The Watchtower, July 15, 1967
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"YOU ARE MY WITNESSES," SAYS JEHOVAH.—Isa. 43:12
THE PURPOSE OF "THE WATCHTOWER"
Every watchtower has its purpose. It serves as an elevated place for a wide-awake person with sharp vision. It enables him to see far ahead into the distance and tell those below for whom he is a watchman what is drawing near, whether it is a danger against which to prepare or it is something good over which to be glad with strong faith and hope.
Because of having the name "The Watchtower" this magazine justly has to render a similar useful service to the people of all nations. This is an international magazine and makes no racial distinctions, for we are all facing a common world danger, we are all hoping for a common good.
Ever since "The Watchtower" began to be published in July of 1879 it has looked ahead into the future, always striving to aid its readers to advance in knowledge and to gain a clearer picture of the glorious new order of things that is in store for righteous mankind. No, "The Watchtower" is no inspired prophet, but it follows and explains a Book of prophecy the predictions in which have proved to be unerring and unfailing till now. "The Watchtower" is therefore under safe guidance. It may be read with confidence, for its statements may be checked against that prophetic Book.
Among the many nations of today there are hundreds of differing religions. Which one does this magazine present? Not the confused religions of Christendom, but the religion of the oldest sacred Book on earth. Which Book? The Sacred Bible of the Holy Scriptures, written by inspiration in the name of the Creator of heaven and earth, the only living and true God.
The sacred, nonpolitical purpose of "The Watchtower" is accordingly to encourage and promote study of the Holy Bible and to give our many readers the needed unsectarian help to understand that Book of true religion and infallible prophecy. Thus this magazine will be helping them to prove worthy of perfect life and happiness in God's promised new order under His everlasting kingdom of righteousness.
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PUBLISHED BY THE
WATCH TOWER BIBLE AND TRACT SOCIETY OF PENNSYLVANIA
117 Adams Street
N. H. KNORE, President
"They will all be taught by Jehovah."—John 6:45; Isaiah 54:13
CONTENTS
The Refining Power of Adversity 419
True Christianity Inspires Unselfishness 421
Festivals of Praise to Jehovah 425
The Three Annual National Conventions 435
The Removal of Mankind's Chief Disturber 444
Questions from Readers
The Bible translation used in "The Watkatschwatt" is the New World Version, published in 1951. When other translations are used the following symbols are used: AS - American Standard Version Lg - Isaac Leeser's version AS - An American Translation Mc - James McFett's version AN - An American Translation (111) DP - Catholic Bible version RS - Royal Standard Version JP - Jewish Publication Society Yg - Robert Young's version
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THE Refining Power OF ADVERSITY
HOW prone we are to shrink back or try to come out from under the trials and sufferings of adversity! Yet are not all such the common lot of humankind? As patient Job exclaimed in the midst of his trials: "Man, born of woman, is short-lived and glutted with agitation." And as wise King Solomon observed, the lot of man "means pains and vexation." —Job 14:1; Eccl. 2:23.
Since adversity is the lot of humankind, why rebel against it? Adversity, regardless of its cause or nature, can actually work out good for us if we bear up under it in the right frame of mind and for the sake of principle. Not without good reason does the Bible repeatedly recommend to us the virtue of endurance. —Matt. 24:13; Heb. 12:1; 2 Pet. 1:5, 6.
Yes, submitting to conditions that cause suffering, mental or physical, can exert a refining power upon us. It can cause one to become a better person, more understanding, more unselfish. This refining power might be likened to the heat that
in olden times was used to refine gold and silver and that today is used to temper steel. Using this illustration, Jehovah God prophetically caused to be recorded of his faithful people: "I shall certainly bring the third part through the fire; and I shall actually refine them as in the refining of silver, and . . . gold." As a result of this refining work God will be able to say to them, 'You are my people,' and they will readily acknowledge, 'Jehovah is our God.'—Zech. 13:9.
How does this principle apply to our everyday lives in these modern times? For example, through misfortune, lack of good judgment or selfishness, one may have gotten into financial deep waters, so to speak. One could take the easy way out by going into personal bankruptcy, which is what many people are doing. According to U.S. News & World Report, April 3, 1967, the number of such bankruptcies for the twelve months ending June 30, 1967, would be at least 186,000. This is three times that of ten years ago and involves a loss to creditors of $1,500,000,000. But one may have quite a bit of carelessness or selfishness refined away by honoring the obligations, practicing rigid economy and working hard to meet them, if at all able to do so; not to say anything about keeping one's self-respect and a clearer conscience.
This more honorable course is the one that the psalmist of old, King David, recommended when he spoke favorably about the one that "has sworn to what is bad for himself, and yet he does not alter."
Or as worded by a modern free translation, David commended him "who stands by his pledge at any cost."—Ps. 15:4, The Jerusalem Bible.
Another example that might be given of the refining power of adversity endured because of principle and in the right frame of mind is that which at times comes to parents with the discovery that a child of theirs is what used to be called "mentally retarded," but now is more considerately and accurately described as a "slow learner." What shall they do? Become bitter and resentful? Or lightly shift their burden to a state institution and forget all about the child, as some parents have done? No, there is a better way.
True, keeping such a child at home may place quite a burden upon the rest of the family, but what possibilities the bearing of this burden holds out in the way of refining them by training them to exercise patience, sympathy, understanding and empathy; in brief, unselfishness! As one of America's leading writers—whose autobiographical book has proved a great comfort to ever so many parents with slow-learning children—expressed it: "My helpless child has taught me so much. She has taught me patience, above all else." In fact, latest medical opinion holds that if it is at all practicable, it is the best for all concerned, for society, for the parents and for the child itself, to keep it at home.—The Child Who Never Grew, Pearl Buck (1950).
Then, again, the refining power of adversity can be experienced by 'standing by one's pledge, one's marriage vows, at any cost,' in spite of keen disillusionment and disappointment. Unhappy results often follow when persons lacking in understanding marry, as in the case of teen-agers. Many seek the easy way out, by means of separation or divorce; and this is the course that many teen-agers in the United States are taking, with divorces being from three to four times as high among teen-age married persons as among older persons.
