watchtower: model study of vital bible questions #1, 1937

8/20/2019 Watchtower: Model Study of Vital Bible Questions #1, 1937

1/68

MO EL STU Y


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MO EL STU Y


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COI YRTOHT, 937

ND

PUDLISHEI

DY

W TC H TO WER

BruLE A1 m TRA(, T

SOCIETY

Brooklyn, N. Y.,

U

S A

Mode

In tbe United Stntes

of

America


5/68

MODEL STUDY

OF V IT L I LE QUESTIONS

ANY

P

ERSONS

who desire to study the

Bible

advantag

eously have

l

equested

an

outline of a model study which they

may

follow with profit. The family

at

Bethel, Brook

lyn, N. Y., under the direction of a compete

nt

leader, r ecently conducted such a study

of

the

booklet

n ovue and

also Protection and a

record of such study

wa

s made,

and appears

in the following

pag

es.

Let

the

meeting be conducted

in

th

e follow

ing manne

r:

A compete

nt

man, devoted to ilie

Lord

should be selected as

chairma

n to le

ad

the

study

. Meeting should be opened with

pTayer, asking God s direction

thr

ough

Christ

J esus.

Every per

son attending should

be

pro

vided with

th

e b

oo

klet

that

is bei

ng

st

udied.

n ample supply of

Bibl

es also should be on

han

d.

A good phonograpll, with ilie r ecords

Nos. P-61-A-P-96-R, al

so

should be provided.

Begin the study

by l epro

cluc

ing

on the phono

graph

record No. P -61-A. Then the leader should

r

ea

d the first question

set

out

below,

and

have

some person in the

audi

en

ce

who

read

s

flu

e

ntly

to read tlle answer immediately followin g the

qu

estion.

Th

e same

or another

compet

ent

per-

3


6/68

4

son should

read

the

Scripture texts that

are

cited.

f

desired,

after

the

question

is

propound

ed and the answer below is read and

the

Bible

texts are

also read,

then the

paragraph in the

booklet

under

consideration at th e place cited

immed

iately

following

the

question should also

be read as a sum-up, This done, the next ques

t ion should be taken up

and

considered in like

manner and so on

lmtil

one

hour

is occupied.

f

the points

covered in the phonograph recol d

No. P-61-A are finished before the

hour

is up,

then take up No. P-62-B and follow in like mau

ner

as above outlined. The meeting should close

promptly

at the end of the hour.

At

the next

meeting following, the

study

should be

tak

en

up where left off

at

the previous meeting.


7/68

MODEL STUDY

QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS ·

ON TH

BOOKLET

UNCOVERED

Phonograph Lecture No.

P·61-A

E t

poled

Q. Who is the author of fraud,

and

what is his

purpose' (Page 3 1l2

A.

According to

Je

su

s '

statement

at John

8: 44

the Devil is the

father of

lies, hence

of fmud and

deception. (Revelation 12: 9) He has a selfish purpose,

nod so do his instruments, to

wit,

to reproach the

namc of J ehovah God, and to gain control of

the

people and separate them from

God,

with resulting

hurt

and lo

ss to thcm.-2 Corinthians 4: 3, 4; 11: 13-15.

Q.

What is

the protection against

fraud' (Page

3 1l3

A. The truth as set forth in the Holy Scriptures

or

Bible, and which exposes all

fraud and

teaches

that which is

true

and rightcous. See Psahus 33: 4;

119: 105; 19: 7-11;

Ephes

ians 5: 13; Proverbs 3: 5,6.

Q. How can an honest person avoid

that

which

will work injury to him (Page 4 I l l

A. By gaining knowledge of Jehovah's purposes

nnd

finding out what arc Satan s lies which have de-

frauded

niillions

of

rights, liberty, happiness

and

property

. To receive protection one must lea

rn

who

h

is enemies al C,

and who can give protection, and

then must seek it in God s

way.-Provcrbs

18: 10.

o


8/68

A M O E L S T U Y O

Q. What i.s meant

y

the term ' Ihicl'ul'cby'

Who form the Hierarchy, and is

it

Script ural

(Page 4 n2

A. Hierarchy means dominion or authority

in sacred things". (Webster) The Official Catholic

Dir tory for

1935

states: " The Catholic Hierarchy,

or

tbe governing body of

tbe

Catholic Churcb, con·

sists of His Holiness the Supreme Pontiff [tbe popc],

assisted by the Sacred College of Cardinals and by

several Sacred Congregat.ions, 01 permanent ecclesi-

astical committees,

of

which the Cm'dinals arc the

chief members ; by the Patriarchs, Archbishops and

Bishops; by thc Apostolic Nuncios and Delegates,

Vicars and Prefects, and by certain Abbots and other

Prelates." (See

Riches

page

228

n2. I t

is based on

the unscriptural teaching

of

ambitious religionists that

there is a difference between clergy and laity, and

by

this the clergy have lifted themselves np above the

congregations, contrary to Jesus' wOlds: CI One is your

\iaster, even Christ; and all ye are brethrcn. "- \iat·

thew 23: 8 10.

Q. Was it Scripturally proper to challenge the

Roman Catholic Hicrarchy to debate (Page 4

n3

A. Yes. This cballenge and petition for tbe debate

is only one maniiestation of the work that J ehovah

God is carrying on . He now has a controversy

with those opposing his witnesses on the earth (Jere·

miah 25: 31), and it is a warfare between truth and

error.

At

Isaiah 41: 21·23 the Lord calls upon the

opposers to produce their arguments; and

at

Isaiah

43 : 8·10 challenges such to produce tbeir witnesses

and then for the people

to

bear his witnesses and say,

HIt

is truth.

J


9/68

V I T L B I B L E Q U E S T IO NS

7

Q. Docs Judge Rutherford's discussion of th e

Hiera

rchy's

teachings mean he is against the "Cath

olic

population"

(Page 5

111

A. No.

t

is for the aid

and

benefit

and

enlight

enment of all honest Catholics

and

all others who

want

to know

the truth,

enabling them to compare tbe Cath

olic church

tea

chings with the true teachings of the

Holy

Scriptures

and

then to take the

right

course.

Q.

Since

Jud

ge

Rut

he

r fo

rd

cites all to

the

B ible

for proof, is the Bible suffic

ient for

us, or is the Roman

Catholic Hierarchy a living teaching body or magis

ter ium and more important, necessary and reliable

than the Bible 7 (Page 5

1)

A.

At

I saiah 8: 20 God says (accOl'ding to

the

Cathojjc

Douay Ve,-sio»

: "To the law rather, and

to

the

testimony.

And

i f

they

speak

not

according

to

this

word,

they

shall

not

have the morning light.

The apostle Paul wrote:

"Prove

all

things;

hold fust

tbnt

which is good. (1 Thessalonians

5:

21)

After

Paul had taught

the

people of Berea, as

tbe

account

suys, these were more noble than those n

h

essa-

lonica,

in

that

they

received

the

word with all read

iness of mind,

and

searched the scriptures daily,

whether those things were so." (Acts 17: 10,11) TIllS

proves that

the

teaching

of any

man, even

an

apostie

like Paul, is absolutely worthless

and

unreliable un

less in harmony witl, God's Word,

and

hence the

written

Word of God iq more important

and

neces

sary

than

any

men such

as

the

Hierarchy_

As

Isaiah

30: 20

and

54: 13,

and John

6: 45, show,

the

only

teachers now are the heavenly,

to

wit, J ehovah God

and Christ

Jesus.

As contrasting the

Holy Scriptures

and

the Hierarchy

or

other

would-be teachers, sec


10/68

8

A M O E L S T U Y

el

2 Timothy

3:

15-17; Colossians 2:

8;

Revelation 22:

18,19; 2 Timothy 4: 3,4; Matthew

15

: 1-9; Proverhs

30:

5 6.

Pho

no

gTaph

Lectu

re No .

P-62

-B

Exposed

Q.

How

do we

lmow

that Judge

Rutherford is not

misrepresenting Catholic church teachings (Page

6 n1

A. Because he quotes the words of their own lead

ing spokesmen and goes

to

recognized Catholic

u-

thorities for statements of their doctrines.

Q. Does the

word purgatory

occur in the Cath

olic Bible,

or

the

Prot

estant or the Hebrew, and

wherc and does it tcach that living souls are thereT

(Page

n2,3

A.

No version of the Bible, Catholic

or

other, men

tions the word purgatory cven once. The Bible does

not even suggest the existence of such a place, but

shows everything to the contrary.

Q. Does not the doctrine of purgatory give

comfort

to

millions of sincere Catholics, and is

it

not

unkind and crnel

to

take this comfort from them T

(Page 6

n3

A. No_

Whatever of comfort tills doctrine givcs

is

not

a Scriptural, but a false comfort, whereas thc

doctrine causes mostly a great te

rror

and distress of

mind both for the living Catholies and also concern

ing their dead and has been a means whereby they

have been induced to

hand

over to the Hierarchy

much hard-earned money which such mentally di

s-

tressed Catholics needed more for thcir own personal

bodily comforts and necessities. Besides, the doctrine

misreprescnts the great

God of love, and is therefore

a defamation of his name. Hence it is a mercy

nd


11/68

VIT

L

DIBLE QUEST IONS

kin dness

to

show anyone ~ h c truth con

ccMllng t

pur

gatory .

