"Thy Word is Truth" December 1, 1943 (magazine) by Juan Díaz

"THY WORD IS TRUTH" Published Semimonthly by

J E H O V A H ' S W I T N E S S E S O F CANADA 300 M a i n Street

Toronto 13, 0 n t :

"And all thy children shall be taught of Jehovah; and 54 :13. great shall be the peace of thy children."--lsaiah ITS MISlSION HIS journal is published for the purpose of enabling and his purposes as expressed in the Bible. It publish designed t o aid Jehovah's witnesses and all people of g Bible study for its readers and Jehovah's witnesses suppl studies. It publishes suitable material for radio broadcasting and for other means of pub instruction in the Scriptures. It adheres strictly t o the Bible a s authority for its utterances. I t is entirely free and separate from all religion, parties, sects or other worldly organizations. I t is wholly and without reservation for the kingdom of Jehovah God under Christ his beloved King. It is not dogmatic, but invites careful and critical examination of its contents in the light of the Scriptures. It does not indulge in controversy, and its columns are not open to personalities.

THE SCRIPTURES CLEARLY TEACH THAT JEHOVAH is the only true God and is from everlasting to eveklasting, the Maker of heaven and earth and the Giver of life to his creatures; that the Logos was the beginning of his creation, and his active agent in the creation of all other things, and is now the Lord Jesus Christ in glory, clothed with all power in heaven and earth, a s the Chief Executive Officer of Jehovah ; THAT GOD created the earth for man, created perfect man for the earth and placed him. upon i t ; that man willfully disobeyed God's law and was sentenced to death ; that by reason of Adam's wrong act all men are born sinners and without the right to life; , THAT THE LOGOS was made human a s the man Jesus and suffered death in order t o produce the ransom or redemptive price for obedient ones of mankind; that God raised up Jesus divine and exalted him t o heaven above every other creature and above every other name and clothed him with all power and authority; THAT JEHOVAH'S ORGANIZATION is a Theocracy called Zion, and that Christ Jesus is the Chief Officer thereof and is the rightful King of the world; that the anointed and faithful followers of Christ Jesus are Children of Zion members of Jehovah's organization, and are his witnesses whose duty and privilege i t is to testify to the supremacy of Jehovah, declare his purposes toward mankind as expressed in the Bible, and t o bear the fruits of the Kingdom before all who will hear; THAT THE OLD WORLD ended in A.D. 1914, and the Lord Jesus Christ has been placed by Jehovah upon his throne of authority, has ousted Satan from heaven and is proceeding to 'the establishment of the "new earth" of the New World; THAT THE RELIEF and blessings of the peoples of earth can come only by and through Jehovah's kingdom under Christ, which has now begun; that the Lord's next grea,t act is the destruction of Satan's organization and the complete establishment of righteousness in the earth, and that under the Kingdom the people of good-will that survive Armageddon shall carry out the divine mandate to "fill the earth" with a righteous race. "THY WO'RD IS TRUTH" STUDIES Week of January 16: "Prayer and the New World," 7 1-22 inclusive, ~ h ~ word is ~ ~ ~ ~ hD ~ , 1,~ 1g43, . Week of January 23: "Prayer and the New World," 723-43 inclusive, Thy Word i s T m t h Dele. 1, 1943.

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that hearest pmyeq-, unto thee shall all flesh come." (Ps. 65: 2 ) " A n d i t shall come to pass,$that before they call, I zoill answer: and while they a r e yet speaking, I will hear "-lsa. 65: 24. VAI3 is within the reach of prayer by human ures here on earth. He is not too lofty, nor o f a r removed, to be able to hear the expressions im made by puny creatures amid our sinful and erfect conditions. Neither is he indifferent and oncerned. "The eyes of Jehovah are unto the eous, and his ears unto their cry." (Ps. 34 : 15, ng) Only the lawless he tunes out: "The sacrifice wicked is an abomination to the LORD:but the of the upright (without any animal sacrifice as persuasion) is his delight." (Prov. 15 : 8) By his rs, which are more wonderful and incomprehenthan radio, he is abl'e to detect and pick up man's unvoiced petition offered within the hidden retreats of the heart or mind. And his powers of response are just as marvelous, to His glory. "Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we or think, according to the power that worketh in unto him by glory."-Eph. 3 : 20, 211. 2 The primary issue of God's glorious universal domion must be settled here a t the earth. Because of Jehovah God could not be and is not indifferent the prayers of worthy creatures on this small . Rather than showing unconcern or preoccuith other matters of seemingly greater imnce respecting his unbounded universe, the Most God of heaven and earth invites true pra.yeer watches for it. The time is near when all creathat gain life everlasting in peace, health and ness will regularly draw near to him in prayer. That time is the righteous New World which Jehovah God creates. The central government of the New World, the heavenly kingdom of his royal Son, has been established; and the establishment and operations of the "new earth" dra.w nigh. Hence i t is timely that the subject of prayer in its relation to the New World be examined. Prayer to the great Lifegiver is vital to all life-seekers. ZNo religious prayer-book can give us the proper instructions and set the right standard as to this grand I. w h y m a y righteously-disposed creatures on earth hogefully offer prayer, even within their hearts, to the Most H i g h God?

2. Why is Jehovah not 1ndifFerent o r unconcerned about prayer of creatures on e a r t h ? a n d why is i t now timely to examine bhis subject of prayer a n e w ? 3 Why go t o the Dible l a t h e r than relig~ousprayer-books for answers t o our qnestionb, and why a l e ~ e l i g ~ o up.ayers s inconsistent, uscless, a n d clestl~uctive of f a i t h 7

privilege of communion with the mighty Creator. We must go to the Bible for answers to our many questions on this subject and for our model of prayer. The Bible was written by men who were inspired by the unfailing Hearer of prayer and who enjoyed and used the privilege of calling upon him in praise, thanksgiving and request. None of them were religionists. None of them, therefore, went in for the religiouse practices, formulae and mechanical-routine repetitions of prayers, things that amuse the demons but do not please the true God. The Bible writers showed up the emptiness and uselessnese of religious prayers, and set forth in the Record the true and acceptable way to approach the living God. Today numberless prayers are being offered in private homes, in legislatures, on battlefields and on battleships, and in religious buildings, by men and women without respect of their side of the global war. Such prayers from both sides, addressed t o the same God, presumaMy, are all for victory and lasting peace. Such prayers from opposite sides marked also World War I, and other conflicts and trisbulations of worldly nations. The settlement of the matter in dispute was determined, not by religious praying of clergy or laity, but by the might of the military winner rather than the righteousness of the cause. Or If there was any settlement approaching righteousness, i t did not usher in lasting peace with justice, morality and prosperity for the common man. Of what value actually was the religious praying except as a false bolster to the morale of the loser as well as the winner? The losers lost not only the fight but also faith in prayer and in- God. 4 True prayer, offered in the right manner to the right One and on right matters, does count and bring results. The Bible Record gives many examples of praying rightly by men and women. It shows why their action was accepted and responded t o by the One addressed. Their cases were written down and preserved for our instruction and encouragement. Religionists look upon the statement a,t Genesis 4 : '26 a s the first account of praying by men, namely: "And to Seth (the son of Adam and Eve) , to him also there 4.

