Treasures from God’s Word and Digging for Spiritual Gems – “Obey the Two Greatest Commandments” (Matthew 22-23)
Matthew 22:21 (Caesar's things to Caesar)
There are many ways in which we should give Caesar's things to Caesar. Romans 13:1-7, mentioned in the study notes for this verse, expands on how we can do this.
“Therefore, whoever opposes the authority has taken a stand against the arrangement of God; those who have taken a stand against it will bring judgment against themselves. For those rulers are an object of fear, not to the good deed, but to the bad. Do you want to be free of fear of the authority? Keep doing good and you will have praise from it; for it is God’s minister to you for your good. But if you are doing what is bad, be in fear, for it is not without purpose that it bears the sword. It is God’s minister, an avenger to express wrath against the one practicing what is bad.”
Notice the two main points.
- If anyone opposes authority then they oppose God. All authorities or governments around the world have laws that they expect and require their citizens to comply with. One common law is that if someone knows of another’s intention to commit a criminal act or knows of another’s criminal act then they have a civic duty and lawful requirement to report it to a law enforcement agency, usually the police. [i]
- There will be repercussions from the authorities if we do not comply. If we fail to do so then we can be judged and convicted as obstructing justice or being complicit to the crime, even if we had nothing to do with the actual criminal act. Examples would include murder, fraud, assault—both physical and sexual—and theft.
Therefore, both we and the Organization need to ensure that we comply with the laws of the secular authorities unless such clearly contradict a law of God. Consequently, it is a serious point of concern that the Organization still has not changed its policy to ensure that crimes, such as the heinous crime of child sexual abuse, always gets reported to the authorities, even if the victim or his/her parents wish to keep it quiet. The elders have neither the skills, nor more importantly, God’s authority to deal with such matters. Men—be they congregation elders or the members of the Governing Body themselves—should presume to take the role of protector of God's holy name. Therefore, none have the right to conceal these crimes. This is tantamount to committing a hidden sin, something the Organization counsels again. Confession of sins is what the Organization demands, yet it is a rule they do not apply to themselves. Accusing apostates when they suffer due to this failure to obey God's written law is plain hypocrisy.
Likewise, if we personally know of criminal acts, we too have an individual duty to report them. If we do not then we would be complicit (as would the organization if it is informed by the elders) if the offender commits another similar or identical criminal action and hurts someone else.
Matthew 23:9-11
As Witnesses, we often used to quote verse 9 regarding the Catholic priests commonly addressed as ‘father’. However, particularly in light of changes in recent years verse 10 now becomes relevant to the organization. Jesus himself said “Neither be called ‘leaders,’ for YOUR Leader is one, the Christ.” (NWT). The ‘leaders’ of a country are its government. What do we as Jehovah’s Witnesses have? Is it not a “governing body”? Are they not looked to as leaders? Is that not what they view themselves as? Is that viewpoint not in direct contradiction of the counsel of our one ‘leader’ Jesus Christ?
Matthew 22:29-32
The parallel account in Luke 20:34-36 says:
“Jesus said to them: 'The children of this system of things marry and are given in marriage, but those who have been counted worthy of gaining that system of things and the resurrection from the dead neither marry nor are given in marriage. 36 In fact, neither can they die anymore, for they are like the angels, and they are God’s children by being children of the resurrection.'”
Luke makes a clear statement that anyone considered worthy of gaining the new system of things:
- Cannot die because they are like angels.
- This would imply they are resurrected perfect, with life without end.
- Agrees with Jesus statement that one must be born again to enter the kingdom of God (John 3:3)(1 Corinthians 15:50)
- Confirms there is only one destination for the resurrection of the righteous, the earth. Heaven is not mentioned.
- All the righteous resurrected in this way would be ‘sons and daughters of God’ by reason of their resurrection. In John 3:3 cited above, the phrase ‘born again’ in Greek literally means “should be generated from above” usually used for describing ‘giving birth’, John has used it to describe the change from imperfect to perfect bodies, and being born by God (from above in the heavens), to become his perfect children. Note: children of God, not friends of God.
