we can be that “God went on to say: ‘Let us make man in our image, according to our likeness’”! Thus Jehovah placed in mortal man godly intelligence and attributes of mind that He and His beloved heavenly Son exercise so wonderfully. Man was made with the capacity to appreciate the divine principles that would govern his existence. God’s laws were plainly stated to him. In loving obedience man could now show gratitude for all of Jehovah’s bounteous provision in the earthly paradise.—Gen. 1:26-31.

14, 15. (a) In what did Adam fail, and with what result to mankind? (b) How did the Creator now proceed to carry out his will with respect to the earth?

¹⁴ The first man proved unfaithful to this glorious trust, and as a result death came to rule as king over all mankind. (Rom. 5:12-14) What rank ingratitude on Adam’s part! However, Jehovah continues ever faithful to his divine purpose concerning this earth, which was created to become a global paradise to his praise. (Isa. 45:18, 19) Out of his great love for the world of mankind, he sent his beloved Son to earth to make known the name of the faithful Creator and to become a ransom for those exercising faith in God’s provision.—John 1:14; 3:16; 17:6.

¹⁵ This Son, Jesus Christ, was faithful in witnessing for Jehovah, even to a cruel death on a stake. (Rev. 1:5; 3:14) Jehovah therefore resurrected his Son and exalted him to His own right hand of favor in the invisible heavens. Since A.D. 1914 the Son rules in God’s kingdom, having received authority and power to carry out the Creator’s will with regard to this earth. He has been called “Faithful and True,” and in harmony with this he prepares now to fight Armageddon’s war of righteousness, for the purpose of clearing heaven and earth of every last vestige of wickedness.—Rev. 19:11-21.

16. What new creation has Jehovah brought forth, and what prospect lies ahead for obedient mankind?

¹⁶ In faithfulness to his purpose Jehovah has now brought forth a new creation: “Consequently if anyone is in union with Christ, he is a new creation; the old things passed away, look! new things have come into existence.” (2 Cor. 5:17) These “in union with Christ” are the “called and chosen and faithful” from among mankind, and will rule as kings with Christ in his heavenly kingdom for the blessing of the nations of obedient mankind. Already “a great crowd, which no man was able to number,” has been gathered from 185 nations and island territories of the earth, and is being prepared to survive through this world’s end, for eternal life in the earthly realm of the Kingdom.—Rev. 17:14; 14:3; 7:4, 9-17; Matt. 25:31-34.

17. What is required of all who will enter the Creator’s new world, and what examples should these follow?

¹⁷ Faithfulness and integrity are required of all who will enter the Creator’s new world of righteousness. Jehovah himself is faithful in all his creation and activity, and dedicated Christians must also cultivate this quality. “The Rock, perfect is his activity, for all his ways are justice. A God of faithfulness, with whom there is no injustice; righteous and upright is he.” (Deut. 32:4) Christ Jesus is also outstanding in his faithfulness in doing the divine will. Psalm 40:8 was truly fulfilled in him: “To do your will, O my God, I have delighted, and your law is within my inward parts.” We too can have God’s law written on our inward parts by prayerfully studying his Word, by constantly associating with his people in assembly and in service, and by loyally following the leadings of Jehovah’s approved “faithful and discreet slave” organization at this time of the end.—Matt. 24:14, 45-47.

FAITHFULNESS TO DIVINE PRINCIPLES

18. (a) What is the prayer of those who support the Kingdom interests? (b) How does God show himself faithful in time of trial?

¹⁸ In this evil day it is our prayer “that the word of Jehovah may keep moving speedily and being glorified.” If we all hold integrity in support of the Kingdom interests, then certainly we shall continue to share in a grand expansion of the work. Moreover, the faithful Creator will strengthen us to stand against the buffetings of Satan’s world. “The Lord is faithful, and he will make you firm and keep you from the wicked one.” (2 Thess. 3:1-3) In times of temptation and persecution we will find strength in his further promises: “God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear, but along with the temptation he will also make the way out in order for you to be able to endure it.” (1 Cor. 10:13) “So, then, also let those who are suffering in harmony with the will of God keep on commending their souls to a faithful Creator while they are doing good.” (1 Pet. 4:19) Be ever confident that faithfulness in upholding God’s work and his principles will bring a rich reward from “Jehovah, who is faithful.”—Isa. 49:7.

