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    The Watchtower, May 1, 1934

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    The Watchtower—1934

    “THE NATIONS’ HOPE” TESTIMONY PERIOD

    A period of nine days has been specially designated as “The Nations’ Hope’’ Testimony Period. This begins with June 30 and concludes with July 8. During this period of nine days Jehovah’s witnesses will have the privilege of distributing a pew booklet, World Recovery? All people of good will are invited to join with Jehovah’s witnesses in the proclamation of this good news of the kingdom. To have a part in the giving of this witness is a blessed privilege.

    “WORLD RECOVERY?”

    The Watchtower is pleased to announce that a new booklet is now off the press and will shortly be distributed to the nations of the world, extending further the witness that must be given to all the peoples. This booklet, World Recovery? contains several lectures Brother Rutherford has given over hundreds of radio stations. It is beautifully illustrated, and its cover is very attractive. The 5c contributed for each copy of this booklet will be used in further publishing the message.

    TRANSCRIPTION MACHINES

    The Society has made arrangements to construct and assemble portable transcription machines at our own factory at 117 Adams Street. These machines will be somewhat different in construction from those previously furnished. They will be spring-wound, and operated from a 6-volt wet-cell battery. Every machine will be furnished complete with the battery and a battery charger, so that it can be kept up to its full strength. We are pleased to announce that this machine can be offered at $100, complete, to brethren in the United States.

    PUBLIC LECTURES BY TRANSCRIPTION

    Jehovah’s blessing has been markedly upon the use of the portable transcription machine. He has plainly manifested that this machine meets the need of the hour, when the enemy, under Gog, is seeking to curtail the use of the radio by God’s anointed and when the people's ears are eager to hear, not man’s message, but God's. The transcription machine has increased the power of Jehovah's witnesses afield to preach His truth manyfold, so that the desire for the literature is stimulated and study classes of many interested hearers are being formed. Besides more than 450 such machines in the United States alone, great numbers are now being effectively used in countries near and afar. For more information, write the Society.

    LITERATURE FOR THE BLIND

    Of the booklets of the new series, Hereafter, Cause of Death, Who Is God? and What Is Truth? can be supplied, in Braille, for the blind. These are obtainable at $1 a copy, or may be had on loan by any blind reader. Address the Society's branch for the blind, 1210 Spear St., Logansport, Ind.

    Vol. LV May 1, 1934 № 9

    HIS COVENANTS

    PART 3

    “Gather my saints together unto me; those that have made a covenant with me by sacrifice. And the heavens shall declare his righteousness: for God is judge himself." – Ps. 50: 5, 6.

    JEHOVAH writes his law into the heart of those who delight to do his will. His beloved Son, always faithfully devoted to his Father, says: “I delight to do thy will, O my God: yea, thy law is within my heart. I have preached righteousness in the great congregation: lo, I have not refrained my lips, O Lord, thou knowest. I have not hid thy righteousness within my heart; I have declared thy faithfulness and thy salvation: I have not concealed thy lovingkindness and thy truth from the great congregation.” (Ps. 40:8-10) This Psalm expresses the heart condition of those who are in the now covenant and who are diligent in proving their faithfulness to God. It is entirely unreasonable and unscriptural to conclude that Jehovah would make a new covenant with the Jews and then bring other nations in and make them proselytes to the Jews, causing them to become Jews; and hence the conclusion should be entirely put aside that natural Israel has anything whatsoever to do with the new covenant. (Matthew 11:24) The new covenant is made with Christ Jesus in behalf of those who agree to do the will of God, and those who are brought into that covenant, and who continue faithful, must have the law of God written in their hearts and must from the heart declare the righteousness of Jehovah; otherwise they could not be ‘the people of God taken out for his name’.

    2 The preceding issue of The Watchtower gave consideration to the prophecy of Jeremiah concerning the new covenant, and which consideration is now here continued: ‘‘And they shall teach no more every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the Lord: for they shall all know me, from the least of them unto the greatest of them, saith the Lord: for I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.” (Jer. 31:34) Clearly this prophecy reaches a climax after the Lord has come to the temple and gathered unto himself his faithful followers. This prophecy has no reference to teaching or delivering the truth to such as ‘every man of the world’, but applies entirely to those in the covenant and who continue faithful. According to another rendering of the text the apostle quotes from this prophecy as follows: ‘‘And in nowise shall they teach every one his fellow-citizen and every one his brother, saying, Get to know the Lord! because all shall know me from the least unto the greatest of them.” (Heb. 8:11, Roth.) This scripture, as here rendered, definitely limits the application thereof to those in the covenant and who are fellow citizens and whose citizenship is in heaven. We have now reached the end of the world, which means not merely the end of a certain time, and which is often spoken of as ‘the end of the age’, but the end of the operation of Satan’s organization by the sufferance of Jehovah, and hence the time when preparation is being made to completely destroy Satan’s power and his organization. The time feature is not the important thing, but the wrecking of Satan’s organization is the important thing, because that has to do with the vindication of Jehovah’s name. At the present time the Lord has gathered his people into his organization. It is the time of the fulfilment of Psalm 50: 5. Jehovah has taken out of the nations a people for his name; hence the climax of the new covenant is reached, and now the teaching of God’s people is no longer done by men, particularly by such men as ‘‘elective elders”, hut all in Zion are children of God by his organization and are now taught of God.–Isa. 54:13; John 6:45.

    3 The Watchtower is not the teacher of God’s people. The Watchtower merely brings to the attention of God’s people that which he has revealed, and it is the privilege of each and every one of God's children to prove by the Word of God whether these things are from man or are from the Lord. Christ Jesus at the temple is Jehovah’s great High Priest in charge of the temple organization, and he is made the Teacher of the temple class; hence he teaches all the children of Zion. Jehovah is the great Teacher, and he and Christ Jesus are the teachers of God's people; hence the Lord says to his children: ‘‘Yet shall not thy teachers be removed into a corner any more, but thine eyes shall see thy teachers.” – Isa. 30:20.

