This c l a s s is being s e n t f o r t h in c o P l a b o r ~ t i o nwf%hthe

Watchtower Bible and T r a a t Society of New York, Inc. by the Watch

Tower B i b l e and Tract Society of Pennsylvania.

Now t h e q u e s t i o n

raised today, What r i g h t does t h e Watch Tower Bible and

Tract Society have t o send missionaries o u t i n t o t h e f i e l d

o r evangelieers.

The Amerlcan T r a n s l a t i o n renders t h e word evangelizer

ltmissionarg.ft Who authorized t h e Watah Tower Bible and Tract Society

o f Pemsylvanfa t o send missionaries a l l around the globe? ,Now such
challenging question may b e a l a o raised with an earlier circumstance.
And t h a t i s based onsthe f a c t that .the Wktch Tower Bible end Tract

'

Socfety was founded by a man who became an evangelizer off world note,

one of the most eminent evangelizers o f t h i s twentieth century and

e s p a c i a i l y a t t a i n e d g l o b a l fame whm he made his t r i p around t h e
world i n t h e year 1912.

Tliat;man was Charles Taze Russell of Alle-

gheny, ~ e n n s ~ l v a n i a .

be

Now. I 've o f t e n wondered about t h i e matter.

J u s t how d i d Russell become an evangelizer?

/.-=
g e l i z e r2
'.~ A t the. time
-----.-

Ma$ you have too.

Who made him an evan-

t h a t he lived this - p r o f e s s e d C h r i s t i a n or-

- .

g a n i z a t i o n that wa5 symbolized i n J e s u s ' p a r a b l e by the dragnet that

I

gathered i n f i s h suitable and unsuitable f o r orthodox Jews t o eat,

t h i s professed C h r i s t i a n organization wae s t i l l In o p e r a t i o n and was

g a t h e r i n g i n these d i f f e r e n t q u a l i t i e s of symbolic f i s h .

That meant

that the various r e l i g i o u s establishments 61" Chrletendom werea%n

operacYion.

-- For instanoe, there

was t h e Anglican Church with I t s -

r u l i n g t - b o d 9 and the P r o t e s t a n t Ep%@bo$&3.Churc'h with i t s r u l i n g

. .>

body.

There was t h e Methodist Church 158th its Conference; thsre

was alao t h e Presbyterian Church, t o which Russell used t o belong,

v:ith i t s Synod.

These was a l s o t h e C o n g r e l j a t i o ~ a lChurch tihich

Russell joined, with i t s Central Congregation. - B u t by none of these

c o n t r o l l i n g o r g a n i z a t i o n s of t h i s dragnet o r g a n i z a t i o n was R u s s e l l
made an evangelieer o r missionary.

Well now, s i n c e Russell broke

away from a l l t h e s e r e l i g i o u s i n s t i t u t i o n s of Christendom, they

d i d n r t recognize him and he became known as P a s t o r R u s s e l l and I
remember hyw .t h e clergy would r a i s e t h e q u e s t i o n , Who made him a
.\
p a s t o r ? So t h e v a l i d i t y of h i s m i n i s t r y was questioned and chal-

-_
_ _ --

lenged by- t h e cJergy of t h i s dragnet o r g a n i z a t i o n about which t h e

f

j. Lord J e s u s C h r i s t spokein t h e 1 3 t h chapter of Hatthew.

So, . i n view

. o f t h o s e t h i n g s I have o f t e n wondered, How d i d R u s s e l l become what

he d i d become?

And lheybe you've wondered about t h e m a t t e r t o o .

So

I j u s t bega6 t o t h i n k about t h e q r s t century when t h i s C h r i s t i a n

e v a n g e l i s t i c work o r missionary work was first s t a r t e d . Now the

rare
word f f e v a n g e l i z e r wo r w evangelizer^^' i s a &&Se~t&&word i n t h e Bible;
i t occurs only t h r e e times; twice nevangelizer" and once ffevangel-

izers.

"

Now we remember how J e s u s s e n t f o r t h h i s 1 2 a p o s t l e s and

then he s e n t out afterwards 70 d i s c i p l e s of h i s t o go o u t preaching

t h e good news of t h e Kingdom and t h e s e 70 d i s c i p l e s a r e g e n e r a l l y
d i f f e r e n t i a t e d from t h e 1 2 a p o s t l e s by b'eing c a l l e d ltevangeliatsfl
o r nevangelizers.v

- .

And s o t h e r e were 70 of t h e s e evangelizers t h a t

t h e Lord Jesus Chrfst s e n t f o r t h .

s e n t them f o r t h by twos.
,.
I

Now t h e record says t h a t he

Now we're not t o imagine t h a t by sending

t h e 70 e v a n g e l i z e r s ( i f w e f r e allowed t o use t h a t t e r m , because they

did

i'

by twos t h e Lord J e s u s Christ was n o t - N-.$fQ>.q each two a committee

<
'.

