Most-Ignored Scriptures by JWs (page 51)

The Quiet One

As for James 3:1 ... Only 8 men are the teachers today, everyone else just nod and take notes. Didn't anybody tell you? ;)

lost

bumped.

(Was satan cast out when Jesus was Crucified or later in the book of revelation )

d

here is something interesting I found on a philosophy forum.

The Horror of Jesus -

Examine the wise and frightening sections of the New Testament that Christians try to avoid at all costs.

Foreword

As everyone knows, there is very little resemblance between the religion of Christianity and the teachings of Jesus. They embrace entirely different values and point in completely opposite directions. It is like chalk and cheese. This applies as much to the "serious" mainstream denominations of Catholicism and Anglicanism, as it does to the wacky Mormons and Seventh Day Adventists. Without exception, all of the various Christian sects have turned away from the reality of Jesus, choosing instead to pursue a fabrication of their own imaginations for the sake of their own egos.

One is reminded of a quote by Soren Kierkegaard: "Think of a very long railway train - but long ago the locomotive ran away from it. Christendom is the unmoving train, each generation linked to the previous one. The locomotive is Christianity, the restlessness of the eternal." I could not put it any better. Over the years, the real teachings of Jesus have become infinitely removed from the many religions that bear his name.

The reality is that Jesus was a man of the Infinite, a great sage who implored people to abandon their attachments and live a life of truth. His constantly emphasized the need to give up

everything for the sake of God. He urged his listeners to transcend the world of mediocrity and ordinary human values and become perfectly wise. "Be perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect", was his core teaching.

But no one these days wants to hear this, especially not Christians. They have far too many attachments to protect - to their families, their wives and children, their preachers, their religion, their good works, their reputation and status within the community, their inner images of God and Jesus. Because of this, they do everything possible to kill the reality of Jesus in their hearts. They nail him on the cross and leave him there to die. And then, when they have succeeded in this, and they are absolutely sure that Jesus can never come back to life again, they come together to light candles and sing hymns in celebration, giving thanks to God for the wonderful things in their lives. All done, mind you, in the name of Jesus.

If the Devil himself wanted to create a perfect tool for turning people away from the spiritual path, he could not have done any better than the religion of Christianity. It is, for all intents and purposes, the embodiment of evil, and if Jesus were ever to come back to earth he would denounce it from the rooftops and condemn it with all his being. You don't believe me? Just look at his words recorded in the Gospels. He has already denounced it. The condemnation that he regularly poured forth onto the Jewish religious leaders, Pharisees and teachers of the Law of his time is just as applicable to the modern Christian of today.

Jesus went much further than this, however. He not only attacked the religious mentality which underlies Judaism and Christianity, but he also challenged the deeper emotional values and attachments that all humans love to cherish - e.g. marriage, love, family, women, motherhood, financial security, reputation, contentment, etc. From the point of view of the average fun-loving person, Jesus was an absolute monster. He was literally inhuman. He presented a teaching that was so offensive that it enraged those around him - to the point that all they wanted to do was to put him to death.

So be warned - what follows here is some of the deadliest wisdom ever spoken. The God that Jesus worshipped was not the warm, embracing "Grandfather in the sky" so beloved of Christians, but rather the cool clean loftiness of the Infinite. Sample this wisdom if you must, but sample it with care. It is not for everyone.

David Quinn

***

The Horror of Jesus

--

�Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.� This is the first and greatest commandment.

Matthew 22: 36

Christians always overlook this commandment and focus instead on the second one - "love your neighbour as yourself" - which they invariably misinterpret to mean ordinary human love. They have no desire to engage with God on a full-time, uncompromising basis. That would only hinder their desire to engage in ordinary human love, which is what they value most in the world.

--

"Make every effort to enter through the narrow door, because many, I tell you, will try to enter and will not be able to." Luke 13: 24

--

"Those who want to be my disciples must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For those who want to save their life will lose it, but those who lose their life for me will find it." Matthew 16: 24

--

"Unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds. Those who love their life will lose it, while those who hate their life in this world will keep it for eternal life.

Whoever serves me must follow me; and where I am, my servant also will be." John 12: 24

--

"No one can be a slave to two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot be a slave to both God and Money."

