When Jesus cleanses his temple in the future, will those brothers and sisters that are thrown out be declared "goats" by Christ, since the scriptures state that the JUDGMENT starts with the House of God? Which, therefore, means that those former brothers are destined to side with the Beast 666 and receive the mark?

Forgive me if I seem to stray off on a tangent here, but it seems important to clarify a few things.

The inspection and judgment of God's spiritual temple specifically has to do with the anointed; whereas, the prophecy of the sheep and the goats has to do with the entire world of non-anointed people and their relationship to the then-approved anointed "brothers" of Christ.

When Christ cleanses God's temple he ejects those judged to be unfaithful. The expression "that is where their weeping and gnashing of teeth will be" has reference to the sons of the kingdom who receive an adverse judgment and are put out of the kingdom. After that, the next phase of God's judgment commences upon the world.

Notice the ordering of events as laid out in several places in the Scriptures.

For example, after speaking about the faithful and discreet slave, Jesus then spoke about an evil slave. Matthew 24:48-51 reads:  "But if ever that evil slave should say in his heart, 'My master is delaying,' and should start to beat his fellow slaves and should eat and drink with the confirmed drunkards, the master of that slave will come on a day that he does not expect and in an hour that he does not know, and will punish him with the greatest severity and will assign him his part with the hypocrites. There is where his weeping and the gnashing of his teeth will be."

Following in the 25th chapter of Matthew, Jesus gave two more illustrations concerning the judgment of those in line to inherit the heavenly kingdom; specifically the parable of the wise and foolish virgins and the parable of the talents. The parable of the talents also concludes with the master's condemnation of the unfaithful slave when the command is given to "throw the good-for-nothing slave out into the darkness outside. There is where his weeping and the gnashing of his teeth will be."

The very next verse describes the other aspect of the judgment after God's spiritual temple has been set in order. That verse reads: "When the Son of man arrives in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit down on his glorious throne. And all the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate people one from another, just as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. And he will put the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on his left."

Take note that this part of the judgment is with "all the nations," as opposed with the sons of the kingdom. Seeing that the judgment of people of all the nations follows Christ's settling of accounts with his anointed brothers, it is reasonable to conclude that the brothers of Christ in the parable of the sheep and goats are the sealed sons of the kingdom and not the anointed in their present condition. The sealing, of course, will occur after the unfaithful sons are rejected. The sealed ones will then, somehow, be miraculously revealed to the other sheep in what Paul called "the revealing of the sons of God."

Notice how Matthew 13:41-43 describes the true sons of the kingdom shining as brightly as the sun only after the weeds are harvested out:

"The Son of man will send forth his angels, and they will collect out from his kingdom all things that cause stumbling and persons who are doing lawlessness, and they will pitch them into the fiery furnace. There is where their weeping and the gnashing of their teeth will be. At that time the righteous ones will shine as brightly as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Let him that has ears listen."

Revelation harmonizes with this progression of events. For instance, the 7th chapter refers to the angels holding back the four winds of destruction, cutting short the tribulation in order to seal the remaining 144,000. Then, we are introduced to a secondary group called the "great crowd," who "come out of the great tribulation."

The 14th chapter of Revelation also mentions the final gathering of the 144,000, but there is no mention of the other sheep or great crowd—or is there?

Revelation 14:6-7 reads: And I saw another angel flying in midheaven, and he had everlasting good news to declare as glad tidings to those who dwell on the earth, and to every nation and tribe and tongue and people, saying in a loud voice: "Fear God and give him glory, because the hour of the judgment by him has arrived, and so worship the One who made the heaven and the earth and sea and fountains of waters."

It is interesting that Revelation refers to the "hour of judgment" for "all those who dwell on the earth," as opposed to the 144,000 in that context, who are ruling in the kingdom. That is the exact same sequence that we find in relation to the sheep and goats and the great crowd.

Then, the next few verses down in the 14th chapter of Revelation warn against receiving the mark of the beast, where we read: "And another angel, a third, followed them, saying in a loud voice: "If anyone worships the wild beast and its image, and receives a mark on his forehead or upon his hand, he will also drink of the wine of the anger of God that is poured out undiluted into the cup of his wrath, and he shall be tormented with fire and sulphur in the sight of the holy angels and in the sight of the Lamb.  And the smoke of their torment ascends forever and ever, and day and night they have no rest, those who worship the wild beast and its image, and whoever receives the mark of its name.  Here is where it means endurance for the holy ones, those who observe the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus."

