I appreciate this spiritual help so much ,because I know it is coming from Jehovah. He is aware of our daily needs.Thanks to Jehovah and may Jehovah continue to bless these brothers
4. What challenges did Jewish Christians face? Since the people of God were divided into those who accepted the Messiah and those who rejected him, the followers of Christ from the Jews had a particularly difficult time due to changes in creeds. The inertia of the fulfillment of the law of Moses greatly hindered them (it was difficult for them to abandon some familiar rules). Because of the new views, both believers and pastors of the Jehovah's people began to treat them badly: *they were considered traitors/apostates* and even persecuted for their new understanding of creeds (read carefully Acts 21:20-24; 5:17,18,27-29). Difficulties arose in the Christian congregation itself because of rivalry, division of opinion about the new doctrine of circumcision, or because of the distortion of Christ's teachings (1 Corinthians 1:12,13; Gal.6:12; 2 Timothy 2:16-18). What could help Christians stay faithful to Jehovah? First, they needed to explore the word of God more deeply (Hebrews 5:12-14). This would help them see the benefits of the new knowledge they have received from Christ and strengthen their faith in the new path to Jehovah through faith in Jesus Christ. Although *the Mosaic Law was the law of God* (and not false teachings, as the authors write in paragraph 6), and *circumcision was not considered a sin* - however, a deeper study of the Bible would help Christians understand that *The Law of Moses had already fulfilled its function and was abolished by the sacrifice of Christ.* And therefore force whom- then it would be wrong to be circumcised, considering this the way to salvation (read carefully Rom.2:28,29; 10:4; Gal.3:24).
18. Knowing what about the future can help us to endure persecution? We are living in a time of fulfillment of Biblical prophecies and trials await us all in the future: 1) The "Great tribulation" that Jesus warned about has been in full swing for a long time. *It began with the reign of the lawless one, the "fallen star" (fallen anointed ones), in the Temple of Jehovah (Rev 8:10,11 and 9:1 - the Great Tribulation will end with the reign of Christ: carefully read Mat. 24:21,29). *The reign of the lawless one is the 1st woe* for the people of Jehovah (the 1st woe is included in the Great Tribulation). "And the fifth angel sounded, and I saw a star fall from heaven unto the earth: and to him was given the key of the bottomless pit." (Rev 9:1 and compare Rev 1:20 KJ) *"One woe is past;* and, behold, there come two woes more hereafter." (Rev. 9:12 KJ) 2) The last King of the North ("the beast that came out of the abyss" - Rev 11:7; 17:8), has already unleashed the last world war, *which will lead to the Apogee of the 2nd woe and the death of 1/3 of people* "And the beast which I saw was *like unto a leopard, and his feet were as the feet of a bear, and his mouth as the mouth of a lion:* (compare Dan.7:4-6) and the dragon gave him his power, and his seat, and great authority. And I saw one of his heads as it were wounded to death; and *his deadly wound was healed:* and all the world wondered after the beast. And they worshipped the dragon which gave power unto the beast: and they worshipped the beast, saying, Who is like unto the beast? *who is able to make war with him?"* (Rev.13:2-4 KJ ) "But tidings out of the east and out of the north shall trouble him: therefore he shall go forth with great fury to destroy, and utterly to make away many." (Dan 11:44 KJ) *"One woe is past;* and, behold, there come two woes more hereafter. .. . And the *sixth angel sounded...* By these three was the *third part of men killed,* by the fire, and by the smoke, and by the brimstone, which issued out of their mouths." (Rev 9:12,13,18 KJ) 3) *The Great Tribulation, consisting of the 1st and 2nd woe,* will end with the death of 1/3 of people and the present accession of Christ, with the departure of 144,000 or the "church of the firstborn" to him (the doctrine of 1914 is a MISTAKE) *"The second woe is past;* and, behold, the third woe cometh quickly. And the *seventh angel sounded;* and there were great voices in heaven, saying, *The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord,* and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever" (Rev.11:14,15 KJ).
