Open Side Menu Search Icon

    Index Downloading...

    The Watchtower, May 15, 1947

    Download: PDF — The Watchtower, May 15, 1947

    The Watchtower—1947

    MAY 15, 1947

    "Th^y shall know that lam Jehovah Ezekiel 35:15.

    15/

    Field Experiences

    “Jehovah’s Christian Witnesses”

    Testimony Period

    Eastern Seaboard Convention

    “Watchtower” Studies

    London Convention

    Vol. LXVHI

    Semimonthly

    No. 10

    CONTENTS

    Inspiration

    Inspired Men

    Manner op Inspiring the Bible

    Dreams

    fiMATCHTOvyEa

    Concerning the Christian Scriptures .. 153

    God-breathed Greek Writings

    No Such Inspiration Today

    Jonadab, Right-’fteabted Companion .... 158

    giWftP.EMVWirNESSKffAlfHJEHOVAti^TtiATIAMGODy^lia'j-jlIZ;

    Published Semimonthly By

    WATCH TOWER BIBLE & TRACT SOCIETY 117 Adams Street • • Brooklyn 1, N.Y., U.S A.

    OFFICERS

    N. H. Knobb, President Grant Suiter, Secretary

    “And all thy children shall be taught of Jehovah; and great shall be the peace of thy children.” - Isaiah 54:13.

    THE BIBLE CLEARLY TEACHES

    THAT JEHOVAH is the only true'God, from everlasting to everlasting, and is the Maker of heaven and earth and Giver of life to his creatures; that the Word or Logos was the beginning of his creation and his active agent in creating all other things; and that the creature Lucifer rebelled against Jehovah and raised the Issue of His universal sovereignty;

    THAT GOD created the earth for man, made perfect man for the earth and placed him upon it; that man yielded to unfaithful Lucifer, or Satan, and willfully disobeyed God’s law and was sentenced to death; that by reason of Adam’s wrong act all men are born sinners and without the right to life;

    THAT THE LOGOS was made human as the man Jesus and suffered death in order to produce the ransom or redemptive price for obedient men; that God raised up Christ Jesus divine and exalted him to heaven above every other creature and clothed him with all power and authority as head of God’s new capital organization;

    THAT GOD’S CAPITAL ORGANIZATION is a Theocracy called Zion, and that Christ Jesus is the Chief Officer thereof and is the rightful King of the new world; that the faithful anointed followers of Christ Jesus are Zion’s children, members of Jehovah’s organization, and are His witnesses whose duty and privilege it is to testify to Jehovah’s supremacy and declare his purposes toward mankind as expressed in the Bible;

    THAT THE OLD WORLD, or Satan’s uninterrupted rule, eided AD. 1914, and Christ Jesus has been placed by Jehovah upon the throne, has ousted Satan from heaven, and now proceeds to vindicate His name and establish the “new earth”;

    THAT THE RELIEF and blessings of the peoples can come only by Jehovah’s kingdom under Christ, which has begun; that His next great act is to destroy Satan's organization and establish righteousness completely in the earth ; and that under the Kingdom the people of good-will surviving Armageddon will carry out the divine mandate to “fill the earth” with righteous offspring, and that the human dead in the graves will be raised to opportunities of life on earth.

    ITS MISSION

    HIS journal Is published for the purpose of enabling the people to know Jehovah God and his purposes as expressed in the Bible, it publishes Bible instruction specifically designed to aid Jehovah’s witnesses and all people of good-wilL It arranges systematic Bible study for its readers and the Society supplies other literature to aid in such studies. It publishes suitable material for radio broadcasting and for other means of public instruction in the Scriptures.

    It adheres strictly to the Bible as authority for its utterances. It is entirely free and separate from all religion, parties, sects or other worldly organizations. It is wholly and without reservation for the kingdom of Jehovah God under Christ his beloved King. It is not dogmatic, but invites careful and critical examination of its contents In the light of the Scriptures. It does not indulge in controversy, and its columns are not open to personalities.

    Notice to Bubscribers: Remittances should be sent to office in your country in compliance with regulations to guarantee safe delivery of money. Remittances are accepted at Brooklyn from countries where no office is located, by international money order only. Subscription rates in different countries are stated below in local currency. Notice of expiration (with renewal blank) is sent at least two issues before subscription expires. Change of address when sent to our office may be expected effective within one month. Send your old as well as new address.

    Please address the Watch Tower Society in every case.

    Offices Yearly Subscription Rate

    America (U.S.), 117 Adams St, Brooklyn 1, N.Y.

    Australia, 7 Beresford Rd., Strathfield, N. S. W.

    British West Indies, 21 Taylor St, Port of Spain, Trinidad

    Canada, 40 Irwin Ave., Toronto 6, Ontario

    England, 34 Craven Terrace, London, W. 2

    India, 167 Love Lane, Bombay 27 Bs. 3/8

    Jamaica, U5I King St, Kingston

    N«w Zealand, G. P. O. Box 30, Wellington, C. 1

    Philippine Islands, 2621 Int 2 Herran, Santa Ana, Manila 2 pesos South Africa, 623 Boston House, Cape Town

    Translations of this journal appear in many languages.

    ALL SINCERE STUDENTS OF THE BIBLE who by reason of infirmity, poverty or adversity are unable to pay the subscription price may have The Watchtower free upon written application to the publishers, made once each year, stating the reason for so requesting it. We are glad to thus aid the needy, out the written application once each year is required by the postal regulations.

    Printed in the United States of America

    Entered as second-class matter at the post office at Brooklyn, X. Y„ under the Act of March S, 1879.

    “JEHOVAH’S CHRISTIAN WITNESSES” TESTIMONY PERIOD

    The month of June, designated as above, starts off the fourmonth campaign of reaching out into the extensive rural territory with the message of Jehovah’s kingdom by his Christ. The transition up north here from spring to summer beckons his Christian witnesses out into the countryside beautiful with opportunities for placing the message in print, in preference to city territory. The special offer featuring the campaign is that of three bound books on a $1.00 contribution, this to include, if possible, the Theocratic ministry school book “Equipped for Every Good Work” and “Let God Be True” along with one other Watchtower publication. Placed alone, “Equipped for Every Good Work” will continue to be offered on a half-dollar contribution. In view of all the things involved with pushing and following up this campaign worthily, preparations for this expansion work should go forward as early as possible, individually and collectively. A mere postcard or other request notice will call us to your aid and instruction if you, as a Watchtower reader, want to lend a hand in this work. A report of work during the June testimony period should be turned in at its close.

