wp11 10/01-Eda-ip.getmyip.com/PDF/Publications/Watchtower PDF's... · 10/1/2011 · 4 What you may have heard: “God works in mysterious ways.” “TheFatherIncomprehensible,theSonIn-comprehensible,

34567OCTOBER 1, 2011

FIVE LIESABOUT GOD

EXPOSED!

THE PURPOSE OF THIS MAGAZINE, The Watchtower, is to honor Jehovah God, the Supreme Ruler of the universe.Just as watchtowers in ancient times enabled a person to observe developments from afar, so this magazine showsus the significance of world events in the light of Bible prophecies. It comforts people with the good news thatGod’s Kingdom, which is a real government in heaven, will soon bring an end to all wickedness and transform theearth into a paradise. It promotes faith in Jesus Christ, who died so that we might gain everlasting life and who isnow ruling as King of God’s Kingdom. This magazine has been published by Jehovah’s Witnesses continuouslysince 1879 and is nonpolitical. It adheres to the Bible as its authority.This publication is not for sale. It is provided as part of a worldwide Bible educational work supported by voluntary donations. Unless otherwise indicated, Scripturequotations are from the modern-language New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures—With References.

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Printing Each Issue:42,162,000 IN 188 LANGUAGES

OCTOBER 1, 2011

FROM OUR COVER

3 Have You Been Lied To?4 God Is a Mystery—Is It True?5 God Does Not Really Care

—Is It True?6 God Is Vengeful—Is It True?

7 God Is Unfair—Is It True?8 God Accepts All Sincere Worship

—Is It True?9 The Truth Can Change Your Life

REGULAR FEATURES10 Did You Know?

11 Our Readers Ask . . .

12 The Bible Changes Lives

15 Draw Close to God—You Can Find “the Very Knowledge of God”

16 Learn From God’s Word—How Can Your Family Be Happy?

& 18 Imitate Their Faith—She Stood Up for God’s People

24 Teach Your Children—When We Should Stay Awake

ALSO IN THIS ISSUE14 “Defiance That Commands Respect”

& 26 When Was Ancient Jerusalem Destroyed?—Why It Matters; What the Evidence Shows

FEW experiences hurt more than learningthat someone you trust has lied to you.

You might feel humiliated, angry, or evenbetrayed. Lies destroy friendships and mar-riages; they defraud people of countless mil-lions of dollars.

Imagine, then, how you would feel if youlearned that you had been lied to about God.If you are devout, the effect could be pro-found, as it was for these churchgoers:

˘ “I felt that the church had betrayed me.”—DEANNE.

˘ “I was angry. I felt that I had been tricked—that my hopes and goals turned out tobe futile.”—LUIS.

You might hesitate even to consider thepossibility that you have been lied to aboutGod. What you know may have come fromsomeone whom you trust and who wouldnever intentionally hurt you—your parents, apriest, a pastor, or a close friend. You mayhave believed a certain teaching all your life.But would you not agree that even a widelyheld idea can be false? Former U.S. PresidentFranklin D. Roosevelt recognized this fact, forhe said: “Repetition does not transform a lieinto a truth.”

How can you determine whether you havebeen lied to? Jesus once said to God in prayer:“Your word is truth.” (John 17:17) Yes, God’sWord, the Bible, contains what we need in or-der to distinguish the truth from lies.

Why not let the Bible expose five commonlies about God? You will see how the truthcan change your life for the better.

HAVE YOU BEEN

Lied To?

THE WATCHTOWER ˙ OCTOBER 1, 2011 3

4

What you may have heard: “God works inmysterious ways.”

“The Father Incomprehensible, the Son In-comprehensible, and the Holy Ghost Incom-prehensible.”—The Athanasian Creed, de-scribing the Trinity taught by manychurchesof Christendom.

What the Bible teaches: Jesus said that those“taking in knowledge of . . . the only trueGod” would receive blessings. (John 17:3)But how can we take in knowledge of God ifhe is a mystery? Far from concealing himself,he wants everyone to know him.—Jeremiah31:34.

Of course, we will never know everythingabout God. This is to be expected because histhoughts and ways are higher than ours.—Ec-clesiastes 3:11; Isaiah 55:8, 9.

How knowing the truth helps you: If God isan incomprehensible mystery, then whyeven try to get to know him? Yet, he enablesus not only to comprehend him but also todevelop a close friendship with him. God de-scribed the faithful man Abraham as “myfriend,” and King David of Israel wrote: “Theintimacy with Jehovah belongs to those fear-ful of him.”—Isaiah 41:8; Psalm 25:14.

Does the idea of having an intimate friend-ship with God seem farfetched? Perhaps so,but note what Acts 17:27 says: “[God] is not

far off from each one of us.” In what way?Through the Bible, God provides what weneed in order to know himwell.�

He tells us his name, Jehovah. (Isaiah 42:8)He has recorded his deeds toward mankindso that we can know the Person behind thename. More than that, God reveals his emo-tions to us.He is “merciful and gracious, slowto anger and abundant in loving-kindnessand truth.” (Exodus 34:6) Our actions can af-fect his feelings. For example, the ancient na-tion of Israel made him “feel hurt” whenthey rebelled against him, while those whowisely obey him bring him joy.—Psalm 78:40; Proverbs 27:11.

� For more information about what the Bible says aboutGod, see chapter 1 of the book What Does the Bible ReallyTeach? published by Jehovah’s Witnesses.

1 God Is a MysteryIS IT TRUE?

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Would you welcome more information or afree home Bible study? Please send yourrequest to Jehovah’s Witnesses, using oneof these addresses. For a complete list ofaddresses, seewww.watchtower.org/address.

America, United States of: 25 Columbia Heights,Brooklyn, NY 11201-2483. Australia: PO Box 280,Ingleburn, NSW 1890. Britain: The Ridgeway, Lon-don NW7 1RN. Canada: PO Box 4100, Georgetown,ON L7G 4Y4. Germany: 65617 Selters. Guam: 143 Je-hovah St, Barrigada, GU 96913. Jamaica: PO Box 103,Old Harbour, St. Catherine. Japan: 4-7-1 Nakashinden,Ebina City, Kanagawa-Pref, 243-0496. Puerto Rico: POBox 3980, Guaynabo, PR 00970. South Africa: PrivateBag X2067, Krugersdorp, 1740. Trinidad and Tobago:Lower Rapsey Street & Laxmi Lane, Curepe.

The Watchtower (ISSN 0043-1087) is published semi-monthly by Watchtower Bible and Tract Society of NewYork, Inc.; M. H. Larson, President; G. F. Simonis,Secretary-Treasurer; 25 Columbia Heights, Brooklyn, NY11201-2483, and by Watch Tower Bible and Tract Soci-ety of Canada, PO Box 4100, Georgetown, ON L7G 4Y4.Periodicals Postage Paid at Brooklyn, NY, and at addition-al mailing offices. POSTMASTER: Send address changesto Watchtower, 1000 Red Mills Road, Wallkill, NY 12589-3299. � 2011 Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society ofPennsylvania. All rights reserved. Printed in Canada.

Vol. 132, No. 19 Semimonthly ENGLISH

NOW PUBLISHED IN 188 LANGUAGES: Acholi, Af-rikaans, Albanian, Amharic, Arabic, Armenian, Armenian(West), Aymara, Azerbaijani, Azerbaijani (Cyrillic),Baoule, Bengali, Bicol, Bislama, Bulgarian, Cambodian,Cebuano, Chichewa, Chinese (Simplified), Chinese (Tra-ditional)� (audio Mandarin only), Chitonga, Chuukese,Cibemba, Croatian, Czech,� Danish,� Dutch,�� Efik, En-glish�� (also Braille), Estonian, Ewe, Fijian, Finnish,�French,�� Ga, Georgian, German,�� Greek, Greenland-ic, Guarani,�� Gujarati, Gun, Haitian Creole, Hau-sa, Hebrew, Hiligaynon, Hindi, Hiri Motu, Hungarian,��Icelandic, Igbo, Iloko, Indonesian, Isoko, Italian,�� Japa-nese,�� Kannada, Kazakh, Kikaonde, Kikongo, Kikuyu, Ki-

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Slovak, Slovenian, Solomon Islands Pidgin, Spanish,�� Sra-nantongo, Swahili, Swati, Swedish,� Tagalog,� Tahitian,Tamil, Tatar, Telugu, Tetum, Thai, Tigrinya, Tiv, Tok Pisin,Tongan, Totonac, Tshiluba, Tshwa, Tsonga, Tswana, Tum-buka, Turkish, Tuvaluan, Twi, Tzotzil, Ukrainian, Umbun-du, Urdu, Uruund, Venda, Vietnamese, Wallisian, Waray-Waray, Wolaita, Xhosa, Yapese, Yoruba, Zande, Zapotec(Isthmus), Zulu

� CD also available.� MP3 CD-ROM also available.� Audio recordings also available at www.jw.org.

