The Watchtower — March 15, 1982

Good Neighbors​—We Need Them

NOT long ago a woman in Toronto, Canada, went to the stores and left her weekly wash hanging on a clothesline to dry. While she was gone, the wash fell to the ground. Seeing this, her neighbor picked it out of the dirt for her, rewashed it and hung it all out to dry again.

Do you have neighbors like that? Unfortunately, they seem to be rare today. More common are news items like the one, also from Toronto, about an elderly woman whose arm was pinned to a hot stove. She cried for help, but her neighbors ignored her screams, and she was not rescued for two days. The arm had to be amputated.

Living in a community where neighbors care adds security and warmth to life. Good neighbors cook meals for us when we are sick, bring our children home when they wander away, help us through major and minor crises, purchase a few items for us while doing their own shopping, keep an eye on our house if we are away and generally make life more pleasant when they say “Good morning” each day. And, of course, we do the same for them.

In the old days such neighbors were the rule rather than the exception. Even today you can still find them in rural areas and small towns. But in the bigger cities and the affluent suburbs caring neighbors are a rare breed; and since most today live in cities or their suburbs, many people have never had the experience of living in a caring neighborhood. A psychologist said: “Why, living in a Toronto apartment, I could die and lie there for months before anybody would notice. It didn’t use to be that way.” The same is true of most big cities. On the other side of the globe a young bachelor died in an apartment in a big city. His body was not found for one and a half years!

The psychologist said that it was not always like that. What caused the change?

What Has Happened to Neighborliness?

WHY do many of the folks next door not act like neighbors anymore? Researchers mention a number of reasons, most of them having to do with modern life-styles.

Mobility is one. Many people change their address frequently. They thus have little time to get to know their neighbors and build up a neighborhood spirit.

Ghost towns are also mentioned. These are neighborhoods where the whole family is out at work or school during the day. In the evening they go out again or sit silently around the television set. In this kind of home, family members are often strangers not only to the neighbors but to one another.

Architecture and town planning come in for a share of the blame. High-rise apartments are designed in self-contained units. Families who live in these have little physical contact with their neighbors.

The prestige of privacy is also blamed. In some regions privacy is highly valued. “You can’t just knock on a friend’s door and visit,” said a resident of suburbia. One woman was unexpectedly visited by a neighborhood widow who complained that she was lonely. The woman coldly turned her away, resenting the invasion of her privacy. That night the lonely widow neighbor committed suicide.

Crime is another factor mentioned. Fear of crime has turned some neighborhoods into nighttime prisons, where families fearfully lock the door when the sun goes down, and few venture outside.

All these things have doubtless contributed to the decline in neighborly feeling. But there must be deeper reasons for some of the things that happen. In one residential area a young woman was stalked by a man for half an hour. He attacked her three times and finally stabbed her to death. Thirty-eight neighbors heard her screams or saw the attack, but they ignored the whole affair. Only one called the police​—too late. That kind of cold indifference to neighbors is not uncommon.

Such inhumanity betrays serious flaws in the personalities of the ones involved. A Bible student is reminded of the prophecy of the apostle Paul for our day: “Men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, . . . having no natural affection, not open to any agreement, . . . without self-control, . . . without love of goodness, . . . lovers of pleasures rather than lovers of God.”​—2 Timothy 3:2-4.

The fulfillment of these words means that we are living in very critical times, and those attitudes may well be reflected in the neighborhood where you live. Nevertheless, there is no reason why we individually should not act neighborly to people around us. It may spark a heartwarming response. What is a wise way to be a good neighbor today?

You Can Be a Good Neighbor

WHEN older folks speak of the “good old days,” what do you think they have in mind? In terms of material wealth, comforts and conveniences or medical services, the old days were not so “good” for most people. There were no televisions, few automobiles, telephones or other things that many today would find it hard to live without. What was so good, then? No doubt what they have in mind is the neighborliness that existed then.

Although there was little financial security, people helped one another. As many old folks tell it, however poor a man was, he always had a little to lend to his neighbor. If anyone was seriously ill, the neighbors would give practical help, such as cooking meals or caring for the children. If a man had a big job to do around the house, the neighbors would often pitch in and help.

However, as the authorities do more and more for people, they need one another less and less. Nevertheless, we still have to live with our neighbors. The Bible warned long ago that “one isolating himself will seek his own selfish longing.” (Proverbs 18:1) A person who refuses to mix with others eventually becomes unbalanced, even eccentric.

True, we usually do not choose our neighbors, and they do not choose us. And “bad associations” do “spoil useful habits.” (1 Corinthians 15:33) But if we learn to live with them wisely, it will be of benefit to them and to us. What does this involve?

The “Dos” of Neighborliness

Being a good neighbor requires understanding. Different things are acceptable in different kinds of neighborhoods. If we come from a rural area where people constantly visit with one another, we may have to adjust if we move into the city and cannot do that. In some cities neighborhoods are mixed, with folks coming from different backgrounds. Some may act in ways that we are not used to, but so long as they are not a public nuisance or not threatening to our own family, why criticize them?

A good neighbor also needs to be friendly. How much time does it take to say a smiling “Good morning” to those we pass on the sidewalk or in the elevator? Even one cheerful face can make a whole group of people feel better.

Being friendly, we will also want to learn the names of people living around us. If we speak to our neighbors by name, we show that we view them as individuals, and they are likely to feel warmer toward us.

A good neighbor needs to exercise concern, too. If someone close by is sick, it shows concern to remember to ask how he is and to speak a few comforting words. There may even be some small task we can do for him to help lighten his load. Also, if there is an elderly person living nearby, why not try to be extra considerate of him? For example, if we are going shopping, perhaps there is something we could purchase for the elderly one. If a light is left on in his house for an unusual length of time, or a door is left open, why not check to be sure that things are all right?

And what if we should see a crime in progress or something happening that looks wrong? Well, it is not usually wise to charge in heroically and try to handle the situation. Trained people usually do that kind of thing better than we could. But at least neighborly concern will move us to inform the police quickly, and perhaps to take notice of details that would help them later.

A useful guide in dealing with neighbors is what has been called the golden rule: “All things, therefore, that you want men to do to you, you also must likewise do to them.” (Matthew 7:12) Thus, if we see a problem involving a neighbor, and wonder how we should act, ask: “What would I want someone to do for me if I were in that situation?” The answer will help us to make a wise decision.

On one occasion a bystander asked Jesus: “Who really is my neighbor?” Jesus answered by recounting the parable of the “good Samaritan.” He showed that a real neighbor is one who will help when he sees someone in need. If we show friendliness, understanding and concern for our neighbors, we will be following that fine example.​—Luke 10:29-37.

The “Don’ts” of Neighborliness

There are also certain things a good neighbor will not do. This is because he is considerate. He will not, for example, play his stereo equipment or television so loudly as to entertain the whole neighborhood. He will keep his house and surroundings neat and clean, thus not detracting from the appearance of the neighborhood.

A wise man long ago wrote: “Make your foot rare at the house of your fellowman, that he may not have his sufficiency of you and certainly hate you.” (Proverbs 25:17) Yes, while an occasional visit may be welcome, neighbors can quickly become tired of a constant caller.

Then again the apostle Paul warned against those who kept “gadding about to the houses” and were “gossipers and meddlers in other people’s affairs.” (1 Timothy 5:13) We avoid local gossip and scandalmongering if we limit the time we spend visiting with neighbors. Besides, most people today complain that they do not have enough time to do all the things they want. Time spent on excessive socializing may mean sacrificing the opportunity to do something more important.

A good neighbor has respect for those around him and deals with them in mildness. Thus he will not make small problems into big ones. One summer evening in Amsterdam a father was upset because the noise of a radio across the street was keeping his children awake. His wife gently suggested that he go to the neighbor and explain the problem. His neighbor, on hearing the problem reasonably discussed, was glad to cooperate. He turned off the radio, remarking: “I never listen to all that political stuff anyway!” What could have been a bad situation was averted by handling it mildly, and the two neighbors became good friends.

Finally, we need discernment and balance. Some of our neighbors may have bad habits. They may smoke, use bad language or live immoral lives. In some areas teenagers use drugs and are organized in gangs. So we have to balance our neighborliness with ensuring that bad habits do not rub off on us or our children. Yes, being a good neighbor involves a lot of things.

The Power of Neighborliness

Early in 1980, John, an elder in a local congregation of Jehovah’s Witnesses, found himself in a situation where neighborly feeling had completely broken down. It happened in a town in Oklahoma, U.S.A. A black teenager had been killed, and the local black population had the impression that the police were doing nothing about it. A vicious race riot erupted, with bullets flying freely.

