Sounding the “Go Ahead” Signal

Despite wartime rationing of food and gasoline, early in March 1942, plans were announced for the New World Theocratic Assembly, to be held September 18-20. To facilitate travel, 52 convention cities were selected across the United States, many of them tied in by telephone to Cleveland, Ohio, the key city. About the same time, Jehovah’s Witnesses convened in 33 other cities throughout the earth. What was the objective of this assembly?

‘We are not here gathered to meditate on the past or what individuals have done,’ stated the chairman, Brother Covington, in his introductory words for the opening session. Then, he introduced the keynote speech, “The Only Light,” based on Isaiah chapters 59 and 60, which was delivered by Brother Franz. Referring to Jehovah’s prophetic command recorded by Isaiah, the speaker rousingly declared: “Here, then, is the ‘Go ahead’ signal from the Highest Authority to keep going on in his [work] of witness no matter what happens before Armageddon comes.” (Isa. 6:1-12) It was no time to slack the hand and relax.

“There is further work to be done; much work!” declared N. H. Knorr in the next talk on the program. To aid his listeners in their response to the “Go ahead” signal, Brother Knorr announced the release of an edition of the King James version of the Bible, printed on the Society’s own presses and complete with a concordance specially designed for use by Jehovah’s Witnesses in their field ministry. That release reflected Brother Knorr’s keen interest in printing and distributing the Bible. In fact, after he had become president of the Society earlier that year, Brother Knorr had moved quickly to secure the printing rights for this translation and to coordinate the preparation of the concordance and other features. Within months this special edition of the King James Version was ready for release at the convention.

On the final day of the assembly, Brother Knorr delivered the discourse “Peace—Can It Last?” In it he set out powerful evidence from Revelation 17:8 that World War II, which was then raging, would not lead into Armageddon, as some thought, but that the war would end and a period of peace would set in. There was still work to be done in proclaiming God’s Kingdom. The conventioners were told that in order to help care for the anticipated growth in the organization, starting the next month the Society would send “servants to the brethren” to work with the congregations. Each congregation would be visited every six months.

“That New World Theocratic Assembly welded Jehovah’s organization together solidly for the work ahead,” says Marie Gibbard, who attended in Dallas, Texas, with her parents. And there was much work to do. Jehovah’s Witnesses looked ahead to the period of peace to come. They were determined to plow right on through opposition and persecution, declaring the good news without letup!

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An Encouraging Look Ahead

Delegates to the New World Theocratic Assembly in Cleveland, Ohio, in September 1942, were delighted when the aged secretary-treasurer of the Society, W. E. Van Amburgh, addressed the convention. Brother Van Amburgh recalled that the first convention he attended was in Chicago in 1900, and it was a “big” one—there were about 250 in attendance. After enumerating other “big” conventions over the years, he concluded with this encouraging look ahead: “This conventionk looks large to us now, but as this convention is large in comparison with the ones that I have attended in the past, so I anticipate this convention will be a very small one in comparison to those just in the future when the Lord begins to assemble his people from all corners of the globe.”

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