What you may have heard: “If God trulycared about mankind, then he would removeevil and suffering from theworld. And even ifhe is concerned about people in general, hedoesn’t care about what happens to me.”

What the Bible teaches: Jehovah God doesnot cause evil. (James 1:13) While he couldremove evil at any time, he allows corrupt so-ciety to exist for now in order to settle moralissues that were raised at the start of humanhistory.Hewill ultimately act in behalf of hu-mankind and undo all the trouble caused bythose who reject his rulership.—Genesis 3:1-6; Isaiah 65:17.�

Besides his overall concern for the humanfamily, God demonstrates an intense interest

� For more information about why God permits suffer-ing, see chapter 11 of the book What Does the Bible ReallyTeach?

in us as individuals. Matthew 10:29-31 showsthat he observes details about us that evenwedo not know: “Do not two sparrows sell for acoin of small value? Yet not one of them willfall to the ground without your Father’sknowledge. But the very hairs of your headare all numbered. Therefore haveno fear: youare worth more than many sparrows.”

How knowing the truth helps you: We usual-ly avoid people who are harsh or uncaring.Not surprisingly, the lie that God is un-caring causes many people either to avoidgetting to know him altogether or to ap-proach him only when they feel that theyhave no choice. Knowing that Jehovah Godreally cares could lead you to want to learnmore about him and build a friendship withhim.

For example, you might have prayed toGod but wondered whether he was listeningor if he would answer you. The Bible assuresus that the “Hearer of prayer” keeps this lineof communication open at all times for allwho approach him sincerely.—Psalm 65:2.

God invites you to “throw all your anxietyupon him, because he cares for you.” (1 Peter5:7) We can relyon his concern even in timesof great distress, for his Word says: “Jehovahis near to those that are broken at heart; andthose who are crushed in spirit he saves.”—Psalm 34:18.

2 God Does Not Really CareIS IT TRUE?

If God doesnot care,why doeshe inviteus to prayto him?

6 THE WATCHTOWER ˙ OCTOBER 1, 2011

What you may have heard: “God keeps trackof every sin and pays people back with eter-nal punishment in hellfire.”

“God punishes sinners with natural disas-ters.”

What the Bible teaches: SecondPeter 3:9 saysthat Jehovah “does not desire any to be de-stroyed but desires all to attain to repen-tance.” Rather than focusing on our mis-takes, he focuses on our good points. God’s“eyes are roving about through all the earthto show his strength in behalf of those whoseheart is complete toward him.”—2 Chroni-cles 16:9.

Hellfire is not a Bible teaching—the veryidea of eternal torment is repugnant to God.His maximum punishment for the wicked isto revoke the gift of life. (Jeremiah 7:31; Ro-mans 6:7) And natural disasters, which de-stroy indiscriminately, are not acts of Godbut, rather, unforeseen occurrences that canaffect anyone.—Ecclesiastes 9:11.

How knowing the truth helps you: We candraw closer to God when we recognize thathe is “ready to forgive” and not quick to con-demn. (Psalm 86:5) We need not serve Godout of feelings of guilt or a morbid dread ofpunishment. Instead, we can build our faithwith the best motive—love of Jehovah. Suchlove serves as an uplifting force that movesus to do our best to please him.—Matthew22:36-38; 1 John 5:3.

While God wants everyone to turn to do-ing good, he knows that many will never doso. If he never acted against those deter-mined to do bad things, then he would beno different from a ruler who makes laws

without enforcing them, allowing injusticeand suffering to flourish indefinitely. (Eccle-siastes 8:11) Our knowing that God will nottolerate wickedness forever gives us a soundhope for the future. God has promised to re-move those who persist in evil deeds, so that“the meek ones” can enjoy eternal life onearth as he originally intended.—Psalm 37:10,11, 29.�

� To learn more about how God will make the earth aparadise, see chapters 3 and 8 of the book What Does theBible Really Teach?

3 God Is VengefulIS IT TRUE?

Would God want us toworship him because wefear punishment?

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What you may have heard: “God is in chargeof this world, and everything that happens isby his will. Since the world is full of discrimi-nation, injustice, and oppression, God mustbe responsible.”

What the Bible teaches: God is not thesource of theworld’s injustice.Describing Je-hovah, the Bible says: “Perfect is his activity,for all his ways are justice.”—Deuteronomy32:4.

God is generous toward all, including thoseapparently undeserving. For example, “hemakes his sun rise upon wicked people andgood and makes it rain upon righteous peo-ple and unrighteous.” (Matthew 5:45) Hetreats people of all races and cultures justly, asActs 10:34, 35 shows: “God is not partial, butin every nation the man that fears him andworks righteousness is acceptable to him.”

What, then, is the source of injustice?Many people choose to act unfairly, not fol-lowing God’s example of justice. (Deuteron-omy 32:5) Also, the Bible shows that God isallowinghis enemy, theDevil, to exercise au-thority over the world.� (1 John 5:19) How-ever, God’s permission of this unjust rule

� To learn how the Devil came into existence, see chap-ter 3 of the book What Does the Bible Really Teach?

will soon end. He has already set in place hismeans to “break up the works of the Devil.”—1 John 3:8.

How knowing the truth helps you: Youmight be perplexed by the seemingly end-less reports of corruption, oppression, andinjustice. Knowing the cause of the troublehelps you understand why conditions are sobad and why man’s best efforts to make theworld a better place consistently fail. (Psalm146:3) Rather than devoting time and ener-gy to making changes that would be tempo-rary at best, you can have a sound hope forthe future based on trust in God’s promises.—Revelation 21:3, 4.

Understanding the real source of injusticecan especially help us when hardship hitsclose to home. Whenwe are treated unfairly,we may cry out as did God’s servant Habak-kuk: “Law grows numb, and justice nevergoes forth.” (Habakkuk 1:4) God did notchastise Habakkuk for saying this. Instead,God reassured His servant that He had set atime for correcting matters and helped Ha-bakkuk tofind joy in the face of trouble. (Ha-bakkuk 2:2-4; 3:17, 18) Similarly, trusting inGod’s promise to correct injustice can helpyou gain serenity and peace of mind in anunfair world.

4 God Is UnfairIS IT TRUE?

Is God reallyresponsible forsuffering andinjustice?

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What you may have heard: “Just as manypaths and roads lead to the same destination,there are also many paths that lead to God.Each person must find his own way to God.”

What the Bible teaches: We must be sincerein our worship, avoiding pretense andhypoc-risy. Jesus told the religious leaders of his daywhy God had rejected them: “Isaiah aptlyprophesied about you hypocrites, as it is writ-ten, ‘This people honor me with their lips,but their hearts are far removed from me.’”(Mark 7:6) Yet, sincerity alone does not guar-antee that God will accept our worship.

Jesus made this clear by exposing the keyflaw in the worship offered by those religiousleaders and their followers. He applied tothem God’s words: “It is in vain that theykeep worshiping me, because they teach asdoctrines commands of men.” (Mark 7:7)Their worship was “in vain,” or useless, be-cause they put their religious tradition aheadof God’s requirements.

Instead of supporting the idea that thereare many acceptable ways to approach God,the Bible teaches that there is only one. Mat-thew 7:13, 14 says: “Go in through the nar-row gate; because broad and spacious is theroad leading off into destruction, and manyare the ones going in through it; whereasnarrow is the gate and cramped the road lead-ing off into life, and few are the ones findingit.”

How knowing the truth helps you: Imaginehow you would feel if you had trained formonths to run a marathon and you had fin-ished the race in first place, but then youwere disqualified for unknowingly violating

one of the rules. You could feel that all youreffort was wasted. Could something like thishappenwith our worship of God?

Comparing our worship to an athleticcompetition, the apostle Paul wrote: “If any-one contends even in the games, he is notcrowned unless he has contended accordingto the rules.” (2 Timothy 2:5) We gain God’sfavor by worshipping him “according to therules,” that is, in the way that he approves.We cannot choose our own path to God anymore than a runner can run wherever hewants to and still expect to be declared thewinner of the race.

To please God, we must keep our worshipfree of lies about him. Jesus said: “The trueworshipers will worship the Father with spir-it and truth.” (John 4:23) We learn the truepath to God from his Word, the Bible.—John17:17.�

� For more information on the worship that God ap-proves, see chapter 15 of the book What Does the BibleReally Teach?

5 God Accepts All Sincere WorshipIS IT TRUE?

Do all religions teachpeople to worshipGod as he approves?

YOU may have heard or been taught oneof the lies about God that this series of

articles has exposed. Still, you might hesitateto change your beliefs, especially if you haveheld them for a long time.

Such hesitancy is understandable. Somechurches discourage the idea of comparingtheir teachings with what the Bible says.Others try to defend falsehood by sayingthat the Bible is complicated, not meant tobe understood by everyone. Yet, most of Je-sus’ disciples were ordinary people, withouthigher education, and they readily graspedwhat he taught.—Acts 4:13.

