Page 3: HALLELUJAH! This word is well-known to most churchgoers in Christendom. Some of them shout it out loud in their Sunday services. How many, though, know what the word really means? In fact, it is Hebrew for "Praise Jah!" It is joyful, ringing acclamation of the Creator, whose name is Jehovah.
Page 6: JEHOVAH - the illustrious name of God!
Correction: Jehovah is not the name of the Creator of the universe.
Jehovah, name of the God of the Hebrew people as erroneously transliterated from the Masoretic Hebrew text. The word consists of the consonants JHVH or JHWH, with the vowels of a separate word, Adonai (Lord). Funk & Wagnalls Encyclopedia, Volume 15, page 24.
Page 3: Jah (Jehovah) is the Creator and Sustainer of the vast universe. (Psalm 147:4, 5; 148:3-6) He originated the ecosystems that make life on earth possible. (Psalm 147:8, 9; 148:7-10)
Note: Jesus Christ is the Creator and Sustainer of the vast universe.
Colossians 1:16-17 For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him. And He is before all things, and in Him all things consist.
Page 5: If we do God's will, he will fulfill the "promise of the life now." Of course, he will not in this system of things make the poor rich or the sick healthy.
Correction: God still heals if He so chooses.
James 5:14-15 Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer of faith will save the sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven.
Page 5: But he gives his spirit to those who serve him so that they find joy and contentment whatever their external situation.
Note: Jesus Christ sends the Holy Spirit to true Christians.
John 15:26 "But when the Helper comes, whom I shall send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father, He will testify of Me."
Page 5: Then, may you be there when this present system of things has passed away, and all creation joins in the cry: "Hallelujah!" "Praise, Jah, you people!" - Psalm 112:1; 135:1.
Note: Don't forget about Jesus Christ!
Revelation 5:13 And every creature which is in heaven and on the earth and under the earth and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, I heard saying: "Blessing and honor and glory and power Be to Him who sits on the throne, And to the Lamb, forever and ever!"
Page 6: Thus, some 200 years before Israel's release from Babylonish captivity, Jah Jehovah through his prophet Isaiah was giving assurance that he was their mighty Savior.
Note: Isaiah also prophesied about Jesus Christ being the Mighty God!
Isaiah 9:6 For unto us a Child is born, Unto us a Son is given; And the government will be upon His shoulder. And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
Page 6: That captivity was to last from 607 to 537 B.C.E. Isaiah also wrote: "I, Jehovah, am doing everything....the One saying of Cyrus, 'He is my shepherd, and all that I delight in he will completely carry out'; even in my saying of Jerusalem, 'She will be rebuilt,' and of the temple, 'You will have your foundation laid.' "
Correction: The captivity started with the destruction of Jerusalem in 586 B.C.E.
In 588 BC Zedekiah led a revolt against Chaldea, and two years later Nebuchadnezzar's army destroyed Judah and razed Jerusalem. Funk & Wagnalls Encyclopedia, Volume 15, page 57.
Page 6: A supremely happy Jewish remnant along with the non-Israelite Nethinim and the sons of the servants of Solomon returned to Jerusalem. They arrived in time to celebrate the Festival of Booths in 537 B.C.E. and make sacrifices to Jehovah at his altar. The next year, in the second month, they laid the foundation of the second temple, amid loud shouts of joy and praise to Jehovah. - Ezra 1:1-4; 2:1, 2, 43, 55; 3:1-6, 8, 10-13.
Correction: The captivity was a spiritual captivity much like the Watchtower!
The Jews turned their attention to rebuilding, and in 516 BC the Second Temple was completed. The latter date is regarded, in the Jewish tradition, as the true end of the exile in Babylon, which thus endured 70 years (586-516 BC). Funk & Wagnalls Encyclopedia, Volume 15, page 58.
Page 10: Thousands of repentant Jews - and later Gentiles - flocked to that Christian congregation and shared in declaring the good news of God's coming Kingdom rule over earth.
Correction: The Christian congregation declared the good news of Jesus Christ!
Acts 8:5-6 Then Philip went down to the city of Samaria and preached Christ to them. And the multitudes with one accord heeded the things spoken by Philip, hearing and seeing the miracles which he did.
Page 10: After some 30 years, the apostle Paul could state that the good news had been preached "in all creation that is under heaven." (Colossians 1:23)
Note: The good news is Jesus Christ!
Colossians 1:27-28 To them God willed to make known what are the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles: which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. Him we preach, warning every man and teaching every man in all wisdom, that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus.
Page 10: But following the death of the apostles, a great apostasy set in, and the light of truth began to flicker. Genuine Christianity was over-shadowed by Christendom's sectarianism, based on pagan teachings and philosophies. - Acts 20:29, 30.
Correction: True Christianity has been on the earth continually since the apostles.
Ephesians 3:20-21 Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen.
