^eWATCHTOWER

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N. H. Knobs, President          W. E. Van Ambubgh, 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 and 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 other things, and is now the Lord Jesus Christ In glory, clothed with all power In heaven and earth, as 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 THE LOGOS was made human as the man Jesus and 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 other creature and above every creature’s name and clothed him with all power and authority;

THAT GOD’S CAPITAL ORGANIZATION is a Theocracy called Zion, and that Christ Jesus is the Chief Officer thereof and Is the rightful King of the 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 OLD WORLD ended A.D. 1914, 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 the “new earth" of the New World;

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 complete 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-wllL 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.

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“COMMANDER’S” TESTIMONY PERIOD

It is optional with you whether you take part in the “Commander’s” Testimony Period, which occupies the entire month of February. But the command of Jehovah’s “Commander to the peoples”, Christ Jesus, to preach the Kingdom gospel still stands in force, and all who desire to obey such a Commander will be anxious to take part in this Testimony Period. It being the second month of the 1946 Watchtower campaign, the special offer to the public on a contribution of one dollar continues to be a year’s subscription for this magazine, together with the premium of a bound book and a booklet. The campaign goal for this year requires the enlistment and activity of everyone possible in the Commander’s service, despite the northern winter. Veteran publishers stand ready to take into the field with them any volunteers from-among our readers who write in to us for references. Your report of work and results should close out the month of testimony for you.

USE RENEWAL SUBSCRIPTION BLANK

The blank sent you one month before expiration of your Watchtower subscription should be filled out and returned to the Brooklyn office or to the Branch office in the country where you reside. Servants in the companies, and individuals, when sending in renewals for The Watchtower, should always use these blanks. By filling in these renewal blanks you are assured of the continuation of your Watchtower from the time of expiration, and without delay. It will also be a great help if you sign your name uniformly, and note any recent change of address, on the renewal slip.

MEMORIAL CELEBRATION

This year the time for celebrating the Memorial will be after sundown or after 6 p.m., Standard Time, of Tuesday, April 16. At an announced hour, each company should assemble on that night, and the anointed ones of them partake of the Memorial emblems, their companions the “other sheep” being present as witnesses. Before the emblems are partaken of, let some competent brother offer a brief speech extemporaneously-or else read paragraphs selected from recent Watchtower articles on the Memorial to those met together. Since the breaking of the bread and drinking of the wine both symbolize the death in which the members of Christ’s body share, the bread and wine should both be served together at partaking. Unleavened bread and red wine should be served, to harmonize with the course of Jesus and his apostles. We expect all companies to notify us concerning their celebration, reporting both the number attending and the number of partakers.

“WATCHTOWER” STUDIES

Week of March 24: “Consecration,” fl 1-24 inclusive, The Watchtower February 15, 1946.

Week of March 31: “Consecration,”

fl 25-45 inclusive, The Watchtower February 15, 1946.

ANNOUNCING JEHOVAH’S KINGDOM

Vol. LXVII                           February 15, 1946                                 No. 4

CONSECRATION

'And whoever will not take up his yoke and follow me is not worthy of me. Whoever will follow me, let him deny himself, and take up his yoke, and come with me.”—Matt. 10:38; 16:24=, Torrey.

JEHOVAH or this world: to which will you be consecrated? The need to choose is compulsory upon you, like it or not. The postwar world is here, and the entire organization of mankind is in an upset state. To many millions of persons the future just ahead looks very bleak and forlorn due to suffering from insufficient food and clothing, cold, disease, uncomfortable shelter, joblessness, and displacement, with little chance of early relief. What a push this condition should give them to strive after the material things of this life as if these were of chief concern! At the same time the political situation was never more tense. The fires of nationalism are flaming fiercely and hot passions are created in many hearts as well as suspicions both against former military foes and against those of other religious and political persuasions. In the bosoms of many patriots a revolt seethes against systems of political oppression and corruption and these patriots set as their goal independence and freedom from the old political bondage.

² Caught in the confused currents, many persons are swept into political movements and let these be the controlling force in life. The likelihood of a third world war in an atomic age, with the end of twentieth-century civilization in sight, drives others to worship a system of international co-operation or a world government as the salvation of man and his civilization. Religion, which has never been able to prevent wars but has acted as cheer-leader to both sides, stands in terror of the rising tide of antireligion and of contempt for religious authorities. She calls frantically to the alienated masses to consecrate themselves to religion's losing cause. She pleads for her devoted flocks to organize themselves into clergy-directed action groups. No one is alive today but that comes in touch with the foregoing worldly influences and is being hard-pressed for a choice of one thing or another. All these things are in one class. They all represent worldly selfishness; and we may expect the vast majority to consecrate

1, 2. (a) Why is the need to be consecrated either to God or to this world compulsory upon us? (b) To which may we expect the majority to consecrate themselvee ? themselves to pursuing one or other of such forms of selfishness in this postwar world.

• There is only one alternative, only one escape from consecration to such selfish causes, and that is consecration to the Lord God. This narrow choice between just two powers and two kinds of service is not a theory invented by some religionist or philosopher. It is the hard truth uttered by the great Preacher of the “sermon on the mount”. Take it as from Him while you read these words: “No man can serve two masters; for either he will dislike the one and love the other, or else he will hold to the one and disregard the other. You cannot serve God and worldly goods.” (Matt. 6:24, Torre/s translation from the Aramaic) Numerous prominent persons in worldly affairs have said the “sermon on the mount” is necessary to the salvation of humanity. If so, then this hard and fast rule of Matthew 6: 24 must be taken along with it. If one serves worldly goods, he will love, hold to and be consecrated to the one that is the master of such worldly goods; no, not just some financial, commercial or industrial employer, but the “prince of this world”. (John 14:30) Because that worldly prince is Satan the Devil, “the prince of the demons,” the only other choice left open is that of consecration to the God of the Bible, who is Jehovah. Every faithful one that consecrates to the service of Jehovah will do what the Preacher of the sermon urged upon his disciples: “Seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness ; and all these things shall be added unto you.” —Matt. 6: 33.

IN OLDEN TIMES

■* Curiously, in Genesis, the first book of the Bible, the two words consecrate and consecration do not appear. We should not misunderstand this to mean that in all the twenty-two centuries from Adam's creation to Joseph, son of Jacob, there were no men in that holy relationship with God. There were; and we have only to turn to chapter eleven of Hebrews

• 3. What is the only alternative to the majority's course, and how does the “sermon on the mount” prove it?

• 4. (a) Do the words consecrate and consecration occur In the book of Genesis? (b) How do we know there were consecrated men back there? for the inspired proof of that fact. Although very-few, yet there were some such consecrated men, who had the witness given to them by Jehovah God that they pleased him and had a reward reserved for them by Him. What enabled those men to enter into a consecration to Him was that rare quality, faith in Jehovah God. One reason why these men did not have the specific Hebrew words for consecrate and consecration* used regarding them may be that they were not consecrated in the particular ways that God’s arrangement provided for the Jews by His law given through the prophet Moses. But that these men were separate from the world which is under prince Satan the Devil, and that they had set themselves apart as holy to Jehovah God, the Bible record plainly shows.

• ⁵ Abel, the second son of Adam and Eve, lived in what the Bible calls “the old world”, “the world that then was,” and “the world of the ungodly”. (2 Pet. 2:5; 3:6) What distinguished Abel from it was faith. “By faith Abel offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, by which he obtained witness that he was righteous, God testifying of his gifts: and by it he being dead yet speaketh.” (Heb. 11:4) Both Abel and his elder brother Cain gave outward signs of worshiping, but whom did Jehovah God approve as worshiping in the right way? It was Abel. Immediately after this, Cain took his sisterwife with him to Nod, the land of ekile, which shows that he and Abel were then full-grown men, and doubtless were married. This was doubtless the case if they built separate altars and did not worship at a family altar in the presence of Adam and Eve.

• ⁸ In departing from the garden of Eden under sentence of death, Adam and Eve evidently did not travel very far from the garden’s entrance. Most likely Cain and Abel were raised to manhood close by that entrance, and during all those years the garden, not dressed and kept by man, became a tangled jungle. Nevertheless, the “tree of life” was in that enclosed garden, and to keep Adam and his family out the two cherubim stood guard at the

*In the so-called “Old Testament” the words consecrate and consecration are translated from several different Hebrew words. About 53 times the Roman Catholic Douay Version Bible uses consecrate and consecration where the-King James Version Bible does not. In 18 places the King James Version uses those English words where the Catholic Douay Version does not In a few of such cases consecrate(d) Is translated from various forms of the Hebrew verb qahdash, which has the root meaning of either “to be bright, fresh, new, clean” or “to divide off, to separate”.

Neither the word consecrate nor consecration occurs once In the so-called “New Testament” of the Douay Version Bible, nor of the American Standard Version Bible. However, In the “New Testament” of the King James or Authorized Version Bible the word consecrated occurs twice, once at Hebrews 7: 28 and once at Hebrews 10:20, each time from a different Greek word.

• 6. What proof is there to show Abel was consecrated to God?

• 6. Where did Adam and Eve settle after their sin In Eden? entrance, and the flaming sword turned every way in perpetual motion. So Adam and Eve contented themselves to drag on their existence outside of Eden rather than rush into death by a stroke from that fiery sword.

