Study of the Watchtower, Convinced that the Word of God is the truth, Week of February 27 to March 5, 2023, Comments and Practical Answers.

Study of the Watchtower, Convinced that the Word of God is the truth, 27-February-5-March-2023, Comments and Answers.

TEXT OF THE YEAR 2023: "The truth is the very essence of your word" (SAL. 119:160).

1. Why do many people mistrust the Bible?

This is because we live in an environment of mistrust. People no longer trust each other. Even before it was usual to trust church leaders, but since they do not do what the Bible says, it is not surprising that many people they distrust her.

ADDITIONAL COMMENT

If one hears or has had any information from these religious leaders they are the ones who reject the Bible the most. So what can they expect from those who follow these religious leaders.

2. According to Psalm 119:160, of what must we be convinced?

That the Bible, which is the word of God, contains the truth of God.

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS

Jehovah's servants are convinced that as Psalm 31:5 says, the God of truth is that he always wants what is best for us is true.

As this text says, we must be convinced that the truth is the very essence of the word of God, therefore, we trust its author, that is, the God of truth: Jehovah God and in his word the Bible.

In addition, this word that the Psalm uses is very beautiful, when it says that the truth is the very essence of the word of God, as it is clarified in the note, it means the sum of the totality of the substances, we could not find a purer truth than the which is in the word of God.

3. What will we analyze in this article?

We are going to analyze three arguments that can help people to trust the Bible, which are: that the message of the Bible has not changed, that its prophecies always come true and that it has the power to change people's lives.

THE MESSAGE OF THE BIBLE HAS NOT BEEN CHANGED

4. Why do some people think the Bible has been changed?

The reason is because none of the original manuscripts currently exist, only copies of copies. So, many wonder if the same thing that the 40 men that Jehovah used to write the books of the Bible wrote is preserved.

ADDITIONAL COMMENT

Well we know that the Bible was written by 40 men directed by the spirit of Jehovah. But nobody has these original manuscripts, so the Bible we have today are copies of copies, so many people doubt its accuracy or that the message could have changed.

5. How were the Hebrew Scriptures copied? (See cover drawing.)

First, Jehovah commanded the kings of Israel to make their own copy of the law and gave the Levites the command to explain to the people. Then, in the Babylonian exile, there was a group of professional copyists who made many copies of the Hebrew scriptures. They were very careful. They even began to count the words and letters to make sure their work was flawless. Still, copyists were not infallible. But small errors that escaped them could be detected because many copies of the same text had been made.

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS

Yes, because they were copied in a very careful and meticulous way and one of the ways that the paragraph mentions was through the kings of Israel Moses Deuteronomy at the beginning of his reign, they would have to make their own copy of the law.

For Jehovah it was a priority that his word persist over time, now his people come out of exile and now there is a group, Ezra 6:7,6 tells us, of Copyists, among which is Ezra himself who says he was an expert Copyist in the law of Moses, he did that job of continuing to copy the law of Jehovah, which is the part of the Bible that was written at that time, very carefully so that it reached the people and as Jehovah wanted it to be a priority to read it and meditate on it.

That perhaps some of us wonder that we are not experts with how careful they did it because they not only counted the words they counted the letters If we have ever copied something we have read many times but probably we have not counted the words well they even the letters Like this they really did as much care.

Some sources say that they even read the word aloud before writing. since writing something from memory was considered a very serious sin. So they got to the point that it says that they cleaned the pen when it was necessary to put the name of Jehovah, which indicates that the copyists took this work very seriously.

ILLUSTRATION

In the drawing we see the work of two professional copyists, they lived dedicated to their work. This task involved great care not to omit a single letter of the biblical text and they went to the extreme of counting both the words and the letters they copied. Such thoroughness guaranteed a high degree of fidelity.

Two copyists write on parchments. Professional copyists of the Hebrew Scriptures went to great lengths to ensure that their work was flawless. (See paragraph 5).

6. How can errors in copies of the Bible be detected?

It is done with a simple but at the same time very good method: It is through a comparative analysis, so that the errors or omissions of the copyists are compared with many manuscripts of the Bible. In this way, the experts have managed to detect and correct the mistakes or errors with respect to the original.

