True to Jesus' words, many of Jehovah's Witnesses live in divided households. Usually the divisions can be managed, but at times serious issues, like child custody, may completely estrange family members. But, Jesus made it clear that a Christian must never compromise their faith. That's why Jesus also said that unless we hate our families and even our own souls, then we are not worthy of him. What Jesus meant was that we should not allow even strong family ties or our own personal interests to come before our faith.

So, if situations should arise that might call on a Christian to choose between pleasing a beloved family member, or pleasing God, calling Jesus' words to mind will help us make the right decision.

On the other side of the coin, though, hopefully Jehovah's Witnesses in those situations will not militantly create needless divisions over every trivial issue but instead always endeavor to be peacemakers, as far as is humanly possible.

As far as blood transfusions being the most affordable option for people living in lesser-developed nations, that may very well be the case. However, it needs to be pointed out that so-called Third World nations also may lack more modern blood screening techniques, and so the risks of injury or death from contaminated blood transfusions are much greater in a nation like, say, India. In fact, this article indicates that HIV infected blood is a huge problem in India right now. Surely, as a physician you must be aware of the great dangers posed by diseased blood supplies and it is your moral obligation to inform your patients of those potential risks. How tragic and ironic that so many people have died from taking supposedly "life-saving" transfusions!

However, our refusal to take blood transfusions is not based upon the efficacy or convenience of alternative treatments or the risks of unsafe blood. We simply object to taking the blood of another human into our bodies because the Scriptures command Christians to "abstain from blood." So, that is not something that we are willing to negotiate even if it is considered to be the only treatment available.

As far as the use of the ever-growing number of treatments using blood derivatives and blood fractions and so forth, the Watchtower has wisely tried to avoid the Pharisaic pitfall of determining for Jehovah's Witnesses the acceptability of every new treatment that may involve the use of a blood derivative. The Pharisees of Jesus' day, if you recall, felt compelled to make rulings on the minutest matters of the Law. For instance, they made hundreds of rules that defined exactly what a person could and could not do on the Sabbath. It has been said that the Pharisees ruled that merely swatting a fly on the Sabbath constituted "work" and so was illegal. The point is that the Sabbath was originally a law from God but men lost sight of the intent of the Law.

So it is with blood transfusions: we are struggling to respect God's law regarding blood without becoming fanatical about whether taking some pharmaceutical is right or wrong just because it may have an ingredient, perhaps even miniscule, that was derived from a component of blood. Hopefully that will give you a better idea of the issues confronting Jehovah's Witnesses.

As a doctor, especially one with family members who are Jehovah's Witnesses, you are in a position to educate yourself and your fellow medical professionals about the alternatives that are acceptable for Jehovah's Witnesses in your country. Unfortunately, in the past it seems that some physicians have stubbornly refused to accommodate Jehovah's Witnesses with blood transfusion alternatives and have preferred instead to allow their patients to die, apparently to punish them for not doing things the way the doctor insisted.  But, instead of trying to re-educate Jehovah's Witnesses or terrorize them with the supposed dire consequences of not taking a transfusion, we appreciate physicians that respect our consciences and who do what they can to offer us treatments that we do not find morally objectionable.

For one thing all the original apostles were in Jerusalem when the holy spirit first anointed them. Furthermore, the 8th chapter of the book of Acts tells about a great persecution that broke out that caused the brothers to scatter to different areas. However, the 2nd verse says: "All except the apostles were scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria." As you referred to, in the 15th chapter of Acts it mentions that Paul went to Jerusalem to meet with the apostles and older men there to discuss doctrinal matters. In the 21st chapter of Acts the account shows that, years later, Paul went to Jerusalem again and met with James and the older men there. So, all during the 1st Century, up until the Romans destroyed it, Jerusalem was the headquarters for the apostles and older men that oversaw the congregations. But, why can we say that they served as a governing body?

The reason we can use that description is because the apostles and other older men made doctrinal determinations that affected the brothers in all the congregations. As mentioned above, the apostles in Jerusalem thoroughly discussed the circumcision issue, and once a decision was reached the apostles drafted a letter and had it sent out to all the congregations.

Secondly, the apostles made appointments of other men. For example, the 6th chapter of Acts specifically says that the 12 apostles instructed the brothers to select certified men to serve as ministers over necessary congregational business, what we refer to as ministerial servants. And of course, the apostles wrote letters of encouragement and instruction to the congregations. That's basically the same function of the Governing Body of Jehovah's Witnesses today. They oversee appointments of brothers to various offices of oversight. They make decisions regarding doctrine and policy and so forth. And they communicate instructions and encouragement to the congregations around the world.

But, now, whether the modern Governing Body is actually living up to Jehovah's expectations is another story. As far as the issues you bring up about requiring publishers to fill out a service report every month, and we could site all sorts of other organizational things that have crept in over the years, consider God's final judgment of the apostolic organization Christ originally instituted, as contained in the 28th chapter of Isaiah.

