Does anyone have it?
thanks
purps
Question from our Readers 5.01.07 WT
by purplesofa 13 Replies latest jw friends
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purplesofa
is the QFR about the new light or was there an article on it........I have all WT's but that one........grrrrrr
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Gordy
sorry I've forgotten how to put a picture on.
Can anyone remind me
Was going to put scans of May 1st WT QFR on
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yesidid
Hi Purps,
This is what you are wanting. I have highlighted the crucial bit.
When does the calling of Christians to a heavenly hope cease?The Bible does not reveal a precise answer to that question. We do know that the anointing of Jesus' disciples with a view to their heavenly inheritance began in 33 C.E. (Acts 2:1-4) We also know that after the death of the apostles, genuine anointed Christian "wheat" came to "grow together" with counterfeit Christians, "weeds." (Matthew 13:34-30) Then, starting in the late 1800s, anointed Christians were again prominently active. In 1919 "the harvest of the earth," including the gathering of the final ones of the anointed, began to be reaped._ Revelation 14: 15, 16
From the late 1800s until 1931, the main thrust of the preaching work was the gathering of the remaining members of the body of Christ. In 1931 the Bible Students took the Bible-based name Jehovah's Witnesses, and in the November 15, 1933, issue of The Watchtower, the thought was expressed that this unique name was the "denarius" referred to in Jesus' parable recorded at Matthew 20: 1-16. The 12 hours mentioned in the parable were thought to correspond to the 12 years from 1919 to 1931. For many years after that, it was believed that the call to the heavenly Kingdom had ended in 1931 and that those called to be joint heirs with Christ in 1930 and 1931 were "the last" called. (Matthew 20:6-8) However, in 1966 an adjusted undersanding of that parable was presented, and it became clear that it had nothing to do with the end of the calling of the anointed.
In 1935 the "great crowd" of Revelation 7:9-15 was understood to be made up of "other sheep," Christians with an earthly hope, who would appear on the world scene in "the last days" and who as a group would survive Armageddon. (John 10:16; 2 Timothy 3:1; Revelation 21:3, 4) After that year, the thrust of the disciple-making work turned to the gathering in of the great crowd. Hence, especially after 1966 it was believed that the heavenly call ceased in 1935. This seemed to be confirmed when almost all who were baptized after 1935 felt that they had the earthly hope. Thereafter, any called to the heavenly hope were believed to be replacements for anointed Christians who had proved unfaithful.
Without a doubt, if one of the anointed unrepentatnly falls away, Jehovah does call another individual to take his place. (Romans 11:17-22) However, the number of genuine anointed ones who have become unfatihful is likely not large. On the other hand, as time has gone by, some Christians baptized afte 1935 have had witness borne to them that they have the heavenly hope. (Romans 8:16, 17) Thus, it appears that we cannot set a specific date for when the calling of Christians to the heavenly hope ends.
How should a person be viewed who has determined in his heart that he is now anointed and begins to partake of the emblems at the Memorial? He should not be judged. The matter is between him and Jehovah. (Romans 14:12) However, genuine anointed Christian do not demand special attention. They do not believe that their being of the anointed gives them special "insights" beyond what even some experienced members of the great crowd may have. They do not believe that they necessarily have more holy spirit than their companions of the other sheep have; nor do they expect special treatment or claim that their partaking of the emblems places them above the appointed elders in the congregation. They humbly remember that some anointed men in the first century did not qualify to serve as elders or ministerial servants. (1 timothy 3:1-10, 12, 13; Titus 1:5-9; James 3:1) Some anointed Christians were even spiritually weak. (1Thessalonians 5:14) And sisters, although anointed, did not teach in the congregation.--1 Timothy 2:11,12
Hence, anointed Christians along with their other sheep companions strive to stay spiritually strong, cultivating the fruitage of the spirit and working for the peace of the congregation. All Christians, whether anointed or of the other sheep, work hard at preaching the good news and making disciples, under the direction of the Governing Body. Anointed Christians are content to do this for as long as it is God's will that they remain on earth as Jehovah's servants. -
purplesofa
thanks yesidid.
sneaky snakes they are........those writers.
makes me really angry that this comes out in a QFR
and ..........wow, nothing like watering down the annoited.
so those that we know are not annoited can feel ok about the
power they have.
purps
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5go
I quess the 8000 partakers should go up now !
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OnTheWayOut
The article suggests that since 1966, the WTS has not encouraged people to believe the
door closed to the anointed (with the rare 'replacement' exception) in 1935. Ha!But notice this great article.
***w96 8/15 pp.30-31QuestionsFromReaders***
Questions From ReadersThe
reports forsome years show that the number partaking of the Memorial emblems increased slightly. Does this suggest that manynew ones are being anointed with holy spirit?There is good reason to believe that the number of 144,000 anointed Christians was complete decades ago.
At Acts 2:1-4, we read about the first ones in that limited group: "Now while the day of the festival of Pentecost was in progress they were all together at the same place, and suddenly there occurred from heaven a noise just like that of a rushing stiff breeze, and it filled the whole house in which they were sitting. And tongues as if of fire became visible to them and were distributed about, and one sat upon each one of them, and they all became filled with holy spirit and started to speak with different tongues, just as the spirit was granting them to make utterance."
