The Watchtower, July 15, 1979

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The Watchtower — July 15, 1979

Source: jw.org

Contents

Page Two

China and Christianity

Free! After 20 Years in Detention

Zeal for Jehovah’s House

Preaching in a Lawless World

They Preached from House to House

What Others Have Said About House-to-House Witnessing

It Is Filling a Need!

Written Reviews for Children

Insight on the News

The Book of Psalms—Curative for the Heart

Questions From Readers

Kindness Has Power

Hell Is Not Hot!

Page Two

How is it possible for a Christian, separated from family and fellow Christians, to endure years of detention? You will find the faith-strengthening answer, beginning on page 4

China and Christianity

THOUSANDS are visiting China—an estimated 10,000 tourists this year. “What you will find,” reports an article for tourists in The Wall Street Journal, “are spacious rooms, comfortable trains, familiarly crowded airplanes, . . . excellent tea and some of the most courteous and friendly people you will meet anywhere.” But what about religion, and, in particular, Christianity?

Religion is not popular—except for “red religion.” Christianity is now practically nonexistent. An Associated Press dispatch from Peking last July 31 notes: “Most churches have been converted to other uses, as schools, garages or warehouses. There are two Christian churches in Peking, primarily used now by foreign residents and visitors. One is Roman Catholic and the other Protestant.”

Why is there such little interest in Jesus and his teachings? Communism in China, of course, has suppressed such religion. But there is more to it than that. The churches have misrepresented the teachings of Christ, as the New York Times of January 15, 1979, stated: “The image of the Western missionary has been equated with Western politics since the first Presbyterian, Methodist and Roman Catholic missionaries moved into the country late in the 19th century.”

Yes, many missionaries appear to have served as advocates more of their national governments than of the kingdom of God. According to an earlier New York Times report, an international theological conference lamented: “It is unfortunate that Christianity being the official religion of the West was made to justify in various ways imperialism, feudalism, colonialism and bourgeois capitalism.”

In June 1947, however, two Christian missionaries, of a sort entirely different from the missionaries of Christendom’s churches, entered China. They were Harold King and Stanley Jones, graduates of the eighth class of the Watchtower Bible School of Gilead. They joined the small group of Jehovah’s Witnesses in Shanghai, China, sharing with them in preaching about the kingdom of God from house to house.

In time, Stanley Jones met housewife Nancy Yuen during his house-to-house calls. Although her husband was not interested in the Bible, Nancy was, and she immediately saw the difference between Christendom and the Bible-based teaching of Jehovah’s Witnesses. Soon she became a most active Witness herself. She progressed rapidly, proving to be very zealous in house-to-house preaching and in conducting Bible studies, all in the Chinese language.

In the early 1950’s, as many as 175 attended meetings in Shanghai, although restrictions had been placed on the activity of Jehovah’s Witnesses. Then, in 1956, Nancy Yuen was arrested and held by the authorities. When King and Jones inquired as to her welfare, they were rebuffed with the words: “This is a Chinese affair. Mind your own business.” Two years later, King and Jones themselves were arrested, and they spent five and seven years respectively in Chinese prisons before being released and deported.

But what about Nancy Yuen? We believe that you will find the following story about her to be of absorbing interest.

Free! After 20 Years in Detention

As told by Nancy Yuen

“AWAKE!” correspondent in Hong Kong writes:

Our family at the branch home of the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society in Hong Kong is quite accustomed to having visitors from abroad. But Thursday, February 15, 1979, was a very special occasion. Our guest was Nancy Yuen, a faithful witness of Jehovah who had just come out of China after 20 years in detention. “I am so happy to be with you. I have found my family,” she said.

We had all known of Nancy Yuen and her record of faithfulness, but now she was with us in person and we could hear her story firsthand. Taking us back to the year 1949, she began that story. This is what she told us:

IT WAS about 30 years ago when Stanley Jones, a Watch Tower missionary, first visited our home in Shanghai, China. By then I was married and had two children. The message he brought about Jehovah God and His purpose for mankind greatly interested me.

I was baptized in 1950 and continued to study diligently to improve my knowledge and understanding. I am so happy that in those early years I took my Christian responsibilities very seriously, for had I not done so, I would never have withstood the trials that lay ahead of me.

By 1954 I had four young children and was also having an active share in proclaiming the good news of Jehovah’s kingdom. By early 1956, the Communist government was in firm control of Shanghai. We began to get warnings to stop our preaching and confine our activity to the Kingdom Hall. However, I felt that I had to carry out our God-given commission to preach, so I continued to engage in the door-to-door work.

I was repeatedly arrested and detained for questioning, the detention sometimes lasting for five hours and sometimes up to three days. In the meantime, because my husband had moved to Hong Kong in 1953, I applied for permission to join him there. The authorities said they would issue my exit permit on the condition that I stop preaching. I refused to stop and consequently never obtained the permit.

The Communist officials were exasperated by my firm determination to keep on preaching. During one of the interrogation sessions, I was told that I must be the most stubborn person in the whole of China. Finally, in the latter part of 1956, after being arrested six times for preaching, I was again detained when a householder notified the authorities that I was preaching from house to house. After that I was not released.

DETENTION BEGINS

I had grown up in a happy family and had a young family of my own. Now I was separated from them all and was sitting handcuffed in a dark cell. I burst into tears. I felt so weak and helpless! There seemed to be no way out. Very soon, Bible thoughts came to mind about Jehovah’s being “the God of all comfort,” who gives strength to his servants. (2 Cor. 1:3, 4) It was then that I turned to him in earnest prayer.

From that time on I regularly talked to Jehovah in prayer and felt myself becoming stronger and stronger each day. Because the warders noticed that I prayed with my hands in front of me, especially at mealtimes, I had to suffer having my arms being pulled behind my back and handcuffs being placed above the elbows for three days until my arms and hands were quite swollen. Of course, this did not stop me from praying. But to this very day you can see those marks above my elbows.

I spent four years in detention, during which time I was constantly interrogated. They wanted me to betray the two missionary brothers and to say that the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society was an agent of imperialism. This I would not do. I used these opportunities to give a witness to the officials and to tell them what God’s Word had to say. One official commented that he had handled all the different religious groups, and all of them had compromised. But he admired my courage and zeal. He said: “It is a great pity that you were not converted to Communism before you were converted to Christianity, because our party needs people of real conviction like you.” In 1960 I was sentenced to 10 years in prison, the sentence to begin from my detention in 1956.

