Witchtower: December 1, 2009 - The Bible's Viewpoint: Is it Wrong to be Wicked?

The Witchtower 12/2009 1

WITCHTOWER THE

D E C E M B E R 1 , 2 0 0 9

EXPOSING JEHOVAH’S WITNESSES

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“““ttthhheee AAAnnnccciiieeennnttt

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HHooww AAllccoohhooll HHeellppeedd MMee

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The Witchtower

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3 Who is Able to Stand Before “the Ancient of Days?”

8 New Year‟s Celebrations – A Biblical Tradition

9 How Alcohol Helped Me to Face Hard Times

12 The Bible‟s Viewpoint: Is it Wrong to be Wicked?

14 Cope With Satan‟s Attacks – In the Toilet

16 Celebrate Christmas Worthily

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WHO IS ABLE TO STAND BEFORE “THE ANCIENT OF DAYS?”

“There were three ribs in its mouth between its teeth; and this is

what they were saying to it, „Get up, eat much flesh.‟” – Daniel 7:5

At the court of Belshazzar, the King of Bab-

ylon, the prophet Daniel had a remarkable

dream. In a vision he was transferred right to

our time. In prophetic images he saw develop-

ments taking place before our very eyes, and he

wrote it down for our benefit.

What season is his vision about? Daniel re-

ports: “I happened to be beholding in my

visions during the night, and, see there!

the four winds of the heavens were stirring

up the vast sea.” (Daniel 7:2) It was a windy

time, and most people link wind to autumn.

But according to a recent study by the German

Bundesamt für Seeschifffahrt und Hydrogra-

phie, most storms happen during winter now.

So we can conclude that Daniel‟s vision re-

fers to wintertime. Actually the vision de-

scribes “four huge beasts … each one being

different from the others.” (Daniel 7:3)

These represent four aspects of Christmas

time. We will surely be excited to see how Dan-

iel foretold developments of our time.

Winter is the time of gales

Commerce

“The first … [beast] was like a lion, and

it had the wings of an eagle.” (Daniel 7:4)

What is depicted by this animal? The “wings of

an eagle” leave no doubt, for God‟s inspired

word says: “Do not toil to gain riches. … For

without fail it makes wings for itself like those

of an eagle and flies away toward the heavens.”

(Proverbs 23:4, 5) The first animal clearly

stands for “riches” or money in general.

In what sense it “was like a lion?” Daniel al-

ludes to the desperate attempt of many people

go “gain riches” by gambling. He refers to the

company Löwen Entertainment (“Lions Enter-

tainment”) which is, by their own admission,

“one of Germany‟s leading suppliers of coin-

operated gaming machines.” The brand “Lö-

wen” is indeed closely linked to money and

gambling.

This logo can be found on many slot machines

According to Solomon‟s statement, money

uses its symbolical “wings” to „fly away towards

the heavens,‟ that is, their owners donate part

of it for „heavenly‟ purposes to the churches.

However Daniel “kept on beholding until its

wings were plucked out.” (Daniel 7:4) At

Christmas time, the people need their money

themselves. Rather than donating it for divine

purposes or leaving it on their bank account, it

gets “lifted up from the earth,” i. e. with-

drawn from the account. – Daniel 7:4.


Further, Daniel says about the withdrawn

money that it “was made to stand up on two

feet just like a man.” (Daniel 7:4) Of course,

the bills do not get feet themselves, but in the

purse of their owner – „a man standing on two

feet‟ – they „walk‟ to the shops during the pre-

Christmas period.

Later Daniel “kept on beholding, and,

see there! another beast, one like a leop-

ard.” (Daniel 7:6) This animal is related to

the first one because the leopard is a sit-and-

wait predator. According to Encyclopaedia

Wikipedia, such animals “usually hide motion-

less and wait for prey.” Hence the leopard is an

appropriate symbol for the shops and malls

that “wait for prey” especially during Christ-

mas season.

The leopard “had four wings of a flying

creature on its back.” (Daniel 7:6) These

are the wings of the first creature, the money

that the people had withdrawn from their bank

accounts. This is now lying in the checkout

counters of the shops and malls, so to speak „on

the back of the leopard.‟

Daniel continues: “The beast had four

heads.” (Daniel 7:6) With the mouth in his

head, the leopard kills his prey. The “four

heads” are the four weekends in Advent sea-

son, where shops make a major part of their

annual sales.

Like a leopard, the merchants lie

in wait during Christmas Time

Similar to a bear, the people

eat “much flesh” at Christmas

Unbalanced diet

Daniel also saw “another beast … it be-

ing like a bear.” (Daniel 7:5) Which facet of

Christmas time the bear describes can be seen

from the following encyclopedia statement:

“Bears are usually opportunistic omnivores

who, depending on species and season, ingest

food to varying extent.” (Encyclopaedia Wik-

ipedia, German edition) In times with an

abundance of food, the bear eats a lot.

