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WATCH TOWER BIBLE & TRACT SOCIETY 117 Adams Street -   - Brooklyn 1, N.Y., U.S.A.

Ol'I'ICEBS

N. H. Knobb, President               Grant Suiter, Secretary

“And all thy children shall be taught of Jehovah; and great shall be the peace of thy children.” - Isaiah y4:13.

THE BIBLE CLEARLY TEACHES

THAT JEHOVAH is the only true God, from everlasting to everlasting, and is the Maker of heaven and earth and Giver of life to his creatures; that the Word or Logos was the beginning of his creation and his active agent in creating all other things; and that the creature Lucifer rebelled against Jehovah and raised the issue of His universal sovereignty;

THAT GOD created the earth for man, made perfect man for the earth and placed him upon it; that man yielded to unfaithful Lucifer, or Satan, and 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 men; that God raised up Christ Jesus divine and exalted him to heaven above every other creature and clothed him with all power and authority as head of God’s new capital organization;

THAT GOD’S CAPITAL ORGANIZATION'is a Theocracy called Zion, and that Christ Jesus is the Chief Officer thereof and is the rightful King of the new world; that the faithful anointed followers of Christ Jesus are Zion’s children, members of Jehovah’s organization, and are His witnesses whose duty and privilege it is to testify to Jehovah’s supremacy and declare his purposes toward mankind as expressed in the Bible;

THAT THE OLD WORLD, or Satan’s uninterrupted rule, ended AD. 1914, and Christ Jesus has been placed by Jehovah upon the throne, has ousted Satan from heaven, and now proceeds to vindicate His name and establish the “new earth”;

THAT THE RELIEF and blessings of the peoples can come only by Jehovah’s kingdom under Christ, which has begun; that His next great act is to destroy Satan’s organization and establish righteousness completely in the earth ; and that under the Kingdom the people of good-will surviving Armageddon will carry out the divine mandate to “fill the earth” with righteous offspring, and that the human dead in the graves will be raised to opportunities of life on earth.

ITS MISSION

HIS journal is published for the purpose of enabling the people to know Jehovah God and his purposes as expressed in the Bible. It publishes Bible instruction specifically designed to aid Jehovah’s witnesses and all people of good-will. It arranges systematic Bible study for its readers and the Society supplies other literature to aid in such studies. It publishes suitable material for radio broadcasting and for other means of public instruction in the Scriptures.

It adheres strictly to the Bible as authority for its utterances. It is entirely free and separate from all religion, parties, sects or other worldly organizations. It is wholly and without reservation for the kingdom of Jehovah God under Christ his beloved King. It is not dogmatic, but invites careful and critical examination of its contents in the light of the-Scriptures. It does not indulge in controversy, and its columns are not open to personalities.

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“FEARLESS AGAINST CONSPIRACY” TESTIMONY PERIOD

October is annually a special testimony-period month, and this year it is designated “Fearless Against Conspiracy” Testimony Period. The fact today of world conspiracy against Jehovah God and his kingdom by Christ cannot be denied, and it falls not amiss that during this special testimony His fearless publishers will offer the challenging book “Let God Be True’’, making it their initial offer on a contribution of 35c, American, or the equivalent of this in foreign lands. Many new Watchtower readers doubtless feel emboldened by its message to take part in this special effort to place the said book and to lay the foundation for future studies of the Bible with it in the private homes of the obtainers. We invite all such into the ranks of active publishers of God’s presentday message. In harmony therewith we wait to hear from you if wanting to get instructions and any references to companies or groups with whom you can associate unitedly in this privilege of service. For the part that it plays m compiling a world-wide report, we ask for your report of work at the end of October.

“WATCHTOWER” STUDIES

Week of October 5: “Pushing the Advance of True Worship,” fl 1-21 inclusive, The Watchtower September 1, 1947.

Week of October 12; “Pushing the Advance of True Worship,” fl 22-42 inclusive, The Watchtower September 1, 1947.

NOTICE OF ANNUAL MEETING

On Wednesday, October 1, 1947, at 10: 00 o’clock a.m., the annual meeting of the members of the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society, a nonprofit Pennsylvania corporation, will be held at the registered office of the Society located in the Wabash Building, 410 Liberty Avenue, Pittsburgh 22, Pennsylvania, at which the regular business of the corporation will be transacted.

Notices of the meeting and proxy forms are being mailed to the members. Every member, whether attending the meeting in person or not, should mail his proxy to the office of the secretary of the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society, 124 Columbia Heights, Brooklyn 2, New York, on or before September 15, 1947.

USE RENEWAL SUBSCRIPTION BLANK

The renewal blank sent you prior to the 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.

ANNOUNCING JEHOVAH'S KINGDOM

Vol. LXVIII                           September 1, 1947                                  No. 17

PUSHING THE ADVANCE OF TRUE WORSHIP

“Through God we shall do valiantly: for he it is that shall tread down our enemies.'"—Ps. 60:12.

JEHOVAH'S King, the Messiah, is irresistibly on the advance. He is the Rightful Ruler whom God has raised up for a new world of righteousness, and now he is coming into his own. His taking over complete control of the earth is without selfish motives, for it has only the glory of God and the lasting welfare of persons of good-will in view. It is certain to result in the blessing of all the families and nationalities of the earth.

• ² At present great movements are under way among men to spread the control of certain patterns of political government and to extend the sway of certain economic and social ideologies. The western democracies dread the infiltration and overspreading growth of communism, and the communist powers look with suspicion upon the vigorous activities of the capitalist democracies. Each of the two great blocs is guarding against encirclement by the other. For the most part the religions of Christendom have chosen to hug close to the side of the western democracies; but Jehovah’s King, the Messiah, is party to neither of the two great opposition blocs. He is leading neither one to superiority over the other. He has no attachments to any man-inspired political movements to dominate or perpetuate this old world which is doomed and near its disastrous end. He is entirely devoted to the regeneration of a new world of righteousness as promised in the Scriptures of the Word of Jehovah God. The advance that he is now pushing throughout the universe is to gather all the willing ones to the side of the Sovereign of all creation, Jehovah, where they may loyally worship Him as the living and true God. Only the combined allegiance of all creatures that live to the Most High God and their united worship of Him will result in universal peace, happiness and stability for ever.

• ³ Nineteen centuries seem long enough for a King with divine right to wait before actively taking hold of the reins of his government, and Jehovah’s anointed King has meekly waited for that long. His long wait was foretold in the prophecies of the

1, Why is Christ’s irresistible advance now not a selfish move? 2. Why is he with neither of the world’s opposing blocs today?

• 3. How was his long wait foretold? and why was it at God’s right hand? Hebrew Scriptures, and it discloses how longsuffer-ing and forbearing Jehovah God has been toward men who choose their own political, social and religious ways. Ancient King David on his throne at Jerusalem acknowledged that the coming Messianic King was to be loftier than himself and hence his Lord, and David said: “Jehovah saith unto my Lord, Sit thou at my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool.” (Ps. 110:1, Am. Stan. Ver.) The calling of the Messianic King to the exalted position at Jehovah’s right hand in the heavens was because he was unswervingly loyal to Jehovah God even to death as a perfect man on earth, and also because he laid down his perfect human life in order that he might bestow everlasting life upon all who should become his faithful subjects. His sacrifice has actual power to remove the guilt of sin from all those who accept him as King and submit themselves to his requirements.

• ⁴ King David of Jerusalem had no priestly services to render, but while he concerned himself with governmental affairs he also took the lead in the worship of Jehovah God. The One whom David prophetically called his'Lord was to be his descendant, a “Son of David”, but was at the same time to be a king higher than his forefather David. Moreover, David’s future Lord and King was t.o be a high priest upon his throne and to reign forever. Death would never call for a successor to Him. In Psalm 110, quoted above, David prophesied about this, saying: “Jehovah hath sworn, and will not repent: thou art a priest for ever after the order of Melchizedek.” (Ps. 110:4, Am. Stan. Ver.) Jehovah’s oath is beyond withdrawal. By it Christ Jesus was made High Priest after the rank of the ancient priest-king Melchizedek. Jesus by his own human sacrifice on earth offered the one and only sacrifice that could count for man and that proved Jesus to be a true high priest. Jehovah God resurrected this High Priest from the dead and granted him access into heaven with his sacrifice, to present it in the very presence of Jehovah God himself for the benefit of humankind. (Heb. 10: 12,13; 6: 20; 7:1-28) Christ Jesus is High Priest as well as

• 4. When acting as King, why does he advance Jehovah’s worship?

King. It follows as a consequence that when he goes into action as King he would be highly concerned with the worship of Jehovah as God and would advance the knowledge and worship of Him over all the earth.

• ⁵ During the nineteen centuries of waiting in the heavens at Jehovah's right hand, Christ Jesus the High Priest has faithfully ministered for all his consecrated followers and subjects upon the earth in order to prepare and fit them to reign with him in the heavens in due time. But now the kingdom of Jehovah God toward this earth has come, and the great God has empowered his King, Christ Jesus, to act for Him in a governmental way. The time for the kingdom of Jehovah God arrived in 1914, thirty-three years ago. Time and space do not allow here for going into details on this provable fact, but in that eventful year the “seven times” of the Gentiles came to their end. They had begun 2,520 years before that, when the last of the earthly kings of David's line to rule on a throne in Jerusalem was unseated, his crown and all that it stood for were overturned, and his royal city Jerusalem was laid low in the dust under the feet of Gentiles bent on world aggression. In 607 B.C. that was. Jehovah's worship suffered at the time also, because the awe-inspiring temple of His worship at Jerusalem was destroyed and its various vessels of service were carried off by robbers.

OPPOSITION FORETOLD

• ⁶ All during the time that the ancient kingdom of the house of Judah existed, from the accession of King David in 1077 B.C. down to his last human successor and Jerusalem’s overthrow in 607 B.C., it had to fight for its God-given right to operate in the midst of powerful enemy nations. Now the day has come upon us for the kingdom of Jehovah God, established in the hands of his Christ, to extend its power from heaven and into all parts of our earth.

