The Watchtower — February 15, 1967

Meeting the Problems of Your Children

“He was sick when he came home at 2 a.m.,” his mother explained. “I just put him to bed and waited until this morning to ask him what happened. With his hands holding his throbbing head​—like any other repentant morning-after drunk—​he told me that he’d been down at the drive-in with his thirteen-year-old friends, and three older boys shared some beer with them.”

Not just a few mothers and fathers have had a similar experience with their youngsters. However, excessive drinking is only one of the problems that parents often face today.

The modern-day emphasis on sex has also resulted in skyrocketing cases of venereal diseases, unwanted pregnancies and forced marriages. The adult world has adopted a “new morality” of sexual freedom, and youth copy it. This unquestionably has resulted in a great increase of problems among young people.

Last fall a United States Senate study said that, in its opinion, “four and a half million [one in every ten] American children need psychiatric treatment” to cope with seriously undesirable behavior patterns. The study also revealed that, of the 29 million children in the ten to seventeen age-group, 2 1⁄2 million, or about one in every eleven, has a police record! Indeed, the troubles in which modern youth are involved stagger the imagination.​—New York Times, October 19, 1966, front page.

Parents in other countries, too, are experiencing problems with their children. In Japan, for instance, the number of lawbreakers under twenty years of age tripled between 1953 and 1963. “And the frightening thing,” notes a prominent police official, “is that the crimes are tending more and more toward violence . . . and the average age of the offenders is getting younger.”

How can you, as parents, successfully meet the problems of your children? First, you must be convinced that they need your attention and help. Do not assume that the wild parties, the drinking, reckless driving, and other escapades of youth cannot possibly involve your children. They can, as Mrs. Arnold Washton, president of the Parents League of New York, observed: “We have received so many letters and telephone calls from parents who want to know how to help children who have become involved in these problems that we know they can exist in the most careful families and schools.”

There is no question about it; children vitally need understanding, loving parents. A baby comes into the world helpless and ignorant, with little knowledge other than how to suck and to cry. Therefore Almighty God provided the marriage arrangement, so that the child could receive necessary guidance and instruction from ones who would truly love it. And the Bible emphasizes the importance of parents’ regularly giving this instruction.​—Deut. 6:4-9; Eph. 6:4.

However, to do so requires setting aside time to be with your children. This time together should be planned, so that it really does build up and strengthen family ties. Make it fun, and yet instructive. At mealtimes, for instance, experiences, ideas, activities, hopes and plans can be shared. Keep in mind things heard during the day that are humorous or of common interest, and share them at the meal table. This communication and interest can draw the family together, giving the children a sense of security, of belonging.

Parents should never underestimate the importance of communication with their youngsters. “The fundamental complaint of young Americans,” notes one well-known writer, is “that they cannot talk with grown people. . . . the very great majority of our kids have never enjoyed an intimate friendship with even one grown person.” Little wonder that newspapers and magazines every year receive thousands of letters from children who say they want someone with whom to talk over their personal problems.

But how is it that parents and their children drift so far apart, making conversation on vital matters almost impossible? According to the above writer: “Their efforts to communicate with us are invariably and completely squelched.” Unfortunately, this is often true. Parents frequently push off their inquiring child, ‘Go away; can’t you see I’m busy?’ How much better if the parent, when really busy, would promise to discuss the matter later and, when free, ask the child what was on his mind. In this way the child will sense that his parents are really interested in him and will more readily confide in them.

Youngsters need someone to talk with, a person who appreciates their problems and who will help them to meet them by providing needed counsel. Illustrating how parents often fail to satisfy this need, two physicians recently wrote: “The story is told of the mother with an uninformed thirteen-year-old pregnant daughter. When asked if she had explained the ‘facts of life’ to her daughter, she replied, ‘Oh, no, I thought she was too young for that.’”

The doctors then observed: “Too frequently, such parents send their ten- to twelve-year-olds to unchaperoned parties with ‘dates’ wearing silk stockings, high heels, adult-style clothes and lipstick, and then wonder how they get into trouble at fifteen years of age.” It is true that youngsters may at times pressure for freedom to do such things. However, as parents you must stand firm and enforce necessary rules. It is your responsibility to do so! And, really, your children will be grateful if you do.

If you maintain healthy family ties so that your children feel free to talk with you, and if you anticipate the problems they will face and prepare them to meet them, the bond of love between you and your children is certain to grow. At times they may resent what they consider undue restrictions. But eventually they will undoubtedly voice the sentiments of one teen-ager: “Now I finally know what I can and can’t do​—and it’s taken a terrific load off my mind.”

Fulfilled Prophecy Testifies that God Lives

Many persons feel that a living God would have interfered long ago in human affairs to cut short this era of wickedness and woe. And now that some clergymen have put forth the idea that “God is dead,” many wonder where they can find the truth about the matter. The truth can be found in the Holy Bible, and especially pertinent to this controversy of whether God lives is the testimony of fulfilled prophecy.

When prophecies of the Bible are seen being fulfilled, it is evidence that God lives. Humans cannot accurately foretell events and give precise details concerning them even a few years in advance, but God has done so centuries in advance. For example, centuries before the arrival of Jesus Christ on earth, God foretold in detail many things in connection with him.

WHAT PROPHECIES CONCERNING JESUS TESTIFY

Consider Jesus’ birth. About seven hundred years in advance God inspired his prophet to foretell that it would take place in Bethlehem. (Mic. 5:2) And how remarkably this was fulfilled! It was, in fact, as a result of a royal decree of the Roman Caesar himself! The Jewish virgin Mary and her husband Joseph were living in Galilee, in Nazareth, some sixty or more miles north of Bethlehem, a long journey over rugged terrain in those days. However, Augustus Caesar’s registration decree required them to travel to Bethlehem to register​—at just the right time for Jesus to be born there!​—Luke 2:1-7.

Consider, also, the prophecies that were fulfilled at Jesus’ death. In the inspired Psalms it was foretold that not one of his bones would be broken, and that those present would cast lots for his clothing. (Ps. 34:20; 22:18) Did this occur? Since the day following the execution was a holy one to the Jews and bodies were not to be left on the torture stake overnight, the Roman soldiers proceeded to break the legs of the men to hasten their death. But since Jesus had just died, his were left unbroken. (John 19:31-36) As for Jesus’ inner garment, it was woven with no seam, so the soldiers decided to determine by lot whose it would be, rather than to tear it up and divide it. How miraculously these prophecies were fulfilled!​—John 19:23, 24.

Prophecies regarding Jesus’ time in the tomb and his resurrection likewise were astonishingly fulfilled. In the Psalms it was foretold that God would not leave his holy one in hell, or the grave. (Ps. 16:10, AV) And Jesus himself explained that he would “be killed, and on the third day be raised up.” (Matt. 16:21) Was he? Yes, he was! Testified the apostle Peter: “This Jesus God resurrected, of which fact we are all witnesses.” The prophecies were fulfilled!​—Acts 2:30-32.

Think now. Did all these many details just happen automatically simply because they were prophesied to occur? Was it merely by chance that Augustus Caesar made his registration decree at the exact time to maneuver Mary to Bethlehem when she was nearly ready to give birth? Was it just by accident that the soldiers proceeded to break the legs of the men after Jesus had died? Was it only by chance that Jesus’ inner garment was of such a kind that the soldiers decided not to divide it into separate parts among themselves, as they had done his outer garments, but to cast lots over it? And how was it that Jesus’ body was removed from the tomb on the third day without human intervention? It was accomplished by a living God! He intervened actively in human affairs to see that His prophecies were fulfilled!​—Luke 24:1-7.

The fulfillment of those prophecies testified, not merely that God had lived in the past, but that he was alive then, at the time of their fulfillment.

WHAT DO WORLD WOES TESTIFY?

But what about today? A number of persons argue that the terrible increase of wickedness and woes upon the earth in our day is evidence that “God is dead.” They feel that God has absented himself from earth’s affairs and, unlike in times past, he is not doing anything in behalf of mankind upon earth. Is this true?

Such persons certainly are correct in saying that this generation has experienced a tremendous increase in woe and distress. Two destructive global wars, disastrous famines, unprecedented disease epidemics, a concentrated number of devastating earthquakes, a terrible increase of lawlessness​—yes, all of such things have turned this generation into an “Age of Violence.” As the New York Times Magazine of May 2, 1965, observed: “Most historians now agree that . . . it was not the organized festivities of 1900 but rather the organized hostilities of 1914 that decisively concluded a chapter in human history.”

But should this terrible change for the worse in human affairs be unexpected by us? Did Almighty God leave mankind without warning of the coming of these distressing times? Turn, please, in your Bible to Matthew chapter twenty-four, Mark chapter thirteen, Luke chapter twenty-one and Second Timothy chapter three. What do you read there? Why, is it not that these exact woeful conditions presently being experienced were forecasted to occur as a sign of the “last days”? Yes, since the year 1914 God’s prophecies regarding the “conclusion of the system of things” have been in the course of fulfillment!

So of what is the present increase of woe really an evidence? That God is powerless to alleviate the troubles? That he is not concerned enough with mankind to do anything in their behalf? Do present woes indeed indicate that “God is dead”? Or, rather, do they prove that he is very much alive?

For an answer, we can turn in the Holy Bible to the book of Revelation, chapter twelve. Here the apostle John is given, by the glorified Jesus Christ, a vision of things to come. John sees in vision a great war, not on earth, but in heaven. This war is prompted by the birth of God’s kingdom. God’s enthroned Son, Jesus Christ, and the holy angels fight against the Devil and his demon angels, hurling them out of heaven. But in what direction are these wicked spirits hurled? In our direction​—toward the earth! The Divine Record says:

“So down the great dragon was hurled, the original serpent, the one called Devil and Satan, who is misleading the entire inhabited earth; he was hurled down to the earth, and his angels were hurled down with him. And I heard a loud voice in heaven say: ‘Now have come to pass the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God and the authority of his Christ, because the accuser of our brothers has been hurled down, who accuses them day and night before our God! . . . Woe for the earth and for the sea, because the Devil has come down to you, having great anger, knowing he has a short period of time,” that is, a short time before he and his demons are put out of operation.​—Rev. 12:9, 10, 12.