^T Man knew the uses of fire, and Cain and Abel either offered their sacrifice upon the fire of an altar or they expected fire to descend from God to consume the offering. It was doubtless near the garden’s entrance, in the presence of the cherubim and the fiery sword, that Cain and Abel made their offerings. Cain’s offering, being a bloodless one, showed he had no feeling of sinfulness in him, which needed cleansing away by the blood of a sacrificial victim. It showed no faith in a future gift of God for the redeeming of mankind from sin; no faith in a future redemptive sacrifice such as only God could provide. Cain had no true faith in the Seed of God’s “woman”, which Seed God promised would bruise the Serpent’s head after being bruised in the heel by such Serpent. —Gen. 3:15.

’ Abel’s sacrifice was one of the firstlings of his flock of sheep. Being offered up slain, it did show that he confessed to being a sinner and that he needed a sin-cleansing sacrifice and that he had faith that Jehovah God would provide such a sacrifice from His “woman” in due time. Abel’s choice victim was an expression of his thankfulness to God for the privilege of living and having hope of a future deliverance from sin and its effects. Abel’s sacrifice also showed he did not approve of his parents’ rebellion against God in Eden and that he recognized Jehovah God as the Universal Sovereign and the rightful Lawgiver and Judge. The dead victim on the altar bespoke that Abel sought God and lovingly consecrated himself to God in full faith that He exists and that He is a righteous Rewarder. —Heb. 11:6.

’ Thus Abel provided the first pattern for mankind of true and acceptable worship of God. “And Jehovah had respect unto Abel and to his offering: but unto Cain and to his offering he had not respect. And Cain was very wroth, and his countenance fell.” (Gen. 4:4, 5, Am. Stan. Ver.) He did not go and get an animal sin-offering, which may have couched at his door, and then follow Abel’s example. Cain did not follow God’s admonition to rule over sin by taking a righteous course in the future in harmony with his approved brother. Cain’s pride was hurt and would not let him repent. He showed he was not consecrated to God but was serving the other master, Satan the Devil. “Then Cain said to his brother Abel, ‘Let us go off into the country.’ When they were out in the country, Cain attacked his brother

• 7. What did Caln's ottering show respecting him?

• 8. What did Abel’s ottering show respecting him?

• 9. What course did Caln then take and what did he prove himself to be? Abel, and murdered him.” (Gen. 4: 8, An American Translation; Douay) Cain was a child of the wicked master of that old world and hence hated his consecrated brother. Therefore, as a warning, these words are written to those consecrated to Abel’s Master, Jehovah God: “We should love one another. Not as Cain, who was of that wicked one, and slew his brother. And wherefore slew he him? Because his own works were evil, and his brother’s righteous. Marvel not, my brethren, if the world hate you.” —1 John 3:11-13.

• ¹⁰ Cain was a religionist and started off religious intolerance toward those who are witnesses of Jehovah God. Cain, who had a form of worship, did not care for the widow and orphans he was making by killing Abel. Cain’s worship was impure and in vain, and his tongue was deceitful toward his brother Abel. "If anyone deludes himself by thinking he is serving God, when he has not learned to control his tongue, the service he gives is vain. If he is to offer service pure and unblemished in the sight of God, who is our Father, he must take care of orphans and widows in their need, and keep himself untainted by the world.”—Jas. 1: 26, 27, according to Monsignor Knox’s Catholic Translation of 1943; also see Murdock, Lamsa, and Luther.

• ¹¹ Abel, to the contrary, was a sincere worshiper of Jehovah God, and he recognized the divine justice in driving his parents out of Eden. He sought a way back into peaceful relationship with God. The blood of the victim which Abel sacrificed in approaching Him bore witness to God’s purpose, in due time, to supply the ‘"blood of sprinkling, that speaketh better things than that of Abel”. (Heb. 12: 24) It is certain that the sinners, Adam and Eve, did not consecrate Abel, their second-born son, to God. Abel, acting on his own faith in God’s promise in Eden, that ‘the Seed of His woman would bruise the Serpent’s head despite suffering a heel bruise by the Serpenf, took the step for himself. He came to God and consecrated himself. It is possible that, at this time, Abel was over one hundred years old (Gen. 4: 25; 5: 3, 4), and that in the matter of sacrificing on the altar he acted as a priest for his family which he brought up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. (Eph. 6:4) Abel kept his consecration vow faithfully till death, and God counted him righteous. Although dead, Abel by his example still speaks in witness to Jehovah God.—Heb. 11:4.

• ¹² Hebrews, chapter eleven, next names Enoch, the son of Jared, and says: "By faith Enoch was translated that he should not see death; and was not found, because God had translated him: for before

• 10. Why was Cain’s worship of God not pure and undefiled before God? 11. What kind of worship was Abel's? and what can be said concerning his consecration to God?

• 12. What can be said concerning Enoch's consecration to God? his translation he had this testimony, that he pleased God.” (Heb. 11:5) The fact that the name Enoch means “teaching, initiated or dedicated” does not say that his parents consecrated him to God at birth or on naming him; for the murderer Cain also had a son whom he named Enoch. Enoch, son of Jared, made the decision and took the step for himself, and he did so because of his conviction of things unseen, which means faith. The fact of his consecrating himself to Jehovah God is borne witness to by the written Word, namely: “And Enoch walked with God: and he was not; for God took him. And all the days of Enoch were three hundred sixty and five years.” (Gen. 5:18, 21-24) Before Enoch disappeared by the divine intervention in his life, he acted as a witness for Jehovah God.

• ¹³ Contrasting Enoch with those who are unfaithful in carrying out their vows and obligations to God, the inspired Jude writes: “Of them also Enoch, in the seventh generation from Adam, prophesied, when he said, ‘See! The Lord comes with his holy myriads to execute judgment upon all, and to convict all the godless of all the godless deeds they have done, and of all the harsh things that godless sinners have said against him.’” (Jude 14,15, An Amer. Trans.) We can appreciate, therefore, why the world in which Enoch lived before the Flood was called the “world of the ungodly”. Long before Enoch’s day, as reported at Genesis 4: 26, “then was a beginning made, to call on the-name of [Jehovah].” {Rotherham) But that was an ungodly practice of calling Jehovah’s holy name upon objects or persons and thereafter rendering worship to such. Hence this was a way for the ‘ungodly sinners to say hard things against God’ and thereby bring great reproach upon Jehovah God. Such ungodly worshipers practiced religion and consecrated themselves to it. Hence Enoch, as a faithful and true witness of Jehovah, stood out in contrast against all those. He did not walk with them, but walked with God, in His way.

• ¹⁴ When Noah was born, six hundred years before the Flood, his father Lamech named him. “And I:e called his name Noah, saying, This same shall comfort us in our work and in the toil of our hands, which cometh because of the ground which Jehovah hath cursed.” (Gen. 5:29, Am. Stan. Ver.) This is not to be understood as any consecration of Noah at birth, although his father’s explanation of his son’s name proved to be a correct prophecy. It remained for Noah, on coming of years, to make the decision for himself to consecrate himself to the invisible God. But Noah’s faith that Jehovah God lived and that He is a rewarder of those seeking him

• 13. How did Enoch stand out in contrast with the religionists then? 14. What can be said concerning Noah’s consecration ? made Noah take the course of consecration to God. “By faith Noah, being warned of God of things not seen as yet, moved with fear, prepared an ark to the saving of his house; by the which he condemned the world, and became heir of the righteousness which is by faith.”—Heb. 11: 7.

” Christ Jesus referred to the Flood as a prophetic picture of the ending of this present world, when it becomes a question of who will survive into the righteous new world. So it becomes of present importance for us to consider Noah and his family, the first flood-survivors. Let all those who care to survive at this end of the world note that Noah followed Enoch’s course of self-dedication to Jehovah. Whereas the wicked generation of the day was doomed to destruction in the deluge, “Noah found favor in the eyes of Jehovah. These are the generations of Noah. Noah was a righteous man, and perfect in his generations: Noah walked with God. And Noah begat three sons, Shem, Ham, and Japheth.”—Gen. 6:8-10, Am. Stan. Ver.

¹⁶ Noah carried out his sacred obligations by being a witness for Jehovah God. This is testified to by the apostle Peter, who says: “[God] spared not the old world, but saved Noah the eighth person, a preacher of righteousness, bringing in the flood upon the world of the ungodly.” (2 Pet. 2:5) The only ones that responded to Noah’s preaching to men to repent and to turn to righteousness were the seven members of Noah’s household. Without question, these consecrated themselves to the Lord God. Why should we believe that! Because they turned from the violence, corruption, and godlessness of that ancient world and proved their faith and consecration by assisting Noah in his preaching and in building the ark of salvation at God’s command. That their going unto Noah inside the completed ark denoted their turning their backs on the condemned world of violence and their consecrating themselves to God and committing themselves into His hands is also indicated by Peter. He writes: “Once the long-suffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was a preparing, wherein few, that is, eight souls were saved by water. The like figure [or, the antitype] whereunto even baptism doth also now save us (not the putting away of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of [or, the prayer for] a good conscience toward God,) by the resurrection of Jesus Christ.”—1 Pet. 3: 20, 21.

” Noah’s wife and his three sons and their wives were baptized unto Noah in the ark and were preserved from the flood waters. In like manner those who now seek to escape the wrath of God against

• 15. Why is It of present importance for us to consider the course of Noah and his household?

