1. What has Jehovah lovingly preserved for the benefit of mankind?

JEHOVAH, “the living and enduring God,” has preserved his life-giving message for mankind. It is sure to last, for “the saying [or, “word,” Byington] of Jehovah endures forever.” (1 Pet. 1:23-25) How grateful we are that Jehovah has lovingly preserved such vital information in his written Word, the Bible!

 2. In his written Word, what has God preserved for the use of his people?

² In his Word, God has preserved for the use of his people the very name he chose for himself. The Scriptures first mention “Jehovah God” in “a history of the heavens and the earth.” (Gen. 2:4) God’s name was miraculously inscribed several times on the stone tablets bearing the Ten Commandments. For instance, the first commandment began: “I am Jehovah your God.” (Ex. 20:1-17) God’s name lives on because the Sovereign Lord Jehovah has preserved his Word and his name despite all satanic efforts to eliminate them.​—Ps. 73:28.

 3. Though religious error abounds, what has God preserved?

³ In his Word, Jehovah has also preserved the truth. Though religious error abounds worldwide, how thankful we are that God has given us spiritual light and truth! (Read Psalm 43:3, 4.) Whereas the masses of mankind walk in darkness, we joyfully keep on walking in God-given spiritual light.​—1 John 1:6, 7.

4, 5. What special privilege has been ours since the year 1931?

⁴ As Christians, we have a precious heritage. Says Collins Cobuild English Dictionary: “A country’s heritage is all the qualities, traditions, or features of life there that have continued over many years and have been passed on from one generation to another.” Our spiritual heritage includes the blessing of enjoying accurate knowledge of God’s Word and a clear understanding of the truth about him and his purposes. It also involves a very special privilege.

⁵ That privilege became part of our spiritual legacy at our convention in Columbus, Ohio, U.S.A., in 1931. The letters “JW” appeared on the printed program. One sister said: “Speculations were made as to what JW stood for​—Just Wait, Just Watch, and the correct one.” We had been called Bible Students, but we adopted the name Jehovah’s Witnesses by resolution on Sunday, July 26, 1931. It was a thrill to receive that Scriptural name. (Read Isaiah 43:12.) “I will never forget the tremendous shout and applause that vibrated through that meeting place,” recalled one brother. No one else in the world wanted that name, but God has blessed us in the use of it for over eight decades. What a special privilege it is to be Jehovah’s Witnesses!

 6. Our spiritual heritage includes what accurate information?

⁶ Our spiritual heritage includes a wealth of accurate and valuable information from the past. For example, consider Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. These patriarchs and their families must have had discussions about how to please Jehovah. So it is not surprising that upright Joseph rejected sexual immorality so as not to “sin against God.” (Gen. 39:7-9) Christian traditions were also handed down orally or by example. Among these were points regarding the Lord’s Evening Meal that the apostle Paul passed on to Christian congregations. (1 Cor. 11:2, 23) Today, details needed for us to worship God “with spirit and truth” are part of his written Word. (Read John 4:23, 24.) The Bible is for the enlightenment of all mankind, but we as Jehovah’s servants especially appreciate it.

 7. Our legacy includes what heartening promise?

⁷ In part, our spiritual heritage consists of more recently published accounts proving that ‘Jehovah is on our side.’ (Ps. 118:7) This makes us feel secure, even when we are persecuted. A heartening part of our ever-increasing spiritual heritage is this promise: “‘Any weapon whatever that will be formed against you will have no success, and any tongue at all that will rise up against you in the judgment you will condemn. This is the hereditary possession [or, “heritage,” By] of the servants of Jehovah, and their righteousness is from me,’ is the utterance of Jehovah.” (Isa. 54:17) Nothing in Satan’s arsenal of weapons can do us permanent harm.

