In Revelation 11:19, John saw the Ark of the Covenant in the temple sanctuary in heaven. In the typical kingdom of Judah the ark disappeared following the destruction of Jerusalem by the Babylonians. Based on historical records we can more or less pinpoint the time period when the ark disappeared. At what point in time can we locate the ark seen in John's vision? What is the significance of this vision for the Israel of God and the nations in general?

The sacred Ark of the Covenant represented God's presence with his people. After Solomon completed the temple, the Ark of the Covenant was brought in to rest in the inner-chamber of the temple, in what was called the Most Holy compartment. (The Most Holy was only accessible by the High Priest on the Day of Atonement.)

Prior to Solomon's temple, however, the Ark was kept in a tent. Hence, King David said: And it came about that as soon as David had begun dwelling in his own house, David proceeded to say to Nathan the prophet: "Here I am dwelling in a house of cedars, but the ark of the covenant of Jehovah is under tent cloths."

The inauguration of Solomon's temple was the high point of the formal worship of Jehovah. It represented the establishment of true worship under the reign of God's kingdom. Of course, Solomon later led the nation into apostasy and eventually the temple was destroyed and the Ark disappeared and is never mentioned again in the Hebrew Scriptures.

Through Jeremiah, Jehovah foretold the Ark would become irrelevant and forgotten: "No more will they say, 'The ark of the covenant of Jehovah!' nor will it come up into the heart, nor will they remember it or miss it, and no more will it be made. In that time they will call Jerusalem the throne of Jehovah; and to her all the nations must be brought together to the name of Jehovah at Jerusalem, and they will no more walk after the stubbornness of their bad heart." Jeremiah 3:16-17

In the Christian arrangement of things, Jehovah has established a New Covenant with the anointed followers of Christ. Instead of having a visible ark representing God's presence among his people, Jehovah's presence is evidenced spiritually. But, in many respects, because the Christian Congregation is in an imperfect condition and Jehovah's purpose to construct a spiritual temple is not yet complete, it is as if the spiritual ark of Jehovah were residing under mere tent cloths today.

So, that brings us to the last verse of the 11th chapter of Revelation, where we read: "And the temple sanctuary of God that is in heaven was opened, and the ark of his covenant was seen in his temple sanctuary. And there occurred lightnings and voices and thunders and an earthquake and a great hail."

The 11th chapter of Revelation envisions the holy city of God being trampled underfoot by the nations for a specified time period. (Appointed times of the nations) After which, God's two anointed witnesses, along with the remnant of 7,000, are killed by the nations. Then comes Jehovah's wrath from heaven—bringing ruination upon those ruining the earth.

Following the global destruction of the entire system, the Ark of the Covenant is seen in the heavenly temple. This symbolizes the completion of God's purpose towards the Christian congregation, which will come about when the last member of the 144,000 has been killed and resurrected to heaven to serve as pillars in God's heavenly temple. Upon the completion of that temple arrangement God will fully inhabit that organization, as if no longer dwelling under earthly tent cloths. After the dust settles from Armageddon, the city-like temple of God then symbolically descends to earth to initiate the blessings of the 1,000-year reign.

I am an avid reader of the Watchtower and its companion Awake! Magazines. Over the years, these magazines have been like a companion, especially at times when I was under stress and unable to attend meetings. I must say that they have been instrumental in guiding me back to the fold in various stages of the 30-year period since I began my study of the Bible with Jehovah's Witnesses. However, I must also admit that your publications provide much insight into Biblical understanding of prophecy. So, how is it that you are not working in concert with the organization in terms of helping them revise and scrap unworkable interpretations of prophecy? In short, why do you have to find yourself in a situation similar to that of the prophet Jeremiah?

In short, Bethel is not at all interested in revising their "unworkable interpretations." They seem more intent on disguising the inadequacies of their fallacious interpretations. They are especially resistant to accepting input from what they consider to be outsiders—that is, those who are not directly connected to the inner-circle of the Governing Body. I know this from experience. Beginning approximately five years prior to my setting up e-watchman, I dutifully sent Bethel the product of my research in the naïve belief they were receptive. In fact, much of what appears on e-watchman was presented to Bethel years before it was published on the Internet.

However, it gradually became apparent to me that the most important thing to the Governing Body is not publishing the truth, but protecting the image of the Watchtower! That's because the Watchtower has become just that—an idolatrous image. Jehovah's Witnesses have been made to believe that all truth comes down from heaven directly to the Writing Department of Brooklyn Bethel, and of course, the organization continually reinforces the idea that no one can discover the truth unless they read it in the Watchtower. The Watchtower has effectively established a monopoly over God's Word among Jehovah's Witnesses, so that Bethel is able to use the Scriptures in such a way so as to craft their own image in order to legitimatize the idolatry of the organization.