OF

evangel t h e good news of t h e Kingdom) by sending them & r t h

!.

'+s

s o t h a t f o r t h e 70 evangelizers t h e r e were 35 c o r n i t t e e s of two.

Well, you're miss$onaries.

You1re being s e n t f o r t h today a f t e r your

graduation as missionaries--the

last telegram we heard was about

two being sent t o B o l i v i a , and then t h e r e a r e o t h e r s who a r e being

s e n t , maybe f o u r o r s i x o r e i g h t , t o a d i f f e r e n t country as assign-

ment for work.

NOW, don't you m i s s i o n a r i e s t h i n k because you a r e

being s e n t f o r t h two t o g e t h e r o r maybe f o u r o r s i x o r paybe e i g h t

t h a t you are being s e n t f o r t h as a committee t o take over the work
f o r t h e land t o which you a r e assigned.

No such t h i n g .

Your being

s e n t f o r t h 4s i n d i v i d u a l missionaries t o cooperate t o g e t h e r and t o

cooperate w i t h t h e branch of t h e Watch Tower B i b l e and Tract Society
which i s o p e r a t i n g and d i r e c t i n g t h e work in t h e l a n d t o which you
are assigned Bo a c t as .an evangelizer. So d o n ' t g e t t h i s committee i d e a
\

i n t o your head because you are being out i n groups t o a s p e c i a l land.

NO^

J e s u s ~ h r i s tf i n i ~ h e dh i s course as the g r e a t e s t ~ v a n ~ e l & eofr

a l l and t h e n $Lme moved on and t h e r e i s a man who comes on t h e scene

and h e I s t h e only one who i s d i r e c t l y c a l l e d a n evangelizer.

h i s personal t i t l e .

We f i n d i t i n Acts c h a p t e r 21 verse 8.

That's
Andthat

1%

i s P h i l i p of Caes&r$a, and when Paul v i s i t e d him on h i s stopover t h e r e

a t Caesarea, w h y he was c a l l e d P h i l i p t h e e v a n g e l i z e r .

He's t h e

Paul t o l d Timothy i n h i s f i n a l l e t t e r ( 2 Tim. 4:5)

o n l y one.

that

he should do the work of an evangelizer, but P h i l i p i s t h e one who

is d i r e c t l y and t h e only one thus c a l l e d p e r s o n a l l y e n evaqgelizer.

But of course we 'know t h a t t h e r e were o t h e r evangelizers.

.

Now how d i d t h f s man come on t h e scene, ancI who made him an

e v a n g e l i z e r or missionary?

Now t h a t ' s t h e p o i n t l o observe.

Well,

remember how t h e s c r i p t u r e (Eph. 4:11) t e l l s us how t h e Lord Jesus

C h r i s t ascended on high and l e d a body of c a p t i v e s and how he gave
gifts i n t h e form of men;

This l e t t e r says t h a t he gave son@ a s

apost l e s and some as prophets and some as e v a n g e l i z e r s and sone as

shepherds and t e a c h e r s .
congreg

And t h e Lord J e s u s C h r i s t , t h e head of t h e

a t i o n , he gave not only apostles, not only prophets, but

a l s o evangelizers.

Mow how d i d t h i s P h i l i p become a n evangelizer

o f note, of s p e c i a l mention, i n t h e Bible?

came on the scene.

Well, you know her.! he

Trouble a r o s e i n t h e Jerusalem congregation

which was expandfng and impressing Greek-apeakfng Jews as well as

complaint made .'
t h e Hebrew-speaking Jews, And t h e r e was
because
Hebrew-speaufcSng

e v i d e n t l y there was pre,judice a g a i n s t t h e

Jews, against the widows who spoke t h e Greek language, which was the

universal language of t h e day

Yet t h e r e was some s o r t of p r e J u d i c e

agaias t these foreign-language talkera among the disciples

They

weren't receiving %heir allowance of food t o t h e t r s a t i s f a c t i o n and

t h e problem came up b e f o r e t h e a p o s t l e s o f J e s u s Chris%, What d%d

t h e y do? Well, they t o l d t h e whole congregation to recommend seven

men who were really spiFitugl characters whom they, the eportles,
*

might a p p o i n t aver t h i s b u s i n e a a ,

And s o t h e r e were seven ijho were

reconmended and t h e f i r s t two were Stephen and a l s o t h i s P h i l i p and

I

1 then

othra.

And

the a p o s t l e s

appdgnted them t o b e over t h i s b u a l n e s a .

Well, now, i f you look up t h e McClintockts and Strong's Encyclopedia

af Religious Knowledge, youfll fAnd that t h e work t h a t the aposkles

'

assfgned to these seven men i s c a l l e d a ssm2.-secular work.

But the,

'a..

\\.r / t-ipas%les d f d n T t want t h a t semt-seculesr work; they unloaded it onto

,)' !

t h e s e seven men and s a i d you take care of that.

