The Watchtower — September 15, 1982

‘Thank You for Opening Our Eyes’

IN THE twelfth century, there lived in the beautiful valleys of southern France a religious group called the Waldenses.a These sincere truth seekers believed the Bible to be the Word of God and endeavored to live by its principles. But because they preached to others what they had learned from the Scriptures, they were hounded as heretics. Many of them escaped persecution by fleeing to other countries, and some took up refuge in northern Italy, where a Waldensian community has survived till this day. However, as time passed, many of the Biblical doctrines and practices of the early Waldenses were abandoned.

For some time now a number of Waldenses in northern Italy have been studying the Bible with Jehovah’s Witnesses. Recently a letter from them was received by the branch office of the Watch Tower Society in Italy. They wrote the following:

“All of us know of the persecutions [the early Waldenses] suffered for many centuries. But many do not know that these people today have turned back to pagan customs and no longer adhere to the Bible.

“They can now be recognized only by their symbol (the Huguenot cross) attached to a tiny chain, clearly displayed on the windshields of their automobiles or hung on the bottles of juniper or on other souvenirs.

“We thank you sisters and brothers of Jehovah’s Witnesses for sacrificing hours of your time to open our eyes and to make the truth enter into our hardheaded minds. . . . The time you dedicate to us is of great value, of much more value than money. Your altruistic love (the true love without ostentation) for your neighbor identifies you as those disciples that Jesus describes in John 13:35 and Matthew 24:45. From the research we have done we find that in times past the Waldenses used the name of God, Jehovah. . . . But today this name is categorically rejected by them, though at Acts 15:14 it is mentioned that God would gather from the nations ‘a people for his name.’ We can see that today this people can be identified with Jehovah’s Witnesses, since they are the only ones to bear the Name. (Isaiah 43:10-12) ‘We will go with you people, for we have heard that God is with you people.’ (Zechariah 8:23)”

[Footnotes]

God’s Word Is Alive

God Wants His Name Known

DID you realize that God has a name? Jesus, seen here praying with his disciples, is saying to God: “I have made your name known to them and will make it known.” (John 17:26) We should not be surprised that God has a name. Everybody has a name, including God’s own Son, Jesus.​—Luke 1:30-32.

People like to be called by their name. And God wants people to know his name, too. That is why he inspired the Bible psalmist to write: “That people may know that you, whose name is Jehovah, you alone are the Most High over all the earth.” (Psalm 83:18) Long ago God showed the importance of his name to the man Moses.

One day while Moses was working as a shepherd in Midian, taking care of sheep, he saw an amazing thing. It was a thornbush on fire, but it was not burning up! When he went closer to take a better look, as you can see here, a voice came from the middle of the burning bush, calling: “Moses! Moses!”

It was God speaking. He wanted Moses to go to Pharaoh, the king of Egypt, and to bring His people out of Egypt. But Moses said to God: “Suppose I am now come to the sons of Israel and I do say to them, ‘The God of your forefathers has sent me to you,’ and they do say to me, ‘What is his name?’ What shall I say to them?” God told Moses to tell them: “Jehovah the God of your forefathers . . . has sent me to you.”​—Exodus 3:1-15.

However, when Moses went to Egypt to speak to Pharaoh, the Egyptians thought Jehovah was just a small god of the sons of Israel. They did not believe he was the God of the whole earth. (Exodus 5:2) So Jehovah had Moses tell Pharaoh that He was going to have His “name declared in all the earth.” (Exodus 9:16) Do you know how Jehovah did this at that time?

Jehovah God had Moses lead the Israelites out of Egypt, but the Egyptians chased after them. When they came to the Red Sea there seemed to be no way of escaping the pursuing Egyptians. But then Jehovah had Moses stretch out his rod over the waters, and the waters parted to allow the fleeing Israelites to go through on dry land. Afterward Jehovah had Moses stretch out his rod again, as you can see here, and the waters plunged down on the Egyptians, drowning them all. News of this great event spread far and wide so that peoples everywhere learned God’s name.​—Exodus 14:21-31; Joshua 2:9-11.

What about today? Does God still want his name made known worldwide? Yes, he does. And it is vital that people today learn about Jehovah and serve him. Otherwise, as happened to the stubborn Egyptians who refused to know Jehovah, they will suffer destruction “at the revelation of the Lord Jesus from heaven . . . as he brings vengeance upon those who do not know God.”​—2 Thessalonians 1:7-9.

God’s Name in the “New Testament”

MOST translations of the “New Testament” use no distinctive name for Almighty God. Why not? Is it that they are scrupulously following the Greek text? In many cases that evidently is not their chief concern, because they do not use the name Jehovah in the “Old Testament” either. Yet in the original Hebrew, in addition to there being words for Lord and God, the proper name of God appears nearly 7,000 times.

Some translators have realized, however, that the divine name belongs in the “New Testament,” if for no other reason than that it contains direct quotations from the Hebrew Scriptures where the name is used. So it is of interest that, in the German language, there are at least five “New Testament” translations that contain the divine name.

One of these, the translation by Dominikus von Brentano in 1796, which uses the divine name twice in its main text, has been referred to in past Watch Tower publications. Two additional translations use that name at Mark 12:29—one, a translation by Stolz, published in Zurich, Switzerland, in 1781, and the other, a translation by Professor Dr. Johann Babor, published in Vienna, Austria, in 1805. There is also the so-called Bonner Bible, translated by Professor D. P. Dausch and published in Bonn, Germany, in 1932, which uses “Jahve” at Luke 20:37.

Another German translation uses the name, Jehovah, ten times in the “New Testament.” This is a two-volume translation of the New Testament of the Holy Scriptures that appeared in Munich, Germany, in 1789 and 1790. Although the name of its translator is not given, the book Die Bibel in Deutschland (The Bible in Germany), on page 281, says: “The translation is by [Sebastian] Mutschelle. Born on January 18, 1749, in Allershausen bei Freising, he joined the Jesuit order at an early age.”

The divine name appears in translations of the “New Testament,” not only in German but in some fifty other languages, including Hebrew.

[Box on page 6]

Why It Concerns You

‘But what difference does it make whether we use God’s name or not?’ a person may ask. It makes a big difference! Consider: In the “New Testament” it says that God would turn “his attention to the nations to take out of them a people for his name.” (Acts 15:14) If you do not know and use that name, could you really be included with the people that God selects as his own? We should not only know God’s name but praise it before others, as Jesus Christ did when on earth.​—Matthew 6:9; John 17:6, 26.

Insight on the News

For Chastity

Like a voice in today’s permissive wilderness Dr. J. Mostyn Davis of Pennsylvania State University speaks out for chastity. Writing in a recent issue of Medical World News, he notes that the medical profession “has been curiously silent on the side effects of the sexual revolution.” Youths who want to remain chaste can find no encouragement to do so from the media, where “sex equals sales,” or their parents, who have “largely lost the talent for a good heart-to-heart” talk, or the counseling agencies, in which “one detects a subtle bias in favor of premarital sex.”

In contrast, Dr. Davis points out that “chastity offers a kind of freedom that may easily rival the freedoms associated with sex. You don’t have to worry about unwanted pregnancy, venereal diseases, side effects of the pill, and complications from abortion,” and, he adds, “it’s the cheapest form of birth control known to man.” He also reports that “there’s no study showing that premarital sex improves marriage or marital sex,” and, above all, “chastity promotes self-discipline,” says the doctor.

The Bible speaks of “the wisdom from above” as being chaste and self-discipline, or self-control, as a ‘fruit of the spirit.’ (James 3:17; Galatians 5:22, 23) And it admonishes young people to “flee from the desires incidental to youth, but pursue righteousness, faith, love, peace, along with those who call upon the Lord out of a clean heart.”​—2 Timothy 2:22.

Shaky Marriages

A sure sign of the shaky state of today’s marriages is the growing popularity of prenuptial contracts. Before a couple is married, they can have their lawyers draw up an agreement setting out the details on division of property, visitation of offspring, alimony, and so forth, in the event of a divorce. Such contracts are now upheld in fourteen states in the US, and since 1980 they have increased about fivefold in New York. Participants are mostly previously divorced persons who have money, property and business interests they wish to protect. “They’ve been burned once and now they want it all spelled out on a piece of paper,” says Lester Wallman of the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers.

Love and concern for one’s mate is the backbone of a lasting marriage. (Ephesians 5:28, 33) But when individuals enter into marriage preoccupied with the idea of maintaining and protecting their own interests they become, not lovers of their mates, but “lovers of themselves, lovers of money, . . . having no natural affection,” as the Bible foretold. (2 Timothy 3:2, 3) Their prenuptial contracts may save their money and property but surely not their marriage.

Science and God

In an article on the inner workings of the prestigious Bell Laboratories, The New York Times provided a profile of a mathematician and electrical engineer, Misha Buric, who specializes in microcircuits used in advanced computers.

