Noah as “faultless among his contemporaries” (Gen. 6:9), and commanded Abraham, “Walk before me and prove yourself faultless” (Gen. 17:1), although both these men were imperfect, and died. But they were viewed as faultless by Jehovah, who “sees what the heart is.” (1 Sam. 16:7; compare 2 Kings 20:3; 2 Chronicles 16:9.) He is “aware of the days of the faultless ones.” (Ps. 37:18) He commanded Israel: “You should prove yourself faultless with Jehovah your God.” (Deut. 18:13; 2 Sam. 22:24) He provided his faultless Son (Heb. 7:26) as a ransom sacrifice, and on this basis can call those exercising faith and obedience “righteous” or faultless, while at the same time maintaining his position as the righteous and faultless Judge.—Rom. 3:25, 26; see INTEGRITY.

THE LAW COVENANT

The apostle Paul says that the Law is “spiritual” and “fine” (Rom. 7:14; 1 Tim. 1:8) and, after discussing its tenth commandment, states that “the law is holy, and the commandment is holy and righteous and good.” (Rom. 7:7-12) Why, then, does he also say: “If that first covenant had been faultless, no place would have been sought for a second”? (Heb. 8:7) Paul goes on to explain: “He [Jehovah, through Jeremiah] does find fault with the people.” (Heb. 8:8, 9; compare Jeremiah 31:31, 32.) In another place he shows that there was an incapability on the part of the Law, while it was “weak through the flesh.” (Rom. 8:3) Also, he logically demonstrates that perfection could not come through the Levitical priesthood, which, along with the law by which it operated, had to be changed; that “the Law made nothing perfect,” and that its gifts and sacrifices were “not able to make the man doing sacred service perfect as respects his conscience.”—Heb. 7:11, 12, 19; 9:9.

DEALING WITH ONE ANOTHER’S FAULTS

The Bible counsels us to “continue putting up with one another and forgiving one another freely if anyone has a cause for complaint against another.” (Col. 3:13) If all our faults were held against us we would all be condemned. Many faults can be overlooked; surely a Christian should not be anxious to make public the faults of his brothers. The Scriptures say of a wicked person: “You sit and speak against your own brother, against the son of your mother you give away a fault.”—Ps. 50:16, 20.

However, Jesus Christ instructed his disciples what to do if there is really sin involved. As the first step, he counseled: “If your brother commits a sin, go lay bare his fault between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have gained your brother.” Jesus then proceeds to outline the steps to take if this first effort fails.—Matt. 18:15-17; see also Galatians 6:1.

FAULTFINDING

“Faultfinding” usually has the bad connotation of petty or unreasonable censure. In the Bible the practice of “faultfinding” is used in a sense comparable to “murmuring” or “complaining.”

Faultfinding can cause persons to share in wicked acts. David, unjustly harassed by King Saul and others who sought his death, prayed confidently to Jehovah: “You will provide me escape from the faultfinding of the people.” (Ps. 18:43) Faultfinding discourages and tears down. The Israelites, not long out of Egypt, murmured against Jehovah, finding fault with the leadership that he provided by his servants Moses and Aaron. (Ex. 16:2, 7) Later their complaints so discouraged Moses that he asked to die. (Num. 11:13-15) Murmuring is a deadly danger to the murmurer. Jehovah counted the things said by murmurers about Moses as actually being a rebellious complaint against His own divine leadership. (Num. 14:26-30) Many lost their lives as a result of faultfinding.

Accordingly, the Christian Greek Scriptures draw on the ancient examples to warn of the destructiveness of murmuring or complaining. (1 Cor. 10:10, 11) Jude tells of those who ‘disregard lordship and speak abusively of glorious ones,’ describing such ones as “murmurers, complainers about their lot in life, proceeding according to their own desires, and their mouths speak swelling things, while they are admiring personalities for the sake of their own benefit.”—Jude 8, 16.

Jesus condemned the faultfinding attitude when he said: “Stop judging that you may not be judged. Why, then, do you look at the straw in your brother’s eye, but do not consider the rafter in your own eye? . . . Hypocrite! First extract the rafter from your own eye, and then you will see clearly how to extract the straw from your brother’s eye.”—Matt. 7:1, 3-5; compare Romans 2:1.

