The Watchtower, June 1, 1937
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CONVENTIONS
The Watchtower joyfully announces the following conventions for Jehovah’s witnesses and companions: Paris, France, August 21-23 inclusive, which will serve for Great Britain and Continental Europe; Columbus, Ohio, September 15-20 inclusive, which will serve the United States, Canada, and others who may be able to attend.
The president of the Society expects to be present at both conventions. Make your arrangements for vacations during those periods. Let all of his people ask Jehovah to make these conventions a great witness to the honor of His name.
More information in later issues of The Watchtower.
“GLITTERING SWORD”
The coming testimony period, “Glittering Sword,’’ from June 5 to 13 inclusive, will afford a most generous opportunity for the people of good will to get the Lord’s latest provision, to learn how they may find protection and preservation from Jehovah’s Glittering Sword. During this period the kingdom publishers will offer the people a 50c combination; this to consist of the two books Riches and Preservation and four booklets, including Protection, Uncovered, and Armageddon. In recent issues the Informant has given further details concerning this period, and all publishers may inform themselves therefrom and proceed accordingly. Your promptitude in preparing all needful things for this period will be pleasing to the Lord and blessed. Please report to this office the result of your service.
NEW PORTABLE PHONOGRAPH
The Society now manufactures and has to offer a light-weight phonograph, which is 14 by 13 by 5 inches in size, and covered with brown cloth and having rounded corners. It weighs 9 pounds 13 ounces. With the three phonograph discs which can be carried in it, it weighs 12 pounds 6 ounces. The volume of sound is strong, and the tone is of the best quality. As shipped out from our factory, the phonograph is timed properly, at 78 r.p.m., and should be checked from time to time. This model, including three discs, is offered on a contribution of $10.00; without the three discs, $8.00. Remittance should accompany orders. Also specify the particular discs wanted.
ANNOUNCING COMPANY MEETINGS
Many hearers of radio transcription lectures have the desire to meet with Jehovah’s witnesses and to study his Word with them. Hence wherever the kingdom message is radiocast, the time and place of meeting of the local company of Jehovah’s witnesses or of the new public meetings on the series ‘‘ Exposed ’’ should be announced after the transcription. The time on the air being paid for, the station manager ought to readily grant your request to make such announcement.
Vol. LVIII
June 1, 1937
No. 11
ADVERSARIES
“Because our conflict is not with blood and flesh, but with the governments, with the authorities, with the potentates of this darkness, with the spiritual things of wickedness in the heavenlies.” —Eph. 6:12, Diaglott.
JEHOVAH has given command to his servants: “Arise ye, and let us rise up against her to war.” (Obad. 1, Leeser) This command could have its application only after the second coming of the Lord Jesus, when he is sent forth to rule amongst his enemies, and more particularly after his coming to the temple of God, when the Devil is gathering his forces to Armageddon preparatory for the battle of the great day of God Almighty. All the prophecy that is now revealed and made clear by reason of the physical facts, which God has caused to come to pass, proves beyond all doubt that Christ Jesus is at the temple; that he is dividing and judging the nations and causing the various ones to identify themselves and that all the forces of the wicked one are being gathered against those who serve God. All such are adversaries of God and his kingdom. Regardless of how much a Christian loves peace and quietude, this is no time to seek a place of seclusion and quietness. It is the time of war with the enemies. It must of necessity be the time of peace within the ranks of the Lord’s people, when they must dwell together in unity and fight in one solid phalanx. All of the temple company of God are now under the leadership of Christ Jesus, and all must be of one mind, which is the mind of Christ. God and Christ have risen up against the enemies, and all who are on the side of God and Christ must always take their place against the adversaries and do their part in the war.
IDENTIFYING THE ENEMY
2 It must be the will of God that those of the temple shall be able now to identify the enemies, that their attitude toward the same may be in full harmony with God’s will. Who, then, as shown by the Scriptures, are the enemies of the Lord and of those who serve him? The enemies of God and Christ Jesus are certainly the enemies of everyone who places himself on the side of God and his kingdom, and who gives his devotion and love and service to God and Christ. It is against such adversaries that the war is now being waged. It is against such that Jehovah now commands his people and all of his organization to ‘rise against her in war’. The fight is not against some imaginary foe, but against the mighty host arrayed against all righteousness.
3 The arch enemy of God is Satan the Devil. All those who are in the Devil’s organization and under his domination are the enemies of God and of his people. The reason for the existence of that enmity must be fully understood and appreciated by the people of God in order that they may deport themselves in harmony with the will of God. Covetousness led Lucifer to become the enemy of God. He had an insatiable desire to have the praise of creatures, which properly belongs to Jehovah, and not to any creature. He resorted to fraud, lying and deceit, resulting in murder, in order to gratify his covetousness. He was sentenced to death and given the criminal names of Satan, Serpent, Dragon, and Devil. Among the first things he did after receiving those titles from Jehovah was to induce the murder of one of God’s faithful witnesses. It is therefore authoritatively said of him by the Lord Jesus that: “The devil . . . was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it.”—John 8:44.
4 Jehovah’s judgment, entered against that wicked one, is death, and which judgment contains amongst other things these words: “I will destroy thee,.. . and never shalt thou be any more.” (Ezek. 28:16-19) That unchangeable judgment has not yet been executed, for the following reason, to wit: Satan the Devil challenged God to put on earth men that would remain true and faithful to God when put to the most severe test, the Devil claiming that he could cause all men to curse God to his face. (Job 2:5) God could have ignored that challenge, but had he done so the question of Jehovah’s supremacy and unlimited power might not have been settled in the minds of other creatures. God accepted the challenge and suspended the execution of the judgment against Satan in order to give the Devil the full opportunity to prove his wicked challenge and then to have God’s power demonstrated against that wicked one and, before so doing, to have Jehovah’s name proclaimed throughout the earth.—Ex. 9:16, Leeser.