“How do I organize 17,000 transistors [in a quarter-inch chip] to do something useful?” Buric asks. Could he learn something from the brain? “It’s absolutely amazing,” he says. “One realizes the complexity of it and that it is not understood at all. . . . We shouldn’t try to build a brain, because we don’t know how to do it.” That was not all. “He came to discover something other scientists believe but rarely discuss,” says the article. What is that? Buric, who does not claim to be religious, comments: “One sort of realizes our notion that we can do just about anything is incorrect. There are some things we cannot do as beautifully as nature or God has done.” What then? “Realizing there is something more powerful than us,” he confesses, “you sort of peacefully live with that.”

One detects here a very imperfect echo of what the psalmist wrote thousands of years ago: “I shall laud you because in a fear-inspiring way I am wonderfully made. Your works are wonderful, as my soul is very well aware.”​—Psalm 139:14.

When the Plowboy Delights in God’s Word

“I WOULD have these words translated into all languages, so that not only Scots and Irish, but Turks and Saracens too might read them . . . I long for the ploughboy to sing them to himself as he follows his plough, the weaver to hum them to the tune of his shuttle, the traveller to beguile with them the dullness of his journey.”

So wrote Dutch scholar Desiderius Erasmus in the early part of the sixteenth century. It was his fervent hope and desire that the “words,” that is, the Scriptures, be widely translated so that even the ‘plowboy’ could read and find delight in God’s Word.

Since that time the Bible has been widely translated, and today it is readable in the languages of 97 percent of the world’s population. It is not without good reason that the Bible has become the world’s best-seller. Its influence has moved men of all kinds to work for freedom and truth. Particularly was this so during the sixteenth-century Reformation in Europe. Some of the dominant figures of that time were bold and outspoken, like Martin Luther, while others, such as Erasmus, sought changes by more subtle means. So it is said of the Reformation that Luther opened the door to it after Erasmus picked the lock.

Erasmus was recognized as a great scholar. As to his character, the Catholic Encyclopedia says: “He had . . . a surpassing power of expression; for strong and moving discourse, keen irony, and covert sarcasm, he was unsurpassed.” Thus, when Erasmus visited Sir Thomas More, lord chancellor of England, even before Erasmus identified himself, More was so charmed with his conversation that he abruptly said: “You are either Erasmus or the Devil.”

Typical of Erasmus’ character was the answer he gave to Frederick, elector of Saxony, when asked what he thought about Martin Luther. Erasmus said: “Luther has committed two blunders; he has ventured to touch the crown of the pope and the bellies of the monks.”

But how did the Bible influence Erasmus, and what, in turn, did he do to further its study and to help bring it to the common people, such as the ‘plowboy’? Let us first take a look at Erasmus’ early life.

Early Life

Erasmus was born in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, in 1466. He was the illegitimate son of a Dutch priest and was very unhappy during his early years. His mother died when he was about seventeen, and soon thereafter his father died. Although he desired to go to a university, he finally yielded to the pressure of his guardians and entered the Augustinian monastery of Steyn. There he pursued his studies in Latin, the classics and the church fathers. Soon, however, he came to detest this way of life. So, at the age of twenty-six, he seized the opportunity to leave the monastery to become secretary to the bishop of Cambrai, Henry of Bergen, in France. Shortly afterward he was able to continue his studies in the Paris university. But he was often ill and suffered from poor health throughout his life.

In 1499 he accepted an invitation to visit England. There he met Thomas More, John Colet and other theologians in London, which strengthened his resolve to apply himself to Biblical studies. In order to understand the Bible’s message better, he applied himself intensely to the study of Greek, until he was able to teach it to others.

During this time he wrote a treatise entitled Handbook of the Christian Soldier, in which he counseled the young Christian to study the Bible, saying: “There is nothing that you can believe with greater certitude than what you read in these writings.”

Between trying to make ends meet, due to a shortage of money, and endeavoring to escape the plague, Erasmus found himself at Louvain, Belgium, in 1504. Visiting the monastery of Parc, he discovered in the library a manuscript of Italian scholar Lorenzo Valla’s Annotations on the New Testament. This collection of notes on the Latin Vulgate text of the Christian Greek Scriptures excited his interest in textual criticism, which involves making a comparison of early versions and manuscripts of the Bible in order to determine the original reading. Erasmus became determined to work toward the restoration of the original text of the Bible.

Erasmus then visited Italy and afterward set out once again for England. As he crossed the Alps he thought again of his meeting with Thomas More, and pondering on the meaning of his name (moros, Greek for “a fool”) he was moved to write a satire, which he called Praise of Folly. In it folly is personified and intrudes in every sphere of life, but nowhere is folly more in evidence than among the theologians and clergy. In this way he exposed the abuses of the clergy, one of the very causes of the Reformation, which was now simmering. “As to the popes,” he wrote, “if they claim to be the successors of the Apostles they should consider that the same things are required of them as were practised by their predecessors.” But instead of doing this, he observed, they consider that “to teach the people is too laborious; to interpret the scripture is to invade the prerogative of the schoolmen; to pray is too idle.” No wonder it was said of Erasmus that he had “a surpassing power of expression”!

Publishing the First Greek Text

While he taught Greek at Cambridge University in England for a time, Erasmus continued with his work of emending the text of the Christian Greek Scriptures. A friend, Martin Dorpius, tried to convince him that the Latin translation needed no correction from the Greek. Was it likely, Dorpius argued, “that the whole Catholic Church would have erred for so many centuries, seeing that she has always used and sanctioned this translation?” Thomas More joined Erasmus in replying to these criticisms, stressing the need for an accurate Bible text in the original languages.

In Basel, Switzerland, a printer, Johannes Froben, urged Erasmus to speed up the completion of his work. He had heard that Cardinal Ximenes of Toledo, Spain, had been working on a Greek and Latin Testament in 1514, but had delayed publication until the whole Bible was completed. It was finally issued as the Complutensian Polyglot in 1522. Erasmus’ edition was published in 1516, the first time a text of the “New Testament” in the original Greek had ever been issued.

The haste with which it had been completed meant that it contained many errors.a More than anyone Erasmus realized this, and in later editions he corrected as many of them as possible. Both Luther and William Tyndale used these for their translations of the Bible into German and English. This was the hope and desire of Erasmus, and it was in the preface to this volume of the Greek text that he wrote: “I would have these words translated into all languages. . . . I long for the ploughboy to sing them to himself as he follows his plough.” However imperfect was the text of Erasmus, it began the important work of textual criticism, which has led to accurate Bible translations in our time.

Not everyone, however, welcomed this publication. Some of Erasmus’ notes were very critical of the clergy. For example, take the text of Matthew 16:18, which says: “Thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church.” (Douay) Erasmus expresses his surprise that these words should have been applied exclusively to the pope, and he rejects entirely the primacy of Peter. This was a bold statement in a volume that was dedicated to the pope. Little wonder that many of the writings of Erasmus were prohibited, even in the universities.

That Erasmus was concerned about the understanding of God’s Word is evident from a work written by him in 1519 entitled Principles of True Theology (shortened to The Ratio). This sets out his method for studying the Bible, with a set of rules for its interpretation. These include never taking a quotation out of its context nor out of the author’s line of thought. He saw the unity of the Scriptures as a whole. Interpretation then comes from within, he argued, and is not imposed from outside its pages.​—Compare Genesis 40:8.

Erasmus and Luther

In 1518 Erasmus wrote a treatise called Familiar Colloquies, which again attacked the corruptions of the Church and the monasteries. Just the year before, Martin Luther had boldly nailed his ninety-five theses on the church door at Wittenberg, protesting against indulgences, which had become a scandal in many countries. For a time it seemed as though Erasmus and Luther would combine to bring about the necessary reforms, but their ideas on how to achieve them were radically different. It was not long before Luther began to condemn Erasmus because the latter was a moderate and wanted to work by peaceful means from within the Church. It might be said that Erasmus thought and wrote, while Luther acted.

The rift finally came in 1524 when Erasmus wrote an essay entitled On the Freedom of the Will. Luther rejected the idea that man had free will, but Erasmus reasoned that this would make God unjust, since it would mean that man would not be able to act in a way that results in his salvation.

As the Reformation took hold in Europe, circumstances forced many of its leaders to separate from the Catholic Church. Although they had not foreseen its consequences, they went forward on the path they had chosen, often to their death. But Erasmus drew back from controversy, and he even refused a cardinal’s hat, admitting on one occasion that if put to the test, he might fall like Peter. (Matthew 26:69-75) He tried to keep to a middle course. So while Rome considered his writings to be heretical and placed them on the Index of prohibited books, many reformers denounced him as being ready to compromise to save himself. Sensitive to any criticism, yet anxious to receive praise, Erasmus was often too cautious, fearing the consequences of any break with Rome.

