The Watchtower — August 1, 1989

Where Do You Go for Advice?

HAS anyone ever passed counterfeit money on to you? Perhaps not, but how would you react if someone told you that false money was circulating? Would you take offense? Of course not! You would more likely be grateful that you were alerted and take care not to give up some of your hard-earned, genuine money for the false.

Most of us receive advice or warnings from time to time. True, some warnings are more useful than others. But even if we do not see the personal value of some advice or counsel, is that any reason to take offense because it is offered?

The truth is, everyone needs help and advice from time to time. No one has all the answers. With the economic and political uncertainty that surrounds us, everyone needs a solid hope for the future. In a world where almost half the marriages end in divorce, where teenage pregnancy is rampant, and where sexually transmitted diseases are pandemic, there is an urgent need for sober, practical guidance. Parents need help in determining the best way to bring up their children in this confusing system of things. Teenagers need help in sorting out their conflicting emotions and pressures that may seem overwhelming. Everyone needs help in working out practical moral values in a world where dishonesty, immorality, and violence are more and more accepted.

Where can such help be found? By far the best source of advice on living is the Bible, God’s inspired Word. The ancient psalmist wrote: “Your word is a lamp to my foot, and a light to my roadway.” (Psalm 119:105) Those who read and apply God’s Word avoid most of the pitfalls that exist today. That is one reason why Jehovah’s Witnesses spend hundreds of millions of hours each year visiting their neighbors and discussing the Bible with them. Yet, many people do not listen, and some even take offense. Why is this?

Closed Minds​—Why?

Well, many people are very sensitive about receiving advice, especially on the subject of religion. Even church members do not always want to listen to the counsel their preachers offer. One British clergyman lamented: “Everybody has his own ideas and they are considered as good as the preacher’s.” Hence, it is not surprising that people do not want to listen to a stranger on their doorstep.

Moreover, although we are living in a skeptical age, many still have solid, emotional ties to their church. As one encyclopedia noted, “religion touches the deepest feelings of countless people.” Such people may not see the need to speak to someone of another religion about the Bible, even when the discussion has to do with finding a solution to their problems.

Others do not want to discuss the Bible because they have seen a lot of hypocrisy and corruption in religion. They are offended that some religious leaders condone immorality, or they are disgusted by the unashamed avarice of many television evangelists. Perhaps they are turned off when a clergyman uses his authority to support one side against another in a political battle. To them, religion seems to cause more problems than it solves.

The problems such ones complain of are real. Religiously speaking, there is a lot of “counterfeit money” in circulation. But surely, to refuse to accept valuable help from the Bible for this reason is as illogical as refusing to accept genuine money because counterfeit banknotes are circulating!

And as mentioned already, all of us do need counsel in this world of difficult choices and dangerous situations. Is there any way to be wisely directed in the matter of accepting advice? Is it unnecessary or even wrong to talk to someone of a different religion about the Bible? Is it possible to be open-minded enough to accept good counsel and yet not be deceived by counterfeit advice? What does the Bible say about this?

Are You Willing to Listen to God?

WHEN we read the Bible, we quickly realize that the situation of people in the first century was in many ways similar to ours today. There was much immorality and dishonesty, particularly among Israel’s licentious neighbors, for whom immorality was often a part of religion. Life was uncertain for poor people, and there were political problems. By the year 66 C.E., Israel and Rome were engaged in a full-scale war. In those days, as now, people needed help.

Religiously, the similarities between those days and our time are many. Jewish religious leaders were hypocrites. (Matthew 23:15; Luke 20:46, 47) In the non-Jewish world, religious attitudes ran the gamut from cynicism to superstition and fanatical religious fervor. (Compare Acts 14:8-13; 19:27, 28.) Even in the relatively new Christian congregation, all was not well. At the end of the century, the apostle John warned: “Many deceivers have gone forth into the world.” (2 John 7) Yes, back there too, much counterfeit counsel was offered on the subject of religion. Yet reliable help was available.

Would You Have Listened to Jesus?

Jesus was one who offered sound counsel in those days. It was so persuasive that we read this of its effect: “The crowds were astounded at his way of teaching.” (Matthew 7:28) But few among those crowds really listened to what he said. Jesus performed miraculous works and set a fine example of godly living and conduct. Yet, even the supposedly better-educated leaders refused to see the value of what he said. Why?

To a large degree, it was a matter of prejudice. Some despised Jesus because he was from Nazareth. Others rejected him because he had not attended one of their schools and had no connections with the ruling class. (John 1:46; 7:12, 15, 47, 48) Moreover, Jesus did not always say what people wanted to hear. He spoke only the truth, and the Pharisees, for example, were often offended at his words. (Matthew 15:12-14) Indeed, after he had preached for three and a half years, the Jewish religious leaders had him killed. (Luke 23:20-35) What an opportunity they missed, since Jesus had “sayings of everlasting life”!​—John 6:68.

If you had lived in Jerusalem at that time, would you have followed the religious leaders and the rest of the crowd? Or would you have been open-minded enough to grasp the sense of what Jesus was saying? If so, you would have been like a remarkable woman that Jesus met while on his travels.

One Who Did Listen

He met this woman while he was traveling through Samaria. He had sat down beside a well to rest, and the woman came along to draw water while he was there. We do not know her name, but the Bible records that Jesus, despite his tiredness, took the opportunity to talk to her about religion.​—John 4:5-15.

Now, there were many reasons why this woman might have shrugged off Jesus’ approach. She was of a different religion​—the Samaritan way of worship was different from the Jewish. Also, the Jews looked down on the Samaritans and refused to associate with them. Then, too, Jewish men did not usually address women who were strangers to them. (John 4:9, 27) Moreover, the Samaritan woman was living an immoral life, and she might have bristled at the possibility of being criticized or of having her sins exposed.​—John 4:18.

However, that was not the way she reacted. Rather, she asked reasonable questions in response to Jesus’ tactful, interest-arousing approach. As the conversation developed, she ventured into a difficult area, alluding to the religious schism that existed between the Jews and the Samaritans. Jesus answered kindly but frankly, telling the woman: “You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know.” (John 4:19-22) But she did not get offended. Her open mind was ready to hear more.

So Jesus continued with an important declaration: “Nevertheless, the hour is coming, and it is now, when the true worshipers will worship the Father with spirit and truth, for, indeed, the Father is looking for suchlike ones to worship him. God is a Spirit, and those worshiping him must worship with spirit and truth.” (John 4:23, 24) Later, this open-minded woman showed appreciation by eagerly telling her neighbors what she had learned. They, in turn, sought further information by listening to Jesus’ words.​—John 4:39-42.

What can we learn from this? Well, if we live in an area where there are strong racial, national, or religious prejudices, how do we respond when someone of a different race, nationality, or religion approaches us? Do we clam up when things are discussed that might show us up to be wrong? Or are we, like the Samaritan woman, willing at least to talk?

Would You Have Listened to Paul?

Another who offered fine counsel during the first century was the apostle Paul. At one time Paul too had a closed mind. He confessed: “Formerly I was a blasphemer and a persecutor and an insolent man. Nevertheless, I was shown mercy, because I was ignorant and acted with a lack of faith.” (1 Timothy 1:13) However, he accepted the truth about Jesus Christ and cast off his prejudices. His example shows that Bible truth can help ‘overturn strongly entrenched things’ in the heart if such things are detrimental to our well-being.​—2 Corinthians 10:4.

Once he had become a Christian, Paul went forth boldly to spread the good news that he had learned. And as would be expected, he met up with the same kind of closed-mindedness that he himself had once had​—but not in every case. In Beroea, in northern Greece, he found some meekhearted ones who were a fine example of how to listen to counsel. These ones recognized the ring of truth in Paul’s words. Hence, “they received the word with the greatest eagerness of mind.” But they were open-minded, not gullible. They ‘carefully examined the Scriptures daily as to whether these things were so.’ (Acts 17:11) They liked what they heard, although they checked its authenticity with the Bible before completely accepting it.