“Woe for the earth!” Yes, this is exactly what we have experienced during the past five decades. And what does this fulfilled prophecy testify to? That God is dead? By no means, but just the opposite, that God lives! For it is evidence that God has asserted his kingly power in heaven and that his kingdom has taken action against the Devil and his demons, hurling them to the earth.

Therefore, seen in the light of fulfilled prophecy, world conditions today testify to the fact that the Devil has been hurled out of heaven and down to the earth, and his violent ouster from heaven shows that God is very much alive and taking steps to put an end to wickedness. Instead of being helpless to do anything about the situation, or being uninterested in man, God has made the necessary provisions for wiping out wickedness and blessing mankind eternally by establishing His kingdom in the heavens. Soon that established kingdom in the hands of Christ will put the Devil and his forces of wickedness out of operation. Truly world conditions testify, not that God is dead, but that God’s kingdom now rules in the heavens and that God lives!

KINGDOM PREACHING TESTIFIES THAT GOD LIVES

Now that God’s kingdom is in operation in heaven, God is doing something else on behalf of mankind, testifying that He indeed lives and is interested in the welfare of lovers of righteousness. What is this? He is having carried out a global witnessing campaign regarding his established kingdom, as foretold at Matthew 24:14: “This good news of the kingdom will be preached in all the inhabited earth for a witness to all the nations; and then the end will come.”

Under what circumstances would God’s established kingdom be preached throughout “all the inhabited earth for a witness to all the nations”? Would the nations rejoice in hearing this “good news”? On the contrary, Jesus Christ said: “People will deliver you [Kingdom witnesses] up to tribulation and will kill you, and you will be objects of hatred by all the nations.”​—Matt. 24:9.

Has a Kingdom witness been given world wide despite opposition and hatred “by all the nations”?

Consider the facts of history. For example, a professor of history, Charles Samuel Braden, wrote in his book These Also Believe: “Jehovah’s Witnesses have literally covered the earth with their witnessing. . . . It may be truly said that no single religious group in the world displayed more zeal and persistence in the attempt to spread the good news of the Kingdom than the Jehovah’s Witnesses.”

And what has been the reception given to these Kingdom witnesses? A noted constitutional lawyer, Leo Pfeffer, surveyed the scene and wrote about Jehovah’s witnesses in his volume Church, State and Freedom: “Their aggressive missionary tactics are reminiscent of those employed by the early Christians, and the reception accorded them by the nonbelievers is likewise reminiscent of that visited on the early Christians.”

In country after country political authorities, religious leaders and mobs have tried to stop the Kingdom preaching, as Jesus foretold. But the opposers have failed. The American Civil Liberties Union reported that, in six months alone in 1940, “1488 men, women and children were victims of mob violence in 335 communities in 44 states. . . . Nothing parallel to this extensive mob violence has taken place in the United States since the days of the Ku Klux Klan in the 1920’s.”

During World War II, these Christian witnesses were banned in thirty-four lands. But despite mob violence in the United States, Canada, Great Britain and other lands the work has not stopped.

The Nazis tried to wipe out these Kingdom preachers, Hitler even screaming with clenched fists: “This brood will be exterminated in Germany!” And wrote Professor Ebenstein of Princeton University in his book The Nazi State: “A campaign of terror was launched against [Jehovah’s witnesses] which surpassed anything perpetrated against any other victims of Nazism in Germany.” Yet the preaching work spread and Hitler and the Nazis could not stop the good news of the Kingdom from going to the people. Why? Because the living God is behind this work.

In Communist lands throughout the world great efforts have been put forth to stop the Kingdom witnessing. The Toronto Daily Star of July 2, 1960, said: “All religion is anathema to the Soviets. Unaccountably, however, nothing infuriates them quite as much as do Jehovah’s Witnesses. . . . Pravda reports that the Witnesses are becoming increasingly active. . . . Faith is spreading, and all the mighty resources of the state seem unable to destroy it.”

Why have powerful governments been unable to stop the work of this small group of Kingdom witnesses? This Kingdom preaching in the face of worldwide opposition clearly testifies to the fact that this preaching work is not of man. If it were, it would have collapsed long ago because of the opposition to it. As an esteemed doctor of Law in the first century said: “If this scheme and this work is from men, it will be overthrown; but if it is from God, you will not be able to overthrow them.” (Acts 5:34-39) The fact that the earth-wide Kingdom preaching continues is proof that it is of God, that God is backing it up​—yes, that God lives!

Faced with such telling testimony of fulfilled prophecies of the past and even those presently undergoing fulfillment, is it sensible to believe those who claim that God is dead? For all who approach the Bible with reverent mind there is ample evidence that God lives. Our confidence can indeed be the same as that of the apostle Paul, who long ago said: “We have rested our hope on a living God.”​—1 Tim. 4:10.

Jehovah Makes Full Might Abound

“Those who are hoping in Jehovah will regain power. They will mount up with wings like eagles. They will run and not grow weary; they will walk and not tire out.”​—Isa. 40:31.

1. What drama is here discussed, and where is it accurately recorded?

Among many powerful dramas recorded in Jehovah’s Word is that concerning Samson. Down through the ages, the thrilling events of Samson’s action-packed life have gripped the attention of young and old. The affair of Samson and Delilah has become one of the great “love stories” of history, and has been told and retold in song and play, with varying accuracy. However, it is in the Bible book of Judges, chapters 13 to 16, that we read in faithful detail the real-life story of the strongest man of human history. And as we read this stirring record, we may ask ourselves: What was the source of Samson’s great strength? How do we benefit by this life story today?

2. Why was the drama written down, and what lesson does it convey?

² Speaking of historic events in ancient Israel, Romans 15:4 assures us: “For all the things that were written aforetime were written for our instruction, that through our endurance and through the comfort from the Scriptures we might have hope.” And having hope in God, we will come to realize, as did Samson, that the secret of real strength is to be found in Jehovah alone. “He is giving to the tired one power; and to the one without dynamic energy he makes full might abound.”​—Isa. 40:29.

EXCLUSIVE DEVOTION

3. How are the meanings of Samson’s name appropriate?

³ The name Samson is generally translated to mean “Sunny; Sun-like; Sun-man,” but others give it the meaning “Desolator; Destroyer.” Both meanings are most appropriate. During Samson’s twenty-year judgeship in Israel, probably shortly before the beginning of Saul’s reign in 1117 B.C.E., he showed exclusive devotion to Jehovah, both as a “sun-like” savior in Israel and as a devastating desolator of the oppressing Philistines. (Judg. 13:5; 16:30) His was an irenic work, in that it brought refreshing deliverance to Israel, and a polemic work, in its execution of God’s judgments on his enemies.

4. What pattern is seen in Jesus’ earthly ministry?

⁴ This pattern of an irenic and a polemic work is to be seen also in the devoted ministry of Jesus Christ while on earth. To the meek, Jesus declared: “Come to me, all you who are toiling and loaded down, and I will refresh you.” And that he did! But to the wicked religious oppressors of the people he cried out: “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! because you resemble whitewashed graves, which outwardly indeed appear beautiful but inside are full of dead men’s bones and of every sort of uncleanness. In that way you also, outwardly indeed, appear righteous to men, but inside you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness. . . . Serpents, offspring of vipers, how are you to flee from the judgment of Gehenna?”​—Matt. 11:28; 23:27-33.

5. What group did Jesus organize on earth, and for what purpose?

⁵ The Lord Jesus Christ set in motion a powerful work of Kingdom witnessing. For this very purpose he organized the Christian congregation on earth as a “faithful and discreet slave,” made up of devoted, anointed witnesses, and it serves to this day as the Master’s appointee in giving “his domestics . . . [spiritual] food at the proper time.” (Matt. 24:45) This “slave” organization of true, devoted Christians, particularly the remnant thereof in modern times, was well typified by Samson of old. How so?

6, 7. (a) What instruction did Jehovah give to Samson’s mother, and what did this involve? (b) What similar requirement has Jehovah laid upon true Christians, and in what environment have these grown up?

⁶ Jehovah instructed Samson’s mother, even before this divinely arranged pregnancy, that the child to be born must be devoted as a Nazirite from birth, and “until the day of his death.” (Judg. 13:2-7) This required that Samson practice abstinence, that he wear his hair long and that he refrain from defiling himself by touching a dead body. (Num. 6:1-21) Similarly, when Jehovah’s long-barren “woman”​—his heavenly, universal organization—​at last brought forth spiritual sons, exclusive devotion was required of this “slave” class.

⁷ The Master, Jesus Christ, stated that at “the conclusion of the system of things” he would appoint this devoted “slave” over “all his belongings,” his Kingdom interests on earth. (Matt. 24:47) But he spoke also of a counterfeit organization of apostate Christians​—“weeds”—​sown by the Devil, and said that it would try to choke out true, wheatlike Christians. Just such a growth is seen in the development of the Catholic and Protestant religious systems of Christendom, which have substituted the pagan philosophies of ancient Babylon, Greece and Rome for Christ’s Bible teachings. This system has invaded the realm of God’s pure worship in the same way that the Philistines invaded the realm of God’s people in Samson’s day.​—Matt. 13:24-30.

8. What is pictured in Jehovah’s spirit being with Samson?

⁸ But “wheat” Christians of the “faithful and discreet slave” class were also growing up through the centuries. These were like the young Samson, of whom the record says, “Jehovah continued to bless him.” Then, as Samson reached adulthood, “Jehovah’s spirit started to impel him.” (Judg. 13:24, 25) Likewise, in modern times, Jehovah began to regather and organize “wheat” Christians under their Master, Christ Jesus, as the “faithful and discreet slave” for getting his will done on earth at the “time of the end.” After he tested these Christians as to their loyalty to fundamental Bible truth, he set his spirit upon them, impelling them to do a work of witnessing that has involved Samson-like spiritual warfare against the wicked Philistine-like organization of false Christians.

