three and one half years of Jesus’ ministry, he was cut off. He died on the torture stake on Nisan 14, the middle of the lunar year that began in the fall with the month of Tishri. Three and a half years later the seventieth week of years came to an end with the anointing of Cornelius, the first Gentile to be brought into the body of Christ, to be among the body of anointed ones.—Isa. 40:3; Matt. 3:3; Dan. 9:24.

When a reasoning person thinks of the foresight and tremendous power involved to bring about the fulfillment of such a prophecy, which dealt not only with individuals but with whole nations, he cannot help but see or at least give the strongest consideration to the identity of Jesus Christ as the Messiah. Those who really desire life will do so, for the Messiah is the Seed of God’s woman and the Seed of Abraham by whom God’s enemies will be destroyed. Also, through him all the families of the earth will bless themselves by exercising faith in and following the commands of this Anointed King and Leader, the Son of the Almighty God Jehovah.—Gen. 22:17, 18.

“Word of Truth” Assemblies of Jehovah’s Witnesses

DURING this past summer more than half a million persons gathered at the “Word of Truth” assemblies of Jehovah’s witnesses in Europe and North America. There they heard convincing evidence that God’s Word of Truth, the Holy Bible, contains the answers to the problems facing mankind. The smooth operation of these assemblies, accompanied by a prevailing spirit of love and peace, was powerful testimony that the application of Bible principles can indeed produce marvelous results.

In Edinburgh, Scotland, and Dublin, Eire, where the series of assemblies opened simultaneously June 9 to 13, public officials and visitors were simply amazed at what they observed: “If only people on the outside could see you in action,” noted one Edinburgh reporter, “a lot of prejudice they have against you would disappear.” And over in Dublin the director of the soccer grounds where the assembly was held said: “I have never seen anything so well organized. . . . You have everything under control.”

The love and peace among the delegates made a real impression on visitors. One of them attending the Edinburgh assembly confessed: “I have been a minister since the 1920’s and have been to many religious conventions in all parts of the British Isles, but never before have I found a spirit of joy and brotherhood such as can be noted here.” A family from Finnish Lapland who were told about this spirit of brotherly love made a 530-mile trip to the Helsinki, Finland, assembly to see for themselves. One of them explained: “We decided to find out whether true love really exists among Jehovah’s witnesses, since this was so important to us as it is the distinguishing mark mentioned by Jesus. Now we really know it does exist and we will continue with the study in order to be able to defend the word of truth with you people.”

During the “Word of Truth” Assembly in Sacramento, California, the Sacramento Union admitted, in effect, that the Bible does contain the answer to present-day difficulties. In a July 9 editorial entitled “Witnesses of Godliness,” the paper said of Jehovah’s witnesses: “In all their beliefs they are down-to-earth, completely sincere, fully wedded to belief in the Old Testament as well as the New, . . . Suffice it to say that if all the world lived by the [Bible] creed of the Jehovah Witnesses there would be an end of bloodshed and hatred, and love would reign as king.” Could there be any greater recommendation for the Bible?

The keynote address delivered on the first day of each assembly struck right at the assembly’s theme. The subject, “Answering the Question, ‘What Is Truth?’” dealt with this very question asked by the Roman governor Pontius Pilate of Jesus Christ.—John 18:38.

The assembly speaker, who at many of the assemblies was either the Watch Tower Society’s president or vice-president, established that “under the circumstances under which the question was raised, the Bible’s answer must be: The ‘truth’ is God’s kingdom with Jesus Christ the ‘Son of David’ serving as King-Priest in the throne.” And then, tying in to the assembly’s theme, he continued: “Since the Holy Bible supplies us fully the details about this kingdom, the Holy Bible is rightly spoken of as ‘the word of truth.’”—2 Tim. 2:15; John 17:17.

Another principal address of each assembly that highlighted the truthfulness of the Bible was entitled “Let God Be Found True.” In it the speaker emphasized that, despite the waywardness of men, “God will always carry out what he says in his Word.” “Therefore,” the assembly speaker concluded emphatically, “we declare unequivocally that our position is the same as that taken by the Christian apostle Paul when he wrote: ‘Let God be found true, though every man be found a liar.’” (Rom. 3:4) At the conclusion of this address the beautifully illustrated new book “Things in Which It Is Impossible for God to Lie” was released.

For added proof of the Bible’s truthfulness, evidence from secular sources was presented on the assembly program. Speaking to an attentive audience of 35,210 persons assembled in New York’s famed Yankee Stadium, one of the Society’s directors, Grant Suiter, furnished abundant archaeological testimony in support of the authenticity of various Bible accounts. Another assembly address, “The Book of Truthful Historical Dates,” demonstrated the accuracy of Bible chronology.

So with good reason assembly speakers pointed to God’s Word as the only reliable guide by which to live. In the speech, “The Bible’s Place in the Modern Home,” the sixty-year-old German-born speaker at the Vienna, Austria, assembly urged: “Let the Bible hold an honored position in our home, . . . Let us not only have family Bibles but let us be Bible families! Let us make Bible talk a habit, a relaxing joy, a pleasure.” And on the Saturday afternoon program a symposium of three talks emphasized the absolute necessity in this age of gross immorality for Christians to live closely by the righteous principles found in God’s Word. In Edinburgh, a good portion of this sound Bible counsel was reported on the front page of the following morning’s Scottish Sunday Express.