WATCHTOWER.

Published Semimonthly By

WATCH TOWER BIBLE & TRACT SOCIETY 117 Adams Street - Brooklyn, N.Y., U. S. A.

OFFICERS

J. F. Rutherford President_____W. E. Van Amburgh Secretary

“And all thy children shall be taught of Jehovah; and great shall be the peace of thy children.” - Isaiah 54:13-

THE SCRIPTURES CLEARLY TEACH

THAT JEHOVAH is the only true God, is from everlasting to everlasting, the Maker of heaven and earth and the Giver of life to his creatures; that the Logos was the beginning of his creation, and his active agent in the creation of all tilings; that the Logos is now the Lord Jesus Christ in glory, clothed with all power in heaven and earth, and the Chief Executive Officer of Jehovah.

THAT GOD created the earth for man, created perfect man for the earth and placed him upon it; that man willfully disobeyed God’s law and was sentenced to death; that by reason of Adam’s wrong act all men are born sinners and without the right to life.

THAT JESUS was made human, and the man Jesus suffered death in order to produce the ransom or redemptive price for all mankind; that God raised up Jesus divine and exalted him to heaven above every creature and above every name and clothed him with all power and authority.

THAT JEHOVAH’S ORGANIZATION is called Zion, and that Christ Jesus is the Chief Officer thereof and is the rightful King of the world; that the anointed and faithful followers of Christ Jesus are children of Zion, members of Jehovah’s organization, and are his witnesses whose duty and privilege it is to testify to the supremacy of Jehovah, declare his purposes toward mankind as expressed in the Bible, and to bear the fruits of the kingdom before all who will hear.

THAT THE WORLD has ended, and the Lord Jesus Christ has been placed by Jehovah upon his throne of authority, has ousted Satan from heaven and is proceeding to the establishment of God’s kingdom on earth.

THAT THE RELIEF and blessings of the peoples of earth can come only by and through .Jehovah’s kingdom under Christ, which has now begun; that the Lord’s next great act is the destruction of Satan’s organization and the establishment of righteousness in the earth, and that under the kingdom all those who will obey its righteous laws shall live on earth forever..

ITS MISSION

THIS journal is published for the purpose of enabling the people to know Jehovah God and his purposes as expressed in the Bible. It publishes Bible instruction specifically designed to aid Jehovah’s witnesses and all people of good will. It arranges systematic Bible study for its readers and the Society supplies other literature to aid in such studies. It publishes suitable material for radio broadcasting and for other means 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 parties, sects or other worldly organizations. It is wholly and without reservation for the kingdom of Jehovah God under Christ his beloved King. It is not dogmatic, but invites careful and critical examination of its contents in the light of the Scriptures. It does not indulge in controversy, and its columns are not open to personalities.

Yearly Subscription Price

United States, $1.00; Canada and miscellaneous foreign, $1.50; Great Britain, Australasia, and south Africa, 7s. American remittances should be made by Postal or Express Money Order or by Bank Draft. Canadian, British, South African and Australasian remittances should be made direct to the respective branch offices. Remittances from countries other than those mentioned may be made to the Brooklyn office, but by International Postal Money Order only.

Foreign Offices

British ......... 34 Craven Terrace, London, W. 2, England Canadian ...... 40 Irwin Avenue, Toronto 5, Ontario, Canada Australasian . . 7 Beresford Road, Strathfleld, N. S. W., Australia South African......Boston House, Cape Town, South Africa

Please address the Society In every case.

(Translations of this journal appear in several languages.)

All sincere students of the Bible who by reason of infirmity, poverty or adversity are unable to pay the subscription price may have The Watchtower free upon written application to the publishers, made once each year, stating the reason for so requesting it. We are glad to thus aid the needy, but the written application once each year is required by the postal regulations.

Notice to Subscribers: Acknowledgment of a new or a renewal subscription will be sent only when requested. change of address, when requested, may be expected to appear on address label within one month. A renewal blank (carrying notice of expiration) will be sent with the journal one month before the subscription expires.

Entered as second-class matter at the post office at Brooklyn, N. Y., under the Act of Mai ch 3, 1879.

“His Work”

The term “His Work’’ applies to the nine days, February 5 to 13 inclusive, as the next period of special united testimony by all those who delight in Jehovah. It will feature the combination of the two latest books, Enemies and Riches, to be placed with all contributors of 50c. This testimony, taking place in midwinter, will require considerable planning and arranging, and all who give a part in Jehovah’s “strange work’’ first place will arrange all that is due. Detailed instructions appear in the Informant; which you should study and closely follow. Let each worker render a faithful report at the end of the period.

SPANISH CONVENTION OF JEHOVAH’S WITNESSES

The Society is arranging for a convention of Jehovah’s witnesses particularly for the Spanish-speaking brethren, to be held at San Antonio, Texas, April 15-17 inclusive. All Spanishspeaking brethren who can reasonably attend should make it a point to do so. The local company at San Antonio will have "charge of the arrangements of the convention, under the direction of the Society. Brothers Montero and Keller will attend the convention. Brethren desiring to attend this convention may communicate with J. D. Carter, 517 Stonewall St., San Antonio, Texas.

“CURE”

Amid the vain pursuit by nations and individuals of a remedy the Society now brings forth a new booklet, entitled Cure, and written by Brother Rutherford. It is a most excellent short composition, enclosed in a striking cover. Release of Cure for campaign purposes will be duly announced. Preliminary thereto, all kingdom publishers will familiarize themselves with its interesting contents. Copies for your individual purposes may be obtained on contribution of 5c each.

“COMPANIONS”

The Memorial season this year will be marked by the testimony period named “Companions’’, from April 9 to 17, inclusive. The name indicates that all that are companions in Jehovah’s service, to wit, the anointed remnant and the Jonadabs, will signalize this period by intense united activity throughout all the world. The campaign strategy will oirer the unusual combination of a year’s subscription for Consolation together with the book Enemies (or Riches) and the new booklet Cure, all on a $1.00 contribution. This announcement is supplemented by much detailed information in forthcoming issues of the Informant. The magnitude and scope of this campaign calls for careful planning and advance arrangements, losing no time. A faithful report in the regular way will bo awaited from you at the close of the testimony.

Vol. LIX                                        February 1, 1938                                           No. 3

JONAH

PART 2

“For thou, Lord, art good, and ready to forgive, and abundant in lovingkindness unto all them that call upon thee.”—Ps. 86:5, R.V.

JEHOVAH GOD is love, and his mercy endures for ever, and this his faithful servants realize and more fully appreciate the longer they are in his service. In the exercise of his loving-kindness he caused many prophetic pictures to be made that his people might now see and appreciate them and thereby be encouraged to press on in this time of greatest peril. The “evil day” is here; and as the days thereof increase, malice, hatred and viciousness increase amongst the Devil’s representatives on earth, which malicious hatred is manifested against Jehovah’s faithful ones. But with the advancing time God pulls back the curtain behind which many truths have long been concealed and permits his people to see how he provided for them and knew and foretold these days and made all necessary provision for their protection and comfort. "When we have these prophetic pictures intelligently in mind we no longer criticize the men of old who were used to make them, such as Jonah, but we know that God had his prophets and others to play their respective parts for good and that good inures to the benefit of the servant class now on earth.

² Continuing now with the prophecy of Jonah: He is found in the hold of the ship asleep, and there being awakened out of slumber and hearing the command of the ship’s master to “arise” and “call upon thy God”. The sailors were in great distress and were seeking some explanation for their distress. “And they [the mariners] said every one to his fellow, Come, and let us cast lots, that we may know for whose cause this evil is upon us. So they cast lots, and the lot fell upon Jonah.” (Jonah 1:7) Those sailors recognized that they had no power to still the storm. They did not use their own judgment nor lean to man’s opinion about what should be done. They saw the necessity of looking to the mighty One who brought on the storm because of his displeasure at something that had been done or had failed to be done according to his will, and that this offense was committed by someone in the ship. The casting of lots shows they were asking the mighty One to decide for them: “The lot causeth contentions to cease, and parteth between the mighty.” (Prov. 18:18) “The lot is cast into the lap; but the whole disposing thereof is of the Lord.” (Prov. 16:33) Those seamen desired to know upon whom the blame rested for their perils, and for that reason they cast the lots. Mark now the progressive steps in the fulfillment of this prophetic picture.

² As far back as 1880 The Watchtower pointed to A.D. 1914 as the date marking the end of the world, at which time great trouble would come upon the nations; but at that time it was not seen by God’s people on earth that the trouble would be the battle of Jehovah against Satan’s organization. For many years it was believed by them, and so stated in The Watchtower, that “the time of trouble” would be a terrific clash between the various elements of the earth, such as capital and labor. Not until 1925 was “the time of trouble” Scripturally understood. The Watchtower in its issue of January 1, 1925, forcefully stated for the first time that the “time of trouble” would be the battle of the great day of God Almighty, led by Christ Jesus against Satan and all his forces, resulting in complete triumph of the Lord. In the May 1, 1925, issue of The Watchtower there appeared the article “For the Elect’s Sake”, showing the relationship of God's servant class on earth to the great time of trouble upon the world and why and by what means it is shortened or “cut short”. Then followed the publication of the article “One Reason for God’s Vengeance”, December 15, 1927, Watchtower, further elucidating this matter. All this information was given out to the public by means of radio speeches, and by other discourses and by books. The Lord revealed to his people the meaning of the parable of the sheep and the goats, showing how the “sheep” only would be spared by Jehovah when his wrath is expressed at Armageddon. All this information came not from or by man, but by the Lord God, being given to his people gathered under Christ at the temple, and these things learned by them in the secret place or temple the Lord commanded should be told by them from the housetops, that is to say, publicly. (Matt. 10: 27) Thus the Lord made known to his people the cause of the trouble, how it would come about, and what would be the result.

