This Is What Jehovah Has Said
Sunday, April 17, 2011 at 5:06AM 
Previous published article in Ezekiel series"For this is what the Sovereign Lord Jehovah has said: ‘Here I am, I myself, and I will search for my sheep and care for them. According to the care of one feeding his drove in the day of his coming to be in the midst of his sheep that have been spread abroad, that is the way that I shall care for my sheep; and I will deliver them out of all the places to which they have been scattered in the day of clouds and thick gloom.'"
The prophesied desolation of Jerusalem and the Jewish exile in Babylon was by no means the end of Jehovah’s dealings with his renegade nation. Another significant aspect, not only of the book of Ezekiel, but of all Hebrew prophecy, has to do with the liberation, restoration and revival of God’s covenanted people. Although the nation as a whole, particularly the leadership, failed to live up to the obligations of the covenant into which their forefathers had entered with God, Jehovah did not stay resentful nor did he cast them off forever, but he extended forgiveness and mercy in a very large way to a chastened remnant.
But the relationship between God and his people was not to be as before. No, in his compassion Jehovah purposed to permanently repair his relationship with the Jews. At least that is what the prophecies relate. But while it is noteworthy that the repatriated Jews did not resume the degrading form of idolatry that they had practiced before their exile, it is also apparent that the prophecy of Ezekiel only had a relative fulfillment with regard to the post-exilic Jewish society. More importantly, the shadows cast by this portion of the prophecy have profound significance for Jehovah’s Witnesses at the coming of Christ, which is the subject of this article.
Following the desolation of Jerusalem Jehovah revealed the means by which he would heal his broken people. No longer would God allow his sheep to suffer under the care of unqualified, uncaring, negligent or self-indulgent shepherds. Jehovah would give them a righteous shepherd/king – “David” – even as Ezekiel 34:23-24 says: “And I will raise up over them one shepherd, and he must feed them, even my servant David. He himself will feed them, and he himself will become their shepherd. And I myself, Jehovah, will become their God, and my servant David a chieftain in the midst of them. I myself, Jehovah, have spoken.”
Thus, in the 34th chapter of Ezekiel Jehovah pronounces woe upon the negligent shepherds of his sheep, saying: “Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel. Prophesy, and you must say to them, to the shepherds, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord Jehovah has said: Woe to the shepherds of Israel, who have become feeders of themselves! Is it not the flock that the shepherds ought to feed? The fat is what you eat, and with the wool you clothe your own selves. The plump animal is what you slaughter. The flock itself you do not feed. The sickened ones you have not strengthened, and the ailing one you have not healed, and the broken one you have not bandaged, and the dispersed one you have not brought back, and the lost one you have not sought to find, but with harshness you have had them in subjection, even with tyranny. And they were gradually scattered because of there being no shepherd, so that they became food for every wild beast of the field, and they continued to be scattered. My sheep kept straying on all the mountains and on every high hill; and on all the surface of the earth my sheep were scattered, with no one making a search and with no one seeking to find.’”
Although the prophecy was issued in the aftermath of the destruction of Judah, the true fulfillment of the prophecy applies in a spiritual way; to the sheep of Christ’s flock and the shepherds who have been assigned to oversee them during the time Christ’s parousia commences. How might that be discerned? Because, as stated above, the ultimate fulfillment of the prophecy relates to the true shepherd and chieftain – “David” – who without question is Jesus Christ; he being the son of David and “the chief shepherd,” even as the apostle Peter described him in the following exhortation to those serving as undershepherds of Christ: “Shepherd the flock of God in your care, not under compulsion, but willingly; neither for love of dishonest gain, but eagerly; neither as lording it over those who are God’s inheritance, but becoming examples to the flock. And when the chief shepherd has been made manifest, you will receive the unfadable crown of glory.” – 1 Peter 5:2-4
As Jehovah’s Witnesses well know, the kingdom of David was not restored to Judah after their return from Babylon (only in a typical way). Neither did Jesus become king over the nation of Israel in the first century. For that matter, neither did the majority of Jews accept Christ’s shepherding when he was upon the earth two millennia ago. However, the sheep who did, and who have since, and who will yet accept Christ as their lord, become part of God’s flock of sheep and are placed under the authority of men who serve as spiritual shepherds.
And yet the prophecy of Ezekiel foretells that Jehovah will gather back his sheep after they are abused, plundered and scattered about. Since the literal nations of Israel and Judah were plundered by Assyria and Babylon, respectively, long before the time when Christ appeared as the God-appointed shepherd, and as already noted, Jesus did not become the chieftain-king or shepherd of the physical nation of Israel anyway, this means that the sheep of Christ’s flock are destined to become plunder and the shepherds who fail them are the duly assigned overseers of the Christian congregation.
Although true Christians have always been persecuted, the prophecy of Ezekiel speaks to a development that far exceeds that which the first century Christians may have suffered. Ultimately the prophecies can only be fulfilled if the entire God-recognized, Christian association is brought to desolation – as were the nations of Israel and Judah originally. Only then can the scattered sheep of God be regathered from their pitiable condition.