    4 All at the temple will realize that their spiritual food comes to them from their Teachers, Jehovah and Christ Jesus, and not from any man. No one of the temple company will be so foolish as to conclude that some brother (or brethren) at one time amongst them, and who has died and gone to heaven, is now instructing the saints on earth and directing them as to their work. Such a conclusion smacks of the “sin of Samaria’’. In times past Jehovah and Christ Jesus have been pushed on the side and men have been looked to as the teachers in the church; but not so any more, after the cleansing of the temple. Concerning those faithful ones in the temple, and therefore in the new covenant, the prophecy of Jehovah here considered says: “They shall all know me.” This clearly implies that the revelation of Jehovah’s glory from the temple and the revelation of the meaning of his name and titles are made known to all the temple class. Such revelation Jehovah has given to his people taken out for his name, and they appreciate the fact that their greatest privilege is to now have a part in the vindication of his name.

    5 That those at the temple are equally favored is shown by these words: “They shall all know me. from the least of them unto the greatest of them”; that is to say, those who are symbolically pictured by Mordecai and Naomi, being first brought into the temple, and those pictured by Esther and Ruth, who were later brought into the temple, are all on a common level and know God from the least to the greatest of them. All of these discern that the chief issue is Jehovah’s name. All such have received the “penny”, that is to say, the new name, and all are at unity and are joyfully singing the praises of Jehovah and his King. All this in fulfilment of the prophecy uttered by Jeremiah, as above slated.

    6 There was a time when iniquity was upon Jehovah’s covenant people, which lawlessness or iniquity embraces man worship, formalism, particularly a failure to bear testimony to the name of Jehovah and his kingdom. That iniquity was due largely to ignorance, and the ignorance of God’s law is an excuse; hence Jehovah says concerning those in the covenant: “For I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.” (Jer. 31: 34) Such shows that forgiveness of their iniquity is directly related to the great revelation that came to them when gathered unto the Lord God at his temple. The iniquity here mentioned is not inherited sin from Adam, because the ones addressed have been previously made free of that sin by the precious blood of Christ Jesus applied to them when justified. The iniquity and sin here mentioned by the prophet is the same as described by the prophet Isaiah, when he says: “Then said I, Woe is me! for I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips, for mine eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts. Then flew one of the seraphims unto me, having a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with the tongs from off the altar; and be laid it upon my mouth, and said, Lo, this hath touched thy lips, and thine iniquity is taken away, and thy sin purged.” (Isa. 6:5-7) This prophecy of Isaiah began to have fulfilment upon God’s people about 1919. The forgiveness is not granted in order that the covenant people might be taken to heaven, but is granted for the sake of Jehovah’s name, that these cleansed ones might be made a people ready for his name and to testify to his name. “I, even I, am he that blotteth out thy transgressions for mine own sake, and will not remember thy sins.” (Isa. 43: 25) The basis for forgiveness of such iniquity and sin is the precious blood of Christ Jesus, which is the blood of the new covenant, and which is shed for the remission of sins.– Matt. 26:28; Heb. 9:22; 12:24.

    IMPORTANT

    7 The importance of the new covenant is magnified in the Scriptures. The prophets of old, the Lord Jesus and the apostles speak of it, and by their testimony Jehovah makes known to his children the importance of the covenant. Let it be kept, in mind that these things were written for the comfort and hope of the church. (Rom. 15:4) This is a further reason that the new covenant applies exclusively' to the church and has no application to the world in general. In further support of this conclusion, that the new covenant was made with spiritual Israel, that is to say, with those who are sanctified in Christ Jesus, note the words of the apostle written by direction of the Lord: “For by one offering he [Jesus Christ] hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified.” (Heb. 10:14) Who are the “them that are sanctified” here mentioned? Manifestly those who are brought into Christ: “For both he that sanctifieth and they who are sanctified, are all of one: for which cause he is not ashamed to call them brethren.” (Heb. 2:11) And by what means are they sanctified? The answer is, “[By] the blood of the [new] covenant, wherewith he [the man] was sanctified.” (Heb. 10:29) Continuing the apostle says: “Whereof [of all which perfecting of the sanctified ones by' the one offering of Jesus’ blood] the holy [spirit] also is a witness to us [the church].” (Heb. 10:15) Witness to us how or through what channel? The prophecy of Jeremiah answers, as set forth in Jeremiah 31:31-33. Then continuing the apostle says: “For after that he hath said [before], This is the covenant [new covenant] that I will make with them after those days, saith the Lord; I will put my laws on their heart, and upon their mind also will I write them; then saith he, And their sins and their iniquities will I remember no more. Now where remission of these is, there is no more offering for sin.” (Heb. 10:15-18, A.R.V.) Here the inspired apostle of the Lord specifically applies the terms of the new covenant to the sanctified ones. This Scriptural proof should satisfy every child of God who appreciates His word that the new covenant was made with Christ Jesus at the time of his death for and in behalf of his sanctified ones and that it is the instrument of Jehovah by which he takes out from the nations a people for his name, which people must be his faithful and true witnesses even to the end.

    INAUGURATION

    8 The making of the covenant is one thing; the inauguration thereof is another and later thing. The covenant is made by Jehovah with the one competent to enter into an agreement, hence with the mediator, in behalf of all who shall be brought under the terms of or into the covenant. Inauguration means the appropriate ceremonies inducting one into office and investing him with specific authority. The inauguration of the new covenant is the appropriate ceremonies inducting into office and vesting with specific authority those who are selected to perform the duties enjoined upon them by the covenant. The primary purpose of the new covenant is the vindication of Jehovah’s name, and to this end he takes out from the nations a people for his name who, proving faithful up to a certain point, are invested with authority to be the witnesses to his name.

