The Watchtower, August 15, 1980
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WATCHTOWER Announcing Jehovah's Kingdom
COURAGE In Walking With God
IN THIS ISSUE
3 What Gives Them Courage?
5 I Survived the "Death March"
11 Insight on the News
12 Only in the Strength of Jehovah
OUR COVER: Faithful Christians who endure hard persecution count this as part of their sacred service to God. Whatever your situation in life, may you too show integrity in rendering sacred service. See pages 5-10, 14-26
14 The "Great Crowd" Renders Sacred Service Where?
29 Do You Remember?
21 Sacred Service in This "Time of the End"
26 Rebekah—Blessed by Jehovah
30 Questions from Readers
32 Truth Brings Freedom and Happiness
A WATCHTOWER enables a person to look far into the distance and announce to others what is seen. Likewise, this magazine, published by Jehovah's Witnesses, aids the reader to see what the future holds. Since it began publication in 1879, "The Watchtower" has held faithfully to God's Word as its authority. It stays clear of all political involvement. It points to the Bible prophecies showing that Jesus Christ is God's means for restoring peace and harmony to this globe. It shows that this Son of God, on the basis of his shed blood, will release mankind from sin and death to enjoy eternal life in happiness on a paradise earth. Because Jehovah God will accomplish all this soon through his kingdom by Jesus Christ, "The Watchtower" announces that kingdom as the real hope for mankind.
Copyright © 1980 by Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania. All rights reserved.
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THE year was 1909. Four women were making an automobile trip across the United States—the first such transcontinental journey with a woman at the wheel. They were crossing Nevada when something happened that admittedly terrified the driver. Sixty-eight years later, she stated:
"Coming directly at us, we suddenly noticed a dozen Indians on horseback . . . all carrying drawn bows and arrows. They were letting out regular war whoops."
Were the lives of those women in jeopardy? Apparently they thought so. But then there was relief from terror. "Suddenly," recalled Alice Huyler Ramsey, "across the roadway ahead leaped a jackrabbit, bent madly on escape . . . The Indians never slowed down nor paid the least attention to us. What a day!"
Those women hardly had time to muster up courage. And their fears were unwarranted. Probably all of us have had unfounded anxieties at times. On other occasions, however, we may have been confronted with situations that have required true and lasting courage. Certainly, this has often been the case with Christians. Repeatedly they have faced trials of faith, some so severe as to arouse fear or dread in most people.
How have true Christians been able to withstand great tests of faith? What gives them their courage?
WALKING WITH GOD
An unquestionable source of courage is 'walking with God,' that is, pursuing a course of righteousness that harmonizes with Jehovah God's revealed truth. This means harmonizing one's life with the will and purpose of God, no matter what all other persons are doing. In early human history, godly Enoch 'walked with God.' So did well-known Noah.—Gen. 5:24; 6:9.
Most Bible readers will recall that Noah was commissioned by God to build a mammoth ark for the preservation of human and animal life. Over a period of years, this devout man and his family carried on that construction work under the eyes of ridiculing humans. But the faithful patriarch and his family had the courage needed to complete that God-given work. Gen. 6:13-22.
What Gives Them Courage?
Yet something else had developed that called for abundant courage. Prior to Noah's ark-building activities, "the sons of the true God began to notice the daughters of men, that they were good-looking; and they went taking wives for themselves, namely, all whom they chose." (Gen. 6:2) Obviously, the 'sons of God' here mentioned were not human males, for certainly they had 'noticed the daughters of men' long before this, had married them and thus had naturally contributed to the continuance of the human race. These "sons of the true God" were disobedient angels who had abandoned their proper heavenly place, had materialized fleshy bodies, and were now living with women. In fact, the Greek Septuagint Version found in the Alexandrine Manuscript reads "angels of God" instead of "sons of God" at Genesis 6:4. This harmonizes with the apostle Peter's words regarding "the angels that sinned" and the statement of Jude about "the angels that did not keep their original position but forsook their own proper dwelling place."—2 Pet. 2:4; Jude 6.
Increasing Noah's need for courage was the fact that the union of disobedient angels and women produced a race of Nephilim. In Hebrew, this term is believed to mean "fellers," or, "those who cause others to fall down." Otherwise called "mighty ones," these Nephilim were hybrid tyrants, or bullies, who added to the violence rampant in that pre-Flood world.—Gen. 6:4.
Amid such circumstances, Noah distinguished himself not only as the ark builder but as "a preacher of righteousness." (2 Pet. 2:5) Yes, he had the courage to speak up and tell his contemporaries that God had purposed to bring destruction upon the wicked in an earth-wide flood. Noah's preaching of righteousness evidently included a call to repentance and a warning of coming destruction, for Jesus Christ mentioned those days and said that the people "took no note until the flood came and swept them all away."—Matt. 24:37-39.
But reflect briefly on the circumstances of Noah and his family in that pre-Flood period. Doubtless they were the objects of ridicule from men, women and children. Add to that the probable taunts of the Nephilim, apparently giants noted for violence. And what about the materialized disobedient angels? Would it not take courage to face them?
Without doubt, 'walking with God' was at the very root of Noah's courage. In fact, the only way that Noah and his family could carry on courageously amid such circumstances was by placing implicit trust in the true God. They had to have the confidence that Jehovah would, as foretold, bring an end to that ungodly world. (Gen. 6:3) Also, that patriarch and his family could have the added assurance that the ark was not being built for no purpose. Eventually it would be used.
THE SOURCE OF COURAGE
Moreover, their courage would be enhanced by reason of their having a close personal relationship with Jehovah, especially through prayer. And surely Noah and his family could have confidence that nothing would be permitted to happen to them that would be outside the divine providence.
At God's due time, the Flood took place, and all the ridiculers and opposers were removed. Ungodly humans perished in the floodwaters, as did the Nephilim. The disobedient angels were compelled to dematerialize to save their lives. But, thenceforth, they would be restrained, occupying merely a position of divine disfavor until the future execution of God's adverse judgment upon them. (2 Pet. 2:4) Only courageous Noah and his family were preserved on earth, being recipients of God's favor at that time.
GODLY COURAGE TODAY
Like Noah, Jehovah's Witnesses today are 'preachers of righteousness.' Theirs is both a message of warning and a call to repentance and reconciliation with Jehovah God. Whereas Noah and his family found themselves face to face with disobedient angels, godly persons today have unseen foes. But these true Christians have protective spiritual armor from God and thus can courageously carry on in the God-given work of preaching.—Eph. 6:10-18; Matt. 24:14.
