The Watchtower — June 15, 1966

“Keep Holding the Pattern of Healthful Words”

WORDS can pierce like a sword, killing friendships and stirring up trouble. Or they can be as pleasant as a honeycomb, imparting health and bringing friends closer together. “There exists the one speaking thoughtlessly as with the stabs of a sword, but the tongue of the wise ones is a healing.” And another Bible proverb says: “Pleasant sayings are a honeycomb, sweet to the soul and a healing to the bones.”—Prov. 12:18; 16:24; Ps. 55:21.

It is a fact! Upbuilding, encouraging words truly contribute to one’s sense of healthful well-being. Particularly can words of sound spiritual counsel result in healing. If they cause a person to follow a wise, honorable course of life, spiritual and mental health is realized, not to speak of the improved physical health that often results from following godly principles.

In his letters to the young man Timothy, the Christian apostle Paul emphasized the importance of heeding healthful words. First, he wrote: “Keep on teaching these things and giving these exhortations. If any man teaches other doctrine and does not assent to healthful words, those of our Lord Jesus Christ, nor to the teaching that accords with godly devotion, he is puffed up with pride, not understanding anything.”—1 Tim. 6:2-4.

Notice that the apostle identifies “healthful words” as those words “of our Lord Jesus Christ.” Following the teachings of that One results in a person’s having a sound mind, a loving disposition, consideration for others, yes, all the qualities that will merit God’s approval and the eventual blessing of everlasting life in His righteous new order. How vitally important, then, to heed the further counsel of the apostle Paul in his second letter to Timothy: “Keep holding the pattern of healthful words that you heard from me with the faith and love that are in connection with Christ Jesus”!—2 Tim. 1:13.

Yet, today, many fail to pay attention to this advice. Some who claim to be Christians, or who once were followers of Christ, have let go the pattern of healthful words. Their lives are mixed up and confused because of having been led astray by false, diseased words. Thus there is a need to “keep holding the pattern of healthful words.” Ulysses V. Glass, an instructor of the Watchtower Bible School of Gilead, selected this counsel as the theme of his remarks to a recent graduating class of missionaries.

“Paul speaks of healthful words,” Glass explained, “because he is warning Timothy about false apostles who speak diseased words. And these words which they speak will not bring health and life, but are going to lead them in the way of death.” To illustrate, Glass pointed to the gangrene-like words of Hymenaeus and Philetus, of whom Paul wrote: “These very men have deviated from the truth, saying that the resurrection has already occurred; and they are subverting the faith of some.”—2 Tim. 2:16-18.

Evidently these men were teaching that the rising of baptized ones to a newness of life was their resurrection, that it had already occurred, and, therefore, there would be no future resurrection from the dead. Paul said that this teaching was subverting the faith of some. Why? It was because those Christians had apparently ignored the pattern of healthful words.

According to Clarke’s Commentary this Greek word for pattern “signifies the sketch, plan, or outline of a building, picture, . . . and here refers to the plan of salvation which the apostle had taught Timothy.” So, if words or ideas are separated from the true pattern, they begin to lose some of their significance. Then it might be possible for men like Hymenaeus and Philetus to come along and present words in a different pattern, which sound reasonable, but which do not fit the overall picture that Paul painted. And if Christians forget the true pattern, they may be led astray.

As an illustration, think for a minute of Solomon’s temple. The pattern for that temple was divinely inspired. Jehovah God gave it to David, and David had to transmit it accurately to Solomon. Then the men Solomon used to do the building needed to have the pattern in mind. They had to have it so clear that when all the stones were fashioned and transported to atop Mount Moriah, each one would fit in place. Thus, it was not enough merely to have the measurements of all the individual stones in mind; these men had to have the overall pattern perfectly in mind as well.—1 Chron. 28:1-21.

So it is with the study of the Scriptures. We have to have the pattern of healthful words clearly in mind. This pattern Timothy received from Paul, a representative of the Christian congregation. The Ethiopian eunuch in power under Queen Candace was familiar with the Scriptures. Yet he did not comprehend the pattern until he was taught by Philip, another representative of the Christian organization. (Acts 8:26-38) Today we, too, need similar guidance and instruction to obtain this pattern of healthful words. But, at the same time, we must carefully analyze individual scriptures so that they fit properly into this pattern.

Once we have the pattern of healthful words, it is vital that we hold onto it. Otherwise, like with some of those Christians in the first century, our faith may be subverted. Men like Hymenaeus and Philetus may come along and present ideas in a different pattern. Their ideas may sound reasonable, but do not really fit into the overall picture. Therefore, unless we have the true pattern well in mind, we may be led astray.

How vital, then, to study carefully the healthful words spoken by Jesus Christ! Get the pattern of his teachings clearly in mind, and hold tightly to it! Never forget God’s counsel: “My son, to my words do pay attention. To my sayings incline your ear. May they not get away from your eyes. Keep them in the midst of your heart. For they are life to those finding them and health to all their flesh.”—Prov. 4:20-22.

Manifesting the Spirit of God

“Let us go on walking orderly also by spirit.”—Gal. 5:25.

1. What trend is growing today, and why do some not go along with this trend?

IN THESE modern times man is surrounded by the latest inventions of intelligent men. Nations have reached great heights in their achievements. The spirit of nationalism instills in the minds of people the idea that the scientists and the engineers of their nation are the best. Credit for these works goes to men. In fact, so strong is this influence that, as time goes on, human creatures find it more difficult to believe that God actually caused the many miracles and awesome works described in the Bible. This same influence can dominate one to the extent that he will be found in the description given at 2 Peter 3:3, 4: “For you know this first, that in the last days there will come ridiculers with their ridicule, proceeding according to their own desires and saying: ‘Where is this promised presence of his? Why, from the day our forefathers fell asleep in death, all things are continuing exactly as from creation’s beginning.’” However, not all have followed this course; some have readily recognized God as the force behind his Word, the Bible. You read of these at 1 Corinthians 2:12, 13: “We received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is from God, that we might know the things that have been kindly given us by God. These things we also speak, not with words taught by human wisdom, but with those taught by the spirit, as we combine spiritual matters with spiritual words.” To check your own particular leanings, consider some Bible-recorded cases that are ridiculed by some, and believed by others, and note your reaction.

2, 3. (a) How can you examine your thinking on the matter? (b) How do you view counsel of Paul, the book of Revelation, and the growth of Moses?

² If you had attended a meeting of Christians back in 60-61 C.E. in the city of Ephesus where a Christian by the name of Tychicus delivered a letter from the apostle Paul and it was to be read to the assembled congregation, would you have concluded it was advice from an old man in Rome or would you have recognized it, as from God delivered by his spirit? If Revelation had been read into your ears about 96 C.E., would you have said you were hearing dreams of a lonely man exiled on an island or would you have acknowledged it as “a revelation by Jesus Christ, which God gave him” (Rev. 1:1), and that it was made known by God’s spirit as the medium to carry the communication to earth?

³ When Jehovah God picked out Moses to lead the Israelites out of Egyptian slavery to true worship, Moses said: “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and that I have to bring the sons of Israel out of Egypt?” (Ex. 3:11) And again: “Excuse me, Jehovah, but I am not a fluent speaker, neither since yesterday nor since before that nor since your speaking to your servant, for I am slow of mouth and slow of tongue.” (Ex. 4:10) The Bible record shows that Moses stood before Pharaoh a number of times and he talked then and on other occasions to great numbers of people with conviction and forcefulness. (See Exodus 7:10–10:29; Deuteronomy 32:1–33:29.) Would you have felt that this was Moses just growing up, and gaining maturity through his forty years of very active service, or would you have seen God’s spirit producing a mature man to carry out his will?

4. Why do you conclude that Jeremiah was directed by God’s spirit?

⁴ Suppose you were standing by Jeremiah’s side in 647 B.C.E. when Jehovah God commissioned him prophet to Judah and heard Jeremiah say: “Alas, O Lord Jehovah! Here I actually do not know how to speak, for I am but a boy.” (Jer. 1:6) Then suppose you followed this same man for more than forty years as he fearlessly spoke and wrote Jehovah’s judgments to the nation. Would you marvel and say this was accomplished by an outstanding man or would you credit Jehovah’s spirit, as did Jeremiah himself: “This is what Jehovah has said: ‘Let not the wise man brag about himself because of his wisdom, and let not the mighty man brag about himself because of his mightiness. Let not the rich man brag about himself because of his riches. But let the one bragging about himself brag about himself because of this very thing, the having of insight and the having of knowledge of me, that I am Jehovah, the One exercising loving-kindness, justice and righteousness in the earth; for in these things I do take delight,’ is the utterance of Jehovah”? (Jer. 9:23, 24) Reflect now, Jeremiah was the son of priest Hilkiah of Anathoth. Without direct intervention from Jehovah, very likely he would have remained a priest only and we would not have heard any more of him than we hear of thousands of other fellow priests. But Jehovah decided even before Jeremiah’s birth that he would be a prophet. So by Jehovah’s spirit he became a fearless prophet, historian and compiler of Scripture.

5. What various explanations may be offered for the miraculous happenings at Pentecost, and what is the right view?

⁵ If you had attended the important meeting held Sivan 6, 33 C.E., in Jerusalem, the day of Pentecost—you would have heard a rushing like the wind and seen fire settle on those in attendance. They began to speak in various languages about the “magnificent things of God.” Were they speaking a language they had studied? Were they drunk, as some concluded? (Acts 2:11, 13) Or would you see the full force of the explanation at Acts 2:4: “And they all became filled with holy spirit and started to speak with different tongues”? Do you agree with Peter, who spoke on that great occasion, and one of the first points he made? It was: “These people are, in fact, not drunk, as you suppose, . . . On the contrary, this is what was said through the prophet Joel, ‘“And in the last days,” God says, “I shall pour out some of my spirit upon every sort of flesh, and your sons and your daughters will prophesy and your young men will see visions and your old men will dream dreams; and even upon my men slaves and upon my women slaves I will pour out some of my spirit in those days, and they will prophesy.”’”—Acts 2:15-18.

6. What does God’s spirit have to do with thirteen other events described in the Bible?

⁶ Examine just a few of the many more events that you will find in the Bible and that are results of Jehovah God’s spirit in operation: (1) Creation—Genesis 1:2; Psalm 104:30; (2) Birth of Jesus—Matthew 1:18; (3) Resurrection of Jesus—Romans 8:11; (4) Miracles performed by Jesus—Matthew 12:28; Acts 10:38; (5) Jesus’ baptism—Matthew 3:16; (6) New ministers to be baptized must recognize spirit’s operation—Matthew 28:19; (7) Providing Cornelius with help—Acts 10:1-48; (8) Building of temple in Solomon’s time—1 Chronicles 28:11, 12; (9) Feeding Israelites—Nehemiah 9:20, 21; (10) Interpreting of Pharaoh’s and Nebuchadnezzar’s dreams—Genesis 41:25, 38, 39; Daniel 4:18; (11) Producing the Bible—2 Peter 1:20, 21; 2 Timothy 3:16; (12) Appointing overseers in Christian congregations—Acts 20:28; (13) Getting proclamation of God’s kingdom in last days accomplished, earth wide—Revelation 1:1; 14:6; Matthew 24:14.

