watchtower: liberty by j. f. rutherford, 1932

8/20/2019 Watchtower: Liberty by J. F. Rutherford, 1932

1/68


2/68


3/68

iberty

expl ined

in

Seven ible

Treatises

by

J F RUTHERFORD


4/68

.,

Denr

Judge Rutherford:

uYour

books

nre

tl\c most

amaz-

ing

eye-Oreners I ever read. Until

I chacko(

the

s

criptures

you cite,

I couldn t bolieve

that

the Bible

contained such n r.easonable and

complete s

tntem

ent

of

God's

pur-

pose to give li

to,

liberty and hap-

piness to the people right here on

earth.

,

I

I

Oon TITOHTEn 1932

~ D PUULI

SBED nY

W T C H T O W E R

DmLE AND TRaCT SOCillTY

Jntc rnn Uonnl Bible.

tud

en ts AssOC iation

B rooklyu, N. Y., U.S.A.

BRANCH

OFFICES:

London, Magdeburg,

Paris

.

Toronto. Strnthf}eld, Cape

Town, Berne C o p e n h n g e ~

Stockholm, and other

cities.

Made in

U

S A


5/68

LI ERTY

Civil iiation Doomed

HE

peoples of eartb

fonned

into nations

and OJ;ganized into governments, consti-

tute

present civilization. The most prom-

inent amongst these are the nations .which

collectively

are

called Christendom . These

nations are ruled

by

a combination of comme

r-

cial giants, professional politicians and reli-

gious leaders called clergymen. They claim to

rule

by

divine

right and

authority.

Their

claim.

is

false. God never puts his finger of approval

npon such a combination. n these uations the

wealth and the powel', the education and the

politics, the religion

and

even

the health

and

food of the people, are all contl'olled

by

the com-

bined rulers. The

strong

arm

of the law and

military

powe.D ell'fo:mes the decrees of thesn

l'ulers. The common people

must

bear their

burdens

and

remain quiet.

The haughty and austere indulge in much

boasting concerning the rugh attainments of

present

civilization. Many have unwisely con-

vinced themselves

that

their

position

is as

in-

vuln

erab

le as the roclr of ages. In the power

of their money they trust and their se

l

shness

has

caused

their ears

to be closed to the cries

3


6/68

4

LI ERTY

of the poor and the oppressed. God

has

prom-

ised

that

he will hear these cries, however;

and

he Ileal'S them.

The religi.ous leaders of Christendom , so

called, rest their faith in the hlgher education

and regard the Bible as of little. or no value.

t is generally known

that

in the theological

colleges and schools today the Bible

is

tabooed

and the sonnd doctrine thereof is completely

ignorerl

or

rc.pud; ated. Instead thereof reliance

is placed npon the sayings of modern wise

men who occupy positions of leadership and

are

of the chief ones in modern civilization. The

educational institutions of the world have in-

stalled teachers and professors whose ears

tingle to hear the

ir

own praises sung and who

know not God. I cite these facts,

not

for the

purpose of ridicule, but because they

are

facts

which God long ago foretold

til

rough his Word

and which are another evidence of the times in

which we are living. In 2 Timothy 4: 3 4 it is

written: For the time w ll come when they will

not endure sotllld doctrine;

but

after their own

lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers,

having itching

ears;

and they shall turn away

their

ears from

tlle truth,

and

shall be turned

unto fables. A clear fullilment of this divine

prophecy we see in the. youth's being taught the

theory of evolution of man, which is in direct

contradiction to the Word of God.


7/68

C I V I L IZ T I O N OOME 5

The

ultrarich

contil1U(do increase in power,

while the sufferings of

the

common people in

crease

in

like proportions. Neve( before

in the

history

of man

has there

been so much tangible

and available

material

wealth

in

the eanth

as

now,

and

never before

has

there been such a

great depression

and

such suffering amongst

those who desire

the opportunity

to

earn

an

honest living. .Almost all the farm lands

are

mortgaged to

Ulen

wbo produce nothing,

and

the burdens of

interest

and taxation

are

almost

unbearable. Much

of

the. soil

is

tilled by mere

serfs. Tbe

fruits

of

the

ground

are

marketed

at

littl

e

or

no profit to

the

toilers. The cries of

these laborers

are

ullIlCeded by the chief ones

in present

civilization, ·while Dlillions

are

wrung

from the people

in

taxes

and

expended

n

an

unfruitful

effort to enforce unreasonable laws.

Long ago God foretold that just such a condi

tion would exist

in

this day, and

li

caused a

proph

ecy thereof to be written, in

James

5: 1-4,

in

these words: Go to now, ye

rich

men, weep

and howl for your

miseries

that

shall come upon

you. Your r

are

corrupted, and your g.ar

·ments

are motH eaten. Your goLd and silver is

,c.imkered;

and

the

rust

of them shall be a wit

ness against you,

and

shall

eat

your flesh

as t

were fire. Ye l,ave heaped treasure together

for

the last days. BellOld, the

hir

e of the labour

ers

who have reaped down your fi eld

s

which is of

you kept back by fraud, crieth: and the cries

of


8/68

6

L I E R T Y

them which have )'eaped

are

entered into the

ears of the Lord of [IV

ar].

. The most astute statesmen of the world see

that some great calamity is about to befall civ-

ilization,

but

llave no r emedy therefor. One of

these recently,

at

a

wOl

ld congress, said: ''Force

is the

on

ly tlling

that

rules the world. Unless

you stamp

Otlt

I,hat conviction, civilization is

doomed upon this eartb. t is feared by the

rnle.rs that Bolshevism or Communism ,vill

wreck civilizati o

n;

but in that they err. The

ruling powers are

too strong and firmly en-

trenclled to ever be overthrown

by

Communism,

Bolshevism or any lilm movements amongst

men. f tll e rul

ers

and the people would give

heed to the Bible, they would r eadily see what

will destroy tIle prese

nt

wor

ld

organization.

The

purpo

se of this speech and of the books

that are brought to your door explaining the

BibJ

e is to give you a plain explan

at

iou

that

will

enable you to

get

a

prop

er UJlderstanding of

the impending

cr

isis.

Th

e day of God's vengeance is

at

hand. The

time has arrived

for

him to give expression to

his l'ighteous indignation against the powers of

wickedness, that his name might be vindicated

and

that

the people might be released from tlleir

thraldom.

For

this reason says the Lord's wit-

ness: 'The cries of the oppressed have entered

into the

ears

of the God of Battle.' Jehovah God

w ll

bring

relief, and no power can withstand him.


9/68

C I V I L I Z T I O N DOOMED 7

From the prophecy of I saiah 34: 1-8 I quote

the

words of Jehovall, to

wit:

Come near, yo

nations, to hear; and hearken, ye people. Let

all the world hear ; for the indignation of J eho

vah is upon all nations, for it is the day of his

vi ndieation.

But

why will

the

great Jehovah God manifest

his

displ

eas

ure

and express his indignation

against

the people

of

the earth' The answer

is that the Devil's rule. of

the

affairs of

the

world has come to an end; Christ Jesus, ea rth s

rightful King, is come, and now the rule of op

pr

ession and wickedness must fall and make

way

for

the righteous rule of

the great

Prince

of Peace. The Bible declares that

the

Devil has

long heen the god of this woda; that .he has

deceived and blinded the

rulers

and

the

people,

and turned them against Jehovah God ; and that

for the good of human creation, and for the

honor of Goel s name, the Devil s power anel or

ganization shall be

for

ever destroyed.

The clergy and their allies claim that they

will

reform

the world, clear out

the

practice of

crime,

and make the earth a fit place n which

to live. Be no longer deceived by such false

claims. They are blind leaders of the blind and

shall all fall into the ditch. Let the people give

heed to what the great God of the universe says.

