Zeal for Jehovah’s House

“Sheer zeal for your house has eaten me up.”​—Ps. 69:9.

1. What powerful message was proclaimed in the spring of 29 C.E.?

IT IS spring of the year 29 C.E. In the wilderness of Judea appears a striking figure with camel’s hair clothing and a leather girdle. He is John the Baptizer. Hear his electrifying message!​—“Repent, for the kingdom of the heavens has drawn near.” Among those who come to the baptism are many of the Sadducees and Pharisees. John does not mince words as he puts these religious hypocrites in their place. “You offspring of vipers,” he calls them. And he makes it clear that the coming King will baptize with holy spirit and with fire​—that wheatlike persons will be gathered for preservation, but worthless chafflike ones for a fiery judgment of eternal destruction.​—Matt. 3:2-12.

2. How was the King identified?

² It becomes autumn, and the King-designate appears. John baptizes this perfect One, upon whom God’s spirit now descends like a dove. Jehovah’s own voice is heard from heaven, declaring: “This is my Son, the beloved, whom I have approved.”​—Matt. 3:13-17.

3. (a) What challenging words rang out in the spring of 30 C.E.? (b) How had God’s anointed one already shown zeal for his Father’s house?

³ Again it is spring, of the year 30 C.E. The Passover has been celebrated. And once more, in Galilee, those challenging words ring out!​—“Repent, you people, for the kingdom of the heavens has drawn near.” (Matt. 4:17) Who is the proclaimer of this kingdom? It is none other than the anointed King himself, who has now drawn near. Back in Jerusalem, on the occasion of the Passover, he had indicated his love of righteousness by driving out of Jehovah’s temple those merchants who were trying to commercialize God’s worship. It was then that the disciples of this man, Jesus, recalled that the psalmist had written of him, “Sheer zeal for [Jehovah’s] house has eaten me up.”​—Ps. 69:9; John 2:13-17.

ZEALOUS IN PRAYER AND ACTIVITY

4. How did Jesus show his deep concern for the vindication of his Father’s name?

⁴ Jesus was always zealous for Jehovah’s name and reputation. He taught his disciples to pray for that name to be hallowed, or sanctified. (Luke 11:2) And in prayer to Jehovah, before being parted from his disciples, he said: “I have made your name known to them and will make it known, in order that the love with which you loved me may be in them and I in union with them.” (John 17:26) Jesus was deeply concerned about seeing his Father’s name cleared of all reproach​—vindicated.

5. (a) On what did Jesus’ ministry focus? (b) For what other beneficial purpose had he come?

⁵ This pioneering minister came with a world-shaking message. (Compare Hebrews 2:10; 12:2, Revised Standard Version.) His was a dynamic preaching of the Kingdom for which he also taught his disciples to pray, “Let your kingdom come.” On that same occasion, on a mountain of Galilee, he counseled his listeners not to set their hearts on material things but, rather, to ‘keep on seeking God’s kingdom and his righteousness.’ (Matt. 6:10, 19-21, 24-34) Jesus came to minister to mankind, of whom he is the future king. Also, he came “to give his soul a ransom in exchange for many.” (Matt. 20:28) All who would exercise faith in his ransom sacrifice would find everlasting life in the realm of his kingdom.​—John 17:3.

6. Where and how did Jesus preach, and with what exemplary attitude?

⁶ What glorious “good news” this was! Jesus engaged in preaching it through the length and the breadth of the land of Palestine. On the mountainside, in private houses, in the synagogues, in the temple, on the seashore and in other public places, he preached.a He also performed miracles of healing, thus demonstrating how, in his kingdom, he would heal all mankind upon this earth. Thus he would bring them back to perfection of life in a global paradise. The record states:

“Jesus set out on a tour of all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues and preaching the good news of the kingdom and curing every sort of disease and every sort of infirmity. On seeing the crowds he felt pity for them, because they were skinned and thrown about like sheep without a shepherd. Then he said to his disciples: ‘Yes, the harvest is great, but the workers are few. Therefore, beg the Master of the harvest to send out workers into his harvest.’” (Matt. 9:35-38)

How were such prayers for “workers” answered?

MORE ‘WORKERS FOR THE HARVEST’

7. (a) How were the twelve disciples to carry out their work? (b) Where would they find deserving persons?

⁷ Jesus himself started to meet the need by instructing and sending forth those twelve disciples. And how were they to carry out their work? Why, with the same zeal that their Master had demonstrated! He told them: “Into whatever city or village you enter, search out who in it is deserving.” This would necessitate their going to the people’s homes, where “deserving” persons would heed the “good news.” In this way, those disciples would also find lodging for the night. But some cities would not show them hospitality. Thus, Jesus said: “Wherever you enter into a home, stay there and leave from there. And wherever people do not receive you, on going out of that city shake the dust off your feet for a witness against them.”​—Matt. 10:11-15; Luke 9:1-6.

8. (a) What further indicates that home visits were made? (b) Then, and also now, how might the householder’s kindly attitude result to his blessing?

