The Watchtower — February 1, 1979

Page Two

What can faith do toward making good citizens, breaking down social barriers, building pleasant relations with others, rearing well-behaved children? You may read the answers in these pages

Is Faith Old-Fashioned?

FOR MILLIONS, faith and the Bible go hand in hand. Obviously, they view this age-old book with respect, for it is a continual best seller now available, at least partly, in over 1,630 languages and dialects.

But the Bible has been available for centuries. And in many ways the plight of man is worse today than it has ever been. So you may wonder if faith based on the Bible has any value in modern times. Is it beneficial to apply the Bible in life? Has faith become old-fashioned?

LOOK AT THE FAMILY

“Only a battlefield or a riot are more violent than the American home.” So said a United Press International dispatch from Washington, D.C., as published in the Rocky Mountain News of Denver, Colorado. The statement was based on a nationwide survey of household violence as presented to a subcommittee of the House of Representatives. “Child abuse, wife and husband beating, sexual assault and sibling violence,” all were described by witnesses at hearings on family violence.

Do you believe that faith could prevent family violence? Could true faith result in a tranquil and happy home?

IS IT FOR THE YOUNG?

“Religion is dull and boring for young people,” wrote Dr. Cecil Northcott in The Daily Telegraph of October 18, 1977. What was the basis of that statement? An investigation of the beliefs of British young people, as published by the Anglican Board of Education. A hundred young persons between 13 and 24 years of age had been interviewed. Among them, 12- to 14-year-olds admitted that they had stopped going to church. Citing the published results of the survey, the newspaper stated:

“‘There is a very strong feeling that going to church simply isn’t a normal expected part of being a healthy, ordinary adolescent. Church-going is always seen as somebody else’s habit, even by those who have sometimes gone to church themselves,’ says the report.

“‘If one could choose just one summary word for our interviewers’ response it would be BORING with six underlined strokes.’”

Well, what do you think? Does faith have true meaning for the young?

FAITH IN ACTION

That faith can be truly meaningful in the family, and among young people, has been demonstrated many times in the experience of Jehovah’s Witnesses. Faith in God coupled with obedience to the fine principles of his Word, the Bible, has, not only solved problems of families and young people, but brought real joy and purpose into their lives. This has frequently attracted the notice of outside observers. For example, a newsman writing for Montreal-Matin, of Quebec, Canada, presented his impressions of Jehovah’s Witnesses in an article published during their “Victorious Faith” International Convention held in that city from July 5 to 9, 1978. His comments appeared the following day under the headline “Convention Attracts Young People.” This is what he said:

“What is a Jehovah’s Witness? I wondered about that all last weekend when I heard that their convention organizers succeeded in drawing 80,000 of them to the Olympic Stadium. To get a turnout like that in such hot weather is really an achievement! If it had been a baseball game, it might have been argued that, well, entertainment . . . But there was no entertainment about this convention which ended up drawing a lot more people than the charismatic convention.

“So, what is a Jehovah’s Witness? The old definition was easier to state: somebody who goes from door to door, Bible in hand, who’s often turned away, upon whom Duplessis had declared war and who is against blood transfusions.

“Yes, but all this was too simplistic. So I went over to see their Quebec spokesman, Léonce Crépeault. He’s a real down-to-earth man, refined and well educated, whom I’ve known for several years now. After an hour’s chat, he finally gave me the key to the puzzle.”

And what is that key? Under the subheading “Young People,” the writer went on to explain:

“I had just told him what I had seen after walking for two hours through the Olympic Stadium. First of all, I was amazed to see the high ratio of young people. How many religions in these godless times can boast of attracting youth? I was also surprised to see how orderly, clean and disciplined those people were, how they practice the virtues that our holy mother the Church would so much like to have us practice. And Mr. Crépeault . . . gave this definition, simple but how true, of his fellow believers: ‘A Witness is someone who reads the Bible but above all who applies it in all circumstances of his life.’”

This correspondent commented further: “Racial discrimination doesn’t seem to be part of them.” He also pointed to their way of life as coming “close to the American Way of Life as it was before the revolution in morals, which was the better side of the American Way of Life.” In summary he said:

“They are great when it comes to proselytizing, as everyone knows. But other things are typical of them too: they’re ‘straight’, firm in their beliefs and good citizens. Their women dress modestly (in the Catholic sense of the word) and with a certain good taste that takes current fashions into account; no shorts and very decent necklines. Even their kids don’t make too much noise!”

This writer’s expression is similar to others that have appeared in the press world wide during the “Victorious Faith” International Conventions of Jehovah’s Witnesses. Note how he links ‘firmness of belief’ with being “good citizens,” with modesty and with well-behaved children. Is faith that produces such fine fruits really old-fashioned, something out-of-date? To the contrary, it is right up-to-date with the needs of these critical times. It is indeed a victorious faith.

[Blurb on page 3]

“Church-going . . . BORING”

[Blurb on page 4]

“How many religions in these godless times can boast of attracting youth?”

Can Faith Benefit You?

IN ORDER to answer this question properly, we must first examine another question: What is genuine faith? Strange as it may seem, the common notion of “faith” is quite different from what the Bible teaches. A well-known dictionary veers far wide of the mark when it defines faith as “belief in the traditional doctrines of a religion” and “firm belief in something for which there is no proof.” How is this so?

In the first place, the traditional doctrines of a religion are not necessarily true doctrine. Jesus showed this when he spoke of the traditions of the scribes and Pharisees in these words: “Why is it you also overstep the commandment of God because of your tradition? . . . You hypocrites, Isaiah aptly prophesied about you, when he said, ‘This people honors me with their lips, yet their heart is far removed from me. It is in vain that they keep worshiping me, because they teach commands of men as doctrines.’” (Matt. 15:3-9) They were the leaders in a “faithless and twisted generation” that demonstrated its lack of faith by killing God’s promised Messiah, his “Chief Agent of life.”​—Matt. 17:17; Acts 2:40; 3:15.

Moreover, “firm belief in something for which there is no proof” is the very opposite of true faith. Of course, the dictionary may be referring to visible proof. But, where there is no proof at all, such belief is properly described as credulity. It flies in the face of the Bible definition of faith, as given at Hebrews 11:1: “Faith is the assured expectation of things hoped for, the evident demonstration of realities though not beheld.” Note that faith has to do with actualities, things that are assured and that are demonstrated as to their reality. Faith has the firmest of foundations, is based on an abundance of proof.

FOUNDATION FOR OUR FAITH

In another of his letters, the apostle Paul gives a strong reason for exercising faith. At Romans 1:20 he tells us that God’s “invisible qualities are clearly seen from the world’s creation onward, because they are perceived by the things made, even his eternal power and Godship.” These are the marvels that we see with our own eyes​—the starry heavens, the wonderfully balanced creation on earth, the beauties of “nature,” so called, wherein the love and wisdom of a master-architect are clearly apparent. The contemplation of these creations should help to build within us a faith such as that expressed in Psalm 104:24: “How many your works are, O Jehovah! All of them in wisdom you have made.” This is not a faith “for which there is no proof.”

However, our faith toward God does not stop with acknowledging his existence and appreciating the glories of his creation. It extends to our privilege of entering into a most blessed personal relationship with this God and Creator. If we will seek after him, then we may find him, “although, in fact, he is not far off from each one of us.” (Acts 17:24-27) Our finding and knowing God can bring a satisfaction and joy in life that is unsurpassed by any other human experience. Our pleasing him can bring the grandest of rewards. And this is possible through faith. As the apostle writes: “Moreover, without faith it is impossible to please him well, for he that approaches God must believe that he is and that he becomes the rewarder of those earnestly seeking him.”​—Heb. 11:6.

A FATHER WHO CARES

Our God and Creator is the kindest of all fathers. To the prophet Moses, he described himself as: “Jehovah, Jehovah, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abundant in loving-kindness and truth, preserving loving-kindness for thousands, pardoning error and transgression and sin, but by no means will he give exemption from punishment.” (Ex. 34:6, 7) Could we imagine that a God who personifies such high principles would fail in carrying out his promises toward his human creation here on earth? Never! Why, if an imperfect human father promises something to his children, he will assuredly follow through in making his promised gift a reality. How much more so the heavenly Father of mankind! As Jesus told his listeners in the course of his Sermon on the Mount: “If you, although being wicked, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more so will your Father who is in the heavens give good things to those asking him?” (Matt. 7:11) We can have implicit faith that all of God’s promises will come true in his good time and way.​—Josh. 23:14.

But what are those promises? They are not just onetime promises. Rather, God’s promises concerning the good that he will do to all mankind were repeated, repeated, repeated over a period of more than 4,000 years. They are not to be compared with the promises of politicians, who say that they will do one thing and finish up in doing something else. God’s promises are dependable. They are certain of execution, for they are given over his peerless name, Jehovah. And in the case of one of his grandest promises, he even sealed it with his oath. “God, when he purposed to demonstrate more abundantly to the heirs of the promise the unchangeableness of his counsel, stepped in with an oath.”​—Heb. 6:17.

FAITH IN GOD’S PROMISES

In the 11th chapter of Heb the Bible book of Hebrews, God’s promises are inseparably woven in with the theme of faith. The first man of faith in Bible history, Abel, evidently knew of God’s promise recorded at Genesis 3:15 concerning a “seed”​—an offspring which proved to be produced from among God’s angelic organization of the heavens—​that would bring to nought the works of “the original serpent, the one called Devil and Satan.” (Rev. 12:9) Abel offered a fatty sacrifice from the “firstlings of his flock,” appropriately pictorial of the sacrifice that the promised “seed,” “the Lamb of God,” would make some 4,000 years later, in order to redeem mankind from sin and death. Thus, “by faith Abel offered God a sacrifice of greater worth than Cain.”​—Gen. 4:4; John 1:29; Heb. 11:4.

