Comments You Will Not Hear at the 03-09-2014 WT Study (January 15, 2014, pages 7-11)(KING OF ETERNITY)
http://www.jw.org/en/publications/magazines/w20140115/worship-jehovah-king-of-eternity/
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g = Awake
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OPENING COMMENTS
First article from 2014. Why does the WTS put an ellipsis in the theme scripture, 1 Timothy 1:17? What are they hiding and why? What do you think? Isn’t this one of the scriptures that the WTS tries to combat with Christians re the trinity? Eternal Father…King of Eternity.
(1 Timothy 1:17) Now to the King of eternity, incorruptible, invisible, [the] only God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen.
Worship Jehovah, the King of Eternity
“To the King of eternity . . . be honor and glory forever.”—1 TIM. 1:17.
HOW WOULD YOU ANSWER?
- Why are we drawn to Jehovah’s way of ruling?
- How has Jehovah always shown a loving interest in his human family?
- What moves you to worship the King of eternity?
1, 2. (a) Who is “the King of eternity,” and why is that title appropriate? (See opening image.) (b) What is it about Jehovah’s kingship that draws us to him?
KING SOBHUZA II of Swaziland ruled for nearly 61 years. That was quite a record for a modern-day monarch. As impressive as the length of King Sobhuza’s rule may be, there is a king whose reign is not limited by the short life span of humans. In fact, the Bible refers to him as “the King of eternity.” (1 Tim. 1:17) A psalmist identified this Sovereign by name, proclaiming: “Jehovah is King forever and ever.”—Ps. 10:16.
If Jesus is king since 33 C.E., 1878 C.E., 1914 C.E., and yet future with the start of the great tribulation, there must be 2 kings at the same time.
2 The length of God’s reign makes his rule unlike that of any human. However, it is Jehovah’s way of ruling that draws us to him. A king who ruled over ancient Israel for 40 years praised God with these words: “Jehovah is merciful and compassionate, slow to anger and abundant in loyal love. Jehovah has firmly established his throne in the heavens; and his kingship rules over everything.” (Ps. 103:8, 19) Not only is Jehovah our King but he is also our Father—our loving, heavenly Father. This raises two questions: In what way has Jehovah acted as a Father? How has Jehovah exercised his kingship since the rebellion in Eden? The answers to these questions will move us to draw closer to Jehovah and worship him with all our heart.
So does long rule = good ruler?
Who is the king who wrote Psalm 103? So an adulterer and murderer is qualified to give advice about serving God?
(Psalm 103:superscription, 1) Of David. 103 Bless Jehovah, O my soul, Even everything within me, his holy name.
So is “Jehovah” our father or is Jesus? Or is Jehovah our grandfather?
*** w95 8/1 p. 13 par. 19 Jehovah—A God Who Teaches ***
Even though the other sheep are not directly included among the “sons” spoken of at Isaiah 54:13, they are blessed with being taught by Jehovah. Therefore, they properly address God as “Father” because he will, in effect, be their Grandfather through the “Eternal Father,” Jesus Christ.—Matthew 6:9; Isaiah 9:6.
Where is Jesus in this drawing close? Even the WTS says here:
*** w10 5/15 p. 28 par. 1 Do Not Grieve Jehovah’s Holy Spirit ***
JEHOVAH has done something special for millions of people living in this troubled world. He has made it possible for them to draw close to him through his only-begotten Son, Jesus Christ.
THE KING OF ETERNITY PRODUCES A UNIVERSAL FAMILY
3. Who was the first member of Jehovah’s universal family, and who else were created as God’s “sons”?
3 What pleasure Jehovah must have had when he brought forth his only-begotten Son! God did not treat his firstborn as a lowly subject. Rather, he loved him as a Son and invited him to share in the joy of creating other perfect subjects. (Col. 1:15-17) These came to include myriads of angels. Described as “his ministers who do his will,” the angels serve God with joy, and he dignifies them by calling them his “sons.” They are part of Jehovah’s universal family.—Ps. 103:20-22; Job 38:7.