 8. What will we consider in this article and in the next?

⁸ Satan has tried to destroy God’s Word, eliminate the name Jehovah, and suppress the truth. But he certainly is no match for Jehovah, who has foiled all these efforts. In this article and in the next, we will see (1) how God has preserved his Word; (2) how Jehovah has seen to the preservation of his name; and (3) how our heavenly Father is the Source and Preserver of the truth we enjoy.

9-11. What examples show that the Bible has survived various assaults?

⁹ Jehovah has preserved his Word against all odds. Says the Enciclopedia Cattolica (Catholic Encyclopedia): “In 1229, the Council of Toulouse prohibited laymen from using them [vernacular Bibles] in view of the fight against the Albigenses and the Waldenses . . . The assembly held in 1234 in Tarragona, Spain, under James I issued a similar prohibition. . . . The Roman See intervened in the matter for the first time in 1559, when Paul IV’s Index forbade the printing and possession of vernacular B[ibles] without the permission of the Holy Office.”

¹⁰ Despite various assaults on the Bible, it has been preserved. About 1382, John Wycliffe and his associates produced the first Bible translation in English. Another Bible translator was William Tyndale, who was put to death in 1536. Tied to a stake, he reportedly cried out, “Lord, open the eyes of the king of England.” Then he was strangled and burned.

¹¹ The Bible has survived in the face of opposition. In 1535, for instance, the English translation of the Bible by Miles Coverdale came on the scene. Coverdale used Tyndale’s rendition of the “New Testament” and of the “Old Testament” from Genesis through Chronicles. He translated other parts of the Scriptures from Latin and from Martin Luther’s Bible in German. Today, the New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures is appreciated for its clarity, fidelity to the Bible text, and usefulness in our ministry. We rejoice that no demonic or human power will ever block the preservation of Jehovah’s Word.

12. What role has the New World Translation played in the preservation of the divine name?

¹² Jehovah God has seen to it that his name is preserved in his Word. In this regard, the New World Translation is playing a major role. In the introduction, its committee of dedicated translators wrote: “The foremost feature of this translation is the restoration of the divine name to its rightful place in the English text. It has been done, using the commonly accepted English form ‘Jehovah’ 6,973 times in the Hebrew Scriptures and 237 times in the Christian Greek Scriptures.” The New World Translation is now available, in whole or in part, in over 116 languages, and more than 178,545,862 copies have been printed.

13. Why can it be said that people have known God’s name since the creation of mankind?

¹³ People have known God’s name since the creation of mankind. Adam and Eve were aware of it, and they knew exactly how to pronounce it. When Ham showed disrespect for his father after the Flood, Noah said: “Blessed be Jehovah, Shem’s God, and let [Ham’s son] Canaan become a slave to him.” (Gen. 4:1; 9:26) God himself declared: “I am Jehovah. That is my name; and to no one else shall I give my own glory.” God also stated: “I am Jehovah, and there is no one else. With the exception of me there is no God.” (Isa. 42:8; 45:5) Jehovah has seen to it that his name has been preserved and made known to people around the earth. How privileged we are to use the name Jehovah and serve as his Witnesses! In effect, we cry out: “In the name of our God we shall lift our banners.”​—Ps. 20:5.

14. Other than in the Bible, where can God’s name be found?

¹⁴ God’s name does not appear only in the Bible. Consider the Moabite Stone, found at Dhiban (Dibon), 13 miles (21 km) east of the Dead Sea. The stone mentions Israel’s King Omri and gives Moabite King Mesha’s version of his revolt against Israel. (1 Ki. 16:28; 2 Ki. 1:1; 3:4, 5) But the Moabite Stone is of special interest because God’s name appears on it in Tetragrammaton form. The Tetragrammaton also appears repeatedly in the Lachish Letters, earthenware fragments found in Israel.

