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updated 2 April 2008 ***
The Watchtower December 15 2006,
informs us on p.15, that "True Christians
eagerly await the arrival of a special day". This we are told
is a day when God will, "Execute judgement on His enemies and
glorify His great Name". It is a
day however, we are further told, that most of those living on
this earth should dread. In other words there are those that will
see it as the completion of their salvation - they will treat
it with joy - but there are many others who will come into judgement
at this time - these should hold such a day in great fear.
What is a surprise is that nowhere in this article do they spell
out how we can be safe in that day; how we can know that we are
looking forward to it with joy. We are told to, "Be
on the alert" because we are, "Deep
in the times of the end", and the
great day is very near; but if we don't know how to be ready we
can be on the alert but the events still overtake us.
The following Watchtower, January 1 2007, then printed
an interesting article entitled, "You must Become Nothing but
Joyful". The article is all about the Old Testament Feasts and
shows the Watchtower way to be ready and what we should be on
the alert about.
The article title is taken from the New World Translation of Deuteronomy
16:15; the NASB renders it:
"Seven days you shall celebrate
a feast to the LORD your God in the place which the LORD chooses,
because the LORD your God will bless you in all your produce and
in all the work of your hands, so that you will be altogether
joyful."
The context is the Feasts of the Lord and although it will take
more than one Quarterly article to be able to look at all they
say, the outcome will be the Watchtower's teaching on being ready
for this great day.
We want to start by noting what the Scripture actually says compared
with the slant the title gives it. The title puts the emphasis
on the person who must become joyful; however the Scripture shows
that as we celebrate correctly our relationship with the Lord,
we will be joyful, because of what the Lord has done and not what
we do.
We will look at the Feasts and what the Watchtower says about
them and compare that with the way evangelical Christians see
Scripture, but first some introductory remarks from this article
which begins on p.20.
INTRODUCTION
In their second paragraph they agree that the Feasts are a shadow
of things to come and state in 'watchtowerese':
"They contained foregleams of the outworking
of Jehovah's purpose for the Seed"
Then in the next paragraph they identify the 'Seed' as Jesus.
Thus they believe that considering the feats is the same as considering
Jesus as the fulfilment and this, they say, "Will strengthen our
faith in the reliability of Jehovah's promise". I'm not sure they
realise what they have said but this will be an interesting point
as we move on.
The appearance of Jesus as the 'Seed' is described as follows:
"As a perfect man, Jesus kept his integrity
to the death and thus proved that Satan's accusations were lies.
In addition, since Jesus was sinless, his death was a sacrifice
of great value. By means of it, Jesus provided deliverance from
sin and death for the faithful descendants of Adam and Eve."
The way they describe Jesus is making Him less than He really
is but it also is a major problem in Watchtower 'theology'. Jesus,
according to the Society, was created, by Jehovah, as a heavenly
angel, and as such was totally different in 'make-up' to a man.
Thus before Jesus was transferred to the womb of Mary, He was
a creature just like Satan, indeed on the same level as Satan,
a powerful chief angel. As such He could not defeat Satan and
He had no authority to be able to release man from sin and death.
Evangelical Christians believe that Jesus is eternal, as John
1:1 clearly indicates, and thus He existed as God before He came
to earth. As God, He could be born, not affected by Adam's sin;
He is described indeed as the seed of the woman, showing He would
still be God but born of man. However, if Jesus was an angel before
coming to earth, what was He born as? Certainly not God, and so
He could never be that perfect, spotless One, who could atone
for sin - an angel could not do that because he would be a created
being.
PASSOVER
Immediately after this statement they show the fulfilment of the
first feast in that Jesus died on Nisan 14 at the Passover. But,
not only is there a weakness in their understanding as shown above,
regarding the perfect lamb, but there is also a problem as to
the 'blood being applied to the doorposts'.
They declare that the Passover lamb foreshadowed Jesus, and make
clear reference to Exodus 12 and the, "role that the blood of
the lamb played in the deliverance of the Israelite firstborn".