5 A host of angels joined the Devil in his rebellion against Jehovah God, and they too were sentenced to death, but the execution thereof has been withheld until God’s due time to destroy those adversaries. Awaiting tl at day, the Lord degraded that host of wicked angels by holding them away from the light of his purpose and by keeping them in the darkness. “The Lord knoweth how to deliver the godly out of temptations, and to reserve the unjust unto the day of judgment to be punished.’’ (2 Pet. 2:4-9) All of those wicked angels are adversaries of God and of righteousness. That host of rebellious ones later seduced “the sons of God’’, that is to say, angels who are on the side of Jehovah and of his organization. The Scriptures disclose that those “sons of God” were seduced or turned aside from the path of righteousness by fraud, practiced upon them by Satan and the demons, in this manner, to wit: Many persons, male and female, were in the earth who were the offspring of Adam; they were more nearly perfect than those now on the earth, and therefore the women necessarily were more beautiful to the natural eye and pleasant to look upon. The “sons of God” had power to materialize in human form and would necessarily materialize as handsome men. They were no part of Satan’s crowd, but Satan hit upon a scheme to entrap them and to bring further reproach upon the name of the Almighty God. The Devil had used Eve to start the trouble in Eden, and now he would again resort to fraud in the use of women to bring about more trouble and reproach upon God’s name. Satan’s wicked allies also had power to materialize in human form, and they did so appear in the earth as “giants” or nephilim. They, together with the Devil, fraudulently represented to the materialized “sons of God” that they could take those beautiful women for wives and rear up a superior race of people. Their real purpose, however, was to carry out Satan’s wicked challenge to turn all creation against God. It is written in the Scriptures concerning this matter: “The sons of God saw the daughters of men that they were fair; and they took them wives of all which they chose. There were giants in the earth in those days; and also after that, when the sons of God came in unto the daughters of men, and they bare children to them, the same became mighty men, which were of old, men of renown.”—Gen. 6: 2, 4.
6 The offspring of that union between the materialized sons of God and the female descendants of Adam was a class of “mighty men”, “men of renown,” all of whom became grossly wicked, being developed under the tutelage of Satan and the wicked, rebellious angels, the nephilim. Of all creatures on earth at that time only Noah was perfect in his generation and stood firm and maintained his integrity toward God. The wickedness in the earth was very great, and it appeared that Satan was gathering most of earthly creation on his side: “And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. And God said unto Noah, The end of all flesh is come before me; for the earth is filled with violence through them: and, behold, I will destroy them with the earth.”— Gen. 6: 5,13.
7 Only the creatures of flesh were destroyed in the flood, Satan and all of his wicked angelic host being permitted to continue in existence and to put forth their best endeavors to carry out Satan’s wicked challenge to turn all men away from God. Those angels or spirit creatures that joined Satan in his rebellion are like the Devil, maliciously wicked, that is to say, fatally bent on doing injury to others and reproaching God. They are all the adversaries of God and of all men who attempt to serve the Almighty God. Those wicked angels are yet alive and active in opposition to God and to all who serve him. Concerning that wicked host it is written: ‘‘ And with covetousness they will make gain of you with deceitful words; whose judgment of old [now from of old (A. R. V.)] does not linger, and their destruction does not slumber.” (2 Pet. 2: 3, Diag.) Those words of the apostle apply at the end of the world, and, since the end of the world is here, the execution of that wicked crowd will soon take place. In the meantime all of those wicked adversaries are desperately fighting against God by attempting to destroy the human race, and particularly those human creatures who take their stand on the side of God and Christ and put forth their best endeavors to maintain their integrity. Before their rebellion the estate of those angels was in God’s organization, forming a part thereof. When they joined the Devil in rebellion they cut themselves off, and therefore, as it is written, they “kept not their first estate”. They departed from the Lord and turned to wickedness. “And the angels which kept not their first estate, but left their own habitation, he hath reserved in everlasting chains, under darkness, unto the judgment of the great day.”—Jude 6.
8 It appears that that wicked host know that it is God’s purpose to destroy them, and therefore they and the Devil continue to fight against God and all who are on the side of Jehovah. Those wicked spirit creatures have been active since the flood, within the bounds to which they are limited. They were active when Jesus was on the earth, and when he rebuked them they replied: ‘And in the synagogue there was a man, which had a spirit of an unclean devil; and he cried out with a loud voice. Ah! what have we to do with thee, thou Jesus of Nazareth? art thou come to destroy us? I know thee who thou art, the Holy One of God.’ (Luke 4:33,34, A.R.V.; Matt. 8:29) It is this invisible host that the apostle mentions as the adversaries of those who are serving God and his kingdom now.—Eph. 6:12.
VISIBLE ORGANISATION
9 Within a short time after the flood, and when the human race began to multiply, Satan brought into existence the visible or earthly part of his organization. Nimrod was made an object of adoration and worship, and this that God’s name might be further reproached. (Gen. 10:8-10) It was at this point in the history of man that the Devil brought religion prominently to the fore. From the time of the flood until now every people and nation on the earth have had and practiced some kind of religion, all of which religion and religious practices has brought reproach upon the name of Almighty God and turned great hosts of persons against Jehovah and his kingdom. It was the religious desire in the mind of Eve, planted there by the Devil, that she might have knowledge and wisdom of things equal to God, that led her into disobedience; and from then till now religion has been the chief earthly instrument employed by Satan to war upon Jehovah and his people. When God sentenced Adam to death, amongst other things he said to the old Serpent, the Devil, as it is written: “And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.”—Gen. 3:15.