9. What time was approaching, and what lay ahead for the “Samson” class?

⁹ The time was fast approaching when the “Son of man,” Jesus Christ, would gather all lawless ones out of his kingdom, for their destruction, and when the righteous ones would come to “shine as brightly as the sun in the kingdom of their Father.” (Matt. 13:36-43) In preparation for this, the “Samson” class had a work to do!

“AGAINST THE PHILISTINES”

10. (a) Why did Samson show interest in the Timnite woman? (b) How did this have modern-day fulfillment?

¹⁰ Samson’s first exploits were performed in connection with “a woman in Timnah of the daughters of the Philistines.” When he asked for her as wife, his parents rightly protested. What! Marry a Canaanite​—a woman under God’s curse of destruction? But it was not really marriage that Samson had in mind. Rather, “that was from Jehovah, that he was looking for an opportunity against the Philistines.” (Judg. 14:1-4; Deut. 7:3, 4) And it appears to have been “from Jehovah” that, in the years from 1879 to 1919, “wheat” Christians mingled freely in the paganistic church systems of Christendom, with a view to finding and releasing sincere persons entrapped therein. It was like Elijah going among the Baal worshipers of his day, in order to find an occasion for vindicating Jehovah’s name. (1 Ki. 18:17-40) The Watch Tower of 1894, pages 140-141, advocated doing this. And just as Samson’s parents finally went along with him to Timnah, so Jehovah and his holy angels appear to have given support to the modern-day “faithful and discreet slave” in such witness work.

11. What is pictured by the “maned young lion,” and how?

¹¹ What followed? “When [Samson] got as far as the vineyards of Timnah, why, look! a maned young lion roaring upon meeting him.” (Judg. 14:5) In Bible symbolism, the lion is used to represent justice, as well as courage. (Ezek. 1:10; Rev. 4:6, 7; 5:5) Here the “young lion” appears to picture Protestantism, which in its beginnings came out boldly against some of the abuses perpetrated by Catholicism in the name of Christianity. For example, there were the ninety-five theses that Luther nailed to the church door of Wittenberg in 1517 C.E., described by The Encyclopædia Britannicaa as “ninety-five sledge-hammer blows directed against the most flagrant ecclesiastical abuse of the age . . . the sale of indulgences.” However, Protestantism failed to clean house doctrinally, continuing to hold fast to many false Babylonish teachings that had been adopted into apostate Christianity by Catholicism. It kept lurking in vineyards of its own liking, far down in “Philistine” territory.

12, 13. What modern-day parallel is there to Samson’s contest with the lion? Give an example.

¹² From the time that the Watch Tower magazine began to be published in 1879, the spirit-impelled “faithful and discreet slave” showed itself forthright in its support of Bible truth. This proved too much for the clergy of Protestantism, who summoned enough courage to pounce out from their “hideouts” of false doctrine and roar lustily against Jehovah’s witnesses, even to advocating the burning of their Bible literature. But how did this Protestant “lion” fare? “Jehovah’s spirit became operative upon [Samson], so that he tore it in two, just as someone tears a male kid in two, and there was nothing at all in his hand.” (Judg. 14:6) Prior to World War I, the triumph of Jehovah’s “slave” over Protestantism was just as decisive. It was by God’s spirit.

¹³ A forceful example of this was the series of debates held in 1903 between the Watch Tower president of that time, C. T. Russell, and a Pittsburgh clergyman, Dr. E. L. Eaton. As a result, not only did many of Dr. Eaton’s congregation leave him to become Jehovah’s witnesses, but a number of clergymen acknowledged the correctness of The Watch Tower’s stand on fundamental issues. After the last debate, during which Brother Russell clearly showed that “eternal torment” is unscriptural, one of these clergymen told him: “I am glad to see you turn the hose on hell and put out the fire.”

14. How was Samson refreshed, and how was this fulfilled today?

¹⁴ Spiritual warfare on behalf of God’s truth and righteousness has always brought great joy to the modern-day Samson class. Doing God’s will is food to them, and especially their sharing in the vindication of Jehovah’s name against his enemies. (John 4:34) Samson, on returning past the lair of the lion, “turned aside to look at the carcass of the lion, and there there was a swarm of bees in the lion’s corpse, and honey. So he scraped it out into his palms and walked on, eating as he walked.” (Judg. 14:8, 9) Down to this day, the Samson class find sweet sustenance as they reflect on Jehovah’s use of them in theocratic warfare, even to exposing and slaying the Protestant “lion” with his Word of truth.​—Eph. 6:17; Ps. 77:11, 12.

15, 16. (a) What happened in connection with Samson’s riddle? (b) What did this foreshadow?

¹⁵ This very ‘sweetness’ became the focal point of Samson’s first test of strength with the Philistines. It came about through Samson’s propounding the riddle: “Out of the eater something to eat came forth, and out of the strong something sweet came forth.” Unable to find the answer in the prescribed time, the Philistines surreptitiously wheedled it out through Samson’s betrothed. So, they answered him correctly: “What is sweeter than honey, and what is stronger than a lion?” Samson paid his debt over this riddle in the kind that the Philistines deserved, by slaying thirty of their number and handing over their garments to “the tellers of the riddle.”​—Judg. 14:10-20.

¹⁶ During the years 1879-1919, religionists of Christendom were unable to fathom the secret of the strength of the little band of Jehovah’s devoted witnesses. They could not appreciate the ‘sweetness’ that God’s “slave” finds in doing his will, nor could they understand how God makes full might abound by his spirit. The spiritual slaying and exposing of false religionists continued. And those of the clergy who persisted in their opposition to the Samson class received, as it were, additional “Philistine” garments, identifying them as “dyed-in-the-wool” adherents of false religion. “Samson’s” righteous anger “continued hot,” reaching a climax in the publication, in 1917, of the polemic book, The Finished Mystery.

17. What do Samson’s further feats picture?

¹⁷ What of Samson’s further feats? There was his superhuman accomplishment of catching three hundred jackals, and dispatching them with torches between their tails​—to burn up the standing grain, the harvested sheaves, the vineyards and the olive groves of the Philistines. Likewise, in the pre-World War I activity of Jehovah’s “slave,” the claimed “spiritual” provender of Christendom’s religions was badly scorched. It was shown to be valueless, being “set on fire” and burned up​—gutted by millions of fiery tracts, booklets and books. Days of famine, a “famine . . . for hearing the words of Jehovah,” came upon Christendom. (Amos 8:11) In Jehovah’s strength, the Samson class went “smiting” and exposing the false religionists, “piling legs upon thighs with a great slaughter.” It was a time for aggressive spiritual warfare.​—Judg. 15:1-8.

18, 19. What is foreshadowed by (a) Samson’s taking refuge in the crag Etam? (b) his slaying the Philistines with the jawbone? and (c) his being refreshed at En-hakkoré?

¹⁸ Coming under enemy pressure, Samson took refuge in the crag Etam. Likewise, the Samson class today have found their refuge and consolation in Jehovah, ‘the rock of salvation.’ (Ps. 89:26; 144:1, 2) At Etam, cowardly fellow Israelites, Judeans, tried to trap Samson and to turn him over to the enemy. But when they thought they had him bound, “Jehovah’s spirit became operative upon him,” so that he tore his bonds asunder, and, taking “a moist jawbone of a male ass,” he struck down a thousand Philistines. By a miracle of Jehovah, that frail jawbone stood up to the crushing of a thousand thick Philistine skulls! In modern times, Jehovah has similarly sustained and empowered his witnesses, as they meekly use their jaws in speaking out against false religionists, and in bringing comfort to other meek ones.​—Isa. 61:1, 2; 50:4.

¹⁹ In need of refreshment, Samson now called on Jehovah, and God caused a miraculous spring of water to flow forth. So, the place came to be called “En-hakkoré [‘The Fountain of the Crier’], which is in Lehi down to this day.” In like manner, Jehovah has made abundant and never-failing provision today, through The Watchtower and other Bible-study helps, as well as through congregational meetings, so that his witnesses, ever “conscious of their spiritual need,” may be constantly stimulated for further theocratic warfare. We do well always to drink deeply of this provision.​—Judg. 15:9-19; Matt. 5:3, 6; Isa. 41:17, 18.

FROM GAZA TO HEBRON

20. What feat did Samson perform at Gaza, and by whose power?

²⁰ Once Samson went to Gaza, a Philistine city, and lodged for the night in the house of a prostitute woman. Was this for an immoral purpose? No, for he was again “looking for an opportunity against the Philistines.” These now surrounded him and lay in wait at the city gate. Gaza was renowned for its massive walls, a challenge in later years to conquerors, even such as Alexander the Great. How ponderous its gateposts must have been! But miracle of miracles! Samson “rose at midnight and grabbed hold of the doors of the city gate and the two side posts and pulled them out along with the bar and put them upon his shoulders and went carrying them up to the top of the mountain that is in front of Hebron.” (Judg. 16:1-3) That was all of forty miles​—out of enemy territory clear up to a peak in Judah, the land of Jehovah’s praise! Only Jehovah’s sustaining power could strengthen Samson for so colossal a feat!

21. How did the clergy expect to trap God’s “slave,” but what did they fail to reckon with?

²¹ This humiliating blow to Philistine pride has a modern-day parallel. From its first year of publication, in 1879, Zion’s Watch Tower,b official journal of the “faithful and discreet slave,” consistently proclaimed the year 1914 as the date for the end of “the Gentile times” and the establishment of God’s kingdom by Christ. (Luke 21:24, AV) ‘Let’s lie in wait until 1914,’ declared the Philistine religionists, ‘and when the forecasts of these “Bible students” prove wrong, we will have them trapped!’ But they reckoned without Jehovah’s determination to fulfill the prophecies he had long previously recorded in his Word.​—Isa. 46:9-11.

