Save your children

Your Child Is in Danger! How Can We Protect Our Children?
Prevention in the Home
Common Misconceptions
If Your Child Is Abused
Related topics:
Let Us Abhor What Is Wicked
Comfort for Those With a "Stricken Spirit"
Child Molesting—You Can Protect Your Child
The molestation of children is an ugly reality in this sick world. Lear's magazine said: "It affects more of us than cancer, more of us than heart disease, more of us than AIDS." Awake! thus feels an obligation to try to alert its readers to this danger and what can be done about it.—Compare Ezekiel 3:17-21; Romans 13:11-13.IN RECENT years a global outcry has arisen over the molestation of children. But the media attention, replete with celebrities who have publicly disclosed their own experiences of childhood abuse, has led to some popular misconceptions. Some believe that all this talk about attacks on children is simply the latest fad. In truth, though, there is little new about such sexual assault. It is nearly as old as human history itself.
An Ancient Problem
Some 4,000 years ago, the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah were famous for depravity. Pedophilia was apparently among the region's many vices. Genesis 19:4 describes a sex-crazed mob of Sodomites ranging "from boy to old man" seeking to rape Lot's two male guests. Consider: Why would mere boys be inflamed with the idea of raping males? Clearly they had already been introduced to homosexual perversions.
Centuries later, the nation of Israel moved into the region of Canaan. So steeped was this land in incest, sodomy, bestiality, prostitution, and even the ritualized sacrifice of little children to demon gods that all these vile acts had to be expressly forbidden in the Mosaic Law. (Leviticus 18:6, 21-23; 19:29; Jeremiah 32:35) Despite divine warnings, rebellious Israelites, including some of their rulers, adopted these despicable practices.—Psalm 106:35-38.
Ancient Greece and Rome, however, were far worse than Israel in this regard. Infanticide was common to both, and in Greece it was a widely accepted practice for older men to have relations with young boys. Boy brothels flourished in every ancient Greek city. In the Roman Empire, child prostitution was so prevalent that special taxes and holidays were set up specifically for that trade. In the arenas, girls were raped and forced into acts of bestiality. Similar atrocities were prevalent in many other ancient nations.
What about modern times? Is mankind too civilized for such horrible sex acts to flourish today? Students of the Bible cannot accept this notion. They well know that the apostle Paul characterized our era as "critical times hard to deal with." He detailed the rampant self-love, the love of pleasure, and the disintegration of natural family love that overrun modern society and added: "Wicked men and impostors will advance from bad to worse." (2 Timothy 3:1-5, 13; Revelation 12:7-12) Has child molestation, so often perpetrated by "wicked men and impostors," got worse?
An Urgent Problem
Assaults on children are often cloaked in secrecy, so much so that they have been called perhaps the most unreported of crimes. Even so, such crimes have evidently spiraled upward in recent decades. In the United States, a survey on the subject was conducted by the Los Angeles Times. It found that 27 percent of the women and 16 percent of the men had been sexually abused as children. Shocking as these statistics are, other careful estimates for the United States have run considerably higher.
In Malaysia, reports of child molestation have quadrupled over the past decade. In Thailand, some 75 percent of the men in one survey admitted to using child prostitutes. In Germany, officials estimate that as many as 300,000 children are sexually abused each year. According to South Africa's Cape Times, the number of reports of such assaults soared by 175 percent in a recent three-year period. In the Netherlands and Canada, researchers found that about one third of all women had been sexually abused as children. In Finland, 18 percent of the ninth-grade girls (15 or 16 years old) and 7 percent of the boys reported having had sexual contact with someone at least five years their senior.
In various countries disturbing reports have surfaced about religious cults that abuse children with sadistic sexual practices and torture. Often, those who report that they were victims of such crimes are treated with incredulity, not compassion.
So child molestation is neither new nor rare; it is a long-standing problem that is epidemic today. Its impact can be devastating. Many survivors suffer profound feelings of worthlessness and low self-esteem. Experts in the field have listed some common aftereffects of incest on girls, such as running away, drug and alcohol abuse, depression, attempted suicide, delinquency, promiscuity, sleep disturbances, and learning problems. Long-range effects may include poor parenting skills, frigidity, distrust of men, marriage to a pedophile, lesbianism, prostitution, and child molestation itself.
These aftereffects are not inevitable for a victim; nor could anyone rightly excuse wrong conduct solely on the grounds of having been assaulted in the past. Abuse does not predestine its victims to be immoral or delinquent; nor does it dissolve all their personal responsibility for the choices they make later in life. But these common outcomes for victims are real dangers. They add urgency to the question, How can we protect children from molestation?