10 “The woman,” as there used, means God’s organization; and ‘the seed of the Serpent’ means the offspring of the Devil’s “woman”, that is, of the Devil’s organization, symbolized by a woman, and of which seed Satan is the father. The seed of Satan has therefore ever been the enemy of God and righteous creatures. The wicked seed or organization of Satan embraces the host of wicked angels. The chief part of the Devil’s seed which is earthly is religion and religious organizations, which are operated by Satan to oppose God, and all of which tend to turn men away from God and to the worship of creatures or things. Religion has at all times been the binding tie that has held together the political and commercial traffickers and the military elements of the nations of the earth. Satan the Devil has builded great world powers of which he has been and is the invisible overlord or god. For this reason Jesus spoke of him as the “prince of this world”, meaning the invisible ruler of this world who was always opposed to God and Christ Jesus. (John 14: 30) As the invisible ruler of darkness Satan the Devil is the god of this world, and is so designated in the Scriptures. (2 Cor. 4:4) He makes it his business to blind men to the truth, that they may not serve God. Without a doubt, in the invisible part of Satan’s organization there are divisions or principalities, over which certain of the demons operate as the principal ones and hence rule a principality, and each principality exercises power over nations of the earth. (Dan. 10:13) It is therefore Satan the Devil, his invisible principalities, his powers and his wicked princes or rulers, including all the wicked hosts and also including all the wicked agencies on the earth, which now constitute the adversaries or enemies of God and of all who are on the side of God and for his kingdom. All those wicked hosts once had access to heaven, but since the coming of the Lord Jesus both they and Satan have been cast down to the earth and confine their operations to the earth, working particularly with the earthly division of his organization and against those on the earth who serve God and his kingdom.
ACTIVITY
11 The Devil and his angels have been active from the time of the rebellion at Eden until now, and will continue active until their destruction at Armageddon. As Satan “that old Serpent” is the arch deceiver, also all his wicked angels are deceivers, and the undisputed evidence shows that they continue to deceive men. They operate by gaining control of the mind of man and thereby compel or lead man to commit wrongful acts. When one undertakes to serve Almighty God and thereafter becomes unfaithful, he is easily a victim for those wicked spirit creatures. A striking example is that recorded concerning Saul, who was selected as the first king of Israel. The Israelites asked to have a king, and God yielded to their demands and permitted them to have Saul. The Almighty God gave a specific command to Saul that he must perform a certain duty, and Saul, although attempting it, deliberately failed, and because thereof he fell into the snare of the Devil and his wicked angels. It is written in God’s Word: “The fear of man bringeth a snare: but whoso putteth his trust in the Lord shall be safe.”—Prov. 29:25.
12 When Saul the king was confronted by God’s faithful prophet Samuel, Saul said: “I have transgressed the commandment of the Lord . . . because I feared the people, and obeyed their voice.” (1 Sam. 15:24) Such is the unbreakable rule with men who fear other men and for that reason disobey God and fall into Satan's snare. The Lord God withdrew his favor and protection from Saul. Then the Devil and his angels got complete control of Saul’s mind and caused him to make numerous attempts thereafter to commit murder. Saul then sought out the witch of Endor, a medium through whom the wicked spirits communicated with human creatures, and Saul consulted that wicked one. “Then said Saul unto his servants, Seek me a woman that hath a familiar spirit, that I may go to her, and inquire of her. And his servants said to him, Behold, there is a woman that hath a familiar spirit at Endor.” (1 Sam. 28:7) This is proof that witches and familiar spirits were and are enemies of God and man and that they gain control of the mind of man and turn men away from God. On that occasion the wicked spirit further deceived Saul by inducing him to believe that Samuel, who had lived previous to that time and died, was still alive. Samuel, being dead, could not communicate with anyone alive, but the wicked spirits induced Saul so to believe. (Ecel. 9: 5,10) In due time Saul died the enemy of God because he had feared man and had become unfaithful to God and had fallen away entirely to the Devil. (1 Sam. 28:7-20; 31:4,5) Witchcraft has been practiced from the time of Saul even to the present day. Covenant-breakers of this day are exactly in a condition similar to that of Saul.
WITCHCRAFT
13 Witches are those creatures who yield themselves as instruments for use by the Devil and his angels and permit themselves to be employed as mediums for communication between wicked spirits and men on the earth. Witchcraft is of the Devil and is the fruit of rebellion. Satan the rebel invented witchcraft, and he and his wicked spiritual allies employ and practice witchcraft to deceive human creatures. When Saul had disobeyed God the prophet of the Lord said to Saul: “For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry. Because thou hast rejected the word of the Lord, he hath also rejected thee from being king.” —1 Sam. 15: 23.
14 Saul had followed Satan’s course and had rebelled against God’s commandment and committed the sin of witchcraft. Furthermore God’s law expressly prohibited the practice of witchcraft because it is of the Devil: “Thou shalt not suffer a witch to live.” (Ex. 22:18) “There shall not be found among you any one that maketh his son or his daughter to pass through the fire, or that useth divination, or an observer of times, or an enchanter, or a witch.”—Deut. 18:10.
15 The practice of witchcraft has been carried on for ages and is practiced to this very day. In the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries a great wave of witchcraft swept over Europe and America. Many persons were tormented by the witches, who represented and acted for the wicked spirits, and particularly in England and Scotland there were many hideous scenes of witch torture and extermination. (The Encyclopedia Americana, Vol. 29, page 431) In the early days of the American colonies strenuous laws were enacted against the practice of witchcraft. Every American familiar with history knows of the Salem (Massachusetts) witchcraft. The witches, under the influence and control of the Devil and the wicked angels aforementioned, claimed that they were able to ride through thin air on broomsticks, on pokers, or on animals, which, of course, is a physical impossibility. Deluded persons yielded themselves to the Devil and his angels and convinced themselves, no doubt, that they could do such things.
16 As another striking example, in this very year (1937) in Russia there have been a number of men tried, convicted and executed for the crime of treason after having confessed to the commission of that crime and the performance of acts of which they could not possibly have been guilty. Those men came into court and pleaded guilty, knowing that their punishment would be death. They recited before the court acts performed by them in accomplishing the alleged crime that they could not under any circumstances have performed. They claimed to have traveled, for instance, from Moscow to Oslo, Norway, by airplanes, the number and description of which they gave, and which airplanes never were in existence. The confession and testimony of those men, and their pleas of guilt, and their execution upon their own statements, have greatly mystified people all over the world, and the public press and radio speakers have repeatedly been asked to state the reason therefor, and all have failed to state the reason because they have either deliberately ignored or are totally ignorant of the Word of God. Those men of Russia, who thus pleaded guilty and were executed, were, without a question of doubt, victims who had fallen under the control of the wicked angels and had pursued a course similar to that followed by King Saul when he fell under the wicked one’s influence. Those wicked angels injected into the minds of those poor men the delusion that they were guilty, and induced them to confess crimes of which they were entirely innocent.
