of God and the faith of Jesus.” The situation today calls for endurance by God’s witnesses.

48. What, then, will Christian witnesses of Jehovah do?

⁴⁸ What, then, shall we witnesses of the Most High God the Creator do? By his unfailing help we have endured till now, but the proving of our endurance is not over as yet. We are still living and, for the remainder of this “hour” of God’s judgment, we shall continue living in this world surrounded by the false worshipers and their false gods and idols. We cannot turn aside from observing the “commandments of God and the faith of Jesus.” We must keep on observing God’s commandments and holding fast our faith in Jesus regardless of how much this course will call upon us yet to endure.

49. Whose lead should we follow in this time of judgment, and how serious is our commission?

⁴⁹ Accordingly, we will continue to follow the lead of the angel flying in midheaven and will take up and relay to “every nation and tribe and tongue and people” the “everlasting good news” that this angel or angelic band introduces “in a loud voice.” We cannot help it that what is “good news” or “glad tidings” to us true worshipers is not good news to everybody else, not good news to false worshipers who are the foes of Jehovah God the Creator. The good news includes the information about the vengeance of God the Creator, and those who are commissioned by God to preach are under orders to proclaim His vengeance.

50. Who else had this obligation, and how did he show he accepted the commission when on a visit to Nazareth?

⁵⁰ This obligation was true also of the loving Lord Jesus, whom Jehovah God anointed with his holy spirit immediately after he was baptized in the Jordan River. In the Jewish meeting place in his boyhood town of Nazareth, Jesus read from the prophecy of Isaiah and applied to himself these words: “The spirit of the Lord Jehovah is upon me, for the reason that Jehovah has anointed me to tell good news to the meek ones. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to those taken captive and the wide opening of the eyes even to the prisoners; to proclaim the year of good will on the part of Jehovah and the day of vengeance on the part of our God; to comfort all the mourning ones.” (Isa. 61:1, 2; Luke 4:16-21) Even he had to preach God’s “day of vengeance.” At the same time he preached the “year of good will on the part of Jehovah.” His sheeplike followers today have to do the same.

REJOICING OVER HIS VENGEANCE

51, 52. (a) Why is even the declaration of Jehovah’s vengeance a cause for rejoicing? (b) Like Moses, how will righteous servants of Jehovah feel?

⁵¹ Even the day of vengeance on the part of our God Jehovah is good news for the meek ones on the earth who have been downtrodden by the powerful; for the brokenhearted ones who have seen the visible organization of God’s true worship broken up by the enemies of the pure and undefiled religion; for those taken captive and restricted in their religious liberty by that organization of the Devil, Babylon the Great; and for the religious prisoners whose eyes have closed, made sightless by the darkness of the religious prison in which they have been unwillingly chained.

⁵² Not for persons who rejoice over the badness of this world of false worship, but for those who mourn over the damage done to the congregation of true worship the proclaiming of the “day of vengeance on the part of our God” is a comfort. When that day finally arrives and they see his righteous vengeance executed on their enemies, who are also God’s enemies, they will enjoy their greatest comfort. They will sing for joy, as Moses did after seeing Pharaoh’s military forces of pursuers drowned in the Red Sea: “Let me sing to Jehovah, for he has become highly exalted. The horse and its rider he has pitched into the sea. My strength and my might is Jah, since he serves for my salvation. This is my God, and I shall laud him; my father’s God, and I shall raise him on high. Jehovah is a manly person of war. Jehovah is his name. Jehovah will rule as king to time indefinite, even forever.”—Ex. 15:1-3, 18; Rev. 15:3, 4.

53. What is our obligation in this still-continuing “year of good will on the part of Jehovah”?

⁵³ It is our obligation, laid upon us by God the Creator, to help persons of every nation, tribe, tongue and people to know about and take advantage of the still-continuing “year of good will on the part of Jehovah.” Thus they may escape in that fast-approaching “day of vengeance on the part of our God.” They must be helped to know who God the Creator is, that they may learn to love him and worship and glorify him with the right kind of fear.

54. (a) For whom was this earth not meant? (b) Therefore, who will clear the world of all false worshipers, and what part do those loving righteousness play in this matter?