    9 The making and inauguration of the law covenant foreshadowed the making and inauguration of the new covenant; hence there are certain things done in connection with these covenants that correspond. Years before the law covenant Moses was chosen by the Lord as his priest and mediator and sent to Egypt. The Israelites had refused Moses and he had fled from Egypt. “This Moses, whom they refused, saying, Who made thee a ruler and a judge? the same did God send to be a ruler and a deliverer, by the hand of the angel which appeared to him in the bush.” (Acts 7: 35) In due time God sent Moses back to Egypt to make a name for Jehovah and to mediate the law covenant. Moses received his appointment and authority from God while he was in the wilderness at Mount Sinai. (Acts 7:38) Christ Jesus, the Greater Moses, was likewise refused or rejected by the nation of Israel in A.D. 33 and was crucified in antitypical Egypt and was later raised from the dead and taken to heaven. After waiting a long period of time Christ Jesus is sent back, in the year 1914 (A.D.), clothed with full power and authority to rule. (Heb. 10: 12, 13; Ps. 110:2) After casting the great Pharaoh, Satan the Devil, out of heaven Jesus Christ came to the temple of God, to wit, in 1918, and there sits as a refiner and judge and begins the inauguration of the new covenant. Those whom Jesus the great Judge found faithful at this judgment are the saints of Jehovah, and these are the ones who thereafter offer unto the Lord an offering in righteousness. (Mal. 3: 3) These are the ones concerning whom the Lord Jesus says: “Blessed is that servant, whom his lord, when he cometh, shall find so doing. Verily I say unto you, that he shall make him ruler over all his goods.” (Matt. 24:46,47) These faithful ones are inducted into office and clothed with authority to perform specific duties, that is to say, the duties of looking after the kingdom interests, designated as the Lord’s “goods” which he commits to them, and which duties they perform by faithfully bearing testimony to the name of Jehovah.

    10 Paul says concerning the dedication or inauguration of the covenant: “Whereupon neither the first testament was dedicated [Diaglott, instituted; Rotherham, consecrated; Moffatt, inaugurated; all meaning the same thing] without blood.” (Heb. 9:18) The appropriate ceremony was performed at the inauguration of the law covenant, concerning which the apostle says: “For when Moses had spoken every precept to all the people according to the law, he took the blood of calves and of goats, with water, and scarlet wool and hyssop, and sprinkled both the book, and all the people, saying, This is the blood of the testament which God hath enjoined unto you.” (Heb. 9:19, 20) Some time prior thereto the covenant had been made with Israel in Egypt, but now at the inauguration the Israelites were instructed as to their relationship to God and their duties to be performed according to his commandments.

    11 Concerning the ceremony performed at Mount Sinai it is written: “And Moses wrote all the words of the Lord, and rose up early in the morning, and builded an altar under the hill, and twelve pillars, according to the twelve tribes of Israel. And ho sent young men of the children of Israel, which offered burnt offerings, and sacrificed peace offerings of oxen unto the Lord. And Moses took half of the blood, and put it in basons; and half of the blood he sprinkled on the altar. And he took the book of the covenant, and read in the audience of the people: and they said, All that the Lord hath said will we do, and be obedient. And Moses took the blood, and sprinkled it on the people, and said, Behold the blood of the covenant, which the Lord hath made with you concerning all these words.” (Ex 24:4-8) The Israelites, although a party to the covenant from the day they left Egypt, were now, at Mount Sinai, told by Moses the commandments and statutes of God which they must obey. Since the coming of the Greater Moses, Christ Jesus, to the temple, that is to say, to Mount Zion, he, according to the will of Jehovah, has opened up the Word of God’s prophecy, giving an understanding thereof, and set these things before the consecrated people of God who had previously been parties to the new covenant and under its terms, but who are now made to understand what are the chief duties to be performed by them, to wit, to faithfully bear testimony to the name of Jehovah. These, having taken the new name given them by Jehovah, have fully agreed to all the terms of the covenant.

    12 Moses, at Mount Sinai, set up a witness by building an altar and twelve pillars. (Ex. 24:4) Then Moses sent young men “which offered burnt offerings, and sacrifices and offerings of oxen unto the Lord”. Those “young men” seemed to picture the remnant described by the prophet Joel at chapter 2: 28. Since 1918, and more particularly since 1922, the remnant have been sent forth as Jehovah’s witnesses to offer to the Lord, and in the presence of the people, ‘sacrifices of peace and thanksgiving,’ that is to say, an offering in righteousness. – Mal. 3:3; Heb. 13:15.13 Paul, quoting from Exodus, says Moses “took the blood of calves and of goats’’, whereas the word “goats’’ is not mentioned in the Exodus record. The apparent reason for this is that the blood of Jesus Christ is the blood that makes valid the new covenant and puts it into operation both at the time of its making and at the time of its inauguration. The “Lord’s goat’’ pictures those whose lives as human creatures are sacrificed, which must precede their selection as Jehovah’s witnesses. The sacrifice takes place at the time of consecration and acceptance and begetting by God, but only those who are adjudged faithful by the Lord are pictured here by the Lord’s goat. The inauguration of the new covenant, does not need to wait until the remnant have actually undergone dissolution of the human organism. Their right to human existence ceased when they were taken into the covenant by sacrifice. Since the primary purpose of the new covenant is the vindication of Jehovah’s name, and the covenant is the instrument of Jehovah to gather out from the nations an approved people for his name, who must bear testimony to his name, it follows that the new covenant must be inaugurated or dedicated before the vindication of Jehovah’s name takes place at the battle of the great day of God Almighty.

    14 Moses took half of the blood and put it in basins and half thereof he sprinkled on the altar. (Ex. 24: 6) This part of the ceremony foreshadowed that at the inauguration of the new covenant the appropriate time and opportunity had come for God’s approved ones to offer an offering in righteousness, that is to say, the sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving to his name, the altar being the basis on which such sacrifice must be offered. The sprinkling of the blood on the altar signified that it was sanctified for the offering of such sacrifices and that the time had come to make such sacrifice; and thus the ceremony inaugurating the law covenant corresponds with the ceremony inaugurating the new covenant. Then Moses read to the people what was written in the book of the covenant which God had given him. Even so the Greater Moses, the Lord Jesus Christ, “the Lamb that was slain,’’ takes the book of instruction out of the hand of Jehovah, looses the seals thereof, and reveals to the faithful ones what is the will and purpose of Jehovah, and this he does at the inauguration of the new covenant.–Rev. 5:1-10.

    15 The book of the law was also sprinkled with the blood. “For when Moses had spoken every precept to all the people according to the law, he took the blood of calves and of goats, with water, and scarlet wool and hyssop, and sprinkled both the book, and all the people.” (Heb. 9:19) The sprinkling of the book with the blood shows that the laws and commandments of God set forth in his Word, the Bible, are now living and in force and effect toward the remnant, his witnesses, and that they must obey his commandments delivered by the Greater Moses. It is therefore appropriate that the Lord should make known to the remnant the meaning of the prophecies after his coming to the temple. The remnant have come to realize that what is written in Deuteronomy 18:19, and at Acts 3:23, now applies specifically to them, and has no application to the world. (See The Watchtower, 1933, pages 147-153.) They have been brought into the agreement or covenant of obedience, and they must obey the Greater Moses.

