The Watchtower, August 1, 1981

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The Watchtower — August 1, 1981

Source: jw.org

Contents

Page Two

When Tragedy Strikes

Can Death Be Defeated?

What It Means to Us

The Welcome Rain of Truth in Botswana

Insight on the News

The Waldenses—Heretics or Truth-Seekers?

A Field Producing Wheat and Weeds

Harvesting in the “Time of the End”

Will God Execute the Wicked? Habakkuk Answers Yes!

What Does Church Membership Mean?

Questions From Readers

‘I Begged for the Book’

Page Two

OUR COVER: What sorrow we experience at the death of a loved one! Death is truly an enemy. But can it be defeated? Learn what the Bible says. See pages 3 to 8

When Tragedy Strikes

THE family apparently did not have much materially. Yet they had a great deal for which to be thankful. Their land was productive, the climate was pleasantly warm most of the year, and they had an ideal location.

Their city of Nain was beautifully situated in the fertile plain of Esdraelon on the northwest side of the Hill of Moreh. From their home the family could look out across a green valley to the gracefully wooded hills of Galilee only a few miles away. And, towering in the distance beyond, the snowcapped summit of Mount Hermon and the Lebanon mountains could be seen. How pleasant it was at the day’s end to sit out on the housetop and view the scenery—just the three of them together—the man, his wife and their young son!

Then one day tragedy struck—the man died. What a bitter experience! Now there would no longer be those peaceful evenings together. However, the woman took consolation in the fact that she still had her son. Her hopes, desires and ambitions became wrapped up in his future. In this way she again found meaning and purpose in life.

But then tragedy struck once more. The son died. Now there was no one in whom she could find consolation. The widow’s grief was great as the son’s remains were prepared for burial.

Perhaps you are familiar with the empty feeling that comes with losing a loved one. How depressed and utterly helpless you can feel! Death is indeed a bitter enemy. On such occasions, a person is very concerned about the future for the dead. Is there really hope for them?

Imagine if someone could come along and take the hand of your dear one and deliver him back to you alive and healthy once again. What joy you would have! How wonderful it would be!

‘But that is impossible,’ you may say. True, it has never happened in our lifetime. Yet it has happened before. Women have received their dead back by resurrection.

When did this happen? Why can we believe it? What does it mean for us today?

Can Death Be Defeated?

DID you ever consider the impact that Jesus Christ made on human history? The very calendar that most persons in the Western world use is based on the year he was thought to have been born. As The World Book Encyclopedia observes: “Dates before that year are listed as B.C., or before Christ. Dates after that year are listed as A.D., or anno Domini (in the year of our Lord).”

Why is Jesus so famous? For one thing, because of the wonderful miracles he performed in the district of Galilee. This region lay in the northern part of what is the present-day Republic of Israel. Concerning this district the first-century Jewish historian Flavius Josephus wrote: The “soil is universally rich and fruitful, and full of the plantations of trees of all sorts . . . Moreover, the cities lie here very thick.” In fact, he claimed, “there are two hundred and forty cities and villages in Galilee.”a

It was among these many cities and villages that Jesus Christ preached and performed his astounding miracles. Although the Bible record mentions only a few of these cities by name, Jesus got around to many of them, for the inspired account says of his preaching in that area: “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.”—Matt. 9:35.

Many of the Galileans to whom Jesus preached knew him, for he had been raised right in their midst—in the little village of Nazareth, which lay in the hills some 18 milesb southwest of the Sea of Galilee.

JESUS’ VISIT TO NAIN

It was in 31 C.E., during the second year of Jesus’ ministry, that the widow’s son died in the city of Nain. This city was only about five or six miles southeast of Nazareth, the village where Jesus had taken up residence. At the time of the young man’s death, Jesus was preaching around the north shore of the Sea of Galilee, where he had just given his famous Sermon on the Mount.

The Bible says that Jesus, on finishing this sermon, “entered into Capernaum.” While there in that seacoast city, he healed the slave of an army officer. “Closely following this [or, as some ancient manuscripts say, “On the following day”] he traveled to a city called Nain, and his disciples and a great crowd were traveling with him.”—Luke 7:1-11, New World Translation, 1971 edition, footnote.

This trip southwest from Capernaum to Nain was about 20 miles, a good day’s journey even for people used to traveling on foot. Jesus and his band crossed the valley and approached the entrance of this city. Then, the account tells us, “as he got near the gate of the city, why, look! there was a dead man being carried out, the only-begotten son of his mother. Besides, she was a widow. A considerable crowd from the city was also with her. And when the Lord caught sight of her, he was moved with pity for her.”—Luke 7:12, 13.

Regarding this encounter, Arthur P. Stanley, who visited this location during the last century, wrote in his book Sinai and Palestine: “On the northern slope . . . is the ruined village of Nain. . . . One entrance alone it could have had, that which opens on the rough hill side in its downward slope to the plain. It must have been in this steep descent, as, according to Eastern custom, they ‘carried out the dead man,’ that ‘nigh to the gate’ of the village the bier was stopped. . . . It is a spot which has no peculiarity of feature to fix it on the memory; but, in the authenticity of its claims, and the narrow compass within which we have to look for the touching incident, it may rank amongst the most interesting points of the scenery of the Gospel narrative.”

Another 19th-century visitor to this place, J. W. McGarvey, wrote in his book Lands of the Bible: “Nain is perched on a bench, with a steep slope of about 60 feet descending to the plain just north of it. The road from the north approaches it by a narrow valley at its western end, and beyond this are some rock-cut sepulchres . . . As Jesus approached the gate of the town, coming from the direction of Capernaum, where he was the previous day, the procession bearing the son of the widow was going out toward this burying-place, and thus they happened to meet.”

AN AMAZING MIRACLE

On meeting the mourning crowd and the grief-stricken woman, Jesus was moved with pity for her. His heart was touched by her extreme sadness. So with tenderness, and yet with a firmness that imparted confidence, he said to her: “Stop weeping.” His manner and action arrested the crowd’s attention, so that when ‘he approached and touched the bier, the bearers stood still.’ All must have wondered what Jesus was going to do.

It is true that more than a year earlier, in the village of Cana, some miles to the north, Jesus had turned water into wine at a wedding feast. And it is also true, as some of the mourners might have heard reported, that Jesus had miraculously healed persons of diseases in other cities and villages not far away. But as far as the inspired Bible record indicates, never had Jesus raised anyone from the dead. Could he do such a thing?

