Power of the Demons (Part 3) № 5

Vol LXI   March 1,1940   No 5

POWER OF THE DEMONS

PART 3

“And he cried with a mighty voice, saying, Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great, and is become a habitation of demons, and a hold of every unclean spirit, and a hold of every unclean and hateful bird.” – Rev. 18:2, A.R.V.

JEHOVAH, by his Chief Messenger and Officer, in the foregoing text sounds the mighty warning to all persons on the earth who are of good will toward God. Satan’s organization has reached its limit in wickedness. The separation of those of good will toward God from the supporters of the demon controlled world is now rapidly taking place, and the worldly system is degenerating with greater rapidity than at any time since the deluge. The so-called “Christendom”, with its demon religion, is in the most reprehensible position of all parts of the world because “Christendom’s” leaders have fraudulently and blasphemously posed as the representative of Almighty God, while at the same time acting completely in opposition to The Theocracy. “Christendom” indulges in a fixed formalism by which she claims to be godly, but at the same time entirely denying the power of Almighty God, and claims for men what belongs only to the Almighty. All the Scriptural evidence shows beyond any doubt that "Christendom”, with her demon-control of men, is modern Babylon, which has entirely turned away from God and gone entirely over to the Devil. Every crooked politician, every greedy commercial giant, and every conscienceless clergyman now finds a habitation in modern Babylon. They being in control of the unclean spirit demons, the Lord describes these crooked ones as ‘unclean and hateful birds’. Long ago Jehovah God gave his word that Satan and his demon associates would be permitted to remain and continue their unhindered opposition to him, and that for a certain time; and that at the end of such time God’s name must be declared throughout the earth, and which proclamation will be quickly followed by an exhibition of Jehovah’s supreme power against the wicked ones. That time limit is up; hence the warning to all nations of the earth now being sounded–Ex. 9:16.

2 Christ Jesus, the Executive Officer of The Theocracy is enthroned as King. The demons have been cast out of heaven and down to the earth, and the Devil is now afflicting the peoples of the earth with ever increasing woes. (Rev. 12:1-12) To all of his people on earth Jehovah by Christ Jesus sends this message: “Come forth, my people, out of her [that is, Babylon, Satan’s organization, modern ‘Christendom’], that ye have no fellowship with her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues for her sins have reached even unto heaven, and God hath remembered her iniquities.”–Rev. 18 4, 5, A.R.V.

3 This warning from the Lord means that even person who will maintain his integrity toward Jehovah God and receive God’s final approval through. Christ Jesus must separate himself and hold himself entirely separate from all things that pertain to demonism. Therefore he must shun religion and everything pertaining to religion, and put his trust wholly and completely in the great THEOCRAT and his government. This warning does not come from men, but is from the Almighty God himself The Scriptural evidence, to which attention has been called in the two preceding issues of The Watchtower, proves beyond all doubt that the world is now under the control of demons and in the worst condition imaginable. (1 John 5:19) Without any doubt, the Lord in these latter days has made his people to have a clear understanding that religion is of the Devil and is in violent opposition to Christianity, and this He has done in order that those consecrated to him may escape from the power and influence of the demons, which power and influence hang like a great pall over all humanity. For this reason the people of Almighty God now appreciate the admonition of God set forth in the Bible, to wit. “For the worship that is pure and holy before God the Father, is this: to visit the fatherless and the widows in their affliction, and that one keep himself unspotted from the world." – Jas. 1: 27, Syriac Version.

4 By means of religion Satan has gained control of the world, and the only exception to that demon control are those persons who worship Almighty God in spirit and in truth. Let every lover of righteousness now give heed to the warning which the Lord sounds. There is great danger lurking in the way of the consecrated, and some of these are liable to be turned away from the path of righteousness and lose everything. The present days are “the latter times” mentioned in the Bible and concerning which it is written: “Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith [and fall away to religion], giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils; speaking lies in hypocrisy; having their conscience seared with a hot iron [thus marking them as demoncontrolled and hence instruments of the Devil].” (1 Tim. 4:1,2) In times past many have claimed to be followers of Christ Jesus and have regularly prayed the prayer which Jesus taught his followers, to wit: 'Thy kingdom come; thy will be done on earth as in heaven,’ but have not prayed such prayer in sincerity. Such persons, falling away from the truth, refuse to further hear the message of God: “For the time will come when they will not endure the sound doctrine; but, having itching ears, will heap to themselves teachers after their own lusts; and will turn away their ears from the truth, and turn aside unto fables [doctrines of devils].” (2 Tim. 4: 3, 4, A.R.V.) Many of the clergy of the Protestant systems are today in the class here mentioned by the apostle. They follow the wisdom of “Christendom”, expressed by men, and not the wisdom of God’s Word.

5 Under the tutorship of the Roman Catholic Hierarchy, and prompted by the demons, many so-called “Protestant” clergymen have had bitterness in the heart and have exhibited toward the true servants of God bitter envy and in this have followed “Christendom’s” religious “wisdom”. The following scripture aptly applies to them: “But if ye have bitter envying and strife in your hearts, glory not; and lie not against the truth. This wisdom descendeth not from above, but is earthly, sensual, devilish [demoniacal (A.R.V., margin)].” – Jas. 3:14,15.

6 Like the people of Athens, “Christendom’s” religion is demonism, resulting from the fear of men and the influence of demons. Note here the words of the inspired servant of the Lord: “Then Paul stood in the midst of Mars’ Hill, and said, Ye men of Athens, I perceive that in all things ye are too superstitious.” (Acts 17:22) “And Paul, standing in the midst of the Areopagus, said, ‘Athenians, I perceive that in all things you are extremely devoted to the worship of demons.’ ” (Acts 17: 22, Diaglott) “And Paul taking his stand in the midst of the Hill of Mars, said, Ye men of Athens! In every way, how unusually reverent of the demons ye are I perceive.” (Acts 17: 22, Rotherham) Demons had control of them.

7 The religious Jews sought the death of Paul, who had abandoned religion and had become the servant of Christ, and their accusations against Paul were due to “their own demon-worship”, as Festus so declared. (Acts 25:14, 18, 19, Rotherham) From that day to this Jews have not changed from their position towards Jesus Christ, and hence their religion is the same today, to wit, demonism. Now in these latter days the religious leaders, Catholic, Protestant and Jew, under the influence and power of the demons, seek to rule the world in a demonized, man-made way, which is directly opposite to the Theocratic Government. All the nations of earth today are in a state of fear, which is not fear of God, but fear of creatures, which fear is induced by the demons and which is in exact contrast to the fear of Almighty God. (2 Tim. 1:7) For this reason the religious practitioners are those described in the 18th chapter of Revelation as being the inhabitants of Babylon and therefore as unclean and hateful birds, which befoul their own nest and everything round about them.

VIALS

8 The book of the Bible known as The Revelation is Jehovah’s prophecy uttered by the Lord Jesus Christ in symbolisms and recorded by John his servant, and discloses that which must come to pass after the coming of Christ Jesus the king of the Theocratic Government. (Rev. 1:1, 2) John, as the servant and messenger of the Lord, pictures those who are devoted to and who are faithfully serving God and Christ, and who by the Lord are approved and brought into the temple and made His servants and message - bearers of Jehovah's message. The Lord Jesus at the temple is attended by his host of angels who perform his bidding and who, under the Lord’s direction, cause the faithful servants of God on earth to perform certain duties. In his own due time the Lord caused the seven “vials” or messages of his wrath to be poured out as a warning. These seven vials or messages of wrath arc poured out in fulfillment of the prophetic utterance by Christ Jesus. A detailed consideration of such is set forth in Light, Books One and Two, and particularly treating Revelation chapters nine and sixteen. The angels serving the Lord Jesus act under his command; as it is written: “And I heard a great voice out of the temple saying to the seven angels, Go your ways, and pour out the vials of the wrath of God upon the earth.”–Rev. 16:1.