W h a t k ~ n r lof prdvel does count, and what can be said concerning Genesis

4 : 26 as bcinz Lhe filst account ol player by men7

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"THY WORD IS TRUTH"

was born a son; and he called his name Enos: then began'men t o call upon the namk of the LORD(Jiterally, the name of Jehovah) ." That was 235 years after the first man's Creation; and, if praying a t all, i t Was religious praying. Actually, it'was the beginning. of where men called themselves or their selfchosen false gods bay the name of the one true God, ~ e h o v a h ,the Supreme One. It was religious hYpoCrisY, which brought reproach upon Jehovah's name because i t was a taking of his name in vain, asd hence was religious sin. More than a hundred years before Enos, his uncle Abel had lived a.nd he offered acceptable sacrifice to Jehovah God. Although no prayer by Abel on t h a t or any other occasion is reported, yet i t is certain that in connection with his sacrifice Abel offered prayer t o the Lord God, that his offering by fire might be accepted. The favorable answer to his prayer roused hatred and envy of his religious brother Cain, who thereafter slew Abel. But even Abel's blood, which soaked the ground, cried out t o God in a prayer for His vengeance against the religious bloodletter. (Heb. 11 : 4 ; 12 : 24; Gen. 4 : 10, 1 ) Why were Abel's sacrifice and prayer accepted of - Jehovah God? Because such were offered in faith; and "without faith i t is impossible to please him: for he that cometh t o God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him".-Heb. 11 : 6. Faith means, yes, a belief in the true and living God, but that with an acceptance of His word a s true - and a hearty reliance upon it. Such confidence is shown by living in harmony with it, waiting for its fulfillment. Abel heard of God's word, spoken in den, which sentenced his father Adam to death, but whimch also gave promise of a New World, established by God through the Seed taken from the womb or body of his holy universal organization. That Seed was to be hated by the great Seducer because the Seed would refuse to compromise God's cause. He was to be bruised a t "his heel" for that reason. But, let the hatred and painful treatment 'be what i t might, the Seed of God's organization was promised to overcome the seductive Serpent or Deceiver and to destroy him from the universe. This would insure a new, righteous Abel and peaceable world. (Gen. 3 : 14, 15, 17-19) testified in belief of that divine word, and offered sacrifice and prayer accordingly. His prayer was unselfish, being for vindication of God's word as true. For his faith and faithful conduct God accounted him righteous even though descended from condemned Adam. 3Ieeting such requirements Abel could address God and find acceptance. Less could not be required of men today

who want to pray without feeling it fooliph but having certainty of being heard. 7 Abel is promised a "better resurrection". He will be ,back o.r; earth in the New World to which he looked ahead by faithm He will be bne of the " p ~ i n ~ in all the earth" then, as one of the represntative? of the invisible Government of God's King, Christ Jes,us, whose sacrifice Abel's slain lamb foreshadohed: (Heb. 11 : 35, 39, 401;Ps. 45 : 16) Other faithful men of who will 'be associate with Abel were likewise praying men. Their prayers were he&rd of God and answered for reasons like his. The patriarch Abmraham prayed, and he was called the "father of all them that believe". (Rom. 4 : 11) He was given the specific promise that God would make His name great by vindicating it against all t h a t cursed the name of Jehoyah. He would bless all the families of the earth that blessed His holy name. Abraham might be a party t o this covenant by coming out from this world and living differently and doing so in hope of t h e promised world to come. Thenceforth Abraham's sacrifices and, prayers were all in harmony with that divine word pf promise. Prayers of religionists a r e d l for the sake of things of this world and ita governments; they are. not in the interest of the righteous New World and its Theocratic Government. (Gen. 12 : 1-3; 14 : 22, 23; 15 : 2-8; 20 : 7, 17) The true Seed of Abraham, Christ Jesus, the King of the New World, said to the patriarch's natural descendants: "Your father Abraha.m rejoiced to see my day; and he saw it, and was glad."-John 8 : i56. 8 Abraham's natural heirs of the covenant-promis5 followed his example as to communion with the covenant-keeping God. Isaac prayed for his barren ,wife that a son might be provided t o whom the birthright: promise might be handed down. His blessing upon Jacob, when passing onward to this son the promise of covenant blessings, was in itself a prayer t a God, (Gen. 2,5 : 21; 27 : 27-29) After the dream of the ladder traveled by angels between heaven and earth Jacob's vow to God was a form of petition to Him. Jacob's wrestling all night with an angel and requesting a blessing before meeting his twin-brother Esau was also a strong supplication to the Lord and was ' in keeping with the hope of the New World.-Gen 28 : 16-22 ; 32 : 24-30. Just 430 years passed after making the covenant with ~ b concerning ~ the~ blessing h of all~families~ ,,f the earth through the greatna,tion that; ~~d would bring fort. through him. ~h~~ ~~d added thereto another covenant, based on his law given through the ' 7.

What evidence is there t h a t more than a cenbury before Enos prayer was offered to God, and why were such prayer a n d sacrifice acceptable to God? ti Cnnrprning what rlirl A h ~ lpxprcisp faith in Cdd, and w h ~ does t his rase show a s t h e least or minimum requirements f o r prayer by men to be acceptable. 5.

December 1, 1943'

(a) What f u t u r e prospects a r e there for Abel?

(b) In harmony with what

did he rejoice? Were Abraham's prayers, and 8. W h a t is there to show t h a t Isaac and Jacob were'men of p r a y e r ? 9. What was added in due time to t h e Abrahamic covenant, and for how

long? and what statement of prayer did it instruct the priests to offer for t h C whole nation ?

hould

'It closes w i

nd give thee peace.

KINGS AND PROPHETS

EXAMPLE?

y: "And as many be on them, and

"The prayers of David the son of Jesse a r e . ended.." The prophet Samuel, who anointed the shepherdiboy

holy habihtion, from heaven,

upon whom the name of Jehovah was called. "For the

the Lord

epa~rethe

David's public prayer shortly before h i s death,

thank thee, and praise thy glorious name.'-1 l 4 At

required t h e intervention of Moses. The Ninetieth Psalm bears the

Chron.

