Memorial at the Witnesses of Jéhovah

The commemoration of died of Christ or Repas of the Lord , called often quite simply Mémorial of died of Jesus, is the only festival, that the Témoins of Jéhovah observe within the framework of their Culte, and it is the most important event of the year for them and constitutes one moment of great meditation. This ceremony is celebrated once the year in memory of died and the resurrection of Jesus Christ. She corresponds to the Sainte Cène or Eucharistie within the other Christian Churches; however, at the Pilot of Jéhovah, this commemoration comprises certain characteristics which are clean for him.

Reasons of the Memorial

According to the Pilot of Jéhovah, Jesus died as a principal defender of the sovereignty of his Father, Jéhovah, proving thus that Satan, which according to them had shown the human ones to serve God only in an interested way, was a liar. While dying as a perfect man, Jesus also “gave his heart like ransom in exchange of much”, according to Matthieu 20:28. When the first man Adam sinned against God, it lost the perfect human life and transmitted the imperfection and death to all its descendants. But “God so much liked the world human which it gave his single-generated Son, so that any man who exerts the Foi in him is not destroyed but has the eternal life”. On this point, they do not differ from the other Christian Churches.

Thus, for the Pilot of Jéhovah, the death of Jesus Christ celebrated at the time of the Memorial is the recall of the hello of human thanks to the ransom of Jesus. So the presence with this event so much of the observers than of the participants is, according to the movement, a mark of recognition towards God and Jesus.

Moreover, the religious movement declares that it is the only festival which the Bible expressly orders to observe, while being based on Luc 22:19 where Jesus declares: Continue to do this to remember moi. it

The Société Watchtower thinks that it is not inevitably necessary to consume the emblems of the Memorial to be covered by the sacrifice of Jesus and to receive the eternal life in the terrestrial Paradise, because it estimates that faithful Bible of the time préchrétienne will take part in these emblems by no means when they are ressuscities on ground. Always according to it, the requirements to obtain the eternal life, whatever the hope, are to acquire the exact knowledge of the Bible, to exert the Foi as a God, Jesus Christ and in the sacrifice redeemer of this last, repentance, to be turned over, change frame of mind, to dedicate themselves to Jéhovah in the prayer, and to be made baptize.

History

It is in 1876 that the Étudiants of the Bible started to commemorate this celebration. As of the beginnings of the movement, Russell “insisted the ransom like hones angular Christian faith”. For him, the human ones had an imperative need for a ransom, this one being provided by Jesus, because of the hereditary sin of Adam.

At the beginning, the group of Pittsburgh in Pennsylvania and surroundings met at faithful movement, then in 1883, a hundred assistants gathered in a rented room of the city. As of 1905, Carnegie Hall was the place chosen for the course of the ceremony, because of the space offered by this structure. Of 1886 with 1893, the Tower of Guard encouraged its readers to attend the commemoration taking place with Pittsburgh, which one makes certain faithful the United States and Canada.

In 1935, large crowd having the terrestrial hope was identified and its members were called Jonadabs by the religious movement (of the name of a biblical character). This class was also invited to the Memorial as of 1938, and this in the capacity as observers: That each group of oints meets on April 15th, after 6 hours of the evening, to celebrate the commemorative festival, and that their companions, Jonadabs, are also présents.

Being given the importance attached to this event, the Témoins of Jéhovah always observed it, including when the circumstances were unfavourable, as in particular in Rhodesia (Zambia today) where the curfew obliged the faithful ones to sleep on the place of the commemoration. Even in the concentration camps and the prisons, the Témoins of Jéhovah endeavoured to hold the Memorial; it was the case for example of Harold King, faithful imprisoned only in communist China of 1958 to 1963.

In France, the assistants with the Memorial were 557 in 1924, of which majority in Alsace and Lorraine.

Course of the ceremony

The event very often proceeds in a Salle of the Kingdom, but sometimes when several congregations share the same place of Culte, a municipal hall can be rented on this occasion. An in-depth cleaning is organized often the very same day and in which take part good number of faithful. Frequently, the room is more decorated that at the practice on this occasion and the principal publications of the movement are often highlighted on the counters in order to draw the attention of the newcomers. Several wine cuts and plates containing of the bread are laid out on a table located on the estrade. The followers get dressed generally better than usually for this occasion.

