The Watchtower — April 1, 1994

A Better World​—Just a Dream?

IF YOU had been a follower of Mazdaism as preached by the Iranian prophet Zoroaster, you would have waited for the day in which the earth would return to its original beauty. If you had lived in ancient Greece, perhaps you would have dreamed of reaching the idyllic Fortunate Isles or of seeing the return of the Golden Age described by the poet Hesiod in the eighth century B.C.E. A Guaraní Indian in South America may still be searching for the Land Without Evil. Living in our time, perhaps you hope that the world will improve thanks to some political ideology or as a result of modern-day ecological awareness.

Golden Age, Fortunate Isles, Land Without Evil​—these are among the many names used to describe the same longing, the hope of a better world.

This world, our world, is certainly not an ideal place. Increasingly brutal crime, fratricidal wars of unprecedented violence, genocide, indifference toward others’ sufferings, poverty and hunger, unemployment and lack of solidarity, ecological problems, incurable illnesses that afflict millions​—the list of present woes seems endless. Thinking about the wars that are currently being fought, an Italian journalist said: “The question that naturally arises is whether hostility is not the strongest sentiment of our time.” Considering the situation, do you think it is realistic to aspire to something different, something better? Or is such aspiration just a yearning for Utopia, a dream that will never come true? Do we live in the best of all possible worlds?

These are not new concerns. For centuries men have been dreaming of a world in which harmony, justice, prosperity, and love would reign. In the course of time, a number of philosophers elaborated their concepts of ideal States, better worlds. But, sadly, they have never been able to explain how to make them work.

Can this centuries-old list of dreams, Utopias, and human aspirations for a better society teach us anything?

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Is this the best of all possible worlds?

A Better World​—At Hand!

“THE nostalgia for paradise is among the powerful nostalgias that seem to haunt human beings. It may be the most powerful and persistent of all. A certain longing for paradise is evidenced at every level of religious life,” says The Encyclopedia of Religion.

All cultures seem to have in common the desire to live in a better world, as if lamenting an original ideal that no longer exists. This suggests the possibility of an original paradise, but where? A psychoanalyst might say that this aspiration reveals the desire to recover the lost security of the mother’s womb. Yet, this explanation does not convince scholars who study the history of religion.

“Nostalgia for Paradise”​—Why?

Does the existence of such nostalgia, as some suggest, only serve to make the difficulties and the transient nature of human existence more tolerable? Or is there another explanation?

Why does mankind yearn for a better world? The Bible gives an explanation that is as clear as it is simple: Mankind comes from a better world! An original paradise really did exist. God’s Word describes it as “a garden” situated in a specific region in the Middle East, blessed with “every tree desirable to one’s sight and good for food.” God entrusted it to the care of the first human couple. (Genesis 2:7-15) It was an ideal setting in which humans could have been truly happy.

Why did those Paradise conditions not last? Because of the rebellion first of a spirit creature and then of the human couple. (Genesis 2:16, 17; 3:1-6, 17-19) Thus, man lost not only Paradise but also perfection, health, and endless life. The conditions that began to take hold certainly did not improve human life. On the contrary, this has progressively degenerated to the all-time low we see today.​—Ecclesiastes 3:18-20; Romans 5:12; 2 Timothy 3:1-5, 13.

Search for Paradise​—History of an Idea

As may be imagined, “nostalgia for paradise” has a very long history. The Sumerians recalled a time in which harmony reigned in all the universe: “There was no fear, no terror, man had no rival. . . . The whole universe, the people in unison, to Enlil in one tongue gave praise,” recollected an ancient Mesopotamian poem. Some, like the ancient Egyptians, hoped to reach a better world after their death. They believed that an immortal soul reached what was named the fields of Aaru. But originally at least, this hope was open only to the aristocracy; the poor could not dream of attaining a fair world.

In a different religious area, Hindus have awaited the advent of a better world age (yuga) for centuries. According to Hindu teachings, four yugas repeat themselves in a continual cycle, and we are presently living during the worst. Unfortunately, this Kali Yuga (dark age), with all its sufferings and wickedness, will last, according to some, as long as 432,000 years. Nevertheless, faithful Hindus await the golden age, the Krita Yuga.

On the other hand, the Greeks and the Romans dreamed of reaching the mythical Fortunate Isles, in the Atlantic Ocean. And many writers, such as Hesiod, Virgil, and Ovid, spoke of a marvelous original golden age, hoping that one day it would be restored. Toward the end of the first century B.C.E., the Latin poet Virgil predicted the imminent arrival of a new and lasting aetas aurea (golden age). In the following centuries, “no fewer than sixteen Roman emperors claimed that their reigns had reestablished the Golden Age,” says The Encyclopedia of Religion. But as we well know today, that was just political propaganda.

Many Celts aspired to what they thought of as a bright land on an island (or in an archipelago) beyond the sea, where they believed that people lived in perfect happiness. According to one legend, King Arthur, even though mortally wounded, continued living after he found the marvelous island called Avalon.

In ancient times and in the Middle Ages, many thought that a garden of literal delights, the garden of Eden, still existed somewhere, “on top of an inaccessible mountain or across an impassable ocean,” explains historian Jean Delumeau. Even though the Italian poet Dante believed in a heavenly paradise, he imagined that an earthly paradise still existed on top of the mountain of his Purgatory, at the antipodes of the city of Jerusalem. Some believed that it was to be found in Asia, in Mesopotamia, or in the Himalayas. And medieval legends about an Edenic paradise fairly abounded. Many believed that close to that paradise, there was a fabulous kingdom ruled by the pious Prester John. Thanks to the proximity of the earthly paradise, life in the kingdom of Prester John was supposedly long and blissful, a perennial spring of abundance and riches. Others, mindful of the ancient Greek legends, still thought that the islands of paradise were to be found in the Atlantic. Medieval maps showed the certainty of such a belief in the existence of the garden of Eden, even indicating its presumed location.

In the 15th and 16th centuries, navigators who crossed the Atlantic were in effect searching for a world that was, at one and the same time, both new and ancient. They thought that on the other side of the ocean, they were going to find not only the Indies but also the garden of Eden. Christopher Columbus, for example, searched for it among the mountains of the temperate and tropical lands of South and Central America. European explorers who arrived in Brazil were certain that the lost paradise must be there because of the mild climate and the abundance of food and vegetation. Soon enough, though, they were forced to recognize the grim reality.

Utopias​—Ideal Places?

Instead of striving to locate the ideal world in some remote part of the earth, others have tried to plan it. Thus, in 1516, English humanist Thomas More described the island of Utopia, a marvelous, peaceful, and tolerant place, a far cry from the debased world he knew. Others had also tried to plan better worlds, fairer worlds: in the fourth century B.C.E., Plato with his Republic; in 1602, Italian friar Tommaso Campanella and his highly organized City of the Sun; just a few years later, English philosopher Francis Bacon in narrating “the happy and flourishing estate” of his New Atlantis. In the course of the centuries, thinkers of all kinds (whether believers or not) have described dozens and dozens of Utopias. Few, if any of them, however, were taken seriously.

There have even been those who have tried to build their Utopias. For example, in 1824 a wealthy Englishman, Robert Owen, decided to immigrate to Indiana, U.S.A., in order to realize his Utopian ideas in the village he named New Harmony. Convinced that under the right conditions, people would improve, he used nearly all his resources striving to establish what he envisioned as a new moral world. But the results demonstrated that new living conditions are not enough to produce new men.

Nearly all political ideologies maintain that man has to plan the world according to his own knowledge and his own sense of what is true in order to bring the dreamed-of paradise on earth. Yet, paradoxically, attempts to realize such aspirations have resulted in wars and revolutions, such as the French Revolution in 1789 and the Bolshevik Revolution in 1917. Rather than bring paradise conditions, these efforts have often led to increased pain and suffering.

Aspirations, plans, Utopias, and attempts to realize them​—it is a story of one disappointment after another. In the present time, some speak of a “shattered dream” and the “end of the era of utopias,” inviting us to learn “to live without utopias.” Is there any hope of seeing a better world, or is it destined to remain just a dream?

Christians and a Better World

A new world is by no means a dream​—it is a sure hope! Jesus Christ, the Founder of Christianity, knew that this present world is not the best of all possible worlds. He taught that the earth would be inherited by the mild-tempered ones and that God’s will would take place there. (Matthew 5:5; 6:9, 10) Both he and his disciples knew that this world is controlled by God’s enemy, Satan the Devil, and that this is the principal reason for mankind’s many woes. (John 12:31; 2 Corinthians 4:4; 1 John 5:19; Revelation 12:12) Faithful Jews awaited the day in which God would once and for all time free the earth of wars, pain, and sickness in order to populate it with lovers of peace and justice. In the same way, first-century Christians confidently waited for this present world to be replaced by a new system of things, “new heavens and a new earth.”​—2 Peter 3:13; Psalm 37:11; 46:8, 9; Isaiah 25:8; 33:24; 45:18; Revelation 21:1.