Luke 16:13

Or God and family. Or God and a wife. Or God and emotional happiness. Or God and any kind of attachment at all. No one can be a slave to two masters. He will either hate the one and love the other, or will be devoted to the one and despise the other.

--

"If anyone comes to me and does not hate his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters�yes, even his own life�such a person cannot be my disciple.

Luke 14: 26

--

"Truly I tell you, no one who has left home or wife or brothers or sisters or parents or children for the sake of the kingdom of God will fail to receive many times as much in this age, and in the age to come eternal life."

Luke 18: 29

--

"What people value highly is detestable in God�s sight.

Luke 16: 15

And what do people value most highly? Hint: it is not money.

--

"The harvest is great but the labourers are few. Beseech the Lord, therefore, to send out labourers to the harvest."

Thomas: 73

--

"I shall choose you, one out of a thousand, & two out of ten thousand, & they shall stand as a single one."

Thomas: 23

Perhaps only one in ten thousand people have the potential for wisdom, and of these, perhaps only one in ten thousand actually succeed in becoming enlightened (or entering the Kingdom of Heaven).

--

"Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it."

Matthew 7: 13

--

Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters.

Matthew 12: 30

--

"Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect."

Matthew 5: 48

--

Jesus said to his disciples, "Compare me to someone and tell me whom I am like."

Simon Peter said to him, "You are like a righteous angel."

Matthew said to him, "You are like a wise philosopher."

Thomas said to him, "Master, my mouth is wholly incapable of saying whom you are like."

Jesus said, "I am not your master. Because you have drunk, you have become intoxicated from the bubbling spring which I have measured out."

And he took him and withdrew and told him three things. When Thomas returned to his companions, they asked him, "What did Jesus say to you?"

Thomas said to them, "If I tell you one of the things which he told me, you will pick up stones and throw them at me; a fire will come up out of the stones and burn you up."

Thomas: 13

--

"Why do you call me, �Lord, Lord,� and do not do what I say?

Luke 6: 46

--

"Not everyone who says to me, �Lord, Lord,� will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only those who do the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, �Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?� Then I will tell them plainly, �I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!�"

Matthew 7: 21 Christians, of all persuasions, should be shaking with fear at these words.

--

"Watch out for the teachers of the law. They like to walk around in flowing robes and be greeted with respect in the marketplaces, and have the most important seats in the synagogues and the places of honour at banquets. They devour widows� houses and for a show make lengthy prayers. These men will be punished most severely."

Mark 12: 38

--

For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven.

Matthew 5: 20

--

"If you fast, you will give rise to sin for yourselves; andif you pray, you will be condemned; and if you give alms, you will do harm to your spirits."

Thomas: 14

--

And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen.

Matthew 6: 5

--

"The teachers of the law and the Pharisees sit in Moses� seat. So you must be careful to do everything they tell you. But do not do what they do, for they do not practice what they preach.

They tie up heavy, cumbersome loads and put them on other people�s shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to lift a finger to move them.

"Everything they do is done for people to see: They make their phylacteries wide and the tassels on their garments long; they love the place of honour at banquets and the most important seats in the synagogues;

they love to be greeted with respect in the marketplaces and to have people call them �Rabbi.�

"But you are not to be called �Rabbi,� for you have only one Master and you are all brothers.

And do not call anyone on earth �father,� for you have one Father, and he is in heaven. Matthew 23:1

For some strange reason, priests and ministers think that it is perfectly okay to be called "Father", or "Reverend", or "Pope", or "His Holiness", etc, so long as you are not called "Rabbi".

--

Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You build tombs for the prophets and decorate the graves of the righteous. And you say, �If we had lived in the days of our ancestors, we would not have taken part with them in shedding the blood of the prophets.� So you testify against yourselves that you are the descendants of those who murdered the prophets. Fill up, then, the measure of the sin of your ancestors! You snakes! You brood of vipers! How will you escape being condemned to hell?

Matthew 23: 13

What are churches but ornate monuments celebrating the killing of Jesus?

--

Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You shut the door of the kingdom of heaven in people�s faces. You yourselves do not enter, nor will you let those enter who are trying to.

Matthew 23: 13

--

Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You travel over land and sea to win a single convert, then you make that convert twice as much a child of hell as you are.