Nothing else are humans doing at Christ-

mas time, especially during the holidays. Dan-

iel says: “There were three ribs in its mouth

between its teeth; and this is what they

were saying to it, „Get up, eat much flesh.‟”

(Daniel 7:5) The “three ribs” repre-sent the

three holidays (December 24th to 26th). During

these days, most people “eat much flesh,” so

that some of them can hardly get up after din-

ner. It seems that the bear in Daniel‟s vision

had the same problem; that‟s why only “on one

side it was raised up.” – Daniel 7:5.


Family Happiness

After that, the most terrible aspect of

Christmas Time was shown to Daniel. In his

vision he saw “a fourth beast, fearsome and

terrible and unusually strong.” (Daniel

7:7) What could be “fearsome and terrible” in

Christmas time? The next sentence explains it:

“It had teeth of iron, big ones.” (Daniel 7:7)

Though false teeth are no more made of iron

today, in a transferred sense old people indeed

have “teeth of iron.” The fourth beast repre-

sents the relatives who usually come for a visit

at Christmas.

Because of the stressful preparations and

purchases, most people are nervous wrecks

anyway when their relatives arrive. Daniel

says regarding the beast: “What was left

[from family peace] it was treading down

with its feet.” (Daniel 7:7) Indeed, the

Landeszentrale für Gesundheitsförderung in

Rheinland-Pfalz says: “The so-called „festival of

love‟ easily ends in a sturdy family dispute. …

In many families, the greatest row of the year

approaches with Christmas.” An internet por-

tal for legal advice found that their pages re-

garding divorce and aliment are called three

times as often as usual during the Christmas

holidays and the following days.

Many mothers-in-law have “teeth of iron, big ones”

Christmas “easily ends in a sturdy family dispute”

Luckily, the composition of the family

changes over time. The beast “had ten

horns,” and “there were eyes like the eyes of

a man in this horn.” (Daniel 7:7, 8) The

number ten stands for completeness in the

Bible, and the horns represent men. The “ten

horns” depict the total number of family mem-

bers. Daniel “kept on considering the horns,

and, look! another horn, a small one, came

up in among them, and there were three of

the first horns that were plucked up from

before it.” (Daniel 7:8) Over the years, new

family members – „small horns‟ – get born,

while some “of the first horns” – the oldest

family members – get “plucked up” from the

family by death.

But Daniel also saw “a mouth speaking

grandiose things.” (Daniel 7:8) Especially

the older family members often try to boss

their relatives around, and so significantly add

to the lack of peace. That‟s why a hotel chain

offers for the first time in 2009 a special

“mother-in-law rate” in Britain, with 25 per-

cent discount for all mothers-in-law from De-

cember 23rd to 29th.


Daniel though “kept on beholding at that

time because of the sound of the grandiose

words that the horn was speaking; I kept

on beholding until the beast was killed

and its body was destroyed and it was giv-

en to the burning fire.” (Daniel 7:12) Of

course, the spiteful grandmother will not be

“killed” by her relatives, but sooner or later she

will die, and her “body” will be cremated in

“the burning fire.”

Daniel also explains: “As for the rest of

the beasts, their rulerships were taken

away.” (Daniel 7:12) While the family quar-

rels usually continue after Christmas, the “rul-

erships” of the other “beasts” – the Christmas-

sy consumption binge and excessive eating –

end abruptly after the holidays. However

“there was a lengthening in life given to

them for a time and a season,” for their

consequences – lack of money and overweight –

remain for a while after Christmas. – Daniel

7:12.

The consequences of Christmassy feasting

remain “for a time and a season”

“The Ancient of Days”

The vision of the four beasts is really

unique, and doubtless it strengthens our trust

in the creator‟s ability to foretell future devel-

opments in detail. But that‟s not all; the vision

reveals further particulars about Christmas

time. Daniel explains: “I kept on beholding

until there were thrones placed and the

Ancient of Days sat down. His clothing

was white just like snow, and the hair of

his head was like clean wool.” (Daniel 7:9)

“The Ancient of Days” is St. Nicolas who is

traditionally pictured as old man with a long

white beard. Though he usually wears a red-

white bishop‟s robe, his coat is “white just like

snow” when he comes inside after his walk

through the snow.

Around St. Nicolas‟ Day, shops and malls

install their Christmas illumination. Hence

Daniel says: “His throne was flames of fire;

its wheels were a burning fire. There was a

stream of fire flowing and going out from

before him.” (Daniel 7:9, 10) Indeed, wher-

ever St. Nicolas appears, everything is brightly

illuminated, so that is looks like “burning fire”

from afar. Daniel adds, referring to the used

light bulbs: “There were a thousand thou-

sands … and ten thousand times ten thou-

sand that kept standing right before him.”