⁴ As the sailors cast lots and the lot fell on Jonah, so the true cause of the time of trouble is given by Jehovah, not by man. It was Jehovah who directed where the lot should fall, and it is Jehovah, through Christ Jesus, that reveals the cause of the trouble, as well as the result. The fact that the lots were cast by heathen men makes no difference, because they were merely performing their part in the picture. Those men were not particularly important, but the main thing is the prophetic picture in which they played a part. By causing the lot to fall on Jonah the Lord God directed the attention of those in distress to the one blamed for the distress. Antitypically he directs the attention of the people of good will and in distress to his elect servant, Christ Jesus, and his faithful followers on earth working under his command. In the year 1922 the faithful ones who had been gathered to the temple learned that the Lord had come to the temple, and that Jehovah had ‘poured out his spirit upon all flesh’, that is, all those devoted to him and of the servant class, thus causing the lot to fall upon them, and calling attention to his message, which his servant delivered to those who are seeking safety and security. These are directed to the proper source. This was somewhat similar to the casting of the lot by Jehovah in the hand of his priest, which falls upon the “Lord’s goat” class. (Lev. 16: 8, 9) It was in the year 1931 that the identification of his servant class on earth was definitely made certain by Jehovah’s giving to the servant class the “new name”, that is, “Jehovah’s witnesses.” Only upon those devoted to him and in the covenant for the kingdom is this name bestowed. Within a short time thereafter God revealed that Jehu pictured Christ Jesus, together with his body members, the church, and there the Jonadab class was identified and the relationship of the same to the Lord was shown. Thereafter began the work of receiving the Jonadab class into the “chariot”, that is, gathering those people of good will into God’s organization and putting them actively to work with the remnant in declaring the message of the kingdom. It is Christ Jesus and his faithful body members that thus inform the people as to who constitute the antitypical Jonadab class. At this point in the prophetic picture Jonah clearly represented Christ Jesus, the elect of Jehovah, and his associated servants, who lift up the standard of Jehovah for the aid, instruction and comfort of the people of good will.

⁸ The honest and sincere seeker for .truthful information is disclosed by the action of the sailors at this point, and it foretells the people of good will, or Jonadabs, seeking truthful information concerning their salvation: “Then said they unto him, Tell us, we pray thee, for whose cause this evil is upon us; What is thine occupation? and whence comest thou? what is thy country? and of what people art thou?” —Jonah 1: 8.

• The religionists, pretending to represent God but in fact representing the Devil, have greatly confused the minds of the people of good will, and the time comes when they seek true information. Jehovah’s witnesses at such time are in distress apparently and arc being denounced by the religionists, but the people of good will, seeing their sincerity, seek truth at their hands. It was in the year 1922 that the first one of the symbolic “seven last plagues” began to be poured out by the publication of the Resolution, that is, “The Challenge,” adopted and sent forth from the Cedar Point, Ohio, convention; and thereafter, year by year, the other symbolic plagues were poured- out. (Rev. 15: 6-8; 16:1-21) (See Light, Book Two, pages 7-67.) There the Lord used his faithful witnesses to carry information to the people of good will, which they desired, and caused them to want more. Those people of good will began to examine and consider the message brought to them by Jehovah’s witnesses, and their inquiries continue, and consequently they propounded many questions to the remnant, and received answers, something like the following:

Question: “Whence comest thou?”

Answer: From the temple of God, where his King has gathered his people and commissioned them to carry the truth to the people.—Isaiah 6:1-9.

Question: “What is thy country?”

Answer: Our citizenship is in heaven. We are.members of Jehovah’s spiritual organization, and our allegiance is to him and his King.—Phil. 3:20, R.V.; Heb. 11:16.

Question: “Of what people art thou?”

Answer: We are Judeans; that is, we are those who praise Jehovah God and who are in a covenant with Jehovah God. We are followers of Christ Jesus, our great Redeemer and Leader, and therefore we are Christians. We are the people of God, whom he has taken out from the world as a “people for his name”. —1 Pet. 2:9,10; Acts 15:14.

• ⁷ These questions are similar to the ones propounded to Jonah by the sailors, who picture the people of good will. By observation and experience those people of good will were fully convinced that the religious leaders are not pleasing to God, and they did not go to them for information, but they sought information at the mouth of sincere ones who clearly manifested that they were serving God and suffering by reason of so doing. Seeing the truth then, as far as they could, the Jonadabs began to spurn religion and religionists, and to associate themselves with those who worship Jehovah in spirit and in truth. As they saw Jehovah’s witnesses are sincere and honestly representing God, they desired to associate themselves with such people and did so, and continue to do so.

• ⁸ Jonah then further enlightened those who inquired of him: “And he said unto them, I am an Hebrew: and I fear the Lord, the God of heaven, which hath made the sea and the dry land.” (Jonah 1:9) By the world-wide publication of the kingdom message like information has been given to the people of good will by the Lord’s faithful servant, as He commanded. The delivery of such message of truth has been made by radio, by sound equipment, and by the witnesses’ visiting the people in their homes and talking to them and exhibiting to them books containing the message, and thus they have carried out God’s commandment to mark those sincere ones of the world who really and honestly are seeking knowledge.— Matt. 24:14; Ezek. 9:4.

• Jonah informed those sailors that he was a stranger, but no part of the organization engaged in traffic, which is Satan’s organization. He told them that he was a Hebrew. Abraham, the Hebrew, was Jonah’s forefather. (Gen. 14:13) Jonah was from “the land of the Hebrews”. (Gen. 40:15) Abraham was called “the Hebrew” because he was a descendant of Eber or Heber, the son of Shem. (Gen. 10:21-24; Luke 3: 35, 36) Jonah also told the mariners that he feared Jehovah God, and therefore he was a witness for Jehovah. Those sailors were not in a covenant with God, and hence pictured a people not in a covenant with God. When they come seeking information at the mouth of Jehovah’s witnesses, note how God caused his people to likewise testify to the peoples of the world who are not consecrated. The aforementioned resolution, “The Challenge,” published in 1922, contains these words: “We call upon all nations, peoples, kindreds and tongues ... to recognize and freely acknowledge that Jehovah is the only true God and that his beloved Son, Christ Jesus, is King of kings and Lord of lords.” (Light, Book One, page 111) By that resolution the remnant showed themselves to be witnesses for and servants of Jehovah God.

• ¹⁰ At this point in the prophetic picture Jonah played the part representing the Lord’s “faithful servant” class on earth. At the time the Resolution was drafted and adopted and published, no one on the earth knew that such constituted a fulfillment of a part of the prophecy of Jonah. None really knew that they were then sending forth a testimony as “Jehovah’s witnesses”, because that name was not revealed to them until long afterwards. Jehovah, in his loving-kindness, through Christ Jesus directed the entire matter. Instances of this nature serve to greatly encourage the servant class, giving them assurance that Jehovah uses them in performing certain things without their knowing just why they arc doing so. Fifteen years after the adoption of the foregoing Resolution at the Cedar Point convention The Watchtower publishes the explanation of the prophecy of Jonah, and it would have been published earlier had it been understood and had it been God’s will that it should be published. Surely those who love God delight to acknowledge that he leads his people who arc devoted to him, and that he bestows upon them his loving-kindness and that this is true with reference to all who sincerely and earnestly strive to serve him as he commands.

• ¹¹ Jonah then told his story to the sailors, that is, that he fled from the presence of Almighty God in order to avoid going to Nineveh and there proclaiming against the city, as God had commanded: “Then were the men exceedingly afraid, and said unto him, Why hast thou done this? For the men knew that he fled from the presence of the Lord, because he had told them.”—Jonah 1:10.

• ¹² Those sailors were horrified at Jonah’s action, thus further supporting the conclusion that they pictured men of good will of the present time in fulfillment of the prophecy. Those sailors began to realize that then they were helping Jonah in his effort to avoid doing his duty. They said to him: “What is this that thou hast done?” (Zf.V.) Jonah did not attempt to justify himself for taking the wrongful course, but freely confessed his error even to these non-Jews. God’s faithful witnesses often make mistakes, but when they see them they freely acknowledge them. Like Jonah, the people of God on earth, following their 1919 experiences, acknowledged their course of lawlessness, in this, that they had failed to give the witness to the name of Jehovah and his kingdom at a time when they might have been testifying. The fear of man or what men might do to them had held them back. This conclusion is fully supported by the facts and the prophecy of Isaiah 6:1-9. There the prophet Isaiah, representing the same consecrated ones of the Lord on earth, put these words in their mouth: ‘ ‘ Then said I, Woe is me! for I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips, for mine eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts. Then flew one of the Seraphims unto me, having a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with the tongs from off the altar; and he laid it upon my mouth, and said, Lo, this hath touched thy lips, and thine iniquity is taken away, and thy sin purged. ’ ’—Isa. 6: 5-7.