“Make Sure of All Things”

In our day, Jehovah’s Witnesses spend much time endeavoring to share the good news of the Kingdom with their neighbors belonging to other religions. What response do the Witnesses get? Many friendly persons are happy to receive them. But a number refuse, and some even get angry because the Witnesses call.

This is sad, for what Jehovah’s Witnesses want to talk about is called “good news” in the Bible. (Matthew 24:14) Moreover, they encourage the attitude of the apostle Paul, who said: “Make sure of all things; hold fast to what is fine.” (1 Thessalonians 5:21) Even if someone has strong opinions, surely, like the Beroeans and the Samaritan woman, that one should be open-minded enough to talk about God with others.

Why Be Open-Minded?

Happily, hundreds of thousands of people each year are doing just that. Many learn to recognize the wisdom that the Bible contains, and the result is real, lasting changes in their lives. Some were previously like Janet, a young woman with a long history of drug and alcohol abuse who was finally driven to try suicide. Today, Janet is a happy Christian person. Her study of the Bible helped her to gain the strength to follow Paul’s counsel: “Let us cleanse ourselves of every defilement of flesh and spirit.”​—2 Corinthians 7:1.

Vernon was an alcoholic, and his marriage was in danger of breaking up. But following the Bible’s counsel enabled him to overcome this vice and become reconciled with his wife. (1 Corinthians 6:11) Debra had strong racial prejudices. But a Bible study and association with Christian people helped her to adjust her thinking. (Acts 10:34, 35) And who would have believed the changes that would occur in the life of a young prostitute in the Netherlands when, one day, she agreed to study the Bible with Jehovah’s Witnesses? Soon, she was a baptized Christian living a clean life and responsibly looking after her children.

Such experiences are repeated many times over as people listen to what the Bible says. Their lives are improved in ways that many of them never thought possible. More important, they gain a relationship with God, so that they can pray to him earnestly as “Our Father in the heavens.” (Matthew 6:9) And they gain a sure, unbreakable hope for the future as they experience the truth of Jesus’ words: “This means everlasting life, their taking in knowledge of you, the only true God, and of the one whom you sent forth, Jesus Christ.”​—John 17:3.

This is the kind of information that Jehovah’s Witnesses want to discuss when they pursue their ministry and visit their neighbors. Likely, they will be visiting you again soon. Will you be open-minded enough to listen to them?

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The Samaritan woman did not let prejudice prevent her from listening to Jesus. Are you equally open-minded?

Jesus’ Life and Ministry

Jesus and a Rich Young Ruler

AS JESUS goes on through the district of Perea toward Jerusalem, a young man runs up and falls on his knees before him. The man is called a ruler, probably meaning that he holds a prominent position in a local synagogue or even that he is a member of the Sanhedrin. Also, he is very rich. “Good Teacher,” he asks, “what must I do to inherit everlasting life?”

“Why do you call me good?” Jesus replies. “Nobody is good, except one, God.” Likely the young man uses “good” as a title, so Jesus lets him know that such a title belongs only to God.

“If, though,” Jesus continues, “you want to enter into life, observe the commandments continually.”

“Which ones?” the man asks.

Citing five of the Ten Commandments, Jesus answers: “Why, You must not murder, You must not commit adultery, You must not steal, You must not bear false witness, Honor your father and your mother.” And adding an even more important commandment, Jesus says: “You must love your neighbor as yourself.”

“All these things I have kept from my youth on,” the man answers with all sincerity. “What yet am I lacking?”

Listening to the man’s intense, earnest request, Jesus feels love for him. But Jesus perceives his attachment to material possessions, and so points out his need: “One thing is missing about you: Go, sell what things you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven, and come be my follower.”

Jesus watches, no doubt with pity, as the man rises and turns away deeply saddened. His wealth blinds him to the value of true treasure. “How difficult,” Jesus laments, “it will be for those with money to enter into the kingdom of God!”

Jesus’ words astound the disciples. But they are surprised even more when he goes on to state a general rule: “It is easier, in fact, for a camel to get through the eye of a sewing needle than for a rich man to get into the kingdom of God.”

“Who, in fact, can be saved?” the disciples want to know.

Looking straight at them, Jesus replies: “With men it is impossible, but not so with God, for all things are possible with God.”

Noting that they have made a choice very different from that of the rich young ruler, Peter says: “Look! We have left all things and followed you.” So he asks: “What actually will there be for us?”

“In the re-creation,” Jesus promises, “when the Son of man sits down upon his glorious throne, you who have followed me will also yourselves sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.” Yes, Jesus is showing that there will be a re-creation of conditions on earth so that things will be as they were in the garden of Eden. And Peter and the other disciples will receive the reward of ruling with Christ over this earth-wide Paradise. Surely, such a grand reward is worth any sacrifice!

However, even now there are rewards, as Jesus firmly states: “No one has left house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or fields for my sake and for the sake of the good news who will not get a hundredfold now in this period of time, houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and fields, with persecutions, and in the coming system of things everlasting life.”

As Jesus promises, wherever in the world his disciples go, they enjoy a relationship with fellow Christians that is closer and more precious than that enjoyed with natural family members. The rich young ruler apparently loses out on both this reward and that of everlasting life in God’s heavenly Kingdom.

Afterward Jesus adds: “However, many that are first will be last, and the last first.” What does he mean?

He means that many people who are “first” in enjoying religious privileges, such as the rich young ruler, will not enter the Kingdom. They will be “last.” But many, including Jesus’ humble disciples, who are looked down upon by the self-righteous Pharisees as being “last”​—as being people of the land, or ‛am ha·’aʹrets—​will become “first.” Their becoming “first” means they will receive the privilege of becoming corulers with Christ in the Kingdom. Mark 10:17-31; Matthew 19:16-30; Luke 18:18-30.

◆ Evidently, what kind of ruler is the rich young man?

◆ Why does Jesus object to being called good?

◆ How does the young ruler’s experience illustrate the danger of being rich?

◆ What rewards does Jesus promise his followers?

◆ How do the first become last, and the last first?

God Purposes That Man Enjoy Life in Paradise

“And Jehovah God proceeded to take the man and settle him in the garden of Eden to cultivate it and to take care of it.”​—GENESIS 2:15.

1. What was the Creator’s original purpose regarding obedient humans?

IT WAS the Creator’s original purpose, and it still is his purpose, that obedient humans enjoy never-aging life, ever overflowing with youthful vigor, free from all boredom, always having a worthy purpose to fulfill, a life of loving and being loved in a true, unselfish way, perfectly​—in a paradise!​—Genesis 2:8; compare Luke 23:42, 43.

2. (a) What must have happened when the first man became conscious? (b) When was the first man created, where, and at what time of the year?

² To recognize that, look back at the newly created Adam when he first received consciousness, when he examined his own body and all that he saw and heard and felt around him, when he realized with a start that he was alive! This occurred some 6,000 years ago, in the year 4,026 before our Common Era, according to the count of time given in the Holy Bible. It occurred in the land area of what is today known as Turkey, or in the southwestern part of what is now called Asia, somewhere in the neighborhood of the Euphrates River and the Tigris River, and thus in the northern half of our earthly globe. The time would be about October 1, since mankind’s most ancient calendars began counting time near that date.

3. (a) In what state did the first man come alive? (b) What did the first man’s name come to be, and what was its significance?

³ The first man came alive fully grown, perfectly formed, perfectly healthy, perfectly moral. The name that is repeatedly given him in the Bible record calls our attention to the substance from which he was formed. His name was ‘A·dhamʹ.a The earth, or soil, from which he was formed was called ‘a·dha·mahʹ. So his name might well be said to mean “Earthling Man.” This came to be the personal name of this first man​—Adam. What a sensation it must have been to Adam when he came to life, became a conscious, intelligent person!

