WITCHTOWER

JUNE 1, 2009

THE

EXPOSING JEHOVAHS WITNESSES

The Psalms

Wonderful Songs to Praise God

The Witchtower 6/2009

The Witchtower
Downloadable in 194 countries

3 The Psalms Wonderful Songs to Praise God

11 Questions from Readers
13 How Can You Find the True Religion?
15 The Bible and Mathematics
16 What Will Not Be There In Paradise

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The Witchtower 6/2009

THE PSALMS WONDERFUL SONGS TO PRAISE GOD

The big talker let him not be firmly established in the earth. (Psalm 140:11)

The psalms are a part of the Holy Scriptures, about which the apostle Paul wrote: All
Scripture is inspired of God and beneficial for
teaching, for reproving, for setting things
straight, for disciplining in righteousness, that
the man of God may be fully competent, completely equipped for every good work. (2 Tim.
3:16, 17) Hence, we should examine the psalms
like any other Bible book, to get to know Jehovahs righteous principles which we should
apply in our lives.
First, we want to consider what the psalms
say about the congregation, because many
provisions of Jehovahs Witnesses were already
foretold by the psalmists. David prayed to God:
You let us rule everything your hands
have made. And you put all of it under our
power the sheep and the cattle. (Ps. 8:6,
7, CEV) Whom is he talking about? He refers
to the faithful and discreet slave whom he
appointed over all his belongings in 1919.
Mat. 24:45.
Sheep and Cattle

God put everything under his feet (NWT),

including millions of followers called sheep.
Asaph confirmed that when he sang: You
have led your people just like a flock. (Ps.
77:20) However, Psalm 8 does not only mention sheep. It says that Jehovah also put
cattle under the feet of the faithful and discreet slave. Who is that? Some think that the
term refers to the elders who show oxenlike
qualities. But another psalm reveals the true
identity of the cattle: The mountainous
region of Bashan is a mountain of God.
(Ps. 68:15) And there lived at that time the
cows of Bashan, who are on the mountain of
Samaria, who are defrauding the lowly ones,
who are crushing the poor ones, who are saying
to their masters: 'Do bring, and let us drink
Amos 4:1.

The December 15, 1977 Watchtower says:

These cows of Bashan were the women of
Samaria who, to continue living in luxury,
goaded on their husbands to defraud and oppress the lowly. (p. 31) This description fits
very well many elders wives. Though many of
them have little education and are, in a manner of speaking, stupid cows, they manipulate
many of their husbands decisions. Frequently,
someones advancement in the congregation
depends on the favor of these women.
But of course, when deciding who gets appointed as elder, Biblical principles are also
considered, like the following: Happy is the
man in fear of Jehovah. Valuable things
and riches are in his house. (Ps. 112:1, 3)
Indeed, a mans spirituality can be recognized,
among others, by his wealth. Financial difficulties though would show that someone is lacking Jehovahs blessing.
Preaching from House to House

Jehovahs Witnesses are known worldwide

for the door-to-door preaching work they do,
according to the November 15, 1996 Watchtower. (p. 32) The sons of Korah wrote about them:
They still keep on praising you. Happy are the
men whose strength is in you, in whose heart
are the highways. (Ps. 84:4, 5) The publishers
keep on praising Jehovah, not only in their
hometown, but also elsewhere, using the
highways Isaiah 60:16.

God put sheep and cattle under the power

of the faithful and discreet slave

The Witchtower 6/2009

The tenth psalm describes the approach of a

skilled publisher: He sits in an ambush of
settlements. (Ps. 10:8) The settlements or
field service territories are the center of the
preaching work. Here the publisher sits in an
ambush, proceeding like a hunter. Fittingly,
the October 1957 Kingdom Ministry says: To
find the scattered sheep you must be a capable,
efficient huntsman. Hunting ... calls for a
constant keeping on the track, a diligent search
of the isolated and scattered places, leaving no
section untouched or uninvestigated. Hunters
seek to let nothing escape. So publishers
must work.
How does the publisher accomplish his
hunting work? His eyes are on the lookout
for someone unfortunate. He carries off
the afflicted one by force when he draws
his net shut. (Ps. 10:8, 9) In the settlements,
he is on the lookout for someone unfortunate
as he knows that fortunate people are usually
not receptive to his message. But someone who
is hopeless, desperate or weighed down may
listen. Finally, the publisher a fisher of men
commissioned by Jesus carries off the afflicted one by force when he draws his net
shut. (Mat. 4:19) God will praise him with the
words: You have carried away captives
Ps. 68:18.
Return visits

Some homeowners are difficult to reach by

day. Thats why David advised publishers: Let
them return at evening time; let them bark
like a dog and go all around the city.
(Ps. 59:14) Many of Jehovahs Witnesses make
use of the evening time to make return visits
and call on people who were not at home during the day. At that time, they do not go from
door to door but all around the city.

