witchtower: april 1, 2010 - is eating for christians?

8/20/2019 Witchtower: April 1, 2010 - Is Eating For Christians?

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The Witchtower 04/2010 2

The Witchtower Downloadable in 194 countries

3 Is Eating for Christians? If yes, which food is suitable?

11 How alcohol helped me to face hard times (Part 5)

13 What does the future hold?

16 The Watchtower and April 1st

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IS EATING FOR CHRISTIANS? IF YES, WHICH FOOD IS SUITABLE?

“T hey are like the bread … all those eating it will defile themselves.” – Hosea 9:4

Some believe that Christians should not eat

at all. They base their opinion, among others,

on the July 22, 2001 Awake! issue. It says:

“ A Gallup Youth Survey of 13- to 17-year-olds

in the United States revealed that 56 percent

of them say a prayer before dinner.” (page 13)

Jonathan, a young man from Germany, indi-

cated: “Most people pray to false gods before

their meals. Since true Christians must ab-

stain from everything that is connected to false

religion, for me it is out of the question that a

servant of God would defile himself by eating.”

In the first century, some worshippers of

God had the same attitude. The Bible says:

“The Pharisees and all the Jews do not eat.”

(Mark 7:3) But is this approach based on the

Bible? Obviously not, since the Pharisees and

Scribes told Jesus: “The disciples of John fast

… and so do those of the Pharisees, but yours

eat.” (Luke 5:33) Indeed, Christians “have

authority to eat,” as Paul wrote later. – 1 Co-

rinthians 9:4.

Hence it is out of the question that Chris-

tians may eat. But can they voluntarily aban-

don eating? Or are they obliged to eat? It is

interesting what Jesus did when he raised the

daughter of Jairus. The account says: “Her

spirit returned, and she rose instantly, and he

ordered something to be given her to eat.”

(Luke 8:55) So he considered eating the most

important thing of all.

Jesus imitated his heavenly father in this

regard. Moses advised the Israelites against

the gods of the neighboring peoples and called

these “the product of the hands of man, wood

and stone, which cannot see or hear or eat o

smell.” (Deuteronomy 4:28) Doubtless he woul

not have pointed out that these gods „canno

eat‟ if the true God couldn‟t do that either

Hence Jehovah can eat, and as Christians w

must be “imitators of God.” – Ephesians 5:1.

A divine mission

In fact, eating is a divine command, sincaccording to the prophet Isaiah “this is wha

the Sovereign Lord Jehovah has said: „Look

My own servants will eat.‟” (Isaiah 65:13) On

another occasion he instructed his readers

“Let there be … an eating!” – Isaiah 21:5.

Some may object that they are already over

weight and would better make a diet. But ac

cording to Isaiah 11:6 also “the well-fed ani

mal” will be among God‟s people, and this vers

applies to “beastlike men.” (Isaiah’s Prophecy

Light for All Mankind, volume I, page 164

Indeed a diet would be contradictory to God‟

righteous principles, for he said: “ All the fa

ones of the earth shall eat.” (Psalm 22:29) Go

appreciates when his worshippers eat, be the

slim or fat.

The prophet Zechariah said: “Every … cook

ing pot in Jerusalem and in Judah must be

come something holy belonging to Jehovah oarmies, and all … must do boiling in them

(Zechariah 14:21) Eating is a sacred duty fo

worshippers of Jehovah. Indeed, “he who eats

eats to Jehovah.” (Romans 14:6) Thus the ques

tion is not if but what God‟s servants shoul

eat.


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From time to time in the past, Jehovah pro-

vided uncommon food. Likely the prophet Eze-

kiel was just in the toilet when God instructed

him: “Son of man, what you find, eat. Eat this

roll.” (Ezekiel 3:1) We can imitate Ezekiel in

hard times, but there is yet another food that is

suitable for Christians.

Meat

Christians must be “imitators of God”, and

God ate meat when he visited his friend Abra-

ham. (Ephesians 5:1; Genesis 18:3, 8) His son

Isaac too ate meat; he said to Jacob (whom he

thought was Esau): “Bring me some game and

make me a tasty dish and, ah, let me eat!”

– Genesis 27:7.

Later eating was regulated in the law. Je-hovah told the Israelites through Moses: “ As

for the flesh, everybody … may eat the flesh.”