⁸ Those who received the twelve with kindness placed themselves in line to receive blessings from Jehovah through his Son, just as Jesus told those disciples, saying:

“He that receives you receives me also, and he that receives me receives him also that sent me forth. . . . And whoever gives one of these little ones only a cup of cold water to drink because he is a disciple, I tell you truly, he will by no means lose his reward.” (Matt. 10:40-42)

Back there, as has so often happened also in modern times, a householder’s meek and considerate attitude would open the way for him to receive spiritual blessings with the prospect of everlasting life.​—Compare Matthew 25:34-40.

9. Where did the 70 carry on harvesting activity, and with what twofold purpose?

⁹ However, still more workers had to be trained for the harvest. So, “after these things the Lord designated seventy others and sent them forth by twos in advance of him into every city and place to which he himself was going to come.” Whether they went to the synagogues or marketplaces, the record does not say. But they were instructed to go to the houses of the people. Jesus said to them: “Wherever you enter into a house say first, ‘May this house have peace.’ And if a friend of peace is there, your peace will rest upon him. But if there is not, it will turn back to you.” The disciples were to accept gratefully the hospitality of those householders who listened to the “good news.” But if a household, or even an entire city, refused to heed the message, the disciples were at least to warn the people, saying: “Keep this in mind, that the kingdom of God has come near.” They thus established a pattern that Jehovah’s Witnesses seek to follow today. They pioneered a twofold work of teaching those households that gladly received them and of warning those who spurned the “good news” about God’s judgments to come.​—Luke 10:1-16.

10. How may Jehovah’s Witnesses today find joy like that of the 70?

¹⁰ The record tells us that “the seventy returned with joy” because the demons had been made subject to them by the use of Jesus’ name. But Christ showed that his disciples should, rather, rejoice in their heavenly prospects and their spiritual enlightenment. (Luke 10:17-24) Likewise today, Christians who expend themselves in teaching and preaching at the homes of the people have reasons for a great deal of joy because of their own relationship with God, their knowledge of his purposes and Jehovah’s blessing on their efforts to declare the “good news” to others.

“JOY WITH HOLY SPIRIT”

11. How did the new Christian congregation react to persecutions?

¹¹ The scene shifts to Pentecost of 33 C.E. and thereafter. The responsibility to proclaim the “good news” now rested squarely on the newly formed Christian congregation. Immediately, it met up with persecutions. But these only served to sharpen appreciation of its mission in upholding the sovereignty of Jehovah and in preaching his kingdom by Christ. Boldly Peter and John declared: “As for us, we cannot stop speaking about the things we have seen and heard.” Along with the other believers, they praised Jehovah and petitioned him as the “Sovereign Lord, . . . the One who made the heaven and the earth and the sea and all the things in them.”​—Acts 4:18-24.

12. What exemplary stand did the apostles take in the face of persecutions, and with what result?

¹² When a further wave of persecution struck those followers of Christ, they gave bold testimony before the religious Sanhedrin, saying:

“We must obey God as ruler rather than men. The God of our forefathers raised up Jesus, whom you slew, hanging him upon a stake. God exalted this one as Chief Agent and Savior to his right hand, to give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins. And we are witnesses of these matters, and so is the holy spirit, which God has given to those obeying him as ruler.” (Acts 5:29-32)

So long as those apostles remained unflinching in their support of the Sovereign Lord Jehovah and his Chief Agent, Jesus Christ, they would have holy spirit to help them in their preaching and teaching work.

13. How may Christians to this day maintain “joy with holy spirit”?

¹³ During that crucial period, there was no time for disputes about foods and other trivia. They had to close ranks and present a united front against the enemy without. So doing, they experienced that of which the apostle Paul later wrote, saying: “The kingdom of God . . . means righteousness and peace and joy with holy spirit.” (Rom. 14:17) To this day, Christians who boldly proclaim Jehovah’s sovereignty and kingdom, while upholding right principles in unity with their brothers, are assured of the help of holy spirit and of joy in their work.​—Compare Matthew 25:21.

‘CONTINUING WITHOUT LETUP’

14. Though ordered to “stop speaking,” how did those disciples pursue their divine commission?

¹⁴ The “good news” was spreading like wildfire. There was no dampening the joy and zeal of the apostles. When lawyer Gamaliel’s wise advice to “let them alone” was heeded, they “went their way from before the Sanhedrin, rejoicing because they had been counted worthy to be dishonored in behalf of [Jesus’] name.” And how did they react to the Sanhedrin’s order to “stop speaking upon the basis of Jesus’ name”? The account tells us that “every day in the temple and from house to house they continued without letup teaching and declaring the good news about the Christ, Jesus.”​—Acts 5:38-42.

15. Though some aspects of our work may be different, what basic activity can we carry on, after the apostles’ pattern?

¹⁵ Like those apostles, where we have the freedom we search “from house to house” for those who are worthy to receive the “good news.” When we find them, we can revisit them and aid them through a free Bible study in the home. Of course, certain aspects of our work are different today, in that we do not go to temples or synagogues to preach. Also, we now have the help of the printed page, automobiles and other means of travel to facilitate our work. Thus home visits are an admirable way of distributing the printed message and returning to teach God’s Word to those who respond to the “good news.”

‘DO NOT HOLD BACK’

16. (a) Where did Paul witness and teach? (b) What indicates that Paul made home visits similar to our house-to-house activity today?

