Jehovah’s Channel of Communication
“Who has cleft a channel for the torrents of rain, and a way for the thunderbolt?”—Job 38:25, RS.
1. Why must man go beyond nature to understand God’s full will? Where can man ascertain God’s will?
OUT of the whirling windstorm the majestic Jehovah asked his servant Job a series of profound questions. They were questions that could not be answered by the naturally wise in Job’s day, nor can they be answered by the scientists of our day, because the Book of Nature is silent as to the overriding purposes of the things asked about. The questions to Job were so framed that their answers all pointed to the great fact that there is but one Creative Source in the universe whose sovereign will cannot be ignored. To Job Jehovah made clear that man must go beyond the evidences in nature to understand God’s full will. This requires maintaining communication with the Sovereign as to his will and word. In such communication it is unwise for frail humans to argue with the formidable Almighty One.—Job 38:1 to 40:2.
2. What is the implied answer to Jehovah’s question to Job about cleaving a channel for the torrents of rain, etc.?
2 One of the questions posed by Jehovah was: “Who has cleft a channel for the torrents of rain, and a way for the thunderbolt, to satisfy the waste and desolate land, and to make the ground put forth grass?” In other words, Who arranged for the vast reservoirs of water held marvelously in the cloud system of the skies to be channeled to various parts of the earth to produce vegetation, and for what over-all purpose? Additionally, what is the great objective for the lightning to thunderbolt to the earth, electrically fertilizing the soil, which is now known to be the immediate beneficial service performed by lightning? Do all these things happen by mere chance, as claimed by fools who say there is no God, no Absolute Authority? Or do all these operations of the elements occur as part of a master pattern? The implied answer to Job is that all this comes about by absolute design, whereby fixed physical laws, decreed by an all-wise Creator, govern and control the functioning of the created elements. There is no chaos or lack of objectivity in Jehovah’s universal realm. All these detailed events contribute to a far grander pattern of purpose.—Job 38:25, 27, RS; Ps. 14:1; Heb. 3:4.
3. Why is there interest in nature’s operations in channeling waters in the earth?
3 Operations as to conveying physical waters from their heavenly vaults in the skies for distribution to needy sections of the land being by means of a set channel, similar principles are found to exist as to the conveyance of spiritual waters of truth to men. Furthermore, as in the example of literal lightning which follows a set pathway to thunder to the earth, we likewise note a conduit-like course for the lightning judgments of Jehovah to come earthward to shake the nations. This gives rise to a timely study as to Jehovah’s channel of communication of his spiritual truths and vital judgments.
THE WORD “CHANNEL”
4. What meaning does the word “channel” convey?
4 In connection with literal water the word “channel” is used to refer to a waterway, a watercourse or an established stream of water. In a larger sense the word “channel” is used to describe a means of conduction, a course into which something may be directed, a route through which anything passes or progresses. In this latter, larger way the word “channel” is appropriately used with reference to Jehovah’s age-old method of communication with his servants.
OPERATING IN HARMONY WITH THE LIVING CENTER
5. What is argued from the fact that there are fixed physical laws in nature?
5 Everything in the physical universe operates according to fixed rules of action, which men today know as physical laws, such as laws of motion, gravitation, genetics, etc. For laws to exist there always must be a prime lawmaker. In turn the very existence of a Lawmaker implies communication. No law of the governments today just happens to be on the statute book, but must be made by a parliament, a lawmaking body of rulers. From this circumstance alone powerful support is given to the Bible’s teaching that there was direct creation of all animate and inanimate things. Nothing was left to chance, but all things originally were brought into existence by a Master Intelligence, a Great First Cause, an Almighty Creator with whom communication can be established.
6. What is the position of God’s throne in the universe, and how is this pictured even in nature?
6 Jehovah God’s throne is the absolute center of the boundless universe as to its creative existence, operations and interests. This throne is not at the astral center of the great galaxy of numberless galaxies of stars or island universes that now exist within or beyond the range of man’s visual powers. But it is at the creative center where God of necessity is the very foundation of all his works. All creation revolves around him as its source, which makes God the Living Center. The centripetal force of this vast system of animate and inanimate things is inward toward him. All is inseparably united to Him. We need only mention by way of illustration our planetary system wherein the individual planets revolve in established relationship around our sun as the center. Then the minutest illustration would be that of the structure of the atom where tiny electrons revolve in paths around their proton nucleus, or center. The nuclear design of operations around fixed centers is universal.—Ps. 93:2; 36:9.
