Romya, a dance pavilion, which was rented for three days. The location was ideal, as the pavilion was situated on a beautiful lagoon in one of the fine parks of Bangkok.

While there may have been debate on just how many of the Kingdom publishers of various congregations would attend this assembly, one thing was very certain: every one of the missionary graduates of Gilead would be on hand. It did not matter that the vice-president’s arrival at the Don Muang airport of Bangkok was after midnight, at half past one in the morning, local time; all the missionaries, twenty-six in number, were at the airport to meet him. Some of the Siamese brothers were on hand, too, which was appreciated. It is a fine feeling when one lands in an unknown alien land and is cordially received with open arms by friends, old ones and new ones to get acquainted with! But that is something unique that the globe-girdling New World society of Jehovah’s witnesses provides.

Later on that same morning an interesting thing on the day’s agenda was a three-hour trip down the famous klongs (canals) on an intimate sightseeing trip in Bangkok. Most of the missionaries made this trip with Brother Franz, which, as the klongs were full of water, some of the missionaries pronounced “The best trip yet!” The afternoon was set aside for a special meeting with all the missionaries. During the two-hour meeting many problems and questions that they had were solved and answered to their satisfaction. The good counsel given therewith encouraged them all to stick to the work on hand, and also to push ahead with greater zeal and determination in the work before us, not being disheartened by the religious barriers to be overcome.

To make the day complete, that Tuesday evening at six o’clock the three-day assembly got under way. To the surprise of the branch office this very first meeting was well attended. On hand were ninety-five persons. Of these, about fifty publishers were from the local congregation, and also included were brothers who had made the trip down from northern congregations. A fine program was carried through, with talks given on many subjects by the local brothers and missionaries. The evening’s program was climaxed by the talk given by the Society’s representative from Brooklyn headquarters. The brother who translated into Siamese for him was the circuit servant, a graduate of the Watchtower Bible School of Gilead. The illumination beamed upon Jehovah’s visible organization by this talk was very much appreciated by the local Siamese brothers.

Wednesday, January 9, offered a full program. Meetings began at 9 a.m., with the initial meeting for field service. The afternoon and evening program consisted of many fine talks given by the local brothers, who showed fine capability. Again the Society’s vice-president concluded the day’s program, this time enlarging upon the 1957 yeartext that hung overhead in Siamese: “From day to day tell the good news of salvation by him.” (Ps. 96:2, NW) The importance of singing the new song to Jehovah was driven home to the 115 conventioners present. At every opportunity it is to be sung by the witnesses of the God to whom it is sung, as the salvation of the singers and the salvation of others who hear depend on our doing so.

Thursday morning brought the beginning of the last day of an all-too-short assembly, also the final day of the vice-president’s brief visit. During the course of the day’s activities two recently dedicated men were baptized in a plastic tank in the back yard of the Society’s branch building. As the public meeting of the assembly was to be its closing event on the day’s program, Brother Franz gave an hour’s talk with his farewell admonition earlier at 4 p.m.

But how many would come to hear the midweek public talk by the vice-president was the question. This talk “New World Peace in Our Time—Why?” was well advertised by the brothers by the distribution of a handbill with the printing of the subject in two languages. Together with the report of the speaker’s arrival, the lecture was given good publicity by the local newspapers, both English and Siamese. At the hour announced, from 7 p.m. on, the absorbing question was answered, in that 2,500th year of the Buddhist era. Assembled both in the pavilion and in the front yard outside to listen by loud-speaker were 190 persons. There was no taking of offense on the part of any attending Buddhist. All gave fine attention during the entire talk, down to the last word. They heard how the entrance of a lasting peace for men of good will was a sure thing in our generation, not to be introduced, however, by the United Nations organization, of whose General Assembly Thailand’s Prince Wan Waithayakon was then the president, nor by any other means that worldly men may yet use, but to come by the Almighty God named Jehovah after his war of Armageddon. Some of the points of this public address were published in the English newspapers next day.

The pavilion had to be vacated for the proprietor’s evening entertainment there, and so the assembly disbanded quickly after the public address. That same night, at 1:15 a.m., the vice-president was scheduled to depart from Bangkok by plane. The precious time in between was therefore utilized specially for the benefit of the congregated missionaries who had come from their scattered posts throughout Thailand. At the branch home there was a final, though late, get-together with Brother Franz, a tasty buffet lunch and joyous Kingdom songs providing enjoyable refreshment.

At 11 p.m. four cars of brothers and sisters left the branch with Brother Franz for Don Muang airport. Upon arrival there we soon learned that the plane was about two hours late. All the send-off party made up their minds to stay with their visitor till the plane arrived. The missionaries took advantage of the extra time by arranging another missionary meeting with him. In the lovely airport patio they assembled enough chairs for all to sit on, and the meeting was on! Certainly it was late and all were tired and somewhat sleepy, but this lively meeting with many questions, each of which received an answer, kept everyone awake. Finally in comes the long-awaited plane. Just before 3 a.m. Brother Franz breaks loose from this missionary group. On his way across the field to the airplane there is a wave of good-by to them all on the airport balcony. Not many minutes more and the great mechanical bird of the air is off into the darkness, with its destination Hong Kong.

(To be continued)

Questions From Readers

● The book You May Survive Armageddon into God’s New World, on page 359, discusses the earthly rebels at the end of the thousand-year reign of Christ that Revelation 20:8 says “the number of whom is as the sand of the sea,” and makes this statement: “They are as indefinite in number as the ‘sand of the sea,’ though they might not be over 144,000.” Why is the number 144,000 brought in here?—E. C., Australia.

To say the rebels will be as many as the sands of the seashore suggests that they will number into billions. This is not what is meant. They are as the sands of the seashore in the sense that they are not numberable by man, just as the grains of sand on a beach cannot be numbered by man. The number is indefinite. To prove that the number is not literally the same as the sands on a seashore, reference is made to the figure 144,000. God said to Abraham: “I shall surely multiply your seed like the stars of the heavens and like the grains of sand that are on the seashore.” This promised seed is shown to be Christ and those who will be heirs of the heavenly kingdom with him: “If you belong to Christ, you are really Abraham’s seed, heirs with reference to a promise.” The heavenly kingdom heirs with Christ are shown to be 144,000 in number: “And I saw, and look! the Lamb standing upon the mount Zion, and with him a hundred and forty-four thousand having his name . . . the hundred and forty-four thousand, who have been purchased from the earth.” So here is a Bible example where a number referred to as being “like the grains of sand that are on the seashore” is not many millions or billions, but only 144,000.—Gen. 22:17; Gal. 3:16, 29; Rev. 14:1, 3, NW.

The number is not literally the same as the number of grains of sand on the seashore, but is the same in the sense that both are indefinite, unnumbered by man. The number of rebels at the end of the thousand-year reign are as the sand of the seashore in indefiniteness. It does not mean millions will side with Satan then. The number might be limited to thousands, and to prove this we are reminded that in another case the Bible used the expression “the number of whom is as the sand of the sea” when only thousands were involved, 144,000 in that case. So in this case of Revelation 20:8 about the rebels at the end of the thousand years, they are to be as the sand of the sea, and yet might very well be limited to thousands in number.