Yet John’s home was like an oasis in the turmoil. Although he, with his wife and teenage daughter, had to lie on the floor for several hours to avoid stray bullets, there was no racial tension or hatred there. In fact, this white family shared their refuge with a black girl and a Mexican family. John’s wife said: “I know there is trouble; I’m not blind. But on the basis on which we have dealings with people​—blacks and whites—​there is a good relationship.”

Yes, this family had been good neighbors to the people around them. They had shown them respect and consideration and, as a result, were respected in return. The racial hatreds were not directed against them.

A few days after the rioting, in the course of preaching from house to house (a neighborhood service that all of Jehovah’s Witnesses share in), they happened to call on the relatives of the boy whose death had sparked the violence. In a friendly fashion they expressed their sympathy and gave the finest help they could. They spoke about the sure hope of a resurrection from the dead and the prospect of living soon in a world where everyone will be good neighbors. That world is described in a verse in the Bible book of Isaiah: “They will not do any harm or cause any ruin in all my holy mountain; because the earth will certainly be filled with the knowledge of Jehovah as the waters are covering the very sea.”​—Isaiah 11:9.

All of us would surely like to live in a world like that. But, while we are waiting for it, we have to live with things as they are. Nevertheless, if, like John and his family, we act in a balanced, neighborly way toward the people who live around us, being considerate and respectful of them, we will find life more pleasant. And​—who knows?​—perhaps our neighbors will become more neighborly toward us.

God’s Word Is Alive

Why Martha Believed in the Resurrection

ON HEARING that Jesus was coming, Martha ran out to meet him. “Lord, if you had been here my brother would not have died,” she said. Seeing her sorrow, Jesus comforted her with the words: “Your brother will rise.” Martha answered, as you can see here: “I know he will rise in the resurrection on the last day.”​—John 11:17-24.

Why did Martha have such strong faith that her brother Lazarus would be resurrected? Well, she knew, for example, that many years in the past God’s prophets Elijah and Elisha, with God’s power, had each resurrected a child. (1 Kings 17:17-24; 2 Kings 4:32-37) And she knew that a dead man had come to life when he was thrown into a pit and had touched the bones of dead Elisha. (2 Kings 13:20, 21) But what had strengthened her faith in the resurrection the most was what Jesus himself had taught and done.

Less than two years before, Jesus had said: “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) Up until that time there is no Bible record that Jesus had resurrected anyone. But shortly afterward he raised to life the only son of a widow in the city of Nain. The news of this was carried south to Judea, so Martha was sure to have heard about it. (Luke 7:11-17) Later Martha was also sure to have heard reports about the resurrection by Jesus of the 12-year-old daughter of Jairus.​—Luke 8:40-56.

Still Martha did not expect Jesus to resurrect her brother at this time. That is why she said: “I know he will rise in the resurrection on the last day.” However, to impress on Martha the part he has in raising the dead, Jesus said: “I am the resurrection and the life.” And then he raised up Lazarus, even though Lazarus had been dead four days!​—John 11:24-27, 38-44.

We today have even stronger reason to have faith in the resurrection. Why? Especially because of the raising to life of Jesus Christ himself. “This Jesus God resurrected, of which fact we are all witnesses,” Peter said. (Acts 2:32) There can be no doubt that Christ was raised from the dead, for afterward he showed himself alive to many of his disciples, once to some 500 of them. (1 Corinthians 15:3-8) So strongly did his disciples believe in the resurrection that they were willing to face persecution and even death to serve God. Do you have that kind of faith in the resurrection?

[Pictures on page 8, 9]

RESURRECTIONS

by Elijah

by Elisha

“Lord, . . . I know he will rise in the resurrection”

by Jesus

Lazarus ‘comes on out’

‘Stepping Over’ to the Falkland Islands

THREE hundred milesa east of the southern tip of South America our plane dipped through the cloud covering, and there below us were countless islands, large and small, green, studded with lakes, their coastlines broken by bays and coves. These were the Falkland Islands​—our destination.

The airport was just a narrow strip on a barren, windswept peninsula. Almost immediately we were aware of the strong, prevailing westerlies and the relentless pounding of the tempestuous seas of the South Atlantic. But the bleakness vanished when we were greeted by two warm, smiling faces​—Arthur Nutter and young Dorcas Reid, constituting half of the total number of baptized witnesses of Jehovah on these remote islands. Arthur’s wife, Josie, and Dorcas’ mother made up the balance.

In Port Stanley, the Capital

A short ride in a Land Rover taxi operated by the police chief’s wife brought us to Port Stanley, the capital and only city of the islands. En route we were shown the site of a former landing strip built with metal runways. They had been blown away by a storm. We also saw remains of shipwrecks in the harbor, testifying to the hardship experienced by the early settlers, many of whom simply stayed on after being stranded here.

That evening we met Dorcas’ family​—eight younger brothers and sisters and her mother, who, almost single-handedly, raised her youngsters “in the discipline and mental-regulating of Jehovah” in this isolated place. (Ephesians 6:4) To see all the young ones neatly dressed and sitting quietly at the gathering left a deep impression on us.

The next day Arthur introduced us to his wife, Josie. Then, along with their two young children and Dorcas, we set out to preach the good news of God’s kingdom to the people in Port Stanley. The strong, cold winds and rain did not deter the local Witnesses. “If we were to wait for good weather, we would never get any work done,” said one of them. Our umbrellas were turned inside out by the strong gusts. Soon we got wet and cold even though it was a summer day. But our hearts were warmed by the willing listeners we found. In any case, back home a hot meal of mutton, the staple diet of the Falklands, took care of things for us.

The islands’ only radio station cooperated in advertising the special “Bible Lands” slide program that we brought along. We were delighted when 23 came to the recreation room at the Town Hall Saturday afternoon for the presentation. A rather good attendance, we thought, for a city of 900 people.

A Side Trip to a Settlement

The Nutters invited us to visit their home at a camp settlement in Walker Creek. Arthur went ahead on his motorcycle for an eight-hour ride over roadless terrain. The rest of us were to go Monday morning by “Beaver,” a seven-seat seaplane. But gale-force winds and rain kept delaying our departure. Tuesday night we heard our names called over the radio for the next day’s flight. By midmorning the winds abated and the phone rang. We were off in a half hour.

It was a 30-minute flight westward over most interesting terrain. To our right we could see the highest peak on East Falkland​—Mount Usborne, 2,312 feet (705 m) high. Below us was an expanse of treeless, bushless grassland, with patches of dark-green bogs. This is sheep-raising country.

Settlements are very small groups of houses owned by the Falkland Islands Company, where life centers around sheep. There are five houses and 35,000 sheep in Walker Creek.

A highlight of our visit with the Nutters was a Bible study meeting using The Watchtower. Though only six of us gathered in the family kitchen, everyone was properly dressed up, thus showing due respect for the occasion and in keeping with Jesus’ words: “Where there are two or three gathered together in my name, there I am in their midst.” (Matthew 18:20) This spirit has helped the isolated family to keep the feeling of oneness with the rest of their worldwide spiritual family.

Sunday we took a drive into the country. And we certainly enjoyed seeing some of the wildlife, especially the penguins.

Time to Go Home

“Beaver” was our only way to get back to Port Stanley. There were the usual uncertainties due to the weather. As we finally took off from Choiseul Sound, the pilot called our attention to a storm brewing to the west. A letter received later told us that we had narrowly escaped a mid-summer snowstorm!

Back in Port Stanley we had time for just a farewell visit to the Reids. By this time Dorcas and her 11-year-old brother Alex had gone to the mainland for school, leaving their mother as the only Witness in Port Stanley. It was hard for us to leave this fine family all by itself.

As our plane took off for the mainland, we realized that this visit had made a deep impression on us. It was most faith-strengthening to see the love, zeal and devotion displayed by these few Witnesses on the islands. They have responded to the ‘Macedonian call’ to ‘step over and help us’ in the Falkland Islands.​—Acts 16:9.

[Footnotes]

[Maps on page 11]

(For fully formatted text, see publication)

Falkland Islands

Atlantic Ocean

South America

[Map]

Mt. Usborne

Port Stanley

Choiseul Sound

Walker Creek

Who Alone Is Loyal?

The information in this and the two succeeding articles for study was presented on the opening day of the “Kingdom Loyalty” District Convention of Jehovah’s Witnesses. These Christian assemblies, held throughout the northern and southern hemispheres during the past nine months, have been attended to date by 3,028,796 persons, with 33,627 being baptized. It is timely to review here this fine spiritual food, as preparations are being made for a further rich “feast” at the coming summer’s “Kingdom Truth” District Conventions.

