What the Watchtower does not want you to know about 1975:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oaXbBVVoeEQ
Sunday, June 14, 2009
Wednesday, June 10, 2009
Watchtower Study, June 7, 2009
Paragraph 15: Satan was the first creature to turn apostate. Modern-day apostates display characteristics similar to those of the Devil. Their mind may be poisoned by a critical attitude toward individuals in the congregations, Christian elders, or the Governing Body. Some apostates oppose the use of the divine name, Jehovah. They are not interested in learning about Jehovah or in serving him. Like their father, Satan, apostates target people of integrity. (John 8:44) No wonder servants of Jehovah avoid all contact with them!--2 John 10, 11.
The Governing Body of Jehovah's Witnesses is completely unaccountable to the flock and demand unquestioned submission. Debate, discussion, questioning and criticism is allowed by the Governing Body inside their boardroom, but not for anyone else. Anyone who actively critiques and exposes flaws of certain Watchtower teaching/policies is associated with Satan and labelled an apostate.
There is a difference between bitter and twisted false accusations and lies, and healthy criticism and debate. This article makes no allowance for the difference.
The scriptures actually exhort the flock to test those in apostle-like authority - Revelation 2:2. Christians are told to keep testing every inspired expression and to keep testing whether they are in the faith - 1 John 4.1
How can JW's be sure they are not being deceived by their own leaders unless there is some questioning and debate? How can incompetent and even corrupt elders be exposed and removed unless their is criticsm of them where warranted? It is grossly unfair and a distortion to label 'criticism' of elders and the GB as basically satanic and apostate.
The Governing Body of Jehovah's Witnesses is completely unaccountable to the flock and demand unquestioned submission. Debate, discussion, questioning and criticism is allowed by the Governing Body inside their boardroom, but not for anyone else. Anyone who actively critiques and exposes flaws of certain Watchtower teaching/policies is associated with Satan and labelled an apostate.
There is a difference between bitter and twisted false accusations and lies, and healthy criticism and debate. This article makes no allowance for the difference.
The scriptures actually exhort the flock to test those in apostle-like authority - Revelation 2:2. Christians are told to keep testing every inspired expression and to keep testing whether they are in the faith - 1 John 4.1
How can JW's be sure they are not being deceived by their own leaders unless there is some questioning and debate? How can incompetent and even corrupt elders be exposed and removed unless their is criticsm of them where warranted? It is grossly unfair and a distortion to label 'criticism' of elders and the GB as basically satanic and apostate.
Monday, June 1, 2009
05-31-09 Watchtower Study (PRAISE FOREVER)
3. Jehovah rewarded Jesus with something that his Son did not have in his prehuman existence--indestructible life in heaven. (Heb. 7:15-17, 28) Jehovah was pleased to do this because Jesus had kept perfect integrity under severe tests. Jesus thereby provided his Father with the best, yes the complete, answer to Satan's lie that humans serve God with selfish motives and not out of unbreakable love.--Prov.27:11.
I don't really follow this logic. Jesus was the perfect Son of God who had the power of the holy spirit flowing through him and angels supporting him throughout his ministry. He had a pre-human existence for millions of years. He therefore had a huge advantage in resisting Satan's temptations than imperfect, weak, sinful humans. But Job was an imperfect, sinful human born under Adamic sin and he remained loyal and obedient, without all the knowlege and power Jesus had. So Job really provided a much better answer to this issue than Jesus did.
6. “Happy is the man in fear of Jehovah in whose commandments he has taken very much delight. Mighty in the earth his offspring will become. As for the generation of the upright ones, it will be blessed.” (Ps. 112: 1,2) Note that the psalmist first mentions an individual "man" and then changes to the plural "upright ones" in the latter part of verse 2. This suggests that Psalm 112 can refer to a composite group made up of many individuals. Interestingly, the apostle Paul was inspired to apply Psalm 112:9 in connection with Christians in the first century. (Read 2 Corinthians 9:8, 9.) How well this psalm depicts how Christ's followers on earth today can be happy!