Then, there was Enoch, who lived also in pre-Flood times. “By faith Enoch was transferred so as not to see death.” Not in failing to die, for in 1 Corinthians 15:22 Paul writes: “In Adam all are dying.” But God did not permit him to experience the pangs of death. Obviously, Enoch’s faith was based on knowledge of God’s promises, for he knew of the judgment that God’s angelic host would in due course execute in removing all wicked persons from this earth. Thus it was that Enoch prophesied: “Look! Jehovah came with his holy myriads, to execute judgment against all, and to convict all the ungodly concerning all their ungodly deeds that they did in an ungodly way, and concerning all the shocking things that ungodly sinners spoke against him.” (Heb. 11:5; Gen. 5:21-24; Jude 14, 15) Like Enoch, we today can exercise faith in God’s promise to rid the earth of all wickedness.

The real-life experience of still another man of faith underlines the certainty of God’s promise. That man was Noah, concerning whom it is written: “By faith Noah, after being given divine warning of things not yet beheld, showed godly fear and constructed an ark for the saving of his household; and through this faith he condemned the world, and he became an heir of the righteousness that is according to faith.” (Heb. 11:7) Likewise, those who today serve Jehovah God in faith stand as a living witness in condemnation of a wicked world. And their faith is well placed. For did not “the Son of man,” Jesus Christ, draw a comparison with the deluge in prophesying concerning the “conclusion of the system of things”? He said: “Concerning that day and hour nobody knows, neither the angels of the heavens nor the Son, but only the Father. For just as the days of Noah were, so the presence of the Son of man will be. For as they were in those days before the flood, eating and drinking, men marrying and women being given in marriage, until the day that Noah entered into the ark; and they took no note until the flood came and swept them all away, so the presence of the Son of man will be.” (Matt. 24:36-39) But does not our faith include more than expecting that today’s wicked “system of things” will be swept from the face of the earth? Certainly it does.

IDENTIFYING THE “SEED” OF PROMISE

The word “faith” first appears in the Bible in connection with Abraham, who lived 2,000 years after Abel. Abraham “put faith in Jehovah; and he proceeded to count it to him as righteousness.” (Gen. 15:6) Abel, Enoch and Noah had exercised faith in Jehovah’s promise of a “seed” that would execute judgment on God’s enemies, but to Abraham Jehovah gave an expanded promise. This was after Jehovah had tested Abraham as to his willingness to give his only-begotten son, Isaac, in sacrifice. God then said: “I shall surely bless you and I shall surely multiply your seed like the stars of the heavens and like the grains of sand that are on the seashore; and your seed will take possession of the gate of his enemies. And by means of your seed all nations of the earth will certainly bless themselves due to the fact that you have listened to my voice.”​—Gen. 22:1-18.

Thus, the blessing of all peoples of the earth must come through Abraham’s “seed.” And who is that “seed”? The apostle Paul answers: “Now the promises were spoken to Abraham and to his seed. . . . ‘And to your seed,’ who is Christ.”​—Gal. 3:16.

By what means, then, does Christ bring blessing to the people of all nations? It is through a governmental “city.” In faith, Abraham looked forward to that promised city: “He was awaiting the city having real foundations, the builder and maker of which city is God.” (Heb. 11:10) This is a heavenly city, in which “the Lamb,” Christ Jesus, is enthroned as king. And he has associates from among faithful humans, resurrected from the dead, who are to rule with him “as kings over the earth.” (Rev. 5:9-12) Remember, Abraham lived some 2,000 years before Christ Jesus appeared as the “seed” of promise, and yet his faith in that promise was immovable. Your faith, too, can become real​—firm like Abraham’s faith in God’s promise.​—Rom. 4:20-22.

FAITH DOES NOT DISAPPOINT

Down to this day, there have been on earth faithful footstep followers of Christ Jesus, and of these Jesus himself says: “I know your deeds, and your love and faith and ministry and endurance.” Because of their conquest by faith they receive a reward in the heavens. (Rev. 2:19, 26-28) Moreover, since the mid-1930’s, their faithful “deeds” in witnessing concerning Jehovah’s name and kingdom have resulted in the gathering of “a great crowd, which no man was able to number, out of all nations and tribes and peoples and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb [the principal one of the Seed of promise, Jesus Christ].” Because of their exercising faith in the redemptive power of “the blood of the Lamb,” they come out of the “great tribulation” upon the wicked, to render God “sacred service day and night.” He spreads his protective “tent” over them.​—Rev. 7:9, 14, 15.

Other grand benefits also become the happy portion of the “great crowd.” For it is written concerning these earthly servants of God: “They will hunger no more nor thirst anymore, neither will the sun beat down upon them nor any scorching heat, because the Lamb, who is in the midst of the throne, will shepherd them, and will guide them to fountains of waters of life. And God will wipe out every tear from their eyes.” (Rev. 7:16, 17) Because of their faith maintained up until and through the “great tribulation,” they will be provided for abundantly, both spiritually and physically. They will have been spared the “scorching heat” of the day of Jehovah’s anger. God’s own Son refreshes them and shepherds them into the endless blessings of paradise restored on earth! Their weeping because of religious ignorance and separation from the true God will be a thing of the distant past.

Toward the end of the Revelation the apostle John envisions a “new heaven” and “the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God.” Ah, here is a symbolic picture of the “bride” of Christ, which will be associated with the Lamb, Jesus Christ, in his heavenly kingdom! (Rev. 21:1, 2, 9) Under that Kingdom rule, the “great crowd,” together with the resurrected human dead, form a “new earth” society that enters into a close, intimate relationship with the loving heavenly Father. “He will reside with them, and they will be his peoples. And God himself will be with them.” And the apostle John again emphasizes the benefits to those who exercise faith: “[God] will wipe out every tear from their eyes, and death will be no more, neither will mourning nor outcry nor pain be anymore. The former things have passed away.” What blessings from the God who really cares!​—Rev. 21:3, 4; John 5:28, 29.

Do you have faith that these promises will become a reality? You should have that faith, for God himself declares from his throne in the heavens: “Look! I am making all things new.” To this he adds the words: “Write, because these words are faithful and true.” (Rev. 21:5) The promises of God are real! Through 6,000 years of human history men of faith have believed and acted on these promises. Such faith will benefit you too. As one of the apostles of the “Seed,” Christ Jesus, said of him: “None that rests his faith on him will be disappointed.”​—Rom. 10:11.

Fifty Years in “the Vineyard”​—A Way of Life

As told by Clifford Keoghan

THE hall to which we made our way that winter’s night in 1929 was cold and unheated. The bare floor and hard wooden chairs bespoke utility, not comfort. We were going to attend the midweek meeting of the Watch Tower people, or International Bible Students as they were then known. This proved to be a turning point in our lives. Edna and I had planned to be married in the spring and settle in Auckland. I had a job and we had selected a house and purchased some furniture.

Sometime earlier we had undergone water baptism to symbolize our consecration (dedication). As we now sat side by side we held in our hands the monthly Bulletin (now Our Kingdom Service) and there in bold type were the six thought-provoking words that would change our entire lives: “GO YE ALSO INTO THE VINEYARD.” We had already been sharing in the preaching work but this was something special. We agreed, Yes! We would go into “the vineyard.”

How had we come to be there that night? As a boy, reared on the goldfields of the Thames Valley in New Zealand, I was sent by God-fearing parents to the Bible Class at the Anglican Church. Not very much Bible was taught but a sports-minded vicar did teach us how to form rugby football scrums. I believed in God but my view was somewhat blurred by the teaching of the Trinity.

Later, my employment brought me in close contact with death. I was the driver of a horse-drawn hearse for the three funeral directors in the town and often, as a result of fatal mine accidents, I would see a young woman and her children deprived of their breadwinner, plunged into the depths of despair, their religion of little comfort to them. I began to seek the answer to this thing called “death.” The vicar’s answers did not satisfy. I read widely, Christian and non-Christian works​—still no answer to life’s problems.

Toward the end of 1927 I moved away from Tauranga, where my fiancée Edna was living, in order to further my trade as a butcher. Before I left, she and I had long discussions about the Bible and realized that neither of us knew much about it. After I left, Edna, thinking it a good opportunity to improve her knowledge, asked her mother for a Bible but instead was given a book and told it would be most helpful. She, in turn, sent the book to me. Incidentally, the day she posted it, her home was burned to the ground. But I had my book, The Harp of God. At last I had the answers I had searched for! And now here we were sitting at that meeting with an invitation in our hands, determined to accept and ‘pass through’ the opening “gates” to service in “the vineyard.”​—Isa. 62:10.

INTO “THE VINEYARD”

After our marriage we applied to the Strathfield, Australia, office of the Watch Tower Society for territory and were assigned a 400-mile-long (644-kilometer-long) section of the east coast of the North Island of New Zealand, an area of high hills and coastal plains, of large sheep stations (ranches), large and small Maori settlements, three provincial towns, two small congregations meeting in homes, and two isolated sisters; truly ‘the harvest was great’ and ‘the labourers few.’ (Matt. 9:37, New World Translation; Authorized Version) We set out with an eight-by-six-foot (2.4-by-1.8-meter) calico tent, a 1920 Buick tourer, several cartons of books, a few possessions and not much money, but with plenty of faith​—and this would prove to be our richest asset.

That summer of 1930 was long, hot and dry. The grass withered and died; sheep and cattle grew weak and thin as the drought crept down into once-fertile valleys; rivers fell to mere trickles. We carried two four-gallon tins of water on the running boards of the Buick and replenished it where we could. Was Jehovah’s watchcare over us? We had come to a small flow of water and decided that here we would make camp for the weekend, wash the clothes and replenish our water supply. I pitched the tent and was about to tip out the water from one container and get a fresh lot from the stream when for some reason I stopped, put it down and went on doing something else. Ten minutes later a Maori shepherd rode into our camp on horseback. He had seen us from the top of a ridge and had ridden down to tell us not to drink the water from the stream as it was badly polluted. I looked at the tin of water that I had not thrown away and said, “Thank you, Jehovah!”