Like huntsmen, Jehovahs Witnesses

keep searching for prey

Not all publishers are good speakers: They

hold themselves down to bad speech.
(Ps. 64:5) Not only because of that, all those
looking upon them will shake their head.
(Ps. 64:8) But they will not withhold themselves
from the preaching work, rather they will tell
of the activity of God. (Ps. 64:9) That does
not go down well all people, especially when the
publishers ring early in the morning: Witnesses rise up [early]; what I have not known
they ask me Ps. 35:11.
But some homeowners fall for Jehovahs
Witnesses and start attending their meetings.
Sooner or later they become unbaptized publishers. One of them says about the other Witnesses:
At my limping they rejoiced and gathered
together; they gathered together. (Ps. 35:15)
The other publishers especially those who
studied the Bible with him rejoice at his
limping from house to house. And only now, he
notices how often Jehovahs Witnesses have to
gather together.
The limping can also imply that many Jehovahs Witnesses neglect their bodily health. They
outspend themselves for the preaching work
because they think that Armageddon is at hand
anyway. Many think that there is no need to
consult a doctor, since God is testing out
heart and kidneys. (Ps. 7:9) And some years
ago, Jehovahs Witnesses attributed a special
meaning to the literal heart. The March 1, 1971
Watchtower dealt with the heart in our thorax
with its power of motivation and said:
With but few exceptions, the use of the word heart
in the Bible is limited to the operations of the heart of
man as the powerhouse of ones desires, emotions and
affections, the place that comes to include the capacities
for motivation. The Bible does not speak of a symbolic or
spiritual heart in contradistinction to the fleshly or
literal heart, just as it does not speak of a symbolic
mind, and thus we do not want to make the mistake of
viewing the literal heart as merely a fleshly pump as
does orthodox physiology today. There is a close
interrelationship between the heart and the mind, but
they are two different faculties, centering in different
locations. The heart is a marvelously designed muscular
pump, but, more significantly, our emotional and motivating capacities are built within it. Love, hate, desire
(good and bad), preference for one thing over another,
ambition, fear in effect, all that serves to motivate us
in relationship to our affections and desires springs from
the heart. p. 5-7.

The Witchtower 6/2009

The Organization

Some criticize Jehovahs Witnesses because

their teachings are changed from time to time.
They claim that if the doctrine came from God
there would be no need for changes. But
in actual fact, the opposite is true. David
mentions those with whom there are no
changings and who have not feared God.
(Ps. 55:19) Hence, the steady changes with
Jehovahs Witnesses are an impressive proof of
their godliness.
The psalms say about the king: To him
let some of the gold of Sheba be given.
(Ps. 72:15) But today, the financial support
that the publishers give is not directed to a
literal king. Rather, other sheep serve closely
with anointed ones, who are destined to rule
as kings over the earth The Watchtower,
April 15, 1992, p. 17.
However, the willingness to donate has
ceased over the recent years, as did the contribution to the preaching work. The Governing
Body says with the words of David: I have
been forgotten; I have become like a damaged vessel; for I have heard the bad report by many. (Ps. 31:12, 13) Thus, they put
more and more emphasis on their authority:
They brag to the sky. They say that they
own the earth Ps. 73:9, NCV.
Apostasy

But more and more Jehovahs Witnesses refuse to go out preaching. They refer to David
who wrote: Toward God is my soul waiting
in silence. (Ps. 62:1) They claim that they
can praise God by keeping silent rather than
bothering their neighbors. But sooner or later,
such an attitude will bring them before a judicial committee: Those sitting in the gate
began concerning themselves about me.
(Ps. 69:12) If they arrogate to put more trust
in the clear statements of the Bible than in the
speculative interpretations of the faithful and
discreet slave, they can expect to be disfellowshipped.
But the pointless door-to-door ministry is
not the only thing that motivates some to turn
their back on Jehovahs Witnesses. Others say
like David: A young man I used to be, I
have also grown old, and yet I have not

seen Armageddon, nor the resurrection of

Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. (Ps. 37:25) Maybe
some of them heeded the counsel given in the
May 22, 1969 Awake! issue and refrained from
reasonable education: If you are a young person, you also need to face the fact that you will
never grow old in this present system of
things. (p. 15) But after all, they have grown
old and noticed that they wasted their lives.
Luckily, some of Jehovahs Witnesses realize the truth about this organization at an
early age. The say with Davids words: The
waters have come clear to the soul. I have
sunk down in deep mire, where there is no
standing ground. I have come into profound waters, and a flowing stream itself
has washed me away. I have become tired
by my calling out; my throat has become
hoarse. My eyes have failed while waiting
for my God Ps. 69:1-3.
The December 15, 2004 Watchtower stated:
We are associated with an organization that
brings the pure waters of truth right to us.
(p. 24) Indeed, Jehovahs Witnesses refer to
their publications as water. But in fact, they
do not contain truth at all. When an interested person allowed their misleading content to
come clear to the soul and took it to heart, he
got into deep mire in a spiritual sense.
A flowing stream the abundance of books
and booklets with which he got bombarded
washed him away, ripped him out of the normal life and made him a remotely controlled
servant of the faithful and discreet slave. He
was forced to go from house to house; his
throat has become hoarse from preaching.
While waiting for his God and noticing
that all Watchtower prophecies did not fulfill,
he became discouraged. He resigned from his
office of ministerial servant and declared:
What I had not taken by robbery I then
proceeded to give back. O God, you yourself
have come to know my foolishness.
(Ps. 69:4, 5) But after some time, he realized
the whole truth about the truth and left the
organization. The psalmist describes the consequences: Those hating me without a
cause have become even more than the
hairs of my head. Those bringing me to
silence, being my enemies for no reason,
have become numerous Ps. 69:4.
The Witchtower 6/2009

