The Watchtower, March 1, 1965
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The Watchtower — March 1, 1965
Source: jw.org
Contents
Do Not Withhold Praise
Materialism—A Deadly Philosophy
Who Will Be Resurrected from the Dead?
Part Two
Basis for Reliance on Prophecy
Eternity Is My Goal in Jehovah’s Service
Impart God’s Progressive Revelation to Mankind
Questions From Readers
Announcements
Do Not Withhold Praise
Do Not Withhold Praise
HOW a word of praise can brighten your day! It makes all your efforts seem worth while, and encourages you to continue to do what is praiseworthy. Fine benefits are realized when praise is not withheld.
Jesus Christ recognized the value of giving praise, for in an illustration he represented himself as the master who commended his slaves: “Well done, good and faithful slave!” (Matt. 25:21, 23) Jesus did not withhold praise from his followers when they had done well. Neither does Jehovah God withhold praise from his servants who are worthy of it. In due time, the scripture says, “each one will have his praise come to him from God.”—1 Cor. 4:5.
Early Christians also praised those who were deserving, as the apostle Paul shows in his letter to the Corinthians: “We are sending along with [Titus] the brother whose praise in connection with the good news has spread through all the congregations.” Certainly these expressions of commendation for the fine work of this unnamed brother were a source of encouragement to him. The effect, no doubt, was to make him even more zealous in spreading the good news.—2 Cor. 8:18.
It is interesting to note, however, how balanced God’s Word is in this matter of giving praise. Although indicating the value of commending humans, it is careful to condemn flattery, which is false, insincere or excessive praise. As the apostle Paul wrote to the Christians at Thessalonica: “At no time have we turned up either with flattering speech, (just as you know) or with a false front for covetousness, God is witness!” (1 Thess. 2:5) Furthermore, the Bible condemns the praising of a person in such a way that he is being given worshipful honors. For that reason, when King Herod accepted the praise of the people who shouted, “A god’s voice, and not a man’s!” the angel of Jehovah struck him, because he did not give glory to God.—Acts 12:22, 23.
Worshipful praise is fitting only for God. It is something that every one of us ought to give to God. Not only does the Bible itself contain such praise, but it urges us to join in the chorus, saying: “Praise Jah, you people!”—Ps. 148, 150.
Such praise is wholesome and fitting; on the other hand, excessive praise of humans can be dangerous. This is illustrated by the example of Absalom, the attractive son of David. “Now compared with Absalom there proved to be no man so beautiful in all Israel as to be praised so much,” the scripture says. But all this praise had a bad effect, for Absalom became haughty and sought to usurp the throne of his father David. This led to terrible consequences, including Absalom’s violent death.—2 Sam. 14:25.
It is evident, therefore, that praise that glorifies and exalts a person can result in harm and is displeasing to God. However, fear of glorifying humans should not cause one to withhold giving praise altogether. It has its place.
Proper praise is encouraging, for it gives one the assurance that what has been done is acceptable, that one’s efforts have not been unnoticed or in vain. On the other hand, when praise is withheld, relations between individuals are not as warm and pleasant as they might be.
This was once noted by a dinner guest. After a delicious meal he remarked to his friend that his wife was a good cook. The host smiled. “Sure,” he said, “I know it, but I’m not telling her about it.” Perhaps the man felt that a word of praise would make his wife conceited. Whatever the reason, the host noted that relations in that home were not as pleasant as in homes where appreciative expressions of praise were bestowed upon family members meriting commendation.
A capable wife is deserving of praise, and that she should receive it is indicated by the proverb: “Her sons have risen up and proceeded to pronounce her happy; her owner rises up, and he praises her.” Knowledge that she is appreciated makes it easier for her to do her work and causes her to try even harder to please.—Prov. 31:28.
Husbands likewise respond to sincere expressions of praise, be it only an exclamation concerning the fine polish he gave the car or his good job of carving the meat. Creatures thrive on praise. It can be like oil that will make the machinery of life run more smoothly. So do not withhold honest praise.
Children will improve in their conduct and work when they receive praise. True, they need discipline, but they also benefit from praise when it is due. One mother, who often had to discipline her child, relates that one day her daughter was especially good. “That night,” she explained, “after I tucked her in bed and started downstairs, I heard her sobbing. Turning back, I found her head buried in the pillow. Between sobs she asked, ‘Haven’t I been a pretty good girl today?’” The mother admitted that the question went through her like a knife. She had always been quick to correct her daughter, but now when her child had tried hard to behave, she put her to bed without one word of appreciation.
Since praise can mean so much, do not withhold it. Be generous with praise. And especially, “Praise Jah, you people, for it is good to make melody to our God; for it is pleasant—praise is fitting.”—Ps. 147:1.
Materialism—A Deadly Philosophy
Materialism—A Deadly Philosophy
The highest values of living lie in material well-being and in the furtherance of material progress.
Why is it deadly? How can you avoid becoming infected?
“AFFLUENT SOCIETY HAS LED TO MATERIALISM,” read a boldfaced headline in the Edinburgh (Scotland) Evening News of May 18, 1963. “POSSESSIONS NOW ‘MORE IMPORTANT THAN PEOPLE,’” the secondary headline continued.
The article that followed observed that today people are concentrating attention on attaining material things, to the neglect of relationships with fellow humans. The community “has become merely a place to earn the money to buy things, and the idea that a man might make friends there and get emotional satisfaction out of relationships with his mates has gone by the board,” a prominent Leicester University lecturer noted.
Few observant people will deny that this is often true. The materialistic philosophy embraced by godless communism, namely, that ‘the highest values of living lie in material well-being and in the furtherance of material progress,’a is as closely adhered to in Christendom as it is in Communist lands. Observed a news commentator in U.S. News & World Report (October 19, 1959): “America stands self-hypnotized hugging the Communist philosophy of life with all the zip and gusto of a parvenu nation. . . . America, in clear violation of her own past traditions and the beliefs of her Founding Fathers, has today accepted this deadly philosophy in toto.” Not only is this materialistic outlook prevalent in America; it is characteristic of much of the world.
WHY DEADLY
But why is materialism called a “deadly philosophy”? ‘In what way is it deadly?’ you may ask. ‘Do not nice homes, fine clothes and good food bring happiness and a sense of well-being? Therefore, is it not realistic to make one’s goal the obtaining of these material things? Why, it is only practical to place the highest value on material well-being and the furtherance of material progress!’
