The Watchtower, April 15, 1939
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CONVENTION
It seems appropriate that Jehovah’s witnesses and companions should assemble in convention somewhere in the East. For this purpose New York City has been selected. Time: June 23-25, inclusive. The first two days of the convention will be held at the Manhattan Center. Sunday, the 25th, all meetings, including the public meeting, will be at Madison Square Garden. It will be difficult for Jehovah’s witnesses in the far-away part of the United States to attend, and, if possible, another convention will be arranged farther west for some other time. Appropriate notice will be given in due season.
“FASCISM OR FREEDOM”
In a world threatened by the totalitarian monstrosity and blinded to the rightful theocratic government, this new booklet, Fascism or Freedom, appears as most timely information for all people of good will. Under a forceful cover illustration the 64 pages of this booklet set forth the nationally broadcast speech by Judge Rutherford at his last public appearance in New York city, together with a masterly article on “Theocracy”. You may obtain your personal copy on remittance of a contribution of 5c.
“NEW HEAVENS” TESTIMONY PERIOD
The “New Heavens” Testimony Period covers all April, the final month of the current “Watchtower” campaign. A special feature of this period is the release to the public of the booklet Fascism or Freedom. The details regarding the extensive worldwide campaign therewith now appear in the regular service paper Informant, to guide you in your plans for as large a part as possible in the special activities of this period. All persons not already in active co-operation with the service organization but who are interested in the proclamation of the kingdom of the heavens are invited to write the Watch Tower for information about the local company organization of Jehovah’s witnesses.
“WATCHTOWER” STUDIES
Week of May 21: “Drama of Vindication” (Part 6), fl 1-26 inclusive, The Watchtower April 15, 1939.
Week of May 28: “Drama of Vindication” (Part 6), fl 27-52 inclusive, The Watchtower April 15, 1939.
“WATCHTOWER” BINDER
The improvements in make-up of The Watchtower, beginning January, 1939, necessitate a new binder for those who desire to (Continued on page 127)
Vol. LX
April 15, 1939
No. 8
DRAMA OF VINDICATION
PART 6
“Now therefore, if ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people: for all the earth is mine."—Ex. 19:5.
JEHOVAH’S name stands for everything that is righteous. His name could not he vindicated if he would approve anything that is unrighteous. The eyes of Jehovah are pure, and he cannot look upon lawlessness. (Hab. 1:13) Willful disobedience of his commandments is iniquity or lawlessness. The creature that receives God’s approval must be obedient. That unchangeable rule applies to all of his creatures. When God made a covenant with Israel he emphasized the necessity for full and complete obedience. Israel, in the covenant of faithfulness, pictured the spiritual Israelites in the covenant for the kingdom. Those chosen of God to be associated in heaven with his beloved Son are a peculiar people, and their approval must be preceded by full obedience to the Lord. The words, therefore, uttered by Jehovah to natural Israel apply with even greater force to spiritual Israel, to wit: “If ye will obey my voice indeed [that is, emphatically, to a certainty, wholly or completely], and keep my covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people: for all the earth is mine.” There is nothing in the earth to which man has an inherent right as against God. Everything that man receives is by God’s favor. That is particularly true with reference to those in the covenant with Jehovah. It is Jehovah’s purpose that He is carrying forward, not man’s purpose. What God has purposed, that he will do, and no creature will be permitted to pursue his own selfish course contrary to God’s purpose and at the same time receive God’s approval. In due time everything that willfully takes a course contrary to God’s will shall be destroyed. Repeatedly the Word of God emphasizes the absolute necessity for the creature to be obedient to God the Creator. There could be no exception to that divine rule, and there is none.
2 Jehovah’s unchangeable rule requiring obedience was emphasized in the prophetic drama of vindication which Jehovah caused to be played by his covenant people Israel under the command of Joshua. The same rule is emphasized in the fulfillment of the drama, which God reveals to his people who are now under the command of the Greater Joshua, Christ Jesus. Jehovah had just performed two great miracles: one, the bringing of the Israelites across the swollen waters of the Jordan, and the other, the miraculous overthrow of Jericho; and by these miracles he had fully demonstrated to Israel his own supremacy. Why should any Israelite, while those two miraculous things were fresh in mind, dare take a course contrary to the commandment of the Most High? Joshua had uttered the commandment, but that was the commandment of Jehovah, and the Israelites had no reason to doubt that fact.
3 The avaricious man has an inordinate desire for material gain, either of money or of fame or honor for himself. Achan, of the tribe of Judah, was that kind of person. The facts show that there have been persons in line for the kingdom of heaven and who have fallen by reason of their inordinate desire for personal gain. That part of the prophetic drama here considered shows that very thing, and it was recorded and is now made clear for the aid and benefit of those who have agreed to do the will of God and who would avoid pitfalls and walk in the way that Jehovah has pointed out: “But the children of Israel committed a trespass in the accursed thing; for Achan, the son of Carmi, the son of Zabdi, the son of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah, took of the accursed thing: and the anger of the Lord was kindled against the children of Israel.”—Josh. 7:1.
4 In reality only one man of the tribe of Judah committed that trespass, but God here shows that he deals with his people collectively as an organization and that willful wrongdoing in any part thereof will not be overlooked and left unnoticed or unpunished. To permit a wrongful act to go unnoticed would put in danger the entire organization and bring reproach upon Jehovah’s name.