The elders try to bring him to silence by

forbidding their followers to talk to him, and
they say about apostates like him: They are
speaking lies. The venom of theirs is like
the venom of the serpent. (Ps. 58:3, 4) But
he blames himself for having been a Jehovahs
Witness and prays to God: O may those seeking you not be humiliated because of me.
(Ps. 69:6) He hopes that no one joined Jehovahs Witnesses because of his preaching.
If he happens to meet one of the elders who
disfellowshipped him on the street, he says to
him: I have become one estranged to my
brothers. You have put my acquaintances far away from me; you have set
me as something very detestable to them
Ps. 88:8.
Former Jehovahs Witnesses

Many apostates gather together later, sharing their experiences. Some of them praise God
saying: You have brought us into a hunting net; you have put pressure on our hips.
We have come through fire and through
water, and you proceeded to bring us forth
to relief. (Ps. 66:11, 12) They had been
caught with a hunting net by fishers of
men. (Mark 1:17) The Watchtower organization had put pressure on them in form of field
ministry, meetings and many commands of
men. They have come through water when
they got baptized. But finally, they were
brought forth to relief. They ask God with
regard to the Watchtower Society: The big
talker let him not be firmly established
in the earth Ps. 140:11.

King David hated the congregation

To no avail it is for Jehovahs Witnesses

that they are rising up early

Someone who has freed himself from the

slavery of the faithful and discreet slave can
proudly say: More insight than all my
teachers I have come to have. With more
understanding than older men I behave.
(Ps. 119:99, 100) Indeed, while their teachers who made them Jehovahs Witnesses still
have not recognized the truth about the
truth, these apostates have gained more
understanding in a short space of time. They
have taken an unequivocal stand and abandoned the false religion something that older
men (the elders of their former congregation)
have not yet accomplished.
Most apostates will no longer fall for sectarians like Jehovahs Witnesses. They say: The
wicked will fall into their own nets all
together, while I, for my part, pass by.
(Ps. 141:10) Fishers of men dont stand a
chance to fish them anymore. They have recognized how pointless the Jehovahs Witnesses
preaching work is and tell them: To no avail
it is for you men that you are rising up
early and going into field service Ps. 127:2.
The Witchtower 6/2009

Encouraging Visits

Some of the disfellowshipped persons are

visited by elders from time to time and asked if
they want to return to slavery. But anyone
with a little sanity tells them: Get away from
me, all you practicers of what is hurtful!
Get away from me, you evildoers! (Ps. 6:8;
119:115) When they ask why, you can answer:
With those who hide what they are I do
not come in. I have hated the congregation
... and with the wicked ones I do not sit
Ps. 26:4, 5.
Jehovahs Witnesses hide what they are
by appearing outwardly in a way that does not
reflect the facts. As the July 15h, 2008 Study
Edition of the Watchtower shows, they believe
that Jehovahs heavenly executional forces
will soon destroy those who do not have the
symbolic mark and that people will be judged
on the basis of their response to the good news
which is declared by Jehovahs Witnesses.
(p. 6) But they hide this cruel teaching in
public and say instead that God will rid the
earth of wickedness or destroy the wicked.
(The Watchtower, June 1, 2008, p. 3; April 1,
2008, p. 5) They show the same dishonesty
regarding their doctrines about blood or dealing with disfellowshipped relatives.

