Speak the Pure Language and Live Forever!
“Seek Jehovah . . . Seek righteousness, seek meekness. Probably you may be concealed in the day of Jehovah’s anger.”—ZEPHANIAH 2:3.
1. (a) What methods do students use to learn a foreign language? (b) Why speak the pure language?
STUDENTS may learn a new tongue by using the grammar method or the spoken-language method. Under the grammar method, they generally use textbooks and learn grammatical rules. Under the spoken-language method, they imitate the sounds and word patterns spoken by their teacher. Both methods are used in learning the “pure language.” And it is vital that we speak this language if we hope to be “concealed in the day of Jehovah’s anger.”—Zephaniah 2:1-3; 3:8, 9.
2. How can we learn what might be called the rules of grammar for the pure language?
2 The principal textbook used to learn the pure language is the Bible. Diligent study of it and of Bible-based publications teach you what might be called the rules of grammar for the pure language. A home Bible study conducted by one of Jehovah’s Witnesses is a good start. For those already dedicated to God, regular and diligent study of the Scriptures is essential. But are there especially effective ways to learn the pure language? And what benefits result from speaking it?
How to Learn the Pure Language
3. What is one way to learn the pure language?
3 One way to learn the pure language is to associate truths you are learning with points you already know, as a language student might progressively relate various grammatical rules. For example, at one time you may have known that Jesus Christ is God’s Son, but you knew little about his duties. Since then, study of the Bible may have taught you that Christ now rules as a heavenly King and that during his Thousand Year Reign, obedient mankind will be uplifted to perfection. (Revelation 20:5, 6) Yes, associating new thoughts with those already known improves your grasp of the pure language.
4. (a) What is another way to learn the ‘grammatical rules’ of the pure language, and what Bible account is used to illustrate this? (b) What happened as Gideon and his three hundred men took action? (c) The account about Gideon teaches what lesson?
4 Another way to learn the ‘grammatical rules’ of the pure language is to visualize Biblical events. To illustrate: Try to ‘see and hear’ the account recorded at Judges 7:15-23. Look! Israelite judge Gideon has divided his forces into three companies of a hundred men each. In the darkness, they quietly descend from Mount Gilboa and surround the camp of sleeping Midianites. Are they well armed, these three hundred? Not militarily. Why, they would draw scornful laughter from haughty militarists! Each man has only a horn, a large water jar, and a torch within the jar. But listen! At a given signal, the hundred men with Gideon blow their horns and smash their water jars. So do the two hundred others. As all raise flaming torches aloft, you hear them shout: “Jehovah’s sword and Gideon’s!” How this terrorizes the Midianites! They stumble out of their tents, their sleep-filled eyes widen in fright at the leaping flames that highlight shadowy shapes and ignite superstitious fear. As the Midianites begin to flee, Gideon’s men continue to blow their horns, and God sets their foes against one another. What a powerful lesson in the pure language! God can deliver his servants without a human military force. Moreover, “Jehovah will not desert his people for the sake of his great name.”—1 Samuel 12:22.
5. How can Christian meetings help to refine our speech?
5 When students are taught a foreign tongue through the spoken-language method, they try to repeat the teacher’s sounds and word patterns correctly. What fine opportunities there are to speak the pure language at Christian meetings! There we hear others express themselves in that language of Scriptural truth, and we may be privileged to comment ourselves. Are we afraid that we may say something wrong? Let that not be our prime concern, for an error kindly corrected by the elder presiding at such a meeting as the weekly Watchtower Study can refine our speech. Therefore, attend and participate in Christian meetings regularly.—Hebrews 10:24, 25.
Infiltration of Impurities
6. Why is there such a contrast between Jehovah’s Witnesses and the religious organizations of Christendom?
6 Those who declare Jehovah’s purpose and announce his heavenly Kingdom speak the pure language as his Witnesses. They make known his name and serve him “shoulder to shoulder,” or with one consent. (Zephaniah 3:9) Though Christendom’s religions have the Bible, they do not speak the pure language or call upon God’s name in faith. (Joel 2:32) They have no harmonious message based on the Scriptures. Why? Because they place religious traditions, worldly philosophies, and political loyalties above God’s Word. Their purposes, hopes, and methods are of this wicked world.
7. What differences between Jehovah’s Witnesses and false religions are indicated at 1 John 4:4-6?
7 Christendom—in fact, the entire world empire of false religion—does not speak the same language as Jehovah’s Witnesses do. Interestingly, to those speaking the pure language, the apostle John wrote: “You originate with God, . . . and you have conquered those persons, because he that is in union with you is greater than he that is in union with the world. They originate with the world; that is why they speak what proceeds from the world and the world listens to them. We originate with God. He that gains the knowledge of God listens to us; he that does not originate with God does not listen to us.” (1 John 4:4-6) Jehovah’s servants have conquered false teachers because God, who is in union with his people, “is greater than [the Devil, who] is in union with the world,” unrighteous human society. Since apostates “originate with the world” and have its wicked spirit, “they speak what proceeds from the world and the world listens to them.” But sheeplike individuals listen to those originating with God, realizing that Jehovah’s people speak the pure language of Bible truth provided through his organization.
