watchtower july 15, 2013

STUDY ARTICLES

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SEPTEMBER 2-8

“Tell Us, When WillThese Things Be?”PAGE 3 ˙ SONGS: 128, 101

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SEPTEMBER 9-15

“Look! I Am WithYou All the Days”PAGE 9 ˙ SONGS: 30, 109

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SEPTEMBER 16-22

Feeding ManyThrough the Handsof a FewPAGE 15 ˙ SONGS: 108, 117

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SEPTEMBER 23-29

“Who Really Isthe Faithful andDiscreet Slave?”PAGE 20 ˙ SONGS: 107, 116

34567JULY 15, 2013

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34567�July 15, 2013

Vol. 134, No. 14 Semimonthly ENGLISH

STUDY ARTICLES��

ˇ “Tell Us, When Will These Things Be?”

ˇ “Look! I Am With You All the Days”

These articles consider parts of Matthew chapters 24 and

25. They present several clarifications of our understanding

of the timing of events in Jesus’ prophecy about the last

days and in his parable about the wheat and the weeds.

The articles also consider how we can personally benefit

from these clarifications.

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ˇ Feeding Many Through the Hands of a Few

ˇ “Who Really Is the Faithful and Discreet Slave?”

Whether miraculously providing food to crowds of people

or spiritually feeding his followers, Jesus followed a pattern

—he fed many through the hands of a few. The first article

discusses the few through whom he fed his first-century

anointed followers. The second article examines this vital

question: Who are the few through whom Christ feeds us

today?

ALSO IN THIS ISSUE��

26 A New Member of the Governing Body��

27 Eager to Serve Jehovah—No Matter Where��

32 “Look at the Artwork!”

RWANDA

COVER: House-to-house witnessingin Bukimba, Runda, Rwanda

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One fourth of the Witnessesin the country share in someform of pioneer service, and therest of the zealous Witnessesaverage 20 hours in the ministryeach month

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WITNESSES

22,734BIBLE STUDIES

52,123MEMORIAL ATTENDANCE IN 2012

69,582

JESUS’ ministry on earth was coming to an end,and his disciples were eager to find out what the fu-ture held for them. So just a few days before hisdeath, four of his apostles asked him: “When willthese things be, and what will be the sign of yourpresence and of the conclusion of the system ofthings?” (Matt. 24:3; Mark 13:3) Jesus answered bymeans of an extensive prophecy, recorded in Mat-thew chapters 24 and 25. In that prophecy, Jesusforetold many noteworthy events. His words haveprofound meaning for us because we too are keen-ly interested in knowing what the future holds.

2 Through the years, Jehovah’s servants haveprayerfully studied Jesus’ prophecy about the lastdays. They have sought to get a clearer understand-ing of the timing of the fulfillment of Jesus’ words.To illustrate how our understanding has been clari-fied, let us consider three “when” questions. Whendoes the “great tribulation” begin? When does Jesusjudge “the sheep” and “the goats”? When does Je-sus ‘arrive,’ or come?—Matt. 24:21; 25:31-33.

WHEN DOES THE GREAT TRIBULATION BEGIN?

3 For a number of years, we thought that the greattribulation began in 1914 with World War I andthat “those days were cut short” by Jehovah in 1918when the war ended so that the remnant wouldhave the opportunity to preach the good news to allnations. (Matt. 24:21, 22) After the completion ofthat preaching work, Satan’s empire would be de-stroyed. Thus, the great tribulation was thoughtto have three phases: There would be a beginning(1914-1918), the tribulation would be interrupted

1. Like the apostles, what are we eager to find out?2. (a) Through the years, of what did we seek to get a clearerunderstanding? (b) Which three questions will we consider?3. In the past, what was our understanding of the timing ofthe great tribulation?

“TELL US, WHEN WILLTHESE THINGS BE?”

“What will be the signof your presence andof the conclusion ofthe system of things?”—MATT. 24:3.

HOW WOULD YOU ANSWER?

��

What parallels are there

between the two fulfillments

of Jesus’ prophecy about the

great tribulation?

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How does the parable of the

sheep and the goats affect our

view of the preaching work?

��

In Matthew chapters 24 and 25,

to what time did Jesus refer

when he spoke about his

coming?

3

4 THE WATCHTOWER

(from 1918 onward), and it would con-clude at Armageddon.

4 Upon further examination of Jesus’prophecy, however, we perceived that apart of Jesus’ prophecy about the lastdays has two fulfillments. (Matt. 24:4-22) There was an initial fulfillment in Ju-dea in the first century C.E., and therewould be a worldwide fulfillment in ourday. That insight led to several clarifica-tions.[1]

5 We also discerned that the first partof the great tribulation did not begin in1914. Why not? Because Bible prophe-cy reveals that the great tribulation willstart, not with a war among nations, butwith an attack on false religion. Thus,the events that began in 1914 were, not

4. What insight led to a clearer understandingof Jesus’ prophecy about the last days?5. (a) What difficult period began in 1914?(b) That period of distress corresponds to whattime period in the first century C.E.?

the beginning of the great tribulation,but the “beginning of pangs of distress.”(Matt. 24:8) These “pangs of distress”correspond to what took place in Jeru-salem and Judea from 33 C.E. to 66 C.E.

6 What will signal the start of thegreat tribulation? Jesus foretold: “Whenyou catch sight of the disgusting thingthat causes desolation, as spoken ofthrough Daniel the prophet, standingin a holy place, (let the reader use dis-cernment,) then let those in Judea beginfleeing to the mountains.” (Matt. 24:15,16) In the first fulfillment, the “stand-ing in a holy place” occurred in 66 C.E.when the Roman army (“the disgustingthing”) attacked Jerusalem and its tem-ple (a place holy in the eyes of the Jews).In the larger fulfillment, the “standing”will occur when the United Nations (themodern-day “disgusting thing”) attacks

6. What will signal the beginning of the greattribulation?

THE GREAT TRIBULATION AND BEYOND

MODERNFULFILLMENT

THE LASTDAYS

CORRESPONDINGEVENTS IN THEFIRST CENTURY

United Nations (“disgusting thing”) will attackChristendom (“holy place”) and the rest offalse religion (Rev. 17:16-18)

°

DESTRUCTION OF FALSE RELIGION

Roman army (“disgusting thing”)attacked Jerusalem andits temple (“holy place”)

“The disgusting thing . . .standing in a holy place”(Matt. 24:15, 16)(See paragraph 6)

Jehovah will “cut short”the attack on false religion;God’s people will be saved

Roman army cut shortits attack; Christians in

Jerusalem and Judea fled

“On account of the chosen onesthose days will be cut short”

(Matt. 24:22)(See paragraph 7)

O F U N K N O W N

JULY 15, 2013 5

Christendom (which is holy in the eyesof nominal Christians) and the rest ofBabylon the Great. The same attack isdescribed at Revelation 17:16-18. Thatevent will be the beginning of the greattribulation.

7 Jesus also foretold: “Those days willbe cut short.” In the initial fulfillment,this happened in 66 C.E. when the Ro-man army “cut short” its attack. Then,anointed Christians in Jerusalem andJudea fled, allowing for their ‘flesh, orlife, to be saved.’ (Read Matthew 24:22;Mal. 3:17) So, what can we expect willhappen during the coming great tribu-lation? Jehovah will “cut short” the at-tack of the United Nations on false re-ligion, not allowing true religion to bedestroyed with the false. This will en-sure that God’s people will be saved.

7. (a) How was ‘flesh saved’ in the first centu-ry? (b) What can we expect will happen in thefuture?

8 What happens after the initial partof the great tribulation has passed? Je-sus’ words indicate that there will bea period of time that will last until thestart of Armageddon. What events willoccur during that interval? The answeris recorded at Ezekiel 38:14-16 and Mat-thew 24:29-31. (Read.)[2] After that, wewill witness Armageddon, the climaxof the great tribulation, which paral-lels Jerusalem’s destruction in 70 C.E.(Mal. 4:1) With the battle of Armaged-don as its climax, that coming great trib-ulation will be unique—an event “suchas has not occurred since the world’sbeginning.” (Matt. 24:21) When it haspassed, Christ’s Millennial Rule willbegin.

8. (a) What events will take place after the ini-tial part of the great tribulation has passed?(b) At what point, apparently, will the lastmember of the 144,000 receive his heavenly re-ward? (See endnote.)

L E N G T H

Jesus will judge peopleof all nations as sheepor goats (Matt. 25:31-46)(See paragraphs 12, 13)

INTERVAL

“Immediately after thetribulation of those days . . .”(Matt. 24:29-31)(See paragraph 8)

Jesus will appointthe faithful slave over“all his belongings”(Matt. 24:46, 47)(See paragraph 18)

Destructionof the nations(Rev. 16:16)

°

ARMAGEDDON

Jerusalem’sdestruction

CHRIST’SMILLENNIALRULE BEGINS

6 THE WATCHTOWER

9 This prophecy about the greattribulation strengthens us. Why? Be-cause it assures us that no matter whathardships we may face, Jehovah’s peo-ple, as a group, will come out of thegreat tribulation. (Rev. 7:9, 14) Aboveall, we rejoice because at Armageddon,Jehovah will vindicate his sovereigntyand he will sanctify his holy name.—Ps.83:18; Ezek. 38:23.

WHEN DOES JESUS JUDGE

THE SHEEP AND THE GOATS?

