^He WATCHTOWER,

Published Semimonthly By

WATCH TOWER BIBLE & TRACT SOCIETY

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officers

J. F. Rutherford, President W. E. Van Amburgh, Secretary “And ail thy children shall be taught of Jehovah; and great shall be the peace of thy children.” - Latah 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 things; 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 obedient ones of 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 a Theocracy 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 the people of good will that survive Armageddon shall carry out the divine mandate to ‘‘fill the earth” with a righteous race.

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 religion, 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

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(Translations of this journal appear in several languages.)

All sincere students of the Bible who by reason ot infirmity, poverty or adversity are unable to pay the subscription price may have The Watchtower free upon written application to the publlshcis, 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,

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"CHALLENGE”TESTIMONY PERIOD

The above period embraces the entire month of October and applies to all countries. Its name refers to Jehovah’s challenge to the opposing nations for a showdown fight. That challenge is set forth, in no mincing words, in the feature publication which will be circulated during this Period, to wit, the new book Religion. At the same time there will be released for public distribution the new booklet Conspiracy Against Democracy Both publications will be offered together on a contribution of 25c. No time to be lost now, and all desiring to do their proper part will promptly take this Period under consideration as to material, territory, procedure, etc. Any Watchtower readers wishing to get in touch with the nearest company organized for this service should write us or our branch office for references, now. Each one’s full report of activities is expected at the close of the month for inclusion in a world report.

“WATCHTOWER” STUDIES

Week of November 3: “Ehud” (Part 2), fl 1-20 inclusive, The Watchtower October 1, 1940.

Week of November 10: “Ehud” (Part 2), fl 21-37 mclnsive, The Watchtower October 1,1940.

OPPORTUNITIES OF SERVICE

Jonadabs between 20 and 30 years of age, both male and female, married and single, who desire to file an application foi assignment to service by the Society, please write the Society Address your letter

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"THE MESSENGER”

The full history of the first Theocratic Convention of Jehovah’s witnesses is now published in the 1940 issue of The Messenger This eigh teen-city, five-day convention, which culminated in the nation-wide address by Judge Rutherford on “Religion as a World Remedy”, was an event of no passing importance. The Messenger, with its sweep of information, and its emphasis on the vital features, brings out the significance thereof which fast-movmg future events will only verify. This issue contains 64 pages, is replete with action pictures, and also contains the stirring non-programmed speeches of Judge Rutherford not elsewhere published. It is now

(Continued on page 303)

fieWmnDWER

ANNOUNCING JEHOVAH’S KINGDOM

Vol. LXI                                       October 1, 1940                                          No. 19

EHUD

PART 2

“Blessed be the Lord my strength, which teacheth my hands to war, and my fingers to fight.”—Ps. 144:1.

JEHOVAH selected David to perform parts in I prophetic dramas picturing Christ Jesus, his J great Vindicator. Of David Jehovah said: ‘He is a man after ray own heart.’ That meant that David’s faithful devotion to Jehovah in performance of duty had Jehovah’s approval. David was a warrior, always battling for righteousness, looking to the vindication of Jehovah’s name. While Christ Jesus is “the Prince of Peace”, he is also the great Warrior, leading the battle forces of Jehovah, to the vindication of His name. (Rev. 19:11-1G) Ehud also played a part in the prophetic drama here under consideration, representing Christ Jesus the great Warrior of righteousness. In this part of the prophetic drama he pictured also the faithful body members of Christ Jesus, acting under the leadership of their Head and Lord. Jehovah has made many prophetic pictures foretelling that his beloved Son, Christ Jesus, will make war upon the Devil’s organization and completely destroy that wicked organization and will fully and completely vindicate Jehovah’s name. Thus Christ engages in a real warfare.

² In the text introducing this article, that is, Psalm 144 :1, the prayer of The Christ is put in the mouth of those who are of his body members, and they pray earnestly with the hope and expectation of its fulfillment. To them Jehovah is the blessed One, and so they of the royal organization say: “Blessed be [Jehovah] my strength.” He is the strength of his faithful ones. The everlasting arm of Jehovah bears up his servants. Jehovah gives strength to those who love and serve him; as he declares: “For the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to shew himself strong in the behalf of them whose heart is perfect toward him.”—2 Chron. 16: 9.

’ In full harmony with Jehovah’s purpose the “faithful servant” class, pictured in the foregoing, utter the prayer: “Which teacheth my hands to war, and my fingers to fight.” Jehovah’s witnesses pray this prayer, and they do everything in harmony with God’s will that they can do to perform that which the prayer calls upon them to do. That does not mean that Jehovah’s witnesses engage in physical combat in order to make known the kingdom. What, then, is the instrument of war which Jehovah’s witnesses use?

* The apostle, under inspiration of the holy spirit, answers: “And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the spirit, which is the word of God.” (Eph. 6:17) In full harmony with this instruction Jehovah’s witnesses have armed themselves with the “sword of the spirit”, that is to say, God’s Word, and an explanation thereof, which God has given. It is with God’s Word that they do the work that he has assigned to them, and their instruments of warfare are “mighty ... to the pulling down of strong holds”. The religious strongholds are Satan’s prison houses, in which many persons are held in ignorance of God’s Word. The religious leaders fight desperately to prevent the people from learning the truth, and by that means to prevent those of good will from escaping from their prison houses. It is clearly the express purpose of Jehovah God that the wicked religious institutions shall be uncovered and exposed to plain view in order to enable the people of good will to flee from them and find a place of safety in God’s organization.

⁵ There cannot be the slightest doubt in the mind of the true servant class of the Lord that Jehovah through Christ Jesus has equipped the “faithful and wise servant”, pictured in Ehud and his mission, to go right after the religious organizations and tell the truth about them and to show them up and to inform the people that religion is a tool and instrument of Satan to entrap the people. Thereby the Lord furnishes opportunity for the oppressed class of prisoners who are of good will to hear and to lay hold upon the Theocratic message and to find the way to complete freedom. The words of Christ Jesus are very appropriate: “And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” (John 8:32) Those of good will must hear and accept the truth and therefore believe in Jehovah God and Christ Jesus as Vindicator, and must turn to Jehovah's organization and devote themselves thereto, in order to gain their freedom.

^e To carry out his divinely given commission Ehud prepared himself. Of course, such preparation was according to the will and direction of Jehovah; as it is written: “But Ehud made him a dagger [sword (2?.P.)] which had two edges, of a cubit length; and he did gird it under his raiment upon his right thigh." —Judg. 3:16.

’ That was not a short dagger, but one long enough to reach through the fat of Eglon’s belly; for he was a very fat man. His belly was his god, and he kept it well supplied, regardless of what others might need for their sustenance. Ehud made his sword a long knife therefore, on both sides. There would be no halfway results to his effort, but he would accomplish the mission for which he was sent, and do it completely. When his left hand wielded that sword Eglon was done for.

⁸ Now in fulfillment of this part of the prophetic drama, note Ephesians 6:17: “And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the spirit, which is the word of God." That sword with which the remnant is armed, by the grace of the Lord, is the message from Almighty God through Christ Jesus of and concerning The Theocratic Government. The oppressed people must learn that the “Higher Powers” are Jehovah and Christ Jesus, and that religion is of Satan, which the Devil uses to entrap and enslave the people and turn them away from God. And how did the Ehud class, the “remnant”, the “feet” of Christ on the earth, fashion the “sword” for their work! They ceased entirely from bestowing honor and praise upon men. They no longer sought the approval of men. They obeyed the commandments of Jehovah God, to wit: “Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.”— 2 Tim. 2:15.

* Thereafter the remnant no longer have used religious methods. They soon learned that by the use of God's appointed way and by using the sword with which they have been armed by the Lord’s grace they put themselves in danger of great criticism and opposition by the religious leaders. That neither frightened nor deterred them in their work. The faithful seized hold upon the two-edged sword, that is to say, the pure word of Almighty God, which cuts both ways: “For the word of God is quick and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.”—Heb. 4:12.

• ¹⁰ That instrument of warfare punctures and cuts in all directions. The message of the truth penetrates the very vitals of the religious organizations and their leaders, who hold to and teach traditions. The sword, being the war weapon furnished by the Lord, is not too short, but of ample length to cut clear through the fat of the religious organizations that have joined up together and that have fed themselves and grown exceedingly fat, while they have let the common people starve, exactly as the Lord foretold through his prophet. (Ezek. 34: 7-15) As Ehud fearlessly went forward to carry out his commission, so the antitypical Ehudites at this point have gone forward fearlessly, so far as man is concerned. They have made Jehovah God their fear and have been diligent to perform his will.—Isa. 8:12,13.