22. What happened in 1914, and how did a New York newspaper comment on this?

²² Right on time, in the fall of 1914, “the kingdom of our God” in the hands of his Christ began ruling in the heavens. As visible evidence thereof, “the nations became wrathful” in their first world war, and other sorrows marking “the conclusion of the system of things” began to afflict mankind. (Rev. 11:18) It was just as Jehovah’s spirit had moved his devoted “slave” to warn in advance. A leading New York newspaper, The World, acknowledged this in a long feature article in its issue of August 30, 1914, which included the following:

The terrific war outbreak in Europe has fulfilled an extraordinary prophecy. For a quarter of a century past, through preachers and through press, the “International Bible Students” [Jehovah’s witnesses] . . . have been proclaiming to the world that the Day of Wrath prophesied in the Bible would dawn in 1914. “Look out for 1914!” has been the cry of hundreds of traveling evangelists who, representing this strange creed, have gone up and down the country enunciating the doctrine that “the Kingdom of God is at hand.” . . . And in 1914 comes war, the war which everybody dreaded but which everybody thought could not really happen.

23. How was the Samson class vindicated, and with what praise to Jehovah?

²³ In Jehovah’s power, the “faithful and discreet slave” thus tore the enemy’s traplike gate from its foundations, posts and all, and carried it high up into the land of Jehovah’s praise. Truly, the Samson class was vindicated in its support of Jehovah’s Word of prophecy, and, to this day, Jehovah is being praised more and more, as the evidence continues to mount that his kingdom by Christ was indeed established in 1914, and is here to stay!​—Rev. 12:10, 12.

SAMSON AND DELILAH

24. What was represented in Samson’s long hair?

²⁴ Remember that Samson was a Nazirite. His divinely provided strength was dependent on his continuing in unswerving devotion to Jehovah, and of this his long hair was a symbol. His strength lay in what that unshorn hair represented. In the same way, the strength of Jehovah’s “slave” today rests in its unwavering devotion to Jehovah. Just as “long hair . . . is a dishonor” to a man, so the Samson class must continue to suffer the world’s reproaches, fearlessly and without compromise, in maintaining integrity to God.​—1 Cor. 11:14.

25, 26. (a) Who was Delilah, and whom did she foreshadow? (b) How did this class try to influence Samson, but with what result?

²⁵ “And it came about after that that he fell in love with a woman in the torrent valley of Sorek, and her name was Delilah.” (Judg. 16:4) Who was Delilah? Her name means “Languishing,” and it appears she was an Israelitess. The modern history of Jehovah’s witnesses reveals a spirit-begotten class like Delilah. These became offended at not being caught away immediately into the heavenly kingdom in 1914, and grew slack in zeal. During the years 1917-1918, they tried to grab control of the Watch Tower Society and to force a “soft pedal” compromise with the modern Philistines. Though they had no real love for the devoted Samson class, the Samson class did indeed express genuine love toward these associates whose ‘lamps were about to go out.’ (Matt. 25:8) They were trying to recover them. Taking advantage of this, the Delilah class used a series of approaches in an attempt to have the Samson class bound with ropes of compromise, so that they could be handed over to the religionists of Christendom.

²⁶ These erstwhile lovers wanted the devoted “Samson” to soften down the polemic utterances against false religion. They wanted the God-fearing “Bible Students” to jump on the bandwagon of patriotic sentiment over World War I, which was now supported fiercely by Christendom’s religionists on both sides of the fighting. However, “Samson” did not immediately fall victim to “Delilah’s” blandishments. In its issue of April 15, 1917, The Watch Tower unequivocally declared: “There is no middle ground for a Christian. He can be true to the Lord . . . only by taking one course, namely, a refusal to engage in the war.”

27. How was the integrity of the Samson class endangered, and into what trap did they finally fall?

²⁷ The efforts of God’s “slave” to accommodate these “lover” rebels may be compared to Samson’s permitting Delilah to weave the braids of his hair​—so precious in symbol of his devotion—​with a warp thread. Integrity was endangered! And just as Samson slept on the treacherous Delilah’s knees, so the Samson class’ conciliatory attitude toward languishing apostates finally brought weakening, and a beginning of compromise. That the dedicated witnesses fell into just such a trap in 1918 is shown by an article appearing in The Watch Tower of June 1 of that year. This came out in support of the “day of prayer and supplication” proclaimed by the president of the United States for May 30, 1918, stating: “Let there be praising and thanksgiving to God for the promised glorious outcome of the war . . . and the making of the world safe for the common people.”

28, 29. (a) What was the result of the “slave’s” compromise? (b) What questions are therefore asked?

²⁸ Worldly compromise resulted in loss of Jehovah’s spirit. The hair of the Samson class was shorn off in a symbolic way, and their “power kept departing” from them. The Philistine religionists succeeded in grabbing God’s “slave.” They bored out his eyes of discernment of God’s will, and made him “a grinder in the prison house” down in Philistine territory. For a short season, the “slave’s” bold witnessing for God’s kingdom ceased. Religious pressure also brought about the imprisonment, under false charges, of the second Watch Tower president and seven other responsible brothers, for terms of up to eighty years each. The enemy caused a closing down of the Society’s headquarters at Brooklyn, New York. During these darkest days of “Samson’s” imprisonment, however, The Watch Tower continued to be published from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, spreading, if faintly, a ray of comfort and hope.​—Judg. 16:5-21.

²⁹ Would Jehovah leave his “slave” in this imprisoned condition? Would the Samson class awaken to the reason for its plight? Would Jehovah again empower his servant for theocratic action? The following article will tell.

[Footnotes]

“From a Weak State . . . Made Powerful”

1. Of what is Jehovah the Source?

JEHOVAH is the true Source of life and strength, “the Creator of the heavens and the grand One stretching them out; the One laying out the earth and its produce, the One giving breath to the people on it, and spirit to those walking in it.” (Isa. 42:5) And by his spirit, or active force, Jehovah strengthens his servants on earth as they cry to him for direction and help in time of need.​—Ps. 34:8, 15.

2. What is pictured by Samson’s awakening to his senses?

² It was even so with Samson. No sooner had his enemies shorn him of his power, than he awoke to his senses. Realizing his error, he repented before his God, and prepared to serve him again in Nazirite devotion. There was no delay in this. As soon as he had been shaved, “the hair of his head started to grow luxuriantly.” As his strength returned, he was again “looking for an opportunity against the Philistines.” (Judg. 16:22; 14:4) In the same way, from 1919, God’s “slave,” fully repentant and resolved to serve Jehovah to the death, experienced a return of strength. The “spirit of life from God entered into them, and they stood upon their feet,” ready for vigorous activity in the “time of the end.”​—Rev. 11:8-12; Dan. 12:1-4.

3. How were “a people blind” now brought forth, and for what purpose?

³ The time had come for the fulfillment of Isaiah 43:8, 10, 11: “‘Bring forth a people blind though eyes themselves exist’ . . . ‘You are my witnesses,’ is the utterance of Jehovah, ‘even my servant whom I have chosen, in order that you may know and have faith in me, and that you may understand that I am the same One. Before me there was no God formed, and after me there continued to be none. I​—I am Jehovah, and besides me there is no savior.’” Though temporarily blinded due to the influence of false religionists during World War I years, Jehovah’s people must now be brought out of captivity to serve unequivocally as His witnesses. If any blindness remained, it was that they were now blind to doing anything other than the will of Almighty God. They were resolved to ‘forget the things behind.’​—Phil. 3:13, 14.

4. For what did the feasting Philistines praise their god?

⁴ The lords of the Philistines gathered to offer a great sacrifice to their fish god, Dagon. It was to be a religious feast, like that sponsored by Belshazzar at Babylon some 600 years later, when he made sport of the holy vessels from Jehovah’s temple. (Dan. 5:1-4, 30) But in the Philistines’ feasting, it was Jehovah’s devoted servant, Samson, who became the center of mocking and reviling. “And they kept saying: ‘Our god has given into our hand Samson our enemy!’ When the people got to see him, they at once gave way to praising their god, ‘because,’ said they, ‘our god has given into our hand our enemy and the devastator of our land and the one who multiplied our slain.’”​—Judg. 16:23, 24.

5. In what did the Philistine-like clergy of today unite?

⁵ O the clergy of Christendom delighted in the captivity of Jehovah’s witnesses during the closing days of World War I! Thinking that they had silenced the Witnesses for all time, the clergy did just as Revelation 11:10 foretold: ‘They rejoiced over them and enjoyed themselves, and sent gifts to one another.’ They proceeded to make sport of Jehovah’s downtrodden “slave.” And since those days, while continuing to heap mockery on Jehovah’s witnesses, the clergy of Christendom, and indeed of the entire world empire of false religion, have gathered in their house of false worship, drawing closer in their interfaith movements, and identifying themselves as anti-God and against Jehovah’s established kingdom by Christ Jesus. Always they are united in their combined opposition to Jehovah’s witnesses.

6, 7. (a) Why was Samson called out of the prison house? (b) What did Jehovah arrange with regard to his modern-day “slave”?

⁶ As the Philistines reveled in their idolatry before Dagon, “it came about that because their heart was merry, they began to say: ‘Call Samson that he may offer us some amusement.’ So they called Samson out of the prison house that he might make sport before them.”​—Judg. 16:25.

⁷ Jehovah was directing the course of the drama back in Samson’s day. And likewise it was by Jehovah’s arranging that his devoted “slave” was brought forth from religious bondage in 1919. The modern Philistines, though they may not have immediately realized it, had no further power over Jehovah’s witnesses. These came forth to serve and to work. With symbolic hair ‘growing luxuriantly,’ they have continued to bear the reproaches and shame heaped upon them by ecclesiastical leaders. Down to this year 1967, the “faithful and discreet slave,” the anointed remnant of Jehovah’s witnesses, has served loyally in Jehovah’s strength, and has testified to his sovereignty, while at the same time “being exposed as in a theater both to reproaches and tribulations.”​—Heb. 10:33.