You could also hold back from scrutinizingyour beliefs out of fear that doing so woulddisplay a lack of faith. But does it make sensethat God would be displeased with you forlooking into the Bible, his message to man-kind, to understand what he asks of you? Onthe contrary, his Word encourages you toexamine the Scriptures personally, saying:“Prove to yourselves the good and acceptableand perfect will of God.”—Romans 12:2.

Learning the truth about God is more

than an intellectual exercise—it can changeyour life for the better. (John 8:32) Deanne,mentioned in the opening article, has nowbuilt her faith on God’s Word. She relates: “Inever realized that the Scriptures were soclear until I began studying the Bible. Now Iknow Jehovah, not just as an impersonalGod, but as my loving heavenly Father. I’vefound a real purpose in life.”

Maybe you studied the Bible before with-out feeling that you benefited. If so, do notgive up. Trying to understand the Biblewhenyou have been taught lies about God islike trying to assemble a puzzle using thewrongpicture as a reference. Youmight put afew pieces together correctly but then giveup in frustration when these do not matchthe overall picture you were given. Start withthe right picture, though, and the pieces willfall into place.

Would you like to learn the truth aboutGod? We invite you to contact Jehovah’sWitnesses in your community or write to theappropriate address on page 4 of this maga-zine for a free home Bible study.

TheTruth CAN CHANGE YOUR LIFE

“Prove toyourselvesthe good andacceptableand perfectwill of God.”—ROMANS 12:2

9


ˇ Shortly before his death, Jesus ad-dressed a gross injustice taking place inthe temple. The Bible reports: “Jesus . . .threw out all those selling and buyingin the temple, and overturned thetables of the money changers and thebenches of those selling doves. Andhe said to them: ‘It is written, “Myhouse will be called a house of prayer,”but you are making it a cave of rob-bers.’”—Matthew 21:12, 13.

First-century Jews and Jewish prose-lytes traveled from many lands and cit-ies to the temple in Jerusalem, bringingwith them coins from their local area.Yet, they were required to use ac-ceptable currency to pay the annual

temple tax, to buy sacrificial animals,and to make other voluntary offerings.Thus, money changers would, for a fee,convert coins of different origins anddenominations into the required cur-rency. As Jewish festivals approached,these money changers would set upstalls in the temple’s Court of the Gen-tiles.

Jesus’ criticism that the moneychangers were turning the temple into“a cave of robbers” evidently indicatesthat the charges for their services wereexorbitant.

DID YOU KNOW?

Why were there money changers in Jerusalem’s temple?

ˇ Olive trees and vineyards wereamong the blessings that God prom-ised his people for their faithfulness tohim. (Deuteronomy 6:10, 11) To thisday, the olive tree is highly esteemed inareas in which it grows. It can produceabundant fruit for hundreds of yearswith relatively little care. A cultivatedtree can flourish even in rocky soil andcan endure frequent droughts. If thetree is felled, the rootstock producesseveral shoots that can develop intonew trunks.

In Bible times, the bark and leaves ofthe tree were valued for their fever-reducing properties. The gum resinthat seeps from old branches and hasa vanilla scent was used to make per-

fume. Primarily, however, the tree wasprized as a source of food—its berriesand especially its oil. The pulp of a ripeolive is about half oil.

One good tree could yield as muchas 15 gallons (57 L) of oil a year. Oliveoil was also used as lamp fuel, for cer-emonial and religious purposes, as acosmetic for the body and hair, andas a medicine to soften wounds andsoothe bruises.—Exodus 27:20; Leviti-cus 2:1-7; 8:1-12; Ruth 3:3; Luke 10:33, 34.

Why were olive trees particularly appreciatedin Bible times?


ˇ “I was afraid that my little brother, John, wasdoomed to Limbo,” relates Victoria. Why did shehave that fear? “John died before he was bap-tized,” she explains, “and a Catholic priest saidthat for this reason, John would remain in Limboforever.” Such a notion is certainly frightening,but is it Scriptural? Does the Bible teach thatchildren who die without being baptized areforever doomed?

The Bible does teach that Christians should bebaptized. Jesus instructed his followers: “Makedisciples of people of all the nations, baptizingthem in the name of the Father and of the Sonand of the holy spirit, teaching them to observeall the things I have commanded you.” (Mat-thew 28:19, 20) Note that those who are bap-tized must be disciples of Jesus. That is, they areindividuals who have learned about Jesus andhave chosen to follow him—a choice that no in-fant, of course, can make.

Even so, many insist that Jesus’ command ap-plies to small children. “Everyone is to be bap-tized, including infants,” asserts Lutheran pastorRichard P. Bucher. He adds: “To keep them frombaptism is to keep them from forgiveness andto endanger them with damnation.” In fact,though, such comments contradict Jesus’ teach-ings in at least three ways.

First, Jesus did not teach that infants shouldbe baptized. Why is that fact significant? Con-sider: Jesus earnestly taught his disciples aboutGod’s requirements. At times, he repeated keyteachings. Why? To ensure that his disciplesgrasped the point. (Matthew 24:42; 25:13; Mark9:34-37; 10:35-45) Yet, not even once did heteach that infants should be baptized. Did Jesussomehow forget to mention the requirement?Impossible! Surely, if infants must be baptized,Jesus would have said so.

Second, Jesus never taught that anyone suf-fers after death. He believed the Scriptures,which clearly state: “The living are consciousthat they will die; but as for the dead, they areconscious of nothing at all.” (Ecclesiastes 9:5) Je-sus knew that the dead do not languish in pur-gatory, Limbo, hellfire, or any other location.Rather, he taught that they are unconscious, as ifasleep.—John 11:1-14.

Third, Jesus taught that “all those in the me-morial tombs” will come back to life. (John 5:28,29) Undoubtedly, these will include many mil-lions who were never baptized. Upon being res-urrected, they will have the opportunity to learnGod’s requirements and live forever in Paradiseon earth.�—Psalm 37:29.

Clearly, then, the Bible does not teach that in-fants should be baptized.

� To learn more about the earthly Paradise and the hopeof a resurrection, see chapters 3 and 7 of the book WhatDoes the Bible Really Teach? published by Jehovah’s Wit-nesses.

OUR READERS ASK . . .

Should infants be baptized?


MY PAST: I grew up in Bertrange,a clean, safe, and prosperous lit-tle town near the city of Luxem-bourg. I am the youngest of fivechildren. My parents are Jehovah’s Witness-es, and they worked hard to instill Chris-tian values in my brothers and sisters andin me.

When I entered my early teenage years, Ibegan to have serious doubts about what Je-hovah’s Witnesses teach. At first, I ignoredthese doubts, but gradually my faith becameweaker and weaker. My parents did every-thing they could to guide me in the right di-rection, but I rejected their help. Withouttheir knowledge, I spent time with youngpeople who had little respect for authori-ty. I wanted the freedom that their life-style seemed to offer. We partied a lot, sleptaround, and abused drugs and alcohol. I was

initially glad to be with peo-ple who seemed to enjoy lifeto the full.

In reality, though, I wasnot truly happy. Life withthose associateswas so trivial;no one gave much thoughtto anything. By contrast, Iwas bothered by such issuesas the widespread injusticein the world. As time wenton, I felt more and more de-pressed.HOW THE BIBLE CHANGEDMY LIFE: One day when Iwas 17, I was feeling very low.Sensing how unhappy I was,my mother asked me to givethe Bible another chance.

She encouraged me to examine its teachingsand then decide for myself whether I wantedto live in harmony with them or not. Thatheart-to-heart conversation was a real turn-ing point for me. I agreed to study the Biblewith my older sister Caroline and her hus-band, Akif. He had not been raised as one ofJehovah’s Witnesses but had become one asan adult. Because of Akif’s past, I felt that Icould speak openly with him, which was im-portant to me.

THE BIBLE CHANGES LIVES

WHAT moved a young woman to return to the religious upbringing fromwhich she had strayed? Read what she has to say.

“We partied a lot, sleptaround, and abused drugsand alcohol”

“I now have a realpurpose in life.”—LISA ANDR

´E

YEAR BORN: 1986

COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: LUXEMBOURGHISTORY: PRODIGAL CHILD


I knew that my lifestylewas not suitable fora Witness, but initially, I felt that what I didwith my life was a personal matter. Fromstudying the Bible, however, I realized thatmyconduct affects Jehovah’s feelings. (Psalm78:40, 41; Proverbs 27:11) I also came to un-derstand that it affects other people too.

As I examined the Bible further, I foundthat there are logical and convincing reasonsto believe that it is the Word of God. For ex-ample, I learned of numerous Bible prophe-cies that have come true—with an amazingdegree of accuracy. Such knowledge helpedme to resolve my earlier doubts.