Jehovahs Witnesses hide what they are

The elders may also mention the wonderful

resurrection hope that apostates supposedly
pass up. (Awake! August 8, 1993, p. 27) But
apostates know: All of you are sons of the
Most High. Surely you will die just as men
do. (Ps. 82:6, 7) And Jesus said to his disciples: You will be sons of the Most High, because he is kind toward the unthankful and
wicked. (Luke 6:35) So, the sons of the Most
High are the unthankful and wicked who
join Jehovahs Witnesses or another Christian
sect. They will die just as men do.
And humans and animals come to the
same end humans die, animals die. So
there's really no advantage in being human. None We all end up in the same
place. (Eccl. 3:19, MSG) So why should we
struggle? Granted, David wrote: God is causing the solitary ones to dwell in a house.
(Ps. 68:6) But that is the house which King
Solomon referred to when he wrote that man
is walking to his long-lasting house
Eccl. 12:5.
The other sheep today look forward to living right on into an earthly paradise, says the
April 15, 1995 Watchtower. (p. 31) But this
hope is illusionary. The sons of Korah wrote in
regard to these Christians: Like sheep they
have been appointed to Sheol itself; death
itself will shepherd them. Their forms
are due to wear away; Sheol rather than a
lofty abode is for each one Ps. 49:14.
Many of Jehovahs Witnesses also believe
that apostates would sorely miss the lifegiving spiritual food in the Watchtower publications. (2005 Yearbook of Jehovahs Witnesses,
p. 201) But Asaph wrote: They kept offending him with their high places, and with
their graven images they kept inciting him
to jealousy. (Ps. 78:58) In ancient times,
high places were usually used to build
Watchtowers, and the Watchtower does contain
not graven but printed images. The absurd
ideas regularly presented in the Watchtower as
messages from God really must keep offending
him. Whoever realized this will say about Jehovahs Witnesses: For [spiritual] food they
gave me a poisonous plant. (Ps. 69:21)
Indeed, the Watchtower publications are spiritually poisonous.
The Witchtower 6/2009

Hanger-Ons

Not all Jehovahs Witnesses who disagree

with Watchtower teachings are disfellowshipped
or disassociate themselves. For various reasons,
some of them decide to remain Jehovahs Witnesses, often because of their relatives. But
some of them say when entering the kingdom
hall: My very heart is in severe pain within
me, and the frights of death itself have fallen upon me. Fear, yes, trembling itself enters into me, and shuddering covers me.
And I keep saying: O that I had wings as a
dove has! I would fly away Ps. 55:4-6.
As a matter of fact, many Jehovahs Witnesses have to cope with negative self-image.
And in their meetings, the elders talk them even
further into feelings of guilt. They fan fear of
Armageddon among those who do not put themselves out for the preaching work. No wonder
that frights of death, fear and trembling is
ubiquitous within kingdom halls. Surely it is by
divine providence that Jehovahs Witnesses
regularly sing a song based on this psalm in
their kingdom halls: Had I wings just as a dove
has, Id fly far off to reside in a place safe from
the wicked, whose bad tongues, O God, divide
Sing Praises to Jehovah, Song 103.
Feelings of Inferiority

Like no other book of the Bible, the psalms

promote feelings of inferiority among Gods
servants. Everyone must be sensible of the fact:
With error I was brought forth with birth
pains, and in sin my mother conceived
me. (Ps. 51:5) So, even from his very birth,
every man is an umimportant sinner. Later,
David added: The sons of earthling man
are an exhalation, the sons of mankind
are a lie. When laid upon the scales they
are all together lighter than an exhalation Ps. 62:9.
He deepened this idea on a later occasion:
Cause me, O Jehovah, to know my end
that I may know how transient I am. My
lifes duration is as nothing in front of you.
Surely every earthling man, though standing firm, is nothing but an exhalation.
(Ps. 39:4, 5) In another psalm he wrote that
we are dust. (Ps. 103:14) And dust is wiped
away; no one would strike on the idea that a

single grain of dust could be important. How

should a single human feel significant and
acquire self-esteem when whole mankind is
dust and all together lighter than an exhalation in Jehovahs eyes?
Indeed, Jehovah views men as useless:
Like our dogs, we age and weaken. And
die. (Ps. 49:20, MSG) Wise king Solomon
confirmed this fact: Like animals we breathe
and die, and we are no better off than they are.
It just doesn't make sense. (Eccl. 3:19, CEV)
No wonder that David said of himself: I am a
worm, and not a man, a reproach and
despicable Ps. 22:6.
Even David asked: Who is the man that
is delighting in life? (Ps. 34:12) In fact,
even in ancient times it was difficult to find
such a person among Gods people. Rather, his
worshippers were broken at heart, afflicted and aching, afflicted and poor,
greatly impoverished, emaciated and
afflicted to a great extent. (Ps. 34:18;
69:29; 70:5; 79:8; 102:7; 119:107) Furthermore, many of them had a heart broken and
crushed. Ps. 51:17.
Today, the situation is the same. As writer
Gerd Borchers-Schreiber mentions, Jehovahs
Witnesses said at an elder training 1991 in
Switzerland that there were many people
suffering from depression among Jehovahs
Witnesses and that in psychosomatic hospitals there are always patients who confess to
Jehovahs Witnesses. And while Asaph said of
people who did not worship God: They went
eating and satisfying themselves very
much, true Christians say: My very flesh
has grown lean. Ps. 78:29; 109:24.
Futuretec@de.wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0

Like our dogs, we age and weaken. And die.