Only annual meeting in the organization, the commemoration begin with a Cantique appropriate to the circumstance drawn from the collection Louons Jéhovah by our songs , followed by a solemn Prière. The speech is made by an old local particularly gifted for teaching, since many new people will be present in the assistance. Are evoked at the time of the speech the reasons of the propitiatory sacrifice of the Christ and the impact that this one must have in the life of the Christians, an explanation on why and the way whose Memorial was instituted, and an examination of the two possible espérences for the human ones, namely celestial for the 144.000 members oints and terrestrial for all the others. The audience is particularly invited to consult in the Bible verses justifying the dires of the speaker. A Prière in favor of the bread is then pronounced by an old , after which of the waiters indicated in advance (often of the old and ministerial assistants local) make circulate the plates containing this bread among the assistants. According to the same methods, one proceeds then in the passing of wine glasses after another prayer. Then the speaker encourages the occasional assistants highly to regularly join the activities of the Témoins of Jéhovah, in particular by accepting a free biblical study in residence if that is not yet the case. The audience is especially invited to a speech known as “special” given approximately two weeks later. The meeting finishes, following Matthieu 26:30, by a Cantique of praise and a Prière.

In general, after the ceremony, the followers give additional information to the newcomers, make visit the Salle of the Kingdom to the people whom they brought, and are delayed a little longer than with the accustomed one, unless another congregation meets then.

In all, the ceremony lasted approximately an hour. It revêt a solemn character, because it commemorates the offering of the Christ, through her sacrifice for the hello of humanity. She is not a festival with the common direction of the term, in spite of the rejoicing related to the hope based on this one.

Significance of the emblems

Bread

According to the Bible, when it instituted the Meal of the Lord, Jesus made use of a bread like emblem, or symbol. He took a bread and, “after having returned graces, he broke it and said: " This bread represents my body which is for vous" ” (1 Corinthians 11:24; Marc 14:22). Thus, the bread at the time of the Memorial is the symbol of the body of the Christ.

However, the Témoins of Jéhovah estimate that in the Holy Scriptures, the leaven is a symbol of the sin, spite or perversity (Matthieu 16:11, 12; 1 Corinthians 5:6, 7). However, according to the biblical account , Jesus were free from sin and thus offered its perfect human body, consistuant a sacrifice ideal redeemer for humanity (1 Jean 2:1,2). Since it represents the body of flesh of Christ, body free from sin, the bread presented at the time of the Memorial is a unleavened bread or unleavened. In certain cases, the Témoins of Jéhovah use unleavened bread Juif which does not contain other ingredients, such as salt, sugar, malt, onions or egg. If not, the unleavened bread (yeast) can be prepared with a half measurement and of whole-wheat flour, of corn preferably (even of rice or corn), mixed with a measurement of water. The paste must be spread out finely and placed in a mould and pricked abundantly with a fork, then cooked in a furnace hot and withdrawn when it is dry and crusty, or it can be cooked on a frying pan slightly oiled until the bread is dry and breakable.

The bread whose Jesus was useful at the time of the Memorial was that of the Jewish Passover which it had just celebrated with his apostles. This unleavened bread was flat and breakable, and it had to be broken to be able to distribute it. So the Témoins of Jéhovah thus estimate that the fact of breaking the bread at the time of the Memorial did not have any spiritual significance.

Wine

Always according to the biblical account , Jesus, after having made circulate the unleavened bread, took a cut, “returned graces and gave it to the apostles, and they drank all of them”. Jesus explained: “this represents my “blood of the alliance”, which will be widespread in favor of much” (Marc 14:23, 24). Then it returned graces for the red wine cut not adulterated while saying: “This cut represents new alliance thanks to my blood” (1 Corinthians 11:25). Thus, the red wine in the cut was supposed to represent the blood of Jesus. Same manner as blood of the bulls and sacrificed goats would have validated the alliance of the Law between God and the nation of Israel into 1513 before our era (according to the chronology of the Témoins of Jéhovah, which is not attested historically), in the same way blood as Jesus would have poured with his death validated new alliance.