In 1961 I was moved to a labor camp out in the country, and there I had opportunities to share the “good news” with fellow prisoners. I never stopped my preaching work and, as time went on, I became bolder. On one occasion, I preached to a group of 12 persons who listened attentively. This did not go unnoticed. I was then put in the county gaol for 19 days, and they added another two years to my original sentence. Those 12 years soon passed.

RELEASE AND BACK TO PRISON

In 1968 I was released from the labor camp, although my movements were restricted. I was now able to work and receive a wage of less than $10 a month. During this time I was allowed to transfer from one labor group to another and my mother moved into the same district to be near me.

Being given the freedom to move from place to place, I started out on a trip that took me to a number of cities, including Anching, Hangchow, Nanking and Shanghai. I visited friends and relatives and shared the Kingdom truths that I knew with them and with all their acquaintances to whom they introduced me. Almost a year went by and I again applied to leave China and join my husband in Hong Kong. To get the permit, I was asked to go back to the district of Chinsang where I had worked and where my mother lived. However, before reaching Chinsang I was arrested, taken to a police station and detained for 10 days. The police interrogated two families to whom I had preached. The result was that I was sent back to Chinsang and put in detention after having been free for two years.

PUBLIC TRIAL

Again I was under constant interrogation. The police chief denounced me as stubborn and told me that I had better confess to all my “crimes” or it would go very hard with me. I told him all that I had said in the course of talking to others, doing so in such a way as to give him a good witness about God’s kingdom and His coming new order of things. I made it clear to the chief of police that all governments must make way for God’s kingdom. (Dan. 2:44) Careful note was taken of all of this.

I was then paraded through the streets with nine male prisoners. Their offenses varied from theft to murder and rape. Each of us had on a placard listing our crimes. Then in the presence of a thousand people in the large courtyard of a school, the police chief read my “crimes” over the public-address system. He read all that I had said. I was happy to see that he had, in effect, been able to give a good witness to more people in that city than I had.

Later, I learned that investigations into my preaching activity had involved more than 100 persons in nine different provinces. An official at a lower level had said that I was a most stubborn person, could not be reformed and so should be executed. But a much higher official would not agree to that and I was to be sentenced for the second time, to 20 years in prison.

For the next four years, each day was routine. I was allowed out of my cell early in the morning to wash some clothes and bathe, being put back in my cell until evening, when I was allowed out again for a short time to collect my washing. I was then locked in my cell for the night.

On November 1, 1978, word came that I would be allowed to leave China and join my husband in Hong Kong. So it was that at the end of January 1979, my husband, I and our four children were together again as a family for the first time in 26 years!

JEHOVAH SUSTAINED ME

Life in prison and in the labor camp was very austere, although I always had enough to eat and to wear. The diet was mainly rice and vegetables, with some meat about four times a year. It was a healthful diet, and I was able to keep fit and well. I kept my mind active, recalling Bible verses and truths that I had learned in my early years. I always looked for opportunities to share my hope with others and this enabled me to keep busy and happy.

In all my trials, I never felt abandoned. I prayed regularly for guidance that I might always do the right thing. I prayed for strength and courage to bear up. After praying, I always felt reassured that I had not made a mistake and that the course I was taking was the right one. I can truthfully say that prayer helped me to draw close to Jehovah, so close that at times I felt I could almost see him. Many times I remembered the assurance at Isaiah 66:2, that God looks “to the one afflicted and contrite in spirit.” This was always a source of strength and great comfort to me.

Asked if she found the constant interrogation by officials and police hard to bear, Nancy Yuen replied:

At first it took a little getting used to. But as I adjusted my thinking to the situation, it was not so bad. It is very important to get the right view of matters. Quite early in my detention I recalled these words of Jesus recorded at Luke 21:14, 15: “Settle it in your hearts not to rehearse beforehand how to make your defense, for I will give you a mouth and wisdom, which all your opposers together will not be able to resist or dispute.” So I learned never to worry about the interrogations. I looked upon them as opportunities to give a witness to the officials. I always had something to tell them about Jehovah God and his purpose for mankind, and the right scripture always seemed to come to mind for the occasion.

Looking back, how does she feel about her 20 years in detention? She says:

It was all worth while and I am grateful to my God, Jehovah, for the opportunity I had to show my love and devotion to him. As recorded at Matthew 13:45, 46, Jesus likened the Kingdom to a traveling merchant seeking fine pearls. On finding one of high value, he sold all the things he had and bought it. I had to give up everything, even my little children, to be loyal to my God. Jehovah has in no way let me down. He sustained me and cared for my family in his own wonderful way.

Asked if she had any good advice to give her fellow Christians, Nancy Yuen replied thoughtfully:

Never be apprehensive or fearful of trials that may come upon you. We should all expect trials in one way or another. They are good for us. They discipline and refine us and show what kind of Christians we really are. Trials show us how strong our faith really is and where it can be strengthened. I feel much stronger in the faith today as a result of my trials. So never be fearful. On many occasions I took great comfort from the apostle Peter’s words ‘to cast all your anxieties upon Jehovah, because he cares for you.’ (1 Pet. 5:6, 7) You could do the same.

This devoted sister’s example of endurance and loyalty is both encouraging and faith-strengthening. In their prayers to Jehovah God, for more than two decades Jehovah’s Witnesses around the world have remembered their dear brothers and sisters in China. Now we are learning firsthand how he has lovingly cared for and sustained them till now.

Nancy Yuen visited the Hong Kong branch office of the Watch Tower Society on February 15, 1979, attended her first Christian meeting in 22 years on February 16 and was again sharing with her brothers proclaiming God’s kingdom from house to house on February 17. We are moved to thank Jehovah for such modern examples of faithfulness that encourage all true Christians to remain loyal to their God, Jehovah.

[Picture of Nancy Yuen on page 4]

Zeal for Jehovah’s House

“Sheer zeal for your house has eaten me up.”—Ps. 69:9.