This is rapidly becoming the attitude of the majority of Christendom’s population. But “this belief, which has been lifted straight from Karl Marx’s ‘Manifesto,’ has obscured America’s vision,” lamented the above-quoted news commentator. It “has made American theoreticians and statesmen the sappers and miners of world Communism, and has made American propaganda a complement to the Kremlin’s campaign of lies.”
Yes, Christendom’s pursuit of materialism has paved the way for the advance of the godless ideology of communism! Materialism is not based on the teachings of God-fearing men, but, rather, is in line with the teachings of the father of modern-day communism, Karl Marx. By adopting such a materialistic philosophy Christendom has caused people to forget God and to trust instead in material possessions, resulting in a fertile field for the spread of atheistic communism. Such a philosophy can lead only to God’s adverse judgment.
Regarding this, one wise servant of God long ago wrote: “If I have put gold as my confidence, or to gold I have said, ‘You are my trust!’ if I used to rejoice because my property was much, and because my hand had found a lot of things; . . . that too would be an error for attention by the justices, for I should have denied the true God above.”—Job 31:24-28.
Jesus Christ, the Founder of Christianity, also recognized the danger of making material possessions one’s chief goal in life. He realized that it would cause one to become proud and selfish and to forget God. So time and again he struck right at the heart of materialism. For example, in his famous Sermon on the Mount he said:
“Stop storing up for yourselves treasures upon the earth, where moth and rust consume, and where thieves break in and steal. Rather, store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, . . . Observe intently the birds of heaven, because they do not sow seed or reap or gather into storehouses; still your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not worth more than they are? . . . So never be anxious and say, ‘What are we to eat?’ or, ‘What are we to drink?’ or, ‘What are we to put on?’ For all these are the things the nations are eagerly pursuing. For your heavenly Father knows you need all these things. Keep on, then, seeking first the kingdom and his righteousness, and all these other things will be added to you.” How different Jesus’ teachings are from the popular materialistic attitude of today!—Matt. 6:19-33.
AN UNREASONABLE PHILOSOPHY
But despite these words of Jesus, many people, even church members, feel it is unreasonable to put the worship of God first in their lives. They relegate it to a secondary place. Why is this so? It is because they have not really been instructed in the teachings of God’s Word, but have instead been regularly indoctrinated with materialistic philosophy. Note what the Nation magazine said relative to the recent shift of values in support of materialism:
“The shift of values inevitably has caused some strain in the American ethical consciousness. Frugality, once a virtue, is now a threat to the economy. Debt for the sake of indulgence, once impossible or sinful, now promotes prosperity. Where once greed was opposed to human welfare, we now hear that greed (both for profits and for consumers’ goods) is a public benefit. Traditional faith taught, ‘You cannot serve God and mammon’; editorialists today tell us, ‘You serve God and society best by serving mammon.’”—Matt. 6:24.
Yes, day in and day out the public is indoctrinated with materialism. Buy this! Buy that! Borrow money here! Practically every medium of communication constantly stresses the importance of money and material possessions. Why, even godliness and Christianity have come to be equated with material success, and this is what many are told in their churches. It is, therefore, no wonder that the public consciousness has been conditioned to think that materialism is the only reasonable philosophy of life. But is it?
Stop and think: Who made the heavens, the earth, the sea, trees, flowers, mountains, streams, birds, animals—all the things that make the earth such a pleasant place to live in? The only logical, reasonable conclusion is that given in the Bible: “Jehovah is in truth God. . . . He is the Maker of the earth by his power, the One firmly establishing the productive land by his wisdom, and the One who by his understanding stretched out the heavens.” “Know that Jehovah is God. It is he that has made us, and not we ourselves.”—Jer. 10:10, 12; Ps. 100:3.
Our life came from God. Our greatest happiness comes from using our lives in harmony with his will. Therefore, it is only reasonable that human creatures should seek first to learn about His wonderful provisions for mankind, and should strive to prove worthy of receiving his blessing. How unreasonable it is to put more confidence in material things, such as gold, than in the One who caused this beautiful metal to be formed! A philosophy that places higher value on what is created rather than on the Creator is utter foolishness!
ITS GRIP ON PEOPLE
However, due to constant indoctrination, materialism holds a tight grip on the majority of people world wide, both the rich and the poor. For example, take a look at Hong Kong. In this British colony, where nearly four million Chinese are crowded together into a twenty-five-square-mile area, there are generally two main groups —those who have sufficient materially, and those striving to eke out an existence. It is interesting to observe how materialism affects both groups.
Those in the first group have employment that provides them money enough to furnish their homes comfortably and to take care of the other needs of their families. But they want more. Hong Kong, known the world over as a shopper’s paradise, offers many attractive luxuries that can be purchased on the installment plan, with a small deposit and monthly payments. So the husband takes on additional employment and often the wife gets a servant to care for the children so she can go to work too. They become so engrossed in the pursuit of material possessions that they have no time for anything spiritual—not even to discuss God’s Word!
There is no question that these Chinese, and people like them world wide, have succumbed to the deadly philosophy of materialism. They are storing up treasure on earth, instead of heeding Jesus’ counsel to store up treasures in heaven. However, the Scriptures make clear that an abundance of material possessions will not win God’s favor: “Valuable things will be of no benefit on the day of [Jehovah’s] fury, but righteousness itself will deliver from death.” Therefore, the Bible command is: “Seek Jehovah, [not silver or gold] . . . Seek righteousness, seek meekness. Probably you may be concealed in the day of Jehovah’s anger.”—Prov. 11:4; Zeph. 2:3; 1:18.
But what about the other group? How can it be said that the hundreds of thousands of Chinese struggling to eke out a livelihood are also materialistic? They hardly have enough to eat. The husband and wife and up to five or six children often live in a single room, no larger than ten feet square. The man may earn only two to four dollars a day, from which wage all family expenses must be paid. But despite such poverty, these people are also often materialistic.
Remember, possessing material things is not what makes one a materialist. It is not materialism to provide oneself food and nice clothes and a comfortable home. Materialism is the putting of such material things first, making them the chief goal in life, instead of serving God and seeking to learn and to do his will. So even if a person is very poor, if his entire concern in life is to eke out a material existence, he, too, is infected by the deadly philosophy of materialism.
