If belief or acceptance in the 1914 teaching isn't required for salvation, why is it required for approved association among Jehovah's Witnesses, as stated in the April 1, 1986 WT, "Approved association with Jehovah's Witnesses requires accepting the entire range of the true teachings of the Bible, including those Scriptural beliefs that are unique to Jehovah's Witnesses." (Questions from Readers, p. 31) Why should a Witness who does not accept the 1914 teaching (or related errant teachings) continue to go to meetings just to be shunned by the brothers and sisters for not "towing the line" and accepting the entire range of teachings? After all, if we are commanded to "gather together," how reasonable or faith-strengthening is gathering together going to prove to be when the very ones who are supposed to be inciting us to love and fine works are actually shunning us or viewing us as "spiritually weak" because we do not accept the "entire range of teachings"?

The Watchtower is wrong to make the acceptance of variable interpretations of prophecy and chronology articles of our faith. But, you asked why should we still associate if we don't accept the entire range of teachings from the Watchtower?

In order to satisfactorily answer that question, each person facing that situation, or similar circumstances, should ask themselves the question: Why did I become one of Jehovah's Witnesses in the first place?

Likely, your answer is that you became one of Jehovah's Witnesses, not only because you originally thought Witnesses had the truth, but also because you wanted to serve Jehovah. Now, though, you doubt that Jehovah's Witnesses are really Jehovah's servants. But, it might be good to take stock of things so as to reaffirm in our own minds just what the true faith is, exactly.

Here are the basic essential truths that we ought to hold dear: First and foremost is that Jehovah is God—period. Secondarily, he sent his firstborn son, Jesus, to die for mankind. We are blessed to know for a certainty that Jesus and Jehovah are not yoked together in some mystical, incomprehensible Trinity, as hundreds of millions of people have been deluded into believing.

We have been enlightened to know that Satan is not some subterranean mythological character, but he is the cunning god of this world. We are alerted to the fact that the Devil controls the governments and religions of this world from the top down and that people of the world have been subtly imbued with his character and spirit, which is why we must be no part of the world.

Also, another vital aspect of the truth is the issue between Jehovah and Satan; which, has brought into question God's character and his right to rule, as well as our integrity to God.

To settle the issue with finality, the Bible reveals that God has created a kingdom government headed by Christ, which is to include 144,000 individuals bought from the earth. Jehovah's purpose is to eventually fully empower the kingdom to take complete control of the earth's affairs and get rid of Satan and his demons in a final decisive war that will utterly destroy the entire present wicked civilization.

Furthermore, Jehovah intends that an unnumbered great crowd of Christians will survive the end of the world to become the nucleus of a new world society. By the way, that's why Jehovah's Witnesses are also called the "New World Society."

For a certainty, there are many details, but those are the basics of the truth that should anchor our faith.

But what does it mean to actually be one of Jehovah's Witnesses? Does it mean that our witnessing consists of merely distributing Watchtower and Awake magazines to the public, and commenting at meetings at the kingdom hall? No, that's not what being one of Jehovah's Witnesses is about. Being one of Jehovah's Witnesses means that we are acquainted with the paramount universal issue between Jehovah and Satan, and that we deliberately chose to support Jehovah's side of the controversy. Choosing Jehovah's side means that we accept Jehovah as the Sovereign Lord and we vow to dedicate our lives to his cause no matter what personal cost may be involved.

In that respect Jesus was one of Jehovah's witnesses—the foremost witness to the cause of his God and Father. That is why Christ died—not only to serve as a ransom for us, but to prove the Devil to be a liar. It is why many early Christians gave their lives, too. During the past century, thousands of Jehovah's Witnesses have also been persecuted, imprisoned, and even martyred over the issue of Jehovah's universal sovereignty.

Does Jehovah value his witnesses making the ultimate sacrifice? Yes, he does. Psalms 116:15 says: "Precious in the eyes of Jehovah is the death of his loyal ones." Do you think it matters to Jehovah if several thousand of his people, many of them being anointed Christians, who stood firm against Nazi tyranny to the point of death, may have believed a falsehood concerning 1914? Could any sort of trivial thing like that nullify the fact that they knowingly, willingly, gave their lives for Jehovah's cause?

That should help us to put things in perspective so as not to allow ourselves to be sidetracked and stumbled by what the Watchtower may do, or fail to do. If we truly are Jehovah's Witnesses, we have entered into a personal relationship with God and Christ that supercedes our relationship with any so-called visible organization.

The context of the 116th Psalm, which was quoted above, certainly speaks to the situation many of us are facing. For example, verses six though eight read: "Jehovah is guarding the inexperienced ones. I was impoverished, and he proceeded to save even me. Return to your resting-place, O my soul, for Jehovah himself has acted appropriately toward you. For you have rescued my soul from death, my eye from tears, my foot from stumbling."

