“These enemies of mine that did not want me to become king over them bring here and slaughter them before me.”

(Luke 19:27)

If you didn’t know who made this statement, you might attribute it to Joseph Stalin, Emperor Nero or an Egyptian Pharaoh. “But who said those words? It was a man who most people might think would never issue such a harsh order. He put those words into the mouth of the king about whom he was speaking in a parable or prophetic illustration of his. But he was really speaking for himself, inasmuch as he himself was the one pictured by the king in the parabolic illustration.” (The Watchtower, December 1, 1973, page 709) Indeed, there is no doubt that Jesus was referring to himself.

No wonder that this Bible verse was covered only five times in the whole Watchtower literature from 1930 to 2013 – less than once in 16 years on average. But it shows clearly that Jesus is not always as “lowly in mind, humble, loving, compassionate, [and] merciful” as he is usually described by Christians. (The Watchtower, August 1, 1999, page 15) No, when he will be King, “Jesus will use his power” only for those “who obey him.” (Learn from the Great Teacher, page 176) But people who disagree with his style of government “have no hope of survival” of course. (The Watchtower, September 15, 1988, page 15) Jesus considers such individuals “enemies,” and he will have them slaughtered before his eyes just like a human tyrant. “His rule not only would end poverty and hunger” but also freedom. – Insight on the Scriptures, volume II, page 71.

“You always have the poor with you.”

(Matthew 26:11)

“Former Indian leader Jawaharlal Nehru stated: ‘The forces of a capitalist society … tend to make the rich richer and the poor poorer.’” (The Watchtower, May 1, 1995, page 4) Many people in our day share his opinion and take a stand for “a fair and righteous financial system.” (Nursultan Nazarbayev at the Astana Economic Forum) But true Christians want to know, what is God’s position on capitalism? Is “a fair and righteous financial system” for Christians?

This must be denied. Jesus Christ summarized the essentials of Christian financial policy: “To everyone who has, more will be given, but from the one who does not have, even what he has will be taken away.” (Luke 19:26) In compliance with this principle, Jesus supported slavery – this proves that the so-called “modern slavery” is pleasing to God. (Luke 17:7) Exploitation of the poor must be maintained by all means, so that the prophecy is fulfilled: “You always have the poor with you.” – Matthew 26:11.

“The kings of the earth take their stand …

… and high officials gather together as one against Jehovah and against his anointed one.”
(Psalm 2:2)

When was this prophecy fulfilled? The book Worldwide Security Under the “Prince of Peace” says: “In 1914 .. came the time for Jesus Christ, ‘the Son of David,’ to be enthroned … That momentous date had been pointed forward to since 1876 by those who became associated with the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society. But the nations of the earth … refused to recognize it as the time for them to turn over their earthly sovereignties to the newly enthroned ‘Son of David.’” (page 26) “In 1914 … human rulers were put on notice to submit to God’s chosen Ruler. But they have refused to do so.” – The Watchtower, June 1, 2003, page 18.

How should the nations have ‘submitted to God’s chosen Ruler’ who “is invisibly present … and is reigning from heaven?” (Awake!, March 22, 1993, page 6) That would have been easy, since “God’s Messianic Kingdom [is] represented on earth today by a small band of anointed Christians.” (The Watchtower, July 1, 1990, page 22) Hence it is an unforgivable sin that “since … 1914, the nations and empires of this world have refused to yield over peaceably their earthly kingship to [Jesus] … Till this year, after more than half a century, the nations have refused to do so.” – The Watchtower, October 15, 1969, page 622.

So all governments of the world should have relinquished their power to the “small band of anointed Christians” around Charles Taze Russell in 1914. Later this group was taken over by Joseph F. Rutherford, and he would have ruled “substituting for Christ” over all the earth from Beth-Sarim. (2 Corinthians 5:20) How would the earth look like today? Mankind would never have travelled to the moon, since “by a higher law of nature, man is bound to his earth, as he can never get out of its borders,” though this fact had been “ignored by space fanatics.” (The Golden Age, German edition, November 1, 1931, pages 326, 327). “Fried potatoes” and “white bread” would be banned. – The Golden Age, January 15, 1936, page 227.

Vaccinations would be considered “the inoculation of a healthy person with putrid pus” and banned, though their consequences could be moderated by “the ‘Grape Cure’ diet.” (The Golden Age, May 1, 1929, page 507; May 29, 1929, page 564) Thus most of us would not be alive because our ancestors would have been removed by contagious diseases, or executed for fornication, or they would have “refrained from having children” so shortly before Armageddon. (The Watchtower, October 1, 1999, page 10) “Having a share in the ministry” would be an “obligation” for us all, but we would hardly meet anyone because most homeowners would be in the ministry. – The Watchtower, September 15, 1993, page 18.

Would it really have come to that? We can’t be sure, because “since 1914, the ‘kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ’ has had a right to interfere with Gentile nations. Does this mean that Jehovah’s Christian witnesses now have a right to meddle in worldly politics? Not at all!” (The Watchtower, March 1, 1978, page 29) Granted, in the years preceding 1914 the “earthly rulers were determined to resist the heavenly Messiah in taking over world domination” – but if they would have changed their mind and relinquished their power to Jesus’ earthly representatives, those would still not have been allowed to meddle in politics. (The Watchtower, August 1, 1983, page 23) Maybe “worldwide anarchy” would have been the consequence. – 1991 Yearbook of Jehovah’s Witnesses, page 128.