When Jesus Christ was hanging on the torture stake, he repeated the promise of a better world to an evildoer who showed a certain measure of faith in Him. “[Jesus] said to him: ‘Truly I tell you today, You will be with me in Paradise.’” (Luke 23:40-43) What did that evildoer understand those words to mean? Did Jesus suggest that the evildoer was going to ‘be with him’ in heaven that very day, as certain Catholic and Protestant Bible translations would seem to imply? No, that was not what Jesus meant, since after his resurrection, Jesus told Mary Magdalene that He ‘had not yet ascended to the Father.’ (John 20:11-18) Though they were taught by Jesus for three and a half years, prior to Pentecost 33 C.E. not even his apostles contemplated a heavenly paradise. (Acts 1:6-11) That evildoer understood what the vast majority of Jews living at that time would have understood: Jesus was promising a better world to come on a paradise earth. One German scholar admitted: “The teaching of retribution in an afterlife simply does not appear in the Old Testament.”

That there will be a paradise on our earth is attested to by the apostle Paul in his letter to the Hebrews. When encouraging his fellow believers not to ‘neglect the great salvation that began to be spoken through Jesus Christ,’ Paul affirms that Jehovah God gave Jesus authority over the “inhabited earth [Greek, oi·kou·meʹne] to come.” (Hebrews 2:3, 5) In the Christian Greek Scriptures, the term oi·kou·meʹne always refers to our earth populated by human beings, not to a heavenly world. (Compare Matthew 24:14; Luke 2:1; 21:26; Acts 17:31.) God’s Kingdom ruled by Christ Jesus will therefore exercise dominion over the inhabited earth. That really will be an ideal place in which to live!

Even though the Kingdom itself is heavenly, it will nonetheless intervene in earth’s affairs. With what results? Infirmities, atrocities, poverty, and death will become a distant memory. Even frustration and discontent will disappear. (Revelation 21:3-5) The Bible says that ‘God will open his hand and satisfy the desire of every living thing.’ (Psalm 145:16) Problems such as unemployment and pollution will have a practical and lasting solution. (Isaiah 65:21-23; Revelation 11:18) But above all, thanks to the blessing of God, there will be a triumph of truth, justice, and peace​—qualities that seem to have almost disappeared!​—Psalm 85:7-13; Galatians 5:22, 23.

Is all of this a dream, a Utopia? No, this most critical of all times in which we are living demonstrates that we are in “the last days” of this world and that the new world is therefore near. (2 Timothy 3:1-5) Would you like to live there? Learn how it is possible by studying the Bible with Jehovah’s Witnesses. A better world is near, much better than we ever dreamed. It is not a Utopia​—it is a reality!

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A better world​—soon a reality

Kingdom Proclaimers Report

Bible Truth Unites a Family

TODAY, in many parts of the world, family unity is almost a thing of the past. However, the Bible reveals the secret of family unity. Consider Jesus’ words: “Everyone that hears these sayings of mine and does them will be likened to a discreet man, who built his house upon the rock-mass.” (Matthew 7:24) Thousands of families among Jehovah’s Witnesses have achieved unity by applying these words and by using the Bible as a foundation for building a closely knit family. Others are also attaining such unity, as the following experience shows.

While Daniel was serving in the army in France, an army chaplain suggested that Daniel purchase a Bible, which he did, and he started reading it regularly. Eventually he was transferred to Tahiti. Some of Daniel’s fellow soldiers were Adventists, and others were Mormons. Their conversations often turned to the subject of religion. One day a chief sergeant introduced Daniel to his wife, who was one of Jehovah’s Witnesses. She spent an entire afternoon answering Daniel’s many questions and put him in contact with one of the local congregations of Jehovah’s Witnesses in Tahiti. Soon he began a regular Bible study.

Daniel’s parents back in France were very sincere Catholics. His father was a school counselor and was in charge of religious instruction at a Catholic school. Wanting to share with his parents some of the spiritual gems he was learning, Daniel gradually began to slip a few Biblical thoughts into his letters to them.

At first Daniel’s mother was delighted, but then she was shocked to find the name Jehovah in one of her son’s letters. A few days later, she heard a radio program that presented Jehovah’s Witnesses as a “dangerous sect.” She wrote Daniel, asking him to break off all contact with the Witnesses immediately. However, Daniel continued making progress in his study of the Bible and soon made arrangements to leave the army and return to France.

Once home again, Daniel spent each evening​—sometimes late into the night—​in long Bible discussions with his mother. Finally she agreed to accompany Daniel to a Kingdom Hall. When she attended her first meeting, she was so impressed that she began to have her own regular Bible study. She made rapid progress and was soon baptized.

Daniel’s father was a tolerant man but very dedicated to his professional and religious activities. Still, on one occasion he drove his wife and Daniel to a district convention. It was July 14, and he had in mind watching the Bastille Day parade in the city. While waiting he decided, out of curiosity, to look inside the convention hall. He was impressed by the order and peace that he saw among Jehovah’s people, and as he walked through the various convention departments everyone kept calling him “brother.” He forgot all about the Bastille Day parade and stayed until the end of the convention. He asked for a Bible study and made rapid progress in learning the truth. However, the more he learned, the more he began to feel ill at ease in his work, so at the age of 58, he left his job. Now all three in the family are dedicated and baptized and are unitedly serving Jehovah together.

It was Bible truth that united Daniel’s family. It can also unite other families if they learn and apply it wholeheartedly.

Divine Teaching Versus Teachings of Demons

“Some will fall away from the faith, paying attention to misleading inspired utterances and teachings of demons.”​—1 TIMOTHY 4:1.

1. What battle are Christians in the middle of?

IMAGINE living your whole life in a war zone. What would it be like to go to bed to the noise of gunfire and wake up to the sound of artillery? Unhappily, in some parts of the world, that is indeed how people live. In a spiritual sense, though, all Christians live this way. They are in the midst of a great battle that has been raging for some 6,000 years and in our days has intensified. What is this agelong war? The battle of truth versus lies, of divine teaching versus the teachings of demons. It is not an exaggeration to call it​—at least on the part of one of its protagonists—​the most merciless and the most lethal conflict in mankind’s history.

2. (a) According to Paul, what two sides are in opposition to each other? (b) What did Paul mean by “the faith”?

² The apostle Paul mentioned the two sides of this conflict when he wrote to Timothy: “The inspired utterance says definitely that in later periods of time some will fall away from the faith, paying attention to misleading inspired utterances and teachings of demons.” (1 Timothy 4:1) Notice that the teachings of demons would be particularly influential in “later periods of time.” As viewed from Paul’s day, we are living in such a time. Notice, too, what is opposed to the teachings of demons, namely “the faith.” Here, “the faith” represents divine teaching, based on the divinely inspired utterances of God contained in the Bible. Such faith is life-giving. It teaches a Christian to do God’s will. It is the truth that leads to eternal life.​—John 3:16; 6:40.

3. (a) What happens to casualties in the battle between truth and lies? (b) Who is behind the teachings of demons?

³ Any who fall away from the faith lose out on everlasting life. They are casualties in the war. What a tragic result for allowing oneself to be misled by teachings of demons! (Matthew 24:24) How can we as individuals avoid being casualties? By totally rejecting these lying teachings, which serve only the purpose of “the ruler of the demons,” Satan the Devil. (Matthew 12:24) Predictably, Satan’s teachings are lies, since Satan is “the father of the lie.” (John 8:44) Consider how skillfully he used lies to mislead our first parents.

Teachings of Demons Revealed

4, 5. What lie did Satan tell Eve, and why was that so wicked?

⁴ The events are recorded in the Bible at Genesis 3:1-5. Using a serpent, Satan approached the woman Eve and asked her: “Is it really so that God said you must not eat from every tree of the garden?” The question seems harmless, but look at it again. “Is it really so?” Satan sounds surprised, as if to say, ‘Why would God say a thing like that?’

⁵ In her innocence, Eve indicated that this was so. She knew the divine teaching on this matter, that God had told Adam that they would die if they ate of the tree of knowledge of good and bad. (Genesis 2:16, 17) Satan’s question evidently piqued her interest, so she listened as he came to the point: “At this the serpent said to the woman: ‘You positively will not die.’” What a wicked thing to say! Satan accused Jehovah, the God of truth, the God of love, the Creator, of lying to His human children!​—Psalm 31:5; 1 John 4:16; Revelation 4:11.

