FEBRUARY 15, 2014

SIMPLIFIED EDITION

STUDY ARTICLES
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APRIL 7-13 APRIL 14-20 APRIL 21-27 APRIL 28–MAY 4

Hail Christ, Rejoice Over Jehovah Jehovah

the Glorious King! the Marriage of —Our Provider —Our Best Friend
PAGE 3 SONGS: 99, 107 the Lamb! and Protector PAGE 21 SONGS: 91, 63
PAGE 9 SONGS: 109, 100 PAGE 15 SONGS: 60, 51
 STUDY ARTICLES
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Hail Christ, the Glorious King!

Rejoice Over the Marriage of the Lamb!
The Messianic King, Jesus Christ, straps on his sword and
rides to defeat his enemies. After completing his victory,
AUSTRIA he marries a beautiful bride, who is joined by her virgin
COVER: This busy public square companions. These exciting events are described in the
(Michaelerplatz) in Vienna is a good 45th Psalm. Learn how these events affect you.
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with others. Here our sister is

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Jehovah—Our Provider and Protector
the book What Does the Bible Really Jehovah—Our Best Friend
Teach?
What can deepen our love for Jehovah as our heavenly
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In Vienna, 31 Questions From Readers

the good news
of the Kingdom
is being preached
in 25 languages

February 15, 2014

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Hail Christ,
the Glorious King!
“In your splendor go on to victory.”—PSALM 45:4.

A GLORIOUS king rides into battle to defend truth and IMPORTANT POINTS
righteousness. He defeats his enemies, and after his final TO REMEMBER
victory, he marries a lovely bride. The king is remem- ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

bered and honored forever. These are some of the excit- In what ways did Jehovah
ing events described in Psalm 45. anoint Jesus more than his
2However, Psalm 45 is much more than just an ex- “companions”?

citing story with a happy ending. The events mentioned

there are important to us because they affect our lives
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
now, as well as our future. Let us carefully pay attention
When did Christ strap on his
as we study this psalm. sword, how did he first use it,
“MY HEART IS STIRRED BY SOMETHING GOOD” and when will he use it
again?
3Read Psalm 45:1. “Something good” that causes the
psalmist’s heart to be “stirred” is news about a king. In
Hebrew, the word translated “is stirred” originally meant
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

“to bubble up,” or “boil.” The psalmist was so excited to

What is the most important
hear this news that it was as if his heart was bubbling up, truth that the King Jesus
Christ defends?
1, 2. Why should we be interested in Psalm 45?
3, 4. (a) What is “something good” that the psalmist wrote about, and
how can it affect our heart? (b) What message “about a king” do we
preach? How does our tongue become like a stylus?

FEBRUARY 15, 2014 3

 SOME Jesus’ speech was gracious
because he spoke in a kind
EXPRESSIONS way to others, cared about
EXPLAINED them, and used words that
touched their heart
“Awe-inspiring things”:
Things that are huge,
powerful, or amazing.
They may even be
frightening

or overflowing, with enthusiasm. It like “the stylus of a skilled copyist”

also made his tongue become like
“the stylus of a skilled copyist.”
4 What does that mean for us? The
good news of the Messianic King-
dom is something good that stirs our
heart. The Kingdom message became
especially “good” in 1914. Why? Be-
cause from that year on, it was no
longer about a future Kingdom. Since
1914, the message has been about
a real government that now rules in
heaven. This is the “good news of the
Kingdom” that we preach “in all the
Do we preach the good
news of the Kingdom
when we use the Bible in our preach-
ing work.
“GRACIOUS SPEECH
FLOWS FROM YOUR LIPS”
5Read Psalm 45:2. The Scriptures
do not say much about what Jesus
looked like. As a perfect man, he must
have been “handsome.” But it was his
integrity and faithfulness to Jehovah
that made him truly handsome. Also,
Jesus used “gracious speech” when
he preached the message of the King-
dom. He used words that touched
people’s heart. (Luke 4:22; John 7:46)
Do we try our best to imitate Jesus in
our preaching work?—Colossians 4:6.
6 Because of Jesus’ faithfulness and

with real enthusiasm? deep love for his Father, Jehovah

inhabited earth for a witness to all the
nations.” (Matthew 24:14) Is our heart
“stirred,” or excited, by this King-
dom message? Do we preach the good
news of the Kingdom with real enthu-
siasm? Like the psalmist, our “song
is about a king.” We preach the mes-
sage that Jesus is now Ruler of the
Messianic Kingdom in heaven. We in-
vite all, even the leaders of this world,
to accept Jesus’ Kingdom. (Psalm 2:
1, 2, 4-12) And our tongue becomes
blessed his ministry on earth and re-
warded him after he gave his life as
a sacrifice. The apostle Paul wrote
about Jesus: “When he came as a
man, he humbled himself and be-
came obedient to the point of death,
yes, death on a torture stake. For this
very reason, God exalted him to a su-
perior position and kindly gave him
the name that is above every other
5. (a) In what ways was Jesus “handsome”?
(b) How did Jesus preach graciously, and how
can we follow his example?
6. How did God bless Jesus “forever”?

4 SIMPLIFIED EDITION
name, so that in the name of Jesus
every knee should bend—of those in
heaven and those on earth and those
under the ground—and every tongue
should openly acknowledge that Je-
sus Christ is Lord to the glory of God
the Father.” (Philippians 2:8-11) Jeho-
vah blessed Jesus “forever” by resur-
recting him to immortal life.—Romans
6:9.
THE KING IS MADE GREATER
THAN HIS “COMPANIONS”
7 Read Psalm 45:6, 7. Because Jesus
deeply loves what is right and hates
anything that could dishonor his Fa-
ther, Jehovah anointed him as King
of the Messianic Kingdom. Jesus was
anointed with “the oil of exultation”
more than his “companions,” the
kings of Judah who were also descen-
dants of David. In what ways? First
of all, Jesus was anointed by Jehovah
himself. Second, Jehovah anointed Je-
sus to rule as King and also serve as
High Priest. (Psalm 2:2; Hebrews 5:
5, 6) Third, Jesus was not anointed
with oil but was anointed with holy
spirit. Finally, he rules from the heav-
ens, not from the earth.
8In 1914, Jehovah appointed his
Son as the Messianic King in heav-
en. “The scepter” of Jesus’ Kingdom
“is a scepter of uprightness,” so we
can be sure that his rule will always
be fair and righteous. He has the right
to be King because God is his throne,
that is, Jehovah has appointed him as
7. In what ways did God anoint Jesus more
than his “companions”?
8. Why can we be sure that Jesus’ rule is righ-
teous? What does it mean that God is Jesus’
throne?
FEBRUARY 15, 2014
How proud we are
to serve Jehovah
under the King
he has appointed!
King. Jesus’ throne will last “forever
and ever.” How proud we are to serve
Jehovah under the King he has ap-
pointed!
THE KING STRAPS ON HIS SWORD
9Read Psalm 45:3. Jehovah tells
the King to strap his sword on his
side. By doing this, he gives Jesus per-
mission to wage war against those
who oppose God’s rule and to destroy
them. (Psalm 110:2) Because Christ is
a Warrior and King who cannot be de-
feated, he is called “mighty one.” He
strapped on his sword in 1914, when
he defeated Satan and the demons
and threw them out of heaven down
to the earth.—Revelation 12:7-9.
10That was only the beginning of
the King’s ride to victory. He still
must “complete his conquest.” (Reve-
lation 6:2) Jehovah has decided that
every part of Satan’s world must be
destroyed, and the influence of Sa-
tan and his demons must be removed.
First, Babylon the Great, the world
empire of false religion, will be elim-
inated. Jehovah will use the world’s
political rulers to destroy this wick-
ed “prostitute.” (Revelation 17:16, 17)
Next, Christ will completely remove
9, 10. (a) When did Christ strap on his sword,
and how did he use it? (b) How will Christ use
his sword in the future?
5