    EASTERN SEABOARD CONVENTION

    Many Watchtower readers find themselves financially unable or otherwise to attend the convention at Los Angeles, California, in August. Now we are very, happy to advise that there will be a like convention for the benefit of the brethren in the East. The commodious Convention Hall, 34th Street near Spruce Street, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, has now been engaged for a three-day convention, November 21, 22 and 23, 1947. At this convention the president of the Society and other official members will be in attendance and serve from the platform. We make this announcement now in order that our readers may decide which convention they can most easily attend and begin to make arrangements accordingly. More information will be divulged in due time.

    “WATCHTOWER” STUDIES

    Week of June 15: “Inspiration,” fl 1-18 inclusive, The Watchtower May 15, 1947. Week of June 22; “Manner of Inspiring the Bible,”

    fl 1-20 inclusive, The Watchtower May 15, 1947.

    Week of June 29: “Manner of Inspiring the Bible,”

    fl 21-37 inclusive, The Watchtower May 15, 1947.

    LONDON CONVENTION

    Earls Court, London, has been booked for the national convention from July 3 to 6, at which' the Society’s president, N. H. Knorr, and other official representatives from America will serve on the program. Announcement of this is here made in brief in order that the British brethren and foreign brethren may make the earliest arrangements to be in attendance. Further information will be published in due course.

    ANNOUNCING JEHOVAH’S KINGDOM

    Vol. LXVIH

    May 15, 1947

    No. 10

    INSPIRATION

    "All scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for amendment, and for moral discipline, to make the man of God proficient and equip him for good work of every kind."

    —2 Tim. 3:16,17, Moffatt.

    JEHOVAH God can create a visible universe, and I why can he not also create a book? By this we J mean more than the so-called “book of nature”, which the scientists for ages past have been studying and trying to read, with some progress, so that today we have reached the “atomic age”. But by book here, we mean one written in alphabetic letters and the words of which those persons with enough schooling can read and pronounce. Man, a creature of Jehovah God, has written and produced millions of books in over a thousand languages, and can not man’s Creator, who endowed him ■with the book-making power and urge, make a book better than the best one made by man, the Book of books? The answer is so selfevident that the question may sound foolish, but we ask it because there are millions living in this atomic age who doubt or even dispute that God has produced such a book.

    2 The question is certainly not one of ability to produce, but one of willingness and purpose to produce such a book. God knows we need it. Men, by learning to read more of the “book of nature”, have created new problems and terrors for themselves, while at the same time there remain questions that the book of nature has never answered and never will. These are questions concerning God and his purposes toward man. Is it reasonable that God, who created us with such mental powers of understanding, would leave unsatisfied those of us who want to know him personally for the sake of worshiping and serving him? Would he not provide the definite answers to our questions by a revelation, a book? There is no need to debate this question, because Jehovah God has provided such a book. He has distinguished the Holy Bible as his book, because he produced its sacred Scriptures by inspiration.

    8 According to the interest that men in general display toward the Bible, hundreds of millions pre-

    1. Why is it reasonable to think God has produced a book, the Book of books?

    2. Why do we need such a book? and why is the Bible it?

    3. How do many show they prefer to die ignorance, and why? fer to die without understanding, just like a dog or other brute beast incapable of reading and understanding the Bible. Besides indifference toward God and toward their final end as creatures, millions are too proud to take the straight talk and information from the Bible. Priding themselves in what measure of intelligence they think they have, they choose self-conceitedly to think, search and reason things out for themselves in the baffling book of nature or by means of theories of philosophy, psychology and “religion”, so called. They doubt the inspiration of the Bible as God’s Book. It may be because they put more trust in the worldly scientists that have interpreted the “book of nature” to disagree with the Bible, or it may be because the hundreds of religions of Christendom and Jewry have filled the earth with confused ideas concerning the Bible and have brought it under great reproach and contempt. In many sections of the earth where the Roman Catholic Hierarchy are politically and economically in control, they forbid the Catholic population to read the Bible, under pain of sin. They make no effort to get it into the hands or minds of their religious flocks. In fact, they violently prevent others from getting it to them. The people are kept ignorant of the fact that God speaks to men through the Bible because he inspired it.

    4 Of that sacred Book there is one part that God produced direct without man’s mind or hands. It is the Ten Commandments. The whole nation of Israelites heard these commandments plainly spoken by divine means from the top of Mount Sinai, and then God gave them in written form. About this we read: “And he gave unto Moses, when he had made an end of communing with him upon mount Sinai, two tables of testimony, tables of stone, written -with the finger of God.” In indignation at the Israelites’ idolatry, Moses dashed the stone tablets to pieces, and it was necessary for him to procure a second set. Moses

    4. What part of the Bible was produced direct without man’s mind or hands, and how ?

    tells us: “At that time Jehovah said unto me, Hew thee two tables of stone like unto the first, and come up unto me into the mount, and make thee an ark of wood. And I will write on the tables the words that were on the first tables which thou brakest, and thou shalt put them in the ark. So I made an ark of acacia wood, and hewed two tables of stone like unto the first, and went up into the mount, having the two tables in my hand. And he wrote on the tables, according to the first writing, the ten commandments, which Jehovah spake unto you in the mount out of the midst of the fire in the day of the assembly: and Jehovah gave them unto me. And I turned and came down from the mount, and put the tables in the ark which I had made; and there they are as Jehovah commanded me.” (Deut. 10:1-5, Am. Stan. Ver.; Ex. 34:1) Doubtless Moses made a copy of the Ten Commandments from the tablets which he put into the ark. Moses' copy and any other copies made could be compared with the tables in the ark to be proved accurate and correct.

    5 Many Roman Catholics have said to Bible distributors : “Oh, the Bible was written only by men!” and refused to take and read a copy of it. By this attitude they would require that the whole Bible be produced directly by God the same way as the Ten Commandments upon the stone tablets. But suppose that the entire Bible in its original Hebrew, Chaldee and Greek languages had been produced direct by God. Would these religionists then be any more inclined to accept the Bible ? Can they prove it would contain a different message from what the Bible of today contains? Also what they would get, would it not be merely a copy or a translated copy, written, printed and translated by imperfect men! The original Bible was recorded in languages which are today dead. Furthermore, the original writings have vanished from human sight and knowledge, if not being altogether destroyed. So in any case the human factor must intervene, and it is merely begging the question for prejudiced religionists to say, “Oh, that was written just by men!” The Bible, today translated in whole or in part into 1,068 languages, was originally written in the name of Jehovah God. He therefore takes the responsibility for its writing, as being its Inspirer and the Supervisor and Director of its writing and the Provider of its contents. It manifestly has his backing, blessing and protection, because, in the face of eighteen centuries of demonized human attempts to destroy, suppress and counteract the Bible, it is the most widely circulated book in the earth and in the highest number of languages. That must mean something involving God’s power.