6. How did Satan challenge the goodness and sovereignty of Jehovah?

⁶ But Satan said more. He went on: “For God knows that in the very day of your eating from it your eyes are bound to be opened and you are bound to be like God, knowing good and bad.” According to Satan, Jehovah God​—who had provided so bountifully for our first parents—​wanted to deprive them of something wonderful. He wanted to prevent them from being like gods. Thus, Satan challenged the goodness of God. He also promoted self-gratification and a deliberate ignoring of God’s laws, saying that acting in this way would be beneficial. In effect, Satan challenged God’s sovereignty over His own creation, alleging that God had no right to put limits on what man did.

7. When were the teachings of demons first heard, and how are they similar today?

⁷ With those words of Satan, the teachings of demons began to be heard. These evil teachings still promote similar ungodly principles. Just as he did in the garden of Eden, Satan, now joined by other rebellious spirits, still challenges God’s right to set standards of action. He still impugns Jehovah’s sovereignty and tries to influence humans to disobey their heavenly Father.​—1 John 3:8, 10.

8. What did Adam and Eve lose in Eden, but how was Jehovah proved true?

⁸ In that first skirmish in the battle between divine teaching and the teachings of demons, Adam and Eve made a wrong decision and lost out on their hope of everlasting life. (Genesis 3:19) As the years went by and their bodies began to deteriorate, it was amply confirmed for them as to who had lied and who had told the truth back in Eden. However, hundreds of years before they died in a physical sense, they became the first casualties in the battle between truth and lies when they were judged unworthy of life by their Creator, the Source of life. That was when they died in a spiritual sense.​—Psalm 36:9; compare Ephesians 2:1.

The Teachings of Demons Today

9. How effective have the teachings of demons been through the centuries?

⁹ As recorded in the book of Revelation, the apostle John was carried by inspiration to “the Lord’s day,” which began in 1914. (Revelation 1:10) At that time Satan and his demons were cast out of heaven to the vicinity of the earth​—a great setback for this opposer of our Grand Creator. No more was his voice heard in heaven constantly making accusations against Jehovah’s servants. (Revelation 12:10) What progress, though, had the teachings of demons made on earth since Eden? The record says: “Down the great dragon was hurled, the original serpent, the one called Devil and Satan, who is misleading the entire inhabited earth.” (Revelation 12:9) A whole world had succumbed to Satan’s lies! No wonder Satan is called “the ruler of this world”!​—John 12:31; 16:11.

10, 11. In what ways are Satan and his demons active today?

¹⁰ Did Satan admit defeat after his ouster from heaven? By no means! He determined to keep battling against divine teaching and those who cling to it. Following his being cast out of heaven, Satan continued his warfare: “The dragon [Satan] grew wrathful at the woman, and went off to wage war with the remaining ones of her seed, who observe the commandments of God and have the work of bearing witness to Jesus.”​—Revelation 12:17.

¹¹ In addition to fighting God’s servants, Satan is flooding the world with his propaganda, striving to keep his grip on mankind. In one of his Revelation visions of the Lord’s day, the apostle John saw three wild animals that symbolically represented Satan, his earthly political organization, and the dominant world power of our time. Out of the mouths of these three, frogs came forth. What did these symbolize? John writes: “They are, in fact, expressions inspired by demons and perform signs, and they go forth to the kings of the entire inhabited earth, to gather them together to the war of the great day of God the Almighty.” (Revelation 16:14) Clearly, teachings of demons are very active in the earth. Satan and his demons are still fighting against divine teaching, and they will continue to do so until they are forcibly stopped by Jesus Christ, the Messianic King.​—Revelation 20:2.

Identifying the Teachings of Demons

12. (a) Why is it possible to resist the teachings of demons? (b) How does Satan attempt to achieve his ends with servants of God?

¹² Can God-fearing humans resist the teachings of demons? They can indeed, for two reasons. First, because divine teaching is more powerful; and second, because Jehovah has exposed Satan’s strategies in order that we can resist them. As the apostle Paul said, “we are not ignorant of his designs.” (2 Corinthians 2:11) We know that Satan uses persecution as one means to achieve his ends. (2 Timothy 3:12) Far more subtly, though, he tries to influence the minds and hearts of those who serve God. He misled Eve and put wrong desires into her heart. He tries the same thing today. Paul wrote to the Corinthians: “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) Consider how he has corrupted the thinking of mankind in general.

13. What lies has Satan told mankind since Eden?

¹³ To Eve, Satan accused Jehovah of lying and said that humans could be like gods if they disobeyed their Creator. The fallen condition of mankind today proves that Satan, not Jehovah, was the liar. Humans today are no gods! However, Satan followed up that first lie with other lies. He introduced the idea that the human soul is immortal, undying. He thus dangled before mankind the possibility of being like gods in another way. Then, based on that false doctrine, he promoted the teachings of hellfire, purgatory, spiritism, and ancestor worship. These lies still hold hundreds of millions in thrall.​—Deuteronomy 18:9-13.

14, 15. What is the truth about death and man’s hope for the future?

¹⁴ Of course, what Jehovah told Adam was the truth. Adam did die when he sinned against God. (Genesis 5:5) When Adam and his descendants died, they became dead souls, unconscious and inactive. (Genesis 2:7; Ecclesiastes 9:5, 10; Ezekiel 18:4) Because of inheriting sin from Adam, all human souls die. (Romans 5:12) Back in Eden, however, Jehovah promised the coming of a seed that would combat the works of the Devil. (Genesis 3:15) That Seed was Jesus Christ, God’s own only-begotten Son. Jesus died sinless, and his sacrificed life became a ransom to purchase mankind from their dying state. Those who obediently exercise faith in Jesus have the opportunity of receiving the everlasting life that Adam lost.​—John 3:36; Romans 6:23; 1 Timothy 2:5, 6.

¹⁵ The ransom, not some nebulous idea that a soul survives death, is the real hope for mankind. This is divine teaching. It is truth. It is also a wonderful demonstration of Jehovah’s love and wisdom. (John 3:16) How grateful we should be to have learned this truth and to have been set free from the teachings of demons in these matters!​—John 8:32.

16. What are the long-term results when humans follow their own wisdom?

¹⁶ By his lies in the garden of Eden, Satan encouraged Adam and Eve to aspire to be independent from God and to rely on their own wisdom. Today, we see the long-term results of that in the crime, the economic hardships, the wars, and the gross inequality that exist in the world today. No wonder the Bible says: “The wisdom of this world is foolishness with God”! (1 Corinthians 3:19) Nevertheless, most humans foolishly prefer to suffer rather than take note of Jehovah’s teachings. (Psalm 14:1-3; 107:17) Christians, who have accepted divine teaching, avoid falling into that trap.

17. What “falsely called knowledge” has Satan promoted, and what are its fruits?

¹⁷ Paul wrote to Timothy: “O Timothy, guard what is laid up in trust with you, turning away from the empty speeches that violate what is holy and from the contradictions of the falsely called ‘knowledge.’ For making a show of such knowledge some have deviated from the faith.” (1 Timothy 6:20, 21) That “knowledge” also represents the teachings of demons. In Paul’s day, it likely referred to the apostate ideas that some in the congregations were promoting. (2 Timothy 2:16-18) Later, falsely called knowledge, such as Gnosticism and Greek philosophy, corrupted the congregation. In the world today, atheism, agnosticism, evolution theories, and higher criticism of the Bible are examples of falsely called knowledge, as are the unscriptural ideas promoted by modern apostates. The fruits of all this falsely called knowledge are seen in the moral degradation, the widespread disrespect for authority, the dishonesty, and the selfishness that characterize Satan’s system of things.

Clinging to Divine Teaching

18. Who today seek divine teaching?

¹⁸ Even though Satan has been flooding the earth with teachings of demons since the time of Eden, there have always been some who searched for divine teaching. Such ones number into the millions today. They include the remaining anointed Christians who have the sure hope of reigning with Jesus in his heavenly Kingdom and the growing great crowd of “other sheep” whose hope is to inherit the earthly realm of that Kingdom. (Matthew 25:34; John 10:16; Revelation 7:3, 9) Today, these have been gathered together into one worldwide organization to which apply the words of Isaiah: “All your sons will be persons taught by Jehovah, and the peace of your sons will be abundant.”​—Isaiah 54:13.

19. What does being taught by Jehovah include?

¹⁹ Being taught by Jehovah means more than knowing true doctrine​—important though that is. Jehovah instructs us how to live, how to apply divine teaching to our personal lives. For example, we resist the selfishness, immorality, and spirit of independence that are so rampant in the world around us. We recognize the ruthless pursuit of wealth in this world for what it is​—death dealing. (James 5:1-3) We never forget the divine teaching expressed in the words of the apostle John: “Do not be loving either the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.”​—1 John 2:15.