Jesus, The Way (jy Chapter 12) – Jesus gets Baptized.
Nothing of note, other than to highlight: Jesus got baptized aged 30. Why not at 8 or 10 or 12 years of age like the WT recently was suggesting for witness youths?
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[i] We are concerned here with serious criminal actions which result in serious hurt or loss to ourselves or others, and would therefore likely reoccur, rather than acting as informants for every petty infringement.
Archived Comments
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Comment by Robert-6512 on 2018-03-12 21:09:32
I find it fascinating that you would conclude that the passage in Luke "Confirms there is only one destination for the resurrection of the righteous, the earth. Heaven is not mentioned."
I would hope that other readers would weigh on your conclusion. I have been espousing for some time the idea that no one is going to heaven, but until now, few others have agreed with me or drawn that conclusion themselves.
I also appreciated your point that resurrected ones would be brought back perfect (since they wouldn't die) and would not experience the "gradual attainment of perfection" concept that WT has promoted for so long.
I look forward to the comments of other readers on this.Reply by Devora on 2018-03-13 23:07:06
Dear Robert,please, patiently allow for my own(longtime,private) meditations,in cross- referencing all the many scriptures involved on this...on the final destinies of Man,with Christ,under Jah,in the"new heavens and the new earth".These are just my personal sumnations...There are the different planes of existence..Dimensions;1 in which we/our earth/created visible universe exist(w/ all involved;time,gravity, up/down;our physicalities); yet beyond our 5 senses we know/feel/experience;conclude more..in faith;Seeing the invisible One.Another, higher Dimension;plane-of-existence..proved in the Scriptures;ex.the angels exist;see God,move about,enter-into our own dimensional plane.Miracles occured,in proofs of our Heavenly Father's infinite powers,'unprovable'by man, in our current dimension.When Christ arrives,in the direct intersecting-meeting of both dimensions,"we will be changed"."flesh and blood cannot inherit God's Kingdom"..."In that day you will ask me no question at all"...seeing as how we are to receive the heavenly Kingdom,after all other things are "shaken";removed,the "new heavens and the new earth"..."in the Re-Creation",as Christ said,would mean changes of existence..life,in both the higher dimension of heaven and in the earth's plane,they will be"New".(so many points in Revelation;2nd Peter also).When the Heavenly Jerusalem comes-"down Out of heaven";when the final war occurs on earth,opposers"surrounding the camp of the holy ones",in the finale it looks like truly,"heaven on earth".(& All things gathered in Christ).When I read in Revelation,with great comfort,about the Beloved City,and no need for the sun,daylight to shine on them...eternity..I glimpse that future,different Plane..no"up,down,time,effect".& also the Power of Jah,given to His Son,to go subduing,"until He brings to nothing All powers and (in any other!reality of dimension/creation)authority",etc...It tells me,that nothing--as the Apostle Paul stated,"nor angels nor powers(or anything else in existence)"--will be left out..in either submitting to Christ,or being wiped out.That final,complete Love,Peace & Harmony(heaven and earth),will be realized-then,fully.(I truly hope you can infer a number of scriptures that I did not quote).Thank you for letting me share.
Comment by Bernardbooks on 2018-03-13 09:07:36
These are some of the scriptures that caused me to believe that our promise, inheritance and hope is centered on the earth.
( Isaiah 60:21)
And all your people will be righteous;
They will possess the land forever.
They are the sprout that I planted,
The work of my hands, for me to be beautified.
(Ezekiel 37:24,25)
My servant David will be their king, and they will all have one shepherd. They will walk in my judicial decisions and carefully observe my statutes. They will dwell on the land that I gave to my servant, to Jacob, where your forefathers lived, and they will dwell on it forever, they and their children and their children’s children; and David my servant will be their chieftain forever.