Since there is nothing in the history of Christianity or the modern history of the Bible Students or Jehovah’s Witnesses that approximates the absolute devastation that befell Jerusalem at the hands of the Babylonians, it must be concluded that the true congregation of God is destined for an unanticipated and unprecedented calamity at a future time. Christ’s prophecy regarding the desolation of the holy place during the tribulation will find its true realization upon the Watchtower Society and Jehovah’s Witnesses. (See essay: What is the Holy Place and the Great Tribulation?)
THE GOVERNMENTAL SHEPHERDS OF THE PROFESSED SHEEP
As painful as it may be for Jehovah’s Witnesses to consider these things, the purpose of e-watchman is to vigorously tear down and strip away the Watchtower’s erroneous interpretations of these vital prophecies so as to allow God’s prophetic word to speak for itself – unfettered by the clever constraints imposed upon it by committees of would-be interpreters. In so doing, my intention is to imitate the course of the Hebrew prophets in announcing Jehovah’s judgments upon his people and organization.
In view of the foregoing, what does the Watchtower teach regarding the 34th chapter of Ezekiel? The Society’s last significant commentary on the prophecy was in the book The Nations Shall Know that I am Jehovah, How? – published over 35 years ago, in 1971. So, the majority of Jehovah’s Witnesses – most of whom have become such since 1971 – are probably not familiar with what Bethel espouses on this important question.
So, what does the Watchtower teach regarding the meaning of the “shepherds of Israel” being replaced by the messianic chieftain? As absurd as it may seem the Society actually teaches that the negligent shepherds to whom Jehovah entrusted his dear sheep are the so-called “governmental/political shepherds” of Christendom. Below is a quote taken from the 16th chapter of the “Know Jehovah” publication:
“By virtue of their religious claims the church people of Christendom were Jehovah’s “sheep.” The professed Christian political rulers should therefore have been very careful of how they treated the sheeplike subjects, inasmuch as these were not the property of the political rulers but the property of the God whom they professed to worship.”
Let the reader take note of the fact that the Watchtower cleverly intimates that the subjects of Christendom’s political rulers (“governmental shepherds”) are not really God’s true sheep. They merely claim to be God’s sheep and merely “profess to worship” God. For that matter, the shepherds are not really God’s appointed overseers either. According to the quotation above they are merely “the professed Christian political rulers.” Yet in spite of the pretense of both the people and the rulers (according to the Society’s interpretation) Jehovah intervenes to save the people from their abusive rulers, even though they are not his people.
But there are a number of questions thinking Jehovah’s Witnesses ought to reason upon.
One: Why would Jehovah refer to the God-defying rulers of the nations as shepherds of his sheep when they do not even claim to be such? The Society’s reasoning is that the prophecy originally applied to the rulers of Judah, and therefore, by extension, to the rulers of Christendom. But did the kings, princes, priests, the older men and judges of Judah and Israel merely profess to be the shepherds of God’s people? No. Absolutely not! All the tribes of Israel were in a legally binding covenant with Jehovah God, which specifically authorized the rulers of his people to properly teach and righteously judge the people under their authority. In that sense they were God-ordained shepherds of the flock.
Two: If the abused subjects of Christendom’s “political shepherds” are not really God’s sheep but only falsely claim to be such, why does God refer to them in Ezekiel as “my sheep,” as he does about 17 times in the 34th chapter of Ezekiel? Also, if the sheep are not really true worshippers why does God state that he is personally going to rescue his sheep from the abusive shepherds and heal them?
Here is another set of questions for thinking Jehovah’s Witnesses: Why would God expect the despots and dictators of Christendom to feed and care for his sheep anyway? For that matter, how would “political shepherds” even go about binding up the wounds of one of God’s battered sheep? What social program might they enact to regather the scattered sheep of Jehovah’s flock? And lastly: Is it just or reasonable of God to condemn the political rulers for failing to accomplish an assignment that was never their responsibility in the first place?
The Watchtower claims that the scattered sheep of Ezekiel’s prophecy are the masses belonging to Christendom’s diverse flocks and that God will supposedly remove the abusive “governmental shepherds” at Armageddon (as well as slaughter the battered “sheep” under their care).
Confused? But the Society’s reasonings are even more torturous.
Alternatively, the very same publication states that Jehovah has already initiated the prophesied rescue of his abused sheep. But according to the Society, even though Jehovah has already placed his sheep under the care of the shepherd/king, the true sheep are also destined to be scattered by the “political shepherds”! That, of course, does not at all follow the pattern established in the Scriptures. According to the Bible, first the nation (organization) is destroyed. Then the sheep are scattered and fall prey to the plunderers. Next, the shepherd-king regathers and heals Jehovah’s sheep and they are protected to the extent that they shall no more become plunder for the rapacious, beastlike nations.