’ It is not according to Bible teaching to think that at the end of the Gentile times, A.D. 1914, when Jehovah God and his Christ assumed Kingdom power, the Gentile nations including Christendom would hail the Kingdom as the salvation of the peoples and would at once yield up their governmental powers to Jehovah and Christ as “The Higher Powers”. (Rom. 13:1) It is contrary to Bible prophecy to think that at that time the Gentile rule and Gentile systems of power would instantly go out of existence and this world would promptly enter in upon an unbroken period of peace. Christ Jesus knew better than to expect that to take place from and after A.D. 1914, because the prophetic psalm said to him as King and Priest after Melchizedek's

• 5. Why did the time for the Kingdom come A.D. 1914?

• 6. To operate, what did the kingdom of Judah’s house have to do?

• 7. Why was not submission by Gentile powers to be expected in 1914? order: “Jehovah saith unto my Lord, Sit thou at my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool. Jehovah will send forth the rod of thy strength out of Zion: Rule thou in the midst of thine enemies.” (Ps. 110:1,2, Am. Stan. Ver.) That was notice to him to expect to have a fight on his hands when taking Kingdom power, regardless of the fact that the “seven times” of uninterrupted rule had run out for the Gentiles. They would not want him as King.

• ⁸ The Bible faithfully records the historic facts of nineteen centuries ago and earlier because those facts forecast the course of earthly history in our twentieth century. In the first century neither the Jewish nation as a whole nor the Gentile nations nor the Roman Empire wanted Jesus as King of a new world. Naturally the Gentile nations did not want him because they did not care to surrender up their political power. On the other hand, the Jewish nation did not want him because that would have meant giving up their specially developed religion, Judaism, and devoting themselves to the true worship of Jehovah God under the rulership of the Messianic King. Rather than do that, they would continue under Gentile political domination. Opposition to Jesus Christ as God's anointed King for the new world was what united Jews and Gentiles in an active alliance, a conspiracy, against Christ. Hence from the very start the primitive church of Christ’s apostles and other early disciples had to carry on their preaching activities in the midst of Christ’s combined enemies. Once, after the apostles were beaten and released from prison under threats, they met with their brethren in prayer and pointed to this foretold conspiracy of Jews and Gentiles against Jehovah’s King, Christ Jesus. We read:

• ⁹ “And being let go, they came to their own company, and reported all that the chief priests and the elders had said unto them. And they, when they heard it, lifted up their voice to God with one accord, and said, O Lord, thou that didst make the heaven and the earth and the sea, and all that in them is: who by the holy spirit, by the mouth of our father David thy servant, didst say, Why did the Gentiles rage, and the peoples imagine vain things? The hings of the earth set themselves in array, and the rulers were gathered together, against the Lord [Jehovah], and against his Anointed: for of a truth in this city against thy holy Servant Jesus, whom thou didst anoint, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles and the peoples of Israel, were gathered together, to do whatsoever thy hand and thy counsel foreordained to come to pass. And now, Lord, look upon their threatenings.”—Acts 4:23-29, Am. Stan. Ver.

• ¹⁰ The prophecy by David which those early disci-

• 8. Whj did the apostolic church have to preach amid combined foes ’ 9. How did they apply prophecy to this situation?

10 Why was that a preliminary fulfillment’ and the final since 1914’

pies quoted as then having a fulfillment was Psalm 2. But a fulfillment back there could have been only a miniature or preliminary fulfillment, because nineteen centuries ago Jesus had been merely anointed to become King in the future, and the Jews and Gentiles combined their opposition forces to prevent him from becoming King, God had not then set Christ Jesus upon his “holy hill of Zion” as reigning King. Hence now, since A.D. 1914, is the time for the fullscale and final fulfillment of the prophecy of Psalm 2, because in 1914 Jehovah God set him on the throne to rule for Him and he could defiantly say to all this world: “Yet I have set my king upon my holy hill of Zion.” It is accordingly from that year onward that the opening verses of Psalm 2 have their concluding fulfillment, namely: “Why do the nations rage, and the peoples meditate a vain thing? The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against Jehovah, and against his anointed, saying, Let us break their bonds asunder, and cast away their cords from us. He that sitteth in the heavens will laugh: the Lord will have them in derision. Then will he speak unto them in his wrath, and vex them in his sore displeasure: Yet I have set my king upon my holy hill of Zion.”—Ps. 2:1-6, Am. Stan. Ver.

• ¹¹ It is not according to any wish and prayer and good pleasure of the nations that Jehovah's King, the Anointed Jesus, sits upon the throne of His capital organization Zion to introduce a righteous new world. No one can persuade those nations, including Christendom, that the Gentile times expired A.D. 1914 and that they should yield up power to earth's Rightful King, Christ Jesus. Not even thirty-three years of persistent preaching by Jehovah's witnesses world-wide has persuaded the nations into that course. To the contrary, all the acts of the nations since 1914 have been against Jehovah God and Christ Jesus and against any restrictions' being placed by these heavenly “Higher Powers” upon the sovereignty and dominion of the nations on earth. Although they have fought between themselves in two global wars, it has not been for the advancing of the rulership of Jehovah’s anointed King on his holy hill of Zion, but it has been for their own world domination.

• ¹² Now the “last straw” effort at self-preservation by the nations whereby they set up the United Nations organization is no bid for Christ Jesus to rule the nations directly, even if they do incorporate the World Conference of Christians and Jews in with the UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization). And when the religious clergy of Christendom pray for all national

• 11. Why is it not according to Gentiles’ wish that he reigns?

• 12. What divine action and command did all this make necessary? and international get-togethers to succeed, they are not deceiving Jehovah God and his King, but are simply giving their moral and religious support to this world's rulers who take counsel together against Jehovah's rule of our earth by Christ. All of this made it necessary, as foretold at Psalm 110, for Jehovah to send forth the rod of his King out of Zion and to command him, “Rule thou in the midst of thine enemies." Christ Jesus will rule forever, but not so his enemies. He is on top of the world situation, and they have been made his footstool. Even Satan the Devil and his demon hosts have been now cast out of heaven and down to the immediate neighborhood of this earth and its nations.—Rev. 12:1-12.

PROOF OF HIS RULE

• ¹³ Thirty-three years have passed since Jehovah God installed Christ Jesus as acting King in the throne, and he has not yet destroyed his enemies in heaven and in earth. How, then, has he been ruling in the midst of his enemies? What has he been doing to show visibly to human creatures on this earth that he is ruling? He has been doing a life-saving work preliminary to his destroying of all his enemies at the final war of Armageddon. What is that work?

• ¹⁴ It is this, namely, the restoring and the advancing of the worship of his God and Father, Jehovah, throughout all the earth. Hence he has been gathering his subjects together, and those who become his subjects must worship the same God as he their King worships, that is, Jehovah the Most High Sovereign of all the universe. None but such worshipers of Jehovah will the anointed King spare alive through Armageddon. He will class all others as his enemies against whom he will carry out his rule to their destruction. Bear in mind, everybody, that Jehovah, who has made him King, has sworn with an un-recallable oath: “Thou art a priest for ever after the order of Melchizedek.” (Ps. 110:4) And as a priest he serves for the salvation of all those who in faith become his loyal subjects. As High Priest he is properly the uncompromising Champion of Jehovah's pure worship and also the Chief Promoter of the worship and service of the Most High God. Knowing that he is divinely commissioned to destroy all enemies utterly at Armageddon, Christ Jesus first of all promotes the pure worship of the living and true God now in the earth upon a permanent basis. He does so in order that some flesh might be saved at the final end of this world in Armageddon and that Jehovah’s worship may keep on uninterruptedly in the earth clear through Armageddon and into the new world forever.

• ¹⁵ As far as extending the worship of the great

• 13, 14. What has Christ been doing, to show us that he is ruling’ and why is it fitting and timely tor him to do that’

15, Whose case is the strongest circumstantial proot of his ruling amidst his enemies, and why so?

Life-giving Jehovah in all the earth goes, is there any visible proof that Christ Jesus has been reigning in the midst of his enemies? Yes, there is! Where? In Jehovah's faithful witnesses, who have come through two world wars and through all the world opposition and persecution that Christ Jesus predicted would come upon them at this end of the world, saying: “Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you: and ye shall be hated of all nations for my name’s sake. And then shall many be offended, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another. . . . But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved. And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end [of this world and its nations] come.” (Matt. 24: 9-14) This proof is not to the praise of any creatures on earth, but is to the praise of Jehovah God and Christ the King, whose mercy, faithfulness and protection have preserved his loyal consecrated servants and witnesses. Had his King Christ Jesus not been ruling amid all the nations that hate Jehovah’s witnesses, they could never have survived to this year 1947. But they have come through in a miraculous way and are now seeking to redouble their activities in preaching this gospel of the established Kingdom; and that fact gives the strongest circumstantial proof in the light of Scripture prophecy that Jehovah’s King rules!

• ¹⁶ Those of us who have taken our stand as devoted subjects of Jehovah’s King, what shall we do now and until Armageddon? There is only one thing in obedience to the King, and that is to join him as our High Priest in spreading the worship of the true God to all parts of this globe. Why should we care if all the nations hate us for holding fast to the Kingdom against which the kings and rulers of earth take counsel together? What if they do threaten us still more ? Should that frighten us into timid silence and inactivity and retreat? In the first century, when the miniature fulfillment of Psalm 2 took place upon the apostles and fellow disciples, they mentioned in prayer the joint Jewish-Gentile conspiracy against God’s Anointed and then implored God: “And now, Lord, take note of their threats, and give your slaves the power to utter your message fearlessly.” That was not a rash and stubborn course of foolhardiness, deliberately sticking their necks out to be whacked. It was the course that the Lord God approved, so he gave them more power; for we read: “When they had prayed, the place where they were meeting shook, and they were all filled with the holy spirit, and fearlessly uttered God’s message.” (Acts 4:29-31, An Amer. Trans.) Taking our cue from that, we will keep on publishing God’s kingdom with

• 16. We shall do what now, fearless of enemies, and praying how? all boldness, praying for more power from Him to do so. Now with his anointed King set upon Mount Zion with the rod of his strength stretched forth toward this earth, God’s power will be manifested as never previously for the sake of those who boldly tell his Word.

