From God's Word

Jehovah is Worthy to Be Praised

2009-05-26T09:46:00.004-05:00

Jehovah himself has become king! Let the earth be joyful. Let the many islands rejoice.

Clouds and thick gloom are all around him; Righteousness and judgment are the established place of his throne.

Before him a very fire goes, And it consumes his adversaries all around.

His lightnings lighted up the productive land; The earth saw and came to be in severe pains.

The mountains themselves proceeded to melt just like wax on account of Jehovah, On account of the Lord of the whole earth.

The heavens have told forth his righteousness, And all the peoples have seen his glory.

(Psalm 97:1-6)

Praise Jah, you people! Praise God in his holy place. Praise him in the expanse of his strength.

Praise him for his works of mightiness. Praise him according to the abundance of his greatness.

Praise him with the blowing of the horn. Praise him with the stringed instrument and the harp.

Praise him with the tambourine and the circle dance. Praise him with strings and the pipe.

Praise him with the cymbals of melodious sound. Praise him with the clashing cymbals.

Every breathing thing—let it praise Jah. Praise Jah, you people!

(Psalm 150:1-6)

Say to those who are anxious at heart: "Be strong. Do not be afraid. Look! Your own God will come with vengeance itself, God even with a repayment. He himself will come and save you people."

At that time the eyes of the blind ones will be opened, and the very ears of the deaf ones will be unstopped.

At that time the lame one will climb up just as a stag does, and the tongue of the speechless one will cry out in gladness. For in the wilderness waters will have burst out, and torrents in the desert plain.

And the heat-parched ground will have become as a reedy pool, and the thirsty ground as springs of water. In the abiding place of jackals, a resting-place for them, there will be green grass with reeds and papyrus plants.

And there will certainly come to be a highway there, even a way; and the Way of Holiness it will be called. The unclean one will not pass over it. And it will be for the one walking on the way, and no foolish ones will wander about on it.

No lion will prove to be there, and the rapacious sort of wild beasts will not come up on it. None will be found there; and the repurchased ones must walk there.

And the very ones redeemed by Jehovah will return and certainly come to Zion with a joyful cry; and rejoicing to time indefinite will be upon their head. To exultation and rejoicing they will attain, and grief and sighing must flee away.

(Isaiah 35:4-10)

Jehovah is a God exacting exclusive devotion and taking vengeance; Jehovah is taking vengeance and is disposed to rage. Jehovah is taking vengeance against his adversaries, and he is resentful toward his enemies.

Jehovah is slow to anger and great in power, and by no means will Jehovah hold back from punishing. In destructive wind and in storm is his way, and the cloud mass is the powder of his feet.

He is rebuking the sea, and he dries it up; and all the rivers he actually makes run dry. Bashan and Carmel have withered, and the very blossom of Leb′a‧non has withered.

Mountains themselves have rocked because of him, and the very hills found themselves melting. And the earth will be upheaved because of his face; the productive land also, and all those dwelling in it.

In the face of his denunciation who can stand? And who can rise up against the heat of his anger? His own rage will certainly be poured out like fire, and the very rocks will actually be pulled down because of him.

Jehovah is good, a stronghold in the day of distress. And he is cognizant of those seeking refuge in him.

And by the flood that is passing along he will make an outright extermination of her place, and darkness will pursue his very enemies.

(Nahum 1:2-8)

Be Silent--Wait for Jehovah

2009-05-23T07:31:00.001-05:00

Be silent.

Can you hear our great God Jehovah? He calls for you. That is why we are told, "Indeed toward God wait silently, O my soul." Why? "Because from him is my hope. Indeed he is my rock and my salvation, my secure height; I shall not be made to totter. Upon God are my salvation and my glory. My strong rock, my refuge is in God."-Psalm 62:5-7

One part of our worship is sitting silently and listening to Jehovah speak through nature and His Word, the Bible. "Good it is that one should wait, even silently, for the salvation of Jehovah." (Lamentations 3:26) The Word itself says, "All Scripture is inspired of God and beneficial for teaching, for reproving, for setting things straight, for disciplining in righteousness, that the man of God may be fully competent, completely equipped for every good work." (2 Timothy 3:16-17) "The heavens are declaring the glory of God."-Psalm 19:1

The hustle and bustle of life today drown out the voice of Jehovah, who is trying to draw us to Him. (John 6:44) People today cannot hear it. Even some of Jehovah's own worshipers cannot hear His voice. Many of Jehovah's Christian Witnesses look at the Bible and try to intellectually learn about Jehovah. These same people never try to "draw close to God" and really get to know Him.-James 4:8

In his letter to the Romans, Paul said, "Everyone who calls on the name of Jehovah will be saved. However, how will they call on him in whom they have not put faith?" (Romans 10:13-14) We can go further and ask how we can put faith in God if we do not get to know Him. It is very important that we get to know Jehovah God.

"The name of Jehovah is a strong tower. Into it the righteous runs and is given protection." (Proverbs 18:10) When we get to know Jehovah God, truly get to know Him on a personal level, we are assured of His divine support and protection. What can be more important then that. We never want to be like the Israelites in Jesus day who "honors [God] with their lips, yet their heart is far removed from [Him]." (Matthew 15:8) These people never really "taste and see that Jehovah is good" nor do they know "the power of God."-Psalm 34:8; Matthew 22:29

When we get to know Jehovah we are more likely to "subject [our]selves to God." (James 4:7) So, it is imperative that we get to know Jehovah, one of which is silently waiting on Him and pondering and meditating on His Word. Do more then try to learn about Jehovah, not forgetting that this is important, but get to know Jehovah. That is far more rewarding.-Isaiah 41:13; John 17:3

Jehovah

2009-04-30T16:36:00.002-05:00

Judges 5:3-5
"Listen, you kings; give ear, you high officials: I to Jehovah, yes, I, will sing. I shall make melody to Jehovah, Israel’s God. Jehovah, at your going forth from Seir, at your marching out of the field of Edom, Earth rocked, heavens also dripped, clouds also dripped with water. Mountains flowed away from the face of Jehovah, this Sinai away from the face of Jehovah, Israel’s God."

Job 37:3-6
"Under the whole heavens he lets it loose, and his lightning is to the extremities of the earth. After it a sound roars; He thunders with the sound of his superiority, and he does not hold them back when his voice is heard. God thunders with his voice in a wonderful way, doing great things that we cannot know. For to the snow he says, 'Fall earthward,' and to the downpour of rain, even to the downpour of his strong rains."

Psalm 24:7-10, Recovery Version
"Lift up your heads, O gates; and be lifted up, O long enduring doors; and the King of Glory will come in. Who is the King of Glory? Jehovah strong and mighty! Jehovah mighty in battle! Lift up your heads, O gates; and lift up, O long enduring doors; and the King of Glory will come in. Who is this King of Glory? Jehovah of [Armies]--He is the King of Glory!"

Psalm 36:5-7
"O Jehovah, your loving-kindness is in the heavens; Your faithfulness is up to the clouds. Your righteousness is like mountains of God; Your judicial decision is a vast watery deep. Man and beast you save, O Jehovah. How precious your loving-kindness is, O God! And in the shadow of your wings the sons of men themselves take refuge."

Psalm 44:4-8
"You yourself are my King, O God. Command grand salvation for Jacob. By you we shall push our adversaries themselves; in your name we shall tread down those rising up against us. For it was not in my bow that I kept trusting and it was not my sword that was saving me. For you saved us from our adversaries, and those intensely hating us you put to shame. In God we will offer praise all day long, and to time indefinite your name we shall laud."

Psalm 97:1-6
"Jehovah himself has become king! Let the earth be joyful. Let the many islands rejoice. Clouds and thick gloom are all around him; righteousness and judgment are the established place of his throne. Before him a very fire goes, and it consumes his adversaries all around. His lightnings lighted up the productive land; the earth saw and came to be in severe pains. The mountains themselves proceeded to melt just like wax on account of Jehovah, on account of the Lord of the whole earth. The heavens have told forth his righteousness, and all the peoples have seen his glory."

Psalm 136:1-7, 23-26
"Give thanks to Jehovah, O you people, for he is good...
Give thanks to the God of the gods...
Give thanks to the Lord of the lords...
To the Doer of wonderful, great things by himself...
To the One making the heavens with understanding...
To the One laying out the earth above the waters...
To the One making the great lights...
Who during our low condition remembered us...
And who repeatedly tore us away from our adversaries...
The One giving food to all flesh...
Give thanks to the God of the heavens...
For his loving-kindness is to time indefinite."

Psalm 145:1-6
"I will exalt you, O my God the King, and I will bless your name to time indefinite, even forever. All day long I will bless you, and I will praise your name to time indefinite, even forever. Jehovah is great and very much to be praised, and his greatness is unsearchable. Generation after generation will commend your works, and about your mighty acts they will tell. The glorious splendor of your dignity and the matters of your wonderful works I will make my concern. And they will talk about the strength of your own fear-inspiring things; and as for your greatness, I will declare it."

Psalms 147:1-7
"Praise Jah, you people, for it is good to make melody to our God; for it is pleasant—praise is fitting. Jehovah is building Jerusalem; the dispersed ones of Israel he brings together. He is healing the brokenhearted ones, and is binding up their painful spots. He is counting the number of the stars; all of them he calls by their names. Our Lord is great and is abundant in power; His understanding is beyond recounting. Jehovah is relieving the meek ones; He is abasing the wicked ones to the earth. Respond to Jehovah with thanksgiving, you people; make melody to our God on the harp."

Nahum 1:2-7
"Jehovah is a God exacting exclusive devotion and taking vengeance; Jehovah is taking vengeance and is disposed to rage. Jehovah is taking vengeance against his adversaries, and he is resentful toward his enemies. Jehovah is slow to anger and great in power, and by no means will Jehovah hold back from punishing. In destructive wind and in storm is his way, and the cloud mass is the powder of his feet. He is rebuking the sea, and he dries it up; and all the rivers he actually makes run dry. Bashan and Carmel have withered, and the very blossom of Lebanon has withered. Mountains themselves have rocked because of him, and the very hills found themselves melting. And the earth will be upheaved because of his face; the productive land also, and all those dwelling in it. In the face of his denunciation who can stand? And who can rise up against the heat of his anger? His own rage will certainly be poured out like fire, and the very rocks will actually be pulled down because of him. Jehovah is good, a stronghold in the day of distress. And he is cognizant of those seeking refuge in him."

Revelation 4:8-11
"And as for the four living creatures, each one of them respectively has six wings; round about and underneath they are full of eyes. And they have no rest day and night as they say: 'Holy, holy, holy is Jehovah God, the Almighty, who was and who is and who is coming.' And whenever the living creatures offer glory and honor and thanksgiving to the one seated upon the throne, the one that lives forever and ever, the twenty-four elders fall down before the One seated upon the throne and worship the One that lives forever and ever, and they cast their crowns before the throne, saying: 'You are worthy, Jehovah, even our God, to receive the glory and the honor and the power, because you created all things, and because of your will they existed and were created.'

Revelation 15:3-4
"Great and wonderful are your works, Jehovah God, the Almighty. Righteous and true are your ways, King of eternity. Who will not really fear you, Jehovah, and glorify your name, because you alone are loyal? For all the nations will come and worship before you, because your righteous decrees have been made manifest."

What About...Luke 23:43?

2009-04-29T16:43:00.001-05:00

*"Jesus answered him, 'Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise.'"-Luke 23:43, Today's New International Version*

The New World Translations renders this verse: "And he said to him: 'Truly I tell you today, You will be with me in Paradise.'"

Many people criticize this rendering based off of the comma placement. If most Bible's like the TNIV are correct then the thief (and Jesus) went to "paradise" that same day. If the NWT is correct then the thief was in "paradise" later. Where the comma is placed changes the entire meaning of the sentence.

The first thing that any person who wants to determine where the comma goes has to keep one thing in mind--Koine Greek did not have a comma. Yes, every single comma in your New Testament was added by the translators. When it comes to Luke 23:43, bias dictates where someone puts the comma.

The basic belief of most so-called Christians today is that when someone dies they immediately go to heaven. The thief, having repented of his sins, would have gone to heaven that same day. Their doctrine requires that.

Is it true that Jesus went to heaven that same day? Did the thief go to heaven that same day? Which rendering agrees with the basic teachings of the Bible?

First of all, what does the Bible say? The King James Version says at Acts 2:31, "He seeing this before spake of the resurrection of Christ, that his soul was not left in hell, neither his flesh did see corruption. Other Bible translations say that he was not left in "hades." (New American Standard Bible, English Standard Version) Obviously, when Jesus died, he was in hell, or hades, not heaven. The Bible says that he was in "hell" for three days.-Luke 24:7; Acts 10:40

Second, Jesus said that only those who were "born again" could "see the Kingdom of God." (John 3:3) Being born again involved being "born from water and spirit." (John 3:5) So, these people had to be baptized in water, and then be baptized in the holy spirit. When did the baptism with holy spirit take place?-Mark 1:8

Jesus Christ died on the Passover. 50 days later, on Pentecost, the Bible reports that the disciples "were all together at the same place, and suddenly there occurred from heaven a noise just like that of a rushing stiff breeze, and it filled the whole house in which they were sitting. And tongues as if of fire became visible to them and were distributed about, and one sat upon each one of them, and they all became filled with holy spirit and started to speak with different tongues, just as the spirit was granting them to make utterance. (Acts 2:1-4) So, it wasn't until 50 days after Jesus died that the first ones were "born again", or "born from water and spirit." The repentant thief was already dead, not having been born again. He could not have been in heaven that same day.

Third, Christ is called the "firstborn from the dead." (Revelation 1:5) Since the Bible speaks of other resurrections before Jesus, this statement must mean something different. (1 Kings 17:17-23; 2 Kings 4:17-37) What this statement means is that Christ was the first person to be raised up from death and then have an ascension to heaven. Another place in the Bible says that Christ is the "firstfruits", the first to be resurrected to heaven, but then "afterward those who belong to the Christ during his presence." (1 Corinthians 15:23) It wasn't until the presence of Christ that others would be raised to heavenly life.-1 Thessalonians 4:15-17

All of the Biblical evidence points to the fact that the man did not go to heaven that same day and so the comma should go after today, backing up the rendering in the New World Translation and a few other Bible translations.

Just so all fears can be dispelled, let us look at the context to see if it is at all revealing.

"But one of the hung evildoers began to say abusively to him: 'You are the Christ, are you not? Save yourself and us.' In reply the other rebuked him and said: 'Do you not fear God at all, now that you are in the same judgment? And we, indeed, justly so, for we are receiving in full what we deserve for things we did; but this man did nothing out of the way.' And he went on to say: 'Jesus, remember me when you get into your kingdom.' And he said to him: 'Truly I tell you today, You will be with me in Paradise.'"-Luke 23:39-43

Even the context supports the NWT. How? The thief says to Jesus, "Remember me when you get into your kingdom." When did Jesus "get into [his] kingdom?" Was it upon his ascension to heaven?

The Scriptures do not teach that. In a major prophecy (quoted about two dozen times in the NT, more then any other prophecy) in the book of Psalms we read, "The utterance of Jehovah to my Lord is: 'Sit at my right hand until I place your enemies as a stool for your feet.'" (Psalm 110:1) The New Testament writers indicated that Jesus sat at the right hand of his Father after his ascension to heaven. "Jesus...is on the right hand of God." (Romans 8:34) How long is he to be at the right hand of God? The book of Revelation, a book of prophecy that takes place "in the Lord's day" shows that Jesus did not get into his kingdom until that time.-Revelation 1:10; 12:5, 10

All of this proves that neither the thief (nor Jesus) entered into heaven that same day, as many so desperately want to believe. However, it is wrong to ignore what the Bible teaches, even on a matter as seemingly insignificant on this. Really, wouldn't it please yourself, and more importantly, God, to embrace Bible Truth? There is nothing more important.

Powerful Reasoning Against the Trinity

2009-04-28T08:52:00.001-05:00

It is amazing the sheer numbers of people who believe in the Trinity. The Trinity teaching is that the Father is God, the Son is God, and the holy spirit is God but they are not three god's, but one God. That is the basic idea.

As you read this, it is my hope that you will open your mind and consider the all of the Scriptures presented and how they apply to the basic teaching of the Trinity.

Jehovah's Witnesses do not believe in the Trinity. Why, many ask, since it is such a wide-spread belief?

Many times throughout Scripture, The Father indicates His supremacy and superiority over all other beings--animate or inanimate. He says through Moses the prophet, "See now that I--I am He and there are no gods together with me." (Deuteronomy 32:39) Further, in Isaiah the prophet he says, "Does there exist a God besides me? No, there is no Rock. I have recognized none." In another place it says, "Is it not I, Jehovah, besides whom there is no other God...For I am God and there is no one else."--Isaiah 44:8; 45:21-22

Jehovah makes it clear that He is the only One there is, even saying, "Men may know that thou, whose name alone is Jehovah, art the most high over all the earth." (Psalm 83:18, King James Version) In the book of Exodus, when Moses was about to lead the Israelites out of Egypt, he asked God a question. Looking at that conversation will be of interest. I am going to quote it from the New Living Translation. In Exodus 3:10, Jehovah tells Moses to go and speak to Pharaoh about releasing the Israelites. Moses shows anxiety over this but Jehovah explains that He will be with Moses. (Exodus 3:11-12) Moses then ask another question. It is this part of the conversation that I want to follow.

"Moses protested, 'If I go to the people of Israel and tell them, "The God of your ancestors has sent me to you," they will ask me, "What is his name?" Then what should I tell them?' God replied to Moses, 'I Am Who I Am. Say this to the people of Israel: I Am has sent me to you.' God also said to Moses, 'Say this to the people of Israel: Yahweh, the God of your ancestors—the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob—has sent me to you. This is my eternal name, my name to remember for all generations." (Exodus 3:13-15) Regarding God's "Eternal Name", another Bible translation says, "Jehovah...this is my name forever, and this is my memorial unto all generations." (American Standard Version) In explanation of the second half, His Name a memorial, the Contemporary English Version says, "It is the name that people must use from now on." Obviously, God wants His Name, Jehovah, (or, Yahweh as some people put it) to be used "from now on." Does your personal copy of the Bible use the name Jehovah or Yahweh? Look at Psalm 83:18. Does it say Jehovah, Yahweh, or LORD? That will determine if your Bible has followed the command of God.

The taking out of the Divine Name has led to confusion over the years, some even claiming that God does not have a Name, in effect, contradicting the words of God Himself! They do this in an attempt not to discredit Jesus Christ, who they believe is Almighty God. I have spoken to these people and been aghast as they've done it.

I realize that when speaking to someone about the Trinity, the Old Testament is not a good place to start off. Since the doctrine of the Trinity involves the Son of God, Jesus Christ, it is essential to look in the New Testament to really find out if this doctrine is Biblical.

As one of Jehovah's Witnesses, I have read the Bible numerous times, from numerous translations including the New International Version, New Living Translation, Today's English Version, and the King James Version, etc. I have found that each translation is valuable in many ways.

One of the very first Scriptures that I like to look at in reference to the Father and the Son (whether or not they are equal) is found at Mark 10:17-18. We read, "And as he was going out on his way, a certain man ran up and fell upon his knees before him and put the question to him: 'Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit everlasting life?' Jesus said to him:'Why do you call me good? Nobody is good, except one, God.'" Consider: If Jesus Christ was God Almighty, what was the point of this statement? Why would Jesus, a perfect man (1 Peter 2:22), take away from himself by saying that he was not good but only God was? Many people have questioned this before.

The reason that this was done is very simple. "No one should say, 'God is tempting me.' For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone." (James 1:13, New International Version) However, read what the Bible says concerning Jesus Christ. "We have one [a High Priest], who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet was without sin." (Hebrews 4:15, NIV; Matthew 4:1-11) Jesus Christ never sinned, not once. However, the Bible reveals that he was tempted, something that could never happen with God. That is why Jesus said that only God was good, because no one is good in comparison of God.

I think that as Christians, we can both believe that no one can tell God, the Master of the Universe, what to do. If we tried to, He wouldn't listen to us. No one can tell God what to do, right? Is this the same with the Christ? "He that disregards me [Christ] and does not receive my sayings has one to judge him. The word that I have spoken is what will judge him in the last day; because I have not spoken out of my own impulse, but the Father himself who sent me has given me a commandment as to what to tell and what to speak." (John 12:49) He again says, "as the Father has given me commandment to do, so I am doing." (John 14:31) Why would Jesus say all of these things if he was God Almighty? Would God say these things?

Obviously, we know that God Almighty would not claim that someone told Him to do something and that He did it. Nobody has the authority to tell Jehovah what to do. It would mean that He is not the "Most High" as the Bible calls Him. (Psalm 7:17) God can do "all things" (Ecclesiastes 11:5; Isaiah 44:24, Young's Literal Translation) On the other hand, Jesus "cannot do a single thing of [his] own initiative." (John 5:30) Obviously, the things that Jesus Christ said makes it clear that he cannot be his Father. In fact, Jesus even said, "The Father is greater then I am."-John 14:28

Jesus Christ being God was not something that the Apostles believed. Peter said, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God." (Matthew 16:16) John said, "But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God." (John 20:30) There is not one instance in the Bible where someone says that Christ is God, only the Son of God.

Some people say that just because Jesus Christ is called the Son of God, it doesn't necessarily mean that he is not God. However, we can see that Jesus is the Son of God in the most literal of terms because both Paul and Peter wrote, "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ." (2 Corinthians 1:3; 1 Peter 1:3) Jesus Christ has a God, who is his Father. He said to Mary Magdalene not to cling to him because he is not yet ascending to "my Father and your Father and to my God and your God."-John 20:17, see also Psalm 89:26

It is not in doubt that Jesus Christ is inferior to the Father. The Bible says, "The head of every man is the Christ; in turn the head of a woman is the man; in turn the head of the Christ is God." (1 Corinthians 11:3) Christ's head, Jehovah God, and the holy spirit all appeared at the same time in two instances. "After being baptized Jesus immediately came up from the water; and, look! the heavens were opened up, and he saw descending like a dove God’s spirit coming upon him. Look! Also, there was a voice from the heavens that said: 'This is my Son, the beloved, whom I have approved.'” (Matthew 3:16-17) Another instance is in the book of Acts.-Acts 7:55-56

Finally, the last convincing piece of evidence will happen at what Paul calls "The End." The Apostle wrote, "After that the end will come when he will turn the Kingdom over to God the Father, having put down all enemies of every kind. For Christ will be King until he has defeated all his enemies, including the last enemy--death. This too must be defeated and ended. For the rule and authority over all things has been given to Christ by his Father; except, of course, Christ does not rule over the Father himself, who gave him the power to rule. When Christ has finally won the battle against all his enemies, then he, the Son of God, will put himself also under his Father's orders, so that God who has given him the victory over everything else will be utterly supreme."-1 Corinthians 15:24-28, The Living Bible

This Scripture is crystal clear. Christ is inferior to the Father, Jehovah God, and will be ruled by Him, following His orders.

There are numerous other Scriptures that support the Jehovah's Witnesses in their beliefs that "Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the Living God." If you would like to have more information, you can contact Jehovah's Witnesses. Also, more Scriptures that and arguments that support Jehovah's Witnesses point of view can be found here and here. Again, I hope you have an open mind so that Jehovah can open your heart, as He did at times in the past.-Acts 16:14

Messiah, Pt. 4: We Have Found the Messiah

2009-04-23T07:19:00.001-05:00

We now come to the point where we have reviewed some of the more outstanding prophecies concerning the Messiah. And yet, one prophecy has been saved until now. The 70 Weeks of Years (or, 483 Years prophecy). What is this prophecy?

"And you should know and have the insight that from the going forth of the word to restore and to rebuild Jerusalem until Messiah the Leader, there will be seven weeks, also sixty-two weeks. She will return and be actually rebuilt, with a public square and moat, but in the straits of the times."-Daniel 9:25

The command to rebuild Jerusalem was issued in 455 B.C.E.[1] This is found in the book of Nehemiah 2, which says in part, "If to the king it does seem good, and if your servant seems good before you, that you would send me to Judah, to the city of the burial places of my forefathers, that I may rebuild it." After receiving permission, the king sends official letters with Nehemiah so that Nehemiah can get help and not be stopped with his building. (Nehemiah 2:1-8) So, if we calculate 483 years from 455 B.C.E., we fall on 29 C.E., the exact year that Jesus of Nazareth was baptized in the Jordan River. In those days, the B'rit Hadashah (New Testament) tells us, "the people were in a state of expectancy." (Luke 3:15, Complete Jewish Bible) They knew that the Messiah was due to arrive. Was the baptism of Jesus of Nazareth of any significance? It is.

Many people throughout the world look to Jesus Christ as the promised Messiah. Are they unreasonable for that? Let us look at some of the things that Jesus Christ did in his lifetime to see if these fulfilled the many prophecies mentioned in the Tanakh.

His Early Life
Two thousand years ago, a young child was born, just like in the prophecy at Isaiah 9:6. Jesus Christ, that child, was born in the city of Bethlehem, David's city. This wasn't something that his mother worked very hard to accomplish, she was more or less forced to be in that city. How did she come to be there?

"A decree went forth from Caesar Augustus for all the inhabited earth to be registered...and all people went traveling to be registered, each one to his own city. Of course, Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judea, to David’s city, which is called Bethlehem, because of his being a member of the house and family of David, to get registered with Mary, who had been given him in marriage as promised, at present heavy with child. While they were there, the days came to the full for her to give birth."-Luke 2:1-7

So, events were manuevered for Jesus of Nazareth to be born in the exact city that Micah prophesied. Another event that happened when Jesus was a young child is also of interest. Knowing the prophecies concerning the Messiah, King Herod was afraid that he was close to being overthrown. So, what happened?

Well, Herod wanted to kill the young boy, even lying to some men so that they would inform him of where the child was. (Matthew 2:8) However, an angel commanded those men not to reveal the whereabouts of the boy. (Matthew 2:12) An angel then appeared to Joseph, the childs father, and commanded him to run into Egypt. This fulfilled a prophecy in Hosea, where Matthew quotes, "Out of Egypt I called my son."-Matthew 2:15; Hosea 11:1

The Bible continues to report, "Herod, seeing he had been outwitted by the astrologers, fell into a great rage, and he sent out and had all the boys in Bethlehem and in all its districts done away with, from two years of age and under, according to the time that he had carefully ascertained from the astrologers." (Matthew 2:16) This fulfilled the prophecy at Jeremiah 31:15.

His Ministry
In the book of Malachi, it is prophesied about the Messiah that he will have a forerunner, that Elijah will come first. (Malachi 3:1; 4:5) Isaiah says that this one will prepare the way before the Messiah, crying out as a voice in the wilderness. (Isaiah 40:3) Mark reports that this was Yochanan the Immerser [John the Baptizer]. (Mark 1:2-4) Further, the light that was supposed to shine in Naphtali and Zebulun also came through the person of Jesus Christ. The Bible reports, "Further, after leaving Nazareth, he came and took up residence in Capernaum beside the sea in the districts of Zebulun and Naphtali." (Matthew 4:13) This fulfilled Isaiah 9:1-2.

Throughout his life, the Messiah preached, even saying that this was the very reason that he was sent forth. (Luke 4:43) He began this preaching ministry after the spirit of God came upon him. (Matthew 3:16-17) This fulfilled Isaiah 61:1-2.

Perhaps one of the most amazing things that the Messiah was supposed to do was heal many people. (Isaiah 35:5-6) This was being accomplished, for he himself said, "The blind are seeing again, and the lame are walking about, the lepers are being cleansed and the deaf are hearing, and the dead are being raised up, and the poor are having the good news declared to them."-Matthew 11:5

The prophecies concerning the life and ministry of the Messiah are numerous. We could discuss many, many more but we now come to the last stage the life of Jesus--His death.

His Death
Isaiah the prophet was inspired to write in detail about the suffering and death of the Messiah. However, one verse that stands out above all the rest is Isaiah 53:5. How was the mysterious prophecy fulfilled in the person of Jesus Christ?

Well, Jesus Christ himself said, "The Son of man came, not to be ministered to, but to minister and to give his soul a ransom in exchange for many." (Matthew 20:28) As humans, we are all sinners with death as a just punishment for that. (Romans 5:12) However, since the Messiah was a perfect man, he was able to die and pay back what Adam lost--perfection and everlasting life!-1 Corinthians 15:22

When Jesus Christ was executed, many things happened at his death. He was spit upon and slapped, just like it was prophesied in the Tanakh. (Matthew 26:67) The last prophecy that had to be fulfilled during the last day of the Messiah was the one David wrote at Psalm 69:21. David said that they would try to give the Messiah vinegar to drink. John tells us that this is what happened. "After this, when Jesus knew that by now all things had been accomplished, in order that the scripture might be accomplished he said: 'I am thirsty.' A vessel was sitting there full of sour wine. Therefore they put a sponge full of the sour wine upon a hyssop stalk and brought it to his mouth. When, now, he had received the sour wine, Jesus said: 'It has been accomplished!' and, bowing his head, he delivered up his spirit." (John 19:28-30) John then mentions two other prophecies that Jesus fulfilled: Psalm 34:20 and Zechariah 12:10. Before, these prophecies were not understood by the Jews.-John 19:36-37

All of the prophecies, down to the smallest, most insignificant one, was fulfilled through Jesus Christ. If you put your trust in him, would you be a loner? No. Two people in the first century, Andrew and Nathanel, both realized that Jesus was the Messiah, Andrew even saying, "We have found the Messiah!" (John 1:41) Nathanel was a little more skeptical to begin with.

"Now Philip was from Bethsaida, from the city of Andrew and Peter. Philip found Nathanael and said to him: 'We have found the one of whom Moses, in the Law, and the Prophets wrote, Jesus, the son of Joseph, from Nazareth.' But Nathanael said to him: 'Can anything good come out of Nazareth?' Philip said to him: 'Come and see.' Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward him and said about him: "See, an Israelite for a certainty, in whom there is no deceit." Nathanael said to him: 'How does it come that you know me?' Jesus in answer said to him: 'Before Philip called you, while you were under the fig tree, I saw you.' Nathanael answered him: 'Rabbi, you are the Son of God, you are King of Israel.'" (John 1:44-49) Like Andrew and Nathanael, you too can come to realize that Jesus Christ is the Messiah, the Son of the Most High God, Jehovah.

In all of the world, millions of Jehovah's Witnesses are preaching the Good News of the Kingdom, just as Jesus commanded. (Matthew 29:19-20) We are doing this with the aid of the holy spirit. (Acts 1:8) If you would like to learn more about the Messiah Jesus Christ and the One who sent him, Jehovah's Witnesses would be glad to help you.

[1] Insight on the Scriptures Vol. 2 pg. 900 pp. 4-6

Messiah, Pt. 3: By His Wounds We are Healed

2009-04-15T10:12:00.002-05:00

We have looked at the fascinating circumstances surrounding the birth and ministry of the promised Messiah. The Scriptures teach that he is to be a great man who does many things for the people living in his time period. Someone like this that is described will not be easily forgotten.

However, more important then any event surrounding the Messiah's birth or even his life will be as important as what the Bible says about the ending of his life. The entire 53rd chapter of Isaiah tells us a great deal about this Messiah. Let us examine it verse by verse.

"He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows, and familiar with suffering. Like one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not."-Isaiah 53:3, New International Version

The Messiah will be a good man. The second part of this series showed us that without a doubt. However, he will be rejected. People will hide their faces from him, not even wanting to acknowledge him.

"Truly our sicknesses were what he himself carried; and as for our pains, he bore them. But we ourselves accounted him as plagued, stricken by God and afflicted."-Isaiah 53:4

This special man will take all of our problems and carry them for us. Will we be grateful? No. We will feel that all of these bad things are happening to him because he deserved them. We will think that God is punishing him for all of his sins.

"But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed."-Isaiah 53:5, Today's New International Version

This is one of the most beautiful passages in all of Scripture. We are wrong to think that what happens to him is because he deserved it. The prophet Isaiah shows us that we--you, I, even Isaiah himself, are the reasons that the Messiah will suffer these things. We are sick with sin. The Messiah's beatings take that sickness away and make us whole.

"Like sheep we have all of us wandered about; it was each one to his own way that we have turned; and Jehovah himself has caused the error of us all to meet up with that one."-Isaiah 53:6

"My people have been lost sheep. Their shepherds have led them astray, turning them away on the mountains. From mountain to hill they have gone. They have forgotten their fold." (Jeremiah 50:6, NASB) We have been led astray. While the prophet Jeremiah is speaking of overseers of the flock leading us astray, we can even say that sin is what has done this. We have followed off after our own selfish longings. But everything we have done, Jehovah God is putting that in front of the Messiah to make amends for.

"He was hard pressed, and he was letting himself be afflicted; yet he would not open his mouth. He was being brought just like a sheep to the slaughtering; and like a ewe that before her shearers has become mute, he also would not open his mouth."-Isaiah 53:7

This gives us more insight into the sufferings of the Messiah. We will be beat. He will even be spit upon. (Isaiah 50:6) The Messiah will be beaten so badly and disfigured so horribly that people will not even want to look at him. (Isaiah 52:14-15) He will be beaten like this but miraculously "the bones of that one; not one of them has been broken."-Psalm 34:20

"Because of restraint and of judgment he was taken away; and who will concern himself even with the details of his generation? For he was severed from the land of the living ones. Because of the transgression of my people he had the stroke. And he will make his burial place even with the wicked ones, and with the rich class in his death, despite the fact that he had done no violence and there was no deception in his mouth."-Isaiah 53:8-9

Another translation renders "restraint" as "oppression". He will be so oppressed and have so much judgment heaped upon him that he will die. His final fate is that he will be killed--murdered. Why can we say that he was murdered? Due to the fact that "he had done no violence and there was no deception found in his mouth." His death will not be deserved. Also, another aspect of the Messiah's death is revealed here. He will be buried among the rich, something that does not seem possible considering the way he was thought of and treated.

The rest of Isaiah's heartbreaking prophecy speaks of the Messiah's sacrificial death and how his death will bring us all back to a right standing with our God. Can we not all agree that the Messiah's death will bring wondrous results to all man? (Isaiah 53:10-12) There are, though, more prophecies that are more specific in what to look for in the Messiah when he gets here.

1. The Messiah will be betrayed by a friend.-Psalm 41:9
2. The Messiah will be betrayed for 30 pieces of silver.-Zechariah 11:12
3. The Messiah will be accused by false witnesses.-Psalm 35:11
4. The Messiah will be mocked and told to beg for salvation.-Psalm 22:7-8
5. The Messiah’s enemies will pierce his hands and feet.-Psalm 22:16
6. The Messiah will be given vinegar and gall to drink.-Psalm 69:21
7. The Messiah’s clothes will be divided and gambled for.-Psalm 22:17-18

All of these things must be fulfilled by one man. They, like all the prophecies regarding the Messiah, are very specific.

We may think that this is the end of the Messiah, but it isn't. The Messiah will be resurrected. "For you will not leave my soul in Sheol. You will not allow your loyal one to see the pit." "However, God himself will redeem my soul from the hand of Sheol, for he will receive me."(Psalm 16:10; 49:15) This certainly is good news that this special man, this "Anointed One", will not stay dead.

Many people have claimed to be the Messiah throughout history. One of the most well-known is the man Jesus Christ. In the last chapter of this series we will see if these claims are well-founded or not.