Addressing the corpse, Jesus commanded: “Young man, I say to you, Get up!” And marvel of marvels! “The dead man sat up and started to speak, and he gave him to his mother.”

What a remarkable thing! Imagine how that woman must have felt. How would you feel? What does a person say under such circumstances? ‘Thank you for resurrecting my son’? Words would seem so inadequate to express gratitude for such an act. A miracle indeed!

“Now fear seized them all, and they began to glorify God, saying: ‘A great prophet has been raised up among us,’ and, ‘God has turned his attention to his people.’ And this news concerning him spread out into all Judea and all the surrounding country.” Obviously Jesus was a great prophet from God.—Luke 7:13-17.

THE PROMISED MIRACLE WORKER?

Fifteen centuries earlier, the prophet Moses had performed amazing miracles by God’s power, even parting the Red Sea to allow the entire Israelite nation to pass through dry-shod. But a greater miracle-working prophet was prophesied to come. Said Moses under inspiration of God: “A prophet from your own midst, from your brothers, like me, is what Jehovah your God will raise up for you—to him you people should listen.” (Deut. 18:15) Therefore, in the first century the question was: ‘Is this Jesus of Nazareth the prophet of God that was foretold to come?’

John the Baptizer believed that Jesus was this One. He had seen God’s spirit descend upon Jesus after he baptized him in the Jordan River nearly two years before. (John 1:32-34) Now John was in jail, having been imprisoned by Herod Antipas about a year before this for exposing that one’s adulterous relationship with his brother’s wife.

So it was there in prison that “John’s disciples reported to him about all these things,” especially about the raising of the widow’s son. On hearing this report, “John summoned a certain two of his disciples and sent them to the Lord to say: ‘Are you the Coming One or are we to expect a different one?’”—Luke 7:18, 19; Matt. 11:2, 3.

It is not that John doubted that Jesus was the promised prophet. But after hearing this remarkable report about the widow’s son being restored to life, he wanted a verbal statement directly from Jesus as to his Messianic identity. John had wondered if there was to be another one coming, a successor, as it were, who would complete the fulfillment of all the things that were foretold to be accomplished by God’s Messiah.

So when the two disciples of John reached Jesus and made John’s request to him, the account says: “In that hour [Jesus] cured many of sicknesses and grievous diseases and wicked spirits, and granted many blind persons the favor of seeing. Hence in answer he said to the two: ‘Go your way, report to John what you saw and heard: the blind are receiving sight, the lame are walking, the lepers are being cleansed and the deaf are hearing, the dead are being raised up, the poor are being told the good news. And happy is he who has not stumbled over me.’”—Luke 7:20-23.

Certainly this report was encouraging to John. It was confirmative proof that Jesus was indeed performing the remarkable works that would distinguish the prophet foretold by Moses. Never before had there been such a demonstration of miraculous powers by a man! So John, despite his being left in prison, had the assurance that Jesus was the one and only prophet who fulfilled what Moses had foretold.

There is no question about it. Even death can really be defeated, as in the case of the dead son of the widow of Nain!

[Footnotes]

Wars of the Jews, Book 3, chapter 3, paragraph 2; Life of Flavius Josephus, paragraph 45.

One mile = 1.6 kilometers.

What It Means to Us

ALTHOUGH there is no miracle-working prophet of God on earth today who can resurrect the dead, yet we can be absolutely confident that soon our dead loved ones will be restored to life.

A short time before visiting Nain, while Jesus was in Jerusalem attending the Jewish passover in the early spring of 31 C.E., he made a remarkable promise regarding this resurrection of the dead. Up until that time he apparently had not raised anyone. Nevertheless, he said:

“Just as the Father raises the dead up and makes them alive, so the Son also makes those alive whom he wants to. For just as the Father has life in himself, so he has granted also to the Son to have life in himself. And he has given him authority to do judging, because Son of man he is. Do not marvel at this, because the hour is coming in which all those in the memorial tombs will hear his voice and come out, those who did good things to a resurrection of life, those who practiced vile things to a resurrection of judgment.”—John 5:21, 26-29.

Those religious opposers to whom Jesus was speaking did not believe him. Even when authoritative reports began spreading throughout Judea that Jesus had raised the widow’s son to life up in Galilee, they refused to believe. In fact, two years later, when Jesus resurrected his friend Lazarus, they were so angered that they plotted his death. They even “took counsel to kill Lazarus also, because on account of him many of the Jews were . . . putting faith in Jesus.”—John 12:10, 11; 11:38-53.

However, just because some in the first century refused to accept the overwhelming evidence that Jesus was the foretold prophet of God is no reason for us today to be skeptical and to fail to put faith in Jesus’ promise of a resurrection. Jesus’ words are reliable! He can do what he promised! His resurrecting the widow’s son was proof that he can make “those alive whom he wants to.”

Therefore, we have every reason today to have confidence in Jesus’ promise that “all those in the memorial tombs will hear his voice and come out.” The evidence is that the time for this to occur is now near at hand. Since the year 1914, we have seen in our generation the fulfillment of all the things Jesus Christ and his apostles said would mark the “last days” of this system of things. World war, food shortages, pestilences, earthquakes, lawlessness, delinquency—all are the order of the day. The end of this wicked system is unquestionably near.—Matt. 24:3-14; Luke 21:10, 11; 2 Tim. 3:1-5; 2 Pet. 3:3, 4.

After the end occurs, the resurrection will take place here on earth. If you exercise faith, you may live to see it. What a grand time that will be! How happy will be the reunion of the resurrected dead with their loved ones! Then the promise will be fulfilled: “He [God] will actually swallow up death forever, and the Sovereign Lord Jehovah will certainly wipe the tears from all faces.”—Isa. 25:8.

The Welcome Rain of Truth in Botswana

“GOROGA ka pula”—“Welcome with the rain.” This traditional greeting of Botswana is appropriate, often containing depth of feeling, for this is a hot, dusty, semiarid country where rain means so much to life. Likewise, righteously disposed people in Botswana welcome the refreshing rains of spiritual truth from God’s Word, the Bible.

Known formerly as Bechuanaland (when under British rule), Botswana lies in the heart of southern Africa, between South Africa, Zimbabwe and South-West Africa/Namibia.

Most of the rivers flow for only a few days after a flash flood. But, in many cases, for months after the flow has stopped water can be obtained by digging holes in the sand of the dry riverbed. Even the Okavango River, which brings a heavy flow of water from Angola in the north, never reaches the sea. It forms a delta embracing a huge area, called the Okavango Swamps, and is full of a great variety of wildlife, including elephants and lions. It finally evaporates in the Makarikari salt lakes.