9 The faithful witnesses of Jehovah on earth have a part in pouring out these vials, that is, in announcing the message of God’s wrath Concerning the sixth vial of God’s wrath, it is written: “And the sixth angel poured out his vial upon the great river Euphrates; and the water thereof was dried up, that the way of the kings of the east might be prepared.” (Rev. 16:12) The great river Euphrates symbolically represents the peoples of earth, and the sixth vial poured out is a warning from God to the people of good will that they may flee from Babylon, the Devil’s organization, and turn to Jehovah’s organization under Christ, the King of the great Theocratic Government. “The kings of the east,” or those coining “from the sun rising”, as stated in the foregoing text, mean Jehovah, the great Theocrat, and The Christ, Head and body. (Col. 1:18; Rev. 5:10; 1:5,6) The faithful followers of Christ Jesus upon the earth perform their part as witnesses or bearers of God’s message of wrath to the people. The ‘drying up of the waters of the great river Euphrates’ symbolically pictures the turning of the people of good will away from Satan’s organization, the religious systems, and which work greatly enrages all the demons and also those people on the earth who practice the demon religion. This is symbolically shown by what follows and to which John bore testimony, and which the John class, that is, the faithful witnesses of Jehovah on earth, actually discern. These faithful followers of Christ see the Devil’s organization moving forward to the great climax, and what they see is represented by John saying: “And I saw coming out of the mouth of the dragon, and out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet, three unclean spirits, as it were frogs.”–Rev. 16:13, A.R.V.

10 “Dragon” is one of the names of the Devil and means devourer, and stands for the Devil’s organization, the religious element particularly, which bitterly opposes Jehovah God and his Theocracy : “And the dragon was wroth with the woman, and went to make war with the remnant of her seed [God’s organization], which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.” - Rev. 12 : 17.

11 The “woman” mentioned in the foregoing seventeenth verse symbolically represents God’s organization ; and against God’s servants the Dragon goes forth to make war, which servants here are described as “the remnant of her seed”. Satan makes war against them because they “keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ”. “The beast” is a symbol of Satan’s organization upon the earth, visible to men and made up of the religious, political and commercial elements. “The false prophet” is the earthly mouthpiece of Satan’s organization and does most of the talking for that wicked organization and utters particularly many loud and boastful claims as to what the visible rulers of the earth will soon accomplish. The “false prophet” appears in the role of a political prognosticator attempting to foretell or proclaim what the demon organization will do for the peoples of earth. It will be noticed in all these “false prophet” prognostications no credit is ever given to Jehovah God and Christ for what shall be done for the people

12 The sixth vial of Jehovah’s wrath, above mentioned, corresponds to the sixth trumpet, described in Revelation 9:13-21. The pouring out of the vials and the sounding of the trumpets denote a time of woe to Satan’s organization, while to the people of God on earth the same denote a time of hailing THE THEOCRAT and Christ his King, and hence it is a time of joy and triumph to those who are wholly devoted to God. It means the approaching time of the battle of the great day of God Almighty and the complete victory therein of Christ Jesus, the irresistible Warrior. The vials and trumpets, therefore, constitute messages of warning which God has commanded must be delivered to the people. On July 24, 1927, the pouring out .of the sixth vial and the sounding of the sixth trumpet began, and these are still in progress. On August 5, 1928, the pouring out of the seventh vial and the sounding of the seventh trumpet began, and these are still in progress. The seventh poured out by the Lord through his angels was “into the air”, which was specifically against the demons, that is, against the Devil and all of his organization. The seventh constitutes the declaration of the Lord in favor of The Theocratic Government and against world rule by the Devil and his visible agents. The messages of the Lord relating to the sixth and seventh vials or trumpets greatly enraged the demons at the time and thereafter, and since which time these demons have fought against the witnesses of Jehovah, and these demons have brought into action the religious, political and financial leaders on earth, together with all the dupes who follow the lead thereof, against those who support the Lord.

ISSUE

13 The vital issue, stated in brief, is this: Shall the world continue to be ruled by selfish men under the invisible power and control of demons, or shall the rule of the world be by the great Theocrat operating by his exalted and enthroned King, Christ Jesus! Since the time of the sounding of the sixth and the seventh trumpet the people on earth who are of good will toward God have been steadly turning away from religion because they have seen that religion is a snare of the Devil and the Devil's associates and is operated as a racket against the people. This has so enraged the Devil and his associate demons and their representatives that the Devil has hastened to gather all his forces of wickedness to the battle of the great day of God Almighty, and which gathering is rapidly approaching the climax.–Rev. 16:13,14.

14 Following the proclamation of the sixth trumpet the “three unclean spirits”, mentioned in verse thirteen, have been exceedingly active, making great noise and exercising much influence and power. Such spirits could in no wise be representatives of the Almighty God, because it is stated in the Scriptures that they are all unclean: “For they are [the] spirits of demons.” (A.R.V.) And what is the work of those unclean demons! The Scriptures answer, To gather the rulers of the earth and their supporters, that is, the whole world, to the battle of the great day of God Almighty. The Devil sees that his time is short (Rev. 12:12) and that he can now make good his wicked challenge to Jehovah only by destroying all the peoples of all the nations of the earth.

15 Never in time has there been so much woe and distress on the earth as just now. Fear has driven all the nations to the point of desperation. Wars are begun and carried on without any previous notice or declaration. Wickedness in high places, and also in low places, is greater than ever known, and there is nothing to compare with the present day of wickedness except the prototype, that is, the condition on earth in the time of Noah, when the demons overran the earth and God destroyed the visible world in the great deluge, or flood. The earthly leaders sense the coming of a great climax resulting in disaster, and therefore they issue a statement that, unless peace is soon established amongst the nations, the human race will soon perish. Instead of turning to God and the plain instruction given in God’s Word, and ascertaining the real cause of the trouble and the remedy therefor, the worldly rulers turn wholly to the Devil and his associate demons and representatives. Religion, polities and commerce, the three elements visibly ruling this world, step to the fore and with one accord proclaim to the people, “We must have more religion, else our civilization will soon perish.” Thus they act as the mouthpiece of these demons or devils to force all the people into religion, the Devil himself knowing that such will end up in destruction. Note the present-day evidence in fulfillment of prophecy. Only those of good will toward God will note and appreciate the same and give heed to the Word of the Almighty.

CORROBORATIVE TESTIMONY

16 The president of the United States, on December 23, 1939, announces the appointment of an ambassador to the Vatican, which is the chief headquarters of religion on earth. That ambassador is sent to the pope, as the president states, as “my personal representative in order that our parallel endeavors for peace and the alleviation of suffering may be assisted.” (Of course, the United States government foots the bill, and, without consent of the people of the nation, they are made to recognize the pope as the chief religious leader on the earth, and that he is now in league with the United States government.) Continuing, the letter of the president to the pope says: “When the time shall come for the reestablishment of world peace on a surer foundation, it is of the utmost importance to humanity and to religion that common ideals shall have united expression. ... I trust, therefore, that all of the churches of the world which believe in a common God [not Jehovah God, since He is not the common God of religion and politics and they do not fear and obey God, but oppose his government] will throw the great weight of their influence into this great cause.”

17 As further evidence that the president, as a political power and one of the world rulers, ignores the Creator and relies on man, note that part of his letter to the pope, “This world has created for itself a civilization capable of giving to mankind security and peace firmly set in the foundations of religious teachings. Yet, though it has conquered the earth, the sea, and even the air, civilization today passes through war and travail.”

18 Note the frog-like croaking, boasting, and loud language, to wit: “The world has created for itself a civilization capable of giving to mankind security and peace firmly set in the foundations of religious teachings.” The ambassador appointed to the Vatican is Myron C. Taylor, a former head of the United States Steel Corporation, one of the greatest corporations on earth, which devotes most of its energy and money to building war equipment for the destruction of human lives. Surely no sensible person would say that such a one represents the great “Prince of Peace”, Christ Jesus. At the same time the president announces that he has invited the president of the Federal Council of Churches, ... is Protestant, and also the president of the Jewish Theological Seminary of America, which practice the Jew religion, to consult with him and to act as spokesmen for American Protestantism and American Jewry, in the common cause of the three “faiths”, thus proposing a closer relationship, if possible, between religion, politics and finance to govern the earth in opposition to the Almighty God and his King, Christ Jesus.

19 Here is a concrete example and the most persuasive proof that religion, politics and commerce are closely linked together for the purpose of establishing peace, regimenting the people, and rulin the earth, and which is a claim by man of being able to do what alone Almighty God can do. This, in connection with the boast of what the world has created for itself, is assuming to do that which is impossible for man to accomplish. “Blasphemy” is properly defined to be a claim by man to do that which God alone can do. The combination of religion, politics and commerce is in open opposition to the Theocratic Government, and therefore the boasting words of the combination are clearly blasphemous. Jesus, the King of The Theocracy, says: “He that is not with me is against me; and he that gathereth not with me scattereth abroad.” (Matt. 12:30) Clearly, then, the religious, political, commercial combine does not gather with Christ Jesus the King, but opposes him; which is further proof that it is Satan who is using religion, politics and commerce to deceive the people and to plunge them into destruction.