The Witchtower 6/2009

Jehovah God of Revenge

Another cause for depression among Jehovahs Witnesses is that their prayers concerning apostates have not yet been answered.
They know that God himself will break the
head of his enemies in pieces. (Ps. 68:21)
Indeed, the true God is the Giver of acts of
vengeance. (Ps. 18:47) Psalm 49 even calls
Jehovah the God of acts of vengeance. (Ps.
94:1) His anger flares up easily Ps. 2:12.
Again and again, Jehovahs Witnesses beg
him with the words of David: Do arise,
O Jehovah! You will have to strike all
my enemies on the jaw. The teeth of wicked
ones you will have to break. O God,
knock out their teeth in their mouth!
(Ps. 3:7; 58:6) But to this day there is no evidence that apostates consult their dentist more
often than Jehovahs Witnesses.
Faithful king David also prayed: O that
you, O God, would slay the wicked one!
Do I not feel a loathing for those revolting
against you? With a complete hatred I do
hate them. (Ps. 139:19, 21, 22) Accordingly
says the October 1, 1952 Watchtower:
We must hate in the truest sense, which is to regard with extreme and active aversion, to consider as
loathsome, odious, filthy, to detest. ... We cannot love
those hateful enemies, for they are fit only for destruction. ... We pray with intensity and cry out this
prayer for Jehovah to delay no longer, and plead that
his anger be made manifest. Bring forth your arm
and let the enemies see it, and use it for their hurt
and destruction. ... These are the true sentiments,
desires and prayers of the righteous ones today
p. 599, 600.

Alcohol contributes to acts of violence,

says Awake! magazine. (October 8, 2005, p. 3)
Once Jehovah began to awake as from
sleeping, like a mighty one sobering up
from wine. And he went striking down his
adversaries from behind. (Ps. 78:65, 66).
As God is almighty, he could also strike down
his adversaries head-on, or simply let them fall
dead. But under the influence of alcohol, he
stroke them down from behind.
A study of the universities of Northumbria
and Keele showed that alcohol may cause forgetfulness. That may explain why Ethan
the Ezrahite had to say to Jehovah: You yourself have crushed Rahab, even as someone
slain. (Ps. 89:10) Maybe Jehovah had simply
forgotten that he had declared Rahab righteous
by works and that she actually should keep on
living James 2:25; Joshua 6:17.
His alcohol intake may have caused God to
forget day and hour when he wanted to bring
his judgment over the earth. Unfortunately,
nobody [else] knows it, neither the angels of
the heavens nor the Son. (Mat. 24:36) But
since Jehovah has to stick to his own principles, he can bring Armageddon only precisely
at his appointed time. (The Watchtower, July
15, 1977, p. 435) But no one knows it anymore,
so his only hope is that he remembers it timely.

Alcohol Abuse in Heaven

Asaph became boisterous even when thinking of God: I will remember God and be
boisterous; I will show concern. (Ps. 77:3)
Why is God so irascible and moody? Asaph
reveals one of the reasons: There is a cup in
the hand of Jehovah, and the wine is
foaming, it is full of mixture. (Ps. 75:8)
Obviously, God is among those staying a long
time with the wine, those coming in to search
out mixed wine Pr. 23:30.

Now and again, God causes a copious downpour to fall

The Witchtower 6/2009

Natural Disasters

The prophet Amos explained: If a calamity

occurs in the city, is it not also Jehovah who
has acted? (Amos 3:6) The so-called natural
laws were actually created by God, and the
same can be said of so-called natural disasters. (compare Awake!, February 8, 1999, p. 3)
David said: The earth itself rocked. A
copious downpour you began causing to
fall, O God. (Ps. 68:8, 9) Hence, earthquakes
and floods are caused by God.
Spiegel Online reported on June 5, 2005
that every year, thousands die in China by
floods and landslides. Similarly, hundreds die
in India every year through floods. But not only
earthquakes and floods are caused by God:
Our God will come and cannot possibly
keep silent. Before him there devours a
fire, and all around him it has become
exceedingly stormy weather. (Ps. 50:3)
Storms are also a part of his works. 1970 and
1991, each time a single tornado caused about
300,000 fatalities only in Bangladesh.
However, the victims in China, India and
Bangladesh had one thing in common: They did
not worship Jehovah. They had to be annihilated anyway sooner or later. Hence, Gods
servants can wholeheartedly join the praise:
Praise Jehovah from the earth, you sea
monsters and all you watery deeps, you fire
and hail, snow and thick smoke, you tempestuous wind, accomplishing his word.
(Ps. 147:7, 8) God likely knows that the disposal of all those slain by Jehovah after Armageddon would overcharge the few survivors,
so he annihilates many of them in advance by
disasters.

To the beasts he is giving their food.