After that, Jehovah selected others, and he anointed them with his holy spirit. Thousands were added in the very early years of Christianity. At the Memorial celebration in our time, the speaker often calls attention to the apostle Paul’s words at Romans 8:15-17, which mention that the anointed ‘receive a spirit of adoption as sons.’ Paul added that the holy spirit they receive ‘bears witness with their spirit, that they are God’s children, joint heirs with Christ.’ Those who truly have this spirit-anointing know it with certainty. It is not a mere wish or a reflection of an emotional and unrealistic view of themselves.
We understand that this heavenly calling continued down through the centuries, though during the so-called Dark Ages, there may have been times when the number of anointed ones were very few. With the reestablishment of true Christianity near the end of the last century, more were called and chosen. But it seems that in the mid-1930’s, the full number of the 144,000 was basically completed. Thus there began to appear a group of loyal Christians with the earthly hope. Jesus termed such "other sheep," who unite in worship with the anointed as one approved flock.—John 10:14-16.
The facts over the decades reflect both the completion of the calling of the anointed and Jehovah’s blessing on the growing "great crowd," who hope to survive "the great tribulation." (Revelation 7:9, 14) For example, at the Memorial celebration in 1935, attended by 63,146, those partaking of the emblems in evidence of their profession to be anointed numbered 52,465. Thirty years later, or in 1965, the attendance was 1,933,089, while the partakers decreased to 11,550. Moving 30 years closer, in 1995 the attendance jumped to 13,147,201, but only 8,645 partook of the bread and the wine. (1 Corinthians 11:23-26) Clearly, as the decades passed, the number of those professing to be of the remnant greatly decreased—some 52,400 in 1935; 11,500 in 1965; 8,600 in 1995. However, those with earthly hopes have been blessed, and their number has increased abundantly.
The most recent published report is for the year 1995, and it shows 28 more partakers than in the preceding year though the ratio of partakers to those attending did actually drop. On balance, that a few more chose to partake of the emblems is no cause for concern. Over the years some, even ones newly baptized, have suddenly begun to partake. In a number of cases, after a while they acknowledged that this was an error. Some have recognized that they partook as an emotional response to perhaps physical or mental strain. But they came to see that they really were not called to heavenly life. They asked for God’s merciful understanding. And they continue to serve him as fine, loyal Christians, having the hope of everlasting life on earth.
There is no need for any of us to be concerned if a person begins to partake of the emblems or ceases to do so. It really is not up to us whether someone actually has been anointed with holy spirit and called to heavenly life or not. Recall Jesus’ solid assurance: "I am the fine shepherd, and I know my sheep." Just as assuredly, Jehovah knows those whom he has chosen as spiritual sons. There is every reason to believe that the number of anointed ones will continue to decline as advanced age and unforeseen occurrences end their earthly lives. Yet, even as these truly anointed ones prove faithful till death, in line for the crown of life, the other sheep, who have washed their robes in the blood of the Lamb, can look forward to surviving the impending great tribulation.—2 Timothy 4:6-8; Revelation 2:10.
[Footnote]
See TheWatchtower of March 15, 1965, pages 191-2.
Tons more examples that they did say the heavenly calling ended in 1935:
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w84 2/15p. 18par. 11TheRecentPenfor"OtherSheep"***
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We note that up till the spring of the year 1935 the remnant of the spiritual Israelites who belong inside "this fold" were preoccupied with gathering into that fold, or pen, the final ones needed to make up the full membership of 144,000 spiritual Israelites. These would be the last to be brought under the new covenant as mediated by the Fine Shepherd, who died as the Lamb of God to provide "the blood of an everlasting covenant." (Hebrews 13:20; Psalm 50:5)***
w015/15 p.15‘Behold!TheGreatCrowd!’***Prior to 1935, an increasing number of those who responded to the Bible’s message and showed zeal in preaching the good news manifested an interest in living forever on the Paradise earth. They had no desire to go to heaven, for God had not given them the hope of heavenly life. Their identifying themselves with the great crowd of other sheep indicated that by 1935 the calling of the 144,000 anointed Christians was virtually complete.—Revelation 7:4.
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w001/15p.16par.11"Desirable Things"Are FillingJehovah’sHouse***
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It seems that by the year 1935, the general ingathering of the anointed was complete.***
w99 2/1p.17par.16OurTreasureinEarthenVessels***
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In the 1930’s the number of "those called and chosen and faithful," the 144,000, appeared to be filled. (Revelation 17:14; see box on page 19.) We do not know how many of the anointed were gathered in the first century and from among the "weeds" during the dark centuries of Christendom’s great apostasy. But in 1935 there was a worldwide total of 52,465 publishers, out of a peak of 56,153, who indicated their heavenly hope by partaking of the Memorial emblems. What would be the destiny of the many yet to be gathered?***
w975/1 p.21 par.12MessengersofGodlyPeacePronouncedHappy***
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As the years passed, the number of the Israel of God swelled until the 1930’s when the gathering of the remaining ones of the anointed neared completion.
