The Watchtower, November 1, 1970

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The Watchtower — November 1, 1970

Source: jw.org

Contents

Does the Bible Really Teach It?

It Is Not in the Bible!

‘Making Disciples’ by Leaps and Bounds in Brazil

“Your Sins Are Forgiven”

Do They Pay Attention?

Taking Final Advantage of the “Year of Goodwill”

Proving Ourselves to Be “Men of Goodwill”

Assyrian Kings and Israel

“Of Course You Can, Kayoko. I Did!”

By Love and Obedience Not Forgetting Jehovah

Let Jehovah’s Purposes Guide Your Way of Life

Announcements

Does the Bible Really Teach It?

Does the Bible Really Teach It?

THE Bible is the world’s oldest religious book. For Christians it contains the only remaining record of what Jesus Christ taught. For Jews it preserves Moses’ law. Even “unbelievers” read it as great literature. Thus, more copies of the Bible have been distributed than of any other book in the history of the world.

Yet, there are more false ideas about what the Bible teaches than there are about any other book!

What the Bible really teaches about such basic ideas as who God is, how earth was created and what happens when we die, is far different from what many religions teach today.

IS GOD A TRINITY?

Take, for example, the basic idea of who God is. For centuries Christendom has taught that God is a Trinity. People have been told that “the Father is God, the Son is God, and the Holy Spirit is God, and yet there are not three Gods but one God.” According to this doctrine, none of the three is greater, none is older, and none is more powerful than the others. If, as The Catholic Encyclopedia says, this is “the central doctrine of the Christian religion,” you would expect it to be explained specifically in the Bible. However, this is not the case.

The New Catholic Encyclopedia says that today “Trinitarian discussion, Roman Catholic as well as other, presents a somewhat unsteady silhouette.” Why? It says this is because of the modern return to “the primitive sources, chiefly the Biblical.” No doubt to the great surprise of many of its readers, it says that there is a recognition among Biblical scholars, “including a constantly growing number of Roman Catholics, that one should not speak of Trinitarianism in the New Testament without serious qualification.”a

It was not during the earthly ministry of Jesus Christ, but, according to this encyclopedia, it was as late as “the last quadrant of the 4th century” that the teaching of “‘one God in three Persons’ became thoroughly assimilated into Christian life and thought.” This means, of course, that the current idea about the Trinity was not explained by Christ to his apostles, but was added centuries after his death.

Among Protestants, The New Bible Dictionary admits: “The word Trinity is not found in the Bible, and, though used by Tertullian in the last decade of the 2nd century, it did not find a place formally in the theology of the Church till the 4th century.”

Thus, these persons who teach the doctrine of the Trinity are forced to admit that it is not found in the Bible. It developed after Jesus’ earthly ministry, and therefore was not a part of his teaching. He explained his relationship with the Father in an entirely different way. Rather than claiming to be equal with him, Jesus said: “The Father is greater than I am.”​—John 14:28.

The Bible is clear in its teaching about Jesus. It says he existed in heaven before coming to the earth​—that he had glory with his Father “before the world was.” (John 17:5) But it does not say that, like God, he had no beginning. Instead, the Bible calls him “the first-born of all creation,” and “the beginning of the creation by God.”​—Col. 1:15; Rev. 3:14.

The inspired Bible writers made a careful distinction between God and Jesus. The apostle Paul was very specific in this matter. He wrote: “There is actually to us one God the Father, out of whom all things are, and we for him; and there is one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom all things are, and we through him.” (1 Cor. 8:6) Who did he say God is? The FATHER!

In view of such Biblical statements, it is no wonder that the New Catholic Encyclopedia says modern “Trinitarian discussion, Roman Catholic as well as other, presents a somewhat unsteady silhouette.” But this discussion about God is only a beginning. Many other ideas commonly thought to be from the Bible are not found there at all. Read on; some of these may surprise you.

[Footnotes]

New Catholic Encyclopedia, prepared by an editorial staff at the Catholic University of America (Washington; 1967), Vol. XIV, p. 295.

It Is Not in the Bible!

It Is Not in the Bible!

MANY ideas commonly thought to come from the Bible are not found there at all. Check over the points discussed below​—see if you thought the Bible teaches them. Then, examine what it really says. Doing this may sharpen your interest in that book, and in what it means for us today.

“GOD MADE THE EARTH IN SEVEN TWENTY-FOUR-HOUR DAYS”

A common objection raised against accepting the Bible’s account of creation is the belief that it says God made the earth in seven twenty-four-hour days. You might want to read this account, which starts on the very first page of your Bible, at Genesis 1:1​—2:4 chapter 1, verse 1, and goes through chapter 2, verse 4.

After reading it, did you find anything at all that said the “days” referred to there were limited to twenty-four hours? The word “day” could not always mean a twenty-four-hour period in this passage, for at the end of the account the entire period, including all the “days” referred to there, is called “the day that Jehovah God made earth and heaven.” (Gen. 2:4) Obviously the word “day” does not here mean twenty-four hours, for it includes the entire creative period.

The word “day” can also mean “age.” We use it in referring to “Noah’s day,” “Caesar’s day,” or other epochs that were far longer than twenty-four hours, but were marked with a specific beginning and a definite end.

It should be noted that these seven great creative “days” do not include the creation of the universe, but only the preparation of earth for man. The Bible does not say when the sun, stars, planets, even the earth, were created. Genesis 1:1 states: “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” But it does not say when that “beginning” was, or how much time passed between the creation of the universe and the beginning of the first of the seven “days,” mentioned in the next Ge 1 verse 2.

Another important point is that the first six days came to an end​—but not the seventh! The report of the first six days closes with a statement similar to the one for day six: “And there came to be evening and there came to be morning, a sixth day.” (Gen. 1:5, 8, 13, 19, 23, 31) But this concluding expression does not appear for the seventh day, on which God rested.

More than 4,000 years later, the apostle Paul understood that this seventh day, the rest day, was still continuing. He referred specially to this rest day mentioned in Genesis, and said: “Let us therefore do our utmost to enter into that rest.” (Heb. 4:4, 11) It is only logical that the peaceful thousand-year reign of Jesus Christ (who is identified in Matthew 12:8 as “Lord of the sabbath”) also be part of God’s great Sabbath, or rest day. Thus, the great “seventh day” of God’s resting from material creation on earth would include the nearly 6,000 years of Biblical history since Adam, plus the 1,000 years of Christ’s reign that Revelation 20:1-6 shows is yet to come. So, if the other six of this group of seven great creative “days” are as long as the last one, then each one must have been 7,000 years long!