The relations of Erasmus to the Reformation have been summed up as follows: “He was a reformer until the Reformation became a fearful reality; a jester at the bulwarks of the papacy until they began to give way; a propagator of the Scriptures until men betook themselves to the study and the application of them; depreciating the mere outward forms of religion until they had come to be estimated at their real value; in short, a learned, ingenious, benevolent, amiable, timid, irresolute man, who, bearing the responsibility, resigned to others the glory of rescuing the human mind from the bondage of a thousand years. The distance between his career and that of Luther was therefore continually enlarging, until they at length moved in opposite directions, and met each other with mutual animosity.”​—Edinburgh Review, lxviii, 302.

The reformers could not agree among themselves as to doctrine and practice, so the changes made in the sixteenth century failed to eradicate some of the basic traditions that had hidden the truth of God’s Word over the centuries. But the advances made in giving the Bible to the common people have continued from that time to the present day. From these struggles, in which Erasmus played a part, have emerged reliable and accurate Bible translations.

Thus, today the ‘plowboy’ can pick up the Bible, or at least part of it, in just about any language and can delight in learning about God’s great purpose for mankind. The Scriptures warmly encourage us to do just that. As it says in Psalm 1:2, 3 regarding the righteous man: “His delight is in the law of Jehovah, and in his law he reads in an undertone day and night. And he will certainly become like a tree planted by streams of water, that gives its own fruit in its season and the foliage of which does not wither, and everything he does will succeed.” May we never let a day go by without finding delight in God’s Word.

[Footnotes]

[Picture on page 10]

Erasmus, a reformer until the Reformation became a fearful reality

The Kingdom and “a Holy Place”

“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. Therefore, when you catch sight of the disgusting thing that causes desolation, as spoken of through Daniel the prophet, standing in a holy place, (let the reader use discernment,) then let those in Judea begin fleeing to the mountains.”​—Matthew 24:14-16.

1. Zealous proclaimers of God’s established kingdom are interested today in what?

ARE YOU one who has been sharing zealously in preaching “this good news of the kingdom”? If so, you are anticipating eagerly the ‘coming of the end.’ In that connection, you are deeply interested, also, in discerning what is meant today by “the disgusting thing that causes desolation” and its “standing in a holy place.” You will want to know the modern-day application of what the prophet Daniel said about these things and how, today, you may be among those who find salvation by “fleeing to the mountains.”​—Matthew 24:3-16.

2. (a) What are some scriptures that help us to identify the “holy ones” of Daniel’s prophecy? (b) What other group has appeared recently, and what common interest do these two groups have?

² Daniel’s prophecy has much to say about the “holy ones” who inherit the kingdom. (Daniel 7:27) These make up the small group of “born again” Christians, spiritual Israelites, who have kept integrity under Satan’s assaults, thus proving worthy of a place in the kingdom of the heavens. (John 3:3; Luke 12:32) In recent years, the remaining ones of these anointed witnesses of God have been joined by “a great crowd . . . out of all nations,” who hope to live forever in a paradise earth. Do you belong to one or the other of these groups? If so, you are privileged now to render God “sacred service” in the earthly sanctuary of his spiritual temple. This is a holy service, performed in “a holy place” that corresponds to the sanctuary of Jehovah’s temple in ancient Jerusalem.​—Revelation 7:4, 9, 15; Romans 12:1, 2.

3, 4. (a) What three ‘Jerusalems’ now come to our attention? (b) How does God’s Word describe each of these ‘Jerusalems’?

³ Because of the apostasy of the Jews, who murdered even the Son of God, the earthly Jerusalem was cast off, abandoned by God. (Matthew 23:37, 38) However, a far grander Jerusalem continued to be favored by Jehovah. Galatians 4:26 calls it the “Jerusalem above.” It is Jehovah’s “woman,” his own heavenly wifelike organization. It was this Jerusalem that brought forth God’s spiritual Son, Jesus Christ, who, in the year 33 CE, gave “his [human] soul a ransom” in behalf of mankind.​—Matthew 20:28.

⁴ After Jesus’ resurrection in the spirit, he was exalted to the right hand of his heavenly Father. At the appointed time, in 1914 CE, Jehovah installed him in his kingdom, which Hebrews 12:22 also associates with the name Jerusalem, calling it the “heavenly Jerusalem.” This kingdom would, in due course, destroy Satan’s wicked system and restore paradise to our earth.​—Matthew 6:9, 10.

Desolating “a Holy Place”

5. (a) What did Jesus say about the earthly Jerusalem? (b) This led to what question and prophecy?

⁵ Shall we open our Bibles now to Matthew, chapter 23 vs. 38? There in verse 38 you will note Jesus’ statement that Jerusalem’s “house is abandoned.” Then, to his surprised disciples, Jesus speaks the words of Matthew 24, verse 2, concerning that earthly Jerusalem’s temple: “Truly I say to you, By no means will a stone be left here upon a stone and not be thrown down.” This leads to four of the disciples asking Jesus the question of Mt 24 verse 3: “Tell us, When will these things be, and what will be the sign of your presence and of the conclusion of the system of things?” Jesus next gives his well-known prophecy that extends through to the end of Matthew, chapter 25.

6, 7. (a) In fulfillment of the prophecy, what now came under threat? (b) How was the “disgusting thing” thus seen to be “standing in a holy place”?

⁶ What interested Jesus’ disciples back there in 33 CE was the end of the Jewish system, centered in the earthly Jerusalem and its temple, a religious system that had become apostate. But despite its apostasy, Jerusalem continued to be known as “the holy city,” even after Jesus died. (Matthew 27:53) In fulfillment of Jesus’ prophecy, distresses multiplied in Jerusalem and Judea and other nations nearby. Then, in 66 CE, the Roman legions under General Gallus attacked Jerusalem. As Jesus foretold (according to Luke 21:20), Jerusalem was “surrounded by encamped armies.” As stated by the historian Josephus, these even entered the city with their idolatrous standards and started to undermine the wall of the temple.

⁷ Those Roman armies were surely standing in “a holy place.” They were poised to desolate that “city of Jehovah,” the city that had for centuries been associated with Jehovah’s worship. (Psalm 101:8) “Disgusting,” indeed, from the viewpoint both of Jewish apostates and of Jewish Christians! However, only the Christians recognized that this was the situation concerning which Jesus had prophesied. Not only were the “holy city” and its temple of worship threatened but so were Christians inside who were loyal to Jehovah and his word of truth. How could these survive?

8. How then did Jehovah maneuver things, and with what result?

⁸ Miraculously Jehovah maneuvered events. Suddenly the Roman army withdrew, opening the way for the Christians to obey Jesus’ prophecy. And obey they did, “fleeing to the mountains” of Gilead! Then, in 70 CE, the “disgusting thing” returned. In just four months, the Roman army under General Titus desolated Jerusalem, reducing its supposed “holy place” to a pile of rubble. More than a million Jews died in that holocaust, with few survivors. (Daniel 9:26) But the Christianized Jews were safe! Why? Because they obeyed the prophetic word of truth as spoken by the Great Teacher, Jesus Christ.​—Mark 13:1, 2, 14.

Modern-Day Parallel

9. Why should those first-century events interest us today?

⁹ Those first-century events have vital meaning for us today. Why so? Because they have a striking parallel in this twentieth century. It is in our day that Jesus’ great prophecy comes to its final, world-shattering fulfillment! However, this time not just the city of Jerusalem and the land of Judea but all the inhabited earth, with its tens of thousands of cities, its hundreds of national and tribal groups and its 4,400 million people​—the entire world system of things—​is involved.

10. (a) What time period ended in 1914, and how? (b) Why is there now unprecedented “woe” in the earth?

¹⁰ Even worldly historians have noted that the year 1914 CE brought an epoch-marking change. Indeed, the “appointed times of the nations” ended in that year. (Luke 21:24-28) No longer would Jehovah permit the Gentile powers to rule as they pleased. So the prophecy was fulfilled toward the Lord Jesus: “The rod of your strength Jehovah will send out of Zion [the “heavenly Jerusalem,” the messianic kingdom], saying: ‘Go subduing in the midst of your enemies.’” (Psalm 110:2) Obediently, the enthroned king hurled Satan and his demon hordes out of heaven down to the vicinity of the earth. So, for a “short period of time,” it is “woe for the earth.” (Revelation 12:7-12) Now, from 1914 on, Jesus’ great prophecy of Matthew chapters 24 and 25 is having its earth-wide fulfillment.

11. What have you yourself observed in fulfillment of Jesus’ great prophecy?

¹¹ Have not all of us been eyewitnesses of the “sign . . . of the conclusion of the system of things”? Have not we ourselves observed the major wars, the food shortages, the pestilences, the earthquakes and other “fearful sights” that Jesus foretold? Have we not experienced the persecution of Christians, and shared in preaching “this good news of the kingdom . . . in all the inhabited earth for a witness to all the nations”? Truly many of us have! (Matthew 24:3-14; Luke 21:10-12) But what of Jesus’ words, at Matthew 24:15, 16, about “the disgusting thing that causes desolation”?

