The Watchtower — September 1, 1977

Peace Can Be Your Possession

WHO would not want peace? What a pleasure it is when families, neighbors, tribes, nationalities and races can enjoy a measure of peace and security! In this world, however, time and again peace is shattered by serious disagreements. Why, you may wonder, is peace at one and the same time so desirable and yet so hard to attain?

A basic reason for fights is people’s ignoring the sound guidelines of the Source of peace, man’s Maker. The Christian disciple James pointed this out, saying: “From what source are there wars and from what source are there fights among you? Are they not from this source, namely, from your cravings for sensual pleasure that carry on a conflict in your members? You desire, and yet you do not have. You go on murdering and coveting, and yet you are not able to obtain. You go on fighting and waging war. You do not have because of your not asking. You do ask, and yet you do not receive, because you are asking for a wrong purpose, that you may expend it upon your cravings for sensual pleasure.”​—Jas. 4:1-3.

The “God of peace,” Jehovah, is opposed to all selfishness. Those who look to him, in faith, do not covet what others have and, therefore, do not greedily try to seize what does not belong to them. They follow the Bible’s advice: “Let each one keep seeking, not his own advantage, but that of the other person.”​—1 Cor. 10:24; Phil. 4:9.

Think of the many conflicts that could be avoided if all persons were to put others’ interests ahead of their own. No one would be defrauded and so no one would experience the bitterness this brings. Unselfishness begets unselfishness. When a father, for instance, forgoes personal preferences and sacrifices in behalf of his wife and children, the family is drawn closer together. The father’s example in showing unselfishness promotes the same spirit among the other members of the family. As a result, instead of strife and quarreling, peace and quiet prevail in the home. Members of the family are looking for opportunities to do things for one another.

What unselfishness can accomplish in the family circle it can produce outside the family among a large body of persons. It can break down tribal, regional, national and racial barriers. You may have observed this among the group of Christians known as Jehovah’s Witnesses. They are known throughout the earth for keeping themselves free of involvement with the world’s controversies. Their marvelous international unity is particularly in evidence at their large gatherings. Wrote one man living on the west coast of the United States: “Although not a member of this sect, fair and open research has been necessary for me to bypass my skepticisms about these people’s unyielding devotion to their Christian way of life . . . Hundreds of newspapers throughout the world have carried articles yearly about the orderliness and decency of these people and the behavior of their children, as they gathered at international meeting places.”

At one time, however, many who are now Jehovah’s Witnesses had deep-seated prejudices. They enjoyed neither peace with God nor with their fellowmen. But a study of the Bible helped them to come to view things very differently. Unlike many of Jesus’ fellow countrymen in the first century C.E., they discerned the “things having to do with peace.” (Luke 19:42) Based on what they learned, they repented of their former way of thinking and acting, turned around completely and began serving God as disciples of Jesus Christ. In this way they came to have peace with the Creator.

As to the effect of this peace on the individual, the Bible says: “The peace of God that excels all thought will guard your hearts and your mental powers.” (Phil. 4:7) The calmness that results from having an approved relationship with the Creator guards a person’s heart and mental powers, protecting him against becoming overly anxious about his necessities. He does not worry despairingly about the daily cares of life, being confident that God will answer his prayers and will bless his efforts to get what he needs to live. This puts his heart and mind at rest.

Furthermore, by conforming to God’s Word, a person preserves a clean conscience. He does not experience the worries and frustrations that result from knowingly following a wrong course. He feels as did the inspired psalmist: “In peace I will both lie down and sleep, for you yourself alone, O Jehovah, make me dwell in security.”​—Ps. 4:8.

Because of acting unselfishly, the individual also promotes better relationships with his fellowmen. When others recognize that he has their interests at heart, they themselves will be more inclined to deal honestly and fairly with him.

An approved relationship with Jehovah God also holds a promise of peace in the future. As individuals we cannot change the world and remove the selfishness that contributes to fights. The Creator, however, will see to it that the words of Isaiah are carried out: “They will have to beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning shears. Nation will not lift up sword against nation, neither will they learn war anymore.”​—Isa. 2:4.

When might the complete fulfillment of these words about peace be expected? How can you be among those to enjoy this in the future? Jehovah’s Christian witnesses in your area are in position to answer these questions from the Bible. If you are not presently in contact with them, why not discuss the Scriptures with them the next time they call? Find out for yourself how you can make peace your possession both now and in the future.

What Did the Wise Man Mean?

WISDOM can have a wholesome effect on its possessor. “Who is there like the wise one?” wrote King Solomon. “And who is there knowing the interpretation of a thing? The wisdom of a man itself causes his face to shine, and even the sternness of his face is changed for the better.”​—Eccl. 8:1.

The truly wise man is outstanding in human society, without compare. Aside from another wise person, there is no one else like him. He knows the “interpretation of a thing,” that is, he possesses the needed insight to solve perplexing problems of life.

Even the wise man’s countenance is pleasant. His face radiates an inward joy and satisfaction. As a result, what might otherwise appear as a stern, forbidding face takes on an appealing expression.

How to Cope with Imperfect Human Rulership

As a king, Solomon was in a good position to give advice about how to act wisely toward rulers. He stated: “Keep the very order of the king, and that out of regard for the oath of God. Do not hurry yourself, that you may go out from before him. Do not stand in a bad thing. For all that he delights to do he will do, because the word of the king is the power of control; and who may say to him: ‘What are you doing?’”​—Eccl. 8:2-4.

In ancient Israel, the representative elders of the nation might enter into a covenant with the king, agreeing to remain loyal to him. For example, regarding David we read: “All the older men of Israel came to the king at Hebron, and King David concluded a covenant with them in Hebron before Jehovah.” (2 Sam. 5:3) Accordingly, disobedience to the command of the king would mean unfaithfulness to the oath of loyalty made before Jehovah. On the other hand, obedience constituted regard for the true God, in whose presence the covenant was made. Similarly, out of regard for Jehovah, true Christians remain submissive to the governments of this world, recognizing that such exist by God’s permission.​—Rom. 13:1, 2.

Solomon’s advice about not being in a hurry to leave the king’s presence is expanded on at Ecclesiastes 10:4: “If the spirit of a ruler should mount up against you, do not leave your own place, for calmness itself allays great sins.” A person may be corrected or chastised by someone in authority. He may resent the correction and be ready to give up a position or even to change his attitude toward the ruler. Solomon, however, recommends avoiding hasty action in switching loyalties or resigning a position. The same principle can be applied today to employer-employee relationships.

Wise King Solomon further counsels against ‘standing in a bad thing,’ that is, becoming involved in something the ruler considers bad. By virtue of his authority, the king’s word carries far more weight than the word of any of his subjects. His is the controlling voice; he has unquestionable authority. That is why no one can challengingly say, “What are you doing?”

The person who remains law-abiding should have nothing to fear from the ruler. Solomon comments: “He that is keeping the commandment will not know any calamitous thing.” (Eccl. 8:5) The obedient subject will not experience a “calamitous thing” that comes as a punishment for transgressing the king’s law. The wise man’s counsel parallels the words of the apostle Paul: “He who opposes the authority has taken a stand against the arrangement of God; those who have taken a stand against it will receive judgment to themselves. For those ruling are an object of fear, not to the good deed, but to the bad. Do you, then, want to have no fear of the authority? Keep doing good, and you will have praise from it.”​—Rom. 13:2, 3.

But what if the ruler is unjust? Evidently with reference to this situation, Solomon continued: “The wise heart will know both time and judgment. For there exists a time and judgment even for every affair, because the calamity of mankind is abundant upon them. For there is no one knowing what will come to be, because who can tell him just how it will come to be?”​—Eccl. 8:5-7.

The wise person does not rise up in revolt. Having a heart motivated by wisdom, he realizes that there is a proper time for action and a right way to put up with an oppressive ruler. Open rebellion would mean courting disaster. Good judgment, on the other hand, will prevent a person from acting at an inopportune time. (Ps. 37:1-7) For “every affair” there is a proper time and judgment or manner of dealing. So a person is just asking for trouble if he disregards this fact and acts in haste. Imperfect humans already have enough problems without adding to them by acting rashly, ignoring that “there exists a time and judgment even for every affair.” Besides, no one can be sure just what the future holds. Even men in authority die. Keeping this fact in mind can help one to endure a difficult situation. The rule of the tyrant cannot continue indefinitely. Everything in this imperfect system has its end.

Thorough Examination of Oppressive Human Rule

The conclusions Solomon reached about oppressive rule by man were based on careful observation. He gave heartfelt consideration to the whole scope of such human rule and its effect upon the people. For this reason he could say: “All this I have seen, and there was an applying of my heart to every work that has been done under the sun, during the time that man has dominated man to his injury.”​—Eccl. 8:9.

Tyrannical rulers, however, are not able to continue their domination indefinitely. Solomon continued: “Though this is so [man’s dominating man to his injury], I have seen the wicked ones being buried, how they came in and how they would go away from the holy place itself and be forgotten in the city where they acted that way. This too is vanity.” (Eccl. 8:10) While alive, the wicked ones would come in and go away from the holy place, which, in Solomon’s day, was the holy city of Jerusalem with its temple of Jehovah. (Matt. 24:15) There they should not have practiced wickedness. At burial they go away from it for their last time. Despite the exalted position of the wicked men, they would die, be buried and would, in the city of their activity, soon fade from the memory of the living. Thus their life as tyrannical rulers would prove to have been vain, empty.

Insight on the News

Return from Death?

● Julian DeVries, medical editor of “The Arizona Republic,” recently wrote about a seeming “disembodiment” that he experienced while hospitalized. Citing similar cases involving others, he said that all “seemed to share my own experience of looking down from a great height . . . at their body.” But have such persons really returned from a state of death? “These people have not died, only to be returned by some alleged miracle, to life,” wrote DeVries. “Scientific investigation of the phenomenon shows that the so-called death was merely a marked reduction in all bodily functions.”