About a year after I startedstudying the Bible, my parentsand I visited my older broth-er who was a volunteer at thebranch office of Jehovah’s Wit-nesses in Germany. When I sawhow happy my brother was, Ifelt deeply moved. That happi-ness was exactly what I had beenlooking for! I was also impressedby the other Witnesses who vol-unteered there. Theywere far dif-ferent from the dishonest, thrill-seeking people with whom I hadbeen associating. Shortly there-after, I offered a heartfelt prayerto Jehovah, promising to servehim for the rest of my life. At theage of 19, I symbolized my dedi-cation to Jehovah by getting bap-tized.

HOW I HAVE BENEFITED: I now have a realpurpose in life. I find joy in teaching theBibleto others, helping them to learn about Jeho-vah and his promises for the future. My fami-ly has also benefited—they no longer worryabout me.

I am aware of my past mistakes, but I trynot to dwell on them. Instead, I focus on Je-hovah’s forgiveness and on his loving inter-est in me. I wholeheartedly agree with thewords of Proverbs 10:22, which says: “Theblessing of Jehovah—that is what makes rich,and he adds no painwith it.”

“I am aware of my pastmistakes, but I try not todwell on them”


DURING his ruinous term as German chancel-lor, Adolf Hitler received tens of thousands

of letters. In 1945, after the Russians occupiedthe territory surrounding Berlin, many of theseletters were taken to Moscow and stored there.Historian Henrik Eberle has examined thou-sands of such letters in the Moscow archives inorder to study who wrote to Hitler and why.Eberle published his conclusions in the bookentitled Briefe an Hitler (Letters to Hitler).

“Teachers and students, nuns and priests,the unemployed and top businessmen, admi-rals and ordinary storm troopers—they all wroteto Hitler,” says Dr. Eberle. “Some revered him asthe born-again Messiah; others saw in him thevery essence of wickedness.” Did Hitler receiveletters of protest from church officials concern-ing the outrages perpetrated by the NationalSocialists, or Nazis? There were some, but suchletters were few and far between.

In the Moscow archives, however, Eberlefound a file containing a number of letters sentto Hitler by Jehovah’s Witnesses from differentparts of Germany, protesting against the con-duct of the Nazis. In fact, Witnesses from about50 countries sent Hitler some 20,000 letters andtelegrams protesting the mistreatment of Jeho-vah’s Witnesses. Thousands of Witnesses werearrested, and several hundred were executedor died following ill-treatment by the Nazis.Dr. Eberle concludes: “In view of the millionsof victims of the Nazi regime, this number [ofWitness victims] appears small. But it never-theless testifies to an act of collective anduncompromising defiance that com-mands respect.”

“Defiance ThatCommands Respect”


JEHOVAH GOD has put within our reach apriceless treasure, and it is his heart’s desire

that we find it. This treasure does not bring ma-terial wealth, but it will result in something thatall the money in the world cannot buy—innerpeace, contentment, and a satisfying life. Whatis this treasure? The words of wise King Solo-mon recorded at Proverbs 2:1-6 explain.

Solomon identifies this treasure as “the veryknowledge of God”—that is, the truth aboutGod and his purposes as revealed in the Bible.(Verse 5) There are several aspects to this trea-sure.

True teachings. The Bible answers such ques-tions as these: What is God’s name? (Psalm 83:18) What happens at death? (Psalm 146:3, 4)Why are we here? (Genesis 1:26-28; Psalm 115:16) Really, what price would you put on the an-swers to such important questions?

Wise counsel. The Bible tells us the bestway to live. How can you make a marriagelast? (Ephesians 5:28, 29, 33) How can youraise responsible children? (Deuteronomy 6:5-7; Ephesians 6:4) How can you find happi-ness in life? (Matthew 5:3; Luke 11:28) Again,what do you think—how valuable is reliable ad-vice on such matters?

Insight into God’s nature and personality.The Bible is the main source of accurate infor-mation about God. What is he like? (John 1:18;4:24) Does he care about us? (1 Peter 5:6, 7)What are some of his outstanding qualities?(Exodus 34:6, 7; 1 John 4:8) How much, wouldyou say, is truthful information about our Cre-ator worth?

“The very knowledge of God” is indeed aspiritual treasure. How can you find it? A cluelies in verse 4 of Proverbs chapter 2, where Sol-omon compares this knowledge to “hid trea-sures.” Think about this: A hidden treasure willnot jump out of its hiding place and deposit it-self into idle hands. We have to put forth effortto find it. So it is with the knowledge of God.This treasure is, in effect, buried in the Bible. Tofind it, we need to put forth effort.

Solomon explains what we need to do in or-der to find “the very knowledge of God.” Thewords “receive my sayings” and “incline yourheart” show that we need a receptive heart.(Verses 1, 2) The words “call out,” “keep seek-ing,” and “keep searching” indicate that weneed to expend ourselves, earnestly showingour initiative. (Verses 3, 4) To find the treasure,then, we need to make a diligent study of theBible, doing sowith a sincere heart.—Luke 8:15.

If we show such initiative, Jehovah will dothe rest. “Jehovah himself gives wisdom,” saysverse 6. Only with God’s help can we fully graspthe truths found in the Bible. (John 6:44; Acts16:14) Of this you can be sure: If you sincerelysearch into God’s Word, you will find “the veryknowledge of God”—a treasure that will enrichyour life beyond measure.—Proverbs 2:10-21.�

� Jehovah’s Witnesses worldwide offer a free home Bi-ble study to those who want to understand the Bible. Whynot contact them locally or write to the appropriate ad-dress listed on page 4?

DRAW CLOSE TO GOD

You Can Find“the Very Knowledge of God”

��

SUGGESTED BIBLE READING FOR OCTOBER:˛ Proverbs 1-21

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1. Why is marriage vital to familyhappiness?

Jehovah, the happy God, originated marriage. Itis vital to family happiness because it provides notonly companionship but also a secure environmentin which to raise children. How does God view mar-riage? He wants it to be a permanent, legally regis-tered union between a man and a woman. (Luke 2:1-5) God wants husbands and wives to be loyal toeach other. (Hebrews 13:4) Jehovah allows Chris-tians to divorce and remarry only if their spousecommits adultery.—Read Matthew 19:3-6, 9.

2. How should a husband and wifetreat each other?

Jehovah created men and women to fill complemen-tary roles in marriage. (Genesis 2:18) As family head, ahusband should take the lead in providing materiallyfor his family and in teaching them about God. Heshould be self-sacrificing in his love for his wife. Hus-bands and wives should love and respect each other.Since all husbands and wives are imperfect, learning toforgive is a key to happiness in marriage.—Read Ephe-sians 4:31, 32; 5:22-25, 33; 1 Peter 3:7.

3. Should you abandon an unhappy marriage?If you and your spouse experience difficul-

ties, work at treating each other with love.(1 Corinthians 13:4, 5) God’s Word does notrecommend separation as a way to resolve

marital problems. In extreme situations, how-ever, a Christian would have to decide wheth-er it is advisable to separate or not.—Read1 Corinthians 7:10-13.

LEARN FROM GOD’S WORD

How Can Your FamilyBe Happy?

This article raises questions youmay have asked and shows where youcan read the answers in your Bible.Jehovah’s Witnesses would be pleasedto discuss these answers with you.

4. Children, what does God wantfor you?

Jehovah wants you to be happy. He gives you thebest advice on how to enjoy your youth. He wantsyou to benefit from the wisdom and experience ofyour parents. (Colossians 3:20) Jehovah appreci-ates anything you do to praise him.—Read Eccle-siastes 11:9–12:1; Matthew 19:13-15; 21:15,16.

5. Parents, how can your childrenfind happiness?

You should work hard to provide food, housing,and clothing for your children. (1 Timothy 5:8) Butin order for your children to find happiness, youalso need to teach them to love God and to learnfrom him. (Ephesians 6:4) Your example in showinglove for God can deeply influence your child’sheart. When based on God’s Word, your instruc-tion can mold your child’s thinking in a positiveway.—Read Deuteronomy 6:4-7; Proverbs 22:6.

Children benefit when you encourage and com-mend them. They also need correction and disci-pline. Such training protects them from conductthat could rob them of happiness. (Proverbs 22:15)Yet, discipline should never be harsh or cruel.—Read Colossians 3:21.

Jehovah’s Witnesses publish several books thatare especially written to help parents and children.These books are based on the Bible.—Read Psalm19:7,11.

For more information, see chapter 14 of this book,published by Jehovah’s Witnesses.

WHAT DOESTHE BIBLE

Really TEACH?

17


Husband! How different Ahasuerus wasfrom the kind of husband any faithful Jewishgirl might have expected!� He looked to noexamples such as Abraham, a manwhohum-bly accepted God’s direction to listen to Sa-rah, his wife. (Genesis 21:12) The king knewlittle or nothing of Esther’s God, Jehovah, orof His Law. Ahasuerus knew Persian law,though, including a law forbidding the verything that Esther was about to do. What wasthat? Well, the law said that anyone who ap-peared before the Persian monarch withoutfirst being summoned by the king was liableto death. Esther had not been summoned,but she was going to the king anyway. As shedrew near to the inner courtyard, where shewould be visible from the king’s throne, shemay have felt that she was walking to herdeath.—Esther 4:11; 5:1.