20 Let it be conceded that the purpose of the aforementioned persons to establish peace in the earth is sincere; yet that does not alter the matter in the least, because their announced purpose is exactly contrary to the announced purpose of the great Theocrat and in defiance of His Word, hence proving that they are the representatives of the demons. For several years The Watchtower has been calling attention to the fact that the alliance of religion, politics and commerce is against Jehovah’s kingdom. Much evidence in the past has appeared in support of that statement. The evidence announced herein should convince all persons who believe in Jehovah God and Christ Jesus that by means of religion the Devil is leading all the nations of the earth into the ditch. The declaration sent out now by religionists, politicians and commercial giants is directly against Almighty God and his King and is in defiance of the words of Jehovah, to wit: “Behold, my servant whom I have chosen; my beloved in whom my soul is well pleased; I will put my spirit upon him, and he shall declare judgment to the Gentiles [nations], . . . And in his name shall the Gentiles [nations] hope.” (Matt. 12:18,21, A.R.V.; Isa. 42: 1-7) God’s announced purpose must be and will be carried out, because he has so stated.–Isa. 46: 11.

More evidence

21 The pope received the message of Mr. Roosevelt with real satisfaction and notified the president that his ambassador would be well and gladly received. Then on the 28th day of December, 1939, the pope made a personal call upon the king of Italy, and concerning which the Associated Press says: “Pope Pius XII called upon Italy’s king and queen today in the first visit by any pope on a temporal prince in more than seventy years. . . . The pope went to the Quirinal palace amid great pomp and [religious] ceremony.” In this the pope certainly was not following the lead of the meek and lowly Christ Jesus when he was on earth. The Press report further says: ‘Pope Pius today, in a brief speech after the ceremonial meeting with the king and queen, said “the visit resealed the happy accord between church and state”.’ These facts constitute further proof of the confederacy between religion and politics, supported by selfish commerce, to establish a so-called “peace of the world” and to rule the earth in complete defiance of the Word of Almighty God. Shall the efforts of such men succeed? Jehovah, speaking to that unholy combine, says: “Associate yourselves, O ye people, and ye shall be broken in pieces; and give ear, all ye of far countries: gird yourselves, and ye shall be broken in pieces; gird yourselves, and ye shall be broken in pieces. Take counsel together, and it shall come to nought; speak the word, and it shall not stand: for God is with us.” (Isa. 8: 9, 10) God is with Christ Jesus and all who support The Theocracy against any combine that acts in defiance of His Word.

22 The Catholic press, and all Catholic and other religion-controlled publications, will fully support the united efforts of the religious, political and commercial combine to establish world peace, as suggested by the president of the United States. For some time now the public press has been boldly supporting the religionists, because the Roman Catholic Hierarchy has placed some trusted representative in every organization of the metropolitan press. The Catholic press has become a tremendous factor in influencing the people and turning them into demonism. That religious organization engages in the politics of the world on a vast scale. The December 16, 1939, issue of The Nation publishes an article under the title “The Catholic Press” which well says: “The American Catholic press is a vital part of the church’s political machinery and was greatly encouraged by Pope Pius XI, who saw it as a powerful agency of Catholic Action–that is, co-operation between laity and hierarchy for the attainment of Catholic aims. ... On international issues the Catholic press has always advocated whatever political course would further church power. It opposed American foreign intervention in support of the Hungarian Kossuth, a Protestant; it favored intervention in behalf of the Catholics in Ireland and in Mexico. It has opposed extending the ‘Good Neighbor’ spirit in Latin America for fear of spreading Protestantism.” “These Catholic fascist movements flowered when papal diplomacy was in the hands of the present pope.” “Judged by any standard of modern journalism, the coverage of the war in Spain given by the official Catholic news agency must be considered one of the most dishonest efforts of our age.”

23 It is clearly to be seen that the primary purpose of the Roman Catholic Hierarchy is to rule the earth contrary to God’s commandment; which is further proof that said religious institution is the chief instrument on earth of the demons to deceive the people and lead them blindly into destruction.

24 Divine prophecy now in course of fulfillment shows beyond all doubt that the end of Satan’s uninterrupted rule is at hand and that the climax will soon be upon the world in the form of the battle of the great day of God Almighty. In the face of all this indisputable proof the religionists today take the lead in the united effort to rule the world by men contrary to God’s announced purpose. In their endeavors to accomplish that purpose the religionists disregard the truth and freely resort to lies. Knowing that the religionists would resort to lies, God through his prophet foretold that the religionists, in justification of their acts, would say, in these latter days particularly: “We have made lies our refuge, and under falsehood have we hid ourselves.” (Isa. 28:15) Exactly this is what the Catholic press today is doing, not hesitating to resort to all manner of lies to deceive the people. The press, under the control of the Hierarchy, advocates a unity with any political movement that will further the interest of the Hierarchy, and hesitates not to resort to all manner of lies to cover up their wrongful course and to ease their conscience. The fact that the Hierarchy and their dupes resort to lies is further proof that it is the Devil and his associated demons that are back of the world-movement of religion, politics and commerce to now bring about a peace and the rulership of the world. Satan is the chief amongst all liars. He is the father of lies, and in him there is no truth, and his supporters and dupes follow exactly his lead. (John 8:44) Religion’s being the chief instrument of the Devil on earth and the politicians’ calling for “more religion” further support the conclusion that the Devil is trying to plunge the whole world into destruction.–Rev. 16:14,16.

ARMAGEDDON NEXT

25 President Roosevelt’s letter to the pope, and his appointment of an ambassador to the Vatican and his calling leading Protestants and the leading Jew religionists to join with him in establishing world peace, is hailed by the press as the greatest news of modern times. Will that scheme, originating with the chief of demons, to establish peace amongst the nations, succeed? For a brief period of time only; and this conclusion is fully supported by the Scriptures. It must be expected that soon the nations will arrive at some kind of peace agreement, and then the religious and political leaders will receive great honor and praise at the hands of the deluded masses of the people. The Scriptures point out that then those who have yielded to religion and have come under the influence and power of the demons will say concerning the world rule by religion, politics and commerce, the symbolic “beast”: “Who is like unto the beast? who is able to make war with him?” (Rev. 13:4) Then will the unholy combine, drawn together and acting as the visible representatives of the Devil, announce to the world, “We have brought about peace,” and will also say, “Peace and safety.” Then what shall follow? The Scriptures answer: “For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape.” –1 Thess. 5: 3.

REJECTING THE TRUTH

26 Deluded religionists stubbornly resist the truth of God’s Word; and this is the result of demon influence. Israel’s king Saul stubbornly refused to hear and obey the truth. Then Jehovah through his prophet said to Saul: “To obey is better than sacrifice, . . . for rebellion is the sin of witchcraft; and stubbornness, iniquity and idolatry.’ (1 Sam. 15:23. Leeser) The person who willfully refuses to hear and obey the truth of God’s Word when the truth is presented to him thereby opens the door and invites the demons to come in. The demons then obsess him, that is, besiege his mind and bring that creature under their control. Many who think themselves servants of God are stubborn and rebellious, refusing to obey God’s Word, and thus yield to demon influence. Therefore Jehovah admonishes those who would find safety in the day of his wrath to “seek righteousness, seek meekness”, before that great and terrible day. (Zeph. 2:1-3) That is to say, Let those who earnestly desire safety and protection be diligent to seek and to do what is right and to ascertain from God’s Word what is the right course, and be willing and anxious to hear and to obey the Word of God, because their hearing and obedience are better than all the sacrifice they could perform. The Roman Catholic Hierarchy and like religious leaders urge the people to refuse to give heed to the message of God’s Word when brought to them by Jehovah’s witnesses; and thus the clergy are guilty of aiding the demons in deceiving and blinding the people. The deluded ones, for fear of the clergy, fall into the snare of the Devil. The honest and sincere persons, who give heed to the Word of God, seek righteousness and meekness, and such only find the way of escape and safety at Armageddon. The stubborn and rebellious ones will perish at Armageddon.