10 Consider now the timing of anoth-er part of Jesus’ prophecy—the parableof the judgment of the sheep and thegoats. (Matt. 25:31-46) Previously, wethought that the judging of people assheep or goats would take place duringthe entire period of the last days from1914 onward. We concluded that thosewho rejected the Kingdom message andwho died before the start of the greattribulation would die as goats—withoutthe hope of a resurrection.

11 In the mid-1990’s, The Watchtowerreexamined Matthew 25:31, whichstates: “When the Son of man arrives inhis glory, and all the angels with him,then he will sit down on his gloriousthrone.” It was noted that Jesus becameKing of God’s Kingdom in 1914, but hedid not “sit down onhis glorious throne”as Judge of “all the nations.” (Matt. 25:32; compare Daniel 7:13.) However, theparable of the sheep and the goats de-scribes Jesus primarily as Judge. (ReadMatthew 25:31-34, 41, 46.) Since Jesus

9. What effect does Jesus’ prophecy about thegreat tribulation have on Jehovah’s people?10. In the past, what was our understanding ofthe timing of the judgment of the sheep andthe goats?11. Why could the judgment of people assheep or goats not have started in 1914?

was not yet active as Judge of all nationsin 1914, his judgment of people as sheepor goats could not have started in thatyear.[3] When, then, will Jesus’ judgmentbegin?

12 Jesus’ prophecy about the last daysreveals that he will for the very first timeact as Judge of all nations after the de-struction of false religion. As mentionedin paragraph 8, some of the events thatwill occur during that time are recordedat Matthew 24:30, 31. When you exam-ine those verses, you will note that Je-sus there foretells events that are similarto the ones he mentions in the parableof the sheep and the goats. For exam-ple, the Son of man comes with gloryand with angels; all tribes and nationsare gathered; those judged as sheep“lift [their] heads up” because “everlast-ing life” awaits them.[4] Those judged asgoats “beat themselves in lamentation,”realizing that “everlasting cutting-off”awaits them.—Matt. 25:31-33, 46.

13 So, then, what canwe conclude? Je-sus will judge people of all nations assheep or goats when he comes duringthe great tribulation. Then, at Armaged-don, the climax of the great tribulation,the goatlike ones will be ‘cut off’ forever.How does that understanding affect ourview of our ministry? It helps us to seehow important our preaching work is.Until the great tribulation begins, peo-ple still have time to change their think-ing and start walking on the crampedroad “leading off into life.” (Matt. 7:13,14) To be sure, people may now display

12. (a) When will Jesus for the first time actas Judge of all nations? (b) What events aredescribed at Matthew 24:30, 31 and Matthew25:31-33, 46?13. (a) When will Jesus judge the people assheep or goats? (b) How does this understand-ing affect our view of our ministry?

a sheeplike or a goatlike disposition.Nevertheless, we should remember thatthe final judgment of who are sheep andwho are goats is during the great tribu-lation. Therefore, we have good reasonfor continuing to offer as many people aspossible the opportunity to listen to andrespond to the Kingdom message.

WHEN DOES JESUS ARRIVE, OR COME?

14 Does a further consideration of Je-sus’ prophecy reveal that our under-standing of the timing of other signif-icant events needs to be adjusted? Theprophecy itself gives the answer. Let ussee how.

15 In the part of his prophecy that isrecorded at Matthew 24:29–25:46, Jesusfocuses primarily on what will happenduring these last days and during thecoming great tribulation. There, Jesusmakes eight references to his “coming,”or arrival.[5] Regarding the great tribula-tion, he states: “They will see the Sonof man coming on the clouds.” “You do

14, 15. Which four scripture references applyto Christ’s future coming as Judge?

not know on what day your Lord is com-ing.” “At an hour that you do not think tobe it, the Son of man is coming.” And inhis parable of the sheep and the goats,Jesus states: “The Son of man arrives inhis glory.” (Matt. 24:30, 42, 44; 25:31)Each of these four references applies toChrist’s future coming as Judge. Wherein Jesus’ prophecy do we find the re-maining four references?

16 Regarding the faithful and discreetslave, Jesus says: “Happy is that slave ifhis master on arriving [“having come,”ftn.] finds him doing so.” In the par-able of the virgins, Jesus states: “Whilethey were going off to buy, the bride-groom arrived [“came,” Kingdom Interlin-ear].” In the parable of the talents, Jesusrelates: “After a long time the master ofthose slaves came.” In the same parable,the master says: “On my arrival [“havingcome,” Int] I would be receiving whatis mine.” (Matt. 24:46; 25:10, 19, 27) Towhat time do these four instances of Je-sus’ coming refer?

16. Jesus’ coming is mentioned in what otherscriptures?

Until the great tribulation begins, people still have time to change their thinking(See paragraph 13)

JULY 15, 2013 7

17 In the past, we have stated in ourpublications that these last four refer-ences apply to Jesus’ arriving, or com-ing, in 1918. As an example, take Jesus’statement about “the faithful and dis-creet slave.” (Read Matthew 24:45-47.)We understood that the “arriving” men-tioned in verse 46 was linked to the timewhen Jesus came to inspect the spiritu-al condition of the anointed in 1918 andthat the appointment of the slave overall the Master’s belongings occurred in1919. (Mal. 3:1) However, a further con-sideration of Jesus’ prophecy indicatesthat an adjustment in our understandingof the timing of certain aspects of Jesus’prophecy is needed. Why so?

18 In the verses that lead up to Mat-thew 24:46, the word “coming” refersconsistently to the time when Jesuscomes to pronounce and execute judg-ment during the great tribulation. (Matt.24:30, 42, 44) Also, as we consideredin paragraph 12, Jesus’ ‘arriving’ men-tioned at Matthew 25:31 refers to thatsame future time of judgment. So it isreasonable to conclude that Jesus’ arriv-al to appoint the faithful slave over all hisbelongings, mentioned at Matthew 24:

17. What have we stated about the arrival men-tioned at Matthew 24:46?18. A consideration of Jesus’ prophecy in itsentirety leads us to what conclusion about Je-sus’ coming?

46, 47, also applies to his future coming,during the great tribulation.[6] Indeed, aconsideration of Jesus’ prophecy in itsentirety makes it clear that each of theseeight references to his coming applies tothe future time of judgment during thegreat tribulation.

19 In review, what have we learned? Inthe beginning of this article, we raisedthree “when” questions. We first consid-ered that the great tribulation did not be-gin in 1914 but will start when the Unit-ed Nations attacks Babylon the Great.Then, we reviewed why Jesus’ judgmentof the sheep and the goats did not beginin 1914 but will occur during the greattribulation. Finally, we examined why Je-sus’ arrival to appoint the faithful slaveover all his belongings did not occur in1919 but will take place during the greattribulation. So, then, all three “whens”apply to the same future time period—the great tribulation. How does thisadjusted view further affect our under-standing of the illustration of the faith-ful slave? Also, how does it affect ourunderstanding of other parables, or illus-trations, of Jesus that are being fulfilledduring this time of the end? These im-portant questions will be considered inthe following articles.

19. What adjustments in understanding didwe consider, and what questions will be an-swered in the following articles?

ENDNOTES:

(To be read as footnotes with the corre-sponding paragraphs.)

Paragraph 4: [1] For more information,see The Watchtower, February 15, 1994,pages 8-21 and May 1, 1999, pages 8-20.

Paragraph 8: [2] One of the events men-tioned in these verses is the ‘gathering ofthe chosen ones.’ (Matt. 24:31) Hence, itappears that all anointed ones who still re-main on earth after the initial part of the

great tribulation has passed will at somepoint be raised to heaven before the out-break of the battle of Armageddon. Thisadjusts what was stated on this subject in“Questions From Readers” in The Watch-tower of August 15, 1990, page 30.

Paragraph 11: [3] See The Watchtower,October 15, 1995, pages 18-28.

Paragraph 12: [4] See the parallel ac-count at Luke 21:28.

Paragraph 15: [5] The words “coming”and “arriving” translate forms of the sameGreek verb, er�kho·mai.

Paragraph 18: [6] As noted, the Greekword rendered “on arriving” at Matthew24:46 is a form of the same Greek verbthat is rendered “coming” at Matthew 24:30, 42, 44.

8 THE WATCHTOWER

9

ONE of Jesus’ Kingdom illustrations describes afarmer who sows fine seed of wheat and an enemywho sows weeds among the fine seed. The weedsovergrow the wheat, but the farmer orders his slavesto “let both grow together until the harvest.” Dur-ing harvest season, the weeds are destroyed and thewheat is gathered. Jesus himself explained the illus-tration. (Read Matthew 13:24-30, 37-43.) What doesthis parable reveal? (See the chart “The Wheat andthe Weeds.”)

2 The events taking place in that farmer’s field il-lustrate how and when Jesus would gather out ofmankind the entire wheat class—anointed Christianswho will rule with him in his Kingdom. The sow-ing began at Pentecost 33 C.E. The gathering willbe complete when the anointed who are alive at theend of this system of things receive their final seal-ing and then are taken to heaven. (Matt. 24:31; Rev.7:1-4) Just as a lookout point on a mountain providesa person with a sweeping view of his surroundings,so this parable gives us a panoramic view of devel-opments that would occur during a period of some2,000 years. From our vantage point, what develop-ments related to the Kingdom do we discern? Theparable describes a time of sowing, growth, and har-vesting. This article will focus mainly on the harvest-time.[1]

UNDER JESUS’ WATCHFUL CARE

3 At the dawn of the second century C.E., “the

1. (a) Summarize the illustration of the wheat and theweeds. (b) How did Jesus explain its meaning?2. (a) What is illustrated by the events taking place in thefarmer’s field? (b) What part of the parable will we consider?3. (a) What condition developed after the first century?(b) According to Matthew 13:28, what question was raised,and by whom? (See also endnote.)