/-"

Well, w e r r e going t a

Now were these 1 2 apostles of

s p e c i a l i z e on prayers and teschirsg.

the Lord Jeeus Christ, b y unloading t h i s raspansfbdLZty fob &king

"care
I
of tables, were they making of themse9vsor mere f i g u r e heads i n

, the

1
\

;''

cangregatSon o f God and of Jesus C h r i s t ?

They c e r t a i n l y n o t

making themselves f i g u r e heads because they s p e c i a l i z e d on spiritual

j things.
t

They were more a c t i v e at t h e s p % r i t u ( z lend of the m a t t e r

than a t t h e semi-secular end of the matter.

So, t h i n g s prosperea

: when they did tha.t:, when they unloaded t h e things t o which they had
not been appofnted b y Jesus C h r i s t

a8

apostles t o t a k e care of as

His ~vitnessest o all t h e congreg&tSons. And they s p e c i a l i z e d on the.

greachtng and t h e Lord Gad blessed them,

--- - -

-- -

--- --

Now we find with regard t o t H i ~P h l l i p that he l e f t t h i s jab of'

taking czre of t a b l e s a t Jerusalem (did you know t h a t ? ) h e l e f t t h a t

job, and he went down t o Sandria.

Then when he was down t h e r e in

Sama~ia( 7 ) he d i d a preaching work and performed many signs and

I

wonders.

And i t was because of t h e work t h a t he d i d down t h e r e and

afterward t h a t he became an e v a n g e l i s t .
e v a n g e l i s t , qr evangelizer ?
:

apostles--of

Now, who made Philip an

Oh, we s a y t h e a p o s t l e s , t h a t body of

course, i t c o u l d n f t be any o t h e r wag!

We'll read t h e account:

But was i t ?

Let t h e Bible speak f o r S t s e l f .

It 'was be-

caus-e of t h e g e r s e a u t i o n t h a t was s t i r r e d up by Saul of Tarsus t h a t

t h e record s a y s a l l the discigl;s,

a l l t h e members of t h e Jew5.h eon-

g r e g a t i o n , w e r e s c a t t e r e d from the - c i t y except t h e 12 a p o s t l e s .

And

s o P h i l i p , as one of the refugees o r fugitives, he went down t o

Samaries onnd he preached just as thekBfble says a l l t h e othelgs who
were s c a t t e r e d went preaching.

And Jehovah was s p e c i a l l y with P h Z l i p

and he established a congrcgatian t h e r e , and it was only l a t e r when

t h e a p o s t l e s heard about t h i s , what was goSng on down t h e r e , t h a t

they dispatched two aP the members of t h e a p o s t o l i c body t o

$0

down

t h e r e and see that they had t h e holy s p i r i t of God imparted t o them.

And t h e n a f t e r t h a t , what happened?

talked t o P h l l f p and s a y s , Now you go--this

from Jehovah's angel--you

from Jerusalem t o Gaza,

Why, God, Jehovahf& angal

i s t h e a s s l g m e n t t o you

go down t o t h e road t h a t leaas southward

And he went down t h e r e on t h a t assignment
-.

from Jehovah's angel and then was when he had the encounter with t h e

Ethiopian eunuch and ha baptized hfm and a f t e r t h e baptism, why he

was quickly caught away o r l e d away by God's s p i r i t . And he went down

t h e r e t o t h e Philistine seacoast and up the c o a s t t o Caesarea where
he s e t t l e d down and he had four daughters and he was there as an

e v a n g e l i s t when the a p o s t l e Paul cams on that b o a t t r l p back t o t h e .

Holy Land.

And s o t h a t ' s rvhat happened with phi&--how

he became

Mow t h e s e are thzngs t o note, f r f e n d s .

an e v a n g e l i z e r .

Then some-

' t h i n g happened r i g h t after t h a t , and t h e Lord J e s u s C h r i s t took a c t i o n

"

and he took d i r e c t a c t i o n without c o n s u l t i n g any man o r body of men

on earth.

And t h a t ' s when he, t h e Head of t h e congregation, met Saul

of Tarsus, t h e p e r s e c u t o r , t h e r e on t h e road leading t o Damascus.

stopped him and he s a i d , Now t h i s i s a chosen v e s s e l under me.

He

I1m

choosing hfm, as, t h e Head of t h e church, without c o n s u l t i n g any people

on e a r t h , and he chose Saul t o be an evangelizer, t o c a r r y the

' message
.

not anlp t o t h e Jews but a l s o to all the Gentile n a t i o n s .

Well, what about ."~erusalemand t h e body down t h e r e ?

Later on

t h e account kells us t h a t Barnabae .took Paul ( o r Saul of Tarsus) .down

t o Jerusalem.

But they were a l l afraid of him and Saul o r Tarsua ( o r

Paul) tells us t h a t when he went u p t h e r e t o Jerusalem he saw none

of t h e a p o s t l e s except P e t e r , with whom he spent 1 5 days and a l s o
the apostle Jmes.