7. How is God likened to a sun? Compare “time” and “space” with God.
7 The Bible itself likens Jehovah God to a sun. (Ps. 84:11) As a sun radiates energy ever outwardly, so from God there has radiated eternally in all directions forms of various energies, spiritual and physical. This everlasting brilliant effusion can be described as the glory of God. These energies ever traveling into the outer reaches in very brief moments of “time” have filled what is called “space.” For this reason it is understood that “time” and “space” are as eternal as God, for God himself has had no beginning. (Ps. 90:2) If God decrees the holding back of physical energy at any one point in space, mass or matter immediately forms. (Rev. 4:11) Professor Einstein ascertained this basic truth from the Book of Nature when he discovered the law that energy equals mass times the speed of light squared.a Therefore, everything that exists has been created from energy that originally emanated from the Great Source of the universe, Jehovah. The Bible certainly is true when it records, “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.”—Gen. 1:1, NW.
THE COMMUNICATIVE GOD
8. Describe the Communicative God.
8 This God Source is not just abstract energy or force left to operate by mere chance. Rather it is Absolute Intelligence itself, the Great Personage, the Communicative One, the Greatest Personality with qualities of infinite love, wisdom, justice and power all peacefully held in complete balance, and ever existing in a perfect state of happiness. This Supreme God, Jehovah, is always at the zenith of power to bless and make happy. (Jas. 1:17) With him there are no cycles of build-up of power and then a lapsing into a period of decline. He is the Rock of Absolute Security. (Deut. 32:4) For his good pleasure he created intelligent spirit creatures in heaven to live happy, loving lives of purpose. For his equal delight God created perfect man on the earth in his affectionate image to live an endless life of happiness and purpose. So toward this One of infinite love there exists a natural line of venerating attachment on the part of all intelligent creatures. They have a basic need and desire to maintain communication with their very Source of life.—Isa. 42:5.
9. What sort of a society operates around the Ancient of Days in heaven?
9 This Majestic Eminence, God, is characterized by order. He serves as the magnetic center of a vast society of heavenly living creatures who find a non-ending delight in being in family relationship with him as their Father and Life-giver. To sustain this family relationship God maintains a constant flow of communication from himself. All these faithful heavenly residents are ministers, ministering spirit creatures, worshiping God out of genuine love and free will. (Heb. 1:14) The Bible describes them as forming a happy royal-court organization comprising millions of angelic ministers placed in ranks and divisions, all functioning with high purpose around the Central Personage, the royal Ancient of Days, Jehovah God.—Dan. 7:9, 10; 1 Cor. 14:33.
UNIVERSAL COMMUNICATION SYSTEM
10. For what reason was God’s communication system extended to the earth, and how important is it?
10 Lovingly the earth is referred to as Jehovah God’s footstool. So when God formed this richly endowed footstool earth to be inhabited with human creatures, he was extending his universal royal society of ministers to include perfect human sons and daughters. This also meant extending a line of communication to residents on earth. A divine communications system binds the whole obedient universe together. Our perfectly created first parents Adam and Eve were destined to live forever on a paradise earth as joyous courtiers of the Supreme Sovereign. This depended upon their continuing as wise, loving subjects within the safe family orbit, where they could bask in the everlasting, life-sustaining benefits emanating from the Great Source of the universe. Like the angels, they were created to be dependent ministers in recognized communication with God to perform his will and purpose.—Isa. 66:1; 45:18.