• 16. What indicates the consecration of Noah and his household?

• 17. What course does that mark out for those seeking to escape the impending wrath of God? this doomed world of violence must be baptized unto Christ Jesus, the Greater Noah. That is, they must consecrate themselves to God and must seek approach to him through Christ Jesus; and they must place themselves under the Theocratic organization which is subject to Christ Jesus. When the flood of the battle of Armageddon breaks loose, it will be too late to do this, for then it will be as in the case of the ark after the family of Noah went in: “And the Lord shut him in.”—Gen. 7:16.

“When Jehovah God opened the doors again, it was eight persons all consecrated to Him that came forth. Only His consecrated servants survived to reach the postdiluvian world. For this reason the first thing Noah did on stepping out into the cleansed earth was to revive the worship of Jehovah God: “And Noah builded an altar unto Jehovah, and took of every clean beast, and of every clean bird, and offered burnt-offerings on the altar.” (Gen. 8:20, Am. Stan. Ver.) Hence it was fitting for God to make a covenant which applied to these consecrated persons and to all their families after them, and which covenant was symbolized by the first rainbow to be seen by human eyes. This covenant commanded: “You must never eat flesh with the life (that is, the blood) in it. For your own life-blood, however, I will require an account; I will hold every animal accountable for it, and I will hold men accountable for one another’s lives; whoever sheds the blood of man, by man shall his blood be shed; for God made man in his own image.” (Gen. 9: 4-6, An Amer. Trans.) Those devoted to the God of that covenant will not violate it now at this end of the world which began back there after the Flood.

AFTER THE DELUGE

“ The next ones whom Hebrews, chapter eleven, names are Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Of the consecration of these men there can be no doubt. Their faith was a stepping-stone into that sacred relationship with the Creator. Because Abraham was thereby under obligation to do God’s will, the Lord God commanded him to leave his homeland and follow God’s leadings to an unnamed land which God would give him for an inheritance. Belief in God and in his promise enabled Abraham to carry on with his consecration: “By faith Abraham, when he was called to go out into a place which he should after receive for an inheritance, obeyed; and he went out, not knowing whither he went. By faith he sojourned in the land of promise, as in a strange country, dwelling in tabernacles [tents] with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise: for

• 1&. Why wu it proper for God Jehovah to make the everlasting covenant with the Flood survivors? and how do those devoted to God dow regard that covenant?

• 19. Why did God properly call upon Abraham to leave hit homeland? and what quality enabled Abraham to obey? he looked for a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God.”—Heb. 11: 8-10.

• ²⁰ God made a covenant or solemn agreement with Abraham and with Abraham’s specially chosen descendants through Isaac and Jacob. Hence Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and Jacob’s descendants, the Israelites, were in covenant relationship with God. That Jehovah God appointed these three consecrated men to be his commissioned servants and his mouthpieces or witnesses during their travels is definitely stated in these words: “When they went from one nation to another, from one kingdom to another people; he suffered no man to do them wrong: yea, he reproved kings for their sakes; saying, Touch not mine anointed [ones], and do my prophets no harm.”—Ps. 105: 9-15; Gen. 12: 9-17; 20: 7.

• ²¹ Abraham’s faithfulness to his consecration had the highest witness given to it, namely, by Almighty God himself, in these words: “I have known him, to the end that he may command his children and his household after him, that they may keep the way of Jehovah, to do righteousness and justice; to the end that Jehovah may bring upon Abraham that which he hath spoken of him.” “Because that Abraham obeyed my voice, and kept my charge, my commandments, my statutes, and my laws.” (Gen. 18:19, Am. Stan. Ver.; 26:5) Such land of words do, in themselves, testify to Abraham’s consecration.

• ²² Abraham, together with Isaac and Jacob, never did return to the homeland from which he had come out. He always lived subject to God’s will, looking to the new world, which world is now close upon us, with new heavens and a new earth. Those men, faithful to their consecration, will be a part of that “new earth”, with its “city”, or visible earthly organization of righteousness. As it is written: “And truly, if they had been mindful of that country from whence they came out, they might have had opportunity to have returned. But now they desire a better country, that is, an heavenly [the new heavens], wherefore God is not ashamed to be called their God: for he hath prepared for them a city [the new earth].” No wonder that they considered themselves to be “strangers and pilgrims on the earth” during this present evil world and refused to mix in with its heathenish city governments and its commerce and religion.—Heb. 11:13-16.

• ²³ One of Jacob’s twelve sons was named Levi. The descendants of Levi were called Levites. Moses was a great-grandson of Levi, and hence a Levite. Moses’ brother Aaron was the older, and hence Moses was by no means specially dedicated to God at birth.

• 20. What relationship and what commission did Abraham, Isaac and Jacob hold respecting Jehovah God?

• 21. What is the highest witness given as to Abraham’s faithfulness to bis consecration'?

• 22. Why did Abraham, Isaac and Jacob remain separate from the homeland and from the institutions of Palestine?

• 23, 24. What can be said of Moses’ consecration and his faithfulness? However, he was entrusted to God’s care by being put in a floating basket among the flags of the Nile river, where Pharaoh’s daughter found him and adopted him as her son named Moses. He could have become a princely part of this world down in Egypt, then the leading world power. But out of faith in the divine promises made to his true forefathers, Moses consecrated himself to God and His work. Testifying to Moses’ consecration the apostle Paul writes: “Faith made Moses, when he was grown up, refuse to be known as a son of Pharaoh’s daughter, for he preferred sharing the hardships of God’s people to a short-lived enjoyment of sin, and thought such contempt as the Christ endured was truer wealth than the treasures of Egypt, for he was looking forward to the coming reward.”

• ²⁴ Then, describing Moses’ fearless leading of his Israelite brethren out of Egypt after the passover night, Paul continues: “Faith made him leave Egypt, unafraid of the king’s anger, for he persevered as though he saw him who is unseen. Faith made him institute the Passover and splash the blood upon the doorposts, to keep the angel that destroyed the firstborn from touching them. Faith enabled them to cross the Red Sea as though it were dry land, although the Egyptians when they tried to follow them across it were drowned.”—Heb. 11:24-29, An Amer. Trans.

BEGINNING WITH THE LAW COVENANT

• ²⁵ It is in connection with the covenant of the law which Jehovah God made with the Israelites through Moses that the terms consecrate and consecration begin to appear. We begin finding these words, at Exodus 13:12 in the Latin Vulgate and the Roman Catholic Douay Version; and at Exodus 28:3, in the Authorized, or King James Version; and at Exodus 28:41 in the English Revised Version and the American Standard Version.* At Exodus 28: 2, 3,40,41 Jehovah God said to his servant Moses: “And thou shalt make holy garments for Aaron thy brother for glory and for beauty. And thou shalt speak unto all that are wise hearted, whom I have filled with the spirit of wisdom, that they may make Aaron’s garments to consecrate [qahdash; distinguish or mark or set off as holy] him, that he may minister unto me in the priest’s office.” “And for Aaron’s sons thou shalt make coats, and thou shalt make for them girdles, and bonnets shalt thou make for them, for glory and for beauty. And thou shalt put them upon Aaron thy brother, and his sons with •However, the Hebrew word qahddsh, which is several times translated consecrate, does occur at Genesis 2:3 and Exodus 13: 2; Exodus 19:10, 14, 22, 23; Exodus 20: 8, 11, which occurrences are before the above-mentioned verses.

• 25, 26. (a) In our older Bible translations, where do the terms con.ecrate and consecration begin to appear? (b) What are the two Hebrew words thus translated, and what is the difference between them? him; and shalt anoint them, and consecrate [wta/iZeTi] them, and sanctify \_qdhddsh] them, that they may minister unto me in the priest’s office.”

• ²⁸ At Leviticus 8:33 Moses said to the priests, Aaron and his sons: “And ye shall not go out of the door of the tabernacle of the congregation in seven days, until the days of your consecration be at an end: for seven days shall he consecrate [wtaliZeTi] you.” At Numbers 3:2, 3 we read: “And these are the names of the sons of Aaron; Nadab the firstborn, and Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar. These are the names of the sons of Aaron, the priests which were anointed, whom he consecrated [mahleh] to minister in the priest’s office.” The Hebrew word mahleh in the foregoing quotations is the main word translated consecrate and literally means to fill, that is, to fill the hand with the power of service and with the offerings of priests. The other Hebrew word qahdash means, rather, to hallow or make holy to God. So there is a difference between the two words.

• ²⁷ In the books of Exodus, Leviticus, and Numbers, all written by Moses, the terms consecrate and consecration refer only to the Levite priests and to their Levite servants.* Both those words refer to God’s action through Moses to install these special servants in office with a formal series of acts of a symbolic kind and in official garments, before they took up their regular duties henceforth. We must not mistake this fact to mean that the rest of the tribes of the nation of Israel were not consecrated to the Lord God. In actuality, the whole nation was consecrated, not merely because God dealt with them as the descendants of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, but also because they willingly entered into a covenant with him on killing the passover lamb in Egypt. Down in Egypt God specifically spoke of them as His people, saying to Pharaoh the king: “Thus saith Jehovah, the God of Israel, Let my people go, that they may hold a feast unto me in the wilderness.” (Ex. 5:1, Am. Stan. Ver.) By holding the passover supper the night before their deliverance from Egypt, and then by following Moses out of Egypt and through the Red sea, the Israelites positively agreed that they were God’s people, solemnly dedicated to doing His will. Says the apostle Paul concerning this: “All our fathers were under the cloud, and all passed through the sea; and were all baptized unto Moses in the cloud and in the sea.”—1 Cor. 10:1, 2.