No doubt the climate is the main reason why the population of Botswana (718,000) is very small when compared to its size, 216,911 square miles (561,800 km2). That is over four times the size of England.

For many years, Botswana has enjoyed relatively stable and peaceful conditions. Until recently it was one of the few countries in the world that had no army. The two official languages are English and Setswana.a Very significantly, the basic unit of currency is the pula meaning “rain”!

OPPOSITION OVERCOME

In 1932, two of Jehovah’s Witnesses visited Botswana and placed 1,700 publications containing the message of God’s kingdom. This was the first little shower of spiritual truth in this country. But at that time there was no one to continue the ‘planting and watering’ work. (1 Cor. 3:5-9) Moreover, a serious problem arose. In 1941, due to war hysteria, the literature of Jehovah’s Witnesses was banned in this land, then a British colony. Moreover, a former chief had decreed that only three religions had the right to establish churches: the Roman Catholic Church, the London Missionary Society and the Seventh-Day Adventists.

Nevertheless, waters of truth seeped through. During the 1940’s and 1950’s some of the menfolk from Botswana obtained work in South Africa, learned the truth while there and, on returning home, brought the Kingdom message to their families and neighbors.

These new Witnesses soon came under the fire of opposition. Some were flogged by chiefs for preaching, being charged with bringing another religion into the country. A visiting overseer, Joshua Thongoana, was arrested twice and told to leave the country. On the second occasion, he was brought before the local African court. A minister of the London Missionary Society was present. His church had the monopoly on religion in the area and he was obviously determined to keep it. However, in the discussion Thongoana did so well in explaining his work and the Kingdom message from the Bible (the minister had not even bothered to bring one) that the chief dismissed the case.

Until the ban was lifted in 1959, arrests of the Witnesses were many. However, with Jehovah’s help they stood firm.

BREAKING FREE FROM WRONG PRACTICES

In most parts of Africa there are many local customs and practices that are based on superstition and witchcraft and, hence, are displeasing to Almighty God. For example, when an African becomes sick, he usually consults a witch doctor, who “throws the bones” and then tells his client what he considers to be the cause of and remedy for the trouble. A common belief is that the “spirits” of ancestors are involved and have to be pacified. Horns of animals are displayed on roofs of huts for “protection” against the “spirits.” In 1961 a determined effort was made to help the local Witnesses to break free from these strongly entrenched traditions.

Consider the case of a young sister who received an urgent message from her father to return to her home village. Instead of an emergency, she found that the family was preparing to “bless” a new house by means of witchcraft. For this pagan ceremony, each member of the family was required to give blood. The sister refused. She was beaten and locked inside a hut. That night she was made to sleep outside in the cold. However, early the next morning, before the sun was up, she quietly went to the main road and there got a ride back to town. This sister is very happy to have overcome enslavement to false worship and is very zealous in Kingdom preaching. She also helps to translate Bible literature into Setswana.

A publication that has helped many new ones in Botswana to break free from demonism is the booklet Unseen Spirits—Do They Help Us? Or Do They Harm Us? One young couple were members of a church where they had to wear religious clothes, tie strings and ropes around their bodies for “protection” and use “holy water.” But they found that these caused them to have bad dreams and to be influenced by the demons. After only two studies in the Unseen Spirits booklet, they destroyed all these spiritistic items and began attending the Christian meetings of Jehovah’s Witnesses. They have made rapid progress and are now sharing in preaching the “good news” to others.

TRAINING YOUNG ONES

Problems with raising children are widespread today. In Botswana some children of Witnesses have fallen away to immorality or to the material pleasures of this system of things. However, a real effort has been made to help both parents and young ones to improve in Christian life and activity.

Training from infancy has been stressed. For example, one Christian father now spends 15 minutes each morning speaking to his children about Jehovah and His Word. He also applies firm but loving discipline when needed. How happy this brother felt when he heard his little two-year-old son speaking to a non-Christian visitor about Jehovah and the need to pray to Him! He feels further rewarded by the fact that his eight-year-old daughter conducts a regular home Bible study with a classmate at school.

In another town a young Witness was asked to stand in front of her class as an example in neatness, personal grooming and conduct. The teacher concerned was so impressed that she sought out the girl’s parents, which resulted in the starting of another home Bible study.

GOOD PROGRESS

There has been an increase in full-time Kingdom workers among Botswana Witnesses. For example, one Witness and his wife gave up good jobs in South Africa to return to Botswana. In spite of having a family of their own, they are now serving as special pioneers (full-time Kingdom proclaimers) and are having good success encouraging young ones to join the “pioneer ranks.” Moreover, they feel that they have lost nothing by entering the full-time preaching work. As they said: “Jehovah has blessed us in so many ways, both spiritually and materially, that we often have more than we need. For a recent district assembly we not only had sufficient funds to attend ourselves but also were able to help other brothers and sisters to travel to the assembly and back.”

For taking up the pioneer activity, another young Witness was severely criticized by his family, teachers, classmates and even other young ones in the congregation. He was told to be practical and to think about his future. But he had faith that if he sincerely put Kingdom interests first, all else would be provided. (Matt. 6:30-34) The young Witness obtained part-time employment and is now actually better off materially than some of those in full-time employment who tried to discourage him from being a pioneer. Of much greater importance is the spiritual improvement he has made. He said: “My faith has been strengthened by having a fuller share in the harvest work, by studying God’s Word and the Society’s publications every day and by applying what the Bible says.”

As one looks around the country of Botswana, the results of much hard work are encouraging. Many new “green shoots” are springing up in response to the regular “rain” of spiritual truth in many towns and villages. There are nearly 300 active Witnesses in the country, and 964 Witnesses and interested persons attended the celebration of the Memorial of Christ’s death on March 31, 1980. However, there is still much to be accomplished. The ratio of Jehovah’s Witnesses to population is 1 to 2,578. New mining towns are springing up and in the vast reaches of the desert are thousands of nomadic Bushmen who as yet have heard little or nothing about God’s kingdom. The harvest is still great, but the workers are still too few.—Matt. 9:37, 38.

[Footnotes]

Botswana is the country, Setswana the language and Batswana the people.