20, 21. (a) What does Satan use in his efforts to blind humans? (b) What blessings come to those who cling to divine teaching?

²⁰ The effect of the teachings of demons on its victims is seen in Paul’s words to the Corinthians: “[Satan] has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, that the illumination of the glorious good news about the Christ, who is the image of God, might not shine through.” (2 Corinthians 4:4) Satan would like to blind true Christians in this way too. Back in Eden, he used a serpent to mislead one of God’s servants. Today, he uses violent or immoral movies and television programs. He exploits radio, literature, and music. A powerful weapon at his disposal is wrong association. (Proverbs 4:14; 28:7; 29:3) Always recognize such things for what they are​—devices and teachings of demons.

²¹ Remember, Satan’s words in Eden were lies; Jehovah’s words proved true. Since those early days, the same has continued to be the case. Satan has always proved to be a liar, and divine teaching has unfailingly been true. (Romans 3:4) If we cling to God’s Word, we will always be on the winning side in the battle between truth and lies. (2 Corinthians 10:4, 5) Let us, then, be determined to reject all teachings of demons. In that way we will endure until the time when the war between truth and falsehood is over. Truth will have won. Satan will be gone, and only divine teaching will be heard on earth.​—Isaiah 11:9.

Can You Explain?

◻ When were demonic teachings first heard?

◻ What are some lies promoted by Satan and his demons?

◻ In what ways is Satan extremely active today?

◻ What does Satan use to promote teachings of demons?

◻ What blessings belong to those who cling to divine teaching?

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Demonic teaching was first heard in the garden of Eden

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Divine teaching about the ransom and the Kingdom offers the only hope for mankind

Are You Resisting the Spirit of the World?

“We received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is from God.”​—1 CORINTHIANS 2:12.

1, 2. What tragedy involving poisonous gas occurred in Bhopal, India, but what more lethal “gas” is being breathed around the world?

ON A cool December night in 1984, something shocking happened in Bhopal, India. In that city, there is a chemical plant, and on that December night, a valve malfunctioned in one of the gas storage tanks. Suddenly, tons of methyl isocyanate began pouring into the air. Carried by the wind, this deadly gas swirled into houses and over sleeping families. Those who died numbered into the thousands, and many more were maimed. It was the worst industrial accident up to that time.

² People grieved when they heard of Bhopal. But lethal as it was, the gas released there killed far fewer people than are killed spiritually by a “gas” that people all around the world breathe in every day. The Bible calls it “the spirit of the world.” It is that deadly atmosphere the apostle Paul contrasted with the spirit from God when he said: “Now we received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is from God, that we might know the things that have been kindly given us by God.”​—1 Corinthians 2:12.

3. What is “the spirit of the world”?

³ What exactly is “the spirit of the world”? According to The New Thayer’s Greek English Lexicon of the New Testament, a general meaning of the word “spirit” (Greek, pneuʹma) is “the disposition or influence which fills and governs the soul of any one.” A person can have a good or a bad spirit, or disposition. (Psalm 51:10; 2 Timothy 4:22) A group of people too can have a spirit, or dominant disposition. The apostle Paul wrote to his friend Philemon: “The undeserved kindness of the Lord Jesus Christ be with the spirit you people show.” (Philemon 25) Similarly​—but on a much larger scale—​the world in general has a predominant disposition, and this is “the spirit of the world” referred to by Paul. According to Vincent’s Word Studies in the New Testament, “the phrase means the principle of evil which animates the unregenerate world.” It is the sinful tendency that permeates this world’s thinking and powerfully influences the way people act.

4. Who is the source of the spirit of the world, and what effect does this spirit have on humans?

⁴ This spirit is poisonous. Why? Because it proceeds from “the ruler of this world,” Satan. Indeed, he is called “the ruler of the authority of the air, the spirit that now operates in the sons of disobedience.” (John 12:31; Ephesians 2:2) It is hard to escape this “air,” or “spirit that now operates in the sons of disobedience.” It is everywhere in human society. If we breathe it in, we begin to adopt its attitudes, its aims. The spirit of the world encourages ‘living in accord with the flesh,’ that is, in accord with our sinful imperfection. It is death dealing, “for if you live in accord with the flesh you are sure to die.”​—Romans 8:13.

Avoiding This World’s Spirit

5. How did one Witness act wisely during the disaster in Bhopal?

⁵ During the disaster in Bhopal, one Witness of Jehovah was wakened by sirens and by the acrid smell of the poisonous gas. Without delay he roused his family and rushed them out into the street. Pausing for just a moment to sense the wind direction, he battled his way through milling crowds and led his family to the top of a hill outside the city. There they were able to fill their lungs with fresh, clean air that blew from a nearby lake.

6. Where can we go to escape the spirit of the world?

⁶ Is there an elevated spot where we can go for refuge from the poisonous “air” of this world? The Bible says there is. Looking forward to our day, the prophet Isaiah wrote: “It must occur in the final part of the days that the mountain of the house of Jehovah will become firmly established above the top of the mountains, and it will certainly be lifted up above the hills; and to it all the nations must stream. And many peoples will certainly go and say: ‘Come, you people, and let us go up to the mountain of Jehovah, to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will instruct us about his ways, and we will walk in his paths.’ For out of Zion law will go forth, and the word of Jehovah out of Jerusalem.” (Isaiah 2:2, 3) The elevated place of pure worship, the lifted-up “mountain of the house of Jehovah,” is the only location on this planet free from the suffocating, poisonous spirit of this world. It is there that the spirit of Jehovah freely flows among faithful Christians.

7. How have many been saved from the spirit of the world?

⁷ Many who previously breathed the spirit of this world have enjoyed a relief similar to that experienced by that Witness in Bhopal. After speaking of “the sons of disobedience” who breathe the air, or spirit, of this world, the apostle Paul says: “Among them we all at one time conducted ourselves in harmony with the desires of our flesh, doing the things willed by the flesh and the thoughts, and we were naturally children of wrath even as the rest. But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love with which he loved us, made us alive together with the Christ.” (Ephesians 2:3-5) Those who breathe nothing but the poisoned air of this system of things are dead in a spiritual sense. However, thanks to Jehovah, millions today are fleeing to the spiritual high ground and are escaping that fatal condition.

Manifestations of “the Spirit of the World”

8, 9. (a) What shows that we must be on constant guard against the spirit of the world? (b) How might Satan’s spirit corrupt us?

⁸ The death-dealing air of Satan still swirls around us. We must be on guard and never drift downhill, back into the world, perhaps to be choked spiritually. This takes constant vigilance. (Luke 21:36; 1 Corinthians 16:13) Consider, for example, this fact. All Christians are familiar with Jehovah’s standards of morality and would never agree that such unclean practices as adultery, fornication, and homosexuality are acceptable. Yet, each year about 40,000 individuals are disfellowshipped from Jehovah’s organization. Why? In many cases because of these selfsame unclean practices. How can that happen?

⁹ Because all of us are imperfect. The flesh is weak, and we constantly have to fight against wrong inclinations that surface in our heart. (Ecclesiastes 7:20; Jeremiah 17:9) However, those wrong inclinations are egged on by the spirit of the world. Many in this world see nothing wrong with immorality, and the idea that anything goes is part of the mental inclination of Satan’s system of things. If we expose ourselves to such thinking, why, there is a strong likelihood that we will begin to think like the world. Before long, such unclean thoughts may produce wrong desires that will end up in serious sin. (James 1:14, 15) We will have wandered off the mountain of Jehovah’s pure worship down into the contaminated lowlands of Satan’s world. No one who willingly remains there will inherit everlasting life.​—Ephesians 5:3-5, 7.

10. What is one manifestation of Satan’s air, and why should Christians avoid this?

¹⁰ The spirit of the world is in evidence all around us. For example, there is the flippant, sarcastic attitude with which many approach life. Disillusioned by corrupt or inept politicians and by immoral, greedy religious leaders, they speak irreverently about even serious things. Christians resist this tendency. While we may have a healthy sense of humor, we avoid bringing into the congregation a sarcastic spirit of disrespect. A Christian’s speech reflects fear of Jehovah and purity of heart. (James 3:10, 11; compare Proverbs 6:14.) Whether we are young or old, our speech should be “always with graciousness, seasoned with salt, so as to know how [we] ought to give an answer to each one.”​—Colossians 4:6.

11. (a) What is a second aspect of the spirit of the world? (b) Why are Christians different from those who reflect this aspect?