We should look at a couple of verses from Exodus 12 and see what
they foreshadowed and what the situation is regarding the majority
of Jehovah's Witnesses today.
"Moreover, they shall take some
of the blood and put it on the two doorposts and on the lintel
of the houses in which they eat it." - Exodus 12:7
"The blood shall be a sign for you on the houses where you live;
and when I see the blood I will pass over you, and no plague will
befall you to destroy you when I strike the land of Egypt." -
Exodus 12:13
Two things we learn from this; first it was the blood applied
to the doorposts and lintel that was a sign for the angel to Passover
- no blood, and the angel would bring death to the firstborn;
second it had to be applied to the house in which they were dwelling.
They could not apply it to another house and if after applying
it to their house they went elsewhere, there was no assurance
of protection. It had to be personal and real to the individual.
Evangelical Christians show that this is true of them and that
they have come to know the reality of deliverance through the
blood of the lamb, by taking the emblems of the bread and wine
at the Lord's Table. They are dwelling in Christ and know His
security. Here is the problem for the majority of Witnesses alive
on this earth today, they do not take the bread and the wine,
because they have no relationship with Jesus and do not know deliverance
through the blood of Christ.
NOT TAKING EMBLEMS
This is a serious position and one which every member of the Great
Crowd of Jehovah's Witnesses, those who do not take the bread
and the wine, needs to be asked about. The Society says that the
Passover was fulfilled by Jesus, but if anyone does not know the
reality of that fulfilment then they are in trouble as far as
deliverance is concerned. However, the writers of the article
just ignore this, and go on to say:
"Like the blood of the Passover lamb, Jesus' shed blood provides
salvation for many." - p.20.
Unfortunately the actions of the Society shows that they believe
the blood only provides salvation for 144,000 - the rest, the
Great Crowd, have no relationship with Jesus and have not 'applied
the blood to their lives'.
"Should those now doing good to the
remnant of the 144,000 brothers of Christ partake of the Lord's
Evening Meal? (Matthew 25:31-40; Revelation 14:1) No. God has
reserved that privilege for individuals he has anointed with holy
spirit to be "joint heirs with Christ." (Romans 8:14-18; 1 John
2:20)" - The Watchtower, 15 February 2003, p.19.
The first Feast therefore is not fulfilled in the lives of the
majority of Witnesses today and they do not know the security
of dwelling in Christ and have a clear hope for the 'Promised
Land' of the future.
UNLEAVENED BREAD
This festival followed on immediately from Passover and was a
week long feast; on the first day of which all leaven was to be
removed from the house. Leaven in Scripture is a type of sin and
just how do we see Jesus fulfilling this feast. Evangelical Christians
believe it shows that the deliverance of Christ by His blood ensures
that all sin in our lives is dealt with and there is no longer
a penalty for sin and at the same time the power of sin is broken
in our lives. However, when you study Watchtower theology this
is not what is taught to the members of the Society.
The majority of Jehovah's Witnesses, those of the Great Crowd
who believe they will live on paradise earth, die without having
their past sins dealt with and then go out of existence, and become
a memory in the mind of God. When they are 'resurrected' again
to this earth during the 1000 year reign, God simply forgets all
about their past sin:
"We can be sure that Christ will be
fair and just in his judgment. A prophecy regarding him at Isaiah
11:3, 4 assures us of this. So, contrary to popular opinion, he
will not judge persons on the basis of their past sins, many of
which may have been committed in ignorance. The Bible explains
that at death a person is set free or released from any sins he
has committed. It says: "He who has died has been acquitted from
his sin." (Romans 6:7) This means that when a person is resurrected
he will be judged on the basis of what he does during Judgment
Day, not on what he did before he died." - You can Live Forever
in Paradise on Earth, 1989, p.175.
But in the future the blood of Jesus is not applied but it is
all to do with being obedient to Christ and the 144,000 - sin
is never dealt with!
