Golden Age, November 8, 1933
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(The Golden Age
A JOURNAL OF FACT HOPE AND COURAGE
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in this issue
"PREPARATION” FOR ARMAGEDDON
MAKING FINAL CHOICE
LATIN AMERICA
HEALTH PROGRAM
NOTES ON THE NEWS
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every other
WEDNESDAY
five cents a copy one dollar a year Canada & Foreign 1.25
Vol. XV - No. 369
November 8, 1933
CONTENTS
LABOR AND ECONOMICS
Machines Do the Work.....S8
Sweatshop Wages in Chicago . . . 89
SOCIAL AND EDUCATIONAL
Clippings..........87
He That Considereth the Poor . . S7
Red Cross in the United States . . 87 The Nation and House of Morgan . 88 3,8)30,000 Families on Relief . . . 89
Nines for Mnemonieans
MANUFACTURING AND MINING
Mill Conditions in the South . . . SS
Why Massachusetts Is Angry . . . 89 Took Five to Do All This . . . .81 Preventive for Felons.....''
People Want Aledieal Libeliy . 9 Orange Confectionery
A Delicious Breakfast
Pioneers Can Make Own Butter . .til Whole-Wheat versus Vfliite Bread . 91
A Five-Cent Ideal
Good-bye Gallstones
Digging One’s Grave with Teeth . . 82
Breakfast Food
Am] Use Bon Ami, Too
TRAVEL AND MISCELLANY
FINANCE—COMMERCE—TRANSI’OII 1'ATiON
New York to Retain Its Gamblers . 88
Exonerated After Closed Hearing . 89
Oranges and Soya Beans . . . .91
POLITICAL—DOMESTIC AND FOREIGN
Why Britain Conquered India . . 89
Kind Words for Cuba.....9’2
SCIENCE AND INVENTION
Achievements (?) of Viviseetionists 90
HOME AND HEALTH
Health Program ......84
Infant Mortality in Chicago . . .87
Two Resourceful Young Men . . . 88
Picking on the Poor Apes .... 99
A Case Against Antitoxin .... 99
Latin Amebic v—Question M *.i:k
of 20th Century (Part II) . . 75
5,000,000 Slaves
Twelve Kings Without Kingdoms .
Citrus Fruits in Palestine ....
Parentage of Pius NI
RELIGION AND PHILOSOPHY
‘‘Preparation” for Amnc-EDDON . 07 The Radio Witness VCork . . .73 Making the Final Choice . . .71 Indianapolis Bishop]) Wants .8300,090 93 Russia’s Anti-Religious Plans . . . 84 The Bible in Afrikaans.....84
The Overworked Clergymen . . .91 “Man Became a Living Soul” . .15 Quick to Dishonor God.....8'5
Lower than What?......85
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The Golden Age
Volume XV Brooklyn, N. Y., Wednesday, November 8, 1933 Number 369
“Preparation” for Armageddon
“Is thine heart right, as my heart is with thy heart? And Jehonadab answered, It is. If it be, give me thine hand. And he gave him his hand; and he took him up to him into the chariot."— 2 Kings 10:15.
Judge Rutherford would not ask anybody to help him in the great work on which his mind and heart are set. He is not built that way; and we admire him for it. But we are sure that, as a true and faithful witness of Jehovah God, lie would be pleased with any method the Lord might use at this time to wake His people up to the seriousness of the situation that confronts them, and to the grand privileges which they have of climbing up into the chariot with Jehu, earth’s New King. And so, without any more preliminaries, to the work in hand.
Do you believe in the things that Judge Rutherford sets forth? They are true. What are you going to do about it? We stand on the threshold of Armageddon, foretold for six thousand years, at which time Jehovah God will resume full control of earth’s affairs, and at which time, if you are not heart and soul in sympathy with the New King, you will most certainly die. We want you to live; hence this statement.
We do not know the facts, but there must be many thousands of readers of The Golden Age who do not take The Watchtower; every one of them ought to have it. The Golden Age merely seeks to present pen pictures of what is going on about us, as mirrored in the news of the day. Judge Rutherford’s books, and The Watchtower, all from his pen, are being used by the Lord to make clear His Word; all written expressly for the people now living.
Do not think The Watchtower or the new book Preparation are too deep for you. Such is not the case. You must have the food which these contain if you are to survive what is ahead.
And further, you must do something with your life. You must show Jehovah God that you really love the truth, and that you really love Him, and love your spirit-begotten brethren now “prisoners”, church members in the Devil’s prison houses, and be willing to move to their relief.
What kind of person is it who knows that a building is on fire, and will burn to the ground, and that there are people in it who are blind, asleep, drugged, bound hand and foot, and yet fails or refuses to pull the fire alarm?
Won’t You Try to Find Out?
Won’t you try to find out what YOU can do to help honor God’s name? It would not cost you much. You could write a note or even a post card to Judge Rutherford, Brooklyn, N. Y., and ask him what you can do to help. It would be good to put on your envelope, “From a Jona-dab,’’ and we know that Judge Rutherford would be glad to help you find a place in the organization, even if it were nothing more than to proclaim THE GOLDEN AGE widely as“The Good News of the Kingdom of Jehovah God — the best all-round magazine in the world’’.1 Write to him and see ivhat he says.
The reason why this subject is being put up to you in this manner is that time is now an important factor. The very fact that Preparation for Armageddon is off the press is proof enough that the time has come to prepare for the event itself; so, if your heart is right, this is meant as a helping hand to get into the Watch Tower organization and do something.
We Try to Describe “Preparation”
We try to describe Judge Rutherford’s latest book Preparation, and what follows are ideas snatched here and there from what is at the moment the most important book in the world. The book is so compact, so condensed, that it is difficult of description. It is an exposition of the prophecy of Zechariah. If we had once thought Revelation and Ezekiel the most difficult books of the Bible to understand, they now yield the palm to Zechariah; yet in Preparation the whole book yields its treasures. And what treasures!
The kingdom of Jehovah God, which was born in 1914, is the main doctrine of the Scriptures; its interests have been given over to the faithful; it is the remedy for all human ills. Lifted up to power, it will destroy all that oppose its establishment. In Armageddon Jehovah himself will rain down upon His opposers pestilence, blood, overflowing rains, hailstones, fire and brimstone, making a full end of all the selfish and unrighteous.