5 The “accursed thing” at that time was Jericho, and at the present time it is the religious organization and allies called “Christendom”. The thing is accursed because doomed for complete destruction by Jehovah’s Executive Officer, and to be destroyed for the reason that the thing is an abomination in the sight of God and a reproach to his holy name. Achan, in violation of the expressed command given by Joshua, had greedily taken away from Jericho some things that his avaricious heart desired. The manner of his taking such things is described in verses twenty and twenty-one of the seventh chapter of the book of Joshua. “Achan” means “trouble”, and those who follow in his course always get into trouble. Mention is made of the incident in another place in the Bible, where he is called “Achar”, meaning “troublesome”. “And the sons of Carmi: Achar, the troubler of Israel, who transgressed in the thing accursed.” (1 Chron. 2:7) That Achan, or Achar, therefore, pictures those spirit-begotten ones in line for the kingdom and who become unfaithful and who bring trouble upon Jehovah’s organization. This part of the prophetic drama occurred immediately following the siege of Jericho, and applies in the fulfillment after 1931, and more particularly after 1933, after which the march around the antitypical Jericho had begun. Those unfaithful ones in the Lord’s organization become troublesome or serious trouble-makers within the visible organization of the Lord; and which, if left unchecked, would cause difficulties in the organization, leading to disaster; and therefore Jehovah brings the same to light and into the open that all the people may see and profit by what is done. Appropriate here are the words: “Some men’s sins are open beforehand, going before to judgment; and some men they [their sins] follow after.” (1 Tim. 5:24) Note, then, that “the anger of the Lord was kindled against the children of Israel”, that is, against the entire typical organization, and which organization now must be purged and cleansed. As a whole the Israelites were entirely ignorant of the offense committed by Achan, and of the offender who had committed it, and they were in need of having the Lord lay bare the trouble before them. The offender was not ignorant of his offense, but only by taking action before the entire congregation, that is, publicly, could the Israelites who were innocent prove themselves guiltless and entirely out of sympathy with the offense and the offender by taking their positive and uncompromising stand on the side of Jehovah.
6 The Lord maneuvered the entire matter to bring it clearly before the people, and in this he directed the course of Joshua: “And Joshua sent men from Jericho to Ai, which is beside Beth-aven, on the east side of Beth-el, and spake unto them, saying, Go up and view the country. And the men went up and viewed Ai.”—Josh. 7:2.
7 Jericho was then in ruins, and Joshua sent men to Ai (the name meaning a ruin or heap of ruins), which was afterwards destroyed. Look now to the fulfillment of this part of the prophetic drama, and the action taken by Joshua against Ai pictures the activities of the remnant of Jehovah’s witnesses from and after A.D. 1933 against Satan’s organization, particularly the religionists on the earth. Some serious details are shown which are not set out in relation to the siege and destruction of Jericho. Joshua sent men as spies to get a close-up view of Ai, foretelling Christ Jesus would send his men to get a closer view of the Devil’s visible organization, that it might be more particularly exposed by his faithful servants. After 1933 the profound exposure of the Devil’s chief earthly instrument took place, which gave Jehovah’s witnesses an additional close-up view of that wicked organization. On April 23, 1933, the speech was broadcast on the subject “Effect of Holy Year on Peace and Prosperity”, disclosing the close alliance and association of the Roman Catholic Hierarchy with the political and commercial elements that misrule the nations; and that forced the Hierarchy into the open and exposed them as being against Jehovah and his Kingdom. The facts brought forth in 1935 by the Lord’s direction clearly disclosed that the Roman Catholic Hierarchy constitute the modern-day Philistines, fighting against the modern Samson, God’s anointed people on the earth. Some walking with the Lord’s organization did not view that revealed truth in the proper light. Joshua 7:3: “And they returned to Joshua, and said unto him, Let not all the people go up; but let about two or three thousand men go up and smite Ai; and make not all the people to labour thither; for they are but few.” It appears from the record (Josh. 8:25) that the population of Ai was about 12,000, which was a small number compared to Joshua’s army. Correspondingly, the Roman Catholic Hierarchy is made up of a comparatively small number amongst all the religionists under Satan’s command. Jericho having fallen so easily because of Jehovah’s miraculous act, the men sent to spy out that land came to the conclusion that no great effort needed to be put forth by the Israelites against Ai, and that the real work on their part would be after the Lord had destroyed that city in battle, and that therefore only a small number of fighting men needed to be sent up to Ai, and they so advocated before Joshua.
8 In the fulfillment of this part of the picture some self-constituted “wiseacres”, who appeared to be in line for the kingdom of God, manifested themselves and produced arguments to support their position. It was in the summer of 1935 that the Lord revealed to his people that the “great multitude” (Rev. 7:9-17) is an earthly class and constitutes his “other sheep” (John 10:16), which he would gather unto himself before Armageddon, and that it was the obligation and duty as well as the great privilege of the remnant to carry the message to the people of good will before Armageddon, that they might seek refuge, because after Armageddon would be too late for them to be gathered and for the remnant to do this work. But, contrary to this revelation from the Lord, there quickly came forward some self-constituted “wise ones” who persuaded themselves and some others that ‘the real big work would come after Armageddon’, which work they, the said “wise ones”, would do, and the said “wise ones” would appear particularly in the limelight as great ones, and greatly to their advantage. Proclaiming the kingdom message in the midst of “Christendom” is not merely for the purpose of warning “Christendom” of her impending disaster, but also for the purpose of enabling those people of good will who might be in “Christendom” to hear the joyful trumpet sound and to take warning and flee to the Lord’s organization for protection. These great truths the Lord put before his people in 1935, but the aforementioned “wiseacres”, like those who reported to Joshua, said, in substance: ‘Even if the “great multitude” is to be an earthly class, which is very doubtful, the present is not the time to go after them and gather them; the work of gathering the “great multitude” will follow Armageddon, and then we (the wise ones) will do that big work; and hence any special effort put forth now would he quite premature. Wait for the Lord to do his part, which must be confined to the spiritual class; don’t put forth such a great effort now to get everybody into the field and make them all work hard unnecessarily, because there are only a few now to be gathered in, if any at all. There is no occasion to make all the remnant get busy now in behalf of the “great multitude”, which can be gathered only after Armageddon. Where is the “great multitude”, anyhow? We don’t see them.’ Such was the substance of the argument of those that thought themselves important and would-be leaders of God’s organization; and so they went about amongst the Lord’s people in 1935 preaching such unscriptural doctrines or theories of “a big work after Armageddon”, and a few silly ones gave heed and followed them.