ADDITIONAL COMMENT

It does speak of whether 11 men who are commissioned to copy a page of a text. So if someone makes a brief mistake, how can you detect it? Well, by comparing it with the rest of the copies, well, that's what they have done with the manuscripts of the Bible, as different ancient manuscripts have been found, they have been compared. with those that existed and it has been detected if there were any omissions or errors.

7. How do we know that many Bible copyists did a very careful job?

We know because there is evidence. An example of this is a manuscript called the Leningrad codex, from the year 1008 or 1009 of our era. According to some specialists, a few decades ago many manuscripts and fragments of the Bible were discovered that are about 1000 years older than this codex. So they were very interested in comparing them, and when they did, they realized that the wording is a little different, but the essence of the message of the Bible had not been changed, this confirms that the copyists were very faithful and careful in making the do you copy.

ADDITIONAL COMMENT

Well, for example, with the case that is cited here in the paragraph, it does not speak of the Leningrad codex, which is from the year 1008 or 1009 of our era, and yet not as the oldest, but nevertheless fragments of the Bible have been discovered a few decades ago. and manuscripts that are still 1,000 years older and then, well, many people could logically think the similarities after 1,000 years of copying and copying, well, there weren't going to be many, but after comparing it, specialists have seen that, although of course, the relationship may be something different But that the essence of the message has not changed. 

8. What is the difference between copies of the Christian Greek Scriptures and copies of other ancient works?

A Bible scholar who made this comparison to identify the differences said that: There are usually more copies and they tend to be more complete. So that he found no differences, as a work referring to the Greek scriptures says, we can be sure that what we read is a serious and current translation, essentially containing what the ancient authors wrote.

ADDITIONAL COMMENT

Well, according to the comment of this Bible scholar who compared manuscripts of the Greek scriptures with secular works from that same period, one difference is that there are more copies and they tend to be more complete.

9. What certainty does Isaiah 40:8 give us about the message of the Bible?

Isaiah 48 gives us the certainty that the word of God remains forever, so Jehovah made sure that the message of his word reached us intact and complete.

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS

Well, as I mentioned, we have read Jehovah has made his word remain forever, so he has made sure that it did not arrive intact and that we read it How it was originally written.

Jehovah is his wisdom Well, I use these skillful expert copyists to do it in a meticulous way, they have been in charge of correcting the errors, so that we can be calm that the Bible has made it possible for us to tell us exactly, without any error, we can trust that it is the word of Jehovah is behind this, so that this is possible. 

THE PROPHECIES OF THE BIBLE ARE ALWAYS FULFILLED

10. Mention a prophecy that was fulfilled and that confirms what 2 Peter 1:21 says (see the pictures).

For example, as we see in the images, Jehovah inspired the Prophet Isaiah many centuries in advance to predict that Babylon would be conquered. He even said the name of the conqueror and explained in detail how the city would be invaded and that it would eventually be left completely. uninhabited. And everything was fulfilled to the letter. Babylon fell to the Medes and Persians in 539 BC, and is now nothing but a heap of ruins. In this way what 2 Peter 1:21 says is confirmed that a prophecy has never been made by the will of man, but rather that men spoke on behalf of God driven by the holy spirit.

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS

The destruction of Babylon that he predicted was predicted about 200 years before it happened, we see that it was predicted accurately and to this day it is still uninhabited, it is a prophecy that we can use in preaching many times, since it is a text that does not It can be refuted, because the reality is that to date there is still no building in that city, that is, it has been fulfilled to the letter.

Isaiah even said that the conqueror would be called Cyrus. Taking into account that Cyrus had not yet been born This prophecy is much more impressive On the other hand the fact that Babylon has not been rebuilt because Jehovah said it would be so instead there are ancient Empires like Egypt there are ruins that remain and continue to remain until today, but with Babylon there has been no way.

In the image we see one of the entrance doors of the city of Babylon consecrated to the God Marduk, but Babylon is no longer in Berlin.

Well, the fulfillment of the biblical prophecy is seen, ruins completely as Isaiah says, would never be populated and would be uninhabited for all generations.