“LOOK!I AM WITH YOUALL THE DAYS”

“Look! I am with youall the days untilthe conclusion of thesystem of things.”—MATT. 28:20.

LOOK FOR THE ANSWERS

TO THESE QUESTIONS:

��

Why can we conclude that from

the first century C.E. until today,

there have always been anoint-

ed Christians on earth?

��

Starting in 1914, what inspec-

tion by Jesus took place?

��

What events depicted in Jesus’

illustration about the wheat and

the weeds still lie ahead?

10 THE WATCHTOWER

THE WHEATAND THE WEEDS

33 C.E.SOWINGBEGINS

SOWER:Jesus

FINE SEEDIS SOWN:Anointing withholy spirit

THE FIELD: The world of mankind

‘A man sowed fineseed in his field’(Matt. 13:24)

ENEMY:The Devil

MEN WERE SLEEPING:Death of the apostles

‘While men were sleeping,the enemy oversowed weeds’(Matt. 13:25)

WHEAT:Anointed Christians

WEEDS:Imitation Christians

“Both grow together untilthe harvest”(Matt. 13:30)

1914HARVESTBEGINS

SLAVES/REAPERS:Angels

Weedlike Christians areseparated from the anointed“sons of the kingdom”

The weeds arecollected and bundled(Matt. 13:30)(See paragraphs 10, 11)

weeds appeared” when imitation Chris-tians became visible in the world field.(Matt. 13:26) By the fourth century,weedlike Christians had greatly outnum-bered anointed Christians. Recall that inthe parable, the slaves asked their mas-ter for permission to uproot the weeds.[2]

(Matt. 13:28) How did the master re-spond?

4 Speaking about the wheat and theweeds, Jesus said: “Let both grow to-gether until the harvest.” This com-mand reveals that from the first cen-tury until today, there have always beensome anointed wheatlike Christians onearth. That conclusion is confirmed bywhat Jesus later told his disciples: “I amwith you all the days until the conclu-

4. (a) What is revealed by the answer of theMaster, Jesus? (b) When did wheatlike Chris-tians become discernible?

sion of the system of things.” (Matt. 28:20) So anointed Christians would be pro-tected by Jesus all the days leading up tothe time of the end. However, since theywere overgrown by weedlike Christians,we do not know for certain who be-longed to the wheat class during thatlong period of time. However, some de-cades before the start of the harvest sea-son, the wheat class became discernible.How did that come about?

A MESSENGER ‘CLEARS UP A WAY’

5 Centuries before Jesus gave the illus-tration of the wheat and the weeds, Je-hovah inspired his prophet Malachi toforetell events that are reflected in Jesus’illustration. (Read Malachi 3:1-4.) Johnthe Baptizer was the ‘messenger who

5. How was Malachi’s prophecy fulfilled in thefirst century?

JULY 15, 2013 11

1919GATHERING INTOTHE STOREHOUSE:Anointed Christiansare gathered into therestored congregation

H A R V E S T S E A S O N

‘Gathering the wheatinto the storehouse’(Matt. 13:30)(See paragraph 12)

ARMAGEDDON

At Armageddon, the weedsare pitched into the fire

SHINING BRIGHTLY

Shortly before Armageddon, theremaining faithful anointed onesare gathered to the heavens

The righteous ones shine brightly in the Kingdom(Matt. 13:43) (See paragraphs 16, 17)

The weeds are pitched into the fiery furnace(Matt. 13:42) (See paragraph 15)

cleared up the way.’ (Matt. 11:10, 11)When he came in 29 C.E., a time of judg-ment for the nation of Israel had drawnclose. Jesus was the second messenger.He cleansed the temple in Jerusalemtwice—first at the start of his ministryand second toward the end. (Matt. 21:12,13; John 2:14-17) Hence, Jesus’ cleansingwork involved a period of time.

6 What is the larger fulfillment of Mal-achi’s prophecy? During the decadesleading up to 1914, C. T. Russell andhis close associates did a work like thatof John the Baptizer. That vital workinvolved restoring Bible truths. The Bi-ble Students taught the true meaningof Christ’s ransom sacrifice, exposed

6. (a) What is the larger fulfillment of Mala-chi’s prophecy? (b) During what time perioddid Jesus inspect the spiritual temple? (See alsoendnote.)

the hellfire lie, and proclaimed the com-ing end of the Gentile Times. Still,there were numerous religious groupswho claimed to be Christ’s followers.So a crucial question needed to be an-swered: Who among those groups werethe wheat? To settle that question, Je-sus began to inspect the spiritual tem-ple in 1914. That inspection and cleans-ing work involved a period of time—from1914 to the early part of 1919.[3]

YEARS OF INSPECTION AND CLEANSING

7 When Jesus began his inspection,what did he find? A small group of zeal-ous Bible Students who for well over 30years had given their strength and for-tunes to pursue a vigorous preachingcampaign.[4] What a joy it must have

7. When Jesus began his inspection in 1914,what did he find?

12 THE WATCHTOWER

been for Jesus and the angels to findthat those relatively few but sturdywheat stalks had not been choked by Sa-tan’s weeds! Still, there arose a need to“cleanse the sons of Levi,” the anointedones. (Mal. 3:2, 3; 1 Pet. 4:17) Why so?

8 In late 1914, some Bible Studentswere disheartened because they had notgone to heaven. During 1915 and 1916,opposition from outside the organiza-tion slowed down the preaching work.Worse, after Brother Russell’s death inOctober 1916, opposition arose from in-side the organization. Four of the sevendirectors of the Watch Tower Bible andTract Society rebelled against the deci-sion to have Brother Rutherford take thelead. They tried to cause division amongthe brothers, but in August 1917, theyleft Bethel—a cleansing indeed! Also,some Bible Students gave in to the fearof man. Still, as a whole they willinglyresponded to Jesus’ cleansing work andmade the needed changes. Hence, Jesusjudged them to be true Christian wheat,but he rejected all imitation Christians,including all of those found within thechurches of Christendom. (Mal. 3:5;2 Tim. 2:19) What happened next? Tofind out, let us return to our consider-ation of the parable of the wheat and theweeds.

WHAT HAPPENS AFTER

THE HARVEST SEASON BEGINS?

9 “The harvest is a conclusion of a sys-tem of things,” said Jesus. (Matt. 13:39)That harvest season began in 1914. Wewill consider five developments that Je-sus foretold for that time.

10 First, collecting the weeds. Jesus

8. What developments took place after 1914?9, 10. (a) What will we now consider aboutthe harvest season? (b) What took place firstduring the harvest season?

says: “In the harvest season I will tellthe reapers, First collect the weedsand bind them in bundles.” After 1914,the angels began to “collect” weedlikeChristians by separating them from theanointed “sons of the kingdom.”—Matt.13:30, 38, 41.

11 As the collecting work progressed,the distinction between the two groupsbecame ever clearer. (Rev. 18:1, 4) By1919, it became evident that Babylonthe Great had fallen. What especiallyset true Christians apart from imitationones? The preaching work. Those tak-ing the lead among the Bible Studentsbegan to stress the importance of shar-ing personally in the Kingdom preachingwork. For instance, To Whom the Work IsEntrusted, a pamphlet published in 1919,urged all anointed Christians to preachfrom house to house. It stated: “Thework appears stupendous, but it is theLord’s, and in his strength we will per-form it. You have the privilege of sharingin it.” What was the response? From thattime onward, reported The Watch Towerin 1922, the Bible Students stepped uptheir preaching activities. Before long,preaching from house to house became ahallmark of those faithful Christians—asit is till this day.

12 Second, gathering the wheat. Jesuscommands his angels: “Go to gatheringthe wheat into my storehouse.” (Matt. 13:30) Since 1919, anointed ones have beengathered into the restored Christian con-gregation. For those anointed Christianswho will be alive at the end of this sys-tem of things, the final gathering willtake place when they receive their heav-enly reward.—Dan. 7:18, 22, 27.

11. Till this day, what has set true Christiansapart from imitation Christians?12. Since when has the wheat class been gath-ered?

JULY 15, 2013 13

13 Third, weeping and gnashing. Af-ter the angels bundle the weeds, whathappens? Speaking about the conditionof the weed class, Jesus states: “There iswhere their weeping and the gnashing oftheir teeth will be.” (Matt. 13:42) Is thathappening right now? No. Today, Chris-tendom, as part of the harlot, still saysabout herself: “I sit a queen, and I am nowidow, and I shall never see mourning.”(Rev. 18:7) Indeed, Christendom feelsvery much in charge, even presuming to‘sit as a queen’ atop the class of politicalleaders. Presently, those represented bythe weeds are boasting, not weeping. Butthat is about to change.

14 During the great tribulation, afterall organized false religion has been de-stroyed, former adherents will run forcover but will find no secure place tohide. (Luke 23:30; Rev. 6:15-17) Then, re-alizing that there is no escape from de-struction, they will weep in desperationand ‘gnash their teeth’ in anger. As Jesus

13. What does Revelation 18:7 reveal about thepresent attitude of the harlot, or Babylon theGreat, including Christendom?14. (a) When and why will imitation Chris-tians ‘gnash their teeth’? (b) How does ouradjusted understanding of Matthew 13:42 har-monize with the thought expressed at Psalm112:10? (See endnote.)

foretells in his prophecy about the greattribulation, at that dark moment, they“will beat themselves in lamentation.”[5]

—Matt. 24:30; Rev. 1:7.15 Fourth, pitched into the furnace.