Messiah, Pt. 2: The Spirit of...Jehovah is Upon Me

2009-04-13T08:21:00.002-05:00

With the knowledge that the Messiah is to be born, we are shocked that there is really no information about his life growing up. Evidently, that is not the important part. Why? The works of the Messiah as an adult are what will change the world, according to the Tanakh.

However, this development--the coming of the Messiah--is not without event beforehand. The Prophet Isaiah tells us of someone is to come before the Messiah. "A voice cries out: 'Clear a road through the desert for Adonai! Level a highway in the Aravah for our God!' " Malachi calls this one Elijah. (Isaiah 40:3; Malachi 3:1; 4:5) Obviously, the coming of the Messiah is important. It is so important that someone is preparing the way for him when he comes.

Now, it isn't till after this that the Messiah is commissioned to spread Good News. What Good News is this? Again, Isaiah tells us: "The LORD has anointed me to bring good news to the afflicted; he has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to captives and freedom to prisoners; to proclaim the favorable year of the LORD and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all who mourn." (Isaiah 61:1-2) Surely, this is very Good News that the Messiah is to preach to the world. The Scriptures also tell us that when the Messiah would speak to people, he would use parables, explaining the riddles of long ago. (Psalm 78:2) How would he manage all of this?

The Power of the Messiah

The Scriptures say that the Messiah is to have the spirit of God upon, directing him and using him. He would be anointed with this spirit. (Isaiah 11:2; 61:1) This spirit that he is anointed with will help him to proclaim the Good News that he was sent to declare. His words will be so powerful that many great ones will adore this one. "The kings of Tarshish and of the islands—tribute they will pay. The kings of Sheba and of Seba—a gift they will present."-Psalm 72:10

The Messiah will be a wonderful person that is truly worthy for us to follow. He will command our attention and draw us to him with our words--the rich and powerful, poor and helpless alike. His ministry will show him to be a tender and compassionate person, meek to the extreme. (Isaiah 40:11; 42:2-3) From the way that the Messiah is presented in the Scriptures, he will be a truly compassionate person, kindhearted and one having a knowledge of our needs. He will also be powerful! How?

Moses was a very powerful person. He performed many powerful signs, as anyone who has read the Torah will know. Moses had a type of communication with God different from any person before or after him on this earth. Yes, Isaiah and Daniel had wonderful visions of God in heaven, but the relationship with Moses was much more intimate. Still, there was one statement made by the prophet Moses that should draw our attention, a very important statement concerning the promised Messiah.

"The LORD your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your countrymen, you shall listen to him...I will raise up a prophet from among their countrymen like you, and I will put My words in his mouth, and he shall speak to them all that I command him."-Deuteronomy 18:15, 18

The Messiah will be a prophet like Moses. He will speak the very words of God and we will all be commanded to listen to his voice. Obviously, the spirit from God that rest upon the Prophet-Messiah will give him this power. So far, from the things that we have seen about the Messiah, he is someone that we must follow, for he will have the Spirit of God on him and he will speak the words of God.

In fact, we are commanded to follow this Messiah, for he is called a son. Psalm 2:7, 12 say, "You are my son; I, today, I have become your father...Kiss the son, that He [God] may not become incensed and you may not perish from the way, for his anger flares up easily. Happy are all those taking refuge in him." If we do not obey this son, the very anger of God could come upon us. It is that important that we do everything that he says.

The Messiah Brings Light to Israel

Finally, there are two more prophecies about the Messiah's life that are important to look at. One is a rather obscure prophecy at the beginning of the prophet Isaiah that portends great things for two of the tribes of Israel. "However, the obscureness will not be as when the land had stress, as at the former time when one treated with contempt the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali and when at the later time one caused it to be honored—the way by the sea, in the region of the Jordan, Galilee of the nations. The people that were walking in the darkness have seen a great light. As for those dwelling in the land of deep shadow, light itself has shone upon them." (Isaiah 9:1-2) The people from the tribes of Naphtali and Zebulun will be priviliged to have a "great light" shine upon them from the Messiah. At first they were in darkness, treated with contempt, but now they are honored. What joy for the people of those tribes!

Not only, though, will Naphtali and Zebulun be blessed, but all those in contact with the Messiah will have a blessing. As stated above in Isaiah 61:1-2, the Messiah will bring blessings to all.

You may ask, 'how can the Messiah, a man, accomplish all of these things? Is there anything else, besides his having the spirit of God, that will make him so effective? Yes. While having the spirit of God in him, there is something else that sets the Messiah apart from all other men. What is it? The Messiah will be a perfect man!-Isaiah 53:9

While the birth and life of the Messiah are to be truly magnificent, what exactly else is in store for him? Put simply, the Messiah has to die! There are more outstanding Scriptures chronicling the death of the Messiah then any other type in the Tanakh. In the next part of this series, this is what we will explore.

Messiah, Pt. 1: There Has Been a Child Born to Us

2009-04-11T07:02:00.007-05:00

Many people today are looking for the promised Messiah. Due to this, I am presenting a four part series focusing on four aspects of the Messiah's life: Prophecies concerning his birth and childhood, his adulthood and ministry, his death, and finally, looking to see if anyone fulfills those prophecies.

To the Muslims, Jesus Christ was one of the four great prophets along with Moses, King David, and Muhammed. To Christians, Jesus was the promised Messiah, the Son of God, the Holy One of Israel. To Jews, he was a criminal imposter, deserving of the death that he died.

While different Christian groups have different ideas as to who Jesus is, they all have one belief in common. Jesus is the Messiah promised in the Tanakh. He came to earth to die for all of our sins. He fulfilled every single prophecy uttered in the Law, Psalms, and Prophets. We must all put our faith in Jesus to get to the Father. Are they all deluded? This question will be answered in the light of Scriptures in this four part series.

Whose Son is the Messiah?

The Tanakh is a collection of books (thirty-nine to be exact) that contain the very words of God Almighty. (2 Samuel 23:2; Zechariah 7:12) The Tanakh contains many prophecies, or events fortold by God put into writing by men. (Isaiah 44:26-28; Daniel 8:3-6) Many of the prophecies recorded where prophecies of the coming of the Messiah.

The first prophecy recorded in the Scriptures is at Genesis 3:15. This prophecy points to the Messiah. It reads, "And I shall put enmity between you and the woman and between your seed and her seed. He will bruise you in the head and you will bruise him in the heel." This was spoken to the serpent who misled Adam and Eve. Most Christians believe this to be Satan the Devil. After Adam and Eve fell, God immediately put into motion a plan to send a Messiah to bruise the head of this serpent.

Another prophecy about the Messiah is given to Abraham, the father of Israel. God promises that "by means of [Abraham's] seed, all nations of the earth will certainly bless themselves." (Genesis 22:18) Even before that prophecy was told to Abraham, God had already promised that the Messiah would come through Isaac, one of Abraham's sons. (Genesis 21:12) Isaac had two sons also, Jacob and Esau. Jacob then had twelve sons, one of which was named Judah. Jacob, on his deathbed, prophecied over his sons and uttered even yet another prophecy. The Messiah would come through his son Judah!-Genesis 49:1, 10

In just one book of the Scriptures, we find that the Messiah is to come through Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and then Judah. In another book of the Tanakh, one obscure to many, we find a small geneaology. This geneaology starts with one of Judah's sons, Perez, and goes all the way to the second King of the united kingdom of Judah and Israel. The list ends with King David."Now these are the generations of Perez: Perez fathered Hezron, Hezron fathered Ram, Ram fathered Amminadab, Amminadab fathered Nahshon, Nahshon fathered Salmon, Salmon fathered Boaz, Boaz fathered Obed, Obed fathered Jesse, and Jesse fathered David." (Ruth 4:18-22, English Standard Version) Why would this be important?

Prophecy indicates that the Messiah would come through the line of Jesse and ultimately, King David. (Isaiah 11:1, 10; Psalm 132:11) The Messiah is to be of the royal family of the King of Israel! That is why it was spoken through the prophet Isaiah: "For a child is born to us, a son is given us; dominion will rest on his shoulders, and he will be given the name...Wonder of a Counselor, Mighty God, Father of Eternity, Prince of Peace in order to extend the dominion and perpetuate the peace of the throne and kingdom of David."-Isaiah 9:6-7, Complete Jewish Bible

Major Prophecies Concerning the Messiah's Birth

In the Twelve, particularly the prophet Micah, we are given more information concerning the coming Messiah. Micah tells us the city in which he is to be born. The city is called Bethlehem Ephrathah. (Micah 5:2) The fact that the city is given two names is interesting. Why? In Israel, there were two cities called Bethlehem. One of the Bethlehem's was in the territory of Judah while the other was in the territory of Zebulun, to the far north. How would we differentiate between the two? Micah did that far us!

By calling the city, not just Bethlehem, but saying "Bethlehem Ephrathah", Micah gives us the guiding clue to locating the city. The Bethlehem in southern Israel had originally been called Ephrathah before its name was changed. Even more startling, this city was the very city that King David was born in! (1 Samuel 16:1; 17:12) The Messiah was to be born in the very city of his father.

Three more prophecies concerning the birth of the Messiah are also mentioned. One of them tells us that there is to be national disaster for Israel, using the heartbreaking words, "A voice is heard in Ramah, lamenting and bitter weeping. It is Rachel weeping for her children, refusing to be comforted for her children, because they are no longer alive." (Jeremiah 31:15, Complete Jewish Bible) Another prophecy states that the Messiah would be called out of Egypt. (Hosea 11:1) How could the Messiah be called out of Egypt if he was born in Bethlehem?

Yet another prophecy indicates something far-fetched. The prophet Isaiah tells us: "Therefore Adonai himself will give you people a sign: the young woman will become pregnant, bear a son and name him 'Immanu El [God is with us]." (Isaiah 7:14, CJB) What is remarkable about a "young woman" becoming pregnant or even distinguishable from all the other women who ever lived in Israel?

The Hebrew word used in Isaiah 7:14 for "young woman" is "'almah", which literally means "maiden". However, in the context of the Tanakh, this literally means "a young woman of unsullied reputation". The Greek Septuagint (or, LXX) version of the Tanakh uses the Greek word "parthenos" because of the this. (The LXX was the version of choice for many years in the synagouges) The Hebrew word meaning "virgin" (which many Bibles use for "'almah" in modern Bible translations) is actually the Hebrew word "bethulah'". While the word for virgin is not used, the idea of a young woman with virginity intact is the idea being presented by Isaiah.

The details of the Messiah's birth are few in the Tanakh. These are the few things that the Scriptures do mention. From this we find that the Messiah will be a descendant of King David, therefore, of royal blood. He will be born in Bethlehem, the very city that David was born in, and his mother will be a virgin. Those are interesting requirements for someone only proving that the Messiah will be a truly unique person.

(In the next part of this series, we will look at the prophecies that speak specifically of the life of the Messiah.)

Memorial Reading for Thursday, April 9, 2009

2009-04-09T13:19:00.002-05:00

Luke 22:7-65; Mark 12:12-16

Nisan 14, 33 C.E.
The day of the unfermented cakes now arrived, on which the passover victim must be sacrificed; and he dispatched Peter and John, saying: "Go and get the passover ready for us to eat." They said to him: "Where do you want us to get it ready?" He said to them: "Look! When you enter into the city a man carrying an earthenware vessel of water will meet you. Follow him into the house into which he enters. And you must say to the landlord of the house, 'The Teacher says to you: "Where is the guest room in which I may eat the passover with my disciples?"' And that man will show you a large upper room furnished. Get it ready there." So they departed and found it just as he had said to them, and they got the passover ready.

At length when the hour came, he reclined at the table, and the apostles with him. And he said to them: "I have greatly desired to eat this passover with you before I suffer; for I tell you, I will not eat it again until it becomes fulfilled in the kingdom of God." And, accepting a cup, he gave thanks and said: "Take this and pass it from one to the other among yourselves; for I tell you, From now on I will not drink again from the product of the vine until the kingdom of God arrives."

Also, he took a loaf, gave thanks, broke it, and gave it to them, saying: "This means my body which is to be given in your behalf. Keep doing this in remembrance of me." Also, the cup in the same way after they had the evening meal, he saying: "This cup means the new covenant by virtue of my blood, which is to be poured out in your behalf.

"But, look! the hand of my betrayer is with me at the table. Because the Son of man is going his way according to what is marked out; all the same, woe to that man through whom he is betrayed!" So they started to discuss among themselves the question of which of them would really be the one that was about to do this.

However, there also arose a heated dispute among them over which one of them seemed to be greatest. But he said to them: "The kings of the nations lord it over them, and those having authority over them are called Benefactors. you, though, are not to be that way. But let him that is the greatest among you become as the youngest, and the one acting as chief as the one ministering. For which one is greater, the one reclining at the table or the one ministering? Is it not the one reclining at the table? But I am in your midst as the one ministering.

"However, you are the ones that have stuck with me in my trials; and I make a covenant with you, just as my Father has made a covenant with me, for a kingdom, that you may eat and drink at my table in my kingdom, and sit on thrones to judge the twelve tribes of Israel.

"Simon, Simon, look! Satan has demanded to have you men to sift you as wheat. But I have made supplication for you that your faith may not give out; and you, when once you have returned, strengthen your brothers." Then he said to him: "Lord, I am ready to go with you both into prison and into death. But he said: "I tell you, Peter, A cock will not crow today until you have three times denied knowing me."

He also said to them: "When I sent you forth without purse and food pouch and sandals, you did not want for anything, did you?" They said: "No!" Then he said to them: "But now let the one that has a purse take it up, likewise also a food pouch; and let the one having no sword sell his outer garment and buy one. For I tell you that this which is written must be accomplished in me, namely, 'And he was reckoned with lawless ones.' For that which concerns me is having an accomplishment." Then they said: "Lord, look! here are two swords." He said to them: "It is enough."

On going out he went as customarily to the Mount of Olives; and the disciples also followed him. Having come to the place he said to them: "Carry on prayer, that you do not enter into temptation." And he himself drew away from them about a stone’s throw, and bent his knees and began to pray, saying: "Father, if you wish, remove this cup from me. Nevertheless, let, not my will, but yours take place." Then an angel from heaven appeared to him and strengthened him. But getting into an agony he continued praying more earnestly; and his sweat became as drops of blood falling to the ground. And he rose from prayer, went to the disciples and found them slumbering from grief; and he said to them: "Why are you sleeping? Rise and carry on prayer, that you do not enter into temptation."

While he was yet speaking, look! a crowd, and the man called Judas, one of the twelve, was going before them; and he approached Jesus to kiss him. But Jesus said to him: "Judas, do you betray the Son of man with a kiss?" When those about him saw what was going to happen, they said: "Lord, shall we strike with the sword?" A certain one of them even did strike the slave of the high priest and took off his right ear. But in reply Jesus said: "Let it go as far as this." And he touched the ear and healed him. Jesus then said to the chief priests and captains of the temple and older men that had come there for him: "Did you come out with swords and clubs as against a robber? While I was with you in the temple day after day you did not stretch out your hands against me. But this is your hour and the authority of darkness."

Then they arrested him and led him off and brought him into the house of the high priest; but Peter was following at a distance. When they lit a fire in the midst of the courtyard and sat down together, Peter was sitting in among them. But a certain servant girl saw him sitting by the bright fire and looked him over and said: "This man also was with him." But he denied it, saying: "I do not know him, woman." And after a short time another person seeing him said: "You also are one of them." But Peter said: "Man, I am not." And after about an hour intervened a certain other man began insisting strongly: "For a certainty this man also was with him; for, in fact, he is a Galilean!" But Peter said: "Man, I do not know what you are saying." And instantly, while he was yet speaking, a cock crowed. And the Lord turned and looked upon Peter, and Peter recalled the utterance of the Lord when he said to him: "Before a cock crows today you will disown me three times." And he went outside and wept bitterly.

Now the men that had him in custody began to make fun of him, hitting him; and after covering him over they would ask and say: "Prophesy. Who is it that struck you?" And they went on saying many other things in blasphemy against him.

Now on the first day of unfermented cakes, when they customarily sacrificed the passover victim, his disciples said to him: "Where do you want us to go and prepare for you to eat the passover?" With that he sent forth two of his disciples and said to them: "Go into the city, and a man carrying an earthenware vessel of water will encounter you. Follow him, and wherever he goes inside say to the householder, 'The Teacher says: "Where is the guest room for me where I may eat the passover with my disciples?"' And he will show you a large upper room, furnished in preparation; and there prepare for us." So the disciples went out, and they entered the city and found it just as he said to them; and they prepared for the passover.

Keep Doing This in Rememberance of Me

2009-04-08T23:47:00.001-05:00

On the night before he died, Jesus Christ instituted the Lord's Evening Meal, using only leftover unleavened bread and burgundy wine. Many people celebrate this weekly, monthly, or annually. Jehovah's Witnesses celebrate it once a year on the exact day in which Christ instituted it, Nisan 14, which falls on April 9th this year. You are invited to attend.

The Memorial of Christ's Death
After Jesus and his disciples ate the passover meal, the following scene happened. "He took a loaf, gave thanks, broke it, and gave it to them, saying: 'This means my body which is to be given in your behalf. Keep doing this in remembrance of me.' Also, the cup in the same way after they had the evening meal, he saying: 'This cup means the new covenant by virtue of my blood, which is to be poured out in your behalf.'"-Luke 22:19-20

Many people throughout the world are familiar with this. You may have done this many times, using various substitutes for the bread and the wine. Have you ever thought about what this really means why it is so important to use true unleavened bread and burgundy wine? Let us see.

Unleavened Bread--The Body of Christ
In the Scriptures, leaven, a substance added to bread dough or alcoholic beverages to aid in fermentation, is often used in the Bible to picture sin or corruption. Jesus said, "Watch out for the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy." (Matthew 16:11) Jesus was employing symbolism on his part to make a point: The Pharisees actions were not always in line with they're teachings, and sometimes they even taught falsehoods. These were as leaven fermenting the pure teachings handed down by Moses.

On another occasion, Jesus said, "Keep your eyes open, look out for the leaven...of Herod." (Mark 8:15) Here, Jesus was exposing the hypocrisy and political treachery of the party followers of Herod.-Mark 3:6

The Apostle Paul, in his first letter to the congregation in Corinth had this fine council. "Do you not know that a little leaven ferments the whole lump? Clear away the old leaven, that you may be a new lump, according as you are free from ferment. For, indeed, Christ our passover has been sacrificed. Consequently let us keep the festival, not with old leaven, neither with leaven of badness and wickedness, but with unfermented cakes of sincerity and truth."-1 Corinthians 5:6-8

All of this occurs in certain context. Paul is here speaking of corrupting influences in the congregation and removing them. (1 Corinthians 5:1-2, 11-13) His above statements are his way of saying that if a wicked person is not removed from the congregation, it could have a corrupting effect on the rest of the congregation. There should be no leaven (sin) so that the entire congregation will not be corrupted.

So, it is obvious that, when different churches use things like crackers or pieces of bread bought at the store, they are not truly appreciating the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, who had no leaven, or sin, in his body. Only unleavened bread should be used to picture our sinless Lord and Savior. Anything else is degrading to his sacrifice.

Red Wine--The Blood of Christ
During the Lord's Evening Meal, Jesus Christ used red wine as a fitting symbol of his perfect blood. Many on this occasion believe that using grape juice is sufficient, but this is not the case. Only true wine is a fitting symbol of the blood of our savior. Jesus called it the "product of the vine." (Matthew 26:29) This was seven months after the grape harvest and so it is not in doubt that this was fermented juice of the vine, not mere grape juice.

Concerning the blood of our savior, the Apostle Peter wrote, "But it was with precious blood, like that of an unblemished and spotless lamb, even Christ’s." (1 Peter 1:19) The wine used was a pure burgundy wine. While many wines have some type of imperfections in them, burgundy wine has very little--a fitting picture of the "precious blood" of our savior.

The Lord's Evening Meal--Who Partakes?
In the world of Christendom today, everyone present at the communion celebration partakes of the bread and the wine. Would it be surprising that only a small number of people are supposed to have this privilege? Yes, it goes hand-in-hand with what Christ Jesus said as he presented the emblems.

As Christ was presenting the wine, he said these words, "This cup means the new covenant by virtue of my blood, which is to be poured out in your behalf." (Luke 22:20) Those who partake of the wine are part of the new covenant. What is the new covenant? Jesus Christ said, "I make a covenant with you, just as my Father has made a covenant with me, for a kingdom, that you may eat and drink at my table in my kingdom, and sit on thrones to judge the twelve tribes of Israel." (Luke 22:29-30) Yes, those who partake of those emblems are saying that Christ has made a covenant with them "for a kingdom".

A little earlier in his ministry Jesus told only a few people these words, "Have no fear, little flock, because your Father has approved of giving you the kingdom." (Luke 12:32) With these words Jesus Christ revealed that the number of people inheriting that kingdom would be "little". It was revealed to the Apostle John how many people it would be.

"And I saw, and, look! the Lamb standing upon the Mount Zion, and with him a hundred and forty-four thousand having his name and the name of his Father written on their foreheads...And they are singing as if a new song before the throne and before the four living creatures and the elders; and no one was able to master that song but the hundred and forty-four thousand, who have been bought from the earth." (Revelation 14:1, 3) Yes, only 144,000 people are bought from the earth. What is their job?

Speaking to Jesus the four living creatures and the 24 elders sing, "You were slaughtered and with your blood you bought persons for God out of every tribe and tongue and people and nation, 1and you made them to be a kingdom and priests to our God, and they are to rule as kings over the earth." (Revelation 5:9-10) These 144,000 were bought from the earth and are to "rule as kings forever and ever."-Revelation 22:5

If these are to rule as kings in heaven, will they have subjects? Yes, for after John spoke of the 144,000 in Revelation 7:1-8, he then spoke of a "a great crowd, which no man was able to number, out of all nations and tribes and peoples and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb...These are the ones that come out of the great tribulation, and they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb." (Revelation 7:9, 14) The Bible says that they are to live on the earth forever.-Psalm 37:11, 29; Matthew 5:5

Is this a "bad" fate for the great crowd? Not at all! I am of the great crowd and I couldn't be more excited. I cannot wait until Jesus Christ and the 144,000 begin their rule over the earth after the "god of this world" is done away with along with all of the wicked people. (2 Corinthians 4:4, New American Standard bible; Revelation 20:10; Psalm 37:10; Proverbs 2:22) The world is going to be a peaceful paradise!

Remembering the Death of Christ
The death of Jesus Christ is the most important event in human history. Ultimately, that is what we come to remember. However, we also have to remember the One who sent him and the love He showed. Why? "For God loved the world so much that he gave his only-begotten Son, in order that everyone exercising faith in him might not be destroyed but have everlasting life."-John 3:16

In the Garden of Eden, Jehovah told Adam and Eve that if they ate from the "Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Bad" that they would die. Satan contradicted this saying it was not true. (Genesis 2:16-17; 3:1-5) Believing this lie, Eve, and then Adam, partook of the fruit. This caused all of us to be sinners with death in view. We were separated and lost.-Genesis 3:6; Romans 5:12

The death of Jesus changed all that. "He was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed...for he bore the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors." (Isaiah 53:5, 12, New International Version) Jesus died so that we might have everlasting life. This is why remembering his death is of the utmost importance. We show that we appreciate his sacrifice when we come together at the Lord's Evening Meal.

Another thing that the death of Jesus did was answer an accusation that Satan raised. In the book of Job we find out that Satan said that man only serves Jehovah when it is convenient for him to do so or when it only benefits him in some way. While originally applying this only to Job, he took it farther and included all humans in the challenge. (Job 1:9-11; 2:4) That is why Jehovah pleads with us: "Be wise, my son, and make my heart rejoice, that I may make a reply to him that is taunting me."-Proverbs 27:11

At the beginning, Adam and Eve were perfect humans who ended up not remaining faithful. Since then, no human ever remained perfectly faithful to God. So Satan insisted that no man--perfect or imperfect--could be faithful. Jesus answered that challenge perfectly. He never sinned, even tempted to the extreme. (Matthew 4:1-11; Hebrews 4:15, New International Version) He proved that a perfect man could keep integrity towards God. Yes, he proved the one taunting Jehovah wrong and made His Father's heart rejoice.

All of this is kept in mind by Jehovah's Witnesses when we gather to meet for the annual Lord's Evening Meal. You are warmly invited to come gather with them in your area so that you too can remember what Jesus Christ did for us and all that entailed.-Matthew 20:28

Memorial Reading for Wednesday, April 8, 2009

2009-04-08T16:37:00.002-05:00

Luke 22:1-6; Mark 14:1-2, 10-11

Nisan 12, 33 C.E.
Now the festival of the unfermented cakes, the so-called Passover, was getting near. Also, the chief priests and the scribes were seeking the effective way for them to get rid of him, for they were in fear of the people.-Luke 22:1-2

Now the passover and the festival of unfermented cakes was two days later. And the chief priests and the scribes were seeking how to seize him by crafty device and kill him; for they repeatedly said: "Not at the festival; perhaps there might be an uproar of the people."-Mark 14:1-2

Nisan 13, 33 C.E.
But Satan entered into Judas, the one called Iscariot, who was numbered among the twelve; and he went off and talked with the chief priests and temple captains about the effective way to betray him to them. Well, they rejoiced and agreed to give him silver money. So he consented, and he began to seek a good opportunity to betray him to them without a crowd around.-Luke 22:3-6

And Judas Iscariot, one of the twelve, went off to the chief priests in order to betray him to them. When they heard it, they rejoiced and promised to give him silver money. So he began seeking how to betray him conveniently.-Mark 14:10-11

Memorial Reading for Tuesday, April 7, 2009

2009-04-07T11:52:00.002-05:00

Luke 20:1-47

Nisan 11, 33 C.E.
On one of the days while he was teaching the people in the temple and declaring the good news, the chief priests and the scribes with the older men came near, and they spoke up, saying to him: "Tell us by what authority you do these things, or who it is that gave you this authority." In reply he said to them: "I will also ask you a question, and you tell me: Was the baptism of John from heaven or from men?" Then among themselves they drew conclusions, saying: "If we say, 'From heaven,' he will say, 'Why is it you did not believe him?' But if we say, 'From men,' the people one and all will stone us, for they are persuaded that John was a prophet." So they replied that they did not know its source. And Jesus said to them: "Neither am I telling you by what authority I do these things."

Then he started to tell the people this illustration: "A man planted a vineyard and let it out to cultivators, and he traveled abroad for considerable time. But in due season he sent out a slave to the cultivators, that they might give him some of the fruit of the vineyard. The cultivators, however, sent him away empty, after beating him up. But he repeated and sent them a different slave. That one also they beat up and dishonored and sent away empty. Yet again he sent a third; this one also they wounded and threw out. At this the owner of the vineyard said, "What shall I do? I will send my son the beloved. Likely they will respect this one."When the cultivators caught sight of him they went reasoning with one another, saying, "This is the heir; let us kill him, that the inheritance may become ours." With that they threw him outside the vineyard and killed him. What, therefore, will the owner of the vineyard do to them? He will come and destroy these cultivators and will give the vineyard to others."

On hearing this they said: "Never may that happen!" But he looked upon them and said: "What, then, does this that is written mean, 'The stone which the builders rejected, this has become the chief cornerstone'? Everyone falling upon that stone will be shattered. As for anyone upon whom it falls, it will pulverize him."

The scribes and the chief priests now sought to get their hands on him in that very hour, but they feared the people; for they perceived that he spoke this illustration with them in mind. And, after observing him closely, they sent out men secretly hired to pretend that they were righteous, in order that they might catch him in speech, so as to turn him over to the government and to the authority of the governor. And they questioned him, saying: "Teacher, we know you speak and teach correctly and show no partiality, but you teach the way of God in line with truth: Is it lawful for us to pay tax to Caesar or not?" But he detected their cunning and said to them: "Show me a denarius. Whose image and inscription does it have?" They said: "Caesar’s." He said to them: "By all means, then, pay back Caesar’s things to Caesar, but God’s things to God." Well, they were not able to catch him in this saying before the people, but, in amazement at his answer, they said nothing.

However, some of the Sadducees, those who say there is no resurrection, came up and questioned him, saying: "Teacher, Moses wrote us, 'If a man’s brother dies having a wife, but this one remained childless, his brother should take the wife and raise up offspring from her for his brother.' Accordingly there were seven brothers; and the first took a wife and died childless. So the second, and the third took her. Likewise even the seven: they did not leave children behind, but died off. Lastly, the woman also died. Consequently, in the resurrection, of which one of them does she become the wife? For the seven got her as wife."

Jesus said to them: "The children of this system of things marry and are given in marriage, but those who have been counted worthy of gaining that system of things and the resurrection from the dead neither marry nor are given in marriage. In fact, neither can they die anymore, for they are like the angels, and they are God’s children by being children of the resurrection. But that the dead are raised up even Moses disclosed, in the account about the thornbush, when he calls Jehovah 'the God of Abraham and God of Isaac and God of Jacob.' He is a God, not of the dead, but of the living, for they are all living to him. In response some of the scribes said: "Teacher, you spoke well." For no longer did they have the courage to ask him a single question.

In turn he said to them: "How is it they say that the Christ is David’s son? For David himself says in the book of Psalms, 'Jehovah said to my Lord, Sit at my right hand until I place your enemies as a stool for your feet.' David, therefore, calls him 'Lord'; so how is he his son?"

Then, while all the people were listening he said to the disciples: "Look out for the scribes who desire to walk around in robes and like greetings in the marketplaces and front seats in the synagogues and most prominent places at evening meals, and who devour the houses of the widows and for a pretext make long prayers. These will receive a heavier judgment."

Objects of Hatred

2009-04-06T13:06:00.003-05:00

In the last few days of his ministry, Jesus made a statement that provides convincing evidence that Jehovah's Witnesses are God's people that are led by His holy spirit. What was this? Where in the Bible is it located?

The statement that Jesus made is contained in Matthew 24, in his explanation about the end of the system of things. After speaking about earthquakes and wars and famines, he said, "Then people will deliver you up to tribulation and will kill you, and you will be objects of hatred by all the nations on account of my name." (Matthew 24:9) Who else can this Scripture apply to? Let us reason.

After speaking to trinitarian Christians, I walked away astounded at how they take that Scripture and claim it applies to them! How so? One "Christian" said, "In China, 'Christians' are either deported and killed. In Muslim nations, they can be killed our basic rights taken away. In African nations, there can be much hostility towards people who deviate from the faith they were raised in and convert to Christianity. We as 'Christians' are hated in many places."

On the surface, that can sound convincing. However, it is not enough. Look at Christ's statement again. He said that true Christians would be "objects of hatred by all the nations" on account of his name. It is not true that those "Christians" are hated by all the nations on account of the name of Christ.

Jehovah's Witnesses are.

No matter which country Jehovah's Witnesses go to, they are hated. In countries like China, we are killed or deported. In Muslim countries, we are killed, deported, or basic rights are taken away. In African countries, we face hostility upon conversion. And, unlike other "Christians", the list does not stop there. In Russia, they are trying to ban Jehovah's Witnesses. In many countries where "Christianity" flourishes, like Guam, France, and Mexico, Jehovah's Witnesses are hated and mistreated.

Other religions can not say this. Catholics hate Jehovah's Witnesses. Protestants hate Jehovah's Witnesses. Everyone hates Jehovah's Witnesses. Many otherwise tolerant countries hate Jehovah's Witnesses for our stance on war and politics. No other peoples are hated as Jehovah's Witnesses are hated. In fact, in one nationwide poll in the United States of America, Jehovah's Witnesses were voted as the least favorite religious group.

Ask yourself: Why are Jehovah's Witnesses so hated? It is all on the basis of Jesus' name! How? In Jewish countries we are hated because we believe in Jesus. In Muslim countries we are hated because we proclaim Jesus and no one else. In "Christian" countries, we are hated because we do not hold up the false doctrine of the Trinity. Yes, we teach the truth about Jesus, he is not Almighty God and so we are hated. If we taught the Trinity, we would be accepted.

In so-called tolerant countries, we are hated for our stance on militaristic and political affairs--all due to what Jesus said to true Christians. "Return your sword to its place, for all those who take the sword will perish by the sword." (Matthew 26:52) And in another place he says, "My kingdom is no part of this world. If my kingdom were part of this world, my attendants would have fought that I should not be delivered up to the Jews. But, as it is, my kingdom is not from this source."-John 18:36

As Jehovah's Witnesses, we know that if Jesus was a king in this earthly system of things, we would be subjects of that kingdom. Even if Jesus died and descendent's replaced him, it would still be a kingdom truly in Jesus' name and we would fight. However, Christ kingdom is not part of this world. There is no kingdom or government on earth that is an expression of that Kingdom. If we chose to fight for our respective countries, we would no longer be subjects of the Kingdom of God. For this reason, we are hated by so-called tolerant countries, even if they are "Christian".

No matter where you go, we are hated only because of our views of Jesus and his teachings. No other groups can say that. Mormons are hated for more then just their views on Jesus. Sacred Name groups and KJV-Only groups are, too. Any other religion that I can think of that is hated is not hated only for their views on Jesus Christ. We are the only group that fits that description at Matthew 24:9. For that we are glad! Why?

"Happy are you when people reproach you and persecute you and lyingly say every sort of wicked thing against you for my sake. Rejoice and leap for joy, since your reward is great in the heavens; for in that way they persecuted the prophets prior to you."-Matthew 5:11-12

If you would like to learn more about Jehovah's Witnesses, we will be happy to help you! Yes, the above does not sound appealing but without persecution and hatred, you can not be sure your religion is the true one. Also, Paul's words to Timothy are important to factor in. "All those desiring to live with godly devotion in association with Christ Jesus will also be persecuted."-2 Timothy 3:12; Acts 14:22

Memorial Reading for Monday, April 6, 2009

2009-04-06T07:06:00.002-05:00

Luke 19:45-48; Matthew 21:18-19; 21:12-13

Nisan 10, 33 C.E.
And he entered into the temple and started to throw out those who were selling, saying to them: "It is written, 'And my house will be a house of prayer,' but you made it a cave of robbers."

Furthermore, he went teaching daily in the temple. But the chief priests and the scribes and the principal ones of the people were seeking to destroy him; and yet they did not find the effective thing for them to do, for the people one and all kept hanging onto him to hear him.

While returning to the city early in the morning, he got hungry. And he caught sight of a fig tree by the road and went to it, but he found nothing on it except leaves only, and he said to it: "Let no fruit come from you anymore forever." And the fig tree withered instantly.

And Jesus entered into the temple and threw out all those selling and buying in the temple, and overturned the tables of the money changers and the benches of those selling doves. And he said to them: "It is written, 'My house will be called a house of prayer,’ but you are making it a cave of robbers."

Memorial Reading for Sunday, April 5, 2009

2009-04-05T21:50:00.003-05:00

Luke 22:29-44

Nisan 9, 33 C.E.
And when he got near to Bethphage and Bethany at the mountain called Mount of Olives, he sent forth two of the disciples, saying: "Go into the village that is within sight of you, and in it after you pass in you will find a colt tied, on which none of mankind ever sat. Loose it and bring it. But if anyone asks you, 'Why is it you are loosing it?' You must speak in this way, 'The Lord needs it.'" So those who were sent forth departed and found it just as he said to them. But as they were loosing the colt the owners of it said to them: "Why are you loosing the colt?" They said: "The Lord needs it." And they led it to Jesus, and they threw their outer garments upon the colt and set Jesus upon it.