For example, by teaching that Christ has already appointed the faithful slave over all of the Master's belongings, the Watchtower has misled Jehovah's Witnesses into believing that Christ has already inspected and judged his anointed household and given them his unequivocal approval. We are led to believe that the unfaithful slave has already been dismissed from the household. Nothing could be further from the truth.

Jesus comes as a thief in the night to inspect his congregation to commence what is called the "conclusion of the system of things," which is why he sternly charged his disciples to stay on the watch for his coming. Jesus has not come as a thief in the night, otherwise, why stay on the watch for his arrival? Obviously, though, many of Jesus' disciples are not watching as they ought—no doubt, in large measure because they have been lulled to sleep by the Watchtower's 1914 lullaby.

From Jehovah's standpoint it is idolatry for his servants to ascribe his glory to any other person or object. But, that's what we have done with the Watchtower. Because it has taught us certain basic Bible truths and because Jehovah has fought our battles in the past and blessed us with success, we have become self-reliant and presumptuous and have attributed God's blessing as if coming from the Watchtower itself. You can hear it in the talks and prayers of the elders at virtually every meeting. 'The Slave said this…the Watchtower says that…we thank the Slave for all of our wonderful spiritual food,' and on and on it goes.

At some point during the conclusion when the organization gets into dire straits, we should expect to hear Jehovah to speak to us through his pre-recorded prophecy at Isaiah 42:17-22, saying:

"They must be turned back, they will be very much ashamed, those who are putting trust in the carved image, those who are saying to a molten image: "You are our gods." Hear, you deaf ones; and look forth to see, you blind ones. Who is blind, if not my servant, and who is deaf as my messenger whom I send? Who is blind as the one rewarded, or blind as the servant of Jehovah? It was a case of seeing many things, but you did not keep watching. It was a case of opening the ears, but you did not keep listening. Jehovah himself for the sake of his righteousness has taken a delight in that he should magnify the law and make it majestic. But it is a people plundered and pillaged, all of them being trapped in the holes, and in the houses of detention they have been kept hidden. They have come to be for plunder without a deliverer, for pillage without anyone to say: "Bring back!"

Those are interesting questions, aren't they? Jehovah's Witnesses claim to be God's servants, so let them answer the question: "Who is blind as the servant of Jehovah?"

Jehovah's Witnesses claim to be the messengers of God. So, let them answer Jehovah when he asks: "Who is deaf as my messenger whom I send?"

Jehovah's Witnesses claim to have God's blessing and reward. So, let them answer the question: "Who is blind as the one rewarded, or blind as the servant of Jehovah?" (See essay: Who is blind…?)

Jehovah's Witnesses have been privileged to understand many deep spiritual truths. But, in our case it is just as Jehovah describes in prophecy: "It was a case of seeing many things, but you did not keep watching. It was a case of opening the ears, but you did not keep listening."

Why is it that the whole world questions every syllable that Jesus uttered, but no one seems to question anyone else's words? Paul, for example, instituted that elders should shepherd the flock (making decisions and judgments regarding guilt or innocence, etc...). However, I can't find anything like this in Jesus' ministry. As far as I can tell, Jesus says that we should look to Jehovah for shepherding. After all, didn't Jesus himself say "he who is without sin, cast the first stone"? Yet, Paul both advocated the elder arrangement, but then, at 1st Corinthians 4:3, saying: “Now to me it is a very trivial matter that I should be examined by you or by a human tribunal.” Aren’t these contradictory? Why does no one seem to question this?

Jesus did, in fact, institute a system of oversight; thereby empowering appointed men to serve as judges. For example, in the 5th chapter of Acts Peter passed the death sentence upon a husband and wife who played false to the holy spirit. But where did Peter get the power to merely look at someone and make them fall down dead at his feet if Christ had not given him the authority to serve as a judge over God's congregation? Admittedly, the execution of Ananias and Sapphira served as a powerful portent to serve notice upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem that God had transferred legal and judicial authority from the Jewish system to the Christian congregation, but the point is that it was administered through a man.

Clearly, Paul did not later take such authority to himself. It already existed.

Now, was Paul disregarding the elder arrangement when he told the Corinthians: "Now to me it is a very trivial matter that I should be examined by you or by a human tribunal"? No. Paul was merely saying that no human tribunal can determine our ultimate judgment, which rests with God. That is made evident in the context, where he goes on to say: "For I am not conscious of anything against myself. Yet by this I am not proved righteous, but he that examines me is Jehovah." 