    5. Supposing the whole Bible had been produced direct by God, why would the human factor still have bad to intervene? and how does God show responsibility for the Book?

    8 Since Jehovah God inspired the Bible, what difference, then, does it make that he used human writers? Is not His power mightier than such writers ? Before Christ’s time men may have refused to hear the prophets that spoke in Jehovah’s name because they were mere imperfect, sinful men; but, without excuse, when Jesus Christ the inspired Son of God came and himself spoke to men in his Father’s name, they did not listen to him either. They had no grounds for saying, “Oh, it is just a man of the earth, sinful and imperfect like ourselves I” Plainly, the reason why they refused to hear him was that their minds were perverted and they simply did not love the truth and did not wish to hear and entertain it.

    T If, before accepting the Bible, the people must have proof that it is from God, they can easily start an investigation and find an overwhelming amount of proof that it is not a fraud, but that its source must be divine and not human, and that it is therefore the only Book of truth and the authoritative Guide and Instructor of our lives. That the Bible is inspired we have testimony from writers of it. About A.D. 65 the apostle Paul, in prison at Rome for preaching the Bible, wrote this to his fellow servant Timothy; “From an infant thou hast been acquainted with the sacred writings which can instruct thee to salvation through the faith which is in Christ Jesus. Every Scripture is divinely inspired and is profitable for instruction, for reproof, for correction, for training in rectitude; that the man of God may be perfect, completely equipped for every good work.”—2 Tim. 3:15-17, Spencer.

    8 The American Roman Catholic priest, who made the above translation (1937) from the original Greek, translated his expression “divinely inspired” from the original word written by Paul, namely, theopneustos. This compound word literally means “God-breathed” or “breathed by God”. Not that God breathes the atmosphere about our earth and breathed it upon the human writers of the Bible, but that he sent forth his invisible active force. He exerted it upon the thirty men or so that wrote the sixty-six books of the Bible. One of these writers, the apostle John, tells us that Jesus appeared to a group of his faithful apostles on his resurrection day and said he was sending them forth on a mission. “And when he had said this, he breathed on them, and saith unto them, Receive ye the holy spirit.” (John 20:21,22, Am. Stan. Ver.) And when Jesus thus blew upon them, his breath was an invisible force. Just so, too, the holy spirit or active force of God is invisible to our eyes, and the Hebrew writers

    6. How is perversity of mind rather than the human agency shown to be the reason why men have not hearkened to God’s tford?

    7. How can men prove the Bible to be from God?

    8. How were the Holy Scriptures “God-breathed” ’ spoke of it with words (neshamah, ruahh) meaning also breath, and the Greek writers spoke of it with the word (pneuma) meaning also wind or breath. Hence anything produced by the exercising of God’s invisible active force upon it can be said to be God-breathed or divinely inspired. In fact, the word inspired of Latin origin means breathed into, denoting unseen force.

    8 On the day of Pentecost A.D. 33 the holy spirit or active force of God descended upon Christ’s faithful disciples invisibly, but with an audible sound as the rushing of a mighty wind and with an outward visible sign like fiery tongues parting asunder over the head of each spirit-filled disciple. (Acts 2:1-4) The sound as of a strong blast of wind (pnoe) made it appear that they were being breathed upon by God with his spirit or active force. “And they were all filled with the holy spirit, and began to speak with other tongues, as the spirit gave them utterance.” —Am. Stan. Ver.

    INSPIRED MEN

    10 The “holy scriptures” which Paul said Timothy knew from a child and which were inspired of God, or God-breathed, were the ancient Hebrew Scriptures. The first reported meeting up of Paul with Timothy at Lystra in Asia Minor was about A.D. 53. At that time Timothy was quite young. His mother and grandmother had united in teaching Timothy from a child, and that was therefore before any of the Christian Scriptures in the Greek had been written, the first book thereof, Matthew’s gospel, being written about A.D. 41. Hence the only Holy Scriptures out of which Timothy could have been taught by Eunice and Lois from his childhood were the Hebrew Scriptures from Moses to Malachi. All such Scripture Paul said was divinely inspired and for this reason profitable to the Christians and serving to equip God’s servants for the good work that God has commissioned them to do. It stands to reason, then, that the Christian’s equipment is not complete without the Hebrew Scriptures and the proper understanding of them. In fact, the Christian Greek Scriptures find their foundation and basis in the Hebrew Scriptures, because such Greek Scriptures written by Christ’s disciples are in explanation of the Hebrew Scriptures and show the fulfillment of many very important prophecies in the Hebrew Scriptures. These were inspired by the holy spirit, indeed; but how?

    11 What are now the first five books of the Bible, namely, Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy, together with the book of Job, were

    9. How was the holy spirit Imparted at Pentecost?

    10. How do we know what the Holy Scriptures were that Paul said were God-breathed?

    11. How did God speak with the writer of the Bible’s first five books? written by the prophet Moses. When speaking to Moses’ brother and sister, Jehovah God said to them concerning Moses: “Hear now my words: if there be a prophet among you, I Jehovah will make myself known unto him in a vision, I will speak with him in a dream. My servant Moses is not so; he is faithful in all my house: with him will I speak mouth to mouth, even manifestly, and not in dark speeches; and the form of Jehovah shall he behold: wherefore then were ye not afraid to speak against my servant, against Moses?”—Num. 12: 6-8, Am.Stan. Ver.

    12 Moses was in a specially favored position as a prophet, and no doubt because of the special work he was given to do. Also, in this work he was particularly a prophetic type of a greater prophet, a greater Moses. He so told the Israelites, saying: “Jehovah thy God will raise up unto thee a prophet from the midst of thee, of thy brethren, like unto me; unto him ye shall hearken; according to all that thou desiredst of Jehovah thy God in Horeb in the day of the assembly, saying, Let me not hear again the voice of Jehovah my God, neither let me see this great fire any more, that I die not. And Jehovah said unto me, They have well said that which they have spoken. I will raise them up a prophet from among their brethren, like unto thee; and I will put my words in his mouth, and he shall speak unto them all that I shall command him. And it shall come to pass, that whosoever will not hearken unto my words which he shall speak in my name, I will require it of him.” —Deut. 18:15-19, Am. Stan. Ver.

