We've often seen the happifying Kingdom trope of a bearded Bible student coming up from the baptism water with a freshly shaven, baby smooth face. Beards, after all, signify Independent Thinking and are best left to worldlings. Our new July 2019 issue of The Watchtower, however, sheds increasing light on the subject. In These Last Days, we should expect The Slave will provide more nuanced teaching aids such as this. The man in the first illustration has a short, well groomed beard as he first recognizes the Ring of Truth, not knowing that this marks him for destruction, as angels depend on dress and grooming styles to decide who to slaughter at Armageddon.
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