However, there are great possibilities for the refining of the personalities of each by each resolving to endure the period of adjustment needed; by learning to exercise self-control under provocation, learning to express unselfish interest in the other, thereby progressing to the emotional maturity each should have had before getting married in the first place. After all, did they not marry "for better or for worse," and does it not largely depend upon themselves as to just how much joy or pain each gets from the relationship? Those who want to make a success of it can find much helpful counsel in the Word of God, the Bible.—1 Cor. 7:10, 11; Eph. 5:22-33.
Of course, all of this has the most pertinent application to Christians who have dedicated themselves to God, for the doing of his will, and to follow in the footsteps of Jesus Christ. In carrying out their dedication they may well find hardships in the form of discipline and adversity that they had not foreseen. But by enduring they will be refined, even as indicated by the inspired words: "No discipline seems for the present to be joyous, but grievous; yet afterward to those who have been trained by it it yields peaceable fruit, namely, righteousness." And, additionally, Christians have the promise of receiving everlasting life by enduring to the end.—Heb. 12:11; Matt. 24:13.
True Christianity
INSPIRES
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Unselfishness
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SHE was a young Puerto Rican, the mother of two small children, and her husband was the village barber. She also was a devoutly religious person, so much so, in fact, that she worried herself sick over the torments of purgatory and hell. She would go about clenching a crucifix. The doctors could not do anything for her; her priests gave her pills but they did not help. What finally brought relief to this young mother? It was
How did it do so in times past? What proof is there that it does so today?
learning that "God is love," that "the wages sin pays is death," and that true Christianity causes one to be concerned about others and not merely with oneself. —1 John 4:8; Rom. 6:23.
That a devoutly religious person should find herself in such a frame of mind is not at all surprising. Apparently the entire tenor of her religious teaching was to be concerned with self, and such concern can easily go to extremes, as can be seen in the case of ascetics and mystics. In days gone by, very devout persons literally tortured themselves, as Martin Luther did as a monk and priest, in their concern over the saving of their own souls.
However, this self-centered way of viewing religion often brings forth a very different kind of fruit. A case in point is that of the priests that offended the Nazis and were interred in the Dachau concentration camp during World War II. Telling about them is Nerin E. Gun, in his book The Day of the Americans (1966). He himself was and is a devout Catholic, who, as a correspondent of a neutral country, was nevertheless jailed by the Nazis and landed at Dachau because of his honest
dispatches out of Berlin during the last world war.
In his book he has the following to say about these priests, who must certainly have had some strong convictions or the Nazis would not have locked them up in this camp: "Mass was said in the chapel of Block 26, the priests' block. Entry to this chapel was only given to a privileged few . . . This Block 26 had at first been open to all Catholic priests as a kind of concession to the Vatican. Conditions there were better than elsewhere in the camp and many packages were received from the outside." However, this chapel was later made off limits to all non-German priests as well, even as it had been for all of the rest of the camp's internees, Roman Catholics though they may have been. "A Bavarian priest stood guard outside the door, blackjack in hand, and woe to anyone who tried to get by him" in order to benefit from the religious services inside.
Mr. Gun next quotes a devout top member of the French Catholic Party who was also in this camp at Dachau: "We were thrown out of the chapel, sometimes with punches to boot .
. . Of course, the Block was full of packages . . . Where might it not have led if all the camps' starvelings had suddenly felt overcome with piety and thereby come in contact with the stores of food stuffs kept in the priests' lockers?"* Had those priests taken seriously their beliefs as to the reality of the torments of purgatory and hell, would they have denied the "lay" members of their faith the benefits of their religion? Obviously they were more concerned with their own physical needs than with the spiritual needs of their fellow Catholics.
Yes, contradictory though it may seem, what was wrong with that young Puerto Rican mother was also what was wrong with these German priests in the Dachau concentration camp. And what was that? They both labored under the misapprehension that Christianity is a selfish proposition, that one can be a good Christian and yet be chiefly concerned with one's self. But not so. In fact, an identifying mark of true Christianity, distinguishing it from imitations, is its capacity to inspire unselfishness in its devotees.
THE EXAMPLE OF THE APOSTLES
Not that a Christian is not to be concerned with his own spiritual needs, his own salvation. Indeed he must. He is under obligation to do so; is encouraged to do so. (Matt. 5:3) That is why we read that to please God we must not only "believe that he is," that he exists, but also "that he becomes the rewarder of those earnestly seeking him." (Heb. 11:6) But Christianity does not stop with this. It is only the start. Proof of this is seen in Christianity's very beginnings. Why did Jesus Christ invite Peter and Andrew,
James and John to leave their fishing business and follow him? Merely that they might be saved? No, but that they might become fishers of men, that they might bring salvation to others.—Matt. 4:19-22.
In particular let us consider the apostle Paul, concerning whom the Scriptures have more to say than of any other of Jesus' followers. As a learned Pharisee he was held in high esteem and had a most promising future ahead of him. But upon becoming a Christian he turned his back on all the advantages and prospects he enjoyed as a Pharisee and devoted his life to bringing Christianity to others, unselfishly putting their interests ahead of his own, even as he tells us: "For, though I am free from all persons, I have made myself the slave to all, that I may gain the most persons. And so to the Jews I became as a Jew, that I might gain Jews . . . To those without law I became as without law, . . . that I might gain those without law. To the weak I became weak, that I might gain the weak. I have become all things to people of all sorts, that I might by all means save some. But I do all things for the sake of the good news, that I may become a sharer of it with others."—1 Cor. 9:19-23.
And what did this putting the interests of others ahead of his own involve? As he himself tells us: "By Jews I five times received forty strokes less one, three times I was beaten with rods, once I was stoned, three times I experienced shipwreck, a night and a day I have spent in the deep; . . . in dangers from highwaymen, . . . in dangers in the wilderness, . . . in hunger and thirst, . . . in cold and nakedness," and so on. Did Paul endure all this merely for his own salvation? No, that did not require such heroic exploits. He did it primarily for the honor of his Maker and to bring salvation to others. That is also why he wrote fourteen of the twentyseven books of the so-called New Testament.
No question about the apostle Paul's having become fully saturated with Christianity's spirit of unselfishness!—2 Cor. 11:22-33.
