the preaching out to other areas, and that they would serve as advisers and examples to the newer and younger congregations. From as far back as 1879 and before, the first congregated group of the restored remnant in Allegheny, Pennsylvania, served as a sort of leading congregation, and the mature brothers there, cooperating with overseers in other congregations, took the initiative in organizing to expand the preaching and forming new congregations. It was from this body of older brothers in Allegheny that the magazine now known as The Watchtower was sent to many parts of the world, and which was used as a basis for Bible study in all congregations. This served to unify their thinking and understanding of the Scriptures and to co-ordinate their preaching methods.

THEOCRATIC PROCEDURE

13. (a) Why was it necessary to replace democratic methods with theocratic methods in the congregation, and how was this foretold at Isaiah 60:17-22? (b) How was this brought about between 1919 and 1938?

¹³ Still the individual congregations were largely independent and self-governing, electing their own ‘elders’ and determining many of their study and service arrangements in the democratic method. But if a great crowd of men and women were to be gathered and instructed in God’s will this arrangement needed to be improved; otherwise the method of instruction and the standards of true worship might vary considerably from one place to another, depending upon the maturity of a congregation. The inferior methods of oversight in the congregation would need to be replaced by genuine, divinely guided principles, as foretold in Isaiah 60:17-22. Already in 1919, with the beginning of the work to distribute The Golden Age, the Watch Tower Society, which had been serving as a form of governing body for the congregations and which had moved its headquarters office and staff to Brooklyn, New York, so as to provide for more effective supervision of the world-wide preaching, began to initiate a more theocratic governing arrangement by appointing a service director in each congregation. By October, 1932, the congregations world-wide went on record to bring their identity more in accord with Bible prophecy by doing away with “elective elders” and having the most mature, spiritually discerning brothers selected to serve as a “service committee” to assist the Society-appointed service director. This development was completed by 1938 when congregations world-wide expressed their wish to be organized completely under the direction of “The Society,” “the faithful and discreet slave” class, who would hereafter appoint all overseers and their assistants in the congregations and who would direct all study and preaching arrangements. This was necessary not only for the bringing of Jehovah’s sanctuary or congregation of anointed ones on earth into the proper relationship to him, but also so that God’s congregation on earth could be the proper place to teach and train the great crowd being gathered in from the nations to do God’s will.

14, 15. (a) Why was it especially necessary that this change to theocratic governing form be completed by 1938? (b) What did this insure for those of the great crowd? (c) What really took place with the restoring of the congregation of anointed ones in 1919, according to Isaiah 51:3–52:2?

¹⁴ This building up of the congregation theocratically served to bring it to the fore as a place where one would learn God’s ways. If it was unsuitable for the congregation of anointed ones to be directed by democratic vote so that the majority, perhaps being largely immature ones, would direct instead of the spiritually mature, it was even more unsuitable when the great crowd would be gathered. For these of the nations by reason of their growing to a large majority could begin to form the congregation in accord with their will instead of their being conformed to God’s will. But God’s oversight of such matters is very evident, and theocratic oversight was functioning completely by 1938, at a time when the “other sheep” or those of the great crowd were still in a minority.

¹⁵ This principle of oversight was necessary, not only to care for the preaching work, but also to serve to train all those of the great crowd to submit to God’s will during the time of the end, before Armageddon, so they would be trained and qualified to proceed after Armageddon with cleansing and beautifying the earth in an orderly and theocratic manner. The congregation of the anointed ones was to be an example or pattern. In this we see the fulfillment of another prophecy, namely, Isaiah 51:3–52:2, which shows that with the restoring of the anointed remnant to their right relationship and service of God in 1919 the “new earth” was founded. That is the beginning of the formation of a New World society, which would gather and train the great crowd and which in its organized form as a congregation functioning under the new system of things would be preserved through that war of Armageddon ending this old system.—See “New Heavens and a New Earth,” pages 322-341.

16. How has the theocratic arrangement made it possible for the congregation to maintain its purity and retain the proper relationship between the remnant and the great crowd?