Insight on the News

Warped View of Sexual Morality

● ‘Fornication or adultery unhampered by contraceptives is a lesser evil than a husband and wife using a form of contraception during intercourse,’ said Catholic philosopher Elizabeth Anscomb of the University of Cambridge in England. She stated: “An act of contraceptive intercourse is an act of rather gross unchastity. . . . Marriage doesn’t make it respectable. If you’re going to do that sort of thing, it’s better to go do it with a whore, not with your wife.” She declared that the Catholic Church ‘always considered contraception as a breach of chastity.’

Priest Richard Roach of Marquette University in the United States agreed, saying that ‘the introduction of contraceptives into a marriage changes the status of a wife from an honorable to a dishonorable woman.’

However, nowhere does God’s Word, the Bible, equate such birth control with fornication or adultery. While it condemns the latter, it is silent about the former, making it a matter for personal decision. (1 Cor. 6:9, 10) Too, it is of interest to note that in many polls taken of Catholics, the majority do not agree with the comments of such Catholic teachers, since they practice birth control, including the use of contraceptives.

The Problem of Aging

● The average life span of people in various countries has increased in recent decades. From this, one could conclude that individuals are living longer, due to better nutrition, health care and other modern scientific advancements.

However, Britain’s “Economist” notes: “Almost all the gains reflect progress in eliminating premature death. The average lifespan has risen because fewer people die young, not because the oldest members of the population live longer. While life expectancy from birth has risen dramatically [due to fewer premature deaths], for persons aged 40 and older life expectancy has changed relatively little. For those aged 75, it has changed hardly at all.”

Scientists cannot understand why aging occurs, since theoretically body cells should divide in two and multiply indefinitely. Bacteria do not age and die naturally, for these one-celled organisms can go on dividing and multiplying. But human cells do age and die. Some think that the hereditary mechanism in man is “programmed” to age and die, for in laboratory tests human cells that were isolated and given the needed nutrients still grew old and died. Cells taken from younger persons lasted longer than cells from older persons, but eventually they died too.

Evolutionary scientists do not face the fact that man grows old and dies because of inheriting this condition from our first parents who rebelled against God. (Rom. 5:12) Only in God’s new order will the aging and death processes be reversed.—Rev. 21:4.

Churches Not Making Disciples

● Being a disciple of Jesus means to imitate him in teaching and conduct. The evangelical publication “Christianity Today” acknowledges that members of Christendom’s churches have failed on both counts. (Matt. 28:19, 20) The magazine states: “The churches of the Western world have not made discipleship a condition of being a Christian. One is not required to be . . . a disciple in order to become a Christian, and one may remain a Christian without any signs of progress toward or in discipleship. Contemporary American churches in particular do not require following Christ in his example, spirit, and teachings as a condition of membership.”

The magazine also noted the need to imitate Jesus “as he walked from place to place announcing, showing, and explaining the governance of God. Disciples had to be with him to learn how to do what he did.” Today, the average churchgoer does not imitate Jesus in talking to others about God’s purposes.

On the other hand, anyone who is baptized as one of Jehovah’s Witnesses clearly understands that he must imitate Jesus not only in doctrine and conduct but also by sharing in ‘preaching the good news of the kingdom in all the inhabited earth for a witness before the end comes.’—Matt. 24:14; 1 Pet. 2:21.

The Waldenses—Heretics or Truth-Seekers?

THE time? The 12th century C.E.—200 years before Wycliffe and Huss and 300 years before Luther. The place? Southern France and the Alpine valleys of that country and northern Italy. The situation? The common people live in poverty and are purposely kept in ignorance by a rich and often profligate clergy class. In all Europe, the Roman Catholic Church reigns supreme, being powerful, opulent and worldly.

Against this background we find a group of people that stand out in stark contrast. They believe the Bible to be the Word of God and endeavor to live according to its righteous principles. They go up hill and down dale, two by two, preaching and teaching whatever truths they have been able to discover by their reading of the parts of the Scriptures available to them in their language. For this, they are hounded as heretics, many paying with their life. Who are they?

They came to be known in France as the Vaudois. Their Catholic persecutors called them, in Latin, Valdenses, from which the English word Waldenses is derived.

FORERUNNERS

Catholic and Protestant historians disagree on the origins of the Waldenses. The former would have us believe that what they term the “heretical sect” of the Waldenses was an isolated phenomenon that suddenly sprang up at the end of the 12th century under the leadership of a Frenchman from Lyons named Valdès or Waldo. Many Protestants, on the other hand, claim that the Waldenses were a link in the unbroken chain of dissenters between the time of Emperor Constantine (fourth century C.E.) and the Protestant reformers of the 16th century. These Protestants are of the opinion that the name Waldenses was derived from the Latin word vallis, meaning “valley,” and refers to the fact that these dissenters, hounded persistently as heretics, were obliged to take refuge in the Alpine valleys of both France and Italy.

Naturally, Catholic historians reject this Protestant explanation as unhistorical. However, by claiming that the Waldenses exploded onto the scene of medieval history with Valdès or Waldo, the Catholic Church is playing down the patent historical fact that there were many other dissenters before Waldo began his preaching in the late 1170’s. The truth seems to be that Waldo and his associates became a rallying point for similar groups of dissenters, some of which had long been in existence.

The Catholic Church would like us to forget that seeds of discontent were present within her midst many years before Waldo. For example, Bishop Agobard of Lyons, France (779-840 C.E.), came out strongly against image worship, churches dedicated to saints and church liturgy that was not in line with the Holy Scriptures.

Across the Alps, in Turin, Italy, a contemporary of Agobard, Bishop Claudius, took a similar stand. He condemned prayers to saints, the veneration of relics and the cross and, in general, rejected church tradition as being opposed to the Scriptures. Claudius of Turin has been called “the first Protestant reformer.” He died sometime between 827 and 839 C.E.

In the 11th century archdeacon Bérenger, or Berengarius, of Tours, France, said to be one of the most influential theologians of his time, opposed the dogma of transubstantiation, maintaining that the bread and wine used to commemorate Christ’s death are emblematic and not miraculously changed into the body and blood of Christ. He also upheld the superiority of the Bible over tradition. Bérenger was excommunicated as a heretic in 1050.

Very early in the 12th century two men stand out as prominent dissenters in France. They were Peter of Bruys and Henry of Lausanne. The former began his adult life as a priest in the Alps of southeast France. He soon gave up the priesthood because he disagreed with the church on such important doctrines as infant baptism, transubstantiation, prayers for the dead, worship of the cross and the need for church buildings. Banished from the dioceses of the southern Alps, he preached directly to the people throughout southern France, making many disciples. He was finally burned at the stake at St. Gilles, near Arles, in 1140.

