[From ws12/16 p. 24 February 20-26]
“Whoever approaches God must believe that he is and that he becomes the rewarder of those earnestly seeking him.”— He 11:6
This is one of those “feel good” studies that come along once in a while, and there is nothing wrong with that. We all need a little encouragement from time to time.
Nevertheless, there are a few points that are off the mark and need to be addressed in the interests of truth.
The study opens up with its first subtitle being “Jehovah Promises to Bless His Servants”.
In a sense we are all servants of God, yet there is a greater truth here which is likely to be missed due to the focus of this article. In pre-Christian times, all faithful men were considered God’s servants. However, with the arrival of Jesus and the revealing of the sons of God that all changed. (Ro 8:19) In Hebrews chapter 11, the writer focuses on many of those pre-Christian servants of God, using them as examples and representing them as a “great cloud of witnesses” to inspire Christians to similar acts of faith. Then in Hebrews 12:4 he says:
“. . .In your struggle against that sin, you have never yet resisted to the point of having your blood shed. 5 And you have entirely forgotten the exhortation that addresses you as sons: “My son, do not belittle the discipline from Jehovah, nor give up when you are corrected by him; 6 for those whom Jehovah loves he disciplines, in fact, he scourges everyone whom he receives as a son.”” (Heb 12:4-6)
It is clear from this that the Watchtower is missing the mark. Since Christians are being addressed, it would be better to focus on their hope and subtitle this portion thusly: “Jehovah Promises to Bless His Children”. However, the writer is required to support JW theology over what the Bible actually teaches, so focusing on the inheritance of children might cause those who are told they can only aspire to friendship to question things. However, this position leads to difficulties further along. For instance, in paragraph 5 the writer quotes from Matthew 19:29. At the end of that verse, it shows that the blessing of Jehovah includes ‘inheriting everlasting life”. It is the sons who inherit, not servants. – Ro 8:17.
Likewise, in paragraph 7 the writer must misapply some scriptures. For example:
Aside from those who will receive a reward in heaven, the prospect of everlasting life on a paradise earth is indeed reason to “rejoice and be overjoyed.” (Ps. 37:11; Luke 18:30) Whether heavenly or earthly, our hope can serve as “an anchor for the soul, both sure and firm.” (Heb. 6:17-20) – par. 7
Psalm 37:11 speaks of those who will possess the earth. Matthew 5:5—a verse which even JW.org admits applies to the anointed—contains a parallel thought when Jesus says: “Happy are the mild-tempered, since they will inherit the earth.” Again, children inherit, so these verses apply to the children of God, who as kings with Christ will inherit the earth. You will notice that the writer takes the liberty of using a phrase out of context from Matthew 5:12, which is clearly intended for the children of God and applies it to an earthly hope. Things get confusing when we speak of heavenly hope and earthly hope under JW theology because it becomes all about location. This is like the Catholic church which teaches that everyone has an immortal soul—so everyone already has everlasting life—and when each one dies, he or she either goes to heaven or hell. So it is all about location. Witness theology is also all about location, with the difference that everlasting life is not a given.
Actually, the Bible isn’t quite so clear. There is reason to believe that “heavens” in reference to the “kingdom of the heavens” refers, not to a place but to a role, specifically the role of heavenly government. There is reason to believe that the children of God as kings and priests will rule and minister on earth. That is a subject for another time, but be that as it may, when Witnesses speak of an earthly hope, they have a very specific hope in mind with many aspects attached to the belief. We can safely say there is no such hope, which is why we never find support scriptures provided in the publications to back it up. Instead, the reader is expected to simply believe it exists, thus allowing the writer to do things like misapplying Matthew 5:12 and say “the prospect of everlasting life on a paradise earth is indeed reason to ‘rejoice and be overjoyed’”.
Paragraph 15 continues with the unsubstantiated assertions.
You will, however, not be shortchanged if God has given you a different prospect. Millions of Jesus’ “other sheep” eagerly anticipate the future reward of everlasting life on a paradise earth. There “they will find exquisite delight in the abundance of peace.”—John 10:16; Ps. 37:11. – par. 15
The context of John 10:16 supports the view that Jesus is referring to Gentiles who had yet to join his flock. There is nothing to support the idea he was identifying a group whose appearance on the world stage would be delayed some 19 centuries. Instead of viewing ourselves as God’s children, the Governing Body would have us consider ourselves merely God’s servants, or at best, His friends.
Next we read:
Even in these dark last days of Satan’s wicked system of things, Jehovah is blessing his people. He makes sure that true worshippers flourish in their spiritual estate, which is unprecedented in its spiritual abundance. – par 17
This is one of those feel-good phrases that are tossed out every once in a while to make Witnesses feel they are extra-special. This is what Paul warned Timothy about when he said:
“For there will be a period of time when they will not put up with the wholesome teaching, but according to their own desires, they will surround themselves with teachers to have their ears tickled.” (2Ti 4:3)
I have had occasion to ask my JW friends to prove the 1914 doctrine, the alleged 1919 appointment of the Governing Body as the faithful slave, the overlapping-generations doctrine, and most of all, the doctrine of the other sheep. Virtually all have failed even to make the attempt, using excuses or name calling to avoid defending their faith. This inability to support even these basic doctrines from Scripture does not speak of “unprecedented spiritual abundance”.