"During Judgment Day those who survive
Armageddon will work to make the earth a paradise. Into this paradise
the dead will be welcomed back. (Luke 23:43) What happiness there
will be when families long separated by death are joined together
again! Yes, how pleasant to live in peace, to enjoy good health
and to receive instruction regarding God's purposes! The Bible
says: "When there are judgments from you for the earth, righteousness
is what the inhabitants of the productive land will certainly
learn." (Isaiah 26:9) During Judgment Day all the people will
learn about Jehovah, and they will be given every opportunity
to obey and serve him." - You can Live Forever in Paradise
on Earth, 1989, p.177.
As such there can be no fulfilment of this part of the Feast of
Unleavened Bread and no reality in the life of the Witness. Interestingly
no mention of this aspect of the fulfilment of this feast is made
in the article but this is at the heart of the fulfilment in Christ.
What is mentioned about this feast is that it incorporates the
day that Jesus rose from the dead and indeed He is the firstfruits.
The Greek word firstfruits has its root in the word arche and
literally means "the beginning of sacrifice". Albert Barnes, Notes
on the Bible puts it like this:
"The word, therefore, comes to have two (meanings):
(1) That which is "first," the beginning, or that which has the
priority of time; and,
(2) That which is apart and portion of the whole which is to follow,
and which is the earnest or pledge of that; as the "first" sheaf
of ripe grain was not only the first in order of time, but was
the earnest or pledge of the entire harvest which was soon to
succeed."
Its meaning is that this is the beginning and there will be more
of the same kind; this is another problem that the Jehovah's Witness
must face. The writer states in the article:
"Jehovah resurrected Jesus from the dead to immortal spirit life."
- p.21.
If that is so, then as the firstfruits, so those that follow -
all would need to be raised to immortal, (living forever), spirit
life, (a new life with a new body in the heavenlies!) If this
is the firstfruit then all those that come after Him as the harvest
will have the same resurrection. There is no place in the fulfilment
of this part of the Feast for there to be two different outcomes
- all that are part of Christ and have His life will have the
same resurrection as He had. Once again we see that for the majority
of Jehovah's Witnesses today there is no fulfilment in Christ
of that which he has done and they are missing out on being part
of the full harvest.
Before we leave this feast there is another aspect we need to
look at that the Society say is fulfilled:
"… he ascended to heaven to Jehovah's
right hand, where he waited until he would be installed as King
of Jehovah's heavenly kingdom… Since his instalment as King (1914),
Jesus is now in a position to bruise the great enemy, Satan, in
the head permanently and to destroy his seed." - p.21.
Notice that Calvary was not enough; something more had to happen.
But this does not fulfil the promise of Jehovah in Genesis 3:15.
In characteristic Watchtower style the Society simply alter Scripture
and its meaning. Speaking of this promise they say:
"He foretold the coming of a 'seed'
who, after having his heel bruised, would fatally bruise Satan
in the head." - p.20.
However, the Scripture is very clear, first Jesus would bruise
his head and only then would he bruise the Promised One's heel.
The Society change it around because they want to put the fulfilment
forward to the supposed crowning of the King in 1914 but the Scripture
shows that it happened at Calvary some 1900 years earlier. The
work was finished by Jesus as He hung on the tree. This thinking
of the Society means they then have to change the meaning of further
Scriptures, especially 1 John 3:8. The NASB says:
"…The Son of God appeared for this purpose, to destroy the works
of the devil."
First all we note that the work was connected with His appearing,
(manifestation, being made visible), not His enthronement in 1914.
Then at this time He is to destroy the works of the devil. The
Greek word for destroy is literally, 'to loose' set free of bonds
and has the meaning that the effectiveness of Satan has been brought
to nothing and I can be freed from any bondage I was in to him.
The writer in this article only quotes part of the verse and indicates
that Jehovah would use Jesus to "break up the works of the Devil".
The article avoids all mention of this would be at Jesus' appearing
but that He would simple be a tool in Jehovah hands to 'break
up' which to my mind does not have the same force as 'loose'.