That unselfishness was indeed a characteristic of early Christianity is testified to by secular historians. Thus C. Brinton, J. Christopher and R. Wolff state in their book, A History of Civilization: "The Christian was by no means content with the prospects of his own salvation. His acceptance of the will of God was not passive. He was from the first an ardent missionary, anxious to convert others." These authors also speak of the "unselfishness, unself-consciousness" of Christianity, adding: "In the true Christian life all men are one, and subsidiary groups are a distraction—or worse, a padding for the selfish ego. The important thing is for the individual to avoid all kinds of personal triumphs over others, all competitive successes, all the things that set off and sharpen his ego . . . The ideal of unselfishness is there. Christianity tries to tame the more extravagant flights of the competitive human spirit, tries to subdue self-assertiveness, trulence, boasting, pride, and other manifestations of the 'natural' man." The Christian was "not only to subdue his own ego; he should open his heart in loving kindness to all his fellow men."* It may well be asked, To what extent have agnostics and atheists displayed such missionary zeal? Whoever heard of their going into the heart of Africa, or any other foreign land, for that matter, to enlighten superstitious natives the way thousands of Christian missionaries have?
JEHOVAH GOD AND JESUS CHRIST UNSELFISH
It can be no other way. Why not? Because the Bible shows us that Jehovah God
and Jesus Christ are the personifications of unselfishness. Jehovah God, the self-existent One, who never had a beginning, has ever been self-contained. He did not need to create. His doing so was entirely motivated by love, by unselfishness. Further, he showed great unselfishness in permitting the first human pair to continue living after their meriting death by reason of their rebellion; and in particular did Jehovah God express love by sending his dear and only-begotten Son to earth to die for our sins. As the loving apostle John wrote: "God is love. By this the love of God was made manifest in our case, because God sent forth his only-begotten Son into the world that we might gain life through him. The love is in this respect, not that we have loved God, but that he loved us and sent forth his Son as a propitiatory sacrifice for our sins."—1 John 4:8-10.
'Like father, like son,' may well be said about Jesus Christ's imitating his heavenly Father in being unselfish. Well could he therefore say: "He that has seen me has seen the Father," for Jesus acted just the way his Father would have acted under the same circumstances. Jesus had a glorious prehuman existence in the heavens before he came to earth, existing in God's form. He left all this and came to earth, not for his own salvation, not to be served, but to serve "and to give his soul [life] a ransom in exchange for many." —John 14:9; Matt. 20:28; Phil. 2:5-8.
Yes, as the apostle Paul also noted: "You know the undeserved kindness of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich he became poor for your sakes, that you might become rich through his poverty." Jesus said he had no place to lay his head, not a place he could call his own, yet how rich he could have been had he wanted to profit financially as so many professed healers do today!—2 Cor. 8:9;
Luke 9:58.
WHAT ABOUT TODAY?
Yes, what about today? Does true Christianity inspire unselfishness in our times, in this last third of the twentieth century, as it did nineteen centuries ago? Yes, it does. Among whom? Among the Christian witnesses of Jehovah. They have an organization patterned after the early Christians' in which there is no clergylaity distinction but in which every Christian is a minister of the good news. The emphasis in their training is on giving, not on receiving, giving of their time to serve Jehovah and others, giving of their energy and their means. Many of these enter the full-time field ministry even though they know that it of itself is not required of everyone in order to gain salvation, everlasting life.
In their local congregations there are "servants" who take the lead. These have specific duties to perform in ministering to the spiritual needs of the congregation that consume much time and energy and that represent weighty burdens of responsibility. Do they receive any financial or honorary remuneration? No, they do not, no more than did the early Christians. They all serve their God and their brothers out of love, unselfishly, knowing that 'there is more happiness in giving than in receiving.'—Acts 20:35.
and the service goals toward which they were striving.
Illustrating this principle is the following true-life incident. A Brooklyn Jewish youth once accepted an invitation to attend a certain meeting at the local Kingdom Hall, at which the Witnesses received instructions for the field ministry. Among other things considered was the report of the previous month's ministerial activity
Afterward he asked his Witness friend: "Did you meet the goals during the past month?" His Witness friend assured him that he had. The youth then asked: "What do you get when you meet the goals?" He was told that there was no reward other than the satisfaction of having done well in Jehovah's service. He next asked: "What happens if you fail to meet the goals? What are the penalties?" He was told: "No one is penalized for failing to meet the goals." It all seemed so incredible to this Jewish youth, who had ever measured motivation by material considerations.
Giving eloquent testimony to the power of true Christianity to inspire unselfishness is the annual Yearbook of Jehovah's Witnesses, which, in addition to listing the activities of the Witnesses in every land, nearly 200 now, in which they are active, also gives hundreds of pages of interesting field experiences. The latest edition shows that during the previous year, 1,058,675 Christian proclaimers of the "good news" preached monthly, devoting a total of more than 170 million hours during the year, making more than 60 million return visits on interested persons and monthly conducting upward of 800,000 Bible studies in the homes of the people.
And all this is just as it should be. Since God is love, the very personification of unselfishness, the true worship of him must inspire unselfishness. His Son came to earth to set us a perfect example, and in God's Word we find many other fine examples. It is by producing such fruit that Christians glorify their God Jehovah and prove that they are indeed disciples of Jesus Christ.—John 15:8.
FESTIVALS OF PRAISE TO JEHOVAH
FESTIVALS are occasions of joy, as we read in Deuteronomy 16:14:
"The seasonal festivals of Jehovah that you should proclaim are holy conventions."—Lev. 23:2.