15. What is the Septuagint, and how did it come about?

¹⁵ Early Bible translators had a part in the preservation of the divine name. After their exile in Babylon from 607 B.C.E. to 537 B.C.E., many Jews did not return to Judah and Israel. By the third century B.C.E., Alexandria, Egypt, had become the home of numerous Jews who needed a translation of the Hebrew Scriptures into Greek, then an international language. Completed by the second century B.C.E., that version is the Septuagint. Some copies of it contain the name Jehovah in its Hebrew form.

16. Give an example of the use of God’s name in a book first published in the year 1640.

¹⁶ The divine name is found in the Bay Psalm Book, the first piece of literature published in England’s American colonies. Its original edition (printed in 1640) contains the Psalms, translated from Hebrew into the English of that day. It uses God’s name in such passages as Psalm 1:1, 2, which says that a “blessed man” does not walk in the advice of the wicked, “but in the law of Iehovah, is his longing delight.” For more information about God’s name, see the brochure The Divine Name That Will Endure Forever.

17, 18. (a) How would you define the word “truth”? (b) “The truth of the good news” consists of what?

¹⁷ We joyfully serve “Jehovah the God of truth.” (Ps. 31:5) “The truth about something is all the facts about it, rather than things that are imagined or invented,” says Collins Cobuild English Dictionary. In Biblical Hebrew, the term often translated “truth” pertains to something that is true, trustworthy, faithful, or factual. The Greek word rendered “truth” denotes that which conforms to fact or to what is proper and right.

¹⁸ Jehovah has preserved spiritual truth and has made knowledge of it available to us in ever-increasing abundance. (2 John 1, 2) Our comprehension of the truth steadily becomes clearer, for “the path of the righteous ones is like the bright light that is getting lighter and lighter until the day is firmly established”! (Prov. 4:18) Of course, we fully agree with Jesus, who said in prayer to God: “Your word is truth.” (John 17:17) God’s written Word contains “the truth of the good news,” which consists of the whole body of Christian teachings. (Gal. 2:14) In part, these include facts about Jehovah’s name, his sovereignty, Jesus’ ransom sacrifice, the resurrection, and the Kingdom. Let us now consider how God has preserved the truth despite Satan’s attempts to suppress it.

19, 20. Who was Nimrod, and what endeavor failed in his day?

¹⁹ After the Flood, there was a saying: “Just like Nimrod a mighty hunter in opposition to Jehovah.” (Gen. 10:9) As an opposer of Jehovah God, Nimrod in effect worshipped Satan and was like those opposers to whom Jesus said: “You are from your father the Devil, and you wish to do the desires of your father. That one . . . did not stand fast in the truth.”​—John 8:44.

²⁰ Nimrod’s domain included Babel and other cities between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers. (Gen. 10:10) It was possibly under his direction that the building of Babel and its tower began about 2269 B.C.E. Contrary to Jehovah’s will that mankind spread throughout the earth, those builders said: “Come on! Let us build ourselves a city and also a tower with its top in the heavens, and let us make a celebrated name for ourselves, for fear we may be scattered over all the surface of the earth.” But that scheme had to be abandoned when God “confused the language of all the earth” and scattered the would-be tower builders. (Gen. 11:1-4, 8, 9) If Satan had thus planned to start one religion with everyone worshipping him, his plot was an utter failure. Throughout human history, the worship of Jehovah has prevailed and is gaining momentum with each passing day.

21, 22. (a) Why has false religion never posed a serious threat to true worship? (b) What will we consider in the following article?

²¹ Never has false religion posed a serious threat to true worship. Why? Because our Grand Instructor has seen to the preservation of his written Word, has kept his name before mankind, and has been the limitless Source of spiritual truth. (Isa. 30:20, 21) Worshipping God in accord with the truth brings us joy, but doing so requires that we remain spiritually vigilant, relying fully on Jehovah and following the guidance of his holy spirit.

²² In the next article, we will trace the development of certain false doctrines. We will find that these crumble when tested in the light of the Scriptures. Moreover, we will see how the incomparable Preserver of truth, Jehovah, has blessed us with true teachings that we cherish as part of our spiritual heritage.

