of the Kingdom preaching in eight different countries, but by 1953 the work had increased to twelve countries with 13,174 ministers preaching the good news of God’s kingdom throughout the continent. This is a remarkable expansion, and this, in great degree, is due to the work started at the Watchtower Bible School of Gilead, a school that produces missionaries who carry the work of Jehovah’s witnesses into distant countries. Throughout the world people have given generous support to the Watchtower Bible School of Gilead and the missionary expansion program that is being carried on throughout the world, and so it is possible that one can see expansion in every continent. The travelers were busy with South America and thinking in terms of South America, and they were happy to know that such a great forward movement had occurred in just a little more than ten years in South America.

Take Flight to the Mountains for Safety

THE Israelites in Jesus’ day thought that the magnificent temple of Herod would serve as a charm to protect them from harm. But Jesus not only foretold that not one stone would be left upon another of its glorious buildings but also gave a sign as to when this would occur and told his followers what to do when they saw this sign: “When you see Jerusalem surrounded by encamped armies, then understand that the desolating of her has drawn near. Then let those in Judea begin fleeing to the mountains, and let those in the midst of her withdraw.”—Luke 21:20, 21, NW.a

True to Jesus’ words the Roman armies did surround Jerusalem, A.D. 66. Then for no apparent reason they withdrew. Christians fled to refuge beyond the Jordan in the mountainous region of Gilead. A.D. 70 the Romans returned and destroyed the city, together with 1,100,000 inhabitants.

Like the Jews of Jesus’ time Christendom today considers herself heaven’s favorite because of her antiquity and reputed sacredness, but she will no more escape what Jesus foretold would come upon her than did her prototype Jerusalem. And just as the nation of Israel back there deserved destruction at the hands of Rome for having rejected the Messiah and having boasted, “We have no king but Caesar,” so Christendom will be destroyed because of preferring man-made substitutes to God’s kingdom.—John 19:15; Ps. 2:1-9.

Today we see the armies of godless communism surrounding Christendom and we also see the disgusting thing that causes desolation standing as a substitute for God’s kingdom, namely, the United Nations backed by organized religion. Seeing these things, we must flee to the mountains. (Matt. 24:15, 16) What are the mountains? They are the theocratic new “land,” which was born in 1919 with the return of Jehovah’s remnant to his organization and service.—Isa. 51:11-16; 66:7-9.

We cannot flee from the realm of Christendom, but we can separate ourselves from its system of things by taking in knowledge of Jehovah God and Christ Jesus and exercising faith in them, by dedicating ourselves to Jehovah and by associating with the New World society found in God’s new system of things.