We must follow
Jesus’ example and
be humble as
we obey Jehovah
as our Ruler
all governments of Satan’s world.
Then, Jesus, who is called “the angel
of the abyss,” will complete his vic-
tory by throwing Satan and the de-
mons into the abyss. (Revelation 9:1,
11; 20:1-3) Let us see how these excit-
ing events were foretold in Psalm 45.
THE KING RIDES
“IN THE CAUSE OF TRUTH”
Read Psalm 45:4. The King does
11
not fight a war to conquer lands or en-
slave people. He has honorable rea-
sons to go to war. He rides to defend
“truth and humility and righteous-
ness.” Jehovah is the only one who has
the right to rule the universe. This is
the most important “truth” that must
be defended. When Satan rebelled,
he was saying that Jehovah did not
have the right to rule. Since then,
both demons and humans have ques-
tioned this fundamental truth. Now is
the time for Jehovah’s anointed King
to ride into battle and prove that Jeho-
vah alone has the right to rule.
12The King also rides to defend
“humility.” Jesus has always set the
very best example of being humble
11. How does Christ ride to defend “truth”?
12. How does the King ride to defend “humili-
ty”?
6 SIMPLIFIED EDITION
and obedient to his Father. (Isaiah 50:
4, 5; John 5:19) All loyal servants of
the King must follow his example and
be humble as they obey Jehovah as
their Ruler in all things. Only those
who do this will be allowed to live
in God’s new world.—Zechariah 14:
16, 17.
13 Christ also rides to defend “righ-
teousness.” This righteousness is
“God’s righteousness,” or Jehovah’s
standards of what is right and what
is wrong. (Romans 3:21; Deuterono-
my 32:4) Isaiah foretold the following
about Jesus Christ: “A king will reign
for righteousness.” (Isaiah 32:1) Dur-
ing his rule, Jesus will bring a “new
heavens” and a “new earth” where
everyone will do what is righteous.
(2 Peter 3:13) That means that every-
one in that new world will have to live
by Jehovah’s standards of right and
wrong.—Isaiah 11:1-5.
THE KING ACCOMPLISHES
“AWE-INSPIRING THINGS”
14The psalmist says that the King
rides with a sword strapped on his
side. (Psalm 45:3) He then takes the
sword in his right hand and begins to
use it. The psalmist prophesied about
Jesus: “Your right hand will accom-
plish awe-inspiring things.” (Psalm
45:4) When Jesus Christ rides to de-
stroy Satan’s world at Armageddon,
he will accomplish “awe-inspiring
things” against his enemies. We do
not know exactly how the King will
13. How does Christ ride to defend “righteous-
ness”?
14. How will the right hand of Christ accom-
plish “awe-inspiring things”? (See opening pic-
ture.)
destroy Satan’s world. But we do
know that whatever Jesus does will
terrify those who have not obeyed
God’s warnings and who have not ac-
cepted the King’s rule. (Read Psalm
2:11, 12.) In his prophecy about the
end, Jesus said that people would be-
come “faint out of fear and expecta-
tion of the things coming upon the in-
habited earth, for the powers of the
heavens will be shaken.” He also said:
“And then they will see the Son of
man coming in a cloud with power
and great glory.”—Luke 21:26, 27.
15The King’s coming “with power
and great glory” to defeat God’s ene-
mies is announced in the book of Rev-
elation. It says: “I saw heaven opened,
and look! a white horse. And the one
seated on it is called Faithful and
True, and he judges and carries on
war in righteousness. Also, the ar-
mies in heaven were following him on
white horses, and they were clothed
in white, clean, fine linen. And out
of his mouth protrudes a sharp, long
sword with which to strike the na-
tions, and he will shepherd them with
a rod of iron. Moreover, he treads the
winepress of the fury of the wrath
of God the Almighty.”—Revelation 19:
11, 14, 15.
16 Who will be in the heavenly “ar-
mies” that follow Jesus into battle?
The angels fought along with Jesus
when he first strapped on his sword
and threw Satan and his demons out
of heaven. (Revelation 12:7-9) So it
makes sense that at the war of Arma-
15, 16. Who will be in the armies that follow
Christ into battle?
FEBRUARY 15, 2014
Everyone in
the new world
will have to live by
Jehovah’s standards
of right and wrong
geddon, Christ’s armies will include
the holy angels. Will anyone else
be in Christ’s armies? Jesus made this
promise to his anointed brothers: “To
the one who conquers and observes
my deeds down to the end, I will give
authority over the nations, and he will
shepherd the people with an iron rod
so that they will be broken to pieces
like clay vessels, just as I have re-
ceived from my Father.” (Revelation
2:26, 27) At that time, all of Christ’s
anointed brothers will already have
been raised to heaven. These ones
will also be part of Christ’s heaven-
ly armies. The anointed will be at Je-
sus’ side when he does “awe-inspiring
things” to destroy the nations.
THE KING COMPLETES HIS VICTORY
17 Read Psalm 45:5. The King rides
a white horse. Revelation 6:2 says: “I
saw, and look! a white horse, and the
one seated on it had a bow; and a
crown was given him, and he went out
conquering and to complete his con-
quest.” The white horse represents
war that is righteous and approved
by God. (Revelation 19:11) Besides a
17. (a) What does the white horse that Christ
rides represent? (b) What do the sword and the
bow represent?
7

Birds will be used to cleanse the earth
(See paragraph 18)
sword, the King also carries a bow.
Both the sword and the bow represent
the methods that Christ will use to de-
stroy his enemies.
18Using poetic language, the
psalmist prophesies about the King:
“Your arrows are sharp, making peo-
ples fall before you; they pierce the
hearts of the king’s enemies.” There
will be destruction all over the world.
Jeremiah’s prophecy foretells: “Those
slain by Jehovah in that day will be
from one end of the earth clear to the
other end of the earth.” (Jeremiah 25:
33) Another prophecy about the same
event says: “I saw also an angel stand-
ing in the sun, and he cried out with
18. What will happen when Christ uses his “ar-
rows”?
8 SIMPLIFIED EDITION
a loud voice and said to all the birds
that fly in midheaven: ‘Come here, be
gathered together to the great evening
meal of God, so that you may eat the
flesh of kings and the flesh of military
commanders and the flesh of strong
men and the flesh of horses and of
those seated on them, and the flesh of
all, of freemen as well as of slaves and
of small ones and great.’”—Revelation
19:17, 18.
19After destroying Satan’s wicked
world, the glorious King Jesus Christ
will “go on to victory.” (Psalm 45:4) He
will complete his victory by throwing
Satan and his demons into the abyss.
They will stay in this abyss while Je-
sus and the 144,000 rule from heav-
en for a thousand years. (Revelation
20:2, 3) When the Devil and his de-
mons are trapped in the abyss, it will
be as if they were dead because they
will not be able to cause any harm.
All on earth will be able to enjoy the
After destroying
Satan’s wicked world,
the King will “go on
to victory”
King’s rule without the wicked influ-
ence of Satan and his demons. Before
the whole earth becomes a paradise,
there will be another reason to be joy-
ful along with the King and the 144,-
000. That exciting event will be dis-
cussed in the next article.
19. How will Christ complete his victory?
Rejoice Over
the Marriage of the Lamb!
“Let us rejoice and be overjoyed . . . because the marriage
of the Lamb has arrived.”—REVELATION 19:7.

IT ALWAYS takes time to prepare for a wedding. But we KEY POINTS

will now discuss a royal wedding that has taken about TO REMEMBER
2,000 years to prepare for! Very soon it will be time for the ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

bridegroom to be united with his bride. Joyful music will At the Lamb’s marriage,
fill the King’s palace, and heavenly voices will sing out: who is the bride, and how
has Christ been preparing
“Praise Jah, because Jehovah our God, the Almighty, has
her for the wedding?
begun to rule as king! Let us rejoice and be overjoyed and
give him glory, because the marriage of the Lamb has ar-
rived and his wife has prepared herself.”—Revelation 19: ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

6, 7. When will the marriage of

2 “The Lamb” spoken of in this scripture is Jesus Christ. the Lamb take place?
(John 1:29) His marriage will cause great joy in heaven.
How is he dressed for the wedding? Who is his bride? ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

How has she been prepared for marriage? When does How do we know that the
the wedding take place? This marriage will cause joy in “other sheep” will also
heaven, but will those who hope to live forever on earth rejoice over the marriage
also be joyful? We are eager to know the answers to these of the Lamb?

1, 2. (a) Whose wedding will cause great joy in heaven? (b) What ques-
tions will we discuss?

