Table Of ContentNo.1 2017
34567
How to Get More
From Reading the Bible
WHATDOYOUTHINK?
IstheBibleoutdatedinourmodernage?
Ordoesitstillhavevalue?TheBibleitselfsays:
“AllScriptureisinspiredofGodandbeneficial.”
—2Timothy3:16,17.
Thisissueof TheWatchtowerhighlights
examplesoftheBible’spracticalwisdomand
offerssuggestionsonhowtogetthemostout
ofyourBiblereading.
HOWTOGETMOREFROMREADINGTHEBIBLE
s
Wouldyouwelcomemore
3 WhyReadtheBible?
informationorafreehome
Biblestudy? 4 HowCanIGetStarted?
Visitwww.jw.org,orsendyourrequest 5 WhatWillMakeItInteresting?
tooneoftheaddressesbelow.
6 HowCantheBibleImproveMyLife?
ALSOINTHISISSUE
8 THE BIBLE CHANGES LIVES
IDidNotWanttoDie!
10 IMITATE THEIR FAITH (cid:2) ENOCH
“HeHadPleasedGodWell”
AreThereContradictions
14 IS ITJUSTA SMALL MISUNDERSTANDING?
intheBible?
r (LookunderBIBLETEACHINGS˛
BIBLEQUESTIONSANSWERED) 16 WHAT DOES THE BIBLE SAY?
34567
ProducedEachIssue:61,651,000
˙
Vol.138,No.1 2017 ENGLISH Availablein294LANGUAGES
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COVER SUBJECT
Why Read the Bible?
“IthoughttheBiblewouldbesohardtounderstand.”—Jovy
“Ifeltthatitwouldbeboring.”—Queennie
“WhenIlookedathow thicktheBibleis,Ilostanydesiretoreadit.”—Ezekiel
Have you ever thought about reading the Bible be hotheaded. But because of my Bible reading,
butheldoffbecauseoffeelingslikethoseabove? I’velearnedto controlmyself.Thishasmade me
Formany, readingtheBibleseemsdaunting. But a lot easier to get along with, so I have more
whatifyoulearnedthattheBiblecanhelpyouto friendsnow.”
haveahappierandmoresatisfyinglife?Andwhat Awomaninher50’snamed Eunicesaysofthe
if you found outthatthere are some approaches Bible,“Itishelpingmetobecomeabetterperson,
to reading it that can make it more interesting? tochangemynot-so-goodhabits.”
Would you be willing to take a look at what the As those readers and millions more have
Biblecanofferyou? learned, reading the Bible can help you to live a
Considerjust afewcommentsfromthosewho moreenjoyablelife.(Isaiah48:17,18)Amongoth-
founditto berewardingwhentheystarted read- erthings,itcanhelpyou(1)makegooddecisions,
ingtheBible. (2) make real friends, (3) cope with stress, and
Ezekiel, who is in his early 20’s, says: “In the (4)bestofall,learnthetruthaboutGod.TheBi-
past,Iwaslikesomeonewhoisdrivingacarwith- ble’sadvicecomesfromGod,soyoucannevergo
outanydestinationinmind.ButreadingtheBible wrongfollowingit.Godnevergivesbadadvice.
hashelpedmehaveameaningfullife.Itcontains The important thing is to get started. What
practicaladvicethatIcanuseeveryday.” practicaltipscanmakegettingstartedeasierand
Frieda, also in her 20’s, explains: “I used to moreenjoyable?
THEWATCHTOWER No.1 2017 3
How Can I Get Started?
What approachwillhelpyouto enjoy your Bible anynegative,preconceivedideasabouttheBible,
reading and getthe most out of it? Take note of try to setthem aside so that God canteachyou.
fivesuggestionsthathaveworkedformany. —Psalm25:4.