We were traveling north toward East Cape, placing much literature with the Maori people and station owners, camping wherever we happened to be at sundown. We cooked and ate in the tent and slept in the car at nights. Both Maori and pakeha (white) people were kind to us. The great depression had not yet arrived up there. One experience taught me not to bypass anyone in the presentation of the truth. The day was hot and I was tired. The house was near the road but no one was around, though I could hear wood being sawed across a gully on a distant hillside. I thought of the comfort and shade of the car, started back toward it and had nearly arrived when the thought occurred to me, Why was I doing that? I had come miles to talk to people about God’s kingdom and here I was walking away like Jonah, going in the opposite direction. I turned and made my way across the swamp to where the man was working. He listened with interest to what I had to say and took every piece of literature in my bag, 15 books and 17 booklets!

A NIGHT WE REMEMBER

At the top of the Cape we spent one night that we have never forgotten. After driving along the beach front looking for a place suitable to camp, we settled on a grassy flat somewhat beyond a small Maori township. At the far end was a large rock-strewn mound; the whole area was a dried-up, stony riverbed, which made it difficult for me to drive in the tent pegs. A beautiful full moon had already risen from behind the hills as we ate our evening meal of boiled potatoes and kumera (a sweet root) for which we had traded some books during the day. Soon we had a visitor, a white man who owned property on the hill. He was genuinely concerned for our safety, even inquiring if we had anything with which to defend ourselves, and he was certain we would not sleep that night if we stayed there. We could camp anywhere on his land instead. No, we were not trespassing; it was common land, but it was not wise to stay there. We did not wish to be foolhardy, but we decided to stay put. Our well-wisher left, assuring us that he would leave a light burning in his house and that we were to come up there if we changed our minds.

We wondered what it was all about. The current Watch Tower was “Angels in Zion,” so we sat on the ground in our tent and read by candlelight how “the angel of the Lord encampeth round about them that fear him.” The night passed, the moon gave way to the morning sun, and all was well. During the day we made inquiries and were told that we had camped on an ancient Maori battlefield. The very spot on which we had pitched our tent had once been the scene of a frightful massacre and the locals believed that under the full moon the spirits of the dead warriors returned and fought the battle afresh. Our friend of the night before had lived so long among the Maoris that he believed as they did. He could not understand how we could possibly survive the night.​—Ps. 34:7, Authorized Version.

IN DANGERS FROM EARTHQUAKES

Summer turned to autumn. We came down the coast to the provincial town of Gisborne where there was a small congregation. The depression was now making itself felt. The congregation had little, but this they gladly shared with us. Came the next June and time for us to move farther into our allotted territory. Some months previously a major earthquake had devastated much of the area. The towns of Napier and Hastings were practically demolished. Literature placements were not so prolific now. Money was scarce, so we traded books for food and used what cash we had for petrol. The earthquakes continued, as many as eight or nine a day. At night we could hear them coming across the fields with a rumble not unlike a heavy truck passing.

I think that the weirdest sensation was being in a car during a violent shake. When the vehicle began to move, I would instinctively push the foot brake out but, of course, to no avail; the car simply moved with the land. Hence, when we camped one night near the Mohaka River, where, in the major quake, several acres of good pastureland had slipped into the river and been carried out to sea, we tied the car to a large tree while we slept in it. That night there was quite a shake, but we were safe.

MOMENTOUS EXPERIENCES

In Napier we had the kindly help of the Tareha family, a large Maori family active in the truth. They gave us the use of a small house and from there we set about covering the territory. We had many fine and encouraging experiences from door to door. While in this area we shared in two important events. One Sunday afternoon in October 1931 we met with the Tareha family to take on the new name “Jehovah’s Witnesses,” which had been adopted at the Columbus, Ohio, assembly earlier that year. How thrilled we were to have a definite identity! The next morning, full of zeal, I knocked on a door and proudly said: “Good morning. I am one of Jehovah’s Witnesses.” Reaction?​—A blank stare and response: “Who are they? Never heard of them.” How different today!​—a frequent response is: “You people are always here! Why do you come so often?”

The next important assignment was to serve the booklet The Kingdom, the Hope of the World on all clergymen, politicians and leaders in industry. Our instructions: Leave it with them whether they accept it or not. Napier and Hastings had a large quota of priests and I had a field day meeting them all. Some were tolerant; others flew into a rage. Twice I was manhandled by irate priests. One of these, a giant of a man, his face flushed with anger, grabbed me by the collar, dragged me several yards, threw me down the steps and threw the booklet after me. I picked up myself and the booklet, walked back, laid the booklet at his feet and said: “Do not trample on the Kingdom!” He almost choked himself in frustration. But notice had been served.

DURING THE GREAT DEPRESSION

With the birth of our first child approaching, we headed north to the home of my parents in Waihi. There was a small congregation there that met at the home of Fred Franks in Waikino. The Coromandel Peninsula was part of Waikino’s territory but it had not been worked, and Fred asked if I would do it. Gladly! With two new tires kindly donated by the congregation I was all set to tackle the rugged peninsula with its unformed roads. I left Edna behind in Waihi and set off in the car with a tent, and with a bicycle to reach places that the car could not manage, to visit shacks in the bush, isolated coastal farms and the like. As it was the custom of the dairy farmers to start in their milking sheds at 5 a.m., I would call on them in the sheds at 6 a.m., and one morning I had placed 26 books before 8 a.m. In the small township of Coromandel, I had placed a carton of books before 11 in the morning. In all this time the car, now 12 years old, had never given a moment’s mechanical trouble, although we nearly lost it once when attempting to cross a tidal river in flood.

The great economic depression was now on us. In the spring of 1932 Edna, our nine-month-old son David and I joined Arthur Rowe’s family and Mary Willis on a long trip to Wellington to attend an assembly. From the assembly two pioneer groups were organized, one for the North Island of New Zealand and the other for the South Island. Our group, the North Island one, was to operate from Palmerston North where a brother had given us the use of a fine home. We became a closely knit unit of eight pioneers working both town and country. Thus it was with mixed feelings that we received instructions from the Watch Tower Society’s Australian office to move the group to Auckland, as difficulties had arisen there with the “elective elder class,” causing divisions in the congregation. We were to establish a pioneer home and work with and strengthen the brothers who were staying loyal to God’s organization.

JEHOVAH PROVIDES

But how were we to move our essentials 375 miles (600 kilometers) to Auckland? Money for petrol for the two vehicles would itself pose a problem, as money was the least of our possessions. We disposed of everything but the barest necessities, giving us sufficient cash to pay railway freight and buy petrol to take us about one third of the way. If it was Jehovah’s will for us to go, we were confident that eventually we would arrive at Auckland. We planned to stop at Wanganui, a town of sufficient size for us to give a witness and, hopefully, place literature to get cash for petrol. We arranged for our mail to be readdressed to Wanganui. When I collected it there, one envelope contained just a piece of cardboard around which was a sheet of paper. But underneath the paper was a five-pound note. Five pounds! In the depression that was real money (in those days equivalent to $25). Tears filled our eyes. We had indeed ‘tasted and seen that the Lord is good,’ very good. (Ps. 34:8, AV) How happy we were that our refuge had been in Him! Thus, with petrol tanks at the full we came on to Auckland.

We rented a large house and settled in, working to build up the faithful brothers. Soon the congregation was doing well. Several who had at first followed the few unfaithful elective elders, and who were sincere but confused, joined again with the loyal ones.

It was during this time that we were stressing the sound-car work, playing Brother Rutherford’s recorded short talks on a transcription machine from the back seat of a car with a loudspeaker on the roof. Many expressed appreciation for the programs. In some Catholic areas, though, crowds would gather and vent their disapproval by trying to pull the speaker from the roof, but it was securely bolted on. They would then try to get the car doors open. Failing in this, they would start rocking the car. As we used to say, “Never a dull moment.”

WARTIME DIFFICULTIES

By now the depression was passing and before long the pioneer home was discontinued. Edna and I moved out into the Morrinsville area where there were no publishers but where I could work as a butcher. In time we had a congregation of 12 publishers. Then came World War II, and with it difficulties. There was no petrol to any extent for our cars. It meant back to the bicycle. An ordinary Sunday could mean riding 36 miles (58 kilometers) on the bike just to visit the brothers and conduct a Watchtower study with them.

With the war came also the ban on our work. Our organization was proscribed and meetings were at first prohibited. Even two Witnesses meeting on a street corner discussing house-to-house activity would constitute an illegal gathering. But restrictions were later relaxed.

CONTINUING PRIVILEGES

Came 1945 and time to make another change, this time back to Tauranga, where there was just one Witness. We shared her home at first until I could rent one. We had a son and a daughter to care for now and I obtained a position in a local butcher’s shop. Other brothers with their families moved in to join us and we were soon a small congregation. The congregation there continued to increase, and today there are three congregations in the same area, each with a fine Kingdom Hall.

In 1952 our family returned to Auckland. I was appointed city overseer and as such enjoyed many privileges. Following the visit of Brothers Knorr and Adams in 1956 I was given the task of arranging the purchase of the property at New North Road, on which the Society built a fine new building in connection with the transfer of the Watch Tower Society’s branch from Wellington to Auckland.

LOOKING BACK

Thus have the days in “the vineyard” passed into years, the years into decades​—working here, helping there, not missing meetings or assemblies, counting our blessings, of which there have been many, both large and small. The love and respect of the brothers have ever been an encouragement, something that is treasured.

Our children too have proved to be a blessing to us. Both pioneered for a time, and so have some of their children. My son and son-in-law are elders in Auckland congregations, and my eldest grandson is a ministerial servant. Now I have an infant great-grandson whom, Jehovah willing, I may yet see praising His name. For what more could a person ask? To have had such a relationship with Jehovah and Christ Jesus is a treasure no man can take away.

One thing the years have taught me is not to ‘despise the day of small things.’ (Zech. 4:10) I think of the meetings that we once held in the humble homes of the brothers and now see the softly carpeted, ever-expanding Kingdom Halls, and I think that indeed the prophecy of Isaiah 60:17 has become fulfilled for us. The “stones” have become “iron,” the “iron . . . silver” and the “copper . . . gold.” The promised “peace” has truly been ‘appointed our overseer.’ We also think of the many good companions, brothers and sisters, who shared the years with us. Many have gone now. Some went to new and greater assignments; others to rest in the grave in which we laid them with a sad “Good night,” to return on a brighter day to a welcoming “Good morning” in a paradise earth.