They both downgrade the work of Jesus and what He accomplished,
so that the full impact of the Feast is not fulfilled in the lives
of the average Witness.
FESTIVAL OF WEEKS
This feast has to do with the harvest that would be gathered in
50 days after the firstfruits were presented to the Lord. The
fulfilment of course comes at Pentecost and the pouring out of
the Holy Spirit. This was the beginning of the Church, and of
course in many ways the harvest is till going on but not for the
Watchtower Society. They will limit it to just the 144,000.
The Watchtower not only limits those of the New Covenant to 144,000,
they do not see the Holy Spirit coming as part of the Godhead
but simply a force. This downgrades the person of the Holy Spirit
and shows that they do not accept the Scriptural presentation
of the Trinity but rather the man made idea that God is simply
the Father, not Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
There is also another problem that they seek to get around and
that is the two loaves offered before Pentecost. In one sentence
they make the statement that most Evangelical Christians would
agree with, that the, "anointed sons of God would eventually be
drawn from two groups - first from natural Jews and later from
Gentiles." However, this is complicated in the next paragraph:
"The two loaves offered at Pentecost
came from the firstfruits of the wheat harvest. Correspondingly,
those spirit-begotten Christians… are the first to have their
sins forgiven on the basis of Jesus' shed blood, and that makes
it possible for them to be granted immortal life in the heavens."
- p.22.
So even though Scripture clearly teaches that the two become one
- the two loaves are both offered at the same time and in the
same way - the Watchtower still teaches that there are two distinct
groups with two distinct futures. The Watchtower Society have
only given a few elite entrance to the presence of the Lord and
the rest will never see their Saviour nor will they have the blessing
of His presence but rather they will have a second class salvation.
So with the 3 feasts we have looked at so far we discover that
what the Bible teaches is different to what the Watchtower teaches.
Thus, those who seek to get ready on the basis of the 'gospel'
of the Watchtower, will never be ready.
Thousands will never know forgiveness of sins and the blood of
Jesus Christ applied to their life.
Thousands will never know the complete deliverance from the domain
of Satan and the power of sin dealt with in their lives.
Thousands will never know the true meaning of the Holy Spirit
given in their lives to be true witnesses and part of His church
without any division or difference of inheritance.
THE DAY OF ATONEMENT
On p.23 of the Watchtower article we read:
"On Atonement Day, the high priest
slaughtered a young bull, and in the Most Holy, he spattered some
of its blood seven 'times before the cover of the Ark, thus representatively
offering the blood before Jehovah. That offering was for the sins
of the high priest and "his house," the underpriests and the Levites.
Then the high priest took two goats. One he slaughtered as a sin
offering "for the people." Some of its blood too was sprinkled
before the cover of the Ark in the Most Holy. Afterward, the high
priest laid his hands on the head of the second goat and confessed
the errors of the sons of Israel. Then he had the goat led off
into the wilderness to carry away the nation's sins in a symbolic
way.-Leviticus 16:3-16, 21, 22. As those acts foreshadowed, the
great High Priest, Jesus, uses the merit of his own lifeblood
to provide forgiveness of sins. First, the value of his blood
is applied to the "spiritual house" of 144,000 anointed Christians,
enabling these to be declared righteous and enjoy a clean standing
before Jehovah. (1 Peter 2:5; 1 Corinthians 6:11) This is foreshadowed
by the sacrifice of the bull. Thus the way is opened for them
to receive their heavenly inheritance. Second, the value of Jesus'
blood is applied in behalf of millions of others who exercise
faith in Christ, as shown by the sacrifice of the goat. These
will be blessed with everlasting life here on earth, the inheritance
that Adam and Eve lost. (Psalm 37:10, 11) On the basis of his
shed blood, Jesus carries away the sins of mankind, just as the
live goat in a token way carried the sins of Israel off into the
wilderness.- Isaiah 53:4, 5."
