll from which Jesus read in the synagogue of his native city of Nazareth was of leather, even as are the Dead Sea Scroll of Isaiah and most of its companion books discovered in 1947.—Luke 4:17.

But leather scrolls were bulky, besides they were very costly. Something more practical in every way was needed for Christians in their ministry and papyrus served the purpose ideally, at least during the first three centuries. It could be bought at the stationer’s shops in various sizes and qualities and used in scrolls or rolls. That the original manuscripts, whether written by the inspired penmen themselves or by their copyists, were on rolls is apparent both from secular history and from Scripture references. It also seems that they soon disappeared from sight, as no early church overseer mentions having seen any of them.—2 Tim. 4:13; Rev. 5:5.

Papyrus rolls of that period seldom exceeded thirty feet and varied in width from six to fifteen inches. Quite likely Luke, whose Christian Greek Scripture writings are the longest, limited himself because of this, his scrolls being estimated to have been eleven inches high and from thirty-one to thirty-two feet long. John’s Gospel must have been twenty-three or twenty-four feet and Mark’s nineteen. Paul’s letters ranged from six or seven inches for Philemon to eleven feet six inches for Romans.

In making copies of these autograph rolls the Christian copyists at once outstripped their pagan professional contemporaries. They were practical men. They early began replacing the roll with the codex, that is, a written work consisting of separate sheets and, if bound, having a wooden cover. Thus we are told that in the third century nearly all pagan writing was still on scrolls, whereas most of the work of the early Christian copyists was already in codex form.

The advantages of the codex over the roll are marked: the cost was less, since the codex consisted of the individual sheets as first manufactured, whereas the roll required these first to be glued together end to end. Further, a codex could contain far more than could a roll. Instead of being limited to just one book, such as Acts, early the four Gospels were brought together in one codex as also were the letters of Paul. In fact, it would take from thirty-five to forty rolls to hold what appears in such a codex as the Vatican Manuscript No. 1209.

Nor may we overlook the advantage that the codex presented in looking up a certain Scripture passage. How much simpler to turn to the back of the book, the last page, than to unroll thirty feet of manuscript! No question about it, the early Christian copyists knew full well what they were doing when they at once utilized the codex form, if they did not invent it themselves.

For ink a copyist used a mixture of soot and gum. This was produced in a hard form and mixed with water as needed. Instead of gum or rubber erasers, as we have today, or even the knife used by the scribes who wrote on leather, vellum or parchment, these copyists carried a sponge with them to wash off their mistakes. Their pen consisted of a reed, a calamus, the tip of which was softened with water and therefore was somewhat like a fine brush.—Jer. 36:23; 2 Cor. 3:3; 2 John 12; 3 John 13.

CONSCIENTIOUS THOUGH UNSKILLED

Historians are prone to speak disparagingly of the work of these early Christian copyists. They point out that these copyists did not appreciate the importance of accuracy and so made many mistakes, which scholars ever since have been endeavoring to correct. But such observations give an entirely wrong impression. True, as Westcott and Hort point out in their Introduction to the New Testament: “The exact reproduction of a given series of words in a given order” is the purpose of transcription, and to accomplish this there must be “a distinct perception that a transcriber’s duty is to transcribe and nothing more.” “This perception,” they go on to say, “is rarer and more dependent upon training than might be supposed,” for unless there is a “special concentration of regard upon the language as having intrinsic sacredness . . . the instinctive feeling of sense cooperates largely in the result.” In other words, unless specially trained, a copyist, however conscientious, will make minor errors due to his concentration on the sense rather than on the exact words, this largely due to the workings of the unconscious mind.b

So the early Christian copyists, due to their lack of professional skill, did make many errors. But what did these amount to? Minor transposition of words or phrases, or the use of synonyms, such as “Lord” for “God,” or the use of a pronoun for the noun or vice versa, such as “he” for “Jesus” or “Jesus” for “he,” or it might be a variation or a mistake in spelling. In fact, none other than Westcott and Hort state that 99.9 percent of the differences concerning which there may be question consist of “comparatively trivial variations.”