DeVries ascribed such experiences to “electro-chemical functions of the brain” that “occur when physical prowess is at a very low ebb,” as when a patient is deeply anesthetized. Under such circumstances, “the neurohormones and catecholamines of the nervous system are released and pour out in uncontrolled quantity,” he stated, adding: “The result, among other manifestations, is the hallucination, rationalized after returning to consciousness, of having died and returned to life.”

So, “disembodiment” experiences of this kind are no proof that an immortal soul leaves the body for a continued existence outside the body after death. Rather, the Bible says that “there is no man that does not sin” and that “the soul that is sinning​—it itself will die.” (1 Ki. 8:46; Ezek. 18:4) The only Scriptural hope for return from death is by means of the resurrection.​—Acts 24:15.

“Smoking or Health”

● Britain’s Royal College of Physicians recently issued its third report on ‘smoking and health.’ But the use of tobacco is so perilous that the title was changed to “Smoking or Health.” Writing in the British journal “New Scientist,” Donald Gould cites the report and the “perils of smoking.” Then, in part, he remarks:

“Nobody wants to know that ‘smoking deaths are now at least four times more numerous than deaths from road accidents’. The committed smoker is able to ignore the ugly fact that each time he (or, increasingly, she) lights up another fag [cigarette] about five-and-a-half-minutes are lopped off his lifespan. Addicts come to their senses when it is too late​—when a mother or father of a growing family dies, or when that gripping pain in the chest is felt, or when the habitual phlegm becomes stained with blood.”

However, health dangers are not chief reasons that cause Christians to shun the use of tobacco. For one thing, love of neighbor prevents them from personally befouling the air with tobacco smoke. (Matt. 22:39) But their love of God comes first in life, since they have dedicated themselves to Him. Consequently, true Christians heed the apostle Paul’s admonition: “Present your bodies a sacrifice living, holy, acceptable to God, a sacred service with your power of reason.” (Rom. 12:1) Since persons dedicated to God do not want to diminish the value of their sacrifice to him, they refrain from using tobacco and thus ruining their health. At the same time, they are obeying the counsel to ‘cleanse themselves of every defilement of flesh and spirit.’​—2 Cor. 7:1.

“Masculine-biased Language”?

● The New York “Times” of June 5, 1977, reported: “The new edition of the Revised Standard Version of the Bible, scheduled to be published in the mid-1980’s, may go a long way toward eliminating masculine-biased language, but not all the way, according to Dr. Bruce M. Metzger, a biblical scholar and professor of New Testament language and literature at Princeton Theological Seminary.”

The revision committee, consisting of twenty-four scholars with Dr. Metzger as chairman, plans to retain the word “man” in various places. In others, however, masculine wording will be dropped.

Eliminating from the Bible what some may term “masculine-biased language” may appeal to certain individuals. But doing this to curry favor with such ones may result in the serious error of doing violence to the inspired Word of God. More than once, the Scriptures warn against adding to or detracting from the Word of Jehovah God. (Deut. 4:2; 12:32; Rev. 22:18, 19) Indeed, reflecting a godly attitude toward the Scriptures are the words: “Every saying of God is refined.”

‘See Good for Your Hard Work’

“Look! The best thing that I myself have seen, which is pretty, is that one should eat and drink and see good for all his hard work.”​—Eccl. 5:18.

1. As shown at 1 Timothy 1:11, what kind of God is Jehovah, and so what can we rightly conclude that he desires for his intelligent creatures? (Deut. 12:18; 26:11; Ps. 32:11)

THE Most High God Jehovah is supremely happy, taking delight in his perfection and in his works. (1 Tim. 1:11) Moreover, he desires that his intelligent creatures, especially his faithful servants, share in that happiness.

2. How does what we perceive with our senses reveal that Jehovah has ‘furnished us all things richly for our enjoyment’?

² Why, our very senses are designed to perceive a tremendous variety of sights, sounds, smells, tastes and textures. What pleasure there can be in seeing brilliant sunsets, star-studded skies, winding rivers, placid lakes, cascading waterfalls, palm-lined beaches, lush meadows and snowcapped mountains! How delightful can be the taste of fresh fruits or well-prepared, nourishing meals and fine desserts! There is enjoyment when we feel gentle breezes on a warm day and, even more so, when we feel the touch or embrace of those whom we love. Then, too, is it not pleasurable to listen to babbling brooks, waves crashing against the shore, leaves rustling in the wind, the chirping and singing of birds, and the laughter of happy children? And what delight can be had in taking a walk through a forest or a lovely park, catching the scent of sweet-smelling blossoms! Truly, we must agree with the inspired apostle Paul: God “furnishes us all things richly for our enjoyment.”​—1 Tim. 6:17.

3. What does the Bible say about God’s view of our enjoying food and drink?

³ It definitely is God’s purpose that we find joy in what he has provided so generously for all mankind. (Acts 14:16, 17) This was the conclusion that wise King Solomon reached after undertaking a careful investigation of earthly affairs. He said: “Look! The best thing that I myself have seen, which is pretty, is that one should eat and drink and see good for all his hard work.”​—Eccl. 5:18.

4. How does the example of Jesus Christ demonstrate that it is proper for Christians to enjoy material things?

⁴ This should certainly be true of Christian servants of Jehovah. The head of the Christian congregation, Jesus Christ, set the perfect example in the enjoyment of material things. By no means was he an ascetic. He accepted invitations to meals and banquets. (Luke 5:29; 7:36; 14:1; 19:5, 6) His very first miracle​—turning water into the best of wine—​contributed to the enjoyment of a wedding feast. (John 2:1-11) Not appreciating Jesus’ balance in these matters, certain ones falsely charged: “Look! A man gluttonous and given to drinking wine.” (Matt. 11:19) They failed to recognize that Jesus Christ was making proper use of his Father’s bountiful provisions, while at the same time always giving spiritual matters the first place.​—Matt. 6:24-34.

TAKE A REALISTIC VIEW OF PLEASURES

5. According to Bible prophecy, among whom in the “last days” would lovers of pleasure be found, and why does this pose a danger for faithful servants of Jehovah?

⁵ While God’s servants, therefore, rightly find pleasure in food and drink, as well as in various forms of recreation, there are traps to be avoided. According to Bible prophecy, it would be among professed Christians in the “last days” that there would be found “lovers of pleasures rather than lovers of God.” (2 Tim. 3:4) These persons would begin living for pleasure, putting the pursuit of amusements first in their lives. Faced with the strong influence exerted by pleasure seekers today, Jehovah’s faithful servants must be on guard that this does not begin to affect their thinking.

6, 7. (a) What sound conclusion did King Solomon reach regarding merriment and laughter? (b) Just how are we to understand Solomon’s words?

⁶ The realistic view of pleasures presented by King Solomon can be most helpful. He tells of his investigation and findings: “I said, even I, in my heart: ‘Do come now, let me try you out with rejoicing. Also, see good.’ And, look! that too was vanity. I said to laughter: ‘Insanity!’ and to rejoicing: ‘What is this doing?’”​—Eccl. 2:1, 2.

⁷ Just what is Solomon here drawing to our attention? His words make it clear that the avid pursuit of amusements cannot bring genuine and lasting happiness. He found that rejoicing or merriment just for its own sake was “vanity,” emptiness. This is so because in itself such “rejoicing” cannot produce anything truly worth while. Granted, amusements and laughter can aid a person to forget his problems temporarily. But the problems will not go away but must still be faced after the period of amusement is over. Furthermore, when a person simply dismisses very serious matters with thoughtless laughter, he is not using good sense and may well irritate others. That is why his laughter can be called “insanity.” As to the “rejoicing” or merriment that might be associated with a habitual joker, it does not really amount to anything of worth. As Solomon put it, “What is this doing?” Yes, what tangible and meaningful results does such merriment produce?

8. In what way can we be helped if we apply the lesson that can be drawn from Solomon’s investigation?

⁸ If we allow ourselves to be guided by the facts uncovered by Solomon’s investigation, surely we will not permit pleasures to overshadow or crowd out spiritual activities. This calls for being moderate in the number of social gatherings one attends and the amount of time devoted to them. If we were repeatedly to spend a good part of the night at social affairs, how could we possibly be alert the next day for spiritual opportunities, such as congregational meetings or public witnessing? If keeping late hours because of recreation resulted in a person’s being too tired for spiritual activities, is not the pursuit of amusements getting out of control? While we may rightly enjoy wholesome, upbuilding social gatherings and other forms of relaxation, these should not become the big things in our lives. Our greatest satisfaction should continue to be found in a life that centers around faithful service to Jehovah God.

9. Christians who are basically serious may have to guard against what?

⁹ On the other hand, since rejoicing and laughter do have a proper place among God’s servants, Christians who are basically serious and may have little interest in certain forms of recreation should not look down on or be critical of fellow believers who may enjoy sports, dancing or other amusements in a wholesome way. (Rom. 14:10-12) The Bible counsels: “Do not become righteous overmuch.” (Eccl. 7:16) So, a person should watch that he does not become overly concerned and make issues about strictly personal matters. Being thus overly righteous could lead to his displaying rash zeal and, worse, a merciless, unloving attitude that could result in his losing God’s favor and blessing.

PLEASURES MUST BE CONTROLLED

10. What problems arose in connection with the “love feasts” held by early Christians?

¹⁰ It is clear that pleasures must be kept in their place so that serious problems do not arise. This is something that first-century Christians had to contend with in connection with their “love feasts,” which appear to have been banquets where even poor Christians could enjoy good food and upbuilding association. Sadly, persons lacking a spiritual outlook took advantage of these occasions to satisfy selfish passions. That is why the Christian disciple Jude referred to certain ones as “rocks hidden below water in your love feasts.” (Jude 12) Involvement with such wrongly motivated individuals could have led to a person’s experiencing shipwreck to his faith. Similarly, the apostle Peter wrote: “They consider luxurious living in the daytime a pleasure. They are spots and blemishes, indulging with unrestrained delight in their deceptive teachings while feasting together with you.” (2 Pet. 2:13) Such persons had as their sole aim the satisfying of sensual pleasure both day and night. Under the guise of being Christian, they carried on the shameless practices of the world alienated from God. Like spots and blemishes, they tarnished the fine record of faithful Christians, bringing great reproach on God’s holy name. By voicing their “deceptive teachings,” their corrupt views, they apparently succeeded in turning wholesome gatherings of Christians into noisy, boisterous affairs of self-indulgence.