FURTHER EVIDENCE OF DEMON POWER

27 The following scriptures are cited to show the demon methods employed to turn mankind away from God. The ones who readily yield to the demon influence are shown to be the emotional, religious practitioners. These are easy victims of the demons and are therefore kept in blindness. The demons besiege or obsess the mind and thereby gain possession or control of the human creature, causing such creature or creatures to indulge in many unreasonable things, such as to run wild and shriek, inflict self-torture, and otherwise pollute themselves. The mass of the insane persons are victims of the demons, being under the power and influence of them. Note the Scriptural evidence in the following texts: Matthew 8:28,29; Matthew 17:15; Mark 5:2-5; Luke 8:27-36; Jeremiah 7:31; Jeremiah 19:5; Psalm 106:37,38.

28 Another method of the demons is to vex and enslave their victims so that the human creature or creatures have no control over themselves or their actions. (Matt. 4:24; 8:16; 15:22; Mark 1:32; Luke 6:18; Acts 5:16) A specific case is cited in the Scriptures of seven demons possessing one human, causing great distraction and confusion. (Luke 8 2) The demons have power to paralyze (and do paralyze) human creatures and to cause dumbness and other physical disabilities. (Luke 9:3842; 11:14; Matt. 9:32,33) They also cause human creatures to lose the power of sight and of hearing and speech. (Matt. 12: 22) They also have power over human creatures to be held for a long period of time in a bowed or bent condition of body, being unable to straighten up.–Luke 13:11-13,16.

29 Religionists who believe their dead friends are in fact alive in “purgatory” are the victims of demon influence and power. The Scriptures, without contradiction, show that the dead are unconscious, out of existence.–Eccl. 9:5,6; Ps. 115:17.

30 Victims of demons, being under the influence of demon religion, often hear voices, which voices they are made to believe are those of persons who have long been dead. Such voices, in fact, are the voices of demons impersonating those who have died, and doing so for the purpose of deceiving human creatures who are alive. A striking instance is that at 1 Samuel 28:7-15.

TORTURE

31 Imprisonment and torture originated with the Devil and are practiced only by those who have yielded to the Devil or demon religion. The first recorded instance of torture or tormenting, as stated in the Bible, is assigned to the prince of devils, and shows that religionists were used by the Devil to inflict such torment upon Job. The Scriptures show that the Devil and his associate demons brought about the destruction of Job’s children and his property, and then caused his wife to torment him, and then three religionists came and indulged in a long tormenting harangue, all of which was done for the purpose of turning Job away from God and causing him to be destroyed. Their efforts failed.–See Job, chapters one to three.

32 Those who yield to demon influence soon find pleasure in torturing other human creatures, and particularly those human creatures who boldly give testimony to the name of Jehovah God and his kingdom. Take note of the many fiendish acts of abuse, torment and torture heaped upon the faithful witnesses of Jehovah by the Roman Catholic Hierarchy and their allies, the Nazis, Fascists and other religious totalitarians. Prisons and concentration camps have in recent months become places of torture of Jehovah’s witnesses and others. All of such imprisonment and torture results from the influence and power of demons exercised over people by the practitioners of religion.

33 The law of Jehovah God, given to his chosen people at the hand of Moses, makes no provision for inflicting punishment upon creatures by imprisonment or concentration camps of torture. The first mention made in the Bible of such places of restraint and torment is attributed to the religious, demon-worshiping Egyptians, and which was exercised against God’s innocent servant, Joseph. (Gen. 40:15; 41:14; Ps. 105:17,18) Egypt held many captives in “the dungeon”, or “the house of the pit”. (Ex. 12:29, margin) Such means of imprisonment and torture originated with Satan, the prince of demons, as shown by the Scriptures at Genesis 6: 1-4, and 1 Peter 3:19, 20.

34 The demon religionists, the Philistines, put God servant Samson in prison and forced him to indulge in heavy labor. (Judg. 16:21-25) The ten unfaithful tribes of Israel fell away from God by reason of religious influence, became the victims of demons, and thereafter followed the Devil’s lead by setting up and maintaining prisons wherein were confined Jehovah’s faithful prophets and servants. (1 Ki. 22:26,27) It is written: “Asa [the unfaithful, demon-worshiping king of Israel] was wroth with the seer [prophet; one of Jehovah’s witnesses], and put him in a prison house [of torture (Young's translation)] ; for he was in a rage with him because of this thing. And Asa oppressed some of the people the same time.”–2 Chron. 16:10.

35 The demon-worshiping enemies gathered God’s people into the pit and dungeon. (Isa. 24: 22, margin; Zech. 9:11) The king of Assyria, the demonreligionist, put the king of Israel in state’s prison. (2 Ki. 17:4) The ruler of Babylon, who practiced demon religion, imprisoned the Jews and put them on strict prison fare. (2 Ki. 25: 27-30) Zedekiah, the unfaithful, demon-religious king, maintained torture places or “stocks" in Jerusalem, and in these places the prophet Jeremiah was imprisoned. (Jer. 20: 2, 3) The same demon-worshiping king had the faithful prophet of God thrown into a filthy, miry pit.–Jer. 37:16; 38: 6-13.

36 Christ Jesus, the holy and innocent One, was, at the instance of religionists, temporarily put in prison, tortured and disgraced. – Isa. 53: 8.

37 The religious, demon-controlled Jews maintained prisons and committed God’s faithful servants to such prisons and places of torture. (Acts 5:17-25; 8:3; 22:4,19; 26:10) At the instance of. religionists the apostle Peter was chained between two prison guards. – Acts 12: 6, 7.

38 All the totalitarian states are under the control of demons and practice the demon religion, and at their hands Jehovah’s witnesses today suffer great indignities, imprisonment and torture. Specific examples of such demon-religion practice, and punishment and imprisonment of Jehovah’s witnesses are found in the state of New Jersey, the United States, in Germany, in Quebec, and in other like places.

39 The demon-religion practitioners exalt the political state today even as they did in times past, when the politicians and demon-religionists acted together to punish Jehovah’s faithful servants. (Dan. 3: 8-27) Today the demon-religionists, led by the Roman Catholic Hierarchy, induce the political law-making and law-enforcement bodies to inaugurate compulsory flag-saluting, the repeating of national oaths of allegiance, and hailing of men, all of which is done at the instance of the Devil and his associate demons. While all such religious, political rulers by their mouths utter the prayer which Jesus taught his followers to pray concerning God’s kingdom and that they might be delivered from temptation, yet not one of them does so sincerely and consistently, and they have no real desire to have such prayer answered. They are blind, in the dark as to God's purpose, and blindly yield to the influence and power of demons.

40 The foregoing great array of Scriptural testimony, which is not subject to successful contradiction, proves beyond all doubt that all religion originated with and is forced upon the people by the Devil and his associate demons, and that the purpose of such is to turn the people away from God and cause them to go into complete destruction. Now in these last days, and just preceding Armageddon. Almighty God by and through Christ Jesus is clearly and plainly putting these truths of and concerning religion and demonism before the people. This he is doing as a warning to them. All persons now hearing the message of warning will by their course of action show which side they are on. The Lord is separating the people of good will, his sheep, from the demon-controlled, the goats. (Matt. 25:31-46) All those who will hear the warning and give heed thereto will flee from religion to the place of safety under God’s organization. All who refuse to hear and obey will find the same fate as that of the Devil and all his angels.–Matt. 24: 16; 25 : 41.

PROTECTION

41 Again let the people be reminded that religion is a snare and a racket, originating with the Devil, the leader of the demons, and forced upon the people by the demons: the snare of the Devil, in which to catch the people, and the racket of the religious leaders to rob the people. All the practitioners of religion, and the adherents thereto, will find no place of safety or escape at Armageddon. The scripture plainly says that ‘none shall escape’. (1 Thess. 5:3) The only place of protection and safety is for those who put their trust entirely in God and in Christ his King. All who would find the place of safety, remember these words: “Whoso putteth his trust in Jehovah shall be safe.”–Prov. 29:25, A.R.V.

WILL MAN DIE OFF THE EARTH?

MILLIONS have without investigation accepted what religion has taught, to wit: “God will destroy the earth; and then all those living in the world will perish with its destruction and then be judged. The ‘dead’ means, therefore, all those who died before the destruction of the world, and the ‘living’ all those who were on earth when the time of its destruction came. Or the ‘living’ may mean also those in a state of grace, and the ‘dead’ those in mortal sin; for God will judge both classes.” – Quoted from Explanation of the Baltimore Catechism, 1921 Edition, Imprimatur of Archbishop of New York, page 22, under “The living and the dead”.