– Daniel 7:10.

Some children though are in fear when St.

Nicholas visits them. Daniel reports: “The

Court took its seat, and there were books

that were opened.” (Daniel 7:10) In fact, St.

Nicolas does not reward everyone. He checks

the “books” in which the children‟s deeds from

the past year are written. Whoever was not

good during the year will not be rewarded but

rather he will be punished by Santa‟s little

helper. In former times, he tucked the naughty

children into his sack and took them with him;

but because of modern laws for the protection

of children, he is only allowed to beat them

with his rod now.


A worthy successor

Finally Daniel “kept on beholding in the

visions of the night, and, see there! with

the clouds of the heavens someone like a

son of man happened to be coming.”

(Daniel 7:13) Who is coming “with the clouds

of the heavens” at Christmas time? It is Santa

Claus who is usually travelling with a flying

sleigh. Contrary to “Saint” Nicholas who is

pictured as a stern clergyman and sometimes

even tucks children into his sack, the over-

weight and coke-drinking Santa Claus has

indeed human weaknesses and is, so to speak,

“someone like a son of man.” Accordingly he is

usually pictured “as a friendly old man.”

– Encyclopaedia Wikipedia, German edition.

“Saint” Nicolas

was a stern

man. When

the picture

was made,

he still had

no white hair

and no long

bears, but he

wore a white

coat

Daniel says regarding Santa Claus: “To the

Ancient of Days he gained access, and they

brought him up close even before that

One.” (Daniel 7:13) Because of his genial

disposition, his popularity keeps increasing. In

recent decades it came “close” to that of St.

Nicolas even in Europe, and today Santa Claus

has even surpassed St. Nicolas when it comes

to popularity. So to speak, on the list of popular

gift-bringers he is “before” him.

Santa Claus is popular throughout the world

St. Nicolas – a catholic Saint – could exert

his influence only on Christian nations. But to

Santa Claus “there were given rulership

and dignity and kingdom, that the peo-

ples, national groups and languages

should all serve even him.” (Daniel 7:14)

Santa Claus is revered throughout the world.

Even in Islamic, Buddhist and Atheist coun-

tries people celebrate Christmas. Indeed, the

“rulership” of Santa Claus “is an indefinitely

lasting rulership that will not pass away,

and his kingdom one that will not be

brought to ruin.” – Daniel 7:14.

Isn‟t it exciting how we can see Bible

prophecies fulfill right before our eyes? May we

strive to be good during the year, so that we

will be rewarded either by “the Ancient of

Days” of by the one “like a son of man,” depend-

ing on who is dominant in our area.


NEW YEAR’S CELEBRATIONS – A BIBLICAL TRADITION

Many religious fanatics forbid their follow-

ers to celebrate New Year. Jehovah‟s Witnesses

say: “Since the features of New Year‟s celebra-

tions betray their pagan origins, people want-

ing to heed the Bible will steer clear of such

festivities.” (Awake!, December 22, 1986, page

21) But a thorough examination of the Bible

will help us to view this question in a different

light.

What about New Year‟s celebrations in an-

cient Israel? A reference book says that “there

was a dual system of a sacred and a secular or

agricultural calendar” used by God‟s people

(Insight on the Scriptures, volume I, page 392)

It was similar to the system of Jehovah‟s Wit-

nesses today who have a service year (from

September to August) and a calendar year

(from January to December).

The same book continues: “Ethanim (Tishri;

September-October) was originally the first

month of the Jewish calendar, but after the

Exodus from Egypt it became the seventh

month of the sacred year.” (page 822) So the

first day of the secular year – comparable to

January 1st in our calendar – was the first day

of the seventh month. Did the Israelites cele-

brate this day?

Jehovah instructed them through Moses:

“In the seventh month, on the first of the

month, there should occur for you a complete

rest, a memorial by the trumpet blast, a holy

convention.” (Leviticus 23:24) In fact, New

Year‟s Day was celebrated extensively. There

were no fireworks at that time; rather they

used “the trumpet blast” to make noise.

In our time though, New Year‟s celebrations

usually happen on the last day of the previous

year. Is that acceptable? Yes, for the Bible

clearly says: “Better is the end afterward of a

matter than its beginning.” (Ecclesiastes 7:8)

Hence, if the beginning of the year is a reason

to celebrate, how much more the end of the

year!

In addition, the people make extensive use

of Alcohol at New Year‟s Eve parties, according

to God‟s instruction: “Do not drink water any

longer, but use … wine.” (1 Timothy 5:23)

Many people also meet the sacred obligation to

“be fruitful and become many” at that time.

– Genesis 1:28.

Hence it is a requirement for Christians to

participate in New Year‟s Eve and New Year‟s

Day celebrations.

