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Jehovah God's warning to the nations:The Watchtower Society's commentary.

Questions From Readers:

What is causing “the desirable things of all the nations” to come into the “house” of true worship?—Haggai 2:7.:

Through the prophet Haggai, Jehovah foretold: “I will rock all the nations, and the desirable things of all the nations must come in; and I will fill this house with glory.” (Haggai 2:7) Is the rocking “of all the nations” causing “the desirable things” of the nations—honesthearted individuals—to embrace true worship? The answer is no.

Consider what rocks, or shakes, the nations and what this shaking leads to. The Bible says that “the nations [have] been in tumult and the national groups themselves kept muttering an empty thing.” (Psalm 2:1) The “empty thing” they keep “muttering,” or meditating on, is the continuation of their own sovereignty. Nothing shakes them more than any threat to their rulership.

The worldwide preaching of the established Kingdom of God done by Jehovah’s Witnesses has become just such a threat to the nations. After all, the Messianic Kingdom of God in the hands of Jesus Christ is going to “crush and put an end to all [man-made] kingdoms.” (Daniel 2:44) The message of judgment included in our preaching work is sending out a tremor among the nations. (Isaiah 61:2) And the shaking gets more severe as the preaching work increases in scope and intensity. Of what is the rocking foretold at Haggai 2:7 a portent?

At Haggai 2:6, we read: “This is what Jehovah of armies has said, ‘Yet once—it is a little while—and I am rocking the heavens and the earth and the sea and the dry ground.’” Quoting from this verse, the apostle Paul wrote: “He has promised, saying: ‘Yet once more I will set in commotion not only the earth but also the heaven.’ Now the expression ‘Yet once more’ signifies the removal of the things being shaken as things that have been made, in order that the things not being shaken [the Kingdom] may remain.” (Hebrews 12:26, 27) Yes, the entire present system of things is going to be shaken out of existence to make room for the new world of God’s making.

Honesthearted people are drawn to true worship but not because the nations are rocked, or shaken. The action that is drawing them to Jehovah and his worship is the same action that is causing the nations to rock, namely the worldwide preaching of the established Kingdom of God. The declaration of the ‘glad tidings of everlasting good news’ draws rightly inclined individuals to the worship of the true God.—Revelation 14:6, 7.


The Kingdom message is one of judgment and of salvation. (Isaiah 61:1, 2) The results of preaching it worldwide are twofold: the rocking of the nations and the coming in of the desirable things of the nations to Jehovah’s glory.

The Watchtower Society's commentary on 'the Nations'.

NATIONS:

In the broad and general sense, a nation is made up of people who are more or less related to one another by blood and who have a common language. Such a national group usually occupies a defined geographic territory and is subject to some form of central governmental control. According to the Theological Dictionary of the Old Testament, “Hebrew evidences a tendency for goy to describe a people in terms of its political and territorial affiliation, and so to approximate much more closely to our modern term ‘nation.’ ʽam [people], conversely, always retains a strong emphasis on the element of consanguinity as the basis of union into a people.” (Edited by G. J. Botterweck and H. Ringgren, Vol. 2, 1975, p. 427) The Greek terms eʹthnos (nation) and la·osʹ (people) are used similarly. In the Scriptures the plural forms of gohy and eʹthnos usually refer to Gentile nations.

Origin. The first notice of the forming of separate nations appears in the post-Flood period, in connection with the building of the Tower of Babel. Those sharing in this project were united in their opposition to God’s purpose. The principal factor facilitating united action was that “all the earth continued to be of one language and of one set of words.” (Ge 11:1-4) Jehovah took notice of this and, by confusing their language, “scattered them from there over all the surface of the earth.”—Ge 11:5-9; MAP Vol. 1, p. 329.

Separated now by communication barriers, each linguistic group developed its own culture, art, customs, traits, and religion—each its own ways of doing things. (Le 18:3) Alienated from God, the various peoples contrived many idols of their mythical deities.—De 12:30; 2Ki 17:29, 33.