11. What must be kept out of the social gatherings held by God’s people?

¹¹ In this there is a vital lesson for God’s servants today. It is fine when Christians can come together and enjoy fellowship as well as food and drink in moderation. But worldliness must be kept out of these gatherings if they are to be spiritually upbuilding. What is a gathering where alcoholic beverages flow very freely, where music continues to blare into the wee hours of the morning and where people share in wild dancing? It is a worldly party, a carouse, regardless of what name of respectability some persons may try to attach to it.

12. How should Christians feel about unrestrained merrymaking?

¹² True Christians have had their fill of such unrestrained merrymaking during the time that they were ignorant of God’s will and purpose. They want no part of an occasion that is characterized by heavy drinking, disorder and sensuality or a gathering that includes any of these facets or that even borders on them. Now that they have been enlightened, they take to heart the Scriptural counsel: “As in the daytime let us walk decently, not in revelries and drunken bouts, not in illicit intercourse and loose conduct, not in strife and jealousy.” (Rom. 13:13) “For the time that has passed by is sufficient for you to have worked out the will of the nations when you proceeded in deeds of loose conduct, lusts, excesses with wine, revelries, drinking matches, and illegal idolatries.”​—1 Pet. 4:3.

13, 14. As is evident from Galatians 5:21 and Isaiah 5:11, 12, why are pleasure seekers in grave danger?

¹³ This is a very serious matter. Individuals who engage in revelries or carouses are mentioned in the Scriptures among those who “will not inherit God’s kingdom.” (Gal. 5:21) Hence, persons who begin to live solely for pleasure are in grave danger. This is forcefully emphasized in connection with certain Israelites in the time of Isaiah. Wine would flow very freely at their feasts. As the night progressed the revelers would become loud and boisterous. Their noisy feasting would be accompanied by sensual music designed to arouse the passions. Therefore, through his prophet Isaiah, Jehovah directed these words to them: “Woe to those who are getting up early in the morning that they may seek just intoxicating liquor, who are lingering till late in the evening darkness so that wine itself inflames them! And there must prove to be harp and stringed instrument, tambourine and flute, and wine at their feasts; but the activity of Jehovah they do not look at, and the work of his hands they have not seen.”​—Isa. 5:11, 12.

¹⁴ Rightly, woe or calamity would befall these pleasure seekers. They gave no thought to pleasing the Creator. Their sole objective was to satisfy their fleshly desires right from the start of the day. It is no different today. Persons who give themselves over to unrestrained reveling are giving no consideration to the works of Jehovah. How could anyone reflect on Jehovah’s grand activities to the sound of sensual music while at the same time eating and drinking to excess? As Isaiah describes it, during the period of their self-indulgence, the pleasure seekers act as if there were no evidence testifying to the existence and activities of the Most High. Therefore, just as in the prophet’s time, unrepentant revelers stand disapproved before Jehovah God.

15. How did Jesus warn of the danger of getting involved in living for pleasure?

¹⁵ It is noteworthy that Jesus Christ alerted his disciples to the grave danger of becoming pleasure seekers, commanding: “Pay attention to yourselves that your hearts never become weighed down with overeating and heavy drinking.” (Luke 21:34) Overindulgence in food and drink may weigh down the heart with feelings of guilt and crowd out any desire for spiritual things. As a result, a person may become spiritually drowsy, blind to the responsibilities that come with being a disciple of Jesus Christ. Were he to continue in that state, the coming of the Son of God in the capacity of executioner of divine vengeance would overtake him as a “snare.” Jesus warned: “It will come in upon all those dwelling upon the face of all the earth. Keep awake, then, all the time making supplication that you may succeed in escaping all these things that are destined to occur, and in standing before the Son of man.” (Luke 21:35, 36) Certainly, the “last days” are no time for anyone to ignore these words and slip into worldly practices at social gatherings.

HOW TO PREVENT PROBLEMS

16. Are all members of the Christian congregation necessarily good companions?

¹⁶ How can one prevent social affairs from becoming worldly and, hence, spiritually damaging and divinely disapproved? Consideration must be given that those invited will not bring in an unwholesome influence. The apostle Paul, in his letter to Timothy, pointed out that not all members of the Christian congregation are necessarily desirable companions. He wrote: “Now in a large house there are vessels not only of gold and silver but also of wood and earthenware, and some for an honorable purpose but others for a purpose lacking honor. If, therefore, anyone keeps clear of the latter ones, he will be a vessel for an honorable purpose, sanctified, useful to his owner, prepared for every good work. So, flee from the desires incidental to youth, but pursue righteousness, faith, love, peace, along with those who call upon the Lord out of a clean heart.”​—2 Tim. 2:20-22.

17. With whom in the congregation should Christians not associate in a social way, and why? (2 Thess. 3:6-15)

¹⁷ Accordingly, Christians have the responsibility to keep clear of those whose conduct is open to serious question. They certainly are under no obligation to invite to their social gatherings persons who are known to be unbridled in their speech or who are otherwise given to excesses. In fact, such persons would not be helped by being invited. Instead of being encouraged to make needed changes, they might well conclude that their unhealthful words and actions are acceptable to the Christian congregation.

18. (a) What should guide God’s servants in all their activity? (b) What factors usually contribute to an upbuilding gathering of Christians?

¹⁸ At any time that God’s servants enjoy companionship with one another, they should keep in mind the Bible’s admonition: “Whether you are eating or drinking or doing anything else, do all things for God’s glory.” (1 Cor. 10:31) We can ask ourselves the question, Is the occasion really bringing praise to Jehovah God? Usually upbuilding association can be enjoyed by all when social get-togethers are kept to a reasonable size, when care is exercised regarding who is invited and the Christian host conscientiously assumes full responsibility for what takes place. If, for example, a whole congregation enjoys a picnic together, elders would certainly want to use their influence for good. Of course, when social gatherings draw people indiscriminately from beyond the congregation, it is difficult, if not impossible, for elders to exercise healthful control of the group. Any who arrange for a social gathering should therefore keep this in mind and avoid circumstances that lend themselves to a lack of proper control and direction.

19. In connection with social gatherings, what principles can we draw from Luke 14:13, 14 and Matthew 6:3?

¹⁹ A Christian should also keep in mind the importance of not always inviting just a certain select few to share with him the fruitage of his labor. There may be other fellow believers who would greatly appreciate and benefit from wholesome association​—for example, the aged and widows. Jesus Christ recommended: “When you spread a feast, invite poor people, crippled, lame, blind; and you will be happy, because they have nothing with which to repay you.” (Luke 14:13, 14) It could hardly be in harmony with this recommendation for a person to arrange such lavish affairs as to require those invited to pay a fee to defray expenses and that may even result in profit for himself as the host. Furthermore, too large an affair can focus undue attention on the one arranging for it, and this would be contrary to the spirit of Jesus’ counsel ‘not to let your left hand know what your right is doing.’​—Matt. 6:3.

20. What good can result from applying Bible principles at social gatherings? (2 Pet. 3:11-14)

²⁰ Truly when Scriptural counsel is followed, servants of Jehovah God can find real delight in the fruitage of their work and in having others share in their joy. They will remain spiritually awake, shunning all worldliness. Their social gatherings can then bring glory to the happy God Jehovah and move sincere observers to say: “God is really among you.” (1 Cor. 14:25) Moreover, they will continue to stand as approved before God and Christ, eagerly looking forward to the time when “the Sovereign Lord Jehovah will certainly wipe the tears from all faces” and “make for all the peoples . . . a banquet of well-oiled dishes”​—for their balanced enjoyment along with all other loving provisions in God’s creation.​—Isa. 25:6-8.

[Picture on page 524]

Will unrestrained merrymaking build up?

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Or should you, rather, seek wholesome family entertainment?

Be Wise​—Shun Greediness

“KEEP your eyes open and guard against every sort of covetousness, because even when a person has an abundance his life does not result from the things he possesses.”​—Luke 12:15.

What provided the occasion for Jesus Christ to say this? A large crowd was listening to him when a man called out: “Tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me.” (Luke 12:13) There really should have been no basis for such a request, because the Mosaic law stipulated that the firstborn son should get two parts of everything that had belonged to his father. Evidently, therefore, covetousness was involved in the case of the man who wanted Jesus Christ to pass judgment in his favor.

Jesus’ words about covetousness, quoted above, were directed to the crowd that had heard the man’s request. These words revealed that a person must evaluate things properly to be able to shun covetousness or greed. He should not lose sight of the fact that whatever the object of his wrong desire may be, it can in no way contribute to the preservation of his life. In fact, greed can lead to calamity.

This is well illustrated by what befell Gehazi, the attendant of the Hebrew prophet Elisha. Through Elisha, the Syrian army chief Naaman was healed of loathsome leprosy. Naaman wanted to present Elisha with a gift in appreciation for the miraculous cure. But the prophet refused to take it, not wanting to profit from the office and powers that Jehovah God had given him. Gehazi, however, coveted the gift, reasoning that it was proper to accept it. He ran after Naaman and, in the name of Elisha, requested a talent of silver and two changes of garments, falsely claiming that the prophet had changed his mind in view of the arrival of two young men of the sons of the prophets. Naaman was happy to oblige, presenting greedy Gehazi with, not just one, but two talents of silver and two changes of garments.​—2 Ki. 5:15, 16, 20-23.

Gehazi’s greed seemingly paid off. But not so in actuality. He lost the privilege of serving as Elisha’s attendant. By his greediness, his misuse of his master’s name for dishonest gain and his misrepresentation of the prophet, Gehazi brought calamity upon himself and his offspring. Pronouncing God’s judgment, Elisha said to Gehazi: “The leprosy of Naaman will stick to you and your offspring to time indefinite.” The execution of that judgment did not delay. The account continues: “Immediately he went out from before [Elisha], a leper white as snow.”​—2 Ki. 5:27.