Jehovah God, the Great Shepherd of all the sheep, including the Jonadabs, is not responsible for mankind's woes and wickedness, but saves His people by becoming their God. It is this Mighty God, the God of Battle, the God of War, that, seeing Armageddon is necessary for the vindication of His name, and the cleansing of the earth, is maneuvering all the nations of the earth into open antagonism against Jerusalem, His organization.
It is this Mighty God that makes bright His clouds, sends forth His showers of truth and prepares those who love Him, including the Jonadabs, for the part they are to play in the preparation for Armageddon. He needs not to prepare himself for Armageddon, but He does need to prepare others.
His eyes now see the overt acts that have been committed against those that are His, the remnant. He prepares the way for these to advance, and they do advance. He defends the remnant (and the Jonadabs), becomes a wall of fire about His people, and at Armageddon vindicates His witnesses and His word. He is himself the Commander in Chief of all the forces of righteousness.
The Fountain of Cleansing Waters
The Fountain of Cleansing Waters is Jehovah God. Eventually, all who will live must be cleansed in the waters that flow from that Fountain. The anointed of God (anointed before the
Letters from Jonadabs and Others Referred To in Footnote at Bottom of Page 67
Dr. Edwin C. Saintiiill, Optometrist - Optician 35th St. and Bergenline Av. Woodeliff, N. J.
Dear Sirs:
I am a subscriber for your Golden Age magazine and will say that in my estimation this periodical has not an equal in America today. The wealth of information regarding our social, economic, political and religious problems is amazing for such a small journal.
Very truly yours,
Edwin C. Sainthill, O.D.
Sproviero and Sproviero
Bridgeport's Busy Chiropractors Palmer Graduates Newfield Bldg., 1188 Main St. Bridgeport, Conn.
Gentlemen:
I delayed writing this letter for some time through nothing other than carelessness. We have as many as twenty-five different magazines in our office. No other magazine creates as much faxorable comment as The Golden Age does. I can truthfully say that The Golden Age creates more favorable comments than all the other magazines combined. Am glad to give this recommendation for the benefit of anyone who might be skeptical about subscribing for it. I can assure you that they will be more than surprised with the pleasant comments which The Golden Age would create. Assuring you that it is my intention to subscribe for The Golden Age as long as it is published, I am,
Yours for greater success,
P. Sproviero.
PENROSE PHARMACY
John F. Wright, Ph. G-. Penrose, Colorado
Gentlemen :
I read twenty magazines and periodicals and The Golden Ago comes first of them all. Hail to more power for Jehovah's name.
John F. Wright.
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Gentlemen :
Wish The Golden Age were published weekly or daily; hard to wait, so interesting its pages have grown this year. Thanking you.
Yours truly,
M. W. Zimmermann. sanctuary was cleansed, and before the Jonadab class began to appreciate their privilege of getting into God's organization), must needs all have laved in those cleansing waters before they could have been anointed. Truth is important. ‘The heavens giving their dew’ represents Jehovah God pouring out fresh truths for the anointed, the prisoners and the Jonadabs.
The prophecy “I will hiss for them” refers to Jehovah’s ‘whistling’ to His people,drawing their attention, gathering them together as His flock, for the purpose of announcing His coming vengeance. The prophecy about ‘all families coming together at Jerusalem’ refers not to any assembly at any literal city, but does mean that at stated times all persons, regardless of physical location, shall assemble before Jehovah God, i.e., unto His organization, devoting themselves to the King and His kingdom.
Jehovah’s organization, the greater part of it invisible, is pictured in Zechariah’s prophecy by two brass mountains, by the four winds of heaven, and by the light-bearing candlestick. This organization, to which we hope, dear Jonadab, you will join yourself, becomes His instrument, implement and weapon for His purpose.
“The Man That Is My Fellow”
“The man that is my fellow” is the one man, the Jew (Judean — praiser), upon whose skirts all that will be saved must take hold if they would live. He is The Branch, Christ Jesus, Joshua, the angel of Jehovah, the Governor in Judah. Like Melchisedec, He had no predecessor as king.
This “man” was wounded, with those with Him, when the Elijah work was put to death, in 1918. Those were stirring times. In all the experiences of His people He shared with sympathetic heart. “I am Jesus whom thou perse-cutest.” He judges Joshua (the remnant in the flesh) and rebukes Satan.
Since then this “man”, who was called a bastard by the scribes and Pharisees, has been reigning in Ashdod, Satan’s stronghold. Many a time since 1918 the Devil’s crowd have wished that that “bastard” would keep silence. Nevertheless, He rules in the midst of His enemies, and none may say Him nay.
This “man” is a burdensome stone, a “stone of stumbling”. You can see how it is. He is the cornerstone of Jehovah’s temple, or organization. Upon this stone eventually the eyes of all that live will rest when He shall have driven Satan’s organization into ruin and have vindicated His Father’s name in Armageddon. And thus it is that ‘seven eyes shall be upon that stone in that day’.
This “man” is Jehovah’s “arrow”, that goeth forth as the lightning, Jehu-like. Or, He is the battle-bow that will cut off all other battle-bows. This man is the “nail” upon whom the Father will hang the glory of His house.
The north half of the mountain cleft by Jehovah’s feet represents The Christ in kingdom power; the south half represents the angels of God’s organization. “Under the vine and fig tree” refers to present peace, security, rest and joy in the Lord. This, dear Jonadab, we hope you now possess.
The Unobtrusive Angels
The unobtrusive angels set a good example to us poor humans. They go quietly about the Father’s work, content to be unnoticed and unknown, but they have an important part to play in God’s organization and, very properly, have a grand share in the battle of Armageddon and the vindication of His name.
The white horses (angels) are a division of the angels that attacks the forces of Satan’s prime minister, Gog. (In the evil world Satan, the mimic god, assumes the place of Jehovah, while Gog assumes the place of Jehovah’s vicegerent, Christ Jesus.)
The black horses (angels) are a division of the angels that are entrusted with work that vindicates God’s name. The grizzled horses (angels) are a division of the angels that move on Satan’s earthly organization.