¹⁶ Though this growing congregation or New World society has gathered in more than 800,000 men and women and children from all nations, tribes, races and peoples, it has not been shaped or formed according to the ideas or customs these people had previously, but all of these have been shaped after God’s will. They are teachable, meek, loving, peace-pursuing, and are at unity with all their fellow believers. Though numbering more than 800,000 in comparison to now less than 14,000 of the anointed ones, or a majority of about fifty-four to one, yet all these from the nations have submitted themselves to being instructed according to God’s ways, by the “faithful and discreet slave” class, the remnant. Though this world from which they have come has been greatly influenced by selfishness, immorality, lying, dishonesty, atheism, spiritism and many other godless thoughts and actions, yet these things have not crept into the true congregation of God. Those who would try to corrupt the congregation today with immoral conduct or false teaching are disfellowshiped, as was the case in the congregation of the first century, so that the congregation’s purity and identity are preserved.

17, 18. (a) How has it been possible for the organization to expand and to train and supervise hundreds of thousands of person in 179 countries when the remnant are becoming fewer year after year? (b) What scriptures foretold this?

¹⁷ The ingathering of so many hundreds of thousands from all lands required an organization that could expand greatly and still retain its theocratic structure, even as was foretold at Isaiah 54:2, 3. But how could this little congregation expand when the anointed class was growing smaller and many of those left had become elderly and sickly with the passing of years. By following Paul’s advice at 2 Timothy 2:1-3 and thus training those of the great crowd so they would qualify as overseers and as teachers of others. Not only have thousands of these been trained as servants in congregations, but especially during the past twenty years thousands have entered the full-time ministry as pioneers and gone to work in isolated sections while others have been especially trained to open up the work in new lands, forming new congregations, building daughter “cities,” as it were, so as to make the teaching from God’s house available to all. All this has been done under the supervision of the anointed remnant.—Isa. 60:10; 61:4-6.

¹⁸ So there are many congregations and even whole lands where there are none of the remnant. Yet it is possible for men and women in 179 lands to come to God’s “house” in more than 21,000 congregations, for all overseers have been taught and trained through the congregation arrangement of the “faithful and discreet slave.” All congregations are under supervision of local overseers and others who visit and inspect congregations, circuits and Society branch offices, so that all parts of the organization are kept in harmony with God’s will. In this way the anointed class shepherds God’s flock.

19. How do members both of the remnant and of the great crowd view the rapidly expanding organization, and how do they view their relationship to each other?

¹⁹ Even though the “great crowd” is growing larger all the time and the remnant of the “little flock” of anointed followers of Christ is getting smaller in numbers, yet there is complete unity. And those of the growing crowd have not tried to use their greater numbers to gain prominence in the organization. By their loyalty and obedience to Jehovah’s theocratic arrangement through the congregation, those of the “great crowd” show the greatest respect for the dwindling group of anointed ones. They do not feel that any credit should go to them because they are in the majority and today doing most of the preaching work. They realize that it is to Jehovah’s glory, and, too, that this growing unified congregation is a tangible sign of Jehovah’s approval of his faithful anointed ones on earth. Neither do these of the anointed resent this growing crowd with its numbers and its youthful, energetic zeal. Rather, they see the fruits of many years of hard work and are rejoicing to see that these have followed their example in zeal, obedience and loyalty to Jehovah. “And as for you, the priests of Jehovah you will be called; the ministers of our God.” (Isa. 61:6-11) Only the true congregation of God could demonstrate the love and unity of two such groups of persons.

20. (a) What do the Scriptures and facts show regarding the proper state for God’s servants in the time of the end? (b) What course of action is urged upon all?

²⁰ Thus, from the example of the Christian congregation of the first century and the investigation of many prophecies pertaining to our day we have proof that the proper state for God’s true servants now in the “time of the end” is not that of loosely associated individuals acting independently of one another. Rather, it is that of a tightly organized congregation, unified and fitted together on a world-wide basis, and under the oversight of the experienced and spiritually mature anointed remnant of Christ’s spiritual body. All readers of this magazine are urged to come together with this congregation, Jehovah’s witnesses, associate with them, compare their teaching, their worship, their works and their congregation organization with the Bible. “Come, you people, and let us go up to the mountain of Jehovah, to the house of the God of Jacob, and he will instruct us about his ways and we will walk in his paths.” Search out and identify the people whom God is with today, and associate with them.—Isa. 2:2-4; Zech. 8:20-23.

Authenticity

● Modern archaeological discoveries have shown that “the whole history of Joseph must be declared, even in its details, to correspond throughout with the real state of affairs in ancient Egypt.”—Schaaf and Herzog Cyclopedia of Religious Knowledge.