TO AN UNLIMITED EXTENT

• ¹⁷ No nation on earth today is right when it raises any objection and a barrier of resistance to our extending of Jehovah’s pure worship to their gates and inside their borders. The command of the Messianic King just before he ascended to the right hand of his heavenly Father was expressed in these words to his faithful followers: “Go ye therefore, and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them into the name of the Father and of the Son and of the holy spirit: teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I commanded you: and lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world.” (Matt. 28:19, 20, Am. Stan. Ver.) To the end of the world, therefore, that authoritative command stands, inexpungeable by any or all of the nations. Christ Jesus thus gave command because he died to “taste death for every man” and he is the promised “Seed of Abraham” in whom all the families and nations of the earth are to be blessed. And for men, families and nations to enter into the blessings,'they must receive the message concerning him and the Greater Abraham, whose Seed he is, namely, Jehovah God. (Heb. 2:9; Gen. 22:18) His government, so gloriously described in sacred prophecy, is to be accordingly a Government over -all nationalities, and ruling the earth without the present-day boundary lines and divisive borders and selfish national sovereignties. The preaching of the Kingdom message must be coextensive with the promised blessing and rulership, and that is, earth-wide, no matter what national governments may be holding down local parts of this globe now.

• ¹⁸ The centuries-old command to Christ’s disciples, “All authority hath been given unto me in heaven and on earth. Go ye therefore, and make disciples of all the nations,” takes on added force since the end of the Gentile times, A.D. 1914. How is that? Because then Christ Jesus, “the Son of David,” expressed to Jehovah God the" request authorized in Psalm 2: “Ask of me, and I will give thee the nations for thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession.” (Ps. 2:8, Am. Stan. Ver.) In 1914 the time arrived for him to ask the Supreme Ruler for all the nations and for the uttermost parts of the earth. He now has the right to rule amidst them and to extend the worship

• 17. In new of what command and promised blessing is it not right for nations on earth to resist extending Jehovah’s worship by us? 18. Why does Christ’s command to us take on added force since 1914? of his God and Father into all the nations and even to the uttermost parts of the earth. He now has the right and power to spread the gospel of God's kingdom universally.

• ¹⁹ Hence the activities of Jehovah's witnesses, who are subject to Christ the Anointed King, must be carried to all peoples, nations, kindreds, and languages. It is in the highest public interest to do this, and it is most urgent upon Jehovah's witnesses to reach all nations. Why? Because immediately after the Lord God invites Christ the new King to ask for the nations and uttermost parts of the earth as his inheritances and possession Jehovah commands his King saying: “Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron; thou shalt dash them in pieces like a potter’s vessel.” (Ps. 2; 9) That means the destruction of the nations at Armageddon, not by Jehovah's witnesses on earth, but by the iron-like rod of the heavenly King Christ Jesus. Hearing and heeding the Kingdom message is the exclusive means of salvation for all persons of good-will.

• ²⁰ From all the facts set out in the Scriptures, this witness work is different from disseminating alien political doctrines among all nations and which are subversive to the present local political governments in each nation and realm. It is distinct' from any revolutionary doctrine that issues from some foreign headquarters on earth aiming at world domination by either violence or sly infiltration or political propaganda. The headquarters from which issues this Kingdom gospel is heavenly and is above all political parties and ideologies, and its textbook of teaching is God's holy Word, the Bible. It makes subjects for Jehovah’s heavenly King, but does so by no carnal weapons or violent terrorism or strongarm squads of the political state; it does it solely by the power of the love of God which is expressed in the message of his kingdom.

• ²¹ Offering resistance to the spreading of the Kingdom gospel and of the worship of Jehovah God means fighting alongside the conspirators against him and his Christ. The resisters can be sure of their being broken with the King’s rod of iron and being dashed to pieces with all worldly nations at Armageddon. For this reason Jehovah’s witnesses are instructed to say, when appearing before world rulers or before courts: “Now therefore be wise, 0 ye kings: be instructed, ye judges of the earth. Serve Jehovah with fear, and rejoice with trembling. Kiss the son, lest he be angry, and ye perish in the way, for his wrath will soon be kindled. Blessed are all they that take refuge in him.” (Ps. 2:10-12, Am. Stcm.Ver.) No one, regardless of having a lofty, powerful position on earth, is exempted from the 19. Why is it specially now beneficial and urgent to reach all nations with the message ?

2-0. How does this work differ from propaganda out of alien sources? 21. What are we instructed to say to kings and judges, and why? obligation to serve and worship Jehovah and to yield homage and obedience to his King now installed on Zion. To take refuge in him persons tied in with the world conspiracy of political, commercial and religious rulers should break clean away from it without delay. To avoid perishing with it at the battle of Armageddon they must now seek heavenly wisdom and instruction to serve God and his Christ.

AGAINST FALSE RELIGION

• ²² Since this world-wide movement is for advancing the worship of the Most High God, who offers salvation, it cannot help being also a righteous warfare against the death-dealing religions of this world. Such religions have overspread the whole earth and have brought great reproach upon the name and purpose of Jehovah God and have kept the people in darkness concerning the only means for their eternal salvation. The demons under Satan their prince are the promoters and backers of such religions, and therefore the warfare of God’s consecrated people is in reality an advancing fight against demonism. Carnal weapons are not used in this fight, and they could accomplish nothing against invisible demons. Only the spiritual weapons of the divine truth and worship are adequate for this warfare, and even the political governments of earth cannot withstand or overcome the power of these spiritual weapons.—Eph. 6:11-20.

• ²³ In our advance against false religious worship, we know we have all the demons arrayed against us, organized under all their spiritual principalities and rulerships which cause the darkness of this world. We know, too, that these demons not only stir up the clergymen and priests of organized religion against us as we carry forward Jehovah’s true worship but likewise stir up the political factors of this world to use the police power, judicial courts and legislative bodies of the land to operate against us. We are not ignorant of what Revelation 16:14-16 has foretold, namely, that the hosts of demons would issue forth to all the world’s rulers and would gather their united forces to a showdown fight at Armageddon, where the “battle of that great day of God Almighty” will be fought to a decisive finish. But this is no proper ground for fear and quailing hearts, for, besides disclosing the combined demonic and human forces arrayed against us, God’s Word opens our eyes to see also the superior hosts that are supporting us in advancing the pure worship, with Jehovah’s great, invincible Commander Christ Jesus at the head leading us forward to victory.

• ²⁴ God’s Word presents no thought of defeatism, no expectation of frustration, but only hope of sure

• 22. Advancing Jehovah’s worship is also what kind of fight?

• 23. Through whom do the demons operate? and why do we not quail*³ 24. What like situation confronted Israel ? and what did Moses say ? and final triumph after we have had a hard campaign. The situation that confronts us is like that which faced the Israelites as they were encamped on the east side of the Jordan river, ready to cross over into the Promised Land under the leadership of Joshua, Moses’ successor. In a last plea to the Israelites to hold faithful to the pure worship of Jehovah God Moses said to them: “If ye shall diligently keep all this commandment which I command you, to do it, to love Jehovah your God, to walk in all his ways, and to cleave unto him; then will Jehovah drive out all these nations from before you, and ye shall dispossess nations greater and mightier than yourselves. Every place whereon the sole of your foot shall tread shall be yours: from the wilderness, and Lebanon, from the river, the river Euphrates, even unto the hinder sea [the Mediterranean] shall be your border. There shall no man be able to stand before you: Jehovah your God shall lay the fear of you and the dread of you upon all the land that ye shall tread upon, as he hath spoken unto you.” —Dent. 11:22-25, Am. Stan. Ver.

• ²⁵ All those nations greater and mightier than the Israelites worshiped demon gods, and the demons roused up all these devotees of theirs to stout resistance, by leagues of united nations on at least two occasions. But that did not stop the push of the worshipers of Jehovah back there, because He fought for them in order that his worship might be established in the land which he had promised them by a solemn compact made with their forefather Abraham. (Gen. 15:18-21) Those works of his in the ancient past in behalf of his worship were recorded for our sakes today, and we should bring them to remembrance to strengthen our hearts. As it is written: “Great are the Eternal’s doings, to be studied by all who delight in them; splendid and glorious are his deeds, his victories know no end; he will have us celebrate his wondrous deeds, for the Eternal is gracious and pitiful. He feeds his worshippers; never does he forget his compact. He has shown his people his power in action, as he gave them the homes of the heathen.”—Ps. 111:2-6, Moffatt.

• ²⁶ Already since A.D. 1918 Jehovah’s witnesses have seen His power in action in their behalf, because his name is called upon them and they faithfully worship him, keeping themselves unspotted from this world. His power will not fail them now when the hardest part of the fighting for true worship is yet ahead. He upheld his typical people of olden times before Christ as they pressed the campaign against demonism in Canaanland. Just as true to ancient form he will uphold his consecrated witnesses today, now that he has set his King on Zion

• 25. Why was the push of the taithful Israelites not stopped by the activities of demons and nations back there?

• 26. Why have we seen, and will we yet see, His power in action? and has given him the uttermost parts of the earth for his possession. Jehovah’s prophetic words by Moses to the Israelites there at the Jordan river were recorded for our assurance in these perilous times, namely: “The eternal God is thy dwellingplace, and underneath are the everlasting arms. And he thrust out the enemy from before thee, and said, Destroy. And Israel dwelleth in safety.” (Dent. 33:27,28, Am. Stan. Ver.) Jehovah’s arms, being everlasting, are under us today, too!