As he moved along they kept spreading their outer garments on the road. As soon as he got near the road down the Mount of Olives all the multitude of the disciples started to rejoice and praise God with a loud voice concerning all the powerful works they had seen, saying: "Blessed is the One coming as the King in Jehovah’s name! Peace in heaven, and glory in the highest places!" However, some of the Pharisees from the crowd said to him: "Teacher, rebuke your disciples." But in reply he said: "I tell you, If these remained silent, the stones would cry out."

And when he got nearby, he viewed the city and wept over it, saying: "If you, even you, had discerned in this day the things having to do with peace—but now they have been hid from your eyes. Because the days will come upon you when your enemies will build around you a fortification with pointed stakes and will encircle you and distress you from every side, and they will dash you and your children within you to the ground, and they will not leave a stone upon a stone in you, because you did not discern the time of your being inspected."

The Great Tribulation, Pt. 2

2009-04-05T12:30:00.006-05:00

In the second part of my dream, things were a little jumpy, not staying in one situation nor having a logical bridge to the next situation. I want to believe that they are two parts of the same dream but could be two different dreams entirely with the same premise. In this one, we are again in about the second day of the Great Tribulation...

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In the dream, I walked into a local Christian bookstore, wanting to see how they were reacting. Interestingly, it seemed to be more of a Christian flea market, where people from different "Christian" denominations and "Christian"-based religions can come together to sell their favorite Bible translations and church publications.

After walking in, I saw all the people throwing their Bible's into trashcans, where fires were lit. One group was destroying NLT's, another NIV's, and even another KJV's. One other group, a Sacred Name group, was not burning their Bible's, which were the Zikarown Say'fer Bible. They were trying to give theirs to other people. I took on of the pocket size Bible's (roughly the size of our NWT's) and slipped it into my pocket. I remember being happy that I had a Bible, since all of the New World Translations were either stashed away or confiscated.

There were four more Zikarown Say'fer Bible's in the bin when the group burning the NLT's grabbed them and threw them into the fire...

After this the scene changed, getting even weirder.

...Evidently, some kind of curfew had been enforced and I was not allowed to leave the Christian flea market. The police officers provided blankets and pillows so that we could sleep on the ground. The police officers were posted in the outside entryway so that we could not leave.

One young man next to me, who was part of the Sacred Name group, sighed and pulled out his copy of the Bible and started reading it. Another man who had been burning the NLT took one look at him, got up, and informed the police officers at the door of what was going on. They came in and looked in the direction that the young man was pointing--and thought that he was pointing at me.

As the two police officers walked closer I leaned up, not knowing what to do because I didn't want to bring attention to the person next to me. I started to pull out my Bible to give to them but the young man who had originally pulled out the Bible jumped up and started to run. One of the police officers ran after him.

By this time, everyone in the room was standing up. The police officer grabbed me and started feeling my pocket's, finding the Bible. He smiled and hit me. I smiled back, grabbed the Bible and ran, jumping over blankets and pillows scattered on the floor. He wasn't so lucky, tripping over a tangle of blankets and giving me the opportunity to escape.

When I got outside I saw the original young man get into a car and I jumped in with him.

"It's better if we split up." He said, "Do you still have your Bible?"

I nodded and he said, "Get in another car."

I got out and slipped into Dodge Nitro. "I don't know how to start it. The keys aren't in here."

The young man got out of the car, came to mine, and started it for me. He went back into his car and started driving off. I followed him but the young man who told on us came flying into the parking lot. The one who helped me start my car hit him...

The scene changed at this part again.

...The young man and I were in an interrogation room, waiting for someone to come in. While we were waiting, we started to talk.

"What's your name?" He asked me.

"Shawn. And yours?"

"Brett."

"It's a shame that we ended up getting our Bible's taken." I said.

Before we could continue, the door opened and someone on crutches and covered in bandages came into the room. It was the young man who got hit by the car!

"So, Shawn and Brett. Thanks for what you did, by the way. I realized that religious people are nuts. I can't believe that I ever believed in the Bible!" He smiled.

"I know that you two are stubbornly holding onto your religious beliefs. What religions are you?"

"I'm part of the Assemblies of Yahweh, based off of Deuteronomy 23:8 where it says, 'The children of the third generation that are born unto them shall enter into the assembly of Yahweh. (Zikarown Say'fer Bible)"

He looked at me. "Which religion are you?"

"I'm one of Jehovah's Witnesses, based off of Isaiah 43:10 where it says, 'You are my witnesses,' is the utterance of Jehovah, 'even my servant whom I have chosen.'"

"It doesn't matter which religion either of you are from. We are all three of us going to die right now." He pulled out a device and continued, "This is a bomb. As soon as I release this lever, we're going to blow up. Even now, this building is being evacuated."

Brett jumped over the table and held the other guys arms together while I grabbed the device. He then grabbed one of the crutches and hit him over the back of the head. The guy was knocked unconscious. Brett grabbed the device from me and told me to run. I nodded and left the room. As I ran towards the exit, I saw the two Bible's on a desk. I grabbed both of them and kicked the doors open. I ran across a parking lot and through a field before ducking down.

The building blew up...

Another jump from scene to scene.

...

The next thing I know I am at home. We were watching the news on television, which was changing back and forth between riots due to the ban on religion, vandalism of places of worship, and a story about a very dangerous form of leprosy which struck out of nowhere and seeming at random. The worst thing about it was that the victim died within two minutes of the first signs.

Two of my family members came down with the leprosy...

And I woke up for good. That was a crazy dream. I wish it hadn't ended abruptly. Oh well.

The thing is, Jesus Christ warned us of a Great Tribulation that was coming, followed by his return were he would finally destroy the wicked. We should all be alert for that and watch the signs. Which signs? I will write about that later. In the meantime, you can read about this Great Tribulation from the Organization that is being used by Jehovah through His holy spirit. You can read about it here. It is the prayer of all Jehovah's Witnesses that when that time comes, you will have the knowledge that you can survive it.

The Great Tribulation, Pt. 1

2009-04-05T09:11:00.005-05:00

I had a very interesting dream last night about the Great Tribulation. Yes, yes, I know that I said I was going to focus on Jesus over the next few days and/or weeks, but this was just too, what, eerie? not to share. I warn you, though, I have very, very vivid and detailed dreams. This is no exception. In fact, as an author, I find much of my inspiration from my detailed dreams.

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It started out with my wife yelling at me to come up front. I ran to see what she wanted but all she could do was look at the television. This irritated me a little in the dream but I finally hear the ominous words that had made her scream--the United Nations, backed by the United States, United Kingdom, France, China, and Russia, had unanimously passed a bill banning all forms of religion!

Within minutes of this startling turn of events, my phone rang. It was the Coordinator of the Body of Elders, asking for all the Elders and Ministerial Servants to meet at his house, seeing as the Kingdom Hall had been cordoned off.

After arriving at his house, (I rode with my grandfather who lives very close) we were each handed a video entitled, Then There Will Be Great Tribulation based off of Jesus' words at Matthew 24:21-22, and a book entitled, The War of the Great Day of God the Almighty based off of Revelation 16:14. We were given specific instructions not to open the book until we had watched the video after arriving home.

Well, this was interrupted by a knock at the door. When the Coordinator of the Body of Elders opened the door, three policemen came walking in. First they told him that some neighbors called the police because a Jehovah's Witness neighbor had about ten cars pull up within a ten minute period. Then they pushed the C.B.E. and handcuffed him, while the rest of us scattered, video and book in hand.

I, along with five other younger brothers, ran out the back to jump the fence. Brother Marcus, Brother Terry, Brother Matt, Brother Chris, and myself jumped the fence. Brother S.B. was about to get over the fence when a police officer dragged him back down. The rest of the older brothers, including my grandfather, didn't even have a chance and were carted off.

Brother Terry ran one direction towards his home, Brothers Marcus and Chris ran in the direction of their homes, and Brother Matt and myself ran in another direction. I don't know what happened to the others.

Upon arriving home, Brother Matt, my wife, and I grabbed my Bible's (all thirty-two translations!)and Society publications and threw them in the back of my car. I had Brother Matt get my grandmother while my wife and I loaded up other essentials.

After my grandmother got a few things, we drove in the direction of Brother Matt's house (which I've never seen), a few miles away.

Upon arriving at his house (it was his house in the dream but in real life is the house of his in-laws), we sealed up my Bible's and publications and buried them in the back in the woods. After that, we decided to split up.

Brother Matt, his wife, his sister-in-law, mother-in-law, father-in-law, mother and father, were going to be in one group, while my wife and grandmother drove about a mile to the house of some other sisters.

After hugs and goodbyes, we drove to the house of Brother and Sister Mike and Brenda. Sister Brenda was the only one there, Brother Mike hadn't made it home from work yet. We got her and drove to the house of Sister Lorraine, Sister Christina, and Sister Maribel. We watched the short video which started out with the words, "This video was specially prepared to aid mature brothers and sisters through the coming weeks, months, or years of the Great Tribulation. Unfortunately, the Bible is quiet on this subject and so this video cannot answer every situation that comes up. Please review it carefully and prayerfully."

After the video, we opened the book. Under the inside title cover it said, "We pray that you opened this book after viewing the included video. This was the first test of the Great Tribulation that would test loyalty to Jehovah." I cannot recall the contents of the video or book.

After immediately completely video, the doorbell rang. Sister Lorraine opened the door and a young police officer stepped in. The rest of us were out of his point-of-view.

"Hello," he said, "are you miss Lorraine ______?"

"Yes."

"We have on our records that you were affiliated with Jehovah's Witnesses."

"Correct."

"Earlier today, we broke up an illegal meeting of leaders in the local Jehovah's Witness congregation."

"What?! Was anyone hurt?"

"No. We apprehended seven older men as well as two younger men. We suspect that there were more then that but many got away."

"Well, good!"

"Have you spoken to any of them? Perhaps a Mr. Terry ______, Mr. Shawn ______, Mr. Matt ______,..." His voice trailed off in my dream.

"If I had, I wouldn't divulge that information."

"Miss ______, I am obligated to search your house, I ask politely but can detain you and search it."

Sister Lorraine sighed, defeated, and stepped out of the way. The young police officer walked in and saw all of us sitting in the living room. He then turned off his walkie-talkie and said, "My grandmother was one of Jehovah's Witnesses and always told me that religion would be banned, signaling the start of the Great Tribulation. I never believed her until now. What can I do?"

I cannot remember the ensuing conversation but we did rip out a couple of pages of the Psalms, Isaiah, and John for him and watched as he folded them and hid them in his shoe. He said that the house of Miss Lorraine ______ was clean and left.

After he closed the door, we heard a knock at the back. Sister Maribel looked out and then opened it. Brother Mike stepped in. He told us that he drove by his own house and saw police officers at the door and decided to come here. We let him watch the video and read the booklet...

-------------------------

At this point, my dog woke me up sneezing. After falling back to sleep, the dream continued, the events taking place later in the day. I will continue it later.

Concerning the Messiah

2009-04-04T10:21:00.007-05:00

Below are select Scriptures that describe Jesus Christ, who he was, what he did, and the awesome authority given him by God. The Apostles quoted different Scriptures to prove who the Messiah was so I have included the Scriptures that they quoted so you can get a better idea of what they had in mind as they wrote these letters.

John 1
In the beginning the Word was, and the Word was with God, and the Word was a god. This one was in the beginning with God. All things came into existence through him, and apart from him not even one thing came into existence.

What has come into existence by means of him was life, and the life was the light of men. And the light is shining in the darkness, but the darkness has not overpowered it.

There arose a man that was sent forth as a representative of God: his name was John. This man came for a witness, in order to bear witness about the light, that people of all sorts might believe through him. He was not that light, but he was meant to bear witness about that light.

The true light that gives light to every sort of man was about to come into the world. He was in the world, and the world came into existence through him, but the world did not know him. He came to his own home, but his own people did not take him in. However, as many as did receive him, to them he gave authority to become God’s children, because they were exercising faith in his name; and they were born, not from blood or from a fleshly will or from man’s will, but from God.

So the Word became flesh and resided among us, and we had a view of his glory, a glory such as belongs to an only-begotten son from a father; and he was full of undeserved kindness and truth. (John bore witness about him, yes, he actually cried out—this was the one who said it—saying: "The one coming behind me has advanced in front of me, because he existed before me.") For we all received from out of his fullness, even undeserved kindness upon undeserved kindness. Because the Law was given through Moses, the undeserved kindness and the truth came to be through Jesus Christ. No man has seen God at any time; the only-begotten god who is in the bosom position with the Father is the one that has explained him.

Hebrews 1
God, who long ago spoke on many occasions and in many ways to our forefathers by means of the prophets, has at the end of these days spoken to us by means of a Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom he made the systems of things. He is the reflection of his glory and the exact representation of his very being, and he sustains all things by the word of his power; and after he had made a purification for our sins he sat down on the right hand of the Majesty in lofty places. So he has become better than the angels, to the extent that he has inherited a name more excellent than theirs.

For example, to which one of the angels did he ever say: "You are my son; I, today, I have become your father"? (Psalm 2:7) And again: "I myself shall become his father, and he himself will become my son"? (2 Samuel 7:14) But when he again brings his Firstborn into the inhabited earth, he says: "And let all God’s angels do obeisance to him."-Deuteronomy 32:43, Greek Septuagint

Also, with reference to the angels he says: "And he makes his angels spirits, and his public servants a flame of fire." (Psalm 104:4) But with reference to the Son: "God is your throne forever and ever, and the scepter of your kingdom is the scepter of uprightness. You loved righteousness, and you hated lawlessness. That is why God, your God, anointed you with the oil of exultation more than your partners." (Psalm 45:6-7) And: "You at the beginning, O Lord, laid the foundations of the earth itself, and the heavens are the works of your hands. They themselves will perish, but you yourself are to remain continually; and just like an outer garment they will all grow old, and you will wrap them up just as a cloak, as an outer garment; and they will be changed, but you are the same, and your years will never run out."-Psalm 102:25-27

But with reference to which one of the angels has he ever said: "Sit at my right hand, until I place your enemies as a stool for your feet"? (Psalm 110:1) Are they not all spirits for public service, sent forth to minister for those who are going to inherit salvation?

Hebrews 2
For it is not to angels that he has subjected the inhabited earth to come, about which we are speaking. But a certain witness has given proof somewhere, saying: "What is man that you keep him in mind, or the son of man that you take care of him? You made him a little lower than angels; with glory and honor you crowned him, and appointed him over the works of your hands. All things you subjected under his feet." (Psalm 8:4-6) For in that he subjected all things to him God left nothing that is not subject to him. Now, though, we do not yet see all things in subjection to him; but we behold Jesus, who has been made a little lower than angels, crowned with glory and honor for having suffered death, that he by God’s undeserved kindness might taste death for every man.

For it was fitting for the one for whose sake all things are and through whom all things are, in bringing many sons to glory, to make the Chief Agent of their salvation perfect through sufferings. For both he who is sanctifying and those who are being sanctified all stem from one, and for this cause he is not ashamed to call them brothers," as he says: "I will declare your name to my brothers; in the middle of the congregation I will praise you with song." (Psalm 22:22) And again: "I will have my trust in him." (Isaiah 8:17) And again: "Look! I and the young children, whom Jehovah gave me."-Isaiah 8:18

Therefore, since the "young children" are sharers of blood and flesh, he also similarly partook of the same things, that through his death he might bring to nothing the one having the means to cause death, that is, the Devil; and that he might emancipate all those who for fear of death were subject to slavery all through their lives. For he is really not assisting angels at all, but he is assisting Abraham’s seed. Consequently he was obliged to become like his "brothers" in all respects, that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, in order to offer propitiatory sacrifice for the sins of the people. For in that he himself has suffered when being put to the test, he is able to come to the aid of those who are being put to the test.

1 Peter 2
Coming to him as to a living stone, rejected, it is true, by men, but chosen, precious, with God, you yourselves also as living stones are being built up a spiritual house for the purpose of a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. For it is contained in Scripture: "Look! I am laying in Zion a stone, chosen, a foundation cornerstone, precious; and no one exercising faith in it will by any means come to disappointment."-Isaiah 28:16

It is to you, therefore, that he is precious, because you are believers; but to those not believing, "the identical stone that the builders rejected has become the head of the corner," (Psalm 118:22) and "a stone of stumbling and a rock-mass of offense." (Isaiah 8:14) These are stumbling because they are disobedient to the word. To this very end they were also appointed. But you are "a chosen race (Deuteronomy 7:6), a royal priesthood, a holy nation (Exodus 19:6), a people for special possession (Exodus 19:5; Deuteronomy 7:6), that you should declare abroad the excellencies (Isaiah 43:21)" of the one that called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. For you were once not a people, but are now God’s people; you were those who had not been shown mercy, but are now those who have been shown mercy.

In fact, to this course you were called, because even Christ suffered for you, leaving you a model for you to follow his steps closely. He committed no sin, nor was deception found in his mouth. When he was being reviled, he did not go reviling in return. When he was suffering, he did not go threatening, but kept on committing himself to the one who judges righteously. He himself bore our sins in his own body upon the stake, in order that we might be done with sins and live to righteousness. And "by his stripes you were healed." (Isaiah 53:5) For you were like sheep, going astray; but now you have returned to the shepherd and overseer of your souls.

The Messiah in the Psalms

2009-04-04T09:44:00.003-05:00

Long before Jesus Christ ever lived, before that name was ever uttered, his life course was laid out for all to see. Holy prophets, such as King David, were inspired to write some of the things that Jesus Christ would do and the things that would happen to him.

All throughout the Psalms, the experiences of the Messiah are clearly visible for all to see. The pain of his death, the shock of his betrayal--the joy of his resurrection and gaining of his Kingdom.

One thing that has to be remembered, is that many times the Psalms are written about humans and their experiences, but oftentimes, these foreshadow someone greater. Let us look at one example of this.

"You Will Not Allow Your Loyal One to See the Pit"
The superscription over Psalm 16 says that this was written by King David. He uses the first person (I, Me, My) throughout but these do not apply to him completely. One verse in particular says, "For you will not leave my soul in Sheol. You will not allow your loyal one to see the pit." (Psalm 16:10) About a Millennium later, the Apostle Peter, one of the Messiah's best friends quotes this Psalm, saying, "God resurrected him by loosing the pangs of death, because it was not possible for him to continue to be held fast by it. For David says respecting him...,'you will not leave my soul in Hades, neither will you allow your loyal one to see corruption'"

Peter admits that David was not speaking of himself, but of the coming Messiah. To drive the point home, he continues by saying, "It is allowable to speak with freeness of speech to you concerning the family head David, that he both deceased and was buried and his tomb is among us to this day. Therefore, because he was a prophet and knew that God had sworn to him with an oath that he would seat one from the fruitage of his loins upon his throne, he saw beforehand and spoke concerning the resurrection of the Christ, that neither was he forsaken in Hades nor did his flesh see corruption."-Acts 2:29-31

No one could deny that King David was dead and ample time had passed for his body to decay. And since David was a prophet, this could not be a false prophecy. How was it fulfilled? Peter said that it was explaining that the Messiah would be resurrected and not forsaken in Hades. Is this what happened?

"This Jesus God resurrected, of which fact we are all witnesses. Therefore because he was exalted to the right hand of God and received the promised holy spirit from the Father, he has poured out this which you see and hear. Actually David did not ascend to the heavens, but he himself says, ‘Jehovah said to my Lord: "Sit at my right hand, until I place your enemies as a stool for your feet."' Therefore let all the house of Israel know for a certainty that God made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you impaled." (Acts 2:32-36) Yes, Jehovah God resurrected Jesus the Nazarene, Jesus the Messiah--Jesus Christ! Yet, Peter alludes to another prophecy. Let us look at that.

"Sit At My Right Hand
"The utterance of Jehovah to my Lord is: 'Sit at my right hand until I place your enemies as a stool for your feet.'" (Psalm 110:1) This Scripture prophecy is quoted or alluded to more times then any other Scripture--between 20 and 25 times in total! What does this Scripture mean?

After Jesus died, he was resurrected three days later. Forty days after that, he went to heaven where first he presented his shed blood to Jehovah God and then he "sat down on the right of the Majesty in lofty places." (Hebrews 1:3) For nearly two thousand years, Jesus Christ was right there next to Jehovah God. One disciple, Stephen, even saw this in a vision. It went like this, "But [Stephen], being full of holy spirit, gazed into heaven and caught sight of God’s glory and of Jesus standing at God’s right hand, and he said: 'Look! I behold the heavens opened up and the Son of man standing at God’s right hand.'" (Acts 7:55-56) So, according to the Psalms, Jesus died, was resurrected, and sat down at the right hand of God.

"Go Subduing In the Midst of Your Enemies"
Amazingly, the prophecy at Psalm 110 was not finished. At Psalm 110:2 Jehovah continues, "The rod of your strength Jehovah will send out of Zion, saying: 'Go subduing in the midst of your enemies.'" (Psalm 110:2) After the alloted time, Jesus Christ was to leave his spot at Jehovah's right hand and "go subduing." This was further expounded upon at Revelation 12. We read, "A great sign was seen in heaven, a woman...cries out in her pains and in her agony to give birth...And she gave birth to a son, a male, who is to shepherd all the nations with an iron rod. And her child was caught away to God and to his throne."-Revelation 12:1-2, 5

What happened immediately after Jesus received his Kingdom? "War broke out in heaven: Michael* and his angels battled with the dragon, and the dragon and its angels battled but it did not prevail, neither was a place found for them any longer in heaven. So down the great dragon was hurled, the original serpent, the one called Devil and Satan, who is misleading the entire inhabited earth; he was hurled down to the earth, and his angels were hurled down with him." (Revelation 12:7-9) Immediately after Jesus received the kingdom, he went to war with Satan the Devil and threw him to earth from Heaven. Yes, he went subduing in the midst of his enemies! All of this was fulfilled in 1914.

When it comes to this subject, we can find out a lot more by reading Psalm 2. Part of this Psalm had a fulfillment at Jesus' death. Let us see what the Bible has to say about this.

"The Kings of the Earth Take Their Stand"
The writer of Psalm 2, King David, wrote this prophecy. It says, "Why have the nations been in tumult and the national groups themselves kept muttering an empty thing? The kings of earth take their stand and high officials themselves have massed together as one against Jehovah and against his anointed one, saying: 'Let us tear their bands apart and cast their cords away from us!' (Psalm 2:1-3) This had a fulfillment in the first-century at the death of Jesus Christ.

These Scriptures are explained to us in a prayer recorded in the book of Acts, "Sovereign Lord, you are the One who made the heaven and the earth and the sea and all the things in them, and who through holy spirit said by the mouth of our forefather David, your servant, 'Why did nations become tumultuous and peoples meditate upon empty things? The kings of the earth took their stand and the rulers massed together as one against Jehovah and against his anointed one.' Even so, both Herod and Pontius Pilate with men of nations and with peoples of Israel were in actuality gathered together in this city against your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed." (Acts 4:24-27) The prophecy at Psalm 2:1-3 was fulfilled at the death of the Messiah. The Jews screamed, "Impale! Impale him!", Pontius Pilate and King Herod both had a hand in putting him to death, Roman soldiers "spit into his face and hit him with their fists. Others slapped him in the face." Finally, even though they may not have had a hand in physically nailing him to the torture stake, they were all equally guilty.-Luke 23:11-12, 21; Matthew 26:67; 27:1, 26; Mark 15:25

None of these people, except perhaps Pontius Pilate, had any inkling that it wasn't just Jesus that they were fighting against, but his Father, Jehovah, too. It didn't matter. They were all guilty.

The second Psalm continues on. It says, (this is Jehovah speaking) "'I, even I, have installed my king upon Zion, my holy mountain.' Let me refer to the decree of Jehovah; He has said to me: 'You are my son; I, today, I have become your father.' Ask of me, that I may give nations as your inheritance and the ends of the earth as your own possession. You will break them with an iron scepter, as though a potter’s vessel you will dash them to pieces'...Kiss the son, that He may not become incensed and you may not perish from the way, for his anger flares up easily. Happy are all those taking refuge in him."-Psalm 2:6-9, 12

Remember, Jesus did not stay dead. After waiting at Jehovah's right hand, Jesus took Kingdom power. The nations will one day all belong to him. He will completely annihilate the kings from off the face of the earth. He "will break them...dash them to pieces". Only those who pay due honor to the Son will not have to face the wrath of Jehovah. The Second Psalm is very telling, although a little hard to understand.

The nations are one day going to try to fight against Jesus Christ at the Battle of Armageddon. (Revelation 16:14, 16; 19:11-14, 19-21) Jesus made it clear that they would not win. That will be the day when "the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that will never be brought to ruin...[This] kingdom itself will not be passed on to any other people. It will crush and put an end to all these kingdoms [all nations that take a stand against Jesus at Armageddon], and it itself will stand to times indefinite."-Daniel 2:44

There is one other prophecy regarding the Messiah in the Psalms that has not been entirely fulfilled yet and is of striking interest.

"He Will Have Subjects From Sea to Sea"
The prophet Isaiah spoke of a coming paradise earth where he said, "And there must go forth a twig out of the stump of Jesse; and out of his roots a sprout will be fruitful. And upon him the spirit of Jehovah must settle down, the spirit of wisdom and of understanding, the spirit of counsel and of mightiness, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of Jehovah." (Isaiah 11:1-2) The Father of the Messiah, Jehovah God, is going to be with His Son as he rules all of mankind. Jehovah's holy spirit will help him to be the best ruler that has ever or will ever live on earth.

Under his rule, all of man will live in peace with animals--and each other. (Isaiah 11:6-9) Why not read the rest of the description of Jesus Christ at Isaiah 11:3-5? What a wonderful leader we will have! And just think, all of this will happen on the earth, as spoken of in Isaiah 11:9. The earth will undergo wonderful changes that will mean peace, joy, happiness, and health for all living there!

The last Psalm that we will look at, Psalm 72, continues this thought. Regarding the Messiah we read, "He will have subjects from sea to sea and from the River to the ends of the earth. Before him the inhabitants of waterless regions will bow down, and his very enemies will lick the dust itself. The kings of Tarshish and of the islands--tribute they will pay. The kings of Sheba and of Seba--a gift they will present. And to him all the kings will prostrate themselves; all the nations, for their part, will serve him."-Psalm 72:8-11

First, Jesus Christ is going to bring all people into subjection to him at Armageddon when he finally returns. At that time, the changes to the earth will begin to take place. He will be a ruler that only has the best interest at heart for his subjects. We are told, "For he will deliver the poor one crying for help, also the afflicted one and whoever has no helper. He will feel sorry for the lowly one and the poor one, and the souls of the poor ones he will save. From oppression and from violence he will redeem their soul, and their blood will be precious in his eyes." (Psalm 72:12-14) The personal interest that Jesus Christ will take in each individual under his care will be most comforting for all of us.

Then the scene sort of shifts from what Christ is going to do for each one of personally to what is going to happen on a world-wide basis. We read, "There will come to be plenty of grain on the earth; on the top of the mountains there will be an overflow. His fruit will be as in Lebanon, and those who are from the city will blossom like the vegetation of the earth." (Psalm 72:16) The days of malnutrition and poverty will be no more. Another Prophecy, Psalm 46, is speaking of this same time period. It adds, "He [Jehovah through Jesus] is making wars to cease to the extremity of the earth. The bow he breaks apart and does cut the spear in pieces; the wagons he burns in the fire."-Psalm 46:9

Yes, days are coming when wars will cease and poverty will be no more. We will finally live to see the "new heavens and a new earth." (Isaiah 65:17; 2 Peter 3:13) In that day we will all cry out and say these words, "Look! This is our God. We have hoped in him, and he will save us. This is Jehovah. We have hoped in him. Let us be joyful and rejoice in the salvation by him."-Isaiah 25:9

We, as Jehovah's Christian Witnesses, cannot wait for that day to come. If you would like to have a firm hope for the future, namely, living in a day when Psalms 46 and 72 will become a reality as Psalms 2, 16, and 110 already have, then Jehovah's Witnesses will be happy to help you! Yes, join with us as we truly honor both the Father and the Son.-John 5:23

*Michael the Archangel is in fact Jesus Christ in his pre-human existence. For Biblical reasons for this, please see the book What Does the Bible Really Teach? pg. 218-19 and Reasoning from the Scriptures pg. 218, both published by Jehovah's Witnesses

Did Jesus Have a Pre-human Existence?

2009-04-02T11:47:00.003-05:00

That question may not make sense to many people. Of course Jesus had a pre-human existence! Doesn't the Bible clearly teach that? Evidently, it isn't as clear as was thought for there are many groups that teach that Jesus was not alive in heaven before coming to earth, among them Christadelphians, Restoration Fellowship, and others.

So, was Jesus alive in heaven before coming to earth?

John 1: The Word
"In the beginning the Word was, and the Word was with God, and the Word was a god. This one was in the beginning with God. All things came into existence through him, and apart from him not even one thing came into existence." (John 1:1-3) The words of the Apostle John leave this subject open to very little debate. There are no other words that John could have used that made the matter clearer.

John tells us what the Word did while in Heaven. He goes on, "He was in the world, and the world came into existence through him, but the world did not know him." (John 1:10) We owe our very existence to Jehovah God, for if not for Him, using the Word as His Master Worker, (Proverbs 8:30) we would not be on earth today. For anyone to deny that Jesus was alive before he came to earth is to deny our existence. We live because God made us through Jesus Christ! To get around this, some may argue that the Word is not the Lord Jesus Christ!

John would not agree. He continues: "So the Word became flesh and resided among us, and we had a view of his glory, a glory such as belongs to an only-begotten son from a father." (John 1:14) The Word came to earth in the form of the man Jesus Christ. The Bible teaches that someone came to earth from a pre-human existence. Who else would that be? The Scriptures do not say anyone else, besides the Word, came to earth. The Word had to have been Jesus. In fact, the book of Revelation reveals that he was.-Revelation 19:13

John 6:37-38: "I Have Come Down From Heaven"
More important then John's testimony, though, is the testimony of the Word, Jesus, himself. Jesus specifically said that he came down from heaven. "Everything the Father gives me will come to me, and the one that comes to me I will by no means drive away; because I have come down from heaven to do, not my will, but the will of him that sent me." (John 6:37-28) This Scripture is clear and concise, with no room for argument. For anyone to try to make the claim, "Jesus said nothing of a prehuman existence" is dishonest--or at least made by somebody who does not know the Bible.

Micah 5:2: A Ruler From Early Times
There are many texts throughout the Bible that are prophetic of Jesus as ruler, including Genesis 49:10, Psalm 2:6, and Isaiah 9:6. However, there is one that reveals also is very telling on this subject. A well-known prophecy by the prophet Micah. He says, "And you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah, the one too little to get to be among the thousands of Judah, from you there will come out to me the one who is to become ruler in Israel, whose origin is from early times, from the days of time indefinite."-Micah 5:2

This prophecy is normally used to show where the Messiah is going to be born. (Matthew 2:4-6; Luke 2:4; John 7:42) Interestingly, we can also tell from it that he is going to be a king and that he had a prehuman existence. This idea was not foreign to any of the Bible writers. One last title of Jesus* will show that it was a commonly held belief that Jesus was a spirit in heaven before his life on earth.

Colossians 1:15: Firstborn
Jesus is a created being. Both Paul and John testify to that. For example, Paul said of Jesus, "He is the image of the invisible God, firstborn of all creation." (Colossians 1:15) Christ was the only thing created directly by God, all other things were created by Jehovah through Jesus Christ. That is why Jesus said of himself that he was the "beginning of the creation by God." (Revelation 3:14; Hebrews 1:2) He would know better then any human that he was alive in heaven before coming to earth. For anyone to say otherwise would be to contradict the sayings of our Lord and Savior.

John recorded Jesus as saying that he was the "only-begotten son" of the Father. (John 3:16) The Greek word for "only-begotten" is monogenes. Two Greek-English Lexicons say this of monogenes: "single of its kind, only" and another "the only member of a kin or kind."** Jesus is the only-begotten, the firstborn of all creation. There can be no denying that and all of its implications.

Genesis 1:26: "Let Us"
In the creation account, something that many don't notice are the words Jehovah used while creating man. He did not say "I will create man in my image" but, "Let us make man in our image, according to our likeness." (Genesis 1:26) Many people point to this Scripture as proof of the false Trinity teaching. However, God was obviously speaking to someone else, not to Himself. Who was He speaking to? Obvious, His only Son, the Word, Jesus Christ.

One person made this argument: "If a friend of mine and I said that we were going to create a stature in our image but it only looked like me, then it would not be in our image, only mine." That would be true in most cases, but not concerning Jehovah and Jesus. Why? Jesus is "the image of the invisible God" and "the exact representation of his very being." (Colossians 1:15; Hebrews 1:3) Jesus Christ was made in God's image and so we can be made in the image of Jehovah and Jesus.

Philippians 2:6-7: "He Emptied Himself"
This is the last Scripture that we will use in support of Jesus prehuman existence. It says, "Keep this mental attitude in you that was also in Christ Jesus, who, although he was existing in God’s form, gave no consideration to a seizure, namely, that he should be equal to God. No, but he emptied himself and took a slave’s form and came to be in the likeness of men." (Philippians 2:5-7) It is very obvious when you open your mind and really look that Jesus was existing in God's form (as a spirit) but he emptied himself. Now, if Jesus had not been alive in heaven before coming to earth, how could he have emptied himself?

Another telling thing about this Scripture passage is the subject. The context reveals that the true subject is being humble enough to do God's will at all times, no matter what the task is. What good would Philippians 2:5-7 do to admonish humility if Jesus was not alive in heaven? It wouldn't mean anything at all. Christ had to have been alive before coming to earth! There is no way to explain these verses away.

When we study the Scriptures deeply, we come to thrilling conclusions that we may not have seen before. Jesus Christ was humble enough to give up everything he had before his human life and come to save sinful mankind. We owe our everlasting salvation to him. Let us never take away from his experience by denying that he lived before being transferred to Mary's womb and that he displayed humility to come here.

*Other Scriptures that prove Jesus had a prehuman existence are John 3:13; 6:62; 8:23, 42, 58; 17:5 and others.

**Thayer's Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Liddell and Scott's Greek-English Lexicon

Honor the Son

2009-04-01T07:57:00.008-05:00

*"All may honor the Son just as they honor the Father. He that does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent him."-John 5:23*

Nearly 2000 years ago on the other side of the world, a gentle, innocent rabbi was beaten, tortured, humiliated, and finally executed. His crime? Many then said blasphemy. Many others said it was simply because he taught the truth about God--a truth that the religious leaders of that day did not want to hear.-John 8:37-41

The reasons that Jesus of Nazareth died are not what is important. The important reason is that he died. Why is this? Simply put, it is because of what his death did for all of mankind.

Jesus died 1,976 years ago on Nisan 14, 33 C.E. by the reckoning of the Jewish calendar. That day falls on a different day each year when converted to the Gregorian Calendar. This year, the day falls on April 9, 2009.

Jehovah's Witnesses gather each year on that day after sunset to follow a command laid down by Jesus the Messiah on the night of his death. Let us go back to the night that Jesus instituted the Lord's Evening Meal.

Nisan 14, 33: After Sunset
Jesus was weighed down in the days before his death. However, he did not let his anxiety get in the way of what he was sent to do--preach the Good News of the Kingdom. (Luke 4:43) Of course, he did not neglect his good friends, taking the last days (and hours) of his life spending time with and teaching them. He even said hours before he was to be killed, "I have greatly desired to eat this passover with you before I suffer."-Luke 22:15

After the passover celebration, Jesus replaced it with something different. He took some leftover unleavened bread and burgundy wine and instituted the Lord's Even Meal.