• ¹³ The persecution that had arisen against God’s people during the World War had filled them with fear, and they failed to perform their duty, and now, like Isaiah, we see that they failed to give the testimony and they cried unto the Lord. They acknowledged it also in the world. The people of good will then learned that during the World War they must have performed some part or had something to do in bringing about the undesirable conditions of the consecrated because they had backed up Satan’s commercial and religious and political organization, which had hindered God’s people from bearing the testimony, and therefore had made them negligent and, to a degree, unfaithful. Many of those people of good will had unwittingly assisted in heading God’s remnant in the direction away from the presence of the Lord in giving the testimony to his name and his kingdom. Thus it was seen that the sailors that were carrying Jonah away from the presence of the Lord and giving testimony as commanded were making a picture of the people of good will that had ignorantly helped the Devil to hinder God’s people. Learning the facts in the matter, the people of good will feared that they would suffer at the hands of Jehovah, and hence they sought information from Jehovah’s faithful witnesses after the war had passed.

• ¹⁴ The great storm at sea continued, and the mariners were alarmed, and so they further inquired of Jonah: “Then said they unto him, What shall we do unto thee, that the sea may be calm unto us? for the sea wrought and was tempestuous [the sea grew more and more tempestuous (R.V.)].” (Jonah 1:11) Not knowing how they could possibly be saved, the sailors inquired of Jonah what they should do. This part of the prophetic picture began to have its fulfillment at the conclusion of the World War. The war was over then, it is true, but the woes thereof continued and the people of good will learned from Jehovah’s servants that Armageddon is in the near future and that it will be far greater in trouble and distress to mankind than the World War. It was about that time that Jehovah’s witnesses began to see and to appreciate as never before that Armageddon will be the expression of God’s wrath, and, learning this, they transmitted the information to the people in general. As the mariners realized the increasing violence of the storm was evidence of God’s wrath against someone in the ship, so the people of good will on earth saw that the rebellious and stubborn attitude of “Christendom” toward Jehovah and his kingdom increased and that the religionists became more worldly and increased in ungodliness, and those sincere people became alarmed, and they sought information at the hands of honest Christians, trying to learn what they should do. Thus the Lord in his loving-kindness long ago showed how he can bring his witnesses and his kingdom message in close toueh with the honest and sincere seekers of truth.

• ¹⁸ At this point Jonah began to realize what a great wrong he had committed, and it was then that he manifested some real courage. When a man realizes he is in the wrong, real courage is then required for him to acknowledge his wrong and to be ready to take the consequences, trusting everything to Jehovah God. Jonah did that very thing. He knew that only God could bring about the matter in a just and right way. “And he said unto them, Take me up, and cast me forth into the sea; so shall the sea be calm unto you; for I know that for my sake this great tempest is upon you.”—Jonah 1:12.

• ¹⁸ He did not show selfishness by asking those sailors to do their best to pull the ship through the storm. He knew that he was facing death and unless Jehovah saved him he was certain to perish. He did not further seek to justify himself. He therefore asked the mariners to yield him up to the hand of the Almighty God, who had caused the storm, to either be mercifully preserved by Jehovah or suffer destruction. He was courageous, in this, that he knew that whatsoever God would do must be for the best. He knew that he had started out as God’s servant and had failed to obey, and knew he must take the consequences. He was willing to put his life entirely at the disposal of Jehovah, and if his death in the sea would make it possible for others in the ship to be rescued he was willing for that. Here Jonah shows the spirit of Christ Jesus, who permitted himself without resistance to be led to execution that others might be saved. His action also sets a precedent for Jehovah’s witnesses, who must go forth in the service of Jehovah at this time, and that at the risk of life, that they may serve God and deliver his message in behalf of the people and thus afford them an opportunity to be saved. They must warn the people not to try to carry Jehovah’s servants off the course of strict observance of his commandments, but, on the contrary, they, being of good will toward God, must find the way of escape and safety only by cooperating with the faithful servant class in obeying God’s commandments. They must warn the people of good will to do good unto all as they have opportunity and, above all, that they must take their stand on the side of Jehovah and his kingdom and firmly remain there, thus showing their true courage by recognizing that everything is in the hand of the Most High. The goat class take exactly a contrary course: they interfere with the servants of Jehovah; but those who would have God’s favor must be as sheep and be obedient to the will of the Master. By doing as instructed the people of good will toward God have the promise of God that they may safely pass through the great storm of Armageddon and enter into the calm of the kingdom.

¹¹ Jonah told the seamen that “because of me is this great tempest upon you”. (Leeser) Jonah did not say that the storm was for the purpose of punishing him. In fact, he was showing the urgency of doing the will of God when commanded to do so. Thus he shows that when God’s remnant on earth receive commandment or order to do certain things in his service they must act without delay and be diligent in the performance of assigned duty and not permit anything to hinder or interfere with the same. The prophetic picture was made for the benefit of Jehovah’s remnant on earth and their associates, and emphasizes the importance of willingness to obey; as it is written: “Thy people shall be willing in the day of thy power.” (Psalm 110: 3) No possible excuse or justification can be given for stubbornness or indifference to the commandment of the Lord. The thoughtful and careful servant of God watches, is circumspect, and forms a habit of obeying quickly; that is, hearing the command, they do it now and without delay. In this day of battle it is no time for sleep or to be negligent or indifferent, but everyone must be on the alert and act promptly and willingly in performing his assigned duty.

• ¹⁸ The great tribulation of Armageddon is not for the purpose of inflicting punishment on Jehovah’s people on earth, but Jehovah’s witnesses have a duty to perform in connection with Armageddon that must be performed. The impending disaster of Armageddon demands the setting up of a watchman in behalf of the people of good will. Christ Jesus is the great Watchman, and under him are those of the temple class who are made members of the Watchman and therefore are appointed to watch and care for the kingdom interests and to faithfully perform all service in connection therewith. They watch in behalf of one another and in behalf of those of good will who are seeking the way to Zion. Armageddon is certain to come, and the witnesses of Jehovah must not only inform themselves, but inform others, that they may have the opportunity of finding the way to escape. Not only will Armageddon vindicate Jehovah’s word and name, but it will also avenge the faithful remnant upon the “goat” class, and will at the same time make the way clear for those who will form the great multitude to walk in the light of the Lord.

• ¹⁹ The mariners heard the words of Jonah as to the cause of the storm, and his request to be cast by them into the sea, but still they were afraid that by doing as he requested they would be guilty of shedding innocent blood. This shows their good feeling toward Jonah and their desire to assist him, if possible, without sacrificing his life. Consequently the picture here shows a similar good feeling toward the class whom Jonah represented. Instead of immediately throwing Jonah overboard, they tried to bring the ship to land: “Nevertheless, the men rowed hard to bring it to the land; but they could not: for the sea wrought, and was tempestuous against them.”—Jonah 1:13.

• ²⁰ The greater the effort they put forth to row the ship, the stronger the wind lashed the waves against it. It was not the will of God for those sailors to overcome the power of his storm. Jehovah was here making the prophetic picture, and it was his angel that injected into the mind of Jonah to request that he should be cast into the sea, and this, of course, for the purpose of making that part of the picture being fulfilled in later years.

• ²¹ At this point in the picture the mariners began to show their good will toward God. They did not wish to shed innocent blood, and yet they saw they must do the will of God, and, desiring to do so, they proceeded to carry out Jonah’s request; but before doing it they prayed unto Jehovah: “Wherefore they cried unto the Lord, and said, We beseech thee, O Lord, we beseech thee, let us not perish for this man’s life, and lay not upon us innocent blood: for thou, O Lord, hast done as it pleased thee.”—Jonah 1:14.

• ²² Doubtless that was the first time they had ever tried to pray to Jehovah God, because they were heathen people. The false gods whom they served had failed them in the storm, and now they were “at their wits’ end”. “Then they [cried] unto the Lord [Jehovah] in their trouble.” (Ps. 107:27,28) Here the Lord by this picture shows non-religionists that are honest and sincere seeking the way that they might find God and his means of salvation. Seeing now the fulfillment of the prophetic picture, the proof is clear that before the beginning of the antitypical storm there was no “great multitude” in existence. For many years the consecrated understood that the “great multitude” constituted a secondary spiritual class; but in this they were wrong. Only in God’s due time could the matter be understood. Not until the King was enthroned, and probably not until he came to the temple and the storm began particularly upon God’s people, was there any “great multitude” in existence at all. Since the beginning of the judgment at the temple the people of good will have been hearing the kingdom message, and this has caused them to turn to Jehovah and his King and to take their stand on the side of the kingdom and to co-operate with the remnant by following organization instructions that come from the temple. Thus the prophetic picture of Jonah at this point is further proof that the Lord God’s great multitude must be gathered unto him before the expression of Jehovah’s wrath at the battle of the great day of God Almighty. That work is now in progress.