TAKEN UP AGAIN AND CONTINUED

• ²⁷ Under Moses’ successor, Joshua, the Israelites of old crossed over into their God-given land and uprooted or pushed back the demon-worshiping Gentile nations. (Acts 7 : 45) The subduing of the Promised Land in that fifteenth century before Christ was not completed under Joshua; and so, four hundred years later, King David at Jerusalem took up the work where Joshua had been obliged to leave off because of his death at a great age. David actually did subdue the Promised Land to the limits set by Jehovah God, from the Euphrates river on the north, to the river of Egypt to the south, the Mediterranean sea on. the west, and the Arabian desert on the east. His warfare was not an aggressive totalitarian warfare for world domination like that of Fascist Duce Mussolini or Nazi Fuehrer Hitler. It was Theocratic warfare, ordained by God and carried out in fulfillment of his compact with Abraham. Hence it was to vindicate God’s word and name and sovereignty and to make his' people safe and undisturbed in their worship of him in the Promised Land.

• ²⁸ When David became king at Jerusalem the Gentile nations that occupied parts of the Promised Land without right from God ganged up against David’s kingdom. They concerted their actions against him in a demon-controlled conspiracy against the kingdom of Jehovah’s king, as described in Psalm 2. But, trusting in God to fulfill his covenant concerning the borders of the Promised Land, David pushed his warfare against the anti-Jehovah demonworshipers. The record on this is: “And Jehovah gave victory to David whithersoever he went.” (2 Sam. 8:14, Am. Stan. Ver.) This faithfully foreshadowed what Jehovah God is doing for his anointed King enthroned on the heavenly Zion in these days at the end of this world.

• ²⁹ One temporary reverse came to David in the war. For the time it seemed like a serious threat to the ultimate success of his general warfare, but, by God’s answer to prayer, it was promptly overcome to a memorable victory for Jehovah’s name. The

• 27. Who fully subdued the Promised Land, and with what warfare’ 23. How did the nations resist David? and who gave him victory? 29, 30. What serious threat called forth David’s cry at Psalm 60.1-4 ? and what did Jehovah seem to signal them to do? sudden arising of this threat appears to be what called forth David's anxious cry with which he opened up Psalm 60: “0 God, thou hast rejected us —hast broken out upon us, thou hast been angry— wilt thou not take us back? Thou hast shattered the land—hast split it open, heal thou the fractures thereof—for it hath tottered. Thou hast sated thy people with hardship, hast let them drink reeling as wine. Thou hast given to them who revere thee a signal, in order to take flight before the bow!” —Ps. 60:1-4, Rotherham Psalms; also the Septua-gint and Moffatt.

• ³⁰ Putting together the facts appearing in the several parts of the Bible, we conclude this: While King David with his generalissimo Joab was carrying on the war in the northeast against the powerful Syrians, the treacherous Edomites in the southeast took advantage of the draining off of David’s troops mainly to the northeastern front. So they made a “stab in the back” at the territory of Judah in the southeast. It appeared as though Jehovah God was angry with his people. Nevertheless, his unbreakable covenant concerning the Promised Land remained in force over all. For the time it seemed as if Jehovah had given them a signal to retreat before their foes and to flee from before the enemy’s bows which were pouring a rain of arrows upon them: “Thou hast given to them that fear thee a signal [the Israelites carried no banners or flags with national emblems] to flee from the face of the bow.” (Ps. 60: 4, LAX) But in view of the campaign of attack that had been prophesied and undertaken, that could hardly have been Jehovah’s order for his king.

• ³¹ With a cry of dismay and then a fervent entreaty to God, David kept up the fight against the Syrians, but now, under the emergency, he detached a sizable force of troops from his main body. Then his general Joab in command of these troops, together with an underofficer named Abishai, “returned” or wheeled about and headed to the south to the new fighting front that had unexpectedly flared up to the far south. There General Joab and his adjutant Abishai met the forces of the Edomites and defeated them with a slaughter of thousands of them. This brought honorable mention in Scripture to both Joab and Abishai and stopped any international military putsch that might have used the Edomites as shock troops to shatter King David’s enlarged realm. (Psalm 60, heading; 2 Sam. 8:13,14; 1 Chron. 18:12; 1 Ki. 11:15,16) Thus David’s prayer to his God was answered, and his military moves were blessed in vindication of Jehovah as the living God of salvation for his people.

• ³² A.D. 1914 Christ Jesus, the anointed King greater than David, began to rule with the rod of

• 31. What action did David take, and how was his prayer answered? 32. How did a like serious reverse come to us in 1914-1918? his strength in the midst of his enemies. Without delay he pushed Satan the Devil and his demon hosts out of heaven. (Rev. 12: 7-12) However, during World War I, which was then raging upon the earth, the devoted followers of Christ Jesus came under the displeasure of Jehovah God. He let the modern-day Edomites, the organized religionists of Christendom, assault them and try to wipe out their worship of Jehovah and their witnessing to his kingdom by Christ Jesus. For a time the activities of Jehovah’s witnesses on earth were prostrated by the combined religio-political action taken against them, particularly so in 1918, when the leading officers of the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society were railroaded off to imprisonment in a U. S. federal penitentiary. In confusion, the majority of Jehovah’s witnesses, like the prophet Elijah when threatened by Queen Jezebel, fled before the bows of the enemies who aimed fiery darts at them. Then the active worship of Jehovah God lagged in the earth and the voice of the proclamation of his kingdom established in 1914 grew faint.

³³ Jehovah’s faithful remnant, feeling the divine displeasure, cried out for help and deliverance that they might renew his worship publicly and might serve him with the boldness of Elisha. Then Christ Jesus wheeled about and delivered them from the threat of destruction at enemy hands and bows. In 1919 he began freeing them from their fear of men and man-made organizations. He led them out to a fearless, open worship of Jehovah God and began the aggressive campaign against the false worship that is entrenched in this earth which Christ Jesus as King has now inherited from God.

• ³⁴ Thus* the middle section of Psalm 60 was fulfilled, which implores God: “That thy beloved may be delivered, save with thy right hand, and answer us. God hath spoken in his holiness: I will exult; I will divide Shechem, and mete out the valley of Succoth. Gilead is mine, and Manasseh is mine; Ephraim also is the defence of my head; Judah is my sceptre. Moab is my washpot; upon Edom will I cast my shoe: Philistia, shout thou because of me.” (Ps. 60: 5-8, Am. Stan. Ver.) God delivered the remnant of his faithful witnesses on earth because he has given his sacred promise, spoken in holiness, namely, that all this earth must become the place of his worship, where his name is proclaimed and his kingdom is preached.

• ³⁵ All parts of the earth were prophetically represented by the localities mentioned in Psalm 60. Shechem was on the west side of Jordan. The valley of Succoth was on the east side of Jordan, also Gilead and Manasseh on the same side. Ephraim

• 33. How did Christ Jesus save us from the threat from and after 1919 1 34. Because of what territorial promise did God save his remnant?

• 35. What did the middle section of Psalm 60 symbolically say? was on the west side, being like a helmet defense to the head because of the populousness of this tribe. Judah, also on the west, was the tribe with whom the divine promise lodged concerning the royal scepter of Shiloh the Peaceful One. Moab and Edom lay east and southeast of the Salt (Dead) sea; and Philistia along the Mediterranean sea to the west. All these were included in the territory that Jehovah promised in his holy compact spoken to Abraham. Hence victory over the Moabites and Edomites and Philistines was inwardly understood in God’s solemn utterance of the holy compact. The land of Moab, when subjected, would be like a washbasin with which to wash the bloody hands and the tired, dusty feet of the victorious warrior. Edom would be like a land over the which the victor would cast his shoe in token of his taking possession, or be like a whipped enemy to whom the victor would shake off his sandal before washing his feet, after that same sandal had carried him along in a victory-march over Edom. And Philistia, challenged to make her boast of triumph over Jehovah’s worshipers, would have her defiant shout die on her lips as Jehovah’s power in action triumphed over her.

• ³⁶ All this earth must become the place of Jehovah’s worship for all time. Hence his witnesses can go forth in their educational work to all nations, confident of victory through him. No organization, even if it appears untakable like the rock-guarded city of Edom’s capital, is powerful enough to withstand the victorious advance of Jehovah’s High Priest and King in extending the worship of the true God among all the nations of the earth. Avoiding any repetition of God’s displeasure due to fearing men and worldly nations, Jehovah’s witnesses can march on through this postwar period, facing any kind of opposition courageously with the final words of Psalm 60 on their lips: “Who will bring me into the strong city? who will lead me into Edom? Wilt not thou, 0 God, which hadst cast us off? and thou, 0 God, which didst not go out with our armies? Give us help from trouble: for vain is the help of man. Through God we shall do valiantly: for he it is that shall tread down our enemies.”—Ps. 60:9-12.

UNITED FRONTAL ASSAULT

• ³⁷ The Psalm shows how we must march forth to God’s work under the leadership of his anointed King Christ Jesus. We must march forth unitedly, those from the east united with those from the west; those having the administrative work united with those greater numbers who carry out instructions, just as Succoth, Gilead and Manasseh on the east of Jordan were united with Ephraim and Judah on the west, and just as tribesmen of the royal tribe of

• 36. How does Psalm 60: 9-12 show us we can march sure of victory ? 37. How must we march unitedly, and relying upon whom?

Judah were united with the warriors of the larger and more populous tribe of Ephraim. We are all God’s consecrated people whom he has given over to Christ Jesus. This anointed King and High Priest of the Most High God is the binding tie between us for a united worship of Jehovah and for a united effort world-wide against organized religion which holds the people in bondage and in opposition to the God of salvation. We cannot take religion’s course today of relying upon men and man-made organizations such as the United Nations. Help from human quarters is deceptive and vain. It will not shield anyone from destruction at Armageddon. God is our reliable Helper. Through him whom we worship we shall be able to do valiantly in publishing his name and advertising his kingdom, treading under foot as we do so all the organized opposition of the enemies.