Universal family of God
God
Jesus
144,000
Angels
But not the other sheep
*** w10 1/15 p. 5 Why Dedicate Yourself to Jehovah? ***
Jesus’ “other sheep” will not become sons of God until the end of the thousand years.
4. How did God’s universal family come to include humans?
4 Once he had created the physical heavens and earth, Jehovah expanded his universal family. After preparing the earth as a beautiful, self-sustaining home, Jehovah put the crowning touch on his earthly works by creating the first man, Adam, in His own image. (Gen. 1:26-28) As Creator, Jehovah could rightly expect Adam to be obedient. As Father, Jehovah conveyed all of his instructions with love and kindness. In no way did those directives unduly restrict man’s freedom.—Read Genesis 2:15-17.
Universal family only included perfect humans.
So was Eve created in God’s image?
*** w72 7/15 p.445***
It should be remembered that man was created first and for some time was alone, being in God’s image by himself. The woman was made from the man and was to be subject to the man. The woman’s position thus is one that cannot reflect God’s position of headship toward his creatures, and it is this matter of headship that is discussed in 1 Corinthians chapter 11. Jehovah God is not subject to anyone. Unlike the woman, the man does not have an earthly head over him when it comes to matters relating to his wife and children. Hence in this respect he alone is “God’s image.” In other respects, of course, the woman shares with the man in reflecting the admirable and lovable qualities of God.
I have a pedophile father; should I have obeyed him because he “gave me life”?
5. What arrangement did God make to fill the earth with his human children?
5 Unlike many human monarchs, Jehovah is pleased to delegate responsibility to his subjects, treating them as trusted members of his family. For example, he gave Adam authority over other living creatures, even assigning him the enjoyable and challenging task of naming the animals. (Gen. 1:26; 2:19, 20) God did not create millions of individual perfect humans to populate the earth. Rather, he chose to create a perfect complement for Adam—the woman Eve. (Gen. 2:21, 22) Then he gave this couple the opportunity to fill the earth with their children. Under flawless conditions, humans could progressively extend the boundaries of Paradise until it covered the globe. United with the angels in heaven, they could worship Jehovah forever as part of his universal family. What a wonderful prospect! And what an expression of Jehovah’s fatherly love!
So what authority is given to women?
Did not create millions of humans like he did the angels…which tempted many to come down to earth in human form to found their own families.
Complement—to make complete
See here how the WTS makes a faulty reasoning:
*** w12 10/1 p. 25 Does Happiness Depend on Marriage? ***
According to the Genesis account, God saw that it was “not good” for the first man Adam to remain alone. So God made Eve as a “complement” for Adam. (Genesis 2:18) The word “complement” means that which makes something complete. From that account, we might conclude that a person is not complete unless he or she is married.
Why not since humans were created to marry and have children, just as the angels were not?
REBELLIOUS SONS REJECT GOD’S KINGSHIP
6. (a) In what way did rebellion in God’s family begin? (b) Why did rebellion not mean that Jehovah had lost control?
6 Sadly, Adam and Eve were not content to have Jehovah as their Sovereign. Instead, they chose to follow a rebellious spirit son of God, Satan. (Gen. 3:1-6) Life apart from God’s rule brought pain, suffering, and death to them and their offspring. (Gen. 3:16-19; Rom. 5:12) God no longer had obedient subjects on the earth. Did this mean that he had lost control, that he had relinquished sovereignty over the earth and its inhabitants? Absolutely not! He exercised his authority by driving the man and woman out of the garden of Eden, and to prevent their return, he assigned cherubs to stand guard at the entrance. (Gen. 3:23, 24) At the same time, God showed his fatherly love by confirming that his purpose to have a universal family of devoted spirit sons as well as human sons would be accomplished. He promised an “offspring” who would bring an end to Satan and undo the effects of Adam’s sin.—Read Genesis 3:15.
Did Eve know she was talking to a spirit son of God? The name Satan does not appear in the bible till the time of Job. Eve thought she was talking to a talking snake…what would you do if a snake started talking to you…run to tell a friend or talk to it? Adam and Eve are held up to us by the WTS as perfect, intelligent people; what do we hope to grasp?