The Holy Scriptures give thc true

and

sat-

isfying comfort, because Jehovah

God

is the

God

of all comfort; who comfortcth us

in

all our tribula-

tion, that we may be able to comfort them which are

in any trouble, by the comfort wherewith we ourselves

are comforted of God . Sec 2 Corinthians 1:

3

4 ;

Romans 15: 4.

Q.

From

what is

it that

the

truth

shall make

you free J ohn 8: 32. (Page 7

n2

A. Free from error and falsehoods and from the

religious traditions

of

imperfect men which arc con

trary

to God's Word

and

commandments;

and fr

ee

from the fear and mental suffering and material losses

which such deceptions cause the deceived ones and

free from Satan s fraudulent and oppressive organ

i-

zation and from its S111s.-John 8 :34; ilomans S: 2

2 Timothy

2: 25

26; Romans 6 : 18, 22.

Q. Page 8, paragraph

1

says: UNo one needs to

have some person

interpret

the Bible for him, because

the Scriptures

afC

not

of

private interpretation. (2 Pe

ter

1:20)

In

studying this

booklet arc we

not

having

its author,

Judge

Rutherford,

interpr

et the Scriptures

for us privately and accepting his private inter-

pr

etation

A. No .

Judge

Ruthe

rford

is not attempting

any

pr

ivate interpretation in this booklet,

but

he follows

tile divine rule set forth at 1 Corinthians 2 : 13 (Doua J

Version :

comparing spiritual

things with spiri tual,

J

and thus letting God be the

interpreter

by

His

O ~ l

Scriptures.

Judge

Rutherford s

hows

where the well-

known facts fit the Scriptures

or

where the Scriptures

arc fulfilled by the physical facts whieh

God

has eaused


12/68

10

M O E L

S T U Y

O

to

come

to pass or to be madc known in explanation

of

th

e Scriptures.

Judge

Rutherford merely records

and calls these things to

our

attention, but God by

Christ Jesus is the

int

erpretation-giver. Thus by prov

ing these things by both Scri ptnres

aud

physical facts

we

arc not accepting any private interpretation, but

God s.

Phonograph Lecture No . P -63-C Exposed

Q. 'Vhat is the correct definition of sou 1 (Page

9 111)

A. The soul is the union of the body and the breath

of life (in earthly creatures), and not someU,ing sep

arate and distinct from the body. God did not give

Adam a soul, but

breathed into his nostrils the breath

of

lif

e and he

bec me

a living soul. (Genesis 2:

7;

1 Corinthians

15

: 45) "Soul" also reicrs to the very

existence (as distinguished from the organism). Only

Cod can permanently destroy the existence of the

individual. (Mattbew 10 : 28) Numbers 31: 28 and

Genesis 1:

20,

margin, refer to animals lower than

man as souls .

l h

e word

{(

sou

l

refers

not

merely to living, breath

ing creatures on earU but also and primarily to God,

who

says, If any man draw bac

k,

my soul [that is,

I, the Being] shall have no pleasure in Wm ."-He

hrews 10: 38 .

Q. Where did the teaehing originate

that

man

has a soul that cannot die (Page 9 112)

A.

In

the garden of

Ed

en, where Satan said to

Eve that even i f she ate

of the

forbidden

fruit

she

wonld not die.-Genesis 3:

4.

Q.

Prove from the Scriptures tbat the soul of

man does die. (Page 9 112)


13/68

V I T L fi l

B L E

Q U E S T I O N S

11

A. Ezekiel 18: 4; Ecclesiastes 3: 19; Isaiah 53: 12;

Acts

3:

23;

Numbers

23:

10,

margin; R


14/68

12

M O E L S T U Y O F

also used in Geuesis

G 17 and 7: 15

with reference

to beasts.

n

Ecclesiastes

3: 19-21

are seven statements

showing there is in this respect no difference between

man and the beasts. Verse

21

asks "Who knoweth 1"

01

IIWho can prove there is a difference'

Q. I f

the dead arc not in

"purgatory", are

they

in heaven I Page

10

111

A.

No; the

dead praise not the Lord.

"-Psalm

115:

17;

John

5:28;

John

3:

13;

Matthew 11:

11;

Acts 2:

29,

34.

Phono,grapb

Lecture No.

P·64-D Exposed

Q. Does not the

fact tha t

the

Fathers

of Chris

tendom taught the doctrine of purgatory prove

that

it is

truel

(Page 12

111

A. No; for the same reason that

what

'all the

scribes and Pharisees' taught was not therefore true,

but contrary to Scrjptures. Besides, many of the early

Christian

"fathers"

did

not

teach the doctrine of

"purgatory"

. The Catholic Hierarchy excludcs

their

testimony. See questions

and

answers on

the

subject

of tradition, already considered.)

Q.

Does not 2 Thessalonians

2:

15

Douay, 14)

and 3: G show that Paul r eceived and handed on

"traditions"

Page

13

111

A.

Paul

refers to written and unwritten tradi_

tions . Doubtless the tIDWl itten ones were in entire

harmony with thosc written, and of which we have

a record.

Paul's

rcsponsibility toward the churches

made

it

proper

that

he should issue certain instruc

tions

and that

these should be observed.

Th

ere is here

no reference to anything like 'lpul'gatory or other

teachings

in

direct contradiction of the Word of God.

Matthew 15 : 1-6) Paul's teaching was not received


15/68

V I T L B I B L E

Q U E S T I O N S

13

from men; for he conferred not with

fl

esh and blood.

-Galatians 1: 10-16.

Q.

What warning did

Paul

give concerning the

t.raditions of men (Page 13 Ifl)

A. Colossians 2: 8; Galatians 1: 8.

Q.

Who was

Saul's guide

when

he

was a reli

gionist (Page 13 Ifl)

A. The Devil was his guide, as is shown by what

he did .- l Timothy 1 :

13;

Romans 6: 16.

Q. How has the teaching of I purgatory affected

many sincere persons (Page 14 Ifl)

A. t has turned many away from God and his

Truth, keeping them from learning of Jehovah's gra

cious purposes and bringing them into bondage to

Satan's representatives through fear.

Q.

f

Satan

is

re

sponsible

for

misleading the

peopl

e

docs

that

exonerate the Roman Hierarchy?

(Page 11 ll3; page 14

lll)

A. No; because they

have

been w.1 ing y ignorant.

2 Peter 3: 5.

Q.

Are

religion

and

the traditions of men one

and

the

same thing

(Page

12 lll; page 14 lll)

A.

No;

religion is a

form

of

worship based

upon

the traditions of men,

and

not upon the testimony

of

God s Word.

Paul

proilted in

the Jews'

religion

bec use he was zealous of the traditions

of

the fathers.

-Galatians 1: 14.

PbOb

lrr

ph Lecture No. P 65-£ Exposed

Q.

f

the

doctrine

of

"purgatory"

is not

true

,

how

did it

come to be

so nearly

universally accepted?

(Page 15

lll)

A. Because the Devil is the

great

deceiver

of

the

whole world

and

has deceived

it

into helieving in the


16/68

M O E L

S T U Y

OF

immortality of the Imman soul. (Revelation 12:

9;

2 Corinth;"'ns 4: 4; 1

John

5:

19)

He

found ready

instruments in the so-called church fathersn who

advanced his lies and misrepresentations,

such

as

lp

urg t

ol'Y ,

in n authoritative

manner,

thus keep

ing the people

in

mental darkness.-Isaiah

5:

20; 60: 2.

Q. Can the Catholic

Ollay

Vers·ion Bible

be

used

to support the

"purgatory"

doctrine1 (Page 16 Ul)

A.

No; nor any other version of the Biblc. A few

texts, such

as

Job

19

:

21,

1 Corinthians

3:

15, and, in

the Apocrypha, 2 Machabees 12:

43-46,

are misapplied

in an effort to snpport that doctrine,

but

these texts

have no bearing on the subject. I. hc Douay Version

itsclf

is

vel)' definite in stating

that

the dead are dea

d.

See Ecclesiastes

3: J

9·21;

9: 5,

10; Ezechiel 18:

4, 20

;

Psalm 91:

8,

9.

Q. What does the name

"Apocrypha"

mean

(Page 16 Ul)

A.

t

means something Irhidden or spurious,

hence not genuine, false,

and

not to he accepted as

part

of the inspired Scriptures.

Q.