“BETWEEN THE PILLARS”

8, 9. What is pictured by their standing Samson between the pillars?

⁸ “And they proceeded to stand him between the pillars”​—the main supporting pillars of the house of Dagon. These pillars must have been immense, to support so large a house, and indeed archaeological diggings at Gaza in recent years have uncovered huge stone bases, set side by side, on which the center pillars of just such a Dagon-house may have rested.​—Judg. 16:25.

⁹ Since 1919, false religionists have continued their efforts to make sport of Jehovah’s witnesses, in connection with their keeping integrity before their God. They try to corner them between the main props upon which the world empire of false religion, and Christendom in particular, have built their hopes. But what are the pillars upon which the religious leaders rely for support of their house of false religion?

10, 11. (a) What major issue has arisen in the earth since 1914? (b) What are some examples showing this to be so?

¹⁰ Particularly from the year 1914, when Christendom launched World War I, nationalism has become a major factor in human relations. Unreasoning patriotism, a fanatical loyalty to the country in which one happened to be born, has been spawned throughout the earth. The major religions have willingly fanned the flames of nationalism, placing loyalty to the nation above loyalty to the God and Creator of all mankind. They have even blessed the guns that have been used for the wanton slaughter of their fellow religionists in other nations. In return, they have relied on the political rulers to prop up their religious house in its position of dominance over the people.

¹¹ An example of this is to be seen in the Catholic church’s partnership with dictator Mussolini, resulting in the restoration of much power and authority to the Vatican. Also, there was Catholicism’s making of a concordat with Hitler and supporting his crusade for world domination, as when prelates at the German Bishops’ Conference in Fulda, in August 1940, expressed gratitude to Hitler for the German troops’ “victorious advance and defense of the German homeland.”a The Protestant churches, too, have gone right along with the Catholic in supporting the two world wars, and in providing chaplains to build up the morale of the fighting men on both sides.

12, 13. (a) On what other pillar does religion’s “house” seek to support itself? (b) What evidence shows that the world empire of false religion looks to this support?

¹² But is nationalism the only prop in which false religionists have placed their trust? In addition thereto, and in direct opposition to God’s kingdom by Christ​—His instrumentality for bringing real peace and prosperity to mankind—​Satan has brought forth a supranational body. It is described in Revelation 17:8, 11 as the ‘peace beast’ that appears first between the two world wars, goes into eclipse during World War II, and is thereafter reactivated for a season. It is the now-defunct League of Nations and its successor, the United Nations.

¹³ At the League’s inception, Christendom’s Protestant branch of the world empire of false religion described it as “the political expression of God’s Kingdom on earth.”b And have modern-day religionists looked upon the successor United Nations as a pillar of their hopes for bringing peace and prosperity to this earth? On the occasion of the twentieth birthday celebration of the United Nations, it was reported by the Associated Press of June 27, 1965, from San Francisco:

Seven international leaders of religious faiths With more than 2,000 million worldwide members joined prayerful hands under one roof today in support of the UN quest for world peace. Pope Paul VI sent his blessings from Rome. They were conveyed by a Syrian archbishop to the convocation for Catholics, Protestants, Jews, Hindus, Buddhists, Muslims and Eastern (Greek) Orthodox Christians. . . . Rabbi Louis Jacobs . . . described “the UN as the sole hope for lasting peace in a world whose survival depends on it.”

It is clearly apparent, therefore, that the world’s religious organizations regard the United Nations as a pillar of their hopes for human progress, and indeed for survival itself.

14. How does the pope of Rome view the U.N.?

¹⁴ This was underlined by the remarks of Pope Paul VI during his United States visit of October 4, 1965, when he described the United Nations as “that greatest of all international organizations.” He went on to declare:

The peoples of the earth turn to the United Nations as the last hope of concord and peace. . . . The edifice that you have constructed must never fail; it must be perfected.

15, 16. What does God’s Word say as to the future of nationalism and of the U.N. ‘peace beast’?

¹⁵ But how does Jehovah God view the rise of nationalism and of the supranational United Nations, which has gained such ardent praise from the religious leaders of this twentieth century? Speaking of the political “kings” that rule earth in this “time of the end,” Jehovah’s prophet declares: “And in the days of those kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that will never be brought to ruin. And the kingdom itself will not be passed on to any other people. It will crush and put an end to all these kingdoms, and it itself will stand to times indefinite.” (Dan. 2:44) Thus the nationalistic governments on which the various religious systems depend so heavily for support are destined to be crushed by God’s heavenly kingdom.

¹⁶ As for the U.N. ‘peace beast,’ Revelation 17:5, 14-17 describes how it will be conquered by the Lamb, Christ Jesus, after it has thrown off the system of world religion that is at present making such ardent overtures of love to it. Yes, the prophecy indicates that radical powers from within that world body, its “ten horns,” will actually turn on the world empire of false religion, the harlotrous “Babylon the Great.” “These will hate the harlot and will make her devastated and naked, and will eat up her fleshy parts and will completely burn her with fire. For God put it into their hearts to carry out his thought.” In vain does world religion put its trust in the United Nations as a prop for its survival.

“STRENGTHEN ME . . . THIS ONCE”

17. What is foreshadowed by Samson’s taking his stand?

¹⁷ Where do Jehovah’s witnesses stand with regard to these world issues? Let us return to the prophetic drama: “Then Samson said to the boy that was holding him by his hand: ‘Do permit me to feel the pillars upon which the house is firmly established and let me lean against them.’” (Judg. 16:26) Samson was again seeking an occasion against the Philistines. Likewise, Jehovah’s witnesses of modern times have taken their stand fairly at the center of the controversy and in forthright support of God’s kingdom and His sovereignty. They have exposed the worldly religionists’ reliance upon nationalistic policies and wars, and upon the inept League and United Nations.

18. How did the modern “Samson” start to put pressure against the “pillars”?

¹⁸ As early as their international convention at Cedar Point, Ohio, in 1922, Jehovah’s “slave” proclaimed:

That all of the world’s present organization constitutes the visible part of Satan’s empire or organization, and that Satan’s empire must now fall before the forward march of the King of glory; . . . That all international conferences and all agreements or treaties resulting therefrom, including the League of Nations compact and all like compacts, must fail, because God has decreed it thus; . . . That all efforts of the denominational church organizations, their clergy, their leaders and their allies, to save and reestablish the order of things in the earth and to bring peace and prosperity must of necessity fail, because they do not constitute any part of the kingdom of Messiah. . . .

So, the modern “Samson” was in fact beginning to proclaim a polemic message, putting strong pressure against the “pillars” supporting Satan’s idolatrous house of religion.

19. What did the assembly of the Philistines picture?

¹⁹ The Bible record continues: “(Incidentally, the house was full of men and women and all the Philistine axis lords were there; and upon the roof there were about three thousand men and women who were looking on while Samson offered some amusement.)” (Judg. 16:27) It was a complete roll call, with none missing. And so, in modern times, the full complement of worldly religious leaders, with Christendom’s clergy out in front, assemble in their “house” of religion to make sport of Jehovah’s faithful “slave,” the remnant of his anointed witnesses. But how do these act in the face of mounting reproaches?

20. What prayer did Samson make, and what did this portray?

²⁰ “Samson now called to Jehovah and said: ‘Lord Jehovah, remember me, please, and strengthen me, please, just this once, O you the true God, and let me avenge myself upon the Philistines with vengeance for one of my two eyes.’” (Judg. 16:28) Samson thus charged the loss of one of his eyes to his own lack of wakefulness in the affair with Delilah. But sincere repentance had now brought Jehovah’s forgiveness. The loss of his other eye he charged to the Philistines. And like Samson, the anointed remnant of Jehovah’s witnesses uttered fervent prayer to Jehovah on their release from prison bonds in 1919. They asked to be used mightily by Jehovah in connection with the vengeance he would bring upon the modern “Philistines” for their part in hatefully blinding the discernment of God’s slave, and the consequent reproach this brought upon Jehovah’s holy name. Did Jehovah answer that prayer? How wonderfully He has made full might abound!

21. How did Samson meet his death?

²¹ “With that Samson braced himself against the two middle pillars upon which the house was firmly established, and got a grasp on them, one with his right and the other with his left hand. And Samson proceeded to say: ‘Let my soul die with the Philistines.’ Then he bent himself with power, and the house went falling upon the axis lords and upon all the people that were in it, so that the dead that he put to death in his own death came to be more than those he had put to death during his lifetime.”​—Judg. 16:29, 30.

22. (a) What assurance did Jehovah thus give his devoted “slave”? (b) What message does he now empower them to declare?

²² What grand assurance this gives that Jehovah will strengthen his devoted “slave” down to the end of the work, irenic and polemic, that he is having done in the earth today! While Satan’s demonic propaganda continues to go forth, rallying all peoples to support fanatical nationalism and the U.N. ‘peace beast,’ Jehovah’s spirit is upon his “slave,” in order to empower him in proclaiming “the year of good will on the part of Jehovah and the day of vengeance on the part of our God.” (Isa. 61:2) Just such a proclamation was made during the “Around-the-World” Assemblies of Jehovah’s witnesses in 1963, when a Resolution adopted by 454,977 persons in twenty-four widely scattered cities declared forthrightly that Satan’s organization “faces an earthquake of world trouble the like of which it has never known, and all its political institutions and its modern religious Babylon will be shaken to bits.”

23. How have many individuals of the remnant resembled Samson?

²³ Many individuals of the anointed remnant are now finishing their earthly course in faithfulness. Like Samson of old, they are fighters for God’s righteousness to the end, sharing to the full in the vindication of Jehovah’s great name. They do not look to be pensioned off, like Christendom’s clergy. Rather, they prove themselves “faithful even to death,” and so the promise is sure to them: “Happy are the dead who die in union with the Lord from this time onward . . . for the things they did go right with them.”​—Rev. 2:10; 14:13.

