[From ws11/16 p. 26 December 5, 19-25]
“Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for,
the conviction of things not being seen.”—He. 11:1 BLB[i]
Paragraph 3 of this week’s study asks us: “But what exactly is faith? Is it limited to a mental grasp of the blessings that God has in store for us?”
To answer that first question and see how the second question misses the mark, read carefully the entire eleventh chapter of Hebrews. As you consider each example the writer points to from pre-Christian times, bear in mind that the Sacred Secret was still a secret for those ones. (Col 1:26, 27) There is no clearly spelled out resurrection hope in the Hebrew Scriptures or Old Testament. Job speaks of a man living again, but there is no evidence that God actually told him this, or made a specific promise to him. It is likely his belief was based on words handed down from his forefathers and on his confidence in the goodness, righteousness and love of God. (Job 14:14, 15)
Abel is mentioned as well in this chapter, yet there is no evidence that Abel was told about the hope of a resurrection. (Hebrews 11:4) We may speculate, but if the hope was clear then—or later when Moses, who spoke face to face with God, started writing the Bible—one would expect to see it spelled out; yet it is not there. (Ex 33:11) All we see are vague references to it.[ii] The Bible speaks of putting faith in the name of God and of the Christ. (Ps 105:1; John 1:12; Acts 3:19) This means we trust in the character of God not to disappoint, but to pay back goodness for those trusting in him and loving him. In short, faith is the belief that God will never let us down. That is why we have ‘the assurance of the things we hope for’ and why we have the conviction that things not yet seen are real.
When Job hoped to live again, did he understand the nature of the first resurrection, the resurrection of the righteous spoken of at Revelation 20:4-6? Likely not, since that sacred secret had yet to be revealed. So his hope could not have been based on a “mental grasp of the blessings that God had in store” for him. Yet whatever he hoped for specifically, he surely had the confidence that the reality would be of God’s choosing and whatever that turned out to be would be perfectly acceptable to Job.
All those mentioned in Hebrews chapter 11 hoped for a better resurrection, but until the sacred secret was revealed, they could not have known what form that would take. (He 11:35) Even today, with the full Bible in our hands, we still rely on faith, for we have only a vague grasp of that reality.
Not so Jehovah’s Witnesses. Paragraph 4 states that “faith involves much more than a mental understanding of God’s purpose”. This implies we already have such a “mental understanding of God’s purpose”. But do we? Witnesses do not see hazily as by a metal mirror, but they see clearly with the aid of colorful illustrations painted by talented artists and inspiring dramatic video presentations downloaded from jw.org. (1Co 13:12) These give them a good mental understanding of the “promises” of God. But is that truly ‘reality not yet seen’? It could be argued that it will be when the unrighteous are raised to a state of sinlessness at the end of the thousand years; when death is no more. (1Co 15:24-28) But that’s not the “promise” Witnesses look forward to. These illustrations depict scenes from the New World following Armageddon, not a thousand years farther along. Somehow billions of unrighteous coming to life will have little to no impact on the idyllic setting JWs envision for themselves.
Is this really what the Bible teaches Christians to hope for? Or are men getting us to put faith in a promise God never made for Christians?
Does faith require any mental understanding of God’s purpose? How much mental understanding did the evildoer hanged alongside Jesus have when he asked to be remembered when Jesus came into his kingdom? All he believed was that Jesus was the Lord. That was enough for him to be saved. When Jehovah asked Abraham to sacrifice his son, how much mental understanding did Abraham have? All he knew was that God had promised to make a mighty nation from Isaac’s descendants, but as to the how, when, where, what and why, he was pretty much left in the dark.
Witnesses tend to treat faith in God like a contract. God promises to do X if we do Y and Z. It’s all spelled out. That really isn’t the kind of faith Jehovah is looking for in his chosen ones.
The reason that “mental understanding of God’s purpose” is so emphasized here is that the Organization is relying on us to put faith in the mental picture they have painted, as if it actually comes from God.
“Clearly, our prospect of enjoying eternal life in God’s new world depends on our having faith and keeping it strong.” – par. 5
Yes, humans will enjoy eternal life in God’s new world, but the hope for Christians is to be part of the solution. The hope is to be part of the kingdom of the heavens with Christ. These are the things not seen in which we hope.
From this point forward, the article makes excellent points about faith and works. Another aspect of faith, as demonstrated by the examples given in Hebrews chapter 11, is that all those men and women of old acted on their faith. Faith produced works. Paragraphs 6 thru 11 give Bible examples to illustrate this truth.
The fine counsel continues in paragraphs 12 thru 17, showing how faith and love are both required to please God.
Exercising Soundness of Mind
With such fine Bible counsel fresh in our mind, we are well prepared for the bait-and-switch which has become a common feature in the magazine articles we study.