Luke reports this: "Also, he took a loaf, gave thanks, broke it, and gave it to them, saying: 'This means my body which is to be given in your behalf. Keep doing this in remembrance of me.' Also, the cup in the same way after they had the evening meal, he saying: 'This cup means the new covenant by virtue of my blood, which is to be poured out in your behalf.'" (Luke 22:19-20) Mark goes on to say that after instituting the Lord's Evening Meal that "after singing praises*, they went out to the Mount of Olives."-Mark 14:26

Over the course of the next few days and/or weeks, we are going to focus primarily on Jesus Christ, the Messiah, and his life and death and what that did for mankind. Also, check back regularly for recommended Bible readings applicable to the last days of Jesus life so that you too can see exactly what Jesus went through as his sad and yet important death was approaching.

*On the night of the Passover it was customary for the Jews to sing Psalms 113-118.

Three Arguments That Refute the Trinity

2009-03-31T01:02:00.004-05:00

I have been debating with some Trinitarians online and it has gotten nowhere. After three days, and some getting out of hand, I have left the conversation. I have been reminded of what I was like before I became a true Christian Witness and what I have worked so hard to change. We need to strip off the "old personality with its practices and clothe [our]selves with the new personality." (Colossians 3:9-10) Doing this is very hard, even more so when that "old personality" comes to the surface--but it is essential that we ignore any urges it gives us.

Talking to Trinitarians can be hard. We may feel they disregard crystal-clear Scriptures that disprove the Trinity, wanting to stick to their traditions handed down to them and continue to "make the word of God invalid." (Mark 7:13) Verses such as John 14:28; 20:17; 1 Corinthians 11:3; 2 Corinthians 1:3 and Hebrews 9:24 seem to close the case against the Trinity. They just won't accept these!

This made me realize: Individual verses may not always have the desired effect. Sometimes we need to reason with them on certain points, like Paul did with the Thessalonian Jews. (Acts 17:1-3) With this in mind, I decided on three points that need to be reasoned upon:

1. Can God be tempted?
2. Can God walk among sinful humans?
3. Can God die?

Let us look at these in-depth later. First, we need to see exactly what the Trinity is.

What is the Trinity?
There are many conflicting ideas of what the Trinity is. The most popular one is this: There exists God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. Yet, there are not three God's but one God. Each is co-equal and co-eternal, none of them having a beginning or an end.

Throughout the centuries there have been many ideas on how to explain the Trinity. Some say water, ice, and water vapor (an update of the "water-ice-fire" theory) are all different forms of the same water, using this to illustrate the relationship of the ones in the Godhead. Others will contradict such reasoning and say that even though God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit area all one, they can appear separately. The water-ice-vapor theory does not allow that.

One chart that has been getting passed around a lot is this shown below.

This graph says that the Father is not the Son, the Son is not the holy spirit, and the holy spirit is not the Father and yet they are all God and they are all the same! Is it any wonder why the "Holy Trinity" is deemed a mystery (incomprehensible in the Athanasian Creed) that no one can understand? Ask: If Jesus said that the Jews "worship what [they] know" yet history proves that the Jews never believed in the Trinity*, then does that mean that Jesus' statement is false?-John 4:22

The truth is, it is as one encyclopedia says, "neither the word Trinity, nor the explicit doctrine as such, appears in the New Testament."** No, the Trinity is not a Bible teaching. How do we know? Let us answer each of the questions presented in the outset.

Can God Be Tempted?
The disciple James said of God: "When people are tempted, they should not say, 'God is tempting me.' Evil cannot tempt God, and God himself does not tempt anyone." (James 1:13, New Century Version) This is obvious that God cannot be tempted because God is without sin. The very idea that God can sin is blasphemy. He does no unrighteousness. (Deuteronomy 32:4) Nobody, not even Satan the Devil, can make God sin.

If Christ was God, the same would apply to him. Nothing would ever be able to tempt the Lord. However, some may point to this Scripture in an attempt to prove that Jesus was never tempted, "He committed no sin, nor was deception found in his mouth." (1 Peter 2:22) No, Jesus Christ did not sin at all; that is not what I am trying to imply. Christ was a perfect man throughout his entire life. Is the fact that he did not sin enough to prove that, like God, he could not be tempted? Let us look at an account in the Gospel of Matthew.

"Then Jesus was led by the spirit up into the wilderness to be tempted by the Devil. After he had fasted forty days and forty nights, then he felt hungry. Also, the Tempter came and said to him: 'If you are a son of God, tell these stones to become loaves of bread.' But in reply he said: 'It is written, "Man must live, not on bread alone, but on every utterance coming forth through Jehovah’s mouth."'

"Then the Devil took him along into the holy city, and he stationed him upon the battlement of the temple and said to him: 'If you are a son of God, hurl yourself down; for it is written, "He will give his angels a charge concerning you, and they will carry you on their hands, that you may at no time strike your foot against a stone."' Jesus said to him: 'Again it is written, "You must not put Jehovah your God to the test."'

"Again the Devil took him along to an unusually high mountain, and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory, and he said to him: 'All these things I will give you if you fall down and do an act of worship to me.' Then Jesus said to him: 'Go away, Satan! For it is written, "It is Jehovah your God you must worship, and it is to him alone you must render sacred service."' Then the Devil left him, and, look! angels came and began to minister to him."-Matthew 4:1-11

Now, if Christ was the God that cannot sin, why would the devil even bother to tempt him? The Scripture does not say that Jesus was led into the wilderness so that the devil could try to tempt him, but we are told this happened so that the devil could tempt him.

Some may say, "Even though the devil tried to tempt him, it didn't work. Jesus immediately denied the offers made." Yes, Jesus did immediately deny the temptations but is this enough to prove that he is the God that could not be tempted, or at least that the possibility stands?

No! God cannot be tempted, but Jesus was! We know that Jesus was tempted at some point in his life because the Scriptures say, "For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are--yet was without sin." (Hebrews 4:15, New International Version) That is not something that can happen with God.

When we understand this about Jesus, the following account makes more sense. "And as he [Jesus] was going out on his way, a certain man ran up and fell upon his knees before him and put the question to him: 'Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit everlasting life?' Jesus said to him: 'Why do you call me good? Nobody is good, except one, God.'" (Mark 10:17-18) Why would the Lord say this if he was a perfect man? (Hebrews 7:26) Well, the main difference between God and Jesus is that Jesus could be tempted while God can never be tempted.

After looking at the first question, "Can God be tempted?", we see that Trinitarian beliefs on Jesus as God would cause a contradiction between Hebrews 4:15 and James 1:13. It would do well to rid yourself of any belief that causes a contradiction in Scripture.

Can God Himself Walk Among Sinful Humans?
"For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." (Romans 3:23) Think of the prophet Isaiah. Knowing he was a sinner, he did not feel worthy of being in God's presence. Look at this account:

"In the year that King Uzziah died I, however, got to see Jehovah, sitting on a throne lofty and lifted up, and his skirts were filling the temple. Seraphs were standing above him. Each one had six wings. With two he kept his face covered, and with two he kept his feet covered, and with two he would fly about. And this one called to that one and said: 'Holy, holy, holy is Jehovah of armies. The fullness of all the earth is his glory.' And the pivots of the thresholds began to quiver at the voice of the one calling, and the house itself gradually filled with smoke.

"And I proceeded to say: 'Woe to me! For I am as good as brought to silence, because a man unclean in lips I am, and in among a people unclean in lips I am dwelling; for my eyes have seen the King, Jehovah of armies, himself!'

"At that, one of the seraphs flew to me, and in his hand there was a glowing coal that he had taken with tongs off the altar. And he proceeded to touch my mouth and to say: 'Look! This has touched your lips, and your error has departed and your sin itself is atoned for.'"-Isaiah 6:1-7

Isaiah's sinful nature made him ashamed of being in Jehovah's presence. However, the prophet saw Jehovah for a reason. Jehovah had a mission for him. The meeting, though, could not proceed until after Isaiah's sins had been atoned for. This is a prime example of the point that Jehovah cannot have dealings with sinful humans.

Furthermore, we needed a reconciliation with God. We were once enemies of God and needed to be reconciled to Him--and a person only needs to be reconciled to another if they have separated themselves from that person. So we were separated from God. That is why the Bible says, "For if, when we were enemies, we became reconciled to God through the death of his Son, much more, now that we have become reconciled, we shall be saved by his life. And not only that, but we are also exulting in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received the reconciliation." (Romans 5:10-11) We were only reconciled to Jehovah God through Jesus Christ, His Son.

To get a better picture of all of this, let us go back to the days of the Israelites. It was known that Jehovah would walk through the camp of the Israelites by means of an angel.* (Leviticus 26:12) However, there were certain requirements that the Israelites had to live up to for that privilege. For example, the Israelite camp had to be holy, with nothing indecent seen in it. If they sinned, Jehovah would leave it.-Deuteronomy 23:14

At one time, when the entire nation of Israel was still God's chosen people, he had no problems casting them off when their sin became too much. (Ezekiel 23:5, 9, 11, 28) Sin and God do not mix. The Bible clearly teaches, "For you are not a God taking delight in wickedness. No one bad may reside anytime with you." (Psalm 5:4) You can turn that around and say that God may not reside with anyone bad at any time.

But Christ was a different story. He came to earth as a man and lived among us. "So the Word became flesh and resided among us." (John 1:14) Isaiah tells us that Jesus allowed himself to be hit and spit upon. (Isaiah 50:6) Christ, not Jehovah God Himself, walked among us! Remember, Jehovah is "holy, holy, holy." (Isaiah 6:3) The original word rendered holy means "clean". So Jehovah is a clean God. On the contrary, we have on dirty garments, spiritually speaking. God had to use a perfect sacrifice, Jesus Christ, so that we could 'wash our robes and make them white in the blood of the lamb.'-Revelation 7:14

Truly, it was not until we were clean in God's eyes that we could have a reconciliation with Him. Yes, "God...reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of the reconciliation, namely, that God was by means of Christ reconciling a world to himself." (2 Corinthians 5:18-19) Before that reconciliation, Christ's death, we were separated from God. If God Himself had come to earth, it would mean that the reconciliation had already taken place. If two people are not speaking to each other, they only speak to one another again after they have been reconciled. So Christ could not have been God or he could have never come to reconcile us to him.

If you believe Christ is God, you have a contradiction between Psalm 5:4 and John 1:14. You should try to change your belief. You should rid yourself of any belief that causes a contradiction in Scripture.

Can God Die?
Truly, this last question is the most important. Is it possible for God to die? The Bible says no. "Are you not from long ago, O Jehovah? O my God, my Holy One, you do not die." (Habakkuk 1:12, See Box Below) The Bible makes it clear that the true God is immortal.

The Following is Supplementary Information

"You do not die" or "We do not die"?
Many Bibles say one of two different things at Habakkuk 1:12. What are some of these things that are said in each translation?

"We Will Not Die"
"My God, my Holy One, we will not die." (NIV)
"O LORD, my God, my Holy One? We will not die." (NASB)
"O LORD my God, my Holy One? We shall not die." (ESV)

"You Do Not Die"
"My Holy One, You will not die." (HCSB)
"O my God, my Holy One, you do not die." (NWT)
"My God, my Holy One, you will never die." (TNIV)
Why do different Bible translations say different things? Well, simply put, different manuscripts say different things! Is there anyway to tell which ones are right? Yes!

In the past, a group of scribes (people that copied the Bible) took it upon themselves to copy the Bible--and "fix" the texts! These men removed anything that could be considered blasphemous in regard to God and put an alternate rendering that was "less blasphemous". Habakkuk 1:12 was not the only text changed by these scribes.

Look at two other verses changed by these scribes so that Jehovah will not be looked down upon or blasphemed. One Scripture says this: (Genesis 18:22) "At this point the men turned from there and got on their way to Sodom; but as for Jehovah, he was still standing before Abraham." (Correct Version) "Then the men turned away from there and went toward Sodom, while Abraham was still standing before the LORD." (Altered Version) The scribes changed this because they thought it was disrespectful to Jehovah to have Him standing before Abraham, so it was changed so that Abraham was standing before Jehovah.

One other change is this: (1 Samuel 3:13) "For I told him that I would judge his family forever because of the sin he knew about; his sons blasphemed God, and he failed to restrain them." (Correct Version) "For I have told him that I am about to judge his house forever for the iniquity which he knew, because his sons brought a curse on themselves and he did not rebuke them." (Altered Version) The scribes changed this because the idea of anyone blaspheming God was utterly heinous to them. So they changed the text to say that Eli's sons cursed themselves and not God.

The very idea that God could die offended the scribes so they changed the text, just like the two examples above.** What it really comes down to is which rendering makes more sense in light of the context. Does the context of the Scriptures surrounding Habakkuk 1:12 and contained in Habakkuk 1:12 show that Habakkuk was saying that God could not die?

Remember that Habakkuk is speaking to Jehovah, describing Him. He first tells Jehovah that He is from long ago. Then the prophet tells Him that He cannot die. Next Habakkuk tells Jehovah that He is too pure to look on badness. Since the entire context is describing Jehovah, it would be awkward if the subject changed from Jehovah to the Israelites and then back to Jehovah. Uniformity demands that the text say Jehovah cannot die. Context does not allow any other way.

The scribes went even further in another thing they did, not just changing a few Bible verses. They actually replaced the Name of Jehovah with the Hebrew word for "Lord" 134 times. All of the other times they just put a note under each occurrence of the Name to remind readers to say "Lord" instead of "YHWH".

The oldest and most reliable manuscripts show the original rendering of Habakkuk 1:12, Genesis 18:22, 1 Samuel 3:13 and the other Scriptures, and also show God's Name in all the places it is supposed to occur.

Speaking of Jehovah, the Bible says: "Even from time indefinite to time indefinite you are God." (Psalm 90:2) This Scripture states that He will always be God, He will continue to live forever as God. Being "to time indefinite" shows that Jehovah will never die.

What about Jesus? Jesus died. "Jesus shouted and then died." (Mark 15:37, Contemporary English Version) In fact, Jesus told the congregation in Smyrna that he was the one "who was dead." (Revelation 2:8, Holman Christian Standard Bible) Paul echoes similar words in one of his letters. (Romans 14:9) Yes, Jesus was fully dead. He was not alive. Now, if Jesus was God, then Habakkuk 1:12 would be contradicted which said that God cannot die!

Further, Jesus was dead for three days and was resurrected. "God raised him up from the dead." (Acts 3:15) If Jesus, being God, was actually dead, how did he raise himself up? If he was able to raise himself up then he wasn't really dead. And that presents a problem. "The Son of Man came...to give his soul [life, NIV] a ransom in exchange for many." (Matthew 20:28) "Christ was offered once for all time to bear the sins of many." (Hebrews 9:28) "While we were yet sinners, Christ died for us...we have been declared righteous by his blood." (Romans 5:8-9) Jesus had to have been dead or else we are not saved from our sins. And if he was God and raised himself up, he was not truly dead. Do you see the problem?

Jehovah is incorruptible, immortal. Jesus died. The Son is not God Almighty. Continuing to believe this presents a problem in Scripture too big to ignore. There can be no contradiction between two Bible texts, in this case Habakkuk 1:12 and Mark 15:37. It is always best to rid yourself of any belief that causes a contradiction in Scripture.

What Will You Do Now?
You have a choice. The Bible is one harmonious book. It clearly teaches that Jehovah and Jesus are not the same. You can choose to ignore that or accept it. Hopefully you accept it. What if you have read all of this and still cannot see the lack of logic in the Trinity teaching?

There is someone who does not want people to see the truth about the Trinity doctrine. He is called the "god of this world" and he has veiled the minds of the unbelievers so that the "glorious gospel of Jesus Christ...should not shine unto them." (2 Corinthians 4:4, King James Version) Only when "there is a turning to Jehovah" is the veil taken away.-2 Corinthians 3:16

The Trinity is doctrine promoted by Satan which has its roots in many ancient false religions. It is something that is hard to break away from but necessary. But you have to continue to tell yourself that it would be dishonest to hang on to a belief that you know to be false and, even worse, causes numerous contradictions in Scripture. You can beat the impulse to hang on to a false teaching. With prayer to Jehovah, the true God, you can get help to start on the way of the Truth!

---------------

For further information see the brochure, Should You Believe in the Trinity? published by Jehovah's Witnesses

*The Encyclopedia Americana, Vol. XXVII, p. 294L

**The New Encyclopedia Britannica, Vol. X, p. 126

*For the references that it was actually an angel in the camp instead of God Himself, please see Exodus 23:20-23. Also compare times when Jehovah was spoken of as doing something but it was revealed that it was an angel: Genesis 18:1-3; 19:1, 15, 18; Exodus 3:1-5

**A full list of altered Scriptures: Genesis 18:22; Numbers 11:15; 12:12;
1 Samuel 3:13; 2 Samuel 16:12; 20:1; 1 Kings 12:16; Jeremiah 2:11; Ezekiel
8:17; Hosea 4:7; Habakkuk 1:12; Zechariah 2:12; Malachi 1:13; Psalm 106:20;
Job 7:20; 32:3; 2 Chronicles 10:16; and Lamentations 3:20.19.

"Keep Watching The Ministry...That You Fulfill It"

2009-03-30T11:12:00.002-05:00

I just had my Special Day Assembly yesterday and appreciated it greatly. The theme was taken from Colossians 4:17 and was, "Keep Watching The Ministry...That You Fulfill It." I greatly enjoyed this assembly. I at first thought that it was going to be more of the same but I can tell that a lot of thought was put into it, how could it be made different then past assemblies?

The brothers succeeded greatly on this assembly. I just wanted to share some Scriptures that stood out to me while there, some of these I have read many times but touched me in a different way then normal.

"Deliver those who are being taken away to death; and those staggering to the slaughter, O may you hold them back. In case you should say: 'Look! We did not know of this,' will not he himself that is making an estimate of hearts discern it, and he himself that is observing your soul know and certainly pay back to earthling man according to his activity?"-Proverbs 24:11-12

"I am grateful to Christ Jesus our Lord, who imparted power to me, because he considered me faithful by assigning me to a ministry, although formerly I was a blasphemer and a persecutor and an insolent man. Nevertheless, I was shown mercy, because I was ignorant and acted with a lack of faith. But the undeserved kindness of our Lord abounded exceedingly along with faith and love that is in connection with Christ Jesus. Faithful and deserving of full acceptance is the saying that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners. Of these I am foremost. Nevertheless, the reason why I was shown mercy was that by means of me as the foremost case Christ Jesus might demonstrate all his long-suffering for a sample of those who are going to rest their faith on him for everlasting life."-1 Timothy 1:12-16

"Concerning this very salvation a diligent inquiry and a careful search were made by the prophets who prophesied about the undeserved kindness meant for you. They kept on investigating what particular season or what sort of season the spirit in them was indicating concerning Christ when it was bearing witness beforehand about the sufferings for Christ and about the glories to follow these. It was revealed to them that, not to themselves, but to you, they were ministering the things that have now been announced to you through those who have declared the good news to you with holy spirit sent forth from heaven. Into these very things angels are desiring to peer."-1 Peter 1:10-12

Again, it was a very good assembly. If you haven't been, you will enjoy it. If you have and you want to listen to it again, you can go here and download it.

"May Jehovah bless you and keep you. May Jehovah make his face shine toward you, and may he favor you. May Jehovah lift up his face toward you and assign peace to you."-Numbers 6:24-26

But Your Bible's Been Changed! Pt. 2

2009-03-28T12:10:00.006-05:00

For centuries people have heard that allegation. It was said of the King James Version when that first came out--and that wasn't the first. People even said it of the Latin Vulgate.

Sometimes there is a basis for saying something like this. For example: The Message Bible, the Clear Word Bible, and the Book of Yahweh have text that was changed to support certain beliefs. It is not uncommon to see that. Yes, people are sometimes warranted in saying that.

In the first part, we looked at the Textus Receptus and the King James Version, with a focus on 1 John 5:7-8 (although that is not the only added verse in that Bible) but now we will look at Sacred Name Bible's. What are these types of Bible's? Let us see.

Sacred Name--Sacred Bible?
Another movement that is gaining widespread popularity lately is the Sacred Name Movement. On the surface, this movement has a very admirable goal: Glorify the Name of Jehovah and the Name Jesus Christ. But there is a catch--Jehovah and Jesus are not to be used. Instead Yahweh and Yeshua (or a derivative thereof) are to be used. Some even go so far as to only use יהושע (Hebrew for Jesus) or יהוה (Hebrew for Jehovah) and pronounce them as they see fit.

On the market today there are many Sacred Name Bibles including the Zikarown Say'fer, Hebraic Roots Bible, The Scriptures Bible, Holy Name Bible, Restored Name King James Version, Book of Yahweh, and others. All of these have a noble purpose: To magnify the Name of God and Christ. But have they gone too far?

Honor or Dishonor?
How can a Bible that uses God's name dishonor it? Is that even possible? I will not answer that question, I will only present facts for you to review.

Not all Sacred Name groups have the same beliefs. Some feel there is no problem saying God or Elohim, some say that it is wrong to use Elohim and alright to say God and vice versa. Why do they feel this way?

Many people today are starting to speak out against the words God and Lord. They say that these refer to pagan God's and were words applied to Jehovah later by others, whether these "others" were the Israelites or some separate peoples. Take for example, "Baal", the name of a pagan deity. In reality, Baal really means Lord and some people claim that to say Lord Yahweh is to say Baal Yahweh, in effect saying that Baal is Yahweh and Yahweh is Baal. Is this reasonable?

No one in the world is trying to say that Jehovah's name is Baal. The only reason Lord is still widely used is because of the meaning in English. No one relates Baal and Lord in their mind when they say Lord in regard to the Most High El Shaddai.

We also need to consider that there are many titles used for Yahweh that are also used in reference to others. God, Father, Lord, etc. I'm sure you can think of some. Just because these titles are used by other things--pagan deities or not--does not automatically disqualify it for use in reference to Jehovah.

Jesus--Derived Etymologically From Zeus?
The same argument is used in reference to Jesus Christ. Some people believe that the name "Jesus" is taken from the Greek god, Zeus, and that when people use or call on the name of Jesus they are actually calling on the name of Zeus.

We will not focus on this false allegation except to say that it is false. One website puts it this way:

"Some sacred name people teach this false doctrine; some do not. Regardless of the position an individual Sacred Name person may take, this fact remains: a large segment of the movement still believes this lie. Promoting the Jesus = Zeus myth to new converts is an easy way to get them away from saying the name of Jesus. It gives them a reason to look down on, even hate, the name of Jesus. The teachers of the movement use this lie as an appeal to the need many people have to possess esoteric knowledge which gives them a superiority over others...[However], not all sacred name people believe the name Jesus is derived from the name Zeus. It is, after all, a lie. It has no foundation in any legitimate research. The teaching is rejected by some; it should be rejected by all sacred name people. This teaching is the product of the fertile imaginations of sacred name teachers.

The name Jesus is not derived from Zeus. That is all that needs to be stated on that.

Lord, God, Yahweh
Can Sacred Name groups go overboard in their mission to elevate God's Name? Read from one Sacred Name Bible:

"In the beginning Yahweh created the heavens and the earth. Now the earth became without form and darkness was on the face of the deep. And the spirit of Yahweh was hovering over the face of the waters. And Yahweh said: 'Let there be light."-Genesis 1:1-3Book of Yahweh

The translators of the Book of Yahweh have replaced "God" with Yahweh in this chapter. Many Sacred Name groups believe that "God" and "Lord" are both pagan terms so whenever the text says one of those two words they replace it with Yahweh in their Bibles many times. There is no proof that Yahweh was used in Genesis One at all but there is proof that many times the Bible says "Yahweh" in the text a group of scribes called the Masorates would sometimes change it with God or Lord. They could argue that every time God and Lord occurs this is what happened.

People do let their beliefs dictate how they translate a certain passage. When a verse can be translated two different ways they will translate that verse the way they want to. The NWT, NIV, NRSV, and many, many other Bibles have done this. It is not always wrong when the translator translates a verse the way it was supposed to read, even if they are biased in that direction.

The Book of Yahweh and other Sacred Name Bibles do this. Does it mean they are wrong? You decide.

But Your Bible's Been Changed! Pt. 1

2009-03-27T21:57:00.006-05:00

For centuries people have heard that allegation. It was said of the King James Version when that first came out--and that wasn't the first. People even said it of the Latin Vulgate.

Sometimes there is a basis for saying something like this. For example: The Message Bible, the Clear Word Bible, and the Book of Yahweh have text that was changed to support certain beliefs. It is not uncommon to see that. Yes, people are sometimes warranted in saying that.

In this two part analysis, we will look at two different types of Bible that people attack. Bibles translated from the Textus Receptus (focusing on the King James Version) and Sacred Name Bible's. What reasons do they have for attacking these Bibles? Are these reasons valid? Let us see.

King James Only, Please! Original Texts On the Side!
One movement that has been getting remarkably louder in this day and age is the King James-Only Movement. The people who support this movement each have different opinions as to why it is the only version to be used. I want to focus on the one that I find most ridiculous--The King James Version is inspired of God!

Actually, this falls into about three different categories. 1) That the Textus Receptus is inspired, 2) That the King James Version is inspired, and 3) The King James Version is New Revelation. This last group is what we will attempt to analyze. These people even say that all ancient Greek manuscripts can be "corrected" by using the King James Version!

There are many verses in the King James Version that are not to be found in many other Bibles. One example is 1 John 5:7-8. This verse says, "For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one. And there are three that bear witness in earth*, the Spirit, and the water, and the blood: and these three agree in one." (King James Version) Scholars today generally agree that this is an interpolation, or later addition to the text. KJV-Only supporters in this category will not agree.

Where did 1 John 5:7-8 come from? If we see its history that will answer a lot of questions.

The Comma Johnneum
This interpolation, called the Comma Johanneum, is non-existent in any writing of the early church "fathers" until about the fourth century. It was quoted for the first time in the Latin Homily Liber Apologeticus**. Dr. Daniel B. Wallace said in an article about this:

"Apparently the gloss arose when the original passage was understood to symbolize the Trinity (through the mention of three witnesses: the Spirit, the water, and the blood), an interpretation that may have been written first as a marginal note that afterwards found its way into the text."[1]

All in all, the Comma appears in only about eight ancient Greek manuscripts, and none of the very authoritative due to their late date. If the Comma Johanneum were authentic, it would appear in all manuscripts.

Dr. Bruce Metzger, after commenting on the Comma's absence in most Greek texts, says:

"(2) The [Comma Johanneum] passage is quoted in none of the Greek Fathers, who, had they known it, would most certainly have employed it in the Trinitarian controversies (Sabellian and Arian). Its first appearance in Greek is in a Greek version of the (Latin) Acts of the Lateran Council in 1215.

(3) The passage is absent from the manuscripts of all ancient versions (Syriac, Coptic, Armenian, Ethiopic, Arabic, Slavonic), except the Latin; and it is not found (a) in the Old Latin in its early form (Tertullian Cyprian Augustine), or in the Vulgate (b) as issued by Jerome ... or (c) as revised by Alcuin..."[2]

So, according to Metzger, the Vulgate (as issued by Jerome) did not contain the Comma. Later copies of the Vulgate did contain the Comma after it was written in, the first time being about the year 800 C.E. These were then back-translated into Greek, making some late, ancient Greek manuscripts contain the Comma. This oldest Greek manuscript, as well as four others, only have the Comma in the margin as an alternate reading.

With all of this evidence at hand, King James Only followers will still say that the Comma Johanneum is supposed to be in the Bible! I have had the privilege of talking to a few of them. They will not see any reason at all. They want to rely on the Textus Receptus and all of its flaws. Now, therefore, it will be beneficial to look at the Textus Receptus as a whole. What is its history?

The Textus Receptus
The Textus Receptus is a Greek translation made by a man named Erasmus. At the same time that Erasmus was making a new Latin New Testament, he started work on a Greek New Testament. It is generally thought that he made these two at the same time to show that a Latin translation was superior to a Greek translation. He even said that the Greek MSS of the time were corrupted and wrongly rendered by careless scribes and copyists.

The first edition of the Greek New Testament by Erasmus was rushed and therefore had many errors. Regardless, it proved a success and a reprint had to be made. In this second edition, all of the errors were edited out. Further, in many places, Erasmus actually changed the Greek text to match the Latin text!

The third edition of the Textus Receptus is where the first addition of the Comma Johanneum can be found. The Comma was only added because one Greek edition of the New Testament contained it, and this having been translated from the Latin!

The third edition of the Textus Receptus was then viewed as authoritative and many other Greek New Testaments by other people added the Comma Johanneum. From these, the King James Version was translated. Obviously, the Textus Receptus was a very distorted Bible translation. That is why most do not use this translation as a basis today. And since the King James Version is based off of the Textus Receptus, it is not a good translation either. Documented historical evidence shows that the King James Version cannot and is not inspired of God or even the best on the market.

The King James Version, nor any other Bible based on the Textus Receptus, can be the best translation.

*The bold text is the interpolation.

**Authorship unknown. Probably written by Priscillian of Ávila or his close follower, Bishop Instantius.

References

[1] The Comma Johanneum and Cyprian

[2] Textual Commentary (2nd edition), pg. 648

Are We Really "Walking by Faith"?

2009-03-26T15:06:00.010-05:00

As Jehovah's Witnesses, we know what the Bible says. We know what God's plans are for the future, what His will is for man, and what regulations He wants us to follow. We try our hardest to follow these commands. And that is good.

However, put ourselves in the shoes of the rich, young ruler. As we talk to Jesus Christ, and he says to us "Do not murder, Do not commit adultery, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Do not defraud, Honor your father and mother", would we answer just as the ruler did? "Teacher, all these things I have kept from my youth on." (Mark 10:19-20) Just as the rich, young ruler thought, would we think the same way? I have followed the Law, what else do I need?

Jesus makes a good point to this man. To the ruler, these are regulations he has always worked to keep, relying on his own strength. His faith in God did not tell him that he cannot perfectly keep them. He fell into the same trap as the Israelites. Paul says, "Israel, although pursuing a law of righteousness, did not attain to the law. For what reason? Because he pursued it, not by faith, but as by works." (Romans 9:31-32) Many, though not even close to all, Jehovah's Witnesses follow the "law of the Christ" in exactly the same manner. We look at it and try to accomplish this "by works". How many of us have ever prayed, "Jehovah, help me keep your laws. I cannot do it on my own?"

This type of prayer is not uncommon. Jesus said in his model prayer for us to ask Jehovah, "Do not bring us into temptation." (Matthew 6:13) We know that Jehovah does not tempt anyone at all. (James 1:13) So this phrase cannot mean that. What it truly means is that Jehovah protect us from temptation. We are to ask for Jehovah to keep us from sinning.

This is echoing the words of Hezekiah when he said, "Cause me to tread in the pathway of your commandments, for in it I have taken delight. Incline my heart to your reminders, and not to profits. Make my eyes pass on from seeing what is worthless; preserve me alive in your own way." (Psalm 119:35-37) We have to beg Jehovah to help us to keep His commandments.

Now, I am about to quote a very familiar passage from Scripture. Read it with spiritual eyes and see how you can apply it through faith, not works.

"Now an expert in religious law stood up to test Jesus, saying, 'Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?' [Jesus] said to him, 'What is written in the law? How do you understand it?' The expert answered, 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind, and love your neighbor as yourself.' Jesus said to him, 'You have answered correctly; do this, and you will live.' But the expert, wanting to justify himself, said to Jesus, 'And who is my neighbor?' Jesus replied, 'A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell into the hands of robbers, who stripped him, beat him up, and went off, leaving him half dead. Now by chance a priest was going down that road, but when he saw the injured man he passed by on the other side. So too a Levite, when he came up to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. But a Samaritan who was traveling came to where the injured man was, and when he saw him, he felt compassion for him. He went up to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring oil and wine on them. Then he put him on his own animal, brought him to an inn, and took care of him. The next day he took out two silver coins and gave them to the innkeeper, saying, 'Take care of him, and whatever else you spend, I will repay you when I come back this way.' Which of these three do you think became a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of the robbers?' The expert in religious law said, 'The one who showed mercy to him.' So Jesus said to him, 'Go and do the same.'"-Luke 10:25-37, New English Translation

The admonition of the Apostle Paul is this: "Keep walking by spirit and you will carry out no fleshly desire at all." (Galatians 5:16) Jehovah will give us His holy spirit if we ask for it. In turn, Jehovah, by that same holy spirit, will help us to keep "the law of the Christ". All this is only possible if we seek to accomplish this by faith and not by works.

As we ponder all of this do we feel that we need to follow the words of Zephaniah again, as we did when we were new to this spiritual walk? "Seek Jehovah, all you meek ones of the earth, who have practiced His own judicial decision. Seek righteousness, seek meekness." (Zephaniah 2:3) Remember, Zephaniah is speaking to those people who have already "practiced [Jehovah's] own judicial decision" and followed it.

Stop walking with Jehovah in the Truth by works and walk with Jehovah in the Truth by faith. Only then can you truly know what it is like to serve Jehovah.

What Jehovah's Witnesses Believe

2009-03-22T23:04:00.003-05:00

This is a list of some of the most important beliefs of Jehovah's Witnesses as presented in the Bible. I like to tell people that what we believe is surprisingly similar, though not completely identical to the Nicene Creed. While we believe that many things that are not true were added to the altered version of the Nicene Creed, things that were truth were added as well.

The things from the Nicene Creed that we believe, with the further additions added later presented in italics, are: "We believe in one God, the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth, and all things visible and invisible. And in one Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, begotten of the Father before all worlds...by whom all things were made; who for us men, and for our salvation came down from heaven and was incarnate by the Holy [Spirit] of the Virgin Mary, and was made man; he was [impaled] for us under Pontius Pilate, and suffered, and was buried, and the third day he rose again, according to the Scriptures, and ascended into heaven, and sitteth on the right hand of the Father; from thence he shall come again, with glory, to judge the quick and the dead; whose kingdom shall have no end...And in the Holy [Spirit]...who proceedeth from the Father...we look for the resurrection of the dead, and the life of the world to come. Amen."

NOTE: This list is not exhaustive
There is one God, the Father, whose Name is Jehovah. He has existed eternally and will exist for eternity. He is the Creator.-Isaiah 44:6; Exodus 3:15; 6:3; Psalm 90:2; Revelation 4:11

The Bible is the unerring Word of God, completely perfect as we have it today and entirely inspired of Jehovah.-1 Thessalonians 2:13; John 17:17; 2 Timothy 3:16-17

Jesus Christ is the perfect Son of God who existed in Heaven before he came to earth as an infant. He is also King of the Kingdom of God. We can only be saved by putting faith in his name.-1 Peter 2:22; Matthew 16:16; John 1:1-3; Philippians 2:5-8; Luke 1:32-33; Acts 4:12

Jesus Christ is not equal to God. He and Jehovah are not part of the Trinity. Jesus is a created being who is subordinate to the Father and does everything that Jehovah tells him.-John 14:28, 31; Mark 10:17-18; 12:29; Colossians 1:15; Revelation 3:14; John 5:19

The holy spirit is not God but is only God's power that He uses.-Job 33:4; Matthew 12:28; Luke 11:20
Only a "Little Flock" of "144,000" are going to receive heavenly life. These will rule as Kings and Priests alongside Jesus Christ.-Luke 12:32; Revelation 14:1-3, Revelation 5:9-10

A majority of faithful mankind will have the wonderful privilege of living on a perfected earth forever.-Psalm 37:11, 29; 72:16; Proverbs 2:21; Micah 4:1-4; Matthew 5:5; Revelation 21:4

Jesus Christ will come with his angels to destroy all the wicked on the earth. In the end, Satan and the demons will be destroyed for eternity.-Psalm 37:10; Proverbs 2:22; 2 Thessalonians 1:6-9; Hebrews 2:14; Revelation 19:11-19; 20:10

The dead are not conscious of anything. They are just "asleep".-Ecclesiastes 9:5; Ezekiel 18:4, 20; John 11:11-14

The vast majority of those who have died--including your loved ones--will be resurrected by Jesus Christ back to the earth.-John 5:28-29; Acts 24:15; Revelation 20:11-13

Hell is not a real place. "Everlasting Fire" only signifies eternal destruction.-Jude 7; Revelation 20:14

You Are Invited to the Kingdom Hall!