• ²³ Praying to Almighty God, the mariners said: “We beseech thee, let us not perish for this man’s life, and lay not upon us innocent blood.” They wanted to do right and not suffer destruction like the “goats”, who will suffer because of their willful wrongdoing toward Jehovah’s witnesses. The six cities of refuge foreshadowed the provision that God has made in behalf of the people of good will. (Numbers 35) Only by forsaking the murderous “goat” organization, who persist in their attempts to destroy Jehovah’s witnesses, is it possible for those people of good will to begin to pray unto Jehovah and to have their prayers heard. The cry of the mariners to Jehovah represents the prayers of the people of good will who cry unto God for help. It shows that men must first forsake the Devil’s organization and trust in God and his King before they can flee to the city of refuge.

• ²⁴ The mariners realized that God had sent the storm, and they said: ‘ ‘ Thou, O Lord, hast done as it pleased thee.” They desired to do as it pleased Jehovah. Thus the prophetic picture shows that it pleases Jehovah that the people shall undergo some experiences that cause them to look for Jehovah for help, and that it is the will of God that the “other sheep” of the Lord called “Jonadabs” shall co-operate with Jehovah’s witnesses in proclaiming the kingdom, even though by so doing it may appear to them that the lives of Jehovah’s witnesses arc being endangered. To go forward in the witness work in the face of the cruel persecution by the “goats” the witnesses of the Lord are in much danger of violent action’s being taken against them; but, as opportunity offers, the “other sheep”, that is, the people of good will, must assist the remnant and co-operate with them, even though it places the remnant in increased danger. This is clearly illustrated by the part of the prophecy in the foregoing verse fourteen.

• ²⁸ The mariners decided to comply with Jonah's request, which was in fact the will of God. So likewise the “other sheep” of the Lord see their privilege of doing the will of God: “ So they took up Jonah, and cast him forth into the sea; and the sea ceased from her raging.” (Jonah 1:15) It was not the judgment of the mariners that they were executing toward Jonah by casting him into the sea, but they were doing this as they were bid or commanded, that the will of Jehovah might be done to his own servant. Likewise, it is the will of God that the Jonadabs should fully cooperate with Jehovah’s witnesses in entering places of danger to bear the testimony concerning the kingdom. Immediately after casting Jonah into the sea the storm ceased and the sea became calm. “Then are they glad because they be quiet; so he bringeth them unto their desired haven.” (Ps. 107:30) The people of good will were in great distress until they saw the hand of the Lord being manifested in these troublesome days, and, seeing their privilege of serving Jehovah God, they proceeded to do so by fleeing to the “city of refuge”, that is, to God’s organization, and thus they are made glad, and they look forward with hope of being spared by Jehovah during the expression of his wrath at Armageddon and being brought safely into his fold for ever.

• ²⁶ That doubtless was the first time those mariners had ever observed the manifestation of God’s power. They knew that no ordinary power could still a great storm. Therefore they knew the One who had stilled this storm was the Almighty God. “Then the men feared the Lord exceedingly, and offered a sacrifice unto the Lord, and made vows.” (Jonah 1:16) The sacrifice offered by them was a part of the picture and, being in harmony with the Scriptures, must have been a sacrifice of the lifeblood of some animal, for ‘without the shedding of blood there is no remission’. (Heb. 9:22) This part of the picture shows that those who cry unto the God, are heard and make vows and sacrifice pleasing unto the Lord, must exercise faith in the shed blood of Christ Jesus, because there is no other name whereby they must be saved. (Acts 4:12) The mariners here again pictured the people of good will, when they saw Jonah sinking beneath the waves of the sea. Whether they saw him swallowed by the great fish, the record does not disclose. Now as to the facts showing fulfillment.

• ²⁷ In 1918 and thereafter many people of good will saw Jehovah’s faithful witnesses on the earth swallowed up by the mad waves of fanatical humanity, and no doubt that caused many of the honest people to look to the Lord God for help. During the World War many of Jehovah’s servants were wrongfully confined in prison, being thus swallowed up by fanatical ruling powers, and the people of good will circulated a petition for the release on bond of such imprisoned ones, and within a few days 700,000 of such persons signed that petition, thus expressing their good will toward those who serve the Lord. By signing this petition the people of good will were aiding the antitypical Jonah class to be released and go on into the service, even though it put the remnant in a position of great danger. The people of good will, by attempting to get Jehovah’s witnesses out of prison, were also seeking aid from such witnesses. This is similar to the Gibeonites when they were seeking aid at the hands of Joshua, and they sent a message to Joshua, saying: “Slack not thy hand from thy servants; come up to us quickly, and save us, and help us.” (Josh. 10:6) Whether they knew it or not, the petitioners in behalf of Jehovah’s imprisoned servants were seeking in behalf of themselves the presence and aid of those who serve God.

• ²⁸ Here one picture in the prophecy ends and another begins. The Hebrew text shows that chapter two of Jonah’s prophecy really begins with verse seventeen of chapter one as set forth in the Authorized Version. See Leeser.

JONAH IN HELL

• ²² Jonah now performs a part of the prophetic picture specifically relating to Christ Jesus, and also picturing his faithful followers who went into captivity during the World War. “Now the Lord had prepared a great fish to swallow up Jonah. And Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights.” (Jonah 1:17) The Hebrew word here translated “prepared” means “to allot, to constitute, to appoint, or to set”. Jehovah did not create a fish or great whale right then and there and for the purpose of swallowing Jonah, but he had appointed or constituted and had on the spot at the proper time a great fish, which had no doubt been in existence for a long while, and that fish performed its part in the prophetic picture. This shows that God can use any kind of creature in malting pictures of his purpose, whether that creature is aware of it or not. That the great fish swallowed Jonah was not for the purpose of punishing Jehovah’s servant, but as a means of Jonah’s safety. Jonah could never have gone to land in safety without the use of that fish. In the case of Christ Jesus the fish pictured the grave, where he was fully in the mind of Jehovah God: “For as Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale’s [great fish, as gaping for prey] belly; so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.” (Matt. 12:40) In the case of the followers of Christ Jesus, the remnant now on earth, the fish pictures God’s provision for their safety in captivity or prison, shielded from the further vicious assaults of the enemy; which is also shown in the fulfillment of the prophecy of Revelation 11:3-11. (See Light, Book One, pages 190-212.) Jesus could not have been brought out of the grave and again to the land of the living except by the exercise of the power of the Almighty God, even as God exercised his power in causing the fish to land Jonah. The remnant, restrained or imprisoned, could never have gotten out and again engaged in the service of God except by the exercise of God’s power and loving-kindness toward them. The enemy would have kept God’s people in prison until they died, and that was their purpose; but God willed it otherwise. God brought them out in the face of all opposition.

• ³⁰ For three days and nights Jonah was in the belly of the fish, and that was long enough for any man to be digested or absorbed by the fish, and hence a miracle was required to save him; and God performed that miracle, and thus he showed his loving-kindness toward his servant. Within those three days the huge fish swam northeast in the direction of Nineveh and there landed Jonah on the shore according to the will of God; and thus God was showing his merciful interest and loving-kindness toward Jonah. While taking that strange voyage Jonah bad ample time to think, and doubtless did so. While God’s remnant were restrained and imprisoned in 1918 and 1919 they had opportunity to meditate, and they did so: “ Then Jonah prayed unto the Lord his God out of the fish’s belly.” (Jonah 2:1) While Christ Jesus was in the tomb he was dead and could not pray, and therefore this part of the prophecy does not refer to Jesus. It does, however, apply to the faithful followers of Christ Jesus who were in captivity or in prison during the World War. Like Jonah, they prayed and cried unto God that they might be released and again given opportunity to serve him, and Jehovah heard those prayers. Many days thereafter Jehovah revealed to his people how he miraculously dealt with them and protected them from the enemy, the raging waves of the sea. Their restraint or imprisonment during that period doubtless caused their preservation and saved them from death at the hands of the enemy.

• ³¹ Jehovah heard the prayer of Jonah, and also of those whom Jonah pictured. “And said, I cried by reason of mine affliction unto the Lord, and he heard me; out of the belly of hell cried I, and thou heardest my voice.” (Jonah 2:2) This prophecy is further proof that its fulfillment was after the coming of Christ Jesus to the temple and to his exercising power and authority there as the representative of Jehovah. (Jonah 2:7) Jehovah had then built up Zion with Christ Jesus at the Head, and their prayer was heard: “When the Lord shall build up Zion, he shall appear in his glory. He will regard the prayer of the destitute, and not despise their prayer. This shall be written for the generation to come; and the people which shall be created shall praise the Lord. For he hath looked down from the height of his sanctuary; from heaven did the Lord behold the earth; to hear the groaning of the prisoner; to loose those that are appointed to death.”—Ps. 102:16-20.

• ³² The enemy meant the captivity and imprisonment of Jehovah’s witnesses to be their grave, with never a resurrection or release. The religionists, acting as the chief instruments of the Devil, had conspired to put Jehovah’s servants to death, and hence ‘appointed them to die’. “Let the sighing of the prisoner come before thee; according to the greatness of thy power preserve thou those that are appointed to die.” (Ps. 79:11) Then Jehovah’s witnesses were not sure that they would ever be released, knowing that only by the grace of Almighty God could they be released. The maliciousness of Satan’s religionists, that is, the priests and preachers, in this connection is shown in this day, when they continue to brand some of those men, imprisoned because of their faith in God, as “jailbirds”. Those clergy well know that they conspired against Jehovah’s servants and stirred up the people to have those servants destroyed, and, having failed in that wicked purpose, they now take advantage of their own wickedness and use their crooked methods to besmirch the name of those imprisoned ones, thereby acting as the Devil’s agents to cause the people to hate the message of the Lord by casting hatred upon those who, by God’s grace, tell that message. Otherwise' stated, those religionists try to use their own crookedness for their own aid and against those who have been doing right. These things, however, do hot disturb Jehovah’s witnesses, but they do cause rejoicing in the Lord, since it furnishes evidence that they are permitted to be associated with Christ Jesus and suffer as he suffered. Thus Jehovah’s faithful witnesses have some opportunity of proving the Devil and his religious agents as great and fertile liars, and themselves to have some part in the vindication of God’s holy name.