According to the Pilot of Jéhovah, the cut in question contained well wine, and not grape juice not fermented, because wine was drunk when one celebrated the Passover, and Christ was useful herself about it when it instituted the Memorial of its death. Moreover, only of the red wine for the movement a symbol appropriate constitutes so that the contents of the cut represent, i.e. the versed blood of Jesus. So Oporto, Jerez or Vermouth would be adapted, the cut of the Memorial having to contain sweetened red wine neither nor aromatized. Certain red wines of today do not correspond to it, because they vigorous by addition of liquor or are aromatized. It is possible to use red wine makes house not sweetened, as well as chianti, of Burgundy and Bordeaux wine for example.

Because of the Drunkenness current at its time and faithful to the example of the adventist first , Charles Taze Russell disadvised drinking alcohol at the time of the Memorial: it recommendait rather on this occasion of the Grape juice added with some taste Vin for those estimating that it was necessary preserved the product of the vine fermented.

Only emblems

The Témoins of Jéhovah reject the Doctrine S of the Transsubstantiation, the consubstentiation and the real presence of the Christ, according to whom the bread and the wine of the ceremony would be transformed miraculeusement into body and blood of Christ. For that, they point out that, when it instituted this meal, Jesus did not transform the emblems into his flesh and his blood, because that would have been considered cannibalism to eat human flesh and of drinking blood, and thus a direct violation of the law of God (Genesis 9:3, 4; Lévitique 17:10). They note that Jesus always had his whole body and all his blood. Its body was offered in perfect sacrifice, and its blood was widespread the afternoon of the same day Juif, the 14 Nissan . Consequently, the bread and the wine of the Memorial are of nature symbolic system: they represent the flesh and the blood of Christ.

In agreement with this belief, the Witnesses have, in their own translation of the Bible, the Traduction of the New World of the Holy Scriptures , translated in a way different the passage from Matthieu 26:26 - 29: “This is my body (...) this is my blood” is returned by “This represents my body (...) this represents my blood”. To support this translation that certain groups evangelic S judge directed, they put forward the following arguments also taken again by the faithful ones to defend their version of Bible:

Several translations of Bible return these verses in the same way as them, of which New Testament , 1903, A.Decoppet;
According to some Dictionary S, the verb returned by " est" also has the following direction: “To be the same thing as, to have the value or the significance, to mean”, carrying the idea to represent, symbolize;
This translation is harmonized with the context, in particular the verse 29 where Jesus speaks about the contents of glass like “fruit of the vine” (expression employed in certain translations, of which the Holy Bible , 1905, Abbé Cramp; the Holy Bible , 1963, monks of Maredsous; the Bible , 1980, Pierre De Beaumont; the Holy Bible , 1899, version of Saci improved, L. - C.Fillion; the Holy Bible , 1953, published under the direction of L.Pirot and A.Clamert), which would tend to prove that the wine did not change;
It also goes in the direction of several other similar expressions which Jesus employed, for example when he said “I am the light of the world” (Jean 8:12), “I am the door of the ewes” (Jean 10:7), or “I am the true vine” (Jean 15:1), all these passages not implying a miraculous transformation, but constituting a symbolism;
In 1 Corinthians 11:25, the Apôtre Paul brings back the remarks of Jesus in a different way while declaring: “This cut is new Alliance in my blood”, which does not mean that the cut had been transformed into new alliance.

This food not being as well as symbols or " emblèmes" , they lose any value crowned once the finished celebration, and can thus be consumed like any food.

Participants in the emblems

Who is concerned

All the people present at the ceremony of the Memorial do not consume the emblems, contrary to what occurs in others Christian Églises . Actually, only a very small minority of assistants consume them, and in many congregations, nobody takes the emblems.