The work of Peter of Bruys was continued by Henry of Lausanne, also called Henry of Cluny. He was a monk who, as early as 1101, had begun speaking out boldly against church liturgy, the corrupt clergy of his day and the religious hierarchy system. He maintained that the Bible is the sole rule of faith and worship. Henry of Lausanne started his preaching at Le Mans, in western France. Expelled from there, he continued his missionary work throughout southern France, eventually meeting up with Peter of Bruys. In 1148 he was arrested and thrown into prison for life. But the ideas of these men spread like wildfire from the southern Alps to the Mediterranean and right across southern France to the Bay of Biscay.

WALDO AND THE “POOR MEN OF LYONS”

It was in this historical setting that a layman came onto the scene in Lyons, France. Nothing is known of this man’s birth, said to have occurred around 1140 C.E. Even his name is something of a mystery, being variously spelled Valdès, Valdo or Waldo. The forename Pierre, or Peter, does not appear in any manuscript dated earlier than 1368. The name is thought to have been attributed to him by his later followers, to indicate that he was a more worthy imitator of the apostle Peter than were the popes of Rome, who claim to be Peter’s successors.

Waldo was a wealthy merchant of Lyons. He was married and had two daughters. Being a devout man and a practicing Catholic, he asked a theologian friend for Scriptural advice on what he should do to please God. In reply, his friend quoted Matthew 19:21, where Jesus told the rich young man: “If you want to be perfect, go sell your belongings and give to the poor and you will have treasure in heaven, and come be my follower.”

Waldo took this counsel to heart. After making provision for his wife and putting his two daughters in a convent, he commissioned two priests, Etienne d’Anse and Bernard Ydros, to translate the Gospels and other Bible books into the vernacular language spoken in the Provence and Dauphiné provinces of southeastern France. He then distributed the remainder of his worldly possessions among the poor and set about studying the Word of God. Moreover, he preached in the streets of Lyons, inviting the inhabitants to awake spiritually and to return to simple, Biblical Christianity.

Having been well known as a prosperous businessman, Waldo gained many hearing ears and soon had a group of followers. They rejoiced at hearing the Bible’s comforting message in their own tongue, for up to that time the church had prevented the translating of the Bible into any language other than Latin. Many agreed to give up their belongings and to devote themselves to teaching the Bible in the language of the common people. They became known as the “Poor Men of Lyons.”

This lay preaching aroused the ire of the clergy. In 1179 Pope Alexander III forbade Waldo and his followers to preach without permission of the local bishop. As was to be expected, Bishop Bellesmains of Lyons refused to consent to this. Historical records indicate that, faced with this ban, Waldo replied to the hierarchy in the words of Acts 5:29: “We must obey God as ruler rather than men.”

Waldo and his associates kept on preaching. So in 1184 Pope Lucius III excommunicated them, and the bishop of Lyons banished them from his diocese. The result was similar to what occurred when the early Christians were hounded out of Jerusalem. Of them, the Bible states: “Those who had been scattered went through the land declaring the good news of the word.”—Acts 8:1-4.

These 12th-century dissenters took refuge in the Alps and throughout southern France, teaching the Bible as they went from place to place. Undoubtedly they met up with other dissident groups, such as the followers of Peter of Bruys and Henry of Lausanne. Across the Alpine passes leading into northern Italy, they met up with dissident groups that already existed in the valleys of Piedmont and Lombardy. These Bible-oriented dissident groups, who later became known all over Europe as the Waldenses, are to be distinguished from contemporary “heretical” groups, such as the Cathars and the Albigenses, whose doctrines were based more on Persian philosophy than on the Bible. Historical records show that by the beginning of the 13th century Waldenses were to be found not only in southern France and northern Italy but also in eastern and northern France, Flanders, Germany, Austria and even Bohemia, where Waldo is said to have died in 1217.

THE SEARCH FOR BIBLE TRUTH

Whether Waldo was the actual founder of the Waldenses or not, to him must go the credit for taking the initiative of having the Bible translated from Latin into the vernacular languages then spoken by the common people to whom he and his associates preached. And remember, this was some 200 years before Wycliffe translated the Bible for English-speaking dissidents.

The basic position of the early Waldenses was that the Bible is the one source of religious truth. In a world that was just emerging from what has been termed the “Dark Ages,” they groped in search of Christian truth. They apparently did the best they could with the few books of the Hebrew and Greek Scriptures they possessed in a language they could read and understand. It would seem, from certain records, that they did not get straightened out on such doctrines as the Trinity, immortality of the soul and hellfire.

Nonetheless, these early Waldenses understood the Bible well enough to reject image worship, transubstantiation, infant baptism, purgatory, the worship of Mary, prayers to saints, veneration of the cross and relics, deathbed repentance, confession to priests, Masses for the dead, papal pardons and indulgences, priestly celibacy and the use of carnal weapons. They also rejected imposing, elaborate church buildings and considered “Babylon the Great, the mother of the harlots” to be the Church of Rome, from which they invited their listeners to flee. (Rev. 17:5; 18:4) All of this in the late 12th and early 13th centuries!

In their preaching work the early Waldenses taught the Bible, laying much emphasis on the Sermon on the Mount and the Model Prayer, both of which set forth God’s kingdom as the thing to pray for and to seek first. (Matt. 6:10, 33) They maintained that any Christian man or woman who possessed a sufficient knowledge of the Bible was authorized to preach the “good news.” Additionally, they believed Jesus to be the only intermediary between God and man. Inasmuch as Jesus had died once for all time, they held that his sacrifice could not be renewed by a priest celebrating Mass. The early Waldenses celebrated the Memorial of Christ’s death once a year, using bread and wine as symbols.

PREACHING BRINGS PERSECUTION

The primitive Waldenses contended that it is not necessary to go to a church building to worship God. They held underground meetings in barns, private homes or wherever they could do so. There they studied the Bible and trained new preachers, who were sent out with more experienced ones. They traveled two by two from farm to farm and, in the towns and villages, from house to house. The authoritative Dictionnaire de Théologie Catholique (Vol. 15, column 2591) states in an article that is otherwise unfavorable to the Waldenses: “From their very earliest years, their children began to learn the Gospels and the Epistles. The preaching of their deacons, priests and bishops consisted mainly of quotations from the Bible.”