¹¹ Another common inclination reflecting the spirit of this world is hatred. The world is riven by hatreds and feuds based on racial, ethnic, national, and even personal differences. How much better things are where God’s spirit is active! The apostle Paul wrote: “Return evil for evil to no one. Provide fine things in the sight of all men. If possible, as far as it depends upon you, be peaceable with all men. Do not avenge yourselves, beloved, but yield place to the wrath; for it is written: ‘Vengeance is mine; I will repay, says Jehovah.’ But, ‘if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by doing this you will heap fiery coals upon his head.’ Do not let yourself be conquered by the evil, but keep conquering the evil with the good.”​—Romans 12:17-21.

12. Why do Christians avoid materialism?

¹² The spirit of this world also stimulates materialism. Encouraged by the commercial world, many are obsessed with the latest gadget, the latest fashion, the latest model car. They are enslaved by “the desire of the eyes.” (1 John 2:16) Most measure their success in life by the size of their house or their bank account. Christians, breathing clean spiritual air on the elevated mountain of Jehovah’s pure worship, resist this inclination. They know that a determined pursuit of material things can be ruinous. (1 Timothy 6:9, 10) Jesus reminded his disciples: “Even when a person has an abundance his life does not result from the things he possesses.”​—Luke 12:15.

13. What are some additional manifestations of the spirit of this world?

¹³ There are other manifestations of the unhealthy “air” of this world. One is the spirit of rebellion. (2 Timothy 3:1-3) Have you noticed that many people no longer cooperate with authority? Have you observed in your secular work the widespread practice of not working unless somebody is actually watching? How many people do you know who have broken laws​—perhaps cheated on their taxes or stolen from the workplace? If you still attend school, have you ever been discouraged from doing your best because your classmates look down on those who succeed academically? All of these are manifestations of the spirit of the world that Christians must resist.

How to Resist This World’s Spirit

14. In what ways are Christians different from non-Christians?

¹⁴ How, though, can we resist the spirit of the world when we actually live in the world? We have to remember that no matter where we happen to be physically, spiritually we are no part of the world. (John 17:15, 16) Our goals are not this world’s goals. Our view of things is different. We are spiritual people, speaking and thinking “not with words taught by human wisdom, but with those taught by the spirit, as we combine spiritual matters with spiritual words.”​—1 Corinthians 2:13.

15. How can we resist the spirit of the world?

¹⁵ What could a person do if he found himself in an area polluted with poisonous gas? He could either put on a gas mask attached to a clean air supply, or he could physically remove himself from the area. The way to avoid Satan’s air combines these methods. As far as possible, we try to remove ourselves physically from anything that would enable the spirit of the world to affect our thinking. Thus, we avoid wrong association, and we do not expose ourselves to any kind of entertainment that promotes violence, immorality, spiritism, rebellion, or any other work of the flesh. (Galatians 5:19-21) However, since we live in the world, we cannot entirely avoid exposure to these things. So we are acting wisely if we hook up to a spiritual fresh-air supply. We fill our spiritual lungs, as it were, by regular meeting attendance, personal study, Christian activity and association, and prayer. In this way, if any of Satan’s air leaks into our spiritual lungs, God’s spirit strengthens us to reject it.​—Psalm 17:1-3; Proverbs 9:9; 13:20; 19:20; 22:17.

16. How do we give evidence of having God’s spirit?

¹⁶ The spirit of God makes a Christian into a person who stands out as different from those who are part of this world. (Romans 12:1, 2) Paul said: “The fruitage of the spirit is love, joy, peace, long-suffering, kindness, goodness, faith, mildness, self-control. Against such things there is no law.” (Galatians 5:22, 23) God’s spirit also gives a Christian a deeper understanding of things. Paul said: “No one has come to know the things of God, except the spirit of God.” (1 Corinthians 2:11) In a general sense, “the things of God” include such truths as the ransom sacrifice, God’s Kingdom under Jesus Christ, the hope of everlasting life, and the imminent removal of this wicked world. With the help of God’s spirit, Christians know and accept these things as truth, and this makes their view of life different from that of people of the world. They are content to find their joy in serving Jehovah now, with the prospect of serving him for an eternity to come.

17. Who set a superlative example in resisting the spirit of the world, and how?

¹⁷ Jesus was a superlative role model for those who resist the spirit of this world. Soon after Jesus’ baptism, Satan tried to steer him away from serving Jehovah by presenting three temptations. (Matthew 4:1-11) The final one involved the possibility that Jesus could gain rulership of the whole world for the price of just one act of worship to Satan. Jesus could have reasoned: ‘Well, I will do the act of worship, and then after I get the rulership of the world, I will repent and return to worshiping Jehovah. As world ruler, I will be in a much better position to benefit mankind than I am now as a carpenter from Nazareth.’ Jesus did not reason that way. He was willing to wait until Jehovah gave him world rulership. (Psalm 2:8) On that occasion, and on all other occasions in his life, he resisted the poisonous influence of Satan’s air. Thus, he conquered this spiritually polluted world.​—John 16:33.

18. How does our resisting the spirit of the world bring praise to God?

¹⁸ The apostle Peter said that we should follow Jesus’ footsteps closely. (1 Peter 2:21) What better model could we have? In these last days, influenced by the spirit of the world, humans are sinking deeper and deeper into depravity. What a wonderful thing that in the midst of such a world, the elevated place of Jehovah’s worship is standing forth pure and clean! (Micah 4:1, 2) Surely, the power of God’s spirit is observed in that millions are streaming up to God’s place of worship, resisting the all-pervading spirit of this world and bringing honor and praise to Jehovah! (1 Peter 2:11, 12) May all of us be determined to remain in that elevated place until Jehovah’s anointed King removes this wicked world and abysses Satan the Devil and his demons. (Revelation 19:19–20:3) Then, the spirit of this world will no longer exist. What a blessed time that will be!

Can You Explain?

◻ What is the spirit of the world?

◻ What effect does the spirit of this world have on individuals?

◻ What are some manifestations of the spirit of the world, and how can we avoid it?

◻ How do we show that we have God’s spirit?

◻ What blessings come to those who resist the spirit of the world?

[Picture on page 16, 17]

The spirit of the world is from Satan

To avoid the spirit of the world, flee to Jehovah’s elevated place of worship

A Rich, Rewarding Life in Jehovah’s Service

AS TOLD BY LEO KALLIO

It was the year 1914, and a beautiful late summer day was ending in our suburb of Turku, a city in Finland. Suddenly, the tranquillity was shattered by news of a great war that had broken out. Soon streets were filled with those pondering the meaning of events. The grave faces of adults made us children wonder what would happen. I was nine years old, and I recall that the peaceful play of children changed to games of war.

ALTHOUGH Finland stayed out of World War I (1914-18), the country was ravaged by civil war in 1918. Relatives and former friends took up weapons against one another because of differing political views. Our family of seven tasted this hatred. My father, who was blunt in expressing his opinions, was arrested and sentenced to seven years in prison. Later he was acquitted, but by then his health had been ruined.

Our family suffered from hunger and sickness during this terrible period. Three of my younger sisters died. My father’s brother, who lived in the city of Tampere, heard about our distress and invited my father and mother and us two remaining children to stay with him.

Years later, while still living in Tampere, I met a charming girl named Sylvi. She had a background similar to mine. Her father was killed in the civil war, and afterward a close friend of her family, Kaarlo (Kalle) Vesanto from the town of Pori, took her, her sister, and her mother into his home. He made arrangements for Sylvi’s mother to get a job and for the girls to go to school. In time Sylvi moved to Tampere to get work, and that is where we met.

An Evening That Changed My Life

In 1928, Sylvi became my fiancée, and one day we traveled to Pori to visit Kalle Vesanto and his family. No other event has so decisively affected my life. Kalle had been an owner and racer of trotting horses but had given up that business. He and his wife had become zealous publishers of the good news of God’s Kingdom. The 1990 Yearbook of Jehovah’s Witnesses describes how he hired men to paint the words “Millions Now Living Will Never Die” on an outside wall of his two-story house. The text was big enough to be easily read from swiftly passing trains.

That night Kalle and I talked into the wee hours of the morning. “Why? Why? Why?” I asked, and Kalle explained. I literally learned basic Bible truths overnight. I wrote down the scriptures that explained various teachings. Later, when I returned home, I got a notebook and wrote down all those scriptures word for word. Because I was yet unfamiliar with the Bible, I used this notebook to witness to those at the construction site where I worked. As I exposed the teachings of false religion, I often found myself repeating Kalle’s words: “You have really been deceived, guys!”