What will happen to the bundles ofweeds? The angels “will pitch them intothe fiery furnace.” (Matt. 13:42) Thatmeans complete destruction. Hence,those former adherents of false religiousorganizations will be destroyed duringthe final part of the great tribulation, Ar-mageddon.—Mal. 4:1.

16 Fifth, shining brightly. Jesus endshis prophecy by saying: “At that time therighteous ones will shine as brightly asthe sun in the kingdom of their Father.”(Matt. 13:43) When and where will thatbe? The fulfillment of these words stilllies ahead. Jesus foretold, not an activi-ty currently taking place on earth, but afuture event occurring in heaven.[6] Con-sider two reasons for this conclusion.

17 First, the “when” question. Jesussaid: “At that time the righteous oneswill shine.” The phrase “at that time”

15. What will happen to the weeds, and whenwill that event occur?16, 17. (a) What is the final event that Jesusmentions in his illustration? (b) Why do weconclude that the fulfillment of that event stilllies ahead?

Christendom’s closeassociation with politicalleaders will soon cometo an end(See paragraph 13)

14 THE WATCHTOWER

evidently refers to the event that Jesushad just mentioned, namely, the ‘pitch-ing of the weeds into the fiery fur-nace.’ That occurs during the final partof the great tribulation. Thus, the ‘shin-ing brightly’ of the anointed must oc-cur at that future time as well. Second,the “where” question. Jesus said that therighteous ones will ‘shine in the king-dom.’ What does that mean? All faithfulanointed ones who are still on earth af-ter the initial part of the great tribulationhas passed will already have receivedtheir final sealing. Then, as indicated inJesus’ prophecy about the great tribu-lation, they will be gathered to heaven.(Matt. 24:31) There they will shine “in thekingdom of their Father,” and shortly af-ter the battle of Armageddon, they willshare as Jesus’ joyous bride in “the mar-riage of the Lamb.”—Rev. 19:6-9.

HOW WE BENEFIT

18 How do we personally benefit from

18, 19. Inwhat ways does an understanding ofJesus’ parable of the wheat and the weeds ben-efit us personally?

the panoramic view that this parableprovides? Consider three ways. First, itdeepens our insight. The parable revealsan important reason why Jehovah per-mits wickedness. He “tolerated . . . ves-sels of wrath” to prepare the “vessels ofmercy”—the wheat class.[7] (Rom. 9:22-24) Second, it strengthens our confi-dence. As the end draws near, our ene-mies will intensify their fight against us,“but they will not prevail.” (Read Jere-miah 1:19.) Just as Jehovah through theages protected the wheat class, so ourheavenly Father by means of Jesus andthe angels will be with us “all the days”to come.—Matt. 28:20.

19 Third, the parable enables us toidentify the wheat class. Why is thatof vital importance? Knowing whothe wheatlike Christians are is essen-tial to finding the answer to a questionraised by Jesus in his extensive prophe-cy about the last days. He asked: “Whoreally is the faithful and discreet slave?”(Matt. 24:45) The following two articleswill provide a satisfying answer to thatquestion.

ENDNOTES:


Paragraph 2: [1] To refresh your memo-ry on the meaning of the other parts ofthe parable, we encourage you to read thearticle “The Righteous Ones Will Shine asBrightly as the Sun” in The Watchtower ofMarch 15, 2010.

Paragraph 3: [2] Since Jesus’ apos-tles had died and the remaining anoint-ed ones on earth were pictured, not byslaves, but by wheat, these slaves well pic-ture the angels. Later in the illustration,those reaping the weeds are identified asangels.—Matt. 13:39.

Paragraph 6: [3] This is an adjustmentin understanding. Previously, we thoughtthat Jesus’ inspection took place in 1918.

Paragraph 7: [4] From 1910 to 1914, theBible Students distributed nearly 4,000,-000 books and over 200,000,000 tractsand pamphlets.

Paragraph 14: [5] This is an adjustmentto our understanding of Matthew 13:42.Previously, our publications stated that im-itation Christians have been ‘weeping andgnashing their teeth’ for decades, bewail-ing that “the sons of the kingdom” exposethem for what they are—“sons of the wick-ed one.” (Matt. 13:38) It should be not-ed, however, that the idea of the gnashingof teeth is connected to destruction.—Ps.112:10.

Paragraph 16: [6] Daniel 12:3 states that“the ones having insight [anointed Chris-tians] will shine like the brightness of the

expanse.” While still on earth, they do thisby sharing in the preaching work. How-ever, Matthew 13:43 points to the timewhen they will shine brightly in the heav-enly Kingdom. Previously, we thought thatboth scriptures referred to the same activ-ity—the preaching work.

Paragraph 18: [7] See the book DrawClose to Jehovah, pages 288-289.

IMAGINE the scene. (Read Matthew 14:14-21.) It isjust before the Passover of 32 C.E. A crowd of some5,000 men, besides women and young children, arewith Jesus and his disciples at a deserted place in thevicinity of Bethsaida, a village on the north shore ofthe Sea of Galilee.

2 Upon seeing the crowd, Jesus is moved with pityfor the people, so he heals the sick among them andteaches them many things about God’s Kingdom.When it gets late, the disciples urge Jesus to dis-miss the people so that they might go to nearby vil-lages and buy some food for themselves. But Jesustells his disciples: “You give them something to eat.”His words must seem puzzling to them, for the pro-visions at hand are meager at best—five loaves andtwo small fish.

3 Moved by compassion, Jesus performs a miracle—the only miracle that is recorded by all four Gospelwriters. (Mark 6:35-44; Luke 9:10-17; John 6:1-13) Je-sus has his disciples tell the crowd to recline on thegreen grass in groups of 50 and of 100. After sayinga blessing, he begins breaking the bread and divid-ing up the fish. Then, rather than giving the food tothe people directly, Jesus distributes it “to the dis-ciples, the disciples in turn to the crowds.” Mirac-ulously, there is more than enough for everyone toeat! Just think: Jesus has fed thousands through thehands of a few—his disciples.[1]

4 Jesus was even more concerned about providingspiritual food to his followers. He knew that takingin spiritual food, the truths found in God’s Word,leads to everlasting life. (John 6:26, 27; 17:3) Moved

1-3. Describe how Jesus fed a large crowd in the vicinity ofBethsaida. (See opening image.)4. (a) Jesus was even more concerned about providing whatkind of food, and why? (b) What will we discuss in this studyarticle and in the next one?

FEEDING MANYTHROUGH THEHANDS OF A FEW

“After breakingthe loaves, [Jesus]distributed them tothe disciples, the disci-ples in turn to thecrowds.”—MATT. 14:19.

HOW WOULD YOU ANSWER?

��

What pattern did Jesus follow

when feeding the crowds?

��

How did Jesus use the apostles

and older men in Jerusalem?

��

When was it time for Christ to

appoint one organized channel

to dispense spiritual food?

15

16 THE WATCHTOWER

by the same compassion that impelledhim to feed bread and fish to the crowds,Jesus spent many hours personallyteaching his followers. (Mark 6:34) Buthe was aware that his time on earthwould be short and that he would re-turn to heaven. (Matt. 16:21; John 14:12) How would the heavenly Jesus keephis followers on earth well-fed spiritual-ly? He would follow a similar pattern—hewould feed many through the hands ofa few. Who, though, would be the few?Let us see how Jesus used a few to feedhis many first-century anointed follow-ers. Then, in the next article, we will dis-cuss this question of vital importance toeach one of us: How can we identify thefew through whom Christ feeds us to-day?

JESUS CHOOSES THE FEW

5 A responsible family head makes ar-rangements so that his family will becared for in the event of his death. Sim-ilarly, Jesus—who would become Headof the Christian congregation—made ar-rangements to ensure that his follow-ers would be cared for spiritually afterhis death. (Eph.1:22) For example, abouttwo years before he died, Jesus made aweighty decision. He selected the firstof the few through whom he wouldlater feed the many. Consider what hap-pened.

6 After praying all night, Jesus gath-ered his disciples and from among themchose 12 apostles. (Luke 6:12-16) For thenext two years, he was especially closeto the 12, teaching them both by wordand by example. He knew that they hadmuch to learn; in fact, they continued to

5, 6. (a) What weighty decision did Jesusmake in order to ensure that his followerswould be well-fed spiritually after his death?(b) How did Jesus prepare his apostles for tak-ing on a key role after his death?

be called “disciples.” (Matt. 11:1; 20:17)He gave them valuable personal counseland extensive training in the ministry.(Matt. 10:1-42; 20:20-23; Luke 8:1; 9:52-55) He was evidently preparing them fora key role after his death and return toheaven.

7 What would be the role of the apos-tles? As Pentecost 33 C.E. drew near, itwas clear that the apostles would servein an “office of oversight.” (Acts 1:20)What, though, would be their primaryconcern? Following his resurrection, Je-sus provided a clue in a conversationhe had with the apostle Peter. (ReadJohn 21:1, 2, 15-17.) In the presence ofsome of the other apostles, Jesus told Pe-ter: “Feed my little sheep.” Jesus there-by indicated that his apostles would beamong the few through whom he wouldprovide spiritual food to the many. Whata touching and telling indication of howJesus feels about his “little sheep”![2]

FEEDING THE MANY

FROM PENTECOST ONWARD

8 Starting at Pentecost 33 C.E., the res-urrected Christ used his apostles as thechannel through which he fed the restof his anointed disciples. (Read Acts 2:41, 42.) That channel was clearly recog-nized by the Jews and proselytes who be-came spirit-anointed Christians that day.Unhesitatingly, they “continued devot-ing themselves to the teaching of theapostles.” According to one scholar, theGreek verb rendered “continued devot-ing themselves” can mean having “asteadfast and singleminded fidelity to acertain course of action.” The new be-lievers had a deep hunger for spiritual

7. How did Jesus provide a clue about whatwould be the primary concern of the apostles?8. How did new believers at Pentecost showthat they clearly recognized the channel thatChrist was using?