What

would

be

implied by the Roman Cath·

olic Hierarchy's having to

go to

the Apocrypha hooks

0 try to prove "purgatory" (Page 16 U1)

A. This:

that

they

arc

forced

to go

outside the

inspired Holy Scriptures for support of their

unscnp

-

tural " purgatory " theory. The Apocrypha books were

not accepted by the Jews

or

Israelites as inspired

and

part

of t.he Hebrew Scriptures, nor did Jesus

and

his

apostles ol1ce quote from the Apocrypha books, and

they are therefore not included in the Hehrew Bible

of today. Not

until

1546,

at

the fourth session of the

Council of Trent,

di.d

the Roman Catholic

clll

ll

'ch


17/68

V I T L B I B LE Q U E S T I O N S

nccept the Apocrypha booles as part of the Bible, and

tll'st 300 years

lat

er,

at

the Vatican Council, were

th ese books declared to

b l

inspimd and placed on

an

equal footing with the inspired Scriptures or canon

ical books : this was in 1870. The implication is there

fore

that

the Ol,\y support

for

the

purgatory

theory

is outside of the inspired

Word

of

God

.

Ev

en 2 Mach

abees 12 : 43-46 says nothing of it.

Q.

Whnt

does the word

Catholic

mean (Page

6

\[1

A.

Universal or gellera

l. t

is the opposite to

('Roman , because what is Roman is not catholic or

universal but is national. The expression

HRoma

n

Catholic" is at disagreement with itself.

Q. f

the dead are

not

conscious

in

a

fiery hell ,

purgatory or heaven. whore arc they1 Is there

any

hope for them (Page 16

\[2)

A. In

the King J ames

or

.Ii1dhorilZcd V el·sio. .

Bible heU

n

and

ngraven

arc both used to trans-

lal

e

the

Hebrew word siteol

and meall

the same thing.

TIle A me,..ican Revised Version leaves sheol untrans-

luted . The dead are unconscious

in

sheol

or the grave,

waiting to be awakened and brought forth at the res

urr

ection. All earthly creatures

that

die

go

to hell;

even Jesus at death went there,

that

is, to the Bible

flhell

which is the grave. Where the Common e r ~

sion Bible translates sheol

as

grave , the Catholic

Donn.y Version translates it hell . Compare both

versions

at

Genesis 37:

35;

42: 38;

Job

14:

13;

Psalms

6: 5,6;

49: 14,15 (48: 15, 16 Douay ; also the margin

of I saiah 14 :

9;

Jonah 2: 2 (2: 3

Douay ;

Revelation

20: 13.

Purgatory

does not

exist.

(Ps.Un 145: 4,

] nuay

Therefore

tllC

bope for the dead is the re5u r-


18/68

16

M O E L S T U Y

P

rcction. (Acts 24: 15) Only a few, to wit, the faithful

Christians,

will

ever go

to

heaven, having a rcsurrec.

tion to life there.

John

5: 28,29; Revelation 14: 3,4;

7: 1-8.

Q.

What

does

"resurrection"

mean? (Page 171[1)

A. t means a raising up to life; a causing or

making to stand up again to life" . Jehovah does

this

by Christ

Jesus.-John

6: 44; 5: 21.

-Q.

How does the doctrine

of the

resurrection

demonstrate the falsity

of

the

"purgatory"

theory1

(Page 17

1[1

A.

l'he

purgatory"

theory teaches

the

dead are

alive, conscious. Jesus own words show the dead are

dead, unconscious as

in

slecp_ (John 11: 11-14) Hence,

i f

there were no resurrection,

the

dead would be per

ished. (1 Corinthians 15: 17, 18) The

Scriptures

are

emphatic in stating there shall be a resulTection of

"the

dead", and

that evildoers

shan

come

forth

to

a resurrection of or by judgment.

(John

5:

28,

29 ;

Acts 17: 31; Isaiah 26:

9)

The resurrection doctrine

proves

that the

deceased are dead

and

awaiting

an

awakening, and

Rot

alive

n

some unseen place under-

going purification.

Q.

Matthew 22: 31, 32 reads:

"But

as touchi

ng

the resurrection of

the

dead, have ye

not

read

that

which was spoken unto you

by

God, saying, I am

the

God

of

Abraham,

and

the God of Isaac,

and the

God of Jacob God is

not

tJle God

of

the dead,

but

of the

Hving. Does

not this

scripture

show

the

body

dies

but

tbe soul remains alive? (Page 17 1[1

A. No. When God

uttered

those words to Moses,

other scriptures show, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob

were dead, unconscious n the gl a

e

Those men had


19/68


20/68

18

M O E L S T U Y O f

A. According to the claim of thc Hierarchy,

it

is a bloodless sacrifice ,

n

which their consecrated

bread or wafer is transformed into Christ's fies

h,

and the wine into his blood, and in which the Cath

olic priest indulges. According to this th

eo

ry, Christ

dies evcry time the priest officiates at mass, whereas

the Holy Scriptures say that Christ died once, and

dies no more, and offered just one sacrifice for sins.

To

mal«

a distinction hetween his dying once on the

tree on Calvary

and hi

s s

upp

osed repeated dying at

tile mass is unscriptural.-Romans 6 : 9,

10;

Hebrews

9: 12, 25 -28; 10: 10, 12-14, 1

8.

Q.

Could the sacrifice of the mass r

esult

in

the remi

ss

ion of sin1 (Page

19

111

A. N

eve

r. There is no 1'emission of sin by a blood

less sacrifice ; only by

tbe

sbedding of blood. (Levit

icus 17: 11; Hebrews 9 : 22) Under the law of

Mose

s

this shedding of blood was of animal sacrifices. (Levit

icus 16: 6, 7) 'l'llis

for

eshadowed J

es

us Christ, the

true

sacrifice, who offered his hlood

for tbe

sins

of many.-llil elation 1: 5; 1 John 1: 7-10; 2: 1, 2;

1 Peter 1: 18, 19.

Q. What does the Romau Catholic Hierarchy's

refu

sa

l to debate indica te (Page

21

111

A. 'l'hat they aJ. e not n ere j else t hey would

he eager for such au opportunity to make known

their d o c t 1 ~ n e s 'rheir refusal shows they are afraid

to have the ligbt of truth turned

on

them, lest thcil'

doctrin

es

be disproved.- John 3:

19-21.

Q. Why must the issue between the truth and

the error be brought to the fore now ' (Page 21 111

A. Beeau.< e the Scripturcs and physical facts show

it is the time of judgment upon the

cLlUreh

(1 Peter


21/68


22/68

20

M O E L S T U Y O

decisions on God's

written Word

.

Pr

overbs 3: 5, 6

instructs:

"Trust

in the

Lord with

all

thine

heart;

and

lean not unto thine own understanding. In all

thy ways acknowledge him,

and

he shall direct thy

paths

. See Romans 3: 4.

Q. According

to

Roman Catholic doctrine Mat

thew 16: 18, 19 proves

the

supremacy of

the

apostle

Pcter

and

the popes. But does

it and

are

the

popes

Peter's

successors

(Page

23

111

A. No. Because the

c... {pl'ession

there this rock

does not refer or

apply

to Peter, hence not to any

"pope",

but

to

Christ Jesus

himself. The Scriptures

nowhere speak of

the

nced or authority for appoint

ing a successor to the apostle Peter. The Scriptures

definitely show

that Peter

finished the apostolic work

assigned for him to do, hence he did not need

and

did not

have

and

has

not had any

successors to

carry

on and

complete

Peter

's special work or position. The

account of Acts 1: 15-26 shows

that thc unfaithful-

ness

and

dcath of Judas left only cleven apostles, and

hence Matthias was chosen

to

complete

the

original

number of

twelve apostlcs. The Revelation

(The

Apoc

alypse) 21 : 14 speaks of "the twelve apostles of

thc

Lamb , only twelve.

Q. In

Matthew 16: 18,

in

speaking

to Peter,

why

does Jesus refer

to

himself as ('this rock on which

his church is built (Page

23

111,2)

A. Because Jesus is

the

only-begotten Son of the

living God,

and

the

Holy

Scriptures

refer

to Jehovah

God as

the great

Rock.

The

Catholic Do UJY

Version

Bible,

at

2 Kings 22:

2,

reads:

"The Lord [that

is,

Jehovah] is my ROCK,

and

my strength,

and

my

saviour_ Isaiah 51: 1

Doooy): "Give

ear to me,


23/68

V I T L

B I B L E

QUE S T I O N S

21

you that follow that which is just,

and

you that seek

the Lord:

lo ok

unto the

ROCK

whence you are hewu.