Typical of the work of these early Christian copyists is the oldest extant fragment of any of the Christian Greek Scriptures, the Papyrus Rylands Greek, No. 457. Written on both sides, it consists of but some hundred letters of Greek and has been dated as early as the second century A.D. Regarding it we are told that, while it has an informal air about it and makes no pretensions to be fine writing, it is “a careful piece of work.” Interestingly this fragment is from a codex, about eight inches square, and which most likely contained all of John’s Gospel, or some sixty-six leaves, about 132 pages in all.

Bearing more extensive witness, but at later dates, are the Chester Beatty Biblical Papyri. These consist of portions of eleven Greek codices, produced between the second and the fourth centuries A.D. They contain parts of nine Hebrew and fifteen Christian Bible books. These are quite representative in that a variety of writing styles is found in them. One codex is said to be “the work of a good professional scribe.” Of another it is said: “The writing is very correct, and though without calligraphic pretensions, is the work of a competent scribe.” And of still another, “The hand is rough but generally correct.”—Chester Beatty Biblical Papyri, Vol. I.

More important than these characteristics, however, is their subject matter. In the main they corroborate those fourth-century vellum manuscripts known as the “Neutrals,” which are rated most highly by Westcott and Hort, such as the Vatican No. 1209 and the Sinaiticus. Further, they contain none of the striking interpolations that are found in certain vellum manuscripts and which have been termed, perhaps mistakenly, “Western.”

Most important of all is the support that these papyrus manuscripts give to the authenticity of the existing texts. Regarding them Sir Frederic Kenyon states: “The first and most important conclusion derived from the examination of them is the satisfactory one that they confirm the essential soundness of the existing texts. No striking or fundamental variation is shown in either the Old or New Testament. There are no important omissions or additions of passages, and no variations which affect vital facts or doctrines. The variations of text affect minor matters, such as the order of words or the precise words used.”

Truly, of the early Christian copyists it could be stated that among them were “not many wise in a fleshly way,” yet their labors proved them to be truly wise. And though many minor flaws crept into their work because of their lack of professional skill, their conscientiousness and stress on the sense caused them to produce manuscripts basically correct and free from gross interpolations. What we have of their works contributes strongly to the authenticity of the Scriptures as we have them.

[Footnotes]

[Picture on page 85]

FRAGMENT Papyrus Rylands Greek, No. 457 (showing both sides)

Chapters and Verses in the Bible

About 1250 (A.D.) Cardinal Hugo de Sancto Caro divided the Bible into chapters. In 1545 Robert Stephens, a French printer, divided the Christian Greek Scriptures into verses. The first complete English Bible to have both chapter and verse numbers was the Geneva Bible, published in 1560. Most of the Bibles published today still use the same divisions.

Behemoth and Leviathan—Creative Marvels

“WHO is this that is obscuring counsel by words without knowledge?” Almighty God asked of Job. (Job 38:2) Though Job had kept integrity to God, he had obscured divine counsel by speaking words not based on accurate knowledge; he had cast some doubt upon the wise, loving and just procedure of the Creator. Job’s course of justifying his own soul more than God needed to be corrected. Out of the windstorm Jehovah spoke to Job, giving him knowledge of God’s infinite wisdom and loving care of his creatures. Deeply humiliated by the questions raised by the Almighty regarding works in nature, the animals and birds, Job confessed he had nothing to say toward his own justification. Then Jehovah asked another question: “Do you have an arm like that of the true God?” And to illustrate God’s power in nature, Jehovah describes a creative marvel, the mighty behemoth:

“Here, now, is Behemoth that I have made as well as you. Green grass it eats just as a bull does. Here, now, its power is in its hips, and its dynamic energy in the tendons of its belly. It bends down its tail like a cedar; the sinews of its thighs are interwoven. Its bones are tubes of copper; its strong bones are like wrought-iron rods. It is the beginning of the ways of God; its Maker can bring near his sword.”—Job 40:15-19.

