the first postwar international convention was held at Cedar Point, Ohio, and a new magazine, auxiliary to the still continuing Watch Tower magazine, was published. Dramatically, as if arising from the dead, the persecuted remnant of the “nation whose God is Jehovah” strode fearlessly upon the world stage of action.

9. (a) Who had happiness now that this nation had its rebirth? (b) Who had unhappiness and experienced a great fall?

⁹ Once again, by the reviving power of God’s outpoured spirit, the remnant were on the scene livelily producing and bearing the fruits of the kingdom of God, which they thenceforth proclaimed as having come to power in the heavens at the close of the Gentile Times in 1914. O how happy the “nation whose God is Jehovah” could be, not only the remnant thereof still in the flesh on this earth, but also its King Jesus Christ and the other resurrected members of the “holy nation” in heaven! (Ps. 33:12) But how unhappy Babylon the Great, including Christendom, had reason to be at this powerful evidence that she had fallen from her position of power against Jehovah’s “nation” and had come under his adverse judgment that will shortly be executed in absolute destruction! Like her prototype of ancient times that fell before Cyrus the Great in 539 B.C.E., so Babylon the Great must have fallen or otherwise the remnant of the “nation whose God is Jehovah” could not have gone free in the year 1919. (Rev. 14:8) How happy the reborn nation could be over this fall of Great Babylon!

10. What great happiness awaits all 144,000 of that reborn nation, both now and in the future?

¹⁰ Since that rebirth of the “nation” and its deliverance from Babylon the Great in 1919, the number of members of the remnant increased, much to the happiness of the nation. Its God Jehovah has predestinated that the full number of its citizen body must be 144,000 members with the King Jesus Christ in the heavens. (Rev. 7:4-8; 14:1-3) Happy, indeed, will that nation of spiritual Israel be when its remnant yet on earth finishes its course faithfully and is united to all the other members of the nation in heaven and then the entire 144,000 reign in glory with their King Jesus Christ for the vindication of the universal sovereignty of their God and for the everlasting blessing of all the families of the earth, living and dead. But even now while yet on earth in this “time of the end” of the anguished Gentile nations, the remnant of the “nation whose God is Jehovah” has unique reasons for being happy. Lovingly it endeavors to share this happiness with others.

HAPPINESS SPREADING

11. Who have now associated themselves with that nation, and what have they become?

¹¹ More and more of distressed humanity are taking steps to share in this happiness, the only true happiness now on earth. Particularly since the year 1935 the “great crowd,” foretold in Revelation 7:9-17, has left off being a part of this world and has associated itself with the nation of spiritual Israel. (Zech. 8:20-23) They have become like “alien residents” dwelling within the “gates” of spiritual Israel and enjoying the benefits of thus residing with them. (Ex. 20:10) As this “great crowd” is foretold to be without any predestinated number, its number has kept increasing steadily, year after year, till now. With the nation of spiritual Israel they have become like “one flock” under “one shepherd,” Jesus Christ the King.—John 10:16.

12. Because of their great happiness, who can it truly be said is the God of both the spiritual nation and the “great crowd,” and how do they worship their God?

¹² What happiness they all continue enjoying together despite the worsening conditions among the Gentile nations! By their full dedication and water baptism as followers of Jesus Christ, this “great crowd” has the same God as the nation of spiritual Israel, namely, Jehovah. The Christian apostle Paul called him “the happy God,” and so why should not his worshipers on earth be happy with Him? (1 Tim. 1:11, NW; Ro; NEB) If they were not happy, Psalms 33:12 and Ps 144:15 would make it doubtful that Jehovah was their God. There is no happiness in blindly worshiping false, demonic gods, but what ground for being happy is one’s having as the object of one’s exclusive worship and devotion the only living and true God! What a privilege to worship him “with spirit and truth”!

13. What added happiness is just ahead for God’s people?

¹³ To his nation of spiritual Israel Jehovah says: “You are my witnesses.” (Isa. 43:10-12) What added reason to be happy is it for the “great crowd” as associates of the nation also to be witnesses of Jehovah! When Babylon the Great, including Christendom, shortly goes into destruction with all her false gods, how happy these witnesses will be that they were privileged to bear testimony to the true and immortal God Jehovah, who will then be triumphant over his longtime enemy, the world empire of false Babylonish religion! Then it will be the time to shout Hallelujah!—Rev. 19:1-3.

14. What has been the good news since the end of the Gentile Times, and what are Jehovah’s witnesses doing about it in spite of persecution?

¹⁴ At the end of the Gentile Times in 1914 the long-promised Messianic kingdom of Jehovah God was brought to birth in the heavens. (Rev. 12:5-9) Since then this world has furnished no good news, but the heavenly Father of the newborn kingdom has provided his nation and associated worshipers with the best news that mankind has ever heard, “this good news of the kingdom,” the newborn kingdom. How happy they are, not alone to have this good news, but also to have the honor and privilege to fulfill Jesus’ prophecy and preach this good news of the Kingdom in all the earth for a witness before the end of this system of things comes at Armageddon! (Matt. 24:14; Mark 13:10) What does it matter that this brings international persecution upon them? In his Sermon on the Mount, Jesus said that their being persecuted for this reason is an occasion for us to be happy. (Matt. 5:11, 12) This persecution will soon end with the violent end of all our persecutors!

15. With true appreciation, what can we say with the psalmist?

¹⁵ Most happy, then, are the sure prospects just ahead of us. Yet happy is our earthly estate even now in our spiritual paradise. We know this. We feel this. It is no self-delusion. With true appreciation welling up in our hearts to our God and his reigning King Jesus Christ, we can joyfully join the psalmist in exclaiming: “Happy is the nation whose God is Jehovah.”—Ps. 33:12.

A Drummer Becomes a Happy Witness

● In the Central African Republic a minister of Jehovah’s witnesses regularly passed by the home of a drummer. The drummer had been told by his priest to ignore Jehovah’s witnesses.

After some time, the drummer was reduced to extreme poverty. He even lost his shoes in a gambling game. But there was this same Witness passing by his home with a smile on his face and with shoes on his feet. The drummer began to do some serious thinking. “Why is it that I, a good Catholic, have nothing but problems, and this witness of Jehovah is always so happy?” A few days later he waited for the Witness on the road and asked him, “Why is there such a difference between us?” The minister gladly explained how Bible principles protect one. Now the drummer is a changed man, for he is one of Jehovah’s witnesses. He has cleaned up his life, legalized his marriage and, oh, yes, he is wearing shoes again.