Shockingly, though, according to the Watchtower’s interpretation of Ezekiel’s prophecy we would have to assume that Jesus is an inept shepherd too, since the “chief shepherd” apparently cannot protect the sheep Jehovah has placed under his care from being scattered and plundered either. Here are a couple more paragraphs from the “Know Jehovah” commentary:
“In the case of ancient Israel of Ezekiel’s day, Jehovah delivered his sheep out of the mouth of the self-feeding shepherds in governmental places by having Jerusalem destroyed and the land of Judah desolated. The king and princes had to vacate their governmental office, being captured by the Babylonians and deported. Some were killed as a penalty for their rebellion. In Babylon they were put in prison or subjected to restraints, being stripped of any rulership. In modern-day antitype, the destruction of Christendom in the approaching “great tribulation” will absolutely deprive the professed “Christian” political rulers of the religious clergy, for the latter will be put out of religious office by the executional forces of Jehovah. Christendom’s clergy will cease to exist. Any worldly politicians surviving Christendom’s annihilation will be reserved for execution in the final part of the “great tribulation,” namely, in the “war of the great day of God the Almighty” at the world situation called Har–Magedon.
Thus the death-dealing removal of all the governmental overseers of the entire worldwide system of things, including the professed Christian rulers of Christendom, will free Jehovah’s true “sheep” from the oppression and self-serving operations of the political “shepherds.” No more will those unfaithful shepherds feed themselves at the expense of Jehovah’s flock of Christian’s witnesses. No matter how scattered these may find themselves because of the opposition and persecution carried on by political elements, Jehovah knows where his true “sheep” have been dispersed. Like a loving Shepherd, he will search for them and regather them into one fold.”
Judging from the Society’s statement above, it would appear as if Jehovah’s Witnesses believe that the shepherd/king will arrive on the scene and regather the dispersed flock and free them from the oppression of the “political shepherds” after the war of Armageddon destroys all of God’s earthly enemies. But that is not the case. As is typical of the Society’s interpretive legerdemain, the very next paragraph states that the shepherd-king actually has already liberated the sheep. And when did this marvelous event take place? Why, in the spring of 1919! Here is another excerpt:
“…Even now, before the outbreak of the “great tribulation” in which Christendom and all the rest of Babylon the Great will be destroyed, the Heavenly Shepherd Jehovah has demonstrated his ability to gather the scattered remnant of spiritual Israel into a religiously free, spiritually nourishing relationship with Him… Babylon the Great, however, failed to maintain her oppressive hold on the true-hearted remnant of spiritual Israelites. In the spring of 1919 Babylon the Great suffered a severe fall from her position of religious power over Jehovah’s people, and the shackles of their bondage to her were broken. This was a thing that could have occurred by the power of no one else but Jehovah through his Greater Cyrus, Jesus Christ. As far as their religious rights and privileges from God were concerned, this remnant no longer let themselves become the prey or “food” of the governmental “shepherds” of Christendom… War-bruised Christendom and all the rest of the world had to take note of the regathered, reunified condition of this Christian remnant of spiritual Israel when they held their first postwar international assembly at Cedar Point, Ohio, U.S.A. Thousands of the once scattered remnant gathered here, and there was a public attendance of 7,000 listeners at the lecture entitled “The Hope for Distressed Humanity,” on Sunday, September 7, 1919.”
Here are more questions thinking Jehovah’s Witnesses ought to seriously ponder: If the International Bible Students were relieved from the tyranny of the “political shepherds” in 1919 and were ushered under the care of the foretold great shepherd back then, how can it be explained that Jehovah’s Witnesses since then have been mercilessly persecuted by numerous tyrants comprising what the Watchtower terms the “governmental shepherds”? For example, according to the Society’s interpretation of the 34th chapter of Ezekiel Adolph Hitler was one of the bad “governmental shepherds” to whom Jehovah entrusted his sheep. But if Jehovah’s scattered sheep had already been rescued from the bad shepherds how would it have been possible for Hitler and his Nazi regime to skin, scatter and slaughter thousands of Jehovah’s sheeplike people?
Another glaring contradiction inherent in the Society’s arcane prophetic interpretation is that supposedly the Anglo-American nations fulfilled the prophecy in the eighth chapter of Daniel, which calls for a king fierce in countenance to bring to ruin the holy ones, the sanctuary and constant feature of Jehovah’s worship. But if God’s people had been permanently released from such oppression back in 1919 how would it have been possible for the nations to plunder God’s possession again? After all, Ezekiel 34:28 says: “And they will no longer become something to plunder for the nations; and as regards the wild beast of the earth, it will not devour them, and they will actually dwell in security, with no one to make them tremble.”
Besides the aforementioned incongruities, the commentary quoted above contradicts itself. How so? The previously quoted paragraph states:
“No matter how scattered these may find themselves because of the opposition and persecution carried on by political elements, Jehovah knows where his true “sheep” have been dispersed. Like a loving Shepherd, he will search for them and regather them into one fold.”
The context of that comment is in reference to a future scattering of the sheep. However, the Know Jehovah commentary also contradictorily states:
“As far as their religious rights and privileges from God were concerned, this remnant no longer let themselves become the prey or “food” of the governmental “shepherds” of Christendom.”
So, the very same publication teaches that since 1919 Jehovah’s people can no longer be the prey of ruthless political rulers, but in the very same context the Society also states that Christ will rescue the sheep that are dispersed during the persecution to come. This is a classic example of what Jehovah describes in Ezekiel as “double-faced divination.” That is, having two different interpretations of the same prophecy in order to conveniently bend reality to fit their teaching.