This is the case with many of the poor people of Hong Kong. Their entire attention is centered on obtaining rice, clothing and shelter. When they are spoken to about God’s kingdom and the importance of serving God, they fail to see their value, because they think only in materialistic terms. As one recently remarked: “Of what use is this? We Chinese are a practical people. We believe in what we can see and use to our benefit.” In another instance, two daughters severely criticized their mother for spending her time studying the Bible, for, as they said, “This does not provide rice.” Such betrays a failure to appreciate that “man must live, not on bread [or rice] alone.”—Matt. 4:4.
Instead of counteracting this materialistic attitude, the religions of Christendom in Hong Kong actually encourage it. They show that they have adopted the world’s materialistic philosophy by seeking converts with material enticements. They provide prospective converts with rice and clothing, and promise high-paying jobs to those who graduate from their schools.
In this connection, the comments of Harold DeWolf, professor of theology at Boston University, are interesting. He said that years ago Africans came to associate material prosperity with Christendom’s religions. “They thought that conversion to the white man’s religion would bring an instant shower of material wealth.” Now, after acquaintance for some years with Christendom’s way of life, DeWolf lamented, “the missionary movement has to contend with selfishness and materialism born of exposure to a civilized society.” What an indictment, that Christendom and her religions are actually apostles of this deadly philosophy!
FLEE FROM MATERIALISM FOR YOUR LIFE!
Although relatively few persons may consciously accept the philosophy of materialism, by far the majority of mankind show, by their course of action, that they have made it their way of life. Is this true of you? Do you only profess to believe that God exists, and yet ignore him and spend all your time in the pursuit of material things? Do you acknowledge God as a loving Father, and then refuse to accept the spiritual guidance of His Word the Bible? Really, is the life of a person who does not worship God any more spiritual than the life of a beast that eats, drinks, plays and performs other physical activities and functions?
Humans who do not honor their Maker are misusing the marvelous faculties with which they were endowed. God made man superior to the animals, with the capacity to love and to be loved, to live according to high ideals and, above all, to worship and serve his Creator. Those who refuse to attach importance to such spiritual values lower themselves to the level of beasts, which the Scriptures say are “born naturally to be caught and destroyed.” To what depths the deadly philosophy of materialism degrades one!—2 Pet. 2:12.
So be on guard! Do not become senseless like a beast by making material things your chief goal in life. True, it may take most of your time to supply necessary physical needs, but never let these things crowd out the more important spiritual values. Study God’s Word, learn about your Creator and his wonderful promises of life in a new system of things. Then put his service first in your life. Flee from materialism to preserve your life!
[Footnotes]
Webster’s Third New International Dictionary.
Who Will Be Resurrected from the Dead?
Who Will Be Resurrected from the Dead?
“That the dead are raised up even Moses disclosed.”—Luke 20:37.
1. (a) Who proved to be the promised Prophet greater than Moses? (b) How do Moses and the Greater Prophet compare as to the subject of resurrection?
THE prophet Moses of thirty-five centuries ago foreshadowed a still greater prophet who would arise from Moses’ own race. That is what the Most High God told Moses himself. (Deut. 18:17-19) Nineteen centuries ago, or in the first century of our Common Era, that promised prophet who would be greater than Moses was identified as being a man who did greater miracles than Moses did, a man who came in the name of the same God as Moses did, a man of Moses’ own race who was called Jesus Christ. Numbers of people who heard him talk said: “This is for a certainty The Prophet.” (John 7:40) At the temple in Jerusalem he was proclaimed to be such Prophet, and also before the religious Supreme Court of Jerusalem. (Acts 3:22-26; 7:37, 38, 52) Quite agreeably, then, if Moses disclosed such a wonderful thing as the resurrection or raising up of the dead, Jesus Christ as the Prophet like Moses but greater than Moses would have much to say about the resurrection of the dead. Actually, he did say much about it. In fact, he himself had a resurrection from the dead.
2, 3. Why, in Matthew 11:20-24, did Jesus reproach Chorazin, Bethsaida and Capernaum?
2 On one occasion in the year 31 of our Common Era this Prophet greater than Moses named ancient peoples and inhabitants of ancient cities and indicated something regarding their future. He spoke of the cities of Tyre, Sidon and Sodom. About this we read:
3 “Then he started to reproach the cities in which most of his powerful works had taken place, because they did not repent: ‘Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! because if the powerful works had taken place in Tyre and Sidon that took place in you, they would long ago have repented in sackcloth and ashes. Consequently I say to you, It will be more endurable for Tyre and Sidon on Judgment Day than for you. And you, Capernaum, will you perhaps be exalted to heaven? Down to Haʹdes you will come; because if the powerful works that took place in you had taken place in Sodom, it would have remained until this very day. Consequently I say to you people, It will be more endurable for the land of Sodom on Judgment Day than for you.’”—Matt. 11:20-24; Luke 10:11-15.
4, 5. (a) By those words was Jesus arguing that pagan Tyre and Sidon will have no resurrection from the dead? (b) What does Ezekiel 32:21-30 indicate for the people of Tyre and Sidon?
4 Now comes the question: Will the people of those ancient cities have a resurrection from the dead? Are we to understand that Jesus meant that it will not be endurable at all for the people of pagan Tyre and Sidon on Judgment Day just because they were pagans and so they will have no resurrection at all? But suppose that the people of Tyre and Sidon will be resurrected and it will be more endurable for them on Judgment Day than for Jewish Chorazin and Bethsaida. As the Jewish people of Chorazin and of Bethsaida will have still less of a favorable prospect on Judgment Day, does that mean that they will have no opportunity at all and hence will have no resurrection?
5 In other words, should we take Jesus’ words to mean that the people of Jewish Chorazin and Bethsaida will no more have a resurrection from the dead than the people of pagan Tyre and Sidon will have? No! To the contrary of this, Ezekiel 32:21-30 plainly tells us that the pagan people of Sidon are in Sheol or Haʹdes, not in Gehenna. Hence they are in line for a resurrection when death and Haʹdes give up the dead in them on Judgment Day. (Rev. 20:11-15) The city of Tyre was a colony of Sidon. Her dead citizens too are in Haʹdes.
