It is the only event Jesus invited his worshipers to commemorate.
Jesus had a last supper with his apostles and at the end of it he commanded them: “Keep doing this in remembrance of me.” (Luke 22:19)
Jehovah's witnesses will remember Jesus just like he commanded. This is an open invitation for everyone to join them in their local kingdom hall and remember Jesus.
2007-03-31 04:36:19 · 14 answers · asked by Anonymous in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
To Terry:
Jehovah's Witnesses are everywhere. Contact Jehovah's Witnesses whereever you are and they will tell you where their kingdom hall is.
2007-03-31 04:43:33 · update #1
The most significant "Memorial" one could observe is, of course, the Memorial of Christ's death. It is sometimes called "the Last Supper" or "the Lord's Evening Meal".
(1 Corinthians 11:23-25, NWT) The Lord Jesus in the night in which he was going to be handed over took a loaf... Keep doing this in remembrance of me.” 25 He did likewise respecting the cup.. Keep doing this... in remembrance of me.”
(1 Cor 11:24, 25, NEB) "Do this as a memorial of me.”
Christ Jesus himself personally celebrated and explained the significance of that Last Supper to his followers (see Matthew 26:26-29). Apparently Jesus Christ established the occasion to supercede the Jewish Passover, which occurs after sunset on the 14th of Nisan (a month of the Jewish calendar).
(Luke 22:14-16) At length when the hour came, he reclined at the table, and the apostles with him. 15 And [Jesus] said to them: “I have greatly desired to eat this passover with you before I suffer; 16 for I tell you, I will not eat it again until it becomes fulfilled in the kingdom of God.
Sadly, it is only a minority of professed Christians who follow the BIBLICAL pattern for the Last Supper which was established by Christ himself. Sadly, most of Christendom ignores Christ's celebration and instead follow unrelated human traditions which purport to honor Christ, but in ways unconnected with what Jesus Christ established.
Like the former Passover, those Christians who commemorate the Last Supper have also done so on the date corresponding to Nisan 14, which generally falls between late March and mid-April. Interestingly, Christians in the centuries immediately after Christ's impalement were sometimes called "Quartodecimans" which literally mean "fourteen-ers"
There are fundamental differences between the Memorial which Christ Jesus instituted and the so-called "Easter" which Christendom adopted from pagan worship of the Anglo-Saxon goddess Eostre (or Oestre). While most Easter celebrations merely repackage pagan fertility festivals and concentrate on eating, decorating, and frivolity, the Last Supper focuses on the value of Christ's sacrifice and the sober obligation of Christianity.
(Matthew 15:6-9) You have made the word of God invalid because of your tradition. 7 You hypocrites, Isaiah aptly prophesied about you when he said, 8 ‘This people honors me with their lips, yet their heart is far removed from me. 9 It is in vain that they keep worshiping me, because they teach commands of men as doctrines.’”
Learn more:
http://watchtower.org/e/lmn/article_08.htm
http://watchtower.org/e/rq/article_11.htm
http://watchtower.org/e/20041215/article_02.htm
http://watchtower.org/e/20011115/article_02.htm
http://watchtower.org/e/20050101a/
http://watchtower.org/e/jt/
2007-04-03 10:15:12 · answer #1 · answered by achtung_heiss 7 · 1⤊ 2⤋
For the Memorial 2014:
INVITATION
Jehovah's Witnesses celebrate the Memorial of Christ's Death every year on its anniversary, which this year is April 14. It is a simple but dignified and beautiful ceremony, which commemorates the love that God has for us in that he gave his only begotten Son in our behalf for our salvation, and an effort is made to invite everyone in our neighborhood. It follows the pattern set in Matthew 26:26-30,Mark 14:22-24,Luke 22:19-20, 28-30, and 1 Corinthians 11:23-26. Everyone is invited to the Kingdom Hall nearest you - see the links below.