1, 2. (a) What was “the booth of David,” and how was it to be rebuilt? (b) Who serve together as Jehovah’s servants today?

DURING a milestone governing body meeting in Jerusalem in 49 C.E., the disciple James said: “Symeon [Peter] has related thoroughly how God for the first time turned his attention to the nations to take out of them a people for his name. And with this the words of the Prophets agree, just as it is written, ‘After these things I shall return and rebuild the booth of David that is fallen down; and I shall rebuild its ruins and erect it again, in order that those who remain of the men may earnestly seek Jehovah, together with people of all the nations, people who are called by my name, says Jehovah, who is doing these things, known from of old.’”​—Acts 15:13-18.

² “The booth [or, royal house] of David” fell when King Zedekiah was dethroned. (Amos 9:11) However, that “booth” would be rebuilt with David’s descendant Jesus as the permanent King. (Ezek. 21:27; Acts 2:29-36) As James pointed out at that historic meeting, this prophecy of Amos was being fulfilled in the gathering of Kingdom heirs from both Jews and Gentiles. Today, a remnant of anointed Christians and millions of Jesus’ “other sheep” are united in declaring Bible truth as servants of Jehovah.​—John 10:16.

3, 4. How did Jehovah’s people survive spiritually in Babylon?

³ When the Jews were taken into captivity in Babylon, it was clear that “the booth of David” had fallen. Since false religion ran rampant in Babylonia, how did God’s people survive spiritually during their 70-year exile there from 607 B.C.E. to 537 B.C.E.? The same way we survive as Jehovah’s people in this world under Satan’s control. (1 John 5:19) A rich spiritual heritage has helped to make such survival possible.

⁴ As part of our spiritual legacy, we have the written Word of God. Jewish exiles in Babylon did not have the Holy Scriptures in complete form, but they did have knowledge of the Mosaic Law, with its Ten Commandments. They knew “the songs of Zion,” could recall many proverbs, and were acquainted with the exploits of earlier servants of Jehovah. Yes, those exiles wept when they remembered Zion, and they did not forget Jehovah. (Read Psalm 137:1-6.) That kept them alive spiritually even in Babylon, with its many false doctrines and practices.

 5. What evidence of religious triads, or trinities, do we have from ancient Babylon and Egypt?

⁵ The religious triad, or trinity, was a prominent feature of worship in Babylon. One Babylonian triad was composed of Sin (a moon-god), Shamash (a sun-god), and Ishtar (a goddess of fertility and war). In ancient Egypt, a god was often viewed as being married to a goddess who bore him a son, “forming a divine triad or trinity in which the father, moreover, was not always the chief, contenting himself on occasion with the role of prince consort, while the principal deity of the locality remained the goddess.” (New Larousse Encyclopedia of Mythology) One Egyptian triad consisted of the god Osiris, the goddess Isis, and their son Horus.

 6. How would you define the Trinity, and how have we been protected from believing such error?

⁶ Christendom has its triad​—the Trinity. Clerics say that the Father, the Son, and the holy spirit are one God. But that is an assault on the sovereignty of Jehovah, making it seem that he is triune​—in effect, only one third of a supposed godhead. Jehovah’s people have been protected from believing such error because they agree with these inspired words: “Listen, O Israel: Jehovah our God is one Jehovah.” (Deut. 6:4) Jesus quoted that statement, and would any true Christian disagree with him?​—Mark 12:29.

 7. Why is it impossible for a person who believes in the Trinity to be baptized in symbol of a valid dedication to God?

⁷ The Trinity doctrine runs counter to the commission Jesus gave his followers to “make disciples of people of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the holy spirit.” (Matt. 28:19) To be baptized as a genuine Christian and one of Jehovah’s Witnesses, a person must acknowledge the supremacy of the Father, Jehovah, as well as the position and authority of God’s Son, Jesus. The baptism candidate must also believe that the holy spirit is God’s active force, not part of a Trinity. (Gen. 1:2) An individual who continues to believe in the Trinity cannot be baptized in symbol of a valid dedication to Jehovah God. How grateful we are that our spiritual legacy has protected us from believing this God-dishonoring teaching!