Matthew 23: 15

--

Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You give a tenth of your spices�mint, dill and cumin. But you have neglected the more important matters of the law�justice, mercy and faithfulness. You should have practiced the latter, without neglecting the former. You blind guides! You strain out a gnat but swallow a camel.

Matthew 23: 23

--

Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence. Blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and dish, and then the outside also will be clean.

Matthew 23: 25

--

Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of the bones of the dead and everything unclean. In the same way, on the outside you appear to people as righteous but on the inside you are full of hypocrisy and wickedness.

Matthew 23: 27

--

"Why do you call me good? No one is good�except God alone.

Luke 18:19

--

Wherever there is a corpse, there the vultures will gather.

Matthew 24: 28

A sure sign that a religion is spiritually dead is the number of hide-bound animals it attracts.

--

Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword. For I have come to turn "�a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law� your enemies will be the members of your own household.� Those who find their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake will find it.

Matthew 10: 34

--

"Why don�t you judge for yourselves what is right?

Luke 12: 57

This alone negates the whole of Christianity, which demands from its adherents completely submission to an external authority figure - whether it be in the guise of the bible, or a religious leader, or a collection of rules and tenets.

--

"Stop judging by mere appearances, but instead judge correctly."

John 7: 24

--

At that time if anyone says to you, �Look, here is the Messiah!� or, �Look, there he is!� do not believe it. For false messiahs and false prophets will appear and perform signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect. So be on your guard; I have told you everything ahead of time.

Mark 13: 21

--

If the blind lead the blind, both will fall into a pit.

Matthew 15: 14

--

The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are healthy, a your whole body will be full of light. But if your eyes are unhealthy, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light within you is darkness, how great is that darkness!

Matthew 6: 22

--

"No good tree bears bad fruit, nor does a bad tree bear good fruit. Each tree is recognized by its own fruit. People do not pick figs from thornbushes, or grapes from briers. Good people bring good things out of the good stored up in their heart, and evil people bring evil things out of the evil stored up in their heart. For out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks.

Luke 6: 43

--

Jesus said to them, "Have you never read in the Scriptures:

" �The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone; the Lord has done this, and it is marvellous in our eyes�?

"Therefore I tell you that the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people who will produce its fruit."

Matthew 21: 42

The values and beliefs that Jesus openly rejected have become the foundation for the lifeless religion of Christianity.

--

While Jesus was still talking to the crowd, his mother and brothers stood outside, wanting to speak to him. Someone told him, "Your mother and brothers are standing outside, wanting to speak to you."

He replied to him, "Who is my mother, and who are my brothers?" Pointing to his disciples, he said, "Here are my mother and my brothers. For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother."

Matthew 12: 46

Jesus demonstrates his contempt for human values with unmistakeable clarity.

--

"Whoever does not hate his Father & Mother as I do cannot become a disciple to me. And whoever cannot love his Father & His Mother as I do cannot become a disciple to me. For my mother gave me falsehood, but my true mother gave me Life."

Thomas: 101

--

Now Jesus� mother and brothers came to see him, but they were not able to get near him because of the crowd. Someone told him, "Your mother and brothers are standing outside, wanting to see you."

He replied, "My mother and brothers are those who hear God�s word and put it into practice."

Luke 8: 19

As Jesus was saying these things, a woman in the crowd called out, "Blessed is the mother who gave you birth and nursed you."

He replied, "Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and obey it."

Luke 11: 28

--

Simon Peter said to them, "Let Mary leave us, for women are not worthy of life."

Jesus said, "I myself shall lead her in order to make her male, so that he too may become a living spirit resembling you males. For every woman who will make herself male will enter the Kingdom of Heaven."

Thomas: 114

The feminine-minded need to become masculine-minded before they can make a serious bid for enlightenment. A masculine-minded person is one who is open-minded, highly rational, deeply consistent, courageous, single-minded, highly-principled, and very idealistic.

--

Not everyone can accept this word, but only those to whom it has been given. For some are eunuchs because they were born that way; others have been made eunuchs; and others have renounced marriage because of the kingdom of heaven. The one who can accept this should accept it.

Matthew 19: 11

Having alluded to the spiritual vacuousness of women and mothers, Jesus now directs his attention to marriage.