A Global Fulfillment

12. How will the “great tribulation” differ from Jerusalem’s destruction?

¹² The first-century fulfillment of this prophecy provides a pattern of what we may expect today. But some details do not run exactly in parallel. For example, at Mt 24 verses 21 and 22 Jesus says: “Then there will be great tribulation such as has not occurred since the world’s beginning until now, no, nor will occur again. In fact, unless those days were cut short, no flesh would be saved; but on account of the chosen ones those days will be cut short.” The climactic “great tribulation” will not be confined to Jerusalem or any other city. It will be the biggest calamity ever to strike our earth, and it will be global in scope.​—Jeremiah 25:30-33; Matthew 24:30.

13. In contrast to the “flesh” that survived Jerusalem’s destruction, what “flesh” will be saved through the “great tribulation”?

¹³ Moreover, the “flesh” that survives will not be that of a few apostate Jews, destined for slavery, as at the destruction of the earthly Jerusalem. Instead, it will be the “flesh” of the “chosen ones,” those representing on earth the “heavenly Jerusalem,” along with the “flesh” of their companions of the “great crowd” out of all nations, of whom Revelation 7:14 states: “These are the ones that come out of the great tribulation, and they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.” How, then, are we to understand Matthew 24:15, 16 in its modern-day fulfillment?

“Let the Reader Use Discernment”

14, 15. What are some things that ‘the reader may discern’ in examining Daniel chapters 7 and 8?

¹⁴ Jesus here refers to “Daniel the prophet,” and adds: “Let the reader use discernment.” It was “in the first year of Belshazzar the king of Babylon” that Daniel was given a vision of the Ancient of Days, Jehovah God, and his judging of the worldly nations through Messiah’s kingdom. This was to be when “the definite time arrived that the holy ones took possession of the kingdom itself.”​—Daniel 7:1, 9-14, 21, 22, 27.

¹⁵ Daniel saw a further vision in the third year of Belshazzar’s kingship. Here, in Daniel 8:3-9, the prophet uses figurative language in describing a succession of “wild beasts” and powerful “horns” that grow out of the heads of those “beasts.” Daniel 8:20-25 helps us to identify these as world powers of the past 2,500 years, starting with Medo-Persia, then Greece, Rome and finally​—as ‘a small horn that grows until its power becomes mighty’—​the British Empire, with which the republic of America later became associated. In this way a dual world power was established.

16. (a) What “definite time arrived,” and what followed in the experience of the “holy ones”? (b) Why were the June 1938 issues of The Watchtower important to God’s people?

¹⁶ In 1918 CE “the definite time arrived” for the “holy ones” to receive the kingdom. From the year 1919 the “holy ones” yet remaining on earth were organized to make a grand global proclamation of Messiah’s established kingdom. (Matthew 24:14) Soon they became known worldwide as “Jehovah’s witnesses” and a “great crowd” of companion workers began to join them. (Isaiah 43:10, 12; Revelation 7:9) However, during the 1930’s dark clouds of persecution gathered. Jehovah braced his people to meet this threat by reorganizing them theocratically. The Watchtower issues of June 1 and 15, 1938, featured study articles on “Organization” that gave God’s people the theocratic structure that would serve as a basis for their activity during the second world war.​—Isaiah 60:17.

17. Toward whom was Daniel 8:10, 11 now fulfilled?

¹⁷ It was during World War II that Daniel 8:10, 11 went into fulfillment. The ‘small horn’ acted in defiance of Jehovah God, “the Prince of the army.” And what “army” is this? Is it the army of adherents to the multiplicity of Christendom’s religious sects? No. These are not “objects of hatred,” for they make themselves a part of Satan’s world. (Matthew 24:9; John 15:18-20) Daniel here refers to a much smaller army, comparable to Gideon’s fighting force that was very small in comparison with the hordes of Midian. (Judges 7:8, 12) It is the remnant on earth of the “army” of 144,000 “holy ones” who will reign with the Lamb, Christ Jesus, on Mount Zion of the “heavenly Jerusalem.”​—Revelation 14:1-5.

Occupying “a Holy Place”

18. (a) Where do the Scriptures show “a holy place” to be located? (b) According to Daniel 8:12, what happens at this location?

¹⁸ Today these remaining ones occupy “a holy place,” and they represent on earth the “heavenly Jerusalem” and its temple arrangement. Daniel describes this (in Da 8 verse 11) as “the established place of [Jehovah’s] sanctuary” here at His “footstool,” the earth. (Isaiah 66:1) He says: “From him [Jehovah] the constant feature was taken away, and the established place of his sanctuary was thrown down. And an army itself was gradually given over, together with the constant feature, because of transgression; and it kept throwing truth to the earth, and it acted and had success.” (Daniel 8:11, 12) How was this fulfilled?

19. (a) What do we here understand by the ‘small horn’s transgression’? (b) How did it keep “throwing truth to the earth”?

¹⁹ Well, what was the experience of faithful Bible students​—Jehovah’s Witnesses—​during World War II? Intense persecution! This amounted to a “transgression,” an effort to desolate God’s “sanctuary” class, and so take away from Jehovah the “constant feature” of daily public worship. It started in Nazi-Fascist countries. But soon ‘truth was being thrown to the earth’ throughout the vast domain of the ‘small horn whose power became mighty.’ The “army” of kingdom proclaimers and their work of preaching kingdom truth was banned in almost all of the British Commonwealth. When these nations conscripted their manpower they refused to grant exemption as ministers to Jehovah’s Witnesses; they showed no respect for their theocratic appointment as ministers of God. Mob violence and other indignities were heaped upon Jehovah’s faithful servants in the United States.

20. (a) What assurance does Daniel 8:14 give us? (b) How did the ‘holy place emerge victorious’? (c) As World War II drew to a close what developments were there in Jehovah’s organization?

²⁰ However, according to Daniel 8:13, 14, after a period of ‘twenty-three hundred days’ (six years, four months and twenty days), the “holy place” would be brought again “into its right condition,” or would “emerge victorious” (New English Bible). Indeed, Jehovah’s Witnesses had been fiercely persecuted because of their insistence on ‘obeying God as ruler rather than men.’ (Acts 5:29) But during the closing months of World War II they reaffirmed their determination to magnify Jehovah’s rulership and to adhere to it within their organization. To that end, a rearrangement of the work and governing structure of Jehovah’s Witnesses was initiated in 1944. The Watchtower of October 15, 1944, took as its theme “Organized for Final Work.” This and other service-oriented articles of the same period showed that the “holy place” was again in its “right condition” from Jehovah’s viewpoint.a

21. Up to this point, how had the kingdom triumphed?

²¹ The enemy’s vicious attempt to desolate and destroy the “holy place” completely had failed. The remaining “holy ones” on earth, along with their companions of the “great crowd,” had come off victorious. The kingdom of the Supreme One, Jehovah, and of his Christ, had triumphed! What would follow, according to Jehovah’s prophetic word? We shall now see.

[Footnotes]

WHAT DO YOU ‘DISCERN’ BY—

Daniel 7:22: “the definite time arrived”?

Daniel 7:27: “the holy ones,” “the kingdom”?

Daniel 8:9: “another horn, a small one”?

Daniel 8:10: “the army of the heavens”?

Daniel 8:11: “the Prince of the army”?

Daniel 8:12: “throwing truth to the earth”?

Daniel 8:14, NEB: “the Holy Place shall emerge victorious”?

[Box on page 14]

In 1965 Chancellor Konrad Adenauer of Germany declared: “Thoughts and pictures come to my mind, . . . thoughts from before the year 1914 when there was real peace, quiet and security on this earth​—a time when we didn’t know fear. . . . Security and quiet have disappeared from the lives of men since 1914.”

[Box on page 15]

In 1980 former British prime minister Harold Macmillan stated: “Everything would get better and better. This was the world I was born in. . . . Suddenly, unexpectedly, one morning in 1914 the whole thing came to an end.”

High Time to Flee!

1. (a) During World War II, what happened on earth in the sanctuary of the “holy place”? (b) What question therefore arises?

AS WE have noted, the true “holy place” is in the domain of the “heavenly Jerusalem,” God’s messianic kingdom. During World War II, the “holy ones” who serve with their companions, the “great crowd,” in the sanctuary of that “holy place” on earth were trampled down principally in lands of the Anglo-American dual world power. (Daniel 7:27; 8:10-12; Revelation 7:9, 15) Do we then conclude that Britain and America are “the disgusting thing that causes desolation”? No, for the “transgression” by the dual world power includes another feature. What is that?

2, 3. (a) How has a counterfeit kingdom of God been brought forth? (b) How is this described in Revelation? (c) What, then, is the modern-day “disgusting thing” of Daniel 11:31 and Matthew 24:15?