9 It appears that Joshua must have yielded, to the argument of these men sent to spy out the land: “So there went up thither of the people about three thousand men; and they fled before the men of Ai.” (Josh. 7:4) Disaster followed that assault, and the Israelites were compelled to run away after the men of Ai chased them. Mark now some of the facts that came to pass in fulfillment. The aforequoted unscriptural and unsound argument was put forth vigorously in some parts of the earth, and for a time the field work, particularly in Canada, lagged behind and many became indifferent. The effect was to weaken the faith of some and cause them to lag back or flee before the enemy. It is always true, where one is weak in faith he fails to make a vigorous assault in carrying out Jehovah’s commandments. Those weak ones, who had been directed to go up to modern Ai with the kingdom message, lagged back in giving the testimony, and some became altogether inactive and opposed the kingdom message and used the aforementioned “wiseacres’” argument to justify themselves. The result was that they laid off from the assault upon the Hierarchy and had nothing more to do with the work in behalf of the “great multitude”, because, said they, that work must wait until the Lord does his great work at Armageddon. “And the men of Ai smote of them about thirty and six men; for they chased them from before the gate even unto Shebarim, and smote them in the going down; wherefore the hearts of the people melted, and became as water.”—Josh. 7:5.
10 The defeat of these men who attacked Ai took all the courage out of the Israelites that had remained in camp. Likewise those who did retire from the witness work in 1935 or thereabouts were smitten by the enemy and put completely out of action and had no faith or courage to go on. The effect of those “wise ones” was to weaken others of the Lord’s organization. Even of those who were anxious to proceed with the work some were held back by reason of the wrongful action.
11 When Joshua learned what had come to pass at Ai, he was greatly distressed: “And Joshua rent his clothes, and fell to the earth upon his face before the ark of the Lord until the eventide, he and the elders of Israel, and put dust upon their heads.” (Josh. 7:6) The distress of Joshua well pictured the grief of those keenly interested in the progress of the kingdom interests, which grief was because of the wrongful acts of the so-called “wise ones”. Upon some the Lord has put more responsibility in connection with this work, and because of the responsibility great would be the grief resulting from any apparent failure of the Lord’s work. In his distress Joshua cried unto the Lord: “And Joshua said, Alas! O Lord God, wherefore hast thou at all brought this people over Jordan, to deliver us [in the end, for some cause] into the hand of the Amorites, to destroy us? Would to God we had been content, and dwelt on the other side Jordan!”— Josh. 7:7.
12 The words of this part of the text could not be construed to mean that Joshua was charging Jehovah with infidelity, nor that he was charging that Jehovah had brought them there to be destroyed by the Canaanites. God had miraculously brought the Israelites over the Jordan, and by a great miracle had given them the victory over Jericho, and now conditions seemed to be exactly changed, and in the face of this disaster it was time for Joshua to ask what had come to pass that had caused the great change of the Lord toward them. He reasoned that it would have been better not to come over the Jordan and begin a conquest in Canaan than, having begun, to have the result to be so disgraceful shortly after beginning. He was greatly grieved for the name of Jehovah, and therefore Joshua humbled himself and begged the Lord to show him the reason why. In the fulfillment of this part of the drama the development aforementioned caused those wholly devoted to God to turn to him to seek a reason for the deflection and opposition, with a keen desire to learn whether this had come to pass because of some gross mistake or error, and whether they had been presumptuous in beginning the work concerning the “great multitude” before Armageddon. Many of the Lord’s people will recall the facts fulfilling this identical part. In his grief Joshua continued before the Lord: “O Lord, what shall I say, when Israel turneth their backs before their enemies?”—Josh. 7:8.
13 For the men of Israel to turn tail and run from the enemy, after God had shown them such marvelous favor, was proof that they were faithless and wholly unworthy to be entrusted with any work of importance, and that was greatly humiliating to Joshua. The loss of the thirty-six men that were killed by the enemy was not so important, and had they died with their faces to the enemy it would not have been a reproach. Fleeing under the circumstances tended to demoralize the entire camp, and the situation prostrated Joshua. Likewise in the fulfillment, for one occupying a responsible position in the Lord’s organization to assume that the “great multitude” would not be gathered until after Armageddon, and that the Lord had permitted the announcement and the beginning of the work of gathering the “great multitude” contrary to His will, would have a tendency to work disaster upon his people; and hence the situation demanded an investigation and drastic treatment, that the anointed people of God might see clearly the cause of the trouble and what would be the proper course for them to take.
14 Because of this distressing condition and the effect it would have upon the camp, Joshua continued before the Lord: “For the Canaanites, and all the inhabitants of the land, shall hear of it, and shall environ us round, and cut off our name from the earth; and what wilt thou do unto thy great name?”—Josh. 7:9.
15 The Israelites under the command of Joshua were the only people then on the earth representing Jehovah, and this disgraceful affair would bring great reproach upon Jehovah’s name; and so Joshua inquired: “What wilt thou do unto thy great name?" Thereby he meant, What would be done to save the name of Jehovah from disgrace, further reproach, and ridicule? Likewise in the fulfillment, for Jehovah’s remnant to back down from the course they had taken in pushing forward with the message to the people of good will and to slack their hand in the work which the Lord had commanded them to do would be such a disobedient act as would lead to destruction. The same would bring great reproach upon Jehovah’s name instead of having a tendency to vindicate his name. Such unfaithfulness would preclude the remnant from having any further protection from the Lord before or during Armageddon, and, above all, would bring greater reproach upon the name of the Most High. His witnesses had received their “new name” (Isa. 62:2; Rev 2:17) and were now known by the name of “Jehovah’s witnesses” (Isa. 43:10-12), and for them to fail to go forward in doing the witness work as God had revealed to them they should do would be a reproach upon Jehovah’s name and would result in their own casting away. Those of the remnant now will call to mind the disturbance caused by the position taken by the proclaiming of the aforesaid unsound speech and doctrine that ‘the “great multitude” must be gathered after Armageddon, and hence there is no reason why anything should be done until that time’. There was a disturbance through out the organization of the Lord, because the remnant had reason to expect that all the people in God’ organization were moving forward in harmonious action.
16 God’s faithful people must know the reason why this condition had arisen, that they might know their own position before the Lord. The Lord advised Joshua, as the picture shows, and the advice applies to God’s people in the fulfillment. “And the Lord said unto Joshua, Get thee up; wherefore liest thou thus upon thy face?”—Josh. 7:10.