the dedication of the completed temple King

worship of Jehovah a t the place where he had put his name. H e added: "And let these my words, wherewith I have made supplication before Jehovah, be nigh unto Jehovah our God day and night, that he maintain the ca.use of his servant, and the cause of his people Israel, as every day shall require; that all the peoples of the earth may Icnow t h a t Jehovah, he is God ; there is none else." ( 1 Ki. 8 : 14-60, Am. Rev.,Ver.) Among the successors of Solomon to the throne who also offered supplication and praise to the Most High the Record includes kings Jehoshaphat, Asa, Hezekiah and Josiah. The royal rulers of the nation were not alone in exercising this privilege toward God; those of the people thereof did also. In his discussion of the subject the apostle James writes: "Confess your faults one to another (not to a priest in a confessional box), and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much. Elias was a man subject to like passions as we are, and he prayed earnestly that i t might not rain; and i t rained not on the earth by the space of three years and six months. And he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain, and the earth brought forth her fruit." (Jav. 15: 16-18; 1 Ki. 17 :1 ; 18 : 42-44) During the drought Elijah's part in raising a widow's son to life was accomplished with supplication to Jehovah. -1 Ki. 17 : 19-24. l 6 Elijah's successor was also much given to calling upon the Lord. His cry at the edge of the Jordan -after he had smitten its waters, "Where is the Lord God of Elijah?" was answered 'by Elijah's God with the dividing of the river waters to permit Elisha's passage. When he was used of Almighty God to raise the Shunammite's son from the dead, "he went in therefore, and shut the door upon' them twain, and prayed unto the LORD." The miracle followed. At Dothan, when his young servant cried out in terror at the enemy host surrounding them and threatening their destruction, "Elisha prayed, and said, LORD,I pray thee, open his eyes, t h a t he may see. And the LORDopened the eyes of the young man; and he saw: and, behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire round about Elisha." Again the prophet prayed, and the Syrian hosts were smitten with openeyed blindness, as Elisha led them into the camp of the Israelites. (2 Ki. 2 : 14; 4 : 33-35; 6 : 17-20,) Elisha and his predecessor Elijah were both used of God to foreshadow Jehovah's "strange workv through his faithful witnesses in these modern times before he brings in the New World in completeness. The communication of those ancient men with the God of heaven shows that the work of Jehovah's witnesses in Who else besides the Israelite kings offered prayer, and what do- the apostle James testify concerning Elijah a s doing s o ? (a) What instances are there showing Elisha was a man of prayer? (b) What wene Hlijah and Enisha used to foreshadow, and what did their recourse to prayer indicate concerning this? 16.

16.

these days cannot be effected by them without likewise , ' calling upon God for help, protection and blessing. ' ', 17 Other men of Israel who figure prominently jn the ' panorama of prayer are Job, Jonah, Habakkuk, Jere- ' miah, Ezra, Nehemiah, and Daniel. Job, a conternpar: ary of the prophet- Moses, was an example of patient endurance with integrity ,toward God. He drew near to Jehovah both in prosperity and in affliction, and after his restoration. He is a pictorial representation of all humans who maintain their integrity during t h i s time when wickedness is permitted and who are thereby accounted worthy of life in the New World. Jobwas instructed to act as intercessor for self-ktyledfriends who had wronged him grievously; and the Record tells us: "And the Lord turned the captivity of Job, when he prayed for his friends: also the Lord gave Job twice a s much as he had before."--Job 1 : 5, 20, 21 ; 42 : 8, 10. l8 Jonah had the unique experience of lifting liis heart and voice to Almighty God from the belly of a . sea-monster. From that living submarine he was heard; and concerning this the account says: "Then Jonah prayed unto the LORDhis God out of the fish's belly, and said, I cried by reason ,of mine affliction unto the LORD,and he heard me; out of the belly of hell [ (margin) out of the belly of the grave] cried I, and thou heardest my voice." In being delivered from that tomblike condition Jonah primarily pictured Christ Jesus, 'who was raised from the dead on the third dap to be the King of the New World. I n praying down in the depths of the sea he also pictured the remnant of the members of the body of Christ's followers. T h e ~ e were apparently the "children cif death" in 1918, but were brought forth from theiq sepulchral condition of Christian inactivity in 1919. (Jonah 2 : 1, 2 ; Ezek. 37 : 1-14) Thereafter such remnant, like Jonah, applied ' themselves to the work of prea,ching God's message to the nations threatened with destruction, a t the battle , of Armageddon by the "strange act" of God. (Jonah 3 : 1-10) Those Ninevites who repented a t Jonah's . preaching escaped destruction which came ppon Nine: veh in due time. Persons now repenting a t the message of Jehovah's witnesses will be spared by Jehovah's - ' executioners a t Armageddon t o find everlasting life in the New World. l9 Jeremiah also found it necessary to seek the face of the Lord who sent this prophet t o bear witness to His name and purpose. (Jer. 32 : 16 ; 7 : 16 ; 14 : 11 ; 4'2 : 4) For forty years Jeremiah declared the day of God's vengeance against hypocritical religionists pnd their temple and city, for the vindication of Jehovah's s

17. What instances are there to show whether Job engaged in prayer? and whom did he pictorialy pepresent? 18. Where is Jonah recorded as praying? and whom did he picbure'there and also in preaching to Nineveh thereafter? 19. (a) Why was it necessary for Jeremiah to pray? and whom did he picture? (b) What prayer did Habakkuk offer? and what did Hosea and Joel urge God's people to do?

'THY WORD IS TRUTH"

Lord's witnesses

time, the city walls were-raised up between the Jews . and the enemies.-Neh. 1 : 4, 6, 11; 4 : 9 ; 6 : 15.. . religious "Christen22 The great test that led to Daniel's being cast into het the lion's. den for .his faithfulness came b'eoause he was po- a man who could not be restrained from prayer to God: ion. His thrilling descrip- His enemies had the decree framed limiting all prayer God's "strange act" a t the for thirty days to King Darius, of Medo-Persia. Then. headed .&rintroduced by the Daniel knowingly "went into his house; and his .winkuk the prophet upon Shig- dows being open in his chamber toward Jerusalem, he g s ; kneeled upon his knees three times a day;a.nd prayed, is - and gave thanks before his God, as he did aforetime".' r Daniel's course of open and known communion with God. s despite heathen decrees was approved by the great s Judge of all in that He rescued Daniel from the lion's fangs. (Dan. 6 : 10, 21-27') Supplication to. God also 1 broughf to Daniel the recovery and interpretation of Nebuchadnezzar's lost dream of the terrible metallic image. (Dan. 2 : 16-19) Prayer also preceded the walk thereafter according to His covenant. revelation to Daniel of the seventy weeks of years lead: 1 , 2 ; Joel 2 : 1&17. ing up to. Messiah the Prince's appearance on earth (Dan. 9 : 3, 4, 20-27) ; 'also the marvelous prophecy a s to the hostilities of "the king of -the north" and "the king of the south" a t the "time of the end", and the standing up of t h e mighty Prince of God's people t o bring in the New World.-Dan. 10 :2, 3, -T2; 11 :, 1-45; 12 : 1-13. 23 After the flight of several centuries from Malachi, the last of the old Hebrew' prophets, there appeared another prophet, who wa,s a miniature fulfillli?ent of Malachi's prophecy concerning Elijah. (Mal. 4 : 5, 6 ; Matt. 11 : 13, 14,; 17 : 1.0-13) This favored prophet was John the Baptist, the forerunner of the true Seed of Abraham upon whom all blessings for all families of t congregation of men, and women, and the earth rest. John's father 'was a man of faith and prayer. That is sure from the Record: "According to the custom of the priest's oEce, his lot was to burn incense when he went into the temple of the Lord. And the whole multitude of the people were prayinkg without, a t the time of incense. And 'there appeared s e r v e ~ ~ in h the ~ ~ land ~ h which he unto him an angel of the Lord, standing .on the right side of the altar of incense. And when Zacharias saw Nehemiah says: "And i t came to pass, him, he was troubled, and fear fell upon him. But the. hese words, that I s a t down and wept, angel said unto him, Fear not, Zacharias:. for. thy certain -days, and fasted, and prayed be- prayer is heard; and thy wife Elisabeth shall bear thee 1: Repeatedly he asked'the a son, and thou sh.alt call his name John."-Luke of heaven." ttehtive t o his prayer t h a t he might be 9-13. 24 John grew up in the deserts till his testimony concerning Jehovah's purpose and the coming of the. Messiah was due to begin. Disciples or learners gathered about John a t his preaching. He'baptized the. Among other .things, he iolence, Nehemiah saya, "nevertheless we repentant ones in water. showed them their relatfbnship to God and instructed. '

two special occasions did Ezra Dray to God? and with what

what trialsom; experience did prayer lead Daniel? a i d what re8ponses were given to his prayers on other occasions? 23. Who was sent a s a miniature fulfillment of Malachi's prophecy concerning Elijah, and what shows his father was a m a n of p r a y e r ? 24. Who gathered about John the BagGst, and w h a t proof is there that he taught them to pray'!