Two interesting angelic personages arc represented as two women with stork wings. They are entrusted with the work of bearing the wicked old woman, the Devil’s wife, to the land of Shinar, Babylon. In other words, they fix her so that she cannot bring forth any more deviltry in the earth. The old lady gets her final ride in an ephah, a rather humiliating coffin.
The fact that an angel repeatedly talked with Zechariah shows that God uses angels to teach His people now on earth. In the prophetic picture the inhabitants of Jerusalem represent the remnant now in the earth.
And So to the Remnant
You understand who “the remnant” are. They are the spirit-begotten that have been and are true and faithful to Jehovah God. They live for the honor of His name. In Zechariah's prophecy they are designated as the approved ones; the daughters of Zion; the stones of a crown, lifted up as an ensign; the apple of Jehovah's eye, the members of His organization, and as His little ones, or feeble ones. Jehovah’s turning of Ills hand upon the little ones was to lift them up, so that they might not Ite of those that lift up themselves. Jehovah's favor is marvelous in their eyes.
It will be well known to most of our readers that God's organization in the earth is now doing an Elisha work, very different from the Elijah work, which passed away in 1918. Those who were faithful in the Elijah work and are now also faithful in the Elisha work we identify in the book of Zechariah by Joshua. In Preservation, Judge Rutherford's explanation of the books of Esther and Ruth, these are identified as the Mordecai and Naomi classes, i.e., they are the old-timers that keep up to date with the light of the truth and are faithful to that light. They do something.
The other part of the remnant is obviously the class pictured by Esther and Ruth themselves in the books bearing those names. In the book of Zechariah they are the boys and girls playing in the streets, and the three men that came from Babylon with silver and gold for the temple.
These two parts of the remnant are really all one; all received the anointing alike. Collectively they are the bay horses of Zechariah’s vision. Collectively they are included in the four carpenters that hammer the horns off the Devil’s bullheads.
Recent History Reviewed
Preparation reviews recent history. Prior to 1922 God was a little angry with His covenant people, because of their disobedience and negligence ; they were then a “curse” to the nations, but are now a blessing. Before those days there was no hire for man or beast, i.e., no effective service. During those days, while waiting for Jehovah to show His hand, the remnant passed through a great period of mourning. A similar mourning will overtake Satan's organization at Armageddon.
Strengthened by Jehovah’s invisible army, the remnant has been gathered out of Assyria, the political and religious elements of Satan’s organization. Its flight to the valley of Azal was from 1918 on. Delivered from Babylonian captivity, the remnant has been brought into the land of Gilead.
Fruitful in the old age of the church this company now gathered to Zion returned to build the temple of God, were gathered unto the temple as Christ's joint-heirs, were given a double portion of Elijah’s spirit, and thus anointed were sent forth to bear witness to Christ's crowning. Beyond the veil the resurrected members of this royal house, the House of David, are as powerful as the Angel of God.
Collectively this entire company has turned to the stronghold; it is now in the valley of the mountains; now drinking the new wine of the kingdom. The removal of Joshua’s filthy garments represents the approval of this remnant for service, but they must give the strictest heed to the Word or go back into captivity to Satan's organization.
Remnant Must Obey the Word
The truths now being brought out in Preparation and Judge Rutherford's other books, and in The Watchtower, give hope to the remnant, but they must obey the Greater Moses now setting before them life and death. They must do the things commanded, must declare the judgments written and must strengthen the weak hands, and all must share in the general service of the hour without distinctions.
The remnant will avoid spies, hypocrites, opposers and false shepherds, and the Jonadabs will do the same. What the remnant accomplishes is accomplished only by God’s spirit. Though despised by the enemy, this little company walks to and fro through the earth, walking up and down in Jehovah’s name, scattering His fiery message right and left. They are fighters of the right sort, submitting to no censorship of their heaven-sent message, and in the end will trample under foot all opposition. “The God of peace shall bruise Satan under your feet shortly.”
Jerusalem (Judah — praiser), the remnant, is the “third part” that goes through the “fire", the refiner's fire of purification. Their part is to sing Jehovah’s praises. Against them will come the great stress of the siege in the Battle of the Great Day, but through it all the remnant with steady hand will continue to warn men of the Lord's cup that makes the nations reel. In another figure, the Lord shall smite the waves in the sea and all their waters shall be dried up, that the advance of the remnant may not be blocked. In fact, they shall see the lifeblood of their enemies spilled in Armageddon.
Known since 1931 as Jehovah’s witnesses, the remnant are pictured in Zechariah’s prophecy as the skirt of the Jew upon whom the ten men take hold. They are also pictured as the two olive trees. The tents of Judah (praise) are their temporary dwelling places, i.e., they dwell temporarily on earth in the flesh. They stand in contrast to the clergy.
Scattered in various parts of the earth, there to perform God's will, the remnant there shine forth as the sun. They understand Zechariah’s prophecy, have broken all connection with “Christendom”, are criticized for declaring God’s vengeance, but ask not permission to preach the gospel.
Having been caused to possess all the precious truths now due, the remnant must remain cleansed, must serve notice, must show the way of escape, and have part in executing the judgments written. They shall increase as they have increased; Satan cannot succeed against them; they shall be counted in with and as a part of the Vindicator of God's name. Jehovah’s organization as a whole does not magnify itself against the remnant; none can magnify himself above another; all the glory is for Jehovah.
The Poor Prisoners in Babylon
The poor “prisoners” in Babylon, the “great multitude”, are in a pit wherein is no water; nevertheless, though they are now in the pit, and like desolate heritages, yet they are part of the flock that is to be fed and are called to return to God’s organization. These poor unfortunates will understand Zechariah’s prophecy, will flee to the valley of the mountains, the path of truth, and will be joined to the Lord.
The Jonadab class receive the life-giving waters before Armageddon and the rest of mankind, symbolized by the “great sea”, afterwards. Half the living waters go to the former, and half to the hinder sea. Pictured as ten men of all languages the Jonadabs hear the truth, understand it, and say, I will go also. These are part of the flock to be fed; they are warned and shown the way of escape; they understand Zechariah’s prophecy and flee to the valley of the mountains. The Jonadab class will pass through Armageddon and will witness the vindication of Jehovah’s name.