17 Jehovah was not displeased with Joshua. On the contrary, God informed Joshua that his “godly sorrow” must be followed by a positive and emphatic action (2 Cor. 7:10,11) and that, instead of lying prone and inactive, he must be up and doing, and hence that he must do what the Lord commanded him.
18 Joshua did not know that someone of the Israelites had committed a trespass contrary to the Lord's command concerning the accursed city of Jericho, but now Jehovah informed him: 'Israel hath sinned, and they have also transgressed my covenant which I commanded them: for they have even taken of the accursed thing, and have also stolen, and dissembled also, and they have put it even among their own stuff.”—Josh. 7:11.
19 The entire company of Israelites had sinned, in a representative capacity, at least, by permitting one guilty man of their number to stay in the camp, and for this reason God had permitted a calamity to come upon the entire camp of Israel, and this to come at the hand of the enemy. His people collectively had broken their covenant, by the terms of which Jehovah had delivered Jericho into their hands. After the fall of Jericho Joshua had assumed that every Israelite in the ranks was standing firmly by the covenant and giving strict heed and obedience to the commandment with reference to the accursed city, and therefore he made no examination or search to ascertain whether somebody had violated God’s command. A thief amongst them had stolen of the things devoted to Jehovah and had covered up those things in the earth, and continued to go about pretending to be innocent. As stated in the text at Exodus 19:5, “All the earth is mine,” saith Jehovah, and everything of Jehovah’s must be used as he has commanded. Mark now the facts showing the fulfillment of this part of the prophetic drama.
20 It was about 1933 or shortly thereafter that one occupying a position of responsibility in the Lord’s organization, and who was aided and abetted by some of his personal admirers, tried to gain something for selfish reasons. A course contrary to instructions had been taken concerning the Canadian radio stations, while at the same time that party pretended to be striving solely for the vindication of Jehovah’s name and for the downfall of Satan’s organization. Wise in his own conceits, he shunned instructions that he had received and pursued his own selfish course, that he might have a greater reputation amongst men, and attempted to get published his detailed report of action taken by him contrary to instructions received by him. On three separate and distinct occasions he sent to the Society’s main office a written report of what he had done, which report attempted to magnify his own importance, the publication of which was declined. The wrongful course of action of that individual continued. After the revelation from the Lord, in 1935, that the “great multitude” is an earthly company which the Lord will gather before Armageddon, that same person and his supporters, for selfish reasons and with the hope of selfish gain, tried to interfere with the forward movement of the Lord’s work. Each one amongst these wrongdoers remarked in the presence of others that the aforementioned “wise one” would have charge of the work after Armageddon and that he would perform wonderful things in the Lord’s organization and that he would be great and his name great. When one assumes a position in the Lord’s organization for selfish gain or for the purpose of making a name for himself, then, like Achan, he is robbing Jehovah by failing to ‘bring all his tithes into the storehouse of the Lord’, and which full performance must be done before Armageddon. (Mal. 3:8-10) (See The Watchtower November 15, 1936.) All things in the earth, including praise and honor, belong to Jehovah, and not to men, and men who attempt to grab what belongs to Jehovah are stealing from God, just as Achan did at Jericho.
21 The three thousand men that went up against Ai failed because of the trespass that had been committed by one in the organization. Jehovah could not consistently bless that campaign when there was a single one in the organization that had violated his covenant and commandment. The Lord was now bringing the matter to light, that the guilty one might be made known, exposed and punished, and he chose the manner of doing so, and directed Joshua: “Therefore the children of Israel could not stand before their enemies, but turned their backs before their enemies, because they were accursed; neither will I be with you any more, except ye destroy the accursed from among you.”—Josh. 7:12.
22 Jehovah was dealing with his people as an entire organization, and not merely with individuals. The organization must be clean, and all must obey the commandments of the Lord, without a single exception. Likewise in the fulfillment, God having directed certain work to be done, the doctrines proclaimed by anyone in the organization, which doctrines would tend to postpone or delay the witness work until Armageddon, could have only one effect, and that was to cause many to flee before the enemy and become inactive. Exactly those conditions arose amongst God’s organization. A few persons in the various parts of the earth were affected, and all the organization was stunned. If anyone in God’s organization follows a course for selfish purposes or selfish aggrandizement, and in doing so retards full obedience to the work of the Lord as commanded by Him, such would constitute a curse, and such a thing must be put away before the Lord would be with his people and give them prosperity in the work. As God said to Joshua, “Neither will I be with you any more, except ye destroy the accursed from among you.” So God required the rebellious action aforementioned to be exposed and put away. God’s sanctuary must be kept clean. (Dan. 8:14) The work in Canada was falling behind, as many will now recall, and the witness work in other parts of the earth would be retarded; and something must be done. God had not punished the offender instantaneously, but had permitted him to have some consideration and opportunity to repent; but since that offender did not do so, the Lord acted, and he instructed Joshua what to do: “Up, sanctify the people, and say, Sanctify yourselves against to morrow; for thus saith the Lord God of Israel, There is an accursed thing in the midst of thee, O Israel; thou canst not stand before thine enemies, until ye take away the accursed thing from among you.”—Josh. 7:13.