From Zephaniah 3: 8 I quote

his

words, to wit:

Therefore wait ye upon me,

sait

h the Lord,

unt l

the

day

that

I

rise up

to the pxey;

for my


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8

L I E R T Y

determination

is

to

gather

the nations,

tlUl.t

I

may assemble the kingdoms, to

pOlli

upon them

mine indignati.on, even all my ficrce

anger:

for

all the earth shall be devoured with the fire of

my jealousy. TIle word earth in this proph

ecy mcans the organized powers of modern civ

ilization which must go down before the onward

march of Christ, the

King

of glory.

n J cnemiah 25: 31-35 it is written: 'Confu

sion sllaH come to the ends of the earth; for the

Lord hath a controversy with the nations; he

will give the wicked to the sword. Thus saith

thc Lord of hosts, Behold, evil shall go from

nation to nation, and a

great

trouble shall be

raised up from the sides of the earth, and the

slain of the Lord shall be at

that

day from one

end of the

earth

even to the other, and the

shepherds [teachers and leade

rs of civilization]

shall .have no way to flee, nor the principal of

the

flock

to escape.'

From time to time there come to your door

men and women who mffiihit to you books which

give an e ~ p l n . n a t i o n of the Bible. They come

not for money, and cven the small pittance

contributed is used to publish other books to

help the people understand.

Wbat is

the induc

ing cause for them thns to come When

Jesus

gave answer to the question concerning the end

of the world and his second coming, he foretold

the present conditions and then gave a positive

commandment to those who love him, a11d which


11/68

C I V I L IZ T I O N

DOOMED 9

commandment is found in Matthew 24: 14 in

these words: This gospel of the kingdom

shall

be preached n all the world

for

a witness unto

all nations: and then shall the end come. In

obedience to this commandment,

and that

the

people might be informed of what is immediate-

ly about to come

to

pass, this testimony

is

brought to your attention.

t

is imperative that this testimony be given;

and when it is, done the collapse of civilization

shall come, as Jesus foxetold, in these woxds:

For then shall be great tribulation, such as was

not since the beginning of the world to tlris time,

no, nor ever shall be. And except those days

should be shortened, there should no flesh be

saved: but

for

the elect's sake those days shall

be shortened. (Matthew 24:

21,

22) The fact

that

Jesus says that this will be the worst

trouble the world has ever known and that

there shall never be another

is

conclusive proof

that

such will end all oppression

that

has been

heaped upon the ch

ildren of men. There sha

ll

immediately follow the inauguration of the

righteous reign of peace an9 prosperity under

Christ. Conce.rning lrim it

is

'Yritten, in Isaiah,

chapter nine: 'The government shall be upon Ilis

shoulder,

and

of the peace thereof

th

ere sllall

be no end.'

t

must be apparent to all who tlrink seriously

that the present unhappy cond iti on

co

uld not

continue

lo

r a long period of time. The hurdens


12/68

1

LI ERTY

now heaped upon

the

people

are

too

great

to

be borne without

breaking

them. No human or

ganization

has

any remedy. The ordex-Iomng

people should hail with delight God s annolmced

l.emedy which spells tIle doom of present op

pl essive cimlization and reveals

the

new day

of blessedness

for

the groaning millions of the

earth.

Be

,mse now, therefore, and

inform

your

selves of the meaning of

the pr

esent-day events

and

what is

about to come to

pass

. I. his in

formation is given for the good of those who

desi re better things than

are now

had.

The

great

Jehovah

is the God of battle and

the

God

of peace and comfort.

He

will shortly enforce

his decree against the oppressor, w ll establish

peace and righteousness, will vjndicate 11is word

and name and will give the blessings of life,

prosp

erity and ~ p p n

s s

to all who love and

obey him.

The

only possible remedy

for

human ills is

God s l{ing 1 m under

Christ

. T.he men who arc.

n tile lead in modern civilization have heen

caught in Satan's trap. Neither they nor the

people n general appreciate the real cause of

present

di st

ress. The rule

rs grope

about

in

darkness for some means of relief,

but

they find

none.

The

conditions

w ll

grow worse,

and

then

God will

bring

to the people what they really

desire. By his prophet J ehovah says, in Psalm

107: They reel to and fro, and stagger like a

drunl{en man, and

are at

their wit s end. Then


13/68

P R I SON RS

11

they cry unto the

Lord

in their trouble, and he

brin

geth

th

em

out of

their

distr

esses.

Then

are

th ey

glad

b

ec

ause they be

quiet:

so he bring

et

h them unto

their

des

ir

ed haven

.

L

et

no one be disco

ur

aged now.

Wh

en we

lea

rn

the facts, th

ere

is eve

ry

reason to be en

courage

d. God has promised that with

th

e pass

ing away of the

pr

esent oppressive civilization

the conditions of righteonsness, peace, and pros

perity, health

and

life shall come to

the

people.

That

is what men

really

desire. Sane persons

should cease fighting amongst themselves

and

turn

th

e

ir

ene

rgi

es to the acquiring of a knowl

edge of God's

purpos

es. J ehovah God now

speaks to the peopl

e,

in

Psalm

seventy-two,

saying : He shall

jud

ge the poor of

th

e people,

he shall save the children of

the

needy,

and

shall break in

pi

eces the

oppr

essor

His

name shall endure

for

eve

r:

his name sball be

continued

as

long

as

the s

un;

and men shall be

blessed n him: all nations shall call him blessed.

risoners

T

HE BIBLE,

which is J ehovah's

Word,

is

an

inex

haustible

tr

e

asure

store. The more

one searches it, the more

marv

elous i ts

boundless riches appear. The I s

ra

elites were

God's typical people, organized

and

used to

foreshadow better things to

como.

Among God's


14/68

12

L I E R T Y

holy prophe

ts

of I smel was Isaiah, whom God

used to write

dOWlI

some of his purposes.

n

the forty-second chapter of

that

prophecy these

words

are written:

"Behold my se

rvaut

, whom

I uphold, mine elect, in whom my soul delight

eth;

I h lve

put

my

spirit

upon

him;

he shall

bring

fortb judgm

ent

to the [nations]. I

the.

Lord

have ca

ll

ed thee

in

right

eo

usness, and

will hold thine hand,

and

will keep thee; and

give thee

for

a covenan t of

th

e people,

for

a

light of the [nation

s];

to open the blind eyes,

to

hring

out

the

pri

s.oners from the prison,

and

lImn

that sit

in d

ark

ness out of the prison

house."

This prophecy could not have an application

to the nation of Israel because

that

nation had

no prison houses.

A.

differe

nt

method was

em-

ployed to punish their wrongdoers.

The

key to

the unde

rstanding

of this prophecy is found in

1 Corinthians 10: 11, which says these things

pertaining to I srael were for examples arid

were

writt

en

for

the learning of those upon

whom

the

end of

the wOl ld has co

me. Other

sCI'iptures show that we

are

now

at

the end of

the world, and hence

it is

the due time to Imder

stand

these prophecies.

A.t

the time

of

the ful

filment of the prophecy thel'e

are

''blind'' per

sons whose eyes must be opened and "prisoners"

who must be

hrought out

of the

pri

son houses.

The

proph

ecy

is

addressed to the

servant

of

God and cannot have reference to

jail

deliveries,


15/68

P R IS O N R S

13

because to engage

in that

would

be

unlaw1;ul

and

wrong.

t

is

Christ

and his

faithful

followers

that

perform

the work n fulfllment of this

prophecy,

and its

fulfllment is upon those who

are mentally blind to the trutll and who are held

prisoners by being r estl'ained from obtaining

the truth.

A man may be held a

prisoner

behind

iron

bars, or he may be held in restraint by fear nnd

for

that reason be unable to exercise his liberty.