4. What strange awakening to life did the first man not have, so he was not a son of what?

⁴ When this first man, Adam, came to life, awoke to intelligent consciousness, and opened his eyes, he did not find himself lying on a hairy bosom, embraced by the powerful long arms of some female apelike creature, clinging to her and looking up into her eyes and with tender affection calling her Mother. The first man, Adam, had no such strange awakening to life. He felt no fleshly relationship to an ape, not even later on when he first saw one. On the day of his creation, there was nothing to suggest that he was a descendant, a distant son, of an ape or any creature like that. Yet, was the first man, Adam, to remain mystified as to how he came into existence? No.

5. What did Adam definitely know about his parklike garden and about himself?

⁵ Understandably, he might well have been mystified as to how all the beautiful things at which he looked came into existence. He found himself to be in a parklike garden, a paradise that was not of his own designing, making, and arranging. How did this come about? As a perfectly intelligent, reasoning man, he would want to know. He had had no earlier experience. He knew that he was not a self-made, self-developed man. He had not risen to this state by his own efforts.​—Compare Psalm 100:3; 139:14.

6. How would Adam likely react to being alive in a perfect earthly home?

⁶ The first man, Adam, may at the beginning have been too excited over this original experience of joyously being alive in a perfect earthly home to think about where he came from and why. He could hardly help but make happy outcries. He found words coming out of his mouth. He heard himself speaking in the language of man, making remarks about the lovely things he saw and heard. How good it was to be alive here in this Paradise garden! But as he delightedly filled himself with information from all the sights, sounds, smells, and feel of things, he would be induced to do some thinking. To us, were we placed in his circumstances, there would have been a mystery about the whole thing, a mystery that we could not have solved of ourselves.

No Mystery as to Human Existence

7. Why was Adam not mystified for long about finding himself alive and in a paradise garden?

⁷ Not for long was the first man, Adam, baffled about the situation in which he found himself alive and alone, with no one else like him visible in the Paradise garden. He heard a voice, someone speaking. The man understood it. But where was the speaker? The man saw no one doing the speaking. The voice came from the invisible, the unseen realm, and it was addressing him. It was the voice of the man’s Maker, his Creator! And the man could answer him in the same kind of speech. He found himself talking with God, the Creator. The man needed no modern scientific radio receiver to hear the divine voice. God conversed with him directly as his creature.

8, 9. (a) What questions could Adam get answered, and what fatherly care and interest were shown to him? (b) What answer did Adam receive from his heavenly Father?

⁸ Now the man knew that he was not alone, and for this he must have felt better. His mind was full of questions. He could ask them of the invisible One talking to him. Who made him and this garden of pleasure? Why had he been put there, and what was he to do with his life? Was there any purpose in living? Fatherly care and interest were shown to this first man, Adam, for his questions were given an answer that satisfied his inquiring mind. What a pleasure it must have been to his Maker, his Life-Giver, his heavenly Father, to hear the man begin to talk and say his first words! What happiness it gave the heavenly Father to hear his son speaking with him! The natural first question would be, “How did I come to be?” The heavenly Father was pleased to answer this and thus acknowledge that this first man was His son. He was a “son of God.” (Luke 3:38) Jehovah identified himself as the Father of this first man, Adam. From his heavenly Father, here is the essence of the answer that Adam received to his question and that he passed on to his offspring:

⁹ “And Jehovah God proceeded to form the man out of dust from the ground and to blow into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man came to be a living soul. Further, Jehovah God planted a garden in Eden, toward the east, and there he put the man whom he had formed. Thus Jehovah God made to grow out of the ground every tree desirable to one’s sight and good for food and also the tree of life in the middle of the garden and the tree of the knowledge of good and bad. Now there was a river issuing out of Eden to water the garden, and from there it began to be parted and it became, as it were, four heads.”​—Genesis 2:7-10.b

10, 11. (a) What facts did Adam clearly learn, but what other questions did he need to get answered? (b) What answers did the heavenly Father give Adam?

¹⁰ Adam’s bright, fresh mind eagerly drank in this satisfying information. Now he knew that he did not come from that invisible realm from which his Maker and Former was speaking. Rather, he was formed from the earth on which he was living and so was earthy. His Life-Giver and Father was Jehovah God. He was “a living soul.” Having received his life from Jehovah God, he was a “son of God.” The trees about him in the garden of Eden produced fruits that were good for food, for him to eat and keep alive as a living soul. And yet, why must he keep alive, and why was he put on earth, in this garden of Eden? He was a fully formed man of intelligence and with physical abilities, and he deserved to know. How, otherwise, could he fulfill his purpose in life and thus please his Maker and Father by doing the divine will? The answers to these proper questions were given in the following information:

¹¹ “And Jehovah God proceeded to take the man and settle him in the garden of Eden to cultivate it and to take care of it. And Jehovah God also laid this command upon the man: ‘From every tree of the garden you may eat to satisfaction. But as for the tree of the knowledge of good and bad you must not eat from it, for in the day you eat from it you will positively die.’”​—Genesis 2:15-17.

12. For what must Adam have thanked his Creator, and how could the man thus glorify God?

¹² Adam must have thanked his Creator for being given something to keep him usefully occupied in this beautiful garden of Eden. Now he knew the will of his Creator, and he could do something on earth for Him. He now had a responsibility resting upon him, that of cultivating the garden of Eden and taking care of it, but that would be a pleasant thing to do. By doing this, he could keep the garden of Eden looking in such a way as to bring glory and praise to its Maker, Jehovah God. Whenever Adam got hungry from working, he could eat to satisfaction from trees of the garden. In this way he could renew his strength and keep up his life of happiness indefinitely​—endlessly.​—Compare Ecclesiastes 3:10-13.

Prospect of Everlasting Life

13. What prospect did the first man have, and why so?

¹³ Endlessly? What an almost unbelievable thought this must have been to the perfect man! But why not? His Creator had no idea or purpose of destroying this masterfully designed garden of Eden. Why should he destroy his own work, when it was so good and expressive of his artistic creativity? Logically, he would not purpose to do so. (Isaiah 45:18) And since this matchless garden was to remain under cultivation, it would need a cultivator and caretaker like the perfect man, Adam. And if caretaker man never ate the fruit of the forbidden “tree of the knowledge of good and bad,” he would never die. The perfect man could live forever!

14. How could Adam have everlasting life in Paradise?

¹⁴ Everlasting life in the Paradise garden of Eden was set before Adam! It could be eternally enjoyed, provided that he stayed perfectly obedient to his Creator, never eating fruit that was forbidden by the Creator of man. It was His desire that the perfect man remain obedient and keep living everlastingly. The forbidding of the fruit of “the tree of the knowledge of good and bad” was nothing death-dealing. It was merely a test of man’s perfect obedience to his Father. It provided an opportunity for the man to prove his love for God, his Creator.

15. Why could Adam look forward to a bright future, with good at the hands of his Creator?

¹⁵ With the heart satisfaction that he was not just an unintended accident but had a heavenly Father, with his mind enlightened with an understanding of his purpose in life, with eternal life in Paradise in view, the perfect man looked ahead into the bright future. He ate of the trees that were good for food, avoiding “the tree of the knowledge of good and bad.” He wanted to know good at the hands of his Creator. Work, not of a ruinous kind, but of cultivating the garden of Eden was good, and the perfect man worked.

No Obligation Felt to Explain Matters

16-18. What so-called mysteries did Adam not feel obligated to solve, and why?

¹⁶ The daylight declined as the great luminary of the day, which he could discern in its movement across the sky, set. Darkness fell, night, and the moon became discernible to him. It did not fill him with a sense of fear; it was the lesser luminary that dominated the night. (Genesis 1:14-18) Likely, fireflies flew about the garden, their cold light flashing on and off like little lamps.

¹⁷ As night fell and darkness swept over him, he felt the need to sleep like the animals about him. On awakening he began to feel hungry, and he ate with good appetite from the permitted fruit trees, to have what might be called a breakfast.