The Psalmist credits Jehovah with guarding him from stumbling, which, in itself, is an acknowledgment that there are stumbling blocks in our path that cannot be surmounted on our own human efforts. The reason being, as the 6th verse mentions, we are inexperienced. For a fact, who of us has ages of experience as has our adversary the Devil? Therefore, how can we possibly hope to overstep all of his cleverly-laid stumbling blocks without Jehovah's help? As a result of our inexperience we are prone to stumble, and as a consequence we become spiritually needy and impoverished. But, the Psalmist speaks from the vantage point of one with faith in God. That's why the next span of verses read: "I will walk before Jehovah in the lands of those living. I had faith, for I proceeded to speak. I myself was very much afflicted. I, for my part, said, when I became panicky: "Every man is a liar.""

Doesn't the Psalm describe our plight? Haven't we been "very much afflicted" with feelings of betrayal and disappointment? We have come to the conclusion that everybody, including the Watchtower's faithful slave, "is a liar." We have become "panicky" as regards our faith, as if Jehovah is no longer in control, as we once felt secure in the belief that he was. But, according to the Psalm our faith is the antidote. That's why the Psalmist said: "I had faith, for I proceeded to speak."

If we believe Jesus that not one sparrow falls to the earth without Jehovah being aware, and that God is so keenly interested in us personally that he has numbered every hair on our heads, how can Jehovah possibly leave us to twist in the wind, as it were, and leave us without some means of keeping our faith intact in the face of the difficulties facing us? It is unthinkable that he would. But, it comes back to the depth of our faith and our persistence in beseeching Jehovah to supply us the insight and faith needed to persevere in the race for life.

If we believe that our baptism as Jehovah's Witnesses had any validity before God, then we must accept that nothing in heaven or on earth can invalidate our dedication. It simply does not matter what the Watchtower teaches or what individuals within the congregation may think: we still have an obligation before God. The mere fact that we are alive at this moment in time, breathing the air that God graciously supplies, obligates us to acknowledge him. The next span of verses in the 116th Psalm speaks to that reality. It reads: "What shall I repay to Jehovah for all his benefits to me? The cup of grand salvation I shall take up, and on the name of Jehovah I shall call. My vows I shall pay to Jehovah, yes, in front of all his people."

Sure, the Watchtower has let us down. Yes, they have betrayed us. But that does not matter. Jehovah has not dealt treacherously with us. God is true. That's why, more so now than ever, we must follow the example of the Psalmist, and call upon the name of Jehovah and repay our dedication vows, "yes, in front of all his people."

It is unavoidable that eventually the Watchtower's entire 1914-propped prophetic structure is going to collapse like a house of cards. The way I see it, it is better to stumble now and get it over with, so we can reconcile the issues in our own minds and get back up on our feet, so as to be there to help others when they inevitably stumble during the oncoming time of confusion and confounding that the Scriptures foretell. Instead of seeing ourselves as the victims, we need to have love for our brothers, knowing that eventually they too are going to be confronted with the very same stumbling blocks. We should want to be there for them then. Paul said that we should not be owing anyone a single thing—except love. Paying our vows to Jehovah obligates us to love our Christian brothers, no matter what sort of foolishness may possess them at the moment.

And let us make no mistake about it: Jehovah is going to mete out some severe discipline on the very faithful and discreet slave that has brought us into this situation. Psalm 118:18 speaks to that judgment, saying: "Jah corrected me severely, but he did not give me over to death itself." Thru Malachi, Jehovah states that he is going to rub dung on the faces of his priests who have ruined the covenant and stumbled many.

But, if we have faith in God's future judgments then we will not allow resentment and discouragement over the Watchtower's sins to continue to trip us up, but we will stay the course of dedication and allow Jehovah to strengthen and refine us and use us for his greater glory and the eventual blessing of others. Above all, we will come to the greater realization that we have the privilege and opportunity to show all observers, both earthly and heavenly, that we actually are Jehovah's witnesses, in the truest sense of the term, and that there is nothing that can cause us to stop serving Jehovah—not even the tyranny or folly of the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society.

Dear Watchman, Please explain to us why do you believe that resurrected people will get married. Thank you.

There are a couple of accounts where Jesus responded to the Sadducees' question regarding the resurrection of the dead and marriage. One account is Luke 20:34-36, which reads: Jesus said to them: "The children of this system of things marry and are given in marriage, but those who have been counted worthy of gaining that system of things and the resurrection from the dead neither marry nor are given in marriage. In fact, neither can they die anymore, for they are like the angels, and they are God's children by being children of the resurrection."

The question is: was Jesus talking about those who receive an earthly resurrection or those who receive a heavenly resurrection? Well, it is evident that Jesus was talking about those who gain the heavenly resurrection. Why can we confidently say that? Because Jesus said of them: "In fact, neither can they die anymore, for they are like the angels, and they are God's children by being children of the resurrection."

As we know, many who receive an earthly resurrection will die again during the judgment at the end of the thousand years. When Jesus said "neither can they die again," he was referring to immortality. That's what immortality means—that it is impossible to be destroyed or to die by any means. Even if a person does live forever upon the earth, as Adam and Eve were intended to, it is not because they are immortal and cannot die. It will be because they are always faithful and obedient and hence Jehovah does not destroy them. Immortality is entirely different. Immortality and indestructibility are a result of God creating a new creation that possesses life in themselves, like God possesses life in himself, and hence they are no longer even dependent upon God to sustain their lives. Even the angels are mortal, but those who gain the heavenly resurrection are like the angels, in the sense that they are sexless. Paul wrote that among the new creation there is neither male nor female.