THE One who is most outstanding in all the universe for the quality of loyalty is the Creator himself! From him stems this quality in all his intelligent creatures. By persons who highly value loyalty he can be called upon to exercise loyalty in times of need. Thus, without being presumptuous, the servant of the patriarch Abraham, the forefather of kings, appealed to Jehovah as the God of his master to display his loyal love. (Genesis 24:14) A descendant of Abraham, David, while yet in line for the kingship over Israel, spoke out of his own experience and said in a psalm addressed to Jehovah: “With someone loyal you will act in loyalty.” (2 Samuel 22:26; Psalm 18:25) Also, the prophet Moses, who represented the heavenly King, Jehovah, in the nation of Israel, magnified the quality of loyalty to Jehovah God when he blessed the priestly tribe of Levi and said:

“Your Thummim and your Urim belong to the man [Levi] loyal to you, whom you put to the test at Massah. You began to contend with him by the waters of Meribah, the man who said to his father and his mother, ‘I have not seen him.’ Even his brothers he did not acknowledge, and his sons he did not know. For they [the Levites] kept your saying, and your covenant they continued to observe.”​—Deuteronomy 33:4, 5, 8, 9.

Without hesitation the prophet Moses could have joined in singing a song composed more than 1,600 years later entitled “the song of Moses the slave of God and the song of the Lamb [Jesus Christ],” the words of which say: “Great and wonderful are your works, Jehovah God, the Almighty. Righteous and true are your ways, King of eternity. Who will not really fear you, Jehovah, and glorify your name, because you alone are loyal? For all the nations will come and worship before you, because your righteous decrees have been made manifest.”​—Revelation 15:1-4.

The psalmist David made the same estimate of those divine qualities, for he wrote: “Jehovah is righteous in all his ways and loyal in all his works.” (Psalm 145:17) Jehovah as the Supreme Judge will take up the case of those who worship and serve him, just as an angel is reported as saying to him: “You, the One who is and who was, the loyal One, are righteous, because you have rendered these decisions.”​—Revelation 16:4, 5.

In the language of the prophet Moses and the psalmist David, the Hebrew word for “loyalty” that we are discussing contains the thought of kindness, of being lovingly kind. Some Bible translators prefer to render the Hebrew word (hhesʹed) as “loving-kindness.” It is a kindly way of looking at matters when we view loyalty as being a kindness, as being something that takes into account certain things that must not be overlooked, so that loyalty is not something cold, something merely based on law or justice. It is a personal quality motivated by love and appreciation.

We call to mind how a certain ruler in the land of Canaan saw that the true God was with Abraham who was sojourning there, and, hence, he came to Abraham and said: “Swear to me here by God that you will not prove false to me and to my offspring and to my posterity; that, according to the loyal love with which I have dealt with you, you will deal with me and with the land in which you have been residing as an alien.” (Genesis 21:22, 23) We recall also how, when Abraham later sent his servant Eliezer to get a wife for his beloved son Isaac, this servant prayed to Jehovah God and said: “This [the woman I described] is the one you must assign to your servant, to Isaac; and by this let me know that you have performed loyal love with my master.”​—Genesis 24:14.

Loyalty to What?

The patriarch Abraham carried out what he swore to do to that ruler in the land of Canaan, and Jehovah God performed what Abraham’s servant, Eliezer, asked of him in prayer, and he provided the right wife for Isaac. However, above all other things, to what is the Most High God Jehovah loyal? It is to his kingdom, to his own kingship, for he is rightfully the Sovereign over all the universe that he created. He cannot deny himself as to what he actually is. In fulfillment of his unalterable covenant with Abraham, he became King over Abraham’s special line of descendants, the nation of Israel, especially so when God freed them from slavery in the land of Egypt and brought them into the Promised Land in 1467 B.C.E. Then, for 350 years, Jehovah gave them his visible representatives in the form of judges down to the days of Judge Samuel. At the time that his mother, Hannah, presented him to God’s sacred service at his holy tabernacle at Shiloh, she uttered a prophecy pointing forward to a future visible king over the nation of Israel, saying: “Jehovah himself will judge the ends of the earth, that he may give strength to his king, that he may exalt the horn of his anointed one.”​—1 Samuel 2:10.

During those days of Judge Samuel, the Israelites asked for a change of government over them. They demanded of Judge Samuel: “Do give us a king to judge us.” This displeased not only Samuel but also Jehovah God. He said to Samuel: “It is not you whom they have rejected [as judge], but it is I whom they have rejected from being king over them.” (1 Samuel 8:1-7) God allowed them to have a visible human king, Saul the son of Kish. Nevertheless, God did not renounce his sovereignty over them. According to his covenant purpose, God proved loyal to his invisible, heavenly kingship over his chosen people. Their second human king was the onetime shepherd, David, the son of Jesse of the Judean town of Bethlehem.

How did loyalty come to the fore during David’s kingship? Of what was this pictorial? And how does the issue of loyalty affect us today? The next article will answer these questions.

Loyalty to “the Kingdom of Our Lord and of His Christ”

“I shall have affection for you, O Jehovah my strength. With someone loyal you will act in loyalty.”​—Psalm 18:1, 25.

1. (a) How did David respond to Jehovah’s loyalty? (b) What recognition did David make, right up until old age?

IN LOYALTY Jehovah was the One who raised up David to the throne over all Israel. That was in the year 1070 B.C.E. In appreciation of this divine loving-kindness, the enthroned David constantly acknowledged God as his King, hence the Supreme King over Israel. Particularly with reference to David’s distant descendant the Messiah, God said: “I, even I, have installed my king upon Zion, my holy mountain.” (Psalm 2:6) In recognition of the real heavenly Ruler, David said: “Do pay attention to the sound of my cry for help, O my King and my God, because to you I pray. O Jehovah, in the morning you will hear my voice.” (Psalm 5:1-3) When, in his old age, he turned over the throne to his son Solomon, David prayed to God before all the assembly of Israel and said: “Yours is the kingdom, O Jehovah, the One also lifting yourself up as head over all. The riches and the glory are on account of you, and you are dominating everything.”​—1 Chronicles 29:11, 12.

2. (a) What age-old issue should we today acknowledge? (b) What crucial question must we now answer individually?

² That all-important fact that King David publicly acknowledged so long ago is what we human creatures, who are not kings, should likewise acknowledge without shame. The exercising of the universal domination, or sovereignty, by Jehovah God is the age-old issue taught in the Holy Bible. It is the divine legal case now before all peoples and nations for final determination. It is in these last days that a final settlement of this issue must be made before all heaven and earth. Victory and vindication come to Jehovah, proving beyond doubt his universal sovereignty, his kingship. The crucial question before all of us is, Who will now maintain loyalty to Jehovah’s kingdom? How we now stand on this matter bears upon our gaining everlasting life or suffering eternal destruction!

3. What catastrophe occurred in 607 B.C.E., but why did this not show disloyalty on Jehovah’s part?

³ However, did Jehovah God renounce his kingdom away back in the year 607 B.C.E.? Why such a question? Because in that year he let the Babylonian Empire under Nebuchadnezzar destroy both Jerusalem and its temple and overthrow the kingdom of the Jews down till now. True, and yet God did not in that way renounce his kingship, or domination. Actually, he was the One who decreed the destruction of the royal city Jerusalem. This, though, was not an act of disloyalty to his typical subsidiary kingdom over his chosen people. He just acted according to the terms of the covenant that he had made with Israel and that had been added to the ancient Abrahamic covenant. By that fateful year of 607 B.C.E., Judah and the remnant of Israel had become flagrant covenant breakers. So God dealt with them according to the terms of his Law covenant mediated by Moses at Mount Sinai.

The King with “Legal Right”

4. How do the inspired words of Ezekiel 21:25-27 indicate Jehovah’s loyalty?

⁴ With regard to the last Judean king at Jerusalem, God inspired his prophet Ezekiel (who had already been deported to Babylon) to say: “And as for you, O deadly wounded, wicked chieftain of Israel, whose day has come in the time of the error of the end, this is what the Sovereign Lord Jehovah has said, ‘Remove the turban, and lift off the crown. This will not be the same. Put on high even what is low, and bring low even the high one. A ruin, a ruin, a ruin I shall make it. As for this also, it will certainly become no one’s until he comes who has the legal right, and I must give it to him.’”​—Ezekiel 21:25-27.

5. (a) Why would the ruining of the kingdom be only temporary? (b) How was this confirmed more than 600 years later?

⁵ According to those words the Lord God Jehovah still held firm control of the Kingdom affairs. The ruining of his subsidiary kingdom on earth was to be merely temporary. In his due time someone would come who had the legal right to the Messianic kingship, and then the Lord God Jehovah would give it to him. Till then the exercising of the legal right to the kingship must wait. Since the covenant right had resided in the royal family of David, the one who was to come and to whom the kingship would be given had to be a descendant of faithful King David. It was because of David’s loyalty to Jehovah’s eternal Kingship that this covenant had been made with him for an everlasting kingdom in his family line. (2 Samuel 7:8-16) More than six centuries later, or in the year 2 B.C.E., an angel from God appeared to a female descendant of King David and told her that she was to be the mother of the promised heir of David. The angel went on to say: “Jehovah God will give him the throne of David his father, and he will rule as king over the house of Jacob forever, and there will be no end of his kingdom.” His name was to be called Jesus.​—Luke 1:32, 33; Matthew 1:18-23.