Why did she take such a risk? And whatcan we learn from the faith of this remark-able woman? First, let us see how Esther gotinto the unusual position of being a queen inPersia.

� Ahasuerus is widely thought to be Xerxes I, who ruledthe Persian Empire early in the fifth century B.C.E.

“Beautiful in Appearance”Esther was an orphan. We know very lit-

tle of the parents who named her Hadas-sah, a Hebrew word for “myrtle,” a lovelywhite-blossomed shrub. When Esther’s par-ents died, one of her relatives, a kindly mannamed Mordecai, took pity on the child. Hewas her cousin, but Mordecai was much old-er. He brought Esther into his home andtreated her as his own daughter.—Esther 2:5-7, 15.

Mordecai and Esther lived as Jewish exilesin that Persian capital, where they probablyhad to deal with a measure of disdain overtheir religion and the Law they tried to fol-low. But Esther surely drewcloser to her cous-in as he taught her about Jehovah, the merci-ful God who had rescued His people fromtrouble many times in the past—and woulddo so again. (Leviticus 26:44, 45) Clearly, aloving and loyal bond grew between Estherand Mordecai.

Mordecai evidently worked as some kindof official at the castle at Shushan, regularlysitting within its gate along with other ser-

IMITATE THEIR FAITH

She Stood Up forGod’s PeopleESTHER tried to calm her heart as she approached the courtyard inthe palace at Shushan. It was not easy. Everything about the castle—its multicolored relief sculptures of winged bulls, archers, and lions

of glazed brickwork, its fluted stone columns and imposing statues, even its position atophuge platforms near the snowcapped Zagros Mountains and overlooking the pure watersof the river Choaspes—was designed to remind each visitor of the immense power of theman whom she was going to see, the one who called himself “the great king.” He wasalso her husband.


vants of the king. (Esther 2:19, 21; 3:3) Howthe young Esther passed her time as she grewup, we can only guess, although it seems safeto say that she took good care of her oldercousin andhis home, which was likely situat-ed in the humbler quarters across the riverfrom the royal castle. Perhaps she enjoyedgoing to the market in Shushan, where gold-smiths, silversmiths, and other merchantsdisplayed their wares. Esther could not haveimagined that such luxuries would later be-come commonplace to her; she had no ideaof the future in store forher.

A Queen DeposedOne day, Shushan was buzzing with gossip

about turmoil in the household of the king.At a grand feast, where Ahasuerus was enter-taining his noblemen with sumptuous food

and wine, the king decided to summon hisbeautiful queen, Vashti, who was feastingseparately with the women. But Vashti re-fused to come. Humiliated and enraged, theking asked his advisers how Vashti should bepunished. The result? She was deposed asqueen. The king’s servants began searchingthroughout the land for beautiful young vir-gins; from among them the king would se-lect a new queen.—Esther 1:1–2:4.

We may imagine Mordecai gazing fondlyat Esther from time to time and noting with amixture of pride and concern that his littlecousin was grown-up—and had turned out tobe a remarkable beauty. “The young womanwas pretty in form and beautiful in appear-ance,” we read. (Esther 2:7) Physical beauty isdelightful, but it needs to be coupled withwisdom and humility. Otherwise, it maybreed vanity, pride, and other ugly traits ofthe heart. (Proverbs 11:22) Have you everseen that to be true? In Esther’s case, whatwould beauty turn out to be—an asset or a li-ability? Time would tell.

The king’s servants noticed Esther. Theygathered her up in their search, taking heraway from Mordecai and off to the grand pal-ace across the river. (Esther 2:8) It must havebeen a difficult parting, for the two were likefather and daughter. Mordecai would nothave wanted his adopted daughter to marryany unbeliever, even a king, but events wereout of his control. How eagerly Esther musthave listened to Mordecai’s words of advicebefore she was taken away! As she was led toShushan the castle, her mind was filled withquestions.What kind of life lay ahead of her?

She Won Favor “in the Eyesof Everyone Seeing Her”

Esther found herself ushered into a worldthat was entirely new and strange to her. Shewas among “many young women” who hadbeen gathered from far and wide in the

Mordecai had good reason to be proudof his adopted daughter


Persian Empire. Their customs, languages,and attitudes must have variedwidely. Placedunder the charge of an official named Hegai,the young women were to undergo an exten-sive beauty treatment, a yearlong programthat involved massages with fragrant oils.(Esther 2:8, 12) Such an environment andlifestyle might easily have bred an obses-sion with personal appearance among thoseyoung women, along with vanity and com-petitiveness. How was Esther affected?

No one on earth could have been moreconcerned about Esther than Mordecai was.We read that day by day, he made his way asnear as he could to the house of the womenand endeavored to learn of Esther’s welfare.(Esther 2:11) As bits of information trickledout to him, perhaps through cooperativeservants in the household, he must havebeamed with fatherly pride. Why?

Esther so impressed Hegai that he treatedher with great loving-kindness, giving herseven servant girls and the best place in thehouse of the women. The account even says:“All the while Esther was continually gaining

favor in the eyes of everyone seeing her.” (Es-ther 2:9, 15) Would beauty alone have im-pressed everyone so profoundly? No, therewas much more to Esther than that.

For instance, we read: “Esther had not toldabout her people or about her relatives, forMordecai himself had laid the commandupon her that she should not tell.” (Esther 2:10) Mordecai had instructed the girl to be dis-creet about her Jewish heritage; he no doubtsaw that among Persian royalty, there wasmuch prejudice against his people. What apleasure it was for him to learn that now,even though Esther was out of his sight, shestill showed the same wise and obedientspirit!

Young people today may likewise bring joyto the hearts of parents and guardians. Whenout of their parents’ sight—even if surround-edbypeoplewhoare shallow, immoral, or vi-cious—they can resist bad influences andstick to the standards that they know areright. When they do so, like Esther, theymake the heart of their heavenly Father re-joice.—Proverbs 27:11.

Esther knew that humility and wisdom were far more important than physical appearance


When the time came for Esther to be pre-sented to the king, she was given the libertyto select any items that she thought shemight need, perhaps to beautify herself fur-ther. Following Hegai’s advice, though, shemodestly asked for nothing beyond what shewas offered. (Esther 2:15) She probably real-ized that beauty alone would not win theking’s heart; a modest and humble spiritwould prove a far rarer commodity in thatcourt. Was she right?

The account answers: “The king came tolove Esther more than all the other women,so that she gained more favor and loving-kindness before him than all the other vir-gins. And he proceeded to put the royal head-dress upon her head and make her queeninstead of Vashti.” (Esther 2:17) It must havebeen hard for this humble Jewish girl to ad-just to the change in her life—she was thenew queen, wife to the most powerful mon-arch on earth at that time! Did her new posi-tion go to herhead, filling her with pride?

Far from it! Esther remained obedient toher adoptive father, Mordecai. She kept herconnection to the Jewish people a secret.Further, when Mordecai uncovered a plotto assassinate Ahasuerus, Esther obedientlypassedhis warning along to the king, and theplotters were foiled. (Esther 2:20-23) She stillexpressed faith in her God by showing ahumble, obedient spirit. Obedience is rarelyvalued as a virtue today; disobedience and re-bellion are the norm. But people of genuinefaith treasure obedience, as Esther did.

Esther’s Faith Under TestA man named Haman rose to prominence

in the court of Ahasuerus. The king appoint-ed him prime minister, making Haman hisprincipal adviser and the second in com-mand in the empire. The king even decreedthat all who saw this official must bow downto him. (Esther 3:1-4) For Mordecai, that law

posed a problem. He believed in obeying theking but not at the cost of disrespecting God.You see, Haman was “an Agagite.” That evi-dently means that he was a descendant ofAgag, the Amalekite king who was executedby God’s prophet Samuel. (1 Samuel 15:33)So wicked were the Amalekites that they hadmade themselves enemies of Jehovah and Is-rael. As a people, the Amalekites stood con-demnedby God.� (Deuteronomy 25:19) Howcould a faithful Jew bow down to a royalAmalekite? Mordecai could not. He stood hisground. To this day, men and women of faithhave risked their lives to adhere to this princi-ple: “We must obey God as ruler rather thanmen.”—Acts 5:29.

Hamanwas enraged. But it was not enoughfor him to find a way to kill off Mordecai.He wanted to exterminate all of Mordecai’speople! Haman spoke to the king, paintinga dark portrait of the Jews. Without nam-ing them, he implied that they were in-consequential, a people “scattered and sepa-rated among the peoples.” Even worse, hesaid that they did not obey the king’s laws;hence, they were dangerous rebels. He pro-posed to donate to the king’s treasury an im-mense sum of money to cover the expense ofslaughtering all the Jews in the empire.�Ahasuerus gave Haman the king’s own signetring to seal any order that he had in mind.—Esther 3:5-10.

