Chapter 1
EMERGENCY
THE streamline express, crowded with passengers, was speeding at one hundred miles per hour. It must cross the river on a bridge which made an almost fifty-percent curve, so that the persons on the rear platform of the train could see the engine. Immediately upon emerging from the tunnel the train was entering upon the bridge. Two men riding on the rear platform of the observation car were seriously discussing the troublesome world conditions and expressing hope that some means would be found to avert another world war. The alarming scream of the engine whistle and the sudden application of the emergency brakes caused the men to look, and to their great astonishment they beheld that a span of the bridge at the far end was on fire and falling into the river. They realized that they were facing great danger. That was a real emergency. Could the train be stopped in time to save the lives of the many passengers aboard?
Today every nation is in the grip of fear. In many nations there is internal distress and disturbance. This is seized upon by the ruling factors as an excuse for unprecedented taxation and an orgy of spending of public funds. The break-up of the seventh world power is threatened and greatly feared by those who rule. Dictators imperil all nations, and even now the liberties of the people are about all gone. In these modern days wars begin without a formal declaration and truly it is now said that uneasy lie the heads of those who rule. Fearing an attack from some source, each nation is making enormous preparation for war, and this furnishes further excuse to deprive the people of their liberties. It is believed by many that armed conflict involving all nations of the earth is just at the threshold, and hence all nations are attempting to fortify themselves against such an emergency. Is there any way to escape to a place of safety? Only those who believe, understand and confidently rely upon God and His Word know what is soon to come to pass. Sincere persons are anxious to know. Unbiased consideration of what follows will enable each person of good will to see and fully appreciate the only way of escape.
GREATEST TRIBULATION
"Salvation" means deliverance from impending disaster, and the finding of refuge in a place of complete safety. Because the greatest tribulation that will ever befall the world is just at the door an unprecedented emergency confronts all the peoples of the earth. There are certain
universal rules which are unchangeable and which disclose the cause of the impending disaster and which point to the only means of escape and safety. To become acquainted with those rules will result beneficially to those who give heed thereto. Both profane and sacred history furnish an abundance of proof that approximately 4,000 years ago the world fell under the overwhelming disaster of the flood and a few were saved. Since then from time to time other emergencies have arisen; but the greatest of all is yet to come, and concerning that emergency the evidence is indisputable. Those who will now examine and weigh such evidence with unbiased mind will see that action must be taken immediately by those who may hope to escape to the place of safety.
All persons of good will and who desire to see righteousness prevail readily recognize that the great Creator is the Almighty God, who alone is named Jehovah, and that the Bible is a sacred record of the truth, which the Almighty God has caused to be kept for the aid of those who love that which is right. The citations herein arc from the sacred record, and the reader may examine the Scripture texts for confirmation of what is here set down. Jesus of Nazareth, the Son of the Almighty God, came into the world for the express purpose of telling the truth. (John 18:37) He bore testimony to God's universal and unchangeable rules above mentioned, which all men should learn for their own good. He made known the cause of disasters that befall men and nations, and plainly set forth the only means of escape to safety and complete
salvation. He told of the flood of Noah's day and said that the wicked conditions that immediately preceded that deluge of waters would again exist throughout the earth, and which will be proof that the greatest of all disasters is quickly to follow.
Jesus is the greatest of all prophets. (Acts 3:22,23) His prophecies must all come true, because he is the spokesman of Almighty God who tells of the purpose of Jehovah, whose purposes never fail to be carried out. (Isaiah 46:11; 55:11) When we observe conditions that have come to pass about which Jesus prophesied, and see that the physical facts well known to us exactly fit the prophecy, then we are sure that it is the time for the fulfillment of the prophecy and that these events have come to pass for that very purpose. Jesus prophesied concerning the conditions now existing in the world, and which conditions immediately precede and lead up to the greatest of all disasters that the world can ever have. He foretold the World War, which began in 1914 and was suddenly stopped in 1918. He stated that such war would be accompanied or quickly followed by famine, pestilence, and great disturbances in the earth, and that such would be the beginning of sorrows immediately preceding the great disaster soon to befall the world, (Matthew 24: 7) He prophesied that following the "war in heaven" many woes would come upon the nations of the earth (Revelation 12:7-12); and the facts show a fulfillment of that prophecy. He foretold that following the World War his true followers, who are witnesses for Jehovah, must go amongst
the people and tell them the cause of these disturbances and inform them emphatically that the kingdom of heaven is at hand. That prophecy is in course of fulfillment.