The Lord says: The

fear

of

man

bring

et

h a

s

nar

e. One

in

a

snare

is restrained of liberty,

hence a prisoner. Tlle physical facts well known

supply

the proof

as

to the correct understand-

ing of this prophecy. The prison houses named

by the prophet

co

nsist of organized religions,

amongst which is

so·call ed organized Chris-

tianity . The

prisoners

are those who by r eason

of coercion and

fear

are restrained from reach-

ing out and getting the truth of God's purposes.

What

I now

state

is

not for ridicule,

but that

you may have in

rn

nd the facts as have actually

existed and

it

will enable you to see the fulfIl-

ment of tbis

proph

ecy.

There are numerous churches

or

congrega-

tions throughout the land,

and

their worship is

mer e formalism, bowing down to

imag

es and re-

peating ce rtain rituals. Those who attend

and

thus

do show a form of godliness but have a

complete lack of devotion to God. J esus

said

that fOl'malism is

an

abomination in the sight


16/68

14

LI ERTY

of God. The commandment of J ehovah

is:

'Ye

shall make no idols

nor

graven images, neither

rea · ye up standing images to bow down to

them.' The formalisms practiced throughout

organized Christianity , so called, come clear-

ly within the Scriptural definition forbidding

graven images. These organizations are the

prison

houses.

Organized Christianity forms a

part

of this

world, because t indulges in ruling the affairs

of the world. Satan is the god of this world.

The chief pri son keeper of these prison houses

is Satan, who blinds the people to the truth, and

thus the

proph

et

mentions them

as

blind .

Each congregation has its shepherd or leader

or watchman called the pastor . By indulging

in the politics of the world and endorsing tIle

Leagne of Nations these clergymen show thcy

are not devoted to God and bis kingdom. They

refuse to

hear

the testimony of God's

Word

con-

cerning the overthrow of

Satan s

organization

and

the establishment of the · ghteous rule of

Christ on

earth

. They use their power aud in-

fluence to coerce,

put

in fear, and thus prevent

members

of

t ~ i r congregatious fl·om learning

the

truth

as

set forth

in the Bible. Members of

these congregations are thns held in res

traint

and

ar

e prisone

rs.

Donbtless n every congregation of organ-

ized Christianity there

are

many who desire

righteousness and: who want to see the kingdom


17/68

P R IS O N R S

15

of God established. These observe that

their

speakers befol'e the congregation devote

their

sermons to worldly politics and scientific and

social

matters,

and never give the congregation

any spiritual food from the Bible. f some

member of the congregation suggests that they

go elsewhere to h

ear

a lecture on

the

Bible,

the

prison

keeper

informs

them

that

they cannot do

so and that unless they remain in the church

and support it, they will wreck the worlel and

fix

their

own

destiny

in eternal torment. A

great multitude are thereby

put

in fear of men,

are

in a snare and

are

hence heJd prisoners.

There

aFe

millions of

hungry

souls

in

these

church organizations who

are in

i s t r e ~ s

of

mind because of existing conditions

ther

ein.

They want to do

right

and serve God, and they

are at a loss to know just what to do.

J

ehovall

fore1. 1lew

and caused his

proph

et to write con-

cerning these conditions, in

Psahn

79,

repre-

senting the llrisoners praying, to

wit: He

lp us,

God of our salvation, for the glory of tlly

name; and deliver us. These prisoners know

that the name of God is not hon ored in thei r

congregations and that outsiders look lIpon

them

Witll

scorn and upon their lea lers as hypo-

crit

es. God's

prophet

represents them

as

con-

tinuing in

their

supplieation in these words :

''Wherefore should [those outside] say, WJ,cre

is

their

God T let

him

bo

known among the

[nations] in our sight, by the rovcng,ing of the


18/68

I

L I E R T Y

blood of thy

servants

which is sheel. L

et

the

sig

hing of the

pri

son

er

co

me before thee; nc-

cording to the greatness of thy power preserve

tbou those that are

appointed

to

di

e.

Thi s prophecy shows that the prisoners arc

alive and

are appointed

to di e.

All

who have

made a covenant to do God's will and have been

r eceived as God's c

hildr

en

mu

st

die as human

and

be

rai sed

up

as

sp

irit

creatures. All such

who

voluntarily leave worldly organizations and

devote themselves to God and bis service are

free . Those who

are

dete

rr

ed from so doing are

held as prisoner

s. This

l

atter

class is described,

in

Rev

elation,

chapter

seven and other scrip

tures,

as a

grea

t multitude who

are

in tribu

lation. Many of

this

gr

ea

t multitude

~

today

hun

gr

y and thir

sty for

the

truth,

and they find

it not in the

ir

OWll cong

l·

egations ; and they be

ing prevented by coercion and

fear

from going

el

sewhe

re

to find it, God

's pr

o

ph

et represents

th

em as saying : I looked on my right hand, and

beheld,

but th

ere was

no

man

that

would know

me ; refuge fai led

me;

no man cared

for

my

so ul. I cl·ied unto tllee, 0 Lord; I said, Thou

art

my r

ef

uge

and

my

portion

in

th

e land of

Ule living.

Att

end unto my

cry; for

I am

brought very low: deliver me from

my

perse

cutors; for

tbey

ar

e s trtmger than I.

Brin

g my

soul out of prison, that I

may

praise thy name ;

the righteous

sha

ll compass me

about;

for

thou

shalt deaJ bountifully with

.me. -Psalm

142: 4-7.


19/68

P R I S O N R S

7

. Then 'Jehovah by his prophet foretells the

time. when he would

hear

the cries of these

pris-

oners

and

send them relief. That time is when

God builds

up

Zion, which takes place at the

end of the world when Christ comes to his tem

ple for judgment. We are now at that time.

Concerning this, God by his prophet,

in Psalm

102,

says

"When the

Lord

shull build

up

Zion,

he shall appear in

his

glory. He will regard

the prayer of the destitute, and not despise

their

prayer

.

For he

hath

looked down

from the height of his sanctuary; from heaven

did the

Lord

behold the

earth;

to hear the

groaning of the prisoner, to loose those

that

are appointed to death."

n

fulfilment of this prophecy and, of

co

m se,

just

at

the

right

time, J ehoval has brought into

action the radio which permits these hungry

ones to sit

in

their own homes and listen to a

plain statement of God's Word of truth, and

this r egardl

ess of opposition by the prison keep

ers.

Th

e message goes through

prison

walls.

Also the

Lord

has provided books which

set

forth the facts and .scriptmes showing the ful

filment of prophecy in this day,

and

this is fooe

for the hungry p r s o n ~ · s Multitudes of these

people of good

and hon

est h

earts are

hearing

and

reading these prophecies

of

God's Word.

Jehovah by

his prophet shows tllat he

will

soon

open the prison doors, release tho pri

so

ners,

and CJuench the

thirst

of those who desire re-


20/68

18

LI ERTY

fresh

i

ng

truths.

In

the

146th

Psalm proof

is

supp.Iied, and the prisoners

are

heard saying :

"Put not

your trust

in princes, nor in the son

of man, in whom there is no help. Happy is he

that hath the God of Jacob for his help, whose

hope is in the Lord

his

God. Which executeth

judgment for

the oppressed: which giveth food

to the hungry. The Lord looseth the prisoners ;

the Lord openeth the eyes of the blind; the Lord

raiseth

them that

are

bowed down ; the Lord

loveth the r i g h t l l s ~ P s a l m 146:

3

5

7 8.

'What, then, says the Lord concerning the

shepherds in the congregations

that

vigorously

endeavor to

restrain

the members of

their

flock

from getting an understanding of the truth

By his prophet Ezekiel

(chapter thirty

-four)

Jehovah says : Behold, I am against the shep

herds; and

I will . . . cause them to cease from

feeding the flock; neither shall the shepherds

feed themselves

any

more.

Then says

Jehovah:

''Behold my servant "

thereby meaning

Christ

and his true and humble

followers who seek not the approval of men but

who

are

wholly devoted to doing the w ll of God.