17 Another instance of the operation of those wicked spirits is this, to wit: On the night of February 27, 1933, the building of the German Reichstag was burned, and that opened the way for Hitler and his crowd to gain complete control of Germany, which they gained immediately thereafter. That crime of arson brought about exactly what the Nazis desired. The Nazis themselves burned the building and then laid the crime at the door of political foes, many of whom were arrested. A Hollander named Van der Lubbe, described by the press as a half-wit, was arrested, together with several Communists, and charged with the crime of burning the Reichstag. John Gunther, an American journalist, was present at and reported the trial of this man. In his book Inside Europe are published the facts, and from which the following is quoted, to wit: “Van der Lubbe, a typical enough unfortunate by-product of modern civilization, was not only weak-minded; he had a deep grievance against society and authority, which his feeble brain sought to remedy by pyromania. He was a genuine arsonist. A homeless vagrant, wandering in the Berlin slums, he set several fires, and in his thick manner boasted about them. And Nazis heard him. The further facts revealed are that the Nazis had arranged for Van der Lubbe to be in the building with fire material so that they could make him appear as the guilty one. The fire that destroyed the building was the chemical fire set by the Nazis, who carried their material through the Goering tunnel, and timed it to go off at just that moment Van der Lubbe thought he set the fire. Lubbe retreated from the building in proud triumph and was arrested by the police, and that was what the Nazis had planned. Lubbe was an obvious victim of maniacal depressive psychosis.” Furthermore the authority above cited says: “The court was terrified every time Lubbe opened his mouth. ’’ Lubbe was put on the witness stand and admitted that he fired the building. He confessed to physical facts impossible for him to have committed. ‘‘ He was proud of his fire. He resented it deeply when anyone was put forward to share the credit of it. ’’ The public has been mystified about that fire since. What is the real explanation ? Without any question of doubt Van der Lubbe was the victim of the wicked spirits described afore, which wicked spirits had gained control of his mind and made him believe that he was the one who burned the building. Those wicked spirits produce insanity in anyone who yields to their influence.
18 There are numerous other instances of the operation of these wicked spirits in their attempt to seize control of the minds of men and plunge them into a desperate condition leading to destruction. Recently there has come an affliction upon the laboring element of the nations, and which is expressed in what is called “sit-down strikes”. Such has been a mystery to many persons, and is yet. The fact is that the same devilish crowd that operated the Nazis in Germany and conspired to have a weak-minded man to confess to a great crime likewise is operating upon the minds of men to produce a situation mystifying to the people and in an endeavor to bring about a destruction of the nations and the people.
19 From the time of the flood until now the Devil and his associated wicked spirits have been actively exercising power over men and nations. Just now, in the year 1937, that crowd of wicked spirits have gained a greater control over rulers and the people of the various nations than at any other time since the flood. Without any question of doubt the dictators in the various nations of the world today are under the influence of those wicked spirits. The object or purpose of those wicked ones is to carry out the Devil’s purpose from the beginning, which is to try to defame or reproach the name of Almighty God, and to turn the people away from Almighty God and to plunge them into destruction.
VISIBLE ENEMIES
20 The Devil and the host of wicked angels are invisible to human eyes, but they operate through visible creatures who are also the enemies of God and his kingdom. Religion, which originated with the Devil, makes fanatics of men. Strict obedience to God’s commandments keeps men sane. Religionists often become insane. Do not the faithful followers of Christ Jesus on earth engage in conflict with human creatures who are religionists? No. The words of the apostle, in the text first above quoted, show that this is not their conflict. Human creatures are employed as instruments of the Devil and the wicked angels, and used by them to war against the followers of Christ Jesus. Many of these visible ones do so ignorantly. Many religionists are moved by the spirit of malice, covetousness, envy and murder, while others follow along with them in wrongdoing, being overreached by the Devil and his agencies. As the Devil was “a murderer from the beginning”, so he has induced the commission of murder ever since, and it is the fanatical religionists that have a desire to murder those who are doing right. That is the reason why Catholic priests and members of the Roman Catholic Hierarchy have a desire to see the servants of Almighty God and his kingdom killed. It is not unusual to see some Roman Catholic priest advocating the murder of others. As an example, a Catholic priest, who publishes the Intermountain Catholic at Salt Lake City, Utah, editorially suggests (and doubtless for the purpose of inciting others to commit a crime) that ‘there would be a certain poetic justice in the act of impaling the body of Rutherford on tongs’. Also, the same editorial advises jail and the mob for such as are performing the service of Jehovah’s witnesses. To be sure, this is a subversive publication, but, since the enemy has control of this world, it goes on without challenge. It is certain that such murderous intent is due to the influence of Satan and the wicked angels operating on the mind of a fanatical religionist who desires to bring about the death of others who tell the truth concerning God and his kingdom and which truth exposes God’s adversaries. The same wicked ones even attempted to kill Jesus and did bring about his death through the operation of religionists. His faithful apostles suffered martyrdom at the hands of the same adversaries of God. Jesus told those religionists that opposed him and sought his death that they were of the Devil. (John 8: 40-44) This is proof that the invisible wicked host, the Devil and his host of rebellious angels, are the ones that fight against God and God’s people and all who serve Jehovah God.
