Bringing "a Gift to Jehovah"

After Jerusalem is rebuilt, Jews who are scattered far beyond their homeland will look to the city along with its restored priesthood as the center of pure worship.  Many of them will travel long distances to attend the annual festivals there.  Under inspiration, Isaiah writes:  " 'They will actually bring all your brothers out of all the nations as a gift to Jehovah, on horses and in chariots and in covered wagons and on mules and on swift she-camels, up to my holy mountain, Jerusalem, Jehovah has said, 'just as when the sons of Israel bring the gift in a clean vessel into the house of Jehovah.  And from them also I shall take some for the priests, for the Levites.' " -Isaiah 66:20, 21.

Some of those "brothers out of all the nations" were present on the day of Pentecost when holy spirit was poured out on Jesus' disciples.  The account reads:  "There were dwelling in Jerusalem Jews, reverent men, from every nation of those under heaven." (Acts 2:5)  They came to Jerusalem to worship according to Jewish custom, but when they heard the good news about Jesus Christ, many exercised faith in him and were baptized.

Does this prophecy have a modern-day fulfillment?  Yes, indeed.  Following World War I, Jehovah's anointed servants discerned from the Scriptures that God's Kingdom had been set up in heaven in 1914.  Through careful Bible study, they learned that additional Kingdom heirs, or "brothers," were to be gathered. Intrepid ministers traveled to "the most distant part of the earth," using all manner of conveyance, in search of prospective members of the anointed remnant, most of whom came out of Christendom's  churches.  When these were located, they were brought in as a gift to Jehovah. -Acts 1:8. 

The anointed ones who were gathered in the early years did not expect Jehovah to accept them as they were before coming to a knowledge of Bible truth.  They took steps to cleanse themselves of spiritual and moral defilement so that they could be presented as a "gift in a clean vessel," or as stated by the apostle Paul, "a chaste virgin to the Christ."  (2 Corinthians 11:2)  In addition to rejecting doctrinal error, the anointed  ones had to learn how to remain strictly neutral in the political affairs of this world.  In 1031, when his servants had been cleansed to an appropriate  degree, Jehovah graciously granted them the privilege of bearing his name as Jehovah's Witnesses.  (Isaiah 43:10-12)  In what way, though, did Jehovah "take some for the priests"? As a group, these anointed ones became a part of "a royal priesthood, a holy nation," offering sacrifices of praise to God. -1 Peter 2:9; Isaiah 54:1; Hebrews 13:15.

Next time: The Ingathering Continues

From the Book Isaiah's Prophecy Light for all Mankind, Volume II, 2001