There were three great branches of these nations stemming from the sons and grandsons of Noah’s sons Japheth, Ham, and Shem, and these were reckoned as the founding fathers of the respective nations called by their names. The listing in Genesis, chapter 10, therefore might be termed the oldest tabulation of nations, 70 in number. Fourteen were Japhetic, 30 Hamitic, and 26 Shemitic in origin. (Ge 10:1-8, 13-32; 1Ch 1:4-25) For more information regarding these national groups, see CHART, Vol. 1, p. 329, as well as articles on each of the 70 descendants of Noah.

Many changes, of course, came with the passing of time. Some nations were absorbed by their neighbors or disappeared altogether, because of weakness, disease, or war; others came into existence through new migrations and population increases. The spirit of nationalism at times became very strong among certain groups, and this, coupled with great military exploits, gave ambitious men the necessary thrust to build world empires at the expense of weaker nations.

A Father of Nations. God told Abram to leave Ur and move to a land He would show him, for as He said, “I shall make a great nation out of you.” (Ge 12:1-4) Later, God enlarged on his promise, saying, “You will certainly become a father of a crowd of nations. . . . And I will make you very, very fruitful and will make you become nations, and kings will come out of you.” (Ge 17:1-6) This promise was fulfilled. Abraham’s son Ishmael fathered “twelve chieftains according to their clans” (Ge 25:13-16; 17:20; 21:13, 18), and through the six sons of Keturah, other nations traced their ancestry back to Abraham. (Ge 25:1-4; 1Ch 1:28-33; Ro 4:16-18) From Abraham’s son Isaac sprang the Israelites and Edomites. (Ge 25:21-26) In a much larger, spiritual sense Abraham became “a father of many nations,” for persons of many national groups, including those of the Christian congregation in Rome, by reason of their faith and obedience could call Abraham their father, “the father of all those having faith.”—Ro 4:11, 16-18; see ISRAEL No. 2.

How God Views the Nations. As the Creator and Universal Sovereign, God is within his absolute rights in setting the nations’ territorial boundaries (if he chooses to do so), as he did with Ammon, Edom, and Israel. (De 2:17-22; 32:8; 2Ch 20:6, 7; Ac 17:26) The Most High and Lofty One over all the earth is not to be compared in greatness with nations of mankind. (Jer 10:6, 7) Actually the nations are as but a drop from the bucket in his sight. (Isa 40:15, 17) So when such nations rage and mutter against Jehovah, as when they put Jesus to death on a torture stake, He only laughs at them in derision and confounds and destroys their presumptuous counsel against Him.—Ps 2:1, 2, 4, 5; 33:10; 59:8; Da 4:32b, 34, 35; Ac 4:24-28.

Yet for all of Jehovah’s superlative greatness and power, no one can rightly charge him with being unjust in his treatment of national groups. It makes no difference whether God is dealing with a single man or a whole nation, he never compromises his righteous principles. (Job 34:29) If a nation is repentant, as were the people of Nineveh, he blesses them. (Jon 3:5-10) But if they turn to doing bad, even though in a covenant with him, he destroys them. (Jer 18:7-10) When an issue arises, Jehovah sends his prophets with a message of warning. (Jer 1:5, 10; Eze 2:3; 33:7) God is not partial toward any, great or small.—De 10:17; 2Ch 19:7; Ac 10:34, 35.

Therefore, when whole nations refuse to recognize and obey Jehovah, or they cast him out of their minds and hearts, Jehovah executes his judgments upon them. (Ps 79:6; 110:6; 149:7-9) He devotes them to destruction and turns them back to Sheol. (Ps 9:17; Isa 34:1, 2; Jer 10:25) In descriptive language God says that the wicked nations will be turned over to his Son, the one called “Faithful and True . . . The Word of God,” to be dashed to pieces.—Ps 2:7-9; Re 19:11-15; compare Re 12:5.

