JW's, those of you who wish to live forever on earth as your reward, you may want to reconcider once you read

Question

Zephaniah 1: 2-3,7
“I shall without fail finish everything off the surface of the ground,” is the utterance of Jehovah.

3 “I shall finish off earthling man and beast. I shall finish off the flying creature of the heavens and the fishes of the sea, and the stumbling blocks with the wicked ones; and I will cut off mankind from the surface of the ground,” is the utterance of Jehovah.


7 Keep silence before the Sovereign Lord Jehovah; for the day of Jehovah is near, for Jehovah has prepared a sacrifice; he has sanctified his invited ones.

So, obviously, this is speaking of THE DAY OF JEHOVAH. what is the day of jehovah? would it be,,,um.. armageddon perhaps? so, i can understand that you guys would repopulate the earth and restore it with more humans, but what about the pretty pictures you painted with all the tame animals? i dont think they will be there. if God says "everything" he does mean everything right? what do you think?

JW STANDS FOR JEHOVAH'S WITNESSES

WELL IGNORAMUS AND ALL THE JW's .... regarding the "new jerusalum "comming down from heaven to the earth. it also says in that scriture that there will be no need for the sun or moon because the glory of God will eluminate everything. so, if its on the earth, how can we survive without the sun and moon?

yes, nice scripture jenny, but i dont see a point in it. i does not disqualify the validity of my scripture. g'day

Answer 1

The prophecy has been explained well by trustdel, Jill and Keiichi. As RhondaB states the bible shows us that the earth is here forever and the the meek will possess the earth forever.

One other scripture I might add to go along with that thought is a quote from Jesus from the Sermon on the Mount at Matt 5:5 "Happy are the mild-tempered ones since they will inherit the earth." So Jesus too believed that the meek or mild-tempered would have a earthly reward.

Answer 2

If you continue to read, you will see that this prophecy first happened in Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem. Notice the ones that were destroyed are those worhipping false gods. So it was every wicked person in Judah and Jerusalem who was destroyed.

And I will stretch out my hand against Judah and against all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and I will cut off from this place the remaining ones of the Ba´al, the name of the foreign-god priests along with the priests, 5 and those who are bowing down upon the roofs to the army of the heavens, and those who are bowing down, making sworn oaths to Jehovah and making sworn oaths by Mal´cam; 6 and those who are drawing back from following Jehovah and who have not sought Jehovah and have not inquired of him.”

Zephaniah apparently prophesied during the early part of King Josiah’s reign, which began in 659 B.C.E., those prophetic words found a fulfillment in the desolation of Judah and her capital city, Jerusalem, at Babylonian hands in 607 B.C.E. At that time, there was a ‘finishing off’ of wicked ones in Judah.


“That day” of accounting for Judah corresponds to Jehovah’s day to execute judgment upon his enemies, to end wickedness, and to prove his supremacy.

Prov 2:21

21 For the upright are the ones that will reside in the earth, and the blameless are the ones that will be LEFT OVER IN IT.

Answer 3

I'm Protestant, but you should see the Book of Revelations about what happens after that day. See the last couple of chapters that talk about the holy city of New Jerusalem coming down out of heaven to earth, and that there will be a new heaven and a new earth.

In Revelation 20:22-26 it says the following:

22I did not see a temple in the city, because the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple. 23The city does not need the sun or the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and the Lamb is its lamp. 24The nations will walk by its light, and the kings of the earth will bring their splendor into it. 25On no day will its gates ever be shut, for there will be no night there. 26The glory and honor of the nations will be brought into it.

Answer 4

2 Pete 3:13 "But there are new heavens and a new earth that we are awaiting according to his promise, and in THESE RIGHTEOUSNESS IS TO DWELL."

Ps. 37:29 "The righteous themselves will possess the earth,
And they will reside FOREVER upon it."

Ps. 37:1-11 "10 And just a little while longer, and the wicked one will be no more; And you will certainly give attention to his place, and he will not be. BUT the meek ones themselves will possess the earth, And they will indeed find their exquisite delight in the abundance of peace."

Ecc. 1:4 "4 A generation is going, and a generation is coming; but the earth is standing even to time indefinite."

Answer 5

Isaiah 45: 18 "For this is what Jehovah has said, the Creator of the heavens, He the [true] God, the Former of the earth and the Maker of it, He the One who firmly established it, who did not create it simply for nothing, who formed it even to be inhabited: “I am Jehovah, and there is no one else."

Revelation 20 only has 15 verses......

Answer 6

Correct. Zephaniah chapter one has modern day application.

A notorious Baal worshipper was Queen Jezebel. And she is mentioned by Jesus as being an evil influence in the congregation during the Lord ’s Day. At Revelation 2:20, the Lord Jesus addresses his congregation, saying:

“Nevertheless, I do hold this against you, that you tolerate that woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess, and she teaches and misleads my slaves to commit fornication and to eat things sacrificed to idols.”

Take note of the fact that Jesus puts up with “Jezebel” and her lovers all the way up until throwing her and her children “into great tribulation”; obviously, during the great tribulation.

Jesus went on to say of Jezebel: “And I gave her time to repent, but she is not willing to repent of her fornication. Look! I am about to throw her into a sickbed, and those committing adultery with her into great tribulation, unless they repent of her deeds. And her children I will kill with deadly plague, so that all the congregations will know that I am he who searches the kidneys and hearts, and I will give to you individually according to your deeds.”

It is apparent, then, that an immoral Jezebelian influence exists in God’s household up until the very moment when Christ removes it—permanently. No doubt that will be when Christ cleanses his Father’s spiritual temple.

The seven congregations in revelation represent the entire anointed congregation of Christ during the Lord's day. Since she is in the anointed congregation of Christ, that means that Jezebel represents anointed Christians who are unfaithful to their husbandly owner.

