from Egypt and the faithful ones were at length brought into the Promised Land of milk and honey.—Ex. 14:1 to 15:22.

 5, 6. (a) Today who are vessels of wrath fitted to destruction? (b) Who are the vessels of mercy fit for his use? What is the proof?

⁵ It is the same way now with the spiritual Israelites, who are in this world but are no part of it. The unseen Pharaoh and “god of this world”, Satan the Devil, is a vessel upon whom God’s wrath now rests and who will eventually be destroyed. But the faithful Christians of spiritual Israel are likened to “vessels of mercy”, whom God had aforetime “prepared unto glory”. (Rom. 9:17-24) These have cleared themselves from wicked creatures who are vessels for a common or dishonorable service and who are doomed to eventual destruction as opposers of the true God Jehovah.

⁶ The modern-day Egypt, Satan’s world, is full of vessels on whom divine wrath rests. (Rev. 11:8) They are destined to an early destruction at the oncoming battle of Armageddon. That includes Christendom’s religious leaders and sects that err from Bible truth, like Hymenaeus and Philetus whom the apostle Paul names. Today’s witnesses of Jehovah are a consecrated people because of dedicating themselves to the holy service of God to carry out his will and commandments. Rather than further yield themselves slavishly to service of this doomed modern Egypt, those whom Jehovah has made his witnesses have devoted themselves to His use, considering it an honor to be used by him in any capacity. Only by such separateness are they fit for the great Master’s service, and he shows his acceptance of them by equipping them for works that are good in his sight. All, there is the proof that they are his witnesses who compose his visible organization, namely, his blessing of them and making actual use of them in carrying out his work in the earth. Christendom’s religious systems may deny that these are witnesses of Jehovah and may nickname them with all sorts of opprobrious names and speak and work against them. Yet if they have the evidence that they are the honored vessels of God’s visible organization, the reproach and opposition of worldly religious systems does not matter. They stand unmoved on a solid foundation: “Yet God’s solid foundation stands unmoved, bearing this inscription, ‘The LORD [that is, Jehovah] knows those who really belong to him’. And this also, ‘Let every one who names the Name of the LORD [that is, Jehovah] renounce all wickedness’.”—2 Tim. 2:19, Weymouth; Num. 16:5; Isa. 26:13.

 7. What instrumentalities have Jehovah’s witnesses used for over seventy years? How are they equipped today, in evidence of what?

⁷ From the time the WATCH TOWER BIBLE & TRACT SOCIETY was founded and The Watchtower was first published, Jehovah’s witnesses have used these instrumentalities in his service, but under continual assault by Christendom. And yet after these more than seventy years, there are now more, many times more, Christians who have confessed the name. And now in this year 1950 the God whom we serve has equipped us more mightily than ever before for still larger accomplishments as his honored vessels. This we shall here briefly describe, for it is evidence that the Universal Sovereign has not failed to have his witnesses in the earth in these perilous last days of the old world. It is also evidence that we are at the gates of the upright New World which his witnesses represent.

Organized Testimony to the New World

 1. (a) What is the publication record of The Watchtower? (b) How did its first editor come to be “fit for the Master’s use”?

IN JULY of 1879 the first issue of what is now The Watchtower came off the press and began to be circulated from 101 Fifth St., Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, U. S. A. So now this magazine is 71 years old, with a record of never having missed an issue despite the turbulence of those years and the bitter religious “cold war” of Christendom against our magazine. What moved its publication? What divine authority did its promoter and editor have to enter the field of giving Bible instruction and testifying to Jehovah God? Did he meet the requirement of 2 Timothy 2:21, that of clearing himself from vessels that were serving a dishonorable destruction-deserving purpose? Yes. In his teens Charles Taze Russell, the editor, had been a member of the Congregational Church and a strong believer in the doctrine of eternal torture of damned human souls in a hell of literal fire and brimstone. But when trying to reclaim an acquaintance, an infidel, to Christianity, he himself was routed from his sectarian position and driven into skepticism. Hungrily he began investigating the heathen religions in search of the truth on God’s purpose and man’s destiny. Proving all these unsatisfactory and before giving up religious investigation altogether, he took up the search of the Holy Scriptures from a skeptic’s standpoint, now untrammeled by the false religious doctrines of the sectarian systems of Christendom. He had had to clear himself from such religious vessels so as to be an honorable vessel of Jehovah God, consecrated, fit for his Master’s use, and fully equipped for every good work.