The Watchtower — November 1, 1965

In the Spirit of Love

DO YOU have a suggestion to offer? counsel to give? reproof, correction or discipline to administer? Then why not do it in the spirit of love? That is the best way to do it; it makes for good relations with your neighbor and is most likely to get results. By “love” here is meant, not the romantic eros based on sex attraction, but the love based on principle, the love that is unselfish and that is commanded in God’s Word the Bible.—Mark 12:30, 31.

One reason why love is so effective is that “love is . . . kind.” (1 Cor. 13:4) Kindness goes a long way, for it is an obvious expression of love; and we all have a basic hunger for love, even as we have for food. Since by inheritance mankind is prone to be selfish, many persons are inclined to be suspicious and on the defensive. Your speaking and acting in a kind manner will disarm them and help them to be friendlier. The simple word “please” has a kind connotation, and it is worthy of note how often this word is used by Bible characters, as shown in the New World Translation.—Gen. 13:8; Ex. 5:3; Num. 10:31; Deut. 3:25.

Another reason why the best way of doing things is in the spirit of love is that “love is long-suffering,” patient, willing to put up with things; it is not quick to give up. In the spirit of love try various ways to get your point across, especially when dealing with the failings of others. The situation may try you, cause you annoyance, but by patiently bearing it or putting up with it you will more likely succeed, in the meantime making it so much easier for the other person.—1 Cor. 13:4.

Then again, you may want to help someone who appears to be struggling with some difficulty or you may wish to make a suggestion at your place of employment or worship but fear you may meet with rebuff. True, you may, but you can lessen that risk if you proceed in the spirit of love. Why? Because, as the Bible further tells us, “love . . . does not brag,” it “does not get puffed up.” It does not offer help with the attitude of, “Let me show you!” but does so with due modesty, with humility. That makes it easier for the other person to accept your offer of help or your suggestion.

Using the spirit of love is also the best way to proceed because love “does not become provoked.” Do you have a correction to make, a reproof to give? Then do not administer it in a provoked manner, as did the mother in the United States supermarket who was heard to screech at the top of her voice: “You shut up or I’ll break your head!” That was done in anything but the spirit of love!—1 Cor. 13:5.

In striking contrast to that mother was the father (in another true-life incident) who had kindly but firmly told his daughter not to be running around in the Christian meeting place after the program for worship had ended and who warned her she would get a spanking if she did. Before long, though, she was running around again and so her father required her to sit still on a chair until the time came for them to go home. Upon arriving at home the father took her upon his lap and kindly asked her if she remembered what he had told her would happen if she kept acting disorderly. Yes, she did, but begged off being punished, promising she would not do it again. But her father asked her, “What would you think of a person who made promises but did not keep them, and would you want your daddy to be like that?” She saw he had no alternative but to give her the spanking, which he did. But right after her tears had dried she came over to where her daddy was sitting and, putting her arms around him, said, “Daddy, I love you!” No question about it, administering punishment in the spirit of love, without anger or getting provoked, is the best way.

In particular is it important for marriage mates in dealing with each other to recognize the need of saying and doing things in love, being kind and patient, exercising self-control. People are prone to overlook the importance of how things are said, but that means so much to others, and rightly so. The Bible counsels husbands, for instance, to show consideration and to give wives added honor as to a weaker vessel, a more delicate, more fragile vessel, as it were. You appreciate your wife’s being kind and showing love to you and the children, so show love to her by being kind and gentle.—1 Pet. 3:7.

Many more examples could be given, showing the wisdom of doing things in the spirit of love, but perhaps in no sphere of activity is it more important than in the Christian ministry. Without doubt the apostle Paul was one of the most effective of all followers of Jesus Christ in making disciples of people, and he did so in the spirit of love. As he himself tells it, he ‘became gentle to those to whom he ministered, giving of his own self to them, as when a nursing mother cherishes her own children.’ He had tender affection for those to whom he ministered. No wonder he was able to start one Christian congregation after another.—1 Thess. 2:7, 8.

Quite likely here is one explanation for the fact that at times the most fruitful minister is not the one intellectually superior to the rest but the one displaying most unselfishness and, like the apostle Paul, having tender affection toward those to whom he ministers and gives of himself.

Helping you in this regard is empathy, that is, putting yourself in the shoes of the other person. How would you want another to come to you with a suggestion? How would you want another to point out a mistake you had made? Harshly, bluntly, intemperately, proudly? Of course not! Here again the Bible gives good advice: “Brothers, even though a man takes some false step before he is aware of it, you who have spiritual qualifications try to restore such a man in a spirit of mildness, as you each keep an eye on yourself, for fear you also may be tempted.” We cannot improve on Bible principles. The best way to proceed in such matters is in the spirit of love.—Gal. 6:1.

Answering the Roman Governor’s Question, “What Is Truth?”

“Pilate said to him ‘What is truth?’”—John 18:38.

THE ASKER of the question was the governor or procurator of the Roman provinces of Judea, Samaria and Idumea in the Middle East during the years of 20 to 36 of our Common Era. His capital was in the city of Caesarea on the Mediterranean Sea; but he put his question to a man on trial before him in the governor’s palace in Jerusalem on the Jewish Passover day, Nisan 14, of the year 33 C.E. As governor, he was in the Jewish Holy City with his troops to keep order during the celebration of the Passover festival. Seemingly, in order to forestall any trouble in Jerusalem that day, the city’s religious leaders handed over to the Roman governor a man whom they called a wrongdoer, to be tried and punished according to secular Roman law. During the private examination that followed, the governor as judge put the question to the man accused of wrongdoing: “What is truth?” That is as far as the governor went in his interest in the truth. Three years later he was summoned to Rome to answer for misconduct in office. According to the historian Eusebius, he was banished to Vienna (Vienne) in the Roman province of Gaul and later he committed suicide. He died without getting the answer to his question.

1. How is the historicalness of the encounter of Pilate and Christ supported by writers, but who wrote in most detail about it?

THE Roman governor was Pontius Pilate. The man to whom he put his famous question was Jesus Christ. The historicalness of the meeting of these two men on this momentous occasion is supported, not only by Jewish witnesses, but also by the noted Roman historian of our first century, Publius Cornelius Tacitus. When writing about the name “Christian,” this non-Jewish historian says:a “The author of that name, Christ, was afflicted with punishment [was put to death] by the procurator Pontius Pilate, Tiberius acting as emperor.” But the man who reported on the details of this encounter between Jesus Christ and Pontius Pilate was the most loved earthly friend of Jesus Christ, namely, John the son of Zebedee. (John 18:28-38) John’s report had a strong background of truthfulness, for more than any other Bible writer he wrote about truth and truthfulness, in a field of interest that is of the greatest importance to all of us.

2. What questions arise about Pilate’s own question, and what can we say in reply?

² Apparently the Roman governor Pontius Pilate let the question, “What is truth?” die with him, unanswered. Really, though, did the question die with him? Has the question remained unanswered down to this day? Though Jesus Christ did not verbally answer Pilate’s question to him himself, did he really leave the question unanswered to others, yes, to us? We are obliged to reply No! Pilate’s question has been answered, and the answer can be given to the honest seekers and lovers of “the truth.”

3. What is “truth,” and about what truth did Pilate inquire?

³ Truth means “conformity to fact.” There are all kinds of things about which we have to establish the actual facts in order to know the truth about them. When we know a thing just as it actually is, our knowledge of the thing is formally true or is true in form. To be true, our knowledge of a thing must conform to what that thing is in reality. Now, when Jesus Christ was on trial before Pontius Pilate, the governor’s interest was in learning certain facts about this accused man. His interest was not in truth in general; his assigned duties and his responsibilities did not allow for such a broad investigation. The man before him under accusation was the one that brought up the subject of the truth. So it was the truth in this regard concerning which Pilate asked: “What is truth?” What, then, was the truth that here came under focus? Let us see.

PROBING FOR THE ANSWER

4. According to John’s report, how did Pilate’s question come about?

⁴ The report made by John the son of Zebedee reads: “So Pilate entered into the governor’s palace again and called Jesus and said to him: ‘Are you the king of the Jews?’ Jesus answered: ‘Is it of your own originality that you say this, or did others tell you about me?’ Pilate answered: ‘I am not a Jew, am I? Your own nation and the chief priests delivered you up to me. What did you do?’ Jesus answered: ‘My kingdom is no part of this world. If my kingdom were part of this world, my attendants would have fought that I should not be delivered up to the Jews. But, as it is, my kingdom is not from this source.’ Therefore Pilate said to him: ‘Well, then, are you a king?’ Jesus answered: ‘You yourself are saying that I am a king. For this I have been born, and for this I have come into the world, that I should bear witness to the truth. Everyone that is on the side of the truth listens to my voice.’ Pilate said to him: ‘What is truth?’”—John 18:33-38; Matt. 27:11-14.

5. When on trial before Pilate, how did Jesus show himself to be true to his mission in coming into the world?

⁵ On this decisive occasion Jesus was true to the mission on which he came into the world. Fear of death did not influence him to deny the facts of the case. When his captors handed him over to Pilate, they accused him, saying: “This man we found subverting our nation and forbidding the paying of taxes to Caesar and saying he himself is Christ a king.” (Luke 23:1-3) So when he was asked point blank whether he was a king, he did not deny. In answer to Pilate, he spoke of “my kingdom,” but he explained that it was no part of this world. From this explanation Pilate concluded that Jesus was a king. This induced him to ask a second time concerning Jesus’ kingship, saying: “Well, then, are you a king?” That is, even if your kingdom is no part of this world. Jesus answered that Pilate had drawn the right conclusion, by saying: “You yourself are saying that I am a king.” Otherwise, Pilate would not have asked a second time whether he was a king.

6. In view of what purpose was Jesus determined to be faithful on this occasion, cost what it might?

⁶ Jesus let Pilate’s judicial conclusion stand as the true one. Jesus was on the witness stand and he could not now deny the truth. As he then told Pilate, he had been born for this very purpose and had come into the world for this very purpose, to bear witness to the truth of his kingship. And everyone that is on the side of the truth would accept Jesus’ testimony as the truth. He had been born to bear witness to the truth. At thirty years of age he had been baptized and had come into the world to bear witness to the truth. So now at the climax of his earthly life he would not miss the purpose of his human birth and of his public entry upon the world stage. He would be faithful to the truth, even if it cost his life. If the point at issue were not the truth, he certainly would not be willing to die for it; he would not die for a lie.

7. Of what must we be convinced concerning Jesus’ testimony, and to what does our being convinced lead?

⁷ Jesus was willing to die for the truth. Are we convinced by the courage and faithfulness of his course that his testimony, not only before the Roman governor, but before all the nation, was the truth? If we are convinced, what does it mean? If we listen to his voice by accepting what he says, then we accept him as king. By doing so, we prove we are “on the side of the truth.” That means we are also on Jesus’ side, which is where we want to be.

8. (a) Why was that the truth on which we should inform ourselves? (b) Why did Jesus himself have to be the truth?