FINDING THE PROTECTED PLACE OF WORSHIP

7. What is the wise course for those acknowledging God as the one accomplishing these wonders in the past, and who set the example?

⁷ Without doubt the best place to be, then, is where Jehovah God’s spirit is operating and producing results that praise God. That means you would look for people even in these times that are humbly submissive to such spirit’s influence. They would manifest the spirit of God. These persons would be like Joseph, Daniel and Christ Jesus; they would be giving glory to God as the Accomplisher. It is interesting to note the attitude of Jesus Christ on the occasion when the seventy disciples that he had sent out to preach returned, reporting the results of their work. Luke records: “In that very hour he became overjoyed in the holy spirit and said: ‘I publicly praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have carefully hidden these things from wise and intellectual ones, and have revealed them to babes. Yes, O Father, because to do thus came to be the way approved by you.’” (Luke 10:21) Rather than stubbornly resist the spirit and thus be fighting against life-sustaining spiritual food, such meek persons are eager to remove any hindrance to the free flow of God’s spirit on their lives. Where God’s spirit has such influence, you will easily find the nine fruits of the spirit, listed at Galatians 5:22, 23: “The fruitage of the spirit is love, joy, peace, long-suffering, kindness, goodness, faith, mildness, self-control. Against such things there is no law.”

8, 9. Explain the fruitage of the spirit in operation on a group of Christians.

⁸ Can you imagine such things in operation among a group of people in these days, when “critical times hard to deal with” are here? (2 Tim. 3:1) Take just a minute and roll these nine ideas over in your mind as they should be found working in a congregation of God’s people. Love brings readily to mind what Jesus said: “‘You must love Jehovah your God with your whole heart and with your whole soul and with your whole mind.’ This is the greatest and first commandment. The second, like it, is this, ‘You must love your neighbor as yourself.’” (Matt. 22:37-39) Following such a commandment would keep one from the greedy, self-absorbed course described at 2 Timothy 3:1-5.

⁹ Joy, the deep satisfaction in serving Jehovah, whether in times of persecution, hardships, family sorrow, or in easy times; one is contented remaining faithful to God for all times. Then there is peace, no bickering or quarreling over trivial things. Family and neighbor feuds are buried without remembrance stones to locate them again. Peace is a wonderful atmosphere for one’s growing to maturity and for new ones to experience at congregation meetings. Since all make mistakes and are far from perfect, long-suffering causes each one to put up with others. Such ones are not easily excited when someone’s immaturity overflows through a hasty tongue. Kindness is that gentle touch, thoughtfulness at work. It may be help given at a very difficult time or recognition of one’s trying circumstances, with words of assistance. Kindness is not the holding back from giving advice or from counsel when it is needed just to avoid hurting someone’s feelings. When the quality of our food meets up to our standard of cleanness and nutritiousness, we say it is good. So clean ministers are good in God’s sight, they are good to be with. Faith is the result of a careful study of God’s Word that has straightened out many questions as to God’s will. So much evidence has supplied a firm conviction that is solid and that is easily discerned in the action of the minister. Mildness describes the balanced servant of God; he is even-tempered, not inclined to the extreme in either direction. To keep on cultivating the fruitage of the spirit, the Christian practices self-control of his physical and mental forces, thus avoiding immorality, which would disqualify him as a servant of God.

10. Why are these fruits living standards, and what can you then expect of servants of God?

¹⁰ And the thing is that these fruits are not just for use at congregation meetings. They are living standards. Paul makes this plain in the same Ga chapter five, and in verse twenty-five. “If we are living by spirit, let us go on walking orderly also by spirit.” This same spirit will cultivate loving obedience in receptive ones as they go on walking under its influence day by day. So if you are looking for God’s people, you will find them the same in their meeting places of worship as in their homes, manifesting the fruits of the spirit toward their wives, their husbands, their brothers and sisters as they would toward fellow Christians at the meetings.

MEETINGS—UPBUILDING OCCASIONS

11. Why are meetings of Jehovah’s people different?

¹¹ That is why the meetings of Jehovah’s Witnesses are such happy, upbuilding occasions. These meetings manifest the spirit of God. The atmosphere is one of liveliness, of accomplishing something, and yet Jehovah God gets the credit and praise. This is not our opinion. Ask others; check the records, here being just one example: incorporated in the U.S. Congressional Record, 1958, Appendix, page A6907, is a New York Times report on one of our conventions: “Witnesses styled city’s best guests—180,000 at World Assembly win praise for courtesy, quietude and neatness.” The stress is placed on spiritual health and maturity rather than ornate, antique church structures of worship. Their plain, simple places of worship reflect the warmth of a close-knit family that welcomes you back.

12. Give reasons why these meetings are upbuilding, and explain what the spirit has to do with them.

¹² Another reason why the meetings of Jehovah’s witnesses are so upbuilding is the heart condition of these people, which allows you to relax. Remember, Paul wrote: “In the last days critical times hard to deal with will be here.” (2 Tim. 3:1) It takes strength to maintain a constant vigilant defensive guard all day long while at work or school with those who practice the works of the flesh as described at Galatians 5:19-24: “They are fornication, uncleanness, loose conduct. idolatry, practice of spiritism, hatreds, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, contentions, divisions, sects, envies, drunken bouts, revelries, and things like these . . . those who practice such things will not inherit God’s kingdom.” The heart of such people is opened for view at Psalm 14:1: “The senseless one has said in his heart: ‘There is no Jehovah.’ They have acted ruinously, they have acted detestably in their dealing. There is no one doing good.” But at the meetings of Jehovah’s witnesses people are different. Hearts are different. Something has changed. Second Corinthians 3:3 leads you to discover what has taken place: “For you are shown to be a letter of Christ written by us as ministers, inscribed not with ink but with spirit of a living God, not on stone tablets, but on fleshly tablets, on hearts.” You can relax your guard in a peaceful, tenseness-reducing atmosphere free of competition. And how refreshing this alone can be! Proverbs 14:30 assures us: “A calm heart is the life of the fleshly organism.” That is why, even though one may be physically weary at the end of the day, attending the weekly Bible study and Theocratic Ministry School will be upbuilding occasions to one both physically and mentally. Moses followed such a course: “By faith Moses, when grown up, refused to be called the son of the daughter of Pharaoh, choosing to be ill-treated with the people of God rather than to have the temporary enjoyment of sin.” (Heb. 11:24, 25) On leaving such meetings one feels as did those Israelites who responded and attended the inauguration festival of the temple built by Solomon. After eight days, the report says, Solomon “sent the people away to their homes, joyful and feeling good at heart over the goodness that Jehovah had performed toward David and toward Solomon and toward Israel his people.”—2 Chron. 7:10.

13, 14. Are the changes in individuals accomplished by strong determination, and what do the results tell?

¹³ Only Jehovah’s spirit can change the personality. Man-made organizations and powerful governments try to curb wickedness but, as U.S. News and World Report, May 13, 1955, said editorially: “Tolerance and unselfishness—like morality and generosity—cannot be successfully legislated.” (The Watchtower 1957 page 86) To change from engaging in the works of the flesh to manifesting the fruitage of the spirit is changing the personality. Paul writes of this at Ephesians 4:22-24: “That you should put away the old personality which conforms to your former course of conduct . . . and should put on the new personality which was created according to God’s will in true righteousness and loyalty.” Now, note the changes described in the following Eph 4 verses, twenty-five to thirty-two. A liar becomes a truth teller. A thief gets a job so he can give to someone in need. A loud-screaming abuser gives way to a kind, gentle manner. Degrading, rotten language is traded for upbuilding, clean speech. Adultery, fornication, drunkenness and debauchery of every kind fade away to make way for conduct that God’s spirit produces.

¹⁴ Congregation meetings of Jehovah’s witnesses are the gathering of these kinds of individuals together to make further progress toward maturity. If it is a pleasure to associate with one person that has made such changes in his personality, think of the joy of meeting with a group of such persons. It is a regular blessing you cannot afford to miss. Paul explains the great benefits to be gained by attending such meetings, at 2 Corinthians 13:11: “Finally, brothers, continue to rejoice, to be restored, to be comforted, to think in agreement, to live peaceably; and the God of love and of peace will be with you.”

WALKING BY SPIRIT

15. How is it that some quit walking by spirit, and is the end result a desirable condition?

¹⁵ Yet something to ponder now. After listing the works of the flesh and, on the other hand, the fruitage of the spirit, Galatians 5:25 speaks with conviction: “If we are living by spirit, let us go on walking orderly also by spirit.” One can leave the spirits influence, one can turn lawless, grow cold toward God. (Matt. 24:12) Yes, one can quit—it is easy. The principle to follow, wherever you go, whatever you do, is to ‘walk orderly by spirit.’ When people stop serving God, it is not because God has changed or because he has instituted something they had not bargained for. No, God’s will is revealed, made known in his Bible, the same now as when written under supervision and produced by his spirit. Neither does man stop suddenly, deliberately. It is a gradual missing of spiritual food; and just as when one quits material food, he does not drop dead instantly, but slowly fades away, so spiritual malnutrition sets in, replacing courage and conviction with fears and doubts. Enthusiasm wanes. The once-spirited servant of God becomes a dull, stagnant person. Little by little he loses the fruitage of the spirit. It is no wonder to see such a one, in a weakened condition, back sharing in the works of the flesh.—2 Pet. 2:20.

16. Where does walking by spirit lead, and away from what dangers?

¹⁶ The advice from God’s Word is, Walk, work and play in the climate of God’s spirit. Bask and grow under this influence. Do not be hobbled by hindrance from Satan’s influence. The spirit of Greater Babylon’s controlled institutions and peoples is to get ahead in this system. Self and self-interests rank high, right up on the top of the list. Review 2 Timothy 3:1-5 and notice how many of those things causing “critical times hard to deal with” spring from selfishness. And note, please, that these conditions are produced by religious people, those professing to serve God, “having a form of godly devotion.”

