I have several
questions that maybe you could apply your thinking to.
When Jesus said at (Luke
Since it seems as if even so called Christendom, in part, is
expecting the arrival of Jesus in one form or another, the same as Jehovah's
Witnesses, then how is it that it will be “at an hour that YOU do not think
likely.”?
Also, is this a correct understanding, that there is no
difference between Jesus' presence and his coming? It seems that the question
asked by the disciples and recorded as below was in two parts. First asking
about WHEN these things would be and second about what will be the SIGN when
these things are destine to OCCUR, CONCLUDE, (PRESENCE and CONCLUSION).
Luke 21:7) . . .“Teacher, when will these things actually be,
and what will be the sign when these things are destined to occur?”
(Matthew 24:3) “Tell us, When will these things be, and what
will be the sign of (your presence and of the conclusion) of the system of
things?”
(Mark 13:3-4) . . .: 4 “Tell us, When will these things be, and
what will be the sign when all these things are destined to come to a
conclusion?”
. . . Notice that I put Matthew's part in brackets. This is
because it seems he was saying the one, presence, brings about the other,
conclusion. So that they are one and the same. Matthew was just identifying
that Jesus' presence brings the conclusion. Sort of like “what will be the sign
that it is snowing and the ground will become white?”
Therefore, Jesus' coming brings about the “conclusion of the
system of things?” And part two of the question was about the sign of it. Hence
the sign of Jesus' presence bring about the conclusion, hence the sign of his
coming brings about the conclusion.
I agree when you say that “Matthew was just
identifying that Jesus' presence brings the conclusion.”
Jesus will return only once (not several
times) at some unspecified future time, which would catch even his disciples by
surprise. According to the Amplified Bible Jesus said: “You also must be ready,
for the Son of Man is coming at an hour and a moment when you do not anticipate
it.” (Luke 12:40)
When Jesus’ disciples asked him, “Tell us,
When will these things be, and what will be the sign of your presence and of
the conclusion of the system of things," I believe that we are reading
more into what they were asking him than what they actually had in mind.
(Matthew 24:3) His disciples had just pointed to the buildings of the temple
from which they were leaving, probably with great awe and respect, when Jesus
answered them, saying: "Do you not behold all these things? Truly I say to
you, By no means will a stone be left here upon a stone and not be thrown
down." (24:1,2)
The disciples likely understood that Jesus
was foretelling the destruction of the temple, but they had no comprehension
about any future invisible return of his. At the time when asking their
question they still did not realize that he was going to be taken away from
them and be put to death, within a couple of days, instead of becoming their
king as they expected. Nor did they have any real understanding about what
God's kingdom was, or that it would be established in the distant future. (see
Acts 1:7) They most likely believed that Jesus' rule would usher in a new era
for the Jews, having again a king sitting on David’s throne and putting an end
to the condition they had lived under since their return from exile in
In answering their question Jesus took the
opportunity to provide much more information than his disciples could have
understood or imagined back then. His answer was twofold: first, he had in mind
the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple, and the whole Jewish system of
worship, giving them signs of the imminent tribulation that was to come upon
them, and telling them what action they needed to take to survive it once they
discerned the fulfillment of the signs; and secondly, he included signs that
would apply to a larger fulfillment in the distant future, that would involve
his return, and which would affect all mankind, not just the Jews. Not all the
signs he gave would apply to both instances. Some would be unique to the first
fulfillment while others would apply only to the time of his return. For
example, Jesus said that they would “see
His disciples had no concept of Jesus going
away for a very long period of time and then returning unexpectedly. But his return
would be an important feature regarding the time of the great tribulation. How
strange and puzzling his illustrations or his explanations must have seemed to
them when, for example, he talked about a certain man who was about to travel
abroad, summoned his slaves and committed to them his belongings to do business
with. Then after a long time, the master returned suddenly and unexpectedly to
settle accounts with them. (Matt. 25:13-30; for a brief explanation see Examining the Scriptures Daily 2005, Wednesday,
November 30) Similarly, Jesus posed a question to his disciples, concerning
a slave whom his master had appointed to care for and provide appropriate food
for his fellow servants of his household while the master was away. Would he be
faithful in discharging his responsibility by lovingly caring for the members
of the master’s household, or would he find the slave to be oppressive,
actually catching him in the act of beating the master’s “menservants” and
“maidservants” instead of feeding them. The slave’s reward or punishment would
depend on whether he was faithful or unfaithful at the moment when his master
returned, unannounced and “at an hour that [he did] not think to be it.”
(Matthew 24:42,44-51; Luke 12:40-47)
The master’s sudden return is always linked
to his coming to settle accounts with his slaves. Has he already returned and
judged his servants, as the Watchtower teaches? Did this happen way back in
1918/19? It is interesting that the text
for the year 2004 was “Keep on the watch . . . Prove yourselves ready.” –Matt.