¹⁶ The apostle Paul also set a fine example in public preaching. In the synagogues, in the marketplace, on a riverbank​—wherever he could find Jews and others to talk to—​Paul witnessed. For two years, in a school auditorium in Ephesus, he gave daily talks to new “disciples.” (Acts 16:13; 18:4; 19:9) And later, to those who had become elders in the congregation at Ephesus, Paul said: “From the very first day that I stepped into the district of Asia . . . I did not hold back from telling you any of the things that were profitable nor from teaching you publicly and from house to house. But I thoroughly bore witness.” To whom? Only to those who ultimately became elders? No, for Paul adds that he witnessed “both to Jews and to Greeks about repentance toward God and faith in our Lord Jesus.” So, new persons who needed to know the elementary teachings on repentance and faith were included among those who were taught “publicly and from house to house” right from the start of Paul’s missionary service in Ephesus.​—Acts 20:18-21; 18:19; 19:1-7; compare Hebrews 6:1.

17. (a) What is the basis for many Bible translations’ rendering the Greek kat oikous “from house to house”? (b) What would Paul’s ‘thorough witnessing’ indicate that Christian witnessing would include?

¹⁷ This phrase “from house to house” is translated from the Greek kat oikous. Though there are other renderings, many well-known versions of the Bible use this expression​—“from house to house.”b This is because the Greek preposition kata is in a “distributive” sense. (Compare the similar use of kata at Luke 8:1​—“from city to city,” “from village to village”; and at Acts 15:21​—“in city after city.”) Thus it may be said that Paul’s ‘thorough witnessing’ was distributed house after house. Bible scholar Dr. A. T. Robertson comments as follows on Acts 20:20:

“By (according to) houses. It is worth noting that this greatest of all preachers preached from house to house and did not make his visits mere social calls.”

As Paul “thoroughly bore witness,” Christians today search for spiritually inclined householders, making return visits to those homes and studying with interested persons. Later, as necessary, shepherding calls are made by faithful overseers.c

18. Why would Paul and his companions not have held back from house-to-house preaching and teaching?

¹⁸ There was every reason why Paul and other Christians of his day should ‘not hold back’ in their house-to-house preaching and teaching. Those were critical times. The Jewish system of things was fast approaching its destruction. The Roman emperors were encouraging idolatry. By peoples who were “given to the fear of the deities,” there was a pressing need to seek “the God that made the world and all the things in it,” the One who was then “telling mankind that they should all everywhere repent.”​—Acts 17:22-31.

19. (a) Why is the need for house-to-house witnessing, as well as other witnessing activity, most urgent today? (b) In what will our zealous ‘continuing in the faith’ result?

¹⁹ The need for ‘thorough witnessing’​—from house to house, by informal witnessing, in the marketplaces, by making return visits, by conducting regular Bible studies in the homes—​is urgent today. True, as in the apostle Paul’s day, the “good news” has been “preached in all creation that is under heaven.” But there is the need for further intensive effort before the “great tribulation” strikes. As the apostle Paul told those Colossian Christians, it is necessary for all of us to “continue in the faith, established on the foundation and steadfast and not being shifted away from the hope of that good news.”​—Col. 1:23; Matt. 24:21.

20. How can whole-souled house-to-house preaching serve as a protection today?

²⁰ As in the heyday of the Roman Empire, so today, worldly pressure is aimed at making Christians abandon themselves to the pleasures, so-called “recreation” and immoralities of godless people​—“those who do not know God and those who do not obey the good news about our Lord Jesus—​the very ones who are about to “undergo the judicial punishment of everlasting destruction.” (2 Thess. 1:6-9) Our protection lies in working as did Paul and all other zealous Christians of his time, in “always having plenty to do in the work of the Lord,” in working “whole-souled as to Jehovah, and not to men.” (1 Cor. 15:58; Col. 3:23) Great satisfaction and joy are to be found in working after the pattern of the apostle Paul and others of the first-century congregation, publicly and “from house to house” and in bearing ‘thorough witness’ that others may learn about “repentance toward God and faith in our Lord Jesus.” (Acts 20:20, 21) As we thus serve, may it always be said of us, as it was of our Master: ‘The zeal for Jehovah’s house of worship has eaten me up.’​—John 2:17.

[Footnotes]

Preaching in a Lawless World

“Because of the increasing of lawlessness the love of the greater number will cool off. But he that has endured to the end is the one that will be saved. And this good news of the kingdom will be preached in all the inhabited earth for a witness to all the nations; and then the end will come.”​—Matt. 24:12-14.

1. To what extent is lawlessness taking over in the world today? (2 Tim. 3:1-5)

DO YOU see lawlessness on the increase today? In many parts of the earth disrespect for law and order is rising to a flood tide. Crime is rampant in most big cities. It is no longer safe to walk the streets. In recent years, many governments have been toppled by revolutions, and others are arming to the teeth against rebellion from within and threats from the outside. Even the Communist world is having difficulties, as nationalism takes precedence over socialistic “unity.”

