The Watchtower — January 1, 1980

Page Two

OUR COVER: Jehovah God provides the grand hope of everlasting life in the realm of Christ’s kingdom of peace. Such hope stimulated Christian preaching in the first century. Today, as time runs out for a wicked world, the Christian witnesses of Jehovah are again spurred on to proclaim their “living hope.” See pages 13-22

The Pope at the U.N.​—Herald of Hope?

IN RESPONSE to Secretary-General Kurt Waldheim’s invitation, Pope John Paul II visited the United Nations this past October 2. Altogether he spent seven days in the United States, making stops in Boston, New York, Philadelphia, Des Moines, Chicago and Washington, D.C. As his motorcade passed, both Catholics and non-Catholics jockeyed for position and strained for a glimpse of the vigorous, 59-year-old pontiff.

Even at the U.N., where visits by celebrities are common, the pope’s appearance created special interest. His address to the General Assembly was the main feature of his American visit. Of that talk, a New York Post editorial said: “He was pleading for a new beginning, a fresh vision and a revival of hope.”

Did his message provide basis for renewed hope? To what source did he direct attention for the solution of mankind’s problems?

CHAMPION OF THE U.N.

It was to the United Nations. The pope said: “I hope that the United Nations will ever remain the supreme forum of peace and justice, the authentic seat of freedom of peoples and individuals in their longing for a better future.”

Yet not once in his 62-minute address did the pope mention Jesus Christ or the Kingdom. Since he has assumed the title “Vicar of Christ,” is this not surprising? The omission is especially strange in view of the fact that the Bible identifies the kingdom by Christ Jesus, not the United Nations, as God’s means for bringing peace to the earth. Do you feel that a desire to avoid offending the non-Christians and atheists in the U.N. justified this omission?

IDENTIFYING HUMAN NEEDS

The pope, however, did point out real needs of the human family that are not now being met. He spoke, for example, of “the frightful disparities between excessively rich individuals . . . [and] the majority made up of the poor or, indeed, of the destitute, who lack food and opportunities for work and education, and are in great numbers condemned to hunger and disease.”

This situation needs correcting, the pope emphasized. “It is no secret,” he said, “that the abyss separating the minority of the excessively rich from the multitude of the destitute is a very grave symptom in the life of any society.” Yet has the pope’s own Church shown by example how a just distribution, or equalizing, of resources can be achieved?

Also, Pope John Paul II pointed to the need of safeguarding “religious freedom and freedom of conscience.” Surely all lovers of justice can agree with the pope when he said: “It is a question of the highest importance that . . . all human beings in every nation and country should be able to enjoy effectively their full rights under any political regime or system.” But has the Church itself set an example in championing religious freedom for all?

Highlighting another pressing human need, John Paul II repeated the words of Pope Paul VI, delivered at the U.N. General Assembly 14 years ago: “No more war. War never again.” Certainly there is a need to end war and the preparations for war! Again, what kind of example has the Catholic Church set in this regard?

Just a few days before the pope addressed the U.N., while on his visit to Ireland, he told Catholics: “On my knees I beg you to turn away from the paths of violence and to return to the ways of peace. . . . Further violence in Ireland will only drag down to ruin the land you claim to love and the values you claim to cherish.”

Can John Paul’s visits to Ireland and the United States be expected to help solve the serious problems facing mankind? Has the Church he represents set an example in meeting the human needs that the pope identified? Judging by the way millions turned out to see and listen to him, evidently many viewed him as a herald of hope. But is he? Let the facts answer.

Will the Church Practice What the Pope Preached?

HOW did Irish Catholics respond to the pope’s appeal to stop the 10 years of violence in which some 2,000 persons have been killed?

In the same way that they responded to more than 30 appeals of Pope Paul VI for peace in Ireland. They rejected it! “In all conscience,” the Catholic Irish Republican Army answered, “we believe that force is by far the only means of removing the evil of British presence in Ireland.”

Irish Catholics in Northern Ireland believe that they are being oppressed by a Protestant majority. Therefore, in rejecting the pope’s appeal, Catholics cite their Church’s doctrine that violence may be employed to achieve justice.a Do Irish Catholics find precedent in waging so-called “just war”?

THE CATHOLIC CHURCH AND WAR

In his speech before the United Nations, Pope John Paul II claimed: “The Catholic Church in every place on earth proclaims a message of peace, prays for peace, educates for peace.” But what do the facts of history reveal? The Catholic historian E. I. Watkin wrote:

“Painful as the admission must be, we cannot in the interest of a false edification or dishonest loyalty deny or ignore the historical fact that Bishops have consistently supported all wars waged by the government of their country. I do not know in fact of a single instance in which a national hierarchy has condemned as unjust any war . . . Whatever the official theory, in practice ‘my country always right’ has been the maxim followed in wartime by Catholic Bishops. Speaking on other occasions in the name of Christ, where belligerent nationalism is concerned they have spoken as the mouthpiece of Caesar.”​—Morals and Missiles, edited by Charles S. Thompson, pp. 57, 58.

Yes, many Irish Catholics are doing what Catholics have done during past conflicts. They are fighting. “But the Church does not approve,” someone may object. “The pope urged them to ‘turn away from the paths of violence.’” But has the pope, or the local Irish Catholic hierarchy, shown that they really condemn the fighting in Ireland? Have they excommunicated Catholics who continue in their murderous activities? No, such individuals are still Catholics in good standing! Of course, the same is true of Protestant terrorists.

Similarly, during World War II the pope refused to excommunicate such Catholic leaders as Adolf Hitler and Hermann Göring, or the millions of Church members in their armies. It is a well-known fact of history that the Catholic Church in Germany blessed the Nazi war effort, as is shown by the news clippings reproduced below.

Why was there almost total German Catholic support of the Nazi war effort? Catholic scholar and educator Gordon Zahn explains why, stating: “The German Catholic who looked to his religious superiors for spiritual guidance and direction regarding service in Hitler’s wars received virtually the same answers he would have received from the Nazi ruler himself.”

Yet the pope lectured the United Nations: “No more war. War never again.” Beautiful words​—words adapted from the Bible! (Isa. 2:4) But how hollow sounding they are when coming from the head of a Church whose members have consistently supported their countries’ wars, with the approval and blessing of their leaders!

GRANTING OF RELIGIOUS LIBERTY

Pope John Paul II made an eloquent plea before the United Nations that peoples everywhere be granted “full rights under any political regime or system.” Yet has the Catholic Church adhered to the course that the pope urged for the world’s political states?

The continued persecution of many non-Catholics in Catholic-dominated lands such as Argentina answers that it has not. In fact, during the 1960’s Cardinal Arriba y Castro asserted: “We must remember that only the Catholic Church has the right to preach the gospel. Proselytism in a Catholic state is bad and must be repressed.” Cardinal Ottaviani, at the time the most powerful prelate next to Pope Paul VI, expressed essentially the same opinion. The Catholic World of March 1965 said of him:

“His idea of religious tolerance may be stated briefly in this way: although truth and error as such cannot be said to involve rights, one must hold that persons professing the truth ought to be granted rights which are denied to those who profess error. On this basis, the Catholic Church will demand, when it is sufficiently strong, that the State give it a privileged position and restrict the activities of other religious groups. If, however, the Church is itself in a minority, it will either claim the freedom guaranteed by a liberal state or will protest, in the name of the rights of man, against oppression by a regime like the Communist State.”

Again, to many listeners the pope’s words, examined in the light of the Catholic Church’s own record of oppression of others, sounded not only hollow but rather hypocritical. Yet Pope John Paul II himself may be sincere in his desire that religious freedom be granted everyone. During Vatican Council II, when he was Bishop Karol Wojtyla of Cracow, Poland, he argued that the Church could not claim religious liberty unless it conceded it to others. So time will tell if the Church will practice what the pope preached in this matter.

SHARING RICHES WITH THE POOR

Perhaps the dominant appeals of the pope during his American visit were to reject materialism and to share with the poor. A few hours after lecturing the United Nations on this matter, he told an audience of some 80,000 at New York’s Yankee Stadium: “We must find a simple way of living. For it is not right that the standard of living of the rich countries should seek to maintain itself by draining off a great part of the reserves of energy and raw materials that are meant to serve the whole of humanity.”

