Note: Post April 14 is wildly incorrect. The 2013 Memorial is sundown MARCH 26 TH Gregorian (which is Jewish calendar sundown Nisan 14).
Bobcat,
It is a pleasure to share this discussion with you. This is exciting!
Really, really, really important is the fact that “born anew” and the Memorial are tied together. “Born anew” is at the core of “the good news of the Kingdom” message. This is one of the major failings of the JW preaching from door to door. In fact, my opinion is, the GB suppressing this information qualifies them as the “evil slave.” No one gets life salvation unless they are “born again” into the family of Jesus. Which cancel out the “death birth” from Adam. This new birth is the single most valuable possession a human can acquire. Nothing ranks with it in importance. And, this is a CHOICE everyone is given opportunity to make.
The public Memorial participation is great joy for those who acquire this birth by maintaining a lifestyle rich with “spiritual waters of truth” and the “spirit of righteousness,” which orients the heart with a faith showing enduring righteousness. Unfortunately, the majority of Adam’s descendants will not choose righteousness. The allure of selfish “flesh” with sinful pleasure and materialism is more to their liking. This lifestyle has no future.
Rv 7:14-17 is referring to the blessed “born anew,” those alleviated from earthly suffering: no hunger, no drought and famine from climate change causing sun heat to ruin the planet, and other conditions causing tears . This is not talking about heavenly life because physical misery does not exist in the spirit realm.
Both heavenly and earthly flocks have the “born anew” pedigree and have Jesus as their shepherd in the pursuit of life (Jn 10). They only difference in the two groups is timing and numbers. This is similar to the situation where not everyone can be one of the twelve apostles because of timing and numbers.
QC