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seewatchtower pubushed semwonthly by its mission watch tower bible 117 adams street n h knorr e tract society grant brooklyn i n.y u.s.a officers pre8went suiter secretary and all thy children shall he ta.u~ht of jehovah and ~reat shall he the peace of thy children · isaian 54 rj the bible clearly teaches that jehovah is the only true god from everlasting to everlasting and is the ~iaker of heuven and earth and giver of ilfe to his creatures that the word or logos was the beginning of his creation and his active a&ent in creating all other things and that the creature lucifer rebelled against jehovah and raised the issue of his universal sovereignty that god created the earth for man made perfect man for the earth and placed him upon it that man yielded to unfaithful lucifer or satan and wliifully dlsobe ed god s law and was sentenced to death that by reason of adam s wrong act ali men are born sinners and without the right to ilfe that the logos was made human as the man jesus and suffered death in order to produce the ransom or redempti,e price for obedient men that god raised up christ jesus divine and exalted him to heaven above every other creature and clothed him with ali power and authority as head of god s new capital organization that god s capital organization is a theocracy called zion and that christ jesus is the chief officer thereof and is the rightful king of the new world that the faithful anointed followers of christ jesus are zion s children members of jehovah s organization and are his witnesses whose duty and privuege it is to testify to jehovah s supremacy and declare his purposes toward mankind as expressed in the bible that the old world or satan s uninterrupted rule ended a.d 1914 and christ jesus has been placed by jehovah upon the throne has ousted satan from heaven and now proceeds to vindicate his name and establlsh the new earth that the relief and blessings of the peoples can come only by jehovah s kingdom under christ which has begun that his next great act is to destroy satan s orgadization and establlsh righteousness completely in the earth and that under the kingdom the people of good-will surviving armageddon wlll carry out the divine mandate to fill the earth with righteous offspring and that the human dead in the graves wlll be raised to opportunities of life on earth song of praise testimony period his journal is published for the purpose of enabling the people to know jehovnh god and his purposes as expressed in the bible it publishes bible instruction specifically designed to aid jehovah s witnesses and ali people of good-will it arranges stematlc bible study for its readers and the society supplles other ilterature to aid in such studies it publishes suitable material for radio broadcasting and for other menns of public instruction in the scriptures it adheres strictly to the bible as authority for its utterances it is entirely free and separate from all religion parties sects or other worldly organizations it is wholiy and without reservatloa for the kingdom of jehovah god under christ his beloved king it is not dogmatic but invites careful and critical exa.mlnatl1>n of its contents in the light of the scriptures it does not indulge in colltroversy and its columns nre not open to personalities t notlcli to &tbacriw remlttancu ibould be .ent to olllce in your country in compliance wrth -te/l1iiations to g1jar&ntee safe dell very of money nemittances are accepted at brooklyn from countries where no office is located by international money order only subscription rate iii different countries are stated below tn local currenc notice 0 er lratloa with renewal blank iii sent at least two lsauetl before liubbcript!oa expi change 0 addre when .nt to our office mlly be e ¢ected elrectlve within one month send your old u well as new address please addresa the watch tower 800letj in everj case 01llc1!8 yeerlj llubllcriptlon ltar america ill s 117 adams st brooklyn 1 n y 51.0 allatral14 7 bete ford rd strathfteld n s w 61 british lvut i ld,u 21 taylor st port of spa1n trtnldad 51,25 canada 40 irwin ave toronto 5 ontario $1.01 england 34 craven terrace london w i 61 india 167 love lade bombay 27 ba a/i amalea 151 king st klng.ten :ie n zealand g p o box 3d wellington c 1 61 phulppul

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~cewalcihiio vol announcing jehovah s kingdom january lxix 1 1948 no.1 why they are so different in 1948 instead of being moulded to this world have your mind renewed rom 12 2 moffatt erovah god is far different from this world his thoughts are not its thoughts and his ways are not its ways isa 55 8,9 he is the great life-giver and his purpose to give everlasting life to men of good-will differs far from the religious ideas of this world for this reason it is only by his grace that we exist in this year 1948 and are able to move about in the earth and make expression of our thoughts to others and to do the work that we do man owes appreciation toward god for what god has done for him without man s deserving it but unfortunately the majority of men of this world do not know jehovah god and little do they try to find out anything about him they are self-satisfied 2 however there are some who are different in this respect and those who are now acting before the eyes of the world as jehovah s witnesses give evidence of an appreciation of almighty god the creator of heaven and earth they know he created man from the ground and placed him upon the earth and instructed him to subdue it and bring it to a perfect beautiful state as well as to multiply and fill it with his kind gen 1 28 these servants of jehovah h llow that he gave man life and that in his due time men of good-will are to receive power and authority to do this grand work of beautifying the earth and populating it under the established kingdom of god furthermore jehovah s witnesses recognize that to maintain this gift of life and the privileges that go with it they must always honor him as their creator and bring praise to him they differ from men of this wicked world who choose to be fools by ignoring god and his wisdom works and almighty power -ps 14 1 a the apostle paul had mankind pretty well sized up in his day and since paul s day man has not improved in knowledge of the supreme one but down to the present time man continues on in his selfish way and continues to try to suppress the truth in his epistle to the romans paul set forth the following 1 18-23 for god s anger is breaking forth from heaven j 1 how 18 jehol llh god far dllrerent from this world 2 who also show themselves to be dllrerent and how 3 4 how does panl size np mankind at romans 1 18·23 against all the impiety and wickedness of the men who in their wickedness are suppressing the truth for all that can be known of god is clearly before them god has shown it to them ever since the creation of the world his invisible [person his eternal power and divine [being have been clearly perceptible through what he has made so they have no excuse for though they knew god they have not honored him as god or given thanks to him but they have indulged in futile speculations until their stupid minds have become dark they called themselves wise but they have turned into fools and for the splendor of the immortal god they have substituted images in the form of mortal man birds animals and reptiles a.n.amer trans g today men generally are of the same mind as the people that lived under the roman rule in paul s day the rulers have not changed neither have the people in this respect the rulers of the ancient roman empire pushed god out of the picture for their concept of one world and forgot that god created the earth they forgot that even the little life they had the short existence being then enjoyed by men was only by god s grace at that time the big idea was the roman empire under caesar today it is the one world under the united nations but today as then the selfishness greed and idol-worship remain the same if not worsened in the days of the lord jesus christ it was an all-out support for the sprawling roman empire that was demanded jesus was willing to render to caesar of rome the things that were caesar s but that could go to only a certain extent there was something else in the holy scriptures upon this issue for the people to consider namely and [render unto god the things that are god s matt 22 21 rendering to caesar the things that were his was all right as far as it went but the doing of this could not rightly interfere with the proper worship the true worship of jehovah god the life-giver they killed jesus because he did not go all-out for the roman government and because he held t preaching god s kingdom as the only hope for humankind and because he held to giving praise is for what 3 reamlia or theil ll did they kill jesos