Here is a mammoth creature made by God, mighty in power. From God’s description of the creature, the hippopotamus is generally identified with the behemoth; and a number of Bible translations of the book of Job use the word “hippopotamus” in their main text or in footnotes to identify the creature referred to by God.

Prodigious in size, a full-grown hippo may be twelve to fourteen feet long and may weigh up to 8,000 pounds. “The bulk of a full-grown male hippopotamus can hardly be believed even when viewed at close range in a zoo,” declares zoologist Ivan Sanderson. “One wonders, when so observing the brute, how on earth its small stumpy legs, for all their girth, can support the body, yet the same beast in its native waters can overtake almost any man-powered small boat and even motorboats by paddling like a dog with these same ridiculous little limbs.”—Living Mammals of the World.

Those small legs are of sturdy build. The bones of the hippo’s legs are as strong as “tubes of copper,” strong enough to support a four-ton creature. Its bones and ribs are like iron bars. “The sinews of its thighs are interwoven,” so that the fiber and tendons of muscles of its thighs are twisted together and braided like powerful cables. Its “power is in its hips,” in the muscles of its back, and “its dynamic energy in the tendons of its belly,” the muscles of its belly being powerful. The hide of the belly is thicker than that on other parts of the body, since the hippo is short-legged and drags his body over grass, sticks and stones of riverbeds. Its tail is like a cedar, not in length but since it can set its thick tail rigidly upright or swing it about like a tree.

How the mighty hippo exemplifies God’s power! He created it; he gave it its power. Who can approach such a creature with a sword to take its life? So great is the hippo’s power in its jaw and teeth that it has bitten men clean through the torso. With its recurved canines and pointed incisors, the hippo can shear through a native dugout canoe like cardboard and bite through the metal plates of a riverboat. Little wonder an ancient Egyptian inscription going back to the time of Thutmose III reads: “The hippopotamus, the lord of terrors in the water, which man cannot approach unto.”a Concerning this behemoth Jehovah said to Job:

“The mountains themselves bear their produce for it, and all the wild beasts of the field themselves play there. Under the thorny lotus trees it lies down, in the concealed place of reeds and the swampy place. The thorny lotus trees keep it blocked off with their shadow; the poplars of the torrent valley surround it. If the river acts violently, it does not run in panic. It is confident, although the Jordan should burst forth against its mouth. Before its eyes can anyone take it? With snares can anyone bore its nose?”—Job 40:20-24.

The mighty behemoth, being amphibious, climbs out of the river, ascending steep riverbanks to enjoy the produce that the mountains bear for it. Yes, “green grass” is its food, and because of its enormous appetite, it seems that the greenery of whole mountains is required to sustain it. The teeth cut the grass and a cavernous mouth scoops up the feed, the jaws crushing the mass. Some 200 to 400 pounds of greenery go into its mammoth stomach every day. Yet when the hippo leaves the water to feed where green grass grows, the other animals have no need to fear, since the monster does not attack them.

When its appetite has been assuaged, the hippo lies down under the thorny lotus trees or conceals itself in a swampy place, beneath the shade of the poplars. It is of little concern to the hippo if the river in which it dwells rises and overflows its banks. It can still keep its head above the level of water and swim against the force of the deluge.

Seeing the behemoth is so mighty and has a mammoth mouth equipped with formidable tusks in the lower jaw, would Job have the audacity to confront such a monster before its eyes and try to pierce its nose with a hook?

LEVIATHAN

Humbled by God’s description of the power of the grass-eating behemoth, Job is next asked about another amphibious creature, which, unlike the hippo, is meat-eating and ferocious in disposition:

“Can you draw out Leviathan with a fishhook, or with a rope can you hold down its tongue? Can you put a rush in its nostrils, or with a thorn can you bore its jaws? Will it make many entreaties to you, or will it say soft words to you? Will it conclude a covenant with you, that you may take it as a slave to time indefinite? Will you play with it as with a bird, or will you tie it for your young girls? Will partners barter for it? Will they divide it up among tradesmen? Will you fill its skin with harpoons, or its head with fish spears? Put your hands upon it. Remember the battle. Do not do it again.”—Job 41:1-8.

