the actual lawsuit comes up in court on November 23 and 24, 1942. There are some heated moments during the proceedings.

The next day judgment is rendered. Brother Rutimann is sentenced to three months in the state penitentiary, which he serves, and the loss of certain civil rights. My sentence is two years in jail. But our lawyer files an appeal, and on April 16, 1943, my sentence is reduced by the Appellate Court to one year penal servitude, suspended sentence, and five years’ loss of some civil rights.

The outcome of this lawsuit has a favorable reaction, and we are able to avoid having the work banned.

POSTWAR PERIOD

Finally, World War II ends in Europe. What a flood of letters now arrives in our office from all the surrounding countries when it becomes known that the work has remained intact in Switzerland! Previously the new president of the Society, Brother N. H. Knorr, wrote me to do all in my power to maintain the work in our country so that at the termination of war contact with our brothers on the continent might be speedily restored. And now it is our very great privilege to render “first aid” to them. Then in December of 1945 we have the pleasure of receiving Brother Knorr into our branch home, accompanied by his secretary, Milton Henschel. These are days of special blessings and important decisions. Brother Knorr leaves instructions for the work.

Summer of the year 1950 brings for me, together with several other co-workers, the crowning of our many years of service. We are invited to attend the grand convention in Yankee Stadium in New York. And in 1953 it is my privilege to attend the second Yankee Stadium assembly. Never shall I forget the overwhelming impression I received as I gazed over the stadium on opening day and watched it fill up and spill over, thousands of attenders even listening from nearby tents. What a mighty demonstration of Jehovah’s irresistible spirit it was!

Since the year 1953 the burden of responsibility has become lighter for me as it has been laid upon younger shoulders, for I have entered the autumn years of life. I am now nearly seventy-five years of age. After more than forty-five years in Jehovah’s service, I still stand unbending in the truth, for which I thank God, as I know it is He who has sustained me. By his undeserved kindness I continue to be a member of the Bethel family at the branch home in Switzerland. To continue as part of this happy working team, to know my time is filled to capacity in my assignment, is a privilege I deeply appreciate. How blessed are those who move forward in Jehovah’s grand service!

Questions From Readers

● Was the darkness, reported at Mark 15:33, that occurred while Jesus was on the torture stake the result of a solar eclipse?—B.A., U.S.A.

The Bible account of that period of darkness is brief. It reads: “When it became the sixth hour a darkness fell over the whole land until the ninth hour.” (Mark 15:33) The records in Matthew 27:45 and Luke 23:44, 45 provide basically the same information, Luke adding the observation that “the sunlight failed.”

The inspired writers of the Gospel accounts presented matters in such a way as to credit God with this unusual darkness. Over the years, though, certain commentators have tried to provide a scientific explanation of it by saying that a solar eclipse happened to coincide with Jesus’ impalement. However, Jesus died on Passover day, 33 C.E., and it is widely recognized that at the time of a Passover full moon a normal solar eclipse is astronomically impossible, because the moon is not between the sun and the earth, but is on the other side of the earth, away from the sun. Additionally, the darkness lasted three hours, from 12 noon to 3 p.m., but a total solar eclipse seldom lasts, in one location, more than two or three minutes. It is estimated that under the most favorable conditions the maximum duration of such an eclipse would be 7.5 minutes. So the darkness associated with Jesus’ impalement cannot be explained as resulting from a natural eclipse of the sun, caused when the moon comes between the earth and the sun in such a way as to blot out the sun to human view.

Some have endeavored to link this occurrence with an eclipse mentioned by Phlegon of Tralles, a freedman of the second century C.E. He wrote of a remarkable eclipse that caused such darkness that the stars were seen in the heavens. The date he assigned to this, the fourth year of the 202d Olympiad (four-year periods counting from 776 B.C.E.), appears to coincide with the year Jesus died. While it is possible that a person with a limited knowledge of astronomy might incorrectly credit the darkness associated with Jesus’ death to an eclipse, we cannot be certain that this was the event to which Phlegon was making reference because he does not give details as to the time of year that it happened.

The failing of the sunlight, resulting in hours of darkness from noon until 3 p.m., at the time of Jesus’ impalement must be attributed to a direct act of God. The same is true of the earthquake and the ripping of the curtain in the temple when Jesus expired. (Matt. 27:51; Mark 15:38) Arguments that endeavor to dismiss these events as nothing more than coincidences with natural explanations are not based on sound evidence.

Eyewitnesses of these events, an army officer and others with him who were watching over the impalement of Jesus, when they saw the earthquake and the things happening, recognized that what took place was of supernatural origin, and they “grew very much afraid, saying: ‘Certainly this was God’s Son.’”—Matt. 27:54.

Announcements

FIELD MINISTRY

One who obeys the commandments of Jesus Christ fears, not men, but God. He knows that, not men, but God is the one who will award everlasting life to his faithful servants. To enable others, in addition to themselves, to gain that blessing, they publicly proclaim the truths of the Bible, and that in spite of any opposition they encounter. During December, as Jehovah’s witnesses talk to people about the Bible, they will also be offering them the modern-English New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures, along with the new book “Things in Which It Is Impossible for God to Lie,” on a contribution of $1.50.

FIRST IN YOUR LIFE

Of foremost importance in all our lives are God’s requirements for us as his creatures. What place does God’s Word, the Bible, have in your life? Do you read it regularly? Do you understand it? To assist you to fulfill your relationship to God, the publishers of this magazine have prepared a book entitled “Things in Which It Is Impossible for God to Lie.” This beautifully illustrated hardbound book of 416 pages will be sent to you postpaid with a copy of the complete Bible, the New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures, for only $1.50. Send at once and receive free the booklet Take Courage—God’s Kingdom Is at Hand!

“WATCHTOWER” STUDIES FOR THE WEEKS

December 26: Slaves of Men or Slaves of Your Repurchaser—Which? ¶1-34. Page 712.

January 2: Slaves of Men or Slaves of Your Repurchaser—Which? ¶35-66. Page 718.