    16 At the inauguration of the law covenant Moses sprinkled the blood upon the people. This would prove that one must first be in the covenant of sacrifice in order to receive the privileges and benefits of the new covenant. Those, such as Paul, who died faithful prior to the coming of the Lord, actually shed their blood in death, but they must wait until the appearing of the Lord Jesus Christ at the temple to receive the crown of life, at which time the new covenant is inaugurated and after which special witness work must be done to the name of Jehovah by his remnant in the earth. Since the coining of the Lord to the temple the saints who died in faith have been gathered to the Lord, and later the faithful remnant are gathered unto the temple, so that all, including those of the remnant who remain faithful to the end, are ‘for ever with the Lord’. (1 Thess. 4:17) Just what the saints in the spirit organism arc doing we do not know; but the remnant do know what is required of them, because the Lord has made it plain.

    17 In the ceremony of sprinkling the people, water, scarlet wool and hyssop were used. (Heb. 9:19) The water may well represent the truth concerning Jehovah’s name and his purpose, both of which have been revealed to the remnant since the coming of the Lord Jesus to the temple. The scarlet wool, being of royal or kingdom color, and that of a sheep or lamb, refers to the royal Lamb of God who mediates and inaugurates the new covenant in his own blood. He, the Greater Moses, is now upon his throne and reigns. (Ps. 2:6; 110:2) The hyssop symbolizes a cleansing of the “sons of Levi” at the temple by a mediator, and at the inauguration of the covenant, which mediator is the great High Priest and Judge acting under specific authority from Jehovah. (Ex. 12: 22; Lev. 14: 4-7) “Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean: wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.” – Ps. 51: 7.

    18 This is further proof that the new covenant has nothing to do with the natural descendants of Israel and with mankind in general, but that it is limited to spiritual Israel. The remnant of Israel after the spirit are ‘sanctified by the blood of the covenant’. (Heb. 10:10, 14, 19) The sprinkling of the remnant who arc of spiritual Israel shows that the life merit of the sacrificed victim, Jesus Christ, has been applied to them and that the covenant has been made firm unto them and they must be strictly obedient to the mediator of that covenant. Those of the remnant, therefore, are purged from dead works and are made servants of the living God. (Heb. 9:14, 16, 17) It is the Greater Moses, Christ Jesus, “who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity [lawlessness], and purify unto himself a [company of] people, zealous of good works.” (Titus 2:14) Such cleansed or purified ones are the saints who are yet on earth, who are gathered unto Jehovah and made his official witnesses in the earth to declare his name and his works. (Ps. 50:5,6) At the inauguration of the law covenant Moses foreshadowed the mediator, Christ Jesus, and Moses was accompanied by the elders, who went with him up into Mount Sinai. “Then went up Moses, and Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel.” (Ex. 24: 9) The brethren of Moses who accompanied him into the mountain were members of his house and of the prospective priesthood. (Ex. 19:6) They correspond to the “four and twenty ciders” seated round about Jehovah’s throne, as described in Revelation 4: 4. Those who accompanied Moses into the mountain seemed also to bear relation to the seventy elders whom Jehovah commanded Moses thereafter to gather unto himself to assist him in bearing the burdens of his office. “And the Lord said unto Moses, Gather unto me seventy men of the ciders of Israel, whom thou knowest to be the elders of the people, and officers over them; and bring them unto the tabernacle of the congregation, that they may stand there with thee. And the Lord came down in a cloud, and spake unto him, and took of the spirit that was upon him, and gave it unto the seventy elders: and it came to pass, that, when the spirit rested upon them, they prophesied, and did not cease.”–Num. 11:16,25.

    19 Those seventy men selected by Jehovah were by him enabled and qualified to assist Moses in the administration of the law covenant; and this finds a correspondency in the office of the “able ministers of the new [covenant] ”. Concerning himself and his fellow disciples the apostle wrote: “God . . . hath made us able ministers of the new [covenant] ; not of the letter, but of the spirit: for the letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life.” (2 Cor. 3: 5, 6) For what purpose are these made able ministers of the new covenant? Manifestly for the purpose, as stated by the same apostle in another place, to wit, “for the perfecting of the saints, . . . till we all come [to] the unity of the faith.” (Eph. 4:11-13) Such is the work of ‘taking out a people for his name’, which work the new covenant accomplishes. The ministry of Paul to the church proved him to be such an able minister to the new covenant. No consecrated and spirit-begotten child of God could be counted an able minister of the new covenant, however, until he has attained maturity in Christ, that is to say, has become an elder in fact, and not by mere election of fellow creatures. When all are brought to unity in Christ all such are elders in fact. The “seventy elders” therefore would picture both the resurrected saints gathered unto Jehovah and also the remnant gathered unto the Lord at the temple. These are called “nobles of the children of Israel”, which designation appears in the record concerning the inauguration of the law covenant.–Ex. 24:11.

    20 Those who accompanied Moses into the mountain of Sinai saw the manifestation of the glory of. Jehovah: “And they saw the God of Israel: and there was under his feet as it were a paved work of a sapphire stone, and as it were the body of heaven in his clearness.” (Ex. 24:10) Likewise since Jehovah has builded up Zion and appeared in his glory he has revealed his glory to those of Zion, including the remnant, all of whom are at unity, and hence in the temple, and are taught of Jehovah and have discerned his glory, his name and his purpose. (Ps. 102:16; Isa. 54:13) They also see Jehovah’s glorious organization, of which Christ Jesus is the Head, and they discern that this organization includes the faithful witnesses of Jehovah now on earth ‘seated in heavenly places in Christ Jesus’, upon which organization Jehovah sits and rules.–Deut. 33:26; Ps. 68: 32, 33; Ezek. 1:26.