Createthe rightsurroundings.Try to find a Pray before you read. The Bible contains
settingthatisquiet.Minimizedistractionssoyou God’s thoughts, so it is not surprising that we
can focus on what you read. Good lighting and need his help to understand it. God promises to
freshairmayhelpyoutogetthemostfromyour give“holyspirittothoseaskinghim.”(Luke11:13)
reading. TheholyspiritcanhelpyoutounderstandGod’s
Havetherightframeofmind.SincetheBible thinking.Intime,itwillopenyourmindtograsp
is from our heavenly Father, you will benefitthe “even the deep things of God.”—1 Corinthians
most if you have the attitude of a child who is 2:10.
ready to learn from a loving parent. If you have Read to understand. Do not read just to
cover material. Actively think about what you
arereading.Askyourselfsuchquestionsasthese:
‘WhatqualitiesdoIseeinthepersonIamreading
about?HowcanIapplythisinmylife?’
Setspecificgoals.ToberewardedbyyourBi-
ble reading, set out to learn something that will
truly enrich your life.You may set goals like the
following: ‘I wantto learn more about God him-
self.’ ‘I wantto become a better person, a better
husbandorwife.’ Then selectportionsoftheBi-
blethatwillhelpyoureachthosegoals.(cid:2)
Thesefivesuggestionswillhelpyougetstarted.
Buthowmightyoumakeyourreadingevenmore
interesting? The next article offers some sugges-
tions.
(cid:2)IfyouarenotsurewhatportionsoftheBiblewouldbemostsuitable
inthatregard,Jehovah’sWitnesseswillbehappytohelpyou.
GET MORE OUTOF YOUR READING
) Takeyourtime,andavoidrushing
) Immerseyourselfinwhatyouread—visualizeit
) Trytoseehowversesfitintheircontext
) Searchforlessonsinwhatyouread
4 THE WATCHTOWER No. 1 2017
DIG INTO THE BIBLE BYGETTING TO KNOW ITS PEOPLE
Somefaithfulwomen Someoutstandingmen
Abigail 1Samuelchapter25 Abraham Genesischapters11-24;seealso25:1-11
Esther Estherchapters2-5,7-9 David 1Samuelchapters16-30;
2Samuelchapters1-24;
Hannah 1Samuelchapters1-2
1Kingschapters1-2
Mary (Jesus’mother)Matthewchapters
Jesus TheGospelsofMatthew,
1-2;Lukechapters1-2;seealso
Mark,Luke,andJohn
John2:1-12;Acts1:12-14;2:1-4
Moses Exoduschapters2-20,24,32-34;
Rahab Joshuachapters2,6;seealso
Numberschapters11-17,20,21,27,31;
Hebrews11:30,31;James2:24-26
Deuteronomychapter34
Rebekah Genesischapters24-27
Noah Genesischapters5-9
Sarah Genesischapters17-18,20-21,23;
Paul Actschapters7-9,13-28
seealsoHebrews11:11;1Peter3:1-6
Peter Matthewchapters4,10,14,16-17,26;
Actschapters1-5,8-12
What Will Make It Interesting?
Boring?Orrefreshing?WhatwillBiblereadingbe Use modern technology. Today the Bible
for you? Much depends on how you approach is available not only as a bound, printed book
yourreading. Letustakealookatwhatyoucan but also as a digital book. Some Bibles can be
dotoincreaseyourinterestandenjoyment. read online or downloaded for personal reading
Selectareliable,modern-languagetransla- on computers, tablets, or cell phones. Certain
tion. If you read material that contains a great versions include additional tools that allow you
many difficult or out-of-date words that you do quickly to check other Bible verses on the same
not know, you are not likely to enjoyreading it. topicorevencompareseveraltranslations.Ifyou
Solook fora Biblethat uses easy-to-understand prefer to listen rather than to read, the Bible is
languagethatwilltouchyourheart. Atthesame alsoavailableinrecordedform.Manypeopleen-
time,though,itshouldbecarefullyandaccurate- joylisteningwhiletheycommutebypublictrans-
lytranslated.(cid:2) portation, do laundry, or engage in some oth-
er activity that permits listening. Why not try a
(cid:2)ManyhavefoundtheNewWorldTranslationoftheHolyScripturestobe
methodthatsuitsyou?