Certainly Jehovah God does not view lightly those who seek selfish gain from his gifts. This would include the use of one’s position of responsibility in the Christian congregation for selfish profit. In fact, a requirement for those appointed to a particular assignment of service in the congregation is that they ‘not be greedy of dishonest gain.’ (1 Tim. 3:8) Elders are admonished: “Shepherd the flock of God in your care, not under compulsion, but willingly; neither for love of dishonest gain, but eagerly.”​—1 Pet. 5:2.

There is good reason for what the Bible commands. Appointed servants in a congregation, for example, may have to handle funds. This requires that they be exemplary in being free of greediness. Otherwise, if appointed despite having a serious weakness in this area, they might be tempted to misuse what is entrusted to them, appropriating to themselves things to which they are not entitled. As for elders, they, too, must exercise care not to use their position for any kind of profit or gain. Not only would it be wrong for them to seek to get material gain but it would also be wrong to get other personal advantages by reason of their position, authority, prestige or prominence.

Were an elder or another appointed servant in the congregation to fall victim to greediness, he, like Gehazi, would lose his position of trust. More seriously, he might even forfeit his relationship with Jehovah.

This matter of shunning greediness should be of great concern, not just to men having a stewardship in the Christian congregation, but to all true Christians. The Bible includes “greedy persons” among those who ‘will not inherit God’s kingdom.’ (1 Cor. 6:9, 10) Such greediness may manifest itself in a variety of ways. It may be love of money, desire for power or fame, being given to heavy eating or drinking, illicit sex or the like.

To avoid becoming a victim of greed, a person has to watch what he thinks and talks about. (Phil. 4:8; Eph. 5:3) Greediness should have no place among true Christians. It should not exist.

So if you desire to have or to maintain a good relationship with God, shun greediness. Instead of allowing wrong desires to build up in your heart, put forth earnest effort to dwell on good and upbuilding things. This can add much to your enjoyment of life now and can assure you of a secure future. Yes, life comes, not from the object of a person’s greediness, but from his resisting any inclination toward greediness and from his maintaining an approved relationship with Jehovah God.

Faithfulness in the Use of “Unrighteous Riches”

“Make friends for yourselves by means of the unrighteous riches, so that, when such fail, they may receive you into the everlasting dwelling places. The person faithful in what is least is faithful also in much, and the person unrighteous in what is least is unrighteous also in much. Therefore, if you have not proved yourselves faithful in connection with the unrighteous riches, who will entrust you with what is true?”​—Luke 16:9-11.

1. According to Luke 16:1-7, how and why did a certain steward make friends for himself?

AS A steward, the man held a position of great trust, for he was in charge of his master’s affairs. But this man became guilty of serious mismanagement and was about to be relieved of his stewardship, to be sent out of his master’s house with no means of support. While still having the authority of a steward, he acted quickly to ingratiate himself with his master’s debtors by greatly reducing their debts. In this way he made for himself friends who would contribute toward his support upon his being thrown out into the street.​—Luke 16:1-7.

2. (a) What was the big point of Jesus’ illustration about the unrighteous steward? (b) What questions might this raise?

² Jesus Christ used this example of shrewdness to teach an important lesson: “Make friends for yourselves by means of the unrighteous riches, so that, when such fail, they may receive you into the everlasting dwelling places.” (Luke 16:9) This gives rise to the questions: What are these “unrighteous riches”? Who are the possessors of the “everlasting dwelling places”? And how can we make friends with them by means of “unrighteous riches”?

3. What are the “unrighteous riches,” and how can this be shown from the Scriptures?

³ There certainly is nothing unrighteous about spiritual riches. But this cannot be said about material wealth. Both the possession of and the desire for material riches can lead persons to commit unrighteous acts. Wealthy persons may become oppressive, harsh and callous. Instead of responding compassionately toward persons in need, they may take unfair advantage of them. The Christian disciple James reminded fellow believers: “The rich oppress you, and they drag you before law courts, do they not? They blaspheme the fine name by which you were called, do they not?” (Jas. 2:6, 7) Some of such rich persons indulged their corrupt desires for pleasure while refusing to pay the wages due their workers. (Jas. 5:4, 5) Other people, because of a driving desire to gain riches, have resorted to fraud and deceit to attain their goals. In their case, the Bible proverb has proved true: “He that is hastening to gain riches will not remain innocent.” (Prov. 28:20) In view of all the undesirable factors that are so frequently tied in with material riches, Jesus Christ could rightly apply the term “unrighteous” to them.

4. What did Jesus say about the stability of “unrighteous riches,” and how can this be demonstrated by the facts of history?

⁴ It is also noteworthy that the Son of God indicated that these “unrighteous riches” could fail. Money, for example, may quickly lose its value through inflation or governmental devaluation. Also, wars, revolutions, floods, earthquakes and other disasters may reduce people to a state of poverty. How foolish it is, therefore, for anyone to put his trust in material things and to make the pursuit of possessions his main concern in life!

5. Who are the possessors of the “everlasting dwelling places,” and why is this so?

⁵ The objective of Jesus’ true disciples should be to use their “unrighteous riches” to make friends with the possessors of the “everlasting dwelling places.” Since no dwelling place on earth can be spoken of as being everlasting, manifestly the “everlasting dwelling places” must be heavenly. These are in the possession of the eternal God Jehovah and his Son. Jesus Christ told his apostles: “In the house of my Father there are many abodes. Otherwise, I would have told you, because I am going my way to prepare a place for you.”​—John 14:2.

6. (a) Why do God and Christ not need our material things? (b) How can we make friends with God and Christ by means of “unrighteous riches”?

⁶ By reason of his Creatorship, Jehovah God owns everything, and his firstborn Son, as heir of all things, shares in that ownership. (Ps. 50:10-12; 2 Cor. 8:9; Heb. 1:1, 2) This means that there is nothing in a material way that we humans can give to them. Hence, to make friends with the Most High God and his Son by means of “unrighteous riches” would simply mean to use these riches in a way that brings Their approval. This includes one’s having the right attitude in using material things for the benefit of others. Jesus Christ counseled: “Do not let your left hand know what your right is doing, that your gifts of mercy may be in secret.” (Matt. 6:3, 4) And the apostle Paul wrote to the Corinthians: “Let each one do just as he has resolved in his heart, not grudgingly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.”​—2 Cor. 9:7.

HELPING THE AFFLICTED

7. How do Jehovah God and Jesus Christ view our unselfish expressions of generosity toward needy persons?

⁷ When we cheerfully and unselfishly come to the aid of persons in real need, Jehovah God and his Son view this as being done unto them. In the Scriptures we read: “He that is defrauding the lowly one has reproached his Maker, but the one showing favor to the poor one is glorifying Him.” (Prov. 14:31) “He that is showing favor to the lowly one is lending to Jehovah, and his treatment He will repay to him.” (Prov. 19:17) Similarly, Jesus Christ, in pointing out what differentiates the approved sheep from the condemned goats, stated: “To the extent that you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.” (Matt. 25:40) “To the extent that you did not do it to one of these least ones, you did not do it to me.”​—Matt. 25:45.

8. (a) How important is concern for the poor and afflicted? (b) What responsibility do children have toward needy parents and grandparents, and how is a failure to fulfill this responsibility to be viewed? (c) How does a Christian’s responsibility toward fellow believers compare with his responsibility toward persons outside the congregation?

⁸ Accordingly, a willingness to come to the aid of the poor and afflicted is essential to one’s being a true worshiper of Jehovah. (Job 29:16; 31:19-22) The disciple James wrote: “The form of worship that is clean and undefiled from the standpoint of our God and Father is this: to look after orphans and widows in their tribulation, and to keep oneself without spot from the world.” (Jas. 1:27) Such active concern for the afflicted and disadvantaged should start with one’s own relatives. For example, the Scriptures obligate children and grandchildren to care for needy parents and grandparents. (1 Tim. 5:4) A deliberate failure to discharge this responsibility constitutes a denial of the Christian faith. (1 Tim. 5:8) Further, since true Christians form an association of brothers, they must care for needy members in their midst before branching out to assist persons outside the congregation. This is in harmony with the principle: “As long as we have time favorable for it, let us work what is good toward all, but especially toward those related to us in the faith.”​—Gal. 6:10.

9. Who would determine whether congregational aid should be given to individuals, and what would determine who might qualify for such aid?

⁹ Much in the way of Christian giving can be done on an individual basis. However, in some cases, the local congregation may have to draw on its contributed funds to provide financial aid for certain ones associated. The elders would be the ones to determine who might be entitled to monetary assistance, and to what extent. As is evident from 2 Thessalonians 3:10 and; 1 Timothy 5:9, 10, congregational aid, particularly when given on a regular basis, should be for those needy persons who are fine examples in Christian living.

LARGE-SCALE RELIEF WORK

10. What pattern do we have to guide us in handling extensive relief measures?

¹⁰ Furthermore, there are times when extensive relief measures may have to be undertaken in behalf of fellow believers in other congregations, perhaps even in other parts of the world. An examination of large-scale relief work in the first-century Christian congregation reveals just how this should be handled.

11. (a) Who originally looked after the relief work in the first-century congregation? (b) What kind of men were later entrusted with responsibilities in connection with relief work?

¹¹ Initially, the apostles accepted voluntary contributions and then supervised the distribution of funds to those in need. (Acts 4:34, 35) As the congregation grew in numbers this did not continue to be practical. Later, seven men “full of spirit and wisdom” were appointed to make sure that no deserving widows were overlooked in the daily distribution. These seven men had the confidence of their fellow believers. (Acts 6:1-6) Great care was exercised that those handling contributions received for relief work were trustworthy men. Regarding those who would be taking the contributed funds from Corinth to Jerusalem, the apostle Paul wrote to the Corinthian congregation: “Whatever men you approve of by letters, these I shall send to carry your kind gift to Jerusalem.”​—1 Cor. 16:3.

