Watchtower year 1927

 

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Watchtower year 1927 La Torre di Guarda annata 1927

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d»1mj~liil rqr1f»cal ~if lt1ij ~u~rr,t t1jen~fillu91ls il» ~fi l aiaij yolo xlix a.ln ~fun j sdfi foxthly no.1 gu januarj 1 1927 coytents jr iioyatl xd i 00d · iolu · 3 j11~tlcq ··········.········ ···.····· ········ 4 l l · _· 4 il iitr ym:h:s ···· 3 cl l ll i ll 4 ob lect lp l ll r 0 v i catl ll .· · · · · .· · _· j fieri dy or~lllp n snare chi g 11 l l ktxg ol lt ilu ilf s chflisti x .c c iplr a .· d ygll as pi~t.cept let tel ~ln l g 1 axd rrnroi 1i 1 lie nca 13 14 · ·· 2 ~r l[ixg 11n coj1jil;xl l y ciiloi lln lj 7 i l erx · tioxal col ylx l io j ·· will stand upon my watch and will set my loot upon the tu 1 and tnll u atgh to see what lie will say unto ne lind hihlt an h er i shall make to them that oppose me habakkuk 2 1 .pon the earth distress of nations with perpl xity the sea f nd the waves the restless discontented roaring mfon s hearts failing them for fear and for jonjon · he thl cn ting upon the earth soclety for the powers of the heavens ecc1esutbtlcsffi hall beshakell when ye see these thmgs legln to come to p th ow tha the fuwldow of god is at hand look up 11ft up your he da rejolce for vonr redewotloll drawetb ilij

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this journal and its sacred mission t his journal is one of the prime factors or instruments in the syf tenl of hlljle illstruction or seminary ext0nsion now being presented in all parts of tile ciyilized worhl by tile watch l owbp bible ti:act :so jj:ty chartered a d hisel for the promotion of chn~tiall i~llowledee· it not only bcrves as a clu 3s room here bible tudl nts may llleet in tile tl1dy of the dhine vortl but also as a channel of l olllillulllcution through ·hich they illay be reached ,vith annol1hel rllcld of the ocicty s conventions and of the coming of ib ijaveling reprc cntatives ntyled pilgrinl,s and refre llel1 with reports of its onventions our hhh f an lessons are topical rehearsals or reviews of our sorictj s vllhlbhcd ~ll dics rl1o t entertainin~iy arr:ln~ed and very helpful to ail 110 would ment the only honorary degree whicll the society accord nz ·veil del j/limtcr y n :ll 1iir-1l translateu into i:n lj,h i ji ster of god s ii-ord our tr atment of the international sunday :school lessons is speciall for the older bible students and teachers by some this feature is considcred indispensablc till journal stands firmly for ule defense of the only true foundation of the christian s hope now bein so generally repudiated -redemption tlliougll the precious blood of the luan cill l~t jesu who gave hinlself a nh sn n l correspollhllg price a bub tltute for all 1 peter 1 jd 1 tinlothj· g building up on tills rure fuu;hlatlon the golti sih er and precious foitonps 1 conntlilhlll-i ~1 il1 2 l clpr 1 5-11 of the yoi d of god its further llll~sion is to make all see what ir the fpllow lllp of the np s1rry yhich .has been hid iii gou · · to the intent that no,v iui.l llt be made li:nown by the chunh the 1nnnifold visdonl of god · i11 11 in other a cs nls llot blade known unto the sons of !lien a it is now reyea10d ellllcsians ;3 3-9 10 it stunl1s free from all pnrtie i ~ect and feed of illen y!lile it e ks inore and more to bring its flte ry llttflranec into fllil st snlljcctloll 11 tilc iii of god iii chrbt as j>l l d hi the iin]y senptul es it is tllll.s free to elt clare lhjldiy ll:tt f r the lord hllh bpok0n-iltcol ding to the dinne ,ybdoln gr.lntpd unto th 10 undelstand ills utrcl lllc its attitude is liot t!ogilldll lmt oll llt fur we ki10 lipl eal we aflil iu trt uling ,n tll lillplldt faith ulon the snre piombt of gol it 1 held as a rl n~t to be u cj only l~l his seryice 1:i i e our d ci wjl i pla1i p 10 hat lila find hlt illay not appear in hs columns j11u t be ut eordiil to ouf jllt.l mcllt f llis good ple:l ul c lj h ldlln of 111 torj for thp l1pllnild ln of lll }i ople in grac e an