Many people ridicule and oppose God's present-day servants, sometimes even resorting to brutal persecution in an effort to still the lips of praisers of Jehovah. But Jehovah's Witnesses are undeterred. Like Noah, they 'walk with God' and have the confidence that very soon Jehovah will do what he has promised—bring an end to this ungodly world, while preserving those who love righteousness. (2 Pet. 3:5-13) Also, the courage of true Christians is enhanced because of their close personal relationship with Jehovah through prayer.
Furthermore, they realize that nothing will happen to them that God does not permit.—Compare Romans 8:28.
There is real comfort in knowing that "Jehovah will not forsake his people." (Ps. 94:14) Mere humans cannot block God's purposes or eradicate those who love him.
Confidence in Jehovah's promises, complete trust in him and the maintaining of a close personal relationship with the Most High—these are basic factors that give godly persons their courage. And that courage buoys them up in times of intense hardship and persecution, as is evident from the following account.
I Survived The "Death March"
As told by Louis Piéchota
MY PARENTS arrived in northern France with many other Polish miners in 1922. Like most of these immigrants, they were good Catholics. However, when I was about 11 years of age, my father and mother withdrew from the Catholic Church and became Jehovah's Wit-
nesses, or Zloty Wiek ("Golden Agers") , as the Polish Catholics scornfully
called them. That was in 1928. Therefore, since the days of my youth, I have had the joy of sharing with others the "good news" set forth in the Holy Scriptures.
villages along the coast of Normandy. At that time we used phonographs and recordings of Bible talks in French.
Shortly before the outbreak of World War II, I had my first taste of pioneering, or full-time preaching. My companions and I—all five of us of Polish origin—spread the Kingdom message in small towns and
After hostilities broke out in 1939 and the war fever began to mount, hostile people in the village of Arques la Bataille re-
villagers had taken our phonographs to be cameras. Since we had a foreign accent, the police thought that we were
German spies and so arrested and jailed us in the nearby seaport town of Dieppe. After 24 days of detention, we were paraded through the streets handcuffed to one another and were taken to the courthouse. The hostile crowd wanted to throw us into the harbor. But the judge quickly realized that we were innocent and acquitted us.
UNDER BAN
Soon after the work of Jehovah's Witnesses was banned in October 1939, I was again arrested and sentenced to six months in prison, accused of illegally preaching God's kingdom. Initially, the time was spent in solitary confinement in Béthune jail, without anything to read. Several weeks later, when I thought that I would lose my mind, the prison guard brought me a Bible. How I thanked Jehovah! I memorized hundreds of verses and several entire chapters. These passages were a strengthening aid to me in the days ahead. In fact, even now I can quote texts that I committed to memory in Béthune jail.
In February 1940, I was transferred from Béthune to the Le Vernet camp in the south of France where supposedly "dangerous" aliens were interned by the French authorities.
In the spring of 1941, a German commission came to the camp and requested me. They sent me back to my hometown in the occupied zone of northern France, there to work as a coal miner. Naturally, I used my newfound freedom to preach the good news of God's kingdom. But when a new Witness was arrested and unwisely told the French police that I had supplied her with Bible literature, I was again arrested and sentenced to 40 days' imprisonment in Béthune jail.
After my release, I resumed witnessing. While doing so in the little mining town of Calonne-Ricouart, I was arrested for the fourth time and sent back to Béthune jail. There the Germans came to arrest me because I had refused to work extra hours and Sundays in the coal mine to support the Nazi war effort.
A PRISONER IN BELGIUM, HOLLAND AND GERMANY
The Germans transferred me to the Loos Penitentiary, near Lille, and a few weeks
later to Saint-Gilles prison, in Brussels, Belgium.
After that, I was imprisoned in the Huy Citadel, near Liège, Belgium, before finally being sent to the S'Hertogenbosch or Vught concentration camp, in the Netherlands. There I became a cipher—7045—and was given a camp uniform with the purple triangle that identified me as a Bibelforscher, or a witness of Jehovah. I was assigned to Block 17-A.
It was indeed difficult for me to get used to marching barefoot in Dutch clogs. My feet were raw with broken blisters. At the slightest stumble, I risked being kicked in the ankles by an SS guard. Soon the skin on my feet thickened and I could march as quickly as the rest.
There were 15 other Witnesses in that camp. We were offered immediate release, provided that we sign a paper abjuring our faith. None of us gave in.
From that concentration camp in the Netherlands we were eventually moved to Germany. Herded like cattle into small freight cars, 80 in each, we were forced to stand for three days and nights without food, water or any means of relieving ourselves. Finally the train reached Oranienburg, about 30 kilometers (19 miles) north of Berlin. We then had to march on the double for 10 kilometers (6 miles) to the Heinkel aircraft factories, with SS dogs biting our heels if we slowed down. We Witnesses managed to keep together.
Shortly afterward we were all transferred to the nearby Sachsenhausen concentration camp. There, my purple triangle was accompanied by a new number: 98827.
LIFE IN SACHSENHAUSEN
As we entered Sachsenhausen, I felt the full irony of the slogan that SS chief Himmler had ordered to be displayed in huge letters inside the camp. It read: "Arbeit macht frei" (Work makes free). What hypocrisy! Of course, we had a freedom the Nazis never knew, the freedom that Christian truth brings.
(John 8:31, 32) In all other respects, life in Sachsenhausen can be summed up as slave labor, slow starvation, humiliation and degradation.
The Nazis were out to break Jehovah's Witnesses or to kill them. They did kill many. But that was a moral defeat for the Nazis, and a victory of faith and integrity for the Witnesses who died.
As for the rest of us, far from being crushed spiritually, we did not allow the degrading conditions to prevent us from respecting high spiritual values. Take the case of Brother Kurt Pape. He was ordered to join a kommando (work crew) laboring at an arms factory. He refused, stating that he had been waging Christian warfare without carnal weapons for 16 years and that he was not now going to blemish his integrity. He was, of course, risking his life by refusing. Surprisingly, the camp commander allowed him to do other work. On another occasion, Brother Pape reprimanded me because I had taken some bread from the camp bakery where I was assigned to work. I did this so that the brothers would have a little more to eat, but he told me it was preferable to be hungry rather than to bring reproach upon Jehovah's name by being caught as a thief. This greatly impressed me. On Sunday afternoons, I would serve as interpreter for Brother Pape, who had succeeded in arousing interest in the Kingdom message among a group of Russian and Ukrainian prisoners. Yes, Brother Pape was a fine example. Unfortunately, he was killed during an Allied air raid shortly before our liberation.