The falsity of the Watchtower’s teaching is apparent in view of the Bible’s clear statements regarding the accountability of elders before God. For example, an oft-quoted scripture among Jehovah’s Witnesses is Hebrews 13:17, which reads: “Be obedient to those who are taking the lead among you and be submissive, for they are keeping watch over your souls as those who will render an account…” And again, James 3:1 states: “Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers, knowing that we shall receive heavier judgment.”
No reasonable Christian would argue that God is going to hold ruthless political rulers responsible for neglecting to shepherd and spiritually care for his dear sheep. As every one of Jehovah’s Witnesses knows it is Christian elders who have been charged with the responsibility of caring for the sheep of the flock. (Woe to the Shepherds Who Have Become Feeders of Themselves)
But if Christian overseers and teachers are to “render and account” and “receive heavier judgment,” this begs the question: When does the foretold judgment of God’s shepherds take place? According to the teachings of the Watchtower Society, Christ has already judged his slaves who were assigned to feed the servants of his household. (See chapter: The Judgment)
But even if that were true, in what way did the overseers and teachers of God’s congregation “render an account” or “receive heavier judgment” back in 1918? Obviously, they did not. Besides, the organization’s present elder arrangement did not even exist back then. And that entire generation of International Bible Students has passed on in death anyway. Not only that, but the prophecy indicates that once Jehovah’s messianic shepherd is installed then that is the end of the era during which God allows earthly shepherds to have authority over his flock. So, when does the foretold judgment of God’s shepherds take place?
“IN THE DAY OF CLOUDS AND THICK GLOOM”
The context of Ezekiel’s prophecy reveals that the judgment takes place during the dark night brought on by the world’s yet-to-unfold, greatest time of trouble. That is apparent from Ezekiel 34:12, which reads: “According to the care of one feeding his drove in the day of his coming to be in the midst of his sheep that have been spread abroad, that is the way that I shall care for my sheep; and I will deliver them out of all the places to which they have been scattered in the day of clouds and thick gloom.”
According to the prophecy under consideration God’s sheep are delivered from being “spread abroad” all at once; not gradually or individually over a century of time. It is also apparent that the sheep are all scattered – the entire flock – not just a few individual lambs. Furthermore, the scattering takes place “in the day of clouds and thick gloom.” What might that signify? According to the Know Jehovah commentary the symbolic “thick gloom” covered the earth in 1914. But if that were actually true that would mean that the gloomy conditions that enveloped the world back then have since lifted and that the human political scheme of things has saved itself from doom.
But rather then accepting the Society’s interpretations at face value let us follow the Berean approach to the teachings of the apostle Paul and carefully examine the prophetic Scriptures for ourselves as to whether these things are so. Or as the wise apostle John also exhorted: “Beloved ones, do not believe every inspired expression, but test the inspired expressions to see whether they originate with God, because many false prophets have gone forth into the world.”
Elsewhere in prophecy Jehovah uses the exact same symbolism of “clouds and thick gloom” to denote the great tribulation. The vision of Zephaniah, for example, reads this way: “The great day of Jehovah is near. It is near, and there is a hurrying of it very much. The sound of the day of Jehovah is bitter. There a mighty man is letting out a cry. That day is a day of fury, a day of distress and of anguish, a day of storm and of desolation, a day of darkness and of gloominess, a day of clouds and of thick gloom, a day of horn and of alarm signal, against the fortified cities and against the high corner towers.”
Another instance is found in the book of Joel, which reads similarly: “Blow a horn in Zion, O men, and shout a war cry in my holy mountain. Let all the inhabitants of the land get agitated; for the day of Jehovah is coming, for it is near! It is a day of darkness and gloominess, a day of clouds and thick gloom, like light of dawn spread out upon the mountains.”
Let the discerning reader take note of the fact that both Zephaniah and Joel connect the “day of clouds and thick gloom” with “the day of Jehovah.” And not even the besotted spiritual inebriates in Bethel’s Writing Department suppose that Jehovah’s day occurred in 1914.
Hopefully it is apparent to the relatively few spiritually sober persons examining the prophecy of Ezekiel that God’s sheep are destined to be scattered – as well as regathered – during “the day of Jehovah,” which is to say, during the now-oncoming great tribulation.
Although the elders and the Watchtower Society itself are unquestionably responsible for stumbling countless numbers of Jehovah’s Witnesses (See commentary: The Stumbling) and are doubtlessly guilty of neglecting to tend to the many lost and straying individual sheep, apparently that is not the primary reason Jehovah is going to ask for his sheep back from the hands of his appointed shepherds. What is the reason then?
Even as the apostles were all stumbled and scattered when Jesus was put to death – in order that the prophecies might be fulfilled – so too, the flock of God in existence at the beginning of the day of Jehovah is destined to be scattered.
