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The suggested answers provided to all questions below are based on and in harmony with the views of the original Watchtower Bible and Tract Society when under the guidance of Pastor Charles Taze Russell.  Comments will often include a link to Pastor Russell’s own explanation.  However, in any case, we leave your conclusions to your own personal study, prayer, conscience and the influence of the Holy Spirit.

829 comments to Questions

  • max

    To Jeff and all;

    Will try and give a simple answer on Ze 14:16. Would you agree there have been those who have gone against the literal city of Jerusalem for many centuries? Would you agree there have been those who have gone against those who have the potenial to become a part of the heavenly Jerusalem?

    If you have said yes to both them we are in agreement. If you said no I would be amazed. So whats my point? Many of them have died. But what about the ones doing so to the remaining members alive who are at the end of the little flock?

    Remember these points, just got a call to work 4 hours early.

    max

    • Jeff

      Max,

      (Forgive my somewhat humorous statement to start of here…) Sometimes I wonder why I even try to reply with simple logic to something so illogical, but here goes a try.

      Surely you are not applying a historical principle about Jews being attacked over the years to the context of Zechariah 14 about Armageddon unless you are saying that Armagedon has been happening over and over since the foundation of the nation of Israel?

      This Scripture (and many others) are clear. The timing of the chapter is specifically mentioned a few verses earlier in the context.

      In Zechariah 14:2 Yahweh says, “I will gather all the nations against Jerusalem to battle…”

      This is Armageddon.

      Zechariah 14:16 states, “It will come about that those who are left of the nations that went against Jerusalem to battle….”

      This context is specifically about survivors of Armageddon AFTER Armageddon is over.

      This is also true of the other contexts that have been mentioned.

      EZEKIEL 39:6 “I will send fire on Magog and on those who dwell securely in the coastlands, and they shall know that I am the LORD. 7 And My holy name I will make known in the midst of My people Israel, and I will not let My holy name be profaned anymore. And the nations shall know that I am the LORD, the Holy One in Israel. 8 Behold, it is coming and it will be brought about, declares the Lord GOD. That is the day of which I have spoken.” (ESV)

      Not only the anointed 144,000 with Jesus (Revelation 19) will bring about the end of Christendom, but there is a role of Israel in that destruction as well. I know that JWs have normallyy taught that they will not be in that fight at all, but there are some passages that would suggest this.

      Starting with Jeremiah 51:20-24 we can see that Israel has a role in the destruction of Babylon. Jeremiah 50:1…the Word of the Lord against Babylon. 51:1…I will raise against Babylon. From these phrases we can see that this is a prophecy against Babylon. Jeremiah 51:19, remant of Jacob is not like him, not like Babylon.

      God even tells Israel he is his battle axe, “with thee I will break his horse and rider, chariot and rider, break in pieces old and young, etc…. with thee I will break in pieces kings…and unto Babylon all they have done in Zion…WITH THEE.” He always uses this phrase, “WITH THEE” to show that he will fight WITH them, not for them and he also uses combinations of things here that go together, such as yoke and oxen, man and wife, etc… Remeber the old song, Love and marriage go together like a horse and carriage? These contrasts show that anarchy is created here. It will be a chain reaction that becomes the destruction of Babylon.

      In Obadiah 18 it states that ‘The House of Jacob shall be the fire. The house of Joseph the flame. The house of Esau the stubble.’ Jacob (Israel) is the Fire, and Esau the stubble…Israel is responsible as one of the destroying factors against Babylon in many Scriptures.

      And just like the Zechariah 14 contexts which were raised previously the passages below also show that there will more survivors of the nations that attached Israel in the last days that WILL go to worship Jehovah. It is his incredible grace and mercy that they could even have an opportunity in that day. Thank God for that!

      Zechariah 12:10-11 – Unbelieving Israel has the spirit poured out on her AFTER Armageddon.

      10 “I will pour out on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of supplication, so that they will look on me whom they have pierced; and they will mourn for him, as one mourns for an only son, and they will weep bitterly over him like the bitter weeping over a firstborn.
      11 “in that day there will be great mourning in Jerusalem, like the mourning of Hadadrimmon in the plain of Megiddo.

