such men as receive the truth with pleasure. He drew over to him both many of the Jews and many of the Gentiles. He was [the] Christ. And when Pilate, at the suggestion of the principal men amongst us, had condemned him to the cross, those that loved him at the first did not forsake him; for he appeared to them alive again the third day; as the divine prophets had foretold these and ten thousand other wonderful things concerning him. And the tribe of Christians, so named from him, are not extinct at this day [about A.D. 93].” Again, Josephus (Book XX, chapter ix., ¶1) tells how the high priest Ananus “assembled the sanhedrim of judges, and brought before them the brother of Jesus, who was called Christ, whose name was James”.—Translated by William Whiston.

Thus, the testimony of many witnesses confirms the fact that Christianity is not an invention of recent times, but has deep roots in ancient secular history. Let all nonbelievers, therefore, who imagine the Bible has no foundation in provable facts, lay aside their false ideas and misconceptions and properly evaluate the Bible for what it is—Jehovah God’s Word of truth, unassailable and indestructible! The days of men are like grass, but “the word of our God shall stand for ever”!—John 17:17; Ps. 103:15; Isa. 40:8; 1 Pet. 1:25.

Planning Now for the Time to Come

MANY readers of The Watchtower have placed their hopes in the new earth of the new world in which righteousness dwells. We think of that time of Kingdom blessings, and it was the learning of those things that caused many of us to inquire further into the study of God’s Word. But we have learned from the Scriptures more than merely concerning the blessings of the Kingdom. We have come to know and understand Jehovah, his name, his Word, his purposes, the issue involving his sovereignty, his undeserved kindness extended toward men in this day, and we have grown in love for him and in our worship of him. Properly worshiping God is a very blessed condition for any man.

When should these conditions of true worship begin? Upon this point the Watchtower magazine has said, “Let all begin speaking and living as now under his kingdom.” Is this saying that now, before Armageddon, those who love Jehovah should begin living in a manner similar to the way they will live on earth after Armageddon? That is it exactly. The fact of the matter is, those who will be carried through Armageddon’s war and ushered into the new earth following that decisive time and be privileged to worship Jehovah God then are those only who, in this day before Armageddon breaks, worship and serve him.

The requirement, then, which must be met precedent to our entering into the new world is to engage in his worship now. Jehovah became King in 1914 when he placed his appointed king, Christ Jesus, upon his heavenly throne as his kingly representative, in fulfillment of the nineteenth chapter of Revelation. Since that time there have begun to flow to Jehovah’s servants Kingdom blessings. There is war on earth, yes. There are famine, illness, death, and other troubles; that is true. The material blessings which are included in the Kingdom benefits following Armageddon