2. How has lawlessness permeated many of the sects of Christendom?

² What of Christendom? As Jesus prophesied for our day, “the increasing of lawlessness” has had a devastating effect on many of her sects. The Bible, which advocates proper respect for law and order, is now regarded by many as “out of date.” Numerous churches have gone along with the permissive society of the day, winking at immorality, homosexuality and corruption​—thus producing a crop of counterfeit Christians, of the kind that will not “inherit God’s kingdom.”​—Matt. 24:12; 1 Cor. 6:9, 10.

3. How have lawless ones tried to penetrate the Christian congregation, and what does Jesus say concerning such persons?

³ Lawless persons have even tried to penetrate the true Christian congregation, arguing that the “promised presence” of our Lord is not in this day. They ridicule the elders and dispute the Master’s appointment of “the faithful and discreet slave” to care for his Kingdom interests on earth. (2 Pet. 3:3, 4; Matt. 24:45-47) Persons of this kind are included in Jesus’ warning recorded at Matthew 7:15-23: “Be on the watch for the false prophets that come to you in sheep’s covering, but inside they are ravenous wolves. . . . [In that day] I will confess to them: I never knew you! Get away from me, you workers of lawlessness.”

4. What quality are we encouraged to cultivate, and how may we demonstrate it?

⁴ However, Jesus stated concerning truly “sheeplike” ones: “He that has endured to the end is the one that will be saved.” How may we demonstrate that we have this quality of endurance? Why, by sharing in the fulfillment of Jesus’ further words: “And this good news of the kingdom will be preached in all the inhabited earth for a witness to all the nations; and then the end will come.” (Matt. 24:13, 14) It is by our endurance in proclaiming “this good news of the kingdom” that we may attain to salvation.

5. (a) Why can it be said that we are not alone in our work? (b) What judging is now being done, and by whom?

⁵ We are not alone in doing this work, for Jesus’ prophecy on this “conclusion of the system of things” goes on to tell us that “when the Son of man arrives in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit down on his glorious throne.” From the invisible heavens he directs a work of judgment, in which he separates the people of the nations “just as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats.” This separating work is climaxed by the “great tribulation,” at which time the unresponsive “goats” depart “into everlasting cutting-off,” whereas the obedient “sheep” are invited to inherit the kingdom that the Father has prepared for them “from the founding of the world.”​—Matt. 24:3, 21; 25:31-46.

6. (a) How have the “sheep” and the “goats” been made to identify themselves? (b) How has angelic direction of our house-to-house service often been demonstrated?

⁶ How do the “sheep” and the “goats” identify themselves as such? This is a consequence of a work of witnessing carried out on earth by the spirit-anointed “brothers” of the king and their companions, a work that reaches “to the most distant part of the earth.” (Acts 1:8) In the main, this has been a global campaign of preaching from house to house. Such activity results in the appreciative response to spiritual things that is suggested by the King’s words to the “sheep” class: “I was a stranger and you received me hospitably.” (Matt. 25:35) He counts their receiving his “brothers” as something being done to him. It is in contrast to the reception given by stubborn persons who pay no attention to spiritual matters. This separating work has indeed been carried forward under angelic direction. (Matt. 25:31, 32) And in conjunction with it there has been angelic aid in declaring the “good news,” for how often it has happened that a sincere person has prayed to God for help, only to find one of Jehovah’s Witnesses standing at his door! And how often has a Witness been guided by some unusual circumstance to call at a home when spiritual aid is needed the most! Being aware of the support of the myriads of heavenly angels, may we never let up in searching out worthy persons by zealous house-to-house preaching.

FOLLOWING THE FIRST-CENTURY PATTERN

7. (a) What indicates that the early Christians were intensely involved in witnessing “publicly and from house-to-house”? (b) What other comparison may be made between first-century and modern-day Christians?

⁷ Among the early Christians there was no division into clergy and laity. Those believers in the Lord Jesus Christ were not merely pew-sitters. They were men and women of action, intensely involved in witnessing “publicly and from house to house.” (Acts 20:20) They literally ‘filled Jerusalem with their teaching’ and preached the good news “in all creation that is under heaven.” (Acts 5:28; Col. 1:23) They were successful because, as historian E. Arnold notes in his book The Early Christians: “Even the most simple members of their communities were messengers, spreading the truth entrusted to them.” It must be the same today, for these words of Paul apply to all believing Christians: “With the heart one exercises faith for righteousness, but with the mouth one makes public declaration for salvation.” And again the result is that multitudes are hearing the “good news,” for, “in fact, ‘into all the earth their sound went out, and to the extremities of the inhabited earth their utterances.’”​—Rom. 10:10, 18.

8. What sharp contrast is to be seen between Christendom’s religions and true Christianity?

⁸ How different the prophetic message of true Christians from the formalistic ceremonies of Christendom! Historian H. G. Wells noted this difference in his Outline of History, as follows:

“It is necessary that we should recall the reader’s attention to the profound differences between this fully developed Christianity of Nicæa [of 325 C.E.] and the teaching of Jesus of Nazareth. . . . What is clearly apparent is that the teaching of Jesus of Nazareth was a prophetic teaching of the new type that began with the Hebrew prophets. . . . Its only organization was an organization of preachers, and its chief function was the sermon. But the fully fledged Christianity of the fourth century . . . was mainly a priestly religion of a type already familiar to the world for thousands of years. . . . it had a rapidly developing organization of deacons, priests, and bishops.”