(Leviticus 7:19) Later he added: “Because your

soul craves to eat meat, whenever your soul

craves it you may eat meat.” (Deuteronomy

12:20) Was that only a recommendation? No,

God commanded specifically: “Y ou must eat

meat.” (Deuteronomy 12:15) Vegetarians would

have transgressed against God‟s law, and who-

ever did that had to be stoned.

Diets are not acceptable to God, for “all the

fat ones of the earth shall eat” – Psalm 22:29

Ezekiel was told to eat a roll

Jehovah reinforced this instruction when hcommanded through Jeremiah: “Eat flesh!

(Jeremiah 7:21) Even later, Jesus mentioned

king who said: “I have prepared my dinner, m

bulls and fattened animals are slaughtered

(Matthew 22:4) Indeed, “flesh is true food

– John 6:55.

In paradise, meat will be the common food

too. Jesus foretold how a father in paradise wil

react when his son is resurrected: “Bring th

fattened young bull, slaughter it and let us eaand enjoy ourselves, because this my son wa

dead and came to life again.” – Luke 15:23, 24.

Bread

Hence there can be no doubt that meat i

suitable food for Christians. But what abou

bread? Note how king Saul reacted when

witch tried to induce him to eat bread. She told

him: “‟Let me set before you a piece of bread

and you eat, that power may come to be in you

because you will go on your way. ‟ But he re

fused and said: „I am not going to eat.‟” (

Samuel 28:22, 23) Since he insisted on no

eating bread, the hag knew only one alterna

tive: “The woman had a fattened calf at th

house, which she butchered at once. … The

she set it before Saul and his men, and the

ate.” – 1 Samuel 28:24, 25, NIV .


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Saul followed his own rules, for he had

commanded: “Cursed is the man that eats

bread.” (1 Samuel 14:24) With this, however,

he only repeated a principle from the Mosaic

Law. Even there Jehovah had ordered: “You

must eat no bread.” (Leviticus 23:14) Moses

himself “ate no bread.” (Exodus 34:28) The

Israelites followed his example and therefore

were blessed by God, so that he could tell them:

“While I kept guiding you forty years in the

wilderness, your garments did not wear out

upon you, and your sandal did not wear out

upon your foot. Bread you did not eat.” – Deu-

teronomy 29:5, 6.

Granted, in a moment of weakness, even

David “ate the loaves … which it is not lawful

for anybody to eat.” (Mark 2:26) But he knew

that God‟s servants did usually not eat bread;

at old age he wrote: “ A young man I used to be,

I have also grown old, and yet I have not seen

anyone righteous left entirely, nor his offspring

looking for bread.” (Psalm 37:25) Righteous

people did look for meat on the market, not for

bread. A capable woman described by the

mother of king Lemuel heeded this divine prin-

ciple: “She is watching over the goings-on of

her household, and the bread … she does not

eat.” – Proverbs 31:27.

“Cursed is the man that eats bread” (1 Samuel 14:24)

Jesus refused to turn stones into bread

Temptations

Some years later, the apostate king Jerobo

am tried to entice a prophet of God to commit

deed because he had caught Jeroboam at wor

shipping a golden calf. “But the man of the tru

God said to the king: „If you gave me half o

your house I would not come with you and ea

bread‟ … For that is the way he commande

me by the word of Jehovah, saying, „You mus

not eat bread.‟” (1 Kings 13:8, 9) Later, howev

er, he was fooled into bread eating and was pu

to death by divine intervention. – 1 King

13:23-26.

The prophet Ezekiel too was instructed b

Jehovah: “Bread … you should not eat.” (Eze

kiel 24:17) Finally, Jesus Christ was tempte

by the devil himself. Satan asked him: “If yo

are a son of God, tell this stone to become a loa

of bread.” (Luke 4:3) But Jesus pointed out th

divine principle and replied: “It is written

„Man must not live by bread.‟” (Luke 4:3) Late

he instructed his disciples to carry “no bread

for their trips. (Luke 9:4, NIV ) The disciple

confirmed “that they had no loaves.” – Mar

8:16.


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“They did not put faith in God … Men ate the

very bread” … so that “God’s wrath itself

ascended against them” (Psalm 78:22-31)

Some worshippers of God tried to eat bread

secretly. During Solomon‟s reign, a woman

said: “Bread eaten in secrecy – it is pleasant.”