In

the Hebrew

or

original

text

of

the Bible the

word

tSU1

means rock and is so translated in Deu-

teronomy 8: 15; 32 : 13; 2 Kings 21: 10; 1 Parali

pomenon 11: 15; Isaiah 8: 14; 42: 11, of Douay Ver

sion. This

sa

me Hebrew word for rock tsur is applied

to Jehovah God at Deuteronomy 32: 4,15, 1

8,

31;

1 Kings 2: 2 (1 Samuel 2: 2, .Authorized VC sion);

Psa

lm 61:2,3 (62:

1,2,

.V. ; Isaiah

26:4; an

d

many other scriptures. This is clearly shown by the

Authorized Version tr anslation,

and

particularly the

American Revised Version, as quoted by Judgc Ruth-

erford, and which renders the word

tsur

as rock

where it applies to Jehovah God. The IIebrew word

selah means rock

or a lofty crag or cliff, and

is applied also to Jehovah. See Psalms 17: 2,3 (18: 2,3,

A.R.V. ;

30:4 (31 : 3); 41: 10

(42:9);

70: 3 (71 :

3)

.

rhe symbolic thought of rock is t strength', as of

a strong foundation.

Q. With regard to Matthew 16: 19, addressed to

Peter, the like words are addressed to Jesus' dis

cip l

es,

at

Matthew 18: 1, 18, to wit,

Verily

I say

unto you, Whatsoever ye shall bind on

earth

shall

be bound in heaven; and whatsoever ye shall loose

on

earth shall be loosed in heaven. 'Vbat does this

tend t show' (Page 23

1f1

A. This,

to

wit,

that

there was no church snprem

acy intended for Peter in ,

,,

hat Jesus sa id him at

Matthew 16: 17-19, but

tilat

the other apostles shared

with him in

the

privi lege of binding and loosing. (See

page 171f1, 2 of this booklet.) The verse just preceding,

to wit, Matthew 18: 17, shows that the entire Chris-


24/68

22

MODEL STUDY

O f

t iun church, as l cprcsented by lts local con gregations.

would have certain authority from the Lord in bind·

ing

or

loos

in

g brethren

at

disagreement with one

another ; and being guided hy and exercising the

s

pirit

of the Lord the decisions of the church would

be in harmony with the higher powers in heav

en,

namely, Jehovah God and Christ Jesus, and hence

the binding

or

loosiug would be approved in heaven,

IIenee

Je

sus ' words to Pete,' aud the other apostles

do uot serve to establish Peter jn tl,e supreme place

in U O cJlUreb,

Q. Referring to the S

ee

d promised in Eden, the

D

L

ay

V

sion

of Genesis 3: 15 reads: I will

put

enmities between tbee and the woman, and thy seed

,md bel seed:

SHE

shall crush

thy

bead, and thou sbalt

lie in wait for

HER

heel.

Does not this show

that

t.he

virgin Mary is the main one, I'ather

than

Christ

Je

sus

ber seed ? (Page 241[1)

A. n

the

Hebrew the word for seed is mas ·

euline III gender , Hence the first Bible translation,

the

Septuagint

renders the text: He shall cnlsh tby

head, and the

Authorized Version:

I t [the seed]

shall bruise

thy

he

ad ;

and both t.ranslations render

the text: his heel. AU the Scriptures show

jt

js

Christ the Seed

that

brui

ses the Serpent the Devil 's

head, and it is

ChI i

st's heel that is brnised hy the

Serpent the Devil. H ence the

D 1


25/68

V I

T A

L B I

BLE QU ST

I

ONS

23

which is joined to him in devotion and which is sym-

bolized

in

Scripture by

n

pure

woman, Ilnd f rom

which

pure

organization J e

ho

vah God

brin

gs

forth

his Seed,

the

woman'. seed , tbe Christ.

t

is this Seed

that

is designated in other Scriptn] es under the sym-

bolism of a stone or roc.k

Compare Revelation

(or ApoeaJypse) 12:

1-

5.

Q. n Daniel 2: 34,35, what is the mo

untain out

of which there is cut

tJ1C

i stonc , which symbolizes

God s kingdom,

of

which Cbrist

Je

sus is

King

and

Head'

(Page

24 ill)

A.

The mountain pictlU CS

the

same as

Hthc

wom

an

mentioned in Genesis 3: 15, to wit, God's un iver

sal organization, out of which he carves or brings forth

his chief ol'ganir..ation or capital ol'ganizaHon, the

kingdom

of heaven, of

which Clu ist J esus is the

chief one

and

Itis faithflll followcrs ar c the members.

I hat cap ital organization is eaUed Zion,

in

the Scrip-

tures, and is thus named after

its

mother organization,

U

1C

symbolic

U

moulltain . The

stone

, cut ont of

the mountain , is, ill the

odginal

Hebrew

te>.. t,

the

same word

eben)

as

th

at

oecm

ring ill Psalm 118 :

22

which

text

J esus applied

to

himself as the stone (Mat-

thew 21: 42,44), and as occurring in I sa iah 8: 14 alld

28: 16, which texts both the apostle Panl

and

the

apostle

Peter

apply

unto

Christ

Je

su

s

t.he King.

(Romalls 9: 33; 1 Peter 2:

6-

8) Also Zechariah 3 :

9;

4: 7. This

~ ; o n

e also becomes a ' tgreat mountain ,

symbolic

of

God s kingdom tmder Christ,

and

which

fills the

wll01

e

earth

with its

co

ntrol.

Ph

ono

grapb Lecture No. P-68 -H Exposed

Q. n

Jesus'

words

to Peter: And

I say

AI,SO

lmto thoe, Tha.t tltou al i Peter ; and npon th is rock


26/68

24

M O E L S T U Y

O f

I will build my cburch; and the gates of hell shall

not prevail against it (l\ Iatthew 16: 18), what is the

force of the

word

also f

(Page 27

P

A.

The context shows that the

matter

under dis

cussi91l was not the identity

or

position of Peter, but

the identity and position of Jesus. Jesus words this

rock show he had in mind the old Hehrew Scrip-

tures foretelling himse

lf

as the stone or rock foull-

dation. Peter's confession that Jesus was

the

Christ,

the Son of the living God , was in harmony with

such propllccics concerning Jesus as the Rock. Hence

remcmbering such propheci

es

and remembering

al

so

that at

their first meeting Jesus had called

Peter

by

that

name instead of Simon (John 1: 42), therefore

Jesus sajd to Simon Bar-jona, 1 say ALSo unto thee,

that

thou

art

Peter [a

stone or small

rock].

That

is to say, •Besides the prophecies referring to

mc

Christ,

as

the Stone

or

Rock, you also are a stone

yet, not upon you, but upou this Rock, myseli, the

Christ, I will build my church, and you, Pcter, being

a stone or member of my church, will likewise be

built upon me together with all other members of

my church.

That

P eter so understood is proved by

his words in his First Epistle, chapter 2 verses 3-8

where he

ref

ers to himself and all other Christians

as merely living stones , but refers to Christ Jesus

.himself as the one Foundation and Chief Corner Stone

of the church.

Q.

The Roman Catholic Hierarchy s teaching

i.

that Christ Jcsus is the main foundation of his church,

but

that Peter is laid as a secondary foundation on

Christ Jesus, and

that

hence directly upon Peter the


27/68

VIT L B I B L E

QUEST IONS

church is founded and built and rests. Is this Scrip

turally correct (Page

28

nl

A_

No.

All scriptures pertaining to the subject

mention and allow for

on

ly the one Fonndation,

Christ Jesus himself, whom Jehovah God has laid.

h r i ~ t Jesns the Son of man did not presnme to lay

any other foundation.

First

Corinthians

3:

11 states:

t

For other foundation can no man lay than that is

laid, which is Jesus

Christ ; and 1:

11-13

and 3: 3-5

show

that

the apostle

Paul

was certainly not

trying

to lay

Peter

also as a fotmdation, a secondary one

npon

Chr

i

st

Jesus. See also Psalm 118: 22; Isaiah

28

: 16;· Zechariah 3:

8 9; 4:

7; Romans

9:

33; Ephe

sians

2:

20-22; 5: 23; 1

Peter

2:

6-8.

The Revelation

(Apocalypse) 21: 14 says that in the foundations of

the New Jerusalem are

written

the names of the twelve

apostles of tile Lamb; the name of Peter is

not

given

supreme, singular or exclusive mention above that

of the other apostles.

Contrary

to

Peter's

own state

ment

at

Acts

4:

8-12 the Roman Catholic Hierarchy

cla im that there is another name under heaven where

by men must be saved, besides Christ's name,

t

wit,

Peter's,

as

being another foundation.

As

further evi

dence against this see Colossians 2:

6-8

and 1 Tim

othy 2: 5.

Phonovaph

Lec:ture No. P-69-1 Expo

sed

Q. Who

is referred to as the Rock

in

Peter's epis

tles as

we

ll

as

in Paul s (Page

28

n ; page

29

nl

A_

The

Lord

Jesus Christ alone is designated the

Rock

in

all cases where that term is speciJically ap

plied.-

1 Corinthians 10: 4; Romans

9:

33; 1

Peter

2: 6-8_


28/68

26

M O E L S T U Y OF

Q. Is the designat

ion

of Simon as Peter

01

f a

stone execplional1 (Page 29 1)

A. Only in

that th

is name was given to P eter as

a persoual one. OtlJCr members of the body of Christ

are also referred to as stones, though the term does

not apply

to each as

a

persoual

namc.-l Peter 2: 5.