• ²⁸ However, at Mount Sinai in Arabia, where the law of the Ten Commandments was given to them, •The only exception to this is at Numbers, chapter six, where consecrate is translated from the Hebrew word nahzdr and refers to the Nazarites, who could be either men or women and who could be In this special condition for a certain period of time or for life.

• 27, 28. (a) In Exodus, Leviticus and Numbers how do the terms consecrate and consecration apply? (a) Does this indicate that the rest of the nation of Israel was not consecrated to God? and why? the Israelites formally and expressly ratified their consecration to God, as follows: “And Moses went up unto God, and Jehovah called unto him out of the mountain, saying, Thus shalt thou say to the house of Jacob, and tell the children of Israel: Ye have seen what I did unto the Egyptians, and how I bare you on eagles’ wings, and brought you unto myself. Now therefore, if ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then ye shall be mine own possession from among all peoples: for all the earth is mine: and ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests, and a holy nation. These are the words which thou shalt speak unto the children of Israel. And Moses came and called for the elders of the people, and set before them all these words which Jehovah commanded him. And all the people answered together, and said, All that Jehovah hath spoken we will do. And Moses reported the words of the people unto Jehovah.” (Ex. 19:3-8, Am. Stan. Ver.) Thereafter the law of this covenant was given to them through Moses, and Exodus 24:1-8 reports how it was dedicated or inaugurated by Moses for them. (Heb. 9:18-20) Thereafter Jehovah God said to the Israelites : “You only have I known of all the families of the earth: therefore I will punish you for all your iniquities.”—Amos 3:2.

• ²⁸ If, now, the entire nation was God’s holy nation, in covenant relationship with him, how could the family of Moses’ brother Aaron and the rest of the tribe of Levi be specially consecrated to God? They became specially consecrated to him’ by His cutting them off from the rest of the tribes of Israel and separating them to God’s exclusive service at his holy tabernacle or temple, the family of Aaron as priests and the rest of the tribe of Levites as servants of the priests. Exodus, chapter 28, and Leviticus, chapter 8, describe the special consecration services that Moses conducted in behalf of the priests. Exodus, chapter 32, relates how the Levites took their stand for Jehovah God and outstandingly consecrated themselves to Him. Numbers, chapter 3, describes the consecrating of the Levites, the servants of the high priest and his underpriests.

• ³⁰ By reason of this consecration the priests and Levites were cut off and made holy (qahdash) to the Lord God and set apart to his holy service. And, as pictured in one part of the consecration procedure (Lev. 8: 22-28), the priests’ hands were filled full (mahleh) of power to serve in this consecrated capacity and their hands were filled with gifts to present to God in his service. Thus by this consecrating of them they were made qualified to act as God’s ministers or servants at his sanctuary. No other tribe of Israel was thus separated and set

• 29. How, then, could Aaron's family and the Levites be specially consecrated to God?

• 30. What was the effect of this special consecration? and what does it picture?

apart for such holy service, and no other tribe could lawfully perform it and be accepted. This consecrated condition of the temple priests and Levites pictures something today. It pictures the special consecrated condition into which God, and not any man, puts those who choose to follow Christ Jesus the High Priest and whom God makes to be his under priests ■with Christ.—Heb. 3:1; Rev. 20:4, 6.

SINCE CHRIST THE MESSIAH

• ³¹ But what we are here concerned about particularly is the individual or personal consecration which a believer makes who wants to become a Christian. Such a personal act of consecrating oneself has all along been set out in this magazine to mean the making of a solemn agreement to do God’s will as His will is revealed in his Word the Bible. The Bible verse at Hebrews 10:20 does not refer to such a personal consecration; neither does the verse at Hebrews 7:28, which verse reads according to the modern versions: “For the law appointeth men high priests, having infirmity; but the word of the oath [of God, at Psalm 110:4], which was after the law, appointeth a Son [Jesus], perfected forevermore.” {Eng.Ver. and Am. Stan. Ver.) Since Christ Jesus, the Son of God, was born as a member of the nation of Israel, which was a consecrated nation, did Jesus make a personal consecration to God? The Scripture Record is that he did so.

• ³² Jesus was of the royal tribe of Judah, and not of the tribe of Levi. Hence he could not consecrate himself to render special work at the temple at Jerusalem like those Levites. Up till thirty years of age he carpentered at the despised town of Nazareth, like any ordinary Jewish handicraftsman. But at thirty years of age, at which age the priestly Levites became full-fledged and qualified priests, Jesus decided upon a change. By then Jesus’ cousin, John the Baptist, had been preaching for six months and announcing: “The kingdom of heaven is at hand.” That was the signal for Jesus. He left Nazareth and his carpenter shop. Why? Evidently he now made a full consecration to God and chose the interests of the kingdom of God first. He left Nazareth, never to return to carpentering, but to apply the rest of his earthly life entirely and _ exclusively to doing a higher work than that, God’s kingdom work. Thus Jesus’ individual consecration consisted in setting himself apart to doing God’s will in connection with the Kingdom, which kingdom must vindicate God’s universal sovereignty and holy name. Jesus went to John, the announcer of that Idngdom, in order to outwardly signify or symbolize that consecration

• 31. What has hitherto been understood as a personal consecration? and did Jesus make such?

• 32. Of what did Jesus’ consecration consist? and why did he go to John the Baptist after making It? and to seek divine evidence or indication of God’s acceptance of his consecration.—Matt. 3:1-17.

³³ Jesus’ being plunged by John beneath the waters of the Jordan river signified Jesus’ death to his own personal will. John’s lifting Jesus up out of the waters signified Jesus’ arising as a new creature to do henceforth the particular and exclusive will of God for him in connection with the Kingdom. That Jesus made such a consecration on this occasion was foretold at Psalm 40: 6-8 and is witnessed to by the apostle Paul at Hebrews 10:4-7, saying: “For it is not possible that the blood of bulls and of goats should take away sins. Wherefore when he cometh into the world, he saith [as written at Psalm 40: 6-8 in the Greek Septuagint Version], Sacrifice and offering thou wouldest not, but a body hast thou prepared me: in burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin thou hast had no pleasure. Then said I, Lo, 1 come (in the volume of the book it is written of me,) to do thy will, O God." Thus Jesus’ consecration was his solemn presentation of himself to do God’s will, as that -will was written beforehand in God’s Word, the Bible. God’s pouring out his spirit upon Jesus, accompanied by the visible manifestation of a dove, together with God’s voice saying from heaven, “This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased,” this was Jehovah God’s consecration of his Son Jesus there at the Jordan river.

³¹ Calling attention to his consecration, Jesus said to the Jews: “I came down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me.” (John 6: 38-40) “I seek not mine own will, but the will of the Father which hath sent me.” (John 5:30) Since Jesus was not of the priestly tribe of Levi, he did not consecrate to offer up animal sacrifices on the temple altar at Jerusalem. He offered up his human body, which God had miraculously prepared for him, as a ransom sacrifice for human sins; and on earth Jesus used that body faithfully in God’s work for a vindication of Jehovah’s name.

³³ At 1 Peter 2: 21, 22 it is written to Christians who were undergoing a fiery trial of sufferings: “For even hereunto were ye called: because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that ye should follow his steps: who did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth.” Do believers not follow his example also in making a consecration to God? We may make a search of the so-called “New Testament”, meaning the Greek Christian Scriptures, and yet we will not find the invitation, in just those words, to “make a personal consecration to God” or to “consecrate yourself to God”. And yet the invita-

• 33 (a) What, then, did the motions In connection with Jesus’ baptism signify? (b) What Scripture testimony of his consecration at that time do we have? and how did God consecrate Jesus then?

• 34. How did Jesus testify of bls consecration? and how did he use bis body In connection with it?

• 35. In what respect did Jesus leave bls followers an example? and is there any invitation in the “New Testament” to consecrate? tion to do this is there. To quote Jesus’ words in the text at the beginning of this article; which words are from the gospel of Matthew originally written in Aramaic: “And whoever will not take up his yoke and follow me is not worthy of me. Whoever will follow me, let him deny himself, and take up his yoke, and come with me.” (Matt. 10:38; 16:24, Torrey*) What is the real thought or purport of these words of Jesus here quoted?

³⁸ Jesus had just predicted a course of suffering, down to the death, for himself; and the apostle Peter had said, “Be it far from thee, Lord: this shall not be unto thee.” Then Jesus explained just what our going in the way of consecration to God means. To go the same consecrated way that Jesus went, we must first of all deny or renounce ourselves, not caring whether it means human death to ourselves. We do not put our own selfish human life first, but we say No to ourselves and refuse longer to live to self-will, our selfish will, but solemnly agree to live to the will of God, to which Christ Jesus our chosen Leader lived. Following Christ Jesus faithfully is not according to one’s selfish will or the will of this world. The one that denies himself must thereafter become yoked with Jesus to share with him in working at the work of Jehovah God the Father. (Matt. 11: 28-30) Or, if a stake rather than a yoke is meant in Jesus’ words, then the denier of self must take upon himself the stake of the world’s reproaches, condemnation and persecution and must bear that stake as Jesus bore his, even to the shameful death in the eyes of the world. He must bear this stake with faithfulness to God that he might thereby vindicate God’s worthy name and not bring reproach upon it by any unfaithfulness to escape suffering. Thus doing, he follows Christ and leads a consecrated life.