(Proverbs 9:17) Later some Israelites smuggled

bread into their villages and said: “ At the risk

of our soul we bring in our bread.” (Lamenta-

tions 5:9) But they did not go unpunished. The

Bible says with regard to such people: “They

did not put faith in God … Men ate the very

bread … They had not turned aside from theirdesire … when God‟s wrath itself ascended

against them.” (Psalm 78:22-31) Indeed, “bread

… is pleasurable to a man, but afterward his

mouth will be filled with gravel.” – Proverbs

20:17.

Beware of bread

Furthermore the Bible uses bread as a

symbol for wickedness. Wise Solomon called

the food of the wicked ones “the bread of wick-

edness.” (Proverbs 4:17) The prophet Isaiah

warned the Israelites against “bread in the

form of distress.” (Isaiah 30:20) Finally Jesus

advised his disciples: “Watch out for the leav-

en!” (Luke 12:1) The Bible usually mentions

bread in a negative context and even calls it

“contemptible bread.” – Numbers 21:5.

Hence eating bread is out of the question

for worshippers of God. But “in all the land o

Egypt there was found bread,” and “in th

Bible, Egypt often symbolizes Satan‟s world

(Genesis 41:54; Isaiah’s Prophecy – Light fo

All Mankind, volume I, page 201) For world

lings bread is suitable, and to them we can

offer it.

The prophet Hosea said regarding apos

tates: “They are like the bread … all thos

eating it will defile themselves.” (Hosea 9:4

Jesus called Judas Iscariot, his traitor, the on

“that used to feed on … bread.” (John 13:18

That‟s why the Bible counsels us: “If the on

hating you is hungry, give him bread to eat

(Proverbs 25:21) With regard to the apostat

Israelites who should soon be killed at th

destruction of Jerusalem, Jehovah said: “The

will have to eat bread.” – Ezekiel 4:16.

Soon, after the last worldling has been an

nihilated in Armageddon, bread will not b

anymore. Jehovah then “will send hunger on

the land; not hunger for bread.” (Amos 8:11

Postmodern Bible) The prophet Jeremiah fore

told regarding the New Jerusalem, the futur

capital: “There is no bread anymore in th

city.” – Jeremiah 38:9.

“If the one hating you is hungry,

give him bread” (Proverbs 25:21)


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Debra Ronca, CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

Tamar made “heart-shaped cakes” for her brother,

but he “refused to eat” (2 Samuel 13:8, 9)

Cake

Can the same principles as for bread be ap-plied to cake? Granted, the prophet Ezekiel ate

cake. He did this, however, as a prophetic ex-

ample for the apostate Israelites. Jehovah

instructed him: “ And as a round cake of barley

you will eat it … upon dung cakes of the ex-

crement of mankind you will bake it.” (Ezekiel

4:12) It was a onetime event by which Jehovah

wanted to teach the Israelites a lesson.

Apart from that, the Bible speaks of cake in

the same way as of bread. On one occasion,Tamar wanted to induce her brother Amnon to

cake eating: “Then she took the flour dough

and kneaded it and made the cakes under his

eyes and cooked the heart-shaped cakes. Final-

ly she took the deep pan and poured it out

before him.” (2 Samuel 13:8, 9) But obviously

he knew the divine principles: “ Amnon refused

to eat.” – 2 Samuel 13:9.

Later the prophet Elijah suspected a widow

of eating cake in secrecy. She was innocentthough and professed: “ As Jehovah your God is

living, I have no round cake.” (1 Kings 17:12)

She also knew which consequences the eating

of cake would have: “Then my son and I will

die.” (1 Kings 17:12, NLT ) The psalmist wrote

that only apostates are concerned with cake.

– Psalm 35:16.

In actual fact, cake is even connected with

false religion. Jeremiah reports that idola

tresses offered “sacrificial cakes” to the “queen

of the heavens” with the consent of their hus

bands. (Jeremiah 7:18; 44:19) For sure, it wa

not for nothing that God had this account in

cluded in his word. Cake surely is no suitabl

food for worshippers of Jehovah.