      Joel 2:20-21, 27-28, 32

      20 I will remove the northern army far from you, and I will drive it into a parched and desolate land, and its vanguard into the eastern sea, and its rear guard into the western sea. and its stench will arise and its foul smell will come up, for it has done great things.”
      21 do not fear, O land, rejoice and be glad, for the LORD has done great things.
      27 “thus you will know that I am in the midst of Israel, and that I am the LORD your god, and there is no other; and my people will never be put to shame.
      28 ¶ “it will come about after this that I will pour out my spirit on all mankind . . . .
      32 “and it will come about that whoever calls on the name of the LORD will be delivered; for on mount Zion and in Jerusalem there will be those who escape, as the LORD has said, even among the survivors whom the LORD calls.

      Ezekiel 39:1-2, 6-7
      1 ‘thus says the lord GOD, “behold, I am against you, O gog, prince of Rosh, Meshech and Tubal;
      2 and I will turn you around, drive you on, take you up from the remotest parts of the north and bring you against the mountains of Israel.
      6 “and I will send fire upon Magog and those who inhabit the coastlands in safety; and they will know that I am the LORD.
      7 “my holy name I will make known in the midst of my people Israel; and I will not let my holy name be profaned anymore. and the nations will know that I am the LORD, the holy one in Israel.

      Psalm 46:6, 9-10
      6 ¶ the nations made an uproar, the kingdoms tottered; he raised his voice, the earth melted.
      9 he makes wars to cease to the end of the earth; he breaks the bow and cuts the spear in two; he burns the chariots with fire.
      10 “cease striving and know that I am god; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.”
      11 the LORD of hosts is with us; the god of Jacob is our stronghold. Selah.

      Max. Its ok to say you don’t know. If you did know, I think you might have replied already. I checked these passages out on the Societies WT Library CD-ROM and none of the results seemed logical according to the contexts of each of the passages outlined. You may remember that I even posted some of what I found on the WT CD from recent WT articles and replied why the comments did not make sense.

      Now… back to applying logic to something illogical.

      The Scriptures are clear that unbelieving survivors of both Israel and the nations will survive Armageddon. The WT Society which states it is Israel/Remnant/144,000 is putting itself into prophecies that would apply that Israel to be unbelieving, idolatrous, and without the Holy Spirit until AFTER that final battle in Armageddon.

      I’m not sure I would want to identify myself as that sort of Israel in these contexts. These same contexts are used in the current February 2012 WT on Armageddon.

      Summary: It would appear to me that the WT Society is identifying itself as currently being without the Holy Spirit (and the other things that I’ve mentioned).

      The really sad part is, that they haven’t thought these contexts through and they don’t realize their self-identifications according to these Scriptural contexts.

    • humbleman

      Hi Max what you are trying to do here is read the scripture and fit the scripture around the watchtower doctrine. Zechariah 14. is referring to the 1000 year day of Jehovah. but it starts with Armageddon when Jehovah seeks to destroy all the nations. in verse 16 it tells us there will be survivors of those nations that went against Jerusalem they survive the war of Armageddon. they are then given opportunity to worship Jehovah. if they refuse they will suffer the plagues that afflicted the nations. i believe these nations are the same Nations mentioned in Revelation 20 v 3.

  • Jeff

    Hi Max,

    I see you missed the questions I posted on Saturday. If you were busy like I was over the weekend I understand. I am also fighting another cold.

    Anyway, I have a few more Scriptures to add to the subject that we were discussing. We also discussed these Saturday evening in our call in.