17. In our making decisions every day, what course is advisable and what one is dangerous?

¹⁷ God’s spirit brings forth the opposite. In fact, Titus 1:7, giving the requirements for the overseer in a congregation, says he must ‘not be self-willed.’ Yet, on the other hand, 2 Peter 2:10, describing this attitude among those not under God’s spirit, says: “Those who go on after flesh with the desire to defile it and who look down on lordship. Daring, self-willed, they do not tremble at glorious ones but speak abusively.” In striking a balance for us between everyday responsibilities and worshiping Jehovah, there are these things to consider: (1) Things I have to do—such as care for family’s material needs. (1 Tim. 5:8) (2) Things that I need to do—such as getting myself in the best possible location and situation so as to serve Jehovah more fully. (Eph. 5:16; Col. 4:5) (3) Things I would like to do—such as traveling to different spots of the earth, or a never satisfied quest for entertainment. (2 Tim. 3:4) If one allows himself to put self-interests ahead of worship of Jehovah, he is walking outside the spirit’s influence. There are no fringe areas.

18. Is God’s spirit operating in all areas, and what does this mean in your life?

¹⁸ Play in safe zones rather than risk your life with those out of control. First Corinthians 15:33, saying, “Do not be misled. Bad associations spoil useful habits,” has never been proved wrong. God’s spirit is not out there operating on those listed as bad associates. Bad association produces immorality, illegitimate children, unwise marriages, drug addicts, and sorrow to fathers and mothers. (1 Cor. 7:39; 1 Pet. 3:17; 1 Cor. 6:9, 10) When it comes to relaxation, where would you find the protected place? Not with those who are not under the spirit’s direction; and, “because you do not continue running with them in this course to the same low sink of debauchery, they are puzzled and go on speaking abusively of you.” (1 Pet. 4:4) Recreation with those restrained from such a course by God’s spirit can be upbuilding. One does not have to look back with regrets at such association.

19. How do individuals and families manifest the spirit of God?

¹⁹ When Jesus gave the Sermon on the Mount, he emphasized the importance of the Kingdom and, as now recorded at Matthew 6:33, he said: “Keep on, then, seeking first the kingdom and his righteousness, and all these other things will be added to you.” That means making decisions. What will we do, follow self-will or stay under the spirit’s direction? It could be in choosing a mate. Will it be a shortsighted choice, swayed by bad association, or will it be with God’s Word sounding the warning in our ears? It says: “Do not become unevenly yoked with unbelievers.” (2 Cor. 6:14) Perhaps it is in looking for a job. Will you put it first, postponing privileges of serving God, as some do? (Jas. 4:13-17) Would it be training children to look forward with anticipation to careers in this short-term system or with eagerness to increased blessings of service in Jehovah’s flourishing, protected organization? (Prov. 22:6; 1 Sam. 1:28; 2:26) If such decisions are made by individuals and families, allowing God’s directions first place in their lives, then their family circle will be found manifesting the spirit of God. It will be upbuilding and refreshing, just as the congregation meetings are. “Honor Jehovah with your valuable things and with the first fruits of all your produce.”—Prov. 3:9.

20. Can imperfect people recommend the blessings received from the spirit’s application to others?

²⁰ If, then, we find something that is valuable to us, something that is beneficial beyond description at times, would we not want to tell it to others? This telling may be by literal speech, but probably the most convincing part is the actions of those benefited. How do you respond to the spirit’s direction? is the absorbing question to be settled. Does your course recommend the spirit’s fruitage to others? Have you changed your personality to the extent that others, watching your course, recognize that you have found something really valuable? What does your course of action recommend? The spirit of God gets things done, and its action can be seen in your course by others if you reflect this influence of God. Look at it another way. Revelation 7:9, 10 shows “a great crowd, which no man was able to number, out of all nations and tribes and peoples and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, dressed in white robes; and there were palm branches in their hands. And they keep on crying with a loud voice, saying: ‘Salvation we owe to our God, who is seated on the throne, and to the Lamb.’” Can you picture yourself among this great crowd in a righteous standing before God? The blessings would certainly cause you to recommend such a condition to others by a very zealous course.

21. Looking at the matter from a farmer’s viewpoint, what can you see and what course do you recommend?

²¹ Let it all be illustrated by the farmer and his field. He carefully plows, harrows, packs and tends the ground, working it into a good seedbed. Then he plants the wheat. Does he plant wheat because he could not think of anything else to plant, or did he plant wheat because he happened to have seed on hand? No, he has a definite purpose in mind. Some wheat he will use for food for his own household, some will be saved for seed yet another year, the rest he will sell so he can buy other necessities of life. The wheat seed planted will bring many returns if it grows and multiplies as it should. But if it develops into a scrawny, spindly-looking stock that produces just a little poor-grade wheat, then it is not going to make the farmer happy. He may not harvest it if it is not worth the work. We find that Jehovah, the greatest farmer, has prepared all things very well, sent out cultivators, sowers, tenders of the field and harvesters. Now, how should we respond? Proverbs 12:11 says: “The one cultivating his ground will himself be satisfied with bread, but the one pursuing valueless things is in want of heart.” Grow, produce, stay under the raining waters of truth and the growth-producing warmth of Jehovah’s spirit and produce a hundredfold to Jehovah’s honor.

Keep On Growing Under Jehovah’s Spirit

“Neither is he that plants anything nor is he that waters, but God who makes it grow.”—1 Cor. 3:7.

1. What does growth reveal, and what is required to observe its operation?

GROWTH is a most wonderful thing to observe. It is fascinating. It increases in interest in many ways. It is a continual miracle before your eyes. It reveals a master designing engineer in its development. What sparks growth? What controls growth to attain balance in the completed result? What stops growth, maintaining the consistent level of size and ability in creation? Plant life grows, each part progressing in size and maturity, developing flowers, seed, fruit, and yet does it gradually. Of course, if you are interested, you will have to have patience to watch it. “Mark well how the lilies grow; they neither toil nor spin; but I tell you, Not even Solomon in all his glory was arrayed as one of these.” (Luke 12:27) It will take you one growing season to witness this beauty, the result of growth.

2. Describe growth and time as related to each other, and what warning is timely as to impatience?

² A baby is born; it arrives as another member of the family. It has been growing already. “Just as you are not aware of what is the way of the spirit in the bones in the belly of her that is pregnant, in like manner you do not know the work of the true God, who does all things.” (Eccl. 11:5) But now you can see and hear it progress. In a few months he speaks and walks. Before you know it, off to school, then graduation. A job, marriage to a mate, and their new baby. Growth, yes, but it takes time. Can you rush it, stop it, or control it? Growth, judged from outward appearances, is so slow, you may become impatient with yourself or others. This is particularly true of spiritual growth. To be sure, if you feed a baby nutritious food regularly for several years, you will have a young man or lady as the result. “Of its own self the ground bears fruit gradually, first the grass blade, then the stalk head, finally the full grain in the head.” (Mark 4:28) If you feed a newly interested person food from God’s Word, the Bible, the book produced by God’s spirit and so called spiritual food, in time the result will be a minister. But take warning. If parents just cannot realize their baby is growing up, and so continue feeding him mushy baby food, putting it in his mouth for him, he may in size look like a young man, but actually he is a helpless dependent. He has not started to grow mentally. So with spiritual food. If we hinder its application, if we become impatient and do not allow God’s spirit to produce action from the heart of the individual, we will have a helpless babe rather than a maturing minister.

3. How can we be certain of continued growth and avoid wandering away from the influence of Jehovah’s spirit?

³ When one stops growing, something is disturbingly wrong. If you stop taking in spiritual food, it quickly leads to a stopping in growth. To avoid wandering off out into the realm where God’s spirit does not operate, because of less study, fewer meetings, postponed worship in the ministry, gain a little in growth each day by increasing study, meetings and service. Peter writes: “You, therefore, beloved ones, having this advance knowledge, be on your guard that you may not be led away with them by the error of the law-defying people and fall from your own steadfastness. No, but go on growing in the undeserved kindness and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.”—2 Pet. 3:17, 18.

4. (a) What Scriptural principle sweeps away shortsighted ideas about the source of strength for growth? (b) What is the goal in growth?

⁴ But the statement that it is “God who makes it grow” wipes away unfounded ideas about the source of strength for you to keep on growing. After a brief study of the Bible your turning to God in dedication, followed by water baptism, is in itself not going to straighten out your whole life and ensure faithfulness. An enthusiastic launching into full-time ministry without spiritual food will not bring continual growth. Attending conventions or meetings of Jehovah’s witnesses will be very upbuilding, but not enough to keep you growing. Associating with zealous ministers of God does not supply all the nutrition you need to build to maturity. This association with hardworking servants of God would be upbuilding to anyone, but keep in mind that life does not rub off onto you, it is not contagious, passing from one person to another. Life comes from God through his Son Christ Jesus. It is either lost or gained. There are no shortcuts, no easy ways to eat and digest spiritual food. Serving Jehovah is not for lazy people. It is not an overnight jaunt or weekend excursion in order to receive some selfish advantage. Making a change and putting on the “new personality” comes through “accurate knowledge.” (Col. 3:10) Paul was very happy because the brothers at the Thessalonian congregation were growing; he wrote them: “We are obligated to give God thanks always for you, brothers, as it is fitting, because your faith is growing exceedingly and the love of each and all of you is increasing one toward the other.” (2 Thess. 1:3) So closely linked with growth of these brothers was love on the increase, and faith. Faith is developed by accurate knowledge, according to Ephesians 4:13, “until we all attain to the oneness in the faith and in the accurate knowledge of the Son of God.” This way for growth was opened up by Jehovah God through Christ Jesus. “Though you never saw him, you love him. Though you are not looking upon him at present, yet you exercise faith in him and are greatly rejoicing with an unspeakable and glorified joy, as you receive the end of your faith, the salvation of your souls.” (1 Pet. 1:8, 9) Now then, keep this picture clear in mind as 1 Peter 2:2 covers your whole life of growth as a servant of God in one sentence: “As newborn infants, form a longing for the unadulterated milk belonging to the word, that through it you may grow to salvation.”

A SATISFYING WAY OF LIFE

5. What view would prompt us to serve Jehovah in all kinds of circumstances, and particularly when things are not difficult?

⁵ Another thing to understand: What is it that appeals to meek men and women in order to encourage them to serve Jehovah? Fear? Well, some may start to serve God because of fear, but they soon stop their growth to life unless they cultivate enough love to throw off this fear. (1 John 4:18) Bans by governments or persecution by religious organizations may excite some to get busy in service of God. Even a challenge because of extreme weather or an unprecedented upheaval in some country will stir some to a temporary spurt in the ministry. But if you take away all interference and obstacles, will man serve Jehovah God then, day after day, year in year out, for generations, yes, for endless life? Will worship of the true God Jehovah be satisfying, filling, a way of life? We had better view it in such a light for, after Armageddon, gone will be opposition to Jehovah’s will.—See Matthew 5:5; Psalm 37:10, 11; Isaiah 65:21-23; Revelation 21:3, 4.

