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34567 june 1 2012 the bible what makes it unique?

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34567 6 printing each issue 42,182,000 in 194 l anguages june 1 2012 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 shows us the significance of world events in the light of bible prophecies it comforts people with the good news that god s kingdom which is a real government in heaven will soon bring an end to all wickedness and transform the earth into a paradise it promotes faith in jesus christ who died so that we might gain everlasting life and who is now ruling as king of god s kingdom this magazine has been published by jehovah s witnesses continuously since 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 scripture quotations are from the modern-language new world translation of the holy scriptures with references from our cover 3 just another book 4 prophecy a perfect record 5 history not myth 6 accurate science 7 a harmonious library 8 practical today 9 this means everlasting life regular features 14 15 draw close to god your soul will bow low over me our readers ask why do jehovah s witnesses preach from house to house learn from god s word why should we use god s name a letter from ireland did you know teach your children he was stubborn but finally obeyed 16 24 26 30 also in this issue 10 12 18 22 coverdale and the first complete printed english bible jehovah has opened my eyes struggling for the good news in thessalonica how to survive on a reduced income 27 impossible what does it mean?

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all scripture is inspired of god and beneficial that the man of god may be fully competent completely equipped for every good work 2 timothy 3:16 17 s ome people hesitate to make such an unqualified statement about the bible what about you which of the following best describes how you view the bible a work of fine literature one of several equally acceptable sacred texts a book of legends with underlying moral lessons the word of god a related question is does it matter what you believe consider what the bible says about itself all the things that were written aforetime were written for our instruction that through our endurance and through the comfort from the scriptures we might have hope romans 15:4 the bible thus claims that it is designed to instruct and comfort us and to give us hope however if the bible were merely a work of literature or just one of many holy books would you trust it to instruct you and guide your family especially if its message differed from what you thought to be right if the bible were a collection of myths would you derive comfort and hope from its promises on the other hand millions who have studied the bible are convinced that it is the unique word of god why what distinguishes the bible from all other books we invite you to consider five unique features of the bible described in the following articles just another book the watchtower june 1 2012 3

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prophecy a perfect record not one word out of all the good words that jehovah your god has spoken to you has failed joshua 23:14 how is the bible different ancient oracles were notoriously ambiguous and unreliable and modern horoscopes are no better futurology is based on current trends and rarely even attempts to predict specific events centuries in advance in contrast bible prophecies are detailed and always come true even if they tell from long ago the things that have not been done isaiah 46:10 an example in the sixth century b.c.e the prophet daniel saw a vision that foretold the rapid defeat of medo-persia by greece it also foretold that as soon as the victorious king of greece became mighty his kingship would be broken who would replace him daniel wrote there are four kingdoms from his nation that will stand up but not with his power daniel 8:5-8 20-22 what historians say over 200 years after daniel s time alexander the great became king of greece within ten years alexander defeated the medo-persian empire and extended grecian rule as far as the indus river in modern-day pakistan but he died suddenly at the age of 32 finally a battle near ipsus in asia minor effectively dissolved his empire the four victors of that battle eventually divided the grecian empire among themselves however none of them attained alexander s degree of power what do you think can any other book claim such a record of fulfilled prophecy or is the bible unique robert harding picture library/superstock bible prophecies are so numerous as to make accidental fulfillment almost infinitely improbable a lawyer examines the bible by irwin h linton 34567 6 would you welcome more information or a free home bible study please send your request to jehovah s witnesses using one of these addresses for a complete list of addresses see www.watchtower.org/address 4 america united states of 25 columbia heights brooklyn ny 11201-2483 australia po box 280 ingleburn nsw 1890 britain the ridgeway london nw7 1rn canada po box 4100 georgetown on l7g 4y4 germany 65617 selters guam 143 jehovah st barrigada gu 96913 jamaica po box 103 old harbour st catherine japan 4-7-1 nakashinden ebina city kanagawapref 243-0496 puerto rico po box 3980 guaynabo pr 00970 south africa private bag x2067 krugersdorp 1740 trinidad and tobago lower rapsey street laxmi lane curepe vol 133 no 11 the watchtower issn 0043-1087 is published semimonthly by watchtower bible and tract society of new york inc l weaver jr president g f simonis secretary-treasurer 25 columbia heights brooklyn ny 11201-2483 and by watch tower bible and tract society of canada po box 4100 georgetown on l7g 4y4 periodicals postage paid at brooklyn ny and at additional mailing offices postmaster send address changes to watchtower 1000 red mills road wallkill ny 125893299 5 2012 watch tower bible and tract society of pennsylvania all rights reserved printed in canada english semimonthly