The great creative epochs described in Genesis thus were periods lasting thousands of years, during which, the Bible says, specific steps were taken in the divine preparation of the earth for man.

“SEX IS THE ‘ORIGINAL SIN’”

Was Eve’s “original sin” the seduction of Adam, as many persons seem to think? Not according to the Bible!

The Bible says God made Eve as a “helper” or “complement” to Adam. The Biblical record calls them “the man and his wife.” (Gen. 2:20, 25) Their relationship was neither fornication (relations between persons not married) nor adultery (relations between persons married to someone else). Instead, their marriage relationship was holy, for God had instructed them to have children. He said: “Be fruitful and become many and fill the earth and subdue it.”​—Gen. 1:28.

What, then, was their sin? Precisely what the Bible says it was​—the simple act of eating a literal fruit (the Bible does not say it was an “apple”) that God had told them not to eat. This was a simple thing, but it was extremely serious. It was a flouting of divine authority. Eve chose to decide for herself what was “good and bad”​—what she should or should not do—​rather than accepting God’s decision on the matter. Adam’s sin was in following her in this course of disobedience.

“JESUS DIED ON A ‘CROSS’”

“I know Jesus died on a cross,” one may say. “I’ve read it many times.”

But, much to the surprise of many persons, there is nothing in the Bible that indicates that the stake on which Jesus was executed had a crossbar. In fact, the evidence is to the contrary. Louis Réau, the famed French authority on religious art, wrote: “The Gospels tell us nothing specific about the shape of the cross. The Greek word stauros can mean a simple post, and does not imply, as the Latin crux does, the crossing of two beams. It seems that originally Christ was represented attached to a post.”​—See Acts 5:30; 10:39.

The “cross” was a religious symbol long before the time of Christ. A French Catholic dictionary admits: “It cannot be denied that the cross had been employed as a religious symbol by the pagans. It is found in different forms on a large number of Asiatic, European, and even American monuments.”

Since the Bible gives no description of its shape, and the Greek words the Bible used meant “stake,” “post” or “tree,” rather than “cross,” then the burden really rests upon those who say that the post that Christ died upon had a crossbeam to prove that it did. And since no “cross worship” was described in the writings of Jesus’ apostles, but this was a “sacred” symbol to the pagans, its worship cannot be recommended for true Christians today.

“PRIESTS SHOULD NOT MARRY”

This controversial subject is fraught with emotion today​—particularly for those who have a close relative who has made a sacrifice in this regard.

Roman Catholic scholars point out that the apostle Paul did not command celibacy. Catholic scholars, writing in the Encyclopedic Dictionary of the Bible, say: “Most, if not all the apostles had been married, as Peter certainly was.” In evidence of Peter’s marriage, this Catholic book cites two texts: Matthew 8:14 and 1 Corinthians 9:5. The first speaks of Peter’s “mother-in-law.” In the second Paul says: “Have we not . . . the right to take a Christian woman round with us, like all the other apostles and the brothers of the Lord and Cephas?”​—The Catholic Jerusalem Bible.

As indicated in this Bible verse, who had wives? “The other apostles.” “The brothers of the Lord.” “Cephas.” Who was Cephas? None other than the apostle Peter, who the Catholic religion teaches was the first pope. And Paul said Peter was married!

The Bible did not command celibacy for the priests in Israel, nor for the overseers in the Christian congregation. Thus, the Roman Catholic Encyclopedic Dictionary of the Bible, referring to the Bible writings of Jesus’ apostles, says: “St. Paul makes it quite clear that no Christian is obliged to practice v. [virginity].” It adds: “Celibacy of the clergy is nowhere demanded or even supposed in the NT [New Testament].”

“JESUS HAD A NAME​—GOD DOES NOT”

God’s Son has a name: Jesus. But does the Father?

“God” is not his name. Rather than being a name, the word “god” is more nearly a title. It applies to ‘anything worshiped by man as a deity,’ including idols and other men. (Webster’s New Collegiate Dictionary, 1960 ed., p. 355) Does the Almighty Creator have a name that distinguishes him from all such false gods?

Yes. In the original Hebrew language in which some three quarters of the Bible was written, the great Creator of heaven and earth is identified thousands of times by his name. This fact is readily admitted by religious scholars, both Catholic and Protestant, though many members of their churches know little about this name.

The Encyclopedia of the Bible says: “Jehovah, or rather Jahweh, is the actual, strictly personal ‘proper name’ of God of Israel.” The Protestant New Bible Dictionary states: “Strictly speaking, Yahweh is the only ‘name’ of God. In Genesis wherever the word shem (‘name’) is associated with the divine being that name is Yahweh. When Abraham or Isaac built an altar ‘he called on the name of Yahweh.’”

The French Dictionnaire de la Bible (Dictionary of the Bible), edited by the Catholic priest F. Vigouroux, says: “Jehovah, the personal name of God in the Old Testament. No divine name is so frequently used in the Hebrew Bible. It is repeated about 6000 times, either alone or with another divine name.”

Jehovah, Jahweh, Yahweh​—these are various ways in which the divine name is rendered from the Hebrew Tetragrammaton into English. This name was used in normal conversation in ancient times, to distinguish the true God from false gods. Except at Psalm 83:18 and a few other verses, the King James translation of the Bible generally uses the word “LORD” instead of God’s name. However, a number of Bible translations correctly retain God’s true name wherever it appeared in the language in which the Bible originally was written, spelling it either “Jehovah” or “Yahweh.”

WHAT DOES THE BIBLE TEACH?

Yes, what the Bible really says is far different from what often has been taught about it. Does not that fact stir your curiosity? Would you not like to know what the Bible really teaches, and the magnificent hope it holds out for the future of mankind?

Ask one of Jehovah’s witnesses, perhaps the one who passed you this magazine, for a free home Bible study. This is a course in basic Bible doctrines, offered for a period of six months, an hour a week, at no cost to you, in the privacy of your own home.

You will learn the answers to such moving Bible questions as: Why do we grow old and die? Where are the dead? Why does God permit wickedness? Do Christendom’s churches really teach what the Bible contains? What do the present troubled world conditions really mean? What does the future hold for you and your family?

More than one million families already are benefiting from this free weekly study. They are learning what the Bible really does teach. And they are becoming so enthusiastic about it that, by the tens of thousands, they are going out to tell it to their neighbors.

If you do not know one of Jehovah’s witnesses, write to the publishers of this magazine. One of Jehovah’s witnesses in your neighborhood will call to show you how you, too, can learn the thrilling facts that are contained in God’s Word the Bible.