Kalle gave me the address of a cottage in Tampere where some 30 Bible Students were having their meetings. There I would crouch in a corner near the door next to Brother Andersson, the owner of the cottage. My attendance was rather irregular, but prayer proved helpful. When having serious trouble at work, I once prayed: “Please, God, if you help me to get over these difficulties, I promise to attend every meeting.” But things just got worse. Then I realized that I was setting conditions on Jehovah, so I changed my prayer to: “Whatever happens, I promise to attend every meeting.” At that my adversities subsided, and I became a regular meeting attender.​—1 John 5:14.

Our Ministry in Early Years

In 1929, Sylvi and I married, and in 1934 both of us symbolized our dedication to Jehovah by water baptism. In those days our ministry involved taking a phonograph and records along to people’s homes and asking kindly if we might present a Bible lecture free of charge. People often readily invited us in, and after they listened to the recorded talk, they shared in a conversation and accepted some of our literature.

With the permission of the authorities, we played these same Bible lectures through amplifiers in the parks. And in the suburbs we would attach the loudspeaker to a roof or the top of a chimney. At other times we played them on the lakefront where townspeople gathered in large crowds. We simply took the amplifiers in a boat and rowed slowly along the shore. On Sundays we set off on a rural campaign by bus, equipped with our precious amplifiers and lots of literature.

A Change Testing Our Faith

In 1938, I entered the full-time ministry as a pioneer, but I also continued to work as a bricklayer. The following spring I received an invitation from the Society’s branch office to become a traveling minister, now called circuit overseer. The decision to accept was not an easy one because I enjoyed working with our congregation in Tampere. Besides, we owned our own home; we had a six-year-old son, Arto, who would soon start school; and Sylvi enjoyed her work as a shop assistant. Yet, after consulting together, I accepted this further privilege of Kingdom service.​—Matthew 6:33.

Then another difficult period began. War broke out on November 30, 1939, when Soviet troops marched into Finland. The war, called the Winter War, lasted until March 1940, when Finland had to agree to a peace treaty. It seemed as if even nature went to war, for that was by far the coldest winter I can recall. I traveled by bicycle from one congregation to another as the thermometer sank to more than 22 degrees below zero Fahrenheit [-30° C.]!

In 1940 the work of Jehovah’s Witnesses was banned in Finland. Thereafter many young Finnish Witnesses were put in prison and forced to languish there under inhuman conditions. Thankfully, I was able to serve the congregations throughout the second world war, from 1939 to 1945. This often required that I be away from Sylvi and Arto for months at a time. Moreover, there was the constant threat of being arrested for carrying on an illegal work.

I must have been a peculiar sight, riding a bicycle loaded down with a suitcase, a bag of literature, and a phonograph and records. One reason I carried the phonograph records was to prove, in case of an arrest, that I was not a reconnaissance parachutist spying for the Russians. You see, I could argue that if I had been a parachutist, the records would have been broken during the jump.

Nevertheless, once while visiting a neighborhood that had been warned about a spy, a family of Witnesses mistook me for one. I knocked on their door on a dark winter night, and they were too afraid to open. So I spent that night in a barn, buried in the hay to try to keep warm. The next morning the mistaken identity was cleared up, and I must say, during the rest of my visit, the members of the household showed me extra-special hospitality!

During the war years, only Brother Johannes Koskinen and I served the congregations in middle and northern Finland. Each of us had huge areas to care for, some 400 miles [600 km] long. We had so many congregations to visit that we were able to stay for only two or three days with each congregation. Trains were rarely on schedule, and buses were few and so crowded that it was a wonder we reached our destinations.

Narrow Escapes

Once, early in the Winter War, I went to the branch office in Helsinki and picked up four heavy cartons of banned literature to take with me by train to deliver to congregations. While at the Riihimäki railway station, an air-raid alarm sounded. Soldiers in the train put on their snowsuits, and passengers were told to leave the train immediately and head for an empty field opposite the station.

I asked the soldiers to carry my cartons, telling them of their importance. Four of them each picked up a carton, and we ran some 200 yards over the snow-covered field. We threw ourselves on the ground, and somebody cried to me: “Hey, civilian, don’t make the slightest move! If the bombers see any movement, they will fire on us.” I was curious enough to turn my face carefully to look at the sky, where I counted 28 planes!

Suddenly the ground shook from exploding bombs. Although the station was spared, the train on which we arrived was hit. What a grotesque sight the wrecked train and twisted rails made! The next morning I was able to continue my journey with the cartons, and the soldiers set off on another train. One of them became a Witness after the war, and he told me that the soldiers had talked afterward about the strange civilian with his cartons.

Some time later Brother Koskinen, traveling to serve the small congregation in Rovaniemi in northern Finland, was arrested before getting off the train. He was taken to jail, where he was badly mistreated. When it came time for me to serve that same congregation, I made arrangements to get off the train at the small station of Koivu. There Sister Helmi Pallari arranged for me to continue the rest of the way in a milk wagon. My visit to the Rovaniemi Congregation was a success. However, upon leaving I ran into trouble.

On our way to the railway station, my companion and I came upon two military personnel who were checking the papers of all passersby. “Do not look at them. Keep your eyes straight ahead,” I said. We walked between them as if they never existed. Then they began chasing after us. Finally, at the railway station, I was able to avoid them in the crowd and jump on a moving train. There was no lack of excitement in the traveling work in those days!

Once I was arrested and taken to the draft board. The intention was to send me to the war front. But the phone rang, and the army officer who was about to interview me answered. I could hear the voice on the other end shout: “Why on earth do you keep sending these sick, useless men? All we can do is send them back. We need men fit for work!” Thankfully, I had on me a medical certificate that told of a health problem I had. When I presented this, I was allowed to go and so continued uninterrupted my work among the congregations!

Helping at a Trial

The war hysteria continued to rage, and my friend Ahti Laeste was arrested. His wife called me. When I went to their home, I found among his papers a document from the local police giving Ahti permission to present recorded speeches in public parks of the city. We arrived at court with the document. After they finished reading the indictment, I handed the document to Brother Laeste. The judge had a soldier bring in a phonograph and several of the recorded Bible presentations for the court to listen to. After listening to each presentation, the judge said that he could not see anything improper in what was said.

Then Ahti, his wife, and I were sent out in the corridor to await the decision of the court. There we stood in suspense. Finally we heard a voice say: “The accused, please enter the courtroom.” Brother Laeste was acquitted! Our hearts were truly full of gratitude to Jehovah as we went on with our work, Brother and Sister Laeste with theirs in the local congregation, and I with mine in the traveling work.

The War Ends ​—Our Service Continues

The ban on our preaching work was removed when the war ended, and the brothers were released from prison. During my many years of service, I have been deeply impressed by the role that Christian sisters have played in the Kingdom work and in supporting their husbands. Especially have I been grateful for Sylvi’s sacrifices and support. As a result, I was able to continue in the traveling work for 33 years uninterrupted and afterward to serve as a special pioneer.

Both Sylvi and I encouraged Arto to begin pioneering when he finished school, to learn English, and to attend the Watchtower Bible School of Gilead in the United States. He graduated from Gilead in 1953. Afterward he married Eeva, and together they have shared in various forms of full-time service, including the circuit work, Bethel service, and special pioneering. In 1988 they moved to Tampere, our city of residence, to help care for Sylvi and me while they continue serving as special pioneers.

Sylvi and I have enjoyed a rich and blessed life with lots of memories to encourage us, although our strength now is greatly diminished. It is most rewarding to think of the growth that we have seen. When I started visiting congregations in 1939, there were 865 Kingdom publishers in Finland, but now there are over 18,000!

Little did I realize when I began the full-time ministry back in 1938 that 55 years later I would still be enjoying a share in it. In spite of advancing years, we go on in Jehovah’s power, looking forward to our promised reward. We trust in the psalmist’s words: “Jehovah is good; his loving-kindness is to time indefinite, and his faithfulness to generation after generation.”​—Psalm 100:5.

[Picture on page 21]

Leo and Sylvi Kallio symbolized their dedication to Jehovah in 1934

[Picture on page 23]

A recent photograph of Leo and Sylvi as they approach 60 years of dedicated service

How Can Man Be in God’s Image?

“GOD proceeded to create the man in his image, in God’s image he created him; male and female he created them.” So says the inspired record, but what does it mean? How were the first man and woman created in God’s image?​—Genesis 1:27.

Were they physically like God? No, that is impossible. Man is human, fleshly, designed to live on the earth. God is spirit, living in unimaginable heavenly glory that no human can even approach. (Exodus 33:18-20; 1 Corinthians 15:50) How, then, was man made in God’s image? In that man was given the ability to exercise God’s outstanding attributes​—love, justice, wisdom, and power—​as well as other qualities.