6, 7. (a) Contrast the impatient attitude with the one developed by Scriptural training. (b) How does God’s Word work?

⁶ Well, there are several things to consider here. Man likes life, and so he will be interested in matters pertaining to longer life and, of course, the Bible holds out the hope of endless life to obedient mankind. Understanding the Bible as it applies today spurs many to grow further, so that they associate with the well-known Bible students, Jehovah’s witnesses. Others, looking farther, see the great privilege of bearing God’s name as His witnesses and share in announcing it earth wide, so sharing in upholding Jehovah’s name in vindication. However, in all of this the truth appeals, draws and works in a quiet way, even as Moses said of God’s Word: “My instruction will drip as the rain, my saying will trickle as the dew, as gentle rains upon grass and as copious showers upon vegetation.” (Deut. 32:2) After such gentle application of knowledge from Jehovah, Psalm 72:7 says: “The righteous one will sprout.” So something has started from this soothing, gentle growth-producing Word of God.

⁷ Some impatient person may wish that God would scare people into His organization by earthquakes, tidal waves, great catastrophes, literally shaking the earth. It is foolish to wish that God would peel back the heavens and make them vibrate with the most awesome roar to frighten mankind into his organization. When the noise does come, it will be Armageddon. Too late, then, to sprout and begin growing into a servant of God. It was not a spectacular heavenly trumpet that cured Naaman of his leprosy; rather, it was bathing seven times in the Jordan River. (2 Ki. 5:1, 14) How was the temple in Solomon’s day erected? Quietly. (1 Ki. 6:7) How did Jesus pick his twelve apostles? He summoned these quietly. (Mark 3:13-15) It is indeed a privilege to look back and see the growth of faithful servants of God. It is a blessing beyond description to see meek ones grow into ministers today. But, according to Isaiah 55:10, 11, there is yet something required in this matter of growth. That scripture reads: “For just as the pouring rain descends, and the snow, from the heavens and does not return to that place, unless it actually saturates the earth and makes it produce and sprout, and seed is actually given to the sower and bread to the eater, so my word that goes forth from my mouth will prove to be. It will not return to me without results, but it will certainly do that in which I have delighted, and it will have certain success in that for which I have sent it.”

RECOGNIZING THE POWER OF GOD’S SPIRIT

8. (a) How does Isaiah 55:10, 11 emphasize the operation of Jehovah’s Word? (b) Then, how would a Christian minister teach others what God requires of them and with what attitude?

⁸ It is essential to recognize the power, ability and purpose of God’s Word. This Word is charged with God’s spirit. In view of this the wise person will patiently wait for God’s Word and spirit to produce results. He will not interfere or be found hindering the spirit’s operation. That is why we do not live other peoples’ lives for them. True, Scriptural advice, counsel and help are given, but when the idea, the seed, has been planted, let God’s spirit go to work and produce the desired results. “For each one will carry his own load.” (Gal. 6:5) Plant the seed of truth with confidence in Jehovah, remembering the principle to have in mind always, at Psalm 118:8: “It is better to take refuge in Jehovah than to trust in earthling man.” This may come up many times as we conduct Bible studies with interested persons. We are anxious to see them share in the blessings God has promised, and urge them to be baptized. If they do so to please you, this is not the spirit working. God’s spirit works on the heart. The heart should move the feet. “With the heart one exercises faith.” (Rom. 10:10) “May your heart keep fast hold of my words. Keep my commandments and continue living.” (Prov. 4:4) Make sure of your part, that of planting the Scriptural idea. Little by little show them what God’s Word has to say on doctrines, how his organization operates, the need for clean conduct, and the privileges of the ministry. This may not always be easy, because of language barriers and physical hindrances such as deafness or blindness. Many are hard to reach because of walls erected by religious prejudice, racial pride, political nationalism, or class distinction. However, if you are content to plant one clear idea at a time from the Bible, the spirit will cause the sprouting. God’s spirit has been stimulating growth for centuries; there is no need to doubt its ability now. When Peter gave a report in Jerusalem on how people of the nations were receiving the Word of God, some “began to contend with him.” (Acts 11:2) So Peter came back with this undisputed principle: “If, therefore, God gave the same free gift to them as he also did to us who have believed upon the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I that I should be able to hinder God?”—Acts 11:17.

9. Why do we say God’s spirit operates upon his ministers in an organizational way?

⁹ According to Revelation 14:6, Jehovah’s angels supervise the preaching of the good news in all the earth. (Matt. 24:14) God’s spirit, then, is going to back up such activity. A work is to be done, and the training given men on earth must be to accomplish this work. It is likened to a harvest work. (Matt. 9:37) The thing to do, then, is to grow with this organization of diligent ministers, work together, cooperate and be obedient to the spirit’s operation. Be like the one described at Psalm 26:12: “My own foot will certainly stand on a level place; among the congregated throngs I shall bless Jehovah.” Work with your brothers in the organization, and you will be under the direction of Jehovah’s angels as well as his spirit.

JEHOVAH’S SPIRIT BRINGS RESULTS, PAST AND PRESENT

10. (a) Describe how the organization worked out problems in the days of early Christians, and what did God’s spirit have to do with it? (b) Can we find an organization doing this same work today with the same spirit’s backing?

¹⁰ God’s spirit worked on the congregation organization in the days of the early Christians. Issues and problems were taken to the governing body at Jerusalem. The decision was then taken back to the congregations in this manner: “Then the apostles and the older men together with the whole congregation favored sending chosen men from among them to Antioch along with Paul and Barnabas, namely, Judas who was called Barsabbas and Silas, leading men among the brothers.” (Acts 15:22) So in a short time the congregations were informed on the Scriptural course to take on circumcision, fornication and the taking of blood. Then you see the growth produced by God’s spirit, as you read later at Acts 16:4, 5: “Now as they traveled on through the cities they would deliver to those there for observance the decrees that had been decided upon by the apostles and older men who were in Jerusalem. Therefore, indeed, the congregations continued to be made firm in the faith and to increase in number from day to day.” Now, today, Jehovah’s organization gives Scriptural instruction on problems facing the brothers. It has mature visiting ministers going to the congregations to assist the brothers. It has over a million witnesses of Jehovah who go from house to house and in a few weeks can inform millions of people all around the earth of important matters, such as what God’s name is, the war of Armageddon and what Babylon the Great is. What is accomplished? Thousands respond and start growing toward life. Just last year, 1965, 64,393 such persons were baptized and started on their way to a joyful life in Jehovah’s service. (See 1966 Yearbook of Jehovah’s Witnesses.) Jehovah’s witnesses could not accomplish what has been done in the last fifty years by human strength or wisdom. But God’s spirit has moved them and they have willingly complied with Jehovah’s direction. They have prayed for instruction, and their requests are answered as were David’s at Psalm 143:10: “Teach me to do your will, for you are my God. Your spirit is good; may it lead me in the land of uprightness.” The New World society of Jehovah’s witnesses is a happy, spiritually prosperous organization today, and Jehovah blesses it with his support.

11. What essential point must we have in mind when helping others grow, and just what does growth involve?

¹¹ Yet another place to recognize the ability of Jehovah’s spirit is as it operates upon the hearts of your brothers. When a person dedicates his life to the service of Jehovah God, he desires to grow. He is willing to take on the responsibility of helping other people and caring for some of the many duties connected with a congregation’s operation. Some do not learn as quickly as others and, of course, Jehovah’s spirit is not going to crowd a person to frustration. So overseers in the congregations need patience and long-suffering. It will become much easier and even a delight to watch if you discern the growth of your brothers in matters of caring for responsibility. Training others to do something may slow you up and things may not get done as well, but in due time the spirit will produce a real helper to you. Worry will not hurry the spirit of God. Teach them, show them what to do, and then let them grow and develop. When they do it wrong or fall short, go over it again and search for a little bit of improvement over the last time. If you went back to a tree each day, how much growth would you see? Keep in mind that growth is in more than one direction in the case of your brother. You as the mature minister may be training him in the house-to-house ministry, sitting down to prepare sermons and then actually taking him along down the street to call from home to home. You urge him to arrange his schedule so he may spend more time in this ministry to become mature in presenting the good news from God’s Word. Then you may be disheartened when it seems to you he has enlarged his service only a little. But beyond your vision he is also becoming a better father to his children, spending more time with them, teaching them from God’s Word daily and holding a regular family Bible study at least every week. He is improving his work at his secular job, giving even more than a full measure now so that his employer can find no fault with him. He is growing in manliness. He concerns himself now with the admonition at Romans 13:8: “Do not you people be owing anybody a single thing, except to love one another.”

ENCOURAGEMENT

12. What encouraging assurance is there for us when we cannot seem to discern growth taking place in ourselves or others?

¹² Will you throw up your hands and conclude, Oh, that person I conduct a Bible study with just does not progress? Will you give up in teaching your brother because you think he is too slow? Do you become discouraged with yourself and think, Jehovah surely has no place for me, I just cannot seem to grow at all and do things as well as others? But stop now: Jehovah sent out his active force, his spirit, and in time we have a beautiful planet, an emerald gem in the universe, fertile and rich, populated by animals, birds, fish and man. Is it not an easy thing for the spirit to cause changes and growth in a human creature? Of course, but remember to take into account a few things. First, it takes time. Ecclesiastes 3:11 says: “Everything he has made pretty in its time. Even time indefinite he has put in their heart, that mankind may never find out the work that the true God has made from the start to the finish.” Second, it takes place in the heart. Jeremiah 31:33 says: “‘For this is the covenant that shall conclude with the house of Israel after those days,’ is the utterance of Jehovah. ‘I will put my law within them, and in their heart I shall write it. And I will become their God, and they themselves will become my people.’” Second Corinthians 3:3 says: “For you are shown to be a letter of Christ written by us as ministers, inscribed not with ink but with spirit of a living God, not on stone tablets, but on fleshly tablets, on hearts.” Third, it does not come by force, but comes by willingness under the spirit’s application. “As obedient children, quit being fashioned according to the desires you formerly had in your ignorance.” (1 Pet. 1:14) “Do bring your heart to discipline and your ear to the sayings of knowledge.”—Prov. 23:12.