1. What powerful message was proclaimed in the spring of 29 C.E.?

IT IS spring of the year 29 C.E. In the wilderness of Judea appears a striking figure with camel’s hair clothing and a leather girdle. He is John the Baptizer. Hear his electrifying message!—“Repent, for the kingdom of the heavens has drawn near.” Among those who come to the baptism are many of the Sadducees and Pharisees. John does not mince words as he puts these religious hypocrites in their place. “You offspring of vipers,” he calls them. And he makes it clear that the coming King will baptize with holy spirit and with fire—that wheatlike persons will be gathered for preservation, but worthless chafflike ones for a fiery judgment of eternal destruction.—Matt. 3:2-12.

2. How was the King identified?

2 It becomes autumn, and the King-designate appears. John baptizes this perfect One, upon whom God’s spirit now descends like a dove. Jehovah’s own voice is heard from heaven, declaring: “This is my Son, the beloved, whom I have approved.”—Matt. 3:13-17.

3. (a) What challenging words rang out in the spring of 30 C.E.? (b) How had God’s anointed one already shown zeal for his Father’s house?

3 Again it is spring, of the year 30 C.E. The Passover has been celebrated. And once more, in Galilee, those challenging words ring out!—“Repent, you people, for the kingdom of the heavens has drawn near.” (Matt. 4:17) Who is the proclaimer of this kingdom? It is none other than the anointed King himself, who has now drawn near. Back in Jerusalem, on the occasion of the Passover, he had indicated his love of righteousness by driving out of Jehovah’s temple those merchants who were trying to commercialize God’s worship. It was then that the disciples of this man, Jesus, recalled that the psalmist had written of him, “Sheer zeal for [Jehovah’s] house has eaten me up.”—Ps. 69:9; John 2:13-17.

ZEALOUS IN PRAYER AND ACTIVITY

4. How did Jesus show his deep concern for the vindication of his Father’s name?

4 Jesus was always zealous for Jehovah’s name and reputation. He taught his disciples to pray for that name to be hallowed, or sanctified. (Luke 11:2) And in prayer to Jehovah, before being parted from his disciples, he said: “I have made your name known to them and will make it known, in order that the love with which you loved me may be in them and I in union with them.” (John 17:26) Jesus was deeply concerned about seeing his Father’s name cleared of all reproach—vindicated.

5. (a) On what did Jesus’ ministry focus? (b) For what other beneficial purpose had he come?

5 This pioneering minister came with a world-shaking message. (Compare Hebrews 2:10; 12:2, Revised Standard Version.) His was a dynamic preaching of the Kingdom for which he also taught his disciples to pray, “Let your kingdom come.” On that same occasion, on a mountain of Galilee, he counseled his listeners not to set their hearts on material things but, rather, to ‘keep on seeking God’s kingdom and his righteousness.’ (Matt. 6:10, 19-21, 24-34) Jesus came to minister to mankind, of whom he is the future king. Also, he came “to give his soul a ransom in exchange for many.” (Matt. 20:28) All who would exercise faith in his ransom sacrifice would find everlasting life in the realm of his kingdom.—John 17:3.

6. Where and how did Jesus preach, and with what exemplary attitude?

6 What glorious “good news” this was! Jesus engaged in preaching it through the length and the breadth of the land of Palestine. On the mountainside, in private houses, in the synagogues, in the temple, on the seashore and in other public places, he preached.a He also performed miracles of healing, thus demonstrating how, in his kingdom, he would heal all mankind upon this earth. Thus he would bring them back to perfection of life in a global paradise. The record states:

“Jesus set out on a tour of all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues and preaching the good news of the kingdom and curing every sort of disease and every sort of infirmity. On seeing the crowds he felt pity for them, because they were skinned and thrown about like sheep without a shepherd. Then he said to his disciples: ‘Yes, the harvest is great, but the workers are few. Therefore, beg the Master of the harvest to send out workers into his harvest.’” (Matt. 9:35-38)

How were such prayers for “workers” answered?

MORE ‘WORKERS FOR THE HARVEST’

7. (a) How were the twelve disciples to carry out their work? (b) Where would they find deserving persons?

7 Jesus himself started to meet the need by instructing and sending forth those twelve disciples. And how were they to carry out their work? Why, with the same zeal that their Master had demonstrated! He told them: “Into whatever city or village you enter, search out who in it is deserving.” This would necessitate their going to the people’s homes, where “deserving” persons would heed the “good news.” In this way, those disciples would also find lodging for the night. But some cities would not show them hospitality. Thus, Jesus said: “Wherever you enter into a home, stay there and leave from there. And wherever people do not receive you, on going out of that city shake the dust off your feet for a witness against them.”—Matt. 10:11-15; Luke 9:1-6.

8. (a) What further indicates that home visits were made? (b) Then, and also now, how might the householder’s kindly attitude result to his blessing?

8 Those who received the twelve with kindness placed themselves in line to receive blessings from Jehovah through his Son, just as Jesus told those disciples, saying:

“He that receives you receives me also, and he that receives me receives him also that sent me forth. . . . And whoever gives one of these little ones only a cup of cold water to drink because he is a disciple, I tell you truly, he will by no means lose his reward.” (Matt. 10:40-42)

Back there, as has so often happened also in modern times, a householder’s meek and considerate attitude would open the way for him to receive spiritual blessings with the prospect of everlasting life.—Compare Matthew 25:34-40.

9. Where did the 70 carry on harvesting activity, and with what twofold purpose?

9 However, still more workers had to be trained for the harvest. So, “after these things the Lord designated seventy others and sent them forth by twos in advance of him into every city and place to which he himself was going to come.” Whether they went to the synagogues or marketplaces, the record does not say. But they were instructed to go to the houses of the people. Jesus said to them: “Wherever you enter into a house say first, ‘May this house have peace.’ And if a friend of peace is there, your peace will rest upon him. But if there is not, it will turn back to you.” The disciples were to accept gratefully the hospitality of those householders who listened to the “good news.” But if a household, or even an entire city, refused to heed the message, the disciples were at least to warn the people, saying: “Keep this in mind, that the kingdom of God has come near.” They thus established a pattern that Jehovah’s Witnesses seek to follow today. They pioneered a twofold work of teaching those households that gladly received them and of warning those who spurned the “good news” about God’s judgments to come.—Luke 10:1-16.

