Funny (as in "peculiar" and may you all have peace!)... John, whom my Lord considered "beloved"... didn't put HIS faith in some "governing body". And supposedly (i.e., per the WTBTS)... HE was PART of "it":
"20But you have an anointing from the Holy One, and all of you know the truth. 21 I do not write to you because you do not know the truth, but because you do know it and because no lie comes from the truth. ... 26 I am writing these things to you about those who are trying to lead you astray. 27 As for you, the anointing you received from him remains in you, and you do not need anyone to teach you. But as his anointing teaches you about all things and as that anointing is real, not counterfeit—just as it has taught you, remain in him." 1 John 2:20, 21, 26, 27
And so methinks the WTBTS has blaspemed the Holy Spirit... yet wonst agin.
But it's really no surpise, is it, given that they really DO place their own thoughts (and the members place such thoughts as published in the Watchtower) OVER what's written in the Bible? Not that I'm saying the Bible is infallible. But, well, I'm just sayin'... in light of what they ALSO say about which is... and where the Watchtower gets ITS... "authority".
Ah, well... may all "beware the leaven of the Pharisees..."
The Jerusalem group was still teaching Gentiles had to be circumcised and observe all the laws of Moses. Paul, on the other hand, (by direct revelation) was teaching that Gentiles did NOT have to observe the laws of Moses. Two different "understandings". The Holy Spirit was directing the Jerusalem congregation and Jesus himself was directing Paul.
Not quite, dear Terry (and the greatest of love and peace to you!). It wasn't "the Jerusalem group" who were sticking with that teaching because Peter had already addressed the issue before Paul and Barnabas brought it to the apostles, and congregation and elders in Jerusalem:
1 The apostles and the brothers throughout Judea heard that the Gentiles also had received the word of God. 2 So when Peter went up to Jerusalem, the circumcised believers criticized him 3 and said, "You went into the house of uncircumcised men and ate with them." 4 Peter began and explained everything to them precisely as it had happened: 5 "I was in the city of Joppa praying, and in a trance I saw a vision. I saw something like a large sheet being let down from heaven by its four corners, and it came down to where I was. 6 I looked into it and saw four-footed animals of the earth, wild beasts, reptiles, and birds of the air. 7 Then I heard a voice telling me, 'Get up, Peter. Kill and eat.' 8 "I replied, 'Surely not, Lord! Nothing impure or unclean has ever entered my mouth.' 9 "The voice spoke from heaven a second time, 'Do not call anything impure that God has made clean.' 10 This happened three times, and then it was all pulled up to heaven again. 11 "Right then three men who had been sent to me from Caesarea stopped at the house where I was staying. 12 The Spirit told me to have no hesitation about going with them. These six brothers also went with me, and we entered the man's house. 13 He told us how he had seen an angel appear in his house and say, 'Send to Joppa for Simon who is called Peter. 14 He will bring you a message through which you and all your household will be saved.' 15 "As I began to speak, the Holy Spirit came on them as he had come on us at the beginning. 16 Then I remembered what the Lord had said: 'John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.' 17 So if God gave them the same gift as he gave us, who believed in the Lord [Jesus] Christ, who was I to think that I could oppose God?" 18 When they heard this, they had no further objections and praised God, saying, "So then, God has granted even the Gentiles repentance unto life." Acts 11:1-18
"1 Some men came down from Judea to Antioch and were teaching the brothers: "Unless you are circumcised, according to the custom taught by Moses, you cannot be saved." 2 This brought Paul and Barnabas into sharp dispute and debate with them. So Paul and Barnabas were appointed, along with some other believers, to go up to Jerusalem tosee the apostles and elders about this question. 3 The church sent them on their way, and as they traveled through Phoenicia and Samaria, they told how the Gentiles had been converted. This news made all the brothers very glad. 4 When they came to Jerusalem, they were welcomed by the church and the apostles and elders, to whom they reported everything God had done through them. 5 Then some of the believers who belonged to the party of the Pharisees stood up and said, "The Gentiles must be circumcised and required to obey the law of Moses." 6 The apostles and elders met to consider this question. 7 After much discussion, Peter got up and addressed them: "Brothers, you know that some time ago God made a choice among you that the Gentiles might hear from my lips the message of the gospel and believe. 8 God, who knows the heart, showed that he accepted them by giving the Holy Spirit to them, just as he did to us. 9 He made no distinction between us and them, for he purified their hearts by faith. 10 Now then, why do you try to test God by putting on the necks of the disciples a yoke that neither we nor our fathers have been able to bear? 11 No! We believe it is through the grace of our Lord Jesus that we are saved, just as they are." Acts 15:1-11
Those in Jerusalem had already accepted that circumcision was not a requirement. It was some who were OUTSIDE Jerusalem... [somewhere] in Judea... who apparently hadn't got that message, yet. And since they were of the party of the Pharisees... it stands to reason that they hadn't yet received the promised holy spirit, either, believers though they might have been... which would explain why they were still trying to "adhere" to Moses. (Acts 19:1-6; 2 Corinthians 3:14-16)
Anyway... again, peace to you all!
A slave of Christ,
SA