“Keep proclaiming the death of the Lord, until he comes”—1 Corinthians 11:26
[From ws 01/19 p.26 Study Article 5: April 1 -7]
“For whenever you eat this loaf and drink this cup, you keep proclaiming the death of the Lord, until he comes.”
Meeting attendance is an important part of the worship of Jehovah’s Witnesses. The preview to the article this week says that the article will consider what our attendance at the Memorial as well as weekly meetings says about us. So, let us indeed examine what it say about us.
Paragraph 1 opens with the statement “IMAGINE what Jehovah sees when millions around the world gather for the Lord’s Evening Meal”.
Indeed, what does he see? We can only imagine what he sees. But, more importantly what does Jehovah think about what he sees at this time?
What Jehovah really sees
In Luke 22:19-21 Jesus told his disciples including Judas, “keep doing this in remembrance of me”. What were they to keep doing? Matthew 26:26-28 shows it was to eat the bread and drink the wine, and it was a command to all (including Judas Iscariot). “Drink out of it, all of YOU” Jesus said. 1 Corinthians 11:23-26 (the read scripture in paragraph 4) says in part: “For whenever you eat this loaf and drink this cup, you keep proclaiming the death of the Lord, until he comes.”.
By extension if we neither eat the loaf nor drink the cup, can it be truly said we are continuing to proclaim the death of the Lord?
What a contrast between Jesus instructions and the events occurring during the memorial celebration in congregations of Jehovah’s Witnesses. Here close to almost all the 20 million or so in attendance, refuse to drink the wine and refuse to eat the bread in remembrance of Jesus. In fact, under 20,000 actually partake all because of the teachings of the Organization.[i]
Would Jesus and Jehovah be happy about this? Psalm 2:12 suggests not. There it says, “Kiss the son that He may not become incensed and YOU may not perish [from] the way”.
We then move into the realms of speculation, as we cannot discern if Jehovah is pleased or not. If what he sees is in accord with his will and Jesus request to his disciples then it would be accurate to suggest he is pleased. However, the opposite is also true. As shown above is it likely that Jehovah is pleased as Paragraph 2 claims? Paragraph 2 says, “Certainly, Jehovah is pleased to see that so many attend the Memorial. (Luke 22:19) However, Jehovah is not primarily concerned with the number of people who come. He is more interested in the reason for their coming; motive matters to Jehovah”. Where is the showing of proper respect for Jesus’ sacrifice by partaking?
In addition, if numbers are not Jehovah’s primary concern, why does it seem to be the Organization’s primary concern? Why does the Organization constantly focus on and publish the number of people attending the Memorial? Why does it frequently highlight the growth in the year-to-year attendance as if this is something of great importance?
““THERE IS NO WISDOM . . . IN OPPOSITION TO JEHOVAH”
Indeed paragraph 4 says that by attending the memorial we show we are humble, and “we attend this important event not merely because we feel it is a duty but also because we humbly obey Jesus’ command: “Keep doing this in remembrance of me” (Read 1 Corinthians 11:23-26)”
Did you notice the subtle misapplication of scripture? Here the Organization is teaching that it is the act of attending that is obeying the command of Jesus. Yet, the commandment (if such, rather than a request) was actually the partaking in remembrance. It was not the meeting together.
The next sentence states: “That meeting strengthens our hope for the future and reminds us of just how much Jehovah loves us”. However, it made no mention how much Jesus loves us. Would Jesus sacrifice his life on behalf of humankind if he did not love us? This led the author to check in this article about meetings and the memorial how often Jehovah is mentioned. Jehovah appears 35 times, but Jesus only 20 times. This seems rather unbalanced, especially when Jesus is the head of the Congregation and the one we should be encouraged to remember.[ii]
The paragraph continues: “So he provides us with meetings each week and urges us to attend them. Humility moves us to obey. We spend a number of hours every week preparing for and attending those meetings”. No suggestions are made as to how Jehovah provides us with meetings, nor why the meetings have to be in the particular format they are. Perhaps the reason is that there is no suggestion in the scriptures for either the mechanism, the content or the formal structure as practised by the Organization. Indeed, while the scriptural encouragement is to “not forsake the gathering of ourselves together” the form it should take is neither suggested, nor prescribed, nor given in an example or model to follow.