He prophesied that "the abomination of desolation" would appear in the earth, and the Scriptures make it clear that such abomination is the combination or combined effort of the religious, political and commercial elements to arbitrarily rule the peoples of the earth and take away all their liberties and make them serfs. That prophecy is now being fulfilled; and in this connection Jesus added for the benefit of all persons of good will that, 'when you see the abomination of desolation standing where it ought not to stand, then flee to the mountains,' that is, to God's organization, the only place of safety. (Mark 13:14) And why flee then? Jesus answers: "For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be." (Matthew 24:21) "And the slain of the Lord shall be at that day from one end of the earth even unto the other end of the earth; they shall not be lamented, neither gathered, nor buried; they shall be dung upon the ground." (Jeremiah 25:33) These prophecies now in course of fulfillment show that there is impending an emergency such as never before confronted the world.
With these revelations of truth from the Lord's Word the people of good will, like the passengers on the railway train aforementioned suddenly emerging from the darkness of the tunnel, are now just coming out of the darkness
of which the prophet of God wrote, to wit: "Darkness shall cover the earth, and gross darkness the people." (Isaiah 60:2) There never was a time in the history of the world when there was such great ignorance generally concerning God's purpose as set forth in the Bible, and that particularly amongst religionists. The people of good will toward God are just now coming into the light of a new day and, being enlightened, they see before them the great emergency. They see the mad waters of the river (symbolically representing the people) rushing on to be swallowed up in the sea, that is, the turbulent and uncontrollable conditions just ahead. They have a vision of the greatest catastrophe ever known, while all the other people, who are not of good will, are totally ignorant of what is just ahead. The flood of waters or deluge in the days of Noah was a prophetic picture foretelling this very time and concerning which Jesus said: "And as it was in the days of No´e, so shall it be also in the days of the Son of man. They did eat, they drank, they married wives, they were given in marriage, until the day that No´e entered into the ark, and the flood came, and destroyed them all." — Luke 17: 26, 27.
What will be the result to those not of good will? and what is the possible means of escape? With the emergency aforementioned the whole world is now faced. What is done must be done quickly, and only those persons of good will toward Jehovah God will give heed to the warning and act quickly and find the place of safety.