--

You are in error because you do not know the Scriptures or the power of God. At the resurrection people will neither marry nor be given in marriage; they will be like the angels in heaven.

Matthew 22: 29

--

When the dead rise, they will neither marry nor be given in marriage; they will be like the angels in heaven.

Mark 12: 25

--

"The people of this age marry and are given in marriage. But those who are considered worthy of taking part in the age to come and in the resurrection from the dead will neither marry nor be given in marriage, and they can no longer die; for they are like the angels. They are God�s children, since they are children of the resurrection.

Luke 20: 34

--

"Many are standing at the door, but it is the solitary who will enter the bridal chamber."

Thomas: 75

--

As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. For in the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark;

and they knew nothing about what would happen until the flood came and took them all away.

Matthew 24: 37

--

"Wretched is the body that is dependant upon a body, & wretched is the soul that is dependant on these two."

Thomas: 87

Jesus is openly calling the souls of husbands and wives "wretched". Yet priests and ministers the world over consider it their Christian duty to bless all who seek to marry.

--

"Blessed are the solitary and elect, for you will find the Kingdom. For you are from it, and to it you will return."

Thomas: 49

--

"Take heed of the Living One while you are alive, lest you die and seek to see him and be unable to do so."

Thomas: 59

--

Everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or fields for my sake will receive a hundred times as much and will inherit eternal life.

Matthew 19: 29

--

"No one who puts a hand to the plough and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God."

Luke 9: 57

--

You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot.

Matthew 5:13

Don't let yourself fade away into your attachments. Once you are spiritually dead, you cannot come back to life again.

--

Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

Matthew 6: 19

--

"I shall destroy this house, & no one shall be able to rebuild it."

Thomas: 71

Jesus is here pointing to the simple truth of impermanence. All things, without exception, are destroyed over time

.

--

As he was leaving the temple, one of his disciples said to him, "Look, Teacher! What massive stones! What magnificent buildings!"

"Do you see all these great buildings?" replied Jesus. "Not one stone here will be left on another; every one will be thrown down."

Mark 13: 1

--

Truly I tell you, it is hard for the rich to enter the kingdom of heaven. Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for the rich to enter the kingdom of God."

Matthew 19: 23

Naturally, this applies to people who are rich in attachments, emotions, false beliefs, pride and ignorance. It has little to do with money.

--

"If your hand causes you to stumble, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life maimed than with two hands to go into hell, where the fire never goes out.

And if your foot causes you to stumble, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life crippled than to have two feet and be thrown into hell. And if your eye causes you to stumble, pluck it out. It is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye than to have two eyes and be thrown into hell." Mark 9: 43

--

"Very truly I tell you, everyone who sins is a slave to sin."

John 8: 34

--

"That which you have will save you if you bring it forth from yourselves. That which you do not have within you will kill you if you do not have it within you."

Thomas: 70

--

"Listen then to what the parable of the sower means: When people hear the message about the kingdom and do not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what was sown in their hearts. This is the seed sown along the path. The seed falling on rocky ground refers to people who hear the word and at once receive it with joy. But since they have no root, they last only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, they quickly fall away. The seed falling among the thorns refers to people who hear the word, but the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth choke the word, making it unfruitful. But seed falling on good soil refers to people who hear the word and understand it. They produce a crop, yielding a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown."

Matthew 13: 10

--

So do not worry, saying, �What shall we eat?� or �What shall we drink?� or �What shall we wear?� For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.

Matthew 6: 31

--

"Do you think I came to bring peace on earth? No, I tell you, but division.

From now on there will be five in one family divided against each other, three against two and two against three. They will be divided, father against son and son against father, mother against daughter and daughter against mother, mother-in-law against daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law against mother-in-law."

Luke 12: 51

Funnily enough, nearly everyone I meet believes that Christianity is primarily concerned with promoting peace and love.

--

"I have come to bring fire on the earth, and how I wish it were already kindled!

But I have a baptism to undergo, and what constraint I am under until it is completed!" Luke 12: 49

--

Brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child; children will rebel against their parents and have them put to death. Everyone will hate you because of me, but those who stand firm to the end will be saved.

Matthew 10: 21

--

"Whoever does not hate his father and his mother cannot become a disciple to me. And whoever does not hate his brothers and sisters and take up his cross in my way will not be worthy of me."

