22. On the return of the remnant from Babylon to Jerusalem, why was God’s typical kingdom not reestablished, and why was the kingdom established by the Maccabean Judas Hyrcanus Aristobulus not the kingdom?

²² How long, then, would it be until the ruined kingdom would be restored and God’s kingdom would be given to the Seed of God’s woman, who has the right to it? When the remnant of repentant Jews were restored to their homeland after it had lain desolate of man and domestic beast for seventy years, the typical kingdom of God in the line of David was not reestablished. They were subject to a non-Jewish ruler, King Cyrus of Persia. They merely had a local governor who was from the royal house of David to direct their affairs. In 167 B.C. the Maccabean revolt against the Syrian king, Antíochus IV Ephíanes, took place and the Maccabees established their own government. In 104 B.C. Judas Hyrcanus Aristobulus took the title “King of the Jews.” But that was a kingdom of a Levite priest. It was not a restoration of God’s kingdom in the line of King David of the royal tribe of Judah.—Gen. 49:8-10.

23. Was the kingdom of God established after Jesus rode triumphally into Jerusalem, or after his being resurrected, or on the day of Pentecost?

²³ In the spring of 33 (A.D.), when Jesus rode triumphally on an ass into Jerusalem, as Solomon had done to his coronation many centuries before, the kingdom of God by the rightful heir of King David failed to be established anew. After Jesus’ resurrection from the dead and just before he ascended to heaven to sit down at his Father’s right hand, Jesus’ disciples plainly asked him: “Master, are you restoring the kingdom to Israel at this time?” Jesus, in effect, answered them No! He said: “It does not belong to you to get knowledge of the times or seasons which the Father has placed in his own jurisdiction; but you will receive power when the holy spirit arrives upon you, and you will be witnesses of me both in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria and to the most distant part of the earth.” (Acts 1:6-8) Ten days afterward, on the festival day of Pentecost, the holy spirit of God was poured out upon them and they did receive power. But the kingdom of Israel was not set up again there at Jerusalem, the capital of Israel.

(To be continued)

Why Celebrate the Lord’s Supper?

Jehovah God, through his Son, commanded Christians to celebrate the lord’s supper. When understood, the reasons why will appear to be at once simple, powerful and convincing.

IT WAS Thursday evening, April 3, 1958. At 136 Columbia Heights, Brooklyn, New York, exactly five hundred persons packed out the Kingdom Hall, occupying not only every seat but also all the available standing room. The audience consisted of dedicated Christians and their friends who listened with keen interest to a Scriptural discourse. What was the attraction—the speaker? No, even though it did happen to be the president of the Watch Tower Society. Rather, it was the occasion, the celebration of the Lord’s supper. What is the Lord’s supper and why should it be celebrated?

The Lord’s supper is the term used to describe an arrangement that Jesus instituted on the night of his betrayal. In brief, it consists of a Scriptural discussion, the giving of thanks and the partaking