Hunger

Jesus foretold that there would be food

shortages. (Luke 21:11) Thus, he cannot simply provide food to all people because the prophecy would not fulfill then. Rather, he causes
the hungry ones to dwell and he blesses
them so that they become very many. (Ps.
107:36, 38) By means of disasters and other
provisions, he causes the hungry to become
very many. A lot of them finally starve, and
again they become few and crouch down
owing to restraint, calamity and grief
Ps. 107:39.
Through the prophet Jeremiah, Jehovah
said about his own people: By famine they will
come to an end. (Jer. 16:4) Jesus knew that his
father would proceed like that, thats why he
explained: Happy are you who hunger. (Luke
6:21) Whoever goes hungry can feel blessed
that he can play a role in Gods purpose.
But Jehovah does only starve humans.
To the beasts he is giving their food.
(Ps. 147:9) God does not only nourish the
birds of heaven. (Mat. 6:26) The psalms show:
As for this sea so great and wide, there
are moving things without number, living
creatures, small as well as great. As for
Leviathan, him you have formed to play
about in it. All of them for you they keep
waiting to give them their food in its season Ps. 104:25-27.

Exceedingly stormy weather glorifies Jehovah

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Indeed, there are many creatures in the

sea, like sharks or stingrays. Leviathan
likely the Nile crocodile can also be found
there, at least near the coast. God does give
them all their food in its season, sometimes
including humans.
Human needs

Regular washing is important for us, as

the November 15, 1981 Watchtower explained.
(p. 6) Since we are created in Gods image, it is
reasonable to believe that God does also become dirty over time and has to wash. (Gen.
1:27) But the psalms are the only Bible book
that refers directly to his body hygiene: Moab
is my washing pot. (Ps. 60:8; 108:9) As
there were no bigger waters in Moab, God
could only use it as a washing pot, not as a
bathtub. But Jehovah our God is righteous.
(Dan. 9:14) And the righteous one will
bathe in the blood of the wicked one, not
in water. Ps. 58:10.

even eating too little meat would displease him,

for he commanded: All the fat ones of the
earth shall eat Ps. 22:29.
Is God always honest? He said: Once I
have sworn in my holiness, to David I will
not tell lies. (Ps. 89:35) Why should Jehovah
particularly swear not to tell lies to David if
would never tell lies anyway?
The study of the psalms reveals many details about Gods personality. The futility of the
Watchtower religion can be clearly seen in full
harmony with the prophetic psalms. Let us not
hold back from speaking about the wonderful
psalms on every occasion!

An even more important basic need of humans is eating. When Jehovah was Abrahams
guest, he ate a tender and good young bull.
(Gen. 18:1, 3, 8) So, Jehovah eats meat, and he
commanded his worshippers to do the same:
You must eat meat. (Deut. 12:15) That means
that vegetarians cannot please Jehovah. But
Moab was Gods washing pot

QUESTIONS FROM READERS

Should Christians witness to the devil?
As true Christians, we keep looking for persons with
sheeplike qualities (compare Our Kingdom Ministry, 6/84,
p. 3) The preeminent features of sheep include two horns and
a tail things which are also attributed to the devil.
Hence, the devil is one of the sheeplike persons who have
everlasting life in prospect. (Mat. 25:46) Thats why Jesus
went his way and preached to the spirits in prison, who had
once been disobedient. (1. Pet. 3:19, 20) The demons, who
had once been disobedient, can abandon their sinful life and
become worshippers of Jehovah too Ezek. 33:16.
How can we reach the devil and his demons in field service? When we call at someone who already has contact with
them, we can ask him for help. Such a person could forward
the Watchtower to the devil and the demons or read it to them.

Satan must get a witness

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QUESTIONS FROM READERS

What hope is there for dead loved ones?
The Bible clearly shows that there is no resurrection. Job asked: Will we humans live again? I
would gladly suffer and wait for my time. My Creator, you would want me; you would call out, and I
would answer. (Job 14:14, 15, CEV) If there would
be a resurrection, God would call the dead.
But Job knew: When a tree is chopped down,
there is always the hope that it will sprout again.
Humans are different we die, and that's the end.
We fall into the sleep of death, never to rise
again. (Job 14:7, 10, 12, CEV) So, whoever died will
never wake up.
Wise king Solomon similarly noted: The living
at least know something, even if it's only that
they're going to die. But the dead know nothing and
get nothing. They're a minus that no one remembers. Their loves, their hates, yes, even their
dreams, are long gone. There's not a trace of them
left. (Ecclesiastes 9:5, 6, MSG) Indeed, no one
remembers them, not even God. Their dreams of
life after death are long gone, they get nothing.
Solomon continued: All that your hand finds to
do, do with your very power, for there is no work nor
devising nor knowledge nor wisdom in Sheol, the
place to which you are going. (Ecclesiastes 9:10)
Elsewhere he stated: There is no man righteous in
the earth that keeps doing good and does not sin,
and Ezekiel pointed out: The soul who sins is the
one who will die Ecclesiastes 7:20; Ezekiel 18:4,
NIV.
True, the Bible clearly shows that there is no
hope at all for the dead. They are not going to exist
anymore forever and ever.