However, what effect do you suppose those words have when coming from a man clad in royal robes, who rides around in beautiful limousines and lives in considerable luxury? Bishop Mariano Gaviola, secretary-general of the 1970 Bishops Conference of the Philippines, gave some idea as he noted: “When the bishops [and we can add, the pope] condemn graft and corruption in the government or speak against the misuse of wealth, some people wonder whether it is not a case of the pan calling the pot black.”

The Catholic Church’s outward manifestations of wealth have concerned many Catholics. The Province of Canada, reporting the views of Augustinian monk Robert Adolfs, stated on September 2, 1967:

“Father Adolfs says bluntly that the church can survive only if it follows the example of Jesus Christ by emptying itself of all ‘princely splendor’ and taking on the humble role of a servant. . . .

“He says the Pope, and the cardinals and bishops as well, should quit wearing elaborate robes and crowns and other articles of dress that ‘are suggestive of a royal court’ rather than of a servant who washes the feet of his brethren.”

Pope John Paul II, to a limited degree, has apparently attempted to avoid the image of pomp and splendor. Like his predecessor John Paul I, he has rejected the shoulder-borne papal throne for audiences. But is that enough?

In 1971 Jose Cardinal Clements, head of Bolivia’s Catholic Church, proposed that the Church rid itself of treasures accumulated over the centuries and use the money to build homes, schools, roads and industries. “A true poverty gives the church authority and credibility,” he said.

But will the Church follow this proposal? Will it practice sharing its wealth with the poor, as the pope advised the rich nations to do? It has not been inclined to do this in the past; whether it yet will do so remains to be seen.

However, the really important question is not: Will the Church practice what the pope preached? Rather, it is: Will it practice what the Bible teaches?

GOD’S PROMISE OF SOMETHING NEW

Actually, the pope’s message to the United Nations did not offer anything new. Basically, it was the same message as that of Pope Paul VI, who said in his address to the U.N. 14 years before: “The peoples of the earth turn to the United Nations as the last hope of concord and peace; we presume to present here, with their tribute of honor and of hope, our own tribute also.”

The Catholic Church has consistently backed one form of human government or another as the solution to mankind’s problems. So it is not surprising that its leaders have endorsed the U.N. But ask yourself: Is that what Christ would have done? Do you, for example, ever read about his paying of tribute to the Roman Empire as the last hope of concord and peace?

That was not Christ’s message. Rather, the theme of his teaching was the kingdom of God, something entirely different from what humans had to offer. In the Bible, over 140 references to God’s kingdom are made by Jesus and his disciples. They knew it to be a real government with Christ, the “Prince of Peace,” as God’s appointed ruler. (Isa. 9:6) That Kingdom government, the Bible teaches, “will crush and put an end to all these kingdoms [of human origin, including the United Nations], and it itself will stand to times indefinite.”​—Dan. 2:44; Matt. 6:9, 10.

God’s kingdom will be a new rulership for earth. It is referred to in the Bible as a “new heavens”​—a new heavenly administration. It will rule over “a new earth”​—a new society of people who all adhere to God’s righteous laws. The apostle Peter wrote:

“There are new heavens and a new earth that we are awaiting according to his [God’s] promise, and in these righteousness is to dwell.”​—2 Pet. 3:13.

What a fine opportunity both Pope Paul VI and John Paul II had to teach before the U.N. the Bible message about God’s incoming world government! It surely is what could be expected of one who claims to be a successor of Peter and a representative of Jesus Christ. But not a word did these men then utter about God’s promise of something new!

Clearly, the pope is no herald of true hope. He has not followed faithfully the example of Jesus Christ, who made his Father’s name and purposes known. True, John Paul II, noted for his singing, used God’s name in song, even proclaiming to a Harlem crowd in New York: “Hallelujah is our song.” But how many realize that the expression “Hallelujah” incorporates the name of God and means: “Praise ye Yah (Jehovah)”?b

Obviously the pope has not lived up to the sentiments of that Hallelujah song. He has not made known God’s name Jehovah. Nor has he followed in the steps of Jesus Christ, who said: “Also to other cities I must declare the good news of the kingdom of God, because for this I was sent forth.”​—Luke 4:43; John 17:6.

[Footnotes]

[Pictures on page 5]

[New York Post, August 27, 1940, Blue Final Edition, p. 15]

Nazi Army Praised

German Catholic Bishops Loyal

[New York Times, September 25, 1939, Late City Edition, p. 6]

GERMAN SOLDIERS RALLIED BY CHURCHES

Protestant and Catholic Exhort to Reich Victory and Just Peace

[New York Times, December 7, 1941, Late City Edition, p. 33]

‘WAR PRAYER’ FOR REICH

Catholic Bishops at Fulda Ask Blessing and Victory

Rejoicing in “the God Who Gives Hope”

“You are my hope, O Sovereign Lord Jehovah, my confidence from my youth.”​—Ps. 71:5.

1, 2. (a) What Scriptural evidence do we have that God cares for us? (b) How may our joy be made full?

DO YOU pause at times to reflect on your precious relationship with God? How thrilling it is to know that God cares for us! True, from Jehovah’s standpoint the nations are as a mere drop from a bucket. So, as individuals, we must seem very small to him indeed. However, Jesus Christ assures us: “Do not two sparrows sell for a coin of small value? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground without your Father’s knowledge. But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Therefore have no fear: you are worth more than many sparrows.”​—Matt. 10:29-31; Isa. 40:15.

² If God notes the fall of a sparrow, how much more compassion must he have for us humans, whom he created in his own likeness! (Gen. 1:26) Our God is truly magnificent in his wisdom and creative power, but he is far grander in his caring for the just cause of oppressed ones and in showing the expansiveness of his love toward mankind. (Ps. 33:4, 5) It is indeed a privilege that we may enter into and remain in his love, in line with Jesus’ assurance: “If you observe my commandments, you will remain in my love, just as I have observed the commandments of the Father and remain in his love.” And Jesus added: “These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you and your joy may be made full.”​—John 15:10, 11.

3. Why did David, and why may we, have full confidence in Jehovah?

³ In these critical times, we can rejoice also that our loving God provides hope. It appears that David penned the 71st Psalm 71 after passing through hard trials, and therein he extols the Sovereign Lord Jehovah as his hope and confidence from youth. For example, when facing up to the lumbering giant Goliath, David declared: “Jehovah, who delivered me from the paw of the lion and from the paw of the bear, he it is who will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine.” Jehovah did just that! (1 Sam. 17:37, 45-50) And to this day Jehovah continues to uphold the anointed remnant of his witnesses who, strong in hope, have served him faithfully ‘from their youth.’

NEED FOR A LIVING HOPE

4. Why are the things “written aforetime” a source of hope?

⁴ The long-range promises of Jehovah, as recorded in his Word, are indeed a source of confident hope for the future. As the apostle Paul states: “All the things that were written aforetime were written for our instruction, that through our endurance and through the comfort from the Scriptures we might have hope.” (Rom. 15:4) Certainly, we need to have hope. But how do the things “written aforetime” give reason for hope? In the first place, why did a need for hope arise?

5. (a) How did the need for hope arise? (b) Why did our first parents rightly incur the death penalty, and why are we involved?

⁵ The things “written aforetime” relate clearly how God created our first parents and placed them in a paradise of pleasure, with the prospect of living forever and populating the earth with loving, happy humans who would never die. (Gen. 1:26-28; 2:7-9, 18-25) However, Adam and Eve lost this privilege. Why? It was because they sinned, missing the mark of perfect obedience to their Father, Jehovah God. Rightly, the Sovereign Lord Jehovah sentenced the disobedient couple to death. They had become self-willed, independent, and there was no longer a place for them among Jehovah’s loyal creatures. Moreover, they incurred the death penalty not only for themselves but also for the billions of children who would be born from these sinful parents. As Paul tells us: “That is why, just as through one man sin entered into the world and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men because they had all sinned.”​—Rom. 5:12.

6. On the basis of what hope did the creation become enslaved?

⁶ However, Paul goes on to say that, though “the creation was subjected to futility,” this was “on the basis of hope.” What hope? Why, a living hope that it would be “set free from enslavement to corruption and have the glorious freedom of the children of God,” just as our first parents enjoyed such freedom in the paradise of Eden. It would include hope of everlasting life. Only God could provide such a hope.​—Rom. 8:20, 21; John 17:3.