10. How may Jehovah’s Witnesses today find joy like that of the 70?

10 The record tells us that “the seventy returned with joy” because the demons had been made subject to them by the use of Jesus’ name. But Christ showed that his disciples should, rather, rejoice in their heavenly prospects and their spiritual enlightenment. (Luke 10:17-24) Likewise today, Christians who expend themselves in teaching and preaching at the homes of the people have reasons for a great deal of joy because of their own relationship with God, their knowledge of his purposes and Jehovah’s blessing on their efforts to declare the “good news” to others.

“JOY WITH HOLY SPIRIT”

11. How did the new Christian congregation react to persecutions?

11 The scene shifts to Pentecost of 33 C.E. and thereafter. The responsibility to proclaim the “good news” now rested squarely on the newly formed Christian congregation. Immediately, it met up with persecutions. But these only served to sharpen appreciation of its mission in upholding the sovereignty of Jehovah and in preaching his kingdom by Christ. Boldly Peter and John declared: “As for us, we cannot stop speaking about the things we have seen and heard.” Along with the other believers, they praised Jehovah and petitioned him as the “Sovereign Lord, . . . the One who made the heaven and the earth and the sea and all the things in them.”—Acts 4:18-24.

12. What exemplary stand did the apostles take in the face of persecutions, and with what result?

12 When a further wave of persecution struck those followers of Christ, they gave bold testimony before the religious Sanhedrin, saying:

“We must obey God as ruler rather than men. The God of our forefathers raised up Jesus, whom you slew, hanging him upon a stake. God exalted this one as Chief Agent and Savior to his right hand, to give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins. And we are witnesses of these matters, and so is the holy spirit, which God has given to those obeying him as ruler.” (Acts 5:29-32)

So long as those apostles remained unflinching in their support of the Sovereign Lord Jehovah and his Chief Agent, Jesus Christ, they would have holy spirit to help them in their preaching and teaching work.

13. How may Christians to this day maintain “joy with holy spirit”?

13 During that crucial period, there was no time for disputes about foods and other trivia. They had to close ranks and present a united front against the enemy without. So doing, they experienced that of which the apostle Paul later wrote, saying: “The kingdom of God . . . means righteousness and peace and joy with holy spirit.” (Rom. 14:17) To this day, Christians who boldly proclaim Jehovah’s sovereignty and kingdom, while upholding right principles in unity with their brothers, are assured of the help of holy spirit and of joy in their work.—Compare Matthew 25:21.

‘CONTINUING WITHOUT LETUP’

14. Though ordered to “stop speaking,” how did those disciples pursue their divine commission?

14 The “good news” was spreading like wildfire. There was no dampening the joy and zeal of the apostles. When lawyer Gamaliel’s wise advice to “let them alone” was heeded, they “went their way from before the Sanhedrin, rejoicing because they had been counted worthy to be dishonored in behalf of [Jesus’] name.” And how did they react to the Sanhedrin’s order to “stop speaking upon the basis of Jesus’ name”? The account tells us that “every day in the temple and from house to house they continued without letup teaching and declaring the good news about the Christ, Jesus.”—Acts 5:38-42.

15. Though some aspects of our work may be different, what basic activity can we carry on, after the apostles’ pattern?

15 Like those apostles, where we have the freedom we search “from house to house” for those who are worthy to receive the “good news.” When we find them, we can revisit them and aid them through a free Bible study in the home. Of course, certain aspects of our work are different today, in that we do not go to temples or synagogues to preach. Also, we now have the help of the printed page, automobiles and other means of travel to facilitate our work. Thus home visits are an admirable way of distributing the printed message and returning to teach God’s Word to those who respond to the “good news.”

‘DO NOT HOLD BACK’

16. (a) Where did Paul witness and teach? (b) What indicates that Paul made home visits similar to our house-to-house activity today?

16 The apostle Paul also set a fine example in public preaching. In the synagogues, in the marketplace, on a riverbank—wherever he could find Jews and others to talk to—Paul witnessed. For two years, in a school auditorium in Ephesus, he gave daily talks to new “disciples.” (Acts 16:13; 18:4; 19:9) And later, to those who had become elders in the congregation at Ephesus, Paul said: “From the very first day that I stepped into the district of Asia . . . I did not hold back from telling you any of the things that were profitable nor from teaching you publicly and from house to house. But I thoroughly bore witness.” To whom? Only to those who ultimately became elders? No, for Paul adds that he witnessed “both to Jews and to Greeks about repentance toward God and faith in our Lord Jesus.” So, new persons who needed to know the elementary teachings on repentance and faith were included among those who were taught “publicly and from house to house” right from the start of Paul’s missionary service in Ephesus.—Acts 20:18-21; 18:19; 19:1-7; compare Hebrews 6:1.

17. (a) What is the basis for many Bible translations’ rendering the Greek kat oikous “from house to house”? (b) What would Paul’s ‘thorough witnessing’ indicate that Christian witnessing would include?

17 This phrase “from house to house” is translated from the Greek kat oikous. Though there are other renderings, many well-known versions of the Bible use this expression—“from house to house.”b This is because the Greek preposition kata is in a “distributive” sense. (Compare the similar use of kata at Luke 8:1—“from city to city,” “from village to village”; and at Acts 15:21—“in city after city.”) Thus it may be said that Paul’s ‘thorough witnessing’ was distributed house after house. Bible scholar Dr. A. T. Robertson comments as follows on Acts 20:20:

“By (according to) houses. It is worth noting that this greatest of all preachers preached from house to house and did not make his visits mere social calls.”

As Paul “thoroughly bore witness,” Christians today search for spiritually inclined householders, making return visits to those homes and studying with interested persons. Later, as necessary, shepherding calls are made by faithful overseers.c

18. Why would Paul and his companions not have held back from house-to-house preaching and teaching?

18 There was every reason why Paul and other Christians of his day should ‘not hold back’ in their house-to-house preaching and teaching. Those were critical times. The Jewish system of things was fast approaching its destruction. The Roman emperors were encouraging idolatry. By peoples who were “given to the fear of the deities,” there was a pressing need to seek “the God that made the world and all the things in it,” the One who was then “telling mankind that they should all everywhere repent.”—Acts 17:22-31.

19. (a) Why is the need for house-to-house witnessing, as well as other witnessing activity, most urgent today? (b) In what will our zealous ‘continuing in the faith’ result?