In particular, we also need to heed the advice of the Apostle Paul in connection with meetings. He warned “See to it that no one takes you captive by philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the world, and not according to Christ” – Colossians 2:8 English Standard Version (ESV)
Another point made in the paragraph (4), is that “Proud people reject the idea that they need to be taught anything.” The question is, would the Governing Body of Jehovah’s Witnesses accept any counsel or teaching from within its ranks or any other Christian organisation, if it could be demonstrated that such counsel was Scriptural or are they the proud ones?
For example, recently a Witness sent a letter to the Governing highlighting discrepancies and inconsistencies in the way they themselves interpret scriptures regarding Biblical chronology around the time period of 607 BCE. As it would have required a correction in the Watchtower and local elders do not have the authority to correct teachings, they were offered a 3 month period during which these points would remain confidential to them. This was to give them the opportunity to reply to the Witness as to what they would do. Sad to say, they did not bother to reply and yet at the time of writing (late March), local elders are now trying to bring that Witness to a judicial hearing. No doubt, it will be on trumped-up charges of apostasy. Who really are the proud ones?
How do Jehovah’s Witnesses view all other members of Christendom?
When going from house to house, do Jehovah’s Witnesses accept any teaching material or literature from other religious organisations? An obedient Witness would not do so, although some perhaps accept the literature and throw it away without reading it. Yet we expect those we meet to read our literature. Who is proud?
Any Jehovah’s Witness would openly admit to not being willing to listen to any other Christian group. Is that not the prideful attitude the Watchtower was referring to?
At least it is good that the article says: “And during the days before the Memorial, we are urged to read Bible accounts about the events surrounding Jesus’ death and resurrection” (Par.7).
The heading on paragraph 8 is “Courage helps us attend”. This paragraph reminds us of the courage Jesus showed during his last days before his death. The following paragraph applies it to Witnesses meeting in countries where they are under ban. However, they would not necessarily need such courage if they met like early Christians rather than in the Organization’s prescribed regularity and format, and dress code. More importantly for those who do wish to obey Jesus and partake, they need courage. If you started partaking in your local congregation, would you still be welcomed or would you be viewed with suspicion? That would take more courage than simply attending.
LOVE COMPELS US TO ATTEND
Having ignored the elephant in the room as to whether meetings in their prescriptive Organization defined format are required, these paragraphs go on to claim benefits from obeying the Organization’s commands.
These include:
- “what we learn at the meetings deepens our love for Jehovah and his Son.” (Par. 12). Yet Jesus importance is continually played down, and the quality of material provided is reducing. The main themes that come out of the meetings today are “obey the Governing Body”, “carry on preaching, preaching, preaching with our literature” and the emphasis on Jehovah with Jesus powerful position being minimised.
- “We can show the depth of our love for Jehovah and his Son by being willing to make sacrifices for them.” (Par. 13) This is good counsel. If love is the motivation for any sacrifice we make in the worship of Jehovah, Jehovah and Jesus appreciate the sacrifice we make. However, it is vitally important that our sacrifices are not directed or to support a man-made Organization. The phrase “religion is a snare and a racket” comes to mind. All religions ask for money, something not authorised by the scriptures.
- “Does Jehovah notice that we attend our meetings even though we are tired? Certainly he does! In fact, the greater our struggle, the more Jehovah appreciates the love we show for him.—Mark 12:41-44.” Words failed me over this paragraph (13). The message from this quote (and the previous sentences) is, that even though most Witnesses will be tired when going to an evening meeting, and non-Witnesses will be resting while Witnesses attend a meeting at the weekend, we are still expected to effectively flagellate ourselves and go to the meetings. Then to cap it all, according to the paragraph, Jehovah allegedly notices with appreciation this self-flagellation to meetings he did not prescribe, “in fact, the greater our struggle, the more Jehovah appreciates” it! (Par.13)
- “However, we are particularly interested in helping those who are “related to us in the faith” but who have become inactive. (Gal. 6:10) We prove our love for them by encouraging them to attend our meetings, especially the Memorial.” (Par.15). What hypocrisy! The Organization encourages partial shunning of those who are weak, and most Witnesses blindly follow these instructions.[iii] Even if these weak ones attend, very few would speak to them, also any attempts to comment would be limited. Yet, love is allegedly proved by encouraging those considered weak to attend the meetings!