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4 ~ewatchtower brooklyn n y to god which praise rightly belonged to his father in heaven so they killed jesus because he was different from this world s what now will you do mr reader will you be like the men paul described and indulge in futile speculations as the delegates to the united nations do putting your trust in men politics militarism religion and images t or will you be different and follow jesus counsel and keep god in mind and serve him t will you also render to god that which is god st jehovah s witnesses choose to be different they recognize jehovah as the only true sovereign worthy of praise and render to him all that is due to him as their father in heaven they fully appreciate that satan the devil is the god of this world and that this one is determined to try holding on to his power which has given him the opportunity for a time to be the mighty invisible ruler of this world 2 cor 4:4 john 14:30 but different from this world jehovah s witnesses do not serve and worship satan the devil as god 1 it was back in the garden of eden that satan turned man from god through deceptive promises that satan made to man saying man would be like god knowing good and evil if only he ate the forbidden fruit adam was selfish and he rebelled against god he disobeyed god s plain commandment that would have led to eternal life and became the worshiper of a demon such as the scriptures say the devil is for rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft if by disobedience to jehovah god adam became a god it was by setting himself up to be worshiped by himself he no longer looked to his father in heaven as the great life-giver to whom he o ved everything because he was still alive after sinning against jehovah he may have thought he would be able to maintain his life he idolized himself or worshiped himself this is indicated by the stubborn course of action he took in disobeying god for god s word sets forth th principle stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry l sam 15 23 8 from that time on stubborn man has substituted images in the form of mortal men birds animals and reptiles to which to give his worship man thinks a lot of himself and he thinks he is able to do something that god alone says he will do men think they can set up a human organization the united nations as the only hope for world peace and prosperity and by so doing they ignore god s kingdom for which christians have been taught to pray thy kingdom come thy will be done in earth as it is in heaven man under the rule of satan the devil the god of this world has indeed become a stubborn creature so that now the heads of the governments of this ~at way do jehovah s witnesses choose to be different i how did adam set up demon-worship and self-worehlp7 8 how do men today indulge in tutlle speculations world of all the nations and their peoples come to worship a united nations a form of world government they want all the commercial organizations all the political organizations all the religious organizations everything in society labor culture science yes all of such to support and become part of this international creation of theirs a united nations organization so man goes on indulging in futile speculations until his stupid mind has become grossly dark indeed they called themselves wise but they have turned into fools the wise men of this world do not see the need of god the fool hath said in his heart there is no god ps 14 1 such wise men no longer recognize him as the great lifegiver the peculiar people still there remains a people that are different jehovah s witnesses this small group are looked at by the governments of the earth as an obstinate people a people that just will not fall in line and that will not accept this man-made thing as their savior the world through its judges and its rulers demands that these witnesses render to caesar the things that are caesar s and more too for they forget the rest of the command render to god the things that are god s these witnesses no matter under what nationality or form of government they happen to be born always comply with the rules and regulations of that nation they pay their taxes they speak the language of the nation they accept the education of the nation through its schools they support all the laws of the land that are in full accord with god s principles of truth and righ teousness they follow most of the customs and habits of the people but one thing jehovah s witnesses cannot do and that is violate their conscience their conscience has been trained according to god s word which says give god what belongs to god matt 22 21 moffatt 10 because they do not violate their consciences or disobey god s law the governments of the earth have cast them off as a peculiar people not orthodox hard to deal with yet all in all they observe that they are an honest upright people persons of good habits and easy for their neighbors to get along with however this being honest upright and loving one s neighbors as oneself does not suit the rabble-rousers of the world preaching peace and prosperity under god s kin~dom is not supporting or being part of a political or religious organization if these people are left alone they say the whole world will be following after them the rulers of the nations then say stop their talk 11 in 1933 when hitler came into power in ger9 to what extent do we render to capsar his things 10 why do the nations rulers say stop their talk 1 1 11,12 how did hitler trame mlschlet against them and why?

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january 1 1948 ~ewatchtower 5 many jehovah s witnesses were doing much preaching in all parts of that land advertising the kingdom as the only hope of the world they had to be stopped so propaganda was sent forth through the government agencies that jehovah s witnesses are communists they are jews they have to be silenced they would not heil hitler they would not support the new master race idea they clung to their simple beliefs and the truths they had gained from god s word the bible as time went on hitler with his supporters and idolizers moved forward to rule the earth then the following notice was issued to all the superior officers throughout germany the teaching of the bible researchers [jehovah s witnesses represents a disguised form of communism the destruction of the nations of the world in the battle of armageddon the lifting of all national distinctions the inauguration of jewish legislation and jewish dictatorship the lifting of all racial distinctions these are the objectives of jewish world bolshevism and have absolutely nothing to do with religion setting up the jewish world rule under the cloak of religious activity that is the way the goal of the international bible students may best be described 12 hitler and his government could find no cause against jehovah s witnesses so they made mischief by framing laws ps 94 20 by this means thousands were put in concentration camps more than a thousand died in these camps and hundreds of others were tortured and killed because they were serving god rather than men 13 in the democratic countries while the second world war was on jehovah s witnesses were accused of being nazis in still other countries as in germany they were accused of being communists the religionists joined in in the loud cry against jehovah s witnesses and an expression typical of them is found in the religious magazine catholic mind namely vhatever may be the professions of j ehovah s witnesses there is no room for doubt that the practical effect of the watch tower activities is to stimulate communism not to say anarchy and to undermine all feeling of reverence for authority from other countries like greece lebanon palestine and egypt the cry comes forth that the work of jehovah s witnesses is a promulgation of jewish propaganda and so the greek orthodox religious organization has recently distributed pamphlets stating that jehovah s witnesses are financed by jews on the other hand the jewish organization in greece protested to the head of the greek catholic religious system saying that their statement is false and that the jews have nothing to do with jehovah s witnesses nor jehovah s witnesses with the jews 13 h how are they falsely accused 1d democratic land and what proves they are not communists 14 while there are several thousand of jehovah s witnesses in russia hundreds of them have been sent to siberia and put into work camps because they prefer to serve god rather than men and to proclaim a kingdom of righteousness a new world that will be governed by a righteous overlord christ jesus and not by communist rulers why should russia treat jehovah s witnesses that way if they are communists t they are not such but in every nation jehovah s witnesses are juggled around to suit their oppressors the point in common is annihilate jehovah s witnesses get rid of them 15 let us then briefly look at jehovah s witnesses of the present day and see how they view conditions in the world and let us get their viewpoint who are they twhere did they get their instructions tand why do they appear to be a different and unwanted people a close-up scrutiny 14 these servants who worship the supreme one of all the universe believe that jehovah god alone is the sovereign god and that all worship honor and glory are due to him they believe he is the great source of life and is able to save all who come to him with humble hearts those who have come to the lord god and accepted his word and who abide by it are blessed of god and they become his witnesses and to these the lord god says at isaiah 43 10 11 ye are my witnesses saith jehovah and my servant whom i have chosen that ye may know and believe me and understand that i am he before me there was no god formed neither shall there be after me i even i am jehovah and besides me there is no saviour am stan ver n men and women from all parts of the earth from all nations kindreds and tongues have come to the lord god because of a study of his word and they have accepted his word as truthful and right and are abiding by it they appreciate that in isaiah 61 1·3 a commission is set out for those who consecrate themselves to serve god as followers of his son they know that this message which they are commissioned to preach offers comfort and hope to all nations of the earth they know too that j ehovah s chief witness christ jesus who was born a jew and under the mosaic law did not compromise with the nations of the world but stood firm for the preaching of jehovah s word and of his government of righteousness that he promised to set up over earth at the time that jesus was on earth a call went forth for many of the jews to enter into a new covenant with god j but when that jewish nation did not respond the call was extended to go on out to the ends of the earth to the gentiles and god select 15 16 how have they become wltn of the sovereign god 17 18 how did persona from all nationa ~ome such wl1deaees?