    If you missed it, you can get it here —

    http://rec001.freeconferencecalling.com/mp3/1067074/991337/LA3977_02042012160837275_1051287.mp3

    From the context of Ezekiel 38 and 39 the nations will come to know that Jehovah is God. In these same verses it can also be seen that even Israel doesn’t recognize Yahweh till after Armageddon…

    EZEKIEL 39:6 “I will send fire on Magog and on those who dwell securely in the coastlands, and they shall know that I am the LORD. 7 And My holy name I will make known in the midst of My people Israel, and I will not let My holy name be profaned anymore. And the nations shall know that I am the LORD, the Holy One in Israel. 8 Behold, it is coming and it will be brought about, declares the Lord GOD. That is the day of which I have spoken.” (ESV)

    Not only the anointed 144,000 with Jesus (Revelation 19) will bring about the end of Christendom, but there is a role of Israel in that destruction as well. I know that JWs have normallyy taught that they will not be in that fight at all, but there are some passages that would suggest this.

    Starting with Jeremiah 51:20-24 we can see that Israel has a role in the destruction of Babylon. Jeremiah 50:1…the Word of the Lord against Babylon. 51:1…I will raise against Babylon. From these phrases we can see that this is a prophecy against Babylon. Jeremiah 51:19, remant of Jacob is not like him, not like Babylon.

    God even tells Israel he is his battle axe, “with thee I will break his horse and rider, chariot and rider, break in pieces old and young, etc…. with thee I will break in pieces kings…and unto Babylon all they have done in Zion…WITH THEE.” He always uses this phrase, “WITH THEE” to show that he will fight WITH them, not for them and he also uses combinations of things here that go together, such as yoke and oxen, man and wife, etc… Remeber the old song, Love and marriage go together like a horse and carriage? These contrasts show that anarchy is created here. It will be a chain reaction that becomes the destruction of Babylon.

    In Obadiah 18 it states that ‘The House of Jacob shall be the fire. The house of Joseph the flame. The house of Esau the stubble.’ Jacob (Israel) is the Fire, and Esau the stubble…Israel is responsible as one of the destroying factors against Babylon in many Scriptures.

    And just like the Zechariah 14 contexts which were raised previously the passages below also show that there will more survivors of the nations that attached Israel in the last days that WILL go to worship Jehovah. It is his incredible grace and mercy that they could even have an opportunity in that day. Thank God for that!

    Zechariah 12:10-11 – Unbelieving Israel has the spirit poured out on her AFTER Armageddon.

    10 “I will pour out on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of supplication, so that they will look on me whom they have pierced; and they will mourn for him, as one mourns for an only son, and they will weep bitterly over him like the bitter weeping over a firstborn.
    11 “in that day there will be great mourning in Jerusalem, like the mourning of Hadadrimmon in the plain of Megiddo.

    Joel 2:20-21, 27-28, 32

    20 I will remove the northern army far from you, and I will drive it into a parched and desolate land, and its vanguard into the eastern sea, and its rear guard into the western sea. and its stench will arise and its foul smell will come up, for it has done great things.”
    21 do not fear, O land, rejoice and be glad, for the LORD has done great things.
    27 “thus you will know that I am in the midst of Israel, and that I am the LORD your god, and there is no other; and my people will never be put to shame.
    28 ¶ “it will come about after this that I will pour out my spirit on all mankind . . . .
    32 “and it will come about that whoever calls on the name of the LORD will be delivered; for on mount Zion and in Jerusalem there will be those who escape, as the LORD has said, even among the survivors whom the LORD calls.

    Ezekiel 39:1-2, 6-7
    1 ‘thus says the lord GOD, “behold, I am against you, O gog, prince of Rosh, Meshech and Tubal;
    2 and I will turn you around, drive you on, take you up from the remotest parts of the north and bring you against the mountains of Israel.
    6 “and I will send fire upon Magog and those who inhabit the coastlands in safety; and they will know that I am the LORD.
    7 “my holy name I will make known in the midst of my people Israel; and I will not let my holy name be profaned anymore. and the nations will know that I am the LORD, the holy one in Israel.

    Psalm 46:6, 9-10
    6 ¶ the nations made an uproar, the kingdoms tottered; he raised his voice, the earth melted.
    9 he makes wars to cease to the end of the earth; he breaks the bow and cuts the spear in two; he burns the chariots with fire.
    10 “cease striving and know that I am god; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.”
    11 the LORD of hosts is with us; the god of Jacob is our stronghold. Selah.