⁵⁴ This earth was never meant by the Creator to be a place for false worshipers. It is no rightful place for religious worshipers who worship the created things and not the Creator himself. It is not our business or obligation to clear these thousands of millions of false worshipers off the face of this earth. That is the Creator’s business, for he has the right to uncreate what he has created if the creature departs from God’s way. It is his business and stated purpose to rid the earth of all the false worshipers in his “day of vengeance,” but it is our business to tell them about it in advance. We cannot help it if they do not like it. These false worshipers would be pleased to receive all the physical and material benefits that the “everlasting good news” foretells, but these false religionists are not pleased or willing to accept these everlasting physical and material benefits on God’s terms. They are unwilling to give up the false worship and broad license that their religion allows them, in order to receive the gift of everlasting life in human perfection on a glorious Paradise earth under God’s kingdom.

55. Who is the One we should want to please?

⁵⁵ We can never expect to please them and have their approval for preaching the “everlasting good news” during this brief “hour” of judgment by God the Creator. It is this God the Judge whom we must please and serve, and it is his message that we must declare to those who are teachable and eager to worship the God who is real. He is the One to whom we must give glory.

56. How do the heavens and productive land declare God’s glory, and is this praise alone sufficient? Why?

⁵⁶ Psalm 19:1-4 meaningfully says: “The heavens are declaring the glory of God; and of the work of his hands the expanse is telling. One day after another day causes speech to bubble forth, and one night after another night shows forth knowledge. There is no speech, and there are no words; no voice on their part is being heard. Into all the earth their measuring line has gone out, and to the extremity of the productive land their utterances.” But it is not our proper part to leave to just the speechless visible heavens and to just the glories of day and night the business of declaring God’s glory and telling of the work of his hands.

57. (a) Why do the common people today need help to appreciate God’s good news? (b) What, then, must we do when we appreciate and rejoice in the “everlasting good news”?

⁵⁷ The common people of today have had their religious perceptions distorted by false religion, higher criticism of the Bible and science that is falsely called science, and so we cannot leave it to such people to look at the heavens and observe the things in the great expanse day and night and understand them correctly. We cannot expect them to read the glory of God there and call it the work of his hands. From those inanimate heavens and from the vast expanse beautified by sun, moon, stars and clouds they cannot learn God’s loving purpose for doing away with all badness and for transforming our now misused earth into an indescribably beautiful Paradise and giving the rescued worshipers of God the Creator an everlasting home there under His kingdom. God has created his written Word, the Holy Bible, to tell us and them that “everlasting good news.” We must give them God’s Word. We must help them to “obey the good news.”—Rom. 10:16, 17.

58. In this “time of the end” what is our surpassing privilege?

⁵⁸ Our privilege today surpasses by far that of the shepherds on the fields of Bethlehem who long ago saw the glorious angel and heard him declare “good news of a great joy” for all the people who seek God and his goodwill. Nineteen centuries ago the apostle John saw in vision the angel flying in midheaven to declare gladly all around the earth the “everlasting good news.” Today, by God’s priceless favor, it is our privilege to take up this angel’s declaration of glad tidings and proclaim it speedily all around the earth. Obediently, lovingly, boldly doing this, we shall rejoice to see countless others from “every nation and tribe and tongue and people” turn from false religion to fear God and to give him glory. We shall rejoice to have them unite with us to worship Him our Creator for his endless vindication and for our everlasting salvation.

Truth Spreads in a Jail

AT A circuit assembly in Petersburg, Virginia, one of Jehovah’s witnesses related this experience: “I received a phone call from a prisoner in the city jail. He was anxious to contact one of Jehovah’s witnesses. He had served eight months in a prison camp and was transferred to the city jail to settle another matter. While he was in the camp, he began reading religious literature that was in the camp library. He kept noticing a green book, but everyone discouraged him, saying, ‘That’s that Jehovah stuff, don’t read it.’ But this only caused him to look into it. The following fourteen days he read, reread and looked up the scriptures in the first edition of ‘Let God Be True.’ Being convinced that what he read was God’s truth, he dedicated his life to Jehovah.

“Within a short time another man came to the camp with a red book, ‘This Means Everlasting Life.’ He read this book; as he said, ‘I wore the covers off.’ After having this foundation, he wrote some letters to the Watch Tower Society and received warm replies. Then one Sunday a Witness called and left the Paradise book and the New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures. Being filled with such a happy hope, this inmate began regular discussions with other inmates, and many showed interest. About seventeen men were willing to have a Bible study. Through his efforts, five of the men in the camp have come to appreciate the truth and are waiting to have a full share in Kingdom work.

