8/7/18 "Look! God is my salvation. I shall trust and be in no dread; for Jah Jehovah is my strength."

And in that day you will be sure to say: 'I shall thank you, O Jehovah, for although you got incensed at me, your anger gradually turned back, and you proceeded to comfort me. 2 Look! God is my salvation. I shall trust and be in no dread; for Jah Jehovah is my strength and my might, and he came to be the salvation of me.'
3 With exultation you people will be certain to draw water out of the springs of salvation. 4 And in that day you will certainly say: 'Give thanks to Jehovah, you people! Call upon his name. Make known among the peoples his dealings. Make mention that his name is put on high. 5 Make melody to Jehovah, for he has done surpassingly. This is made known in all the earth.'" (Isaiah 12:1-6; NWT)

 Trust in Jehovah, you people, for all times, for in Jah Jehovah is the Rock of times indefinite.
5 “For he has laid low those inhabiting the height, the elevated town. He abases it, he abases it to the earth; he brings it in touch with the dust. 6 The foot will trample it down, the feet of the afflicted one, the steps of the lowly ones.”
7 The path of the righteous one is uprightness. You being upright, you will smooth out the very course of a righteous one. 8 Yes, for the path of your judgments, O Jehovah, we have hoped in you. For your name and for your memorial the desire of the soul has been. 9 With my soul I have desired you in the night; yes, with my spirit within me I keep looking for you; because, when there are judgments from you for the earth, righteousness is what the inhabitants of the productive land will certainly learn. 10 Though the wicked one should be shown favor, he simply will not learn righteousness. In the land of straightforwardness he will act unjustly and will not see the eminence of Jehovah.
11 O Jehovah, your hand has become high, but they do not behold it. They will behold and be ashamed at the zeal for your people. Yes, the very fire for your own adversaries will eat them up. 12 O Jehovah, you will adjudge peace to us, because even all our works you have performed for us. 13 O Jehovah our God, other masters besides you have acted as owners of us. By you only shall we make mention of your name. (Isaiah 26:4-13; NWT)

8/1/18 "Many lepers were in Israel in the time of Elisha the prophet, and none of them was cleansed except Naaman the Syrian.” (Luke 4:27; NKJV)

Naaman, although a leper, was the valiant and highly esteemed commander-in-chief of the army of the Syrian king Ben-Hadad. When a young captive Israelite servant girl told the wife of Naaman that there lived a prophet in Samaria who could heal Naaman of his terrible skin disease, the report was made to king Ben-Hadad. Ben-Hadad at once sent his army captain to Jehoram, the king of Israel, along with a letter and much treasure, with the request to have Naaman cured of his leprosy. Jehoram knew nothing about anyone ever having been cured of leprosy in all of Israel, and he imagined that the king of Syria was looking for a pretext to start a fight. But when Elisha the prophet heard of this, he sent word to Jehoram to have Naaman come to him, "that he may know that there exists a prophet in Israel". Thus Naaman, with his horses and war chariots, came to stand at the entrance of the house of Elisha. (2 Kings 5:1-9)

Great must have been Naaman's faith in Jehovah, because―according to his own words―he expected Elisha to come out of his house "and call upon the name of Jehovah his God and move his hand to and fro over the place and actually give the leper recovery." We can well imagine his disappointment and rage when Elisha not only failed to come out of his house, but further insulted him by telling him to go and bathe seven times in the Jordan River. It was only after his servants succeeded in persuading him that Naaman humbled himself and did as Elisha had instructed; with the result that "his flesh came back like the flesh of a little boy and he became clean." (2 Kings 5:10-14)

The point of this discussion is: Why was only Naaman cleansed of his leprosy, and not the many other lepers in Israel? It was not due to any special healing properties of the waters in the Jordan; otherwise any leper could have been cleansed by simply bathing in its water seven times. No, it wasn't the water itself that procured the healing for Naaman, but rather his faith in Jehovah and his obedience to God's instruction. If Jehovah had wanted to heal Naaman by having Elisha "move his hand to and fro over the place", he surely could have done that. For example, when Jesus healed ten lepers he simply told them to go and show themselves to the priests. And while they were on their way, their cleansing occurred. On another occasion, Jesus healed a leper by simply touching him, and saying, "Be made clean." That certainly would have impressed Naaman. (Luke 17:12-19; Mark 1:40-42) When we are baptized according to God's command, it is not the water that cleanses us of the stain of sin; but rather our obedience, accompanied by faith in Christ Jesus' death which makes forgiveness of sin possible. (Rom. 5:8-11) Did the waters of the Jordan River symbolize anything, such as a cleansing? The Bible doesn't tell us that, although the Scriptures contain many examples where God uses symbolism in order to reinforce an important lesson. We don't have to guess at their meanings, for Jehovah provides us with that information whenever that is necessary. (Compare Jeremiah 24:1-10; Ezekiel 23:1-49; 24:1-14; Galatians 4:21-31)