The Bible clearly shows that

there will be a resurrection. Job
asked: If an able-bodied man dies
can he live again? and provides the
answer: All the days of my compulsory service I shall wait, until my
relief comes. You will call, and I
myself shall answer you. (Job 14:14,
15) God will call the dead to resurrection.
Job knew: There exists hope for
even a tree. If it gets cut down, it will
even sprout again. [It] will not
cease to be. (Job 14:7) Trees will
not cease to be, and Jehovah promised: People will be as long-lived as
trees. (Isaiah 65:22, MSG) Whoever
died will sprout again and live
forever. Jesus too said: He that
believes has everlasting life John
6:47.
The apostle Paul explained that
there is going to be a resurrection of
both the righteous and the unrighteous. (Acts 24:15) And Jehovah
promised: Your dead ones will live.
... They will rise up Isaiah 26:19.
True, the Bible clearly shows that
there is hope for the dead. They are
not going to remain dead but will
rise up and then live forever and
ever.

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HOW CAN YOU FIND THE TRUE RELIGION?

Windows in his roof chamber being open even three times in a day he was kneeling
on his knees and praying and offering praise before his God. (Daniel 6:10)

There can be no doubt as to who were practicing true religion in the first century. What
about today? How can those practicing true
religion be identified?
Explaining how we can do this, Jesus said:
By their fruits you will recognize them. ...
Every good tree produces fine fruit, but every
rotten tree produces worthless fruit; really,
then, by their fruits you will recognize those
men. (Matthew 7:16-20) What fine fruits
would you expect true worshipers of God to
produce?
Gods true worshippers must have peace
among themselves, even though the world
around them shattered by war. Where can we
find such peace among men and women from
various nations and races? Stephan, a network
engineer from Germany, explained: The first
time I went to a Microsoft workshop, I saw a
well-dressed lady sitting and conversing with a
Turk. I had never seen that before. In that
moment, I knew that these must be Gods people.

Neither employees nor software from

Microsoft were involved in World War I

Indeed, around 90,000 employees out of

[nearly] all nations and tribes and peoples and
tongues work together at Microsoft in peace,
pursuing a common goal. Such unity is only
possible because all employees work closely
with Gods channel of communication, the Microsoft executive board in Seattle. They separate from the worlds conflicts, and history
proves that Microsoft was not involved in the
two World Wars of the 20th century.

Worldwide Activity

Gods true servants must also be acting to

the most distant part of the earth. (Acts 1:8)
That too is applicable to Microsoft, since the
company has employees in 105 countries
around the globe.* A special department takes
care of translating the products in more than
70 languages.
People from all nations listen
in unity at a Microsoft convention

Jehovahs Witnesses have 113 branch offices worldwide.

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Gods true worshippers must also travel

through the land declaring the good news of
word. (Acts 8:4) Indeed, Microsoft has scores
of Technical Evangelists who carry the good
news of Word, Excel and especially of new
products into the world.
The Bible says that God would give his revelation not all at once, but progressively. (Pr.
4:18) Accordingly, Microsoft does not publish
final products, but does time and again provide
brighter light in form of service packs, hotfixes and other updates. Granted, Microsoft has
not opened a large door but rather a large
window that leads to activity. 1. Cor. 16:9.
Persecution

The Bible also foretold that true servants of

God would be persecuted. In fact, Microsoft is
one of the most assaulted organizations on
earth. In the recent 6 years, at least 14 substantial lawsuits have been carried on against
Microsoft, where all the hate of Satans economic system turned up. So-called guardians
of competition recommended multiple times to
break up the company.
But to Microsoft the prophecy of Isaiah applies: Any weapon whatever that will be
formed against you will have no success, and
any tongue at all that will rise up against you
in the judgment you will condemn. This is the
hereditary possession of the servants of Jehovah. (Isaiah 54:17) That the company still
exists despite many hostilities is an impressive
proof of Gods blessing and protection.

William H. Gates, the first president of the Microsoft

Corporation, faced intense persecution

In the past 20 years, Microsofts employee

count increased on average by 19 percent per
year remarkable evidence of Gods support.*
And the blessing of Jehovah that is what
makes rich. (Proverbs 10:22) Thats why William H. Gates, the first president of the Microsoft Corporation, has been the richest person on earth for years. Despite the worldwide
financial crisis, his personal wealth is still
around $40 billion, an impressive fulfillment of
Bibles promise.
Who, then, is the body of true worshipers
today? On the basis of the evidence, which is
known or available to persons in all parts of
the earth, we do not hesitate to say that it is
Microsoft. It will be worthwhile to work close
with this organization, since God assures us
that practicing true religion brings great contentment now. Deuteronomy 30:19, 20.