What does God the Creator himself say respecting the earth and man upon the earth? It is God’s purpose that the earth shall never be destroyed. “The earth abideth for ever” (Eccl. 1:4) Since the earth is to stand for ever, it follow that it is the purpose of God that it shall be used for even. That man was created for the earth and that the earth was created for man there is not the slightest room for doubt Upon this point God’s will is expressed, at Isaiah 45:12, 18 “For thus saith the Lord that created the heavens; God himself that formed the earth and made it; he hath established it, he created it not in vain, he formed it to be inhabited , I am the Lord, and there is none else. I have made the earth, and created man upon it: I, even my hands, have stretched out the heavens, and all their host have I commanded.” Since the dominion of all things resides in Jehovah, he could give it to whomsoever he might will. It is written (Psalm 24 1): “The earth is the Lord’s and the fulness thereof; the world, and they that dwell therein.” Psalm 115:16 “The heaven, even the heavens, are the Lord’s, but the earth hath he given to the children of men.”

Man, as well as the earth, belongs to Jehovah God, because God created man. The authority of man to have dominion over the earth having been conferred upon man by Jehovah, man must exercise that authority and dominion in harmony with God’s will. When Adam was granted dominion and made a prince in the earth as the son of the great Theocrat and King of Eternity, the duty and obligation devolved upon Adam to exercise that authority in harmony with his Creator. Adam was placed in Eden as its caretaker (Gen. 2:8, 15) He was not required to put forth laborious efforts to produce his food. Eden yielded freely all the food that was essential for his sustenance and for Ins pleasure He was given control over the animals, the fowls, and the fish, and these were to render and did render obedience to him. (Gen. 1:26-28) He was clothed with power and authority to produce his own kind and “fill the earth” Had he exercised that God-given authority in harmony with his Creator’s will he would have produced a perfect and happy family of children and the earth would have been filled with a righteous race. God gave Adam the privilege to exercise his own faculties He could willingly obey or disobey This, however, did not at all relieve him of the obligation of being in harmony with Jehovah the great Theocrat and exercising his authority in harmony with God’s holy will Religion, misrepresenting God and his Word, has led the people to believe that this earth, was made to be a breeding ground for peopling heaven and that had Adam remained a good and faithful officer of Jehovah God then God would in due time have taken him to heaven Quoting again from the above Explanation of the Baltimore Catechism, page 61, 1 “Our first parents and their children were not to remain m the garden of Paradise forever, but were, after spending their alloted time of trial or probation upon earth, to be taken body and soul into heaven without being obliged to die.” For this catechismal statement no Scripture proof is quoted, and there is absolutely no evidence upon which to base such a conclusion. Adam had no promise of heaven There never was a possibility, under any circumstances or conditions, of his going to heaven He was strictly and purely of the earth. The earth alone was to be his everlasting home. Concerning this 1 Corinthians 15:47 says "The first man is of the earth, earthy ” Since the earth was made for the home of man, we should not expect to find any promise of heaven for him, and there is not a word found in the Scriptures whereby Adam was promised heaven as a home First four thousand years later was any heavenly opportunity opened up for any creature on earth, when Christ Jesus, in behalf of his faithful footstep followers, opened up “a new and living way, which he hath consecrated for us, through the vail, that is to say, his flesh”, "to enter into the holiest,” “heaven itself.” (Heb 10:19, 20; 9 24) Such ones have been begotten of God’s spirit, “to an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven.” (1 Pet. 1:3,4) A proper understanding of this matter will enable man to have a clear understanding of what shall be the final destiny of the human family.

The Scriptures show that God gave man life and gave him dominion in the earth upon the expressed condition that man be obedient to God. Should man never be disobedient, and always remain in harmony with his Creator, he would forever enjoy life and dominion over the earth But in the event he should become a rebellious creature, then the condition was attached, as stated by God: “Thou shalt sureh die.” (Gen. 2:17) With the coming of death all things would be lost. Death, therefore, would conclusively prove that man’s dominion and his life were held conditionally

There is no thought expressed in the creation of man, with dominion granted to him, that he should ever go to torment if he wickedly rebelled. There is no thought expressed in the Bible anywhere that God purposes to put any of his creatures into a place of endless torture On the contrary, the declaration of his law is plain and simple, and means that the life and dominion of Adam were granted upon condition that he obey and that disobedience would mean the loss of his authority and his life “The Lord preserved all them that love him; but all the wicked will he destroy.”–Ps. 145: 20.

It was in keeping with God’s loving provision for man to appoint an overseer or helper or protector who would aid man in avoiding the doing of that which was wrong and would bring upon man the penalty for any violation of God’s law. It was the bright “Shining One”, or “morningstar”, or “Lucifer”, the cherubic spirit creature, whom God selected and placed in Eden as overlord or protector of man (See Isaiah 14:12, according to Rotherham’s, Young's, Leeser’s, and the Authorized Version’s translations ) Concerning him and his appointment to this responsible office God said: “Thou art the anointed cherub that covereth, and I have set thee so.” (Ezek. 28:14) “Cherub” means an officer or deputy to whom are delegated certain heavenly powers and duties. “Anointed” means that Lucifer, the cherub, was clothed with power and authority in the name of God to do certain things; and in this instance he was clothed with power and authority as overlord in the “garden of God” to look after the interests of man and to keep him in the right way. He must ‘cover’, that is, screen, shield protect. It therefore follows that Lucifer was clothed with power and authority to act as an overseer for man, to screen, to shield and protect him from taking a wrongful course by violating God’s law. It was Lucifer’s solemn duty, both to man and to God, to direct and influence humanity to go in the right way, that man might thereby honor God and prolong his life on the earth.

God had also clothed Lucifer with the “power of death". (See Hebrews 2: 14.) It was therefore a part of the official duty of Lucifer to put the man to death if he did violate God’s law. For this reason Lucifer occupied a confidential relationship toward God and man. There was committed into his hands a sacred trust of keeping God’s newly-begun government on earth in a pure and proper condition To betray that trust in order that he might overturn God’s appointed means of government in Eden would be an act of treason. The perpetration of the crime of treason under such conditions would cover the perpetrator with perfidy and make him a nefarious, despicable creature and the blackest of all criminals. Lucifer, of course, knew that God had empowered man to produce his own species and that in due time the earth would be filled with a perfect race of people. He knew that man was so created that he must worship his benefactor. He knew that he must destroy in the mind of man the thought that God is his benefactor. Lucifer became ambitious to control the human race and to receive the worship to which God was justly entitled.

Lucifer was impressed with his own beauty and importance and power, and forgot that he owed an obligation to his Creator. Selfishness entered his heart. His motive was wrong and his heart became malignant. He was moved to take action concerning Adam, and his motive was wicked. Concerning this purpose Isaiah 14:13, 14 records of Lucifer: “Thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God; I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north: I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the Most High.” The Scriptures clearly show that Lucifer’s process of reasoning was like this:

‘I am overlord of man in Eden. I have the power to put man to death, but even though man violates God’s law I will not exercise that power. I will induce man to believe God is not his friend and benefactor but in truth and in fact is deceiving man. Besides this, God will not be able to put man to death and at the same time maintain his own consistency; because he has declared that that tree in the midst of Eden is the tree of life, and to eat of that tree means that one will live forever. I will therefore take man to that tree and direct him to eat, and then he will not die, but will live forever on the earth.

‘But before I do that I will first induce Adam to believe God is keeping him in ignorance and withholding from him the things that he is justly entitled to receive. Adam loves his wife. I will first induce Eve to do my bidding, and then through her I shall be able to control Adam. I will so throw the circumstances around Adam that he too will be induced to eat of the forbidden tree of knowledge, and then I will i efuse to put either of them to death. Then I will immediately take them to the tree of life and have them eat of that fruit. Then they will live forever, and not die. By this means I will win them over to me and I will keep them alive forever. I will defy God; and while he has a realm of angels and other creatures of heaven that worship him, I shall be like the Most High and shall be worshiped even as God is worshiped.’

That was the beginning of religion; for religion, all religion, is contrary to the “pure worship” of Jehovah God according to his commandments. It was a cunning scheme that Lucifer thus devised ; he thought it was a wise scheme. Evidently God knew about it from its inception, but he did not interfere until Lucifer had gone to the point of committing the overt act of overreaching man and inducing him to sin. Concerning this, God said: “Thine heart was lifted up because of thy beauty; thou hast corrupted thy wisdom by reason of thy brightness.” (Ezek. 28:17) This selfish meditation in Lucifer’s heart was the beginning of iniquity in him. Up to that time he had been perfect. Of him God says: “Thou wast perfect in thy ways from the day that thou wast created, till iniquity was found in thee.” (Ezek. 28:15) The imperfection of Lucifer dates from that moment.