Whether you now practice a religion or not, you owe it to yourself to know what truths really are found in that ancient inspired book. You may even find that this thrilling knowledge moves you to the kind of zeal, activity, and personal commitment that was long ago shown by first-century Christians!

‘Making Disciples’ by Leaps and Bounds in Brazil

‘Making Disciples’ by Leaps and Bounds in Brazil

EVERY hour, on the average, someone in Brazil becomes a baptized witness of Jehovah. In the ten months ending June 30 of this year 7,170 new students of the Bible offered themselves for baptism in evidence of their dedication to God. This means, on the average, almost 24 persons are being baptized every single day of the year, compared with last year’s 17!

Back in 1945 the work of making true disciples of Jesus Christ had scarcely begun in Brazil. There were only 344 active ministers of Jehovah’s witnesses. Today there are more than 60,000. They are organized in 1,080 congregations and 250 isolated groups. Truly the work of making disciples and baptizing them, as Jesus commanded, is going ahead by leaps and bounds in Brazil.​—Matt. 28:19.

PEOPLE WHO NEED HELP

How timely this discipling campaign! In Brazil many are sorely confused in religious matters. Elderly people will say: “Before, everything was sinful. Now, nothing is sinful anymore. Nobody knows what to do.” It is also quite common to hear Catholics say: “I believe in God, but I don’t like the priests.” One lady, accepting Bible literature, declared: “Since this business of ‘rock ’n’ roll’ mass began, I do not go to church. I say my prayers at home.”

The belated move by some priests to clear out image worship plus the pope’s downgrading of a number of the church’s “saints” are having repercussions. In Rio de Janeiro a Catholic woman said: “The pope can impeach whoever he wants. As for me, I will keep my little saints.” And a farmer in Campo Alegre, Santa Catarina, was heard to threaten: “Our priest is trying to remove all images from our church. Why, that’s all we have left! The day that happens, we will charge the church, take off his frock and throw him out of our city.”

In Rio de Janeiro, a young Methodist woman said: ‘In my church people speak a lot about morals and love, but they do not practice it.’ An elderly Baptist lady affirmed: ‘The only time our preacher spoke with enthusiasm was when he called those who didn’t pay their tithes “thieves.”’ Tired of paying for nothing, she accepted a free home Bible study from Jehovah’s witnesses.

In Rio Branco, deep in the Amazon jungle, an elderly woman, who hated the Witnesses and always called them bad names, happened to see her priest throwing church images in the garbage can. When the next Witness called on her, she readily accepted the provision of a Bible study in her home. When invited to the Kingdom Hall, she said: “How can I go there, after calling them all kinds of names?” However, she went and was received like an old friend. She has not missed a meeting since.

HELPING THE PEOPLE

In the cities particularly, the discipling work goes on apace. São Paulo, for example, has 130 congregations, one Witness for about every 500 of its population of six million. Still, many persons in isolated areas are yet to be helped to learn ‘all the things that Jesus commanded.’ (Matt. 28:20) Just as was the situation in the first century of our Common Era, strong Christian congregations are sending workers to preach farther afield. One congregation in Salvador, Bahia, even rented and eventually purchased a house in Irará, some one hundred miles away. They furnished a large room with sixty chairs, and put ten beds and thirty straw mattresses in other rooms. Every week a group of Witnesses travels to Irará to conduct Bible studies and meetings for interested persons; and once in a while the entire congregation goes there. At one of their latest public meetings, 110 persons were present. Now they have eleven persons sharing the good news, some already baptized. Some gladly walk twelve miles or more to attend these meetings.

In one month, April 1970, the Witnesses spent 961,819 hours in helping others to learn and observe the commands of the Lord Jesus. Many of these hours were spent conducting 53,591 Bible studies with interested persons. They also placed 632,650 copies of the magazines The Watchtower and Awake!, these journals greatly aiding people to become conscious of their spiritual needs.

Seeing the urgent need to help others to learn the commands of Christ, many Witnesses have increased their time for the discipling work. For example, of the 62,740 who engaged in the public ministry in April 1970, nearly 6 percent were at it full time. Missionaries and special pioneers, totaling 829, devote 150 hours per month in discipling. And 1,635 Witnesses devoted between 75 and 100 hours to public teaching of the Bible during April; another 1,200, as regular pioneer ministers, spent 100 or more hours in the ministry.

The combined efforts of all Witnesses in Brazil resulted in a vast distribution of Bible literature during the past ten months​—350,000 Bibles and hardbound Bible study aids and more than 40,000 new subscriptions for the Watchtower and Awake! magazines.

DISCIPLING PEOPLE OF ALL KINDS

People in great variety are being discipled. One young woman in Campo Alegre, Santa Catarina, for ten years the local priest’s “right hand,” showed interest in the Kingdom message. On his deathbed the priest admitted to her: “We know we are wrong, but it is too late now to change everything.” She is now an enthusiastic Witness.

Many are searching for the true organization of Christ’s followers. One man traveled a long way from Indaiatuba, São Paulo, for the purpose of finding the branch office of the Watch Tower Society in Rio de Janeiro, only to learn that it had been moved. Meantime he kept watching for a newer issue of Awake! magazine in which, as he eagerly hoped, he would find the new address. When he did visit the branch for literature he forgot to inquire about the address of a Kingdom Hall in his own neighborhood. In vain he inquired of the police, his workmates and others. Finally, he obtained the address through the telephone company. When he arrived at the Hall, it so happened that the large sign had been removed temporarily for repairs. However, he waited anyway, until some Witnesses showed up. From that time he has been a regular attender, and after three weeks he even began sharing in the discipling of others.

In Cabedelo, Paráiba, a Witness, in the house-to-house ministry, met a man who practiced voodooism. The Witness saw spiritistic images of all kinds on the walls of this man’s house, and there was also a big altar full of such images. A Bible study was started, and the subject “Worshiping God ‘with Spirit and Truth’” was considered. After the study, the man said he was going to follow the Bible’s teachings. He destroyed one image, as he said, ‘to see what would happen.’ Next week they considered the topic “Keep Free from Every Form of Spiritism.” Afterwards, the man said he would destroy all his images at the next study, with the help of the Witness. However, by the time the Witness arrived that next week, the job had been thoroughly done. Now the man is attending all meetings of the local Witnesses.

