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Part 31—“Your Will Be Done on Earth”The Watchtower—1960 | February 1
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But most powerfully have they rendered this help by dedicating themselves to the divine Sovereign of the universe and by congregating with the sanctuary class and joining them openly in the field in preaching the good news of God’s kingdom that still other “sheep” may be gathered in. They keep worshiping with the sanctuary class, witnessing with them and faithfully suffering with them at the hands of the king of the north as well as the king of the south, even to the death.
42. How do many “join themselves to them” with deceptive flatteries?
42 But many who “join themselves to them” do not do so wholeheartedly or with sincere motives, merely in a form of flattery or smooth conduct, for selfish reasons. Some of such ones have turned out to be spies for the king of the north. Others make complimentary remarks about Jehovah’s witnesses but go no farther toward worshiping and serving Jehovah himself. Many admire and praise the faithfulness, stanchness and integrity keeping of Jehovah’s witnesses but hold back from dedicating themselves to Him and becoming his active, preaching witnesses. This fact brings to light that there is now a test of real devotion to the true God on the part of those who may claim to be “other sheep” or who may for a time receive Bible education by Jehovah’s witnesses. They should aim, not to flatter creatures, but to please the Creator.—Gal. 1:10.
43. What is Jehovah’s purpose in permitting some of his intelligent ones to “stumble,” and what are the intelligent determined to do?
43 The God of salvation has been permitting all this persecution of his witnesses in order to test those who profess to seek him and to love him. By the fiery trials from the persecutors and oppressors Jehovah smelts those claiming to be his people in order to expose and skim away those who are mere scummy dross and to manifest, purify and retain those who are the pure, precious metal. It is by these genuine ones who lovingly carry out their dedication to him that he receives a vindication of himself as the chosen Sovereign of their lives. Thus Jehovah has permitted thousands of his intelligent witnesses to stumble under persecution, even to a fall into the death of a martyr, to refine the qualities of his surviving witnesses and to reject those not determined to endure to the finish that they may be saved. (Matt. 24:9-13) Down to the bitter end of the king of the north and his fellow persecutors Jehovah’s intelligent ones, who see and appreciate the supreme issue of universal sovereignty, are resolved to submit to purification and whitening by persecution. Their reward has no end, but at the “time appointed” their enemy persecutor has his end.
(To be continued)
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Baptists, Take NoteThe Watchtower—1960 | February 1
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Baptists, Take Note
In 1865 the American Bible Union published a Revised English Version of the New Testament that was widely used by Baptists. The Executive Board of the American Baptist Publication Society in 1883 appointed a committee to prepare an improved edition of this translation. This improved edition later was published and distributed by the American Baptist Publication Society of Philadelphia. This Baptist committee correctly rejected the trinitarian spurious text of 1 John 5:7 as found in the King James version.—See The New Testament American Bible Union Version, p. 544.
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