⁸ It must be very important truth, if a person is born for the very purpose of bearing witness to it. It must be truth worthy of devoting one’s whole life to it, if a person comes into this world for the very purpose of bearing witness to it. Actually it was just that important. So, if there is any truth on which to inform ourselves, it should be this truth. Yet, in Jesus’ case, truth was not just a matter of what he said; it was also a matter of what he did, how he lived and how he died. It was a case of living to make the truth realize itself or come to reality. There were many things wrapped up in Jesus as a man that were of universal importance, yes, of importance to heaven and earth; and he had to live and act in fulfillment of those things. He himself must be the truth.

9. In harmony with that, what did John say about Jesus Christ in John 1:14, 16, 17, and was it with extravagance of language?

⁹ It was not just an extravagance of words or exaggerated language when Jesus’ beloved disciple John wrote of his coming from heaven to earth to be born as a perfect man and said: “So the Word became flesh and resided among us, and we had a view of his glory, a glory such as belongs to an only-begotten son from a father; and he was full of undeserved kindness and truth. For we all received from out of his fullness, even undeserved kindness upon undeserved kindness. Because the Law was given through Moses, the undeserved kindness and the truth came to be through Jesus Christ.”—John 1:14, 16, 17.

HOW “THE TRUTH CAME TO BE”

10, 11. (a) Does such a contrast made between Jesus and Moses mean that the Law given through Moses was not the truth? (b) In Romans 7:10-12, what does Paul say in defense of the goodness of God’s law?

¹⁰ Well, then, how was Jesus “full of . . . truth”? How was he the one through whom “the truth came to be”? Why does the apostle John contrast Jesus with Moses? Did not the prophet Moses bring the truth in his days, more than fourteen centuries before Christ? Was not the Law that God gave to Moses for the Jewish nation the truth? Yes. Centuries after the giving of the Law through Moses, the inspired psalmist said to God the Lawgiver: “Those in pursuit of loose conduct have come near; they have got far away from your own law. You are near, O Jehovah, and all your commandments are truth.” (Ps. 119:150, 151) The very fact that the Law as given through Moses condemned his own people as sinners proves that this Law was true to righteousness and holiness. Because of its perfection, that Law condemned the Jews to death. So, in defense of the goodness of God’s law, the apostle Paul writes:

¹¹ “And the commandment which was to life, this I found to be to death. For sin, receiving an inducement through the commandment, seduced me and killed me through it [that is, through the commandment that condemned sinners to death]. Wherefore, on its part, the law is holy, and the commandment is holy and righteous and good.”—Rom. 7:10-12.

12, 13. (a) What did the law of Moses require for the Jews to gain life by it, and why did that Law not miss its purpose? (b) How did the apostle Paul make that point clear, in Galatians 3:23-25?

¹² So the Law given through Moses was not erroneous. Rather, it pointed out what error was. The Law given through Moses was not a mistake. The Ten Commandments that were a part of that Law were no mistake. The Law required perfect obedience on the part of the Jews in order for them to gain everlasting life by keeping it. But none of the Jews of ordinary birth could keep the Law perfectly and gain everlasting life by the works of the Law. Yet that Law served its purpose, for it identified or pointed out the Perfect One who did keep the Law flawlessly, the One who thus escaped condemnation by the Law and who was therefore pronounced completely righteous and deserving of everlasting life because of his unblemished righteousness. That the Law given through Moses did not miss its purpose and that it was no erroneous attempt or failure, the Jewish Christian apostle Paul made clear with these words:

¹³ “Before the [Christian] faith arrived, we were being guarded under law, being delivered up together into custody, looking to the faith that was destined to be revealed. Consequently the Law has become our tutor leading to Christ, that we might be declared righteous due to faith. But now that the faith has arrived, we are no longer under a tutor [the Law].”—Gal. 3:23-25.

14. (a) How was the law of Moses more than just a legal code? (b) How was this true respecting the priesthood for which the Law provided?

¹⁴ The Law given through Moses was more than just a legal code, more than a systematized set of laws for human conduct. In many ways it was prophetic. It commanded many things that were prophetic of good things to come. For instance, the Law set up a priesthood for the Jewish nation in the family of Aaron, the older brother of Moses. This was prophetic of how Jehovah God would set up a High Priest who would offer sacrifice for the lasting benefit of all mankind. This spiritual, heavenly High Priest would also have underpriests, these being taken from among men and being able to sympathize with men in their sinful estate and imperfection.

15. Of what were the features of the annual Jewish atonement day prophetic?

¹⁵ The Law ordered that every year a national atonement day should be held on the tenth day of the seventh lunar month of the Jews. On that day atonement was to be made for both the priesthood and all the rest of the Jewish nation by means of the sacrifice of an unblemished bull and goat, the blood of which was sprinkled in the Most Holy of the sanctuary. Also, their sins were to be carried away into oblivion by a scapegoat. All that was prophetic of how God’s great High Priest would offer up a sacrifice to atone for mankind’s sin and would serve as a real Sin Bearer to carry away mankind’s sin into oblivion. All this provision would be an expression of loving-kindness on God’s part.

16. So, besides commandments, what did the law of Moses furnish, according to the writer of Hebrews 8:4, 5?

¹⁶ Thus there was much more to the Law given through Moses than merely commandments to point out what sin was and to tell the Jews what was the pure, right, holy and unselfish thing to do, to keep them walking in harmony with God. Besides that, the Law commanded certain meaningful ceremonies to be carried out regularly in order to draw prophetic outlines that give a true picture of grand things to come according to God’s purpose. The inspired writer calls these prophetic outlines ‘shadows,’ saying: “There being men who offer the gifts according to the Law, but which men are rendering sacred service in a typical representation and a shadow of the heavenly things; just as Moses, when about to make the tent in completion, was given the divine command: For says he: ‘See that you make all things after their pattern that was shown to you in the mountain [of Sinai].’”—Heb. 8:4, 5.

17. In what way did the Law provide ‘shadows’ of the perfect human body that had to be presented for sins?

¹⁷ Again the same writer mentions ‘shadows’ when reasoning on the need for a perfect human body to be presented in sacrifice to God, saying: “Since the Law has a shadow of the good things to come, and not the very substance of the things, men can never with the same sacrifices from year to year which they offer continually make those who approach perfect. Otherwise, would the sacrifices not have stopped being offered, because those rendering sacred service who had been cleansed once for all time would have no consciousness of sins any more? To the contrary, by these sacrifices there is a reminding of sins from year to year, for it is not possible for the blood of bulls and of goats to take sins away. Hence when he comes into the world he says: ‘Sacrifice and offering you did not want, but you prepared a body for me.’”—Heb. 10:1-5.

18. What were some of the ‘shadows’ in the Mosaic law, and why could they properly be called ‘shadows’?

¹⁸ Many other things that were commanded in the Law, such as the passover supper, the festival of weeks or Pentecost, the weekly sabbath day, the Jubilee year, the festival first day of each month or new moon, particularly the seventh new moon of each year, all these were ‘shadows.’ They were true in themselves, giving a true outline or small picture of greater things to come. However, they were only ‘shadows.’ A shadow is a dark image or design that is cast upon some surface by some solid, untransparent substance that gets in the way of the light. The shadow is not substantial; it is not the real thing. The substance or body that the shadow outlines or images is the real thing. If the substance or body is in front of the light, then its shadow extends ahead of the substance or body. For that reason it is a common saying: “Coming events cast their shadows before them.” In God’s purpose, the shadow came first, to give a small-scale idea of the grand things that he had in mind for the future of mankind. Those shadows aroused true expectations in people who obediently kept God’s law. Because the ‘shadows’ were true, these people would not be disappointed in their expectations.

19. Why, then, could John correctly say: “The law was given through Moses, . . . the truth came to be through Jesus Christ”?

¹⁹ The shadow is truthful but is not the full truth on the matter. Only when the substance that was foreshadowed arrives does the truth arrive. Then the truth is realized. The substance or body is the truth. As the Mosaic law contained only the shadows, it had to give way to the coming of the real thing, the substance or body that the Law foreshadowed. Hence the rules laid down in the Mosaic law concerning eating, drinking, observing of ceremonies and keeping of holy days had to pass away like pictures or shadows. They did so, for the apostle Paul writes to the Christian congregation in Colossae, Asia Minor: “Therefore let no man judge you in eating and drinking or in respect of a festival or of an observance of the new moon or of a sabbath; for those things are a shadow of the things to come, but the reality belongs to the Christ.” (Col. 2:16, 17) It was therefore in full harmony with the historical facts that the apostle John should say: “The Law was given through Moses, the undeserved kindness and the truth came to be through Jesus Christ.”—John 1:17.

20, 21. To make John’s statement fully true, what did it require on Jesus’ part as far as making atonement for sin is concerned?

²⁰ To make this statement true in its fullest sense, it required more on the part of Jesus Christ than mere talking, preaching, teaching. It required this Son of God to shed his spiritual glory in heaven and to be born as a perfect human child in order to be able to fulfill the truth of the Atonement Day sacrifices that figuratively took away the sins of all the Jewish nation. It required him to present himself at the age of thirty years as a suitable human victim for an acceptable sacrifice to God in order for him to be appointed as God’s High Priest, to atone for the sins of all mankind. (Heb. 5:1-5; 7:27; 8:1-4) This he did when he presented himself for immersion in the Jordan River by John the Baptist, his body being buried out of sight momentarily in the water. Thus he did ‘come into the world’ with the sacrificial human body that God had prepared for him.—Heb. 10:5-10; Ps. 40:6-8; John 18:37.

²¹ At his death three and a half years later he, as Jehovah’s High Priest, did make an offering of his human sacrifice “once for all time.” That he might present the value of his perfect human sacrifice to God in heaven, he had to be resurrected from the dead. This occurred on the third day from his death. Then, like the Jewish high priest passing beyond the inner veil of the temple into the Most Holy or innermost room, Jesus Christ rose from the dead into the spirit realm and in due time appeared in the literal presence of God to present the life value of his sacrifice.

22. How was all this a part of Jesus’ bearing witness to the truth?

²² All this proved the truthfulness of the shadows that had been contained in the Law given through Moses. It established the high priesthood of Jesus Christ as a real truth, as being successfully executed. From this fact the most precious blessings are to flow to mankind. All these things were part of Jesus’ bearing witness to the truth, his putting the things that were foretold and foreshadowed by the law of Moses into the realm of actual truth.

KINGDOM TRUTH

23. (a) Were things having to do with priestly sacrifice for sin all the truth of concern to us, and how did this become clear at the trial of Jesus? (b) So what other things of Moses’ law needed to be proved to be correct ‘shadows’?

²³ However, is truth with regard to priestly service and the making of propitiatory sacrifice for the sins of the world all the truth that is of importance and concern to us? No! For when Jesus was under questioning by Governor Pontius Pilate, the matter of royal government came foremost to view. The enemies who had handed him over for Roman trial charged him with claiming to be “Christ a king.” (Luke 23:1, 2) In reality, at that very time there was much truth to be established with regard to the matter of government, not just the local government of the Jews but the government of all the world of mankind. O ever so much depended upon Jesus Christ at that time, and he appreciated this fact and was wholly determined to be faithful. Not unexpectedly, things in the Law of Moses that had to do with the coming government of God’s people needed to be proved to be correct prophecies, correct ‘shadows’ that would conform to future facts. How were they proved so?