7, 8. (a) How bad had conditions become by the time of Noah? (b) What arrangements did Jehovah make to cleanse the earth and to preserve the human family?
7 In the centuries that followed, some men chose to be loyal to Jehovah. Among them were Abel and Enoch. However, the majority of humans rejected Jehovah as their Father and King. By the time of Noah, the earth had become “filled with violence.” (Gen. 6:11) Did this mean that Jehovah no longer had control of earth’s affairs? What does the historical record reveal?
Some men chose to be loyal (women?)…Did women lack the capacity to be loyal?
Control how…fear, superior strength…?
8 Consider the account of Noah. Jehovah gave him detailed architectural plans and instructions to build a massive ark that would save Noah and his immediate family. God also showed great love for his entire human family when he commissioned Noah to be “a preacher of righteousness.” (2 Pet. 2:5) Noah’s message no doubt included a call for repentance and warnings of impending destruction, but it fell on deaf ears. For decades, Noah and his family lived amid a violent and grossly immoral world. Jehovah, as a caring Father, protected and blessed those eight loyal souls. By bringing a global Flood, Jehovah exercised dominion over the rebellious humans and wicked angels. Yes, Jehovah was definitely in control.—Gen. 7:17-24.
No mention of Noah’s loyal but nameless wife and daughters-in-law who gave up a normal life and a family to build the ark.
“no doubt” included—the bible does not say
no doubt
Used to indicate the speaker’s firm belief that something is true even if evidence is not given or available : those who left were attracted, no doubt, by higher pay
http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/us/definition/american_english/no-doubt
Why is Flood capitalized?
Picture
Jehovah has always exercised his kingship (See paragraphs 6, 8, 10, 12, 17)
JEHOVAH’S KINGSHIP AFTER THE FLOOD
9. What opportunity did Jehovah give mankind after the Flood?
9 As Noah and his family took their first steps on the cleansed earth and inhaled the fresh air, their hearts were certainly filled with gratitude to Jehovah for his care and protection. Immediately, Noah built an altar and offered sacrifices to worship Jehovah. God blessed Noah and his family and gave them instructions to “be fruitful and become many and fill the earth.” (Gen. 8:20–9:1) Once again, mankind had the opportunity to unite in worship and to fill the earth.
So where was God’s earthly organization here? Eight souls….and in the time or Nimrod where was God’s earthly organization? Although all eight were considered loyal and obedient why by the time of Noah’s great-grandson were things worse or as bad as before the “flood”?
10. (a) Where and how did rebellion against Jehovah flare up after the Flood? (b) What action did Jehovah take to ensure that his will was done?
10 The Flood, however, did not wash away imperfection, and humans still had to cope with the invisible influence of Satan and the rebellious angels. It was not long before rebellion against Jehovah’s benevolent rule again flared up. For example, Noah’s great-grandson Nimrod took opposition to Jehovah’s rule to new heights. Nimrod is described as being “a mighty hunter in opposition to Jehovah.” He built great cities, such as Babel, and set himself up as a king “in the land of Shinar.” (Gen. 10:8-12) What action would the King of eternity take toward this rebel king and his efforts to thwart God’s purpose to “fill the earth”? God confused the people’s language, causing Nimrod’s frustrated subjects to be scattered “over the entire face of the earth.” They took their false worship and pattern of human rulership with them.—Gen. 11:1-9.
Why did God handicap the human family allowing Satan and the disloyal angels unfettered influence over humans and the earth? And then set step in and confuse their language (this is not supporting this story, just exploring it).
11. How did Jehovah show loyalty to his friend Abraham? 11 Even though many worshipped false gods after the Flood, some faithful men continued to honor Jehovah. One was Abraham, who obediently left the comforts of his home city of Ur and dwelled in tents for years. (Gen. 11:31; Heb. 11:8, 9) During the time of Abraham’s nomadic life, he was often surrounded by human kings, many of whom lived in walled cities. But Jehovah safeguarded Abraham and his family. Regarding Jehovah’s fatherly protection, the psalmist declared: “[God] did not allow any man to oppress them, but on their account he reproved kings.” (Ps. 105:13, 14) Out of loyalty to his friend, Jehovah promised Abraham: “Kings will come from you.”—Gen. 17:6; Jas. 2:23.