¹⁸ Renewed in strength and well refreshed by the night’s rest, he turned his attention to the day’s work. As he observed all the greenery about him, he did not feel that he must dig into the mystery of what people thousands of years later would call photosynthesis, this enigmatic operation by which the green coloring matter of plants, their chlorophyll, harnesses the energy of the sunlight to produce foodstuffs for man and animal to eat, at the same time taking in the carbon dioxide that man and animal exhale and giving off oxygen for them to breathe. A human might call it a mystery, but there was no need for Adam to solve it. It was a miracle of man’s Creator. He understood it and made it work for the benefit of creature life on earth. Hence, it was sufficient for the first man’s perfect intelligence that God, the Creator, made things grow, and man’s God-given work was to care for these forms of plant life growing in the garden of Eden.​—See Genesis 1:12.

Alone​—But Not Lacking in Joy

19. Though realizing that he was alone, without anyone else like him on earth, what did Adam not do?

¹⁹ Man’s education at the hands of his heavenly Father was not over. Man took care of the garden of Eden without anyone else like him on earth to join him or help him. As far as his kind, the human kind, was concerned, he was alone. He did not go on a search to find someone like him with whom to have earthly company. He did not ask God, his heavenly Father, to give him a brother or a sister. His aloneness as a man did not drive him finally mad and take the joy out of living and working. He had companionship with God.​—Compare Psalm 27:4.

20. (a) What was the height of Adam’s joy and pleasure? (b) Why would continuing in this way of life have been no killing hardship on Adam? (c) What will the next article discuss?

²⁰ Adam knew that he and his work were under the inspection of his heavenly Father. The height of his pleasure was in pleasing his God and Creator, whose wonderfulness was revealed by all the beautiful works of creation all around the man. (Compare Revelation 15:3.) To continue in this way of life would have been no killing hardship or boring chore for this perfectly balanced man who could converse with his God. And God had set before Adam interesting work, fascinating work, that would bring him great satisfaction and pleasure. The next article will tell more about the Paradise blessings and prospects that Adam enjoyed at the hands of his loving Creator.

[Footnotes]

“The first one’s name is Pishon; it is the one encircling the entire land of Havilah, where there is gold. And the gold of that land is good. There also are the bdellium gum and the onyx stone. And the name of the second river is Gihon; it is the one encircling the entire land of Cush. And the name of the third river is Hiddekel; it is the one going to the east of Assyria. And the fourth river is the Euphrates.”​—Genesis 2:11-14.

What Are Your Answers?

◻ Why was Adam not for long mystified about his existence?

◻ What work did God give Adam, and how must he have responded?

◻ What prospect did the perfect man enjoy, and why?

◻ Why did Adam not make it his life’s work to solve mysteries?

◻ Why did Adam’s being alone as a man not take the joy out of living

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NASA photo

Grand Human Prospects in a Paradise of Pleasantness

“God blessed them and God said to them: ‘Be fruitful and become many and fill the earth and subdue it, and have in subjection the fish of the sea and the flying creatures of the heavens and every living creature that is moving upon the earth.’”​—GENESIS 1:28.

1, 2. To what end is Jehovah lovingly working with regard to humans, and what work assignments did he give to Adam?

“GOD is love,” we are told in the Holy Bible. He is lovingly and unselfishly interested in mankind and ceaselessly working that they might forever enjoy healthful, peaceful lives in an earthly paradise of pleasantness. (1 John 4:16; compare Psalm 16:11.) The first man, the perfect Adam, had a peaceful life and interesting, enjoyable work. Man’s Creator assigned him to cultivate the delightful garden of Eden. Man’s Creator now gave him another task, a special one, a challenging assignment, as the account of what took place reveals:

² “Now Jehovah God was forming from the ground every wild beast of the field and every flying creature of the heavens, and he began bringing them to the man to see what he would call each one; and whatever the man would call it, each living soul, that was its name. So the man was calling the names of all the domestic animals and of the flying creatures of the heavens and of every wild beast of the field.”​—Genesis 2:19, 20.

3. Why was there no fear on the part of Adam and the animal creation?

³ The man called the horse sus, the bull shohr, the sheep seh, the goat ʽez, a bird ʽohph, the dove yoh·nahʹ, the peacock tuk·kiʹ, the lion ʼar·yehʹ or ʼariʹ, the bear dov, the ape qohph, the dog keʹlev, the serpent na·chashʹ, and so on.a When he went over to the river that flowed out of the garden of Eden, he saw fish. To fish he gave the name da·gahʹ. The unarmed man felt no fear of these animals, domestic and wild, or of the birds, and they felt no fear of him, whom they instinctively recognized as their superior, of a higher kind of life. They were God’s creatures, gifted with life by Him, and the man had no desire or inclination to hurt them or take their life away from them.

4. What might we surmise regarding Adam’s naming of all the animals and birds, and what kind of experience must this have been?

⁴ Just how long the man was being shown the domestic and wild animals and the flying creatures of the heavens, the account does not tell us. It was all under divine guidance and arrangement. Adam likely took time to study each different animal, observing its distinctive habits and makeup; then he would select a name that would be especially fitting for it. This could mean the passing of a considerable amount of time. It was a most interesting experience for Adam thus to get acquainted with the creature life of this earth in its many kinds, and it called for great mental ability and powers of speech for him to distinguish each of these kinds of living creatures with a suitable name.

5-7. (a) What questions would likely arise? (b) What kind of answers were given in the creation account at Genesis 1:1-25?

⁵ But what had been the order of the creation of all these living creatures? Were the land animals created before the birds or not, and where in time and order did the man stand with regard to all these living creatures of a lower kind? How did God prepare the surface of the earth for such a wide variety of creature life, provide the air in which the birds could fly at such heights, supply the water to drink and the vegetable life to serve as food, make a great luminary to brighten the day and enable man to see, and make the lesser luminary to beautify the night? Why was the weather so mild and warm that the man could move about and work and sleep exposed and naked?

⁶ The man was not left to guess at the answers. His inquiring mind deserved intelligent answers from an authoritative source that knew accurately. He was not abandoned as an ignorant son of God, but his high degree of intelligence was likely dignified with the marvelous history of creation as given at Genesis 1:1-25.

⁷ For that thrilling account of creation, Adam would be very grateful. It explained many things. From the way it was worded, he understood that there were three long periods of time that God called days according to His way of measuring time, before the fourth creative period in which God made the two great luminaries appear in the expanse of the heavens to mark man’s much shorter 24-hour day. This shorter human day on earth was the time from the going down of the greater luminary to its next descent. Adam also became aware that there were to be years of time for him, and he no doubt immediately began to count his years of life. The greater luminary in the expanse of the heavens would enable him to do this. But as for God’s longer days of creation, the first man realized that he was then living in the sixth day of God’s earthly creative work. No end had yet been mentioned to him of that sixth day for creating all those land animals and then for creating man separately. Now he would understand the order of the creating of vegetable life, marine life, bird life, and land animals. But by himself in the garden of Eden, Adam was not the full, complete expression of God’s loving purpose for man in his earthly Paradise.

Creating the First Woman

8, 9. (a) What did the perfect man observe regarding the animal creation, but what did he conclude with regard to himself? (b) Why was it fitting that the perfect man did not ask God for a mate? (c) How does the Bible account describe the creating of the first human wife?