A young Witness in the full-time preaching work was refused permission to visit the occupants of an apartment building. Apparently annoyed, the porter would not even allow her to leave magazines for the tenants. When she asked what he had against the Witnesses, he replied: “You did not understand me, Miss. You have the truth. Everything the magazines say is right. They are just too good for these people. The last time you left magazines I collected them all from the garbage cans and kept them in my home.” He readily agreed to having a Bible study conducted in his home.

People from all walks of life are being discipled in Brazil. Most of them are ordinary people, but they were heretofore the cream of all false religions. (1 Cor. 1:26-29) At the recent “Peace on Earth” District Assembly in Fortaleza, Ceará, for example, candidates for immersion included many housewives, a fisherman, a weaver, a mechanic, a shoemaker, an office worker, a radio telegraphist, a former sailor, a teacher, a university student, and a chemist.

MEETINGS OF WITNESSES APPRECIATED

Appreciating the need for meeting together to study God’s Word, the Witnesses in Brazil spare no effort to provide adequate meeting places. In Salvador, Bahia, two congregations were using the same hall, and it was quite inadequate. Men of responsibility in the congregations urged the Witnesses to pool their resources, selling everything superfluous. Items of all kinds came out of trunks and other storage places. Among the items were wedding gowns, dresses, suits, scrap iron, antique figurines, and so forth. With the proceeds they built a fine Kingdom Hall.

Meetings at Kingdom Halls in Brazil often have an attendance 100 percent more than the number of local Witnesses. At sixteen district assemblies in 1969, there was a combined attendance of 114,927. The annual celebration of the Lord’s Evening Meal, too, is outstanding for its excellent attendance. This year one congregation in Fortaleza, with 85 Witnesses, had 285 persons present. In the extreme south, at Rio Grande, a congregation with 110 Witnesses had 345 persons attend; another congregation, with 45 Witnesses, had 195 in attendance. The total attendance at the Lord’s Evening Meal mounted to 164,436​—nearly two other persons for each Witness present!

In view of all this, the magazine Realidade, in an eight-page report in its June issue, was moved to exclaim about the discipling organization of Jehovah’s witnesses: “A perfect organization . . . they are not selfish: they know the world is going to end and want everybody to be saved”​—at least, everybody who loves the true God and seeks His righteousness. Truly, the discipling work in Brazil goes forward by leaps and bounds.

“Your Sins Are Forgiven”

“Your Sins Are Forgiven”

An article specially designed for parents to read with their children

IT MAKES you feel good when you do what is right, doesn’t it? You know that your father and mother are pleased, and that Jehovah God is too. But no matter how hard we may try, sometimes we do what is wrong, don’t we? When we do what God says is wrong, this is sin.

The Great Teacher, Jesus Christ, showed that sin has a bad effect on all of us. He showed this when he did one of his wonderful acts or miracles. Let me tell you about it.

Jesus was staying in a town near the Sea of Galilee. A crowd of people came to see him there. So many people came that there was no more room for others to enter the house. No one else could even get near the door.

But more people kept coming. One group of people brought a man who was very sick. He was paralyzed. It took four men to carry him on a little bed or cot, because he could not walk.

Do you know why they wanted to bring this sick man to Jesus?They had faith that Jesus could help him. They believed that Jesus could heal him from that sickness.

But, with all those people in the house, how could they get the paralyzed man to Jesus? The men found a way. They climbed up onto the roof. It was a flat roof. And they made a big hole in it. Then they lowered the sick man on his cot right through that hole and into the room below. What faith they had!

All the people in the house were surprised when they saw what was happening. The paralyzed man on his cot came right down into their midst. Was Jesus angry because of what the men had done? Not at all! He was glad to see their faith. He said to the paralyzed man: “Your sins are forgiven.”

Some of the people did not think it was right for Jesus to say that. They did not think that he could forgive sins. So, to show that he really could, Jesus said to the man: “Get up, pick up your cot, and go to your home.”

When Jesus said that, the man was healed! He was not paralyzed anymore. Now he did not need other people to carry him about. He was able to get up all by himself and walk.

The people who saw this miracle were amazed. Never in all their lives had they seen anything as wonderful as that. They praised Jehovah for giving them this Great Teacher who could even heal people from their sickness.​—Mark 2:1-12.

What do we learn from this miracle? We learn that Jesus had the power to forgive sins and to make sick persons well. But we also learn something else. We learn that people get sick because of sin.

Have you ever been sick? Since we can all get sick, does this mean that we are all sinners? Yes, the Bible says that we are all born in sin.

Do you know what it means to be born in sin? It means that we are all born imperfect. We all do things wrong sometimes even though we don’t want to. We got this way because the first man and woman, Adam and Eve, did not obey God. They sinned when they broke God’s law. And we all got sin from Adam.

Do you know how we got our sin from him? Let me try to explain it in a way that you can understand. Maybe you have made mud pies in a pan. What will happen to the mud pies if you make a dent in the pan? Do you know? That same mark will show on all the mud pies you make in that pan, won’t it?

Adam was like that pan. He became imperfect when he broke God’s law. It was as though he received a dent or a bad mark. So when he had children, what would they be like? All his children would receive this same mark of imperfection.

Most children are not born with some big imperfection that you can see. They do not have an arm missing, or a hole in their side. But the imperfection they have is big enough so that they become sick and, in time, die.

Of course, some persons get sick more often than others. Why is that? Is it because they are born with more sin?

No, everybody is born with the same kind of sin. We are all born imperfect. So everybody can have some kind of sickness sooner or later. Even people who try to obey all of God’s laws and do nothing really bad can get sick.

Then why do some people get sick more than others? There are many reasons. It may be because they do not have enough food to eat. Or they may not eat the right kind of food. They may eat too much cake and candy.

Another reason may be that they stay up too late at night and do not get enough sleep. Or they may not dress warmly enough before they go out in the cold. So there may be many reasons why some people are sick more often than others.

Will there ever be a time when we will not get sick? Will we ever get rid of sin? Well, what did Jesus do for that paralyzed man? He forgave his sins, and healed him. In this way Jesus showed what he is going to do in a complete way for all those who try hard to do what is right.

If we show that we do not like sin, that we hate what is wrong, he will heal us. He will remove from us the imperfection that we now have. He will do this for us soon by means of the kingdom of God.

Sin will not be removed from us all at once. It will be taken away over a period of time. Then, when our sin is finally gone, we will never get sick again. We will all have perfect health. What a blessing that will be!

Do They Pay Attention?

Do They Pay Attention?

● In Belgium a mother who is one of Jehovah’s witnesses was listening to a public Bible lecture with her child, about three years of age, sitting next to her. It seemed that he was not paying any attention to what the speaker was saying. The talk was dealing with marriage. When the speaker read 1 Corinthians 7:38: “Consequently he also that gives his virginity in marriage does well, but he that does not give it in marriage will do better,” the little boy leaned over, looked at his mother and asked, “Mother, why did you get married?”