God Proposed !

Is This What God Purposed?

READ any newspaper. Look at television, or listen to the radio. There are so many stories of crime, war, and terrorism! Think about your own troubles. Perhaps illness or the death of a loved one is causing you great distress. You may feel like the good man Job, who said that he was “drenched with misery.” The Holy Bible in the Language of Today.
Ask yourself:

• Is this what God purposed for me and for the rest of mankind?
• Where can I find help to cope with my problems?
• Is there any hope that we will ever see peace on the earth?

The Bible provides satisfying answers to these questions.

THE BIBLE TEACHES THAT GOD WILL BRING ABOUT THESE CHANGES ON THE EARTH.

“He will wipe out every tear from their eyes, and death will be no more, neither will mourning nor outcry nor pain be anymore.”

“The lame one will climb up just as a stag does.”

“The eyes of the blind ones will be opened.”

“All those in the memorial tombs will . . . come out.”

“No resident will say: ’I am sick.‘”

“There will come to be plenty of grain on the earth.”

BENEFIT FROM WHAT THE BIBLE TEACHES

Do not quickly dismiss what is presented as mere wishful thinking. God has promised to bring these things about, and the Bible explains how he will do so.
But the Bible does more than that. It provides the key to your enjoying a truly satisfying life even now. Think for a moment about your own anxieties and troubles. They may include money matters, family problems, loss of health, or the death of a loved one. The Bible can help you to deal with problems today, and it can provide relief by answering such questions as these:

• Why do we suffer?
• How can we cope with life‘s anxieties?
• How can we make our family life happier?
• What happens to us when we die?
• Will we ever see our dead loved ones again?
• How can we be sure that God will fulfill his promises for the future?

The fact that you are reading this book shows that you would like to find out what the Bible teaches. This book will help you. Notice that the paragraphs have corresponding questions at the bottom of the page. Millions have enjoyed using the question-and-answer method when discussing the Bible with Jehovah‘s Witnesses. We hope you will too. May you have God‘s blessing as you now enjoy the thrilling and satisfying experience of learning what the Bible really teaches!

GET TO KNOW YOUR BIBLE

THERE are 66 books and letters that make up the Bible. These are divided into chapters and verses for easy reference. When scriptures are cited in this publication, the first number after the name indicates the chapter of the Bible book or letter, and the next refers to the verse. For example, the citation means the second letter to Timothy, chapter 3, verse 16.
You will quickly become familiar with the Bible by looking up the scriptures cited in this publication. Also, why not start a program of daily Bible reading? By reading three to five chapters a day, you can read the entire Bible in a year.

What Does the Bible Really Teach? 

Who Is Jesus Christ?

There are many famous people in the world. Some are well-known in their own community, city, or country. Others are known worldwide. However, just knowing the name of someone famous does not mean that you truly know him. It does not mean that you know details about his background and what he is really like as a person. 

People around the world have heard something about Jesus Christ, even though he lived on earth some 2,000 years ago. Yet, many are confused about who Jesus really was. Some say that he was merely a good man. Others claim that he was nothing more than a prophet. Still others believe that Jesus is God and should be worshiped. Should he?

It is important for you to know the truth about Jesus. Why? Because the Bible says: “This means everlasting life, their taking in knowledge of you, the only true God, and of the one whom you sent forth, Jesus Christ.”(John 17:3). Yes, knowing the truth about Jehovah God and about Jesus Christ can lead to everlasting life on a paradise earth.(John 14:6) Furthermore, Jesus sets the best example of how to live and how to treat others. John 13: 34,35. In the first chapter of this book, we discussed the truth about God. Now let us consider what the Bible really teaches about Jesus Christ.