12. (a) How should relief measures be financed today? (b) What arrangements exist among Jehovah’s Witnesses for this?

¹² In keeping with the example of the first-century congregation, relief work today should be financed through voluntary contributions. Also, trustworthy, coordinated direction is needed. So that relief efforts can be handled in an orderly manner, the congregations of Jehovah’s Witnesses send contributions to the Watch Tower Society, 124 Columbia Heights, Brooklyn, New York, or to one of its branches. In a time of disaster, the Society or the local branch organization makes contact with the representative elders of the congregations affected, ascertaining their needs for relief. Urgently needed supplies, provisions and funds are then made available for relief measures that are usually organized with the help of the elders on the local scene.

13. How should elders handle matters when they receive reliable information about a need for material aid?

¹³ As soon as reliable information is received about brothers coming into a situation of real need, the elders in each nearby congregation may make announcement of the privilege of contributing toward relief work. Then all will be in a position to decide just what they might be able to give. A Scriptural example of this is found at Acts 11:27-29, where we read: “Now in these days prophets came down from Jerusalem to Antioch. One of them named Agabus rose and proceeded to indicate through the spirit that a great famine was about to come upon the entire inhabited earth; which, for that matter, did take place in the time of Claudius. So those of the disciples determined, each of them according as anyone could afford it, to send a relief ministration to the brothers dwelling in Judea.” Similarly today, so that funds for relief work might be available for immediate use, many congregations and individuals periodically send contributions to the main office of the Watch Tower Society at Brooklyn or to one of its branches.

CONTRIBUTING TOWARD THE EXPANSION OF SPIRITUAL INTERESTS

14. (a) What is the primary responsibility of God’s servants today? (b) How has the printed page been of assistance in fulfilling this responsibility? (c) How has money for building and maintaining printing plants become available? (d) For what other purposes have contributed funds been used?

¹⁴ While providing material aid for those in actual need is very important, the primary responsibility of God’s servants is to give spiritual help to persons inside and outside the congregation. In modern times this has been greatly facilitated by means of the printed page. Contributions and interest-free loans made to the Watch Tower Society and its branches have made it possible to build and maintain printing establishments where Bibles and Bible literature can be produced at a cost far below the price that would have to be charged by commercial firms. Thus, even very poor persons can receive publications either free or for a nominal contribution. Additionally, contributed funds are used for the support of missionary activity and to assist other full-time workers, including traveling elders, to have basic necessities.

15. What do the Scriptures show about the propriety of helping financially those who are devoting themselves fully to caring for the spiritual interests of others? (1 Cor. 9:6-18; Gal. 6:6; Phil. 4:14-18)

¹⁵ That contributed funds can rightly be used to help those who are looking after the spiritual interests of others is made clear at 1 Timothy 5:17, 18: “Let the older men who preside in a fine way be reckoned worthy of double honor, especially those who work hard in speaking and teaching. For the scripture says: ‘You must not muzzle a bull when it threshes out the grain’; also: ‘The workman is worthy of his wages.’” This does not mean that elders should receive a salary for their work. But in agreement with Scriptural principles, it is appropriate that the Governing Body of Jehovah’s Witnesses and the branch organizations use contributed funds to assist materially those who are enabled thereby to devote themselves more fully to spiritual work.

16. What expenses does the local congregation incur, and why is it important to care for these?

¹⁶ Additionally, the local congregations of Jehovah’s Witnesses incur expenses in connection with their meeting places or Kingdom Halls. Besides bearing the cost of electricity, water, fuel for heating, cleaning supplies and repairs, they may have to make monthly rental or mortgage payments. Contributions are needed to cover these expenses so that the congregation does not bring reproach on God’s name for failure to pay its bills. Both as individuals and as a congregation, those who serve Jehovah should heed the admonition: “Do not you people be owing anybody a single thing, except to love one another.”​—Rom. 13:8.

A RESPONSIBILITY TO BE SHARED BY ALL

17. How should each Christian view the matter of contributing toward the advancement of spiritual interests and helping needy ones?

¹⁷ Use of “unrighteous riches” for the advancement of spiritual interests and to help needy persons is basic to one’s being a Christian. Whether having much or little, all have the privilege of contributing something. Note, for example, what the apostle Paul recommended to the Corinthians: “Every first day of the week let each of you at his own house set something aside in store as he may be prospering.”​—1 Cor. 16:2.

18. (a) So as to be able to contribute to the advancement of Kingdom interests, what Scriptural admonition could help us? (b) Is the amount contributed the all-important thing, and how is this illustrated in the case of the needy widow?

¹⁸ In harmony with this inspired admonition, a person may wish to set something aside early in the week that he could contribute. The amount, of course, will vary considerably with individuals, but this is not the all-important thing. The truly vital aspect is the willingness, the eagerness, to make a contribution. The apostle Paul put it this way: “If the readiness is there first, it is especially acceptable according to what a person has, not according to what a person does not have.” (2 Cor. 8:12) This readiness to give according to one’s means is what counts with Jehovah God. For example, a needy widow observed by Jesus Christ donated a mere two lepta at the temple in Jerusalem. With this small amount, a person back then might have been able to buy half a sparrow, not enough for even one meal. Yet, this widow’s contribution, made in expression of her love for the true God worshiped at the temple, was most acceptable. In fact, compared with her means, her gift was greater than that of the wealthy who contributed much out of their surplus.​—Mark 12:42-44.

19. What are we demonstrating by using our “unrighteous riches” properly, and so of what can we be certain?

¹⁹ Truly, then, we want to prove ourselves to be friends of God and Christ by using our “unrighteous riches” to help those in need and to further spiritual interests. (Prov. 3:9; Gal. 2:10) If we continue to use our “unrighteous riches” properly, we demonstrate that we are faithful in what is least. Therefore, Jehovah God and his Son can continue to use us as fine stewards to dispense the far more valuable spiritual riches to others. Our record of fine works will be as treasures deposited in heaven, yielding rich dividends in the form of divine approval and blessings now and life eternal in the new order of “new heavens and a new earth.”​—Matt. 6:20; Luke 16:10-13; 2 Pet. 3:13.

Developing Spiritual Interests in Malaysia

MALAYSIA is a land of hot, tropical jungles, luxuriant fields of rice paddies and extensive rubber and oil-palm plantations. There are also many tin mines in this country and, off its shore, crude oil has been discovered recently. Malaysia is said to be one of the fastest developing countries in the Association of South-East Asian Nations (ASEAN). Especially encouraging for Jehovah’s Witnesses, however, is the expansion of spiritual interests in that land from very small beginnings.

The work of Jehovah’s Christian witnesses began here in the 1930’s. Among the first Witnesses to settle in Malaya (now Malaysia) was a Dutch-Ceylonese couple, Harris and Freda Frank. While touring in 1931, a representative of the Watch Tower Society made contact with this couple. Later, a retired army man, Jimmy James, and his family came from India to Singapore and began to witness zealously. He also contacted the Frank family in Kuala Lumpur. During the next few years a number of pioneer Witnesses from Australia and elsewhere, including an intrepid group using the Society’s mission yacht the “Lightbearer” as their base, spread the Bible’s message. They visited rubber estates and tin mines, towns and villages, elegant residential areas and the homes of the poor, talking about God’s Word and offering Bible literature in a score of languages.

With so much activity developing, the Watch Tower Society’s Australian branch office established a literature depot in Singapore for the convenience of the Kingdom proclaimers and, in 1937, sent up Alfred Wicke to care for this. After his marriage in 1939, he and his wife Thelma spent the next two years, until the war intervened, thoroughly covering the west coast of Malaya. To this day some persons still remember their visits. One of their early contacts was a young Sikh, named Puran Singh, then about sixteen years of age. After reading the booklet Where Are the Dead? and learning that the Wickes were in the vicinity, he cycled about fifty miles (80 kilometers) to meet them. The next day he accompanied them in rural territory to learn how to witness. Some time later the spiritual uplift he had received spurred him to ride another 120 miles (about 190 kilometers) to an assembly of Jehovah’s Witnesses in Kuala Lumpur. Here he disassociated himself from the Sikh religion by having his hair cut and shaving off his beard. After his baptism he decided to be known as George Puran Singh. Full of zeal, he now wanted to witness full time. Circumstances indicated that he could do this best in India. There he has continued to serve faithfully for many years.

DEVELOPMENTS IN POSTWAR YEARS

The Japanese invasion and occupation of Malaya brought witnessing activity to a halt, with most of those sharing in it evacuating to India or other places and the ones remaining being interned. In the late 1940’s, however, Gilead-trained missionaries arrived and the work began to be redeveloped in Malaya. Communist guerrillas were then fighting the colonial authorities from the jungle, raiding and bombing towns, killing European rubber planters and tin-mine managers. Traveling was very dangerous for the circuit overseer who had begun making regular visits to various towns on the west coast.

“When traveling by train,” he reminisces, “you spent most of your time lying on the floor of the carriage, as the guerrillas would shoot indiscriminately from the jungle along the track.” At the town of Kampar he called on a daughter of Jimmy James, married to a tin miner in charge of several dredges. All residential quarters were in a compound enclosed by barbed wire. On entering his room, the circuit overseer turned on the light, or so he thought. To his dismay, he had switched on the compound lights and a siren. This caused all the residents to come to arms immediately, believing it to be a guerrilla attack. What an embarrassing situation for one who wanted to develop peaceful spiritual interests!

In the course of his visits to Malaya the circuit overseer met a Chinese man in the tin-mining center of Ipoh. While learning acupuncture in Hong Kong he had also studied the Bible with Jehovah’s Witnesses and was ready to share in proclaiming the “good news.” From this small beginning, in time the Ipoh Congregation developed.

The Society asked the circuit overseer, on another visit, to contact two girls, Ng Yoon Chin and Lee Siew Chan, pupils of the Methodist Girls School in Georgetown, on Penang Island. Three years previously, during a month that four missionaries of Jehovah’s Witnesses were in Penang, these girls had come into possession of a copy of the book “The Truth Shall Make You Free” and became deeply interested. After the circuit overseer’s visit with them, they began witnessing. To further spiritual interests in Penang, the Society’s branch transferred Alfred and Thelma Wicke there in 1955. Before long a congregation was organized. The two original girls became pioneers and later received missionary training, graduating from Gilead School in 1958.