    21 By his prophet Isaiah Jehovah identifies those of his servant company, which he has taken out for his name: “Thou whom I have taken from the ends of the earth, and called thee from the chief men thereof, and said unto thee, Thou art my servant; I have chosen thee, and not cast thee away.” (Isa. 41:9) These are the antitypical seventy elders or “nobles of the children of [spiritual] Israel”. “And upon the nobles of the children of Israel he laid not his hand: also they saw God, and did eat and drink.” (Ex. 24:11) Upon these Jehovah “laid not his hand” to do them hurt, in spite of the fact that they have a vision of his glory. Likewise Jehovah did not turn his hand against Isaiah when the prophet saw the glory of the Lord at his temple; and there Isaiah pictured the faithful remnant now on earth. “Then said I, Woe is me! for I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips: for mine eyes have seen the King: the Lord of hosts.” (Isa. 6:5) The remnant here pictured by Isaiah being cleansed and made members of the faithful servant class, and hence Jehovah's witnesses, Jehovah says to them: “Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness. Behold, all they that were incensed against thee shall be ashamed and confounded: they shall be as nothing; and they that strive with thee shall perish.” (Isa. 41:10,11) Compare the foregoing text with the fourth chapter of Revelation. Jehovah God now feeds his own people upon food convenient for them, foreshadowed by the fact that the “seventy elders” “did eat and drink”. Jehovah has separated his people from others and has spread a feast for them, and they, the remnant, now on earth enjoy that feast and sing praises to Jehovah. “Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.’’ (Ps. 23:5) The faithful remnant class shall continue to cat, but those who give glory to creatures and are lawless shall not be spiritually nourished ; as Jehovah has declared: “Therefore thus saith the Lord God, Behold, my servants shall cat, but ye shall be hungry: behold, my servants shall drink, but ye shall be thirsty: behold, my servants shall rejoice, but ye shall be ashamed: behold, my servants shall sing for joy of heart, but ye shall cry for sorrow of heart, and shall howl for vexation of spirit. And ye shall leave your name for a curse unto my chosen: for the Lord God shall slay thee, and call his servants by another name.’’–Isa. 65:13-15.

    22 Mount Sinai, the place of the inauguration of the law covenant, pictured Mount Zion, God’s organization, to which his people arc gathered and where the new covenant is inaugurated. “And the Lord said unto Moses, Come up to me into the mount, and be there: and I will give thee tables of stone, and a law, and commandments which I have written; that thou mayest teach them.’’ (Ex. 24:12) Jehovah there made Moses the teacher of those of his house. Now Jehovah by and through Christ Jesus, the Greater Moses, teaches the remnant on earth who arc members of his house, and they, that is, the faithful ones, ‘see their Teachers,’ learn the truth from them, and rejoice.

    23 At God’s commandment Moses read to the Israelites the law which he had received from Jehovah while in the mountain, and which reading took place prior to the gathering of Moses and his brethren into the mountain at Jehovah’s command. Because of the fear of the Israelites they requested a mediator: “And all the people saw the thunderings, and the lightnings, and the noise of the trumpet, and the mountain smoking: and when the people saw it, they removed, and stood afar off. And they said unto Moses, Speak thou with us, and we will hear: but let not God speak with us, lest we die. And Moses said unto the people, Fear not: for God is come to prove you, and that his fear may be before your faces, that ye sin not. And the people stood afar off: and Moses drew near unto the thick darkness where God was.”–Ex. 20:18-21.

    24 Jehovah then spoke to Moses and directed him as mediator to speak to the people, and Jehovah commanded what they should do “in all places where I record my name”. (Ex. 20:24) This shows that the purpose of the covenant was looking to the vindication of Jehovah’s name; so likewise upon the coming of the Lord Jesus, the Greater Moses, to the temple and there gathering unto himself the faithful remnant, they must have a mediator, or else they would “fall into the hands of the living God”, which they would not want to do, because of their imperfection. When the holy spirit ceased to perform the office of helper or comforter and advocate, the Lord Jesus at the temple stands between Jehovah and the remnant and performs the office of mediator and advocate as well as the inaugurator of the new covenant.

    25 As hereinbefore stated, the new covenant was made “after those days”, meaning after the law covenant had become old, which occurred just prior to the death of Jesus. As to the inauguration of the new covenant there is a proper application of the words “after those days” also. The nation of Israel foreshadowed “Christendom” or “organized Christianity”, so called, which were in an implied covenant with God to do his will because they had taken the name of Christ. At the time Jesus inaugurated the new covenant “Christendom” had broken all the laws and commandments of God, which laws and commandments “Christendom” claimed to be keeping. The transgression of “Christendom” included the breaking of the “everlasting covenant” concerning the shedding of blood. “The earth also is defiled under the inhabitants thereof, because they have transgressed the laws, changed the ordinance, broken the everlasting covenant.” (Isa. 24:5) The inauguration of the new covenant, therefore, may properly be said to be “after those days”, that is to say, after “Christendom” had broken all of Jehovah’s laws and commandments.

    26 The nation of Israel as a whole was under the law covenant and bound by its terms. That nation broke the. covenant, and the covenant did not produce a people for Jehovah's name for that reason. There were a few individual Israelites, however, who w< re faithful to God and who accepted Christ Jesus at his coming, and who were transferred from Moses to Christ, and hence brought under the terms of the new covenant. “Even so then at this present time also there is a remnant according to the election of grace.” (Bom. 11:5) After the making of the new covenant all who made an unconditional consecration to do the will of God, and who were accepted and begotten by the spirit of God came under the terms of the new covenant, the purpose of which covenant was and is to produce a people for Jehovah’s name. Not all, by any means, of such as came under the terms of the new covenant proved faithful, and hence they were not selected as a people for the name of Jehovah. It is only a remnant “in the day of the Lord” who are found faithful. “The remnant shall return, even the remnant of Jacob, unto the mighty God. For though thy people Israel be as the sand of the sea, yet a remnant of them shall return: the consumption decreed shall overflow with righteousness.”–Isa. 10:21,22.

    27 It is the remnant found faithful that participate in the inauguration of the new covenant and toward whom the new covenant is inaugurated. Such are gathered unto Jehovah because they have been faithful, and such are the ones made members of the elect servant of Jehovah. “Behold my servant, whom I uphold, mine elect, in whom my soul delighteth; I have put my spirit upon him; he shall bring forth judgment to the Gentiles. He shall not cry, nor lift up, nor cause his voice to be heard in the street A bruised reed shall he not break, and the smoking flax shall he not quench; he shall bring forth judgment unto truth. He shall not fail nor be discouraged, till he have set judgment in the earth: and the isles shall wait for his law. Thus saith God the Lord, he that created the heavens, and stretched them out; he that spread forth the earth, and that which cometh out of it; he that giveth breath unto the people upon it, and spirit to them that walk therein; I the Lord have called thee in righteousness, and will hold thine hand, and will keep thee, and give thee for a covenant of the people, for a light of the Gentiles; to open the blind eyes, to bring out the prisoners from the prison, and them that sit in darkness out of the prison house. I am the Lord; that is my name: and my glory will I not give to another, neither my praise to graven images. " – Isa. 42:1-8.