• ³⁸ Jonah says: “Thou heardest my voice.” God heard him because he spoke his heart’s desire to again engage in the Lord’s service, if possible. Jonah was now fully persuaded that, if he ever had opportunity again, he would go to Nineveh and do as God had commanded him. Only a great miracle being performed by Jehovah in his behalf would make it possible for Jonah to ever have the privilege of engaging in Jehovah’s service. Likewise Jehovah heard the cry of his people while suffering restraint and imprisonment, and he heard because those prayers were in accord with God’s will to have his name proclaimed throughout the earth before the final expression of his wrath at Armageddon. The faithful servants of God then confessed their own negligence and lawlessness in not boldly declaring the truth amidst great opposition (Isa. 6:7), and the prayer of Jonah foretold the same thing. “For thou hadst cast me into the deep, in the midst of the seas; and the floods compassed me about: all thy billows and thy waves passed over me.”—Jonah 2:3.

• ³⁴ The belly of the fish was Jonah’s preservation, while the wind-tossed waves passed over him. So likewise the remnant of God’s restrained people came to realize that God’s loving-kindness was manifested toward them by permitting their restraint and imprisonment, while the mad waves of an insane people passed over them. Although the great storm raged about them, God did not permit them to be wiped out of existence.

’’When dying upon the tree, Jesus cried: “My God, why hast thou forsaken me?” (Matt. 27:46) No doubt Jonah felt the same way: “Then I said, I am cast out of thy sight; yet I will look again toward thy holy temple.” (Jonah 2:4) Jehovah’s servant class had a like feeling for a time when they were plunged into darkness in prison cells, and yet they trusted in the Lord God and Christ Jesus and continued to pray. God was representatively at his temple in the person of Christ Jesus, and there the people of God found a place and means of intercession. For their benefit God caused Solomon to utter a like prayer.—1 Ki. 8: 46-51.

• ³⁸ Foreshadowing God’s faithful servant class Jonah continued to pray: “The waters compassed me about, even to the soul: the depth closed me roundabout, the weeds were wrapped about my head. I went down to the bottoms of the mountains: the earth with her bars was about me for ever: yet hast thou brought up my life from corruption, O Lord my God.” (Jonah 2: 5, 6) Here is a strong and forceful picture of how the Lord permitted the enemy during the World War to bring very low his “faithful servant” class. No human power could halt that terrible war-machine or the enemies’ cruel action; but God could do so, and he did cause it to cease ‘for his elect’s sake’. (Matt. 24:22) As Jehovah brought up Christ Jesus from the hand of the enemy, likewise he could bring his remnant again out of prison. The words of Jonah here recorded, “Thou [hast] brought up my life from corruption,” were doubtless said after Jonah was safe on the land, but they were prophetically recorded to be fulfilled for the benefit of those now having a vision of them. When in 1919 the servants of Jehovah were released, they began to give thanks and praise to Jehovah God in advance of preparations for the commencing of the witness work, which did begin to take on far greater momentum in 1922.

• ³⁷ Continuing, the prophet says: “When my soul fainted within me I remembered the Lord; and my prayer came in unto thee, into thine holy temple.” (Jonah 2:7) Likewise the “faithful servant” class prayed and gave thanks, and continue to do so. The prayer was not merely to escape death to be able to lead a selfish existence, but that the servants of God might live and serve him and his King and maintain their integrity toward God and honor his name while on the earth. Each day the faithful continue to utter their prayers and thanksgiving unto Jehovah for his loving-kindness bestowed upon them in permitting them to be again engaging in his service. Their prayers then ascended, and continue to ascend, at his holy temple, where Christ Jesus, as the representative of Jehovah, presides, hears and answers the petition of the faithful ones, and directs them in the proper course in his service. This part of the prophecy definitely locates the time of the beginning" of fulfillment as in 1918 and 1919. At that time the faithful apostles had been resurrected and gathered unto the Lord at the temple. The Lord then gathered his faithful on earth to his temple and there heard their prayers.

• ³⁸ At this point in the prophecy those who prove unfaithful are made known: “They that observe [They that regard (Z?.V.)] lying vanities [or idols or images, representing false gods (2 Ki. 17:15,16; Jer. 10: 8)] forsake their own mercy.” (Jonah 2:8) Another translator renders the text: “They that guard false vanities forsake (the source of) their kindness.” (Leeser) The “faithful and wise servant” utters this prayer: “Into thine hand I commit my spirit; thou hast redeemed me, O Lord God of truth. I have hated them that regard lying vanities: but I trust in the Lord. I will be glad and rejoice in thy mercy: for thou hast considered my trouble; thou hast known my soul in adversities; and hast not shut me up into the hand of the enemy: thou hast set my feet in a large room. ’ ’ —Ps. 31: 5-8.

• ³⁹ But not so with those who show a high regard for “lying vanities”, such as character building, religious formalism, human opinion as to the interpretation of prophecy, fear and subservience to political rulers, regarding them as the “higher powers”, and who for that reason decline to faithfully serve God in obedience to his commandments. It also includes those who continue to exalt human leaders and “elected elders”, and hold only to such truth as was published prior to 1916. All such are in the dark and have no vision of the truth which Jehovah through Christ Jesus has revealed to his faithful people in recent years, and therefore they do not see that Jehovah and Christ Jesus are the only true Teachers. They have no understanding, but walk on in the dark: “Doth not wisdom cry? and understanding put forth her voice? . . . But he that sinneth against me wrongeth his own soul: all they that hate me love death.”—Prov. 8:1, 36.

• ⁴⁰ In striking contrast with those who “guard false vanities” the faithful witnesses, like Jonah, say: “But I will sacrifice unto thee with the voice of thanksgiving; I will pay that that I have vowed. Salvation is of the Lord.” (Jonah 2:9) How do these faithful ones sacrifice unto the Lord? Not with such sacrifice as shown in the type, but with the praise of their lips proclaiming the name of Jehovah and his kingdom. (Heb. 13:15) Thus they “offer unto the Lord an offering in righteousness”. (Mal. 3:3) “I will praise the name of God with a song, and will magnify him with thanksgiving. This also shall please the Lord better than an ox or bullock that hath horns and hoofs. The humble shall see this, and be glad: and your heart shall live that seek God. For the Lord hcareth the poor, and despiseth not his prisoners.” (Pss. 69:30-33; 51:15-17) The faithful servant class have vowed to do the will of God and, like Jonah, they say: ‘I will pay what I have vowed.’ For Jonah that meant that he must go to Nineveh and cry against it. For the faithful witnesses of Jehovah now on earth it means that they must no longer be held back by fear of Satan or of any of his agencies, but that they take up with renewed zeal and energy the preaching of "this gospel of the kingdom” and declare the “day of [the] vengeance of our God”, and that they do this regardless of the approval or disapproval of men, that they obey God in the face of all opposition. To the faithful ones “salvation is of the Lord”; and salvation is not of any earthly dictators, such as rule Germany and Italy, nor of any religious or political crowd of racketeers, such as the Roman Catholic Hierarchy.

• ⁴¹ The salvation of Jonah from the belly of that huge fish came and could come only from Jehovah God. Likewise the salvation of those who turn to God can come from him, and from no other source. “The Lord looseth the prisoners.” (Ps. 146:7) This truth must be presented to the “other sheep”, which form the great multitude. They must and do learn that truth, as shown by Revelation 7: 9,10. To now see the loving-kindness of Jehovah foretold in prophecy, such as that of Jonah, brings real gladness to the heart of everyone who loves and serves the Lord.

• ⁴² Fools, by their course of action, say, “There is no God.” Therefore it is written: “The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God.” (Ps. 14:1) Jonah was commanded to go and preach the gospel to the Ninevites, and if Jonah had failed Jehovah God would have the gospel preached by some other means. Concerning the preaching of the gospel Jesus said: “I tell you, that, if these should hold their peace, the stones would immediately cry out.” (Luke 19:40) Nothing can resist the Almighty God. (Matt. 19:26) Even that fish must obey and did obey the Lord: “And the Lord spake unto (Leeser) commanded] the fish, and it vomited out Jonah upon the dry land.” (Jonah 2:10) This is another proof that “salvation is of the Lord”, and it is according to the will of God. Worse than foolish, then, is it for man to attribute salvation to another. Says the psahnist: “Thou art my King, 0 God: command deliverances for Jacob [of whom Jonah was a descendant, picturing the anointed of God].” (Ps. 44:4) Jonah was delivered by Jehovah from the belly of the fish, and that foreshadows the delivery of God’s people from bondage, which occurred in the spring of 1919; and immediately thereafter his witnesses went to work to organize and carry on his service.