11. How is Daniel 2:41-43 being fulfilled?

This prophecy talks about the world power formed by the United Kingdom and the United States, It predicts that this would be partly strong as iron and partly fragile as clay. And this has been happening exactly, because these two countries have been strong as iron, when they won the two world wars, but their citizens have weakened their power with the unions, the campaigns for civil rights and the independence movements. In fact, a political analyst commented that this binary power has several divisions that make it very difficult for it to act decisively. 

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS

Well, we know that on the one hand both the United Kingdom and the United States have been countries and are very strong as iron, in the sense that, for example, they played a very important role in winning the two world wars. And they still have a very strong military power, however, it is their own citizens, for example in the case of the United States, who have done that through, Well, the unions, the campaigns in favor of civil rights or the independence movements have increasingly become a most fragile country. 

If, on the other hand, the United Kingdom, well, it has also been divided by differences of opinion with the European Union. In fact, they have left it and with so many divisions, since it has been as much for them as for the United States. It has been very difficult for them to act decisively.

ILLUSTRATION

Series of images: 1. Entrance of the ancient city of Babylon. Outside the immense walls there is a parade with soldiers, horses and a high official riding in his carriage. 2. The ruins of Babylon today, totally uninhabited. Bible prophecies were fulfilled in the past and are being fulfilled today. (See paragraphs 10 and 11).

12. What do fulfilled prophecies in the Bible convince us of?

Seeing how Bible prophecies are fulfilled further convinces us that God's promises for the future will also be fulfilled. So this should encourage us to continue studying Biblical prophecies with determination so that our confidence in the word of God is stronger and stronger.

Perhaps we do not understand everything that is going to happen in the future, now prophecies are not often understood once they have already been fulfilled, but we can see how things are being placed and positioned for their fulfillment. So we can have complete confidence in those promises of Jehovah, but to have this confidence it is important that we continue to study and review these prophecies to strengthen ourselves.

Jeremiah 29:11 also says because I know very well what I have in mind for you to affirm Jehovah, I want you to have Peace not calamity and I want to give you a future and a hope. Although we do know that those words were addressed to people from the past, but we are convinced that he is thinking the same, because he has ensured that these promises were in the Bible so that we have a better future.

THE TIPS OF THE BIBLE HELP MILLIONS OF PEOPLE

13. What is another reason to trust the Bible? (Psalm 119:66, 138).

Another reason why we should trust the Bible is the one given to us by Psalm 119:138, there it says that the reminders found in it are fair and totally reliable, therefore, it benefits and helps us and all people who follow his advice.

ADDITIONAL COMMENT

Well, it is the practical value that their advice has because in this world so dispossessed, so misplaced, people, including families, receive practical advice from the Bible that, putting it in plastic, unites them again.

14. What example shows that the advice of the Bible helps us to be better people?

The example is of a name called Jack, He was a violent criminal and one of the most dangerous, That's why he was sentenced to death. But one day he listened to a Bible course, and the kindness of the brothers moved him and he began to study the Bible. As she put the advice into practice, her behavior and his personality improved, and in time, he was baptized. He preached to other inmates and helped four of them learn the truth. when the day of his execution came, Jack was a different man. Even one of his lawyers said: That he was not the same person he had known 20 years ago. That what he learned with Jehovah's Witnesses had changed his life. His example is clear proof that we can trust the Bible and that it has the power to help us become better people.

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS

This path of people even of criminals, as the experience of this man mentions, after being in a Bible course he decided to study and what he was learning began to change his way of acting and his way of seeing life was another person.

He put into practice everything I have learned in the Bible and in the end he met the requirements to be a publisher and then he was baptized and he did not stop at that too and he began to talk about the kingdom of God and four of them have learned the Bible and even his lawyer was surprised so he said that he was no longer the same as before, he had changed thanks to the word of Jehovah.