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"THY WORl

them as to approaching and addressing Him. Helice Jesus' followers asked the Master for like instru~ction; as recorded: "And it came to pass, that as he was " praying in a certain place, when he ceased, one of his ., , discipl~ssaid unto him, Lord, teach us to pray, as John also. taught.his disciples." (Luke 11 : 1) . Others "said, unto him, Why do the disciples of John'fast often, and . make prayers, . . . but thine eat and drink?" Luke 5 : 33) Jesus then explained why they did not fast. 2 5 All t(he albove-noted men lived and died before Jesus' death and resurrection and ascension to heaven. Upon what dbasis, then, could those men draw nigh t o God in prayer and find a hearing ear and answer from Him? The religious belief is that any and all men anywhere and at any time may offer a prayer and, if it is sincere and earnest, it will find its way to God and be accepted of him. The Bible reply does not support that. The men whose prayers were accepted of old time were men of faith in the true and living God, -. .. , -Jehovah; - .Because they believed. in his existence and supremacy, they also believed and depended upon his ward, Hence they avoided religion and its worship of 'demon gods and its acceptance of man's word, particularly the word of religiom clergymen. They believed God's word a s i t was added t o by His further revelations from time to time. .Always it pointed to the coming of his Seed, the Deliverer, and the creating of a new world; So they did not fail in with the schemes ,, and policies of men regarding this old world under , depon rule. In hope of t h e new world they walked according to God's word and devoted themselves to - pleasing him. Their faith and devotion t o God and his purpose brought them a measure of righteousness or justification, which then made them acceptxble with God. Such justification was a picture of the true justification that should come to Christ's faithful f d lowers.-Rom. 4 : 22-25. 26 Ffum Moses' time forward till Christ those whose prayers God recognized were faithful members of his chosen people of Israel. They were in relationship with the Most High God by the covenant of his law given , through Moses the mediator. Thus they were persons .in covenant bonds with God and who were endeavoring to be faithful to the covenant by loving ob'edience. Any who were aliens and strangers to the nation of Israel and outside its covenant must approach God through his organized people and in the manner of worship he had ordained in connection with his temple. Only thus could strangers, such as Rahab, the Gibeonites, Jael, Ruth, the Nethinim, the widow of Zarepha-th, . Naaman th,e Syrian, Ebed-melech, and others, find any favor from God and any answer [to prayer. To this \

-s

26. Upon what basis could the men of old before Moses draw near to God in prayer and get a hearing and answer? 26. From Moses onward what fnrther basis for offering accepltable prayer was there, and how only could "strangers" approach God in prayer and receive answer ?

encouragement and consolation to those who;feel fax; off from Jehovah and unacquainted with Him, and' wlib -.~ now are inclined to "seek the Lord, if hrziply theyemight: . feel a f t e r him, and find him".-Acts 17 : 25'. ' , , &.

THE MASTER TEACIIER ON THE QUESTION

The argument may be raised, that the aboverelated cases of communication between God and m3n , were before the coming of Uhtist Jesus and that since his coming the conditions respecting prayer hlave been ': radically changed and all formality has been cast out.- . Those arguing so depend heavily on Jesus' condemn.ation of the procedure of the Je'wish religionisbs of his day. They quote his words: "And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are: for they love ,, to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners- .'., of the streets, that they may be seen of-men. Veriiy '. I say unto you, ,They have their reward. But thou, : when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and, wheg .thou hast shut t h y door, pray to thy Father whSch 'is I ' in secret; and thy Father which seetli in se'ctet siiafi. , reward thee openly. But when ye pray, use not v a b ' * ' repetitions, as the heathen do : for they think that tj~@. shall be heard for their much speaking. Be not ~ e therefore like unto them: for your Father kn~webla~ft$ what things ye have need of, before y e ~ s him. k this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which,art,.;i in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingd6m came:: Thy will be done in earth, as i t is in heaven. 'Giv~.usW d this day our daily bread. And forgive us d ~ r - d e b t as* s ~: , we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into t2mptation, but deliver us from evil." ((Matt. 6 : 5-13 ; Luke 11 : - 4 "Woe unto you, scribes,and ~harisees,hypo-,it crites! for ye devour widows' houses, and fo? a pre-+ tence make long prayer: therefore ye shall receive the r greater (condemnation) ."-Matt. 23 :I4 ; Mark 12 :40 ; . Luke 201 : 47; 18 : 9-11. 28Are Jesus' words to be understood as holding down all prayer 'by his 'followers to private prayer un- '- .observed by all others, even by fell& Christians? ' Do his words cut out #allpublic prayer amid an -audience? ,', 27

;

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I,,

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27. Since Christ, what radical argument may be made by some concerning prayer, and upon what words of Jesus do they base their argument? 28 What aoestions, therefore, arise concerning prayer? and why may the Bible record be expected to give satisfactory answers?

is God and Father, Jehovah.

.immersed in water is a time of .sef-

to the Most High God, -His ath he&,hot pray ti, himself, which he would

y Most High himself, then it. was

save him from death, and was;

., "

"THY WORD IS TRUTH"