Those are t h e only two.

Tarsus and he continued oh h i s l a b o r s .

Then he went back t o

Later on, why Barnabas was

s e n t down t h e r e t o Antioch an8 he hunted up Saul, brought him -re(?)

arid they t a l k s d , i n Antioch f o r q u i t e a while.

Paul became a member

o f t h e Antioah congregation and he was one of t h e prophets t h e r e i n

as
t h a t congregation

Syria, why G o d l s s p i r i t spoke t o t h a t congregation t h e r e i n Aritioch

--

and said, ~ o wof a l l t h i n g s , you set a s i d e , You, t h i s congregation

i n Antioch, you s e t a s i d e t h e s e two men, nm-ely Barnabas and Saul

---

--

f o r t h e work f o r which I have commissioned them, And so the -Antioch

__
they
congregation d i d t h a t and he-laid t h e i r hands upon Paul ( o r Saul)
and Barnabw and s e n t them f o r t h , as a numbep of t r a n s l a t i o n s read,
sent them forth--and

they went f o r t h by t h e holy s p f r i t o p e r a t i n g

through t h e Antioch
congregatZon and they went out on t h e i r first
_--.
__.

"--

'

missionary assignment.

So you see t h e Lord Jesus Chrkt was actiRg

i a s t h e Head of t h e congregation and t a k i n g a c t i o n d i r e c t l y , without "

i

c,

c o n s u l t i n g anybody h e r e on e a r t h what he could do and what he could

not do.

And he a c t e d i n t h a t way i n regard t o Saul and Barnabas

and they were both a p o s t l e s of t h e Antioch congregation.

And s o they

went out o n ( ? ) t h e work and had great, success and i n course of t i m e

they completed t h e i r ' s f i r s t missionary t o u r and where did they go,
where d i d they r e p o r t ?

T h e r e l s a record ( ? ) you read i t f o r . y o u r s e l f

i n t h e closizlg verses of t h e 14th chapter o f Acts.

'

They went back t o

Antioch t o t h e c o n g ~ e & t i o n t h e r d and t h e account says t h a t they r e l a t e d t h i n g s i n d e t a i l t o them, t o . t h i s congregation t h a t had comm i t t e d them t o t h e undeserved kindness of God f o r t h e work t h a t they
had performed.

So t h e r s 1 s where they r e p o r t e d .

s a i d t h a t they stayed

So t h e record a l s o

Antioch not a l i t t l e t i m e .

Now, what

A l l of a sudden something occurred and Paul and Barnabas

happened?

they go up t o Jerusalem.

Well, what's the matter?

What b r i n g s them

up t o Jerusalem?
r
-

Well, i s i t $he body of a p o s t l e s and'of o t h e r e l d e r s of t h e

: Jerusalem

congregation t h a t summoned them up t h e r e and s a y ,. Look here!

I

We have heard t h a t you two men have gone out on a missionary t o u r and

,'

f i n i b h e d It and you haven't come up h a r e t o Jerusalem t o r e p o r t t o us.

Be-ye#-k~ew

You know who w e are!

We are t h e c o u n c i l ( ? ) o f Jerusalem.

Dontt you r e c o g n i i e t h e headship o f t h e Lord J e s u s C h r i s t ?

dnl t come on up h e r e i n

a c t i o n a g a i n s t you!

If :you

a hurry, w e t r e going t o take d i s c i p l i n a r y

Is t h a t what t h e account says? Well, i f they

had a c t e d t h a t way toward P a u l and Barnabas because they r e p o r t e d t o

t h e congregation by m2ans of whfch t h e holy s p i r i t had s e n t them out

then t h i s c o u n c i l iL.-.---.of apostles*-~erusale2

i2f

anddother e l d e r s of t h e
-L

Jewish congregztion vrould have p u t themselves abbve t h e hezdship of

t h e Lord Jesue Christ.

But that i s n ' t what occurred.

We know w h a t

happened--how dews came down from JerusaLem and s t i r r e d up t h e

matter of circumcision and it %roubled t h e congregation t h e r e i n

Antioch s o much t h a t t h e Antioch s e n t Paul and Barnabas up t o Jerusalem t o have t h e council s e t t t l e the i s s u e .

And of course being

s e n t by t h e congregation a t Antioch, they ha6 t o come back and r e p o r t

and a d v i s e t h e congregation of t h e s e t t l e m e n t of t h e g u e s t i o q of t h e

d e c i s i o n t h a t w a s made by the council t h e r e a t Jerusalem. And then

when
i t was $ha% they were arguing i n favor of C h r i s t i a n s from the' G e n t i l e s
not having t o be oircurncised like t h e Jews, i t was then t h a t P a u l and

Barnabas t o l d what ~ o dhad

;
ddna b y . means of them i n t h e G e n t i l e world
And then A t was t h a t t h e council g o t t h e r e p o r t .