A FAULTLESS MINISTRY

The apostle Paul, highly grateful and appreciative of the glorious treasure of the ministry, exercised care to glorify this ministry by watching closely every feature of his life and conduct. He said in his letter to the congregation at Corinth: “In no way are we giving any cause for stumbling, that our ministry might not be found fault with.” (2 Cor. 6:3) Men challenging Paul’s apostleship had associated with the congregation there and had indulged in much faultfinding and slander against Paul in order to belittle him and to destroy his apostolic authority over the congregation. Realizing this, and knowing also the danger of faultfinding and trouble where money matters are concerned, he assured the congregation that he was sending Titus and another trustworthy brother appointed by the congregations to handle the contributions. “Thus,” wrote Paul, “we are avoiding having any man find fault with us in connection with this liberal contribution to be administered by us.”—2 Cor. 8:16-21.

FEAR

As commonly used, fear means an expectation of harm or pain, generally a painful emotion characterized by alarm, dread, disquiet. However, fear may also mean a calm recognition or consideration of whatever may injure or damage, such recognition causing one to exercise reasoned caution and intelligent foresight.

The Bible shows that there is a proper fear and an improper fear. Thus, fear may be wholesome, causing the individual to proceed with due caution in the face of danger, thereby averting disaster, or it may be morbid, destroying hope and weakening a person’s nervous stamina, even to the point of bringing about death. The fear of God is healthful; it is an awe and profound reverence for the Creator and a wholesome dread of displeasing him because of an appreciation of his loving-kindness and goodness together with the realization that he is the Supreme Judge and the Almighty, with the power to inflict punishment or death upon those who disobey him. Proper fear also includes due respect for secular authority, the Christian knowing that just punishment from the authority for a crime would be an indirect expression of God’s anger.—Rom. 13:3-7.

Adam and Eve failed to exercise a proper, healthful fear of God and therefore they disobeyed him. This produced in them a painful fear or terror, which caused them to hide from God’s presence. Adam said: “Your voice I heard in the garden, but I was afraid.” (Gen. 3:10) Adam’s son Cain felt a similar fear after murdering his brother Abel, and this fear may have been a contributing factor in his deciding to build a city.—Gen. 4:13-17.

At Genesis 9:2 the word “fear” is used in connection with the animal creation. God told Noah and his sons: “A fear of you and a terror of you will continue upon every living creature of the earth.” During the year that Noah and his family were inside the ark, the animals and birds penned up therein had a fear toward these humans and this helped to restrain them. Accordingly, when they emerged from the ark after the flood, Jehovah gave Noah assurance that this fear would continue. This is supported by human experience. Dr. George G. Goodwin, Associate Curator of Mammals, The American Museum of Natural History, says: “Normally, a leopard will not attack a man. If provoked or wounded, however, the animal will turn on human beings and fight.” Raymond L. Ditmars says in Snakes of the World that, if given the opportunity, poisonous snakes known for aggressiveness, such as the mamba and king cobra prefer, as a rule, cautiously to glide away from the presence of man rather than attack. Though man has mistreated and turned some animals into vicious creatures, it is generally true that this restraining fear still applies. This is in harmony with God’s statement at Genesis 1:26-28, that the animal creation was to be subject to man from the time of his creation.

The proper fear of Jehovah God is essential to those who would serve him. This profound reverential fear of Jehovah is “the beginning of wisdom” (Ps. 111:10), “the start of wisdom.” (Prov. 9:10) It is not a morbid fear that tears down; “the fear of Jehovah is pure.” (Ps. 19:9) This fear is defined thus at Proverbs 8:13: “The fear of Jehovah means the hating of bad.” It will prevent one from following a bad course, for “in the fear of Jehovah one turns away from bad.”—Prov. 16:6.

At Hebrews 12:28 Christians are instructed to have godly fear: “Let us continue to have undeserved kindness, through which we may acceptably render God sacred service with godly fear and awe.” An angel in midheaven having everlasting good news to declare opened his declaration with the words: “Fear God and give him glory.” (Rev. 14:6, 7) Jesus contrasted the wholesome fear of God with fear of man, saying, as recorded at Matthew 10:28: “Do not become fearful of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul; but rather be in fear of him that can destroy both soul and body in Gehenna.” At Revelation 2:10 he also counsels Christians: “Do not be afraid of the things you are about to suffer.” Real love for Jehovah expels the cowardly fear of man that leads to compromise.