HOPE IN THE “SEED”

7. How is the “seed” of promise identified?

⁷ Early in the things “written aforetime” we read God’s promise that the “seed [offspring]” of his wifelike organization in heaven will “bruise [the serpent] in the head,” that is, destroy Satan, together with all his brood. (Gen. 3:14, 15) But who is this “seed”? He is spoken of later as being the “seed” also of God’s friend Abraham, by means of which seed “all nations of the earth will certainly bless themselves.” The apostle Paul identifies this “seed,” saying: “Now the promises were spoken to Abraham and to his seed. . . . ‘And to your seed,’ who is Christ.”​—Gen. 22:18; Gal. 3:16.

8. (a) How was Jesus’ life course on earth foretold long in advance? (b) How was God’s love for mankind demonstrated?

⁸ The things “written aforetime” foretold the life course of Christ Jesus while here on earth. As Isaiah prophesied more than 700 years beforehand, Jesus was despised, held of no account, afflicted and “brought just like a sheep to the slaughtering.” In harmony with his Father’s will, “he poured out his soul” in death, so that he might ransom “many people” from bondage to sin. (Isa. 53:3-12) Jehovah raised him from the dead and installed him as “Chief Agent of life” in the heavens, “that everyone believing in him may have everlasting life.” God has made this provision because He “loved the world [of mankind] so much.” (John 3:15, 16; Acts 3:15) What a marvelous hope this has opened up!​—John 5:24-29.

A SOUND BASIS FOR HOPE OF ETERNAL LIFE

9. (a) What guarantees our hope? (b) How should our hope affect us?

⁹ Our well-founded hope is guaranteed by the very name of our God, Jehovah. That name means “He Causes to Become,” indicating that he makes specific things happen in the outworking of his purposes. He is the God “who cannot lie” and who provides “the basis of a hope . . . promised before times long lasting.” (Titus 1:2) What does that hope mean to you? Do you regard it as the people of Christendom regard their religion​—as a formalism to which they give mere lip service? Or have you, deep down in your heart, dedicated your whole person, your whole life, to “the God who gives hope”? (Rom. 15:13) Has that hope become so strong to you that already it seems like a reality? If so, then it has become your faith​—a faith that will be alive with good works in witnessing to others about your hope.​—Heb. 11:1; Jas. 2:17.

10. (a) What adds substance to our hope? (b) Why should anointed Christians now rejoice in their hope?

¹⁰ Even as our Sovereign Lord Jehovah lives forever, so his promises provide a basis for a “living hope.” And his resurrected Son, Jesus Christ, “because of continuing alive forever,” adds substance to that hope, for “he is able also to save completely those who are approaching God through him, because he is always alive to plead for them.” (Heb. 7:24, 25) Thus, the apostle Peter wrote to anointed Christians: “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, for according to his great mercy he gave us a new birth to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an incorruptible and undefiled and unfading inheritance. It is reserved in the heavens for you, who are being safeguarded by God’s power through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last period of time. In this fact you are greatly rejoicing.” (1 Pet. 1:3-6) Now that we have reached the “last period of time,” there is compelling reason for anointed Christians to rejoice in that hope.

11. (a) What “living hope” do the “great crowd” also have? (b) What firm foundation is there to that hope?

¹¹ However, what of the “great crowd, . . . out of all nations and tribes and peoples and tongues,” who look forward to everlasting life in a paradise earth? Theirs, also, is a “living hope,” for the promise to them is: “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 [God’s] 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. 7:9, 16, 17) Those hoping in such “good news” will not be disappointed, for it is founded solidly in God’s inspired Word. Quoting Isaiah 40:8, the apostle Peter said of “the word of the living and enduring God”: “ ‘All flesh is like grass, and all its glory is like a blossom of grass; the grass becomes withered, and the flower falls off, but the saying of Jehovah endures forever.’ Well, this is the ‘saying,’ this which has been declared to you as good news.”​—1 Pet. 1:23-25.

12. How generous is God in bestowing everlasting life?

¹² In describing himself as the fine shepherd who “surrenders his soul in behalf of the sheep,” Jesus said, “I have come that they might have life and might have it in abundance.” (John 10:10, 11) This generosity is not limited to the “little flock,” who become joint heirs with Christ in the heavens. (Luke 12:32) No, indeed, for Jesus said: “I have other sheep, which are not of this fold; those also I must bring, and they will listen to my voice, and they will become one flock, one shepherd. And I give them everlasting life.” (John 10:16, 28) In addition to the “great crowd” who expect to pass alive through the “great tribulation,” there will be faithful servants of pre-Christian times and the billions of other human dead who will be resurrected on earth with prospects of everlasting life. (Matt. 24:21; Heb. 11:35; Rev. 20:12) How generous is our God in making this provision for life!

13. How is God’s love toward mankind expressed, and how should this affect us?

¹³ Jehovah’s generosity in expressing his love toward humans is reflected also in Jesus’ earlier words: “God loved the world [of mankind] so much that he gave his only-begotten Son, in order that everyone exercising faith in him might not be destroyed but have everlasting life. For God sent forth his Son into the world, not for him to judge the world [adversely], but for the world to be saved through him. He that exercises faith in him is not to be judged.” (John 3:16-18) Since Jehovah and his Son are so generous, should we not be generous, also, in making known this grand “good news” to others?

14. (a) Why are the nations as having “no hope”? (b) How are our faith and “living hope” reflected?

¹⁴ In doing this, we share in “good works, which God prepared in advance for us to walk in them.” No longer are we like those whom Paul described as “strangers to the covenants of the promise” and as having “no hope” and being “without God in the world.” No longer do we walk “just as the nations also walk in the unprofitableness of their minds, while they are in darkness mentally, and alienated from the life that belongs to God, because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the insensibility of their hearts.” (Eph. 2:10, 12; 4:17, 18) No, for we now walk with God, and our “good works,” which feature preaching and teaching the “good news,” reflect our faith and the “living hope” that overflows in our hearts.​—Matt. 4:17; 5:16; 9:35; 24:14.

HOPE OF A RIGHTEOUS GOVERNMENT

15. (a) Why is good government necessary to our having a “living hope”? (b) What encouraging prophecy did Isaiah record in this regard?

¹⁵ Our living hope embraces much more than the prospect of everlasting life. Consider: How enjoyable would it be to live forever under cruel and oppressive human governments, such as have ruled so often throughout history? Some would prefer death to such slavery. Happily, the living hope of God’s people includes hope of a righteous government, the Kingdom for which Christians have long prayed, and which will sanctify Jehovah’s name and cause his will to “take place, as in heaven, also upon earth.” (Matt. 6:9, 10) In his long-range preparation of that kingdom, Jehovah used King David of Israel to typify Christ Jesus in His role as King. The prophet Isaiah described that One as “Prince of Peace,” saying: “To the abundance of the princely rule and to peace there will be no end, upon the throne of David and upon his kingdom in order to establish it firmly and to sustain it by means of justice and by means of righteousness, from now on and to time indefinite. The very zeal of Jehovah of armies will do this.”​—Isa. 9:6, 7.

16. What assurance did Gabriel and the psalmist give concerning the Kingdom?

¹⁶ More than 1,000 years later, the angel Gabriel appeared to a virgin, Mary, telling her: “You have found favor with God; and, look! you will conceive in your womb and give birth to a son, and you are to call his name Jesus. This one will be great and will be called Son of the Most High; and Jehovah God will give him the throne of David his father, . . . and there will be no end of his kingdom.” (Luke 1:30-33) So this “Son of the Most High” provides not only the way of salvation to everlasting life but also blessings through his kingdom. This government will rule all mankind in righteousness and bring peace in abundance to its subjects earth wide.​—Ps. 72:1-8.

