to Jehovah’s temple for judgment in the spring of 1918, to separate the “faithful and discreet slave” class from the “evil slave” group. (Mal. 3:1-3; Matt. 24:43-51, NW) The cleavage between the two groups became more evident after the opponents’ failure to gain their ends at the 1918 corporation meeting. After that January meeting the opposition leaders remained in Pittsburgh to form a separate organization headed by what they called a “Committee of seven.”k By Memorial time, March 26, 1918, the separation had become irreconcilable, as the opposers chose to celebrate the death of Christ apart from the Society’s faithful congregations.

It had been the Society’s usual practice to publish a partial report of the Memorial attendance as sent to the Society by congregations in this land and abroad, but due to the 1918 disturbances, both internally and externally, the attendance figures were not gathered. However, in 1917 the partial report of the Memorial (April 5) showed 21,274 in attendance as associates of the Society. By 1919 Memorial time (April 13), according to partial report showing attendance of 17,961, it became evident that a minority of less than four thousand had ceased to walk with their faithful former associates.l From this time of separation the “evil slave” group came into further internal disagreements and divisions among themselves. Eventually several other small dissentient groups tried to establish themselves but, after brief existence, disappeared.

In the latter half of 1917 the faithful forefront preachers of the “discreet slave” class energetically took up distribution of The Finished Mystery, for within seven months the Society’s outside printers were busy on the 850,000 edition. “The sale of the Seventh Volume is unparalleled by the sale of any other book known, in the same length of time, excepting the Bible.”a Not only did this book crystallize the opposition of the “evil slave” class, as already indicated, but it also brought forth a most bitter reaction of the clergy in many parts of Christendom. Sunday, December 30, 1917, was the historic date for commencement of the mass distribution through the Sunday volunteer service of ten million copies of the fiery tract, the Bible Students Monthly issue entitled “The Fall of Babylon—Why Christendom Must Now Suffer—The Final Outcome.”b That tabloid-size, four-page tract contained excerpts from The Finished Mystery and came to be a stinging exposure of the clergy. Accompanying this distribution, public lectures were widely given the same day on this same subject.c

On February 12, 1918, the public press contained the following dispatch from Ottawa, Canada:

“The Secretary of State, under the press censorship regulations, has issued warrants forbidding the possession in Canada of a number of publications, amongst which is the book published by the International Bible Students Association, entitled Studies in the Scriptures—The Finished Mystery, generally known as the posthumous publication of Pastor Russell. The Bible Students Monthly, also published by this Association at its office in Brooklyn, New York, is also prohibited circulation in Canada. The possession of any prohibited books lays the possessor open to a fine not exceeding $5,000 and five years in prison.”d

Later, the Winnipeg (Canada) Tribune, after mentioning the banning order above described, said:

“The banned publications are alleged to contain seditious and anti-war statements. Excerpts from one of the recent issues of The Bible Students Monthly were denounced from the pulpit a few weeks ago by Rev. Charles G. Patterson, Pastor of St. Stephen’s Church. Afterward Attorney General Johnson sent to Rev. Patterson for a copy of the publication. The censor’s order is believed to be the direct result.”e

This set off a chain of clergy-inspired actions that were aimed to force the governments of the United States and Canada to destroy the Watch Tower Society and its co-workers.

(To be continued)

Preaching for the Purpose of a Witness

THAT Christ Jesus commanded his followers to preach the “good news of the kingdom” is apparent both from his example and his instructions to them. Many, however, have taken Jesus’ instructions to mean that they are to try to convert the world; and in view of the fact that they profess to do this at God’s command they actually hold that God is trying to convert the world. (As if God had to try to do a certain thing!)—Matt. 24:14, NW.

Believing that man has an immortal soul that at death goes either to heaven or to hell (or purgatory), such professed Christians have been faced with a dilemma. Either all those who have never heard of the only “name under heaven that has been given among men by which we must get saved” are doomed to suffer eternal torment and therefore Christians are faced with the hopeless task of trying to convert the world—hopeless in that the pagan peoples are increasing population far more rapidly than they are being converted; or God is going to save them all on the basis of their never having had an opportunity, in which event it must be asked, Why not keep all mankind ignorant and then save all?—Acts 4:12, NW.

But God’s Word presents no such dilemmas. It shows that God is perfect in wisdom, justice, love and power and that all he purposes he carries out; that he decreed that the wages sin pays is death, not eternal torment, and that because of his love and for his name’s sake he has made provision whereby the obedient ones of mankind can regain what their first parent Adam lost for them, namely, everlasting life in a righteous world. God’s Word further shows that that righteous world is just at the doors, which means that the end of this wicked old world is also at hand. God is therefore having a great preaching work done for the purpose of a witness, warning all the wicked of their doom and offering to all lovers of righteousness a way of escape to God’s new world.

In carrying on this work of preaching for the purpose of a witness God’s servants endeavor to make the message they have to offer as convincing as they can. Their motive in carrying on this preaching work is love, love for God and love for their fellow man. In doing this work they use the same methods employed by Jesus and his disciples together with such modern means of communication as are available to them in the way of printing presses, the radio and television. As a result of such preaching millions have heard for the first time of Jehovah and his purposes and hundreds of thousands have dedicated themselves to Jehovah and now share in the preaching work.—Rev. 7:9, 10.

Today there is no more joyful work in which one could engage than that of preaching for the purpose of a witness. It is not the hopeless task of trying to convert the world, neither is it a useless one as if all would be saved because of ignorance.