    13 One of those Israelite brethren, the apostle Peter, identifies this great Prophet that was to be like Moses, and he points him out to be Jesus Christ. (Acts 3:19-26) In reason, then, one thing follows: If Moses was inspired and God disclosed to him the divine will in a specially direct way, Jesus Christ on earth was also inspired and received revelations of the divine will in a direct, personal way. One means of Jesus’ inspiration was the holy spirit or active force of God. It descended upon him with a visible manifestation, like a descending dove, which was seen by a trustworthy eyewitness, John the Baptist. “For he whom God hath sent speaketh the words of God: for he giveth not the spirit by measure. The Father loveth the Son. and hath eriven all thiners into his hand.” (Matt. 3:13-17; John 1:23-34; 3 “34, 35, Am. Stan. Ver.) By this spirit given without measure to Jesus Christ his Father Jehovah could act upon his beloved Son and could inspire him, and he did so.

    14 To other prophets besides Moses Jehovah God said he made himself known in a vision and spoke in a dream. This makes it certain that some inspira-

    12. Why did God speak to the Israelites through Moses?

    13. Who was this Greater Moses? and how did God Inspire him?

    14. What did God reveal to Enoch, and how? tions were by miraculous visions and dreams; and of such we have Scriptural records. Thousands of years back, the seventh generation from Adam came upon the scene and one man among this generation was inspired of God and hence served as His prophet. The man was Enoch, the son of Jared. (Gen. 5:18-24) The sum and substance of Enoch’s prophesyings are told us by the Christian writer Jude, who says: "And Enoch also, the seventh from Adam, prophesied of these, saying, Behold, the Lord cometh with ten thousands of his saints, to execute judgment upon all, and to convince all that are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds which they have ungodly committed, and of all their hard speeches which ungodly sinners have spoken against him.” (Jude 14,15) Just how Enoch, so early in human history, was given these revelations, whether by visions or by dreams or by other operations of the spirit of God, is not stated. Enoch lived close to God by exercising faith in Him and keeping clean from the ungodly world about him, so that it is recorded of Enoch: “And Enoch walked with God: and he was not; for God took him.” As the Scriptures seem to say, however, it was while Enoch was being given a vision that entranced him because it was a vision of the new world wherein there will be no death due to ^A.dam .that God took Enoch from contact with the ungodly world and from this life. —Gen. 5:24; Heb. 11:5, 6.

    18 God spoke to Noah and warned him of the flood and instructed him to build the ark. Just how, whether it was by vision or by inward unseen impression upon his mind or by an angel speaking visibly or invisibly to Noah, is not revealed in the account by Moses. At all events, it was by the active force of God, exercised either directly or indirectly. Likewise how God spoke to Abraham in the land of Ur of the Chaldees and told him to leave there for an unknown land in order to receive a blessing that would affect all the rest of humanity is not disclosed by Moses. Angels of God did appear in human form and speak to Abraham later and make him the possessor of prophetic information concerning the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah and the birth of his son Isaac. In a dream to the Philistine king, Abimelech, God said that Abraham was a prophet. —Gen. 20:1-7.

    16 The grandson of Abraham, namely, Jacob, had an inspired dream and also had angels appear to him and speak to him. Jacob’s dream of the ladder reaching from earth to heaven, with angels going up and down upon it and with God at the top thereof, was for sure an inspired dream. In it Jehovah God pronounced a prophecy to Jacob, saying: “And thy seed

    15. How did God speak to Noab and Abraham?

    16. How did God make revelations to Jacob? shall be as the dust of the earth; and thou shalt spread abroad to the west, and to the east, and to the north, and to the south: and in thee and in thy seed shall all the families of the earth be blessed.” (Gen. 28:11-16) At the time of that dream Jacob was over seventy years old, but he lived to an age of 147 years. When he, Upon his deathbed, pronounced his farewell blessing upon his twelve sons he must have been inspired by the active force of God operating invisibly upon his mind. Doubtless his inspiration was a verbal one, Jacob speaking the words as God’s spirit gave him utterance. (Gen. 49:1-33) By the psalmist God speaks of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob as “mine anointed” and “my prophets”, because of the special work to which He appointed these holy men; and at times the spirit of God moved upon them, inspiring them.—Ps. 105:9-15.

    17 Jacob’s specially loved son Joseph was also favored as a prophet. When he was a lad of seventeen he had prophetic dreams, both of which being told to his ten half-brothers aroused their envy. They sarcastically spoke of this youngling as “this dreamer”. About twenty years later, both dreams were fulfilled, his father Jacob and all his brothers taking part in the fulfillment. This proves these dreams were not disturbed, feverish mental impressions of the night, but were inspired in Joseph’s mind by means of God’s holy spirit. There is no question, either, that for the sake of Joseph and his family relationship, and also for prophetic purposes which apply to our twentieth century, other dreams were inspired in the minds of Pharaoh’s butler and baker and also in Pharaoh of Egypt himself. Through interpreting these dreams the enslaved and imprisoned Joseph might be freed. Joseph was just a young man of thirty years when he interpreted Pharaoh’s dreams which depicted the coming of a dire seven-year famine upon Egypt and many other lands of the earth. Before undertaking the interpretation of any of such dreams Joseph said: “Do not interpretations belong to GodT ... It is not in me: God shall give Pharaoh an answer of peace.”—Gen. 37:1-19; 40:8; 41:16, 25, 28.

    18 The fulfillment of the dream interpretations by Joseph proves he was under the inspiration of God’s spirit when he interpreted. Thus through the use of inspired dreams and interpretations Joseph was made Jehovah’s prophet. And, as stated at Numbers 12: 6, God spoke to Joseph in dreams and by their interpretations. Thus, too, it is proved that inspiration is by various means, and that in ancient times dreams were among the approved and chosen means of God to inspire his servants.—1 Ki. 3: 5-15.

