Christ nor in the merit of his sacrifice. That is why Jehovah’s witnesses as God’s ministers must preach the good news of God’s Word to the people, so that they may have the opportunity of believing. Many are listening, and some are taking heed and starting to study.

16. What do Memorial observance and baptismal figures show?

¹⁶ At one of the most important meetings of the Lord’s people in the earth today, the celebration of the memorial of Jesus’ death, there were 453,274 persons in attendance. Of this great number only 24,312 partook of the emblems, thus signifying that they believe they are of the remnant class that will be joint-heirs with Christ Jesus in heaven. The others, numbering considerably more than 425,000 now, are sincerely looking forward to the time when the new world will be established. Not all of these, however, have been preaching the gospel to the extent that they have been making reports to the Society of what they are doing in this respect; but we firmly believe that in time they will take their stand and preach, because they will soon believe with their hearts that the greatest work that must be done in these last days is to make known the salvation of our God. During 1949 there were 42,524 persons who consecrated their lives to God’s service, symbolizing that covenant with water immersion. They accepted the charge, along with all others of Jehovah’s witnesses, to “preach the word”. By so doing, they will “be rich in good deeds, open-handed and generous, storing up a valuable treasure for themselves for the future, so as to grasp the life that is life indeed”.—1 Tim. 6:18, 19, An Amer. Trans.

17. How do Jehovah’s witnesses enter 1950, and with what purpose?

¹⁷ With joy and gladness Jehovah’s witnesses enter the 1950 service year, thankful for the honor of service under Christ the King. They are not worried about the persecutions, trials and difficulties. These they will face as they come day by day. The thing of greatest interest to them is the praising of Jehovah’s name and the vindication of his sovereign position in the universe. To prove it, Jehovah’s witnesses will “preach the word”.

Haggai Exhorts the Temple Builders

JEHOVAH God caused this prophecy of reconstruction in Judah to be declared to the Jewish exiles in Babylon: “This land that was desolate is become like the garden of Eden; and the waste and desolate and ruined cities are become fenced, and are inhabited. Then the heathen that are left round about you shall know that I the LORD build the ruined places, and plant that that was desolate: I the LORD have spoken it, and I will do it.” Why? So that the Jews might regain political independence? No, nothing like that. “Thus saith the Lord GOD; I do not this for your sakes, O house of Israel, but for mine holy name’s sake, which ye have profaned among the heathen, whither ye went. And I will sanctify my great name, . . . For I will take you from among the heathen, and gather you out of all countries, and will bring you into your own land.”—Ezek. 36:22-24, 35, 36.

Jehovah’s purpose was to regather his name-people to their homeland that they might reconstruct the temple and restore the true worship of Jehovah God in the land. This for his name’s sake, that his name might be vindicated in the sight of heathen nations. Accordingly, shortly after Darius and Cyrus overthrew Babylon the Jewish exiles were permitted to return to Jerusalem, armed with a commission from King Cyrus to rebuild the temple there. (Ezra 1:1-4) Hence it was that in 537 B.C. Zerubbabel and nearly 50,000 Jews trekked from Babylon to Jerusalem to rebuild the temple. Opposition from neighboring adversaries, those religious hybrids called “Samaritans”, soon flared up and succeeded in halting the building work. They maneuvered the slapping of an official Persian ban on the Theocratic reconstruction work, and for nearly sixteen years work on the temple was at a standstill. It was at this crucial point of time and state of matters that Jehovah raised up his prophet Haggai, in the second year of Darius II, in 520 B.C.—Ezra 4:1 to 5:1.

Little is known about Haggai personally. His name means “festive”. He probably returned from Babylon with Zerubbabel, in 537 B.C. He started prophesying “in the second year of Darius the king, in the sixth month, in the first day of the month”; his prophesyings come in four brief discourses on three different days, and the last one is dated the twenty-fourth day of the ninth month in the second year of Darius. (Hag. 1:1; 2:1, 10, 20) This means his prophetic career was short, only three months and twenty-four days. Short, but effective! For sixteen years no work had been done on the temple, and some of the Jews returned from captivity selfishly looked on outward conditions and said: “It is not the time for us to come, the time for Jehovah’s house to be built.” But to refute this class whom some moderns might call “morale weakeners” Haggai declared:

“Is it a time for you yourselves to dwell in your ceiled houses, while this house lieth waste? Now therefore thus saith Jehovah of hosts: Consider your ways. Ye have sown much, and bring in little; ye eat, but ye have not enough; ye drink, but ye are not filled with drink; ye clothe you, but there is none warm; and he that earneth wages earneth wages to put it into a bag with holes. Thus saith Jehovah of hosts: Consider your ways. Go up to the mountain, and bring wood, and build the house; and I will take pleasure in it, and I will be glorified, saith Jehovah. Ye looked for much, and, lo, it came to little; and when ye brought it home, I did blow upon it. Why? saith Jehovah of hosts. Because of my house that lieth waste, while ye run every man to his own house. Therefore for your sake the heavens withhold the dew, and the earth withholdeth its fruit. And I called for a drought upon the land, and upon the mountains,