6. (a) How did Jesus become the rightful heir of David’s kingdom? (b) Why did this become more than an earthly kingdom?

⁶ By his birth in the natal city of David, Bethlehem, Jesus the Son of God from heaven became the natural heir of the Kingdom covenant promise that God had made with his ancestor David. The right to the Kingdom became his legally and naturally. But when Jesus was baptized and anointed with the holy spirit of God, his heavenly Father, that kingdom became more than an earthly government over the house of Jacob, or Israel. On that occasion he was begotten by the spirit of his celestial Father and thus became a spiritual Son of God with heavenly life in reserve for him. As such he was anointed with God’s spirit and thus became the Messiah, the title that means Anointed One.​—Acts 4:27; 10:38; Isaiah 61:1-3.

7. (a) Why did Jesus not receive the Messianic kingdom immediately? (b) In the meantime, what kingship would his anointed followers acknowledge?

⁷ As the kingdom was now a heavenly one, God did not give it to him while he was on earth, and not directly after he ascended back to heaven. Though he was acknowledged as King over his spiritual congregation of anointed disciples on earth, the giving of the Messianic kingdom to him had to wait till the end of what Jesus himself called “the times of the Gentiles,” or, “the appointed times of the nations.”​—Colossians 1:13; Luke 21:24; compare Authorized Version.

8. (a) What period is covered by “the appointed times of the nations,” and what meaningful events marked their end? (b)  How has the “sign” become impressive, and what has been an outstanding feature?

⁸ Those “appointed times” had already begun in the year 607 B.C.E. by the first destruction of Jerusalem by the Babylonians, followed by the complete desolation of the land of Judea. According to Daniel’s prophetic book, chapter 4, those “times” were to be seven in number, amounting to a total of 2,520 years. So, since they began at the utter desolation of Jerusalem and the land of Judah and Benjamin early in the autumn of 607 B.C.E., they were due to end in the autumn of 1914 C.E. Meaningfully, World War I broke out in the latter half of 1914. In that way the prophecy that Jesus gave about the “sign” marking the “conclusion of the system of things” began to be fulfilled. (Matthew chapters 24, 25; Mark chapter 13; Luke chapter 21) Ever since then the foretold “sign” has become clearer and more impressive. Indicating what would be an outstanding feature of that “sign,” Jesus said: “And 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.”​—Matthew 24:14.

9, 10. (a) With regard to the issue of loyalty, what time had now arrived? (b) How were disloyal heavenly ones then disposed of, and with what result to our earth?

⁹ Ah, yes, then the time had arrived at long last to give the Davidic kingdom to the glorified Son of God in heaven, because he was the only one who had the “legal right” to it according to God’s supreme law. This called for war in heaven. Why so?

¹⁰ Well, because the Messianic King then began to reign, the time had come for him to oust from heaven all opposers of the new government, namely, Satan the Devil and his legions of demons. These were hurled down to the earth, where the demon-controlled system of things still stood. Such wicked angelic forces are forever barred from the heavens of God where his loyal angels reside. Those cast-out rebel angels will continue restrained to the vicinity of the earth until they are bound in an abyss of total restraint for a thousand years. The ‘war in heaven’ and its outcome are prophetically described in chapter 12 of Revelation. After they were ousted from heaven, the angelic victory chorus rang out: “Now have come to pass the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God and the authority of his Christ [Messiah], because the accuser of our brothers has been hurled down, who accuses them day and night before our God!” (Revelation 12:10) What did this mean for the inhabitants on this earthly globe? Intensified woes for all mankind on earth!

Time of Judgment for the Loyal Ones

11, 12. (a) What testing as to loyalty now takes place? (b) How is the preaching of the Kingdom involved? (c) How is this a harvesttime, and how, likely, are the angels used?

¹¹ During this time of “woe for the earth and for the sea, because the Devil has come down to you, having great anger, knowing he has a short period of time,” it has been a period of testing loyalties​—loyalty to the Devil’s doomed system of things or loyalty to the kingdom of God now established in the heavens in the hands of Jesus Christ. (Revelation 12:12) It is a time when all professed disciples of Christ must be put on judgment to determine the extent of their loyalty to that established kingdom. Will they be ardent preachers of that kingdom good news “in all the inhabited earth for a witness to all the nations”? This transition period is also likened to a harvesttime for the separating of true Christians from the false ones. Just as Jesus prophesied in his parable of the wheat and the weeds (or, tares): “The harvest is a conclusion of a system of things, and the reapers are angels.” (Matthew 13:39) Such angels are likely the ones used by the Sovereign Lord Jehovah to carry out his command as set out in Psalm 50:5: “Gather to me my loyal ones, those concluding my covenant over sacrifice [Hebrew: those cutting my covenant].”

¹² To professed Christians who fail to pass the test of loyalty to the Kingdom, God says: “What right do you have to enumerate my regulations, and that you may bear my covenant in your mouth?”​—Psalm 50:16.

13, 14. (a) How would you identify the “covenant” of Psalm 50:5, 16? (b) To what two covenants must anointed Christians be “loyal”?

¹³ The “covenant” referred to in the above verses (Ps 50:5, 16) is not a personal one made by loyal ones over a personal sacrifice by an individual. Rather, it is a national covenant. The Mosaic Law covenant made with the nation of Israel at Mount Sinai in Arabia was prophetically used to represent the new covenant made with the “holy nation” of spiritual Israel by means of the Greater Moses, Jesus Christ, as mediator. (Jeremiah 31:31-34) On Passover night of 33 C.E. Jesus set up the Lord’s Supper, or Evening Meal, and said: “This cup means the new covenant by virtue of my blood, which is to be poured out in your behalf.” (Luke 22:20) So the new covenant was validated by the sacrificial blood as shed at the death of Jesus Christ. The “loyal ones” whom Jesus brings into the new covenant he brings into the “covenant . . . for a kingdom.” (Luke 22:28-30; Matthew 26:29; Mark 14:25; Psalm 116:15) What, then?

¹⁴ Christians who are brought into the new covenant, which is a “covenant over sacrifice,” must not only be loyal to it but also be loyal to the “covenant . . . for a kingdom.” These are spiritual Israelites, “the Israel of God.”​—Galatians 6:16.

15. In what ways must spiritual Israelites prove to be “loyal ones”?

¹⁵ At this “conclusion of the system of things” there is a remnant of such spiritual Israelites yet on earth. Upon them in particular it is incumbent to act in conformity with Jesus’ prophecy: “This good news of the kingdom will be preached in all the inhabited earth for a witness to all the nations.” (Matthew 24:14) They cannot sidestep this obligation, if they want to be loyal to “the kingdom of our Lord Jehovah and of his Christ.” (Revelation 11:15) They cannot be a part of this doomed system of things with its politics, its selfish commercialism and its false religion. Anointed Christians earnestly pray the prayer that their Master taught them: “Our Father in the heavens, let your name be sanctified. Let your kingdom come. Let your will take place, as in heaven, also upon earth.” (Matthew 6:9, 10) Instead of engaging in the politics of this split-up system of things, they must undeviatingly do what their Master, the “King of kings and Lord of lords,” said: “Keep on, then, seeking first the kingdom and his righteousness, and all these other things will be added to you.” (Revelation 19:16; Matthew 6:33) In this way alone can they prove themselves to be the “loyal ones” belonging to the spiritual Israel that has ‘made a covenant with Jehovah God over sacrifice,’ the sacrifice of Jesus, who had mediated the new covenant.

Loyal “Other Sheep”

16. How do the Scripture passages cited here point to another loyal class of great number?

¹⁶ No less a degree of loyalty must be proved today by that class of dedicated, baptized persons who were prefigured by the “vast mixed company” who left Egypt with the Israelites and who were present at the making of the Law covenant at Mount Sinai. (Exodus 12:38; Numbers 11:4) These correspond with the “great crowd” that the apostle John describes in Revelation 7:9-17. In Jesus’ parable of the sheep and the goats they are also pictured as the “sheep” who do good to the spiritual brothers of the King Jesus Christ, since he began to reign in 1914.​—Matthew 24:3; 25:31-46.

