her and raising up her walls of protection. His great Servant Christ Jesus commanded her spiritual children in Babylon’s prison system, “Go forth,” and then led them back to Zion. The darkness of divine disapproval has fled from them, and now they rejoice in the light of his favor and approval.

Release Under Way to the Ends of the Earth

1. Whose groaning does Jehovah hear, and why is now the time for him to act in their behalf?

TO THE ends of the earth there exists a vast prison over which Satan’s world organization Babylon presides, holding the people in political, social, economic, military and religious bondage. The God of love hears the groaning of the liberty-loving prisoners more clearly than anyone else, and he has raised up his great Servant Christ Jesus and clothed him with kingly power for the very purpose of bringing about their release. Now is the time for him to act, for the hour draws closer for great Babylon to be destroyed at the battle of Armageddon, and all people who stay in bondage to her and share in her sins will be destroyed with her.

2. How did Jehovah show in 1919 he was interested in Zion, and for what purpose?

² In 1914 Jehovah God honored his Servant Jesus Christ by installing him as king in Zion. Like the miniature Zion of ancient times, this Zion is Jehovah’s organization. However, it is a heavenly one, with a visible part on earth made up of the remnant of his spiritual sons, Israelites inwardly. He cares for this visible organization of spiritual Israel more than any earthly mother cares for her child nursing at her bosom. Hence, when the visible organization appeared desolated beyond repair in 1918 and the power of great Babylon over her seemed unbreakable, Jehovah sent his Servant to the rescue. He broke the enemy’s power over them in 1919 and began releasing the imprisoned remnant, that they might resume their worship of him freely and fearlessly. For his name’s sake Jehovah was interested in the reorganizing of his people in freedom from Babylon. His purpose was to have them gathered and united in an organization that the enemy could nevermore shatter, that pure worship might continue.

3. What illustrates that Jehovah will not let his worship be stamped out of the earth by Babylon?

³ Let us be certain about this one thing: Jehovah is not letting his worship be stamped out of the earth by the Devil’s world organization Babylon. His worship was here before ever Babylon came along in Nimrod’s day, and his pure worship will be here after modern great Babylon goes down. That is just as sure as that the remnant of ancient Israel survived the destruction of ancient Babylon. And just as surely, Jehovah’s witnesses will survive and be here after Rome, the city whom its bishop at Vatican City calls “The Eternal City”, goes down in eternal destruction, and along with it Moscow and other seats of totalitarian power. All dictators and tyrannical rulers on earth are but men. They will inevitably come to their end in the dust of the earth, and that shortly. But Jehovah’s worship on earth will go on forever.

4. To have an organization for receiving all on earth who would worship him before Armageddon, what did Jehovah do with his remnant?

⁴ There must be a visible organization to receive all on earth who want to worship Jehovah God in freedom, before the battle of Armageddon. So from and after 1919 he used his great Servant to restore the remnant of spiritual Israel and he reorganized them to act as his witnesses in the momentous postwar period. He cleansed them from the unsightly religious soils that they had gotten while under Babylon’s power and influence. Thus he made it a clean organization worthy of receiving those who forsook Babylon in obedience to his command: “Away! away! go out thence; touch nothing unclean! Go out of the midst of her; keep yourselves pure, you who bear the vessels of the LORD [Jehovah]!” And since Jehovah God had taken his great power and was now reigning by his Servant-King Christ Jesus, he led his reorganized people to see that the only organization for them now to have and serve by was the theocratic organization, not democratic organization. Because of their repentance and return to him with faithful hearts, Jehovah made the remnant of spiritual Israelites part of his servant class, under his Chief Servant Christ Jesus. In that way they could serve as the “faithful and discreet slave” whom Jesus had foretold and whom he said he would appoint over all his earthly, visible belongings, the interests of the Kingdom.—Isa. 52:11, AT; Matt. 24:45-47, NW.

5. But was the remnant of spiritual Israel alone to be gathered, and how was their idea like that of the Jewish remnant long ago?

⁵ But was the gathering of people to the rebuilt theocratic organization to be only of those who composed the remnant of spiritual Israel? Those of the original remnant who survived the experiences of World War I used to quote Psalm 50:5, “Gather my saints together unto me; those that have made a covenant with me by sacrifice.” They used to think that only these saints were to be gathered or harvested before Armageddon, although it was timely for them since 1918 to herald the message, “Millions Now Living Will Never Die.” It was even suggested that this harvesting of such spiritual saints might end with the year 1924, after which the heavenly glorification of these anointed, spirit-begotten followers of Christ would take place. (See The Watchtower, January 1, 1924, ¶¶ 11-32.) Nineteen centuries ago the early members of the Jewish remnant were also inclined to think that the gathering of the sheep of the Shepherd Christ Jesus was to be only from the Jewish nation, Samaritans and circumcised proselytes. For three and a half years after Jesus’ death, resurrection and ascent to heaven and the Pentecostal outpouring of the holy spirit, they confined their preaching about the Christ to these only and would not step into the home of an uncircumcised Gentile to tell him the good news.

“LIGHT TO THE GENTILES”

6. By what scripture of Isaiah 49 did Jesus know better than that idea?

⁶ But the great Servant of Jehovah