In Johor, the southernmost of the nine sultanates of Malaya, prewar Witnesses from Singapore occasionally left some literature with K. J. John, an official of the taxation department. However, he did not take the Witnesses seriously, because, as he said, “I had already concluded that all religions were man-made ruses to keep control of human society under some self-imposed authority. Yet, I had faith in a Creator. The adverse experiences of World War II and all the troubles that followed caused me to draw closer to him, Still, I did not know how to worship him and resolved to live according to the way my conscience dictated.” Later, however, the booklet Peace​—Can It Last? aroused John’s cautious interest. Eventually, in 1960, a congregation was established in the town of Johor Baru. Over the years, from this congregation, with K. J. John as presiding overseer, nine persons took up the witnessing work full time.

DEVELOPMENTS IN THE “BROWN SPOTS”

Discussing the territory situation at an assembly years ago, a speaker displayed a large map of Malaya on which the west coast was mostly shaded green and the east coast appeared as a large brown area. Ever since then, among the Witnesses, areas where there is a great need to develop spiritual interests were humorously referred to as “brown spots.” Would they ever turn “green”?

Six years ago a young Witness attending a teacher’s training college in Penang was dismayed when he learned, at the end of his course, that he was being assigned to the town of Kuala Trengganu, one of these “brown spots.” He asked an elder for advice, stating that he would have no friends and no one with whom to study the Bible. The advice: “The first day in your new assignment go from house to house and witness and you will soon have friends.” He did just that, with real zeal and dependence on Jehovah’s spirit. Very soon the “brown spot” began to develop a “green” shade, manifesting spiritual growth that has resulted in a fine congregation of active Witnesses.

TESTS ON YOUNG WITNESSES

The majority of Kingdom proclaimers in Malaysia are young people. Coming from traditional Chinese Buddhist families, they often are subjected to severe family opposition. Typical is the experience of a Chinese girl. She relates:

“I had just finished my Higher School Certificate examination and had been attending meetings, even studying with others who showed interest in the Bible. My mother was horrified and felt it was very demeaning for me to go from house to house. The upshot was that she followed me to where a weekly Bible study group met. She tried to disrupt the meeting by playing Tamil music on a transistor radio she had brought along, at the same time repeatedly urging me to leave. Others patiently tried to explain the matter, gradually pacifying, though not satisfying, her. I was instructed by my parents not to attend any more meetings, but I continued to obey Jehovah.

“When I attended a slide talk by a missionary from Laos, both my parents came to the Kingdom Hall for me. I was driven to my granny’s home, where family cases are usually settled. I was cross-examined and rebuked before a panel of relatives. My father knocked my head against a wall by way of warning that he would resort to violence if I continued my Christian activities.

“Now I am residing at the university hostel and am able to witness and attend all meetings, as I am independent.”

MALAYSIA BRANCH ESTABLISHED

Early in 1972 circumstances made it advisable for the Watch Tower Society to establish a branch office in Malaysia. The congregation on the beautiful island of Penang had built a fine Kingdom Hall, with a missionary home and a literature depot. This now became the branch office to supervise the Kingdom work in both Peninsular and East Malaysia, as well as in the independent state of Brunei. At that time there was a peak of 207 Kingdom proclaimers in Malaysia, and during the year there was an increase of over 20 percent in their ranks. Succeeding years brought the number of active Witnesses to 455. At a recent series of circuit assemblies there were over six hundred attenders in all, but at the 1977 celebration of the Lord’s Evening Meal 962 were present throughout the country.

Truly, the work of witnessing and teaching has made fine progress. But much remains to be done in developing spiritual interests in Malaysia.

Deuteronomy​—Moses’ Loving Farewell Discourses

WHEN forty years of age he tried in vain to be his people’s deliverer. At the age of eighty he was called by Jehovah God himself actually to deliver God’s people Israel from Egyptian bondage. Now, at the age of 120 years, he and his people were gathered on the plains of Moab, at the border of the Promised Land. Knowing that his end was near, this man Moses poured out his heart to his people in a series of discourses, in what came to be known as the book of Deuteronomy.​—Deut. 31:2; Acts 7:23-30, 35, 36.

This fifth book of the Pentateuch received its name from the Greek Septuagint Version and is based on two Greek roots meaning “second” and “law.” Among the names given it by rabbis is Mishneh, meaning repetition. In some languages it is simply known as the “Fifth Book of Moses.”

Establishing the authenticity of Deuteronomy is the fact that Jesus repeatedly quoted from it as inspired Scripture. (Matt. 4:4, 7, 10 from Deut. 8:3; 6:16, 13; Mark 10:3-5 from Deut. 24:1-3; Mark 12:30 from Deut. 6:5) In fact, Deuteronomy is quoted more than eighty times in the Christian Greek Scriptures and is one of the four most quoted books, the others being Genesis, Psalms and Isaiah.

The book of Deuteronomy, however, is not what its popular name seems to imply, a mere restatement or repetition of God’s law to Israel. Rather, knowing that his end was near, Moses wanted to give parting admonition, counsel, exhortation, instruction to Jehovah’s people, coupled with warnings, saying all that he could and saying certain things repeatedly. It was as though he were penning a farewell letter to them because of his great love for them and his desire to do all that he could to help his people to continue in faithful obedience to their God Jehovah. As nineteenth-century Bible scholar Hengstenberg so well expressed it:

“He speaks like a dying father to his children. The words are earnest, inspired, impressive. He looks back over the whole of forty years of their wandering in the desert, reminds the people of all the blessings they have received, of the ingratitude with which they have so often repaid them, and of the judgments of God, and the love that continually broke forth behind them; he explains the laws again and again, and adds what is necessary to complete them, and is never weary of urging obedience to them in the warmest and most emphatic words, because the very life of the nation was bound up with this; he surveys all the storms and conflicts which they have passed through, and, beholding the future in the past, takes a survey also of the future history of the nation, and sees, with mingled sorrow and joy, how three great features of the past​—viz. apostasy, punishment, and pardon​—continue to repeat themselves in the future.”​—The Pentateuch, Vol. 3, p. 276, Keil and Delitzsch.

MOSES’ HEARTFELT PLEAS

Typical of how strongly Moses felt about the Israelites’ keeping God’s laws previously stated is the way in which he words, in Deuteronomy, the prohibition not to eat blood: “Simply be firmly resolved not to eat the blood, because the blood is the soul and you must not eat the soul with the flesh. You must not eat it . . . You must not eat it.” Four times he states this prohibition.​—Deut. 12:23-25.

Because Moses felt so strongly about matters we find him frequently repeating himself, even as the apostle John did in his first letter, as at 1 John 4:8, 16. For example, there are Moses’ urging parents to teach God’s law to their children when they sit, walk, lie down and get up (Deut. 6:7; 11:19), his reminding them that God gave them manna to humble them (Deut. 8:2, 3, 16) and his putting life and death before his people.​—Deut. 30:15, 19.

It might be said that the discourses in the book of Deuteronomy are Moses’ “Sermon on the Mount.” Yes, the book of Deuteronomy is indeed “motivated by a desire to instruct such as we find in no other book of the” Hebrew Scriptures. And as we note the warmth, the earnestness, the heartfelt solicitude, the deep concern of Moses for his people, for their spiritual and their mundane well-being, as well as his two references to his regrets for not being permitted to enter the Promised Land, to what conclusion can we come? That absolutely no one other than Moses himself could have written such a moving document, that simply nobody could have feigned all that feeling. Yes, to charge, as many theologians in Christendom do, that Deuteronomy is a pious fraud is not only utterly baseless, it is preposterous!

MOSES’ FIRST DISCOURSE

Deuteronomy is generally considered to consist primarily of four discourses. The first takes in De chapters one through four. In this discourse Moses recounts his appointing judges to aid him in judging the people and the instructions he gave them to judge without partiality. He also tells of the bad report of the spies and the rebellion it caused.

Next he recounts Israel’s travels from Mount Sinai to the plains of Moab, and reminds them of the victories that they won en route. In chapter four he admonishes his people not to forget God’s laws, that keeping these would make them famed for their wisdom. He also warns against their making idols, since they saw no representation on the day that Jehovah spoke to them at Mount Sinai. He underscores his warning with the words: “Jehovah your God is a consuming fire, a God exacting exclusive devotion.”​—Deut. 4:24.

MOSES’ SECOND DISCOURSE

Moses’ second discourse covers chapters five through twenty-six. In it he exhorts obedience to a vast array of God’s laws, some of them previously given, such as those relating to the three annual festivals and the cities of refuge, and others stated here for the first time. He begins with a restatement of the Ten Commandments. Continuing, he stresses the importance of knowing Jehovah God and his laws, for man does not live by bread alone. Israelites were to place excerpts of the law on their doorposts; they were to inculcate God’s law in their children at all times, when walking, sitting or lying down. The priests were to teach the people God’s law, and the king himself was to make a copy of God’s law and read in it all the days of his life, so that he would keep humble and keep on doing what was right.​—Deut. 6:7-9; 17:14-20.

Eight times in this second discourse Moses urges his people to faithfulness and obedience so that it might go well with them. Even more often Moses stresses the need for his people to love their God Jehovah: “Listen, O Israel: Jehovah our God is one Jehovah. And you must love Jehovah your God with all your heart and all your soul and all your vital force.”a And time and again he reminds his people of Jehovah’s love for them; a fine expression of which is found at Deuteronomy 5:29: “If only they would develop this heart of theirs to fear me and to keep all my commandments always, in order that it might go well with them and their sons to time indefinite!”b

Moses also felt so strongly about justice, that ever so often he urged the judges of God’s people to deal justly, impartially, never accepting bribes.​—Deut. 1:16, 17 (first discourse); 16:18; 24:17; 25:1.