17. Why, then, should we “abound in hope,” and how may we express that hope?

¹⁷ Referring once more to the things “written aforetime,” the apostle Paul writes: “Again Isaiah says: ‘There will be the root of Jesse [David’s father], and there will be one arising to rule nations; on him nations will rest their hope.’ May the God who gives hope fill you with all joy and peace by your believing, that you may abound in hope with power of holy spirit.” (Rom. 15:12, 13) Indeed, our hoping in God’s kingdom by Christ is a source of rejoicing and peace of heart, and as we abound in that hope, we are encouraged to proclaim that hope to others, in the strength that God’s spirit provides.​—Zech. 4:6; Isa. 40:28-31.

18. What glowing preview does Isaiah give concerning the Kingdom?

¹⁸ In speaking of “the root of Jesse,” Paul was quoting from Isaiah chapter 11, which gives this glowing preview of Christ’s Kingdom rule: “Upon him the spirit of Jehovah must settle down, the spirit of wisdom and of understanding, the spirit of counsel and of mightiness, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of Jehovah; and there will be enjoyment by him in the fear of Jehovah. And he will not judge by any mere appearance to his eyes, nor reprove simply according to the thing heard by his ears. And with righteousness he must judge the lowly ones, and with uprightness he must give reproof in behalf of the meek ones of the earth.” After describing the peacefulness of the spiritual paradise that God’s people enjoy even today, as though the wild beasts of earth have been tamed, the prophecy declares: “The earth will certainly be filled with the knowledge of Jehovah as the waters are covering the very sea.” What a glorious hope! No wonder it is that many from the nations are turning inquiringly to “the root of Jesse,” the enthroned Jesus, who is “standing up as a signal for the peoples.”​—Isa 11 Vss. 1-10.

19. Why, now especially, should we rejoice in hope?

¹⁹ Since the eventful year 1914, mankind has been living through “the conclusion of the system of things.” “The Son of man” has arrived, and all the angels with him, to sit down on his glorious heavenly throne. He has proceeded to gather the nations for judgment and to “separate people one from another, just as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats.” For the nations and the “goats” it is a time of hopeless distress, but for obedient sheeplike humans it is a time to ‘raise themselves erect and lift their heads up, because their deliverance is getting near.’​—Matt. 24:3-8; 25:31-34; Luke 21:26-28.

20. In doing what may we now endure in hope?

²⁰ However, endurance is needed in order that we may realize the fulfillment of the hope. As these “last days” draw toward their close, we need to view things as Jesus did, as Paul admonished: “May the God who supplies endurance and comfort grant you to have among yourselves the same mental attitude that Christ Jesus had, that with one accord you may with one mouth glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.” (Rom. 15:5, 6) May we continue, then, “with one accord” and “with one mouth,” serving with endurance, as we preach this good news of the Kingdom “for a witness to all the nations,” confident that “then the end will come.” (Matt. 24:13, 14) Yes, may we place unshakable confidence in our Sovereign Lord Jehovah, the “God who gives hope.”

[Pictures on page 9]

“Through one man sin entered into the world and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men.”​—Rom. 5:12.

“God loved the world so much that he gave his only-begotten Son, in order that everyone exercising faith in him might not be destroyed but have everlasting life.”​—John 3:16.

Spurred On by Our “Living Hope”

“To this end we are working hard and exerting ourselves, because we have rested our hope on a living God, who is a Savior of all sorts of men, especially of faithful ones.”​—1 Tim. 4:10.

1. Why should God’s Word motivate us to action?

IT IS in God’s Word, the Bible, that we find “delightful words and the writing of correct words of truth.” (Eccl. 12:10) These words are especially delightful in that they arouse within us a living hope​—the hope of everlasting life in the Kingdom arrangement that the Sovereign Lord Jehovah has so lovingly provided through his Son, Jesus Christ. (John 3:16; Rom. 15:12, 13) As the congregator expressed it, “the words of the wise ones are like oxgoads,” spurring their hearers to action. The words of wisdom and hope that we read in God’s Word should thus motivate us to work hard and exert ourselves in serving the interests of his righteous kingdom.​—Eccl. 12:11.

2. To what have men of faith been looking forward?

² From the time that Jehovah gave the Edenic promise, men of faith in God have looked forward to the judgment day when the Messianic Seed would crush the Serpent’s head. (Gen. 3:15; Rom. 16:20) That would be the day of judgment of Satan’s world, to be climaxed by the deliverance of all who have rested their hope in Jehovah’s kingdom by his Christ.​—2 Tim. 4:1, 18; Luke 21:28.

AN ASSURED HOPE

3. (a) Why is this an assured hope? (b) What should spur us on to declare our hope publicly?

³ The Bible book of Hebrews, chapter 11, provides a long list of men and women who displayed exemplary faith. They had an “assured expectation of things hoped for.” That hope was real to them, and they acted upon it while they were “awaiting the city having real foundations, the builder and maker of which city is God.” Though they did not get the fulfillment of the promises in their day, “they saw them afar off and welcomed them and publicly declared that they were strangers and temporary residents in the land.” (Heb. 11:1, 10, 13) Today, that hope is no longer “afar off,” for the Kingdom is at hand! How much more reason do we have, then, for making public declaration of our hope!​—Matt. 24:14, 33.

4. Of what did Enoch prophesy, and how does this concern us today?

⁴ Some of those faithful men who held “the assured expectation of things hoped for” lived in a time of God’s judgment, just as we do today. Jehovah used them in warning the wicked. Thus, Enoch prophesied concerning corrupt men, in the days before the Flood: “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.” (Jude 14, 15) That judgment was a type of God’s judgment against the world today, which is shocking in its ungodliness.

5. What example did Noah set for us in works of faith?

⁵ Also, Noah, who lived through the execution of Jehovah’s judgment on the ungodly world, was “a preacher of righteousness.” (2 Pet. 2:5) He exerted himself in doing works of faith, constructing “an ark for the saving of his household; and through this faith he condemned the world.” (Heb. 11:7) Noah was a fine example for us today. Shortly, “the righteous judgment of God” will be expressed, as those “who do not know God . . . undergo the judicial punishment of everlasting destruction from before the Lord and from the glory of his strength.” As we approach that execution of judgment, it is the time of all times to preach Jehovah’s righteousness in the earth!​—2 Thess. 1:5-10.

6. (a) What ancient judgment underlines the certainty of the “great tribulation”? (b) How may we escape that judgement?

⁶ Among those who “publicly declared” their hope in God’s kingdom were Abraham and Sarah, also Isaac and Jacob. Abraham lived through the time of God’s executing judgment on Sodom and Gomorrah. He was most anxious that Sodom might be spared destruction, even if as few as 10 righteous men (like his nephew Lot) might be found in that city. Finally, God told him, “I shall not bring it to ruin on account of the ten.” Like Abraham, we today might hope that multitudes be spared destruction in the impending “great tribulation.” But no! This ungodly world must be destroyed, as were Sodom and Gomorrah, thus cleansing the earth in preparation for the restored paradise. The only way to survive God’s judgment is to become “no part of the world,” in line with Lot and his family’s fleeing Sodom before its fiery destruction. And it would be disastrous, also, to turn back to the things of the world. “Remember the wife of Lot.”​—Luke 17:26-32; Gen. 18:22-32; 19:15-26; Matt. 24:21; John 15:19.

7. What privilege, like that of Ezekiel, do we have today, and what should we do about it?

⁷ Among the faithful “cloud of witnesses” that Paul describes in Hebrews 11 as holding the “assured expectation of things hoped for,” are “Samuel and the other prophets,” and what courage these displayed in making known Jehovah’s word! (Heb. 11:32; 12:1) They included Ezekiel, who prophesied from Babylon concerning Jehovah’s judgment against apostate Jerusalem​—a judgment that was executed in 607 B.C.E. The seriousness of Ezekiel’s commission is made clear by the “word of Jehovah” that came to him on a number of occasions. It was: “ ‘Now as regards the watchman, in case he sees the sword coming and he actually does not blow the horn and the people itself gets no warning at all and a sword comes and takes away from them soul, for its own error it itself must be taken away, but its blood I shall ask back from the hand of the watchman himself.’ Now as regards you, O son of man, a watchman is what I have made you to the house of Israel, and at my mouth you must hear the word and give them warning from me.” (Ezek. 33:6, 7; 3:17-21) Do we see “the sword coming” today? Do we appreciate that the present “distress” among nations is leading inexorably to God’s war of Har–Magedon? Then we must sound the ‘warning trumpet,’ showing the people the way to God’s kingdom​—their only hope. What a privilege it is to share in this work of warning in this present judgment day, as Ezekiel did back there!​—Matt. 24:3-8, 14; 25:31, 32; Rev. 16:13-16.