While God serves as the final Judge, according to Jesus' words in the 18th chapter of Matthew, the congregation has the right to withhold association from any brother who refuses to conform to Christian standards. Paul merely enlarged upon and showed how Christ's authority should be applied in a practical way by the older men of the congregation. But it is evident that the elders cannot determine whether or not we have God's approval—only the approval of the congregation. Compared to God's judgment, the judgment of a human tribunal is indeed "a very trivial matter."

Considering that obesity is now catching up with smoking as the #1 preventative killer (at least in the USA), and considering that the Society does not allow smoking, and the Bible tells us that we should not harm our bodies, do you think that soon the Society will effectively "ban" or somehow sanction obese people until they get their weight under control? It’s the same reasoning that follows smoking. Any thoughts?

Smoking is a wholly unnatural practice. There is no comparison between deliberately inhaling the toxic fumes from smoldering weeds and eating food. Eating is absolutely essential for life. Smoking is 100% destructive.

As far as obesity, in my opinion it is becoming more prevalent due to the nature of the Western diet. When people are fed high caloric diets that have been stripped of certain vital nutrients, what we call junk food, it sets up a condition of chronic malnutrition. Normally, malnutrition can be remedied by eating more food in greater variety. But, because virtually the entire western diet consists of inferior grown and processed foods, the more we eat the more malnourished we become and the more we eat. So, while self-control is a component, obesity is more a systemic environmental problem—one that will be solved when God's kingdom destroys the system.

If other translations of the bible are corrupt why did the watchtower not think to "correctly" translate the bible until about eighty years after the religions inception?

When Jehovah told Noah that he was going to destroy all flesh by means of a deluge, it was because the earth was filled with violence. If the Garden of Eden still existed prior to the flood, why would it be necessary for Jehovah to destroy it as well, since the violence in question existed outside the garden? Also, do we suppose that the cherubs remained posted at the entrance of the garden, guarding the tree of life for a whole two-thousand year period until the flood came? The book of Ezekiel shows that cherubs are high ranking angels in Jehovah's presence. So could it be that the cherubs were posted in a figurative way? In addition, if we were to take this literally, wouldn't the rebellious sons of God that cohabited with the daughters of men put up a hard fight against those cherubs to gain entrance to the tree of life to keep at least some women that they might have been fond of alive? That raises the question: Was the tree of life symbolic or was it a literal tree?

The Garden of Eden probably did not exist up until the Deluge—at least not in its original idyllic form. When Jehovah placed Adam in the garden he commanded him to cultivate it and take care of it. Just like any garden today, in Adam's absence the Garden of Eden would eventually become overgrown and indistinguishable from the uncultivated land of thorns and thistles.

The primary reason, though, that Adam and Eve were put out of the garden was so that they could not eat the fruit from the Tree of Life. That was the specific assignment of the angelic sentries—to guard the way to the Tree of Life. So, how long did the Tree of Life exist after Adam and Even were driven out of the Garden of Eden? We do not know. Some trees can live for thousands of years, but the Bible does not say if the tree existed for 2,000 years until Noah's Flood.

Obviously, though, the Tree of Life was a literal tree—just as the tree of good and evil was a literal tree with eatable fruit.

As for the cherubs being literally stationed at the gates of Eden, there is no reason to think they were not visibly present until such time as the Tree of Life was no longer reachable by sinners—perhaps until the Deluge. Heavenly creatures are not bound by earthly limitations—such as time. Just as a thousand (human) years are to God as if one (earth) day, so too, no doubt a thousand earth years are not a long time for a cherubic sentry to stand at his post.

Remember, Satan himself was an original cherub assigned by God to cover the Garden of Eden. And although he was not visibly present to Adam and Eve, his presence in the Garden was very much real and not symbolic.

Question (Part one): When you make an appointment, isn't it true that a specific time period is set marking its beginning and end? With that thought in mind, what did Jesus mean when he mentioned the "appointed times of the nations" in Luke 21:24? Does this not have any reference to Nebuchadnezzar tree dream in the book of Daniel?

(part two): You have presented some very constructive arguments against the 1914 doctrine, but isn't that a case of the Watchtower's misapplication of other prophecies being centered on that year as you have shown? In other words, while the 1914 doctrine may find agreement with the tree dream, shouldn't you in reality point out just the Society's many misapplications of prophecy surrounding that year, without necessarily saying that the 1914 doctrine is altogether false?