aschal sacrifice was fulfilled in himself and he became Christ our passover". (Gal. 4 : 4 ; Matt. 5 : 17 ; 1Cor. So it was that Jesus is reported a t his last 5 : 7) pica1 passover feast and as offering up in the hearing those come to the feast this recluest: "Now is my ul troubled; and what shall I s a y ? Father, save me from this -hour: but for this cause came I unto this hour. Fabher, glorify thy name." "Then came there a voice from heaven, saying, I have both glorified it, and will glorify it again. The people therefore, that stood by, and heard it, said that i t thundered: others said, An angel spake t o him. Jesus answered and said, This voice cnme not because of me, but for your sakes." (John 12 : 20-301) Jesus did not violate his own instructions concerning secret prayer; for his Father answered his public prayer with public response. 34 Jesus was anointed with God's spirit to be the King of the Government of the New World, and all his petitions to his Father were in behalf of thnt world to come. I n Jesus particularly t h e primary issue of Jehovah's universal domination was a t stake. How so? Because Jesus is Chief Executive in the Government through which God has chosen to exercise his universal sovereignty and through which also he will f o r hever vindicate his blasphemed name. Satan the Devil and would-be usurper of the universal domination tried to destroy the Government a t its very root by striving to make Jesus fail of worthiness of the kingship. He used all his devilish arts and means to make Jesus come to terms with him and break'his faultless integrity toward the &lost; High God. But Jesus was uncompromising toward God's adversary. He proved that Jehovah's chief Son and highest officer in His universe was unbreakab'ly loyal and faithful and true to Him. To keep his grip on his integrity toward ~ e h o v a hJesus , drew on the divine strength by suppliThis enabled him to vindicate his cation to Him. F-ather's name sand word by unswerving dbedienee and a correetnkss of course on earth. So he proved worthy to exercise the powers of the New World government and vindicate Jehovah's name a t the battle of Armageddon. For related reasons, namely, to keep integrity and share with Jesus in vindicating God's name, his faithful f 0 1 1 0 ~ e need r ~ likewise to resort to prayer. 36 Jesus must have been praying behind no shut door of a secret closet but in the hearing of others, when that recorded a t Luke 11 : 1, 2 ~ccurred: "And it came to pass, that as he was praying in a certain place, when he ceased, one of his disciples said unto him, Lord, teach us to Pray, as John also taught his disciples. And he said unto them, When Ye Pray say, Our Father which a r t in heaven, IXallowed be thy name. ~ h kingdom y come. Thy will be done, as in

34. (a) How was the prlmary issue particularly a t stake in Jesus, and why would this f a c t specially lequire prayer on his p a r t ? ( b ) Why, 6hen, is it appropriate f o r his Followers to p r a y ? 35 Wherc was Jesus' praying when he was aftelwards asked to teach his dismples to pi av, a n d what did he then show a 5 tn d l v ~ n e l y z u ~ d r dlltayel

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December 1, 1943

heaven, so'in earth." Jesus-.did not brush the subject of prayer aside as from henceforth an indifferent matter, governed by suddenly arising einergegcies _and not having directive objectives. Be . sh6wed' ih$t divinely guided prayer concerns itself with the New? World and its Government which will cause God's to be hallowed in all creation. He did not teach thdc. prayer be offered t o his human mother or to any s d n t s after death, to act as intercessors. It should be offeu'ed up to the Creator of the New World. Address tat Jehovah, not alone a s God but in the new relation of , "Our Father7', was by no means indicating that ths so-called "Fatherhood of God" toward all men was now' established and that all men on earth, as creatures, ,' could approach God and address him as "Our Father." 36 Universal "Fatherhood of God" doctrine does not fit in with Jesus' words to the religionists: "Ye are oft your fatiher the devil, and the lusts of your will do. He was a murderer from the b,eginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth i n . him. Whell he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: . for he is a liar, and the father of it." (John 8 : 44) Fatherhood of G d did not apply to Gain, the brother of Abel: "Not as Cain, who Gas of that wicked one, and slew his brother. And wherefore slew he him? Because his own works were evil, and his brother's righteous."-1 John 3 : 12.

THE PRIVILEGE OF SONS

37 Men assume that, because they are descended from a creature of God, the first man Adam, they are sons of God and may address him in petition a8 "Oar Father." Contrariwise, this ;very form of as introduced by Jesus shows only may draw neay to God and make known their requests to him. ~h~ disciples whom Jesus thus taught were, first of adl, members of the Jew,ish nation which was in the law covenant with ~ o d and , hence were His people. A ~ these men had left all t o fallow the Son of God. ~ h besides what they were naturally as Jews by birth, they were wholly consecrated to God as Jesus was. They were men of faith in Jehovah God like their fore2 faihers Noah, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob,. They believed in Word, and his promises concerning the coming Messiah, or Christ, the Seed of Abraham. In expression of that belief,they followed Jesus. He knew that God's spirit was to be poured out upon all consecrated flesh of this kind and that these would be begotten of God's spirit to become his spiritual children, spiritual Israelites, the children of the One whom Abraham typified, Jehovah. As such prospective children of God Jesus taught them to express themselves to God as "Our Father". The other Jews

-36. When introducing the form of address "Our Jesus have been teaching the "Fatherhood of God" 37. By the addrcs.; "OLIV Fathcl" w h a t was Jesus could he l ~ ~ o p e l lleach y h15 d~sclplcito pray t'hns to

Father", why could n o t toward all m e n ? really s h o w ~ n g ,and why God7

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ons of God continued down to the sett-

his words in the sermon on the e some final instructions concerning ip'es On the night of his and "I am the way, and the truth, a.nd

e Son. If ye shaJl ask any thing in If ye abide in me, and my do it.

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and bring. forth fruit, and tha.t.' your fruit shoud remain':. that whatsoever ye shall ask. of the Father in my name, he may give i t you. . . . Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in my name, he will give it you. Hitherto have ye dsked me: ask, and ye shall receive, that. ul1."-John 14 : 6, 1 2 1 4 ; 1.5 : 7, 16 ;

his conversation .which included the above words Jesus then, in the presence of the eleven faith, "lifted up his eyes to heaven." He prayed d for all those who would believe on JehbChri$t Jesus through their testimony or ', itness. Then he led them out to the garden of Geth. e he prayed apart from them and received dure the supreme test just a.head.-John -: : 1; Matt. 26 : 316-46. 41 The sum of the above is this: Henceforth no t h could go to God with ,petition and 'and answer unless he crlme by s and offered his requests in the of God. Jesus' faithful course of. God even unto death pr6ved him rthy of a resurrection t o life in the spirit and a urn to his Father in heaven;' and thereby Christ us was opening up a way for believing.humankind to to 42 BY his ransom sacrifice Jesus takes way the sin uch believers, and by this they are made acceptable , n. Of old .Moses was mediator Israel. Now Christ Jesus, whom d prefigured, is the "one. mediator . . men" of spiritual Israel. Hence aph to the great Hearer of grayer may. be, not , but only through his Son. All prayer -must be offered up in his name. (1 Tim. 2 ; 5. 6) God does not deny him,self, neither does h i s Son deny him; and hence the above rules regardingprayer may not be by-' passed and ignored. To t r y to do so would be presumg tuous and would meet with no success. a largeone, b,ecause i t is important. We are a t the portals of the New World. Men of goodwill desire and expect t o enter into life everlasting in . that world without end. They are asking about the. privilege and the proprieties of prayer. A related article in the next ,succeeding issue of this magazine will answer such questions. 40.

38. Tbward what would the prayers of his disciples he looking, a n d till when has their privilege of Grayer to God been exclusive? 39. What additional instructions concerning prayer did he give his disciples on t h e night of his betrayal and a r r e s t ?

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ORD IS TRUTH"

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Thereafter on that same night what prayer did he himself offer? What do Jesus' above instructions show as to offering prayer henceforth, and how did he himself open up the way for i t ? 42. Why thenceforth must all prayer be ,offered up in Jesus' name? 43. With whom does the subject of prayer nexb concern itself, and why? 41.