• ³⁸ As we go forth, we do so, not covered by an umbrella of air-planes equipped with atomic bombs and rocket guns and other frightful weapons of carnal warfare, but under the safer protection of Jehovah’s overshadowing hand of power. Let us remember that the situation is not yet static in the earth. It will not be so until the battle of Armageddon wipes out this old world and its various forms of demonism. Jehovah’s King rules amid his enemies at this earth. Under him the worship of Jehovah God is on the move and it must increase until all those who will be carried alive through Armageddon into the righteous new world will have been reached. This is not the place and occasion to remain stationary. We face more perfected, combined opposition, from all the demon-controlled enemies of Christ the King; and the increase of his Kingdom interests on earth will come only by our activity. Our best defense against the mounting opposition is to keep up our offensive and not go into stabilized trench warfare on the defensive. As we press forward out into the open in a steady advance upon the religious foes, we need have no fear that our ranks will be mowed down by the enemy’s direct, concentrated fire. Our courage and fearlessness in doing so will be a token to them of the certainty of their impending destruction and will smite fear into them. But this united fearless pushing of God’s work will be to us a strengthening sign of our approaching salvation and deliverance from God.—Phil. 1: 27, 28.

• ⁸⁰ The anointed remnant of Christ’s joint-heirs and their multitudes of consecrated companions of good-will must now' carry on as one company under the King, each group pledged to the other’s support. As we refuse to squabble and fight selfishly among ourselves, lest we divert ourselves from the com-

• 38. Under what protection do we go forth? and what method is our best defense for certain specified reasons ?

• 39. In a world at controversy what do we purpose to do, and why ’ bined main effort against the foes outside, we also refuse to meddle in with the world's controversies and to become split up and at odds over such. We are not of this world, just as Christ Jesus our King is not of this old political, commercial, religious world. We purpose to hold our neutral position toward this world's embroilments, debates and controversies. Our consecration to God and our being assigned to the new world's interests forbid us to violate our neutrality toward this world’s affairs by any participation therein. To step aside now from our exclusive work for God's worship and take a hand in the worldly internal strife would surely injure us and spoil our opportunity for life eternal in His righteous new world. The proverbs of divine wisdom say: “It is an honour for a man to cease from strife: but every fool will be meddling.” “He that passeth by, and meddleth with strife belonging not to him, is like one that taketh a dog by the ears.” —Prov. 20: 3; 26:17.

• ⁴⁰ So, then, let the worldly political institutions fight it out among themselves. Let the openly declared warfare between the Roman Catholic Hierarchy and Marxian communism go on and increase in intensity between them. These things are not the affairs of the devoted subjects of the new world's King, Christ Jesus. As they fight it out among themselves and mutually batter themselves up, we will stand neutral, but with positive activity for the Kingdom and worship of Jehovah God. We will watch as the Israelites did under King Jehoshaphat, when the united nations of Moab, Ammon and Mount Seir came against Jerusalem but were thrown into confusion by Jehovah's invincible power and were set to fighting among themselves until finally they had destroyed themselves. While this self-destructive melee was going on among their combined enemies, the Israelites sang aloud the praises of Jehovah under the leadership of the temple singers and musicians. In the same way we will keep up the constructive singing to God's praise, that all the humble and meek of the earth may hear and may flee the doomed hosts of demonism and false worship and may join with the singing worshipers of the Most

• 40. While neutral, how shall we be active and what will God do?

High God. (2 Chron. 20:21-29) While we sing his praises, Almighty God, Jehovah of hosts, will disconcert the enemies, and, by his King, he will fight the battle of Armageddon and destroy all the confused enemy forces. Only his true worshipers will survive!

• ⁴¹ As these worshipers now move about as aliens and strangers in this world, keeping their neutrality among all nation^ among which they move, God will act in their behalf as he did for Abraham, Isaac and Jacob of old, of whom it is written: “When they were but a few men in number; yea, very few, and strangers in it. 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, and do my prophets no harm.” (Ps. 105:12-15) Jehovah God has given his worshipers as a heritage now to his King, as his children; and about this we read: “Happy is the man that hath his quiver full of them: they shall not be ashamed, but they shall speak with the enemies in the gate.” (Ps. 127: 5) They are children given to the all-conquering Fighter for true worship, Christ Jesus the King of kings, and they are fighters in imitation of him. He now leads right up to the very gates of the enemy strongholds, preparatory to taking complete possession.

• ⁴² The seed of Abraham must possess the gates of the enemies. Genesis 22:17 speaks thus about the Seed. So the offensive against false worship must go on in order that the prisoners may be released for the true worship of Jehovah God. The order of the day is to push the offensive to the very gates of the enemy. The faithful heirs of life in the new world will do so. As the residue of the King's anointed brethren do so, together with the trustworthy companions of good-will, they receive courage from the divine promise: “In that day will Jehovah of hosts become a crown of glory, and a diadem of beauty, unto the residue of his people; and a spirit of justice to him that sitteth in judgment, and strength to them that turn back the battle at the gate.”—Isa. 28: 5, 6, Am. Stan. Ver.

• 41. (a) As these few neutrals move among the nations, what does God do⁹ (b) As children given to Christ Jesus what do they now do?

• 42. According to Genesis 22:17, what is the order of the day ? and what divine promise gives us courage to obey?

ON SERVICE IN THE MEDITERRANEAN AREA

ON THE evening of May 1, at five o'clock, the traveling representatives of the Watchtower Society, President N. H. Knorr and M. G. Henschel, left Jerusalem for Lydda, to take off by TWA to Cairo, Egypt. By eleven o'clock they had caught the plane coming in from Bombay and were leaving behind the bright lights of Tel Aviv and Jaffa as the plane flew off into the darkness. An hour and thirty-five minutes later our plane was making its descent to the runway of Farouk Airport (formerly Payne Field, an American Army base during the war). We arrived at 1 a.m., and on account of engine trouble it was decided that the plane would not go on with the through passengers until the next morning, so all passengers had to disembark. Several hours were spent getting through the rigid customs inspection and traveling into the city of Cairo, about fifteen miles away. By four o'clock in the morning of May 2 we were asleep.

Before going to bed we had arranged to have a meeting with the principal servants from Cairo and Alexandria companies at 10: 30 that morning, and most of the day was spent discussing the problems of Egypt and answering the many questions. One of the great problems of Egypt is the variety of languages. The people do not live in sections of the city where one language is spoken; they live anywhere, and when the brethren witness they run into many languages and peoples. Arabic is the official language of the people now, but there is much French used, as well as Greek. There are also many who use Italian, Armenian, and English It is difficult for those speaking one language to ■witness to those who use another, but the brethren are trying their best to get the message across. Arabic is coming to the fore now, of course, since the British have departed.

A meeting was arranged for the Cairo company that night at the Kingdom Hall, which is just a small room away at the back of an apartment house in a section of the city a distance from the center of the city. The company in Cairo is divided in that some speak Greek, others French and still others Arabic. So it was decided that on Friday evening Brother Knorr would speak to the Greek brethren through an interpreter and following that discourse Brother Henschel would talk to the Arabic and French brethren through one interpreter who would first speak in French and then in Arabic. It was a real pleasure to converse with the brethren in Cairo before and after the meetings, to observe their zeal and to see and know of their appreciation for the visit by their American brethren. We felt that much good had been done that day in the way of providing instruction on organization.

The government of Egypt is not at all in favor of proselyting, that is, having any Christian organization preach its doctrine to other persons that are not its own members. Therefore they are not allowing any missionaries to come into that country or any religious organizations to start up. Even the religious institutions that have been established in Egypt for many years who have set up schools and hospitals and other similar institutions for attracting the people to their religions are forbidden by the government to teach their doctrine in these religious institutions. To find out what the Society could do in the way of establishing a Branch office we, along with two of the principal brethren in Cairo, called on a prominent lawyer to discuss the matter on Saturday morning. This lawyer, who himself claimed to be a Christian, explained the situation to us. We found that the government would not recognize the Society nor permit it legal authorization for the carrying on of its preaching work and that there was no use trying to have it registered because Mohammedanism is the controlling religion according to the laws. If the Mohammedans have their way it is going to be a Mohammedan country; so the lawyer advised us to continue on, as we have been, without registration.

That evening the second gathering of the brethren at the Kingdom Hall was held, beginning at six o’clock. Brother Knorr spoke to French and Arabic brethren; Brother Henschel, to the Greeks.

The next morning was spent writing instructions for the brethren concerning carrying on the work. A public meeting had been scheduled for five o’clock that afternoon at Casino Bosphone, a dance hall opposite the Egyptian State Railways station in Cairo. The lecture was given, “The Joy of All the People”, and 175 attended. The Cairo brethren were very much pleased with this attendance in Cairo. The lecture was given in English as the brethren had advertised it Had it been in Arabic too, or another language more commonly spoken in Cairo, it is believed many more would have attended and the place would have been too small. Many of those who did attend expressed their great interest in this new message and obtained literature as they left.