The article closes with a misquote which, as is increasingly the case, turns the focus away from Jehovah’s anointed one.
“So let us now continue to strengthen our faith and to work whole-souled as to Jehovah. We can do this, knowing that it is from Jehovah that we will receive the due reward.—Read Colossians 3:23, 24.” – par. 20
The audience will then read Colossians 3:23, 24. Here is the rendering with the original language word inserted in square brackets for clarity:
“Whatever you are doing, work at it whole-souled as for Jehovah [ho kurios – the Lord], and not for men, for you know that it is from Jehovah [ho kurios – the Lord] you will receive the inheritance as a reward. Slave for the Master [ho kurios – the Lord], Christ.”
What an odd little rendering this is. If Paul had been more accommodating and left out the explicit reference to Christ, the NWT translators could have rendered kurios consistently as Jehovah throughout instead of “Jehovah” twice, and “master” in this last instance. That would have eliminated the contextual dissonance in their rendering. On the other hand, if we eliminate the biased conjectural insertion of “Jehovah” altogether—since it is not found in any NT manuscript—we get the picture Paul had intended to communicate:
“23Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, 24knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ.” – Col 3:23, 24 ESV
However, this rendering will just not do. Jehovah’s Witnesses have their branding to worry about. They have to maintain their separateness from all other organized Christian religions, so they hammer away at the name “Jehovah” and minimize Jesus’ role. Unfortunately, the more they try to be different, the more they become the same.
Update-
I had five copies of the Col. 3:23-24 vs the Interlinear ready to hand out to our Elders/C.O. and threw them in the trash opting for contacting the Watchtower Conductor directly. Directly as in 15 minutes before today’s meeting. (am I a bad person)
The conversation lasted 5 minutes and I could see his eyes kind of glazing over as his explanation was getting the better of him.
We spoke more after the study and he said he would dig deeper into it. We left it at hmmmm…
Darn those pesky facts!
I would be surprised, but happy if he does follow it up.
Thank u for another balanced review of the WT to help me with my prestudy today! I am trying to get why the GB wants to keep teaching us the 3 hopes doctrine and it fails me. Don’t they have the humility (which I would think is important part of acting faithfully and discreetly) to adjust their thinking on basic important truths such as this? Or do changes ever only happen reactively, such as when legal/tax problems arise (eg blood doctrine, alternative service) or big drop in numbers (eg generation doctrine confusion). Also the ‘Lord’ mentioned in Col 3:23,24 in… Read more »
Hi Meliti. May Jehovah continue to sustain you after your loss. Your thoughts on Colossians 3 22-24 prompted me to look up all 237 references to Jehovah’s name in the NWT. my figures are approximate. 64 seemed to cross reference to the OT. 113 appeared to be definite references to God, so the use of Jehovah’s name did not affect understanding of those verses. 60 were questionable, to various degrees, including 11 references to “the word of Jehovah”, which might not have referred to the scriptures themselves, although 3 of those, in the Greek, clearly say the word of God… Read more »
Quite right, Leonardo. So many subjects, so little time. 🙂
Hi Leonardo, I have been following this forum for quite a while. My first post as I am doing a piece of research on where we have inserted the Divine Name 237 times. I am creating a grid to check on the basis of each substitution. I have completed the section on direct quotes from the Hebrew Scriptures (Old Testament). The following are my findings: 1. There are 78 verses where the divine name appears in the Old testament but the New testament manuscripts have kyrios (lord). Interestingly, in 7 places the NWT translators chose not to put Jehovah. These… Read more »
Hi Eleasar and welcome. I look forward to further posts. I think that we insert Jehovah into the NWT because we are striving to take the focus away from Jesus which the Christian Scriptures place on him, indeed, which his Father places on him. Yet there are Scriptures that apply to Jehovah in the OT which are applied to Jesus in the NT. Perhaps our aversion to Trinitarianism has influenced us somewhat, so that we don’t see that the fullness of God dwells in the Christ. (Col 2:9, 10) However, I don’t really think it is that. I did at… Read more »
Hi Meleti, Thanks for the welcome. I have tried to understand the reasons but it is not that easy. My musings are that in the 1950s the NWT translation was a major piece of work and it precedes the Jerusalem, NIV and other works. Trinity was probably the biggest focus and they might have felt that it makes it easy for the reader. The issue is unwittingly, they cause two problems, the new revelation that Jesus brings of Jehovah is “Our Father” (William Barclay writes a superb piece in commentary on Matthew)gets lost. Secondly, where I have discussed the faithful… Read more »
“I have had occasion to ask my JW friends to prove the 1914 doctrine, the alleged 1919 appointment of the Governing Body as the faithful slave, the overlapping-generations doctrine, and most of all, the doctrine of the other sheep. Virtually all have failed even to make the attempt, using excuses or name calling to avoid defending their faith.” You are definitely not alone in this, Meleti! I’ve had many of these encounters with brothers and our proudly tickled ears are sadly lacking humble hearts. yet I find myself more in defense of my wife’s need not to rock the good… Read more »
So good to see you around again SW .
