@elderelite:
John 3:16 refers to EVERYONE gaining everlasting life.
The "world" of which Jesus spoke would be those human beings counted worthy of redemption based on whether they show appreciation for the gift of God's son as their ransomer in their exercising faith in the ransom through their actions by the way in which they live their lives. Obviously, Jesus could not have been referring to everyone.
These verses have NOTHING to do with pandas and tigers and people living on earth forever even as JW's teach it... they clearly say EVERYONE gets the same hope... the fraud is SO clear when free of the cult mentality, and yet if I showed this to my wife, she would recoil. but its so clear. EVERYONE gets everlasting life, not EVERYONE gets everlasting life BUT some on earth, some in heaven...
You are mixing things up here. You are trying to make Jesus say something to Nicodemus here at John 3:16 about everyone having the same hope, when Jesus wasn't speaking to him at all about an earthly hope or a heavenly hope. Maybe it would be good for you to share this perspective of yours with your wife, for I suspect you would more likely listen to her than to me.
Then when you read along and you get to Jesus saying he has others who are not of this flock, he says they become ONE flock, one [shepherd]. NOT one flock two hopes, the whole point was unity. One flock, one [shepherd]. Everyone treated the same... The Book of John runs totally contrary to everything JW's teach.. all right there, black and white.. my God what deception.
It would seem that you are now referring to Jesus' words about the three sheepfolds in John chapter 10, but I know that when you read this passage, you will likely only discern the mention of two sheepfolds, but there are, in fact, three mentioned there, and of the three, the last one he mentions is described as being "not of this fold," as to which you, for some reason, have read as "not of this flock."
As to this third "fold" or "sheepfold" that is "not of this [second] fold," Jesus refers to them as his "other sheep," and goes on to say that these "other sheep" of this third sheepfold would become one flock with those of this second sheepfold under him, as their "one shepherd." This is what is written in "black and white" at John 10:1-16. The "unity" that exists between the two "folds" has to do with both "folds" being "one flock, one shepherd."
As you continue to read just a chapter over, we come to the account of the samaritian woman at the well. Jesus tells her that who ever drinks the water I will give him will never get thirsty at all, but the water i will give him will become in him a fountain of water bubbling up to impart everlasting life...
Wait a second!!!!!!! according to dubbie theology, only the [anointed] "have a [fountain] of water bubbling up from within"... its what they describe as [immortality]. 144,000 only. I'm sure blondie or others can supply appropriate quotes, but that is current teaching. Only the [anointed] have that life within themselves. if we let the bible interpret itself EVERYONE gets that [fountain] bubbling from within! and yet, we use that to convince people of life forever on earth. Complete fraud!
Actually, this water that "bubbles up to impart everlasting life" is the same water mentioned by John at Revelation 21:6, where Jehovah God refers to the same "fountain" with the words, "To anyone thirsting I will give from the fountain of the water of life free," and to prove that Jesus was not saying that this fountain was for just the anointed, Revelation 22:17 refers to the "bride" as saying, "Let anyone thirsting come; let anyone that wishes take life's water free."
As to this "water" to which Jesus refers during his conversation with the Samaritan woman at John 4:14, it represents provision God makes for the restoration of all mankind to everlasting life through faith in His gift of the ransom, regardless of one's "hope," for it is not likely that Jesus would have been discussing a heavenly hope with her any more so than he would have been discussing the heavenly hope during his conversation with Nicodemus at John 3:1-21. The very first time anyone was made aware of a heavenly hope was on Pentecost in 33 AD when the holy spirit was first poured out upon Jesus' disciples in that upper room in Jerusalem. (Acts 2:1-4)
You should never attempt to teach anyone unless you first come to know what things the Bible teaches. You are all tied up in knots in ridiculous ideas based on scriptures that Jehovah's Witnesses use all of the time, which scriptures that you clearly don't understand.
@GOrwell:
My new favourite passage in John is John 1:12,13 (NWT) ;
"However, as many as did receive him, to them he gave authority [the "right" in HCSB] to become God’s children, because they were exercising faith in his name; 13 and they were born, not from blood or from a fleshly will or from man’s will, but from God."
Keeping in mind the contents of the entire first chapter, by whose authority could Jesus hand adoptive sonships out to people? That blew my mind.
What exactly was it in John 1:12, 13, that "blew your mind"? Jesus didn't hand out "adoptive sonships" to anyone. You would have this passage at John 1:12, 13, say something that it really doesn't say, but let me point out to you that the phrase, "as many as did receive him" at verse 12 is not referring to you or to anyone other than the Jews, since this passage at John 1:11-13, starting at verse 11, says, "[Jesus] came to his own home, but his own people did not take him in." So at verse 13, Jesus is talking about fellow Jews, "his own people."
As to exactly who it was John 1:12, 13, is referring to that gave authority to "his own people" to become God's children, Ephesians 1:3-5 sheds light on the "he" in the phrase, "to them he gave authority" at John 1:12: "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, for he ... foreordained us to the adoption through Jesus Christ as sons to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will." This "he" would be Jehovah God, and not the Lord Jesus Christ through whom the adoption as sons came.
@djeggnog
