“Woe to those who enact unjust laws, who draft oppressive legislation—denying justice to the needy, depriving the poor of my people of their right, making plunder of widows, mere spoil of the fatherless! What will you do in the day of reckoning when the holocaust overtakes you from afar? To whom will you flee for […]
A Tyrant Named “Sea” and “River” Read More »
Question: In a class discussion, the question arose as to when Gentiles become numbered among those of the house of Israel. Many have the belief that when they are baptized and make a covenant with the Lord they are adopted into the house of Israel. And yet the scriptures indicate that collectively we are a
Question about Church Members Being Gentiles or House of Israel Read More »
The roles Israel’s God fulfills when redeeming humanity from evil—of Father and Son, Priest and Sacrifice, Savior and Firstborn—all fall in the category of “salvation,” that being a gift from God which we receive on condition we “repent” of sins and “return” to him. Repentance, in turn, is the essence of living the lesser law
Salvation Leads to Exaltation Read More »
“You have forgotten your God, your salvation, and not remembered the Rock, your fortress.” (Isaiah 17:10) “How comely upon the mountains are the feet of the messenger announcing peace, who brings tidings of good, who heralds salvation.” (Isaiah 52:7) “Hear me, you stubborn-hearted, who are far from righteousness: I have brought near my righteousness; it
A God Named “Salvation” Read More »
Continuous with Jehovah’s re-creation of persons who attain Isaiah’s seraphs level—who “ascend as on eagles’ wings” (Isaiah 40:31)—appears Jehovah’s end-time servant. The servant’s attaining the seraph level (cf. Isaiah 14:29; 51:9–10; 63:9) thus forms a high point of Jehovah’s narrowing creations as outlined in chapter 40. Personifying righteousness because he keeps Jehovah’s law and word
The Servant as a Seraph Read More »
“Thus says the Lord: Observe justice and perform righteousness, for my salvation will soon come when my righteousness is revealed.” (Isaiah 56:1) “Listen to me, my people; give heed to me, O my nation: The law shall go forth from me; my precepts shall be a light to the peoples. Then, suddenly, I will act:
A Man Named “Righteousness” Read More »
Isaiah characterizes Jehovah as a personification of “salvation”—as the epitome of a Savior of his people. His servant’s “work” of preparing a people to meet their God (Isaiah 40:10–11; 42:3) precedes Jehovah’s coming: “Tell the Daughter of Zion, ‘See, your Salvation comes, his reward with him, his work preceding him’” (Isaiah 62:11; emphasis added). As
Personifications in Metaphor Read More »
Question: If we are living in the last days, how should we account for the apparent discrepancy between how Isaiah severely censures God’s people and today’s faithful members of the church? Answer: By the “last days,” do you mean (1) since the time the gospel was restored; (2) the present time; or (3) the time
Question about a Seeming Last Days Discrepancy Read More »
“My servant whom I sustain, my chosen one in whom I delight, him I have endowed with my Spirit; he will dispense justice to the Gentiles. . . . Thus says Jehovah, God, who frames and suspends the heavens, who gives form to the earth and its creatures, the breath of life to the people
God’s Light amidst the Darkness Read More »
Question: Will members of the church be saved from major calamities and caught up in the air to meet the Savior? Answer: Isaiah predicts that the Lord comes as Savior only to those who repent of worldliness and idolatry. To the remainder of humanity, he comes “as a thief in the night” (cf. 2 Peter
Question on Church Members Being Caught Up Read More »
“An oracle concerning Babylon, which Isaiah the son of Amoz saw in vision: Raise the ensign on a barren mountain; sound the voice among them! Beckon them with the hand to advance into the precincts of the elite. I have charged my holy ones, called out my valiant ones: my anger is not upon those
What Happens to End-Time Babylon Read More »
Question: Would not the spiritual kings and queens of the Gentiles who gather God’s “sons” and “daughters” of the house of Israel (Isaiah 49:22–23) be themselves of the house of Israel? Answer: Hosea’s prophecy that “Ephraim has assimilated among the nations (hitboleil ba’amim); Ephraim is an unturned pancake” (Hosea 7:8) affirms Jacob’s birthright blessing on
Question about Identities and End-Time Roles Read More »