• ⁴⁸ The people of Nineveh must have been fully informed that Jonah had been disgorged from the great fish. Surely the people along that coast of the sea not only would know about it but would talk much about it, and soon the miraculous appearance of Jonah would be convincing to the people of Nineveh. If only Jonah made the report there would necessarily have been much doubt in the minds of the people, and many would have denounced his report as a great “fish story”. But the related facts in the Scriptural account and the modern-day facts in fulfillment of the prophetic picture agree. In the fulfillment, first came the resurrection of Jesus from the grave, and concerning which he had spoken before his crucifixion; and by his resurrection was furnished overwhelming proof of his prophetic statement: “And [when the Greater-than-Jonah came forth out of the earth], behold, there was a great earthquake: for the angel of the Lord descended from heaven, and came and rolled back the stone from the door, and sat upon it. His countenance was like lightning, and his raiment white as snow; and for fear of him the keepers [who were eyewitnesses] did shake, and became as dead men.” —Matt. 28:2-4.

• ⁴⁴ The prophecy is also properly applicable to Jehovah’s witnesses, the followers of Christ Jesus: “And after three days and an half the spirit of life from God entered into them, and they stood upon their feet; and great fear fell upon them which saw them. And they heard a great voice from heaven saying unto them, Come up hither. And they ascended up to heaven in a cloud; and their enemies beheld them.” (Rev. 11:11,12) Therefore the coming of Jonah from the belly of the fish constituted “a sign unto the Ninevites”, and this is clearly proved by the words of Jesus. (Luke 11: 30) That miraculous deliverance of Jonah added force to the message which Jonah delivered to the Ninevites. As a coincidence the people of Nineveh worshiped a fish god, Dagon, and this is proved by a tablet excavated at Nineveh in recent years. Jonah appeared in Nineveh as a man who came from the belly of a fish, and probably that made the Ninevites take notice.

• ⁴⁵ Jonah safely landed on the coast of the Mediterranean and immediately again received command from the Lord: “And the word of the Lord came unto Jonah the second time, saying, Arise, go unto Nineveh, that great city, and preach unto it the preaching that I bid thee.” (Jonah 3:1,2) Corresponding exactly to that command, the order is given to John, on the isle of Patmos, who there represented God’s remnant: “And he said unto me, Thou must prophesy again before many peoples, and nations, and tongues, and kings.” (Rev. 10:11) The fulfillment of this part of the prophecy as to the remnant began in the autumn of 1919, when the Lord directed the public address delivered at Cedar Point convention in September that year on the subject ‘ The Hope of Distressed Humanity”. The Golden Age magazine (now Consolation) was there announced for publication for the first time, and in the same year literature on the subject “Millions now living will never die” was, widely distributed, but no definite class was then in the mind of the persons on earth as to to whom that message referred. Mark that the work was begun and carried on there without reference to any particular class of persons; and the reason was, the great multitude was then understood to be a secondary spiritual class. But the work of bearing testimony continued under the direction of the Lord. At the second international convention at Cedar Point, in 1922, a Resolution was adopted and published, and from that time forward widely distributed, which was directed against the political elements as well as the religious elements of Satan’s organization; and this was in fulfillment of the cry against Nineveh.

⁴⁸ The command of Jehovah to Jonah was to go to Nineveh and preach unto it as God had previously commanded him. “The kingdom” has always been opposed by Satan and his earthly ruling class, and therefore when the witnesses for the Lord go forth to preach the kingdom of God and of Christ, the issue involved necessarily is political, because it announces the kingdom which will destroy all of Satan’s power. Nineveh was a great city in size and capable of holding a great multitude; hence its fall would mean an enormous loss of life. Did that fact stir Jonah to be merciful as God was toward Jonah and who was calling the attention of Jonah to the greatness of the city? Jonah was to go there and tell, not his own message, but the message of Jehovah. God had not cast Jonah away. In view of Jonah’s prayer Jehovah would now mercifully tender to him the privilege of again engaging in his service. What would be the action of Jonah now? Would he show mercy to others when the opportunity should arise? Would he exhibit the zeal that is peculiar to those who joyfully obey the Lord? Would he regard all things as working for his good, or would he complain? All of these questions are answered in what followed.

JONAH ORDERED TO SERVE

⁴⁷ The prophetic action of Jonah from that point on can be seen to have fulfillment in those who in recent years claim to be fully devoted to Jehovah. As long as conditions are favorable some obey, and when conditions become almost unbearable to human creatures many fall away: “So Jonah arose, and went unto Nineveh, according to the word of the Lord. Now Nineveh was an exceeding great city of three days’ journey.” (Jonah 3:3) Likewise in 1922, at the outpouring of the holy spirit and at the pouring upon “Christendom” the first of the symbolic “seven last plagues”, the consecrated ones rose up and went to work by ‘preaching this gospel of the kingdom’ as commanded. Now we can well see that the message proclaimed exactly corresponded to the message Jonah proclaimed to Nineveh. The Watchtower has often been used by the Lord to enlighten his people. In its issue of January 1, 1921, the League of Nations was identified as the “image of the beast” and the “abomination of desolation” (Rev. 13:14,15; Matt. 24:15), and therefore the preaching of the witnesses of the Lord was directed against politics and politicians, pictured by Assyria, and who are therefore the modern Assyrians. In the year 1922 the “Challenge” Resolution publicly exposed the League of Nations and produced the Bible evidence foretelling its failure. As Nineveh was a very large city, so “Christendom” embraces a large territory and requires time and much work to carry the message to its enormous population.

⁴⁸ Jonah did not enter Nineveh secretly and unnoticed, because his strange experience with the sea monster had preceded him and therefore constituted a “sign” or proof to the Ninevites, of which they must and did take notice. Likewise the religionists, particularly, were amazed at the public appearance and bold preaching of Jehovah’s witnesses when they were released from prison and restraint, because “Christendom” (meaning her religionists and political and commercial allies) thought the earth had been made rid of that ‘pestiferous class” of Jehovah’s witnesses; but now to see advertised in the great daily newspapers the proclamation of God’s message, and that this would be spoken publicly by those who had been released from prison, made the gluttonous eyes of those religious politicians stick out. Not only were the clergy surprised, but they gnawed their tongues. “And Jonah began to enter into the city a day’s journey; and he cried, and said, Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown.” (Jonah 3:4) Having reached the thickly populated part of the city Jonah began to preach. Mark that he did not ask permission of the police commissioner, the policemen, nor even the king, that he might there declare God’s vengeance against the city, nor did he submit his speech to the clergy to have them censor it that it might not shock their religious susceptibilities. He was there to obey God’s command; and in this he pictured those zealous souls who obey Jehovah without reference to what men may think or say.- He told the people of Nineveh that within a definite time the city would be overthrown. That message was a warning and could well be taken as a threat and, of course, would be a test upon the Ninevites. Would they repent, or would they put a gag in the mouth of Jonah and prevent him from shocking their religious susceptibilities? It was also a test upon Jonah. Would he be frightened and stop preaching, or would he proceed? It is not at all necessary to find that the forty days referred to means a period of similar length in the fulfillment of the prophecy, but rather that it was a definitely stated time; and so in the antitype, the message of the Lord has fixed a definite time when “Christendom” shall be overthrown, and that time is at Armageddon. The warning to “Christendom” particularly was contained in the message of the “seven last plagues”; but it was several years after the delivery of those messages until the same were identified as the antitypical plagues. The real power of the message delivered was and is that, when the witness work in the name of Jehovah is completed, then “Christendom” and all of Satan’s organization shall be destroyed.

*’ Jonah’s preaching had effect upon some of the Ninevites: “So the people of Nineveh believed God, and proclaimed a fast, and put on sackcloth, from the greatest of them even to the least of them.” (Jonah 3:5) This fact was a biting condemnation of Israel, which people had forsaken God’s commandment and gone over to the devil worship. Judgment came upon Israel then, and judgment is now certain to fall upon “Christendom”: “The men of Nineve shall rise up in the judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it; for they repented at the preaching of Jonas; and, behold, a greater than Jonas is here.”—Luke 11:32.

⁵⁰ Now Christ Jesus, the mighty King, the Greater-than-Jonah, is here and at the temple, and the temple company is sent forth to preach the kingdom message. “Christendom” claims to be the spiritual Israelites and is now engaged in the practice of the Devil religion, like her prototype. At this point the people of Nineveh that repented represented particularly the “other sheep” of the Lord, who form the great multitude, which come forth from many nations and serve God; and their believing and coming is a blighting condemnation to “Christendom”, even as the Israelites were condemned by the faith of some of the Ninevites. This is a mighty “sign” or proof to “Christendom”, if they would only give heed to it. The people of Nineveh, from the greatest to the least, proclaimed a fast. This is further proof that God did not recognize rank or class distinction amongst them nor does he amongst any people. To be of the great multitude, whether prince or pauper, king or slave, all must repent and flee from Satan’s organization. Jehovah’s witnesses have learned that it is not more desirable to carry the message to the mighty rulers than to proclaim it to the common people. What is to be expected to be the effect of the message, when delivered, upon the people today? Shall the remnant seek out the rich and influential and try to interest them, or shall they proclaim the message to the common people, or to all without distinction? Who are the ones that hear and believe?