• ¹¹ Eglon, the king of Moab, would not expect an armed foe to carry his knife strapped on his right thigh, nor would he expect him to draw it with his left hand. That was contrary to the practice amongst the fighters. Likewise the religious oppressors and their allies have regarded Jehovah’s witnesses as a religious sect and they have expected them to fight according to the religious manner, according to the traditions of men, and not according to the Word of God. Ehud took his sharp sword, and “he did gird it under his raiment upon his right thigh”. His raiment identified him as a servant, and the knife on his right thigh pictured him as a warrior; and thus he represented or pictured Christ Jesus, the servant of Almighty God and the great Warrior, to whom Jehovah said: “Gird thy sword upon thy thigh, 0 most Mighty, with thy glory and thy majesty. And in thy majesty ride prosperously because of truth and meekness and righteousness; and thy right hand shall teach thee terrible things.”—Ps. 45 : 3, 4.

• ¹² Ehud’s sword was therefore concealed from Eglon; likewise the message of truth is concealed from the religionists, for the reason that they are blind to the purposes of Jehovah, being under the influence and power of the demons. (Matt. 23: 19-28) The men who stood as guards of King Eglon would look at the left thigh for weapons on Ebud, because that is where such weapons are usually carried. The religionists likewise have looked on the wrong side for the truth. They follow the traditions of men, and hence do not discern the “sword of the spirit”, the meaning of the Word of God.

• ¹³ Girding himself with his sword meant that Ehud was prepared for war. So likewise when the Lord Jesus sends forth his anointed from the temple he directs them to put on the war equipment and to go to the battle. (Eph. 6:10-18) The enemy cannot see the equipment of Jehovah’s witnesses, for the reason that religionists are blind to the truth. Religionists do not fight according to divine rules, but fight with blindness as to the proper course.

• ¹‘ Ehud appeared as a peaceful messenger to the king: “And he brought the present unto Eglon king of Moab; and Eglon was a very fat man.” (Judg. 3:17) A present being brought to the king, he would not suspect anything but peace. So likewise Jehovah’s witnesses are a peaceful people, yet warriors for the cause of righteousness. They go with a message of peace, but that message from the Lord is one of war against unrighteousness. Eglon was a glutton, feeding himself like the unfaithful shepherds in the great religious organizations. “Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel, prophesy, and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord God unto the shepherds, Woe be to the shepherds of Israel that do feed themselves I should not the shepherds feed the flocks? Ye eat the fat, and ye clothe you with the wool, ye kill them that are fed; but ye feed not the flock.” (Ezek. 34: 2, 3) Note how well the psalmist describes the great religious leaders, pictured by fat Eglon: “For I was envious at the foolish when I saw the prosperity of the wicked. For there are no bands in their death; but their strength is firm. They are not in trouble as other men; neither are they plagued like other men. Therefore pride compasseth them about as a chain; violence covereth them as a garment. Their eyes stand out with fatness; they have more than heart could wish. They are corrupt, and speak wickedly concerning oppression; they speak loftily. They set their mouth against the heavens; and their tongue walketh through the earth. Behold, these are the ungodly, who prosper in the world; they increase in riches.”—Ps. 73: 3-9, 12.

¹⁵ “And when he had made an end to offer the present, he sent away the people that bare the present.” (Judg. 3:18) In 1931 Jehovah’s witnesses began serving upon the religious leaders and their allies the booklet The Kingdom, The Hope of the World. That was a message of the Lord, delivered by his servants, particularly to those who insist, and then insisted, on religion as being the hope of mankind. So that message raised the question: “Religion or the kingdom message: which is the people’s hope?”

• ¹⁸ Ehud himself withdrew from the king’s presence, but within a very short season returned to the king: “But he himself turned again from the quarries that were by Gilgal, and said, I have a secret errand unto thee, 0 king; who said, Keep silence. And all that stood by him went out from him. And Ehud came unto him; and he was sitting in a summer parlour, which he had for himself alone: and Ehud said, I have a message from God unto thee. And he arose out of his seat.”—Judg. 3:19, 20.

• ¹⁷ He desiring to be entirely private with the king and requesting a private audience, the king sent away all his attendants. Then, hearing from Ehud that he had a message for the king from the Lord, Eglon arose out of his seat. Without a doubt Jehovah was directing the drama in every minute detail, even as he directs his own people now on the earth. It was in 1933 that the message of the Lord began to be directed specifically to the Roman Catholic Hierarchy, the chief religious organization on the earth, which rules other religious organizations. From that time onward the Watchtower publications emphasized the fact that the Scriptures show that the Philistines opposing Samson pictured the Roman Catholic Hierarchy. Also The Watchtower, on June 15,1936, contained a message as made clear by the Lord that the Roman Catholic Hierarchy was foreshadowed by the Edomites; then that the “totalitarian state”, the Roman Catholic Hierarchy and their allies, are in a league to rule the earth in opposition to The Theocracy. Since then Jehovah’s witnesses have continued to tell God’s message, not against the Catholic people, but to all who would hear, thereby showing that the Roman Catholic Hierarchy is in fact the chief instrument in the hand of Satan to rob the people of the hope of everlasting life. As the purpose of Ehud was to deliver the Israelites, so the purpose of Jehovah’s witnesses, acting under the command of the Lord Jesus, has been and is to show the people of good will, Catholics, Protestants and others, that The Theocracy is the only hope of escape and deliverance to life.

• ¹⁸ “And Ehud put forth his left hand, and took the dagger from his right thigh, and thrust it into his belly. And the haft also went in after the blade; and the fat closed upon the blade, so that he could not draw the dagger out of his belly; and the dirt caine out.”—Judg. 3: 21, 22.

” Ehud stood before King Eglon and quickly drew his sword and used it. That sword was a symbol of the divine message which carries the announcement of the judgment of death rendered by Jehovah against the oppressive and defamatory religious organization. The published message from 1936 onward particularly sets forth Jehovah’s death judgment against that great religious institution, which has for a long time blinded the people and held them prisoners and kept them away from the truth. The totalitarian monster, of which the Roman Catholic Hierarchy is the religious top-rider, received the proclamation of Jehovah’s judgment of death. God’s people told them that their end is destruction. As Ehud’s sword drove home, so likewise the antitypical sword struck the Satanic institution in the middle of the “very fat man”. God has sent forth his message showing plainly to the people that religion in general, and the so-called “Christian religion” in particular, is a snare into which the Devil and his associated demons have caught the people; that it is a racket, in this: that the religious institutions have, in their selfish practices and oppressions, grown exceedingly fat; that they have deprived the people of their honest possessions, and that such religious institutions have appropriated to their own selfish use the possessions of the people and therefore grown exceedingly rich. Such religious organizations and leaders the apostle describes in these words: “Whose end is destruction, whose God is their belly, and whose glory is in their shame, who mind earthly things.” (Phil. 3:19) That great religious institution has coveted and still covets the rulership of the world contrary to Jehovah’s purpose. “Covetousness . . . is idolatry.” (Col. 3: 5, 6) Says Jehovah’s Word concerning those who persecute his faithful servants: “They are inclosed in their own fat; with their mouth they speak proudly.” (Ps. 17:10) Men of God feed upon the Word of God; as it is written: “Bow down thine ear, and hear the words of the wise, and apply thine heart unto my knowledge. For it is a pleasant thing if thou keep them within thee; they shall withal be fitted in thy lips.” (Prov. 22:17,18) But as for religionists, the Word of God is deadly, striking such institutions in the vitals and cutting them in every direction.

• ²⁰ The prophetic drama of Ehud and Eglon shows God’s purpose from the beginning to destroy religion, and particularly all such institutions and instruments as fraudulently use the name of Jehovah to deceive and rob the people and to thereby grow great and fat in themselves. It also shows that the delivery of the message of truth by Jehovah’s witnesses is not of their making or choice, but that the deadly message is “the sword of the spirit”, which exposes to the view of all the wickedness of the religious institutions, and this in order that the people may say that their only means of escape and salvation is to flee to Jehovah God and Christ. Now The Theocratic message that has been delivered during the past few years by Jehovah’s witnesses and companions appears to be drawing near a close. What will be the final effect of that message upon the peoples and nations? Does the prophetic drama here under consideration disclose the final effect upon the religious, totalitarian combine that now dominates the earth and oppresses the people ? Seeing that Eglon pictured the religious, commercial institutions operating for selfish gain, and that Ehud pictured the King of The Theocratic Government and the faithful members who compose “the feet of him”, the remainder of the drama will be pursued with keen interest by all those who love righteousness and who are on the side of The Theocracy.