13. Does the soil have any bearing on growth, and what type of soil is recommended?

¹³ So in the light of this matter of growth consider the soil, as you read an illustration given by Jesus in a talk recorded at Luke 8:5-15: “As he was sowing, some of it fell alongside the road and was trampled down . . . Some other landed upon the rock-mass, and, after sprouting, it dried up because of not having moisture. Some other fell among the thorns, and the thorns that grew up with it choked it off. Some other fell upon the good soil, and, after sprouting, it produced fruit a hundredfold.” Now, what was the condition of the soil, the seedbed? We see here hard, road-packed soil, rocky soil, thorn-filled ground, and then the good soil. For further description of the good soil read Lu 8 verse fifteen: “As for that on the fine soil, these are the ones that, after hearing the word with a fine and good heart, retain it and bear fruit with endurance.” Must we conclude that one is destined to have a heart that is hard, rocky or thorny or one that is good? No! The hard-packed ground can be cultivated, the rocks can be replaced with fertile soil, the thorns can be pulled up and burned; it all depends upon the desire of the owner.

14. Explain why each person’s desire or goal is vital to growing under Jehovah’s spirit.

¹⁴ What is your desire? You have been given a generation of life, which by now you have partly used. How do you want to invest it? If you earnestly seek to serve God and worship him, then the thing to do is grow. Grow under the healthy influence of his spirit. Wherever God’s Word keeps on growing, there is increase. (Acts 6:7) Your desire, your goal, has to do with it, for if you are going to grow you will have to cultivate the soil, water it and care for it patiently for as long as you serve God. You will eagerly have to take advantage of the growing season. Curbing and curtailing any allowance for thorns stealthily to root their way into the seedbed, you would put God first in your life. Psalm 92:12-15 describes this life of growth under care: “The righteous himself will blossom forth as a palm tree does; as a cedar in Lebanon does, he will grow big. Those who are planted in the house of Jehovah, in the courtyards of our God, they will blossom forth. They will still keep on thriving during gray-headedness, fat and fresh they will continue to be to tell that Jehovah is upright. He is my Rock, in whom there is no unrighteousness.”

KEEP GROWING

15. Once growth has started, are we safe, and why do you so answer?

¹⁵ Illustrating well the need to keep growing are the reigns of Jehoash, Amaziah and Uzziah, kings of Judah from 903 B.C.E. to 774 B.C.E. They start well, but soon growth comes to a halt and, in reverse, troubles grow. Jehoash has a prophet of God murdered and his own servants rise up to kill him. Jehovah does not intervene, because he has “left Jehovah.” (2 Chron. 24:24) Amaziah leaves Jehovah and turns to worship the idols of the Edomites. Uzziah becomes haughty and presumptuous and winds up with leprosy. (2 Chron. 24:1–26:23) Is the desire we have to worship Jehovah something that is springing from a selfish motive to start with, or is this the way of continued life that we want, with constant cultivation and care for growth under the instruction given at Proverbs 4:4, 22: “Keep my commandments and continue living. For they are life to those finding them and health to all their flesh”?

16. How has growth affected servants of Jehovah, and what future is there in it?

¹⁶ Go back to the start now, when you first drank in the waters of truth and started sprouting. Little by little you progressed. From a listener you became a speaker, from taking in to giving out, from a small seed to a fruit-producing tree. You made changes with firm determination. Moderation in food and drink brought genuine enjoyment rather than feeling of restriction. You accepted the Bible’s high standards of morality and gained so many clean-living friends. You replaced that weary, disappointing pleasure-seeking with a balanced program of satisfying study of God’s Word, attending meetings with other growing ministers, having a share in public preaching of the good news of God’s kingdom, and some truly upbuilding pleasurable recreation. Does it all stop there? No! For all of this can be accomplished in a year or two. The roots grow deeper, the trunk larger, the branches stronger, the fruit richer. Years lie ahead, generations, time without end. Yes, all of that time, everlasting time to grow. Each time you read the Bible again it increases your vision, broadens your view, and deepens your appreciation. As long as one stays under the direction of God’s spirit, Paul states, “the spirit searches into all things, even the deep things of God.” (1 Cor. 2:10) So let Psalm 1:1 pick up your life whenever it started, lead up to where you are now and then walk with you into the future: “Happy is the man that has not walked in the counsel of the wicked ones, and in the way of sinners has not stood, and in the seat of ridiculers has not sat. But his delight is in the law of Jehovah, and in his law he reads in an undertone day and night. And he will certainly become like a tree planted by streams of water, that gives its own fruit in its season and the foliage of which does not wither, and everything he does will succeed. For Jehovah is taking knowledge of the way of righteous ones.”—Ps. 1:1-3, 6.

From a Son at Bethel

● In ninety-six different places in the world there are branch offices of the Watch Tower Society. Associated with each of these is a Bethel home for the ministers who work in the branch. At a recent circuit assembly in Colorado, the father of one of the members of the Bethel family in the United States read portions of two letters received from his son.

The first letter was to the nine-year-old brother of the son serving at Bethel. It read in part:

“So you want to come to Bethel? It will be the most wonderful thing that can happen. First of all, though, you have to keep working there at home. There are a lot of things you have to learn. While you are in school, study and learn all you can. When you come home, study the Bible and The Watchtower; that is very important. Whenever you are given an assignment, don’t take it lightly, but work at it whole-souled. Learn to love to work and to serve Jehovah. Set your sights on becoming a full-time pioneer minister and don’t let anything distract you from it. Pioneer every chance you get. Then when you put in an application for Bethel, the Society will be able to see that you really want to serve Jehovah.”

The other letter was to the Christian parents, who had for years patiently encouraged their children to enter the full-time ministry. Many times they had spoken about Bethel to their youngsters, even taking them to assemblies where meetings were held to explain the requirements for those serving at Bethel. Among other things, their son wrote: “Thank you, Dad and Mom, for keeping my thoughts on Bethel service. It is certainly a shadow of living in the new order. Thank you very much.”

Would you like to receive such letters from your children? The Scriptural training you give them over the years and the aid you render in shaping their goals in life may well result in such a happy outcome for you.

Harvest, a Time of Happiness

THERE is no happier time for the farmer than the time of harvest. What is more beautiful in his sight than a field of golden grain ready to be gathered into the storehouse? It means nourishment, life, happiness, a time of prosperity not only for him but also for the city dwellers. The farmer and his helpers can view the harvest with a great deal of satisfaction, for much hard work has been spent in the field—first plowing, then planting—and a great deal of patience. The harvesting of the crop is also hard work, but it is done with a light heart.

As regards human history, this is the time of harvest. Although conditions may make things look the blackest, actually a time of prosperity, physical and spiritual nourishment and happiness such as the earth has never known is near at hand, for it is God’s harvesttime. It makes us happy to know this. But how do we know? It will give you happiness to see the description of this harvest in the Bible and as you consider it you will see how clearly and beautifully it paints a picture exactly describing the wonderful things God is doing now and the things that he has in store for the earth in the very near future.

The harvest is described in the book of Revelation, chapter 14, but we will get an understanding of what it is telling us by first going to the words of the greatest teacher who was ever on earth and who taught in the simplest, most understandable way. The words of this Teacher and of his disciples make the book of Revelation so clear that there cannot be a misunderstanding.

Jehovah God, as the great Farmer, is interested in his field. Speaking of himself and fellow Christians, the apostle Paul says: “For we are God’s fellow workers. You people are God’s field under cultivation, God’s building.” (1 Cor. 3:9) He explains that, while he and his companions are workers in the field, it is God who really causes the growth and the fruitage. Jesus, as God’s master workman, the Sower of the wheat, has supervised the sowing work for 1,900 years. (Matt. 13:37) It has been a tremendous work, taking in every nation on earth. As with all harvests, time is required. The grain must be mature, and the seasons bring the grain to ripeness on time. So God has a set time for the harvest and withholds its fruitage until the due time for it.

There was a time for harvest of the Jewish field at the end of the Jewish system of things, between 33 and 70 C.E. And what a harvest it was, with 3,000 being gathered the first day of the harvest, and before long, 5,000 in Jerusalem alone! (John 4:35-38; Acts 2:41, 47; 4:4) When is the harvest of the entire field, the whole world? This time is described by Jesus as a “conclusion of a system of things.” (Matt. 13:39) When is this? Well, the apostles wanted to know and asked Jesus how they would be able to identify the conclusion of the system of things. In answer he described the unparalleled troubles the world is having today and outlined the strenuous work that would be done during the harvest, namely, the preaching of “this good news of the kingdom” in all the inhabited earth for a witness to all nations, (Matt. 24:3, 7-14) It has to be done urgently, without wasted time, for the harvest is always a far shorter time than the growing season and the grain must be gathered before it is too late.

With this background we are equipped to look into Revelation with understanding. Jesus, the giver of the Revelation, in Re chapter 14, verses 6 and 7, points to the preaching of the everlasting good news of God’s work of liberation as directed by angelic power. And in Re 14 verses 8 to 12 he says that these things will take place in a setting of difficult times but with happiness for many, and paints for us the following symbolic picture:

“And I saw, and, look! a white cloud, and upon the cloud someone seated like a son of man, with a golden crown on his head and a sharp sickle in his hand.”—Rev. 14:14.

The Son of man with a golden crown on his head would be none other than the Lord Jesus Christ himself after his enthronement on heavenly Mount Zion when the Gentile Times ended in 1914 C.E. In the parable on the separating work that he would do, he spoke of himself as coming on the clouds of heaven. Centuries prior to this the prophet Daniel had seen in vision the Son of man coming on the clouds of heaven to receive Kingdom power. This took place before God’s throne in the invisible heavens. Clouds denote invisibility, for when Jesus ascended a cloud hid him from the disciples’ vision. Revelation 14:14 harmonizes with Revelation 1:7, where Jesus is spoken of as coming in clouds. So in his spirit form, enthroned in Kingdom power, he is present invisibly as he turns his attention and power toward the earth. He is seen only with the eyes of heart appreciation, not with the literal physical eyes. (Eph. 1:18) He is in Kingdom power and the earth has been made subject to him; consequently, he has authority to cut down any growth in it.

“And another angel emerged from the temple sanctuary, crying with a loud voice to the one seated on the cloud: ‘Put your sickle in and reap, because the hour has come to reap, for the harvest of the earth is thoroughly ripe.’ And the one seated on the cloud thrust in his sickle on the earth, and the earth was reaped.”—Rev. 14:15, 16.

This scene is fully in harmony with Jesus’ words in the parable of the wheat and the weeds when he said: “The reapers are angels.” (Matt. 13:39) Is the angel here taking authority to tell the King what to do? No, but as illustrated in the parable of the wheat and the weeds, he is merely notifying the King that the harvest is ready for reaping.