Taking Final Advantage of the “Year of Goodwill”

Taking Final Advantage of the “Year of Goodwill”

“He has sent me . . . to proclaim the year of goodwill on the part of Jehovah and the day of vengeance on the part of our God; to comfort all the mourning ones.”​—Isa. 61:1, 2.

1. In what way is having someone else’s goodwill a desirable thing?

GOODWILL on the part of someone else is a thing that we all like to have, especially the goodwill of someone who can help us and do us good. The ancient proverb of wise King Solomon still rings true today: “In the light of the king’s face there is life, and his goodwill is like the cloud of spring rain.”​—Prov. 10:1; 16:15.

2. How can it be shown that there is no goodwill on the part of the elemental forces of “nature”?

2 Goodwill cannot be expected from the elemental forces of “nature,” for they are blind, unintelligent, undiscriminating forces. They operate in accord with certain laws set for them by an invisible Intelligence. Thus certain conditions in the atmosphere give birth to the hurricane that laughs at human control and guidance and roars and rips through a stretch of land, heartlessly laying low man, beast, properties and growing things. Floodwaters, born of excessive rainfall or of the melting of the great accumulations of snowfall, sweep like sheets or in channels to swell the creeks and the rivers, pouring and swirling through low-lying regions, overwhelming everything animate and inanimate in their path. Natural earthquakes, tremendous in power, cause large structures built by man to move and sway, or open up great cracks in the ground, endangering living creatures in the neighborhood. Streams of radioactive particles from the fiery flares on the sun’s surface silently speed on their way to the earth, and men are obliged to feel their ill effects. Ah, no, there is no goodwill shown on the part of these elemental forces.

3. The having of whose goodwill counts in our behalf, and so what do thoughtful persons search out?

3 What, though, about the Creator of these natural forces? For our comfort, goodwill can be shown on his part. He is intelligent and has moral qualities, and we are all dependent upon him. Hence our having His goodwill is what counts in our behalf. On coming to appreciate this vital fact, thoughtful persons are led to search regarding how they may gain the goodwill of this all-powerful Creator of the universe, even our own Creator.

4. (a) Why do right-minded persons interest themselves in the “year of goodwill” on the part of the Creator? (b) Real wisdom lies in seeking what, and why so?

4 If we are right-minded persons, we will interest ourselves in an anciently announced “year of goodwill” on the part of this Creator. That expression “year” evidently stands for a limited time period, just as any calendar year is. This would indicate that the goodwill that marks this special year is also limited. After the “year” has ended, something opposite to goodwill is to be expected. What? The meting out of justice, without mercy, to those who have spurned the divine goodwill. Recorded history has actually proved this to be true. A universal “act of God” is now impending, not in the form of a mere local hurricane, inundation or earthquake. It is a personally willed and directed act on the part of God the Creator, and all the inhabitants of the whole earth stand in danger of it. Having God’s goodwill during the operating of his “act” could mean our life and survival. Do we want that? Real wisdom lies in now seeking His goodwill.

5. To what kind of time period does the “year of goodwill” refer, and how long-lasting is its goodwill?

5 No, the “year of goodwill” does not mean this year 1970, nor 1971. As far as this year 1970 has already run, the “year of goodwill” has included this first year of the 1970’s. But the critical “year of goodwill” has already been running for more than three hundred and sixty-five days, even for many years. It is a symbolic year and really represents a much longer time than a solar year or a lunar year. Such a literal year ends sometime, and so this symbolic “year of goodwill” may not be indifferently brushed aside with the idea that it will go on indefinitely​—who knows for how long? Like a literal year, it is a marked, calculable period of time, with a beginning and an ending. All indications are to the effect that the “year of goodwill” is near its end! When that goodwill ends with the “year,” then look out!

THE TYPICAL “YEAR OF GOODWILL”

6, 7. (a) By whom was this “year of goodwill” called attention to in those specific terms? (b) What coming comfort was this one inspired to foretell, and why?

6 Who was it that first called our attention to this “year of goodwill,” in those specific terms? It was a married man, the father of two or three sons, and he lived in the eighth century before our Common Era. His name was Isaiah, a name that Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible says means “Jah Has Saved.” He is a historical character mentioned in historical books outside his own book of prophecy. (2 Ki. 19:2 to 20:19; 2 Chron. 26:22; 32:20, 32) He was the prophet who had a vision of Jehovah God in his temple at Jerusalem and who, in response to Jehovah’s question, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?” answered: “Here I am! Send me.” He was sent to deliver a message from Jehovah God concerning the coming desolation upon Jerusalem and the land of Judah (Judea). This desolation, when it came, would really cause mourning among true worshipers of Jehovah God, who loved the land of His people and the holy city where the temple of his worship was located. (Isa. 6:1-13) But Jehovah God used Isaiah to foretell a coming comfort for such mourners by inspiring him to proclaim:

7 “‘Comfort, comfort my people,’ says the God of you men. ‘Speak to the heart of Jerusalem and call out to her that her military service has been fulfilled, that her error has been paid off [that accepted is her punishment, Rotherham; that accepted hath been her punishment, Young]. For from the hand of Jehovah she has received a full amount for all her sins.’”​—Isa. 40:1, 2.

8. According to Isaiah 61:1-4, the prophet was inspired to speak as if he were who, and what did he there say?

8 Later, under further inspiration, the prophet Isaiah spoke as if he were the Anointed One of the Most High God, saying: “The spirit of the Lord Jehovah is upon me, for the reason that Jehovah has anointed me to tell good news to the meek ones. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to those taken captive and the wide opening of the eyes even to the prisoners; to proclaim the year of goodwill on the part of Jehovah and the day of vengeance on the part of our God; to comfort all the mourning ones; to assign to those mourning over Zion, to give them a headdress instead of ashes, the oil of exultation instead of mourning, the mantle of praise instead of the downhearted spirit; and they must be called big trees of righteousness, the planting of Jehovah, for him to be beautified. And they must rebuild the longstanding devastated places.”​—Isa. 61:1-4.

9. (a) What themes did that “good news” include? (b) How did the Greek translation (LXX) render the part about the “year” and the “day”?

