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Buy Out the Time During Wicked DaysThe Watchtower—1969 | January 1
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They should always look forward to improving their worship, their Christian ministry; if not by devoting more time to it, at least by improving the quality of it. Each one of us should want to forget the bad things that are behind and pursue the goal of everlasting life in Jehovah’s new system of things, when we shall have endless life to serve Jehovah and to enjoy what he will then provide for all obedient mankind. (Ps. 37:34) Making wise use of the present time, we will be among those saying: “We ourselves will bless [Jehovah] from now on and to time indefinite.” With time running out, it is truly the time for us to be molded by God’s truth so that we will bless him daily.—Ps. 115:18.
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Identifying the ChristThe Watchtower—1969 | January 1
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Identifying the Christ
MORE than 1,900 years ago a fisherman by the name of Simon Peter confessed to Jesus of Nazareth: “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” (Matt. 16:16) Was Jesus indeed the Christ? A great many people of all walks of life have believed that to be so. But why? Is it not reasonable to conclude that there is evidence of this that convinced them and that convinced Peter?
It was over 500 years before Peter’s day that a man by the name of Daniel was inspired by God to foretell the coming of the Christ. What he wrote is some of the evidence that proves Jesus to be the Christ. He said: “You should know and have the insight that from the going forth of the word to restore and to rebuild Jerusalem until Messiah the Leader, there will be seven weeks, also sixty-two weeks.”—Dan. 9:25.
These sixty-nine weeks were not literal. If they were they would have ended 483 days after the rebuilding of Jerusalem and its walls in 455 B.C.E. But Christ did not appear at that time. So they would have to represent a longer period of time. If we substitute a year for each day, according to God’s direction at Ezekiel 4:6 regarding prophetic time, we have a period of 483 year.
According to Daniel’s prophecy, then, the Christ would be due to arrive 483 years after 455 B.C.E., which would be 29 C.E. Now, when we look back to that year, we find Jesus of Nazareth came to John the Baptist at the Jordan River and was baptized.
When John raised Jesus from under the water the heavens were opened and God’s spirit, like a dove, came upon Jesus. John heard a voice identifying Jesus as the Christ, saying: “This is my Son, the beloved, whom I have approved.” (Matt. 3:17) A similar expression was used prophetically regarding the promised Messiah, or Christ, at Isaiah 42:1.
Here, then, was a testimony by God to the fact that Jesus was the Christ, and it was at the exact time when Daniel’s prophecy said that the Christ would appear. Knowing this, would not Peter have good reason to acknowledge Jesus as the Christ?
AT THE TIME OF HIS BIRTH
It was thirty years before his baptism that Jesus was born in Bethlehem. At that time an angel announced to shepherds: “There was born to you today a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.” (Luke 2:11) Before he was born another angelic announcement said: “You must call his name Jesus.” (Matt. 1:21) With angels thus identifying Jesus of Nazareth as the Christ, did not Peter have strong reason to recognize him as such?
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