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AARON,' ISRAEL~SFIRST HIGH PRIEST,'

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ARON played a very important role in the early

history of thetypical Theocrstic.nation. Contemporaneous with Moses, Aaron's course wa,s over-shadowed to some extent by the leading role played by his better-known brother; yet believers in God's Word will not lose sight of Aaron's activities a t the time of Israel's birth as a typical Theocracy, and his duties relative to that nation's worship of Jehovah, a s ordered a t Mount Sinai and thereafter God-feaxing Christians today will not ignore this propheMc history concerning the exodus and the wilderness trek, remembering the apostle Paul's declaration that i t was recorded particularly for Christians on earth a t the 'time of the end'. (1 Cor. 101: 1-11) As high priest Aaron foreshadowed Christ Jesus alone, and a t still other times he pictured the anointed remnant on earth during these last. days of Satan's rule. In 1598 B-C- Aaron was born* to Amram and Jo~hebed,in the land of Egypt. - h course of time he married Elisheba and had four sons, Nadab, Abihu; The first mention of Eleazar, and Ithamar. appears in the Divine Record a t E,xodus 4 : 14-16: "And the anger of Jehovah was kindled against Moses, and he said, I s there not Aaron thy brother the Levite? I know that. he can speak well. And also, behold, he cometh forth to meet thee: and when he seeth thee, he will be glad in his heart. And thou shalt speak him, and put the words in his mouth: and I will be with t h y mouth, and with his mouth, and will teach you what; ye shall do. )And he shall be thy spokesman unto the people; and it shall come to pass. t h a t he shall ,be to thee a mouth, and thou shalt be to him as God." (A.R.V.) Moses had been called by the Lord to be the deliverer of the Israelites from Egyptian bondage, and he had raised the poin$ that he was not "eloquent", but Aaron was provided as his of speech". was spokes.man. God' Aaron met at the lkoses eornmunicated t o his brother all the things Jehovah had instructed as being preliminaries to the Together the brothers then -exodtis from bondage: journeyed to Egypt, and Aaron, as Moses' had unto "spake all the words which the Woses, and dfd the signs in the sight of the people." (Ex. 4 : 27-31) Next in order were the appearances before the haughty EgypOian Pharaoh. Aaron spoke and at the judgments of God as instructed by the proper time stretched forth the rod of that signaled the start of several of the plagues. Thus in unity of action Aaron and Moses worked' Jehovah backed them up. The tenth plague left not one Egyptisn household without a death to mourn: and people Israel were hustled from that land of servitude-Wherein are the foregoing acts of Aaron prophetic? -Moses is a type of a greater Deliverer, Christ I n *the above sequence of Jesus. (Acts 3 : 20-23) events Aaron symbolizes Jehovah's witnesses living in these last days of antitypimcal oppressive "Egypt", Satan's world. Now, at the time of the end of that world, Jehovah has sent forth His Greater Moses and Deliverer, Christ Jesus, to rule. The King at the

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temple uses the witnesses a s his mouthpieces in eartli. Jehova,h chose the brother o$ Mosesxa s -hb' spokesman j in the fulfillment, ,Be -has selected. w e , . spiritual brethren df Christ to -speak: ,A$ron,' uLiBpPO Moses' rod, s y ~ b o-of l authority,' shows that thecwi+ nesses today act under divine coinmand and a u t h ' ~ f $ in the gospel-preaching wdrk. Moses direkted ~ @ d to do certain things in connection with th,e p l ~ g u ~ ~ Jehovah has given Christ all-power to plague S"aaD2$. organization, and he in turn confers authority u&n h$ earthly remnant to perform certain a t t s in canryi8fig out Jehovah's "strange work". He directs t h e i r ' s ' peated smiting of the enemy organization with 6x6 "arrows" of truth, which plagues the . ,. ehemy . consid-' erably. 1, the third mdnth after their Egypt the Israelites camped before Mount, Sin$, Aaron, along with a limited few, was to ap-proach with Moses toward the mount of God, arf.d whsi-,' i :,9, .. , blessed with a vision of Jehovah's gl@y, ( ~ 24 10) Thence Moses went up into the mount, where h e remained forty days. He received Theocratic laws, from God's hand' for the guidance of the typical Theacracy, and in addition was givep minute i n ~ t r u c t i ~ 3. to the conduct of Theocratic-worship. m e ~ r n s t ? ~ . tion of the tabernacle was detailed and the functians of the priests serving therein were outlined. .To Aaron was appointed the position of high priest. Accordihg to God's instructions, he was inducted into thkt high. officeby Moses.-Leviticus 8. ,

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Aaron did not arrogate this high position to him-; self, was he democractically voted ipto' ik by any religious College of cardinals ; no, but "called of God" Was he. (Heb. 5, :4) For forty years he skrved <n this capacity, Jxpresenting before the Lord the entire twelve tribes. (Ex. 39 : 6-14) At times 'I&6~uth&ty in the priestly office was questioned by those Ia~ki,ng' appreciation d Theoerqtic rule. Outstanding w9s t&eZ rebellion of ~ ~ a-fellow ~ tribesman, ~ h a Levite. , The, earth itself opened up and swallowed Korah and.his ce. consp~rators against God.s anointed high Thereafter the congregation against Mosei and Aaron, and twelve rods representing the twelve, tribes in the tabernacle, that Loril might indicatehis choice. Upsn the rod of Levi,. Aaron's name was written. on the morrow, when the+ rods were brought forth from the tabernacleu.the rod+, bmearina name had budded and blossomed and yielded almonds. B~~~~~ all doubt the Levi was God's choice f o the ~ tabernacle service, and Aaron was high priest by divine right. The budded rod of Aaron was kept in the ark of the testimony as a token 16, 17; Heb. : 4. against the rebels-Numbers The duties of the high priest are of prophetic nificance. For example, on the day of atonement'the high priest offered as sin-offerings a 'bullock and B goat, presenting in the most holy of the tabernacle the blood of the animals. Herein Aaron is pictorial of Jehovah's great High Priest, Christ Jesus, presenting his life right as a human creati~rein the heavenly courts of

were

ORD .IS TRUTH"

is people, and shall die there." (Num. t was. Aaron died in Mount Hor, and succeed-ed him in the office of high e was to go to the firstborn son, upon high priest. The two older sons of ron, Nadab and Abihu, were destroyed by ithe Lord en they offered strange fire before Him; hence Eleawas in line for the service privilege of being Israel's on was likely buried by his brother him Israel mourned thirty days.The name "Aaron" means "lofty". Jehovah's High t Christ Jesus occupies the most exalted posin the universe, next to Jehovah, being placed a t ead of the capital organization. Also; the name "enlightened". Christ Jesus said: "I am the

ity or upon popular demand.

nd into the marvelous light of The Theocracy. Id "speak well".

en ' of good-will. The e the ones responsible for educating e in God's laws and commandments. The iring to have Theocratic education looked to ad ordained the priests states : "The priest's hould seek the k the truth and to feed many, carrying on a ion among men of

committed to them. (Rev. 12 : 17) Their service as " is assured of success by Jehovah God. When their 'speaking' is completed e gathered, then the Almighty 11 speak in Hi$ wrath to the spurned the message his witneses de: 5) Wicked men will understand the orce and destruction that He will level

