So far, I only read up to this post:
Hi gopher! Thanks for your reply. I think "what on the way out" needs to do is some more research. The society say that those being under the protection of Jehovah will survive is true, but to say that God will automatically destroy those who have not had the oppotunity to know him is just completely wrong! The wicked in the bible are called wicked because they have REJECTED Jehovah. You can only reject him if they have had the chance to know him. "On The Way Out" may say he's a Witness but I don't believe him, I've been in the truth 30 years and know that God will give everyone the chance to know him, before or after Armageddon.His lack of knowledge is very evident here, he can't be an active Witness.
Gopher did a great job of pointing out WT literature that explains my view. I have been a JW for 20 years
and an elder for 12 of them. I resigned as an elder, but I am still a JW in good standing. I cannot imagine
a JW with 30 years in that doesn't understand their teaching on who is destroyed at Armageddon.
I don't need quotes, and neither do you. WTS teaches that those that died before Armageddon have a
chance at a resurrection, whether they knew Jehovah or not. But Armageddon itself- that's a final judgement
and those who are destroyed will not have a resurrection hope. Gopher's quotes and the general ideas
promoted within the organization teach all the members that you need to be IN the Watchtower organization
to maximize your possibility of survival. They no longer directly say that others cannot survive, but they
certainly did say that in most of your 30 years. They still give that impression, if not directly saying it.
Some JW's think that a huge release of spiritual information will come about before the Great Tribulation is
finished, and it will be clear to all people what they should do. They should choose to serve Jesus and Jehovah.
If Armageddon is so hard to survive, and you must choose to serve Jesus and Jehovah, but all will have a
chance to survive, what's the point of the preaching work? It increases the odds that people will become
JW and hence survive. Look up "community responsibility." If you cannot discover what they say, then I
can accuse you of pretending to be a JW. You should know how to do research before you speak (or type)
off the top of your head. When you look that up, see if all people will be given a chance to know the truth
before their own destruction, or if some won't.
but to say that God will automatically destroy those who have not had the oppotunity to know him is just completely wrong! The wicked in the bible are called wicked because they have REJECTED Jehovah. You can only reject him if they have had the chance to know him.
Think about the days of Noah. Your precious WTS teaches you that Noah was a preacher of righteousness,
and they lead you to believe that all of mankind had the opportunity to get on the ark. The Bible doesn't say
that at all. It does say he was that preacher of righteousness, but never explains that it means he searched
far and wide to warn all people of the inevitable flood. Even if he actually did go to "everyone," he must have
been in a hurry. He would have reached some people on the edge of the populated area (we are assuming
humanity has not spread that far from a nucleus) and had to get back to ark building, so they would have
had to take his WT magazine that day and accept "the truth" then and there.
(Okay, it's not fair to say "his WT magazine." But he didn't even have a Bible. They would have to take the
word of this guy that they didn't even know. They would have had to join him the same day, or they would
have had to think about what he said without further benefit from God or Noah, and find the ark before the
door closed.)
NO- the above didn't happen. God decided to wipe out the earth and only save Noah and his family.
That's what the Bible teaches, and that's what JW's teach about Armageddon. Officially, they cannot say
that John Smith is going to be destroyed, but they do say that you need to be in the modern "ark" of the
WT organization.
His (OnTheWayOut's) lack of knowledge is very evident here, he can't be an active Witness.
I don't have a problem with your lack of depth in what WT says. They are very confusing. I don't have
a problem with you arguing or debating this point, and even dismissing what I said (as I am sure you will).
I do have a problem with the insult above and your typical JW judgementalism. It is clear to me that
you are an active Witness, you remain ignorant as many do, you only know how to answer from the
paragraph at the WT study but you think you put it in your own words because you restate the thought
with slightly altered English. Stop looking at the straw in my eye, BROTHER (I shuddered when I typed
that.) If you learn to stop judging me, I might forgive your ignorance and become your friend. We all were
ignorant once.