(To be continued)

QUESTIONS FOR STUDY

fl 1. What have Jehovah’s faithful servants been given to seo as to his motive and purpose in long ago providing the prophei • - recorded in his Word, and now revealing the meaning thereof?

7 2. What is the situation at this point in the prophetic picture here under consideration? What was now done, and why ?

fl 3. Relate the facts showing how the Lord made known the cause of “the time of trouble’’, how it would come about, and the result.

fl 4. Apply that part of the picture in which the sailors cast lots and the lot fell on Jonah.

fl 5, 6. As to the fulfillment, account for the mariners’ not knowing the cause of the evil that was upon them. Compare the questions they asked Jonah with those propounded to the remnant by the people of good will.

fl 7. What prophetic significance is seen in those sailors’ inquiring of Jonah for true information concerning their salvation?

fl 8,9. How in fulfillment of verse 9 has the desired information been given to the people of good will? Explain Jonah’s answer, as for that time, and in the fulfillment.

fl 10. Why have those of the servant class been given a part in the fulfillment of prophecy, and then been shown the fact of their having had that privilege?

fl 11-13. Relate facts in which the prophetic situation recorded at verse 10 has fulfillment.

fl 14. When and how did verse 11 begin to have fulfillment?

fl 15-17. Point out the important instruction seen in Jonah’s position at this point, and in his answer recorded at verse 12.

fl 18. To what service in connection with Armageddon has Jehovah appointed his witnesses? For what purpose is this done?

fl 19. What is seen in verse 13 concerning the mariners’ attitude toward Jonah? How does this have fulfillment?

fl 20-24. Explain and apply verse 14 in (a) that the mariners now besought Jehovah (instead of ‘crying every man unto his god’ as they had previously done), (b) That while they sought not to “perish for this man’s life’’, they also desired not to ‘have laid upon them innocent blood’, (c) That they realized that Jehovah had sent the storm, and were ready to do as Jonah requested.

fl 25. How docs verse 15 have fulfillment?

fl 26-28. What was foreshown in that part of the picture recorded at verse 16?

fl 29. How had the Lord ‘ prepared a great fish to swallow up Jonah”? Why was this done? and what is the instruction therein for Jehovah’s faithful people today? What was foreshown in Jonah’s being in the belly of the fish three days and three nights?

fl 30-32. When and how did the prayer of Jonah referred to in 2: 1, 2 have fulfillment ?

fl 33-35. Describe the situation foreshown in what was related by Jonah as recorded at 2: 3,4. Compare therewith Matthew 27: 46 and 1 Kings 8: 46-51.

fl 36, 37. Show that Jonah in his continuing to pray as recorded at 2:5,6 was foreshadowing God’s faithful servant class. Also that his experience related in his prayer recorded at verse 7 was a further prophetic picture of the “faithful servant” class.

fl 38, 39. How do related scriptures together with facts identify those foretold at verse 8?

fl 40-42. With related scriptures, and their application, show the attitude and course of action (and the result thereof) of those foreshown at verse 9 to bo in direct contrast with that of those prophetically referred to in verse 8.

fl 43,44. Account for the Ninevites’ readily accepting the report of Jonah’s deliverance, and it as ‘a sign unto them’. Point out fulfillment or application of this part of the picture.

fl 45. How has Jonah 3: 1,2 had fulfillment?

fl 46. Compare the command given to Jonah with that given to Jehovah’s witnesses today; also the importance and urgency of prompt obedience then and now.

fl 47. Describe Jonah’s procedure as mentioned at 3:3, and point out the correspondent facts in which this part of the prophecy was fulfilled.

fl 48. Point out the fulfillment of the prophetic matter re-coidcd at verse 4.

fl 49,50. Compare the response by the Ninevites to God’s message through his prophet with that by the Israelites and with that by “Christendom”, as justifying Jesus’ decla-

ration (Luke 11:32) and the application thereof to a similar class today. What, then, is seen as to the purpose of the message now being proclaimed by those whom Jonah foreshadowed?

REASONS FOR

PROPHESYING of the approaching battle of Armageddon, which will bring about the destruction of “Christendom” and, in fact, the destruction of the whole world organization, Jehovah God caused his prophet Isaiah to assign the reasons therefor in these words: ‘ Behold, the Lord maketh the earth empty, and maketh it waste, and turneth it upside down, and scattereth abroad the inhabitants thereof. The earth also is defiled under the inhabitants thereof; because [now note the reasons] they have transgressed the laws, changed the ordinance, broken the everlasting covenant.” (Isa. 24:1, 5) The first reason assigned is that they have broken the laws of God.

Another reason assigned is that they have “changed the ordinance”. The ordinance is a commandment. Note that it is “the ordinance”, the word being stated in the singular number, and therefore must mean the chief commandment. In response to the question as to what constitutes the great or chief commandment of God, Jesus answered: “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. ’—Matt. 22: 37, 38.

Every religious organization or system of the world has changed this great commandment. Particularly is this statement true with reference to “organized Christianity”, so called. It changes the commandment and causes the people of earth to bow down to a man, as, for example, the head of the Roman system. It changes the commandments by teaching the people to bow down and worship objects and things in the church organization. Let every honest person judge for himself as to whether or not the clergy and religious teachers of “organized Christianity”, so called, are wholly devoted to the Lord God. If they are not, then they have changed the ordinance. If they loved God and were wholly devoted to him, they would keep his commandments to tell the people concerning his purpose of redemption by and through the blood of Christ Jesus his beloved Son, and that his kingdom, when established on earth, will offer the opportunity of life everlasting to the people of earth who will obey his laws.

Instead of so doing, they deny the Bible account of creation and the fall of man and redemption through the blood of Christ Jesus. They teach the wicked and devilish doctrine of the so-called “holy trinity”, in which they make Jesus and the “Holy Ghost” equal with Jehovah God, and then fail to show any love for either God or Christ Jesus. They have freely entered into and participated in the polities of this world, and hypocritically tell the people that the present organized powers will bring them lasting peace and health

ARMAGEDDON

and happiness and make the earth a fit place to live on. They designedly indulge in and practice religion, that turns the people away from God and causes them to hate him rather than to love him. They teach that Jehovah God is a great fiend who has prepared a place of indescribable torture for all who do not come within the folds of their religious system and loyally remain there. If they loved God they would not do that.

A third reason assigned for the impending war is that they have “broken the everlasting covenant”. After the tragedy of Eden the first covenant mentioned in the Bible is that made with Noah. When Noah came out of the ark God told him that he could have everything needful to sustain his life, that he might even take the lives of animals for that purpose, but that he must not eat the blood thereof, wherein is the life. There it was that God made the everlasting covenant with Noah; and in that covenant the sanctity of human life is emphasized. God said to Noah: “And surely your blood of your lives will I require; at the hand of every beast will I require it, and at the hand of man; at the hand of every man’s brother will I require the life of man. Whoso sheddeth man’s blood, by man shall his blood be shed: for in the image of God made he man. ’—Gen. 9:5,6.

This is the “everlasting” covenant referred to by the prophet, because God so names it. At the same time God promised that there should never be another flood that would destroy all the creatures of earth; but the most important part of that covenant was the sanctity of life, which God particularly specified in the covenant. He set a rainbow in the heavens as a token to man of the covenant. Then he said: “And the bow shall be in the cloud; and I will look upon it, that I may remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is upon the earth. ’—Gen. 9:16.

This covenant cannot be limited to the destruction of the world by a flood. If God should refrain from destroying the people by a flood of water, he could still keep that covenant and destroy all the people by some other means. The entire context shows that the most important part of that everlasting covenant is that no man shall take the life of another, except he do so as the duly constituted executive officer authorized by the Lord so to do.

The reason for the law is the life of the law. Jehovah God is the great Life-giver, and therefore no man can with impunity take the life of another. Man could not give life; and he is not authorized to take that which he cannot give. When God made his law covenant with the Israelites, he again emphasized the importance of life when he specifically commanded them, saying, “Thou shalt not kill.’’ It is God who gives life, and God alone has the right to take away life. (Job 1:21) God may and does delegate that authority to others. For instance, he did this in authorizing his people to destroy the enemies of Israel. He delegated the right of execution to his beloved Son Christ Jesus, and he is the great executive officer who will execute Jehovah’s judgment in the impending war or trouble.

All nations, without an exception, have broken the everlasting covenant. It may be said that most of them have done so ignorantly; but they have done it. It becomes the duty of those who claim to be teachers of God’s law to know the law and to teach the people the truth thereof. The clergy, as the people well know, have sanctified war and induced the people to believe that it was and is their sacred duty to kill. Let the people be the judge as to whether or not the clergy have had any excuse or justification for the course they have taken concerning war.

In the World War, in the years 1914 to 1918, many clergymen went with Germany and her allies, and blessed the armies of such, and urged them to kill their fellow men. Britain and her allies were strongly supported by the clergy of their respective countries, both at home and near the battlefield, where they preached to the young men and told them it was their solemn duty to hate and kill their fellow man. No clergyman can stand before an audience anywhere on earth today and honestly declare that “organized Christianity” has ever taken an unequivocal stand on the side of the Lord and asked the people not to kill. The people will be the judges, when considering the faets, that all nations, particularly “Christendom”, have broken the everlasting covenant; and this is one of the reasons why God will bring the great war upon the nations of earth as a just punishment. The everlasting covenant declares: ‘ Whoso sheddeth man’s blood, by man shall his blood be shed.” The man who preaches and urges men to go to the front and kill is equally guilty of the crime with those who kill; and therefore God will punish the nations, and particularly “Christendom”, and he declares that “the man Christ Jesus” shall be the executive officer to inflict divine punishment.