Singing at New Year‟s Day is an old tradition


HOW ALCOHOL HELPED ME TO FACE HARD TIMES

As told by Jeshua ben Joseph

Several times in my life, loneliness might

have overwhelmed me – but it didn‟t. When I

was 22, one of my sisters was killed. Three

years later, my father died. Five years after the

death of my father, I learned that I should

become a prophet of God.

My name is Jeshua, which means “Jehovah

is Salvation.” Strange as it may seem, though,

it wasn‟t him who assisted me when I faced

tragedies. I never felt that Jehovah God was

grasping me by the hand. Allow me to explain

how I survived my personal tragedies.

I was born in Bethlehem, Israel, on Etha-

nim 12 in the 30th year of Caesar Augustus, the

first child of my parents, Joseph ben Jacob and

Mariam bat Heli. Strictly speaking, my father

was the wine dealer Zadok, but my mother

kept that relationship secret and blamed the

Holy Spirit for my birth. She had already been

pregnant at her marriage.

My mother had searched for answers to her

religious questions but had not found satisfac-

tion in the synagogue. When I was twelve

years old, we visited the Pharisees in the

temple, who answered all her questions from

the Torah. Mother eagerly accepted the offer

by a priest to keep an eye on me while his

colleagues explained the law to her. So she

learned what the Torah really teaches.

Within a short time, my mother quit her job

as a waiter at the local pub, and a few years

later, my father followed her example. Eliana,

who helped my mother understand the Torah,

soon noticed my keen interest for it. Although I

was only a young boy, Eliana suggested that I

have my own Torah study. Thanks to her help

and my mother‟s encouragement, I got baptized

at the age of 30.

While Brother John delivered the baptismal

talk, suddenly a thunderstorm approached.

Shortly after I came up from the water, it

thundered for the first time, startling up some

pigeons. Some of the attendant crowd inter-

preted the thunder as God‟s voice and told me

that I would be a chosen one and would have to

live a life as a prophet. I tried to explain to

them that it was only a common thunderstorm,

but it was futile.

Actually I had planned to marry shortly af-

ter my baptism. However I was dithering be-

tween Martha and her sister Mary. Basically, I

got along with Mary better, but Martha was

the better cook. And then there was Mary

Magdalene, who had showed me how to fulfill

the first commandment from Tanach (which

can be found at Genesis 1:28 in modern Bibles).

Anyway, now I had to put marriage out of

my mind, for as a prophet I had to stay unmar-

ried. Some Rabbi had come up with the idea

that it would good for prophets “not to touch a

woman.” A number of friends had already built

up some alcohol stocks for my stag party

though; as that would fall through now, we

celebrated my appointment as prophet instead.

After some mugs of wine, we „began behaving

like prophets‟ and entered a state of trance.

(compare 1 Samuel 19:21) I can‟t remember the

further course of the evening.

At some time the next morning – or better,

noon – I woke up somewhere in the wilderness.

The sun burned from the sky, and there wasn‟t

a soul in sight, not even a stray sheep. To date

I don‟t know how I had come there. So I went

searching for the way home. Suddenly I had to

cough, whereupon one of the numerous

parched thorn bushes caught fire. At least, now

and then I found an abandoned well where I

could drink some water.


It took almost forty days until I finally won

home. On the road I met a shady merchant

who tried to sell to me stones as bread. He told

me that he was so poor that he would have to

plunge off the battlement of the temple if I

didn‟t buy his “bread.” Luckily I tipped to the

scam, and I didn‟t have money with me any-

way.

Finally at home, I didn‟t have much time to

rest. The very next day, my mother and I were

invited to a wedding feast in Cana. As I didn‟t

have time to acquire an appropriate present, I

decided to take the leftover wine from my

prophet party with me as a gift.

Because my mother dawdled a bit and then

the donkey didn‟t start, we came two hours

late. Shortly before, the bridal couple had run

out of wine, as the hot weather made the

guests drink more than usual. My gift really

arrived at the right moment and freed the

bride and bridegroom from an awkward posi-

tion – with too little alcohol, the wedding night

could have become a great disappointment. But

thanks to the wine I brought, they could not

remember anything the next morning.

Mary Magdalene taught me many things

On our way home, we went via Jerusalem.

We wanted to purchase some prophet utensils

for me at the temple bazaar. Since I wasn‟t yet

completely sober from the wedding feast, I

accidentally upset a table, and a pigeon cage

fell on the ground. I didn‟t want to settle the

damage, so I claimed the event to be a prophe-

cy. I could escape while the Pharisees and Sad-

ducees argued over the meaning of my words.

In the meantime, Lazarus, the brother of

Martha and Mary, had heard of my appoint-

ment as a prophet. The two talkative women

had jarred on his nerves for a long time, and for

years he had longed for the day where he could

marry at least one of them off to me. Shocked by

the news, he had a nervous breakdown and shut

himself away in a secluded cave because he

couldn‟t stand his sisters‟ chattering any longer.