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&tm!atc fid ver an d h p~ld of chr~sts presence january vol xlix 1 h 7 no.1 jehovah and his works 0 lord how manitold are thy ll orks in wi dom hast thou jiiade them all the earth psalm lo,j 24 ith approval and commendation many clergymen ami others quote from popc philosophic poem these orc1 1 11 proper ,t1hi.r of mankiml is man that i o-calletl plnloi ophilnl -latcmellt is not true it has scrn:c1 a a n1 am of deception for many years it is rr srrmple of worldly i,c1olll in the sight of gorl orldiy i llom is i lll,hm s the tnlu chri,tian must look at it from the same ric point it lwo ever bcen the mle among the orldly ise to ignore the creator and magnify the crratnre nomans 1 25 i his is further eyide1jcc tlwt man has been ovcrrcached by the cunning influcnce of the deyil 2 the policy of satan has e r bcen to tum the minds of men away from gall awl one of his ways of doing so has been to magnify the name of man but the time for tht change has come ami that change ill cause men to ma,yntfy the name of the cre ator for it is written i l1 destroy the wisdom of the i,e a111 will bring to nothing thc undehtanding of the prudent here is the wise where is the scribe here is thr ,iispnter of this world hath not goll malic foolish the wisllom of this world 1 corinthirrns 1 10,20 3 the proper study of mankind is ,tl 111j lh goll and his works such course alo118 leads to life this is life eternal that thry might know thee the only true god and jesus chribt dlom thou ha~t sent john 17 ;3 j choyah god is the source of lile his works mark out thc way and the means of attaining 11fe pro crbs 8 22 john 14 6 who is god 1 fll of thy riches w to which nonc ran approach ko man iw cell him n0r ran see him 1 timothy g lg od i ilj l llll 1,y hieh he is knowll jj c01 li i m til hi i rl i;lw,l cclle-is l 1 he is the oiic lj liliidc h;iyi 11 and carth l njah -12 h w i n o,j llil 1 1,11 all creation liill hr net thr t 1 hi ,1 1 c011!1.11 joijcu represl~lltltl e llc i the 1 dl l alo wlg:lo i in his creation rk from thl hegmnillg of the orltl tds 1 1e there is no limitation to his kno lllge anll hi il 111 ies that kno lcd h al rnys in the rig11t ily it i illllhl ie for jllm to make a mistake pi c c ing t11r h-tlom to know e erything in aehane e j1 llkl l i la the wi dolll 81111 nb ity to wlthhohl iroljl im;bch nll thj that 1 doc s net want to 101m lu!til jus due tulle to know them he is above brjl1rr awl l yolld all ljls wi k itl majesty he rcyeals oubllle 01 himsdl for n mall tie ill wraps himseh with the light hr o-tn hh out the hcnycns like a curiam and thp ll1 mnke hi i:l djll place 6 the yisc1om 01 god 1 c~llrc l l 1 no nl 1l1jto c ani all ill how can man study god the etemal one rc cals himself through his onl allll through hlo works the bible is thc ,rord of god ancl is wnhl ll for the instmetion of man colll eming himsclf god cau ell to be writtcn in his ord that he is from en~rlai tijjg-to ewrlasting p6alm 00 2 rhose name alonc is j ehovah psalm 83 18 that llame significs self-existing and eternal one it was the name by which he declared himself to his chosen people and signified his purpose toward them exodus 6 3-8 6 j eho ah is the immortal one dwelling in the light 3 7 l ill re i:i nolw to ,c j l jd ill 1ci lsa:a:l -10:14 the eounsd of the lurd ~tii]jdl,th 1 1 e er t thoucrhts 01 his heart to all gelll l atiunc i alm ;j;j 11 c so c oljllldd.r is his i,dulll lll i ed 111 hi 1 uj k that l lt oe r cod llol,tli it ~hall ill for 1 r ll tlljll can bl ]int to it nor am thing i akcn [rom if lc d a~tes ;j h in his o nl due tll11c ill n tnl th deep and ecn t thing-s of hi ]1bn al11 nntll then 110 man can fllld them out iilit :2 ;2 2 eccl ia~tl s 3 ii it· 1s oi e thm f ojhhne s to try to nlll ahead of lh l ah h 111111illi j ihe ~llrs ami caus thelll all by 111111il p alm l·t -1 rhe wry hai of lur head a liumh rl d awl nut ewn 11 sllarro 1 ,iii td the earth ithuut ins liotlce pbhhl 10 2 1 1 the lord uy lsdol1l hath foll111kd the earth by 11l1dc rstanding hath he e tabli lll d the heah n d.r his knowlcdge the depths are broken up awl the cl01111s drop down the de proycl bs 3 19 ;20 ii i no ihlljlc r that the wisdom of imperfect man is foc li nl s iii the ight of god.