Within the same timeframe, Jehovahs Witnesses had only

an average increase of 3.4 % per year.
*

The identifying mark of true religion

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Critics accuse Jehovahs Witnesses that they
would have miscalculated and their prophecies
had not fulfilled. But is this reproach justified?
Are their calculations really wrong?
After all, the basis for their belief is the Bible. What does the Bible say about math? We
find a fine example in Ezra 1:9-11:
These are the numbers of them: thirty basketshaped vessels of gold, a thousand basket-shaped
vessels of silver, twenty-nine replacement vessels,
tthirty small bowls of gold, four hundred and ten
small secondary bowls of silver, a thousand other
utensils. All the utensils of gold and of silver were
five thousand four hundred.

According to our mathematical understanding, there seems to be an error in calculation:

30 + 1000 + 29 + 30 + 410 + 1000 = 2499. But
the Bible Gods infallible word says that
there were 5400 utensils in total. Since a
thousand other utensils are explicitly mentioned, it is not possible that the 2901 apparently missing utensils were simply omitted.
Rather, we must accept that our mathematics has been invented by men and therefore is
not perfect. God says: As the heavens are
higher than the earth, so my ways are higher
than your ways, and my thoughts than your
thoughts. (Isaiah 55:9) And he defined: 30 +
1000 + 29 + 30 + 410 + 1000 = 5400.
Another verse that reveals a flaw of human
mathematics is Joshua 15:21-36:
And the cities at the extremity of the tribe of
the sons of Judah toward the boundary of Edom in
the south came to be [1] Kabzeel and [2] Eder
and [3] Jagur, and [4] Kinah and [5] Dimonah
and [6] Adadah, and [7] Kedesh and [8] Hazor
and [9] Ithnan, [10] Ziph and [11] Telem
and [12] Bealoth, and [13] Hazor-hadattah and
[14] Kerioth-hezron, that is to say, Hazor,
[15] Amam and [16] Shema and [17] Moladah,
and
[18] Hazar-gaddah
and
[19] Heshmon
and [20] Beth-pelet, and [21] Hazar-shual and
[22] Beer-sheba and [23] Biziothiah, [24] Baalah

and [25] Iim and [26] Ezem, and [27] Eltolad and
[28] Chesil and [29] Hormah, and [30] Ziklag and
[31] Madmannah and [32] Sansannah, and
[33] Lebaoth and [34] Shilhim and [35] Ain and
[36] Rimmon; all the cities being twenty-nine, together with their settlements.
In the Shephelah there were [1] Eshtaol
and [2] Zorah and [3] Ashnah, and [4] Zanoah
and
[5] En-gannim,
[6] Tappuah
and
[7] Enam,
[8] Jarmuth
and
[9] Adullam,
[10] Socoh and [11] Azekah, and [12] Shaaraim
and [13] Adithaim and [14] Gederah and
[15] Gederothaim; fourteen cities and their settlements.

Though we would count 36 resp. 15 cities

with our imperfect math, the Bible unmistakably says that it were 29 resp. 14 cities. That
may seem impossible to us, but all things are
possible with God. (Mark 10:27) Should we put
more trust in imperfect mathematicians who
not even believe in the Bible or practice false
religion than in the word of Jehovah, the
creator of the universe?
Jesus thanked Jehovah for hiding the truth
about math from those who think themselves
wise and clever, and for revealing them to the
childlike. (Mat. 11:25, NLT) Among the childlike who are seemingly unable to calculate is
the faithful and discreet slave of Jehovahs
Witnesses. Jehovah showed them how to calculate seasons, but in the past they allowed
worldly math to mislead them. They thought
that the year 607 BCE would have been 70
years before 537 BCE, or that there would have
been 2520 years between 607 BCE and 1914
CE. They correctly noticed that Armageddon
would come 6000 years after 4026 BCE, but
they wrongly assumed this would be in 1975
CE.
A diligent study of Bible math will enable
us to understand godly calculations more accurately and to determine correct dates for future
events which were correctly foretold by Jehovahs Witnesses.
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WHAT WILL NOT BE THERE IN PARADISE

Women:
The Scriptures do not reveal what the relationship of men and women will be after the
resurrection is completed. Whether the identity of the sexes, as such, will be preserved,
we do not know. There have been some well authenticated instances in which women have
been transformed into men, and it is possible that this transformation may become general
and we shall all be brothers together. The Golden Age, April 2, 1930, p. 446.

Children:
The most that we know is that there will be no children born during the last 100 years of
the Millennium (Isa. 65:20), nor any born after that, because men and women do not have
children after they reach the age of 100 years. The Golden Age, April 2, 1930, p. 446.

Black people:
How could all men be brought to perfection and which color of skin was the original?
God can change the Ethiopian's skin in his own due time. Prof. H. A. Edwards has written
for the public press an elaborate description of how Julius Jackson, a negro boy of nine
years, began to grow white in September, 1901, and is now fully nine-tenths white. Watch
Tower, February 15, 1904
A little while, and the Millennial kingdom will be inaugurated, which will bring restitution to
all mankind restitution to the perfection of mind and body, feature and color, to the
grand original standard. Watch Tower, April 1, 1914.

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