19 The need for ‘thorough witnessing’—from house to house, by informal witnessing, in the marketplaces, by making return visits, by conducting regular Bible studies in the homes—is urgent today. True, as in the apostle Paul’s day, the “good news” has been “preached in all creation that is under heaven.” But there is the need for further intensive effort before the “great tribulation” strikes. As the apostle Paul told those Colossian Christians, it is necessary for all of us to “continue in the faith, established on the foundation and steadfast and not being shifted away from the hope of that good news.”—Col. 1:23; Matt. 24:21.

20. How can whole-souled house-to-house preaching serve as a protection today?

20 As in the heyday of the Roman Empire, so today, worldly pressure is aimed at making Christians abandon themselves to the pleasures, so-called “recreation” and immoralities of godless people—“those who do not know God and those who do not obey the good news about our Lord Jesus—the very ones who are about to “undergo the judicial punishment of everlasting destruction.” (2 Thess. 1:6-9) Our protection lies in working as did Paul and all other zealous Christians of his time, in “always having plenty to do in the work of the Lord,” in working “whole-souled as to Jehovah, and not to men.” (1 Cor. 15:58; Col. 3:23) Great satisfaction and joy are to be found in working after the pattern of the apostle Paul and others of the first-century congregation, publicly and “from house to house” and in bearing ‘thorough witness’ that others may learn about “repentance toward God and faith in our Lord Jesus.” (Acts 20:20, 21) As we thus serve, may it always be said of us, as it was of our Master: ‘The zeal for Jehovah’s house of worship has eaten me up.’—John 2:17.

[Footnotes]

Matt. 5:1; 9:10, 28, 35; 12:9; 13:54; 15:29; 21:23; Mark 1:21, 38, 39; 2:13; 3:19, 20; Luke 4:15, 16; 5:1-3; 7:36; 8:1; 13:22; 19:1-6, 47; John 4:7-15; 7:14; 18:20.

The New World Translation, Authorized Version, Catholic Douay Version, American Standard Version, New American Standard Bible, English Revised Version, Revised Standard Version of 1952, The Holy Bible from Ancient Eastern Manuscripts (the Peshitta) by George M. Lamsa, A New Translation of the Bible (Moffatt), the Spanish Versión Moderna, the New Testament in an Improved Version (Newcomb), The New Testament (Spencer), The Englishman’s Greek New Testament (interlinear), the Catholic Confraternity translation of The New Testament, The Westminster Version of the Sacred Scriptures, The Riverside New Testament (Ballantine), New International Version, The New New Testament (interlinear).

For a more detailed discussion of the subject, please see the article “From House to House” in The Watchtower, August 15, 1961, p. 503.

[Picture on page 8]

As did Jesus’ apostles, present-day Christians search “from house to house” for those worthy of receiving the “good news”

Preaching in a Lawless World

“Because of the increasing of lawlessness the love of the greater number will cool off. But he that has endured to the end is the one that will be saved. And 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. 24:12-14.

1. To what extent is lawlessness taking over in the world today? (2 Tim. 3:1-5)

DO YOU see lawlessness on the increase today? In many parts of the earth disrespect for law and order is rising to a flood tide. Crime is rampant in most big cities. It is no longer safe to walk the streets. In recent years, many governments have been toppled by revolutions, and others are arming to the teeth against rebellion from within and threats from the outside. Even the Communist world is having difficulties, as nationalism takes precedence over socialistic “unity.”

2. How has lawlessness permeated many of the sects of Christendom?

2 What of Christendom? As Jesus prophesied for our day, “the increasing of lawlessness” has had a devastating effect on many of her sects. The Bible, which advocates proper respect for law and order, is now regarded by many as “out of date.” Numerous churches have gone along with the permissive society of the day, winking at immorality, homosexuality and corruption—thus producing a crop of counterfeit Christians, of the kind that will not “inherit God’s kingdom.”—Matt. 24:12; 1 Cor. 6:9, 10.

3. How have lawless ones tried to penetrate the Christian congregation, and what does Jesus say concerning such persons?

3 Lawless persons have even tried to penetrate the true Christian congregation, arguing that the “promised presence” of our Lord is not in this day. They ridicule the elders and dispute the Master’s appointment of “the faithful and discreet slave” to care for his Kingdom interests on earth. (2 Pet. 3:3, 4; Matt. 24:45-47) Persons of this kind are included in Jesus’ warning recorded at Matthew 7:15-23: “Be on the watch for the false prophets that come to you in sheep’s covering, but inside they are ravenous wolves. . . . [In that day] I will confess to them: I never knew you! Get away from me, you workers of lawlessness.”

4. What quality are we encouraged to cultivate, and how may we demonstrate it?

4 However, Jesus stated concerning truly “sheeplike” ones: “He that has endured to the end is the one that will be saved.” How may we demonstrate that we have this quality of endurance? Why, by sharing in the fulfillment of Jesus’ further words: “And 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. 24:13, 14) It is by our endurance in proclaiming “this good news of the kingdom” that we may attain to salvation.

5. (a) Why can it be said that we are not alone in our work? (b) What judging is now being done, and by whom?

5 We are not alone in doing this work, for Jesus’ prophecy on this “conclusion of the system of things” goes on to tell us that “when the Son of man arrives in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit down on his glorious throne.” From the invisible heavens he directs a work of judgment, in which he separates the people of the nations “just as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats.” This separating work is climaxed by the “great tribulation,” at which time the unresponsive “goats” depart “into everlasting cutting-off,” whereas the obedient “sheep” are invited to inherit the kingdom that the Father has prepared for them “from the founding of the world.”—Matt. 24:3, 21; 25:31-46.

6. (a) How have the “sheep” and the “goats” been made to identify themselves? (b) How has angelic direction of our house-to-house service often been demonstrated?

6 How do the “sheep” and the “goats” identify themselves as such? This is a consequence of a work of witnessing carried out on earth by the spirit-anointed “brothers” of the king and their companions, a work that reaches “to the most distant part of the earth.” (Acts 1:8) In the main, this has been a global campaign of preaching from house to house. Such activity results in the appreciative response to spiritual things that is suggested by the King’s words to the “sheep” class: “I was a stranger and you received me hospitably.” (Matt. 25:35) He counts their receiving his “brothers” as something being done to him. It is in contrast to the reception given by stubborn persons who pay no attention to spiritual matters. This separating work has indeed been carried forward under angelic direction. (Matt. 25:31, 32) And in conjunction with it there has been angelic aid in declaring the “good news,” for how often it has happened that a sincere person has prayed to God for help, only to find one of Jehovah’s Witnesses standing at his door! And how often has a Witness been guided by some unusual circumstance to call at a home when spiritual aid is needed the most! Being aware of the support of the myriads of heavenly angels, may we never let up in searching out worthy persons by zealous house-to-house preaching.