'Jehovah says: I w ll seud these

forth

to deliver

my message of truth and -thereby open the eyes

of

the

blind

and bring

the

prisoners

out of the

prison

houses.' This

is

one of the reasons why

the message of

truth

must now be carried to

the peopl

e

and

that

work is now in progress n

fulfilment of prophecy. Such is the reason why


21/68

9

faithful men and women go

fromnouse

to house

on

Sunday and during spare

time of ,eek days

to call attention of the people to the Bihle

and to hooks malcing the Bihle message clear.

This testimony of

the

truth

will enable those

who have heen blind to gain an understanding

of '€tod's purposes toward them. J ehovah has

co=anded

that

this

message of

the

tr

.

uth

shall

be carried to the people, and, regardless of all

opposition, God will see that his

purpose

is

accomplished.

There are millions of good people in

the

world who are not members of church con

gre

- .

gations

and

wno see

much

hypocrisy

in the

churches and

for that reason

hold themselves

aloof

ther

efrom. They do not unders

tand

the

truth, because both God

and

the Bible have been

misrepre

sented to them. They too must have an

opportunity to learn of and concerning God's

purposes.

This

work

of giving

the

testimony

God

has

committed

to Jesus

Christ, and ll who

are

true

followers

of

Christ

are

privileged to

have some

part

therein. Christ is thel'erore. th e

teacher of all who will hear. Therefore J eho

vah says ,of

his

elect Servant, in Isaiah 55: 4 :

Behold, I have given

im for

a witness to

th

e

people, a leader and commander to

the paolle.

The kingdom of God

is at

hand.

Entrance

to

that ldngdom is symbolized by its gntcs.

Acl-

dressing those who are devoted to

Ilim

and who

are his witnesses,

the

Lord, in I sniah, says:


22/68

2

LI ERTY

Go through, go

through

the

gates

prepare

ye

the way of the people; cast up, cast up the high

way gather 'out

the

stones; l i t up a

standard

for the

people. A

standard is

a guidon to

po nt

the

people to

the right

way. God's

co=and-

ment

is

that his

witnesses now lift up a

standard

for the people that they may see the

right

-way

to go.

When

one comes to

your

door hringing

to you

an

exp

lan

ation

of the

Bible, lmow

that

this

is

a message

from

the

Lord

to you

and for

your good. The day of deliverance

is

at hand.

All who will hear the truth and walk in the light

thereof shill

receive the.blessings of lib

erty

and

endless joy.

Honor Jehovah

God,

and

he

will

honor you.

Whose Prayers Are Answered?

T

H

ERE

arise

in

every serious mind at times

questions to which one attempts to find

satisfactory answer. Among these many

questions is

this

one, Whose prayers are

heard

.

and answered Pel·plexity

or distress

causes a

person

to realize

the

necessity of help. Know

ing of no one to whom he

might

go

for

help

man

prays to an unseen power. Is his prayer

heard

1

and may

he expect relieH Another per-

son feeling

the

need of help seeks a

priest or

preacher and

tells him of his trouble.

and

asks


23/68

WHOSE PRA ¥ERS ARE ANSWERED? 21

for

prayer

in

his bebalf. May

it

be expected

that

such

prayers

are

heard and

reli

ef

granted

in answer thereto 1 The clergyman stands be

fore his congregation or before the microphone

or in the public assembly of the national Con

gress and prays aloud to someone. Is there

reason to expect

that

his prayer is heard and

that

the relief asked

for

will

be

granted

1 Tlle.se

are questions of importance to humankind.

One of the greatest privileges the Christian

enjoys is

that

of prayer to J ehovah. Offered in

harmony

with tbe

Word

of God, and with con

fidence in God and in his Word, an answer may

be confidently expected. Not

everyone

bas

the

privilege of

prayer.

One's privilege

may be

different at different times. t is therefore .im

portant to have

an

understanding of

the

sub

ject

·

matter as

outlined

in tbe Word

of God, that

we

may understand

who

has the

privilege

pf

prayer

and

under

what

circumstances.

Prayer

is a petition asking

for

relief or favor.

f intelligently made,

it

is addressed to one

possessing the power

and

ability to grant the

reli

ef or

favor desired. God is all-powerful.

He

possesses

the

.power

and

authOrity to

grant

r e

lief; therefore a

petition

addressed

to

J

h o v a l ~

according to his will

as

expressed in his W orel,

may

receive a favorable consideration.

Many of. the peoples of earth address the

ir

prayers to stones OF statues made of

wooel

0) to .

other inanimate objects. Some turn wh

ee

ls

and


24/68

22

LI ERTY

count that as a

pray

e

r;

while others count

beads while they

rep

eat some words,

and

believe

tllis

is

prayer. Such prayers are worse than

us

eless, and are never answered. Many

pr

os

trat

e themselves in an attitude of devotion be

fore an

una

ge

or

some other inanilnate object

in tlle

form

of a cross, helieving that the pres

ence of such object

will

aid them in

their

pray

ers. Such prayers are offered without a proper

under standing of the Scriptures. The people

who offer these prayers are not to be blamed

and what is here said is not said for the purpose

of ridicule, but that the attention of seekers fo r

truth

m

ay

be

dir

ected to the privilege of

pray-

ing to God, the Giver of every good and

perf

ect

gift.

Does every person have the privilege of ap

proaching God in prayer with

ull

assurance of

obtaining the tlring desire

d

They do not have

that

privilege. They may pray,

hut

with no ex

pectation of having their praye

rs

answered.

'Are

the

prayers of ll preachers hea

rd

and au

swered No not merely because a man is a

pr

eac

her

or priest. f the prayers of all preach

ers

or pri

ests

are

not

heard

and answered, tl, en

WIlY

should anyone go to

th

em

for

prayer1 To

be s

ur

e there is notlring gained by asking a man

to

pray

-for you unless that man hilnself has

the privilege of prayer. Upon tllis point the

,scripture says : "For the eyes of tl,e Lord are

over the righteous, and Ilis cars are open unto


25/68

WHOSE PRAYERS ARE ANSWERED? 23

theirpl1ayers:

but

the face of the Lord is agaInst

them

tbat

do

evil

1-

Peter

3:

12)

By

this

au

-

thority

it

is

seen that

on

ly the righteous have

the privilege of prayer with the assurance that

relief may be had.

Does not the sinner have the privilege of

prayer lillto J ehovah Goc11 As a sinner, no; but

God

heaJJs

th

e honest c

ry

of the sinn

er

for help

and opens the way, i f he

is

obedient thereto. f

one is a sinner and turns away from Iris course

of wrongdoing and earnestly desires to do right,

then he is in an

attitude

of feeling

after

God.

f he then follows

the

way pointed out to 11im

he

may have the

privil

ege of prayer.

Is

there

any man

by nature

so

right or

righteous

as

to

be entitled to pray ' The Scriptures answer that

all men by inheritance were

born

in sin and

shapen in iniquity. In Romans 5:

2

it is Wl1it-

ten: ''Wherefore, as by one man sin entered n to

the world,

and

death

by

sin;

and so death passed

upon

all men, for

that

;ill

ha

ve sinned.

W11at is

meant by righteous or righteolls-

ness 1 t means to

be right

with God

or

have

God's approval. Is it possible for a

man

to be

right or l'ighteous' Yes, it is possible, and Goel

has

made

that

provision.

t

was Aclmn who

sinned and was sentenced to death. All or his

, children were therefore

born

uJU:ighteoll s. God

made provision through the clean,

l\l1el

r OStU-

rection of the.perfect man

T

esll s Lllllt the s inn er

may be justified or appl·ovecl. In Romans 4: 5


26/68

24

LI ERTY

it is written: 'To him

who

believes in J e·sus

Christ, his faith is counted for right

eo

usness.'

Rig

hteo

usness and justification mean the same

thing. Therefore being justified by faith, we

have peace with God through

our Lord

J esus

Christ.