"And you must rejoice during your festival." This is especially true if a feast is celebrated in praise of Jehovah, the Almighty God. When Jehovah organized his people into a nation back in the year 1513 B.C.E., he gave them many festivals. They are listed in Leviticus, chapter 23. Every seventh day was a sabbath, a day of complete rest, "a holy convention." The Passover was celebrated on Nisan 14, followed
2 These festivals not only were occasions of joy and physical rest, but were primarily occasions of religious and spiritual upbuilding. They were festivals of Jehovah, to his praise and honor. By means of these festivals Jehovah, the great King and Lawgiver, the Organizer of the nation, taught his people his divine will and purpose, together with many basic principles, and gave them the opportunity of expressing their appreciation and gratitude to Jehovah for his goodness and mer-
by the festival of unfermented cakes, which lasted seven days. Fifty days from Nisan 16, when the firstfruits of the barley harvest were offered, was the feast of weeks, also known as Pentecost. On the first day of the seventh month was the festival of trumpets, and on the tenth day the people celebrated the great day of atonement. This cycle of festivals was concluded with the most joyous one of all, the festival of booths, which was kept from the fifteenth to the twenty-first of the same month, with a final holy convention on
cy and for all the blessings he had provided during the year. In addition, and this is most important to us, Jehovah not only teaches Christians the same principles today, but also by means of these Jewish festivals he has made many prophecies that find fulfillment in our day. In other words, Jehovah, with the people of a whole nation as actors, has produced on the vast stage of the country of Palestine, and especially of the city of Jerusalem, scenes that are "a shadow of the good things to come." (Heb. 10:1) So by watching the Israelites celebrating their festi-
the twenty-second. In the course of time additional festivals were added, such as the monthly new moon, the festival of Purim and the festival of Dedication, thus making more days for special observance in worship to Jehovah.—Num. 10:10.
vals, we today receive instruction on important things fulfilled in our time, and are in addition taught many lessons regarding Jehovah's will, his purposes and principles. Therefore, let us sit back now and watch the players as they enact the scenes of each of these Jewish festivals. 2. (a) What did Jehovah teach his people by means of festivals? (b) Why do Christians today study these
SABBATH
3 "Six days may work be done, but on the seventh day is a sabbath of complete rest, a holy convention. You may do no sort of work. It is a sabbath to Jehovah in all places where you dwell." (Lev. 23:
3) The Israelites received a sabbath regulation shortly after their deliverance from slavery in
Egypt on their way to Mount Sinai. It became fully expressed in the fourth of the Ten Commandments. (Ex. 20:8-11) The sabbath day began at sunset of the sixth day and lasted till sunset of the seventh day. In Jesus' time, six loud trumpet blasts on the sixth day, three at about the ninth hour (3 p.m.) and three at sunset, heralded its beginning. The sabbath was a day of complete rest, even for slaves and beasts. It was Jehovah's day, a day he had blessed and set apart for observance. Recognizing and obediently carrying out the purpose of the sabbath would bring true enjoyment. (Isa. 58:13, 14) But willfully breaking it would bring the infliction of the death penalty.
4 The Israelites could appreciate the value of such a humanitarian law after being slaves under the cruel Egyptian rule. By ceasing from secular work the Jews were able to concentrate on prayer, worship and meditation upon God's Word. In fact,
the sabbath was a day of great religious activity. The priests were busier than on the other days of the week. There were two lambs to be offered along with the two offered every day as a constant burnt offering (Num. 28:9, 10), and the twelve loaves of showbread were changed in the holy place. (Lev. 24:5-8) A holy convention was held, an assembly of public worship and instruction. The people were instructed in the law of God. In the time of Jesus' apostles, as we read in Acts 15:21, Moses was "read aloud in the synagogues on every sabbath." What a grand provision for a whole nation to have a day off every week to worship their God, to assemble together and to be educated in God's laws, free from the daily toil and all its worries! It made them appreciate the goodness of their God, Jehovah, and reminded them of the miraculous deliverance from bondage in Egypt. Each sabbath was refreshing to the body and each and all felt spiritually uplifted.
9 It is good to know that this weekly sabbath of the Jews is only "a shadow of the good things to come." The Bible indicates that Jehovah created the heavens and the earth in six days, each 7,000 years in length. On the seventh day Jehovah rested from his creative work and entered into his sabbath. Mankind, however, did not keep peaceful rest or sabbath with Jehovah, but through disobedience came into bondage to sin, imperfection and death. Almost six thousand years of the seventh day have passed and there is only a little more than a thousand years left. Jesus, speaking of the weekly sabbath day, said: "The sabbath came into existence for the sake of man, and not man for the sake of the sabbath." So these last thousand years are set aside by Jehovah for a special purpose foreshadowed by the weekly sabbath of the Jews, namely, for the reign of Christ Jesus, his Son, for Jesus went on to say: "Hence the Son of man is Lord even of the sabbath." (Mark 2:27, 28) It is a thousand-year sabbath within Jehovah's great 7,000-year sabbath of rest. Like the weekly sabbath, the greater
thousand-year sabbath will be devoted to the worship of Jehovah, and to the education of all the living, including those resurrected from the memorial tombs, in the righteous requirements of Jehovah.—Heb. 10:1; Gen. 2:1-3; John 5:28, 29.
a Back in the years 29 to 33 C.E. Jesus performed many powerful works, especially on the sabbath. He caused the blind to see and the deaf to
hear, the crippled to walk and the sick to
become well, and he even raised some from the dead. Thus he foreshadowed what wondrous works of deliverance and relief he will perform during the thousand-year sabbath day of his reign. No one will be permitted to disturb the peace and rest of this day, as was foreshadowed by putting to death all sabbath breakers. (Num. 15:32-36) During this thousand-year sabbath, mankind will receive real refreshment for body and spirit, gradually progressing to perfection, being able to enjoy to the full all the goodness that Jehovah provides through his King, Christ Jesus, rendering whole-souled worship and obedience to Him. It is a delightful experience to anticipate that, after six thousand years of toil and bondage to sin, imperfection and death under Satan's cruel rule, believing mankind now stand on the threshold of their greatest deliverance, to enjoy a far greater sabbath over which God's Son is Lord. What a joyous day!
NEW MOON AND THE FESTIVAL OF TRUMPETS 7 In two passages the law of Moses gives
s the law of Moses gives instructions about the observance of the new moon, which marked the beginning of each month. Trumpets were to be sounded and special sacrifices were to be offered, just as on the other days of rejoicing and festal seasons. (Num. 10:10; 28:11-15) In the course of time observance of the new moon developed into an important festival, being mentioned alongside sabbaths and "festal seasons." (Isa. 1:13; Ezek. 46:1; Hos. 2:11) The Law did not 7. What were some features marking the festival of the new moon?
specify that all sorts of work were to cease on the day of the new moon of the ordinary month. But we find the prophet Amos, in the ninth century B.C.E., reproving the merchants who were anxiously waiting for the end of the new moon so that they could resume their fraudulent business, which fact indicated that it was customary for the people neither to trade nor to engage in secular work on new-moon days, but to employ the day in gatherings and association.—Amos 8:5; 1 Sam. 20:5, 24.
