“Work, not for the food that perishes, but for the food that remains.”

(John 6:27)

Over the decades, “The Watchtower endeavored to provide timely spiritual food.” (The Watchtower, July 1, 1979, page 8) Was it successful? From 1950 to 1999 there have been more than 20 articles on the “generation” of Matthew 24:34, and all of these are no longer valid since 2010. From 1950 to 2012 the Watchtower mentioned more than 1000 times “the ‘faithful and discreet slave’ [as] made up of all anointed Christians on earth,” but since 2012 we know that it’s the Governing Body – The Watchtower, May 1, 1969, page 272; July 15, 2013, page 22.

There is no doubt – “the spiritual food contained in The Watchtower” is “food that perishes.” (John 6:27; 1986 Yearbook of Jehovah’s Witnesses, page 137) Instead of wasting our time on such inferior nourishment we should rather “keep eating physical food in order to sustain our lives.” (The Watchtower, April 1, 2004, page 21) This is “food that remains” as anyone who once tried a diet can attest.

“You must not desire your fellow man’s house.”

(Exodus 20:17)

As the Watchtower has been telling for years, “millions the world over live in unbelievably wretched, heartbreaking conditions. Each day, they wake up to poverty, disease, senseless violence, and oppression.” (The Watchtower, July 1, 2011, page 3) But there are not only poor people: “Tens of millions of people die of hunger … each year, while a small number have vast riches.” (Does God Really Care About Us?, page 15) What should be the attitude of the poor towards the rich?

God specifically commanded his worshippers: “You must not desire your fellow man’s house … nor anything that belongs to your fellow man.” (Exodus 20:17) Hence it would be wrong if a poor man facing starvation would desire the food available to others. A homeless person must not desire someone else’s house. Anyone who is poor should rather rejoice for having a share in fulfilling Jesus’ prophecy: “The one who does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him.” – Matthew 25:29.

Who carefully avoids desiring anything belonging to the rich will eventually be “freed from poverty” by God’s Kingdom. (The Watchtower, June 15, 2002; October 1, 1986, page 24) But those going hungry and desiring others’ food will receive their “punishment on the day of judgment.” – 2 Peter 2:9, NIV.

“Do not drink water any longer.”

(1 Timothy 5:23)

Was it really Paul’s intention to advise against literal water? Definitely not, for “literal water is a vital element for life” and “none can survive without water.” (Revelation – Its Grand Climax at Hand!, page 311; Awake!, January 22, 1972, page 19) After all, Paul was also not “talking about such weapons as literal swords, spears, bows and arrows” when he described a Christian’s suit of armor. – The Watchtower, October 1, 1976, page 585.

The “water” to be avoided is, rather, “life’s water.” (Revelation 22:17) In our day this “water” can be found at “Jehovah’s Witnesses … Their Kingdom Halls are open to all who wish to … ‘take life’s water’” (The Watchtower, February 15, 1998, page 19) “The trees alongside the ‘river of water of life’ yield their fruits each month;” these fruits represent “the Watchtower and Awake! magazines [which] are produced every month.” – The Watchtower, January 1, 1977, page 10; May 1, 2002, page 23.

Accordingly, how can we heed Paul’s counsel ‘not to drink water any longer?’ Let us avoid the gatherings of Jehovah’s Witnesses and their magazines. Everyone already having Watchtower publications is “not to keep ‘life’s water.’” (The Watchtower, December 15, 1990) Like sewage he should dispose of it.

“You are my friends if you do what I am commanding you.”

(John 15:14)

Jesus’ friendship is subject to conditions. No obedience, no friendship. But true “friends accept others without conditions.” (Yahoo Answers) “A true friend shows love at all times,” not only when you obey him. – Proverbs 17:17.

Since Jesus is not a true friend, is it worth trying to “become a friend of Jehovah?” (Awake!, November 2012, page 10) “True friends are … never imposing on each other or being overly possessive.” (The Watchtower, September 15, 1987, page 6) But “Jehovah is a God who requires exclusive devotion.” – Nahum 1:2.

