others. (Rom. 10:9-14; 1 Cor. 9:27; 2 Cor. 4:13) Therefore the preachers were willing to be treated as foolish by the worldly-wise or be persecuted as heretics by the Jews. (1 Cor. 1:21-24; Gal. 5:11) For this reason, too, their preaching was accompanied by the use of reasoning and persuasion to aid the hearers to believe and exercise faith. (Acts 17:2; 28:23; 1 Cor. 15:11) Paul speaks of himself as being appointed “a preacher and apostle and teacher.” (2 Tim. 1:11) These Christians were not salaried heralds but dedicated worshipers giving themselves, their time and strength to the preaching activity.—1 Thess. 2:9.

Since all who became disciples also became preachers of the word, the good news spread rapidly, and by the time Paul wrote his letter to the Colossians (c. 60-61 C.E. or about thirty-seven years after Christ’s death) he could speak of the good news “which was preached in all creation that is under heaven.” (Col. 1:23) Hence, Christ’s prophecy of the ‘preaching of the good news in all the nations’ saw a certain fulfillment prior to the destruction of Jerusalem and its temple in 70 C.E. (Matt. 24:14; Mark 13:10) Jesus’ own words, as well as the book of Revelation, written after that destruction, point to a greater fulfillment of this prophecy at the time of Christ’s beginning to exercise Kingdom rule and preliminary to the destruction of all adversaries of that kingdom, a logical time for a great heralding work to be accomplished.—Rev. 12:7-12, 17; 14:6, 7; 19:5, 6; 22:17.

What results should Christian preachers expect for their efforts? Paul’s experience was that “some began to believe the things said; others would not believe.” (Acts 28:24) Real Christian preaching, based on God’s Word, requires a response of some kind. It is vigorous, dynamic and, above all, it presents an issue on which people must take sides. Some become active opposers of the Kingdom message. (Acts 13:50; 18:5, 6) Others listen for a time, but eventually they turn back for various reasons. (John 6:65, 66) still others accept the good news and act upon it.—Acts 17:11; Luke 8:15.

PREACHING WITHIN THE CONGREGATION

Most preaching activity recorded in the Christian Greek Scriptures relates to the proclamation done outside the congregation. In Paul’s exhortation to Timothy to “preach the word, be at it urgently in favorable season, in troublesome season,” however, the context places primary emphasis on preaching within the congregation, but in a general way and on a broader scale, as done by a general overseer. (2 Tim. 4:2) Paul’s letter to Timothy is a pastoral letter, that is, it was directed to one who was doing pastoral work among the Christians and provides counsel on such superintending ministry. Previous to this exhortation to “preach the word,” Paul warned Timothy of the apostasy beginning to manifest itself and which was to develop to serious proportions. (2 Tim. 2:16-19; 3:1-7) Following up his exhortation to Timothy to hold to and not be sidetracked from “the word” in his preaching, Paul shows the need for the urgency, saying, “for there will be a period of time when they will not put up with the healthful teaching,” but, rather, will seek teachers who teach according to their own desires and so will “turn their ears away from the truth,” hence describing, not outsiders, but those within the congregation. (2 Tim. 4:3, 4) Timothy, therefore, was not to lose his spiritual balance but be constant in boldly declaring God’s word (not human philosophies or useless speculations) to the brothers, even though this might bring him trouble and suffering from those wrongly inclined within the congregations. (Compare 1 Timothy 6:3-5, 20, 21; 2 Timothy 1:6-8, 13; 2:1-3, 14, 15, 23-26; 3:14-17; 4:5.) By so doing, he would act as a deterrent to the apostasy and be free of responsibility for bloodguilt, even as Paul had been.—Acts 20:25-32.

PREACHING TO THE SPIRITS IN PRISON

At 1 Peter 3:19, 20, after describing Jesus’ resurrection to spirit life, the apostle says: “In this state also he went his way and preached to the spirits in prison, who had once been disobedient when the patience of God was waiting in Noah’s days, while the ark was being constructed.” Commenting on this text, W. E. Vine’s Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words says: “In 1 Pet. 3:19 the probable reference is, not to glad tidings (which there is no real evidence that Noah preached, nor is there evidence that the spirits of antediluvian people are actually ‘in prison’), but to the act of Christ after His resurrection in proclaiming His victory to fallen angelic spirits.” (Vol. III, p. 201) As has been noted, ke·rysʹso refers to a proclamation that may be not only of something good but of something bad, as when Jonah proclaimed Nineveh’s coming destruction. The only imprisoned spirits referred to in the Scriptures are those angels of Noah’s day who were ‘delivered into pits of dense darkness’ (2 Pet. 2:4, 5) and “reserved with eternal bonds under dense darkness for the judgment of the great day.” (Jude 6) Therefore the preaching by the resurrected Jesus to such unrighteous angels could only have been a preaching of judgment. It may be noted that the book of Revelation transmitted in vision to John by Christ Jesus toward the close of the first century C.E. contains much about Satan the Devil and his demons and their ultimate destruction, hence, a preaching of judgment. (Rev. chaps. 12-20) Peter’s use of the past tense (“preached”) suggests that some such preaching had been done even prior to the writing of his first letter.

