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00:00:01 By the time the apostle Peter 00:00:03 wrote the words of today’s text, 00:00:05 individuals who were Jews, 00:00:07 proselytes, Samaritans, 00:00:09 and Gentiles had been brought 00:00:11 into the Christian congregation 00:00:12 as God’s people, 00:00:14 the spiritual Israel of God. 00:00:16 In the verse before today’s text, 00:00:19 Peter outlined what their mission was. 00:00:22 Let’s open to 1 Peter chapter 2 and read that. 00:00:26 It’s in verses 9 and 10 of 1 Peter 2. 00:00:31 He wrote: 00:00:32 “But you are ‘a chosen race, a royal priesthood, 00:00:36 “‘a holy nation, a people for special possession, 00:00:41 “that you should declare abroad the excellencies’ 00:00:44 “of the One who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. 00:00:48 “For you were once not a people, 00:00:50 but now you are God’s people.” 00:00:53 And, of course, this refers to the spirit-anointed members 00:00:57 of the congregation who would be responsible 00:01:00 for glorifying Jehovah’s name as his Witnesses. 00:01:04 And this harmonizes with what Peter had said years earlier 00:01:08 in the first-century governing body meeting, 00:01:11 as reported in Acts chapter 15. 00:01:14 So let’s turn there, Acts 15, 00:01:17 and we will begin with verse 14. 00:01:20 It says: “Symeon has related thoroughly how God 00:01:24 “for the first time turned his attention to the nations 00:01:26 “to take out of them a people for his name. 00:01:30 “And with this the words of the Prophets agree, 00:01:32 “just as it is written: 00:01:34 “‘After these things I will return and raise up again 00:01:37 “‘the tent of David that is fallen down; 00:01:39 “‘I will rebuild its ruins and restore it, 00:01:42 “‘so that the men who remain may earnestly seek Jehovah, 00:01:46 “‘together with people of all the nations, 00:01:48 “‘people who are called by my name, 00:01:50 says Jehovah, who is doing these things.’” 00:01:55 Now, what about the rest of us 00:01:57 who are not anointed Christians 00:01:59 but who call ourselves Jehovah’s Witnesses? 00:02:02 Are we also God’s people? 00:02:04 Well, most certainly! 00:02:06 And what a proud honor it is for us 00:02:09 to bear the name of the only true God. 00:02:12 But with that name comes responsibility, 00:02:15 one that other religious groups do not want to take on. 00:02:19 You see, we are under obligation 00:02:21 to bear witness to Jehovah, 00:02:23 to tell the truth about him, 00:02:25 and to expose false teachings 00:02:28 that misrepresent Jehovah. 00:02:30 And a classic example of an unscriptural dogma 00:02:34 that God’s people have exposed is the Trinity, 00:02:37 which reminds me of another hoax 00:02:40 that fooled many people who should have known better. 00:02:43 It’s the true story about a man named van Meegeren, 00:02:47 a Dutch artist, born in 1889, 00:02:51 who perpetrated what may have been 00:02:53 the most sensational art hoax of all time. 00:02:57 You see, he never won the critical acclaim 00:03:00 that he thought he was due as an artist. 00:03:02 So to get back at the art critics, 00:03:04 he decided to demonstrate his talent 00:03:06 by producing a painting that would fool them all, 00:03:09 and he set out to imitate 00:03:11 the famous 17th-century Dutch impressionist, 00:03:15 Johannes Vermeer. 00:03:17 Well, van Meegeren spent 4 years figuring out 00:03:21 how to make a new painting look 300 years old. 00:03:24 The canvas was the easy part. 00:03:26 He just took a lesser-known painting 00:03:28 from the 17th century and removed the picture. 00:03:31 His biggest problem was getting oil paint 00:03:33 to harden thoroughly, which usually takes 50 years. 00:03:37 He solved it by mixing his pigments with a synthetic resin 00:03:41 instead of oil and then baking the canvas. 00:03:45 Well, van Meegeren produced six paintings 00:03:47 that were passed off as Vermeers. 00:03:50 His greatest sold in 1937. 00:03:53 It was entitled Christ and the Disciples at Emmaus. 00:03:57 The most authoritative art historian of the day 00:04:00 said it was a genuine Vermeer masterpiece, 00:04:03 untouched, on the original canvas, 00:04:06 and that it had no restoration done to it. 00:04:08 But in reality, it was a fake. 00:04:11 The critic’s opinion was taken as gospel in the art world, 00:04:15 so much so that this critic had been nicknamed “The Pope.” 00:04:20 Eventually, though, a chemical analysis proved 00:04:23 that the paint contained an ingredient that had not been discovered 00:04:26 until two centuries after Vermeer died, 00:04:28 and that’s what exposed van Meegeren as a fraud. 