According to Mark's account, Jesus told the Sadducees: "Is not this why you are mistaken, your not knowing either the Scriptures or the power of God? For when they rise from the dead, neither do men marry nor are women given in marriage, but are as angels in the heavens."

If Jesus was referring to the heavenly resurrection, what part of the Scriptures were the Sadducees ignorant about that may have made reference to such a thing as men and women not marrying? Isaiah 56:4-5 comes to mind. That is where Jehovah said: For this is what Jehovah has said to the eunuchs that keep my sabbaths and that have chosen what I have delighted in and that are laying hold of my covenant: "I will even give to them in my house and within my walls a monument and a name, something better than sons and daughters. A name to time indefinite I shall give them, one that will not be cut off."

In reality, Jehovah is speaking about those who lay hold of the new covenant and who are taken into God's great spiritual temple in the heavens. Revelation refers to the anointed as being fixtures within the structure of God's kingdom. Having that everlasting heavenly reward is better than enjoying sons and daughters. Certainly, the Sadducees were ignorant about God's purpose to compose a heavenly kingdom made up of those who would forego the pleasures of human sexual relations in order to serve within the walls of the heavenly kingdom.

Secondly, but not in that same setting, Jesus referred to the new system as the re-creation. The heavenly kingdom is not a re-creation. It is a new creation—something that has never existed before. But, the re-creation is when Jehovah re-creates the system that originally existed in the Garden of Eden. According to Jesus, God originally created humankind male and female and commanded us to reproduce ourselves. So, if God re-creates that system, then obviously, as now, men will marry and women will be given in marriage.

Dear brother, I would like to know why we say that the other sheep mentioned in John 10:16 is a different class of Christians. I have always believed that those other sheep are the Gentiles, since Christ's ministry was directed to only the Jews while he was on earth. Could you help me? How do we know that the other sheep are not the Gentiles?

The verse in question reads: "And I have other sheep, which are not of this fold; those also I must bring, and they will listen to my voice, and they will become one flock, one shepherd."

Let's reason on this verse a bit. When Jesus said that his other sheep "are not of this fold," we may take that to mean that there is another fold of sheep. A fold is a particular sub-grouping of a flock of sheep. True enough, Jesus was speaking to his Jewish disciples. So we might assume that he was referring to the Jews as composing one fold of sheep and non-Jewish believers as the other fold. But, the problem with that view is that Jesus said that the Jews themselves were "skinned and thrown about like sheep without a shepherd." But, even if we insist that the Jews were the one fold, why would Jesus refer to Gentiles as being in another fold? In Ephesians, Paul said that the world was alienated from God and the state of Israel. So it does not seem appropriate to refer to non-Christians as being in any sort of fold-like grouping of God's people. Once they became believers, then, they came into the fold of sheep that listen to the shepherd's voice.

But, even taking into account the divisive issue of circumcision, Jewish and non-Jewish Christians still comprised one congregation of believers.

Actually, Jesus' teaching on that topic was not unique. Jesus was no doubt thoroughly familiar with the prophecy in the 34th chapter of Ezekiel, which uses similar language and imagery. For instance, verses 22-24 read: "And I will save my sheep, and they will no longer become something for plunder; and I will judge between a sheep and a sheep. And I will raise up over them one shepherd, and he must feed them, even my servant David. He himself will feed them, and he himself will become their shepherd. And I myself, Jehovah, will become their God, and my servant David a chieftain in the midst of them. I myself, Jehovah, have spoken."

Ezekiel's prophecy has to do with Jehovah's judgments during the finale. "David" is none other than Jesus Christ. In what sense, though, does Jehovah "judge between a sheep and a sheep"? We should not suppose that one sheep receives an adverse judgment and the other a favorable judgment. The reason is because Jehovah says in that very verse that he will save his sheep. Both sheep represent those who receive salvation. So, again, why does it say that Jehovah judges between his sheep?

According to Paul, those in the new covenant are declared righteous by God. That means that, ultimately, Jehovah considers them to be absolutely perfect. That is pretty amazing when we consider that the anointed are actually sinful. But, based upon the power of Christ's sin-atoning sacrifice and his mediation work as their high priest, Jehovah attributes to them Christ's own righteousness. It is not quite the same with those who survive the tribulation. They are not declared righteous in the same sense. The reason being that Christians of the great crowd are not granted immortal life, as are the anointed. Those who survive the end of the world will gradually be uplifted to a state of perfection, and thereafter be declared righteous at the end of the thousand years.

So, in that sense anointed and non-anointed Christians are judged differently. True, they both follow the same guiding principles, but Jehovah simply uses a different standard of judgment to reconcile to himself anointed sheep and non-anointed sheep.

In view of the fact that Ezekiel's prophecy identifies two types of sheep under one shepherd, and that is speaking to a period far-beyond the 1st Century, it stands to reason that Jesus was likewise referring to the two folds of anointed and non-anointed sheep.