accurate,reliable,andveryreadableaswell.ThisBible,producedbyJe-
hovah’sWitnesses,isavailableinover130languages.Youcandownload Use Bible study tools. Bible study tools can
acopyfromthewebsitejw.orgordownloadtheJWLibraryapp.Orif help you get much more out of your reading.
you prefer, Jehovah’s Witnesses can delivera printedcopy to your
TherearemapsoftheBiblelands,whichwillhelp
home.
THEWATCHTOWER No.1 2017 5
youlocateplacesyouencounterinyourreading
and put events in perspective. Articles such as
thoseinthismagazineorinthe“BibleTeachings”
sectionofthejw.orgwebsitecanhelpyouexplore
themeaningofmanypartsoftheBible.
Vary your approach. If reading the Bible
from cover to cover seems daunting, why not
stimulateyourinterestbystartingwithaportion
thatespeciallyappealstoyou?Ifyouwanttofind
outaboutfamouspeopleintheBible,youcould
trycharacter-basedreading.Asampleofthatap-
proachisincludedintheaccompanyingbox“Dig
IntotheBiblebyGettingtoKnowItsPeople.”Or
maybeyouwanttoreadtheBiblebytopicorby
BIBLE STUDY TOOLS PRODUCED
BYJEHOVAH’S WITNESSES theorderinwhicheventsoccurred.Whynottry
oneoftheseapproaches?
) JW.ORG—Thiswebsitefeaturesmany
studytools,includingthefeature“Bible
QuestionsAnswered.”Italsocontainsinstruc-
tionsfordownloadingtheJWLibraryapp How Can the
) “SeetheGoodLand”—Thisbrochure
featuresmapsandphotographsofplaces Bible Improve
mentionedintheBible
) InsightontheScriptures—Atwo-volume
My Life?
Bibleencyclopediathatincludesexplanations
ofpeople,places,andtermsfoundintheBible
) “AllScriptureIsInspiredofGodand
Beneficial”—Thisscholarlybookexplains
when,where,andwhyeachbookoftheBible TheBibleisnoordinarybook.Itcontainsadvice
waswrittenandgivesasummaryofeach from our Creator. (2 Timothy 3:16) Its message
book’scontents can influence us profoundly. In fact, the Bible
) TheBible—God’sWordorMan’s?—This states:“ThewordofGodisaliveandexertspow-
small,carefullyresearchedbookexamines er.” (Hebrews 4:12) It has the power to improve
theevidencefortheBible’sclaimthatitisthe ourlifeintwokeyways—offeringguidanceinour
inspiredWordofGod
dailylifenowandhelpingusgettoknowGodand
) TheBible—WhatIsItsMessage? hispromises.—1Timothy4:8;James4:8.
—A32-pagebrochurethatsummarizesthe Improving your life now.The Bible can help
Bible’soveralltheme
with very personal matters. It gives practical ad-
viceaboutthefollowing.
6 THE WATCHTOWER No. 1 2017
) Relationshipswithothers. that he reveals details about a better future, a
—Ephesians4:31,32;5:22,25,28,33. time when you can enjoy “the real life”—which
) Emotionalandphysicalhealth. will last forever. (1 Timothy 6:19) That is some-
—Psalm37:8;Proverbs17:22. thingthatnootherbookcanoffer.