In Coming Issues
Overseers—Be Fine Examples to "the Flock"
How Far Would You Go to Save Face?
"In the Last Days"
Since When?
THE "DEATH MARCH"
By April 1945, the western Allies were pressing in on the Berlin area from the west, and the Russians were advancing from the east. The Nazi leaders studied various means of liquidating the inmates of the concentration camps. But killing off hundreds of thousands of people and disposing of their bodies within a few days without leaving behind any trace of their heinous crimes proved to be too difficult for these fiendish men. So they decided to kill off the sick and march the rest to the nearest seaport, where they would be loaded onto ships that would be taken out to sea and sunk, sending the prisoners to a watery grave.
From Sachsenhausen, we were due to march some 250 kilometers (155 miles) to Lübeck. Departure was scheduled for the night of April 20-21, 1945. The prisoners were first to be assembled by nationality. How thankful to Jehovah we were, therefore, when all Witness prisoners were ordered to assemble in the tailor shop! There were 230 of us, from six different countries. The Witnesses who were sick in the infirmary, occupants of which were to be killed before the evacuation, were saved by brothers at the risk of their lives and were carried to the tailor shop.
Indescribable confusion reigned among the other prisoners. Much stealing went on. As for us, we held an "assembly," and strengthened one another spiritually. Soon, however, our turn came to begin the long march, supposedly to a reassembly camp but actually to a planned watery death. The various nationalities left in groups of 600 prisoners—first the Czechs, then the Poles, and so forth—some 26,000 in all.
The group of Jehovah's Witnesses was the last to leave. The SS had given us a cart to haul. I learned later that it contained some of the loot the SS had plundered from among the prisoners. They knew Jehovah's Witnesses would take none of it. That cart turned out to be a blessing, because sick and elderly ones were able to sit on top and rest for a while during the march. When one got his strength back, he would get down and walk and another Witness, too weak to follow, would take his place, and so on throughout the two weeks that the "death march" lasted.
It was in every sense a "death march" because not only was our destination to be a watery grave but death hurked along the way. Any who could not keep up were mercilessly dispatched by an SS bullet. Some 10,700 were to lose their lives that way before the march ended. Yet, through Christian love and solidarity, not one Witness was left on the wayside to be killed by the SS.
The first 50 kilometers (30 miles) were a nightmare. The Russians were so near that we could hear the guns. Our SS taskmasters were scared of falling into the hands of the Soviets. So that first lap, Sachsenhausen to Neuruppin, turned out to be a forced march that lasted 36 hours.
I had started out carrying a few meager belongings. But upon getting more and
more tired, I threw away one thing after another until nothing was left but a blanket in which to roll up at night. Most nights we slept outdoors, with just twigs and leaves to keep us from the damp ground. One night, however, I was able to sleep in a barn. Imagine my surprise to find a Vindication book (a Watch Tower publication) hidden in the straw! The following morning our hosts gave us something to eat. But that was exceptional. After that, for days on end we had nothing to eat or drink, except for a few plants we were able to obtain and use to make herb tea at night, when we stopped to sleep. I remember seeing some non-Witness prisoners rush over to the carcass of a horse that had been killed near the road and devour the flesh in spite of the blows of their SS guards, who hit them with their rifle butts.
All this time, the Russians were advancing on one side and the Americans on the other. By April 25, the situation was so confused that our SS guards no longer knew where the Soviets or the U.S. troops were. So they ordered the whole column of prisoners to camp in a wooded area for four days. While there, we ate nettles, roots and tree bark. This delay proved to be providential, for had they kept us marching, we would have reached Lübeck before the German army collapsed and would have ended up at the bottom of Lübeck Bay.
THE LAST NIGHT
On April 29, the SS decided to move the prisoners on toward Lübeck. They hoped to get us there before the Russian and American forces joined up. The march continued for several days, and by that time we were approaching Schwerin, a city located some 50 kilometers (30 miles) from Lübeck. Once again, the SS ordered
us to hide in the woods. It turned out to be our last night of captivity. But what a night!
The Russians and the Americans were closing in on the remnants of the German forces and shells were whistling over our heads from both sides. An SS officer advised us to walk on unguarded to the American lines, about six kilometers (4 miles) away.
But we were suspicious of this and, after having prayed to Jehovah for guidance, we finally decided to spend the night in the woods. We later learned that those prisoners who had accepted this officer's proposal and had tried to get through to the American lines had been shot down by the SS. About 1,000 of them died that night. How thankful we were for Jehovah's protection!
However, that last night in Crivitz Wood was anything but peaceful. As the fighting grew nearer, our SS guards got panicky. Some of them slipped away into the night, while others hid their weapons and uniforms, donning the striped garb taken from dead prisoners. Those that were recognized were shot by prisoners who had found the weapons left behind. The confusion was indescribable! Men were running hither and thither and bullets and shells were flying everywhere. But we Witnesses kept together and weathered the storm under Jehovah's protecting hand until the next morning.
We expressed our gratitude to Jehovah in a Resolution adopted on May 3, 1945. We had marched some 200 kilometers (124 miles) in 12 days. Of the 26,000 prisoners who left the Sachsenhausen concentration camp on that "death march," barely more than 15,000 survived. Yet every last one of the 230 Witnesses who had left the camp came through that ordeal alive. What a wonderful deliverance!
KEEPING ON THE MARCH
On May 5, 1945, I made contact with the American forces, and on May 21, I arrived back home in Harnes, northern France. I had survived the "death march," and certainly shared David's feelings expressed in Psalm 23:4: "Even though I walk in the valley of deep shadow, I fear nothing bad, for you are with me; your
rod and your staff are the things that comfort me."
The "death march" from Sachsenhausen proved to be just one lap in the journey through the present system of things on toward the goal of life. Many have been my joys in sharing the "good news" since that time. Even as Jehovah allowed me to survive that terrible march, my prayer is that, with my wife and three children, I will keep on walking on the narrow road to life, avoiding pitfalls to the right and to the left.—Matt. 7:13, 14; Isa. 30:20, 21.