When these noticed that he was missing at

lunchtime, they became worried since he had

never spared lunch. They had no other explana-

tion for his absence than that he had died. They

blamed me for his death and sent a messenger

to me, so that I got to know what I had done.

However, I knew the cave in which Lazarus

usually hid himself when he was a youth and

had been up to something. I straightly went

there and found Lazarus, sitting in the cave

and enjoying the silence. He sent me away and

told me he would rather die in the cave than go

back to his sisters. I left the cave but didn‟t

give up. From outside, I shouted to him: “Laza-

rus, come on out! I will take your sisters along

on my preaching journeys!” At once he came

out and agreed to return to his house.

Before I started prophesying, I made a

walking tour to Samaria with some friends. At

a well, I met a beautiful woman with long

blonde hair. At my clothes she immediately

recognized me as a prophet. I asked about her

husband, whereupon she replied that she was

single. I could just in time ask for her address

when my friends returned from shopping. They

wanted to prepare a meal, but I told them: “I

have food to eat of which you do not know” and

went to the village.


After we returned from Samaria, my

friends wanted to go fishing, but I was too tired

and went to bed. The next morning, the disap-

pointment was writ large in their face, for they

didn‟t catch anything the whole night. Luckily,

I had just read in the Capernaum Gazette that

a fish trawler had an accident and lost its cargo

at night near the west coast. I led my friends to

the place, and we took a good catch. I did not

tell them where I had the information though.

That caused them to ultimately accept me as a

prophet, and they started to call me “Lord” and

“Master.” They also wanted that I called them

“disciples.”

Some days later I received a letter from the

tax administration. The tax officer Matthew

Levi had heard that I would have acted as a

prophet for a number of weeks, though I hadn‟t

submitted a prophet business registration yet.

He prompted me to instantly pay the due

prophet tax and the resurrection surcharge in

the amount of 40 silver coins. I didn‟t have that

much money, so I visited Matthew in his office

and took my disciples along. Impressed with

their story about my “miracle” at the Sea of

Galilee, he too became my disciple and deleted

my entry from the tax register.

Happy about my remitted tax obligation, I

went to the local wine dealer. I wanted to buy

some wine to celebrate my prophethood with

Martha, Mary and Mary Magdalene. However,

the vintner wanted to pull a fast one on me and

tried to put my wine into old wineskins. Fortu-

nately, I noticed that timely and told him: “No-

body puts new wine into old wineskins; if he

does, the wine bursts the skins, and the wine is

lost as well as the skins. But people put new

wine into new wineskins!”

Since the next day was a Sabbath where we

did not have to work, we partied until late in

the night at a camping ground near Jerusalem.

The next morning we went to the Bethzatha

pool to have a wash. Along the way we saw a

man who had fallen near the entrance and now

was lying injured on the ground. I was not

totally sober yet and incapable of helping him

myself. Thus I asked a paramedic who was

sitting at the pool: “Get up, pick up your cot

and walk to the entrance. There is someone

who needs your help!”

We were on our way home when we sudden-

ly became hungry. We plucked some grains at

the wayside, but it wasn‟t enough. After some

time, we noticed some sheep near the way. It

was only a little flock though; it would have

attracted attention if one would have been

missing. But a short time later, we came across

other sheep. It was a great crowd of sheep,

which no man was able to number. We didn‟t

think that someone would notice a missing one.

Shortly after lunch, however, the shepherds

took notice of us. They actually had noticed

that one of their sheep was missing. Of course

they suspected us, the more so as a remnant of

the sheep was still lying next to our bonfire.

Nevertheless, I managed to calm them down by

saying: “All considered, of how much more

worth is a man than a sheep!” While they

squabbled about the meaning of my words, we

made away.

In the afternoon we decided to use up the

remaining wine, so that it would not go bad

underway. We scaled a hill, from where we had

a pleasant view, and drank until it was even-

ing. Since we were way too drunk to move on,

we laid down. As drunk as I could be, I babbled

statements like “Happy are the unhappy ones”

and something about salt and that someone

should tear the Romans their eyes out. Some-

one overheard that, wrote it down and later

published it as “Sermon on the Mount.”

When we finally arrived at home in Caper-

naum, the people said about me: “A man glut-

tonous and given to drinking wine, a friend of tax

collectors and sinners.” But why should I have

been upset? They were right after all! I replied

to them: “Learn from me, and you will find re-

freshment for your souls.”


I went to the marketplace to ask around

what was the news. A merchant told me about

a landslide near the Sea of Galilee. A whole

hillside had plunged into the lake and with it

about 2000 swine that were grazing there.

Most Jews though attributed that event to

demons that supposedly had taken possession

of the swine.