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history not myth i have traced all things from the start with accuracy luke 1:3 how is the bible different legends and myths relate fanciful tales that omit specific locations dates and names of historical figures in contrast the bible includes countless historical details that reassure readers that its sayings are supremely true psalm 119:160 the psalms for today by r k harrison an example the bible reports that nebuchadnezzar the king of babylon took [judean king jehoiachin into exile to babylon later evil-merodach the king of babylon in the year of his becoming king raised up the head of jehoiachin the king of judah out of the house of detention furthermore an allowance was constantly given him [jehoiachin from the king daily as due all the days of his life 2 kings 24:11 15 25:27-30 what archaeologists have discovered among the ruins of ancient babylon archaeologists uncovered administrative documents dated to the reign of nebuchadnezzar ii they list rations given to prisoners and others dependent on the royal household the lists include yaukin [jehoiachin who was the king of the land of yahud judah and his household what about the existence of nebuchadnezzar s successor evil-merodach an inscription on a vase found near the city of susa reads palace of amil-marduk [evil-merodach king of babylon son of nebuchadnezzar king of babylon what do you think is any other ancient religious text as specific and accurate when it touches on history or is the bible unique bpk berlin/vorderasiatisches museum smb/olaf m tessmer/art resource ny babylonian document that mentions king jehoiachin of judah the chronological and geographical statements are more accurate and reliable than those afforded by any other ancient documents a scientific investigation of the old testament by robert d wilson now published in 194 languages acholi afrikaans albanian amharic arabic armenian armenian west aymara,7 azerbaijani azerbaijani cyrillic ´ baoule bengali bicol bislama bulgarian cambodian catalan cebuano chichewa chinese simplified chinese traditional7 audio mandarin only chitonga chitumbuka chuukese cibemba croatian czech,7 danish,7 dutch,67 efik english 67 estonian ewe fijian finnish,7 french,687 ga garifuna georgian german 67 greek greenlandic guarani,68 gujarati gun haitian creole hausa hebrew hiligaynon hindi hiri motu hungarian,67 icelandic igbo iloko indonesian isoko italian,67 japanese,67 kannada kazakh kikaonde kikon go kikuyu kiluba kimbundu kinyarwanda kirghiz kiribati kirundi kongo korean,67 kwangali kwanyama latvian lingala lithuanian luganda lunda luo luvale macedonian malagasy malayalam maltese marathi marshallese mauritian creole maya mixe mizo mongolian moore myanmar nahuatl northern puebla ndebele ndonga nepali ngabere niuean norwegian,7 nyaneka nzema oromo otetela palauan pangasinan papiamento aruba papiamento curacao ¸ persian polish,67 ponapean portuguese,687 punjabi quechua ancash quechua ayacucho quechua bolivia 7 quechua cuzco quichua rarotongan romanian russian,67 samoan sango sepedi serbian serbi an roman sesotho seychelles creole shona silozi sinhala slovak slovenian solomon islands pidgin spanish 67 sranantongo swahili swati swedish,7 tagalog,7 tahitian tamil tatar telugu tetum thai tigrinya tiv tok pisin tongan totonac tshiluba tshwa tsonga tswana turkish tuvaluan twi tzotzil ukrainian umbundu urdu uruund venda vietnamese wallisian waray-waray wolaita xhosa yapese yoruba zande zapotec isthmus zulu braille also available 6 cd also available 8 mp3 cd-rom also available 7 audio recordings also available at www.jw.org.

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accurate science have i not written you heretofore with counselings and knowledge to show you the truthfulness of true sayings so as to return sayings that are the truth proverbs 22:20 21 how is the bible different ancient books often feature unsound and dangerous ideas that have been thoroughly debunked by modern science even today authors must update textbooks to harmonize with new discoveries but the bible claims that it was authored by the creator and that his word endures forever 1 peter 1:25 an example the mosaic law commanded the israelites to dispose of sewage in a covered hole outside the camp deuteronomy 23:12 13 if they touched a dead animal or human the israelites had to wash with water leviticus 11 27 28 numbers 19:14-16 lepers back then were quarantined until a physical examination confirmed that they were no longer contagious leviticus 13:1-8 what modern medicine reveals proper sewage disposal hand washing and quarantine remain effective ways to fight disease if there are no latrines or other sanitation systems nearby the u.s centers for disease control and prevention cdc recommends defecate at least 30 meters [100 feet away from any body of water and then bury your feces when communities dispose of excrement safely they reduce diarrheal disease by 36 percent according to the world health organization less than 200 years ago physicians discovered that they infected many patients when they did not wash their hands after handling corpses the cdc still calls hand washing the single most effective way to prevent the transmission of disease what about the quarantine of lepers or those with other diseases recently the saudi medical journal said in the early stages of an epidemic isolation and quarantine may be the only and last resort to effectively control infectious diseases what do you think would you expect any other ancient holy book to harmonize with modern science or is the bible unique no one can fail to be impressed by the careful hygienic precautions of the mosaic period manual of tropical medicine by drs aldo castellani and albert j chalmers 6 the watchtower june 1 2012