Q.

'What p roof have we that Peier was never a

pope? (Page 29 1f2)

A. 'f

he

tit le

pope , papa,

or tlpappas

Greek),

is not found in the Bible. Long before the

bishop of R

ome

claimed the exclusive use of th

is

t itle,

it wa

s used by many bishops and priests, and r t j ~

ularly tile Greek bishops, who used the title pappas ,

meaning fatiler.

For 300

years the title was distrib

uted a long many priests and bishops.

Paul

do

es not recognize Peter

as

pope

or

supremo

head.

He

refers to him as one

of

the 'lchief apostles ,

withstood him and corrected him, wrote far morc

of

the nibliea

I

writings tlmu did P eter, including things

Peter

fo

und /fhaI'd , did not receive ordination from

Pe

ter, and shows tha t Petcl' was not given l uni versal

jUl isdietion

,

by referring to

him as

the apostle to

Hthe circumcision , ie., the J

ews.-Ga

latians 2: 9j

2 Corinthians 11:

5;

Galatians 2: 11-15; 2

Pet

er 3:

16;

Galatialls 1: 15-18; Acts 9: 3-22; Galatians 2: 7-9;

Ephesians 3: 8; 1 Timothy 2:

7;

2 Timothy

1:

11;

Romans 11 :

13.

P eter did

not

cla

im

to

be

the chief shepberd,

but

refers to himself as also

an

elder [ancie

nt

Douay)

J

. .

- 1 Peter 5: 1,

4;

John 21: 15-17.

[

Th

ere is

110

proof

that

Peter was ever

in

Rome.

Tbe fact

that

he was the ' apostlc to the circumcision'

or Jews makes this most unlikely. Besides, even to-


29/68

V I T L

B ID L E Q U E S T I

O S

27

day

it

is not necessa

rily

the bishop of Rome tbat

becomes pope

,

but the m n elected

pope be-

comes

bishop of Rome, whetber be w

as

previously

there

or

not. ]

Pbonovnph

Lecture

No. P-70-J Exposed

Q.

What docs the expression

Hkcy meall

in the

Scriptures'

(Page 31 112)

A. Keys arc used to unlock or open. A key gives

entrance to a prjvile

ge

or condition of favor. The

scdbcs had

th

e key of Im ow lcdge but took it away

from the people. (Luke 11 : 52) They

s

hut up tbe

kin gdo

m of heaven aga

in

st men (as the priests

do

today), and would not go

in

themselves nor admit

others. (Matthew 23: 13)

I

besc scriptures show that

the kcys entrusted to

Peter

were keys of knowledge.

" Th c

ju

st shall bc dclivered by knowledge. P rov

crbs

11

: 9, Douay

Q. When and how was the first key used' (Page

32 1]1)

A.

At

Pent

ecos

t, wben Peter, by his preaching of

the truth, unlocked the mystery of the Kingdom to

th

e J ews.

-l\1atthew

13

:

11

;

Acts

2:

14-41.

Q_

When was the second key used by P eter

(l>ago 33 111,2)

A. When God, by a

vi

sion, directed

Peter

to preach

the

truths

of the Kingdom to Cornelius and other gen

tiles. God confirmed his action by

se

nd

in

g t he holy

spirit upon Cornelius

and

his gcntile companions.

-Acts

10, 15.

Q.

What

act of P eter's on this occasion shows he

did not claim

to

be pope' (Page 33 112)

A. The fact t1l8t

Pcter

would not permit Cor

nelius to bow or l.-neel t.o him.-Acts 10: 25, 26.


30/68

28

A M 0 1) E L

STU

D Y 0

f

Q. To what, specifically, do the words of Jesus

to

Peter

apply:

Whatsoever

thou

shalt

bind

on

earth, shall be bound in heaven and whatsoever

thou shalt loose on earth, shall be loosed in

heaven j

(Page 34

U2)

A. The

se

words, in Matthew 16 : 19, were spoken

in connection with the statement that to Peter were

given

the

keys of the kingdom of heaven, and would

therefore have specific reference

to

Peter

's use

of

the

keys. In confirmation of his divinely directed use of

these keys the holy spirit came upon them that heard

and bclieved.- Aets 2: 38; 10: 44-48.

When

~ r

loosed the knowledge

of

the king-

dom to the Jews no one could

ke

ep back

that

Imowl·

edge from going out, but during the period that the

gospel of

the

kingdom was goi.ng solely to

the

J ews

o Uch knowledge was

bound or

held back as far as

Gentiles were concerned until God gave the signal

to Peter to

'Iloose

the knowledge

of

the kingdom

to

the

Gentiles. Thereafter none could bind or

restrain the kingdom message from going to the

Gentiles.

Q. What is the meaning of

the

word whatso-

ever i (Page 34

U2)

A. t should be noted that the Lord did not say

H1Vhosoevcr thou shalt bind, or loosej but

w tso-

ever. Jesns did not mean that Peter could bind and

loose unything he had a mind to,

or

keep

anyone

out

of heave

n

if

he

felt

so disposed.

He

could bind or.

loose whatsoeve

r

that is, in

h:ceping

with the com-

mission given to him, and in the use of

the

keys.

Similarly, wh en Jesus said, j A.ll things whatso,ever

ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive,


31/68

V I T L B I B L E

Q U E S T I O N S

29·

he did

not mean that

his disciples could ask

for

any

thing

undcr

the

SUllo

He

plainly statcd the

conilition

upon which they might receive whatsoever they asked,

and that

was,

i f

my

word abide in

you,

and ye

abidc

in me.'-Matthew 21 :

22;

John

14:

13; 15: 7.

Q. What

is

the

Roman

Hierarchy's

claim

regard

ing

the

keys

and

the

powcr

of

thc

popes 1

(Page

34

112; page 35 111

A.

That the

pope

may admit

or

exclude

from

heaven whomever he pleases, and that he m y remit

the temporal punishment due to sins by m

ns of

n ~

dulge

nces.-The

Faith of Our Fathers pages 100, 10l.

Phonograph Lecture No. P·71·K Exposed

Q. Does

John

21: 15-17 show that J

es

us

conferrcd

upon

Peter

the

primacy

in

the

church, hence Popc

dom1 (Page 35

112

A. No apostle was singled

out

as chief apostlc,

chicf pastor

or

prince

of pastors

. 1

Corinthians

12: 26-28; Ephesians 4: 11, 12) In 1 Peter

5:

1-4,

he

says

he

is

an

cIder ancient, Douay) lil


32/68

30

M O E L

S T U Y O

rhe Roman Catholic Church teaches lics in the

name of the Lord (Ezekiel

22: 25-2

8; Malachi 2: 1-3 ;

Psalm

62: 4; J eremiah

9:

3), is pictured as a whore

(Revelation 17: 1-5) ,

and

is knowu by its fru its'.

(Matthew 7: 15-20) See Isaiah 61: 3 ill co

nlra

st.

Phonograph Locturo

No. P-72-L

Expo,

eeI

Q.

What

points prove that

Peter

could not have

a successor

(Page

38

111)

A. Christ, as the true and liying head of the church

(Colossians 1 : 1

8),

is able to take care

or

it without

any

visible

head;

8J1d even

if

Peter had to have a

successor, why,

after

Peter s death, was not John

chosen instead of oue who was not even an apostle

fhe claim

that Peter

had supremacy

and

successors

is

entirely ullscriptul'al: 'fhc apostles

scut

Peter

and

John, etc. (Acts 8: 14) Compar'e also Matthew

16: 19,

Johu

20: 21-23, and Acts 6: 2,3. Petcr acted

as spokesman most of

tllO

time (Matthew 14:

27, 28 ;

15: 15,16; 16: 15,16; Acts 2: 14

,15),

but it is worthy

of note that

after

Peter s death John wrole his Un eo

epistles

and

The Apocalypse and never once men

t

ioned Peter's name nor

any

successor to him.

James who was killed

by

Herod (Acts 12: 1, 2)

had

no successor, and the on Iy record' of one taking the

place of an apostle is whcre

Judas

jlroved unfaithful,

and

Matthias was appointed ill his stead as onc of

the twel

ve

aposlleB.-Ac s

1:

26.

Q.

How

is

the world to

be

convetted

unl

css the

church enters inlo politics

(Page

39

112)

A. To be converted means to be turned in the

r i

ght

wa

y

way from, instead of into, politics. The

ch

ur

ch's

commi

ss

ion is

to witness not

t o

convert,


33/68

V I T L B I B L E Q U E S T I O N S

31

ll

nations (Matthew

24:

14; Isaiah 62: 10; Jere

miah

50

:

2;

Psalms 19: 7; 51: 12,13) and give warn

ing

that

the wicked world shall be destroyed (Psalm

2: 8, 9) but they themselves be ]lot entangled again

in

the pollutions of the

world.-2 Peter

2 : 20-22.

rhe church must always be separate from the

world

nd

its politics, which

re

unclcan.-John

15:19; Isaiah 52:11; 2 Corinthians 6: 17 .