In connection with Naaman, there is yet another important lesson for us: Jehovah can use whomever he wants in order to carry out his will. Accordingly, as Jeremiah wrote, Naaman was held in high esteem "because it was by him that Jehovah had given salvation to Syria". Although Syria was the enemy of the ten tribes of Israel, Jehovah used the Syrian army as his "rod for my anger", to inflict punishment upon his rebellious people. (Isa. 10:5) Jehovah rewards those who carry out his will, even when they are the enemies of his wayward people, as can also be seen later in the case of the Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar. (Jer. 21:1-10; Daniel 4:34-37) When Naaman acted on the information from the little Israelite servant girl, he must have had reason to believe that there truly was a God in Israel who could cure him of his leprosy. Even the Syrian king Ben-Hadad himself had come to acknowledge Jehovah as the true God, and he recognized Elisha as his prophet. For example, when Be-Hadad fell sick, he sent his servant Hazael to Elisha to inquired of Jehovah whether he would revive from his sickness; perhaps remembering the miracle in connection with Naaman. What a contrast between these two uncircumcised men and the faithless nation of Israel whose God Jehovah was. Elisha informed Hazael that Ben-Hadad would die, and that Hazael himself would succeed him as king. As such, he would prove to be the "rod of God's anger", to execute God's judgment upon the apostate ten tribes of Israel. (2 Kings 6:24; 8:7-13)

The apostle Paul asks: "Who has come to know the mind of Jehovah, that he may instruct him?" (1 Cor. 2:16) We have the tendency to question Jehovah, his way of doing things. This is undoubtedly because we want to have God's mind on matters―why he does the things he does, and in the way he does them. But, really, all that Jehovah requires of his people is obedience. That is not too deep to understand. (1 John 5:3) As is so well illustrated in the case of Naaman, Jehovah is looking with approval upon anyone who has faith in him and obeys him. (2 Chron. 16:9) Naaman was rewarded for his faith and obedience, in which he put God's own people to shame.

7/7/18  Accuracy of a Bible translation depends largely on the integrity of the translators

Jehovah God, the Bible's author, wants us to obtain a correct understanding of his Word. This is evident from the multitude of ancient manuscripts that are available to modern translators. According to Insight on the Scriptures, there are "more than 13,000 papyrus and vellum manuscripts containing the whole or a part of the Christian Greek Scriptures, dating from the 2nd to the 16th century. Of these, some 5,000 are in Greek, and the remainder in various other languages. More than 2,000 of the ancient copies contain the Gospels, and more than 700, the letters of Paul. While the original writings themselves are not currently extant, copies date back to the second century, which is very close to the time the originals were written. This vast number of manuscripts has enabled Greek scholars in the course of years to produce a highly refined Greek text of the Scriptures, confirming in many respects the dependability and integrity of our present-day translations of the Christian Greek Scriptures." ―it-1 p. 443 Christian Greek Scriptures.

Of course, the accuracy of a Bible translation depends not just on the large amount of available ancient manuscripts, but also on the integrity of the translators. One Watchtower article, Meeting the Challenge of Bible Translation, stated: "Among the many challenges that Bible translation poses is that of accuracy. Is the translation as explicit as is the original? Does it do justice to the flavor as well as the words of the original? Often translations come short in this regard...There is also the matter of fidelity to the original. At times Bible translators let their religious bias show through in their renderings." It went on to say: "It might well be said that no one translation is superior in every instance. While some freer translations may err as to accuracy, more literal ones may at times not communicate as well as do others...Truly, doing justice to translating the Bible presents a real challenge. It is indeed a blessing that there have been produced so many different translations. However, from the foregoing examples it may well be said that, as an accurate translation, the New World Translation has much to recommend it." (w74 6/15 pp. 363-364 Meeting the Challenge of Bible Translation)

Does the New World Translation deserve our confidence when it comes to accuracy? Proverbs 30:5-6 pointedly states: "Every saying of God is refined...Add nothing to his words, that he may not reprove you, and that you may not have to be proved a liar." (NWT) For a translation to inspire confidence, it is essential that it accurately translates the contents of the available manuscripts in the original language without any religious bias; or without the temptation to explain the meaning of a scripture rather than to hold true to what is stated. If there is any doubt about the meaning of a particular scripture, the answer is always found somewhere within God's Word. (2 Tim. 3:16,17) A translation worthy of being called a translation, will refrain of inserting the translators own interpretation or explanation; for if he does, he will surely be proved a liar.