Moreover, Moses repeatedly commands his people to appreciate all their blessings and to show it by rejoicing before Jehovah. They were to “become nothing but joyful.” Yes, in a subsequent discourse he even warns that calamity would befall them to time indefinite “due to the fact that you did not serve Jehovah your God with rejoicing and joy.”​—Deut. 16:11, 14, 15; 28:47.

Noting their tendency to worship other gods, Moses never wearies of warning them against apostasy and false prophets. Capital punishment was to be the penalty. One was not to spare members of one’s own family, and even whole cities were to be wiped out if guilty of turning to false gods.​—Deut. 5:7; 6:14; 7:4; 8:19; 11:16; 13:1-18; 17:1-7; 18:20-22.

In spite of such stern warnings against apostasy, the loving consideration manifested in the legislation recorded in Deuteronomy is unique in the annals of jurisprudence. When mustering for war, an engaged man, a newly married man, or a man who had planted a vineyard or built a house and had not as yet had the opportunity to enjoy the fruits of his labor was excused from military service for a time. In some respects it might be said that much of Deuteronomy anticipates how injustices could take place, and it gives commands to prevent them from occurring.​—Deut. 20:5-7; 24:5.

Even birds and animals were not overlooked. An Israelite coming upon a bird sitting upon her nest had to let the mother escape, although he could take the young. A farmer was not allowed to muzzle a bull that was threshing grain. When plowing, he could not yoke a donkey with a bull, for the disparity of strength would prove a hardship upon the weaker donkey.​—Deut. 22:6-10; 25:4.

Moses in this discourse also warns against the Israelites becoming materialistic because of prosperity and against the sin of self-righteousness. To avoid the sin of apostasy they were not to intermarry with pagans. (Deut. 7:3, 4) Pointedly Moses sets before Israel the blessings and the curses depending upon the course that they would pursue. He also foretells the coming of a prophet like himself to whom the people would be required to listen on pain of death. The apostle Peter applied this prophecy to Jesus Christ.​—Deut. 18:15-19; Acts 3:22, 23.

THE THIRD AND FOURTH DISCOURSES

In his third discourse Moses gives instruction regarding the blessings and the curses that the Levites are to pronounce publicly upon entering the Promised Land. Six tribes are to station themselves before Mount Gerizim and are to say “Amen!” to the Levites’ pronouncing Jehovah’s blessings upon those serving him faithfully and obeying his laws. And the other six tribes are to stand in front of Mount Ebal and say “Amen” to the Levites’ pronouncement of curses upon those who violate God’s laws regarding worship and morals. Not content with this enumeration Moses develops the theme of the blessings for right doing and the curses for disobedience still further. These blessings and curses proved to be prophetic.​—Deut. 27:1 to 28:68.

The fourth appealing wilderness discourse by Moses (chapters 29 and 30) begins with his again recounting the miracles Jehovah God performed on their behalf, including the one that “your garments did not wear out upon you, and your sandal did not wear out upon your foot.” (Deut. 29:5) Moses then concludes a covenant between Jehovah God and his people assembled there and warns against the dire results of disobedience. However, he also tells that upon their repentance Jehovah would again restore them to favor, and so on the basis of this prophecy he puts before them the choice: “I do take the heavens and the earth as witnesses against you today, that I have put life and death before you, the blessing and the malediction; and you must choose life in order that you may keep alive, you and your offspring, by loving Jehovah your God, by listening to his voice and by sticking to him; for he is your life and the length of your days.”​—Deut. 30:19, 20.

MOSES’ FINAL WORDS

Moses, now 120 years old, encourages his people in their going over the Jordan to take possession of the Promised Land. “Be courageous and strong. Do not be afraid or suffer a shock before them, because Jehovah your God is the one marching with you.” He encourages Joshua with similar words and then commands that every seventh year there should be an assembly at which God’s law is rehearsed in the hearing of men, women and little ones. Then follows a prophecy foretelling Israel’s rebelliousness, in view of the way they rebelled in the wilderness: “For I​—I well know your rebelliousness and your stiff neck. If while I am yet alive with you today, you have proved rebellious in behavior toward Jehovah, then how much more so after my death!” In view of that prophecy, should it cause any Jew to wonder why his people in general failed to accept the greater Moses, Jesus Christ, their Messiah?​—Deut. 31:1-30.

Next, Moses, by means of a superlative song, attributes greatness to Jehovah: “The Rock, perfect is his activity, for all his ways are justice. A God of faithfulness, with whom there is no injustice; righteous and upright is he.” He comments at length on his people’s wayward course, reminds them that vengeance belongs to Jehovah and then calls out, “Be glad, you nations, with his people.” Moses concludes by pronouncing a blessing upon all the tribes, with the exception of Simeon.​—Deut. 32:1–33:29.

The book closes with the details of the death of Moses; most likely penned either by Joshua or Eleazar the high priest. Moses’ “eye had not grown dim, and his vital strength had not fled.” His people greatly mourned him for thirty days, for “there has never yet risen up a prophet in Israel like Moses, whom Jehovah knew face to face.”​—Deut. 34:1-12.

Today Jehovah’s dedicated people are in a similar position to that of the Israelites on the plains of Moab. We therefore do well to take to heart the truths and admonition that Moses gave the Israelites. For one thing we always want to appreciate that man does not live on bread alone but on every word coming forth from Jehovah’s mouth. We know full well that Jehovah our God is one Jehovah and that we must love him with all our heart, soul and vital strength, for he is a God exacting exclusive devotion. Moreover, he is a God who is a consuming fire and to whom alone vengeance belongs. We also want to take comfort in the fact that all his activity is perfect and righteous. Truly, keeping his regulations means life, whereas disobedience means death.

Most gladly we rejoice in every undertaking of ours because of Jehovah’s goodness to us and call upon people of all the nations to rejoice with us. Well has it been observed: “Let the twentieth-century man place himself under the sovereignty of God in every area of his life and he will have begun to understand the import of the book of Deuteronomy.”

[Footnotes]

Spiritual Festivals​—Ancient and Modern

JEHOVAH GOD, the Almighty, is our grand Creator. His works testify that he is a wise, just and loving Sovereign. He knows better than anyone else just what our needs are as humans and what will make us happy. Consistently, he not only made us with certain basic needs, wants and desires, but also arranged for the satisfying of these.​—Ps. 104:24; 145:16-18.

The earth teems with things that our Creator made available to us to satisfy our physical needs for food, clothing and shelter. God also lovingly provided for the satisfying of our emotional needs for beauty of sight and sound, for affection and friendships and for the joys and blessings that go with being members of a family.

In just the same way Jehovah God provided for the satisfying of our intellectual and spiritual thirsts: our faculty of reason, our hunger for knowledge and our instinct to worship. We want to know the purpose of our existence, where we came from and what our destiny is. Yes, we want to know to whom we are indebted for all life’s blessings and how we can best serve the purpose for which we were created and thus show our gratitude. To satisfy such basic needs Jehovah God has, from the beginning, communicated his will for us through chosen servants of his. In ancient times God particularly used the prophet Moses to make His purposes and will known to men.

Among the ways that Jehovah God lovingly provided for his ancient people to get to know him better and to enjoy other spiritual blessings was by instituting sabbaths and festivals. All these festivals testified to the loving concern that Jehovah God had for the well-being of his people, not only spiritually, but also in many other respects.

ANNUAL FESTIVALS AT JERUSALEM

As we look back on those times, we can see that particularly prominent and important were the three great annual festivals that were celebrated in Jerusalem, the center of Jehovah’s worship. These festivals are of special interest to us because of their prophetic significance. “Three times in the year every male of yours should appear before Jehovah your God in the place that he will choose.” (Deut. 16:16) We find that these festivals had a number of basic characteristics. They were to be occasions of great joy: “You must rejoice during your festival . . . and you must become nothing but joyful.” (Deut. 16:14, 15) There were also many sacrifices offered. An important requirement was that none were to appear empty-handed; each one brought a gift in proportion to his having been materially blessed by Jehovah. (Deut. 16:16, 17) And at one of these, every seven years, there was also the reading of the law of Moses.​—Deut. 31:10-13.

If we examine these festivals according to the calendar year, we find that the first of these was the festival of unfermented cakes. (Deut. 16:1-8) It immediately followed the Passover celebration and lasted for seven days. The unfermented or unleavened cakes, or loaves, reminded the Israelites that they had left Egyptian slavery in such haste that they did not have time to leaven the dough in their kneading troughs. (Ex. 12:33, 34) Calling attention to the prophetic significance of this feast, the apostle Paul wrote: “Christ our passover has been sacrificed. Consequently let us keep the festival, not with old leaven, neither with leaven of badness and wickedness, but with unfermented cakes of sincerity and truth.”​—1 Cor. 5:7, 8.

Next came the festival of weeks or of Pentecost. (Deut. 16:9-12) It was celebrated seven weeks after, or on the fiftieth day after Nisan 16. On it the firstfruits of the wheat harvest were offered. It lasted but one day and pictured the firstfruits of humankind, the 144,000 members of the spiritual body of Christ, that were bought from among mankind. (Jas. 1:18; Rev. 14:4) Most appropriately this congregation of spiritual Israel, as it is also called, got its start on the literal day of Pentecost.​—Acts 2:1; Gal. 6:15, 16; Rev. 7:4-8.

The final festival of the year was the “festival of booths.” (Deut. 16:13-15) It took place in the seventh month from the fifteenth to the twenty-first day, with a solemn assembly on the twenty-second day. It commemorated the fact that the Israelites dwelt in booths during their forty-year wilderness journey. This was also called the festival of ingathering, as it celebrated the final harvesting of all their crops. One of its characteristics was the waving of palm branches. This calls to our minds the vision the apostle John had of the ingathered “great crowd” waving palm branches and saying, “Salvation we owe to our God, who is seated on the throne, and to the Lamb.” (Rev. 7:9, 10) Today, Jesus Christ is gathering this “great crowd” of his “other sheep” so that eventually they may be united with his “little flock,” making just “one flock” under the one “fine shepherd.”​—Luke 12:32; John 10:14, 16.

