Back in the November 1, 1995, issue of the Watchtower, right after the passing of the 80th year, an article redefined what a "generation" was according to the way Christ supposedly used the word. The Watchtower basically removed the element of time connected to the length of a generation, and thus they rendered Christ's words more-or-less meaningless as far as marking off any sort of measurable timeframe. But, instead of redefining what Jesus meant by a "generation," eventually we will probably have to reconsider when it is that Christ's presence actually begins.

As regards the Nephilim after the flood, Numbers 13:33 indicates that when the Hebrew spies went into the Promised Land, they encountered giants, whom were also called Nephilim. However, the verse indicates that the post-flood Nephilim were the sons of Anak—making them human, and not demigods. Evidently, then, there was a race of unusually large men, Goliath among them, that inhabited the land of Canaan up until the time of Saul and David. They were also called Nephilim, but they were not sons of the rebellious angels.

According to the prophecy in the 2nd chapter of Joel that Peter quoted on Pentecost, there would be visible miraculous phenomenon as a precursor to Jehovah's day of vengeance. For example, there would be blood, fire, and smoke mist, and the sun would be darkened. While the prophecy of Joel primarily applies to the end of the world, it is interesting that just 50 days prior to Pentecost, the inhabitants of Jerusalem experienced the eerie foreboding darkness that befell Jerusalem at high noon when Christ's blood was poured out—the sun was quite literally darkened as Joel foretold.

Also, at that same time, there was a violent earthquake and there were heard strange reports that corpses had been seen unearthed from their tombs. It was, then, after the momentous events surrounding Jesus' death and resurrection, that the spirit was poured out upon Jehovah's sons and daughters as Joel had also foretold. It was at that point that the apostles began preaching Jehovah's judgment upon that generation of Jews. When the Jews asked Peter what they should do to escape Divine retribution for having put God's Son to death, Peter responded in the 40th verse by saying: "Get saved from this crooked generation." And, that generation did indeed meet up with the execution of Jehovah's judgments, and only those who heeded Jesus' warning and left the doomed city when the sign appeared, were saved.

In the case of those who develop doubts, Jude exhorts the overseers to "continue showing mercy to some that have doubts; save them by snatching them out of the fire."  That is probably an area where elders fall short. That's because there is very little tolerance for questioning Watchtower teachings and policies. The attitude that has developed over the years is that it is either 'the Society's way—or the highway.' Because the Watchtower has never made any provision for brothers to discuss such things, elders are ill-equipped to deal with specific issues related to points of contention and doubt. So, unfortunately, some are not snatched out of the fires of doubt as they might have been, had the organization been more open and honest about its shortcomings.

On a positive note, those who are disfellowshipped, or otherwise alienated from the congregation, can take comfort and courage that Jehovah is not bound by the rulings of human tribunals. A disfellowshipped person may, in fact, demonstrate more faith in Jehovah through their own personal struggle than the many 'faithful' ones who simply go with the program. So, if that is your situation: never give up faith and hope.

At Isaiah 58: 9b Jehovah reasons with his chastened organization. He tells them that if they want his blessing that they have to do something first. The verse reads: "If you will remove from your midst the yoke bar, the poking out of the finger and the speaking of what is hurtful...your light will certainly flash up even in the darkness."

'The poking out of the finger' evidently has to do with pointing an accusing finger and harshly judging each other. At some point that is all going to stop. That's not what spiritual paradise is all about. e-Watchman is pleased to call attention to the many prophecies that foretell of Jehovah's coming judgment that will bring an end to the hurtfulness in Jehovah's organization today.

Admittedly, though, this is not an easy question to resolve, but the student must be determined not accept simplistic answers that ignore basic doctrinal truths. Ironically, the 15th chapter of Corinthians, which you cited, disproves the notion that you've embraced about Jesus being raised up a physical man. Paul addressed the very question that you raised regarding what kind of body Jesus had. Here is that span of verses from the NIV Bible linked to in your question above.