24. (a) What office in Israel did God set up in Aaron and his family? (b) Why did God not also set up a human king over Israel?

²⁴ At the time that the Law was given through Moses at Mount Sinai there was no visible human king over Israel. Moses was not Israel’s king but was serving as mediator between Jehovah God and the nation of Israel. Moses’ older brother was Aaron, the firstborn son of Amram the Levite. In Aaron’s family Jehovah God set up the priesthood over Israel. Why did God not also set up a human king over Israel? Or why did he not make Aaron a king-priest? It was because Jehovah God, though invisible, was the law-giving King over Israel. He could not also be the Priest of Israel. Matters in Israel were just as Moses sang of them alongside the Red Sea, about three months before the Law was given through Moses: “Jehovah will rule as king to time indefinite, even forever. When Pharaoh’s horses with his war chariots and his cavalrymen went into the sea, then Jehovah brought back the waters of the sea upon them, while the sons of Israel walked on dry land through the midst of the sea.” (Ex. 15:18, 19) So Jehovah did not put himself out of office as King.

25. What references to a human king over Israel did God make in the Law given through Moses?

²⁵ In the Mosaic law Jehovah God did suggest that the time might come when the Israelites would want to be like the untheocratic pagan nations and have a visible king over them. Then, said Jehovah, “you should without fail set over yourself a king whom Jehovah your God will choose. From among your brothers you should set a king over yourself. You will not be allowed to put over yourself a foreigner who is not your brother . . . when he takes his seat on the throne of his kingdom, he must write in a book for himself a copy of this law from that which is in the charge of the priests, the Levites.” (Deut. 17:14-18) Later Moses warned that if the Israelites did not carry out their solemn contract or covenant with God, then “Jehovah will march you and your king whom you will set up over you to a nation whom you have not known, neither you nor your forefathers; and there you will have to serve other gods, of wood and of stone.” (Deut. 28:35, 36) Over three hundred and fifty years later the whole nation of Israel did ask for such a king, and God gave them Saul the son of Kish.—1 Sam. 8:4 to 12:5.

26. (a) To what Israelite tribe did Saul son of Kish belong? (b) But to whom did the patriarch Jacob prophesy that the royal power in Israel would come, and so who was to come in that tribe?

²⁶ King Saul was of the tribe of Benjamin. But long before the Law was given through Moses, Jehovah God inspired the patriarch Jacob or Israel to prophesy that the royal power in Israel would come into the hand of the tribe of Judah and that the scepter and the commander’s staff would never depart from that tribe. Someone called Shiloh (meaning “The One Whose It Is”) would come in that tribe, “and to him the obedience of the peoples will belong.”

27. How could that prophecy of Jacob be said to be in the Law given through Moses?

²⁷ This prophecy concerning kingship was written in the Bible’s first book, in Genesis 49:8-10. However, the book of Genesis was written by Moses. What are now the first five books of the Bible were at first just one book written by Moses. In the days of Jesus Christ, when Jews spoke of the big divisions of the books of the Hebrew Scriptures, the first five Bible books written by Moses were called the Law or “Torah,” so that the book of Genesis came under the heading of “the Law,” the Torah. After being resurrected from the dead Jesus said to his disciples: “These are my words which I spoke to you while I was yet with you [in the flesh], that all the things written in [1] the law of Moses and in [2] the Prophets and [3] Psalms about me must be fulfilled.” (Luke 24:44) For that reason the expression “the Law” could include the things written in the book of Genesis, including this prophecy by the patriarch Jacob concerning the kingship in the tribe of Judah.

28. (a) For Jesus fully to “bear witness to the truth,” why did he have to be born in a particular family besides in a particular tribe? (b) How did God make the kingdom promise still stronger, and to whom did the kingdom really belong?

²⁸ In order to “bear witness to the truth” concerning God’s kingdom Jesus was born in the tribe of Judah. (Heb. 7:14) But in order for him fully to “bear witness to the truth,” Jesus’ birth could not be in any unparticular family in the tribe of Judah. His birth had to be in the family line of David of Bethlehem; and it was. (Rom. 1:1-4) Why was this? It was because David of the tribe of Judah was made king of Israel, to succeed King Saul and his son Ish-bosheth, and then Jehovah God made a solemn contract or covenant with King David for the kingship of God’s people to stay in David’s royal family line forever. That meant that at last David would have a permanent heir to the kingdom. (2 Sam. 7:11-16; 1 Chron. 17:11-15) Jehovah God not only made this promise to faithful King David but bound himself more strongly to this promise by swearing to it. In thus swearing, God was really swearing in behalf of his own kingdom, for King David himself acknowledged that the kingdom over Israel really belonged to Jehovah and that the throne on which he sat in Jerusalem was really “Jehovah’s throne.” (1 Chron. 29:10, 11, 23) Concerning this sworn oath which was to confirm the covenant with David for an everlasting kingdom, we read:

29. What did Psalm 89 have to say regarding this covenant and God’s oath concerning David’s kingdom?

²⁹ “I have concluded a covenant toward my chosen one; I have sworn to David my servant, ‘Even to time indefinite I shall firmly establish your seed, and I will build your throne to generation after generation. . . . I shall not profane my covenant, and the expression out of my lips I shall not change. Once I have sworn in my holiness, to David I will not tell lies. His seed itself will prove to be even to time indefinite, and his throne as the sun in front of me. As the moon it will be firmly established for time indefinite, and be a faithful witness in the skies.”—Ps. 89:3, 4, 34-37; Acts 2:30.

30. So what were the “loving-kindnesses to David” mentioned in Isaiah 55:3, and why were they bound to be faithful?

³⁰ This kingdom covenant and all its features were what God’s Word calls the “loving-kindnesses to David,” and God’s swearing to it added to the faithfulness and trustworthiness of it. Hence in a time of persecution God’s people who depend upon him to carry out this kingdom covenant can well take up the words of the psalmist, not in any doubt about the covenant, but in an appeal to God concerning it, and say: “Where are your former acts of loving-kindness, O Jehovah, about which you swore to David in your faithfulness?” (Ps. 89:49) Considerately God assures his people of his faithfulness to the covenant, saying: “I shall readily conclude with you people an indefinitely lasting covenant respecting the loving-kindnesses to David that are faithful.” (Isa. 55:3) Jesus Christ in particular could take consolation from this divine promise.

31. (a) So why was Jesus born in the royal family line of David? (b) How did Jehovah thus answer the prayer of Psalm 132:1-18?

³¹ So, to the end of making the kingdom covenant an everlasting truth, Jesus was born in the royal family line of David, to become David’s Permanent Heir. Thus Jehovah did not prove untrue to King David and did not draw back from giving to that anointed king a permanent heir. Jehovah answered the prayer made to him in Psalm 132:1-18: “On account of David your servant, do not turn back the face of your anointed one. Jehovah has sworn to David, truly he will not draw back from it: ‘Of the fruitage of your belly I shall set on your throne. . . . There I shall cause the horn of David to grow, I have set in order a lamp for my anointed one. His enemies I shall clothe with shame; but upon him his diadem will flourish.’”

32, 33. How did Peter on the day of Pentecost bear witness to God’s kingdom oath to David and to its fulfillment?

³² The apostle Peter was one who bore witness to the truth of all that. On the day of the festival of Pentecost, fifty days after Jesus Christ was resurrected from the dead, Peter explained the outpouring of God’s holy spirit upon Christ’s disciples there in Jerusalem and said:

³³ “Brothers, it is allowable to speak with freeness of speech to you concerning the family head David, that he both deceased and was buried and his tomb is among us to this day. Therefore, because he was a prophet and knew that God had sworn to him with an oath that he would seat one from the fruitage of his loins upon his throne, he saw beforehand and spoke concerning the resurrection of the Christ, that neither was he forsaken in Haʹdes nor did his flesh see corruption. This Jesus God resurrected, of which fact we are all witnesses. Therefore because he was exalted to the right hand of God and received the promised holy spirit from the Father, he has poured out this which you see and hear. Actually David did not ascend to the heavens, but he himself says, ‘Jehovah said to my Lord: “Sit at my right hand, until I place your enemies as a stool for your feet.’” Therefore let all the house of Israel know for a certainty that God made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you impaled.”—Acts 2:29-36.

“LORD” OF KING DAVID

34. (a) How did Jesus Christ become David’s Lord, and where did David foretell this turn of events? (b) When will David personally acknowledge the lordship of Jesus?

³⁴ Here the apostle Peter, under inspiration of the outpoured holy spirit, declared the exalted Jesus Christ to be the Lord of King David, that is, higher than King David. The throne of King David had been merely an earthly one called “Jehovah’s throne”; but the position of Jesus Christ in a throne was a heavenly one, at God’s own right hand. He was to be a deathless, everlasting heavenly king. In the approaching future, when David is resurrected from the dead, he will learn of his descendant, Jesus Christ, and will acknowledge this exalted one as his Lord, the true Christ or Anointed One. In Psalm 110 King David foretold the lordship of Jesus Christ. The apostle Peter quoted the first verse of this psalm and applied it to Jesus Christ, as being fulfilled in him. Thus, in effect, the inspired Peter applied the entire psalm to Jesus Christ. The apostle Paul also applies it to him.

35. To whom did Jehovah swear in Psalm 110:4, and about what?

³⁵ This psalm of David reports Jehovah as swearing again, but this time not to King David, but to David’s Lord at God’s right hand in the heavens. Addressing itself to him, verse four of Psalm 110 announces: “Jehovah has sworn (and he will feel no regret): ‘You are a priest to time indefinite according to the manner of Melchizedek!’” Hence Jehovah thus swore to his Son, Jesus Christ.

36. What was there special about the “manner” of Melchizedek, and how was he shown to be higher than Abraham?

³⁶ Who was this Melchizedek whose “manner” was to be imitated in David’s Lord, Jesus Christ? The Law given through Moses, as including the book of Genesis, informs us. Melchizedek was not only a priest but also a king. According to Genesis 14:17-20, he went out from his royal city to meet the patriarch Abraham when returning victorious from battle. We read: “Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine, and he was priest of the Most High God. Then he blessed him and said: ‘Blessed be Abram of the Most High God, Producer of heaven and earth; and blessed be the Most High God, who has delivered your oppressors into your hand!’ At that Abram gave him a tenth of everything.” Melchizedek was thus higher than Abram.

37. (a) From whom did Jesus inherit kingdom? (b) Did Jesus get his priesthood forever from High Priest Aaron, or how?