Fruits and vegetables

Since bread, cake and other types of pastr

are out of the question: What about fruits and

vegetables? Interestingly, Jehovah God com

manded even the first human couple: “Y o

must not eat from the tree.” (Genesis 2:17

NIV ) God later repeated this principle and

forbid his people to eat field crops by them

selves. He said: “The fruitage of your ground …a people will eat whom you have not known

(Deuteronomy 28:33) As with bread, the Israel

ites could sell fruits and vegetables to foreign

ers.

Jesus’ disciples counseled a Jew

who wanted to eat vegetables


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Image courtesy of FreeBibleIllustrations.com, CC BY-NC-ND

Naboth refused to sell his vineyard to wicked

Ahab because he wanted to grow vegetables

In the Mosaic Law, God aptly summarized

what the food chain should be like among his

people: “I shall certainly give vegetation in

your field for your domestic animals, and youwill indeed eat and be satisfied.” (Deuteronomy

11:15) Jehovah provided the “vegetation” not

for humans but for their “domestic animals”;

the humans should then “eat” the flesh of these

animals “and be satisfied.”

This fact was confirmed by the experience

of king Nebuchadnezzar. If it would have been

common back then that humans ate fruits and

vegetables, God would not have told him: “The

vegetation is what they will give even to you toeat just like bulls.” (Daniel 4:25) This pagan

ruler who had walked in opposition to Jehovah

had to eat vegetables as a punishment. Even

today, children who see a cow ask their par-

ents: “I am thinking of mad King Nebuchad-

nezzar … Do you think he also chewed the

cud?” – Awake! , January 8, 1983, page 26.

Fruits and vegetables were made for ani

mals, not for humans. In Elisha‟s time, hi

attendant made a disastrous mistake. Elish

instructed him: “Put the large cooking pot on

and boil stew for the sons of the prophets

(2 Kings 4:38) Obviously this man lacked cor

rect knowledge of God‟s law, since he “wen

picking wild gourds … and sliced them into th

stewpot.” (2 Kings 4:39) Fortunately, the “son

of the prophets” knew that eating vegetable

was forbidden under penalty of death accordin

to God‟s law: “A s soon as they ate from th

stew, they themselves cried out and bega

saying: „There is death in the pot‟ … And the

were not able to eat.” (2 Kings 4:40) Elish

under-stood the gravity of the situation, an

immediately he advised the cook: “Pour it out!

– 2 Kings 4:41, NASB.

Apostates

The apostate king Ahab who was married t

wicked Jezebel ignored God‟s principles regard

ing vegetables by intention. He “spoke to Na

both, saying: „Do give me your vineyard, that i

may serve as a garden of vegetables to me, for i

is close by my house.‟” (1 Kings 41:2) Nabot

obeyed God and used his garden to grow wine

which was designated by God as the appropriatbeverage for his worshippers. (John 15:1

1 Timothy 5:23) Wicked Ahab though wanted t

turn the vineyard into “a garden of vegetables.”

King Josiah destroyed an altar which “sacrificial

cakes” for false gods were offered on


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Naboth knew that this would be a sin

against God, and so he rejected Ahab‟s offer:

“It is unthinkable on my part, from Jehovah‟s

standpoint.” (1 Kings 21:3) Hence Jezebel had

him put to death by means of false accusations,

so that Ahab could conclude his illegal project.

(1 Kings 21:11-16) Because of him and other

fruit eaters, Jehovah had to bring judgment

upon Israel. Jeremiah described it like the

following: “I saw, and, look! the orchard itself

was a wilderness … It was because of Jehovah,

because of his burning anger.” – Jeremiah 4:26.

So it stirred Jehovah‟s wrath when the Is-

raelites ate fruits and vegetables. Jesus imitat-

ed his heavenly father in that regard. When he

passed a fig tree and came to know that Jews

had eaten from it, he cursed it and said: “Let

no one eat fruit from you anymore forever!”

(Mark 11:14) Hence there can be no doubt that

Christians must abstain from fruits and vege-

tables.

The right food

Thus meat is the only food that is appropri-

ate for worshippers of Jehovah. Before someone

became a Jehovah‟s Witness, he was part of the

world, the antitypical Egypt, and may have

eaten fruits and vegetables. He has to changehis diet in order to meet Jehovah‟s require-

ments. Thereby he has to avoid a complaining

attitude and must not imitate certain Israelites

who complained about the obligation to eat

only meat: “In Egypt … there were cucumbers,

melons, onions, and garlic.” (Numbers 11:5,

CEV ) But as a holy people for Jehovah, they

were not allowed to defile themselves with

fruits and vegetables anymore.