For their prophetic teaching today, true Christians have the precious good news of the established kingdom, which must be ‘preached first in all the nations’ before the end comes.​—Mark 13:10.

9. What house-to-house service that was started in 1919 continues with success to this day?

⁹ This modern-day preaching of the “good news” received added impulse after announcement of the projected new magazine The Golden Age at the Cedar Point, Ohio, U.S.A., convention on September 5, 1919. This magazine is now called by the Scriptural title “Awake!” (Rom. 13:11) It became the instrument for a special work announced by the Watch Tower Society at that convention:

“THE GOLDEN AGE work is a house-to-house canvass with the kingdom message, proclaiming the day of vengeance of our God and comforting those that mourn.”

To this day, the house-to-house work with Awake!, and also with the Watchtower magazine, continues to be one of the most valuable methods of reaching the people regularly with the “good news.”

10. What stirring call to action was given in 1922, and how was house-to-house activity tied in?

¹⁰ The house-to-house service of Jehovah’s Witnesses gained further impetus from the second Cedar Point convention in 1922, where this memorable call to action sounded forth:

“Go forward in the fight until every vestige of Babylon lies desolate. Herald the message far and wide. The world must know that Jehovah is God and that Jesus Christ is King of kings and Lord of lords. This is the day of all days. Behold, the King reigns! You are his publicity agents. Therefore advertise, advertise, advertise, the King and his kingdom.”

One day of that convention was set aside for house-to-house group witnessing, and it was reported that 10,000 books were distributed by the Kingdom publishers. Down to this day, special programs of house-to-house preaching at conventions add to the joy of those assembled.

A ‘LOCUST’ ARMY ADVANCES

11. (a) To what was the army of Witnesses Scripturally likened in their house-to-house preaching work? (b) How has this ‘locust’ activity affected (i) the clergy, (ii) honest-hearted people?

¹¹ During the 1920’s and 1930’s this vigorous witnessing from house to house was like a locust plague passing through Christendom. As Revelation 9:7-10 puts it, “the likenesses of the locusts resembled horses prepared for battle . . . And the sound of their wings was as the sound of chariots of many horses running into battle. Also, they have tails and stings like scorpions.” A “mighty” army of zealous Witnesses swarmed through the cities and towns of Christendom, exposing wrong doctrines and hypocritical religious practices. This often stung the clergy into active opposition. The ‘locust’ band gave notice concerning the approaching day of Jehovah’s vengeance on all defamers of his name, and comforted honest-hearted ones with the glad tidings of a paradise earth to be restored under God’s sovereignty.​—Isa. 61:2.

12. (a) Why are these “last days” no time for complacency? (b) How may Joel’s words concerning the ‘locust’ army be applied to the activity of Jehovah’s Witnesses?

¹² These “last days” are no time for complacency. (2 Tim. 3:1) As God’s prophet Joel declares: “The day of Jehovah is coming, for it is near!” (Joel 2:1) Though this is to be a day of gloom and anguish for false religionists, those who love God can rejoice now in spiritual enlightenment that is like the “light of dawn spread out upon the mountains.” (Joel 2:2a) As a ‘locust’ army, they carried the Kingdom message from house to house. God’s prophet describes their zealous action in these striking words:

“There is a people numerous and mighty; one like it has not been made to exist from the indefinite past, and after it there will be none again to the years of generation after generation. Ahead of it a fire has devoured, and behind it a flame consumes. Like the garden of Eden the land is ahead of it; but behind it is a desolate wilderness, and there has also proved to be nothing thereof escaping.” (Joel 2:2b, 3)

True, there has never been a spiritual army like these anointed witnesses of Jehovah! They have marched through the earth, exposing the error of Babylonish religions, completely devastating any Edenlike appearance of their realm of activity, but bringing comfort to those homes that receive the “good news.” Through Joel, Jehovah God says of this witness band:

“Like powerful men they run. Like men of war they go up a wall. . . . On the houses they go up. Through the windows they go in like the thief. . . . And Jehovah himself will certainly give forth his voice before his military force, for his camp is very numerous. For he who is carrying out his word is mighty; for the day of Jehovah is great and very fear-inspiring, and who can hold up under it?” (Joel 2:7-11)

Protected by the myriads of heavenly angels, these spiritual ‘locusts’ have carried forward their house-to-house visits. The common people have heard them gladly, as the ‘fear-inspiring day of Jehovah’ draws close.​—See Religion, chaps. 6 and 7 (1940 C.E.); also The Watchtower, issue of June 15 to July 15, 1939, under “Doom of Religion.”

13. What “horses” have served today as the instrumentalities of the ‘locust’ army, and what grand house-to-house witness has resulted?

¹³ The prophet Joel envisioned this ‘locust’ army as running like “horses” prepared for the battle, making a sound like that of many chariots. (Joel 2:4-6) A great army indeed are these worldwide proclaimers of the Kingdom, as they carry on spiritual warfare, preaching “from house to house”! And John’s vision proceeds to describe mounted horses making up “armies of cavalry” to the number of “two myriads of myriads”​—200,000,000! (Rev. 9:16-19) Powerful instrumentalities these “horses” have been for helping with the proclamation of Jehovah’s judgments! How well they compare to the millions upon millions of Bibles, books and magazines that the ‘locust’ band has distributed during these years in their house-to-house activity! (See “Then Is Finished the Mystery of God,” chap. 17.) In the year 1978 alone, they, accompanied by the “great crowd” of Revelation 7:9-17, distributed to the homes 216,709,937 copies of the Watchtower and Awake! magazines. The ‘locust’ army’s house-to-house preaching certainly gives a grand witness.