⁸ The first man, with his perfect mind and powers of observation, saw that in the bird and animal realm, there were male and female and that between them they reproduced their kind. But with the man himself, it was not then so. If this observation inclined him to have the thought of enjoying a companion, he found no suitable mate among any of the animal realm, not even among the apes. Adam would conclude that there was no mate for him because if there had been one, would not God have brought this mate to him? Man had been created separate from all those animal kinds, and he was meant to be different! He was not inclined to decide matters for himself and become impudent and ask God his Creator for a mate. It was fitting that the perfect man let the entire matter rest with God, for shortly afterward he found that God had drawn His own conclusions about the situation. About this and what now took place, the account tells us:

⁹ “But for man there was found no helper as a complement of him. Hence Jehovah God had a deep sleep fall upon the man and, while he was sleeping, he took one of his ribs and then closed up the flesh over its place. And Jehovah God proceeded to build the rib that he had taken from the man into a woman and to bring her to the man. Then the man said: ‘This is at last bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh. This one will be called Woman, because from man this one was taken.’ That is why a man will leave his father and his mother and he must stick to his wife and they must become one flesh. And both of them continued to be naked, the man and his wife, and yet they did not become ashamed.”​—Genesis 2:20-25.

10. How did the perfect man respond when the perfect woman was presented to him, and what may his words have indicated?

¹⁰ There was complete satisfaction expressed in his words when the perfect woman was presented to him as a helper and complement: “This is at last bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh.” In view of these words when he finally saw his newly created wife, it could be that he had waited some time to receive his delightful human counterpart. Describing his complement, Adam called his wife “Woman” (ʼish·shahʹ or, literally, “female man”), “because from man this one was taken.” (Genesis 2:23, New World Translation Reference Bible, footnote) Adam felt no fleshly kinship to the flying creatures and land animals that God had previously brought to his notice for him to name. His flesh was different from theirs. But this woman truly was of his fleshly kind. The rib bone taken from his side manufactured the same sort of blood that was in his own body. (See Matthew 19:4-6.) Now he had someone to whom he could act as God’s prophet and with whom he could share the marvelous account of creation.

11-13. (a) With Adam’s receiving a wife, what questions might arise? (b) What was God’s purpose for the first human couple? (c) What would serve as food for the perfect human family?

¹¹ What, though, was the purpose of man’s Creator in giving him a wife? Was it merely to provide for him a helper and complement, a companion of his own kind to keep him from growing lonesome? The record explains God’s purpose as it relates to us God’s blessing that was pronounced upon their marriage:

¹² “And God went on to say: ‘Let us make man in our image, according to our likeness, and let them have in subjection the fish of the sea and the flying creatures of the heavens and the domestic animals and all the earth and every moving animal that is moving upon the earth.’ And God proceeded to create the man in his image, in God’s image he created him; male and female he created them. Further, God blessed them and God said to them: ‘Be fruitful and become many and fill the earth and subdue it, and have in subjection the fish of the sea and the flying creatures of the heavens and every living creature that is moving upon the earth.’

¹³ “And God went on to say: ‘Here I have given to you all vegetation bearing seed which is on the surface of the whole earth and every tree on which there is the fruit of a tree bearing seed. To you let it serve as food. And to every wild beast of the earth and to every flying creature of the heavens and to everything moving upon the earth in which there is life as a soul I have given all green vegetation for food.’ And it came to be so.”​—Genesis 1:26-30.

Prospects Ahead of the First Human Couple

14. With God’s blessing, what future lay before the perfect man and woman, and what could they rightly envision?

¹⁴ What a wonderful thing it was for that perfect man and his perfect wife to hear the voice of God talking to them, telling them what to do and blessing them! With God’s blessing, life would not be in vain, but they would be enabled to do what they were told to do. What a future was ahead of them! As the happily married couple stood there in their home, the garden of Eden, they likely meditated on what would come to be as they carried out God’s will for them. As their mind’s eye looked forward into the distant future, they saw, not just the “garden in Eden, toward the east,” but the whole earth filled with radiant-faced men and women. (Genesis 2:8) The heart of the man and the woman would leap at the thought that all of these were their children, their descendants. All were perfect, flawless in bodily form and structure, having perpetual youth that abounded with fine health and the joy of living, all of them expressing perfect love for one another, all unitedly worshiping their great Creator, their heavenly Father, doing this along with the first human father and mother. How the heart of the first man and woman must have swelled at the thought of having such a family!

15, 16. (a) Why would there be plenty of food for the human family? (b) As the happy family grew in number, what work would there be for them outside the garden of Eden?

¹⁵ There would be plenty of food for every member of this human family that filled the whole earth. There was plenty of food to begin with, there in the garden of Eden. God had provided for them and given to them all vegetation bearing seed to serve as healthful, life-sustaining food, along with the fruit-bearing trees.​—Compare Psalm 104:24.

¹⁶ As their happy family grew in number, they would expand the garden to the lands beyond the borders of Eden, for God’s words indicate that outside the garden of Eden, the earth was in an unprepared state. At least, it was not cared for and was not brought to the same high level of cultivation that marked the garden of Eden. That was why their Creator told them to “subdue” the earth as they filled it.​—Genesis 1:28.

17. Why would there be plenty of food for the growing population, and what would eventually prevail as the garden was enlarged?

¹⁷ As the garden was expanded by perfect cultivators and caretakers, the subdued earth would yield plentifully for the growing population. Finally, the steadily enlarging garden would cover all the earth, and an earth-wide paradise would prevail, to flourish as mankind’s everlasting home. It would be a beauty spot to view from heaven, and the heavenly Creator could pronounce it very good.​—Compare Job 38:7.

18. Why would the global garden of Eden be free from disturbance, and what peacefulness would prevail?

¹⁸ It would all be as peaceful and free from disturbance as that garden of Eden in which the newly married man and woman found themselves. There would be no need to fear danger or harm from all those animals and flying creatures that the first man, Adam, had inspected and named. Like their first human father and mother, those perfect inhabitants of the earth-wide Paradise would have in subjection the fish of the sea, the flying creatures of the heavens, and every living thing moving about on the earth, even the wild beasts of the open field. With an instinctive sense of subjection to man, who was created “in God’s image,” these lower living creatures would be at peace with him. Their tender, perfect human masters, in having these lower living creatures in subjection, would foster a climate of peace among the animal creation. The peaceful influence of these godlike human masters would spread protectively over these contented lower living creatures. Above all, perfect mankind would be at peace with God, whose blessing would never be removed from them.​—Compare Isaiah 11:9.

God Rests From His Creative Works

19. (a) With regard to God’s purpose, what must the first man and woman have realized? (b) What did God indicate with regard to time?

¹⁹ As the perfect human couple would contemplate the completed earthly scene according to God’s purpose, they would realize something. For them to carry out this marvelous commission from God would require time. How much time? Their Creator and heavenly Father knew. He indicated to them that the great series of creative days had now reached another closing and that they were standing at the “evening,” the starting point of a new day according to God’s own marking of creative days. It was to be a blessed day and sanctified to God’s own pure, righteous purpose. The perfect man, the prophet of God, took note of this. The inspired narrative tells us:

20. What does the Bible account say concerning “the seventh day”?

²⁰ “After that God saw everything he had made and, look! it was very good. And there came to be evening and there came to be morning, a sixth day. Thus the heavens and the earth and all their army came to their completion. And by the seventh day God came to the completion of his work that he had made, and he proceeded to rest on the seventh day from all his work that he had made. And God proceeded to bless the seventh day and make it sacred, because on it he has been resting from all his work that God has created for the purpose of making. This is a history of the heavens and the earth in the time of their being created, in the day that Jehovah God made earth and heaven.”​—Genesis 1:31–2:4.

21. (a) Does the Bible say that God ended his day of rest and that it was very good? Explain. (b) What questions arise?

²¹ The account does not say that God ended his day of rest and saw that it was very good and that there came to be evening and morning, a seventh day. To correspond with the preceding six creative days, the seventh day has yet to be pronounced very good, for it has not yet ended. Can Jehovah God pronounce the day very good thus far? Has it been a day of peaceful resting for him thus far? What of that heart-ravishing prospect that the first man and woman envisioned to themselves on their marriage day in Paradise? Let us see as the scene unfolds in the next article.

[Footnotes]

How Would You Respond?

◻ What task did God give Adam in addition to caring for the garden, and what did this entail?