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a harmonious library prophecy was at no time brought by man s will but men spoke from god as they were borne along by holy spirit 2 peter 1:21 how is the bible different even contemporaneous records from ancient times often contradict one another books written by different men in different places at different times rarely harmonize completely yet the bible claims that all of its 66 books have but one author presenting a unified and harmonious message 2 timothy 3:16 an example moses a shepherd of the 16th century b.c.e wrote in the bible s first book that a seed would come to save mankind this book later foretold that the seed would be a descendant of abraham isaac and jacob genesis 3:15 22:17 18 26:24 28:14 about 500 years later the prophet nathan revealed that the seed would be in the royal line of david 2 samuel 7:12 one thousand years after that the apostle paul explained that the seed would be made up of jesus and a group of his chosen followers romans 1:1-4 galatians 3:16 29 finally by the end of the first century c.e the last book of the bible prophesied that members of the seed would bear witness to jesus on earth be raised to heaven and rule with him for 1,000 years this composite seed will destroy the devil and save mankind revelation 12:17 20 6-10 what bible commentators say after a thorough investigation of the bible s 66 books louis gaussen wrote that he was astonished by the imposing unity of this book composed during fifteen hundred years by so many authors who yet pursued one and the same plan and advanced constantly as if they themselves understood it towards that one great end the history of the world s redemption by the son of god theopneusty the plenary inspiration of the holy scriptures what do you think would you expect a book written over a span of more than 1,500 years by some 40 different men to be totally harmonious or is the bible unique when these writings are put together they constitute structurally one book there is nothing exactly resembling it or even approaching it in all literature the problem of the old testament by james orr the watchtower june 1 2012 7

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practical today your word is a lamp to my foot and a light to my roadway psalm 119:105 how is the bible different literary works may be considered classics but they are hardly guidebooks and modern instruction manuals need to be revised constantly the bible on the other hand claims that the things that were written aforetime were written for our instruction romans 15:4 an example though not a medical guide the bible contains practical suggestions on good emotional and physical health for example it states that a calm heart is the life of the fleshly organism proverbs 14:30 the bible also warns one isolating himself will seek his own selfish longing against all practical wisdom he will break forth proverbs 18:1 on the other hand it states that there is more happiness in giving than there is in receiving acts 20:35 what research reveals calmness strong friendships and generosity can improve your health the journal of the american medical association reports men who experience outbursts of anger have twice the risk of stroke as men who control their tempers a ten-year study in australia found that elderly people who had better social networks with friends and confidants were more likely to live longer and in 2008 researchers from canada and the united states learned that spending money on others promotes happiness more than spending money on oneself what do you think would you trust advice on health issues from any other book completed almost 2,000 years ago or is the bible unique the bible appeals to me strongly because it is such excellent medicine howard kelly m.d founding faculty member of the johns hopkins university school of medicine 8 the watchtower june 1 2012

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this means everlasting life this means everlasting life their taking in knowledge of you the only true god and of the one whom you sent forth jesus christ john 17:3 k nowledge can save life when tenmonth-old nouhou fell sick his mother a community health worker in niger knew what to do she prepared an oral rehydration solution for her son by mixing sugar salt and clean water according to unicef because of her quick response and access to community health care her child s illness was cut short knowledge from the bible can also save life the first bible writer moses stated it is no valueless word for you but it means your life and by this word you may lengthen your days deuteronomy 32:47 can the bible really lengthen our days in what way does it mean our life the preceding five articles in this series have shown that the bible is a book incomparable in its reliable prophecy historical and scientific accuracy internal harmony and practical guidance this stamps the bible as unique so when it claims to point the way to a longer life everlasting life does it not deserve your careful consideration we urge you to learn how accurate knowledge of the bible can lead to peace of mind now and happiness in the future jehovah s witnesses will be happy to show you how to acquire such knowledge the bible is also unique in that it alone gives satisfying answers to fundamental questions we ask why are we here why is there so much suffering is there any hope for my dead loved ones you can find the bible s answers to these questions in this book published by jehovah s witnesses what does the bible really teach?