Soon messengers were speeding on horse-back to every corner of the vast empire, deliv-ering a death sentence to the Jewish people.Imagine the impact of such a proclamationwhen it reached far-off Jerusalem, where a

� Haman may have been among the very last of theAmalekites, since “the remnant” of them were destroyedback in the days of King Hezekiah.—1 Chronicles 4:43.� Haman offered 10,000 silver talents, worth hundreds

of millions of dollars today. If Ahasuerus was Xerxes I, themoney might have made Haman’s offer more appealing.Xerxes lost a fortune in his disastrous war against theGreeks, evidently before his marriage to Esther.


remnantof Jewswhohad returned fromexilein Babylon were struggling to rebuild a citythat still had no wall to defend it. PerhapsMordecai thought of them, as well as of hisown friends and relatives in Shushan, whenhe heard the terrible news. Distraught, heripped his clothes, wore sackcloth and placedashes on his head, and cried aloud in themiddle of the city. Haman, however, satdrinking with the king, unmoved by thegrief he had stirred up among the many Jewsand their friends in Shushan.—Esther 3:12–4:1.

Mordecai knew that he had to act. Butwhat could he do? Estherheard of his distressand sent clothes to him, but Mordecai re-fused to take comfort. Maybe he had longwondered why his God, Jehovah, had al-lowed dear Esther to be taken from him and

made the queen of a pagan ruler. Now thereason seemed to be emerging. Mordecaisent a message to the queen, imploring Es-ther to intercede with the king, to stand up“forher ownpeople.”—Esther 4:4-8.

Esther’s heart must have sunk when sheheard that message. Herewas her greatest testof faith. She was afraid, as she freely revealedin her reply to Mordecai. She reminded himof the king’s law. To appear before the kingunsummoned meant a death sentence. Onlyif the king held out his golden scepter wasthe offender spared. And did Esther have anyreason to expect such clemency, especially inview of Vashti’s fate when she refused to ap-pear when bidden to do so? She told Morde-cai that the king had not invited her to seehim in 30 days! Such neglect left her plentyof reason to wonder if she had fallen out of

Esther risked her life to protect God’s people


the capricious monarch’s favor.�—Esther 4:9-11.

Mordecai replied firmly to bolster Esther’sfaith. He assured her that if she failed to act,salvation for the Jews would arise fromsome other source. But how could she ex-pect to be spared once the persecution gath-ered force? Here Mordecai showed his pro-found faith in Jehovah, whowould never letHis people be exterminated and His promis-

� Xerxes I was known for his mercurial, violent temper.The Greek historian Herodotus recorded some examplesfrom Xerxes’ war against Greece. The king ordered that apontoon bridge of ships be built across the strait of Hel-lespont. When a storm ruined the bridge, Xerxes orderedthe engineers beheaded and even had his men “punish”the Hellespont by whipping the water while an insult-ing proclamation was read aloud. In the same campaign,when a wealthy man begged that his son be excused fromjoining the army, Xerxes had the son cut in half, his bodydisplayed as a warning.

es go unfulfilled. (Joshua 23:14) Then Mor-decai asked Esther: “Who is there knowingwhether it is for a time like this that youhave attained to royal dignity?” (Esther 4:12-14) Mordecai trusted completely in his God,Jehovah.Dowe?—Proverbs 3:5, 6.

A Faith Stronger Thanthe Fear of Death

For Esther, the decisive moment had ar-rived. She asked Mordecai to get her country-men to join her in a three-day fast, conclud-ing her message with a statement that hasechoed through the centuries in its simplefaith and courage: “In case I must perish, Imust perish.” (Esther 4:15-17) She must haveprayed more fervently in those three daysthan she ever had in her life. Finally, though,the moment came. She dressed in her verybest royal finery, doing all she could to ap-peal to the king. Then she went.

As described at the outset of this article, Es-ther made her way to the king’s court. Wecan only imagine the anxious thoughts, thefervent prayers, filling her mind and heart.She entered the courtyard, where she couldsee Ahasuerus on his throne. Perhaps shetried to read the expression on his face—theface that was framed by the carefully tended,symmetrical curls of his hair and of hissquaredbeard. If she had towait, it must havefelt like an eternity. But the moment passed—her husband saw her. He was surely sur-prised, but his expression softened. He heldout his golden scepter!—Esther 5:1, 2.

Esther had gained an audience, a hearingear. She had taken a stand forherGod and forher people, setting a beautiful example offaith for all servants of God down throughtime. But her work was only beginning. Howwould she convince the king that his favoriteadviser, Haman, was a wicked plotter? Howcould she help to save her people? We willconsider these questions in a future article.

YOU may agree that staying awake whenyou are at school is important. Many get

sleepy during their class periods, but tolearn, you must stay awake. Perhaps youalso go to meetings where you study the Bi-ble.

What do you think you can do to help youstay awake?—�One idea is to go to bed ear-lier at night. Maybe a nap in the afternoonwill also help. Let’s see what we can learnfrom what happened to a youth who fellasleep late one night during a talk by theapostle Paul. Look in the Bible at Acts chap-ter 20, verses 7 to 12, and see what hap-pened.

Paul had been visiting the congregationlocated in the seaport city of Troas. The Biblesays that Paul “was going to depart the nextday” by boat. So “he prolonged his speechuntil midnight.” We read: “Seated at thewindow, a certain young man named Euty-chus fell into a deep sleep while Paul kepttalking on.” What happened next?—

Eutychus fell out of the window and“down from the third story.” Paul and theothers ran down the stairs as fast as theycould. Eutychus was on the ground—dead!Can you imagine how sad they all felt?—The Bible says that Paul took Eutychus intohis arms and hugged him. Soon Paul criedout with joy: ‘Don’t worry, he’s all right!’God had brought Eutychus back to life!� If you are reading with a child, the dash provides a remind-

er to pause and encourage the child to express himself.

TEACH YOUR CHILDREN

When We Should Stay Awake

24

What can we learn about God from whathappened to Eutychus?— One thing is thatJehovah, our heavenly Father, can bring thedead back to life, including young ones. Je-hovah understands and loves you, yes, evenmore than your parents do. When Jesus wason earth, he showed what the Father is likeby taking little ones into his arms and bless-ing them. He also resurrected young peo-ple, including a 12-year-old girl.

How does knowing that your heavenlyFather loves you make you feel?— Yes, itmakes us love Jehovah in return and want toobey what He says. Do you know how wecan show that we love Him?— One way isby saying that we do. Jesus said: “I love theFather.” But Jesus did more than just saythat he loved God. He showed it by what hedid.

Jesus obeyed God. “I always do the thingspleasing to him,” Jesus said. If we do thesame, then to please Jehovah and his Son,Jesus, we will try our best to stay awakewhen we should.

READ IN YOUR BIBLEActs 20:7-12Luke 8:49-56John 8:29; 14:31


“According to historians and archaeologists, 586 or 587 B.C.E. is generally accepted as theyear of Jerusalem’s destruction.� Why do Jehovah’s Witnesses say that it was 607 B.C.E.?What is your basis for this date?”

SO WROTE one of our readers. But why beinterested in the actual date when Bab-

ylonian King Nebuchadnezzar II razed thecity of Jerusalem? First, because the eventmarked an important turning point in thehistory of God’s people. One historian saidthat it led to “a catastrophe, indeed the ulti-mate catastrophe.” The date marked the endof a temple that had been at the heart of theworship of Almighty God for more than 400years. “O God,” lamented a Bible psalmist,“they have dishonored your holy temple.They have left Jerusalem in ruins.”—Psalm79:1, God’s Word Bible.�

Second, because knowing the actual yearwhen this “ultimate catastrophe” began andunderstanding how the restoration of true

� Both years are mentioned in secular sources. For sim-plicity, we will refer to 587 B.C.E. in this series. B.C.E.means “Before the Common Era.”� Jehovah’s Witnesses produce a reliable Bible transla-

tion known as the New World Translation of the Holy Scrip-tures. However, if you are not one of Jehovah’s Witnesses,you may prefer to use other translations when consideringBible subjects. This article quotes from a number of wide-ly accepted Bible translations.

worship in Jerusalem fulfilled a precise Bibleprophecy will build your confidence in thereliability of God’s Word. So why do Je-hovah’s Witnesses hold to a date that dif-fers from widely accepted chronology by 20years? In short, because of evidence withinthe Bible itself.

