Part five
Search the Scriptures through and through, and you will not find the phrase “invisible presence.” As common sense would have it, Jesus has always been invisibly present. The parousia is something very different.
To illustrate the point and prove that the manifestation of Christ is the same thing as the parousia, the apostle John wrote the following: “So now, little children, remain in union with him, so that when he is made manifest we may have freeness of speech and not shrink away from him in shame at his presence.” – 1 John 2:28
Is there any evidence that anyone has been shamed away by the supposed invisible presence of Jesus since 1914?
Having established that the coming of the Son of man, indeed, the commencement of the Lord’s day, will be evident whenever it is that they are saying, “peace and security,” the “sudden destruction” that will befall the Anglo-American dual world power will culminate in a great tribulation unlike anything that has ever occurred before or will ever occur again. Jesus said that the tribulation would be so severe that it would be necessary for God to cut it short on account of the chosen ones, or else no flesh would survive. You may be certain that the great tribulation is not merely the liquidation of false religion.
What could possibly pose an existential threat to mankind requiring divine intervention to save us from extinction? There is only one thing: Nuclear war.
True, a nuclear holocaust is unthinkable. During the Cold War, the military doctrine of MAD (Mutually Assured Destruction) was said to be a safeguard against the madness of nuclear annihilation. But human policies, treaties, common sense, and mutual interest in survival do not take into consideration that Satan, the Devil, is the ruthless ruler of this wicked world, and as Christ said of him, he was a murderer when he began.
“THE SUN WILL BE DARKENED”
The coming of Christ to take Satan out will surely provoke a violent reaction from the demonic rulers of this world, a world already primed full of hatred and armed to the teeth with every fiendish weapon imaginable. The Devil has made sure that the system over which he presides as god is booby-trapped and set to self-destruct with push-button ease when the Son of man arrives like a thief in the night.
But could there be any greater stage for the entry of the Savior of the world than nuclear war?
If you are paying attention, you surely know that there has been a lot of talk about the potential risk of nuclear war due to NATO’s increasingly aggressive proxy war against Russia and talk of supplying Ukraine with long-range missiles to strike the heart of Russia. Of course, there are numerous other flash points around the world that also involve nuclear-armed nations. Any of these or an orchestrated false flag could trigger a devastating nuclear exchange.
As a reminder, the prophets of Bethel have assured Jehovah’s Witnesses that there cannot be another world war for the reason that nations are armed with deadly nuclear weapons and a nuclear war would destroy the earth and leave few, if any, survivors. And we know God will not allow Satan to destroy the earth. The meek are not going to inherit a charred, radioactive cinder. However, that does not mean that God will not allow a nuclear exchange.
So, let it be known that the leadership of Jehovah’s Witnesses discounts the possibility of divine intervention to save mankind from self-destruction.
The opening of the sixth seal surely portrays the terrifying collapse of civilization, also known as the great tribulation. How do we know? Because in Matthew’s account, Jesus said, “Immediately after the tribulation of those days, the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken.” This is the exact same imagery John used to describe what he saw when the sixth seal was opened.
By the way, did you know the Watchtower teaches that the sixth seal was opened sometime shortly after 1914, but the events betokened therein still have not occurred? How sensible is that?
It should be noted that the foreboding imagery of the sun being darkened and the moonlight becoming obscured may not be entirely symbolic. The detonation of only a few dozen thermonuclear devices would create enormous clouds of dust and smoke that would literally shroud the earth in gloom. The prophecy of Joel speaks to this as well: “And I will give wonders in the heavens and on the earth, blood and fire and columns of smoke. The sun will be turned into darkness and the moon into blood before the coming of the great and awe-inspiring day of Jehovah.” – Joel 2:30-31
Through Isaiah, Jehovah seems to be speaking to a future day during the tribulation, when all seems lost: “Why, then, was no one here when I came? Why did no one answer when I called? Is my hand too short to redeem, or is there no power in me to rescue? Look! With my rebuke I dry up the sea; I make rivers a desert. Their fish rot for lack of water, and they die because of thirst. I clothe the heavens with gloom, and I make sackcloth their covering.” (50:2-3)
Immediately after the opening of the sixth seal Revelation portrays the cutting short of the tribulation, saying: “After this I saw four angels standing on the four corners of the earth, holding tight the four winds of the earth, so that no wind could blow on the earth or on the sea or on any tree. And I saw another angel ascending from the sunrise, having a seal of the living God; and he called with a loud voice to the four angels to whom it was granted to harm the earth and the sea, saying: “Do not harm the earth or the sea or the trees, until after we have sealed the slaves of our God in their foreheads.” – Revelation 7:1-3
“LIGHT HAS SHOWN ON THEM”
The angel ascending from the sunrise can be none other than Jesus Christ, also known as “the bright morning star.” The Watchtower absurdly claims that Jesus ascended as the bright morning star in 1914. This can be easily disproven by an honest reading of the writings of the apostle Peter. Having been an eyewitness of the Transfiguration, which was a foregleam of the parousia, Peter went on to say: “So we have the prophetic word made more sure, and you are doing well in paying attention to it as to a lamp shining in a dark place (until day dawns and a daystar rises) in your hearts.” – 2 Peter 1:19
If day dawned in 1914 in the form of the ascendancy of the bright morning star, then it would no longer be necessary for Christians to pay attention to God’s prophetic word as if it were a lamp shining in a dark place. But the Watchtower is all about exhorting people to pay attention to God’s prophetic word—at least superficially. Unfortunately, Jehovah’s Witnesses are oblivious to this glaring contradiction.