Then they went back

t o Antioch which had s e n t them f o r t h t o make known t h e decision and

t h e ~ e r u s a l e mcouncil s e n t along

tk men, Judas and S i l a s , with them.

And s o they d e l i v e r e d t h e r e p o r t from t h e council and t h e r e was

great r e J o i c i n g among t h e G e n t i l e b e l i e v e r s .

passes and Paul.and Barnabas a r e a t Antioch. And what

do
occurs now? Well,4they r e c e i v e a n assignment from somewhere on t h e i r
Now ti-

next move?

The -account says t h a t t h e two men, Paul and Barnbbas, Paul

s a i d t o him, O f a l l t h i n g s , l e t us go and v i s i t t h e congregatzons

t h a t we have e s t a b l i s h e d and t h e y a l l agreed ( ? ) on t h i s matter and

.'

'
-

then t b . n a t t e r o f accompanying them came u p ( ? ) Who was going t o go

with them? And Barnabas was I n f a v o r o f Mark, John Nark, but Paul
-.

d i d n ' t want him because he had l e f t them i n Pamphylia i n Asia Minor

and had not gone along with them t o t h e f i n i s h of t h e f i r s t missionary tour.

being.

So P a u l d i d n ' t have any confidence I n M a ~ ktor t h e time

And he had a very very loud a l t e r c a t i o n ( ? ) as you know, and

i t r e s u l t e d i n a s p l i t and Barnabas took along Mark and i t proved t o

be a good choice because efterwards Paul zppreclated now t h e f a i t h f u l n e s s of Kark and s a i d h e i s a u s e f u l s e r v a n t even t o me.

But what

'

about Paul?

Well, he chose S i l a s o r Slvanus as h i s companion i n

h i s missionary t o u r .

And i s one t h i n g we must n o t e again, how t h i s

happened up i n Antioch toward the c l o s e of t h e 15th chapter of Acts

1:

\.

i t says t h a t g f t e r PauL and Barnabas had been commended by the

; b r o t h e r s of t h e Antioch congregation t o t h e undeserved kindness o f

1 God t h a t they went f o r t h on t h e second mfsslonary t o u r of t h e a p o s t l e
i

Paul.

So again, t h e Antioch congregation was being used t o send out

m i s s i o n a r i e s of g r e a t eminence i n B i b l e h i s t o r y .

Then l a t e r on,

a f t e r completing t h e second missionary t o u r , t h e a p o s t l e ~ a u fl i n a l l y

r e t u r n s t o Antioch and then Acts 18:23 t e l l s us t h a t a f t e r he had
s

s p e n t some time i n Antioch i n Syria. then he s t a r t e d o u t on h i s t h i r d

*

missionary t o u r and he was a m a n who wanted t o break f r e s h ground.

H e d i d n ' t l i k e t o b u i l d on another man's foundation, where another

man had -pioneered t h e way as a n eva.hgelizer, b u t he wanted t o break

new graund.

And t h a t ' s what he d i d ,

And s o a s we examine t h i s account of t h e s e two most outstanding

among t h e missfonaries recorded i n B i b l e h i s t o r y we f i n d that they

were s e n t out e s p e c i a l l y b y t h e Lord Jesus C h r i s t . the Head of t h e

&ch,

a f a c t which t h e Watch T m r Bible and T r a c t Society had upheld

and accepted ever s i n c e t h e Society was formed. So we s e e how t h e

>
/

.Lord J e s u s C h r i s t i s t h e Head of t h e church and has a r i g h t t o a c t

d i r e c t , without any o t h e r ( ? ) o r g a n i z a t i o n s i n view, not matter who
they a r e .

He i s t h e Head o f ' t h e churoh.

We c a n ' t challenge what

-.

he does.
-

Well, now, t h e s e t h i n g s , considering t h e s e t h i n g s I n the first

century h e l p s u s t o understand what i s taking p l a c e i n our time, i n
t h e s e l a s t two c e n t u r i e s , t h e 1 9 t h and 20th, w i t h regard t o ~ ~ s s i o i . 1 ary work o r evangelizing work,

And i t h e l p s us t o understand who

r a i s e d up P a s t o r R u s s e l l , o r Charles Taze Russell, as a world evangelizer.

Fle know how a s a young man o f 24 he made a c o n t r i b u t i o n

t o a magazine h e r e i n Brooklyn, p o i n t i n g out the end of t h e G e n t i l e

Tines i n 1914 and a f t e r t h a t he was a l s o a s s o c i a t e d i n publishing
books on t h e B i b l e and i n 1879 why he s t a r t e d a new r e l i g i o u s magaz i n e The Watch Tower.
what d i d he do?

Who authorized t h i s man to do t h a t ?

Later on

1884 he had t h i s organized Society, Zion's Watch

Tower T r a c t Society, incorporated under t h e laws, t h e membership laws

of t h e S t a t e of Pennsylvania.