    17. How did God make Joseph bls prophet?

    18. By all the foregoing, what is proved as to inspiration?

    ALL the Scriptures, from Genesis to Revelation, testify to the inspiration of Moses, By means of an angel at the burning bush and by possibly the same angel and his angelic attendants upon the top of Mount Sinai Jehovah God spoke to Moses "mouth to mouth, and not in dark speeches”. When Jehovah by his angel dictated the law of the covenant with the nation of Israel, Moses wrote it down. There was a case of verbal inspiration in this prophet. (Ex. 34: 27) When, at the'age of 120 years and at the close of his life, he sang a prophetic song that it might be a “■witness for me against the children of Israel” in time to come, and then this song was followed by Moses’ pronouncing of a final blessing upon the twelve tribes of Israel, this too was doubtless a case of verbal or plenary inspiration. God, by his angel, spoke from the cloudy pillar that stood over the door of the tabernacle and told Moses to deliver the song.—Deut. 31:15-19; 32:1-44; 33:1-29.

    2 So, for such parts of the Pentateuch or five books of Moses, there was verbal inspiration of God’s prophet. As for the rest of these five books, from Genesis to Deuteronomy, we cannot be sure. Whether Moses had any written records to consult detailing the history of mankind and of creation prior to his becoming prophet, or whether he received this all by oral tradition from his forefathers, or whether it was given to him by direct inspiration of God’s spirit, is not disclosed. But that it was all written under inspiration, so that it might be correct and that nothing of importance and of prophetic value be left out, there is every evidence to show; which see in later paragraphs.

    3 One interesting form of inspiration was that which accompanied the playing of music. The prophet Samuel told Saul, after he had anointed him to be king over Israel: “Thou shalt meet a company of prophets coming down from the high place ■with a psaltery, and a tabret, and a pipe, and a harp, before them; and they shall prophesy: and the spirit of the Lord will come upon thee, and thou shalt prophesy with them, and shalt be turned into another man. And let it be, when these signs are come unto thee, that thou do as occasion serve thee; for God is with thee.” It befell Saul just as Samuel had foretold to him. (1 Sam. 10:1-13) What Saul said in prophesying among the prophets may not have been predictions of things to come but only praises and prayers to God, but still it was done under the influence of God’s spirit.—1 Sam. 19: 20-24.

    4 One specific case of inspiration under music is that of Elisha on his meeting up with the military 1 2 3 4 expedition of kings Jehoram and Jehoshaphat and the king of Edom against the king of Moab. When the expedition was in danger of being defeated by lack of water in the dry wilderness, Elisha said to Jehoram: “But now bring me a minstrel.” “And it came to pass, when the minstrel played, that the hand of the Lord came upon him. Aid he said, Thus saith the Lord, Make this valley full of ditches. For thus saith the Lord, Ye shall not see wind, neither shall ye see rain; yet that valley shall be filled with water, that ye may drink, both ye, and your cattle, and your beasts.” (2 Ki. 3:15-17) Some may reason that the playing of the harp or musical instrument was in order to quiet and compose the mind of the prophet in order the better to receive the impressions of God’s spirit. But evidently it was for prophetic illustration, because the harp is symbolically used to represent the means of sounding forth harmoniously, impressively and with more power the message of God. This accompaniment of the harp to prophecy by inspiration is referred to at Psalm 49:3,4, which reads: “My mouth shall speak of wisdom; and the meditation of my heart shall be of understanding. I will incline mine ear to a parable: I will open my dark saying upon the harp.” And Psalm 78: 2 reads: “I -will open my mouth in a parable : !• will utter dark sayings of old.”

    3 Psalm 78:2 proved to be a prophecy, sung by the temple musicians at Jerusalem but which applied to Jesus Christ. In connection with an account of Jesus’ special method of teaching, the apostle Matthew says: “All these things spake Jesus unto the multitude in parables; and without a parable spake he not unto them: that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying, I will open my mouth in parables; I will utter things which have been kept secret from the foundation of the world.” (Matt. 13:34,35; John 16:25,29, margin) Jesus never used a literal harp in conjunction with his teaching of parables and uttering of dark sayings; but he did quote and fulfill many prophecies which were sung to the accompaniment of the musicians at the temple. He backed up and strengthened his teachings with the inspired Hebrew Scriptures, correctly.

    ‘ After Samuel, the record shows that many of the other prophets received inspired revelations by means of visions. Concerning the informing of King David about the covenant that God made with him for an everlasting kingdom, we read: “According to all these words, and according to all this vision, so did Nathan speak unto David.” (2 Sam. 7:17; 1 Chron. 17:15) Iddo the seer, who wrote about

    5. How was Psalm 78:2 as a prophecy fulfilled7

    6. Did the prophets record visions by verbal inspiration? and did they understand what they wrote?

    several of King David’s successors, is spoken of as having had visions. When recorded, these were called “the visions of Iddo”. (2 Chron. 9:29) Isaiah, Ezekiel, Obadiah, Nahum, Habakkuk and Daniel are expressly declared to have had visions. These were, of course, inspired by God’s spirit to reveal to them his will and purposes.* They were true visions, which have been or are being fulfilled, in contrast with the demon-inspired visions of the false prophets against which Jehovah’s prophets warned the people. (Jer. 14:14; 23:16; Ezek. 13:16; Zech. 13:4) When recording the visions, whether these prophets had verbal inspiration or were simply left to describe the vision in their own words under supervision of the unerring spirit of God, is not directly stated. The latter way, it seems, was true of them. This does not mean they understood all the visions that they described, even when left to a choice of their own words. But to the extent that they were left to their own words of description and expression, they were not mere automatons or robots, but had the divine guidance in order to express truthfully the things showed to them. But that they did not understand the meaning of all they saw, heard and wrote down is certain.

    T After the final vision to him Daniel said: “And I heard, but I understood not: then said I, 0 my Lord; what shall be the end of these things.! .And he said, Go thy way, Daniel: for the words are closed up and sealed till the time of the end.” (Dan. 12: 8, 9) As to not understanding, the apostle Peter sweeps in all the prophets together with Daniel when he says concerning the so great salvation of the Christians: “Of which salvation the prophets have enquired and searched diligently, who prophesied of the grace that should come unto you: searching what, or what manner of time the spirit of Christ which was in them did signify, when it testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ, and the glory that should follow. Unto whom it was revealed, that not unto themselves, but unto us [Christians] they did minister the things, which are now reported unto you by them that have preached the gospel unto you with the holy [spirit] sent down from heaven; which things, the angels desire to look into.” (1 Pet. 1:10-12) Even the angels that were used to pass the vision or information along to men on earth did not understand.

    DREAMS

    8 In addition to visions during consciousness, Daniel was favored with prophetic dreams, dreams inspired and hence unerring in meaning. Take, for

    • 2 Chron. 32: 32; Isa. 1:1; Ezek. 1:1; Dan. 8:1, 2; 10:1,7,8; Obad. 1; Nahum 1:1; Hab. 2:2, 3.