The New Nation of Spiritual Israel. For centuries Jehovah God dealt exclusively with natural Israel, time and again sending his prophets to the nation so that the people might turn from their wayward course. Finally he sent his Son, Christ Jesus, but the majority rejected him. Therefore, Jesus said to the unbelieving chief priests and Pharisees: “The kingdom of God will be taken from you and be given to a nation producing its fruits.”—Mt 21:33-43.

The apostle Peter clearly identified that “nation” as one composed of persons who had accepted Christ Jesus. (1Pe 2:4-10) In fact, Peter applied to fellow Christians the very words that had been directed to natural Israel: “You are ‘a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for special possession.’” (1Pe 2:9; compare Ex 19:5, 6.) All of them recognized God as Ruler and his Son as Lord and Christ. (Ac 2:34, 35; 5:32) They possessed heavenly citizenship (Php 3:20) and were sealed with the holy spirit, which was an advance token of their heavenly inheritance. (2Co 1:22; 5:5; Eph 1:13, 14) Whereas natural Israel was constituted a nation under the Law covenant, the “holy nation” of spirit-begotten Christians became such under the new covenant. (Ex 19:5; Heb 8:6-13) For these reasons it was most appropriate that they be called “a holy nation.”

When God’s spirit was first poured out upon about 120 disciples of Jesus (all natural Jews) on the day of Pentecost in the year 33 C.E., it became evident that God was dealing with a new spiritual nation. (Ac 1:4, 5, 15; 2:1-4; compare Eph 1:13, 14.) Later, beginning in the year 36 C.E., membership in the new nation was extended to uncircumcised Gentiles, who likewise received God’s spirit.—Ac 10:24-48; Eph 2:11-20.

Regarding the preaching of the good news to all nations, see GOOD NEWS.


Gog and Magog. The Bible book of Revelation (20:7, 8) states that, after Christ’s Thousand Year Reign, Satan “will go out to mislead those nations in the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog.” Evidently such nations are the product of rebellion against Christ’s administration.—See GOG No. 3.

On how Darwinism is taught

Darwinism vs. the real world. XXX

You Are What You Eat: The Beginnings of the Digestive Process:
Howard Glicksman February 21, 2016

Editor's note: Physicians have a special place among the thinkers who have elaborated the argument for intelligent design. Perhaps that's because, more than evolutionary biologists, they are familiar with the challenges of maintaining a functioning complex system, the human body. With that in mind, Evolution News is delighted to offer this series, "The Designed Body." For the complete series, see here. Dr. Glicksman practices palliative medicine for a hospice organization.


Take a good look at yourself. Everything you see (and can't see) is made up of chemicals that had to be taken into your body before they could be formed into organs and tissues. These chemicals are things like water, glucose and other sugars, amino acids, cholesterol, sodium, potassium, calcium, iron, and vitamins, just to name a few. In fact, other than molecular oxygen (O2), which is used for energy and is taken in through the lungs, all the other atoms and molecules the body needs to live, grow, and work properly enter through the gastrointestinal system. In other words, you are, quite literally, what you eat.

Since the body is made of matter, it must follow the laws of nature. Many of the nutrients the body needs are chemically locked up inside more complex molecules that cannot enter the body through the gastrointestinal system because they are too big. These include carbohydrates, which consist of chains of sugar molecules; proteins, which are made up of many different types of amino acids joined together; and fats, which consist of fatty acids and glycerol. To procure what the body needs, the gastrointestinal system must use enzymes to first breakdown these complex molecules into smaller ones in a process called digestion. Then it absorbs these simpler molecules so the body can use them to construct the complex molecules it needs to survive.

The gastrointestinal system depends on many different parts to digest and absorb the necessary nutrients for life and excrete what is not needed. These include the mouth, teeth, tongue, salivary glands, pharynx, esophagus, stomach, intestine, pancreas, liver, gall bladder, colorectum, and anus. Here's how it all works. The gastrointestinal tract is basically a long, muscular, hollow tube that contracts to push its contents along. Food and drink enter the mouth and are swallowed into the tract. The contents are then slowly transported at a speed that allows for optimal digestion.