17. (a) Of what is this “great crowd” a part, and with whom do they become “one flock”? (b) How may they “certainly bless themselves”? (Genesis 22:15-18)

¹⁷ Such loyal ones belong to the “other sheep” who Jesus said were not of “this [Abrahamic] fold” in which the “little flock” of 144,000 finds itself. Yet this “great crowd” of loyal ones becomes “one flock” with those in that “fold” by being brought into close company with those heirs of the kingdom of their heavenly Father. (John 10:16; Luke 12:32) To remain in that “one flock” with those “loyal ones” who are in the new covenant with Jehovah God over Christ’s sacrifice, they also must demonstrate their loyalty to the kingdom of our Lord God Jehovah and of his Christ.

18. (a) What is the present reward of those proving loyal? (b) How may we show appreciation of Jehovah’s loyalty toward us?

¹⁸ Great is the present reward of all those proving loyal. Out of his appreciation for Jehovah God the heavenly King, the ancient King David said to him: “With someone loyal you will act in loyalty.” (Psalm 18:25; 2 Samuel 22:26) Again David said: “Jehovah is a lover of justice, and he will not leave his loyal ones.” (Psalm 37:28) Proverbs 2:8 assures us: “He will guard the very way of his loyal ones.” Ah, yes, Jehovah is the very acme of loyalty, and his Christ imitates him perfectly in this quality. In our appreciation of God’s loyalty to us through Christ, may we, in this day of judgment, prove our unwavering loyalty to Jehovah and to his established kingdom by Jesus Christ, his most loyal Son!

SUMMARIZING, HOW IS LOYALTY DEMONSTRATED IN—

□ David’s acknowledgment of Jehovah as King?

□ Jehovah’s executing judgment on faithless Jerusalem?

□ God’s giving the Davidic kingdom to his Son in 1914?

□ The Messianic King’s fighting the war in heaven?

□ The activity of the anointed remnant today?

□ The support given to the remnant by the “great crowd”?

[Picture on page 16]

All angelic forces not loyal to God’s kingdom were ousted from heaven when God’s loyal Son began to reign

[Picture on page 17]

Loyalty to the Kingdom requires that a person be an ardent preacher of it to others

Loyally Advocating the Word of God

“Do your utmost to present yourself approved to God, a workman with nothing to be ashamed of, handling the word of the truth aright.”​—2 Timothy 2:15.

1, 2. What is one way in which Jehovah’s Witnesses loyally advocate God’s Word?

“READ GOD’S WORD THE HOLY BIBLE DAILY.” Those words appear on the side of a large building situated in Brooklyn, New York, near the approach to the famous Brooklyn Bridge. On whose building do these words appear, and why?

² They are on one of the printing factories operated by the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society, a religious corporation associated with Jehovah’s Witnesses. Such a sign is just what one would expect Jehovah’s Witnesses to paint on the side of one of their buildings. Why? Because they firmly believe that the inspired psalmist was telling the truth when he long ago wrote: “Your word is a lamp to my foot, and a light to my roadway.” (Psalm 119:105) This sign is just one of the many ways in which we Witnesses show that we loyally advocate God’s Word.

3. How did our loyal predecessors advocate God’s Word?

³ In being such loyal advocates of the Word we have many loyal predecessors, even as the Bible itself shows. Some 3,500 years ago there was Moses. There is no question about his loyally advocating God’s Word. He first transmitted some of it to God’s people orally and then in written form. These divine utterances are found in the Pentateuch. After using this devoted prophet, Jehovah God used many more who served as His spokesmen and penmen, all of whom, like Moses, loyally advocated God’s Word. (2 Peter 1:21) Among such were Samuel, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel and Daniel, to mention but a few.

Jesus Christ and His Apostles

4. Who was foremost of all advocates of the Word, and how did he show this to be so?

⁴ But without a doubt, the foremost of all those loyally advocating God’s Word was none other than Jehovah’s only-begotten Son, who became the “man Jesus Christ.” (Romans 5:15) Time and again he loyally advocated his Father’s Word by saying, “It is written,” as when answering Satan’s temptations and when making reply to his religious opposers. (Matthew 4:4, 7, 10; 21:13; John 6:45; 8:17) More than that, by serving faithfully as a prophet greater than Moses, he was also loyally advocating God’s Word. (2 Corinthians 1:20) Yes, he preached and lived by the principle that “Your [God’s] word is truth.”​—John 17:17.

5, 6. (a) How did Peter and Paul show their loyal advocacy of the Word? (b) In this connection, for what purpose was the “faithful and discreet slave” brought forth? (c) Why was the “slave” temporarily eclipsed?

⁵ Jesus’ apostles followed his example. Forcefully, on the day of Pentecost the apostle Peter loyally advocated God’s Word by showing how Jesus fulfilled the words of David! (Acts 2:22-36) And the writings of the apostle Paul abound with references to the Hebrew Scriptures, showing how concerned he was with loyally advocating God’s Word. He took the position: “Let God be found true, though every man be found a liar.” (Romans 3:3, 4) In fact, Peter, Paul and other faithful followers of Jesus Christ served as a “faithful and discreet slave,” “the faithful steward,” commissioned by their Master, Jesus Christ, to provide spiritual food for God’s congregation.​—Matthew 24:45-47; Luke 12:42-44.

⁶ After the death of the apostles, that “faithful and discreet slave” class all but passed off the earthly scene, eclipsed in time as the Christian wheat field became largely a weed field.​—Matthew 13:37-43.

Coming to Modern Times

7, 8. (a) When and how did the “slave” again appear? (b) How has its advocacy of the Word been demonstrated since the 1870’s?

⁷ However, about a hundred years ago the “faithful and discreet slave” class again began to come forward as a loyal advocate of God’s Word. With the years it has become ever more visible and noticed by the world. The facts show that today this “slave” is identified with the Watch Tower Society.

⁸ This “faithful and discreet slave” is comprised of faithful Christians, wholly dedicated to Jehovah through Christ and begotten by God’s spirit. They are earnest Bible students who, since the mid-1870’s, have come out strongly in defending the Bible as God’s Word by means of books, booklets, magazines and tracts, newspaper articles and public lectures. In 1886, they published Volume I of Studies in the Scriptures. In chapter 3, entitled “The Bible as a Divine Revelation Viewed in the Light of Reason,” this set forth a particularly masterful defense of the Bible. Another notable defense of God’s Word was chapter 1 of Volume VI (published in 1904). This chapter was entitled “In the Beginning,” and it most ably refuted the evolution theory.

9-11. (a) During the late 1800’s and early 1900’s, how has the “slave’s” loyalty to the Word been shown? (b) Since 1950, what major contributions has the Watch Tower Society made toward the spreading of God’s Word?

⁹ During the late 1800’s and early 1900’s, these faithful Bible Students, as they termed themselves, were zealous in loyally advocating the Bible as God’s Word. They published much to prove its authenticity, as well as a great deal explaining the fulfillment of its prophecies and how to apply Bible principles to one’s life. In 1914, they also produced the eight-hour Photo-Drama of Creation, which was explicitly prepared “in defense of the Bible as the Word of God.”

¹⁰ Loyally advocating God’s Word and indicating that they were active in circulating it in print, the name of their agency was changed in 1896 to Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society. In 1902 the Society gained possession of Wilson’s The Emphatic Diaglott and supervised its distribution. In 1907 the Society published an edition of the King James Version, which they called the Berean Bible, named after the early Berean Christians who ‘carefully examined the Scriptures daily to see whether the things the apostle Paul told them were actually so.’ (Acts 17:11) It had an appendix of over 700 pages consisting of comments on individual scriptures, lists of scriptures in support of some 40 prominent Bible themes and a 100-page concordance. In 1926 the Society began printing The Emphatic Diaglott on its own presses at Brooklyn. In 1942 the Society published an edition of the King James Version with many valuable study helps, and in 1944 it published the American Standard Version, with similar study helps, and which version faithfully rendered the name Jehovah according to the original Hebrew text.

¹¹ By 1950 the Society’s loyally advocating God’s Word moved it to publish the New World Translation of the Christian Greek Scriptures. The translation of the Hebrew Scripture sections followed in installments of five volumes, and the complete Bible in one volume in 1961. Between 1926 and 1980 Jehovah’s Witnesses produced 43,860,000 Bibles.

Why a New Translation Needed

12, 13. What is a first reason why the “faithful and discreet slave” has been interested in a new Bible translation?

¹² Why was this “faithful and discreet slave” interested in a new translation, namely, the New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures?

¹³ First of all, due to the activities of archaeologists and Bible scholars, older and more reliable Bible manuscripts have been discovered, many of which are in the original tongues. Thus today there exist some very fine Bible manuscripts that were transcribed in the fourth and fifth centuries of our Common Era and some papyrus fragments of the Christian Greek Scriptures that go back to the middle of the second century. Also, the Dead Sea Scrolls of books of the Hebrew Scriptures, dating back to before our Common Era, have thrown added light on Bible passages. The older the Bible manuscript is, the closer it is likely to be to the original autographs of the inspired writers, none of which are in existence today.