FOLLOWING THE FIRST-CENTURY PATTERN

7. (a) What indicates that the early Christians were intensely involved in witnessing “publicly and from house-to-house”? (b) What other comparison may be made between first-century and modern-day Christians?

7 Among the early Christians there was no division into clergy and laity. Those believers in the Lord Jesus Christ were not merely pew-sitters. They were men and women of action, intensely involved in witnessing “publicly and from house to house.” (Acts 20:20) They literally ‘filled Jerusalem with their teaching’ and preached the good news “in all creation that is under heaven.” (Acts 5:28; Col. 1:23) They were successful because, as historian E. Arnold notes in his book The Early Christians: “Even the most simple members of their communities were messengers, spreading the truth entrusted to them.” It must be the same today, for these words of Paul apply to all believing Christians: “With the heart one exercises faith for righteousness, but with the mouth one makes public declaration for salvation.” And again the result is that multitudes are hearing the “good news,” for, “in fact, ‘into all the earth their sound went out, and to the extremities of the inhabited earth their utterances.’”—Rom. 10:10, 18.

8. What sharp contrast is to be seen between Christendom’s religions and true Christianity?

8 How different the prophetic message of true Christians from the formalistic ceremonies of Christendom! Historian H. G. Wells noted this difference in his Outline of History, as follows:

“It is necessary that we should recall the reader’s attention to the profound differences between this fully developed Christianity of Nicæa [of 325 C.E.] and the teaching of Jesus of Nazareth. . . . What is clearly apparent is that the teaching of Jesus of Nazareth was a prophetic teaching of the new type that began with the Hebrew prophets. . . . Its only organization was an organization of preachers, and its chief function was the sermon. But the fully fledged Christianity of the fourth century . . . was mainly a priestly religion of a type already familiar to the world for thousands of years. . . . it had a rapidly developing organization of deacons, priests, and bishops.”

For their prophetic teaching today, true Christians have the precious good news of the established kingdom, which must be ‘preached first in all the nations’ before the end comes.—Mark 13:10.

9. What house-to-house service that was started in 1919 continues with success to this day?

9 This modern-day preaching of the “good news” received added impulse after announcement of the projected new magazine The Golden Age at the Cedar Point, Ohio, U.S.A., convention on September 5, 1919. This magazine is now called by the Scriptural title “Awake!” (Rom. 13:11) It became the instrument for a special work announced by the Watch Tower Society at that convention:

“THE GOLDEN AGE work is a house-to-house canvass with the kingdom message, proclaiming the day of vengeance of our God and comforting those that mourn.”

To this day, the house-to-house work with Awake!, and also with the Watchtower magazine, continues to be one of the most valuable methods of reaching the people regularly with the “good news.”

10. What stirring call to action was given in 1922, and how was house-to-house activity tied in?

10 The house-to-house service of Jehovah’s Witnesses gained further impetus from the second Cedar Point convention in 1922, where this memorable call to action sounded forth:

“Go forward in the fight until every vestige of Babylon lies desolate. Herald the message far and wide. The world must know that Jehovah is God and that Jesus Christ is King of kings and Lord of lords. This is the day of all days. Behold, the King reigns! You are his publicity agents. Therefore advertise, advertise, advertise, the King and his kingdom.”

One day of that convention was set aside for house-to-house group witnessing, and it was reported that 10,000 books were distributed by the Kingdom publishers. Down to this day, special programs of house-to-house preaching at conventions add to the joy of those assembled.

A ‘LOCUST’ ARMY ADVANCES

11. (a) To what was the army of Witnesses Scripturally likened in their house-to-house preaching work? (b) How has this ‘locust’ activity affected (i) the clergy, (ii) honest-hearted people?

11 During the 1920’s and 1930’s this vigorous witnessing from house to house was like a locust plague passing through Christendom. As Revelation 9:7-10 puts it, “the likenesses of the locusts resembled horses prepared for battle . . . And the sound of their wings was as the sound of chariots of many horses running into battle. Also, they have tails and stings like scorpions.” A “mighty” army of zealous Witnesses swarmed through the cities and towns of Christendom, exposing wrong doctrines and hypocritical religious practices. This often stung the clergy into active opposition. The ‘locust’ band gave notice concerning the approaching day of Jehovah’s vengeance on all defamers of his name, and comforted honest-hearted ones with the glad tidings of a paradise earth to be restored under God’s sovereignty.—Isa. 61:2.

12. (a) Why are these “last days” no time for complacency? (b) How may Joel’s words concerning the ‘locust’ army be applied to the activity of Jehovah’s Witnesses?

12 These “last days” are no time for complacency. (2 Tim. 3:1) As God’s prophet Joel declares: “The day of Jehovah is coming, for it is near!” (Joel 2:1) Though this is to be a day of gloom and anguish for false religionists, those who love God can rejoice now in spiritual enlightenment that is like the “light of dawn spread out upon the mountains.” (Joel 2:2a) As a ‘locust’ army, they carried the Kingdom message from house to house. God’s prophet describes their zealous action in these striking words:

“There is a people numerous and mighty; one like it has not been made to exist from the indefinite past, and after it there will be none again to the years of generation after generation. Ahead of it a fire has devoured, and behind it a flame consumes. Like the garden of Eden the land is ahead of it; but behind it is a desolate wilderness, and there has also proved to be nothing thereof escaping.” (Joel 2:2b, 3)

True, there has never been a spiritual army like these anointed witnesses of Jehovah! They have marched through the earth, exposing the error of Babylonish religions, completely devastating any Edenlike appearance of their realm of activity, but bringing comfort to those homes that receive the “good news.” Through Joel, Jehovah God says of this witness band:

“Like powerful men they run. Like men of war they go up a wall. . . . On the houses they go up. Through the windows they go in like the thief. . . . And Jehovah himself will certainly give forth his voice before his military force, for his camp is very numerous. For he who is carrying out his word is mighty; for the day of Jehovah is great and very fear-inspiring, and who can hold up under it?” (Joel 2:7-11)

Protected by the myriads of heavenly angels, these spiritual ‘locusts’ have carried forward their house-to-house visits. The common people have heard them gladly, as the ‘fear-inspiring day of Jehovah’ draws close.—See Religion, chaps. 6 and 7 (1940 C.E.); also The Watchtower, issue of June 15 to July 15, 1939, under “Doom of Religion.”