Jesus predicted that at “the conclusion of the system of things” a climate of fear would cover the earth. He said “there will be fearful sights” and that men would “become faint out of fear and expectation of the things coming upon the inhabited earth.” (Luke 21:11, 26) While people in general would be affected in this way, servants of God should follow the principle expressed at Isaiah 8:12: “The object of their fear you men must not fear.” The apostle Paul explains: “For God gave us not a spirit of cowardice, but that of power and of love and of soundness of mind.”—2 Tim. 1:7.

The wise man, after making a careful study of mankind and man’s occupations and calamitous experiences, said: “The conclusion of the matter, everything having been heard, is: Fear the true God and keep his commandments. For this is the whole obligation of man.”—Eccl. 12:13.

FELIX

(Feʹlix) [happy].

The procurator of the Roman province of Judea who held Paul prisoner for two years after Paul’s last visit to Jerusalem in 56 C.E. It is believed that Felix served jointly with Cumanus in the office of procurator from 48 to 52, and alone from 52 to 58. Hence, on the basis of eight years of service Paul could say to Felix in 56, “This nation has had you as judge for many years.”—Acts 24:10.

Secular historians say Felix was once a slave, that his given name was Antonius, that Emperor Claudius granted him and his brother Pallas their freedom, and that he was a cruel and immoral official. Tacitus described him as one who “thought that he could do any evil act with impunity,” one who, “indulging in every kind of barbarity and lust, exercised the power of a king in the spirit of a slave.” He is reported to have engineered the killing of High Priest Jonathan. Suetonius says he was married three times, at least one of which marriages, to Drusilla the daughter of King Agrippa I, was adulterous, since she was the wife of King Azizus of Emesa. Such description agrees with what we learn of Felix in the Bible.

Following Paul’s arrest, Claudius Lysias, the Roman military commander, fearing for the safety of his prisoner if allowed to remain in Jerusalem, hustled the apostle down to Caesarea under heavy guard, “commanding the accusers to speak against him” before Felix. (Acts 23:23-30) Five days later High Priest Ananias, a certain Tertullus and others came down from Jerusalem with preposterous charges against Paul. Felix presided at the trial, deferring judgment. He ordered that Paul be kept but with some relaxation of custody, and that none of Paul’s people be forbidden to wait upon him.

Felix later “sent for Paul and listened to him on the belief in Christ Jesus.” It was on this occasion, with Felix’s wife Drusilla present, that Paul “talked about righteousness and self-control and the judgment to come.” On hearing these things “Felix became frightened” and told the apostle: “For the present go your way, but when I get an opportune time I shall send for you again.” Frequently, during a two-year period, Felix sent for and conversed with Paul, futilely hoping that the apostle would give him money as a bribe for his release.—Acts 24:24-27.

Felix’s administration was highly resented by the Jews. It was “a prime example of colonial mismanagement.” (The Interpreter’s Dictionary of the Bible, Vol. 2, p. 264) Perhaps in 58 C.E. “Felix was succeeded by Porcius Festus; and because Felix desired to gain favor with the Jews, he left Paul bound.” (Acts 24:27) However, this gesture on the part of Felix did not soothe the wounds he had inflicted on the Jews; nor did it prevent them from sending a delegation to Rome to press their case against him. His escaping punishment after recall to Rome is accredited only to the favored position and influence his brother Pallas had with Nero.

FERMENT

See LEAVEN.

FERTILE CRESCENT

A geographical term introduced by James H. Breasted to describe the narrow strip of fertile land that stretches like a semicircle from the Persian Gulf up through Mesopotamia, arches westward to Syria and Lebanon, and then swings southwestward down through Phoenicia and Palestine. This cultivable corridor of land thus forms an agricultural and economic highway that curves around the entire northern end of the vast Arabian Desert, while chains of mountain ranges border the “crescent” on the other side, until the Mediterranean Sea finally becomes its western border. Some place the SW tip of the Fertile Crescent at Gaza in Philistia, below which the desert begins; others would have it