9 Was that not “good news” to tell to the meek and mourning ones? And such good news included the “year of goodwill on the part of Jehovah.” Even the coming of the “day of vengeance on the part of our God” against the desolators and devastators of Zion or Jerusalem would be good news to those mourning over what had been done by enemies to the center of Jehovah’s worship. Years before our Common Era, when Greek-speaking Jews of Alexandria, Egypt, translated those words about the “year of goodwill,” they rendered the verse into the Greek to say: “to proclaim an acceptable year of [Jehovah] and a day of retribution. To comfort all who are mourning.”​—Isa. 61:2, LXX, Thomson.

10. (a) How did those Jewish translators word it to show what kind of year it was? (b) Yet what other thought would this even include in harmony with the Hebrew text?

10 Thus those Jews understood Isaiah’s Hebrew words to speak about what kind of “year” it was, “an acceptable year,” rather than to speak about the attitude of Jehovah, “goodwill on the part of Jehovah.” To those Jewish translators it was a year “acceptable” to Jehovah, a year that found favor in his eyes. But even this would suggest that this was a year “acceptable” to Jehovah for doing something favorable, especially so since “an acceptable year” is set in contrast with “a day of retribution.” So “an acceptable year” would include the idea that it is a time for Jehovah to show goodwill or favor. It is his “year of acceptance,” when he will be disposed to accept or receive. (Rotherham) When we see how this symbolic “year” works out in actual history, we are enabled to appreciate the full, correct sense of it. So now to the history of the matter and its application to our time!

START OF THE PROCLAIMING OF THE “YEAR”

11. (a) Who that was sent from heaven could describe best Jehovah’s attitude toward that “year”? (b) How was he given an earthly name, and how does it correspond with the name of the giver of the prophecy?

11 When God’s due time came, “when the full limit of the time arrived,” Jehovah God sent from heaven to earth his own beloved Son “to proclaim the year of goodwill on the part of Jehovah.” (Gal. 4:4) What person, aside from this Son from heaven, could better describe the attitude of his Father during this symbolic “year”? When on earth this Son was given a name that quite corresponds with the name of the prophet who gave the prophecy about the Anointed One. At God’s command to his earthly mother, he was given the name “Jesus.” This shortened form of the name Jehoshuah means “Jehovah Has Saved,” whereas the name Isaiah means “Saved Has Jah (or, Jehovah).” Harmoniously with this, the prophet Isaiah was in a number of cases a type or prophetic figure of Jesus the Messiah or Christ.​—Luke 1:30-33; Matt. 1:20, 21.

12, 13. (a) For Jesus to become Messiah and officially proclaim the “year,” what was necessary? (b) From what after his baptism did Jesus know he had Jehovah’s goodwill, in harmony with what prophecy?

12 Since Isaiah’s prophecy said, “The spirit of the Lord Jehovah is upon me, for the reason that Jehovah has anointed me,” Jesus had to be anointed with Jehovah’s spirit before he would really be the Messiah, Christ, or Anointed One, and before he could officially “proclaim the year of goodwill on the part of Jehovah.” He was thus anointed with Jehovah’s spirit after John baptized him in water and he came up out of the baptismal waters of the Jordan River. The descent of Jehovah’s spirit upon the baptized Jesus was symbolized visually to John the Baptist by the miraculous appearing of a dove that came to a resting position over Jesus. Added to this, John heard God’s voice from heaven saying: “This is my Son, the beloved, whom I have approved [Or, This is my Son, my Beloved, on whom my favour rests, New English Bible].” (Matt. 3:11-17; John 1:32-34) Jesus now positively knew that he had the goodwill or favor of Jehovah, just as it was foretold in Isaiah 42:1:

13 “Look! My servant, on whom I keep fast hold! My chosen one, whom my soul has approved [my soul hath accepted, Young]! I have put my spirit in him. Justice to the nations is what he will bring forth.”

14, 15. (a) On what, then, did Jesus’ continuing to have Jehovah’s goodwill depend? (b) How did Jesus explain to the people of Nazareth his being no longer a carpenter among them?

14 Jesus knew that to continue to have Jehovah’s goodwill or favor he must carry out the commission to which he was anointed, as stated in Isaiah 61:1-3. He recognized his anointing as the Christ and also the divine commission that went with his anointing. He publicly acknowledged this at Nazareth where he had grown to thirty years of age, and thus he explained to the people of Nazareth why he had not been any longer a carpenter among them for more than the past six months. As regards this we read:

15 “And he came to Nazareth, where he had been reared; and, according to his custom on the sabbath day, he entered into the synagogue, and he stood up to read. So the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed him, and he opened the scroll and found the place where it was written: ‘Jehovah’s spirit is upon me, because he anointed me to declare good news to the poor, he sent me forth to preach a release to the captives and a recovery of sight to the blind, to send the crushed ones away with a release, to preach Jehovah’s acceptable year.’ With that he rolled up the scroll, handed it back to the attendant and sat down; and the eyes of all in the synagogue were intently fixed upon him. Then he started to say to them: ‘Today this scripture that you just heard is fulfilled.’”​—Luke 4:16-21; Matt. 2:21-23; 4:12, 13.

16, 17. (a) Evidently in what language did Jesus read Isaiah 61:1, 2, but in what language did Luke put the reading? (b) So in what time period were those Nazarenes living, but did they take advantage of it?

16 Doubtless Jesus read the words of Isaiah 61:1, 2 in their original Hebrew and so read about the “year of goodwill on the part of Jehovah” or “the year of the Lord’s favor.” (An American Translation; Moffatt; American Standard Version; Revised Standard Version; also New English Bible at Luke 4:19) But the historian Luke, writing in Greek, quotes the words as read by Jesus as they have been translated in the Greek Septuagint Version (LXX), so that Jesus is presented as reading about “Jehovah’s acceptable year.”

17 Whatever is the case, Jesus there at Nazareth made known his divine commission from Jehovah to preach or proclaim that special “year,” both as being an “acceptable” year and as being a year “of goodwill” or of favor on the part of Jehovah. Since he said to those Nazarenes, “Today this scripture that you just heard is fulfilled,” this meant that this marked “year” had already begun, that those Nazarenes were then living in it. Would they take advantage of it? Evidently not, if their soon taking him out of their synagogue and trying to kill him means anything. (Luke 4:22-30) They were not a good example for us today.

18. In what way did a remnant of faithful Jews experience the “year of goodwill on the part of Jehovah” back in 537 B.C.E.?