    28 It is upon the faithful remnant or visible part of the servant class that Jehovah confers the new name. The new covenant has produced these as a people for Jehovah’s name. To them the testimony of the Lord Jesus Christ is committed, and because thereof and because they keep the commandments of Jehovah in delivering this testimony Satan attempts to destroy them; as it is written: “And the dragon was wroth with the woman, and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.’’ (Rev. 12:17) Their preservation now depends upon continued faithfulness unto Jehovah in obedience to the commandment. “The Lord preserveth all them that love him: but all the wicked will he destroy.’’ (Ps. 145:20) “And it shall come to pass, that every soul, which will not hear that prophet, shall be destroyed from among the people.’’ (Acts 3:23) These gathered unto Jehovah must continue to sing forth his praises.

    (To be continued)

    QUESTIONS FOR STUDY

    1. How does the psalmist express the heart condition of those who are in the new covenant and diligently proving their faithfulness to God?

    2. How may we know to whom and when Jeremiah 31: 34 applies?

    3, 4. By whom and how are the children of Zion now taught? For what purpose?

    5. Apply the statement, “They shall all know me, from the least of them unto the greatest of them.’’

    6. When and how is the promise fulfilled, ‘I will forgive their iniquity, and will remember their sin no more’? On what basis was this done, and for what purpose?

    7. Prove that the new covenant applies to spiritual Israel exclusively.

    8. Distinguish between the making of the new covenant and the inauguration thereof. What is the primary purpose of the new covenant, and how is that purpose accomplished?

    9. Point out correspondencies which show that the making and inauguration of the law covenant foreshadowed that of the new covenant.

    10-12. What does Paul say in regard to the “blood of the testament’’ at the inauguration of the law covenant? How is this presented in the record by Moses? What was the purpose of the inaugural ceremonies at Mount Sinai? How does that prophetic picture have fulfilment?

    13. Account for Paul’s reference to taking the blood of calves and “goats’’, the latter not mentioned in the Exodus record.

    14. Apply Exodus 24:6 and Moses’ ‘reading the book of the covenant in the audience of the people’.

    15, 16. Explain (a) Moses’ ‘taking the blood and sprinkling both the book and all the people’, and (b) what was therein foreshadowed.

    17, 18. Explain the symbolism of the water, the scarlet wool, and the hyssop, used in the inauguration of the law covenant. Point out the proof therein as to who are received into the new covenant.

    19. Who accompanied Moses into the mountain of Sinai, and what was pictured therein?

    20, 21. Apply the prophetic picture described in the record at Exodus 24: 10. Also that of verse 11.

    22-24. How do the prophetic invitation and promise of Exodus 21: 12 have fulfilment?

    25. What is the significance of the statement that the new covenant would be made “after those days’’?

    26. How could Paul in his day make the statement recorded at Romans 11:5? What of its further application?

    27, 28. Who have part in the inauguration and purpose of the new covenant? Why are they granted this privilege? How does Jehovah in his prophetic record set forth the fact and the purpose of their commission, as well as the basis of their security and the source of their confidence and strength?

    REQUIREMENTS

    THE only true and almighty God is Jehovah, the Creator of heaven and earth and of everything good therein. He is the fountainhead of life, and no creature can obtain life everlasting save through God’s appointed way. His name Jehovah means his almighty purpose concerning his creatures. Having purposed to do certain things, he will do them, regardless of opposition. His people are no longer ignorant of his purpose. The accomplishment of his purpose will prove to all intelligent creatures that the name of Jehovah stands for everything that is righteous and that all who live must be in harmony with him.

    For centuries the name of Jehovah God has been reproached, dishonored and made infamous by Satan, his angels and his wicked servants amongst men. The practice of hypocrisy has been one of the chief means employed to make the name of Jehovah infamous. Today the whole world lies under the domination of Satan, and that part of the world which heaps upon God’s holy name the greatest amount of infamy is composed of the nations called “Christendom”, or “organized Christianity”. For this reason what God is now requiring to be done on earth is confined chiefly to “Christendom”. God has laid upon his chosen and anointed people the responsibility of doing certain

    work in the earth, and that which is specifically required of them he has made plainly to appear.

    The vindication of his name is the paramount issue before all intelligent creatures of the universe. More than six thousand years ago God expressed his purpose to produce a “seed” whom he would use as the vindicator of his name. In due time he sent Jesus has beloved Son to the earth to carry forward his purpose and for Jesus to prove his qualifications to he the vindicator of Jehovah’s name. The perfect man Jesus must make this proof under conditions of adversity and suffering. The greatest thing that Jehovah required of his beloved Son was that of full obedience while undergoing contradiction of sinners and suffering at the hands of Satan operating through a wicked and perverse generation of men. Jesus met the test and won, and, “being made perfect, he became the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey him.” (Heb. 5: 9) Thus the divine rule is fixed that obedience is the chief thing required of all who are to be associated with Christ Jesus in his great work.

    We have been told in times past that God’s chief purpose is to save men and take them to heaven. That information given us was wrong. Jehovah's primary purpose is the vindication of his name; and the salvation of obedient creatures by and through faith in the shed blood of Christ Jesus is a secondary matter. Until the name of Jehovah God is vindicated no man of the world can get life everlasting. Within a short time now God’s name will be vindicated at the battle of Armageddon, and then the way of life will be open to the peoples of earth; but before that God requires that his people now on the earth bear testimony concerning his name, his purpose, and his kingdom, and the ones upon whom God has laid this obligation who fail or refuse to be wholly obedient thereto shall die without any hope of resurrection. Lawlessness or disobedience will no longer be tolerated.