The fact that the 144,000, mentioned in the 14th chapter, have the name of Jehovah and Christ written on their foreheads indicates that they have been sealed. The sealing of the 144,000 means that the centuries-long calling and choosing of the sons of the kingdom is concluded at that point. But, even though the 144,000 are depicted as standing upon Mount Zion with the Lamb, the remnant of sealed ones remain on the earth. They will have merely been given the irrevocable entitlement to enter the heavenly kingdom. Essentially, the sealed brothers of Christ begin ruling as kings while on earth during the tribulation.  Yet, as the verse above indicates, they must endure the tyranny of the beast after they are sealed.

Of course, Satan is tempted into unleashing a ferocious attack upon the sealed ones to try and embarrass Jehovah. After all, if God declares the anointing completed and yet one of the sealed ones happens to fall into unfaithfulness, so that the kingdom ends up with 143,999 instead of 144,000—that would obviously be a problem. So, we can see how it is that Jehovah is said to put hooks in Satan's jaws in order to goad him into making an all-out attack on the seeming vulnerable kings of the kingdom.

It is during that period when the brothers of Christ are in a sickened condition, homeless, hungry and in prison, when the other sheep minister to them.

As for the evil slave receiving the mark of the beast; it would seem to be a foregone conclusion that such will be the case. The evil slaves will fill the roll of Judas in betraying their former brothers to the Beast; even as Judas betrayed Christ to the Jews and the ruling king of the north back then.

Thank you for having the courage to answer difficult questions that so far the Society has not seen fit to. Can you tell us if the Society or any agents of it have contacted you regarding your writings on this site? What do you feel is the impact that this site has had within the Witness community and the Society?

I asked an elder about the judicial process spelled out at Matt:18 and he said that this relates to minor matters such as fraud. Why has the society interpreted this text in such a way? Is it correct? The Two-Witness rule seems reasonable when applied to matters of serious sin. Can’t the abused children and family members just seek justice through the channels of the Superior Authorities? Your answer here is important to me because for some reason I feel your working too hard on the issues of NGO and child molestation. They seem like quibbles to me. I do feel you are making better points on doctrine.

The Watchtower often uses the term "true worship" in connection with Jehovah's Witnesses. But, just what is "true worship" anyway? James 1:27 answers, where we read: "The form of worship that is clean and undefiled from the standpoint of our God and Father is this: to look after orphans and widows in their tribulation, and to keep oneself without spot from the world."

It is interesting that there is no mention of doctrinal matters or even kingdom preaching. From Jehovah's standpoint, taking care of disadvantaged people and staying unspotted from worldly defilements is what constitutes the basis of true worship. So, it should be self-evident that safeguarding children from being abused by sexual predators in the congregation ranks as a priority of true worship—at least from Jehovah's standpoint.

Also, how can the Watchtower boast about practicing true worship when it has gotten itself spotted from its worldly entanglement with the United Nations?

While Jehovah's Witnesses might be inclined to lightly brush such things off, as if unimportant, obviously from Jehovah's standpoint the organization's failure to adequately protect children from sexual abuse and the Watchtower's deplorable NGO adultery are hardly "quibbles."

As for Matthew 18, Jesus was giving instructions for settling differences between brothers. Matthew 18:15-17 reads: "Moreover, if your brother commits a sin, go lay bare his fault between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have gained your brother. But if he does not listen, take along with you one or two more, in order that at the mouth of two or three witnesses every matter may be established. If he does not listen to them, speak to the congregation. If he does not listen even to the congregation, let him be to you just as a man of the nations and as a tax collector."

Jesus' counsel to try to privately settle our differences applies to matters of fraud and slander and whatever. It does not apply to sins against God like fornication and certainly not child abuse. It is sheer lunacy to expect abused children to confront their molester alone to try and work things out. (Not that that is what the organization advises.)

Furthermore, the second step of Jesus' instructions, to take along one or two others to serve as witnesses, is not saying that the one or two others must be witnesses to the offense itself. They serve as witnesses that the offended party tried to set matters straight.

For the Watchtower to deny abused children justice because a third party did not witness the crime take place is a perverse misapplication of Jesus' counsel.