I feel this scripture is very important because it can be applied to the true Israel of God, true sons of Abraham through faith, and doesn’t just say that they will inherit the earth, which I guess someone could say that an immaterial spirit being in heaven could still inherit the earth, but that they would dwell on the earth forever.
(Romans 4:13)
For it was not through law that Abraham or his offspring had the promise that he should be heir of a world, but it was through righteousness by faith.
(Galatians 3:6-9, 16, 26-29)
Just as Abraham “put faith in Jehovah, and it was counted to him as righteousness.”
Surely you know that it is those who adhere to faith who are sons of Abraham. Now the scripture, foreseeing that God would declare people of the nations righteous through faith, declared the good news beforehand to Abraham, namely: “By means of you all the nations will be blessed.” So those who adhere to faith are being blessed together with Abraham, who had faith.
Now the promises were spoken to Abraham and to his offspring. It does not say, “and to your descendants,” in the sense of many. Rather, it says, “and to your offspring,” in the sense of one, who is Christ.
You are all, in fact, sons of God through your faith in Christ Jesus. For all of you who were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor freeman, there is neither male nor female, for you are all one in union with Christ Jesus. Moreover, if you belong to Christ, you are really Abraham’s offspring, heirs with reference to a promise.
(Matthew 5:5)
Happy are the mild-tempered, since they will inherit the earth.
Comment by amoreomeara on 2018-03-13 17:49:11
I think it is very tenuous to say Luke 20 confirms Earth as the only destination because heaven isn’t mentioned.
All this confirms is that heaven isn’t mentioned.
Neither is Earth mentioned in the translation I’ve read. Would it confirm that heaven must therefore be the only destination?
I’m not saying this because I disagree, I just don’t think this is very sound reasoning.Reply by Robert-6512 on 2018-03-13 19:34:44
As much as I'd like this to be a confirmation that no one is going to heaven, I have to agree with Amore on this. Resurrected ones might not "die" but that still leaves open the possibility of being destroyed some day, the same risk that disobedient angel face.
As for the "born again" issue, the Perimeno web site has a good article about this, where he sees it as the Israelites having to be born again into a new covenant relationship, and so only Jews had to be born again, and after the temple was destroyed, not even they had to do it any more, since there was no longer a nation and God had abandoned their house to them.
Finally, since neither heaven nor earth are mentioned, the verse really doesn't help us to resolve the question. Would be nice if it did, but I am afraid I concur this is not sound reasoning.
Comment by Leonardo Josephus on 2018-03-14 05:48:25
Thought I would go up another track. In rendering to Caesar, how should we view the decisions of the Courts. If a Court decides a person is not guilty of some crime, is it on order for the BOE to disfellowship a person without further evidence coming out, and where the Court proceedings have not revealed that the accused has done anything else worthy of disfellowshipping ?
As regards the heaven or earth matter, unless we can answer the question - What will Jesus or Jehovah do when the Earth is full to his satisfaction ? - Is this not just a subject for speculation with no obvious solution ?Reply by Robert-6512 on 2018-03-15 10:30:21
You are right to be cautious about speculation. As I see it, the question comes down to whether you believe God intended the earth to be inhabited permanently or not. If you accept that, then there are only two possibilities. Either people will continue to have children, or they won't.
If they won't, then when the earth is "sufficiently full", people could be rendered infertile. While that is certainly possible with divine intervention, it would leave a major part of our anatomy irrelevant, and indeed would make gender identity pointless as well. In particular, why be a "woman" if no woman on earth could ever again give birth? Somehow, this just doesn't sound right.
But, if people will continue to have children, there really isn't much choice other than to relocate them somewhere else. Humans could be transported to other worlds to continue and expand human life throughout the universe. That would be my vote.
If people are not going to occupy the earth permanently, it suggests believers in souls and heaven and so on are correct. I suspect most readers of this forum don't accept such doctrines (but, maybe I am wrong about that).
If someone can think of any alternatives besides these, I would be interested in their views.