Like the sabbath, the new moon was a day for special worship and a favorable occasion for public instruction in the temple. It was a busy day for the prophets and other ministers of God, since it was customary for people who had problems to go to see these servants of God and to receive private instruction and help. (Ezek. 46:1; 2 Ki. 4:22, 23) Special provisions were laid down in the law for the new moon of the seventh month, called Ethanim or Tishri, and it was considered a holy convention. It was specifically stated that no laborious work of any sort should be done on this day. Thus, in addition to the fifty-two weekly sabbaths, the Jews had twelve more special days each year in which to praise and worship Jehovah and to receive education in his Word. The fact that Jehovah provided for so much religious instruction and activity should teach Christians today the importance of setting aside time in which to worship Jehovah and to study his Word, privately and with the Christian congregation.
THE DAY OF ATONEMENT
a In the month of Ethanim, nine days after the joyous festival of trumpets another celebration was scheduled. It was Israel's most important day, the day of atonement, to be observed on the tenth day of the seventh month. A holy convention was held and no sort of work was done. The Israelites were commanded to afflict their souls, most likely by fasting. In Leviticus, chapter 16, the procedure of the whole day is outlined in minute detail. To get the most benefit from this study we would like to encourage you to read the entire chapter. As you notice, the high priest presented a young bull for the sins of Aaron and his household, and tribe of Levi, and two goats, one, the goat "for Jehovah," to be slaughtered as a sin-offering for the rest of the nation and the other to be kept as a live goat "for Azazel." After first going with incense into the Most Holy of the tabernacle, the high priest brought some of the blood of the two sin-offerings, first of the bull, then of the goat, into the Most Holy, to be sprinkled before the cover of the Ark. Later the animal carcasses were taken outside the camp and burned. After the high priest confessed all the sins of the people over the live goat, it was led away into the wilderness, never to return. Afterward the high priest bathed and changed garments. Then two rams were offered as burnt offerings, one for Aaron and his house and the other for the rest of the nation.
10 While the day of atonement in Israel was spiritually uplifting and encouraging, it was a shadow of something far greater, pointing the Jews to the Messiah the Deliverer who was to come, for their animal sacrifices could never actually take away sins. Sincere Hebrews who kept the Law to the best of their ability could see that "men can never with the same sacrifices from year to year which they offer continually make those who approach perfect.
Otherwise, would the sacrifices not have stopped being offered . . . ? To the contrary, by these sacrifices there is a reminding of sins from year to year." (Heb. 10:1-3) Faithful Jews, by following the atonement-day sacrifices, were thereby di-
fices they offered "are not able to make the man doing sacred service perfect as respects his conscience." However, when the high priest of Israel performed his services, the Israelites enjoyed a measure of satisfaction. They were doing God's will for their time, because "they were legal requirements pertaining to the flesh and
rected to look for the greater High Priest with the better sacrifice, the real one that could remove sins. In the Psalms it is shown that the redemption price was so precious that it was completely beyond the reach of any of them. (Ps. 49:7, 8) The apostle Paul, a faithful Hebrew, said: "Consequently the Law has become our tutor leading to Christ, that we might be declared righteous due.
declared righteous due to faith."—Gal. 3:24.
11 The apostle, therefore, devotes consid-
were imposed until the appointed time to set things straight."—Heb. 9:1-10.
12 Now the apostle goes ahead to explain that the things of the Law, including the day of atonement, were pictorial of far grander things. He says: "However, when Christ came as a high priest of the good things that have come to pass through the greater and more perfect tent not made with hands, that is, not of this creation, he entered, no, not with the blood of goats and of young bulls, but with his own blood, once for all time into
erable space in his letter to the Hebrews to show the significance of these things. He describes the tabernacle and its features, with the high priest's entering the Most Holy on only one day in the year with the blood of animals, to offer sacrifices not only for the sins of the people but also for himself, and
the holy place and obtained an everlasting deliverance for us." (Heb. 9: 11, 12) The tent in the wilderness was an arrangement of God whereby the Israelites could approach him through their high priest and receive a typical forgiveness of sin, which
says: "Thus the holy spirit makes it plain that the way into the holy place had not yet
been made manifest while the first tent was standing. This very tent is an illustration for the appointed time that is now here." Then he points out that the sacri-
would keep them in God's favor and hold them in line until his time to
provide the real sacrifice. During this time they were clean in a fleshly sense, for Paul says that they were sanctified to the extent of cleanness of the flesh.—Heb. 9:13.
18 But, now, what is "the greater and more perfect tent not made with hands"?
It is no literal structure, but is God's arrangement for atonement for humankind. God has also provided the great High Priest, Jesus, the perfect One, who needed to offer no sacrifice for himself; his sacrifice could cover the sins of others. Through Jehovah's provision he was resurrected in the spirit and appeared in the real Most Holy, heaven itself, where God had established the legal arrangement for him to offer the value of his sacrifice. (Heb. 9:24) Referring to this, Paul says: "How much more will the blood of the Christ, who through an everlasting spirit offered himself without blemish to God, cleanse our consciences from dead works that we may render sacred service to the living God?" (Heb. 9:14) Those coming to him therefore experience more than a cleanness of the flesh. They can actually have rest from the tormenting consciousness of sin and enjoy the good conscience that they have requested from God through Christ.—1 Pet. 3:21.