As for abuse victims resorting to the authorities, that is probably the best thing to do anyway. The Watchtower has made it abundantly clear that they are going to put the organization first, before the interests of abused children; so that there seems to be little recourse but the legal authorities.

Apparently, some elders are laboring under the mistaken notion that Paul's counsel not to take brothers to court applies in criminal matters such as abuse. It does not. Paul was taking about matters that should be handled by applying the three-step process set out in the 18th chapter of Matthew. But, as already noted, that does not apply to child abuse. Certainly if the congregation and the organization fail to provide justice in these matters, the secular authorities are also serving as God's ministers to punish and protect.

Dear Sir, before Christmas I sent in a question to you about how JW's who have read your material can still go preaching within the framework for this provided by the organization, but you haven’t seen fit to give this consideration yet. I asked you what methods you personally employed to get around offering literature which contains false teachings and UN propaganda, and how you deal with any questions from congregation members about unorthodox styles...Just how can we harmonize our Christ-given obligation to preach to others within the system provided by the organization? This is a huge stumbling block to me and others who are grieving at feeling they cannot in good conscience offer JW literature filled with untruths...so where does that leave us regarding the preaching? Can you please prepare a commentary or essay on this with some tips...if you really concerned with helping us with this matter.

Could it be that the Governing Body is manifesting itself to be the evil slave class through it's having mislead all the many anointed ones worldwide through it's false interpretations of prophecy and stubbornness to change? Or could the Governing Body as a whole be manifesting itself to be the actual man of lawlessness? They seem to 'beat their fellow slaves' by arrogantly dismissing any alternative opinions of their fellow anointed, even turfing dissenting ones out of the organization. And they also appear to continually 'beat' fellow Christians by their insistence that the measure of the service to God is in how much they perform the heavy and wearisome programme of works the GB impose on us?

I would not be so quick to quick to jump to that conclusion. Remember, the evil slave and the faithful slave resides in the same household up until the moment that the master actually arrives. So, if we identify all of the Governing Body as the evil slave, then who is serving as the faithful and discreet slave?

The purpose of the master's coming is to reward and punish the individuals in charge of the affairs of his household. So, the problem is not with the institution of the Governing Body or the Watchtower, but the individuals in it. More than likely, most of the brothers on the Governing Body are sincere and genuine. However, most of them are also quite elderly, so we might naturally wonder just how effective an 80 or 90-year old man could be in his dealings, especially if he were hemmed in by smarter, more persuasive younger men.

Call to mind also, how Judas sat on the body with the original hand-picked apostles of Christ. In view of that, more than likely the evil slaves today are only a minority. But, it only takes a few powerful personalities to steer an entire organization their way.

Also, another factor to take into consideration: A couple of years back the Governing Body signed over control of the Watchtower Society. They no longer have control of the day-to-day operation of the organization. That means, for example, that the legal department no longer answers to the Governing Body. As it stands now, the Governing Body could not exert control over the Watchtower Corporation even if they tried!

One thing seems certain though: The foretold apostasy that immediately precedes Christ's presence has already begun, and the "mystery of this lawlessness" is becoming manifest; evidenced by the Watchtower's NGO relationship with the United Nations.

Paul went on to reveal that the man of lawlessness would be under some sort of restraint only until a certain point, when he would fully manifest himself in Jehovah's spiritual temple. Thessalonians 2:6-8 read:

"And so now you know the thing that acts as a restraint, with a view to his being revealed in his own due time. True, the mystery of this lawlessness is already at work; but only till he who is right now acting as a restraint gets to be out of the way. Then, indeed, the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus will do away with by the spirit of his mouth and bring to nothing by the manifestation of his presence."

It may be that the old-time Governing Body members, with all of their flaws, have been "the thing that acts as a restraint," but they are being shoved aside by an emerging satanic man of lawlessness. At any rate, it is a "mystery," like the apostle describes, which means we can only see the fringes of it until such time as Christ fully exposes the man of lawlessness to full view.

If we would believe that Adam was the last Creation in the sixth day then it would be true that 1975 was the end of the rest day (7th day). But we know now that Eve was the last creation. Imagine that Eve was created hundreds of years after the creation of Adam this would mean that hundreds of years will have to follow before the end of the rest day will take place. How can you be so sure that we are living so near to the presence of Jesus?