◻ What did the account of creation at Genesis 1:1-25 reveal?

◻ How was the first human wife created, and how did Adam respond on their marriage day?

◻ What prospects were ahead of the first human couple?

◻ How did God indicate that the great series of creative days had reached another closing?

Paradise Prospects Valid Despite Human Disobedience

1. With the passing of time, where are the first man and woman to be seen and in what surroundings?

TIME has passed. The first man and woman are no longer innocently naked. They are clothed​—with long garments of animal skin. They are just outside the entrance to the perfect garden of Eden. Their backs are to the garden. They look at the scene ahead of them. They see only uncultivated ground. Quite plainly it does not have God’s blessing upon it. Before them can be seen thorns and thistles. Is this not the earth that they were commissioned to subdue? Yes, but the first man and woman are not now out there for the purpose of extending the garden of Eden over such unattended land.

2. Why do not the man and the woman try to reenter the Paradise garden?

² At such a contrasting sight, why do they not turn back and reenter the Paradise garden? Easily suggested, but look at what is behind them at the entrance to the garden. Creatures whom they had never seen before, even inside the garden, cherubs, and the flaming blade of a sword that is turning itself continually. The man and the woman could never get past these alive into the garden!​—Genesis 3:24.

3. What had happened to change the first couple’s circumstances so drastically?

³ What had happened? It is no mystery so complicated as to baffle science for thousands of years. It is simply explained. The first man and woman were to realize the wonderful prospects that God’s commission set before them on their marriage day but on the condition that they obey their heavenly Father in the smallest matter. Their perfect obedience was to be tested by a single food prohibition: They must not eat the fruit of “the tree of the knowledge of good and bad.” (Genesis 2:16, 17) If they did so against God’s orders, they would positively die. That was what Adam, as God’s prophet, told his wife, the younger human creature. But surprisingly, that na·chashʹ, that serpent, denied the truthfulness of what God had told Adam in His warning against eating from the forbidden “tree of the knowledge of good and bad.” The serpent deceived the woman into believing that to break God’s law and eat the forbidden fruit would result in her becoming like God and make her independent of God in determining what is good and what is bad.​—Genesis 3:1-5.

No Mythological Account

4, 5. How does the apostle Paul show that the account of the serpent’s deceiving the first woman was no myth?

⁴ Incredible? Does it sound too much like a myth, a legendary story not based on facts and hence not acceptable to modern enlightened adult minds? No, not to a still widely read writer, a trustworthy writer, a specially chosen apostle, who knew the correctness of what he wrote. To the congregation of adult Christians in the worldly-wise city of Corinth, this apostle Paul wrote: “I am afraid that somehow, as the serpent seduced Eve by its cunning, your minds might be corrupted away from the sincerity and the chastity that are due the Christ.”​—2 Corinthians 11:3.

⁵ Paul would hardly refer to a myth, a fable, and use such an imaginary thing to make his point with those Corinthians, who were well acquainted with the myths of the pagan Greek religion. Quoting from the inspired Hebrew Scriptures, which he declared to be “the word of God,” the apostle Paul affirmed that “the serpent seduced Eve by its cunning.” (1 Thessalonians 2:13) Furthermore, when writing to a Christian overseer who was charged with the duty of teaching “the pattern of healthful words,” the apostle Paul said: “Adam was formed first, then Eve. Also, Adam was not deceived, but the woman was thoroughly deceived and came to be in transgression.”​—2 Timothy 1:13; 1 Timothy 2:13, 14.

6. (a) How did Adam’s transgression against God differ from that of the woman? (b) Why can we be certain that the woman was not making up a story about the serpent?

⁶ The woman’s being deceived by the serpent is a fact, not a myth, just as surely as the consequences of her disobediently eating from the forbidden fruit are hard facts of history. After thus coming into transgression against God, she induced her husband to share with her in eating, but his eating was not because he too was thoroughly deceived. (Genesis 3:6) The narrative of their afterward rendering an account to God says: “And the man went on to say: ‘The woman whom you gave to be with me, she gave me fruit from the tree and so I ate.’ With that Jehovah God said to the woman: ‘What is this you have done?’ To this the woman replied: ‘The serpent​—it deceived me and so I ate.’” (Genesis 3:12, 13) The woman was not making up a story about that na·chashʹ, that serpent, and Jehovah God did not treat her explanation as a fabrication, a myth. He dealt with that serpent as having been an instrument in the deceiving of the woman into transgressing against Him, her God and Creator. It would be beneath God’s dignity to deal with a mere mythological serpent.

7. (a) How does the Bible account describe God’s judicial dealing with the serpent? (b) How could the serpent who deceived the first woman also deceive us? (Include comment on footnote.)

⁷ Describing God’s judicial dealing with that serpent in the garden of Eden, the account says: “And Jehovah God proceeded to say to the serpent: ‘Because you have done this thing, you are the cursed one out of all the domestic animals and out of all the wild beasts of the field. Upon your belly you will go and dust is what you will eat all the days of your life. And I shall put enmity between you and the woman and between your seed and her seed. He will bruise you in the head and you will bruise him in the heel.’” (Genesis 3:14, 15) Any sober court deals with facts and sifts real evidence, not legends. Jehovah God was not making himself foolish, silly, by directing his judicial sentence to a mythical serpent but was passing judgment upon a factual, existing creature that was accountable. It would be, not laughable, but pathetic if that same serpent deceived us into thinking that he never existed, that he was a mere myth, that he was not accountable for anything wrong on earth.a

8. What judgment did God pass on the woman, and with what consequences to her daughters and granddaughters?

⁸ Treating the woman’s statement that involved the serpent as being a fact, the record concerning the man’s wife says: “To the woman he said: ‘I shall greatly increase the pain of your pregnancy; in birth pangs you will bring forth children, and your craving will be for your husband, and he will dominate you.’” (Genesis 3:16) Nothing like this had been included in God’s blessing at her marriage to Adam when God said to them: “Be fruitful and become many and fill the earth.” (Genesis 1:28) That blessed commission to the perfect human couple indicated much pregnancy for the woman but no undue travail and extreme birth pains and no husbandly oppression of her. This judgment pronounced upon the transgressor woman was to affect her daughters and granddaughters for generation after generation.

God’s Law Magnified by Sentence Against Adam

9, 10. (a) What warning had God directly given Adam, and what would be the consequences if God held to such a penalty? (b) What judgment did God render against Adam?

⁹ What changed circumstances, though, was the woman to share with the man whom she had induced to join her in transgression? To this man, God had directly said: “As for the tree of the knowledge of good and bad you must not eat from it, for in the day you eat from it you will positively die.” (Genesis 2:17) Would God, the Judge, hold to a sentence of such finality for Adam’s merely eating of a piece of fruit? Think of what the execution of such a penalty would mean! It would of itself destroy that soul-stirring prospect that Adam and Eve had entertained on their marriage day, the prospect of filling the whole earth with their offspring, with a perfect human race peaceably inhabiting a paradise earth forever in eternal youth, in peaceful relations with their God and heavenly Father! Surely, God would not defeat his own marvelous purpose for mankind and for man’s earthly home by strictly enforcing the penalty of death upon the first human parents of all mankind! But listen to the divine decree as plainly recorded in the Bible account:

¹⁰ “And to Adam he said: ‘Because you listened to your wife’s voice and took to eating from the tree concerning which I gave you this command, “You must not eat from it,” cursed is the ground on your account. In pain you will eat its produce all the days of your life. And thorns and thistles it will grow for you, and you must eat the vegetation of the field. In the sweat of your face you will eat bread until you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken. For dust you are and to dust you will return.’”​—Genesis 3:17-19.