11. Describe the great Fountain of spiritual waters, and how does it flow?
11 To maintain this heavenly and earthly society of ministers in complete happiness and purpose, Jehovah has an endless store of life-giving information available for communication progressively. The Bible describes him as “the fountain of living waters.” (Jer. 17:13) This makes God the great heavenly Fountain of spiritual waters of truth and life. Be it noted, however, that from this heavenly Fountain source there is only one channel of flow. In the book of Ezekiel the waters are pictured as issuing forth from under the threshold of the front door of the temple and flowing eastward in a single set channel. It first began flowing ankle deep and then finally became a flood so high that one had to swim in order to cross the channel. Similarly in the book of Revelation the “river of water of life” is described as “flowing out from the throne of God and of the Lamb down the middle of its broad way.” Here again there are not many lines of flow to truth, but a single set channel of communication is emphasized.—Ezek. 47:1-5; Rev. 22:1, 2, NW.
FIRST STEP IN LINE OF COMMUNICATION
12. Describe the first step in the line of communication from heaven.
12 Jehovah’s official line of communication with his society of intelligent ministers in heaven and on earth is first through his duly appointed spokesman, his prime minister. That spokesman or chief minister is the highest officer in God’s universal organization. The Bible reveals his official title as “the Word.” Aside from Jehovah, who has had no beginning, the Word is the most ancient person in the universe. The Word was the first direct creation of God and the instrument used as a master workman to bring into existence all things animate and inanimate that exist. “Originally the Word was, and the Word was with God, and the Word was a god. This one was originally with God. All things came into existence through him, and apart from him not even one thing came into existence.” (John 1:1-3, NW) He was the first one to hear Jehovah God speak. Indeed, how wonderful it must have been and still is to hear the Great God communicate directly from his own mouth! Because of his primacy as first-born from this initial event of communication forward, the Word has had the most ready access to the presence of the Living God.—John 11:42, NW.
13. How can it be said that Jesus when on earth was the second-greatest authority in the universe?
13 In time this high heavenly officer was sent by God to earth to testify to many things, one of which concerned the matter of communication of truth from the throne of heaven. “So the Word became flesh and resided among us, and we had a view of his glory, a glory such as belongs to an only-begotten son from a father, and he was full of undeserved kindness . . . the undeserved kindness and the truth came to be through Jesus Christ. No man has seen God at any time; the only-begotten god who is in the bosom position with the Father is the one that has explained him.” Here John confirms that the first stage in the line of communicating divine truth is through Jesus as the Word. This logically makes Jesus the second-greatest authority in the universe. After Jesus returned to heaven following his resurrection, one of his titles continued to be “The Word of God.”—John 1:14, 17, 18, NW; Rev. 19:13.
14. What sort of career in divine communications has Jesus had? How does he indicate this?
14 The Word (now Jesus) has had the longest experience of any in receiving the orders of Jehovah and putting them into effect. In his long ancient career of communication he has had a flawless reputation of faithfully transmitting every order of God, never varying it with his own view or originating his own orders contrary to God’s wishes. Testified Jesus: “What I teach is not mine, but belongs to him that sent me. If anyone desires to do His will, he will know concerning the teaching whether it is from God or I speak of my own originality. He that speaks of his own originality is seeking his own glory; but he that seeks the glory of him that sent him, this one is true and there is no unrighteousness in him. . . . The things I say to you men I do not speak of my own originality; but the Father who remains in union with me is doing his works.”—John 7:16-18; 14:10, NW.
15. What is meant by the phrase “word of Jehovah”? Illustrate.
15 The Bible clearly indicates that any particular divine message sent along the line of communication is itself officially referred to by God’s servants as the “word of Jehovah.” The expression “word of Jehovah” is used at least 252 times in the Scriptures and its corresponding phrase “word of God” appears 104 times. This legal term gives the stamp of authenticity to the many inspired revelations emanating from Jehovah as contained in the Bible. The expression fittingly identifies the origin of the line of communication. So hereafter when you read in the Bible the phrase “word of Jehovah,” take immediate note that an important message of divine communication is being referred to.