From the description Jehovah gives of leviathan in the book of Job, it is thought that this creative marvel must be that giant among reptiles, the crocodile. Thus a number of Bible translations of the book of Job such as J. Smith and Moffatt use the word “crocodile” in the main text for the Hebrew word liw-ya-than. The etymology of this word is uncertain, and it has been variously defined as meaning “a wreathed animal,” “one spirally wound” and “a twisted animal.” The word itself is believed to be nonspecific, so that the term could apply to any such great sea monster or reptile; however, because of the description Jehovah gives in Job chapter 41, the term there applies to a mighty reptile with armor and scales and formidable teeth. The crocodile fits that description.

Though Job may not have seen a crocodile, he would have heard about this creative marvel not only because of his long life but because the Nile River abounded with crocodiles. Job could have heard about the limber leviathan, for his home was not far from the Gulf of Aqaba. From what Job heard about this leviathan monster, he knew that it was far too formidable for him to use it as an object on which to demonstrate fishing ability. Its disposition is wild and fierce, so could Job make leviathan serve him just as his domestic animals did? Or could Job even put leviathan to use as a plaything? Would it cooperate as a plaything for children? Will fishermen take leviathan with their hooks? Will traders bargain over this creature, and will they divide him among merchants? Suppose men lay their hands on this creative marvel that Jehovah evidently describes as the most formidable species of crocodile, then what? The ensuing struggle will be such a terrifying experience they will never forget it nor will they do it again!

WHAT, THEN, OF ITS CREATOR?

If a fisherman entertains expectations of taking leviathan with his ordinary fishing equipment, he is in for a surprise. Jehovah continues speaking to Job:

“Look! One’s expectation about it will certainly be disappointed. One will also be hurled down at the mere sight of it. None is so audacious that he should stir it up. And who is it that can hold his ground before me? Who has given me something first, that I ought to reward him? Under the whole heavens it is mine.”—Job 41:9-11.

The mere sight of a giant crocodile is enough to warn one to stay clear. Hands off! Who, then, is so audacious as to stir leviathan up? Is Job? The temperament of most giant crocodiles, whether the Nile River or the seagoing species, is not suitable for man to get too close to them and then stir them up. Zoo keepers find that some alligators get so tame they can practically walk on them, but they know the wisdom of staying clear of crocodiles. Writes Raymond Ditmars, a noted authority on reptiles, in his book Reptiles of the World:

“There is about as much difference in temper and activity between an alligator and a crocodile, as between a tortoise and a snapping turtle. An enraged alligator will throw its head from side to side, bang the jaws together sonorously and violently swish the tail, but a man with steady nerves may approach within a few feet of the animal, throw a noose over the head, tie the jaws together, push a pole toward the body—then, by successive nooses pulled backward over the head, and forward over the tail, splint the animal to the pole so it is entirely powerless.”

Doing that with a crocodile that is formidable and ferocious is something else again, says Ditmars. Even those that appear to be the epitome of good nature are to be treated with utmost respect. Reptile expert Ditmars tells how he approached a captured crocodile that appeared to be rather tame-looking:

“Standing away from what he thought to be the reach of his tail, the writer prodded the apparently sluggish brute with a stick to start it for the tank. Several things happened in quick order. With a crescentic twist of the body utterly beyond the power of an alligator, the brute dashed its tail at the writer, landing him such a powerful blow that he was lifted completely from the ground. As he left terra-firma, an almost involuntary inclination caused him to hurl his body away from a pair of widely-gaping, tooth-studded jaws swinging perilously near. Landing with a thud on one shoulder, though otherwise unhurt, the writer threw himself over and over rolling from the dangerous brute that was actually pursuing him on the run, body raised high from the ground. For an instant it seemed as if the crocodile would win. As the writer suddenly sprang to his feet and glanced backward, he beheld the brute throw itself flat on its belly, open the jaws widely, then remain motionless as a statue. Such is the average crocodile—an active, vicious and, above all, treacherous brute.”