00:04:33 Well, something similar went on during the apostasy 00:04:36 that took place after the death of the apostles. 00:04:39 Less than 300 years after the Bible was completed, 00:04:42 a Trinitarian added to 1 John 5:7 the words 00:04:46 “in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: 00:04:51 and these three are one.” 00:04:54 However, this addition does not appear 00:04:56 in the oldest Greek manuscripts, 00:04:58 proving it’s a fake; it’s a corruption of God’s Word. 00:05:02 And yet for centuries, the churches propagated the Trinity doctrine. 00:05:07 As recently as the 19th century, 00:05:09 almost all Bible translations 00:05:11 had this spurious addition. 00:05:14 As late as 1897, Pope Leo XIII 00:05:17 upheld the corrupted text 00:05:19 of the Latin Vulgate. 00:05:21 Interestingly, the New Catholic Encyclopedia 00:05:24 comments on this and says: “The Trinitarian dogma 00:05:27 “is in the last analysis a late 4th century invention. 00:05:32 “Among the Apostolic Fathers, 00:05:34 “there had been nothing even remotely approaching 00:05:36 such a mentality or perspective.” 00:05:39 Well, Jehovah’s anointed Witnesses 00:05:42 firmly rejected Christendom’s Trinity dogma. 00:05:46 In 1915, The Watch Tower exposed the foolishness 00:05:50 of teaching a doctrine that contradicts the Bible. 00:05:53 The Watch Tower said: 00:05:55 “In what a jumble of contradictions 00:05:58 “and confusion do they find themselves who say 00:06:00 “that Jesus and the Father are one God! 00:06:03 “This would involve the idea 00:06:05 “that our Lord Jesus acted the hypocrite when on earth 00:06:08 “and only pretended to address God in prayer, 00:06:10 “when He Himself was the same God. . . . 00:06:13 “The Father has always been immortal, hence could not die. 00:06:16 “How then, could Jesus have died? . . . 00:06:18 “The Scriptures declare, however, that He did die. . . . 00:06:21 “If they admit that Jesus really died, they take the other horn of the dilemma; 00:06:25 “for believing that their three Gods 00:06:27 “are all one person as many do, 00:06:29 “when Jesus died they must all three have died. 00:06:33 “If they all died, who raised them to life? 00:06:35 “How foolish all this sounds! . . . 00:06:38 “Shall we thus contradict the Apostles and Prophets and Jesus Himself, 00:06:42 “and ignore reason and common sense, in order to hold 00:06:45 “to a dogma handed to us from the dark, superstitious past, 00:06:48 “by a corrupt apostate Church? 00:06:51 Nay!” says The Watch Tower. 00:06:55 Well, Jehovah’s people continue to uphold the excellencies 00:06:59 of the only true God. 00:07:01 Whether in ancient times, as with the natural Israelites 00:07:05 or in modern times, as with spiritual Israel, 00:07:07 Jehovah’s words through Isaiah are still true. 00:07:11 Look at it at Isaiah 43:21. 00:07:16 Of course, we know in Isaiah chapter 43 00:07:19 Jehovah declares: “You are my witnesses.” 00:07:22 And in verse 21 he says: 00:07:25 “The people whom I formed for myself 00:07:29 so that they might declare my praise.” 00:07:33 And the effort that Jehovah’s Witnesses 00:07:35 —God’s people— have put forth to expose 00:07:38 Bible teachings that are false, 00:07:43 to teach the truth about Jehovah, 00:07:45 and to sanctify God’s name has taken on proportions 00:07:48 never attained by any other religious group. 00:07:50 And Jehovah takes notice of that. 00:07:53 Look at Malachi the 3rd chapter. 00:07:56 Malachi chapter 3, 00:07:59 beginning with verse 16. 00:08:03 Malachi 3:16: 00:08:06 “At that time those who feared Jehovah spoke with one another, 00:08:10 “each one with his companion, 00:08:12 “and Jehovah kept paying attention and listening. 00:08:14 “And a book of remembrance was written before him 00:08:17 “for those fearing Jehovah and for those meditating on 00:08:21 “[or the footnote says, possibly, “treasuring”] his name. 00:08:25 “‘And they will be mine,’ says Jehovah of armies, 00:08:28 ‘in the day when I produce a special property.’” 00:08:32 So Jehovah truly does love those 00:08:35 who fear him and treasure his name, 00:08:38 making them truly God’s people.