Just as the prophecy of Zechariah foretold that the shepherd would be struck and the sheep scattered, which the inspired apostles interpreted to apply to Christ and themselves, the context of the prophecy allows for a grander fulfillment during the day of Jehovah. Zechariah 13:7-14:2 reads: “’O sword, awake against my shepherd, even against the able-bodied man who is my associate,’ is the utterance of Jehovah of armies. ‘Strike the shepherd, and let those of the flock be scattered; and I shall certainly turn my hand back upon those who are insignificant … Look! There is a day coming, belonging to Jehovah, and the spoil of you will certainly be apportioned out in the midst of you.’”
Although the arrest and execution of Jesus accomplished the fulfillment of one facet of the prophecy of Zechariah, obviously it did not initiate the day of Jehovah. At the present moment the “day coming, belonging to Jehovah” is still coming.
It appears then, that, the reason God will ask for his sheep back from the men appointed to watch over them is because the shepherds will not keep the flock intact during the coming day of confusion: “This is what the Sovereign Lord Jehovah has said, ‘A calamity, a unique calamity, look! it is coming. An end itself must come. The end must come; it must awaken for you. Look! It is coming. The garland must come to you, O inhabiter of the land, the time must come, the day is near. There is confusion, and not the shouting of the mountains.” – Ezekiel 7:5-7
The primary reason the apostles were thrown into confusion and scattered when Christ was struck down is because they were spiritually blind and simply could not grasp the simple truth when Christ spoke about his impending death. (Who is Blind as the Servant of Jehovah?)
Similarly, Jehovah’s Witnesses have no inkling of what is to befall the organization. And the Bethel leadership, by their own ignorance and sheer arrogance, has insured that the flock will remain in a state of blindness up until the day of Jehovah erupts in all its fury – when they will then all be scattered and plundered. Any well-meaning brother or sister who might try to shed light upon the present situation using God’s prophetic word would be summarily disfellowshipped from the congregation for daring to contradict Bethel’s edits.
In this and other ways Jehovah’s word is true regarding the relationship of the elders and the flock: “but with harshness you have had them in subjection, even with tyranny.”
“AND I MYSELF, JEHOVAH, WILL BECOME THEIR GOD”
Jehovah’s asking for his sheep back from his earthly shepherds marks the end of the Christian congregational arrangement as it has existed in its various forms from the time of Christ until the present. Just like the Jewish system of things, the earthly organization composed of Christian institutions will by then have also served its purpose, at which point Jehovah will cease from using it as his instrumentality, and subsequently have it destroyed by an earthly political agency assigned by prophecy beforehand to do the task.
The resulting tumult and trauma will serve as the means by which God will humble, discipline and refine his people.
In place of the present organizational arrangement God will then implement an entirely new arrangement for the benefit of those who love him – the kingdom of God. By means of the kingdom, God will establish what Jehovah’s Witnesses refer to as “spiritual paradise.” That is what is foretold at Ezekiel 34:23-27: “And I will raise up over them one shepherd, and he must feed them, even my servant David. He himself will feed them, and he himself will become their shepherd. And I myself, Jehovah, will become their God, and my servant David a chieftain in the midst of them. I myself, Jehovah, have spoken. And I will conclude with them a covenant of peace, and I shall certainly cause the injurious wild beast to cease out of the land, and they will actually dwell in the wilderness in security and sleep in the forests. And I will make them and the surroundings of my hill a blessing, and I will cause the pouring rain to descend in its time. Pouring rains of blessing there will prove to be. And the tree of the field must give its fruitage, and the land itself will give its yield, and they will actually prove to be on their soil in security. And they will have to know that I am Jehovah when I break the bars of their yoke and I have delivered them out of the hand of those who had been using them as slaves.”
What does it mean – “Jehovah will become their God”? It does not mean that Jehovah was not their God before. Obviously, Jehovah was the God of the Jews before they were plundered and went into exile among the nations. Yet, after their repatriation Jehovah cleansed them, so that Ezekiel 37:23 similarly says: “And they will no longer defile themselves with their dungy idols and with their disgusting things and with all their transgressions; and I shall certainly save them from all their dwelling places in which they have sinned, and I will cleanse them, and they must become my people, and I myself shall become their God.”
So too, Jehovah is the God of Christians even before antitypical Jerusalem is desolated and the chosen ones go into captivity to the nations. So, the expression “I shall become their God” denotes a positive change in the relationship between God and man. They become his people by virtue of an act of God to reconcile his people to himself by forgiving their error.
As regards the anointed, Jehovah becomes their God and “conclude[s] with them a covenant of peace” by granting them entrance into Christ’s kingdom. A covenant of peace between God and his people – essentially a peace treaty – signifies the end of God’s disciplinary action toward those in the new covenant. Up until then the earthly congregation is used by God to teach and correct those who are called to be God’s heavenly sons. But the initial act of Christ at his coming is to subject the congregation to the refiner’s fire and afterwards to finish acquainting the sons of God with the Father by fully revealing Jehovah to them. (Also know as the revelation of Christ) In this way the new covenant is concluded and Christ’s mediation between God and men comes to an end. It will then no longer be necessary to teach any of the then chosen 144,000 sons of God to know Jehovah, which is the purpose of Christ’s mediation. They will all know him, completely.