The Qualities of Jehovah

Jehovah God’s qualities are reflected in all his creation, but they were dramatically displayed in his dealings with the first human pair, Adam and Eve. (Romans 1:20) His love was seen in that he created the earth just right for man to live on. Jehovah created for man a perfect wife to be his companion and the mother of his children. He placed the two of them in a beautiful garden and gave them in abundance all the things necessary to continue to live and be happy. Most wonderful of all, God gave them the opportunity to live forever.​—Genesis 2:7-9, 15-24.

God’s wisdom was seen in his testing the first human pair. If they were to remain as members of Jehovah’s universal family and if they were to live forever as parents of the human race, they would need to be examples in faithfulness and true worship. Hence, Jehovah gave them the opportunity to demonstrate their heart condition under an appropriate test​—they were not to eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and bad. How wise on the part of Jehovah to allow humans to prove their obedience and love for him before giving them the wonderful privileges that he had in mind!

God’s justice was seen in his insistence on high standards in his creatures and in his not compromising those standards. It was seen in his giving Adam and Eve every opportunity to do what was right. And when they failed to do so, his justice was seen in his sentencing them to suffer the stated penalty for rebellion.

Jehovah’s power was seen in his following through on his sentence. Satan, the great rebel, had implied that Jehovah was a liar, and Satan offered great things to Eve if she disobeyed God. (Genesis 3:1-7) But Satan was unable to deliver. He could not prevent Jehovah from expelling Adam and Eve from the garden of Eden, and he was unable to prevent the fulfillment of God’s words to Adam: “Dust you are and to dust you will return.” (Genesis 3:19) However, Jehovah did not at once carry out the death sentence, and in this he further showed his love. He allowed Adam and Eve time to produce children by means of which his original purpose for mankind would eventually be realized.​—Genesis 1:28.

Finally, Jehovah God’s justice, love, power, and wisdom were embodied in his promise to furnish a seed that would destroy the works of Satan and undo the sad results of that first rebellion against divine sovereignty. (Genesis 3:15) What a wonderful Creator we have!

Efforts to Imitate God

Although no longer perfect, humans can still display God’s qualities. Hence, Paul encouraged Christians of his day: “Become imitators of God, as beloved children.” (Ephesians 5:1) Throughout history, though, most have demonstrated a gross disregard for God’s qualities. By the time of Noah, men had become so corrupt that Jehovah determined to destroy all mankind except for Noah and his family. Noah was “a righteous [just] man. He proved himself faultless among his contemporaries,” and he demonstrated his love of God by carrying out God’s commands.a “Noah proceeded to do according to all that God had commanded him. He did just so.” (Genesis 6:9, 22) Noah showed love for his fellowman and his attachment to justice by being “a preacher of righteousness.” (2 Peter 2:5) He showed wisdom and properly used his physical power by following God’s direction to build a huge ark, store food in it, collect animals, and go into the ark at Jehovah’s command. He also showed his love of righteousness in not letting his wicked neighbors corrupt him.

The Bible describes many others who similarly demonstrated godly qualities. The foremost was Jesus Christ, who was perfectly in God’s image and thus could say: “He that has seen me has seen the Father.” (John 14:9) Among the qualities that Jesus displayed, outstanding was his love. Love for his Father and for mankind moved him to leave his heavenly home and live as a man on earth. It moved him to glorify his Father by his righteous conduct and to preach to mankind the good news of salvation. (Matthew 4:23; John 13:31) Then, love moved Jesus to offer up his perfect life for the salvation of mankind and, more important, for the sanctification of God’s name. (John 13:1) In striving to imitate God, is there any better example to follow than Jesus Christ?​—1 Peter 2:21.

How Can We Be More Like God Today?

How can we, today, display God’s qualities and thus act in God’s image? Well, consider first the quality of love. Jesus said: “You must love Jehovah your God with your whole heart and with your whole soul and with your whole mind.” How do we show love for God? The apostle John answers: “This is what the love of God means, that we observe his commandments; and yet his commandments are not burdensome.”​—Matthew 22:37; 1 John 5:3.

Of course, in order to obey Jehovah’s commandments, we have to know them. That involves reading, studying, and meditating on God’s Word, the Bible, and on Bible literature. Like the psalmist, we should be able to say: “How I do love your law! All day long it is my concern.” (Psalm 119:97) As we get a deeper and deeper understanding of God’s Word, we become imbued with God’s way of thinking. We come to love righteousness and hate lawlessness. (Psalm 45:7) That is where Adam went wrong. He knew Jehovah’s law, but he did not love it enough to stick to it. When reading God’s Word, we should constantly ask ourselves, ‘How does this apply to me? What can I do to make my conduct more in harmony with God’s qualities?’

Jesus also said: “You must love your neighbor as yourself.” (Matthew 22:39) Every healthy individual loves himself and wants the best for himself. That is not wrong. But do we show a comparable love for our neighbor? Do we follow the Biblical injunction: “Do not hold back good from those to whom it is owing, when it happens to be in the power of your hand to do it”?​—Proverbs 3:27; Galatians 6:10.

What about the quality of wisdom? Our seeking to manifest this quality leads us to study the Bible because that is the repository of divine wisdom. Psalm 119:98-100 reads: “Wiser than my enemies your commandment makes me, because to time indefinite it is mine. More insight than all my teachers I have come to have, because your reminders are a concern to me. With more understanding than older men I behave, because I have observed your own orders.” At Proverbs 3:18, wisdom is described as “a tree of life.” If we gain wisdom and exercise it, we will receive God’s approval and the reward of everlasting life.​—Ecclesiastes 7:12.

What about justice? In this wicked world, justice is a vital quality for those who would please God. Jesus loved righteousness (justice) and hated lawlessness. (Hebrews 1:9) Christians today do the same. Justice moves them to appreciate right qualities. They avoid the unrighteous ways of this world and make the doing of God’s will the most important thing in their lives.​—1 John 2:15-17.

As far as power is concerned, all of us have a measure of this. We naturally have physical and intellectual power, and as we grow as Christians, we develop power in a spiritual sense. Jehovah augments our power with his holy spirit to the extent that we, even though seemingly weak, can accomplish Jehovah’s will. Paul said: “For all things I have the strength by virtue of him who imparts power to me.” (Philippians 4:13) The same strength is available to us if we pray for Jehovah’s spirit.

Preaching the Good News

Our displaying the four major attributes of God is well seen in our obeying the command: “Go therefore and make disciples of people of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the holy spirit, teaching them to observe all the things I have commanded you. And, look! I am with you all the days until the conclusion of the system of things.” (Matthew 28:19, 20) Such an educational work brings life to those who respond. What a fine demonstration of love for those who, for the most part, begin by being total strangers to us!

Further, such teaching is the course of wisdom. It brings fruitage that endures. Of what other work can it be said: “By doing this you will save both yourself and those who listen to you”? (1 Timothy 4:16) There are no losers in the disciple-making work. Both those who listen and those who teach gain everlasting blessings.

As for justice, Christians are teaching just and righteous principles to their Bible students. We are helping them to serve Jehovah, “the God of justice.” (Malachi 2:17) Those today who dedicate their lives to serve Jehovah and follow through in faithfulness are declared righteous, justified, leading to their survival of Armageddon.​—Romans 3:24; James 2:24-26.

What a demonstration of power is the preaching and teaching of the good news worldwide! (Matthew 24:14) It takes endurance to preach continually in territories where the majority do not wish to hear. But Jehovah, through his spirit, gives the strength necessary to endure to the end.​—Isaiah 40:30, 31; Matthew 24:13; Luke 11:13.

True, as imperfect offspring of Adam, we cannot exercise these fine qualities perfectly. Yet, remember, man was made in the image of God, and if we strive to be more and more like God, then we are in part fulfilling the reason for our existence. (Ecclesiastes 12:13) If we exert ourselves to do the best we can and ask for forgiveness when we fall short, then we can hope to survive into God’s righteous new world, where we may eventually attain to perfection. Then, we will be in a paradise earth populated with perfect humans, all displaying Jehovah God’s qualities to the full. What a joy! Finally, in the fullest sense of the expression, humans will be in the image of God.

[Footnotes]

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Jesus showed us how to cultivate Jehovah’s divine qualities

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Finally, humans will in the fullest sense be in the image of God

“Turn Down the False Stories”

THE Bible is full of experiences and stories about people. Not only do we enjoy reading them but we benefit from them. The apostle Paul wrote to the Christian congregation in Rome: “All the things that were written aforetime were written for our instruction, that through our endurance and through the comfort from the Scriptures we might have hope.”​—Romans 15:4.