00:00:01 By the time the apostle Peter 00:00:03 wrote the words of today’s text, 00:00:05 individuals who were Jews, 00:00:07 proselytes, Samaritans, 00:00:09 and Gentiles had been brought 00:00:11 into the Christian congregation 00:00:12 as God’s people, 00:00:14 the spiritual Israel of God. 00:00:16 In the verse before today’s text, 00:00:19 Peter outlined what their mission was. 00:00:22 Let’s open to 1 Peter chapter 2 and read that. 00:00:26 It’s in verses 9 and 10 of 1 Peter 2. 00:00:31 He wrote: 00:00:32 “But you are ‘a chosen race, a royal priesthood, 00:00:36 “‘a holy nation, a people for special possession, 00:00:41 “that you should declare abroad the excellencies’ 00:00:44 “of the One who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. 00:00:48 “For you were once not a people, 00:00:50 but now you are God’s people.” 00:00:53 And, of course, this refers to the spirit-anointed members 00:00:57 of the congregation who would be responsible 00:01:00 for glorifying Jehovah’s name as his Witnesses. 00:01:04 And this harmonizes with what Peter had said years earlier 00:01:08 in the first-century governing body meeting, 00:01:11 as reported in Acts chapter 15. 00:01:14 So let’s turn there, Acts 15, 00:01:17 and we will begin with verse 14. 00:01:20 It says: “Symeon has related thoroughly how God 00:01:24 “for the first time turned his attention to the nations 00:01:26 “to take out of them a people for his name. 00:01:30 “And with this the words of the Prophets agree, 00:01:32 “just as it is written: 00:01:34 “‘After these things I will return and raise up again 00:01:37 “‘the tent of David that is fallen down; 00:01:39 “‘I will rebuild its ruins and restore it, 00:01:42 “‘so that the men who remain may earnestly seek Jehovah, 00:01:46 “‘together with people of all the nations, 00:01:48 “‘people who are called by my name, 00:01:50 says Jehovah, who is doing these things.’” 00:01:55 Now, what about the rest of us 00:01:57 who are not anointed Christians 00:01:59 but who call ourselves Jehovah’s Witnesses? 00:02:02 Are we also God’s people? 00:02:04 Well, most certainly! 00:02:06 And what a proud honor it is for us 00:02:09 to bear the name of the only true God. 00:02:12 But with that name comes responsibility, 00:02:15 one that other religious groups do not want to take on. 00:02:19 You see, we are under obligation 00:02:21 to bear witness to Jehovah, 00:02:23 to tell the truth about him, 00:02:25 and to expose false teachings 00:02:28 that misrepresent Jehovah. 00:02:30 And a classic example of an unscriptural dogma 00:02:34 that God’s people have exposed is the Trinity, 00:02:37 which reminds me of another hoax 00:02:40 that fooled many people who should have known better. 00:02:43 It’s the true story about a man named van Meegeren, 00:02:47 a Dutch artist, born in 1889, 00:02:51 who perpetrated what may have been 00:02:53 the most sensational art hoax of all time. 00:02:57 You see, he never won the critical acclaim 00:03:00 that he thought he was due as an artist. 00:03:02 So to get back at the art critics, 00:03:04 he decided to demonstrate his talent 00:03:06 by producing a painting that would fool them all, 00:03:09 and he set out to imitate 00:03:11 the famous 17th-century Dutch impressionist, 00:03:15 Johannes Vermeer. 00:03:17 Well, van Meegeren spent 4 years figuring out 00:03:21 how to make a new painting look 300 years old. 00:03:24 The canvas was the easy part. 00:03:26 He just took a lesser-known painting 00:03:28 from the 17th century and removed the picture. 00:03:31 His biggest problem was getting oil paint 00:03:33 to harden thoroughly, which usually takes 50 years. 00:03:37 He solved it by mixing his pigments with a synthetic resin 00:03:41 instead of oil and then baking the canvas. 00:03:45 Well, van Meegeren produced six paintings 00:03:47 that were passed off as Vermeers. 00:03:50 His greatest sold in 1937. 00:03:53 It was entitled Christ and the Disciples at Emmaus. 00:03:57 The most authoritative art historian of the day 00:04:00 said it was a genuine Vermeer masterpiece, 00:04:03 untouched, on the original canvas, 00:04:06 and that it had no restoration done to it. 00:04:08 But in reality, it was a fake. 00:04:11 The critic’s opinion was taken as gospel in the art world, 00:04:15 so much so that this critic had been nicknamed “The Pope.” 00:04:20 Eventually, though, a chemical analysis proved 00:04:23 that the paint contained an ingredient that had not been discovered 00:04:26 until two centuries after Vermeer died, 00:04:28 and that’s what exposed van Meegeren as a fraud. 