18 In what way, then, had the “acceptable year” or “year of goodwill” begun and when would it end? Had not Jerusalem and its temple built by Solomon been destroyed in the year 607 B.C.E., or more than a hundred years after Isaiah’s prophecy of Isaiah 61:1-3? Yes, that is true, and the city and the land of Judah had lain desolate and devastated for seventy years, until the year 537 B.C.E., when the faithful Jews who were held captive in Babylon were released and returned to the land of Judah and began to rebuild Jerusalem and its temple. And now, when Jesus was baptized and anointed, sixty-nine “weeks” of years, or 483 years, had passed since the Jewish governor, Nehemiah the son of Hacaliah, had begun to repair the walls of rebuilt Jerusalem. (Dan. 9:24-27) And so did not the restored Jews experience the “year of goodwill on the part of Jehovah” away back there at the reconstruction of Jerusalem and were not the mourners comforted at the rebuilding of the temple at the holy city? Yes, but only in a typical way.

19. (a) What was the vital thing missing back there in 537 B.C.E.? (b) Whose very presence on earth was a great evidence of Jehovah’s goodwill, and over what were the captive worshipers mourning?

19 That was indeed a period of Jehovah’s goodwill or favor and of immense comfort for mourning worshipers. But the vital thing missing was the presence of the foretold Anointed Proclaimer, the One who was authorized to point to Isaiah 61:1-3 and speak of it as being fulfilled in Him! The baptized Jesus, anointed with no mere vegetable oil but with Jehovah’s spirit, was the first one to meet the requirements of the prophecy fully and therefore the first one able to “proclaim the year of goodwill on the part of Jehovah.” What greater evidence of Jehovah’s goodwill or favor could there be at that time than the very presence on earth of the anointed Son of God, for those Jews who would receive him as the divinely promised Messiah? There was then need also of having good news preached to the meek ones, and Jesus Christ had such good news and he preached the good news of God’s kingdom. There was need to comfort the mourning worshipers, mourning, not over a desolated Jerusalem and temple, but over the broken-down state of pure worship of Jehovah. There were captives to be freed, not from ancient Babylon, but from a corrupt religious system.

20. (a) Rather than their material well-being, what was to be cared for in the fulfillment of Isaiah 61:1-3 to Jehovah’s people? (b) What was the objective of this as regards them and God?

20 The material well-being of Jesus’ own people was not the essential thing to call for the fulfillment of Isaiah 61:1-3. The things that were set out there in the commission to Jehovah’s anointed one were to be fulfilled in a spiritual way. Jehovah’s goodwill needed to be expressed in providing things more essential than material things. Not liberation from ancient Babylon as in the year 537 B.C.E., but releasing the captives from oppressive religious bondage was what Jehovah offered to his chosen people through his anointed Son Jesus. Not deliverance from subjection to the pagan Roman Empire, but deliverance from subjection to sin and its penalty death was what Jehovah in his favor held forth through the sacrifice of his Son Jesus Christ. These were the real things over which to cease mourning, to be joyful and to praise Jehovah as God. Then they could bear the fruitage of righteousness, like big trees planted by Jehovah, in order for him to be beautified in the fruitful lives of these liberated, godly persons.

21. (a) Who got the benefit of that “goodwill on the part of Jehovah” through the Messiah? (b) In what work were they commissioned to share from Pentecost of 33 C.E. onward?

21 Who got the benefit of that “goodwill on the part of Jehovah”? Not the Jewish nation, although the opportunity was wide open for them to take advantage of it; but the really “meek” ones, the religiously mourning ones, the ones who felt their captivity to a false religious system, these ones who became the baptized followers of Jehovah’s Anointed One, Jesus. They were the ones that also received the anointing with God’s spirit, just as their spiritual Head and Leader Jesus had received it. They were thereby commissioned like him to share in the telling of the good news to other meek ones, and in bringing release to the blinded captives of false religion and in comforting those mourning because of a lack of God’s blessing. The day of Pentecost of the year 33 C.E., with its outpouring of holy spirit upon Jesus’ reunited followers at Jerusalem, gave miraculous evidence that Jehovah’s goodwill or favor was toward them, not to the self-righteous, unbelieving nation.​—Acts 1:12 to 2:47.

“THE DAY OF VENGEANCE ON THE PART OF OUR GOD”

22. (a) Why were Jesus’ anointed followers eager to proclaim the “year of goodwill”? (b) To what time length could that goodwill be limited, and so what was there reason for the imperiled people to do?

22 Those faithful anointed followers of Jesus the Messiah were very eager about the proclaiming of the “year of goodwill on the part of Jehovah.” They knew that there was also coming a “day of vengeance on the part of our God,” and that this meant that the “year of goodwill” was therefore limited and due to end, yes, within their generation! There was real discernment of the limited period of time when Jesus described the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 C.E. and added: “This generation will by no means pass away until all these things occur.” (Matt. 24:34) Similar appreciation of the limited time available was voiced when Peter the apostle said to more than three thousand Jewish observers of the outpouring of the holy spirit on the day of Pentecost: “Get saved from this crooked generation.” (Acts 2:37-40) The duration of the “year of goodwill” could accordingly be limited to the length of a human generation, and that fact would make the “year” not too long. This fact furnished all the more reason for the imperiled people to take advantage of the “year of goodwill” without procrastination. Delay could be fatal!

23. (a) The ceasing of Jehovah’s goodwill meant the beginning of what, according to Jesus’ prophecy in Luke 21:22, 23? (b) In agreement with that, what did Paul say about the Jewish persecution?

23 The ceasing of God’s goodwill could mean only the beginning of his wrath. When Jesus spoke prophetically about the siege of Jerusalem and her destruction by the Roman legions in 70 C.E., he said: “These are days for meting out justice, that all the things written may be fulfilled. . . . For there will be great necessity upon the land and wrath on this people.” (Luke 21:22, 23) Thus Jesus was fulfilling his commission as Jehovah’s Anointed One to “proclaim . . . the day of vengeance on the part of our God.” It was God’s vengeance against those who refused to take advantage of his “year of goodwill.” Not choosing to gain God’s goodwill and favor in his loving way, they did things to increase his enmity toward them all the more. Said the apostle Paul concerning the Jewish persecutors: “They try to hinder us from speaking to people of the nations that these might be saved, with the result that they always fill up the measure of their sins. But his wrath has at length come upon them.” (1 Thess. 2:16) Thus those who hypocritically pretended to be his chosen people were the ones to perish on the “day of vengeance” on God’s part.