24. How will the “Samson” work come to its end, but with what blessing?

²⁴ However, God’s “slave,” as a class, expects to survive the end of Satan’s system. But there will be finis to their work of proclaiming Jehovah’s judgments when the house of false religion and all other parts of Satan’s organization “actually crash in ruins.” (Isa. 6:11) As surely as Samson was vindicated in the suggested meaning of his name​—“Destroyer”—​just so surely will Jehovah bring upon this earth his destructive judgments as now being proclaimed by his “slave.” And as surely as Samson’s judgeship brought salvation to Israel, so the rule of God’s kingdom by Christ will be “Sun-like” in bringing total relief and everlasting blessings to obedient mankind.c

TRUST IN JEHOVAH’S SPIRIT

25. What fine encouragement do we find in the account of Samson?

²⁵ Splendid as Samson’s physique must have been, the real source of his strength lay, not in human might, but in the all-conquering spirit of Jehovah God. Have you ever felt that the road is long, and that you might take it easy for a time, or even quit? Remember that even the most zealous of Jehovah’s servants meet up with discouragements, as Samson did when he found his hair was shorn off, and he was blinded. But has it not been true that, when we go to Jehovah in prayer, he makes new energy abound? The truth has become so much a part of us that we can never let it go! And so, year after year, we “go on acquiring power in the Lord and in the mightiness of his strength.”​—Eph. 6:10.

26. What blessings result from devotion like Samson’s?

²⁶ There is a pioneer brother, still serving in the south of New Zealand at eighty-seven years of age, and his faithful pioneer wife is even a few years older. He sold his business in 1914, so that he could enjoy at least a few months of “colporteur” pioneer service before the expected big crash came in the autumn of that year. He is fond of quoting Jeremiah 20:7: “You have fooled me, O Jehovah, so that I was fooled.” For though he had expected his pioneer service on earth to be for a brief season only, it has stretched out through more than fifty rewarding years, together with trials and reproaches. And at last reports, he is still going “strong,” like Samson. Would he have had it any different? No! Moreover, he encourages young people to have the same viewpoint that he had back there in 1914. Make the most of the golden opportunity of pioneering the good news NOW! And whether the remaining time be long or short, Jehovah’s sustaining spirit will assuredly bring untold blessings.

27. What irresistible power does Jehovah’s Word exert?

²⁷ Like many of God’s people today, the prophet Jeremiah also had hard testings as the years stretched out, even to becoming “an object of laughter all day long.” Do you, too, sometimes find your territory unresponsive over the years? Jeremiah tried even to desist from speaking in Jehovah’s name, but then it was that the “word of Jehovah” exerted irresistible power in moving him to further bold activity. “And in my heart it proved to be like a burning fire shut up in my bones; and I got tired of holding in, and I was unable to endure it.” (Jer. 20:7-9) For Jehovah’s name and its vindication, he continued to serve zealously in integrity.

28. Will there be any further weakening of the Samson class? Why?

²⁸ Likewise today, Jehovah’s people “have become a theatrical spectacle to the world.” (1 Cor. 4:9) Eyes, ready to reproach, are watching continually for any weakening, or “limping,” that they may find occasion against Jehovah’s “slave.” But will they ever again succeed against God’s witnesses? From 1919 on, the “faithful and discreet slave” has answered an emphatic Never! Joined now by more than a million companion worshipers, the “slave” can make the same fervent declaration as did Jeremiah: “But Jehovah was with me like a terrible mighty one. That is why the very ones persecuting me will stumble and not prevail. . . . But you, O Jehovah of armies, are examining the righteous one; you are seeing the kidneys and the heart. May I see your vengeance upon them, for to you I have revealed my case at law.” (Jer. 20:11, 12) With a confidence like that of Jeremiah, Samson and other faithful men of ancient times, Jehovah’s witnesses today rest their case with Him.

29. In what record is Samson included, and what encouragement do we find in this?

²⁹ Samson is listed at Hebrews chapter eleven among those ancient men of faith who “effected righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, stayed the force of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, from a weak state were made powerful.” (Heb 11 Vss. 32-34) He is therefore included as one of that “so great a cloud of witnesses” whose deeds of valor are recorded as encouragement for us to “run with endurance the race that is set before us.”​—Heb. 12:1.

30. (a) Why should we continue to endure? (b) To what work will we show devotion?

³⁰ Let us endure, then, in proclaiming God’s kingdom by Christ as man’s sure hope for peace, and for everlasting life. The day is fast approaching when nationalistic political powers and that supranational body, the United Nations, will be found at odds with “Philistine” religion. The supporting pillars of the “house” of false religion will fail it, just as Jehovah has caused his “slave” to declare down through the years. Satan’s great organization on earth, first its religious structure and then its political powers, will go crashing to destruction. Though we continue to be set as a reproach in the midst of this mounting crisis that involves all peoples of earth, we will bend might and main to make known Jehovah’s polemic judgments and to perform the irenic work that will result in saving ‘both ourselves and those who listen to us.’​—1 Tim. 4:16.

31. What confidence and determination will we have to the end?

³¹ So, may we press on toward the prize of everlasting life in Jehovah’s new order, confident that his spirit will continue to sustain the “faithful and discreet slave,” along with the hundreds of thousands of the “great crowd” who are coming forward in ever-growing numbers to share in this grand work! And as we all heed the timely message of the prophetic drama of Samson, may we also be determined to follow closely Paul’s admonition: “Stay awake, stand firm in the faith, carry on as men, grow mighty.”​—1 Cor. 16:13.

[Footnotes]

An Abortive Attempt to Establish a New Order

WILL a peaceful new order of things ever come about? If so, who do you think is going to establish it? Will it be God himself or will it be men having God as a helper? Also, is there a timetable for it? Is the time for its establishment unalterably set or is there a sliding scale, a flexible schedule, depending upon what the rulers of the earth, political and religious, can accomplish and when they can accomplish it?

The answer to these questions is no inconsequential one, for it means the difference between “blood, sweat and tears,” and pleasurable work; between wearing oneself out with frustration, and refreshing, upbuilding activity; in fact, between life and death.​—Ps. 127:1; Hab. 2:13; Hag. 1:6.

Should we not look to world rulers and leading clergymen? Can they not alter and reform the governments so that the principles of the kingdom of God will be expressed through them? Well, we surely should be able to find the answers to these questions in the Bible because it is from the Bible and not from any other source that we get the information that there is to be a permanent new order in which men can live on earth forever. But what does the Bible say about it?

First of all, the Bible says that those trying by governmental and social reform to bring about such a new order incorporating the things that the kingdom of God will accomplish have taken hold of a wild beast. It is no ordinary wild beast, either, for it is a monstrosity having seven heads and ten horns on its heads. It represents the worldwide human political organization under control of the Devil.a The beast is ferocious and has proved over the past several thousand years to be untamable. Well, then, maybe they can make something that would reflect the beast, perhaps an image of the beast. It would be something that the people could look to as authoritative as far as bringing peace and unity among the nations is concerned, something that the nations could work through. They need not give up their individual sovereignty but at the same time they could cooperate on the matter of world peace with a view to arriving at last at a condition of peaceful coexistence. This action of more or less playing the horns of the beast against one another and inducing them, instead of fighting out their differences, to arbitrate them and give the organization enough power to enforce the decisions made, looked like the only logical course for them to follow.

PEACE EFFORT AND RESULTS FOREKNOWN

Amazingly, Jehovah God, the Author of the Bible, foreknew the very line of thinking these world leaders would pursue and foretold that they would do just this very thing. In his Word he describes exactly what they would do, showing that they would make an image to the wild beast and set it up for the people to look to for the good things that the kingdom of God would bring. Ah, but in doing so they would create something just as formidable as the first wild beast and as hard to make peaceful and righteous! John describes the vision God gave to him on this matter:

“Well, on catching sight of her [the woman Babylon the Great] I wondered with great wonderment. And so the angel said to me: ‘Why is it you wondered? I will tell you the mystery of the woman and of the wild beast that is carrying her and that has the seven heads and the ten horns: The wild beast that you saw was, but is not, and yet is about to ascend out of the abyss, and it is to go off into destruction. And when they see how the wild beast was, but is not, and yet will be present, those who dwell on the earth will wonder admiringly, but their names have not been written upon the scroll of life from the founding of the world.’”​—Rev. 17:6-8.

The woman riding the beast is a harlot and is named Babylon the Great, which has already been explained in previous issues of this magazine as symbolically representing the world empire of false religion. She has a very prominent role in setting up the peace organization. The beast on which she rides is also like her, a mystery, it is a secret, something not understandable until God’s due time to expose it. This scarlet-colored wild beast is the same as the image of the beast told of in Revelation 13:14, 15, but not fully described there. Being an image, it is pleasing to Babylon the Great, for she is very familiar with images and the use of them. Idolaters often say that the images they use are not worshiped by them but are merely aids in the worship of the gods pictured by the images or idols, which idols receive only a relative worship. This is contrary to God’s law, which condemns idols in any form and forbids relative worship even through men. (1 John 5:21; Rev. 19:10) In this case the people are turned toward the image to look for the things that God’s kingdom will bring and therefore are led to support it whether it is truly representative of God’s kingdom.

DEATH AND REVIVAL OF “NEW ORDER” BEAST

The scarlet color of the beast represents royalty. When did it come into being and when was this royalty attributed to it? At first in 1920, when the League of Nations was ratified. Up until World War II it “was.” Jehovah’s witnesses were, like John, observing matters at the time, proclaiming the fact that the League was standing as a counterfeit substitute for God’s kingdom. In the vision to John the angel says the wild beast “was, but is not.” When does it become “not”? This was when the Catholic-Nazi dictator Hitler touched off the explosion of World War II in September of 1939.b The League here failed of its chartered purpose and ceased to function with proper effect, going down into the abyss of raging, roaring humanity in the world’s greatest war until then, into a state of inactivity, suspended animation. Jehovah’s witnesses observed it when it went into the abyss of inactivity, when it “is not.”