PREFECT

An official lower than a satrap in the Babylonian government. The title is used at Daniel 2:48 in conjunction with the “wise men.” It seems that these “wise men” were classed as to their official functions. Daniel, besides being one of the three high officials of Nebuchadnezzar, was appointed chief prefect over all the “wise men.”—Dan. 2:48; 3:2, 3, 27.

Under the rule of King Darius the Mede, the royal officials entered before Darius “as a throng,” indicating that a goodly number were involved, and said that all the officials, including the prefects, recommended the making of a law limiting petitions to the king only, for thirty days. Daniel continued to petition Jehovah, and was delivered, the conspirators themselves suffering death in the lion’s pit.—Dan. 6:6, 7, 24.

PREGNANCY

By his command to Adam and Eve, “Be fruitful and become many and fill the earth,” Jehovah indicated that pregnancy was to be part of the woman’s normal role. (Gen. 1:28) With the introduction of imperfection into the human family, God explained that the pain of pregnancy would be increased. (Gen. 3:16; see LABOR PAINS.) The Hebrew word rendered “pregnancy” comes from the root ha·rahʹ, meaning “to conceive, to become pregnant.” The equivalent thought in Greek was expressed by the idiom “having in belly [Gr., en ga·striʹ eʹkhou·sa],” which meant ‘to be with child’ or to be pregnant.—Isa. 7:14; Matt. 1:18, 23.

Among the Jews, children, and especially male children, were viewed as a blessing (Ps. 127:3; 128:3; Gen. 29:32-35; 30:5, 6), and barrenness as a shame and a reproach. (Luke 1:24, 25; Gen. 25:21; 30:1) Consequently pregnancy was something a married woman desired. (1 Sam. 1:2, 11, 20) When once a child had been conceived, the developing embryo or fetus was considered a soul. Action that resulted in killing a developing child in the womb was handled according to the rule “soul for soul.” (Ex. 21:22, 23) it was a horrendous act for an enemy to rip up or split open a pregnant woman.—Hos. 13:16; Amos 1:13; 2 Ki. 8:12; 15:16.

Pregnancy would include pain at its termination (Ps. 48:6; 1 Thess. 5:3), but that temporary grief would end with the birth of the child and so pregnancy would normally come to a happy and satisfying conclusion.—John 16:21, 22.

“WOE TO THE PREGNANT WOMAN”

When responding to the apostles’ question about the conclusion of the system of things, Jesus spoke about fleeing from Judea and said: “Woe to the pregnant women and those suckling a baby in those days!” (Matt. 24:19; Mark 13:17; Luke 21:23) The fulfillment and truthfulness of those words became apparent in the events prior to and during the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 C.E. Though reasonable activity and movement is usually possible for a woman during her pregnancy (Luke 1:39, 56; 2:5), extended flight on foot over mountainous country would be hard on her, and especially if her time for delivery were close. Extreme adversity befell pregnant women and those suckling babies when Roman forces laid siege to Jerusalem. Famine prevailed. During pregnancy it is important for a woman to have proper nourishment. If, for example, she does not get sufficient calcium she might lose her teeth, as the body takes calcium to form the bones of the developing baby. Furthermore a woman’s maternal protective instinct would increase her suffering as she saw infants starving and dying, all the while knowing that she would soon bring a child into such conditions. Josephus wrote about some starving men in besieged Jerusalem: “They showed no pity for grey hairs or helpless babyhood, but picked up the children as they clung to the precious scraps and dashed them on the floor.”—The Jewish War, translated by G. A. Williamson, p. 291; compare Luke 23:29.

METAPHORICAL USE

The period of pregnancy culminating in the birth of a child is used several times in a metaphorical sense. Israel lost God’s favor because her unfaithful people ‘conceived trouble and brought to birth what is hurtful.’ (Isa. 59:2-8; compare Psalm 7:14.) The process began with their allowing “hurtful thoughts” and wrong desires to impregnate their minds and hearts and, in effect, incubate there, with the inevitable result that “hurtful works” came to birth.—Compare James 1:14, 15.