Paul expressed that profound truth this way: “’For this is the covenant that I shall covenant with the house of Israel after those days,’ says Jehovah. ‘I will put my laws in their mind, and in their hearts I shall write them. And I will become their God, and they themselves will become my people. And they will by no means teach each one his fellow citizen and each one his brother, saying: “Know Jehovah!” For they will all know me, from the least one to the greatest one of them. For I shall be merciful to their unrighteous deeds, and I shall by no means call their sins to mind anymore.’”
The implantation of God’s law in the hearts and minds of his worshippers is not accomplished by ordinary means, such as through Bible study. Although God’s spirit has always been there for the asking, some may be under the impression that it has already been given in its fullest expression; however, that has not been the case. Even those who have been anointed by God’s spirit are yet to receive the holy spirit in full measure. That is apparent by the fact that Paul described the anointing spirit as a mere “token” of what is to come.
According to the prophecies, the restored remnant and those who are yet to attach themselves to Jehovah and Christ after the desolation period are going to be doused with God’s spirit in a way that far exceeds anything theretofore experienced by the people of God. Not only will those who receive the spirit be empowered to fearlessly give the world a final witness concerning the then established kingdom of God, but they, themselves, will also be transformed by the spirit into a more exacting image of the Christ. Through Ezekiel Jehovah expressed this marvelous truth this way, saying: “This is what the Sovereign Lord Jehovah has said: ‘I will also collect you from the peoples and gather you from the lands among which you have been scattered, and I will give you the soil of Israel. And they will certainly come there and remove all its disgusting things and all its detestable things out of it. And I will give them one heart, and a new spirit I shall put inside them; and I shall certainly remove the heart of stone from their flesh and give them a heart of flesh, in order that they may walk in my own statutes and keep my own judicial decisions and actually carry them out; and they may really become my people and I myself may become their God.”’ – Ezekiel 11:17-20
As for the other sheep, Jehovah’s becoming their God and their becoming his people coincides with Jehovah becoming king through his Davidic, shepherd-king. That truth is also expressed at Revelation 21:3-4, which reads: “With that I heard a loud voice from the throne say: ‘Look! The tent of God is with mankind, and he will reside with them, and they will be his peoples. And God himself will be with them. And he will wipe out every tear from their eyes, and death will be no more, neither will mourning nor outcry nor pain be anymore. The former things have passed away.”
Although Jehovah’s great love for his people will then be given its fullest expression, God’s love for humankind is not the foremost reason Jehovah will restore his erring servants to his favor. The primary motivation for God to do so is for his own name’s sake. That is evident by Jehovah’s saying at Ezekiel 36:22-28, which reiterates truths previously expressed concerning God’s purpose to give his people a new heart and new spirit and his becoming their God and they becoming his people: “This is what the Sovereign Lord Jehovah has said: ‘Not for your sakes am I doing it, O house of Israel, but for my holy name, which you have profaned among the nations where you have come in. And I shall certainly sanctify my great name, which was being profaned among the nations, which you 
profaned in the midst of them; and the nations will have to know that I am Jehovah,’ is the utterance of the Sovereign Lord Jehovah, ‘when I am sanctified among you before their eyes. And I will take you out of the nations and collect you together out of all the lands and bring you in upon your soil. And I will sprinkle upon you clean water, and you will become clean; from all your impurities and from all your dungy idols I shall cleanse you. And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I shall put inside you, and I will take away the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. And my spirit I shall put inside you, and I will act so that in my regulations you will walk, and my judicial decisions you will keep and actually carry out. And you will certainly dwell in the land that I gave to your forefathers, and you must become my people and I myself shall become your God.’”
Although the Watchtower Society has misapplied the prophecy of Ezekiel either to Christendom or to the period of 1914-1919, the truth that lies immediately behind the veil is that only Jehovah’s Witnesses can cause the sacred name of God to be “profaned among the nations.” And although the International Bible Students used the holy name of God, the name of Jehovah was not nearly publicized among the nations back then as it has been in more recent decades by Jehovah’s Witnesses.
But how have Jehovah’s Witnesses profaned the name of Jehovah and how will God sanctify his name in the future? Those questions will be discussed in the forthcoming, concluding essay on Ezekiel.
Reader Comments (9)
A good article. It seems to be a trend with the Watchtower Society - any negative comment in their publications applies to Christendom (in their eyes) while all positive comments are applied to the Watchtower Society itself.
Great article.
I wonder how many people have sat down over the last 1500 years, and read these same chapters in the bible, and applied it to the organization they were involved with at the time. Hundreds....thousands???
Watchman,
why do you find it 'absurd' that Jehovah entrusts the care of His nominal people to the Churches of Christendom?
Do you think that they are better protected from God's wrath by being led to idolize the WT as God's 'spirit directed' golden calf?
Further, don't you realize that by rejecting the reality of Christendom constituting God's nominal people you are engaging in wholesale judgment of millions of Church goers who have been mislead by those who claim to represent the God of the bible - just as much as JW's are duped by their leadership - as not being potentially God's scattered and mistreated sheep?