JULY 15, 2013 17

food, and they knewexactly where to getit. With unwavering loyalty, they lookedto the apostles to explain the words anddeeds of Jesus and to shed fresh light onthe meaning of the scriptures pertainingto him.[3]—Acts 2:22-36.

9 The apostles kept their responsibili-ty to feed Jesus’ sheep clearly in focus.For example, notice how they handleda sensitive and potentially divisive issuethat arose in the newly formed congrega-tion. Ironically, the matter involved food—material food. Greek-speaking widowswere being overlooked in the daily fooddistribution, but Hebrew-speaking wid-ows were not being overlooked. How didthe apostles resolve this delicate issue?“The twelve” appointed seven qualifiedbrothers to oversee the “necessary busi-ness,” the food distribution. The apos-tles—most of whom had no doubt sharedin distributing food to the crowds whomJesus had miraculously fed—saw that itwas more important for them to focuson spiritual feeding. Thus, they devotedthemselves to “the ministryof the word.”—Acts 6:1-6.

9. How did the apostles show that they kepttheir responsibility to feed Jesus’ sheep clearlyin focus?

10 By 49 C.E., the surviving apostleshad been joined by certain other qual-ified elders. (Read Acts 15:1, 2.) “Theapostles and older men in Jerusalem”served as a governing body. As theHead of the congregation, Christ usedthis small group of qualified men to set-tle doctrinal issues and to oversee anddirect the preaching and teaching ofthe Kingdom good news.—Acts 15:6-29;21:17-19; Col. 1:18.

11 Did Jehovah bless the arrangementby means of which his Son fed the first-century congregations? Most definitely!How can we be sure? The book of Actsgives us this report: “Now as they [theapostle Paul and his traveling compan-ions] traveled on through the cities theywould deliver to those there for obser-vance the decrees that had been decidedupon by the apostles and older men whowere in Jerusalem. Therefore, indeed,the congregations continued to be made

10. How did Christ use the apostles and oldermen in Jerusalem?11, 12. (a) What shows that Jehovah blessedthe arrangement by means of which his Sonfed the first-century congregations? (b) Howwas the channel that Christ used for spiritualfeeding clearly recognizable?

Thousands were fed throughthe hands of a few(See paragraph 4)

18 THE WATCHTOWER

firm in the faith and to increase in num-ber from day to day.” (Acts 16:4, 5) No-tice that those congregations prosperedas a result of their loyal cooperation withthe governing body in Jerusalem. Is thatnot proof of Jehovah’s blessing on the ar-rangement by means of which his Sonfed the congregations? Let us rememberthat spiritual prosperity is possible onlywith Jehovah’s rich blessing.—Prov. 10:22; 1 Cor. 3:6, 7.

12 Thus far we have seen that Jesusfollowed a pattern when feeding his fol-lowers: He fed many through the handsof a few. The channel he used for spiri-tual feeding was clearly recognizable.After all, the apostles—the originalmembers of the governing body—couldprovide visible proof of heavenly back-ing. “Through the hands of the apos-tles many signs and portents continuedto occur among the people,” states Acts5:12.[4] Hence, there was no reason forthose who became Christians to wonder,‘Who really are the ones through whomChrist is feeding his sheep?’ But by theend of the first century, the situationchanged.

WHEN THE WEEDS WERE MANY

AND THE BLADES OF WHEAT FEW

13 Jesus foretold that the Christiancongregation would come under at-tack. Remember, in his prophetic illus-tration of the wheat and the weeds, Je-sus warned that a newly planted fieldof wheat (anointed Christians) would beoversown with weeds (imitation Chris-tians). The groups, he said, would be al-lowed to grow side by side—undisturbeduntil the harvest, which would come

13, 14. (a) What warning did Jesus give aboutan attack, and when did his words begin tocome true? (b) From what two quarters wouldthe attack come? (See endnote.)

at “a conclusion of a system of things.”(Matt.13:24-30, 36-43) It was not long be-fore Jesus’ words began to come true.[5]

14 The apostasy made some inroadsin the first century, but Jesus’ faithfulapostles acted “as a restraint,” holdingback the contamination and influence offalse teachings. (2 Thess. 2:3, 6, 7) How-ever, once the last of the apostles died,the apostasy took root and flourishedduring a long growing season that last-ed for many centuries. Additionally, dur-ing that time, the weeds became manyand the blades of wheat were few. Therewas no consistent, organized channelfor dispensing spiritual food. That wouldeventually change. But the question is,When?

HARVESTTIME

—WHO WOULD DO THE FEEDING?

15 As the end of the growing seasonneared, there were strong stirrings of in-terest in Bible truth. Recall that in the1870’s, a small group of sincere truth-seekers got together and formed Bibleclasses apart from the weeds—imitationChristians within the churches and sectsof Christendom. With humble heartsand open minds, those sincere Bible Stu-dents, as they called themselves, made acareful and prayerful search of the Scrip-tures.—Matt. 11:25.

16 The Bible Students’ diligent studyof the Scriptures yielded rich results.Those loyal men and women exposedfalse doctrines and spread spiritualtruths, publishing and distributing Bibleliterature far and wide. Their work wonthe hearts and convinced the minds ofmany who were hungering and thirstingfor spiritual truth. An intriguing ques-

15, 16. The Bible Students’ diligent study ofthe Scriptures yielded what results, and whatquestion arises?

JULY 15, 2013 19

tion therefore arises: Were the Bible Stu-dents in the years that led up to 1914 theappointed channel through which Christwould feed his sheep? No. They werestill in the growing season, and the ar-rangement for a channel to provide spiri-tual food was still taking shape. The timehad not yet come for the weedlike imita-tion Christians to be separated from thetrue Christian wheat.

17 As we learned in the preceding ar-ticle, the harvest season began in 1914.In that year, a number of important de-velopments began to unfold. Jesus wasenthroned as King, and the last days be-gan. (Rev. 11:15) From 1914 to the earlypart of 1919, Jesus accompanied his Fa-ther to the spiritual temple to do a much-needed inspection and cleansing work.[6]

(Mal. 3:1-4) Then, starting in 1919, it wastime to begin gathering the wheat. Wasit finally the time for Christ to appointone organized channel to dispense spiri-tual food? Yes, indeed!

18 In his prophecy about the time ofthe end, Jesus foretold that he would

17. What important developments began tounfold in 1914?18. Jesus foretold that he would make what ap-pointment, and what was the critical questionas the last days got under way?

appoint a channel to give out spiritual“food at the proper time.” (Matt. 24:45-47) Which channel would he use? Trueto the pattern he set in the first centu-ry, Jesus would once again feed manythrough the hands of a few. But as thelast days were just getting under way,the critical question was, Who will bethe few? That and other questions aboutJesus’ prophecy will be discussed in thenext article.

ENDNOTES:


Paragraph 3: [1] On a later occasion,when Jesus miraculously fed 4,000 men,besides women and children, he againgave the food “to the disciples, the dis-ciples in turn to the crowds.”—Matt.15:32-38.

Paragraph 7: [2] During Peter’s lifetime,the “little sheep” who would be fed allcherished the heavenly hope.

Paragraph 8: [3] The fact that new believ-ers “continued devoting themselves to the

teaching of the apostles” implies that theapostles were teaching on a regular basis.Some of the apostles’ teaching was per-manently recorded in the inspired booksthat are now part of the Christian GreekScriptures.

Paragraph 12: [4] While others besidesthe apostles received miraculous gifts ofthe spirit, it seems that in most cases, themiraculous gifts were passed on to othersdirectly by or in the presence of an apos-tle.—Acts 8:14-18; 10:44, 45.

Paragraph 13: [5] The apostle Paul’swords found at Acts 20:29, 30 show thatthe congregation would be attacked fromtwo quarters. First, imitation Christians(“weeds”) would “enter in among” trueChristians. Second, “from among” trueChristians, some would become apos-tates, speaking “twisted things.”

Paragraph 17: [6] See the article “Look! IAm With You All the Days,” in this issue,page 11, paragraph 6.

In the first century, there was clear evidence of whomJesus was using to feed the congregation(See paragraph 12)

“BROTHERS, I cannot begin to count the times youhave put into my hands articles that contained justwhat I needed when I needed it most.” That is howone sister expressed her appreciation in a letter tothe brothers who work at our world headquarters.Can you identify with her? Many of us can. Shouldthat surprise us? Not really.

2 The timely spiritual food we receive is proof thatJesus, the Head of the congregation, is keeping hispromise to feed us. Through whom is he doing so?When giving the sign of his presence, Jesus said thathe would use “the faithful and discreet slave” to give“food at the proper time” to his domestics.[1] (ReadMatthew 24:45-47.) That faithful slave is the channelthrough which Jesus is feeding his true followers inthis time of the end. It is vital that we recognize thefaithful slave. Our spiritual health and our relation-ship with God depend on this channel.—Matt. 4:4;John 17:3.