³⁷ In Hebrews 6:20 to 7:17 the sworn statement of Psalm 110:4 is applied to Jesus Christ. The “manner” in which he is like King-Priest Melchizedek is explained point by point. Melchizedek as a king-priest had no successor on earth. Jesus Christ did not inherit either priesthood or kingdom from Melchizedek. He became the Permanent Heir of King David according to the kingdom covenant, but he did not inherit his priesthood from High Priest Aaron of the tribe of Levi. Jesus was not born in the tribe of Levi, for he had to be David’s descendant. How did Jesus get his priesthood forever? It was by means of Jehovah’s sworn oath as given in Psalm 110:4.

38. How did what Melchizedek prefigured come true in Jesus Christ, and so over what will Jehovah feel no regret?

³⁸ Since ancient Melchizedek was to show the “manner” of a future King-Priest, Melchizedek was a prophetic historical figure and prefigured the greater King-Priest, Jesus Christ. What Melchizedek prefigured came true in Jesus Christ. Melchizedek’s name means “King of Righteousness”; and as king of Salem, which name means “Peace,” he was also “king of peace.” However, Jesus Christ was the real Melchizedek whom God had in mind long previously; he was the true “King of righteousness,” the true “King of peace.” He is the true King-Priest who makes everlasting atonement for all mankind and who will reign peacefully over all the earth. Jehovah God will never feel regret over having sworn to make him King-Priest.

THE PERSONIFIED TRUTH

39. How was Jesus Christ the truth, and how did he really bear witness to the truth?

³⁹ From all this it is manifest that Jesus Christ is the Truth. He is the realization of the truth to which the shadows of the Mosaic law as well as the prophecies of the Hebrew Scriptures were pointing forward. All those things of a prophetic kind were focused on him. For this he was born and for this he came into the world that he might bear witness to the truth of those things by fulfilling them. He was the living Truth of those revelations of God’s purpose, the things to which God had sworn.

40, 41. (a) In these respects, why was Jesus correct in saying that he was the truth? (b) As such, he benefits what persons, and how does Paul show this in Romans 15:8-12?

⁴⁰ When on earth as a man, Jesus was determined to bear witness to the truth of God’s recorded word in the Hebrew Scriptures. On the night of falling into the hands of his enemies he said to his faithful apostles: “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” (John 14:6) Was he not correct in saying this? Yes, for he was indeed the Truth. He was no shadow Messiah or Christ. He was the real one promised. He was no shadow king-priest. He was substantially the true one that had been prefigured. As such, he benefits not only the circumcised Jews but also all the non-Jewish nations. Hence the apostle Paul says:

⁴¹ “I say that Christ actually became a minister of those who are circumcised in behalf of God’s truthfulness, so as to verify the promises He made to their forefathers, and that the nations might glorify God for his mercy. Just as it is written: ‘That is why I will openly acknowledge you among the nations and to your name I will make melody.’ And again he says: ‘Be glad, you nations, with his people.’ And again: ‘Praise Jehovah, all you nations, and let all the peoples praise him.’ And again Isaiah says: ‘There will be the root of Jesse [father of King David], and there will be one arising to rule nations; on him nations will rest their hope.’”—Rom. 15:8-12; Ps. 18:49; 117:1; Deut. 32:43; Isa. 11:10.

42. (a) How did Jesus actually become “a minister of those who are circumcised”? (b) How did Jesus “verify” God’s promises made to the forefathers?

⁴² Once when he encountered a Phoenician woman, Jesus Christ said: “I was not sent forth to any but to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” When sending out his twelve apostles to preach the kingdom of the heavens, Jesus said to them: “Do not go off into the road of the nations, and do not enter into a Samaritan city; but, instead, go continually to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” (Matt. 15:24; 10:5, 6) Thus, because he was born and circumcised as a Jew under the Mosaic law, Jesus “actually became a minister of those who are circumcised.” This ministry of Jesus Christ to the circumcised Jews was rendered “in behalf of God’s truthfulness,” because Jehovah God had said to the patriarchs Abraham, Isaac and Jacob that all the nations of the earth would bless themselves by means of their seed. Naturally, by human birth, their “seed” would be Israelites or Jews, Hebrews. (Gen. 22:18; 26:4; 28:14) Hence according to the natural order of things it was necessary for Jesus Christ to establish “God’s truthfulness” as regards those promises made to the three Hebrew patriarchs; how? By offering first to Jews the opportunity to receive the Abrahamic blessing and become the spiritual seed of Abraham. It was absolutely obligatory upon Jesus to respect the sworn oath of Jehovah God, because God had sworn with an oath that his promises to the patriarchs were truthful, and Jesus had to “verify” those promises.

43. (a) In order to keep what thing did Jehovah bring the descendants of the forefathers out of Egypt? (b) How did He strengthen his promises to the forefathers?

⁴³ To the circumcised descendants of the patriarchs, Moses said: “It was because of Jehovah’s loving you, and because of his keeping the sworn statement that he had sworn to your forefathers, that Jehovah brought you out . . . from the hand of Pharaoh the king of Egypt.” (Deut. 7:8) God’s swearing to the patriarchs is further mentioned in Psalm 105:7-11,b which says: “He is Jehovah our God. His judicial decisions are in all the earth. He has remembered his covenant even to time indefinite, the word that he commanded, to a thousand generations, which covenant he concluded with Abraham, and his sworn statement to Isaac, and which statement he kept standing as a regulation even to Jacob, as an indefinitely lasting covenant even to Israel, saying: ‘To you I shall give the land of Canaan as the allotment of your inheritance.’”—See also Genesis 24:6, 7; 50:24; Exodus 6:8; Jeremiah 11:4, 5.

44. What persons, foremost, respect God’s oath?

⁴⁴ Jehovah God respects his own oath and never proves false to it. Likewise Jesus Christ, when on earth, respected Jehovah’s oath and sought to prove its truthfulness.

45. (a) In whom are fulfilled God’s oaths regarding kingdom and priesthood? (b) With what historical events did God’s truth arrive?

⁴⁵ So it is that in Jesus Christ we find fulfilled God’s oath in affirmation of the covenant that he made with David for an everlasting kingdom, and God’s oath supporting his appointment of a priest forever after the manner of Melchizedek. With Jesus’ being born on earth, his coming into the world at the time of his baptism in water, his three and a half years of public service in behalf of God’s kingdom, his death in faithfulness to God, his resurrection from the dead and his exaltation to heaven, with all these historical events the truth arrived, God’s truth arrived. The whole career of Jesus Christ was thus a bearing witness to the truth.

AT LAST THE ANSWER!

46. What then, is the Bible’s answer to the Roman governor’s question, “What is truth?”

⁴⁶ How, then, shall we answer the question that the Roman Governor Pontius Pilate put to Jesus, namely, “What is truth? “ Under the circumstances under which the question was raised, the Bible’s answer must be: The “truth” is God’s kingdom with Jesus Christ the “Son of David” serving as King-Priest in the throne.

47. (a) What is, therefore, not strange regarding Bible doctrine? (b) How is God’s kingship emphasized in the last book of the Hebrew Scriptures and in the first book of the Christian Greek Scriptures?

⁴⁷ Is it any wonder, then, that God’s kingdom by Christ is the leading doctrine or teaching of the Holy Bible? From its first book, Genesis, which tells of the prophetic figure, Melchizedek, down to its last book, Revelation, which describes the birth of the Kingdom and its rule for a thousand years, the Bible holds to the theme of God’s Messianic kingdom. Harmoniously with that, in the last written book of the ancient Hebrew Scriptures God calls attention to his own kingship, saying: “‘I am a great King,’ Jehovah of armies has said, ‘and my name will be fear-inspiring among the nations.’” (Mal. 1:14) And, according to the first book of the Christian Greek Scriptures, when Jesus the Son of God came into the world to begin his Messianic service to God, he was preceded by a forerunner, John the Baptist, proclaiming to the circumcised Jews: “Repent, for the kingdom of the heavens has drawn near.”—Matt. 3:1, 2.

48. How did Jesus emphasize the Kingdom doctrine when following up John the Baptist and when foretelling the conclusion of this system of things?

⁴⁸ When Jesus Christ followed up John the Baptist, he also said: “The appointed time has been fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has drawn near. Be repentant, you people, and have faith in the good news.” (Mark 1:14, 15) Finally, when Jesus Christ foretold the preaching that would mark his return and second presence and the conclusion of the system of things, which Bible doctrine in particular did he say would be preached by his disciples? His words recorded in Matthew 24:14 give the answer: “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.”—Matt. 24:3, 14.

49, 50. (a) According to Revelation 11:15-18, why is there good reason today for preaching that Bible doctrine foremost? (b) The hurling of Satan out of heaven was to be followed by what pertinent announcement throughout heaven?

⁴⁹ Today there is good reason for that Bible doctrine to be preached foremost. Why? Because this “conclusion of the system of things” was to be the time for God’s Messianic kingdom to be born in the heavens, as prophetically pictured in the last book of the Bible, Revelation. At this event many voices in heaven would join in announcing: “The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he will rule as king for ever and ever.” Also, to the Lord God, who is the real Power behind the Messianic kingdom, thanksgiving was to be offered in these words: “We thank you, Jehovah God, the Almighty, the one who is and who was, because you have taken your great power and begun ruling as king. But the nations became wrathful, and your own wrath came.” (Rev. 11:15-18) Moreover, after Satan the chief resister of the heavenly kingdom is hurled out of heaven and down to the earth, the announcement was to be made loudly throughout heaven:

⁵⁰ “Now have come to pass the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God and the authority of his Christ, because the accuser of our brothers has been hurled down, who accuses them day and night before our God!”—Rev. 12:5-10.

THE “WORD OF TRUTH”

51. Because of the details that it gives us and because of its writers, what is the Bible rightly called?

⁵¹ God’s Messianic kingdom is the “truth,” to bear witness to which Jesus was born and came into the world. Since the Holy Bible supplies us fully the details about this kingdom, the Holy Bible is rightly spoken of as “the word of truth.” The men who took part in writing the Bible under inspiration were seekers of the truth. For example, King Solomon referred to himself as the congregator of God’s people and wrote: “The congregator sought to find the delightful words and the writing of correct words of truth.” (Eccl. 12:10) The angel that was sent to tell the prophet Daniel much vital information concerning the “time of the end,” in which we are living today, said: “I shall tell you the things noted down in the writing of truth . . . And now what is truth I shall tell to you.” (Dan. 10:21; 11:2; 12:4) The apostle Paul, an outstanding contributor to the Bible, wrote to fellow Christians: “We should serve for the praise of his glory, we who have been first to hope in the Christ. But you also hoped in him after you heard the word of truth, the good news about your salvation.”—Eph. 1:12, 13.

52, 53. (a) To serve as an instrument for the truth, how must the Bible be handled, and what shows whether Christendom has handled it this way? (b) In what must Christians walk, today even as in the first century, and how can this be done?