23 It was evening when the Lord thus spoke to Joshua, and he told him to “sanctify the people . . . against to morrow”. Rahab and her family, picturing the Jonadabs or “great multitude”, were then in the camp of Israel, and even these must now be in full harmony with the Lord and be harmonious with the Israelites in order to dwell with them. Likewise in 1935 Jehovah had disclosed that the people of good will called “Jonadabs” are an earthly company, and that they must work in full harmony with the “remnant” and all advance in the kingdom work and promote the kingdom interest. Contrary to the Lord’s direction, the aforementioned self-constituted “wise ones” amongst God’s people began to preach their own selfish doctrines for selfish gain. The Lord kept quiet and let the offender go on until February 23,1936, at the Los Angeles convention of Jehovah’s witnesses, at which time nine other conventions in different parts of the United States, with a like number of conventions in Britain, were linked together by wire and wireless equipment and the Lord caused to be publicly called to the attention of all of God’s people thus assembled that there was sin in doctrine and in practice being committed by those within his organization who pretended to be faithful to the Lord, and that special sin consisted of a studied effort to interfere with the Lord’s work on behalf of the “great multitude”; and that the same was being committed presumptuously and for selfish gain. Among other things on that occasion the statement was publicly made and afterwards published, to wit:
“Only a few months ago the Lord revealed that those ‘other sheep’, or Jonadabs, are the ones who compose the great multitude coming from all these nations. Now we behold these standing before the Lord waving their palm branches and hailing Christ as King and singing out with a loud voice that they attribute salvation to Jehovah God and Christ Jesus, and to none other. The Lord then discloses that all the faithful remnant and all the resurrected ones, and the angels of heaven, together with the great multitude, are proclaiming Jehovah’s praise and rejoicing. (Rev. 7:11,12) That marks the beginning of the feast of tabernacles, the feast unto Jehovah, and these are the ones, according to the prophecy of Zechariah, that keep the feast of tabernacles. Some men, wise in their own conceits, tell you that ‘we are getting nowhere’, and that ‘the great multitude cannot come forth until Armageddon’. Such conclusion is void of reason and without Scriptural support. The Lord’s promise is that he will carry some through Armageddon, and those few will be the ones who keep the feast of tabernacles to the praise of Jehovah. Armageddon will work an indescribable devastation of the nations, and, says the prophet, ‘it shall come to pass, that everyone that is left of all the nations which came against Jerusalem, shall even go up from year to year to worship the King, the Lord of hosts, and to keep the feast of tabernacles.’ It is manifest that this scripture must be construed as meaning that those of all the nations who refuse to keep the feast of tabernacles by worshiping the King shall not be left, but shall be destroyed. Furthermore it means that the Jonadabs or the great multitude must joyfully obey and worship and serve Jehovah God all the time if they would be carried through Armageddon. They must prove their integrity toward God before the wrath of God is expressed. That means that they must hear and learn the truth and obey it now and that the obligation is laid upon Jehovah’s witnesses and all that do hear to continue joyfully and energetically to proclaim the truth from now on.” (The Watchtower April 15,1936, page 123, paragraph 42) At that same convention an emphatic declaration was adopted and published declaring, amongst other things, “That we will not stultify ourselves by compromising with or yielding to the enemy’s demands,” but will go forward in the work as the Lord has directed.
24 Under the Lord’s command Joshua took steps to find the guilty one and to purge the organization: “In the morning therefore ye shall be brought according to your tribes; and it shall be, that the tribe which the Lord taketh shall come according to the families thereof; and the family which the Lord shall take shall come by households; and the household which the Lord shall take shall come man by man.”—Josh. 7:14.
25 As it was in the picture, so in the fulfillment. That was not an effort to kick one merely because it could be done, but in obedience to God’s will, that the organization must be cleansed of the offender; and such action in the fulfillment was performed by the angels of the Lord at his command. (Matt. 13:41,42) Continuing his instructions, the Lord directed Joshua to say: “And it shall be, that he that is taken with the accursed thing shall be burnt with fire, he and all that he hath; because he hath transgressed the covenant of the Lord, and because he hath wrought folly in Israel.”—Josh. 7:15.
26 That such a course is always in harmony with God’s will is shown by the Scriptures, and the faithful were admonished to have nothing in common with troublemakers who caused divisions, but to avoid them. (Rom. 16:17,18; 2 Tim. 3:5) Such rule is for the preservation of those who really love God. Covenant breakers will not be permitted to continue long in the ranks, but every root and branch thereof shall be removed. (Rom. 1:31,32) Covenant breakers defile God’s people; that is, they defile the temple and the temple service, and become the secret agents of the Devil. Such God must destroy.—1 Cor. 3:17.
27 Joshua, like Jesus Christ, the Judge of the temple, took action: “So Joshua rose up early in the morning, and brought Israel by their tribes, and the tribe of Judah was taken: and he brought the family of Judah; and he took the family of the Zarhites: and he brought the family of the Zarhites man by man; and Zabdi was taken: and he brought his household man by man; and Achan, the son of Carmi, the son of Zabdi, the son of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah, was taken.”—Josh. 7:16-18.
28 That was seemingly a slow process, but showed that the Lord was directing the action so that no one would have reason to doubt. There must be a thorough searching before all the people, that they could see who was guilty; and the guilty one was located when the process of elimination had reached the point where Achan was brought forward as the guilty one. He pictured that class of persons that become wicked after the crossing of the antitypical Jordan and after the siege of the antitypical Jericho has begun. True, there must be some outstanding individual that takes the lead in such matters, but the fulfillment of the picture applies to all who are of that class; and therefore Achan pictured not particularly an individual, but all of that class of persons who become members of the “evil servant" class.
29 Referring now specifically to the fulfillment of this part of the drama: Such wrongful course had been pursued by some of that “evil servant” class for more than a year prior to being exposed and prior to being located and before these matters were brought to the view of the “remnant”. There appeared to be a lagging or unnecessary delay in exposing the wrongdoer, but not so in fact. At the beginning of the investigation no name was mentioned, and action was taken only after due deliberation and after seeking the Lord’s guidance. These facts, afterwards coming out, caused some who desired to find fault to sarcastically criticize the Society and those having to do with the sending out of instructions, and to remark concerning the one who had been in the lead and outstanding in the guilty action, and those murmurers and critics to say, “If you knew he was crooked for some time previous, why did you not put him out immediately?” The Watchtower of February 15,1938, paragraph 23, gives the answer: 'It is best to wait upon the Lord. A man might be recovered from the error of his way.’ The servants of God should always act as directed, and Jehovah promises to guide and direct those who are diligent to ascertain and to do his will.
30 The offender being located, Joshua addressed him with words of kindness: “And Joshua said unto Achan, My son, give, I pray thee, glory to the Lord God of Israel, and make confession unto him; and tell me now what thou hast done; hide it not from me.”—Josh. 7:19.