11. What facts regarding obedience illustrate the deservedness of God’s judgment against Adam?

¹¹ That judgment meant the execution of the death penalty upon the man regardless of the consequences to God’s purpose to have a paradise earth filled with perfect men and women lovingly and peacefully dwelling together and forever cultivating and caring for the earth-wide Paradise garden. The man had listened to his wife’s voice instead of to God’s voice that told him not to eat from the forbidden “tree of the knowledge of good and bad.” And if he did not himself obey the voice of his God and Creator, would he consistently teach his children to do so? Would his own example be a talking point in teaching them to obey Jehovah God?​—Compare 1 Samuel 15:22.

12, 13. (a) How would Adam’s sin affect his children? (b) Why did Adam not deserve to live forever in Paradise or even on the earth at all?

¹² Would Adam’s children be able to keep God’s law perfectly, as he himself in his human perfection had once been able to do? By the operation of the laws of heredity, would he not transmit to his children his weakness and tendency to disobey God’s voice and listen to some other voice? Factual history supplies the answers to these questions.​—Romans 5:12.

¹³ Did such a man who, just for the sake of a human creature, turned from perfect obedience to God in expression of perfect love for God deserve to live forever in Paradise or even on earth at all? Would it even be safe to let him live on earth forever? Would his being allowed to live forever on earth in his transgression magnify God’s law and display His absolute justice, or would it teach disrespect for God’s law and imply that God’s word was unreliable?

Driven Out From the Garden of Eden

14. How does the Bible record describe God’s taking action against Adam and his wife?

¹⁴ The Bible record tells us in what way God decided these matters: “And Jehovah God proceeded to make long garments of skin for Adam and for his wife and to clothe them. And Jehovah God went on to say: ‘Here the man has become like one of us in knowing good and bad, and now in order that he may not put his hand out and actually take fruit also from the tree of life and eat and live to time indefinite,—’ With that Jehovah God put him out of the garden of Eden to cultivate the ground from which he had been taken. And so he drove the man out and posted at the east of the garden of Eden the cherubs and the flaming blade of a sword that was turning itself continually to guard the way to the tree of life.”​—Genesis 3:21-24.

15. (a) How did God show consideration for the feeling of shame that Adam and his wife felt at being naked? (b) How was the first couple driven out of the garden of Eden? (c) What changed circumstances faced Adam and his wife outside the garden of Eden?

¹⁵ The divine Judge showed consideration for the feeling of shame that the sinners Adam and his wife now felt at being naked. In some way not stated, he provided for them long garments of skin to replace the loin coverings of fig leaves sewed together that they had made for themselves. (Genesis 3:7) The skin garments would last longer and give them more protection against the thorns and the thistles and other hurtful things outside the garden of Eden. Because of having a bad conscience after sinning, they had tried to hide from God’s vision among the trees of the garden of Eden. (Genesis 3:8) Now, after being sentenced, they experienced some form of divine pressure in being driven out of the garden by God. They were driven eastward, and shortly they found themselves outside the garden, forever banned from it. They would no longer be working to enlarge that garden and spread its Paradise conditions to the ends of the earth. From now on, they would eat bread made from the vegetation of the field, but it would not sustain them everlastingly in human life. They were cut off from “the tree of life.” After some time​—how long?​—they must die!

Jehovah’s Original Purpose Undefeatable

16. What had God not purposed to do, and why?

¹⁶ Did God now decide to destroy the earth, along with the moon and the sun and the stars, in a universal conflagration because these two creatures of the dust had sinned against him? If he were to do such a thing, would this not mean that he had been defeated in his glorious purpose, all because of what a na·chashʹ had started? Could a mere serpent break up all of God’s purpose? He had set forth his purpose to Adam and Eve on their marriage day when he blessed them and told them what his will was for them: the filling of the whole earth with a perfect human race, with all the earth subdued to the perfection of the garden of Eden, and with all mankind peacefully having in subjection all the lower creature life on earth and in its waters. A dazzling vision of God’s purpose accomplished, the preparations for which he had made by six creative days of work over thousands of years of time! Was this praiseworthy purpose now to be left unrealized simply because of a serpent and the perversity of the first human couple? Hardly!​—Compare Isaiah 46:9-11.

17. What had God determined to do with regard to the seventh day, and so how will this day end up?

¹⁷ It was still the rest day, the seventh day, of Jehovah God. He had determined to bless that day and had made it holy. He would let nothing make it a cursed day, and any curse that would be schemed by anyone to fall upon that day of his rest he would counteract and turn into a blessing, making the day end up blessed. It would leave the entire earth as a holy place, with God’s will being done down here on earth as it is done in heaven, and this by a race of perfect humans.​—Compare Matthew 6:10.

18, 19. (a) Why can suffering descendants of the sinful first human pair cheer up? (b) What will further columns of The Watchtower discuss?

¹⁸ God felt no frustration. He did not abandon his purpose. He determined to vindicate himself as the fully reliable One who both purposes and carries out fully what he purposes, with all due credit to himself. (Isaiah 45:18) The imperfect, suffering descendants of the sinful first human pair can cheer up and look forward to God’s faithful carrying out of his original purpose with everlasting benefit to them. Already, millenniums of his rest day have passed, and the final part of the day that will have his special blessing must be near. The “evening” of his rest day is passing, and as in all the preceding six creative days, the “morning” must come. When this “morning” reaches its perfection and makes fully visible to all beholders the glorious accomplishment of God’s unchangeable purpose, it will be possible to put on record: ‘And there came to be evening and there came to be morning, a seventh day.’ An amazing prospect indeed!

¹⁹ All of this is spine-tingling to think about! And in further columns of The Watchtower, more will be said about the entrancing Paradise prospects ahead for obedient humans, lovers of God’s law.

[Footnotes]

What Would You Say?

◻ Why did the first human couple lose their Paradise home?

◻ Why do we know that Eve’s deception by means of a serpent was no myth?

◻ What sentence did God pronounce upon the woman?

◻ What sentence did God pronounce upon Adam, and why did this magnify God’s law?

◻ Why did God feel no frustration regarding his purpose to have the earth filled with perfect humans in Paradise?

Kingdom Proclaimers Report

“The Truth Will Set You Free”​—And Bring Happiness

IN BRITAIN, Bible truth has set over 113,000 persons free, and more are embracing the truth every day. Truly Jesus’ words are having fulfillment: “You will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” (John 8:32) This freedom results in happiness, as the following experiences from Britain show.

◻ While Penny was in the house-to-house ministry, relates the branch office, an elderly lady told her quite abruptly, “I’m busy.” Penny replied that she would call again. A few days later, at a time she would not normally call, she was doing not-at-homes and inadvertently called at the same house. The elderly lady opened the door and invited Penny in. “I knew you would come back,” she said, “and I’ve been waiting for you.” They discussed the Kingdom hope, and the lady said she hoped that it would prove true. She was 79, and her husband had died three years earlier. She had received no comfort from her church and could see no reason to live. She wanted to die. Later, after Penny had started a Bible study with her, she told Penny that she had been contemplating suicide but knew it was wrong. She had prayed to God that he would give her comfort and help her to regain hope. Gradually, as she studied, her despair turned to hope, with deep conviction and gratitude to Jehovah. She severed her lifelong connection with the church, was baptized at 80 years of age, and is now a regular publisher with great zeal. Truly, the truth of God’s Word has set her free and brought her great happiness.

◻ The truth about God’s Kingdom brings freedom from false religious bondage. It can also change one’s personality, and this change often impresses others and helps them to see the truth, as the following experience shows.

A young woman knocked on the door at the home of a Witness and asked for a Bible study. What brought this about? The woman’s parents were studying the Bible with Jehovah’s Witnesses, and the effect it had on her parents​—especially her father—​was so dramatic and impressive that the daughter was truly amazed. Her father, who had been smoking 80 cigarettes a day, gave up smoking entirely when it was explained to him that Jehovah disapproved. Almost immediately afterward he returned to his employers a whole stock of goods he had stolen from them over a period of time. The daughter felt that anything that could affect her parents in such a way surely had to be investigated. Now the parents are baptized, and the daughter is attending all the meetings.