The ‘gates of the city’ are not literal gates, but references to entry into Jehovah's organization; the tower of Hananeel is God’s watch tower; the king’s winepresses are a reference to the joy of the Lord. The staff Beauty pictures the everlasting covenant made with all people; the candlestick pictures Jehovah’s organization and witness work for all devoted to Him.
The up-to-the-minuteness of the book may be judged from the applications of various scriptures to every year from 1914 to 1933 inclusive, with but four omissions from the list. One of the most important periods in the history of the kingdom of God terminated October 15, 1932 — the 2,300 days of Daniel.
Satan and His Invisible Organization
In the battle of Armageddon Lucifer, now Satan, the prince (god) of this world, will take his last stand as the mimic god. He it is who challenged Jehovah’s word in Eden and has defamed His name till now; he it is who formed all fraudulent religions, created the oppressive commercial system and corrupted and uses the political element.
Satan has formed a conspiracy against God’s anointed, seeking to prevent further testimony work. The conspiracy is marshaled under the leadership of Gog, the same evil angel who formed the conspiracy to kill Jesus. One of Satan’s mouthpieces, and his field marshal, this enemy of Jehovah God is to be crushed and destroyed.
Satan’s Visible Organization
The principal part of Satan’s visible organization is the seventh world power, the “little horn” of Daniel, the Anglo-American alliance. Typified by Greece and her sons, this power, in an implied covenant with God, has been the principal persecutor of His people. In one place Zechariah refers to it as an impenetrable forest.
In 1918 the seventh world power rifled the houses of Bibles and Bible helps and ravished the women, i.e., tried to force the chaste virgins of Christ to abandon their loyalty and yield to their wishes. The Elijah work was not heeded by “Christendom”, but was killed in that year. The remnant mourned for it after it was pierced, but those that went over from it into the Elisha work found their privileges doubled. The Mordecai class was the first to take up the new work.
The seventh world power, “the false prophet,” ‘‘Christendom’s” mainstay, is a colossal fraud and a shedder of blood; it is the ‘"cedar” tree, the Devil’s substitute for Jehovah's kingdom; it has rejected Christ as King and His kingdom and has broken the everlasting covenant.
The Lord was but a little displeased with His people, but this wicked system took away the continual sacrifice and cast down the sanctuary. Like Hamath, it borders on Tyre (the commercial element) and Zidon (the propaganda system) in its attacks upon the remnant. Tyre, the commercial element on land and sea shall be devoured.
The breaking of the staff Bands, God’s covenant with “organized Christianity”, was on July 26, 1931, with the adoption of the resolution at Columbus. Babylon symbolized Satan's organization. Jerusalem, Zion, God’s organization, is to govern; the abomination, the League of Nations, is to be destroyed.
The “Man of Sin”
The “man of sin”, “the son of perdition,” at the last includes the clergy and the elective elders, and aids public officials in the persecution of Jehovah's witnesses. This ‘foolish shepherd’ class, the “evil servant” class, the would-be “nail” upon which the glory of the kingdom should hang, like Judas, prices Jehovah’s witnesses (at what a price!), sells the flock and blesses God.
The three shepherds that are cut off in one month (suddenly) are the “man of sin”, the clergy, and the elective elders; these are the goats that are punished. The two parts that are cut off and die are the clergy and the “evil servant”.
The clergy, the false swearers and thieves, have been purchased by the commercial and political elements; they indulge in formalism, which is displeasing to Jehovah; those that follow them are not fed; they are Satan’s instruments to scatter the sheep; they sell the flock and wear special garments for effect. They will get their wounds in the house of their friends when the ‘‘prisoners", the “great multitude", pull down the house from beneath them.
Those sheep merchants are part of the rulers of “Christendom”. As the mighty oaks of Ba-sh.an they are Big Business’ camouflage religions. As Philistines, they are opposers of God and His row.-’aiit and are to be vanquished. A ‘father and mother thrusting through a false prophet' means that the faithful use the Word of God unsparingly, no matter how near the relationship.
The “evil servant” class cannot serve, because its arm is dried; and it cannot see, because its right eye is darkened. When the city, God's organization in the earth, was taken captive in 1918, the “evil servant” went into captivity, but the residue, the remnant, was not cut off from the city, but is in it to this day, thank God!
The elective elders gnash their teeth and weep and wail because the truth exposes their unfaithfulness. They have been occupying an un-scriptural position, putting service work in the rear, and copying the clergy as to garments. Pictured by the Samaritans, these false shepherds are like diviners; they are not permitted in the temple, not used by Jehovah to feed His people, and yet attempt to prophesy. Having been cut off as shepherds, they must be got rid of. They come into one class with the clergy, the “man of sin”.
The Battle of Armageddon
From the spring of 1918 to Armageddon is the day of “Preparation” of the forces that will participate in the “battle of the great day of God Almighty”, earth’s final and conclusive conflict. That battle is the attack by Satan’s forces on the New Jerusalem. “Christendom” will bring all its power and wealth to bear against Jehovah’s organization. At Armageddon every one that is on Jehovah’s side will be wholly devoted to Him. The conversion of the world will follow thereafter, easily and naturally.
In the fore part of the battle, or preceding it, we might say, Gog, Satan’s prime minister; the entire beast, “Christendom’s” political, commercial and religious monster; and the seventh world power, the “false prophet”, will boast and babble in an unprecedented manner. The visible part, pictured by Egypt and by trees, will fall in sections and every element thereof be destroyed. The strong-arm squad has already joined Gog against God’s people, and due notice has been served on them.
Satan, cast out of heaven, has drawn “Christendom’’ into his camp, taken a position like Jehovah, directing Gog, and will see his organization perish. The concluding act is the destruction of Satan himself. The flying roll, a great record. 15 by 30 feet, contains the message of God's vengeance against covenant-breakers, of whom Satan has been one.
In Armageddon Jehovah’s four-square organization will come against all parts of Satan’s organization, which shall crumble like a rotten wall; how soon this will be no man knows. Just one of the plagues of the enemies of Jehovah is that “their eyes shall consume away in their holes, and their tongue shall consume in their mouth”. The promised plague of the horse, mule, camel and ass will mean the end of tanks, airplanes, motor trucks and like instruments. In the midst of all that will be required of the remnant in that day come the words, “Fear not, but let your hands be strong.”