31 Joshua was one of the three oldest men amongst the Israelites, and he spoke to the offender in a kind and fatherly way. He called upon Achan to give glory to God by acknowledging the justice of God in enforcing his rule previously announced. Being guilty and denying the same would be dishonoring Jehovah. Likewise taking any action or course to justify one’s wrongful act would be dishonoring to Jehovah. In the fulfillment of this part of the prophetic drama the guilty might take the position that he was being “framed” and that the one who was required to act in the matter “for a long time had been trying to get something on me”; which quoted words he used in letters written to others. Having taken such a wrongful course the offending individual might even think that the action was personally against him, while at the same time his course was that of dishonoring the Lord. One taking a wrongful course often seeks to justify himself and first to convince himself of his course as rightful.
32 Joshua then said to Achan: “Hide it [the wrong] not from me”; and thus Joshua was giving the offender an opportunity to ask forgiveness, and he might have found forgiveness. Likewise Jesus gave an opportunity to the modern-day Achan class to amend their wrongful course. Men may successfully conceal their mistakes from other men, but nothing is hid from the Lord, the great Judge. Likewise nothing was done in malice or ill will toward Achan or toward the class he pictured. Often, when a man knows he is guilty and that he is certain to be discovered, he caves in and confesses. A willful violator of God’s law is wicked, and concerning such it is written: “The wicked flee when no man pursueth.” (Prov. 28:1) Achan knew he was discovered as a wrongdoer, and hence he spoke: “And Achan answered Joshua, and said, Indeed I have sinned against the Lord God of Israel, and thus and thus have I done: when I saw among the spoils [of the accursed Jericho] a goodly Babylonish garment [(literally) a garment of Shinar; worn by Devil religionists to attract attention to themselves], and two hundred shekels of silver, and a wedge of gold of fifty shekels weight, then I coveted them, and took them; and, behold, they are hid in the earth in the midst of my tent, and the silver under it.” —Josh. 7:20, 21.
33 Achan must have been one of the marchers around Jericho who entered over the ruins of the wall after Jehovah had torn the walls down. Then he yielded to temptation. He saw that which would give him a more brilliant appearance and make him distinctive amongst other persons, and which would cause him to receive honor and plaudits, and he “swiped” the garment to use, and then with the gold that he stole he could make a splurge. That was a case of yielding to the 'lust of the eye, and the lust of the flesh, and the pride of life’; and it was even so in the fulfillment. (1 John 2:16) Apparently Achan forgot that he was in a covenant to execute the commandments of Jehovah. His own selfish desire led him into the trap of Satan. (Jas. 1:14,15) This scripture cited announces the certain rule and the result it brings when followed. Achan was playing a part in the drama. The fulfillment shows the reality which God foretold.
34 Note how accurately the drama pictured what has come to pass in modern times: Particularly from and after 1933 some have taken a course similar to that of Achan by marching around the modern Jericho of Satan’s organization and declaring God’s judgments written against her; but after doing so for a season such servants yield to temptation which arises from something appearing in Satan’s organization, and to satisfy a selfish desire they take a wrongful course and are ensnared by Satan. It may be a desire for more honor among men. It may be an unsound conclusion that God has chosen that person for some special work which in due time will make him an outstanding person among others. Nursing such a selfish desire for fame amongst men, he yields to that selfish desire and falls into Satan’s snare. Having reached that point, naturally the wrongdoer seeks justification for self by putting forth propaganda. Call to mind now the fact that the published propaganda matter advocating greater consideration for Satan’s organization, and particularly for the religionists, was sent forth in which an attempt was made to induce the publishers of the kingdom message to slack their hand and delay the work commanded by the Lord, and to wait until Armageddon and then they would do something great. That printed propaganda sent forth made the further argument, in effect, at least, that after Armageddon there would be no reproach to come upon the workers. The author of that propaganda announced to some, who had sympathetic ears, that then he would lead the work and he would occupy a position of great responsibility and honor before the Lord because the Lord had appointed him to do such work. This was well pictured by the peculiar garment and by the plenty of gold that Achan stole. Such a course taken by the opposers of the kingdom shows that they are not zealous about giving Babylon, the Devil’s blasphemous crowd, a full blast of Jehovah’s declaration of vengeance, but they say: “Wait until God breaks down the organization, and then we will do our part, a great work.” That conclusion led the offenders to give more attention to preparing themselves for the supposed “great work” that they would do after Armageddon, and they lost sight of obedience to the Lord’s commandment. Brooding over the matter, the leader in that offense, in fulfillment, and his companions reached the conclusion that they were doing the proper thing by interfering with the work assigned by the Lord to his people when he commands them to “arise . . . against her in battle”. (Obad. 1) Such insane and illogical conclusion led them to look after their own salvation and to take steps to justify themselves in the course of action taken. The Lord Jesus’ words here aptly apply: “Ye are they which justify yourselves before men; but God knoweth your hearts; for that which is highly esteemed among men is abomination in the sight of God.” (Luke 16:15) The next step to be taken by such deluded ones was that “salvation is for everyone”; that “universal reconciliation is provided for all, including Judas and the Devil”. In substance these things were announced in the propaganda sent forth, and that propaganda sheet concluded with these words: “What a Saviour!”; thus attempting to show that Christ Jesus provides salvation for all the enemies of God, including Judas, the Achan class, and the Devil himself; no matter how great had been the sin of one, he would be saved in the end, according to the unsound and unscriptural propaganda sent forth by that Achan class. By such argument the evildoers convinced themselves that this would be God’s course; thus showing that they were deluded by the Devil and had gone insane.
35 This had an evil effect on a few others in the organization who recognized the one who was putting forth the propaganda as a person who had for a long while occupied a position of responsibility in the Lord’s organization. When the offender was put out of his position, he took his stand against the Society and sent his propaganda throughout the land in an effort to induce others to join him in his attempt to justify his action. Some few fell into that trap, but none of the elect were deceived. —Matt. 24:24.