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coverdale and the first complete printed english bible t he first complete bible printed in english gave no indication of the name of the one who published it its translator was miles coverdale and his translation appeared in 1535 at the time his friend william tyndale was in prison for some of the scholarly work he had done in connection with translating the bible tyndale was executed the following year a portion of coverdale s translation was based on tyndale s work how did coverdale succeed in having his translation printed and avoid execution when other bible translators of the day paid with their lives what did coverdale finally accomplish seeds are sown miles coverdale was born in yorkshire england likely in the year 1488 he studied at cambridge university and was ordained a roman catholic priest in 1514 his interest in reform was kindled by robert barnes his tutor barnes fled to continental europe in 1528 twelve years later this reformer was burned at the stake by church leaders by 1528 coverdale had started to preach in church against the unscriptural catholic practices of image worship confession and the mass because his life was then in danger he left england for the continent where he spent some seven years in hamburg germany coverdale stayed with william tyndale the two worked to gether in their shared desire to produce a bible that could be read by the people during this time coverdale learned much from tyndale about the art of bible translating time for change meanwhile the scene in england was changing in 1534 king henry viii openly defied the authority of the catholic pope in rome he was also open to the idea of making the bible available to the people in english in time coverdale undertook the task coverdale was a master of english expression but lacked the linguistic skills of his friend and mentor tyndale who was fluent both in hebrew and in greek coverdale revised tyndale s translation working from latin and german versions coverdale s bible was printed in continental europe in 1535 the year before tyndale s execution it included a gracious somewhat flattering dedication to king henry coverdale assured henry that the bible excluded tyndale s footnotes which were considered contentious because among other things they drew attention to unscriptural teachings of the catholic church so henry gave his consent for the publishing of the bible the tide had begun to turn in 1537 coverdale s bible reappeared in two editions which were printed in england in the same year a version called from the book our english bible its translations and translators 10 the watchtower june 1 2012

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tetragrammaton left from the title page of a 1537 edition matthew s bible printed in antwerp combining the work of tyndale and coverdale was approved by king henry the king s principal adviser thomas cromwell backed by cranmer the archbishop of canterbury soon saw the need for a revised edition of matthew s bible so he again appealed to coverdale to revise the complete manuscript king henry licensed this new version in 1539 and ordered copies of it called the great bible because of its size to be put in churches for all to read this bible was received with joyful enthusiasm countrywide coverdale s legacy following the death of henry viii and the accession of his successor edward vi coverdale was appointed bishop of exeter in 1551 however when catholic queen mary succeeded edward to the throne in 1553 coverdale was forced to flee to denmark later he moved to switzerland where he continued his work he also published three english editions of what is commonly called the new testament with latin text as study aids for the clergy an unexpected aspect of coverdale s bible is the omission of the divine name in the form jehovah tyndale used the name of god over 20 times in his translation of the hebrew scriptures in the book coverdale and his bibles j f mozley observes in 1535 coverdale rejected the word [jehovah altogether nonetheless he did subsequently include god s name jehovah three times in the great bible coverdale s bible however was the earliest english bible to feature the tetragrammaton the four hebrew letters that make up the divine name at the head of its title page significantly this was the first bible to group all the apocryphal books into an appendix rather than have them scattered among the books of the hebrew scriptures many of coverdale s unique expressions and words have been used by later translators the phrase the valley of the shadow of death at psalm 23 verse 4 is an example the word loving-kindness in verse 6 says professor s l greenslade is a special word to distinguish god s intrinsic love for his people from love in general and from mercy the new world translation of the holy scriptures with references uses the same word adding the footnote or `loyal love coverdale s great bible was the culmination of all the work in english bible-making from the day that tyndale set about his translation of the new testament says the bibles of england essentially it was coverdale s translation that helped to make it possible for english-speaking people of his day to read the bible the watchtower june 1 2012 photo source from the holy scriptures of the olde and newe testamente with the apocripha by myles coverdale 11