After the public meeting all of the brethren and persons of good-will proceeded to the Kingdom Hall, about ten blocks away. There were 65 present in the hall when Brother Knorr spoke to the company through three interpreters—-Greek, Arabic and French—so all could understand the details pertaining to the organization of the Kingdom work in Egypt. Brother Knorr pointed out that three units would be established in Cairo because of the language barriers, and it is believed that by having three units where service meetings and Watchtower studies are conducted in the three languages a greater witness can be given in the territory assigned to the Cairo company and the people will have meetings to come to where they can understand. Two nights a week were assigned to each' unit for meetings in the one Kingdom Hall, one night for Watchtower study and another for service meetings and Theocratic ministry school. Announcement was also made that the Society would open an office that would be considered a Branch and that Brother P. Spiropoulos had been appointed as Branch servant. Brother Spiropoulos had been one of the first brethren to preach the truth in Egypt and he had been a pioneer for many years. His appointment was enthusiastically received by all the brethren in attendance, and they felt comforted that the Society had taken this great interest in the expansion of the work in Egypt. The brethren were informed too of the fact that a larger Kingdom Hall would be obtained in connection with the office quarters and the room for the storage of supplies of the Society’s publications. This would allow for expansion of the work of the company, whereas the Kingdom Hall they were now using was so small that many of the brethren at the meeting were sitting outside in the courtyard listening through the opened window and doorway. It will be difficult to find such a building in Cairo under present housing conditions because prices are far out of reason for rentals in that overcrowded city; but the brethren will look until they find something.

PYRAMIDS

Being in Egypt, we were interested in seeing some of the historic points mentioned in the Bible and in learning more of the facts concerning the land. First of all we wanted to visit the Museum on Monday morning, and were greatly disappointed to find it closed. Then it was decided to visit Gizeh, where there are some of the pyramids, including the largest one, erected by King Cheops, along with the Sphinx and the burial places of many ancient pharaohs and their chief politicians. Much had been said in past times by Bible scholars about the pyramid at Gizeh as being an ‘altar to the Lord in the midst of the land of Egypt, and a pillar at the border thereof to the Lord’, mentioned at Isaiah 19; but the scripture had been wrongly applied to the pyramid. Much having been published and studied on this subject years ago, it was of interest to us to go inside and see firsthand that there was nothing to the opinions of some that the pyramid has something to do with the Lord’s purposes. So we climbed about the inside of the pyramid, stooping to get through low passageways, going up to the King’s Chamber and to the Queen’s Chamber below it. It was just cold, dark and empty. We were impressed by the massive size of the stones used in the construction, their average weight being reported as 2J tons. It stood as a remarkable piece of engineering, but there was no question that this pyramid was built for the sole purpose of burying a king and queen, to prolong their memory in the evil world.

The religion of the early Egyptians gave the pharaohs then-ideas about building tombs and pyramids. Authorities agree that the Egyptians had a definite belief in immortality of the soul. The make-up of their tombs, including the pyramids, shows that they believed the “immortal” part of them had the same desires and likes as the human when on earth. All the treasures of the kings were buried with them for their enjoyment in the spirit realm. Food, water, dishes, 'chariots, and even boats, were burned with them. Slaves and servants were killed at the time of a ruler’s death and buried with him at a near-by spot so they could serve in the future life. Tradition has it that the labor of building the great pyramid required 100,000 men for twenty years. Rocks were transported many miles from a place on the opposite-side of the Nile. Many of the slaves died in the building of the pyramids, and certainly they were not dying as an honor to the Lord’s name. The Egyptians worshiped the sun and the great pyramid of Gizeh is merely a religious monument that glorifies the name of a sunworshiping pharaoh and his queen of many centuries past. It is a burial place, unclean according to the Bible.

Other pyramids were built from rocks quarried not far from the site. The Sphinx is a symbol of the intelligence and power of the pharaohs, but there is nothing honoring God in the whole setup. Only humans who served Satan, the god of this evil world, are memorialized there at the edge of the desert.

The kings of Egypt still believe in preparing very elaborately for their burial. The present king, according to good Mohammedan belief, has built his tomb and the tomb of his queen, which now stand in the famous Mohammed Ali Mosque in Cairo. These are carved from marble, alabaster and other fine stone and decorated with gold and beautiful colors. They are placed in special rooms where the walls and ceilings have been lavishly decorated with unusual mosaics to set off the tombs. The windows are made in beautiful colors and some take the general shape of a cross vyth rounded ends. Some windows are made of translucent alabaster. It seems that everything artistic and beautiful that men create with their hands is made by inspiration of some form of religion, in all parts of the earth.

Coming of the next day meant a train trip to Alexandria to meet with the brethren and to hold a public meeting. The train traverses the great delta area of Lower Egypt, the source of the wealth of this principally agricultural land. Were it not for the steady supply of water from the Nile, all Egypt would surely be a desert. Irrigation is essential to the cultivation and productivity of the land and all along the way we saw the small ditches that serve to direct the water to spots where it is needed. Oxen are blindfolded and made to walk in a circle for hours to turn the huge water wheels that lift the water out of the shallow wells. Along the way we were able to observe how the people live together in dusty mud houses. The mosques and minarets of the Mussulman are ever present. Poverty is evident throughout the land, and we were told that most of the arable land is in the hands of a few pashas who have all the wealth. Many are too poor to own shoes or sandals. Almost all of the men wear galabias, those long flowing robes. In the cities the headgear is the red tarboosh or fez. Veiled Mohammedan women are a common sight in Egypt too.

Alexandria is the principal seaport of Egypt and the weather is cooler than in Cairo. We enjoyed seeing the eastern harbor and breakwater extending out in the blue Mediterranean. The meetings there began at 4: 30 at the Kingdom Hall and continued through until nine o’clock, a brief intermission being had to allow for transfer from the Kingdom Hall to the Moassat Theater for the public meeting. In the Kingdom Hall 135 brethren and persons of good-will attended, and instruction was given to the company relative to peaceful association within the Lord’s organization and that it is not in keeping with Theocratic arrangements for quarreling and dissatisfaction to exist among the brethren. It was pointed out that bosses are not needed to see that the Lord’s work goes ahead; but that servants are required and that these servants should in fact be the slaves of the publishers and should aid the brethren in getting into the field and should set a good example for them. They should not be quarreling and finding fault with what the brethren do, but be pleased with even the ‘widow’s mite’ and patiently deal with the brethren for the good of the Kingdom work. The publishers of the Kingdom were happy to hear these remarks by Brother Knorr, which he supported by the Scriptures. There are only 37 publishers reporting in Alexandria, but there were 135 interested and 60 to 70 persons always attend Watchtower studies. The full appreciation of the blessed privileges of service is not held by all; perhaps fear of man and of losing reputation have held many back from going ahead with the proclamation of the message of the Kingdom, which to them means salvation. It is a privilege to give instruction to the people of good-will; but when they have received the instruction and believed, then they should show their appreciation to the Lord by making confession with their mouths. This has been lacking on the part of many in Alexandria. Brother Knorr also told them about the new organization in Egypt, and the brethren rejoiced. Most of the publishers being Greek, the information was given in English and Greek. The Arabic-speaking brethren were able to understand English or Greek, and so all enjoyed hearing us.

The public meeting arranged for at the Moassat Theater was attended by 240, the lecture being “The Joy of All the People” in English and in Greek. Notice of the meeting was published in four of the principal newspapers, including the one owned by the Greek patriarch in which so many articles have been published against the enlightening work of Jehovah’s witnesses. The brethren were surprised and glad that the advertisement was accepted and published. Evidently the .patriarch was surprised, too, when he saw the ad in his newspaper and the brethren putting out handbills in the city, so he got to work on the government police officials who had given permission to hold the meeting and he tried to have the owner of the hall cancel the agreement for use of it for the meeting. It was May 2, however, the day for celebration of the ascension to the throne of King Farouk. Everyone was busy with the festivities and many of the officials were off duty. Streets were jammed with people and the police were pressed to keep order. The patriarch could not find anyone to bring about the cancellation of the permit to hold the meeting. He tried to cause a lot of worry for the manager of the theater, but the meeting was held successfully. Advertising of this meeting began on Monday. The Tuesday newspapers had carried the ads and the meeting was held that evening. Had the advertising of this meeting been begun any sooner, the brethren felt sure, the meeting would have been canceled. All rejoiced that it was possible to have two public meetings in Egypt during the visit of the president of the Society, hoping this would mark the opening of a great expansion of the work in Egypt.

Early Wednesday morning we returned to Cairo by tram, hoping to get there in time to go to the Museum to check up on some matters pertaining to early writings of the Bible, and we were successful in finding the information we were seeking. The Cairo Museum did not have it, but the gentlemen there were kind enough to take us to the French Archeological Institute, where the manuscript is actually kept. We had very little time to see the Museum itself, but we were glad we succeeded in finding out what we wanted about the manuscripts in Cairo.

Because of a change in flying schedules our date of departure was moved ahead one day and we did not have time to visit the companies at Port Said and Suez. The brethren at Port Said were a little 'disappointed to learn that time would not permit Brother Knorr to visit that company; but, that the brethren could have the information, arranged to have one of the Cairo brethren go in his behalf and tell all the good things that had happened.

Thursday, May 8, we rose early in the morning and bade good-bye to the Cairo brethren, who had been so hospitable to us. By the time we arrived at the airport it was 8 a.m. We learned then that the plane in which we were to go had engine trouble. No one was sure whether we would be able to go that day, but there was one chance—another plane was there that required only a few repairs to an engine and it might be possible to get that ready for flight. By eleven o’clock it was ready, and so we took our places in the cabin. We got off into the air quickly and were flying over Cairo. Our pilot gave us a special trip to the pyramids and tipped the wing so that all seated passengers could see the area, and then he headed northward along the edge of the Sahara. It was notable, that contrast between the fertile valley of the Nile and the great expanse of reddish desert where the green ended so abruptly.

GREECE

It was not long until we were able to see Alexandria to the west. We were leaving behind the continent of Africa and flying northwest toward Greece. En route we saw the eastern tip of the island of Crete and hundreds of islands in the Aegean sea. All looked very rocky. The plane made a very smooth landing at Athens Airport and we were happy to see through the small round window next to our seat that the brethren, including Brothers Sideris and Turpin, of Gilead School, were on hand. All disembarking passengers were taken to one side by the ground hostess and told they must report to the medical officer. When we got to his office we found that regulations provide that all passengers coming from the East must be inoculated against the plague. We had no choice. One of the passengers traveling with us asked whether this inoculation would protect us from the plague of beggars who are busy in every country. After this we were allowed to go through the regular immigration and customs routine and we finally met with our brethren and went into the city.