THE ANTITYPICAL ATONEMENT DAY
14 Israel's day of atonement took up the daylight hours of the tenth day of the seventh month. What period of time is occupied by the great antitypical day of atonement? Well, it began at the time of Jesus' baptism, when he presented himself to do God's will in taking up a sacrificial course in the fall of 29 C.E., just as the bull and the two goats were presented at the altar in the tabernacle courtyard. The day continued into the year 33 C.E., during which time he served as
the goat "for Azazel," keeping perfect integrity under test and cruel persecution to death by Satan, bearing the sins of the people off into the "wilderness," into oblivion forever. (Isa. 53:3-7) His prayers, devotion and course of integrity, like the incense brought into the Most Holy, pleased Jehovah and fulfilled Jesus' primary purpose in coming to earth as God's Vindicator. The antitypical day of atonement included his ascension into heaven, which is parallel to the entry of the high priest into the Most Holy with the blood of the bull and then of the goat. Jesus came through his sacrificial work clean, pure, now clothed in the changed "garments" of glory and immortality as High Priest forever according to the manner of Melchizedek. (Heb. 6:20) But with the bringing of the value of his lifeblood into the Most Holy the antitypical day of atonement was brought to an end. a
15 The apostle Paul indicates that the applying of the benefits of the great day of atonement is another thing when he goes on to say: "And as it is reserved for men to die once for all time [due to Adam's sin], but after this a judgment, so also the Christ was offered once for all time to bear the sins of many [who inherited sin from Adam]; and the second time that he appears it will be apart from sin and to those earnestly looking for him for their salvation." (Heb. 9:27, 28) All men have fallen under the condemnation of sin due to descent from their forefather Adam. But through Christ "judgment" is provided apart from Adamic sin so that all may have opportunity to be relieved of the disability that came upon them through no fault of their own and may prove themselves individually.
(Rom. 8: 20) All who will profit from the ransom must have it applied to them to get its healing benefits. They cannot save themselves by mere knowledge that the ransom has been offered in heaven. They must repent and rest by faith and obedience in the provision of Christ's sacrifice and his services as High Priest. They cannot do any "laborious work" of their own by attempts at self-justification by self-works. So the High Priest still has work to do in applying the benefits of his sinatoning sacrifice.—Heb. 4:3, 10.
18 The application of Christ's ransom has two aspects just as there were two sin-offerings on Israel's atonement day. Having paid the value of his human life to his Father Jehovah and having purchased the human race, Christ must now apply the ransom benefits to mankind. We remember that Aaron sprinkled the blood of the bull before the ark of the covenant in behalf of the priestly tribe of Levi. From 33 C.E. to the present time, Christ, from heaven, has blessed his 144,000 anointed spiritual brothers by applying the benefits of his sacrifice directly to them. They are brought into the new covenant, to be kings and priests with Christ during his thousand-year sabbath reign. (Luke 22:20; Rev. 20:6) But they are not the only beneficiaries of Christ's sacrifice. The blood of the goat for Jehovah was sprinkled after that of the bull, for the people. Christ's sacrifice was for all mankind and must be applied impartially to all who exercise faith. When?
27 It will take the thousand years of Christ's reign to apply the benefits of his
ransom sacrifice to all those who by faith take hold of it, including those resurrected from Sheol or Hades. (Rev. 20:13) By the end of the thousand years the seed of Abraham will have brought blessings to all families of the earth. (Gen. 12:3; 22:18) All who will avail themselves of the blessing will have been brought to perfection. Then the work of applying the benefits of the great atonement day will have been completed. The benefits of the ransom sacrifice of Christ will have been applied in completion, impartially, and Jehovah's great day of atonement will prove not to have been in vain.
A DWELLING PLACE FOR PERFECT HUMANS
28 Now, Jesus' ransom covered the purchase of the human race and operates to bring them to perfection. But what about the earth, the home in which they are to live? When looking at God's original purpose in the garden of Eden, we see that the garden was a sanctuary, a place for God to dwell in by spirit. It was a place of perfection and beauty, a proper environment for those who would serve their God in perfect holiness. Since Jehovah will again dwell with men and they will come into relationship with him again as sons, it follows that a paradise earth is concomitant with the perfection of mankind. This means that the entire earth will be made a paradise according to the pattern of Jehovah, the great Architect who originally purposed it so. How uplifting and encouraging it is to understand the prophetic meaning of the typical atonement day and the benefits that follow therefrom! —Rom. 8:20, 21.
FESTIVAL OF PURIM
10 In about the year 474 B.C.E. another festival was added to the list of Jewish feasts.
The historic events that caused Mordecai to inaugurate this two-day festival, called Purim, are of such important prophetic meaning and encouragement to Christians today that we would like to discuss them with you. The Jews were under Persian rule and scattered throughout the 127 provinces. A certain Haman, an Amalekite and hater of the Jews, was chief of all the princes of the Persian Empire. This man had determined in his heart to exterminate all the Jews in the entire Persian realm. As a religious and superstitious man he asked his gods on what day he should order the Jews to be exterminated, by casting the Pur, or Lot. The Lot fell on the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, or Adar. This gave him about one year to prepare the slaughter, since the Lot was cast in the first month. But it also gave the Jews time to turn to their God and pray for deliverance and to prepare for it.—Esther 9:20-22; 3:1-7.
20 Now Haman, after knowing the date
superstitiously selected, presented his request before the king, representing the Jews as a seditious and dangerous people, not obeying the laws of the king, but having their own
king granted the request. The law was issued to kill the Jews in the whole Persian realm on the thirteenth day of Adar. It seemed as if Haman had reached the zenith of his glory. But things changed fast.—Esther 3:9-15.
customs different from all the people. Haman said that the money necessary to defray the expenses of the slaughter would be forthcoming—it would not cost the crown anything—that ten thousand silver talents (about $8,456,400) would be brought into the king's treasury. The
21 Through the fearless action of Queen Esther, herself a Jewess, a counterlaw was issued granting the Jews the right to "stand for their souls, to annihilate and kill and destroy all . . . that were showing hostility to them. . . . on the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, that is, the month of Adar." Under the fine leadership of faithful Mordecai the Jews were preparing their defense. And when the day arrived, they were assisted not only by the Persian people but, according to the historic record, by "all the princes . . . and the satraps and the governors and the doers of the business that belonged to the king . . . for the dread of Mordecai had fallen upon them. . . . and there was an avenging of themselves upon their enemies and a killing among those hating them of seventy-five thousand." In Shushan the Castle the fight extended into the next day, with a total of 810 of the enemy killed, including Haman's ten sons. The Jews in the provinces and in Shushan banqueted on the fourteenth and fifteenth days respectively.