FEBRUARY 15, 2014 9

SOME The anointed: The bride:
The 144,000 chosen by The entire group of 144,000
EXPRESSIONS God to rule as kings in anointed Christians in
EXPLAINED heaven with Jesus Christ heaven
The anointed remnant: The virgin companions:
Anointed Christians The great crowd of other
who are still living sheep, who will live forever
on earth on earth
The Bridegroom or
the Lamb:
Jesus Christ

questions, so let us continue our study THE BRIDE IS PREPARED

of Psalm 45.
HIS GARMENTS ARE PERFUMED
3Read Psalm 45:8, 9. The Bride-
groom, Jesus Christ, puts on his royal
wedding garments. His clothing has a
delightful fragrance like that of “the
choicest perfumes,” such as myrrh
and cassia, which were in the holy
anointing oil used in Israel.—Exodus
30:23-25.
4The beautiful heavenly music in
the Bridegroom’s palace makes him
even more joyful as the time for his
marriage gets close. His joy is shared
by “the royal consort,” that is, the in-
visible part of God’s organization,
which includes “the daughters of
kings,” that is, the holy angels. Voices
from heaven say: “Let us rejoice and
be overjoyed . . . because the marriage
of the Lamb has arrived.”
3, 4. (a) What does the psalmist say about the
Bridegroom’s wedding garments? What makes
the Bridegroom even more joyful? (b) Who are
“the daughters of kings” and “the royal con-
sort” who share the Bridegroom’s joy?
FOR THE WEDDING
5Read Psalm 45:10, 11. We know
who the Bridegroom is, but who is
the bride? She is not a literal person.
Instead, she represents the entire
group of 144,000 anointed Christians.
The anointed will rule
with Christ in his
Messianic Kingdom
in heaven
Jesus is the Head of this anointed con-
gregation. (Read Ephesians 5:23, 24.)
These anointed ones will rule with
Christ in his Messianic Kingdom in
heaven. (Luke 12:32) They also “keep
following the Lamb no matter where
he goes.” (Revelation 14:1-4) They be-
come “the Lamb’s wife” and live with
him in his heavenly home.—Revelation
21:9; John 14:2, 3.
5. Who is the bride?

10 SIMPLIFIED EDITION
 6The bride is called “daughter,”
and she is also called “the king’s
daughter.” (Psalm 45:13) Who is this
“king”? He is Jehovah. He adopts
anointed Christians as his “children.”
(Romans 8:15-17) The anointed are
told: “Forget your people and your fa-
ther’s house.” Since they will become
a heavenly bride, the anointed need
to focus “on the things above, not on
the things on the earth.”—Colossians
3:1-4.
7For many centuries, Christ has
been preparing his future bride for the
heavenly wedding. The apostle Paul
wrote that Christ “loved the congrega-
tion and gave himself up for it, in or-
der that he might sanctify it, cleans-
ing it with the bath of water by means
of the word, so that he might pre-
sent the congregation to himself in its
splendor, without a spot or a wrin-
kle or any of such things, but holy and
without blemish.” (Ephesians 5:25-27)
Paul told the anointed Christians in
ancient Corinth: “I am jealous over
you with a godly jealousy, for I person-
ally promised you in marriage to one
husband that I might present you as
a chaste virgin to the Christ.” (2 Co-
rinthians 11:2) Because her worship is
clean and acceptable to God, the King
Jesus Christ views his bride as beauti-
ful. The bride bows down to her future
husband and willingly accepts him as
her “lord.”
6. Why are the anointed called “the king’s
daughter,” and why are they told to forget their
people?
7. (a) How has Christ been preparing his fu-
ture bride? (b) How does the bride feel about
her future husband?
FEBRUARY 15, 2014
THE BRIDE IS “BROUGHT TO THE KING”
8 Read Psalm 45:13, 14a. The bride
is “adorned for her husband” and
looks “absolutely magnificent” for
the royal wedding. At Revelation
21:2, the bride is compared to a
city, New Jerusalem. This heavenly
city shines with “the glory of God”
and is “like a most precious stone, like
a jasper stone shining crystal clear.”
(Revelation 21:10, 11) The stunning
appearance of New Jerusalem is beau-
tifully described in the book of Reve-
lation. (Revelation 21:18-21) What an
Because her worship
is acceptable to God,
the King views his
bride as beautiful
“absolutely magnificent” bride! This
is what we would expect from a royal
wedding in heaven.
9 The bride is brought to her Bride-
groom, the Messianic King. He has
prepared and cleansed her “by means
of the word.” She is “holy and with-
out blemish.” (Ephesians 5:26, 27)
His bride must also be dressed ap-
propriately for the occasion. And
she is! “Her clothing is adorned with
gold,” and “she will be brought to
the king in richly woven garments.”
For the marriage of the Lamb, “it has
8. Why is the bride described as “absolutely
magnificent”?
9. To whom is the bride brought? How is she
dressed?
11
been granted to her to be clothed with
bright, clean, fine linen—for the fine
linen stands for the righteous acts of
the holy ones.”—Revelation 19:8.
THE MARRIAGE HAS ARRIVED
10 Read Revelation 19:7. When will
the Lamb’s marriage take place? Al-
though Revelation 19:7 says that “his
wife has prepared herself” for the
marriage, the verses after that do not
describe the wedding. Instead, they
clearly describe the last part of the
great tribulation. (Revelation 19:11-
21) Does this mean that the marriage
will happen before the King com-
pletes his victory? No. The events
foretold in Revelation are not written
in the order that they will occur. In
Psalm 45, the King Jesus Christ straps
on his sword and defeats his enemies
first, and then the royal wedding takes
place.—Psalm 45:3, 4.
11So we learn from the Bible that
these events will happen in the fol-
lowing order: First, “the great prosti-
tute,” Babylon the Great, that is, all
false religion, will be eliminated. (Rev-
elation 17:1, 5, 16, 17; 19:1, 2) Next,
Christ will destroy the rest of Satan’s
wicked world at Armageddon, “the
war of the great day of God the Al-
mighty.” (Revelation 16:14-16; 19:19-
21) Finally, the King will complete his
victory by throwing Satan and his de-
mons into the abyss, where they will
not be able to harm anyone. It will be
as if they were dead.—Revelation 20:
1-3.
10. What must happen before the Lamb’s mar-
riage can take place?
11. What will Christ do before the marriage
can take place?
12
12In the last days, anointed Chris-
tians who remain faithful until death
are resurrected to life in heaven.
Sometime after Babylon the Great is
destroyed, but before Armageddon,
Christ will finish gathering all 144,000
anointed Christians to be with him
in heaven. (1 Thessalonians 4:16, 17)
Then, after Armageddon, the mar-
riage of the Lamb can take place.
What a joyful occasion that marriage
will be! Revelation 19:9 says: “Hap-
py are those invited to the evening
meal of the Lamb’s marriage.” Yes,
the bride is truly happy. And the King
will rejoice to have all of his anointed
associates with him in heaven. (Luke
22:18, 28-30) However, the bride and
the Bridegroom will not be the only
ones who are rejoicing.
13 As we read earlier, voices in heav-
en will sing: “Let us rejoice and be
overjoyed and give him glory, because
the marriage of the Lamb has arrived
and his wife has prepared herself.”
(Revelation 19:6, 7) What about Jeho-
vah’s servants on earth? Will they also
join in this celebration?
“THEY WILL BE BROUGHT
WITH REJOICING”
14Read Psalm 45:12, 14b, 15. The
prophet Zechariah foretold that in the
last days, people all over the world
would be grateful to serve Jehovah
with the anointed remnant. He wrote:
“In those days ten men out of all the
languages of the nations will take
12, 13. (a) When will the marriage of the
Lamb take place? (b) In heaven, who will re-
joice because of the marriage of the Lamb? (See
opening picture.)
14. As mentioned in Psalm 45, who are “the
virgin companions” of the bride?
SIMPLIFIED EDITION
 “The virgin companions” of the bride will share in rejoicing
over the marriage of the Lamb
(See paragraph 16)

hold, yes, they will take firm hold of
the robe of a Jew, saying: ‘We want to
go with you, for we have heard that
God is with you people.’” (Zechari-
ah 8:23) At Psalm 45:12, these “ten
“virgin companions.” They have dedi-
cated their lives to Jehovah and have
proved that they are faithful servants
of the King Jesus Christ.
15 The anointed remnant have been

men” are referred to as “the daughter
of Tyre” and “the wealthiest of men.”
They give the anointed remnant gifts,
and they work to receive their ap-
proval and their help to serve Jeho-
vah. Since 1935, the anointed rem-
nant have brought millions of people
“to righteousness,” that is, millions
of people have been taught the truth
about Jehovah. (Daniel 12:3) These
millions of people, or “ten men,” are
loyal companions of the anointed and
have cleansed their lives of all false
worship. That is why they are called
very grateful to these “virgin com-
panions” because they eagerly help
to preach “this good news of the
Kingdom” in all the earth. (Matthew
24:14) Not only do “the spirit and the
bride keep on saying, ‘Come!’” but
those hearing say, “Come!” (Revela-
tion 22:17) This means that the “oth-
er sheep” have heard the anointed
say “Come!” and have joined them in
saying “Come!” to people all over the
world.—John 10:16.
15. How have “the virgin companions” worked
with the anointed remnant?