³⁷ To undertake this consecrated course Jesus was inviting the men whom he chose for apostles, when he said to them: “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.” (Matt. 4:19) Or, simply: “Follow me.” (Matt. 9:9) Or, to the man with a father to bury: “Follow me; and let the dead bury their dead.” (Matt. 8:21,22; Luke 9:59,60) Notice that Jesus did not say, in just those words: “Consecrate yourself to God; make a full personal consecration to God.”. That was unnecessary, for the Leader was going a consecrated way, and hence the follower must likewise go in the same consecrated way, first denying himself and then casting in his lot with •Incidentally the above translation by Chas. C. Torrey, professor of Semitic languages, shows that the original word which is usually translated “cross" does not mean what is today called a cross, but means simply a stake without a crossbeam. Jesus was hung upon a stake, sometimes called a “tree”, and not upon a cross such as is worshiped by the religionists of “Christendom”. —Acts 5:29,30.

36. What did Jesus’ words explain going in the consecrated way to mean? 37. How did Jesus extend the Jews the invitation to consecrate? and why not by using that term?

Jesus, to share the work-yoke and to bear a stake of reproach like that of Jesus.

’’Notice, too, the apostle Peter’s instructions on that Pentecostal day of the outpouring of the holy spirit upon Jesus’ little flock of disciples, after Peter had preached and the conscience-stricken Jews said to him and the rest of the apostles: “Men and brethren, what shall we do ?” Peter did not reply, in just these words: “Consecrate yourselves to God.” They were already of a nation consecrated to God, but which nation had rebelled against following the Son of God and had nailed him to the tree. Therefore Peter told the inquirers the particular steps to take back to a right relationship with God, but a relationship with larger privileges because of the “new and living way, which he [Christ Jesus] hath consecrated for us, through the veil, that is to say, his flesh”. (Heb. 10:20) Hence Peter said to the inquiring Jews: “You must repent, and every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ, in order to have your sins forgiven; then you will receive the gift of the holy spirit, for the promise of it belongs to you and your children, as well as to all those far away whom the Lord our God calls to him.”—Acts 2: 38, 39, An Amer. Trans.

• ³⁹ Repenting and being baptized in Jesus’ name meant, in effect, consecrating to God, for it meant renouncing the way of the world which had killed the Son of God. It meant acknowledging him as Lord and Christ, the High Priest, after the royal order of Melchizedek and who sits at Jehovah God’s right hand in heaven. It meant calling upon the name of Jehovah God for salvation, and doing so through Christ Jesus as the One through whom their sins are forgiven. Being baptized in Jesus’ name meant being immersed unto him as the heavenly Leader in whose footsteps they must follow. The baptism in water was a symbol of their consecration to God in this new relationship.—Acts 2:21, 33-36; also Acts 3:19-23.

FROM CORNELIUS’ TIME ONWARD

• ⁴⁰ God’s appointed time came to call to him “those far away”, namely, the non-Jews or Gentiles. In opening up the call, God sent Peter up to Caesarea, about fifty miles northwest of Jerusalem. In giving a witness there to Cornelius and his household con.-cerning God’s operations through Jesus Christ, Peter got down to these words: “It is of him that all the prophets bear witness that everyone that believes in him will have his sins forgiven in his name.” Peter did not specifically use the term '“consecration”, but Cornelius and his household, who had all along been wanting to do God’s will and who

• 38, 39. On the day of Pentecost how did Peter extend the Invitation to the Jews to consecrate? and what did bis words specifically mean? 40, 41. Under what circumstances did Cornelius and his household gathering consecrate? and for what purpose were they baptized in water? had sent for Peter to instruct them about it, caught on to what they must do. That they at once decided to do God’s will as now revealed is shown by what next happened without their making any formal confession of faith to Peter: “Before Peter had finished saying these words, the holy spirit fell on all who were listening to his message.... Then Peter said, ‘Can anyone refuse the use of water to baptize these people when they have received the holy spirit just as we did?’ And he directed that they should be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ.”—Acts 10:43-48, An Amer. Trans.

⁴¹ Those whom God openly consecrated by His spirit no one could lawfully prevent from being baptized. The baptism in water in Jesus’ name was for nothing else except to signify openly their personal consecration to do God’s will as it was revealed and exemplified in Jesus Christ.

⁴⁸ When Europe was opened up for Paul’s missionary work, Paul ran into imprisonment at Philippi. When a miraculous earthquake set him and his companion Silas free, the prison-keeper rushed to their location and brought them out and anxiously inquired: “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” The Record does not say that Paul and Silas instructed him, in just that phraseology, to offer himself in a personal and unreserved consecration to God. The Record tells us: “And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house. And they spake unto him the word of the Lord, and to all that were in his house. And he [the prisonkeeper] took them the same hour of the night, and washed their stripes; and was baptized, he and all his, straightway. And when he had brought them into his house, he set meat before them, and rejoiced, believing in God with all his house.” (Acts 16: 29-34) His believing on God and on Jesus Christ as Lord included consecration to God through Christ Jesus; and being baptized in water symbolized such consecration. Doubtless after the baptism Paul laid his hands on them and they received the holy spirit and its various gifts.

⁴³ Later, at Ephesus, twelve Gentiles confessed to having been immersed with the baptism of John the Baptist. “Then said Paul, John verily baptized with the baptism of repentance, saying unto the people, that they should believe on him which should come after him, that is, on Christ Jesus. When they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. And when Paul had laid his hands upon them, the holy [spirit] came on them; and they spake with tongues, and prophesied.” (Acts 19:1-6) While the term consecration is not mentioned, their profession of belief in Jesus would have been hypocritical and 42. Under what circumstances did the Philippian jailer and his household consecrate? and how did they Indicate it?

43. (a) What evidence is there to show that the twelve Gentile believers and other Ephesians whom Paul met consecrated? (b) What, then, in reality is the full meaning of “believing”? in vain if they had not consecrated to God through Christ, to do the divine will henceforth. If this was not so, God, who reads men’s hearts, would not have poured out his holy spirit upon them to do His holy will. Afterward, at Ephesus, “many that believed came, and confessed, and shewed their deeds,” and hence turned from the ways and practices of the world. (Acts 19:18,19) Believing, in a true sense, means consecration to God, and not a mere mental agreement with the facts about God and Christ. Romans 10:9,10 says: “If thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.” James 2:26 says: “Faith without works is dead also.” Hence acting on one’s belief and carrying out one’s consecration to God means being a witness concerning God and his purpose and his works through Christ. To make a consecration to God it takes faith.

• ⁴⁴ In summary, then, consecration to God means setting oneself aside or apart as holy unto God, and such consecration is a solemn agreement to do God’s will. It is an act of faith and must be done through Christ Jesus, by whom comes the forgiveness of sins to make the one consecrating acceptable to God. The consecration is then openly symbolized by water baptism; but the consecration is carried out by doing God’s will in righteousness and being a faithful witness, confessing to Him with the mouth and without shame. As Cornelius did, one may make his consecration privately, in the heart, in prayer to God through Christ.

• ⁴⁵ Whether now, at this end of the world, Jehovah God will consecrate the believer by anointing him with the spirit to be a king and priest with Christ is something for God to determine. The baptized believer exercises no choice in the matter. He does not lay down any conditions of a selfish kind before God, but submits himself to do and to have done whatever is the future will of God for him. If now God does not will to consecrate the believer to be in the heavenly Kingdom class with Christ, then the Lord God will reveal that to such one and he will bow to the divine will and be pleased to serve Him forever in hope of eternal life on earth under the Kingdom. Personal consecration is not to last to any certain date, but is for ever and is not revocable. Not carrying it out faithfully will result in one’s destruction. (Heb. 10: 38, 39) Being once made, consecration needs no renewing, for its obligations upon us continue. Faithful performance of our consecration means eternal life in the wondrous new world of righteousness.

• 44, 45. In summary, what can be said as to the significance of a personal consecration to God?

OUR last report on the European movements of the Watch Tower Society president,'N. H. Knorr, and his secretary, M. G.Henschel, found them at Brussels, Belgium. Railroad facilities for their travels were fairly good in France and Switzerland, as well as from Paris to Brussels, but as for travel north of Brussels the travel bureaus had not much of a good word. There was only one train running daily for the journey from Brussels to Amsterdam, Holland, when application for their tickets was made, and the equipment in use was that which survived World War II. It had been badly battered and many of the coaches were reported to have boards nailed across window openings where once glass panes had been. Nevertheless, the important thing for the Watch Tower president was to get to Amsterdam, and hence he and his traveling companions were anxious to take passage on the only available train in spite of the Ekely inconveniences and discomforts.