In order to know which is authorized to take part in the emblems of the Memorial, it is necessary, according to the Témoins of Jéhovah, to belong to the new alliance with Jéhovah God and to also form part of alliance of the Kingdom with Jesus Christ, in other words to be “member oint”. Only these people justifiably can, to take share with the emblems of the Meal of the Lord. That which takes these emblems “montr which it is not this world and which it particip with the sufferings and with died of the Lord”.

These two alliances are:

the new alliance, which makes possible a special relation with God. Thanks to this alliance, a group of human in particular becomes his people and becomes to him their God. The Témoins of Jéhovah think that this group of people is indicated in the Bible under name “Israel of God”, i.e. spiritual Israel (Gallates 6:16; 2 Corinthians 1:21). New alliance is an alliance between Jéhovah God and this Israel spiritual.
alliance for a Kingdom that Jesus himself concluded with his disciples during the evening when it instituted the Memorial. “I make an alliance with you, their has it says, just like my Father made an alliance with me, for a kingdom. ” (Luc 22:29). It is about the alliance of the Kingdom. Once ressuscities with the sky, they are judicious to reign with Christ as a King S and Prêtre S.

The human ones included in these alliances are 144.000 according to the Témoins of Jéhovah which are based on Révélation 7:4 and 14: 1 qu ' they apply in a literal way. According to them, the choice of these people started with the Pentecost 33 of our era with the overflowing of the Holy Spirit and continued until today. However, the majority of the people composing this group already died, and thus only a minority currently takes share with the emblems at the time of the Memorial.

This theological vision, which divides the faithful ones into two classes having different espérences, is criticized by the movements evangelic S and the Catholicisme which estimate that all the Christians must take share with the bread and the wine.

How they know it

For the Pilot of Jéhovah, those which are authorized to take share with the emblems of the Memorial know quite naturally that a privileged relation links them with God and that they are co-heirs of Christ. They quote with the support the verse of Romans 8:16,17 which declares: The spirit itself testifies with our mental provision spirit that we are children of God. If thus we are children, we are also heirs: yes, heirs to God, but co-heirs of Christ, provided that we suffer with him to be also glorifiés with lui.

Thus, by means of its the Holy Spirit, or forces acting, God oindrait the co-heirs of Christ, which would insufflate the conviction to them to be heirs to the Kingdom and would create in them the celestial hope. So they would be capable to understand that all that the Holy Scriptures tell on the celestial life addresses to them. According to the movement, a member oint is thus established like such by God, but can however lose this privilege if it is inaccurate. If a person is not absolutely certain to belong to the new alliance and the alliance of the Kingdom, it must abstain from consuming the emblems at the time of the Memorial, the Witnesses affirming that it would be a serious sin which somebody is invited to become King and Prêtre with the sky whereas he did not receive this call.

There still, the vision of the Witnesses of Jéhovah in connection with safety is criticized stalemate the other groups Christian like by Raymond Franz, former member of the Central Collège, for which the hope of the sky is common to all the Christians without distinction. Moreover, critics of the movement say that there is no material proof that a member oint is indeed, except inward conviction of this one.

If a oint cannot attend the Memorial

If a member oint is in impossibility of attending the Memorial, in particular because of an infirmity, the college of old of the congregation to which it forms part must ask an old or another male element considered to be ready to bring to faithful the emblematic bread and the wine, the night even, before the rising of the sun. The course of the ceremony will be able, according to the circumstances, being similar to that taking place as a large assembly. If a member oint seriously sick, is hospitalized, or in the incapacity for a reason important to commemorate the Memorial the day of the 14 Nissan after laying down it sun, it can make be worth a precedent in the mosaic Loi reported of 9:9 Number - 14 and celebrate the Memorial into private 30 days later. On the other hand, this provision does not apply to faithful not a oint not having been able to attend the Memorial.

Frequency and date of the Memorial

The last commemoration of the Memorial of died of Christ by the Témoins of Jéhovah took place the evening of Monday April 2nd 2007. This festival can take place on a different date according to the years. It takes place the evening of first full moon according to the first new moon of spring, which corresponds to the 14 Nissan of the Jewish calendar.