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6 ~ewatchtower brooklyn n y ed a people that would have the law of god written in their hearts and whom nothing could turn away from the service of the most high god u it is therefore stated at 1 peter 2 9 10 but ye are an elect race a royal priesthood a holy nation a people for god s own possession that ye may show forth the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvellous light who in time past were no people but now are the people of god who had not obtained mercy but now have obtained mercy am.stan yer 18 these people of god s mercy have become different and peculiar in the eyes of the world because they are determined by his grace to serve the only living and true god they have become his chosen people they have heralded forth his message of righteousness and thousands upon thousands of others have heard in these last days of the devil s organization and have sought refuge within god s organization these have taken up the same call and are saying to all nations kindreds and tongues come and drink of the water of life freely so today from one end of the earth to the other there are thousands of persons that say 1 will sing praises unto thee among the nations ps 57 9 am stan ver they cannot sing the praises of the worldly nations single or as united nations nor of any sect or religion because all these are exposed by god s word as being idolatrous they have the lord s word and in it they find god s instruction to praise him and thus gain life everlasting by faithfully preaching they save themselves as well as others who hear them 1 tim 4 16 they receive from god his holy spirit or active force and they go forth speaking the truth a pure language as it were zeph 3 9 10 the witnesses of jehovah who have been called from all nations kindreds and tongues being all of one mind have cut through all boundaries language has been no barrier to their unity religions politics the ideas that men have tried to instill in the hearts of individuals have all been cast to the winds there is no divisive force that can stand in the way of jehovah s witnesses having one mind which mind is the mind of christ regardless of the country in which any witness of jehovah lives he is all out for supporting god s kingdom and preaching it he is an ambas8ador for christ in this respect being an ambassador in this old world and being at the same time no part of it he certainly is not opposed to the present governments of the earth nor will jehovah s witnesses ever try to fight against them nor should they fight against such governments they have no reason to do so for jehovah god allows the governments to remain until he shows 19 wbose pral8e8 do they sing and how ilnd wh71 20 despite what are the7 united but not fighting go i ernmentb forth his power and this he will do at the battle of armageddon nonpolitical when jesus christ was upon the earth he was not opposed to the roman rule which existed over palestine he lived under it in that land he complied with the regulations that existed and he paid his taxes too but he was not devoted to the roman government nor would he defend it he was a minister of the kingdom of god his saying is well known namely if my kingdom were of this world then would my servants fight but my kingdom is no part of this world john 18 36 the same evil selfish organization only operating through different -governmental authorities as far as human creatures are concerned still exists today it is under the same management that the roman empire was under namely satan the devil this world s god it follows then that the invisible evil ruler has not changed -1 john 5 19 am stan ver 21 now then jehovah s witnesses not being for this old wicked rule that exists in all the nations of the earth but being for the kingdom of god which will rule in righteousness it can easily be seen why they are not divided as are the roman catholics the protestant organizations the jewish organizations and all other religious bodies throughout the world the people of all the different religions in the various lands being of different nationalities and political connections are divided against one another this state will not be found among those consecrated to jehovah as god they are one organization no matter where they reside difference of speech does not hold them apart customs do not divide them even the governments over them do not matter it makes no difference what form of government may rule over them democratic nazi communistic jewish totalitarian or autocratic such form of government is not allowed to stand as a barrier to jehovah s witnesses in unitedly serving the almighty god they are not of this old world but are for god s kingdom by his christ in this way they are different not conformed to this world rom 12 2 la in the days of the early church the apostles and their fellow christians of that time followed the command of christ jesus go ye therefore and disciple all nations matt 28 19 am stan ver so they went into greece italy egypt babylon and asia minor even though in those places there were people with different habits customs and forms of government most of them under roman imperialism but people who loved righteousness there learned the truth and became christians they left all their t1 21 wh7 did jesu5 not opp08e yet not defend rome s empire 22 how do we dufer from rellgioub 878tems of thu world 23 what did jesub command to go and do and what has resulted?

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janualty 1 1948 miewatchtower 7 former religious idol-worship and their political organizations and followed the teachings of christ a complete change took place in their lives it did not take them long to see that it was better to obey god rather than men for the only way to receive life would be by being faithful to the great life-giver in heaven as god said he himself is the saviour and it is he alone that can give everlasting life and blessings in the new world 24 the political systems and nations of the world have for centuries yes for thousands of years tried to give the people better government but will anyone today say that conditions are better in europe in asia in africa and in america than they were twenty years ago ta hundred years ago 1 or a thousand years ago t some will argue that living conditions are now better j but who say so and where1 in only a few countries the point is is man more unselfish tdoes he love his neighbor more tor is he the same stubborn idol-worshiper that he was in all times pastt 2d it is true that among the ranks of the witnesses of the lord god one can find persons from every walk of life from every nation from every kindred and from every language yet different from this world they have all the same spirit of love and peace toward their neighbor and a desire to praise the one god jehovah and to sing his praises unto au the nations their indefeatable zeal is a thing that even though the worldly governmental authorities try to do so they are unsuccessful in breaking ministers over objections in many parts of the world that have come under the power of great religious influence the authorities in power do not like to recognize jehovah s witnesses as ordained ministers although they are commissioned of god as such the authorities object because these ministers are different they do not realize that one man cannot make another man a minister of god being a minister of god is by reason of his pouring upon his servant the holy spirit or active force from on high and this outpouring the most high god said he would perform upon those who love him in truth god has poured out his spirit upon all flesh men and women young and old bond and free he did this to the faithful remnant at the time of pentecost a.d 33 and he is doing it to a like remnant at the present time joel 2 28 29 a.cts 2 17 18 his spirit motivates those who have made a consecration to serve him to preach the gospel and it makes no difference whether those individuals be young or old if the heart of each one is right and seeking righteousness and is fully 28 devoted to the lord god he will be favored of j ehovah god with his spirit through christ it the objection is made