The Bible

states

that there

is

no possible way

for

one to come into harmony with God and be

ju

stified or approved, except by fruth in the

shed blood of

Jesu

s Christ as

that

which pro

vides the l·edemptioD price for

maD . RomaDS

5 :

18 19

; Acts 4:

10

12.

f a man wants to be in

harmoDY

with God,

what

shall

he

do

1 The Scriptures answer:

J

e-

sus saith ... , I am the way,

aDd

the truth, and

the life: no man cometh unto the Father,

but

by me. (John

14:

6) Fmthermore, Jesus srud:

I f any man

will

come after. me, let

him

deny

himself, and take up hi s cross, and follow me.

(Matthew 16: 24)

That

means

that

a man must

believe in

Jesus

as his Redeemer, must conse

crate himself unto God and take his stand firm

lyon the Lord's side regal·dless of the reproach

es

that

come upon

him for

so doing.

t is

not

necessary

for

a preacher

or priest

to consecrate

him,

but

each man must do

it

for himself, be

cause consecration

is

an agreement to do God's

will. Then God justifies or appl·oves that man

because of his

faith in Christ J esus.

A

perSOll

who is in tins condition

ha

s the priv

ilege of prayer unto J ehovah with the

e} :pecta

-


27/68

WHOSE PRAYERS ARE ANSWERED? 25

tion of being h

ear

d and answered when the

prayer

or petition is made in harmony with

qod s Word. Can a Moha=edan or a h

eat

hen

pray

to J ehovah God and expect to be heard

and answered 1 iN

0,

because he does not Imow

God and believes not

on

Christ J esus, and there-

fore he cannot exercise faith.

Th

en how ahout a clergyman

WllO

does not

believe God and who does not accept Christ's

shed blood as the redemptive price of man Y

May he

pray

Y

and

will his prayer to

T

ehovah

be

answered Y No His prayer would not be

heard or answered, for the reason that God is

po respecter of persons

and

he do es not

hear

those who are

not

in harmony with him. The

mere fact that a man claims to be a preacher

or minister of God's Word and occupies a pulpit

and is supported by a congregation is no reason

whatsoever that he has the privilege of prayer

unto J ehovah

~

th at mean

that

the clergymen, who

pray

n

public or through tile microphone that men

lllay see them or hear them, are not heard and

answered by the Lord '

That

is the correct con-

clusion according to the Bible, and the Bible is

the only autho:rrity by which the question can

be determined.

Then what advantage is there IOJ" a si

nn

cr

to

go to such a clergyman or

pri

st

anel

ask

hi

a

praye

r

None whatsoever. J SllR answered that

question and made it so clear

that

[hero would


28/68

26

LI ERTY

be no

aoubt

about

it.

In

hi

s time

the J

ewish

clergymen were made

up

of

the

scribe

s, priests

and

Pharisees. They occupied the exalted posi

tion of Moses' seat , and

it

was their duty to

teach the people the truth. They did tell the

people about the Scriptures, but

they acted cou

trary

thereto themselves.

n

Matthew, chapter

twenty-one, J esus drew a contrast between the

clergymen and the publicans and approved the

publicans.

In

Luke, c

hapt

er eighteen,

Jesus

said:

Two men went

up

into the temple to pray;

the one a Pharisee,

and

the other a publican. The

Pharisee

stood

and prayed

thus with himself:

God, I

tllallk thee

tllat

I am

not

as other men

are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as

thi

s publican: I fast twice in the. week, I give

tithes of all that I possess. And the publican,

standing

afar

off, would not lift up so much as

hi

s eyes unto heaven,

but

smote upon

his

breast,

saying, God be merciful to me a sinner. I tell

you, this man went down to his house justilled

rather' than

the. other; for everyone

that ex

alteth himself shall be abased;

and

he that

Immbleth himself shall be exalted.

Men

stand

in public places and

pray

aloud to

be heard of othen. They stand hefore the micro

phones and broadcast words that are supposed

to be a prayer which never get to J ehovah, of

course, and

are

not answered by him. Concerning

such, Jesus, in Matthew, chapter six, said: And


29/68

WHOSE PRAYERS ARE ANSWERED?

27

when thou prayest, thou shalt not be

as

the

hypocrites

are: for

they love to

pray

standing

in

tIle synagogues

and in

the corners of the

streets,

that

they

may

be seen of men. •Verily

I

say

unto you, The;y have their reward. But

thou, when thou prayest,

enter

into

thy

closet,

and when thou hast shut thy door, pray

to thy

Father

wIllch

is

in secret;

and

thy

Father

whiCh

seeth in secret, shall reward thee openly.

In

Mark, chapter twelve,

Jesus

said to his

disciples: Beware of the scribes, which love to

go in long clothing,

and

love salutations

in

the

marketplaces,

and

the chief seats in the syna-

gogues,

and

the uppermost rooms

at

feasts;

which e v o ~ widows' houses, and for a pre-

tence make long

prayers;

these shall l·eceive

greater damnation. Upon the authority of

the

words

of

Jesus, prayers of selfish men are not

heard nor

answered by the Lord.

Satan

the

Devil

has

inveigled most of the

religious teachers into Ills trap and has over-

reached them

until

they have become ashamed

of God and tbe shed blood of

Chl1ist

They

pray

to have the approval of men

rather than

the

approval of God; therefore Christ and God are

ashamed

of

those hypocrites who

pretend

to

represent the

truth.

They

m·e

an abomination

in the sight of the Lord. (Luke 9: 26) The

Lord

foretold

that

these

evil

men wonld invade every

part

of

the

organization of

Satan and

become

a

part

of it. t

is

even so.


30/68

8

LI ERTY

Men who maJ


31/68

A MODEL PRAYER

29

rules.

Any

formality or rule contrary to

what

God

has

prescribed must of necessity be wrong.

A good illustration concerning a man's priv-.

ilege as being different at different times is

given by

the Bible

record

concerning Cornelius,

an army officer. Because the Jews were God's

chosen nation

Jesus

confined his preaclriIJg to

tbatpe

.ople.

t

was more

than three years

after

his crucifixion that God sent the gospel to the

Gentiles. Cornelius, a Gentile, was a devout

man;

he believed

and

feared God and constant

ly

prayed

unto God. Undoubtedly Cornelius

had

de.voted himself to

God

as best he knew how,

but

it

was a

period

of

years

before God's due

time arrived to act

n

Cornelius' behalf. Then,

as stated

in A.cts, clmpter ten, he sent .Peter,

who was God's messenge.r

and

who was directed

to

say

to Cornelius:

Thy

prayers and thine

alms

are

come

up for

a memorial before God.

Then

Peter

said

to

Cornelius

that

God

is

no

respecter of persons

but

that the

time

had come

n

which he would accept all who believed in

Jesus Christ and who work righteousness.

Cornelius was

therefore

accepted by the Lord,

and thereafter Cornelius llad tIle privilege of

prayer

with the hope of being heard and an

swered. Cornelius

had

now become a true fol

lower of Christ Jesus.

The disciples of Jesus ,lid not know how they

should pray, and they requested Jesus to teach


32/68

s

LI ERTY

them. J esus stated to them a model prayel ,

which

appears in

the

sixth

chapter

of :Matthew.

He did not

tell them that they should always

use the same form

of

words,

but

what he did tell

them were tIle propel things for which they

should

pray.

Respollding to

their

request J esus

said. to tllem:

After

this manner therefore

pray ;

which means to have these objects

in

mind when you

pray.

Jesus l ?as

here

teaching

a model prayer to men who had voluntarily de-

voted themselves to the servi

ee

of God. Ther

e-

fore

he sald to

them:

'In this manner

pray:

Our

Father, which art in heaven; hallowed be thy

name.

This

means

that

the

relation of

Fatller

and sori

must

exist.

When

Jesus was baptized in the Jordan J

e-

hoval1 aelmowledged him

as

his beloved Son.