“At the city jail I regularly held a Bible study every afternoon with this man. Since his short stay in the city jail, he has spread many seeds of truth with good results. Four men are definitely interested and seven have requested a Witness to call so they can learn more. This man’s conduct since learning God’s truth has been on such a high level that his influence is visibly having effects on fellow inmates. Where once there was filthy talk, now many are reading The Watchtower and Awake! and are looking up scriptures.”

Take Courage to Preach God’s Nearby Kingdom

TODAY Jehovah God’s true ministers are under the obligation to obey the prophetic command: “This good news of the kingdom will be preached in all the inhabited earth for a witness to all the nations.” Fulfillment of Bible prophecy shows that Kingdom to be nearby.—Matt. 24:14.a

To obey that command takes courage. Why? Because of the opposition to this Kingdom preaching by this old world that is under the control of Satan the Devil. (1 John 5:19) Jesus Christ was persecuted because of preaching this kingdom, so were his early followers, and so will all today who preach it be persecuted. This persecution has been particularly severe in totalitarian lands such as Spain and those behind the Iron Curtain. Yes, there is no escaping it, “all those desiring to live with godly devotion in association with Christ Jesus will also be persecuted.”—2 Tim. 3:12.

What will help you to take courage to preach God’s kingdom? First of all, strong faith. To get that strong faith you must go to the Bible, the Word of God. Therein you will find many express commands to take courage as well as many fine examples of it. Among its many commands is Psalm 31:24: “Be courageous, and may your heart be strong, all you who are waiting for Jehovah.” As for examples, the most outstanding one of all is that of Jesus Christ. Throughout his ministry he displayed confidence and poise, calmness and strength, these qualities being especially in evidence when an armed mob came to take him on the last night of his earthly ministry. Among the many other Scriptural examples that might be mentioned are Moses and Aaron before Pharaoh, David facing Goliath and the apostle Paul when threatened by mobs.

The possession of God’s holy spirit is also a great aid to taking courage to preach God’s nearby kingdom. What courage it instilled in the apostles! They kept on preaching even though imprisoned and commanded not to preach. Courageously they replied: “We must obey God as ruler rather than men.” Yes, the spirit that God gives his people by means of his Word and his organization and in answer to prayer is not one of cowardice but of power.—Acts 5:29; 2 Tim. 1:7.

Another aid in taking courage is the association of fellow Christians. Paul, when reaching Rome, took courage upon seeing the brothers who had come out to meet him. In the congregation all are in need of encouragement, including the overseers, and all can have a part in giving encouragement to others.—Acts 28:15; Rom. 1:11, 12; Heb. 10:25.

Among other aids in taking courage are the fear of God and a clear conscience. The fear of God dispels the fear of man, which is a snare and robs one of courage: “Trembling at men is what lays a snare, but he that is trusting in Jehovah will be protected.” “The wicked do flee when there is no pursuer, but the righteous are like a young lion that is confident.”—Prov. 29:25; 28:1.

Nor should the part that love plays in taking courage be overlooked. Love for Jehovah God and for neighbor will make you courageous, for as the apostle John shows: “This is how love has been made perfect with us, that we may have freeness of speech in the day of judgment, because, just as that one is, so are we ourselves in this world. There is no fear in love, but perfect love throws fear outside, because fear exercises a restraint. Indeed, he that is under fear has not been made perfect in love.”—1 John 4:17, 18.

It does indeed take courage to preach the nearby kingdom of God, for one cannot preach it without arousing opposition, be it in the form of angry looks and ridicule or violence and imprisonment. The record that the Christian witnesses of Jehovah make as annually noted in their Yearbook shows that they do indeed take courage to preach God’s nearby kingdom. Did you know that in Spain, where they have been carrying on underground for many years in the face of bitter opposition, their numbers have increased in ten years from some 120 to more than 2,000?

During the month of October there will be many ways that the ministers of Jehovah can show that they have the courage it takes to preach God’s kingdom. One is by offering to all persons, as they have opportunity, the companion to The Watchtower, the Awake! magazine, on a subscription basis. Another way is to make return visits upon all who have shown a consciousness of their spiritual need and study the Bible with them. And still another way is for all who are not full-time preachers to endeavor to devote at least ten hours to preaching God’s nearby kingdom.