13. Why was the counsel recorded at Hebrews 13:5 appropriate? Experience has shown that although money is not the main thing for a Christian, as the authors of the WT write and it is difficult to disagree with, however, *money was very necessary in case of disasters.* Those who had cash were able to get out of the shelling zones. And those who did not have them or they were electronic - they could not leave and were severely injured or died. As one sister said, "a bank card in war conditions, when there are no lights and ATMs are broken, is the most useless thing, even if there are millions on it." The disaster of co-believers in Ukraine has shown that, firstly, the people of God, as travelers in this world, should not acquire houses and other monumental property: all this is either very easily destroyed, or it becomes the cause of death if it is a pity to part with all this during the war. But it is necessary to have the required amount of cash (or jewelry that can be exchanged). Secondly, *the war showed* that waiting for instructions from the Governing Body in times of disaster can cost lives. And even if they do, they will not help anyone to survive Armageddon, because in this century - *everyone is mortal, and Armageddon - no one will survive* (read Heb.9:27 and Rev 14:13)
10. What would strong faith move Christians to do? By the 1st century, *because of the infidelity of the pastors, Jerusalem became apostate,* and Jehovah left the temple of Jerusalem - the city was left without Its protection. Therefore, in order to save Christians who broke away from the "people of God", who were no longer such, they had to run away (read carefully Mt.23:37,38) Today, for Jehovah, it is not the literal, but the spiritual "Jerusalem" that is important - the supreme pastors of His people. But, as in the 1st century, the pastors of God's people of our time *are also not faithful to Jehovah in everything.* Therefore, today it is necessary to escape from the spiritual "Jerusalem" - that is, *to get out from under the harmful influence of incorrect pastors* (this does not mean that one should run away from congregations as some believe - Heb. 10:25). Further, the authors of the WT write that, most likely, the elders of the 1st century gave specific instructions to Christians when and how to flee to the mountains. Therefore, salvation today will depend on obedience to the Governing Body: it is likely that the Governing Body will also give specific instructions for salvation during the "great tribulation". Therefore, it is necessary to strengthen our trust - now, obediently following their instructions. What is the problem with this instruction??? 1) If it says "likely and may", it means that the Governing Council may not give instructions 2) The example of persecution of believers in Russia has shown that sometimes the instructions of the Governing Body are not useful and even harmful. For example, the requirement to continue openly worshipping Jehovah in the halls of the Kingdom, *despite the ban,* helped the authorities of the Russian Federation *easily arrest believers* right in the halls of the Kingdom and easily prove their guilt in violation of the law. 3) The example of the disaster of the believers of Ukraine due to the shelling of Mariupol, for example, showed that *if they had waited for* instructions on salvation from the Governing Body, *few of them would have been able to survive.*
Thanks for all that you do for us spiritually 😊
Much appreciated my brother!
thank you brother for these incouraging comments
Thanks for all that you do
I appreciate this spiritual help so much ,because I know it is coming from Jehovah. He is aware of our daily needs.Thanks to Jehovah and may Jehovah continue to bless these brothers
And may you also be able to resist false information so you will go on
Much appreciated
Thank you brother for the helpful comments
Appreciate this so much☺
Thanks 👍
4. What challenges did Jewish Christians face?
Since the people of God were divided into those who accepted the Messiah and those who rejected him, the followers of Christ from the Jews had a particularly difficult time due to changes in creeds. The inertia of the fulfillment of the law of Moses greatly hindered them (it was difficult for them to abandon some familiar rules).
Because of the new views, both believers and pastors of the Jehovah's people began to treat them badly: *they were considered traitors/apostates* and even persecuted for their new understanding of creeds (read carefully Acts 21:20-24; 5:17,18,27-29).
Difficulties arose in the Christian congregation itself because of rivalry, division of opinion about the new doctrine of circumcision, or because of the distortion of Christ's teachings (1 Corinthians 1:12,13; Gal.6:12; 2 Timothy 2:16-18). What could help Christians stay faithful to Jehovah?
First, they needed to explore the word of God more deeply (Hebrews 5:12-14).
This would help them see the benefits of the new knowledge they have received from Christ and strengthen their faith in the new path to Jehovah through faith in Jesus Christ.
Although *the Mosaic Law was the law of God* (and not false teachings, as the authors write in paragraph 6), and *circumcision was not considered a sin* - however, a deeper study of the Bible would help Christians understand that *The Law of Moses had already fulfilled its function and was abolished by the sacrifice of Christ.*
And therefore force whom- then it would be wrong to be circumcised, considering this the way to salvation (read carefully Rom.2:28,29; 10:4; Gal.3:24).
thank you, but i have to translate this in my own dialect, so i should have to study then, but anyways thanks bro for the ideas,,
18. Knowing what about the future can help us to endure persecution?
We are living in a time of fulfillment of Biblical prophecies and trials await us all in the future:
1) The "Great tribulation" that Jesus warned about has been in full swing for a long time.
*It began with the reign of the lawless one, the "fallen star" (fallen anointed ones), in the Temple of Jehovah (Rev 8:10,11 and 9:1 - the Great Tribulation will end with the reign of Christ: carefully read Mat. 24:21,29).
*The reign of the lawless one is the 1st woe* for the people of Jehovah (the 1st woe is included in the Great Tribulation).