Take for example Jesus' words that he said to his disciples when he instituted the Lord's Evening Meal, as recorded at Matthew 26:26-28. According to the New World Translation, this is what Jesus said: "As they continued eating, Jesus took a loaf and, after saying a blessing, he broke it and, giving it to the disciples, he said: 'TAKE, eat. This means my body.' Also, he took a cup and, having given thanks, he gave it to them, saying: 'Drink out of it, all of YOU; for this means my "blood of the covenant," which is to be poured out in behalf of many for forgiveness of sins.'" Yet, in all other translations, including The Kingdom Interlinear Translation of the GREEK SCRIPTURES (published by the Watchtower Society), the Greek word "εστιν" is translated as "is", not "means". Thus, the English Standard Version translates the verses as follows: "Jesus took bread, and after blessing it broke it and gave it to the disciples, and said, 'Take, eat; this is my body.' And he took a cup, and when he had given thanks he gave it to them, saying, 'Drink of it, all of you, for this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.'" (See also Mark 14:22-24; Luke 22:19-20; 1 Corinthians 11:23-25)

Why does the New World Translation translate it as "means" rather than "is" my body―my blood; when other translations render the word as "is"? Because, according to their reasoning, the bread that Jesus gave his disciples to eat was obviously not literally his fleshly body; and neither was the wine his literal blood. So, rather than faithfully translating Jesus' words as he spoke them, they render it according to what they think Jesus meant. But if Jesus meant to say this "means my body", and "this means my blood of the covenant", he could have done so, for there is a word in Greek that actually means "means"―such as appears in the Greek Version of the New World Translation, where the Greek word "σημαίνει" [means] is used, as translated from the English into Greek. (See The New World Translation Reference Bible [Rbi8] Matthew 26:26 Footnote: "Lit., “is.” Gr., e·stin")

But, do these seemingly insignificant differences really matter for us to accurately understand the word of God? In answer, please consider what Jesus had earlier said to the Jews and his disciples:
   I am the bread of life. YOUR forefathers ate the manna in the wilderness and yet died. This is the bread that comes down from heaven, so that anyone may eat of it and not die. I am the living bread that came down from heaven; if anyone eats of this bread he will live forever; and, for a fact, the bread that I shall give is my flesh in behalf of the life of the world.”
   Therefore the Jews began contending with one another, saying: “How can this man give us his flesh to eat?” Accordingly Jesus said to them: “Most truly I say to YOU, Unless YOU eat the flesh of the Son of man and drink his blood, YOU have no life in yourselves. He that feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood has everlasting life, and I shall resurrect him at the last day; for my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink. He that feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood remains in union with me, and I in union with him. Just as the living Father sent me forth and I live because of the Father, he also that feeds on me, even that one will live because of me. This is the bread that came down from heaven. It is not as when YOUR forefathers ate and yet died. He that feeds on this bread will live forever. ―John 6:48-58.

Many of Jesus' disciples were shocked by his words and stumbled, for they "went off to the things behind and would no longer walk with him." Even the twelve, whom Jesus had chosen, must have wondered at his words, for Jesus asked them: "You do not want to go also, do you?" (John 6:60-69)

But, here now, as he is eating the last supper with his chosen and faithful apostles, Jesus is making clear to them his earlier words regarding the eating of his flesh and the drinking of his blood. Giving them each a piece of the loaf of bread, he tells them, "Take, eat. This is my body." Yes, this is his "flesh" that he said he gives "in behalf of the life of the world". The same with the cup of wine that he gives them to drink―it is his blood that he was talking about earlier. These were not mere representations, or symbols, of his flesh and blood, but rather they are that what Jesus said they are, according to the commandment which he received from the Father. The partaking of them in obedience to Jesus' words is vital for everlasting life. When Jesus said that "he that feeds on my flesh [the bread] and drinks my blood [the wine] has everlasting life"―and that he also "remains in union with me, and I in union with him"―he was clearly stressing the importance of obeying his command if we are to receive everlasting life and remain in union with him. (John 12:49; Deut. 30:19,20) The New World Translation obscures this simple fact by changing the word "is" to "mean", which allows the Society to restrict the partaking of the bread and wine (which they refer to as emblems) to an elite few, contrary to Jesus' words. (See 1 Corinthians 10:16,17)

Of course, Jesus never said that we must literally eat his flesh and drink his blood, but partaking of the bread and the wine at the Memorial is the same in importance; for to obey is life, it does not simply mean life, as Jesus said in prayer to his heavenly Father: "And this is eternal life, that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent." (John 17:3; ESV;―compare with the New World Translation)

Taking the liberty to change one seemingly insignificant word of God's inspired Scriptures, may actually obscure the meaning, and hinder us from knowing a vital truth for everlasting life; rather than help us to understand it. "You can trust this: Every word that God speaks is true. God is a safe place for those who go to him. So don’t try to change what God says. If you do, he will punish you and prove that you are a liar." (Proverbs 30:5-6, Easy-to-Read Version)

(The doctrine of transubstantiation, as taught by the Catholic Church, states that the bread and wine offered at Communion are literally transformed into the body and blood of Christ. That is certainly not what Jesus was teaching.)