As we begin to look at what is said in detail we become aware
why many Witnesses are not aware of the vital importance of dealing
with sin and how central to their faith the Cross of Jesus Christ
needs to be.
What they don't explain in any detail that this was the only time
that the High Priest could go into the very Holy of Holies to
sprinkle the blood. No other time could do it. Hebrews 9:7 tells
us that this was only to happen once a year; at no other time
did anyone enter through the thick veil into this inner, most
holy place. Never would anyone see inside, not even the priest
when he was there because the thick curtain kept out all light.
This makes the fulfilment as we have it in Jesus, even more remarkable:
"And Jesus uttered a loud cry, and breathed His last. And the
veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom." - Mark
15:37-38
For the first time, everyone could look straight into the inner
holy place. Everyone could see in detail the place, 'where God
dwelled'. Can you imagine the fear of the priests on duty that
day; however once the initial shock was overcome maybe they began
to realise that this had to be by the hand of God because no human
could reach the top of the curtain and even if they did they could
not have torn through the thickness. Now the way was open to all;
no barrier existed at all.
This is difficult for the Watchtower to explain because of their
teaching of a two-tier salvation but the veil was broken down
for all and either all can be saved or none there are not different
strata of salvation. You have either 'entered through the veil'
with Jesus.
"This hope we have as an anchor
of the soul, a hope both sure and steadfast and one which enters
within the veil, where Jesus has entered as a forerunner for us,
having become a high priest forever according to the order of
Melchizedek." - Hebrews 6:19,20.
Note that Jesus as entered as a forerunner; because He is there,
we can be there. That is the meaning of the Atonement; sins forgiven,
dwelling with Jesus in the inner-most sanctuary. The very word,
atonement, means the reconciliation of God an man. The veil has
been taken away, we can live in His presence. This is the salvation
shown by the celebration of the Day of Atonement.
It is not a picture of living remotely from Jesus and not having
any assurance of knowing our sins forgiven. Tragically, millions
of Jehovah's Witnesses do live like that and therefore they have
no reality of the fulfilment of the Day of Atonement. The Society
do try to bring this picture of two-tier salvation into this Feast
by ignoring many of the facts. They say that first a bull was
shed and the blood sprinkled; this signified that "the value of
the blood is applied" to the 144,000 and opens the way to heaven
for them.
Then a goat was sacrificed and this shows that "the value of Jesus'
blood is applied in behalf of millions of others who exercise
faith in Christ." Thus these ones will experience paradise earth.
This interpretation bears no resemblance to the actual fulfilment
and either deliberately or in ignorance the Society are forbidding
millions to enter into the fullness of salvation as shown by the
day of Atonement.
Please note carefully the following about the fulfilment:
There was only one sacrifice of sin and blood was only shed once
and for all. There are not two sacrifices of blood that give different
values of salvation.
Notice the phraseology that is used by the Society, "value of
his blood applied". There is no reality here, they do not appear
to know that their sins are forgiven; there is no intimate relationship
that the day of Atonement stands for but simply a distant inference
even for the 144,000
The shedding of the blood of the goat was accompanied by a second
goat who took symbolically took the sin of ALL Israel into the
wilderness. In the fulfilment Jesus took away ALL sin. It is the
same for everyone. Either you sins are forgiven and you are dwelling
with Christ in the inner sanctuary or you are cast outside His
presence, there is no intermediate ground.
FESTIVAL OF BOOTHS or TABERNACLES
The final feast mentioned in the article is the Feast of Tabernacles.
This is a joyful festival where people live in booths to remind
them of 40 years wandering in the wilderness but it ends with
the final ingathering of all of God's people into His ONE kingdom.
Again of course this has many problems for the Watchtower Society
and they have written a further article in the January 1 Watchtower
to try to explain things from their perspective. But first let
us see what they say about the actual festival.
"The Festival of Booths was a harvest
festival, a joyful celebration of ingathering, and it foreshadowed
the joyous ingathering of those who exercise faith in Jesus Christ.