“In our present day, Jehovah’s people have been exercising their faith in God’s established Kingdom.” – par. 19
All along we have been speaking of faith in God and Christ, and yet here, at the end, we are talking about faith in God’s established Kingdom. There are two problems with this. First of all, we are never told in the Bible to put faith in the Kingdom. The kingdom is a thing, not a person. It cannot keep promises. The article made it clear that faith and belief are not the same thing. (See paragraph 8) Yet here what is really meant by faith is belief—belief that the teaching of the Governing Body that the kingdom was established in 1914 is really true. Which brings us to the second problem with this statement. The kingdom of God was not established in 1914. So they are asking us to put faith in a thing, not a person, which turns out to be a fiction of men.
This article is about strengthening our faith in Jehovah. However, the Organization is viewed as synonymous with Jehovah. When a Witness is told by the elders that “we want to follow Jehovah’s direction”, they really mean “we want to follow the direction of the Governing Body”. When a Witness says, ‘we need to be obedient to the slave’, he doesn’t see this as obedience to men, but to God. The slave speaks for God so, in effect, the slave is God. Those who might object to such a statement will still acknowledge that we are expected to obey the direction of “the slave” unconditionally.
So the article is really about strengthening our faith in the Organization and the Governing Body that directs it. To aid us in doing this, we have the following words to make us feel special.
“This has resulted in the development of a worldwide spiritual paradise that has over eight million inhabitants. It is a place that abounds with the fruitage of God’s spirit. (Gal. 5:22, 23) What a powerful demonstration of true Christian faith and love!” – par. 19
High-sounding words indeed! Yet can we call it a spiritual paradise if, to cite just one issue, our most vulnerable ones are not adequately protected from predators? A recent government inquiry showed that, in just one country, over a thousand cases of child sexual abuse went unreported authorities.[iii] This is prompting further inquiries into the polices and practices of Jehovah’s Witnesses with regard to providing proper protection of children.[iv]
What has been the reaction to this ‘trouble in paradise? Have witnesses demonstrated the fruitage of God’s spirit toward such ones? Has there been a “powerful demonstration of true Christian…love”? No. Often, when victims speak out or take legal action, they are cut off from their emotional support structure of family and friends by the unscriptural practice of disassociation. (If you disagree, then please provide the scriptural basis for this policy using the comment section for this article.)
Additionally, can it be a spiritual paradise if there is no freedom? Jesus said that the truth would set us free. Yet if one speaks up about the truth and offers correction based on the Scriptures to the elders, traveling overseers, or Governing Body, one is sure to be intimidated by threat of disfellowshipping (excommunication). Hardly a paradise when one is afraid to speak up for fear of being persecuted.
So Yes! Exercise faith in Jehovah and in Jesus, but not in men.
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[i] Berean Literal Bible
[ii] The contexts of the much ballyhooed prophesy of Isaiah at chapter 11 seems to indicate that the prophet is speaking of a spiritual paradise linked to the coming of the Messiah, not a prophecy relating to an earthly resurrection.
Love it ?!!!
Add more ancient antedotes Catholic history JRuthetfor and pop cults and Christ Christ
Add ?? on top?and Defintely H and G?
Agape
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Dear Meleti, Thank you so much for all of your hard work and prestudy insight. Just so you know your question: “How much mental understanding did the evildoer hanged alongside Jesus have when he asked to be remembered when Jesus came into his kingdom?” . . . It got used quite effectively today. The point was made, “Sufficient faith can happen as suddenly as a change in attitude, like when faith caused one of the two criminals hanging next to Jesus to stop ridiculing him and rebuke the other by saying, ‘we are receiving in full what we deserve for… Read more »
Thanks Meleti, the previous article and this one is spiritual food for thought! Sorry in advance for the long comment. It’s interesting to me to see that those in the first century, the Hebrew Congregation, somewhat discouraged, Judaism seemed that was the better way to worship God. So this was holding them back of the Greater prospects that Christ Risen and his elavation that Jehovah bestowed upon him wasn’t fully understood or appreciated. I used to think why Paul never used any Current Christian men and women of faith as eg’s in place of men of old? No doubt his… Read more »
In this review it’s stated that “There is no clearly spelled out resurrection hope in the Hebrew Scriptures or Old Testament.”
Job chapter 14 is acknowledged but questioned,but I must ask,what will you do with Daniel Chapter 12:2,13; also Isaiah 26:19?
This sounds like ressurection promises to me.
Please post your comments.