  • max

    Hi Jeff and to all;

    There is a ton of material to cover. And none would want to read it all. So it is my goal to give short responses to your questions. I printed yours out this time for my memory is no where there. And I am sure I read some of your material in the herald mag. And I saw where one of the old timers passed.

    max

    • Jeff

      Wow…. that was quick.

      I just posted several more Scriptures…some of which were used in the Saturday discussion on the topic of Armagedon and who will survive according to the Scriptures.

  • Jeff

    Thank you for your candid honesty Max. I don’t know if you can appreciate the following observation, but from my perspective I appreciate that the Pastor could acknowledge his mistakes publicly. This is something I rarely see from the current WTB&TS.

    The Herald indeed started in 1918. Every issue of the magazine from its inception in 1918 to the present can be found here —

    http://www.heraldmag.org/past.htm

    Putting these issues in electronic form was a project that some brethren and I had a priviledge to participate in several years ago. I have also enjoyed and learned much from writing for the magazine from time to time as well.

    God is good. I can not really put into words how much I appreciate his loving plan to give an opportunity of salvation for unbelievers . . . . even after Armageddon.

    If you can, join us tonight for the call in. We would appreciate your comments and would like you to share your perspective as we look into the Scriptures on this very important subject.

    • Jeff

      Max,

      Now that you are back, I will repost the Scriptural questions I had given you earlier that I am still looking for a response on.

      In Ezekiel 38 and 39 Israel is a sinful nation, in unbelief, and not following the will of God. This is why the punishment is being sent against them.

      Consider the context of the Ezekiel Passages.

      Ezekiel 39
      23 “the nations will know that the house of Israel went into exile for their iniquity because they acted treacherously against me, and I hid my face from them; so I gave them into the hand of their adversaries, and all of them fell by the sword.
      24 “according to their uncleanness and according to their transgressions I dealt with them, and I hid my face from them.”’”
      25 therefore thus says the lord GOD, “now I will restore the fortunes of Jacob and have mercy on the whole house of Israel; and I will be jealous for my holy name.
      26 “they will forget their disgrace and all their treachery which they perpetrated against me, when they live securely on their own land with no one to make them afraid.
      27 “when I bring them back from the peoples and gather them from the lands of their enemies, then I shall be sanctified through them in the sight of the many nations.
      28 “then they will know that I am the LORD their god because I made them go into exile among the nations, and then gathered them again to their own land; and I will leave none of them t

      According to this context….

      It isn’t until AFTER this battle of Armageddon that the unbelieving nations will recognize that this happened to israel because of their transgressions.

      It isn’t until AFTER this battle of Armageddon that God will restore the fortunes of Israel and thir sins will be forgiven.

      It isn’t until AFTER this battle of Armageddon that the name of Yahweh will be sanctified in the nations.

      Consider the context of the Joel passages.

      Joel 2:
      12 ¶ “yet even now,” declares the LORD, “return to me with all your heart, and with fasting, weeping and mourning;
      13 and rend your heart and not your garments.” now return to the LORD your god, for he is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger, abounding in lovingkindness and relenting of evil.
      14 who knows whether he will not turn and relent and leave a blessing behind him, even a grain offering and a drink offering for the LORD your god?

      According to Joel’s context….

      It isn’t until AFTER this battle of Armageddon that the unbelieving nations will recognize that this happened to israel because of their transgressions.

      It isn’t until AFTER this battle of Armageddon that God will restore the fortunes of Israel and thir sins will be forgiven.

      It isn’t until AFTER this battle of Armageddon that the name of Yahweh will be sanctified in the nations.

      Zechariah 12:
      9 in that day I will set about to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem.
      10 “I will pour out on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of supplication, so that they will look on me whom they have pierced; and they will mourn for him, as one mourns for an only son, and they will weep bitterly over hi

      Zechariah 14:
      16 then it will come about that any who are left of all the nations that went against Jerusalem will go up from year to year to worship the king, the LORD of hosts, and to celebrate the feast of booths.
      17 and it will be that whichever of the families of the earth does not go up to Jerusalem to worship the king, the LORD of hosts, there will be no rain on them.