THE PROMISED MESSIAH

Long before Jesus was born, the Bible foretold the coming of the one whom God would send as the Messiah, or Christ. The titles “Messiah” (from a Hebrew word) and “Christ” (from a Greek word) both mean “Anointed One.” This promised One would be anointed, that is, appointed by God to a special position. In later chapters of this book, we will learn more about the Messiah’s important place in the fulfillment of God’s promises. We will also learn about the blessings that Jesus can bring us even now. Before Jesus was born, however, many no doubt wondered, ‘Who will prove to be the Messiah?’
In the first century C.E., the disciples of Jesus of Nazareth were fully convinced that he was the foretold Messiah. John 1 : 41. One of the disciples, a man named Simon Peter, openly said to Jesus: “You are the Christ.”Matthew 16 : 16.  How, though, could those disciples—and how can we—be sure that Jesus really is the promised Messiah?
The prophets of God who lived before Jesus foretold many details about the Messiah. These details would help others to identify him. We might illustrate things this way: Suppose you were asked to go to a busy bus depot or a train station or an airport to pick up someone you had never met before. Would it not help if someone gave you a few details about him? Similarly, by means of the Bible prophets, Jehovah gave a rather detailed description of what the Messiah would do and what he would experience. The fulfillment of these many prophecies would help faithful ones to identify him clearly.
Consider just two examples. First, over 700 years in advance, the prophet Micah foretold that the promised One would be born in Bethlehem, a small town in the land of Judah.Micah 5: 2. Where was Jesus actually born? Why, in that very town! Matthew 2 : 1, 3-9 Second, many centuries in advance, the prophecy recorded at Daniel 19 : 25 pointed to the very year when the Messiah was to appear—29 C.E.The fulfillment of these and other prophecies proves that Jesus was the promised Messiah.

At his baptism, Jesus became the Messiah, or Christ

Further proof that Jesus was the Messiah became clear near the end of 29 C.E. That is the year when Jesus went to John the Baptizer to be baptized in the Jordan River. Jehovah had promised John a sign so that he could identify the Messiah. John saw that sign at Jesus’ baptism. The Bible says that this is what happened: “After being baptized Jesus immediately came up from the water; and, look! the heavens were opened up, and he saw descending like a dove God’s spirit coming upon him. Look! Also, there was a voice from the heavens that said: ‘This is my Son, the beloved, whom I have approved.’ Matthew 3: 16,1.  After seeing and hearing what happened, John had no doubt that Jesus was sent by God.John 1:32-33.  At the moment when God’s spirit, or active force, was poured out upon him that day, Jesus became the Messiah, or Christ, the one appointed to be Leader and King.—Isaiah 55:4.
The fulfillment of Bible prophecy and Jehovah God’s own testimony plainly show that Jesus was the promised Messiah. But the Bible answers two other important questions about Jesus Christ: Where did he come from, and what kind of person was he?

WHERE DID JESUS COME FROM?

The Bible teaches that Jesus lived in heaven before he came to earth. Micah prophesied that the Messiah would be born in Bethlehem and also said that His origin was “from early times.” Micah 5:2. On many occasions, Jesus himself said that he lived in heaven before being born as a human.  As a spirit creature in heaven, Jesus had a special relationship with Jehovah.
Jesus is Jehovah’s most precious Son—and for good reason. He is called “the firstborn of all creation,” for he was God’s first creation. There is something else that makes this Son special. He is the “only-begotten Son.” This means that Jesus is the only one directly created by God. Jesus is also the only one whom God used when He created all other things.  Then, too, Jesus is called “the Word.”  This tells us that he spoke for God, no doubt delivering messages and instructions to the Father’s other sons, both spirit and human.
Is the firstborn Son equal to God, as some believe? That is not what the Bible teaches. As we noted in the preceding paragraph, the Son was created. Obviously, then, he had a beginning, whereas Jehovah God has no beginning or end.  The only-begotten Son never even considered trying to be equal to his Father. The Bible clearly teaches that the Father is greater than the Son.  Jehovah alone is “God Almighty.”  Therefore, he has no equal.
Jehovah and his firstborn Son enjoyed close association for billions of years—long before the starry heavens and the earth were created. How they must have loved each other!  This dear Son was just like his Father. That is why the Bible refers to the Son as “the image of the invisible God.” Yes, even as a human son may closely resemble his father in various ways, this heavenly Son reflected his Father’s qualities and personality.
Jehovah’s only-begotten Son willingly left heaven and came down to earth to live as a human. But you may wonder, ‘How was it possible for a spirit creature to be born as a human?’ To accomplish this, Jehovah performed a miracle. He transferred the life of his firstborn Son from heaven to the womb of a Jewish virgin named Mary. No human father was involved. Mary thus gave birth to a perfect son and named him Jesus.

WHAT KIND OF PERSON WAS JESUS?