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4 justice the watch tower drooklyn n y 9 law is a rule of action commanding that which is right anu prohibiting that which is wrong ylth man law aha j tice are not ynonymous terms the laws are not always auministered or eyen maue in harmony with justice vith god law and justice are always equal justice means that iyhieh is right god is always right his la s or rules of action for the goyernment of ius creatures are always right and true in justice he executes his law justice and judgment are the habitation of thy throne mercy and truth shall go before thy fnee psalm 89 14 10 god is no respecter of persons his law awl his judice arc aclministered the ,oame to all and alll ays without partiality 1 peter 1 17 james 3 17 he is absolutely unchangeable ami therefore always and for ever depenuable j ialaehi 3 6 iiavmg made a promise to uo anything he is certain to rany it out his yord is neyer void it always accomph,jws his purposes isaiah 46 11 55 11 he ahyays j uuges righteou ,ly amongd his creatures isaiah 11 4 his judgments are alll ays true pro erhs 19 9 righteous art thou o lord and upright are thy judgments psalm 119 1 thy rightcole llcss is like the great nloulltallls thy judgments are a grrat cleep 0 lord thou preecnest man and ueast l calm g g lovg 13 it is written in his r ord god is love loye is the perfect and complete expression of unselfishness en>ry act of god tall ani his creatures is for the good of such creatures and is uns~liishly performed his love for ills creature is exercised regardless of whether there is a response or reciprocity when the creature comes to know his god and appreciate him he reyels in his lo e and in h1s kindness be,tl ed upon the creature resting in the lo e of god and under his protecting care the creatnre is at perlpd peace and ease l how excellent is thy lovingl:inllless 0 god therefore the ehillrcn of men ]lnt their tnl t under the fohadow of thy wings psalm 3g i because thy lom1g-kindnpos is better than life my lips shall prai,e thee p altll g3 3 god commendeth his love to ard us ill that i hile we ere nt sinners christ died for ui romans 5 8 ill stoois to aid the erring one and be,toll s his loying kindness upon all 13 the ylsdom justice 100 c and po cr of god are ah ays exercifoed in equal mill eaact balance these attnbutes of the di ine one are made manifest in his manifold yorks creatio power 11 the power of god is wlthout limitation yhcn we speak of the holy ~pirit we undrn·tand that it means the imisible power of god exercioccj accordmg to his pleasure god has but to will and his power is exercised the waters stood round about the earth and above the earth enclosing the neil earth in a canopy on tl18 earth it was dark the spint of god moved upon the face of the watc>rs and god said let there be light and there was lj 6 ht genesis 1:2,3 thus he e,j ercises his power it is but necessary for him to will a thing to be done and it is donl t othing can with· stand jehovah 1 1en build gowrnments and nations and boast of their greatness aml otbor molt sing the prni-os or the builders what man docs hen compared inth the power of god is as nothing 12 behold the nations are as a drop o a bucket and are counted as the small dust of the balance behol1 he taketh up the isles as a i ery little thin 11 nations before 11im are as nothing and they are conn ted to him less than nothing and vanity to il hom then will ye liken god or ivhat likeness will ye compare unto him it is he that sitteth upon the circle of the earth and the inhabitants thereof re as grasshoppers that stretehcth out the heavens as a curtain and spreadeth them out as a tent to dwell in isaiah 40 15,17,18,22 he has complete and absolute power over all matter and things and makes one creature to honor and another creature of less honor rom 9 21 yhen man begins to learn something of god and is properly exerci ~ed thereby he has reyerellce for his great creator such reycfence really mm ks the h o innillo b 0 of wisdom in man l dom realh means to hal e correct knoll ledge and thc1 to appl y that knowlec1ge in the right ii a irhich is according to the di ine rule psalm 111 10 the man of wisdom li iil eek out the works of j ehol ah god the arks of the lord are b o reat sourrht 0 out of all them that haye pjra ure therein psa 111 2 11 as the stulcnt reyerentlally seeks to know the iyorks of j ehoyah his pleasure there in groll s his efforts are rewarded becau,oe 1t 1s only to those rho reyerenee the lord that he reyeals his deep and seerd things the ,ccret of the lord is iyith them that fear [reyerence him and he il iil shell them his coi enant psalm 25 h is it not appro]jriate thl n that li e no student of his word iwgll1 ll1n il lth a study of ,lehoyah and his works and that throughout the ycar we keep this uppermoi t jjl our iilwrl is the natural wall callnot underotand and appreciate the wou lr of cod s en ation it is onh irhen one has become jni tlfied and begotten of the spi it of god tha.t his minll begins to open to an underotanuing of the precions thin s tha.t god has created and now holds in resenation for them that loie him 1 corinthians 2 9 10,14 the true christian rlelights to seek out and study the works of j chol ah then he begins to walk in the light of the lord which light shines with increased brilliancy as he advances along the pathway that god has prepared for those who delight to do his will 19 there must haye been a time when god as alone because there was a time when he began his orks of ]r,