14. What is a second reason? Illustrate.

¹⁴ A second reason why a newer translation was needed and would be an improvement on older ones is that the Greek language of the first century is now much better understood. With the passing of time archaeologists discovered many papyrus fragments that have survived from the very time the Christian Greek Scriptures were written. These papyrus fragments, dealing with everyday secular matters, shed light on the kind of Greek used by the Christian Greek Scripture writers. A typical instance is the word “Raca” at Matthew 5:22 in some of the older versions. Not knowing its meaning, all that the translators could do was to transliterate it into meaningless English. But now its meaning is known and so the New World Translation renders it “an unspeakable word of contempt.” As you can see, the increased knowledge of the languages in which the Bible was originally written makes for a more understandable translation.

15. Illustrate a third reason.

¹⁵ A third reason why a new translation was needed is the fact that the very languages into which the Bible is translated undergo changes in the course of years. The English used by 14th-century Bible translator Wycliffe differs greatly from the language used by the translators of the King James Version in the early 17th century. And the English language has seen a vast number of changes even since then. Some words have actually taken on opposite meanings. Thus “let” in King James’ day meant “to hinder,” but today it means “to allow.”

16. As suggested by Acts 20:30 and 2 Timothy 4:3, 4, what could be another reason for the “slave’s” entering the field of Bible translation?

¹⁶ Finally, there is the matter of correctly understanding the Bible, which is one of the main reasons why the New World Translation was produced. We cannot escape it, one’s religious beliefs will color one’s translation efforts. In fact, it is bound to be that way when a word or text can be rendered in more than one way. Because translators at times, either consciously or unconsciously, do violence to the original tongue in passages that seem to conflict with their creeds, it became imperative that a version be produced by men who did stick loyally to God’s Word.

Failure to Stick Loyally to God’s Word

17. What are some examples of spurious verses creeping into the Bible text?

¹⁷ Because some scribes failed to stick loyally to God’s Word, entire sections of spurious verses have crept into the “Received Text,” on which the King James Version is based. These verses were added to the original inspired text. Among such are John 8:1-11 and Mark 16:9-20. Another example of a spurious passage is found at 1 John 5:7, 8. Here the words “in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one” seem to support the Trinity. But research has revealed that these words were added by a dishonest scribe more than 1,000 years after the writing of the inspired Scriptures was completed.

18, 19. (a) How have some translators tampered with and misinterpreted God’s Word? (b) How has this occurred with regard to scriptures on the condition of the dead?

¹⁸ In particular have producers of modern paraphrase Bibles freely taken liberties, sometimes in the text, sometimes in footnotes. For example, at Ecclesiastes 9:5, 10, Taylor’s The Living Bible reads: “For the living at least know that they will die! But the dead know nothing.” And “Whatever you do, do well, for in death, where you are going, there is no working or planning, or knowing, or understanding.” Because of not agreeing with these inspired words, the translator added the footnote: “These statements are Solomon’s discouraged opinion, and do not reflect a knowledge of God’s truth on these points!”

¹⁹ This translation also misrepresents God’s Word at Psalm 115:17. There the King James Version reads: “The dead praise not the LORD, neither any that go down into silence.” But the translator of The Living Bible apparently believes that the dead live on somewhere else, and implies this by rendering the verse: “The dead cannot sing praises to Jehovah here on earth.”

20. With regard to John 1:1, how has belief in the Trinity colored some translations, but what other accurate rendering is acceptable?

²⁰ But let it be noted that even with the best intentions, without a correct understanding of God’s Word, a Bible translator is bound to err at times. For example, nearly all the translators believe in the Trinity and so they render John 1:1 as: “And the Word was God.” But it can also be rendered accurately otherwise, taking into account the absence of the definite article before the Greek word Theos. Thus, An American Translation renders the phrase, “And the Word was divine.” The New World Translation renders this phrase, “And the Word was a god.” Nor is it unique in doing so. This is exactly the way a revision of Archbishop Newcome’s translation rendered the phrase back in 1807.

Loyally Advocating God’s Name

21. How do most modern Bible versions take issue with God himself?

²¹ However, a very serious way in which most modern versions fail to stick loyally to God’s Word is in their failure to do justice to God’s distinctive name Jehovah. It is represented in Hebrew by a four-letter word known as the Tetragrammaton. Proof that Jehovah God himself takes his personal name seriously can be seen from the fact that he inspired his Hebrew penmen to use it for a total of 6,961 times in the Hebrew Scriptures. (This includes the 134 times that the Hebrew scribes purposely left it out.)

22, 23. (a) What shows it is wrong to translate God’s name by a common noun? (b) What honest appraisal does The Jerusalem Bible make of this? (c) According to some authorities, why is it preferable to use the name “Jehovah” rather than “Yahweh”?

²² The fact is that the Creator is referred to in the Hebrew Scriptures more often by his distinctive name Jehovah than by all other designations put together. More than that, it simply does not make sense to translate a proper name, such as Jehovah, by a common noun such as Lord; no more than it would make sense to translate “Rolls Royce” (the name of the world’s most costly automobile) simply by the word “auto” or “car,” when there are so many other autos or cars. The Jerusalem Bible, though preferring “Yahweh” to “Jehovah,” makes a strong point for using it instead of “Lord.” The preface of that translation states: “To say, ‘The Lord is God’ is surely a tautology [a needless repetition], as to say ‘Yahweh is God’ is not.”

²³ Then should “Yahweh” be used instead of “Jehovah”? Not necessarily so. According to Canon D. D. Williams of Cambridge, the “evidence indicates, nay almost proves, that Yahweh was not the true pronunciation of the Tetragrammaton.” The Biblia Hebraica, published in Stuttgart in 1951, vowel points the Tetragrammaton to read “Yeh·wahʹ.” This edition was used by the New World Bible Translation Committee. Tübingen professor Gustav Oehler states: “From this point onward I use the word Jehovah, because, as a matter of fact, this name has become more naturalized in our vocabulary, and cannot be supplanted.” The Bible translator Rotherham, in his Emphasized Bible, was among the first to use the form “Yahweh.” However, in his Studies in the Psalms, first published after his death, he returned to the form “Jehovah,” stating he did so because of “the desirability to keep in touch with the public eye and ear.”

“Jehovah” in the Christian Greek Scriptures

24. (a) How many times does the New World Translation use Jehovah’s name in the Christian Greek Scriptures? (b) What are some examples of earlier translations doing the same?

²⁴ But what about the use of “Jehovah” in the so-called New Testament, the Christian Greek Scriptures? In the New World Translation it appears 237 times. While this may seem to be most unusual, this translation is by no means the first to use this name in this part of the Bible. Its use goes back at least as far as 1796, when German translator Brentano used the form “Jehovah” at Mark 12:29. There is also the Emphatic Diaglott, an interlinear translation of the Christian Greek Scriptures, first published in 1864. Repeatedly it uses “Jehovah” in its quotations from the Hebrew Scriptures where this name appears, for a total of 18 times. For example, see Matthew 22:37, 44; Mark 12:29, 30; Luke 20:42.

25. (a) What recent evidence indicates that God’s name appeared in the original text of the Greek Scriptures? (b) What dual change apparently took place in the second century C.E.?

²⁵ The reason that it seems most unusual for the name “Jehovah” to appear in the Christian Greek Scriptures is that, for centuries, it was thought that this name did not appear in the Septuagint Version of the Hebrew Scriptures used by Jesus and his apostles. But more recent discoveries definitely prove that the Tetragrammaton did appear in the Septuagint in those times. Thus Professor Howard of the University of Georgia states: “We know for a fact that Greek-speaking Jews continued to write [the Tetragrammaton] within their Greek Scriptures. Moreover, it is most unlikely that early conservative Greek-speaking Jewish Christians varied from this practice. . . . It would have been extremely unusual for them to have dismissed the Tetragram from the biblical text itself.” So he concludes: “Since the Tetragram was still written in the copies of the Greek Bible which made up the Scriptures of the early church, it is reasonable to believe that the N[ew] T[estament] writers, when quoting from Scripture, preserved the Tetragram within the biblical text. On the analogy of pre-Christian Jewish practice we can imagine that the NT text incorporated the Tetragram into its OT quotations.” Professor Howard also notes that when the Tetragrammaton was removed from the Septuagint it was also removed from the quotations from the Hebrew Scriptures appearing in the Christian Greek Scriptures. This change evidently took place at the beginning of the second century C.E. There is no question that the name Jehovah does belong in the Christian Greek Scriptures, as we find it in the New World Translation.