36 Achan tried to hide the evidence of his sin by burying the accursed things in the earth in the midst of his tent. The “evil servant” class, pictured by Achan, tried to hide the evidence of their sin against God and against his organization, and tried to justify themselves by sending out letters to certain persons who were thought to be sympathetic with the wrongdoer in his unrighteous course. Such letters were written while the offender was occupying an official position representing the Society; and to cover up his wrongful action, although his letters were written in the Society’s office and by the Society’s help and on the Society’s literature, he kept no carbon copies, thus hoping that no one would find it out. To be sure, the Lord knew about those letters, and brought them to light in his due time and caused them to be produced and read before witnesses. The Lord put Achan “on the spot”, and he confessed his wrongful acts; and so when the letters above mentioned, together with a large amount of corroborative evidence proving the guilt of the offender, were produced, the guilty one had to admit and did admit the wrongful acts.
37 Joshua, acting under the Lord’s direction, would not permit Achan to afterwards have any reason to claim that he had been framed or coerced into making confession. So Joshua proceeded to get the corroborative evidence that fully supported his confession. “So Joshua sent messengers, and they ran unto the tent; and, behold, it was hid in his tent, and the silver under it.”—Josh. 7 : 22.
38 The men sent to search found the accursed property in Achan’s tent, where he said it was, and they brought it forth and thus doubly proved Achan’s guilt, that is, by two witnesses: his confession and the physical facts. The crime was now proved beyond any question of doubt. Mark now the fulfillment of this part of the prophetic picture. Action against the accused aforementioned was taken only after a careful search of the material facts and bringing these together, which proved beyond all doubt that the accused one had taken a course against God’s organization. Joshua caused the physical evidence to be brought forth and exhibited to the congregation, that the whole matter might be open before the Lord and men: “And they took them out of the midst of the tent, and brought them unto Joshua, and unto all the children of Israel, and laid them out before the Lord.”—Josh. 7:23.
39 Likewise those in God’s organization who had attempted to wreck it were permitted by the Lord to pile up evidence against themselves and then the Lord caused the same to be brought out publicly before others. The Greater Joshua, Christ Jesus, caused the evidence to be produced showing that one of the Society’s representatives, aided and abetted by others, had been working against the Lord’s organization; and that evidence was brought before witnesses, and in the presence of the offender, and was presented and recorded so that there could be no doubt about it and no one can ever be able to truly claim or charge that the wrongdoer was “framed”. The action was taken in harmony with the Lord’s will.
40 The Lord caused to be recorded the manner of punishment inflicted upon Achan; and that is proof that the record is important and was put in the Bible and is now revealed for the aid of those today who are on the earth and who are diligent in seeking to know and to do the will of Almighty God in his service. “And Joshua, and all Israel with him, took Achan the son of Zerah, and the silver, and the garment, and the wedge of gold, and his sons, and his daughters, and his oxen, and his asses, and his sheep, and his tent, and all that he had: and they brought them unto the valley of Achor.”—Josh. 7: 24.
41 Joshua’s duty and responsibility did not end with the bringing of Achan to account before witnesses. Achan had taken and failed to destroy the accursed things, and now Joshua must destroy them and see that God’s decree of destruction was carried out to the full. In announcing God’s decree concerning the fate of Jericho Joshua had said: “Keep yourselves from the accursed thing, lest ye make yourselves accursed, when ye take of the accursed thing.” (6:18) When Achan ‘took of the accursed thing’ the anger of the Lord was kindled against the children of Israel, and, the entire camp or congregation being subject to the anger of Jehovah, it was mandatory upon Joshua that he see to it that there was a complete cleansing for the offense committed. Immediately Achan had his privilege of service taken away from him. Such is exactly what Jesus declared he would do with those of the “evil servant” class when he pronounced judgment at the temple: “Take therefore the talent from him, and give it unto him which hath ten talents. For unto every one that hath shall be given, and he shall have abundance; but from him that hath not shall be taken away even that which he hath. And cast ye the unprofitable servant into outer darkness; there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”—Matt. 25: 28-30.
42 The Lord could not permit his organization to be disturbed by allowing the wrongdoer to go unpunished. The sin of Achan was presumptuous and could not be permitted to pass unnoticed. Had not Joshua performed his duty unto the Lord faithfully in causing Achan to be punished, the Lord would have destroyed Joshua.
43 Achan and all he had was brought unto the valley of "Achor”, the name meaning "trouble”. God’s judgment against the wrongdoer had been announced before the crime was committed. (Josh. 7:15) Achan was to have no one survive him to carry forward his sinful course or works. God's judgments are not subject to change. (Isa. 14:20,22) The action of Joshua was not personal against the offender Achan. He had trusted him, and Achan had betrayed that trust; but the punishment to be inflicted was because Jehovah had commanded it. “And Joshua said, Why hast thou troubled us? the Lord shall trouble thee this day. And all Israel stoned him with stones, and burned them with fire, after they had stoned them with stones.”—Josh. 7:25.
44 The question propounded publicly to Achan, "Why hast thou troubled us?” offered the opportunity to Achan to publicly repent of his wrongdoing and to beg forgiveness from God. Achan “found no place of repentance”. (Heb. 12:17) The Society’s former servant who had taken the wrongful course, when all the evidence proving his guilt was laid before him, then and there promised that he would write a letter to all the consecrated throughout the earth acknowledging his wrong and asking their forgiveness. Not only did he fail to keep that promise, but within a short time he took exactly the opposite course by sending letters throughout the earth condemning the Lord’s organization on earth and many individuals connected therewith, and thus exhibited his unrepentant spirit. That one person, together with some of his supporters, continued to trouble the Society by sending letters to radio stations and to religionists known to be avowed enemies of God’s organization, and to others, wherein threats were made “to break up the organization of the Society within two years”. Not content with that threat, the name and address of the Watch Tower Bible & Tract Society was willfully and deliberately forged by some of the conspirators, who sent their libelous publications through the mail on letterheads and envelopes marked with the Society’s name and address, with the manifest purpose of deceiving and attempting to carry out their cruel purpose of ‘breaking up the Society’. Their propaganda was printed in the United States and posted in New York, on paper purporting to come from the Society, thus proving conclusively the purpose of deceit and fraud. Instead of showing the spirit of repentance, the spirit of malice and wickedness continued to be expressed by the wrongdoers. Such a spirit is, within the meaning of the Scriptures, "spiritual fornication,” by going to religionists and attempting to join with them in fighting against the Lord's organization. A desire to glorify self had led Achan to commit a great sin. The desire to satisfy self led Esau to commit a great sin. The desire for personal or self gain led the former Society’s representative to ‘sell his birthright’ for self gain. Concerning such the admonition is given in the Scriptures : “Follow peace with all men, and holiness [uncompromising devotion to Jehovah], without which no man shall see the Lord: looking diligently lest any man fail of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up trouble you, and thereby many be defiled; lest there be any fornicator, or profane person, as Esau, who for one morsel of meat sold his birthright.”—Heb. 12:14-16.