What Jesus said and did while on earth helps us to get to know him well. More than that, through Jesus we come to know Jehovah better. Why is this the case? Recall that this Son is a perfect reflection of his Father. That is why Jesus told one of his disciples: “He that has seen me has seen the Father also.” The four Bible books known as the Gospels—Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John—tell us much about the life, activity, and personal qualities of Jesus Christ.
Jesus was well-known as “Teacher.” John 1: 38; 13: 13. What did he teach? Primarily, his message was “the good news of the kingdom”—that is, God’s Kingdom, the heavenly government that will rule over the entire earth and will bring endless blessings to obedient humans.  Whose message was this? Jesus himself said: “What I teach is not mine, but belongs to him that sent me,” namely, Jehovah.  Jesus knew that his Father wants humans to hear about the good news of the Kingdom. In. we will learn more about God’s Kingdom and what it will accomplish.

Jesus preached wherever he found people

Where did Jesus do his teaching? Everywhere he found people—in the countryside as well as in cities, in villages, in marketplaces, and in their homes. Jesus did not expect people to come to him. He went to them.  Why did Jesus go to such lengths and spend so much of his time preaching and teaching? Because doing so was God’s will for him. Jesus always did his Father’s will.  But there was another reason why he preached. He felt compassion for the crowds of people who came out to see him.  They were neglected by their religious leaders, who should have been teaching them the truth about God and his purposes. Jesus knew how much the people needed to hear the Kingdom message.
Jesus was a man of tender warmth and deep feelings. Others thus found him to be approachable and kind. Even children felt at ease with him.  Jesus was impartial. He hated corruption and injustice.  At a time when women received little respect and had few privileges, he treated them with dignity.  Jesus was genuinely humble. On one occasion, he washed the feet of his apostles, a service usually performed by a lowly servant.
Jesus was sensitive to the needs of others. This was especially evident when, under the power of God’s spirit, he performed miracles of healing.  For example, a man with leprosy came to Jesus and said: “If you just want to, you can make me clean.” Jesus personally felt this man’s pain and suffering. Moved with pity, Jesus stretched out his hand and touched the man, saying: “I want to. Be made clean.” And the sick man was healed!  Can you imagine how that man must have felt?

FAITHFUL TO THE END

Jesus set the finest example of loyal obedience to God. He remained faithful to his heavenly Father under all kinds of circumstances and despite all types of opposition and suffering. Jesus firmly and successfully resisted Satan’s temptations.  At one time, some of Jesus’ own relatives did not put faith in him, even saying that he was “out of his mind.”  But Jesus did not let them influence him; he kept right on doing God’s work. Despite insults and abuse, Jesus maintained self-control, never trying to harm his opposers.—
Jesus remained faithful until death—a cruel and painful death at the hands of his enemies.  Consider what he endured on the last day of his life as a human. He was arrested, accused by false witnesses, convicted by corrupt judges, laughed at by mobs, and tortured by soldiers. Nailed to a stake, he took his last breath, crying out: “It has been accomplished!”  However, on the third day after Jesus died, his heavenly Father resurrected him back to spirit life. A few weeks later, he returned to heaven. There, he “sat down at the right hand of God” and waited to receive kingly power.
What did Jesus accomplish by remaining faithful until death? Jesus’ death actually opens to us the opportunity for eternal life on a paradise earth, in harmony with Jehovah’s original purpose.

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For an explanation of Daniel’s prophecy fulfilled in connection with Jesus..

Jehovah is called a Father because he is the Creator.  Since Jesus was created by God, he is called God’s Son. For similar reasons, other spirit creatures and even the man Adam are called sons of God.

For further proof that the firstborn Son is not equal to God.

WHAT THE BIBLE TEACHES

• Fulfilled prophecy and God’s own testimony prove that Jesus is the Messiah, or Christ.—Matthew 16: 16.
• Jesus lived in heaven as a spirit creature long before he came to earth. - John 3: 13.
• Jesus was a teacher, a man of tender warmth, and an example of perfect obedience to God.- Matthew 9:35-36..

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Study Questions
Why does knowing about someone famous not mean that you truly know him? (b) What confusion is there about Jesus?
Why is it important for you to know the truth about Jesus?
What do the titles “Messiah” and “Christ” mean?
Of what were the disciples of Jesus fully convinced regarding him?
Illustrate how Jehovah has helped faithful ones to identify the Messiah.
What are two of the prophecies that were fulfilled in connection with Jesus?
What proof that Jesus was the Messiah became clear at his baptism?
What does the Bible teach about Jesus’ existence before he came to earth?
How does the Bible show that Jesus is Jehovah’s most precious Son?
How do we know that the firstborn Son is not equal to God?
What does the Bible mean when it refers to the Son as “the image of the invisible God”?
How did Jehovah’s only-begotten Son come to be born as a human?
Why can we say that through Jesus we come to know Jehovah better?
What was Jesus’ primary message, and where did his teachings come from?
Where did Jesus do his teaching, and why did he go to great lengths to teach others?
 What qualities of Jesus do you find most appealing?
What example shows that Jesus was sensitive to the needs of others?
 How did Jesus set an example of loyal obedience to God?
What did Jesus accomplish by remaining faithful until death?