ANNUAL MEETING OCTOBER 1, 1980
The annual meeting of the members of Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania on October 1, 1980, will be held at Jehovah's Witnesses Assembly Hall, 44-17 Greenpoint Avenue in the Borough of Queens, New York city. The meeting will be at ten o'clock in the forenoon of Wednesday, October 1, 1980.
It will be appreciated if the members of the corporation will now see to it that the Secretary's office has their present mailing addresses so that the regular letters of notice and proxies can reach them shortly after September 1.
The proxies, which will be sent to the members along with the notice of the annual meeting, are to be returned so as to reach the office of the Secretary of the Society not later than September 15. As each member knows, he should complete and return his proxy promptly whether he is going to be at the meeting personally or not. The information given on each proxy should be definite on this point as it will be relied upon in determining in advance those who will actually be personally present.
It is expected that the entire session including the formal business meeting and any remarks by members or officers will be concluded at 12 noon or shortly thereafter. There will be no afternoon session. No arrangements will be made for tying in the annual meeting by telephone line to any other locations.
INSIGHT ON THE NEWS
There are an estimated six million compulsive gamblers in the United States today, according to a report in the New York "Sunday News Magazine." This compares to an estimated 1.1 million just four years ago. More and more states are turning to Masters of Deception
The president of the Lutheran Concordia Theological Seminary, Robert Preus, complained: "My personal reaction is one of shock and grave disappointment, especially in what seems to be a gross ignorance on the part of all professed Christian groups concerning the very fundamentals of Christianity."
But are the people heretics who do not
some form of gambling as a source of revenue.
"It begins innocently enough," says the report. "It might be a dollar chance on a lottery ticket, a casual day at the racetrack, or a curious look at an Off-Track Betting parlor. It might even be a quarter in a slot machine." The article also notes that compulsive gamblers "began gambling probably in adolescence," and had "a history of gambling in the family."
By the time these gamblers look for help, they "might have 20 or more years' experience at lying and deception," says the magazine. "They can be masters at [deceiving] psychiatrists." As a result, "many psychiatrists won't take pathological gamblers on as cli-
understand the complex "mystery" of the Trinity and choose instead to believe the simple statement of Christ that he is the "Son of God"? Rather, is it not those who have tried to burden the people by teaching pagan philosophy instead of the Word of God who are the true heretics?—John 10:36, "AV."
ents." Certainly, there is good reason for caution if a Christian is tempted to experiment with a practice that can produce such bad traits.—Matt. 7:17, 18.
"Christianity Today" magazine recently sponsored a Gallup Poll of religious beliefs. The poll revealed that beliefs of most American Catholics and Protestants are "theoretical" when it comes to the Trinity. Those polled were given a choice among statements about Christ, including: Most Christians 'Heretics?'
"1. Jesus Christ was a man, but was divine in the sense that God worked through him; he was the Son of God. 2. Jesus Christ is both
reliable are they? In a report published in the Toronto "Star," journalist Bruce Ward comments: "The ancient Assyrians were masters of 'hype'—the adman's art of puffery and exaggeration—and some of their truth-stretchers were shameless."
According to the "Star," Kirk Grayson, who is a professor of Near Eastern studies at the University of Toronto, says: "You can't trust the Assyrian inscriptions because of the hyperbole." Citing one example of inscribed untruth, he tells a 100-line account about a certain alleged military victory by Assyrian King Sennacherib. But the newspaper adds: "Grayson says that other more reliable sources point out that Sennach[e]rib received a sound thropping in the fight."
fully God and fully man."
"Well-instructed Christians, Catholic or Protestant, would recognize that the first statement is inadequate and, indeed, heretical," says "Christianity Today." "Yet this is the statement chosen by 63 percent of the Protestants and 55 percent of the Catholics." In fact, says the magazine, "only 26 percent have a correct doctrinal understanding of Jesus as fully God and fully man."
THE WATCHTOWER — AUGUST 15, 1980
Ancient inscriptions may relate to historical incidents and may thus be of interest to many people, including Bible students. For instance, King Sennacherib is mentioned in the Scriptures. (2 Chron. 32:1-23) But when confronted with a question of reliability, will you accept the words of these inscriptions or the Bible record? Before answering, remember that Jesus Christ said in prayer to God: "Your word is truth."—John 17:17.
ONLY IN THE STRENGTH OF JEHOVAH
THE Hebrew prophets were not men of superhuman strength but persons "with feelings like ours." (Jas. 5:17) Yet they often faced tremendous opposition from their own people. Without divine help, they simply could not have succeeded in carrying out their commission. But they did triumph in the strength of Jehovah. This is dramatically illustrated in the case of the prophet Jeremiah.
Before the eyes of the elders of his nation and the elders among the priests, Jeremiah smashed an earthenware flask. Explaining the significance of this act, he stated: "This is what Jehovah of armies has said: 'In the same way I shall break this people and this city as someone breaks the vessel of the potter so that it is no more able to be repaired; and in Topheth they will bury until there is no more place to bury.'" (Jer. 19:1-11) Leaving Topheth in the valley of the son of Hinnom, Jeremiah went to the temple courtyard and there proclaimed Jehovah's message of doom in the hearing of all the assembled people.—Jer. 19:14, 15.
The leading commissioner of the temple, Pashhur, acted swiftly against Jeremiah. He publicly humiliated the prophet by striking him and then putting him into stocks in the Gate of Benjamin. THE WATCHTOWER — AUGUST 15, 1980 On being released from the stocks the following day, Jeremiah proclaimed Jehovah's judgment against Pashhur.-Jer.
20: 1-6.
How did such experiences affect Jeremiah? He felt very discouraged about being an object of reproach on account of making known God's message. He felt like quitting. But he could not. Under the impelling power of God's spirit, he simply had to speak out. The word of Jehovah 'proved to be like a burning fire shut up in his bones.' Jeremiah realized that, in his own strength, he never would have been able to continue proclaiming what caused so much personal trouble for him. He stated: "You have fooled me, O Jehovah, so that I was fooled. You used your strength against me, so that you prevailed." (Jer. 20:7-9) The prophet was fooled in the sense that he was able to accomplish what he could never have done in his own power. The Most High had proved stronger than Jeremiah's weakness.