² The Anglo-American world power has served Satan’s purpose in another way. It has brought forth a counterfeit kingdom of God. As in Daniel’s prophecy, so also in the Bible book of Revelation, “beasts” and their “horns” are used to symbolize worldly political powers. Revelation chapter 13 describes the seventh world power of Bible history, Britain and America, as a two-horned wild beast that gives life to an “image” of the beastlike human rulerships. This “image” of the beast is a composite ‘scarlet-colored wild beast that has seven heads and ten horns.’ (Revelation 17:3) It appeared first as the League of Nations in 1920, and again with Britain and America as its principal advocates, along with the Soviet Union, it was revived in 1945 as the United Nations. (Revelation 13:11, 15; 17:8) This also fulfilled Daniel 11:31, which reads: “And they will certainly put in place the disgusting thing that is causing desolation.”a

³ Here, then, is the modern-day “disgusting thing” of which Jesus spoke at Matthew 24:15. But how has it been made to ‘stand in a holy place’? What do the facts show?

4. (a) Why can the League of Nations be described as “disgusting”? (b) What “disgusting” claims have religious leaders made for the UN?

⁴ When Britain and America took the lead in proposing the League of Nations in 1918, the churches of Christendom gave wholehearted support. The Federal Council of Churches of Christ in America hailed it as “the political expression of the Kingdom of God on earth.” What blasphemy! To say that a combine of the political nations of Satan’s world could be God’s kingdom on earth! A disgusting thing, an abomination, indeed, in the sight of Jehovah and of those truly standing in the “holy place” as ambassadors on earth of the now ruling “heavenly Jerusalem”! And what have the world’s clergy said of the League’s successor, the United Nations? They have described it variously as ‘the sole hope of survival’ for mankind, “the last hope of concord and peace” and the “supreme forum of peace and justice.” As with the League of Nations, they place it in “a holy place” by claiming that it will bring about what God’s kingdom alone is capable of accomplishing.

5. Why can we say that the UN does not belong in the “holy place”?

⁵ The clergy of Christendom have opted for putting the UN in “a holy place” that rightly belongs to the “heavenly Jerusalem,” God’s kingdom, and to the “holy ones” representing it on earth. But there is nothing “holy” about the UN. It has its prayer chapel and its Buddhist bell, and inscribed on its plaza wall are the words of Isaiah 2:4 (AV): “They shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruninghooks: nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more.” But these things do not make it “holy.” Its member nations are squabbling continually one with another, and an impressive number of them are now antireligion, anti-God. However, in another sense, also, we find “the disgusting thing . . . standing in a holy place.”

A Striking Parallel

6. (a) What two opposed groups lived in first-century Jerusalem? (b) How did the Jewish religionists resemble their forefathers?

⁶ Down to the year of its destruction, ancient Jerusalem was looked upon by the Jews as a holy city, a holy place. About 56 CE even the apostle Paul went up to the temple in Jerusalem and there, with four other Christians under a vow, he ceremonially cleansed himself. (Acts 21:23-26) There he was mobbed by Jews of the kind that persecuted true Christians, charging that these ‘had filled Jerusalem with their teaching.’ (Acts 5:28) These Jews clung to their apostate traditions and worship, and in this they were like their forefathers of Jeremiah’s day, who put their trust “in fallacious words, saying, ‘The temple of Jehovah, the temple of Jehovah, the temple of Jehovah they are!’” (Jeremiah 7:4) But that trust was misplaced.

7. (a) How does Christendom parallel apostate Jerusalem? (b) What is Christendom’s claimed “holy place”?

⁷ There is a similar situation today, for apostate Jerusalem of ancient times and its temple have a striking parallel in modern-day Christendom. Note that Christendom’s religion makes claim also to having “a holy place”​—her claimed religious rights and realm of operation. Over the centuries she has built up a cherished domain in which she exercises control over the masses. This she claims to be her spiritual right. Her domain includes also costly cathedrals, bejeweled altars, priceless stained-glass windows, landed properties and huge bank accounts. All of this is part of her claimed “holy place.” It is sacred to her, and no one dare trespass on it! At least, so she thinks.

8. (a) What is the relationship of Christendom’s religion to “Babylon the Great”? (b) How does Christendom resemble apostate Jerusalem?

⁸ However, what happened to ancient Jerusalem and its “holy place”​—in fulfillment of prophecy—​in 607 BCE and also in 70 CE? And what does the Lord Jesus show us in the Revelation transmitted by him to the apostle John? There, in the seventeenth chapter, we read of God’s judgment to be executed on “Babylon the Great, the mother of the harlots and of the disgusting things of the earth.” (Revelation 17:5) This “Babylon the Great” is no one else but the world empire of false religion, of which Christendom’s churches form the principal part. Christendom, which purports to be in covenant relationship with God, is the modern-day apostate “Jerusalem.”

9. How has the “mother of the harlots” acted with regard to the “beast” in modern-day fulfillment?

⁹ Over the centuries, the “mother of the harlots,” false religion, has performed fairly well in controlling the affairs of beastlike nations and empires. As Revelation 17:9 shows, she has sat on governmental mountains, and Re 17 verse 15 describes her as sitting upon “waters,” meaning “peoples and crowds and nations and tongues.” When the combination “scarlet-colored wild beast” appeared in 1920 as the League of Nations, and when it reappeared in 1945 as the United Nations, “Babylon the Great” maneuvered so as to get astride this international body, to gain benefit and profit. She takes no account of the fact that this “disgusting thing” of a political kind stands where it ought not to stand, trespassing in the “holy place” that is now rightly the domain of the “heavenly Jerusalem,” God’s kingdom by Messiah.

The “Horns” Go Into Action

10. What execution of judgment awaits false religion?

¹⁰ But look! At a time when those nations will say: “Peace and security,” the “horns” of that fearsome “wild beast” will suddenly turn violent! Their long-time hatred of the “harlot” will be suppressed no longer! They will unseat the prostitute that has been sitting so prettily atop the “beast.” Those radical, militaristic “horns” and “the wild beast” will devastate “the harlot,” ‘make her naked, eat up her fleshy parts and completely burn her with fire.’ (Revelation 17:16) False religion will be utterly desolated, including Christendom, which has claimed to have a “holy place” before God on earth. Hence, Christendom’s destruction will be as complete as that of the temple of earthly Jerusalem, of which Jesus said: “By no means will a stone be left here upon a stone and not be thrown down.”​—1 Thessalonians 5:3; Mark 13:2.

11. (a) With regard to the true “holy place,” what occurred in 1914? (b) What intrusions then began into Christendom’s claimed “holy place”?

¹¹ Is harlot-like false religion, including Christendom, apprehensive of what is about to happen to her? She should be, if she can interpret the pattern of world events today. And she would be downright scared if she paid attention to the prophetic truths in the Bible. Indeed, it was shortly after the “heavenly Jerusalem,” as rightful occupant of the “holy place,” was brought forth in 1914 that Christendom began to experience pressures on her own supposed “holy place”​—her domain of operation. In 1917 the Marxist revolution took place in Russia. Since that time atheistic socialist powers have taken over large portions of the earth. These have advanced even more aggressively since World War II. They loudly proclaim religion to be “the opium of the people.” Christendom, on its part, laments Communistic intrusions on her claimed “holy place,” along with the loss of so many “peoples.”

Threat to Christendom’s “Holy Place”!

12, 13. How have news reports underlined the threat to Christendom’s “holy place”?

¹² What has happened in Communist-dominated countries is indicated by the following report published in the Hong Kong Star late in 1981: “Vietnam’s Communist government has drafted Buddhist monks into the army, jailed hundreds of Christian clergymen and closed seminaries and churches, according to refugees, Western diplomats and foreign clergy. The aim, they say, is to bring all religions under the exclusive control of the government. Refugees claim that the Roman Catholic Church in southern Vietnam has come under particular pressure, with authorities citing upheavals in Catholic Poland as proof of the Church’s ‘counter-revolutionary tendency.’”

¹³ The Atlanta Journal and Constitution of January 2, 1982, carried a headline: “Many of Big News Stories of [1981] Tied to Religion.” It went on to list the attempted assassination of Pope John Paul II, the assassination of Egypt’s President Sadat by Muslim militants, assassinations and massive executions in Iran, deadly military exchanges between Arab guerrillas and Israel, and bombings, murders and hunger-strike deaths in Ireland. Yes, indeed, religion is tied in with much of the trouble in the world. But all these news items will pale into insignificance when the ‘ten horns and the wild beast’ go into action, shortly, to devastate completely false religion, including Christendom and her supposed “holy place.”

14. How will those in the true “holy place” be threatened also?

¹⁴ However, what of those who worship in the real “holy place”​—those here on earth doing “sacred service” in support of the “heavenly Jerusalem”? These, too, will come under attack by militaristic “horns,” which even now make up part of the membership of the UN. According to Revelation 17:14, that political combine will demonstrate that it has no right to stand in “a holy place,” for it “will battle with the Lamb.”