      According to Zechariah’s context….

      It isn’t until AFTER this battle of Armageddon that the unbelieving nations will recognize that this happened to israel because of their transgressions.

      It isn’t until AFTER this battle of Armageddon that God will restore the fortunes of Israel and thir sins will be forgiven.

      It isn’t until AFTER this battle of Armageddon that the name of Yahweh will be sanctified in the nations.

      According to all of these contexts….

      Israel is in unbelief until AFTEr the battle of Armageddon. If Armageddon is still future, any group that identifies themselves with that Israel must be in unbelief and without the Holy Spirit which is not poured until until AFTER that battle.

      Israel in these contexts (whether literal or symbolic) is without the Spirit and unbelieving before Armageddon.

      There is more than one group of unbelievers in this context?

      1) Those that fight against Israel

      2) Israel (regardless if it is literal or symbolic).

      “I will gather all the nations against Jerusalem to battle…” Zechariah 14:2

      In this context, the nations that went against Jeruselem were those who fought against Israel in Armageddon.

      Zechariah 14:16 says clearly, “then it will come about that any who are left of all the nations that went against Jerusalem.”

      I would not want to identify myself as THAT Israel in those contexts?

      Our interpretation of the end result of all of this is similar but different. You would agree that there will be a heavenly group and an earthly group in the kingdom of Christ, but we would disagree on who all will be there and will be given opportunity at salvation (…it doesn’t mean those who are given opportunity then will make it…just that they will have an opportunity). We would disagree on identifying the earthly group as the ‘great crowd’ of Revelation.

      Zechariah 14:9, 15

      “The LORD will be king over all the earth; in that day the LORD will be the only one, and his name the only one . . .
      then it will come about that any who are left of all the nations that went against Jerusalem will go up from year to year to worship the king, the LORD of hosts, and to celebrate the feast of booths. and it will be that whichever of the families of the earth does not go up to Jerusalem to worship the king, the LORD of hosts, there will be no rain on them.”

      Here they are shown mercy and given opportunity to repent. A curse of ‘no rain’ is vastly different than the second death that the WatchTower society claims.

      I did a quick search on the WT CD-ROM for the Zechariah 14:16-17 passages. I was surprised that when Zechariah 14 was discussed, these very important verses were skipped. I was even more surprised that when they were not skipped, the explanation seemed like an attempt to find an ‘out’ rather than to simply take the text as it reads.

      Zechariah 14:16 “Then it will come about that any who are left of all the nations that went against Jerusalem will go up from year to year to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, and to celebrate the Feast of Booths. 17 And it will be that whichever of the families of the earth does not go up to Jerusalem to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, there will be no rain on them.”

      Now the Jehovah’s Witness explanation….

      13 Zechariah’s prophecy continues at chapter 14, verse 16: “It must occur that, as regards everyone who is left remaining out of all the nations that are coming against Jerusalem, they must also go up from year to year to bow down to the King, Jehovah of armies, and to celebrate the festival of the booths.” According to the Bible, all people alive today who continue living to the end of this wicked system and who are judged to be enemies of true worship will undergo the “judicial punishment of everlasting destruction.” (2 Thessalonians 1:7-9; see also Matthew 25:31-33, 46.) They will not have a resurrection. Likely, then, the ones “left remaining” include the members of the nations who died before God’s final war and for whom there is a Bible-based hope of a resurrection. “The hour is coming,” Jesus promised, “in which all those in the memorial tombs will hear his voice and come out, those who did good things to a resurrection of life, those who practiced vile things to a resurrection of judgment.”—John 5:28, 29. (DX30-85)

      Lets compare –

      JW – “Likely, then, the ones ‘left remaining’ include the members of the nations who died before God’s final war…”

      BIBLE – “Then it will come about that any who are left of all the nations that went against Jerusalem”

      The Scriptures indeed state that these folks were in the war.

      When comparing this to Zechariah 12, the Spirit is not poured out on Israel until AFTER this battle. Before that battle, Israel is without the Holy Spirit and in unbelief.