Concluding Thoughts
The thousand-year reign of Christ is a day by itself, beginning, not with the beginning of the reign of Christ, but with the vindication of God’s name at Armageddon. The ‘mourning as one mourneth for his only son’ is the mourning for the Elijah work that passed away in 1918, never to be revived; it should stop. Instead of fasting and sorrowing because the truth progresses, joy should be in every heart, “forgetting the things that are behind.”
Courageously, Judge Rutherford in Preparation points to a changed view on one text from that given in a certain place in Deliverance. To more than offset it is the discovery that Deuteronomy is written for our time. We conclude with a single paragraph from this wonderful book, which should be digested by every person in the world who loves Jehovah God and is hoping to pass through Armageddon into peace:
The prophecy of Zechariah clearly discloses those truths, which, in brief, may be stated in this manner, to wit: After Satan and his wicked angels are cast out of heaven, and after the World War has ended, Christ Jesus and his accompanying hosts of angels make inspection, or survey, of all the things pertaining to the earth. The Lord beholds and makes note of the wicked condition of hypocritical “Christendom”. Christ then gathers together before him for judgment all who have made, either directly or in an implied manner, a covenant with Jehovah to do his will and all who have been called to the Kingdom, and begins the work of judging; and all the approved ones ho brings into the temple and makes a part of Jehovah's organization. Thus the approved ones are made a part of Zion and are truly “Judeans”. In the judgment work that takes place at the temple Christ Jesus gathers out or puts away all of “Christendom”, and particularly her clergy that have proved unfaithful to God. He gathers out and puts away all lawless workers, the selfish and ambitious ones that form the “evil servant” class; the slothful and improvident or worthless servant is taken away, and everything about the sanctuary is cleared out and cleansed, leaving only those who truly love God and who are entirely and wholly devoted to him end his kingdom. Thus God's sanctuary is cleansed. The approved ones lie sends forth then to “offer unto the Lord an offering in righteousness”, and their offering is “pleasant unto the Lord” because they are devoted to him and his praise and service. (Mal. 3: 3,4) All of such is a work of preparation before and for the great war, and at which “battle of that great day of God Almighty” the name and word of Jehovah will be for ever vindicated before all creation.
The Radio Witness Work
TJULASKI, Va. “I have just enjoyed listening to the splendid and very searching lecture delivered by Rutherford at ten o’clock this morning. Because of my keen interest in and deep concern relative to his wonderful books and scholarly speeches, I am asking that you send to me at your earliest convenience a copy of the lecture this morning.” G. W.L. (Principal) Buffalo, N. A’. “Kindly send me one of Judge Rutherford’s addresses. Am more than interested in your helpful broadcasts.” K. L. II. Orange, N. J. “Today I had the pleasure of listening for the first time to Judge Rutherford. His talk from the shoulder (if you will pardon the expression) impressed me more than words can say, and so if you can spare a copy of this morning’s lecture, or any other, for that matter, I will say thank you.” S. E. K.
Providence, R. I. “Having listened to that wonderful lecture, given so fearlessly by Judge Rutherford this beautiful morning, I was very much touched, and would like to receive last Sunday's lecture, that I may study same and check up same, as I am a believer in God, but not of any particular faith except when I hear the Word of God preached faithfully by a man as if it was in his own heart and mind. I hope the time will never come when we cannot hear the truth plainly spoken and cannot receive these great messages over the radio.” H. A. M. 1
Haddonfield, K. J. “Please send me copy of Judge Rutherford's lecture. It was fine. I listen to the Watchtower every Sunday. May the Lord bless Judge Rutherford and keep him from all harm. 1 have read quite a few of hi< books and think they are just grand.” Mrs. E. AV. AV. ‘
Making the Final Choice
FROM Judge Rutherford's address “Why Serve Jehovah”, broadcast October 15,1933, on a chain of over one hundred stations, extending from coast to coast, one gathers the clear impression that there are now millions of people in America that are making their final choice as to whether they will continue to worship the false god, the mimic god, the god of this world, the one that has held the whole human family in bondage for six thousand years, or will turn to the true and only God, Jehovah, the Creator and Redeemer of man, the everlasting Ruler of the universe. Destiny is at the door.
There is general unanimity among the thinkers that there is something radically wrong with the world. They can see the trail of blood and crime stretching across the centuries; they know that the masses have toiled and produced and had nothing, and that the classes have neither toiled nor produced but have had more than heart could wish. In themselves they feel the urge for justice, but some of them sadly admit that they know not how to bring it about. A few, a very few, of these thinkers reason from effect back to cause and justly conclude that man is not functioning as he was designed to function and that some evil force is restraining or impeding him in the proper exercise of his faculties.
Such reasoning is correct and locates the Devil, Satan, as the real cause of humanity’s woes. Without knowing that they are so doing, most men by their course of conduct bear silent testimony to the fact that they are serving and therefore worshiping the Devil. They do his will, or, as the Scriptures put it, they are taken captive by him at his will. His servants ye are to whom ye render obedience.
No man of himself is clever enough to match his wits with Lucifer, Satan, the archenemy of Jehovah God, who has had six thousand years of experience in testing out various methods of dishonoring God’s name and of deceiving and oppressing mankind. For now many centuries he has seemingly had his best results by heralding the correlative evils of purgatory and eternal torture as the fate reserved for man by a god that has neither wisdom, justice nor love.
The Devil Is a Liar
Over and over again, in one form or another, Judge Rutherford proves to his audiences that the Devil is a liar. He tells them where and how in Eden the first lie and the first liar started man upon his present unhappy course; how it was that the first man lost life and the right thereto, and the challenge was made and accepted that Jehovah could not put a man upon the earth who would under the stress of suffering remain true to Him.
At length the man Christ Jesus appeared, and, though He suffered, His obedience never flagged; He learned obedience by the things which He suffered. He was faithful even unto death, and because of His faithful devotion and service to Jehovah He proved His own qualifications to be the Vindicator of Jehovah’s name and the Savior of the human race. In due time He was rewarded with a name which is above every name, Jehovah’s alone excepted.