15. (a) Who will be prominent in the attack on the “holy ones”? (b) How will ‘he come to his end’?

¹⁵ Daniel 11:40-45 shows that the Communistic “king of the north” will be prominent in this attack against the “holy ones,” but “he will have to come all the way to his end, and there will be no helper for him.”b Thus, all nationalistic “horns” and the “scarlet-colored wild beast” itself will be executed by Christ Jesus and his angelic armies. “Because he is Lord of lords and King of kings, the Lamb will conquer them.” There, at Armageddon, the reigning king of the “heavenly Jerusalem” will gain the decisive victory over all nations that have given “their power and authority to the wild beast.”​—Revelation 17:12-14; 16:16.

“Fleeing to the Mountains”

16. How and where may God’s people find protection?

¹⁶ How, then, do God’s people find protection? It is by “fleeing to the mountains.” (Matthew 24:16) Today, these “mountains” are the divinely provided place of refuge, Jehovah’s provision for protecting the remaining “holy ones” on earth, and also the “great crowd” of “other sheep,” through the “great tribulation.” This is in line with Jesus’ prophecy that some “flesh” will be saved. (Matthew 24:22) As mountains have permanence and are identified often in Scripture with governmental functions, so God’s haven of refuge today is to be found with his theocratic organization. This is represented on earth in “the congregation of the living God, a pillar and support of the truth,” now identified with the global society of Jehovah’s Witnesses.​—1 Timothy 3:15.

17. What positive action is required of those who would flee to safety?

¹⁷ All who flee to Jehovah’s organization must cease giving support to any part of Satan’s system on earth. They must become “no part of this world,” and they must stay out of it. They must shun its religion, its politics, its campaigns of violence, its materialism, its immorality. (John 18:36) They must dedicate themselves to Jehovah God, live according to his righteous principles and make known to others his glorious kingdom purposes. Never may they grow drowsy or return to the fleshpots of the world. Continually, they ‘must exert themselves vigorously’ to gain God’s approval and entry into his new order.​—Luke 13:24; 9:23; 2 Timothy 2:15.

18. Why is it urgent that right-hearted individuals “begin fleeing” now?

¹⁸ In this year, 1982, the threat to Christendom’s claimed “holy place” has become a real one. Indeed, world religion’s perch on the back of the UN “beast” is most precarious. ‘Discerning’ this, Jehovah’s Witnesses give urgency to the call: ‘Flee out of false religion, yes, out of all of Satan’s world system​—flee to God’s organization for refuge!’ Like Jerusalem of the first century, Christendom now faces “desolations . . . an extermination.” And so does the entire world empire of false religion, Babylon the Great!​—Daniel 9:26b, 27b; Revelation 18:2, 4.

19. (a) What does Psalm 72 say of the “mountains”? (b) How may we qualify to enjoy the “abundance of peace”?

¹⁹ Happily, the “mountains” of refuge will become also “mountains” of blessing, for Psalm 72:1-8 tells us: “Let the mountains carry peace to the people, also the hills, through righteousness . . . [In the days of Messiah, the King,] the righteous one will sprout, and the abundance of peace until the moon is no more.” Do you want to be counted among those who will enjoy that “abundance of peace”? Then “become steadfast, unmovable, always having plenty to do in the work of the Lord.” It is most urgent, while there is yet time, that you expend yourself in helping right-hearted persons to “begin fleeing to the mountains.” So, “stay by these things, for by doing this you will save both yourself and those who listen to you.”​—1 Corinthians 15:58; 1 Timothy 4:16.

[Footnotes]

Can You Answer These Questions:

□ What is the true “holy place”?

□ What is “the disgusting thing that causes desolation”?

□ In what way does “the disgusting thing” stand “in a holy place”?

□ What is Christendom’s supposed “holy place”?

□ How is Christendom’s supposed “holy place” now being threatened?

□ In what way do Christians today heed the command to ‘flee to the mountains’?

[Blurb on page 18]

October 1965: Pope Paul VI, in describing the United Nations as “that greatest of all international organizations,” said also: “The peoples of the earth turn to the United Nations as the last hope of concord and peace.”

[Blurb on page 19]

October 1979: Pope John Paul II addressed the UN General Assembly. Though he made no mention of Jesus Christ or the Kingdom, the pope said: “I hope the United Nations will ever remain the supreme forum of peace and justice, the authentic seat of freedom.”

[Picture on page 21]

Militant “horns” threaten Christendom’s claimed “holy place”

Cast Your Anxieties Upon Jehovah

WOULD a man who had committed adultery and murder suffer anxiety? Surely he would, if he had any sort of conscience at all. King David did have a conscience. Yet, in the grip of intense passion, this ancient Hebrew king committed adultery with a woman named Bath-sheba. The situation was complicated when she became pregnant, and eventually he felt himself compelled to arrange the death of her husband and to marry her himself.

When he came to his senses, can you imagine the anguish, the torment of conscience that he must have suffered? Well, we do not have to imagine it, because David describes it to us himself. It was this tragic series of events that led him to write the Ps 51 fifty-first psalm.

How did David handle all that anguish? The psalm tells us that he frankly confessed to his God, Jehovah, what he had done and showed deep, heartfelt repentance. Then he begged for God’s help to develop a different spirit. He said: “Create in me even a pure heart, O God, and put within me a new spirit, a steadfast one.” (Psalm 51:10) In this way, he ‘threw all his anxiety upon Jehovah.’​—1 Peter 5:7.

Would God help someone who had committed such crimes? David was confident that he would. He said: “The sacrifices to God are a broken spirit; a heart broken and crushed, O God, you will not despise.” (Psalm 51:17) History shows that for the rest of his life David suffered from the consequences of what he did. But because of his heartfelt repentance, his Creator did not abandon him. He was given help to bear his anxieties.

We may not have committed murder. Yet not one of us is without anxieties of some kind. We all sin, and a bad conscience is a heavy burden. Additionally, nearly everybody has worries about health, the rising cost of living, perhaps the bringing up of children, work, difficulties in getting on with others, crime, debt, and similar things. Do you try to carry all those worries yourself? Really, you do not have to. You will be happier if you follow this Scriptural advice: “Throw your burden upon Jehovah himself, and he himself will sustain you. Never will he allow the righteous one to totter.”​—Psalm 55:22.

How to Ask for Jehovah’s Help

How can we cast our burden on Jehovah? Of course, we have to pray to him and discuss our anxieties with him. The book of Proverbs gives us good advice on this. It tells us: “Trust in Jehovah with all your heart and do not lean upon your own understanding.” (Proverbs 3:5) Hence, if we want Jehovah’s help, we need to rely on his wisdom, not our own. Sometimes we have to learn this lesson.

For example, in one country, Christians were faced with bitter persecution. According to the report, at first they prayed to God for help, but without understanding. They did not understand why they had to undergo such experiences and tried to tell Jehovah what they wanted him to do for them.

However, they became stronger and learned to view it as a privilege to suffer for righteousness’ sake. Thus, they were more like the apostles of old who, after being beaten by the Jewish leaders, “went their way from before the Sanhedrin, rejoicing because they had been counted worthy to be dishonored in behalf of his name.” (Acts 5:41) Now these modern Christians patiently submit with God’s help to whatever persecution Satan inflicts upon them. They trust in Jehovah to work things out in his way and wait patiently on his due time to deliver them. They confidently cast all their anxieties upon him.​—Proverbs 14:26.

Additionally, casting our anxieties on Jehovah requires faith that Jehovah can and will help us. One woman learned this lesson well. She suffered from anxieties because, although she wished to serve Jehovah, she was addicted to smoking tobacco. She prayed for help but kept right on smoking. Some time later she was able to announce happily: “I have finally stopped smoking!” Why could she not stop before? She admitted: “I prayed to God for help, but I did not really believe that he could help me.” It was only when she asked in faith that she received the help she needed.​—Hebrews 11:6.

Then, if we wish Jehovah to help us bear our anxieties, there are things we have to do. Jesus indicated this, saying: “Come to me, all you who are toiling and loaded down, and I will refresh you. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am mild-tempered and lowly in heart, and you will find refreshment for your souls.”​—Matthew 11:28, 29.

There is a saying, ‘God helps those who help themselves.’ The above words of Jesus show that, in reality, ‘God helps those who are willing to help others.’ Jesus offered refreshment​—relief from anxieties—​to those who were willing to ‘take his yoke,’ that is, submit to Christ’s direction and serve God and their neighbors just as Jesus did.​—Matthew 9:35-38; James 1:27; 1 John 3:17.

How Does Jehovah Help?

So then, if we are suffering from great anxiety and pray to God in full faith, and we show that that faith is genuine by trying to do his will, serving him and helping our neighbors, what kind of help can we expect?