What a pleasant surprise greeted them when they returned for their tickets! Sunday, December 2, the day before they were scheduled to depart from Brussels, there was to Ee a new rail service to Amsterdam. Good railway cars had been brought in from other parts of Europe and reservations had been booked for our brothers Knorr and Henschel and their Swiss comrade, Alfred Rutimann. And how good it was, when they left the Belgian capital, to be able to see out through the windows and to be shielded from the cold winds! Naturally the populace of Brussels made known their gladness at the reinstatement of comfortable train service to the north, but surely none were happier than our three Theocratic travelers that the first good train service to their destination was inaugurated on the day before they had to depart.

On December 3 the Monday morning sun shone with little warmth upon Brussels as our brethren met Frederic Hartstang, the Society’s Belgian Branch servant, about 9 a.m. at the railway station, Gare du Midi. Because of the considerable reconstruction work in progress at the station, the train was parked a good distance from the main building of the station. It was about a ten-minute walk to Track 3, where the train had been assembled. Our three travelers, together now with the Belgian Branch servant, boarded the train shortly after nine o’clock and found the reserved seats to which the three had been assigned. A few more matters relative to the Kingdom-witness work in Belgium needed to be discussed with Brother Hartstang, and so he remained till within two minutes of the time of train departure, at 9:30 a.m. The train coach was old, and most of the passengers sat about in their overcoats, hoping that before long some steam from the locomotive would be spared for heating the coach cars.

Be it remarked that almost aU the railroad bridges of importance were destroyed by the Nazi invaders as they retreated or were blown up by bombers of the Allied liberating forces. Much of the roadbeds- had also been blown up in various parts of Belgium and of the Netherlands. The necessary reconstruction work has proceeded slowly in the latter country because of lack of supplies for building work. Many temporary bridges are now in use in crossing the numerous rivers and canals of the low countries. The only route open to travel by rail to Amsterdam is very circuitous, and it is a slow journey over it. Often the train creeps along, almost seeming to be feeling its way along the tracks and over bridges to see if it is safe to go on, perhaps afraid of possibly joining the burned-out and wrecked railway cars still lying down at the foot of embankments along the way.

The route from Brussels is very interesting. The first major station is at Antwerp-East. It is really not a station; just the platforms remain usable now. All along the way the houses of Antwerp have been burned and blasted. The homes that remain are mansions if they stiU retain a few window panes. Most of them are defaced by the boards nailed across the window frames. So it is in every city passed. The Belgian Customs and Immigration officials are stationed at Esschen, where all passengers must detrain and go into the customs station.

ARRIVAL IN THE NETHERLANDS

Rosendaal is the first city in the Netherlands to be entered. Here one can see the first windmill, the world-known mark of the Dutch. Travelers after World War II almost become accustomed to seeing the station buildings wrecked and some temporary structure in use. Even the government officials and customs men who board the train are without adequate rooms from which to operate. Monetary restrictions are also in effect in the Netherlands, and forms are supplied to international travelers to declare monies, and the officials make notations in the travelers’ passports.

Soon the train moves deeper into the Netherlands, on to Breda and Tilburg. AU along the way are scenes of destruction and suffering. Only Amsterdam has been fortunate enough to pass through the years of war without the infliction of fire and bomb scars. So, as the train nears this capital city, the speed increases and it is apparent that the engineer feels confident that the tracks are clear ahead and there is safety with speed. Arrival at Amsterdam was at five-thirty o’clock Monday evening, two hours earlier than the brethren in Amsterdam expected these visitors. The new train service now begun to be used had not had much publicity. To the nearest hotel our travelers proceeded and were fortunate to obtain rooming accommodations, after considerable discussion with the manager. Everything was reported occupied. FinaUy, however, something was found available. Two hours later our travelers walked back to the railroad station, there to find the Society’s Netherlands Branch servant, Arthur Winkler, and a sister from the Branch office and a visitor from Germany. What a good surprise it was to meet up with this unexpected German brother! A brief discussion was held just outside of the station and plans were made for the next day’s work, and then the groups made their several ways home. It was not a matter of taking a street car or a taxi and riding home for those Bethel brethren, because in Amsterdam the trams were running from 6:30 to 10 a.m. and from 3 to 6:30 p.m., an effort being made to conserve the limited coal supplies that are used in generating the power. During any other hours everyone must walk. The brethren from the Branch office of the Society had an hour’s walk ahead of them. And since our travelers were several days in Amsterdam, they too had the opportunity of doing much walking during the off-hours of the city tram service.

In Amsterdam there is A great shortage of everything, and so the electric lights are of low wattage, street lights are far apart, and there is no advertising whatsoever through illumination. In the last few months of the war the Netherlands people suffered their greatest, during which time they were allowed a half loaf of bread and two pounds of potatoes a week. What vegetables a person could gather from a little garden or from some farmer friends kept him going. If a person had no farmer friends, the only recourse was to try to purchase foodstuffs from the peasants throughout the country-side. Money was of little value. Consequently people had to give gold and jewelry for what food they got in excess of the allowed rations. Conditions have, of course, improved considerably over what they were during the war, but there is still not enough for the people to live properly. Everything is rationed—fresh and canned vegetables, bread, butter, and meat. It is just about impossible to buy any clothing at all as long as you have something on your back to wear. The shops have a few articles which may be displayed in the show windows, but even though a man had a ration card by special grant of the authorities for the purchase of some articles, very likely he would not find them when he went into the store. The few items on display in the windows would probably not be of the proper size. Indeed, the Netherlanders need help. Relief and supplies are constantly moving into the country now; but to bring conditions anywhere near normal will take considerable time.

The first morning that our visitors were in Amsterdam they went early to the bank to get some funds to relieve the situation for the Netherlands brethren the best possible. In addition to converting American funds into Netherlands gulden and supplying this to the Branch office to use in the best manner possible, steps were taken to have the Netherlands government release the Society's blocked money. All monies in the banks were blocked after the Germans were put out of the Netherlands, and the government has allowed persons and institutions only small sums with which to work. This action was taken to control the black market that had run amuck through many European countries. Also it would allow the government time to determine whether the money had been garnered through collaboration with the Nazis. The only way one can draw from blocked accounts is to present bills of expenditures to the Netherlands government and then the government decides whether it will release blocked monies even for such expenditures. At the present time practically all funds in the Netherlands are frozen, but gradually some monies are being released to certain organizations that are doing philanthropic and charitable work. Arrangements were started by our brethren in order that a permit could be obtained for the importing of used clothing, and request was made of the government to furnish a license for importation of ten tons of clothes. If such license was obtainable, the clothing would be gathered in the United States and shipped to the Netherlands for redistribution through the Watch Tower Society’s office.                        _

All pioneers, that is, full-time Kingdom publishers, in that land are being assisted financially by the Office, so that they can keep on going in the field service. By the Lord’s grace it has been possible for publications to be printed locally in limited quantities regularly all through the war and thereafter. The comforting message in the Society’s books, booklets and magazines has been most helpful to the people during the years of distress and has aided many to come through the hardships with .gladdened hearts and with hope for the future. Of a certainty, some people of the Netherlands are glad with Jehovah’s people.—Rom. 15:10; Dent. 32:43.

REPORT ON GERMANY

The Society’s president also had discussions with the special representative from Germany, who had found it possible to meet with him in Amsterdam. His report of conditions throughout Germany was most encouraging. The Watchtower articles are being circulated all throughout Germany. In all four occupation zones the companies of Jehovah's witnesses are being organized again and the witnesses are openly active again after so many years under Nazi vigilance and persecution. The visiting brethren from the American office and the Swiss office were able to see reports brought by the German brother on 618 well-established companies. It was reported that this number represented only half of the organization that has been set up in Germany. Reports from this group have not gotten through to the Society’s central office. Regular field-service reports had been tabulated for 3,667 publishers for the month of October, 1945, but information was conveyed that it takes from three to four weeks for mail to travel in Germany, and thus this represented approximately fifty percent of the regular monthly publishers reporting throughout Germany. The home book-study work is organized, and back-calls on interested persons are being made regularly, and the work moves on at a very rapid pace in spite of limited paper supplies for literature. The medium of exchange in Germany is still marks, and sufficient contributions have been supplied by the brethren to the organization in Germany to carry on whatever work is necessary in organizing their advertising of God’s kingdom.

Imagine learning that on the following Sunday, December 9, H. E. Frost, a brother that had been in several concentration camps, was to be permitted to speak over the Stuttgart (Germany) radio station which is under American control! His subject was to be “The Meek Inherit the Earth”. It was understood that he would be allowed to give lectures every other week for a while on Bible subjects. It made the hearts of our travelers and their Netherlandish brethren glad to learn this good news. Thus the principles of freedom of speech were being carried on in the American section of occupied Germany, especially toward those who have suffered in concentration camps, in several of which Brother Frost had spent many years. It was reported that Kingdom publishers freed from concentration camps feel as though Germany were almost a paradise of freedom. But this is true only by contrast with the former Nazified Germany; for the conditions in presentday Germany are very bad. There is a shortage of clothing, food, heating materials, and shelter. As disclosed in a previous report, the brethren in Switzerland gathered a large supply of clothing to be shipped into Germany for redistribution.