For example, Isaiah 28:12-14 relates that God intended his congregation to be a place of refreshment for the weary ones but that the bragging rulers of God's people were not willing to let it be so. Instead, to them, the word of Jehovah was like a formulaic nursery rhyme that goes: "Command upon command, command upon command, measuring line upon measuring line, measuring line upon measuring line, here a little, there a little." According to the NIV, the 13th verse reads: "Do and do, do and do, rule on rule, rule on rule; a little here, a little there."

Naturally the Watchtower applies this prophecy to the clerics of Christendom; but a careful reading of the surrounding chapters indicates otherwise; that in fact it is spiritual Israel that has suffered under the burden of rule-oriented task masters.

The above-quoted verse perfectly describes what the Watchtower Society has become in that, as our critics claim, we do endeavor to measure our faith by the length of our works. For instance, the Watchtower has a formula that calls for those being considered for appointment as elders and ministerial servants to spend a certain amount of time in the ministry each month equal to the national average of all "publishers". So, if an otherwise qualified individual has a few less hours then is expected of him, on that unscriptural basis he may be disqualified from serving in the congregation.

An otherwise qualified man may also be rejected if he merely wears a beard—it being an unwritten rule that every truly spiritual man is clean shaven. Jehovah's Witnesses are expected to measure up to the photos of Witnesses that appear in the Watchtower magazine, and to this day no bearded modern-day Witnesses have ever appeared in any Watchtower publication. Similarly, a person may be judged as not fully measuring up to the measurement of righteousness if he merely admits to ever having watched an "R" rated movie. This type of mentality is the equivalent of equating God's word to "command upon command, measuring line upon measuring line."

Sadly, the strictly formatted, repetitive, and scripted nature of meeting and assembly programs has stifled the spontaneity of the spirit and has produced a society of Christians that have come to place great emphasis on organizational conformity and has seemingly lost sight of the importance of the God-fearing individual.

Hopefully, Jehovah's strong curative measures, as outlined in Isaiah and elsewhere, are not too distant.

At Luke 12:56, Jesus chided the Jews of his day who were intelligent enough to make short-range weather forecasts based upon their own observations of various developing weather patterns, but who otherwise did "not know how to examine this particular time." By the same method of reasoning we ought to be able to look at developing trends in the world, coupled with our knowledge of prophecy, so as to situate ourselves relative to their fulfillment.

By way of an historical example, consider that in the decades leading up to the First World War many observers were aware that Germany and Russia were on a collision course with the British Empire. There was an ominous arms race and geopolitical maneuverings that led astute observers to anticipate that eventually a disastrous European war was inevitable. The same thing led up to the Second World War, so that many observers were convinced, even years beforehand, that another world war was unavoidable.

Please be reminded that armies were still using horse-drawn cannons during the Great War. Likewise, WWII was fought using what is now antiquated weaponry. The point is that the stakes are much greater today due to the awesome firepower that the nations possess. So WWIII or IV, depending on your method of reckoning, could easily turn out to be the great tribulation.

The strategic situation today is that there is an obvious predetermined march toward global warfare. Since the end of the Cold War, the Anglo-American sole superpower is exerting more and more military muscle around the world. Now there is growing public unease over perpetual hotspots like North Korea, the India-Pakistani Kashmir nuclear standoff; not to mention tensions with Iran, Iraq, Syria, Israeli-Palestinian issues, and China. And, of course, terrorists with WMD could easily ignite a global conflagration. And we should take into consideration the increasing chatter of "peace and security" that goes completely counter to the steadily increasing drum beat or war.

Underlying the strategic situation today is the fact that the Anglo-American, IMF-dominated financial system is in a terminal condition due to gross imbalances and distortions that has brought the whole system to the breaking point. Seeing the proverbial handwriting on the wall, there is a growing movement among many nations to dump the dollar. So, that means that the Anglo-American king is being squeezed into an increasingly intolerable situation that will soon result in a loss of his economic superiority.

Those are the conditions that drive desperate imperial tyrants into war. And unlike any previous nation, America has the military power to not only fight a global war, but win. When faced with the ignominy of joining her former Soviet counterpart as a bankrupt Third World nation, the temptation will likely soon become overwhelming for the Anglo-American king to launch all-out global warfare in the near future in order to remain the top dog.

In your case, by your own admission, you "put the elders on trial." Do you think that was fair or loving? More than likely, leading up to your disassociation, you read books written by apostate Jehovah's Witnesses that caused you to become outraged against the Watchtower. But in all probability, the local elders were not at all acquainted with the issues raised by ex-JW's, and so they were not prepared to be put on the spot to answer for the Watchtower's shortcomings. Hopefully, in hindsight you will humbly recognize that you could have handled that situation better than you did.

You might find some encouragement from the apostle Paul. He was once an avowed enemy of the truth, but he came to his senses and became a Christian. However, even after his miraculous conversion the brothers were distrustful of Paul because of his reputation as a persecutor. Acts 9:26 relates that when Paul came to Jerusalem he tried to join the brothers there "but they were all afraid of him, because they did not believe he was a disciple." But, eventually Paul won their trust and respect.