FEBRUARY 15, 2014 13

 16The anointed remnant love the
other sheep. The anointed are happy
that Jehovah has also given the oth-
er sheep the privilege to share in
Those who exercise
faith in Jesus’ ransom
sacrifice will live
forever on earth
the joy of the marriage. These “vir-
gin companions” “will be brought
with rejoicing and joy.” Yes, the oth-
er sheep, who hope to live forever on
earth, will rejoice with the whole uni-
verse when the marriage of the Lamb
takes place in heaven. The book of
Revelation describes the “great
crowd,” who worship Jehovah on the
earth, as “standing before the throne
and before the Lamb.” They serve Je-
hovah in the earthly courtyard of his
great spiritual temple.—Revelation 7:
9, 15.
“YOUR SONS WILL TAKE THE
PLACE OF YOUR FOREFATHERS”
17Read Psalm 45:16. “The virgin
companions” of Christ’s heavenly
bride will have even more reason to
rejoice when they see the marriage
bring benefits in the new world. The
King Jesus Christ will resurrect his
earthly “forefathers.” Because Christ
16. What privilege has Jehovah given to the
other sheep?
17, 18. How does the Lamb’s marriage benefit
those who will be in the new world? During his
Thousand Year Rule, Christ will become a fa-
ther to whom?
14
will bring them back to life, these
“forefathers” will become his “sons.”
(John 5:25-29; Hebrews 11:35) Christ
will choose some of these “sons” to be
“princes in all the earth.” We can also
expect that he will choose some of to-
day’s faithful elders to take the lead
in the new world as “princes.”—Isaiah
32:1.
18During his Thousand Year Rule,
Christ will become a father to oth-
ers also. In what way? Those who ex-
ercise faith in Jesus’ ransom sacrifice
will live forever on earth. (John 3:16)
Christ will then become their “Eternal
Father.”—Isaiah 9:6, 7.
MOTIVATED TO MAKE
THE KING’S NAME KNOWN
19Read Psalm 45:1, 17. All Chris-
tians should be interested in the
events recorded in Psalm 45. The
anointed still on earth are thrilled to
know that they will soon be united in
heaven with their brothers and with
the Bridegroom, Jesus Christ. The oth-
er sheep are motivated to continue be-
coming more submissive to their glo-
rious King. They are also grateful to be
companions of the remaining mem-
bers of the bride on earth. The bless-
ings that Christ and his bride will give
to all mankind after the marriage will
be more wonderful than we can even
imagine.—Revelation 7:17; 21:1-4.
20As we look forward to the ful-
fillment of the prophecies about the
Messianic King, surely we are moti-
vated to make his name known. Let us
praise the King “forever and ever.”
19, 20. How do the exciting events recorded in
Psalm 45 affect all true Christians today?
SIMPLIFIED EDITION
Jehovah
Our Provider and Protector
“Because he has affection for me, I will rescue him.
I will protect him because he knows my name.”
—PSALM 91:14.

JEHOVAH created the family arrangement. (Ephesians 3: HOW WOULD YOU

14, 15) Even if we belong to the same family, we all have ANSWER?
different personalities and circumstances. Some may ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

have grown up living with their parents. Others may have How is Jehovah the Grand
lost their parents in death because of sickness, an ac- Provider?
cident, or some other tragedy. Still others may not even
know who their parents are.
2We are all members of Jehovah’s family of worship- ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

pers and have learned the truth in different ways. You What role has Jesus played
may have been raised by parents who trained you to live so that we can be at peace
with God?
by Bible principles. (Deuteronomy 6:6, 7) Or maybe you
are one of the thousands of people who have learned the
truth through the preaching work of other servants of Je-
hovah.—Romans 10:13-15; 1 Timothy 2:3, 4. ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

3Although we come from different backgrounds, all How does Jehovah protect
those who love and obey
of us have some things in common. Because Adam him?
1, 2. What differences do we have in family circumstances and in the
way we have learned the truth?
3. What do all of us have in common?

FEBRUARY 15, 2014 15

SOME “The ministry of the reconciliation”:
The preaching work. Because people are imperfect and
EXPRESSIONS sin, they cannot become friends of God on their own. Our
EXPLAINED ministry helps people to understand what they must do to
have their sins forgiven, to please God, and to become his
friends

disobeyed God, we all have inherit-
ed imperfection, sin, and death. (Ro-
mans 5:12) Even so, as true worship-
pers, we can call Jehovah “our Father.”
Our heavenly Father
gives us the care and
protection we need
In ancient times, God’s chosen peo-
ple could say the words recorded at
Isaiah 64:8: “O Jehovah, you are our
Father.” Also, Jesus began his model
prayer with the words: “Our Father in
the heavens, let your name be sancti-
fied.”—Matthew 6:9.
4Our heavenly Father gives his
family of true worshippers the care
and protection they need. Accord-
ing to Psalm 91:14, Jehovah said: “Be-
cause he [a true worshipper] has af-
fection for me, I will rescue him. I
will protect him because he knows my
name.” Jehovah lovingly rescues his
people from their enemies and pro-
tects them, so that they are not de-
stroyed.
5To deepen our love for our heav-
4, 5. To deepen our love for our heavenly Fa-
ther, Jehovah, what will we discuss?
enly Father, Jehovah, we will discuss
how he is (1) our Provider, (2) our
Protector, and (3) our best Friend. As
we consider these three points, let
us think carefully about our person-
al friendship with God and learn how
we can honor him as our Father. Also,
we should think about the blessings
Jehovah promises to give to those who
draw close to him.—James 4:8.
JEHOVAH, THE GRAND PROVIDER
6The disciple James wrote: “Every
good gift and every perfect present is
from above, coming down from the
Father of the celestial lights.” (James
1:17) Life is a wonderful gift from
Jehovah. (Psalm 36:9) If we use our
Jehovah is our
Provider, our Protector,
and our best Friend
lives to do Jehovah’s will, we will
have many blessings now and ever-
lasting life in the new world. (Prov-
erbs 10:22; 2 Peter 3:13) But how is
this possible, since all of us have in-
6. Why can we say that Jehovah is the Giver of
“every good gift”?