“Not all flesh is the same flesh” (1 Corinthians 15:39)

Jesus cursed a fig tree when he came to

know that humans had eaten from it

That he chose flesh as the appropriate foo

for his people is an impressing proof of Jeho

vah‟s wisdom and kindness. Many people dislike vegetables, others are allergic to fruits

But “no man ever hated … flesh.” (Ephesian

5:29) Granted, some worldly scientists claim

that eating too much meat would be hazardou

to health. But David, a faithful servant of God

knew that consuming flesh is not dangerous

He sung under inspiration: “What can flesh d

to me?” – Psalm 56:4.

A diet that consists only of meat is not nec

essarily monotonous. The apostle Paul hinte

the Corinthians at this fact when he wrote

“Not all flesh is the same flesh.” (1 Corinthian

15:39) Apart from beef, pork and poultry, ther

is lamb or ostrich meat. Also there are differen

ways of cooking, so that a varied diet is possi

ble. In any case let us imitate faithful Israelite

of Moses‟ time who said: “Do give us meat, an

let us eat!” – Numbers 11:13.

Meat the right way

How should meat be cooked? Jehovah Go

instructed the prophet Ezekiel: “Make the log

many. Kindle the fire. Boil the flesh thorough

ly. And empty out the broth, and let the bone

themselves become piping hot.” (Ezekiel 24:10

Ezekiel should boil his meat in a pot on a lo

fire. In the Mosaic Law too, God commande

his people: “Boil the flesh.” – Leviticus 8:31.


10/16


Hence boiling is the classic way of cooking

meat, and surely it is acceptable to God. Other

methods however, like grilling of frying, are not

specifically mentioned in the Bible. So we can

assume that it is not important for God how we

cook our meat, as long as we observe his prompt:

“Get up, eat much flesh!” – Daniel 7:5.

When shopping, we have to heed the follow-

ing principle though: “You must not eat any fat

of a bull or a young ram or a goat.” (Leviticus

7:23) Actually, the Mosaic Law does no more

apply to us, but God has not changed. (Malachi

3:6) Therefore we should only choose lean piec-

es when we purchase beef, lamb or chevon. As

regards pork, we can also eat fatty pieces, since

the Mosaic Law did not specifically mention

the fat of pigs.

Where should we eat

It seems that is was uncommon in Israel to

eat in public. Uriah the Hittite asked: “Shall I go

into my own house to eat?” (2 Samuel 11:11)

Many centuries later, some Christians had a

false attitude and ate in public. The apostle Paul

trounced them and said: “Certainly you do have

houses for eating.” (1 Corinthians 11:22) Wor-

shippers of God should eat only at home.

The current world that is ruled by Satan of-

fers many temptations. These include snack

stalls which could induce a Christian to eat in

public. May we not be distracted by such lures,

but let us imitate Uriah who wanted to eat

only in his own house.

Who thinks he can “eat anything” or eats

“vegetables” will “undergo the judicial

punishment of everlasting destruction” in

Armageddon (Romans 14:2; 2 Thessalonians 1:9)

Animals are “born naturally to be

caught and destroyed” (2 Peter 2:12)

Remaining faithful to God

What we subsist on has direct influence on

our relationship to God. The apostle Paul wrot

regarding followers of false religions: “Som

think it is all right to eat anything, while thos

whose faith is weak will eat … vegetables.

(Romans 14:2, CEV ) Some Christians in th

first century mistakenly thought they coul

“eat anything” without losing their righteou

stand before God. Others were weak in faith

and were fooled into eating fruits and vegeta

bles. Both groups along with others “who d

not know God [and his principles regardin

food] … will undergo the judicial punishmen

of everlasting destruction.” – 2 Thessalonian

1:8, 9.

If we remain faithful to Jehovah God an

keep abstaining from fruits, vegetables, bread

cake and other vegetarian food, we will be al

lowed to live forever in a paradise. God will the

carry out his original purpose, according t

which animals are “born naturally to be caugh

and destroyed.” (2 Peter 2:12) Satan‟s worl

along with its animal welfare organization

trying to detain people from eating flesh wi

then be a thing of the past. Are we not happy

about these wonderful prospects?