Dream with God

God's Dream With Us  Do you have any dreams with God? It is safe to assume that you do, since all of us dream while sleeping, even if we may claim that we do not. It has been estimated that more than 95 percent of all dreams are not remembered. Which ones do you remember? Actually, those we usually remember are the ones we have just before awakening. Dream investigators have found that sleep is a progressive process that is deepest in the first few hours and then becomes lighter later on. Dreaming occurs especially during periods of rapid eye movement, called REM sleep. This alternates with non-REM sleep. Each cycle of non-REM/REM sleep lasts about 90 minutes, and these cycles are repeated five or six times during the night, with the last one occurring just before we awake. It is a mistake to think that your brain is at a low level of activity during sleep. It has been found that the brain is more active in dreams than in some states of wakefulness, with the exception of certain neurons in the brain stem, which are related to attention and memory. These appear to rest during REM sleep. But in general the nerve cells in the brain have continuous intercellular communication. Our brain is an amazingly complex part of the body with billions of elements that are generating signals at approximately one hundred to two or three hundred a second. There are more elements in one human brain than there are people on earth. Some researchers estimate that it contains from 20 billion to more than 50 billion elements. Its complexity confirms what the Bible writer David said about the human body: "I shall laud you because in a fear-inspiring way I am wonderfully made. Your works are wonderful."— Psalm 139:14. The World of Dreams During our waking hours, our five senses are constantly conveying information and images to the brain, but during sleep this is not the case. The brain generates images within itself without any external sensory input. Therefore, what we see in dreams and the actions we experience in them are at times like hallucinations. This makes it possible for us to do things that are violations of natural laws, such as flying like Peter Pan or falling from a cliff without injury. Time may be distorted so that the past is seen as if it were the present. Or if we are trying to run away, we do not seem to have control of our movements—our legs do not want to respond. Strong impressions and experiences that we may have during our waking hours can, of course, affect our dreams. Many who have experienced the frightful atrocities of war cannot easily forget them, nor can some forget the feeling of being attacked by a criminal. Such disturbing experiences while we are awake can emerge in our dreams, causing nightmares. Common things that are on our minds when we go to sleep can surface in our dreams. Sometimes when we are trying to solve a problem, the solution comes to us during sleep. This may reflect that not all sleep consists of dreaming. A portion of it is thinking. A book about dreams and our brain notes: "The most common form of mental activity in sleep is not dreaming but thinking. Sleep thinking is not accompanied by sensory illusions and is not bizarre. It tends to be commonplace, often concerned with the real-life events of yesterday or tomorrow, and is usually banal, uncreative, and repetitive." Some people feel that the subjects of their dreams have special messages for them. In order to have the dreams interpreted, they keep a notepad by their bed so that they can record them when they awaken. Regarding the usefulness of books that try to give meaning to dream symbols, The Dream Game, by Ann Faraday, says: "Dream books in which you look up the meanings of dream themes and symbols are equally useless, whether they be traditional or based on some modern psychological theory." Since it seems that dreams originate principally within the brain, it is not reasonable to think that they have special messages for us. We should view them as a normal function of the brain that helps maintain it in a healthful condition. But what about those who say that they had dreamed of the death of a relative or a friend and learned the next day that the person had died? Does not that indicate that dreams can foretell the future? In the following article, we will consider what is behind prophetic dreams.

Natural Divine Punishment

NATURAL DISASTERS?

Many view natural disasters as divine punishment. the fist of God.” some religious leaders described events like Hurricane Katrina as “God’s wrath” on “sin cities.” Christians for the tsunami, deepening the religious divide. The god Shiva was angry because people were not living the right way. A Buddhist religious leader in the United States said concerning natural disasters: “We don’t know why these things happen. We don’t even know why we’re here.”
When you see images of wrecked homes, lost lives, and broken hearts, do you sometimes wonder, ‘Why does God permit so much suffering?’ Or do you think, ‘God must have good reasons for allowing such things to happen but has not disclosed those reasons’?  Men should take practical steps that people can take to reduce the risk of injury and death should a natural disaster threaten or occur.

Many religious leaders do not know why God permits natural disasters