The truth that Jesus proclaimed brought happiness to those mentioned above and countless others. It can do the same for any who accept the truth of the Bible and apply it in their lives.​—Psalm 19:7, 8.

Questions From Readers

◼ Why does Lamentations 4:10 refer to mothers who ate their own children as “compassionate women”?

Describing the desperate situation of the Jews during the Babylonian siege of Jerusalem in 607 B.C.E., Jeremiah wrote: “The very hands of compassionate women have boiled their own children. They have become as bread of consolation to one during the breakdown of the daughter of my people.”​—Lamentations 4:10.

Centuries before, Moses had alerted the Israelites that their future would be marked by either “blessing” or “malediction.” They would enjoy blessings if they kept God’s commandments, but they would bring suffering upon themselves if they rejected his righteous ways. One of the terrible consequences was that the Israelites would be reduced to eating their own children. (Deuteronomy 28:1, 11-15, 54, 55; 30:1; Leviticus 26:3-5, 29) This actually occurred after Jehovah abandoned the faithless, disobedient nation into the hand of the Babylonians.

At Lamentations 4:10 the prophet Jeremiah drew upon the well-known fact that a mother is naturally tenderhearted, compassionate, and protective toward her children. (1 Kings 3:26, 27; 1 Thessalonians 2:7) Yet, the famine in besieged Jerusalem was so extreme and the resulting starvation so compelling that mothers who would normally be compassionate boiled and cannibalistically ate their offspring.​—Compare Lamentations 2:20.

A similar situation occurred after the Jews rejected the Messiah, who had warned about a coming siege of Jerusalem. (Matthew 23:37, 38; 24:15-19; Luke 21:20-24) Historian Josephus described one of the horrors of the siege in 70 C.E.: “Mary the daughter of Eleazar . . . killed her son, then roasted him and ate one half, concealing and saving up the rest.”​—The Jewish War, translated by G. A. Williamson, chapter 20, page 319.

Truly, abandoning God’s laws and ways is not the course of wisdom.

Annual Meeting​—October 7, 1989

THE ANNUAL MEETING of the members of Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania will be held on October 7, 1989, at the Assembly Hall of Jehovah’s Witnesses, 2932 Kennedy Boulevard, Jersey City, New Jersey. A preliminary meeting of the members only will convene at 9:30 a.m., followed by the general annual meeting at 10:00 a.m.

The members of the Corporation should inform the Secretary’s Office now of any change in their mailing addresses during the past year so that the regular letters of notice and proxies can reach them shortly after August 15.

The proxies, which will be sent to the members along with the notice of the annual meeting, are to be returned so as to reach the Office of the Secretary of the Society not later than September 1. Each member should complete and return his proxy promptly, stating whether he is going to be at the meeting personally or not. The information given on each proxy should be definite on this point, since it will be relied upon in determining who will be personally present.

It is expected that the entire session, including the formal business meeting and reports, will be concluded by 1:00 p.m. or shortly thereafter. There will be no afternoon session. Because of limited space, admission will be by ticket only. No arrangements will be made for tying in the annual meeting by telephone lines to other locations.

From the Road to Death to the Road to Life

FOR many years my life was scarred by my addiction to drugs. I began with soft drugs and ended up on the harder ones, such as LSD. Drugs came to symbolize liberation from all sorts of personal and social problems. Sadly, I encouraged other young people to accompany me along the road to death.

Since I was known as a drug peddler, I was under police surveillance. I must admit I was afraid, for I knew that being arrested would have meant years in prison. Though I lived in anguish, it was not enough to make me change my ways.

My parents tried to help me by taking me to a mental home for treatment. It was hoped that the medicines and the treatment received there would solve my problem, but as soon as I came out, my parents realized that not even medical treatment could change me. They tried to help me further by having me talk to a priest. This didn’t work either. I smoked marijuana and drank in front of him, as if he weren’t there. I just didn’t want to change!

My fiancée, Oriana, was strongly opposed to my way of living, and I didn’t want her to leave me. On the face of it, this seemed a good incentive to make the change. But, instead, I continued my drug habit in secret. I made Oriana believe I was sick. Soon I became a real human wreck. I kept promising myself that I would quit, that I could manage it, but it was useless. I was only moving further along the road to death.

As I wanted to marry Oriana as soon as possible, we contacted an interior decorator to do some work in our apartment. His wife was one of Jehovah’s Witnesses, and she spoke to us about her faith. At first the conversation made a deeper impression on Oriana than on me, but as it progressed, I realized that Jehovah’s Witnesses firmly believe that God will soon make this earth a paradise and that people will live here forever in peace.

I wanted to find out for myself if it was true that “even now Jehovah’s Witnesses show love and respect for one another,” as the lady had said. So Oriana and I went to the Kingdom Hall. I felt embarrassed because of my long hair and my shabby clothes, but the welcome the Witnesses gave us made me feel at home at once. I felt I could trust them. It was clear that sincere love and respect for one another were already a reality for them.

From that day on, I began regularly attending Christian meetings, and I began to study the Bible with Jehovah’s Witnesses. I cut my hair and changed my way of dress, and with great effort, I managed to quit smoking and taking drugs. (2 Corinthians 7:1) However, there was another serious problem in my life. Without realizing it, I had become an alcoholic. When I drank, I got into trouble. I argued with people and became very jealous of Oriana. I fell into a state of profound unhappiness. (Proverbs 23:29-35) I made an effort to break the habit, and with the help of Jehovah, the power of prayer, and the help of Christian brothers, I was able to root this bad habit out of my life.

My wife and I were baptized on August 23, 1974. Thanks to the truth, our lives now had meaning. Since I had regained my self-confidence, I earned respect at work. My wife and I both made good money, but then we realized that we had little time left for our sacred service. If we wanted to enjoy a closer relationship with Jehovah, we would have to make changes in our lives. Otherwise, there was the risk that our initial love for the truth would cool off. So in 1979 we began pioneering, devoting ourselves more fully to the preaching work.

Why did I make this decision? Well, where would I be today without the light of the truth? Those who were with me on the road to death are now either alcoholics or no longer have a family or are in prison​—or are dead. Yet, it was the Bible’s message that liberated me. Treatment and willpower were simply not enough. Strong motivation was needed. Seeking to cultivate true friendship with Jehovah, the Creator, provided such motivation. Now, it is my sincere desire to do all I can to help those who are slaves of the drug habit, as well as those who are suffering or are seeking a way out of their problems. By actively sharing in the Christian ministry, my wife and I have been doing just that. We have been privileged to help many persons along the road to life. Among these are three people I personally had introduced to drugs. At present I am serving as a circuit overseer in the north of Italy.

It is true: Drug abuse is like a road that sooner or later leads you to death or at least to an empty life with no future. Words fail me in expressing my gratitude to Jehovah God! He showed me the way out of the darkness I was living in and pointed out the road to life, full of light, that leads to an eternal future.​—As told by Ruggero Polotti.

“You Can’t Find a Book Like This Anywhere Else”

That is what a schoolteacher in Ohio, U.S.A., said on receiving the book “All Scripture Is Inspired of God and Beneficial.” A high school senior had presented it to the teacher because the teacher had asked for some information about Jehovah’s Witnesses, and the student knew that she taught Bible classes. The youth describes his teacher’s response on accepting the book:

“She was thrilled. She said she had been looking for a book like that. She thanked me very much. The next day she was even more thrilled. She gave me a thank-you note and said that the book was excellent. ‘You can’t find a book like this anywhere else!’ she said. ‘Everything is so well organized. I am sure this will prove valuable in my classes.’”

The book “All Scripture Is Inspired of God and Beneficial” answers hundreds of questions about the Bible. It contains 78 chapters, including one on each of the 66 books of the Bible. Hardbound; 352 pages, the same size as this magazine. Only $3.

Please send, postpaid, “All Scripture Is Inspired of God and Beneficial.” I enclose $3 (U.S.).