Other works inform us that the Waldenses had a fine reputation for hard work, high morality and honesty in paying their taxes. They disfellowshiped unrepentant sinners. Moreover, they have been called “the most ancient and the most evangelical of the medieval sects.”

Such were these God-fearing people who were hunted down by their religious persecutors, many of them being burned at the stake. A great number of them were victims of the terrible crusade that Pope Innocent III ordered in 1209 against the Cathars and the Albigenses in the south of France. Others were tortured and killed by the dreaded Inquisition that began in southern France in 1229. Some of the Waldenses succeeded in fleeing to other countries, and many more took refuge in the high mountain valleys of the French and Italian Alps, where Waldensian communities survived for centuries.

However, as time passed by, many of the Biblical doctrines that Waldo and others had discovered by reading the Bible were abandoned. In the early 16th century, the Waldenses were absorbed by the Protestant Reformation. Toward the end of the 17th century they even took up arms.

But the early Waldenses, although accused of being “heretics,” were in fact sincere truth-seekers and pioneers in Bible translation, Bible teaching and simple Christian living. To be sure, they did not break free from all the false doctrines of Babylonish false religion. But they apparently lived up to the knowledge they had of God’s Word. Many, it would appear, were willing to die rather than renounce their faith. Of course, only “Jehovah knows those who belong to him.” We can, therefore, safely leave any reward of future life in his hands.—2 Tim. 2:19.

A Field Producing Wheat and Weeds

“Explain to us the illustration of the weeds in the field.”—Matt. 13:36.

1, 2. (a) As regards sowing, what principles can be counted upon? (b) What illustration is based on these two principles?

“SEED sowing and harvest” constitute one of the cycles that Jehovah God said in his heart would never cease “for all the days the earth continues.” (Gen. 8:21, 22) A related basic principle was expressed by the apostle Paul, when he wrote: “Whatever a man is sowing, this he will also reap.”—Gal. 6:7.

2 On the basis of these fundamental facts, a farmer who had worked hard sowing good wheat at seedtime was confident that in due season there would be a harvest. The one would logically follow the other. Likewise, when his farm workers informed him sometime later that his field was producing not only wheat but a certain weed, he was sure that there had been foul play. He knew what he had sown: wheat, not weeds. This new development required a decision. His employees suggested immediate action. They wanted to uproot the weeds right away, but the wise farmer tempered their eagerness. He told them to hold off, for fear of hurting the wheat while uprooting the weeds. Let both grow together. The harvest season would be time enough to separate the genuine wheat from the false.

3. What important developments in connection with the Kingdom did Jesus illustrate, and of what would the separating work be a feature?

3 This illustration was used by Jesus Christ to portray certain developments that would occur in the work he had started on earth. That sowing work was meant to produce the required crop of true Christians to be associated with him in the heavenly government known as “the kingdom of the heavens.” He thus foretold that his good sowing would be infringed upon by the enemy Satan the Devil. The field would produce not only the desired harvest of wheatlike, true Christians but also a crop of weedlike counterfeit Christians. Both would be allowed to grow together until harvesttime, when the separating work would take place. Moreover, this separating work would be a further feature of the “last days,” the “conclusion of a system of things.”—Matt. 13:24-30, 36-43; compare Matthew 24:3; 2 Timothy 3:1.

4. Why should this illustration be of interest to us?

4 Are you interested in seeing the end of the present wicked system? Will you be affected personally by the outcome of this harvesting work? And, incidentally, does Jesus’ illustration provide a key to understanding the history of Christianity throughout the centuries? Let us see.

THE PARABLE OF THE WHEAT AND THE WEEDS

5, 6. (a) Why cannot the expression “the kingdom of the heavens” in this parable refer to Christ’s heavenly government? (b) What, then, do the kingdom illustrations refer to and illustrate?

5 On the shores of the Sea of Galilee, not far from the house where he was staying, Jesus introduced this parable to his disciples and to a great throng of curious people, saying: “The kingdom of the heavens has become like a man that sowed fine seed in his field. While men were sleeping, his enemy came and oversowed weeds in among the wheat, and left. When the blade sprouted and produced fruit, then the weeds appeared also.”—Matt. 13:24-26.

6 A quick look through the other kingdom illustrations in Matthew chapter 13 helps us to realize that the expression “the kingdom of the heavens” as used in these illustrations cannot refer to the completed Messianic government or kingdom in the heavens. Can one imagine “weeds,” leavenlike “badness” (Mt 13 verse 33; 1 Cor. 5:8) or people likened to wicked, unsuitable “fish” (Mt 13 verses 47-50) being associated with Christ in his heavenly kingdom? Hardly! These illustrations must, therefore, be referring to good and bad developments with respect to the choosing of Christ’s future associates in “the kingdom of the heavens.” In particular, the parable of the wheat and the weeds illustrates a condition among those on earth who claim to be called to reign with Christ in his kingdom. This situation would be permitted for a time, before being brought to an end at the symbolic “harvest.”

7, 8. (a) Who is the “Son of man”? (b) What other prophecy mentions the “son of man” and those symbolized by the “fine seed”?

7 Jesus himself later explained the symbolic meaning of the “householder,” or the “man that sowed,” “his field,” the “fine seed,” “his enemy” and the “weeds.” The account reads: “After dismissing the crowds he went into the house. And his disciples came to him and said: ‘Explain to us the illustration of the weeds in the field.’ In response he said: ‘The sower of the fine seed is the Son of man; the field is the world; as for the fine seed, these are the sons of the kingdom; but the weeds are the sons of the wicked one, and the enemy that sowed them is the Devil.’”—Matt. 13:36-39.

8 Jesus identified himself as the “Son of man.” (Matt. 8:20; 25:31; 26:64) Interestingly, it was in connection with the Kingdom that Jesus was prophetically called the “son of man” in a vision received by Daniel. That prophecy states: “To him [the “son of man”] there were given rulership and dignity and kingdom, that the peoples, national groups and languages should all serve even him. His rulership is an indefinitely lasting rulership that will not pass away, and his kingdom one that will not be brought to ruin.” Showing that the Son of man would have associates ruling with him, the prophetic vision also says: “And the kingdom and the rulership and the grandeur of the kingdoms under all the heavens were given to the people who are the holy ones of the Supreme One. Their kingdom is an indefinitely lasting kingdom, and all the rulerships will serve and obey even them.”—Dan. 7:13, 14, 27.