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j s:c ily 1 1d~7 fhewatch tower job 38 4-7 the two morning stars the logos and lucife r joined in a duct of praise to the great and mighty j ehonth and the chorus of millions of beaut!· ful voices of glorious angels joined in the glad refrain why was this praise given e idently it was then made known that there was to be a departure from the creation of inanimatc things and that now there was to be the creation of an animate and intelligent earthly crea· ture who should be made ruler and be given dominion over thc earth 25 phen the grcat creator ful llished the plans and specifications for building adam all the minutire were orked out j er,r bone each and e ny sil:ew and nerve was assigned to its respective pln l and ew n the hairs of the head were numbered l iwu the logos carried out the plan by taking t1w dements of the arth and therefrom making man in the image and likeness oi god and into whose no~trils god then breatheu the breath of life and man became a sentient being god was pleaseu with this ork and pronounced it very good 20 there is no sham imitation nor imperfection in tha works of jehovah they arc true works and always bear the closest search and scrutiny all of his i orks are perlect deuteronomy 32 4 it follows therefore irhat all the i orks of creation accomplished by the logos have god s approval the bible is a record of hjg i orks it was written by holy men of old who by god s in· visible power i ere inspircd to nlte therciore the words of the bible disclose the works of jehovah 27 x ow the time has come for god to more fully reveal his works to those ho dl1igcntly seek to know them and thus he does in recent years the great god has opened widcr the door of lll1clel danding that the vision of his people may be gl cntn and that they may behold more of his grpat and marvelous works rhe confidence of tha lord s children in tlw great crentor therefore continues to grow stronger for the word of the lord is right and all of his works are done in truth psalm 33 4 his work is honom able and glorious and his righteousness endureth for ever he hath macle his wonderful works to be remembered the lord is gracious and full of compassion he hath shewed his people the power of his worb thnt he may gire them the heritage of the nations psalm 111 3 4 g object 28 creation the time of thetl k ginning is nowhere revealed to man the fir~t one created the beginning of the creatlon of god revelation 3 14 was the logos ,rho thereafter was the spokesman and representahve of 1 that time though unknown to us was many long cntur;r s ago concerning that great event the logos 11ll1lse1f jeaking says 21i the lord possessed me in the beginning of his rav ljcfore his works of old i ras set up from everlasting from the beginning or ever the earth as whl ll there were no depths i was brought forth when t:lore were no fountains abounding with water before the mountains l re settled before the hl1ls was i urou ht forth while as vet he had not made the earth 1,01 the fiel d nor the l~ighe t pll rt of the dust of the orld whcu he prepared the heavens i was tlwre v he n he set a compass upon the face of the depth hen he ei,lablishecl the clouds above when he strengthened the fountains of the deep rhen he g,we to tllc sea his ul cree that the waters should uot pass his coljllllauument rhen he appointed the foundations of tbe earth then i was by him as one brought up with him awl i ,nis claily his delight rcjoicillg always before him i 1 o rus 8 22-30 21 thcn the logos as the active agent of the great crcator proccedel vith the creation of all things that wcre created john 1 1-3 next came the cl t ation of spirit creatl1l es [bide from the logos among theoe created ones was lucifer who was conspicuous for his beauty he was a pm·t of the holy organization of god lfe was clothcd nth authority to do work ill the name of his creator he was perfect in all his appointments aud ways and thus he continued untillawlcs ness found a place in him 22 then came the creation of the cherubim the seraphim and the host of angeli each of whom was assigned to his respective dilty the logos occupicd a confidentwl rclatioll8hip to the great creator and was always the delight of the mighty one and it reasonably follo~vs thcrefore that he would be takell into the secret purposes of gocl in the creation of things innumerable planets ere made the sun ami the moon and the stars alld then came the time for the creation of the earth 2 it is not ulheaoolluble to us that god would inform the beloycd logos of his purpose in creating the carth rhe record 110 s show that he conver~ed with the logos concerning the rent ion of man god created the enrth for man ami intended that man should reside thereon isaiah 45 12-18 it is rnbollable then thnt he would tell his belayed logos that he was about to create man in his own image and lil~ene3.s to be the king of earth 24 the scriptures indicate that some information as to mall s creation ,ras gin n out in hea en because it is recorded that when clod laid the foundation of the earth which ,ras to be man s future home the morning stars sang togcther and all the sons of god shouted for joy lesso bd een the date of the creation of man and the :present day many manclous things have transpired :jiony of them hare been recordcd in the wonl of god l iony of these cvents huve bcen attcnded with much sorrow and with some joy what things have transpircd and have been rccorded in the word of goo were there recorucd for the benefit of the christian that he might learn the needed lessons romans 15 4 1 corinthians 10 11 2d the first sin committeu of which there is a record

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8 cfhe watch tower bnooklyn n y made was the dhoyal th011ght in the mind of lucifer when he resolved to be like the :most high god isaiah 14 13 14 that is the time when iniquity was found in him ezekiel 28 9 it was prc~umptuous on the part of lucifer to think of putting himsrlf in a position to i hich god hall not assi,2 nec h1111 to accomplish his selfi,h and i icked purposl lucifrr was willing to disrupt the s yeet anll beautiful rrlation,hip betwrcn man and hi en ator turn man a ay from god anll cam e him to bccome a slan hoyc all lucifrr was i illing to be disloyal to j eho ah since his first disloyal act he has ever attemptell to turn god s creatures am 1 from their creator 30 the fin,t law which god gave to his chosen people was thou shalt ha e no otlwr gods brfore me exodus 20 3 god s ll i

