Since the rebellion in Eden God’s purpose has been to produce a seed. Because of his faith Abraham was chosen as the one through whom the seed would eventually come. Abraham’s grandson, Jacob, whose name God changed to Israel, had twelve sons that produced the twelve tribes of Israel. For that reason in later centuries God referred to the nation as “Jacob” and more commonly “Israel.”
Eventually, Judah produced the Christ and after that others were anointed to become part of the seed along with Jesus. Because they are to be the actual seed of blessing God promised would come through Abraham, the Christian seed is the real Israel of God. Paul explained these things in his letter to the Galatians.
At any rate, the Christian Israel of God became corrupt too, just like Israel had before it – even as the founding apostles foretold would occur. But before the conclusion of the system a new generation of anointed persons would appear in the world, thus constituting the Israel of God in modern times. Since its inception the Watchtower Society has been the seedbed for anointed Christians (and consequently the weed patch as well) first called the International Bible Students and since 1931, Jehovah’s Witnesses; making Bethel a sort of capital city for the spiritual nation that has formed.
With the above basic truth in mind now consider the prophecy of Hosea and how the prophecy makes no distinction between the original Israel and the one that would exist at the return of Christ. For example, Hosea 11:1 refers to when Israel was a boy, when God called him out of Egypt – a reference to the exodus. But Hosea 3:5 states: “Afterwards the sons of Israel will come back and certainly look for Jehovah their God, and for David their king; and they will certainly come quivering to Jehovah and to his goodness in the final part of the days.”
“David,” of course, is in reference to Christ, the son of David. And the final part of the days is the concluding harvest, when Christ returns, at which point he will dispatch his angels to uproot the weeds from among the wheat and gather the wheat into the storehouse. Hosea 6:11 also speaks of such a harvest, saying: “Furthermore, O Judah, a harvest has been fixed for you, when I gather back the captive ones of my people.”
That the prophecies pertaining to Israel are in reality directed to the Christian Israel of God is further evident from what we read at Hosea 6:1-3, which says: “Come, you people, and do let us return to Jehovah, for he himself has torn in pieces but he will heal us. He kept striking, but he will bind us up. He will make us alive after two days. On the third day he will make us get up, and we shall live before him. And we will know, we will pursue to know Jehovah. Like dawn, his going forth is firmly established. And he will come in like a pouring rain to us; like a spring rain that saturates the earth.”
As Paul warned, God scourges everyone he receives as a son, tearing in pieces, then healing – striking, but then binding the wound. As everyone surely knows, Christ was resurrected on the third day. He was made to get up, which is what the word resurrect literally means. And those who are joint heirs with Christ, hence also the seed, will be made to get up, as it were, in the first resurrection.
Interestingly, the 11th chapter of Revelation portrays the martyred two anointed witnesses standing up from death after three days – implying that they are raised up the same as Christ, as immortal spirits. But, first comes the tearing in pieces. Just as God used the Assyrian and Babylonian tyrants to punish his wayward nations (Israel and Judah) in ancient times the same beastly system will also provide the modern punisher as well in the form of the eighth king.
In the book of Habakkuk, which by the Watchtower’s own admission is a vision yet for the time appointed, Jehovah’s assigned imperial executioner is likened to an eagle speeding to eat something.The same analogy is used at Hosea 8:1-2, which says: “To your mouth—a horn! One comes like an eagle against the house of Jehovah, for the reason that they have overstepped my covenant, and against my law they have transgressed. To me they keep crying, ‘O my God, we, Israel, have known you.’”
My purpose has been to sound the horn of the coming judgment against the house of Jehovah. Of course, the leadership of Jehovah’s Witnesses would never admit to having overstepped the Christian covenant or having transgressed God’s law, which is why God is forced to use such strong measures – basically, wrecking the world!
The next verse states: “Israel has cast off good. Let one who is an enemy pursue him. They themselves have set up kings, but not because of me. They have set up princes, but I did not know it. With their silver and their gold they have made for themselves idols, to the end that they may be cut off.”
In a sense the Watchtower Society has also set up its own king by fabricating an elaborate theology of how Christ invisibly became king in 1914 and in 1918 he appointed them to oversee his earthly kingdom. And in more recent years they have set up a governing body and various other corporate offices, which are overseen by what amounts to princes. The Watchtower Society has become materially wealthy and its leading princes have built great houses for themselves. The organization itself has become a golden calf – an idol. Its every utterance is considered to be sacred.
Hosea 10:1-2 continues in the same vein: “Israel is a degenerating vine. Fruit he keeps putting forth for himself. In proportion to the abundance of his fruit he has multiplied his altars. In proportion to the goodness of his land, they put up good pillars. Their heart has become hypocritical; now they will be found guilty.”
Hypocrisy is defined as a pretense of having a virtuous character, moral or religious beliefs or principles that one does not really possess or pretending to have some desirable or publicly approved attitude. This certainly describes what the Watchtower Society has become.
Publicly the Watchtower claims that it “abhors child abuse.” But does it really? Predictably, in the wake of the recent multi-million dollar judgment against them the Society is making a public display of its assumed abhorrence of child abuse. On the front page of their old website Bethel had made prominent various articles they have written on child abuse dating back to 1983.
The Watchtower’s lawyers are obviously trying to manage the public’s perception as part of their appeal bid, trying to give the impression that the leadership have been in the forefront of helping parents to protect their children. While the articles offer parents helpful suggestions, there is a glaring omission. Since it is common knowledge that thousands of children have been sexually abused by men who were and in many cases still are Jehovah’s Witnesses, if the princes of Bethel really abhorred child abuse would it not be the responsible thing for them to warn Jehovah’s Witness parents of the danger that lurks within the congregation? But there is no such warning. Not a word. And worse, there is no acknowledgment of the fact that some of the abusers have even been elders and ministerial servants. Truly, their heart has become hypocritical. Jehovah is certain to find them guilty.
The leadership has convinced Jehovah’s Witnesses that they are living in a predator-free spiritual paradise and has falsely assured parents that any wrongdoers are promptly removed. Right on the mark verse four in the New Century Version states: “They make many false promises and agreements which they don’t keep. So people sue each other in court; they are like poisonous weeds growing in a plowed field.”
How true, even as verse 13 states:“You people have plowed wickedness. Unrighteousness is what you have reaped. You have eaten the fruitage of deception, for you have trusted in your way, in the multitude of your mighty ones.”