by many rulers and judges that young people are not qualified to preach the g-ospel they think that a person has to become old and hoary of head before being able to have wisdom and understanding they forget to take into account the activities of the person in making their decision as to whether that person is an ordained minister or not christ jesus was busy about his father s courts when at the age of twelve luke 2 42-49 the emphatic diaglott an amer trans the apostle paul s companion timothy was a young man when he was called and anointed of the lord to preach the gospel and the churches as well as timothy himself were advised not to despise his youth 1 tim 4 12 the bible presents in fact a long record of young persons that have stood for the lord god and fought valiantly in their youth as well as in their older age for the preaching of the message of god s word jeremiah samuel and others were recorded as excellent examples of youth s taking up the ministry of god as preachers 28 coming down to later secular history let us take john calvin the sixteenth century reformer and student of the bible and minister of religion was he not recognized as a chaplain at the age of twelve yearsf yes and if this john calvin could be recognized and put in office as a minister of religion certainly young men and women of today who are as devoted to god as john calvin ever was can also be acknowledged by worldly authorities as ministers of god not only was john calvin a preacher in the roman catholic religious organization at the age of twelve but his revenue from preaching was sufficient to assist him in going through school in his later years it is recorded in the encyclopfedia britannica volume 4 edition of 1892 that john calvin who was born in 1509 was made a chaplain as described in his thirteenth year his father whose circumstances were not affluent procured for him from the bisbop the office of chaplain in the chapeue de n6tre dame de la gesine a few days after his appointment he received the tonsure and on the 29th of may 1521 he was installed in his office centuries earlier benedict ix was installed as pope at the age of 12 and continued in office from 1033 to 1056 29 certainly if john calvin qualified as a minister or chaplain in the roman catholic religious system and if benedict ix qualified as pope of rome both at the age of twelve years then hundreds of jehovah s witnesses who have made a careful study of the bible along unsectarian lines can qualify for ministerial status while yet in their teens before governing bodies in the world today there are hun27 wb;r 1.1 ebieet:lng to youth sa ministers udlierlptnral 28 29 how

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8 ~ewatchtower brooklyn n y dreds of young men and women from sixteen to twenty-two years of age that have gone out into the missionary field work many to foreign lands learning tongues not their own in order that they may there preach the gospel youth is no barrier to one s becoming a minister one who does become a minister ~or the lord will daily preach the good news it has always been recognized that ministers would take a neutral position as to world affairs and that they would be indifferent to the controversies of the world because they are not of this world nor a part of it although they are in it 1 john 2 15-17 in the same way christ jesus was not of this world he was in it but this was for the sole purpose of preaching the gospel and vindicating his father s name 10 christ jesus in a prayer to his father in heaven requested him that the same spirit that was poured upon him be poured upon all his followers and he asked his father not to take them out of the world but to leave them there that they might preach the good news of the kingdom and thus some could be saved john 17 14 15 14 16 17 this makes it plain that age is not the determining factor with god s ministers neither is sex but the thing that qualifies one as a minister is his knowledge of the lord s word and his zeal and devotion to the most high sovereign jehovah god and most importantly the spirit of the lord god upon him nonnationalistic organization world·wide 11 from time to time government officials in various parts of the earth make claims that jehovah s witnesses are controlled by an american organization and that jehovah s witnesses are spreading american propaganda however it will readily be understood by all persons reading any of the publications of jehovah s witnesses as printed and distributed through the watch tower bible tract society a pennsylvania corporation in america that none of their teachings are nationalistic they set forth the belief in god s kingdom as the only hope of humankind that kingdom is what the witnesses serve and they look to christ jesus as their commander and leader who is above all nations and political parties just because the watch tower bible tract society happens to be formed in the united states and is used by jehovah s witnesses of that coantry and of many other countries to carry on their ministerial activities is no reason for men to say that the organization of jehovah s witnesses all over the earth is an american organization 32 in different countries of latin america and throughout europe and on the other continents of the earth jehovah s witnesses have formed local organizations or societies within the countries in which they reside so as to further the interests of their ministerial activity there such societies are just as necessary locally as the watch tower bible tract society in america and just because a society is formed in one particular country it would be no reason to say that jehovah s witnesses of that respective country are french or german or brazilian jehovah s witnesses world-wide have one aim in life and that is to magnify the name of their heavenly father jehovah and to share with christ jesus in the vindication of his name and word they realize that he has gathered together the persons of good-will who love him into one organization and that is a theocratic organization theocratic yes but not nationalistic are these witnesses of jehovah because governments of men have set up boundaries and have adopted certain languages for certain territories and because some of god s consecrated people live in those particular lands these are no reasons for believing that they are separate and distinct from all the other witnesses of the most high god throughout the earth they are not they are one body in the lord one organization with one god jehovah and one lord jesus christ and one law that is the law god has given them namely to minister to him and to preach the gospel of the kingdom in all the world for a witness to all nations nonpartisansbip i i there you have the reason why jehovah s witnesses scattered in scores of lands will not engage in carnal warfare one against another because they will not violently fight their brethren at the same time the lord s faithful servants will not interfere in a violent combat between nations they are neutral as to the political affairs and military operations of nations and they look to jehovah god as the one that gives life and has the right to take it away and the one who can also preserve them into the new world of uprightness where they will enjoy peace prosperity and everlasting life they fully appreciate that god s word says that his servants will come from every nation tribe and tongue but that because of having his spirit they will be one people to him a chosen generation devoted to peace knowing that they are his chosen people under the one theocratic law they serve him with undivided attention they have the proper fear of god for they hate the evil the arrogance the pride and godlessness of this world there is no room for partisanship among them all are for the one ideal the new world government by christ jesus i f logically in obedience to the divine commands for this day such persons as these are putting forth 30 what qualifies one tor the mlnl.tr1 31 why is this not an american or~nlzatlon and propagandal 32 why do not local societies make them natlonall.t1c 33 why 18 there no room tor violent partisanship among them 34 what would reading the ye4rbool show regarding them?