13. What “horses” have served today as the instrumentalities of the ‘locust’ army, and what grand house-to-house witness has resulted?

13 The prophet Joel envisioned this ‘locust’ army as running like “horses” prepared for the battle, making a sound like that of many chariots. (Joel 2:4-6) A great army indeed are these worldwide proclaimers of the Kingdom, as they carry on spiritual warfare, preaching “from house to house”! And John’s vision proceeds to describe mounted horses making up “armies of cavalry” to the number of “two myriads of myriads”—200,000,000! (Rev. 9:16-19) Powerful instrumentalities these “horses” have been for helping with the proclamation of Jehovah’s judgments! How well they compare to the millions upon millions of Bibles, books and magazines that the ‘locust’ band has distributed during these years in their house-to-house activity! (See “Then Is Finished the Mystery of God,” chap. 17.) In the year 1978 alone, they, accompanied by the “great crowd” of Revelation 7:9-17, distributed to the homes 216,709,937 copies of the Watchtower and Awake! magazines. The ‘locust’ army’s house-to-house preaching certainly gives a grand witness.

SURMOUNTING PERSECUTION

14. How may Joel 2:7 have application with regard to the activity of Jehovah’s Witnesses under ban?

14 Enemies of truth have tried to stop this preaching activity. In many countries nationalistic rulers have proclaimed a ban against this ‘locust’ work. They have tried to erect a “wall” against the Kingdom-preaching activity. But the ‘locust’ army climbs such walls “like men of war.” In some towns where the work is under ban local interested persons have joined with the Witnesses, guiding them to those homes where they know the people to be friendly. At times they will witness to one or two homes in one block and then move over to do the same in another block of houses Often they witness with the Bible only. In other lands the Witnesses carry on an effective work informally, while they yearn for the day when restrictive shackles may be broken, so that they may freely go from house to house again.

15. How did the United States Supreme Court come out in support of our house-to-house preaching?

15 During World War II, religious clergymen in the United States did their utmost to get the house-to-house activity of Jehovah’s Witnesses banned. However on many occasions, the Supreme Court of the United States acknowledged that this house-to-house preaching was supported by the constitutional guarantees of the free exercise of religion and freedom of speech and press. Drawing attention to the Scriptural basis of the activity of Jehovah’s Witnesses, the Supreme Court stated, in its majority opinion in Murdock v. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, in May 1943:

“They claim to follow the example of Paul, teaching ‘publickly, and from house to house.’ Acts 20:20. They take literally the mandate of the Scriptures, ‘Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.’ Mark 16:15. . . . This form of evangelism is utilized today on a large scale by various religious sects whose colporteurs carry the Gospel to thousands upon thousands of homes and seek through personal visitations to win adherents to their faith. It is more than preaching; it is more than distribution of religious literature. It is a combination of both.”

Truly, the ‘locust’ army and their companions have been successful in climbing over legal walls that enemies have tried to raise against their house-to-house work.

“FROM HOUSE TO HOUSE” WORLD WIDE

16. (a) What angelic activity now takes in the world field? (b) Why have the “preaching” methods of Christendom’s missionaries proved unsuccessful?

16 In explaining one of his parables, Jesus said: “The field is the world . . . The harvest is a conclusion of a system of things, and the reapers are angels.” (Matt. 13:38, 39) The apostle John also saw in vision angelic activity at this ‘time of the end,’ and so he wrote:

“I saw another angel flying in midheaven, and he had everlasting good news to declare as glad tidings to those who dwell on the earth, and to every nation and tribe and tongue and people, saying in a loud voice: ‘Fear God and give him glory, because the hour of the judgment by him has arrived, and so worship the One who made the heaven and the earth and sea and fountains of waters.’ And another, a second angel, followed, saying: ‘She has fallen! Babylon the great has fallen, she who made all the nations drink of the wine of the anger of her fornication!’” (Rev. 14:6-8)

How could all peoples of mankind be advised of the everlasting good news concerning God’s Kingdom rule, and of the impending fall of the world empire of false religion and its destruction? Would it be by Christendom’s method of going into so-called “pagan” lands, building schools, hospitals and relief centers and incidentally preaching to the “rice Christians’ that came to them? No, for such methods could never succeed. They have not succeeded, and the religions of Christendom, which have been partners in gunrunning and colonial warfare through the centuries, are held in very poor esteem throughout many of the non-Christian countries of earth.

17. What methods have been used by the missionaries of Jehovah’s Witnesses, and with what result?

17 The angels of heaven have guided a far different missionary service in recent years. Starting in the year 1943, Jehovah’s Witnesses have been operating the Watchtower Bible School of Gilead (originally at South Lansing, New York, U.S.A.) for the express purpose of training missionaries for the world field. And these missionaries have been sent forth, to preach “publicly and from house to house,” conduct home Bible studies and gather interested persons into new congregations. Has this public preaching “from house to house” been successful? Surely it has. In 1943, 126,329 Jehovah’s Witnesses throughout 54 countries and territories of earth were serving in 6,310 congregations. In 1978, 35 years later, there were 2,182,341 active Witnesses, in 205 countries, organized into 42,255 congregations.

18. (a) Is house-to-house witnessing important today, and why do you so answer? (b) How should Jehovah’s people regard their role in connection with the judgment work? (c) What must we do to be assured of happiness as the final outcome?

18 As “the hour of the judgment” by God hastens nearer, so must this house-to-house activity by those of you who are home missionaries and foreign missionaries hasten on to its conclusion. (Rev. 14:7) Though many persons today may show a “goatlike” disposition, there are still “sheep” waiting in your territories. As you courageously continue your house-to-house activity, heavenly angels will see that you are guided to these “sheep.” The enthroned King, Christ Jesus, is the Judge. We are simply humble servants privileged to play a role in connection with his judgment work, and we may do so by ‘thoroughly bearing witness and teaching publicly and from house to house.’ (Acts 20:20, 21) Very soon the lawless cities of Christendom and of the entire earth will “actually crash in ruins, to be without an inhabitant.” Then, happy will be those who answered the call to Jehovah’s service, saying: “Here I am! Send me.”—Isa. 6:8-11.