*** w58 2/1 p. 95 Questions From Readers ***
By letting King Abimelech take Sarah away from him Abraham was trying to protect his own life. Had it been known that Sarah was his wife, Abraham might have been killed by the Philistines in order that they might take Sarah forcibly away from him for the sexual pleasures of King Abimelech.
(Genesis 20:10, 11) 10 And A·bim′e·lech went on to say to Abraham: “What did you have in view in that you have done this thing?” 11 To this Abraham said: “It was because I said to myself, ‘Doubtless there is no fear of God in this place, and they will certainly kill me because of my wife.’
12. How did Jehovah express his sovereignty over Egypt, and how did this affect his chosen people?
12 God repeated to Abraham’s son Isaac and grandson Jacob his promise to bless them, which would include producing kings from their descendants. (Gen. 26:3-5; 35:11) However, prior to producing kings, Jacob’s descendants became slaves in Egypt. Did this mean that Jehovah would not fulfill his promise or that he had relinquished his sovereignty over the earth? Not at all! In his due time, Jehovah demonstrated his divine power and expressed his sovereignty over stubborn Pharaoh. The enslaved Israelites put their faith in Jehovah, who delivered them in a grand way through the Red Sea. Obviously, Jehovah was still the Universal Sovereign, and as a caring Father, he used his great power to protect his people.—Read Exodus 14:13, 14.
Isaac also did not trust God to protect him and passed his wife Rebekah off as his sister. (do you see this is a progressive history of the bible per the WTS?)
Did God protect every individual…why did Aaron live and other Israelites die over the golden calf?
JEHOVAH BECOMES KING TO ISRAEL
13, 14. (a) In song, what did the Israelites proclaim about Jehovah’s kingship? (b) What promise regarding kingship did God make to David?
13 Immediately following their miraculous deliverance from Egypt, the Israelites sang a victory song of praise to Jehovah. That song, recorded in Exodus chapter 15, includes this declaration in verse 18: “Jehovah will rule as king forever and ever.” Indeed, Jehovah became King over the new nation. (Deut. 33:5) However, the people were not content to have Jehovah as their invisible Ruler. About 400 years after leaving Egypt, they asked God to set up a human king, such as their pagan neighbors had. (1 Sam. 8:5) In spite of this, Jehovah was still King, a fact that was manifest during the reign of David, Israel’s second human king.
How many jws know that Miriam was an author of the victory song? Why in his infinite wisdom did God set up a human king? Was he still king or did the human kings make decisions apart from God that led to the death of 70,000 innocent people (innocent like we are as imperfect humans) because of David’s sins or tossed in the fire by Manasseh, David’s descendant?
14 David brought the sacred ark of the covenant to Jerusalem. During this joyous occasion, the Levites sang a song of praise that contained a noteworthy statement, recorded at 1 Chronicles 16:31: “Declare among the nations: ‘Jehovah has become King!’” One might wonder, ‘Since Jehovah is the King of eternity, how is it that he became King at that time?’ Jehovah becomes King when he expresses his rulership or establishes an agency to represent him at a certain time or to deal with a specific situation. This aspect of Jehovah’s kingship has far-reaching significance. Before David died, Jehovah promised him that his kingship would continue indefinitely: “I will raise up your offspring after you, your own son, and I will firmly establish his kingdom.” (2 Sam. 7:12, 13) In the final outworking of matters, this “offspring” of David appeared more than 1,000 years later. Whom did this prove to be, and when would he become King?
So God is an off and on king?
So who would those offspring be, Jews?
JEHOVAH APPOINTS A NEW KING
15, 16. When was Jesus anointed as the future King, and while on earth, what arrangements did Jesus make for his rule?
15 In the year 29 C.E., John the Baptizer began preaching that “the Kingdom of the heavens [had] drawn near.” (Matt. 3:2) When Jesus was baptized by John, Jehovah anointed Jesus as the promised Messiah and the future King of God’s Kingdom. Jehovah expressed fatherly affection for Jesus with the words: “This is my Son, the beloved, whom I have approved.”—Matt. 3:17.