24. During the “year of goodwill,” how was God’s attitude reflected by what Paul wrote in Romans 10:1-4?

24 During his “year of goodwill” God’s attitude toward the nation of Israel was reflected by that of the Jewish-Christian apostle Paul, when he wrote: “Brothers, the goodwill of my heart and my supplication to God for them are, indeed, for their salvation. For I bear them witness that they have a zeal for God; but not according to accurate knowledge; for, because of not knowing the righteousness of God but seeking to establish their own, they did not subject themselves to the righteousness of God. For Christ is the end of the Law, so that everyone exercising faith may have righteousness.”​—Rom. 10:1-4.

25. What was the reaction of Jews in Antioch of Pisidia to Paul’s display of goodwill of heart?

25 But although the apostle Paul showed his goodwill of heart toward his own nation, he found them not disposed to accept the message of salvation, just as in his experience in Antioch of Pisidia, concerning which we read: “When the Jews got sight of the crowds, they were filled with jealousy and began blasphemously contradicting the things being spoken by Paul. And so, talking with boldness, Paul and Barnabas said: ‘It was necessary for the word of God to be spoken first to you. Since you are thrusting it away from you and do not judge yourselves worthy of everlasting life, look! we turn to the nations.’” (Acts 13:45, 46) Possibly some of those opposing Jews went to the Passover celebration in Jerusalem of 70 C.E., but only to perish there.

26. Like a calendar day compared with a year, how did the “day of vengeance” compare with the “year of goodwill” lengthwise?

26 Like a day in comparison with a year, the “day of vengeance” in the spring and summer of the year 70 C.E. was short in comparison with the forty years of the period of goodwill from Messiah’s appearing in the year 29 C.E. down till the siege of Jerusalem began in 70 C.E. And yet that longer period of divine goodwill ended, not accidentally, but at God’s marked time. His “year of goodwill” was longer than the time of the executing of his vengeance, which fact makes clear how patient and forbearing he is.

27. Because of our nearing the end of what period of time can we not afford to act how toward God’s patience and forbearance?

27 Inasmuch as God holds to his appointed time for expressing his vengeance, we cannot trifle with his patience and forbearance. We should take advantage of it in harmony with the purpose for which it is shown, namely, our salvation. We owe it to ourselves to consider the question put by the apostle Paul to professed Roman Christians: “Do you despise the riches of his kindness and forbearance and long-suffering, because you do not know that the kindly quality of God is trying to lead you to repentance?” (Rom. 2:4) Our deciding and acting now on this question is urgent, for we today are nearing the end of Jehovah’s “year of goodwill.”

[Picture on page 656]

At Nazareth Jesus read from Isaiah 61:1, 2, making known his commission to proclaim the “year of goodwill on the part of Jehovah”

Proving Ourselves to Be “Men of Goodwill”

Proving Ourselves to Be “Men of Goodwill”

1. (a) What did an army of heavenly angels unitedly say at the human birth of “Christ the Lord”? (b) What indicates that there must be a few of such “men” today, and so what question arises?

AT THE human birth of “Christ the Lord,” who was to be the One anointed to “proclaim the year of goodwill on the part of our God,” an army of heavenly angels unitedly said: “Glory in the heights above to God, and upon earth peace among men of goodwill.” (Luke 2:13, 14) Doubtless, down through the nineteen centuries since then to this day those “men of goodwill” have proved to be few. They have been the “men whom [God] favours” (Moffatt), the men who have the goodwill or favor of Jehovah God. Few they must be indeed, because, particularly since the year 1914 C.E. till now, there has been little peace on earth and more and more persons betray that they do not have the “peace of God that excels all thought.” (Phil. 4:7) How, then, in this late day is it possible for us to become God’s “men of goodwill”? We want to be such, do we not?

2. What kind of lesson should we take from the Jews of the first century C.E., and why?

2 We should take a warning lesson from the Jews in Palestine during the first century of our Common Era. Their disastrous experience was not only historical but also pictorial, typical, exemplary. Says the inspired apostle Paul: “Now these things became our examples, . . .Now these things went on befalling them as examples, and they were written for a warning to us upon whom the ends of the systems of things have arrived.” (1 Cor. 10:6-11) Certainly with the coming, the human sacrifice, the resurrection and the heavenward ascension of Jesus Christ back there the ends of long-standing systems of things arrived, just as it is written, in Hebrews 9:26: “But now he has manifested himself once for all time at the conclusion of the systems of things to put sin away through the sacrifice of himself.” We today are living in a corresponding conclusion of a system of things. This is very manifest since 1914 C.E., just as Bible prophecy and world events and conditions prove beyond a doubt. For us, then, the typical examples recorded in the Bible were written in warning.

3. (a) Like the Jews in the apostolic days, we have been living in the time of what? (b) What part of the “sign . . . of the conclusion of the system of things” has been taking place world wide, since when and by whom?

3 Like the Jews during the apostolic days of the first century C.E., we too have been living in the time of divine favor, “the year of goodwill on the part of Jehovah.” (Isa. 61:1, 2) Like them, too, we have been living in the conclusion of a system of things. When giving his prophecy concerning the “sign . . . of the conclusion of the system of things,” Jesus Christ said to his apostles: “This good news of the kingdom will be preached in all the inhabited earth for a witness to all the nations; and then the end will come.” (Matt. 24:3, 14) Is not this “good news of the kingdom” being preached world wide today? Yes, according to all facts and figures. This has been true particularly since the year 1914 C.E., when, just as calculated by the International Bible Students Association, the Gentile Times, “the appointed times of the nations,” ran out and God’s due time came for him to install his Messianic kingdom in the heavens for the deliverance of mankind. Since then, not God’s coming kingdom, but God’s established kingdom, could be preached as good news world wide. And it has been thus preached! By whom? By Jehovah’s witnesses.

4. (a) As in the first century C.E., this preaching of the good news is an evidence of what attitude on God’s part? (b) Why should we take advantage of this?

4 In the first century the preaching of the divine message, “Repent, for the kingdom of the heavens has drawn near,” was a proof of God’s goodwill toward the Jewish nation. (Matt. 3:1, 2; 4:12-17; Isa. 9:1, 2) Likewise, today, the preaching of God’s established kingdom since 1914 C.E. has been an evidence of God’s goodwill. This is plainly so, inasmuch as, when this Kingdom preaching is finished, “then the end will come,” and that end of the present system of things means the “day of vengeance on the part of our God.” Forasmuch as the preaching of “this good news of the kingdom” still goes on, and this on an increasing scale on the part of Jehovah’s witnesses, this is evidence that we of this generation are still living in the “year of goodwill on the part of Jehovah.” After all this time of Kingdom preaching, that “year” must be running out, and we should take advantage of the “year of goodwill” before there breaks upon this whole system of things “the day of vengeance.” Have we done this, or shall we?

…