Having carefully planned his crime, Lucifer now proceeds to carry it out. To do so he resorts to religious fraud, deception and lying. When Christ Jesus was on the earth he stated that the rebellious Lucifer “is a liar, and the father of it” (John 8:44); thereby showing that Lucifer gave utterance to the first lie that was ever told That he was, ‘There is no death’ (Gen. 3:4); and the servants of the wicked one have been telling that lie to the people ever since.

Lucifer employed the serpent to carry out his scheme, because the serpent was more subtle than any other beast of the field which the Lord God had made. Lucifer (now Satan the Devil) therefore spoke through the serpent and said “Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?” “And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden, but of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die. And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die: for God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened; and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil. And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat; and gave also unto her husband with her, and he did eat.” (Gen 3:1-6) Thus "by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned" –Rom. 5:12.

As a result of that rebellion God’s mandate to humankind to “be fruitful, and multiply, and fill the earth”, as stated at Genesis 1: 28, was never demonstrated under righteous conditions, and, not having since been earned out in righteousness, has not been carried out at all according to God’s will and command. Adam and Eve failed to raise up a righteous generation because they both sinned before beginning to exercise the function of bringing children into the world. After the now approaching battle of Armageddon willful violators of God's law will all be gone from the earth, and the “great multitude” of people of good will toward Jehovah and his Theocratic Government who survive, being righteous, by God’s grace, and being thus counted by him because of their faith and obedience, may then fulfill the divine mandate, to “multiply and fill the earth’. The kingdom of God being then in full operation and being unto life for the obedient ones on earth, then the words of Jesus apply: “If a man keep my saying, he shall never see death”; and, “Whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die.” (John 8: 51, 11: 26) Then, also, the children of the “great multitude” conceived under the theocratic kingdom would be conceived unto life by the grace of God through Christ Jesus. Lucifer, as man’s overlord, failed in the performance of the commission given to him because he rebelled and then led Adam and Eve into sir. before they exercised the divinely given function to bring children into the world. Christ Jesus, the King and man's righteous overlord, will do what Lucifer failed to do Christ Jesus will carry out the commission given to him and will permit nothing to hinder the carrying out of the divine mandate from being performed by righteous men on earth Thus will be demonstrated that God’s commandment to “fill the earth” with a righteous people will be accomplished That will be a vindication of the name of Jehovah and will fully demonstrate to men and angels that Satan is a liar and only God is true. The destruction of the wicked at Armageddon will make room for the earth to be properly filled. The original divine mandate given to Adam and Eve in Eden, and restated to Noah’s family after the flood, will successfully be carried out after Armageddon in righteousness by the “great multitude” of surviving “men of good will” on the earth. ‘They shall not labour in vain, nor have children for terror, for they are the seed of the blessed of Jehovah, and their offspring with them.’ (Isa. 65:23, Rotherham) Thus Jehovah God created the earth not in vain; “he formed it to be inhabited.”–Isa. 45: 18.

THE PAY-OFF

WHEN Jehovah God restored a faithful remnant of the Jews to their native land in 536 B.C., delivering them from their captivity in the heathen land of Babylon, and setting them to work at rebuilding the temple of the Lord God at Jerusalem, this little remnant of about 50,000 Jews and their companions were still surrounded by the traditional enemies of Israel. To the north there was Syria, with its chief city Damascus and its false god Hadrach To the west and along the Mediterranean seacoast there was Philistia, with its Pentarchy, or alliance of the five main cities, to wit, Ashkelon, Gaza, Ekron, Ashdod, and Gath; and above Philistia there was situate Phoenicia, with its cities of great antiquity and commercial power, to wit, Tyre and Zidon.

The Jewish remnant of that day foreshadowed the little remnant of Jehovah’s faithful witnesses on earth since A D. 1918, the year that marked the end of the World War. Jehovah comforts this remnant by telling them in advance what shall be the fate of their enemies who persecuted them (Isa 42: 9) Some of Jehovah’s witnesses have at times inclined to become discouraged when they do not see plainly that prosperity and the Lord’s blessing are with them. The enemy continues to persecute them and attempts to hinder the work in which they are engaged, and some of the weaker ones wonder just why this is permitted. Jehovah is permitting each one who hears the truth to identify himself as being either for or against the kingdom. The remnant must keep this in mind always, that the vindication of Jehovah’s name is the all-important thing and the kingdom will vindicate his name. Jehovah gives assurance to his faithful witnesses that they shall have a part in the execution of his judgment written long ago in his Word (Ps. 149:9) By his prophet Zechariah, who prophesied to the ancient Jewish remnant at Jerusalem, Jehovah tells the temple builders of today what his judgment, previously written, is against those who oppose God and the builders of his palace or temple.

In the following prophecy of Zechariah the word “burden” means “an utterance of doom”, that is to say, a written penal decree announcing the fate or destiny of the one named. Zechariah was caused to write (9:1) “The burden of the word of the Lord in the land [the Revised Version has upon the land; and Leeser’s translation has: concerning the land] of Hadrach, and Damascus shall be the rest [lodging-place] thereof: when the eyes of man, as of all the tribes of Israel, shall be toward the Lord.” The name “Hadrach” is identified with Syria and, some authorities say, refers to a Syrian deity. At Isaiah 7:8 it is written: “For the head of Syria is Damascus.” The doom pronounced shows that it finds its ‘resting place’ on Damascus. The name “Damascus” means “industry”, or, “busy place.” It was the capital of Syria, and a busy and industrious place for Satan and his representatives, even in the days of Abraham, the forefather of the Jews. (Gen. 14:14,15, 15 2) In the day of King Jehoiakim, who reigned at Jerusalem, the Syrians participated in the assault on that city, and this was shortly before the destruction of Jerusalem. (2 Ki. 24:1-5; Jer. 35:11) Both Damascus and the League of Nations of today are products of Satan, the League of Nations being particularly brought out by the British Empire- America combine, or the seventh world power foretold in the Bible. Damascus clearly pictures a part of that League of Nations, because Rezin, the king of Damascus in Syria, confederated with or formed a league with the ten rebellious tribes of Israel against Jerusalem. (Isa. 7 :1, 2, 8) Jehovah caused the prophet Isaiah to give a name to one of Isaiah’s sons, to signify that judgment would be meted out on this league or confederacy. See Isaiah 8:1-4, 9-12.

God’s prophet Ezekiel (27:16,18), addressing commercial Tyre, said: “Syria was thy merchant by reason of the multitude of the wares of thy making; they occupied in thy fairs with emeralds, purple, and broidered work, and fine linen, and coral, and agate. Damascus was thy merchant in the multitude of the wares of thy making, for the multitude of all riches; in the wine of Helbon [near Damascus], and white wool.” This statement shows that Damascus pictured a commercial element of Satan’s organization and that has intercourse with the commercial-religious-political organization of the Roman Catholic Hierarchy. Damascus was in an ancient league, and the modern League of Nations is the handmaid of Big Business; hence Damascus of old stands for the commercial-religious part of Satan’s organization upon which the doom of the Lord finds ‘its resting place’ “For Jehovah hath an eye to mankind, and to all the tribes of Israel.” (Zech. 9: 1, Roth.) That statement of the propet is a comfort to the remnant because it means that Jehovah will act in their behalf and in behalf of all mankind who stand on the side of Jehovah and remain steadfast at the battle of Armageddon.

The doom or fate is also directed against others; Zechariah (9: 2) continues: “And Hamath [of Syria] also shall border thereby”; or, as the Revised Version renders it, “And Hamath, also, which bordereth thereon” ; “Tyrus, and Zidon, though it be very wise.” The name “Hamath” means “fortress”. It was a separate province in upper Syria and in league or alliance with Syrians of Damascus, hence it also pictures an integral part of the confederacy against the Lord and his kingdom, and hence is a part of the religious-political monstrosity that assumes to rule the earth in the stead and place of Jehovah’s kingdom under Christ. “Tyre” specifically refers to the commercial religious element of “Christendom”, of which the Roman Catholic Hierarchy is the chief and dominant part; whereas “Zidon” particularly pictures those religious elements that preceded the Roman Catholic Hierarchy, and the religious doctrines, traditions and practices of which the Hierarchy adopted and absorbed, the name “Christian” being fraudulently applied thereto. Jehovah’s penal decree is also against these elements of Satan’s organization. The commercial-religious Hierarchy assume to be very wise, and to them Jehovah ironically says: “Behold, thou art wiser [in thine own conceits] than Daniel; there is no secret that they can hide from thee.” (Ezek. 28:3) Today the public press, the magazines and other advertising agencies of Satan’s organization, under the influence of the Roman Catholic Hierarchy, lake a fiendish delight in holding up to ridicule and contempt Jehovah’s witnesses. Jehovah now says to these enemies: ’You just wait, and you will get what is your due. Wait until I rise up and take action, and pay you off.’–Zeph. 3: 8.