• ²¹ Eglon, the king of Moab, who played a part in this prophetic drama, had moved into and taken possession of a part of the earth where he had no right to be. That land so occupied by him was holy land, that is to say, entirely dedicated and set aside for use by the people whom God had chosen and led out of Egypt into Canaan for his own name’s sake. Because of the unfaithfulness of the Israelites in turning to religion, God had not interfered with Eglon taking possession of that part of the land assigned to the tribe of Benjamin, but had permitted Eglon to prosper and be strengthened for a time. There God severely disciplined the Israelites; but, of even greater importance, he made a prophetic drama foretelling what would come to pass upon “Christendom” because of the unfaithfulness of those who profess to be followers of Christ Jesus and who have persecuted God’s faithful servants. Religious organizations were formed shortly after the end of the earthly career of the apostles of Jesus Christ, and such religious organizations took the name of God and Christ. They became practitioners of what is called “the Christian religion”. The Roman Catholic religious organization took the lead in this religio-political movement, and within a short time after the organization thereof it began to be operated by selfish men for material gain. Then came into existence another religious organization called “Protestant”, the sincere men of whom protested against the wrongful course taken by the Roman Catholic system. Later that Protestant organization followed in the lead of the Catholic organization, fell under the control of selfish men, entered into the political affairs of the world, and operated for selfish gain. At the time of the coining of the Lord Jesus as King in 1914 all the religious organizations called “Christendom” rejected Christ as King and insisted on the world’s being ruled by selfish men. Their course became a stumbling stone to all the professed ones of “Christendom”. Catholic and Protestant and other religious organizations began to operate along these same lines and together, and at the present time it is difficult to find the line of demarcation between Catholics and so-called “Protestants”. What is called amongst the Protestants “The Ministerial Alliance” has fallen completely into the same error with the Roman Catholic organization. All of these organizations are against The Theocratic Government, and thus it is seen that they fulfill the prophecy which Jehovah caused to be written long ago pertaining to these organizations, to wit: That Christ Jesus, the enthroned King, has become a “stone of stumbling, and for a rock of offence, to both the houses of Israel [so-called ‘spiritual Israel’]; for a gin and for a snare to the inhabitants of Jerusalem [‘Christendom’]”. (Isa. 8: 14) By religion they have been caught with the gin and with the snare of the Devil. The Roman Catholic Hierarchy and the “Ministerial Alliance” of the Protestant organization appear to have adopted the same course of resorting to lying propaganda, to bolster up their own organization in the eyes of the people. To this end they persecuted those who served Jehovah in spirit and in truth. The prophecy which applies primarily to the Roman Catholic Hierarchy applies also to the so-called “Ministerial Alliance” that operate in conjunction with the Hierarchy. Jehovah God, through his prophet, says to these scornful and oppressive men, who wish to rule for selfish gain, these words: “Wherefore hear the word of the Lord, ye scornful men, that rule this people which is in Jerusalem: because ye have said, We have made a covenant with death, and with hell are we at agreement; when the overflowing scourge shall pass through, it shall not come unto us; for we have made lies our refuge, and under falsehood have we hid ourselves. Therefore thus saith the Lord God, Behold, I lay in Zion for a foundation a stone, a tried stone, a precious corner stone, a sure foundation; he that believeth shall not make haste. Judgment also will I lay to the line, and righteousness to the plummet; and the hail shall sweep away the refuge of lies, and the waters shall overflow the hiding place. And your covenant with death shall be disannulled, and your agreement with hell shall not stand; when the overflowing scourge shall pass through, then ye shall be trodden down by it.”— Isa. 28:14-18.

• ²² Not a single one of the religious organizations now on earth favors and supports the Kingdom of God under Christ, which is the great Theocracy. Not one of them recognizes the fact that God has enthroned Christ Jesus and that all who do not support his kingdom are against him.

• ²³ At the present time, when the nations of earth are ruled by cruel dictators, the great religious organizations, composed of religious, commercial and political elements, co-operate with and support such selfish rulers as against God’s kingdom. All of these organizations insist on a rule of the world by men. These organizations therefore stand in the place where they ought not to stand.

• ²⁴ Eglon, the king of Moab, had moved into and taken possession of the holy ground, and for years had oppressed the Israelites. In 1914 Jehovah enthroned his King, Christ Jesus, and then gave him possession of all the earth. Religious, political and commercial elements, joining together, insist on holding possession of the earth and ignoring God’s enthroned King; and thus they stand on holy ground, where they have no right to stand. This combined organization, foreshadowed by Eglon, claims the right to hold possession and rule the earth, even claiming to do so in the name of the Lord. This combination, acting under the influence and control of the demons, of which the Devil is the chief, constitutes “the abomination of desolation”, concerning which Daniel the prophet prophesied and to which prophecy Jesus referred, when he said: “But when ye shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing where it ought not, (let him that readeth understand,) then let them that be in Judaea flee to the mountains.”—Mark 13:14.

• ²⁵ That means that Jehovah’s time is at hand for a final reckoning with the enemy. This fact Jehovah now reveals for the benefit of his “elect” and “companions”. (Mark 13:20) In the words spoken by Jesus last above quoted the meaning is clear, that they that read and understand will be only those who are earnest, faithful supporters of The Theocracy and who therefore understand and appreciate Jehovah and his government. These are “in Judaea”, that is to say, in the class that praise and serve Jehovah God. The “mountains” refer to God’s kingdom under Jehovah, the King Eternal, and Christ Jesus, his King anointed to rule the earth. Therefore these faithful ones, the Judeans, are told that when they see the then existing conditions, which are not apparent to all in the earth, they, for safety, must flee to the great Theocratic Government of Jehovah by Christ Jesus the King. There is no other place of safety and no other means of deliverance.

• ²’ Eglon, the king of Moab, was “a very fat man”, and thus he pictured “Christendom”, made up of the aforementioned three elements that claim the right to rule the earth by men, and which combined organization has grown exceedingly fat, arrogant and blasphemous. As Eglon oppressed the Israelites, even so “Christendom’s” rulers manifest great opposition to the covenant people of God now on the earth. The persecution of God’s people continues to increase each year, growing worse since the coming of Christ Jesus to the temple in 1918. In many of the ruling nations of the earth the work of proclaiming the kingdom message has been suppressed, and in all this oppressive action against God and against his elect servants the Roman Catholic religious organization takes the lead. The result is that many who once claimed to be the servants of God have grown weak and turned away. Their faith has failed. Only faithful dev.oted ones have stood and continue to stand firm on the side of The Theocracy, and this they do in the strength of the Lord. The oppressive persecution of the Lord’s servants at the present time has been a great test to the faith of the saints. This is exactly as the Lord foretold it would be.

• ²⁷ Satan’s visible organization operating under the direction of the invisible force blasphemes the name of Jehovah God by claiming that it alone belongs to Jehovah; and they persecute and oppress those who are devoted to The Theocracy, and thus the earthly rulers exercise control over the people of earth and keep them in subjection. The present day is a time of great testing of the faith of those who have wholly devoted themselves to The Theocratic Government. Only the faithful understand this statement of the Lord Jesus, to wit: “Here is the patience and the faith of the saints/’ (Rev. 13:10) These faithful ones know that these trying times are a great test to them and that they must stand in the strength of the Lord. In this hour of gross darkness and distress upon the nations and peoples of the earth, the question is, Will there be some persons who will have and maintain full and complete confidence in God and in Christ Jesus? Will these know and rely upon the divine promises, disregard everything that is contrary to God’s Word, and go straight forward in full obedience to Jehovah’s commandments, regardless of what the opposition may be? Will there be some who will maintain their integrity toward God under the most trying conditions? Such is the very point raised by the words of the Lord Jesus Christ. He says: “And shall not God avenge his own elect, which cry day and night unto him, though he bear long with them? I tell you that he will avenge them speedily. Nevertheless, when the Son of man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth?” (Luke 18: 7, 8) According to the Diaglott rendering the words of Jesus are: “But when the Son of man comes, will he find this belief on the land?”

⁸⁸ Who on the earth today has this strong and abiding faith? Who understands the meaning of these trying times, particularly the great persecution of those who serve God and Christ? Do you believe that Jehovah God, by Christ Jesus, will within a very short time avenge his elect and thus vindicate his own great and holy name? “According to your faith be it unto you.” Remember that the things written in the Bible aforetime, including this prophetic drama and other prophetic dramas, were recorded there for the very purpose of giving comfort and hope to those faithful ones now on the earth who trust in God and in Christ Jesus. If you have faith in these prophetic utterances of the Lord, then you will understand why these terrible conditions now exist and you will read with real joy what God declares shall shortly come to pass. You will be assured that all things shall work together for your good because you love God and have been called according to his purpose, and that, come what may, the final result will be glorious to those who stand firm on the side of the great Theocracy. Unto such faithful ones the assurance is given that God will avenge his people, and that shortly.

• ²⁸ The name Eglon means “calf-like” or “like a heifer”. Fat Eglon, like an overstuffed heifer, rested his fat in his summer parlor and took his ease. Eglon there pictured the religious organizations operating such institutions for selfish gain, carrying forward a racket, and by means of which they have grown fat, absorbing that which rightfully belongs to others. That description is of the chief religious organization, operating on the earth. Without a question of doubt the Roman Catholic Hierarchy is the fattest organization on earth, having extracted from the people their substance for many centuries and having thus grown exceedingly rich in material things. This organization well corresponds with that described by Jesus when he spoke of the religious leaders in Jerusalem, telling them that they had made God’s house a den of commercial thieves. (Matt. 21:12,13; John 2:13-17) Being fat and taking his ease and rest, Eglon felt himself absolutely secure. Likewise the great religious organizations have grown very fat, particularly the leading one, the Boman Catholic Hierarchy, and the time is near for them to say: “We are at peace and are safe.” Just as the Lord foretold through the prophet Isaiah, they will say, ‘When the overflowing scourge comes, it won’t reach us.’ (Isa. 28:15) These are the ones described by the apostle as saying: “Peace and safety.” (1 Thess. 5: 3) When their dictator allies have overrun the earth and suppressed all opposition, the antitypical fat Eglon will say: “Peace and safety”; while the people suffer under the iron rule.