16 SIMPLIFIED EDITION
herited imperfection, sin, and death
from Adam?
7Jehovah is the Grand Provider in
more ways than we can imagine. His
quality of undeserved kindness moti-
vates him to rescue us. As we learned,
we all sin and have inherited imper-
fection from Adam. (Romans 3:23)
However, because of Jehovah’s love,
he provided a way for us to have a
close relationship with him. The apos-
tle John wrote: “By this the love of
God was revealed in our case, that
God sent his only-begotten Son into
the world so that we might gain life
through him. The love is in this re-
spect, not that we have loved God, but
that he loved us and sent his Son as
a propitiatory sacrifice for our sins.”
—1 John 4:9, 10.
8About 1,900 years before Jesus
was born, an event in Abraham’s life
showed how Jehovah would lovingly
give everlasting life to all obedient hu-
mans. Hebrews 11:17-19 explains: “By
faith Abraham, when he was tested,
as good as offered up Isaac—the man
who had gladly received the promis-
es attempted to offer up his only-
begotten son—although it had been
said to him: ‘What will be called your
offspring will be through Isaac.’ But he
reasoned that God was able to raise
him up even from the dead, and he
did receive him from there in an illus-
trative way.” Just as Abraham was will-
ing to sacrifice his son, Isaac, Jehovah
7. How has God made it possible for us to have
a close relationship with him?
8, 9. How was Jehovah the Grand Provider in
the days of Abraham and Isaac? (See opening
picture.)
FEBRUARY 15, 2014
willingly offered his Son, Jesus Christ,
to save mankind.—Read John 3:16, 36.
9Can you imagine how relieved
Isaac felt when he realized that he
did not have to die? No doubt he was
grateful that Jehovah provided a re-
placement sacrifice, a ram that was
nearby. (Genesis 22:10-13) Abraham
named that place “Jehovah-jireh,”
which means “Jehovah Will Provide.”
—Genesis 22:14; footnote.
A WAY TO RESTORE
PEACE WITH GOD
10 When we meditate on all that Je-
hovah has provided for us, we realize
that without Jesus’ sacrifice we would
not be able to become a friend of God.
Paul wrote: “This is what we have con-
cluded, that one man died for all; so,
then, all had died. And he died for
all so that those who live should live
no longer for themselves, but for him
who died for them and was raised up.”
—2 Corinthians 5:14, 15.
11Because Christians in the first
century loved God and were thank-
ful for the honor of serving him, they
gladly accepted “the ministry of the
reconciliation.” This ministry was the
preaching work that made it possi-
ble for people to come to be at peace
with God, enjoy his friendship, and
become his sons. Today, anointed ser-
vants of Jehovah perform the same
ministry. They serve as ambassadors
for God and Christ. Their preach-
ing work makes it possible for hon-
est and humble people to be drawn by
Jehovah and to become his servants.
10, 11. Who have taken the lead in “the min-
istry of the reconciliation,” and how have they
done this?
17
—Read 2 Corinthians 5:18-20; John 6:
44; Acts 13:48.
12Because the other sheep are
thankful to Jehovah for being the
Grand Provider, they join the anoint-
ed in preaching the good news. In
this preaching work, we use the Bible,
which is another wonderful gift from
God. (2 Timothy 3:16, 17) When we
make good use of the Bible in our min-
istry, we give others the opportunity
to have everlasting life. Jehovah also
gives us his holy spirit. Each of us re-
lies on the holy spirit for help in the
ministry. (Zechariah 4:6; Luke 11:13)
As each edition of the Yearbook of Je-
hovah’s Witnesses shows, the results
of the preaching work are remark-
able. It is a great honor to be a part of
this work that praises our Father and
Provider!
‘Am I doing all I can
in my ministry to
show Jehovah how
thankful I am for
everything he has
given me?’
13 Since God has provided so much
for us, we should ask ourselves: ‘Am I
doing all I can in my ministry to show
Jehovah how thankful I am for every-
thing he has given me? How can I be-
come a better preacher of the good
news?’ If we are grateful for every-
12, 13. How can we show that we are thankful
for everything that Jehovah has given us?
18
thing God gives us, we will put his
Kingdom first in our lives. When we
do this, Jehovah will make sure that
we always have everything we need.
(Matthew 6:25-33) Because Jehovah
loves us, we want to do everything we
can to please him and make his heart
rejoice.—Proverbs 27:11.
14The psalmist David sang: “I am
helpless and poor; may Jehovah pay
attention to me. You are my helper
and my rescuer.” (Psalm 40:17) Many
times Jehovah has been the Rescuer of
his people as a group, especially when
they have been severely persecuted
and pursued by their enemies. We
are very thankful that Jehovah always
gives us what we need to remain faith-
ful to him during such difficult times.
JEHOVAH PROTECTS
15 A loving father not only gives his
children what they need but also pro-
tects them. He would immediately try
to rescue them if they were in dan-
ger. One brother remembers how his
father protected him when he was a
young boy. He and his father were re-
turning home from field service when
they had to cross a stream. Heavy rain
that morning had caused the stream to
flood. The only way to cross the wa-
ter was to jump from one large stone
to another. Going ahead of his fa-
ther, the boy lost his balance, fell
into the stream, and went under the
water twice. That boy was so grateful
when his father quickly grabbed him
by the shoulder and saved him from
14. How has Jehovah been the Rescuer of his
people?
15. Give an example of how a loving father
protected his child.
SIMPLIFIED EDITION
 Jehovah can use our fellow believers to help us stay faithful in difficult times
(See paragraphs 18-20)
drowning. In a similar way, our heav-
enly Father protects us from dangers
in this wicked world and from its rul-
er, Satan. Jehovah is the best Protector
anyone could ever have.—Matthew 6:
13; 1 John 5:19.
16Jehovah lovingly protected his
people in the year 1513 before Christ.
He had already rescued the Israel-
ites from slavery and had protected
them as they crossed the Red Sea. Af-
ter walking through the wilderness to-
ward Mount Sinai, the Israelites ar-
rived at Rephidim.
17Since the prophecy at Gene-
sis 3:15 had not yet been fulfilled,
Satan must have been desperate to
attack the Israelites, who seemed to
be unprotected. One way he did this
16, 17. How did Jehovah help and protect the
Israelites when they fought the Amalekites?
FEBRUARY 15, 2014
was by using the Amalekites, who
were enemies of God’s people. (Num-
bers 24:20) How did Jehovah pro-
tect his people from these enemies by
Jehovah is the best
Protector anyone
could ever have
means of Joshua, Moses, Aaron, and
Hur? As Joshua and his men fought
the Amalekites, on a nearby hill were
Moses, Aaron, and Hur. As long as
Moses kept his hands lifted up, Jeho-
vah helped the Israelites to be stron-
ger than their enemies. When Moses
could not hold his hands up any lon-
ger, Aaron and Hur helped him by
19
supporting his hands. Eventually, with
Jehovah’s help and protection, “Josh-
ua defeated Amalek and his people.”
(Exodus 17:8-13) After that, Moses
built an altar there, calling it “Jehovah-
nissi,” which means “Jehovah Is My
Signal Pole.”—Read Exodus 17:14, 15;
footnote.
KEPT SAFE FROM SATAN’S ATTACKS
18Jehovah protects those who love
and obey him. Like the Israelites at
Rephidim, we rely on God for protec-
tion from our enemies. Jehovah has of-
ten protected us as a group, and he
keeps us safe from the Devil’s at-
tacks. For example, many times God
has protected our brothers who were
persecuted because of their Christian
neutrality. This happened in Germany
and in other countries when the Nazis
were in power in the 1930’s and early
1940’s. When we read life stories and
Yearbook experiences about God’s pro-
tection during such times of persecu-
tion, our trust in Jehovah will be made
strong.—Psalm 91:2.
19 Jehovah also protects us by giving
us loving reminders through his or-
ganization and its publications. Think
about how these reminders have pro-
tected us in recent years. The world
continues to become more and more
obsessed with sex, alcohol, and por-
nography. But Jehovah has given us
urgent reminders and specific help
to protect us from doing things that
could hurt our relationship with him.
Recently, for example, we have re-
ceived counsel from our heavenly
Father to avoid the trap of bad asso-
18, 19. What protection has God given his ser-
vants in recent years?
20
ciations on social networks. (See foot-
note.)—1 Corinthians 15:33.
20 How can we show that we are lis-
tening to such loving counsel and are
being “taught by Jehovah”? By careful-
ly obeying his commands. (Isaiah 54:
13) Our congregations are a safe place
where we receive protection and guid-
ance. There, the elders give us help
and counsel from the Bible. (Galatians
6:1) Jehovah is using these “gifts in
men” to care for us in a loving way.
(Ephesians 4:7, 8) So, what should we
do if the elders give us counsel? We
should willingly obey. If we do, Jeho-
vah will bless us.—Hebrews 13:17.
21So let us rely on the holy spir-
it for help and accept the guidance of
our heavenly Father. We also need to
meditate on the life of Jesus and do
our best to follow his outstanding ex-
ample. He received a great reward be-
cause he was “obedient to the point
of death.” (Philippians 2:5-11) We too
will be blessed if we trust in Jehovah
with all our heart. (Proverbs 3:5, 6)
Let us always rely on Jehovah, the one
who will provide for us and protect us
better than anyone else. Serving him
is an honor that truly makes us hap-
py. How, though, is Jehovah our best
Friend? Our love for him will grow
even stronger as we answer this ques-
tion in the next article.
Examples of such reminders can be found in the
articles “The Internet—Making Wise Use of a Glob-
al Tool” in The Watchtower, August 15, 2011, pages
3-5 and “Beware of the Devil’s Snares!” and “Stand
Firm and Avoid Satan’s Traps!” in The Watchtower,
August 15, 2012, pages 20-29.
20. What protection and guidance do we re-
ceive in our congregations?
21. (a) What should we be determined to do?
(b) What will we discuss in the next article?
SIMPLIFIED EDITION
Jehovah
Our Best Friend
“[Abraham] came to be called Jehovah’s friend.”
—JAMES 2:23.