It may be that God will completely remove the problem giving rise to our anxiety. That has happened from time to time. Or it may be that he will give us the necessary wisdom to solve the problem ourselves or to see the correct way of handling it. Then we will experience the truth of the Biblical proverb: “He that is trusting in his own heart is stupid, but he that is walking in wisdom is the one that will escape.”​—Proverbs 28:26.

How can we gain such godly wisdom? Attending meetings of Jehovah’s people and reading the Bible and Bible publications are two ways that come to mind. As one Christian mother who suffered a lot of anxiety because of having an alcoholic husband expressed it, “Reading The Watchtower and studying it and applying it have helped me the most of all.”​—Hebrews 10:24, 25; Psalm 119:97-104.

Or, Jehovah can help us by means of our Christian brothers. One elder received from two persons in his congregation a warm note that read in part: “Thank you for the many times you listened to and helped us with our personal problems, encouraged us when we were depressed, visited us when we were sick, came whenever we called and stayed up all night in hospitals when our families needed you. We are grateful to Jehovah to have a brother who cares for us as deeply as you do.”

Hence, if you have anxieties, why not share them with mature ones in your congregation? Jehovah might help you by means of them, and you will see the truth of the ancient proverb: “A true companion is loving all the time, and is a brother that is born for when there is distress.”​—Proverbs 17:17.

Of course, Jehovah will not always remove the problems that cause our anxiety. But by strengthening us by means of the Bible, the holy spirit or our Christian brothers, he helps us to view the problems correctly and handle them wisely. In this way, we can experience what the apostle Paul said: “For all things I have the strength by virtue of him who imparts power to me.” (Philippians 4:13) Thus even though the problems are still there, Jehovah God keeps his promise: “I will by no means leave you nor by any means forsake you.”​—Hebrews 13:5.

Alma found this to be true. She is a Christian woman who some years ago was in an automobile accident that left her paralyzed from the waist down. She has much pain, but the knowledge that God will soon remove sickness and suffering is a comfort and help to her. Meantime, she says: “I pray to Jehovah to help me to endure each day. Then, when that day is over, I’m one day closer!”

Alma never misses a meeting of the Christian congregation, and she uses every avenue open to her to share with others the confidence she has in the future. In this way she feels the support of Jehovah as she throws her burdens upon him.

Whatever help Jehovah gives, we can be sure it is what is needed, and it is sufficient. The apostle Paul confidently declared: “We know that God makes all his works cooperate together for the good of those who love God.” (Romans 8:28) Even under great suffering, it is possible to experience Jehovah God’s help. Paul told us: “Do not be anxious over anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication along with thanksgiving let your petitions be made known to God; and the peace of God that excels all thought will guard your hearts and your mental powers by means of Christ Jesus.”​—Philippians 4:6, 7.

Hence, whatever our anxieties or burdens, let us confidently follow the advice of the apostle Peter: “Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time; while you throw all your anxiety upon him, because he cares for you.”​—1 Peter 5:6, 7.

[Box on page 24]

Jehovah has promised to help us bear our burdens. Do you have some of the following problems:

□ Illness?

□ Depression?

□ Guilty conscience?

□ Feeling of unworthiness?

□ Lack of self-control?

□ Persecution or oppression?

□ Prejudice because of race, social class or sex?

□ Weighed down by day-to-day problems?

□ Worry about the future?

□ Difficult personalities to handle?

If so, why try to handle them alone? Such anxieties are much easier to bear if we accept Jehovah’s help.

New Branch in Korea

IT WAS in 1952 that the Watchtower and Awake! magazines first began to be published in the Korean language. For all these many years, up to 1982, the printing of the magazines has been done by local commercial printeries. With 30,000 Jehovah’s Witnesses now sharing in the Kingdom preaching in Korea, magazine production has increased to about 100,000 copies per issue, or nearly five million a year! Could this printing be accomplished by local Witnesses themselves, as it is in many other countries around the world?

The dedication this past May 8 of a large new branch facility in Korea should make this possible soon. You can see a picture of the new branch on the opposite page. It is located on nine acres (3.6 ha) of land forty miles (64 km) south of the city of Seoul in a pleasant rural setting at Kongdo, in Ansung County.

Since there was not room to accommodate all who would have liked to attend the dedication program, the 1,882 present were there by special invitation. What a thrilling occasion it was for them, as they heard old-timers review the blessing of Jehovah God on the expansion of the Kingdom work here! Among those present were Don and Earlene Steele, the first missionaries in Korea. When they arrived in August 1949, thirty-three years ago, they found fewer than twenty local Witnesses. Most of these had survived imprisonment and torture during the Japanese wartime occupation.

Why a New Branch Was Necessary

The missionaries moved into a fine home on a hillside in Sodaemun, Seoul. Though the Korean War, starting in 1950, forced them to leave the country for a time, Don and Earlene Steele soon were able to return and occupy the old home, which now carried many shrapnel scars. Thereafter growth in Kingdom activity was very rapid. By 1953 there were 417 publishers. In that year a branch office was established in the country.

Other missionaries came to join the Steeles, and in succeeding years dramatic increase brought the number of publishers up to 5,538 by 1964. In that year the first building program was undertaken in Seoul. A spacious branch office, additional living quarters and a Kingdom Hall were built as an extension of the original home.

During the following years the Kingdom preaching continued to receive an enthusiastic reception among the Korean people. As a result, by 1972 the number of publishers had grown almost three times, to over fifteen thousand. This influx of people into the organization required further expansion of facilities. So another wing was added to the branch building in Seoul, being completed early in 1975.

However, further expansion soon became necessary, especially if Bible literature was to be printed in Korea. Since it was not possible to do this at the branch in Seoul, it was decided to relocate the entire operation and build new facilities. With the approval of the Governing Body of Jehovah’s Witnesses, about three years ago a search started for a suitable location for a new branch.

Because of zoning laws, it soon became apparent that if a printing operation and living quarters were to be in the same complex it would be necessary to move outside the city. Finally, a piece of property forty miles south of Seoul was located. It was registered with the government as forestland.

This forestland property has a healthy stand of pine trees, as well as an apricot orchard. It is surrounded by farmland, on which no buildings may be constructed. So this serves as a protection from other buildings going up close to our property. Even before purchase of the land was completed a permit to build a printery was applied for and obtained. Then application was made and permission received to cut down one third of the trees, removing about seven hundred of them to make way for the construction of the new facilities of the new Bethel home, office building and factory.

Also, there were sixty-seven graves on the property, it being customary for people to bury their dead in pine groves. After notice had been placed in the newspaper, eleven of these graves were claimed by relatives, and the remaining ones were moved to a public cemetery. Then the purchase was completed and the land was registered in the name of the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Korea.

Constructing the New Branch

In order to meet the requirements of zoning laws and to use the land as had been agreed, there were only two years in which to complete the building project and start producing. So the land was graded, electricity was brought in and telephone lines were installed. The building permit was received in March 1981 and construction began immediately.

As you can see from the picture on the preceding page, the two-story office building is connected with a larger one-story structure that will accommodate the printery. Located in the office building are offices for the translating, proofreading, accounting and service departments, as well as offices for the Bethel home and factory overseers. On the first floor there is also a fine Kingdom Hall for the use of the Bethel family and the local Kongdo Congregation. Before the end of the year it is hoped that the Korean Watchtower and Awake! magazines will be produced in the printery here.

Connected to the office-factory building by an outdoors walkway is the two-story Bethel home, which also has a basement. Seventy persons can be comfortably accommodated in the home and each room has its own bath. There are also a laundry, areas for ironing and sewing, as well as a spacious dining room and kitchen. During open house for those in the community, a few days before the dedication, the president of a bank training center asked: “Who lives in this hotel-like building?” He was deeply impressed with the facilities.

How were these fine buildings constructed? Almost all the craftsmen were Jehovah’s Witnesses. Because of having families to support, not all of them could donate their services free of charge. But these family men worked at reduced wages. Also, about thirty young pioneer (full-time) ministers were called in for the work. Although they had no particular building experience, they received on-the-job training and made a valuable contribution to the construction. In addition, thousands of other Witnesses volunteered to work for a few days.

All this volunteer labor kept the cost of construction to a minimum. Practically all expenses were borne by Jehovah’s Witnesses in Korea, with a few donations coming from interested congregations and individuals in other countries. Contributions were received from people of all walks of life, from the very young to the very old.

The move to the new branch took less than six weeks. Not only did all the personal property of Bethel family members have to be transferred from Seoul but so did all the equipment and supplies that are used in carrying on the branch operation. As each department moved, it immediately began operation in its new quarters, even though the final construction was being done at the same time. Everyone wanted to get moved in and settled by the time of the dedication. Why was this especially a keenly anticipated event for us?