6. Why is it reasonable that the people of Tyre and Sidon should come back to life by a resurrection?
6 It is only reasonable that the people of Tyre and Sidon should be in Sheol or Haʹdes and should come back to life by a resurrection. Why? Because Jesus clearly shows that they had not reached the religious condition where they were beyond repenting and turning to God’s righteousness. They have not yet been given the fullest witness concerning Jehovah God and his kingdom of salvation. If they had been given the opportunity that the cities Chorazin and Bethsaida had received, “they would long ago have repented in sackcloth and ashes.” They have not reached the religious condition like that described in Hebrews 6:4-6, where “it is impossible . . . to revive them again to repentance.”
7. What opportunity will the resurrection give to those people of ancient Tyre and Sidon?
7 The resurrection of the Sidonians and the Tyrians on Judgment Day will give them the opportunity to receive a thorough witness by God’s kingdom under Jesus Christ. Then they will be able to repent sincerely, as it were “in sackcloth and ashes,” not with a hope of life in God’s heavenly kingdom but with a hope of everlasting life on our earth transformed everywhere into a Paradise.
8. How long did Sodom exist, and why should we not argue that there will be no more a resurrection for Capernaum than for Sodom?
8 What, then, shall we say about the people of ancient Sodom, which, with its neighbor city of Gomorrah, existed only down till when God rained down fire and sulphur from heaven and destroyed Sodom along with nearby cities? Shall we argue that on Judgment Day it will not be endurable at all for Sodom and hence it will not be endurable for the still more responsible city of Capernaum on Judgment Day, and that hence there will be no resurrection for Capernaum any more than for Sodom? No! Why not? Because Jesus put Sodom on a level or in parallel with Tyre and Sidon.
9. (a) How do we know whether the people of Sodom had got beyond the spiritual state of repentance? (b) How does Ezekiel 16:46-61 speak concerning Sodom?
9 As in the case of Tyre and Sidon, Jesus showed that Sodom, bad as it was, had not got to the state of being unable to repent. That is why Jesus said that, if his powerful works that had taken place in Capernaum had taken place in Sodom, “it would have remained” until Jesus’ day. And in that connection Jesus said that Capernaum, which had been exalted in a spiritual way to heaven, would be abased down to Haʹdes, not to Gehenna. Heaven for height and Haʹdes or Sheol for depth; and by using this contrast Jesus meant that Capernaum would undergo the deepest abasement. Though highly favored by Jesus, that city does not exist today any more than Sodom does. But if Sodom had had Capernaum’s opportunity Sodom would have had ten or more righteous persons in it and it would have continued over nineteen hundred years longer till Jesus’ day and then some. So the spiritual recovery of the dead people of Sodom is not hopeless. (Gen. 18:22-32) Ezekiel 16:46-61 speaks hopefully of people compared to ancient Sodomites.
10. When sending out his disciples to preach, what did Jesus say regarding Sodom and Gomorrah, and why so?
10 When Jesus sent out his disciples to preach God’s kingdom to the “lost sheep of the house of Israel,” he said to them: “Wherever anyone does not take you in or listen to your words, on going out of that house or that city shake the dust off your feet. Truly I say to you, It will be more endurable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah on Judgment Day than for that city.” (Matt. 10:14, 15; Luke 10:10-12) Why was that so? Because Sodom and Gomorrah did not have such a witness concerning God’s kingdom.
11. To what extent did Sodom get a witness, especially in comparison with that given to Capernaum?
11 It is true that Abraham’s nephew Lot took up residence in Sodom, but Lot did not have the Kingdom message and could not give it to them. He even engaged his two daughters to marry two Sodomite men. It is true also that two angels of Jehovah God visited the city of Sodom, but that was only to stay overnight and to make a firsthand inspection of the city, but not to preach God’s kingdom to Sodom. What then happened to the angels that night did indeed show the deep degradation of the Sodomite men. But no message of repentance and conversion and everlasting salvation was preached to Sodom. Only Lot’s prospective sons-in-law were warned of the coming disaster. Manifestly they did not get such a Kingdom witness as the city of Capernaum got in the days of Jesus and his apostles.—Gen. 13:12, 13; 19:1-29.
A PROPHETIC TYPE
12, 13. (a) Under what unfavorable general circumstance were those Sodomites, but what city proved to be worse spiritually than they were? (b) In the light of 2 Peter 2:6-10, what questions come up about Sodom’s destruction?
12 The angels of Jehovah God did not find as many as ten righteous men, not to speak of righteous women, in Sodom. Those people of Sodom were Canaanites and hence were under the curse that the patriarch Noah pronounced upon their forefather Canaan. (Gen. 9:20-25; 10:19) But, relatively speaking, the city of Capernaum in Jesus’ day was worse off in a spiritual way and was more condemnable than Sodom. Well, then, was the destruction of Sodom’s inhabitants by fire and sulphur from heaven everlasting destruction? Or was it pictorial of the everlasting destruction of men who violate principles of the same kind but on a more blameworthy scale? What does 2 Peter 2:6-10 say about this? We read:
13 “By reducing the cities Sodom and Gomorrah to ashes he condemned them, setting a pattern for ungodly persons of things to come; and he delivered righteous Lot, who was greatly distressed by the indulgence of the law-defying people in loose conduct—for that righteous man by what he saw and heard while dwelling among them from day to day was tormenting his righteous soul by reason of their lawless deeds—Jehovah knows how to deliver people of godly devotion out of trial, but to reserve unrighteous people for the day of judgment to be cut off [or, be checked], especially, however, those who go on after flesh with the desire to defile it and who look down on lordship.”—NW, margin, 1950 edition.
14. To what extent was there a deliverance of Lot, and in what way was Sodom’s destruction to serve as a pattern?
14 Lot was delivered from Sodom’s destruction, but he is not yet completely saved to everlasting life under God’s kingdom. He needs a resurrection to that end. Now notice, please, that 2 Peter 2:6 says that the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah was only a “pattern,” one that was full of instruction for godly Christians as to what would happen to them if they stayed faithful to Jehovah God and what was sure to happen to them if they followed a course like that of the people of Sodom and Gomorrah.
15. (a) Does Peter say the people of Sodom and Gomorrah were forever destroyed? (b) In 2 Peter 2:12, 13, who does Peter say will be everlastingly destroyed, and why?