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jamjabt 1 1921 l hcwatch tower z some of the leaders in this great system even though vrrv wicked in their day have afterwards been canonized as saints and thereby made objects of worship by the deluded people ~rembers of the papal system even thongh hollest and sincere arc induced to worship images and men and to pray to mary and to address her as the mother of god 1 he devil himself induces this to keep the people in his snare 3 the same condition has exi ted at all times in the rl otestallt sybtem the names of arius cahin luther r lev and llumerous others nrc recorded with rever llc and their sayings arc quoted as authority even though in irect contradiction to the word of god members of the protestnnt church haye stood in great f~ar and revrrrnee of these men and their memories uany have jmt their trust in these nwn imtead of trusting in the lord for this reawll they have exposed themselves to the snare of the lkvil 40 the irar of m ll brillgdh a snare but rhoso pllttdh his trust in the lad shall be safe proyl~rbs w 2 the word fear used in this te t is from the fmj1e original root from which comes the word ipar in the text the fear of the lord is the brginning of wisdom this means that ii :revprential f ar of the lord is the brginning of wisdom and the :reverential frar or dit lld of man is a snare of the devil to turn man away from god 41 satan began to operate this scheme in the early days of the church the congregation at corinth was di ided because of trouble some said i am of apoues and ethers said paul is the mighty one who brou~ht me into the tmth this condition caused the apo~tle under inspiration to write to the church at corinth and say to them in substance apollos and i are merely ministers being used to brin the truth to you it is god who giyes you the knowledge and the increase we are mt>rc!y laborers with yoll and with god you are god s building ~elf-constih;teu ise men will appear among you and tell you what tn do hut do not be deceived by them such wisdom as they manifest is foolishncss in the sight of god let no man glory in men god the grrat creator is rntitlrd to all honor and glory the ihloration and wor~hlp of men and the practice of calling them great h roes is the evil s schrme to turn away the minds of men from god 42 who then is paul and who is apoilos but ministc rs by whom ye bdicved eyen as the lord gave to every man i have planted apollos watered hut god gave the inn·rase so then 11cither is he that plallteth any thing neither he that watereth but god that giyeth the increase :for we arc labourers together with goo ye are god s husbandry ye are god s huilding · let no man o.eceive him ·elf if any man among you scemeth to be wise in this world let him heeome a fool that he may be wi c for the wisdom of this world is foolibhness with god for it is written he taketh the wise in their own craftiness and again the lord knml eth the thoughh of the wise that they are vain therefore let do man glory in men for all things are yours l corinthians 3 5-7 9 18-21 43 the church has never been free from this subtle influence of the enemy it is not an unusual cling for some man prominel1t amongst the brethren in pres nt truth to he exalted amollgbt his brethren he possesses possibly more than the ordinary ability he shows much devotion to the lord ano the lord uses him ~cme of his special admirers giye him iuuch glory and honor he loves the adulation and rp i es it gladly from his hrethren he bpgins to think more highly of himself than he should think and his brethren ha e their minds upon him as a grrat rxample and forgd to look to the lord h this course persi~trl in results in <1 filrment of the temple of god 1 corinthialls :l 11 the one wh recei rs the plaudits of the others usually beconll s impressed with his own imjjortunce takes himspli too spriollsly brcomcs prowl and makes himself all a y victim of the deyil s scheme hrj1rp it is wr tt l1 pride goeth before de~t ruction and all haughty p t brfore u fall proyerhs 16 is the worship of he o 8 whrthrr in the church or out of it is surely of the deyil it is the enemy s scheme to turn man away fr li11 god by inlllcing man to reyerence some otlwr man ano thereby many fall into the devil s snare 43 thf re is nothing that lilan has done or ran do thut is worthy of glory if he has a clear undrrsta11dl11 of the truth and expresses it for the benefit of ethers jw is not entitled to any creo.it or glory therefor men should yir themsrlws in the right light and not think too highly of themselves when compared with the greatness of god and his higher creation man is a vrry insigjlificant thil1 vhen david thought upon the mighty creation of god he rxclaimed when i onsidrr thy hpa ens the work of thy fingers the moon and the star which thou ha~t ol llailh d what is man that thou art mindful of him and the son of man that thou visitest him psalm 8 3,4 this i8 a proper view of the maher 46 let no chri t ian glory in his own wi dom nor deceive himsdf 1101 be dpepih d hy glorying in some other man s wisdom or greatness no truly great men have ever lived on earth since j rsus time it is un l!e to magnify the names of men men are never so wise that tlwy can glory in thrir own wisdom and no man is so wise that he is entitled to the glory and r e1 llce of other men thus balth t.he lord let not the wi e mun glory in his wi8dom neither id the mighty mnll glory in hi might let not the rirh mall glory in his riches uut let him that gloridh glory ill this that he ullderstandeth and knoweth me that i am the lord which exercise lovingkindness judgment and righteous11ess in the earth for in these things i o.clight saith the lol ll jcremiah 9 23 24 47 since the loro has been pleased to permit the

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s he watch tower drooklyn y christians now on earth to have a clearrr vision of the devil s organization and his wicked methods of operation greater is the responsibility of each one to look well to his own course and sec to it that he does nothing to aid the deyil in his fight agaimt the new creation the study of god and his works is the safe course for man 48 the lord used david and caused him to write for the benefit of the church in many respeds he is a type of the church david knew that he could not crrate even a blade of grass nor the meek little lily that sweetly blossoms beside the babbling brook he took a right view of mattets and is an c x