3 How, then, are we to understand Jesus’ illustra-tion about the faithful slave? In the past, our publica-tions have said the following: At Pentecost 33 C.E.,Jesus appointed the faithful slave over his domes-tics. The slave represents all anointed Christians onearth as a group at any one time since then. The do-mestics refer to the same anointed ones as individu-als. In 1919, Jesus appointed the faithful slave “overall his belongings”—all his earthly Kingdom interests.However, further careful study and prayerful medita-tion indicate that our understanding of Jesus’ wordsabout the faithful and discreet slave needs to be clar-ified. (Prov. 4:18) Let us examine the illustration and

1, 2. Through what channel is Jesus feeding us today, andwhy is it vital that we recognize that channel?3. What have our publications stated about the illustration ofthe faithful slave?

“WHO REALLY ISTHE FAITHFUL ANDDISCREET SLAVE?”

“Who really is thefaithful and discreetslave whom his masterappointed over hisdomestics?”—MATT. 24:45.

CAN YOU FIND THE ANSWERS?

��

Who is the faithful and discreet

slave?

��

Who are the domestics, and

when did Jesus appoint the

faithful slave over them?

��

When will Christ appoint the

faithful slave over all his belong-

ings, and what will they include?

20 THE WATCHTOWER

JULY 15, 2013 21

how it involves us, whether we have theheavenly or the earthly hope.

WHEN IS THE ILLUSTRATION FULFILLED?

4 The context of the illustration of thefaithful and discreet slave shows thatit began to be fulfilled, not at Pente-cost 33 C.E., but in this time of the end.Let us see how the Scriptures lead us tothis conclusion.

5 The illustration of the faithful slaveis part of Jesus’ prophecyabout “the signof [his] presence and of the conclusionof the system of things.” (Matt. 24:3) Thefirst portion of the prophecy, recordedat Matthew 24:4-22, has two fulfillments—first, in the years from 33 C.E. through70 C.E., and second, in a more far-reaching way in our day. Does this meanthat Jesus’ words about the faithful slavewould also have two fulfillments? No.

6 Starting with the words recorded atMatthew 24:29, Jesus focused primarilyon events that would happen in our day.(Read Matthew 24:30, 42, 44.) Speakingabout what will happen during the greattribulation, he said that people “will seethe Son of man coming on the clouds ofheaven.” Then, in words meant for thoseliving during the last days, he urgedvigilance, saying: “You do not know onwhat day your Lord is coming” and, “Atan hour that you do not think to be it,the Son of man is coming.”[2] In this con-text—when speaking about events thatwould take place in the last days—Je-sus related the illustration of the faithfulslave. Therefore, we may conclude thathis words about that faithful slave beganto be fulfilled only after the last days be-gan in 1914. Such a conclusion makessense. Why is that?

4-6. Why may we conclude that Jesus’ illustra-tion of the faithful slave began to be fulfilledonly after 1914?

7 Think, for a moment, about thequestion: “Who really is the faithfuland discreet slave?” In the first century,there was hardly a reason to ask such aquestion. As we saw in the preceding ar-ticle, the apostles could perform mira-cles and even transmit miraculous giftsas proof of divine backing. (Acts 5:12)So why would anyone need to ask whoreally was appointed by Christ to takethe lead? In 1914, however, the situationwas much different. The harvest seasonbegan in that year. The time had final-ly arrived to separate the weeds fromthe wheat. (Matt. 13:36-43) As the har-vest season began, a vital question thusarose: With many imitation Christiansclaiming to be Jesus’ true followers,how could the wheat—anointed Chris-tians—be identified? The illustrationof the faithful slave provided an answer.Christ’s anointed followers would be theones who were well-fed spiritually.

WHO IS THE FAITHFUL

AND DISCREET SLAVE?

8 The faithful slave must be made upof anointed Christians on earth. Suchones are called “a royal priesthood” andhave been commissioned to “ ‘declareabroad the excellencies’ of the one thatcalled [them] out of darkness into hiswonderful light.” (1 Pet. 2:9) It is only fit-ting that members of that “royal priest-hood” have a direct share in teaching fel-low believers the truth.—Mal. 2:7; Rev.12:17.

9 Do all anointed ones on earth makeup the faithful slave? No. The reality is

7. What vital question arose as the harvest sea-son began, and why?8. Why is it fitting that the faithful slave bemade up of anointed Christians?9. Do all anointed Christians make up thefaithful slave? Explain.

22 THE WATCHTOWER

that not all anointed ones have a rolein dispensing spiritual food to fellowbelievers worldwide. Among the wheatare anointed brothers who may serve asministerial servants or elders in their lo-cal congregation. They teach from houseto house and in their congregation, andthey loyally support the direction fromheadquarters. But they do not have apart in dispensing spiritual food to theworldwide brotherhood. Also amongthe anointed are humble sisters, whowould never try to assume the role ofteachers in the congregation.—1 Cor.11:3; 14:34.

10 Who, then, is the faithful and dis-creet slave? In keeping with Jesus’ pat-tern of feeding many through the handsof a few, that slave is made up of asmall group of anointed brothers who aredirectly involved in preparing and dispens-ing spiritual food during Christ’s presence.Throughout the last days, the anointedbrothers who make up the faithfulslave have served together at headquar-ters. In recent decades, that slave hasbeen closely identified with the Govern-

10. Who is the faithful and discreet slave?

ing Body of Jehovah’s Witnesses. Note,however, that the word “slave” in Jesus’illustration is singular, indicating thatthis is a composite slave. The decisions ofthe Governing Body are thus made col-lectively.

WHO ARE THE DOMESTICS?

11 It is noteworthy that in Jesus’ illus-tration, the faithful and discreet slavereceives two distinct appointments.The first is over the domestics; thesecond is over all the master’s be-longings. Since the illustration is ful-filled only in this time of the end, bothappointments would have to come afterJesus’ presence in kingly power began in1914.

12 When did Jesus appoint the faith-ful slave over his domestics? To an-swer that, we need to go back to 1914—the beginning of the harvest season.As we learned earlier, at that time manygroups claimed to be Christian. Fromwhich group would Jesus select and

11, 12. (a) What two appointments does thefaithful and discreet slave receive? (b) Whendid Jesus appoint the faithful slave over his do-mestics, and whom did he select?

Whether ourhope is heavenlyor earthly, weare all domesticsand need thesame timelyspiritual food

“The faithful and

discreet slave”:

A small group of anoint-

ed brothers who are

directly involved in pre-

paring and dispensing

spiritual food during

Christ’s presence.

Today, these anointed

brothers make up the

Governing Body

“His domestics”:

All who are fed, whether

they are of the anointed

or of the other sheep

“Appointed over

his domestics”:

In 1919, Jesus selected

capable anointed broth-

ers to be his faithful

and discreet slave

“He will appoint

him over all his

belongings”:

Those who make up the

composite slave will get

this appointment when

they receive their heav-

enly reward. Along with

the rest of the 144,000,

they will share Christ’s

vast heavenly authority

DID YOU GET THE POINT?

JULY 15, 2013 23

appoint the faithful slave? That ques-tion was answered after he and hisFather came and inspected the tem-ple, or spiritual arrangement for wor-ship, from 1914 to the early part of1919.[3] (Mal. 3:1) They were pleasedwith a small band of loyal Bible Stu-dents who showed that their heart waswith Jehovah and his Word. Of course,they needed some cleansing, but theyhumbly responded during a brief pe-riod of testing and refining. (Mal. 3:2-4) Those faithful Bible Students weretrue Christian wheat. In 1919, a time ofspiritual revival, Jesus selected capableanointed brothers from among them tobe the faithful and discreet slave andappointed them over his domestics.

13 Who, then, are the domestics? Putsimply, they are those who are fed. Ear-ly in the last days, the domestics wereall anointed ones. Later, the domesticscame to include the great crowd of oth-er sheep. The other sheep now makeup the vast majority of the “one flock”under Christ’s leadership. (John 10:16)

13. Who are included in the domestics, andwhy?

Both groups benefit from the same time-ly spiritual food that is dispensed by thefaithful slave. What about the Govern-ing Body members who today make upthe faithful and discreet slave? Thosebrothers also need to be fed spiritually.Hence, they humbly recognize that as in-dividuals they are domestics just like allthe rest of Jesus’ genuine followers.

14 Jesus placed a weighty responsibil-ity on the faithful and discreet slave.In Bible times, a trusted slave, or stew-ard, was a house manager. (Luke 12:42)The faithful and discreet slave is thuscharged with the responsibility to man-age the household of faith. That respon-sibility includes overseeing material as-sets, the preaching activity, assemblyand convention programs, and the pro-duction of Bible literature for use in thefield ministry and in personal and con-gregation study. The domestics dependon all the spiritual provisions dispensedby the composite slave.

14. (a) The faithful slave is charged with whatresponsibility, and what does this include?(b) What warning did Jesus give to the faithfuland discreet slave? (See the box “If Ever ThatEvil Slave . . .”)

24 THE WATCHTOWER

APPOINTED OVER ALL

THE MASTER’S BELONGINGS—WHEN?

15 When does Jesus make the secondappointment—“over all his belongings”?Jesus said: “Happy is that slave if hismaster on arriving [literally, “havingcome,” ftn.] finds him doing so. Truly Isay to you, He will appoint him over allhis belongings.” (Matt. 24:46, 47) Notethat Jesus makes the second appoint-ment after he arrives and finds that theslave has been “doing so,” that is, faith-fully dispensing spiritual food. So therewould be an interval between the twoappointments. To understand how andwhen Jesus appoints the slave over allhis belongings, we need to know twothings: when he arrives and what his be-longings include.

15, 16. When does Jesus appoint the faithfulslave over all his belongings?