And, mind you, f r i e n d s , when he founded

t h a t SocPety, t h e Watch Tower B i b l e and Tract Society, he wae not

founding a do-nothing s o c i e t y , o r o r g a n i z a t i o n .

No, you read t h e

c h a r t e r a n d - t h e purpode of t h a t o r g a n i z a t i o n and i t s t a t e s t h e r e i n
t h e c h a r t e r t%at t h e purpose o f t h i s s o c i e t y i s t o promote t h e d i s -

semination of C h r i s t i a n knowledge by means of v a r i o u s p r i n t e d publicat i o n s and by whatever means t h e b o q d of d i r e c t o r s decides as being

within the l a w .
Well, who r a i s e d up P a s t o r R u s s e l l t o do t h l s from which you
m i s s i o n a r i e s h e r e today are r e c e i v i n g a b e n e f i t ?

Evidently the Lard

J e s u s Christ d i d ; God's s p i r i t did; it could do t h a t , J e s u s C h r i s t

do i n t h e f i r s t century and t h e s p i r i t

God could o p e r a t e

t h a t way i n t h e f i r s t way and why not a l s o i n the 1 9 t h century?

And

a l l t h e f a c t s o f h i a t o r y with regard t o t h e Watchlbwer Bible and

Tract S o c i e t y , t h i a a c t l v e , do-something society--had Jehovahrs

b l e s s i n g end approval and t h e f r u i t a g e thereof shows t h a t i t was
something w i t h which Jehovah God was implicated.

*-

Well, s o t h a t Watch Tower B i b l e and Tract Society operated

throughout t h e years and then t o make t h e s t o r y s h o r t , we come dawn
t o t h e y e a r 1942.

And I can remember a s p e c i a l m e t i n g t h a t was

h e l d on Thursday, September 24, of t h e year 1942.

A new p r e s i d e n t

had a r i s e n t o p r e s i d e over t h e a f f a i r s of t h e Watch Tower B i b l e and

Tract S o c i e t y and on t h i s s p e c i f i e d d a t e , why h e * c a l l e d a J o i n t

meetfng of t b e bozrd of directors of t h e Pennsylvania c o ~ p o r a t i o n

and of the New Yosk corparation--there was a J o i n t meeting of us(?)
members of t h e s e boards.

Because both o f t h e s e corporatfons were

involved now in t h e prodect t h a t was going t o be submitted t o t h i s

body of men.

And I can PaTIembe~how t h e r e was a t t h a t m&ing, which

was held up i n Brother Rutherford's, the former president",

office--

i t tras preeenL ( ? ) t h e new p r e s i d e n t N.H. Knorr and also vice-president

'.

H. C. Covington, and a@c-~"etary-treasurer

W, E. QAnAanbesg ,arid H.H. ReZmer
who was my r o o m a t e a t t h e time, and a l s o T. J. S u l l i v e n and ' b t h u r

Gioux and myself--there were all 7 members of t h e Mew York corporatfoa

3

p r e s e n t a t t h a t meeting and there 5 hembers of t h e Pennsylvania oorpo r a t i a n at t h a t meeting.

Now we g a t t a g e t h e r and t h e president of

the S o c i e t y , o'r both S o o i s t l e s , BrotherRnorr, h e first read a g o r t f o n

Tt

of the c h a r t e r of t h e New York Corporation to this j o i n t boar4 meeting-how i t was devoted t o promoting the preaching and teaching of t h e
good news.

And then he called a t t e n t f o n t o t h e Pact t h a t up t h e r e a t

KLngdom Farm t h e r e was a b u i l d i n g , G i l s a d by name, and i t was n o t being

used t o the full e x t e n t , only to one-third of i t s e a p a a i t y ,

And then

he p o i n t e a o u t t h e f a c t , something t h a t he had cherished i n hfs heapt

f o r a long; tlme, that t h i s would be an e x c e l l e ; n t . p l a c e t o establish

a sehool for t h e t r a i n i n g and greparlng of m i s s i o n a r i e s ,
was

Well, this

a delightful prapoaal t h a t was submitted by t h e p r e s i d e n t t o a l l

t h e r e s t of us board members and t h e r e was favorable d i s c u s s i o n _ a l l

around about t h i s proposed school.

~ p k i e - w & s - a - d e & ~ f k ~And

d than,

my r o o m a t e , H. H, Reimer, he made t h e motion t h a t t h e p r e s i d e n t of

t h e s e societies s e t i n fnueian t h e o p e r a t i o n t o establish such a

school f o r t h e ppeparing of men and women who a t a nornentrs n o t i c e
cauld be sent out in t h e preachLng work t o d i f f e r e n t countPLes.