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january 1 1948 ~e watchtower 9 every effort to push forward the principles of truth and righteousness and to turn the minds of the people toward the one true deity and his gracious word the bible this they will continue to do right on down to the final war the long-predicted armageddon come opposition trials persecution and other troubles from the governmental agents or the governments themselves they will move ahead fearlessly and courageously standing for jehovah s king of kings and lord of lords christ jesus this has been wonderfully demonstrated during the year of 1947 just gone an unbiased person has just to read the yearbook covering this past year s activities throughout the earth by jehovah s witnesses to grasp with ease that these are one people and one organization a theocratic organization and that they look to jehovah god and his son jesus christ as the higher powers who are guiding and directing their activities the reader of such yearbook after considering the reports from 92 lands should be helped to realize that the witnesses are not serving any man or any worldly organization and that the organization which the witnesses have is not american french german communistic or jewish but is a god-directed organization or theocratic and that its members are interested solely in the lasting peace and good-will of the peoples everywhere 85 what time do they have for dabbling in political campaigns and battles or in trying to influence the secular governments as to what course of action they should take in the present-day struggle for world domination t their commission to preach takes the best of their time and their devotion to the principles of truth and integrity and uncorruptedness grips them all their time they fully know and are persuaded that the only way for peace and perfect happiness to be brought to the human family is by man s accepting .j ehovah god as the supreme one of the universe and also accepting his son his chief witness as the ransomer of mankind and as the rightful king of the new world this one before his own death on the tree of torture said in prayer to his heavenly father this is life eternal that they might know thee the only true god and jesus christ whom thou hast sent john 17 3 ah yes jehovah god has made the provisions for man to get life through his son jehovah is the real life-giver and all human creatures that hope-to have life in the beautified peaceful world without end will have to abide by his provisions and accept him as god and his son as the redeemer and king jehovah s witnesses are different from this old world because they conform to these divine requirements for life thousands upon thousands of persons of good-will who love truth and :j who have turned a hearing ear to the kingdom message have sought the lord god and have associated themselves with the theocratic organization of jehovah s witnesses and have joyfully joined them in proclaiming the message of the kingdom proof of their ministry speaking one language the pure language of the truth from one end of the earth to the other jehovah s witnesses in the service year ending august 31 1947 piled up a mighty heap of witness to the honor and glory of jehovah s name zeph 3 9 again they have proved themselves to be a society of ministers they have faithfully preached the good news of god s kingdom to millions of persons and have shown what the joy of all the people really is throughout the year 181,071 witnesses of jehovah co-operated with the watch tower bible tract society with monthly regularity and preached the gospel in 92 different lands including the principal nations the isles of the sea and the colonies of the great powers they were found working in the states and provinces of all such countries the cities the towns and the rural countryside the world is their field and they are trying to reach the people in this wide field matt 13 38 it during the said 1947 service year these hardworking servants of the most high god devoted 43,842,305 hours to preaching their devotion to the truth and to the ministerial work resulted in the associating by many persons with jehovah s witnesses and these persons undertook to faithfully follow christ jesus and became publishers of the kingdom too consequently a newall-time record was reached namely 207,552 ministers participating in the field-service work sometime during the twelvemonth period it is sincerely hoped that all these persons will be regular kingdom publishers in 1948 so that the command of jesus go ye therefore and make disciples of all the nations may be accomplished on an ever-greater scale in the years ahead before the final battle of armageddon matt 28 19 am stan ver as these new publishers of the kingdom along with those who have been in the way for many years realize that it pays to be different from this old world the broad way down which the world is traveling fast leads to destruction the new way god s way into which they have entered leads to eternal life this narrow way will bring reproach suffering and persecution from the world upon these servants of god but they appreciate that their faithful continuance and endurance in god s service will bring eternal life and contentment they have come to bow the only true god jehovah and his son christ ie vhy do they not hsve time for polltlcal actlvitlee 36 3t how did they prove them8elves a .oclety of midi.tere 38 how do th know it to be ditrerent from tbl8 world pa

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~ewatchtowerw j esns whom to know means life eternal john 17 3 they have learned of god s kingdom and the blessings it holds and it is their keen desire to share in these blessings and bring praise to the lord god forever all over the earth it is said by them i will sing praises unto thee among the nations ps 57 9 am stan ver which is the yeartext of jehovah s witnesses for 1948 18 it is of real interest to consider if only thus briefly the work done by jehovah s witnesses during the past twelve months they distributed 20,472,739 books and booklets in scores of languages in 88 countries provinces and isles of the sea in addition to this they placed 12,049,344 individual copies of the magazines the watchtower and awake and these in many languages not only that but they interested readers of these magazines to subscribe for them and the number of subscriptions obtained by the kingdom publishers was 563,101 in a fourmonth campaign january-april for watchtower and awake subscriptions they obtained 313,786 such subscriptions jehovah s witnesses are grateful to god for the opportunity of placing with the people something that they could read and study in their own homes especially the bible and books to help one understand the bible since the year 1920 they have placed 513,186,451 books bibles and booklets with the people but they know this placement is not all that is necessary if people are going to come to a knowledge of the truth they need personal help and to this end jehovah s witnesses make millions of calls upon them invited into their homes they sit down with the people and answer their questions and look up scriptures in the bible to prove their teaching and thus they truly bring comfort to those who mourn in all the earth not only do jehovah s witnesses preach the gospel from house to house and publicly but they spend much time in giving private instruction as a minister of god should world-wide jehovah s witnesses made 11,710,832 return visits upon the homes of persons already interested in fact every week there are conducted all through the earth 113,035 book studies in homes of those taking literature in these little private home meetings there are usually from two to eight persons that study regularly every week some publication of the society along with the bible under the private instruction of a minister one of jehovah s witnesses 41 wbile much attention is given to the private study with individuals jehovah s witnesses make public proclamation also thousands of auditoriums public parks and other open-air meeting-places have been used by jehovah s ordained ministers for public 39 40 a how much literature did they place b how many retura calls and book studies did they aceompliah in 1947 and why 41 what publle proejamation did they aeeompll~h in 1&47 brooklyn n y meetings in all nations and languages these meetings have been carried on during the service year here reported on to the extent of 101,632 different meetings the attendance at these meetings runs into millions on one sunday alone when a check was made of attendances 252,582 persons in all parts of the world listened to the good news 41 j ehovab s witnesses today are like the apostle paul in that they do not need a letter written in ink by someone to prove they are ministers of the gospel paul said for i am no peddler of god s message like most men but like a man of sincerity commissioned by god and in his presence in union with christ i utter his message · do i like some people need letters of recommendation to you or from you you are my