15 Were those Sodomites worse than the rest of the Canaanites? No; not according to Leviticus 18:21-28. And Peter does not say that the Sodomites and Gomorreans were destroyed everlastingly. However, the dedicated Christians, being in a position more responsible than the position of Sodom and Gomorrah, yes, more responsible than the position of unbelieving Capernaum, would be everlastingly destroyed. Hence 2 Peter 2:12, 13 says concerning the dedicated, baptized Christians who get corrupted: “These men, like unreasoning animals born naturally to be caught and destroyed, will, in the things of which they are ignorant and speak abusively, even suffer destruction in their own course of destruction, wronging themselves as a reward for wrongdoing.” They suffer a destruction like that of the lower animals.
16, 17. How are the words of Jude 7 to be read in harmony with those of 2 Peter 2:6 regarding Sodom and Gomorrah?
16 Sodom and Gomorrah were wiped out for all time as cities; they did not remain as cities down to the very day of Jesus. But what about the destroyed inhabitants of those cities? We must have in mind what the Christian apostle Peter said above as we now read the following words: “So too Sodom and Gomorrah and the cities about them, after they in the same manner as the foregoing ones had committed fornication excessively and gone out after flesh for unnatural use, are placed before us as a warning example by undergoing the judicial punishment of everlasting fire.”—Jude 7.
17 So the inhabitants of Sodom and Gomorrah were made a “warning example,” because they were not allowed to continue existing till the day of Jesus Christ and of Peter and Jude and fellow disciples. Not that the people of Sodom and Gomorrah were condemned to Gehenna and were hurled into the “lake that burns with fire and sulphur”; but that they were made a warning example to unfaithful Christians (”ungodly persons”) who will be judicially punished with “everlasting fire” or everlasting destruction.—Rev. 20:14, 15; 21:8; 2 Pet. 2:6.
18. How do Christians who become “ungodly persons” suffer a punishment more severe than that of the people of Sodom and Gomorrah?
18 The people of Sodom and Gomorrah were executed directly by the angel of God by means of fire mingled with sulphur, the effects of which upon the Sodomites and Gomorreans had continued for about two thousand years down to the days of Jesus and Peter and Jude. So they did not come to have the opportunity that the citizens of Jewish Capernaum had in Jesus’ day. However, the dedicated Christians who turn unfaithful and imitate those ancient people will suffer a punishment “more severe,” an everlasting destruction symbolized by “everlasting fire.”—Heb. 10:29.
19. (a) Against what, therefore, were Peter and Jude warning Christians? (b) Of what “primary doctrine about the Christ” do the unfaithful Christians lose an appreciation, according to Hebrews 6:1-8?
19 By their writings both Peter and Jude were warning Christians against becoming liable to the “judgment of Gehenna” and thus being sentenced to everlasting destruction. This would mean that after they died they would have no resurrection. The writer to the Christianized Hebrews gives us further information on the reason why an unfaithful Christian is sentenced to destruction without hope of a resurrection. Hebrews 6:1-8 explains that the Christians who refuse to “press on to maturity” lose an appreciation of even the fundamental teachings, the “primary doctrine about the Christ,” such as “repentance from dead works, and faith toward God, the teaching on baptisms and the laying on of the hands, the resurrection of the dead and everlasting judgment.” That is a vital reason for us to “press on to maturity.” Why?
20. Why, according to Hebrews 6:4-8, should Christians “press on to maturity”?
20 “For it is impossible as regards those who have once for all been enlightened, and who have tasted the heavenly free gift, and who have become partakers of holy spirit, and who have tasted the fine word of God and powers of the coming system of things, but who have fallen away, to revive them again to repentance, because they impale the Son of God afresh for themselves and expose him to public shame. For example, the ground that drinks in the rain which often comes upon it, and that then brings forth vegetation suitable to those for whom it is also cultivated, receives in return a blessing from God. But if it produces thorns and thistles, it is rejected and is near to being cursed; and it ends up with being burned.”—Heb. 6:4-8.
21. What sin do such Christians finally commit willfully, and why would a resurrection be wasted on them?
21 Such Christian “partakers of holy spirit” as fall away sin at last willfully against the holy spirit, knowingly so, and thus harden themselves against ever repenting. Such sin against the holy spirit Jesus Christ mentioned to the Jews who maliciously misinterpreted the operation of God’s holy spirit through him. Jesus said: “On this account I say to you, Every sort of sin and blasphemy will be forgiven men, but the blasphemy against the spirit will not be forgiven. For example, whoever speaks a word against the Son of man, it will be forgiven him; but whoever speaks against the holy spirit, it will not be forgiven him, no, not in the present system of things nor in that to come.” (Matt. 12:31, 32) Hence nothing could be gained and the opportunity would be wasted by resurrecting such ones to life in the system of things that is to come under God’s kingdom.
22. Why, according to Hebrews 10:26-31, do Christians need to meet together regularly to edify one another?
22 Genuine Christians want to avoid becoming liable to the “judgment of Gehenna.” So they need to meet together regularly and to encourage one another and build one another up spiritually. Why? Hebrews 10:26-31 answers: “For if we practice sin willfully after having received the accurate knowledge of the truth, there is no longer any sacrifice for sins left, but there is a certain fearful expectation of judgment and there is a fiery jealousy [on God’s part] that is going to consume those in opposition. Any man that has disregarded the law of Moses dies without compassion, upon the testimony of two or three. Of how much more severe a punishment, do you think, will the man be counted worthy who has trampled upon the Son of God and who has esteemed as of ordinary value the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified, and who has outraged the spirit of undeserved kindness with contempt? For we know him that said: ‘Vengeance is mine; I will recompense’; and again: ‘Jehovah will judge his people.’ It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.”
“HOW MUCH MORE SEVERE”?
23. How much more severe is the punishment of unfaithful Christians than that of those Jews who disregarded the law of Moses?
23 Jesus Christ will not die again for persons who, as Christians, have been enlightened with accurate knowledge of the truth but who afterward sin willfully. These disown God’s Son Jesus Christ himself and they consider Jesus’ blood as having no more value to redeem and sanctify and to validate covenants than the blood of any other man. So, when they reject Jesus’ perfect human sacrifice, what sacrifice do they have left that can be offered to God to cancel their willful sin? None! Hence at death they are sentenced to Gehenna, to the “lake of fire” or “second death.” They do not go to Haʹdes or Sheol from which resurrection is possible. Thus their punishment is “more severe” than that of Israelites who were put to death “without compassion” for disregarding the law of Moses, who was only a type prophetic of Jesus Christ.