How encouraging this can prove to be for us today! We, too, may face opposition and ridicule in preaching God's message contained in the Scriptures. But with divine help, we can succeed in carrying out the commission given by Jesus Christ to his disciples. (Matt. 28:19, 20) Our situation can be like that of the apostle Paul, who said: "When I am weak, then I am powerful."—2 Cor. 12:10.
THE WATCHTOWER-AUGUST 15,1980
The "Great Crowd" Renders Sacred Service Where?
"For this cause are they before the throne of God and are rendering divine service unto him day and night in his sanctuary."
—Rev. 7:15, Rotherham's "The Emphasised Bible."
RELIGION is on the decline. Correspondingly, attendance at "divine service" in church buildings, cathedrals and temples is declining. This is notably true in lands that make up what is called Christendom. Infidels, skeptics, agnostics, atheists and the antireligious are increasing. No efforts at a religious revival will recover them. That is the case with what may be called "the crowd" in general.
2 However, we are interested in a special crowd, a "great crowd" foreseen by an old man exiled to the island of Patmos by the government of the Roman Empire. After seeing a vision of 144,000 spiritual Israelites, he writes, saying: "After these things I saw, and behold! a great crowd, which no one could have numbered, out of every nation, and of all tribes, and peoples, and languages, standing before the throne, and in the presence of the Lamb, invested with white robes, and palmbranches in their hands; and they cry with a loud voice, saying, 'The salvation be ascribed to that God of ours who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb.'"—Rev. 7:9, 10, The Emphatic Diaglott, by Benjamin Wilson.
3 What an honored position this "great crowd" is said to occupy, and what a dignified appearance they are said to have! Even in modern times it is proper for one to stand when in the presence of a monarch who is seated on his throne. But here those of that "great crowd" are seen standing before the throne of God himself. Also, in order to suit the occasion, they are clothed with spotless white robes. Are they standing in some out-of-doors gathering? No, for Revelation 7:15 (ED) says that "they . . . publicly serve him day and night in his temple [navos' in the Greek original text]." Well, now, does this mean that those making up this "great crowd" finally go to heaven where the God is to whom they ascribe their "salvation"? The answer generally given is Yes! Why? Because it is said to be "in his temple" (ED), or, "in his sanctuary" (Rotherham), that they render to him public service or "divine service."
4 However, does that view fit all the detailed facts set out in the last book of the Bible, Revelation? Also, as regards those who today consider themselves part of that "great crowd" that is now being formed, do they expect to go to heaven and become spirit creatures like angels?
Do they even want to go to heaven? They will tell you No! and they do not consider themselves to be begotten by God's spirit to such a heavenly hope. The question revolves around that original Greek word that is variously translated as "tent," "temple" and "sanctuary." For example, in the Bible account of where Jesus Christ drove the money changers and merchantmen out of Herod's temple, the original Greek word used is na os'. There we read: "Jesus answered, 'Destroy this sanctuary [na os']', and in three days I will raise it up'. The Jews replied, 'It has taken forty-six years to build this sanctuary [na os']: are you going to raise it up in three days?' But he was speaking of the sanctuary [na os'] that was his body." (John 2:19-21, The Jerusalem Bible) By "sanctuary," what did those Jews mean?
Certainly not the inner sanctuary that contained the vestibule, the Holy and the Most Holy compartments. They meant the temple structure as a whole, including its
courtyards, in one of which the money changers and merchantmen were doing business. Herod's temple as a whole was destroyed by the Romans in 70 C.E. Unlike Solomon's earlier temple that was destroyed in 607 B.C.E., Herod's temple was never rebuilt. Concerning the temple in Jerusalem, Isaiah 66:6 says, with prophetic significance: "That roar from the city, that uproar in the temple [naos' in the Greek Septuagint translation], is the sound of the LORD dealing retribution to his foes." (The New English Bible) "Hark! an uproar from the city, Hark! it cometh from the temple [naos'], Hark! the LORD rendereth recompense to His enemies." (The Jewish Publication Society of America) Very plainly the temple, sanctuary, or naos', does not mean just the inner sanctuary, but the entire temple area with all its structures.
"On Passover night, Nisan 14, of 33 C.E., certain Jews bore witness before the chief priests and the Sanhedrin, but if these witnesses lived to the year 70 C.E. they had it proved to them that their testimony against Jesus Christ that fateful night was false. They testified: "We heard him say,
The Greek word naos' refers often to the inner sanctuary representing heaven itself
BUT it was the entire temple (na-os') that had been 46 years in the building
It was the entire temple (na os') that was destroyed as a judgment from God
It was from the courts of the outer temple (na-os') that Jesus drove the money changers
It was in the outer temple (na-os') that Judas threw back the 30 pieces of silver
HENCE it is consistent that the "great crowd" serve God in the earthly court of the spiritual temple I will throw down this temple [na'os'] that was made with hands and in three days I will build another not made with hands.'" (Mark 14:58) Their having Jesus killed did not save their temple from being thrown down completely in 70 C.E.
7 Later, on that same day, when the hostile Jews saw this Jesus impaled on the stake outside Jerusalem, they may have felt that he had been foiled in carrying out what they wrongly thought he had said. "So the passersby began to speak abusively of him, wagging their heads and saying: 'O you would-be thrower-down of the temple [naos'] and builder of it in three days, save yourself! If you are a son of God, come down off the torture stake!'" (Matt. 27:39, 40; Mark 15:29, 30) But before the impalement of Jesus the disciple who had betrayed him to his bloodthirsty enemies for 30 pieces of silver tried to absolve himself. This was Judas Iscariot, one of the 12 apostles. He tried to return the bribe money, but the bribers refused to take it back. Unable to clear himself in this way, what did the betrayer do? Matthew 27:5 reports: "Judas threw the money into the sanctuary [naos'] and left them; then he went off and hanged himself." (Good News Bible; The Jerusalem Bible; Young's Literal Translation of the Holy Bible) Why did other modern Bible versions translate naos' as "temple"?
8 Evidently because they recognized that the Greek word here did not mean the inner sanctuary with its porch, Holy and Most Holy, into which the high priest brought the blood of the sacrifices on the annual Atonement Day. It meant the temple with all its courts.