Thereafter

God gave J esus these

faithful

dis-

ciples, itnd

they

became the sons of God and

could

properly

address

J ehovall as

their

Father.

This does

not

m

ea

n the fatherhood of God to-

ward all men, as some have fooli shly taught and

yet

teach. The relations

hip

of

Father and

sou

exists only between God and those who are in

full harmony with hinl. No one who does

not

believe

that

Jehovah

is

the

only

true

God, and

that

Jesus Christ, by his blood, provided re-

demption

for

mankind, could possibly be

in har-

mony with God. Only those who are in harmony

with J ehovah and his purposes

are

called Ius

sons.

'.

•


33/68

A MODEL PE

YER

31

Bible texts

in

s

upport

of this conclusion are

fouud iu

James

1:

18:

Of his own will begat

he

us with tbe word of truth, that we should be a

kind of

fustfruits

of his creatures. (1 Peter

1 : 3) Blessed be the God and Father of our

Lord Jesus Christ, whi{ h according to his abun-

dant mercy luith begotten us again unto a lively

hope by the res

urr

ection of

Jesus

Christ

from

the dead. (1 John 3 : 1) Be

llOld,

what maJmer

of love the Father hath bestowed upon u

s,

that

we

should be called the sons of God. Such sons

of God are

counted righteous through the

merit

of Christ

Jesus

' blood, and therefore

God

he

ars

t)leir prayers.

The petition is addressed to Jehovah

and

acknowledges him

as

the

great

Giver. The name

of God is respected and revered by. the peti-

tioner. 'At once

it

is

app

arent that merely

formally repeating the words of the prayer

would not avail on e anything who is out of

har-

mony with

God.

Since God

is

no respecter of

persons, this rule would apply to men iu all

walks of life, whether

th

ey be clergymen or day

laborers.

The

prayer

continues thus: Thy kingdom

come. Thy will be done

in

earth,

as it is in

heaven. The petitioner

thus

d

ec

lares himself

in accord with the will of God as far as he

lmows it.

That

puts upon him the obligation to

study God's Word that he may

ther

eby more

fully ascertain God's

will

The fact that the


34/68

32

LI ERTY

petitione.r

prays for

the coming

of

God s king-

dom shows

that

the kingdom is of

greatest

pos-

sible importance

in his

mind, and that

until

the

kingdom is established

under

the great

King

the will of God could not be done on earth as it

is in

heaven.

He

acknowledges

that the king

-

doms of this wodd are against God hecause

they

are

under

the

control of

Satan,

God s

enemy,

and that their

course of action

is

con-

trary to tlle

w ll of

God. This proves that the

kingdoms of this world do

not

operate

by

divine

right. TJley have operated

and

do operate with-

out

interference

from

Jehovah,

but not by his

right

and

auiliority.

Jehovah

appointed

Jesus

to be

King

of ilie world,

and

until

that

kingdom

righteousness will

not prevail in

the earth. This

is supportpd by the statement of

Jesus

when he

said to Pilate: My kingdom is not of iliis 'jI orld,

but it comes later.

Jesus

told his disciples that

he

would

set

up his ldngdom

at

his

second com-

ing.

The

ldngdom

has therefore

been the

para-

mount desire of

his

true followers.

A

man

sincerely

prays for iliat

which he de-

sires.

Jesus

was teacliing his followe

rs

to

pray

for

ilie coming of the Jdngdom

and

ilierefore

to always desire

its

coming.

That

would enable

them to keep their affections

set

upon ilie

Lord s

Jdngdom

and

not

upon

the selfish fuings of ilie

world

under Satan. Their prayers,

to be sure,

would

not bring

ilie kingdom

any

sooner, but

would enable ilie petitioners to patiently await


35/68

MODEL

PR YER

33

the Lord s due time to

set

up llis kingdom,

and

to keep themselves in

the

love of God and of his

kingdom.

Many persons hav been induced to believe

that it is the duty of the Christian church to

convert the world and, to this end, to carryon

a

propaganda

to

bring the

people into the

churches. Such

is

entirely wrong.

Jesus

did

not teach anyone to attempt to convert the

world. e did say that the gospel of the king-

dom would be preached as a witness, and when

the kingdom is

set

up then the Lord

will

do the

converting of the world.

When man gets the

proper

uoderstanding of

the Bible he sees that virtue does not lie in any

religious organization, but that all virtue

and

blessings proceed from the kingdom of God.

e learns that the Bible shows that Christ must

first

set

up. his kingdom before the world can

be reformed.

e

therefore intelligently desires

the coming of the kingdom and

prays

for

its

coming, because in the kingdom unrighteousness

must end and

righteousness must be fully en-

throned,

and

then the

will

of God shall be done

on

earth as in

heaven. t is not therefore the

formal words

of

the

prayer

that

Jesus

was

planting in the minds of his followers, but it

was the great truth

of

and concetJung the king-

dom and of God s will and of the importance

thereof to creation.


36/68

34

LI ERTY

The followers of

Christ Jesus

who intelligent

ly serve God see

that

an

obligation

is

laid upon

them

to

always be zealous supporters of the

kingdom of God

under

Clnist.

Not

only do tlley

pray for its

o ~ p l e t e

establishment, but they

do

what

they

can

to

inform

others

about

God

and

Iris kingdom

that

they too

may

take their

stand

on the side of tile

Lord and

be

in

readi

ness to receive

the

·

l e s s i n g ~

of

the

kingdom

when it is

put

in full operation. In harmony

with tlris

prayer books which eA }Jlain the Bible

are published and carried to the people in

order

that

the people

may

be able to find in

their

Bi

bles

the

truth

and

thereby

to intelligently ascer

tain

the will of God,

that

they nright dp it. This

witness work is

not

propaganda, because

there

is no desire

or

effort

to propagate. a

theory

of

men or man-made orgaIDzation,

nor

to induce

any person

to

join any

organization.

t is pure-

ly

a work of education

for

the benefit of men

to the honor

of

J ehovali.

The prayer

taught continues

thns:

Give

us

today

our

daily bread.

t

is therefore proper

for the child of God to ask that his material and

mental or

spiritnal

food be supplied

by

the

Lord.

The

organism

or

body

must

be sustained

by material

food.

Th

e mind

must

be builded

up

by

a knowledge of the Word of God. The

Christian

may

confidently rely upon God to

provide. these things, but he

mnst put

forth his

best endeavors

in

hal1nony with the will of God


37/68

A MODEL PRAYER

35

to obtain them.

He must

work,

and

not be idle.

He

must

st

udy God s

Word, and not

be indiff

er-

ent thereto. J ehovaJl

S

prophet, in

Psalm 37,

says:

I have :never seen

the

righteous forsaken,

nor

his seed begging

bre

ad. All those who

earnest

ly endeavor to do

the will

of God

may

pray for the necessities, with complete confi-

dence of receiving them.

f you sincerely

utter this prayer and

then

the Lord sends some .person to yo u with Bible

helps

that

enable you to understand his Word,

then you should

do

what you can to supply your-

se

lf

with these needed helps

and to und

er

stand

God s Word.

Th

e

re

are

some who

are

too poor

to provide themselves with these books, and for

tue benefit of such the Society with which I am

associated provides help

for

Bible

study free

of cbarge, counting it a service for the Lord

thu

s to do.

Furthermore it is writt

en, in

Luk

e,

cl1apter four,

that man

shall not live.

by

br

ea

d

alone, but shall live by

every

wOl d of God. The

most

import

ant thing

for

man now to have is

all Imder standing of God s Word,

The

model

prayer

thus continues: FoTgive llR

our

trespasses,

as we forgive those that tl osp K

against

us.

