this world, but rather the authorities within the organization of the true church. Your misunderstanding on this point has led you to recognize such gangsters as Hitler and Mussolini and caused Baptist to kill Baptist in two world wars.

“In claiming protection according to the democratic constitution of this country we are doing nothing more than Paul did when he appealed to Caesar. In spite of his appeal for justice, Paul still knew that the Roman government was of the Devil. Can you Scripturally refute the fact that the Roman government together with all others past and present are controlled by Satan? It may be hard to take, but read it for yourself.—Luke 4:5-7; 2 Corinthians 4:3, 4; Revelation 16:14; 19:19.

“You declare that you are afraid of Jehovah’s witnesses because of their warped character. But is their character as warped as that which you and your associates in religion have produced in Christendom after 1,500 years? Are we warped because we want none of your racial prejudice, your bickering politicians, your commercial oppression, your world wars and your moral delinquency? You have identified yourself with Christendom and you must share her guilt. We are separate. We devote our lives to preaching the incoming Kingdom of God as the world’s only hope, leaving the present task of maintaining order on earth to those who think it more important than preaching. (Luke 9:59, 60) Not a warped viewpoint, Mr. Mattson, but strictly that of the first-century Christians.

“I shall not labor this correspondence any longer with you. You have made your decision and you will answer for it. The people, whom you refer to as ignorant and childlike, must now make theirs, and they will not require you to act as a spiritual policeman for them. Jehovah’s witnesses will be calling upon them this week for this purpose.

“Because you are singularly misinformed about the witnesses, your source material appearing to be about 30 years old, I suggest that you come to the public talk Sunday afternoon at 3 p.m., and get up-to-date. I use the term ‘Mr.’ in this correspondence because the term ‘reverend’ occurs only once in the Authorized Version Bible and is applied to Jehovah God. My conscience forbids me to flatter men with such titles.—Job 32:21, 22.

Yours faithfully.”

Questions From Readers

● Your publications point out that the battle of Armageddon will come in this generation, and that this generation began A.D. 1914. Scripturally, how long is a generation?—G. P., Liberia.

Webster’s unabridged dictionary gives, in part, this definition of generation: “The average lifetime of man, or the ordinary period of time at which one rank follows another, or father is succeeded by child; an age. A generation is usually taken to be about 33 years.” But the Bible is not so specific. It gives no number of years for a generation. And in Matthew 24:34, Mark 13:30 and Luke 21:32, the texts mentioning the generation the question refers to, we are not to take generation as meaning the average time for one generation to be succeeded by the next, as Webster’s does in its 33-year approximation; but rather more like Webster’s first-quoted definition, “the average lifetime of man.” Three or even four generations may be living at the same time, their lives overlapping. (Ps. 78:4; 145:4) Before the Noachian flood the life span was hundreds of years. Down through the centuries since, it has varied, and even now is different in different countries. The Bible does speak of a man’s days