Which prophecies are misapplied and which prophecies are not? More than likely, they are all wrongly applied to 1914. Jesus gave a detailed sign of his presence and made no mention of our being able to calculate the time of his arrival before it commences. In fact, Jesus said in many places that Christians should stay awake and keep on the watch because the master is coming as a thief in the night. Yet, we suppose that we have chronologically calculated the time of his stealth-like presence. Something is not right.

The Watchtower supposes that it is impossible for wars, pestilences and famines to occur in the future that would serve as the sign of Christ's actual presence. But, is that really sound reasoning? How can we ignore the currently developing situation in the world that points to the likelihood of a war involving nuclear weapons? We were warned just recently in the news that a flu vaccine shortage this year could lead to a pandemic of a particularly deadly strain of influenza coming out of China. And, in the eventuality of financial collapse, farmers may be unable to even put a crop in the field in coming years—leading to food shortages.

Furthermore, there are several aspects of Jesus' sign that are not apparent yet. For example, Jesus said: "Then, also, many will be stumbled and will betray one another and will hate one another. 11 And many false prophets will arise and mislead many; and because of the increasing of lawlessness the love of the greater number will cool off."

The Watchtower assumes that the "increasing of lawlessness" applies to an increase in criminal activity. However, that is not the way Jesus used the term lawlessness. Christ used the word in connection with religious hypocrisy. Moreover, it is not reasonable that the stumbling, betrayal and cooling off of love applies outside the congregation. In the other gospels Jesus said that parents would have their children put to death and vice versa. Has that happened yet? In conjunction with numerous Hebrew prophecies we are facing the complete breakdown of the Society. Obviously that has not happened yet. But the potential certainly exists for the organization to fall apart during an unanticipated international crisis.

In addition, what is your understanding of that dream? Do you have an explanation other than the Watchtower's view that it is related to the fall of the Judean Kingdom in fulfillment of Ezekiel 21:25-27, as marking the beginning of the appointed times of the nations and culminating at the birth of the Kingdom as represented by the male child in Revelation? I can agree with you thus far on the need for the Society to revise and scrap unworkable interpretations of prophecy, but I don't see how we should scrap the 1914 doctrine, since it seems to be Biblically sound. To coin one of your phrases, how "must [we] allow the Bible to interpret itself" in this regard? Isn't it obvious that at that time (1914) the Kingdom was represented as a mere male child, as shown by the fact that Jehovah did not use it back then as an instrument for the execution of Divine judgment? It follows then that there is a gradual process for the Kingdom to become fully empowered, so as to "shepherd all the nations with an iron rod."

In many places in the Hebrew prophets God foretells that he will open the blind eyes of his people during a time of great darkness and distress. Unfortunately, Jehovah's Witnesses imagine they are fully enlightened already and have no need of any further instruction from God—particularly as regards Christ's presence.

As you know, Jehovah's purpose is to completely sanctify his Name and prove the Devil a liar in a very dramatic way. One of the ways Jehovah does that is by allowing the Devil to perform powerful deceptive works, as if to stack the deck against us, but God knows that true faith and love planted in the hearts of his people will overcome even the most deceptive scheme of the Devil.

Look at what happened to the apostles: Jesus told them over and over that he was going to be killed by the Jews, and yet the apostles couldn't get the sense of it. Why not? Were they that dim? No, Luke 9:45 says: "But they continued without understanding of this saying. In fact, it was concealed from them that they might not see through it, and they were afraid to question him about this saying."  Jehovah temporarily concealed the truth from them. Why would God do that? It was in order to allow them to be sifted by the Devil during the time of confusion when their false expectations were shattered by reality.

Why should God treat us any differently today?

It seems to me that the prophecy of Nebuchadnezzar's tree is a decoy of sorts. Yes, the language seems to lend itself to applying to Christ's kingdom and the chronology seems compelling enough, but it could be that this is the means by which Jehovah has concealed the truth about Christ's presence from us that we "might not see through it" until such time as Jesus actually commences his presence.

In regards to the presence of the man of lawlessness, Paul said that he is empowered by the Devil, who performs all manner of deceptive signs and powerful works in order that those who do not accept the love of the truth might be judged. It seems evident that Satan triggered WWI and fomented the persecution of the Bible Students in 1918 in order to create a lying sign that Jehovah's people would mistake for the sign of Christ's presence.

The real test will come when the real sign of Christ's presence presents itself. Apparently, many of Jehovah's Witnesses will refuse to accept the truth and will prefer to go down with the Watchtower.