THE PRESENCE OF JEHOVAH

HE sacr,ed Scriptures abound with statements to the effect that in t?mes past Jehovah God came to earth, was 'present, and appeared and revealed -himself to men. They also state that in times future -he will come, appear and reveal himself on earth t o - mankind. The second coming of his Son Jesus Christ is also promised. Suppose now we were to take the , stand that for Jesus to come again and be present on earth he must leave his celestial location and bodily

take a position in the atmosphere of our earth. what then? Then, in considering scriptures referring to Jehovah's corning and presence, consistency with ourselves would compel us to reason that He, too, must leave his supreme throne and be bodily present in the earth. It would be highly unreasonable and presumptuous t o take such a view regarding Jehovah. His power is so great, and his person so wonderful, that these

"THY WORD IS TRUTH"

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*sends some representative to handle hjs affairs:,f&& him. In support of this conclusion let u s e ~ a ~ some scriptures, because by his Word we must prove' all things. His chosen people were domiciled in Egypt. were in bondage t o that- wicked organization of,t h b Devil and were afflicted. Jehovah heard their &i+ and sa,w their afflictions, and it is plainly statedS'that he came down to deliver them from their o p p r e s s o ~ "And the LORDsaid, I have surely seen the afffiction. of my people which are in Egypt, and have heard f&ir cry by reason of their task-masters; f o r I know t@jr sorrows; and I am coine d o v n to deliver them out-pf the hand of the Egyptian$." (Ex. 3 : 7; 8) Shoul&we conclude because this language is so emphatic that. Jehovah must leave his throne in heaven and-go 60 Egypt in person and in body? Such would be unreasonable. Examine the context in the book .of Exodus and it will show you thdt it was ,actually an angel whom Jehovah sent that was speaking. That angel, clothed with authority, spoke as if he were God himself, saying: "I am the God of thy father."-Ex. 3 : 6. In due season the Lord Jehovah delivered his people from ~ g y p and t led them across the Red and wilderness, and halted them a t the base of Mqunt Sinai. Exodus 19 : 3 reads: "And Moses went up un!o God, and the LORDcalled unto him out of the mountain." Jehovah then spoke a message to Moses of sad concerning his chosen people Israel. "And the L O ~ said unto Mosesg Lo, I come unto thee in a thick cloud, that the people may hear when I speak with thee, and believe thee for ever. And Moses told the words of the people unto the LORD." Moses then instructed the people: "Be ready against the third day: for the third day the LORDwill Come d o w n in the sight of d l the people upon mount Sinai." "And mount Sinai was altogether on a smoke, because the LORDdescended upon it in fire: and the smoke thereof ascended as the smoke of a furnace, and the whole mount quaked greatly. And the LORDcame d o w n upon mount Sinai; on the top of the mount: and the LORDcalled Moses up to the top of the mount; and Moses went up."-Ex. 19 : 9, 11, 18, 20. !. Centuries later the prophet David, under inspi&tion, wrote concerning the above event: "0 God, wheq thou wentest forth before t h y people, when thou' didst march through the wilderness; . . the earth shook, the heavens also dropped a t the presence of God: even Sinai itself was moved a t the presence of God, the God of Israel."-Ps. 68 : 7, 8. The above scriptures speak of Jehovah as coming down from heaven, of being present, and of speaking to his servants and to the people. Do such scriptures mean his bodily presence, that he was personally there on the mountain instead of acting from his great throne? The scripture context shows he was t h e p represented by his messengers or angels to whom he had delegated 'the power and authority to speak for him and in his name. His Word plainly shows t h a t pt that very .time God was using his messengers or angel$ in his dealing with the Israelites. The apostle Paul had such &n understanding of it when he wrote concerning the Lord's inauguration there of the law covenant with Isracl. Paul said: "Tt was ordained by angels iv ?

words axe addressed to him: "The heaven and heaven of heavens cannot contain thee." Mindful of that, King Solomon further said: "Will God indeed dwell on the earth?" (1 Ki. 8 : 27) The Bible definitely locates the throne of Jehovah in heaven: "The LORD'Sthrone is in heaven." (Ps. 11 : 4) From his holy heaven he sees those who love him, and upon them he has put his love. His all-seeing vision and his far-reaching power know no limits, h t Can penetrate the deepest depths of the universe.-Ps. 20 : 6. To Jehovah space is nothing. Therefore the psalmist exclaimed: "Whither shall I go from \hy spirit? or whither shall I flee from thy presence? If I ascend up into heaven, thou a r t there: if I make my bed in hell (the grave), behold, thou a r t there. If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea; even there shall thy hand lead me, and thy right hand- shall hold me. . . . Yea, the darkness hideth not from thee; but the night shineth as the day: the darkness and the light are both alike to thee." (Ps. 139 : 7-12) This psalm surely does not mean that the Lord Jehovah needs t o travel about from one point to another; but means that in the exercise of his power he does So without limitation, and that his power of vision is in no wise limited. It is also written, a t Psalm 113 : 6, that He condescends to look from his place of habitation from heaven t o earth: "Who humbleth himself to behold the things that are in heaven, and in the earth!" If, then, a s this scripture declares, Jehovah humbles himself a t merely beholding earth's affairs, the conclusion is inevitable that he does behold such affairs in the earth. Shall we think, then, i t is necessary that he humble himself still further by actually leaving his throne and visiting the earth with his bodily presence? _To do so would be beneath the dignity and majesty of the Most High God and would indicate that there is some limitation to his power and to the broadness of his organiOf course, Jehovah might bodily visit any zation. part of the realm of his universe that he desires, but i t would be attaching undue importance to our physical earth to claim that only his bodily coming fulfills the letter of his promise. We must know t h a t the all-wise and all-powerful Jehovah has a perfect and complete organization. The Scriptures show that he has such an organization to take care of all his universe. He delegates duties to the various members of his organization who go as his representatives. They act, speak and treat for him and in his na.me by his authority. By this arrangement i t is the same in effect as if Jehovah himself went and acted personally. It is in his name and by his power and under his direction that these heavenly What more representatives perform 'their duties. could be necessary than this to see that the thing that God willed is always done! God is the great Spirit, the Creator of heaven and earth; and his glory, majesty and power are above earth and heaven, declares Psalm 148 : 13. The direct presence of God's person a t the earth is not a vital thing to the carrying out of his purpose. It is therefore clear that Jehovah may be spoken of as coming and being present wherever he turns his face or attention and exerts his power over long distances or else

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"THY WOR[ 3 : 19) He again made Hebrews 2 :2, saying: fast, and every d a just recomof the intermediacy of angels, heir affliction h e was resence saved them: ngel before thee, to ng th,ee into the place x. 23 : 20) Later, when with Jehovah in behalf nsgressed .with a golden

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on and Miriam: King Balak of the Moabites hired the i n sraelites. Then

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ay from an object.

