he had lost at the beginning. As to his family, he came to have seven sons and three beautiful daughters even in the old age of himself and that of his aged wife.—Job 42:10-15.

²⁵ Surely Jehovah proved to be the true God who can choose reliable witnesses to champion his Sovereign Godship on earth. Job was thus the vindicated champion of his day. Does this drama have prophetic fulfillment or application of interest for men of true wisdom in later times? Evidences in the affirmative will be presented in the succeeding articles.

Jesus, the “Object of Hostility,” Upholds Jehovah’s Godship

“Consider closely the one who has endured such contrary talk by sinners against their own interests.”—Heb. 12:3.

1. Why can Jesus be described in a preliminary way as the Greater Job?

THE name Job means “object of hostility.”a How accurately Job in his experiences of testing proved to be an object of hostility received from Satan and from his Babylonized religious companions! Now all this affair comes out to be a detailed prophetic drama with a preliminary fulfillment centering around the Greater Job, Jesus Christ. But before one can examine the many instructive evidences of this, it becomes necessary to make a brief historic survey of religious conditions that generated in Palestine and in the neighboring pagan world during the five centuries that preceded Jesus’ day. In all those five hundred years Satan was producing subtle religious forces and confusing doctrines that would put the promised “seed” to the severest test whenever he would make his appearance on the earth. (Gen. 3:15) As shall be seen, the perfect man Jesus was more than ready and able to be the Greater Job or “object of hostility.” So that the issue of Jehovah’s Sovereign Godship might be rightly vindicated, Jesus endured hostile contrary talk by sinners.—Heb. 12:3.

RELIGIOUS STAGE BEING SET FOR JESUS

2, 3. (a) How did there become two Jewish centers—one in Palestine and one in Babylon? (b) In what way was the Jewish religion spread abroad, and around what was it centered?

² From Biblical and secular history it is evident that only a minority of the Jews exiled in Babylon between 607 and 537 B.C.E. returned to Jerusalem in and after 537 B.C.E. to share in restoring true worship there and to rebuild the temple under Zerubbabel’s leadership. (Ezra 2:1, 2) Some years later Nehemiah aided by rebuilding the wall of Jerusalem (Neh. 7:1), and Ezra shared by staffing the restored temple with priests for full daily services. (Ezra 7:1-7) Ezra also led in the great work of making available for circulation many reliable copies of the sacred Hebrew Scriptures. The majority of the exiled