Q.

How can

it

be claimed

that

the Jesuits of the

Roman Catholic Churcll

rule

Germany, when the pope

and Hitler

have been fighting each otherl (Page

40 1 1)

A.

rhe

Devil's whole outfit is tottering to

the

fall

foretold

by

the

LOl·d.

(Isaiah 28:

8,

13, 18, 21, 22;

Psalms 2: 1-5; 9: 17; Isaiah 8: 9, 10) 'rho rulers of

Satan

.

great political

and

l'eligious organization

rage

and

quarrel amongst themselves

but

are

in

frill

agreement to destroy all who serve Jehovah. Jesuits

operute in an undel gl Olllld way, even though their

J

esuit

Society may be forbidden in a country.

Phonogra

ph

L-ecture No. P-73-M Expo.ed

Q.

In view of the Second ConIDlandmcnt, not to

make

an

image

01

Jil{cncss of anything and bow down

to and serve such, how can God's instructions to Moses

to make cherubim images on the mercy seat of the

ark of the covenant, for the most holy, be harmonized T

(Page

43

1 1)

A.

JellOvah also commanded Moses to design

fig-

ures of chernbim

Oil the

taberllacle veil. (Exodus

25: 16-22; 26: 30-34) Also Solomon,

in

the temple

he built and which Jehovah blessed, had the temple

lavers adorned with figures of lions, oxen, and cheru

bim. (1 Kings

7:

25-36) Also on his throne steps he

had twel e golden lions. (1 Kings 10: 18-20) How-


34/68

32

M O E L S T U Y O

ever, none of these images or likenesses was to be

worshiped, bowed down to or served they were merely

symbolic. In the Scriptures Jehovah's power is sym-

bolized by strong bulls or oxen; his love by a cherub ,

or man; his wisdom, by an eagle; and his justice by

a lion. (Ezekiel 1:

10;

Revelation 4: 7)

In the

wilder

ness God commanded Moses to make a serpent of

brass

and hang it

upon

a pole, as a

type of Christ

J esus

(N

umbe

rs 21:8,9;

John 3:

14,15 );

but years

latcr King Hezekiah brake in pieces the brazen se r-

pent

that Moses had made: for unto those days the

ch

ildren of Israel did burn incense to it . 2 Kings

18: 4

Q. Is not the use of i mages in Catholic churches

good and allowable as being a help to the eye and

mind of the

one who

worships

before such

images'

(Page 43

~ 3

A_ Such an

argum

ent docs not cllllnge the use of

im ages from being a breaking of God's express com-

mand to his people. (Exodus 20: 3-5) Clui

st

ians h , e

a

higher order of

service

of

God

than did

the

Jew

s,

the Jews having merely the

typical

service, but the

Christians

the

anti

typical or

·helIVenly. (H ebrews

10:

1-22) H ence

if

God's law

did

not allow images

to be made and bowed down to in th e typical, much

less would he

all

ow such

in the antitypieal or

heav

e

nl

y

serv

ice

by

Chri

stian

s (1

Corinthians

10: 14;

1 John 5 : 21 ) I he apostle Paul says maldng images

and bowing thereto mak e men foolish and corrupt.

(Romans

1:

22-32)

Ima

ges do not

help

in

tru

e wor

ship of

God,

but turn

the

mind and heart from

God

and

Christ to

creatures. 2

Corinthians

5: 7 reads:

or we walk by faitJ1 not by sitiht. Hebrews 11: 6:


35/68

V I T L B I B L E

Q U E S T I O N S

33

"Without

faith it

is impossible to please

him,"

that

is,

Jehovall God.

An

image

is not

of faith .-Deuter

onomy 4: 15-18.

Phonograph Lecture

No.

P ~ 7 4 N Expoled

Q.

How do

we hannonize Jesus' command, Call

no man your fnther upon the earth, with the nu

merous scriptures the Hierarchy quote in support

of

calling priests

"fathers" (Page

46

113

A.

Such Catholic citations

are

1 Peter 5:

13;

1 Timothy 1:

1,

2, 18; Acts 16 : 1-3; 2 Timothy 1: 1,2;

2:1;

1 Corinthians 4:

14,15;

2 Corinthians 6:

13;

Galatians 4:

19; Titus 1: 4;

Philemon 10; 1 J ohn

2:

1,12,28;

3:

7,

1

8;

4:

4;

5: 21; 4 Kings 2:

12; 13:

14.

The citations from the IOld Testament are cases

before Christ

Je

sus spoke God's command concerning

fathers .

As

for the citations to the apostles' writ

ings, their usc of the terms father or son and

chi-ldren are expressions of endearment and show

the

part

they played

in

bl ingillg

the

Lord's message

to others; but the apostles' writ.ings, including these

texts, contain no command, and do not imply any

command, for Christians to call the apostles

or

other

men in the

church

fathers

.

The

record of the Acts

of the Apostles shows 110 case where Christians

tbus

addressed tbem.

Q. What

motive is shown by acce

pting

and look

ing

for such form

of

address as

father ,

h01y fa

ther"l

(Page

47

111

A. To be highly esteemed of men (Luke 16:

15

) ;

to gain glory

and

honor of men. (Matthew 23: 5-10;

John

5: 41-44)

t

enables one to exercise power

and

influence selfishly over others, and shows the love of

flattery in

the

one accepting such titles.-J

ob

32: 21,22.


36/68

4

A

M O E L

S T U Y O

lI

enee the moti

ve

cannot be to glorify Goel and

Christ Jesns. Therefore the faithful apostles did not

give

1

receive s

uch

titles. The apostles' use of the

term IIfuthcl'S in Calatians

1:

14 and 2 Peter

3:

4

refers to forefathers or ancestors, not to titl ed Chris

tians.

Q.

Should sen-ants of the Lord wear peculiar 01

special garments or styles to distinguish. themselves

f rom others1 (Page

47

U2)

A

No. Jesus said that the scribes and Pharisees

did

so

to be

see

n of mell, to attract lmdue attent.ion

to themselves and to pamper their pride and self

importance, and not to draw men to

God. t

certainly

wa

s not to invite persecution upon themselves because

of appearing to scrve God. The Catholic priests cla

im

their peculiar

gaJ. ments

to have great religious meau-

ings, and refer to the Jewish high priest and his spe

cial garmcnts. (Exodus 28 ) Jehovab God commanded

such spec

ial

garments for tbe Jewisb pri

es

ts. ClU ist

Jesus did not order such for his true

and

faithful

io'llowcl's, nor did he himself wear d istinctive gar-

ments.

rrhe

garments

of

the Jewish priests were worn

only ill the tabe

l mICl

e or temple while

at

service,

not

outside,

and

were typical, shadowing forth greater

things to

come

. Ilebrews 10: 1; Colossians 2: 16, 17)

Now, since the tl'ue

High

Priest, Chl'ist Jesus, h

as

come and

bl

ought

ill

the realities

wh

ich were

fore-

shadowed

in

the

typi

cal

th

in gs, there is no usc

nor

justification to display the shauows or the types . 1 0

do so would be to deny that the substantial realities

or anti types had come

and

were here. As well per·

form the old Jewish sacrifices as to

co

ntinue wearing

their priestly garments. The special ga

rments of the


37/68

V I T L B I B L E Q U E S T I

O N S

Rom an Catholic Hierarchy are neither Jewish nor

Chl'ist i

an

,

but

borrowed

fr

om the Dcvil·wo

l s

hiping

henthen.

Phonograph Lecture

No.

P 75 0 Expoaed.

Q. Is any more Ulan onc text needed to pl'ove

th

e existence of a t l ini y

of

gods, an d

i

not such a

a proof text found at 1 Jo1m 5 :7, whjch says T

he

F athe), the Word,

' d

th

e Holy Gh ost, and tIlesc

thr

ee

arc oue ? (Pagc

49

2

A .

o rl hi

s text is spurious, a

frauu,

as is shown

by the fact that i t does not appear iu the Vatican

~ f

n u

s c r i p th e Sinaitic 1\tull

uscrip

t, and the Alex

andrine Manuscript, the three oldes t Bible manu-

sCl ipts in existence. Hence th e modern and rev i

se

d

Bibl e

tr

anslations

om

it

t

his verse jn their re

nd

eri

ngs j

whi ch sec,

Q.