We know that the work in “the vineyard” is not yet completed. It has proved to be a way of life greatly desired. How better could one spend the years that Jehovah gives to us?

One thought predominates as I look at the past. It is the expression of the watchcare that Jehovah and his Son Jesus Christ have for all who take up Jesus’ yoke and follow him. It is as described at Psalm 37:25: “A young man I used to be, I have also grown old, and yet I have not seen anyone righteous left entirely, nor his offspring looking for bread.”

[Map/​Picture of Edna and Clifford Keoghan on page 12]

(For fully formatted text, see publication)

“Go Ye Also Into The Vineyard”

NEW ZEALAND

NORTH ISLAND

Auckland

Thames

Waihi

Morrinsville

Tauranga

Opotiki

Gisborne

Napier

Hastings

Wanganui

Dannevirke

Palmerston North

Wellington

Insight on the News

Doomsday​—Is It Coming?

● Writing in the New York “Times,” Malcolm W. Browne recently stated: “Interviews with astronomers, geophysicists, biologists and health experts disclose that they believe total human extinction is not necessarily as distant a possibility as many of us would choose to think.” The various “potential catastrophes” include a collision of the earth with large celestial objects, such as comets or asteroids, or a supernova (the outburst of a very massive star) considerably closer than 60 light-years from our globe. For instance, it is said that a nearby supernova explosion would vaporize the earth.

But does man really need to fear such a “doomsday”? A person might think so until he looked into matters more deeply​—by searching the sure Word of God, the Bible.

The Scriptures assure us that Jehovah God ‘did not create the earth simply for nothing, but formed it to be inhabited.’ (Isa. 45:18) For how long? Eternally, for we are told: “He [God] has founded the earth upon its established places; it will not be made to totter to time indefinite, or forever.” (Ps. 104:5) Moreover, words of Jesus Christ to an evildoer impaled alongside him clearly show that, far from being an imperiled planet, the earth will one day be a paradise home for mankind.​—Luke 23:43.

Is Suicide the Answer?

● A recent “United Press International” dispatch from Tokyo stated: “A businessman and his son anguished over millions in debts, strangled seven members of their family and set themselves on fire in a three-generation murder-suicide pact.” The man’s business had gone bankrupt with debts of about $2.6 million. In a note to the mayor of Yoshida, Shizuoka Province, it was said: “I apologize for causing you trouble. We nine, including my granddaughters, will kill ourselves because our business had failed.”

Many people are distressed, even anguished, over extreme debt, business failure or other problems in life. Some may feel disgraced because of certain unfavorable circumstances. But is a “murder-suicide pact” the answer?

Before a person undertakes any enterprise, he is urged in the Scriptures to consider the cost. Jesus Christ fittingly said: “Who of you that wants to build a tower does not first sit down and calculate the expense, to see if he has enough to complete it? Otherwise, he might lay its foundation but not be able to finish it, and all the onlookers might start to ridicule him, saying, ‘This man started to build but was not able to finish.’”​—Luke 14:28-30.

Following that principle may well prevent an individual from embarking on a venture that, from a business standpoint, is not sound. Of course, financial reverses may be experienced even when poor judgment is not involved. In any case of business failure, the debtor should do what he can to pay his creditors. (Rom. 13:8) But never, in these or other distressing circumstances, does the anguished or seemingly disgraced person have the right to take life​—either his own or that of others. Rather, God’s command is: “You must not murder.” (Ex. 20:13) Those words also preclude self-murder, or suicide.

Paying a High Price

● Dr. Paul J. Weisner, director of the Venereal Disease Division of the Center for Disease Control in the United States, has called gonorrhea “an unbelievable problem.” He has been quoted as saying: “We estimate that between 50,000 and 80,000 young girls and young women are made sterile by gonorrhea every year. It really robs young women of their future motherhood.” At times, this venereal disease also causes male infertility.

Many people believe that they have a right to sexual freedom and need not be concerned about any moral restraints. But in the long run and in keeping with a Biblical principle, ‘they reap what they sow.’ They often pay a very high price for promiscuity, sometimes by contracting a debilitating venereal disease. As the Christian apostle Paul said: ‘They receive in themselves the full recompense, which is due for their error.’ (Rom. 1:26, 27; Gal. 6:7, 8) How much wiser it is to shun loose conduct!

World Conquerors by Faith

“This is the conquest that has conquered the world, our faith.”​—1 John 5:4.

1, 2. (a) What has been the common experience of would-be world conquerors? (b) how has one world conqueror differed from these? (c) Why is the conquest by this One and his followers beyond compare?

HISTORY tells of many would-be world conquerors. But, finally, all of these had to bow in defeat. Mighty Pharaoh of Egypt, boastful Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon, Alexander the Great, the Caesars of Rome, Napoleon, Hitler​—their glory was indeed short-lived! However, there is one world conqueror whose glory will never fade. He boasted of no armed hordes of warriors, no great armadas of ships. Yet his conquest has been complete, and for the eternal good of those who acknowledge his kingship.

² Many stumbled over this powerful conqueror, for they thought him to be nothing more than a humble carpenter’s son. His own countrymen despised him. When the Roman imperial power killed him, his few followers were scattered. Yet this man​—Jesus Christ—​is beyond compare as a world conqueror. On the eve of his execution he could tell his disciples: “Take courage! I have conquered the world.” (John 16:33; Mark 6:3; Isa. 53:3) Moreover, he said that they, too, would conquer the world. But how? As one of his beloved followers later put it: “This is the conquest that has conquered the world, our faith.”​—1 John 5:4.

THE CONQUEST BY FAITH

3. What is this faith that conquers?

³ What kind of conquest is this conquest by faith? Well, to have faith means to be so thoroughly convinced concerning things unseen or things of the future that these become a reality to the believer. True Christian faith, far different from credulity built on shifting sands of emotion or superstition, is built on the sure foundation of Jesus Christ. Like ‘gold, silver and precious stones,’ it is incombustible. (1 Cor. 3:11-14) It is convinced of the existence of the one living God Jehovah and that he will vindicate his position as Sovereign Lord of the universe. This faith is anchored in the promises of the God “who cannot lie.” It looks intently to Jesus as its Perfecter and as God’s Chief Agent for fulfilling all of His grand purposes in connection with his kingdom.​—Titus 1:2; Heb. 11:1, 6; 12:2.

4. When and how may we conquer by faith?

⁴ As long as we hold unflinchingly to this faith, we may say that we have conquered the world. No, we do not have to wait until Har–Magedon to make that conquest. We launch out on world conquest when we turn around from following the ways of the world and, on the basis of our faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, dedicate our lives to Jehovah and receive water baptism. Thus we make a conquest by faith. It is, however, a conquest that we must maintain ‘through thick and thin,’ out of appreciation for the love shown to us by Jehovah and his Son.

5. (a) How may we be “more than conquerors”? (b) What conviction is an essential part of our faith?

⁵ Speaking for all such conquerors, the apostle Paul declares: “Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or anguish, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? . . . in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us.” Then, expressing our unwavering conviction of Jehovah’s inseparable love for us, which is so essential a part of our faith, he says: “For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other [creation], shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”​—Rom. 8:35, 37-39, American Standard Version.

THE EXEMPLARY CONQUEROR

6. On what was Jesus’ conquest based?

⁶ Jesus himself illustrated, while here on earth, how we may complete this conquest by faith. He knew God’s Word. He found delight in that Word, and became skilled in using it as “the sword of the spirit.” (Eph. 6:17) Under temptation by Satan in the wilderness, he three times turned back the adversary, saying, “It is written.” His conquest was based on adherence to the Word of God. So must ours be.​—Matt. 4:3-11.

7. How did Jesus launch out on his campaign of conquest?

⁷ As John the Baptizer’s work came to a close, Jesus launched out on his major campaign of conquest. “From that time on Jesus commenced preaching and saying: ‘Repent, you people, for the kingdom of the heavens has drawn near.’” (Matt. 4:17) An electrifying message this! God’s kingdom was indeed at hand, in the person of the anointed Jesus himself. Throughout Galilee, in the Roman province of Perea and on into Jerusalem itself, Jesus preached the glad tidings as world conqueror and Messiah. Thousands listened. Many became his followers. But the ruling class, and especially the religious leaders, became his bitter opponents.

8. What shows that Jesus never faltered in his conquest?

⁸ Jesus did not waver in his integrity, for he knew that he must be a conqueror down to the end. When finally he faced death on a torture stake and the Roman governor questioned him with regard to his kingship, he could reply: “You yourself are saying that I am a king. For this I have been born, and for this I have come into the world, that I should bear witness to the truth. Everyone that is on the side of the truth listens to my voice.” (John 18:37) Faithfully, he continued to bear witness to Kingdom truth. To the last he never faltered in making known his Father’s name, and he sanctified that precious name in the face of every reproach Satan could hurl against it. Thus, as world conqueror, Jesus could exclaim with his dying breath: “It [God’s work for him on earth] has been accomplished!”​—John 19:30; 17:6, 20.

FAITH THAT MOVES MOUNTAINS

9. What kind of faith could Jesus’ disciples have, and how was this their experience?

⁹ Jesus told his disciples: “Truly I say to you, If you have faith the size of a mustard grain, you will say to this mountain, ‘Transfer from here to there,’ and it will transfer, and nothing will be impossible for you.” (Matt. 17:20) Would this be the experience of his disciples? Why, yes! And especially from the day of Pentecost in 33 C.E. For it was then, the 50th day from Jesus’ resurrection to spirit life, that a miracle occurred among about 120 of his disciples who were assembled in a house in Jerusalem. Jehovah’s spirit was poured out on them, empowering them to speak in many tongues about “the magnificent things of God.”​—Acts 2:1-11.