24. To what resurrection were such Christians at first looking forward, but what do they suffer at death?
24 The willful Christian sinner will therefore have no resurrection. The resurrection to which he was at first looking forward as a spirit-begotten son of God was the “first resurrection,” that of the 144,000 disciples who gain life in the invisible heavens as joint heirs with Jesus Christ the King-Priest. But the willful, unforgivable sin wipes out all possibility of such a resurrection to glorious heavenly life. At his death in the flesh he meets everlasting destruction at the “hands of the living God.”
25, 26. (a) Why, although not begotten to a heavenly hope at Pentecost of 33 C.E., was Judas Iscariot given such “more severe” punishment? (b) Where did Judas Iscariot go at death, and why?
25 Judas Iscariot was a Christian who fell into the hands of the living God and was recompensed with the “more severe” punishment of everlasting destruction. Judas did not live to the day of Pentecost of the year 33 of our Common Era to be baptized with holy spirit and to be begotten by God the Father to a heavenly hope. However, he had been chosen to be an apostle of Jesus Christ and had been given special powers by means of the holy spirit when he was sent forth with the eleven other apostles on preaching work. (Matt. 10:1-8) But Judas betrayed his Savior Jesus Christ, not to gain everlasting salvation but to get thirty pieces of silver from the murderous enemies of his Master.
26 Judas Iscariot made a bargain with those who Jesus said made proselytes that were subjects of Gehenna twice as much so as themselves, and who were themselves liable to the “judgment of Gehenna.” (Matt. 23:15, 33) Judas rejected the sacrificial “Lamb of God.” Thus he has no sacrifice to be offered for his willful sin. Logically he became a “son of destruction.” When he committed suicide, he went to Gehenna. He will have no resurrection, even in the flesh on earth.—John 6:70, 71; 17:12.
27-29. (a) Who is the other “son of destruction” whom Paul speaks about? (b) What does Paul say about him in 2 Thessalonians 2:3-12?
27 Besides Judas, there is another “son of destruction,” whom the apostle Paul speaks about. This is not an individual like Judas Iscariot; it is a class of professed Christians, who have come on the scene since Pentecost of 33 C.E. and particularly after the death of the twelve faithful apostles of Jesus Christ. This class, known as “the son of destruction,” is made up of professed Christian leaders who have fallen away from the true Christian doctrines taught in the Holy Bible and who have become violators of God’s law although they still pretend to be followers of His Son Jesus Christ. They have organized themselves into the religious clergy of Christendom, which is today the dominant part of Babylon the Great (the world empire of false religion). In 2 Thessalonians 2:3-12 Paul warns us of this “son of destruction”:
28 “Let no one seduce you in any manner, because it will not come unless the apostasy comes first and the man of lawlessness gets revealed, the son of destruction. He is set in opposition and lifts himself up over everyone who is called ‘god’ or an object of reverence, so that he sits down in the temple of The God, publicly showing himself to be a god. Do you not remember that, while I was yet with you, I used to tell you these things? And so now you know the thing that acts as a restraint, with a view to his being revealed in his own due time.
29 “True, the mystery of this lawlessness is already at work; but only till he who is right now acting as a restraint gets to be out of the way. Then, indeed, the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus will do away with by the spirit of his mouth and bring to nothing by the manifestation of his presence. But the lawless one’s presence is according to the operation of Satan with every powerful work and lying signs and portents and with every unrighteous deception for those who are perishing, as a retribution because they did not accept the love of the truth that they might be saved. So that is why God lets an operation of error go to them, that they may get to believing the lie, in order that they all may be judged because they did not believe the truth but took pleasure in unrighteousness.”
30. How is it evident against whom the “lawlessness” of this “son of destruction” is, and until when was he held in restraint?
30 The lawlessness of this composite “man of lawlessness” or “man of sin” (AV; AS; Dy) is against the Most High God. This is evident from the fact that this lawless one tries to exalt himself over everything revered as a god. He even tries to take the place of the true God in his spiritual temple. This lawless one wants the worship and reverence for himself, and pushes God’s Holy Bible aside in favor of religious traditions and pagan doctrines. He is full of religious deception and is the willing tool of Satan the Devil, the original liar. This lawless one was held in restraint until the death of the faithful twelve apostles. After that he pushed himself forward more easily and increased his power over those who claimed to be Christians.
31. (a) Why is the name “son of destruction” appropriate for this one? (b) Why is it not strange that Christendom’s clergy oppose the Kingdom message?
31 However, the Lord Jesus, during his presence in his heavenly kingdom, will do away with this lawless one and bring him to nothing. He will utterly destroy this lawless one, for which reason this one is called “the son of destruction.” Those making up this “man of lawlessness” down through the past nineteen centuries are judged adversely and sentenced to Gehenna at their individual deaths. They will have no resurrection any more than that other “son of destruction” will, namely, Judas Iscariot. They just do not love the truth that leads to salvation. Hence they believe the lie and persistently spread the error. It is not strange, then, that the clergy of Christendom oppose the message of God’s Messianic kingdom and persecute the messengers. When Babylon the Great is destroyed forever, this “man of lawlessness” will also be executed with the “judgment of Gehenna.”
“THAT EVIL SLAVE”
32. In his parable of the servants in Matthew 24:45-51, what other professed Christian group will be sentenced to destruction?
32 Another group claiming to be Christians that will receive the same sentence as the “man of lawlessness” is the group that Jesus called prophetically “that evil servant” or “that evil slave.” (Matt. 24:48-51, AV; NW; Luke 12:45, 46) These are dedicated and baptized Christians who have been begotten by God’s spirit to a heavenly hope and who have been associated with the faithful Christian congregation whom Jesus called “a faithful and wise servant” or “faithful and discreet slave.” (Matt. 24:45-47, AV; NW) However, the “evil slave” class becomes rebellious and seeks to manage the Lord’s affairs according to its own pleasure and serves itself according to its fleshly craving and mistreats those of the “faithful and discreet slave” class.
33. (a) Why is the “evil slave” class more blameworthy than the hypocrites outside the Lord’s household? (b) With what other classes pictured in Jesus’ parables is this slave identified?