2009-03-21T20:15:00.004-05:00

Kingdom Hall's are places of worship used by Jehovah's Witnesses. There, we go together for Bible instruction, spiritual refreshment, and up-building association with just a few members of our precious Christian brotherhood. While there are more then seven million active Jehovah's Witnesses worldwide, we get to visit with a few of our spiritual brothers and sisters each week. You can experience this, too!

What is a Kingdom Hall?
A Kingdom Hall is normally a simple building built by Christian volunteers. They are modestly yet beautifully decorated on the outside with with constant tending to keep it from becoming overgrown, messy, or littered. A sign close to the road clearly identifies the Kingdom Hall.

On the inside we have two back rooms where student talks are held separate from the main meeting hall. There is also a small room where elders, pioneers [full time evangelists], or others meet when needed. As you walk through it you will find a mens and a womans bathroom. Also, you can find a children's room where a parent can retire to so that they can see to any needs related to child care.

Off in one corner of the modest lobby is the literature counter. Here members and non-members alike can request certain books of interest or place special orders for a number of items. These are normally maintained by Ministerial Servants [equivalent of Deacons] or other qualified brothers who show spiritual maturity and a willing spirit.

The main hall of all Kingdom Halls is a large auditorium that can seat from 100 to 200 people. There is a sound booth in the back and a podium on the front where the speaker gives his Bible discourse.

There are no images or idols throughout the Kingdom Hall, only modest decorations. In the Kingdom Hall I attend we have plants and beautiful pictures throughout and two areas for "Lost and Found" items. There is also an information board with any announcements or letters. The Hall is cleaned and maintained by Christian brothers and sisters.

What Happens at the Kingdom Hall?
In one recent issue of our main religious journal, The Watchtower: Announcing Jehovah's Kingdom, there is a great article speaking of the Kingdom Hall. It says:

"In harmony with these Scriptural precedents, [Scriptures such as Deuteronomy 31:12 and Hebrews 10:24-25] Jehovah's Witnesses meet together at their Kingdom Halls twice a week. The meetings help attendees to appreciate, understand, and apply Bible principles. Where possible, the program is the same worldwide and each meeting has its own spiritual objective. Before and after the meetings, those who attend enjoy an "interchange of encouragement" by means of upbuilding conversations."-The Watchtower, February 1, 2009, p. 20, pp. 5

There is nothing intimidating about the meetings that take place at the Kingdom Hall. On Sunday (or Saturday depending on the number of congregations that meet at the Kingdom Hall) we have a public discourse that features a selected Bible topic of interest to those in our area and regular members. That is then followed by a study out of our Watchtower magazine. This is a question and answer based format where individual members of the congregation put in their thoughts about the article or any information they got out of it.

On a different day of the week for each congregation worshiping in the same Kingdom Hall, we have the Congregation Bible Study, currently being conducted out of the book, Keep Yourselves in God's Love, we have the Theocratic Ministry School, which trains members of the congregation in speaking and presenting the Bible message, and the Service Meeting, which gives helpful information that can be used in our public ministry.

Each meeting begins and ends with "heartfelt spiritual song" and prayer with another kingdom song dividing the various meetings. (Ephesians 5:18-19) Each song is based on a Scripture from the Bible. There are no collections taken throughout the meeting. For those who wish to donate there are marked boxes in the lobby where donations can be discreetly given. Donating is not and should not be done "grudgingly or under compulsion". Members give only what "each one...has resolved in his heart."-2 Corinthians 9:7

What Visitors Think
One young man said of his experience at the Kingdom Hall, "It was a delightful place to be. I was so surprised by how friendly the people were and how interested they were in me." Another young visitor said, "The meeting was very interesting! It was easy to follow along." A person in Japan said, "I must admit that when I attended my first meeting with Jehovah's Witnesses, I felt a little out of place. Even so, I came to appreciate that these people are normal. They really tried to make me comfortable."

A good friend of mine that I met when he attended the Kingdom Hall who no longer lives in the area was thrilled at how loving and kind the brothers and sisters were. He continued to come back and eventually began to go out in the field ministry. This was all due to an article that he read in a copy of The Watchtower regarding the Kingdom Hall!

Yes, there are many benefits that can be earned by attending the Kingdom Hall. No one ever leaves feeling left out, isolated, or ignored. In fact, in one country a Caucasian man who committed a hate crime against an African-American was told by the judge that his sentence would be that he had to attend a predominately African-American church for six weeks. The first week he attended the Kingdom Hall of Jehovah's Witnesses and yet for the next five weeks attended another church not associated with Jehovah's Witnesses. Why?

When the judge asked the man why he only attended the Kingdom Hall once and attended the other church for the rest of the time the man said, "The people at the Kingdom Hall wouldn't leave me alone. So many different people came up to me before and after the service saying hi, asking my name, and trying to have conversation with me. I just wanted to be left alone. At the other church that I went to no one spoke to me so I kept going." When asked his opinion of African-Americans he said that they were not bad, changing his mind largely in part to his experience at the Kingdom Hall!

Never will you feel weird at a Kingdom Hall. We try to make you feel warmly welcome and take a sincere interest in you as a person. Our prayer is that you enjoy it so much the first time that you want to return. We want to meet you and so invite you to experience worship at the Kingdom Hall. May you enjoy it so much that when you are invited back you feel the same way as King David who said, "I rejoiced when they were saying to me: 'To the house of Jehovah let us go.'"-Psalm 122:1

To find the Kingdom Hall nearest you go to: This page or write to the appropriate address. We look forward to seeing you!

For more information on the Kingdom Hall visit this page.

What About...John 5:18?

2009-03-18T08:44:00.002-05:00

"On this account, indeed, the Jews began seeking all the more to kill him, because not only was he breaking the Sabbath but he was also calling God his own Father, making himself equal to God."-John 5:18

To many, this verse is telling them exactly what they want to hear: Jesus Christ was making himself equal to God. Is that verse really valid proof in support of the Trinity? Let us see.

First, we must understand, who was saying that Jesus Christ was equal to God? Was it Christ himself? No. The unbelieving Jews were saying that. Let us follow the same steps that we always follow. First, the context.

"After these things Jesus found him in the temple and said to him: 'See, you have become sound in health. Do not sin anymore, in order that something worse does not happen to you.' The man went away and told the Jews it was Jesus that made him sound in health. So on this account the Jews went persecuting Jesus, because he was doing these things during Sabbath. But he answered them: 'My Father has kept working until now, and I keep working.' On this account, indeed, the Jews began seeking all the more to kill him, because not only was he breaking the Sabbath but he was also calling God his own Father, making himself equal to God.

"Therefore, in answer, Jesus went on to say to them: 'Most truly I say to you, the Son cannot do a single thing of his own initiative, but only what he beholds the Father doing. For whatever things that One does, these things the Son also does in like manner. For the Father has affection for the Son and shows him all the things he himself does, and he will show him works greater than these, in order that you may marvel.'"-John 5:14-20

When we examine this closely, where in the verse does it say that Jesus was making himself equal to God? Nowhere! The words that Jesus really said were, "My Father has kept working until now, and I keep working." There is not one statement by Jesus in that verse where he is making himself equal to his Father.

Look at the verse again, though. Jesus did say "the Son cannot do a single thing of his own initiative, but only what he beholds that Father doing." That is not the statement that someone makes if they are truly equal to someone else. The Jews began to reason wrongly on this. Why?

Obviously, the statement made by Jesus angered the Jews but there was nothing in that statement that was warranting death. Perhaps the Jews were only exaggerating the statement so they could have a reason to kill him. Unfortunately, that reasoning is based off a "what if" and so we have to really delve deep into the Bible. Remember that, though. The Jews were notorious for exaggerating things.

At the beginning, when Jehovah God brought the Jews out of Egypt, He instituted the Sabbath Day. During this day He said that no work was to be done neither was anyone to buy or sell. This was a day of rest and worship.

By the time of Jesus, the religious leaders had made the Sabbath a pain to follow. They said that no work whatsoever was to be done. For example, if a man fell and broke his arm on the Sabbath, a doctor was not allowed to mend it until the day after the Sabbath. Even killing a fly or flea was forbidden as hunting! [1] Jesus knew that this was severe exaggeration of the Sabbath Law. This account shows the unreasonableness of the religious leaders demands.

"After departing from that place he went into their synagogue; and, look! a man with a withered hand! So they asked him, 'Is it lawful to cure on the sabbath?' that they might get an accusation against him. He said to them: 'Who will be the man among you that has one sheep and, if this falls into a pit on the sabbath, will not get hold of it and lift it out? All considered, of how much more worth is a man than a sheep! So it is lawful to do a fine thing on the sabbath.' Then he said to the man: 'Stretch out your hand.' And he stretched it out, and it was restored sound like the other hand."-Matthew 12:9-13

When the Pharisees saw this, what was there reaction. "But the Pharisees went out and took counsel against him that they might destroy him." (Matthew 12:14) The Pharisees wanted to stone Jesus because he healed a mans hand on the Sabbath! Notice, too, he didn't say even touch the man, he only spoke to him. The Jews even had a saying, "The sins of everyone who strictly observes every law of the Sabbath, though he be an idol worshiper, are forgiven." [1] This was contrary to Jehovah's Law. He specifically said that anyone who broke the Sabbath was to die! So, the Jews were certainly capable of exaggeration. That is another false conclusion in John 5:18. The Jews also thought that Jesus was breaking the Sabbath. So, in one verse, John draws out two false conclusions the Jews came to. This should present a problem. If the Jews were right in believing that Jesus was claiming equality with God then they must have also been right in claiming that Jesus broke the Sabbath. However, they were not.

The last thing that we will look at is whether or not Jesus Christ claimed to be equal to God. When we make a thorough search, we cannot find one such account. John 10:30 doesn't work. However, a few Scriptures are adequate proof that Jesus never claimed to be God.

The first Scripture was spoken by Jesus himself. He said, "You heard that I said to you, I am going away and I am coming back to you. If you loved me, you would rejoice that I am going my way to the Father, because the Father is greater than I am." (John 14:28) Some people argue that the Father Jehovah is greater then Jesus because Jesus was limited by his human form. Does this line of reasoning work? No.

The Trinity teaching says that the Father is fully God, the Son is fully God, and the holy spirit is fully God. In fact, many people can be heard to say that Jesus was "fully God/fully man" while on earth. In effect, these people contradict themselves.

Is there any indication that Jesus was inferior to the Father before his descending from heaven? Yes. We read in the Old Testament: "He himself calls out to me, ‘You are my Father, my God and the Rock of my salvation.’" (Psalm 89:26) These words were spoken by Jesus before his human birth. Further words by Jesus reveal that he was created by the Father, thus proving his inferiority before his birth.-Proverbs 8:22-26

Perhaps the most revealing verse as to the inferiority of Christ before and after he was a human is told us by the Apostle Paul. He says:

"Have this mind in you, which was also in Mashiyach Yahshua [or, Messiah Jesus]: who, existing in the form of Yahweh, counted not the being on an equality with Yahweh a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, taking the form of a servant, being made in the likeness of men; and being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, becoming obedient even unto death, yea, the death of the stake. Wherefore also Elohim highly exalted him, and gave unto him the name which is above every name; that in the name of Yahshua every knee should bow, of things in heaven and things on earth and things under the earth."-Philippians 2:5-10, Zikarown Say'fer Bible

Before Jesus (or, Yahshua as this translation has it) was born as a human he was inferior. In clear words Paul said that "although [Jesus] existed in the form of God, [he] did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped." {New American Standard Bible) Jesus did not even try to grasp something that he did not have. Other translations mistranslate that word "grasped" to things like "cling", "grasped or retained", as if there are two alternate renderings, and "be used for His own advantage." (The Message, The Amplified Bible, Holman Christian Standard Bible) These three translations mistranslated the original Greek word used by Paul here. They are trying to read something into the text that is just not there. It is okay, though. Paul clear this up later.

Regarding Jesus after he ascended to heaven the Bible says, "But I want you to know that the head of every man is the Christ; in turn the head of a woman is the man; in turn the head of the Christ is God." (1 Corinthians 11:3) As I always ask after reading this verse, "How is it that God is the head of Christ in the same way that Christ is the head of man if Christ is God? If Christ is God and yet God is his head, then we are Christ because he is our head!" I have never had a Trinitarian come up with an answer, normally they only bring my attention to another Scripture. This verse presents a real problem for them.

The last Scripture that has a bearing on this subject says, "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of tender mercies and the God of all comfort." (2 Corinthians 1:3) So, even after Jesus is resurrected, the Bible clearly states that he is inferior to the Father.

Scriptures such as John 5:18 can superficially seem to present a problem but upon further examination they really do not. In the eyes of the Jews, Jesus was making himself equal to God by calling God his own father. However, the Jews were known to exaggerate little things and make them very big things. They did it more then once on the night of Jesus' death.

The conclusions drawn by apostate Jews is not an adequate basis for making any statement. If we did then Jesus was a blasphemer and a law-breaker. What should really guide our understanding is what the Bible says. May we all endeavor to do that.

Is there Life After Death?

2009-03-11T07:47:00.021-05:00

*This is not a real Watchtower article and the question and answer format should not be taken seriously. Please do not get offended. This is just me trying to make it a little more fun.*

"Jehovah God proceeded to form the man out of dust from the ground and to blow into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man came to be a living soul."-Genesis 2:7

Very few religions do not believe that there is no life after death. It is certainly plausible, since no scientific machine can measure or detect something like that. It has to be taken by faith. And surely, Jehovah God can make a soul--if we actually have one--continue to live after death. He says, "Look! All the souls--to me they belong. As the soul of the father so likewise the soul of the son--to me they belong." (Ezekiel 18:4) If all the souls belong to Jehovah, then it is undoubtedly true that He can cause anything to happen.

2 However, we must first ask some questions: What is the soul? Are the soul and spirit the same? Does the Bible teach that a person lives on after death? What is the final end? These question are very important if we want to answer the first, Is there life after death?

What Is the Soul?
3 Many teach that the soul is an immaterial life that lives inside our body with us. It is completely identical to us--because it is us--and it retains all of our memories, personality traits, and emotions that we possessed during our real life. Most people believe that when we die, our soul goes to heaven to live with God.

4 Of course, we want to see what the Bible says on this matter. According to the Bible, what is the soul? Well, the Hebrew word rendered soul is Ne'phesh and the Greek word rendered soul is Psykhe'. Both of these words carry the exact same thought. As used in the Scriptures, they both show the word soul to be a person, animal, or the life that a creature lives. Furthermore, the way that English term is used today refers to something immaterial, invisible, and immortal. In contrast, the original language words always refer to that which is material, visible, and mortal.

5 With these type of definitions applied to these words, it may surprise many to learn the truth about the soul. This is the truth: You, as a living, breathing person, are a soul. The Bible says of the first man, Adam, "Jehovah God proceeded to form the man out of dust from the ground and to blow into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man came to be a living soul." (Genesis 2:7) It was not until the man received the breath of live that he became a soul, not received a soul. The Bible in other places says that the soul eats and has blood.-Leviticus 7:18; Jeremiah 2:34

6 In regard to animals the Bible says, "Let the waters swarm forth a swarm of living souls and let flying creatures fly over the earth upon the face of the expanse of the heavens...let the earth put forth living souls according to their kinds, domestic animal and moving animal and wild beast of the earth according to its kind." (Genesis 1:20, 24) Yes, we see that even animals are living souls. The same word is used at Genesis 1:20, 24, ne'phesh, for animals as that used in regard as humans. The soul of the human and the soul of the animal are no different.

Are the Soul and Spirit the Same?
7 While the Hebrew and Greek words for soul are ne'phesh and psykhe', the words for spirit in Hebrew and Greek are different. The word for spirit in Hebrew is ru'ach and the Greek word is pneu'ma. Basically, both these words mean breath, wind, or spirit.

8 What the Bible teaches about the word "spirit" is essential to consider when answering the above question. For example, Psalm 104:29 says, "If you take away their spirit, they expire, and back to their dust they go." Jesus' half brother, James, says, "As the body without spirit is dead, so also faith without works is dead." (James 2:26) So the spirit is essential to life. Without it, we would not be alive.

9 Go back to the first man, Adam, again. The original Greek word for spirit, ru'ach, is used in regard to him. Remember, the Bible says, "God proceeded to...blow into his nostrils the breath [ru'ach] of life." What was the effect? Adam "came to be a living soul." (Genesis 2:7) The man did not receive the soul of life but the spirit of life. Without the spirit going into him, the soul, the life, the man, would not have existed. The man needs that spirit of life to live--to be a soul. That is why the Bible says, "Do not put your trust...in the son[s] of earthling man...his spirit goes out, he goes back to his ground; in that day his thoughts do perish." (Psalm 146:3-4) Spirit leaves the man and the soul, or man, dies--he goes back to the dust.

Does the Bible Teach That A Person Lives On After Death
10 So, if the spirit goes out, does that mean that the man lives on after death? The Bible does say: "Then the dust returns to the earth just as it happened to be and the spirit itself returns to the true God who gave it." (Ecclesiastes 12:7) If the soul does not return to heaven, does that mean that the spirit does?

11 First, we need to reason on this. When Jehovah blew into Adam the 'spirit of life' and he became a living soul, did God breath into Adam a particular spirit made specifically for that man, a spirit that contained his personality traits? Because if the spirit that goes back to God is an individual with all the memories, personality traits, and emotional responses that the living soul had, then God would have to give each person an individual spirit that contained a predisposed makeup.

12 Second, look back at Psalm 146:3-4. When the living soul dies and the spirit returns to God the verse says that "his thoughts do perish." The spirit has no thoughts--it is only a force that keeps our heart beating, our brain working, and our body responding. So when Ecclesiastes 12:7 says that the spirit returns to the God who gave it, it means that God remembers us.

13 What may surprise many is what the Bible teaches about the eventuality of man. Wise King Solomon was inspired by Jehovah to write something. He said, "There is an eventuality as respects the sons of mankind and an eventuality as respects the beast, and they have the same eventuality. As the one dies, so the other dies; and they all have but one spirit, so that there is no superiority of the man over the beast, for everything is vanity. All are going to one place. They have all come to be from the dust, and they are all returning to the dust."-Ecclesiastes 3:19-20

14 The spirit of man suffers the same fate as the spirit of the beast. They each just go away. The man, in this respect, is no different then the animal. We all know what happens to an animal when it dies. It no longer exist. Think about this. If a dog tried to battle a lion, the lion would win out. The lion is better then a dog. However, if the lion was dead, the dog is better off. (Ecclesiastes 9:4) Humans are no different then that dog. Even though a lion would win in battle against a human, a dead lion is not better then a live human. In the same way, a dead human is no better off then a live dog--or a dead dog. They are both equally dead.

15 The Bible also teaches this truth: the soul dies. To the prophet Ezekiel Jehovah said, "The soul that is sinning--it itself will die." (Ezekiel 18:4, 20) To reiterate that point, when we look back to the first man and his eventual fate, we see this point clearly. After Adam sinned he was told, "In the sweat of your face you will eat bread until you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken. For dust you are and to dust you will return." (Genesis 3:19) Jehovah did not tell Adam that he would go to Heaven or Hell when he died but that he would go back to the same state that he was in before. He would die and turn back to dust.

16 The real clincher of the matter is this extremely clear Scripture. Ecclesiastes 9:5 says, "For the living are conscious that they will die; but as for the dead, they are conscious of nothing at all." So neither the soul nor the spirit continue after death. We, as a soul, cease to exist and the spirit, or life force, goes out, causing our thoughts to perish. We are not immortal. That is why the Bible says that Jesus Christ is "the one alone"--in relation to humans--"having immortality." (1 Timothy 6:16) That is why we need to feel the same way as the Psalmist David: "Into your hand I entrust my spirit."-Psalm 31:5

What Is the Final End
17 When asked about the resurrection by people who did not believe in it, Jesus said, "As regards the resurrection of the dead, did you not read what was spoken to you by God, saying, 'I am the God of Abraham and the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob’? He is the God, not of the dead, but of the living.'" (Matthew 22:31-32) Some might point to this verse and say, "See! Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob are not dead! They must be in heaven with God! All of your arguments are useless!" But the Gospel writer Luke sheds light on that. He continued Jesus' words: "He is a God, not of the dead, but of the living, for they are all living to him." (Luke 20:38) That brings us to our concluding point.

18 Death is going to be done away with. Paul, after quoting Isaiah 25:8 saying "The saying will take place that is written: 'Death is swallowed up forever', then turns and quotes Hosea 13:14, taunting death because it cannot hurt man anymore. (1 Corinthians 15:54-55; Revelation 21:3-4) Yes, one day death will be done away with! Yet, there is more! Those who have died will return to life. Jesus taught this. He said, "Do not marvel at this, because the hour is coming in which all those in the memorial tombs will hear his voice and come out." (John 5:28-29) Paul and John also both taught a resurrection.

19 Paul wrote, "I have hope toward God, which hope these men themselves also entertain, that there is going to be a resurrection of both the righteous and the unrighteous." (Acts 24:15) John said, "And I saw the dead, the great and the small, standing before the throne, and scrolls were opened...and the sea gave up those dead in it, and death and Hades gave up those dead in them." (Revelation 20:12-13) Yes, millions and perhaps billions of people who have lived and died will return from the grave and have a hope of living forever on a paradise earth.-Psalm 37:11, 29

20 We can thank Jehovah for his wonderful provision. He does not torment people in hell for eternity and he doesn't rip us from the people we love forever. He also doesn't keep us in the dark on this subject. When we say, "Jehovah, into your hands we entrust our spirits" we can be confident that He knows exactly what to do with them. If you would like to learn what the Bible says further on this subject and many other subjects, write to the appropriate address or send a request by electronic correspondence. Any Jehovah's Witness in your area would be happy to help you!

Study Questions
1, 2. (A) Why is it plausible that something could live on after death? (B) What questions will be considered in this article?

3. What is the basic teaching about the soul?

4. (A) What are the original language words that are translated into soul? (B) What does the English translation of these words bring to mind, but what connotation do they actually carry?

5. What is the truth about the soul and what Bible Scriptures point this out?

6. Is the original language word translated "soul" in regard to animals the same as the word translated "soul" for humans? Explain.

7. What are the original language words for "spirit" and what basic meanings could they have?

8. Why is spirit essential for life?

9. (A) How do the circumstances surrounding Adam help defend the notion of the spirit being the life-force? (B) How is Psalm 146:3-4 help to clear things up?

10. What question does Ecclesiastes 12:7 raise?

11. What question does the idea of a conscious spirit bring up and how can this be reasoned upon?

12. What further way does Psalm 146:3-4 help us to see that neither the soul nor the spirit is conscious?

13, 14. (A) What eventuality befalls both man and animal and what happens to each when this occurs? (B) What illustration from the Bible can be used to clarify and strengthen this point?

15. (A) Does the soul die? Explain. (B) What did Jehovah promise would happen to Adam after he sinned and where is Adam now?

16. Does the Bible say that we are immortal? Is anyone immortal?

17. (A) What did Jesus claim about Jehovah in regard to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob? (B) How does Luke clarify what Jesus actually meant?

18, 19. (A) What will one day happen to death, 'the last enemy'? (B) What words of Jesus, Paul, and John show that death is not the end?

20. Why can we be thankful to Jehovah and what can we be confident of?

Prophecies Regarding Our Lord Jesus

2009-03-10T12:45:00.003-05:00

*And it must occur in that day that there will be the root of Jesse that will be standing up as a signal for the peoples. To him even the nations will turn inquiringly, and his resting-place must become glorious.-Isaiah 11:10*

Prophecy-Descendant of Abraham:
Utterance-Genesis 17:6, 19
Fulfillment-Matthew 1:2-16; Luke 3:23-34

Prophecy-Descendant of Isaac:
Utterance-Genesis 17:19; 21:12
Fulfillment-Matthew 1:2-16; Luke 3:23-34

Prophecy-Descendant of Jacob:
Utterance-Genesis 28:10, 14
Fulfillment-Matthew 1:2-16; Luke 3:23-34

Prophecy-Descendant of Judah:
Utterance-Genesis 49:10
Fulfillment-Matthew 1:2-16; Luke 3:23-34

Prophecy-Descendant of David:
Utterance-Isaiah 11:1
Fulfillment-Matthew 1:2-16; Luke 3:23-34

Prophecy-Come 69x7 (483 Years) After Temple Rebuilt:
Utterance-Daniel 9:24-26
Fulfillment-Luke 3:15

Prophecy-Born of a Virgin:
Utterance-Isaiah 7:14
Fulfillment-Matthew 1:20-23

Prophecy-Born in Bethlehem Ephrathah:
Utterance-Micah 5:2
Fulfillment-Matthew 2:4-7

Prophecy-Anointed with holy spirit:
Utterance-Isaiah 61:1-2
Fulfillment-Luke 4:18-21

Prophecy-Prophet like Moses:
Utterance-Deuteronomy 18:15, 18
Fulfillment-Acts 3:20-22

Prophecy-Naphtali; Zebulun see Light:
Isaiah 9:1-2
Fulfillment-Matthew 4:13-16

Prophecy-Herod kills children:
Utterance-Jeremiah 31:15
Fulfillment-Matthew 2:16-18

Prophecy-Called out of Egypt:
Utterance-Hosea 11:1
Fulfillment-Matthew 2:13-15

Prophecy-Speak only parables:
Utterance-Psalm 78:2
Fulfillment-Matthew 13:13, 34-35

Prophecy-No sin:
Utterance-Isaiah 53:9
Fulfillment-2 Peter 2:22

Prophecy-Priest forever:
Utterance-Psalm 110:4
Fulfillment-Hebrews 5:6

Prophecy-Enter Jerusalem on donkey:
Utterance-Zechariah 9:9
Fulfillment-Matthew 21:1-11

Prophecy-Enter temple with authority:
Utterance-Malachi 3:1
Fulfillment-Matthew 21:12

Prophecy-Betrayed by friend:
Utterance-Psalm 41:9
Fulfillment-Matthew 26:21, 47-49

Prophecy-Betrayed for 30 silver pieces then used to buy field:
Utterance-Zechariah 11:12-13
Fulfillment-Matthew 26:15; 27:3-7

Prophecy-Disciples Scattered:
Utterance-Zechariah 13:7
Fulfillment-Matthew 26:31, 56

Prophecy-False witnesses used at trial:
Utterance-Psalm 27:12
Fulfillment-Matthew 26:59-60

Prophecy-Hated without cause:
Utterance-Psalm 69:4
Fulfillment-Matthew 26:59-60

Prophecy-Spit upon and struck:
Utterance-Isaiah 50:6; Micah 5:1
Fulfillment-Matthew 26:67-68

Prophecy-Gamble for garments:
Utterance-Psalm 22:18
Fulfillment-Matthew 27:35; John 19:33-34

Prophecy-Thirsty and given vinegar to drink:
Utterance-Psalm 22:15; 69:21
Fulfillment-John 19:28; Matthew 27:34

Prophecy-No bones broken:
Utterance-Psalm 34:20
Fulfillment-John 19:33, 36

Prophecy-Resurrected:
Utterance-Psalm 16:10
Fulfillment-Matthew 28:5-6; Acts 2:24, 27

Prophecy-Sit at God's right hand:
Utterance-Psalm 110:1
Fulfillment-Acts 7:55; Hebrews 1:3

Isaiah 53:1-12
53:1-Not believed in-John 12:37-38
53:2-Undesired-Mark 6:3; Luke 9:58
53:3-Rejected-John 1:11; 7:5
53:4-Carried our sicknesses-Matthew 8:16-17
53:5-Death atone for all sins-Matthew 20:28; John 1:29
53:6-Sheep without shepherds; Errors on him-1 Peter 2:24-25; 3:18
53:7-Silent before accusers-Matthew 27:12-14; Mark 14:61
53:8-Tried and condemned-John 19:12-16
53:9-Buried with rich-Matthew 27:57-60; John 19:38-42
53:10-Resurrected by God-Acts 2:24; 3:15; 1 Corinthians 15:3-6
53:11-Bear sins of others-1 John 2:2
53:12-Die sacrificial death-Mark 10:45; 1 Timothy 2:6; Hebrews

Did Adam and Eve Repent of Their Sin?

2009-03-08T21:27:00.000-05:00

I was speaking to two local Mormon missionaries recently who told me that after the Fall of Adam and Eve, they repented, were forgiven, baptized, and Adam became a priest. When I asked for a Biblical reference for this they said that it wasn't in the Bible. However, they pointed to their Scripture The Pearl of Great Price, book of Moses 5:5-12; 6:55-65.

Does the Bible support this?

After doing research, I realized that first, if an event this important had actually occurred, the Bible would have definitely spoken of it. Second, if Adam had been forgiven the Bible would not continually speak of him negatively. Third, the Bible record actually disproves this! How?

At Genesis 5:21-24 the Bible says, "And Enoch lived on for sixty-five years. Then he became father to Methuselah. And after his fathering Methuselah Enoch went on walking with the true God three hundred years

. Meanwhile he became father to sons and daughters. So all the days of Enoch amounted to three hundred and sixty-five years. And Enoch kept walking with the true God. Then he was no more, for God took him."

How does this disprove this particular belief? First, no one else is said to walk with the true God until Noah. Second, this was such an important thing that the Bible mentions it twice in the same area! Third, Adam was alive when Enoch was alive! Just consider.

Adam died at 930 years of age. (Genesis 5:5) He had Seth at 130 years. Seth had his son, Enosh, at 105. This would make Adam 235 years old. Enosh had his son, Kenan, at 90. Adam would be 325. Kenan had Mahalalel at 70. Adam would be 395. Mahalalel had Jared at 65. Adam would be 460. Finally, Jared had Enoch 162. Adam would 622. Enoch died at the age of 325. This would put Adam at 947, if he had not died 17 years earlier. In fact, Adam was still alive when Noah's father was Lamech was still alive. Obviously, Lamech was not serving God. (Genesis 4:23-24; 5:6-27) The only person that was said to worship the true God in all that period was Enoch.

Some may object and say that Genesis 4:26 proves that people were worshiping the true God. This verse says, "And to Seth also there was born a son and he proceeded to call his name Enosh. At that time a start was made of calling on the name of Jehovah."

"Obviously," some may object, "Either Seth or Enosh started to worship the true God, and that goes together perfectly with what the Pearl of Great Price says of Enosh in Moses 6:13." That seems like a valid objection. But when you do extra research, you find that it really isn't. In fact, it shows that the author of the book of Moses read the Bible, misinterpreted that Scripture in the exact manner in which I just explained it (I can't really judge, until I did the research a couple of months ago, I was under the same impression). How is this a misinterpretation?

This verse does not mean what it appears to mean. Leading scholars of Biblical Hebrew show us that the original words in that verse carry a bad connotation. When it says that a "start was made of calling on the name of Jehovah" the Hebrew says that they called on this Name profanely. In fact, translators should really translate it "began profanely calling on the name of Jehovah" or "then profanation began in calling on the name of Jehovah." In fact, the Jewish Targum says of this verse that they began making idols and called the idols Jehovah. The Insight on the Scriptures says that they may have even started claiming that they were Jehovah or that they called other men Jehovah and approached those to worship Him. They also could have used His name on their idols.

Even if this verse did not indicate a beginning of false worship and did mean that people began to worship Jehovah it still contradicts the fifth and sixth chapters of the book of Moses. These chapters say that Adam and Eve repented before the days of Seth and Enosh and continued to worship Jehovah for the rest of their lives. However, Genesis 4:26 says that it wasn't until the days of Enosh that a start was made of calling on the Name of Jehovah. Either way it is presented, we can see that Adam and Eve did not repent, or if they tried, Jehovah did not accept that. If they had of and their repentance had been accepted, the Bible would surely indicate that.

Are Christians Under the Mosaic Law?

2009-03-08T20:43:00.002-05:00

Many religions today teach that Christians must obey the Mosaic Law in its entirety except the animal sacrifices. They point to Hebrews 9 to back that up.

"When Christ came as a high priest of the good things that have come to pass, through the greater and more perfect tent not made with hands, that is, not of this creation, he entered, no, not with the blood of goats and of young bulls, but with his own blood, once for all time into the holy place and obtained an everlasting deliverance for us. For if the blood of goats and of bulls and the ashes of a heifer sprinkled on those who have been defiled sanctifies to the extent of cleanness of the flesh, 14 how much more will the blood of the Christ, who through an everlasting spirit offered himself without blemish to God, cleanse our consciences from dead works that we may render sacred service to the living God?"-Hebrews 9:11-14

In the Mosaic Law, the Israelites were commanded to observe the Passover. On the day that the Passover was instituted to memorialize, the Israelites were to take an unblemished, young lamb and slaughter it. Then they were to put some of its blood on their doorposts. This would make the angel of death pass over their houses as he went through the city, slaughtering the firstborn.-Exodus 12:21-23, 43-49

Furthermore, Jehovah laid down a specific set of sacrifices that the Israelites were to perform. (Leviticus 4:1-6:14) If at any time the Israelites failed to do this, they were guilty of their sins. They could only find relief in the repetition of these sacrifices.

All of this changed when Jesus Christ came. Speaking prophetically of the Messiah, the prophet Daniel tells us, "And he must keep the covenant in force for the many for one week; and at the half of the week he will cause sacrifice and gift offering to cease." (Daniel 9:27) In clear, crystal language, Daniel lets us know that the Messiah is going to end the need for sacrifices. Was this something that New Testament writers knew?

Paul knew it. "Indeed, Christ our passover has been sacrificed." (1 Corinthians 5:7) Christ was the last passover sacrifice that needed to be offered. And even more then that he performed the ultimate sacrifice, making the need for all other sacrifices to stop. This is explained at Hebrews 9:11-12. Read that again.

However, did the coming of Jesus only make the requirement of animal sacrifices cease or did he make the entire Mosaic Law invalid? Let us start out with one major point of the Mosaic Law that many people point to: The Sabbath Day.

Is Celebrating the Sabbath Necessary?
Many Christian denominations still celebrate the Sabbath Day. Among these are Mormons, Seventh-Day Adventists, Messianic-Christian groups, and various Restored-Name groups. A smattering of individual churches throughout Christendoms denominations celebrate the Sabbath, too. So we must ask, is it necessary?

The NT writers didn't think so. One of them, Paul, said, "Therefore let no man judge you in eating and drinking or in respect of a festival or of an observance of the new moon or of a sabbath; for those things are a shadow of the things to come, but the reality belongs to the Christ." (Colossians 2:16-17) Paul gave us a major indicator that the Sabbath was not mandatory. True, Paul said that these things were a conscious matter, it was up to each individual to decide if he wanted to continue to observe the Sabbath. He did warn, though, that undue emphasize on the celebrating of the Sabbath was detrimental.