Just as John was told that the beast would again be present, coming up out of the abyss, Jehovah’s witnesses were watching for this to take place. In 1942, at the middle of World War II, this was forcefully pointed out by the president of the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society in the public talk “Peace​—Can It Last?” at a national convention meeting in fifty-three cities, tied in by wire to the key city, Cleveland, Ohio. He said:

“ . . . Though forty members still profess to adhere to the League, the League is in effect in a state of suspended animation, and needs to be revived if it is ever to live again. It has gone into the abyss of inaction and ineffectiveness. It ‘is not.’

“Will the League remain in the pit? . . . The association of worldly nations will rise again. . . . The necessities of meeting the totalitarian aggressions and stopping them are forcing the nations to that final confederation of nations for the new order, whatever its form. . . .

“ . . . The repeated cries and demands of politicians and religionists for ‘More religion!’ make certain that religion will ride the peace beast. The personal envoy sent by the president of the nation to the Vatican to work together with the religious chief for peace is another forerunner of the courtesy and deference that will be paid to the ‘woman’ named Babylon when the total war ends. Her intercourse then with the rulers of the world will satisfy her worldly desires, and she will pronounce the peace arrangement a ‘peace of Christianity,’ another one of those ‘names of blasphemy’ tacked on the ‘beast.’”c

The Seventh World Power, the dual world power of Great Britain and America, had worked to bring the League of Nations into existence. Now this same dual world power worked to get this international peace-and-security organization out of the abyss of apparent death. On June 26, 1945, fifty nations (not including Vatican City and the Axis Powers) signed the Charter of the United Nations in San Francisco, California. It was ratified on October 24, 1945, the number of nations being twenty-nine, including the Big Five; it became part of international law. Then the United Nations became existent.

CHRISTIAN DECLARATION AGAINST IT

Jehovah’s witnesses were looking for further fulfillment of this prophecy and they recognized that now the scarlet-colored wild beast had ascended out of the abyss. But Jehovah’s witnesses did not wonder admiringly or worship the scarlet-colored beast, the “image” of the wild beast. In the above-quoted lecture given in 1942 the speaker said:

“ . . . Suddenly those ten horns and the beast will go into perdition, not peacefully, but violently, at the battle of Armageddon. This time the beast and its heads and horns will go, not into the ‘bottomless pit,’ but into the ‘lake of fire and brimstone,’ to be utterly consumed and destroyed.​—Rev. 19:20; 20:10.”

So Jehovah’s witnesses today are proclaiming to the people that the United Nations is the same old image as the League, dressed up in a new name and that it will not continue and that it will not bring peace to the people. But many people feel that, since the United Nations has been established to maintain international peace and security, as its charter states, this new international organization will preserve peace and security for the wild beast out of the sea and keep it existing.

PAPAL SUPPORT OF IT

What does the woman riding the beast have to say about it? The head of the leading sect of Christendom, which is the dominant part of Babylon the Great, Pope John XXIII,d spoke with considerable definiteness on the matter. In advance of public issuance of his encyclical an Associated Press dispatch, datelined “ROME, April 5,” published by the New York Times as of April 6, 1963, page 2, under the heading “U.N. Police Role Supported,” said:

Monsignor Pisoni, writing in the Corriere della Sera of Milan said that international law “has been made even more complicated in our times by the presence of international organs such as the United Nations, called upon to undertake with autonomous military forces the duty of ‘international police.’” He said that the encyclical would deal with “the duty of all peoples to accept the autonomous force of the United Nations as an international police” as well as with the Cold War and “internal and civil war supported from abroad.”

During the following Holy Week Pope John XXIII signed his encyclical entitled “Pacem in Terris” (“Peace on Earth”). The encyclical was addressed not only to the Roman Catholic “clergy and faithful of the whole world” but also “to all men of good will.” Part IV thereof spoke of the “public authority of the world community,” not meaning, of course, the United Nations, for Vatican City is not a member of the U.N. It went on to say:

. . . This means that the public authority of the world community must tackle and solve problems of an economic, social, political and cultural character which are posed by the universal common good. For, because of the vastness, complexity and urgency of those problems, the public authorities of the individual states are not in a position to tackle them with any hope of a positive solution.

The public authority of the world community is not intended to limit the sphere of action of the public authority of the individual political community, much less to take its place. On the contrary, . . .

As is known, the United Nations Organization (U.N.O.) was established on June 26, 1945, and to it there were subsequently added intergovernmental agencies with extensive international tasks in the economic, social, cultural, educational and health fields. The United Nations Organization had as its essential purpose the maintenance and consolidation of peace between peoples, fostering between them friendly relations, based on the principles of equality, mutual respect, and varied forms of cooperation in every sector of human society.

An act of the highest importance performed by the United Nations Organization was the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, approved in the General Assembly of December 10, 1948. In the preamble of that declaration, the recognition and respect of those rights and respective liberties is proclaimed as an ideal to be pursued by all peoples and all countries.

Some objections and reservations were raised regarding certain points in the declaration. . . .

It is our earnest wish that the United Nations Organization​—in its structure and in its means—​may become ever more equal to the magnitude and nobility of its tasks, and that the day may come when every human being will find therein an effective safeguard for the rights which derive directly from his dignity as a person, and which are therefore universal, inviolable, and inalienable rights. This is all the more to be hoped for since all human beings, as they take an ever more active part in the public life of their own political communities, are showing an increasing interest in the affairs of all peoples, and are becoming more consciously aware that they are living members of a world community.

Pope John XXIII then tied in God’s kingdom with all the foregoing by saying in the sixth last paragraph of the encyclical:

. . . In order that human society may reflect as faithfully as possible the kingdom of God, help from on high is necessary.e

On October 4, 1966, the anniversary of Pope Paul’s visit to the U.N. and his all-out endorsement of it, 150,000 Roman Catholics met in prayer in St. Peter’s square in Rome and millions in a television and radio audience heard Pope Paul as he led in prayers for peace in Vietnam. President Johnson of the United States, along with other high government officials, joined in the special prayer services at the Washington Peace Mass at St. Matthew’s Cathedral, while a peace bell ceremony took place at U.N. headquarters in New York city. Cardinal Spellman unveiled two plaques commemorating Pope Paul’s visit and quoting his advocacy of the U.N.f

Since the popes of the Roman Catholic Church express such admiration for the United Nations, does this mean that this “public authority of the individual political community” will survive the war of the great day of God the Almighty? No, neither does it mean that the United Nations in any way reflects the Kingdom or promotes the Kingdom, for as a matter of fact it reflects the wild beast that came out of the sea, Satan’s visible, political organization, which has always opposed God and now today opposes his kingdom under his Messiah.

A DECISION TO MAKE

What about us as individuals? Should we give support to the international peace arrangement? God says that he does not write in his scroll of life the names of those who give their worship to the wild beast’s image or who pin their hopes on it. This, of course, is, not a literal scroll, but a symbolic one, and in it Jehovah has been writing the names of those worthy of life since the founding of the world, that is, from when he founded the human race, the world of mankind. According to God’s written Word, Abel the martyred son of Adam and Eve appears to be the first one “written upon the scroll of life.” (Heb. 11:4; 12:24; Gen. 4:2-10, 25; Matt. 23:35) The names of those idolaters are not written with that of Abel.

True Christians, therefore, will recognize the United Nations, the “image” of the wild beast, or the scarlet-colored beast, as a counterfeit and an abortive attempt to establish God’s new order in the earth. As to the means for bringing peace on earth, Jesus Christ said his kingdom was not of this world. Not by trusting in the military might of nations or a combination of nations that are against God can peace be brought. As Jehovah says: “Not by a military force, nor by power, but by my spirit.”​—Zech. 4:6.

Political and religious leaders are mistaken also as to God’s timetable. His kingdom is already established in heaven in the hands of his Messiah, Christ. Through the prophet Daniel God foretold that the kingdom of God would break in pieces all the existing kingdoms and it would stand forever. (Dan. 2:44) God’s new order, bringing fully to mankind the blessings of his heavenly kingdom, will take place soon​—in this generation—​but it will not do so before all images and idols, including the United Nations, are destroyed. So they lack faith in God, and their attempt to take it upon themselves to set up God’s kingdom and bring in a new order is abortive and ends in miscarriage, to the disappointment of all those who put their hope in it. Let all who truly love righteousness hear what God says in his Word, the Bible, and learn of his kingdom and the stability and permanence of his new order based, not on an uncertain, uncomfortable coexistence, but on real righteousness. Let them forsake all image worship and dedicate themselves to Jehovah God through Jesus Christ and have their names written in Jehovah’s scroll of life.

[Footnotes]

For the first time in history the Department of State of the American Government at Washington, D.C., commented on an encyclical of a pope of the Vatican.

Avoid the Snare of “Saving Face”

If you were told to redeem your honor by committing harakiri, how would you respond? Of course, you would not go along with the idea. And yet, it is not so long since this ‘face-saving’ practice was an everyday occurrence in the Orient. This kind of suicide may be out of fashion nowadays, but “saving face” continues to be practiced extensively in many ways, both in the Orient and in Western countries. It is ungodly and unscriptural, and, if practiced in the Christian congregation, it brings disturbance, disunity and, in the case of the individual, even spiritual suicide.

According to Webster’s New International Dictionary, “to save one’s face” means “to conceal one’s defeat, discomfiture, or loss of prestige, by some pretense.” It therefore amounts to a lie. Its basis is pride, a fear of having one’s ego hurt. It refuses to acknowledge a fault or to face up to an issue. It denies the need for correction or discipline. Self is right, no matter what the circumstances. ‘Face saving’ is rooted in emotion, not principle, and it often causes its victim to withdraw into himself or to shun association with the very friends who could really help in the hour of need. How may we avoid this snare of “saving face”?