33 The Lord Jesus Christ catches the “evil slave” in the midst of such misconduct. He punishes him “with the greatest severity” and puts him out of the house and among the religious hypocrites, where this “evil slave” class belongs. For having been in the Lord’s real household and having been entrusted with his valuable spiritual things, the “evil slave” class of Christians is even more blameworthy than those hypocrites outside the house. They are guilty also of being traitors to their faithful Christian brothers, just as Judas Iscariot was toward the Lord Jesus Christ. They will have no resurrection any more than Judas will. Identical with or included in with the “evil slave” class is the “wicked and sluggish slave” with one talent of his Lord, as pictured in Jesus’ parable in Matthew 25:15, 16, 22-30; also, the “wicked slave” who refused to negotiate with the one mina of his Lord, as described by Jesus in Luke 19:13, 20-27. The Holy Bible leaves no hope for the resurrection of such to heavenly life.
Part Two
Part Two
1, 2. (a) What unfaithful Christians did Paul mention in 1 Timothy 1:18-20? (b) What opportunities of theirs had they ruined?
AWAY back in the days of the apostle Paul there were dedicated Christians who ruined all their opportunities for a spiritual resurrection to heavenly glory and power with the Lord Jesus Christ. The apostle Paul indicates how this came about when he wrote this to Timothy:
2 “This mandate I commit to you, child, Timothy, in accord with the predictions that led directly on to you, that by these you may go on waging the fine warfare; holding faith and a good conscience, which some have thrust aside and have experienced shipwreck concerning their faith. Hymenaeus and Alexander belong to these, and I have handed them over to Satan that they may be taught by discipline not to blaspheme.”—1 Tim. 1:18-20, NW; Ro.
3, 4. (a) Why does that not mean that the reinstatement of these two men into the congregation was looked forward to? (b) Who, then, received the discipline in this connection?
3 This is not to say that Hymenaeus and Alexander finally learned a lesson and stopped blaspheming and were brought back into the congregation and rescued from Satan’s clutches. This could not be, inasmuch as those two dedicated and baptized Christians had thrust aside the Christian faith and a good conscience and had suffered the shipwrecking of their faith so that it went down into the sea of destruction.
4 By being disfellowshiped from the faithful Christian congregation these two men did not learn any corrective discipline. The beloved faithful congregation got the discipline, learning to avoid those two spiritually shipwrecked men and to have nothing to do with them, leaving them entirely to Satan, to whom Paul, with apostolic authority, had handed them over. By the necessary expulsion of these two men who had lost faith and a good conscience the loyal congregation were disciplined to fear taking the course of action of Hymenaeus and Alexander lest they themselves suffer the same ruin to their Christian lives and be disfellowshiped, handed over to Satan.
5, 6. (a) According to 2 Timothy 2:16-19, what was wrong with Hymenaeus? (b) Why did the congregation have to renounce Hymenaeus and Philetus, and how did these men teach the resurrection to be past?
5 The apostle Paul gives further information regarding Hymenaeus and shows what was wrong with him when he later wrote Timothy as follows: “Shun empty speeches that violate what is holy; for they will advance to more and more ungodliness, and their word will spread like gangrene. Hymenaeus and Philetus are of that number. These very men have deviated from the truth, saying that the resurrection has already occurred; and they are subverting the faith of some. For all that, the solid foundation of God stays standing, having this seal: ‘Jehovah knows those who belong to him,’ and: ‘Let everyone naming the name of Jehovah renounce unrighteousness.’”—2 Tim. 2:16-19.
6 Hymenaeus and Philetus no longer belonged to Jehovah, but were handed over to Satan by expulsion from Jehovah’s Christian congregation. The faithful Christians had Jehovah’s name called upon them as a “people for his name” and they named that divine name in their congregational meetings and in preaching outside. (Acts 15:14-18) For that reason they had to renounce such untrue Christians as Hymenaeus and Philetus, as being full of unrighteousness. Those men had their own ideas about the resurrection. They taught that “the resurrection has already occurred” in their day; evidently this was by their teaching that the resurrection was merely a spiritual one, of a symbolic kind, and that the dedicated Christians had already had their resurrection and that this was all there was to the matter and there was no further resurrection in the future under God’s Messianic kingdom.
7. What was executed upon them at their death, and why?
7 Hymenaeus and Philetus had already subverted the faith of some members of the congregation by such resurrection teaching. Whether in that same connection they were teaching the pagan Grecian doctrine of the immortality of the human soul, Paul does not say. However, those conscienceless subverters of the faith of Christian believers were sinning willfully after having come to an accurate knowledge of the truth, even in connection with the apostle Paul. Hence when they died the “judgment of Gehenna” was executed upon them. They will have no resurrection.
8, 9. What point does Paul make strong in 1 Timothy 6:9, 10, 20, 21?
8 Christians who let themselves be lured into heaping up material riches and into acquiring much worldly knowledge or “science” are endangering their opportunity for a resurrection and life in the righteous system of things to come. Not by riches and “science” but by the true Christian faith we are saved.
9 Making this point strong in the conclusion of his first letter to Timothy, the apostle Paul writes: “Those who are determined to be rich fall into temptation and a snare and many senseless and hurtful desires, which plunge men into destruction and ruin. For the love of money is a root of all sorts of injurious things, and by reaching out for this love some have been led astray from the faith and have stabbed themselves all over with many pains. O Timothy, guard what is laid up in trust with you, turning away from the empty speeches [like those of Hymenaeus and Philetus] that violate what is holy and from the contradictions of the falsely called ‘knowledge.’ For making a show of such knowledge some have deviated from the faith.”—1 Tim. 6:9, 10, 20, 21.
10. (a) How do those who make a show of the “falsely called ‘knowledge’” injure themselves? (b) What are we therefore determined to do?
10 The would-be rich Christians yield to desires that “plunge men into destruction and ruin.” The Christians who seek after the faithless “knowledge” of this world show it off for glory or for worldly advantage, but they deviate from the Christian faith. None of these leave any basis for God to raise them from the dead by means of Jesus Christ. At death they are, figuratively speaking, hurled into Gehenna. (Mark 9:43-47) We, though, are determined not to copy them. We keep in mind the words of Hebrews 10:38, 39: “‘But my righteous one will live by reason of faith,’ and, ‘if he shrinks back, my soul has no pleasure in him.’ Now we are not the sort that shrink back to destruction, but the sort that have faith to the preserving alive of the soul.”
WHAT OF UNBELIEVING MARRIAGE MATES?
11, 12. (a) What question arises about unbelievers who are the mates of dedicated, spirit-begotten Christians? (b) What does Paul say regarding this relationship, in 1 Corinthians 7:10-16?