"But now that you have come to know God, or rather now that you have come to be known by God, how is it that you are turning back again to the weak and beggarly elementary things and want to slave for them over again? You are scrupulously observing days and months and seasons and years. I fear for you, that somehow I have toiled to no purpose respecting you." (Galatians 4:9-11) This was a reproof. The celebrating of the Sabbath was called "weak" and is an indication that a Christian has started to regress, or 'turn back', to this form of slavery under the Mosaic Law.

One other reasoning point to mention to these people who continue to believe that the Sabbath is binding is this: Why do they make such an effort to celebrate the Sabbath day but completely neglect the Sabbath year as mentioned at Leviticus 25:3-4? If they refuse to work, buy, or sell on Friday (Muslims), Saturday (Seventh-Day Adventist), or Sunday (Mormons), depending on which day they believe the Sabbath originally fell on, then why do they not quit their jobs every seven years as required? Are they scared that God will not completely provide? Why not mention that next time someone says that the Sabbath is necessary? The Scriptures show that it isn't.

Are Christians Required to Observe the Mosaic Law?
There is one Scripture that people who believe in following the Mosaic Law point to. It is Romans 3:31, which says in the International Standard Version, "Do we, then, abolish the law by this faith? Of course not! Instead, we uphold the law." Other translations, instead of saying "uphold" say things like "establish" (NASB, NWT, KJV), "support" (God's Word Translation), and "make it clear that the law is important" (Bible in Basic English). All of these, besides the ISV, leave it open for interpretation. The ISV is the only translation that supports this belief.

Since normal religious people can interpret this verse to say anything they want, we should really look to the authorities. What do they say?

"'We establish the law'--Both the authority, purity, and the end of it; by defending that which the law attests; by pointing out Christ, the end of it; and by showing how it may be fulfilled in its purity."
-Wesley's Notes

"The sinner establishes the law in its right use and honour by confessing his guilt, and acknowledging that by it he is justly condemned. Christ, on the sinner's behalf, establishes the law by enduring its penalty, death."
-Scofield Reference Notes

"Believers are not left to be lawless; faith is a law...The law is still of use to convince us of what is past, and to direct us for the future. Though we cannot be saved by it as a covenant, yet we own and submit to it, as a rule in the hand of the Mediator."
-Matthew Henry's Commentary

All of the above Scholar notes show that Romans 3:31 is not a good basis for saying that we are still under the Law of Moses. However, in the end, scholars are not as authoritative as God's Word. Despite Romans 3:31, does the Bible teach that Christians are still under the Mosaic Law?

Paul answers that question by saying, "For Christ is the end of the Law, so that everyone exercising faith may have righteousness." (Romans 10:4) When the Law Covenant was in effect, the way to be declared righteous was by following the commands in the Law. Now that it is abolished we are declared righteous by our faith.

Paul expressed this in even clearer language to the congregation in Ephesus when he said, "By means of his flesh [Christ] abolished the enmity, the Law of commandments consisting in decrees, that he might create the two peoples in union with himself into one new man and make peace; and that he might fully reconcile both peoples in one body to God through the torture stake, because he had killed off the enmity by means of himself." (Ephesians 2:15-16) The Law did not reconcile us to God, only the death of our Lord Jesus was able to accomplish that. That is probably what Paul had in mind when he said that it was by undeserved kindness that we were saved and not works.-Ephesians 2:8-9

In the end, the abolition of the Law was necessary. Why? "A man is declared righteous, not due to works of law, but only through faith toward Christ Jesus...because due to works of law no flesh will be declared righteous." (Romans 2:16) The Mosaic Law was necessary for its time. It was full of regulations that showed what was wrong and what was right in the eyes of Jehovah. However, when someone did not follow the Law perfectly they sinned, plain and simple, and the works of the Law were not enough to pass over that. This was a weakness of the Law.

In the book of Hebrews, Paul spoke plainly about the weaknesses of the Law. Since many of the laws were prophetic of the Messiah, they were not able to fulfill the way the Messiah did. In fact, "the Law has a shadow of the good things to come, but not the very substance of the things." (Hebrews 10:1) The weakness of the Law was due to the fact that it was only prophetic, a shadow of the things to come but not the things themselves. Due to this, "there occurs a setting aside of the preceding commandment on account of its weakness and ineffectiveness. For the Law made nothing perfect."-Hebrews 7:18-19

The view that many took was that since the Law was gone the sins that were forbidden in the Law were now alright to practice. For this reason, Paul wrote to the Romans, "For sin must not be master over you, seeing that you are not under law but under undeserved kindness. What follows? Shall we commit a sin because we are not under law but under undeserved kindness? Never may that happen!" (Romans 6:14-15) No, the idea that it is alright to sin because the Law was forbidden is wrong. If we sin because of that we are letting sin get the mastery of us. The main thing that we must remember is even though we are not under the old Law, we are under a new law. The Law of the Christ, a much more superior law then the one given to Moses.-Galatians 6:2

Knowing all of this should not make us more prone to sin or make us think that the Law is not important. Our concluding Scripture should make us have respect for that Law and show us that we should still abide by the principles therein. "I would not have come to know sin if it had not been for the Law; and, for example, I would not have known covetousness if the Law had not said: 'You must not covet.'" (Romans 7:7) The fact that there are so many wonderful principles embodied in the Mosaic Law should make us want to learn what it says and how we, people who abide by the Law of the Christ, can apply it in our lives.

-------------------------

Other Scriptures Showing Christians Are Not Under The Law
Romans 7:6
Galatians 3:19
Galatians 3:23-25
Galatians 5:18

Other Scriptures Showing Weakness Of Mosaic Law
Galatians 2:16
Galatians 3:11-13

This Was Funny, So I Took It

2009-03-06T22:29:00.002-06:00

When God's Parents Lost Him
Trinitarians insist that whenever we see the word "Jesus" in the Bible, we can be sure the Bible writers were referring to God the Son. They claim this was God walking in the land of Israel. So if Jesus is God .....

Now the parents of God went to Jerusalem every year at the feast of the Passover. And when God was twelve years old, they went up according to custom and when the feast was ended, as they were returning, God stayed behind in Jerusalem. The parents of God did not know it, but supposing God to be in their company they went a day's journey, and they sought God among their kinsfolk and acquaintances and when they did not find God, they returned to Jerusalem, seeking God. After three days they found God in the temple, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions and all who heard God were amazed at the understanding of God and His answers. And when they saw God they were astonished and the mother of God said to him, "God, why have you treated us so? Behold, your father and I have been looking for you anxiously." And God said to them, "How is it that you sought me? Did you not know that I must be in the house of my Father?" And they did not understand the saying which God spoke to them. And God went down with them and came to Nazareth and God was obedient to them and the mother of God kept all these things in her heart. And God increased in wisdom and in stature and in favor with God and man.-Luke 2:40-52

Holy Spirit Absurdities
If the Holy Spirit is the 3rd person of the Trinity then:

Now the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, "See, I have called by name Bezalel, the son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah. "I have filled him with [the third person of the Trinity] in wisdom, in understanding, in knowledge-Exodus 31:1-3

Do not cast me away from Your presence And do not take Your [third person of the Trinity] from me.-Psalm 51:11

Behold, My Servant, whom I uphold; My chosen one in whom My soul delights. I have put My [third person of the Trinity] upon Him; He will bring forth justice to the nations.-Isaiah 42:1

I will not hide My face from them any longer, for I will have poured out My [third person of the Trinity] on the house of Israel," declares the Lord GOD.-Ezekiel 39:29

It will come about after this that I will pour out My [third person of the Trinity] on all mankind; And your sons and daughters will prophesy, Your old men will dream dreams, Your young men will see visions.-Joel 2:28

"As for me, I baptize you with water for repentance, but He who is coming after me is mightier than I, and I am not fit to remove His sandals; He will baptize you with [the third person of the Trinity] and fire-Matthew 3:11

Jesus, full of [the third person of the Trinity], returned from the Jordan and was led around by the Spirit in the wilderness-Luke 4:1

If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give [the third person of the Trinity to those who ask Him?-Luke 11:13

For He whom God has sent speaks the words of God; for He gives [the third person of the Trinity] without measure.-John 3:34

Therefore having been exalted to the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of [the third person of the Trinity], Jesus has poured forth this which you both see and hear.-Acts 2:33

Now when the apostles at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent to them Peter and John, who came down and prayed for them that they might receive [the third person of the Trinity] for [the third person of the Trinity] had not yet fallen on any of them... Then they laid their hands on them and they received [the third person of the Trinity]... Now when Simon saw that [the third person of the Trinity] was given through the laying on of the apostles' hands, he offered them money.-Acts 8:14-15

While Peter was still saying this, [the third person of the Trinity] fell on all who heard the word. And the believers from among the circumcised who came with Peter were amazed, because the gift of [the third person of the Trinity] had been poured out even on the Gentiles. For they heard them speaking in tongues and extolling God. Then Peter declared, Can any one forbid water for baptizing these people who have received [the third person of the Trinity] just as we have?"-Acts 10:43-47

But in my opinion she is happier if she remains as she is; and I think that I also have [the third person of the Trinity].-1 Corinthians 7:40

Did you receive [the third person of the Trinity] by the works of the Law, or by hearing with faith? Are you so foolish? Having begun in [the third person of the Trinity], are you now being perfected by the flesh?-Galatians 3:2-3

By this you know [the third person of the Trinity]: every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God.-1 John 4:2

On the Lord's Day I was in the Spirit.-Revelation 1:10 (It originally had the alternate rendering but my conscience will not let me post the alternate rendering due to the fact that it is from the book of Revelation and I do not want to be guilty of breaking the commandment at Revelation 22:18-19.

Complete Randomness (Because I Can)

2009-03-06T19:59:00.011-06:00

Due to the nature of my posts, my true personality does not come through properly. I will tell you about myself. First and foremost, my life revolves around Jehovah God and His precepts. "And I shall show a fondness for your commandments that I have loved. And I shall raise my palms to your commandments that I have loved, and I will concern myself with your regulations...How I do love your law! All day long it is my concern." (Psalm 119:47-48, 97) However, there is much more to life then that. We are counseled to be balanced.

Jehovah God has given each of us a gift. (1 Corinthians 12:4, 7-8) With me, I have a way with words. Perhaps I am not able to form thoughts as well on this blog but I am very imaginative. At the moment, I am working on a novel that I am trying to get published as well as a compilation of some short stories that I have written. These are all science fiction, my favorite genre of books. I love to read. I have books by Isaac Asimov, Ben Bova, David Brin, Orson Scott Card, Arthur C. Clarke, Michael Chrichton, Philip Jose Farmer, Peter F. Hamilton, Frank Herbert, L. Ron Hubbard, Fredrick Pohl, Kim Stanley Robinson, Dan Simmons, Robert Charles Wilson, and more.

I have a subscription to GQ, National Geographic, Time, and Wired magazines. I know how to dress myself in the winter but can't put two pieces together in the summer. Too bad summer only lasted two weeks this year in the south! Oh well. I stole the idea for my desk arrangement from the Bible Teach book on page 22, computer included.

I love maps and that is the main reason I keep my NG subscription, for the maps. I love movies! Really, really love movies. I collect Bibles, paperback books, CD's and magazines. I am currently trying to read all of the Society paperback publications that they print. I'm reading Questions Young People Ask: Answers That Work.

I love to talk about the Bible to people. I am constantly studying and rarely forget any information that I've read once and put my mind to remembering. I have brothers and sisters come to me for answers, many before they go to their CD-Rom! When I learn something new, I want to tell people in service but no one wants to listen to me. That is why I made this blog, to get all of this stuff off my chest! Thanks for reading. Recently, my wife and I have started watching the Golden Girls which is hilarious! I love it. I can't believe I'd turn it as a child everytime I saw those "four stupid old women".

I love to talk and laugh. When in school, I had no self-esteem because I have a speech impediment and was always being picked on. Once out of school I got over that real quick. Now I love getting assignments for the TMS, studying the information and preparing it in a very unique way. When I perfect the #4 that I'm giving this Tuesday, I will post a script of my talk. I'll have to write it down because I normally just keep a very brief outline.

I was never rebellious growing up. I was afraid to smoke, drink, or otherwise partake in any illegal activities. I hated myself for my fear because I felt that it inhibited my from "really living" but now that I have learned the Truth, I am happy to say that I resisted the temptations of the world.

Well, that's all for today folks! However, I thought that maybe all my Witness readers would like this.

Another weird thing is that I am moved by the weirdest little things. These two pictures really did it for me.

I don't know what it is about these two pictures, but the smallest things make me happy. I'm weird but that's okay. I've learned to love myself. I can joke around and make witty comments out of nowhere. I realize now that that is a sign that I have more self-respect, confidence, and love for myself. I was never quick or witty. I have matured greatly.

I have two sisters. My older sister has two children, boys, and my younger sister has one son. My wife and I are talking about it but just want to wait until we've settled down financially. Life has been hectic these last two years and has just started settling down.

I am right-handed, have brown eyes and my phone number is...

The Day the Earth Stood Still

2009-02-27T14:37:00.002-06:00

One of the most impressive stories in the entire Bible is the tale of Joshua when he battled against the Phoenicians. The Bible says on this matter:

"It was then that Joshua proceeded to speak to Jehovah on the day of Jehovah’s abandoning the Amorites to the sons of Israel, and he went on to say before the eyes of Israel: 'Sun, be motionless over Gibeon, and, moon, over the low plain of Aijalon.' Accordingly the sun kept motionless, and the moon did stand still, until the nation could take vengeance on its enemies. Is it not written in the book of Jashar? And the sun kept standing still in the middle of the heavens and did not hasten to set for about a whole day. And no day has proved to be like that one, either before it or after it, in that Jehovah listened to the voice of a man, for Jehovah himself was fighting for Israel."
-Joshua 10:12-14

If this is to be believed, the rotation of the earth was halted for "about a whole day". This seems impossible, doesn't it? The Bible doesn't think so. "Sun--moon--stood still, in the lofty abode thereof. Like light your own arrows kept going. The lightning of your spear served for brightness." (Habakkuk 3:11) Jehovah inspired the prophet Habakkuk to reiterate this fact, proving that it really happened.

When you think about it, too, Jesus did say that "with God, all things are possible" even this because "to [Jehovah] the day belongs, to [Jehovah] the night belongs. [Jehovah Him]self prepared the luminary, even the sun." (Matthew 19:26; Psalm 74:16) If Jehovah owns the day and the night and the sun, why can't he stop all of that from moving and still preserve life like a child can make a coin start spinning and then make it stop? No, it is not impossible.

Are their any extra-Biblical sources that verify this account though? Let us see.

What Does Science and History Say?
If Joshua had a long day then it would be logical to think that in other places around the world, there would be accounts of a long dusk, dawn, and night. Are there any records throughout the world that prove this?

Researcher David Nelson writes: "Chinese history speaks of Yao, their king, declaring that in his reign the sun stood so long above the horizon that it was feared the world would have been set on fire" and then he fixes the reign of Yao at a given date, which corresponds with the age of Joshua the son of Nun.[1]

Another Researcher, Harry Rimer, says, "In the ancient Chinese writings there is a legend of a long day. The Incas of Peru and the Aztecs of Mexico have a like record, and there is a Babylonian and a Persian legend of a day that was miraculously extended. Another section of China contributes an account of the day that was miraculously prolonged, in the reign of Emperor Yeo. Herodotus recounts that the priests of Egypt showed him their temple records, and that there he read a strange account of a day that was twice the natural length."[2]

One other researcher, Immanuel Velikovsky, wrote, "In the Mexican Annals of Cuauhtitlan--the history of the empire of Culhuacan and Mexico, written in Nahua-Indian in the sixteenth century--it is related that during a cosmic catastrophe that occurred in the remote past, the night did not end for a long time."[3] In a footnote, Velikovsky writes that the Mexican Annals of Cuauhtitlan were written more then 1000 years before the Common Era. Further, Velikovsky had a theory that at some time in the middle of the second millennium B.C., one of two things occurred. The earth was interrupted in its regular rotation by a comet, or the terrestrial axis was tilted in the presence of a strong magnetic field, so that for several hours the sun appeared to moving from the point-of-view of someone on earth.

Other theories as to the cause of Joshua's Long Day have been presenting, one popular one being that Jehovah God Himself stopped the rotation of the earth.

Unfortunately, we cannot know how Jehovah extended the day, but ancient history lends support to the Bible record.

Scientifically, too, evidence has been discovered that lends support to Velikovsky's theory that a comet, asteroid, or meteor stopped the turning of the earth. One expert, V.L. Westberg wrote in a review to a book on this subject, "I feel a more realistic theory is to examine the possibility of a huge meteor or asteroid plunging into the earth's mantle slowing it down about one revolution while the inner molten core continued to rotate and eventually pull the mantle back in speed. [The writer of the book] recounted how Newton demonstrated how the earth could be suddenly slowed down without appreciable shock to people."[4]

Some scientific findings lend support to this theory. There exist a large sink area between Hawaii and the Philippines with long fracture lines in the ocean bottom radiating outward to the continents. The effect of such a crash would be maximum at the equator on slowing the earth and would result in huge tidal waves which might help explain studies on California's sand deposits.

However, this is just one theory. I do not necessarily believe this theory or support it. Anything as to the cause of Joshua's Long Day is possible. However, this proves that science and history do lend support to the account at Joshua 10:12-14.

The Power of Jehovah Knows No Bounds
However Jehovah stopped the rotation of the earth, we know that it is indeed possible. Many people look at the miracles in the Bible and make themselves disbelieve them because they are too logic-minded.

"What is impossible with men is possible with God."-Luke 18:27

Jehovah can do anything. He flooded the entire earth, effectively destroying all wicked people. (Genesis 6:17; 7:19-20) He sent an angel to destroy 185,000 Assyrians in one night. (2 Kings 19:35) He even made a day shadow retreat ten steps, something else that is not humanly possible. (2 Kings 20:9-11) Yes, with God, everything is possible, even making the rotation of the earth stop for one whole day.

Praise Jehovah!

References

[1] The Cause and Cure of Infidelity, pp. 26-27.

[2] The Harmony of Science and Scripture, pp. 269-270.

[3] Worlds in Collision, pp. 45, 46.

[4] Ibid., p. 76

Is the Roman's Road the Way to Go?

2009-02-22T21:45:00.005-06:00

It is said that everything that a Christian needs in order to accept salvation and learn what God requires is embodied in the book of Romans. Many people preach nothing "except Jesus Christ, and him crucified" and nothing else. (1 Corinthians 2:2, New English Translation) Is this really the way to go? Is our message exclusively "Jesus Christ, and him impaled"?-New World Translation

While the death of Jesus Christ was a major point of the teachings of Paul, John, James, and Peter in the Christian Scriptures, this was not the only thing they wrote about. Many times they wrote about Christian conduct, the Last Days, the apostasy, the importance of faith. Jude originally wanted to compose his letter to talk about "the salvation we hold in common" but realized that it was more important to speak on "put[ting] up a hard fight for the faith that was once for all time delivered to the holy ones." (Jude 3) The circumstances dictated his message.

Paul's example in the book of Acts is paramount. When making a speech in front of a pagan audience, he did not immediately start in on a "Roman's Road" direction, how to gain salvation, but he started on a point which they would understand. (Acts 17:22-29) He then went onto more of a "Roman Road"-ish topic.-Acts 17:30-31

The Bible is a big book. There are many points contained in the inspired Word that we do well to mediate on. "For all the things that were written aforetime were written for our instruction, that through our endurance and through the comfort from the Scriptures we might have hope." (Romans 15:4) Jehovah gave us the entire Bible. He didn't just give us the book of Romans nor did He just give us Matthew-Hebrews. The Bible contains priceless wisdom and teachings on many things.

"Jesus Christ, and him impaled" is a very, very important topic. Jesus Christ died for a number of reason, one being that it would help in the furtherance of Jehovah's purpose, namely, a heavenly kingdom. Due to his faithfulness, Jesus Christ is King of that heavenly kingdom. (Psalm 2:6; 110:1-2; Isaiah 9:6-7; Daniel 7:13-14; Revelation 12:5, 10) If he had not died, the purpose of the kingdom would not be able to be fulfilled. The preaching of that kingdom was the main concern of Christ's teaching.-Luke 4:43; 8:1

So, while a "Roman's Road"-ish message is important, Jesus died for our sins and "there is not another name under heaven that has been given among men by which we must get saved", that is not all that we talk about. It is "to be witnessed to at its own particular times." (Acts 4:12; 1 Timothy 2:6) Jesus Christ told us that we should preach the "good new of the kingdom" and, while the ransom sacrifice of Jesus Christ as an essential aspect of that message, it should not detract from the rest of that good news.-Matthew 24:14

I Did Not Want to Go to the Meeting

2009-02-22T17:19:00.005-06:00

I remembered, though, Paul's admonition continue to "consider one another to incite to love and fine works, not forsaking the gathering of ourselves together, as some have the custom, but encouraging one another, and all the more so as you behold the day drawing near" and so I went. (Hebrews 10:24-25) Afterwards, I couldn't be happier that I made that decision.

The talk was entitled, "Lovers of Pleasures or Lovers of God?" based off of 2 Timothy 3:1, 4 by a visiting brother. The talk was very good, I really enjoyed it. The article in The Watchtower about Jesus Christ based off of John 14:6, "I am the Way and the Truth and Life. No one comes to the Father except through me" was very nice and interesting. We had our bound volumes and WT CD-ROM's come in and I personally approached the brothers and sisters to give them their copies, instead of having them come to us.

I found that after the meeting, I was so happy and in good-spirits. Jehovah's holy spirit really works wonders, does it not? And I know that Jesus, as head of the congregation, was with us as we worshiped. (Matthew 18:20) I thank Jehovah God through Jesus Christ my Lord for all of the things He has done for us and the spiritual food He has provided for us!

Are Jehovah's Witnesses False Prophets?

2009-02-20T14:29:00.002-06:00

Many people look at predictions that Jehovah's Witnesses made based on misinterpretations of Bible text and say that they made false prophecies. This is a very serious matter. If these were prophecies that the Jehovah's Witnesses were making then they are certainly not people that deserve to be listened to.

"But the prophet, which shall presume to speak a word in my name, which I have not commanded him to speak, or that shall speak in the name of other gods, even that prophet shall die. And if thou say in thine heart, How shall we know the word which the LORD hath not spoken? When a prophet speaketh in the name of the LORD, if the thing follow not, nor come to pass, that is the thing which the LORD hath not spoken, but the prophet hath spoken it presumptuously: thou shalt not be afraid of him."-Deuteronomy 18:20-22, King James Version

If a prophet makes a false prophecy, then they are deserving of death. How can you know when someone has made a prophecy? "When a prophet speaketh in the name of the LORD." Yes, there is a difference between a prediction and a prophecy although many will argue that the line is thin. Even if that is so, the line is still there and maybe not as thin as many may think.

Take two examples from the Bible. One is a true prophet and one is a false prophet. Both made mistakes but only one was worthy of death.

The first is Nathan, a true prophet. The Bible says:

"And it came about that, when the king dwelt in his own house and Jehovah himself had given him rest from all his enemies round about, then the king said to Nathan the prophet: 'See, now, I am dwelling in a house of cedars while the ark of the true God is dwelling in the middle of tent cloths.' Upon that Nathan said to the king: 'Everything that is in your heart—go, do, because Jehovah is with you.'

"And it came about on that night that the word of Jehovah came to Nathan, saying: 'Go, and you must say to my servant David, "This is what Jehovah has said: 'Should you yourself build me a house for me to dwell in? For I have not dwelt in a house from the day of my bringing the sons of Israel up out of Egypt to this day, but I was continually walking about in a tent and in a tabernacle..."

"'...And Jehovah has told you that a house is what Jehovah will make for you. When your days come to the full, and you must lie down with your forefathers, then I shall certainly raise up your seed after you, which will come out of your inward parts; and I shall indeed firmly establish his kingdom. He is the one that will build a house for my name, and I shall certainly establish the throne of his kingdom firmly to time indefinite."-2 Samuel 7:1-6, 11-13

Nathan here made a prediction and, even though a prophet, was not executed as if he had made a false prophecy. This shows that people can make predictions about the future and not be false prophets.

A striking feature of false prophets is that they claim to have some type of divine revelation. Take Hananiah for example.

"Then it came about in that year, in the beginning of the kingdom of Zedekiah the king of Judah, in the fourth year, in the fifth month, that Hananiah the son of Azzur, the prophet who was from Gibeon, said to me in the house of Jehovah before the eyes of the priests and of all the people: 'This is what Jehovah of armies, the God of Israel, has said, "I will break the yoke of the king of Babylon. Within two full years more I am bringing back to this place all the utensils of the house of Jehovah that Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon took from this place that he might bring them to Babylon."' And '"Jeconiah the son of Jehoiakim, the king of Judah, and all the exiles of Judah who have come to Babylon I am bringing back to this place," is the utterance of Jehovah, "for I shall break the yoke of the king of Babylon."'...At that Hananiah the prophet took the yoke bar from off the neck of Jeremiah the prophet and broke it. And Hananiah went on to say before the eyes of all the people: "This is what Jehovah has said, 'Just like this I shall break the yoke of Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon within two full years more from off the neck of all the nations.' And Jeremiah the prophet proceeded to go his way."-Jeremiah 28:1-4, 10-11

Hananiah was later put to death by Jehovah for being a false prophet. (Jeremiah 28:15-17) Nathan was not put to death. This showed that not all predictions are prophecies and are not warranting death nor do they warrant the person being ignored.

What Jehovah's Witnesses do is look into the Bible, find what it says, study any chronology, and then tell us when something is going to happen based on their studies. This is no different then what the prophet Daniel did. The Bible says, "In the first year of Darius the son of Ahasuerus of the seed of the Medes, who had been made king over the kingdom of the Chaldeans; in the first year of his reigning I myself, Daniel, discerned by the books the number of the years concerning which the word of Jehovah had occurred to Jeremiah the prophet, for fulfilling the devastations of Jerusalem, namely, seventy years." (Daniel 9:1-2) Daniel was not given divine revelation but followed the same course as Jehovah's Witnesses. He studied the available Scriptures and was able to ascertain when certain events would take place. In this way he was able to see when the Jews would return to Jerusalem.

The biggest question that deserves an answer and which will be key in determining the status of Jehovah's Witnesses as false prophets or not is if they claim to be prophets. Have they ever said, "This is what Jehovah has said" or "The utterance of Jehovah is"? If they have and their prophecy did not come true, then they are indeed false prophets. Have they claimed divine inspiration? Let us look at some of their past statements.

"We have not the gift of prophecy."
-Zion’s Watch Tower, January 1883, page 425

"Nor would we have our writings reverenced or regarded as infallible, or on a par with the holy Scriptures. The most we claim or have ever claimed for our teachings is that they are what we believe to be harmonious interpretations of the divine Word, in harmony with the spirit of the truth. And we still urge, as in the past, that each reader study the subjects we present in the light of the Scriptures, proving all things by the Scriptures, accepting what they see to be thus approved, and rejecting all else. It is to this end, to enable the student to trace the subject in the divinely inspired Record, that we so freely intersperse both quotations and citations of the Scriptures upon which to build."
-Zion's Watch Tower and Herald of Christ's Presence, 15 December 1896, page 2080

"It is not our intention to enter upon the role of prophet to any degree, but merely to give below what seems to us rather likely to be the trend of events—giving also the reasons for our expectations."
-Zion's Watch Tower and Herald of Christ's Presence, 1 March 1904, page 3327

"Many students have made the grievous mistake of thinking that God has inspired men to interpret prophecy. The holy prophets of the Old Testament were inspired by Jehovah to write as his power moved upon them. The writers of the New Testament were clothed with certain power and authority to write as the Lord directed them. However, since the days of the apostles no man on earth has been inspired to write prophecy, nor has any man been inspired to interpret prophecy."
-From the book "Prophecy" Brooklyn: Watchtower Bible and Tract Society, 1929, pages 61-62

"The Watchtower does not claim to be inspired in its utterances, nor is it dogmatic. It invites careful and critical examination of its contents in the light of the Scriptures."
-The Watchtower, 15 August 1950, pages 262-263

Obviously, Jehovah's Witnesses have never claimed to have any divine revelation from God in what they write or teach. Like Daniel, though, they have searched the Scriptures to see what the Bible says will happen. Sometimes they have misinterpreted certain Scriptures but then again, who hasn't?

Many religious groups have made "prophecies"--actually, predictions--of things that would occur, some even giving specific dates. These include Lutherans, Baptists, Anabaptists, Presbyterians, Mormons, Assemblies of God, the Anglican Church, Catholics, and more. Jehovah's Witnesses are not the only group who have ever made predictions based on their understanding of Bible text that proved to be wrong. However, many lay more blame on Jehovah's Witnesses then any other religious group due to the fact that they hate us, thinking of us as a unorthodox.

Some argue that Jehovah's Witnesses have gotten too specific, choosing certain dates as the return of Christ. To them, this is what characterizes us as a cult? Well, look at three people who predicted times for the return of Christ who are well respected religious leaders.

"1836 [will be] the end of the non-chronos, and of the many kings; the fulfilling of the word, and of the mystery of God; the repentance of the survivors in the great city; the end of the 'little time,' and of the three times and a half; the destruction of the east; the imprisonment of Satan."
-John Wesley Wesley's Notes of the Bible, written throughout his life, 1703-1791

"I sincerely believe that the Lord draweth nigh. We may have another year, maybe two years, to work for Jesus Christ, and, Ladies and Gentlemen, I believe it is all going to be over ... two years and it’s all going to be over."
-Billy Graham, 1950 at a rally in Los Angeles, California

"Christ has given a sign by which one can know when the Judgment Day is near. When the Turk will have an end, we can certainly predict that the Judgment must be at the door."
-Martin Luther

Martin Luther, Billy Graham, and John Wesley were not false prophets. They did make predictions based on their interpretation of the Bible that turned out to not be true but that does not make them guilty of false prophecy. They are guilty, though, of making these things seem as if they were without a doubt.

Jehovah's Witnesses, on the other hand have always told people that their interpretations of events could be wrong.

"We are not prophesying; we are merely giving our surmises . . . We do not even aver that there is no mistake in our interpretation of prophecy and our calculations of chronology. We have merely laid these before you, leaving it for each to exercise his own faith or doubt in respect to them."
-Regarding 1914: Zion's Watch Tower, January 1, 1908, page 4110

"The year 1925 is here. With great expectation Christians have looked forward to this year. Many have confidently expected that all members of the body of Christ will be changed to heavenly glory during this year. This may be accomplished. It may not be. In his own due time God will accomplish his purposes concerning his people. Christians should not be so deeply concerned about what may transpire this year."
-Regarding 1925: The Watch Tower, January 1, 1925, page 3

"'What about the year 1975? What is it going to mean, dear friends?' asked Brother Franz. 'Does it mean that Armageddon is going to be finished, with Satan bound, by 1975? It could! It could! All things are possible with God. Does it mean that Babylon the Great is going to go down by 1975? It could. Does it mean that the attack of Gog of Magog is going to be made on Jehovah’s witnesses to wipe them out, then Gog himself will be put out of action? It could. But we are not saying. All things are possible with God. But we are not saying. And don’t any of you be specific in saying anything that is going to happen between now and 1975.'"
-The Watchtower, 15 October 1966, page 631

If Jehovah's Witnesses have never falsely prophesied, why do people treat them so bad? These people are against any belief system that does not conform to theirs. Many of these people know better, they know that Jehovah's Witnesses have never made false prophecies but they attack them anyway. These people, called apostates, used to be Jehovah's Witnesses and then stopped for various reasons. These then turn around and attack us--sometimes physically! Why? I do not know. However, Brother Charles Russell said it best:

"All who cut loose from the Society and its work, instead of prospering themselves or upbuilding others in the faith and in the graces of the spirit, seemingly do the reverse--attempt injury to the Cause they once served, and, with more or less noise, gradually sink into oblivion, harming only themselves and others possessed of a similarly contentious spirit...But while we are willing that others should go anywhere and everywhere to find food and light to their satisfaction, strange to say, those who become our opponents take a very different course. Instead of saying in the manly fashion of the world, 'I have found something which I prefer; goodbye!' these manifest anger, malice, hatred, strife, 'works of the flesh and of the devil' such as we have never known worldly people to exhibit. They seem inoculated with madness, Satanic hydrophobia [rabies]...They are ready to say and write contemptible falsities and to stoop to do meanness."

We as Jehovah's Witnesses try to take this with a grain of salt, knowing that our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ said, "Happy are you when people reproach you and persecute you and lyingly say every sort of wicked thing against you for my sake. Rejoice and leap for joy, since your reward is great in the heavens; for in that way they persecuted the prophets prior to you." (Matthew 5:11-12) No matter what people say, Jehovah's Witnesses are not false prophets.

A Second Isaiah?

2009-02-19T08:36:00.003-06:00

Many scholars believe that Isaiah 1-39 and Isaiah 40-66 were written by two different people, one before the fall of Jerusalem in 607 B.C.E. and one after the fall of Jerusalem. One reason they claim this is because of of the change in writing style in the two "halves" of the book. Is this a problem?

Absolutely not!

From chapters 1-39 and chapters 40-66, there is an immense change of subject from these two "halves". 1-39 are more pronouncements of destruction to Judah and surrounding evil nations, while 40-66 are reassurances of restoration. (Isaiah 34:5-8, contrast Isaiah 55:12-13) Furthermore, certain phrases that are nearly unique to Isaiah are a good indication of the oneness of the two "halves". For example, the term "the Holy One of Israel" is found 12 times in chapters 1-39 and 13 times in 40-66. Throughout the rest of the Bible, that phrase is found only 6 times!-Isaiah 12:6; 54:5

Another indication of the book having been written by one author is the fact that Jesus Christ and the Apostle Paul quoted from all parts of the book of Isaiah and accredited the one man. Obviously, Jesus would have been aware if Isaiah had been written by two different people.

Why, though, do critics make this charge and why are the so adamant about it? Because, if it is true that Isaiah wrote the entire book, it presents problems. You see, the book of Isaiah makes a startling prophecy which is very detailed and very accurate. And the prophecy was written nearly 200 years in advance!

"[Jehovah], the One making the word of his servant come true, and the One that carries out completely the counsel of his own messengers; the One saying of Jerusalem, 'She will be inhabited,' and of the cities of Judah, 'They will be rebuilt, and her desolated places I shall raise up'; the One saying to the watery deep, 'Be evaporated; and all your rivers I shall dry up'; the One saying of Cyrus, 'He is my shepherd, and all that I delight in he will completely carry out'; even in my saying of Jerusalem, 'She will be rebuilt,' and of the temple, 'You will have your foundation laid.'

"This is what Jehovah has said to his anointed one, to Cyrus, whose right hand I have taken hold of, to subdue before him nations, so that I may ungird even the hips of kings; to open before him the two-leaved doors, so that even the gates will not be shut: 'Before you I myself shall go, and the swells of land I shall straighten out. The copper doors I shall break in pieces, and the iron bars I shall cut down.'"-Isaiah 44:26-45:2

This prophecy is of interest because it foretells--in great, accurate detail--the fall of Babylon and the restoration of Jerusalem. It even names the man who is to accomplish this--Cyrus. Did this prophecy come true?