Jesus bestowed upon His apostles a share in bearing testimony to Jehovah’s name, with the certainty that the reproaches which had fallen upon Him would fall upon them. What they endured, that they might have the privilege of maintaining their integrity toward Jehovah God, occupies a considerable space in the New Testament record. They laid down their burdens at the close of life’s little day secure in the assurance of their acceptability as true and faithful witnesses and of a place with Jesus wherever He shall be.
Following the apostles other faithful ones were taken out from among men to be the followers of Christ Jesus, until, in 1914, the World War and other attending evidence furnished the proof that the time had come for Christ’s reign to begin, and it did begin, one of its first acts, properly, being the expulsion from heaven of the Dragon, the Devil, who till that time had had access to the heavenly courts.
The Fight Transferred to Earth
Since the expulsion of Satan from heaven the fight between the new King, Christ Jesus, and the old king, Satan, has been transferred to earth, and Jehovah now has in the earth witnesses who go from one stronghold of Satan to another to bear testimony that Satan’s reign has ended and Christ’s reign has begun.
This creates an interesting situation. These witnesses, to be faithful, must be scorned, abused, arrested and maltreated; and they have been, and they are thus treated, and this accounts for the strange treatment they have received in the earth, many times recorded in these columns.
In all past ages, from Abel even until now,
there have been some that were faithful and true to Jehovah God. The Scriptures mention many of these who lived be tore the days of Jesus. The Scriptures show that these faithful ones that in that long interval of about four thousand years remained true and steadfast, maintaining their integrity, v. ill be resurrected as perfect men and made the visible representatives of God’s righteous government on earth. The awakening of these cannot now be faraway.
Just now a new class is coming to the fore, a class plainly foreshown in Holy Writ, a class that joins itself to earth’s new King, participates in the witness work, or, at any rate, observes it with friendly eye, passes unscathed through the battle of the great day of God Almighty (Armageddon), receives the Lord’s word of approval and the promise of everlasting life and goes over into the golden age of glory and peace and joy and divine blessing everywhere told in Holy Writ, and that every decent and honest person on earth wants to see in full operation.
The Jonadabs of Jehovah
Happy are the Jonadabs of Jehovah, in some respects the most fortunate people that have ever lived. Like the faithful from Abel to the very time of the cleansing of the sanctuary (now a year in the past), they must have the spirit of full and true obedience to Jehovah God, and a sincere and honest desire to see the vindication of that name though the earth stagger like a drunken man and the storms that sweep across the visible heavens seem to rend it in twain.
Yet no matter how great the storm, these faithful ones will live on, and shall see their little ones grow up in a world where plenty shall take the place of poverty, peace shall take the place of war, truth shall take the place of falsehood, honor shall take the place of dishonor, justice shall take the place of injustice, the Lord Jesus Christ will take the place of Satan, the god of this world, and, most important of all, the good name of Jehovah God will be vindicated and He shall take His rightful place in the heart of every one that lives.
Meantime the Jonadabs are in for a warm time, no doubt; but what of that? They have had troubles in the past which brought them nothing; now their faithful conduct will bring them everything. As the sheep, in the parable of the sheep and goats, they will seem unlovely to the goats. But the important thing is that they are approved by earth's new King (the antitypical Jehu); He lifts them up into His organization, as Jonadab was lifted up into Jehu’s chariot, and they are in for the grandest ride in history. When it is over the Devil and his crowd, including the goats, will be out of luck. They have had six thousand years of it; now they are not going to have any more at all. Jonadab will tell about that ride for a thousand years, at the very least.
The World Will Be Coming Along
The world will be coming along behind the Jonadabs. Don’t worry about their salvation; the great God has made all necessary provision for that. As fast as divine wisdom sees will be best they will be awakened from the sleep of death (not brought back from heaven, hell, purgatory, limbo or any other place where the Devil’s clergy’ have put them) and be given a chance to line up and live or line up and die. The lining up work is on right now.
With the Devil out of the way, and the priests and preachers all silent in the grave, and all lying newspapers closed up, Big Business at an end, the strong-arm squad a mere matter of history, and the Devil’s governments no longer functioning, it v\ ill not take the new King long to open the blind eyes of all that wish to see, and to open the deaf ears of all that wish to hear. Those that prefer to remain blind and deaf will be allowed to die.
It is an hour filled with tragic importance when Judge Rutherford hints to his great audience that the Devil’s crowd are seeking now, in their desperation, to prevent him from broadcasting the truth to the people, as he has been doing now for years past. They may succeed, temporarily, but final victory will be with Jehovah God and with those who are faithful to Him.
Already, Judge Rutherford warned, hundreds of transcription machines are in the land, and will be used in halls and public places to freely convey to the people the all-important news that Armageddon impends, in which hour God’s name will be vindicated, His enemies destroyed, and His friends ushered into everlasting life here on earth.
This is the general drift of what Judge Rutherford talked about on October 15, under the title “Why Serve Jehovah”. You will want to get the whole lecture, and it will be announced in due time how you can obtain it.
Latin America — The Question Mark of the 20th Century In Four Parts — Part II
AT THE height of the French Revolution, just after the death of Robespierre, a dashing young widow, with her two children, called upon Napoleon Bonaparte, to thank him for restoring to her the sword of her executed husband. She became the Empress Josephine. She was born in the French West Indies, in the island of Martinique. It has belonged to France since 1635.
Though small in size, Martinique has created considerable excitement in the world. In 1929, from its 385 square miles, it exported 34,972 tons of sugar and 4,369,057 gallons of rum. In 1927 it was calculated that 97 percent of the 234,695 inhabitants are Negroes.
On May 8, 1902, Mont I’elee, in the northwestern part of the island, erupted, completely destroying the town of Saint Pierre, with all of its 26,000 inhabitants. One iron vessel, with her decks loaded to the gunwales with hot ashes, staggered to sea and was the only thing within reach that escaped. Four months later a second eruption destroyed about 2,500 more persons in adjoining villages.
Guadeloupe, another of the French West Indies, some seventy-five miles to the north of Martinique, has about the same population, but is almost double the size. A hurricane in 1928 took 660 lives. Porto Rico we described at length in Golden Age No. 230.
The first land that Columbus saw in the new world was Guanahani, or Cat island, one of the Bahamas. His first landing was on San Salvador, or Watling island, also one of the Bahamas. The Bahamas were fully described in Golden Age No. 253.