9Thus the "great crowd" may be said
to be in the "temple," or n\alpha\os', of God and yet not be in heaven as spirit creatures with the 144,000 spiritual Israelites who make up the "little flock" of God. (Rev. 7:1-9, 15; Luke 12:32) n\alpha\os' may also have a limited sense, for Jesus Christ addressed the first-century congregation in Philadelphia, Asia Minor, and said: "As for the one who conquers, I will make him a pillar in the temple [n\alpha\os'] of my God; he will be secure, and will go out no more; and I will write my God's Name on him, and he will be a citizen in the city of my God—the New Jerusalem, coming down from heaven from my God; and he will have my new Name inscribed upon him."—Rev. 3:12, The Living Bible.
39 Such an inscription upon the members of the "great crowd" is not even mentioned in Revelation 7:9-17, neither are they said to be made 'pillars' in God's temple. Those who are made symbolic 'pillars' are the 144,000 spiritual Israelites of 12 tribes.
11 Unlike the numberless "great crowd," this numbered group of spiritual Israelites have the name of Jesus and the name of his Father written upon them. They also have written upon them the name of the city of God, the New Jerusalem, which comes down out of heaven from God. Just as Mount Zion was associated with ancient Jerusalem, so a spiritual Mount Zion is associated with this New Jerusalem that is heavenly. In agreement with this, the apostle John had a second vision of the 144,000 spiritual Israelites, and in making a record of this he wrote:
12 "Look! the Lamb [Jesus Christ] standing upon the Mount Zion, and with him a hundred and forty-four thousand having his name and the name of his Father written on their foreheads.
. . . And they are singing as if a new song before the throne . . . and no one was able to master that song but the hundred and forty-four thousand, who have been bought from the earth. . . . These were bought from among mankind as firstfruits to God and to the Lamb."—Rev. 14:1-5.
13 Do those descriptive details fit also the international "great crowd" of Revelation 7:9-17? No, for nowhere are they said to stand upon the heavenly Mount
Zion. (Heb. 12:22) They are excluded from the original singers of the "new song." They are not said to be "bought from the earth," "bought from among mankind as firstfruits to God and to the Lamb." Consequently, those of the "great crowd" expect to remain on earth forever and to share in bringing it to a Paradise state. They do not belong to the company of
144,000 "bought" ones that began to be formed on the day of Pentecost of 33 C.E., the day on which the Jewish high priest presented the "firstfruits" of the wheat harvest at the temple in Jerusalem.
On that day the Greater High Priest, Jesus Christ, paid the purchase price to God in heaven by means of his shed blood, and God used him as the channel through whom to pour out the holy spirit that same day upon the 120 waiting disciples and later upon about 3,000 Jews and Jewish proselytes who repented and got baptized that day.—Acts, chapter 2; Joel 2:28, 29; Heb. 4:15, 16.
THE "SEAL OF THE LIVING GOD" DIFFERENTIATES
14 One noteworthy thing that differentiates the 144,000 "bought" ones from the white-robed "great crowd" is what is called the "seal of the living God." Revelation, chapter 7, which deals with both the 144,000 spiritual Israelites and the "great crowd," shows that only the 144,000 are marked "in their foreheads" with that "seal" as being "the slaves of our God." This indicates that there is a difference also in their appointed stations in God's final arrangements, as regards heaven and
earth. This remains true although all are brought into a saved condition, because those of the "great crowd," as well as the 144,000, accept Jesus Christ as being "the Lamb of God that takes away the sin of the world." (John 1:29, 36; 1 John 2:1, 2) In this way those of the "great crowd . . . have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb." (Rev. 7:9, 14) This entitles them to worship Jehovah in his spiritual temple, which was typified or foreshadowed by the whole temple structure in ancient Jerusalem.—John 4:21-24.
15 The time is approaching when people in general will say, in effect, to the long-entrenched lofty organizations of earthly society: "Fall over us and hide us from the face of the One seated on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb, because the great day of their wrath has come, and who is able to stand?" (Rev. 6:16, 17) A storm is about to break. This is indicated by the next words of the vision: "After this I [the apostle John] saw four angels standing upon the four corners of the earth, holding tight the four winds of the earth, that no wind might blow upon the earth or upon the sea or upon any tree. And I saw another angel [a fifth] ascend-
The anointed 144,000 alone are—
a "little flock" of exact number
written upon with the name of the Father, the Lamb and New Jerusalem
standing upon heavenly Mount Zion
* "bought from the earth . . . from among mankind"
"a firstfruits to God and to the Lamb"
marked with the "seal of the living God" ing from the sunrising, having a seal of the living God; and he cried with a loud voice to the four angels to whom it was granted to harm the earth and the sea, saying: 'Do not harm the earth or the sea or the trees, until after we have sealed the slaves of our God in their foreheads.'"—Rev. 7:1-4.
16 None of the "great crowd" are reported as being sealed with that "seal of the living God," only the 144,000 "slaves of our God." Why, then, is it that none of the "great crowd" are harmed by that turbulent twister that results from the release of the "four winds" let loose from the four corners of the earth? Also, how is it that those of the unsealed "great crowd" do not feel the "wrath of the Lamb" after the sealing of the 144,000 is finished? Ah! it is because "they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb." (Rev. 7:14) They now accept the benefits of his ransom sacrifice and seek cleansing from their sins by being washed in his sin-atoning blood. For their protection they do not look to deep-rooted imposing institutions of puny men, but look to Jehovah God and his Lamblike Son Jesus Christ. So they gratefully cry out: "Salvation we owe to
our God, who is seated on the throne, and to the Lamb."—Rev. 7:9, 10.
17 Down to the settlement of the all-important issue of Universal Domination they are loyal to Jehovah's kingdom by Christ the Lamb. "That is why they are before the throne of God; and they are rendering him sacred service [la trew'ein, Greek verb] day and night in his temple [na os']." (Rev. 7:15) There they are associated with the surviving remnant of the 144,000 sealed "slaves of our God."
"OUT OF THE GREAT TRIBULATION"
18 Included in the "salvation" that the "great crowd" experience is their coming out of what is prophesied in Revelation 7:14: "These are the ones that come out of the great tribulation, and they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb." Word for word, the original Greek text reads: "Out of the tribulation the great." (Kingdom Interlinear Translation) So, now, what is this "great tribulation"? Instead of the word "tribulation," other Bible translations read: "affliction,"* "distress,"† "persecu-
flee the doomed organizations of earthly society
find salvation through the Lamb's ransom
stand approved before the throne of God
survive the final "tribulation" on this condemned world
become the foundation of a clean "new earth" society
share eternally in the Paradise earth tion,"‡ "oppression,"and "ordeal." But many other translations read "tribulation."