But someone will ask, 'How are the dead raised? With what kind of body do they come?' 36Fool! What you sow does not come to life unless it dies. 37And as for what you sow, you do not sow the body that is to be, but a bare seed, perhaps of wheat or of some other grain. 38But God gives it a body as he has chosen, and to each kind of seed its own body. 39Not all flesh is alike, but there is one flesh for human beings, another for animals, another for birds, and another for fish. 40There are both heavenly bodies and earthly bodies, but the glory of the heavenly is one thing, and that of the earthly is another. 41There is one glory of the sun, and another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars; indeed, star differs from star in glory. 42So it is with the resurrection of the dead. What is sown is perishable, what is raised is imperishable. It is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory. It is sown in weakness, it is raised in power. 44It is sown a physical body, it is raised a spiritual body. If there is a physical body, there is also a spiritual body. 45Thus it is written, 'The first man, Adam, became a living being'; the last Adam became a life-giving spirit.

The very last phrase says very simply that Christ "became a life-giving spirit." Paul's illustration of the seed is the perfect analogy. Does a tree or plant bear any resemblance to the seed that bore it? No, in fact the seed must die in order for the tree to come into existence. So it is that, Christ, and the 144,000 born-again sons of the kingdom, must die in the flesh in order to be re-created as immortal spirit creatures in heaven.

But, why did Jesus appear as a human after his resurrection, you ask? First, it must be appreciated that Jesus did not appear as himself after he arose from the dead. For instance, on one occasion Mary mistook him for a gardener. On another occasion, Jesus appeared to his disciples walking on the road and they mistook him for some stranger. In the last chapter of John, the resurrected Jesus appeared to them on the beach in still another human body. True, on one occasion, Jesus manifested himself with the wounds of his impalement, but that evidently was just on that one occasion, in order to convince the disbelieving Thomas.

The fact that it was so difficult for the apostles to grasp the reality of Christ's resurrection is why it was necessary for Christ to manifest himself as a human on various occasions. On the night when Jesus walked on water, the disciples were terrified that they were seeing some sort of apparition. For that reason, we should not expect that the resurrected spirit, Jesus, would appear to his disciples in another form except one that they were comfortable and familiar with. Recall, too, that years later, Jesus did appear to Paul as an invisible spirit, and poor Paul (Saul, at the time) was simply blinded and awestruck by the supernatural encounter.

Since it was so difficult for the apostles to comprehend Jesus' resurrection--even when they knew it was Jesus by what he said and did-- it would have been impossible for them to believe that Jesus had been resurrected into the spirit realm, unless they had seen him with their own eyes as he ascended into the heavens. And, since spirits are invisible to human eyes, the only way that Jesus could make sure his apostles 'got it' is if he materialized a human body, as angels can do.

Remember, please, that up until the moment of Jesus ascension, the apostles were still laboring under the notion that Jesus' kingdom was going to rule from literal Jerusalem. In fact, just moments before his ascension they asked him if he was restoring the kingdom to Israel at that time. The concept of a heavenly kingdom was foreign to them. So, that's why it was necessary for Christ to convince them of his resurrection, then, he made sure that they finally perceived what he had been talking about all along the many times he spoke about his heavenly kingdom and returning to his Father. Once Jesus was lifted up out of view of the disciples, Jesus, no doubt, then dematerialized his flesh and went into the presence of the Great Spirit himself—Jehovah God. That is why the apostle later wrote, to paraphrase: 'If we have known Christ according to the flesh, certainly we know him so no longer.'

According to Christian law and principles, we are to love our neighbor as ourselves. When Jesus gave his famous parable of the so-called "Good Samaritan," the point impressed upon the listener is that anyone in need, or in a helpless condition, is our neighbor and we are obligated by the law of love to show mercy when we can.

Of course, there are often tragic circumstances involved with some pregnancies; but, for the most part, abortion is simply used as a means of birth control. Still, when we consider that virtually everyone alive is glad that they were not aborted, expectant mothers, when faced with the temptation to abort, ought to consider extending mercy to the helpless unborn. Doing so would be following Jesus' law to love our neighbor as ourselves.