“DO NOT CONTINUE RUNNING WITH THEM”

To Christians who had turned from the thoughts and way of life of their pagan neighbors, the apostle Peter wrote: “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) ‘Running with the crowd’ is the custom today, also, and many will go to any dishonest ends in order to maintain an outward appearance of respectability in the community. They must “save face” and “keep face” with their neighbors at all costs.

However, what of the Christian who has been delivered “from the present wicked system of things”? He should have put away “the old personality,” which conforms to his former course of conduct. And now he is to live, think and act according to “the new personality which was created according to God’s will in true righteousness and loyalty.” (Gal. 1:4; Eph. 4:22-24) Note those words, “true righteousness and loyalty.” Jehovah’s righteousness​—not self-righteousness—​and loyally doing God’s will are what count with him now.​—Rom. 12:1, 2.

What does he do, then, when it is the local practice to “save face” and go along with the crowd? For example, does he have to maintain “respectability” by running into debt? Does he have to conform to the community in its showy celebration of weddings, special feast days, children’s days and religious holidays? Does he have to “save face” with relatives by participating in pagan wedding ceremonies, or even consenting to taking an unbelieving mate? Certainly not! And likewise, “true righteousness and loyalty” will preclude his absenting himself from the Christian congregation, or even quitting altogether, when faced with problems that could actually be solved through the understanding help of his Christian brothers.

ACKNOWLEDGING AND COMBATING “SIN”

Prideful ‘face-saving’ often arises from a failure to recognize and cope with the problem of “sin.” Many today refuse to acknowledge “sin” as such. They square themselves off in their own minds. They cloud over issues, or try to throw blame on others. As they keep justifying themselves, their minds become seared as by a branding iron, so that they are no longer able to discern between right and wrong.​—1 Tim. 4:2.

All of us are prone to sin. “We all stumble many times. If anyone does not stumble in word, this one is a perfect man, able to bridle also his whole body.” (Jas. 3:2) What, then, if we commit some sin? Should we seek the course of self-justification, glossing it over or trying to cover up? Rather than try to “save face,” we do better to follow James’ further advice: “Therefore openly confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may get healed.” (Jas. 5:16) And having been healed, what need is there for further torments of conscience? That sin is in the past. Stretch forward, now, to the things ahead.​—Phil. 3:13.

Let us face up to the fact that, as long as we live in this imperfect flesh, we will commit sin. “If we make the statement: ‘We have no sin,’ we are misleading ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and righteous so as to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” (1 John 1:8–2:2) If we are to be honest with our God, with our brothers and with ourselves, we will acknowledge our sins and shortcomings. Never should we “save face” by pretending that we do not sin.

UNEXPECTED SITUATIONS

A Christian may be suddenly caught in some circumstances that test his integrity. For example, he may be at a gathering where someone calls for a “toast”​—a practice that he knows to be of pagan origin. Or at a funeral all in attendance may fall in line to offer incense or bow toward the picture of the dead person​—pagan practices tied in with the false belief that the soul is immortal. Or there may be the situation in a crowd where all rise to the playing of the national anthem​—whereas the Christian has declared undivided allegiance to God’s kingdom. It is best to avoid situations that could lead to compromise. However, if “caught on the spot,” as it were, the mature Christian will show himself to be an integrity keeper in the same way that Jesus Christ, the three Hebrew youths, Daniel and others kept integrity under trial.​—Matt. 4:1-11; Dan. 3:14-18; 6:6-11.

In the case of a serious sin, one that brings deep reproach on Jehovah’s name and on the Christian congregation, the healthful course is to confess one’s wrongdoing to responsible brothers in the congregation. (Jas. 5:14-16) But how should one view these servants in God’s organization? As fearsome judges? Far from it! The congregation committee is there to bear the weaknesses of others, to build up and to encourage.​—Rom. 15:1, 2.

‘RESTORING . . . IN A SPIRIT OF MILDNESS’

The overseers and ministerial servants in the Christian congregation should be, and usually are, approachable. This approachability itself should discourage weaker members of the flock from trying to “save face.” If someone in the congregation has a problem he should go immediately to the overseer or other mature brothers, and not to some emotional, immature person who will pamper him. The responsible brothers are the ones assigned as “gifts in men,” to help all to grow to oneness of faith, “in order that we should no longer be babes, tossed about as by waves.” (Eph. 4:8, 13, 14) They are our “hiding place from the wind” in time of stormy trouble. (Isa. 32:2) The true overseer is ever watchful to help, and to build up, in line with Paul’s advice: “Brothers, even though a man takes some false step before he is aware of it, you who have spiritual qualifications try to restore such a man in a spirit of mildness.”​—Gal. 6:1.

So, overseers and ministerial servants are charged, not to browbeat weak members of the flock, but to “restore” them, to build them up. When counseling, even where serious sins have been committed, these servants are never to scold or grow angry. Rather, they will be an example in displaying “the fruitage of the spirit,” which includes “kindness, . . . mildness, self-control.” (Gal. 5:22, 23) Those of the flock who realize this should be eager to go to these servants for help, rather than “save face” by absenting themselves from the Christian congregation.

In most cases it is the unrepentant who insist on ‘practicing sin’ that are expelled, disfellowshiped from God’s organization. (1 John 3:4; 1 Cor. 5:11) ‘A man who takes some false step before he is aware of it’ does not fall into the class of such incorrigible sinners. However, there may be occasions, due to the seriousness of the sin, when the congregation committee finds it necessary to place a person on a probation of surveillance, as a helpful, corrective measure. Such probation is not to be viewed as some adverse judgment, something destructive of one’s “honor,” a penalty to be bucked against. Rather, it is a loving provision affording him opportunity to prove the sincerity of his repentance and at the same time to help the repentant sinner recover his spirituality and to make him strong again. Kindly counsel given during the probationary period will build the person up so that he will not make a ‘practice’ of sin. Rather than try to “save face” by protesting a probation, and getting others involved emotionally, one who has committed a sin should welcome this loving arrangement leading to his recovery.

All dedicated Christians should place their complete confidence and trust in Jehovah. It is Jehovah who says: “Those honoring me I shall honor, and those despising me will be of little account.” (1 Sam. 2:30) Those who honor Jehovah will not seek self-honor among mortal men. In place of holding to lofty, ‘face-saving’ thoughts of men, true Christians will seek out Jehovah’s thoughts and be guided by the principles he so clearly states in his Word.

Questions From Readers

● Who was the high priest during David’s reign, Zadok or Abiathar?​—S. B., U.S.A.

When King Saul had Abiathar’s father, High Priest Ahimelech, slaughtered, Abiathar fled to David. (1 Sam. 22:9-23) David finally gained the throne and made him the high priest. Some have suggested, though, that after Ahimelech’s death King Saul had Zadok installed as high priest, not recognizing Abiathar, who was under David’s protection. They hold that, following his ascension to the throne, David made Abiathar an associate high priest along with Zadok. Such a view is taken due to the fact that Zadok and Abiathar are regularly mentioned together as having high positions in the priesthood.​—2 Sam. 15:29, 35; 17:15; 19:11; 20:25; 1 Ki. 1:7, 8, 25, 26; 4:4; 1 Chron. 15:11.

However, the inspired record nowhere mentions any appointment of Zadok as high priest under King Saul. It is possible that Zadok’s prominence is due to his being a seer or prophet, just as the priestly prophet Samuel received greater mention in the record than did the high priest of his time. (2 Sam. 15:27) The evidence indicates that Abiathar was the sole high priest during David’s reign and that Zadok then occupied a position secondary to him.​—1 Ki. 2:27, 35; Mark 2:26.

The text at 2 Samuel 8:17 has caused some question in this regard, since it says that “Zadok the son of Ahitub and Ahimelech the son of Abiathar were priests” at the time. It has been suggested that the names of Ahimelech and Abiathar were transposed by a scribal error. However, the record at 1 Chronicles 18:16; 24:3, 6, 31 confirms the order of the names. So it appears that Abiathar had a son also named Ahimelech, and that this Ahimelech, along with Zadok, served as secondary priest under High Priest Abiathar.

Announcements

FIELD MINISTRY

There are many things in life that may bring a person a measure of joy, but there is one source of joy that stands out above all others in the lives of Jehovah’s witnesses. What is that? Sharing in Jehovah’s service. Not that the preaching work is always easy, but there is abiding satisfaction in knowing that one is doing the will of God and is aiding his fellowmen to lay hold of eternal life. It is this joy that Jehovah’s witnesses will have during February as they call at the homes of people to discuss the Bible and to offer, as an aid to interested persons, a year’s subscription for The Watchtower for just $1.

LORD’S EVENING MEAL

The date for observing the Lord’s evening meal in 1967 is Saturday, March 25, after 6 p.m. Standard Time. Each congregation of Jehovah’s witnesses should start now to make arrangements so that all who are regularly associated with the congregation and other interested persons can gather together for this occasion. A qualified speaker, one of the remnant of Christ’s anointed followers, if available and capable, should be assigned to deliver the discourse. In harmony with Jesus’ instructions to his disciples while he was still on earth, we urge all readers of The Watchtower to be present for this meeting.​—Luke 22:19, 20.

TO STRENGTHEN YOUR FAITH

The new book Life Everlasting​—in Freedom of the Sons of God will help you to know what your relationship is to God, how mankind came into enslavement to transgression and death, how and when liberation is to come, what this world will be like when that day of liberation is here. It will strengthen your faith and hope in a truly “free world.” Sent postpaid for only 50c. Order today.

“WATCHTOWER” STUDIES FOR THE WEEKS

March 19: Jehovah Makes Full Might Abound. Page 105. Songs to Be Used: 87, 116.

March 26: “From a Weak State . . . Made Powerful.” Page 112. Songs to Be Used: 51, 81.