In conclusion, attendance at the Organization’s meetings on a regular basis in reality says the following about us:
Humility?
- To the dictates of the Governing Body? Yes. (Jeremiah 7:4-8)
- In obeying God’s word? No. (Acts 5:32)
Courage?
- To attend meetings while awaken to the false teachings being promoted? Yes. (Matthew 10:16-17)
- To partake as Jesus requested? (1 Corinthians 11:23-26) Yes.
- To leave the Organization knowing you will be shunned by your Witness family members? Yes. (Matthew 10:36)
- To attend the Organization’s formal meetings while the Organization is under ban? No, foolhardy.
Love?
- To look after Widows and Orphans in their tribulation? Yes. (James 1:27)
- To love-bomb when someone first attends the meetings? No. (Romans 12:9)
- To shun weak or disfellowshipped ones? No. (Acts 20:35, 1 Corinthians 9:22)
[i] There is estimated to be about 9,000 who believe they are of the ‘anointed class’ according to the Organization’s teachings (based on figures of partakers from a few years back before the increase. From information gleaned from comment, blogs and You Tube videos it seems a large proportion of the majority of the rest are made up of those who have awoken to the truth about Jesus request and hence partake as they wish to comply with Jesus request to all.
[ii] This is not a rare occurrence. This imbalance is to be found in nearly every Watchtower article and publication. Yet Jesus said “Come be my followers” I.e. Christians, not Witnesses of Jehovah.
[iii] The Organization appears to be careful about putting this policy of attitude in print. This was the closest I found.“Admittedly, though, a negative view of those in need may at times hold us back from assisting them.” Where might they get this negative attitude? How about this on JW Broadcasting? This contradicts their written message and makes it clear that weak ones are not good company in the eyes of the Organization. See https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=745aXHQWrok for a very good example.
Negotiations must be going well for Meleti, for it taking this long.
Perhaps he’s making way with them!
Love, Love, Love!
Psalmbee
Hi all
What is happening!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
today is 11/4 no one is saying anything, not even Eric.
Hope all are well.
Absolutely!!! Can only imagine we are all waiting and wondering. We are thinking of you Eric.
I think we might hear from him “soon”. I really hate that word!
He’s a very good communicator. I believe he has an email address.
The word TRANSLATED covenant in the Bible essentially means contact. Contact law in the USA states that if a party on either side of a contract breaches any provision then either the whole contract is unenforceable or if the innocent party does not attempt to mitigate the damages caused by the offense he loses his right to enforce the breached provision in the future. It seems God treated his covenants with Israel in the same way. God carried out harmful acts against those people many times when they failed to honor their agreement with him. Yet he carried through with… Read more »
Forgive me as I spelled a couple words above incorrectly. One is contract. that was spelled as contact. My wife was driving, the vehicle was bouncing, and I evidently punched in the wrong words from auto-fill on my phone.
Besides the false teaching, another painful part of attending meetings is the outright displays of complete trust and allegiance to the governing body by those on stage, in the audience and in videos. I find it as repulsive as any other type of idolatry and it made me think of a quote from one of their interpretations of the book of Revelation. Sad to say, I’m just waiting for the day when they’ll actually say at their meetings, “All bow to the governing body!” re chapter 12 p.64 paragraph 19 “a great crowd . . . out of all nations” has come… Read more »
Brenardbrooks, To me they already say bow down to the governing body. And to me that is the most disgusting things about WT. And I see that it is the greatest danger to some Jehovah’s Witnesses, primarily elders because they are the ones that enforce it. It is disgusting because it is idolatry. Make no mistake about it. And the enforcement of that policy is an act of beating by “the evil slave”. The evil slave is not one group of Christians. It is any group that DOES what Christ claims in that scripture. And it (he) has been in… Read more »
I agree messenger
they do say it in many different ways in words and actions, clearly and subtly.
You mentioned two important things to watch out for and keep away from.
1. Leaven/hypocrisy
2. Idolatry
Thank you for your reply.
Good morning BernardBooks,
There is an article about this that you might find interesting in the archives.
http://meletivivlon.com/2014/07/02/identifying-the-man-of-lawlessness/
Good morning Dajo,
Thank you for the reference
and your reply.