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jehovah has opened my eyes as told by patrice oyeka it was late afternoon having spent another day in the depths of darkness blind lonely listening to the radio droning on i decided to put an end to my miserable life i poured a poisonous powder in a cup of water and put it on the table in front of me i wanted to take my last bath and then dress myself nicely before drinking that deadly concoction ending it all why did i want to commit suicide and how is it that i am still alive today to relate this story i was born on february 2 1958 in the prov¨ ince of kasai oriental in the democratic republic of the congo i lost my father when i was a boy of nine years and my older brother supported me as i grew up after i finished school i got a job on a rubber plantation one morning in 1989 while preparing a report in my office i suddenly found myself in a state of complete darkness at first i thought that there was a power outage but i could hear the generator running and it was morning horrified i realized that i could not see anything not even my notes in front of me i immediately called one of the men who worked under me to take me to the person in charge of the infirmary that man in turn recommended that i be taken to a more experienced physician in the city noting that my retinas were torn and my condition was serious he sent me to the capital city kinshasa life in kinshasa in kinshasa i consulted with many ophthalmologists but none of them could help me after i had spent 43 days in the hospital the doctors concluded that i would be 12 the watchtower june 1 2012 blind for the rest of my life members of my family then took me to all kinds of churches in search of miraculous healing but all their efforts were in vain finally i gave up hope of recovering my sight everything had become dark in my life i lost my sight and i lost my job i also lost my wife who left me taking with her everything that we owned in our house i felt ashamed to go out or to associate with other people i became withdrawn and spent my days inside the house i was a recluse and felt utterly useless twice i attempted to end my life the second time is described at the beginning of this story i was saved by a small child in the family he unintentionally took that cup and poured the contents out on the ground while i was taking my bath thankfully he did not drink from it but to my great disappointment i could not find the cup then i confessed to my family members why i was looking for it and what i had intended to do i thank god and my family for keeping an eye on me my plan to commit suicide was foiled.

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finding joy in life again on a sunday in 1992 while i was sitting at home smoking two of jehovah s witnesses called on me in the course of their house-tohouse ministry noticing that i was blind they read isaiah 35:5 to me at that time the eyes of the blind ones will be opened and the very ears of the deaf ones will be unstopped my heart was overwhelmed with joy when i heard those words contrary to what i had heard in the churches i had visited the witnesses offered no miraculous healing rather they explained that i could recover my sight in the new world that god promises if i would just get to know god john 17:3 right away i started to study the bible with the witnesses using the book you can live forever in paradise on earth i also began to attend all the christian meetings at the local kingdom hall and made changes in my life i stopped smoking but my blindness was hindering my spiritual progress so i went to an institute for the blind in order to learn to read and write braille this enabled me to take part in the ministerial training provided at the kingdom hall soon i began to share in the preaching work in my neighborhood i started to find joy in life again i continued to make progress and dedicated my life to jehovah i was baptized on may 7 1994 as my love for jehovah and for people grew i developed a desire to enter the fulltime ministry since december 1 1995 i have been serving as a regular pioneer a fulltime minister i have also had the privilege of serving as an elder in my congregation since february 2004 sometimes i am invited as a visiting speaker to give bible talks to other congregations in my area all these blessings bring me great joy and make me appregiving a bible talk with my family and my brother ciate that no disability can prevent us from realizing our desire to serve jehovah god jehovah has given me eyes as mentioned earlier my wife abandoned me because of my blindness but i have received an extra blessing from jehovah in a special sense he gave me eyes to see anny mavambu who accepted me to be her husband despite my disability has become my eyes as she too is a full-time preacher she always accompanies me in the ministry she also reads the source material for my talks to me so that i can write my notes in braille she is a special blessing to me because of her i have seen the truthfulness of the words of proverbs 19:14 the inheritance from fathers is a house and wealth but a discreet wife is from jehovah jehovah has also blessed anny and me with two children a boy and a girl i am yearning to see their faces in paradise another blessing is that my older brother who kindly allows us to live on his property accepted bible truth and was baptized all of us are in the same congregation despite my disability my heartfelt desire is to do even more to serve god because he has blessed me so much malachi 3:10 daily i pray for his kingdom to come and to remove all suffering from the earth since getting to know jehovah i can truthfully say the blessing of jehovah that is what makes rich and he adds no pain with it proverbs 10:22.