CAUSE
Jehovah is the God of love; which means he is entirely unselfish and does nothing merely to gratify self. He is the God of justice, and his every act is just and right. (1 John 4:8; Psalms 19: 7-9; 89:14) He is of unlimited power, hence the Almighty God. To be sure, he has the power to stop the threatened destruction. Why should the God of justice and love permit such a terrible disaster to befall the peoples and nations of the earth? A knowledge of the facts it is necessary to have that one may appreciate the true answer, and for that reason a brief statement of the undeniable facts as set forth in the sacred history is here given. The prophecies long ago recorded in the Bible, and the facts in connection therewith, and particularly the physical facts that have come to pass in these days, are recorded for the very purpose of furnishing information to persons of good will that they may avail themselves of the opportunity to find the place of safety. Therefore the statement is made following:
God created the earth for man, and then created perfect man and woman and put them on the earth to inhabit it. (Isaiah 45:12,18) To the perfect human pair God issued his mandate to "be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth". (Genesis 1:28, Rotherham) God made Lucifer a spirit creature or overlord of the world, including perfect man. (Ezekiel 28:14,15) All creation in heaven and earth gave honor to Jehovah God, and that properly so, because every creature owes the privilege of life to the Almighty God. The exception to this rule was
Lucifer, who began to covet what he was not entitled to, namely, the honor and praise that was rightfully bestowed upon the Almighty God. Lucifer rebelled against God and attempted to set himself up as God's equal, and in this rebellion he led away from the path of righteousness both angels and men, and Adam found himself involved in that rebellion. The name Lucifer God then changed to that of Satan, which means "adversary"; Dragon, which means "devourer"; Serpent, which means "deceiver"; and Devil, which means "slanderer". Since then that great rebel has been known by the four names, Dragon, Satan, Old Serpent, and the Devil. (Revelation 20:2) The Devil then defied God and challenged him to put on the earth men who would prove faithful and loyal to God, and at the same time Satan declared he could cause all men to curse God to His face. (Job 2:4-6) That wicked challenge of the Devil raised the question as to who is supreme. If Satan could cause all men to curse God, that would prove Satan at least the equal of Jehovah God, if not his superior. God would have all creation to hear and see the proof, that there could never be a real doubt as to who is the supreme one. God had entered the judgment of death against Satan, but, instead of destroying him immediately, God deferred the execution of that judgment and accepted the challenge of Satan in order to give him full opportunity to make proof of his boastful challenge. Therefore God said to the wicked one: "But for this cause have I allowed thee to remain, in order to show thee my power." (Exodus 9:16, Leeser) Thus it is seen that God an-
nounced his purpose to give Satan the rebel a full and free opportunity to prove his challenge and that in due time the day of final reckoning must come, and that when that day arrives, God would cause his name to be declared in all the earth and then he would exhibit his supreme power against his adversary the Devil.
Adam and Eve, because of the sin of rebellion, were also sentenced to death, but God permitted them to live for a season that they might bring forth children. They could never fulfill the divine mandate to fill the earth with a righteous race of people, because they were sinners; but they could exercise the function of producing their own species, even though they were imperfect. All of their children were hence born in sin and shapen in lawlessness, and for that reason all such in due time must die. (Psalm 51; 5; Romans 5:12) Emphasizing the issue of supremacy God gave his word of promise that in his due time he would send to the world a Savior who would purchase the human race or offspring of Adam and that he would provide a means whereby those so purchased might be saved and receive life everlasting. That would mean that all of the offspring of Adam who escape and are saved must comply with Jehovah's rules and must maintain their integrity toward God, and all so doing would be a vindication of Jehovah's name; and that of itself would prove Satan a liar.
In God's due time he sent his beloved Son to earth. Jesus was born, that is, made flesh, and lived amongst men on the earth. "And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we
beheld his glory, the glory as of the only he-gotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth." (John 1:14) In this text Jesus is called "The Word", because in his prehuman existence he was the spokesman of Jehovah God. When the man Jesus reached the age of thirty years God anointed him to be the King of His promised kingdom. Satan immediately attempted to bring about the destruction of Jesus; but in that he failed. (Matthew 4:3-10) Jesus then began to declare the purpose of his coming to earth and to tell the people of and concerning the kingdom, which God would set up. At his first public appearing Jesus said to the people: "Repent; for the kingdom of heaven is at hand." (Matthew 4:17) He was then anointed to be the King; and truly "the kingdom", or the One who should rule, was "at hand". For three and one-half years thereafter, he continued to tell the people of God's kingdom as the hope of humankind, and during all that time he was bitterly and wickedly opposed by Satan and the religious men of that time, the leaders of whom were called "Pharisees". Jesus was charged with sedition and treason because he continued to declare the coming of God's kingdom. When he stood before the Roman governor, charged with treason, he was specifically asked the question: 'Are you a king?' And to that Jesus answered, "I am. . . . To this end was I born, and for this cause came I into the world." (John 18:37) Thus he continued to consistently proclaim God's purpose to establish his kingdom, even until the time of his crucifixion.