The Bible’s message is clear: Neither Jesus nor Jehovah can be true friends for us. “Doug, who was reared by godly parents,” realized this and “admitted: ‘I began to see that all my so-called friends were just using me.’” (Awake!, July 22, 1995, page 14) We too can confidently do without false friends like Jehovah and Jesus.

“Now the third day was Pharaoh’s birthday.”

(Genesis 40:20)

On his birthday Pharaoh “made a feast for all his servants … He hanged the chief baker, just as Joseph had interpreted to them.” (Genesis 40:20, 22) Indeed Joseph had indicated to the chief baker: “The birds will eat your flesh from you.” (Genesis 40:19) “Were all these detailed events recorded solely to give us Bible history? … No, they were also recorded because they constituted a prophetic drama.” (The Watchtower, January 1, 1970, page 28) The events at the Egyptian court have a parallel in our day, though “today it is not Pharaoh who is ruler … [but] Jehovah God, the Greater Pharaoh,” and “the Greater Joseph [is] Jesus.” (Survival Into a New Earth, page 79, 80) But who is the “chief baker” today?

The chief baker oversaw the feeding of Pharaoh and his servants. And today “the faithful and discreet slave class .. those making up the Governing Body [of Jehovah’s Witnesses] oversee the spiritual feeding.” (The Watchtower, August 15, 2009, page 23) Soon – in a spiritual sense on “the third day” – “Jehovah God, the Greater Pharaoh,” will dispose of “those making up the Governing Body.” As foretold “under the direction of the Greater Joseph, Jesus Christ,” soon “all the birds” will “eat the flesh of kings,” that is, “those making up the Governing Body” who would like “to ‘rule as kings over the earth.’” – Revelation 19:17, 18; The Watchtower, May 1, 1987, page 20; April 15, 1992, page 17.

“He that is relying upon Jehovah …

… will be made fat.” (Proverbs 28:25, NWT 1984)

Sincere explorers of the Bible know “that Jerusalem is the center of Jehovah’s worship and the city of Jehovah’s anointed king.” (Isaiah’s Prophecy – Light for All Mankind, volume I, page 295) Hence the center of the true religion should be expected in Israel; instead, “the world headquarters of Jehovah’s Witnesses [is] in Brooklyn” in our time. (Awake!, June 2011, page 14) Critics even claim that Jehovah’s Witnesses would not be the true religion at all but rather “an American sect.” (jw.org) But actually the Bible clearly indicates that the center of true worship must be located in the United States in our day. After all, wise King Solomon wrote: “He that is relying upon Jehovah will be made fat.” (Proverbs 28:25, NWT 1984) Hence fear of God goes hand in hand with obesity; and doubtlessly “Americans … [are] the Fattest People in the World.” (Fat Land) Therefore it is a Biblical necessity that “the world headquarters of Jehovah’s Witnesses … [is] located in the United States.” – Awake!, December 2010, page 16.

“I am Jehovah; I do not change.”

(Malachi 3:6)

“The truth has not changed.” (The Watchtower, June 15, 2008, page 24) But “there [have] been changes over the years in the teachings of Jehovah’s Witnesses.” (Resaoning From the Scriptures, page 205) The evidence supports only one conclusion: Jehovah’s Witnesses do “not teach the truth.” (The Watchtower, May 1, 2012, page 16). And “French Catholic author and philosopher Jean Guitton, member of the French Academy, once wrote: ‘We should be totally willing to abandon our religion if it turns out to be anything but the truth.’” – Awake!, September 8, 1973, page 7.