Consequently, Mordecai put them under obligation to keep the fourteenth and fifteenth days of the month of Adar in each and every year "as days of banqueting and rejoicing and sending of portions to one another and of gifts to the poor people." The Jews were thereby reminded every year of their deliverance, and year by year they gave praise and honor to Jehovah, the God of deliverance.—Esther 8:9 to 9:22.
MODERN-DAY FULFILLMENT
22 Like the Jews back in Mordecai's day, the small number on earth of Christ's spiritual brothers, the "remnant" of spiritual Israel, have been accused of being seditious and a security risk. Their extermination as witnesses for the Most High, Jehovah, had been decreed by the modern-day Haman class, the religious leaders of Christendom. Jesus Christ, exercising regal power over the entire earth since 1914 as Ahasuerus did over the Persian Empire, has permitted such vicious attempts upon the life of the remnant under all kinds of false accusations, for a severe test. But as the Persian king permitted the Jews to fight for their lives, so, too, Christ Jesus has allowed the remnant to stand for their lives as Jehovah's witnesses against their enemies.
23 Would the religious clergy of Christendom, with the help of the political state, be able to kill the remnant as Jehovah's witnesses, kill their work of preaching Jehovah's kingdom? Never! As the Jews in Ahasuerus' time, the Lord's people have fought zealously for their lives and rights as preachers and witnesses, not with material weapons of destruction, but using all the legal means at their disposal, together with the "sword of the spirit, that is, God's Word." (Eph. 6:13-17) They have steadfastly continued preaching the good news of the established Kingdom. With their spiritual weapons and the use of all available legal means, not only have they preserved their spiritual lives as witnesses of Jehovah and the right of preaching his name world wide, but they have
symbolically "killed" many attackers by killing the power and influence of their enemies, who were unable to kill their preaching work.
24 The work of the remnant has killed the influence of false religion to such a degree that thousands of honest-hearted people have left its ranks and have taken sides with the remnant, just as it was in the days of Mordecai: "Many of the peoples of the land were declaring themselves Jews." (Esther 8:17) There they had seen that the king's favor had turned away from Haman to the Jews, even making provision for their preservation. Thus since 1931, and with special momentum since 1935, many people have been impressed as they have seen the evidence of God's favor upon the small remnant of spiritual Jews. They have observed the fight of the remnant to save their lives as Jehovah's Christian witnesses against the whole world. They have been awakened to a lively interest in the remnant's firmly maintained fight for true worship and clean moral principles. Even some men of high worldly status, like the princes and governors of Mordecai's day, have assisted the remnant in their fight with what official or judicial help they could lend. In the eyes of the remnant and the "great crowd" of people who have joined the remnant in preaching the good news of the Kingdom, the antitypical religious leaders are already without power and influence, they are dead, and it is only a matter of a short time until Jesus Christ, who holds regal power, will bring about the total extermination of all his enemies on earth in the battle of Armageddon. Until then, many more people will take their stand with the remnant, as pictured in the drama. Thus the anciently celebrated festival of Purim has an antitypical significance that gives Christians today the unfailing hope of God's victory over all his enemies.
FESTIVAL OF DEDICATION
25 The background leading to the inauguration of the festival of Dedication is very interesting. In the year 198 B.C.E.
Palestine came under the rule of the Syrian king, Antiochus III. His son, Antiochus IV Ephiphanes, was a religious fanatic. He made great efforts to
temple, the sanctuary was cleansed and rededicated to Jehovah. This was a memorable day, and is remembered by the Jews even down to our present day. Year by year on the 25th of Chislev (November-December) the Jews celebrated the dedication of the temple. The festival lasted
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convert the Jews to the Greek religion. He looted the temple in Jerusalem and put into office a high priest favoring the Hellenizing process. In defiance of Jehovah he redicated the temple and assigned it to the Olympian Zeus or Jupiter. He erected a new pagan altar on top of the great altar of Jehovah in the temple courtyard, where the daily burnt offerings to Jehovah were formerly offered. Finally, on Chislev 25, 168 B.C.E., the first sacrifice was offered on this pagan altar to the honor of Zeus of Mount Olympus in Greece. Copies of the Law were burned, and to have one in possession was punishable by death. Circumcision was a capital crime and the Jews were even forced to eat the flesh of swine.
25 This desecration of the sanctuary of Jehovah and the Hellenizing of the Jews by cruel force led to the uprising under the leadership of the Maccabees in the year 167 B.C.E. For three years the Syrians waged a bitter war against the Jews but were finally defeated, despite the Syrians' overwhelming military force. Jerusalem was recaptured by the Jews in 165 B.C.E., and on Chislev 25, or exactly three years after the Syrians had desecrated the 25. What brought about the need for redefining the
for eight days. They assembled in the temple or in the synagogues of their localities. According to Jewish tradition, it was an occasion of much joy and festivity. Thus by accretion the festival of Dedication was added to those mentioned in the law of Moses.
27 The cleansing of Jehovah's temple from pagan idolatry was certainly a good reason for a joyful feast to be commemorated annually. Jehovah preserved the temple until the Messiah should arrive. Jesus Christ himself was present at the temple during the days of the dedication festival. (John 10:22, 23) But the Jews had long before that ceased to act in harmony with this festival and had themselves polluted the temple in such a way that Jesus told them they were making this "house of prayer" into a "cave of robbers." Their apostasy even led them to the rejection of their Messiah, which, in turn, caused Jesus to tell them: "Look! Your house is abandoned to you." So we see that festivals are to the praise and honor of Jehovah only if those celebrating are also acting in harmony with the meaning of the festival. (Matt. 21:13; 23:38) In the next article we are going to discuss a further exciting provision in connection with Jehovah's "seasonal festivals," and will see how Jehovah is having them fulfilled in a way that brings honor to his name.