“LIKE father, like son” is something many people say HOW WOULD YOU
about children who are similar to their parents. After ANSWER?
all, every child inherits qualities from his father and his ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

mother. Jehovah, our heavenly Father, is the Giver of life. How is it possible to have
(Psalm 36:9) As his human children, we are similar to Jehovah as our best Friend?
him in many ways. Since we are created in his “image,”
we have the ability to reason, to make decisions, and to ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

form close friendships.—Genesis 1:26. According to Psalm 15:3, 5,

2Jehovah can be our best Friend. Such friendship is what does God require of
possible because of God’s love for us and our faith in us in order for us to be his
him and his Son. Jesus said: “God loved the world so friends?
much that he gave his only-begotten Son, so that every-
one exercising faith in him might not be destroyed but ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

have everlasting life.” (John 3:16) There are many people What will help us to express
who have had a close friendship with Jehovah. Let us our deep emotions to our
learn from two of them. best Friend?

1. Since we are created in God’s image, what ability do we have?

2. How is it possible to have Jehovah as our best Friend?

FEBRUARY 15, 2014 21

SOME To slander:
To say something bad about someone
EXPRESSIONS to destroy his reputation
EXPLAINED

“ABRAHAM MY FRIEND” away and who is not interested in us.

3Jehovah described the father of
the Israelites as “Abraham my friend.”
(Isaiah 41:8) Second Chronicles 20:7
also calls Abraham a friend of God.
What made it possible for Abraham
to have such a close friendship with
his Creator? It was Abraham’s strong
faith.—Genesis 15:6; read James 2:
21-23.
4Abraham’s descendants who be-
came the nation of ancient Israel
also had Jehovah as their Father and
Friend. Sadly, over time they lost their
friendship with God. Why? Because
they lost faith in Jehovah’s promises.
5The more you learn about Jeho-
vah, the stronger your faith in him be-
comes, and your love for him deep-
ens. Think back to the time when you
first learned that God is a real Person
and that you could become his close
friend. You learned that all of us have
inherited sin because of Adam’s dis-
obedience. You also understood that
mankind in general is not at peace
with God. (Colossians 1:21) Then you
realized that our loving heavenly Fa-
ther is not some person who is far
3, 4. What made Abraham’s friendship with
Jehovah different from the relationship Israel
had with Him?
5, 6. (a) How has Jehovah become your
Friend? (b) What questions should we ask our-
selves?
When we learned that Jehovah sacri-
ficed his Son and we began to have
faith in the ransom, we started to
build a friendship with God.
The more you learn
about Jehovah,
the stronger your
faith in him becomes,
and your love for
him deepens
6When we think about how we
came to know Jehovah, we should ask
ourselves: ‘Am I making progress in
my friendship with God? Is my trust
in Jehovah strong, and is my love for
him growing each day?’ Another one
of God’s close friends was Gideon.
Let us now learn about him so that we
can follow his example.
“JEHOVAH IS PEACE”
7Judge Gideon served Jehovah
during a difficult time after the Israel-
ites entered the Promised Land. The
7-9. (a) What remarkable experience did Gide-
on have, and what was the result? (See opening
picture.) (b) How can we be God’s friend?

22 SIMPLIFIED EDITION
 Midianites were a threat to Israel and
had invaded their land several times.
For that reason, Gideon was thresh-
ing wheat in a winepress instead of in
an open field so that he could quickly
hide the valuable grain. Judges chap-
ter 6 says that Jehovah’s angel vis-
ited Gideon at Ophrah. Gideon was
surprised that the angel appeared
and called Gideon a “mighty war-
rior.” Even though Jehovah had res-
cued the Israelites from Egypt, Gide-
on doubted that He would help them
this time. Speaking for Jehovah, the
angel promised that God would help
Gideon.
8Gideon wondered how it would
be possible for him to “save Isra-
el out of Midian’s hand.” Jehovah gave
him a very clear answer: “Because I
will be with you, you will strike
down Midian as if they were one
man.” (Judges 6:11-16) Probably won-
dering how this would happen, Gid-
eon asked for a sign from God. No-
tice that in this conversation Gideon
When we regularly
pray to Jehovah, our
friendship with him will
become stronger
never doubted whether God was a
real Person or not.
9What happened next strength-
ened Gideon’s faith and brought him
closer to God. Gideon prepared a
meal and served it to the angel. The
angel then miraculously burned up
FEBRUARY 15, 2014
the food with the touch of his staff.
When Gideon realized that this an-
gel was truly sent by God, he became
afraid. Gideon exclaimed: “Alas, Sov-
ereign Lord Jehovah, for I have seen
Jehovah’s angel face-to-face!” (Judges
6:17-22) Did that experience hurt
Gideon’s friendship with Jehovah?
Not at all! Gideon felt at peace with
God. We know this because the
altar Gideon built there was called
“Jehovah-shalom,” which means “Je-
hovah Is Peace.” (Read Judges 6:23,
24; footnote.) If we meditate on what
Jehovah does for us each day, we
will realize that he is a true Friend.
When we regularly pray to Jehovah,
we feel more at peace with him and
our friendship with him becomes
stronger.
WHO WILL BE A GUEST IN
JEHOVAH’S TENT?
10Jehovah has specific require-
ments for anyone who wants to be his
friend. In Psalm 15, David sang about
what we must do to be a guest in Je-
hovah’s tent, that is, to be a friend of
God. (Psalm 15:1) Let us now focus on
two of these requirements: avoiding
slander and being honest. David said
the following about anyone whom Je-
hovah accepts as a friend: “He does
not slander with his tongue.” David
added: “He does not accept a bribe
against the innocent.”—Psalm 15:3, 5.
11 In another psalm, David warned:
“Guard your tongue from what is
10. According to Psalm 15:3, 5, what require-
ments does Jehovah have for those who want to
be his friends?
11. Why must we avoid slander?
23

We help others to become Jehovah’s friends
(See paragraphs 14, 15)
bad.” (Psalm 34:13) If we ignored this
counsel, it would hurt our friendship
with our heavenly Father. Really, slan-
der is a mark of Jehovah’s great ene-
my, Satan the Devil. The term “Dev-
il” comes from the Greek word that
means “slanderer.” When we are care-
ful with what we say to others and
what we say about them, this will help
us to stay close to Jehovah. We should
be especially careful about our atti-
tude toward the brothers appointed
by God to take the lead in the congre-
gation.—Read Hebrews 13:17; Jude 8.
12Jehovah’s servants are known to
be honest people. The apostle Paul
wrote: “Keep praying for us, for we
trust we have an honest conscience,
as we wish to conduct ourselves
honestly in all things.” (Hebrews
13:18) Because we are determined
12, 13. (a) Why should we be honest in all
things? (b) When we are honest, what is the re-
sult?
24
to “conduct ourselves honestly in all
things,” we avoid cheating our Chris-
tian brothers. For example, if they
work for us, we make sure that they
Being honest helps
us to keep Jehovah
as our Friend
are treated fairly and are paid the
amount that has been agreed on. As
Christians, we are honest with our
employees and everyone else. And if
we work for a fellow Christian, we
should not be unfair and expect spe-
cial treatment.
13People in the world often com-
mend Jehovah’s Witnesses for their
honesty. For example, the director of
a large company noticed that Jeho-
vah’s Witnesses keep their promises.
He said, “You always stick to what you
have agreed to do.” (Psalm 15:4) This
honesty helps us to keep Jehovah as
our Friend and brings praise to our
loving heavenly Father.
HELP OTHERS TO BECOME
JEHOVAH’S FRIENDS
14 Although people we meet in our
ministry may believe that God exists,
many do not view God as their best
Friend. How can we help them? No-
tice the instructions Jesus gave 70 of
his disciples when he sent them out
to preach: “Wherever you enter into a
house, say first: ‘May this house have
14, 15. In our ministry, how can we help oth-
ers to become Jehovah’s friends?
SIMPLIFIED EDITION
peace.’ And if a friend of peace is
there, your peace will rest upon him.
But if there is not, it will return to
you.” (Luke 10:5, 6) People may want
to learn more about the truth if we
are friendly to them. If we are kind to
those who angrily oppose us, this may
help them to calm down and they may
be willing to listen to the truth at an-
other time.
15When we meet people who are
very religious or who follow false re-
ligious traditions, we continue to be
friendly and peaceful. We warmly
welcome all to our meetings, especial-
ly people who are frustrated with the

People may want to

learn more about the
truth if we are
friendly to them
world today and who want to learn
more about the God we worship.
Articles in the series “The Bible
Changes Lives” give us many exam-
ples of people like this.
WORKING WITH OUR BEST FRIEND
16People who work together often
become close friends. All who are
dedicated to Jehovah are not only
his friends but also his “fellow work-
ers.” (Read 1 Corinthians 3:9.) As we
preach and make disciples, we learn
more about the marvelous qualities of
our heavenly Father. We see how his
16. How can we be not only Jehovah’s friends
but also his “fellow workers”?
How does prayer strengthen our friendship with God?
(See paragraph 21)
holy spirit helps us to preach the good
news.
17The more time we spend in the
preaching work, the closer we feel
to Jehovah. We see how Jehovah pre-
vents opposers from stopping the
preaching work. He has clearly been
guiding us, and we are amazed at the
way he continues to teach us through
our meetings and publications. At our
conventions and assemblies, we see
that Jehovah lovingly understands our
problems and our needs. After one of
our conventions, a family wrote: “The
program really reached our hearts.
We felt how much Jehovah loves each
and every one of us and wants us to
17. How do our assemblies and conventions
show us that Jehovah is our Friend?