According to Ditmars, the man-eating and most ferocious crocodiles are the Nile River and salt-water crocodiles. These giant, twisting leviathans pack tremendous power in their limber tails. Though leviathan swims mainly by twisting strokes of the tail, the tail is also an offensive weapon of devastating power. By an incredibly swift twist of the tail, leviathan captures prey by sweeping it from the riverbank or shallow water into the stream, where it is seized by frightfully teeth-studded jaws and devoured. Even young crocodiles of the salt-water variety are incredibly dangerous. Ditmars tells of opening a crate of three four-foot young ones: “The amount of ferocity crowded into those four-foot youngsters was amazing. They all but stood on their hind legs in an endeavor to bite. . . . In uncontrollable rage, one of them kept backing up and walking forward, and if a hand were moved over it, reared upward, snapping its jaws loudly.” They were positively the most vicious reptiles he had ever seen.

Not only are such crocodiles the most ferocious but they are also the giants of the reptile world. Though the average adult crocodile may be about sixteen feet long, there are a number that reach twenty feet. Perhaps very few today reach the great lengths they did before the introduction of firearms; but it should be noted that one specimen of the salt-water crocodile, of which the skull is in the British Museum, has been found to be thirty-three feet long, with a circumference of thirteen feet eight inches! Little wonder that the fisherman in Job’s day would “be hurled down at the mere sight” of a giant twisting leviathan!

If Job could not stand his ground before this limber leviathan, then how could he successfully contend with or stand his ground before Jehovah, the Creator of such reptilian marvel of ferocity and power? If a mere creation of God is too formidable to assail, what, then, must be said about the Creator of all things? How ridiculously audacious it would be for a mere man to contend with the Almighty by finding fault with the way he rules the universe! So remarkable is this living illustration of God’s power in leviathan that Jehovah declares:

“I shall not keep silent about its parts or the matter of its mightiness and the grace of its proportions. Who has uncovered the face of its clothing? Into its double jaw who will enter? The doors of its face who has opened? Its teeth round about are frightful. Furrows of scales are its haughtiness, closed as with a tight seal. One to the other they fit closely, and not even air can come in between them. Each one to the other they are stuck together; they grasp one another and cannot be separated. Its very sneezings flash forth light, and its eyes are like the beams of dawn. Out of its mouth there go lightning flashes, even sparks of fire make their escape. Out of its nostrils smoke goes forth, like a furnace set aflame even with rushes. Its soul itself sets coals ablaze, and even a flame goes forth out of its mouth. In its neck lodges strength, and before it despair leaps. The folds of its flesh do cling together; they are as a casting upon it, immovable. Its heart is cast like stone, yes, cast like a lower millstone. Due to its rising up the strong get frightened; due to consternation they get bewildered.”—Job 41:12-25.

STRIKING ASPECTS

How terrible of aspect and mighty in strength and yet how comely of proportion is the limber leviathan! Beautifully narrow and streamlined is the crocodile’s body, but its teeth and jaws are frightful. Its jaws are very extended, and, there being no lips, the teeth, long and pointed and of various sizes, present a frightful sight. What crushing power! In experiments in France a 120-pound crocodile exerted a pressure between its jaws of 1,540 pounds.