On his first voyage, on which he discovered Cuba, he also discovered and left a garrison of 39 men on what is now called the island of Santo Domingo or Haiti, but was then called Espanola or Hispaniola. This island, which is now divided politically between the black republics of Haiti and the Dominican Republic, is 400 miles long and nearly 200 miles wide. Mount Tina, the highest mountain peak, is 10,300 feet high.
Toussaint L’Ouverture
Santo Domingo is famous as the birthplace of the Haitian soldier and liberator, Toussaint L’Ouverture. He was a full-blooded Negro and was born a slave. This man, considered one of the ablest military men of his time, was responsible for the successive chasing of British, French and Spanish troops out of the island, and the establishing of the two Negro republics that now occupy it. Treacherously seized, he died a prisoner in France; but, though both republics are dominated by the United States Government, they still persist.
The total population of both parts of the island of Santo Domingo is 3,750,000, almost solidly Negro. Demonism is rampant. It was the French Revolution that stirred these blacks to exterminate their white rulers, and when Haiti showed her ability to shake off the yoke, the fires of liberty were set all over South America.
Had the blacks that were brought over from Africa really been ‘•Christianized”, Spain would perhaps be in control of all Latin America to this day; but the clergy were corrupt and vicious, selfish and untrustworthy. In their treatment of their slaves the white women were said to he more cruel than even the men. Among the women of the colony were many of low morals, taken from the streets of Paris.
The Negroes came to see the whites just as they were, and determined to get rid of them, and did. The two races fought with the ferocity of wild beasts, committing frightful atrocities on both sides. The sweeping victory obtained has made it difficult to handle or control the Negroes now living on the island.
The first gold that Columbus took to his sovereigns came from Santo Domingo. That it was hardly won is proved by the fact that, even with modern methods, the mines which produced this gold cannot be profitably worked today. The only way they could be worked at a profit was by the forced labor of Indian and Negro slaves, which was the way it was done.
On September 3, 1930, a hurricane swept the city of Santo Domingo, destroying all but four hundred of the ten thousand buildings in the city. By this terrible storm 2,500 were slain, 10,000 were injured and 30,000 were rendered shelterless. The property loss exceeded $20,-000,000.
The Dominican Republic, which occupies the eastern two-thirds of the island, has an area of 19,325 square miles. It is thus considerably larger than Massachusetts, Rhode Island and New Hampshire, put together. It is very fertile, about 15,500 square miles being cultivable. Exports in 1927 were $31,178,769. Now you know why the United States’ marines have stayed there so long. That military administration, however, has built 845 miles of modern highways, besides railways, and increased the enrollment of school children from 18,000 to more than 100,000.
Haiti, which occupies the western one-third of the island, has an area of 10,204 square miles and thus exceeds the area of Massachusetts and Rhode Island. Here also the United States military administration has built 800 miles of modern highways. Exports in 1927 were $22,667,246.
United States troops were withdrawn from the Dominican Republic in 1924, and are expected to be withdrawn from Haiti in 1936.
The Pearl of the Antilles
Fifty miles west of the island of Santo Domingo or Haiti lies the island of Cuba, 730 miles long, with an average width of 50 miles. The eastern end lies directly south of New York city, the western end directly south of Fort Wayne, Indiana. The total area is about that of Pennsylvania. A splendid day and night service of through express trains, equipped with sleeping cars and dining cars, covers the island.
Conditions in Cuba are very different from those in Haiti. Of a total population of 3,763,375, about 70 percent are white, a condition almost exactly comparable to Florida, to which it lies so near. Favored with a wonderful climate, and the most productive soil anywhere known, Cuba produces regularly one-half of the world’s sugar.
The mountains of Cuba are covered with magnificent forests. The scenery is wild and very beautiful. A concrete motor road 20 feet 8 inches wide runs for 705 miles, the length of the island, without any grade crossings. The cost was approximately $101,125,000, which figures out at $143,439 per mile. Somebody must have squandered money on that road like a drunken sailor.
It is believed that for climate, soil, and location with reference to markets, as well as number of excellent ports, Cuba is one of the most favored spots, perhaps the most so, on the globe. Extremes of temperature are unknown.
There are many beautiful caverns in Cuba, and in the western provinces numerous streams disappear from view in underground channels long before the sea is reached. There are vast iron-ore deposits, near Santiago. The copper mines at Cobre, also near Santiago, were at one time the greatest copper mines in the world.
More than 3,350 native plants have been catalogued. All kinds of tropical fruits grow luxuriantly, many of them without cultivation: bananas, coconuts, oranges, lemons, limes, pineapples, anons, mango rose-apples, pomegranates, sapotes, tamarinds, figs, citrons, guavas, alligator pears, mameys and guanabanas.
In the cigar factories with which Havana abounds, readers are employed who read good books aloud to the workers as they work. Thus the Cubans are among the best read people to be found. The University of Havana, until it was closed in 1931 by presidential decree, had over 6,000 students.
Beautiful Land of Anahuac
The thieves and murderers of Europe were always fond of the fields and mines and personal property of the denizens of other lands; and they remain so to this day. When Pope Alexander VI drew his famous line through the Azores, from pole to pole, giving everything west of that line to the Spanish monarch, he probably never once thought of the command, ‘'Thou shalt not steal”; and when Cortez invaded Mexico and covered the land with blood it is doubtful whether he knew there is such a mandate from the Almighty as “Thou shalt not kill”. Mexico traces her present-day trouble to these errors.
The Mexico of today is 1,900 miles long, with a breadth varying from 750 to 130 miles. It is a plateau country; and the combination of a tropic sun, a high elevation and a rich soil enables it to produce 90 percent of all the different agricultural products known to man, at the same time giving to a larger part of the interior the climate of eternal spring, 65° to 75° the year around. The rainfall is liberal: and the streams from the tablelands to the sea have cut wonderful canyons, 800 to 1,000 feet deep, creating a beauty and variety of scenery of remarkable interest.
In this beautiful land of Anahuac, as it was then called, the Aztecs of long ago developed a form of civilization blemished, it is true, but probably not worse than that which Cortez represented; and in some respects it may have been better. At any rate it was a “self-determination of peoples”, and the people then were happier than they have been since.