11/16


HOW ALCOHOL HELPED ME TO FACE HARD TIMES (5)

As told by Jeshua ben Joseph

Continued from The Witchtower, March 2010

On my way back to the city, I had been in-

attentive for a moment and stumbled againstsome old guideposts that someone had lain

down by the wayside. Immediately I shouted:

“Woe to you, stupid guides!” In short distance I

met a group of construction workers and yelled

at them: “Woe to you, construction workers and

craftsman, botchers! because you clear away

the bucket and the trowel and the wrench, but

you have left the bulkier things on the way,

namely, cart and ladder and guidepost! These

things you should have cleared away first, yet

not to abandon the other things. Blind workers,who clear away the nail but leave standing

around the guidepost!”

They vindicated themselves and said: “This

construction site is important for the city‟s sup-

ply with food and medication! If we don‟t finish

our work, there will be food shortages and loot-

ings and pestilences in one district after anoth-

er. The Jews will rise against the Romans and

Romans against Jews. Because of the increasing

of hunger the love of the greater number will

cool off. And then the end will come!” I bawled at

them: “If I stumble against one of our utensils

one more time, there will be great tribulation for

you such as has not occurred since the estab-

lishment of your construction site until now, no,

nor will occur again!”

We had a good time

I hadn‟t settled down when someone want

ed to invite us to a reptile show. I told him

“Serpents, offspring of vipers, I‟m not interested in such” and went along. We had becom

quite hungry from our trip around the city, bu

just before the Passover, all restaurants ha

lifted their prices. However, we watched a man

carrying an earthenware vessel of water t

lengthen his wine. I told him: “Let me celebrat

the Passover with my disciples in your restau

rant, and in three days I will pay the bill!”

threatened him to otherwise tell the author

ties: “Break down this restaurant, because i

serves diluted wine!”

He accepted my proposal, and so we had

good time with bread, wine and roast lamb. In

the course of the evening, I revealed sad new

to my disciples: “I will be sentenced to death

One of you will have to die in lieu of me.” Bein

very much grieved at this, they commence

each and every one to say to him: “Lord, it i

not I, is it?” Judas Iscariot was so spooked tha

he got up and went away. That‟s why I chos

him.

We partied far into the night, and much

food was left over. Hence I instructed my disci

ples to take something with them. When they

all were fully laden, I told them: “There ar

many more things remaining, but you are no

able to bear them.” When we wanted to leave

they asked me: “How will we pay all that?

Well, they didn‟t know what I had in mind

Thus I told them: “Normally we would be hav

ing tribulation now, but take courage! I hav

cheated the landlord.”

Slowly it got light again. Actually Peter ha

promised not to eat anything for a full day

But even on our way through the city, he go

hungry and ate something from the meat tha

we had taken. He apologized: “The spirit, o

course, is eager, but the flesh is tasty.” Jame

too just couldn‟t hold back any longer an

drank a cup of wine. When I pointed out tha


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13/16


Stupidly, a Pharisee had seen me during this

excursion and broadcast that. He even started

the rumor that I would not have been put to

death. That‟s why my disciples invented the

story that I really would have been dead, but

would have been raised from the dead three

days later. They even moved Judas‟ corpse (that

was regarded as mine) into another grave, sothat they could present the empty grave to the

Pharisees as a proof of my resurrection.

Then I lived some days secluded in the

mountains of Samaria and left the preaching to

my disciples. Later, when I could proceed on the

assumption that no one would recognize me

anymore, I moved to the Decapolis and set up a

liquor store. Now I can look back to a fulfilled

life and look forward to spend my remaining

years calmly. After some months in themountains I looked a bit scruffy

WHAT DOES THE FUTURE HOLD?

According to the April 1, 2006 Watchtower issue, “God‟s organization … provides a wealth of Bible

publications that help us to grow in accurate knowledge … Like a mother who makes sure that her

child is well-fed and cared for, „the faithful and discreet slave‟ provides an abundance of timely spiritual

food for our spiritual advancement.” (page 24) Which “timely spiritual food” will the Watchtower publish

in the decades to come? The Witchtower offers an exclusive preview of future landmark articles.