Jehovah’s poetic description is most apt; for instance, “its eyes are like the beams of dawn.” Thus the flashing eyes of the crocodile as it lifts its head out of the water at sunrise produced such a strong impression upon the ancient Egyptians that they adopted the crocodile’s eyes as the symbol of morning. “Though in a poetical form,” says one writer about God’s description of leviathan, “it is without exaggeration.” The writer relates the observations of ancient naturalists who beheld the monster rise after a long submergence in the water: “Then the breath, long suppressed, rushes out with such violence that it would seem to vomit out flames from its mouth and nostrils.”b

Its tightly closed scales are leviathan’s haughtiness; the folds of its flesh make up immovable armor. The true scales of this creative marvel are no more easily removed than human fingernails. What a masterpiece is the crocodile’s rough covering of plate and mail! Imbedded in the skin are bones, and on these are plates of horn. The bony plates set in the thick, leathery skin furnish an armor that is difficult to pierce with an ordinary bullet, which often ricochets. How useless, then, arrows and darts! Jehovah explains further to Job:

“Overtaking it, the sword itself does not prove equal, nor spear, dart or arrowhead. It regards iron as mere straw, copper as mere rotten wood. An arrow does not chase it away; the slingstones have been changed for it into mere stubble. A club has been regarded by it as mere stubble, and it laughs at the rattling of a javelin. As pointed earthenware fragments are its under parts; it spreads out a threshing instrument upon the mire. It causes the depths to boil just like a pot; it makes the very sea like an ointment pot. Behind itself it makes a pathway shine; one would regard the watery deep as gray-headedness. Upon the dust there is not the like of it, the one made to be without terror. Everything high it sees. It is king over all majestic wild beasts.”—Job 41:26-34.

To this day the warriors of some African tribes use the plated hide of a crocodile as an armor; against javelins and arrows the hide is a protection. Many creatures have a smooth and unprotected belly, but the crocodile’s belly is covered with tough, sharp-edged scales, leaving the impression upon the mud banks of “a threshing instrument.” In the water the voracious fury of the crocodile is the very stuff of which nightmares are made. Leviathan stirs up a frothy foam like the foaming mixture in an ointment pot. The furrow of the crocodile’s foam-shining track through the water is comparable to the grayness of the old ages of humans.

God’s description of the very sea in turmoil need not limit his words to the oceangoing crocodile, since the Hebrew word yam may refer not only to a sea or a large body of water but sometimes to a large river. But the seagoing crocodile is the terror of warm seas, the giant of the family and the great traveler of the family. It makes vast excursions from one shore to another, and large ones are often seen from ships when out of sight of land. From the seagoing crocodile’s nonchalant motions, it appears that it is in no danger of tiring or ultimately drowning. On the other hand, sometimes this sea monster goes far inland as a river rover, lying in wait to devour some unwary animal.

Because of its size, armor and offensive weapons at both ends, the crocodile is king of reptiles. The dangerous cobra? Just a tasty snack, an appetizer for the crocodile. It has no natural enemies in the wild state and knows no terror. After this description of leviathan, Job says to Jehovah:

“I have come to know that you are able to do all things, and there is no idea that is unattainable for you. ‘Who is this that is obscuring counsel without knowledge?’ Therefore I talked, but I was not understanding things too wonderful for me, which I do not know.”—Job 42:2, 3.

Job declares God can do all things; he realizes now that whatever God does is wise, loving and just. He repeats the very question Jehovah had asked at the beginning of the series of questions about creative marvels; Job does this to admit the justice of the rebuke implied by it and to admit, ‘I was the man!’

Job had said some things he should not have uttered; but now he confesses he had argued his case without understanding. “I make a retraction,” he said, “and I do repent in dust and ashes.” As Job did, we should take this lesson to heart. Lest we find ourselves contending against God, we should think hard before we let the outward appearance of our circumstances induce us to believe or declare that God is directly responsible for our sufferings. Behold behemoth and leviathan! They and other creative marvels should impress us with God’s great wisdom and power, adding force to the inspired words: “As for the Almighty, we have not found him out; he is exalted in power, and justice and abundance of righteousness he will not belittle. Therefore let men fear him.”—Job 42:6; 37:23, 24.