    In order to magnify in the minds of creatures the importance of his purpose and to make pictures foreshadowing the outcome thereof Jehovah revealed himself by his name to Moses and then sent Moses into Egypt to make for Him a name and to deliver God's chosen people. Moses was a type of Christ Jesus, and what Moses did foreshadowed what Jesus must do on a far greater scale. In Egypt God made a covenant with Moses as mediator for his chosen people the Israelites, the primary purpose of which covenant was the selection of a people who should serve God’s holy name to the vindication thereof. That law' covenant was inaugurated at Mount Sinai, where God said to the Israelites: “If ye will obey my voice ... ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests, and an holy nation.” (Ex. 19:5,6) The nation of Israel failed to produce a people for Jehovah’s name; and in that they foreshadowed that “Christendom” would fail and that there would come out from “Christendom” a class of men who would be known as God’s remnant, and who would constitute a people for Jehovah's name.

    Then Jehovah sent Jesus to the earth to make a name for Jehovah and to redeem mankind. The chief purpose of Jesus’ coming to earth, as stated by him, was to bear testimony to the truth concerning Jehovah. (John 18:36,37) The salvation of the human race was and is secondary to that chief purpose. After Jesus had borne testimony' as required the law covenant came to an end, and immediately God made a new covenant with Christ Jesus in behalf of all those who should agree to do the will of God. That new covenant was made on the day that Jesus died, the memorial of which we celebrated March 28, 1934. The blood of Christ Jesus put the new covenant into force and effect, and therefore all who have made a consecration to do the will of God have been brought under the terms of that covenant.

    The purpose of the new covenant is not to save men and give them life, but to take out from amongst the consecrated a people for Jehovah’s name who shall be wholly devoted to God and who shall faithfully follow in the footsteps of Christ Jesus by giving a true and faithful witness. The law' covenant made in Egypt failed to bring forth a people for Jehovah’s name, but the new covenant in its place and stead has brought forth a people for Jehovah’s name. The law covenant made in Egypt was inaugurated at Mount Sinai. The new' covenant made on earth, antitypical Egypt, where Jesus died, is inaugurated at Mount Zion, meaning God’s capital organization. That inauguration took place upon the coming of Jesus to the temple for judgment, and those found faithful at that judgment were made members of the “faithful and wise servant” class, and toward these faithful ones the new covenant is inaugurated. The unfaithful and lawless ones are gathered out and cast into darkness.

    At the inauguration of the law covenant Jehovah told Moses of his purpose to raise up a great Prophet of whom Moses was merely a type. For years thereafter Moses led the Israelites through the wilderness, and then God halted that people upon the plains of Moab and there Moses disclosed to the Israelites the fact of the future coming of the great Prophet of Jehovah, which great Prophet is Christ Jesus. On the plains of Moab God made a covenant with Moses and the Israelites and that is properly called the covenant of faithfulness, because faithfulness to God was the chief requirement specified therein. That covenant was a type prophetically foretelling the covenant that God would make with Christ Jesus for the kingdom of the world. Into that covenant for the kingdom Jesus Christ as Jehovah’s great High Priest invited his faithful followers to join with him.–Luke 22:28, 29.

    Some of you have for years been the followers of Christ Jesus. In times past you looked to men as your teachers, but now you discern Jehovah and Christ Jesus as your teachers, who are no longer pushed into a corner, but who now disclose to you the fulfilment of the prophecies, spreading a feast of truth for all the faithful, and this in the presence of God’s enemies. Now you are plainly taught by the Lord that in 1914 the kingdom was born and shortly thereafter Satan was cast out of heaven, and that straightway Christ Jesus, the Greater Moses, came to the temple of Jehovah and began the judgment of those who had agreed to do the will of God. At that judgment the Lord did a cleansing work, that the cleansed ones might offer unto Jehovah sacrifices of praise and thanksgiving in righteousness. Those who were found faithful and approved, and those who have since continued to be faithful, have had their eyes of understanding opened and have received a foregleam of the glory of Jehovah God and his kingdom and have learned that the kingdom will bring the vindication of Jehovah’s name, and this to be followed by great blessings to the peoples of the world.

    At the time of temple judgment the new covenant is inaugurated toward those who are faithful to their covenant of sacrifice. Such faithful ones are then brought into the covenant for the kingdom. Are those faithful ones thus taken into the kingdom covenant there for the mere purpose of getting them into heaven? No, that is not the primary purpose; but if they meet the requirements now laid upon them they will reach heaven; but they must first meet that which is now required of them. These faithful ones are designated as the remnant of Jehovah or the people taken out for his name, and they must now do a specific work in conjunction with the vindication of Jehovah’s name. To that faithful company the following scripture specifically applies, to wit: “But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy' nation, a people for a purpose; that you may declare the perfections of him who called you from darkness into his wonderful light; who once were not a people, but now are God’s people; who had not obtained mercy, but now have obtained mercy. "–1 Pet. 2: 9, 10, Diag.

    Now Christ Jesus has come to the temple. Those gathered unto him to the temple, and taken into the covenant for the kingdom, must render full and complete obedience unto Christ Jesus, the Greater Moses, because God has taken them out of the world and gathered them to himself for that very purpose, and they must obey the commandments given to them by Christ Jesus. Concerning those in the kingdom covenant this scripture now applies, to wit: “And it shall come to pass, that every soul, which will not hear that prophet, shall be destroyed from among the people.” (Acts 3:23) What God said to the Israelites at the making of the covenant in Moab now applies with greater force to those taken into the kingdom covenant today, which latter covenant is the covenant that affords opportunity for those in it to prove their faithfulness to God under the most adverse conditions. To those in the covenant Jehovah now says: “See, I have set before thee this day life and good, and death and evil; in that I command thee this day to love the Lord thy God, to walk in his ways, and to keep his commandments.” (Deut. 30:15,16) Those at the temple and in the covenant are to receive the crown of life provided they are now faithful unto death. See, therefore, the great crisis has come.

    Jehovah God has one capital organization, over which he has placed Christ Jesus, and every one who is of that organization must be obedient to the instructions coming from the Lord to his organization. They must not ‘do every man whatsoever is right in his own sight’ (Deut. 12:8), but they must carry forward the work of God and his organization in his appointed way. All those who insist on taking a contrary course are lawless, and their fate is plainly marked out in Jehovah’s judgments. The Lord requires his people to be separate from the world and to refuse to compromise with any part of Satan’s organization. With them there is no alternative: they must ‘obey God, and not men’. They must be holy even as God is holy; which means that they must be wholly and unreservedly devoted to Jehovah and his organization if they would be his people and obtain his final reward. (2 Cor. 6:16-18; Acts 5:29) These faithful ones cannot ask help from the world, but it is their privilege and duty to demand that the rulers of this world cease interfering with their service to Almighty God. And whether the rulers cease to interfere or not they' are to go straight forward in giving the testimony to Jehovah’s name.