• ⁸⁰ God raised up Ehud for the purpose of making this prophetic picture. All the saints on earth today are fully united with Christ Jesus, the Head and leader thereof; hence the name “Ehud”, which means “united”, embraces Christ Jesus and all the faithful members of “his body”. The part played by Ehud therefore not only includes Christ Jesus, the enthroned King at the temple, but takes in his representatives on earth, which are God’s elect. Ehud gained an audience and stood in the presence of Eglon the king. The hour for Eglon’s judgment and execution had arrived. Christ Jesus, the Greater Ehud, has been at the temple since 1918, judging the nations. Since 1922 in particular Christ Jesus has been driving the “sword of the spirit” right into the vitals of the religious, commercial and political combine that blasphemes and defames Jehovah’s holy name. That “sword of the spirit” is double-edged and cuts deep. (Heb. 4:12) And as Ehud stood before Eglon ready for action, so the time is at hand when the Greater Ehud is about to take action performing Jehovah’s “strange act”.

• ⁸¹ Fat Eglon stood up because he was expecting to receive something more. Then Ehud deftly drew from his right thigh his sword and thrust it right into Eglon’s fat belly: “And the haft also went in after the blade; and the fat closed upon the blade, so that he could not draw the dagger out of his belly; and the dirt came out.”—Judg. 3: 22.

• ⁸⁸ Ehud struck with such force that the sword went clear in and stayed in. He did not make a halfway job of it. He did his work with a zeal for Jehovah, that zeal which is peculiar only to God's royal house. Eglon’s fat belly provided ample room for the entire

length of the sword, handle and all. That sword was a cubit long, which meant that it was at least eighteen inches in length, and probably twenty-five inches. Originally a cubit was in length the measurement of the human arm from the tip of the middle finger to the elbow. That long dagger or sword hit Eglon’s belly with such force that it went in out of sight, so that he could not draw it out.

• ¹³ In this part of the picture or prophetic drama it is made clearly to appear that the Greater Ehud, Christ Jesus, will do a full and complete job on the combine that stands “where it ought not” to stand. Religionists have made their belly their god. The same is true of the commercial, political allies that have embraced religion for selfish purposes; and concerning such selfish, fat ones it is written: “Whose end is destruction, whose God is their belly, and whose glory is in their shame, who mind earthly things.” (Phil. 3:19) “Such serve not our Lord Jesus Christ, but their own belly.” (Rom. 16:18) Specifically this description applies to the Roman Catholic Hierarchy and the principal of their flock, allies and supporters; which organization is now greatly swollen and very fat, and concerning which the Lord says: “How much she hath glorified herself, and lived deliciously!” (Rev. 18:5-7) Antitypically that fat belly affords sufficient room to receive the full length of the “sword”, which the Greater Ehud wields.

• ³⁴ Concerning the sword of Ehud, according to the Revised Version, the record is: “He drew not the sword out of his [Eglon’s] body.” Likewise the great religious organization and allies will be entirely incapacitated and unable to draw out the sword which the Greater Ehud, Christ Jesus, thrust into their vitals. As well try to pull out the twelve stones deposited by Joshua in the bottom of the river Jordan. (Josh. 4: 9) Both the sword and the pile of stones picture the message that is delivered against the fat, selfish, religio-political, commercial organization. The message concerning God’s kingdom, which has been piled up during the past twenty years, is so vast that the religious systems and allies aforementioned cannot get rid of the same. The Theocratic message, which the Lord has put out on the earth and pushed clear into “Christendom’s” vitals, is there to stay, foretelling the violent destruction of “Christendom” at Armageddon.

• ³⁵ According to the Douay (Catholic) version of the Bible, this part of the text concerning the dagger is rather emphatic. It reads (Judg. 3: 22): “With such force that the haft went in after the blade into the wound, and was closed up with the abundance of fat, so that he did not draw out the dagger, but left it in his body as he had struck it in, and forthwith by the secret parts of nature the excrements of the belly came out.” (Douay Version) The sword thrust in by Ehud disclosed all the excrement or dirt of fat Eglon. Likewise the thrust of the message of God’s kingdom into the belly of “Christendom” discloses the dirty record of that institution. (Eph. 6:17) The thrust that the “sword of the spirit”, or message from Jehovah God, pushed into the vitals of the wicked organization discloses the dirty wickedness of that institution. The so-called “reformation movements”, such as of Protestants and others, have made a few scratches on the Hierarchy, which have been quickly healed up; but when the time arrived for the Lord Jesus to expose that hypocritical organization he by his message has cut so deep that the filthy organization has not been able to further hide its dirt, thus disclosing the spirit which animates and controls that blasphemous organization. The religionists have fought desperately to keep the message of truth from exposing their filthy record, but it will be fully disclosed by the Lord Jesus in his due time, which time seems near. When that dirt of the institution is fully disclosed, it will be found that the Hierarchy has been working hand in glove with the Nazis that have overrun the harmless people of the earth in the lands that are called “Catholic countries”; that the Hierarchy has secretly and fully connived with and supported the ruthless and wicked assaults upon these nations, while at the same time uttering empty words to make the gullible people believe that the head of the Hierarchy disapproves of the dictators’ rash action. The Hierarchy is playing a two-handed game, claiming to be supporting and looking after all Catholics, yet conniving at destroying and destroying all those who love freedom of speech and freedom of action, in order that the “corporate state” or dictatorial rulers may gain complete control of the earth, with the Hierarchy riding as the spiritual adviser on the back of “the beast”. In due time the Lord will expose that dirt, or dirty conduct, because the Lord has declared he will do it. Regardless of what men may do, the Lord will perform his purpose. Probably the exposing of that “dirt”, or filthy record and action of the religionists, will furnish the excuse for the radical element to inflict punishment upon the Hierarchy, as stated at Revelation 17:16,17. Armageddon will begin with completely stripping off everything that hides the Hierarchy behind their “refuge of lies”, and when they are thus stripped the dirt thereof will be fully disclosed. Poor old Eglon, with the sword sticking in his belly, pictured that condition.

• ³³ Eglon had provided a back door for his own convenience; and so Ehud, being now pressed for time, took advantage of that postern gate or door. “Then Ehud went forth through the porch, and shut the doors of the parlour upon him, and locked them.” (Judg. 3: 23) Ehud thus took advantage of the provision which Eglon had made for his own well-being.

Ehud did not make the back door himself, but, no doubt, someone else made it for him, and he availed himself of it. In the United States particularly the fundamental law provides for the protection of the people. The Constitution of the United States was made for the convenience of the people. The Hierarchy has taken full advantage of the provisions of the United States Constitution to carry on without interruption her religious racket, claiming to be immune from the law of the nation when those laws interfered with her action. The Constitution provides that no law shall be enacted by Congress establishing any form of religion. The constitutions of many of the states provide that no law shall be made that shall interfere with or control the conscientious belief and exercise of men concerning religion. The Hierarchy has taken advantage of these liberal provisions, while at the same time the Hierarchy vigorously attempts to prevent others from taking advantage of the said fundamental laws of the nation and the states. This the Hierarchy does to prevent the message of God’s kingdom from being carried to the people. The fundamental law of the land, thus guaranteeing the people the right of freedom of worship and freedom of speech and pictured by the back door, has been a provision that has prevented the ultrareligionists from stopping the work of the Lord’s servants; and, until God’s due time for his ■‘strange work” to be stopped, the efforts of the Hierarchy to prevent the work from being carried on will avail nothing. Ehud went out the back door and locked it so that Eglon’s aides could not come to Eglon’s relief. Similarly Jehovah’s faithful servants carried on their witness work and figuratively locked the door on the Hierarchy by availing themselves of the fundamental law of the nation. Up to the present time in America God has not permitted the Hierarchy to stop the onward march of the kingdom message, and will not permit it to be stopped until his “strange work” is done. It seems quite certain that God permitted these just and fundamental laws long ago to be made for the very purpose of affording his people a means of protecting themselves against the assaults of religionists at the present time. For this reason the Supreme Court of the United States, up to the present time, has furnished the chief bulwark or barrier to the rabid action of the ultrareligious organizations that have persecuted Jehovah’s witnesses.

