Congregation Bible Study (30 min.): rr chap. 22 paras. 10-22.
Second teaching: remain united in the pure worship of Jehovah
10-14. How has the importance of remaining united in the pure worship of Jehovah been emphasized?
Chapter 8. There we saw the prophecies that announced that Jehovah would appoint “one shepherd” to care for his people. This promise highlights the importance of collaborating with one another in an atmosphere of peace and unity under the direction of Jesus (Ezek. 34:23, 24; 37:24-28).
Chapter 9. The prophecies about God's people coming out of captivity in Babylon and returning to their land convey this message to those who today want to worship God as he wants: those who give Jehovah pure worship must break all ties with religion false and not be contaminated by it. Regardless of our origin or physical appearance, our social class or the religion we had before, we must maintain the unity that identifies us as the people of God (Ezek. 11:17, 18; 12:24; John 17:20-23) .
Chapter 10. The sight of dry bones coming to life highlights the principle of unity. We belong to a spiritually restored people who worship Jehovah purely and move forward united as an army. What an honor we have! (Ezek. 37:1-14).
Chapter 12. The idea of union is particularly emphasized in the prophecy of the two sticks becoming one. Seeing how this prophecy is fulfilled in the anointed ones and the other sheep greatly strengthens our faith. Despite living in a world divided by political and religious hatred, we are held together by love and loyalty (Ezek. 37:15-23).
Chapter 16. The vision of the inkwell man and the men with the smashing weapons communicates a thought-provoking warning: only those who are giving pure worship to Jehovah when the “great tribulation” comes will have a chance to be marked for survival ( Matt 24:21; Ezek 9:1-11).
Third teaching: show love to others
15-18. Why should we keep showing love? And in what ways can we do it?
Chapter 4. The vision of the four living creatures gives us information about Jehovah's qualities, such as love, which is the most important. When we speak and treat others with love, we show that Jehovah is our God (Ezek. 1:5-14; 1 John 4:8).
Chapters 6 and 11. Love prompted God to appoint sentinels, such as Ezekiel. God is love, and therefore he does not want anyone to be destroyed when he ends Satan's rule (2 Pet. 3:9). We are honored to reflect God's love by fulfilling our duty to support the work of the current watchman (Ezek. 33:1-9).
Chapters 17 and 18. Jehovah knows that many will reject his mercy and that they will try to finish once and for all with his faithful servants. Love will prompt Jehovah to defend his loyal people when “Gog of the land of Magog” attacks them. And love will also motivate us to warn as many people as possible that Jehovah will eliminate those who mistreat his people From him (Ezek. 38: 1-39: 20; 2 Thess. 1: 6, 7).
Chapters 19, 20 and 21. Jehovah's love is evident in the visions about the flow of water that gives life and the division of the land. The greatest sign of Jehovah's love was to give the life of his Son, and these visions reveal what that sacrifice achieves: that our sins are forgiven and that we can enjoy perfect life as part of the family of God. We also love people; and one of the best ways to demonstrate it is by telling them about the wonderful future that Jehovah offers to those who have faith in his Son (Ezek. 45: 1-7; 47: 1-48: 35; Rev. 21: 1- 4; 22:17).
19. What will Jesus do during the Thousand Year Reign? (See sidebar “Events Surrounding the Final Test.”)
During the Thousand Year Reign, Jesus will resurrect billions of people and remove the pain caused by our “enemy, death” (1 Cor. 15:26; Mark 5:38-42; Acts 24:15). . Humanity has had a very tragic history, marked by sadness and emptiness. But, as each generation comes back to life, Jesus will erase all those dark episodes and give the risen ones the opportunity to write a new story, a better one. Thanks to the rescue, he will be repairing all the damage that diseases, wars and hunger have caused. And he will do something else: he will help us root out the main cause of our suffering, the sin we inherited from Adam (Rom. 5:18, 19). Jesus is going to “undo the works of the Devil” completely (1 John 3:8).
20. Why do we say that Jesus and the 144,000 will display outstanding humility? (See the drawing at the beginning).
Read 1 Corinthians 15:24-28. What will happen when all humanity is already perfect and the Earth becomes the Paradise that Jehovah wanted? Jesus and the 144,000 who will rule with him will demonstrate outstanding humility: they will hand over the Kingdom to Jehovah. They will leave the position of authority they held for the 1,000 years, and they will gladly do so. All that the Kingdom has accomplished will last forever.
ILLUSTRATION:
Jesus giving his crown to Jehovah.
the ultimate test
21, 22. (a) What will the world be like at the end of the 1,000 years? (b) Why is Jehovah going to release Satan and his demons?
Then Jehovah will do something extraordinary, something that shows great confidence in his earthly subjects. He will command Satan and his demons to be released from the abyss in which they will have been locked up for the 1,000 years (read Revelation 20:1-3). They will find a totally different world from the one they left. Before Armageddon, Satan had most of the world deceived, and hatred and prejudice divided mankind (Rev. 12:9). But at the end of the 1,000 years, all human beings will be part of a united and loving family that will worship Jehovah. Earth will be a true paradise.
And why would Jehovah release those criminals, Satan and his demons, into such a pure environment? Because most of those who live at the end of the 1,000 years will never have passed a test of loyalty to Jehovah before. Many of them died without knowing Jehovah and were resurrected in Paradise. In addition to giving them life, Jehovah also gave them everything they needed physically and spiritually. They will never have felt the pressure to do bad things, they will only have been surrounded by positive influence, by people who love and serve Jehovah. So Satan could accuse them of the same as Job: that they serve God only because he protects and blesses them (Job 1:9, 10). Therefore, before Jehovah writes our names permanently in the book of life, he will give us all the opportunity to show him that we are truly loyal to him and acknowledge him as our Father and Sovereign (Rev. 20:12, fifteen).
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