“Christendom,” now threatened by the growing totalitarian monstrosity, claims to be Christian. On the contrary, she is a colossal fraud, and about her the prophet wrote: “And Tyrus did build herself a strong hold, and heaped up silver as the dust, and fine gold as the mire of the streets ” (Zech. 9:3) “Organized Christendom,” particularly the Roman Catholic Hierarchy, has heaped up much silver and fine gold, but this will not save her from destruction at Armageddon. Concerning her the Lord says (9:4): “Behold, the Lord will cast her out [(R.V.) will dispossess her], and he will smite her power in the sea [of humanity alienated from God and exploited by the Hierarchy] ; and she shall be devoured with fire.” Her “power in the sea” will be destroyed by the terrific storm stirred up by “the east wind” and from Jehovah God. (Ezek. 27:26) “Tyre” herself shall be devoured, and her places of operation shall be made an ash heap. Jehovah God, by his Chief Officer, Christ Jesus, will do this destructive work in due time. Today modern Tyre controls the radio, which is God’s provided means for communication between places of the earth. The Hierarchy uses the radio to exploit the people, and acts with other elements of Satan’s organization to prevent the message of Jehovah’s kingdom from being carried to the people In January, 1933, at the instance of a company of Anglican clergymen, playing right into the hands of the Hierarchy, the Radio Commission of Canada issued an order that Jehovah’s witnesses should first submit to the Radio Commission to be censored the message which they are telling at the command of Jehovah, before broadcasting it to the people To comply with such demand and place before these selfappointed censors the message of Jehovah’s kingdom and let them determine whether or not the same should be broadcast to the people would be, in the language of Jesus, to ‘give that which is holy into the hands of the dogs, and to cast pearls before the swine’. (Matt. 7:6) It would be obeying man rather than God, and therefore be a gross insult to the Lord God. (Acts 4:19) God’s anointed ones now- have no alternative, but must obey implicitly the commandments of Jehovah and his King Christ Jesus, the Greater Moses.–Acts 3: 22, 23.

For the encouragement of those who wholly trust in Jehovah he now tells them what shall be the ultimate result upon the wicked crowd. Jehovah’s faithful remnant will not bow down to Satan’s representatives nor yield to their request concerning the radio. They will not submit to the censorship of Satan’s organization to be done and performed by the clergy, commercial or political power. Jehovah’s witnesses could not be faithful to him and at the same time consent to such wicked agencies of Satan censoring the message of God’s kingdom and determining what shall be broadcast to the people concerning God’s Word. Jehovah is all-powerful, and he will provide in his own good way to get the truth to the people, and this he has done in providing tens of thousands of sound machines for reproducing recorded speeches in public places and in the private homes of the people. Jehovah’s faithful witnesses will not insult him be yielding to the request or demands of Satan’s agencies They will not compromise with Satan’s organization, but will rely implicitly upon Jehovah God, knowing that he will bring to pass all things according to his sovereign will In due time the whole of Satan’s organization will go up like smoke, and will never be known again Jehovah caused Zechariah to prophesy that the clergy and all who sympathize with their commercial religious racket, and all who act as Satan’s agents, shall, just before destruction, see what is coming upon Satan’s organization and this will make them sore afraid. That wicked crowd is now being served with the message of truth, and this has caused fear to take hold on them and ‘their faces gather blackness’. Therefore says the Lord by Zechariah (9:5) “Ashkelon shall see it, and fear, Gaza also shall see it, and be very sorrowful, and Ekron, for her expectation, shall be ashamed; and the king shall perish from Gaza, and Ashkelon shall not be inhabited.” Ashkelon, Gaza and Ekron were Philistine cities and were, like Tyre, engaged in commerce either directly or indirectly. They were in sympathy with Tyre, and the doom was against them. They also symbolized the religious element of Satan’s organization, the Roman Catholic Hierarchy being the controlling part The clergy and all minor institutions related thereto arc now in a very panicky state The entire crowd tell the people that “prosperity is just around the corner” and that “the Hierarchy is the chief bulwark against Communism” , but their expectation shall not be realized Religion, Big Business econo mists, advertising agencies, political racketeers, royalty ami aristocracy, democracy and every other element of Satan's organization shall perish, because that is the decree of doom or penal announcement written against them by Jehovah Knowing this, the faithful remnant will confidently go on in their work of proclaiming the kingdom message, wholly trusting in Jehovah and doing their work in his strength and with joy and praise to his name Jehovah made a law covenant with the nation of Israel It provided that a bastard should not enter into the congregation of the Lord. (Deut. 23: 2) That law foreshadowed present-day matters. The Jewish Pharisees, being sticklers for the letter of the law but entirely ignoring the spirit of it, and being blind in their own conceits and being the ‘more holy than thou’ crowd, called in question the legitimacy of Jesus; in other words, applied to him the name “bastard” (John 6:42; 8:41) A bastard was very despicable in the eyes of the hypocritical Pharisees. Likewise the clergy of “Christendom”, who are the antitype of the Pharisees, look on the outward appearance of men and hypocritically assume to be above reproach themselves, despise the humble followers of Christ Jesus and put them m the class of bas

tards, and when the clergy are told of the kingdom of God they turn from it with a contemptuous air and at the same time hail the Devil's substitute, the League of Nations, or the Hierarchy-controlled state, for the kingdom of God. The Lord tells them that the One whom they have labeled as a bastard shall put the religious hypocrites out of business.

“And,” continues the prophet (Zech. 9:6), “a bastard shall dwell in Ashdod; and I will cut off the pride of the Philistines” The name “Ashdod” means “stronghold”, and it was the chief town of the five confederated Philistine cities and was the seat of the worship of the sea-god Dagon. (1 Sam. 5: 1-9) It therefore pictures the stronghold of the confederated enemy against God's kingdom. (Ps 83: 5) To this wicked crowd of hypocritical “highbrows” the kingdom of God under Christ is despicable and in their eyes is described by the term “bastard”. Jehovah therefore tells them that the despised One, Christ Jesus, as the great victorious Conqueror, shall take possession of the stronghold of the Philistines (that is, “Christendom” under the Hierarchy) and cut off the whole crowd. The people of good will, known as the Jonadab class, therefore are warned and shown the way of escape in this time of destruction To them God's command now applies (Zeph. 2:2,3) “Before the decree bring forth, before the day pass as the chaff, before the fierce anger of the Lord come . . Seek ye the Lord, all ye meek of the earth, which have wrought his judgment; seek righteousness, seek meekness; it may be ye shall be hid in the day of the Lord's anger.” “But I will send a fire on the wall of Gaza, which shall devour the palaces thereof: and I will cut off the inhabitant from Ashdod, and him that holdeth the sceptre from Ashkelon ; and I will turn mine hand against Ekron; and the remnant of the Philistines [the Roman Catholic Hierarchy and its religious and political allies] shall perish, saith the Lord God.” (Amos 1: 6-8) All of these shall drink the cup of Jehovah’s wrath (Jer. 25: 20) This will be a vindication of Jehovah’s Word and his name.

For many centuries “Christendom”, under the domination of the Roman Catholic Hierarchy and its religious allies, has illegally shed human blood in open violation of God’s everlasting covenant concerning the sanctity of the blood of earthly creatures. (Gen 9 1-6) Claiming to be followers of Christ, these, however, have eaten at the Devil’s table and sacrificed to the Devil. (1 Cor 10:21) Concerning the confederated enemies of God, and particularly the Roman Catholic Hierarchy, the Lord through his prophet (Zech. 9:7) says: “And I will take away his blood out of his [the modern Philistine’s] mouth, and his abominations from between his teeth ; but he that remaineth, even he, shall be for our God; and he shall be as a governor in Judah, and Ekron as a Jebusite.” The oppressed people of the earth shall be delivered from the voracious jaws of modern Philistines, which have long persecuted them. The remnant, delivered from the enemy organization, “shall be for our God,” Jehovah, that is, as a “people for his name”. “Judah,” whom the prophet mentions, means the class that praise Jehovah’s name; hence Judah here pictures the faithful remnant “And he [the remnant] shall be as a chieftain in Judah” (R.V.), that is to say, shall be the chief ones on the earth in the publishing of the name of Jehovah. (Isa. 62:10) And just as the ancient city of Jebusr was subdued by the tribe of Judah under King David, who therefore foreshadowed Christ Jesus, the true Governor or Chieftain and "Lion of the tribe of Juda”, so the modern Philistines, that is to say, the Roman Catholic Hierarchy and all its religious, commercial, political allies, shall be vanquished It will be a long-due pay-off!