10, 11. (a) How did Jesus’ disciples start to share in his conquest? (b) Why was theirs an all-conquering faith?

¹⁰ The spirit also empowered Peter to explain from God’s Word what all of this meant. Jesus’ conquest had been rewarded by his being exalted to the right hand of God in heaven. Now it was their privilege to share in his conquest. This they started to do by bearing thorough witness to the multi-tongued crowd that had come together, exhorting them to repent, be baptized and embrace the grand Kingdom promises held out to them through the Word of God. “On that day about three thousand souls were added,” and these continued to be made strong in faith through daily instruction provided at the spacious temple area, as well as in private homes.​—Acts 2:14-47.

¹¹ Were the religious leaders pleased at this manifestation of faith? On the contrary! They arrested Peter and John, and demanded that they stop preaching and teaching in the name of Jesus. Back came the faith-filled reply of those apostles: “Whether it is righteous in the sight of God to listen to you rather than to God, judge for yourselves. But as for us, we cannot stop speaking about the things we have seen and heard.” They would permit nothing to stand in the way of their all-conquering faith. When they were released they continued giving forth the witness with great power!​—Acts 4:18-21, 33.

12. (a) What angelic support sustained the disciples’ conquest? (b) Their having holy spirit was dependent on what?

¹² Filled with jealousy, the high priest and his henchmen now had all the apostles thrown into prison. This called for divine action. During the night the angel of Jehovah brought them out again and told them to “keep on speaking to the people all the sayings about this life.” When day dawned, there they were again, teaching in the temple area! Once more they were arrested and taken into the hall of the Sanhedrin, where the high priest declared: “We positively ordered you not to keep teaching upon the basis of [Jesus’] name, and yet, look! you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching.” The answer of those apostles rang out courageously: “We must obey God as ruler rather than men. . . . We are witnesses of these matters, and so is the holy spirit, which God has given to those obeying him as ruler.” (Acts 5:17-32) Yes, their having holy spirit was dependent on their continuing to witness zealously concerning Jehovah’s Sovereignty!

13. In those early days of Christianity, how did victorious faith win out?

¹³ Those religious leaders wanted to do away with the apostles, but the Giver of holy spirit guided the course of events otherwise. The respected Law teacher Gamaliel spoke up in these words: “Do not meddle with these men, but let them alone; (because, if this scheme or this work is from men, it will be overthrown; but if it is from God, you will not be able to overthrow them;) otherwise, you may perhaps be found fighters actually against God.” So they simply flogged the apostles, told them to stop preaching and let them go. Was victorious faith winning out? Certainly it was, for the record goes on to say: “And every day in the temple and from house to house they continued without letup teaching and declaring the good news about the Christ, Jesus.”​—Acts 5:33-42.

THE CONTINUING CONQUEST BY FAITH

14. Despite persecution, how was Jesus’ prophecy at Acts 1:8 fulfilled?

¹⁴ There was no stopping of that thorough witness. It must be given to the extent that Jesus himself had prophesied​—“in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria and to the most distant part of the earth.” (Acts 1:8) Persecution served only to extend the witness, for “those who had been scattered went through the land declaring the good news of the word.” (Acts 8:1, 4) Soon the persecutor Saul became the apostle Paul, and the first Gentiles received the gift of the holy spirit. The good news spread like wildfire into more and more new territories. As Paul and his companions entered Europe, opposers there cried out: “These men that have overturned the inhabited earth are present here also.” (Acts 17:6) Thus, with the passage of about 30 years of Kingdom witnessing, the good news came to be “preached in all creation that is under heaven.”​—Col. 1:23.

15. What help and encouragement was given to those who wavered in their faith?

¹⁵ However, as the end of the Jewish system of things approached, it appears that some of those Christians began to grow weary. They let down their spiritual guard and began to waver in their conquest by faith. But they were not without help. Faithful elders in the Christian congregation gave them needed encouragement. One of these, the apostle Paul, continually exhorted them to endure in faith. He encouraged them to make their Christian hope “an anchor for the soul, both sure and firm.” (Heb. 6:19) He declared: “We are not the sort that shrink back to destruction, but the sort that have faith to the preserving alive of the soul.” (Heb. 10:39) At all costs they must complete their Christian conquest! Those who held fast to their faith survived when the Jewish “system of things” perished in 70 C.E.

FURTHER TRIALS OF FAITH

16. (a) For how long did the apostle John endure in his conquest by faith? (b) Of what did he warn?

¹⁶ However, further trials of faith were in store for loyal Christians. John, whose service as an apostle of Jesus Christ extended over some 68 years, tells of these. In two of his letters, John warns of the “antichrist” that appears in the “last hour,” and identifies him as “the one that denies the Father and the Son.” Then John ties this “antichrist” in with the “many false prophets [that] have gone forth into the world.” (1 John 2:18, 22; 4:1-3) That antichrist no doubt disputed the urgency of the “good news” and tried to turn Christians to the materialistic, pleasure-seeking ways of the world.

17. How and why must Christians persevere in their conquest?

¹⁷ Integrity-keeping Christians had “conquered the wicked one,” but now, even at a late date, their faith was endangered from another direction. The apostle wrote them in plain terms: “Do not be loving either the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him; because everything in the world​—the desire of the flesh and the desire of the eyes and the showy display of one’s means of life—​does not originate with the Father, but originates with the world. Furthermore, the world is passing away and so is its desire, but he that does the will of God remains forever.” (1 John 2:13, 15-17) Truly, it has never been the will of God for Christians to get mixed up in the immoral, materialistic ways of Satan’s world. Rather, they must persevere in conquering by faith.

18. How do we accomplish our conquest by faith?

¹⁸ In this same letter, John describes the tie that binds all Christians world wide into an indivisible unity, saying: “Whoever makes the confession that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, God remains in union with such one and he in union with God. And we ourselves have come to know and have believed the love that God has in our case. God is love, and he that remains in love remains in union with God and God remains in union with him.” (1 John 4:15, 16) What a grand privilege to be united with the supreme Sovereign of all the universe through his Son Jesus Christ, the One whose blood “cleanses us from all sin”! (1 John 1:7) Therein lies our conquest by faith: To keep on loving God and Christ, being co-workers with them in the worldwide harvest work that is now drawing rapidly to its close.​—1 Cor. 3:9.

19. What identifies world conquerors by faith?

¹⁹ John goes on to say: “This is what the love of God means, that we observe his commandments.” (1 John 5:3) In this connection Jesus told his followers: “I am giving you a new commandment, that you love one another; just as I have loved you, that you also love one another.” (John 13:34) How truly that did become an identifying mark of Christians in John’s day, and what a marvelous identifying mark it is in our day! For never since the first century has there been on earth a people just like Jehovah’s Christian witnesses​—united in a bond of love that surmounts all barriers of language, tribe and race.

20. At this world’s end, how may you show yourself to be a world conqueror?

²⁰ Also, at the end of this system of things, there is the command conveyed in Jesus’ prophecy that “this good news of the kingdom will be preached in all the inhabited earth for a witness to all the nations; and then the end will come.” (Matt. 24:14) This grand witness, now reaching its climax on an earth-wide scale, has served to identify those who have conquered the world. Concerning all such integrity-keeping servants of God, the apostle writes: “And this is the conquest that has conquered the world, our faith. Who is the one that conquers the world but he who has faith that Jesus is the Son of God?” This faith in Jesus as the Son of God may be demonstrated down to this day by actively obeying Jesus’ postresurrection command to his followers: “Go therefore and make disciples of people of all the nations.” (1 John 5:4, 5; Matt. 28:19) Are you thus showing yourself to be a world conqueror?

Faith in God’s Son​—How Should It Affect You?

“Behave in a manner worthy of the good news about the Christ, . . . standing firm in one spirit, with one soul striving side by side for the faith of the good news.”​—Phil. 1:27.

1. (a) What work now nears its climax? (b) What testifies that faith is really to be found on earth today?

FULFILLED prophecy indicates that we are deep into the time of the “conclusion of the system of things.” (Matt. 28:20) It is now over 64 years since the “Son of man,” Jesus Christ, arrived with all the angels to “sit down on his glorious [heavenly] throne.” The judgment and separating of the people into faithful “sheep” and faithless “goats” is nearing its climax. (Matt. 25:31-33) So we ask, Has the “Son of man” really found faith in the earth? The gathering of the international congregation of Jehovah’s Witnesses​—more than two million strong—​clearly testifies that he has.

2. Why are assemblies of God’s people properly describe as “out of this world”?

² News media have described assemblies of Jehovah’s Witnesses as “out of this world.” And something exceptional they should be! For God’s people are striving for excellence. In fact, this vast congregation is journeying from the present imperfect world to a glorious “new order” where sickness, death and sorrow will be no more. Jehovah’s Word assures us of this! (Rev. 21:1-4) In order to attain that goal, we need to hold firmly to our conquest by faith. How do we do this?

WORLD JUDGMENT BEGINS

3. What changes took place from 1914, signifying what?

³ When the “conclusion of the system of things” began in the year 1914, tremendous changes started to take place on this earth. It was just as Jesus himself had said​—international wars, earthquakes, pestilences, famines, increasing of lawlessness and loss of love. (Matt. 24:3-12; Luke 21:10, 11) A time of world judgment had begun.

4, 5. (a) How have Christendom’s religions shown lack of faith? (b) How do these contrast with Jehovah’s Witnesses as to relationship with the world? (c) How is our invincible faith displayed?

⁴ How would the religions of Christendom respond to the situation? Would they show themselves to be conquerors by faith? Far from it! Instead of accepting the “sign” that God’s kingdom is at hand, the clergy of Christendom gave their support to the dying “system of things.” As world war engulfed Europe, the churches on both sides exhorted Christian to slaughter Christian, thus taking on a terrible bloodguilt. And as the war ended, Christendom’s religions opted, not for the now-reigning King, Jesus Christ, but for a man-made political body that they blasphemously labeled the “political expression of the Kingdom of God on earth.” This was the League of Nations, brought forth in 1919 for the announced purpose of safeguarding world peace and security. The Bible book of Revelation describes it as “a scarlet-colored wild beast . . . full of blasphemous names.”​—Rev. 17:3.