24:42,44.
In regards to this, the comments under that
heading in Examining the Scriptures
Daily, 2004, page 5, says, “[Jesus Christ] will soon arrive ‘with power and
great glory.’ His arrival will launch the ‘great tribulation,’ which will
culminate in Armageddon, ‘the war of the great day of God the Almighty,’
bringing to an end the present wicked system of things. (Matt. 24:21, 30; Rev.
16:14, 16) All of this makes it extremely urgent and important for us to ‘keep
on the watch and prove ourselves ready.’”
Yes, they admonish us to “keep on the watch
and prove ourselves ready,” because Jesus
has not yet returned. Obviously, if he has not yet returned then neither
has he settled accounts with his slaves yet, since that is the first thing he
does when he returns, and that is the context and the very reason he told his
disciples to “keep on the watch and prove yourselves ready.” And if he has not
settled accounts with his slaves as of yet then neither has the “faithful and
discreet slave” or the “evil slave” been identified yet. (Matt. 24:45,48)
Jesus’ coming, his arrival and presence
(parousia), will mean first of all the judgment of his slaves and God’s
household. (1 Peter 4:17) It will be the time for him to “collect out from his
kingdom all things that cause stumbling and persons who are doing lawlessness.”
(Matt. 13:41) Then the master will clearly identify the slaves who were
faithful in discharging their responsibility in caring for the members of his
household and reward them accordingly. Only then will his faithful slave be
appointed by the master over all his belongings. (Luke 12:43,44)
He will at that time also deal with those
who could not wait to rule with him in his heavenly kingdom, but because of the
master’s seeming delay they started to rule ahead of God’s appointed time for
them, dominating their fellow slaves, beating them, yes, even disfellowshipping
ones for whom Christ died, simply for daring to question their credentials, or
disagreeing with some of their teachings, including interpretation of prophecy.
(Luke 22:24-26; compare 1 Cor. 4:8; Rev. 3:21)
“The Son of Man is coming at an hour and a
moment when [they] do not anticipate it,” and they will be caught totally by
surprise for they have convinced themselves that he already came almost ninety
years ago. They proclaim that any further judging applies only to Christendom.
No wonder, to them the master appears “at an hour that [they] do not think to
be it.” (Matt. 24:44) They should have learned from Jesus’ words concerning the
hypocrites who liked to be glorified by men. Too bad for them, for instead of
any reward from Jehovah, the glory of men will have been their reward in full.
They will be punished with the greatest severity and be assigned their part with
the hypocrites. He will identify them as “that evil slave.” (Matt. 6:2;
24:48-51)
That Jesus has not yet returned and removed
from his kingdom “all things that cause stumbling and persons who are doing
lawlessness” is evident by the wicked and lawless ones still within God’s
household: the pedophiles, the adulterers, yes, even murderers, the drunkards,
the greedy, the epidemic of broken marriages because of persons who are
“self-assuming, haughty, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, disloyal,
having no natural affection, not open to any agreement, slanderers, without
self-control, fierce, without love of goodness, betrayers, headstrong, puffed
up [with pride], lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having a form of
godly devotion but proving false to its power.” (1 Cor. 6:9,10; 2 Tim. 3:1-5)
Many of them have their wicked acts reported in the Newspapers and because of
these “the way of the truth [is] spoken of abusively.” (2 Peter 2:2) Are we to
imagine that Jehovah is blind to the situation within his household, that there
is no future judgment of them, while we are at the same time proclaiming his
coming judgment upon Christendom?
After Jesus returns and judges God’s
household he will then turn his attention also to the rest of mankind and
express God’s judgment upon it by bringing about the conclusion of this system
of things, by first removing
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I
have read some of your essays on your website and agree with some points you
make, like your thoughts about the tree of life. I have had similar thoughts on
that. But I must strongly disagree with other things you write, such as
claiming that baptism is not about dedication. You should read the book
>What Does the Bible Really Teach?< from the Society. On page 182 it
clearly says that our baptism publicly shows to everbody that we have made a
dedication to Jehovah.
I’m sure that many others don’t agree with a lot of things I have written. But
disagreement doesn’t constitute proof that I am wrong, and neither does quoting
from other publications. What I highly appreciate and respect are sound
arguments supported by scriptures. Perhaps you would like to do that in regards
to baptism and dedication.
Since you refer to the book, “What Does the Bible Really Teach?,” in Chapter 18, under the topic, “Baptism and Your
Relationship With God,” you may have noticed that there are only two paragraphs mentioning forgiveness of
sins, and repentance and conversion, in connection with baptism (page 178, #12,
13), along with a couple of supporting scriptures, and then eleven more paragraphs about how that
baptism is about our dedication to Jehovah, with not one scripture verifying
that baptism is about dedication. Remember, if what we teach is not in the
Bible then it is not from Jehovah.