So, if the symbolic "Jezebel" wields her demonic influence over Christ's slaves in the midst of the congregation, then it stands to reason that "Jezebel" represents an apostate breed of Christian that resides in God's household up until the final judgment.

In the days of Zephaniah, apparently the people deliberately ignored the law moved Almighty Jehovah to act in his own behalf. Jehovah’s sense of justice obligated him to perform a human sacrifice of his own by annihilating the priests of Baal.

Zephaniah 1:7-9 reads: “Keep silence before the Sovereign Lord Jehovah; for the day of Jehovah is near, for Jehovah has prepared a sacrifice; he has sanctified his invited ones. And it must occur on the day of Jehovah’s sacrifice that I will give attention to the princes, and to the sons of the king, and to all those wearing foreign attire. And I will give attention to everyone that is climbing upon the platform in that day, those who are filling the house of their masters with violence and deception.”

The princes and priests of Baal in “foreign attire” must correspond to the Balaam and Jezebel faction that exists in the congregation during the Lord’s day.

We may be sure that Jehovah will similarly take action against the agents of Baal within the organization of Jehovah’s Witnesses in order to sanctify his own name from being profaned by them.

Answer 7

You unfortunately hav absolutely no idea as to what the Bible means, do you?
You should have paid more attention as a youngster!

Answer 8

Interesting.

They can wish what ever they want but the word of God is the same for every one.

Answer 9

By reading the entire book of Zephaniah, a Bible student (such as yourself) can gain a clear understanding of this prophecy. It describes those whom God will destroy at Zeph 1: 4-6 (the verses in-between the ones you quoted):
4 “And I will stretch out my hand against Judah and against all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and I will cut off from this place the remaining ones of the Ba′al, the name of the foreign-god priests along with the priests, 5 and those who are bowing down upon the roofs to the army of the heavens, and those who are bowing down, making sworn oaths to Jehovah and making sworn oaths by Mal′cam; 6 and those who are drawing back from following Jehovah and who have not sought Jehovah and have not inquired of him.”

He again talks about an extermination:

Zeph 1:18:  Neither their silver nor their gold will be able to deliver them in the day of Jehovah’s fury; but by the fire of his zeal the whole earth will be devoured, because he will make an extermination, indeed a terrible one, of all the inhabitants of the earth.”
That sounds pretty bleak, but God qualifies this statement as he continues the prophecy and speaks of those who will survive.

Zeph 2:1-3: "Gather yourselves together, yes, do the gathering, O nation not paling in shame. 2 Before [the] statute gives birth to [anything], [before the] day has passed by just like chaff, before there comes upon you people the burning anger of Jehovah, before there comes upon you the day of Jehovah’s anger, 3 seek Jehovah, all you meek ones of the earth, who have practiced His own judicial decision. Seek righteousness, seek meekness. Probably you may be concealed in the day of Jehovah’s anger."

There it is.....some will be "concealed" and survive. But let's go on:

Zeph 3:8, 9: “‘Therefore keep yourselves in expectation of me,’ is the utterance of Jehovah, ‘till the day of my rising up to [the] booty, for my judicial decision is to gather nations, for me to collect together kingdoms, in order to pour out upon them my denunciation, all my burning anger; for by the fire of my zeal all the earth will be devoured. 9 For then I shall give to peoples the change to a pure language, in order for them all to call upon the name of Jehovah, in order to serve him shoulder to shoulder."

Again, he says that there will be those who will still be living, calling upon the name of Jehovah, and serving him. But let's keep going:

Zeph 3: 10-13: “From the region of the rivers of E·thi·o′pi·a the ones entreating me, [namely,] the daughter of my scattered ones, will bring a gift to me. 11 In that day you will not be ashamed because of all your dealings with which you transgressed against me, for then I shall remove from the midst of you your haughtily exultant ones; and you will never again be haughty in my holy mountain. 12 And I shall certainly let remain in the midst of you a people humble and lowly, and they will actually take refuge in the name of Jehovah. 13 As regards the remaining ones of Israel, they will do no unrighteousness, nor speak a lie, nor will there be found in their mouths a tricky tongue; for they themselves will feed and actually lie stretched out, and there will be no one making [them] tremble.”

So, all the haughty ones will be gone and the "remaining ones" will have peace.

Finally, the book of Zephaniah ends with these words at Zeph 3:17, 20:

"Jehovah your God is in the midst of you. As a mighty One, he will save. He will exult over you with rejoicing. He will become silent in his love. He will be joyful over you with happy cries......At that time I shall bring you people in, even in the time of my collecting you together. For I shall make you people to be a name and a praise among all the peoples of the earth, when I gather back you captive ones before you eyes,” Jehovah has said."

Zephaniah's prophecy had its first fulfullment upon the nation of Judah and the city of Jerusalem in 607 B.C.E. when the Babylonian World Power overthrew Judah & took her people captive. Some, including the prophet Jeremiah, were spared and 70 years later (as was prophesied) a remnant of Jews returned to re-establish pure worship in Jerusalem.

The prophecy finds its major fulfillment in our time. Simply put, all the wicked and haughty ones will be destroyed. And as there were survivors in the first fulfillment, so also all those who 'practice His own judicial decision and seek righteousness & meekness' (Zeph 2:3) will survive the Great Tribulation and begin the work of transforming this earth into a global paradise.

I hope this helps you to understand how the Bible book of Zephaniah explains God's purpose, which is in total agreement with the rest of the Bible and with the beliefs of Jehovah's Witnesses.

Answer 10

You need some serious bible study to better understand.
Call your local Kingdom Hall and ask for a knowledgeable couple to study with you..........They and you will be grateful.