) Moralvalues.—1Corinthians6:9,10. If you set outto readthe Bible and keep at it,
) Economicwelfare.—Proverbs10:4; youtoocangainthosebenefits—improving your
28:19;Ephesians4:28.(cid:2) life now and getting to know God. However, as
youreadtheBible,youwilllikelythinkofnumer-
AyoungcoupleinAsiagreatlyappreciatedthe ousquestions.Andwhenyoudo,keepinmindthe
valueoftheBible’sadvice.Likemanynewlymar- good example of an Ethiopian official who lived
riedcouples,theystruggledwithadjustingtoeach 2,000 years ago. He was full of questions about
other’spersonalityandwithhavingopencommu- the Bible.When asked if he understood what he
nication.Buttheybeganapplyingwhattheyread wasreading,hereplied:“Really,howcouldIever
in the Bible.With what result? The husband,Vi- do so unless someone guided me?”(cid:2) He then ea-
cent,says:“WhatIreadintheBiblehelpedmeto gerly accepted help from someone who was al-
deal with challenges in our marriage in a loving
ready a qualified Bible teacher, Philip, an early
way.LivingbytheBiblehasgivenusahappylife
discipleofJesus.(Acts8:30,31,34)Inthesame
together.”Hiswife,Annalou,agrees:“Readingex-
spirit, if you would like to know more aboutthe
amples in the Bible helped us. I now feel happy
Bible,weinviteyoutosubmitarequestonlineat
and content with our marriage and our goals in
www.jw.orgorwritetothenearestaddress,aslist-
life.”
ed in this magazine.You mayalso contact Jeho-
Getting to know God. Aside from his com-
vah’sWitnessesnearyouorvisit aKingdomHall
mentsaboutmarriage,Vicentalsosays:“Byread-
inyourarea.WhynotpickupaBibletodayandlet
ingtheBible, Ifeelmuchcloser to Jehovah now itguideyoutoabetterlife?ˇ
than ever before.” Vicent’s observation focuses
onanimportantpoint—theBiblecanhelpyouget (cid:2)Alsoseethearticleinthisissueentitled“IsItJustaSmallMisunder-
standing?”
acquainted with God. In so doing, you will not
onlybenefitfromhisadvicebutalsofindthatyou
cangettoknowhimasafriend.Andyouwillsee Ifyouarewonderingwhetheryoucanfullytrust
theBible,pleaseseetheshortvideoHowCan
(cid:2)FormoreexamplesoftheBible’spracticaladvice,seeourwebsite, WeBeSuretheBibleIsTrue?Youcanfinditby
jw.org. Look under BIBLE TEACHINGS ˛ BIBLE QUESTIONS AN- scanningthecodeorbygoingtojw.org,clicking
SWERED. theSearchbutton,andenteringthetitle
THEWATCHTOWER No.1 2017 7
THE BIBLE CHANGES LIVES
I Did Not Want
to Die!
MYPAST
I was born in Paddington, a densely populated area of
London, England. Ilivedwith mymotherandthreeolder
sisters.Myfathercameinandoutofourlivesasaresultof
hisproblemswithalcohol.
WhenIwasachild,mymothertaughtmetoprayevery
night.IhadasmallBiblecontainingjustthePsalms,andI
madeuptunessothatIcouldsingthem.Irememberread-
ing a phrase in one of mysecularbooks that stuck in my
mind:“Somedaytherewillbenotomorrow.”Thosewords
made me lie awake at night thinking about the future.
‘Surely there mustbe more to life,’ I thought. ‘Whyam I
here?’Ididnotwanttodie!
ASTOLDBY
I became very curious aboutthe occult. I tried to talk
YVONNEQUARRIE
to the dead, visited graveyards with school friends, and
watchedhorrormovieswiththem.Wethoughtitwasboth
excitingandfrighteningatthesametime.
YEARBORN
IstartedtogowaywardwhenIwasonlytenyearsold.I
1964
began smoking tobacco, and I quickly became addicted.
COUNTRYOFORIGIN Later,Iprogressedtosmokingmarijuana.Bytheageof11,
ENGLAND
Iwas experimenting with alcohol. Although Idid not like
HISTORY the taste of it, I liked the effect of getting drunk. I also
WAYWARDTEENAGEMOTHER lovedmusicanddancing.Iwenttopartiesandnightclubs
whenever I could. I used to sneakout at night and sneak
backinagainjustbeforethemorninglight.Tiredthenext
day, Iregularlyplayed hookyfromschool.When Idid at-
tend,Ioftendrankalcoholbetweenlessons.