THE “PERFECTER OF OUR FAITH”

8. With regard to giving warning, what fine example did Jesus set?

⁸ After describing the great “cloud of witnesses,” many of whom preached a warning message in pre-Christian times, Paul calls attention to “the Chief Agent and Perfecter of our faith, Jesus.” This Son of God also fearlessly proclaimed God’s kingdom during a judgment day​—and the execution of judgment came with the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 C.E. Paul encourages us, who live in another judgment day, to “look intently at” and “consider closely” Jesus’ example when under pressure, that we ourselves “may not get tired and give out in [our] souls.”​—Heb. 12:1-3; John 12:31.

9, 10. (a) What food did Jesus regard as most precious? (b)With regard to what did Jesus instruct his disciples?

⁹ No one has ever worked harder in the interests of Jehovah’s kingdom than the Son of God himself. In this he has followed the example of his Father in heaven, for he said: “My Father has kept working until now, and I keep working.” Kingdom service meant more to Jesus than did material food, for he also said: “My food is for me to do the will of him that sent me and to finish his work. . . . Look! I say to you: Lift up your eyes and view the fields, that they are white for harvesting. Already the reaper is receiving wages and gathering fruit for everlasting life.”​—John 5:17; 4:34-36.

¹⁰ Jesus was referring to his harvesting of people, those who had been “skinned and thrown about like sheep without a shepherd,” and he set the pattern for this harvest work as he toured the cities and villages, teaching and preaching concerning the hope of the Kingdom. It was also a warning work, for Jesus, in sending out his 12 disciples, instructed them: “Wherever anyone does not take you in or listen to your words, on going out of that house or that city shake the dust off your feet. Truly I say to you, It will be more endurable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah on Judgment Day than for that city.”​—Matt. 9:35–10:15.

“WORKS GREATER THAN THESE”

11. What unusual comment did Jesus make just before his impalement?

¹¹ On the eve of his impalement, Jesus told his disciples of his close union with his Father in doing works, and added: “Most truly I say to you, He that exercises faith in me, that one also will do the works that I do; and he will do works greater than these, because I am going my way to the Father.” (John 14:9-12) To what works did Jesus refer? How could these be greater than those accomplished by the Son of God himself, who worked in union with his Father?

12. How did Jesus indicate what these “greater works” would comprise?

¹² Some days later, following his death and resurrection, Jesus appeared to his disciples in Galilee, and indicated what these “greater works” would comprise, saying: “Go therefore and make disciples of people of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the holy spirit, teaching them to observe all the things I have commanded you. And, look! I am with you all the days until the conclusion of the system of things.” Throughout 40 days Jesus continued to instruct them about the kingdom of God, and then, just prior to his ascension into heaven, told them: “You will receive power when the holy spirit arrives upon you, and you will be witnesses of me both in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria and to the most distant part of the earth.”​—Matt. 28:16-20; Acts 1:3-8.

13. What “thorough witness” took place in apostolic days?

¹³ Thus Jesus spoke of a great work of witnessing and teaching that would reach into every corner of the earth. After holy spirit had been poured out on his disciples at Pentecost, this campaign of preaching got under way, with Jehovah’s blessing. It resulted in a “thorough witness,” as is so often mentioned in the Bible book of Acts. One of those who took the lead in this work was the apostle Paul, who in due course told the elders of the Christian congregation at Ephesus: “I did not hold back from telling you any of the things that were profitable nor from teaching you publicly and from house to house. But I thoroughly bore witness both to Jews and to Greeks about repentance toward God and faith in our Lord Jesus.”​—Acts 20:20, 21, 24; 2:40; 10:42; 23:11; 28:23.

14. (a) How extensive was the preaching prior to 70 C.E.? (b) How did the workers regard “godly devotion”?

¹⁴ Those first-century Christians had taken up the work of warning the people and teaching the “good news,” so that the Jews were fully notified of Jerusalem’s impending destruction​—which came with startling suddenness in 70 C.E., just as Jesus had prophesied. (Matt. 23:37, 38; 24:15-22) As the time drew near for that execution of judgment, the apostle Paul could write that the hope of the “good news” had been “preached in all creation that is under heaven.” (Col. 1:23) Truly, this ‘thorough witnessing’ had resulted in “works” even greater than Jesus had accomplished! And who were the workers? They were humble men and women who placed godly devotion first in their lives. With the apostle Paul, they could say: “Godly devotion is beneficial for all things, as it holds promise of the life now and that which is to come. . . . to this end we are working hard and exerting ourselves, because we have rested our hope on a living God, who is a Savior of all sorts of men, especially of faithful ones.” (1 Tim. 4:8-10) Their ‘thorough witnessing’ and sharing in ‘greater works’ in that judgment day was richly blessed by God.

MODERN-DAY WITNESSES

15. How does the activity of Jehovah’s Witnesses differ from that of Christendom’s religions?

¹⁵ In this final day of judgment of the ungodly world, which began when the “appointed times of the nations” ran out in 1914 C.E., a great crowd of witnesses has covered the earth in making known Jehovah’s name and kingdom. Their method of witnessing concerning their hope is frowned upon by Christendom, just as the Jewish religious leaders looked down on Jesus and his apostles. (Luke 21:24; John 7:45-52; Acts 5:27-29) Jehovah’s Witnesses do not rely on a few elite clergymen, the product of religious seminaries, to represent them in a pulpit or on television or radio. Rather, they themselves are a society of preachers, more than two million strong, who witness on a person-to-person basis. From house to house, in public places, and informally, they make known the hope of the “good news” that they have taken into their hearts. (Acts 5:42; 20:20, 21; 1 Pet. 3:15) Faithfully, they sound the warning that this world is in its judgment day and faces “great tribulation such as has not occurred since the world’s beginning until now, no, nor will occur again.”​—Matt. 24:21, 22.

16. What kind of persons has Jehovah chosen to do his work today?

¹⁶ Thus, in modern times, the Christian witnesses of Jehovah have accomplished, by the help of God’s spirit, works ‘greater’​—more extensive—​than Jesus’ works while he was on earth. They take no credit to themselves for this. Rather, they are happy, individually, to be the kind of persons described by Paul: “You behold [God’s] calling of you, brothers, that not many wise in a fleshly way were called, not many powerful, not many of noble birth; but God chose the foolish things of the world, that he might put the wise men to shame; and God chose the weak things of the world, that he might put the strong things to shame; and God chose the ignoble things of the world and the things looked down upon, the things that are not, that he might bring to nothing the things that are, in order that no flesh might boast in the sight of God.” (1 Cor. 1:26-29) Often it is the humble Kingdom Witness, “foolish” by worldly standards but rich in faith, who reaches the hearts of those who pause to listen.

EXPRESSING OUR “LIVING HOPE”

17. (a) In line with Psalm 145:10-14, how has Jehovah blessed his people during their 1979 service year? (b) What are some of the outstanding reports that you note in the accompanying chart?

¹⁷ During their 1979 service year, Jehovah has wonderfully blessed the witnessing activity of his people earth wide, helping them again to accomplish ‘greater works’ in the face of bans, persecutions and economic pressures. Again, a grand testimony has been given to Jehovah’s name and kingdom, as the accompanying chart shows.

18. (a) What has happened with regard to baptisms? (b) How has the Kingdom service borne fruit? (c) What was the Memorial report for 1979, and what hope do we hold regarding many of those attending?

¹⁸ Outstanding in the report is the number baptized, 113,672​—a 19.6-percent increase over the previous year’s baptisms. There were increases, too, in the number of Witnesses in the field, the hours devoted to Kingdom service, the return visits made on interested persons, and the Bible studies conducted in the homes of such sheeplike ones. This study work is bearing fruit, and this is borne out in that the highest number of persons ever attended that most important meeting of the year​—the celebration of the Memorial of Jesus’ death—​a total of 5,323,766 being present, a 4.4-percent increase over the previous year. It is our hope that the three million non-Witnesses who attended will keep on progressing toward ‘making public declaration for salvation.’​—Rom. 10:8-10.