God did not deprive Satan of overlordship of
the world, but permitted him to continue in that position in order that he might have a free hand to carry out his wicked challenge, if possible. Thereafter when Jesus was on the earth Satan was the invisible prince or overlord of the world, and Jesus spoke of Satan as "the prince of this world". (John 32:31; 14:30) Satan well know that if God should set up a kingdom on earth, with Christ Jesus as the King and invisible overlord, that would mean Satan's rulership must end and his execution must take place. Satan therefore determined to exercise everything within his power to defeat God's purpose. The kingdom of heaven, with Christ Jesus as King, is the deadly foe of Satan and of his advocates. While Jesus was on the earth the Devil and his religious agents continuously attempted to kill Jesus, and finally succeeded in having him wrongfully convicted of treason and causing his crucifixion by being nailed to the tree. God suffered Jesus to thus be put to death, knowing that He would raise Jesus out of death as a spirit creature and place him at the head of His kingdom and that this would be accomplished in his own good time and to his own glory.
Jesus told his disciples that he must go away and receive the kingdom and that then he would return and take unto himself his faithful disciples who should be associated with him in his kingdom. (John 14:1-3; Luke 22: 28-30) Within three days after his crucifixion God raised Jesus out of death, and he was clothed with full power and authority in heaven and earth; and in forty days thereafter he ascended into heaven, and he was then the King of the world, the duly anoint-
ed and commissioned Ruler, whose right it is to rule. (Matthew 28:18; Philippians 2:9-11; Acts 2: 32-36) Thereafter the faithful apostles of Jesus Christ continued to look for his second coming and his kingdom, about which he had informed them and which he stated to them would take place at the end of Satan's world.
All the true followers of Christ Jesus for centuries have likewise looked for and hoped for the coining of that kingdom under the Lord Jesus Christ. So keenly interested in his coining and his kingdom were the apostles that they propounded to Jesus this question, shortly before his death: "What shall be the sign [evidence] of thy coining, and of the end of the world [that is, the end of Satan's uninterrupted rule]?" (Matthew 24:3) In response to that question Jesus said that the first evidence discernible by men would be the world war, in which nation would rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. That came to pass in A.D. 1914. Jesus said that the war would be quickly followed by famine and pestilence and earthquakes; and everyone knows that these things did quickly follow the World War. Then Jesus said to his disciples: 'When you see the abomination that maketh desolate standing where it ought not to stand [that is, claiming the right and authority to rule the world], then flee to the kingdom.' (Matthew 24:15; Mark 13:14) That has also come to pass at the present time, in this, that a few men, called "dictators", and the great religious system of the world together claim the right to rule and regiment the people and take away their liberties and to rule the
world in the place and stead of Christ the King. Furthermore Jesus said that great woes would come upon the peoples of the earth because of the activities of the Devil to thwart God's purpose. (Revelation 12:12) All the world is now experiencing woes such as never before have afflicted the nations, and these woes have come with increasing force since the end of the World War.
As further evidence of his invisible presence and the end of Satan's uninterrupted rule, Jesus said: "There shall be ... upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity, the sea [meaning peoples] and the waves [the radical, disturbing elements thereof made mad by the present conditions] roaring [causing much trouble]; men's hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth." — Luke 21: 25, 26.
Exactly those conditions now prevail upon the earth, as every observing person well knows. During all the time of the existing conditions aforementioned, evidencing His presence and the end of Satan's uninterrupted rule, Jesus declares and commands: "And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come." — Matthew 24:14.
It follows that those who love God and Christ must obey this commandment. In obedience thereto a little company of Christian people made up of men and women who are known as "Jehovah's witnesses" have been and are still continuing to go about the country preaching the good news of the kingdom of God. This preach-
ing of the gospel must continue until the great threatening emergency comes to a climax; and when this preaching of the good news of the kingdom is completed, what shall follow? "For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be." — Matthew 24: 21.