“Seventy Years” for Whom?Years before the destruction, the Jewish

prophet Jeremiah provided an essential clueto the time frame given in the Bible. Hewarned “all those living in Jerusalem,” say-ing: “This whole country will become a deso-late wasteland, and these nations will servethe king of Babylon seventy years.” (Jeremi-ah 25:1, 2, 11, New International Version) Theprophet later added: “This is what Jehovahhas said, ‘In accord with the fulfilling of sev-enty years at Babylon I shall turn my atten-tion toyou people, and I will establish towardyou my good word in bringing you back tothis place.’” (Jeremiah29:10)What is the sig-nificance of the “seventy years”? And how

When Was Ancient Jerusalem Destroyed?PART ONE WHY IT MATTERS

WHAT THE EVIDENCE SHOWS

This is the first of two articles in consecutiveissues of The Watchtower that discuss scholarlyquestions surrounding the date of the destructionof ancient Jerusalem. This two-part series presentsthoroughly researched and Bible-based answersto questions that have puzzled some readers.


does this time period help us to determinethe date of Jerusalem’s destruction?

Instead of saying 70 years “at Babylon,”many translations read “for Babylon.” (NIV )Some historians therefore claim that this70-year period applies to the Babylonian Em-pire. According to secular chronology, theBabylonians dominated the land of ancientJudah and Jerusalem for some 70 years, fromabout 609 B.C.E. until 539 B.C.E. when thecapital city of Babylonwas captured.

The Bible, however, shows that the 70years were to be a period of severe punish-ment from God—aimed specifically at thepeople of Judah and Jerusalem,whowere in acovenant to obey him. (Exodus 19:3-6) Whenthey refused to turn from their badways, Godsaid: “I will summon . . . Nebuchadnezzarking of Babylon . . . against this land and itsinhabitants and against all the surroundingnations.” (Jeremiah 25:4, 5, 8, 9, NIV ) Whilenearby nations would also suffer Babylon’swrath, the destruction of Jerusalem and the70-year exile to follow were called by Jeremi-ah “the punishment of my people,” for Jeru-salem had “sinned greatly.”—Lamentations1:8; 3:42; 4:6, NIV.

So according to the Bible, the 70 years wasa period of bitter punishment for Judah, andGod used the Babylonians as the instrumentfor inflicting this severe chastisement. Yet,God told the Jews: “When seventy years arecompleted, . . . I will . . . bring you back to thisplace”—the land of Judah and Jerusalem.—Jeremiah 29:10, NIV.

When Did “the Seventy Years” Start?The inspired historian Ezra, who lived after

the 70 years of Jeremiah’s prophecy were ful-filled, wrote of King Nebuchadnezzar: “Hecarried into exile to Babylon the remnant,who escaped from the sword, and they be-came servants to him and his sons until thekingdom of Persia came to power. The land

enjoyed its sabbath rests; all the time of itsdesolation it rested, until the seventy yearswere completed in fulfillment of the word ofthe LORD spoken by Jeremiah.”—2 Chronicles36:20, 21, NIV.

Thus, the 70 years were to be a periodwhen the land of Judah and Jerusalemwouldenjoy “sabbath rests.” This meant that thelandwouldnot be cultivated—therewould beno sowing of seed or pruning of vineyards.(Leviticus 25:1-5, NIV ) Because of the dis-obedience of God’s people, whose sins mayhave included a failure to observe all the Sab-bath years, the punishment was that theirland would remain unworked and desertedfor 70 years.—Leviticus 26:27, 32-35, 42, 43.

When did the land of Judah become deso-lated and unworked? Actually, the Babylo-nians under Nebuchadnezzar attacked Jeru-salem twice, years apart. When did the 70years commence? Certainly not followingthe first time that Nebuchadnezzar laid siegeto Jerusalem. Why not? Although at thattime Nebuchadnezzar took many captivesfrom Jerusalem to Babylon, he left others be-hind in the land. He also left the city itselfstanding. For years after this initial deporta-tion, those left remaining in Judah, “the low-ly class of the people,” lived off their land.(2 Kings 24:8-17) But then things drasticallychanged.

A Jewish revolt brought the Babyloniansback to Jerusalem. (2 Kings 24:20; 25:8-10)They razed the city, including its sacred tem-ple, and they took many of its inhabitantscaptive to Babylon. Within two months, “allthe people [who had been left behind in theland] from the least to the greatest, togetherwith the army officers, fled to Egypt forfear of the Babylonians.” (2 Kings 25:25,26, NIV ) Only then, in the seventh Jewishmonth, Tishri (September/October), of thatyear could it be said that the land, now

desolate and unworked, began to enjoy itsSabbath rest. To the Jewish refugees in Egypt,God said through Jeremiah: “You have seenall the disaster that I brought upon Jerusalemand upon all the cities of Judah. Behold, thisday they are a desolation, and no one dwellsin them.” (Jeremiah 44:1, 2, English StandardVersion) So this event evidently marked thestarting point of the 70 years. And what yearwas that? To answer, we need to see whenthat period ended.

When Did “the Seventy Years” End?The prophet Daniel, who lived until “the

kingdom of Persia came to power,” was onthe scene in Babylon, and he calculatedwhen the 70 years were due to end. He wrote:“I, Daniel, perceived in the books the num-

ber of years that, according to theword of theLORD to Jeremiah the prophet, must pass be-fore the end of the desolations of Jerusalem,namely, seventy years.”—Daniel 9:1, 2, ESV.

Ezra reflected on the prophecies of Jeremi-ah and linked the end of “the seventy years”to the time when “the LORD moved the heartof Cyrus king of Persia to make a proclama-tion.” (2 Chronicles 36:21, 22, NIV ) Whenwere the Jews released? The decree endingtheir exile was issued in “the first year of Cy-rus the king of Persia.” (See the box “A Pivot-al Date in History.”) Thus, by the fall of537 B.C.E., the Jews had returned to Jerusa-lem to restore true worship.—Ezra 1:1-5; 2:1;3:1-5.

According to Bible chronology, then, the70 years was a literal period of time that end-

The date 539 B.C.E. when Cyrus II conquered Babylonis calculated using the testimony of:

ˇ Ancient historical sources and cuneiform tablets: Diodorusof Sicily (c. 80-20 B.C.E.) wrote that Cyrus became king of Persiain “the opening year of the Fifty-fifth Olympiad.” (Historical Li-brary, Book IX, 21) That year was 560 B.C.E. The Greek historianHerodotus (c. 485-425 B.C.E.) stated that Cyrus was killed “afterhe had reigned twenty-nine years,” which would put his deathduring his 30th year, in 530 B.C.E. (Histories, Book I, Clio, 214)Cuneiform tablets show that Cyrus ruled Babylon for nine yearsbefore his death. Thus, nine years prior to his death in 530 B.C.E.takes us back to 539 B.C.E. as the year Cyrus conquered Babylon.

' Confirmation by a cuneiform tablet: A Babylonian astronomi-cal clay tablet (BM 33066) confirms the date of Cyrus’ death in530 B.C.E. Though this tablet contains some errors regarding theastronomical positions, it contains the descriptions of two lunareclipses that the tablet says occurred in the seventh year of Cam-byses II, the son and successor of Cyrus. These are identifiedwith lunar eclipses visible at Babylon on July 16, 523 B.C.E., andon January 10, 522 B.C.E., thus pointing to the spring of523 B.C.E. as the beginning of Cambyses’ seventh year. Thatwould make his first regnal year 529 B.C.E. So Cyrus’ last yearwould have been 530 B.C.E., making 539 B.C.E. his first year ofruling Babylon.

A PIVOTAL DATE IN HISTORY

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ed in 537 B.C.E. Counting back 70 years, thestart date of the period would be 607 B.C.E.

But if the evidence from the inspired Scrip-tures clearly points to 607 B.C.E. for Jerusa-lem’s destruction, why do many authoritieshold to the date 587B.C.E.? They lean on twosources of information—the writings of clas-sical historians and the canonof Ptolemy. Arethese sources more reliable than the Scrip-tures? Let us see.

Classical Historians—How Accurate?Historians who lived close to the time

when Jerusalemwas destroyed give mixed in-formation about the Neo-Babylonian kings.�(See the box “Neo-Babylonian Kings.”) Thetime line based on their chronological infor-mation disagrees with that of the Bible. Butjust how reliable are their writings?

One of the historians who lived closest tothe Neo-Babylonian period was Berossus, aBabylonian “priest of Bel.” His original work,the Babyloniaca, written about 281 B.C.E.,has been lost, and only fragments are pre-served in the works of other historians. Beros-sus claimed that he used “books which hadbeen preserved with great care at Babylon.”1

Was Berossus really an accurate historian?Consider one example.

� The Neo-Babylonian Empire began with the reign ofNebuchadnezzar’s father, Nabopolassar, and ended withthe reign of Nabonidus. This time period is of interest toscholars because it covers most of the 70 years of desola-tion.