The Society takes a scripture from Psalms, written when there was no heavenly hopetm then applies it to first century Christians, when there was only a heavenly hopetm , and then applies it again to "Christ's followers (JW's only!) on earth today", 99% of whom have no heavenly hopetm. Most JW's would read "Christ's Followers" to mean all JW's, yet if you research this you will discover that it is really only the 144,000 who the Watchtower teaches are truly "Christ's followers". According to Watchtower doctrine, Psalm 112:9 really only applies to the remnant, those who partake of the memorial emblems, yet nearly all JW's reading this paragraph today took it to mean themselves.
7. As indicated at Psalm 112: 1, these true Christians experience great happiness as they walk "in fear of Jehovah." To keep a righteous standing with God we must exercise faith in Jesus’ shed blood. ...
Notice how Jesus' role in all this is reduced to his shed blood. How do you exercise faith in a liquid? Jehovah's Witnesses are rarely, if ever, told to simply exercise faith in Jesus the person, the saviour, the Lord. Instead, they are told to exercise faith in Jesus 'blood' or his 'ransom provision' etc.
10. Anointed Christians along with their companions do not keep their spiritual riches to themselves. Rather, they have "flashed up" in Satan’s dark world "as a light to the upright ones." They do so by helping others to benefit from the spiritual treasures of wisdom and knowledge of God. Opposers have tried to put a stop to the Kingdom-preaching work but have failed. Instead the fruitage of this righteous work will stand forever! By enduring in a course of righteousness God's servants can have the assurance of living permanently standing forever (sic).
There is not a single scripture which uses the term "Anointed Christians" (all Christians are implicitly anointed in the NT) and there is not a single scripture which refers to "companions" of "anointed Christians". These are completely extra-biblical terms and ideas created by the Society's unscriptural teaching that there are born again and non-born again Christians.
Notice the "assurance" of living forever by following a "course of righteousness". In other words, JW's will definitely live forever by continuing to follow the Watchtower organisation's programme of works: meetings, answering up, field service, and being on the Theocratic Ministry School. And in other places the Society will tell you that everlasting life is not assured at all no matter how good a JW you are, it is only a probability!
11. God's people both the anointed slave class and those making up the "great crowd" have proved to be generous regarding material things.
Since 1995 the Society has officially taught that the "great crowd" does not form until the Great Tribulation, so why is it referring to the great crowd as if it already exists??
16. God's righteous ones also have to put up with the hatred and lies spread by opposers, but this has failed to silence true Christians and will continue to fail Rather, God's servants continue steadfast and unmovable in the work Jehovah has given them--to preach the good news of the Kingdom and to make disciples of all who respond. No doubt, the righteous will experience increased opposition as the end draws closer. Such hatred will reach a climax in the worldwide attack of Satan the Devil in his role as Gog of Magog. Then, at last, we will 'look on our adversaries' as they go down in humiliating defeat. What an experience it will be to see the complete sanctification of Jehovah’s name!--Ezek. 38:18,22,23.
How many JW's honestly still believe that a global attack on all religion engineered by the UN is imminent with a final attack on their religion as its climax. The Watchtower has been spouting this absurd nonsense for decades.
17. How enjoyable it will be to praise Jehovah unitedly, without opposition from the Devil and his world! Such enjoyment will be the everlasting lot of all who maintain a righteous standing with God. They will not bow down in disgrace and defeat, for Jehovah also promises that the "horn" of his righteous one "will be exalted with glory." (Ps. 112:9) Jehovah’s righteous one will exult victoriously on seeing the downfall of all enemies of Jehovah’s sovereignty.
Yes, how Jehovah's Witnesses will exult to see 7 billion fellow humans slaughtered by God for all eternity. How they will cheer when they walk past all those rotting corpses of children, massacred because their parents did not listen to Jehovah's Witnesses. Pol Pot and Hitler, eat your heart out!
I don't really follow this logic. Jesus was the perfect Son of God who had the power of the holy spirit flowing through him and angels supporting him throughout his ministry. He had a pre-human existence for millions of years. He therefore had a huge advantage in resisting Satan's temptations than imperfect, weak, sinful humans. But Job was an imperfect, sinful human born under Adamic sin and he remained loyal and obedient, without all the knowlege and power Jesus had. So Job really provided a much better answer to this issue than Jesus did.