Paul himself shared in relating experiences. The Bible says of Paul and Barnabas at the conclusion of their first missionary tour: “When they had arrived [at Syrian Antioch] and had gathered the congregation together, they proceeded to relate the many things God had done by means of them.” (Acts 14:27) No doubt the brothers were greatly encouraged by these experiences.

Not all experiences, however, are upbuilding. Under inspiration, Paul cautioned Timothy: “Turn down the false stories which violate what is holy and which old women tell.” (1 Timothy 4:7) And to Titus he wrote that loyal Christians should pay “no attention to Jewish fables and commandments of men who turn themselves away from the truth.”​—Titus 1:14.

What were these false stories, or fables? Both terms come from the Greek myʹthos (“myth”). The International Standard Bible Encyclopaedia states that this word describes “a (religious) story that has no connection with reality.”

The world of Paul’s day was full of such stories. An example is the apocryphal book of Tobit, probably written over two hundred years before Paul’s time. This story tells of Tobit, a pious Jew, who is blinded when the dung of a bird falls into his eyes. Later, he sends his son, Tobias, to collect a debt. On the way, at an angel’s direction, Tobias secures the heart, liver, and gall of a fish. Next he encounters a widow who, though married seven times, remains a virgin because each husband was killed by an evil spirit on the wedding night. At the angel’s prompting, Tobias marries her and drives away the demon by burning the heart and liver of the fish. With the gall of the fish, Tobias later restores his father’s sight.

Clearly, this tale is not truthful. Apart from its fanciful nature and its appeal to superstition, it contains error. For example, the account says that Tobit witnessed both the revolt of the northern tribes and the deportation of Israelites to Nineveh, events in Israel’s history that were separated by 257 years. Yet, the story says that Tobit was 112 years old at the time of his death.​—Tobit 1:4, 11; 14:1, The Jerusalem Bible.

Such fables are alien to the truthful “pattern of healthful words” proclaimed by faithful servants of God. (2 Timothy 1:13) They are products of the imagination, contrary to historical fact, the kind of thing related by ungodly old women. These were the stories to be turned down by Christians.

Testing Words of Truth

Similar stories abound today. Paul wrote: “There will be a period of time when [people] will not put up with the healthful teaching, but . . . will turn their ears away from the truth, whereas they will be turned aside to false stories.” (2 Timothy 4:3, 4) In certain parts of the earth, tales of the supernatural are widespread and popular. Christians, therefore, wisely “test out [the] words” of religious stories to see if they are in harmony with the Bible.​—Job 12:11.

Clearly, many are not. In many parts of the world, for example, it is common to hear stories that support the notion that the human soul is immortal. These stories describe how a person dies, only to reappear either in the body of a newborn infant, as a spirit, as an animal, or as a person in a different place.

God’s Word, however, shows that human souls are not immortal; souls die. (Ezekiel 18:4) Moreover, the Bible says that the dead are lifeless in the grave, unable to think, speak, or do anything. (Ecclesiastes 9:5, 10; Romans 6:23) Thus, those who are seduced by false stories that promote the notion that the soul is immortal are, as Paul said, “turned aside” from the Bible’s “healthful teaching.”

Tales of the Supernatural

Other stories focus on the deeds of witches and sorcerers. In parts of Africa, for example, these agents of evil are said to be equipped with terrible powers, able to change themselves or others into reptiles, monkeys, and birds; able to fly through the air to accomplish their missions; able to appear and disappear; able to pass through walls; and able to see objects buried beneath the ground.

The sheer abundance of such stories, along with the widespread belief in them, may tend to influence some in the Christian congregation also to believe that they are true. They might reason that while normal humans cannot do such things, those who receive superhuman powers from spirit creatures, the demons, can. A seeming basis for this conclusion is 2 Thessalonians 2:9, 10, which says: “The lawless one’s presence is according to the operation of Satan with every powerful work and lying signs and portents and with every unrighteous deception for those who are perishing, as a retribution because they did not accept the love of the truth that they might be saved.”

While it is true that this scripture shows that Satan is capable of powerful works, it mentions that Satan is also the author of “lying signs and portents,” as well as “unrighteous deception.” Consistently, the Bible shows Satan to be the archdeceiver who is “misleading the entire inhabited earth.” (Revelation 12:9) He is a master at making people believe things that are not true.

Because of this, even the testimony and confessions of those who have been involved in spiritism and witchcraft are often far from reliable. Such people may sincerely believe that they have seen, heard, or experienced certain things; yet, in fact, they have not. For example, there are those who think they have communicated with the spirits of dead people. But they are mistaken, deceived, victims of a satanic hoax. The Bible says that the dead are “going down into silence.”​—Psalm 115:17.

In view of the Devil’s history of deception, the truthfulness of supernatural tales is highly suspect at best. Most are the inventions of superstitious imaginations, exaggerated by constant retelling.

Circulating such fables promotes the interests of the father of the lie, Satan the Devil. (John 8:44) They stimulate interest in occult practices that are detestable to Jehovah. (Deuteronomy 18:10-12) They ensnare people in a web of fear and superstition. Little wonder that Paul counseled Christians “not . . . to pay attention to false stories.”​—1 Timothy 1:3, 4.

Rejecting the Testimony of Demons

What, though, if the stories appear to be truthful? Sometimes experiences are related of spirits or spiritists acknowledging the supremacy of Jehovah and the truthfulness of his Witnesses. Should Christians repeat such stories?

No, they should not. The Bible says that when unclean spirits cried out that Jesus was the Son of God, he “sternly charged them not to make him known.” (Mark 3:12) Similarly, when a demon of divination impelled a girl to identify Paul and Silas as “slaves of the Most High God” and publishers of “the way of salvation,” Paul cast the spirit out of her. (Acts 16:16-18) Neither Jesus, Paul, nor any of the Bible writers allowed the demons to testify about God’s purpose or his chosen servants.

It is noteworthy, too, that Jesus Christ had lived in the spirit realm before he came to earth. He had known Satan personally. Yet, Jesus did not entertain his disciples with stories about Satan’s activities, nor did he provide details about what the Devil could and could not do. Satan and his demons were not friends of Jesus. They were outcasts, rebels, haters of what is holy, and enemies of God.

The Bible tells us what we need to know. It explains who the demons are, how they mislead people, and how we can avoid them. It shows that Jehovah and Jesus are more powerful than the demons are. And it instructs us that if we loyally serve Jehovah, wicked spirits cannot do us any permanent harm.​—James 4:7.

With good reason, then, Christians turn down false stories, stories that do little more than promote the interests of those who oppose God. Just as Jesus ‘bore witness to the truth,’ so do his followers today. (John 18:37) Wisely they heed the Bible’s admonition: “Whatever things are true . . . continue considering these things.”​—Philippians 4:8.

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All manifestations of the occult must be strictly avoided by true Christians

Simultaneous for Ten Years!

WHEN asked how she felt ten years ago when the Spanish edition of The Watchtower began to be published simultaneously with the English, one dear Spanish sister responded: ‘We feel it is a blessing because now we were in the same, what do you say, step with English. When I say English, all the time I think of the organization. We refer to the organization as “Mama.” We feel close, near. It’s beautiful. It’s wonderful!’

This faithful sister expressed the feelings of many non-English readers. In years gone by, articles appeared in the Spanish edition of The Watchtower some six months after they were published in English. Other languages experienced similar delays. Understandably, there was an intense desire to publish the same material, at the same time, in many languages.

So beginning with the issue of April 1, 1984, the Spanish edition was the first to become simultaneous with the English edition. Other languages soon followed. By the start of 1985, editions in 23 languages were simultaneous. As translators were located and trained, editions in more languages caught up with the English.

This issue of The Watchtower marks the tenth year of simultaneous publication. The Watchtower is now published in 116 languages, 85 of them simultaneously. This means that 99.3 percent of the total average production of 16,100,000 copies of The Watchtower are produced with the same cover design and articles. Of those attending the weekly Watchtower Study, over 95 percent consider the same material at the same time.

Awake!, companion magazine of The Watchtower, is published simultaneously in 37 of its 74 languages. The annual Yearbook of Jehovah’s Witnesses is published in 18 languages. Such simultaneous publication serves to unite God’s people “in the same mind and in the same line of thought.”​—1 Corinthians 1:10.

Would You Welcome a Visit?

Even in this troubled world, you can gain happiness from accurate Bible knowledge of God, his Kingdom, and his wonderful purpose for mankind. If you would welcome further information or would like to have someone call to conduct a free home Bible study with you, please write to Watchtower, 25 Columbia Heights, Brooklyn, New York 11201, or to the appropriate address listed on page 2.