SURMOUNTING PERSECUTION

14. How may Joel 2:7 have application with regard to the activity of Jehovah’s Witnesses under ban?

¹⁴ Enemies of truth have tried to stop this preaching activity. In many countries nationalistic rulers have proclaimed a ban against this ‘locust’ work. They have tried to erect a “wall” against the Kingdom-preaching activity. But the ‘locust’ army climbs such walls “like men of war.” In some towns where the work is under ban local interested persons have joined with the Witnesses, guiding them to those homes where they know the people to be friendly. At times they will witness to one or two homes in one block and then move over to do the same in another block of houses Often they witness with the Bible only. In other lands the Witnesses carry on an effective work informally, while they yearn for the day when restrictive shackles may be broken, so that they may freely go from house to house again.

15. How did the United States Supreme Court come out in support of our house-to-house preaching?

¹⁵ During World War II, religious clergymen in the United States did their utmost to get the house-to-house activity of Jehovah’s Witnesses banned. However on many occasions, the Supreme Court of the United States acknowledged that this house-to-house preaching was supported by the constitutional guarantees of the free exercise of religion and freedom of speech and press. Drawing attention to the Scriptural basis of the activity of Jehovah’s Witnesses, the Supreme Court stated, in its majority opinion in Murdock v. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, in May 1943:

“They claim to follow the example of Paul, teaching ‘publickly, and from house to house.’ Acts 20:20. They take literally the mandate of the Scriptures, ‘Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.’ Mark 16:15. . . . This form of evangelism is utilized today on a large scale by various religious sects whose colporteurs carry the Gospel to thousands upon thousands of homes and seek through personal visitations to win adherents to their faith. It is more than preaching; it is more than distribution of religious literature. It is a combination of both.”

Truly, the ‘locust’ army and their companions have been successful in climbing over legal walls that enemies have tried to raise against their house-to-house work.

“FROM HOUSE TO HOUSE” WORLD WIDE

16. (a) What angelic activity now takes in the world field? (b) Why have the “preaching” methods of Christendom’s missionaries proved unsuccessful?

¹⁶ In explaining one of his parables, Jesus said: “The field is the world . . . The harvest is a conclusion of a system of things, and the reapers are angels.” (Matt. 13:38, 39) The apostle John also saw in vision angelic activity at this ‘time of the end,’ and so he wrote:

“I saw another angel flying in midheaven, and he had everlasting good news to declare as glad tidings to those who dwell on the earth, and to every nation and tribe and tongue and people, saying in a loud voice: ‘Fear God and give him glory, because the hour of the judgment by him has arrived, and so worship the One who made the heaven and the earth and sea and fountains of waters.’ And another, a second angel, followed, saying: ‘She has fallen! Babylon the great has fallen, she who made all the nations drink of the wine of the anger of her fornication!’” (Rev. 14:6-8)

How could all peoples of mankind be advised of the everlasting good news concerning God’s Kingdom rule, and of the impending fall of the world empire of false religion and its destruction? Would it be by Christendom’s method of going into so-called “pagan” lands, building schools, hospitals and relief centers and incidentally preaching to the “rice Christians’ that came to them? No, for such methods could never succeed. They have not succeeded, and the religions of Christendom, which have been partners in gunrunning and colonial warfare through the centuries, are held in very poor esteem throughout many of the non-Christian countries of earth.

17. What methods have been used by the missionaries of Jehovah’s Witnesses, and with what result?

¹⁷ The angels of heaven have guided a far different missionary service in recent years. Starting in the year 1943, Jehovah’s Witnesses have been operating the Watchtower Bible School of Gilead (originally at South Lansing, New York, U.S.A.) for the express purpose of training missionaries for the world field. And these missionaries have been sent forth, to preach “publicly and from house to house,” conduct home Bible studies and gather interested persons into new congregations. Has this public preaching “from house to house” been successful? Surely it has. In 1943, 126,329 Jehovah’s Witnesses throughout 54 countries and territories of earth were serving in 6,310 congregations. In 1978, 35 years later, there were 2,182,341 active Witnesses, in 205 countries, organized into 42,255 congregations.

18. (a) Is house-to-house witnessing important today, and why do you so answer? (b) How should Jehovah’s people regard their role in connection with the judgment work? (c) What must we do to be assured of happiness as the final outcome?

¹⁸ As “the hour of the judgment” by God hastens nearer, so must this house-to-house activity by those of you who are home missionaries and foreign missionaries hasten on to its conclusion. (Rev. 14:7) Though many persons today may show a “goatlike” disposition, there are still “sheep” waiting in your territories. As you courageously continue your house-to-house activity, heavenly angels will see that you are guided to these “sheep.” The enthroned King, Christ Jesus, is the Judge. We are simply humble servants privileged to play a role in connection with his judgment work, and we may do so by ‘thoroughly bearing witness and teaching publicly and from house to house.’ (Acts 20:20, 21) Very soon the lawless cities of Christendom and of the entire earth will “actually crash in ruins, to be without an inhabitant.” Then, happy will be those who answered the call to Jehovah’s service, saying: “Here I am! Send me.”​—Isa. 6:8-11.

