I really appreciated your input on my previous thread which dealt with a rebuttal to a JW elder who has written a piece "defending" the premise that Jehovah is using an organization today to dispense spiritual truth. Here is part two of this item. The second part of the article begins by implying that the modern day organization is synonymous with the "congregation of the living God" and is "God's household," a "pillar and support of the truth" (1 Timothy 3:15).
The following is a direct quote from his article:
"That individual faithful Christians would be present in the generation prior to the great tribulation is established by reference to the holy ones who are gathered together from the four winds in Matt. 2$:22,24,31. Paul uses the pronoun 'we' when referring to such ones in 1 Thess. 4:15,17 and 1 Cor. 15:51 (two passages applied to the last days). If we judge by Paul's customary usage, the references must be to the Christian congregation. Nowhere in these passages is there any hint that the congregation is now merely a mystical entity. In fact, when the writer of Hebrews is encouraging his readers not to 'miss the meetings' (Heb. 10:25,26), he adds the comment 'and all the more so as you behold the day drawing near'. If we acknowledge that the 'day' is the 'day of the Lord', we are bound to accept that Christians might still be gathering for their meetings in the last days.
"Revelation 13:7,10,15, further identify the holy ones as those who are persecuted for their refusal to take up the sword and worship the beast. In chapter 18:4 thw words of Isaiah and Jeremiah (Isa.48:20, 52:11, Jer.50:8, 51:6, 45) originally spoken to ancient Israel were transwferred to those now called "my people". The implication seems obvious. Just as the Israelites returned from Babylon, so God's latter day people would, as a group, flee from Babylon the Great. This likening of the congregation of the holy ones to the repatriated Jews is found throughout the apocalyptic writings. Who would doubt for instance, that the prophecy of Rev.11 is attributing the 'two witnesses' the priestly functions of Joshua and the governmental function of Zerubbabel, since the language is straight from the post-exilic book of Zechariah? The passage alluded to (chap.4) focuses on divine appointment and seems to present the two anointed ones as receptacles and transmitters of the holy spirit. Elsewhere in Rev.11, the two witnesses are given authority similar to that of Moses and Elijah. It appears to me, therefore, that irrespective of the actual identity of the two witnesses, the passage clearly asserts the existence of some entity in the last days with divine backing and authority. Additionally, we might add, this instrument of God "torments" opposers earthwide (vs.10) and is temporarily conquered by the beast." END OF DIRECT QUOTE
What would you response be to this material?