APPRECIATION AND ASSURANCE

Dear Brother Rutherford:

We, the Bradley-Kankakee company of Jehovah’s witnesses, of Illinois Zone No. 1, desire to express to Jehovah God our grateful appreciation of his loving-kindness manifested toward us by revealing to us, through the Watch Tower, his marvelous truths, and also granting us the opportunity of telling these truths to others

We desire to express to you our fervent love, knowing that you are wholly devoted to Jehovah and his Theocracy under Christ.

We want you to know that we are with you in your courageous fight for right and truth, and that we refuse to consider the malicious letters which some of the “evil servant” class have been circulating amongst the brethren We will not co-opera’e with such a class who oppose Jehovah’s Theocratic government

(Continued from page 66)

competent person present to deliver a brief discourse immediately preceding the partaking of the emblems, that short article appearing in the March 15, 1939, issue of The Watchtower should be read before those assembled before partaking. Since the breaking of the bread and drinking of the wine both picture the death of Jesus, it follows that both emblems should be served together at partaking, and not separately. The emblems should be unleavened bread and real red wine. Jesus and his apostles used leal red wine in symbol of his blood, and the anointed remnant should follow their lead. A report of the celebration should be made to the Society as instructed in the Informant. In preparation therefor the article “Memorial” suggested above will be studied with profit

“MODEL STUDY" NO. 2

This booklet is a valuable and indispensable complement to the original model study booklet Model Study No 2 enables any

one equipped with phonograph and lecture recordings to carry on model studies on the seven latest recorded speeches by the Society's president, from the speech “Safety” in 1937 down to and including “Government and Peace” in 1939 The booklet also contains a Reference Index very convenient in locating the desired lecture record on any particular subject of vital interest today There are 64 pages of material, enclosed in a sturdy cover, and the booklet will be supplied on your contribution of 5c a copy Those in organized companies should send in their orders in combination through the local company servant

“WATCHTOWER” STUDIES

Week of April 7. “Power of the Demons” (Part 3),  1-18 inclusive, The Watchtower March 1, 1940

Week of April 14 “Power of the Demons” (Part 3), 19-41 inclusive, The Watchtower March 1, 1940

FIELD EXPERIENCES

NEW YORK MAGISTRATE ENCOURAGES DEMON ASSAULTS

“Having just had a doorstep setup on the second floor, I descended with wide-open phonograph, all set, and my bookcase, to the first floor of this four-story apartment, catty-cornered from St. Augustine’s Catholic church. A man in overcoat and hat stood silent in center of hall as I neared the apartment door at foot of stairs. It was partly open, and as I stepped in front, a large, big-bellied Irishman, in big white apron, opened it wide. With an ‘oh!’ of surprise I set down my things and extended him an invitation to lecture ‘Government and Peace’. Without warning, wildeyed he sprang out, grabbed me at my overcoat collar with heavy hands and shouted: ‘Here's that Communist!’ Pinned against the wing of the lobby door, I remonstrated, ‘I’m a Christian’, but no matter. ‘Get that door open ’’ he yelled to the silent man, and, notwithstanding my demand, ‘Let me get my things,’ I was forced through that door, then through the vestibule door, and out into the street. Heaving with rage he shook and marched me down the street toward the ‘church’ from which worshipers were now emerging. Suddenly he let go and tramped back, I close behind and warning of law action for damage to my things. Turning on the doorstep as I came beneath him, he swung his heavy right arm and gave me a stunning backhand blow on my right cheek, yelling: ‘Stay out of here! they don’t want you in here” Then he threw my bookcase out onto the sidewalk. Next he brought out my open phonograph in position and heaved it into the gutter Into the gutter went records and tone arm. There was I in the gutter adjusting my things as Brannigan’s fellow religionists streamed out of their house of demons and passed me on both sides, with remarks. Friday afternoon following saw us in the big ornate room of the Bronx Magistrates Court No. 2, standing before magistrate on bench, lady clerk and court steno, and an audience of about 25 outside the rail. From start on the magistrate was out to clear Brannigan, remarking: ‘Oh, so you ordained yourself!’ and, ‘Where was Judge Rutherford a judge” and, ‘Can’t we settle this in a Christian way’’ appealing to the Lord’s prayer about forgiving. Brannigan pleaded he was the father of five children, and, lying Catholically, said he had a sick wife and I rang his door bell and insisted on playing my phonograph, and so he just picked up my things and put them outside the door: ‘He was playing a record which attacks our priests and bishops and pope and says they’re back of this war” The magistrate immediately called for the playing of ‘Snare and Racket’. After listening awhile he broke in and said to Brannigan ‘Is that the same record?’ The entire courtroom heard the complete recording. Again magistrate appealed for ‘Christian’ settlement and commented: ‘We know there’s nothing so good as sweet religion.’ When, finally, he brought the matter to simply reparation for a scuffed Italian record and Brannigan pleaded financial inability, the magistrate said: ‘Oh, is that all. just a matter of 70c! I’ll pay for it myself,’ and pulls out a dollar bill and his clerk puts it on the table before me. Then with an admonition to me as if I was a trespasser, and with a mild warning to Brannigan (whom he called ‘You old lug’) about laying hands on others, he dismissed the ease, with no penalty to Brannigan for his criminal assault and battery. I left the dollar bill lying before the judge, spurned!”

EVERY ONE HIS OWN SUBSCRIPTION COPY IN CANADA

“Like to report a young Ukrainian lady, a widow, with five children aged 9 to 15, who has been associated with the Truth for four years, a Watchtower subscriber; then got The Watchtower for her oldest girl, and now I send you four Watchtower subscriptions for the four other children which makes six Watchtower subscribers in the one home, and each a regular publisher. Can you beat it?”

DELIVERING AN ORDER, KINGSTON, JAMAICA

“He had no money; would I call back? I suggested an order and date he would like me to fetch book. He quickly said: ‘Please fetch it next Sunday morning.' At the hour appointed I called. Imagine my disappointment to find him out, and no word of explanation left for me Well I tore from my address book a leaf and left the following ‘Very surprised at your action–took you at your word, and you have failed even being polite enough to leave some message Why you did not keep your word?’ Weeks passed, and 1 was in that direction, having been asked to do something for a friend. I thought I would call, and did so I found him at home. He greeted me politely, then said ‘I got your note, but was not so pleased over it ’ ‘Why ?’ 'Well, I could not do better about the book I ordered, as I met with a disappointment.’ I said that was no reason why he could not have left me word He hung his head ‘I am sorry, huh Please give me your name and address, and I will keep my word this time.’ Time rolled by, my prospect did not turn up. I forgot about it. December 6 I got back home to hear a young man had called to get a book–lie would return in two hours, being told I would be back then He came, greeted me, and asked if I remembered him. ‘You are the young man who did not keep his word regarding that book ” Yes but I have called for it today.’ He gave me contribution thanked him and showed appreciation of his at last keeping his word. He said: ‘Do you know where this book is going’ I said . ‘No ” ‘It goes to my mother in Chicago, as a Christ mas present ’ I presented him with. Government and Peace. All of four months after that Sunday a m call ”

IN AN OREGON CCC CAMP

“Last Sunday we came to a CCC camp My father went to the office. The commander was asleep. He asked the sergeant in charge if we could play the hour lecture ernment and Peace’ for the boys. He gave him a booklet to look over, and the sergeant sent one of the boys to ask th, commander if it would be O.K. The commander roused ... his slumber enough to say, ‘Yes, go ahead ’ They announced from their Sound System for everyone to report at the Educational Building. My father and mother went in and put on the lecture to 37 CCC boys, and When the lecture was over he gave each one a copy of the Government and Peace booklet as they came out the door. Asked if they would like to hear another lecture, the majority raised their hands Several did leave after the third or fourth record was played, but a grand witness was given and 33 booklets were placed A few months ago a pioneer from our company witnessed at this same camp and they would not permit him to even witness to the boys.”