The brethren in Greece are going through many trials and difficulties. The Greek Orthodox Church has lost much ground in this past war period, but evidently she feels that her big fight is not so much against the Roman Catholic organization or the Protestant religions cutting into the ranks of her people. She makes Jehovah's witnesses her big worry and concern and warns her people against these, whom she calls ‘heretics’ and Millennial-ists. Every effort has been put forth to stop the work in Greece, but the harder she tries, the more interested the people become in the truth. There is much dissatisfaction in Greece with its officially recognized Orthodox religion. Very little is done in state government without the approval of the archbishop, and the people know it. They would like to have freedom.

Such religious oppression is not the only problem in Greece. The Royalists (or Government forces) and the Leftists are fighting for domination of the country. The Royalists have driven the Leftists into the mountains and there is civil war going on constantly, with lines of battle shifting daily. Perhaps a third of the country is dominated by the Leftists. Athens itself is, as a result of the war, a very overcrowded city. We were told that normal population is about 400,000 but it has grown to upward of two million. Thousands upon thousands of Greeks have left their little farms and villages to come into the haven of the big cities where it is safe from the raiding parties of the guerrillas, as they are called, who come down from the hills and seize food from the farm people. If this continues much longer in Greece probably a famine will hit the land unless food is shipped in from the outside. At the present time there is sufficient food in Athens and the larger cities for everyone, but farmers are still leaving the land and they are coming into the larger cities for safety.

Inflation is very bad in Greece. People carry about stacks of bank notes and can purchase very little for them. Prices of clothing and food are going up continually and the value of the money is on the decline. Many people do business only in terms of gold coin. No one feels secure.

As for the Lord’s witnessses, these are scattered throughout all of Greece and are preaching the gospel the best they can with the literature they have. Conditions in the country do not make it easy for them, and added to this is the police and clergy opposition both to the distribution of the literature and to the holding of Bible studies. All literature that is distributed by the brethren should, according to the government religious director, be stamped “heresy”, which the brethren refuse to do. Of course, it is looked upon as heresy by the Orthodox Church; but if the Watch Tower publications are heresy in Greece, why not those of the Roman Catholic Church, Adventists, or other non-Orthodox people? The constitution of Greece guarantees freedom of worship, but the archbishop in Athens does not want it, because evidently he knows the Greek people are tiring of his religion and oppression and he is fearful that those able to read and write will learn the truth about the trinity, the cross, hell-fire, and other doctrine, by obtaining literature from Jehovah’s witnesses. Beating the brethren and putting them into prison is the program to stop the witness work now, but it is not succeeding.

Some months ago two graduates of Gilead were sent to Greece to aid in the reorganization of the Branch office and also to bring all of the companies into line with present-day instructions. The brethren in Greece are anxious to follow Theocratic principles, and we believe they will accept these instructions as quickly as they are received and can be explained. So far these Gilead brethren have done much to aid the brethren in Athens and Piraeus to get better organized. If the brethren were allowed to hold regular meetings openly they would find it much easier to get the complete organization in operation.

Brothers Knorr and Henschel were very busy at the Branch office going over numerous problems which face the Greek brethren, and arrangements were made to push ahead without letting up in the preaching of the gospel of the Kingdom. It would be necessary for someone to visit the many new companies and properly instruct them as well as to counsel some of the new publishers who had access to so few of the publications of the Society and could not obtain Bibles of their own. Brother Knorr appointed Brother Sideris as the new Branch servant to push this organizational work.

While in Athens it was possible to pay a visit to the American embassy. Brothers Knorr and Henschel, along with Brothers Sideris and Turpin, all Americans by nationality, presented the Society’s numerous problems concerning importation of literature from America to the charge d’affaires. He suggested that we speak to the minister of education and religion, and had his secretary make an appointment for us for the next evening.

We took the Society’s lawyer with us, who is also one of Jehovah’s witnesses, when we went to see the minister of education and religion at 6: 30 Saturday evening. Our problems were presented clearly before him, and in his official capacity as minister he was quite surprised that Jehovah’s witnesses were being persecuted, that meetings were being broken up by police, that children were not allowed education because they would not make the pagan sign of the cross, and especially because our books were not permitted entry for the reason that they did not have “heresy” stamped on the front cover. It was pleasant to talk to this man, who had been educated in America and who therefore understood our ideas on matters of freedom and equality. He assured us that he would do everything in his power to rectify matters in so far as his ministry was concerned, and asked to have the opportunity of speaking with the lawyer and the two brethren who were living there in Athens on the following Monday so that matters could be straightened out. We left his office with a better feeling about the future and hoped that some forward steps were being made that would let the work go ahead with less interference and injury to the brethren than at the present time. Regardless of the outcome, however, we feel certain that our brethren m Greece will press on diligently preaching the gospel, for that is their Godgiven right. They know it is better to obey God rather than men. They know of Paul’s words at Acts 24:10-16, and will not stop because accused of heresy. But if some men can see the righteousness of our cause and can aid us, it is greatly appreciated.

Though there is always the danger of having meetings broken up and the brethren arrested and put into prison, a meetmg of the servants of units in Athens and Piraeus was arranged to be held in the home of some of the publishers. If it had been possible for all brethren in Athens and Piraeus to meet together there would have been over two thousand present, but as it was only 66 assembled. Their faces were bright and they appeared zealous for the Lord. Through an interpreter Brother Knorr gave these brethren instruction as to how the work should proceed in the future in Athens and all of Greece. Announcement was made of the appointment of the new Branch servant for Greece, Brother Sideris, and how the work would be handled in the future. Servants to the brethren would be trained and sent to visit the companies twice a year. It was pointed out that Brother Karanassios, the former Branch servant, had been a faithful servant of the Lord in this eapaeity since 1922 but because of age and poor health another was assigned. His privilege of service was not given to another because of unfaithfulness, but the heavy burden of the work m Greece should fall upon younger shoulders and he was glad for the change in the interests of the work. Brother Karanassios remains in the Bethel family and will always be able to give counsel and such advice as is needed. There is every reason to believe that the expansion work in Greece will continue under the great Commander, Christ Jesus, who is leading on to victory.

Another problem facing the Watchtower Society in Greece is the lack of quarters for the housing of the brethren, the office and the printing equipment. One of the brethren who owns a house in Athens has given considerable space in one of his apartment houses, and some arrangements will be made, if possible, to enlarge those quarters. There are now more than two thousand publishers in Greece and it is estimated that well over five thousand are attending small group meetings throughout all of the land. Locally the brethren are printing approximately twenty thousand copies of The Watchtower on the first and fifteenth of each month and this magazine is having wide distribution. Booklets are also printed locally and we hope to ship much literature in from America.

There was very little time to see any of Athens, because from 7 in the morning until 10 at night we were working with the brethren. We did manage, however, to spend two hours on the Acropolis of Athens and see what remains of the many ancient temples of heathen worship of Athena, goddess of wisdom. Here stand the remains of the Parthenon, the Temple of Nike, the Propylaea, or entrance, and the Erechtheion. On the south slopes of the Acropolis is the site of the Theater of Dionysus, which was the center of dramatic art in ancient Greece. But of greatest interest to us was the Areopagus, or Mars Hill, which is mentioned in connection with the apostle Paul. It is now just a rock with a few ruined steps hewn therein. Here is where the Athenians held their court of justice and where Paul preached Christianity as recorded at Acts 17. From the Acropolis the whole of Athens and Piraeus can be viewed, as well as much of the sea and the hills of Attica.

ON TO ROME

Getting out of Athens was not as easy as getting in. The TWA office in Athens had no record of our reservations. Therefore the only possible way was to try other airlines, which we found to be completely booked, or to stand shipside in order to go on to Rome. We rose at 3:45 Sunday morning according to instructions from TWA and made our way to the airport. Some of our brethren from the Branch office met us at the airport. Some others were there, too. We appreciated very much having their company at the early hour as we waited for news of the plane to see if any seats were unoccupied. About a half hour before the plane landed we learned there would be one vacant seat; and Brother Knorr took that for his journey to Rome. Brother Henschel remained in Athens during the day and visited one of the brethren from the Branch office who had been taken to prison because he was responsible for printing The Watchtower without putting “heresy” on the cover. It was good to find him very joyful and having good opportunities of witnessing to the other prisoners. And he was not alone; he had the companionship of another brother who was also doing time in the prison for his faithfulness and integrity.

Brother Knorr journeyed on to Rome, flying high over the beautiful land of Greece, with its rocky slopes and snow-covered peaks. The captain chose the course above the waters of the blue Gulf of Corinth. There were some villages along the coast, and some fertile valleys could be seen which extended from the water’s edge back toward the snow-covered mountains. Greece glistened in the bright, morning sunshine and presented beauties difficult to describe in a few words. Then out over the Ionian sea, past the island of Corfu, and to the heel of Italy, there to see the beautiful green hills and snow-covered mountains of southern Italy. There was Taranto, where Italian naval ships were lost during the war. Flying across Italy the plane reached the coastline at Salerno, where a beachhead was established by the American army during the war. Onward to Naples and Mount Vesuvius. A little village stands on the site of old Pompeii, at the water’s edge. The pilot was considerate enough to circle the cone of Vesuvius so that passengers could look down into the mountain that had brought about the destruction of Pompeii and has disturbed the inhabitants of the land many times since then through earthquakes. There was no activity apparent now, but it was a sight to behold the yellow sulphurous patches and the red streaks on the hillside, as well as its black lava reaching out into the fertile land. To the west lay the well-known isle of Capri. And then continuing along the coast of Italy there was Anzio, another famous war spot, and, to the east, Monte Cassino. Then Rome. Brother Knorr’s schedule called for arrival on Monday, according to previous arrangements. Getting there a day early, he expected to meet no one then but would do so the next day, when Brother Henschel was supposed to arrive from Athens.