6/27/18  "Yes, nearly all things are cleansed with blood according to the Law. . ." (Hebrews 9:22)

When the apostle Paul states that "nearly all things are cleansed with blood according to the Law, and unless blood is poured out no forgiveness takes place", he is at the same time inferring that blood does not cleanse or purify everything. According to the Law God gave through Moses, there was another important factor involved in cleansing, or purifying his people, besides the blood of the sacrifices. What was that? And what is the lesson for us today?  (Heb. 9:22)

Moses explains that when the tabernacle in the wilderness was set up, "according to all that Jehovah had commanded him," there was not only "the altar of burnt offering before the entrance of the tabernacle of the tent of meeting," but also the basin which contained the water for washing for the priests, Aaron and his sons. In fact, "when they went into the tent of meeting and when they went near to the altar they would wash, just as Jehovah had commanded Moses." (Exodus 40:6,7, 16,17, 29-32) Also, note how the tribe of Levi was inaugurated to assist the priests, as God instructed Moses: "Take the Levites from among the sons of Israel, and you must cleanse them. And this is what you should do to them to cleanse them: Spatter sin-cleansing water upon them, and they must have a razor pass over all their flesh and must wash their garments and cleanse themselves." After their cleansing with water, two young bulls were offered up to Jehovah, "the one as a sin offering and the other as a burnt offering." (Num. 8:5-16)
 
In order for us to be clean in God's eyes, we need more than to have our sins forgiven. This is reflected in King David's prayer, after he had been confronted by Nathan the prophet over his sin with Bath-sheba. Although he was assured that Jehovah had forgiven his sin, yet David pleaded: "Show me favor, O God, according to your loving-kindness. According to the abundance of your mercies wipe out my transgressions. Thoroughly wash me from my error, and cleanse me even from my sin. May you purify me from sin with hyssop, that I may be clean; may you wash me, that I may become whiter even than snow." (Psalms 51:1,2, 7) The "hyssop" mentioned by David, with which he prayed to be cleansed, was the plant the Israelites used to splash the blood of the Passover victim on the two doorposts and the upper part of the doorway of their houses when they were about to leave Egypt. And according to Paul, Moses employed hyssop at the inauguration of the Law covenant, where he sprinkled the blood of the young bulls and of the goats, along with water and scarlet wool, upon the book of the Law and all the people. (Ex 12:21, 22; Heb 9:19) Hyssop also figured in the cleansing ceremony for persons or houses previously infected with leprosy, and in the preparation of the ashes to be used in “the water for cleansing,” as well as in the spattering of this water on certain things and persons. (Num. 19:6, 9, 18; Heb. 9:11-14; 10:21,22; it-1 p. 1165 Hyssop) 

When the nation of Israel had become rebellious, Jehovah put them on notice that he was no longer listening to their prayers, telling them: "From now on, when you pray with your hands stretched out to heaven, I won’t look or listen. Even though you make many prayers, I will not hear, for your hands are those of murderers; they are covered with the blood of your innocent victims. Oh, wash yourselves! Be clean! Let me no longer see you doing all these wicked things; quit your evil ways. Come, let’s talk this over, says the Lord; no matter how deep the stain of your sins, I can take it out and make you as clean as freshly fallen snow. Even if you are stained as red as crimson, I can make you white as wool! .'" (Isaiah 1:5,6, 18; TLB) 

It is not enough for us to have our sins forgiven! We are defiled by our sins, making us unclean. That is the reason why the priests who were officiating at the altar needed to wash themselves before they could offer up the blood of the sin offerings, first on their own behalf and then also for the people. The water cleansed them of their defilement due to sin; while the blood of the sacrifice granted forgiveness of any sins committed. The apostle Paul explains why the blood of the Christ is far superior to that of goats and of young bulls, when he writes: "The blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a cow were sprinkled on those who were no longer pure enough to enter the place of worship. The blood and ashes made them pure again—but only their bodies. So surely the blood sacrifice of Christ can do much more. Christ offered himself through the eternal Spirit as a perfect sacrifice to God. His blood will make us completely clean from the evil we have done. It will give us clear consciences so that we can worship the living God." (Heb. 9:13,14; Easy-to-Read Version)

When Paul writes that "nearly all things are cleansed with blood," he also includes the water according to the Law, to cleanse us of the stain due to our sins. To illustrate, a parent might tell their young child who is playing in the yard to be careful not to get himself dirty an hour before leaving for the congregation meeting. Well, the child accidentally does get himself dirty. It's not enough for the parent to forgive the child for not having listened. That doesn't remove the stain. He also needs to have it cleaned with water. So, too, Jehovah forgives us our sins, but at the same time we need to be cleansed of the defilement caused by our sins. Thus, the command to be baptized in water. Under the Mosaic Law, an unclean person was merely sprinkled with the "sin-cleansing water" for it could not completely remove the stain of his sin, in the same way that the blood of the animal sacrifice was unable to atone for their sins perpetually. Therefore, the people needed to be sprinkled with "sin-cleansing water" often, whenever they became unclean. Jesus was baptized and died for our sins "once for all time", to obtain "an everlasting deliverance for us". Thus, we are completely clean and holy in God's sight. That is why we are baptized just once by being completely submerged under the water. (Acts 2:38; 8:36-39; Heb. 9:12; 10:11-18)