21 Would any true follower of Christ Jesus commit murder ? Certainly not. A true Christian cannot even hate his brother without being guilty of murder in the sight of the Lord; and this shows that he is not fighting against visible creatures. (1 John 3:15) Does any true Christian desire to inflict bodily harm upon any Catholic priest or any other person? Certainly not. No good could result from that, and the Christian must do good and not do that which is wicked. A true follower of Christ Jesus has no desire to fight against any man or to do any bodily harm or injury to any person, be that person Catholic, Jew, Gentile or infidel. The infliction of bodily harm upon the wicked ones by Jehovah’s witnesses is no part of their Christian work, and they are specifically commanded to refrain from any such thing. The true follower of Christ Jesus is commanded to tell the truth and to leave all punishment to the Lord, who will render just recompense to the wicked in his own due time. (Rom. 12:17,19) The fact that religionists desire to do injury to and do inflict bodily punishment upon Jehovah’s witnesses is proof conclusive that such religionists are moved by the spirit of the Devil and his wicked angels. Hatred, ill will, and malice of one person against another open the door for the Devil and his wicked spirits to come in and take complete charge of the person who permits hatred, ill will or malice to dwell in his heart. The demons, swiftly taking advantage of that condition of mind and heart, seize the mind of the person in such condition and use the same as an instrument to fight against the followers of Christ- Jesus, and thus the human creature becomes an adversary of God and his people. This is one part of the warfare that the invisible host of the Devil carries on against God’s people in the earth.
“EVIL SERVANT”
22 The Scriptures disclose a class of creatures designated “the man of sin ... , the son of perdition”. (2 Thess. 2: 3, A.R.V.) That composite body is made up of men who have received some knowledge of God's purpose and have undertaken to serve God, and who claim to be the servants of God, but have turned themselves over to the Devil and permitted themselves to be used as his instruments. The chief part of that composite body is designated the “evil servant”, and is so described by the Lord Jesus Christ. Such are they that once made a covenant to do the will of God, and were looking for the kingdom of God under Christ and the second coming of Christ, and that made an open confession and declaration of being on the Lord’s side and on the side of his kingdom. They walked for a time with the faithful ones. At the coming of the Lord Jesus to the temple, judgment there began at the house of God (1 Pet. 4:17) to determine who is of the right heart condition and who of the wrong condition of heart. (Mal. 3:1-3; Matt. 25:26,30-33) At the beginning of that judgment all of the consecrated stood equal before the Lord and were gathered before the Lord for judgment. Those of a pure heart condition at that judgment are approved by the Lord and gathered into the temple, and these have their minds illuminated and their hearts filled with joy. They put self and selfishness clear out of the way, and their devotion is wholly to the Lord and his kingdom. Those of an impure heart condition do not receive approval at this judgment, but rather disapproval, and they stand on the outside and for some time claim to walk with the faithful, and still claim to be children of God. Then their bad heart condition makes itself manifest. Being outside of the temple, they are denied the light of the temple, to be sure, because of their blindness or lack of understanding, and because of the selfishness in yielding to the influence of the invisible rulers of this wicked world, and they manifest their wicked heart condition; and those are designated by the Lord Jesus as “that evil servant”. The words of the Lord Jesus Christ and the physical facts clearly identify that “evil servant” class. Concerning them Jesus says: “But and if that evil servant shall say in his heart, My lord delayeth his coming; and shall begin to smite his fellowservants, and to eat and drink with the drunken: the lord of that servant shall come in a day when he looketh not for him, and in an hour that he is not aware of, and shall cut him asunder, and appoint him his portion with the hypocrites: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”—Matt. 24:48-51.
23 It is clear, therefore, that the “evil servant” falls under the power and influence of Satan and the demons and becomes a part of the wicked organization and the enemies of the Lord God and his kingdom, and thereafter the Devil uses the “evil servant” to make war upon the faithful servants of the Lord. Before anyone can become a servant of the Lord he must be cleansed by the blood of Christ, and when that person becomes a part of the “evil servant” the demons have control of him and he is entirely unclean, and he is in a far worse state and condition than he ever was before. Concerning this Jesus says: “When the unclean spirit is gone out of a man, he walketh through dry places, seeking rest; and finding none, he saith, I will return unto my house, whence I came out. And when he cometh, he findeth it swept and garnished. Then goeth he, and taketh to him seven other spirits more wicked than himself; and they enter in, and dwell there; and the last state of that man is worse than the first.”—Luke 11: 24-26.
24 A person once having a measure of the truth and then losing the light and turning to the Devil becomes the worst amongst the human agencies that are used by the Devil and that fight against the faithful followers of Christ Jesus. Concerning such it is written: “For if we sin wilfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins, but a certain fearful looking for of judgment, and fiery indignation, which shall devour the adversaries. He that despised Moses’ law died without mercy under two or three witnesses: of how much sorer punishment, suppose ye, shall he be thought worthy, who hath trodden under foot the Son of God, and hath counted the blood of the covenant, wherewith he was sanctified, an unholy thing, and hath done despite unto the spirit of grace? For we know him that hath said, Vengeance belongeth unto me, I will recompense, saith the Lord. And again, The Lord shall judge his people. It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.”—Heb. 10:26-31.
25 Judas Iscariot was a striking example and type of the “evil servant”. For three and one-half years he claimed to be the servant of the Lord Jesus Christ, and then the Devil got control of his mind and heart and Judas betrayed Jesus into the hands of the enemy Satan, who, operating through religionists, brought about the murder of Christ Jesus. (John 13:2,27) Judas had pretended to believe that Jesus is The Christ, but manifestly ho did not believe that Christ was present; otherwise he would not have yielded to the Devil. While he walked with Jesus there must have been a doubt in his mind that Jesus was the Christ. There was covetousness in his heart, ill feeling toward the Lord and his brethren, and that opened the door for the Devil to come in and take possession of him. The “evil servant” class first claims the presence of the Lord and so declares it, but manifestly those who compose that class do not sincerely and truly believe in the second presence of the Lord. They were professing the presence of the Lord at the temple judgment. Because of their impure heart, and being set to the side, then said they: ‘The Lord delayeth his coming’; and thereby they deny the presence of the Lord Jesus Christ, and quickly join the enemies of God and begin the persecution of God’s faithful people. First they speak evilly of them, and then attempt to bring about their injury and destruction. The “evil servant” and the “man of sin” belong to the same company or class, but the “evil servant” is the most reprehensible of the entire company “the man of sin ’’. Such receive first the fundamental truths of God’s purpose, but they do not receive the love of the truth and hence they perish. (2 Thess. 2:10) The “evil servant” becomes insane and no longer possesses the spirit of a sound mind. They become “vessels of wrath” fit only for destruction.—Rom. 9:22.