19. (a) What thrilling reports involve pioneer activity? (b) In what ways does pioneer service contribute toward ‘greater works’?

¹⁹ It is thrilling to see the continuing growth in the ranks of the full-time “pioneer” proclaimers of the Kingdom, the monthly average of 127,558 being a 10.5-percent increase over 1978. These have made a grand contribution toward the accomplishment of ‘greater works’ in this “time of the end,” and many of them have been blessed and built up for their activity by the Pioneer Service Schools held for two-week periods throughout the earth. (Dan. 12:4) Many others, also, are showing great interest in enrolling as full-time “regular pioneers.” In August alone, 896 applied for this service in the United States, and 777 in Japan. A great many countries also report a peak in the numbers engaging in “auxiliary pioneer” work​—extended activity for just a month or several months—​and this continues to stimulate congregations to ‘greater works.’

20. (a) What encouragement should we find in the 1979 Year Report? (b) How, then, should we act with regard to our “living hope”?

²⁰ In all, the 1979 Year Report of service activity should give Jehovah’s Witnesses everywhere strong reason for rejoicing. It should spur on one and all to share in the ‘greater works’ to the full, while there is yet time. It should stimulate us to “hold fast the public declaration of our hope without wavering,” that through Jesus we may always “offer to God a sacrifice of praise, that is, the fruit of lips which make public declaration to his name.” (Heb. 10:23; 13:15) Yes, may our “living hope” ever be that real to us!

[Chart on page 18-21]

1979 SERVICE YEAR REPORT OF JEHOVAH’S WITNESSES WORLDWIDE

(See bound volume)

Insight on the News

No Evolving in Womb

● At one time a prevailing idea of evolutionists was the ‘recapitulation theory.’ This held that the developing baby in its mother’s womb goes through mankind’s evolutionary history. Although this theory has been discarded by most evolutionists, any lingering doubts as to its validity should be laid to rest by the findings of new prenatal monitoring devices such as ultrasound scanners and tiny microscopes inserted into the womb to record the baby’s development. These, as United Press International reports, have “dispelled many myths of human development.”

The press service stated: “Monitoring methods such as fetoscopy and ultrasound scanners that reproduce the shape of an unborn fetus have shown that man does not go through the complete evolution of life​—from a primitive one-celled organism to a fish-like water creature to man. . . . Every step in the fetal development process is specifically human.”

Church Losing Power

● Not long ago, the Roman Catholic Church totally dominated the affairs of the province of Quebec in Canada. But that situation has changed dramatically in the past two decades. “The Gazette” of Montreal recently carried this front-page headline: “How the Church lost its power over people.” It stated: “Roman Catholic priests no longer are the conscience of French Canada. Their power has been wrested. Their church brought to its knees.” The newspaper noted that power was now totally in the hands of the political authorities, and that “the power of the Church . . . is roughly nil.”

The newspaper showed that much of this change was due to the following: “There were too many church rules. Too many priests. Too many brothers and nuns. Too much power, too much money, but not enough mercy.”

Acknowledging this development, Archbishop Gilles Ouellet of Rimouski stated: “Quebec is no longer a Catholic society. I doubt you can even say it is a Christian society today.”

In Montreal, the largest diocese in Canada, Auxiliary Bishop Jean-Marie Lafontaine said that only 35 percent of the 1,695,000 Catholics there show up in church with any regularity. At Longueuil, Bishop Bernard Hubert said that of the half-million Catholics in his diocese only 20 to 25 percent attend Mass on Sunday anymore.

“The Gazette” commented that Le Grand Seminaire in Montreal “looks like an antique ready to be scraped down, polished up and given [a] new and more useful role. The number entering the priesthood has dropped [more than] 75 per cent in the last two decades​—135 in 1960 to about 20 today.”

In varying degrees, a similar situation confronts not only Roman Catholicism, but most of the orthodox churches throughout many parts of the world. The power of these churches continues to wane as the power of antireligious forces grows.​—Revelation (The Apocalypse), chap. 17.

No Clergy-Laity Division

● Presbyterian clergyman Thomas Gillespie of California writes in “Theology Today” that the setting apart of only the clergy for training and teaching as a “higher” order, with the laity classified as the “lower” order, “is foreign to the theological understanding of the laity in the Scriptures.”

Although noting that the Bible does show various leadership roles, Gillespie states that the entire “people of God” is commissioned to do God’s work. He says: “So far as this ministry to the peoples of the earth is concerned, there is not the slightest justification . . . for that ‘split-level’ distinction between ‘ordinary believer’ and ‘clergy,’ between ‘novice’ and ‘professional,’ which characterizes our contemporary use of the term ‘laity.’”

The clergyman says that there needs to be an “honoring of the biblical vision of the unity of the ‘laos’ [people, Greek] of God, of the ministry of all members.” He adds: “It will be realized only if the ‘nonclergy’ are willing to move up, if the ‘clergy’ are willing to move over, and if all God’s people are willing to move out.”

However, is such a willingness in evidence in any of the main religions of Christendom?

They Need Their Friends

DURING his daily work a Christian answered the telephone. It was the wife of a fellow Christian: “Oh, brother, the doctor has told me that my husband has only three months to live. I don’t know how to tell him. I suddenly thought of you. Please, are you willing to speak to him?” After a few seconds came the answer: “Certainly. I hope to see him tomorrow morning.”

Next morning, the two men greeted each other heartily. After drinking a cup of coffee, the visitor asked how his sick friend was feeling. “Just fine. The operation was successful. It is now a matter of regaining strength.”

“That sounds encouraging. It shows that you are of good heart. As a servant of God you can always be cheerful, even if your recovery is delayed, perhaps longer than you count on now. But whatever may come, we can endure all things in the power of our heavenly Father, can’t we?”

The patient, also a man matured by life, looked intently into the eyes of his friend. “Hey! Do you know something about me that I don’t know myself?” His visitor answered calmly: “Yes, indeed. The doctor spoke to your wife, and what he said was serious. He thinks your life is in danger. Of course, he is the first doctor to give an opinion, but it shows that we should do something. Wouldn’t it be wise to see another doctor who might be able to help you with a different form of treatment? You wouldn’t be the first patient who lived much longer than the doctors predicted. But wouldn’t it be better to organize matters now, in case your illness gets worse? I am willing to help you in any way you ask.”

This conversation went on longer, but we have heard enough to see clearly how honest and helpful it proved to be. Patients have a right to know the truth about their condition, especially if they ask about it.

WHY DO WE SOMETIMES HESITATE?

We are perhaps somewhat reluctant to visit someone whose life will shortly come to an end. We see and feel the destructive power of death close by and it frightens us. (Heb. 2:14, 15) But, please​—as in all cases where your friends are in great difficulties—​do not think of yourself in such situations. Proverbs 17, verse 17, does not say for nothing: “A true companion is loving all the time, and is a brother that is born for when there is distress.” For, as a member of the Christian congregation, your brother or sister needs you now more than ever. Do not allow the distressed situation of your sick friend to cause you to be governed by emotion rather than by concern for his real needs. Think of his best interests, and be a good friend. It will remove your tenseness, and the deep joy of serving others will heal your sorrow.

WHAT TO SAY?

When visiting someone who is very ill, the best thing is to realize that he will not be helped by an assumed cheerfulness. The kindly question “Would you like me to sit with you for a moment?” might give a good start. Such questions as “How do you feel?” or “Can I do anything for you?” may show you what the patient wants to talk about. If he is afraid of unknown things to come, it will be very difficult for him to speak about them. One cannot easily tell what is going on inside his mind and heart. But if the patient should care to speak about the gloomy prospect of his illness, do not interrupt with such misdirected utterances as: “Oh, you mustn’t think about that! You’ll get better.” Agree honestly with him that things may turn out for the worst, but that even then he can put everything in the capable hands of his heavenly Father.​—Phil. 4:6, 7.

You might say: ‘Would you like me to read some fine words from the Bible?’ These comforting words will have a faith-inspiring influence. Patients like the Psalms because the deep feelings of a person in distress and his cry for help to Jehovah are wonderfully revealed in them.