Fluids, containing various chemicals and different enzymes to help breakdown the complicated chemical structures within its contents, are secreted into the lumen. These fluids break down the molecules into simpler ones, like glucose, amino acids, free fatty acids, and cholesterol. Once the complex molecules have been broken down, the cells that line the lumen of the gastrointestinal tract absorbs them into the body and places them in the blood. From here they are transported to where they are needed. Let's consider how the body follows the rules and takes control to begin this process.

The process of digestion is similar to how a pulp and paper mill works. The mill uses mechanics and chemicals to take huge logs and chop and mash them into pulp for paper and other products. Similarly, the first job of the gastrointestinal system is to use mechanical and chemical means to take in complex molecules and unlock the nutrients within them so the nutrients can be absorbed into the body. However, the equipment and the chemicals at the mill don't do anything unless there are actually logs to be processed, otherwise it would be wasting energy and other resources. So too, the gastrointestinal system begins the process of digestion in earnest only when you eat or drink.

There are many different sensors in the body that stimulate the hunger center, which is the integrator that analyzes the data, and then notifies the conscious mind to take in calories. By responding to this urge the body activates the gastrointestinal system, the effector that actually does something about the situation. The process of digestion begins as soon as food enters the mouth. Its presence, along with its taste and smell, are detected by the nervous system, which stimulates the release of saliva from glands in the mouth. Saliva is a fluid that contains many different chemicals that not only help oral and dental health, but also the swallowing of food. Saliva also contains digestive enzymes, like amylase and lipase, which are the first enzymes to start working on the complex molecules that have been ingested. Amylase breaks the chemical bonds between sugar molecules, like glucose, that are joined together in large carbohydrate molecules, like starch. And lipase breaks the chemical bonds between molecules, like fatty acids and glycerol that are joined together in large fat molecules.

As the contents of the mouth mixes with saliva, it is mashed by the teeth and the tongue, formed into a small mushy lump called a bolus, and moved back toward the throat (pharynx). Up until this point everything the body has done, bringing in food and drink, chewing, and moving it into the pharynx, has been voluntary. But once the bolus reaches the pharynx, the body must automatically take control to be sure that it goes into the esophagus and not the lungs. Sensors in the pharynx detect the bolus and send information to the brain where it is integrated. The brain then initiates the swallow reflex by sending out nerve messages that cause coordinated muscle contraction to propel the bolus into the esophagus. The esophagus is a muscular passageway that propels the bolus in a wave-like movement, called peristalsis, down through the chest cavity toward the stomach that is located within the abdomen.

Anyone who has ever had something "go down the wrong tube" can attest to the extremely sensitive cough reflex that prevents accidental aspiration (inhalation). If enough food or water goes down the trachea toward the lungs, instead of the esophagus, this can quickly lead to respiratory failure. So, merely trying to explain how all of the above parts came together, as evolutionary biologists claim to do, without explaining how coordinated swallowing developed, is not sufficient to explain the systems development. After all, once the bolus goes over the precipice of the pharynx and by the power of gravity and muscular action moves downward, there is only so much time available for the body to react.

While looking in a mirror, if you gently place your fingers on the front of your neck just below the jaw and swallow a few times, you will see and feel the tissue in the neck move up and down. What you are feeling and seeing are the upper parts of your respiratory system being moved up and out of the way so the airway can be protected from what is being sent down into your esophagus. This requires about twenty-five different pairs of muscles under the direction of the swallow center in the brain, and is carried out in about a second, usually a thousand times a day.


Because some people with neuromuscular conditions (like brainstem stroke, Multiple Sclerosis, Lou Gehrig's disease) have problems with swallowing, they are at high risk for aspiration. Clearly, for our earliest ancestors to survive would have required them to have had all of the right parts working in a coordinated fashion. But we have only shown how the body is able to safely move what it eats and drinks from the mouth to the esophagus. What then? Next time we will look at what happens within the stomach and beyond to complete digestion and allow for the absorption of the nutrients the body needs to live, grow, and work properly.