Then

H. C. Covington, t h e vtce-president and a l s o legal cauasel, he added

s a n e t h i n g t o Reimerls motion and he said that t h e president of the

Society should b e authorized t o make a l l p l a n s and arrangements t o

s e e t h a t t h i s school i s e s t a b l f s h e d according t o h i s d i s c r e t i o n and
t h a t he should a l s o make a l l plans and arrangements t o s e e t h a t
t h i s school i s financed and kept i n operation.

Well, I seconded t h a t

motion and t h e motion was unanimously accepted, approved, b y a l l

those present.

And r i g h t a f t e r t h a t then, t h e p r e s i d e n t he made

f u r t h e r proposals about educational work of the Society and proposed

a p u b l i c a t i o n of 'a school textbook t h a t would be used by a l l t h e
congregations ofJehovahts people and a f t e r t h e motion was made, why
T. 5 , S u l l i v a n approved of that; eduoatisn
p o t i o n t o o s o that-now the
. .

q u e s t i o n was *thrown t o a u n i t e d boakd meeting and t h i s was a l s o

unlmously approved.

So you see, dear f r i e n d s , t h a t t h e boards of

d i r e c t o r s of t h e New York c o ~ p o r a t i o nand of t h e Pennsylvania as

<a,

c o n s t i t u t e d back t h e r e , they had r e s p e c t f o r t h e o f f i c e of t h e president and they d i d not t r e a t t h e p r e s i d e n t of t h e s e o r g a n i z a t i o n s as

a poker-faced,

immobilized f i g u r e head p r e s i d i n g over a s o c i e t y , a

do-nothing s o c i e t y .

Well, you -ask Brother Arthur

G&UX

what he

remembers of t h a t meeting; he was t h e r e ; and h e r e i s a copy o f t h e

minutes of t h a t meeting t o v e r i f y what I ' v e t o l d you.

So you can s e e

t h a t t h e Society r e a l l y has t h e righ-t and t h e a u t h o r i t y t o ' s m d o u t

m i s s i o n a r i e s ; t h a t ' s the challenging q u e s t i o n I ' r a i s e d a t t h e beginning o f t h i s t a l k .

And t h a t Society h a s continued on t i l l now send-'

ing o u t m i s s i o n a r i e s now t o t h e nunber of more than 5,000.

i s n ' t t h a t wonderful?

Nay-

And I ' m s u r e t h a t many of us h e r e today are

very g l a d t h a t Jehovah has preserved t h e o r i g i n a l p r e s i d e n t of t h e

school down till now and as president o f the New York c o r p o r a t i o n
why he w i l l continue i n h i s o f f i c e u n t i l t h e end of h i s c u r r e n t
term on J u l y 1, 19 o r r a t h e r January 1, 1.976.

And when you come t o

t h i n k about i t , d e a r f r i e n d s , I t ' s r e a l l y remarkable.

you know, i s t h e 7th day of September 1975.

Today, do

And do you know what

t h a t means?

According Lo t h e s aiary, Hebrew diary, gram the l a n d

of I s r a e l , why t h i s I s the second day of t h e month T i s h r f of the

l u n a r year 1976 and do you know whkt t h a t means?

That here on t h i s

day of your graduation, why i t i s t h e second day of t h e seventh

millennium o f man's e x i s t e n c e h e r s on earth.

I s n ' t that sameth2ng?

I s n ' t t h a t sometkSng grand [applausef t h a t %he opening day of t h e

seventh millenfiium of mankind's e x i s t e n c e i s s i g n a l l z e d by t h e operat i o n of t h e Watch T&P

B i b l e and T r a c t Society i n P u l l compliance

of th& Gilea8
of the terns of' i t s c h a r t e r sendiYrg out the 59th CUSS
school f o r m i s s i a n a r i a s ,

Furthermore, I r n t o l d t h a t by the arrange-

ment of" the' Mew York corporation wa a l r e a d y have same 20 b r o t h e r s and

C

s i s t e ~ swho are gofng t o fom c l a s s No. 60 i n t h e Q f l e a d School and

very i n t e r e s t i n g that a t t h e end of 60 c e n t u r i e s of human existence

h e r e on earth, why c l a s s N o r 60 AS Bo2ng t o a t a r t i t s sctcruoling at; t h e

opening of t h e 7 t h rnillennSm of mankLndts e x i s t e n c e .

These w e

surgrSsing t h i n g s , s t a r t l i n g t h i n g s , haggifying t h i n g s , over which

we can rejoice, and Th sure t h a t many of us here can be very, very
happy t h a t Jehovah God put i n t o t h e mind of B~otherKnorrand
h i s h e a r t t o establZsh t b i s rnkssionary school

c e r t a i n l y has b l e s s e d it and by i t s

frtalt, why

a t Gilead.

into

Jehovah God

i t has become -known

.as an approved agency i n the band o f Jehovah God s o t h a t t h e r e fs no

need t o challenge the pight and the authority o f t h i s S o c i e t y t o send

out missionaries.