⁵² In order that the Bible may serve as the instrument for our preaching and teaching the truth, it must be handled in the right way. So, when the apostle Paul told an overseer of a Christian congregation to pay constant attention to himself and to his teaching, he said: “Do your utmost to present yourself approved to God, a workman with nothing to be ashamed of, handling the word of the truth aright.” (2 Tim. 2:15; 1 Tim. 4:16) Today Christendom boasts of over 900,000,000 members and has had the Bible in writing or in print for many centuries. Has she handled this “word of the truth” aright? No; for she teaches religion in a thousand different ways, as represented in her hundreds of religious sects. Christendom, as a representation of Christianity, is a lie. To the contrary, Christianity, which is based on the Holy Bible and which handles the Bible aright, is the truth. The true Christians must follow the Bible if they are to walk in the truth.

⁵³ That is what Christians did in the first century, in the purity of their faith. Testifying to this fact, the apostle John wrote to a fellow believer named Gaius and said: “I rejoiced very much when brothers came and bore witness to the truth you hold, just as you go on walking in the truth. No greater cause for thankfulness do I have than these things, that I should be hearing that my children go on walking in the truth.”—3 John 3, 4.

54. (a) Back there what “word” was necessary for one to be begotten as a spiritual son of God? (b) In order to be true Christians, with what do we have to originate, and how must we love?

⁵⁴ Back there a person could not become a true Christian, begotten as a spiritual son of God, unless he heard and studied and believed the truth. The disciple James calls attention to this need of the truth when he writes: “Do not be misled, my beloved brothers. Every good gift and every perfect present is from above, for it comes down from the Father of the celestial lights, and with him there is not a variation of the turning of the shadow. Because he willed it, he brought us forth by the word of truth, for us to be a certain first fruits of his creatures.” (Jas. 1:16-18) A real Christian can spring only from the truth. The apostle John, who loved to write about the truth, wrote to Christians who were dear to him: “Little children, let us love, neither in word nor with the tongue, but in deed and truth. By this we shall know that we originate with the truth, and we shall assure our hearts before him.” (1 John 3:18, 19) So if we desire to assure our hearts before God that we are genuine Christians, we must originate with the truth that is brought to us and we must have brotherly love. If we originate with the world, we shall be in error.—1 John 4:4-7.

55. How can we avoid being in error and being an antichrist?

⁵⁵ In view of the fact that Jesus Christ is “the truth,” as he himself said in John 14:6, we must have the correct belief about him if we are to originate with the truth and be in the truth, and not be an antichrist. If we do not believe that he was born in the flesh and came into the world to be God’s chief witness bearer to “the truth,” then we are in error and we originate with the world and we are not true Christians.—1 John 4:1-6.

56. Because of knowing the truth, we want to associate with what organization, according to 1 Timothy 3:14, 15?

⁵⁶ By means of the Holy Bible, God’s “word of truth,” we know the answer to the question, “What is truth?” We desire also to associate with God’s visible organization of the truth. He used Jesus Christ his glorified Son to found this organization on the day of Pentecost fifty days after his resurrection. According to the inspired words of 1 Timothy 3:14, 15, this organization is “God’s household, which is the congregation of the living God, a pillar and support of the truth.” Yes, indeed, this is what we want to associate with, the “pillar and support of the truth.”

57. What are we, therefore, determined to do with regard to the truth?

⁵⁷ So, instead of trying to tear down the truth—an impossible thing—we will do our part to uphold the Kingdom truth, raising it on high for all to see. To all the nations we will deliver the Bible answer to the question, “What is truth?” We will share with the “congregation of the living God” in preaching the truth, “this good news of the kingdom,” doing so in all the inhabited earth for a witness to all the nations before the end comes. (Matt. 24:14) Everyone that is of the truth will listen to our voice as we serve as substitutes for Christ.—John 18:37; 2 Cor. 5:20.

[Footnotes]

See Works of Tacitus, Volume 1, page 423, edition of 1858, by Harper and Brothers, New York, N. Y. Also, M’Clintock and Strong’s Cyclopædia, Volume 8, page 199, column 2. Also, The Encyclopedia Americana, Volume 22 of 1929 edition, page 83, under “Pilate.”

It is interesting to note that Jehovah God swears by his own name (Jer. 44:26, 27); by his own soul (Jer. 51:14; Amos 6:8); by his holiness (Amos 4:2); by the “Superiority of Jacob” (Amos 8:7); by his own self (Isa. 45:23; Jer. 49:13; 22:5); just as he lives forever (Deut. 32:40, 41); and regarding his purpose (Isa. 14:24); regarding another flood (Isa. 54:9); and regarding the eating and drinking of his servants.—Isa. 62:8, 9.

It Makes a Difference What God You Worship

SENTIMENTS we often hear expressed from the pulpit, in the newspapers, on billboards and from individuals are, “It does not matter which God you worship, just so long as you worship.” “Go to the church of your choice,” or, “Each one has to find God and worship him in his own way.” Most of the people making these statements have accepted the religion they practice because they believe it will bring them life. This means that much hinges on religion, for, if one does not have life, what can he have? So be careful what viewpoint you adopt about religion.

Let us compare the above words with what the Son of God said. When talking to a woman of the Samaritan religion he told her: “Believe me, woman, The hour is coming when neither in this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you people worship the Father. God is a Spirit, and those worshiping him must worship with spirit and truth.” (John 4:21, 24) As to what is truth, Jesus said when speaking to his heavenly Father: “Your word is truth.” (John 17:17) The truth is, therefore, that which is in harmony with the actual state of things and with the Word of God, the true guide. Jesus as the Son of God was the One most intimate with his Father and said that he himself was devoted to doing his Father’s will. (John 4:34) From this we would be compelled to conclude that the wrong god or the wrong way of worship would not meet with success.

IGNORANCE NO EXCUSE

Moreover, that even ignorance would not excuse one was clearly shown by Jesus’ statement to his disciples about the Pharisees: “Let them be. Blind guides is what they are. If, then, a blind man guides a blind man, both will fall into a pit.” (Matt. 15:14) That ignorance can cause one to fall into a terrible snare of his own undoing, Paul made plain: “We speak God’s wisdom . . . This wisdom not one of the rulers of this system of things came to know, for if they had known it they would not have impaled the glorious Lord.” (1 Cor. 2:7, 8) So the greatest crime in history was committed by men misled because of ignorance.

Those who look at the religions of the world today and say that all religions are good are trying to hold to and save that which God has doomed to absolute desolation. For they are trying to hold on to Babylon the Great, the world empire of false religion, concerning which God warns: “Get out of her, my people, if you do not want to share with her in her sins, and if you do not want to receive part of her plagues.” God decrees: “Thus with a swift pitch will Babylon the great city be hurled down, and she will never be found again.” (Rev. 18:4, 21) Do these statements sound too strong? If you think so you should be very, very careful, for you may run afoul of the commands and decrees of God to your own ruin. Take for incontrovertible proof of this the history of the decline and desolation of the ancient city of Babylon.

WRONG WORSHIP RUINS BABYLON

Never was there a more religious city than Babylon. She was very devoted to the worship of her gods, but did they save her? No; rather, her worship of gods other than Jehovah led to her ruin, and what absolute ruin! When Babylon fell in 539 B.C.E. she did not immediately go into ruin for some centuries, even into the era of the early Christian congregation. But God’s decree would nevertheless be carried out against her. After her fall to the Persians in 539 B.C.E. she lost her hold over God’s people and began to decline.

Thereafter the Bible does not have overly much to say about this ancient city. The inspired Hebrew Scriptures do not bring us so very far beyond the fall of Babylon, for they deal with the history of the Jewish nation only as far as Governor Nehemiah, who wrote the book bearing his name about 443 B.C.E. The last book in the canon of the Hebrew Scriptures was written by a Jew named Malachi. The book of Malachi was probably written about the year 442 B.C.E., during the reign of King Artaxerxes Longimanus. The Hebrew Scriptures close during the rule of the Persian Empire, the Fourth World Power, and the reason is very likely because the Persian Empire began with the reign of Cyrus the Great, who brought about the fall of Babylon as a world power and who liberated Jehovah’s people. He, therefore, was a type or prophetic picture of the promised Messiah or Christ. His empire stood undefeated as the inspired Hebrew Scriptures closed about 442 B.C.E.

In the days of Darius I (in 522 B.C.E.) Babylon tried to stage a comeback when her local ruler (Nidintu-Bel), who had taken the name of Nebuchadnezzar III, revolted. Darius I defeated him and afterward killed him at Babylon. Babylon again revolted in 521 B.C.E. under the Armenian Araka, who took the name of Nebuchadnezzar IV. Darius defeated him, taking the city by storm and entering the city as conqueror. Darius thereby broke the old tradition, namely, that Bel was the one to confer on a man the right to rule that part of the earth. Darius ceased to acknowledge such a false claim. What a blow to Bel or Marduk! This time, after the Persians took the city, they did not deal with it leniently, as Cyrus had done. Says The History of Herodotus, Book 3, chapter 159:

Thus was Babylon taken for the second time. Darius, having become master of the place, destroyed the wall, and tore down the gates; for Cyrus had done neither the one nor the other when he took Babylon.

So, while Jerusalem was being built up, Babylon steadily declined, as described by The Encyclopædia Britannica (1910), Volume 3, page 106b:

On this occasion, after its capture by the Persians, the walls were partly destroyed. E-Sagila, the great temple of Bel, however, still continued to be kept in repair and to be a centre of Babylonian patriotism, until at last the foundation of Seleucia [after 311 B.C.E.] diverted the population to the new capital of Babylonia and the ruins of the old city became a quarry for the builders of the new seat of government.

As to how Babylon was left like a mere quarry, we read from M’Clintock and Strong’s Cyclopædia, Volume I, page 597:

From the fallen towers of Babylon have arisen not only all the present cities in its vicinity but others which, like itself, have long since gone down into the dust. Since the days of Alexander, four capitals, at least, have been rebuilt out of its remains: Seleucia, by the Greeks; Ctesiphon, by the Parthians; Al-Maidan, by the Persians; and Kufa, by the caliphs, with towns, villages, and caravansaries without number. The necessary fragments and materials were transported along the rivers and the canals.

BABYLON SUCCESSIVELY TRAMPLED DOWN

Just as Babylon had trampled Jerusalem underfoot and desolated her, she herself progressively became desolated as she was trampled underfoot by succeeding world powers. Daniel had foretold the fall of Persia to the Macedonian world power, at Daniel 11:3: “And a mighty king will certainly stand up and rule with extensive dominion and do according to his will.” Babylon came under the domination of Alexander the Great in 331 B.C.E. after Alexander had established himself as the ruler of the Fifth World Power by his defeat of the last king of Persia, Darius III, at Gaugamela, not far from the former capital Nineveh. Flushed with his victory at Gaugamela, he rested his troops at Babylon and went on to subdue the rest of the Persian domain to the east as far as India, establishing an empire greater than any that preceded his own. From here he returned to Babylon seven years after he had left it.

An interesting sidelight proving that not even the most powerful ruler can ignore God and that ignorance of the true God leads to frustration of plans is the experience of Alexander the Great. At the peak of his power and success, and in spite of the fact that he had some contact with God’s people and could have known about the true God and his decree,a Alexander became Babylonish in his thinking. He decided to make Babylon the capital of his empire. But he unwittingly ran afoul of Jehovah’s prophecy: “She will not be inhabited, and she must become a desolate waste in her entirety.” (Jer. 50:13) Before he could carry out his plans, he fell victim to malarial fever and died at Babylon in 323 B.C.E.