Thomas: 55

--

"Blessed are you when you are hated and persecuted. Wherever you have been persecuted they will find no Place."

Thomas: 68

--

This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but people loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. All those who do evil hate the light, and will not come into the light for fear that their deeds will be exposed. But those who live by the truth come into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what they have done has been done in the sight of God."

John 3: 19

--

"Whoever belongs to God hears what God says. The reason you do not hear is that you do not belong to God."

John 8: 47

--

"He who will drink from my mouth will become like me. I myself shall become he, & the things that are hidden will be revealed to him."

Thomas: 108

--

"If you love me, keep my commands. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever� the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you."

John 14: 15

--

"If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first. If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you."

John 14: 18

--

"The world cannot hate you, but it hates me because I testify that its works are evil."

John 7: 7

--

"If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free."

John 8: 31

--

Don�t you have a saying, �It�s still four months until harvest�? I tell you, open your eyes and look at the fields! They are ripe for harvest. Even now those who reap draw their wages, even now they harvest the crop for eternal life, so that the sower and the reaper may be glad together. Thus the saying �One sows and another reaps� is true. I sent you to reap what you have not worked for. Others have done the hard work, and you have reaped the benefits of their labour."

John 4: 34

Jesus shows his affinity for the Buddhist concept of karma. The person entering enlightenment is the beneficiary of innumerable past causes which stretch back into the beginningless past and includes the actions of countless virtuous people before him.

--

Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash. Matthew 7: 24

--

You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.

Matthew 5:14

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"Be careful, or your hearts will be weighed down with dissipation, drunkenness and the anxieties of life, and that day will close on you suddenly like a trap. For it will come upon all those who live on the face of the whole earth. Be always on the watch, and pray that you may be able to escape all that is about to happen, and that you may be able to stand before the Son of Man."

Luke 21: 34

--

"Whoever has come to understand the world has found only a corpse, and whoever has found a corpse is superior to the world."

Thomas: 56

--

"Whoever finds himself is superior to the world."

Thomas: 111

--

"Very truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God without being born again."

John 3: 3

--

"If those who lead you say to you, `See, the Kingdom is in the sky,' then the birds of the sky will precede you. If they say to you, `It is in the sea,' then the fish will precede you. Rather, the Kingdom is inside of you, and it is outside of you."

Thomas: 3

Jesus now articulates his vision of God, which is none other than the totality of Nature - the ALL.

God is all around us and everything is a part of Him. God is Reality itself. Needless to say, this is completely at odds with the Christian belief in a human-like creator.

--

"When you make the two one, & when you make the inside like the outside & the outside like the inside, & the above like the below, & when you make the male & the female one & the same, so that the male be not male nor the female female; & when you fashion eyes in place of an eye & a hand in place of a hand, & a foot in place of a foot, & a likeness in place of a likeness; then you will enter the Kingdom."

Thomas: 22

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"Whoever believes that the All itself is deficient is himself completely deficient."

Thomas: 67

--

"The coming of the kingdom of God is not something that can be observed, nor will people say, �Here it is,� or �There it is,� because the kingdom of God is in your midst.

Luke 17: 20

--

His disciples said to him, "When will the Kingdom come?"

Jesus said, "It will not come by waiting for it. It will not be a matter of saying, 'Here it is', or 'There it is'. Rather, the Kingdom of the Father is spread out upon the earth, and men do not see it."

Thomas: 113

--

"It is I who am the light which is above them all. It is I who am the All. From me did the All come forth, & unto me did the All come forth, & unto me did the All extend. Split a piece of wood, & I am there. Lift up the stone, & you will find me there."

Thomas: 77

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"Do not tell lies, and do not do what you hate, for all things are plain in the sight of Heaven. For nothing hidden will not become manifest, and nothing covered will remain without being uncovered."

Thomas: 6

--

The disciples said to Jesus, "Tell us how our end shall be."

Jesus said, "Have you discovered then, the beginning, that you look for the end? For where the beginning is, there the end will be. Blessed is he who will take his place in the beginning; he will know the end & will not experience death."

Thomas: 18

--

"Recognize what is in your sight, and that which is hidden from you will become plain to you. For there is nothing hidden which will not become manifest."