• ⁵⁷ Jehovah has sent forth his swarm of “locusts”, figuratively representing his faithful servants, and these carry the message of The Theocratic Government to the people, and the Hierarchy and allies will not be permitted to stop that army of “locusts” until the work assigned to them is done. (Joel 1:4; 2: 11, 25) Now as the day of Armageddon approaches, at which time the “strange work” of Jehovah will be finished and his “strange act” will begin, the Hierarchy is acting in a desperate manner and in the same line as that employed by the Nazis. The “fifth column” is employed, and this by planting throughout the country radical and violent opposers of Jehovah's witnesses who act at the instance of the Roman Catholic Hierarchy and who attempt to make it appear that Jehovah’s witnesses are opponents of the government; and this they do in order to get Jehovah’s witnesses stopped and punished. In this they will fail, because God will have his work carried on until his due time to have it finished.

(To be continued)

THE PROPHET OF TODAY

UPON ••Christendom”, which was foreshadowed by ancient commercial, military Egypt, is now being fulfilled Jehovah’s prophecy: “And the spirit of Egypt shall fail in the midst thereof; and I will destroy the counsel thereof; and they shall seek to the idols, and to the charmers, and to them that have familiar spirits, and to the wizards.” (Isa. 19:3) They want a prophet of coming business prosperity, of better times, of stabilized commercial conditions between the nations, removing causes for war.

More than three thousand years ago, in Egypt, when the patriarch Jacob, whose name was changed to Israel, was on his deathbed he prophesied that there should come from the tribe of his son Judah a mighty One who would be the great Deliverer of the people, and that unto him should be the gathering of the people. (Gen. 49:10) The invisible ruler of Egypt, Satan the Devil, knew about this prophecy, of course. He set about to devise schemes for the destruction of this promised One. The twelve tribes of Israel continued to reside in Egypt after their father Jacob’s death, and their offspring multiplied at a greater rate than the Egyptians’. Therefore the king Pharaoh gave instructions that the midwives should take notice at the time the Hebrew women gave birth to children and that if a son was born it should be killed, but if the child was a daughter it should be permitted to live. Clearly this was a scheme of the Devil; he would have all the males killed in order that he might be certain to get the One that was promised to come through the tribe of Judah The Devil was taking no chance of this mighty One’s being born and being permitted to live. But, of course, he had not the power to thwart God’s purposes, even though he egotistically thought he had.

God helped the Israelitish women, and the birth of Hebrew males continued. Finally Moses was born, and by a miracle of God he was saved from being destroyed, even as later the young child Jesus was saved from murderous power of King Herod. Moses was taken into the home of the royal family, or rather into the royal house, and there received all its privileges. (Ex. 2:1-10) Jehovah God saw to it that Moses was preserved, because through and of Moses he would now make a type of the mighty Deliverer who was to come.

Grown to manhood, Moses had faith in God. (Heb. 11:24,25) Moses would rather take his chances with his own people in their slavery in Egypt and serve the true and living God than to have all the comforts, ease and honor that the Devil and his world power Egypt could confer upon Moses. One day Moses “went out unto his brethren, and looked on their burdens”. He saw an Egyptian smiting his Hebrew brother, and Moses, to protect his brother from such assault, slew the Egyptian. (Ex. 2:11,12) Moses fled from Egypt that the Egyptians might not kill him. For what he had done Moses did not receive any punishment or even a rebuke from Jehovah God. Afterwards God specifically used Moses to do and perform service particularly picturing thereby Christ Jesus the coming mighty One and His work. God also made Moses his prophet and used him to write the first five books of the Bible. Since then every nation has invoked the law of self-defense, extending that right of self-defense to the protection of those near of kin.

Moses fled to the land of Midian. There he became the keeper of the flock of his father-in-law Jethro. Forty years passed. Meantime oppressive measures employed by Pharaoh the king of Egypt against Israel grew worse and worse. Their cries came up to Almighty God. While herding the flock at the base of Mount Horeb Moses saw a miracle performed. A flame of fire enveloped a bush, and yet the bush was not burned. It was then that the Most High revealed his name Jehovah to Moses. There Jehovah began to disclose his purpose to vindicate his holy name He ordered Moses to return to Egypt, there to serve notice on Pharaoh and then to lead the Israelites out of Egypt and bring them to Mount Horeb to worship. The Scriptures do not disclose that the Israelites in Egypt were crying unto Jehovah, but that they were crying against their oppressors and Jehovah heard them. He said to Moses: “Now therefore, behold, the cry of the children of Israel is come unto me: and I have also seen the oppression wherewith the Egyptians oppress them. Come now, therefore, and I will send thee unto Pharaoh, that thou mayest bring forth my people, the children of Israel, out of Egypt.”—Ex. 3: 9,10.

Moses went at the direction of Jehovah to act for the people of Israel, and Aaron his brother was sent by the Lord to assist Moses. Obedient to the command of the Lord Moses and Aaron appeared before Pharaoh and said: “Thus saith the Lord [Jehovah] God of Israel, Let my people go, that they may hold a feast unto me in the wilderness.” A mighty world power now was Egypt, and the Devil was its invisible ruler. Egotistical and wicked beyond description of human words Satan caused his visible representative, the king of Egypt, to manifest the greatest degree of arrogance and defiance to the Almighty God. To the request made by Moses to the ruler of Egypt, the Devil’s representative said: “Who is the Lord, that I should obey his voice to let Israel go? I know not the Lord, neither will I let Israel go.”—Ex. 5: 1, 2.

The oppressive burdens of the Israelites were then greatly increased. God said to Moses in substance: T will show Pharaoh who I am. Now you shall see what I will do to Pharaoh.’ (Ex. 6:1) The oppression and injustice heaped upon the people of Israel in the land of Egypt furnished Jehovah an opportunity to make a demonstration of his power, and to testify again to man that the Lord is the almighty and eternal God and that he is the God of justice, wisdom, love and power. The people had forgotten God, and now the time had come for God to go down into Egypt and through his visible representatives to make for himself a name. Then God said to Moses: “And the Egyptians shali know that I am Jehovah, when I stretch forth my hand upon Egypt, and bring out the children of Israel from among them.” (Ex. 7:5, A.ff.V.) Afterwards Jehovah's prophet, referring to this event in Egypt, wrote: “And what one nation in the earth is like thy people, even lilce Israel, whom God went to redeem for a people to himself, and to make him a name, and to do for you [Israelites] great things and terrible, for thy land, before thy people, which thou [Jehovah] redeemedst to thee from Egypt, from the nations and their gods ?”—2 Sam. 7 : 23.

Forty years later the Israelites were in the land of Moab on the borders of the Promised Land, and there Moses delivered his final speech to them. It embraces practically the entire book known as Deuteronomy. Moses recounted the events that had come to pass and Jehovah’s dealings with the Israelites from the time of giving the Ten Commandments at Mount Sinai in Arabia up to the time of his speech During this address Moses said: “The Lord thy God will raise up unto thee a Prophet from the midst of thee, of thy brethren, like unto me; unto him ye shall hearken ” (Deut 18:15) Jehovah had given Moses this knowledge nearly forty years previously, and in all of that time Moses had kept it to himself. At Mount Sinai the Israelites were greatly frightened at the manifestation of Jehovah’s power, and they had there requested that God would not speak to them directly lest they die. Jehovah gave respect to their request, as disclosed by these words of Moses, to wit:

“And the Lord said unto me, They have well spoken that which they have spoken. I will raise them up a Prophet from among their brethren, like unto thee, and will put my words in his mouth; and he shall speak unto them all that I shall command him. And it shall come to pass, that whosoever will not hearken unto my woids which he shall speak in my name, I will require it of him.” (Deut 18 17-19) This proves that it was at Sinai where Jehovah told Moses of his purpose to raise up the great Prophet. Jehovah also said to Moses at Sinai: “But as for thee, stand thou here by me, and I will speak unto thee all the commandments, and the statutes, and the judgments, which thou shalt teach them, that they may do them in the land which I give them to possess it.” (Deut. 5.31) Moses’ words concerning the coming of the great Prophet were spoken to the Israelites shortly before their entrance into the land of Canaan

When John the Baptist came, in A.D. 29, the Israelites were still looking for the coming of the Prophet greater than Moses, and hence they propounded to John the question, “Art thou that prophet?” and he answered, “No” (John 1:21) After the feast day of Pentecost, and hence more than fifty days after Jesus’ resurrection from the dead, the apostle Peter declared to the Israelites that Jesus Christ is that great Prophet whom Moses had foretold (Acts 3:20-26) But did Peter mean that Jesus during the three and one-half years of his ministry on earth had fulfilled the prophetic words of Moses? Peter could not have meant that, because what Moses had done under the direction of Jehovah the Greater Prophet of Jehovah must do on a far greater scale when the time for fulfillment should come. The work of Jesus during the three and one-half years of his ministry was great, to be sure, but could not have been more than a miniature fulfillment of Moses’ prophecy concerning the Greater Prophet.