Elsewhere Isaiah depicts Israel as a woman crying out in labor pains and saying to God: “So we have become because of you, O Jehovah. We have become pregnant, we have had labor pains; as it were, we have given birth to wind. No real salvation do we accomplish as regards the land, and no inhabitants for the productive land proceed to fall in birth [come to life, JP].” (Isa. 26:17, 18) This may refer to the fact that, despite God’s blessings (compare verse 15) and his having set before Israel the opportunity to become a “kingdom of priests and a holy nation” (Ex. 19:6), Israel had not yet seen realized the long-awaited fulfillment of the promise regarding the Seed through whom blessings would flow. (Gen. 22:15-18) Israel’s own efforts at salvation had produced nothing, unreality; as a nation it could not bring about the freedom “from enslavement to corruption” for which all creation “keeps on groaning together and being in pain together.” (Rom. 8:19-22; compare 10:3; 11:7.) With the Babylonian conquest the land “faded away” due to its pollution through the violation of God’s covenant, and ‘the inhabitants of the land decreased in number.—Isa. 24:4-6.

In contrast, by bringing back his people from exile, Jehovah made Jerusalem like a woman who had been made pregnant by her husband and brought forth numerous children.—Isa. 54:1-8.

The apostle Paul quotes this prophecy of Isaiah chapter 54 and applies it to “the Jerusalem above [which] is free, and she is our mother.” (Gal. 4:26, 27; compare Hebrews 12:22.) This evidently provides the key for understanding the vision recorded at Revelation 12:1-5, in which a pregnant heavenly “woman” gives birth to “a son, a male, who is to shepherd all the nations with an iron rod.” The shepherding of the nations with an iron rod is directly connected with the Messianic kingdom of God and hence the vision must relate to the producing of that Kingdom, so that, following the defeat of Satan’s attack on the newborn “child,” the ensuing cry goes forth: “Now have come to pass the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God and the authority of his Christ.” (Rev. 12:10) The anguish of the pregnant heavenly “woman” preceding the birth calls to mind Paul’s expression at Galatians 4:19, “childbirth pains” there apparently representing stirring interest and fervent desire to see full development of matters reached (in Paul’s case, the full development of the Galatian believers as Christians).

PREPARATION

A name applied to the day preceding the weekly sabbath, during which the Jews prepared for the sabbath.

When Jehovah began to provide manna in the wilderness he directed that a double portion be collected on the sixth day, since the people were not to gather manna on the sabbath, or seventh day. So, in preparation for the weekly sabbath, the Jews collected and baked or boiled extra manna. (Ex. 16:5, 22-27) In time the “day before the sabbath” came to be termed Preparation, as Mark explained. (Mark 15:42) (Somewhat similarly, in German Samstag [Saturday] is also called Sonnabend [literally, “Sun evening”] or “evening before Sunday [Sonntag].”) The Jewish Preparation day would end at sundown of what is today called Friday, at which time the sabbath would commence, the Jewish day running from evening to evening.

On Preparation the people prepared meals for the next day, the sabbath, and completed any other pressing work that could not wait until after the sabbath. (Ex. 20:10) The Law stipulated that the body of a man executed and hung on a stake “should not stay all night on the stake.” (Deut. 21:22, 23; compare Joshua 8:29; 10:26, 27.) Since Jesus and those impaled with him were on stakes on the afternoon of Preparation, it was important to the Jews that their deaths be hastened if necessary so that they could be buried before sunset. This was especially so since the day soon to begin at sundown was a regular sabbath (the seventh day of the week) and also a sabbath because of being Nisan 15 (Lev. 23:5-7), hence it was a “great” sabbath. (John 19:31, 42; Mark 15:42, 43; Luke 23:54) Josephus quoted a decree of Caesar Augustus that said the Jews were “not obliged to go before any judge on the Sabbath-day, nor on the day of preparation to it, after the ninth hour,” indicating that they began to prepare for the sabbath at the ninth hour on Friday.—Antiquities of the Jews, Book XVI, chap. VI, par. 2.

Regarding the morning of Jesus’ trial and appearance before Pilate, which was in the morning period of Nisan 14 (the Passover day having begun the evening before), John 19:14 says: “Now it was preparation of the passover.” (RS, AV, NW, Da) Some commentators have understood this to mean “preparation for the passover,” and certain translations so render the verse. (AT, We, CC) This, though, suggests that the Passover had not yet been celebrated, whereas the Gospel accounts explicitly show that Jesus and the apostles had celebrated it the night before. (Luke 22:15; Matt. 26:18-20; Mark 14:14-17) Christ perfectly carried out the regulations of the Law, including the requirement to celebrate the Passover on Nisan 14. (Ex. 12:6; Lev. 23:5; see PASSOVER.) The day of Jesus’ trial and death could be viewed as the “preparation of the passover” in the sense that it was the preparation for the seven-day Festival of Unfermented Cakes that began the next day. Because of their closeness on the calendar, the entire festival itself was often included in the term Passover. And the day after Nisan 14 was always a sabbath; additionally, in 33 C.E. Nisan 15 fell on the regular sabbath, making the day a “great” or double sabbath.