The Bible helps us to determine the length of the “sev-

en times.” The Hebrew word for “times” can also be ren-

dered “years.” This means that seven times are seven years

– since the year has always had 365 days, a total of 2,555

days. When we count 2,555 literal days from 587 B.C.E., we

come to 580 B.C.E. However, the seven times lasted much

longer than that. They were still in progress when Jesus

spoke of “the appointed times of the nations.” The seven

times, therefore, are prophetic. Hence, we must apply the

Scriptural rule: “A day for a year.” (Numbers 14:34; Ezekiel4:6) In that case, the seven times of earth‟s domination by

worldly powers without divine interference amount to 2,555

years. Counting 2,555 years from 587 B.C.E. brings us to

1969 C.E. That is the year when “the appointed times of the

nations,” or seven times, ended. This means that Jesus

Christ began to rule as King of God‟s Kingdom in 1969.

Being the „ruler of the world‟ of mankind alienated

from God, Satan certainly did not want to see the Kingdom

take full control of earth‟s affairs. (John 12:31; 14:30; 16:11)

Over nineteen centuries earlier he maneuvered matters in

such a way that, had it not been for divine intervention,

Herod the Great would have killed the infant Jesus. (Matt.

2:13) Similarly, even before the birth of the heavenly king-

dom, Satan readied himself and his demons for an attack.

It should not be surprising, then, that the first lunar

landing took place about two months before the end of the

Gentile Times, and hence before the birth of the symbolic“son” or heavenly kingdom. Satan the Devil took advantage

of the worldwide elation to distract mankind from the

establishment of God‟s kingdom. The Space Race to the

Moon was doubtless part of his scheme to blind persons to

what had happened in the heavens in fulfillment of Bible

prophecy and also, if at all possible, to hinder the Kingdom

from ruling over the world of mankind.

The Watchtower, January 15, 2016


14/16


What, then, is the “generation” so frequently referred to by

sus in the presence of his disciples? What did they understand

his words: “This generation will by no means pass away unti

these things occur”? Surely, Jesus was not departing from his est

lished use of the term “this generation,” which he consiste

applied to the contemporary masses with their “blind guides” w

together made up the Jewish nation. (Matthew 15:14) “This gene

tion” experienced all the distress foretold by Jesus and then pas

away in an unequaled “great tribulation” on Jerusalem. – Matt

24:21, 34.

Those Jews who had paid attention to Jesus‟ prophetic wo

realized that their salvation depended, not on trying to calculate

length of a “generation” or of some dated “times or seasons,”

on keeping separate from the evil contemporary generation

zealously doing God‟s will.

The Watchtower, June 15, 2

The Greek word rendered “generation” in the Bible

has been defined as, “Those born at the same time ...Associated with this is the meaning: the body of one‟s

contemporaries, an age.” (The New International Diction-

ary of New Testament Theology ) “The sum total of those

born at the same time, expanded to include all those

living at a given time generation, contemporaries.”

( A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament from

Walter Bauer’s Fifth Edition, 1958) These definitions

embrace both those born around the time of a historic

event and all those alive at that time.

If Jesus used “generation” in that sense and we apply

it to 1969, then the babies of that generation are now 70

years old or older. And others alive in 1969 are in their80‟s or 90‟s, a few even having reached a hundred. There

are still many millions of that generation alive. Some of

them “will by no means pass away until all things occur.”

– Luke 21:32.

Awake!, August 2039

Questions from Readers: Could it be said that the recently

updated understanding of the word “generation” at Matthew

24:34 allows for the idea that the end of the system of things

could be delayed into the distant future?

That is certainly not the case. On the contrary, the recent im-

proved understanding of this matter should help us to keep in

constant expectation of the end. How so?

Well, as The Watchtower of June 15, 2050, explained, Jesus

applied the phrase “this generation” to contemporary wickedpeople. (Matthew 11:7, 16-19; 12:39, 45; 17:14-17; Acts 2:5, 6, 14,

40) It was not, as such, a description of a fixed length of time

beginning with a specific date.



15/16


The August 1, 1975 Watchtower issue fea-

tured the articles “Who Qualifies to Be an Elder?”

and “Elders Presiding in a Fine Way.” These art i-

cles cast new light on the role of elders, who were

at that time entrusted with administrative tasks

on earth under the leadership of Jesus Christ.