Periodicity of the event

Christ instituted the Meal of the Lord and was put at died the day of the Jewish Passover . However, the Témoins of Jéhovah note that Passover celebrated the delivery of Israel of slavery in Egypt, took place only once per annum, the 14 day of the month Juif of Nissan , according to Exode 12:6, 14 and Lévitique 23:5, and that Christ is called “our Passover” into 1 Corinthians 5:7, thus replacing Jewish Passover by the Memorial. So and contrary in the majority of the Christian Églises which practice the Eucharistie every week or the every day, the Témoins of Jéhovah celebrate this commemoration only once per annum.

The publications of the Témoins of Jéhovah affirm that it is only towards end the II century that the Memorial came from there to be to celebrate all the Sunday S: indeed, about the year 190, Victor, elected bishop of Rome, estimated that the Meal of the Lord was to be celebrated every Sunday, and he sought for that the support of the religious leaders. In 314, a council held with Arles tried to impose this decision other than any other point of view. And it is in 325 that the emperor Constantin, having convened an oecumenical synod , the council of Nicée, issued inter alia all the Christians of Asia Mineure were to follow the instructions emanating of Rome in this respect.

When the Apôtre Paul declares: “All the times that you eat this bread and that you drink this cut, you continue to proclaim the death of the Lord, until it arrives” (1 Corinthians 11:26), the Witnesses of Jéhovah say that the biblical writer uses the Greek terms pollakis and hosakis meaning “as often as” or “each time”, thinking that Paul did not treat a frequency for which it was necessary to observe the Memorial, but in the manner of observing it. So they do not think that this verse means that it is necessary to consume the emblems several times in the year, but rather than each time the Christians would take share with the emblems with the passing of years, they would proclaim to them Foi in the sacrifice redeemer of Jesus. In order to support this point of view, they point out that an significant event such as an wedding anniversary is celebrated only once in the year, at the date birthday.

According to 1 Thessaloniciens 4:14 - 17, the Christian oints would commemorate the death of Christ “until it arrives”. The Témoins of Jéhovah include/understand by this expression which this observance would continue until Jesus is able to accommodate his disciples oints in the skies, by means of a resurrection with the spiritual life during its “presence”. It is thus only when all faithful the oints dies, i.e. during Millénium, that the ceremony will not be observed any more.

Day of celebration

Since the time of Russell, the Témoins of Jéhovah commemorate the Memorial of dead of Christ on a date corresponding to the 14 day of the month of Nissan , according to the calendar Juif. They explain their method of calculating as follows: For the Jews, the day goes from a sunset to sleeping according to. Thus, according to their Jesus calendar died the same day that it instituted the Memorial. The month of Nissan started with laying down it sun which followed the moment when the new moon nearest to the vernal equinox had become visible with Jerusalem. The Memorial thus takes place the 14 day as from the 1st Nissan . (The date of the Memorial can not correspond with that of Passover that the Jews observed nowadays. Why? Because currently the calendar Juif makes correspond the beginning of the months with the visible new moon since Jerusalem, which can lift 18 to a height of 30 hours later. In addition, the majority of the Juif S celebrate now the Passover the 15 Nissan , and not the 14 as Jesus did it in accordance with the mosaic Loi).

Declarations of historians are quoted in the publications of the Témoins of Jéhovah in order to prove that the first Christians commemorated the Memorial only once the year, at the date corresponding to the 14 Nissan calendar Juif:

“the Christians of Asia Mineure were called Quartodécimans, according to their habit to invariably celebrate the paska Repas of the Lord the 14 day of Nissan . The date could fall one Friday or any other day the week”.

In connection with the practice at the II century of our era, “observed them the Memorial 14 Nissan because they considered that the example of the Christ had the force of law”.

“the Churches of Quartodécimans of Asia had preserved the habit of the Church of Jerusalem. At the II century, at the time of Paska, the 14 Nissan , these Churches commemorated the redemption achieved by the death of Christ”.

Contrary, critics of the movement bring other declarations relating to the frequency of the Eucharistie among first Christians. These sources would tend to prove that those celebrated it each week, every Sunday.