19. What principle do true Christians observe with regard to exclusive devotion, and how?

¹⁹ What are some of these principles? An outstanding principle, as stated through Moses, and repeated by Christ Jesus when on this earth, is that “Jehovah our God is one Jehovah.” (Deut. 6:4; Mark 12:29) This fundamental principle of true worship eliminates all other gods, whether they be Baal, a trinity of gods, Allah, Brahma, Buddha or the Red god of Communism. In harmony with this principle Jehovah’s witnesses will not compromise, such as in consenting to a part-Christian, part-Buddhist funeral service. Nor will they compromise by taking part in a local religious ceremonial in honor of community gods. “You must not bow down to them nor be induced to serve them, because I Jehovah your God am a God exacting exclusive devotion.”—Ex. 20:5.

20. Why do Jehovah’s witnesses avoid mixed marriages?

²⁰ It is out of respect for this principle, too, that Jehovah’s witnesses decline to take part in mixed marriages or to consent to the marriage of their sons and daughters to adherents of another god or no god at all. The danger of this course is as real as in the days of ancient Israel, when Jehovah warned concerning the surrounding nations: “And you must form no marriage alliance with them. Your daughter you must not give to his son, and his daughter you must not take for your son. For he will turn your son from following me, and they will certainly serve other gods; and Jehovah’s anger will indeed blaze against you, and he will certainly annihilate you in a hurry.” (Deut. 7:3, 4) This warning carries added weight, as we stand now at the threshold of Armageddon’s war.

21. What precautions should wisely be taken against a return to demon worship?

²¹ A family, formerly of a pagan religion, may come to a knowledge of Bible truth and dedicate to Jehovah. What should then be done with the appendages of demon worship, the images, the family altars, the plaques of the dead? So long as these things remain in the house they constitute a spiritual danger. If the head of the house appreciates divine principles, he should see that these emblems of religious wickedness are got out. Thus will be removed the danger of contaminating the household again with demon worship. Even wise King Solomon, who once placed high store on divine principles, was corrupted by the idols he permitted heathen wives to bring into Israel.—Ps. 106:36; 1 Ki. 11:1-13.

22. How do Jehovah’s witnesses show respect for the principle stated at 2 Corinthians 10:3, and with what result?

²² An important Christian principle is clearly stated at 2 Corinthians 10:3: “Though we walk in the flesh, we do not wage warfare according to what we are in the flesh.” The divided powers of Satan’s world may bring all their nationalistic might to bear upon us, but never may we permit this to break the bond of love that unites Jehovah’s witnesses worldwide. We must be faithful to principle. It was this faithfulness during World War II that made Jehovah’s witnesses a worldwide spectacle of unity. Thus they demonstrated, and they continue to demonstrate, that they are the only people on earth who fully appreciate the divine principle involved in ‘beating swords into plowshares and spears into pruning shears.’ (Isa. 2:4) Neither Communist browbeatings nor democratic war hysterias can sway them from their faithfulness to divine principle.

23. How is the “new personality” created according to God’s will?

²³ As each individual Christian lives faithfully according to the divine will, he will be successful in putting on the “new personality” described by the apostle Paul: “You should be made new in the force actuating your mind, and should put on the new personality which was created according to God’s will in true righteousness and loyalty.” (Eph. 4:23, 24) Loyalty to the divine will demands that the Christian must not become contaminated by the newfangled crazes or last-ditch innovations of Satan’s dying world that run counter to Christian integrity.—1 Tim. 4:7-10.

24, 25. (a) In what way should the modern craze of transfusing blood be viewed by those respecting divine principle and law? (b) How may blood transfusions damage the “new personality”?