They Preached from House to House

BACK in 1956, two full-time preachers of Jehovah’s Witnesses were assigned to work in the small town of Princeton, Kentucky, where no Witnesses lived. It made sense that, to cover the territory effectively, they should live right in Princeton. They had no car, and it was difficult to commute from the distant town where they were staying with some Witnesses. How would they arrange for accommodations?

Well, they went from house to house, as was their custom, preaching the good news of God’s kingdom. When they found persons who manifested some interest, they explained their need for a place to stay, so that they could thereby serve the community more effectively in their Bible educational work. Unfortunately, however, none had any extra room to accommodate them.

“It was getting toward evening,” Katie Williams, one of the full-time Kingdom proclaimers, explained recently at a circuit assembly, “and we came to the last house at the end of the street we were working.” After informing the lady that they were Bible students, and briefly telling her about the nature of their work, Katie and her companion explained their need for rooming accommodations.

At that, the lady called out to her husband: “Here are some Bible students, and they are looking for a place to stay.”

“Bible students?” he asked. “Let them come in. This is what we need.” The two girls were a little surprised by the warm reception. But then the lady said: “We need you to help us motivate our congregation.”

They soon learned that her husband, Frank Wattley, a man about 70 years of age, was a local Baptist minister. “They had welcomed us so warmly,” Katie explained, “that we accepted their invitation to stay.” Later, Frank informed the girls that what he really had in mind was converting them to his religion.

From the first morning, Katie and her partner began the day’s activities by discussing a Bible text, inviting the Wattleys to sit in and share. The older couple readily accepted the invitation. One morning a text under consideration was Ezekiel 18:4, which says: “The soul that is sinning​—it itself will die.”

“What? You mean the soul dies?” Frank asked. “Just wait a minute. I need to learn something more about this.” So a regular Bible study was begun with him and his wife. After becoming convinced regarding the Bible’s teaching about the soul, Frank said: “Listen, girls, I can never go back to teaching my congregation the immortality-of-the-soul doctrine.” So he and his wife left the Church and began preaching from house to house along with Katie and her partner. But that was not all.

A number of the members of Frank’s former congregation began to study the Bible with them. In time, meetings were arranged in the Wattley home and, as the group increased in size, a store was rented for the meetings. Many, including the Wattleys, soon were baptized. A Witness from another town would come over and conduct the meetings. Eventually a new congregation of Jehovah’s Witnesses was formed.

When their place of meeting became too crowded, Frank said: “We want to donate a lot to the congregation.” In time, a Kingdom Hall was built on that location. Frank Wattley remained a faithful witness of Jehovah until his death, and Katie Williams is now in her 32nd year of pioneering, still regularly preaching from house to house.

What Others Have Said About House-to-House Witnessing

When it came time for Jehovah to execute judgment on the apostate city of Jerusalem, he gave his prophet Ezekiel a vision, in which he saw a man clothed with linen and having a writer’s inkhorn. To this man Jehovah gave the commission: “Pass through the midst of the city, through the midst of Jerusalem, and you must put a mark on the foreheads of the men that are sighing and groaning over all the detestable things that are being done in the midst of it.” The ones who received a mark of approval were spared at the time of destruction. All others perished.​—Ezek. 9:2-11.

A similar marking work is being done today, identifying those who are distressed over the hypocrisy, corruption and bloodguilt that they find in Christendom, and who are willing to put on the true Christian personality​—with everlasting life in view. Throughout the realm of Christendom, this marking work is being accomplished by Jehovah’s Witnesses under the leadership of the class pictured by the “man . . . clothed with linen” and largely by a vigorous campaign of preaching “this good news of the kingdom” from house to house. (Matt. 24:14; Acts 20:20) How has this witnessing campaign been received by the people?

As in Ezekiel’s day, some have been willing to receive the mark of true Christianity. Others have bitterly opposed the message. Still others have spoken words of commendation for the Witnesses and their preaching methods. For example, Catholic priest John A. O’Brien told some 200 priests at St. Joseph’s Seminary in New York:

“In recruiting converts and reclaiming lapsed members, nothing beats personal contact. This is achieved by the tactful, courteous, well trained doorbell apostle. The secret of the phenomenal success of St. Paul was his tireless use of the house-to-house method of recruiting converts. It is ironic that the apostolic method is now used by non-Catholic sects, especially Jehovah’s Witnesses, whose numerous converts put us Catholics to shame.”​—“The Monitor,” July 7, 1961.

A similar note was sounded by Catholic priest J. S. Kennedy, who said, in writing about Jehovah’s Witnesses:

“Their door-to-door canvass in pursuit of converts is intensive and never stops. . . . their zeal and self-sacrifice should give us pause.”​—“Our Sunday Visitor,” June 3, 1962.