SOWING “FINE SEED”

9. What is the “field,” and why has Jesus sown “fine seed” in it?

9 It is with a view to gathering out of the world the required number of such “holy ones,” or “sons of the kingdom,” that Jesus, the “householder” of the parable, sows “fine seed in his field.” This “field” is explained as being “the world [Greek, koʹsmos],” the world of mankind. From the time of Jesus’ earthly ministry onward, mankind became a “field under cultivation,” a religious field of opportunity for sowing and cultivating the “fine seed,” or “sons of the kingdom.” (1 Cor. 3:9) Jesus zealously prepared the Jewish part of the “field” during the three and a half years of his earthly ministry. (Matt. 9:35-38) Then, from Pentecost 33 C.E. onward, he planted “fine seed,” first among Jews, and finally in the entire world, or “field.”—Acts 1:8.

10. What progress did the sowing work make among the Jews and the proselytes?

10 Explaining the “fine seed,” Jesus said: “These are the sons of the kingdom.” The first of these spirit-begotten, anointed “sons of the kingdom” were Jesus’ faithful apostles and the hundred or so other disciples, both men and women, who received the gift of the holy spirit at Pentecost 33 C.E. in Jerusalem. (Acts 1:13-15; 2:1-4) That same day, about 3,000 others, both Jews and proselytes, were added to the newly founded Christian congregation. (Acts 2:5-11, 41) Jehovah blessed this sowing work and “continued to join to them daily those being saved,” so that soon “the number of the men [possibly not counting the women] became about five thousand.” A little later, the account adds: “Believers in the Lord kept on being added, multitudes both of men and of women.” (Acts 2:47; 4:4; 5:14) The sowing work was moving ahead rapidly among the Jews and the proselytes.

11. How did the sowing progress among the Samaritans and the non-Jews?

11 After having arranged for seeds to be sown among the Samaritans (Acts, chap. 8), the Sower Jesus, by means of the holy spirit, extended the sowing work to the uncircumcised non-Jews or Gentiles. (Acts, chap. 10; Ac 13:1-5, 46, 47) Within a few decades Christian congregations were established from North Africa to the Black Sea and from Babylonia to Italy, if not even farther west. (Acts 2:5-11; 1 Pet. 5:13; Rom. 15:24; Col. 1:5, 6, 23) As a result of zealous sowing, ‘blades were sprouting and producing fruit.’—Matt. 13:26.

OVERSOWING OF WEEDS

12, 13. Who is the “enemy” and how did he sow weeds “while men were sleeping”?

12 But there was mischief afoot. Jesus’ parable had warned: “While men were sleeping, his [the Sower’s] enemy came and oversowed weeds in among the wheat, and left. When the blade sprouted and produced fruit, then the weeds appeared also.” (Matt. 13:25, 26) Jesus identified “his enemy” as being “the Devil,” who would do his sabotaging work “while men were sleeping.” In the Bible “sleep” can symbolize death or spiritual drowsiness. (Matt. 9:24; Rom. 13:11; 1 Thess. 5:6) After having spoken of ‘finishing his course,’ Paul told the elders from the Christian congregation in Ephesus: “I know that after my going away oppressive wolves will enter in among you and will not treat the flock with tenderness, and from among you yourselves men will rise and speak twisted things to draw away the disciples after themselves. Therefore keep awake.”—Acts 20:24-31.

13 Historical facts show that it was “while men were sleeping” that Satan “came and oversowed weeds in among the wheat.” Once the apostles, who collectively ‘acted as a restraint’ upon apostasy, began falling asleep in death, many Christian elders failed to “keep awake.” (2 Thess. 2:3, 6-8) Becoming spiritually drowsy, they did not protect the “sons of the kingdom” from the “oppressive wolves” that began entering in among them. These were “weeds” sown among the “fine seed.” Referring to the approaching end of the apostolic period, John, the last of the apostles to die, wrote: “It is the last hour, and, just as you have heard that antichrist is coming, even now there have come to be many antichrists; from which fact we gain the knowledge that it is the last hour. They went out from us, but they were not of our sort; for if they had been of our sort, they would have remained with us. But they went out that it might be shown up that not all are of our sort.”—1 John 2:18, 19.

14. What information is given about the type of weed referred to in Jesus’ parable?

14 Jesus stated: “The weeds are the sons of the wicked one.” (Matt. 13:38) In his book Natural History of the Bible, H. B. Tristram comments on the type of weeds referred to in this parable. He writes: “The Tares (zizania) are the same as the Arabic zawân, from which the Greek name is derived, the Lolium temulentum, or Bearded Darnel. . . . It is a kind of ryegrass, and is the only species of the grass family the seeds of which are poisonous. The derivation of zawân is from zân, ‘vomiting,’ the effect of eating darnel being to produce violent nausea, convulsions, and diarrheœa, which frequently ends in death. The plant, having a broader leaf than most wild grasses, is entirely like wheat until the ear appears.”

15. (a) Are the “weeds” degenerate “wheat”? (b) Therefore, of what is the “Son of man” blameless?

15 It should be noted that the “weeds” are not, as some Jewish Talmudistsa and others once believed, a degenerate form of wheat. Wheat seed never transforms itself into weeds. This would be contrary to Jehovah’s immutable law: “Let the earth cause grass to shoot forth, vegetation bearing seed, fruit trees yielding fruit according to their kinds.” (Gen. 1:11, 12) This scientific fact exonerates the “Son of man,” Christ Jesus, the “sower of the fine seed,” from any responsibility for what happened in “his field.” The “fine seed” he sowed would never have become a crop of weeds. It could only produce “wheat,” or true “sons of the kingdom.” What later developed in his “field” was the direct result of his enemy’s deliberate and malicious oversowing of “weeds,” or “sons of the wicked one.”

16. Of what historical interest is the parable of the “wheat” and the “weeds”?

16 Thus, Jesus’ illustration of the “wheat” and the “weeds” does much to explain the history of Christianity throughout the centuries. Historical facts show that after the death of the apostles Satan introduced among the congregations of true Christians many “weeds,” “oppressive wolves” and “antichrists,” just as Jesus, Paul, Peter, John and Jude had foretold. (Acts 20:29; 2 Pet. 2:1-3; 1 John 2:18; Jude 4) It has been just as Jesus stated: “When the blade sprouted and produced fruit, then the weeds appeared also.”—Matt. 13:26.