Persons who are dangerously ill are usually very tired and do not have the strength to keep up a conversation. So there is no need to speak much in such situations. Sitting quietly beside the person’s bed and holding his or her hand can, in itself, be a source of comfort. Even though they do not ask for a prayer, our friends having the possibility of death before them will appreciate it very much if fellow Christians seek the opportunity of joining in prayer. If you can find words of full faith in Jehovah’s desire and power to support your friend in this difficult situation, both of you will share a lofty moment of unity in spirit.

Although we should never press a very ill person to make arrangements for the time he will not be alive, it is good to watch for the moment he would like to speak about this. It will comfort him tremendously if his Christian friends promise to take care of everything after he has fallen asleep in death​—especially his wife and children or, in the case of a woman, her husband. Perhaps it is necessary to put something in writing if guardianship has to be arranged or competencies have to be transferred. Consulting a lawyer gives better assurance that the last wishes will be carried out.

Of course, our visits do not always have to be as serious as we have just described. It depends on the situation in which you find your sick friend. Patients often like to be remembered as they were during happy moments in their life. Do you know of a pleasant experience you shared with him? Relate it and you can be sure that after you have left, the patient will dwell on these heartwarming memories. You can bring deep feelings of happiness to the heart of a zealous servant of Jehovah who is now unable to do anything in the field of preaching the “good news.” Remind him of all he did in this respect in the past. Commend patients warmly for their perseverance and the fine example they set as they endure their sufferings with faith and cheerfulness.​—Heb. 6:10.

CONQUER YOUR FEAR

You will agree that those who have resigned themselves to the possibility that sickness or an accident can bring our lives to an end are in a better position to help others who have to face imminent death. It is evidence of maturity not to deny realities we may all be required to face.

But if fear of death is gnawing at us, what can we do to overcome these bad feelings and dark thoughts? First of all, do not try to ignore your fears. Take time to meditate about the uncertainties of this life and the solution God gives. Friends of God, the heavenly Source of life, can consider this matter in a realistic yet balanced way. They know what death actually is: an unconscious sleep without pain or terrors. (John 11:11-14) Jesus taught freely that the dead will be resurrected, saying: “Do not marvel at this, because the hour is coming in which all those in the memorial tombs will hear his voice and come out.” (John 5:28, 29) Although Jesus was executed by his opposers, he was brought back to life by his heavenly Father. After this miracle, the apostle Paul writes, “he appeared to upward of five hundred brothers at one time, the most of whom remain to the present.” (1 Cor. 15:3-8) Yes, indeed, there was abundant testimony to Christ’s resurrection.

Christians know that the life they rejoice in at the moment is not the most important thing. Having divine approval is worth much more, “as it holds promise of the life now and that which is to come.” (1 Tim. 4:8) And be sure that Jehovah will give the strength to face death at the moment we are in real need of it.​—Ps. 46:1.

“BUT NOT LEFT IN THE LURCH”

Should you feel sure that the illness you have now has a dark outlook, then it is really necessary to maintain your spiritual balance. Perhaps such questions as: ‘But why me?’ are bubbling up in you. Fears and deep feelings of abandonment may harass you. Fight them. Be the master of your thoughts and keep them under control. You are still alive and Jehovah is nearby. Realize that the Devil would like to play on your own weakness in trying to weaken your faith in God and his promise. But you are not fighting a solitary fight. Jehovah will not ‘leave you in the lurch.’​—2 Cor. 4:9.

Look for friends to help you, especially those who have already overcome many difficulties in the power of Jehovah. Hold fast your faith in all of God’s promises. Look ahead to the time you will return to life and will see all of Jehovah’s blessings. What a time that will be! Living to eternity without pain and sorrows, together with real friends. Jehovah God wants all of us to live forever. Jesus said: “I am the resurrection and the life. He that exercises faith in me, even though he dies, will come to life.”​—John 11:25.

REMEMBER YOUR MOURNING FRIENDS

Should it be that a Christian brother or sister has fallen asleep in death, do not forget his close relatives. That is the time to place yourself in their situation. Can you imagine how they feel after such bereavement? They have to go on with their normal daily lives, but are still deeply wounded. Now is the time they are in need of their friends​—friends, however, who are able to listen. To have someone listen once more to accounts of what the husband, wife or child said or did can be soothing and comforting. It is impossible for them to forget their departed loved ones all at once. Meanwhile, you can help them to take up their own lives once more.

You can do so much for your mourning friends. A telephone call or an unexpected invitation for a meal are among the possibilities. Could you have them share in your personal Bible study? Have all the official and financial formalities been arranged? Do they have enough money to live on, and if not, are we willing to help them with some of what Jehovah has given us?

It is clear when our friends need us in a special way​—in times of grief, anxiety, and even fear. Jesus gave his parable about the good Samaritan also for our benefit at such times. Let it never be written about us: He “went by on the opposite side,” as the priest and Levite did in Jesus’ story. (Luke 10:29-37) We understand much better now what is written in Ecclesiastes, chapter 7, verse 2: “Better is it to go to the house of mourning than to go to the banquet house.” And James wrote: “The form of worship that is clean and undefiled from the standpoint of our God and Father is this: to look after orphans and widows in their tribulation, and to keep oneself without spot from the world.” (Jas. 1:27) May Jehovah bless us in doing so!

Psalms

Where Are Your Eyes?

OFTEN servants of God face problems and trialsome circumstances. At such times one needs the aid of the Most High. Do you then earnestly petition Jehovah God for help, looking to him for guidance?

This is the encouragement we can draw from Psalm 123. We read: “To you I have raised my eyes, O You who are dwelling in the heavens.” (Ps. 123:1) Since the Almighty God resides in the highest heavens, it would only be natural for the psalmist to speak of raising the eyes upward when appealing to the Creator for favor. Illustrating the reason for looking to Jehovah, he continues: “Look! As the eyes of servants are toward the hand of their master, as the eyes of a maidservant are toward the hand of her mistress, so our eyes are toward Jehovah our God until he shows us favor. Show us favor, O Jehovah, show us favor; for to an abundance we have been glutted with contempt. Abundantly our soul has been glutted with the derision of those who are at ease, of the contempt on the part of the arrogant ones.”​—Ps. 123:2-4.

Servants and maids carefully watch the hands of their masters and mistresses, with a view to determining just what their wish or will may be. The hands of masters and mistresses can also provide necessities of life and protection for the servants. Similarly, slaves of God look to him, wanting to know his will on matters and desiring to receive his protection, favor and blessing.

The psalmist and his fellow Israelites were being ridiculed. Because of the degraded way in which they were being looked upon by their enemies, it was most appropriate for them to plead that Jehovah show them favor. The contempt heaped upon them came not rarely but as a matter of course. It was abundant. The “arrogant ones” responsible for it were “at ease,” that is, they seemed secure.

Such circumstances existed when the walls of Jerusalem were being rebuilt under the direction of Nehemiah. Regarding what the enemies were saying, the Bible reports: “As soon as Sanballat heard that we were rebuilding the wall, he became angry and highly offended, and he kept deriding the Jews. And he began to say before his brothers and the military force of Samaria, yes, he began to say: ‘What are the feeble Jews doing? Will they depend upon themselves? Will they sacrifice? Will they finish up in a day? Will they bring the stones to life out of the heaps of dusty rubbish when they are burned?’ Now Tobiah the Ammonite was alongside him, and he went on to say: ‘Even what they are building, if a fox went up against it, he would certainly break down their wall of stones.’”​—Neh. 4:1-3.

It is noteworthy that, despite intense enemy opposition and ridicule, the walls of Jerusalem were rebuilt. The main reason for this was that Nehemiah and his fellow workers looked to Jehovah for help. (Neh. 4:4, 5) If we likewise continue to look to Jehovah for his favor and blessing, we will never be disappointed. He will grant us our petitions.​—1 John 3:21, 22.

Miriam​—Privileged in Youth and in Old Age

MIRIAM, the daughter of the Levite Amram and his Levite wife Jochebed, played an important role in the early history of Israel. The way in which Miriam was used by Jehovah God testified to his concern for the nation. Through the prophet Micah, the Almighty declared: “I brought you up out of the land of Egypt, and from the house of slaves I redeemed you; and I proceeded to send before you Moses, Aaron and Miriam.”​—Mic. 6:4.