⁵ The churches of Christendom, in their support of total warfare, and then of this man-made makeshift, have clearly shown where they stand​—as a part of this world. On the other hand, Jehovah’s Witnesses, in taking a neutral stand toward international violence and toward politics, have shown unequivocally that they are “no part of the world.” (John 15:19) Our faith rests not in the fleshly arm or in war machines of mortal men. But our invincible faith acknowledges “God as ruler rather than men.” And because we “obey God as ruler” in witnessing concerning his Kingdom purposes, we show that we have God’s spirit. (Acts 5:29-32) Thus we have been energized to do the works that Jesus spoke of: “He that exercises faith in me, that one also will do the works that I do; and he will do works greater than these”​—in preaching the established kingdom earth wide.​—John 14:12.

6. How has holy spirit been in evidence since 1919?

⁶ This holy spirit of Jehovah was very much in evidence at the international assemblies of Jehovah’s Witnesses held at Cedar Point, Ohio, U.S.A., in 1919 and 1922. It strengthened the faith of the small remnant of anointed Christians and energized them to answer the call: “Advertise, advertise, advertise, the King and his kingdom.” Vigorously they proceeded to proclaim the “good news” far and wide. By the time of the outbreak of the violent second world war, their numbers had grown from some thousands to more than 67,000, preaching in different lands of the earth.

FAITH CONQUERS PERSECUTIONS

7. What examples show that faith is triumphant over persecutions?

⁷ This expansion was not accomplished without severe persecutions. For example, because Jehovah’s integrity-keeping witnesses refused to worship the Nazi state, they were hunted down and herded into filthy concentration camps. Also, 635 of them died in prison. But their faith could not be broken. One observer described the individual Witness as “a fortress which can be destroyed but never taken.” As an eyewitness commented concerning his own brother, brutally shot by Nazi SS guards in a public execution: “Everyone was impressed by his calmness and composure, like someone who had already won the battle.”

8. (a) During trialsome World War II years, how did Christian faith prosper? (b) But what did religious leaders bless and extol?

⁸ As already stated, Jehovah’s Witnesses entered the difficult years of the second world war numbering some 67,000, but they emerged from the conflict more than 141,000 strong. Bans, imprisonments and other trials of integrity had not caused them to flinch in their faith. The religions of Christendom, however, gave their blessing to the persecution and slaughter. And even though the “scarlet-colored wild beast” had failed them as the League of Nations, religious leaders were quick to hail it again when it emerged as the United Nations. They pinned their hopes on it. (Rev. 17:3-8) At the time of his visit to U.N. headquarters in New York in 1965, the late Pope Paul VI extolled this body as “that greatest of all international organizations” and “the last hope of concord and peace.”

THE CONTINUING CONQUEST BY FAITH

9. (a) What timely information did Jehovah’s Witnesses make known in 1942? (b) How did God’s people then press on in their conquest?

⁹ When the United Nations was first suggested by the allied nations in 1942, Jehovah’s Witnesses made known, at their international convention of that year, that this would be simply a reviving of the League. They showed from God’s Word that the U.N. must finally go away into destruction, together with all other political organizations, in the final conflict at Har–Magedon. Surrounded by evidences of “the time of the end,” Jehovah’s people pressed on in their conquest by faith. (Dan. 11:35) The Watchtower Bible School of Gilead was organized in 1943, and missionaries were sent forth to the very ends of the earth. With what result? Whereas in 1945 there were 141,606 Kingdom proclaimers active in 66 lands, in 1978 there were 2,182,341 reporting service in 205 lands. The conquest by faith has been very plain to see, and especially in the 40-and-more countries where Jehovah’s Witnesses are now serving under ban or other restriction.

10. How has the tested quality of faith been displayed in Malawi and other countries under restrictions?

¹⁰ Notable among countries where the trial of faith has been hard is the small African nation of Malawi. Up until 1962, Jehovah’s Witnesses enjoyed rapid growth in that land. But, then, in 1964, violent persecution broke out. Because Jehovah’s Witnesses would not worship the Malawi segment of the ‘wild beast out of the sea’ (Rev. 13:1, 4) by buying political party membership cards, they were hounded from their homes, many being raped and killed. Finally, most of them were driven from their homeland. But the tested quality of their faith, proved as though by fire, has been a cause of rejoicing, not alone to themselves but to their Christian brothers throughout the earth. (1 Pet. 1:7) In all the lands where Jehovah’s Witnesses are compelled to serve underground, the same sterling quality of faith is to be observed. All of these Witnesses, and there are more than 200,000 of them in such lands, are succeeding marvelously in their conquest by faith.

11. What shows that we must endure in our conquest by faith?

¹¹ However, what of Jehovah’s Witnesses in countries where the going is easier, where we do not have to live in constant danger of arrest, imprisonment or loss of life? Sad to say, some of these places have not been doing so well. These include many prosperous lands, where enticements to pleasure and immorality abound. But none should ever lose sight of this fact: We must endure in our conquest by faith until we are released from this wicked system of things, whether that be through death or by surviving the “great tribulation.”

12. What words of Jesus’ prophecy should have our urgent attention today, and why?

¹² How urgent it is that all have this clear appreciation! The evidence is plain on every side that the world is tottering on the brink of destruction. The “last days” have almost run their course. Hence, the closing words of Jesus’ prophecy on the conclusion of the system of things should ring out in startling clarity to all of Jehovah’s people today: “Pay attention to yourselves that your hearts never become weighed down with overeating and heavy drinking and anxieties of life, and suddenly that day be instantly upon you as a snare. For 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 21:34-36.

THE “APPOINTED TIME” DRAWS NEAR

13. Why is it imperative that we keep in expectation of Jehovah’s judgment?’

¹³ Though the “great tribulation” may not have come as soon as many of us had expected, that is no reason for discouragement. God does not change. (Mal. 3:6) Nor have his grand purposes changed. Jehovah says concerning the “good news”: “So my word that goes forth from my mouth will prove to be. It will not return to me without results, but it will certainly do that in which I have delighted, and it will have certain success in that for which I have sent it.” (Isa. 55:11) The time for God to execute judgment has not shifted. It draws closer with each day. So let us remember the words of Isaiah 30:18: “Jehovah is a God of judgment. Happy are all those keeping in expectation of him.”

14. (a) Our holding to what confidence will enable us at last to make Joshua’s words our very own? (b) What encouragement may we find in Habakkuk’s prophecy?

¹⁴ It is not our dependence on some time period, but our wholehearted confidence in Jehovah as the God who “cannot lie,” that enables us to gain the victory of faith. (Titus 1:2) This confidence will at last bring us to the point where, like Joshua of old, we will be able to say to our companions in this conquest of faith: “You well know with all your hearts and with all your souls that not one word out of all the good words that Jehovah your God has spoken to you has failed. They have all come true for you. Not one word of them has failed.” (Josh. 23:12; 21:45) We can have complete confidence in Habakkuk’s words that “the vision is yet for the appointed time, and it keeps panting on to the end.” May we keep panting along with that vision until our conquest is complete! The prophecy assures us: “It will not tell a lie. Even if it should delay, keep in expectation of it; for it will without fail come true. It will not be late.”​—Hab. 2:3.

“JEHOVAH IS NOT SLOW”

15. (a) Why can it be said that “Jehovah is not slow”? (b) How does his day finally come?

¹⁵ Nineteen hundred years have passed since the days of the apostles. But in God’s sight this is less than two days. It is even as the apostle Peter put it: “Let this one fact not be escaping your notice, beloved ones, that one day is with Jehovah as a thousand years and a thousand years as one day. Jehovah is not slow respecting his promise, as some people consider slowness, but he is patient with you because he does not desire any to be destroyed but desires all to attain to repentance. Yet Jehovah’s day will come as a thief.”​—2 Pet. 3:8-10.

16. Why has Jehovah’s day not yet arrived, and so how should we react to the situation?

¹⁶ So, what if Jehovah’s day is scheduled for a few more ticks of his time clock? Are we not glad that this has enabled some hundreds of thousands more of his “sheep” to be gathered? While that clock keeps on ticking away, tens of thousands of former Catholics in southern European countries are flocking to the Kingdom, hundreds in isolated islands of the sea are abandoning their idolatry and thousands of Asians are breaking free from Oriental superstitions to embrace the “good news.” The reason that Jehovah’s thieflike day has not yet arrived is that he still has work for us to do in gathering the “other sheep.” Jehovah is not slow. Let us not be slow in seizing every opportunity to share fully in His work.

17. (a) What timely counsel does Peter give for this day? (b) What distinguishes Jehovah’s people, and how do they show forth their faith?

¹⁷ The apostle Peter counsels: “The end of all things has drawn close. Be sound in mind, therefore, and be vigilant with a view to prayers. Above all things, have intense love for one another.” (1 Pet. 4:7, 8) As this wicked “system of things” closes in for its last-ditch effort to destroy God’s people, we truly need to remain unruffled, awake and prayerful, confident in our conquest by faith. We need to be united in that intense love, which is so much a distinguishing mark of Jehovah’s own people throughout the earth. Where, in all human history, has there been a people like Jehovah’s Witnesses today? This is the only brotherhood that has penetrated into the remote corners of the inhabited earth. What force, other than Jehovah’s spirit, could have united two million “out of all nations and tribes and peoples and tongues” into so marvelous a unity of belief, purpose and activity? Together, we have won the conquest by faith, and together we show forth that faith by witnessing to Jehovah’s kingdom by his Son.​—Rev. 7:9.

AS THE END APPROACHES

18, 19. (a) In the apostles’ day, how did events develop in fulfillment of Bible prophecy? (b) What sad mistake might some have made?