    As Jehovah has placed his name upon Christ Jesus, his Chief Executive Officer, he has also given a new name to those whom he has brought into the temple and taken into the covenant for the kingdom. This is the greatest honor that was ever given or ever will be given to creatures, and concerning this it is written: “I am the Lord; that is my name: and my glory will I not give to another, neither my praise to graven images.”–Isa. 42:8.

    Notice and warning of the battle of the great day of God Almighty, which is now impending and immediately about to fall, must be given, and for this purpose Jehovah says to you: “Ye are my witnesses.”

    Has Jehovah for centuries carried forward his purpose as set forth in his Word merely to save the church and take the members thereof to heaven, there to participate in ruling and blessing the world during the millennial reign of Christ? Most certainly not. Salvation of man comes by faith in the shed blood of Christ Jesus, and in no other way. The covenants God has made with creatures are not for the purpose of saving men and giving them life, but for the purpose of providing a people for himself to be specifically used at the great crisis, which is now at hand. Before his wrath falls upon Satan’s organization Jehovah will have the nations of the world told that he is the only true and almighty God and that he can put men on earth who will maintain their integrity toward him under severe tests; that the time for his kingdom has come, and that he has placed Christ Jesus at the head of his organization and made him the Commander and Leader of all who love righteousness; that with his kingdom he will vindicate his name; and that the kingdom under Christ is the hope of the world, and all must obey his orders or die. Therefore the commandment is given: “This gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come.” (Matt. 24:14) This proves that the great tribulation will fall suddenly upon the world immediately following the completion of the delivery of this testimony.

    Jehovah would have no purpose in taking out a people for his name unless he would use them to testify concerning his name. Those whom he has taken out be has brought to unity in Christ; therefore all of those who receive his final approval and enter fully into the kingdom, must dwell and work together in peace and in unity. Anyone in the covenant for the kingdom who shall now become a complainer, faultfinder, opposcr or fearful of the enemy and refuse to joyfully go forward, shall certainly fall and be consumed. (Jude 14-18) To be worthy of the name which Jehovah has given his anointed people they must be found at complete peace and unity, fighting shoulder to shoulder for the faith of the gospel and never for one moment manifesting fear of man or devil. Your fearlessness and faithful devotion to duty will astound the enemies and strike terror into their hearts. You will be reproached, opposed, persecuted, and afflicted while doing this work, but such is the great privilege given by the Lord God to those whom he has honored with his name.–Phil. 1:27-29, Weymouth.

    Let the anointed witnesses of Jehovah now have in mind what God required of Moses and Aaron in Egypt before he brought destruction upon that world power. As Aaron was the mouthpiece of Moses, even so now you are the visible representatives of Christ on earth to carry out his commandments, and every one who hears his voice must and will testify to the truth.

    God directed Moses to call down upon Egypt ten plagues, thereby prophetically foretelling that Christ Jesus would call down upon Satan’s organization ten plagues, nine of which would be in the nature of notices and warrings. Those plagues must have an antitypical fulfilment; and nine of them have been called down upon the world and are now in course of fulfilment or have been fulfilled. The antitypical fulfilment of these plagues began after the coming of the Lord to the temple, and you have had a part therein. Those plagues upon Egypt constituted notice and warning to the rulers that the execution of God’s vengeance was near at hand and would be executed against Egypt unless that power yielded and obeyed God. The antitypical fulfilment is notice and warning to the visible rulers of the world, as well as to the invisible, that the day of God’s vengeance is at hand and will be fully executed against all who oppose his purpose. The rulers of Egypt refused to hear and obey God’s warning, and his goodness in sending such notice and warning only served to harden Pharaoh’s heart. Likewise notice and warning in fulfilment of nine of these plagues have now been given to “Christendom”, and her rulers have refused to hear and obey God and have continued to oppose his purpose. God’s goodness in giving them such notice and warning by and through his witnesses has only served to harden their hearts and cause them to identify themselves as the enemies of God and his organization.

    The ninth plague upon Egypt was that of great darkness upon all except God’s chosen people. The ninth plague upon the world antitypically fulfilled is accompanied with great darkness upon all the ruling powers, and especially upon the clergy. These are among the leaders of the world, and hence of the firstborn, or chief ones, of the world. Instead of profiting by the goodness of the Lord in sending them notice and warning, these firstborn ones have become bitter against Jehovah and his people and continue to exercise all their power and efforts to stop the giving of the testimony of truth. They continue to cause the arrest and imprisonment of many, and the death of some, of Jehovah’s witnesses. In every part of “Christendom” Jehovah’s witnesses are truly hated by the clergy and their close allies. As Pharaoh denounced Moses and Aaron, so now these mighty men of “Christendom” say to Jehovah’s witnesses: ‘Be gone; we will see you no more; for in the day you bother us further you and your works shall die.’

    With calmness and dignity, and with full confidence in Jehovah and his King, you as his witnesses now withdraw and you will cease further efforts to enlighten the visible rulers of the world. Jehovah God has set the stage for the vindication of his name, and he will soon give a full expression of his vengeance by the complete destruction of Satan’s organization, including the firstborn of the world.

    Just preceding the execution of the tenth plague Jehovah caused his own people to be instructed. Even so now, just before the antitypical execution of the tenth plague, the Lord has taken his people into his secret plaee, which is a place of darkness to all on the outside, but of brilliant light to those inside. There in the secret place the Lord fully instructs his people and gives them an understanding of his purpose, and then sends them forth to declare from the housetops his message concerning the execution of his purpose. (Matt. 10:27-33) This message now to be delivered is notice and warning to the people of good will informing them of the impending destruction of this wicked world, and of the full establishment of God’s kingdom. You who have been taken out, made separate from the world as a people for Jehovah’s name, must now deliver God's message to the people. This obligation is not merely discretionary, but is mandatory, because to you has been committed the testimony of Jesus Christ. – Rev. 12:17.

    …