COVETOUSNESS
26 What causes one who starts on the way of serving God to later fall away? Lucifer was the first of that class, and it is written of him that covetousness was the cause of his rebellion and downfall. (Jer. 51:13) All who follow after Lucifer get into the same wicked condition. God directed that those who should be the rulers of men, holding prominent places amongst the Israelites, should be “such as fear God, men of truth, hating covetousness”. (Ex. 18:21) The man who fears God will not covet that which God has committed to another, because he will not presumptuously attempt to get what has not been assigned to him, knowing that God hates such. “He that hateth covetousness shall prolong his days.”—Prov. 28:16.
27 Concerning the religionists (which includes those of the “evil servant” and those of the “elective elder” or ambitious spirit) it is written: “For from the least of them even unto the greatest of them every one is given to covetousness; and from the prophet even unto the priest every one dealeth falsely. ” (Jer. 6:13) “And they come unto thee as the people cometh, and they sit before thee as my people, and they hear thy words, but they will not do them; for with their mouth they shew much love, but their heart goeth after their covetousness.”—Ezek. 33:31.
28 About the same matter Jesus said: “Take heed, and beware of covetousness.” (Luke 12:15) No man can take unto himself the place of honor in God’s organization, because it is God who assigns each man to his place. “But now hath God set the members every one of them in the body, as it hath pleased him.” (1 Cor. 12:18) “And no man taketh this honour unto himself, but he that is called of God, as was Aaron.” (Heb. 5:4) One who claims to be a servant of God and who sees another in a position which he ambitiously desires to fill that he might shine and who, moved by this spirit, says: “That man will die soon and then I will succeed him and do a great work,” that man who thus states is moved by covetousness. One who has that spirit or desire in his mind or heart has fallen under the influence of Satan and the demons, and in due time that person will become the open enemy of Gog of Christ Jesus, and of his kingdom. He does not fear God, and no one can make progress and be pleasing to God who docs not fear the Most High. It is such covetous persons that the Devil seizes upon and employs as his visible instruments to make war on the remnant of her seed, who have the testimony of Jesus Christ, and who obey the commandments of God’. (Rev. 12:17) Covetousness is the worst type of selfishness.
29 Another description of the same instrument of Satan, and described in connection with the rebellious demons, is given by Jude, and which statement enables others to identify this class: “And the angels which kept not their first estate, but left their own habitation, he hath reserved in everlasting chains, under darkness, unto the judgment of the great day. Likewise also these filthy dreamers defile the flesh, despise dominion, and speak evil of dignities. But these speak evil of those things which they know not: but what they know naturally, as brute beasts, in those things they corrupt themselves. These are murmurers, complainers, walking after their own lusts; and their mouth speaketh great swelling words, having men’s persons in admiration because of advantage. How that they told you there should be mockers in the last time, who should walk after their own ungodly lusts. These be they who separate themselves, sensual, having not the spirit.’’-Jude 6: 8,10,16,18,19.
30 Such visible enemies of God war against God’s people, and these are not the ones against whom the Lord’s faithful on earth are commanded to rise up and fight. It is not these with whom controversies should be had. On the contrary, they are to be avoided. Those of the “evil servant” class employ soft speech and smooth words to beguile and deceive others who are seeking the truth. Concerning such the apostle, under the Lord’s direction, wrote: “Now I beseech you, brethren, mark them which cause divisions and offences, contrary to the doctrine which ye have learned; and avoid them. For they that are such serve not our Lord Jesus Christ, but their own belly; and by good words and fair speeches deceive the hearts of the simple.”—Rom. 16:17,18.
31 Those visible enemies of God and his people are mere tools or instruments of the unseen principalities, powers and wicked rulers that control this wicked world. Many of the political, judicial and military rulers of this world are enemies of God and of the “faithful servant” class, but they are less reprehensible because of their lack of knowledge. The clergy are more reprehensible than the political element because they claim to be servants of God and they should know better than to fight against any person who is serving the Lord. But the most reprehensible of all is the “evil servant” class, because of having undertaken to be the servant of God and Christ and then openly repudiating the Lord and turning to the Devil. They become the chief part of the “man of sin ..., the son of perdition”, and it is by their course of action that they identify themselves as to whether they are the servants of the Devil or not. “Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness?”—Rom. 6:16.
NOT SHAKEN
32 These are the “last days”, and therefore perilous times. This every one of God’s faithful children now well knows. (2 Tim. 3:1-5) The unseen enemies are very active and use the visible instruments, particularly the religionists, in every possible way to make war upon the people of God. One who is supposed to be a servant of God, and who suddenly turns about and begins a vicious assault upon those who do serve the Lord and his kingdom, causes a surprise to those who are not fully fortified in the Lord. But none of the Lord’s people, however need be disturbed or trouble themselves concerning the course of those wicked ones. No man can succeed in doing any injury to the truth, nor can he shake anyone who is really fully devoted to God and his kingdom. The truth is eternal and shall firmly stand for ever, and all who are really of the truth will stand by the Lord and hear and obey his voice. God’s Word is true, and if we have full confidence in God we know that all things shall work together for good to those who love God and who are called according to his purpose. (Rom. 8:28; 2 Cor. 13:8) Will not the circulation of wicked reports against God’s organization and those who are his servants shake some of the Lord’s people? If they can be shaken, yes; but those who really love God cannot be shaken. The Lord could prevent the activity of the instruments of the Devil and the circulation of evil reports, if that were for the best. But the present is the time when all things that can be shaken will be shaken, so that the approved ones may clearly appear. (Heb. 12:27) Addressing the faithful remnant concerning the second coming of Christ, and the gathering of the faithful ones to the temple, and the appearing of the “man of sin”, the inspired apostle says: “Be not . . . shaken in mind, or be troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word.” (2 Thess. 2:2) Regardless of what the wicked may do, they cannot separate from God and Christ those who truly love and serve him and his kingdom.—Rom. 8: 36-39.