²⁴ One such craze is the modern flood of blood transfusions that has been let loose in the world. This may seem a small matter to a world that has spilled the blood of millions of humans in two world wars. (Gen. 9:5, 6) However, it is an important matter to loyal Christians holding fast to the divine principle that blood is sacred to Jehovah. The faithful Creator and Life-Giver himself says: “The life of all flesh is the blood thereof.” (Lev. 17:14, AS) Blood is precious in the sight of God, and he wisely made laws governing its use, which laws are for man’s benefit. His law stated to Noah at Genesis 9:4 applies to all mankind as descendants of Noah: “Only flesh with its soul—its blood—you must not eat.” This law is repeated for the instruction of all true Christians in a decision handed down by the governing body of the early Christian congregation: “For the holy spirit and we ourselves have favored adding no further burden to you, except these necessary things, to keep yourselves free from things sacrificed to idols and from blood and from things strangled and from fornication. If you carefully keep yourselves from these things, you will prosper. Good health to you!”—Acts 15:28, 29.

²⁵ Are idolatry and fornication damaging to the Christian personality? Disastrously so! So too is the taking in of blood, whether through blood foods or blood transfusions, for the Christian governing body has included this in the same category as the other evils. Moreover, recent medical research has indicated in a realistic way how blood transfusions may damage the individual’s personality. According to one authority: “The blood in any person is in reality the person himself. It contains all the peculiarities of the individual from whence it comes. This includes hereditary taints, disease susceptibilities, poisons due to personal living, eating and drinking habits.”b Transfusing blood, then, may amount to transfusing tainted personality traits. How great the danger may become if the blood is taken from blood banks to which criminals and other derelicts of society have contributed! Wisely and in faithfulness the Creator of man guarded against this, and other harmful consequences, by his law forbidding blood.—Lev. 17:11-14.

26. What rewards await those who are loyal to the will of the faithful Creator?

²⁶ Those who remain loyal and faithful in doing the will of the Creator will never lack his favor and blessing. “For Jehovah is righteous; he does love righteous acts. The upright are the ones that will behold his face.” (Ps. 11:7) They will really come to know Jehovah as “a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abundant in loving-kindness and truth.” They will continue to rejoice in his name and in his provided protection when shortly he brings the Armageddon of destruction upon this last generation of ‘those who hate him.’ All survivors will “well know that Jehovah your God is the true God, the faithful God, keeping covenant and loving-kindness in the case of those who love him and those who keep his commandments to a thousand generations.” Thus the complete fullness of mankind, to the symbolic ‘thousandth generation,’ will gain the reward of everlasting life in the paradise earth, for an eternity of praise to the faithful Creator.—Deut. 7:9-11; Ps. 98:1-3.

The Name of Jehovah—a Strong Tower

“The name of Jehovah is a strong tower. Into it the righteous runs and is given protection.”—Prov. 18:10.

1. What is essential for surviving this world’s end and where is it to be found?

THE power of faith—a strong, unwavering faith, grounded in the accurate knowledge of Jehovah, his Son Christ Jesus and his glorious Kingdom purposes—is essential for protection and survival during this twilight hour of Satan’s world. What is this faith? It is not to be confused with the watered-down credulity of Christendom’s religion. It is not to be found in the worship of images, relics and mystic trinities. Nor is it to be found among professing Christians who are steeped in immorality and pagan materialistic pursuits, and whose trust is in multimegaton bombs of the god of war, instead of in the strong tower of true Christians—the name of Jehovah God.—Ps. 20:7.

2. What is the Creator’s judgment on Christendom?

² Counterfeit Christendom has rejected the name of Jehovah. For this reason she stands condemned as did unfaithful Israel of old: “And you must say to them, ‘This is the nation whose people have not obeyed the voice of Jehovah its God, and have not taken discipline. Faithfulness has perished, and it has been cut off from their mouth.’ . . . upon the bare hills raise a dirge, for Jehovah has rejected and will desert the generation with which he is furious.” (Jer. 7:28, 29) We are now living in the days of that generation, which will reap the climactic stormwind of Armageddon’s fury.