"And the fifth angel sounded, and I saw a star fall from heaven unto the earth: and to him was given the key of the bottomless pit." (Rev 9:1 and compare Rev 1:20 KJ)
*"One woe is past;* and, behold, there come two woes more hereafter." (Rev. 9:12 KJ)
2) The last King of the North ("the beast that came out of the abyss" - Rev 11:7; 17:8), has already unleashed the last world war, *which will lead to the Apogee of the 2nd woe and the death of 1/3 of people*
"And the beast which I saw was *like unto a leopard, and his feet were as the feet of a bear, and his mouth as the mouth of a lion:* (compare Dan.7:4-6) and the dragon gave him his power, and his seat, and great authority.
And I saw one of his heads as it were wounded to death; and *his deadly wound was healed:* and all the world wondered after the beast.
And they worshipped the dragon which gave power unto the beast: and they worshipped the beast, saying, Who is like unto the beast? *who is able to make war with him?"* (Rev.13:2-4 KJ )
"But tidings out of the east and out of the north shall trouble him: therefore he shall go forth with great fury to destroy, and utterly to make away many." (Dan 11:44 KJ)
*"One woe is past;* and, behold, there come two woes more hereafter. .. . And the *sixth angel sounded...*
By these three was the *third part of men killed,* by the fire, and by the smoke, and by the brimstone, which issued out of their mouths." (Rev 9:12,13,18 KJ)
3) *The Great Tribulation, consisting of the 1st and 2nd woe,* will end with the death of 1/3 of people and the present accession of Christ, with the departure of 144,000 or the "church of the firstborn" to him (the doctrine of 1914 is a MISTAKE)
*"The second woe is past;* and, behold, the third woe cometh quickly.
And the *seventh angel sounded;* and there were great voices in heaven, saying, *The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord,* and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever" (Rev.11:14,15 KJ).
13. Why was the counsel recorded at Hebrews 13:5 appropriate?
Experience has shown that although money is not the main thing for a Christian, as the authors of the WT write and it is difficult to disagree with, however, *money was very necessary in case of disasters.* Those who had cash were able to get out of the shelling zones.
And those who did not have them or they were electronic - they could not leave and were severely injured or died.
As one sister said, "a bank card in war conditions, when there are no lights and ATMs are broken, is the most useless thing, even if there are millions on it."
The disaster of co-believers in Ukraine has shown that, firstly, the people of God, as travelers in this world, should not acquire houses and other monumental property: all this is either very easily destroyed, or it becomes the cause of death if it is a pity to part with all this during the war.
But it is necessary to have the required amount of cash (or jewelry that can be exchanged).
Secondly, *the war showed* that waiting for instructions from the Governing Body in times of disaster can cost lives.
And even if they do, they will not help anyone to survive Armageddon, because in this century - *everyone is mortal, and Armageddon - no one will survive* (read Heb.9:27 and Rev 14:13)
10. What would strong faith move Christians to do?
By the 1st century, *because of the infidelity of the pastors, Jerusalem became apostate,* and Jehovah left the temple of Jerusalem - the city was left without Its protection.
Therefore, in order to save Christians who broke away from the "people of God", who were no longer such, they had to run away (read carefully Mt.23:37,38)
Today, for Jehovah, it is not the literal, but the spiritual "Jerusalem" that is important - the supreme pastors of His people.
But, as in the 1st century, the pastors of God's people of our time *are also not faithful to Jehovah in everything.*
Therefore, today it is necessary to escape from the spiritual "Jerusalem" - that is, *to get out from under the harmful influence of incorrect pastors* (this does not mean that one should run away from congregations as some believe - Heb. 10:25).
Further, the authors of the WT write that, most likely, the elders of the 1st century gave specific instructions to Christians when and how to flee to the mountains.
Therefore, salvation today will depend on obedience to the Governing Body: it is likely that the Governing Body will also give specific instructions for salvation during the "great tribulation". Therefore, it is necessary to strengthen our trust - now, obediently following their instructions.
What is the problem with this instruction???
1) If it says "likely and may", it means that the Governing Council may not give instructions
2) The example of persecution of believers in Russia has shown that sometimes the instructions of the Governing Body are not useful and even harmful.
For example, the requirement to continue openly worshipping Jehovah in the halls of the Kingdom, *despite the ban,* helped the authorities of the Russian Federation *easily arrest believers* right in the halls of the Kingdom and easily prove their guilt in violation of the law.
3) The example of the disaster of the believers of Ukraine due to the shelling of Mariupol, for example, showed that *if they had waited for* instructions on salvation from the Governing Body, *few of them would have been able to survive.*