11 Since the days of Jesus Christ many persons have come into close association with dedicated, baptized Christians whom God has begotten by his spirit to a heavenly inheritance. However, such persons themselves have not been influenced strongly enough to become such kind of Christians. Some such persons have been or still are husbands and wives of sanctified Christian mates. Some are children who have a dedicated, spirit-begotten Christian parent or who have both parents of that kind. Will such unbelievers have a resurrection? About such unbelievers Paul wrote:
12 “To the married people I give instructions, . . . yes, I, not the Lord: If any brother has an unbelieving wife, and yet she is agreeable to dwelling with him, let him not leave her; and a woman who has an unbelieving husband, and yet he is agreeable to dwelling with her, let her not leave her husband. For the unbelieving husband is sanctified in relation to his wife, and the unbelieving wife is sanctified in relation to the brother; otherwise, your children would really be unclean, but now they are holy. But if the unbelieving one proceeds to depart, let him depart; a brother or a sister is not in servitude under such circumstances, but God has called you to peace. For, wife, how do you know but that you will save your husband? Or, husband, how do you know but that you will save your wife?”—1 Cor. 7:10-16.
13. How does the apostle Peter write in agreement with such counsel in 1 Peter 3:1-4?
13 The apostle Peter writes in agreement with that, saying: “In like manner, you wives, be in subjection to your own husbands, in order that, if any are not obedient to the word, they may be won without a word through the conduct of their wives, because of having been eyewitnesses of your chaste conduct together with deep respect. And do not let your adornment be that of the external braiding of the hair and of the putting on of gold ornaments or the wearing of outer garments, but let it be the secret person of the heart in the incorruptible apparel of the quiet and mild spirit, which is of great value in the eyes of God.”—1 Pet. 3:1-4.
14. What questions does the death of such an unbelieving mate occasion, and what other fair questions should we ask as to this?
14 If, now, the unbelieving marriage mate dies as an unbeliever under such association with such a faithful Christian with heavenly hopes, is the unbeliever lost forever? Has the unbeliever died under the “judgment of Gehenna,” and will there be no resurrection of the unbeliever to the opportunity for life everlasting on a Paradise earth under God’s kingdom? Along with such a question, we are only fair in asking, How long has the unbeliever lived with the believer? Also, how faithful and exemplary has the believer been as a witness for the true Christian faith?
15. In the light of experience and observation, what pertinent questions may we ask regarding the unbeliever?
15 Experience and observation show that it takes some persons with certain backgrounds a longer time than it does others to be favorably impressed to take right action. So has the unbeliever lived long enough with the believer to get the needed measure of experience with the believing mate that his own personal case requires? Do a few years of continuing in unbelief before death mean that he would never become a dedicated believer if given a longer time of association? If he leaves his believing mate, has he walked out on his best opportunity for gaining salvation?
16. In taking such a course, did the unbeliever take the course described in 2 Peter 2:21, 22?
16 Even if taking such a course, the unbeliever did not take the extreme course described in 2 Peter 2:21, 22, which says: “It would have been better for them not to have accurately known the path of righteousness than after knowing it accurately to turn away from the holy commandment delivered to them. The saying of the true proverb has happened to them: ‘The dog has returned to its own vomit, and the sow that was bathed to rolling in the mire.”’ So, if he dies as an unbeliever after walking out of the life of the believer, has he forfeited all hope of a future life? Who is to be the judge in this situation? Whose judgment counts?
17. (a) To whom were those apostles writing their counsel regarding marriage mates? (b) When speaking of saving a marriage mate, to what salvation was Paul referring?
17 We must remember that the apostles were writing to the “congregation of God,” to spiritual Christians “sanctified in union with Christ Jesus, called to be holy ones,” to those who were given “a new birth to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an incorruptible and undefiled and unfading inheritance . . . reserved in the heavens.” (1 Cor. 1:1, 2; 1 Pet. 1:3, 4) Those writings were penned in the first century. God was then taking out from the Gentile nations a people for his name to make up the congregation of 144,000 Christian witnesses who will become joint heirs with Christ in his heavenly kingdom. (Acts 15:14) Consequently when Paul asked: “Wife, how do you know but that you will save your husband? Or, husband, how do you know but that you will save your wife?” he was most likely referring to salvation to heavenly life in union with Jesus Christ.
18. (a) Is there no other salvation possible for an unbeliever who dies as the mate of such a Christian? (b) Since when has the Fine Shepherd been calling the “other sheep”?
18 Paul was certainly not discussing there the salvation to life in human perfection on this earth when God’s heavenly kingdom converts it into a global Paradise. The question rightly comes up, then, If the unbelieving marriage partner was not saved by the believer to the only salvation to which God was then calling people of the nations, did this mean that he would have no later opportunity for being saved with that earthly salvation that is reserved for mankind in general under God’s kingdom? What if we say Yes to this last question? In that case we are judging the unbeliever who died without answering the heavenly call as being unworthy of any resurrection under God’s kingdom and of any opportunity for life on earth. However, down till recently, the Fine Shepherd Jesus Christ was not calling out and gathering his “other sheep” in hope of everlasting life on earth.—John 10:16.
19. (a) Is the salvation for the “other sheep” a sort of safety net for catching unfaithful spirit-begotten Christians? (b) Salvation of the “other sheep” results from what?
19 The inspired Scriptures show that God set a definite time for himself to gather together the “other sheep” for whom he reserves everlasting salvation on the Paradise earth under the kingdom of his dear Son. God’s provision for such “other sheep” is not a sort of safety net to catch all those whom he calls to the heavenly inheritance but who do not meet the requirements for it by a Christian course faithful to the death. Christians who have the heavenly inheritance reserved for themselves must either prove worthy of entering into it or else fail altogether without any other life prospects to fall back on, thus to enjoy eternal life somewhere else, in some form. No, God’s provision through Christ for the “other sheep” is something that God specially purposed for the vast majority of mankind. It results from the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, just as much as the heavenly calling of the 144,000 joint heirs of Christ results therefrom.
20. Historically, when did the gathering of the “great crowd” of “other sheep” begin?
20 According to the historical facts, the gathering of the “great crowd” of other sheep began not before 1931 C.E., but particularly from 1935 C.E. forward.—Ezek. 9:4; Rev. 7:9-17; see The Watchtower as of August 15, 1934, pages 249, 250, paragraphs 31-34; also, as of February 1, 1935, page 47, top.
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