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draw close to god your soul will bow low over me h umility attracts we usually feel drawn to those who have a humble spirit sadly though genuine humility is hard to find in today s world especially in those who have power or authority over others what about jehovah god the most powerful personage in the universe is he humble let us examine the prophet jeremiah s words found at lamentations 3 20 21 read jeremiah wrote lamentations at a low point in israel s history he had just witnessed something that pained him deeply the destruction of his beloved jerusalem by the babylonians the anguished prophet knew that the calamity was a just execution of divine judgment upon the israelites because of their sinful ways but was jeremiah left with no hope did he feel that jehovah was too remote or aloof to notice repentant ones and lift them out of despair listen as jeremiah speaks representatively for his people amid the sorrow jeremiah is filled with hope he cries out to jehovah without fail your soul1 [jehovah himself will remember and bow low over me verse 20 jeremiah has no doubt he knows that jehovah will not forget him or repentant ones among his people what though will the almighty god do revelation 15:3 jeremiah is certain that jehovah will bow low over those who truly repent another translation says o remember and stoop down to me those words evoke a tender mental picture jehovah the most high over all the earth will stoop down so to speak and lift his worshippers up out of their debased condition and restore them to his favor psalm 83:18 anchored by this hope jeremiah finds true comfort for his wounded heart the faithful prophet is determined to wait patiently until jehovah s due time to deliver his repentant people verse 21 the words recorded by jeremiah really teach us two things about jehovah first he is humble psalm 18:35 although he is exalted in power jehovah is willing to come down to our jehovah is willing to come down to our level as it were to help us when we are low level as it were to help us when we are low job 37:23 psalm 113:5-7 is that not a comforting thought second jehovah is merciful he is ready to forgive repentant sinners and welcome them back into his favor psalm 86:5 those two qualities humility and mercy go hand in hand how thankful we are that jehovah is not like human rulers whose pride makes them stubborn and insensitive are you moved to learn more about the humble god who is willing to stoop down in order to lift his worshippers from despair to hope 1 ancient scribes changed this verse to say my soul as if referring to jeremiah they evidently believed that it was irreverent to speak of god as being a soul a word the bible uses for earthly creatures but the bible often describes god in human terms to help us comprehend him since the term soul can mean the life that we possess the phrase your soul means you suggested bible reading for june jeremiah 51­ezekiel 5 14 the watchtower june 1 2012

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our readers ask why do jehovah s witnesses preach from house to house in the bible we find this command of jesus to his followers go therefore and make disciples of people of all the nations teaching them matthew 28:19 20 does this apply to all christians jesus earliest disciples understood that it does for example the apostle peter stated he [jesus ordered us to preach to the people and to give a thorough witness acts 10 42 and the apostle paul wrote necessity is laid upon me really woe is me if i did not declare the good news 1 corinthians 9:16 not only paul and peter but also first-century christians in general acted on jesus command they made preaching the hallmark of their activity acts 5:28-32 41 42 jehovah s witnesses today endeavor to do so as well they preach the same message as jesus did namely the kingdom of the heavens matthew 10:7 to whom should the kingdom message be preached jesus indicated that it should be preached to all people everywhere he told his disciples you will be witnesses of me to the most distant part of the earth acts 1:8 he even foretold that before the end of this system arrives this good news of the kingdom will be preached in all the inhabited earth for a witness matthew 24:14 accordingly firstcentury christians strove to speak with all people not just personal acquaintances or individuals without a religion colossians 1:23 1 timothy 2:3 4 likewise jehovah s witnesses today try to reach everyone.1 what is the most effective way to spread the kingdom message jesus who knew how to 1 jehovah s witnesses are currently preaching in 236 lands last year they spent 1.7 billion hours in the preaching work and conducted 8.5 million home bible studies worldwide reach as many as possible sent his disciples to cities villages and homes of the people matthew 10:7 11 12 after jesus death and resurrection his disciples continued to preach from house to house acts 5 42 as jesus did they too preached in informal settings and in public places john 4:7-26 18:20 acts 17 17 today jehovah s witnesses use those same methods to preach to all people jesus indicated that not everyone would listen matthew 10:14 24:37-39 should that deter christians from preaching consider this comparison if you were part of a rescue team following a severe earthquake would you stop searching simply because after a while only a few survivors were being found no you would persist as long as there was hope of saving one person jesus instructed his disciples to persevere as long as there is hope of finding some who will respond to the good news about god s kingdom matthew 10:23 1 timothy 4 16 by searching out such ones from house to house jehovah s witnesses show love for god and for their neighbors whose lives depend on hearing and responding to the kingdom message matthew 22:37-39 2 thessalonians 1:8 the magazine you are reading conveys that bible message for more information please speak with jehovah s witnesses the next time they call or write to the publisher of this magazine the watchtower june 1 2012 15

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