The Three Annual National CONVENTIONS
BESIDES the festivals that the Jews celebrated locally, in their hometowns and villages, there were provisions made for three great national conventions. They were holy conventions to Jehovah, and the law commanded: "Three times in the year every male of yours should appear before Jehovah your God in the place that he will choose." Thus it was Jehovah's desire to have the whole nation assembled together at one place three times a year, at a place of His own choice. From the days of King Solomon this place was the temple in Jerusalem. Jehovah also set the time and outlined the program for these annual gatherings. The first convention was to be held in early spring and lasted eight days, from Nisan 14 to 21, to celebrate the Passover and the festival of unfermented cakes. Late in spring, on Sivan 6, a one-day convention was held, to keep the festival of weeks or Pentecost. The third and last convention was scheduled for the fall, Ethanim 15 to 21, and was dedicated to the festival of booths, with a solemn final convention day on Ethanim 22.—Deut. 16:16; Lev. 23:4-22, 33-36; Ex. 23:14-17.
"Three times in the year every male of yours should appear before Jehovah your God in the place that he will choose." —Deut. 16:16.
2 These conventions were "seasonal festivals of Jehovah" and "none should appear before Jehovah empty-handed. The gift of each one's hand should be in proportion to the blessing of Jehovah your God that he has given you." But this does not mean that those attending these conventions would not benefit themselves greatly from the gathering. The fellowship made them appreciate the fact that they were one people, one holy nation, unitedly
serving Jehovah, the only true God. The daily worship at the temple, the praise and thanksgiving publicly offered to Jehovah for his goodness and his blessings, the counsel given by the priests, all this strenthed the conventioners to continue faithfully serving Jehovah. The festivals were an encouragement for all, especially for those coming from faraway or isolated places. They were occasions of great rejoicing before Jehovah and happy fellowship, joyful, upbuilding reunions of the entire nation.—Lev. 23:4; Deut. 16:16, 17; Lev. 23:40; Deut. 14:24-27.
5 Jehovah knew well how vital these annual national assemblies were for the unity of the nation and the purity of his worship throughout the entire country. That is why he commanded attendance of all the males and, as to the Passover, he decreed the death penalty upon every male Israelite who was qualified to attend, being ceremonially clean and who "did not happen to be off on a journey," if he should deliberately fail to observe it. (Num. 9:13) Many of the Israelite family heads esteemed the educational, upbuilding and social value of these conventions so highly that they did not go alone up to Jerusalem, but took their wives and children along with them. What an exciting and interesting trip for a family and what a lasting impression upon those young minds!
And many families heeded the counsel in the law to put some money aside each month to attend these annual conventions, and so these trips were not too great a financial burden. Joseph the foster father of Jesus was such a considerate and loving family head. His household was "accustomed to go from year to year to Jerusalem for the festival of the passover."—Luke 2:41-50.
4 This going up to Jerusalem of all male Israelites three times a year to attend the conventions, either alone or with the whole family, was a test of strong faith in Jehovah's protection. Why? The historic account in the Hebrew Scriptures shows that the Jews were surrounded by enemies and had to fight constantly for their independence. There were the Philistines, the Syrians, the Amalekites, the Amorites, the Ammonites and Moabites, the Egyptians, the Assyrians and the Babylonians, all with a greedy eye on the land of Palestine. What an opportunity, it would appear, for these enemies to attack the land with all the men at the festivals
in Jerusalem! Only a few women and children were left at home. Would an entire nation put faith in Jehovah to protect the country, the vacant cities and homes according to his promise that "nobody will desire your land while you are going up to see the face of Jehovah your God three times in the year?" (Ex. 34:24) But let us turn our attention again to the stage set in Jerusalem and watch the Jews at their annual gatherings; it will be for our encouragement and upbuilding.
FESTIVAL OF THE PASSOVER
At the observance of this Passover on Nisan 14, when the small Jewish son would ask his father: "What does this service mean to you?" (Ex. 12:26) then the father would answer: "It was on Nisan 14 [1513 B.C.E.], when our forefathers had been dwelling 215 years in Egypt, much of this time as ill-treated slaves under harsh Egyptian rule, that Jehovah delivered his people and proved himself mightier than all the gods of the Egyptians. Four days previously, on the tenth of the month, each family head had to take into the house a sound male lamb or goat, a year old. After sunset of Nisan 14 it was slaughtered without a bone's being broken and then roasted whole. Meantime the blood was splashed upon the upper part of the doorway and upon the two doorposts, where every passerby could see it. After this no one was permitted to leave the house.
8 "Later in the evening the whole family assembled around the table to eat the passover lamb or goat with unfermented cakes and bitter herbs. They ate in haste,
not sitting down at their tables, but standing, with their hips girded, their sandals on their feet and a staff in their hand.
They were ready to leave that very night as Jehovah had promised through his prophet Moses. And Jehovah proved himself the true God. At midnight the angel of Jehovah struck down every Egyptian firstborn of man and animal, from Pharaoh down to the lowliest one. But because of the blood on the doors of our forefathers, the angel passed over their houses. That is why the festival is called 'passover,' because the angel passed or skipped over the homes of the Israelites and thus all of their firstborn were saved. This tenth plague forced stubborn Pharaoh to let Jehovah's people go. Six hundred thousand men, besides women and children and a vast mixed company, marched out the next morning as a free people. A marvelous liberation!
7 "This day is always to be remembered by Israel. Even before the deliverance Jehovah commanded Moses: 'And this day must serve as a memorial for you, and you must celebrate it as a festival to Jehovah throughout your generations.' The eating of the passover lamb with unfermented cakes and bitter greens reminds the Israelites, not only of the afflictions while they were in Egypt and the hasty departure, but also of the miraculous deliverance from cruel slavery under the mighty Pharaoh. This has made Passover a joyous festival. To express this joy, wine was added later to be used during this festival of liberation and songs were sung, such as the 'Egyptian Hallel' during the first part of the celebration, that is, Psalms 113 and 114, and at the conclusion of the feast Psalms 115 to 118. Thus you see, my son, the sacrifice of the passover lamb, not only saved the Jewish firstborn, but also brought the great liberation of our people. And celebrating this festival should make the Jews thankful and appreciative toward Jehovah, their great God and Deliverer. It must prove to be a joyous festival to the praise and honor of Jehovah."—Ex. 12:14, 27-42.
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