The apostle Peter explains further that "[Christ] 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.'” (1 Peter 2:24; Isaiah 53:4,5) It is regarding his body, in which he bore our sins, that Jesus said: "This means my body which is to be given in your behalf." (Luke 22:19; John 6:51-53, NWT) Just as Jesus died for our sins, he also presented his body for baptism in our behalf, according to the Law, in order to cleanse us of the stain of sin that we have inherited from Adam. (Rom. 5:12-14; Psalms 51:5, 7) When we are baptized, we are baptized into Christ Jesus and into his death, by which we are not only absolved of our sins, but also are washed clean of the defilement due to sin. (Rom. 6:3, 7, 11, 23; Eph. 5:25-27)

Seeing that we have been cleansed of our inherited sin, it is vital that we remain clean, and not become defiled again by practicing sin willfully. (Rom. 5:8-11; Heb. 10:26-31) Some members of the congregation in Corinth needed to be reminded of their cleansing and avoid returning to their former course of life that had put them at enmity with God, as the apostle Paul wrote: "Don’t you know that those doing such things have no share in the Kingdom of God? Don’t fool yourselves. Those who live immoral lives, who are idol worshipers, adulterers or homosexuals—will have no share in his Kingdom. Neither will thieves or greedy people, drunkards, slanderers, or robbers. There was a time when some of you were just like that but now your sins are washed away, and you are set apart for God; and he has accepted you because of what the Lord Jesus Christ and the Spirit of our God have done for you." (1 Cor. 6:9-11; 5:11-13, TLB; Eph. 2:1-3) Once we have been washed clean at our baptism, we need to remain clean. (2 Peter 2:20-22)

And here is a further point: The Scriptures do not speak of Jesus dying in "symbol" of forgiveness of sins—for the Law said that "unless blood is poured out no forgiveness takes place." The blood does not "symbolize" or "represent" life—but rather "blood is life", as Jehovah said in his Law to the Israelites: "The life of each creature is in its blood. So I have given you the blood of animals to pay for your sin on the altar. Blood is life. That is why blood pays for your sin." (Leviticus 17:11-14; NIRV) Jesus paid for our sins with his own blood, in fulfillment of God's Law. The same is true regarding the Law on Baptism. Baptism is not in "symbol" of anything, for according to God's Law, the sin-cleansing water was required to make a person clean from the defilement of sin.

6/17/18  "Faith is the basic ingredient to begin a relationship with God."

In researching the subject on what faith in God means, I came across this insightful definition: "Faith is the basic ingredient to begin a relationship with God. Faith is the assurance that the things revealed and promised in the Word are true, even though unseen, and gives the believer a conviction that what he expects in faith, will come to pass. . . In other words, it becomes so tangible that you now possess it." (Rom. 10:17; Heb. 11:1)

Yet, the apostle Paul notes that "faith is not a possession of all people." (2 Thess 3:2) It's not hard to see why, when we look at the history of Jehovah's people and note the lack of faith the Israelites constantly displayed; whether it was the making of the golden calf, or the murmuring and constant complaints to the point of mutiny during their wandering in the wilderness. A hindrance to genuine faith in God is man's inclination to put his faith in the things he can see, such as in other men; or even in idolatry, the worship of false gods; which is anything that replaces Jehovah in our affection and obedience; to which even Jehovah's own people have not proved immune, in spite of God's repeated warnings. (Matt. 22:35-38) Take for example God's command not to worship any idol, and yet his people have often turned to idolatry, such as when they came to worship the copper serpent staff that God instructed Moses to erect in the wilderness, for the purpose of saving the life of any Israelite who was bitten by any of the poisonous snakes that God had sent among them in reply to their constant murmuring. But eventually, they began worship that copper serpent. (Num. 21:5-9; 2 Kings 18:3,4) Consider also, when the Israelites asked for a king like the other nations had, they were in reality rejecting Jehovah from being their king. They wanted a king whom they could see with their physical eyes, in order to follow him; which was evidence of their lack of faith in Jehovah being their king. No wonder Jehovah was hot with anger! (1 Sam. 8:4-9; Hos. 13:11)

Noah, Abraham, Moses, David, and many other faithful men and women mentioned by Paul, had faith in Jehovah without the need of a "go-between". (Heb. 11:4-38) King David, under inspiration, warned us NOT to put our trust "in nobles, nor in the son of earthling man, to whom no salvation belongs." Our everlasting life is not dependent upon anyone except God, in whom alone we must put our faith. (Psalms 146:3-5) Obeying this command protects us from falling victim to "the false prophets that come to [us] in sheep's covering, but inside they are ravenous wolves", Jesus warned. (Matt. 7:15; 24:24,25) The apostle Peter also forewarned us against the false prophets and false teachers who would appear among God's own people, for they will "quietly bring in destructive sects and will disown even the owner that bought them", and "with covetousness they will exploit you with counterfeit words." (2 Peter 2:1-3) I think we can all agree that obeying God's command "not to put our trust in earthling man" protects us against falling victim to any of these ravenous wolves in sheep's covering. That we are not exempt from this danger, we only need to consider the things that befell God's people in ancient times, when they refused to listen to God. That is the point Paul is making in his letter to the congregation in Corinth, when he says that "these things went on befalling them as examples, and they were written for a warning to us upon whom the ends of the system of things have arrived".(1 Cor. 10:7)

So what will we do? Faith by its very definition, involves trusting in Jehovah, even when we cannot see how it might benefit us at the moment. Never is that faith to be extended to any man [or group of men] under any circumstance! Faith is something exclusive to Jehovah, because it serves as the basis of having a relationship with Him. If there's anything that can be said of those who have failed in remaining faithful to God, it's that they never formed a close personal relationship with their heavenly Father; having instead allowed themselves to put their trust and reliance in men. Jehovah invites us to draw close to him like a son (or daughter) to a loving father. (Mal. 3:17,18) While that might seem obvious, can it be really said that we have developed that sort of bond with God that will protect us in the coming days?―Contributed.