Alexander’s death also brought true the prophecy given through Daniel. Alexander’s empire got to be divided. The division was made among his generals who had fought with him, this division being called the “Partition of Babylon.” Two years later, in 321 B.C.E, there was a second partition made at Triparadisus, and by this the government of the satrapy of Babylonia was given to General Seleucus Nicator.—Dan. 8:22; 11:4.

Seleucus felt himself threatened and fled to Egypt, but after the defeat of his enemy in 316 B.C.E. he returned to Babylon and extended his authority over the whole eastern part of Alexander’s empire as far as the Jaxartes and Indus Rivers. Different from Alexander’s planning, Seleucus set up a new capital city, not of Babylonish style, but of Greek, in 312 B.C.E. This city, Seleucia, was situated on the Tigris River about fifty miles north of Babylon and fifteen miles south of present-day Baghdad. How did Seleucus have a share in trampling Babylon down? He founded this new city of Seleucia, with the “object of exhausting Babylon.”

Especially from the time that the new capital was founded at Seleucia, Babylon and the other Babylonian cities began to decay to mere villages. In the second century B.C.E. conquests by the Parthian king, Mithradates I, began, and about 140 B.C.E. Babylonia became subject to the Parthians. In 129 B.C.E. the rule exercised by the successors of Seleucus Nicator in the East came to an end, giving way to the Parthian Empire.

In overpowering and replacing the Grecian or Fifth World Power, the Romans unavoidably came into conflict with the Parthians. It was not until 226 C.E. that the Parthian Empire was overthrown, and this was done, not by the Romans, but by the revolting Persians; and the Persian dynasty of the Sassanidae replaced it.

CHRISTIANITY PREACHED IN BABYLON

The Parthians had important relations with the Jews due to the large colonies of Jews in Mesopotamia. During the reign of the Parthian king, Artabanus III, from 16 to 42 C.E., there occurred a terrible massacre of more than fifty thousand Jewish colonists in Mesopotamia, as reported by the Jewish historian Josephus in his Antiquities of the Jews, Book 18, chapter 9, paragraphs 7-9. According to Acts 2:5-11, there were present at the celebration of the festival of Pentecost in the year 33 C.E. Jews and proselytes from the “Parthians and Medes and Elamites, and the inhabitants of Mesopotamia.” These worshipers from the Parthian Empire heard Peter and the other Christian apostles preach, and some of them were baptized as converts to Christianity. They were responsible for carrying the Christian message back with them when they returned to Mesopotamia and other parts of the Parthian Empire.

Babylon kept up some sort of existence down into the era of Christianity. Josephus describes some of the actions of Herod the Great, who reigned in Jerusalem from 37 B.C.E. till shortly after Jesus Christ was born at Bethlehem. Says Josephus in his Antiquities of the Jews, Book 15, chapter 2, paragraph 2:

But when Hyrcanus [a Jewish priest captured by the Parthians] was brought into Parthia, the king Phraates treated him after a very gentle manner; as having already learned of what an illustrious family he was. On which account he set him free from his bonds; and gave him a habitation at Babylon, where there were Jews in great numbers. The Jews honoured Hyrcanus as their high-priest, and king; as did all the Jewish nation that dwelt as far as Euphrates.

King Herod successfully arranged for the king of Parthia to restore Hyrcanus to Judea, Herod’s dominion. However, he did not bestow the Jewish high-priesthood upon Hyrcanus. “For,” as paragraph 4 tells us, “being cautious how he made any illustrious person the high-priest of God, he sent for an obscure priest out of Babylon, whose name was Ananelus, and bestowed the high-priesthood upon him.”b Later King Herod took this office from Ananelus of Babylon and gave it to Aristobulus, a young priest.

After the Romans destroyed Jerusalem in 70 C.E. the Babylonian settlements became influential among the Diaspora, the dispersed Jews outside of Palestine. The Jewish rabbis in Babylonia had become more celebrated than those of the Holy Land, than even those of Jerusalem. Babylonian Jews considered themselves to be of purer racial extraction than the Jews of Palestine, especially after Jerusalem fell. Schools that gained renown were established in Babylonia and there was a great output of rabbinical literature from there. As a consequence two Jewish Talmuds were developed, the Babylonian and the Jerusalem or Palestinian.

BABYLON FINALLY A COMPLETE RUIN

In spite of these continued activities in and about Babylon, God’s Word had to be fulfilled that she would become a ruin, uninhabited and shunned by the superstitious. Eusebius Jerome, famous translator of the Bible into Latin, went to Palestine in the year 386 C.E., to labor and to die there. He gives testimony to the sureness of God’s prophecy against Babylon, reporting in his time that Babylon was quite in ruins and her walls served only to enclose a park or forest in which the Persian monarch could hunt. But these walls eventually fell into decay, and in 1811 Claudius J. Rich, the English traveler, found no traces of Babylon’s vast walls.c Says the Cyclopædia by M’Clintock and Strong, Volume I (published in the year 1891), page 596a:

More thorough destruction than that which has overtaken Babylon cannot well be conceived. Rich was unable to discover any traces of its vast walls, and even its site has been a subject of dispute. “On its ruins,” says he, “there is not a single tree growing, except an old one,” which only serves to make the desolation more apparent. Ruins like those of Babylon, composed of rubbish impregnated with nitre, cannot be cultivated.

Only ruins are left of Babylon today and these are ruins that have been dug up by archaeologists from 1899 on. At the present time the railway from Baghdad to Basra lies only a few feet away from the hill called Babil. A wooden signboard displays the words in English and Arabic “Babylon Halt. Trains stop here to pick up passengers.” No one resides there; it is not even a place for the Arab to pitch his tent, as the Bible foretold.—Isa. 13:20.

Babylon is incontrovertible proof of the fact that it does make a difference what God you worship. No matter how great or powerful one is, he cannot successfully go against the principles and decrees of the Sovereign of the universe, Jehovah God. Just as Babylon sank down into oblivion as a millstone that is hurled into the sea, so modern-day Babylon the Great, the world empire of false religion, is scheduled for the same fate. Babylon has, by her false religious doctrines and her opposition to God and his Word, kept many people in ignorance and she still holds many captive. In 1914 C.E. God’s kingdom was established in the heavens in the hands of his Son Jesus Christ. In 1919 Babylon the Great fell and her hold on those who wish to be released is now broken. Many have left her false religious systems since that date. Since she is accursed of God and devoted to destruction, anyone who tries to hold onto her or save her or reclaim anything from her will suffer a like fate with her. Babylon the Great is on the decline and will soon suffer her complete destruction. Flee to the worship of the true God Jehovah and come under the rule of the established kingdom of Jesus Christ for the blessings of everlasting life.

In his sermon on the mount, Jesus Christ pointedly said: “Not everyone saying to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter into the kingdom of the heavens, but the one doing the will of my Father who is in the heavens will. Many will say to me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name. . . ?’ And yet then I will confess to them: I never knew you! Get away from me, you workers of lawlessness.”—Matt. 7:21-23.

[Footnotes]

As to the existence of Babylon in the Christian era, it is interesting to note the map (Plate XIII) on page 89 of The Westminster Historical Atlas of the Bible, edition of 1956, the map being entitled “The Roman World at the Birth of Jesus.” It shows the city of Babylon on the Euphrates River and outside the Roman Empire. According to cuneiform texts, the temple of Bel in Babylon continued existing at least till 75 C.E., or until after the Christian apostle Peter had been there.—1 Pet. 5:13.

[Picture on page 663]

Babylon Halt. Trains stop here to pick up passengers

Faith, Hope, Love—Not Apathy

EARLY Christians did not simply think of theirs as just another religion, one they personally happened to prefer. Not at all! They firmly believed that they possessed the truth about Almighty God and his purposes, and that others needed this knowledge for salvation. Their firm faith and hope, coupled with love for their fellowman, moved them to vigorous activity. How filled with fervor and enthusiasm they were! The historian Edward Gibbon, no friend of Christianity, admitted: The “zeal of Christians . . . diffused them through every province in almost every city of the [Roman] empire.”a

But what about today? Do you, too, profess to be a Christian? If so, do you exhibit this same zeal and enthusiasm for the service of God? Or have you come to regard yours as just another religion? Has your service become more a matter of form, a ritual to carry out, rather than an eager sharing of news that means life to others? Do you abound with zeal for the service of God, or have you become apathetic?

ANTIDOTE TO APATHY

Repeatedly the Scriptures emphasize the importance of faith, hope and love as an antidote to apathy. Writing to Hebrew Christians that had apparently slowed down somewhat in their service of God, the Christian apostle Paul encouraged: “Let us approach with true hearts in the full assurance of faith . . . Let us hold fast the public declaration of our hope without wavering . . . And let us consider one another to incite to love and fine works.” Firm faith in God, unwavering hope in his promises of everlasting life, and a genuine love and concern for the interests of others will stir us to life in God’s service.—Heb. 10:22-24.

Do you remember the Bible passage, “Now, however, there remain faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love”? Undoubtedly you do. Notice how the apostle Paul links these qualities with the activity of the first-century Thessalonian Christians: “We bear incessantly in mind your faithful work and your loving labor and your endurance due to your hope in our Lord Jesus Christ before our God and Father.” Did you observe what it was that stimulated them to work, labor and endure in God’s service? Yes, it was faith, hope and love! It is obvious that there was no apathy among those Thessalonians.—1 Cor. 13:13; 1 Thess. 1:3.

These same three qualities were also responsible for the zealous ministerial activity of the Colossian Christians. (Col. 1:4, 5) And it is just as important today that we abound in faith, hope and love. Our very life is at stake! To emphasize this, the apostle Paul likened the activity of a Christian to that of a warrior whose life is constantly endangered on the battlefield. He wrote: “Let us keep our senses and have on the breastplate of faith and love and as a helmet the hope of salvation.” (1 Thess. 5:8) The body’s vital parts are guarded by the breastplate and helmet, which underscores the value of possessing strong faith, hope and love. It is a safeguard to our life.

If you keep busy in God’s service, doing his will with a proper motive, you can be confident that God observes and will reward you. “For God is not unrighteous so as to forget your work and the love you showed for his name.” Therefore, “show the same industriousness so as to have the full assurance of the hope down to the end, in order that you may not become sluggish, but be imitators of those who through faith and patience inherit the promises.”—Heb. 6:10-12.

BUILD A STRONG FAITH

Notice that we are encouraged to imitate “those who through faith” inherit God’s promises. Among such men of faith in the first century were the apostles of Jesus Christ; they constantly preached the Kingdom message despite physical hardships. What if you were in their position, and Jesus Christ appeared and invited you to do the same work? Would you tell him that you were too busy? Would you reply that your secular employment left you no time to share in the work he was doing? Would you excuse yourself because of feeling unqualified, preferring to do something easier? Such an attitude would betray a weakness of faith, which, in time of stress, could lead to spiritual shipwreck. Therefore, before it is too late, take steps to strengthen your faith. How?