EARTHLY END OF COMMUNICATION LINE
16. How do heavenly communications reach the earth? Describe the earthly agent used in the communication line.
16 From the many recorded experiences we next observe that the official “Word” transmits the message either by means of an angelic messenger who appears face to face or by the use of God’s holy spirit to inspire the next agent in the line of communication. On special occasions even the Word himself might appear in a face-to-face interview with the next agent. Who, generally, is that next agent? For supernatural communications that reach the earth the agent (generally a human, although once the ass of Balaam was used) is referred to Biblically as a prophet if he is a male servant of God or a prophetess if a woman. The prophet, in turn, speaks out the communication as God’s spokesman on earth. He publishes it to the many whom God intends to hear it if other than a single person is being specifically addressed. The prophet then becomes the immediate earthly channel through which the waters of lifegiving truth are conveyed to earth’s thirsting residents. Thus Jehovah’s earthly channel of communication is identified. The earthly channel is either a prophet or a collective prophetlike organization.
17. How was Adam equipped to serve as a prophet?
17 Our forefather Adam, a brilliant perfect man who displayed the art of speaking with a wide range of vocabulary, became adequately equipped to serve as God’s first earthly prophet or spokesman. He also learned to record speech in written form. He was to serve as God’s earthly spokesman to all his offspring. By divine revelation through God’s line of communication Adam was given an outline story of the creation of the heavens and the earth. In this manner Adam with Eve received the procreation mandate to populate the earth. He faithfully published this series of inspired communications in the first Bible document, Genesis 1:1 to 2:4 (NW), apparently written by him. In this document’s colophon or conclusion the title is given as: “This is a history of the heavens and the earth in the time of their being created, in the day that Jehovah God made earth and heaven.”
18. Show how Adam had served as a channel of divine communication.
18 Adam was also the writer of the second Bible document, Genesis 2:5 to 5:2 (NW), wherein evidence is recorded of additional divine communications’ having been received by him in the garden of Eden for publication. (Gen. 2:5-24) He was told not to eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and bad although he could eat to satisfaction from every other tree. He was divinely commissioned to name the animals. On the occasion of the creation of his wife Eve, which was his wedding day, he composed the first poetry and uttered a divine pronouncement concerning marriage: “That is why a man will leave his father and his mother and he must stick to his wife and they must become one flesh.” That Adam as prophet published these communications is evidenced later in the temptation scene where Eve admitted that Adam had instructed her concerning the tree of the knowledge of good and bad and concerning the death sentence in connection therewith.—Gen. 2:23, 24; 3:3, NW.
SATAN’S MIMIC LINE OF COMMUNICATION
19, 20. (a) Describe Satan’s mimic line of communication. (b) What did he accomplish with it in Adam’s time? What today?
19 Incidentally, at this point it is interesting to observe how Satan, the tempter, developed his rebellion. To negotiate his deception successfully Satan had to arrange his own independent mimic line of communication from the invisible realm. He knew that prophet Adam was too strongly entrenched in God’s law to be spiritually induced to become a false prophet under Satan’s control. So the Devil used an earthly creature, a serpent, whose faculties he could influence to put across his lying propaganda of wrong thinking, in starting his false, apostate religion. In effect this earthly agent, the serpent, amounted to a false prophet in Satan’s imitation line of communication between himself, an invisible assumed sovereign, and Eve, whom he sought to control as a newly converted subject.—Gen. 3:1-7.
20 Eve was gullible, was deceived and committed an unforgivable sin of high treason against her true Sovereign, Jehovah God. Crafty Satan then used Eve to put pressure on Jehovah’s prophet Adam, who because of his fleshly desire for Eve was overcome. Adam was not deceived. He entered the rebellion with full realization as to its evil consequences. Ever since that time Satan has been communicating wrong thinking through false prophets and spirit mediums, who channel falsehood to adulterate and defile Jehovah’s true worshipers in the earth by lies and lust.—1 Tim. 2:14; Jas. 1:13-15.
21, 22. (a) How did Abel serve? (b) How did Enoch serve?