They Preached from House to House

BACK in 1956, two full-time preachers of Jehovah’s Witnesses were assigned to work in the small town of Princeton, Kentucky, where no Witnesses lived. It made sense that, to cover the territory effectively, they should live right in Princeton. They had no car, and it was difficult to commute from the distant town where they were staying with some Witnesses. How would they arrange for accommodations?

Well, they went from house to house, as was their custom, preaching the good news of God’s kingdom. When they found persons who manifested some interest, they explained their need for a place to stay, so that they could thereby serve the community more effectively in their Bible educational work. Unfortunately, however, none had any extra room to accommodate them.

“It was getting toward evening,” Katie Williams, one of the full-time Kingdom proclaimers, explained recently at a circuit assembly, “and we came to the last house at the end of the street we were working.” After informing the lady that they were Bible students, and briefly telling her about the nature of their work, Katie and her companion explained their need for rooming accommodations.

At that, the lady called out to her husband: “Here are some Bible students, and they are looking for a place to stay.”

“Bible students?” he asked. “Let them come in. This is what we need.” The two girls were a little surprised by the warm reception. But then the lady said: “We need you to help us motivate our congregation.”

They soon learned that her husband, Frank Wattley, a man about 70 years of age, was a local Baptist minister. “They had welcomed us so warmly,” Katie explained, “that we accepted their invitation to stay.” Later, Frank informed the girls that what he really had in mind was converting them to his religion.

From the first morning, Katie and her partner began the day’s activities by discussing a Bible text, inviting the Wattleys to sit in and share. The older couple readily accepted the invitation. One morning a text under consideration was Ezekiel 18:4, which says: “The soul that is sinning—it itself will die.”

“What? You mean the soul dies?” Frank asked. “Just wait a minute. I need to learn something more about this.” So a regular Bible study was begun with him and his wife. After becoming convinced regarding the Bible’s teaching about the soul, Frank said: “Listen, girls, I can never go back to teaching my congregation the immortality-of-the-soul doctrine.” So he and his wife left the Church and began preaching from house to house along with Katie and her partner. But that was not all.

A number of the members of Frank’s former congregation began to study the Bible with them. In time, meetings were arranged in the Wattley home and, as the group increased in size, a store was rented for the meetings. Many, including the Wattleys, soon were baptized. A Witness from another town would come over and conduct the meetings. Eventually a new congregation of Jehovah’s Witnesses was formed.

When their place of meeting became too crowded, Frank said: “We want to donate a lot to the congregation.” In time, a Kingdom Hall was built on that location. Frank Wattley remained a faithful witness of Jehovah until his death, and Katie Williams is now in her 32nd year of pioneering, still regularly preaching from house to house.

What Others Have Said About House-to-House Witnessing

When it came time for Jehovah to execute judgment on the apostate city of Jerusalem, he gave his prophet Ezekiel a vision, in which he saw a man clothed with linen and having a writer’s inkhorn. To this man Jehovah gave the commission: “Pass through the midst of the city, through the midst of Jerusalem, and you must put a mark on the foreheads of the men that are sighing and groaning over all the detestable things that are being done in the midst of it.” The ones who received a mark of approval were spared at the time of destruction. All others perished.—Ezek. 9:2-11.

A similar marking work is being done today, identifying those who are distressed over the hypocrisy, corruption and bloodguilt that they find in Christendom, and who are willing to put on the true Christian personality—with everlasting life in view. Throughout the realm of Christendom, this marking work is being accomplished by Jehovah’s Witnesses under the leadership of the class pictured by the “man . . . clothed with linen” and largely by a vigorous campaign of preaching “this good news of the kingdom” from house to house. (Matt. 24:14; Acts 20:20) How has this witnessing campaign been received by the people?

As in Ezekiel’s day, some have been willing to receive the mark of true Christianity. Others have bitterly opposed the message. Still others have spoken words of commendation for the Witnesses and their preaching methods. For example, Catholic priest John A. O’Brien told some 200 priests at St. Joseph’s Seminary in New York:

“In recruiting converts and reclaiming lapsed members, nothing beats personal contact. This is achieved by the tactful, courteous, well trained doorbell apostle. The secret of the phenomenal success of St. Paul was his tireless use of the house-to-house method of recruiting converts. It is ironic that the apostolic method is now used by non-Catholic sects, especially Jehovah’s Witnesses, whose numerous converts put us Catholics to shame.”—“The Monitor,” July 7, 1961.

A similar note was sounded by Catholic priest J. S. Kennedy, who said, in writing about Jehovah’s Witnesses:

“Their door-to-door canvass in pursuit of converts is intensive and never stops. . . . their zeal and self-sacrifice should give us pause.”—“Our Sunday Visitor,” June 3, 1962.

And more recently, a conference of religious leaders in Spain noted the following:

“Perhaps [the churches] are excessively neglectful about that which precisely constitutes the greatest preoccupation of the Witnesses—the home visit, that comes within the apostolic methodology of the primitive church. While the churches, on not a few occasions, limit themselves to constructing their temples, ringing their bells to attract the people and to preaching inside their places of meeting, [the Witnesses] follow the apostolic method of going from house to house and of taking advantage of every occasion to witness.”—“El Catholicismo,” Bogotá, Colombia, September 14, 1975.

While orthodox religions wait for people to come to them, Jehovah’s Witnesses follow the example of Jesus and the apostles in going to the people. Even under ban or persecutions, they keep on proclaiming the “good news,” as did Christ’s early followers, of whom it was said:

“Great persecution arose against the congregation that was in Jerusalem; all except the apostles were scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria. However, those who had been scattered went through the land declaring the good news of the word.”—Acts 8:1, 4.

There was no stopping the preaching of God’s kingdom back there.

ON A WORLDWIDE SCALE

In modern times, an extensive witness was given in Christendom up until World War II. This witness was expanded greatly as missionaries were trained and sent forth from the Watchtower Bible School of Gilead, South Lansing, New York, from 1943 onward. In country after country, they carried out intensive house-to-house preaching, following through with many home Bible studies. And the result? As early as the year 1950, a professor of religious history at Northwestern University, U.S.A., wrote the following:

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The Watchtower, July 15, 1979