Invitation to the Lord's Evening Meal http://bit.ly/1cjz07W
Find a Meeting of Jehovah's Witnesses Near You http://www.jw.org/apps/E_FRNsPnPBrTZGT
2014-04-01 11:51:45 · answer #2 · answered by Roberta B 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Yes:
"Keep doing this, in remembrance of me". --Luke 22:19
and the Public invitation is online, at:
http://www.jw-media.org/region/global/english/releases/events/070319.htm
The only occasion he told his followers to observe, it is
Nisan 14 every year, which --this year-- corresponds to April 2, this year. This date changes on the Gregorian calendar (in common use by most people today) each year, because of the differences between the Jewish & Gregorian calendars.
The Jewish calendar indicates the way Christ & his Apostles & early disciples actually used to figure the date.
Jesus instituted the Memorial of his death on Nisan 14, according to the Biblical calendar, right after he & his apostles had celebrated the annual passover commemorating the deliverance of Israel from Egyptian bondage. (Matt. 26:2, 17-20) So, once each year --on Nisan 14-- the Christian witnesses of Jehovah meet in obedience to Jesus’ command.
"God’s people determined the time of the month by observing the moon. A new moon marked the beginning of the month; a full moon marked the middle.
The Jewish calendar today is still a lunar calendar, based upon the moon making one revolution around the earth every twenty-nine and one-half days. ... The Jewish calendar has 354 days, the Gregorian secular calendar has 365 days."
(Jewish Jewels, online)
The Biblical day begins at sundown, whereas the Gregorian day begins at midnight. That accounts for some of the confusion that some people have with the date, right there.
"Jesus commanded that his death be memorialized, not his resurrection. And since the Jewish Passover falls on a different day each year according to the Gregorian calendar that we now use, it is only natural that the same would be true of the Memorial. Many therefore stuck to the original arrangement and observed the Lord’s Evening Meal on Nisan 14 each year."
We are encouraged to review
... ... ... Jesus' Last Days on Earth
- Nisan 9-14, After Sundown
http://www.watchtower.org/e/19980315/article_01.htm
Statistics for the 2006 Memorial attendance were:
16,675,113 attenders, including:
..6,741,444 Jehovah's Witnesses
..9,933,669 non-Jehovah's Witness attenders
So, more people attended who weren't Jehovah's Witnesses --throughout the world in 235 lands-- than who were!
How Can Jesus Change Your Life?
- - His Teachings, Deeds, and Sacrifice
http://www.watchtower.org/library/w/1999/7/1/article_01.htm
2007-04-02 12:30:01 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 4⤊ 2⤋
If I was living in the US I would. I have attended the past 2 years and always found it to be a wonderful experience.
I am not a Witness, I am actually studying Islam (my husband is Muslim), but I have many Witness friends and I attended the Kingdom Hall with them many times.
Update: AM, I have looked and have been unable to locate a Kingdom Hall in my area. Enjoy the Memorial, I know how much it means to Witnesses.
2007-03-31 04:39:41 · answer #4 · answered by ♥ terry g ♥ 7 · 5⤊ 2⤋
Yes. In fact I need to go get ready! I'd suggest getting there about an hour early so you can meet and greet people and find a parking spot.
2007-04-02 15:14:23 · answer #5 · answered by ♥☺ bratiskim∞! ☺♥ 6 · 3⤊ 1⤋
Yes all my family and i will be going. thank you for the invite. We are attending the service in CA
2007-04-02 12:57:21 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 4⤊ 1⤋
No, because the witnesses do not follow the Bible,and when Jesus said " keep doing this in remembrance of me" in the Bible it did not mean once a year.
2007-03-31 04:47:25 · answer #7 · answered by josie 4 · 2⤊ 5⤋
Yes I went.
It went great. A lot of new people came.
2007-04-02 16:34:42 · answer #8 · answered by JW 3 · 3⤊ 1⤋
Yes, I will be going, along with 2 members of my family and hopefully my brother's best friend.
2007-03-31 13:17:36 · answer #9 · answered by Ish Var Lan Salinger 7 · 4⤊ 2⤋
no, i am not aJehovah's witnesses, nor do i have the same beliefs as them, but i will not be celebrating easter the pagan way. thanks anyway.
God Bless.
2007-03-31 04:48:53 · answer #10 · answered by Megan 2 · 6⤊ 1⤋