8/27/17  "In accord with the fulfilling of seventy years at Babylon..." (Jeremiah 29:10)

For over a hundred years, the Watchtower has dogmatically maintained their claim that Jerusalem, with God's temple, was destroyed by the Babylonians in 607 B.C.E., in spite of scriptural evidence to the contrary. Why is this date so important to the Society? Because it is pivotal to their claim that Jesus appointed the Society's president (and later also the board of directors as a governing body) as his "faithful and discrete slave" over God's household, shortly after he is said to have been enthroned as king of God's kingdom in 1914. (See the book Reasoning from the Scriptures, pages 95-98, under the heading "Why do Jehovah’s Witnesses say that God’s Kingdom was established in 1914?"―published by the Watchtower Society.)

Why does the Society claim that Jerusalem was destroyed in 607 B.C.E.? Because the exile of God's people in Babylon was to last seventy years, which, according to the Society began with the destruction of Jerusalem. After the seventy years, God would restore his people to their homeland to rebuild Jerusalem and the temple. A Watchtower article, entitled, "Things From Which We Must Flee", stated: "The prophet Jeremiah foretold the destruction of Jerusalem that occurred in 607 B.C.E. He said that God’s people would be carried into captivity but would be restored to their homeland after 'seventy years.' (Jer. 29:4, 10)" (w08 6/15 p. 8 par. 8) Since it is widely accepted that the Babylonian empire fell to the Medes and Persians in 539 B.C.E., and since the Jews were released from exile about 537 B.C.E., the Society simply counts back seventy years from 537 B.C.E., to arrive at 607 B.C.E., the year they claim Jerusalem fell. Sounds logical? But the question is: Did the foretold "seventy years" of exile in Babylon begin with the destruction of Jerusalem?
 
It was to his prophet Jeremiah that Jehovah revealed the time period of seventy years of exile in Babylon, as Jeremiah wrote: "For this is what Jehovah has said, ‘In accord with the fulfilling of seventy years at Babylon I shall turn my attention to you people, and I will establish toward you my good word in bringing you back to this place.’" (Jer. 29:10) Please note carefully to whom Jeremiah addressed those words. He says: "And these are the words of the letter that Jeremiah the prophet sent from Jerusalem to the remainder of the older men of the exiled people and to the priests and to the prophets and to all the people, whom Nebuchadnezzar had carried into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon, after Jeconiah the king and the lady and the court officials, the princes of Judah and Jerusalem, and the craftsmen and the builders of bulwarks had gone forth from Jerusalem." Jeremiah wrote regarding the number of seventy years in exile to the exiles who were already in Babylon a full decade before Jerusalem fell to the Babylonians. Interestingly, this is what Insight on the Scriptures says regarding these exiles: "In 617 B.C.E., King Nebuchadnezzar took the royal court and the foremost men of Judah into exile at Babylon. (2Ki 24:11-16) About ten years later, in 607 B.C.E., at the fall of Jerusalem to Babylon, Nebuzaradan, the chief of the Babylonian bodyguard, took most of the remaining ones and deserters of the Jews with him to Babylon, from which exile only a mere remnant returned 70 years later."―it-1 p. 775 Exile.
 
Have you noticed the discrepancy? If indeed the early, first exiles, which included King Jehoiachin (also called Jeconiah), and his "royal court and the foremost men of Judah" (among them Daniel the prophet and his three faithful Hebrew companions, and also the prophet Ezekiel), were taken by King Nebuchadnezzar into exile in Babylon in 617 B.C.E., and only a mere remnant of them returned 70 years later, would that not place their release from captivity in 547 B.C.E., rather than 537 B.C.E. as is taught? With those dates in mind, if their release indeed took place in 537 B.C.E., as stated elsewhere, then would those early exiles not have been in Babylon for 80 years rather than God's foretold 70 years? (See 2 Kings 24:8-17; Daniel 1:1-7; 9:1,2)
 