FEBRUARY 15, 2014 25

succeed.” After attending a special
convention in Ireland, a couple from
Germany were thankful for the way
they had been warmly welcomed and
How often do I take
the time to speak
to Jehovah?
cared for. They also said: “But our
greatest thanks go to Jehovah and his
King Jesus Christ. They have invited
us to be part of this truly united na-
tion. We are not just talking about uni-
ty but are enjoying it every day. Our
experiences in connection with the
special convention in Dublin will al-
ways remind us of the precious privi-
lege we have to serve our great God to-
gether with all of you.”
FRIENDS COMMUNICATE
18Friends become closer when
they have good communication. To-
day, people constantly use the Inter-
net and text messaging. But how does
that compare to our communication
with our best Friend, Jehovah? He is
the “Hearer of prayer.” (Psalm 65:2)
How often do we take time to speak to
him?
19For some servants of God, it is
not easy to express deep emotions.
Yet, that is what Jehovah wants us
to do when we pray. (Psalm 119:145;
Lamentations 3:41) If it is difficult
18. What should we ask ourselves about our
communication with Jehovah?
19. If it is hard for us to express our feelings in
prayer to Jehovah, what can help?
26
for us to describe our feelings, we
have help. Paul wrote to Christians in
Rome: “The problem is that we do not
know what we should pray for as we
need to, but the spirit itself pleads for
us with unuttered groanings. But the
one who searches the hearts knows
what the meaning of the spirit is, be-
cause it is pleading in harmony with
God for the holy ones.” (Romans 8:26,
27) When we read Bible books such as
Job, Psalms, and Proverbs, we can get
ideas about how to express our feel-
ings to Jehovah.
20 When we face difficult problems,
let us remember Paul’s words to the
Philippians: “Do not be anxious over
anything, but in everything by prayer
and supplication along with thanks-
giving, let your petitions be made
known to God.” When we pray to Je-
hovah in this way, we can feel true
comfort. Paul wrote: “The peace of
God that surpasses all understand-
ing will guard your hearts and your
mental powers by means of Christ Je-
sus.” (Philippians 4:6, 7) We should
always be thankful for the extraordi-
nary “peace of God” that really does
guard our heart and mind.
21Prayer helps us to build our
friendship with Jehovah. Therefore,
let us “pray constantly.” (1 Thessalo-
nians 5:17) We should keep strength-
ening our friendship with God and do
what he requires of us. And let us take
time to think about the blessings we
enjoy because Jehovah truly is our Fa-
ther, our God, and our Friend.
20, 21. What comfort do Paul’s words at Phi-
lippians 4:6, 7 give us?
SIMPLIFIED EDITION
 The Widow
of Zarephath
Was Rewarded
for Her Faith

A POOR widow hugs her boy, her only

child. She cannot believe what she is
seeing. Just a short time earlier, she had
gently held his lifeless body in her arms.
Now the woman looks at her resurrect-
ed son and is thrilled to see his smile.
Her houseguest says: “See, your son is
alive.”
That emotional resurrection hap-
pened almost 3,000 years ago. You can
read about it in 1 Kings chapter 17.
The houseguest is God’s prophet Elijah.
And the mother? We do not know her
name, but she is a widow living in the
town of Zarephath. The resurrection of
her son was an event in her life that tru-
ly strengthened her faith. As we read
more about her, we will learn some very
important lessons.
ELIJAH FINDS A WIDOW
WHO HAS FAITH
Jehovah had decided that there
would be a long drought in Israel in
the days of wicked King Ahab. When
the drought began, God hid Elijah from
Ahab and miraculously fed the proph-
et by using ravens to bring meat and
bread for him to eat. Then Jehovah told