The Aztec and His Ejido
The ejido is the key to the Mexican question. The Aztec government was a tribal one, and so devised that absolute poverty was an impossibility. Around every village was a great tract of land owned by the village as a whole. Every year the natives, by their elders in the town council, parceled out the land that was to be worked by each family. Such a thing as private property in land was never known among the Aztecs. None among them could become wealthy at the expense of the others, and none among them could become destitute if willing to work.
The ill and the aged were cared for, rights of person and property were enforced, marriage was sacred, and intemperance was frowned upon. There were courts of appeal; and even the Aztec emperor himself was held in check by a supreme court that protected the humblest subject against any attempted aggression. Great post-roads girdled the entire country. Upon these roads trained runners relayed messages to and from the remotest parts of the empire in an incredibly short time. Intensive farming, canals and irrigation ditches made Mexico a Hower garden. The mines yielded almost illimitable treasures. The wealth of the Aztec nation know no bounds. Gold, silver and precious stones were more plentiful with them than with any other nation of the ancient or modern world.
Cortez a Fiend Incarnate
Upon this scene of peace and plenty the European savage Cortez landed in April, 1519, with 11 vessels, 700 Spaniards, 18 horses and 10 pieces of artillery. For hundreds of years the Mexicans had had the superstition that at some time white “gods” (!) would come from the East and dispossess them of their country. The landing of Cortez filled the people with terror; for they esteemed him and his followers to be immortal gods whom it would be useless to resist.
Montezuma, the Aztec emperor, sent embassies to Cortez while he was still at Vera Cruz, attempting to dissuade him from invading the country. These embassies carried with them helmets full of gold dust, beautifully engraved gold and silver plate, and collars and bracelets of gold and silver, inlaid with precious stones. The more Cortez and his followers saw of these gifts the more rapacious they became; and Cortez himself, a man of intrepid courage and unspeakable devilishness, forced the issue by burning his ships and sending one of Montezuma's embassies back with both hands of every one of the fifty men cut off at his wrists.
By November 18 of the same year Cortez had reached Mexico city, then called Tenochtitlan; and although received with the greatest courtesy by the people he imprisoned their emperor, obliterated all records of the Aztec civilization, burned their great library, razed their monuments, killed their most intelligent representatives and left not a vestige of their original city when he began the rebuilding of the city in 1522.
According to a Tezeocan account, when Montezuma found he could not avoid the initial interview with Cortez he said to him and to his men: “Be welcome! Rest now after the labor you have had in coming such long ways. This is your house and these are your palaces—take them and rest therein with your captains and the companions who have come with you.” Compare the acts of this heathen man with those of the supposed Christian, Cortez.
Among the acts of Cortez which mark the character of the man were the burning alive of an Aztec governor and sixty of his followers and the butchery of six hundred of the nobility in their temple, after he had given them permission to assemble there for religious services, and had stipulated that they must come unarmed. In the city of Cholula, while the streets of the city were thronged with people attending a festival, he became suspicious; and at a given signal his men opened fire and killed thousands of them. By these and similar methods of cruelty and terrorism he seized Mexico in the name of the Spanish sovereign. It is estimated that he and his brothers in arms in North America and South America put to death fifteen million innocent persons within the first half century after the discovery of America; but there were sections of Mexico, notably Yaqui land, that he did not conquer and that have never been subjugated even to this day.
Pauperizing a Nation
But bad as were the things that Cortez did to the generation then living, the thing that he did to the unborn generations of Mexicans for hundreds of years to come was worse. He took away from the people their ejidos, located obviously in the centers of the richest areas, and gave these lands to the Spaniards who came with him and who followed him. The natives were driven away from the fertile and well watered valleys to hilly, wooded or semiarid lands, there to struggle for a livelihood under much less favorable conditions, although millions of them were denied even that privilege, and were branded with hot irons and made slaves of the colonists who now began to come from Spain in large numbers.
Unfamiliar with the (to the Aztec) vicious and unexplainable system of private ownership of land, the Mexicans lost more and more of their lands, some to the nobility, the great landlords, and some to the church, until today the descendant of the Aztec is virtually landless and homeless in the land of his fathers. Not all of the ejidos were lost at once; indeed, some of them are in existence to this day, and there are places in Mexico even now where the live stock of any villager may be pastured free of charge on the outskirts of the village, in a space allotted. But transfer of title away from the people who properly owned these areas into the hands of great and wealthy landholders has progressed from the time of Cortez onward.
The original idea of most of the so-called colonizing countries of Europe was to use the new countries merely as sources of raw material, and to do everything possible to repress their industries, the same as is still done in our generation with the cotton industries of India and Egypt; and until 1821 Mexico was so completely in subjection to Spain that no person born outside of Spain, even if of Spanish parents, could hold office of any kind in Mexico. Some of these Spanish viceroys were good men ; many of them were bad men. Most of them were cruel and selfish, and not interested in Aztecs except as slaves. In many of them the capacity to think and act independently and effectively was stunted by the law of the Inquisition, “Thou slialt not think”; and force and cunning inevitably superseded true statesmanship.
Roman Catholicism in All Its “Glory”
The most conspicuous example of what private ownership of lands leads to in a country where the common people are ignorant of such a custom is that of General Luis Terrazas. At one time this man, recently living in El Paso, held 70,000,000 acres in the state of Chihuahua —one-half of the state. He could ride all day north, south, east or west and never go outside of his own land. The whole city of Chihuahua belonged to him. No one in the city could borrow money or buy property without his consent; and if any borrowed they paid, toward the last, 12 percent for the use of their money, all of which went into his coffers. He paid no taxes to anybody, had 30,000 natives in his immediate service, worked them to the limit, paid them thirty or forty cents a day, compelled them to trade at his stores, and virtually held them as slaves. He was supposed to be the largest landowner in the world.
In 1910, some eleven thousand families owned 44 percent of the national territory, including the bulk of the best arable soil. These estates were almost entirely free of taxation, the bulk of the taxes being laid against the smaller holdings. Many of the great landlords held thousands of acres idle right at the time when thousands of the common people were wandering, landless and homeless, from one mine or plantation to another, seeking a chance to earn bread. This land question in Mexico is really at the bottom of all Mexican troubles, and is one that will not down.
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