preaching

Tuesday, July 21, 2009 6:55 PM
From: "Carlos Burman"


Dear Eiko,

Thank you once again for raising interesting points and questions...you have asked many questions with your email,so i wont answer all of them now.

I have heard what you mentioned at the beginning of your email many times by other Japanese people.. You mentioned that Japanese who have never travelled feel as if Japan is the only place on earth and that the sun literally only sets on Japan.

anyway,as regards the preaching work that went on in the time of Jesus...yes its true that the preaching work started in Jesus' time and he assigned his disciples to preach the good news of the kingdom of which we discussed partly in a previous email.

You might have remembered that at the kingdom hall the other day we looked up matthew 24 together very briefly.do you remember>?

I showed you matthew 24:3 and 4 and also 14.

Jesus at that time Knew he was going to be have to die.

Thus his disciples asked him...at matthew 24:3 "what will be the sign of your presence and of the conclusion of things(when you arrive back)?"

Jesus in the rest of chapter 24:4 to the end gives a fairly detailed outline as to what to expect at his presence and at the conclusion of this system of things.

In matthew 24 and verse 14, Jesus stated that when he arrives ,there will be a worldwide preaching work going on that has not been done in all the earth from the beginning of time.

He said that this good news of a happy righteous kingdom under one government would be preached.

He didnt say that everyone would take this preaching work seriously or that everyone would listen.

The only worldwide preaching work taking place in virtually every nation and island of the sea and is being preached in over 400 languages is that of the witnesses,that Jehovahs witnesses.

Thus today,according to Jesus command and in fulfillment of bible prophecy stated there at matthew 24:14...we do our best to preach .

WHY DO WE PREACH?

well,through out the bible ,especially the christian greek scriptures...Jehovah says that a Tribulation will take place in the future...Jehovah thus wants people to know this and he wants all people to obey his commands in order that we may be saved or kept alive when this tribulation breaks out in the near future.

This "tribulation" is mentioned also at matthew 24..this time in verse 21..

Anyway,later on as we mentioned in Matthew 28:19 and 20 just after Jesus resurrection and just before he went up into the clouds in heaven,he said as that scripture mentions...please read in your own bible....

dozens of scriptures also say the same point...thus the apostle paul followed in christs footsteps and also worked in the missionary ranks.

The book of revelation is very much now and future book of the bible...please read revelation 14:6..it shows that in our time an angel flying in mid heaven would be spreading the goodnews by means people on earth...like myself.

I have to say ,this is a very exhaustive subject which can go in to great detail and can be spoken much about..

I know you personally dont bring any books to our meetings when you come...and i know you own and use your own bible..i think you will benefit far more if you bring a bible to the meetings and turn up the scriptures mentioned when a person asks us to look with him ..it will build confidence in the bible and help you understand the scriptures better and it will help you to trust that Jehovahs witnesses dont make up our own rules and standards...what we say and do is ONLY written in the bible.

Most religious groups dont preach this good news,so to many, Jehovahs witnesses seem the abnormal ones...

if you would like more information...please ask ..

but with Jesus command at matthew 28:19 and 20,this alone is scriptural grounds today that Jesus disciples must preach even today...

at the end of verse 20 its finally says " and look! i am with you all the days until the conclusion of the system of things"

Yes, today we are living in the time period of the conclusion of the system of things ..we know we are by the evidence that Jesus gave in matthew 24.

since we are now in this time period...Jesus is still helping this preaching work as king in heaven right now...

though Jesus is invisible to our physical eyes, and many people today will mock ,make fun and scorn this preaching work...so did many in the time of Noah...until a great deluge from God killed all the wicked and all those who did not listen.

Likewise today too.

Its up to me and You to make a choice..no one is forced to listen ,but those who love God and follow Jesus command do preach.

we know in the near future ,though tired now and challenged by the opposition of some,we look forward to happiness everyday.

Now,i know i didnt explain the in's and out's of everything that perhaps you wanted to know and i have sent you many scriptures...but if you do want more info..please let me know..what i have given you hear is the BASIC scriptural basis to our preaching work...many other scriptures say and indicate the same work.

Just be assured that Jesus even in your own bible said to preach...At no point did he tell his disciples to stop preaching at any particular point.....and thats why we still do it today..

anyway i hope this makes sense to you...by the way,it was very nice to meet your wife a couple weeks back...she seems very nice...a pity about my langauge barrier.

until we see eachother again take care

Carlos










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Date: Thu, 16 Jul 2009 09:08:25 -0700
From:
Subject: A couple of questions
To:



Hello good evening Br Carlos,

For about five days I had to face a work condition trouble at my workplace. It was not at all totally a good experience but now it was already resolved so now I'm ok.

Japan is as if it were a small village that doesn't know what an international standard is. Or even it doesn't know what a standard is.

Anyway aside from that, back to our topics.

Why you call Him a father when you pray while you are not a son of God. Isn't Jesus an only son of Jehovah?

You say Jesus is impeccable, perfect, he is special, he exists before Adam was made and Jehovah made a world with his only son Jesus - Jesus was Michael one of mighty angels before his birth on earth.

Ok, suppose that is true, Isn't Jesus a descendant of Abraham, thus that of Adam as it described in Gospels? And as it promised by Jehovah that the Saviour must be from the lineage from Abraham?

As we studied 144000 must be resurrected not on the earth but in heaven. But those slave class were not in heaven before their birth as Jesus was.

As to today's topic -preaching work.

In today's world Christianity is prevailed every for corners of the world. It is just the most powerful religion in the world and history. Then why do you Jehovah's Witnesses need to 'preach' while this teachings were already preached throughout the world? This is one of my biggest questions. Of course here is neither America nor Europe. I admit Japanese people as well as some other Asians are not familiar with good news though.

As for me how I encountered Bible is that I started reading Bible five years ago because I noticed how knowledge of Bible is common among Americans and Europeans while I started emailing with them.

Sincerely yours,

Eiko