27
 The widow’s faith in Elijah’s God, Jehovah, kept her and her son alive
Elijah: “Rise up, go to Zarephath, which
belongs to Sidon, and stay there. Look!
I will command a widow there to supply
you with food.”—1 Kings 17:1-9.
When Elijah arrived at Zarephath, he
saw a poor widow collecting pieces of
wood. Was she the woman who would
give food to the prophet? How could
she do so, since she was so poor? Even
if he had any doubts, Elijah began a
conversation with the woman. He said:
“Please, bring me a little water in a cup
so that I may drink.” When she went
to get him some water, Elijah added:
“Please, bring me a piece of bread.”
(1 Kings 17:10, 11) The widow was not
28
worried about giving this stranger a
drink, but giving him bread was a prob-
lem.
She replied: “As surely as Jehovah
your God is living, I have no bread, only
a handful of flour in the large jar and a
little oil in the small jar. Now I am gath-
ering a few pieces of wood, and I will go
in and make something for me and my
son. After we have eaten, we will die.”
(1 Kings 17:12) What can we learn from
this conversation?
The widow could see that Elijah was
an Israelite who served God. We know
this because she said: “As surely as
Jehovah your God is living.” It seems
SIMPLIFIED EDITION
that even though she knew some things
about Israel’s God, she was not serving
him. She did not refer to Jehovah as “my
God.” She lived in Zarephath, a town
that belonged to the Phoenician city of
Sidon. It is very likely that many Baal
worshippers lived in Zarephath. How-
ever, Jehovah noticed something special
in the heart of this widow.
Although the poor widow of Zare-
phath lived in an area where many peo-
ple worshipped idols, she showed faith
in Jehovah. He sent Elijah to the widow
to help both her and the prophet. We
can learn a very important lesson from
this.
Not all those who lived in Zarephath
were completely corrupt. By sending
Elijah to this widow, Jehovah showed
that He notices sincere people who are
not yet serving Him. Yes, “in every na-
tion the man who fears him and does
what is right is acceptable to him.”
—Acts 10:35.
How many people who live in your
territory are like the widow of Zare-
phath? Although they may be surround-
ed by members of false religion, they
may want something better. They may
have little or no knowledge of Jehovah
and need help to accept true worship.
Are you searching for and helping such
people?
“FIRST MAKE ME A SMALL ROUND
LOAF OF BREAD”
Think about what Elijah asked the
widow to do. She had just told him that
after she made one more meal for her
and her son, they would eat it and die.
Yet, what did Elijah say? “Do not be
afraid. Go in and do as you said. But first
make me a small round loaf of bread
with what is there, and bring it out to
FEBRUARY 15, 2014
me. Then you can make something af-
terward for you and your son. For this
is what Jehovah the God of Israel says:
‘The large jar of flour will not run out,
and the small jar of oil will not run dry
until the day Jehovah makes it rain on
the surface of the ground.’”—1 Kings 17:
11-14.
You can imagine what some people
might have said: ‘Give away our last
meal? You must be joking.’ But that was
not this widow’s reaction. Even though
she did not know much about Jehovah,
she believed Elijah and did what he
asked of her. This request was a huge
test of faith. But what a wise decision
she made!
God did not abandon that poor wid-
ow. Just as Elijah promised, Jehovah
added to her supply of food so that there
was enough to feed Elijah, her, and her
son until the drought ended. Yes, “the
large jar of flour did not run out, and
the small jar of oil did not run dry, ac-
cording to Jehovah’s word that he had
spoken through Elijah.” (1 Kings 17:16;
18:1) If that woman had acted differ-
ently, the loaf of bread that she made
from her small supply of flour and oil
might have become her last meal. But
she showed faith, trusted in Jehovah,
and fed Elijah first.
A lesson that we can learn from this is
that God blesses those who show faith
in him. Jehovah will help you if you trust
in him when your integrity is tested. He
will be a Provider, a Protector, and a
Friend in order to help you endure.—Ex-
odus 3:13-15.
In 1898, an article in Zion’s Watch
Tower taught this lesson: If the widow
had faith and obeyed Elijah, she would
receive Jehovah’s help. If she did not
show faith in Jehovah, then another
29
widow might have been chosen who
would. The article went on to say that it
is the same for us. Sometimes Jehovah
allows our faith in him to be tested. If we
have faith, it said, “we will get the bless-
ing; if we do not [have faith], we will lose
it.”
When we suffer trials, we need to
look for Jehovah’s guidance in the Scrip-
tures and in our publications. Then we
should follow Jehovah’s direction, no
matter how difficult it may be to accept.
We will be greatly blessed if we do what
this wise proverb says: “Trust in Jeho-
vah with all your heart, and do not rely
on your own understanding. In all your
ways take notice of him, and he will
make your paths straight.”—Proverbs 3:
5, 6.
THE WIDOW GOES THROUGH
ANOTHER TRIAL
Another trial was going to test the
widow’s faith. The Bible account says:
“After these things, the son of the wom-
an who owned the house fell sick, and
his sickness became so severe that he
stopped breathing.” Trying to find a
reason why this tragedy happened, the
grieving mother said to Elijah: “What do
you have against me, O man of the true
God? Have you come to remind me of
my guilt and to put my son to death?”
(1 Kings 17:17, 18) What do those bitter
words mean?
Did the woman remember a past sin
that bothered her conscience? Did she
think that her son’s death was pun-
ishment from God and that Elijah was
God’s messenger of death? The Bible
does not tell us, but we know this: The
widow did not accuse God of doing any-
thing wrong.
Elijah must have been shocked by
both the death of the widow’s son
30
and the idea that the prophet some-
how caused it. Elijah carried the boy’s
limp body to the roof chamber and
cried out: “O Jehovah my God, are you
also bringing harm to the widow with
whom I am staying by putting her son to
death?” It deeply upset Elijah to think
that Jehovah’s name would be dishon-
ored if this kind and hospitable woman
was allowed to suffer even more. So Eli-
jah begged: “O Jehovah my God, please,
let this child’s life come back into him.”
—1 Kings 17:20, 21.
“SEE, YOUR SON IS ALIVE”
Jehovah was listening. The widow
had shown faith and had cared for Eli-
jah’s needs. It seems that God allowed
the boy to die because He knew that
this resurrection, the first one record-
ed in the Scriptures, would give hope to
millions in the future. Jehovah listened
to Elijah’s prayer and brought the child
back to life. Imagine the widow’s great
joy when Elijah said: “See, your son is
alive”! The widow then told Elijah:
“Now I know that you truly are a man
of God and that Jehovah’s word in your
mouth is truth.”—1 Kings 17:22-24.
The account in 1 Kings chapter 17
says no more about this woman. How-
ever, Jesus spoke well of her, so she may
have become a faithful servant of Jeho-
vah. (Luke 4:25, 26) Her story teaches
us that God blesses those doing good to
his servants. (Matthew 25:34-40) It
proves that God takes care of those who
are faithful to him, even when they are
enduring very difficult trials. (Matthew
6:25-34) This account also shows us that
Jehovah has the desire and the ability to
resurrect the dead. (Acts 24:15) Surely
these are excellent reasons for remem-
bering the widow of Zarephath.
SIMPLIFIED EDITION
 QUESTIONS FROM READERS
What reasons did Jews in the first century have
for being “in expectation” of the Messiah?
In the days of John the Baptizer, “the people
were in expectation and all of them were reason-
ing in their hearts about John, ‘May he perhaps
be the Christ?’” (Luke 3:15) Why might the Jews
have expected the Messiah to appear at that time?
There are a number of reasons.
After Jesus was born, Jehovah’s angel appeared
to shepherds who were taking care of their flocks
in the fields near Bethlehem. (1) The angel an-
nounced: “Today there was born to you in David’s
city a savior, who is Christ the Lord.” (Luke 2:8-
11) After that, the angel was joined by “a multi-
tude of the heavenly army, praising God and say-
ing: ‘Glory in the heights above to God, and on
The Bible does not say that the angels “sang” at Jesus’ birth.
1 2
earth peace among men of goodwill.’” (See foot-
note.)—Luke 2:13, 14.
That amazing announcement had a powerful
effect on those humble shepherds. They immedi-
ately went to Bethlehem, and when they found
Joseph and Mary and the infant Jesus, “they
made known the message that they had been
told concerning this young child.” Because of
this, “all who heard were astonished at what the
shepherds told them.” (Luke 2:17, 18) The words
“all who heard” show that the shepherds spoke
to others besides Joseph and Mary. As the shep-
herds returned home, they kept “glorifying and
praising God for all they had heard and seen, just
as it had been told to them.” (Luke 2:20) Those
3
shepherds did not keep this good news to them-
selves!
When Mary brought her firstborn son to the
temple in Jerusalem as the Mosaic Law required,
the prophetess Anna “began giving thanks to
God and speaking about the child to all who
were waiting for Jerusalem’s deliverance.” (2)
(Luke 2:36-38; Exodus 13:12) So news of the
Messiah’s appearance continued to spread.
Later, “astrologers from the East came to Jeru-
salem, saying: ‘Where is the one born king of the
Jews? For we saw his star when we were in the
East, and we have come to do obeisance to him.’”
(Matthew 2:1, 2) When he heard this, King Her-
od became very upset, “and all Jerusalem with
him. On gathering together all the chief priests
and scribes of the people, he inquired of them
where the Christ was to be born.” (3) (Matthew 2:
3, 4) So, many people were hearing the news:
The future Messiah had arrived!—See footnote.
Luke 3:15, quoted earlier, shows that some
Jews thought that John the Baptizer might be the
Christ. However, John put an end to such think-
ing. He said: “The one coming after me is stron-
ger than I am, whose sandals I am not worthy to
take off. That one will baptize you with holy spir-
it and with fire.” (Matthew 3:11) John’s humble
comment would have made the Jews even more
excited about the arrival of the Messiah.
Could the Jews in the first century have used
the prophecy of the 70 weeks from Daniel 9:
24-27 to calculate when the Messiah would ar-
rive? Even though that is possible, we cannot be
sure. In Jesus’ day, people had many different
ideas about how the 70 weeks should be count-
ed, but none of those ideas are similar to how
We might ask, How did the astrologers know that the “star”
in the East had something to do with the birth of the “king of the
Jews”? Could it be that they heard news of Jesus’ birth when
traveling through Israel?
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magazine and other
publications are
available on www.jw.org
we understand the prophecy today.—See foot-
note.
The Essenes, who many believe were a Jewish
sect that lived in the desert, taught that two Mes-
siahs would appear near the end of a 490-year
period. But we cannot be sure that they used
Daniel’s prophecy to make their calculations.
Even if they did, it is hard to imagine that the
ideas of such an isolated group would influence
many other Jews.
Even after the first century, some Jews be-
lieved that the 70 weeks started in the year 607
before Christ, when the first temple was de-
stroyed, and ended in the year 70, when the sec-
ond temple was destroyed. Others thought that
the prophecy was fulfilled during the time of the
Maccabees in the second century before Christ.
So the Jews did not agree on how the 70 weeks
should be counted.
If the apostles and other early Christians had
correctly understood the prophecy about the
70 weeks, we would expect them to have men-
tioned the prophecy as proof that Jesus Christ
was the Messiah and that he had arrived on time.
But there is no evidence that the early Christians
did so.
Another point is worth noting. Gospel writers
often mentioned prophecies from the Hebrew
Scriptures that were fulfilled by Jesus Christ.
(Matthew 1:22, 23; 2:13-15; 4:13-16) But none of
them wrote that the prophecy of the 70 weeks
had anything to do with Jesus Christ.
To review: We cannot be sure that people in
Jesus’ day correctly understood the prophecy of
the 70 weeks. However, in the Gospels, there
are other good reasons why the Jews would have
been expecting the Messiah to arrive.
For our present understanding of the prophecy of the 70
weeks, see Pay Attention to Daniel’s Prophecy! chapter 11.
ws14 02/15-E
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