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Hi, I was reading a bit on your site. i like to visit ewatchman site and i came
accross yours. My question to you is what is your purpose? and what exactly are
you trying to say to people out there? :YOu know that this is a very triing
time. and these deffinitly are criticle time hard to deal with, so what exactly
are you trying to say to all of our brothers and sisters out there . I really
would like to know, because i love Jehovah, and i see that you have intentions,
Intentions i say, because you have a web site and you are making an effort, but
what is the intention, and who are you working for?
My
purpose in having a website and my view concerning the situation within the
congregations I explain on my home page, under the heading "Be Patient and
Trust Jehovah," and the letter that follows.
Just to explain briefly:
I believe that we are God's household. As Paul wrote to the Ephesians:
"You are fellow citizens of the holy ones and are members of the household
of God, and you have been built up upon the foundation of the apostles and
prophets, while Christ Jesus himself is the foundation cornerstone." (Eph.
2:19,20) In other words, Jehovah's household is founded upon his chosen ones,
the anointed, of which Jesus is the head, the foundation cornerstone, and his
apostles are the foundation. Besides Jesus and the apostles Jehovah has chosen
still others to make up the complete number of 144,000, which he had purposed
in the very beginning, "before the founding of the world." (Eph. 1:4,5;
Rev. 14:1)
To these Jehovah brings all those who want to worship him and are in need to be
fed. This is what he did at Pentecost right after he established his Christian
household. About 3,000 persons were in need of being fed and taken care of on that
occasion. (Acts 2:1-4, 37-42) We don't know why Jehovah chooses certain ones
for that responsibility and not others, but he
certainly knows, and he acknowledges them as being his chosen ones, "by
reason of his own purpose." (1 Cor. 26-29; 2 Tim. 1:9) It's understandable
that those who are not among them do not understand that. Now, Jesus allowed
for the possibility that some from among the chosen ones would become
unfaithful, self-important and oppressive. He told us that he would deal with
them when he returned and at the same time reward the faithful ones. (Matt.
24:48-51) Therefore, just because we have oppressive "wolves" among
us, who have even seized premature rulership over God's people, does not mean
that we are not God's household or that we should get out of there. There are
still many of the chosen ones who are doing their conscientious best to feed
those who belong to God's household, recognizing that the sheep belong to God.
If the righteous within God's household will be saved with difficulty, where do
you think those will be who are wicked or do not belong to the household of
God? (1 Peter 4:17-19; 2 Thess. 1:8)
Just like in the days of Jeremiah and Ezekiel, we today have wicked men among
us, "false prophets and priests," and Jehovah is astonished, yes,
horrified, that his people as a whole "love it that way." (Jer.
5:26-31) About ten years ago I came to understand that God's message of
judgment against his people does not apply to Christendom but rather to us.
It was because of my own personal experiences that I came to that realization,
and because of my experiences, some of which I have related on my website, I am
absolutely convinced that we are God's household, and that in fulfillment of
prophecies we are now experiencing the foretold exposure of our errors and
wickedness.
No, I have not put up my website with the intention of contributing to the
exposure of our wrongdoings and false teachings. Jehovah and his Son don't need
help in doing that. In my own congregation and neighboring ones, I have talked
to quite a few brothers and sisters who believe that if Armageddon were to come
tomorrow they would not survive. And when I ask them why they feel that way it
is always because of them feeling so inadequate and unworthy. They cannot live
up to everything that we have been taught is necessary to gain everlasting
life. In other words, worshipping Jehovah has become burdensome for many, and
their conscience is telling them that they are not measuring up to what Jehovah
expects of us. Over the past decade I have seen quite a number drop out, and at
the same time have seen marriages break up at an astounding rate.
There are still a few brothers who visit me privately at my home, they say for
their encouragement. They still love Jehovah very much and they love to talk
about the truth. In a limited way I am able to encourage the brothers in my
congregation and also on a more personal level, but I am hoping to accomplish
this on a larger scale by means of my website. From the many letters I have received
it seems I am accomplishing that. I have not received a single letter thanking
me for having set someone free from the "bonds" or "chains"
of slavery to the Society, as I see some express themselves on the various
forums. My website is not intended for those who are satisfied with the way
things are. If they still enjoy the meetings and field service that is good.
One of the fruitages of the spirit is joy. But many have lost that joy and I
like to help them regain it, even if it is by sharing with them the reasons for
the problems we are having among us. Just realizing that the heavy load, that
many are no longer able to bear up under, is not from Jehovah and not necessary
for gaining salvation, helps them to persevere. That is what I am trying to say
to all the brothers and sisters, persevere under present trying conditions.
Relief is close at hand when the master arrives soon.
I hope I have told you enough about myself and my purpose for my website. And I
hope I have not stumbled you in any way by what I have written on my site.
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http://www.perimeno.ca/Index_A.htm