Hi Thaddeus, That is why I was careful in my word choice. I didn’t say there was not resurrection hope revealed in the Hebrew Scriptures, but rather “there is no clearly spelled out resurrection hope in the Hebrew Scriptures.” Daniel 12:2 is likely talking about the spiritual awakening at the time of Christ. Daniel 12:13 only says that Daniel will stand up, but to what? An earthly resurrection? A heavenly resurrection? or something else? If Isaiah 26:29 could be speaking of a spiritual awakening, but even if it is foretelling a literal resurrection, the hope is still not clearly spelled… Read more »
Thanks for sharing your thoughts. I notice your word choice was careful,it seems to be implying that the faithful ones of old had “no clear hope”. However, the passages I mentioned seem that they did have hope,hope of being brought back to life. Not as some spirit,but a return to the life they previously enjoyed. There is no verse 29 in the 26th chapter of Isaiah. I was Refering to verse 19 which says: “Your dead will live. My corpses will rise up. Awake and shout joyfully,You residents in the dust! For your dew is as the dew of the… Read more »
Sorry, that reference to verse 29 was a typo. I meant to hit the ‘1’ not the ‘2’, but I was reading from 19 when I gave you my answer. For the record, I said “There is no clearly spelled out resurrection hope in the Hebrew Scriptures or Old Testament.” By that I wasn’t implying they had no clear hope, but that the hope they did have was not “spelled out” in detail. They clearly knew there was going to be a resurrection. However, beyond that, what did they know? What details about the hope we now hold were exposed… Read more »
Hi Meleti
The reminder that Abel, Job, Moses, and all those faithful men before Christ had no idea what the resurrection was or if there was even going to be one,is mind-boggling. To be born, live, get old, and there be no idea of some type of another chance at life after death, must of truly been sad.
(Ephesians 2:12) . . .At that time you were without Christ, alienated from the state of Israel, strangers to the covenants of the promise; you had no HOPE. . .
Hi Stephen, I have always marveled at the strong faith of the ones you mentioned. It seems they didn’t have a lot to go on. I have always wondered if they understood more than we know. Did they have a lot of oral teachings that wasn’t written down? I have also wondered what the Pharisee’s belief in the resurrection was based on? Was it just the few resurrections recorded around Elisha and Elijah? I think it was NT Wright in a video I watched that mentioned the Pharisees believed in a resurrection of all at the same time in the… Read more »
@simplyme. Pharisees had Dan 12:2 “And many of those asleep in the dust of the earth will wake up, some to everlasting life and others to reproach and to everlasting contempt.” Hebrews 11:9-16 indicates that Abraham hoped for heavenly resurrection.
It has also been proposed that for a Middle East man at ancient times, having a promise about his offspring being multiplied like stars (man becoming a nation), was a much bigger thing than it would be for a today’s western individualist.
Hi All, I agree with Meleti when he says that the resurrection hope from the Hebrew times wasn’t clearly defined. The riot that Paul incited at Acts 23 shows this was a hotly disputed topic even then. They question Jesus about this in Matt 22, where he says that the reason they haven’t understood is: “You are mistaken, because you know neither the Scriptures nor the power of God; 30 for in the resurrection neither do men marry nor are women given in marriage, but they are as angels in heaven.” Does this sound like a resurrection that simply reverts… Read more »
These men of old DID have an idea of what the ressurection was and knew that there is going to be one.
See Daniel 12:2,13 also Isaiah 26:19.
Is this inspired passages not directly Refering to the ressurection from the dead?
Hi Thaddeus, That is why I was careful in my word choice. I didn’t say there was not resurrection hope revealed in the Hebrew Scriptures, but rather “there is no clearly spelled out resurrection hope in the Hebrew Scriptures.” Daniel 12:2 is likely talking about the spiritual awakening at the time of Christ. Daniel 12:13 only says that Daniel will stand up, but to what? An earthly resurrection? A heavenly resurrection? or something else? If Isaiah 26:29 could be speaking of a spiritual awakening, but even if it is foretelling a literal resurrection, the hope is still not clearly spelled… Read more »
Thanks Meleti for a nice writeup again. Indeed, WT literature is using Jehovah as an alias for the Org, when talking about the doctrinal beliefs or organizational directions. This is meant to add weight. wt17 February pp 23-28, par. 12 “The Governing Body is neither inspired nor infallible. Therefore, it can err in doctrinal matters or in organizational direction.” So, we have these occasional confessions of erring and we have a proven record of erring. And yet everything that comes from the GB has to be followed to the letter or otherwise it is stepping against Jehovah. And all this… Read more »
That’s an interesting question. If we define apostasy as the Bible defines it, then many would argue that reading the publications amounts to reading apostate material.
Thanks for the writeup. I really needed to hear this today. Like Jesus said, truth is a source of freedom. There is no freedom in JW land.
Hi Meleti, I think you have hit on the core reason why we see so many damaged JW’s out there. Their faith in Jehovah, Jesus and the Bible has been wrecked if not destroyed because of intentional errors or lies or unscriptural policies that hurt people and families (one which you brought out). In my experience ones like these had built their faith on the organization. They were taught this, sometimes from childhood, that Jehovah and the organization were one and the same. The organization has doubled down on this tactic with all these loyalty articles and assemblies. It hurts… Read more »
Well constructed article, Meliti. Your thoughts on the Spiritual Paradise are excellent. I remember when I first heard the expression, I just went “really ?”, but I just accepted it as a contrast to other religions. Did I feel like you were in a paradise ? Not particularly. It was one of those funny JW expressions. What you believed was that you were being taught the truth, that JWs were all trying to do what is right. But it was still an odd expression, which you thought you would appreciate the longer you were in “The Truth”. Thank you for… Read more »
In just about every study article they have to slip in the FDS. Those brothers in prison could they have done alternative service, twenty years its so sad.