Events surrounding the Memorial

At the time of the Memorial, the Société Watchtower encourages its faithful to be invested more than usually in work of evangelization, which would thus constitute a sign of recognition towards Jéhovah and Jesus for the gesture that they made in favor of humanity. For example, the bulletin interns the Ministry for the Kingdom encourages the members highly to undertake the service of auxiliary Pionnier during April, March and/or May, i.e. to monthly devote 50 hours to the activity of preaching. It is often at the time of these months that new records of the number of pioneers is carried out, in France (approximately 13.000) and in the world.

The members of the congregation of the Témoins of Jéhovah must, according to the directives of Société Watchtower, to invite to the commemoration any person likely to be interested: it can be a question members of his family, people with whom one studies a biblical handbook, receptive people met within the framework of the door with door, colleges of work, neighbors, etc It is advised to draw up a list in order to not forget anybody. Layers of invitation summarizing succintement the unfolding of the Memorial, and specifying with the back the date and the place of the commemoration are placed at the disposal them members in order to be used within the framework of the evangelization. Certain years, of the special invitation campaigns were organized by means of a systematic diffusion of a printed paper form, and the periodicals the Tower of Guard and Réveillez you! announces the event on last page. In 2007, this one had as a subject " We invite you to remember you the more great man of all times the birthday day of its mort".

The week preceding the Memorial, the faithful ones are invited to read each day the account of the last life days of Jesus as reported in the Bible. The daily portion of reading appears in the booklet Examinons the Writings each day like on the Calendrier of the Witnesses of Jéhovah . It is advised moreover to consult in parallel the book more the great man of all times , is published by the Société Watchtower and chronologically recalling the events brought back in the Évangiles. It is also necessary to contemplate and prepare its heart with this ceremony.

The events of the life of Jesus that the Témoins of Jéhovah must read again are the following:

Statistics

Many assistants

The number of assistants corresponds to the whole of the people having attended the commemoration, some is their espérence (celestial or terrestrial) or them Religion. Currently, approximately ten million assistants to the Memorial is not Témoins of Jéhovah, but simply of the sympathizers of the movement. It is while being based on these figures which the movement considers that there is a possible future increase, for example in France where approximately 250.000 people attend the Memorial. Critics estimate however that these figures, frequently proposed in the media by the Witnesses of Jéhovah, are not representative of the real force of the movement and thus constitute an overvaluation of the number of faithful.

Before 1932, the reports/ratios of the assistance to the Memorial were incomplete, because only the groups of several tens of people were not entered.

The evening of the April 12th 2006, the Commemoration thus joined together more than 16,6 million people in the world, including 207.479 in metropolitan France, 44.594 in Belgium and 30.073 in Suisse.

Many participants

The number of people consuming the emblems at the time of the celebration are officially only members of the Church baptized and having shown their fidelity during many years. The members forming the body directing of the Témoins of Jéhovah called Central Collège are all supposed to belong to this class of the members oints.

This number has turned approximately around 8.000 for a few years.

This figure does not decrease any more and sometimes increases slightly since 1989, which lead opponents to wonder about the presumedly natural ointe of the participants in the Memorial. In this respect, the Société Watchtower does not claim in its publications that these people are indeed ointes: in its reports/ratios appearing in particular in its annual Directory , it indicates “Many participants in the Memorial”, and not “Number of oints”. Moreover, to the approach of the Commemoration, articles of study of the Tower of Guard remind faithful not to consume the emblems ill-advisedly. It is explained that several situations can make think wrongly of some which they received the celestial call: it can be the death of a spouse or another drama having made lose with interested the any interest for the life on the ground, the desire for sharing the future of a close friend affirming to be a Christian oint, the catch of drugs or a nervous breakdown being able to make hear voices, or the influence of the beliefs of the Églises of the Chrétienté according to which all the goods go to the sky.

See too

Internal bonds

Pilot of Jéhovah
Doctrines of the Witnesses of Critical Jéhovah
of the beliefs of the Witnesses of Jéhovah
Passover
Eucharistie
Cène

References

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