What is the significance of the daystar or morning star rising in one’s heart? It signifies that the chosen have become one with the bright morning star. When will this occur? When the Lord comes. This is evident by what Jesus said to the symbolic Thyatiran congregation: “Just the same, hold fast to what you have until I come. And to the one who conquers and observes my deeds down to the end, I will give authority over the nations, and he will shepherd the people with an iron rod so that they will be broken to pieces like clay vessels, just as I have received from my Father. And I will give him the morning star. Let the one who has an ear hear what the spirit says to the congregations.” – Revelation 2:25-29
Through Isaiah, God speaks of the people in the region of the Jordan River (where Jesus was baptized), seeing a great light: “When they do not speak according to this word, they have no light. And each one will pass through the land afflicted and hungry; and because he is hungry and indignant, he will curse his king and his God as he looks upward. Then he will look to the earth and see only distress and darkness, obscurity and hard times, gloom and no brightness. However, the gloom will not be as when the land had distress, as in former times when the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali were treated with contempt. But at a later time He will cause it to be honored—the way by the sea, in the region of the Jordan, Galilee of the nations. The people who were walking in the darkness have seen a great light. As for those dwelling in the land of deep shadow, light has shone on them.” – (8:20-9:2)
That these hard times, gloom and darkness will be the condition of God’s people during the initial phase of the day of Jehovah is evident by what God stated in Amos: ‘Woe to those who yearn for the day of Jehovah! What, then, will the day of Jehovah mean for you? It will be darkness, and not light…Will not the day of Jehovah be darkness, and not light; will it not have gloom, and not brightness? (5:18 & 20)
After Jesus was baptized in the Jordan, he took up temporary residence by the Sea of Galilee. In fact, in the synagogue in Nazareth where he grew up, Jesus read from the scroll of Isaiah and announced to the congregation that he was the anointed of Jehovah; thus, 
introducing himself to Israel as the promised Messiah. He performed many miracles in the cities of Galilee, such as turning water into fine wine. He even calmed the tempestuous sea that threatened to swamp the terrified disciples’ fishing boat.
After expelling many demons from a man who lived among the tombs, the demons requested that Jesus send them into a herd of swine, which then proceeded to stampede over a cliff and drown in the sea. Perhaps a portent of coming events?
Jesus even came to his disciples in the dark of night, walking upon the Sea of Tiberius, as it was also called. And it was in Galilee where the resurrected Christ showed himself to over 500 of his disciples. They saw a great light, indeed! But why was the territory of Israel called “Galilee of the nations”? Perhaps because the things that took place there have significance for the modern world.
It does not seem to be coincidental that the name “Isaiah” means the same as the name Jesus, or more especially Jesus’ full Hebrew name—Jehoshua. The names mean “Jehovah is salvation.” The prophecy of Isaiah seamlessly weaves together elements of the conquest of Israel by the Assyrians, with the ministry of Jesus in the first century, and Christ’s second coming and manifestation.
Hence, a few verses before speaking about the region of the Jordan, Isaiah stated: “Wrap up the written confirmation; seal up the law among my disciples! I will keep in expectation of Jehovah, who is hiding his face from the house of Jacob, and I will hope in him. Look! I and the children whom Jehovah has given me are as signs and as miracles in Israel from Jehovah of armies, who resides on Mount Zion.”