According to Jesus’ words, the harvest would require or include a separating work: “Let both [the wheat and the weeds] grow together until the harvest; and in the harvest season I will tell the reapers, First collect the weeds and bind them in bundles to burn them up, then go to gathering the wheat into my storehouse.” (Matt. 13:30) The “wheat” would be made clearly manifest before all: “The Son of man will send forth his angels, and they will collect out from his kingdom all things that cause stumbling and persons who are doing lawlessness, and they will pitch them into the fiery furnace. There is where their weeping and the gnashing of their teeth will be. At that time the righteous ones will shine as brightly as the sun in the kingdom of their Father.”—Matt. 13:41-43.

Therefore, when Jesus took over his Kingdom power in 1914 at the end of the Gentile Times (Luke 21:24), he had to separate his true followers, the wheat, from among the many millions of professing Christians in the earth. From the time of the great apostasy, which prevailed from the death of the apostles down until Jesus’ second coming, it was impossible to tell who the true Christians were, for so many weedlike sons of the Devil, imitation Christians, had sprung up that there was a false presentation of what true Christianity is. The weedlike ones were modern Babylonians, those who worshiped according to the world empire of Babylonish religion. After Babylon fell in 1919, thereby losing her power over those who wished to escape from her, separation of the Babylonish religionists, including the imitation Christians, was to take place.

In 1919 the harvest began when the remnant of the 144,000 of Kingdom heirs began to be freed from Great Babylon. It was in that year that the message of God’s kingdom as established in the heavens began to be preached publicly and fearlessly by Jehovah’s witnesses. Jesus said that his sheep would hear his voice and would recognize it; they did, and the preaching of this good news of the Kingdom resulted in separating the true wheat from the weeds. Many more heard and came out of Babylon the Great and from the rest of the Devil’s organization to join in the preaching work. The number of these increased rapidly from that time. That this is true is shown by the continued increase in the number of those who were gathered for the Lord’s evening meal each year and who partook of the emblems, indicating that they were Christ’s footstep followers and partakers of heavenly hopes, just as the eleven faithful apostles who partook of the evening meal instituted by Jesus Christ nineteen centuries ago. However, the time came when the number partaking began to decrease. What did this indicate? It indicated that the number of those called to the heavenly kingdom, namely 144,000, had come to completion and more were dying off than being added. How could this be a time of happiness for the 144,000 anointed ones?

We need only to go back to Revelation 14:13 for the answer: “And I heard a voice out of heaven say: ‘Write: Happy are the dead who die in union with the Lord from this time onward. Yes, says the spirit, let them rest from their labors, for the things they did go right with them.’”

Solomon turned attention to temple building in the fourth year after his coming into Kingdom power. Jesus came to John at the Jordan River in 29 C.E. and was baptized and anointed by God’s holy spirit as the Messiah, the King, and three and a half years later visited the temple in Jerusalem and looked around upon all things. The next day he conducted a judgment there, driving out the commercialistic money getters. In a perfect time parallel, three and a half years after coming into Kingdom power, Jesus came to his spiritual temple for judgment. (Mark 11:11, 15-17) He first turned his attention to his faithful followers who had been sleeping in death, including his faithful apostles. For what purpose? The apostle Paul explained this at 1 Thessalonians 4:16, when he said: “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.”

But what about those of his spiritual brothers who were doing the preaching work since that time and died? Well, they are those mentioned in Revelation 14:13 who die in union with the Lord, for they become united with him in the likeness of his death, that they may be united with him in the likeness of his resurrection. They are, as it were, buried with him through a baptism into his death. (Rom. 6:3-5) While the dying is not pleasant, they are happy. Why? Because they do not have to sleep in death as faithful apostles and others of past centuries did, awaiting the coming of the Lord Jesus in his Kingdom glory.

Jesus himself, when he died nineteen centuries ago, slept in the death state for parts of three days. (1 Cor. 15:20) His followers experience what Jesus experienced, they die “a death like his,” that they may receive a resurrection like his. (Phil. 3:10) Their Leader was ‘put to death in the flesh, but made alive in the spirit.’ (1 Pet. 3:18) His followers, therefore, have a spiritual, heavenly resurrection, unseen to human eyes. They experience what the apostle Paul foretold, saying: “Look! I tell you a sacred secret: We shall not all fall asleep in death, but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, during the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised up incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this which is corruptible must put on incorruption, and this which is mortal must put on immortality. But when this which is corruptible puts on incorruption and this which is mortal puts on immortality, then the saying will take place that is written: ‘Death is swallowed up forever.’”—1 Cor. 15:51-54.

“Yes, says the spirit, let them rest from their labors, for the things they did go right with them.” While on earth they labored hard in Jehovah’s service in his field of activity and they did this under imperfect conditions and in imperfect bodies of flesh. However, now resurrected to immortality in the heavens, they continue directly on in Kingdom service, taking their place with the Lamb of God on heavenly Mount Zion, and no labor they have done, no persecution they have endured, no death they have experienced can possibly compare with the unparalleled happiness they have entered into everlastingly in the heavens. As the apostle said: “Consequently I reckon that the sufferings of the present season do not amount to anything in comparison with the glory that is going to be revealed in us.”—Rom. 8:18.

But the harvest was by no means completed by this, for only the firstfruits had been gathered so far. No harvest ends with the firstfruits. In God’s law to Israel, the firstfruits of every harvest had to be devoted exclusively to God at his temple. Likewise the firstfruits of this harvest are God’s special possession. (1 Pet. 2:9) But he had others to harvest. Thousands more began to hear the good news of the established Kingdom and to join the dwindling numbers of the anointed remnant in the preaching work. But these did not partake of the emblems of the Lord’s evening meal as the spiritual brothers of Jesus Christ. They showed no indication of having been given heavenly hopes by a spiritual begetting, but expressed themselves as having hopes of living in the earthly paradise that was now coming more strongly into focus.—Rom. 8:16, 21-23.

In 1931 the anointed remnant embraced the Scriptural name Jehovah’s witnesses. That year a related work was brought to view, a “marking” work. An understanding of the prophecy of Ezekiel, chapter 9, revealed that there were many others who were sighing over the disgusting things taking place in Christendom among the imitation Christians and that the spiritual brothers of Christ should mark them in their foreheads, to identify them as worshipers of Jehovah and subjects of his king Jesus Christ. In other words, there was a great educational work now open to view. However, in 1935 it was disclosed that the “great crowd” described at Revelation 7:9-17 were an earthly class of God-fearing people who would be delivered from Babylon the Great.

This brought great happiness and joy to the preachers of the Kingdom and opened up an opportunity for happiness for a numberless “great crowd” throughout the earth. The final part of the harvest has meant the gathering of hundreds of thousands more. These are the “other sheep” the shepherd Jesus Christ foretold at John 10:16, “not of this fold,” the “little flock” of Kingdom heirs, but those who would have the prospect of enjoying everlasting life on earth in happiness. At the present time we see an overwhelming majority of the preachers of the good news of the Kingdom to be these “other sheep,” for at the celebration of the Lord’s evening meal world wide on April 16, 1965, the number of the remnant partaking of the emblems, the bread and wine, had decreased to 11,550, whereas the total number of sheeplike persons regularly preaching the Kingdom good news had increased to 1,034,268.—Matt. 25:31-40.

There can be no doubt that the harvesting work is reaching its climax. Soon the earth will be reaped of all the sons of the Kingdom, the anointed Kingdom heirs, as well as the great crowd of “other sheep,” who will get out of Babylon the Great and be safely led by the Shepherd-King through the destructive end of this system of things and on into the new order of things of “new heavens and a new earth.” (2 Peter 3:13) These the great Farmer and Cultivator, Jehovah God, loves. He uses them to serve him in his temple alongside the “certain first fruits” of his, the anointed spiritual brothers of Christ. (Jas. 1:18) In ancient times these of the “great crowd” were foreshadowed by the non-Jewish Nethinim and men slaves and girl slaves and male and female singers and the “sons of the servants of Solomon” who accompanied the Jewish remnant that left Babylon and returned to the Promised Land in 537 B.C.E after Cyrus published his decree of release.—Ezra 1:1-6; 2:43-58, 64-70.

What a harvest Jehovah God is accomplishing in his tremendous field, the world! With infallible accuracy the enthroned king Jesus Christ and the reapers, the angels, will gather in all the wheat. What blessing and happiness it is for those who assist in the harvest by preaching the Kingdom good news here on the earth, right in the field of God! What happiness for those now being gathered as they assist in the work with the prospects in mind of enjoying perfect life and everlasting happiness in the new order of things! But above all, the Great Owner of the field and Master of the harvest has the greatest happiness of all in the accomplishment of his purpose and in bestowing everlasting life on those who hear the good news and prove themselves the right kind to be harvested into his storehouse of everlasting blessing.

But with every harvest there is a threshing and a treading. The Revelation describes this for us also and gives a preview of what is to happen after the fruitage of the harvest has all been gathered. We will look for this preview in later issues of The Watchtower.

Identifying the Son of God

How do the Hebrew Scriptures provide identification that is indisputable, overwhelming in proof?

WHAT is the name of God’s own Son? Can you identify him? Did you know that he has a Son? Notice how the Holy Bible raises this matter of identity at Proverbs 30:4: “Who has made all the ends of the earth to rise? What is his name and what the name of his son, in case you know?”

Although almost one-third of the world’s population profess to believe that Jesus of Nazareth fulfilled the Bible’s identifying requirements for God’s Son, how many of them know for a certainty? Of nearly 13,000,000 Jews in the world, how many know the prophecies about God’s Son given in the Hebrew Scriptures?

CONE OF IDENTIFICATION

Jehovah God painted a precise portrait of his Son to enable humans to identify him without fail. For wise reasons God chose to include prophecies about his Son in many of the books of the Hebrew Scriptures, not just one. These prophecies progressively narrow the identification of God’s Son, until there can be no question as to his identity. We might employ an inverted cone, a cone of identification, as it were.

At the top of the upside-down cone, where it is widest, we find the prophecies at the beginning of the Bible. These prophecies do not permit specific identification of any one individual. As the cone narrows to its apex at the bottom, prophecies progress through time and become more narrow or specific, thus limiting the number of persons who could fulfill them all. This continues until we reach the very tip of the cone, the point where the weight of Bible prophecy permits fulfillment by only one person, the Messiah, the Son of God.

In using this cone of identification, we can progress along four lines: (1) Lineage; (2) place and manner of birth; (3) nature of his work and (4) chronology.

LINEAGE

The Bible book of Genesis begins our cone of identification at its widest point. Almighty God revealed to Abraham the Hebrew that by means of his seed all the nations of the earth would bless themselves. (Gen. 22:18) The Holy Scriptures trace this promised seed through the lineage of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Judah, one of Jacob’s twelve sons concerning whom the prophecy said: “The scepter will not turn aside from Judah, neither the commander’s staff from between his feet, until Shiloh comes; and to him the obedience of the people will belong.” (Gen. 49:10) Here the Messiah is identified as coming from the royal tribe of Judah.