Brother Henschel took the same trip the next day in a Constellation plane and was met at Ciampino Airport by Brother Romano, the Italian Branch servant, who was very much surprised to learn that Brother Knorr had arrived the day before. All of us got together in the afternoon and talked over matters concerning the work in Italy. That evening at eight o’clock we had a meeting with 11 brethren from the newly-formed Rome company of Jehovah’s witnesses. This was a very interesting meeting for us, because these brethren were in a stronghold of religion and needed the same encouragement and advice that Paul gave to the Romans about 1900 years before, when he wrote a letter and urged them to preach, arguing that people would never believe unless they first heard, and people could not hear unless there were preachers. While 11 interested persons attended this meeting, not all were ministers of the gospel, and so Paul’s admonition was very appropriate along with other instructions on organization. Brother Romano, a graduate of Gilead, acted as interpreter.

VATICAN CITY

Tuesday, May 13, was devoted to gaining general knowledge about Rome and the Vatican. A visit was made to the Vatican Museum, and we were especially interested in the Vatican Library, where they have copies of old manuscripts and books on display. Request was made of an attendant to see one of the librarians to find out if we might look at the original manuscript of Codex Vaticanus 1209, which is one of the most authentic Bible manuscripts extant. We were taken to a private library of the Vatican, where one of the librarians brought to us some pages of the original vellum manuscript. It is no longer in codex form. Each sheet of vellum, on which there are four pages of writing, is kept flat between two heavy pieces of cardboard. This is done to stop the pages from rubbing against one another and destroying the writing on the surface. The manuscript is clearly written and well preserved. Those fourth-century scholars did good work when they prepared that codex. We were also shown a volume of this entire codex which had been made by reproducing the pages of the codex through photography. All of this was of great interest to the president of the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society, which publishes Bibles. These big volumes and original manuscript are not on display to the general public in the Vatican Museum, only one page being placed there.

Within the museum itself there is much of the greatest art work in the world. Grecian and Roman art in sculpture form are plentiful. There are the magnificent paintings by famous Italian artists of centuries ago. And there are many huge vases and other types of treasures. All of the walls and ceilings are beautifully painted and decorated. It must have taken men many years of constant labor to prepare all these things. From the windows we could see the Vatican gardens, the fountains, some courtyards, and the towers of the Vatican Radio. The Swiss Guard in bright uniforms were on duty at various gates. Everything was very well kept and outwardly very clean.

The church of St. Peter was visited and there we saw some of the mass of wealth that had been accumulated in this one building. Its gold ceilings, fixtures and altars, its paintings and tombs of the popes, all were of the finest work. There were several altars and pipe organs. It is impossible to estimate the value in money of this edifice and its contents, but great sums of money must have been collected from people all over the world to build such a “church” or basilica. Comparing it with the mosques and temples of the heathen religions that we had seen, it surpasses them all in pecuniary value and probably in man’s creative ability in the form of art work, paintings and sculpture. But in many ways it reminded us of what the ancient Buddhists had built, as well as the other heathen religionists.

It is all put there to be bowed to and worshiped before. To a student of the Bible these things do not bring one closer to God, for here one sees images, altars of gold, crosses, beads, candles, lamps, and confessionals by the dozen, all of which tend to separate man from God. We saw lavish robes of the hierarchy, decorated with gold and fine embroidery. There were solid gold bejeweled crowns of popes, crosses set with precious stones, golden monstrances, and other treasures. The Bible, God’s Word, gives one knowledge of the Creator; images and temples built by men do not. Faith comes through true knowledge, not because of outward show of wealth or power by a religious organization. We thought of the words of the head waiter at the restaurant in Rome, “The priests have the churches, and gold, and all the wealth of the land; and we, the people, have the sun.” If the priests could charge the people for the sun they would do that too.

In the day’s trip around Rome we saw the remains of the Colosseum, that gigantic amphitheater built by Vespasian and Titus about A.D. 80, where, history tells us, early Christians were thrown to wild beasts for the entertainment of the pagan Romans and the stamping out of true worship of God. On the site where the emperor’s box stood—the man who gave the sign of thumbs up or thumbs down—Catholics have set up the ever-present cross as if to now sanctify this spot.

In the afternoon a visit was made to the American embassy to gain information pertaining to the work of the Society and to see what aid could be enlisted for the brethren in Milan so as to prolong their stay in Italy. Tickets were obtained for our trip from Rome to Milan .on the Rapido, one of the fastest electric trains of the Government Railways.

MILAN

Our journey from Rome was made the following day, from 1: 30 in the afternoon until 11: 30 that night. The trip was made through the beautiful green countryside of Italy, with its numerous grape vineyards, olive groves, grain fields, and well-kept gardens. The hills are often terraced and carefully farmed, but there are some that are heavily wooded. Most of the people of Italy are tillers of the soil and right now all the farmer has is his wine, olives, bread, and cheese, and a place to sleep. He has no way of obtaining clothing, because prices are out of reach for the ordinary people and the black market is booming. Almost everything is rationed; still one can buy all one wants openly on the black market. Railroads are crowded. Many of the persons traveling third-class travel in boxcars and we were able to observe much of this travel from our train windows. Women would fight to get into a crowded third-class train, and other women would try to shove them away. Black market operators travel from one section of the country to another carrying huge boxes of rationed articles to sell where they are scarce.

We traveled north to Florence and Bologna. Especially in the valleys through which we rode between Florence and Bologna we saw the results to Italy of major battles during World War II. Bridges were blown out and whole towns destroyed, and only portions of the walls of some houses remain standing as grim monuments. Shell holes and bomb craters were numerous along the way, and many a railroad station was in the process of reconstruction. The Italian people suffered during the war and are now trying to bring their land back to normal. Reconstruction progresses rapidly in many parts of the land. Bridges have been rebuilt sufficiently for trains to keep regular schedules, though the trains must pass slowly over the ones still being worked on.

While the people are trying to settle back to normal times, politics and finance are at a point of crisis. There is no peace among the rulers that the Italian people have elected to office. Again there is evidence that man will never be able to bring himself peace and prosperity. Only God’s kingdom can accomplish this.

In Milan we stayed with the brethren at the Branch office. Thursday we looked into matters in the office and made some arrangements for further expansion of the work in Italy. It was a pleasure to see George Fredianelli, a Gilead graduate, who has been servmg the companies in Italy. He has had many interesting experiences and finds that the brethren in Italy are very new in the truth but want to learn and.to organize the witness work properly. He enjoys being with the Italian brethren and has been able to do them much good spiritually during the short time he has served in Italy. The anticlerical attitude held by many of the people in Italy now often opens the way for witnessing concerning the Bible, and the field for service in Italy seems to be great.

Friday was convention day in Italy. The brethren really had the spirit of the event, too. The light rain that fell was unnoticed. They had come from all parts of the country to attend. Special busses had been hired; others traveled by train. Milan is overcrowded, and so, many had to spend the night sleeping in the railway station. Others stopped at the Branch office and slept on the floor or in the cellar. The little inconvenience of this was forgotten in their joy over having an assembly in Italy after the many years of dictatorship. There were 225 brethren at the Milan assembly. It was good to near how well the Gilead brethren were able to speak Italian and to see how much the publishers appreciated their discourses.

A few brethren had come from Trieste, at the border of darkened Yugoslavia. They related how they had some, o.pportunities to go into Yugoslavia and had met with some of the brethren. Conditions are very distressing in that country for everyone. People in general do not like the present administration of Tito, but there is no choice under the steel rod of the government. Although many of the elder brethren in Yugoslavia were recently sentenced to prison, the work in Yugoslavia has not stopped. The brethren have to be extremely careful about how they work and they do not take any chances of having their underground preaching activity discovered. They know each other only by sight. No one will disclose his name to another. They meet together regularly for study but do not call each other by name. In this way they are always in position to say they do not know any of the others of Jehovah’s witnesses in the country. If they are arrested by police and taken to a torture place no amount of pain can make them betray a brother, for they actually do not know the names. Surely the Lord is with his people in Yugoslavia in these difficult days.

The climax of the entire Mediterranean service trip was the public meeting held at Cinema Zara in Milan. The brethren had been few in number and could distribute only five thousand handbills in their advertising work prior to the assembly day, nevertheless the results were very gratifying. The Cinema was well filled and some people were standing along the walls at the sides and back when Brother Knorr gave the public address on “The Joy of All the People”; 700 had come. They were a very attentive audience and after the talk many expressed the desire to learn more concerning the Bible, which for so long had been kept from them. Much literature was placed and the brethren rejoiced greatly. They seemed to have gotten more good from this large gathering than did the people of good-will, for this was a sure sign that the time for expansion of the work in Italy had come. There are 35 companies organized in Italy now and these brethren are determined, by the Lord’s grace, to have some public meetings in their local territory. If this was an indication from the Lord of what might be expected from the public meeting campaign, then by all means they would get to work on it. More Gilead graduates will be sent to Italy to press the work and instruct the new publishers in the best methods of carrying on the good work. More servants to the brethren will be on the road. Circuit assemblies will be arranged for in a few months’ time. Every resource will be poured into the Italian field in the coming months in an effort to reach the people with the life-giving message of truth.

Our stay in Italy seemed very brief. The few days spent with the brethren there had been busy and eventful ones and time flitted away. On Saturday morning, May 17, we spent our few last moments with the Branch family at the Milan railway station. They were a happy little group and we were thankful that we had the privilege of seeing the great blessing of the Lord upon the few days of association we had had together. As we stepped aboard the train that was to take us to Switzerland and bade good-bye to our brethren our hearts were filled with gladness. Surely there is now a great awakening in the land of Italy and we had confidence that the Lord was opening up the way for the Kingdom work there. Italy is now well represented among the ‘all nations’ that are praising Jehovah, the only Living God