'

Wh

a t

Script

ure taxts or truths pl ove 1 Joh n

;,: 7

(Au

tho,.ized V eo sio and Douay V et sio,, to be

puriolls j (Pa

ge

49 ~ 2

A. John 1: I ,

according to

th e

above three

m ru l -

scrjp

ts,

wo

rd

for

word t l l l

l j o

n

of

the

orig

in al

Gr

eek

te xt,

sa

ys

thn.t

Chris

t

Jesus as

th

e Logos was

with The God aud was him

se

lf only a god. t docs

not say th at the so-cal lcd Holy Ghost was either

go

d or Th e God. J ehovah God created or gave life

to the Lo gos hi s Son. (John 5: 6

Th ey al

C

two sep-

amte and distinct persons. (John S: 17,1

8)

They

arc one only in work that is plU'posed to be done.

(John

10:

29

30)

The Logos conld not have b

ecome

ilesh, the man Chri

st

J esus and

co

uld not have died,

i f he were J ehovah God. (John 1:

14

, 18 ; 1 Timothy

6: 16; 1:

17;

Exodus

33: 20 )

Jebovah God is Head

on'

1

C

hri

st J

E S

llS, find

Chl

i

::;;t

Jesus is hi l cl

( e

t

sr

rv-


38/68

36

MO E L

STU Y

O

unt ,

hellce

not equul with Jehovah God. (1 Corinthians

11:

3;

Isaiah 42:

1;

Matthew 12: 18-20; J ohn 14: 28)

J ehovah is God

nnto

Chri

st J esus his Son.

(P

salm

22: 1 ; Matthew 27: 46; John 20: 17; 1 P eter 1: 3)

Matthew 3: 16, 17,

describing

Jesus baptism and what

there occurred, mentions God and his holy spirit or

pow

er and

Christ J esus as there being

manif

ested

together, but docs not say they are one in person.

1 0

Chr istians there is

Hbut one God,

the Father ,

and

Christ

Jesus is their Lord . (1 Corinth ians 8: 6)

At the

end of his I

OOO-yea

r rule over mankind Christ

Jesus will cxp rcss his subject.ion to

Jehovah

God.

(1

Co

rinthians 15: 27, 28)

That

J ehovah God ex

isted before Ch rist J esus and created him, see further

Prover

bs 8:

22;

Colossians 1: 15 ; Revelation 3 : 14.

PhonoifTapb Lecture No.

P·76·P

Es.po.ed

Q.

How can I

saiah

9:

15,16

be

applied

to

the

Rom an Catholic

Hicrarchy,

seeing it is addressed to

Israc

ll (Page

53 )

A.

The Roman

Cat

holic organization claims to

be the successor of Israel,

and

to occupy a similar

position.

t

professes

to

be

God

's organization, and

sin

ce the same

co

nditions exist in that

or

ganiza tion

as did in Israel the scriptnre would fit

their

case

exactly.

Q. Could

an

organization that holds to the lies

pointed

out

in this booklet still be the Lord

8

organi

zation I (Pages 53-55)

A.

t could not; and for the same reason that

Israel was rejected. God se

nt

his prophets

to

co

rrect

I srael,

and

Israel refused to heed his warnings. Sim

ilarly righteous men have warned the professed


39/68

V I T L B I B L E Q U E S T I O N S

37

Christian church, of which

the

Hierarchy is the chicf

part, and that organization has refused to heed his

wa

rnings, as

did

Isrne

l.-Jeremiah

7:

25, 26 Luke

11

: 49; Matthew 23: 34.

Q. Is it

true that

the

chief men of the Hierarchy

arc

arrogant

and scornful men? (Page

53

~ 3

A. Theil'

attitude

toward the message of Truth

and those who are bearing that message to the peo-

ple shows that they arc scornful and arrogant.

h

eir

bearing toward

the

people a

nd

lesser clergy is gen-

erally that of lords .- l Peter 5: 3.

Q.

Why di

sc

uss the doctrines of the Roman Cath-

olic Hicrarchy? Why

not

teach what one believes

and let the Catholic doctrines alone? (Page 55 ~ 1

A. t should be rcmembered that the Roman Cath-

olic

ili

ctarchy has accused Judgc

Ruth

erIo

rd and

Jc

hovnh

's witnesses

of mi

srepresenting its teachings

and fomenting religious hatred and

bi

gotry. This

booklet is in part a l cply to that falsc chargc, and

also a statement of rclat.ed facts which the peoplc

have a right to know. The IIicrarcby has misrep re -

sented the truths

of

the Bible, and Jeho vah's

wit-

nesses

a r c ~ o m m a l l d c d to

preach the truth. This

would

necessarily expose fal sehood.

Phonol raph Lecture

No.

P.77 ·Q Exposed

Q.

The Roman Catholic Hierarchy and its sup-

porters claim to

be

persecuted. How

di

stinguish be-

tween the llpersecution of

the

Roman Catholic Hier-

ar

chy supporters and that of Jehovah's witncsses1

(Page 56 1[1)

A. Jesus said, Blessed arc they that suffer per-

secution for justice' sake . . . Blessed are ye when

they shall revilc you, and persecute you,

and

speak


40/68


41/68

V

I T L

B I

B L E

Q U E S T I O N S

39

A.

No, not according to the

Script

ures . Paul said

he rejoi

ce

d

evell

when Clu'ist was preached

of

can·

tention. FUl'ther, John

s

gospel shows that those who

are of the light do

not

refuse to have the ir words

or

wo1 l

s discussed and brought to the

li

ght .- Phi

lippians 1 : 15-18 ;

John 3:

19-21; Matthew

5:

14-16.

Q. Why

are the officials of

th

e Roman Catholic

church opposed

to

a discussion of their doctrines

(

Page 57

l(2)

A. For the rea

son

that

tb e

ir

d

oc

trines will not

stand investigation

in

the light of the Scriptures. The

Scriptures are diametrically opposed to the funda

lncntal doctrines

of

the Hierarchy organization. As

the scr

ib es

::md Pharisees tried to prevent

th

e pe

op

le

from following Jesu

s, so

the Hierarchy now prevent

th

em,

or

try to prevent them, from 1earning the

tmlll.-John 12: 19.

Q. Is til is day of great d istress

not

a bud time to

stir

up

discussion

an

d c o n t l o v c l s y ~ Shou

ld

we 11 t

rather

follow

the'

good neighbor ' policy

1 (Page 57

l(2)

A.

'rh

e truth

Illust

never

bc compromised to please

men. (Galatians 1: 10) The Devil would like to hush

up

the

trutb

to keep his

errors

going.

t

is

not

a

qnestion of agreeing with one another

J

primarily, but

of seeing that our position is in harmony with God's

Word; and

the truth sh ould

be freely discussed,

but

without animosity.

2 Corintb

ians

6:

14-16; 1

Corin

thians

10:

19-21.

PhODOar

aph Lecture No.

P 78

-R Exposed

Q.

What

is

th

e

ob

ject of the publicat.ion of

th

is

and other W atch Tower lite

rature

(Page

60

l(1)

A.

" To open the blind eyes, to bring out the pris-


42/68

40

0110 3 from the prison, and them that sit

in cl:.

rl kncss

out of the prison house. I saiah 42:

7.

Q

f

a Catholic's r efusal to listen to or read the

truth is the result

9£

his priest s in structions, do cs

that excuse him? (Page 61 1[1

A.

Althoug

ll the prie

st would have the greater

responsibili ty, the individual folJowing his l

ea

d wo uld

not

be wi tho

ut

responsibility

n

the

ma

tte

r. God's

Vord instructs

th

e

Christian

to

Clpro

ve all thing

sj

hold fast

tha

t which is good .

Ez

ekiel states

that

i1

a.

watchman fails to giye the warning, he would be

held accountable,

but the

olle who failed to h

ea

r (or

heed the warning i g iven ) ..vould stureI also. If a

blind man fo

llows

a blind l

ea

der, both leader and

fo llower come to grief. xclu sive confidence

may

never be placed i

ll

men. L

ea

ders should be willing

to give credentials. Those that do not are properly

rcjcctcd.- l

l hcssaloruans

5: 21 ; zc

lric l

33: 5, 6;

Matt

hew 15: 14 ;

Jer

emiah

17:5;

1 Peter

3: 15

; Isa

iah 9: 16.

Q.

What

advantage co

me

s to tbose who

stu

dy the

t1 U111 for themselvcs1 (Page 61 1[1)

A.

They have confidence

that

they

arc

ri g

ht

, and

are

delivered from

fear

. (Psalm 34: 22; H e

br

ews

13: 6) They

may

have the assuran

ce of

J ehovah 's

protection in the a.pproaching day of his angel

U

pOll

the world.- Zephaniah 2: 2, 3; Provedls 14:

15;

22 : 3;

27: 12.


43/68

QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS

ON

TH

BOOKLET

P R O T E T IO N

Phonograph Lecture No.

P-79-A

Religion

ana

Christiani.ty

Q.

How does J ames 1: 26, 27 harmonize with the

statement that

"re

ligion finds no suppo

rt

in

the Word

of God" and that it

is diametricaBy opposed to Chris·

tianity (Page 6 1[3,4)

A.