OUR MODERN FESTIVALS

Christians today are not under the Law requiring such great annual festivals. Nevertheless, we find that Jehovah’s people in modern times do enjoy happy spiritual festivals, particularly since the 1880’s. Typical of such early conventions was the one held June 16-18, 1900, at St. George’s Hall, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. An announcement in the June 1, 1900, issue of Zion’s Watch Tower explained that hotel rooms could be obtained at a dollar a day and meals from fifteen cents and upward, also that these would be provided free to any who could not afford them. The July 1 issue reported that some 200 brothers had assembled on the opening date, that nineteen states and England were represented, that thirty-nine adults were baptized and that some 400 attended the public talk.

An outstanding assembly was that held at Cedar Point, Ohio, in 1919, shortly after the officers of the Watch Tower Society were released from unjust imprisonment. Their presence at this convention was great cause for joy, as also was the introduction of the Golden Age (now Awake!) magazine. In 1922 another convention was held at Cedar Point. Enthusiasm at that assembly reached its peak as Brother J. F. Rutherford gave the call, “Advertise! Advertise! Advertise the King and Kingdom!” This was also the first of seven annual conventions, corresponding to the trumpet blasts and the pouring out of the bowls as prophesied at Revelation 8:7 to 11:15; 16:1-17.

The convention in 1931 at Columbus, Ohio, gave God’s people even greater cause for rejoicing. How so? In that they here learned the reasons why they should from now on be identified, not simply as Bible Students, but as Jehovah’s Witnesses. (Isa. 43:10-12) Critics sneered: ‘The name won’t stick.’ But ‘stick’ it did! A few years later many thousands of the “other sheep” gathered at the 1935 Washington, D.C., assembly thrilled to learn that they belonged to the “great crowd” described at Revelation 7:9-17. The announcement in 1943 of the Theocratic School for congregations made the assemblies held that year​—in many places while under war restrictions—​a most happy occasion. And at the first Yankee Stadium, New York, convention in 1950, Jehovah’s people were delighted to receive a number of aids for their worship of Jehovah, most notable of which was the New World Translation of the Christian Greek Scriptures. Truly, all these conventions were milestones in the history of the modern witnesses of Jehovah, even as those held since then have been.

The greatest single convention of Jehovah’s people in modern times was the 1958 Divine Will International Assembly, eight days in length. It was held in New York at Yankee Stadium and nearby Polo Grounds. For the public lecture on Sunday, more than a quarter million persons attended. At the assemblies in 1961, the Witnesses were delighted to receive the New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures in one complete volume. At their 1968 assemblies they joyfully accepted their most useful Bible study aid to date, The Truth That Leads to Eternal Life. At the 1971 assemblies, Jehovah’s people embraced the arrangement whereby there would be no longer a congregation servant and his assistants. From now on each congregation would have men designated as elders or overseers to care for its spiritual interests. Many more dedicated Christian males could now ‘reach out for the office of overseer’! (1 Tim. 3:1-7; Titus 1:5-9) The assemblies in 1976 and 1977 revealed or introduced still more refinements in congregational structure as well as providing God’s people with further Bible study aids. Now Jehovah’s Witnesses are looking forward eagerly to the many 1978 international conventions.

BEGIN PREPARING FOR THE 1978-1979 INTERNATIONAL ASSEMBLIES!

In the years 1978 and 1979 there will be scores of such assemblies throughout the world. At these international assemblies, we can be confident that if it be Jehovah’s will that these assemblies be held, he will ‘open the floodgates of heaven’ and pour upon his people rich spiritual blessings. (Mal. 3:10) It will cost time, energy and means to go to the assemblies, but it certainly will prove to be worth it. In fact, the more effort, time and means we expend to attend one or more of the assemblies, the more inclined we will be to pay rapt attention to the program and the more we will be rewarded for coming. So begin planning, working, saving for these assemblies. There are rich spiritual blessings awaiting you.

At all the assemblies where the language of the country is other than English, some sessions will be presented in English for the benefit of overseas visitors. Please await further details that will be supplied to local congregations.

1978 INTERNATIONAL CONVENTIONS

UNITED STATES

Cincinnati, Ohio; Riverfront Stadium; June 21-25

Dallas [Irving], Texas (Spanish only); Texas Stadium; June 14-18 Detroit [Pontiac], Mich.; Silverdome; June 21-25

Houston, Tex.; Astrodome; July 12-16

Lakeland, Fla. (Spanish only); Lakeland Civic Center; June 21-25 Los Angeles, Cal.; Dodger Stadium (Two); June 28–July 2; July 12-16

Los Angeles, Cal. (Spanish only); Dodger Stadium; August 2-6 Milwaukee, Wis.; County Stadium (Two); June 28–July 2; 26-30

New Orleans, La.; Superdome (Two); June 14-18; 21-25

New York Metropolitan area (E. Rutherford, N.J.]; Giants Stadium; June 28–July 2

New York City [Queens]; Shea Stadium; July 12-16

New York Metropolitan area [Elmont, N.Y.] (Spanish only); Belmont Park Race Track; August 2-6

Philadelphia, Pa.; Veterans Stadium; June 28–July 2

Pittsburgh, Pa.; Three Rivers Stadium; July 26-30

St. Louis, Mo.; Busch Stadium; June 28–July 2

San Diego, Cal.; San Diego Stadium; July 14-18 (Fri.-Tue.)

San Francisco, Cal.; Candlestick Park; July 12-16

Seattle, Wash.; Kingdome; July 26-30

Washington, D.C.; RFK Memorial Stadium; June 14-18

(Almost all the above dates and places for conventions in the United States are tentative. But these are the locations that we are endeavoring to secure. At this time there is no need to rush into making arrangements for personal motel and hotel accommodations. We strongly advise that you await further information that will be provided before long. You will then have sufficient time to make arrangements that will be to your advantage.)

ALASKA

Anchorage; Romig Auditorium; July 5-16 (Two)

CANADA

Montreal (French, English, Italian, Greek, Portuguese, Spanish); Olympic Stadium; July 5-9 (tentative)

Winnipeg (English only); Winnipeg Stadium; July 12-16

Vancouver (English only); Empire Stadium; July 19-23

Edmonton (English only); Coliseum; August 23-27

MIDDLE AMERICA (Spanish)

Mexico; Mexico City; November 25-29

Guatemala; Guatemala City; December 6-10

CENTRAL AMERICA (Spanish)

Belize; Belize City (English); November 15-19

Honduras; San Pedro Sula; November 29–December 3

El Salvador; San Salvador; December 27-31

Nicaragua; Managua; December 30–January 3, 1979

Costa Rica; San Jose; January 3-7

Panama; Panama City; January 6-10

SOUTH AMERICA

Colombia; Cali; January 10-14, 1979

Peru; Lima; January 17-21, 1979

Venezuela; Caracas; December 27-31

CARIBBEAN ISLANDS

Barbados; Bridgetown (English); August 2-6

Guadeloupe; Pointe-à-Pitre; August 9-12 (French)

Antigua, Leeward Islands; St. Johns; August 23-27

Puerto Rico; San Juan (3 Spanish) August 16–September 3; (1 English) August 24-28

GREAT BRITAIN and IRELAND

Ireland; Dublin; July 12-16

England; Sheffield (Two); July 5-9; 12-16. London (Two); July 19-23; 26-30

Scotland; Edinburgh; July 26-30

NORTHERN EUROPE (Scandinavia)

Denmark; Copenhagen; July 5-9

Finland; Helsinki; July 12-16

Sweden; Stockholm; July 19-23

CENTRAL and WESTERN EUROPE

Netherlands; Rotterdam; July 12-16

Austria; Vienna; July 26-30

Belgium; Brussels; July 26-30

France; Marseilles, Lille, Nantes; July 26-30. Paris, Toulouse, Grenoble; August 2-6

Germany; Munich; July 26-30. Düsseldorf; July 29–August 2

SOUTHERN EUROPE

Portugal; Lisbon; August 2-13 (tentative)

Spain; Barcelona; August 2-6

Italy; Milan; August 2-6. Rome; August 9-13

ASIA​—ORIENT (North Pacific)

Japan; Osaka (Japanese); August 2-6

Korea; Seoul (Two) (Korean); August 4-8; 9-13

Hong Kong; North Point (Chinese); August 12-16

Taiwan; Taipei (Chinese); Not determined

Philippines; Manila (Local languages); August 22-26

HAWAII (In the Pacific)

Honolulu; Two assemblies; July 5-9; 12-16

SOUTH PACIFIC

Papua New Guinea; Port Moresby; August 31–Sept. 3

Solomon Islands; Honiara; September 7-10

Fiji; Ba (Fijian, English); November 28–December 3

New Zealand; Auckland (English); December 6-10

Australia; Perth (English); December 9-13. Sydney (English); December 11-15

New Caledonia; Nouméa (French); December 6-10

Tahiti; Papeete (French); December 13-17

AFRICA

Ivory Coast; Abidjan; December 13-17

Kenya; Nairobi; December 27-31

Annual Meeting October 1, 1977

The annual meeting of the members of Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania on October 1, 1977, will be held at Jehovah’s Witnesses Assembly Hall, Grantville, Pennsylvania, located approximately ten miles east of Harrisburg, on U.S. Route 22, one quarter mile west of the intersection of State Route 743 and U.S. Route 22. Through the Assembly Hall Committee, the brothers in the Grantville area invited the Society to hold its annual meeting at the Assembly Hall and the invitation has been gladly accepted. The meeting will be at 10:00 o’clock in the forenoon of Saturday, October 1, 1977.

It will be appreciated if the members of the corporation will now see to it that the Secretary’s Office has their present mailing addresses so that the regular letters of notice and proxies can reach them shortly after September 1.

The proxies, which will be sent to the members along with the notice of the annual meeting, are to be returned so as to reach the Office of the Secretary of the Society not later than September 15. As each member knows, he should complete and return his proxy promptly whether he is going to be at the meeting personally or not. The information given on each proxy should be definite on this point as it will be relied on in determining in advance those who will actually be personally present.

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