18 The Greek word thus variously translated is thlip'sis. It denotes a bad experience. The English word "tribulation" comes from the Latin tribulum, which means "threshing board (sledge)."
20 On the expression "the great tribulation" as used in Revelation 7:14, Robertson's Word Pictures in the New Testament (Volume VI, pages 352, 353) comments: "Apparently some great crisis is contemplated (Matt. 13:19ff.; 24:21; Mark 13:19), though the whole series may be in mind and so may anticipate final judgment." Matthew 24:21 refers first of all to ancient Jerusalem's destruction in 70 C.E. and reads: "For then there will be great tribulation [thlip'sis] such as has not occurred since the world's beginning until now, no, nor will occur again." Mark 13:19 reads: "For those days will be days of a tribulation [thlip'sis] such as has not occurred from the beginning of the creation which God created until that time, and will not occur again." This tribulation was to be part of the "sign when all these things are destined to come to a conclusion." (Mark 13:4) "All these things" would include the completion of the sealing of the 144,000 spiritual Israelites. —Rev. 7:1-8.
21 The Greek Septuagint Version of the Hebrew Scriptures uses the word thlip'sis when referring to the same event at Daniel 12:1 and says: "And at that time Michael, the great prince who hath been over the children of thy people, will stand up, and there will be a time of tribulation [thlip'sis]—a tribulation [thlip'sis] such as hath
not been since there was a nation on the earth even to this time." (The Septuagint Bible, by Charles Thomson; The Septuagint Version, published by Samuel Bagster and Sons Limited) According to Revelation 12:7, Michael corresponds with the glorified Jesus Christ.
22 From all the foregoing it can be seen that the "great tribulation" is not an expression of God's wrath or displeasure against the "great crowd," for the purpose of disciplining them and purifying them from their connections with this wicked system of things. The foretold "great tribulation" is the world trouble, the final "tribulation" upon this doomed world. It is the symbolic windstorm that was held back by the four angels at the four corners of the earth until the final ones of the 144,000 spiritual Israelites are sealed as the "bought" property of Jehovah God, the untransferable "slaves of our God." The coming of the "great crowd" out of that "great tribulation" means that they survive it.
23 What a delightful privilege it will then be for the saved "great crowd" to continue "rendering [God] sacred service day and night in his temple," in the earthly courtyards of his great temple arrangement! The "new heavens" will have been established over them, and they will be the beginning of the "new earth" in which righteousness is to dwell endlessly. (2 Pet. 3:13) A new Paradise will begin blossoming upon the cleansed earth, and there will not be in it any Devil to try tempting them to turn to unrighteousness of any kind. Happy, indeed, is the prospect that is set before the "great crowd" that will survive the "war of the great day of God the Almighty" at Har-Magedon!—Rev. 16:13-16.
Sacred Service In This "Time Of The End"
IN THE light of the unsealed prophecies of the Bible we should have no trouble in seeing that we are living in the foretold "time of the end." With regard to this critical period, the prophecy of Daniel 12:4 says: "But thou, O Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book, even to the time of the end; many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased." (The Jewish Publication Society of America; Leeser) The Greek Septuagint Version reads: "And thou, Daniel, close the words, and seal the book to the time of the end; until many are taught, and knowledge is increased." (Bagster; Thomson; Latin Vulgate; Lamsa's Holy Bible from Ancient Eastern Manuscripts) The "great crowd" that is described in the last book of the Bible has benefited from this increase of Bible knowledge and understanding.—Rev. 7:9-17.
2 Ever since this "great crowd" began to be gathered in 1935 C.E., it has been "rendering . . . sacred service" to Jehovah God. Just how they do this is very important. Why? Because to his faithful 11 apostles Jesus Christ said on his last night with them: "I have spoken these things to you that you may not be stumbled. Men will expel you from the synagogue. In fact, the hour is coming when everyone that kills you will imagine he has rendered a
sacred service to God." (John 16:1, 2) Instead of "sacred service," The Jerusalem Bible says "holy duty"; The New English Bible says "religious duty"; Rotherham's The Emphasised Bible says "divine service." The original Greek word thus translated is la-trei'a. The verb form of that Greek noun is la-treu'ein. It differs from the Greek verb di-a-ko-nein', which means "to minister or serve," and which is used even in common, ordinary, mundane things, things not sacred, as in Matthew 8:15.
3 Saul of Tarsus, Asia Minor, was once a misguided Jew who persecuted Christians until he got converted. He spoke of his fellow Jews as being "Israelites, to whom belong the adoption as sons and the glory and the covenants and the giving of the Law and the sacred service [la trei'a] and the promises; to whom the forefathers [Abraham, Isaac and Jacob] belong and from whom Christ sprang according to the flesh." (Rom. 9:4, 5) Because they stuck to that "sacred service" set out in the Law covenant, the unbelieving Jews thought that they could not be wrong in impaling Jesus Christ and persecuting his faithful disciples even to the death.
4 For the time that the Law covenant was in effect, that "sacred service" under it had its place, and it was acceptable to God.
So the apostle Paul puts it on a high level when he says: "For its part, then, the former covenant used to have ordinances of sacred service [la-trei'a] and its mundane holy place. For there was constructed a first tent compartment in which were the lampstand and also the table and the display of the loaves; and it is called 'the Holy Place.' But behind the second curtain was the tent compartment called 'the Most Holy.' . . . After these things had been constructed this way, the priests enter the first tent compartment at all times to perform the sacred services [la-trei'a]." (Heb. 9:1-6) That ceremonial sacred service was in connection with the sacrifices offered in behalf of the nation of Israel. It did not refer to everyday things of the people. As the apostle Paul points out, all such "sacred service" under the old Law covenant was typical, prefiguring Christian matters.
5 In line with that, Paul said in his letter to the Christians at Rome: "Consequently I entreat you by the compassions of God, brothers, to present your bodies a sacrifice living, holy, acceptable to God, a sacred service [la trei'a] with your power of reason. And quit being fashioned after this system of things." (Rom. 12:1, 2) So their doing something of a sacrificial kind would be out of the ordinary, something not carried on in general by the unchristian people of this worldly system of things.