First, regular study of God’s Word is required. Are you keeping up with the Bible reading program in the Theocratic Ministry School of your congregation? If not, you are missing out on a fine provision to strengthen your faith. Remember, the Scriptural rule is true: “Faith follows the thing heard.” (Rom. 10:17) So read the Bible; listen to its counsel. Make God’s thoughts your own. Do not let your mind wander, but meditate on what you read, considering its application to your own life. Make Bible reading a regular habit.

Prayer, too, is vital for building a strong faith. Your talking with God about problems, feelings and desires will bring you closer to Him. Your relationship with God will become more real, and your faith in his existence and care will be strengthened. Do you pray regularly? When you pray, do you do so earnestly, from the heart, or is it done in a somewhat perfunctory way? For prayer to strengthen faith it must be entered into with sincerity; your heart must go out to God in an earnest expression of thanks or petition. And it must be done frequently. “Pray incessantly,” the Bible encourages.—1 Thess. 5:17.

And thirdly, regular attendance at meetings of the Christian congregation is necessary to build a strong faith. But it is not merely a matter of being present bodily; in order to benefit fully, your mind must be concentrating on the expressions of faith that are spoken and demonstrated. However, faith is built up, not only by listening, but also by entering into the discussion and offering expressions that will stimulate others to works of faith. Those who comment regularly at meetings are generally not apathetic, but are ones whose faith is strong enough to move them to be zealous preachers of the Kingdom good news in obedience to Jesus’ command.—Heb. 10:25.

MAINTAIN A BRIGHT HOPE

Your keeping foremost in mind the hope of everlasting life in God’s righteous new order will also be a strong stimulant to serving God. Do you maintain this bright hope? Where are your mind and thoughts centered? Have you been heeding the principle in the apostolic command to “keep your minds fixed on the things above, and not on the things upon the earth”?—Col. 3:2.

Where your mind and thoughts are focused is usually revealed by your conversation and actions. Is your conversation more often about TV programs, moving pictures and such things rather than about the truths in God’s Word? Are you finding your greatest pleasure in a new car or is your keenest joy in new Bible studies that can aid others to gain life? Do you spend more time playing golf, going swimming and enjoying other recreation than in visiting neighbors with the Word of life? Have you allowed materialistic concerns to eat into your time and thoughts, so that thoughts of God and his new system of things have been pushed into the background?

If such an examination reveals that hope of life in God’s righteous new order does not really have first place in your life, do not delay. Quickly put on as a helmet “the hope of salvation.” How can you do this? In exactly the same way you can build up your faith—by meditating on God’s Word, talking to Him in prayer, and by regularly seeking the association of those who have their minds on “things above.”

CULTIVATE LOVE

Faith and hope are important, but love is even more vital; nothing stimulates one to activity as much as love does. Of course, most persons say that they love God, and many no doubt do have a warm religious feeling toward him. But is this sufficient? Does it prove that one really loves Jehovah God and his Son Jesus Christ? Note what Jesus commented on this matter. “If you love me,” he said, “you will observe my commandments.” (John 14:15) So more than verbal expressions of love or a warm religious feeling are needed to show true love. You must also obey his commands, including the one to his followers: ‘Go, make disciples of people of all nations, teaching them.’—Matt. 28:19, 20; 24:14.

To emphasize that love for him and his Father is shown by activity, Jesus on another occasion asked his apostle Peter three times: ‘Do you love me?’ And after each affirmative answer he told Peter in the hearing of other disciples: “Feed my lambs. . . . Shepherd my little sheep. . . . Feed my little sheep.” Yes, helping sheeplike persons to grow in faith and knowledge of God and his Son is how a true Christian proves his love for Jesus.—John 21:15-17.

What if Jesus said to you personally: ‘Feed my sheep. Shepherd my little lambs.’ Would you tell him that you had other obligations and could not afford to tie yourself down in this way? Would this be showing love? It would be well for each one to examine himself, asking: ‘Am I the one continually being assisted and encouraged spiritually, rather than being the one who helps others? Are my brothers always going out of the way to aid me to get to meetings, or am I the one helping weaker ones to attend? Do I regularly have to be urged to share in the ministry, or do I lovingly assist others?’ How does your love for Christ and his Father measure up?

If your love has cooled off somewhat or has not yet grown to maturity, take steps now to cultivate it. How so? In the same way that you strengthen faith and hope—by regular private study of God’s Word, by earnest prayer and by association with your Christian brothers at congregation meetings. Faced as we are with the destruction of this wicked system of things and with God’s righteous new order at hand, it is urgent for any who have slowed down to snap out of their state of spiritual apathy while there is yet time.

[Footnotes]

Searching for and Finding God

As told by Peter Photinos

WHEN I first left my home fifty-five years ago, I was searching for something satisfying in life. Though I did not fully appreciate it at the time, I was searching for God, this reminding me now of the Bible’s words that men should “seek God . . . and really find him.”—Acts 17:27.

But when I left home, I was young, inexperienced and adventurous. I came from a small island west of the Greek mainland that belongs to the Ionian group, perhaps familiar to some because of earthquakes there in recent years. The island is called Ithaca. The inhabitants of this small island are known as seafaring people, going to sea not only to make a livelihood but also for adventure.

That was my course in life at the age of sixteen, but it proved to be neither practical nor fruitful. It provided no hope for the future. I was looking for something beyond just a few years of sailing around in boats. Six years of my life I spent at sea, working hard for my daily bread. But that was the only fruitage it yielded me. My efforts to find some anchor on which to rest my future were fruitless. So I decided to set my feet on land and become a “landlubber” rather than a seafarer. At the age of twenty-two years, I chose America as the place of my residence.

IN SEARCH OF SPIRITUAL NOURISHMENT

But at times I felt disheartened and discouraged, like an outcast. I just did not belong. The church of which I was a member had nothing to offer to relieve my distressed state. I began to wonder what there was in life for me. I received no spiritual nourishment from this church, and I began to compare the Greek Orthodox Church with a sandy, dry land—lifeless and dead.

For example, the trinity doctrine was a stumbling block. I had never seen a three-headed man and just could not bring myself to believe that the God I was to worship as my Creator was a God with three heads, which was my impression of the doctrine. Being taught the trinity nearly caused me to lose faith in a Supreme Being.

So I cannot give any credit to the Greek Orthodox Church for helping me to appreciate God and his true worship. I do thank the God I now know as Jehovah, the only true God, that I was able to glean from my mother’s teaching the faith that there is a Creator who is a wonderful, kind, loving and just God and who blesses all who put faith in him. These were thoughts in my mind as I searched for this God, longing to know about him and his purposes. But I did not know where to turn.

RESURRECTION MESSAGE GIVES DIRECTION TO SEARCH

Then one night as I was sitting in what was called a “coffee shop,” in New York City, a man came in and began to converse with people about a lecture that he had heard in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He said that the subject of this lecture dealt with the resurrection of the dead, and I heard him quote 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 from the Bible:

“Moreover, brothers, we do not want you to be ignorant concerning those who are sleeping in death; that you may not sorrow just as the rest also do who have no hope. For if our faith is that Jesus died and rose again, so, too, those who have fallen asleep in death through Jesus God will bring with him. For this is what we tell you by Jehovah’s word, that we the living who survive to the presence of the Lord shall in no way precede those who have fallen asleep in death; because the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a commanding call, with an archangel’s voice and with God’s trumpet, and those who are dead in union with Christ will rise first. . . . Consequently keep comforting one another with these words.”

Although I had heard these words before in funeral sermons, this time they were like mollifying ointment to me, a healing of my mental wounds. I recall that I inquired if he had anything written so that I could read about this, but he had nothing.

One week later, in this same coffee shop, I was invited to go see what was called the “Photo-Drama of Creation.” The place was just two blocks away; but I did not go, for I failed to connect this with what I had heard the week previously. However, the next week, back in the same coffee shop, a man entered with a bag in his hand and in it were books. He explained about the interesting contents of the books, and I desired to have them but I had no money, since I had lost it gambling there at the coffee shop. The things he talked about registered with me as the same message I had heard about the resurrection two weeks before. Well, having no money, I asked him if he would come back the following Saturday. Alas, he never showed up! So I continued wondering how to find the people that had the truth and understanding of God’s Word.

Shortly thereafter I was again given an invitation to attend a Bible lecture. I intended to go, but I put it off, thinking that they would be there the next Sunday; I planned to go then. I did go but was disappointed when I went to the hall at the address given and was told that this hall had been rented just for the previous Sunday’s lecture. Now I was more determined than ever to find these people, for I felt that this was what I was looking for.

I was again invited to a Bible lecture, and this time I made certain to be there at the right time and place. But I was very disappointed in what the speaker had to say. I just could not tie it in with what I originally heard; and, much to my delight, I learned why this was so when, at a later time, I found that this speaker had been associated with the Bible Students, as Jehovah’s witnesses were then called, but had broken away and was now preaching his own ideas. I was still determined to find these people who had the message I initially heard and which was so refreshing to me.

MY SEARCH REWARDED

Finally, I was directed to a small hall on Twenty-third Street, near the East River in Manhattan. I went to this place and when I heard what was being discussed I felt confident that these people were the true followers of Jesus Christ.

Little did I know what this would lead to, but, looking back, I can see that it was the steppingstone to what I had been seeking. Here I heard people talking about the wonderful hope of everlasting life. When I began to hear the message of Bible truth it was not difficult to distinguish this from other things I had heard. It had a clear, true sound and was invigorating. When I found that these people had the waters of truth, it was like finding an oasis in a lifeless, waterless desert. From that day, when I went to that small meeting place on Twenty-third Street in New York City, I have never stayed away from congregational meetings of Jehovah’s witnesses, unless for sickness or some other valid reason. Continual attendance at meetings helped me to advance in accurate knowledge, and thus my faith became more firm in Jehovah God and in his Son, Jesus Christ.

The first week that I attended this meeting, I was given a package of invitations with which I could invite people to the Bible lecture the next Sunday. So I put them to use, going to the coffee house I frequented and then from coffee house to coffee house, offering invitations to the Bible lecture.

BAPTISM AND SERVICE AT BETHEL

In 1920 when I first began to learn of Jehovah’s purposes and how it was incumbent upon me to dedicate my life to him and serve him in the preaching work, I realized, too, that I must also be baptized, as Jesus was, in symbol of my dedication. I learned that there was to be a baptism in Brooklyn, and, having made a dedication in my heart to do Jehovah’s will, I determined to symbolize my dedication. It was my privilege to be baptized at 124 Columbia Heights, Brooklyn, New York, in the Bethel home, the Watch Tower Society’s headquarters. I am very happy for this, although I know that baptism at any other place would have been just as acceptable; but here is where, eight years later, I started my full-time service to Jehovah; and, if it be his will, I hope that it is here that I will finish my earthly course.