Christian elders now fully resembled the “chief-

tain” from Ezekiel‟s temple vision and met all

requirements to „take the lead‟ among God‟s

people. – Hebrews 13:17.

The publication of these articles marked the

beginning of the Thousand Year Reign, where

Jesus Christ governs from his heavenly throne

over the earth by means of his earthly organiza-

tion. Meanwhile we live in the 80

th

year of theNew Order, and without doubt, the resurrection

of the old-testament witnesses will begin within

“this generation” of 1975.* As the Bible shows,

these will rule as “princes” and sit in judgment on

the remaining worldlings. (Psalm 45:16) That‟s

why more than ever, it‟s about time to preach the

good news of God‟s established Kingdom!

* Since then, Jehovah‟s people refused to deliver alleged

criminals – like pedophiles – to worldly courts and instead

introduced own trials according to the laws of the heav-

enly kingdom. Five years later, in 1980, they started to

throw all disturbers of the theocratic order “out into the

darkness outside.” – Matthew 25:30.

The Watchtower, April 15, 2065

Those without spiritual understanding to-

day have felt that there has been no “striking

observableness” with regard to the sign of

Jesus‟ presence. They reason that everything is

continuing on as it did in the past. (2 Pet. 3:4)

On the other hand, Christ‟s faithful anointedbrothers, the modern-day John class, have

recognized this sign as if it were a flash of

lightning and have understood its true mean-

ing. As a class, these anointed ones make up

the modern-day “generation” of contemporar-

ies that will not pass away “until all these

things occur.” This suggests that some who

are Christ‟s anointed brothers will still be alive

on earth when the foretold great tribulation

begins.

The time period during which “this gener-

ation” lives seems to correspond to the periodcovered by the first vision in the book of

Revelation. (Rev. 1:10-3:22) This feature of the

Lord‟s Day extends from 1969 until the last of

the faithful anointed ones dies and is resur-

rected.



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THE WATCHTOWER AND APRIL 1ST

April fool„s jokes have a long tradition among Jehovah‟s Witnesses. Even back in 1921, two Bibl

Students in Germany announced a public talk entitled “The World Is Ending – Millions Now Livin

Will Never Die!” for April 1st. Most residents though noticed that it was an April fool‟s joke and stayed

at home. – see 1974 Yearbook of Jehovah’s Witnesses, page 89.

Over the years, the April 1st Watchtower issues printed lots of other hoaxes. Following is a compi

lation of the best April fool‟s jokes:

“1914 marked the end of the Gentile Times and the establishment of the Kingdom

of God in the heavens … 144,000 Christians will receive the heavenly reward …

Armageddon, referring to the battle of the great day of God the Almighty, is near.“

– The Watchtower, April 1, 1986, page 31.

“[The] symbolic horses … include … the diminishing number of anointed ones.“

– The Watchtower , April 1, 1989, page 19.

“God‟s word is truth.“ – The Watchtower , April 1, 1990, page 11.

“Soon the Kingdom will remove the seemingly stable human society Satan has

built up (the earth), wiping out rebellious mankind (the sea) at Armageddon.“


“During a TV talk show in Germany, apostates wove a fabric of lies about

the Witnesses. A viewer recognized the apostate embellishments as being

fantasy and was moved to resume his Bible study with the Witnesses.“ – The Watchtower , April 1, 1995, page 29.

“Jehovah‟s Witnesses speak the message of truth.”


“We cherish the marvelous hope of everlasting life in Paradise.”


“Armageddon is very near.“ – The Watchtower , April 1, 2006, page 13.

“Like a mother who makes sure that her child is well-fed and cared for, „the

faithful and discreet slave‟ provides an abundance of timely spiritual food.” – The Watchtower , April 1, 2006, page 14.

“He that practices fornication is sinning.” – The Watchtower , April 1, 2007, page 5.

“Armageddon, or Har–Magedon, is also known as „the war of the great day of God

the Almighty.‟ Jehovah God will use his Son, Christ Jesus, to muster an angelic

army to war against the combined forces of all the wicked rulers of the earth.”


witchtower: april 1, 2010 - is eating for christians?

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