After the nation of Israel was delivered out of the house of slavery in ancient Egypt, they were given an organized form of sacred service to God. As the Christian martyr Stephen worded it: "And that nation for which they will slave I shall judge,' God said, 'and after these things they will come out and will render sacred
service [la'treu'ein] to me in this place.'" (Acts 7:7) By entering the Law covenant with Jehovah God through Moses as their mediator, the Israelites obliged themselves to render sacred service to Him. Later the majority of the covenant-bound Israelites chose to worship other gods. "So," as Stephen went on to say, "God turned and handed them over to render sacred service [la'treu'ein] to the army of heaven, just as it is written in the book of the prophets, 'It was not to me that you offered victims and sacrifices for forty years in the wilderness, was it, O house of Israel?' "—Acts 7:42.
7 It was many years after Jehovah God had canceled his Law covenant with the natural house of Israel that the apostle Paul said in a judicial hearing before King Agrippa at Caesarea: "Our twelve tribes are hoping to attain to the fulfillment of this promise by intensely rendering [God] sacred service [la treu'ein] night and day. Concerning this hope I am accused by Jews, O king." (Acts 26:7) Because of such an accusation Paul could say before the Roman governor Felix in the presence of Jewish accusers: "I do admit this to you, that, according to the way that they call a 'sect,' in this manner I am rendering sacred service [la treu'ein] to the God of my forefathers, as I believe all the things set forth in the Law and written in the Prophets."—Acts 24:14; 28:22.
8The so-called heretical "sect" according to which Paul was worshiping Jehovah as God was Christianity. (Acts 11:26; 1 Pet. 4:16) Today those of the "great crowd" publicly acknowledge that they are Christian witnesses of Jehovah, and for that reason they must be very careful as to how they try to serve Jehovah in a sacred way.
Since the "time of the end" set in at the close of the "times of the Gentiles" in 1914, false gods and false lords have multiplied. (Luke 21:24, Authorized Version) Even 19 centuries ago the apostle Paul found it necessary to remind the "Christians" in the capital city of the Roman Empire: Jewish apostates "exchanged the truth of God for the lie and venerated and rendered sacred service [la treu'ein] to the creation rather than the One who created." (Rom. 1:25) He showed what was his safeguard against misguided sacred service, when he said: "Even though there are those who are called 'gods,' whether in heaven or on earth, just as there are many 'gods' and many 'lords,' there is actually to us one God the Father, out of whom all things are, and we for him; and there is one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom all things are, and we through him."—1 Cor. 8:5, 6.
HOW RENDERED AND WHEN
9 During the 1,545 years that the Law covenant was in operation toward the Jewish nation, from 1513 B.C.E. to 33 C.E., the faithful Jews rendered to Jehovah God what was "sacred service" acceptable to him. But when that Law covenant was abolished at the time that the glorified Jesus Christ mediated the new covenant in heaven in 33 C.E., the Mosaic Law covenant was no longer the means by which to render sacred service approved by Jehovah, the God of the new covenant. (Heb. 8:10-13) To have their religious service approved by Jehovah God, the Jews had to render it through the Mediator greater than Moses, Jesus Christ the Son of God, the 'seed of Abraham.' (Gal. 3:16) This was referred to on that spring day in 2 B.C.E. when the Jewish priest named
Zechariah declared that his eight-day-old son should be named John.
10 Then the inspired Zechariah told of God's purpose to "perform the mercy in connection with our forefathers and to call to mind his holy covenant, the oath that he swore to Abraham our forefather, to grant us, after we have been rescued from the hands of enemies, the privilege of fearlessly rendering sacred service [latrew'ein] to him with loyalty and righteousness before him all our days." (Luke 1:59-75) John the son of Zechariah became the forerunner of Jesus Christ, the one whom God used in carrying out the covenant that he made with Abraham, confirming it with an unbreakable oath. —Gen. 12:3; 22:15-18; Gal. 3:8, 16; Heb. 6:13-17.
11 As persons who are already blessed through the Abrahamic covenant, those of the "great crowd" find themselves in the earthly courtyards of Jehovah's spiritual "temple" and are seeking to render "sacred service" fearlessly to the God of Abraham. But how? True, the words of the apostle Paul at 1 Corinthians 10:31 apply to the "great crowd" as well as to the remnant of the 144,000 spiritual Israelites, namely: "Therefore, whether you are eating or drinking or doing anything else, do all things for God's glory."
12 By those words does the apostle Paul mean that all things that we now do as Christians become "sacred service" (latrei'a) because of our having a different viewpoint respecting these things? Why should that be the case? When we eat,
drink and sleep and do things that all other humans are obliged to do to live, whom are we really serving? Ourselves, naturally. Yes, when we now do those things, we have God's glory in mind. Hence, we do not overeat to the point of sickness or gluttony; we do not drink alcoholic beverages to the point of drunkenness; we do not regularly sleep too much to the point of laziness or slothfulness. Yet now when we eat, drink, sleep under the religious name of Christian witnesses of Jehovah, the same as all other humans do under their religious names, does this of itself transform these basic, essential acts of human living into "sacred service"? No; why should it?
13 Of course, when Christian witnesses of Jehovah who are anointed with his holy spirit celebrate the Lord's Supper or Evening Meal each year, this does make a difference. Then their eating the unleavened bread and their drinking the red wine on the springtime night of Nisan 14 are things done under the command of Jesus Christ and have the deep significance
that he attached to them. So they are a vital part of the "sacred service" rendered to God by these members of Christ's spiritual body.—1 Cor. 11:20-26; Matt. 26:26-30; Luke 22:19, 20.
14 On the other hand, when all Christian witnesses of Jehovah do what the apostle Paul instructs them to do in Romans 13: 1-7, they are doing only what is required of all other citizens or alien residents of a country. Properly we do so as good and orderly persons, and this keeps us from getting into trouble with the "superior authorities." We also do so with a higher motivation, that is, to keep a good conscience and an appreciation of what is right and fitting. But our now acting in this way under the name of Christian witnesses of Jehovah does not automatically change our proper conduct into the Scriptural "sacred service." All other law-abiding citizens do the same things, even without the same motivations that we have. So how do we differ in these respects?
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