That great tribulation is the battle of Armageddon, and which is also called "the battle of that great day of God Almighty". (Revelation 16:14-16) It is the battle of Almighty God because in it will be finally and for ever settled the question at issue as to who is supreme and whether or not God can carry out his announced purpose. That great battle will result in the complete destruction of every vestige of Satan's supporters and organization.
At the time of the ascension of Jesus on high he was then the King with full power and authority to rule, but it was not then God's due time for him to begin his reign as King. God purposed to permit Satan to have full opportunity to prove, if possible, his wicked challenge. Therefore concerning Christ Jesus the King it is written: "The LORD said unto my Lord, Sit thou at my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool." — Psalm 110:1.
Jesus must wait until Jehovah's due time for him to take and exercise his power to destroy Satan's rule and to set up his own righteous and complete rule in the earth. (Hebrews 10:12,13) That time of waiting came to an end in 1914, and then God sent forth Jesus Christ to rule while the enemy Satan was still exercising his power. (Psalm 110:2-6) When that period of waiting
ended, in 1914, and Christ Jesus was sent forth to exercise his royal power as the great Executive Officer of Jehovah, the Scriptures say: "Thou hast taken to thee thy great power, and hast reigned. And the nations were angry [the World War began], and thy [God's] wrath is come." (Revelation 11:17,18) God's wrath was expressed against Satan at that time, and Christ Jesus as Jehovah's Executive Officer cast Satan and his wicked angels out of heaven. — Revelation 12:1-9.
God will express his complete wrath against Satan and his organization in the battle of Armageddon. He called a halt in the expression of his wrath in 1918, which will be resumed at the battle of Armageddon. In the meantime and just preceding and up to the time of the battle of Armageddon God will have his name proclaimed throughout the earth, as he had previously declared, and which message exposes Satan and his agents on earth; and which work is called God's "strange work". That work consists in this: that God sends forth his witnesses to give warning to the people of the impending disaster about to come upon the world. He causes his witnesses to tell the people that religion is one of Satan's schemes to blind the people and turn them away from God; that God's purpose is to shortly destroy all of Satan's agencies in the greatest tribulation that has ever come upon the world, and therefore he causes the witnesses to give warning to the people of the impending disaster.
This work called God's "strange work" is now in progress. This therefore is the time of
the greatest emergency, when the people are being warned as to what is about to take place. God does not act without giving fair notice of warning. He caused Noah to give a like warning just preceding the flood, and now he sends forth his witnesses, particularly to the nations called "Christendom", and tells his witnesses to "warn them from me". (Ezekiel 33: 7) He sends forth his witnesses to inform the people, and particularly the religious leaders, that Satan is the great enemy of God and men, that the religious leaders are a part of Satan's organization, and that they will be destroyed unless they abandon Satan's organization and flee to the Lord. This warning appears to religionists to be a very strange thing, and hence it is called God's "strange work"; and the Lord announces that when that work is done there will immediately follow "his act, his strange act", meaning the battle of the great day of God Almighty, which will destroy Satan's organization and all those who adhere to or support the same. — Isaiah 28:21.
Again it is appropriate that we consider the scripture caused to be recorded by Jehovah and addressed to Satan, to wit: 'For this cause have I permitted thee to remain, that I might show thee my power, and that my name might be declared throughout all the earth.' (Exodus 9:16, Leeser) For this reason Jehovah's witnesses in obedience to God's commandments go about the land proclaiming the name of Jehovah as the Almighty Supreme One. The warning is being sounded preceding the great disaster, and that disaster is certain to fall upon
Satan and his organization and wipe them out, in order that the world may be clean and ready for the reign of Christ Jesus forever in righteousness and peace.