In the confusion of the marketplace, I be-

came a victim of pickpocketing. I asked my

disciples: “Who was it that touched me?” But

they replied: “You see the crowd pressing in

upon you, and do you say, „Who touched me?‟” I

looked around and shouted: “Someone touched

me, for I perceived that my purse is missing!”

Seeing that she had not escaped notice, the

thief came and fell down before me, frightened

and trembling. In front of all the people, she

told the whole truth about the theft and her

illness and that she didn‟t have money to con-

sult a physician. I gave her some money for the

doctor and comforted her: “Go in peace, go to

the doctor and get cured from your grievous

sickness.”

Few days later, an old acquaintance called

Jairus sent for me. He thought that his daugh-

ter would have died. Of course he could not

know that she had been out with me all night

in Zadok‟s dance bar and was simply sleeping.

How did Jeshua sort out this matter? What

did he experience during the next years of his

life, and how did Alcohol always help him to

face hard times? These questions will be an-

swered in the next issue.

THE BIBLE‟S VIEWPOINT: IS IT WRONG TO BE WICKED?

Jehovah‟s Witnesses hate the wicked ones.

Like David, they pray to God: “The teeth of

wicked ones you will have to break. … O that

you, O God, would slay the wicked one!” (Psalm

3:7; 139:19) But to date, this request has not

been fulfilled. Rather, it is still true what faith-

ful Job noticed already more than 3,000 years

ago, namely “that the wicked themselves keep

living, … also have become superior in wealth.”

– Job 21:7.

Jehovah‟s Witnesses and other enemies of

the wicked ones too notice that the wicked ones

go well today, but they comfort themselves

with the statement of Bildad the Shuhite who

predicted: “The tent of wicked ones will not be.”

(Job 8:22) But what did he exactly mean?

Would the wicked ones become homeless? No,

the verse cannot be interpreted this way. The

very same day where Bildad stated that the

wicked ones would not have a tent anymore,

Job said: “Their houses are peace itself, free

from dread.” (Job 21:9) Hence the “tent of

wicked ones” would “not be” anymore because

they can afford a proper house.

Even Jehovah does live in a tent, and Jesus

did not have a home at all. (Revelation 21:3;

Luke 9:58) So it is no wonder that the right-

eous are jealous of the wicked. “The Righteous

One is giving consideration to the house of the

wicked one,” said even wise Solomon. (Proverbs

21:12) No small number of Jehovah‟s Witness-

es is envious of the people in their territories

about their beautiful houses.

It is true that the Bible assures the right-

eous one: “You will not need to be afraid … of

the storm upon the wicked ones, because it is

coming.” (Proverbs 3:25) But the wicked ones

too do not fear the storm, as they are sitting in

their solid houses. To their homes, Jesus‟

words can be applied: “The winds blew and

lashed against that house, but it did not cave

in.” – Matthew 7:25.


One of King Solomon‟s proverbs says howev-

er: “The belly of the wicked ones will be empty.”

(Proverbs 13:25) Does that mean that the wick-

ed ones would go hungry? No, for faithful Asaph

saw “the very peace of wicked people” and no-

ticed: “Their paunch is fat.” (Psalm 73:3) Hence

they do not hunger because they would not have

enough to eat but in the context of a diet.

Jesus referred to this situation when he

said: “Happy are you who hunger now, because

you will be filled.” (Luke 6:21) Because of their

prosperity, the wicked ones occasionally have

to diet in order to keep their ideal weight. But

after that, they can tuck in again and “be

filled,” while the righteous ones usually battle

for their existence “in hunger and thirst, in

abstinence from food many times.” (2 Corinthi-

ans 11:27) But the wicked “are not plagued the

same as other men.” – Psalm 73:5.

While righteous people are only allowed to

listen to “psalms, praises to God [and] spiritual

songs,” the wicked ones “continue raising their

voice with the tambourine and harp, and keep

rejoicing.” (Colossians 3:16; Job 21:12) Wicked

people are also popular among their fellow

men. “The wicked are like the sea” – and who

does not like to go to the seaside? No wonder

that Isaiah foretold about the Messiah: “He

will make his burial place even with the wicked

ones and with the rich.” (Isaiah 53:9) He want-

ed to be buried near wealthy people, not along

with the poor servants of God.

“The tent of wicked ones will not be”

because they can afford a proper house

God‟s servants had to live in tents

What is the reason why the wicked fare so

well? Why are they much more successful than

servants of God who usually are “afflicted and

poor” and suffer from “tribulations,” “cases of

need” and “difficulties?” (Psalm 40:17; 2 Corin-

thians 6:4) Job explains the wicked‟s secret of

success: “They say to the true God, „Turn away

from us! And in the knowledge of your ways we

have found no delight. What does the Almighty

amount to, that we should serve him?” – Job

21:14, 15.