      Luke 21:20,”Futhermore, when you see Jerusalem surrounded by encamped armies, then know that the desolating of her has drawn near.” Jesus word’s came true didn’t they.

      Read down a few verses and Israel’s restoration from desolation is stated by Jesus himself!

      Luke 21:24 – “Jerusalem will be trampled under foot by the Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled.”

      Instead of resorting to philosophy, lets look at the passage and see if it has been fulfilled or not.

      Jerusalem was trampled – Check. After Jesus death the Romans brought it to the ground and it was in control of the Gentile nations as Jesus predicted until … the end of the Gentile Times.
      Gentile Times have ended – Check. The ending of the Gentile Times in WW1 resulted in Israel’s restoration as a nation. Ask me about the incredible fulfilments in history on this one.
      Jerusalem is back in the hands of Israel? – Check, this happened in 1967.

      It seems fulfilled to me.

      If the context were the way you suggest, Would not this contractdict passages like Romans 11 (and others) which state that the fulness of the Gentiles must be COMPLETE, that the anointed Christians must be in heaven BEFORE the blindness of ISrael could be removed.

      “For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits; that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in.” (Romans 11:25)

      I would say that this passage states that in order for the spirit to be poured out the 144,000 must be in heaven. This of course still leaves the ‘earthly israel’ on earth during the battle of Armageddon. The Romans passage quoted above would state the same thing then that the Joel, Ezekiel, Zechariah and other passages I quoted earlier. . . . the Spirit will not be poured out on unbelieving Israel (as Romans says…”blindness”) until AFTER the 144,000 are in heaven and AFTER the battle of Armageddon.

  • max

    My thoughts on the first Volume Jeff are many. Would be impossible to go over here. But just a couple of points from the Pastor.
    “The author acknowledges that in his book he presents the thought thet the Lord’s saints might expect to be with Him in glory at the ending of the Gentile Times. This was a natural mistake to fall into, but the Lord overruled it for the blessing of His people.”

    This was from some time in October 1916. Note how he takes a mistake and shows the good. He mentioned it did have a stimulating effect. Even a sanctifying effect upon thousands. Of coarse we know many fell away when they realized the teaching of going to heaven in October or September 1914 came and went.

    So what does it mean to me? God cannot lie. Titus 1:2 As blessed as was Moses, he only got to see the promised land, not allowed in because of a mistake. Do I believe he was led by God? Yes I do? Do I believe the Pastor was led by God? Even though he made mistakes like Moses. Yes I do. What about Martin Luther? I don’t know enough, but it is a possiblity. And many others. They all have one thing in common. They make mistakes.

    There is more of his comment I could share, if you want.

    P.S. Been reading the Herald for over 10 years. Believe it stated in 1918, but not sure, one can never trust memory.

    Take care great to be back.

  • max

    Jeff that is very kind but I will pass. Feb is busy bust and it looks like March will be too. One of my things as a manager was to never make promises to the employees. To easy to break. If I said yes I will read them all, and don’t I could not accept that. So I hope you understand.

    max

  • max

    Missing # 5. and 7 and the big one.

    Max

  • max

    Don’t have all.

    Max

  • max

    Greetings to all;

    Mark 10:17 Please read. Where do you think he was expecting it?

    John 11:24 Please read. Where do you think she was thinking about?

    Comment by George Foot Moore:”Writing… of the second or first centuries before our era attest the belief that at the expected turning point in the history of the world the dead of former generations would be brought to life again on earth.”

    Isn’t it true Adam and Eve would still be living had they not given up perfection? Didn’t Eccl say Jehovah put it in the hearts of man to keep living? Is that not why people grieve when someone dies? Ans why did the disciples ask Jesus, “are you restoring the kingdom at this time? And what about Jesus connecting Mt 5:5 with Ps 37:11 and Is 45:18?

    Have a great day

    Max

  • Ken

    Hello all, I’m doing a poll(just out of curiosity)………How many here have the 7 separate volumes of studies in the scriptures and the BIG book that has all of them in one, and how many have both? Personally I have both.

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