[Footnotes]

Proving Ourselves Approved by Accepting Responsibility

THE mature Christian is concerned with proving himself approved by God. Why? Because he knows that without that approval he stamps himself as a failure and cannot hope to get life everlasting in God’s new world. He therefore takes to heart the words of the apostle Paul: “Keep proving what you yourselves are . . . we are not disapproved.”—2 Cor. 13:5, 6.a

That this old world is not concerned with proving itself approved is apparent by its flight from responsibility. Look where we will we see evidence of it. Its prevalence is underscored by such expressions as “Carry the can” and “Passing the buck.” This refusal to accept responsibility is especially to be seen in the field of religion. The leaders of Christendom have refused to accept the responsibility of teaching the people the Word of God and as a result religious illiteracy is widespread. Because parents refuse to accept the responsibilities that come with parenthood juvenile delinquency is rampant.

One of the big tasks of the Christian minister is to persuade the persons whom he meets in the field ministry to accept responsibility by being willing to discuss religion, by obtaining Bible literature, by having the minister make return visits upon them and by having a Bible study in their home. Some agree to a Bible study in their home, but when it becomes apparent that they have an obligation to tell others about it, they too flee responsibility by dropping the study in their home.

Not that the matter of accepting responsibility is fully met when a Christian begins to preach the good news. That is only the beginning. He must continually prove himself to be approved by accepting whatever responsibility comes his way. If he can arrange his affairs so as to accept the full-time ministry he is under obligation to accept this responsibility. If he is able to serve where the need for Kingdom preachers is greater he must meet that obligation. And then there are organizational privileges for the male ministers in the local congregation that cannot be refused with impunity.

In fact, every Christian minister should seek to improve his ministry so that he will be in line to be offered more responsibility. Love, not vain ambition, should cause him to want to be used more fully because of the added privileges of helping others. Let none refuse, saying it cannot be done. Let him remember that Jehovah was not well pleased when Moses gave that excuse. Rather, let him have faith that God’s spirit will enable him to discharge faithfully the added responsibility he accepts, even as it has helped others.

True, organizational privileges are limited. But every Christian minister can accept the responsibility of seeing that each householder in his certain area has received the witness. That means keeping a house-to-house record. Further, he must accept responsibility by calling back on all who have shown interest, endeavoring to nourish that interest so that it will result in another person’s taking his stand for Jehovah and his kingdom.

There is much joy and satisfaction in store for those who prove themselves approved by accepting responsibility, both now and in the coming new world. And by each one’s accepting his responsibility the result will be a strong, effective organization of united worshipers, effectively guiding people of goodwill in the way of life.

[Footnotes]

Questions From Readers

● I understand that a group of Bible scholars made a comparison of various Bible translations. Was the New World Translation included in this study?—D. M., United States.

It appears that what your letter inquires about is a book written by Professor Ernest Cadman Colwell, entitled “What Is the Best New Testament?” This book is published by the Chicago University Press and was first printed in 1952. In 1947 Professor Colwell made a study of a number of translations and put them to the test as to sixty-four citations in the book of John. The book contains what Professor Colwell considers the correct rendering of each of those sixty-four citations. The New World Translation was not released until 1950, hence Professor Colwell could not include this translation in his list of tested ones.

However, if any reader will look up what Professor Colwell has to say about these sixty-four citations and will compare these with the New World Translation he will see that the New World Translation merits a score of sixty-four along with Dr. Goodspeed’s translation of the Christian Greek Scriptures, which the book gives a perfect score of sixty-four. Colwell’s book being first published in 1952, it was not available until two years after the release of the New World Translation of the Christian Greek Scriptures, which occurred in 1950 at Yankee Stadium. Consequently the New World Bible Translation Committee did not have Colwell’s book for reference when work on the New World Translation of the Christian Greek Scriptures was being done.

● How many miracles did the prophet Elisha perform, and what are they?—K. B., England.

