“Droop Not Your Hands”

NO ONE can deny it, Jehovah God has a people in the earth who are called by his sacred name! Not those of mighty, proud and contemptuous Christendom, but a despised and persecuted minority are the ones bearing the sacred name, Jehovah’s witnesses. Upon these the hostile world looks down because they are not politically, religiously, socially or commercially powerful. They are a “poor people”, comparatively speaking, humble in spirit and poor in material goods. (Zeph. 3:11, 12, AS) However, as the world situation grows continually more critical, the work of these witnesses takes on an ever wider scope and a far greater importance.a

What if the world does not love us, but hates and oppresses us? With conditions flourishing in a paradise state among God’s devoted people this is no time to be sad and mourn because the world mistreats us. Listen to what Jehovah says: “Sing, O daughter of Zion; shout, O Israel; be glad and rejoice with all the heart, O daughter of Jerusalem. Jehovah hath taken away thy judgments, he hath cast out thine enemy: the King of Israel, even Jehovah, is in the midst of thee; thou shalt not fear evil any more.” (Zeph. 3:14, 15, AS) The Kingdom is here! Our enemies have been cast out. Jehovah reigns in our midst!

At this world’s “time of the end” the cry of all these Bible prophecies is for action: “Fear not, droop not your hands, O Sion.” (Zeph. 3:16, Mo) Christ Jesus the enthroned King does not droop his hands out of fear of the Devil’s organization. Neither can we, his subjects, let our hands hang down in helpless inactivity. Instead, “lift up the hands that hang down” is the command, and hold high the message of life that God has placed in our hands!

Today persons of good will who are meek and teachable out of all nations, tribes, peoples and tongues are hearing this message and are adding their glad voices to the mighty chorus. (Rev. 7:9, 10, NW) Hundreds and thousands have already responded. How many thousands more will yet seize hold of this grand privilege before Armageddon?

The names of the wicked enemies who belong to this world are destined to rot, but the name and praise of Jehovah’s witnesses will live forever on the luminous pages of eternity to the honor of their Almighty God. “Jehovah thy God is in the midst of thee, a mighty one who will save.” (Zeph. 3:17, AS) So never let the name of Jehovah suffer reproach because of wrong personal conduct. Never let his praise be lessened or silenced because of laziness, fear or treachery on your part. Until we reap the full share in the vindication of Jehovah’s name at his victory on Armageddon’s battlefield, “droop not your hands,” but raise them ever higher in praise to him and his reigning King!

An Interesting Chronological Chart

Since the issuance of the book The Time Is at Hand in 1889 the Watch Tower Bible & Tract Society has not published a consecutive chronology from man’s creation onward. In recent years, especially since the revising of our dates back from Jerusalem’s destruction and reconstruction in the 7th and 6th centuries before Christ, some have evidenced the desire to have such a chronology available for ready reference. So on the next two pages we seek to date events of importance to students of God’s Word and incorporate material that has appeared in various recent publications of the Society. The reader will note that many dates are approximate, and these, of course, are subject to revision as we get better evidence concerning the time of the events thus involved.