26. What precedents does the New World Translation have for its extended use of the Name?

²⁶ The New World Translation also uses the name “Jehovah” in addition to where the name appears in quotations from the Hebrew Scriptures. Why? So as to help the reader to know whether Jehovah God or Jesus Christ is referred to when “Lord” (Kyrios) appears in the Greek text. Is there any good precedent for doing so? Yes, for in some 20 Hebrew versions of the Greek Scriptures we find this to be the practice. Also, there are many missionary translations of the Christian Greek Scriptures that do the same. For example, one of the earliest translations of the Christian Greek Scriptures into Japanese freely uses the name “Ehoba” (Jehovah).

27. Regardless of what, and because of what, should loyal servants of God make full use of the New World Translation?

²⁷ Regardless of whether Hebrew and Greek scholars of Christendom praise or criticize the New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures, the fact remains that it was produced by men who loyally adhered to God’s Word. It is indeed a great help in ‘making us wise for salvation and in aiding us to be fully competent, completely equipped for every good work.’ (2 Timothy 3:15-17) May all of us who have this fine translation available in our language be blessed in using it to the full.

WITH REGARD TO LOYALLY ADVOCATING GOD’S WORD, HOW HAVE THE FOLLOWING MEASURED UP, AND WHY?

□ The headquarters buildings of Jehovah’s Witnesses

□ Jesus Christ and his apostles

□ The “faithful and discreet slave” of modern times

□ Scribes who copied and recopied the Bible text

□ Earlier translators into modern languages

□ Translators of recent versions of the Bible

□ The New World Bible Translation Committee

[Box on page 22]

One time an American translator was berated by a Bible reader for ‘having wrecked the beautiful English’ of the King James Version, the complainer no doubt being enamored by its archaic English. Upon the translator’s trying to explain that the beauty of the message was more important than the beauty of the language, the accuser replied: “I don’t care anything about the message. I’m an atheist.”

[Box on page 22]

The goal of Bible translation, in fact, of all translation, should be to help the reader of the translated word to receive the same impact, mentally and emotionally, yes, spiritually, as if he were reading the Scriptures in the original tongue.

[Box on page 23]

Bible translator Edgar Goodspeed wrote to one of Jehovah’s Witnesses in regard to the New World Translation of the Christian Greek Scriptures: “I am interested in the mission work of your people, and its worldwide scope, and am much pleased with the free and vigorous translation. It exhibits a vast array of sound serious learning, as I can testify.”

Hebrew and Greek scholar A. Thompson of Britain, writing in The Differentiator, stated regarding a portion of the New World Translation of the Hebrew Scriptures: “I would recommend it as an honest and straightforward effort to render Holy Writ into modern English. No attempt appears to be made to press any special doctrines or theories.”

Eerdman’s Handbook to the Bible lists the New World Translation among the 14 “main 20th-century English translations.”

[Picture on page 25]

Tetragrammaton in Septuagint fragments from Egypt (Fouad Papyri 266)

These papyri were early publicized by Jehovah’s Witnesses and the appearance here of God’s name gave basis for using “Jehovah” in the New World Translation

Other “New World Translation” Features

There are also many other features that recommend the New World Translation to Bible lovers. One of these is that, in keeping with the Hebrew and Greek verbs, it consistently distinguishes between a single act or a repeated one, a continual one. Those translations such as the King James, which do not recognize such differences, have the apostle John contradicting himself. How so? In that at 1 John 2:1 he says “If any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father.” But at 1 John 3:6 we read: “Whosoever abideth in him sinneth not.” But the New World Translation makes this all clear, for at 1 John 2:1 it reads: “If anyone does commit a sin, we have a helper with the Father.” Whereas at 1 John 3:6 it reads: “Everyone remaining in union with him does not practice sin.”

Similarly at Luke 11:5-10 Jesus uses an illustration to drive home the point that we must persevere in prayer. So he does not simply say that if we “ask,” “seek” and “knock” God will answer us but that “everyone asking receives, and everyone seeking finds and to everyone knocking it will be opened.” Hence, continuous action is indicated.

Additionally, the New World Translation distinguishes between the adjective kalos, which means fine, excellent, superb, choice, and agathos, which chiefly means that which is morally good. So, at John 10:2-16, Jesus did not speak of himself as merely a good shepherd, but as a fine, excellent, superb shepherd.

The New World Translation also recommends itself in its uniquely distinguishing between the five Hebrew words usually indiscriminately translated “man.” There is a difference in the meaning of these words, and Hebrew Scripture writers recognized the difference. Thus, in keeping with the original meaning, the New World Translation renders adam as “earthling man,” referring to man as a creature of the earth. Enosh it renders as “mortal man”; this emphasizes man’s puny, weak state. Geber it renders as “able-bodied man,” for the Hebrew word indicates a powerful man. Ish it renders simply as “man,” as distinguished from ishah, woman, or simply a person; and zakar it renders as “male,” for it is generally used with regard to sex relations.

Insight on the News

Warning on Dating

“Courtship is timeless, but dating as a social fashion is strictly a 20th-century phenomenon,” says an article in London’s Sunday Telegraph entitled “Dating Is Damaging.” More precisely, the article points out that “during and after the First World War, it was taken up by students at the Ivy League universities of America. . . . Popularised by the movies, it spread very rapidly.” Since “the essential marital motive is often completely lacking,” modern dating has become “a form of misguided recreation,” says the article. What are the “damaging” results? “These can be anxiety, depression, sickness, mental illness, disease, illegitimate births, abortion, even attempted suicide. And not to be overlooked is that vast annual crop of premature marriages fore-doomed to end in the bitterness of divorce.” According to the article, early dating also tends to narrow a person’s interests and retard personal development.

So, rather than getting caught up with this “social fashion” and “misguided recreation,” Christian youths do well to take advantage of the freedom and energy that they enjoy to develop and broaden their interests, skills, learning and Christian association. By so doing they are “safely treasuring up for themselves a fine foundation for the future, in order that they may get a firm hold on the real life.”​—1 Timothy 6:19.

Catechism Stunts Minds

Teaching the Roman Catholic catechism to primary-school students “hinders intelligence from coming into play and its development is slowed,” asserted Serge Larivee of the University of Montreal in a recent interview. According to the Toronto Star, Larivee, editor of La Revue Canadienne de Psycho-Pedagogie, based his conclusions on about 100 recently published research papers. Regarding the claim that such instruction will “make the children enter into a living, personal relationship with each divine personage (of the trinity doctrine),” Larivee asked: “Have you ever tried, in a non-abstract way, to enter into a living and personal relationship with three invisible persons that make up one?”

The confusion and hindrance of mind resulting from parroting Church doctrine and dogmas are in sharp contrast to the benefits that come from learning based on God’s Word, the Bible. “The reminder of Jehovah is trustworthy, making the inexperienced one wise,” says the psalmist. And, with the acquiring of the “knowledge of God, . . . thinking ability itself will keep guard over you, discernment itself will safeguard you.” (Psalm 19:7; Proverbs 2:5-11) But, when the religious leaders themselves turn their backs on the Bible and teach human tradition and philosophy instead, what can they expect to impart to others, young or old? “Look! They have rejected the very word of Jehovah, and what wisdom do they have?”​—Jeremiah 8:9.

Written in the Genes?

Reviewing the book Genetic Prophecy, Malcolm Browne wrote in the November 1981 issue of Discover magazine: “For the first time it begins to seem possible to look at the chemistry of even an unborn child and make some shrewd guesses about its future​—its probable state of health and susceptibility to diseases, its athletic potential, its tastes, interests, and ability to get along with other people, its life expectancy, and, yes, its intelligence.”

From this, some may conclude that a person’s life course is predetermined by his genetic makeup. However, even the writer of the book feels that “the genes propose, the environments dispose.” Moreover, the Bible shows that man, created “in God’s image,” is endowed with a generous measure of free will and choice. (Genesis 1:27) Heredity may incline a person in a certain direction, but his upbringing and, above all, his exercise of free will and choice ultimately determine the outcome. Thus, through Moses, Jehovah God plainly stated: “I have put life and death before you, the blessing and the malediction; and you must choose life in order that you may keep alive, you and your offspring.”​—Deuteronomy 30:19.

Keep Your Christian Balance

WHO has not seen others fall or has not experienced a fall himself? Due to lack of experience and muscle coordination, small children tumble. Elderly persons may be too feeble to maintain their balance on slippery surfaces or steep inclines. Falls may result from failing to exercise proper caution or from underestimating dangerous conditions. Yes, physical balance can be lost suddenly and unexpectedly. Similarly, Christians may lose their spiritual balance.

Among the factors that can undermine spiritual equilibrium are apathy, immorality, excessive recreation and undue involvement in secular work. Could any of these be jeopardizing your Christian balance or that of your family?