What is the statistical likelihood that good people only ever exist among a certain group of people such as JW's, Caucasians, practicing Catholics or stamp collectors, for example?
But you are sure that God's sheep are exclusively found among JW's?
Also, you say that God uses the 'earthly congregation' of JW's, who are not even members of Christ's Body, to 'teach and correct those who are called to be God's heavenly sons.'
That has got be the most comprehensive nonsense I have heard for a long while, believe you me.
Where is the scriptural support for your bizarre idea that Christ uses 'foreigners' and 'vinedressers' to teach the very priests of Jehovah?
To the contrary, Christ as Head of the Body uses His indwelling Spirit of Truth to guide and direct those who really are members of the true Christian Congregation, and when needed uses fellow anointed Christians in order to correct and build up His Body, just as He did from the first Century onward.
You are confusing God's nominal, born in the flesh people with the Body of Christ, the true, spiritual Christian Congregation, because you are labouring under the misapprehension that the WT-anointed are the Body of Christ, which is quite a preposterous assumption in view of their many lies and general apostasy from the simple truth of God's Word.
The WT brain-washing has deeply messed with your clear thinking faculties and sense of reality as can be seen by your expecting the Father to fully reveal Himself to His spiritual sons ONLY at some time after the coming of Christ on the clouds of Heaven.
Therefore, you are quite right that both you and the WT-anointed do not presently know Jehovah or understand His Word - but that is not due to any pending revelation some time in the future,
but simply results from the fact that so far you have not been born of the Holy Spirit and enlightened with the very knowledge of God - if ever you will be, as there will be no last minute anointing taking place just prior to the return of Christ.
The scriptural fact of the matter is that all those born of God receive the enlightening Spirit of Sonship and knowledge of God THERE and THEN, once for all time, at their spiritual baptism into Christ's death, so that those who do not have this indwelling Spirit within them now do not belong to Christ, but are mere born in the flesh 'invited' ones seeking to gain entry into the kingdom of God's earthly realm.
If those who have once for all been enlightened with the Holy Spirit afterwards 'defile themselves with their dungy idols and with their disgusting things' as Ezekiel portrays God's nominal people as doing - but you perversely apply as pertaining to the chaste spiritual virgin, the Body of Christ-
then according to Paul, there would be no longer any offering for sin left or, indeed, repentance possible, for those who have thus sinned against the Holy Spirit.
It is really that simple: Being anointed does not come in degrees, nor is it a process stretched out over time. Either you are, or you are not adopted as God's son. Those who truly are, cannot possibly go back to the lies and spiritual vomit of organized religion such as the WT and others produce and enforce.
Those who do wallow in such disgusting things, or even sympathize with them, as you seem to be doing, are either ignorant, born in the flesh members of God's nominal people, or are truly enlightened ones who are lost forever in the spiritual darkness they have preferred over the light of truth once given to them.
You cannot be enlightened and at the same time grope in spiritual darkness, pending the knowledge of God and a restoration to His favour - such is a contradiction in terms, betraying your gross ignorance of spiritual realities, if not showing complete intellectual incompetence and dissimulation on your part.
Genuine anointed ones do not need anyone to be teaching them about knowing Jehovah upon their being adopted as His sons, just as it is written:
"And as for you, the anointing that you received from Him remains in you, and you do not need anyone to be teaching you; but as the anointing from Him is teaching you about all things, and is true and is no lie, and just as it has taught you, remain in union with Him."
The scriptural concept of 'after those days,' in relation to the enlightening of those anointed and their receiving the very knowledge of God, has reference to the time period AFTER the death and resurrection of Christ, NOT after the coming parousia of Christ, as you erroneously intimate!
The Father does not give the Spirit by measure to those whom He has once for all enlightened with It, nor does the term 'token,' as used by Paul, have reference to something incomplete or insufficient, but merely serves to denote its function as 'ticket' into the everlasting dwelling place in heaven.
True, the Holy Spirit will put into the minds of those anointed with it just what to say in defence of the Truth when hauled before the authorities in the future, but that does not imply any lack in the reality, fullness and completion of the anointing by the indwelling Holy Spirit of those previously anointed with it.
The notion that 'we' do not yet know the 'whole truth' prior to Christ's return is certainly true in the case of those belonging to God's nominal people who are born in the flesh, such as the WT-anointed and their followers, but definitely does not apply to those who are indwelled by Christ Himself - who IS THE TRUTH - through the abiding Spirit of anointing received at their coming of age as sons of God!
I cannot, of course, argue against the reality of what you are experiencing and what is true in your case, but just let me kindly disabuse you of your erroneous assumption that you are anointed, given your present level of ignorance regarding the composition, location and reality of the Body of Christ, which alone is the true Christian Congregation.
If the WT-anointed were really born of the Spirit of Truth, they would not tolerate a body of governors telling lies about the return of Christ as their spiritual representatives and leaders in defiance of Christ's Headship over them!
And with that I rest my case.
Knowledge puffs up!!!