33 We know that we are in the war and that the enemy is desperately striving to destroy all who are on the Lord’s side. We are not at all ignorant of the devices of the Devil, provided we have studied the Lord’s Word. From every side we see the enemy’s forces advancing against us and working every possible scheme against the people of God, but this should not disturb those who love the Lord. To be forewarned is to be forearmed. When we know we have a fight and expect the assault of an enemy, our trust and full confidence should be in the Lord, and we should not permit ourselves to be disturbed by enemies: ‘‘ Fret not thyself because of evil doers, neither be thou envious against the workers of iniquity.” (Ps. 37:1) Do not permit yourself to become bitter or have hatred and ill will or desire to do bodily injury to any of the workers of iniquity. The Lord will take care of them in his own due time and good way. Let those who love the Lord trust in him, knowing that he. will bring about the result according to his will. “Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for him: fret not thyself because of him who prospereth in his way, because of the man who bringeth wicked devices to pass. Cease from anger, and forsake wrath; fret not thyself in any wise to do evil. For evil doers shall be cut off: but those that wait upon the Lord, they shall inherit the earth. The wicked plotteth against the just, and gnasheth upon him with his teeth. The Lord shall laugh at him; for he seeth that his day is coming. For the arms of the wicked shall be broken: but the Lord upholdeth the righteous. ” (Ps. 37 :7-9,12,13,17) “Fret not thyself because of evil men, neither be thou envious at the wicked; for there shall be no reward to the evil man; the candle of the wicked shall be put out. My son, fear thou the Lord and the king; and meddle not with them that are given to change.” —Prov. 24:19-21.
FORTRESS
34 God's children know that they have no power within themselves to withstand the assault of the enemies, but they know also that they have a strong fortress that cannot be shaken and by abiding therein they shall be safe. It was for their comfort and benefit that this was written, to wit: “The Lord is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer; my God, my strength, in whom I will trust; my buckler, and the horn of my salvation, and my high tower. I will call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised: so shall I be saved from mine enemies. ’’—Ps. 18: 2, 3.
35 Suppose the name and reputation of all God’s children should be trampled in the mire and they be made to appear in the eyes of others as wicked lawbreakers and as corrupt. The enemy can do that, but that amounts to nothing in the sight of the Lord. The reputation of God’s people amongst men is of no importance. Their standing with the Lord Jehovah and Christ Jesus is all-important. Jesus made himself of no reputation. What others think about us need not disturb us in the least. Every servant must stand or fall to his own master. If we are faithfully trusting and serving God, he will make us to stand: “Who art thou that judgest another man’s servant? to his own master he standeth or falleth. Yea, he shall be holden up ; for God is able to make him stand. ’’—Rom. 14:4.
36 Are all of God’s people the objects of assault by the Devil and his demons and his other instruments? Yes, to be sure; because such are the ones that make war upon the anointed of the Lord. How, then, are we to find protection and be assured that we are safe ? Jehovah answers that question: “The angel of the Lord encampeth round about them that fear him, and delivereth them.” (Ps. 34:7) Those who fear God will stand firmly on his side, and all such will receive the protection which God has provided. Those of the “evil servant” do not fear God; otherwise they would not assault those whom they know God has given a place in his service. One who fears the Lord God fears to disobey his commandments, but that person does not fear any creature nor any of the Devil’s crowd. To his servants Jehovah says: “Sanctify the Lord of hosts himself; and let him be your fear, and let him be your dread. ’’—Isa. 8:13.
37 Everything that is against God and his kingdom we should avoid, and what God hates we should hate, because it is against God and against his kingdom. Any person who attempts to cause division in the ranks of God’s organization, whether that person claims to be in the truth or not, because he is a disturber he should be avoided. There is no time nor reason to engage such a one in controversy. (Rom. 16:17,18) We do not need to engage in argument with the enemies of God and waste time on them. We know from an abundance of evidence that the Lord Jesus is present at the temple of God, and it is useless to argue with those who dispute that truth. The ones outside of the temple cannot understand it. The revelation and unfolding of the prophecies given to God’s people in the last five years has furnished an abundance of proof that the Lord is present at the temple, and all those who are of the temple show forth his praises and find no time to indulge in vicious assaults upon others. (Ps. 29:9) Let the “evil servant” class follow their chosen course, and let those who love the Lord get on with his work in doing what the Lord has commanded to be done. The wicked spirits or demons, including Satan and Gog (Ezek. 38:1-16), will employ every possible means to bring about the destruction of God’s faithful servant, but if we fear the Lord and are diligent to obey him, we are safe. If we observe others doing despite to the commandments of God and attempting to work injury upon God's people and his kingdom, shall we not be angry against such? We may properly be righteously indignant against all unrighteousness, but it is not the prerogative of ours to apply the rule of retaliation against evildoers. Says the scripture: “Be ye angry, and sin not.” (Eph. 4:26) A hatred and malice toward the evildoers, and a desire to do them bodily injury, would be sin, but to hate she wrong and let the wrongdoers take their own course is a different thing entirely. Vengeance belongs to the Lord, he will repay, and it is not the business of any Christian to mete out punishment to another; and the one who does so is certain to fall under the influence of the Devil and his demons. Remember that Jehovah has said: “Vengeance belongeth unto me, I will recompense, saith the Lord. ” (Heb. 10:30; Deut. 32:35, 36) The one who loves the Lord will not permit anger, hatred, or ill will toward another to have a place in his heart, because by so doing he opens the door and leaves it open and invites the adversaries of God, the demons, to come in and take possession. Instead of being disturbed in mind and permitting ourselves to become incensed at others, we must keep in mind the admonition given to God’s people: ‘‘ Let us watch and be sober. But let us, who are of the day, be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love; and for an helmet, the hope of salvation.” (1 Thess. 5: 6, 8) Now we are in a war when we are commanded to rise up against the enemy: ‘‘ Wherefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and hope to the end for the grace that is to be brought unto you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.” (1 Pet. 1:13) “But the end of all things is at hand: be ye therefore sober, and watch unto prayer.” (1 Pet. 4:7) “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour.” (1 Pet. 5:8) Knowing that we are surrounded everywhere by enemies, and therefore all in great danger, God’s devoted people should trust him implicitly and obey his commandments. If we fear God we will obey his commandments, and to such God gives his sure word that they shall be shielded and protected. Those who are of the temple of God and abide there and obey his commandments are certain to abide in safety. “He that dwelleth in the secret place of the Most High, shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the Lord, He is my refuge, and my fortress: my God; in him will I trust. Surely he shall deliver thee from the snare of the fowler, and from the noisome pestilence. He shall cover thee with his feathers, and under his wings shalt thou trust; his truth shall be thy shield and buckler. Because thou hast made the Lord, which is my refuge, even the Most High, thy habitation, there shall no evil befall thee, neither shall any plague come nigh thy dwelling. For he shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways.”—Ps. 91:1-4, 9-11.
