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| from my front yard |
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| photo from Google search |
Welcome
back my beautiful readers, on this second day of spring. Yes, as I
type away, looking out the window on this second day of spring, I see
the grass needing mowed, the Daffodils have bloomed, the red plum
tree is blooming with this tiny little pink flowers, and inside my
house, the wood furnace is running because, yes, it's cold outside.
Seriously! I am so ready for this cold weather to be over. IJS.
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| 90 Sands, Brooklyn, NY |
This
is the first chance I have had to sit down and have a chat with y'all
since my return from New York City. Wow, that place is something
else! I took sick the day I left, caught some bug at the Hospital,
and it really put a strain on the trip. I debated going, but, I had already purchased the plane
ticket, so off I went. I don't regret going, I just wished I hadn't
been so sick. I got sicker each day I was there.
Now
I am home, and eager to tackle questions. This questions came across
my desk last night, so I thought I would get right to it and answer
it. Why do you use other scriptures
other than Jesus' own words where He Himself states to eat and drink
of His symbolic Flesh and Blood to explain why most JW,org Members
don't partake of the emblems?
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| photo from Google search |
This is an excellent
question. I hope that I am understanding the question correctly and
will do my best, with Jehovah's help, to answer it in a way that is
clear, understandable, and as always, with the support from the
scriptures, after all, the scriptures are the authority.
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| photo from Google search |
So, this question
caused me to do some thinking, and praying, on the matter. How best
to proceed? After all, with the memorial of Christ's death
approaching, it is the current topic. There is a video that explains
a little of what will happen at the memorial. I have included it just
in case you have not had a chance to see it yet.
Who partake?
When Jehovah’s Witnesses observe the Lord’s Evening Meal, only a small fraction of us partake of the bread and wine. Why is that so?
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| photo from Google search |
Jesus’ shed blood established “a new covenant” that replaced the covenant between Jehovah God and the ancient nation of Israel. (Hebrews 8:10-13) Those who are in that new covenant partake of the Memorial emblems. It includes, not all Christians, but only “those who have been called” in a special way by God. (Hebrews 9:15; Luke 22:20) These ones will rule in heaven with Christ, and the Bible says that just 144,000 people receive that privilege.—Luke 22:28-30; Revelation 5:9, 10; 14:1, 3.
In contrast to the “little flock” of those called to rule with Christ, the vast majority of us hope to be part of “a great crowd” who will gain everlasting life on earth. (Luke 12:32; Revelation 7:9, 10) While those of us with an earthly hope do not partake of the Memorial emblems, we do join in expressing thanks for the sacrifice that Jesus made in our behalf.—1 John 2:2.
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| photo from Google search |
The above
information speaks volumes. If you notice, Jesus' shed blood
established “a new covenant” that replaced the covenant between
Jehovah God and the ancient nation of Israel.
It is those who
are in that new covenant that partake of the Memorial
emblems. That in itself begs another question: Who are they?
As the paragraph went on to explain, they include, not all
Christians, but only “those who have been called” in a special
way
by God. And yes, there is even a number of those who have been "called" in that special way by God, and I think you should be able to see it for yourself, here in the book of
Revelation 14:1, 3. The reason why most don't partake, is not because we have been instructed not to, we do not partake because we have not been called, we have not been invited to go to Heaven.
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Yet, some have been called. Have you been wondering why they have been called? Well, it all has to do with a Kingdom. A kingdom that most people mention when reciting the Lord's Prayer. It is a familiar prayer, and a lot of people know it by heart. (Growing up as a child, I recited this prayer many times, but admittedly, I didn't really know what I was praying for, or about.) (Read Matthew 6:9-13.) And in that prayer, Jesus mentions that we are to pray: "Let your Kingdom come." Would you like to learn what God's Kingdom is? After all, Jesus mentioned it in his model prayer, and many people pray of this Kingdom to come. From the above link, you will be learning: What is God's Kingdom? Who it it's King? Where does God's government rule from? What will it rule over? What makes Jesus better than any human King? And of course, dealing with those who have been called, you will learn: How do we know that Jesus will not rule alone? How many will rule with Jesus Christ? And, When did God start to choose them? And, Why is it loving of Jehovah to have Jesus and the 144,000 rule over humans?
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| photo from Google Search |
I deeply recommend that you read the above information on God's Kingdom. It will help you to better understand the Lord's prayer, the Kingdom, and the reason you hear the number 144,000.
At this point, I would like to take this opportunity to mention that when I was growing up, I was raised in a religiously divided house. My dad was Pentecostal. He considered himself a missionary, and he had moved his family out onto an Indian Reservation in Wyoming to preach the Bible to the natives living there. It was during that time that I was taught by him that when you died, you had two outcomes, Heaven or Hell. Heaven is where you went if you were good, hell if you were bad. But, did you know? That is not what the Bible teaches? What? Yep. If you would like to know what the Bible really teaches, I recommend the following information. It is really quite beautiful, and you will get to learn, from your own copy of the Bible should you choose to follow along using it, God's promises for us, concerning the Earth. Even Jesus spoke to us about it in his famous Sermon on the Mount!
In essence, it all starts, well, in the Beginning. Yep. You know the scripture, Genesis 1:1. It's probably as familiar to you as John 3:16.
In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.+
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A way cool boss though
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God created... that means, he's the boss. He chooses who lives in heaven. He chooses who lives on earth. And I know that for a lot of people, that's not what they were taught, and that is not the hope that they have, and I feel bad for them, growing up as I did, thinking and believing the 'Heaven/Hell' thing, but, once you read what the Bible really teaches, it's nice, at least is is for me, to finally know the truth. After all, I want to live here on earth. Jehovah went all out when he created the Earth, then created us to live on it.
So, back to the original question that got this all started: Why do you use other scriptures other than Jesus' own words where He Himself states to eat and drink of His symbolic Flesh and Blood to explain why most JW,org Members don't partake of the emblems?
The reason for using other scriptures other than Jesus' own words is because Jesus wasn't the only one who spoke of these things. Jesus was the greatest man who ever walked this earth, the greatest teacher who ever taught on this earth, and he taught his followers, his Apostles, to teach others about the promises from his Heavenly Father, promises in the Bible, and in turn, his Apostles taught others, and some of them were even inspired by Jehovah God to pen those words for us, for our day, for our further instruction. Therefore, we can draw our instruction from all the pages of God's words, found in the Bible, to get the entire picture.
You are warmly invited to meet with us to observe the anniversary of Jesus’ death.
The following is supplemental information.