6. “Happy is the man in fear of Jehovah in whose commandments he has taken very much delight. Mighty in the earth his offspring will become. As for the generation of the upright ones, it will be blessed.” (Ps. 112: 1,2) Note that the psalmist first mentions an individual "man" and then changes to the plural "upright ones" in the latter part of verse 2. This suggests that Psalm 112 can refer to a composite group made up of many individuals. Interestingly, the apostle Paul was inspired to apply Psalm 112:9 in connection with Christians in the first century. (Read 2 Corinthians 9:8, 9.) How well this psalm depicts how Christ's followers on earth today can be happy!
The Society takes a scripture from Psalms, written when there was no heavenly hopetm then applies it to first century Christians, when there was only a heavenly hopetm , and then applies it again to "Christ's followers (JW's only!) on earth today", 99% of whom have no heavenly hopetm. Most JW's would read "Christ's Followers" to mean all JW's, yet if you research this you will discover that it is really only the 144,000 who the Watchtower teaches are truly "Christ's followers". According to Watchtower doctrine, Psalm 112:9 really only applies to the remnant, those who partake of the memorial emblems, yet nearly all JW's reading this paragraph today took it to mean themselves.
7. As indicated at Psalm 112: 1, these true Christians experience great happiness as they walk "in fear of Jehovah." To keep a righteous standing with God we must exercise faith in Jesus’ shed blood. ...
Notice how Jesus' role in all this is reduced to his shed blood. How do you exercise faith in a liquid? Jehovah's Witnesses are rarely, if ever, told to simply exercise faith in Jesus the person, the saviour, the Lord. Instead, they are told to exercise faith in Jesus 'blood' or his 'ransom provision' etc.
10. Anointed Christians along with their companions do not keep their spiritual riches to themselves. Rather, they have "flashed up" in Satan’s dark world "as a light to the upright ones." They do so by helping others to benefit from the spiritual treasures of wisdom and knowledge of God. Opposers have tried to put a stop to the Kingdom-preaching work but have failed. Instead the fruitage of this righteous work will stand forever! By enduring in a course of righteousness God's servants can have the assurance of living permanently standing forever (sic).
There is not a single scripture which uses the term "Anointed Christians" (all Christians are implicitly anointed in the NT) and there is not a single scripture which refers to "companions" of "anointed Christians". These are completely extra-biblical terms and ideas created by the Society's unscriptural teaching that there are born again and non-born again Christians.
Notice the "assurance" of living forever by following a "course of righteousness". In other words, JW's will definitely live forever by continuing to follow the Watchtower organisation's programme of works: meetings, answering up, field service, and being on the Theocratic Ministry School. And in other places the Society will tell you that everlasting life is not assured at all no matter how good a JW you are, it is only a probability!
11. God's people both the anointed slave class and those making up the "great crowd" have proved to be generous regarding material things.
Since 1995 the Society has officially taught that the "great crowd" does not form until the Great Tribulation, so why is it referring to the great crowd as if it already exists??
16. God's righteous ones also have to put up with the hatred and lies spread by opposers, but this has failed to silence true Christians and will continue to fail Rather, God's servants continue steadfast and unmovable in the work Jehovah has given them--to preach the good news of the Kingdom and to make disciples of all who respond. No doubt, the righteous will experience increased opposition as the end draws closer. Such hatred will reach a climax in the worldwide attack of Satan the Devil in his role as Gog of Magog. Then, at last, we will 'look on our adversaries' as they go down in humiliating defeat. What an experience it will be to see the complete sanctification of Jehovah’s name!--Ezek. 38:18,22,23.
How many JW's honestly still believe that a global attack on all religion engineered by the UN is imminent with a final attack on their religion as its climax. The Watchtower has been spouting this absurd nonsense for decades.
17. How enjoyable it will be to praise Jehovah unitedly, without opposition from the Devil and his world! Such enjoyment will be the everlasting lot of all who maintain a righteous standing with God. They will not bow down in disgrace and defeat, for Jehovah also promises that the "horn" of his righteous one "will be exalted with glory." (Ps. 112:9) Jehovah’s righteous one will exult victoriously on seeing the downfall of all enemies of Jehovah’s sovereignty.
Yes, how Jehovah's Witnesses will exult to see 7 billion fellow humans slaughtered by God for all eternity. How they will cheer when they walk past all those rotting corpses of children, massacred because their parents did not listen to Jehovah's Witnesses. Pol Pot and Hitler, eat your heart out!
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