THE FIGHT
38 Since God commands his faithful witnesses to ‘rise against her in war’, does not that mean that we must fight? Yes, to be sure, that is the meaning. Our part in the fight, however, must be strictly in accord with the rules and commandments of the Lord, and not according to the rules of the wicked one. The enemies attempt to kill and destroy creatures, and particularly those who serve God, and they carry on their fight by the use of carnal or deadly weapons. That is not the course to be taken by the Christian. The true Christian would not do bodily injury to any man. The Christian adheres fully to the rules of the Lord and is always in favor of freedom of speech, that everyone who has a say should be permitted to say so, but let the Lord be the Judge and let those who have the ear' to hear the truth, hear. The weapon of warfare which Christians are commanded to use, and the only weapon the Christian properly uses, is the Word of God, ‘‘the sword of the spirit.” (Eph. 6:17) Not only is that a weapon of defense, but now it is positively a weapon of offense with which the Christian makes the assault. The Christian is commanded to arise against her, that is, the Devil’s organization, and use his weapon, the Word of God, with telling effect against the enemy and to do so fearlessly and boldly. (1 John 4:17,18) Jehovah’s witnesses have no desire to do injury to any person because he is a Catholic or is connected with the Catholic organization. The desire of Jehovah’s witnesses, in obedience to God’s commandment, is to do good to all persons and to use their best endeavors to help them to see and understand the truth. It seems quite probable that the greater number of those who will form the ‘‘ great multitude” (Rev. 7: 9-17) are within the Catholic organization or under the Catholic organization. Many of the Catholic population are sincere and desire to know the Lord, but have had no opportunity. That organization, ruled by the Hierarchy, however, is entrenched in a stronghold which the Devil has provided, and by attacking that stronghold with the ‘‘sword of the spirit” the stronghold is greatly weakened. Says the Word of God concerning those who are servants of God and his kingdom: ‘‘For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh ; (for the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;) casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ.” —2 Cor. 10: 3-5.
39 It is the Word of God, the sword of the spirit, which is now being wielded with telling effect against the stronghold of the Roman Catholic organization, and that religious system is terribly shaken. That stronghold is entrenched lies behind which the workers of iniquity hide, and it is the Word of God that sweeps away that hiding place of lies and opens the doorway for honest persons to see how they may take their stand on the side of God and find a place of sure habitation. What is the purpose of Jehovah’s witnesses’ having a part in this fight? It is to declare the name and purpose of the Almighty God, that the people may be warned to flee from the wicked organization of the Devil before God exercises his great power against the wicked workers. For this reason the faithful witnesses of Jehovah engage in this warfare with real joy, because their work, if faithfully done, results in good to those who love righteousness and results to the honor and vindication of Jehovah’s holy name.
40 Jehovah graciously permits his anointed witnesses and their companions to locate and properly identify the enemies. Now, by his grace, they clearly see that the Devil is the arch enemy; that his chief operative agent in wickedness is Gog, and that with him is a host of wicked spirits who rebelled in the beginning, and all of which abide in a place called Magog (Ezek. 38:1-16; 39:1-6); that for centuries that wicked crowd have preyed upon the human race and ruled the peoples of earth with a cruel hand and scorned everything that is good; that for centuries the Devil has employed religion and religious practitioners to deceive the people and to turn them away from God; that God has not interfered until his due time to interfere; that now is the due time for God to interfere, and he is doing so; that he has enthroned his beloved Son, Christ Jesus, and sent him forth to rule and to destroy the wicked, and that before the execution of the wicked takes place God commands that his name shall be declared throughout all the earth, and this must be done by his witnesses. Jehovah has selected out from the world a people for his name (Acts 15:14), and these constitute his witnesses to declare his name; and he sends them forth under the command of the Lord Jesus, and their part in the warfare is to wield his Word, the sword of the spirit, and to keep on doing it until the work is done. Knowing that the enemy is desperately fighting, no one who is on the Lord’s side, truly and sincerely, will be disturbed, regardless of what comes to pass. The Devil brings into action all his invisible forces, particularly the wicked and rebellious angels, to make war on the witnesses of Jehovah, and then uses his visible instruments, many of whom are insane, to attempt to bring about the destruction of Jehovah’s witnesses. (Rev. 12:17) The wicked spirits invade the mind of those who are proud, covetous, ambitious, and who fail to control themselves, and who permit ill will or hatred and malice to abide in them, and, thus invading their minds, seize such creatures and use them as instruments to make war upon the servants of the Most High. Religious leaders, and particularly the “evil servant’’ class, constitute the “man of sin ... , the son of perdition’’, that arrogantly assumes a high position and claims that they are mighty ones; and all of those wicked ones fight against God and against his servants. The time has come, therefore, when God commands his faithful ones to boldly go forward and to ‘arise against her to battle’, and all his invisible forces are likewise arrayed in battle against the enemy. All the faithful now will arise and use the sword of the spirit in making a vigorous assault upon the enemy’s stronghold, which stronghold is religion. By proclaiming the truth they expose to the people the hypocrisy and duplicity that has been practiced upon them by the Devil and his religious agents, and which enables the people to gain freedom in Christ. The assault now being made upon the enemy is shaking the enemy’s stronghold, and soon the Lord will completely demolish that stronghold by and through Christ Jesus. The great battle of Armageddon will bring about the destruction of wickedness and the honor of God’s holy name.
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