The Israelites were domiciled in Egypt, and because they were there suffering cruel oppression they were crying out in pain; and God heard their cries, and he selected Moses to go and bear testimony of Jehovah before the ruler and the Israelites and later, as the deliverer, to lead the Israelites out of Egypt. The world power Egypt with its ruler Pharaoh pictured the world under Satan, particularly with commercialism and its ally militarism to the fore. When Jesus was on earth as a man he confined his testimony to the Jews alone, except when he was brought before the Roman rulers and required to testify. He magnified the law of Jehovah God and spoke the words, which his Father had sent him to speak; but he made no attempt to deliver the people from Satan’s world organization to correspond with Moses’ delivering the Israelites from Egypt. Jesus made no claim to have come to the Israelites as a law-giver and to place all of that people under it. He did not even act as a judge amongst the people. “And one of the company said unto him, Master, speak to my brother, that he divide the inheritance with me. And he said unto him, Man, who made me a judge or a divider over you!” (Luke 12:13, 14) The work of Jesus as a man was of great importance, but it was a fulfillment only in part of Jehovah’s purpose. The work that Christ, exalted to heaven as the divine executive officer of Jehovah, does is far greater than what he did as a man. The most, therefore, that can be said of the ministry of the man Jesus is that it was a miniature fulfillment of the prophecy uttered by Moses at the dictation of Jehovah, and that the greater fulfillment by Christ Jesus must come later.

When Jehovah sent the shepherd Moses to Egypt he carried his rod in his hand; which symbolically corresponded with the fulfillment of the words of Psalm 110: 2, to wit: “Jehovah will send forth the rod of thy strength out of Zion [God’s organization] : Rule thou in the midst of thine enemies.” (A.R.7.) This, in the light of the fulfillment of other prophecies concerning the end of Satan’s uninterrupted rule, fixes the time of the coming of the great Prophet foreshadowed by Moses, in fulfillment of the prophecy on a grander scale, as beginning with the year 1914.

Moses was sent to Egypt to deliver the testimony of Jehovah. The Greater Moses, Christ Jesus, is sent to the world at his second coming to deliver the testimony of Jehovah the great Theocrat. Moses’ brother Aaron accompanied him and took part in the work of delivering the testimony, and in this Aaron pictured or foreshadowed the remnant of Christ’s spiritual brethren yet on earth who are made the witnesses of Jehovah at the present time. Jehovah committed his testimony to Christ Jesus and clothed him with all power and authority; hence it is written that it is “the testimony of Jesus Christ”. He did not receive that testimony from man, but from his Father. (John 5:34; Rev. 1:1, 9) Christ Jesus is the elect servant of Jehovah ; and the faithful remnant on earth, being members of “the body of Christ”, are symbolized as “the feet of him”, to whom the testimony of Jesus Christ is committed. (See Revelation 12:17; Isaiah 52:7 and 42:1-6.) As members of the body of Christ the remnant are under the direct command of Christ Jesus, the Head, and must render to him complete obedience. “And it shall come to pass, that every soul, which will not hear that prophet shall be destroyed from among the people.” (Acts 3:23) Christ Jesus, the great Prophet, acts as judge and executioner, and all who will not render full obedience unto him shall be destroyed. Necessarily that means that all of the members of the body of Christ must be fully obedient unto him if they are finally approved and given immortality at their resurrection from the dead and a place with him in his heavenly throne as King of kings. The coming of Christ Jesus to the spiritual temple of God, in A.D. 1918, is for judgment, which judgment he conducts as the duly appointed and anointed One of Jehovah. “For the Father judgeth no man, but hath committed all judgment unto the Son , and hath given him authority to execute judgment also, because he is the Son of man.” (John 5: 22, 27) The judgment at the temple begins with the house of God, that is to say, with God’s covenant people, the “brethren” of the Greater Moses “For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God?” (1 Pet. 4.17) Now that judgment has extended to all nations, and the people are being divided into two classes, the “goats” for destruction at the battle of Armageddon, and the "sheep” for preservation and to inherit everlasting blessings on earth under the Theocratic kingdom.—Matt. 25:31-46.

When Moses reached Egypt he first instructed the Israelites, and then served notice upon Pharaoh and his official family, who foreshadowed Satan and his agents both visible and invisible, both men and demons. When Christ Jesus came to the temple for judgment in 1918 he first gathered together unto himself those who had proved faithful up to that time and enlightened them concerning Jehovah. Until Moses got to Egypt the Israelites did not know the Most High by the name Jehovah. Likewise, until the Greater Moses came to the temple in 1918 the consecrated followers of Christ Jesus did not know the meaning and significance of the name Jehovah; but now they do know Now they understand that the greatest doctrine of the Scriptures is that concerning the Kingdom, because the kingdom vindicates Jehovah’s name. The great question for determination is the vindication of Jehovah’s name. In this day Jehovah places his King upon his throne, which event marks the end of Satan’s rule without interruption, and therefore it is the end of Satan’s world. This good news thrills the heart of every one who loves righteousness Therefore the Greater Moses, Christ Jesus, gives this specific and ringing commandment to them: “And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in the whole world for a testimony unto all the nations; and then shall the end come.”—Matt 24: 14, A.R.V.

This does not mean the “gospel” merely of “Jesus Christ, and him crucified”; but it says “this gospel”, meaning the good news that the kingdom is here and that now Jehovah will make a name for himself. This is the very purpose of the Greater Moses in setting up the kingdom. All the faithful will delight to take up the glad news and herald it to the world as a testimony, declaring it to the people of good will and serving notice upon Satan’s organization. It is the command of the Greater Moses, and notice must be served upon Satan’s organization before its final destruction, just as Moses and Aaron served notice upon Pharaoh and his official family.

Moses organized the Israelites into a military host and marched them out of Egypt. Christ Jesus, the Greater Moses, has assembled the host of Jehovah at Mount Zion (symbolic of The Kingdom). (Rev. 14:1-4; 19:11-21) The fight to the finish is about to take place. It is a fight that will vindicate Jehovah’s name, even as did the destruction of the Egyptians in the Red sea. The Greater Moses now commands the visible division of his army on the earth to sing aloud the praises of Jehovah while serving notice upon Satan’s organization, that the fight is near and that in that fight Satan’s organization will be destroyed and Jehovah’s name vindicated. The giving of such testimony and notice must continue until the enemy goes down. Every one of the faithful remnant and their companions, the “other sheep” of the Lord, will be obedient to the commandment of Christ the Greater Moses. Regardless of the depression now being suffered by the peoples of the world the testimony of Jehovah must go on in whatsoever manner he provides. The faithful Theocratic ambassadors of Jehovah may find it necessary to dwell in tents or house-cars and to move from place to place as members of the army, while proclaiming the name and praises of the Most High and his kingdom. It is this happy army that is now proclaiming the day of deliverance by the Theocratic Government of the Most High.

THEOCRATIC NATION BORN

CCVV 7^0 hath heard such a thing? who hath seen \X/ such things? Shall the earth be made to bring ’ * forth in one day? or shall a nation be born at once? for as soon as Zion travailed, she brought forth her children. Before she travailed, she brought forth; before her pain came, she was delivered of a man child.”

More than two thousand six hundred years elapsed before the fulfillment of the above prophetic words of Isaiah (chapter 66, verses 7 and 8) permitted them to be understood, first in A.D. 1925, by the grace of Jehovah God.— See The Watchtower, March 1, 1925, the article “Birth of The Nation”.

“Birth” refers to the act of bringing forth to life. Everything that receives life must have a birth. Jehovah alone can give life everlasting, because he is “the fountain of life”. Psalm 36:9 reads: “For with thee is the fountain of life: in thy light shall we see light.” There is no exception to this divine rule. It includes Jehovah’s beloved Son, Christ Jesus, the King of glory, concerning whom Psalm 21:4 says. “He asked life of thee, and thou gavest it him, even length of days for ever and ever.” (See also Psalm 16:11; Romans 6:23; John 17:3) “In his favour is life.” (Ps. 30.5) All creatures that will live forever must know these truths and conform themselves thereto. There is but one true God. Jehovah is his name. There is a false mighty one, or “god”, who may well be called “the mimic god”, because he has attempted to counterfeit and mimic what the true God has done and does, but he does so to ridicule and bring reproach upon Jehovah. He is Satan the Devil, who in due time shall suffer everlasting destruction.—Heb. 2:14.

In order to give birth to a creature or thing there must be a husband and wife, that is to say, a father and a mother. Concerning the kingdom of heaven, which shall rule over and bless all obedient humankind, Jehovah God is the “husband” and Father, and his organization called “Zion” is the mother. Concerning the wicked kingdoms which have misruled the peoples of earth for many centuries, Satan is the husband and father, and his wicked organization called “Babylon” is the mother. The kingdom of Satan is darkness and death, and the end thereof shall be everlasting destruction. The kingdom of God is light and life, and blessed are they that flee into it.—Zech. 14: 4-11.