The word

"Christian"

is used

in

the Bible to

designate the followers of Christ, and Christianity

means their faithful obedience to God's Jaw as e

u ~

taught and exempli fied such obedience. (Acts 11 : 26;

26: 28; 1

Peter 4:

16) Religion is based on the teach·

ings and t raditions of men. The By ;ac translation

of

James

1:

26,27 docs

not

use the word

(treJigion ,

but translates it worship .

Q. How can

it

be sa

id

that Satan introdueecl reli·

gion in Eden (Page 91[1)

A. Satan introduced religion when he lied to Eve

concerning

God

telling

11cr

d

octrinal

li

es

and

causing her to

tum

away bel worsbip from J ehovab.

Phonovaph

Lecture No. P-

80-B

uReliKion and Christianitytl

Q. How cou

ld

Abel offer to God an acceptable

sacrifice, avoiding the

religion

of his parentsY

(Page 9

1[2

A. Abel did not consider his parents' religion

"good enough for

him".

He maintained

an

unselfish

dcsire to please J ehovah, having faith in God'. word,

4


44/68

42

M O E L STU Y

O

llnd

aded

accordingly. TIe obtained a good report

l ~ l o u g h fa ith . ebrews 11: 4, 39 .

Q.

i

God

had destroyed

Satan at

Ollee,

would

that not have proved

hi

s supremacy, without wait ing

six thousand years j (Page

11

1[1)

A. No. The immedi

ate

destruction of a di sobedieut

creature would not prove that

God

was able to

put

umaD creatures

Oil

en rth wllo could and would main-

tain

th

e

ir

integl ity,

1 emaining

faithful to Jehovah

tOld

er

tcst.

(Job

1: 11; 2: 5)

I t

req uired time to fill

th e cm th with human creatures and to permit Satan

to tcst them

in an

effort

to

provc his cont.ention and

to show that he is a liar and that God is supreme.

God purposed to let the wicked show

their

wickedness,

and the righteous th cir integrity, and to v indicate

His

O\\U

llamc

at Arma

gc

ddon .

Psalm

145: 20

i

Rev-

elation 16: 1

6;

19: 11-16, 19·2l.

Q. What is the dilTel'ence betwcen rcligionists

and

worshipers of Jehovah

j

(Page 12 1[1)

A. Religion ists, following the traditions

of me

ll

,

havc bee n deceivcd by

Satan

. (Matthew

15: 1-9;

Isa iah

29

: 13;

Colo

ssians 2 : 8) Worshipers of Jehovah have

followed his Word.

(John

15:

3;

6:

45;

Isaiah 30: 20)

R ligionists have used God's name hypocritically

and in vain. G enesis 4: 26, ma,rgi ll.i Isaiah

54

: 15

Jeremiah

14: 14, 15.

Q.

What

objection is Ulere to making things beau

tiiul

and attractivc, as is done in tbe practice of rel

i-

gion ? Ju·e

wc to

conclude that tllc

sCl v ice

of Jehovah

lacks beau

ty? (Page

12 1)1)

A.

Jehovah

mak es f c\7cryt

hi

llg

beautifu I in his

time . (Ecclesiastes

3: 11 )

His organization bas true

beauty.

(Psalm

48: 2)

God's people

a C beautified


45/68

V I T L D I B L E

Q U E S T I O N S

43

"rith "lvation.

(P.aim BD

4) Jehovah will

al

s

o, in

his own way and time,

beautify

the place

of

[hisl

sallcluary." (

Is

aiah

60

: 13)

His

obedient creatures

worship bim

in

the beau

ty

r holiness . (1

ChroD-

icles 16: 29; Psalms 29: 2; 96: 9) Satan employs a

superficial and fraudulc

nt tlbcautyn

to deceive, such

as imposing edifices,

lofty

spires, lavish adornment,

figures, images and symbols, stained-glass windows,

drapes, altars, candles, organs, choirs, pictures, osten

tatious ceremony, mysteriolls words and signs, dead

languages to create

my

ste

ry

, chanted prayers charms,

beads, crosses, ornaments, medals, amul ets, parades,

ornute

ga

rments, sanctimoniousness, popular tradi

tions of men, so-called character bnilding

H

sweet

ness

and light

platitudes, and

publi

cly executed

and

proclaimed works of

char

i

ty and

uplift, such as the

Legion of Decency and

outward

patriotism.

Phonovaph Lecture No. P

-8

1-C Re1i::ion and Christianity

Q.

lIow was Babylon 01' Babel a rel igious organ·

ization (

Page 12

ff2

A. Tho Bible shows t

hat

religion

wus

the most

prominent

feature

of Babylon cven down to the days

of King Nebuchadnczzar Ilnd

Be

lshazzar. (

Danicll-5

)

Citics

huilt

before the Flood wore named

after

men

(Gcllcsis 4:

17 ), but the name Bab-e] 01 Babylon re-

fers to the mimic god, the Devil.

Its

builder, Nimrod,

tile so-called

nmighty

hunter , was highly esteemed

by

the

Babylonians as " before

tbe

Lord [Jehovah]

,

that

is, as superior to

J

chovah

the true

God, for

Nimrod defied Jehovah by wantonly violating Jeho

vah

IS

everlasting covenant concerning animal life.

Babylon was

built

to make a name for creatul"Cs,

and


46/68

A

M O E L

S

T U Y

O

to provide safety and salvation (presnmably to heav

en) by other

than

Jehovah 's provided way.-Genesis

11

: 1-4.

Q.

Did J ehovah

's

confusing the tongues of the

builders of Babel break up religion 1 (Page 12 ~ 2

A. That was

not

Jehovah's purpose. But it did

br

ing

Jehovall s name and supremacy to the fore lest

mell should forget

hjg

name and power,

and it

showed

that he was against religion, and against onc central

government on earth under one religious head and

which government would exercise a world-wide tyr

anny in defiance of Jehovah God and against man

kind s interests.

Q. How can God S coufusing the tongues at Babel

be harmoui zed with 1 Corinthians 14 : 33 that God

is not the author of confusion (Page 14

~ 1

A. By thei " course of actiou the bu ilders of Babel

showed they were God s enem ies, defying and bring

ing reproach upon his name. Hence Jehovah confused

them and blocked

their

se

lfi

sh purpose, as a demon

stration of llis almighty power

an

d for a vindica tion

of his name and for the good of obedient creatures.

However, Jehovah does not confuse

th

ose within his

organization, but blesses the faithful with ]>eacc, as

in a

ll

[the] churclles of the sai

nts. -1

Corinthians

14:33.

Phonograph Lecture No. P-32-D

Religion

and Chtis tian lty

Q. How did God's covenant with the nation of

Israel protect them from the devil religion ' (Page

6

~ 1

A. That covenant brought them into relationship

with Jehovah God through the me

diator

Moses and

taught them the truth concerning God and set before


47/68

V I T L

D I D L E Q U E S T I O N S

45

thc Israelites God's

periect

commondme

nt

s and his

acceptable form of worship it exposed and warned

them against the

De

vil and his organization and reli

gion, and forbade th eir having anything to do with

such. Faithfulness to this covenant would guarantef'

to Israel J ehovah's guidance, protect-ion and preser

vation through his angels, until the true Seed of Abra

ham, Christ Jesus, should comc Jeremiah 31: 31-34;

Exodus 20: 1-21; Dcutcronomy 18: 9-22; Galatians

3: 19-24.

Q.

Did not the numerous sacrificcs, feasts

and

celebrations and otber performances by the Jcws about

the

holy tabernacle or tcmple constitute a religion

(P age

17 1[1

A. No. Because such when exactly and faithfully

done were

in

harmony with and in obedience to Jeho

vah's commandments, and were typical foreshadow

iugs

of

the truths duo to

e

brought

to

pass in the

future by

the

sacrifice

and

kingdom of Christ Jesus,

J ehovah's great Higb Priest and Vindicator. All this

was distinct from the so-called Jews' religion as

later developcd by seli-secking, unfai thful Israelit

es,

who set

up

the rules and traditions of men.

-Colos

sians 2:

16,17;

Hcbrews 10: 1; 5: 1-5;

Ga

latians

1: 13,14.

Phon

ograph Lecture No

. P-83 E

Religion

and Chridianity

Q_ Seeing that Jehovah gave the Israelites his

law a

nd

sent his prophets to them, how came the

" J ews'

religion

to

be

developed (Page

18

1[1

A.

Because the Devil continually assaulted the

Israelites by the heathen re

li

gionists from without

and by un

fait

hful Is

ra

e

li

tes,

particu

larly false proph

ets, from within. (2 Peter 2: 1 ; Deuteronomy 13:

1-

5 ;


48/68

46

MO

L S T U Y O F

J eremiah 23:

D-3 ) Ait

er the J ews retu111ed from

clLpt

ivi

ty ill Babylon seli-wise men

tried

to

add

to

the Word of God and several sects arose among the

Tews, pal ticui

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watchtower: model study of vital bible questions #1, 1937

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