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You have brought out the point that the Israel of God has not yet gone into captivity to Babylon the great. If God’s people are to get out of Babylon the Great, it is understood that they are in a captive condition, from which they must extricate themselves. However, you seem to be alluding to not just a spiritual captivity but a physical one as well. If the Israel of God is in fact Spiritual Israel, then it must be understood that when God’s people come out of Babylon the Great, it simply means that they have freed themselves of Babylonish doctrines and that such dogmas peculiar to the World Empire of False Religion no longer have any hold on them. Whereas a person can be set free from prison just by being released (physical captivity), freedom from captivity to long held belief systems (spiritual captivity) takes a considerable amount of time over the course of history, since much effort of reeducation is required to effect such an outcome. Exactly what sort of future captivity are you referring to other than the fact that the 8th king of Bible prophecy conquers the remaining ones of the Woman’s seed or holy ones, as shown in Daniel and Revelation? |
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| When Nebuchadnezzar sacked Jerusalem and dragged the surviving Jews off to far away Babylon they were most definitely physically captive to the preeminent world power of that era. More than that, the gods of Babylon were made to appear as being more powerful than Jehovah. But Jehovah was ultimately vindicated when he empowered Cyrus to overthrow the city of Babylon--setting the Jews free so they could return and restore Jehovah’s worship at Jerusalem. For a certainty, though, there was also a spiritual component to their captivity as well. That is why at the time of Babylon’s downfall theses words Jehovah spoke through Isaiah applied: “Become cheerful, cry out joyfully in unison, you devastated places of Jerusalem, for Jehovah has comforted his people; he has repurchased Jerusalem. Jehovah has bared his holy arm before the eyes of all the nations; and all the ends of the earth must see the salvation of our God. Turn away, turn away, get out of there, touch nothing unclean; get out from the midst of her, keep yourselves clean, you who are carrying the utensils of Jehovah. For you people will get out in no panic, and you will go in no flight. For Jehovah will be going even before you, and the God of Israel will be your rear guard.” Notice, please, that at the time the Jews were released from captivity Jehovah is said to have "bared his holy arm before the eyes of all the nations." Is there any sort of modern parallel to the overthrow of ancient Babylon and the restoration of the Jews? The Watchtower definitely thinks so and Jehovah’s Witnesses have been conditioned to accept that the modern parallel took place in 1919. Commenting on the Society’s teaching here is an excerpt from the last chapter of Jehovah Himself Has Become King: The Watchtower makes the incredible claim that Jehovah rolled up his sleeves, so to speak, and “bared his holy arm before the eyes of all the nations” back in 1919. But what evidence is there in support of such a claim? Surely if the walls of the Atlanta federal penitentiary would have fallen down in 1919, for example—like the walls of Jericho did—liberating Judge Rutherford and company, then that would have been something. The Watchtower would be justified in applying Isaiah’s prophecy to such an extraordinary thing as that. Or, if one of Jehovah’s powerful angels would have caused the steel doors of Rutherford’s prison cell to miraculously swing open—like the angel did for the imprisoned apostle Peter—then that would have been something too. That would have been an undeniable demonstration of divine power. But what evidence is there, really, that Jehovah bared his mighty arm by releasing the eight Watchtower officials from prison in 1919? What miracle was involved? It is true that Joseph Rutherford and friends were wrongly imprisoned—it happens all the time in the world. Their legal case was then appealed and it was overturned. It is that simple. So why do we suppose it was necessary for Jehovah to bare his mighty arm to accomplish something that any competent attorney could have done? The Watchtower even inadvertently admits there was nothing out of the ordinary about the whole affair. Commenting on the case in the April 1st, 2000, issue of the Watchtower magazine, the Society wrote: “In May 1919 the circuit court of appeals ruled that the defendants had not had an impartial trial, and the judgment was therefore reversed. The case was remanded for a new trial, but later the government withdrew the prosecution, with Brother Rutherford and his associates being completely exonerated. They resumed their activities, and conventions held at Cedar Point, Ohio, in 1919 and in 1922 gave the Kingdom-preaching work renewed impetus.” Jehovah’s Witnesses ought to bear in mind this sobering truth: When the Jews were dragged off to Babylon they were not later “completely exonerated.” They deserved to go into captivity because they blasphemed Jehovah. There was no injustice done to them. They got a fair trial. Heaven convicted and sentenced them to 70 years of hard time in Babylon for the crime of profaning God’s great name—a penalty that they paid off in full. They were made to bear the reproach of a people who disobeyed their God. They later repented and begged Jehovah’s forgiveness and were shown mercy. And as Isaiah foretold two centuries in advance, Jehovah then repurchased his nation by sending Cyrus to overthrow the seemingly impregnable fortress of Babylon. In that way Jehovah “bared his holy arm before the eyes of all the nations.” There is simply no comparison to what befell the Bible Students and Judge Rutherford. How much longer are Jehovah’s Witnesses going to believe in the Watchtower’s convoluted prophetic mythology that Jehovah repurchased his people from Babylon back in 1919? Also, it must be pointed out that when the Jews were repurchased from Babylon they exited the city as a congregation. They did not leave individually over decades and generations—as the Watchtower applies it in modern times--as when people resign from some church and become Jehovah's Witnesses. As the Watchtower Society has often said, prophecy cannot be fully understood until after it is fulfilled. Since there is no valid basis for the Society’s interpretation of prophecy regarding the fall of Babylon the Great in 1919, we should recognize at least the possibility of a much grander future fulfillment. The captivity of the holy ones to Babylon the Great and the wild beast will surely involve the utter collapse of the Watchtower Society in a way that is presently unforeseeable. |
The e-Watchman Mailbag Collection
November 7, 2005