It would be impossible for righteousness to prevail in the earth while Satan and his cohorts continue to exercise power over the people. For that reason Jehovah God puts an end to Satan's organization. To be sure, Satan and his forces will resist to the bitter end. Hence the necessity for the great battle of Armageddon, which will be the greatest tribulation ever upon the world, because then everything in opposition to God must be and will be completely wiped out. Up to this time the great mass of the people have been blinded by Satan, and his agents have induced them to turn against God; and hence the blind guides and the blind people who continue in blindness will go down in destruction as the Lord has declared. The multitudes that will be destroyed at the battle of Armageddon will be so great that not enough people will be left on the earth to bury them. (Jeremiah 25: 33) That destruction will be so complete that it will be the last, as Jesus declared, and never again will there be such a disaster, for the reason, as it is written, "affliction shall not rise up the second time." — Nahum 1:9.
All the evidence, both that of the Bible and that of the physical facts which are well known to all persons who try to observe, overwhelmingly proves that the battle of Armageddon is impending and is very near. Hence the warning must now be given, and is given. Therefore the world is confronted with the greatest emergency
that has ever existed, and so vitally necessary is it that all who would live must be warned that God puts the obligation upon those who know his truth to tell it to others; and for this reason the publication goes on amidst great opposition from the religionists. (Ezekiel 33: 4-19) The battle of Armageddon will be fought by Jesus Christ and his heavenly host, on one side, against the Devil and all his forces, both visible and invisible, on the other side. That battle will be the expression of God's wrath against all wickedness. Upon the earth there are now billions of people, and naturally it is asked, Is there salvation for them? Is there to be found a place of refuge, safety and salvation from the impending and terrible wrath of Almighty God?
YOU MAY "BE HID"
In Noah's day the Devil had turned the people to wickedness, and God declared his purpose to destroy all flesh in the flood of waters that was shortly to follow. (Genesis 6:1-20) For many years Noah, at God's command, went about amongst the people proclaiming to them the warning of the impending disaster of the flood of waters. Noah was one of Jehovah's witnesses, "a preacher of righteousness." (2 Peter 2:5) Aside from Noah's household the people did not give heed to the warning, and when the flood came all were destroyed and only Noah and his immediate family, consisting of eight persons in all, escaped and were saved. How were they saved? At God's command Noah had builded the ark, and when the flood came it floated upon the waters. In that ark Noah and his family
were hid from the wrath of God expressed by the great deluge or flood of waters. That great disaster upon the world prophetically foretold the battle of Armageddon. The devastation that the flood worked is a pattern or picture of what Armageddon will bring upon the whole world. Note now God's provision to hide some people from his wrath which will be expressed during Armageddon, and which people so hidden will be carried over to safety and to salvation.
No person who devotes himself today to Jehovah God and his kingdom is desired by the Devil or by any of the Devil's representatives on the earth. It is seen that all of those who earnestly advocate the name of Jehovah God and his kingdom are the objects of the expressed wrath of Satan and of his religious agents in particular. To those persons who desire righteousness, and who have a desire to escape, and who are therefore of good will toward God and His kingdom Jehovah addresses the following words: "Gather yourselves together, yea, gather together, 0 nation not desired [by the Devil and his crowd of religionists and allies]." (Zephaniah 2:1) Such persons of good will are warned to gather themselves together; meaning that they must separate themselves from the political, religious and like systems or organizations, which honor men and dishonor God; and that, because they love righteousness, they must keep themselves separated and apart from unrighteousness. Those persons who are of good will toward God will automatically be drawn to each other, and all such will seek the Lord and be diligent to learn his ways and what the Lord requires of
them in order to find the place of safety. When shall such persons of good will separate themselves from the wicked organizations of the world, gather themselves together, and stand on the side of God and his King, Christ Jesus? The Word of Jehovah answers: "Before the decree bring forth, before the day pass as the chaff, before the fierce anger of the Lord come upon you, before the day of the Lord's anger come upon you." — Zephaniah 2: 2.