8. What is the identity of the man of lawlessness?
8 A great apostasy was foretold, and a ‘mystery of lawlessness’ was already at work in the first century C.E. In time, men who accepted—or seized—teaching positions in the congregation taught many false doctrines. Their language was far from pure. So there arose a composite “man of lawlessness,” the clergy of Christendom, bound to false religious traditions, worldly philosophy, and unscriptural teachings.—2 Thessalonians 2:3, 7.
Pure Language Heard Worldwide
9. What religious developments were there during the 19th century?
9 Only a small minority of God-fearing people ‘put up a hard fight for the faith delivered to the holy ones.’ (Jude 3) Where could such believers be found? For centuries, false religion kept the multitudes in spiritual darkness, but God knew those few who had his approval. (2 Timothy 2:19) And then, amid the commercial, industrial, and social changes of the 19th century, there arose voices that stood out from the general babel of false religious confusion. Small groups tried to read the signs of the times and predict Jesus’ second coming, but not all spoke the pure language.
10. Which “second coming” group did God choose to speak the pure language, and why is it evident that the hand of Jehovah has been with them?
10 In 1879, however, it became clear which “second coming” voice was being chosen by Jehovah to speak the pure language as his Witnesses. By then a small Bible-study group led by Charles Taze Russell was meeting in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, U.S.A. They had become certain that Jesus’ second coming would begin his invisible presence, that a time of world distress was ahead, and that this would be followed by the Thousand Year Reign of Christ that would restore Paradise on earth, with eternal life for obedient humans. In July 1879 these Bible Students began to publish the magazine now known as The Watchtower. Only 6,000 copies were distributed of the first issue. But “the hand of Jehovah” was with those Witnesses, for this journal is now published in 111 languages, with an average printing of over 15,000,000 for each issue.—Compare Acts 11:19-21.
11, 12. What are some Scriptural truths understood by those speaking the pure language?
11 Through the Bible and the publications of Jehovah’s Witnesses, and especially by these zealous Christians’ proclaiming the good news, the pure language has become known earth wide. And what grand benefits are enjoyed by those speaking it! Instead of saying that ‘God is God, Christ is God, and the Holy Ghost is God’ in the mysterious lingo of Trinitarianism, they agree with the Bible’s position that Jehovah is the Most High, Jesus Christ as a lesser one is His Son, and the holy spirit is God’s amazing active force. (Genesis 1:2; Psalm 83:18; Matthew 3:16, 17) Speakers of the pure language know that man did not evolve from a lower form of life but was created by a loving God. (Genesis 1:27; 2:7) They realize that the soul ceases to exist at death—a fact that eliminates fear of the dead. (Ecclesiastes 9:5, 10; Ezekiel 18:4) Hell is understood to be mankind’s common grave, not a place of fiery torment devised by a fiendish deity. (Job 14:13) They also know that the resurrection is the God-given hope of the dead.—John 5:28, 29; 11:25; Acts 24:15.
12 Those speaking the pure language show respect for blood and life. (Genesis 9:3, 4; Acts 15:28, 29) They realize that Christ’s earthly life is the ransom price paid for obedient humans. (Matthew 20:28; 1 John 2:1, 2) Never do they pray to “saints,” knowing that their prayers must be directed to Jehovah God through Jesus Christ. (John 14:6, 13, 14) Since God’s Word condemns idolatry, images are not used in their worship. (Exodus 20:4-6; 1 Corinthians 10:14) And they avoid the perils of demonism because they reject spiritism, also condemned in the Bible.—Deuteronomy 18:10-12; Galatians 5:19-21.
13. Why are those who speak the pure language not bewildered?
13 Jehovah’s servants, who speak the pure language, are not bewildered about where they are in the stream of time. Jehovah has taught them that they are in “the time of the end,” with Jesus present as a glorious invisible spirit. (Daniel 12:4; Matthew 24:3-14; 2 Timothy 3:1-5; 1 Peter 3:18) With mighty heavenly forces behind him, Christ is about to ride into battle to execute God’s judgment against this system of things. (Daniel 2:44; Revelation 16:14, 16; 18:1-8; 19:11-21) Yes, and those speaking the pure language are busy declaring the good news that God’s Kingdom under Christ will soon bring grand blessings to all obedient mankind on a paradise earth. (Isaiah 9:6, 7; Daniel 7:13, 14; Matthew 6:9, 10; 24:14; Luke 23:43) All of that, and we have only skimmed the surface! Surely, the pure language is the richest, most precious tongue on earth!