00:04:33 Well, something similar went on during the apostasy 00:04:36 that took place after the death of the apostles. 00:04:39 Less than 300 years after the Bible was completed, 00:04:42 a Trinitarian added to 1 John 5:7 the words 00:04:46 “in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: 00:04:51 and these three are one.” 00:04:54 However, this addition does not appear 00:04:56 in the oldest Greek manuscripts, 00:04:58 proving it’s a fake; it’s a corruption of God’s Word. 00:05:02 And yet for centuries, the churches propagated the Trinity doctrine. 00:05:07 As recently as the 19th century, 00:05:09 almost all Bible translations 00:05:11 had this spurious addition. 00:05:14 As late as 1897, Pope Leo XIII 00:05:17 upheld the corrupted text 00:05:19 of the Latin Vulgate. 00:05:21 Interestingly, the New Catholic Encyclopedia 00:05:24 comments on this and says: “The Trinitarian dogma 00:05:27 “is in the last analysis a late 4th century invention. 00:05:32 “Among the Apostolic Fathers, 00:05:34 “there had been nothing even remotely approaching 00:05:36 such a mentality or perspective.” 00:05:39 Well, Jehovah’s anointed Witnesses 00:05:42 firmly rejected Christendom’s Trinity dogma. 00:05:46 In 1915, The Watch Tower exposed the foolishness 00:05:50 of teaching a doctrine that contradicts the Bible. 00:05:53 The Watch Tower said: 00:05:55 “In what a jumble of contradictions 00:05:58 “and confusion do they find themselves who say 00:06:00 “that Jesus and the Father are one God! 00:06:03 “This would involve the idea 00:06:05 “that our Lord Jesus acted the hypocrite when on earth 00:06:08 “and only pretended to address God in prayer, 00:06:10 “when He Himself was the same God. . . . 00:06:13 “The Father has always been immortal, hence could not die. 00:06:16 “How then, could Jesus have died? . . . 00:06:18 “The Scriptures declare, however, that He did die. . . . 00:06:21 “If they admit that Jesus really died, they take the other horn of the dilemma; 00:06:25 “for believing that their three Gods 00:06:27 “are all one person as many do, 00:06:29 “when Jesus died they must all three have died. 00:06:33 “If they all died, who raised them to life? 00:06:35 “How foolish all this sounds! . . . 00:06:38 “Shall we thus contradict the Apostles and Prophets and Jesus Himself, 00:06:42 “and ignore reason and common sense, in order to hold 00:06:45 “to a dogma handed to us from the dark, superstitious past, 00:06:48 “by a corrupt apostate Church? 00:06:51 Nay!” says The Watch Tower. 00:06:55 Well, Jehovah’s people continue to uphold the excellencies 00:06:59 of the only true God. 00:07:01 Whether in ancient times, as with the natural Israelites 00:07:05 or in modern times, as with spiritual Israel, 00:07:07 Jehovah’s words through Isaiah are still true. 00:07:11 Look at it at Isaiah 43:21. 00:07:16 Of course, we know in Isaiah chapter 43 00:07:19 Jehovah declares: “You are my witnesses.” 00:07:22 And in verse 21 he says: 00:07:25 “The people whom I formed for myself 00:07:29 so that they might declare my praise.” 00:07:33 And the effort that Jehovah’s Witnesses 00:07:35 —God’s people— have put forth to expose 00:07:38 Bible teachings that are false, 00:07:43 to teach the truth about Jehovah, 00:07:45 and to sanctify God’s name has taken on proportions 00:07:48 never attained by any other religious group. 00:07:50 And Jehovah takes notice of that. 00:07:53 Look at Malachi the 3rd chapter. 00:07:56 Malachi chapter 3, 00:07:59 beginning with verse 16. 00:08:03 Malachi 3:16: 00:08:06 “At that time those who feared Jehovah spoke with one another, 00:08:10 “each one with his companion, 00:08:12 “and Jehovah kept paying attention and listening. 00:08:14 “And a book of remembrance was written before him 00:08:17 “for those fearing Jehovah and for those meditating on 00:08:21 “[or the footnote says, possibly, “treasuring”] his name. 00:08:25 “‘And they will be mine,’ says Jehovah of armies, 00:08:28 ‘in the day when I produce a special property.’” 00:08:32 So Jehovah truly does love those 00:08:35 who fear him and treasure his name, 00:08:38 making them truly God’s people.