Jehovah’s kingdom or Theocratic government is established by and through his beloved Son Christ Jesus and for the benefit of men of good will. Above all, that kingdom will vindicate Jehovah’s word and his name. Jehovah God fixed a definite time when that kingdom should be born and begin to function, and that time began when he fulfilled Psalm 2: 6 by setting his King upon his heavenly throne, in A.D. 1914, when the seven times of Gentile rule under Satan ended. The apostle John, the servant of God. was given a vision of the birth of the kingdom of God and he wrote it down to be understood by God’s anointed servant class on the earth after the birth of that kingdom had taken place, and after the opening of the temple as symbolically pictured in Revelation 11:19. For some time now the servant class has seen this and rejoiced, and now the “great multitude” of the Lord’s “other sheep” and who love God may see it for their good.

Chapter twelve of The Revelation opens with the statement : ‘LYnd there appeared a great wonder in heaven.” The Revised Version of the Bible says: “A great sign was seen in heaven.” Truly this is a “great” sign, because of its importance. Fulfilled prophecy shows that the kingdom or nation was born with the end of the Gentile times, in A.D. 1914, but this fact was not intelligently discerned by the people of God until sometime after 1918. That great wonder or sign appearing in heaven is symbolized, as stated at Revelation 12:1, by “a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and upon her head a crown of twelve stars”. That woman symbolically represents God’s organization, otherwise named “Zion”. Jehovah God is her “husband”, and he accepts her as his wife because he has made her fruitful and he acknowledges her child by ‘catching it up to him in heaven’ at its birth. To her are addressed the words of Isaiah 54:5: “For thy Maker is thine husband ■ The Lord of hosts is his name; and thy Redeemer the Holy One of Israel; The God of the whole earth shall he be called.” The ancient nation or organization of natural Israel, to whom Isaiah prophesied, was typical Zion, and God used it to foreshadow the greater light that He would bring to the attention of his people concerning his capital organization.

God’s universal organization which brings forth the kingdom or nation is symbolized by the pure woman and is partially visible to man, but the greater part thereof is invisible to man. It includes his beloved Son and all the host of heavenly creatures in harmony with God, and it includes those on earth who are faithful and true to God. The latter are the only part that is visible to human eyes, but these are the ones who are in real danger, by reason of the enmity of Satan against God and against His organization and the children thereof.

Note that the woman is clothed and shod with God’s light. The sun was her clothing, and the moon her shoes, and the stars are about her head. The sun and the moon and the stars give light to men on the earth. So the light of God shines upon and about them that love and serve him. Those of God’s organization on earth are sure of God’s light and favor both day and night, which fact is here symbolized. The ‘twelve stars upon the head of the woman’ symbolically says • ‘She is a heavenly queen and therefore fit to bring forth the offspring of Jehovah. Her husband is the King of Eternity.’ (See Jeremiah 10:10, marginal reading.)

“And she being with child cried, travailing in birth, and pained to be delivered.” (Rev. 12:2) The woman’s cries were those of pain directed to Jehovah God, the only One who could help her. Her cries are prayers for God’s kingdom to begin. Clearly the point taught by this is that the kingdom is not produced except at great cost of pain and suffering on the part of those who are members of God’s organization. To such the apostle Paul said: “We must through much tribulation enter into the kingdom of God.” (Acts 14:22)—Gal. 4:19.

At the same time, so Revelation 12:3 states, “there appeared another wonder [or sign] in heaven.” After Christ Jesus came to the temple in A.D. 1918 and the spiritual temple of God was opened, those who were brought into the temple had an understanding of these “signs” or “wonders” ; but they could not have an understanding prior thereto. Through the columns of The Watchtower, as of March 1, 1925, the Lord revealed these truths concerning the great wonders to his people. This latter “wonder” or "sign” is described thus: “And behold a great red dragon, having seven heads and ten horns, and seven crowns upon his heads. And his tail drew the third part of the stars of heaven, and did cast them to the earth: and the dragon stood before the woman which was ready to be delivered, for to devour her child as soon as it was born.”-Rev. 12: 3, 4.

“Dragon” is one of the names that God gave to Satan the enemy, and it properly applies to Satan’s organization. It is derived from the Greek word drakoon, and means a serpent, and this also is one of the names that apply to Satan the Devil. (See Revelation 12:15; 20:1-4) Thus the Devil is identified, and his organization with him.

The diadems or crowns were upon his seven heads, and he had “ten horns”, this symbolically representing complete invisible and visible power and authority over his organization ; whereas the “seven heads” symbolically represented his complete invisible organization, “seven” standing for spiritual completeness. According to Isaiah 9:15, his “tail” is his prophet, and therefore “the false prophet” or mouthpiece of Satan’s organization and that does most of the talking for that wieked organization and utters many loud and boastful claims as to what the visible rulers of the earth will soon accomplish for man.

Satan’s organization, particularly by and through this false prophet, knows how to lure and draw and entice; and therefore it is written that “his tail drew' the third part of the stars of heaven, and did cast them to the earth”. Evidently this does not mean exactly one third in number, but rather a class of persons amongst three general classes of persons that claim to stand for God’s heavenly kingdom This particular class claim to be faithful, yet are unfaithful to God. Those who will compose the spiritual “body of Christ” (1 Cor. 12:27) and those who will compose the “great multitude” of the Lord’s “other sheep” must prove faithful. But there is a “third part” that will not be faithful, but will go after the Devil, and these are called “wandering stars, to whom is reserved the blackness of darkness for ever”. (Jude 13) By his prophet Daniel (chapter 8. verse 10) God foretold that Satan, through his instruments or agents, would “cast down some of the host and of the stars to the ground”. The “false prophet” has accomplished this.

The dragon is shown standing before the woman of God and ready and waiting to devour her child as soon as it is born. Thus is pictured the “enmity” between the serpent and the woman, as God had long previously declared in Eden. (Gen. 3:15) This was the exact condition that obtained at the close of the “times of the Gentiles” in A.D 1914.— Luke 21:24.

For centuries God’s people have looked forward to the setting up of the kingdom, or Theocratic Government, with great expectation. When on earth Jesus spoke of the coming of the kingdom more than of any other one thing, evidently because of its greatest importance. It is the most stupendous of all things. Its birth was and is of the greatest importance As Satan recognized Jesus as the heir of God and of the kingdom, and tried to kill him when he was in the flesh, even so Satan recognized the kingdom as his greatest enemy. He stood ready to destroy the kingdom at its beginning Jehovah challenges him when He says, at Isaiah GG. 9 (Am Rev. Ver.) : “Shall I bring to the birth, and not cause to bring forth? saith Jehovah: shall I that cause to bring forth shut the womb? saith thy God.” God’s due time had arrived at the end of the period that Jesus sat at Jehovah's right hand waiting for his enemies to be made his footstool (Ps. 110:1; Heb. 10:12, 13) Now nothing could prevent the birth of Jehovah’s Theocratic Government, the “nation” of which the King Christ Jesus is the Head.

Revelation 12:5 continues: “And she brought forth a man child, who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron and her child was caught up unto God, and to his throne.” The man child here mentioned is God’s kingdom, new nation or government under Christ that must rule all the nations of the earth. Concerning these nations it is written “Thou [Christ] shalt break them with a rod of iron; thou shalt dash them in pieces like a potter’s vessel ” (Ps. 2:9) Christ’s period of waiting at Jehovah’s right hand, and the end thereof in 1914, was foretold by another prophet of God, who wrote: “Therefore will he give them up, until the time that she [God’s woman Zion] which travaileth hath brought forth [the kingdom] ; then the remnant of his brethren [Jehovah’s witnesses on earth] shall return unto the children of [spiritual] Israel. And he [Christ Jesus] shall stand and feed [(marginal reading) and rule] in the strength of the Lord [Jehovah].”—Mie. 5 : 3, 4.

‘The heavenly queen,’ which is God’s organization, could not bring forth the child except ‘God give the increase’. By his wisdom and power his organization labored not in vain. (1 Cor. 3:6; 15: 58) It is only Jehovah who could create the kingdom and from whom proceeds all power and authority, as stated at Romans 13: 1, 2. It was his will that Jesus, his beloved Son, should remain inactive against Satan until the end of Satan’s uninterrupted rule in 1914 and that then Christ Jesus should take his power and begin his reign.—Ps. 110:1.

Inasmuch as Jehovah willed the righteous government, and the manner in which it should be born, his great organization served as the mother and furnished the material for such government to be born and to rule all the nations. It is God’s entire or universal organization that gives birth to the new government, but it is his “elect” “servant”, or great “high priest” “after the order of Melchizedek”, that rules. (See Isaiah 42:1-7; Psalm 110:4.) The woman of God’s organization therefore gave birth to the kingdom and also gave birth to those who shall compose the kingdom, to wit, Christ Jesus at his resurrection from the dead, and the members of “the body of Christ” later; and she gave birth to the office which The Christ fills.