The act of seeking the Lord and hence seeking the place of safety cannot be delayed until Armageddon breaks upon the world, because it will then be too late to flee to the place of safety. The Lord Jesus speaks of such time of tribulation as the wintertime, and concerning the people he says: "Pray ye that your flight be not in the winter [time]," (Matthew 24:20) The day of God's wrath expressed at Armageddon is the 'wintertime', during which time will break upon the world such tribulation as never before was known. If you are not hid then from that terrible and destructive catastrophe, it will be too late to find the place of protection and salvation.
What, then, shall one do to find the place of safety? He must flee to Jehovah God and Christ Jesus, spoken of by Jesus as "the mountains", the mountains representing the kingdom of God under Christ. Jehovah's prophet above quoted answers the question in these words: "Seek ye the Lord, all ye meek of the earth, which have wrought his judgment; seek righteousness, seek meekness; it may be ye shall be hid in the day of the Lord's anger." — Zephaniah 2: 3.
For their aid and benefit the Lord now brings before those persons of good will a mental vision of the terrible impending disaster of Armageddon and advises them to follow the rule he announces in order that they might escape. Only the meek ones will give heed to the warning and act immediately. The meek are those who desire to be taught the truth and who are willing to hear and to learn the truth, regardless of who may bring the truth to their attention. At the command of Jehovah his faithful witnesses call attention to the message of truth as set forth in the Scriptures, and place before the people the means and opportunity of gaining an understanding of God's purpose. The meek ones amongst the people will avail themselves of such opportunity to learn, and God favors such who thus try to learn, as it is written: "Good and upright is the Lord; therefore will he teach sinners in the way. The meek will he guide in judgment, and the meek will he teach his way." — Psalm 25: 8, 9.
To such meek ones Jehovah says: "Seek righteousness"; which means to seek to know God's provision for man's salvation from the impending disaster; and to know His way means to know the right way. All the ways of God are right and righteousness: "The Lord is righteous in all his ways, and holy in all his works." (Psalm 145:17) One who desires righteousness must be diligent to learn what is set forth in the Word of God, because such constitutes his certain and perfect guide: "Righteous art thou, 0 Lord, and upright are thy judgments. Thy testimonies that thou hast commanded are right-
eous and very faithful." (Psalm 119:137,138) "Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto" my path." (Psalm 119:105) The honest, sincere and meek persons of good will toward God pray the prayer which is written in the Word of God for their benefit, to wit: "Shew me thy ways, 0 Lord; teach me thy paths. Lead me in thy truth, and teach me; for thou art the God of my salvation; on thee do I wait all the day." — Psalm 25:4, 5.
To "seek meekness", as God has commanded, one must always be diligent to learn what God through Christ Jesus teaches the people. One who is wise in his own conceit is not meek. The meek are those who are willing and anxious to learn what the great Almighty God would have them to do, and this they ascertain only by being alert to seek what is written in the Scriptures and to readily grasp an understanding thereof. The Lord is now making clear the meaning of the Scriptures by bringing to pass the physical facts in fulfillment of his prophetic Word. In this God is showing his loving-kindness to everyone who desires righteousness. The purpose of what follows herein is to enable the sincere student of God's Word to gain a knowledge and understanding of the purpose of the Most High; and the meek will learn God's righteous way and will joyfully obey God's Word of truth as revealed to him. Those who thus seek righteousness and meekness have this promise from Jehovah God, as it is written in the scripture above quoted: "It may be ye shall be hid in the day of the Lord's anger." Those who receive Jehovah's approval will receive his blessings by being led
to the place of safety and complete refuge and will learn the way to everlasting salvation. The ones who are thus seeking the right way are the ones who desire to know the Scriptures, and these Scriptures were written for their benefit. Hence the admonition given to all such: "Study to shew thyself approved unto God." — 2 Timothy 2:15.
