Apostasy for one thing, the Devil does not want God’s guidance to reach man. Therefore, it is reasonable to assume that he and his cohorts would try to have the Holy Scriptures corrupted so that mankind might be misled and turned away from God. But did they succeed in corrupting God’s words? Would God allow them to do so? No! Throughout the Scriptures, he affirms that he would preserve his words.
“The green grass has dried up, the blossom has withered; but as for the word of our God, it will last to time indefinite,” says Isaiah 40:8. (See also 1 Peter 1:24, 25.)
Please take note that in any one time period, Jehovah did not deal with more than one group of worshipers. For instance, in Noah’s day, only Noah and those in the ark with him came under God’s protection and were carried safely through the waters of the Deluge. (1 Peter 3:20) Likewise in our day, we should expect to find only one people acceptable to God as his true worshipers. But how can we identify the congregated people who are following God’s guidance today, so that we can join with them in worshiping him?
We find this people where we find real unity. God is one and his guidance is one—harmonious, not contradictory. Those who follow God’s guidance constitute a united body, where all members apply God’s righteous principles. We do not find divisions or prejudice among them, but rather we find harmony and brotherly love, even though they come from diverse backgrounds, nationalities, religions, and races. (1 John 4:20, 21) Who, then, are God’s people in our day?
We read: “‘You are my witnesses,’ is the utterance of Jehovah.” (Isaiah 43:10-12)
The weekly Kujawy i Pomorze published the report “You Will Recognize Them by Their Fruit.” In part, the article said that worshipers in Christendom “in reality do not treat very seriously the religious principles they have accepted. They stand in sharp contrast with Jehovah’s Witnesses who act as they say, and they say what the Bible commands.”
After contrasting the appearance of the Witnesses with that of nominal Christians, the report continued: “The latter most likely do not know, and far too often do not apply, the essential truths and principles of their faith. . . . By their attitude, Jehovah’s Witnesses manifest the harmony of their words and actions, thus proving they are not the ‘false prophets,’ rather, they can be recognized by their fruits. ‘Never do people gather grapes from thorns or figs from thistles, do they?’ (Matthew 7:15-20).”
One woman wrote a letter to the Przyjaciółka weekly, lamenting that her son left the Catholic Church and became one of Jehovah’s Witnesses. What was the editor’s advice? “If your son came to associate with Jehovah’s Witnesses, learned and accepted their faith, it is all his own decision, which is to be recognized and respected. . . . This religious group is characterized by many beautiful and socially desirable features, such as their unusual solidarity and profound group ties, great honesty and close following of the accepted rules of community life, and finally, ability to live in harmony with their truth, accomplishing in practice the professed values. These are precious virtues.”