The ingathering began at Pentecost 33 C.E., when Jesus' 120 disciples
were anointed to become part of "a holy priesthood." As the Israelites
lived in booths for a few days, anointed ones know that they are
mere "temporary residents" in this ungodly world. Their hope is
a heavenly one. (1 Peter 2:5, 11) That ingathering of anointed
Christians reaches its conclu-sion during these "last days," when
the final ones of the 144,000 are gathered.-2 Timothy 3:1." -
p.24.
What a mishmash and contradiction of their own 'theology' apart
from Biblical truth. First, nowhere do we see in Scripture that
the 'anointing' on the day of Pentecost was for them to become
a holy priesthood, it was to be witnesses. Second, we read that
the Israelites dwelt in booths to show that they were not citizens
of this world but rather that they had a heavenly hope! Yet, in
another breath we are told that the Old Testament Israelites will
only have an inheritance on paradise earth because the heavenly
ones were not chosen until after Jesus died. Either Old Testament
saints have a heavenly hope or they do not; you cannot however,
choose either/or just to suit the context. Third, nowhere in Scripture
are we told that the ingatheing will stop at 144,000.
"It is noteworthy that during this
ancient festival, 70 bulls were offered. (Numbers 29:12-34) The
number 70 represents 7 multiplied by 10, numbers that in the Bible
represent heavenly and earthly perfection. Hence, the sacrifice
of Jesus will benefit faithful ones from all 70 families of mankind
that descended from Noah. (Genesis 10: 1-29) In harmony with that,
in our time the ingathering has widened out to include individuals
from all nations who exercise faith in Jesus and have the hope
of living on a paradise earth." - p.23, 24.
I have a question. Who living on earth today is not descended
from Noah? Right, we all are! Therefore we all have the same benefit
of the sacrifice of Jesus and the ingathering cannot include any
other families because all are included in Noah's descendents.
Don't the y realise what they are saying when they right this
stuff?
"The apostle John saw this modern-day
ingathering in vision. First he heard the announcing of the sealing
of the final ones of the 144,000. Then he saw "a great crowd,
which no man was able to number," standing before Jehovah and
Jesus, with "palm branches in their hands." These" come out of
the great tribulation" into the new world. They too are now mere
temporary residents in this old system of things, and they look
forward with confidence to the time when "the Lamb ... will shepherd
them, and will guide them to fountains of waters of life." At
that time, "God will wipe out every tear from their eyes." (Revelation
7:1-10, 14-17) The antitypical Festival of Booths will reach its
climax after the end of the Thousand Year Reign of Christ when
they along with faithful resurrected ones are granted everlasting
life. - Revelation 20:5." - p.24
We have dealt elsewhere with the 144,000 and the Great Crowd and
will not take time to repeat it here other than to say as we have
all through this article there is no place for two-tier salvation
in the fulfilment of these feasts. You either know the fullness
of the fulfilment or you are not in the good of what it brings.
Therefore when they say that this festival will reach its climax
at the ingathering, they are correct, as far as that simple phrase
goes, but how many Jehovah's Witnesses on this earth today can
truly look forward to that climax? Please note that the Feast
of Tabernacles comes after the day of Atonement and if, as we
have already seen, members of the Watchtower Society do not know
the reality of forgiveness of sin and a closeness with Jesus,
then they have no hope to be in that ingathering. What an encouragement
to share with the Witnesses the real truth of these Feasts. Unfortunately
they will not here that message of warning from the Watchtower
Society only a false hope:
"We too can be 'nothing but joyful'
as we meditate on the meaning of the ancient Jewish festivals.
It is thrilling to consider that Jehovah provided foregleams of
how his prophecy given back in Eden would be fulfilled, and it
is exciting to see its actual fulfillment taking place step-by-step.
Today, we know that the Seed has appeared and that he has been
bruised in the heel. Now he is a heavenly King. Further, most
of the 144,000 have already proved their faithfulness to the death.