¹⁸ Jehovah’s people today are like those faithful Christians who eagerly awaited the initial fulfillment of the “sign” back in Jerusalem of the apostles’ day. They watched for the coming of the “disgusting thing” that would stand in the “holy place.” At last, it happened. The Roman army attacked and penetrated as far as to the western wall of the temple area. What must the Christians now do? Jesus had said: “Begin fleeing to the mountains.” When that army unexpectedly withdrew, those Christians seized the opportunity. Flee they did. Into the mountains of Perea they went. But were they now saved? Was their conquest by faith complete? No, not yet.​—Matt. 24:15, 16.

¹⁹ Eagerly those Christians awaited the next development​—Jehovah’s execution of judgment on Jerusalem. They waited one year. Nothing happened. Two years, and nothing happened. Three years, and still nothing happened. Some of those Christians may have wearied of waiting. They may have said, ‘Let us go back to the city and get involved in business and the easy way of life.’ What a sad mistake that would have been!

20. How did faith then work for salvation?

²⁰ For suddenly, in the fourth year, the Roman armies returned. The city and its temple were utterly destroyed, not even one stone remaining upon another. It was exactly as Jesus had prophesied. (Luke 19:41-44; 21:20-24) But God’s people outside Judea had kept active and awake. They had waited on Jehovah. Their faith had worked for their salvation.

21. What notable fulfillment of Bible prophecy took place from 1945?

²¹ Today, we are in a similar situation. Christendom is the modern-day equivalent of the ancient unfaithful city of Jerusalem. The “disgusting thing” of Jesus’ prophecy is clearly identified by Scripture as the United Nations organization today. It is the same as the “scarlet-colored wild beast” of Revelation chapter 17. When that “beast” came up out of the abyss in 1945, the world empire of false religion, “Babylon the Great,” of which Christendom is the principal part, was able to ride it and exercise some control.

22. What changed situation is now seen in the U.N., signifying what?

²² However, today it is different. Nations that regard religion as “the opium of the people” are gaining great power in the U.N. They stand as a real threat to the realm of operation of Christendom’s religions, and, indeed, of all religion. Very soon we can expect to see the “ten horns” of the “wild beast” turn against world religion, devastating even the religious realm of Christendom. The “great tribulation” will then have started, and it will move quickly to its climax at Har–Magedon.​—Rev. 17:12-18; 19:19-21.

23. (a) In view of the critical situation on earth, what must we now do? (b) How may you succeed as a world conqueror by faith?

²³ Seeing this critical situation in the earth, what must Jehovah’s Witnesses do? We must make sure that our flight to the protective “mountain” of God’s kingdom is complete. We must be unwavering in pursuing the conquest by our faith. We must be determined to be conquerors through our God who loves us. While there is time for it, we must continue to participate zealously in preaching this good news of the Kingdom in all the earth and in making disciples. Will you, with all of Jehovah’s Witnesses world wide, continue “standing firm in one spirit, with one soul striving side by side for the faith of the good news”? (Phil. 1:27) Will you thus magnify the name of Jehovah and the kingdom of his Son, Jesus Christ? So doing, you too may succeed gloriously as world conquerors by faith.

[Picture on page 24]

Watch that your heart never becomes weighed down with overeating and heavy drinking

Psalms

Confidence in the Face of Danger

KING DAVID faced a very difficult situation. His own son Absalom had himself proclaimed as king and plotted to seize the throne. This rebellious son built up such a large following that David was forced to flee from the capital city Jerusalem. Nevertheless, David continued putting his full trust in Jehovah God.

This is evident from the melody that David composed when running away from Absalom. (Psalm 3, superscription) A messenger reported: “The heart of the men of Israel has come to be behind Absalom.” (2 Sam. 15:13) The fact that this had developed perplexed David. He wondered why it had happened and how it was possible for Absalom to get such tremendous backing. Therefore, in Psalm 3, David exclaims: “O Jehovah, why have my adversaries become many? Why are many rising up against me?”​—Ps 3 Vs. 1.

The situation was so threatening that many Israelites concluded that not even the Most High could deliver David from falling before Absalom and his men. Commenting on this, David said: “Many are saying of my soul: ‘There is no salvation for him by God.’” (Ps. 3:2) But did this weaken David’s confidence? No, for he continued: “And yet you, O Jehovah, are a shield about me, my glory and the One lifting up my head. With my voice I shall call to Jehovah himself, and he will answer me from his holy mountain.”​—Ps. 3:3, 4.

David viewed Jehovah as the One who would safeguard him from calamity, protecting him just as a shield protects a warrior. When fleeing from Absalom, David walked barefoot, weeping and with his head covered. (2 Sam. 15:30) Certainly his head was bent down in humiliation. Still, David did not doubt that the Most High would change his state to one of glory and raise up his head, enabling him to hold his head high, erect. That is why he called out to Jehovah for help, confident that he would answer. Since the ark of the covenant, a symbol of Jehovah’s presence, had been taken back to Mount Zion, David appropriately referred to having his prayer answered from God’s holy mountain.​—2 Sam. 15:24, 25.

Hence, even at night, when the danger from a surprise attack was the greatest, David was not in dread, afraid to go to sleep. We read his words: “As for me, I will lie down that I may sleep; I shall certainly awake, for Jehovah himself keeps supporting me.” (Ps. 3:5) Expressing his firm conviction in Jehovah’s ability to save, David wrote: “I shall not be afraid of ten thousands of people who have set themselves in array against me round about. Do arise, O Jehovah! Save me, O my God! For you will have to strike all my enemies on the jaw. The teeth of wicked ones you will have to break. Salvation belongs to Jehovah. Your blessing is upon your people.”​—Ps. 3:6-8.

For David’s enemies to have their teeth broken would signify that their power to injure was crushed. It was Jehovah alone who could bring such deliverance. That is why the psalmist acknowledged ‘salvation as belonging to Jehovah.’ Then, as he thought about his personal difficulties, David was prompted to consider God’s people as a whole and prayed for divine blessing to be on them.

Like David, we should not yield to the fear of men. Regardless of what wicked persons might do, Jehovah will not forsake his people, and permit their being effaced from the earth. May we also, therefore, continue ascribing salvation to the Most High.

Ezra Highlights Justice and Mercy

ONLY the Creator, possessing all wisdom and complete knowledge of every feature of his creation, along with all power, could make his own qualities of justice and mercy work in such complete balance that his purpose is perfectly carried out. The effects of these qualities on the people serving him move them so that precisely what he has predetermined is done, with benefits to all concerned.

The Bible book of Ezra highlights this fine coordination of Jehovah’s works, which are always done in harmony with his holy personality, there never being a deviation from his good purposes and sterling qualities. The apostle Paul, who understood the ways of God, assures us: “God makes all his works cooperate together for the good of those who love God.”​—Rom. 8:28.

Ezra was a descendant of Aaron, Eleazar and Phinehas, and was therefore a priest, though not of the high-priestly line, the office usually being held by the oldest son in each generation. (Ezra 7:1-6) Ezra’s last ancestor to hold the high priesthood was Seraiah (probably his great-grandfather), who was executed by Nebuchadnezzar at the capture of Jerusalem. Ezra returned to Jerusalem in 468 B.C.E., 69 years after the return of some 49,000 Jews, including slaves, from Babylon under the leadership of Zerubbabel (also called Sheshbazzar) of the tribe of Judah. (Neh. 7:66, 67) Ezra’s account, however, first reports features of this earlier return under Zerubbabel before detailing the facts of his own later visit.

TEMPLE REBUILT FOR MESSIAH’S LATER COMING

Even though God had allowed Babylon to take his people into exile because of their sin and rebellion, destroying the temple and desolating the city of Jerusalem, he purposed to have the temple and city rebuilt. Why? In order to preserve true worship in the earth. More important, the Messiah was yet to come. To fulfill God’s purpose with regard to his arrival required that Jerusalem be standing, a populated city, with Jehovah’s temple in its midst (though it was then replaced by still a third building, built by Herod). Furthermore, it was essential that God’s law be the governing force in the land when the Messiah should come. This coming of the Messiah to the rebuilt city of Zion (Jerusalem) was foretold by the prophets.​—Dan. 9:25.

God foreknew that there would be a few persons in their exiled condition in Babylon who would still love him and would desire to do what they could to restore pure worship. He could use them for his purpose. While, before the exile, the gross sinfulness of the people had demanded that the God of justice remove them from the land, his mercy would be extended to these few. This foreknowledge of God was revealed some 200 years previously when Isaiah the prophet spoke of the coming of a king, a liberator, who would be named Cyrus.​—Isa. 44:28; 45:1.

Cyrus the Persian undoubtedly learned to know about Jehovah. Daniel the prophet occupied a high and respected position during the early part of Cyrus’ rule. (Dan. 6:28) Daniel undoubtedly showed him the prophetic mention of his name in the prophecy of Isaiah. One Bible scholar remarks:

“Holy Scripture shows what it was that made so favourable an impression upon Cyrus, by relating the rôle played by Daniel at the overthrow of the Babylonian monarchy, Dan. v. 28, 30. What wonder was it that the fulfiller of this prediction should have felt himself attracted towards the prophet who uttered it, and should willingly restore the vessels which Belshazzar had that night committed the sin of polluting?”a

GOD EXTENDS MERCY AND HELP

Recognizing the existence of other gods, Cyrus would have no difficulty in viewing Jehovah as a God, even the true God, the great God, and the One who, as he said, gave him “all the kingdoms of the earth.”​—Ezra 1:2.

God’s great mercy, his power and the sureness of his purpose are revealed in his blessing of a very small number of faithful ones. Most of the Jews in Babylon were assimilated into Babylonish business life and they had little or no interest in restoring true worship. Nevertheless, God’s mercy operated toward the faithful few. With the motive of promoting pure worship, these set out from Babylon and arrived in Jerusalem after enjoying God’s protection through a hazardous journey across a barren wilderness. (Isa. 35:2-10) Surrounded by hostile neighbors, they built an altar to Jehovah and began laying a foundation for the temple. The Samaritans offered to join them in the work, pretending friendliness. But since they were practicers of a contaminated form of worship their offer was rejected by Ezra.​—Ezra 4:1-4; 2 Ki. 17:29.