45 After propounding to Achan the question as to why he had troubled Israel Joshua said: “The Lord shall trouble thee this day.” How marvelously the Lord has made pictures and then brought about the facts to show their fulfillment and later has permitted his people to see the fulfillment and the meaning thereof. These things should cause all of God's people to tread lightly, with fear and trembling, lest they should go contrary to God’s appointed way. In The Watchtower of May 1, 1937, page 141, in an article entitled “Evil Servant” the facts concerning the aforementioned deflection of the “evil servant” class are set forth. In that article the following, amongst other things, appears: “His duplicity being discovered, he was, because of his unfaithfulness, relieved of his position and duty in the Lord’s organization. About a year later this same man enters into a further conspiracy with the enemy to commit more wrong. He got someone to write an article attempting to prove that the Lord Jesus Christ is not present. That article he printed and caused to be distributed amongst many of the Lord’s servants in different parts of the earth, together with a covering letter, which letter and article purported to come from the head office of the Watch Tower Bible & Tract Society. Manifestly this was done in order to practice fraud and deception upon the faithful ones. He caused the printing to be done in the United States, and had his papers posted in the mail at Brooklyn, New York. In his letter of so-called ‘instructions’, and which purported to be instructions from headquarters, the demand is made that the letter and article be read to the various companies at a stated time, and further stated that organization instructions are mandatory and this instruction must be carried out and the letter read.
“Then he issued another paper, had that printed and sent throughout the earth to the various offices and servants of the Watch Tower Bible & Tract Society, and in which letter he resorts to lies and manifests a vicious and malicious, lying disposition, attacking the president of the Watch Tower Bible & Tract Society, and making many statements which he knew at the time are deliberate lies. He demanded that his letter be answered through The Watchtower. The Watchtower columns are not open to the discussion of matters with those who are opposed to the Lord, and certainly not to printing the argument of one against the presence of the Lord, when this question of the Lord’s presence has been thoroughly covered by the publications of the Society.
“The Lord Jesus denounces such as conduct of those who are of the evil servants, using this language : ‘But and if that evil servant shall say in his heart, My lord delayeth his coming; and shall begin to smite his fellowservants, and to eat and drink with the drunken: the lord of that servant shall come in a day when he looketh not for him, and in an hour that he is not aware of, and shall cut him asunder, and appoint him his portion with the hypocrites ; there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’ —Matt. 24:48-51.”
46 The Lord permitted all the Israelites to see what was done, and they all approved what was done to Achan. Likewise in this day the spiritual Israelites show themselves in full accord with the Lord’s judgments, and these joyfully announce that they willingly bow to his law, his name and his majesty. This was evidenced by many letters sent by companies of Jehovah’s witnesses to the Society’s main office, and by resolutions adopted and published by many companies throughout the land, and some of which were published in The Watchtower at the time. The sinful course of Achan caused the Israelites to determine that they would be more diligent in obeying the Lord; and the subsequent facts show that a like influence directed the course of God’s faithful people of the remnant, as shown by resolutions adopted and published by them, a sample of which resolutions appears in The Watchtower June 1, 1937, and, amongst other things, contains the following:
“Almost a year has now passed since (under the Lord’s direction) as president of the Society you removed from office one W. F. Salter, to whom we had long looked for leadership in the service, but who had become unfaithful to his charge.
"At that time some could not quite clearly see the reason for such action. We had, however, implicit confidence in Jehovah and that the steps there taken were under his direction.
“Subsequent events not only have fully justified this faith and confidence in Jehovah, and yourself as the one used in this connection, but also have made clearly to appear why this action was necessary.
“Because of the fact that the Lord’s people are being, from this source, now subjected to a barrage of literature calculated to undermine and overthrow their faith, we, the Toronto company of Jehovah’s witnesses, at a joyous assembly on this the eighteenth day of April, nineteen hundred and thirtyseven, unanimously adopt the following resolution, to wit:
“1. That we fully endorse the action of our president, Brother Rutherford, in thus removing from office one who so manifestly had, by his course of action, said, ‘The table of the Lord is contemptible,’ and who had ‘snuffed’ at what is spread on that table, by ‘offering polluted bread upon the altar’.
“2. That, as a means for our protection, we will meet this latest move of the enemy with
“(a) Increased activity and interest in the Lord’s service, especially in the new ‘strange work’ just beginning and also the studies in The Watchtower and other publications of the Society.
“(b) That we will destroy without reading any such literature received through the mail or otherwise.
“(c) That we will turn a deaf ear to any, either among us or outside, who manifests a desire to debate or argue respecting this course of action.
“3. That we acknowledge as the visible organization of Jehovah on earth the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society, and recognize the Society as the channel or instrument through which Jehovah and Christ Jesus give instruction and meat in due season to the household of faith.
“4. Further, that we pledge our faith in and loyalty to the Society, and its servants, Brother Rutherford at Brooklyn, and also the branch servant, Brother Chapman at Toronto; that we are pleased and thankful for his appointment in charge of the Lord’s work in our midst. We wish to say that, the company following your instructions, working under the unit arrangement, and because of the zeal manifested by the branch servant, Brother Chapman, never before has the interest in and on behalf of the Lord’s work been so keenly aroused nor has there ever been such a manifestation of activity as now. We pledge our co-operation to the fullest extent with him in the work, and, together with you, pray that the Lord will smite His enemy to the dust and shine forth in Kingdom glory.
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