That

means

that

evel y

101l0wo1

01:

Christ

should love mercy. As 0

wOllld

des;

1

0

to be forgiven

fOl: Iri

s own weakn sacs anel

i

m-

perf

ection

s,

he would also b r oady to fOl g

iv

those who trespass against llitn nnd

who ask

for

forgiveness. God requires of (Ill whom he


38/68

36

LI ERTY

appl oves that

they

shall love mercy, dd justly,

and

walle humbly before him.

God does not lead anyone into temptation.

Th

e proper rendering of the text of the

further

part of the model prayer is this: Abandon

us

not in temptation,

but

deliver

us from the

evil

one. Temptation

is

a

test

of faithfulness

aud

loyalty. God

permits

these

tests

to come

to

his

sons

in order to

prove them. Satan

attempted

to turn J esus away

from

the

faithful

devotion

to God,

and

that was a great

test

which J esus

fully

and

completely won. Every Christian

is

put

to the

test

as to whether

he will, under

all

conditions, ·be

faithful and

loyal to God

and

his

kingdom,

or

whether

he

will

compromise

with

the

unright

eous things of

Satan s

world.

By

such

tests

his faithfulness

and

loyalty are de-

termined.

Having

the desire to always be loya,l

to God, the Christian prays always in

harmony

with

that

desire

that

, when such

temptations

do

come,

the

Lord

will not

fo

rsake im but will

provide the

strength and

help

in

such time of

n

ee

d. The

Christian

asks

with

conildence, be-

cause

he

knows that

i

he is diligently

trying

to ascertain

the will

of God

and

goes to the

Bible

and

studies

it

he willlmow God s will,

and

thus the

help

will

be provided.

Bri

efly summed up, the words of

Jesus

clear

ly

show

that

a model

prayer

is

that

the pe

titioner

first exercise

faith in

Christ

as his Redee

mer,

devote himself to

Jehovah

Goel

and

then

pray


39/68

WHOM DO YOU HONOR? 37

to Jehovah as his Father;

that

he earnestly de-

sires to know and to do Jehovah's

will and

to

honor his name; that, when he learns the will

of God, he is diligent to do it; that he desires

the coming of God's kingdom, because that Inng-

dom will vindicate the. word and name of Jeho-

vah

and

bring relief and blessings to all the

families of the earth. He who tllUS prays will

be diligent

in

doing

what

he can to serve God

by

telling others about J ehovall's gracious pro-

wsion for deliverance.

and

blessings that he will

bestow on ll those who love, obey and serve

him.

Whom o You Honor

HERE is now a

great

question

at

issue

before the peoples of earth, and each one

must

determine for himself as to what

side of

that

issue he

will

take. ·To arrive

at

a

just

conclusion one must

be

properly informed.

That

proper

information cannot be based upon

the unsupported opinion of man, but t

must

find support in competent proof which proceeds

from a reliable source. All must concede

tl1 lt

such evidence

must

be

true

.

Th

e

greatest

teach-

er ever on earth declared that the Bible is the

truth Spealcing of it as Goel's Word, Jesus

said: . Thy word is trutb. With inspired wis-

dom the prophet of Jehovah,

in

the 119th Psalm,


40/68

8

LI ERTY

verse 105, said: ~ T h y word is a lamp unto my

feet, and a

light

unto

my

path. Another in

spired writer of the Bible, in Romans, chapter

thirteen, said: 'Give honor to whom honor

is

'due.'

t

follows from these texts

that

one must

reach a

just

conclusion supported by evidence

that comes from the Word of God, and tben

must give chief honor to the One

that

the

Word

of God directs. This enables him to take the

right

side, of the great issue, which question

at

issue is, Who is the great Supreme One, and

whom shall we obey?

''Honor'' means a manifestation of respect

and reverence

by

one

toward

another because

of real or supposed worth of the one

upon

whom

honor

is

bestowed. To be of

real worth he

must

possess dignity, goodness and excellency. Often

men who

are

wholly unworthy thereof have

honor bestowed upon them, while thexe

are

others

worthy of

honor who receive none. A

prophet is without honor among those of this

world. The great issne involves

th

,e question

as

to

whether men

w ll

truly honor God or

whether they

w ll

bestow their honor upon God's

enemy. ,

A general of

an

a y

visits a country and,

figuratively speaking,

at

his belt dangle the

scalps of many poor creatures whose life-blood

was poured out at his co=and The general

receives the plaudits

and

honOT of many. The

head of a

great

religious organization comes


41/68

WHOM

DO

YOU HONOR?

39

from

a foreign sbore,

and

shouting multitudes

greet

him

with songs of praise,

and

tbe

rulers

bestow their gifts and honor npon rum.

J

esns, the great

Princ

e of Peace, was dis

honored amongst men, sn ffered

great

indi

gnity

and died npon a felon's tree. Many good persons

have wondered why

imp

erfect and evil men

have received so much

llOnol ,

and why csus

the

perfect and holy One was so much dishon

ored . .They have wondered why t1le1'e is a

tendency to bestow honor upon

cl ue

l

anel

un

righteous men and to dishonor the Righleous

One.

The

proper

answer to that question illu

minat

es the

great

question

now.

at

is

sue before

the peoples of the world. BrieDy, the an

SwCl'

is,

Because Satan, who

is

the god of tbis world,

has

turned the

multitudes of

earth

away from

.Je-

hovah

the true God,

bas

brought rep1'oaches

upon

hi

s name, and causes all to be reproached

and

dishonored who faithfulJy serve

Gael.

Thus

the

majority of men have been induced to dis

honor God

and

give

their

honor

to

God's enemy.

Tbe

fundamental

law

given to Israel com

manded the people thus: Honour thy ruther

and thy

mother. Wllile

it is proper that t

son

should respect and honor his eaJ·th1y parents,

this scripture

has

a far deeper meaning

t11an

that.

The things

pertaining

to

tllC

IsraelHcs

foreshadowed greater and better things. ''Fa-

ther

here

stands

for J

ehoval1, wh;

Ie

mother

symbolically represents

JehOVaJl

God's univer-


42/68

=

hom do

you honor

age

8


43/68

WHOM DO YOU HONOR?

41

sal organization, which

is

otherwise called

"Zion". The

greatest

duty and privilege of the

child of God, therefore, is to honor Jehovah

and give full allegiance to Jehovah's organi Za

tiOD.

Jesus Christ

blazed the way which

all

creation that ultimately

pl

eases God must take.

He is the greatest One that was ever 011 earth.

In

everything he

did or

said he gave honor to

Jehovah.

The Pharisees constituted the clergy amongst

the Israelites, and upon them was laid the .ob

ligation of teaching the p eople God's Word.

Instead

of so doing and houoring God they

sought for honor

for

themselves.

From

that

day till now other men in similar places, claim

ing to represent God, have done and

are

doing

the same thing. I t is not unco=on for tho

modllrnists to claim that they lmow more than

is contained in God's W ol'd. TIle Pllal'isces

hated

Jesus

becaus'e he spoke with autllOriLy

and

gave Jehovah God' all the honor

for

what

he did and said, The modern

Pharis os

loole

with contempt upon those who today r oly pO l

God's Word and spcal{ it as truc, To Ihe Pl11\1 i

sees

Jesus

said : I f I honor myselC, my llonor

is nothing; I honor my

Father

and

YOll

di

Hhon

or

me.' Jesus did not exalt m s ~ l r , nnd look

no credit to himself, but gave 11 110nOl Itnd

cr

edit to his

Father

Many

01 Lodny

who rhlim

to

be teachers of CllrisLians wholly

r ~ p l I H f 1 . L o

t ~ blood of

Jesus

Christ as tho groat l'odemp-


44/68

42

LI ERTY

tive price for man,

and

thus dishonor

both

Christ

and

God. J esus

told

the

Pharisees

that

h

e who does

not

honor

the

Son does

not

honor

God who

sent

him .