    7. What Scripture proof of their not understanding do we have? b, 9. With what else besides visions was Daniel favored? and to what are they spoken of as equivalent? example, King Nebuchadnezzar’s dream of the terrible image that was destroyed by a stone miraculously carved out of a mountain. The “night vision” by which the dream and its interpretation were revealed to Daniel may have been a dream that reproduced the dream which Nebuchadnezzar had had but had totally forgotten. (Dan. 2:19) In giving the interpretation, Daniel refers to Nebuchadnezzar’s dream as one of visions, saying: “Thy dream, and the visions of thy head upon thy bed, are these.” (Dan. 2:28) At that time Daniel was a young man, likely yet in his twenties. Later the same Nebuchadnezzar had another dream, one of a great tree over which seven Gentile times passed. He speaks of it as a dream of visions, saying: “I saw a dream which made me afraid, and the thoughts upon my bed and the visions of my head troubled me.” (Dan. 4:5) In laying the dream before Daniel for him to interpret with God’s help, Nebuchadnezzar said: “Tell me the visions of my dream that I have seen, and the interpretation thereof. Thus were the visions of mine head in my bed.”—Dan. 4: 9,10,13.

    9 When Daniel was an old man, about eighty years of age, he himself had a dream in which he saw four ferocious beasts and their destiny. He speaks of this dream as bringing him visions, in these words: “In the first year of Belshazzar king of Babylon [about 553 B.C.] Daniel had a dream and visions of his head upon his bed: then he wrote the dream, and told the sum of the matters. Daniel spake and said, I saw in my vision by night, and, behold,... four great beasts came up from the sea, ... I saw in the night visions, and, behold, one like the Son of man came with the clouds of heaven, and came to the Ancient of days, and they brought him near before him. And there was given him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom.” The visions of this dream troubled Daniel, because he did not understand.—Dan. 7:1-3,7,13-15.

    10 These dreams became part of the inspired written Word of God because of their truth. They are not to be confused with the false demon-inspired dreams of opposers of God, concerning which he says, at Jeremiah 23: 28: “The prophet that hath a dream, let him tell a dream; and he that hath my word, let him speak my word faithfully.” When speaking the Word of Jehovah God today, his witnesses can quote and explain the above dreams of Jacob, Joseph and Daniel, because they are integral parts of God’s authorized Scriptures.

    11 Thus reviewing matters, we see that, whether by direct address of God’s angels or by visions or by dreams or by other invisible operations upon his approved servants, the Hebrew-Chaldee Scriptures of the centuries before Christ were produced by inspiration. Therefore they are authoritative and

    10. Which dreams may we properly quote and sxplaln, and why?

    11. Of what are such ancient Scriptures deserving, and why so now? are a valid part of the Holy Bible, God’s Word. As such they are deserving of the earnest study of all true Christians in this “time of the end” and in the light of the new day of Christ’s kingdom that is dawning. Peter’s words are most suitable to quote here, namely: “And now the word of the prophets gives us more confidence than ever. It is with good reason that you are paying so much attention to that word; it will go on shining, like a lamp in some darkened room, until the dawn breaks, and the day-star rises in your hearts. Yet always you must remember this, that no prophecy in scripture is the subject of private interpretation. It was never man’s impulse, after all, that gave us prophecy; men gave it utterance, but they were men whom God had sanctified, carried away, as they spoke, by the holy spirit.” —2 Pet. 1:19-21, Knox, Roman Catholic.

    12 In Moses’ day, at Mount Sinai, the terrified Israelites pleaded that Jehovah God should not speak to them direct any more, but should speak by his prophet. Accordingly, God has since spoken to men indirectly by his prophets, human creatures, but filled and carried along in their expressions by the invisible active force of God, his infallible holy spirit. King David the psalmist did not ask men to give him any credit for his prophecies, but saidi “The spirit of Jehovah spake by me, and his word was upon my tongue.” (2 Sam. 23:1, 2, Am. Stan. V£r.) Selfish, unbelieving men and women are therefore foolishly cheating themselves when they look at God’s human channels of communication and say: “Oh, they were only men. Oh, the Bible was written only by men.” Men they were, indeed, but inspired with the superhuman spirit of God, and they spoke and wrote in the name of God, because they were his representatives. The continuing fulfillment of their prophecies proves this.

    CONCERNING THE CHRISTIAN SCRIPTURES

    13 Jesus Christ was the greatest of Jehovah’s prophets, being the One foretold and foreshadowed by Moses. All the Christian Greek Scriptures, written in the first century of our era, support this highly important and indispensable fact. One man who met up with Jesus in his glory and spoke with him writes: “It was little by little and in different troys that God spoke in old times to our forefathers through the prophets, but in these latter days he has spoken “to lis in a Son, whom he had destined to possess everything, and through whom he had made the world. He is the reflection of God’s glory, and the representation of his being.” (Heb. 1:1-3, An Amer. Trans.) With this Son Jehovah God had talked face to face and mouth to mouth in heaven before sending him on his mission to earth, and in

    12. Why did God speak through human prophets, and how?

    13. Who was God's great prophet, and how did He speak with him? a way that it had never occurred with Moses. God talked also with his Son on earth by means of angels and by means of the invisible force or holy spirit that he poured out upon him immediately after Jesus came up out of the baptismal waters of Jordan.

    14 In an effort to help the Jews to identify him, who he was on earth, Jesus said to them: “He that sent me is true; and I speak to the world those things which I have heard of him. . . . When ye have lifted up the Son of man, then shall ye know that I am he, and that I do nothing of myself; but as my Father hath taught me, I speak these things. I speak that which I have seen with my Father.” (John 8: 26, 28, 38) Jesus further said: “I have not spoken of myself; but the Father which sent me, he gave me a commandment, what I should say, and what I should speak. And I know that his commandment is life everlasting: whatsoever I speak therefore, even as the Father said unto me, so I speak.” (John 12: 49, 50) Jesus’ words were God-breathed. Jesus, with his perfect memory, could repeat to men verbatim God’s words to him, with a plenary or verbal inspiration. But although Jesus spoke by divine inspiration upon earth, he did not act automatically, without any decision of his own. Jesus had free moral agency the same as any other human on earth, but he submerged his own will into that of his Father. It was not necessary for him to repeat automatically word for word, if he faithfully expressed and lived the sense and inward meaning of God’s commandments and message to him. This fact is illustrated in the accounts of his life by his inspired disciples. Jesus did not personally write a word of the Christian Greek Scriptures, but by his inspired words and his prophetically foretold course of action Jesus provided the material for his disciples to write.