One of the very interesting things learned in conversation with the German brother was that, of the nineteen brethren comprising the German Bethel family at headquarters that handles the office work, every one had spent time in concentration camps and the entire family averages 6-J years each. This is quite a standard for a Bethel family. There are twenty servants to the brethren visiting the various companies. There are approximately 95 pioneers, and more are preparing to enter this field. It was also reported that one German family of thirteen spent a total of 63 years and 5 months in concentration camps. Two of the thirteen were sentenced to death and killed. This is a marvelous record of faithfulness on the part of a Christian family, the parents having brought up their children in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. (Eph. 6:4) Another family, of eleven persons, had been in concentration camps to the aggregate total of 44 years and 3 months. Three of them died on account of the hardships and severe treatment from the SS troops. The other eight are now free and all of them are publishers, two being servants to the brethren.

Space will not allow for the telling of the many experiences the brethren in Germany went through, but it is well to report one more, one that had been briefly reported in the New York papers in September, 1939, and on which the whole story never was told. The New York papers announced the shooting of August Dieekmann, who had refused to take up military service. The full story, briefly told, is this:

August Dieekmann, of Kinslaken, who was the servant of a company of Jehovah's witnesses, had been called up before the SS while in the concentration camp at Sachsenhausen and was told he should go into the German army, but he refused to do so. He was told that if he refused he would be shot. Yet this faithful witness of Jehovah told the Nazi commander of the concentration camp that it would not make any difference, he would still remain faithful and true to his God. He was then permitted to record a statement setting forth his beliefs and why he would serve God rather than man. The German Nazis decided to make an example of this faithful servant of the Most High God, and the gongs were sounded for the assembly of all the prisoners in the camp. Sixteen thousand gathered together in orderly fashion. A small group of Jehovah's witnesses of from 260 to 280 in this camp was placed immediately in front of the sixteen thousand other prisoners. Everyone in the camp knew that something special was due to happen. Then August Dieekmann was called out. He stood by himself, alone, before all those thousands.

Over the camp loudspeakers the announcement was made that August Dieekmann had refused military service, and his statement was read to all those sixteen thousand prisoners. The statement of his position as a servant of Jehovah was a very comprehensive one and gave a wonderful testimony for the truth to all in the camp. At the conclusion of the reading of his statement, Dieekmann was again given the opportunity to take up military service. He stood steadfast, which angered the SS; and so, before that vast crowd of onlookers, this faithful servant of the Lord was stood up against a wall in front of a firing squad. As he faced his murderers with eyes wide open and a smile on his face, he waved a final farewell with his cap to the small group of his brethren standing there as a little number before all the spectators as he was shot down.

All prisoners in the camp were returned to the blocks, the little group of Jehovah’s witnesses being inhabitants of the same block. Shortly thereafter one of the SS men came to the block and had all of Jehovah’s witnesses line up in single file, shoulder to shoulder, facing him. Then the commander of the camp and his chief assistants appeared. The commander reminded all the brethren there assembled of what had occurred that afternoon and offered all their “freedom” if they would sign a paper renouncing their faith in Jehovah God and declaring themselves to be no longer Jehovah’s witnesses, and taking on the Nazi conception of matters. After a brief period of quiet two of the men stepped forward. Thereupon the commander handed them papers to sign. But these two witnesses stated that several months before they had been forced to sign such papers and now they wished to inform him that they desired to withdraw their names from those statements. This was not what the commander expected. He was infuriated, and went stomping out of the block, leaving Jehovah’s witnesses standing there in a body as one man wholly devoted to the Lord. Truly that day all ‘stood for their lives’ and Jehovah’s name was honored, He giving them protection.

Three months later this same commander died of cancer of the stomach, and it is reported that his daughter announced that he died because Jehovah’s witnesses “prayed him to death”. Thereafter all prisoners, and even the SS men in that camp, showed greater respect for Jehovah’s witnesses because of their courage and fearlessness.

With the visiting brother from Germany who reported this there were many other matters to discuss, and many instructions to send back to the Kingdom publishers there. The report of the German brethren brought with it the love and greetings of Jehovah’s witnesses in Germany to be sent to all their brethren in the world; and this love is gladly transmitted to the faithful servants of Jehovah God through these pages. The German brother took back with him the love and greetings of their co-workers world-wide as given him by the president of the Society speaking on behalf of all of Jehovah’s witnesses in other lands. The whole afternoon was spent in asking and answering questions concerning the German work.

AMSTERDAM ASSEMBLY

That evening from eight to ten o’clock twelve brethren from Amsterdam met with Brother Knorr. These brethren were representative of the companies in Amsterdam, and some were servants to the brethren.. The first hour was spent talking about the work generally, and the second hour was devoted to answering questions. This meeting was arranged believing it would be impossible to get a hall for a meeting for all the brethren in Amsterdam; but the next morning the DeBrakke Hall was found to be available and the “grapevine” was used to get the news around. The meeting was called for eight o’clock that evening. With conditions as they are in Amsterdam and with trams discontinued after 6:30 p.m., one wondered how many would come to get together that evening. But our travelers from America and Switzerland, after a busy day at the office, walked to the hall and found it was packed out, with people standing in every available place. When the count was taken it was found there were 600 attending. Brother Henschel spoke to them on organization matters and the value of back-calls and book studies in their territories. This proved to be very instructive to the brethren in Amsterdam, for thereby they learned how the work was being carried on generally throughout the rest of the world. They must make the best use of their limited supplies and must study with the literature that is on hand to educate the people in the way that brings life.

Brother Knorr followed and dealt with the responsibilities of all of Jehovah's witnesses in the postwar period in preaching the gospel of the Kingdom. He complimented the brethren on the splendid increase that the Netherlandish brethren attained during the war years, and remarked how the work was continually moving ahead at a very steady pace during the past year. He pointed out that in October of 1944 there were 1,886 publishers in the field but that the report for October of 1945 showed 3,443 servants of the Lord. This is indeed a marvelous increase and shows definitely that the nations are glad with His people, for the brethren in the Netherlands have found in their midst hundreds of persons of good-will who are seeking the truth and who have now been comforted by the words of life.

Smiles of joy and appreciation shone upon their faces as the brethren heard a review of activities of Jehovah’s witnesses in other parts of the world, and they were well pleased with the progress in Cuba, in Central America, in South America, Canada and the United States, and in other parts of the earth. They rejoiced to know that during these years of no communications the brethren in other lands had stood fast and, like themselves, had continued in discipling all nations. So it was seen that Jehovah’s witnesses are of one mind world-wide and that none of them had slacked his hand during the war years and that even now in the postwar period Jehovah’s witnesses are putting forth every effort to let whosoever will hear the truth. The final thrill was the announcement that the Society was trying to arrange for the trip of one of the Watchtower Bible College graduates to Amsterdam to take care of the Society’s office and to help with the work. (He has since arrived.)

The meeting was brought to its close at 9:45 p.m., having in mind that many of the audience would have to walk long distances home that night and others who were fortunate to have bicycles could ride those. But the brethren were loath to go. Even after the closing prayer was offered to the Lord in gratitude for the privilege of assembly and expressing appreciation for his gracious care over his people, and after the speakers had left the platform, the whole congregation stood fast and joined in a song of praise to Jehovah God before they left the auditorium. It was a blessed meeting and a very profitable one at which to have been in attendance with the Lord’s faithful servants in the Netherlands.

The time proved too short to accomplish the many things to be done. Thursday morning, December 6, was spent in the hotel room with the Branch servant and other brethren discussing through an interpreter the ways and means to further the work in the Netherlands. Noon came too quickly, and the travelers had to leave for the railway station again for the return trip to Brussels, where they were to take a plane for Denmark. Arriving at the station, our travelers were met by the entire Bethel family. This gathering caused the time to pass by very rapidly for our travelers, and they appreciated being able to spend a few minutes more discussing the grand work with these dear fellow witnesses. All too hurriedly the hands of the railway station clock had moved around to 1 p.m. It was time to head for the train. Then, tendering the “right hands of fellowship”, Brothers Rutimann, Henschel and Knorr said good-bye to the Bethel family and walked through the gate to the train. The Amsterdam brethren waved farewells until the entrained departing brethren passed out of sight.

IN DENMARK

AT 9:15 p.m. of Thursday, December 6, 1945, the train from /\ Amsterdam pulled into the track and stopped next to X JkPlatform 3 at the Gare du Midi (Central Station) in Brussels, Belgium. The Watch Tower Society’s president, N. H. Knorr, and his traveling mates dismounted, to be met by the Society's Belgian Branch servant and several members of the Bethel family. A short but rocking ride on one of the Brussels trams followed for our travelers, and then they arrived at the hotel where reservations were to be held for them. But here they were informed that the military had taken all rooms available. However, another hotel where reservations had not been made was able to take our three brethren for the night, and there soon another series of questions and answers ensued, the Branch servant having some business to go into for this occasion. This interview lasted until midnight.

Next morning, at eight o’clock, the two Americans, Brothers Knorr and Henschel, were accompanied from the hotel to the RAF Transport Command passenger waiting room by their Swiss companion, Brother Rutimann, and the brethren from the Belgian office. Copenhagen was the next destination. Priorities had been obtained for passage from Brussels to Copenhagen, via Hamburg, Germany; but then a change was made in the routing of the plane and the passengers were told they would stop at The Hague (almost back to Amsterdam) and at Schleswig, Germany, en route to Copenhagen. Now only a few minutes more remained till the brethren from America must part ways with their good traveling companion from the Berne office, Brother Rutimann. He had been a great aid to his American brethren and had been able to speak English, German, French, and some Hollandish, which helped no end along the way and at the assemblies. His presence was very much appreciated, and the traveling trio had become very close friends. Brother Rutimann had work to do in Paris and then he would have to return to Berne. Along with the rest of the air-passengers Brothers Knorr and Henschel were sent to the waiting bus, at 9:15 a.m., and, amid the good-byes of their brethren, they drove off in the bus, through the streets of Brussels and on out to the airport.