 8. What was the Babylonian view of gods and demons?

⁸ Religious thought in Babylonia provided plenty of room for false doctrines, deities, demons, and spiritism. The International Standard Bible Encyclopaedia states: “Next in importance to the gods in the Bab[ylonian] religion are the demons who had the power to afflict men with manifold diseases of body or mind. A large part of the religion seems to have been given up to an agonized struggle against these demons, and the gods were everywhere approached by prayer to assist men against these demons.”

 9. (a) After their Babylonian exile, how did many Jews fall prey to false religious ideas? (b) How are we protected from the dangers of willing involvement with the demons?

⁹ After their Babylonian exile, many Jews fell prey to unscriptural ideas. As Greek concepts made inroads, many Jews became vulnerable to demonic control because they adopted the view that demons could be evil or good. Our spiritual legacy protects us from the dangers of willing involvement with demons, for we know that God condemned Babylon’s spiritistic practices. (Isa. 47:1, 12-15) Moreover, we are guided by God’s view of spiritism.​—Read Deuteronomy 18:10-12; Revelation 21:8.

10. What can be said about the practices and beliefs of Babylon the Great?

¹⁰ Spiritism has been practiced not only by the Babylonians but also by supporters of Babylon the Great, the world empire of false religion. (Rev. 18:21-24) The Interpreter’s Dictionary of the Bible states: “Babylon [the Great] embraces more than one empire or culture. It is defined rather by dominant idolatries than by geographical or temporal boundaries.” (Vol. 1, p. 338) Riddled with spiritism, idolatry, and other sins, Babylon the Great still exists​—but not for long.​—Read Revelation 18:1-5.

11. What warnings have we published regarding spiritism?

¹¹ Jehovah declared: “I cannot put up with the use of uncanny power.” (Isa. 1:13) Often called spiritualism, the practice of spiritism played a notable role in 19th-century thinking. Zion’s Watch Tower of May 1885 therefore said: “The belief that the dead are alive in another sphere or condition of being is not new. It was part of the religion of the ancients, and was the very root of all mythology.” The article added that the unscriptural idea of the dead communicating with the living “has given cover and force to the deceptions practised by ‘demons’ under the guise of dis-embodied spirits of men. They have eagerly availed themselves of this mode of concealing their identity, and have thus perpetuated their sway over the minds and lives of many.” The early booklet What Say the Scriptures About Spiritism? gave similar warnings, as have our more recent publications.

12. Under inspiration, Solomon said what about the condition of the dead?

¹² “All those . . . who have come to know the truth” can answer that question. (2 John 1) We surely agree with Solomon’s words: “A live dog is better off than a dead lion. For the living are conscious that they will die; but as for the dead, they are conscious of nothing at all . . . All that your hand finds to do, do with your very power, for there is no work nor devising nor knowledge nor wisdom in Sheol [mankind’s common grave], the place to which you are going.”​—Eccl. 9:4, 5, 10.

13. How were the Jews affected by Hellenic culture and religion?

¹³ The Jews were in a position to know the truth about the dead. When Greece was divided among the generals of Alexander the Great, however, efforts were made to unite Judah with Syria by such means as Greek religion and Hellenic culture. As a result, the Jews accepted the false teachings that the human soul is immortal and that there is an underworld place of torment. The Greeks did not originate the idea of an underworld full of suffering souls, for the Babylonians thought of “the nether world . . . as a place full of horrors, . . . presided over by gods and demons of great strength and fierceness.” (The Religion of Babylonia and Assyria) Yes, the Babylonians believed in the immortality of the soul.