AS A YOUTH

Already as a child, Miriam was privileged to share in the outworking of Jehovah’s purpose respecting her brother Moses. Egypt’s Pharaoh had decreed that every male baby born to the Hebrews be thrown into the Nile River. Not fearing the royal order, Jochebed kept the baby concealed for three months. But when no longer able to keep him hidden, she made an ark of papyrus and waterproofed it with bitumen and pitch. Next she put the ark, with her infant son inside, among the reeds by the bank of the Nile. Then Miriama stationed herself nearby to see what would happen.​—Ex. 2:1-4; 6:20; Heb. 11:23.

When Pharaoh’s daughter, accompanied by her lady attendants, came to bathe in the river, she caught sight of the ark and requested that it be brought to her. The sight of the crying infant stirred her emotions, and she took pity on the baby. Miriam acted quickly. Directing her words to Pharaoh’s daughter, she asked: “Shall I go and specially call for you a nursing woman from the Hebrew women that she may nurse the child for you?” The words of Miriam paved the way for her own mother to be that nursing woman. What joy and gratitude must have welled up within the heart of Jochebed! Thus Moses was saved from death and nurtured, to become the one by means of whom the Israelites were led out of Egypt to the borders of the Promised Land. Certainly, few girls have shared so directly in the outworking of divine providence as did Miriam.​—Ex. 2:5-10.

IN OLD AGE

Eighty years later, the Israelites left Egypt as a free people under Moses’ leadership. When Pharaoh and his military forces went in hot pursuit, Jehovah God performed a spectacular miracle, opening up the Red Sea so that His people could march across. But the Egyptian pursuers were destroyed, one and all, as afterward the passageway quickly filled up with water. On the other side of the sea, Miriam led the Israelite women in song and dance, glorifying Jehovah for delivering them. She was then about 90 years of age and was serving as a prophetess in Israel.​—Ex. 15:20, 21.

The following year, however, the privileged position that Miriam enjoyed became a cause of stumbling for her. She began to speak out against her brother Moses and influenced Aaron to join her. The object of the faultfinding was Moses’ Cushite wife, and this was used as a basis for challenging his unique position. The Bible account tells us: “They kept saying: ‘Is it just by Moses alone that Jehovah has spoken? Is it not by us also that he has spoken?’ “ These questions implied that Moses was slighting his older brother and sister, raising himself up as a sole spokesman for God.​—Num. 12:1-3.

The complaint had absolutely no basis, and the Most High said to Aaron and Miriam: “Hear my words, please. If there came to be a prophet of yours for Jehovah, it would be in a vision I would make myself known to him. In a dream I would speak to him. Not so my servant Moses! He is being entrusted with all my house. Mouth to mouth I speak to him, thus showing him, and not by riddles; and the appearance of Jehovah is what he beholds. Why, then, did you not fear to speak against my servant, against Moses?” (Num. 12:6-8) Yes, Moses had not seized a position above Aaron or any other members of the Israelite nation. He was directly appointed by Jehovah. That is why both Aaron and Miriam were guilty of speaking out against the Most High.

In Miriam’s case, her murmuring may have been stirred by jealousy for her standing as a prophetess. She may have feared that her sister-in-law would gain greater prominence in the nation. Evidently Miriam’s pride caused her to fail to see the real issue​—the importance of humble submission to Jehovah’s arrangement.

For violating her God-assigned role and making unjustified complaints against her brother, Miriam was stricken with leprosy. What a fearful evidence of divine displeasure! Aaron pleaded for mercy, and Moses earnestly entreated Jehovah in behalf of his sister, saying: “O God, please! Heal her, please!” Miriam was healed but had to bear the humiliation of undergoing a seven-day quarantine outside the camp of Israel. (Num. 12:9-15) However, in the year that the Israelites entered Canaan, Miriam died in Jehovah’s favor.​—Num. 20:1.

All servants of the Most High can draw an important lesson from the experience of Miriam. Though a person may enjoy many blessings, this in itself does not render him immune to a serious fall. There is a real need for us to strive to remain humble before our God, not allowing pride to gain the mastery over us. May we ever keep before us the inspired words: “God opposes the haughty ones, but he gives undeserved kindness to the humble ones.”​—Jas. 4:6.

[Footnotes]

Questions from Readers

● What was the “reward” that the apostle Paul enjoyed because of proclaiming the “good news” willingly?

The apostle stated: “If I perform this willingly, I have a reward; but if I do it against my will, all the same I have a stewardship entrusted to me.” (1 Cor. 9:17) An examination of the context makes clear what Paul had in mind.

Throughout chapter 9 of 1 Corinthians, the apostle emphasized that he had not taken advantage of his right to refrain from secular work and to “live by means of the good news.” (1 Co 9 Vs. 14) Drawing on facts of daily life, the Mosaic law, and what Jesus Christ himself ordained, the apostle made clear that it was fitting to receive material support for the work of furthering the “good news.”

Since Paul, of his own free will, waived this right and chose to support himself materially, his reward was the joy and the satisfaction that came from following this course. With a clean conscience, he could point to his example of unselfishness in furthering the spiritual interests of others. No one could accuse him of making material gain for himself through the “good news.” He had not abused his authority as one entrusted with a sacred commission, a stewardship. That is why he could say: “What, then, is my reward? That while declaring the good news I may furnish the good news without cost, to the end that I may not abuse my authority in the good news.”​—1 Cor. 9:18.

● Are there “four horsemen of the Apocalypse”? Or are there five?

The phrase, “the four horsemen of the Apocalypse,” which Spanish writer Vicente Blasco Ibáñez popularized as the title of a World War I novel, is drawn from the description in chapter six of Revelation or the Apocalypse.

There the apostle John sees in vision ‘a white horse and the one seated upon it,’ understood to picture Jesus Christ riding forth as heavenly king. Next comes a rider on a “fiery-colored horse,” representing war such as erupted in 1914 C.E. A black horse with a rider is third, and it represents enormous food shortage. The account then adds: “And I saw, and, look! a pale horse; and the one seated upon it had the name Death. And Hades was closely following him.”​—Rev. 6:1-8.a

But how was Hades following Death? Was Hades riding on its own undescribed horse? Or was Hades seated behind Death on the pale horse? Or, even, was Hades on no horse at all, but following nevertheless? Actually, none of us can say with assurance which of these possibilities was so, for John did not provide that detail. Hence, from the account itself, all we can say with certainty is that John saw four horsemen​—the four riders on the white, red and black and pale horses. There is no need to be dogmatic about whether Hades was riding on a fifth horse or not.

John’s description does, though, enable us to perceive what he considered more important than just how Hades was following. That is that those claimed by premature death​—such as by war, famine and plague—​are gathered in by Hades, mankind’s common grave.​—Rev. 20:13.

[Footnotes]

Can You Read the Future?

It can really be done. Information about the future can be obtained by reading The Watchtower and Awake!

Read these magazines regularly, and learn why we can be confident that a better world is at hand. You will receive both magazines (four copies a month) for one year by sending only $5 (U.S.) to Watchtower, R.D. 1, Box 300, Wallkill, N.Y., 12589.

Why Do They Keep Calling at Our Home?

HAVE you ever wondered why Jehovah’s Witnesses call at your door? They do so because they are looking for persons desiring to learn more about God’s Word, the Bible. Also, they have taken to heart these words of Jesus, spoken to his followers: “You will be witnesses of me both in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria and to the most distant part of the earth.” (Acts 1:8) In this way they are showing love toward their neighbor.​—Matt. 22:39.

Some Bible students soon realize that they should be telling others the good news of God’s kingdom. For instance, Witnesses in Guadeloupe had been studying the Bible with a young married couple for only two weeks when these individuals attended a recent Christian convention. On learning that house-to-house witnessing was scheduled for one of the assembly days, this couple desired to participate. Why?

“It is not to see how things are going along in the preaching work,” they said, “ . . . but it is because we have understood from our study so far, and from what we have heard today on the program, that we ourselves must preach.” God’s Word had stimulated in them this desire, and they did have a share in that special witnessing activity.

But what is the content of the “good news”? Why is it so good? What is there about it that moves many to share it enthusiastically with others? Why not ask Jehovah’s Witnesses the next time they call at your home?