17. When did the “weeds” become particularly apparent?

17 These “weeds” became particularly apparent during the second and third centuries, at which time such unscriptural doctrines as the inherent immortality of the soul, hellfire and the Trinity began to be taught by so-called church fathers. Many of these men were more philosophers than true Christian overseers faithful to the teachings of the Bible. The climax came early in the fourth century, when pagan Emperor Constantine fused this apostate Christianity with the pagan religion of Rome. Such counterfeit Christianity, in its Roman Catholic, Russian Orthodox, Greek Orthodox and Protestant varieties, has produced a bumper crop of “weeds” not only throughout the centuries but also right up until the present time.

“LET BOTH GROW TOGETHER”

18. According to Jesus’ parable, what further developments are there?

18 This situation could not fail to disturb the ‘Son of man’s’ “slaves.” Jesus’ parable continues: “So the slaves of the householder came up and said to him, ‘Master, did you not sow fine seed in your field? How, then, does it come to have weeds?’ He said to them, ‘An enemy, a man, did this.’ They said to him, ‘Do you want us, then, to go out and collect them?’ He said, ‘No; that by no chance, while collecting the weeds, you uproot the wheat with them. Let both grow together until the harvest; and in the harvest season I will tell the reapers, First collect the weeds and bind them in bundles to burn them up, then go to gathering the wheat into my storehouse.’”—Matt. 13:27-30.

19. Why were the “slaves of the householder” distressed?

19 Whether these worried “slaves” (Mt 13 verse 27) are identical with the “reapers” (Mt 13 verse 30) Jesus does not explain. If they are, this would mean that the angels were distressed by the abundant growth of “weeds” in their Master’s field. (Matt. 13:39) These “slaves” asked if they should immediately weed out the bearded darnel, symbolizing the “sons of the wicked one.” (Matt. 13:38) They feared that these counterfeit Christians, or “weeds,” maliciously sown by the “enemy,” the Devil, might choke the true “wheat,” the authentic “sons of the kingdom.”

20. What reply did the “householder” give to his “slaves,” and how has this been borne out by history?

20 But the “householder,” the “Son of man,” did not authorize his “slaves” to go out and collect the “weeds,” or pseudo-Christians, separating them from the “wheat,” true Christians. He said: “Let both grow together until the harvest.” And so it has been that true and false Christianity have grown together in the “field,” or “world,” of mankind. Nevertheless, the “harvest season” had to come. When? And how does this affect you?

[Footnotes]

“The Jerusalem Talmud quotes a view that tares are called zunim because as a result of them the wheat mezannot (‘commit[s] adultery’), i.e., it changes its characteristics and is turned into tares.—Encyclopædia Judaica, Volume 15, column 810.

[Picture on page 16]

The weed bearded darnel

True wheat

Harvesting in the “Time of the End”

“The harvest is a conclusion of a system of things.—Matt. 13:39.

1. Why is the “harvest” foretold by Jesus a twofold reason for joy?

A GOOD harvest is always a reason for joy and thanksgiving. It is a time for reaping the fruits of long, hard labor. The harvest foretold in Christ’s parable of the “wheat” and the “weeds” would provide a twofold reason for all mankind to rejoice. Why? Not only because it would mean the ingathering of the required number of “sons of the kingdom,” or “holy ones,” to be associated with Christ in his “indefinitely lasting rulership,” thus ensuring good government for the earth, but also because this “harvest” would of itself be proof that we are living at the “conclusion of a system of things” and at the dawn of a righteous new order.—Dan. 7:14, 27; Matt. 13:38, 39; 2 Pet. 3:13.

“SYNTEʹLEIA” AND “TELOS”

2. Why is the Greek work synteʹleia better translated by “conclusion” than by “end,” and so with what period mentioned in Daniel does the synteʹleia correspond?

2 Jesus did not say that the “harvest” is “the end of the world,” as some Bible translations would have us believe. (Authorized Version; American Standard Version; The Jerusalem Bible) Such translations make no distinction between the two Greek words synteʹleia and telos. Explaining synteʹleia, W. E. Vine’s Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words states: “The word does not denote a termination, but the heading up of events to the appointed climax.” So when Jesus said “the harvest is a conclusion [synteʹleia] of a system of things,” he was speaking of a period of activity that would have a beginning and an end. According to Matthew 13:30, Jesus referred to “the harvest season,” obviously designating a period of time, the period the prophet Daniel spoke of as “the time of the end.” (Dan. 12:4) Interestingly, when the translators of the Greek Septuagint Version translated this verse in Daniel, they used the word synteʹleia.

3. With what is the “harvest season” connected, and what does the Greek word telos mean and refer to in Matthew 24:14?

3 This same word is used in Matthew 24:3, where the disciples asked Jesus: “Tell us, When will these things be, and what will be the sign of your presence and of the conclusion [synteʹleia] of the system of things?” So the “harvest season” is connected with Christ’s invisible presence as Harvester. In answer to his disciples’ question, Jesus enumerated international warfare, food shortages, pestilences, great earthquakes, lawlessness and a general climate of fear. (Compare parallel accounts in Matthew 24, Mark 13 and Luke 21.) Then, showing that the “harvest season” would come to an end, he added: “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 [telos] will come.” (Matt. 24:14) The word telos means “end,” “in the sense termination, cessation . . . the last part, close, conclusion esp[ecially] of the last things, the final act in the cosmic drama.”a

4. When did the “conclusion,” or the “time of the end,” begin, and so what can be said of the “harvest”?

4 Facts of modern history since 1914, in fulfillment of Bible prophecy, show that the present system of things is well into its “time of the end,” or “conclusion” (synteʹleia). To requote W. E. Vine, we are witnessing “the heading up of events to the appointed climax” or end (telos). Therefore, the “harvest” of Jesus’ illustration must be on; in fact, it must be nearing its culmination. Have the events foretold in the rest of the parable been observable since 1914?

“THE HARVEST OF THE EARTH IS THOROUGHLY RIPE”

5. At harvesttime, what would the “Son of man” order his angels to do?

5 Continuing his explanation of “the illustration of the weeds in the field,” Jesus stated: “The harvest is a conclusion of a system of things, and the reapers are angels. Therefore, just as the weeds are collected and burned with fire, so it will be in the conclusion of the system of things. The Son of man will send forth his angels, and they will collect out from his kingdom all things that cause stumbling and persons who are doing lawlessness, and they will pitch them into the fiery furnace. There is where their weeping and the gnashing of their teeth will be.”—Matt. 13:39-42.

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The Watchtower, August 1, 1981