--- we now see in hazy outline but when that which is complete arrives then that what is partial will be made whole ----
---- all Gods sons will walk by faith, even Christ does not have complete knowledge he does not know the timing of “the day of Jehovah” --- --- but he exercise faith that it is a certainty. ---
The Harvestime will conclude and the wheat will remain to fulfill their assignment as the 2witnesses in sackcloth,
when God's time reveals to us, that His true sons have been sealed, prior to the commencement of the Gt. Tribulation.
we are seeing the "Ingathering" of those who have left the world behind, and preparing for the "last days" finale.
The question remains regarding the fact that thousands of professed "holy ones" remain within an apostate organisation,
ignoring their conscience & the direction of the Holy spirit. How can they "draw close to God" and be part of the BRIDE of Christ, whilst remaining under the direction of the "man of lawlessness"
What is FAITH really built on...?? "all God's sons will walk by faith"
btw Christ JESUS would know the timing of Jehovah's day as he prepares to break the 7th seal, prior to the heralding
of the 7 trumpets by the angels Rev 8:1- 2
Re: " Token" refers to the part God's spirit has in the "calling of a son" as it still remains a period of time until being chosen, would be followed by the sealing., therefore by the time the Gt tribulation begins Rev 14, all left on earth
would be sealed. Still question that 144,000 is literal, when the tribe of "Manasseh" son of Joseph, replace the tribe
of Dan.
Brian,
This means everlasting life, their having KNOWLEDGE of you, the only God, and of the One you have sent, Jesus Christ.
If the very knowledge of God puffs up, then I shall be exceedingly proud of it!
Eye has not seen and ear has not heard, neither have there been conceived in the heart of man the things that God has prepared for those who love Him; for it is to US God has revealed them through His Spirit, for the Spirit searches into all things, even the deep things of God.
I only speak up in defense of my dear Watchman – I believe credit must be given were credit is due.
I respect you Proxy - your abilities of expression are formidable coupled with deep scriptural understandings, they have aided in my spiritual comprehensions.
27 Now YOU are Christ’s body, and members individually. 28 And God has set the respective ones in the congregation, first, apostles; second, prophets; THIRD, TEACHERS; then powerful works; then gifts of healings; helpful services, abilities to direct, different tongues. 29 NOT all are apostles, are they? NOT all are prophets, are they? NOT ALL ARE TEACHERS, are they? NOT all perform powerful works, do they? 30 NOT all have gifts of healings, do they? NOT all speak in tongues, do they? NOT all are translators, are they? 31 But keep zealously seeking the greater gifts. And yet I show YOU a surpassing way.
13 If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels but do not have love, I have become a sounding [piece of] brass or a clashing cymbal. 2 And if I have the gift of prophesying and am acquainted with all the sacred secrets and all knowledge, and if I have all the faith so as to transplant mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. 3 And if I give all my belongings to feed others, and if I hand over my body, that I may boast, but do not have love, I am not profited at all.
4 Love is long-suffering and kind. Love is not jealous, it does not brag, does not get puffed up, 5 does not behave indecently, does not look for its own interests, does not become provoked. It does not keep account of the injury. 6 It does not rejoice over unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth. 7 It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.
8 Love never fails. But whether there are [gifts of] prophesying, they will be done away with; whether there are tongues, they will cease; whether there is knowledge, it will be done away with. 9 For we have partial knowledge and we prophesy partially; 10 but when that which is complete arrives, that which is partial will be done away with. 11 When I was a babe, I used to speak as a babe, to think as a babe, to reason as a babe; but now that I have become a man, I have done away with the [traits] of a babe. 12 For at present we see in hazy outline by means of a metal mirror, but then it will be face to face. At present I know partially, but then I shall know accurately even as I am accurately known. 13 Now, however, there remain faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love.
Proxy,
Perhaps you should acquire a web post and call it the 'wrathmens' post. LOL. no really !!
My advice however is apply more inspiration and loving guidance to it than these long drawn out conclusive remarks that are proofed up with dead ends and the feeling that you are scolding the reader for exploring options in this twisted and deceitful world were the clean waters Ezekiel prophecy-ed from Jehovah's utterances to all mankind is not and can not be found from any man or organization regardless of what heading they give themselves "Catholic, Protestant, Baptist, Jehovah's Witness, Lutheran, Buddhist, Hindu, etc,etc,etc,etc,etc...
Point is I feel your rage in your posts for I read all of yours and everyone else's I really enjoy reading the world as it were perspective on spirituality especially pertaining to the "sect of the Nazarene" - Act 24:5
Let me interject for in reality Christianity is a term giving to us out of hurtfulness by pagans and has been a leading to inaccurate understanding of things pertaining to heavenly things. We would be do better to say, Messianity For Christ means Messiah although the pagans at the time did not care of this knowledge of Christ.
Fact is, Accurate knowledge is the foremost 'gem' that has been under attack since the apostles walked the earth and to acquire a little bit is a triumph for each person who can feel it in their hearts to hold and it must be labored for like mining for gold, but then it must be refined. Look stop carting on. Be more tactful,apply some tender compassion.Above all show some LOVE for us readers .
To the Watchmen,
Expound please on Ezekiel like you have with Isaiah.