16 When does Jesus arrive? The an-swer is found in the context. Rememberthat when the preceding verses speakof Jesus as “coming,” the word refers tothe time when he comes to pronounceand execute judgment at the end of thissystem.[4] (Matt. 24:30, 42, 44) Hence, Je-sus’ “arriving,” or “coming,” mentionedin the illustration of the faithful slavetakes place during the great tribulation.

17 What do “all [Jesus’] belongings”include? Jesus did not qualify the word“all,” as if to limit his belongings toearthly things. In fact, Jesus has vastheavenly authority. “All authority hasbeen given me in heaven and on theearth,” he said. (Matt. 28:18; Eph. 1:20-23) His belongings now include theMessianic Kingdom, which has be-longed to him since 1914 and which he

17. What do Jesus’ belongings include?

Jesus has placed the weighti-est of responsibil ities on thefaithful and discreet slave—name-ly, overseeing the domesticsand giving out spiritual food atthe proper time. Jesus knew thatthose with greater responsibilityhave greater accountability. (Luke12:48) Hence, he concluded hisillustration about the faithful anddiscreet slave with a powerfulwarning.

Jesus warned about an evilslave who concludes in his heartthat the master is delaying andwho star ts to beat his fellowslaves. When the master arrives,said Jesus, he will punish that evilslave “with the greatest severity.”—Read Matthew 24:48-51.

Was Jesus foretelling that therewould be an evil slave class in thelast days? No. Granted, some in-dividuals have manifested a spir-it similar to that of the evil slavedescribed by Jesus. We wouldcall them apostates, whether theywere of the anointed or of the“great crowd.” (Rev. 7:9) But suchones do not make up an evil slaveclass. Jesus did not say that hewould appoint an evil slave. Hiswords here are actually a warn-ing directed to the faithful and dis-creet slave.

Notice that Jesus introducesthe warning with the words “ifever.” One scholar says that in theGreek text, this passage “for allpractical purposes is a hypotheti-

cal condition.” In effect, Jesus wassaying: ‘If the faithful and discreetslave were ever to mistreat hisfellow slaves in these ways, thisis what the master will do whenhe arrives.’ (See also Luke 12:45.)However, the composite faithfuland discreet slave has continuedto keep on the watch and to pro-vide nourishing spiritual food.

The anointed brothers who to-gether serve as the faithful slaverecognize that they are account-able to the Master for the way theycare for his domestics. The heart-felt desire of these anointed broth-ers is to fulfill their responsibilityloyally so that they might hear a“well done” from the Master whenhe finally arrives.

“IF EVER THAT EVIL SLAVE . . .”

JULY 15, 2013 25

will share with his anointed followers.—Rev. 11:15.

18 In view of the foregoing, what canwe conclude? When Jesus comes forjudgment during the great tribulation,he will find that the faithful slave hasbeen loyally dispensing timely spiritu-al food to the domestics. Jesus will thendelight in making the second appoint-ment—over all his belongings. Thosewho make up the faithful slave willget this appointment when they receivetheir heavenly reward, becoming co-rulers with Christ.

19 Does the faithful slave receive agreater reward in heaven than the restof the anointed? No. A reward prom-ised to a small group in one setting mayultimately be shared by others. For ex-ample, consider what Jesus said to his11 faithful apostles the night before hedied. (Read Luke 22:28-30.) Jesus prom-ised that small group of men that a finereward awaited them for their faithful-ness. They would share his throne ofkingly authority. But years later, he indi-cated that all of the 144,000 will sit onthrones and share his rulership. (Rev.1:1; 3:21) Similarly, as stated at Matthew24:47, he promised that a small group of

18. Why will Jesus delight in making the ap-pointment over all his belongings?19. Does the faithful slave receive a greater re-ward in heaven than the rest of the anointed?Explain.

men—the anointed brothers who makeup the faithful slave—will be appointedover all his belongings. In reality, all ofthe 144,000 will share his vast heavenlyauthority.—Rev. 20:4, 6.

20 By means of the faithful and dis-creet slave, Jesus is following the patternhe set in the first century—feeding manythrough the hands of a few. Jesus ap-pointed that faithful slave to ensure thathis genuine followers—whether of theanointed or of the other sheep—wouldhave a steady supply of timely spiritualfood throughout the last days. Let us bedetermined to show our appreciation bygiving our loyal support to the anointedbrothers who make up that faithful anddiscreet slave.—Heb. 13:7, 17.

20. Why did Jesus appoint the faithful slave,and what is your determination?

ENDNOTES:


Paragraph 2: [1] On an earlier occasion,Jesus related a similar illustration in whichhe referred to the “slave” as a “steward”and to the “domestics” as “his body of at-tendants.”—Luke 12:42-44.

Paragraph 6: [2] Christ’s “coming” (Greek,er�kho·mai) is different from his “pres-ence” (pa·rou·si�a). His invisible presencebegins before his coming to execute judg-ment.

Paragraph 12: [3] See the article “Look! IAm With You All the Days,” in this issue,pages 10-12, paragraphs 5-8.

Paragraph 16: [4] See the article “Tell Us,When Will These Things Be?” in this issue,pages 7-8, paragraphs 14-18.

All of the 144,000 will share Jesus’ vastheavenly authority(See paragraph 19)

On Wednesday morning, September 5, 2012, it

was announced to the United States and Canada

Bethel families that a new member had been added

to the Governing Body of Jehovah’s Witnesses. Effec-

tive September 1, 2012, Mark Sanderson began to

serve in that capacity.

Brother Sanderson was raised in San Diego, Cali-

fornia, U.S.A., by his Christian parents and was bap-

tized on February 9, 1975. He began to serve as

a pioneer in Saskatchewan, Canada, on Septem-

ber 1, 1983. In December 1990, he graduated from

the seventh class of the Ministerial Training School

(now called the Bible School for Single Brothers) in

the United States. Brother Sanderson was appointed

to serve as a special pioneer on the island of New-

foundland, Canada, in April 1991. After serving as

a substitute circuit overseer, he was invited to be-

come a member of the Canada Bethel family in Feb-

ruary 1997. In November 2000, he was transferred to

the United States branch, where he worked in Hospi-

tal Information Services and later in the Service De-

partment.

In September 2008, Brother Sanderson attend-

ed the School for Branch Committee Members and

thereafter was appointed as a member of the Phil-

ippines Branch Committee. In September 2010, he

was invited to return to the United States, where he

served as a helper to the Service Committee of the

Governing Body.

A New Member of theGoverning Body

Present Membersof the Governing Body

Back row, left to right:

D. H. Splane, A. Morris III,

D. M. Sanderson, G. W. Jackson,

M. S. Lett. Front row, left to right:

S. F. Herd, G. L¨osch, G. H. Pierce.

All members of the Governing Body

are anointed Christians

JULY 15, 2013 27

THAT was in 1949, more than 60 years ago, butmy story begins many years earlier. My father,Hendrik, worked as a shoemaker and gardener inDonderen, a small village in north Drenthe, in theNetherlands. I was born there in 1927, the fourthof seven children. Our house stood on a dirt roadin a rural district. Most of our neighbors werefarmers, and I enjoyed farm life. In 1947, when Iwas 19 years old, I came in contact with the truththrough one of our neighbors, Theunis Been. Iremember that I didn’t like Theunis when I firstmet him, but shortly after World War II, he be-came one of Jehovah’s Witnesses, and I noticedthat he was much friendlier than he had been be-fore. This change in personality intrigued me, so Ilistened to him when he talked to me about God’spromise of a paradise earth. I quickly acceptedthe truth, and we became lifelong friends.�

I started preaching in May 1948, and the verynext month, on June 20, I was baptized at a con-vention in Utrecht. On January 1, 1949, I beganpioneering and was assigned to Borculo, in east-ern Netherlands, where there was a small con-gregation. I had to travel some 80 miles (130 km)to get there, so I decided to go on my bicycle. Ithought it would take me about 6 hours, but be-cause of the heavy rain and a strong headwind, ittook 12 hours, even though I took the train for thefinal 55 miles (90 km)! Late in the evening, I at last

� Over the years, my father, my mother, an older sister, andtwo of my brothers also became Witnesses.

LIFE STORY

Eager toServe Jehovah—No MatterWhereAS TOLD BY

MARKUS AND JANNYHARTLIEF

Never before had I preached on my own.I was so nervous that my legs wereshaking each time I went out. To makematters worse, the territory was extremelyunreceptive. Some people were outrightaggressive and threatened to beat me up.During the first month of my pioneerservice, I placed only one booklet!—Markus.

reached my destination, the home of a Witnessfamily with whom I stayed while I pioneered inthat area.

In those postwar years, people had few posses-sions. All I had was one suit and a pair of pants—the suit too big, the pants too short! As I men-tioned in the introduction, the first month in Bor-culo was difficult, but Jehovah blessed me withseveral Bible studies. After nine months, I was as-signed to Amsterdam.

FROM THE COUNTRYSIDE TO THE CITY

Having been raised in an agricultural district,I now found myself in Amsterdam, the largestcity in the Netherlands. The ministry was veryproductive. In the first month, I placed more lit-erature than I had in the previous nine months. Iwas soon conducting no fewer than eight Biblestudies. After being appointed as congregationservant (now called the coordinator of the bodyof elders), I received an assignment to give myfirst public talk. To me, it was a daunting pros-pect, so I heaved a huge sigh of relief when I wastransferred to another congregation just before Iwas scheduled to deliver it. Little did I know thenthat over the years, I would give more than 5,000talks!