Through the prophet Jeremiah it was foretold: “‘There are days coming,’ is the utterance of Jehovah, ‘and I will raise up to David a righteous sprout. And a king will certainly reign and act with discretion and execute justice and righteousness in the land.’” (Jer. 23:5) In this prophecy the Creator points out that his Messiah-Son will come through King David, and he will eventually be a ruler, and, as foretold through Daniel, he would be a heavenly king to execute justice and righteousness for his subjects. (Dan. 7:13, 14) So our cone of identification narrows the number of individuals who could fulfill the prophecies concerning the lineage of the Son of God, for he not only must be from the tribe of Judah but must be from the family line of King David.—Ps. 89:34-37.

PLACE AND MANNER OF BIRTH

The cone of identification points to the birth of this future heavenly king in the small village of Bethlehem: “You, O Bethlehem Ephrathah, the one too little to get to be among the thousands of Judah, from you there will come out to me the one who is to become ruler in Israel, whose origin is from early times, from the days of time indefinite.”—Mic. 5:2.

The Son of God, however, was not to have an ordinary birth, since the ransoming role he was to fill required that he be a perfect man. (Isa. 53:5; Dan. 9:24, 25) This, in turn, required that he be born of a virgin woman with the seed miraculously provided by Jehovah God, by means of his holy spirit. Such a prophecy of a virgin birth is indeed found in the Hebrew Scriptures. In a modern English translation of Isaiah 7:14, it states: “Look! The maiden herself will actually become pregnant, and she is giving birth to a son, and she will certainly call his name Immanuel.” True, it does not specifically say that she would be a virgin, as some older English translations mistranslate the Hebrew word almah. But this does not prevent the passage from being prophetical of a virgin birth. Certainly a maiden would be a virgin, or else she could hardly be considered a maiden.

Interesting to note is the fact that the Jews more than two hundred years before the beginning of the Common Era actually expected and anticipated a virgin birth. The famous Septuagint translation of the Hebrew Scriptures made by Jewish scholars proved this fact in their translation of Isaiah 7:14 into Greek. Instead of translating the Hebrew word almah for “maiden” into the equivalent Greek word for “maiden,” they translated it into the Greek word parthénos, which means simply “virgin”! Thus those Jewish scholars showed their knowledge of this prophecy of the virgin birth of the Son of God.

This cone of identification further narrows the identity of God’s Son.

NATURE OF HIS WORK

The prophet Moses was a prophetic figure of the promised Messiah, as Jehovah himself indicates when he said: “A prophet I shall raise up for them from the midst of their brothers, like you; and I shall indeed put my words in his mouth, and he will certainly speak to them all that I shall command him.” (Deut. 18:18) So God’s Son also had to be a prophet, but a prophet greater than Moses.

Through a commission set forth at Isaiah 61:1, we find that Almighty God foretold that his Son would be a preacher and teacher of men, for it states that “Jehovah has anointed me to tell good news to the meek ones.” In similar vein, through his prophet Ezekiel, Jehovah said: “I will raise up over them one shepherd, and he must feed them, even my servant David. He himself will feed them, and he himself will become their shepherd.” (Ezek. 34:23) Since David had been dead for about 400 years when this prophecy was written, it obviously does not refer to him, but, rather, to God’s Son who would do shepherding work and spiritually feed God’s people.

With all these qualifications, one would expect that the Messiah would be received well in his work among God’s chosen people. But the prophecies reveal otherwise, as can be clearly seen by reading the fifty-third chapter of Isaiah. In this chapter Jehovah shows that God’s own people would reject his Son, as it was written: “He was despised, and we held him as of no account. Truly our sicknesses were what he himself carried; and as for our pains, he bore them. But we ourselves accounted him as plagued, stricken by God and afflicted. But he was being pierced for our transgression.”—Isa. 53:3-5.

The cone of identification is surely approaching its tip, but the all-wise God is exacting and leaves no room for doubt, and so he pinpoints his Son’s identity mathematically through chronology.

PINPOINT CHRONOLOGY

Through his prophet Daniel, Jehovah says: “You should know and have the insight that from the going forth of the word to restore and to rebuild Jerusalem until Messiah the Leader, there will be seven weeks, also sixty-two weeks.” (Dan. 9:25) Thus in a total of sixty-nine “weeks” from the going forth of the word to restore and rebuild Jerusalem “Messiah the Leader” would appear. Now, just how much time does this entail?

The word for “week” in Hebrew means a cycle of seven, usually seven days, but not necessarily. It can be a cycle of seven periods of other lengths. In this case an unusual grammatical structure appears in the Hebrew. The usual word for “weeks” in Hebrew is shavuoth (feminine ending). But in this instance the Hebrew word used is shavuim (masculine ending), which may well indicate to the reader that the week mentioned here is not the normal cycle of seven days, but, rather, seven years. In fact, some translators of this passage into English have rendered it “weeks of years.” This fits in with the Bible principle of “a day for a year.” (Num. 14:34; Ezek. 4:6) Thus the sixty-nine “weeks” would come to 483 years [7 x 69=483].

But when would this 483-year period begin counting? In the year 455 B.C.E. That year Nehemiah received approval to go “to the city of the burial places of my forefathers, that I may rebuild it.” (Neh. 2:5) This occurred “in the month Nisan, in the twentieth year of Artaxerxes the king.” (Neh. 2:1) According to information agreed upon by historians Thucydides and Diodorus, this took place in the year 455 B.C.E. The sixty-nine “weeks of years” would begin counting from the time the commandment of Artaxerxes took effect; that is, after the Jews with Nehemiah reached Jerusalem and when he gave the orders to build the city walls. Since it took about four months to make the trip from the king’s winter capital to Jerusalem, it was early in Ab, 455 B.C.E., or about July 26-27 or 27-28, 455 B.C.E., that marks the starting point for the count of time given by Daniel’s prophecy. This is when the commandment to restore and rebuild Jerusalem took effect.

If we count 483 years from that date, we will arrive at the year 29 C.E. [454 years from 455 B.C.E. to 1 B.C.E., 1 year from 1 B.C.E. to 1 C.E. and 28 years from 1 C.E. to 29 C.E.=483 years], the year in which the Son of God would appear as the Messiah or Anointed One.

The prophecy continues: “After the sixty-two weeks [of years] Messiah will be cut off, with nothing for himself.” (Dan. 9:26) Thus after the 62-week period, which came after the 7-week period [a total of 69 weeks], the Messiah was to die. But at what time after 69 weeks of years? Da 9 Verse 27 explains: “At the half of the [seventieth] week [of years] he will cause sacrifice and gift offering to cease.” So, then, half of a week of years being three and a half years, the Messiah would die three and a half years after the year 29 C.E., which began in the fall of the year. This would bring us to the year 33 C.E., in the spring of the year.

How could Jehovah God have been more specific in identifying his Son? The cone of identification has narrowed to its tip and should identify only one man from out of all the humans that ever walked on the face of the earth. He would have to be born in David’s lineage, of a virgin, in the city of Bethlehem; he would have to appear as the Anointed One in 29 C.E. and be a miracle-working prophet, a teacher and shepherd of men; he must be rejected as such by his own people and be put to death, and his death would have to occur in the spring of the year 33 C.E.

IDENTIFICATION FITS ONLY ONE MAN

What does history show? That only one man fits the identification of God’s Son! Jesus Christ alone! Jesus fits the requirement of being born in David’s lineage; and the Christian Greek Scriptures show how his lineage goes all the way back to David and to Abraham. (Matt. 1:1-16; Luke 3:23-38) Outside of the Christian Greek Scriptures there is, for example, the testimony of a Rabbi Ulla, who lived in the third century and who stated that “Jesus was treated exceptionally because of royal extraction.”a At the time of Jesus, of course, there were still available temple genealogical records that could be referred to by an interested person.

As to Jesus’ being born of a virgin, in addition to the Bible (Matt. 1:18-25) there are the writings of Celsus, an enemy of Christianity in the second century, whose writings showed that the virgin birth of Jesus was universally believed in by the early Christians.—Origen Against Celsus, Book I, chapters xxxiv, xxxvii.

Moreover, Jesus was born in David’s city, Bethlehem, as foretold. (Luke 2:1-16) Since Jesus came from the family line of David, his family was in Bethlehem at the time of his birth, as required by the Romans for purposes of registration.

As for chronology, Jesus is the only man who could possibly fit into the chronological considerations. History proves that it was in the year 29 C.E. that Jesus appeared to be baptized by John in the Jordan River, and the holy spirit descended from heaven to anoint him, making him the Messiah or Christ. (Luke 3:1, 2, 21-23) Daniel’s prophecy is thus one of the most powerful provisions for identifying the Messiah to the Jewish nation and to us today. As a matter of fact, the Jews of Jesus’ day were looking for the appearance of Messiah the Leader as they considered the prophecies, including Daniel’s time prophecy, and the work of John the Baptist.—Luke 3:15.

Further, Jesus was indeed a miracle-working prophet, as well as a teacher and shepherd of God’s people. His prophecies for our day have come true. (Matt. 24:3-14; Luke 21:7-11) Several sources outside the Christian Greek Scriptures show that Jesus performed great works and that he was a teacher of God’s people, In his Antiquities of the Jews (Book XVIII, chapter 3, paragraph 3) Jewish historian Josephus writes, after narrating some of the troubles that marred the procuratorship of Pilate: “Now there was about this time Jesus, a wise man, if it be lawful to call him a man; for he was a doer of wonderful works, a teacher of such men as receive the truth with pleasure. He drew over to him both many of the Jews and many of the Gentiles.”

History testifies that Jesus was rejected by his own people and put to death, as foretold. One secular historian, a man named Tacitus, who was born about 54 C.E., while some of the apostles of Jesus Christ were still alive, states: “Christ . . . suffered the extreme penalty during the reign of Tiberius at the hands of one of our procurators, Pontius Pilate.”—Annals xv. 44.

Finally, as Daniel’s prophecy indicated, Jesus Christ was put to death in the spring of the year 33 C.E. In fact, he died on Nisan 14, the middle of the lunar year that began in the fall with the month of Tishri. Three and a half years later the seventieth “week of years” came to an end with the anointing of the Gentile Cornelius. A footnote in the Whiston translation of Antiquities of the Jews gives the date of impalement and death of Jesus as April 3, 33 C.E. (Julian calendar), which is Nisan 14 in the Hebrew calendar for that year. Jewish tradition fixes the date of Jesus’ death, according to the Talmudic Tractate (non-expurgated edition), Sanhedrin vi 2, as the 14th of Nisan, in the spring of the year, which is the time Daniel foretold.