What remains to be done? How soon will the prophecy be completely
fulfilled? This will be discussed in the following article." -
p.24.
This is false hope as the following summary and comment on the
next article they mention, entitled, "'The First Resurrection'
- now under way", clearly shows. The article from pages 25-30
of The Watchtower, 1 January, 2007, is a rehearsing of
what the Society says will happen at the time of the fulfilment
of the Feast of Tabernacles.
The article contains a number of issues that we have dealt with
elsewhere, for instance it starts with the fact that the dead
go out of existence and the only hope is that God will remember
you and give you a resurrection (which is more like recreation
because there is nothing left to bring back to life. Of course,
this is a false hope as already mentioned, because God is not
just going to forget what we did in the first life, and the only
hope for such a resurrection to life is to know the reality of
the death of Christ in our lives now. Belonging to a certain group
or doing outward things is not sufficient.
The part I want to comment on though is the different resurrections.
They say the first resurrection was that of Jesus (p.26) in order
that He could "present the value of his sacrifice to God". Next
came the anointed members, "the Israel of God" (144,000) joining
Jesus in His heavenly glory. This event is called the "first or
earlier resurrection". To show that this Biblical they mention
two specific Scriptures - Philippians 3:10, 11 and Rev.20:6. However,
do these Scriptures really show what the Watchtower say? First
Philippians;
"...that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection and
the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death;
in order that I may attain to the resurrection from the dead."
This is Paul's personal testimony and not relating to anyone else.
There is no way from these Scriptures to decide whether it is
just for the 144,000 or for everyone. Indeed, with the timing
that the Society put on this resurrection later in the article,
(spring 1918), it would rule out taking about 'the first resurrection'.
In chapter 1 Paul shows that he expects to die and immediately
be with the Lord not to have to wait some 1,850 years! So what
about Revelation 20?
"Blessed and holy is the one who
has a part in the first resurrection; over these the second death
has no power, but they will be priests of God and of Christ and
will reign with Him for a thousand years."
Yes, it speaks of a first resurrection but; there is no mention
of the 144,000 and the 1,000 years did not begin in 1918 and so
it cannot be talking about the same group that the Witnesses are
talking about. Always check carefully the Scriptures quoted in
watchtower articles because, in most cases, as here, they are
out of context and do not back up the points made.
Next, in the Society's chronology:
"When that resurrection (the first
one) is completed, the time will be at hand for millions to be
resurrected back to earth with the prospect of gaining everlasting
life in Paradise."
No Scriptures given; no certainty offered! This is not the complete
salvation talked of in Scripture, but a second-class offering
of the Watchtower.
The conclusion of all this, which of course as they see it is
the fulfilment of the Feast of Tabernacles, comes on p.30.
"God's Word does not disclose a precise
date for the first resurrection, but it does reveal that it occurs
over a period of time, during Christ's presence. The first to
be resurrected are anointed Christians who died before Christ's
presence began. As Christ's presence progresses, anointed Christians
who faithfully finish their earthly course are changed "in the
twinkling of an eye" into powerful spirit creatures. (1 Corinthians
15:52) Will all the anointed receive their heavenly reward before
the war of Armageddon? We do not know. We do know, however, that
in God's due time, all the 144,000 will be found standing on the
heavenly Mount Zion. We also know that the majority of the 144,000
are already united with Christ. Only a relatively few remain on
earth. What a powerful indication that the time for the execution
of God's judgment is rapidly approach-ing! Soon, Satan's entire
world system will be destroyed. Satan himself will be abyssed.
Then, the general resurrection can begin, and faithful humans
can, on the basis of Jesus' ransom sacrifice, be raised to perfection
similar to that lost by Adam. Jehovah's prophecy recorded at Genesis
3:15 is being wonderfully fulfilled. What a grand privilege it
is to be living in these times!"
Please note their fulfilment of the Feast of Tabernacles; over
a period of time; two-tiered; no certainty; very near. How much
greater is the true fulfilment as shown in the New Testament!
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