15. Why are Jehovah's servants so different? (See the photographs).

We are different because Jehovah teaches us to live together in peace and unity regardless of our racial or social origin. For example, in the photographs we see how a young man who used to fight in his country learned by studying the Bible that those who practice the true religion do not get involved in politics or are divided, rather they love one another. So this young man, upon discovering this truth, decided to dedicate his life to Jehovah and today he teaches the whole world the message of peace from the Bible. This example shows us that the advice of the Bible has a good effect on people and is convincing proof that we can trust the word of God.

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS

Because we live in a world that is divided by racial social political issues but we put into practice the principles of the Bible because we enjoy a peace and a unity that the world does not know.

The Example of Jean that we see here joins the photos, explaining a bit he dedicated himself to defending his country and when he had to leave the country because he took refuge there, he learned the truth from the Witnesses and realized that the truth helps us to to be better people and that we were all equal. And that was the difference that he was able to appreciate, although we are going against what is the world trend, we know that what we can do the best with our lives is to learn about Jehovah and he helps us, educates us and this is the best .

ILLUSTRATION 

Series of images of a brother representing Jean. 1. He has a gun in his hands and an ammunition belt slung over his shoulder. 2. Read the Bible. 3. he Converses with a man while he participates in the preaching. The advice of the Bible has improved the lives of many people from different backgrounds. (See paragraph 15). 

LET US CONTINUE TO TRUST IN THE TRUTH OF GOD'S WORD

16. Why is it so important that we strengthen our confidence in God's Word?

It is important that we strengthen our confidence in the Bible because our faith in the truth will be tested. Many people will try to make us doubt the truth of the Bible and that Jehovah has appointed the faithful and prudent slave to guide his people. But, we must resist those attacks and as Psalm 119:102 says, we must be determined and convinced to obey Jehovah's rules all the time, until the end.

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS

Because our faith in the truth will be tested, but if we now strengthen our trust in the word of God. Then we will be able to resist because as Psalm 119:157 said we will not deviate from Jehovah's reminders.

And the Colossian text is also mentioned in his name and says that it will be the only way to be able to endure the tests that are presented to us with patience and happiness, and it could be a bit contradictory. But we know that the joy that is spoken of, the happiness that is spoken of, is what Jehovah gives, thanks to the holy spirit that is obtained only with true knowledge.

It is important what Psalm 119:112 says to be determined to obey Jehovah's rules all the time, we know that the one who survives the end of this system will be thanks to obedience, so now we have to strengthen our confidence in the Bible.

17. What will the 2023 year text remind us of?

The text of this year 2023 will help us to be more convinced that the truth is the very essence of the entire word of God.

ADDITIONAL COMMENT

Well, it will remind us that this world in which it is increasingly confused, we have stability and a purpose for life and that it offers us a very bright future since we are convinced that the very essence of all the word of God is the truth.

WHAT WOULD YOU ANSWER?

How do we know that the message of the Bible has not been changed?

We know this because the story of the survival of the Bible after being copied by hand for millennia is truly extraordinary. Evidence confirms that the professional copyists were very faithful and went to the extreme of counting both the words and the letters they copied. such thoroughness guarantees a high degree of fidelity. Furthermore, despite human error, a comparative analysis of the manuscripts found has shown that the essence of the Bible's message had not been changed, this confirms that the copyists were very faithful and careful when making the copies.

Because Jehovah is in charge that there is a meticulous job, both of copies and of verification of the same to detect any possible error or omission, and that it could be corrected. That is why we have full confidence that his message has not changed. 

What strengthens your confidence in God's Word?

The fulfillment of many prophecies spoken of in the Bible strengthens me and further convinces me that God's promises for the future will also be fulfilled, because we know that our hope for the future depends on the promises of our God Jehovah and not on no human.

ADDITIONAL COMMENT

Well, seeing how the prophecies of Jehovah have been fulfilled and we will not doubt that it will have to be fulfilled to the smallest detail as it happened with Babylon in all the prophecies that still remain to be fulfilled.

Why is it more important now than ever for us to be convinced that God's Word is the truth?

Because our faith in the truth will be tested, many people will try to make us doubt the truth of the Bible and that Jehovah has appointed the faithful and wise slave to guide his people. but, we must resist those attacks and as Psalm 119:112 says, we must be convinced, forgiven, determined and convinced to obey Jehovah's rules all the time until the end.