And more recently, a conference of religious leaders in Spain noted the following:

“Perhaps [the churches] are excessively neglectful about that which precisely constitutes the greatest preoccupation of the Witnesses​—the home visit, that comes within the apostolic methodology of the primitive church. While the churches, on not a few occasions, limit themselves to constructing their temples, ringing their bells to attract the people and to preaching inside their places of meeting, [the Witnesses] follow the apostolic method of going from house to house and of taking advantage of every occasion to witness.”​—“El Catholicismo,” Bogotá, Colombia, September 14, 1975.

While orthodox religions wait for people to come to them, Jehovah’s Witnesses follow the example of Jesus and the apostles in going to the people. Even under ban or persecutions, they keep on proclaiming the “good news,” as did Christ’s early followers, of whom it was said:

“Great persecution arose against the congregation that was in Jerusalem; all except the apostles were scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria. However, those who had been scattered went through the land declaring the good news of the word.”​—Acts 8:1, 4.

There was no stopping the preaching of God’s kingdom back there.

ON A WORLDWIDE SCALE

In modern times, an extensive witness was given in Christendom up until World War II. This witness was expanded greatly as missionaries were trained and sent forth from the Watchtower Bible School of Gilead, South Lansing, New York, from 1943 onward. In country after country, they carried out intensive house-to-house preaching, following through with many home Bible studies. And the result? As early as the year 1950, a professor of religious history at Northwestern University, U.S.A., wrote the following:

“Jehovah’s Witnesses have literally covered the earth with their witnessing. . . . It may be truly said that no single religious group in the world displayed more zeal and persistence in the attempt to spread the good news of the Kingdom than the Jehovah’s Witnesses. . . . This movement will very likely go on from strength to strength.”​—C. S. Braden, in his book “These Also Believe.”

Others have also made a study of the missionary activity of Jehovah’s Witnesses. One of these scholars, Bryan Wilson, a professor at All Souls College, Oxford University, England, visited Japan, where he studied what he terms “the recent rapid growth” in the ranks of Jehovah’s Witnesses. The results of his studies were published in the “Social Compass” of January 1977, and interesting comments such as the following were made:

“Witnesses offer a wide range of practical advice, couched in language of authority, on marital relations, moral issues, the rearing of children, and other practical matters. . . . [For parents] the Witnesses have a great deal to offer by way of firm advice substantiated in Holy Writ and integrated into a coherent philosophy of life dominated by single-minded purpose . . . Furthermore, the advice of the Witnesses has the added cachet of being offered uniformly and without concessions to local cultural preoccupations. It is offered without being patronizing and without privilege or prejudice, and it has the strength of being uncompromising. . . . no one adopts Watch Tower religion explicitly for its beneficial consequences: its teachings with respect to the upbringing of children cannot be regarded as an analogue of rice in the recruitment of natives by the old Catholic and Protestant missions.”

Today, in Japan, more than 48,000 native Jehovah’s Witnesses are preaching the grand hope of God’s kingdom from house to house. In a survey of 377 of these Witnesses in Tokyo, Professor Wilson found that 58.3 percent became interested through house-to-house calls, whereas 34.3 percent were first witnessed to by a relative, friend or acquaintance. Thus, it can be appreciated how effective house-to-house calls have proved to be in this missionary field. The professor also asked those interviewed what it was that first attracted them to Jehovah’s Witnesses and typical replies were the following:

“The kindness of the Witnesses.” “The lack of any smell of religious formalism and the absence of show.” “The warmth of the Witnesses attracted me, their neatness, their desire to help and the good relationships among them.” “The attitude and personality of the publisher who first talked to me.” “The quality in the congregation.” “I was surprised to find such meek people.” “I was impressed by the polite speech of the Witnesses. When I attended the 1973 Assembly, I was impressed by the unity of the organization: I thought I was observing well-trained soldiers.” “The people were loving and kind; and they enjoyed the meeting, and they sincerely tried to apply Bible principles in their lives.” “The love and warmth among Jehovah’s Witnesses.”

Returning now to the Western world, let us examine an article appearing in “U.S. Catholic” of January 1979. It was written by William J. Whalen and is entitled “Jehovah’s Witnesses: Gonna Take a Fundamental Journey.” The subheading asks the question: “Does door-to-door religion work?” Then the article proceeds to an impartial discussion of the history and activities of Jehovah’s Witnesses. In conclusion, the writer says:

“A hundred years ago a young man [Charles Taze Russell] left his clothing store and started to teach his interpretation of the Bible. Since then hundreds of people have died rather than deny what they understand to be the will of Jehovah. Others have risked their lives and those of their children rather than accept a blood transfusion. Many have spent long years in prisons and concentration camps.

“In 1962 I concluded a study of Jehovah’s Witnesses with this observation: ‘That the New World Society will suddenly run out of steam is doubtful. Whether Armageddon lies around the corner or not, hundreds of thousands if not millions of people live each day in the belief that it does.’ Armageddon is still just around the corner, and there are well over twice as many Witnesses today as then. All signs indicate the Watchtower Society will probably double again in size during the next decade.”

Obviously, in the opinion of the writer just quoted, “door-to-door religion” does work. But most important of all is Jehovah’s spirit and blessing upon his people.​—Zech. 4:6; John 14:15-17.