Avoiding Apathy

Apathy is very common today. Husbands may be indifferent to the emotional and spiritual needs of their wives and children. Wives may show little concern when husbands turn to them for understanding, support and meaningful love. Employers are plagued with workers who care little about reasonable production goals and the company’s welfare and interests. Faced with widespread indifference toward responsibilities and duties, the Christian needs to guard against being infected with such an apathetic spirit.

To avoid yielding to apathy, we do well to keep in mind the following inspired counsel: “Whatever you are doing, work at it whole-souled as to Jehovah, and not to men, for you know that it is from Jehovah you will receive the due reward of the inheritance.” (Colossians 3:23, 24) When we are genuinely concerned about pleasing our Creator and his Son, this will be reflected in our doing quality work and not wasting time.

Fortify Yourself Against Immorality

Widespread disregard for the Bible’s moral standards may also pose a real threat to a Christian’s maintaining his spiritual balance. The apostle Paul counseled fellow believers at Corinth: “Neither let us practice fornication, as some of [the Israelites] committed fornication, only to fall, twenty-three thousand of them in one day.” (1 Corinthians 10:8) The apostle referred to the incident that occurred when the Israelites were encamped on the plains of Moab shortly before entering the Promised Land. They then were lured into temptation by accepting invitations to enjoy themselves in feasting with beautiful idol-worshiping women. (Numbers 25:1-9) How forcefully the tragic consequences emphasize the danger of socializing with persons who have no regard for the divine will!

Hence, to maintain a clean moral standing, we wisely “pursue righteousness, faith, love, peace, along with those who call upon the Lord out of a clean heart.” (2 Timothy 2:22) Our shunning bad associations would include avoiding sex-oriented literature, movies and television programs that could incite wrong desires. Additionally, we do well to fortify our minds by filling them with wholesome thoughts from God’s Word.​—Philippians 4:8.

Control Recreation

God’s own Son indicated that “pleasures of this life” could choke appreciation for spiritual things. (Luke 8:14) That is why true Christians strive to be alert that recreation does not become too important in their life. It should not be allowed to infringe unduly on time spent in reading and meditating on God’s Word, proclaiming the “good news,” responding to the needs of others and assembling with persons of like precious faith.

Even when in harmony with righteous principles, pleasurable activities will not bring genuine satisfaction if indulged in excessively. Pleasures that appeal to the senses are much like seasoning in food. In controlled amounts, diversion, relaxation or pleasure can be delightful. But in large doses it may be sickening, for it leaves a person with a feeling of emptiness over not having accomplished anything truly worthwhile.

Moreover, in recreation a Christian does well to keep in mind that he is, first and foremost, a servant of God. This can help him to avoid displaying a competitive spirit and taking games too seriously, perhaps even to the point of injuring himself or others.​—Galatians 5:26.

Balance in Secular Work

In secular work, too, there is a need for balance. It is essential for God’s servants to work in order to support themselves and their loved ones, to “make honest provision, not only in the sight of Jehovah, but also in the sight of men.” (2 Corinthians 8:21) By doing honest work, the Christian can support his efforts to help others spiritually and materially. When secular work places so many demands on him that he has little time and energy left for providing others with spiritual comfort, he wisely adjusts his affairs.

It is indeed encouraging to see individuals limit their secular work to have more time for vital spiritual activities. For example, in one family, the two daughters split a full-time job in an office, each working two and a half days a week instead of five. This enabled each of them to devote about 100 hours a month in efforts to help people in their community to gain Bible knowledge.

Just as physical falls can be prevented, loss of spiritual balance can be avoided by building ourselves up spiritually through study of God’s Word and association with fellow believers. Also, as we give of ourselves in sharing Bible truth with others, we experience the superior happiness that comes from giving and are assisted in keeping our eyes on the truly important things in life. (Acts 20:35) By thus maintaining spiritual balance, we can look with confidence to the future, “for God is not unrighteous so as to forget your work and the love you showed for his name.”​—Hebrews 6:10.

The Price of Hunger

At least 30 million people around the world die of starvation each year, according to the Guardian of Manchester, England. And to buy enough food to save them, a sum of $12,000,000,000 is needed. While the nations are hard pressed to come up with this staggering amount of money to save the hungry, “the same sum is spent on world armaments production in 10 days,” observes the Guardian. Truly, these “last days” are marked by “critical times hard to deal with.”​—2 Timothy 3:1.

Questions From Readers

◼ How should individual Christians and the congregation as a whole view the Bible advice to marry “only in the Lord”?

Concerning a woman whose husband has died, the apostle Paul advised: “She is free to be married to whom she wants, only in the Lord.” (1 Corinthians 7:39) That is not merely some personal advice from a human. Paul wrote it under inspiration; so this wise and loving counsel originates with God. Hence, Christians should view it as serious, not something to be ignored or treated lightly. The historical record in the Bible underscores this.

When Abraham chose a wife for Isaac, he did not select a woman from among practicers of false religion, the Canaanites round about. Rather, he went to the trouble of locating, in a distant land, a wife from among relatives who recognized the true God. Similarly, Isaac told Jacob: “You must not take a wife from the daughters of Canaan.” (Genesis 28:1; 24:1-67) Abraham and Isaac realized that marriage was not a matter of mere romantic attachment. Devotion to Jehovah was involved, for marrying an unbeliever could bring serious problems and might even lead a person away from pure worship.

Yet not all the Hebrews kept firmly separate from those who did not worship Jehovah. For instance, Dinah associated with young persons in her neighborhood who did not serve the true God. With what result? One of the young men became passionately aroused and violated her. It seems that for a time Judah moved away from his family and took a Canaanite wife. How did that work out? Well, three sons resulted from that unequal union, but Jehovah had to destroy two of them because of their badness. Simeon also had a son by a Canaanite. This evidently was considered so much out of the ordinary or so undesirable that attention was called to it in the list of Jacob’s descendants.​—Genesis 34:1, 2; 38:1-10; 46:8-10.

When God provided laws to guide Israel, he warned against their forming a marriage alliance with a person who did not worship Jehovah. (Deuteronomy 7:2-4) The wisdom of this was underscored by the tragedy that befell Solomon. He may have felt that, because he was exceptionally wise, he could cope with any problem or test resulting from marrying women who were not serving Jehovah. But when he ignored God’s counsel, even Solomon came to grief.​—1 Kings 11:1-6.

Finally, in the Christian Greek Scriptures God repeated the counsel: Do not marry someone who is not serving the Lord. The inspired counsel was not, ‘If you find a clean, decent person, it is permissible to court and marry that individual with the hope that he or she may eventually become a Christian.’ Rather, God’s Word clearly says: “Do not become unevenly yoked with unbelievers.” (2 Corinthians 6:14) To marry someone who is not already a baptized Christian would be to disregard that serious counsel.

Because Jehovah’s Witnesses as a people view this counsel as wise and serious, they do not want to contribute to anyone’s going contrary to it. For example, if because of weakness a spiritual brother or sister began to court or date a person who is not a witness of Jehovah, the others in the congregation would hardly want to encourage that by socializing with the unbeliever. They agree with the Bible that the non-Christian is not a good associate. (1 Corinthians 15:33) But they should continue to display interest in their brother or sister. They might be able to offer tactful and encouraging admonition to help the straying Christian to avoid the sad path that Solomon followed.​—Compare 2 Thessalonians 3:14, 15.

But what if a Witness planned to disregard God’s advice and to marry someone who was not a baptized Witness? Unless there was some exceptional reason, brothers in the congregation would not want to solemnize such an unequal yoking. Nor would the Kingdom Hall be available for the wedding. It is available for marriages of two baptized Christians who are marrying “only in the Lord.” Or it might sometimes be used by two persons who are regularly serving God as part of the congregation and who will soon be baptized. By not allowing the Kingdom Hall to be used by a Witness who plans to ‘become unevenly yoked with an unbeliever,’ the congregation elders can underscore the seriousness of God’s counsel to marry “only in the Lord.”

A Guide on Child Rearing

Referring to the book Making Your Family Life Happy, a young couple from Britain wrote as follows:

“It was our Almanac, Bible rule of thumb, on child rearing and to say we would have been lost without it would be an understatement. As a matter of fact, Samuel and no Family book is a thought that I haven’t the courage to face up to even yet.

“We stuck firmly to the five principles from God’s Word, as outlined in the book, and within six weeks he was sleeping through the night and in such a regular pattern through the day it even helped Anne and me with our schedules. And now he is a fine, well-adjusted, spirited young boy.”

You can receive this aid to child rearing by simply filling in and mailing the accompanying coupon along with 75 cents.

Please send, postpaid, the hardbound 192-page book Making Your Family Life Happy. I enclose 75 cents (U.S.).