It was in 1928, after making application, that I was called to serve as a member of the Bethel family, and what a joy it has been to be used at the headquarters of Jehovah’s visible organization! Having found the true worship of Jehovah God, I was happy that there was something worthwhile for which my life could be used. Not only did I have the satisfaction of knowing that I was serving Jehovah full time, but I had the inward feeling of contentment, that peace of God that passes all understanding. Oh, it wasn’t always easy. We had to work hard, and still do. But now the work has a real purpose.

Also, there are other joys and times of happiness that have come to me while serving as a member of the Bethel family. One of the very finest was that while here I met a fellow servant, Sister Ivy Brown. It was in 1933 that Ivy and I were married, and thereafter we spent thirty years together serving Jehovah, receiving his blessings by engaging in the field ministry, attending congregation meetings and assemblies together. What a help she was to me! And she was an example to other sisters in the congregation by assisting others to learn the truth of God’s Word.

My wife has passed away, her hope being the heavenly reward. A few days before she passed away, though suffering physically but still mentally rejoicing in the knowledge of Jehovah, she was comforted by things I shall never forget. Just to mention one of them that was so strengthening; this was a letter she received from a Chinese girl with whom she had conducted a Bible study. Let the letter speak for itself:

“Dear Sister Ivy: I was sorry to hear that you weren’t feeling well, and I hope to see you soon. I also hope that you are recovering from your illness. . . . Oh, Ivy, I was never and am not sorry that I have dedicated my life to do Jehovah’s will. I know that in these last days life is not and will not be easy; but with his help and blessings we will survive Armageddon. I have always been thankful to Jehovah for receiving the message of life through you. Because of this message I am able to look to the future with hope and joy. . . . With love, Mary.”

Shortly after this my wife died, but she was faithful to the very end and gave testimony of her faith to the doctors and nurses in the hospital. She took her stand for God’s law on blood. (Acts 15:28, 29) We could not agree to use of blood transfusions. Even the doctors who strenuously endeavored to make her take transfusions had to admire her faith. In trying to reason with the doctor, I explained that, even though this might extend my wife’s life for a short period of time, eventually, because of violating Jehovah’s law concerning the sanctity of blood, she would die and be dead forever, whereas if she died now, refusing to violate her Christian conscience trained by a study of God’s Word, she would be assured of a resurrection to everlasting life. Though the doctors could not understand, we made our decision, and Jehovah has given me the strength to bear up under the loss of my wife, in the faith.

RICH BLESSINGS FROM FINDING GOD

So now I near the end of my story, without a wife, but not by any means alone. I have Jehovah God to worship, his Son Jesus Christ as my Leader, the rich association of my fellow dedicated servants and Bethel as my home. I am among those who serve the same God that I do. I have many young friends as well as old and they have the same faith and, above all, the same God. Yes, rich blessings come to those who search for and find the true God.

What a full life I have had since learning about Jehovah! I have been privileged to live nearby and within the Bethel home ever since I learned the truth of God’s Word and have been able to see firsthand the astonishing expansion of Jehovah’s visible organization. What an evidence this has been to me of God’s blessing! I have seen the expansion of the printing facilities of the Watch Tower Society, and I have seen the Bethel family grow from 150 members to nearly 700. And little was it known to me back in 1910 that one day I would be associated with an organization that had a training school for Christian overseers in New York State near a town with the same name as my home island—Ithaca.

Many other blessings were mine as I attended national and international assemblies of Jehovah’s witnesses, all of which strengthened my faith in Jehovah even more. What a joy for this old man, once a youth searching for something, to see so many people from all over the world who were also searching and to meet with them, knowing they have the same faith and hope!

Through theocratic training in the ministry school and attendance at the congregation meetings, I have been able to advance from a timid little soul to one who is not afraid to preach from house to house and tell people about the good news of the Kingdom. I am still enrolled in the theocratic ministry school and am privileged to deliver public Bible lectures. My time is still spent in the service of Jehovah, and I pray that I may continue to serve faithfully, knowing that I will continue to receive rich blessings from Jehovah, the God I searched for and found.

Look! A nation that you do not know you will call, and those of a nation who have not known you will run even to you, for the sake of Jehovah your God . . . Search for Jehovah, you people, while he may be found. Call to him while he proves to be near.—Isa. 55:5, 6.

Witnessing for the God of True Prophecy

THIS world is filled with false gods, gods worshiped by misguided and deceived men. Although some of these gods are eventually seen to be no gods at all, such as Emperor Hirohito of Japan and Stalin of Russia, the great majority of these false gods, including the 330,000,000 gods of India, continue to be worshiped by men.

No lasting benefit can result from worshiping a false god. Those who do so are only deceiving themselves and in the end will come to disappointment. When it comes to worship we do not want to be governed by sentiment but by reason, even as we are governed by reason in handling our secular concerns.

But how can men distinguish the true God from all the false gods? The prophet Isaiah tells us that the true God can be distinguished by his being able to foretell events accurately: “Let the nations all be collected together at one place, and let national groups be gathered together. Who is there among them that can tell this? Or can they cause us to hear even the first things? Let them furnish their witnesses, that they may be declared righteous, or let them hear and say, ‘It is the truth!’”—Isa. 43:9.

The fact is that all these hundreds of millions of false gods cannot produce a single witness to testify to their being truly gods with the ability to prophesy accurately. How favored our lot, then, that we know and worship the one true God, who cannot lie or deny himself, and that he should say to us: “Do not be in dread, you people, and do not become stupefied. Have I not from that time on caused you individually to hear and told it out? And you are my witnesses. Does there exist a God besides me? No, there is no Rock. I have recognized none.”—Isa. 44:8.a

Among the many prophecies by which Jehovah God has proved himself to be the God of true prophecy is that which foretold the Babylonian captivity of his people, ancient and modern. Long before his ancient people went into exile in Babylon, Jehovah foretold, not only that they would return from that exile, but also that one named Cyrus would be His servant for bringing about this restoration. And some 2,500 years later that prophecy had another fulfillment as Jehovah’s modern witnesses, the remnant of spiritual Israel, went into exile spiritually during World War I, to emerge in 1919, ready to Continue the witness work.—Isa. 44:26-28; Rev. 11:2-12.

Our witnessing for the God of true prophecy makes us Jehovah’s witnesses, and that is what all true Christians must be. Did not Jesus become known as “the Faithful Witness,” and “the faithful and true witness”? And did he not declare that he came to the earth for the express purpose of witnessing to the truth and that he made his Father’s name known to his disciples? Surely!—Rev. 1:5; 3:14; John 17:6, 26; 18:37.

As Jehovah’s witnesses we have the responsibility to make known to others our God, the God of true prophecy. Many are our opportunities for witnessing. Are we making good use of them all? By our very actions we can witness, as when a servant of Jehovah refuses unscriptural kinds of secular employment, or a youthful minister shuns extracurricular activities at school because he puts spiritual interests first, having fixed his hope on the prophetic promises of Jehovah God.—1 Cor. 15:33; Jas. 1:27; Rev. 18:4.

Then, of course, there is the witnessing by word of mouth to Jehovah’s name and kingdom, doing so from house to house and making return calls on interested ones.

And what about our opportunities to do incidental witnessing, explaining to others the prophecies in the Bible? Are we always as alert to make or seize opportunities to engage in this as we might be? For example, this past summer a publisher from East Germany attending the assembly in West Berlin told of hearing a woman at a moving-picture house complain about the behavior of children today, attributing it to the lack of belief in God. This publisher approached that woman and asked her if she believed in God. The woman replied that she did, and in the conversation that followed arrangements were made to call on her. As a result, the publisher is conducting a very promising Bible study in the home of this woman.

So let us not neglect any of our opportunities to be witnesses for the God of true prophecy, especially during the month of November, when we will be offering the new Bible-study aid “Things in Which It Is Impossible for God to Lie,” right in line with our theme for the month!

[Footnotes]

Questions From Readers

● Who were the certified men of Acts 6:3, and do they have modern counterparts?—C.P.

Shortly after Pentecost an unusual situation existed among the Christians in Jerusalem. Many of the Jews and proselytes who had come to Jerusalem planning to stay only for the period of the festival, upon becoming Christians, desired to remain longer and learn more about their new faith. Since some did not have sufficient funds with them and others had a surplus, there was a temporary pooling of material things and a distribution to those in need.—Acts 2:44-46; 4:34-37.

It appears that in time the extent of these relief measures diminished, but food was still distributed to needy widows in the congregation. However, “a murmuring arose on the part of the Greek-speaking Jews against the Hebrew-speaking Jews, because their widows were being overlooked in the daily distribution.” (Acts 6:1) To ease this friction, the apostles gave the directions at Acts 6:3.

The congregation selected seven men, a number sufficient to handle the work to be done. The persons suggested by the congregation were certified; that is, they had a good reputation and were qualified, being “full of spirit and wisdom.” It is interesting to observe that all seven had Grecian names, allowing for the possibility that, from among those qualified in the congregation, Greek-speaking Jews and a proselyte were selected. Such men would be more readily acceptable to the offended group. The recommendations were considered by the apostles, who, after prayer, appointed the seven.—Acts 6:5, 6.

Those appointed to carry on the organizational work did not cease to be active preachers of God’s Word. Special mention is made in the Bible of two of them. We read of Stephen who “was performing great portents and signs among the people,” and “Philip the evangelizer,” whom Jehovah’s angel sent to preach to an Ethiopian.—Acts 6:8; 21:8; 8:26, 27.

Similarly, in the congregations of Jehovah’s witnesses today, various qualified brothers are chosen to discharge organizational duties, such as the distribution of Bible literature, the handling of the accounts and the assigning of territory for the house-to-house ministry. As in the case of the early Christians, recommendations are made by the congregations. The decisions as to which persons are appointed are properly left with the governing body. Also, following the early example, those appointed to handle certain duties in the congregations take the lead in the public ministry.

Announcements

FIELD MINISTRY

Long in advance, Jehovah God, in his Word the Bible, described the present world situation, pointing out its cause and the cure. It is concerning this God of true prophecy and his purposes that Jehovah’s witnesses speak. During November they will continue to do so, offering to all persons the faith-inspiring new book “Things in Which It Is Impossible for God to Lie,” with a booklet, for 50c.

NOW AVAILABLE

How can you know that God exists? How can you be sure that the Bible is the only truly inspired Sacred Book? What is the true-life story of mankind as revealed by the Bible? The new book “Things in Which It Is Impossible for God to Lie,” released this summer at the “Word of Truth” district assemblies of Jehovah’s witnesses, supplies reliable answers to these and many other important questions. This valuable 416-page book of Bible information is now available to you for only 50c. Send for your copy today and receive free the timely booklet World Government on the Shoulder of the Prince of Peace.

“WATCHTOWER” STUDIES FOR THE WEEKS

November 28: Answering the Roman Governor’s Question, “What Is Truth?” ¶1-27. Page 645

December 5: Answering the Roman Governor’s Question, “What Is Truth?” ¶28 57. Page 652.