Did the Jews expect Jesus’ kingship to be centuries in the future; did the first century Christians?
16 Throughout his ministry, Jesus glorified his Father. (John 17:4) He did this by preaching about the Kingdom of God. (Luke 4:43) He even taught his followers to pray for that Kingdom to come. (Matt. 6:10) As King-Designate, Jesus could declare to his opposers: “The Kingdom of God is in your midst.” (Luke 17:21) Later, on the evening before his death, Jesus concluded ‘a covenant for a kingdom’ with his followers. He thereby gave some of his faithful disciples the prospect of joining him as kings in God’s Kingdom.—Read Luke 22:28-30.
Was the kingdom Jesus preached the one the WTS preaches?
Christians only had the hope of going to heaven as kings despite John 10:16 and Revelation 14:1-4.
17. In what limited way did Jesus begin to exercise his kingship in the first century, but for what would he have to wait?
17 When would Jesus begin to rule as King of God’s Kingdom? He could not do so immediately. The very next afternoon, Jesus was executed and his followers scattered. (John 16:32) However, as in times past, Jehovah remained in control. On the third day, he resurrected his Son, and on the day of Pentecost 33 C.E., Jesus established a spiritual kingdom over the Christian congregation of his anointed brothers. (Col. 1:13) Still, Jesus would have to wait to take up full kingly power over the earth as the promised “offspring.” Jehovah told his Son: “Sit at my right hand until I place your enemies as a stool for your feet.”—Ps. 110:1.
Kingdom established in 33 C.E. but only over Christians per the WTS.
1878, Jesus began to rule as king per the WTS and 1914 the end would come….right?
Our Lord’s presence as Bridegroom and Reaper was recognized during the first three and a half years, from A.D. 1874 to A.D. 1878. Since that time it has been emphatically manifest that the time had come in A.D. 1878 when kingly judgment should begin at the house of God.
(Studies in the Scriptures Vol. II 1889 p. 239)
…he [Jesus] would in reality assume the kingly office, power, etc.; viz., in the spring of 1878, three and a half years after his second advent at the beginning of the harvest period, in the fall of 1874.
(Studies in the Scriptures Volume III 1891 p. 234)
1914 : Failed Watchtower Prophecy
One of the most misleading statements in Watchtower publications is that they accurately foretold 1914 to be the "start" of the conclusion of this system of things. In reality, 1914 was predicted to be the "end" of the system of things, the conclusion of Armageddon and the start of the earthly paradise.
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WORSHIP THE KING OF ETERNITY
18, 19. What are we moved to do, and what will we learn in the next article?
18 For millenniums Jehovah’s kingship was challenged in heaven and on earth. Jehovah never relinquished his sovereignty; he remained in control. As a loving Father, he protected and cared for such loyal subjects as Noah, Abraham, and David. Does this not move us to submit to our King and to draw closer to him?
Abraham – did not trust in God’s protection and lied greatly
David—did not see God as seeing his deeds, adulterer and murderer
19 But now we may ask: How has Jehovah become King in our day? How can we prove to be loyal subjects of Jehovah’s Kingdom and become perfect sons in his universal family? What does it mean when we pray for God’s Kingdom to come? These questions will be answered in the next article.
Has God or Jesus become King, 1878 or 1914 or is Jesus a Field Marshal?
*** w96 4/1 p. 19 par. 12 “Praise Jah, You People!” ***
Shortly, the King of eternity, Jehovah, acting through his heavenly Field Marshal, Christ Jesus, will let loose the great tribulation.
*** w96 8/15 p. 20 par. 21 Will You Be Saved When God Acts? ***
Yes, that final part of the great tribulation will be carried out, not by any human army, but by “The Word of God,” the King Jesus Christ, assisted by ‘the armies that are in heaven,’ including resurrected anointed Christians.
Next week,
100 Years of Kingdom Rule (122 if 1878)—How Does It Affect You?
Love Blondie