14. What other benefits are enjoyed by those speaking the pure language?
14 Benefits enjoyed by those speaking the pure language include “the peace of God” that guards hearts and mental powers. (Philippians 4:6, 7) They obey Bible laws, which promote health, happiness, and the satisfaction that comes from pleasing Jehovah. (1 Corinthians 6:9, 10) Yes, and speakers of the pure language have the hope of life eternal in God’s promised new world.—2 Peter 3:13.
Use It or Lose It
15. How will you benefit from a fine grasp of the pure language?
15 If you are to speak the pure language in the new world, you must know it so well that it becomes the language in which you think. When a person is learning a language, he at first thinks in his native tongue and translates his thoughts into the new one. But as he becomes more proficient in the new language, he begins to think in it without needing the translation process. Similarly, through diligent study, you can get such a fine grasp of the pure language that you will know how to apply Bible laws and principles to solve problems and remain on “the path of life.”—Psalm 16:11.
16. What can happen if you do not use the pure language regularly?
16 You must use the pure language regularly, or you will lose the ability to speak it well. To illustrate: Years ago, some of us learned a foreign language. We may recall some words in that tongue but have likely lost our command of it because we have not put it to constant use. The same thing can happen with the pure language. If we do not use it regularly, we can lose our command of it, and that would have tragic consequences spiritually. Let us therefore speak it regularly at meetings and in the Christian ministry. These activities, coupled with personal study, will enable us to say things correctly in the pure language. And how important that is!
17. What illustrates that speech can be lifesaving or death dealing?
17 Speech can be lifesaving or death dealing. This was shown during a conflict between the Israelite tribe of Ephraim and Judge Jephthah of Gilead. To identify Ephraimites trying to flee across the Jordan River, the Gileadites used the password “Shibboleth,” which had an initial “sh” sound. The men of Ephraim betrayed themselves to the Gileadite sentries at the fords of the Jordan by saying “Sibboleth” instead of “Shibboleth,” mispronouncing the opening sound of the word. As a result, 42,000 Ephraimites were slain! (Judges 12:5, 6) Similarly, what Christendom’s clergy teach may sound close to the pure language to those not well acquainted with Bible truth. But speaking in a false religious way will prove fatal in the day of Jehovah’s anger.
Unified We Remain
18, 19. What is the significance of Zephaniah 3:1-5?
18 Referring to unfaithful Jerusalem of old and her modern counterpart, Christendom, it is said at Zephaniah 3:1-5: “Woe to her that is rebelling and polluting herself, the oppressive city! She did not listen to a voice; she did not accept discipline. In Jehovah she did not trust. To her God she did not draw near. Her princes in the midst of her were roaring lions. Her judges were evening wolves that did not gnaw bones till the morning. Her prophets were insolent, were men of treachery. Her priests themselves profaned what was holy; they did violence to the law. Jehovah was righteous in the midst of her; he would do no unrighteousness. Morning by morning he kept giving his own judicial decision. At daylight it did not prove lacking. But the unrighteous one was knowing no shame.” What is the significance of those words?
19 Both ancient Jerusalem and modern-day Christendom rebelled against Jehovah and polluted themselves with false worship. The wrongdoing of their leaders resulted in oppression. Despite God’s repeated warnings, they did not listen and draw near to him. Their princes have been like rapacious lions, arrogantly disregarding righteousness. Like ravenous wolves, their judges have ripped justice to shreds. Their priests have ‘profaned what is holy and done violence to the law’ of God. So Jehovah is about ‘to gather nations and collect together kingdoms, in order to pour out upon them his denunciation, all his burning anger.’—Zephaniah 3:8.
20. (a) What must be done to survive the day of Jehovah’s anger? (b) How can you hope to enjoy eternal blessings from God?
20 The day of Jehovah’s anger is approaching rapidly. To survive into God’s new world, therefore, learn and speak the pure language without delay. Only by doing so can you find protection from spiritual disaster now and from the fast-approaching global calamity. Jehovah’s Witnesses are declaring the day of God’s anger and the heartening message of his Kingdom. How they delight to talk about the glory of his kingship! (Psalm 145:10-13) Become united with them, and you can hope to enjoy eternal life and other blessings from the Originator of the pure language, the Sovereign Lord Jehovah.
How Would You Answer?
◻ What are some ways to learn the pure language?
◻ Why is it beneficial to speak the pure language?
◻ What can happen if you do not use the pure language regularly?
◻ How can a person survive the day of Jehovah’s anger and enjoy eternal blessings?
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Gideon and his men blow their horns and raise their torches
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From 1879 onward it was made clear that Charles Taze Russell and his associates were being used by God to promote the pure language
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Are you united with Jehovah’s Witnesses in speaking the pure language?