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j anlany 1 1d27 cfhewatch tower n 9 other that means that each one will unselfishly yateh for the interest of his brethren if one loves adulation ami willingly receives it from his brethren he is not safeguarding his brethren s interests it is the solemn duty of ach onc to e11 omao e ev ry other memlwr with wh~m he comes in contnet t mag1;ify and wor~hlp jehovah go honor tlw crcntor and not the cr ahne stand houlder to shoulder [ll1d help aeh othct to ,tall1 58 the propcr tudy of nn111kil1d is god and his yorks the anointed scn-allt cia,s mll t cd tlll example becfllbe ,tpho nh h[l3 told us to do so ye arc my ritne scs tlwt i am god the true christian yill magnify the name of jehovah and not give glory to his creatures haiah 4 2 :5-8 whoso trll,t,th in the lord ~hnll be safe proycrbs :2d 3 thou ilt keep him in perfect prnce 1 hosl millli is tn l 1 on thee becanoe he tlll,teth in the tru t ye in the lord for ewr for in the lorii .j ehovah is e;erlasting str lgth -isajah 26 3,4 questio~s for belman study cite nn xnllll l o worldly philo~oplly tllnt llns mi~lel many h i~tinn imt lms ehery been satau s poliq and purpose n 1-3 no an man study gou vhat may ve know of his wisdom n 4-8 delillp law ami justil:e vhat may we know of gou s ju~llcc n d,10 how dups ,j hoyall exercise his power parnpllrase isniah 40 1:j:c2 n 11 12 vhnl is h yp citl rcriptnrcs nllcl e xamples showing gou s 1 jo iii liili p sii1il1l1:li izc ,jpllonlll s attributes alld sllll li,nv th y are equal n 13-13 why is rev rence for god the beginning of wisdom who only cnn appreciate god s wonderful works 16-18 vhcll dill iod s creath e work begin paraphrase proverbs 8 :2 31 of what dill the york of creati on consist prior to the erc:l tion of til earth n 1d-22 lint as god s pul po~l in creatillg the earth and why dill oj solis of god ~llout for joy at that time who wl re l11c lilo liillg ~tars that sallg together on that 00c;l~illl it :2h :2-1 how yas nl,lil rcnlpd how do ye know that he was tp tpc 11 1 i how dill ole pcnlnnst sing of goc s ol k :llld how much llid iip kll of th m colll[hu pc1 with ial the new cre:llwtl knows nhout thun 1l0w n 26-27 yhat is til piii po~p of the dible s iii~joric rpc onls when did sin beglll h did gol collllllallc tlwt he alone slr,nlhl b yo hi]1 d ylmt is the citor of the wicl,ec1 2 l elcr 3 17 :ltld llow lil:ly it he ayoidell n 28 1 ylmt eyl l1tnally wiii li10st fnlly rd1e t till glo y of god atld ho ill l iiiiclp ip tll l l iii how docs satan seek to th y:lrt tllis cl llwllli,g rk o ,tl hoyah n 3:c ;3;3 ylwn hnd yh did sman o i lnatc lln cl isy atlwlig men allll ilel o wur,lil]1 1 110 y:l 11 i k l i!llrod called a illlf dly llllllll l j 1 11 11 1 lord ;j 3.3 ha iwi!lkllltl l pi ill 11 fr l fl oili 11pl o yol ship itoii has l1all l lil 1 lcllt d jhl htinlls ill this it~pc ·t g-3d yhat h llh 1i11 h ti!l fcar o lil:lll hl illg 111 a sllare uo did oil l,o~tll 1 alll r huke ole conllthian church olll n!illl 111 111 or~llljj n 40-4:c sho bow tlie lli]ll or od may lwcomc defilcll is the re anyl !iillg lllan can do tliat is onh of g-i oi y vliy does ~ih i i j i ii~ibilit rp~t u]loil u now n 4:j-47 of witoili i lj nd a t pe how ami yh ,lid ill ~o exultingl pnll ~t ilw llalllc or tile lul ll n 48 ll lwt ond i 10 tlll i nnd cla~s 1l0w behold hat exchllll:iiii of uil l saimi~t now tiltillg ly oiccs their attitude n c j4 bnl ollllll lii11 lwyp tl1c y rc ch e,l from the lord allu how ai e thl olll ill the~l vbut i the jjl lijlcr l:iludy of man1,illll l n ;s j js making our homes christian february 13-ephesians 5 25 6 4 let us love one another for love is of god l john it 7 w hen jesus was on earth he said about domestic happiness think not that i am come to scnd peacc on earth i came not to send peace but a s rord for i am come to set a man at variance against his father and the daughter against her mother and the daughter in law againot her mother in law matthew 10 34 35 yet hell he was born the angels sang of him as god s messcnger of peace on earth peace good will toward men luke 2 14 it is certain that the essencc of jesus ministry is peace and the eliect in the heart of those who receive it is to bring that peace of god which passeth all understanding philippians 4 7 of conrse jesus did not contemplate a violent division in every family but he knew that sharp divisions would arise between thosc who would receive his message and those who would receive it not however he must have contemplated many a home yhere father and mother and children would be his disciples and where his ljence would dwell 2 in his ministry jesus gaye no particular insttilctions to his follmh rs as to bow tlwy should conduct themse]yes iii the particular c1j cmmtallces of life he sowed the seeds of truth and gare the iji illclljtes of collciuct but he gaye no gnilance as to how home liie should be conducted nor direction iur commullal lill or did he give guidance for the jews as to ho they might rearrange their national life to adyalltage hoi for better relationshiljs with the homans thl!ir goh l llors ror did he give any direction for the l!ations amongst whom his disciples were soon to ije sent 3 furthcr it is to bc noted that save in the matter or settling diopuies amoj]g~t themselves the lord gaye no particular guidance for his cl111reh see matthew 18 15-18 it is evidcnt from all this that j sus did not contemplate the establishment of a chrbtian com· mumt much less did he make any attempt 10 reform the world the ministry of the apostles at pentecost and im