I’m right with you on this. I quit going to meetings some time ago, but occasionally attended for the sake of a friend or family member. It sickened me, because even back in the ‘90s, they were starting to worship their organization, instead of the One True God. The very last meetings I attended, and that was a rare event, were close to ten years ago, and I remember two things distinctly; one being comments from the audience that betrayed disdain for people “in the world” and the other, a sickening continuous reference to “The Slave”. They’d answer questions at… Read more »
Hi Messenger,
Which one’s are you disputing or denying? Also which Bible do you consider authorative?
There are some English versions that use the word Apostle in these instances, perhaps you have not seen them yet. Jesus speaks all languages that we know of and some we don’t know of yet. (Mark 16:17)
Psalmbee
Well Psalmbee it is possible someone could have translated a phrase calling Titus or another one of those men apostles in some English translation. Just as you might if you translated a Bible. If so that doesn’t make the translation correct in using that word as it is commonly understood today. If so other Bible statements like “the 12 apostles ” would be almost meaningless. Which 12 apostles? Plus what designates an apostle in that case. If sent on a Christian mission every Christian is that accepts the mission. If a teacher, every Christian teacher is. The point you make… Read more »
The GB know that those not attending regular (if not really ill) are fading of course JW will believe they are spiritual sick and I know some that are shunned because their meeting attendance is low, instead of kindness they are pushed away even further because of lack of care and love, sadly quite a few turn of the bible.
Is there a bigger apostate than one who teaches that to be acceptable to Christ you must believe everything he teaches, even if some of what he teaches about scripture might be proven inaccurate in the future, as it has in the past?
Is he teaching Christ if teaching that? Could he possibly be?
What if I told you that you must believe me, messenger, and you must believe everything I say, just like you believe God? And I teach that my elders, those working under me, will tell you to wait on Jehovah to correct messenger should he ever, and only by mistake, tell you anything that is not factual. Because I am spirit directed by God. Well my flock, how does that sound? Now, how does it sound if I’m Watchtower? Do the scriptures teach you must believe everything messenger says, even if some of it is not factual? What if I… Read more »
Since this article is about meeting attendance, are we biblically required to go to the “synagogue”? That is a place that REQUIRES us not to speak the truth, and if we do speak truth we will be ostracized? If we speak at all there without agreeing to ideas we know are beliefs in opposition to God, we will be hung on the proverbial stake, cross, or whatever else they decide to call it. Only after to have our bodies flung out into Egypt, leaving us there, and pronouncing us dead. Dead not just to them, but dead to God. Are… Read more »
I’m glad you got a good laugh JB. For starters, at Acts 1:13 there’s eleven Apostles named and Judas Iscariot is not one of them, so if you add him and Jesus (Heb 3:1) to that list you have thirteen. But we need twelve more to make twenty five so at (1Thess 1:1 and 2:6) you’ll find Timothy and Silvanus. Now we are up to fifteen. We can’t forget Barnabas (Acts 14:14). Then there’s Paul. (Acts 14:14) and many others! Epaphroditus (Phil 2:25) making 18 so far! The two unnamed at (2Cor 8:23) that makes an even 20. (Gal 1:19)… Read more »
Hello Psalmbee. I asked you to provide scriptures with the English word apostles or apostle in them, so that it could verified your assertion about 25 apostles being in the Bible was correct. But instead the majority of scriptures you included do not contain the word apostle. What you are instead claiming is that anyone sent out on a Christian mission is an apostle. At least that’s what appears to be the case, as you cited scriptures merely containing several people that worked with Paul, or that Paul sent to a congregation. You appear not to have considered Ephesians 4:11… Read more »
Hi Messenger & Eleasar
Many thanks for your thought provoking scriptures and the explanations, and I truly do appreciate them.
Psalmbee, 25 apostles and a barking dog, you made me laugh my brother.
Love to all and thank you again, enjoy your weekend.
