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The Endearing Quality of GoodnessThe Watchtower—1975 | August 1
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as they “fell upon Paul’s neck and tenderly kissed him.”—Acts 20:37, 38.
When considering what Jehovah God has done for us, we, like the apostle Paul, should want to imitate his goodness. To this end, may we look for opportunities to work for the good of others, unselfishly giving of ourselves to help those in physical and spiritual need. Thus we, too, can make ourselves dear to others.
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Clergymen Who Recognized the TruthThe Watchtower—1975 | August 1
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Clergymen Who Recognized the Truth
● In 1961 one of Jehovah’s witnesses gave a public Bible discourse in one of the villages situated in a bush area of the Solomon Islands. Among those who heard the talk was the local clergyman. That night the Witness and the clergyman talked about the Bible for many hours. After further study the next day, this clergyman stood up before his people in church and said that he was going to become one of Jehovah’s witnesses. Although he pleaded with his people to join him in studying the Bible, the whole village turned against him.
At that time he had to travel for about four or five hours over mountains and through rivers to get to the meetings of Jehovah’s witnesses. Later he moved a short distance from his village and built a house off by himself. He progressed well and finally became a baptized witness of Jehovah. As the years went by, two men went to live near this former clergyman and agreed to study the Bible with him. But they often missed their studies and so did not make much progress. All this started to discourage the former clergyman.
In 1968 the Witness who had originally contacted the former clergyman suggested that it might be better for him to move into the village where Jehovah’s witnesses held their meetings so that he could share more fully in their work. Happy with this suggestion, the former clergyman returned to his village and announced that he was leaving. How this shocked the inhabitants! He had always been a very fine help to them and they did not want to see him leave. They pleaded with him to stay.
His fleshly brother, previously indecisive, left the church and soon began sharing the Bible’s message with others. Taking advantage of the situation, the former clergyman invited the villagers to the next district assembly of Jehovah’s witnesses. Many attended. Impressed with what they saw and heard, quite a number wanted to have a Bible study. A married couple serving as full-time special pioneers were sent to this area to help the former clergyman care for the thirty people who wanted Bible studies. A short time later a Kingdom Hall was built. Twelve persons have already joined the former clergyman in teaching Bible truth to others.
Thus it can be seen that even men who teach religious error may actually want to do what is right. In such cases, once they see the truth, they respond favorably and actively begin to share with others the good things they have learned.
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Questions From ReadersThe Watchtower—1975 | August 1
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Questions From Readers
● Was Jesus Christ resurrected bodily as a man of flesh and blood?
According to the inspired Scriptures, Jesus Christ was not raised to life in the flesh. At 1 Peter 3:18 we read that he was ‘put to death in the flesh but made alive in the spirit.’ (New World Translation; American Standard Version; C. B. Williams translation) Other scriptures confirm that Jesus simply could not have been raised bodily as a man of flesh and blood.
It was God’s purpose for his Son to resume heavenly life and not to continue living as a man on earth. This necessitated Jesus’ being raised as a spirit person, for persons of flesh and blood cannot live in the heavens. The apostle Paul wrote: “Flesh and blood cannot inherit God’s kingdom, neither does corruption inherit incorruption.”—1 Cor. 15:50.
In the case of the man Jesus Christ, his flesh was a barrier that prevented access to the heavenly realm. Jesus’ “flesh” is, therefore, spoken of at Hebrews 10:20 as being represented by the “curtain” that separated the Holy from the Most Holy in the tabernacle. Before he could enter heaven, the real “Most Holy,” Jesus had to give up his fleshly existence and receive spirit nature. His body of flesh would have been a barrier to his going beyond the “curtain” as a spirit person.
Another factor that should not be overlooked is that the goat and the bull offered on the day of atonement represented the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. The Law, which prescribed these sacrifices, served as “a shadow of the things to come.” (Col. 2:17; Heb. 10:1) As we know, a shadow gives the general shape or design of the reality that casts it. Hence, for the shadow to be fulfilled in the reality, Jesus could not have taken back his sacrificed body of flesh and blood, since the bodies of those sacrificial victims were thoroughly disposed of by burning. (Heb. 13:11, 12) So it logically follows that Jehovah God disposed of the sacrificed body of his Son. Moreover, if Jesus had taken back his body of flesh, his sacrifice would have been temporary, without continuing atoning value.
That Jesus was not raised in the flesh explains why two of his disciples and Mary Magdalene did not recognize him by his postresurrection physical appearances. They only discerned who he was by what he said or did.—Luke 24:13-31; John 20:14, 15.
True, for the benefit of doubting Thomas, Jesus did appear with the physical evidence of nail prints in his hands and a spear wound in his side. (John 20:24-29) Yet, even in connection with that manifestation, there is proof that Jesus must have momentarily materialized a physical body of flesh. An eyewitness, the apostle John, reported: “Jesus came, although the doors were locked, and he stood in their midst.” (John 20:26) Manifestly, the apostle John would not have made a point of this if Jesus had simply opened the door and then physically entered the room. Evidently Jesus appeared suddenly in the midst of the disciples; the locked door did not obstruct his entry. This was something a man of flesh could not have done. But it is something that spirit persons in materializing could do. For example, the angel Gabriel appeared physically to priest Zechariah in the holy of the temple. (Luke 1:11) And the angel who appeared to Samson’s parents ascended in a flame of fire.—Judg. 13:19, 20.
The case involving the angel who spoke to Samson’s parents also sheds light on Jesus’ ascension to the heavens. To the parents of Samson, that angel remained visible as he ascended in a flame of fire but then evidently dematerialized and vanished from sight. Similarly, when Jesus was ascending to heaven he remained visible until a cloud caught him up from the physical sight of the disciples. He then must have dematerialized the fleshly body in which he was seen, as had materialized angels on other occasions.—Acts 1:9-11.
That Jesus simply took on a body to be seen by his disciples, as had angels in the past, is also evident from the fact that he appeared fully clothed. When Jesus was laid in the tomb he was not dressed but was simply wrapped up in fine linen bandages. After his resurrection, these bandages remained in the tomb. So, just as Jesus had to materialize clothing, he also had to take on flesh to make himself physically visible to his disciples.—Luke 23:53; John 19:40; 20:6, 7.
Against this background, we can appreciate that Jesus’ being called the “Son of man” even after his going to heaven could not refer to his having a body of a human in the heavens. (Acts 7:56) A Messianic prophecy that speaks of his receiving kingly power from his Father refers to him as “someone like a son of man.” (Dan. 7:13, 14) Hence, although having offered the required sacrifice by surrendering his human nature, Jesus Christ retains the Messianic designation “Son of man.” Similarly, Jesus Christ bears the title “the Lamb” on account of his having laid down his life in sacrifice. (Rev. 21:22) That title obviously is not descriptive of his appearance or nature in the heavens.
Thus the Scriptures as a whole testify to Jesus’ having been resurrected, not as a man of flesh and blood, but as a glorious spirit person.
● What is the meaning of scriptures that speak of the “kidneys” as being ‘seen,’ ‘refined,’ ‘tested’ or ‘examined’ by Jehovah God or by his Son?
In such texts, the kidneys are evidently referred to as representative of or linked with the deepest emotions or inmost feelings. (Ps. 7:9; 26:2; Jer. 11:20; 20:12) While humans are
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