What was Jeremiah's purpose in the first place in writing to those early exiles in Babylon regarding the duration of 70 years? Well, Jehovah had told them to "build houses and inhabit them, and plant gardens and eat their fruitage. Take wives and become father to sons and to daughters; and take wives for your own sons and give your own daughters to husbands, that they may give birth to sons and to daughters; and become many there, and do not become few. Also, seek the peace of the city to which I have caused you to go into exile, and pray in its behalf to Jehovah, for in its peace there will prove to be peace for you yourselves." In other words, Jehovah was telling the exiles that they would reside in Babylon a long time, namely seventy years. This was contrary to what the false prophets among the exiles were preaching, saying that God would within a short time procure their release and have them return to their homeland. That is why Jehovah told his people: "Let not your prophets who are in among you and your practicers of divination deceive you, and do not you listen to their dreams that they are dreaming. For ‘it is in falsehood that they are prophesying to you in my name. I have not sent them,’ is the utterance of Jehovah.'" (Jer. 29:1-10; 28:1-17)
 
Seeing that Jehovah decreed that the exile of his people in Babylon would last a full seventy years; and if indeed their release came in 537 B.C.E., two years after Babylon fell to the Medes and Persians, then, counting back seventy years would bring us to 607 B.C.E., not as the year of Jerusalem's destruction, but rather the year when the first exiles were taken into Babylon. The fall of Jerusalem came over eleven years later, or in 596 B.C.E., "in the twelfth year, in the tenth month of our exile," as recorded by the prophet Ezekiel. (Ezek. 33:21; 1:1,2) Since the date of Jerusalem's destruction clearly is not 607 B.C.E. but 596 B.C.E., the Society's teaching of Jesus' return in 1914 in kingdom power (as explained in the book Reasoning from the Scriptures) is invalid. It is based on a lie. In fact, the destruction of Jerusalem by the Babylonians has nothing at all to do with the timing of Christ's return. There is simply no way of calculating that date from the Scriptures. Jesus told his disciples that no one can know that day and hour, neither the angels nor Jesus himself, for the Father has not revealed that information anywhere. That should not surprise us for Jesus also said that it does not belong to us "to get knowledge of the times or seasons which the Father has placed in his own jurisdiction." (Matt. 24:23-25, 36; Acts 1:7) Indeed, for anyone to reach out for something that God tells us does not belong to us makes the person guilty of "outright revolt against Jehovah"; such as was the case of the false prophet Shemaiah of Nehelam in Jeremiah's day, who was preaching falsehood in God's name. (Jer. 29:24-32)
 
We do not need to be told in advance the day or the hour, or even the year, of Jesus' return in kingdom glory. Jesus gave us signs that would indicate the nearness of his presence. (Matt. 24:32,33; 42-44) If you were living during the time of Jeremiah, would you have been able to distinguish between a true prophet and a false prophet―between God's words and the lies taught by men? We today face a similar situation, with similar consequence. (Deut. 18:20-22; 1 Cor. 10:11,12; 2 Thess. 2:9-12; 2 Peter 2:1-3)

8/17/17  Lost in the Translation

How many languages are there in the world? According to Ethnologue: Languages of the World, Twentieth edition, there are 7,099 languages spoken today. It says: "That number is constantly in flux, because we're learning more about the world's languages every day. And beyond that, the languages themselves are in flux. They’re living and dynamic, spoken by communities whose lives are shaped by our rapidly changing world. This is a fragile time: Roughly a third of languages are now endangered, often with less than 1,000 speakers remaining. Meanwhile, just 23 languages account for more than half the world’s population." (Bold added)

Mankind's many divers languages did not originate from simple grunts and other primitive vocalization uttered by prehistoric cavemen; for the study of the structure of languages (Linguistics) indicates that the most ancient languages were indeed very complex. In fact, in the beginning there was only one language―Hebrew. It was shortly after the flood of Noah's day when God confused the language of the men who set about to build a city with a tower "with its top in the heavens," in order to unite themselves under false worship. God put an end to their ambitious project by confusing their language, so that they were no longer able to communicate with one another; and thus they not only left off building their tower, but also they were scattered from there over all the earth according to their language. (Gen. 11:1-9)

Throughout history, the language barrier has effectively divided mankind into national and ethnic groups, separated into distinct territories with their borders; which has often resulted in wars of conquests, and given birth to unique and diverse customs and traditions. But, above all, it has contributed to the greatest divisive factor of all, namely, mankind's approximate 4,200 religions today, of which there are 11 basic religions. And although the world's conflicting religions continue to divide earth's population, yet, the rapid progress in modern technology is starting to overcome the language barrier. This greatly facilitates the preaching of the "good news of the kingdom" that Jesus said would be preached "in all the inhabited earth for a witness to all the nations; and then the end will come." (Matt. 24:14)

In order to have a meaningful share in the preaching of the good news of the kingdom "in all the inhabited earth", you no longer need to learn another language, or many diverse languages, such as in the case of Powell Alexander Janulus (born in 1939, Vancouver Canada), who was entered into the Guinness World Records in 1985 for spoken fluency in 42 languages. ("Powell states that he considers himself skilled in 64 languages and says that he has studied at least 80 languages.") With Google Translate anyone can instantly translate words, phrases, and web pages between English and over 100 other languages.