In May 1950, I was assigned to Haarlem. I thenreceived an invitation to the circuit work. I couldhardly sleep for three days. I told Robert Winkler,one of the brothers serving at the branch office,that I didn’t feel qualified, but he said: “Just fillout the papers. You’ll learn.” Shortly after that, Iwas given a month’s training and started to serveas a circuit servant (overseer). During a visit toone of the congregations, I met Janny Taatgen, acheerful young pioneer with a deep love for Jeho-vah and a self-sacrificing spirit. We got marriedin 1955. But before I continue my story, Janny willexplain how she became a pioneer and how weserved together after we got married.

SERVING AS A MARRIED COUPLE

Janny: My mother became a Witness in 1945when I was 11 years old. She immediately saw

the importance of studying the Bible with herthree children, but my father was opposed to thetruth, so she taught us when he was not at home.

The first meeting I attended was a conventionin The Hague in 1950. One week later, I attend-ed my first meeting at the local Kingdom Hall inAssen (Drenthe). My father was furious and putme out of the house. My mother said, “You knowwhere you can live.” I knew she was referring tomy spiritual brothers and sisters. I first movedin with a Witness family who lived nearby, butmy father was still making life difficult for me, soI moved to the congregation in Deventer (Over-ijssel), which was some 60 miles (95 km) away.

Top: Markus (far right) doing street worknear Amsterdam in 1950Bottom: Janny (far right) vacationpioneering in 1952Right: Our wedding day in 195528

However, I was a minor, so my father got in trou-ble with the civil authorities for making me leavehis house. As a result, he told me I could comeback home. Although my father never acceptedthe truth, he eventually allowed me to attend allthe meetings and to go out preaching.

Shortly after I returned home, my mother be-came severely ill and I had to do all the house-work. In spite of this, I continued to make spiri-tual progress and was baptized in 1951 at the ageof 17. In 1952, after Mother recovered from herillness, I served together with three pioneer sis-ters for two months as a vacation (auxiliary) pio-neer. We lived on a houseboat and preached in

two towns inDrenthe. I became a regular pioneerin 1953. One year later, a young circuit overseervisited our congregation. That was Markus. Wegot married in May 1955, as we felt that we couldserve Jehovah better as a couple.—Eccl. 4:9-12.

Markus: After our wedding, at first we wereassigned as pioneers to Veendam (Groningen).We lived in a tiny room that measured only aboutseven by ten feet (2 by 3 m). All the same, Jannymade the room nice and cozy. Every night, wehad to move our table and two small chairs outof the way to let down the wall bed.

After six months, we were invited to the trav-eling work in Belgium. In 1955, there were onlyabout 4,000 publishers in the country. Now thereare six times that number! In Flanders, in thenorth of Belgium, people speak the same lan-guage as in the Netherlands. However, the Bel-gian accent is quite different, so initially we hadto overcome a language barrier.

Janny: The traveling work calls for a genuineself-sacrificing spirit. We visited the congrega-tions on our bicycles and stayed in the homesof the brothers and sisters. Because we did nothave a place of our own to go to between congre-gations, we stayed through Monday, traveling tothe next congregation on Tuesday morning. Butwe always viewed our service as a blessing fromJehovah.

Markus: At first, we did not know any of thebrothers and sisters in the congregations, butthey were very kind and hospitable. (Heb. 13:2,ftn.) Over the years, we visited all the Dutch-speaking congregations in Belgium severaltimes. This brought us many blessings. For in-stance, we got to know almost all the brothersand sisters in the Dutch district, and they havebecome very dear to us. We have seen hundredsof youngsters grow to physical and spiritual ma-turity and dedicate themselves to Jehovah, put-ting Kingdom interests first in their lives. It’s areal joy to see many of them serve Jehovah faith-fully in the full-time service. (3 John 4) This “in-terchange of encouragement” has made it easy

29

30 THE WATCHTOWER

for us to continue wholeheartedly in our assign-ment.—Rom. 1:12.

A GREAT CHALLENGE AND A REAL BLESSING

Markus: From the day we got married, it wasour desire to attend the Gilead School. Every day,we studied English for at least an hour. How-ever, it wasn’t easy to learn English from books,so we decided to go to England during our va-cation to practice the language while preachingthere. Finally, in 1963 we received an envelopefrom the world headquarters in Brooklyn. It con-tained two letters, one for me and one for Janny.My letter was an invitation to attend a specialten-month class of Gilead. The course would fo-cus mainly on training brothers and giving themorganizational instruction. So of the 100 studentswho were invited, 82 were brothers.

Janny: In the letter I received that day, I wasasked to consider prayerfully whether I would bewilling to stay in Belgium while Markus attend-ed Gilead. I must admit that I was disappoint-ed at first. It seemed that my efforts to reachout had not been blessed by Jehovah. Nonethe-less, I reminded myself of the purpose of GileadSchool—to help those who attend to accomplishthe work of preaching the good news worldwide.So I agreed to stay behind and was assigned toserve as a special pioneer in the Belgian city ofGhent with Anna and Maria Colpaert, two expe-rienced special pioneers.

Markus: Because I had to improve my English,I was invited to go to Brooklyn five months beforethe start of the school. I worked in the Shippingand Service departments. Serving at world head-quarters and helping prepare literature ship-ments to Asia, Europe, and South America mademe more aware of our international brotherhood.I especially remember Brother A. H. Macmillan,who had been in the pilgrim (traveling overseer)work in the days of Brother Russell. He was oldby then and quite deaf, yet he faithfully attendedall the congregation meetings. That left a deepimpression on me and taught me that we should

never take our Christian association for granted.—Heb. 10:24, 25.

Janny: Markus and I corresponded severaltimes a week. We missed each other so much!Yet, Markus enjoyed the training he was receiv-ing at Gilead, and I found real joy in my ministry.By the time Markus came home from the UnitedStates, I was conducting 17 Bible studies! Our be-ing separated for 15 months was certainly a chal-lenge, but I could see that Jehovah blessed us forthe sacrifices we made. The day Markus cameback, the plane was delayed for several hours, sowhen he finally arrived, we cried in each other’sarms. Since then, we have been inseparable.

THANKFUL FOR EVERY PRIVILEGE OF SERVICE

Markus: When I came back from Gilead inDecember 1964, we were assigned to serve atBethel. Although we did not know it at the time,that would not be our permanent assignment.Only three months later, we were assigned tothe district work in Flanders. When Aalzen andEls Wiegersma were sent as missionaries to Bel-

JULY 15, 2013 31

gium, they were assigned to the district work,and we went back to Bethel where I served in theService Department. From 1968 to 1980, our as-signment changed several times from serving atBethel to serving in the traveling work. Finally,from 1980 until 2005, I served again as a districtoverseer.

Although our assignment often changed, wenever lost sight of the fact that we had dedicatedour lives to serve Jehovah whole-souled. We real-ly enjoyed every assignment that we received,confident that the purpose of any changes in ourservice was to advance Kingdom interests.

Janny: I especially enjoyed the exciting privi-lege of going with Markus to Brooklyn in 1977and to Patterson in 1997 when he received addi-tional training as a Branch Committee member.

JEHOVAH KNOWS OUR NEEDS

Markus: In 1982, Janny underwent surgeryand recovered well. Three years later, the congre-gation in Louvain kindly offered us an apartmentabove their Kingdom Hall. For the first time in 30

years, we had a little place of our own. On Tues-day, whenwe packed up to start our visit to a con-gregation, I had to go down and up the 54 stepsseveral times to take our luggage down! Thank-fully, in 2002 arrangements were made so that wecould have an apartment on the ground floor. Af-ter I turned 78 years of age, we were assigned asspecial pioneers in the town of Lokeren. We arevery happy that we can serve in this way and thatwe can still go in service every day.

Janny: Altogether we have spent over 120years in the full-time service! We have expe-rienced firsthand the truthfulness of Jehovah’spromise that ‘he will by no means leave us’ andthat if we serve him faithfully, we will ‘not lack athing.’—Heb. 13:5; Deut. 2:7.

Markus: When we were young, we dedicatedourselves to Jehovah. We never looked for greatthings for ourselves. We have been willing to ac-cept any assignment offered to us because wefirmly believe that it is not important where weserve nor in what capacity but, rather, whom weserve.

“We firmly believe

that it is not

important where we

serve nor in what

capacity but, rather,

whom we serve”

w1

3 0

7/1

5-E

13

03

19

How many times have you said that to your-

self or to others when you opened a new issue of

this magazine? The beautiful pictures and photo-

graphs that are painstakingly produced are there

for a purpose. They are teaching aids that make

us think and feel. They can be especially helpful

when we prepare for and participate in the Watch-

tower Study.

For example, give some thought to why the first

illustration of each study article was chosen for

that article. What does it portray? How does it re-

late to the title of the article or to the theme scrip-

ture? With every other illustration, think of how it

relates to the subject under discussion and to your

own life.

The Watchtower Study conductor will want to

give the congregation the opportunity to comment

on each picture, to tell how it applies to the lesson

or what impact it has on them personally. In some

cases, a note is provided in the caption that links a

picture to a specific paragraph. In others, the con-

ductor may decide with which paragraph it would

be best to discuss each picture. In this way, all

will benefit fully from what has been done to help

the reader visualize the lessons that are found in

God’s Word.

One brother put it this way, “After reading a won-

derfully written article, the pictures are the icing

on the cake.”

“Look at the Artwork!”

sFree downloads of this

magazine and other

publications are

available on www.jw.org

You can also read the

New World Translationonline

Visit www.jw.org,

or scan codeno

p

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watchtower july 15, 2013

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