And, f r i e n d s , n o t i c e t h l s , , t h a t just as God -.used

of t h e
the Antiach cangregatian t o send out t h e two most outstanding-m&s4

s i o n a r i e s of t h e first c e n t u ~ y ,Paul and Barnabas, s o today Jehovah

G.od i s using t h e Watch Tower Bibleand T ~ a c tSociety crE Pennsylvania

i n eoolaboratZon w i t h t h e Mew Yosk c o r p o r a t i o n t o send orat f u r t h e r

m i s s i o n a r i e s and they are deterrnfne4 t o keep on i n that course,

something very, very gra.tifgting.

Thst's

So, you m i s s i o n a r i e s can proceed

a f t e r your graduation t o your a s e i g m e n t s being sure that you have

'

14

, .

Jehovahgs approval and you have h i s backing; y o u r r e ( ? ) s e n t f o r t h

by a q u a l i f i e d o r g a n i z a t i o n t o p u t you i n t h e missionary f i e l d ,

A..

t h e Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania I s s e n d i n g '

you o u t , g i v i n g you your t i c k e t and a l s o i t ' s making arrangements
f o r your missionary home i n f o r e i g n lands under t h e s u p e r v i s i o n of
t h e branches which thewatch Tower Society has i n t h e s e v a r i o u s l a n d s .
So l e t t h a t b e c l e a r l y understood by you missionaries.
t h a t i s l e f t for t h i s system of' t h i n g s i s s h o r t .
whether w e f r e going t o meet one another again.
,
I

sure--that

Now, t i m e

We d o n ' t know

But t h e r e ' s one t h i n g

although w e may be s c a t t e r e d and you may never g e t back

h e r e before Dhe 3-year l i m i t i s up, and you may even i n t h e course of

development of t h i n g s i n t h e s e f o r e i g n lands, be separated, n o t be
a b l e to-.get i n touch with t h e branch over t h e r e l e t a l o n e g e t i n
'-i

touch w i t h t h e Society o r with t h e Watch Tower School of Gilead-what are you going t o do? What's going t o be your h e l p ?

Well, t h e

very 4 k P ~ gsane f o r c e , a c t i v e f o r c e , that was o p e r a t i v e i n t h e f i r s t

century, God's holy s p i r i t , t h a t can be with you no m a t t e r where you
are.

J u s t as David s a i d i n h i s 139th psalm, i n v e r s e 7 and 8:

Where can I go from your s p i r i t and where can I r u n away from your
face?

If I ascena up t o heave, look you would be t h e r e and

.spread o u t my couch I n Sheol, look you would be t h e r e .

12

And we cannot

g e t away from God's s p i r i t i f we s t i c k c l o s e t o him as we've been

exhorted b y previous speakers t o do.

That s p i r i t w i l l continue--with

us i f we a r e t r y i n g t o do Godls w i l l and keep i n touch with h i s

o r g a n i z a t i o n , t h e l o c a t i o n d o e s n f t matter a t a l l .

And t h a t ' s what

we want-every l a s t one of us wants t h a t holy spirit.

A s David said

t h e r e i n t h e 5 1 s t Psalm and v e r s e s 1 0 through 1 2 , he says t h e r e :

.

Create i n me a pure h e a r t , 0 God, and p u t w i t h i n me a new s p i r i t ,

a s t e a d f a s t one.

g-

your holy s p i r i t , oh do not take away f'rom.me4

Do n o t throw m e away from before your f a c e and

Restore t o me t h e

3-5
e x a l t a t i o n of' s a l v a t i o n by you.
So we s h o u l d a11 be l i k e that; we b o n f t want Gad's holy s p i r i t

to be taken away from us, L e t t s pursue the course, as we've been

encouraged ta do t h i s morning by p r e v i o u s speakers, t o speak t o o u r

guns--stick

to our assignment and even though the forces of the

enemy may come a g a i n s t us t o t r y t o d e s t r o y us, w e can pray just as

DavtU prayed i n the 143 Psalm and t h e 9 t h

Deliver me from

my

verse onward where he says

enemies, 0 Jehovah; I have taken cover with you.

And then he adds t h a t Q o d t s spirit i s good and may it lead me i n the

l a n d of uprightness.
land of uprl&tnesa,

...Oodrsspirit i s good-. May i t lead m e i n t h e

and that's what you want t o .

You want God's

spirit t o be with you because i t P sa good spirit; it will keep you

doing gdod t h i n g s and you want i t t* lead you not i n a land of

wickedness an8 eorrkption with this world but i n a land of uprightness, So, as T conclude my remarks to you t h i s nornlng, I f i n d

n o t h i n g better t o quote t o you than the words of the a p o s t l e Paul

a t the close of his second letter t o the Corinthians, c h a p t e r 13,

v e r s e 1 4 , where he says t h e loving-kindness of the Lord Jesus Christ
and t h e undeserved Wndncss of Jesus C h r i s t and t h e love o f God and
,

the sharing in the holy s p f r i e b e with you always.