At 10: 05 the flight was announced, and the passengers followed a guide to the plane some distance out on the field. The plane was found to be a camouflaged RAF paratroop transport of American manufacture that had been used in the invasion of the Continent and the carrying of paratroopers and wounded men during the war. The passengers took their seats on the two

RESURGENT

benches along the sides of the plane, benches that had once been lined with paratroopers and their full equipment for invasion of the enemy territory. At 10:15 a.m., with all passengers tightly strapped into the seats, the plane took off for The Hague. The passengers being strapped in with their backs to the windows, at the plane’s take-off there was much twisting of necks in an effort to see some of the Belgian capital from the air. Soon, though, the belts were permitted to be loosened or unfastened, and all were turning about trying to see from the nearest windows. However, the attention was soon diverted from the scenery below, for it made itself felt that the plane had not been fully equipped. Many of the plugs in the centers of windows were missing and a cool draft passed through the plane. The passengers were constantly reminded of the eold, and every time they spoke they eould see their breath. Most of the seventeen passengers aboard were headed for The Hague, and they were very glad that the flight lasted only forty minutes. Just three of the Brussels passengers, our two brethren and a British army captain, were listed to go through to Copenhagen, and there were no passengers for Schleswig.

At The Hague all passengers alighted from the plane for the fifteen-minute stop. Two more passengers for Kbbenhavn (Copenhagen) were waiting at The Hague for the flight to the north. One of the crew explained that the plane was behind schedule. So the stop in The Hague was not for long. Soon the plane was off the ground again, headed for Schleswig. The course was over the Netherlands and the north coast of Germany. At one time the passengers eould see what remains of the city of Emden, Germany, to the south. Traveling at high speed northeastward along the coastline of Germany, the plane passed over the estuary of the Elbe river and was soon over Schleswig-Holstein. Once over the land the ceiling became much lower, as the clouds were heavy and threatening. As the pilot tried to avoid the storm the plane flew quite low, but finally he saw he had to go through it. By radio communication it was learned that a heavy snowstorm was raging at Schleswig and it would be inadvisable to try landing. The pilot was instructed to keep on his course, directing the plane to Copenhagen. After forty-five minutes the plane passed out of the rough storm, during which considerable ice had accumulated on the wings and cowling. The plane’s interior where the passengers rode was very eold, and it was easy for them to believe that there was ice on the outside. About fifteen minutes before the landing at Copenhagen the skies cleared, but the temperature did not rise. It was good to see the farm lands and villages of the Danes and, soon, the excellent airport.

The stop at Schleswig not having been made, some time was saved and arrival at our destination was one hour early. Copenhagen was found to be windy and cold. There were signs of snow about the airfield, and the passengers were happy to reach the interior of the airport buildings and feel a little warmth. After going through customs and finding no one at the airport to meet them, Brothers Knorr and Henschel went to the heart of the city on the bus, believing that the Branch servant would meet them at the RAF Transport Command passenger booking office. About 4:30 p.m. the traveling brethren and A. J. West, the Branch servant, and William Dey were together and soon on their way to the Society’s Bethel home in Valby, a suburb of the capital. It was a pleasant surprise to meet with Brother Dey, who had been the servant in charge of the work in Northern Europe for many years. During five years of the war he had been interned in Denmark on account of the German occupation. He seemed in very good spirits and was rejoicing to be once more getting about Northern Europe in the Lord’s “strange work”.

The Danish brethren soon made it evident to the Americans that there was no great shortage of food in Copenhagen as there had been in Amsterdam. Denmark is a farming country, and there seemed to be sufficient supplies of butter, cheese, vegetables, and meat. The incoming Americans received ration coupons for bread and butter when they entered the country, but all other things in Copenhagen were not rationed. Bread and butter rations are ample, however.

The president and his secretary were provided with lodging right at the Bethel Home, which made it very convenient to go over all the details in connection with Jehovah’s work. Communications with Denmark had been completely cut off during the war, but general information and particularly The Watchtower reached the Danish brethren fairly regularly through Sweden. All day Saturday, December 8, was spent in looking over the Society’s property and answering questions previously prepared by the Branch servant. Organization instructions were discussed, and details relative to the field work were considered. It was a joy to go over these matters, because the brethren in Denmark were very active during the war years. At the time of the Nazi invasion there were 1,032 publishers engaging in the field service on the average each month. By September of 1944 this had increased to 2,570, and in the first month of this service year, namely, September, 1945, there were 3,059 reporting field service. This shows that all through the six years of war two thousand persons took their stand for the Kingdom and joined the ranks of Jehovah’s witnesses. This is a great report when one considers that Denmark has 3,800,000 inhabitants. Probably it will not be long until there is one publisher for every thousand inhabitants. The pioneer work is moving along well in this little country. There are now 63 pioneers; but this work needed special attention in order to bring it into line with the pioneer activity of other nations as it is outlined in the Society’s present Organization Instructions.

It was possible to notify the Copenhagen office about a week in advance of the arriving of the two American brethren. This enabled the brethren there to arrange for a meeting at the Copenhagen Ball Club Hall, generally known as K. B. Hallen. All the companies were notified of the Sunday evening meeting and of the public meeting to be held on the following evening. These two evenings were available for assembly. On the president’s arrival the Branch servant inquired about helping the pioneers to get there. Immediately arrangements were made for paying their travel expenses. Thus all the pioneers were able to come.

COPENHAGEN ASSEMBLY

Sunday evening, December 9, the brethren began to gather at the K. B. Hallen. By the time the meeting opened, at 7:30 pun., there were 1,970 in attendance. Brother Henschel spoke through an interpreter on the theme of youth and their responsibility at this time, and especially their privileges of service in the future. Brother Knorr’s speech followed, on the subject “Jehovah’s witnesses in th.e Crucible”. The Danish brethren were delighted with the information he brought them about the faithful stand of Jehovah’s witnesses in all the world, and appreciated too the report of the good service by the Lord’s servants in various lands during the recent years. They were very appreciative of the love and greetings he conveyed to them, and they reciprocated by unanimously raising hands to carry their love on to the countries yet to be visited and to the United States. The program was two hours in duration. Announcement was made that the next evening there would be a public meeting but prior thereto, at 2 p.m., there would be a pioneer meeting in one of the Kingdom Halls. The meeting was especially for the pioneers, but others interested in the pioneer work were welcomed to attend.

Monday afternoon, from 2 to 5 pan., the president spoke to the 80 brethren in attendance at the pioneer meeting, which included some servants to the brethren and three brethren from the Copenhagen office. Over 60 were pioneers. Organization instructions were dealt with, particularly as they apply to the pioneer service. The special pioneer work was introduced to them and the brethren were invited to enter that field of activity. The pioneers in Denmark find it hard going at the present time, and the special pioneer arrangement will be a real aid to them to make it possible for them to stay in the work. Many questions were answered, and toward the end of the meeting the invitation to enter the Watchtower Bible College of Gilead was opened to the brethren who could qualify. The purpose of the College was described, and thirteen preliminary College applications were filled out by the brethren, setting forth their desire to attend and there receive special training and be sent to any parts of the world.

During Saturday, Sunday and Monday there was special advertising given to the public lecture “Be Glad,' Ye Nations”, to be delivered Monday at 7:30 p.m. at the K. B. Hallen. It was good then to see the hall practically filled, 2,700 being in attendance. The Danish people were pleased to hear the Scriptures on the Kingdom discussed together with the hope that is held out, and this meeting in English and Danish lasted one and three-fourths hours. The public took with them 1,002 copies of a free booklet at the close of the meeting.

The remaining days in Copenhagen until departure for Sweden on the evening of December 12 were spent in the office going over the records and files and also arranging for shipment of good food supplies into the Netherlands. Certain shipments could be made, and sums of the Society’s money were set aside for this purpose. The Danish government has permitted the sending of supplies of food to the Netherlands in small packages, and the Netherlands Relief organization will transport the food. It is hoped that from 800 to 1000 packages can eventually be sent to our brethren there, and every effort will be made .to do that. A sum of money was also set aside for relief for the German brethren, if negotiations can be worked out to this end. It was sincerely hoped that the brethren in the Netherlands as well as those in Belgium and France would be able to get some relief during the winter months through the aid of the Society. In that regard shipping is the real problem, but, if all the obstacles can be overcome, by the Lord’s grace something more will be done and the brethren will be aided in these stricken lands.

There is one thing that the publishers for the Kingdom are doing: they are bringing to the. people real help and comfort and are feeding their minds with wholesome rich food from the Word of God. The publishers of the Kingdom know that they cannot live by bread alone, but that it is necessary to feed upon God’s Word. The truth continues to flow into these lands regularly, and arrangements have been made in all the countries to print larger quantities of the Society’s publications; and it is especially necessary to stress the distribution of the magazine The Watchtower, which brings to all the bread of life.