recommendations written on my heart for everybody to read and understand you show that you are a letter from christ delivered by me written not in ink but in the spirit of the living god and not on tablets of stone but on the human heart 2 cor 2:17 3:1-3 an amer trans the 158,034 witnesses of jehovah who were out in the field during the 1946 service year now have a letter of commendation which is a real recommendation of their faithful ministry for in the following year 1947 many more publishers were associated regularly with them to raise the number to 181,071 regular publishers of the kingdom or an increase of 23,037 and there are many more now that are showing zeal for the only righteous cause which will succeed 3 do jehovah s witnesses need letters written by men or do the facts prove that they have recommendations written in the hearts of those who love the kingdom all the world knows that j ehovab s witnesses have proof of their ministry but it is not what christendom calls orthodox however whether orthodox or unorthodox they do their work like the master jesus they are not peddlers of god s message like most men jehovah s witnesses are devoting their time their mone-y their strength their all in the service of god during the past service year the watch tower bible tract society sent from the brooklyn office alone to foreign branches and missionary homes $256,661.77 in cash to help the expansion work this in addition to supplying the branches with literature valued at $388,606.44 neither do jehovah s witnesses neglect the association of themselves together for throughout the world there were 10,782 companies organized at the meetings of such companies j ehovab s witnesses come together to further :fit themselves for the ministry at the company meetings every week they study the magazine the watchtower for an hour which contains spiritual food additionally for another 42 43 a why do they like paul not need letten in iiiit to commend their mlnlltry b what modle.a were lent to branchee h how man3 eompallies are organised clonduetinj what meetlngs7

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january 1 1948 tot a v total pubs literature total hours 3hewatchtower new subs individual magazine 7,092.651 5,529 664 178 3,562 1,831 233 956 8 back· 11 peak pubs 73,512 28 41 7 24 18 cans studies 49,608 24 67 35 23 21 1 7 4 32 1 8li 39 &ole no com· panles 2,87 u s ot america alaska bahamas bermuda cyprus ecuador guadeloupe iceland liberia malta palestine peru ~etherlanda 67,680 17 17 4 37 14 13 3 3 6 10,166,529 4,840 5,245 878 12,650 4,110 280 5,978 424 94 13,373 4,734 10,623 10,448 8,672 125,719 312,292 6,665 472 17,441 2,299 173,301 189,013 3,911 7,571 440,865 40,013 5,222 2,237.380 14,328 &9,070 728,517 43,152 7,034 23,903 17,386,001 308,618 12,075 286 6,910 345 2,600 23 13,296 82 7,439 6,246 2,455 708 612 9,207 3,952 13,951 22,409 4,531 184,925 746,501 2,039 406 11,003 1,988 162,383 238,506 14,430 14,078 313,820 67,059 17,566 3,489,000 28,706 223,423 2,129,473 55,201 6,1192 26,033 116,263 774,8711 228.172 389,657 41,851 16,449 35.796 507,983 361,866 3,589,030 225,783 767 48,108 13,834 49,750 24,707 184,089 75,380 7,085 11,048 22,275 306,173 910,134 951,844 21.183 171.642 18,598 175,697 67,591 17.774 821.659 941.743 152.069 43,951 303,668 1,235,017 1,982.983 1,077,894 66,197 750,568 41,781 22,202 646 551.933 238,086 80,358 23,684 1,039,520 70,077 4,208 7,847 6 4,622,064 4,054 2,710 1,285 2,241 2,397 257 443 206 79 68 3 3 6 1 1 5 43 7 220 4 1138 7 422 274 766 1,841 10,987 101 443 62 11,373 1,198 38 338 6,144 386 139 77,232 342 1,864 38,392 1,039 28 713 720 4,040 2,205 6,328 272 92 422 12,444 3,298 6,028 783 42 3,430 196 991 2,413 728 319 1 1 22 w indll 8 ~f if t:1 n 28 8 22 99 17 679 3,284 11 21 6 751 876 47 16 648 134 38 12,149 37 9 11,579 200 1,019 9,459 1,043 36,618 358,263 720 171 1,876 217 38,762 49,072 9,609 1,422 43,690 15,715 2,786 77,067 42 94,241 817,542 10,212 661 4,363 20,o 7 81.341 62,433 253,789 6,487 1,453 7.135 270,862 51,748 168,146 13,034 3,622 13,117 3,291 11,r68 12,300 984 1,579 704 m,693 119,761 234,694 6.063 96,327 4.000 131.535 34,225 5,151 107,723 233,547 24,0117 11,039 87.170 211,858 3 2,683 m.238 188,337 621 129 1,771 631 69,407 44,005 4,023 4,877 62,661 18,040 5,767 1,099,510 8,237 118,666 445,891 111,238 488 8,647 27,4011 164,944 69,040 112,144 17,303 3.345 12,861 97,166 109,778 1,9117,525 116,968 110 16.076 4,1137 13,428 7,352 88,806 13,938 2,036 1,321 5,204 68,193 145,433 169,191 6,965 41,138 6,767 41,501 26,334 5,i31 60.249 349,593 41 58 16,216 511,140 251,091 199.847 289,810 18,688 61 122,205 7,145 6 g 5,232 3,803 m 42 111 30 1111 17 1 2 7 1 39 201 1 1 2 96 29 3 1 41 8 5 601 3 31 1121 11 1 4 1116 1 2 argentina australia fiji java [n.e.ll siam 416 1,762 6 1 23 790 3,516 12 13 31 au f:pore bell lum luxembourg bolivia brazil british guiana british honduras br.tlsh isles eire british west indl a canada chile china colombia costa rica cuba czechoslovalda denmark domlllican republic finland france germany 13 432 415 56 63 1108 260 82 7,015 31 15 941 1,038 59 26 786 185 110 13,670 113 9011 12,093 175 14 34 764 4,611 197 ii 88 427 2,276 478 862 293 717 1,028 7,394 449 3,199 1,257 2,724 119 68 80 2,281 2,184 111,8116 1,891 711 16 129 45 989 198 19 12 1112 1,185 4,125 3,764 m 678 36 799 175 1 31,333 214,691 296,451 313,427 23,951 8,040 18,207 525.325 187,102 42,553 77,799 117 24,809 11,900 56,657 10,097 126,059 36,039 7,508 3,505 117,943 98,915 405,091 349,798 16,695 131.246 9,748 317,996 45,995 8,820 419,8 0 291,081 17,780 40,285 450.940 369,935 1,134 1,303 22 33,843 15,452 465 323,284 189,735 38,904 13.065 78,1133 8,519 2,376 1,327 20.472,739 1 1176 3,682 1,412 2,977 84 79 136 2,696 2,380 20,811 2,367 112 26 163 70 1,253 2211 24 6 11 91 2 1115 ii 2 383 104 1,441 ~f lvador greece turkey auatemala haiti hawaii 176 113 6 384 244 48 174 116 740 223 21 iii 68 1,182 2,228 1,204 45 384 83 366 212 4 1 1 1 honduras hungary india burma ceylon pe1 la italy jamaica mexico l etherlanas ne v zealand 22 1 147 26 1 1 35 132 245 102 10 48 2 78 9 5 178 470 124 4 389 228 252 374 28 82 8 2 367 84 8 201 1 4 1 315 833 4,513 4,115 1,091 6,012 271 4,972 1,249 260 992 9,148 2,452 1,420 8,428 6 1,411 4,887 4,247 178 newfoundland norway panama ~lcnragua 388 90 179 611 972 215 paraguay ggme islands russia puerto rico rumania south africa northern rhodesia nyasaland portuguese east africa tangan ika 34 2,471 6,334 3,498 87 69 654 3,642 1,220 183 2,419 2,995 3,869 4,740 293 4 1,630 108 105 14 843 1159 379 61 47 2,ll02 7,703 3,917 119 2,6811 4,163 8,007 4,lm 381 17 3,044 237 76 1 3,092 1,6411 211 47 4,111 g711 1,990 3,843 6,114 3,m2 214 17 2,572 198 55 1 2,894 1,512 175 29 3,710 360 22 120 st helena south8l n rhodesia 620 208 92 4 18 2,613 4,179 63 537.598 445.902 16,858 4,576 4,637 832 12 12,049,344 surinam french guiana sweden switzerland uruj:uay venezuela west atrlca [nigeria ~ugoslavia 9,274 3,137 825 151 248 38 122.800 113,355 27,613 5.646 43,641 3,813 357 1,0911 11.110,832 768 118 10 g gold coast sierra leone 38 120 24 1 10,782 hour they have their service meetings where they learn ways and means of better presenting the gospel to the people generally after the weekly service meeting they have a course in theocratic ministry which uses textbook material provided by the society and which equips them all to make better expression of the lord s word to others truly they are ministers of god equipping themselves for every good work to all these study meetings people of good-will are cordially invited u jehovah s witnesses have an unusual privilege and responsibility they accept it and are proud that they are servants of the most high god they are diligently putting forth every effort to turn the minds of all honest men and women no matter of what nation kindred or tongue to jehovah god in true worship it is their desire to see all righteously disposed persuns singing the praises of jehovah in order that they may gain life eternal and live in the new world of righteousness where peace and prosperity will be the heritage of the nations yes they are determined by god s grace to give proof 45 what is their pride and their desire and determination total 181,071 1947 service year 43,842,305 1163,101 113,035 207,5112

