Acts of Jehovah’s Witnesses in Modern Times

Nineteen hundred years ago the Son of God, Jesus Christ, when on earth began to sow seed. In a parable Jesus likened himself to a householder who planted fine seed in his field, only to have a foe secretly sow weeds among the good seed. Rather than risk uprooting the wheat by removing the weeds immediately, he allowed both to grow together until the harvest, when the difference between the two would be unmistakable.

Jesus pointed out that the weeds were the sons of the wicked one; the wheat, the sons of the kingdom. To the undiscerning, those weeds, imitation Christians, would appear to be wheatlike. And through the centuries the wheat and the weeds continued to grow together. At the harvesttime, which is “the conclusion of the system of things,” the reapers, who are angels, would collect the weeds to destroy them. However, the wheat class of Christians would shine as brightly as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. (Matt. 13:24-30, 36-43) Because of this, as the Yearbook shows, a large throng of others have joined with them world wide in magnifying Jehovah and declaring that His kingdom is the only hope for mankind.

Beginning at Pentecost of 33 C.E. the wheat class appeared and thereafter grew in number. (Acts 2:1, 41, 47; 4:4) Christian congregations were established throughout Israel, and later throughout the then known world, However, as foretold, the Devil succeeded in oversowing the wheat field with weeds. By the fourth century C.E. Babylonish religious thinking and Greek philosophy had made their mark on professed Christians. Apostasy from true Christianity had come to full bloom and the weeds, imitation Christians, abounded in number. The Protestant Reformation, actually a mere rebellion against the Catholic Church, resulted in many sects, steeped in religious error. Despite apostasy, wheatlike ones were in evidence during the centuries of spiritual darkness.

As the conclusion of the system of things approached, the Most High God, Jehovah, acted to identify the wheat in a pronounced way. Very interesting things were happening in God’s field under cultivation. Especially was this true during the last half of the nineteenth century in one sector of that worldwide field. What took place is part of the modern-day history of Jehovah’s Christian witnesses. That history, covering more than a hundred years, is very interestingly brought to our attention by our considering their activity in the United States of America.