“They will not go hungry …

… nor will they thirst, nor will scorching heat or the sun beat down on them.” – Isaiah 49:10

“Heat waves have increased globally since 1950, and individual heat waves have become more frequent, longer and hotter.” (livescience) And “summer heat can be dangerous, even deadly … The elderly and ill aren’t the only people that heat kills. It also kills healthy young people.” (Agingcare.com) Experts advise: “Avoid outdoors … Stay inside … Drink, drink, and drink.” (MediTrenz.com) However, “well over eight million people worldwide attend the annual district conventions of Jehovah’s Witnesses every year,” and “most of the large district conventions” are “held in open-air stadiums.” (Awake!, June 8, 1999, page 32; 1998 Yearbook of Jehovah’s Witnesses, page 134) Attendees are exposed to hot sun and must stay outdoors all day.

Though there is “no food service at conventions … some in the audience have been observed eating and drinking during the program” – this is absolutely vital for health reasons but considered “disrespectful” and “inappropriate” by the organizers (Our Kingdom Ministry, May 1997, page 20). The Bible aptly describes those who turned their back on this inhuman cult: “They will hunger no more nor thirst anymore, neither will the sun beat down on them nor any scorching heat.” – Revelation 7:16.

“Faith … gives us assurance about things we cannot see.”

(Hebrews 11:1, NLT)

”In the Bible, ‘faith’ refers to firm belief in something unseen.” (The Watchtower, January 1, 2012, page 5). When a person sees something, there’s no need to believe in it. And “God sees everything; his powers of vision are far superior to those of a postal inspector.” – The Watchtower, June 15, 1977, page 355.

Accordingly, God cannot have faith. There is nothing that he “cannot see” so that he could believe in it; he is an unbeliever. On the contrary, the Bible reveals “that the demons believe in God.” (The Watchtower, January 1, 19714, page 21). Who should we take as an example, God or the demons? The Bible clearly says: “Become imitators of God.” – Ephesians 5:1.

“The cattle and the donkeys …

that work the ground will eat fodder seasoned with sorrel” – Isaiah 30:34

God promised to provide “fodder seasoned with sorrel” to the animals. Was this really “tasty fodder reserved for rare occasions” as some people claim? (Isaiah’s Prophecy – Light for all Mankind, volume I, page 311). Sorrel might be tasty, but there are many reports that “the plant caused toxicity in sheep and cattle.” (Pet Poison Helpline) The ingestion of sorrel “can result in poisoning” because “soluble calcium oxalates are present in varying degrees in all parts of the plant … Acute renal failure can be seen from ingestion of plants or fruit containing these soluble oxalate crystals. Clinical signs of this type of poisoning include drooling, inappetance, vomiting, diarrhea, lethargy, weakness, tremors, bloody urine, and changes in thirst and urination.” (Canadian Biodiversity Information Facility) “Sorrel … can lead to death.” – Diet Health Club.

Actually the prophecy says that God will provide toxic food to the animals which can lead to diseases and death. The Bible was written for humans, not for animals though – accordingly Isaiah’s prophecy must have a symbolic meaning. The prophecy had been directed to the nation of Israel, God’s people – hence the antitypical ‘cattle and donkeys’ must be God’s servants of our day. Just as animals “work the ground” for sowing literal seed, Jehovah’s Witnesses “work their territory” for “sowing Kingdom seed.” – Our Kingdom Ministry, September 1989, page 3; December 1993, page 7.

Today “Jehovah provides spiritual food,” and this food is contaminated with poison, with spiritual sorrel. (The Watchtower, November 15, 1999, page 18) That is why many Jehovah’s Witnesses have spiritual indigestion when ingesting large quantities of spiritual food during the Watchtower Study. Spiritual diarrhea often occurs in field service or when meeting relatives. With regard to family and work life, Jehovah’s witnesses have to cope with lethargy and weakness. Some even die, literally as well as in a spiritual sense.

Therefore some Jews realized more than 2000 years ago: “The table of Jehovah is polluted.” (Malachi 1:12) Hence “the question all of us face is, At which table am I feeding?” –  The Watchtower, July 1, 1994, page 9.