All in all, we can consider ourselves fortunate that “in 1914, none of the nations .. were inclined to welcome Jehovah’s Anointed One, Jesus Christ, to the throne of rulership over the earth.” (The Watchtower, July 1, 1990, page 28) Let us hope that it remains this way in the future!

“They have set up princes, but I did not know it.”

(Hosea 8:4, NWT 1984)

Many “people today are tired of living under the eye of God.” (The Watchtower, December 1, 1994, page 5) But is fearing “that God is watching continually what we do” justified at all? (The Watchtower, June 15, 1977, page 355) What does the Bible say?

At the very beginning of human history, Adam and Eve “hid from the face of Jehovah God among the trees of the garden. And Jehovah God kept calling to the man and saying to him: ‘Where are you?’” (Genesis 3:8, 9) Apparently God did not know where the humans sojourned and what they did. Centuries later God saw from heaven that some people were building a tower, but he was unable to recognize details. Thus he had to come “down to look at the city and the tower the people were building.” – Genesis 11:5, NLT.

In Abraham’s day God came to know from hearsay that something was wrong in Sodom and Gomorrah. Therefore he went for a visit to his friend Abraham, and to him “Jehovah said: ‘The outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is indeed great … I will go down to see whether they are acting according to the outcry that has reached me. And if not, I can get to know it.” (Genesis 18:20, 21) Evidently he was unable to see the events in these cities from his heavenly home. Rather, he had to go there in person to “get to know” what happened. Even later Jehovah was upset because the Kingdom of Israel had not informed him of political changes. He complained to Hosea: “They have set up princes, but I did not know it.” – Hosea 8:4, NWT 1984.

Obviously Jehovah did not know where Adam and Eva hid themselves. From heaven he could not see the construction of the Tower of Babel and the events in Sodom and Gomorrah. Also he did not realize the appointment of new princes in Israel. How is that possible? A psalm from David provides the answer: “The eyes of Jehovah are on the righteous.” (Psalm 34:15) Thus Moses, David, Jesus, and other “righteous” had always been under his surveillance and accordingly were reproached by him regularly. But Adam and Eve after they sinned, Nimrod, the inhabitants of Sodom and Gomorrah, and the princes of Israel were not numbered among “the righteous.” Hence Jehovah ignored them for the most part.

Since there will “be a resurrection of both the righteous and the unrighteous” anyway, we do well to prove to be “unrighteous.” (Acts 24:15) In that case, when finally “the dead … [will be] judged out of those things written in the scrolls according to their deeds,” most of our “deeds” will not be recorded in these “scrolls.” – Revelation 20:12.

“Beware … of Kings that drink wine.”

(Proverbs 31:4, ABPE)

The Bible contains the wise words of the mother of King Lemuel (maybe another name for Solomon). She advised her son and all other kings: “It is not for kings to drink wine … so that they do not drink and forget what is decreed.” (Proverbs 31:4, 5) A religious magazine explained on that verse: “How is a king to render sound and clear-headed judgment … if he is … intoxicated? … On the contrary, by remaining free from such vices, the king will be able to ‘judge righteously.’” (The Watchtower, February 1, 2000, page 30) Definitely “it is not for kings … to guzzle wine. Rulers should not crave alcohol.” – Proverbs 31:4, NLT.

“God’s appointed King, Jesus Christ,” is said to assume power over the earth soon (Awake!, July 2011, page 8) Will he follow the wise counsel of his prophetic type? No. Like in many other matters, he will flout God’s will regarding alcohol. He told his disciples: “I won’t drink … wine again until that day when I drink new wine with you in my Father’s kingdom.” (Matthew 26:29, GWT) Hence in short time, when “Jesus and his fellow kings rule from heaven,” they will be drunk obviously. (The Watchtower, April 1, 2009, page 8) Under the influence of alcohol, the “true vine” Jesus Christ and the anointed kings will “forget what is decreed.” – John 15:1.

“Go to the ant … observe its ways.”

(Proverbs 6:6)

Did wise King Solomon really mean that we should learn from literal ants? No, because “there are … many symbolic and pictorial statements” in the Bible and it “often uses animals … to represent governments.” (The Watchtower, October 15, 1977, page 618; Awake!, February 8, 1975, page 8) Which government is symbolized by “the ant?”

World history provides a clear answer, since “outstanding in any typical [ant] colony is the queen [but] she is not a ruler.” (Awake!, May 8, 1976, page 22) Hence the greater ant is Great Britain – like in an ant colony “the Queen’s role is purely formal; she reigns, but she does not rule.” (Awake!, August 22, 1982, page 4) How should we be interested in the “ways” of Great Britain?

When a foreign visitor observes the “ways” or streets of Great Britain, the first thing he notices is that the cars are driving on the left side. Interestingly, archaeologists found that “the Romans drove on the left” and “travelers on horseback generally rode on the left side” in Jesus’ day. (Awake!, March 22, 2005, page 12) Hence the advice in Proverbs 6:6 means that we should observe the British traffic rules. As true Christians, we should always drive on the left side regardless of where we live.