Yes and so good to hear your voice too, PoetryofProvidence. There is so much to do and many to care about! Thank you for all of your winsome words!
Nice article Meleti. I am glad that you notice the incorrect changes of Kyrios to Jehovah instead of Jesus. It always brings me joy when I see another brother seeing the same things as I have. May the HS continue to guide and bless you. How nice it would have been if they had left it as “lord” and let the readers use discernment. It’s as if they feel that most wouldn’t be able to figure it out on their own by reading the context. I suppose it’s because they believe it would be “dangerous” to let intelligent, humble, searchers… Read more »
Nice one Meleti, Col 3:23,24. That was a eye opener. I heard an audio of bro W Bentley back in 1990, the theme was on Col 3:23 “Are you serving Jehovah whole souled? His line in the talk was ,”Are you serving Jehovah Wholed Souled? Or is there a “hole”…in your…SOUL?” that was great talk. Having Jehovah’s Name inserted everywhere kurios and similar Greek titles appear. Does put a different slant on scripture. At Romans 12:11, It says Slave for Jehovah, Col 3:24,”..Slave for the Master, Christ.” a similar expression. However the interlinear Romans 12:11 says “..to the κυρίῳ Lord… Read more »
@Meleti Vivlon
Col. 3:23,24
Good catch!
Short, simple, complete.
I think I’ll print these texts out with their Interlinear counterparts (highlighting the references to Lord of course) and include a simple (?) mark at the end of the page.
Will copy the C.O., and the entire Elder Body.
Surely he will let someone respond.
The anticipated follow up will be to ask if all those polled were in agreement with his explanation.
If not, …why not!
The Truth is out there!
Just another brilliant piece of work.
We have sooooo much invested in the basic beliefs you mentioned above.
I heard a presentation of Isaiah 56 yesterday at our assembly where the circuit overseer by means of vers 1-8 separated us into two catagories once again.????
Hi Meleti! I highly appreciate your studies of Scriptures! Many thanks for your time and hard work! In article you pointed that “the children of God as kings and priests will rule and minister on earth. That is a subject for another time”. Please reexamine one hope that all true Christians have. As I can see in the Bible for children of God living on earth exist one hope – earthly one. Kingdom of heaven is kingdom of God, not a kingdom IN heaven. Daniel will be resurrected with all prophets, not in heaven. English is not my language and… Read more »
I agree with you. However, many may not, so I need to explain the reasons for my belief from Scripture. So much to write, so little time. 🙂
The belief of going to Heaven is not an infection. It is a promise from our Lord Jesus Christ who said at John 14:2-3 “In my Father’s house are many mansions: if [it were] not [so], I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, [there] ye may be also.
I may be wrong here, but I’d wish to make less use of the term ‘servant’ in favor of the word ‘worshipper’. ‘Servant’ implies ‘service’, which implies ‘service card’and other perfunctory things, whereas ‘worshipper’ implies loving God ‘with one’s whole heart and soul’.
Hi Meleti, Im fairly new here and im yet to read through this watchtower your analysis is somewhat alien and unsettling to read to be honest. I dont know if its the way the watchtower is written, but the way i guess the name Jehovah is used so effectively to almost diminish Jesus role as the head of the Christian congregation especially in the bible itself is now quite apparent and is definitely something, that would have went over my head if i hadn’t visited this site. I should naturally be impelled to say thank you but my mental disposition… Read more »
Welcome Otis. I appreciate your candor and feel free to express yourself here. To answer your question, I don’t use the ESV esclusively. I also like the Berean Study Bible, but I’ll use any number of translations as the need arises. All translations have some measure of bias. When in doubt, we can consult the interlinear and Bible commentaries as well as the renderings in other Bibles. Biblehub.com is good for that.
Indeed, Meleti, Biblehub.com ( biblos.com ) is a great resource for Bible study. I highly recommend it as well.
Thanks for this quote, Meleti; “Even in these dark last days of Satan’s wicked system of things, Jehovah is blessing his people. He makes sure that true worshippers flourish in their spiritual estate, which is unprecedented in its spiritual abundance.” (Quote from WT) As a lifer JW, I was very upset in the 90’s and early 2000’s every time I heard this phrase, “spiritual paradise”….(now changed to ‘spiritual estate’?), as it was becoming more and more obvious there was not as much spirituality among many of us JW’s, and certainly could never be described in any way shape or form… Read more »
Hi Otis. Just go to http://biblehub.com/colossians/3-23.htm and check for yourself. Also with the original Greek words at http://biblehub.com/text/colossians/3-23.htm I hope that helps.
Hang in there my brother and have faith that the Holy Spirit teaches us what we need to know if we accept Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior by putting faith in his ransom.