Another prophetic picture likens this birth of the Theocratic nation or kingdom to the cutting of the Stone out of a great mountain without human hands and that smites the monstrous image of the Devil’s organization and grinds it to powder. (Read Daniel 2:44,45.) The birth of the “man child” is therefore the birth or bringing forth and the beginning of the operation of the kingdom or new nation, which is the “holy nation” of God and of which nation Christ Jesus is “King of kings”. (1 Pet. 2: 9; Rev. 17 :14) The fact that the man child is pictured as being caught up to heaven proves that it is God’s kingdom the authority of which is exercised by and through his beloved elect and anointed One, Christ Jesus.

Jehovah had foretold by his prophet of the time coming when He would send forth his Son out of his organization Zion to rule in the midst of his enemies, and that war would follow. Psalm 110:2-7 reads: “Jehovah will send forth the rod of thy strength out of Zion: Rule thou in the midst of thine enemies. Thy people offer themselves willingly in the day of thy power, in holy array: out of the womb of the morning thou hast the dew of thy youth. Jehovah hath sworn, and will not repent: Thou art a priest for ever after the order of Melchizedek. The Lord at thy right hand will strike through kings in the day of his wrath. He will judge among the nations, he will fill the places with dead bodies; he will strike through the head in many countries. He will drink of the brook in the way: therefore will he lift up the head.” (Am. Rev. Ver.) This period of time necessarily began when Christ was placed upon his throne, in 1914. (Ps. 2; 6) That would mark the time when war was begun by Christ Jesus against the enemy Satan.

In harmony with this it is written: “And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels, and prevailed not; neither was their place found any more in heaven. And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.”—Rev. 12:7-9.

It is the great Prince Christ Jesus that began the war against Satan, and in the seventh verse He is identified by the name “Michael”. The only other place that the title Michael is applied to God’s great Prince, Christ Jesus, is at Daniel 12:1. That trouble in heaven ended with the casting out of Satan. In 1918 that time of trouble on earth was halted for a season, in which time the work by Jehovah’s witnesses and their companions must be done, and then shall come the final end of Satan’s organization.—Matt. 24:14, 21, 22.

Rejoice tn Jehovah, O ye righteous: praise is comely for the upright. For the word of Jehovah is right; and all his work is done in faithfulness. He loveth righteousness and justice: the earth is full of the loving-kindness of Jehovah.—Psalm 33:1,4,5, A.R.V.

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off the press. You may obtain it at 10c a copy. Organized companies should combine their orders and forward same through the company servant.

“CONSPIRACY AGAINST DEMOCRACY”

No brochure could be of more instant importance and aid to those residing in democratic countries than this new booklet, Conspiracy Against Democracy. Many millions of persons of good will are in the mood to get and read this book, especially as this 64-page publication contains the entire proceedings on the occasion of Judge Rutherford’s speech to the recent Theocratic Convention on “Religion as a World Remedy”, and also his other speech on “Times and Seasons”, and to which these many millions were personally mvited. Conspiracy Against Democracy displays an appropriate and attractive front cover. It may be had for 5c a copy. Time of release for general distribution in the field is announced elsewhere.

“RELIGION”

With especial pleasure we announce the new book Religion, released by its author, Judge Rutherford, at the recent Theocratic convention of Jehovah’s witnesses. It offers the indisputable evidence, both Scriptural and factual, that religion is opposed to Jehovah’s Theocratic Government by Christ Jesus and is therefore the mortal enemy of man, and that Christianity is the only way of escape for people of good will. The book contains 384 pages, including color-illustrations, and a valuable reference mdex, all bound within beautifully embossed covers in a refreshmg green cloth and gold-stamped. You will prize the author’s edition, which contains an autograph of a letter in his own handwriting addressed to the Theocratic ambassadors. This special edition is limited and may be had on a contribution of 50c per copy Those in organized companies may combme their individual orders and send them through the local company servant.

SAFE FLIGHT OF REFUGEE WITNESSES

“Two of Jehovah’s witnesses from Ghent, Belgium, arrived in London, Saturday, May 25: one, a Mrs. Van D----,

who together with her husband pioneered in Belgium for more than five years, and a Mrs. S----, a Jonadab, who

has been faithful in the work for the past eighteen months and closely associated with Mrs. Van D. As soon as the invasion began, Mrs. Van D’s husband was immediately detained by the police and taken away. The authorities then made her a prisoner in her home for three days, suspecting she was a fifth columnist. It was about this time that the enemy began to bombard Ghent and the surrounding territory. Mrs. Van D. arranged to leave her home immediately and get in touch with her Jonadab companion. The two of them then decided, in view of the approaching destruction to the city, to flee north and, if possible, seek refuge in England. These two women had little time to get their clothes and succeeded in getting their bicycles and a few odds and ends ready for journey.

“While yet in sight of Ghent, they report, the city was razed to the ground. On their way to the coastal town of Ostend they were constantly harassed by German planes and bombardments. They were approaching the town of Maldegen, near Ostend, when they were halted by a Belgian army officer and commanded to seek refuge in a ditch in view of an air raid. A few minutes later, after they were lying on their stomachs together with a group of other people, a tremendous explosion occurred as a result of a bomb and both were covered with a layer of soot. After a few minutes they arose and found they were the only two living of the entire number who had sought refuge in the ditch. The Jonadab had a piece of shrapnel enter her back and pierce her body, and the pioneer reported the loss of hearing in her right ear; otherwise they were unscathed and gave praise to Jehovah for their miraculous deliverance. Their cycles were not damaged, and they proceeded to Ostend. On their trek they had to pass over the Dampoort Bridge, which was very shaky as they crossed it. As soon as they arrived on the other side the bridge was immediately blown up as a result of an air bombardment. Once again they expressed the remarkable protection from the Lord. When reaching Ostend they learned it was impossible to obtain passage on a boat for England, and so they started to travel along the seaside towards the French border. While cycling along the seaside, a group of seven planes continued to harass them from above and followed them in an endeavor to destroy them, but, with the Lord’s grace, they succeeded in going right forward, untouched. On reaching the Belgian and French frontier they were extremely fortunate in being allowed to pass over; multitudes of refugees were refqsed entry into France.

“When they reached Dunkirk, they were informed they must proceed to Calais to get passage for England. They continued their journey and had to pass through the town of Greville, between Dunkirk and Calais. They planned to spend the night at Greville. That night they received warning from a French soldier that the Germans were fast approaching Greville. He advised their turning back toward Dunkirk, as Calais was being heavily bombarded by the enemy. They immediately retraced their steps and learned next morning that Greville had been razed to the ground, as well as Calais. After much waiting they were finally fortunate to arrange for passage on a British hospital ship which left Dunkirk for England. A group of ships left Dunkirk under convoy that day, and as they were proceeding across the channel a Greek ship alongside the hospital ship struck a mine and, with its overload of refugees, was sent to the bottom. The crowded hospital ship remained untouched and proceeded towards the English coast. They report that British Tommies in France gave them assistance in many ways and were unusually kind to the refugees, and that there were many kind people in both Belgium and France who endeavored to do all they could for the refugees fleeing from the center of Belgium. The Tommies gave up their own food for the refugees. The officers on board the destroyer which accompanied the hospital ship were extremely courteous and kind to the witnesses and heard their tale of remarkable escapes. They report further that there was nothing but destruction and continued bombardment and on the way from Ghent buildings were burning and small villages and towns destroyed. They rejoice greatly in being received in London by the English refugee committee, which prepared for them a bath and a meal of wholesome food and gave them clothes and food and spending money to proceed further in their stay in England. For several days before the invasion these two faithful witnesses were busy in their local territory in Belgium distributing the new French booklet Refugees, little expecting at that time that shortly they would be actual refugees on flight to England. Now that they are settling in England for the duration of the war they expressed their desire to again take up a share in the ‘strange work’, but this time to use the English booklet Refugees to help people of good will.”

EFFORTS OF BOBBIES TO QUELL MOB (ENGLAND)

“In a Catholic section of Liverpool yesterday morning two of our sisters were the victims of a mob attack. Both were thrown to the ground, one being dragged along by her hair and being rescued by a young girl belonging to the district; the other received a nasty knee bruise when she was thrown to the ground. Both had their literature stolen and a few coppers. A brother, a pioneer not living at Kingdom House, was also hit in the eye, but I have not yet been able to reach him to know the circumstances. There were five witnessing parties in the neighborhood, and a considerable amount of literature was left among the people Police protection was sought by the two sisters, and we cannot speak too highly of the manner in which they handled the mob When I arrived on the scene they were doing their best to sort things out. One held up the booklet Government and Peace and said: ‘Isn’t this what you want—government and peace?’ He also told them that Judge Rutherford was a fine man. The crowd shouted that it was German propaganda, but the constable opened the book Salvation and said: ‘All I can see in this book is about Jesus Christ.’ The instigators of the attack could not be seen. It appears that it was the magazine Consolation that aroused their ire. The police escorted us from the scene of the incident to the nearest police station, where the inspector received us kindly and laughingly said: ‘You’ve come into a hot quarter, you know.’ ”

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