Thomas: 5

--

His disciples said to him, "When will the repose of the dead come about, and when will the new world come?"

He said to them, "What you look forward to has already come, but you do not recognize it."

Thomas: 51

--

"Let him who seeks continue seeking until he finds. When he finds, he will become troubled. When he becomes troubled, he will be astonished, and he will rule over the All."

Thomas: 2

--

"The one who comes from above is above all; the one who is from the earth belongs to the earth, and speaks as one from the earth. The one who comes from heaven is above all. He testifies to what he has seen and heard, but no one accepts his testimony. The person who has accepted it has certified that God is truthful. For the one whom God has sent speaks the words of God, for God gives the Spirit without limit."

John 3: 31

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"I shall give you what no eye has seen, & what no ear has heard & what no hand has touched & what has never occurred to the human mind."

Thomas: 17

--

"He must become greater; I must become less."

John 3: 30

--

"Look at the fig tree and all the trees. When they sprout leaves, you can see for yourselves and know that summer is near. Even so, when you see these things happening, you know that the kingdom of God is near.

Luke 21: 29

--

"The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit."

John 3: 8

--

"When you see your own likeness, you rejoice. But when you see your images which came into being before you, & which neither die or become manifest, how much will you have to bear!"

Thomas: 84

--

"Become passers-by."

Thomas: 42

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"Very truly I tell you, the Son can do nothing by himself; he can do only what he sees his Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does. For the Father loves the Son and shows him all he does. Yes, and he will show him even greater works than these, so that you will be amazed.

John 5: 19

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"Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.

Luke 21: 33

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"I am not possessed by a demon," said Jesus, "but I honour my Father and you dishonour me.

I am not seeking glory for myself; but there is one who seeks it, and he is the judge.

Very truly I tell you, whoever obeys my word will never see death."

At this they exclaimed, "Now we know that you are demon-possessed! Abraham died and so did the prophets, yet you say that whoever obeys your word will never taste death.

Are you greater than our father Abraham? He died, and so did the prophets. Who do you think you are?"

Jesus replied, "If I glorify myself, my glory means nothing. My Father, whom you claim as your God, is the one who glorifies me.

Though you do not know him, I know him. If I said I did not, I would be a liar like you, but I do know him and obey his word.

Your father Abraham rejoiced at the thought of seeing my day; he saw it and was glad."

"You are not yet fifty years old," they said to him, "and you have seen Abraham!"

"Very truly I tell you," Jesus answered, "before Abraham was born, I am!"

At this, they picked up stones to stone him, but Jesus hid himself, slipping away from the temple grounds.

John 8: 49

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BU2B

MARKED!

Badfish

I remember one time when I was kid at the KH, some other boys and I were talking about tattoos. An elder pulled us aside and read Leviticus 19:28 about not having tattoos.

It's funny how they pay attention to that scripture but totally ignore the verse right before it (verse 27) that says you're not suppsed to cut your hair short or shave off your beard.

NeverKnew

With respect to how bad it is these days, is there any thought given to Eccl 7:10?

10 Say not, “Why were the former days better than these?” For it is not from wisdom that you ask this. And with respect to cursing others, how about a little further down in the passage... Eccl 7:20-22. 20 Surely there is not a righteous man on earth who does good and never sins. 21 Do not take to heart all the things that people say, lest you hear your servant cursing you. 22 Your heart knows that many times you yourself have cursed others.

Mad Sweeney

Bump to the top. One of my favorite old threads. :)

JW GoneBad

IMO one of the most ignored scriptures and yet this scripture is one that most JWs can recite from memory...John 17:3:

"This means everlasting life, their coming to know you the only true God, and the one whom you sent Jesus Christ."

For purposes of this discussion the emphasis is placed on: "This means everlasting life, their coming to know .........the one whom you sent Jesus Christ."

'....the one whom you sent Jesus Christ' is like a blurr to Jehovah's Witnesses when they read this verse!

The sad part is that these are Jesus' own words. In this verse Jesus is stressing the importance of coming to know him personally.

Sadly the JW sect are too brain-dead to appreciate just how much they ignore the latter half of this scripture.....JWs are too bone-headed to care!

Most-Ignored Scriptures by JWs