The wicked ones flourish because they are

not guided by a thousands-of-years old book

but rather take their lives into their own hand.

Granted, God‟s servants believe that soon “all

the wicked are destroyed at Armageddon.” (You

Can Live Forever in Paradise on Earth, page

181) But in actual fact, God promised: “As

regards someone wicked … he will positively

keep living. He will not die … Do I take any

delight at all in the death of someone wicked?”

– Ezekiel 18:21-23.

Jesus Christ promised to the wicked ones:

“Your reward will be great, and you will be

sons of the Most High, because he is kind to-

ward the … wicked.” (Luke 6:35) Indeed, with

a man there is nothing better than that he

should be wicked!


COPE WITH SATAN’S ATTACKS – IN THE TOILET

“When you pray, go into your private room.” – Matthew 6:6

Most Christians likely think that in the toi-

let they would be safe from Satan‟s attacks.

But “Satan is a master of deception.” (Awake!,

June 8, 1998, page 15) He bears many names.

The Pharisees of Jesus‟ day referred to “Beel-

zebub, the ruler of the demons,” who can be no

one else than Satan. – Matthew 12:24.

The name Beelzebub is likely an alteration

of Baal-zebub, the name of a god worshipped by

the Philistines. The Israelites though used the

modified form Beelzeboul that likely means

“Owner of the Dung.” (see Insight on the Scrip-

tures, volume I, page 275) In fact, Satan, “the

ruler of the demons,” is the “owner of the

dung.”

Hence, true Christians are especially ex-

posed to danger in the toilet. Easily they could

praise the “owner of the dung” and offer him “a

restful odor.” (Leviticus 6:21) But “to serve

other gods” would mean “to leave Jehovah.”

(Joshua 24:16) How can we avoid falling into

Satan‟s trap in the toilet?

Of course, the Bible is no course book about

the worship of Beelzebub. But it is worth not-

ing what Jesus says about the worship of his

father: “When you pray, you must not be as the

hypocrites; because they like to pray standing

in the synagogues and on the corners of the

broad ways to be visible to men. … You, how-

ever, when you pray, go into your private room

and, after shutting your door, pray to your

Father who is in secret; then your Father who

looks on in secret will repay you.” (Matthew

6.5, 6) So, Jehovah is only glorified by prayers

to him when these are offered “in secret,” in the

“private room.” He does not listen to prayers

that are offered in public.

We can assume that Satan applies similar

standards to his praise. Only when someone

praises the “owner of the dung” in his “private

room” or “in secret,” he considers it worship,

and we could become apostate. But if we offer

the “restful odor” in public, where everyone can

hear and smell it, Satan does not feel praised.

This way, we can maintain our integrity to

Jehovah without foregoing excretion.

Interesting enough, the Bible reports only of

two cases where someone answered the call of

nature “in secret.” Both times, persons who were

no servants of the true God were involved. The

first event happened in the time of the judges.

Eglon the King of Moab gathered “the sons of

Ammon and Amalek [and] then they went and

struck Israel and took possession of the city of

palm trees.” (Judges 3:12, 13) This enemy of

true worship was known for “easing nature in

the cool interior room,” where no one could hear

or smell him. (Judges 3:24) But in the end, he

was killed by Ehud, a judge of Israel. – Judges

3:21, 22.

At such a public toilet, Beelzebub is not praised


The second event happened some centuries

later. The account in 1 Samuel 24:2, 3 reads:

“Saul proceeded to take three thousand chosen

men out of all Israel and to go looking for Da-

vid and his men upon the bare rocks of the

mountain goats. At length he came to the stone

sheepfolds along the road, where a cave was.

So Saul came in to ease nature.” At this time,

Saul was already apostate and was possessed

by the idea of killing David.

How are we to look at these two events? Is

it just coincidental that they are mentioned

and that both involve persons not having God‟s

approval? Or could it be that Jehovah deliber-

ately had these details recorded in his word,

which he says is “beneficial for teaching, for

reproving, for setting things straight?” (2 Timo-

thy 3:16) At the very least it can be said that

these two accounts Biblically put the easing of

nature in closed rooms in a bad light, as a prac-

tice of those estranged from God.

Contrary to these enemies of true worship,

God‟s true servants did not do their business

“in secret” where no one could hear or smell

them. No, rather they followed the instruction:

“Designate a place outside the camp where you

can go to relieve yourself. As part of your

equipment have something to dig with, and

when you relieve yourself, dig a hole and cover

up your excrement.” – Deuteronomy 23:12, 13,

NIV.