Today

in

the churches

the

precepts

of men

are

taught and the Word of

God disregarded, and such dishonors the Lord.

f

you find

men taking

a

ur

se

contrary

to

what

Jesus

took

and

who

are

receiving honor

of men, you

may

know

that

they do

not

honor

God.

f

their

speech t e

nds

to

turn

men away

from Jesu

s

and

f

rom

God

and

his service,

then

such men by

their

course of action and speech

dishonor God. Who induced

the Pharisees

to

disho

nor

God Y

Je

sus

told

them

that Satan

th

e

De.vil did. The same rule

must

apply today.

f one claiming to represent

the

Lord dishonors

God

and Christ

J esus, then cl

early he is putting

himself on

Satan s

side.

The purpo

se of

Satan

is to cast

reproach

upon God and his Word

and

upon

all who faithfully serve him,

in

order

that

the

honor

due J e

hovah

may

be

taken from

him

and the

people be

turn

ed away from him. Sa-

.tan has induced men to build great organiza-

tions and use

snch

to bestow honor upon men

and by

this

means turn the

people away

from

the

truth

and

cause

th

em to dishonor God.

Does God

want honor

for a selfish reason 1

Not at

all. Nothing distlITbs J ehovah, and noth-

ing that the creature

could bestow upon

him

would

add anything

to him. He is the source

of life and bestows

bl

ess

ings

upon those who


45/68

WHOM DO YOU HONOR?

48

obey

him.

Therefore the giving of honor to 'J

0

hovah means to

be

willingly acting accordi.ng

to his

will

The bene£t results to the creature.

Many persons who would like to serve

God

are

ashamed to opeuly acknowledge him. Because

of

their

fear of men they decline to boldly take

a stand on the side of the Lord. This is due to

the influence of Satan, and

Jesus

says

tbat

J

e-

hovah will be ashamed of them.

Men do not need to

be

rude to anyone in order

to honor God. Their speech may seem rude to

some because they tell the truth, but

no one.

can honor God unless he does tell the truth as

stated

in

the Bible. Because

Jesus

told the truth

he was very unpopular; but he was never rude.

Now the great question before

the

minds of 1ho

peoples of

earth

is :

Are

we

for

the oJ'gani7.ll

tion of this world

and

will we bestow ont· 110nOl'

and

substance upon such, or do

we

givfl our

~

votion and honor to God and his kingdom '

Those who take their

sta

nd on th e aide

or

J 0-

hovah .

and

boldly proclaim llis namo lind hiH

works honor him. In Proverbs 3: 9 A .n V.)

it is written: Honor Jehovall wilh thy h

stance.

That

means that, inslcnd or It vuLill

your energies to sel£sh thinp;s

or 1 Id

Rworld, YOII

will

do what you can to exult

Lho

nnmo

01'

(lOll

in the minds of your fellow CI'OIl1. lII·I1H. 1 0 do

that at this time is lmpopnlnl', h oc/UlHO

Hltilln

is in power. Soon, howevor,

HnLm"H

orp;lllli7.ll

tion

will

go down.

ChriaL

,J

~

will b ill com-


46/68

LI ERTY

plete control, and then all who honor .Jehovah

will

have much cause

for

rejoicing.

He

who

honors God,

him will

God honor with riches and

everlasting life.

Those who love God are called upon to fol

low in the footsteps of J esus, which means to

take the course that Jesus took. The desire of

Jesus

and

of all his followers was long ago ex

pressed

in

the words of the psahnist (71 : 8) :

Let my mouth be filled with thy praise and with

thy

honour all .the day.

Why should men give honor to Jehovah God 7

Because he is

the

Creator of heaven

and

earth,

the fountain of life and blessings, and the Giver

of every good and perfect gift.

He

has unself

ishly made provision for the everlasting bless

ings of all who love righteousness and do it.

By

the psahnist (96: 5-8)

it

is

eJ.. Pressed

in this

manner: JehovaJl made the heavens. Honor

and majesty are before

him;

strength

and

beau

ty are in his sanctuary [A R V ] give unto the

Lord, 0 ye kindreds of the people, • • • the

[honor that is] due unto his name.

How shall we honor God? Not by weeping

and bemoaning our condition,

but

by learning of

his

will

and

then joyfully doing it. J esus

sa

id

to all who would

hear him:

'This is life eternal,

to

Imow thee the only true God,

and

J esus

Christ, whom thou hast sent.' That means that

as we come to a knowledge of God

and

of his

gracious provisions that he has made through


47/68

WHOM DO YOU HONOR?

45

J esus Christ, and

of the

kingdom for

the uplirt

of

the

peopl

e,

and

of the vindication of his

word and name, we learn the way to life and

happiness, To tJlen take

our stand

on the side

of God, give our allegiance and devotion to Ilis

cause,

and

serve him faithfully,

is

to honor his

name, As one tllUs comes to lmow and

appre-

ci

ate

J ehovah he joyfully takes

his

stand on tho

side of

th

e Most

High

and delights to tell others

of the goodness of God, The psalmist expr esses,

in Psahn

145,

the

sentiment of such: Great is

the Lord, and greatly to be praised; and ll is

greatness

is unsearchable, , , , I

w ll

speak of

the glorious honour of

thy

majesty, and of tJlY

wondrous works, , , , All thy works sllall

pm

i

so

thee, 0 Lord and

thy

saints shall bless ce,

Th

ey shall speak

of

the gl

ory

of thy kingdom,

and talk of

thy

power,

t would be inconsistent in J ehovah to o ~ l o w

everlasting life upon those who dishonor lliH

name, Those who lmowingly and willingly

diR

-

honor God and

Christ

are classed

aN wi(l

l

mcl;

and it is written, in Psalm 145: 20: ' 0 I ,o l'd

preserveth

all them that love

11im hilL n LIm

wicked will he destroy,

In Revelation, chapter four, thrl'o 'iR)lid,

\I1'oil

a beautiful

tab

leau sllow

in

g nll (,

It

o llIolllll

r.

I

H

0 1

God's organization in JlcaVell givillg

IlI'lIi

so to

his name, Included arc tliORO Uln'i

Rtia ll

R wlto

while on earlil havo b e ~ fnilld'lIl '111


48/68

6

LI ERTY

\

bool called Light Suffice;it

here

to say

that

the

members of God's organization, deeply moved

with gratitude. to God

for his

go@dness,

are

pictured as joyfully singing together the

praises

of his name

and saying

(Revelation

4:

11) :

Thou

art

worthy,

0 Lord,

to receive glory

and

honour

and power;

for thou hast

created

all

things,

and

for

thy

pleasure

they

are

and

were

created.

The purpose of the campaign of education

now

in progress

in

the earth

is to enable the

people to

learn

and appreciate the goodness of.

God and of,

his

kingaom under Christ,

and

there-

by

to enahle them

to

get

on

the

right

side of

the

great

question

at

issue.

The

flood of

truth is

now

arising

in

the

earth

and,

regardless

of

all

opposition, will continue to arise until it fills the

earth

as

the waters fill the sea and until all have

an

opportunity to kllow the Lord. Then, as the

prophet

puts

it

in

the

150th Psalm,

Everything

that hath breath

shall be

praising

Jehovah God.'

Take your

stand now on]ris side and

honor

God

with your

substance,

and

he will h(mor and bless

you.


49/68

Armageddon

HOVAli S organization must completely

clear

out the wicked rule of earth beforc

righteousness can have full sway. Obvious-

ly there

could be no harmonious action between

the Lord s

J..-:ingdom

and

the wicked system

that

now rules

the

world.

For

this

rea

s

on

Jesus

said

: My kingdom is not of tIns world. God

by his prophet, in Psalm 94: 20, propounds this

question:

S

hall the throne of iniqnity, wl,ieh

frameth

lnischief

by

a law, have fellowship with

th

' Thus the

quest

ion is propounded con-

cerning the government of the Lord.

The

proph-

et answers:

'Nay,

Jehovah

will extel'nllnatc lho

w

watchtower: liberty by j. f. rutherford, 1932

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