    15 The Roman Catholic Hierarchy, in their selfglorifying effort to put their religious priesthood above the Holy Bible as inadequate and remote, claim that the disciples of Christ were commanded to preach and teach, but not to write. Still, the Christian Greek Scriptures from Matthew to Revelation (Apocalypse) were written under the impulse of the same active force or spirit of God that moved prophets of old to write the Hebrew Scriptures. How, then, could Christ’s disciples, appointed thereto, refrain from writing, if they were obedient to God, the Source of the spirit? That they had God’s spirit upon them is evident, because they all wrote after that notable day of Pentecost of A.D. 33. That day Jehovah God, by Christ Jesus at his right hand in heaven, poured out his holy spirit upon all consecrated Christian flesh. There the initial fulfillment of Joel’s prophecy came, which Peter quoted to the amazed multitude gathered round about, namely:

    14. With what kind of Inspiration did Jesus when on earth speak? 15. When, In order to be inspired, were the Greek Scriptures written? “And it shall eome to pass afterward [after the repentance and conversion of a faithful remnant], that I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions: and also upon the servants and upon the handmaids in those days will I pour out my spirit. . . . And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of Jehovah shall be delivered.” —Joel 2:28-32, Am. Stan. Ver.

    18 No difference was shown to anyone who was a consecrated and faithful Christian on account of age, family relationship or social position. Old men and young men, parents and children, masters and servants, all consecrated believers of flesh and blood were favored with the outpouring of the spirit, that all together might call upon the name of the Lord God and praise his name Jehovah and be saved through his anointed King and Lord, Jesus Christ. There were times, therefore, when all such were inspired, as, for instance, when they all “began to speak with other tongues, as the spirit gave them utterance”, to speak the “wonderful works of God”. (Acts 2:4,11) Sometime afterward when Samaritans were converted and believed and the apostles laid their hands upon such flesh, these believers of Samaritan flesh “received the holy spirit”, together with its inspired gifts. (Acts 8:14-17, Am. Stan. Ver.) Not long afterward the first Gentile converts to Christianity were made, at the home of Cornelius in Caesarea. He and his kinsmen and near friends, on accepting God’s message by Peter, had the holy spirit poured out upon them and were heard to “speak with tongues, and magnify God”. That was a time of inspiration for them.—Acts 10: 24-46.

    17 These Christians had God’s active force operating among them and were admonished to “be filled with the spirit”. However, that does not mean they were continuously inspired. It does not mean, either, that they were all inspired to write the gospel accounts of Jesus’ life or the general and special epistles to his church. With the help of the spirit, old and young, male and female, bond and free, prophesied. There were visions inspired in them by the outpoured spirit of God. Peter had a vision before God sent him to the home of the Italian centurion Cornelius. The faithful Ananias had a vision from the Lord before being sent to the repentant Saul of Tarsus. The converted Saul, or Paul the apostle, had a vision in the night (possibly a dream, as in Daniel’s case) before he felt the urge to cross over from Asia Minor into Europe, into Macedonia. By another vision in the night the Lord appeared to the apostle Paul at Corinth, Greece, under difficult circumstances, to say: “Be not afraid, but speak, and 16. When was the tinie when all such “flesh” was inspired?

    17. In what ways was such inspiration manifested? hold not thy peace: for I am with thee.”—Acts 10:17-19; 11:5; 9:10; 16:9,10; 18:9,10.

    18 Concerning himself Paul, who wrote fourteen of the epistles to the church, said: “I have to boast. There is nothing to be gained by it, but I will go on to visions and revelations given me by the Lord.” (2 Cor. 12:1, An Amer. Trans.) Paul’s and the other cases above are proofs that there were some favored with visions by the outpoured spirit. Because they were God-breathed, they were not false visions of which to be ashamed afterward.—Zech. 13:4.

    19 When the apostle John was an old man, apparently past ninety years of age, he had the marvelous vision of the Revelation or Apocalypse. (Rev. 9:17) However, there is this to be noted, that in his apocalyptic vision the aged John made part quotations from Daniel’s accounts of Nebuchadnezzar’s two dreams (Daniel 2 and 4) and also of Daniel’s own dream of the four beasts (Daniel 7).* John was well familiar with Daniel’s prophecy. The dreams recorded in that prophecy came to John’s mind, no doubt, as he observed certain parts of the apocalyptic vision come to his inspired view. At Revelation 1:10 John tells us: “I was in the spirit on the Lord’s day,” before he gives us the details of the revelation. Thus for John in the spirit the vision bore some relation to the dreams (or visions by night) of Daniel. This faet reminds us of the prophecy that Peter announced on the day of Pentecost as beginning to be fulfilled, namely: “This is that which was spoken by the prophet Joel; And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, I will pour out of my spirit upon all flesh: and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams.” —Acts 2:16,17.

    20 Such dreams resulting from the operation of God’s outpoured spirit were not false dreams that mislead and put persons to sleep spiritually. In John’s letters, which he wrote a couple of years after the Revelation, he mentions antichrists and deceivers, and this shows that at that time there were among the professed Christians some that began to fall asleep spiritually and to have false dreams and false visions. These are the kind of dreams and visions against which Jeremiah warned, because they are not of God’s liolv spirit. (1 John 2:18,22; 4:3; 2 John 7; Jer. 23:'32; 27:9; 29:8;

    * See the Bible cross-references in the margin of yonr Bible at Daniel 2, 4, and 7. See also the Greek New Testament, by E. Nestle, and its list of passages either quoted from the Hebrew Scriptures or alluded to verbally, on page 669, under “Daniel”. Also see The New Testament in the Original Greek, by Westcott and Hort, and its list of quotations from the Old Testament on pages 612-618, under “Apocalypse”.

    18. Why were such not false visions?

    19. How, in effect, was the old man John inspired with dreams?

    20. Alongside such dreams and visions, what did Satan produce?

    14:14) Satan the Devil, who is a counterfeiter, always tries to accompany the true operation of God’s spirit with a deceptive religious imitation of his own by means of demon power.—2 Thess. 2:8-10.