Since we are greatly concerned with loyally upholding the accuracy of God's word of truth, how dependable is "Google Translate" when it comes to translating one Scripture into another language? Does the message get lost in the translation? I decided to test this by translating John 3:16-17 into 22 different languages, from English to French; and then from French to Greek; and then from Greek to German; and then from German to Albanian; etc. etc., ending with Latin; with each progressive translation showing in English if and where and how the message changed. Although "Google Translate" was surprisingly accurate in translating the message from English to a second language, it did not fare so well when it comes to successive translations.

John 3:16-17 reads: “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life. For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him." (New American Standard Bible) And after 22 translations, the message has changed to: "God, loses life in Stranglehold is not a decrease. God into the world to condemn the world, who sent his son was not beloved country of his son into the world. It can not be saved." (To see the separate results for all 22 translations, click HERE.)

In the near future, there will no more be any need for computer translating programs to communicate with one another, for under God's kingdom all "will be persons taught by Jehovah", speaking the same language; "in order to serve him shoulder to shoulder." (Isa. 54:13; Zeph. 3:9)

8/7/17  "Prove yourself faithful even to death, and I will give you the crown of life." (Revelation 2:10)

The Scriptures prophesied that "in the last days critical times hard to deal with will be here." (2 Tim. 3:1-7) The contents of Paul's words indicate that he is describing the situation that would exist during the last days (which Jesus called "the conclusion of the system of things") to God's people, within our own congregations; and not the world in general as many believe. (Matt. 24:3)

We are now experiencing the foretold time of testing and sifting of God's household. (Matt. 13:40-43; Dan. 12:3, 10; Mal. 3:14-18; 1 Peter 4:17-19) It is therefore necessary that all of us need to demonstrate, even under suffering, the sort of person we are at heart; to prove the genuineness of our love for Jehovah and his word of truth; and that we have faith in all his promises, so much so that it affects our attitude in everything we do. (John 4:23,24; 17:17)

This point is illustrated by Jesus in his parable of the seed sown upon four types of soil; the seed being  the "word of God", and the soil upon which the seed falls representing the heart. Regarding the seed that falls upon the rock-mass, Jesus said: "Those upon the rock-mass are the ones who, when they hear it, receive the word with joy, but these have no root; they believe for a season, but in a season of testing they fall away. As for that which fell among the thorns, these are the ones that have heard, but, by being carried away by anxieties and riches and pleasures of this life, they are completely choked and bring nothing to perfection. As for that on the fine soil, these are the ones that, after hearing the word with a fine and good heart, retain it and bear fruit with endurance." (Luke 8:11-15)

As we can see from Jesus' words, Jehovah must allow us to be tested under trial. That applies to all of God's people. (Luke 22:31,32) But, rather than letting your unjust suffering separate you from Jehovah, perhaps even causing you to stumble and fall away in the mistaken belief that Jehovah no longer cares for you, you can at such times actually draw closer to Him with the assurance that your suffering matters to him. He sees your pain and affliction, and he hears your pleadings for help. He invites you to "throw your burden upon Jehovah himself, and he himself will sustain you. Never will he allow the righteous one to totter." (Psalms 55:22) With the help and comfort of his holy spirit, you will be able to endure, even "with joy". (Dan. 11:35; Matt. 10:21,22; James 1:2-4)

Perhaps, such Scriptures as the following may provide needed encouragement when you are in need of God's help:

(Psalm 9:9-10)  And Jehovah will become a secure height for anyone crushed, A secure height in times of distress. 10 And those knowing your name will trust in you, For you will certainly not leave those looking for you, O Jehovah.
(Psalm 27:9-10, 14) Do not conceal your face from me. Do not in anger turn your servant away. My assistance you must become. Do not forsake me and do not leave me, O my God of salvation. 10 In case my own father and my own mother did leave me, Even Jehovah himself would take me up. 14 Hope in Jehovah; be courageous and let your heart be strong. Yes, hope in Jehovah.
(Psalm 28:6-9) Blessed be Jehovah, for he has heard the voice of my entreaties. 7 Jehovah is my strength and my shield. In him my heart has trusted, And I have been helped, so that my heart exults, And with my song I shall laud him.  8 Jehovah is a strength to his people, And he is a stronghold of the grand salvation of his anointed one. 9 Do save your people, and bless your inheritance; And shepherd them and carry them to time indefinite.
(Psalm 34:18-19) Jehovah is near to those that are broken at heart; And those who are crushed in spirit he saves. 19 Many are the calamities of the righteous one, But out of them all Jehovah delivers him.

We cannot make our problems go away at this time, and neither can we expect to live in peace while still living under Satan's rule; but we have Jehovah's assurance that he is loyal and sustains us in our time of need and distress. He expects his loyal servants to be a source of encouragement to their fellow brothers and sisters in times of need. For that very reason we need each other, and our association. That is the point the apostle Paul is highlighting regarding the need for us to meet together. It is our love for one another that identifies us as genuine disciples of Jesus, and worshipers of the only true God, Jehovah. If a fellow brother or sister, even an elder, becomes a stumbling block to anyone, Jehovah himself will hold him accountable. (Heb. 10:24,25; John 13:34,35; Matt. 5:44-48; 18:6,7)