21 Summarily Adam and Eve were dismissed from God’s organization of faithful ministers by being expelled from the garden of Eden, and furthermore Adam lost his privilege as a prophet of God. (Gen. 3:16-24) For after the fatal rebellion in Eden God’s line of communication never again ran through Adam in all the remaining nine hundred years before he entered death of total nonexistence forever. But from Adam’s offspring God found some righteous ones with whom he established spiritual communication to revive and build up true religion in the earth. Abel was the first of such after Adam. Being a fallen sinner as descended from sinner Adam, Abel was led by faith to make a proper sacrifice which would bring Jehovah’s favor by appeasement. Around God’s Edenic covenant Abel built hope of regaining Edenic perfection and everlasting life on earth. (Gen. 3:15) He became a spokesman of the true religion as revealed to him by Jehovah’s line of communication. He served as Jehovah’s first witness. To stamp out the reappearing true religion, Satan induced Cain to murder faithful Abel violently.—Gen. 4:2-12.
22 Years later God found another righteous man, Enoch, with whom he communicated an outstanding prophecy concerning the final destruction of Satan’s false religious world. After completing his long preaching work the prophet Enoch was shielded from a violent death at the hands of his religious adversaries by God’s taking him away in a peaceful sleep of death, possibly amidst a glorious vision of future life in a restored paradise.—Gen. 5:21-24; Jude 14, 15.
THE PROPHET NOAH A CHANNEL
23, 24. (a) How did the prophet Noah serve as a channel? (b) Describe the arrangement that assisted Noah.
23 The next one recorded to have been in communication with the courts of heaven is the prophet Noah. For about fifty years he served as Jehovah’s sole channel of communication on the earth, dispensing God’s word of truth, and then after the flood he served as Jehovah’s patriarchal spokesman for about 350 years. Noah became a vigorous preacher of righteousness in accordance with his ministerial commission. The lightning judgments against the preflood generation of his day were also pronounced through him. Noah was a bold advocate of the one true religion. He served as an undaunted witness of Jehovah, which brought survival to his family and himself in that world crisis. Doubtless Satan was busy sending mimic prophets to communicate lying propaganda of peace and delusions to bolster his false religious deception of that day. These religious enemies no doubt taunted Noah for his claim to have the only true religion. They may have even sneeringly charged him with “channelism.”
24 But as for Noah he knew for a certainty that Jehovah was communicating inspired instructions only through him. His own wife, his three sons and their wives believed Noah and accepted him as God’s sole channel of leadership. They too joined Noah as preachers of righteousness and helped him build the great boat. Noah therefore headed this little preaching organization as the chief agent and official prophetic channel on earth who had dealings directly with God in heaven. Some of God’s divine pronouncements conveyed through the prophet Noah are preserved for us to this day in the Bible as part of religious truth.—Gen. 6:1-22.
THE PROPHET ABRAHAM A CHANNEL
25, 26. (a) How did Abraham serve as a prophet? (b) Why are the revelations communicated to him of particular importance to us today?
25 “But now return the man’s wife, for he is a prophet, and he will make supplication for you.” (Gen. 20:7, NW) These are God’s own words to King Abimelech in an inspired dream identifying Abraham as a prophet of Jehovah. Truly Abraham, God’s friend, a man of great faith, a stanch proclaimer of the true religion progressively revealed up to his day, served as Jehovah’s unquestioned channel of communication on earth for many, many years. He too was a famous preacher up and down his assigned territory, that of the Promised Land. Of his preaching as a witness of Jehovah it is written: “Then he built an altar there [near Bethel] to Jehovah and began to declare (preach) the name of Jehovah.”—Gen. 12:8, NW, footnote b.
26 As to Abraham’s contact with Jehovah’s line of heavenly communication, note this incident: “After these things the word of Jehovah came to Abram in a vision, saying: ‘Do not fear, Abram. I am a shield for you. Your reward will be very great.’” (Gen. 15:1, NW) To Abraham was given the great promise supported by an oath of God that through Abraham’s seed (Christ Jesus and his 144,000 Kingdom joint heirs) all the families of the earth would be blessed in a new world of righteousness. (Gen. 22:17, 18) The several revelations divinely communicated to Abraham have become part of religious truth today. In the succeeding article there will be a presentation of further manifestations of Jehovah’s earthly channel of divine communication.
[Footnotes]
a Atomic Energy, by Henry D. Smyth, p. 2, gives the formula, E = mc2.
[Picture on page 305]
יהוה
“The Word”