Page 10: Centuries passed. Then in the 1870's, a group of sincere Christians began to engage in a penetrating study of the Bible. From Scripture, they were able to pinpoint the year 1914 as marking the conclusion of "the appointed times of the nations."
Note: The year 1914 is based on the bogus date of 607 BC for the fall of Jerusalem.
Page 10: It was then that seven symbolic "times" (2,520 years of beastlike human rule) ended with the heavenly enthronement of Christ Jesus - the One having "the legal right" as earth's Messianic King. (Luke 21:24; Daniel 4:25; Ezekiel 21:26, 27)
Correction: The "enthronement" of Jesus Christ did not occur in 1914.
Matthew 28:18 And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, "All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth.
Hebrews 8:1-2 Now this is the main point of the things we are saying: We have such a High Priest, who is seated at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens, a Minister of the sanctuary and of the true tabernacle which the Lord erected, and not man.
Page 10: Particularly from 1919 onward, these Bible Students, known today as Jehovah's Witnesses, have been engaged in vigorously spreading throughout the earth the good news of the incoming Kingdom.
Correction: Jesus Christ is the good news!
1 Corinthians 15:1-5 Moreover, brethren, I declare to you the good news which I preached to you, which also you received and in which you stand, by which also you are saved, if you hold fast that word which I preached to you; unless you believed in vain. For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures, and that He was seen by Cephas, then by the twelve.
Page 10: In 1935, at a landmark convention in Washington, D.C., U.S.A., it was made known that the "great crowd" of Revelation 7:9-17 was a group to be recognized "after" the 144,000 and whose destiny is everlasting life in a paradise earth.
Correction: All true Christians will have the same hope.
Romans 2:11 For there is no partiality with God.
Page 11: A decreasing number were "called and chosen" to be among the 144,000 whereas a tremendous increase began in the number of the "great crowd" of "other sheep."
Correction: Jesus Christ says there will be only "one flock."
John 10:16 "And other sheep I have which are not of this fold; them also I must bring, and they will hear My voice; and there will be one flock and one shepherd."
Page 11: In the early 1920's, a featured public talk presented by Jehovah's Witnesses was entitled "Millions Now Living Will Never Die." This may have reflected overoptimism at that time.
Correction: The public talk was presented by the Governing Body.
Note: The Watchtower was wrong then as it is wrong now!
Page 11: This "great crowd" now 'renders sacred service' in the earthly courtyard of his house of worship. - Revelation 7:9, 15.
Correction: The "great crowd" renders sacred service before the throne of God in heaven.
Revelation 7:9-10 After these things I looked, and behold, a great multitude which no one could number, of all nations, tribes, peoples, and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, with palm branches in their hands, and crying out with a loud voice, saying, "Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!"
Page 12: While preaching from house to house, one of Jehovah's Witnesses met a Pentecostal lady who commented, 'We have holy spirit, but you are the ones doing the work.' Tactfully, it was explained to her that one who has holy spirit will, as a matter of course, be motivated to do God's work. James 2:17 states: "Faith, if it does not have works, is dead in itself."
Correction: It is God working in us that produces true "good" works.
Philippians 2:13 for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure.
Page 12: With the help of Jehovah's spirit, his Witnesses have cultivated strong faith, and he has 'filled his house with glory' by setting them to doing righteous works - principally preaching this good news of the Kingdom in all the inhabited earth for a witness to all the nations.'
Note: The Watchtower is accursed of God for ordering the preaching of a false "good news."
1 Corinthians 1:23-24 but we preach Christ crucified, to the Jews a stumbling block and to the Greeks foolishness, but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.
Galatians 1:8 But even if we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel to you than what we have preached to you, let him be accursed.
Page 13: As this godless generation of mankind hovers on the brink of annihilation, surely we should not want to throw away our precious hope of eternal life by returning to "rolling in the mire" of worldly distractions! - 2 Peter 2:22; 3:10; Luke 21:32-36.
Note: Religion produces insecurity while a relationship with God produces assurance!
1 John 5:13 These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life, and that you may continue to believe in the name of the Son of God.
Page 13: At the same time, Jehovah has commissioned the anointed faithful and discreet slave class to provide spiritual "food at the proper time" for the household of their Master, Christ. (Matthew 24:45-47) From his throne in the heavens, this Messianic King is now directing a marvelous spiritual feeding program throughout the earth.
Correction: The Father gives direction in the name of the Son by the Holy Spirit.
John 14:26 "But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you."
Page 22: The entire prophetic message of the Bible focuses on Jehovah's provision of Christ as King and priestly Ransomer. - John 18:37; 1 Peter 1:18, 19.
Note: This is why Jesus Christ was a "faithful witness" of Himself!
John 8:18 "I am One who bears witness of Myself, and the Father who sent Me bears witness of Me."
John 14:6-7 Jesus said to him, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me. If you had known Me, you would have known My Father also; and from now on you know Him and have seen Him."
John 16:33 "These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world."