14. What did Job and Abraham know about death and resurrection?

¹⁴ Although the righteous man Job did not have the Scriptures, he knew the truth about death. He also realized that Jehovah is a loving God who would have a yearning to resurrect him. (Job 14:13-15) Abraham too believed in the resurrection. (Read Hebrews 11:17-19.) Since it is impossible to resurrect someone who cannot die, those God-fearing men did not believe in the immortality of the human soul. God’s spirit undoubtedly helped Job and Abraham to understand the state of the dead and to exercise faith in the resurrection. These truths are also part of our heritage.

15, 16. How have we been released from sin and death?

¹⁵ We are grateful that God has also revealed the truth about his means to deliver us from the legacy of sin and death inherited from Adam. (Rom. 5:12) We realize that Jesus “came, not to be ministered to, but to minister and to give his soul a ransom in exchange for many.” (Mark 10:45) How good it is to know about “the release by the ransom paid by Christ Jesus”!​—Rom. 3:22-24.

¹⁶ First-century Jews and Gentiles needed to repent of their sins and to exercise faith in Jesus’ ransom sacrifice. Otherwise, they could have no forgiveness. The situation is the same today. (John 3:16, 36) If a person clings to false doctrines, such as the Trinity and the immortality of the soul, he cannot benefit from the ransom. But we can. We know the truth about “the Son of [God’s] love, by means of whom we have our release by ransom, the forgiveness of our sins.”​—Col. 1:13, 14.

17, 18. Where can we find helpful information about our history, and how can we benefit from learning about it?

¹⁷ Much more could be said about the true teachings we embrace, our experiences as God’s servants, and the spiritual and material blessings we enjoy. For decades, our Yearbooks have contained thrilling accounts of our activities in lands around the globe. Our history is recounted in the videos Faith in Action, Parts 1 and 2, and in such publications as Jehovah’s Witnesses​—Proclaimers of God’s Kingdom. And our magazines often contain heartwarming first-person accounts about beloved fellow believers.

¹⁸ We benefit from balanced consideration of the history of Jehovah’s organization, even as the people of Israel benefited from reflecting on how God delivered them from Egyptian bondage. (Ex. 12:26, 27) As an old man who could testify to God’s wonderful acts, Moses urged the Israelites: “Remember the days of old, consider the years back from generation to generation; ask your father, and he can tell you; your old men, and they can say it to you.” (Deut. 32:7) As ‘Jehovah’s people and the flock of his pasturage,’ all of us joyously declare his praise and tell others of his mighty acts. (Ps. 79:13) Moreover, we do well to examine our history, learn from it, and plan for the future.

19. Since we enjoy spiritual light, what should we do?

¹⁹ We are grateful that we do not wander in darkness but enjoy spiritual light from God. (Prov. 4:18, 19) So let us diligently study God’s Word and zealously share the truth with others in the prayerful spirit of the psalmist who praised the Sovereign Lord Jehovah with the words: “I shall mention your righteousness, yours alone. O God, you have taught me from my youth on, and until now I keep telling about your wonderful works. And even until old age and gray-headedness, O God, do not leave me, until I may tell about your arm to the generation, to all those who are to come, about your mightiness.”​—Ps. 71:16-18.

20. What related issues exist, and how do you feel about them?

²⁰ As Jehovah’s dedicated people, we recognize the related issues of divine sovereignty and human integrity. Indeed, we proclaim the undeniable truth that Jehovah is the Universal Sovereign, worthy of our wholehearted devotion. (Rev. 4:11) With his spirit upon us, we also declare good news to the meek, bind up the brokenhearted, and comfort those who mourn. (Isa. 61:1, 2) Despite Satan’s futile attempts to dominate God’s people and all mankind, we deeply appreciate our spiritual heritage and are determined to maintain our integrity to God and laud the Sovereign Lord Jehovah now and forever.​—Read Psalm 26:11; 86:12.