Two hundred years after Isaiah, the Jews were in captivity in Babylon. One night, while a wild party was going on, the gates of Babylon were left open. Then a man, Cyrus the Great, diverted the water of the Euphrates River, making the protective water moat drain until Cyrus and his armies could cross on foot. This army walked right through the open gates of Babylon and took the city, virtually without a fight. Then, this new world power, the Medo-Persian world power, allowed all of the captives to return home, including the Jews. They even gave a command saying that the temple should be rebuilt. All of this happened as Isaiah foretold.

Now, in the book of Isaiah, yet another prophecy is awaiting fulfillment.

"And the wolf will actually reside for a while with the male lamb, and with the kid the leopard itself will lie down, and the calf and the maned young lion and the well-fed animal all together; and a mere little boy will be leader over them. And the cow and the bear themselves will feed; together their young ones will lie down. And even the lion will eat straw just like the bull. And the sucking child will certainly play upon the hole of the cobra; and upon the light aperture of a poisonous snake will a weaned child actually put his own hand. They will not do any harm or cause any ruin in all my holy mountain; because the earth will certainly be filled with the knowledge of Jehovah as the waters are covering the very sea."-Isaiah 11:6-9

This is one of the first detailed prophecies about a coming paradise earth in the Bible.

In the second part of Isaiah, another prophecy regarding the same thing is uttered.

"Therefore this is what the Sovereign Lord Jehovah has said: 'Look! My own servants will eat, but you yourselves will go hungry. Look! My own servants will drink, but you yourselves will go thirsty. Look! My own servants will rejoice, but you yourselves will suffer shame. Look! My own servants will cry out joyfully because of the good condition of the heart, but you yourselves will make outcries because of the pain of heart and you will howl because of sheer breakdown of spirit...For here I am creating new heavens and a new earth; and the former things will not be called to mind, neither will they come up into the heart. But exult, you people, and be joyful forever in what I am creating. For here I am creating Jerusalem a cause for joyfulness and her people a cause for exultation. And I will be joyful in Jerusalem and exult in my people; and no more will there be heard in her the sound of weeping or the sound of a plaintive cry.'

"'No more will there come to be a suckling a few days old from that place, neither an old man that does not fulfill his days; And they will certainly build houses and have occupancy; and they will certainly plant vineyards and eat their fruitage. They will not build and someone else have occupancy; they will not plant and someone else do the eating. For like the days of a tree will the days of my people be; and the work of their own hands my chosen ones will use to the full. They will not toil for nothing, nor will they bring to birth for disturbance; because they are the offspring made up of the blessed ones of Jehovah, and their descendants with them. And it will actually occur that before they call out I myself shall answer; while they are yet speaking, I myself shall hear.'"-Isaiah 65:13-24

Yes, our God, Jehovah, has promised an earthly paradise where all men will live in peace under the reign of Jesus Christ. He used His holy spirit to inspire Isaiah to write these things. He used the same Isaiah to write the first and second half of this book. The harmony throughout the book testifies to this. People who want to discredit the great prophecy mentioned at in Isaiah 44-45 will use any means necessary to make it seem unauthentic. However, we, with a little study and meditation, can surely see the hand of Jehovah on the same man--Isaiah!

Are We All Sons of God?

2009-02-16T10:05:00.011-06:00

I have heard many people say that they are a son or daughter of God and for many years I believed that this was the case. However, the Scriptures do not teach that. We are not all Sons of God. How can we come to this conclusion?

In the Bible, there are only a handful of people and two groups that are called God's Sons. The first group were the faithful angels. "Where did you happen to be when I founded the earth? Tell me, if you do know understanding...When the morning stars joyfully cried out together, and all the sons of God began shouting in applause?" (Job 38:4, 7) Further, Israel as a group is called a Son of God.-Deuteronomy 14:1; Isaiah 43:6

The people that are called Sons of God are Adam, Solomon, and Jesus. (Luke 3:38; John 10:36) Solomon is a special case. He was called God's son when he was king of Jehovah's nation, Israel. And even then, he was not called God's son until God bestowed that title upon him, showing that this was not something he was from the very beginning of his life. (2 Samuel 7:14) The nation of Israel was a collective son of God because they were a "holy people...special property, out of all peoples" and because Jehovah had helped them along from the very beginning after He made the covenant with Abraham.-Deuteronomy 14:1-2*

After Israel lost this privilege, it was given to others--Anointed Christians. They were not, however, full sons of God. "God sent forth his Son, who came to be out of a woman and who came to be under law, that he might release by purchase those under law, that we, in turn, might receive the adoption as sons." (Galatians 4:4-5) Did all humans become adopted sons of God after Jesus' death, as some may argue the Scripture as saying? Paul says, "You are all, in fact, sons of God through your faith in Christ Jesus."-Galatians 3:26; 4:6-7; John 1:11-12

Now, we must find out if this applies to all Christians, Anointed and the Great Crowd, or only to one group. Do we all become God's sons (by adoption) upon faith in Christ? No.

"For all who are led by God’s spirit, these are God’s sons. For you did not receive a spirit of slavery causing fear again, but you received a spirit of adoption as sons, by which spirit we cry out: 'Abba, Father!' The spirit itself bears witness with our spirit that we are God’s children. If, then, we are children, we are also heirs: heirs indeed of God, but joint heirs with Christ, provided we suffer together that we may also be glorified together." -Romans 8:14-17

Paul promises that these will be joint heirs with Christ and that they will be glorified, both of which do not apply to the Great Crowd.

Now, these Anointed Ones are not full sons of God, but only adopted sons. Will they be in this state forever? No. "[God] has also put his seal upon us and has given us the token of what is to come, that is, the spirit, in our hearts." (2 Corinthians 1:22) One day they will be full sons of God while now patiently waiting and gladly being sons of God by adoption.

However, there is more! John says that Anointed Christians are "Firstfruits". This means that there must be ones who receive blessings afterwards. Yes, one day, all humans who pass the final test mentioned at Revelation 20:7-10 will be able to become earthly sons of God! Romans 8:19-23 is an indication that those with the earthly hope will one day become children of God.[1]

One other Scripture that proves that point is found in the book of Revelation.

"With that I heard a loud voice from the throne say: 'Look! The tent of God is with mankind, and he will reside with them, and they will be his peoples. And God himself will be with them. And he will wipe out every tear from their eyes, and death will be no more, neither will mourning nor outcry nor pain be anymore. The former things have passed away...anyone conquering will inherit these things, and I shall be his God and he will be my son.'" -Revelation 21:3-7

The context shows that those who reside on earth will be God's son.

So, while we are not sons of God as many people claim due to our being separate from God due to sin, this will not be the case forever. In fact, one day we, whether or the Anointed or the Great Crowd, will all have the "glorious freedom of the children of God!"-Romans 8:21

*The Israelites lost their position as a collective "son" after they lost his favor. (See Matthew 23:37-38; John 8:41-47) This is indication that sonship was not just from being descendants of Adam or Abraham but on their spiritual relationship.

References

[1] Insight on the Scriptures, Vol. 2, p. 999, pp. 5-7

Jesus--The Best Candidate of All

2009-02-09T12:22:00.004-06:00

He has cures to all diseases and ailments-"At that time the eyes of the blind ones will be opened, and the very ears of the deaf ones will be unstopped. At that time the lame one will climb up just as a stag does, and the tongue of the speechless one will cry out in gladness."-Isaiah 35:5-6

He proposes the ultimate healthcare program-"And no resident will say: 'I am sick.' The people that are dwelling in [the land] will be those pardoned for their error."-Isaiah 33:24
"And he will wipe out every tear from their eyes, and death will be no more, neither will mourning nor outcry nor pain be anymore. The former things have passed away.”-Revelation 21:4

He provides food and shelter for all-"And they will certainly build houses and have occupancy; and they will certainly plant vineyards and eat their fruitage. They will not build and someone else have occupancy; they will not plant and someone else do the eating. For like the days of a tree will the days of my people be; and the work of their own hands my chosen ones will use to the full."-Isaiah 65:21-22

He plans to end all wars-"He is making wars to cease to the extremity of the earth. The bow he breaks apart and does cut the spear in pieces; the wagons he burns in the fire."-Psalm 46:9
"And he will certainly render judgment among many peoples, and set matters straight respecting mighty nations far away. And they will have to beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning shears. They will not lift up sword, nation against nation, neither will they learn war anymore."-Micah 4:3

He promises to make the death rate drop to zero-"He will actually swallow up death forever."-Isaiah 25:8
"'Death is swallowed up forever.' 'Death, where is your victory? Death, where is your sting?'”-1 Corinthians 15:55-56

He intends to drop the crime rate to zero-"And just a little while longer, and the wicked one will be no more; and you will certainly give attention to his place, and he will not be."-Psalms 37:10
"As regards the wicked, they will be cut off from the very earth; and as for the treacherous, they will be torn away from it."-Proverbs 2:22

He judges fairly, not based on income or race-"After these things I saw, and, look! a great crowd, which no man was able to number, out of all nations and tribes and peoples and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, dressed in white robes; and there were palm branches in their hands. And they keep on crying with a loud voice, saying: 'Salvation we owe to our God, who is seated on the throne, and to the Lamb'...because the Lamb, who is in the midst of the throne, will shepherd them, and will guide them to fountains of waters of life. And God will wipe out every tear from their eyes."-Revelation 7:9-10, 17

He stays calm under pressure-"He was hard pressed, and he was letting himself be afflicted; yet he would not open his mouth. He was being brought just like a sheep to the slaughtering; and like a ewe that before her shearers has become mute, he also would not open his mouth."-Isaiah 53:7

He will never be replaced or kicked out of office-"And in the days of those kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that will never be brought to ruin. And the kingdom itself will not be passed on to any other people. It will crush and put an end to all these kingdoms, and it itself will stand to times indefinite."-Daniel 2:44

Did Jesus Teach "The Truth?"

2009-02-06T16:43:00.008-06:00

Did Jesus Teach "the Truth"?

This question might seem odd to some. Of course Jesus taught the Truth! However, what I am referring to is a term commonly used by Jehovah's Witnesses. In reference to their belief system, Jehovah's Witnesses commonly say "the Truth" as in "He found the Truth", "We accepted the Truth", "She was raised around the Truth" or "They left the Truth." The "Truth" to one of Jehovah's Witnesses is the Truth found in the Bible, or exactly what their religion teaches. To them, the Truth in the Bible and the Truth that they teach are one and the same.

Many times, though, people will attack Jehovah's Witnesses and say that they do not have the Truth. They will even say that Jesus Christ did not teach the "Truth" as Jehovah's Witnesses teach it. Is this actually the case? We will look at a belief of Jehovah's Witnesses and then statements that Jesus made concerning that belief to see if Jesus Christ taught it.

A Complete Record?
First we must find if everything that Jesus spoke concerning the Truth (because whatever Jesus spoke is the Truth) is actually contained in the Bible. What does the Bible record say? "There are, in fact, many other things also which Jesus did, which, if ever they were written in full detail, I suppose, the world itself could not contain the scrolls written." (John 21:25) Obviously, Jesus' day-to-day affairs are not contained in the Scriptures. Did he have a favorite place to eat? We don't know. How many people followed him from the time he first began his ministry to the end? The Bible record is silent. Is everything he taught contained in the Scriptures? Probably not.

One man who wrote about Jesus that lived in the time of the Apostles was a man named Papias (Born before 70 C.E.-Died 155 C.E. in Smyrna) who claims to have talked to some Bible writers and other eyewitnesses of Jesus Christ. This is certainly possible. Mark wrote his Gospel about 65 C.E., perhaps around the time Papias was born, and, therefore, may have lived on for Papias to grow into adulthood and John died about 100 C.E. Again, it makes it possible that Papias indeed knew Mark and John.

This should be taken into consideration because of something that Papias claims. He says someone who knew Jesus remembered a conversation between the Lord and Judas Iscariot about the coming paradise Earth. After Jesus supposedly gives an illustration about the abundance of food to be found in the coming new world Papias wrote, "But these things are credible to them that believe. And when Judas the traitor did not believe, [he] asked, 'How shall such growths be accomplished by the Lord?' he relates that the Lord said, 'They shall see, who shall come to these [times].'" [1]

The very fact that Papias says that Christ was teaching a paradise earth is noteworthy. Further, it adds some credibility to his claim. It does not, however, verify its authenticity. You see, supposedly, Papias wrote things that contradicted Holy Scripture and added his own interpretation to things Christ and the Apostles taught. But those claims even are not known for sure. None of the writings that we have from Papias today are preserved. We only have the writings of other men that quoted Papias--some of whom did not even like him! Obviously, these people could have misquoted Papias or even added things to his writings to discredit him. Unfortunately, because of this, we can not be certain that the things Papias wrote are correct, even what is quoted above. His writings are obviously of interest, though.

All of this reinforces the fact that all Jesus' words and actions are not quoted in the Bible so this list is not exhaustive. It does give us a basis for determining if the beliefs of Jehovah's Witnesses are compliant with the words of Jesus because, if they are not, then Jehovah's Witnesses do not have the Truth.

What Do Jehovah's Witnesses Believe? What Did Jesus Believe?

God's Name and Glory is of Highest Importance
"Our Father in the heavens, let your name be sanctified."-Matthew 6:9
"Father, the hour has come; glorify your son, that your son may glorify you."-John 17:1
(See also: Matthew 5:16; Luke 10:21; John 12:28; John 17:26)

God created humans, we did not evolve
"“Did you not read that he who created them from the beginning made them male and female?"-Matthew 19:4

Christ is God's Son and is inferior to Him
"If you loved me, you would rejoice that I am going my way to the Father, because the Father is greater than I am."-John 14:28
(See also: John 8:42; John 20:17)

Christ was first of God's creations
"These are the things that the Amen says, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation by God."-Revelation 3:14

Christ's human life was paid as a ransom for obedient humans
"Just as the Son of man came, not to be ministered to, but to minister and to give his soul a ransom in exchange for many.”-Matthew 20:28

Bible is God's Word and is truth
"Sanctify them by means of the truth; your word is truth."-John 17:17

Bible is more reliable than tradition
"In reply he said to them: 'Why is it you also overstep the commandment of God because of your tradition?'"-Matthew 15:3

The dead cease to exist, soul not immortal
"He said these things, and after this he said to them: 'Lazarus our friend has gone to rest, but I am journeying there to awaken him from sleep.' Therefore the disciples said to him: 'Lord, if he has gone to rest, he will get well.' Jesus had spoken, however, about his death. But they imagined he was speaking about taking rest in sleep. At that time, therefore, Jesus said to them outspokenly: 'Lazarus has died.'"-John 11:11-14

Hope for dead is resurrection
"The hour is coming, and it is now, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God and those who have given heed will live. For just as the Father has life in himself, so he has granted also to the Son to have life in himself. And he has given him authority to do judging, because Son of man he is. Do not marvel at this, because the hour is coming in which all those in the memorial tombs will hear his voice and come out, those who did good things to a resurrection of life, those who practiced vile things to a resurrection of judgment."-John 5:25-29

Only a "little flock" go to heaven
“Have no fear, little flock, because your Father has approved of giving you the kingdom."-Luke 12:32
(See also: Matthew 5:3)

Only those receiving the kingdom, the little flock, are born again
“Most truly I say to you, Unless anyone is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.”-John 3:3

All others not of "little flock" will live on earth forever
“Happy are the mild-tempered ones, since they will inherit the earth."-Matthew 5:5
( See also: John 10:16)

It is the duty of all Christians to preach about the kingdom of God
"As you go, preach, saying, ‘The kingdom of the heavens has drawn near.’"-Matthew 10:7
(See also: Matthew 24:14; Matthew 28:19-20; John 14:12)

Satan is the ruler of the world
"Now there is a judging of this world; now the ruler of this world will be cast out."-John 12:31
(See also: John 14:30, John 16:11)

Christians are no part of the world
"If you were part of the world, the world would be fond of what is its own. Now because you are no part of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, on this account the world hates you."-John 15:19
(See also John 17:16)

Christians are not under or bound by the Mosaic Law
"“The Law and the Prophets were until John [the Baptist]. From then on the kingdom of God is being declared as good news, and every sort of person is pressing forward toward it."-Luke 16:16

Prayers are to be directed only to Jehovah through Christ
"No matter what you ask the Father in my name he might give it to you."-John 15:16
(See also John 16:23)

Special titles are improper
"But you, do not you be called Rabbi, for one is your teacher, whereas all you are brothers. Moreover, do not call anyone your father on earth, for one is your Father, the heavenly One. Neither be called ‘leaders,’ for your Leader is one, the Christ."-Matthew 23:8-10

There is only one road to life
"Go in through the narrow gate; because broad and spacious is the road leading off into destruction, and many are the ones going in through it; whereas narrow is the gate and cramped the road leading off into life, and few are the ones finding it."-Matthew 7:13-14

Sound Support from Jesus
Jesus did teach "the Truth" as Jehovah's Witnesses refer to it. It is not made up of a Scripture here and a Scripture there all throughout the Bible. No, indeed Jesus believed what we believe. He taught what we teach. If you would like to learn more about what Christ taught and what Jehovah's Witnesses currently teach, you can write to the appropriate address or by electronic correspondence and Jehovah's Witnesses would gladly, indeed, feel privileged, to help you learn "the Truth"!-Matthew 10:7-8

References

[1] Preserved in Irenaeus’ Against All Heresies, 5:33:3-4

Demas--Ran From Death

2009-02-05T00:45:00.001-06:00

After talking about Agabus, we can come to the conclusion that the Bible is full of examples of good Christian men and women that we can model ourselves around. And that is true. However, there are also examples in the Scriptures that teach us what not to do. One such is a man named Demas.

Demas was a faithful Christian for a long time, being mentioned on three occasions, all in letters written by the Apostle Paul. "Sending you greetings is...Demas...my fellow worker." (Philemon 1:23-24)* Demas must have worked hard with Paul, evidently being a fellow traveler with him. This reveals that Demas must have been a faithful Christian for a long time, since his record of faithful service would allow something like that.

So wonderful was Demas, he was mentioned in another letter possibly going to the same place, couriered by the same person. We read, "Luke the beloved physician sends you his greetings, and so does Demas." (Colossians 4:14) This further reveals that Demas was right there with Paul as he wrote his letters, perhaps being a faithful confidant. Truly, Demas had the rare privilege of traveling with Paul! How he must have burst with joy and excitement as he was asked to travel along with him!

However, things don't turn out so wonderfully in the end. The letter of Colossians and Philemon were written at the same time and sent to Colossae by Tychicus and Onesimus, a runaway slave. (Colossians 4:7-9) This letter, indeed, both Colossians and Philemon, were written and sent between 60 and 61 C.E. while Paul was imprisoned in Rome the first time.

About four to five years later, violent persecution is leveled at the Christians. Paul is imprisoned and sentenced to be executed. (2 Timothy 2:9; 4:6) Then, one of his loyal "fellow workers", yes, Demas, runs away. Why? "Because he loved the present system of things, and [so went] to Thessalonica."-2 Timothy 4:10

Demas was afraid to die. It was that simple.

Now, it would be wrong to make assumptions about Demas. All we know about this poor man is that he "loved the present system of things" enough to fear death, although he had a sure hope. He ran almost six hundred miles across land and sea from death. We do not know if he integrated himself into the local congregation in Thessalonica and continued to worship Jehovah and follow Jesus Christ or anything about him after that. We are not the judges of individuals but we do know that Demas' decision, and the fear that caused him to make that decision, was wrong. It led to the last mention of him in the inspired Word to be negative.

We may be in a similar situation as Demas. Our life may be on the line. Will we be able to stand up for what is right by looking to the prize, "the real life", and be able to stand firm until our death? (1 Timothy 6:19) Only Jehovah, through His spirit, can give us that courage.

*Four other people, Epaphras, Mark, Aristarchus, and Luke, are also mentioned, however, since this article is about Demas the other names have been omitted from this post.

Agabus--Faithful in Times of Peace and Persecution

2009-02-04T08:10:00.006-06:00

Who is Brother Agabus? Are you ignorant of this man? If you answered yes, you are not to be faulted. Agabus is only mentioned twice in the Holy Scriptures, but what we read of this faithful brother is very faith-strengthening.

The only two times that Agabus is mentioned both occur in the Bible book of Acts. He makes his first appearance in Chapter eleven. We read: "Now in these days prophets came down from Jerusalem to Antioch. One of them named Agabus rose and proceeded to indicate through the spirit that a great famine was about to come upon the entire inhabited earth; which, for that matter, did take place in the time of Claudius."-Acts 11:27-28

Agabus was a holy prophet, which shows that he was a very good man. Jehovah didn't just give that responsibility to anyone. Sure, after receiving holy spirit in those days, people would speak in tongues or display some other gift from the spirit but they were generally not considered prophets. The very fact that Agabus was a known prophet shows us that he had been a worshiper of Jehovah God for a long time. In fact, in the Roman Catholic Church and "Eastern Christianity"* he is regarded as a saint. Church tradition holds him as one of the seventy disciples sent forth by Christ at Luke 10:1, although this cannot be verified by the Holy Scriptures.[1]

The prophecy that Agabus made was fulfilled in 45 C.E. during the time of Claudius. However, we find that, because of Agabus' prophecy "those of the disciples determined, each of them according as anyone could afford it, to send a relief ministration to the brothers dwelling in Judea; and this they did, dispatching it to the older men by the hand of Barnabas and Saul." (Acts 11:29-30) Agabus was respected and taken seriously. Due to his faithfulness and prophecy, many of our first-century Christian brothers and sisters were well taken care of. All of this occurred before 45 C.E., just as Agabus stated.

The second time that Agabus is mentioned in the Scriptures is towards the end of the book of Acts, prophesying again. He gave this prophecy in Caesarea: "A certain prophet named Agabus came down from Judea, and he came to us and took up the girdle of Paul, bound his own feet and hands and said: 'Thus says the holy spirit, "The man to whom this girdle belongs the Jews will bind in this manner in Jerusalem and deliver into the hands of people of the nations."'-Acts 21:10-11

Both times, Agabus is stated as traveling from Judea to wherever Paul was. It can thus be assumed that Agabus resided in Judea, possibly even in Jerusalem. If this was the case, then Agabus had plenty of opportunities to show his love of Jehovah God. Many things happened to the Christian Jews in Jerusalem. Herod began to persecute the Christian congregation. He killed the Apostle James with the sword. He even arrested the Apostle Peter. (Acts 12:1-5) Through all of this persecution, Agabus stayed strong, undoubtedly being a great source of encouragement to the local brothers.

Even before all of that, if Agabus was already a Christian, he had to endure the opposition from fellow Jews with the other brothers when it became clear that Gentiles were now allowed to be followers of Christ. (Acts 11:1-3) If Brother Agabus was actually a follower of Christ when the Messiah was on earth as the Catholic Church believes, then he had even more opposition immediately following the Lord's death. Things were tough for the disciples, including possibly Agabus, in those days.-John 20:19, 26

We can only assume that Agabus remained steadfast in the Truth up until his death, whenever that was. Surely, his brief mention in this Scriptures testifies to that. But what can we learn from Brother Agabus?

Just like when he traveled all that distance from Jerusalem to Antioch, we can go wherever Jehovah wants us to, as willingly as Agabus proved himself to be. Also, when under severe persecution, we can remain steadfast, relying on Jehovah and His spirit and our Head, Jesus. Finally, we should never let the fear of men bring us down. Surely, this courageous brother, although not mentioned very much in the Scriptures is a wonderful example for us today.-Romans 15:4

*"Eastern Christianity" is composed of the Assyrian Church of the East, the Eastern Orthodox Churches, the Oriental Orthodox Churches, and the Eastern Catholic Churches.

References

[1] "New Advent" Catholic Encyclopedia

Does God Torment People in Eternal Hell?

2009-02-02T10:29:00.009-06:00

"God is love." (1 John 4:8, 16) Imagine a person is being roasted on a hot iron plate. In his agony he screams for mercy, but nobody listens. The torture goes on and on, hour after hour, day after day—without pause! Whatever crime the victim may have committed, would not your heart go out to him? What of the one who ordered the torture? Could he be a loving person? In no way! Love is merciful and shows pity. A loving father may punish his children, but he would never torture them!

If you were walking in a jail and you saw this torture, what would you do? If you inquired as to what the person was being tortured for and the torturer said, "Because he didn't believe in the judge who could sentence him to this torture," honestly, what would you think about this judge? If you inquired further and the man said, "Well, a while back he got a parking violation that he didn't pay off. He was fined a fair amount and then after he paid the fine we decided to torture him for the next forty years." Wouldn't that be unjust?

Imagine that judge is God. The jailer torturing the man is Jesus Christ. The man being tortured is a man who has just died. Let us say this traffic violator was a doctor who saved countless lives, gave much to those in need, even adopted two children from poor countries, and showed himself to be a good husband, father, friend, brother. In short, he was always helping others. However, this man was not "saved by grace". Is he deserving of being tortured in hell for all eternity? Absolutely not. If "God is love" as the Scriptures say and "perfect is his activity" (Deuteronomy 32:4) then would He be a kind, merciful God if He tortured this man for all eternity because he wasn't "saved by grace?"

Furthermore, torturing people with fire was something that God never even considered. Speaking of people who would burn their children in fire as sacrifices to God, Jeremiah 7:31 says of the practice that this was something that God "had not commanded and that had not come up into [his] heart." Yes, God had never even considered the thought of people being tortured with fire, much less forever.

Even the idea that the soul lives on after death is something completely foreign to the Bible. In fact it says simply, "The soul that sins--it itself will die." (Ezekiel 18:4) At Ecclesiastes 9:5 the Bible says, "For the living are conscious that they will die; but as for the dead, they are conscious of nothing at all!"

The soul dies? The dead are conscious of nothing at all? If people did go to hell after they died then that would completely contradict those verses. Then where does the doctrine of hell come from? From mistranslations of the Bible! There is no hell in the sense that people who claim to be Christians teach. The concepts of hell in the Bible were completely different from what Jesus and the apostles thought of as hell. Plus, ask yourself, is it really a just punishment to torture people for all eternity for something they did for just seventy or eighty years of their life? Let your morality be the judge. If our morality says "no" then God, who is perfect and loving, would likewise say no, right?

Then what is the punishment for sins? Romans 6:23 tells us: "For the wages sin pays is death." Yes, we pay for our sins upon death. James 1:14, 15 says, "Each one is tried by being drawn out and enticed by his own desire. Then the desire, when it becomes fertile, gives birth to sin; in turn, sin, when it has been accomplished, brings forth death." So we die because we sin, and yet Romans 6:7 says, "For he who has died has been acquitted ["acquitted", NWT and HCSB, footnote; KJV, NIV, and others say "freed"] from his sin." We have paid off our "debt" of sin by dying. Do you torture someone for incurring a debt after they have paid it off? No. They are free to go after they have paid their debt.

What about those Scriptures that plainly speak of people tortured with fire for all eternity? Well, fire in the Bible is symbolic for destruction. So when the Bible says that someone is to be punished with eternal fire, it simply means eternal destruction. One case in point is found for us at Jude 7. "So too Sodom and Gomorrah and the cities about them...are placed before us as a warning example by undergoing the judicial punishment of everlasting fire." Are Sodom and Gomorrah actually burning today? No! In fact, they are most likely now underwater, their remains submerged in the Dead Sea! Sodom and Gomorrah are not burning forever, they are destroyed forever, never to be rebuilt.

What we really need to examine, though, is what the Bible says the final end for people will be. According to Peter, "But these men, like unreasoning animals born naturally to be caught and destroyed, will, in the things of which they are ignorant and speak abusively, even suffer destruction in their own course of destruction, wronging themselves as a reward for wrongdoing." (2 Peter 2:12-13) Peter tells us that wicked people will suffer destruction, not eternal torment. Another name for this everlasting destruction is "the second death". In fact, we are told that the second death is "the lake of fire." The lake of fire cannot be hell because "death and hell were cast into the lake of fire."-Revelation 20:14, King James Version

One last point worth consideration on this, fire equaling destruction, is what the Bible says will be the final end to Satan the Devil. We read, "And the Devil who was misleading them was hurled into the lake of fire and sulphur...and [he] will be tormented day and night forever and ever." (Revelation 20:10) However, Hebrews 2:14 says that Jesus will "destroy him." (King James Version) This falls right into place when we understand the true meaning of the lake of fire. Satan will be thrown into the Lake of Fire for ever. In other words, he will be dead, yes, destroyed, forever and ever.

What about such Scriptures as Mark 9:43-48? The New International Version has this as:

"If your hand causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life maimed than with two hands to go into hell, where the fire never goes out. If your foot causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life crippled than to have two feet and be thrown into hell. And if your eye causes you to sin, pluck it out. It is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye than to have two eyes and be thrown into hell, where 'their worm does not die, and the fire is not quenched.'"

This is a quote of Isaiah 66:24. "And they will go out and look upon the dead bodies of those who rebelled against me; their worm will not die, nor will their fire be quenched, and they will be loathsome to all mankind." One commentary says that this Scripture is refers to going out "of Jerusalem to the surrounding Hinnom Valley (Gehenna), where human sacrifice was once practiced (Jeremiah 7:31) and which eventually became the city's refuse heap." [1] What is the verse speaking of? It is not talking about being tortured; it speaks of dead bodies. What is speaks of as not dying is worms--not human lives or immortal souls.

One Bible commentary commenting on Mark 9:48 says, "[The] phrase is taken from Isaiah 66:24. The prophet shows the two ways corpses were usually destroyed: putrefaction and incineration...The juxtaposition in the text of the maggots and fire reinforces the idea of destruction...Both destructive forces are described as permanent ('is not quenched, does not die'): there is simply no way to escape them. In this image, the only survivors are the maggot and the fire--not the man--and they both annihilate anything that falls within their power. Hence, this is not a description of everlasting torment, but one of total destruction." [2] Obviously, the doctrine of eternal torment is debunked from four different angles: 1) Bible Commentators, 2) Moral Reasoning, 3) Understanding the Person of God, 4) Using the Bible Itself. There is no punishment after death for the wicked.

So, is death the end, since it is unconsciousness? No. Acts 24:15 says, "I have a hope toward God, which these men themselves also entertain, that there is going to be a resurrection of the righteous and the unrighteous." (See also John 5:28, 29; Revelation 20:12, 13) Almost everyone who has ever lived will have the opportunity to live again in a perfected earth without Satan, sin, and wickedness to get in the way of coming to Jehovah God.

References

[1] The Jerome Biblical Commentary

[2] El evangelio de Marcos. Analisis linguistico y comentario exegetico, (The Gospel of Mark. Linguistic Analysis and Exegesis Commentary), Vol. 2

My 10 Favorite Kingdom Songs

2009-02-01T23:19:00.003-06:00

*These are not in any particular order, they are just my favorite Kingdom Melodies*

1. Song #4-God's Promise of Paradise
Luke 23:43: "And he said to him: 'Truly I tell you today, You will be with me in Paradise.'

2. Song #13-Christian Dedication
Exodus 39:30: "Finally they made the shining plate, the holy sign of dedication, out of pure gold and inscribed upon it an inscription with the engravings of a seal: 'Holiness belongs to Jehovah.'"

3. Song #74-Jehovah, Provider of Escape
Psalm 18:1-2: "I shall have affection for you, O Jehovah my strength. Jehovah is my crag and my stronghold and the Provider of escape for me. My God is my rock. I shall take refuge in him, my shield and my horn of salvation, my secure height."

4. Song #87-The Lord's Evening Meal
1 Corinthians 11:23-26: "For I received from the Lord that which I also handed on to you, that the Lord Jesus in the night in which he was going to be handed over took a loaf and, after giving thanks, he broke it and said: 'This means my body which is in your behalf. Keep doing this in remembrance of me.' He did likewise respecting the cup also, after he had the evening meal, saying: 'This cup means the new covenant by virtue of my blood. Keep doing this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.' For as often as you eat this loaf and drink this cup, you keep proclaiming the death of the Lord, until he arrives."

5. Song #168-Recognizing Earth's New King
Psalm 2:12: "Kiss the son, that He may not become incensed and you may not perish from the way, for his anger flares up easily. Happy are all those taking refuge in him."

6. Song #171-A Victory Song
Exodus 15:1: "At that time Moses and the sons of Israel proceeded to sing this song to Jehovah and to say the following: 'Let me sing to Jehovah, for he has become highly exalted. The horse and its rider he has pitched into the sea.'"

7. Song #180-God's Own Book--A Treasure
Proverbs 2:1: "My son, if you will receive my sayings and treasure up my own commandments with yourself."

8. Song #187-All Things Made New
Revelation 21:4: "And he will wipe out every tear from their eyes, and death will be no more, neither will mourning nor outcry nor pain be anymore. The former things have passed away."

9. Song #205-Christ Our Exemplar
1 Peter 2:21: "In fact, to this course you were called, because even Christ suffered for you, leaving you a model for you to follow his steps closely."

10. Song #212-We Thank You, Jehovah
1 Thessalonians 5:18: "In connection with everything give thanks. For this is the will of God in union with Christ Jesus respecting you."

Thank You, Jehovah

2009-01-30T22:43:00.008-06:00

"I will exalt you, O my God the King. And I will bless your name to time indefinite, even forever. All day long I will bless you. And I will praise your name to dime indefinite, even forever. Jehovah is great and very much to be praised, and his greatness is unsearchable. Generation after generation will commend your works, and about your mighty acts they will tell. The glorious splendor of your dignity and the matters of your wonderful works I will make my concern."-Psalm 145:1-5

Just sit back for one moment and think about Jehovah. Think about our wonderful. Thank our wonderful God. We turned to Him and He removed the veil from over our eyes. He is our Wonderful Maker. He will protect us when are in danger. He will comfort us when we are afraid. He will always be there for us. "For I, Jehovah your God, am grasping your right hand. The One saying to you, "Do not be afraid, I myself will help you."-Isaiah 41:13

We spend so much time in our busy days and barely give a thought to our wonderful God. I love you Jehovah. Help me to be a better Christian. Help me to rely on you. Help me to be the type of person that invites your spirit into my life. I know that Jesus Christ, my savior, loves me so much that he died for me and I can always rely on that sacrifice to carry me through. Thank you for all of the spiritual food that you provide and thank you for your sustaining power. Help me to never forget that you care for me and help me, please, to always draw close to you.-1 Peter 5:7; James 4:8

Jehovah God, thank you. Thank you for being so powerful. Thank you for being our wonderful Owner. "Behold, to Jehovah your God belong the heavens, even the heavens of the heavens, the earth and all that is in it." (Deuteronomy 10:14) "God thunders with his voice in a wonderful way, doing great things that we cannot know." (Job 37:5) "Everything He has made pretty in its time. Even time indefinite He has put in their heart, that mankind may never find out the work that the true God has made from the start to the finish."-Ecclesiastes 3:11

"Fear God and give him glory, because the hour of the judgment by him has arrived, and so worship the One who made the heaven and the earth and sea and fountains of waters." (Revelation 14:7) Yes, like Jesus my savior, "I love the Father."-John 14:31

Moving Mountains With a Word

2009-01-29T16:21:00.004-06:00

"Faith means being sure of the things we hope for and knowing that something is real even if we do not see it." (Hebrews 11:1, New Century Version) We today have never seen Jesus Christ. However, the words in the Bible are so powerful that we cannot help but "see" him in a spiritual sense nor can we help but love him. Our sentiments match the words of the Apostle Peter: "Though you never saw him, you love him. Though you are not looking upon him at present, yet you exercise faith in him and are greatly rejoicing with an unspeakable and glorified joy."-1 Peter 1:8

Peter saw Jesus Christ. He knew him intimately and loved him. We do not have the privilege but we still love our Lord and Savior. The same goes with Jehovah God. We have never seen Him and yet we still love Him. Our faith is what keeps that love for both of them intact. We know that the Bible is God's Word and that everything it says is true. It, like our God and like our Lord, has proven itself many times.