This elephant conforms to Jehovah‟s standards

At Armageddon, God‟s chosen King will slay all

those relieving themselves in their private rooms

During the wandering in the wilderness,

the camp may have amounted “to over three

million people.” (The Watchtower, August 1,

2004, page 24) Accordingly, at each point in

time there must have been several tens of

thousands of people easing nature at the des-

ignated place. Of course, these could see, hear

and smell each other. The families living at the

edge of the camp near the privy surely could

perceive the sounds and odors too. Consequent-

ly these were not suitable as praise for the

“owner of the dung” as they did not remain “in

secret.” This way, the Israelites managed to

comply with Jehovah‟s “insistence on exclusive

devotion.” – Numbers 25:11.

What can we learn from that? If we ease

nature in a way where no one can hear and

smell it, we glorify Beelzebub which is another

name for Satan. Jehovah then considers us

apostate and will annihilate us at Armaged-

don. Let us rather do our business “on the cor-

ners of the broad ways to be visible to men” or

somewhere else where the people can hear and

smell us. Then we do not honor Satan, and

Jehovah considers us faithful.


Celebrate Christmas Worthily

For a long time, Christians have been cele-

brating Christmas. The German Edition of The

Golden Age instructed its readers: “Light your

little Christmas tree, fathers and mothers, and

confidently tell your children that though the

little tree is no Bible arrangement, as a happy

symbol of the hope of all world for the light,

the true light, that comes into the world, on

Christmas eve reminds us of what God‟s pater-

nal love did.” – December 15, 1924 issue.

Christmas tree: We should already consid-

er Bible principles when it comes to the selec-

tion of a Christmas tree. God instructed the

Israelites: “Use only trees that you know are not

fruit trees.” (Deuteronomy 20:20, CEV) So it is

out of the question for us to use a fruit tree as

Christmas tree.

If we cut down our Christmas tree in the

forest by ourselves, the Bible‟s wisdom can

provide precious guidance: “If a tree falls to

the south or if to the north, in the place where

the tree falls there it will prove to be.” (Ecclesi-

astes 11:3) If we keep this advice in mind, we

don‟t have to search for the tree after we cut

it down.

Imitating St. Nicolas: Saint Nicolas was so

pious that on Wednesday and Friday, the fast

days, he would not take the breast or the pap

but once. Can we inculcate our children the

desire to imitate him? They could cut back on

their personal concerns on days with meetings

or field service, e. g. refrain from eating and

therefore have a greater share in the witness-

ing work.

Mulled wine: Jesus said: “From now on I will

not drink again from the product of the vine

until the kingdom of God arrives.” (Luke 22:18)

What time did he relate to? When he was on

earth, he said to the Jews: “The kingdom of

God is in your midst.” (Luke 17:21) Jesus is the

representative of God‟s kingdom; hence “the

kingdom of God arrives” when Jesus arrives.

And he arrives every year during the Advent

season, for “Advent” means “arrival.”

Thus, the Advent season is the time for

Christians to „drink from the product of the

vine.‟ The stands serving hot wine at the nu-

merous Christmas markets provide a good

opportunity to follow this important godly

mission. – compare 1 Timothy 5:23.

Warm clothes: Christians do not partici-

pate in the pagan custom of wearing a coat

in wintertime. But some of our fellow Chris-

tians might be too poor to afford a sheep- or

goatskin. In such a case, we should be generous

and support them to the best of our ability.

Otherwise, we might come under bloodguilt.

After all, without a warming sheep- or goat-

skin, our brothers could not stay long enough

in field service, and due to their unsatisfactory

field service report slip they might be annihi-

lated at Armageddon.

Holidays: At many places, people set up

crèches that, besides the Holy Family, display

ox and donkey. We should follow these ani-

mals‟ example. Let us as stubborn as a donkey

stick to the traditional Watchtower doctrines!

“Oxen are usually used in pairs” as sloggers, and

we should allow the Watchtower Society to

send us “in pairs” into the ministry. – see Ency-

clopaedia Wikipedia.

What gifts should we present to our rela-

tives? Notburga who has served in the full-time

ministry for more than 90 years remarked:

“Decades ago, I presented each of my relatives

a Watchtower subscription. Later, when the

magazines were shared free of cost, I laid some

heatpads for the ministry or salve for frost-

bites under the tree, sometimes even a new

plastic jacket for the Require brochure.” Can we

follow her fine example?

Three Kings Day: The Three Kings offered

baby Jesus costly presents – gold, myrrh and

frankincense. Today baby Jesus is represented

by the elders who will rule as “princes” or auxil-

iary regents in God‟s kingdom. (Psalm 45:16)

Three Kings Day would be a good occasion to

show them the respect due to them and to

offer presents to these faithful men. The

Christmas bonus that most employees receive

in December provides a facility for that.

Surely we want to put all these advices into

practice, so that we can celebrate Christmas

worthily and honor our future king.

Witchtower: December 1, 2009 - The Bible's Viewpoint: Is it Wrong to be Wicked?

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