because the face is turns either toward From experience we know

that if the one whom we are addressing turns his back upon us it indi~a~tes a refusal to hear, or disfavor. When the face is turned toward us it is an indication of hearing or attention. Hence this word is frequently translated by the words countenance, face, sight. Whithersoever Jehovah may turn his face, there he becomes present, not bodily, but by reason of turning his view and atten'tion to the ma.tters or affairs Qpon which his eyes rest. Of course, there are other scriptures wher'e the word "presence" evidently refers not merely to the face or to having God's attention but t o being literally face to face with him, right n the spot, and in .the his conclusion is borne bodily presence of Jehovah. out in the following scriptures: "Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD,and Satan came also among them. . . . So Satan went forth from the presence of the LORD." (Job 1 : 6, 12; 2 : 1, 7) "In thy presence is fulness of joy; a t thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore."-Ps. 16 : 11. In the writings of the Christian apostles and companions there are similar cases where the word presence is in many instances drawn from the word face and where i t implies more than merely having attention. As examples of this, note Luke 1 : 19: "And the angel, answering, said unto him, I am Gabriel, that stand in the presence [(literally). in the face] of God; and am sent t o speak unto thee, and to shew thee these glad tidings." Hebrews 9 : 24: "For Christ is not entered into the holy places made with hands, which are the figures of the true; but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us." Jude 24: "Now unto him that is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy." I n this and the preceding paragraph presence refers to being personally on the spot. However, an examination of other scriptures shows that presence could not always- reasonab'ly and necessarily carry with it the thought of bodily situation. We are not arguing t h a t Jehovah could not be personally present. The argument is that he might personally be present and might not, and in neither instance would his power be limited or confined. In giving instruction t o Moses regarding the priesthood of Israel Jehovah God said: "Speak unto Aaron t h y brother, that he come not a t all times into the holy place within the veil before the mercy seat, which is upon the ark ; t h a t he die not: for I will appear in the cloud upon the mercy seat." (Lev. 16 : 2) The cloud here mentioned appeared above the mercy seat of the sacred ark and immediately between the cherubim mounted on both ends of the mercy sea~t. By the glorious light streaming through this cloud, Jehovah appeared or manifested his presence in the most holy of the tabernacle. For this reason Jehovah was said to dwell between the cherubim: "The LORDreigneth: let the people tremble : he sitteth between the cherubims ; let the earth be moved." (Ps. 99 : 1) "Thou that dwellest between the cherubims, shine forth." (Ps. 80 : 1) No one will seriously contend that, during the hundreds of years the ark of the covenant was in the most holy compartment of the ta.bernacle or temple, Jehovah was literally absent from his throne in heaven

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"THY WORDIS TRUTH" as -bodily present in the holy sanctuary on earth, ng in the cloud between the cherubim on the mercy However, tha>this presence was manifested a t lace there is not the slightest doubt. . eally, the cloud symbolizing or representing Jehopresence which abode between the golden cheruillustrated how Jehovah place in the heavens erve in his organization a1 proof that the actual as not in the temple in he presented the merit , did not enter into the sanctuary of the temple, in Jerusalem. No,; he proceeded to heaven itself, there t o appear in the presence of God. Thereby Jesus showed that God's real presence is above, in heaven.-Heb.9 : 24. In agreement with that, King Solomon, having built the earthly temple a t Jerusalem, said to Jehovah God when dedica,ting i t : "Behold, the heaven and heaven of heavens cannot contain thee ; how much less ~ i 8 .: 27) T~ the this house that I have buildedl,, same effect the apostle Paul presents a convincing argument when he says: "God that made the and all things therein, seeing that he is Lord of heaven and earth, dwelleth not in temples made with hands." (Acts 17 : 24) Thus i t is clear that Jehovah's presâ&#x201A;Ź!nee in any earthly tELbernacle or temple was at only symbolical, or represented by the Presence of One of his heavenly deputies or angels. Jehovah frequently spoke of being with his people when they were joyfully obedient to his commandments and kept the ways h% pointed out to them. To Moses '

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he made promise to this effect: "My sh?f%,gld with thee:" ' To Joshua, when he was c c r r i i n i i s s u ~ p FF to carry out the work as Moses'.. succes~oy,, t h ~ *a- :E $$ said: "As I was with Moses, so I will be ~ i t h ' t ~ will not fail thee, nor forsake thee. . . . Be stron&;&f$ of a good Courage; bte not afraid, neither be th!f &?$:& m a ~ e d :for the LORDthy God is with thee whit ~ B Q ; ever thou goest." (Josh 1 : 5, 9) Joshua was'.'@~&$ special evi.depce of this when he encountered with drawn spord in hand when surveying the w l l g Jericho befork they collapsed. I n response to $oshq&$ inquiry the man replied : "Nay ; buf as $e%&a.in.of2$@ host of the LORDam 1 now come." "And J Q S ~ U $ ; ~ ~ on his face to the earth, and did worsliip." ( J O Q ~ ~ 13, 14) Joshua realized that i t was an angel aeput? of Jehovah GodOnly one angel there exhibitedz$imself to ~oshu: yet it is evident t h a t he was not alone; for h e spoke 01 himself as being "captain of the host of the LO@", He must have been referring to a great host of invii ible angels, who were there the Israelites as they besieged the heathen city of Jericho.. 'FP& quently in the Scriptures Jehovah is spoken of as ','_fljj LORDof hosts". On this occasion a host of of Jehovah were encamped about the besieging Isr~sJ ites to shield them from their foes, both the visibIi ones on earth and the in+isible demons. On such w, Jehovah's presence was with his people. His presenu is likewise with his faithful people today, his dwo&f witnesses under the Greater than Joshua, apd for the?, comfort and strengthening it is written: "As tlic mountains a r e round about Jerusalem, so the LORDil round about his people from henceforth even for eve$' - 2 s . 125 :2. y . ?: : .

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FIELD EXPERIENCES PIONEER6 I N BRITAIN SAY :

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"We would just like to say now what a joy the work is these days. 'We seem to be having such grand iences. The people did not seem to want studies the first time we worke&F-------, nor the second nor the third; but our determination has a t last them see the importance, and we are running fourteen l % ~ kstudies. "A man contacted in the door-to-door work did not wbnt to hear the phonograph, but had a number of questions t o ask and seemed satisfied with the answers given. He acceptsd the loan of a book and would welcome a return visit. I made the return call, taking the recording ' m e Dead', and answered many questions and outlined the study procedure. A study was arranged for Sunday evening. Exceptional interest was shown by his married daughter, who had read much of the book we left, arid rejoiced in it. His wife was also interested, and a book study was carried through'with all having a share in looking ilp the scriptures in the Questions Booklet. Great progress has been made over the past four studies, and now the daughter and her father have attended our regular

studies. The daughter's first field report of wit&% ing showed five hours' work, with placemedts a?Q sound attendance, together with some namgi in ha notebook for return calls. This after little "inore,.tm a month after our first contact with them."-4.3, -':-:-. M

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AN HONEST CHIEF (CHILLAN, CHILE). T? . -% "While working from house to hou'3e duiing*%(XI special Testimony Period in Chillan, I was taken t o tEl Division of Investigation by officers. The in vestigation, questioning me as to the work d@iW asked me for my permission and autho n. answered that I was doing this by Jehovah's sion, and gave him my card. Reading the card, g~ noted all the Scriptural texts and stated: 'Why shQ@# you want &ore permission, being authorized by the &Jf aboi-c)?' Then addressing the officers who had bybugiq me in, he said that they brought into the'Q<$$$& people who are engaged in doing good, but that%Fr$ef$ and the like they do not bring in because: they f&&$% from them twenty or thirty pesqs. BGug freg# .% returned to my work." <.