    GOD-BREATHED GREEK WRITINGS

    21 All the gospel accounts, epistles and other books of the Christian Greek Scriptures, generally called “The New Testament”, were written after the Pentecostal outpouring of the holy spirit and before the last of the twelve apostles, John, died. This argues in favor of the fact that these Greek writings by the apostles of Jesus Christ and their close personal associates were God-breathed. God, by Christ, commanded those men to go forth and give verbal testimony concerning the outworking of His purpose through Christ. But was their testimony to be restricted to only spoken testimony, and not to include written testimony also? Beyond all successful disproof and denial, God also moved upon some of them and inspired them to write. The apostle Peter wrote: “For no prophecy ever came by the will of man: but men spake from God, being moved by the holy spirit.” Yet we have also in writing what those prophets spoke under inspiration. What Roman Catholic priest or other religionist will deny that those writings were made also because the writers were moved or carried along by God’s spirit? Peter accepted such writings as inspired; Paul plainly says they were inspired; and their Head and Master, Jesus, accepted them as inspired, as God’s Word respecting which he said, “Thy Word is truth.” For religionists to discredit and cause prejudice against the sacred writings of the holy men of Jehovah God is particularly unchristian and smacks of antichrist.—2 Pet. 1:19-21, Am. Stan. Ver.; John 17:17.

    22 Luke, the faithful close associate of the apostle Paul, opens up his gospel account, writing: “Forasmuch as many have taken in hand to draw up a narrative concerning those matters which have been fulfilled among us, even as they delivered them unto us, who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and ministers of the word, it seemed good to me also, having traced the course of all things accurately from the first, to write unto thee in order most excellent Theophilus; that thou mightest know the certainty concerning the things wherein thou wast instructed.” For the same reason, that Theophilus might know the certainty of the foundations of Christian beliefs, Luke wrote the so-called Acts of the Apostles, beginning it with the introduction: “The former treatise I made, 0 Theophilus, concerning all that Jesus began both to do and to teach, until

    21. What facts argue that the Greek Scriptures were God-breathed? 22. How does Luke in his writings show that such important matters were not to be left to memory or to tradition? the day in which he was received up, after that he had given commandment through the holy spirit unto the apostles whom he had chosen.” (Luke 1:1-4 and Acts 1:1,2, Am. Stan. Ver.) These important matters were to be put in writing and not to be left to the imperfect memories and to the operation of oral traditions of men, against which Jesus warned and the errors of which traditions he exposed.

    2S In having the changeless fundamental facts and teachings and the needed things committed to writing by competent reliable men for the use of the Christian church over its many centuries of existence Jehovah God’s faultless wisdom was shown. His spirit or active force operates according to divine wisdom, and to supply so essential a need to his “people for His name” Jehovah would inspire his chosen writers with his infallible spirit.

    24 Jesus assured his apostles, and hence us, too, that it would be so. When he was raised from the dead and was clothed with all the power of his office in heaven and in earth and then ascended to the presence of Jehovah God, he received special control over the spirit or active force of God. This he would use for the comfort or help of his disciples on earth, according to God’s will. Said Jesus: “And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another helper, that he may be with you to the age; the spirit of truth, which the world cannot receive, because it beholds it not, nor knows it; but you know it; because it abides with you, and will be in you.” To what use would that helping spirit of God act? Jesus added: “These things I have spoken to you, while abiding with you. But the helper, the holy spirit, which the Father will send in my name, shall teach you all things, and remind you of all things which I said to you.” (John 14:16, 17, 25, 26, The Emphatic Dia-glott) Accordingly, when the God-chosen writers wrote under the inspiration of His spirit, then this helping active force would guard their minds against mistakes and errors and failures of mind.

    25 Concerning this inspiring force Jesus further said in the same speech to his apostles: “But when the comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the spirit of truth, which pro-ceedeth from the Father, he shall testify of me: and ye also shall bear witness, because ye have been with me from the beginning.” (John 15:26,27) From among the apostles that heard Jesus say this, Matthew and John were also inspired by the spirit to bear witness in writings that have been preserved to this day in thousands of copies. This became true of the other disciples that God by his spirit selected to write a portion of the Holy Scriptures. What that spirit testified to them, they wrote. This would be

    23. How, then, was God’s wisdom shown?

    24. How did Jesus show the spirit would help his disciples that wrote? 25. Into what did the spirit guide such writers, to glorify Jesus? their guide in what would be the enduring, unover-throwable truth. In guarantee of this Jesus further said: “But when he may come, the spirit of truth, he will lead you into all the truth; for he will not speak from himself; he will speak whatever he may hear; and declare to you the coming things. He will glorify me; because he will take of mine, and declare to you. All things that the Father has are mine; on account of this I said, That out of mine he takes, and will declare to you.” (John 16:13-15, The Emphatic Diaglott) As a result, the inspired Greek writings by his disciples do glorify Jesus Christ as the exalted Chief Official in all God’s universal organization. This spirit or active force of God did not please the unbelieving Jews by ignoring or discounting Jesus, but, while producing testimony regarding Jehovah God, it also showed Jesus’ true relationship to God. So it inspired truthful writings.

    28 The spirit’s moving the disciples in their inspired writings evidently did not wipe out all the personal element about them. It allowed them to express themselves according to each one’s individual style and spiritual gifts. They were left also to use the powers of study, research and investigation with which God had endowed them and then were allowed to make expression of themselves with truthful motives. God’s spirit reinforced the matter by blessing their love of the truth and by supervising them and guiding them to truthful expressions in writing. Hence the inspiration of their writings may not have been one making them automatons, robots, under control of plenary, verbal or word-for-word inspiration. Yet it guided them to express faithfully the sense or thought of what they had heard, seen or felt. But it was the truth, just the same, and it would convey the correct idea and understanding to the readers. This accounts for it that the recital of certain events and sayings in Jesus’ earthly life are not given in identically the same language or words by the four writers of the gospel accounts.

    27 To illustrate: In telling of Jesus’ preaching, Matthew says Jesus preached, “The kingdom of heaven is at hand.” But Mark says Jesus preached, “The kingdom of God is at hand.” There is no contradiction here, proving these two witnesses false, because the sense is the same between the two, and heaven and God are identified with each other. (Matt. 4:17; Mark 1:15) Likewise in relating the parables of Jesus, Matthew describes Jesus as saying, “The Idngdom of heaven is like,” whereas Mark and Luke describe Jesus as saying in the very same parables, “The Idngdom of God is like.” Yet the sense is the same and, in fact, the truth is broadened out. And the fact that these three writing witnesses used

    …