What is the written confirmation or attestation? It is the Bible. Some even call it the Old and New Testaments —an attestation. The Bible confirms that Jesus was the Christ and 144,000 of Jesus’ disciples will stand with him on heavenly Mount Zion, becoming Christ’s brothers in the fullest sense according to God’s will. Christianity will be complete when Christ comes. The new covenant will be concluded—sealed up as accomplished.
Are we not commanded to stay in expectation of the coming of the Son of man in the name of Jehovah? When then will Jehovah hide his face from the anointed house of Jacob? During the darkness of war, famine, pestilence, and tribulation. It is in that gloom, that unforgiving darkness, that those living in deathly shadow, as Matthew worded it, quoting Isaiah, will see a “great light.” As if walking upon the roaring sea, Jesus will shine upon those keeping in expectation of his presence.
Isaiah confirms that God will no longer hide himself during the time of distress: “Though Jehovah will give you bread in the form of distress and water in the form of oppression, your Grand Instructor will no longer hide himself, and you will see your Grand Instructor with your own eyes.” (30:20)
Seeing the Grand Instructor with one’s own eyes will surely be the remedy for the spiritual blindness that presently afflicts even the anointed among Jehovah’s Witnesses.
“THEN IT WILL BE FACE-TO-FACE”
In the 13th chapter of First Corinthians, Paul said that the gifts of tongues and prophecy will be done away with. Why? When? He goes on to explain: “For we have partial knowledge and we prophesy partially, but when what is complete comes, what is partial will be done away with. When I was a child, I used to speak as a child, to think as a child, to reason as a child; but now that I have become a man, I have done away with the traits of a child. For now we see in hazy outline by means of a metal mirror, but then it will be face-to-face.” (9-12a)
What is the coming of that which is “complete”? It is when the work of Christ is concluded; when the final sealing of the called seals up the written testimony and law; when the chosen have been gathered; when the body of Christ has become a full-grown man. And what is the significance of seeing what is to come “face-to-face”?
There is one man who is said to have had face-to-face meetings with God. That man was Moses. Consider a few passages that explain: “When all the people saw the pillar of cloud standing at the entrance of the tent, each of them rose and bowed down at the entrance of his own tent. Jehovah spoke to Moses face-to-face, just as one man would speak to another man. When he returned to the camp, Joshua the son of Nun, his minister and attendant, would not depart from the tent.” – Exodus 33:10-11
Speaking to Moses’ rebellious brother and sister, God said: “Hear my words, please. If there was a prophet of Jehovah among you, I would make myself known to him in a vision, and I would speak to him in a dream. But it is not that way with my servant Moses! He is being entrusted with all my house. Face-to-face I speak to him, openly, not by riddles; and the appearance of Jehovah is what he sees. Why, then, did you not fear to speak against my servant, against Moses?” – Numbers 12:6-8
Speaking to the newly formed Israelite nation, Moses said, “Jehovah our God made a covenant with us in Horeb. It was not with our forefathers that Jehovah made this covenant, but with us, all of us alive here today. Jehovah spoke face-to-face with you in the mountain, out of the fire. I was standing between Jehovah and you at that time to convey to you the word of Jehovah, for you were afraid because of the fire and did not go up the mountain.” – Deuteronomy 5:2-5
So, Moses was the only man who conversed with Jehovah face-to-face and saw his appearance. And it was Moses who was taken by God when he was 120 years old. Even at that age, his eyesight had not dimmed, and his strength had not diminished. God took him. But it is as if Moses showed up later in the Transfiguration and, along with the prophet, Elijah, was conversing face-to-face with the glorified Christ. And it is the unnamed Moses and Elijah who appear as two witnesses in Revelation. Of what are they witnesses? The two witnesses are said to be “symbolized by the two olive trees and the two lampstands and are standing before the Lord of the earth.” – Revelation 11:4
This symbolism is taken from the book of Zechariah, where the prophet asked an angel what these things meant: “Do you not know what these things mean?” I replied: “No, my lord.” He said: “These are the two anointed ones who are standing alongside the Lord of the whole earth.” (4:13-14)
Moses and Elijah stood alongside Jesus in the Transfiguration. The Transfiguration was a foregleam of the parousia. So, the two witnesses standing alongside the Lord of the whole earth signify that the chosen will stand alongside Christ and see him face-to-face. Does not parousia mean being alongside?
Just as the first-century disciples gave witness that they had seen the resurrected Christ, the two witnesses will give testimony to the world that they have seen the Lord of the whole earth, face-to-face.
End of part five…