I received very poor grades in my final year at school.
Mostlyunawareoftheextentofmywaywardbehavior,my
mother was disappointed and angry.We quarreled, and I
ran away from home. For a while, I stayed with my boy-
friend,Tony,whowasRastafarian.Hewasinvolvedinpet-
tycrime and selling drugs and had a reputation forbeing
extremelyviolent.Isoonbecamepregnantand,atjust16
yearsofage,gavebirthtoourson.
8 THE WATCHTOWER No. 1 2017
HOWTHEBIBLECHANGEDMYLIFE Meanwhile,TonyhadalsobeenstudyingtheBi-
Ifirst met Jehovah’s Witnesseswhile Iwasliv- ble with Jehovah’s Witnesses. As the Witness-
ing at a hostel for unmarried mothers and their es answered his questions from the Bible, he
babies.Ihadbeengivenaroomtherebythelocal too became convinced of the truth of what he
authorities.TwofemaleWitnessesregularlyvisit- was learning. He made major changes in his life:
ed some ofthe other young mothers. One day I hewithdrewfromhispreviousviolentassociates,
joined in a discussion with them. I intended to stoppedhispettycriminalactivities,andgaveup
prove the Witnesses wrong. Yet they answered smoking marijuana. In order to please Jehovah
eachoneofmymanyquestionscalmlyandclear- fully,wealsobothsawtheneedtoadjustourim-
ly from the Bible.They were so kind and gentle, moral way of life and provide a stable environ-
whichIfoundveryappealing.SoIagreedtostudy mentforourson.Weweremarriedin1982.
theBiblewiththemmyself.
I soon learned something from the Bible that
“Inolongerlieawakeatnightworrying
changed my life. Ever since I was young, I had
aboutthefutureordeath”
feared dying.Yet now I discovered Jesus’ teach-
ingabouttheresurrection!(John5:28,29)Also,
I learned that God cared about me personal- IremembersearchingoutarticlesinWatchtower
ly. (1 Peter 5:7) I was especially touched by the andAwake!(cid:2)magazineswithstoriesofpeoplewho
wordsofJeremiah29:11,whichsays:“‘ForIwell had successfully made the changes I wanted to
know the thoughts that I am thinking toward make. I was so encouraged by their examples! I
you,’ declares Jehovah, ‘thoughts of peace, and feltstrengthenedtokeeptryinghardandnotgive
notofcalamity,togiveyouafutureandahope.’” up. I kept praying to Jehovah notto give up on
I began to believe that I could have the hope of me.Tony and I were baptized as Jehovah’s Wit-
livingforeverinParadiseonearth.—Psalm37:29. nessesinJuly1982.
Jehovah’s Witnesses expressed genuine love
HOWIHAVEBENEFITED
toward me. When I first attended one of their
Developing a friendship with Jehovah God
meetings,the atmosphere waswarm and inviting
saved my life. Tony and I have also experienced
—everyonewassofriendly!(John13:34,35)That
Jehovah’s support through difficult times. We
wasabigcontrasttothetreatmentIhadreceived
have learned to relyon God through difficulties,
atalocalchurch.TheWitnesseswelcomedmede-
and we feel that he has always helped and sus-
spitemycircumstances.Theygavemetime,care,
tainedourfamily.—Psalm55:22.
andattention,aswellasmuchpracticalhelp.Ifelt
I have taken delight in helping our son and
asthoughIwerepartofabig,lovingfamily.
daughtergettoknowJehovahasIdo.NowIfeel
From my Bible study, I realized that I would
similarjoyas I see theirchildren also growing in
have to make changes in my life to meet God’s
knowledgeofGod.