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12 zliewatchtower brooklyn n y of their ministry to many thousands more who on that account will join with them in the grand song of praise to jehovah among the nations 48 in order that the readers of this magazine may have some idea of what is being accomplished in the many nations and lands of the earth a table on page 11 is set out giving some of the details let each reader consult this tabulation for the figures covering the land in which he resides and also lands where he has friends and relatives and take note of what has been done there during the service year 46 what does the table show regarding jeho ah s witnesses under review for a report from each respective land we shall have to refer our readers to the 19-18 yearbook of jehovah s witnesses but what has been briefly said in the foregoing paragraphs is sufficient to show that jehovah s witnesses are different from this materialistic pleasure-bent self-seeking divided old world because they are taking an uncompromising stand for god s kingdom and all of them everywhere are singing praises to jehovah god and his christ among the nations ps 57 9 am stan ver what a joy is theirs i and they are glad to have others share in it with them their rock is not as our rock he reason for quoting the above words from moses song at deuteronomy 32 31 is an article by the new york daily news of october 10 1947 page 41 in an editorial of double-column width it features the heading russia s war on the pope and right under it the article quotes a bible verse which is why it interests us and makes it perfectly proper for us to comment on the article the verse reads and i say to thee that thou art peter and upon this rock i will build my church and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it matthew 16 18 douay having thus linked the pope with peter and this rock the editorial proceeds to say red czar josef stalin of russia has done some fairly dumb things in his time but when he takes on pope pius xii as an antagonist we begin to wonder whether joe is getting senile at this point the newspaper reader is confronted with an insert picture of the pope while just separated from this editorial by a column is a large cartoon showing a building styled the vatican and in front a dark figure labeled red press slinging mud at the vatican and the cartoonist inserts a little diagram with the words of comment the eternal can endure the transient apparently the cartoonist means that the vatican is eternal and the red press not so just transient thus the editor and his co-operative cartoonist launch off onto things religious the editor wonders whether joe is getting senile and for good reason because if the communist leader is acquainted with history he should know that other big politicians of the past have tried a private war with the vatican and have failed the editor glories in that fact somewhat thereby betraying his religion for in paragraph five he says stalin studied for the priesthood in his youth but maybe he never ran across the rather famous biblical verse quoted above or maybe he has never pondered the fact that the gates of hell and all other attackers have not been able to overthrow the roman catholic church in almost 2,000 years of trying the editor evidently slipped up here because stalin studied for the russian orthodox church s priesthood and if as a student he did read matthew 16 18 he did not apply it to the pope of rome vatican city not having existed back in stalin s student days the editor should remember that pius xii issued an encyclical on the mystical body of christ in 1943 and in paragraphs 42 and 43 of it the pope exalted himself to say christ after his glorious t ascension into heaven this church rested not on him alone but on peter too its visible foundation stone they therefore walk the path of dangerous error who believe that they can accept christ as the head of the church while they reject genuine loyalty to his vicar on earth they have taken away the visible head &c did the patriarchal head of the russian orthodox church with whom stalin entered relations accept that claim of pius xii which applied matthew 16 18 to peter and to pius xii as peter s claimed successor flatly no stalin s patriarchal friend and also the archbishop of canterbury head of the anglican church came out with widely published protests against the pope s blatant claim and denied it hence stalin with any residue of russian orthodox religion in him had no reason to fear he was attacking the true rock upon whom the true church of christ is built in line with the foregoing we have before us a dispatch received over the international news service wire on sunday november 2 1947 and which reads in part attacks on the vatican lessened and a significant day in soviet co=nnist history was aug 21 1941 on this day when nazi forces were nearing moscow the soviet radio urged in a broadcast that all god-loving inhabitants of the occupied countries rise to defend their religious freedom against the nazis whom it accused of menacing the very existence of christianity and trying to overthrow christ the king on nov 9 1942 sergius acting patriarch of the orthodox russian church conferred the church s official blessing on premier stalin for the first time calling him the divinely anointed leader of our armed and eultural forces on sept 3 1943 stalin reciprocated by re-establishing all the early rights and privileges of the orthodox church and the new patriarch of all russia metropolitan sergius was installed officially in the office attacks on the vatican by the russians were not resumed during the war until feb 1 1944 when hitler s star was setting iefjelltia the official soviet government newspaper then called the vatican s policy pro-fascist and declared it had earned the hatred and contempt of the italian masses and disillusioned catholics throughout the world no informed student of the holy scriptures would think link up the communist party and its leader with the gates of hell why no11 because the bible hell is not the roman catholic kind but is simply the grave satan and his wicked demons were never in hell but jesus christ went there to stay there not forever and ever but for part of three days and at pentecost fifty days from the resurrec· tion of christ the apostle peter said concerning david s t~

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january 1 1948 sffiewatchtower 13 prophecy at psalm 16 10 foreseeing this he spoke of the resurrection of christ for neither was he left in hell neither did his flesh see corruption this jesus hath god raised again whereof all we are witnesses acts 2 27 31 32 douay at this end of the world on the battlefield of the universal war of armageddon the man-made political states of all kinds will descend into hell the bible hell to remain and then the vatican which insists on union of church and state and which unites herself with political states by concordats and other means will descend into that hell with her political paramours never again to rise up then the gates of hell will close over her and prevail over her forever and she will prove to be no more eternal than the transient political-party press that bad the courage to expose her that finish of the vatican will prove it is not founded upon this rock moses said concerning god i will proclaim the name of jehovah ascribe ye greatness unto our god the rock his work is perfect for their rock is not as our nock deut 32 3 4 31 am stan ver the vatican s rock is a man an italian aristocrat but not the rock of ages jehovah isa 26 4 am stan ver margin christ jesus is the only begotten son of this jehovah god the everlasting rock hence when speaking to 1>eter christ jesus likened himself to a rock and christ jesus builds the true church upon himself as the rock he the rock died for our sins and went down into hell the grave but its gates did not prevail against him because the third day aimighty god jehovah the great rock of ages raised his son from the dead then the apostle peter said to the jewish court jesus christ of nazareth whom ye crucified whom god raised from the dead even by him doth this man stand here before you whole this is the stone which was set at nought of you builders which is become the head of the corner neither is there salvation in any other acts 4 10-12 thus peter disclaimed being the rock on which the church is built he agreed with our savior that christ jesus builds his church upon himself as the foundation rock therefore the members of the true church will not have the gates of hell shut them in forever at death but in due time at the establishment of god s kingdom christ jesus raises these faithful members of the church from the death condition in hell thus the true church in heaven will be eternal and reign with her foundation rock christ jesus forever joel foresees jehovah s avenging hen will jehovah alone dwell in zion and judah know jehovah is our god so mused the prophet joel as from the darkened kidron valley he watched the lengthening shadows of the western hills creep up the towering temple porch that rose from the sacred hill now only its crown was illuminated soon that too would be in darkness within his heart he thought j ehoram has been reigning less than a year but already ho v dark the land has got though the hills are .still forested and the valleys and plains give an abundance of fruit and grain though the cattle are sleek and the flocks are increased and the pastures are wide and green though the brooks are not dry and the oil and wine are not lacking and our land looks like an eden paradise all is not right that demon-worshiping foreigner athaliah who infests our holy city has ensnared her husband the king and he the nation baals appear in every town polluting the land though good jehoshaphat still lives jehoram has murdered faithful princes who in every town used to teach us the law of our god kow the dwellers in the land forget their