So the cone of identification, by means of lineage, place and manner of birth, manner of work and pinpoint chronology all agree to Jesus Christ’s being the Son of God. With what great precision God identified his Son, the Messiah! Those who desire life will give the strongest consideration to the identity of Jesus Christ as the Messiah, for the Messiah is the Seed of Abraham through whom all the families of the earth will bless themselves if they exercise faith in and follow the commands of this prophet Greater than Moses, the Son of God Almighty.

[Footnotes]

The Balsam of Gilead

“IS THERE no balsam in Gilead?” Thus asked Jeremiah some 2,500 years ago. What was this balsam of Gilead, and what meaning does it have for Christians today?—Jer. 8:22.

The word “balsam” comes from the Greek balsamon, which, in turn, comes from two Hebrew roots, baal (lord), and shemen (oil). Balsam was thus purported to be the finest of oils, the lord or chief of oils, used, not for eating, but for perfume and for its healing properties. “It was regarded with the utmost esteem among the nations of antiquity and to the present day is peculiarly prized among the peoples of the East.”—Encyclopædia Britannica, 11th Edition.

Just exactly from which plant the prized balsam of Gilead was extracted cannot be stated with certainty today. However, among the low-growing evergreen trees or shrubs having the most likely claim to it is the Amyris opobalsamum or gileadensis. To gather the balsam oil, incisions are made in the trees from which, according to one authority, at the most sixty drops of oil could be gathered in one day during a certain season of the year. It grew so plentifully in ancient Gilead that it was exported from there to Egypt and Tyre. According to Josephus, in later years Jericho was also noted for its balsam trees.—Gen. 37:25; Ezek. 27:17.

From the Scriptures as well as from profane history it appears that the three outstanding characteristics of the balsam of Gilead were its costliness, its scent and its healing properties.

The balsam trees were considered so valuable that they repeatedly aroused the greed of invaders, and it is recorded that Pompey exhibited a balsam tree among his spoils of conquest of the land of Israel. The costliness of balsam is further implied by its being included by the patriarch Jacob among “the finest products of the land” as gifts to the premier of Egypt. (Gen. 43:11) It is also to be seen in the fact that the queen of Sheba and other rulers included balsam oil in their gifts to King Solomon. (1 Ki. 10:2, 10, 25) When King Hezekiah wanted to show off the treasures of the kingdom of Judah to the emissary of the king of Babylon he showed him, among other things, his treasures of balsam oil.—Isa. 39:1, 2.

As for the scent of balsam oil, this caused it to be used for embalming and cosmetics. It is, therefore, not surprising to find it to be one of the ingredients of the holy oil used to anoint the high priest of Israel. (Ex. 25:6; 35:8) Its fine aromatic qualities are further indicated in that the final treatment of the candidates for queen for King Ahasuerus consisted of their being perfumed with balsam oil for six months.—Esther 2:12.

References to the healing virtues of the balsam of Gilead are common in ancient literature, chiefly as a cure for wounds, although the Egyptians considered it as a preventive of the plague. In the Scriptures the references to its healing properties are all made by the prophet Jeremiah. Thus in connection with the spiritual plight of his people he asked: “Is there no balsam in Gilead? Or is there no healer there? Why is it, then, that the recuperation of the daughter of my people has not come up?” Yes, there was literal balsam in Gilead, but no spiritual balsam, no spiritual healing, because, as Jeremiah himself observed, “the prophets themselves actually prophesy in falsehood; and as for the priests, they go subduing according to their powers. And my own people have loved it that way; and what will you men do in the finale of it?” No wonder there was no spiritual healing!—Jer. 8:22; 5:30, 31.

Jeremiah makes a similar reference to Egypt: “Go up to Gilead and get some balsam, O virgin daughter of Egypt. In vain you have multiplied the means of healing. There is no mending for you.” And in much the same vein he speaks to the daughter of Babylon: “Howl over her, you people. Take balsam for her pain. Perhaps she may be healed. We would have healed Babylon, but she has not been healed.”—Jer. 46:11; 51:8, 9.

The balsam of Gilead, being a precious, perfumed medicinal oil, well pictures the comfort that Christians can receive when they are spiritually discouraged or depressed, by resorting to prayer, to association with fellow Christians, to study of God’s Word and also as they themselves seek to bring the spiritual balsam of Gilead to others who may be depressed and spiritually ill. It is with this thought in mind that the new songbook of Jehovah’s witnesses, “Singing and Accompanying Yourselves with Music in Your Hearts,” has a song in it entitled “Balsam in Gilead.”

Questions From Readers

● At Revelation 3:15, 16 hot and cold are mentioned. Yet, Christ indicated that he would vomit out only the persons who were lukewarm. Why?—M. S., U.S.A.

Jesus Christ was expressing dissatisfaction when to “the angel of the congregation in Laodicea” he said: “I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were cold or else hot. So, because you are lukewarm and neither hot nor cold, I am going to vomit you out of my mouth.” (Rev. 3:14-16) Members of the Christian congregation in Laodicea were not refreshingly spiritual in attitude. They were lukewarm, indifferent or apathetic. They thought they were rich spiritually and needed nothing. However, in the Lord’s estimation they were “miserable and pitiable and poor and blind and naked.” Fittingly, then, he urged them to repentance.—Rev. 3:17-19.

At first one might assume that the hot condition mentioned at Revelation 3:15, 16 refers to being hot with zeal or love, whereas the cold state refers to a lack of such qualities, indicating that they had grown cold. But Christ said: “Because you are lukewarm and neither hot nor cold, I am going to vomit you out of my mouth.” Neither the cold nor the hot would be spewed out. If the cold mentioned had reference to coldness in love or zeal, surely such would have been vomited out. To the Lord, the cold was just as acceptable as the hot; he would vomit out only what was lukewarm. So, at Revelation 3:15, 16 “cold” does not stand in opposition to “hot.”

Apparently in this case a figure of speech was selected that was intended to strike a blow at the indifference manifested by the Laodiceans. And they surely could comprehend the statement of “the faithful and true witness.” Near Laodicea there were hot and cold springs. Also, it was customary to serve cold and hot drinks at feasts, not beverages that were lukewarm.

On a cold day a hot liquid, such as hot soup, is welcome and stimulating. When temperatures soar, a cold beverage, such as cold lemonade, is refreshing. A lukewarm liquid would not be very pleasing in either case.

Quite apparently, by his words recorded at Revelation 3:14-19, the Lord Jesus Christ was indicating that the lukewarm spiritual state of the Christians in Laodicea was grossly unacceptable to him. They needed to take positive steps, acting to dispel apathy and increase their spirituality.

● From what is said at Isaiah 14:22 are we to understand that each individual Babylonian was finally destroyed?—E. K., U.S.A.

Isaiah 14:22 reads: “‘And I will rise up against them,’ is the utterance of Jehovah of armies. ‘And I will cut off from Babylon name and remnant and progeny and posterity,’ is the utterance of Jehovah.” This surely meant annihilation for Babylon. But we need not take the view that this called for the actual personal destruction of each individual Babylonian.

The Babylonian dynasty, symbolized in the Bible by the “king of Babylon,” rules no more. (Isa. 14:4) It perished centuries ago. And as a people the Chaldeans and Babylonians are no longer in existence. By some means, which could include intermarriage and the loss of genealogical records, they have been wiped out. Of course, undoubtedly many Babylonians and Chaldeans were killed when the Medes and Persians overthrew Babylon in 539 B.C.E. However, after the period of Medo-Persian domination, Greek armies under Alexander the Great occupied Babylon, such control lasting until 323 B.C.E. Then came the Seleucidae, the Parthians, the Sassanian Dynasty and the Moslem Arabs, in succession. Hence, the land of ancient Babylonia was subjected to the effects of foreign domination, and those residing in it were subjected to the possibility of assimilation by other peoples. In any event, no one now living can say with certainty that he is a pure Babylonian or Chaldean.

Today Babylon itself is but a place of ruins, visited by tourists, but without native inhabitants. That great city, its kings and all the Chaldeans and Babylonians who once resided in it have faded away with the passing of time. Jehovah has indeed “cut off from Babylon name and remnant and progeny and posterity.” His pronouncement recorded at Isaiah 14:22 has truly found fulfillment. This is but one of the many evidences proving that Jehovah’s “holy spirit . . . spoke through Isaiah the prophet” and that Jehovah God does not lie.—Acts 28:25; Heb. 6:18.

● A careful comparison of Matthew 1:1-16 with Luke 3:23-38 shows that Matthew gave the lineage of Jesus Christ through Solomon, whereas Luke gave it through Nathan, another son of David. Why, then, do both genealogies list Shealtiel and Zerubbabel?—M. K., Alaska.

It was evidently through a marriage that the family line leading to Jesus from King David through his son Nathan merged with the line through Solomon after many generations.

First Chronicles 3:16-18 shows that Shealtiel was the fleshly son of Jeconiah (King Jehoiachin). With this Matthew agrees, in stating: “After the deportation to Babylon Jeconiah became father to Shealtiel.” (Matt. 1:12) However, Luke did not err in indicating that Shealtiel was “the son of Neri.” (Luke 3:27) Apparently this was true, because Neri gave his daughter to Shealtiel in marriage. Since it was not uncommon for the Hebrews to refer to a son-in-law as a son, and especially so in genealogical listings, Luke could properly refer to Shealtiel as the son of Neri, just as he had already referred to Joseph as the son of Heli, who was actually the father of Joseph’s wife, Mary.—Luke 3:23.

Hence, it was through such a marital union that the family line of David through Nathan merged with the line through Solomon. This would also account for the fact that both Matthew and Luke mention Shealtiel’s son Zerubbabel. Eventually, through different descendants of Zerubbabel, the two family lines again took separate courses in leading to Jesus Christ.

With good reason, then, the book “Things in Which It Is Impossible for God to Lie” states on page 71: “Most of the Jews surviving the fall and destruction of Jerusalem were carried into exile into Babylon. Among the captive Jews there during the next seventy years was one named Neri, who had descended from King David through his son Nathan. This family line now became interrelated with Solomon’s family through Shealtiel and his son Zerubbabel.” The interrelating of these lines of descent is also shown on pages 112 and 113 of this publication.

For additional information on the genealogies of Jesus Christ as presented by Matthew and Luke, please see The Watchtower of March 1, 1962, pages 158 and 159.

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“WATCHTOWER” STUDIES FOR THE WEEKS

July 10: Manifesting the Spirit of God, ¶1-19. Page 357.

July 17: Manifesting the Spirit of God, ¶20, 21, and Keep On Growing Under Jehovah’s Spirit. Page 363.