God approved the stand taken by the restored Israelites, for, to collaborate with these people would be making themselves “unevenly yoked with unbelievers” in true worship, trying to bring about an agreement between God’s temple and idols. (2 Cor. 6:14-16) However, the good spirit of the restored remnant started to waver when these professed friends began to give trouble through their influence with the Persian government, weakening the Jews to the point that temple building finally ceased.​—Ezra 4:8-24.

In the meantime, self-concern for their own homes and affairs caused the Jews to let the house of God lie waste. But God’s purpose was not to be thwarted. (Hag. 1:8, 9) He sent the prophets Haggai and Zechariah to bring their minds back to the purpose for which they had returned to Jerusalem. They responded and temple rebuilding was resumed, even in the face of opposition. (Ezra 5:1, 2) Jehovah blessed their fearless obedience. On their appeal to King Darius the Persian, the governors of the surrounding provinces were ordered to stop hindering the Jews and to help them from the public treasury with any needed financial assistance. With this grant from Darius the work was completed and the temple was inaugurated with great rejoicing.​—Ezra 6:6-12, 16-22.

GOD’S MERCY, NOT JEWS’ GOODNESS, ACCOMPLISHES HIS PURPOSE

Nevertheless, this success in the restoration of pure worship was not due to the goodness of the returned Jews, but, rather, to the operation of God’s mercy in carrying out his purpose. How so? Because it became necessary for him to send his servant Ezra. In spite of the evident revelation of God’s mercy and protection, the resettled Jews had violated the principle for which they had earlier stood firm, namely, separateness from pagan worshipers. Now they had gone so far as to enter into the most intimate relationship​—marriage—​with unbelieving, idol-worshiping women. Even the priests, Levites and princes succumbed to this sinful disobedience to God’s command.​—Ezra 9:1, 2.

To the casual reader, what these Jews did may not seem so bad. But consider: If the small number of the Jews who had returned to Judah had been assimilated into the surrounding nations, who actually opposed their God and his worship centered at the temple, what would have been the result? Pure worship would have vanished from the earth. Why, only a few years later, in Nehemiah’s time, the children of such marriages were found unable to speak Hebrew!​—Neh. 13:24.

Ezra could see the awful implications of this disobedience. He sat stunned for a period of time. Then, before the assembled Jewish repatriates, he offered public prayer, setting forth the serious sinfulness and ungratefulness of their actions. He prayed, in part:

“Because of our errors we have been given, we ourselves, our kings, our priests, into the hand of the kings of the lands with the sword, with the captivity and with the plunder and with shame of face, just as this day. And now for a little moment favor from Jehovah our God has come by leaving over for us those who escape and by giving us a peg in his holy place, to make our eyes shine, . . . And now what shall we say, O our God, after this? For we have left your commandments, . . . after all that has come upon us for our bad deeds and our great guiltiness . . . shall we go breaking your commandments again?”​—Ezra 9:7-14.

Ezra thereby confessed before God and all the people the ingratitude and wickedness of those to whom God had shown unusual mercy. He did not ask for forgiveness, for the people themselves had to repent and set matters straight before they could expect the anger of God to turn from them. On seeing their own bad position, the people responded with contrite hearts. They dismissed their foreign wives. God could then forgive them and preserve them in the land.​—Ezra 10:44.

So God’s mercy was not misplaced. Also, his care exercised by sending his prophets Haggai and Zechariah, as well as the leadership he provided through Ezra, preserved pure worship for the time. Today, as in the past, persons who seek to know God and to come into close relationship with him can serve for his purpose and receive his mercy and protection.

[Footnotes]

Prepare Now for the “Living Hope” District Assembly

“HOPE springs eternal in the human breast,” wrote a noted English poet of the 18th century. But it is one thing to entertain a hope and quite another to be certain of it, to have a reliable, living hope.

Mankind truly needs hope. Especially is this so in these days of unhappiness, crime, immorality, broken families, ruined marriages, hatred, hunger, violence and, yes, hopelessness. But who, among earth’s millions, can declare a message of real hope?

Jehovah God knows the plight of humanity, so long subjected to futility. He is “the God who gives hope,” and he has, indeed, provided a sure hope. (Rom. 8:18-25; 15:13) How pleased Jehovah’s Witnesses are that they can declare that Bible-based hope to people world wide!

Yes, true Christians possess a living hope. But how can knowledge and appreciation of that hope be enhanced? Jehovah willing, the “Living Hope” District Assemblies of Jehovah’s Witnesses will serve that very purpose. Begin preparing now to be present at one of these spiritually rewarding four-day gatherings. Many have been planned for the summer months of 1979, as noted on the following list.

UNITED STATES

June 14-17: Des Moines, Iowa; Hampton, Va.; Jacksonville, Fla.; Knoxville, Tenn.; Lansing, Mich. (tentative); Pontiac, Mich. (tentative); Savannah, Ga.; Tucson, Ariz.; Wichita, Kans.

June 21-24: Amarillo, Tex.; Billings, Mont.; Dallas, Tex.; Denver, Colo.; Greenville, S.C.; Hampton, Va.; Landover, Md.; Lansing, Mich. (tentative); Macon, Ga.; Philadelphia, Pa.; Phoenix, Ariz.; Portland, Me.; Providence, R.I.; St. Petersburg, Fla.

June 28–July 1: Dallas, Tex.; Denver, Colo.; Greensboro, N.C.; Greenville, S.C.; Landover, Md.; Macon, Ga.; Nashville, Tenn.; Providence, R.I.; Richfield, Ohio; St. Petersburg, Fla.; South Bend, Ind.; Utica, N.Y.

July 5-8: Baton Rouge, La.; Corvallis, Ore.; Fresno, Cal. (Spanish only); Hollywood, Fla.; Inglewood, Cal. (Spanish only); Lincoln, Neb.; Milwaukee, Wis.; New Haven, Conn.; Oklahoma City, Okla.; Richfield, Ohio; St. Paul, Minn.; San Francisco, Cal.; South Bend, Ind.; Tuscaloosa, Ala.; Utica, N.Y.

July 12-15: Biloxi, Miss.; Corvallis, Ore.; Fresno, Cal.; Green Bay, Wis.; Hollywood, Fla. (Spanish only); Milwaukee, Wis.; Pine Bluff, Ark.; Pullman, Wash.; Rochester, N.Y.; St. Louis, Mo.; San Antonio, Tex.; San Francisco, Cal.

July 19-22: Chicago, Ill. (Spanish only); Cincinnati, Ohio; Fresno, Cal.; Houston, Tex.; Lakeland, Fla.; Memphis, Tenn.; Niagara Falls, N.Y.; Puyallup, Wash.; Roanoke, Va.; San Antonio, Tex. (Spanish only); San Francisco, Cal.; Springfield, Mass.; Woodburn, Ore. (Spanish only).

July 26-29: Chicago, Ill. (Spanish only); Cincinnati, Ohio; El Paso, Tex. (Spanish only); Houston, Tex.; Inglewood, Cal.; Lakeland, Fla.; Puyallup, Wash.; Springfield, Mass.; Willoughby, Ohio (Spanish only).

August 2-5: Elmont, N.Y. (tentative; Spanish and Portuguese only); Inglewood, Cal. (Korean also).

August 8-11 (Note: Wednesday through Saturday): New York, N.Y. (Chinese only).

August 9-12: E. Rutherford, N.J. (tentative); Elmont, N.Y. (tentative; Italian also); Inglewood, Cal. (Japanese also); Long Island City, N.Y. (French only).

August 16-19: E. Rutherford, N.J. (tentative); Elmont, N.Y. (tentative; Greek and Korean also); Long Island City, N.Y. (French only).

CANADA

July 5-8: Regina, Sask.; Vancouver, B.C.

July 12-15: Halifax, N.S.; Victoria, B.C.; Winnipeg, M.B.

July 19-22: Montreal, P.Q. (Arabic, English & French); Prince George, B.C. (tentative); Sault Ste. Marie, Ont.; St. John’s, Nfld.

July 26-29: London, Ont.; Campbellville, Ont. (Italian only); Brampton, Ont, (Spanish only).

August 2-5: Edmonton, Alta. (tentative); Brampton, Ont. (Portuguese only).

August 9-12: Brampton, Ont. (Greek only).

August 16-19: Corner Brook, Nfld.

Faith That Transforms

In Finland, a certain young husband once had a serious drug habit. At 14 years of age, he had joined a gang of drug users and had become a thief to finance his habit. For this he ended up in prison. Eventually, he began living with a girl who belonged to the same gang. In 1977 she made an effort to break the drug habit, and, after reading “The Watchtower” and “Awake!”, they both attended a Christian assembly. The spiritual cleanness noted at that gathering made a deep impression on them. Seeing the happy families touched them, their consciences were pricked, and they realized that they were doing wrong. A Bible study was started with them and they began to attend Christian meetings. In September 1977, the young woman broke her ties with Babylon the Great, the world empire of false religion, and the two of them also legalized their marriage. Thereafter, they began to take part in the field service, sharing the Kingdom message with others. The husband remembers that, earlier, he was encouraged at the 1977 district assembly when an acquaintance, who previously had been on drugs, patted him on the shoulder and said: ‘Have you been using amphetamines? I once took them, too. But, don’t worry. You will be able to get free from them, even as I did, with Jehovah’s help.’ The baptism of this young married couple at the Helsinki international convention on July 15, 1978, was a living example of victorious faith​—a faith that has transforming power.

How to Begin Your Day

What better way is there than considering a text from the Bible? Doing so will help you to maintain a wholesome, optimistic outlook.

The 1979 Yearbook of Jehovah’s Witnesses provides a Scripture text with a brief comment for each day. This hardbound book is available in Dutch, English, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese and Spanish. Only 50 cents (U.S.) a copy, postpaid.

Please send the 1979 Yearbook of Jehovah’s Witnesses in the languages that I have checked and for which I enclose $‐‐‐‐‐‐ (U.S.). Dutch □; English □; French □; German □; Italian □; Japanese □; Korean □; Portuguese □ and Spanish □.