Jehovah God promised to assemble the nations for judgment and for execution. Through the prophet Zephaniah (3:8) he said: “My determination is to gather the nations, that I may assemble the kingdoms, to pour upon them mine indignation, even all my fierce anger: for all the earth shall be devoured with the fire of my jealousy.” And through the prophet Joel (3:11-14) he said: “Assemble yourselves, and come, all ye [nations], and gather yourselves together round about; thither cause thy mighty ones to come down, 0 Lord. . . . Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision; for the day of the Lord is near in the valley of decision.” In the valley of decision, with the great assembly of Satan’s earthly forces stand the haughty, austere, proud and disdainful clergy. These gentlemen usually wear peculiar garments to identify themselves, and often wear skirts. By his prophet God notifies the assembled ones of his purpose to begin the war, and he assigns the reasons therefor. Addressing himself to the clergy and the religious leaders and principal of their flock, he tells them in substance this: ‘You have a form of godliness, but you deny the power thereof; you draw near to God with your lips, but your hearts are far removed from the Lord; therefore you are hypocrites.’—2 Tim. 3:5; Isa. 29:13; Matt. 23:13-32.

Then, addressing them specifically, the Lord Jesus says to all such hypocrites: “Ye serpents, ye generation of vipers! how can ye escape the damnation of hell? . . . Upon you may come all the righteous blood shed upon the earth, from the blood of righteous Abel unto the blood of Zacharias.” (Matt. 23:33-36) The Lord Jehovah tells the political and commercial factors of the nations of the earth of their bloody deeds in violation of the everlasting covenant, and then, specifically addressing himself to the clergy or religious leaders, says: “In thy skirts is found the blood of the souls of the poor innocents; I have not found it by secret search, but upon all these.”—Jer. 2:34.

The innocent blood, mentioned in the last above quoted prophecy, includes the blood of many who have been killed because they faithfully represented Jehovah God. Referring to a prophetic revelation given to him, the apostle John says: “And I saw the woman [Babylon, Satan’s organization] drunken with the blood of the saints, and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus; and when I saw her, I wondered with great admiration.” (Rev. 17: 6) “And in her was found the blood of prophets, and of saints, and of all that were slain upon the earth. ’—Rev. 18: 24.

Addressing the great organization of Satan assembled in the valley of decision, Jehovah pronounces final judgment upon that organization, symbolized by ancient Egypt, saying: “Thus saith the Lord God, Behold, I am against thee, Pharaoh king of Egypt, the great dragon that lieth in the midst of his rivers, which hath said, My river is mine own, and I have made it for myself. ... I will bring thee up out of the midst of thy rivers. ... I will leave thee thrown into the wilderness, thee and all the fish of thy rivers. ... I have given thee for meat to the beasts of the field and to the fowls of the heaven. ... I am against thee, and against thy rivers, and I will make the land of Egypt utterly waste and desolate.”—Ezek. 29: 3-5,10.

Then says the Lord Jehovah: “Behold, the Lord rideth upon a swift cloud, and shall come into Egypt; and the idols of Egypt shall be moved at his presence, and the heart of Egypt shall melt in the midst of it. And I will set the Egyptians against the Egyptians; and they shall fight every one against his brother, and every one against his neighbour; city against city, and kingdom against kingdom.”—Isa. 19:1, 2.

Jehovah pronounces his final judgment against the Devil’s organization, represented by ancient Assyria and its capital city Nineveh, and says: “Woe to the bloody city 1 it is all full of lies and robbery; the prey departeth not. Behold, I am against thee, saith the Lord of hosts; and I will discover thy skirts upon thy face, and I will shew the nations thy nakedness, and the kingdoms thy shame. And it shall come to pass, that all they that look upon thee shall flee from thee, and say, Nineveh is laid waste: who will bemoan her? whence shall I seek comforters for thee?”—Nah. 3:1, 5,7; Mic. 5: 6.

Jesus, the great Prophet, denounces Satan as a “murderer from the beginning”. Satan’s organization has followed a like course. (John 8: 42-44) Of all the haughty, austere, arrogant and disdainful men that have filled the organization of Satan, the religious leaders have taken the front seats. The paintings in the great art galleries stand as silent witnesses to their austerity. The history of the world shows how cruel and austere they have been. As an example, John Calvin, the great ecclesiastic, condemned his fellow man Servetus to death because of his disagreement with Calvin’s belief concerning the Bible. Calvin signed the death warrant and caused Servetus to be burned alive at the stake. There are many places throughout the earth that mark the martyrdom of men and women who were burned or otherwise maliciously murdered because of the cruelty of the religious leaders.

LET'S

PHONOGRAPH THE PROVISION OF JEHOVAH

Dear Brother Rutherford:

I want to send you a note to express my thanks and appreciation for the provision made for pioneers to attend the Columbus convention. Jehovah provides so abundantly for those who love and serve him. The convention was such a thrill; and as we go forth with the additional weapons, we go with a song of joy in our hearts and greater determination to shout the message of comfort and hope for those of good will.

It was also a thrill to learn today that the broadcasts will cease and the army of the Lord will go forth with the provision of Jehovah, the phonograph. Words can never express the joy that one possesses in faithfully using all the weapons the Lord has provided.

May Jehovah richly bless you as he uses you to direct his work. In the army of Jehovah,

Esther M. Rydell.

HEARD “EXPOSED”; WAS SO DELIGHTED

Dear Brother Rutherford:

Truly the Lord made our cup to run over at the Paris convention; we were brought into a large place. ... I returned to Scotland more determined to “press the battle to the gate” and to give my 100-percent devotion.

This week I met a clergyman who had heard the sound car last year and obtained some books then; I put on ‘ ‘ Exposed ’ ’ P-61 to P-64. He was so delighted, and expressed his desire to hear the full series, and made himself the possessor of a Riches book and the booklet Uncovered.

I desire to express my thanks for your great thoughtfulness toward the pioneers, to enable us to go to the Paris convention, and also for the splendid provision made for our comfort: clean accommodations, good food, and the orderly way that things were carried on at the pioneers’ quarters. With warm love in the Lord,

Yours in Jehovah’s service,

(Miss) J. Main, Pioneer.

A RESOLUTION

We, the London company of Jehovah’s witnesses (Ealing Unit), assembled at our Thursday business meeting, 16th December, 1937, do resolve the following:

To hereby convey to Brother Schroeder a cordial welcome into our midst as [servant] for the British branch of the Watch Tower Bible & Tract Society.

We declare to Brother Schroeder our loyalty and close cooperation, and readiness to carry out all Society instructions received through him, or direct from Brooklyn, and we look forward to a greater activity in the field service under his direction.

We further determine to send a copy of this resolution to our beloved president, that he may be assured of our complete unity with him, and our fullest support to the one he has ap-

POINTED

pointed (by the Lord’s direction) for our leadership in the British field.

Furthermore, we desire to express our gratitude for the new recordings (“Worshiping God”), and feel sure that these will speedily contribute to a greater manifestation of the Jona-dab company, and we joyfully determine to press on with renewed zeal to do His “strange work”.

“MODEL STUDY” USED WITH SPLENDID RESULTS

Dear Brethren:

Since returning from the Columbus convention the publishers of the Dayton company have been using with great profit the Model Study booklet in conducting meetings for the study of the Uncovered and Protection booklets in carrying on the great work of publishing the kingdom message in southwestern Ohio.

At last Friday evening’s service and business meeting a motion carried unanimously instructing the secretary to write a letter to the Society at Brooklyn advising them that the friends of the Dayton company greatly appreciate the Model Study booklet now being used with such splendid results in conducting these meetings, and suggesting, if in your opinion it is desirable, advisable and possible at this time, that the same arrangement be provided for an outline of a model study covering the “Safety” and “Worshiping God” series.

Praying Jehovah’s rich blessing upon you as you so fearlessly and effectively proclaim his message of truth, we are

Your fellow servants in joyful Kingdom service,

Dayton [Ohio] Company of Jehovah’s witnesses,

RIGHT BASIS FOR TRUE COMPANIONSHIP

Dear Brother Rutherford:

Will you please take notice of the report of Bethel studies at Helsinki office during the month of November, 1937, as follows.

First we studied “Companions”, an article which wholly astonished us when we saw that there are in the Bible so numerous places showing the remnant and the great multitude together. It shows also the right basis for a true companionship and the delightful aspect we have in waiting on more and more new—and mostly young—forces on the field. The mutual peace and love of these companions is unique in the world.

Also first part of “His ‘Work’ and His ‘Act’ ” has been studied. It gives us already so much enlightenment, through Jeremiah, in our privileges and duties, that it seems to be one of the most interesting and nourishing articles of our dear Watchtower.

The attendance has been: November 2, 12 persons; 9th, 13; 16th, 13; 23d, 13; and 30th, 13.

Very thankful for all encouragement which we through you have got month by month, we are herewith sending you our love and asking God’s richest blessings upon you continually.

Your little brother by His grace,

Eero Nironen, Secretary.