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p. 11

10 he watch tower brooklyn n y mediately after rt sultcd in a gr0at incr~ase in the humber of belieyers thousands then ]wlicyed in christ becauso of what they saw ani heard acts 2 41 this great llwrement would ccrtainly lllean that many husbands and wives fathers and mothrrs of chilllren would jointly bccome disciples and that these would assnreelly make an attcmpt to train thcir chihlren in their newfound faith and hojjc further as the truth sprrad abroad in the earth the same thillg wonw in a mrasurc happen aluollgbt the grntile and so it hecame necessary to giye some dlreetion for theoe t is of suc:h homcs that paul writes ill his epiouc to the ephesians ill the passage from which tolay portion of icripture is takrll 5 it should not he thought that any .1 e rish hon1 now christian coulll ill ibch bl mure deyollt because of acceptance of jeslls than such a hom had be 1l in the days of the 111 and the prupht t thongh added kno l1edo e of god w01lld incrcasc their lu for hnn golt,0 l aring parellts under the la had a mnch obhgation to train their chiluren as thcy hal as disciples oj ,jeslls also the rdahom:lllp between hue-ballet and wife could ip as illeal ill the older days as in the neil nut the home llee was ~anctifi ll by the added knu decjge which jrms brought and hy the relatiollship which he ren aled of his loving deyohon to ills father and by this rel11tionbhip which paul noli for the first time iii his writings shows exists behn en the lord and ills church his hridl g after speaking of the nee1 for the samts of goll in christ jesus to rnlk ith raeh othcr ill lo e as christ d u hath loyed u aljd to ayoid all llncleanlless and loosene s of com er,ailun beca1lse of its tclldcney to injure thc milld the apodlc 1mls thc diseipl s to redeem thc time he bid them to hc filled with the ~pint giving thallks ab ays unto gall awl to submit themselves one to another ill tile l ar of goel see eph [j 20 21 7 thc epistle to the e lihei ialls touches the highest points of chri tiall lif nlld pxi rienee yet it is in this epistle morc than m any other than paul dwells upon the disciple s need for carc in his christian course for right living ill the morc hlllnall side of his life and its experj nees and i ith comiderahle measure of particularity he d h lls on the need of the disciple to he clean iii hjjllsclf ephesians 3 3 8 rhere is no evidence that raul any more than his master expected to sec a christian community establi hed or the orld to be conwrtrd to the tl achings of christ by the miniotrv of .1p 1is 11thi his ellllrch in those days the world was ]l~gtlll and the standal ll of lllorahty was vcry low the pagan conwrt lleedel training in the christian hfe and the ]wlieying .j ew also ilel ded reminding that though the hm cowi ant of sillni as no longer operative to the bcllell r in christ yet the truths which it embodied ere unchangecj 9 paul i roc r,rls to adlress the brethren 11articularly in relation tl their honle lil lie ,p aks to wl e8 husbamb chtlllf n iatlnl l nilllb awl ll:iloter begin niug with the wives he bids thrm to 8ubmit tl!em~2lves to their own husbands as unto the lord and the reason he adyanees for this is that the husband is the head of the wife in the same way that chrbt is head of the church in both cases the head is the sayior or caretaker of the body it is clear therefore that anv consideration of this pa age must be in the light of the fact that paul is addre sing true christians only and is making no attempt to reg ulate an on1inary worldly home on general chl i,tian principles 10 he next bids hu ballds to loye their wi es as christ 100wl the church and ga c himself for it true disciples 811oul110 e their wiyes as their own bodies in support of ills iords hich set a true unioll of hu~band ami wifc oil the inghei t pos81ble plane of commulllon he quotes god s ordination of marna e at the beginnino o 0 when gou aid or this eau e ~hall a mall il 11 ve his fatlwr anl luother and shall clcaye to his wife awl they hrain shall hecome one flesh ephesians 3 31 n f tljtl is lunch more 111 this than the ulllon of mall anll woman in marital relationship for the proljugation of clllluren the union herc contemplated is that of a close copy of tllo original union which god presented in adam e e as formed ont of adam that thouo h 0 separate they might be con illcrcrl as one 1.1 so ritl the cl!iidrcn of that fir,st pair the id al union of marring e woull be that as closely as po ible the t nlin oldd be one flesh paul brillgs this union iuto prominence becauoe while giying iw;truction as to chrisban home life he woulll make use of it tu sl!llw the close relntionship which exist between chri,t and his chjll eh he is not merely their lord and ca;ji

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p. 12

janv ry 1 1927 cfhewatch tower 11 110 a tlw true husband can awl does love a true wife chrd loves and clwl i6hes the church it is impossihle for 116 to consider that the love of jesus for his father could eyer lessen and yet following the illll,tratlon we mav consiler that hayinf-i the church given to him he mu t b 0in of his love to tile church and that the church would call for and receive some of that loy and attenbon ,yhic!l otherwise would bl glwn entirely to the father palll a that this is a great m tery it is part of god s gilt to jesu i anl the chureh eph 5 32 14 paul now proeeed to enjoin obedience in chil

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p. 13

serving in and through the church feuhlu,y 20 iatthew 13-16 acts 2 42-47 we are god feliold-u orkcrs l corinthians 3 9 r v aul s words we are gal fdlo worker taken for our golden text arc more familiarly rendered in the authorized version ve arc labourers together with god in these days this is a much-used text in religious cirell s especially amongst the clergy but if these leaders al l m:ked what is the object of the labor what is gou doing there is no reply on thrir own showing the leaders of organized christianity r10 not know what gorr purpose is for his church l1 hat he is doing by his ch111 ch or what the enu is to lnll d which his proyilenees arc mo l ing 2 there is allloug~t the elel gy as much diversity of opinion about colahoring with god as there is a diversity of churches x ouc knows nolle understands generally or most frrqueutly this te t is made to mean httle more than that men should have good desires be kindly in their actions one to another keep some ideal of kindness before their minds and in this way they say that they arc helping in the general scheme of things and bringing nearer the time when all men will be of good will many of those who preach these things are themselves doubuul as to the personality of god and would rather consirler him as merely a great force than as the living god and father of jesus christ 3 the four l erses from matthew chapter 5:13-16 are generally taken as the guide to god s purpose in the church and a statement of i