It was because the Korean branch of the Watch Tower Society was receiving the visit of zone overseer Robert Wallen from the Brooklyn headquarters, and also of two members of the Governing Body, Fred Franz and Lloyd Barry, who were going to share in the dedication program. Thus it was that on May 8, 1982, 1,800 and more representative Korean Witnesses heartily joined with Brother Franz in presenting these branch buildings in dedication to Jehovah God and his work.

Jehovah’s Witnesses in Korea are happy to have these new facilities. It is their desire to use them to the full in accomplishing the preaching and teaching work yet to be done in this land.

[Picture on page 27]

The new Bethel home, located at the upper left, is connected with the office building and factory by a walkway

The Focus Is on Your Faith​—In Romans

WHAT is necessary for you to please God?

You might offer various answers: Live a good life. Do not harm others. Make certain sacrifices for God. Obey his laws. Perform good works. Accept Christ and be sincere in your worship.

These replies have merit, for they touch on things that you need to do in order to receive God’s approval. But something else is so vital that all the above would have no effect without it. That is FAITH.

Perhaps you feel, ‘I have faith and know that faith is important.’ Yet, we all do well to reflect on an idea that repeatedly reaches out to us from the book of Romans. You will find this connected theme in Romans 1:16, 17. The apostle Paul there tells us that ‘the good news is God’s power for salvation’ and that ‘the righteous one will live by means of faith.’ Is salvation thus available to everyone with faith? Does faith make Christian works unnecessary? Paul’s letter to the Romans answers.

Have you personally read Romans? Or, have you repeatedly read it? The latter is a better question, for it has been said that in Romans we find Paul’s most comprehensive presentation of the good news. So Romans merits repeated readings; the more you “chew” it, the more “nutritious” it is.

Salvation by Faith for All

There was an issue of concern to first-century Christians: Could both Jews and Gentiles find God’s approval and be declared righteous by him? God inspired Paul to write on this vital matter in Romans. What he wrote can be highly important to our lives as we exercise faith and seek salvation. It also contains a valuable lesson for us if we are in any way inclined to think of one people or nationality as better than another.

So that we can better appreciate the arguments Paul developed, let us summarize much of the book. As you read Romans with this summary at hand you will have a clear overview that will enable you to see the lines of reasoning developed. Thus you will not miss the broader picture, which can happen from simply a verse-after-verse reading.

After his introduction and warm statement of his desire to visit the congregation in Rome, Paul comes right to this central theme: God is impartial and holds out the possibility of salvation to “everyone having faith”​—whether Jew or Gentile. Even though the issue of how God might view Jew or Gentile is not as burning today as it was back then, Paul’s comments emphasize our faith. Why is that necessary for everyone?​—Romans 1:1-17.

Actually, all men are sinners who merit God’s wrath. That might be easy to see in the case of non-Jews who inexcusably ignore the evidence of the true God. These often worship created things and (because of their wrong views of God) give in to degraded practices. (Romans 1:18-32) But actually it is so even of persons like the Jews, who might judge or criticize the sinning Gentiles. Both are in a position to be judged. Why? The Jews have the law of God and profess to teach it. The Gentiles have conscience that prods them to do what is right, hence making them accountable. Neither circumcision nor uncircumcision of the flesh is, thus, the prime thing.​—Romans 2:1-29.

If you were a Jewish Christian back then, you likely would have appreciated Paul’s acknowledgment that the Jews had been entrusted with God’s Word. Yet there would be no escaping the truth, borne out in the Scriptures, that sinfulness is all-embracing. So there is a desperate need for some way that humans might become righteous. God has answered that need with a new means of attaining righteousness​—faith in Jesus. Would you like proof that faith is superior to works of law? Consider the example of Abraham, whom God counted as righteous on the basis of faith even before that man was circumcised or before the law was given to Israel. And we cannot ignore the fact that the resulting promise to Abraham meant blessing for all, regardless of their racial origin.​—Romans 3:1–4:25.

Do you see, then, how important faith is for Christians? In the case of those destined for life in heaven, faith precedes their being declared righteous and receiving their anointing with holy spirit. Yet how thankful all of us can be for the possibility of gaining God’s approval through our faith! Humans living before the law was given were sinners and died as a result. After Moses received the law, sin became more evident. What could counteract the effect of Adam’s sin that passed imperfection on to us? Jesus’ faithful course and the atoning power of his sacrificial death. With faith in that we can have “everlasting life in view.”​—Romans 5:1-21.

Living in Accord With Faith

As you continue reading in Romans you will see that Paul deals with a wrong conclusion that some might draw from his expressions. How so? Well, someone might reason that since God can respond to sin by showing undeserved kindness, a person could just go ahead and sin. What a mistake that would be! Paul explains that Christians whose sins have been forgiven should henceforth not let sin rule over them. It is as if sin formerly was our slave owner, whom we obeyed; but now it is as if that former master died and his orders can be ignored. We have a new master​—God. With faith we should be “slaves to righteousness,” having “fruit in the way of holiness, and the end everlasting life.”​—Romans 6:1-23.

It requires effort to live as a Christian in accord with faith. That effort is not just in the way of trying to keep a law code, for those who formerly were under the law could not keep it perfectly and now have been released from it just as a wife is released from the law of her husband when he dies. But we can draw encouragement from Paul’s candid admission: He admitted that he was not able to avoid sin, as he so wanted to do. Yet he felt rescued by Jesus. We can experience a similar rescue.​—Romans 7:1-25.

Those whom God has adopted as spiritual sons will reign together in heaven with Jesus Christ. That gives them hope, and it should assure all faithful Christians that God will help those who depend on him. In fact, if we are faithful to him, nothing can separate us from his love that is through Jesus. (Romans 8:1-39) We need not doubt God’s outworking of good. He has both the right and the ability to determine matters the way he wants, as he displayed in his choosing of Jacob and in his dealing with Pharaoh. Since most of the Jews were stumbled and did not accept the Messiah, God determined that anyone who exercised faith could be saved. That certainly is good news! Still, it brings on us the responsibility of exercising faith by declaring the good news so that persons of all nations may hear and gain faith.​—Romans 9:1–10:15.

We should see the lesson in how this worked out. Though being in a favorable position with God and first in line for heavenly life as the “Israel of God,” the natural Jews did not hold their place. Like natural branches in a cultivated olive tree they were lopped off, allowing place for Gentiles (likened to wild olive branches) who accepted Christ. Without question, all who have received of God’s mercy in that or any other way should appreciatively continue exercising faith so as to gain salvation.​—Galatians 6:16; Romans 10:16–11:36.

In what ways can you manifest your faith, beyond making public declaration for salvation and thus helping others to know the good news? You will find some answers in Romans 12:1–13:14. As a Christian you can avoid being patterned after this wicked system; you can cultivate modesty, display hospitality and conquer the evil by doing good. Of course, as you read that passage you will find other excellent recommendations, including ones involving your relative subjection to the governmental “superior authorities.”

Another Christian duty is to be considerate of persons with weak consciences, being willing to forgo permissible things so as not to stumble these others. When we thus bear the weaknesses of those not strong instead of pleasing ourselves, we copy the pattern Christ set. We also promote peace and unity.​—Romans 14:1–15:16.

As you read the concluding Ro 15, 16 two chapters of Romans you will see that Paul certainly lived in accord with his faith. He had a ministry particularly to persons in the Gentile nations, and he was intensely occupied with fulfilling that ministry. In addition to visiting the congregation in Rome, Paul hoped to travel even to Spain. That was a main western outpost of the Roman Empire and was untouched territory from Paul’s standpoint. Paul’s numerous personal greetings to Christians in Rome are another evidence of his living, active faith.

Clearly, the book of Romans helps us to appreciate the superiority of faith over works of the law. It makes absolutely clear that in his impartiality God is willing to accept all who exercise faith, giving them the prospect of becoming righteous and gaining endless life. Let us, then, be ever conscious of our need to have strong faith and to live in accord with it.

Listen to a Thrilling Bible Drama

You can now do this. A cassette recording of a dramatization of the exciting story of God’s deliverance of his people from Egypt is now available. It is called “Jehovah’s Name to Be Declared in All the Earth.” An appreciative mother writes regarding the educational value of this tape recording:

“The tape is a great alternative to TV and the radio. Each time I listen to it, I seem to learn something new. My children have learned a lot from it too. They’ve been taught the Bible stories from infancy. My boy is eight years old and my girl is seven. I thought they knew those stories frontward and backward, yet when we listened to the tape, they asked so many questions. My girl asked, ‘Why is the man hitting the slave?’ ‘Why is Jehovah killing the Egyptians?’ and my boy asked, ‘Is this when the Red Sea parts?’ We stop the tape, answer the questions, and then pick up the story without missing a thing.”

Listen to this thrilling and instructive Bible drama in your home. The cassette is only $2. Playing time: 72 minutes.

Please send, postpaid, the cassette recording “Jehovah’s Name to Be Declared in All the Earth.” I enclose $2 (U.S.).