While it is commendable that you have mustered the courage to return to the faith, no doubt in your case it will take some time for you to win back the trust and confidence of the brothers and sisters in your congregation. Please be patient with the elders. Be forgiving of the friends. Accept personal responsibility for the situation you are in and try not to blame others. Try to look at things from their point of view. Accept these difficulties you are now facing as discipline from Jehovah. And above all: trust God to smooth out your path, as the Bible words it, so that you might ultimately attain the peace that you seek.

As regards the idea that Revelation has already been fulfilled, there is a philosophical school of thought, called Preterism that holds to the view that all prophecy regarding the last days was fulfilled in the 1st Century and that Revelation was written before the time commonly attributed to its writing. Likely your workmate has been influenced by the erroneous ideas of the so-called Preterists.

For one thing, though, Jesus clearly taught us that there is going to be a new system of things. For example, when discussing the sin of blasphemy, Jesus said that blasphemy against the holy sprit would not be forgiven "in this system or the one to come." On another occasion Jesus referred to the "re-creation," during which time a resurrection from the dead is to take place. It is obvious that no such earthly resurrection or new system came about in the 1st Century, or anytime since then.

The concluding chapters of Revelation foretell that eventually Satan the Devil will be removed from his position as the god of this world, and that in his absence God will wipe the tears from the eyes of mankind; so that even sickness and death will eventually become things of the past. Surely no one is so unreasonable so as to insist that such glorious promises have already come true?

The 7th chapter of Daniel speaks about the time when the kingdom of the world is given to the Son of man and along with him all the holy ones. That means that the kingdom of God will at that time fully come to be represented on earth by those remaining sons of the kingdom—even in competition with the still-ruling kings of this system. Now, if you recall, the 24 elders in heaven are also described as wearing golden crowns and sitting on thrones encircling Jehovah's very own throne. Clearly those 24 elders make up a ruling body. And what other heavenly kingdom is there other than Christ's own kingdom?

Be reminded, too, that the ancient Levitical priesthood had 24 subdivisions. It is evident then that the 24 elders represent the entire body of anointed Christians in their ultimate heavenly position during the time when the kingdom begins its rule.

But keep in mind, too, that during the initial start-up phase of the kingdom of the heavens there will still be holy ones of the elect on earth—as mentioned in Daniel. In effect, the body of Christ and the ruling kingdom will exist in two different dimensions simultaneously for a brief period of time!

The enthroned 24 elders appropriately represent the entire body of Christ in heaven, while the remnant of the 144,000 represents that body on earth, after the final sealing occurs. The distinction is evident if we read further on in the 14th chapter of Revelation. For example verse 13 says: "Happy are the dead who die in union with the Lord from this time onward. Yes, says the spirit, let them rest from their labors, for the things they did go right with them."

The point is: Revelation 14:1 depicts all of the 144,000 united with Christ upon Mount Zion. However, the verse quoted above shows that even after that spiritual gathering that some of those 144,000 are still on earth and they must die in order to physically join Christ.

It is apparent, then, that after the final sealing of the remaining individual members of the 144,000, there is virtually no distinction in Scripture between the kings of heaven and earth. That's why we read at Revelation 14:3 regarding the 144,000: "And they are singing as if a new song before the throne and before the four living creatures and the elders; and no one was able to master that song but the hundred and forty-four thousand, who have been bought from the earth."

Jesus also recognized that the Pergamum congregation was under the influence of the sect of Nicolaus. Similarly, the Christians in Thyatira were putting up with a Jezebel in the congregation. But, Jesus encouraged individuals in those congregations to repent and to endure in order to attain their heavenly reward. Consider, also, the Corinthian congregation that Paul wrote his letters to. That congregation had all sorts of problems; including the disguised satanic agents whom Paul called the superfine apostles. Yet there were many faithful ones as well.

The point is: if we are really in the truth, then God expects us to be able to endure and even spiritually thrive, even in the most negative environment. That's because if we rely upon Jehovah, as we are supposed to, then he can strengthen us and give us the needed wisdom so that we are able to cope with all of our problems, no matter what they may be.

I asked this question last week, without reply, but will ask it again.

Perhaps Jehovah has something in mind that is presently beyond the grasp of our imagination. When we consider that God is the Creator, and as such, likely will never retire from creating new things, and seeing that he has limitless powers, we would not be too wildly speculative in supposing that Jehovah is going to create countless new worlds and earths into time indefinite.

When we consider the fact that Jehovah has already proposed to transplant some humans from our tiny planet into another world in the spirit dimension, which is no ordinary feat, perhaps when the earth is filled with the perfect offspring of Adam and Eve; that God may then use the reformed human race as a seedbed for starting new life throughout the physical universe.

If you recall, originally Jehovah created a man out of the mud and then caused him to go into a deep sleep so that he removed one of Adam's ribs. What would prevent Jehovah from similarly transporting earthling couples to serve as Adams and Eves for far away Edens to come? While that may sound like some pretty far-out science-fiction now, we ought to keep an open mind to such possibilities and at least not hem-in Jehovah's boundless genius by our lack of imagination.