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p. 14

january 1 1d27 l1lewatch tower 13 10 this high cnlling is something oyer and above anything that the bible intimntes would eyrr be offrred to the human family at large the sahation of men consists in deliyerance from the thraldom of eyil and in the sentenee of death being annulled through the ransom provided and to man s return to evrrlasting joy and happiness on pluth rut that which i offered to these who are the salt of the earth and whose light is to shine before men is a share in his own glory in heaven 11 the apostle peter throws much light upon these woflls of jesus ,yith the same thought in mind namely that the lord s people were to liye amongst the genhies meaning thereby those ho lrere not jews nor of the church of god he says whereas they sprak against you as evil doers they mny hy your good lrork which they shall hdl lll glorify god in the day of yi itation 1 peter 2 u it i:i erickllt that peter had not uihlcrstood jesus to mean that thr good works aml the righteous liying of the di8eiple:i of j e~m ould eaw e men to glorify god like his master hr knew that the good orks which the di,ciples of chri,t would do as they lin,d out their lifl ~pl lllg the lord amongst those who lwtcl righteousness lrould not be lost but ould ultimately be to the glory of god in the dny of yisitation 12 paul also giles further light on jesus ,rords writing to the philippians and speaking of the di:ociples of ci~ri8t he says dg all things without murmuriegs and disputings that ye may be blameless ami harmless the sons of god without rebuke in the mid,t of a crooked and perverse nation among whom ye shine as ii b o hts in the world holding forth the word of hfe philippians 2 14-1g but paul did not expect that the word of life hich he held up would serve to guide the world he well understood that the light would become dimmed and that a ,ricked rule hmld obtain among men he knew that the hope for the orld was the return of the lord 13 we may then ask ,yhat ad an tage has there been in god s ~ellling the hght of truth so long a hme before the dunax of the ages should come and hen god ll1tended that all should then come to the light two features of the plan of god here come to mind it is evilent that god had determined that a long period must elapse during which spiritual israel ould be gathered eyen as he had dealt ith natural israel oi er a long period indeed there is a corresponding length of time in the h o ages during which each of these i~raels has been the recipient of cod s fayor 14 well-nigh 1900 years ha e gone to the development of spiritual israel eyen as to natural hrael before they were hani~hed for a time also from the time of jesus first ad ent there were many chapters of human history to be written the fruitage of the earth must come to the full thus while the church has been slowly developing the same may be said of the nations of earth and it 60 happens that at the time when god has gathered his appointed number of spiritual i~rael the nations at earth haye also come to full deyclopment or their pol icies 13 it i8 appnrent that the corruption of the 101 1 so rampant in paul s day i as checked by the fact or the coming of jesus and y the teaching of the apo~tks anel the spread of the truth n11l1 though a great evil f hn of organiled religion has ari l n which has p 1 w1 1e,l the trnth yet the light of trnth lrhieh has shonc anu the pol er of the truth as salt to prcserve the race from destruction haye had their effeet 16 our pa age for touay s stully takes us from jesus i~ords to the life of the early church hen after pentecost the brethrrn realized thernsches the circujllttanceg of their separateness from their fello s began to be forced upon them realizing that they were calle l to he apart from the wol lll they concluded that they wl~re call1 d to liye togd her and an ahem pt was made to do this they did not then ~ce that ,rhat col intrndrd i ag a ulllty of bpirit and of faith and hop apparently many left their regular occupations alhl p nt time meeting together rejoicing with each other in their new lif 17 but the hard practical fads of life ere soon fore 1 upon them then those who had pos essions sold thc and the money was put into a common fund for the sustenance of all and they had all things in common but this l not practical christianity ami was ncyer so intended by the lord it ~pcedily [mmght its lwtllral consequences-dissention and misundciaanding late-r by means of per~ecution the cdlnmunity was brokrn up and scattered abroad and the communal ljlall wag dropped is god did not intend that his chun:h should be one great light but that each true disciple should be a light bearer who should carry the message 01 truth and live it out amongst it fellows each vi a to be an example of how the grace of gou can keep a lllan ell in the milltt of evil ~urroundings an l rach a to realize as he kept in touch with his living head that the holy spirit uf god would keep him as a wen erc l supplied with water and as a lamp whose soul e of oil failrd not and whose flame derer dimmed questio~s for berean study can we be fellow-workers with god if we do flot know wll t llis work consists of lio are our gowen text nnll tol1:ly s tipure reading usually explainc d in christcnloili n 1-1 how shall ive explain matthew [j l:j~1g p:lrticul:lrl the latter ycrse u g~8 dill the llbciplcs understand the rl al llui pose of j c,us preaclling llming llis mi:ih;try when nnll by whom diu the church ha yc this purpose rcyealel to them expl:lin fully u 9 l why llill st paul admonish the church to 110hl forth he onl of life philippians 2 h~16 prioi to the coming of the millennial day n 12-15 vhy llid the c arly christians enter into a comlllunal :llta!l~e ment f,nd did it have the lorll blessing has the c]lill h collecth ely or individually bome light to the world throughout the age n 16-18.

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p. 15

making the community christian te~irerance lesson fr:mmary 2 g~hatiaxs 5 13-23 have no fellowship 1uith the unfruitful 1 orks of darkness but rather el ci reprove them -ephesians 5 11 his study as its title ill

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