The Writing Department, C/O EZF
The Watchtower
25 Columbia Heights
Brooklyn, New York, 11201 USA

Nisan 10th, 1995

Dear EZF,

It is the job of the prophet to warn the shepherd. The memorial that you will hold on Nisan14 will fail. It's like Paul said referring to the emblems:

The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not a sharing in the blood of the Christ?
The loaf which we break, is it not a sharing in the body of the Christ? (1 Cor 10:16).

Although the blessor and breaker should be only one in each congregation, and the braker of the loaf should be also the blessor of the loaf. This scripture in the literal meaning is casting doubt on the success of the blessing of the emblems. It is therefore saying: 'The memorial will succeed will it not?'. This is a binary question (see Letter to the elders page 13). The cryptic meaning is that the memorial will fail at some time. A more obvious example of this is the question asked in his local synagogue about Jesus:

And they all began to give favourable witness about him and to marvel at the winsome words proceeding out of his mouth, and they were saying: This is a son of Joseph, is it not?" (Luke 4:22).

Well, of course, he was not Joseph's son, as Luke himself bears witness:

Furthermore, Jesus himself, when he commenced [his work], was about thirty years old, being the son, as the opinion was, of Joseph (Luke 3:23).

Actually Jesus did not merely commence 'his work' then, no, he 'commenced' then period, when Michael entered him. But the point I am making is that the 'is it not' suffix, here even in the literal sense, is added because the statement is both true and false. Likewise when Paul asks if the blessing on the emblems is to succeed, with the interrogative suffix the answer is yes and no. If Paul had said:

The cup of blessing, is it not a sharing of the blood of Christ?
The loaf, is it not a sharing in the body of the Christ?

Then these statements would be true in the sense that once blessed they are a sharing in Jesus' body and blood, and false in the sense that of course they are just bread and wine. But since Paul refers to the cup, 'which we bless', then the 'yes and no', answers refer to the success or failure of the blessing itself not to the two ways of looking at the cup and the bread.

The above is delicate but if you see it, it is obvious. This celebration also failed in the first century at one point. In any event as I have mentioned before the proper way to celebrate is:

[1] All invited guests both anointed and non-anointed are given roast lamb, bitter greens, unleavened bread and wine.

[2] Then during the meal some of the unleavened bread is blessed and broken by a heavenly anointed brother, he then himself distributes the fragments to his heavenly brothers and sisters only.

[3] Then after the meal, some wine is blessed by any anointed brother, heavenly or earthly, and the cup, the one cup, is then passed around all of the anointed brothers and sisters, heavenly and earthly, from anointed brother to anointed brother via anointed brothers.

It's very simple, it's beautiful in fact. After Nisan14 you will have 30 days to rectify your mistake. As you know, you have an opportunity to celebrate again, this time correctly, on Iyyar14. If you wish the memorial this year to be accepted by God, then you will take this second opportunity. If you do not take this second opportunity, then all of the anointed remnant will be in the position of a Jew who has deliberately missed the Passover. God will make no allowance this year for those of his sons who deliberately fail to celebrate his firstborn son's death properly [at least to the extent described above] and why should he?

I cannot tell them myself what danger they are in. You can, you have that responsibilty now. Their blood is in your hands, do not spill it. You also have my blood on your shoulders this year, I make no allowance for you in that regard.

Why should I ask God to bless you when you will not even bless some bread and wine? But I do ask him, may he bless you, always, forever, through Jesus, amen.

Yours faithfully

Gordon Ritchie