Hi messenger Many thanks for your reply, however this is what I am struggling with: Luke 22: 28 “However, you are the ones who have stuck with me in my trials; 29 and I make a covenant with you, just as my Father has made a covenant with me, for a kingdom, 30 so that you may eat and drink at my table in my Kingdom, and sit on thrones to judge the 12 tribes of Israel. Paul & Matthias were not their when Jesus concluded a covenant with the apostles & certainly Paul did not stick with Jesus in… Read more »
Hi JamesBrown, The word Apostle in Greek means “sent one”. There could have been may apostles in the 1st century. It has also another sense of being a foundational apostle. This can be seen by reading Ephesians 3:1-6 (also Ephesians 2:14-22, specifically verse 20). In verse 5, Paul refers to the prophets and to apostles. The prophets of old talked about the Messiah to come and then he came and became the cornerstone and the “foundational apostles” were the ones who saw him resurrected and ones he chose. This could mean the 11 and Paul met this criterion, since Paul… Read more »
Hello Jamestown, All members chosen to be a part of Christ’s church are rulers and judges, not just the twelve apostles whose names appear on the foundation stones of New Jerusalem. See 1 Corinthians 6:3 and Revelation 5:10. In Luke 22:28 Christ was addressing those disciples directly in front of him. That doesn’t exclude others from being a part of the covenant he made with them for a kingdom, or from sharing in judging the 12 tribes of Israel. The term apostle as used in the New Testament almost always refers to the 12 faithful ones who were hand picked… Read more »
Hi James,
I’ve said it before, there are 25 Apostles mentioned in the NT. Twenty three of them were named two unnamed (2Cor 8:23).
I named one of my dogs after an Apostle, I call him Barktholomew.
If you are not aware of the full list I can compile it for you.
Psalmbee
Psalmbee
How about listing the scriptures instead of providing a list of names, as the scriptures are needed for that to be verifiable. Probably nobody wants to read the whole New Testament to verify your list.
Also, since words frequently have multiple meanings how about sticking to the exact English words used in English translations of the Bible. Most people will give more credence to how Bible scholars have translated ancient words from foreign languages than they give to alternative translations offered laymen.
Thanks
Haha! Brilliant
Hi all Last night as I was wandering, did 11 apostles or 12 partook of the bread and wine. So, I prayed about it, and done some research, this is what I personally came up with. Revelation 21:10 So he carried me away in the power of the spirit to a great and lofty mountain, and he showed me the holy city Jerusalem coming down out of heaven from God 11 and having the glory of God. Its radiance was like a most precious stone, like a jasper stone shining crystal clear. 12 It had a great and lofty wall and had 12… Read more »
Hello Jamesbrown, The name on the 12th gate is most likely Paul’s. At acts 14:14 both he and Barnabus are called apostles. But the scriptures state Paul was hand picked by Christ, just like the eleven faithful apostles Christ handpicked. Christ also communicated with Paul and told him he was sending him out on a mission. An apostle is sent out on a mission, like Paul. was. The 11 faithful apostles are the ones that picked Matthias, not Christ. It’s very unlikely the name of a traitor, Judas, would be on one of the gates or pillars. People take much… Read more »
The issue about Judas is a major problem for JW theology. In Luke 22:19-20 Jesus mentions the New Covenant. The Greek word is Strong’s Gk number 1242 diathéké and is a NOUN. All English translations that I have checked translate it as “covenant”. In Luke 22:29, the Greek word is Strong’s Gk number 1303 diatithémi and is a VERB. Only two translations give it as “covenant”, NWT and Weymouth. Most other translation use terms like assign, appoint, confer, grant, bestow, promise, etc. A simple direct reading of Luke makes it clear that Judas was present for the inauguration of the… Read more »
Eleasar, Hi and Hello Thank you for your analysis. I have spent a lot of time trying to figure out when Judas left , and checking what WT has stated. Your research is spot on, and you correctly observe that the Insight book tries to get round things by suggesting, with no evidence to back it up, that Luke’s account is not in strict chronological order. I threw this at our Watchtower study conductor last week, as this matter was also discussed on this site re the previous article, and basically got back a “Do you think Jesus is using… Read more »
Well written Tadua There are 3 kinds of elders in our cong. Those who worship GB – Those who are willing to listen to different point of view – Those who don’t even care one way or another. I approached all of them at different times with a simple question: Why did Jesus conclude a covenant with HIS apostles only? Where were the 70 disciples & the women that where ministering to him and the apostles? What was so special about his apostles that did not involve the rest of disciples? First group said: We don’t have to go beyond… Read more »
I am also curious about Eric…
A very nice review Tadua.
Thank you.