highmoralstandards.Ididnotfinditeasytostop
I no longer lie awake at night worrying about
smokingtobacco. Atthesametime, Irecognized
thefutureordeath.TonyandIarefullyoccupied
that certain music increased my desire to smoke
withtravelingtodifferentcongregationsofJeho-
marijuana,soIchangedthemusicthatIlistened
vah’sWitnesseseachweektoencouragethem.We
to.Wantingtostaysober,Istoppedgoingtopar-
join them in teaching others that if they exer-
ties and nightclubswhere I would be tempted to
cisefaithinJesus,theytoocanenjoyeverlasting
get drunk. And I sought out new friends whose
life.ˇ
positive influence would help me in my new life-
style.—Proverbs13:20. (cid:2)AlsopublishedbyJehovah’sWitnesses.
THEWATCHTOWER No.1 2017 9
IMITATE THEIR FAITH ENOCH
“He Had Pleased
God Well”
ENOCHhadlivedalongtime.Itmightbehardfor ofamanofgreatfaith.Doyouprovideforafam-
us to imagine, butthat man’s life stretched back ily?Haveyou ever facedthestruggleofstanding
forsome365years—morethanfourverylonglife upforwhatyouknowtoberight?Ifso,youmay
spansby today’s standards! But he was nottruly learnmuchfromthefaithofEnoch.
old,notintheworldofhistime.Backthen,over
50centuriesago,peoplelivedfarlongerthanthey “ENOCHKEPTWALKINGWITHTHETRUEGOD”
dotoday.Adam,thefirstman,hadbeenlivingfor Mankind was in a bad way when Enoch came
over six hundred years when Enoch was born, along.Itwastheseventhgenerationinthelineof
and Adam lived on for another three centuries! Adam.Granted,humansweremuchclosertothe
Some of Adam’s descendants lived even longer physicalperfectionthat Adam and Evehad once
thanthat.Soat365,Enochmaystillhavelooked possessed and lost.That is why people still lived
fairlyvibrant,likeamanwhohadmuchofhislife solong.Yet,theywereinaterribleconditionmor-
yetaheadofhim.Infact,though,hedidnot. ally and spiritually. Violence was prevalent.That
Enoch was likely in grave danger. Picture him trendhadstartedinthesecondgeneration,when
ontherun,unabletoputoutofhismindthereac- CainmurderedhisbrotherAbel.OneofCain’sde-
tion ofthe people to whom he had recently spo- scendantsseemstohavebeenquiteproudofbe-
kenamessagefromGod.Theirfacesweretwisted ingevenmoreviolentandvengefulthanCain!In
withrage.Thosepeoplehatedhim.Theydespised thethirdgeneration,anewevilarose.Peoplebe-
his message, and they loathed the God who had gancallingonthenameofJehovah,butnotasa
sent him. They could not strike out at Enoch’s reverentactofworship.Theywereevidentlyusing
God,Jehovah,buttheycouldcertainlystrikeout God’ssacred namein ablasphemous, disrespect-
atthisman!PerhapsEnochwonderedifhewould fulway.—Genesis4:8,23-26.
everseehisfamilyagain. Didhethinkofhiswife That kind of corrupt religion was likely in
and daughters orofhis son Methuselah orofhis full sway during Enoch’s time. As Enoch grew
grandsonLamech?(Genesis5:21-23,25)Wasthis up,then, he faced a choice.Would he fit in with
theend? the crowd of his day? Or would he search for
Enoch is a somewhat mysterious figure in the thetrue God, Jehovah,whohad madetheheav-
Biblerecord.OnlythreeshortBiblepassagesdeal ens and the earth? He must have been deeply
withhimatanylength.(Genesis5:21-24;Hebrews moved to learn about Abel, who had died as a
11:5;Jude14,15)However,thoseversesprovide, martyrbecauseheworshipped Jehovah in away
in effect, enough brushstrokes to paint a picture thatpleasedHim.Enochdecidedtotakeasimilar
10 THE WATCHTOWER No. 1 2017