teaching and prefer the drunken revelries of baal which the new king sponsors when i remind them that jehovah is our god they only scoff 2 chron 17 7.9 21 2-4 6 1i as joel wondered when jehovah would avenge his name and faithful worshipers he felt god s spirit clothe him he hears a zooming sound in the north he sees the northern sky is dark the zoom increases as the darkness extends overhead the smoke-like cloud descends it is locusts they look like horses they run like war-horses as chariots rattle they leap on the hill-tops like flames that crackle consuming the straw like a vast army in battle array they rush on the city run over the walls climb into the houses and enter the windows like thieves joe12 4,5,9 moffatt joel feels an urge to speak the first words god s spirit w moves him to utter call attention to the unusualness of the locust plague one swarm after another brings about a complete desolation of the land sparing neither man nor beast no more wine for the baalist topers the vines are all ruined the whole land is doomed 1 2-6 famine results the locusts consume even the bark from the trees leaving only the bare bleached branches the prophet can hear the unfaithful priests howl and lament for lack of grain wine and oil they cannot continue their functions crop failures distress the farmers and all men forget their mirth he warns the priests to turn to jehovah not even a prospect of crops remains the barns are permitted to go to ruin the herds dwindle the flocks perish prairie fires consume the pastures the flames scorch all the trees the water-courses are all dry but joel rejoices to hear one here and one there who heeds the warning and cries out to j ehovah 1 7-20 next a command from jehovah to blow a bugle-blast on his sacred hill of zion to warn them of the great and terrible day of jehovah all the while the locust pest and drought increase in their intensity the skies grow blacker the heat more unbearable the anguish of the baal-worshipers mounts joel can see the flush of anxiety upon their faces nothing stops the orderly tireless locusts jehovah s thundering voice heard above the locust crackle leaves no doubt that he is their leader joel realizing how great and terrible jehovah s day of avenging is trembling cries out who can abide iu 2 1-11 the prophet hears from jehovah what his devoted ones can do to stand in the day of jehovah return to me with your whole heart and with fasting and weeping and mourning 2 12 an amer trans jehovah calls all repentant ones young and old male and female to assemble and the priests to plead for his people in contrite expect-

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14 ~ewatchtower brooklyn n y ancy joel almost holds his breath then was jehovah jealous for his land and had pity on his people 2 12-18 am stan ver .ab jehovah promises to prosper his repentant people joel sees him break up the cloud of locusts driving its van into the dead sea its rear into the mediterranean and the bulk of it into the southern desert there to perish and rot he can even smell their stench the din is gone the light is come joel gives a sigh of relief jehovah s comforting assurance makes his joy complete do not fear 0 land joy and rejoice for jehovah hath exerted himself to work .·· .and ye have !mown that in the midst of israel am i and i am jehovah your god and there is none else -2 19-27 young his joy overflows when he hears jehovah promise yet another blessing for his repentant ones it shall come to pass afterward that i will pour out my spirit upon all flesh your sons and your daughters shall prophesy your old men shall dream dreams and your young men shall see visions furthermore upon the male and female slaves in those days i will pour out my spirit then wonders in heaven and earth blood fire and smoke for the false worshipers but deliverance in zion for all who call upon the name of jehovah 2 28-32 an amer trans joel s joy at the prosperity abundance and blessing of jehovah s repentant reinstated people is interrupted he suddenly sees the land is empty jerusalem and judah without inhabitants where are they1 in captivity scattered among the nations far beyond the borders of judah joel sees a man bartering a judean boy to pay for a harlot and another selling a judean girl for wine and then he sees him drink it on the south he sees egyptians and edomites do violence to the children of judah 3 19 on the west he hears the phoenicians and philistines say as they sell the judeans to the greeks they said our gods are no gods let this be their recompense what is that the enemy are earrying into the houses of their demon gods1 why it is the treasure from the house of our god jehovah joel s heart is filled with sadness and indignation he cries unto the lord in his anguish then god s further message brings him comfort when i bring back the captivity of judah and jerusalem then i will gather all the nations and bring them down into the valley of jehovah s judgment where i will enter into judgment with them for their treatment of my people and of israel my heritage whom they scattered among the nations then he hears j ehovah addre~s the scatterers will you render me a recompense .and if you recompense me swiftly and speedily will i return your recompense on your own head 3 1-6 an amer trans moffatt am stan ver but what about the scattered people of god wondered joel jehovah continues addressing the scatterers i stir them up from the lands where you sold them i will avenge your action on your own heads by selling your sons and daughters into the hands of the judreans and they shall sell them as slaves to the sabreans a remote nation joel remembered hearing that the sabean slavers were very cruel and he thought a fitting recompense 3 7 8 moffatt impelled by a desire to do something joel gladly accepts jehovah s command proclaim this among the nations hallow war arouse the warriors let the fighting men approach and ascend beat your plowshares into swords and your pruning hooks into lances let the weakling say i am a warrior haste and oome all you nations and gather yourselves there from every side 3 9-11 an amer trans in his heart joel can already see the hosts of the nations assembled in the valley of judgment and anxious for their execution he breaks in with a prayer to god thither cause thy mighty ones to come down 0 jehovah 3 11 12 am stan ver jehovah continues let the nations rouse themselves and come up to the valley of jehoshaphat for there i will sit to judge all the nations from every side then he hears what he has been waiting for jehovah says to his heavenly hosts put in the sickle for the harvest is ripe go in tread for the wine-press is full the vats overflowi for their wickedness is great -3 12 13 an amer trans joel sees the valley of decision filled and while the din of the hordes is in his ears he hears jehovah roar from zion heaven and earth shake but joel feels safe remembering that jehovah is his refuge and stronghold then above the shrieks of the wicked nations as jehovah s hosts execute them he hears jehovah s comforting words e?ypt shall be lying desolate edom a desert stretch for their outrage to the men of judah for innocent blood shed within their land blood that i avenge at last but judah shall for ever be inhabited jerusalem from age to age and evermore the eternal [jehovah dwells in sion 3 19-21 moffatt at last jehovah and his worshipers would be avenged all along joel had believed it now he had god s reassurance refreshed and encouraged as he made his way home he looked to the morrow when he wo.uld publish the message that god had given him what was his surprise on reaching home to hear the news that king jehoram had received a letter from the faithful prophet elijah telling him that because of his unfaithfulness to jehovah he would strike down the people and land with a plague 2 chron 21 11-15 quickly joel went to his room lit a lamp and sat down to record the word of jehovah that had come to him that day joei1 1 joel in harmony with the meaning of his name jehovah is god prophetically represented the witnesses of jehovah on earth today who proclaim that he is god and who declare against false worship eating away by the message they publish the false teachings concerning god and his word just as the locusts joel saw in his vision ate away everything pertaining to the false worshipers in jerusalem and judah just as joel they too look to jehovah s aveng· ing his name and his people save your personal or home copy of each issue of the watchtower do not throw them away but preserve them in a binder or drawer or on library shelves at the end of eaeh year in its deeember 15 issne the watcht01der contains an index of subjeets and an index of all the scriptures cited quoted and commented upon in all the leading articles throughout the year by saving your copies and keeping them in date order you will have an iil;valuable re!erenee library for codsultation in your study of the bible o~ized companies should preserve copies in the library of thelr loeal theocratic ministry conrse sehool.

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