Yes, faith is powerful.

How powerful, though, is faith? Jesus Christ said, "Truly I say to you, If you have faith the size of a mustard grain, you will say to this mountain, 'Transfer from here to there,' and it will transfer, and nothing will be impossible for you." (Matthew 17:20) Was Christ being literal here? How can we truly know? Has anyone ever moved a mountain before? We can confidently say no. Perhaps, too, Christ was trying to make a point as to how powerful faith actually is.

One reason that we can possibly take that statement seriously is found in an account where the power of faith was made manifest.

"[Jesus] compelled his disciples to board the boat and go ahead of him to the other side, while he sent the crowds away. Eventually, having sent the crowds away, he went up into the mountain by himself to pray. Though it became late, he was there alone. By now the boat was many hundreds of yards away from land, being hard put to it by the waves, because the wind was against them. But in the fourth watch period of the night he came to them, walking over the sea. When they caught sight of him walking on the sea, the disciples were troubled, saying: 'It is an apparition!' And they cried out in their fear. But at once Jesus spoke to them with the words: 'Take courage, it is I; have no fear.' In reply Peter said to him: 'Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you over the waters.' He said: 'Come!' Thereupon Peter, getting down off the boat, walked over the waters and went toward Jesus."-Matthew 14:22-29

Faith is a powerful thing. It enabled a man to walk on the water. Yet, notice something further about Christ's statement in Matthew 17:20. He said, "If you have faith the size of a mustard grain..." The mustard seed was the smallest known seed in that area of the world at that time. This is an excellent point.

To illustrate: Imagine yourself on an airplane. Across the aisle you see a businessman who is very calm, perhaps typing on a laptop. You can tell that he has been on many flights. Next to him is a little old lady who has never been on an airplane before. You can tell that this old lady is very scared. You realize that she must have had a small amount of faith that the plane would not crash or she would have never gotten on. Just then the plane takes off and you make it to your destination safely. Although the businessman had more faith then the little old lady, both were carried through. Their faith got them to their destination because, if they had no faith, they would have never gotten on the plane.

Now, if Jesus' words are literal, and if you even have the smallest amount of faith to move a mountain, then what is keeping you from it? Well, a lack of faith. You know Jesus' words and you even believe them. Somewhere, though, there is something in the back of your head that doubts. If you remove all doubt, you may find that you can move mountains.

And really, is moving mountains with a word so hard to believe. Faith made a man walk on water. When he lacked that faith, he could no longer do it. (Matthew 14:30-31) Further, any amount of faith that we have can work wonders through us. The Apostle John said, "This is the conquest that has conquered the world, our faith." (1 John 5:4) Think about it. Because of our faith, no matter how big or small, we conquered the world! We conquered Satan and the demons, we conquered opposition, persecution, materialism, governments, and the spirit of the world! If we can conquer this with our faith, is moving mountains with a word really so awesome?

What About...John 8:58?

2009-01-27T23:26:00.003-06:00

"'I tell you the truth,' Jesus answered, 'before Abraham was born, I am!'"-John 8:58, New International Version

The way that the above verse is supposed to be translated has been argued for many decades with no one coming off the clear victor. Many say that Jesus was alluding to God's words at Exodus 3:14-15 where Jehovah calls Himself, "I AM." However, the evidence suggests that translating the last two words of the sentence, "I am" at John 8:58 word-for-word from the Greek "ego eimi" literally is not proper. Many will ask why that is the case.

The reason is that when translating from one language to another, if a phrase is translated word-for-word, it will not always make sense. For example, if I said, "el casa de blanco" in Spanish and translated it word-for-word, "the house of white", it would make very little sense. If I translated it properly, though, "the white house" it would make sense. Likewise, although Jesus said, "ego eimi", it should not be translated so literally because it makes no sense. Jesus was not trying to equate himself with God, he was only talking about being alive before Abraham. How can we draw this conclusion? First of all, from the context.

"Jesus replied, "If I glorify myself, my glory means nothing. My Father, whom you claim as your God, is the one who glorifies me. Though you do not know him, I know him. If I said I did not, I would be a liar like you, but I do know him and keep his word. Your father Abraham rejoiced at the thought of seeing my day; he saw it and was glad."
"You are not yet fifty years old," the Jews said to him, "and you have seen Abraham!"
"I tell you the truth," Jesus answered, "before Abraham was born, I am!" At this, they picked up stones to stone him, but Jesus hid himself, slipping away from the temple grounds."-John 8:54-59

Now why, someone may ask, would the Jews get so worked up over Jesus' claim of being older then Abraham?

The answer is found in the Jewish view of Abraham. Abraham was so important to them that he was the equivalent of Christ for us. Abraham was so important to the Jews because they claimed that being children of Abraham was a special title reserved for them. For Jesus to claim that he was older then Abraham was sacrilegious to the Jews. When someone is older, they have more power and authority. In short, they are better then a younger person. To any Jew, Abraham would have been better then Jesus mainly because Abraham was older. For Jesus to say that he was alive before Abraham was alive would mean that Jesus was better then Abraham.

Proof of this thought process, older being synonymous with greater, is found in another account in the Bible.

"John answered them, saying: 'I baptize in water. In the midst of you one is standing whom you do not know, the one coming behind me, but the lace of whose sandal I am not worthy to untie.' These things took place in Bethany across the Jordan, where John was baptizing.

"The next day he beheld Jesus coming toward him, and he said: 'See, the Lamb of God that takes away the sin of the world! This is the one about whom I said, Behind me there comes a man who has advanced in front of me, because he existed before me. Even I did not know him, but the reason why I came baptizing in water was that he might be made manifest to Israel.'"-John 1:26-31

John would have been considered greater then Jesus because John was born about six months before Jesus. But since Jesus was alive in heaven before his birth then Jesus was better then John, or "advanced in front of [him]." Since the Jews did not accept the pre-human existence of Jesus Christ, these words would be weird to them but they wouldn't throw them into a blind fury like it did with Christ's statement about Abraham.

Many scholars also agree with this, that Jesus was simply saying that he existed before Abraham. Look at some of the ways different Bible's translate John 8:58.

"I was in existence before Abraham was ever born." (The Living Bible)

"Before Abraham was, I existed." (New Living Translation, 1995 Edition)

"Before Abraham was, I already was." (Bible in Worldwide English)

"Before Abraham was, I have been." (New American Standard Bible, Footnote, 1960 and 1973 Edition)

"From before Abraham was, I have been." (The New Testament, by G. R. Noyes.)

"I existed before Abraham was born!" (The Bible—An American Translation, by J. M. P. Smith and E. J. Goodspeed.)

"Before Abraham was born, I was already the one that I am." (Das Neue Testament, by Jörg Zink.)

"I was alive before Abraham was born!" (The Simple English Bible)

A well-known Greek New Testament Scholar and Professor [1] said that in John 8:58, the words "I AM" are not the proper translation for the Bible text. In fact, his preference of the verse is how the Living Bible renders it. "I was in existence before Abraham was ever born." This professor-scholar, Dr. Jason BeDuhn, says that this carries the real meaning in translation. He prefers it over the rendering in the New World Translation for only one reason.

He says that in a sentence like this one in Greek, the words "I am" should actually be moved to the front of the sentence. He also says that the way the sentence is written makes it necessary for the words "ego eimi" to be translated "I have been" or "I was" and then moved to the front of the sentence, thus making the sentence read "I have been before Abraham was born" or "I was before Abraham was born."

Furthermore, Jesus was not quoting Exodus 3:14 at all. The original word for "I AM" in the Old Testament was "hayah". Literally, "I am". That was a title that God applied to Himself. That is probably why His name is Yahweh, it is a derivative of "hayah" which, while literally translated "I AM" actually carries the meaning "to exist or to be or become." God, in Exodus 3:14-15, is telling Moses to tell the Israelites either that He does indeed exists or that He will indeed become the One who releases them from bondage in Egypt. He is, therefore, telling them to have faith.

Now, there has been a realization that this word, "hayah" should not actually be translated "I am". The idea of what it should be translated is still being argued. However, some popular translations say something like, "I shall prove to be what I shall prove to be" or something similar. Further, while many claim that this is a name or title that God is applying to himself, that is not the case.

Sure, right after Moses asked for a name to give the Israelites God responded with, "tell them I Am who I Am" has sent you. But in the next verse He says, "Jehovah...has sent me to you. This is my name to time indefinite, and this is the memorial of me to generation after generation." God said that His name was Jehovah, not "I AM." "I AM" was not even used as a title, but a description.

Again, when a little more research is done with this verse, we can see that this can be used to prove Jesus' pre-human existence and not that he was God.

References

[1]"Truth in Translation: Accuracy and Bias in English Translations of the New Testament" by Dr. Jason BeDuhn

What About...John 10:30?

2009-01-21T22:31:00.010-06:00

"I and the Father are one."-John 10:30

With these simple words, Jesus Christ gave something for Trinitarians to cling to--as long as they take the words out of context. First, however, we will look at other verses that give a satisfying explanation to this verse and then use the context to close the matter.

First of all, look at John 17:20-22. "I make request, not concerning these only, but also concerning those putting faith in me through their word; in order that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in union with me and I am in union with you, that they also may be in union with us, in order that the world may believe that you sent me forth. Also, I have given them the glory that you have given me, in order that they may be one just as we are one."-John

Jesus asked that his Apostles and other disciples be one in the same way that Christ and his Father are one. The idea that these Apostles and disciples make up a Trinity or multiple Trinities is just absurd. So, digging deeper, we need to learn what Christ meant by this.

First of all, turn to 1 Corinthians 1:10. Paul says, "Now I exhort you, brothers, through the name of our Lord Jesus Christ that you should all speak in agreement, and that there should not be divisions among you, but that you may be fitly united in the same mind and in the same line of thought." The brothers in Corinth were plagued with divisions within the congregation. Paul was telling them that they were to be of the same thought and mind. One way in which they were divided is mentioned a little later in the letter.

Paul, attempting to silence people who were putting too much emphasize on him and another Christian, Apollos, continued: "What I mean is this, that each one of you says: 'I belong to Paul,' 'But I to Apollos,' 'But I to Cephas,' 'But I to Christ.'" (1 Corinthians 1:11) He then continues, and finally says, "What, then, is Apollos? Yes, what is Paul?...I planted, Apollos watered, but God kept making it grow; so that neither is he that plants anything nor is he that waters, but God who makes it grow. Now he that plants and he that waters are one, but each person will receive his own reward according to his own labor."-1 Corinthians 3:5-8

Paul and Apollos, and all true Christians, are one in that they have the same interests and desires. That is what 1 Corinthians 1:10 is speaking of. That is what Jesus is speaking of in John 17:20-22. When Jesus said that he wants all of his disciples to be one, we see that Paul explained exactly what the Lord meant. And in the same way that all of the disciples are one, in thought, word, deed, and work, God and Christ are one in that same way.

So, when we read John 10:30 in the future or that objection is raised by a Trinitarian, we can use Biblical reasoning to show what the Bible really teaches.

Now, let us look at the context.

"Therefore the Jews encircled him and began to say to him: 'How long are you to keep our souls in suspense? If you are the Christ, tell us outspokenly.'Jesus answered them: 'I told you, and yet you do not believe. The works that I am doing in the name of my Father, these bear witness about me. But you do not believe, because you are none of my sheep. My sheep listen to my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. And I give them everlasting life, and they will by no means ever be destroyed, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. What my Father has given me is something greater than all other things, and no one can snatch them out of the hand of the Father. I and the Father are one.'"-John 10:24-30

First off, the Jews were not asking if Jesus was God, if he and the Father were one, or if he was part of a Trinity. They simply wanted to know if he was the Messiah. Christ then told them that he had told them the answer to that question and began speaking about his sheep. He says that those Jews are not sheep because they would have listened to him. And then he says that the sheep that he has actually belong to the Father and were given him by the Father. They belong to the Father and the Son and that makes them one.

"Once more the Jews lifted up stones to stone him. Jesus replied to them: 'I displayed to you many fine works from the Father. For which of those works are you stoning me?' The Jews answered him: 'We are stoning you, not for a fine work, but for blasphemy, even because you, although being a man, make yourself a god*.' Jesus answered them: 'Is it not written in your Law, "I said: 'You are gods'"? If he called ‘gods’ those against whom the word of God came, and yet the Scripture cannot be nullified, do you say to me whom the Father sanctified and dispatched into the world, ‘You blaspheme,' because I said, 'I am God’s Son'? If I am not doing the works of my Father, do not believe me. But if I am doing them, even though you do not believe me, believe the works, in order that you may come to know and may continue knowing that the Father is in union with me and I am in union with the Father.' Therefore they tried again to seize him; but he got out of their reach."-John 10:31-39

Christ begins to say that he "making himself a god" was not so far-fetched because the Bible calls humans gods. Jesus then quotes Psalm 82:6, which says in part, "I myself have said, ‘you are gods." He acknowledges that the Bible calls mere humans gods. The Bible also calls angels gods and Satan the devil a god and even calls Moses a god.-see Psalm 8:5 and the quote at Hebrews 2:7; 2 Corinthians 4:4; Exodus 7:1.

From what we have seen, John 10:30 does not prove the Trinity as being correct.

*Many Bible translations say "God" here instead of "a god", but really the next few verses support the rendering "a god" because Christ begins talking about humans as gods and not humans as God. The defense of humans being gods would not be appropriate if he was trying to explain that he was equal to the Father.

Scholarly Quotes on the New World Translation

2009-01-17T15:59:00.002-06:00

*"Sanctify them by means of the truth; your word is truth."-John 17:17"*

Jason BeDuhn: "While it is difficult to quantify this sort of analysis, it can be said the NW[T] emerges as the most accurate of the translations compared."
-Greek Scholar in his book: "Truth in Translation: Accuracy and Bias in English Translations of the New Testament"

Steven T. Byington: Of the NWT, "If you are digging for excellent or suggestive renderings, this is among the richer mines."
-Christian Century, "Review of the New World Translation of the Christian Greek Scriptures"

Frederick Danker: "Not to be snubbed is the New World Translation of the Hebrew Scriptures, Rendered from the Original by the New World Bible Translation Committee."
-"Multipurpose Tools for Bible Study"

Alan S. Duthie: The "Jehovah's Witnesses' NWT,...is certainly not 'filled with the heretical doctrines'...even though a few aberrations can be found...but the percentage of the whole Bible thus affected... does not reach even 0.1% of the whole, which is very far from 'full'.
-"How To Choose Your Bible Wisely"

Rolf Furuli: "I read the English text of the NWT against the Hebrew text, word for word...the translators of the NWT have been extremely faithful both to their own translation principles and to the Hebrew text."
-Lecturer in Semitic Languages at Oslo University

S. Maclean Gilmore: "The New Testament edition was made by a committee...that possessed an unusual competence in Greek."
-Andover Newton Quarterly

Edgar Goodspeed: "I am...much pleased with the free, frank, and vigorous translation. It exhibits a vast array of sound serious learning, as I can testify."
-Scholar and Bible Translator

Samuel Haas: "This work indicates a great deal of effort and thought as well as considerable scholarship."
-Bible Scholar in "Journal of Biblical Literature"

C. Houtman: "The New World Translation of the Jehovah's Witnesses can survive the scrutiny of criticism."
-"Nederlands Theologisch Tijdschrift", [Dutch Theological Magazines]

Benjamin Kedar: "I find my feeling repeatedly confirmed that [the OT] reflects an honest endeavor to achieve an understanding of the text that is as accurate as possible....Giving evidence of a broad command of the original language...I have never discovered in the New World Translation any biased intent to read something into the text that it does not contain."
-Professor of Jewish History at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and has a Ph'd from Yale

Robert M. McCoy: "The translation of the New Testament is evidence of the presence in the movement of scholars qualified to deal intelligently with the many problems of Biblical translation."
-"Andover Newton Quarterly"

Dr. Bruce Metzger: "On the whole, one gains a tolerably good impression of the scholarly equipment of the translators."
-Professor at Princeton Theological Seminary and Scholar in Greek, OT Studies and NT Studies in "The Bible Translator"

James Parkinson: "The Jehovah's Witnesses' New World Translation offers a relatively accurate translation from a different theological perspective."
-Author of "How To Choose a Bible Translation"

J. D Phillips: "Last week I purchased a copy of your New World Translation of the Christian Greek Scriptures of which I take pride in being an owner. You have done a marvelous work...but you have made a marvelous step in the right direction, and I pray God that your Version will be used to His glory. What you have done for the Name alone is worth all the effort and cost!"
-J.D. Phillips was a Church of Christ Minister who knew Hebrew and Koine Greek

Charles Francis Potter: In "the New World Translation of the Christian Greek Scriptures...the anonymous translators have certainly rendered the best manuscript texts...with scholarly ability and acumen."
-The Faith Men Live By

William Carey Taylor: The NT of the NWT contains "considerable scholarship."
-"The New Bible Pro and Con"

Alexander Thomson: "The translation is evidently the work of skilled and clever scholars, who have sought to bring out as much of the true sense of the Greek text as the English language is capable of expressing."
-in "The Differentiator" (a private, published journal)

Allen Wikgren: It is "independent reading of merit."
-Scholar on the NRSV committee, as well as on the committee which produced the UBS Greek text

Thomas N. Winter: "The translation by the anonymous committee is thoroughly up to date and consistently accurate...In sum, when a witness comes to the door, the classicist, Greek student, or Bible student alike would do well to place an order."
-Professor of Koine Greek at the University of Nebraska

Scholarly Quotes on John 1:1

2009-01-17T12:01:00.005-06:00

William Barclay: "Theos [in John 1:1c] becomes a description, and more of an adjective than a noun...[John] does not say that Jesus was God"
-Scholar, "Many Witnesses, One Lord"

Hans-Jürgen Becker-"Ein Gott war der Logos (a god was the Logos)
-Bible Translator, Das Evangelium nach Johannes

Jason BeDuhn-"The bottom line is that 'The Word was a god' is exactly what the Greek says. "The Word was divine" is a possible meaning of this Greek phrasing. "The Word was God" is almost certainly ruled out by the phrasing John uses."
-Scholar in his book: "Truth in Translation: Accuracy and Bias in English Translations of the New Testament"

Lant Carpenter LL.D-“a God”
-Scholar, in "Unitarianism in the Gospels"

C.H. Dodd-"A possible translation. . . would be, 'The Word was a god’. As a word-for-word translation it cannot be faulted."
-Professor; director of the New English Bible project

S.G. Green-"'The Word' of John 1:1 is not the same god as the God with whom the Word is said to be. Hence, the omitting of the article in the predicate of the simple sentence is shown to be only a general rule, and not one that holds in every case. One such case where that general rule does not hold true is John 1:1. The definite article "the" was there omitted, but not according to that general rule; it was not omitted with the idea that it should be understood by the reader."
-Scholar, "Green's Handbook to the Grammar of the Greek Testament"

Ernst Haenchen-"In this instance, the verb ‘was’ ([en]) simply expresses predication. And the predicate noun must accordingly be more carefully observed: [the·os´] is not the same thing as [ho the·os´] (‘divine’ is not the same thing as ‘God’)
-"Das Johannesevangelium. Ein Kommentar, John 1". (Gospel According to John, A Commentary on John 1)

Murray J. Harris-"From the point of view of grammar alone, [John 1:1c] could be rendered 'the Word was a god'"
-Scholar in his book: "Jesus as God"

Herman Heinfetter-“a God”
-Scholar in his book: "Rules for Ascertaining the Sense Conveyed in Ancient Greek Manuscripts"

George Horner-"[A]nd (a) God was the word."
-Scholar in his book, "The Coptic Version of the New Testament"

A. N. Jannaris, Ph.D-"a god”
-Scholar and Lecturer on Post-Classical and other Greek dialects and author of "An Historical Greek Grammar"

Felix Just-"and god[-ly/-like] was the Word."
-Professor, Loyola Marymount University

William Loader-"a god”
-Scholar, New Testament Lecturer for the Perth Theological Hall and teacher at Murdoch University

Jon Madsen-"the Word was a divine Being"
-"New Testament A Rendering"

Julius R. Mantey-"Instead of translating John 1:1, and the word was deity, this Grammar could have translated it, 'and the word was a god.'"
-Scholar, "A Manual Grammar of the Greek New Testament"

John L. McKenzie-John 1:1c "should rigorously be translated 'a divine being'"
-Scholar, "A Dictionary Of The Bible"

James Moffatt-"the Word was divine."
-Bible Translator and Scholar, from Moffatt's New Translation of the Bible

Thomas Belsham-"and the word was a god"
-Bible translator in association with Unitarian Bible Translation Committee

Andrews Norton-“a god”
-Scholar, "A Statement of Reasons For Not Believing the Doctrines of Trinitarians"

A.M. Perry-"John 1:1 indefinite with qualitative force...’a god”.
-Theologian, "Journal of Biblical Literature"

Joseph Priestley-“a God”
-Greek Scholar, "A Familiar Illustration of Certain Passages of Scripture..."

Robert Harvey Strachen-"divine, a divine being"
-Scholar, "The Historic Jesus in the New Testament"

Johannes Schneider-"Und Gottlicher Art war der Logos." (and godlike sort was the Logos.)
-Scholar, "Das Evangelium nach Johannes (The Gospel of John)"

Siegfried Schultz-"Ein Gott (oder: Gott von Art) war das Wort." (and a god (or, of a divine kind) was the Word.)
-Scholar, "Das Evangelium nach Johannes (The Gospel of John)"

Vincent Taylor-"Here, in the Prologue, the Word is said to be God, but as often observed, in contrast with the clause, 'the Word was with God', the definite article is not used (in the final clause). For this reason it is generally translated 'and the Word was divine' or is not regarded as God...In neither passage is Jesus unequivocally called God."
Scholar, "Does the New Testament Call Jesus God?"

C.C. Torrey-"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was god."
-Scholar and Bible Translator

J. W. Wenham-"As far as grammar alone is concerned, John 1:1c could mean either, 'The Word is a god', or 'The Word is the god.'"
-Scholar, "Elements of NT Greek"

Paul Wernle-“a God”
-Professor Extraordinary of Modern Church History at the University of Basil, The Beginnings of Christianity

Benjamin Wilson-"and a god was the word."
-Scholar and Bible Translator

Robert Young-"a God”
-Scholar, "Concise Commentary on the Holy Bible"

Holy Spirit Helps God's People

2009-01-11T09:13:00.026-06:00

Jehovah's spirit was moving through King Cyrus of Persia. The King was moved by Jehovah and His spirit to fulfill the words of the prophet Isaiah and send the people of Israel home to rebuild to temple of Jehovah. (Isaiah 44:28; 2 Chronicles 36:22) Cyrus wrote this proclamation:

"All the kingdoms of the earth Jehovah the God of the heavens has given me, and he himself has commissioned me to build him a house in Jerusalem, which is in Judah. Whoever there is among you of all his people, may his God prove to be with him. So let him go up to Jerusalem, which is in Judah, and rebuild the house of Jehovah the God of Israel—he is the true God—which was in Jerusalem."-Ezra 1:2-3

However, some years after this, fierce opposition from opposer's of Jehovah disheartened the Israelites and eventually made them stop the building of the temple by a royal decree from King Artaxerxes himself. (Ezra 4:1, 4-6, 17, 22-24) However, Jehovah was not going to let this happen for long. We are told:

"And Haggai the prophet and Zechariah the grandson of Id´do the prophet prophesied to the Jews who were in Judah and in Jerusalem, in the name of the God of Israel who was over them. It was then that Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel and Jeshua the son of Jehozadak got up and started to rebuild the house of God, which was in Jerusalem; and with them there were God’s prophets giving them aid."-Ezra 5:1-2

These four servants of God, Haggai, Zechariah, Zerubbabel, and Jeshua, were instrumental in getting the temple rebuilt. The use of holy spirit in their time is of interest to us today.

God's Spirit Helps the Jews
"And the angel who was speaking with me proceeded to come back and wake me up, like a man that is awakened from his sleep. Then he said to me: 'What are you seeing?' So I said: 'I have seen, and, look! there is a lampstand, all of it of gold, with a bowl on top of it. And its seven lamps are upon it, even seven; and the lamps that are at the top of it have seven pipes. And there are two olive trees alongside it, one on the right side of the bowl and one on its left side.'"-Zechariah 4:1-3

Why is any of this important? The importance of it lays in the symbolic meaning of the objects mentioned.

The lampstand has seven lamps, seven showing heavenly perfection or completeness. Each lamp had seven pipes which were continuously pouring oil from the bowl into each lamp to keep them burning. The oil from the bowl into the lamps is Jehovah's spirit. The lamp itself is symbolic for the temple. The two olive trees, from which the oil was produced, represent two men, High Priest Jeshua and Governor Zerrubabel.-Zechariah 4:14

The prophetic ministry of Haggai and Zechariah would move Jeshua and Zerrubabel to encourage the people to complete the temple. However, how would they do it when the king put a royal ban on the work and hostile peoples were keeping an eye on the Israelites every move? The continuous oil, or Jehovah's holy spirit would be instrumental in helping them. The Bible helps us to see that this is the meaning of this vision. After Zechariah admitted that he didn't understand what this vision meant, the angel told him.

"This is the word of Jehovah to Zerubbabel, saying, ‘Not by a military force, nor by power, but by my spirit,' Jehovah of armies has said. 'Who are you, O great mountain? Before Zerubbabel you will become a level land. And he will certainly bring forth the headstone. There will be shoutings to it: "How charming! How charming!"' And the word of Jehovah continued to occur to me, saying: 'The very hands of Zerubbabel have laid the foundation of this house, and his own hands will finish it. And you will have to know that Jehovah of armies himself has sent me to you people. For who has despised the day of small things? And they will certainly rejoice and see the plummet in the hand of Zerubbabel. These seven are the eyes of Jehovah. They are roving about in all the earth.'"-Zechariah 4:6-10

Zerubbabel was not going to amass an army and fight against the Persian empire so the temple could be rebuilt. He was not going to fight with the nations around him. No, Jehovah's spirit would handle the situation. This mountain-like task in front of him will level out and become a level land easy to traverse. What happened?

Zerubbabel got the temple started again. Immediately, "Tattenai, the governor beyond the River and Shetharbozenai and their colleagues came to them" and said, "Who put an order through to you to build this house and to finish this beam structure...what are the names of the able-bodied men that are building this building?" (Ezra 5:3-4) However, Jehovah's protection was on the Israelites. His spirit moved the opposer's to send a letter to the king to find if he had lifted the ban. When the letter got to the king, he made an investigation of the records in Babylon.-Ezra 6:1

After searching the records a scroll was found that said, in part, "In the first year of Cyrus the king, Cyrus the king put an order through concerning the house of God in Jerusalem: Let the house be rebuilt as the place where they are to offer sacrifices, and its foundations are to be fixed." (Ezra 6:3) This decree made the building work final. The Jews would finish. Why? "For a writing that is written in the king’s name and sealed with the king’s signet ring it is not possible to undo." (Esther 8:8 compare Daniel 6:8, 12, 15) By law, they could not halt the building work. Jehovah's spirit, symbolized by the oil, accomplished this.

God's Spirit Helps the Christians
"He blew upon them and said, 'Receive holy spirit.'" (John 20:22) At this time, the Apostles were not anointed with the holy spirit. That wasn't to happen until a few weeks later. At this time, Jesus evidently gave them enough to endure until that time. However, it wasn't enough to make the bold preachers of the Good News for we read just eight days later, "His disciples were again indoors...Jesus came, although the doors were locked and stood in their midst." (John 20:26) The disciples spent a lot of time indoors out of fear of retribution at this point.

A few weeks later, though, things changed. It was Pentecost, 33 C.E. and the holy spirit was poured on 120 disciples who were meeting together. "Suddenly there occurred from heaven a noise just like that of a rushing stiff breeze, and it filled the whole house in which they were sitting. And tongues as if of fire became visible to them and were distributed about, and one sat upon each one of them, and they all became filled with holy spirit and started to speak with different tongues, just as the spirit was granting them to make utterance." (Acts 2:2-4) This changed things immensely.

Due to Pentecost, Jews from the diaspora and proselytes from many different countries had converged on Jerusalem. This was a perfect situation. (Acts 2:5-13) Since the disciples were baptized with holy spirit only moments before, they were given a courage that made them act in completely different ways then previously. They showed a new boldness--a confidence--that they had originally lacked.

Since the apostles now had copious amounts of holy spirit, they were able to stand up and give a wonderful speech. They spoke of the prophecy at Joel 2, they spoke of Jesus and his sacrifice, spoke of the prophecy at Psalm 16, and spoke of the resurrection of Jesus Christ. This was in front of many people whom they were originally hiding from. (Acts 2:14-36) Their speech was so moving that three thousand people were baptized. This is the power of the holy spirit!

The holy spirit was able to help the apostles accomplish many things. One account is particularly interesting. It goes like this:

After Peter and John gave a heart-rending speech, we read, "Now when they beheld the outspokenness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were men unlettered and ordinary, they got to wondering. And they began to recognize about them that they used to be with Jesus." This was a new development and so they decided to consult each other on it. They decided to threaten them.-Acts 4:13-17

This did not stop the apostles from preaching. On another occasion the apostles are arrested for preaching again and so this is what happens:

They brought them and stood them in the Sanhedrin hall. And the high priest questioned them and said: 'We positively ordered you not to keep teaching upon the basis of this name, and yet, look! you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching, and you are determined to bring the blood of this man upon us.' In answer Peter and the other apostles said: 'We must obey God as ruler rather than men.'" (Acts 5:27-29) For this, the apostles were flogged and sent on their way--but they kept preaching.-Acts 5:40-42

We can see the holy spirit working in the lives of the apostles and other disciples throughout the book of Acts. Stephen was given a special vision right before death. (Acts 7:55-56) Philip was led to interested people all over Israel. (Acts 8:39) Peter was able to resurrect a woman by holy spirit. (Acts 9:40) Cornelius was given holy spirit to prove that the Gentiles were being called by God. (Acts 10:44-45) Agabus was given warning of an approaching famine on the land. (Acts 11:28) Elymas the sorcerer was struck blind by the spirit. (Acts 13:8, 11) Yes, the spirit was at work this entire time. In fact, the holy spirit was so powerful in these days that Paul could say, "the good news...was preached in all creation that is under heaven." (Colossians 1:23) Thank Jehovah for His spirit!

God's Spirit Today
The promise that Jesus made to the Apostles way back then is just as applicable today in our service. Christ told us: "You will receive power when the holy spirit arrives upon you, and you will be witnesses of me both in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria and to the most distant part of the earth." (Acts 1:8) The preaching work is not something that man can do on his own. Many religions have tried it and failed. The ones that were able to do a small type of international ministry can only get a small percentage of their members to do it only a short period of time. Surely, Jehovah's Witnesses have God's holy spirit helping them in their lives.

Another way that holy spirit helps Jehovah's Christian Witnesses today is by changing their very personalities to match the fruitage of the spirit. They are able to manifest such attributes as love, long-suffering, kindness, faith, self-control and others.-Galatians 5:22-23

As third way that holy spirit helps is connected to what Jesus Christ said, "But when they are leading you along to deliver you up, do not be anxious beforehand about what to speak; but whatever is given you in that hour, speak this, for you are not the ones speaking, but the holy spirit is." (Luke 13:11; John 14:26) Yes, the holy spirit will help us in any way that we need it as long as we are acting loyal to Jehovah God and His Son, Jesus Christ. However, we need to keep asking for that holy spirit.-Luke 11:9-13

The holy spirit is so important to Jehovah that anyone saying anything against it is promised not to receive everlasting life. (Matthew 12:31) The reason this is so important is because this spirit is Jehovah's power. The Bible likens Jehovah's spirit to His finger, indicating His ability to accomplish things. (Matthew 12:28, compare Luke 11:20) Faithful Elihu likened the holy spirit to God's breath.-Job 33:4

Yes, Jehovah's spirit is important for all of God's followers everywhere. We need to rely on that holy spirit and let it manifest itself in our lives. May we always rely on this spirit for the "power beyond what is normal."-2 Corinthians 4:7

What Jehovah's Witnesses Believe

2009-01-09T22:16:00.003-06:00

The Almighty God has a name which is Jehovah. (Exodus 3:15; 6:3) Jehovah is our Father. (Isaiah 63:16; 64:8) When the Bible says “LORD” in all capital letters, that is a replacement for the name Jehovah. We call upon Jehovah’s name because that is the name upon which men are saved out of certain distressful and dangerous situations. (Joel 2:32) We are made in God’s image, His likeness, having His qualities.-Genesis 1:26

"God is a spirit." (John 4:24; 2 Corinthians 3:17) He is a God of love and cares about you deeply. (1 John 4:16; 1 Peter 5:6, 7) He gave us His inspired Word, the Bible, to live by, thus finding the greatest happiness. (2 Timothy 3:16, 17) He also sent His son, Jesus Christ, to die for us so that we could live forever. When we repent in the name of Jesus we will be saved.-John 3:16, 36

God has given us the Scriptures to apply in our lives so that we may get to know Him. He is a loving, merciful God who created the universe. (Exodus 34:6, 7; Genesis 1:1) His Word is a guidebook on how to live our lives.-Romans 15:4

At one time, we were separated from God due to sin which we inherited from "the first man Adam" but through the death of His son we can now become "reconciled to God." (Romans 5:8-12; 1 Corinthians 15:22) One thing that should always be remembered is that although there is much suffering in this life, God is never the cause of your suffering. The chief causes of your suffering are the role Satan plays in this world, "time and chance", and our own sinful tendencies. (1 John 5:19; Ecclesiastes 9:11; Genesis 6:5) It hurts Jehovah when bad things happen. (Psalm 78:41) One day, however, He is going to undo all the evil and badness in the world. (Proverbs 2:22; Revelation 20:10, 14) At that time, God has planned for man to live on a perfected Earth forever, restoring it to its beauty in the Garden of Eden.-Psalm 37:11, 29

Of course, there are things that we must do to remain here. We do not just get a free ride. We first have to learn about God and Jesus. This is best done by consulting God’s Word of Truth. (John 17:3, 17) God wants everyone to turn around and come to know Him. Therefore, He has allowed this wicked world to continue so that others have time to be saved. (2 Peter 3:9) But one day it will all be over and God will surely reward us for our faithfulness.-Revelation 21:4

For Further Reading
Official Website of Jehovah's Witnesses
Jehovah's Witnesses--Who Are They? What Do They Believe?

Scenes from My Christian Walk

2009-01-09T21:54:00.009-06:00

*Look! How good and how pleasant it is for brothers to dwell together in unity!-Psalm 133:1*

My Wife and I (While We Were Dating)

Grandfather (deceased) and Grandmother at Convention in '06

Group of Brothers and Sister at Our Quick Build in '06

My Best Friend Derrick and Me (Quick Build '06)

A Sister and Me Right After My Baptism (She Knows English, Spanish, French, Italian, and Albanian)

Bro. Nelson and Me After My Baptism

At the Old Kingdom Hall at Age 3 With My Grandfather