Berossus wrote that AssyrianKing Sennach-erib followed “the reign of [his] brother”; and“after him his son [Esarhaddon ruled for]8 years; and thereafter Sammuges [Shamash-shuma-ukin] 21 years.” (III, 2.1, 4) However,Babylonian historical documents writtenlong before Berossus’ time say that Sennach-erib followed his father, Sargon II, not hisbrother, to the throne; Esarhaddon ruled for12 years, not 8; and Shamash-shuma-ukinruled for 20 years, not 21. Scholar R. J. vander Spek, while acknowledging that Berossusconsulted the Babylonian chronicles, wrote:“This did not prevent him from making hisown additions and interpretations.”2

How do other scholars view Berossus? “Inthe past Berossus has usually beenviewed as ahistorian,” states S. M. Burstein, who madea thorough study of Berossus’ works. Yet,he concluded: “Considered as such his per-formance must be pronounced inadequate.Even in its present fragmentary state the Bab-yloniaca contains a number of surprising er-rors of simple fact . . . In a historian such flawswould be damning, but then Berossus’ pur-pose was not historical.”3

In view of the foregoing, what do youthink? Should Berossus’ calculations really beviewed as consistently accurate? And whatabout the other classical historians who, forthe most part, based their chronology on thewritings of Berossus? Can theirhistorical con-clusions really be called reliable?

NEO-BABYLONIAN KINGSIf these historians are reliable, why do they disagree?

KingsBEROSSUS POLYHISTOR JOSEPHUS PTOLEMY

c. 350-270 B.C.E. 105-? B.C.E. 37-?100 C.E. c. 100-170 C.E.

Nabopolassar 21 20 — 21Nebuchadnezzar II 43 43 43 43Amel-Marduk 2 12 18 2Neriglissar 4 4 40 4Labashi-Marduk 9 months — 9 months —Nabonidus 17 17 17 17

Length of king’s reign (in years) according to classical historians

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The Canon of PtolemyThe Royal Canon of Claudius Ptolemy, a

second-century C.E. astronomer, is also usedto support the traditional date 587 B.C.E.Ptolemy’s list of kings is considered the back-bone of the chronology of ancient history,including the Neo-Babylonianperiod.

Ptolemy compiled his list some 600 yearsafter the Neo-Babylonian period ended. Sohow did he determine the date when the firstking on his list began to reign? Ptolemy ex-plained that by using astronomical calcula-tions based in part on eclipses, “we have de-rived to compute back to the beginning ofthe reign of Nabonassar,” the first king on hislist.4 Thus, Christopher Walker of the BritishMuseum says that Ptolemy’s canon was “anartificial scheme designed to provide astron-omers with a consistent chronology” andwas “not to provide historians with a preciserecord of the accession and death of kings.”5

“It has long been known that the Canon isastronomically reliable,” writes Leo Depuydt,

one of Ptolemy’s most enthusiastic defend-ers, “but this does not automatically meanthat it is historically dependable.” Regardingthis list of kings, Professor Depuydt adds: “Asregards the earlier rulers [who included theNeo-Babylonian kings], the Canon wouldneed to be compared with the cuneiformrecord on a reign by reign basis.”6

What is this “cuneiform record” that en-ables us to measure the historical accuracyof Ptolemy’s canon? It includes the Bab-ylonian chronicles, lists of kings, and eco-nomic tablets—cuneiform documents writ-ten by scribes who lived during, or near,Neo-Babylonian times.7

How does Ptolemy’s list compare with thatcuneiform record? The box “How Does Ptole-my’s Canon Compare With Ancient Tab-lets?” (see below) shows a portion of thecanon and compares this with an ancient cu-neiform document. Notice that Ptolemy listsonly four kings between the Babylonian rul-ers Kandalanu and Nabonidus. However, the

PTOLEMY’S CANONNabonassar

Nabu-nadin-zeri (Nadinu)Mukin-zeri and Pul

Ululayu (Shalmaneser V)“King of Assyria”

Merodach-baladanSargon II “King of Assyria”

First Kingless PeriodBel-ibni

Ashur-nadin-shumiNergal-ushezib

Mushezib-MardukSecond Kingless Period

Esarhaddon “King of Assyria”Shamash-shuma-ukin

Kandalanu

NabopolassarNebuchadnezzar

Amel-MardukNeriglissar

NabonidusCyrus

Cambyses

THE URUK KINGLIST AS FOUND ONANCIENT TABLETSKandalanuSin-shumu-lishirSin-sharra-ishkunNabopolassarNebuchadnezzarAmel-MardukNeriglissarLabashi-MardukNabonidus

HOW DOES PTOLEMY’S CANONCOMPARE WITH ANCIENT TABLETS?Ptolemy omits some kings in his list. Why?

The Babylonian chronicles arepart of the cuneiform record thathelps us to measure the accuracyof Ptolemy’s canon

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Uruk King List—a part of the cuneiform rec-ord—reveals that seven kings ruled in be-tween.Were their reigns brief andnegligible?One of them, according to cuneiform eco-nomic tablets, ruled for seven years.8

There is also strong evidence from cu-neiform documents that prior to the reignof Nabopolassar (the first king of the Neo-Babylonian period), another king (Ashur-etel-ilani) ruled for four years in Babylonia.Also, for more than a year, there was no kingin the land.9 Yet, all of this is left out of Ptole-my’s canon.

Why did Ptolemy omit some rulers? Ev-idently, he did not consider them to belegitimate rulers of Babylon.10 For exam-ple, he excluded Labashi-Marduk, a Neo-Babylonian king. But according to cuneiformdocuments, the kings whom Ptolemy omit-ted actually ruled over Babylonia.

In general, Ptolemy’s canon is regarded asaccurate. But in view of its omissions, shouldit really be used to provide a definite histori-cal chronology?

The Conclusion Based on This EvidenceTo sum up: The Bible clearly states that

there was an exile of 70 years. There is strongevidence—and most scholars agree—thatthe Jewish exiles were back in their home-land by 537 B.C.E. Counting back from thatyear would place Jerusalem’s destruction in607 B.C.E. Though the classical historians

and the canon of Ptolemy disagree with thisdate, valid questions can be raised aboutthe accuracy of their writings. Really, thosetwo lines of evidence hardly provide enoughproof to overturn the Bible’s chronology.

However, further questions remain. Isthere really no historical evidence to supportthe Bible-based date of 607 B.C.E.? What evi-dence is revealed by datable cuneiform docu-ments, many of which were written by an-cient eyewitnesses? We will consider thesequestions in our next issue.

ˇ Secular historians usually say thatJerusalem was destroyed in 587 B.C.E.ˇ Bible chronology strongly indicatesthat the destruction occurred in607 B.C.E.ˇ Secular historians mainly basetheir conclusions on the writings ofclassical historians and on the canonof Ptolemy.ˇ The writings of classical historianscontain significant errors and are notalways consistent with the recordson clay tablets.

A QUICK SUMMARY

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1. Babyloniaca (Chaldaeorum Historiae),Book One,1.1.2. Studies in Ancient Near Eastern WorldView and Society, page 295.3. The Babyloniaca of Berossus, page 8.4. Almagest , II I , 7, tr ans la ted byG. J. Toomer, in Ptolemy’s Almagest, pub-lished 1998, page 166. Ptolemy knew thatBabylonian astronomers used mathemat-ical schemes to “compute” the times ofpast and future eclipses because theydiscovered that eclipses of the samecharacter reoccur every 18 years.—Alma-gest, IV, 2.5. Mesopotamia and Iran in the PersianPeriod, pages 17-18.

6. Journal of Cuneiform Studies, Vol-ume 47,1995, pages 106-107.7. Cuneiform is a form of writing in whicha scribe pressed various signs into thesurface of a soft clay tablet using a sharpstylus with a wedge-shaped point.8. Sin-sharra-ishkun ruled for sevenyears, and 57 economic tablets of thisking are dated from his accession yearthrough year seven. See Journal of Cu-neiform Studies, Volume 35, 1983, pag-es 54-59.9. The economic tablet C.B.M. 2152 isdated in the fourth year of Ashur-etel-ilani. (Legal and Commercial TransactionsDated in the Assyrian, Neo-Babylonianand Persian Periods—Chiefly From Nippur,by A.T. Clay,1908, page 74.) Also the Har-

ran Inscriptions of Nabonidus, (H1B), I,line 30, has him listed just before Na-bopolassar. (Anatolian Studies, Vol. VIII,1958, pages 35, 47.) For the kingless peri-od, see Chronicle 2, line 14, of Assyrianand Babylonian Chronicles, pages 87-88.10. Some scholars contend that certainkings were omitted by Ptolemy—whosupposedly listed only kings of Bab-ylon—because these were called by the ti-tle “King of Assyria.” However, as you willnote in the box on page 30, several kingsincluded in Ptolemy’s canon also had thetitle “King of Assyria.” Economic tablets,cuneiform letters, and inscriptions clear-ly reveal that kings Ashur-etel-ilani, Sin-shumu-lishir, and Sin-sharra-ishkun ruledover Babylonia.

Notes

www.watchtower.org wp11 10/01-E

What are five common lies about God? SEE PAGES 4-8.

How can learning the truth about Godchange your life? SEE PAGE 9.

Should infants be baptized? SEE PAGE 11.

What will make your family life happy? SEE PAGES 16-17.

What can we learn from Esther’s example of faith andcourage? SEE PAGE 18.

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