The prophet Elisha is to be credited with sixteen miracles; fifteen during his lifetime and one after his death. His first miracle was that of causing the waters of the Jordan to divide right after Elijah had been taken away from him. (2 Ki. 2:14) His second miracle was that of healing the water supply of the city of Jericho that had been bad, causing miscarriages. (2 Ki. 2:19-22) His calling down evil upon a band of juvenile delinquents, which resulted in forty-two of them being torn to pieces by two she-bears, was his third miracle. (2 Ki. 2:23, 24) Elisha’s fourth miracle was the supplying of water to the famished armies of Judah and Israel, which miracle proved instrumental in the routing of the Moabite armies.—2 Ki. 3:16-26.

Elisha’s fifth miracle consisted of supplying edible oil to a widow so that she could pay her creditor, thus preventing him from taking her sons as his slaves. (2 Ki. 4:1-7) By his sixth miracle Elisha rewarded the fine hospitality of a certain Shunammite woman by causing her to have a son, and his seventh miracle was the raising of that son from the dead. (2 Ki. 4:8-37) Causing a poisonous stew to become wholesome by adding flour to it was Elisha’s eighth miracle. (2 Ki. 4:38-41) His ninth miracle resulted in the feeding of one hundred men and having leftovers from just twenty barley loaves.—2 Ki. 4:42-44.

By his tenth miracle Elisha cured the Syrian army officer, Naaman, of his leprosy, and having that leprosy come upon his servant Gehazi because of his commercializing his master Elisha’s miraculous powers was Elisha’s eleventh miracle. (2 Ki. 5:1-27) Causing an axhead that had fallen into the water to float was his twelfth miracle. (2 Ki. 6:5-7) Elisha’s thirteenth miracle was his opening his servant’s eyes so that he could see that the surrounding mountainous region was filled with horses and fiery chariots, proving indeed that ‘more are with us than with them.’ (2 Ki. 6:15-17) Elisha’s fourteenth and fifteenth miracles were the smiting with a mental blindness of the Syrian army that came to take him so that they could not recognize him and then having their mental sight restored.—2 Ki. 6:18-23.

As for Elisha’s sixteenth miracle, this took place years after the foregoing miracles had been performed by him, and it is credited to him even though it took place after he had died. Certain Israelites happened to be burying a dead man when a band of marauding Moabites came along. So the Israelites hurriedly took the dead body and threw it into Elisha’s burial place and went off. When the body of the dead man touched “the bones of Elisha, he immediately came to life and stood upon his feet.”—2 Ki. 13:20, 21.

It is of interest and a memory aid that twice as many miracles of Elisha appear in the Scriptural record as of Elijah, whose miracles were, in brief: (1) Shutting heaven from rainfall; (2) keeping the flour and oil supply of the widow of Zarephath renewed; (3) resurrecting the widow’s son; (4) having fire fall from heaven in answer to prayer; (5) having rain break the drought in answer to prayer; (6) calling down fire on King Ahaziah’s captain and his fifty men; (7) calling down fire on a second captain and his fifty; (8) parting the Jordan River by smiting it with his official garment, just before he was taken away in the fiery chariot.

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FIELD MINISTRY

Everyone who has a knowledge of God’s Word has the responsibility to share its message with others. During February Jehovah’s witnesses will carry out that responsibility by offering to all persons a subscription for The Watchtower, with three booklets, for $1.

WATCH TOWER PUBLICATIONS INDEX, 1962

One of the most valuable features of The Watchtower is its use as a ready reference for answers to Bible questions. Thousands of interesting and vital points are highlighted throughout a year, yet you cannot possibly remember just where they all are to be found. Now, with the new Watch Tower Publications Index, 1962, you can find all the outstanding points published for the entire year, whether in The Watchtower, Awake! or the Yearbook of Jehovah’s Witnesses. Send for your copy today and become acquainted with this rewarding aid in getting the most from your publications of the Watchtower Society. Send only 10c.

“WATCHTOWER” STUDIES FOR THE WEEKS

March 17: Conduct “Worthy of the Good News.” Page 72.

March 24: Conduct Showing Practical ‘Love of Neighbor.’ Page 79.